Alexa is the New Influencer: An Empirical Study Based on a Relational View.

This paper explores the potential of voice assistants (VAs) as influencers and their ability to replace or complement human influencers. VAs are increasingly popular tools for marketing and advertising, providing access to a wide range of information services. VA recommendations have been found to be more effective than consumer reviews in changing consumer behavior when perceived as credible and useful. Nevertheless, existing research has not explored the full potential of VAs in influencing consumer behavior beyond these factors. This paper identifies relevant behavioral factors that affect consumers' decisions to follow VA recommendations. An empirical study of 510 participants revealed that parasocial relationships, peer influence, self-image congruence, and interpersonal attraction positively affect consumers' decisions to follow product purchase recommendations by VAs. The findings extend our understanding of consumers' behavior towards VAs and provide theoretical and practical implications for marketing and information systems research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]