Team publishes in International Journal of Information Management (SSCI Q1 Top 1st, IF 27) on AI Virtual Assistants — Recognizing SFT PostDoc, PhD, and MPhil Students

[New Publication] “Fun by Design: Visual Form, Realism, and the Hedonic Appeal of AI-Powered Virtual Assistants” published in International Journal of Information Management (#1 in the field; IF 27; ABDC: A*) 🙂

Excited to share our latest publication on AI-powered virtual assistants (VAs) — a remarkable accomplishment made possible by the hard work and dedication of our School of Fashion and Textiles, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University former Postdoc (now faculty Dr. Woojin Choi), PhD (Sophie Xue and Violet Wang), and MPhil students (Sze Man Chong).

🌐From Formless to Human-Like VAs
▫️ Advances in Generative AI are transforming VAs from formless interfaces into sophisticated, human-like embodiments.
▫️ Retailers are increasingly adopting highly realistic VAs, with the goal of strengthening their service quality.

🧩Addressing Theoretical Gaps
▫️ Despite rapid industry advancements, academic research has largely treated VAs as formless entities, paying little attention to VA form realism compared with cognitive and behavioral realism.
▫️ Existing studies on VA form realism are not only limited but also yield mixed findings, underscoring the need for a fresh theoretical reassessment.
▫️ Many prior studies rely on technology-, social-, or cognitive-oriented frameworks, framing VAs primarily as tools, social agents, or cognitive aids, while overlooking the emotional and experiential dimensions of consumer–VA interactions.
▫️ To address these contextual, anthropomorphic, and theoretical gaps, we focused our investigation on visually embodied VAs with an emphasis on form realism.
▫️ We adopted consumer fun theory to frame our approach within a more experience-centered and affective perspective.

📊 Key Findings
▫️ Adding visual form to a VA enhances consumer evaluations by increasing feelings of liberation, hedonic enagement, and fun.
▫️ Increasing VA realism further amplifies these positive effects, particularly among recreation-oriented shoppers.
▫️These findings deepen our theoretical understanding of how VA design influences consumer behavior and offer valuable guidance for improving the development and deployment of VAs in online retail environments.
▫️ Web Appendix provides an in-depth literature review and key findings to guide future research on VAs.

🙏 Acknowledgments
▫️ We also deeply appreciate the editors and reviewers for their invaluable guidance throughout the revision process. Their thoughtful comments helped us refine our study and address aspects we initially overlooked. It is always a pleasure to learn and grow through feedback from such brilliant experts. This publication wouldn’t have been possible without their support!