As data becomes a core driver of modern business innovation, mobile applications increasingly collect and process users’ personal information, posing significant challenges to the effectiveness of informed consent and the legitimacy of user authorization. Existing research on privacy informed consent mechanisms has predominantly focused on privacy policy texts and normative legal discussions, often overlooking a critical touchpoint—the launch-time privacy pop-up window. Moreover, empirical investigations from the user’s perspective remain limited. To address these issues, this study employs a two-stage approach combining compliance audit and grounded theory. The preliminary audit of 21 mobile apps assesses the compliance of privacy pop-ups, and the formal study uses thematic analysis of interviews with 19 participants to construct a dual-path explanatory framework. Key findings reveal that: (1) while the reviewed apps partially safeguarded users’ right to be informed, compliance deficiencies still persist; (2) trust and privacy fatigue emerge as dual motivations driving user consent. Trust plays a critical role in amplifying the impact of positive messages within privacy pop-ups by enhancing the consistency among users’ cognition, affect, and behavior, thereby reducing resistance to privacy consent and improving the effectiveness of the current informed consent framework. Conversely, privacy fatigue increases the inconsistency among these factors, undermining consent effectiveness and exacerbating the challenges associated with informed consent. This study offers a user-centered framework to explain the dynamics of informed consent in mobile privacy pop-ups and provides actionable insights for regulators, developers, and privacy advocates seeking to enhance transparency and user autonomy.

In digital societies, users’ privacy decisions not only affect personal information security and application sustainability, but also profoundly influence the formulation and enforcement of relevant laws. However, existing research mainly adopts a dichotomous perspective of rationality and bounded rationality, lacking an integrated framework to explain the complexity of users’ privacy decisions. Therefore, this study integrates privacy calculus theory and Psychological Distance Theory within the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) framework to explore their mediating and moderating roles in the relationship between perceived privacy relevance and disclosure intention. To achieve the research objectives, we employed the vignette method to design an online survey with a 2 (perceived relevance: low vs. high) × 2 (temporal distance: near vs. distant) between-subjects design, ultimately collecting 293 valid responses. The conclusions are as follows: (1) perceived relevance positively affects users’ privacy disclosure intention, and perceived benefits and perceived risks play a partial mediating role between them; (2) contrary to individuals’ common preference for near temporal distance (immediate rewards), distant temporal distance (delayed rewards) have a more pronounced enhancing effect on the positive relationship between perceived relevance and perceived benefits; (3) the results excluded the influence of control variables such as gender, age, and education level on privacy disclosure intention. This study not only proposes an integrated analytical framework, revealing that users’ privacy decisions are jointly influenced by both rational and irrational factors, but also provides practical insights for application developers and regulatory agencies. Finally, we also discuss the limitations of this study and directions for future research.

As an emerging marketing tool, virtual influencers (VIs) have attracted increasing scholarly attention. However, existing research predominantly adopts linear causal analysis models, which fail to capture the complex, nonlinear interaction between consumers and VIs. Grounded in the 5W communication model and utilizing a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), this study systematically explores how different configurational paths influence consumer engagement, drawing on empirical data from 205 participants. The findings reveal that (1) the synergy of entertainment, information, and credibility is a core prerequisite for achieving high engagement; (2) two equivalent paths—namely, the technology-driven path (media richness + content synergy) and the cognition-driven path (technology acceptance + content synergy)—lead to high engagement, both with a solution consistency of 0.98; and (3) the joint absence of content, media richness, and audience cognition results in low engagement. Theoretically, this study challenges traditional linear approaches by validating causal asymmetry and revealing configurational interdependencies among communication elements. It also extends the Media Richness Theory (MRT) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) into the context of virtual influencer (VI) marketing. Practically, the proposed dynamic configuration model offers marketers a novel framework for optimizing VI campaigns through resource-adaptive strategies.

Compared to human influencer marketing, virtual influencer marketing has garnered widespread attention due to certain advantages. However, being intrinsically generated and driven by computer programs, they are not without limitations. This implies the existence of boundary conditions in the application of virtual influencer marketing. While there have been numerous reports of both successes and failures in the practical application of virtual influencers, the academic community has yet to provide a comprehensive theoretical explanation for the effectiveness of virtual influencer marketing. Researchers have attempted to address this gap by constructing a model that leverages consumer control and sensory experience to explain the influence of virtual (vs. human) influencers on consumers’ continuous purchase intentions. The findings indicate that virtual (vs. human) influencers enhance consumers’ perception of behavioral and cognitive control, which in turn positively influences their continuous purchase intention. Interestingly, the study found that when endorsing geometric products, virtual (vs. human) influencers stimulate a stronger perception of behavioral and cognitive control. However, when sharing material products, human (vs. virtual) influencers are more effective. This research not only deepens our understanding of the marketing effects of virtual influencers but also provides empirical evidence that can guide product selection for virtual influencer endorsements.