本研究探討男性虛擬健身網紅與男性真人健身網紅對男性消費者健身房會員購買意圖的影響，感知能力之中介角色與「肌肉發達程度」之調節效果。儘管健身產業中網紅逐漸興起，針對男性受眾比較虛擬與真人網紅行銷效果的研究仍相當有限。本研究採用２ｘ２的實驗設計，檢驗網紅類型（虛擬vs.真人）是否會透過感知能力對購買意圖產生直接或間接的影響，並進一步檢驗肌肉程度（中等肌肉程度vs.高度肌肉程度）是否調節此關係。研究結果顯示，與虛擬網紅相比，真人網紅顯著提升了健身房會員的購買意圖，且此效果完全由感知能力所仲介。肌肉發達程度雖與感知能力呈正相關，但並未顯著調節網紅類型對購買意圖的直接或間接影響。該類結果指出，感知能力是影響網紅效果的重要機制，而肌肉程度本身則未必足以改變消費者的反應。本研究以來源可信度理論框架作為基礎，延伸其於虛擬健身網紅脈絡中的應用，並強調感知能力在影像消費者健身產品意圖中的關鍵性。此外，透過分析男性目標受眾的健身代言效果，本研究也為虛擬網紅文獻提供新視角，並為行銷人員在數位行銷中提升網紅可行度供實務建議。最後，研究也討論其限制與未來研究方向，包括未來可探索行為層面的衡量指標，以及在虛擬健身內容眾納入更多元的視角線索。

This study investigated how virtual fitness influencers (VIs) and human fitness influencers (HIs) affect male consumers' gym membership purchase intentions, focusing on the mediating role of perceived competence and the moderating effect of muscularity level. Despite the rise of influencer marketing in the fitness industry, limited research has compared the effectiveness of virtual and human influencers, particularly among male audiences. Using a 2×2 experimental design, the study examined whether influencer type (virtual vs. human) impacts purchase intention directly and indirectly via perceived competence, and whether this effect is moderated by muscularity (moderate vs. hyper-muscular). The findings revealed that human influencers led to significantly higher purchase intentions of gym memberships than virtual influencers, and this effect was also fully mediated by perceived competence. Muscularity, while positively correlated with perceived competence, did not moderate the direct or indirect effects. These results results suggest that perceived competence is a critical mechanism in influencer effectiveness, while muscularity alone may not substantially alter consumer response. The study contributes to the literature by applying Source Credibility Theory to virtual fitness influencer contexts and emphasizes the importance of perceived competence in shaping fitness product-related consumer intentions. The study contributes to the literature on virtual influencers by examining male-targeted fitness endorsements and offers pracitcal insights for marketers aiming to enhance credibility in digital campaigns. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed, including the need to explore behavioral measures and more diverse visual cues in virtual fitness content.

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