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Brands are seizing their latitude in the metaverse – this study conceptualizes a digital doppelgänger as the sense of embodiment of the physical person and unpacks their effect on consumer brand engagement by examining the mediating role of digital doppelgänger’s brand interactions.

Data was collected through an online self-administered questionnaire employing criterion-based judgment sampling, resulting in 475 qualified responses. The data was validated through a two-step SEM (structural equation modeling) application of Hayes’s Process in the SmartPLS4 package. The IMPA analysis technique identified the most important and influential factor driving brand performance in the metaverse.

The study reveals that digital doppelgänger’s brand interactions mediate the relationship between the digital doppelgänger (embodiment of the person) and consumer brand engagement. Brand interaction manifests enjoyment, relaxation and reputation felt by the physical person. The result indicates that digital doppelgänger’s brand interaction drives brand performance in the metaverse.

Our study is an original attempt to conceptualize a digital doppelgänger as the sense of embodiment of the physical person and their brand interactions in the metaverse influence consumer brand engagement to produce enjoyment, relaxation and reputation – this is a novel contribution to interactive marketing literature.

Police knowledge of and familiarity with human trafficking determine whether a victim is referred to services or arrested as an offender, along with other implications. Both field experience and training may affect how police officers recognize and respond to human trafficking scenarios. However, recent research suggests the relationship between officer experience and their ability to identify human trafficking is more nuanced. The purpose of this study is to explore whether experience, training or both are preferable to correctly identifying cases of human trafficking.

To do so, 495 police officers from a large Pennsylvania agency were surveyed about their perceptions of human trafficking. Officer demographics and levels of experience and training were compared to their responses to six human trafficking scenario questions.

Bivariate and logistic regression analyses conclude that training, but not experience working human trafficking cases, is associated with an increase in the likelihood of officers correctly identifying scenarios of human trafficking. These findings are discussed in light of the literature.

This study extends previous research by comparing the influence of training and experience investigating cases of human trafficking.