Unveiling the Effects of Speaker Quality and Congruency on Virtual Academic Conference Outcomes

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of virtual academic conferences (VACs), yet limited research sheds light on the effects of speaker quality and congruency on the outcomes of virtual academic conferences. This exploratory study investigates how speaker quality, speaker quality congruency, and participant motivations influence satisfaction and behavioral outcomes in VACs. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), we analyzed data from 282 participants (academics and students) who attended virtual conferences. The study examined relationships among peer motivation, recognition motivation, speaker quality levels, speaker quality congruency, participant satisfaction, willingness to revisit, and word of mouth intentions. Results revealed that participant satisfaction serves as a critical mediator, with speaker quality congruency—the consistency of speaker performance across sessions—emerging as the strongest predictor of satisfaction (β = 0.888, p < 0.001), whereas individual speaker excellence showed no significant effect (β = 0.101, p = 0.279). Peer motivation significantly influenced both speaker quality constructs, and satisfied participants demonstrated high willingness to revisit (R2 = 0.887) and positive word-of-mouth (R2 = 0.964). In addition, mediation analysis revealed that satisfaction fully mediated the effects of speaker quality congruency on willingness to revisit (β = 0.836, VAF = 94.2%) and word of mouth (β = 0.867, VAF = 97.6%), but not for speaker quality level. Unlike previous studies that primarily examine physical conferences, the novelty of this paper lies in exploring speaker congruency within the virtual academic conference context. Moreover, the key contribution of this study to the literature is centered on the essential congruency element in sustaining virtual events by demonstrating consistent quality across sessions that matters more than securing high-profile keynote speakers, challenging traditional conference management approaches. The findings extend social influence theory to virtual contexts, thereby providing practical guidance for organizers on prioritizing consistent speaker quality across sessions rather than focusing solely on individual high-profile speakers. This study further unveils the subsequent role of peer motivation affecting speaker quality congruency that determines the participant’s satisfaction. This satisfaction subsequently leads to positive virtual academic conference outcomes such as positive word of mouth and willingness to revisit conferences. Future research should validate findings across diverse academic contexts and explore hybrid conference models.