Broadcasters’ expertise and consumers’ purchase intention: The roles of consumer trust and platform reputation

Abstract

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, farmer-assisted live streaming has become a hot topic in China. In this manuscript, we explore the ways in which broadcaster and platform characteristics jointly influence consumers’ purchase intention. To examine our hypotheses, we distributed questionnaires to 261 Chinese consumers who viewed farmer-assisted live streaming. Correlational analyses, regression analyses, and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine our hypotheses. The results show that broadcasters’ expertise is positively related to consumer trust and that platform reputation moderates this relationship. In addition, consumer trust mediates the positive relationship between broadcasters’ expertise and consumer purchase intention. Furthermore, the theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Tourism e-commerce live streaming: the effects of live streamer authenticity on purchase intention

“…Audiences are more likely to engage emotionally with live streamers who disclose flaws or personal aspects, strengthening the emotional connection and further boosting purchase intention. Fourth, expertise, demonstrated through their familiarity with destinations or products and relevant professional knowledge (Lee and Eastin, 2021), plays a vital role in reducing decision costs for audiences and facilitating positive experiences (Liu et al, 2018), leading to higher purchase intentions (Li et al, 2022a(Li et al, , 2022b. In addition, the expertise of live streamers helps address information asymmetry, as audiences associate information accuracy and usefulness with the source's expertise, which, in turn, fosters trust and acceptance of their recommendations (Li et al, 2022a(Li et al, , 2022b.…”

“…Fourth, expertise, demonstrated through their familiarity with destinations or products and relevant professional knowledge (Lee and Eastin, 2021), plays a vital role in reducing decision costs for audiences and facilitating positive experiences (Liu et al, 2018), leading to higher purchase intentions (Li et al, 2022a(Li et al, , 2022b. In addition, the expertise of live streamers helps address information asymmetry, as audiences associate information accuracy and usefulness with the source's expertise, which, in turn, fosters trust and acceptance of their recommendations (Li et al, 2022a(Li et al, , 2022b. Fifth, uniqueness, characterized by their originality and ability to provide a novel and distinctive viewing experience, attracts attention and interest, leading to increased purchase intention (Lee and Eastin, 2021).…”

“…First, sincerity and visibility of live streamers can reduce perceived risks, and then increase trust (Kim et al, 2021). Second, expertise and TE of live streamers serve as the basis for consumers' information judgment, addressing information asymmetry and increasing trust (Li et al, 2022a(Li et al, , 2022b. The uniqueness of live streamers also enhances positive feelings and consumer confidence in both live streamers and recommended products, further strengthening trust.…”

“…The significance of authenticity is particularly pronounced in TEcLS, as consumers desire an authentic glimpse into the destinations and tourism products showcased online (Moore et al, 2021;Salet, 2021). Furthermore, recent research indicates that live streamers serve as crucial elements in TEcLS (Li et al, 2022a(Li et al, , 2022b. Through their own authentic interactions with the local culture, community and environment, TEcLS live streamers convey the authenticity of the experiences (Sun et al, 2022).…”

Gift-giving intentions in pan-entertainment live streaming: Based on social exchange theory

“…As gift-giving has become more prevalent in pan-entertainment live streaming, it has generated interest among scholars and researchers who are interested in understanding the motivations behind gift-giving behavior, the impact of gift-giving on streamers and viewers, and the broader social and cultural implications of this phenomenon [8,10]. Previous studies have mainly concentrated on using "stimulus organism-response" model (SOR) [11], theory of planned behavior (TPB) [12], and technology acceptance model (TAM) [13] to understand how platforms are used to sell goods or services and attract tips from viewers through livestreaming. The identified factors for viewer tipping in live stream shows include viewer engagement [14], perceived utilitarian, hedonic, and symbolic value of live streaming shows [15,16], live streamers' characteristics such as attractiveness and source credibility [17][18][19][20], and social interactions [21][22][23][24].…”