Do Live Streaming and Online Consumer Reviews Jointly Affect Purchase Intention?

Abstract

Social commerce has become a mainstream online shopping phenomenon. The effects of single social-commerce modes, such as live streaming and online consumer reviews (OCRs), on consumers’ purchase intention have attracted much attention. However, the existing literature overlooks the combined impact and complementary mechanisms of multiple social business modes on purchase intention. Drawing on the previous research, we identified the characteristics of live streaming and the characteristics of OCRs. Drawing inspiration from channel complementarity theory, a dual-channel influence model is presented. We collected 448 online questionnaires from several social-commerce platforms. The data were processed via structural equation modeling. The results show that the social-commerce modes of live streaming and OCRs can jointly influence consumers’ purchase intention, sense of community, interactivity, perceived usefulness, and perceived trust as antecedents of purchase intention, with customer engagement playing a mediating role. However, emotional support had no impact on purchase intention. This study provides useful insight into the mechanisms behind how multiple social-commerce channels influence purchase intention.