Live streaming and livelihoods: Decoding the creator Economy's influence on consumer attitude and digital behavior

Abstract

Utilizing the uses and gratifications theory (U&G), this study hypothesized the impact of various factors on the attitudes of individuals toward social media platforms and brands, as well as their impact on online consumption. Live streams and the associated brands were shown to be influenced by factors such as positive value, self-brand congruity, social price, interaction control, human message interaction, informativeness, entertainment, and credibility. Additionally, online consumption behavior was predicted to be significantly influenced by these attitudes. A total of 759 social media users were surveyed, and hypotheses were tested using SPSS. The study's results confirm all hypotheses, showing that each factor directly affects attitudes and behaviors related to consumption. The study also examines the mediating role of attitudes toward live streams and brand influence on online consumption behavior in the relationship between the aforementioned factors. Online consumption was hypothesized to be influenced by attitudes toward live streams, positive value, and self-brand congruity, among other factors. Attitudes towards the brand mediated a similar relationship between these elements and online content consumption. This study aimed to provide an understanding of how various factors influence attitudes towards brands and live streams on social media. Marketers, brand strategists, and social media platforms can benefit from this study as the findings provide insights into optimizing live stream strategies and enhancing consumer-brand relationships in an increasingly digital world.