What Signals Are You Sending? How Signal Consistency Influences Consumer Purchase Behavior in Live Streaming Commerce
Driven by digital technology, live streaming business is becoming increasingly common worldwide. Unlike traditional online shopping, live streaming commerce integrates real-time interaction, social communication, and e-commerce. It also eliminates the limitations of one-way information transmission...
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/0718-1876/20/2/109 |
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| author | Hui-Min Wang Yu-Peng Zhu Kyung-Tag Lee |
| author_facet | Hui-Min Wang Yu-Peng Zhu Kyung-Tag Lee |
| author_sort | Hui-Min Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Driven by digital technology, live streaming business is becoming increasingly common worldwide. Unlike traditional online shopping, live streaming commerce integrates real-time interaction, social communication, and e-commerce. It also eliminates the limitations of one-way information transmission and promotes purchasing behavior by conveying signals such as products, brands, and the personal charm of live streamers to consumers through real-time communication. The core issues explored in this study are whether the cues between the signal transmitters and receivers are consistent and how they affect consumers’ purchasing behavior. In this study, the consistency of the signal is measured by five dimensions, namely self–product fit, live streamer–product fit, live content–product fit, danmaku content–product fit, and self–live streamer fit. In order to study this problem, we constructed a structural equation modeling (SEM) model. In the causal relationship between signal consistency and purchase intention, performance responses have also been discussed as mediating variables. Accordingly, signal consistency enables consumers to perceive performance expectancy, whereby consumers believe that products that perform well positively influence satisfaction. To verify these hypotheses, 443 randomly collected valid questionnaires were used in empirical analyses. The results showed that most of our hypotheses were validated, aside from the relationship between self–live streamer fit and perceived performance expectancy. The findings suggest that signal consistency cues such as live streamer–product fit, live content–product fit, danmaku content–product fit, and self–product fit positively influence consumers’ perceived performance expectancy and satisfaction, which in turn promote purchase intention. These findings not only enrich the application of signaling theory in the field of live streaming commerce but also expand consumer behavior theory. Moreover, they also inspire practitioners in live streaming commerce by helping them to improve live streaming sales and bolster their market competitiveness through signal display optimization, content planning, and precision marketing. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-24cbedf4e39f402199416f4c06f42bb2 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0718-1876 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-24cbedf4e39f402199416f4c06f42bb22025-08-20T02:21:13ZengMDPI AGJournal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research0718-18762025-05-0120210910.3390/jtaer20020109What Signals Are You Sending? How Signal Consistency Influences Consumer Purchase Behavior in Live Streaming CommerceHui-Min Wang0Yu-Peng Zhu1Kyung-Tag Lee2College of International Economics and Trade, Ningbo University of Finance and Economics, Ningbo Philosophy and Social Science Key Research Base “Research Base on Digital Economy Innovation and Linkage with Hub Free Trade Zones”, Zhejiang Soft Science Research Base “Digital Economy and Open Economy Integration Innovation Research Base”, Ningbo 315175, ChinaChongqing Key Laboratory for Intelligent Communication and City’s International Promotion, Institute of Publishing Science, School of Journalism and Communication, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, ChinaSchool of Business, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehakro, Gyeongsansi 38541, Gyeongsangbukdo, Republic of KoreaDriven by digital technology, live streaming business is becoming increasingly common worldwide. Unlike traditional online shopping, live streaming commerce integrates real-time interaction, social communication, and e-commerce. It also eliminates the limitations of one-way information transmission and promotes purchasing behavior by conveying signals such as products, brands, and the personal charm of live streamers to consumers through real-time communication. The core issues explored in this study are whether the cues between the signal transmitters and receivers are consistent and how they affect consumers’ purchasing behavior. In this study, the consistency of the signal is measured by five dimensions, namely self–product fit, live streamer–product fit, live content–product fit, danmaku content–product fit, and self–live streamer fit. In order to study this problem, we constructed a structural equation modeling (SEM) model. In the causal relationship between signal consistency and purchase intention, performance responses have also been discussed as mediating variables. Accordingly, signal consistency enables consumers to perceive performance expectancy, whereby consumers believe that products that perform well positively influence satisfaction. To verify these hypotheses, 443 randomly collected valid questionnaires were used in empirical analyses. The results showed that most of our hypotheses were validated, aside from the relationship between self–live streamer fit and perceived performance expectancy. The findings suggest that signal consistency cues such as live streamer–product fit, live content–product fit, danmaku content–product fit, and self–product fit positively influence consumers’ perceived performance expectancy and satisfaction, which in turn promote purchase intention. These findings not only enrich the application of signaling theory in the field of live streaming commerce but also expand consumer behavior theory. Moreover, they also inspire practitioners in live streaming commerce by helping them to improve live streaming sales and bolster their market competitiveness through signal display optimization, content planning, and precision marketing.https://www.mdpi.com/0718-1876/20/2/109live streaming commercesignal consistency cuesperformance responsepurchase intention |
| spellingShingle | Hui-Min Wang Yu-Peng Zhu Kyung-Tag Lee What Signals Are You Sending? How Signal Consistency Influences Consumer Purchase Behavior in Live Streaming Commerce Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research live streaming commerce signal consistency cues performance response purchase intention |
| title | What Signals Are You Sending? How Signal Consistency Influences Consumer Purchase Behavior in Live Streaming Commerce |
| title_full | What Signals Are You Sending? How Signal Consistency Influences Consumer Purchase Behavior in Live Streaming Commerce |
| title_fullStr | What Signals Are You Sending? How Signal Consistency Influences Consumer Purchase Behavior in Live Streaming Commerce |
| title_full_unstemmed | What Signals Are You Sending? How Signal Consistency Influences Consumer Purchase Behavior in Live Streaming Commerce |
| title_short | What Signals Are You Sending? How Signal Consistency Influences Consumer Purchase Behavior in Live Streaming Commerce |
| title_sort | what signals are you sending how signal consistency influences consumer purchase behavior in live streaming commerce |
| topic | live streaming commerce signal consistency cues performance response purchase intention |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/0718-1876/20/2/109 |
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