LIVE STREAMING COMMUNITIES, TRANSPARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, AND PRODUCT PURCHASE INTENTIONS AMONG VIEWERS
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Research has yet to explain the complex and unique experience live streaming viewers have with their favorite live streamers. It is not well understood how parasocial & transparasocial relationships, the strength of online communities, and consumer outcomes relate to one another in the context of live streaming This current study asked college students ages 18-24 (n = 356) to describe how they perceive their favorite live streamer and the community surrounding that live streamer. Path analysis was utilized to understand how social affordances, transparasocial relationships, community indices, and purchase intentions are interlinked in live streaming contexts. Results showed that specific affordances, like social presence, were positively associated with the stronger streamer-audience relationships, and also was associated with community experiences through these streamer audience relationships. Similarly, the streamer-audience relationships were positively related to a stronger community experience and increased audience purchase intentions; stronger community experiences were also positively associated with. Of note is that explicit persuasive knowledge moderated the relationship between the streamer audience relationship and purchase intentions in that high levels of explicit persuasive knowledge was associated with higher purchase intentions for those with strong streamer audience relationships. Findings from this study can be used to better understand the dynamic relationship specific online users have with various live streamers and their communities.