Assessing word-of-mouth reputation of influencers on B2C live streaming platforms: the role of the characteristics of information source
Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics
ISSN: 1355-5855
Article publication date: 5 November 2021
Issue publication date: 5 July 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the influence mechanism of the word-of-mouth reputation of influencers.
Design/methodology/approach
This study explored word-of-mouth reputation from four characteristics of information source of influencers: credibility, professionalism, interactivity and attractiveness. The grounded theory was used to extract the characteristic indicators of influencers and used questionnaire surveys to obtain 218 valid samples. The fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was used for the configuration analysis.
Findings
The results revealed the following: (1) a causal asymmetric correlation exists between the driving mechanism of high word-of-mouth reputation and non-high word-of-mouth reputation; (2) influencers matching high word-of-mouth reputation comprises potential, developmental and almighty types, whereas live streaming influencer matching non-high word-of-mouth reputation comprises elementary and groping types; and (3) all factors must be combined to play a role, and neutral permutations of two solutions were found among the three overall solutions to attain high word-of-mouth reputation; (4) the combination of high user activity and high exposure is the core configuration that results in high word-of-mouth reputation.
Practical implications
This study provides recommendation for consumers, live streamers, brand and e-commerce platform on how to promote the sustainable and healthy development of influencer marketing.
Originality/value
This study focused on elucidating how the characteristics of information source affect the word-of-mouth reputation of influencers and have a reference value for the research on word-of-mouth reputation in the context of live commerce.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Compliance with Ethical Standards: This paper and all authors compliance with Ethical Standards, the authors are willing to accept all responsibility for any violation of ethical standards in the study.
Funding: This research is supported by the National Social Science Fund of China (21BGL133).
Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Citation
Wang, L., Wang, Z., Wang, X. and Zhao, Y. (2022), "Assessing word-of-mouth reputation of influencers on B2C live streaming platforms: the role of the characteristics of information source", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 34 No. 7, pp. 1544-1570. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-03-2021-0197
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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