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Despite the burgeoning popularity of virtual gifting in live streaming, research lacks an in-depth understanding of the drivers behind this behavior. Using para-social relationship (PSR), this study aims to capture viewers’ lively social feelings toward the streamer as the key factor leading to the purchase behavior of virtual gifts. It also aims to establish a theoretical link between PSR and viewers’ holistic experience in live streaming as captured by cognitive absorption and aims to investigates the role of technological features (i.e. viewer–streamer and viewer–viewer interactivity, streamer-level and viewer-level deep profiling and design aesthetics) in shaping viewers’ experience.

Based on 433 survey responses, this study employs a combination of structural equation modeling and neural networks to offer valuable insights into the relationships between the technological environment, viewer experience and viewer behavior.

Our results highlight the salience of PSR in promoting the purchase of virtual gifts through cognitive absorption and the importance of the technological environment in eliciting the viewer experience. This study sheds light on the development of PSR in a technological environment and its relationship with cognitive absorption.

By applying PSR to conceptualize viewers’ perceived connection with the streamer, this study extends the research on purchase behavior in the non-shopping context by providing an enlightened understanding of virtual gift purchase behavior in live streaming. Moreover, by theoretically linking PSR with cognitive absorption, virtual gift purchase and technological features of live streaming, it enriches the theory of PSR and bridges the gap between the design practice of supporting the IT infrastructure of live streaming and research.

This study aims to explore the determinants of viewers’ gifting and social sharing behaviours in online streaming from a dual-attachment perspective and to explain how live streaming fosters attachment through a social interaction aspect.

This study conducted an online survey with 316 valid responses to test the research model. The structural equation modelling approach was applied to assess both the measurement and structural models.

The results show that both bond-based and identity-based attachments promote gifting and social sharing behaviours. Participation and cognitive communion motivate viewers to establish bond-based attachment, while group interaction among viewer crowds encourages viewers to create identity-based attachment. In addition, group interaction can moderate the relationship between participation and bond-based attachment.

This study is one of the earliest attempts to highlight the significance of viewer crowd and viewer-viewer interaction in promoting viewers’ behaviours in live streaming context. This study also indicates that viewer-viewer interaction can moderate the impact of viewer–streamer interaction, which is among the first to investigate the interaction effects of viewer-viewer interaction and viewer–streamer interaction.

Social participation and user-generated contents have engendered an era when “any receiver can be a provider.” Although studies have emphasized on increasing the number of subscribers conducive to platform success, the issue regarding why viewers drop their registered YouTuber channels has been less addressed. This article aims to present and empirically test a causal model to account for the pattern of discontinuous intention of attention to YouTuber channels.

Inspired by the expectation–disconfirmation theory, the study proposes and examines a research model by using an empirical quantitative approach. The proposed model considers channel and YouTuber facets, as well as potential moderation effects of viewing seniority.

Analysis of a sample of 406 questionnaires revealed that ads interference is not a significant reason for discontinuation of viewing a channel, in contrast to insufficient playfulness and inconsistency. Regarding YouTubers’ features, both interaction inadequacy and negative self-disclosure are significant determinants of perceived dissatisfaction and discontinuation of viewing. The effects of determinants of discontinuity depend on viewers' seniorities, except for negative self-disclosure.

While existing studies have focused mainly on revealing the determinants associated with the behavioral intention of viewing YouTuber channels to increase self-media performance, this research contributes insights into the literature investigating why existing viewers stop following a certain YouTuber channel. From a psychological perspective, this study demonstrates the value of modeling discontinuous behaviors toward YouTuber channels in the domain of social marketing.

In tourism live streaming (TLS), streamers strive to capture viewers’ attention by responding quickly to viewers’ requests and providing tourism-related knowledge. However, the effectiveness of such practices in the TLS context remains unclear. Accordingly, based on flow theory, this study aims to uncover the effects of responsiveness and knowledge spillover on viewers’ travelling intentions.

The authors collected 319 valid questionnaires to examine the proposed model. Followingly, the authors used a partial least squares structural equation modelling approach using SmartPLS 4 to analyse the survey data.

The authors found that responsiveness could enhance viewers’ flow experience and destination attachment, fostering travelling intentions. The authors further found that knowledge spillover strengthened the relationship between responsiveness and travelling intentions and responsiveness and flow experience.

This study broadens the scope of extant tourism research by juxtaposing the effects of responsiveness and knowledge spillover on viewers’ travelling intentions in the TLS context. Practically, the findings provide valuable insights for streamers to conduct appropriate viewer–streamer interaction strategies by providing instant responses and tourism-related knowledge to viewers.

在旅游直播中, 主播常常通过快速响应观众并提供目的地知识, 以吸引观众注意。然而这种策略是否有效地提升了观众的旅游意愿仍需进一步验证。因此, 本研究基于心流理论验证了响应性及知识溢出效应对观众旅游意愿的影响。

我们通过评估319份有效问卷来检验所提出的模型, 采用了SmartPLS软件构建偏最小二乘结构方程模型（PLS-SEM）分析问卷数据。

我们发现, 响应性将增强观众的心流体验和目的地依恋感, 从而促进旅游意愿。此外, 知识溢出效应强化了响应性和旅游意愿及响应性和心流体验之间的关系。

本研究同时关注响应性及知识溢出在旅游直播情境下对观众旅游意愿的影响机制。从实践层面, 本研究为旅游主播提供了高效互动及目的地推广的策略。

En las retransmisiones turísticas en directo (TLS), los organizadores se esfuerzan por captar la atención de los espectadores respondiendo de forma rápida a sus peticiones y aportando conocimientos relacionados con el turismo. Sin embargo, la eficacia de estas prácticas en el contexto de la retransmisión turística en directo sigue sin estar clara. Por consiguiente, este estudio, basado en la teoría del flujo, trata de descubrir los efectos de la capacidad de respuesta y la difusión de conocimientos en la intención de viajar de los espectadores.

Se recogieron 319 cuestionarios válidos para examinar el modelo propuesto. Seguidamente, se aplicó la técnica de ecuaciones estructurales con mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS-SEM) mediante el software SmartPLS para analizar los datos de la encuesta.

Se concluye que la capacidad de respuesta mejoraría la experiencia de flujo de los espectadores y el apego al destino, fomentando su intención de viajar. Además, se comprueba que la difusión de conocimientos fortalece la relación entre (1) la capacidad de respuesta y la intención de viajar y (2) la capacidad de respuesta y la experiencia de flujo.

La presente investigación amplía el enfoque de los estudios existentes en la investigación turística al aproximar los efectos de la capacidad de respuesta y la difusión de conocimientos sobre la intención de viajar de los espectadores en el contexto de retransmisiones turísticas en directo. Desde el punto de vista práctico, los resultados aportan ideas para que los streamers empleen estrategias de interacción apropiadas con los espectadores, proporcionándoles respuestas instantáneas y transmitiéndoles conocimientos relacionados con el turismo.

The boom in live streaming has intensified competition among streamers for viewers' gifts, which makes it meaningful to study the factors that affect the viewers’ gifting behavior. Given the emotional attachment between streamers and viewers, the authors set out to elucidate a new driver on viewer gifting: expressions of the streamer. This research aims to explore the impact of streamer emotions on the viewer gifting behaviors, including free and paid gifting. The loyalty level of the viewers is also introduced as a moderating factor to investigate the heterogeneous effect of streamer emotions on gifting behavior.

The dataset the authors collected consists of two parts, including 1809.69 h of live streaming videos and 358,002 gift giving records. Combined with deep learning methods and regression analysis, the authors performed empirical tests on the 81,110 valid samples. Several robustness checks were also conducted to ensure the reliability of main results.

The empirical results show that streamer emotions do have effects on viewers' free and paid gifting behavior. The authors’ findings show that positive streamer expressions, such as happiness and surprise, have a positive influence on viewer gifting behavior. However, some negative expressions, like sadness, can also have a positive impact. Moreover, the authors discovered that higher viewer loyalty amplifies the positive effect of streamer emotions and reduces the negative effect.

This research contributes to the study about streamer emotions and viewers' consumption behavior, which extends the application of emotion as social information model (EASI model) in the live streaming setting. The authors carefully divide the gifting behavior into two types: free and paid, and study how these two types are affected by streamer emotions. Besides, these effects are analyzed within viewers of different loyalty levels. This study offers practical emotion management strategies for streamers and live streaming platforms to gain more economic profits.

In the actual livestreaming background, to obtain more income, some broadcasters will transform their original single role orientation into mixed one. This research study aims to conduct an empirical study on the influence of the broadcasters' role orientation transformation on the viewers' tipping behavior.

The authors collect data from Kuai, a leading online live streaming service provider in China. The dataset includes 175,701 live streaming data from 971 broadcasters in 7 months. To avoid unobservable factors, the authors adopt two difference-in-differences (DID) models to estimate the effect of two kinds of broadcaster's role orientation transformation on the broadcaster’s direct income separately. And the authors use the Heckman-type correction to solve broadcasters’ self-selected problem.

The authors evaluated that there is a U-shape relationship between the broadcasters' role orientation transformation and their direct income. The broadcasters' direct income experienced a sharp decline for a short period of time after transformation and followed by a rise after a period of adaptation. And for broadcasters with different genders and amounts of fans, the influence degree of role orientation transformation is various.

This paper provides a fresh usage of the regulatory engagement theory in the brand new information communication technology. And it also explores the boundary effect of the participating object's self-factors in the regulatory engagement theory. Besides, this paper expands the research of livestreaming into natural background. Such results also provide operable suggestions for the livestream platform, the broadcaster himself and the enterprises who want to employ some broadcasters to recommend their products.

This study applies parasocial relationship theory to identify the role of broadcaster characteristics in the highly interactive business setting of live streaming commerce.

A total of 401 online questionnaires were distributed to individuals with live streaming showroom shopping experience, and SmartPLS software was used to analyse the data and test the hypotheses.

Broadcasters' characteristics are positively associated with viewers' parasocial relationships, thus further enhancing viewers' attitudinal and behavioural loyalty towards that broadcaster's streams. Parasocial relationships mediate the effects of most broadcaster characteristics (except for expertise) on attitudinal and behavioural loyalty. In addition, parasocial relationships have a stronger positive effect on viewer behaviours for hedonic products and under high match-up.

The broadcaster is a key indicator of the success of live streaming commerce. This study establishes a well-organized framework to understand how broadcaster characteristics influence viewer loyalty towards that broadcasters' streams based on parasocial relationship theory.

The Sports Live Streaming Platforms (SLSPs) have taken centre stage in broadcasting sporting events. This study adopts the value creation sphere (VCS) model and the service dominant logic (SDL) to unpack the value co-creation process on SLSPs.

A case study with one of the most representative SLSPs in China, involving the netnographic approach and in-depth interviews, was conducted.

This study redefines the value co-creation spheres in the context of SLSPs and identifies four actors who contribute to viewers' value perceptions. The findings show that viewers' values can be co-created individually and collectively with other actors in both the customer sphere and the joint sphere.

This study extends the theoretical boundary of value co-creation into the context of SLSPs. The study findings help SLSPs managers and decision makers understand the value co-creation process to gain competitive advantages and enhance the sustainability of their services.

Home-based workouts via fitness YouTube channels have become more popular during the pandemic era. However, few studies have examined the role of social media personae related to intention to exercise. The purpose of this study was to investigate the structural relationships between fitness YouTuber attributes: perceived physical attractiveness (PPA), perceived social attractiveness (PSA), perceived similarity (PS), parasocial relationships (PSRs), wishful identification (WI), physical outcome expectations (POEs), and continuous intention to work out with fitness YouTubers (CIWFY).

This study considered fitness YouTube channel viewers as the unit of analysis. An online survey was conducted to empirically develop and test the research model using structural equation modeling (SEM).

The SEM empirical findings revealed that the PSRs were significantly influenced by PSA, PPA, and PS. Also, WI was significantly affected by PPA and PS. Furthermore, POEs were significantly impacted by PPA and PSRs. POEs affected the CIWFY. Lastly, PSRs and POEs mediated the influence of PSA and PPA on the CIWFY.

The psychological impacts of exercising to online fitness videos in the era of COVID-19, with its untact (no contact) social norms is timely. The study model demonstrated the fitness YouTube viewers' cognitive path from perceptions toward fitness YouTubers' attributes to behavioral intention. To be specific, the current study demonstrated how three attribution types (i.e. PPA, PSA, and PS) of fitness YouTubers affect viewers' PSRs and WI with fitness YouTubers, along with POEs and CIWFY. Along with health practitioners, fitness YouTubers who want to captivate viewers on their channels might need to consider self-attributes from their viewers' standpoint and should build psychological bonding with viewers.

This study investigates how social interaction-oriented content in broadcasters' live speech affects broadcast viewers' purchasing and gift-giving behaviors and how broadcaster popularity moderates social interaction-oriented content's effect on the two different behaviors in live-streaming commerce.

A research model was proposed and empirically tested using a panel data set collected from 537 live streams via Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), one of the most popular live broadcast platforms in China. A fixed-effects negative binomial regression model was used to examine the proposed research model.

This study's results show that social interaction-oriented content in broadcasters' live speech has an inverted U-shaped relationship with broadcast viewers' purchasing behavior and shares a positive linear relationship with viewers' gift-giving behavior. Furthermore, broadcaster popularity significantly moderates the effect of social interaction-oriented content on viewers' purchasing and gift-giving behaviors.

This research enriches the literature on live-streaming commerce by investigating how social interaction-oriented content in broadcasters' live speech affects broadcast viewers' product-purchasing and gift-giving behaviors from the perspective of broadcast viewers' attention. Moreover, this study provides some practical guidelines for developing live speech content in the live-streaming commerce context.