Failed products, successful influencers: the moderating effect of the stealing thunder strategy on purchase intentions in live-streaming e-commerce failures
Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics
ISSN: 1355-5855
Article publication date: 17 December 2024
Abstract
Purpose
A live-stream failure occurs when the product which is highly recommended by the influencers and exhibited quality problems. This study investigated how brand trust and influencers trust affect live-streaming purchase intentions (PIs) of consumers when live-streaming e-commerce failures occur and the role of the Stealing Thunder (ST).
Design/methodology/approach
Totally 584 adults with live-streaming shopping experience were invited to investigate the impact and mechanisms of live-streaming failure incidents, as well as the moderating mechanisms of ST.
Findings
Firstly, live-streaming failure accidents decreased the PI of consumers by reducing both brand trust and influencer trust, with trust in the influencers having a stronger impact on PI than brand trust. Secondly, if the influencers used the ST after a live-stream failure, the PI was the same as that in a non-failure scenario. Thirdly, the ST acts as a moderating variable neutralized the negative impact of live-streaming failure on trust in the influencers. Lastly, the negative impact of brand trust on PI was less significant using the ST.
Originality/value
This research deepens the understanding of service failures in live-streaming e-commerce. It provides insights into the consumer behavior and practical guidance on how influencers can actively respond to live-streaming failure to sustain reciprocal relationships in live-streaming e-commerce. The study addresses the effects of the coping strategies of influencers on the interests of product brands and discusses the potential solutions.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: Partial financial support was received from Science Research Program Foundation of Yunnan Educational Committee (No. 2024Y526), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.72062031), National Social Science Fund of China (No. 24XJY037), and Project supported by the Philosophy and Social Sciences Foundation of Yunnan Province, China (No. YB2020056).
Citation
Lu, P., Fang, L., Chen, Q. and Ma, X. (2024), "Failed products, successful influencers: the moderating effect of the stealing thunder strategy on purchase intentions in live-streaming e-commerce failures", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-08-2024-1051
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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