The Mechanism of Emotional Marketing in Live-Streaming E-commerce: An Empirical Analysis Based on Streamer Intimacy and Consumer Purchase Intention

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jbm.202609116

Author(s)

Lisha Xie1,*, Haiting Huang2

Affiliation(s)

1School of Management, Wuhan University of Bioengineering, Wuhan, Hubei, China 2School of Economics and Management, Hubei Business College, Wuhan, Hubei, China *Corresponding Author

Abstract

With the rapid expansion of live-streaming e-commerce, the emotional connection between streamers and consumers has emerged as a critical determinant of purchasing decisions. Drawing on the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) framework, this study develops a theoretical model in which streamer intimacy (stimulus) serves as the antecedent, consumers’ psychological perceptions (organism) function as the mediating variables, and purchase intention (response) represents the outcome. Based on survey data collected from users of the Kuaishou platform and employing structural equation modeling (SEM) for empirical analysis, the findings indicate that streamer intimacy can be decomposed into three dimensions: affective, cognitive, and social. These dimensions indirectly and positively influence consumers’ purchase intention by eliciting emotional resonance, fostering trust, and enhancing immersion, respectively. Notably, the mediating effect of consumers’ psychological perceptions is statistically significant. This study elucidates the multi-path mechanisms through which emotional marketing operates in live-streaming e-commerce, providing both theoretical insights and practical implications for platform ecosystem optimization, streamer engagement strategies, and brand marketing decision-making.

Keywords

Emotional Marketing; Live-Streaming E-Commerce; Streamer Intimacy; Psychological Perception; Purchase Intention; S–O–R Model

References

[1] Zhang, D., & Chen, Q. The impact of streamer characteristics on consumer purchase intention in live-streaming e-commerce: An empirical analysis based on the SOR model. Times Economy and Trade, 2024, 21(06), 39–45. [2] Wang, H., Chen, H., Xie, J., et al. The impact of streamers’ linguistic content characteristics on consumer purchase intention in live-streaming commerce. Modernization of Management, 2022, 42(06), 59–65. [3] Gong, Y., Tan, Y., Gong, J., et al. Streamer types and social presence effects in live-streaming marketing: A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. Nankai Business Review, 2023, 26(02), 199–209. [4] Mehrabian, A., & Russell, J. A. An approach to environmental psychology. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 1974 [5] Liu, K., & Liu, Y. Discourse characteristics of online streamers: Community-oriented, open, fragmented, and emotionalized. Contemporary Television, 2024, (08), 30–37. [6] Wang, Z. The impact of streamer characteristics on consumer purchase intention in live-streaming e-commerce contexts (Master’s thesis). Guilin University of Technology. 2024 [7] Guan, Q. Consumer trust and purchase intention in interactive live-streaming e-commerce contexts (Master’s thesis). Lanzhou University. 2022 [8] Liu, Y., Zhang, X., & Wang, Q. The influence of streamer characteristics on consumer purchase intention in the era of universal live-streaming. Price: Theory & Practice, 2024, (04), 153–157. [9] Xu, Y., & Lin, Y. The internal mechanisms of live-streaming marketing in driving consumer behavior: New perspectives from immersive communication, body mediation, and emotional infusion. Fujian Tribune (Humanities and Social Sciences Edition), 2021, (12), 111–117. [10] Csikszentmihalyi, M. Beyond boredom and anxiety. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 1975 [11] Wei, J., Li, M., & Liu, B. The influence of streamer characteristics on consumers’ impulsive purchase intention in live-streaming e-commerce. China Business and Market, 2022, 36(04), 32–42.