Research On The Marketing Communication Model Of E-Commerce Live Streaming

"Live streaming" is undoubtedly one of the hottest and most important social topics in China after the outbreak of the COVID-19.In the business field,the spread of the disease suddenly disrupted the traditional business model,e-commerce live streaming has become one of the important ways for businesses to affect consumers.Besides,it is also changing people's consumption habits and needs and helping to promote Chinese consumption under the COVID-19 disruption.The importance of e-commerce live streaming for product sales and brand promotion is prominent,which is also the main reason why this study focuses on the marketing communication model of e-commerce live streaming.In recent years,although some scholars have discussed the phenomenon of e-commerce live streaming,most of their studies were analysis without data support or verification of classical theoretical model.The exploration of this new mode of marketing communication is not grounding and deep enough.Therefore,based on the literature review of e-commerce live streaming and marketing communication,this study mainly uses qualitative research methods such as non-participatory observation,in-depth interview,and participatory observation,combined with case analysis methods,and takes Taobao live and its users as an example to explore the marketing communication model of e-commerce live streaming.In-depth interview is the most important research method in this study.Before that,nonparticipatory observation was launched to have a comprehensive and objective understanding of the communication elements of Taobao live,so as to be well prepared for following research.Then,in-depth interviews were carried out to collect primary data until the theory is saturated.During this period,the interview data is also under encoding and analysis following the three-level coding system based on grounded theory.Finally,combined with the participatory observation results,the marketing communication model of e-commerce live streaming was construct exploratively and the scope and relationship of which were explained in detail.Specifically,in the marketing communication model of e-commerce live streaming,broadcaster factor,live streaming content factor,and other audience factor ultimately affect the behavior response of consumers indirectly via cognitive and affective factors of consumers.In addition,the consumer factor moderates the first half and the second half of the impact path.Among them,1)broadcaster factor includes 4 categories: the appearance and characters of the broadcaster,the capacity of the broadcaster,in-live-studio interactions,and audience interactions;2)live streaming content factor includes 7 categories: product explanation,product price concessions,product scarcity,product source and channel,new product,scene layout and product display mode;3)other audience factor includes 3 categories the in-chat-window clues,out-of-chat-window clues,out-of-live-streaming-app social activities;4)cognitive and affective factor includes 4 categories: the attitude and evaluation to the broadcaster,the customer perceived value,perceived risk,and emotions and psychology;5)behavioral response includes 3 categories: patronage intention,purchase intention,and purchase decision;6)consumer factor includes 4 categories: motivation,conformity tendency,involvement,and prior brand and product knowledge.This study is the first exploratory study that construct the marketing communication model of e-commerce live streaming,which is not only of great theoretical significance by adding to e-commerce live streaming research and putting forward theoretical thinking for further in-depth study,but also of important managerial significance.On the one hand,it could provide managerial enlightenment and practical guidance for enterprises who want to enhance brand influence and boost product sales through ecommerce live streaming,on the other hand,this study could also benefit e-commerce platforms and consumers.