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A study on the role of information cues in E-commerce live streaming: evidence from self-reported and fNIRS data

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Abstract

Unlike general e-commerce, live streaming commerce innovatively allows live streamers to use instant social functions to communicate with viewers and present products in a more vivid way. However, little research has been done to understand the effects of multiple information cues in live streaming commerce. Drawing on the stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) theory, we develop a two-phase research framework to examine how the combination of endogenous and exogenous cues can influence viewers’ information processing and arouse purchase intention when watching e-commerce live streaming. We also propose that product involvement may moderate the effects of information cues. To investigate the above effects, we conduct a laboratory experiment using self-report and functional near-infrared spectroscopy. In summary, the experimental results show that the richer the cues provided by the live streaming, the better the effect on viewers’ product knowledge accessibility for low-involvement products. However, complex information cues have a negative effect on the viewers’ cognitive processing of high-involvement products, which may distract viewers’ attention from the products and reduce consumers’ product knowledge accessibility. In addition, the introduction of the live streamer, the real-time comments, and the detailed product list aroused the viewers' positive emotions among the viewers and thus stimulated their purchase intention. These findings can help platforms, businesses, and live streamers improve their marketing strategies.

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Acknowledgements

This work described in this paper was supported by grants from the Fundamental Research Funds of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Jiangsu Universities (No. 2020SJZDA065), the Social Science Funds Project of Jiangsu Province (No. 22GLB037), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 72074101, No 71971101 and No. 71972090).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Management, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, No 666 Changhui Road, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, 212100, People’s Republic of China

    Yajing Diao, Qian Yang, Shilun Ge, Nianxin Wang & Jian Lu

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  1. Yajing Diao
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  3. Shilun Ge
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Correspondence to Yajing Diao.

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Appendix

Appendix

1.1 Glasses

  1. 1.

    What is the weight of the glasses?

    A. 6 g B.8 g C.10 g D.16 g

  2. 2.

    What is the category of the glasses frame?

    A. Full frame B. Half frame C. No frame.

  3. 3.

    What kind of people are the glasses suitable for?

    A. Male B. Female C. Unisex .

  4. 4.

    What are the colors of the glasses? [Multiple choice].

    A. Black gold B. Golden C. Gold and silver D.Slivery.

  5. 5.

    What material is used for this glasses frame?

    A. Carbon fiber B. Monel C. Enclosure Material D. Hawksbill.

1.2 Toothpaste

  1. 1.

    The main component of this toothpaste is bamboo salt, which is refined after many times of training?

    A. 6 B. 7 C. 8 D. 9

  2. 2.

    What flavor is this toothpaste?

    A. Peppermint B. Fresh Lime C. Fragrant Tea D. Fresh Peach and Mint

  3. 3.

    What is the net content of this toothpaste?

    A. 60 g B.120 g C.180 g D.220 

  4. 4.

    What are the main causes of tooth stains? [Multiple choice]

    A. Tea B. Coffee C. Smoking D. Drinking water with excessive fluoride

  5. 5.

    What are the main advantages of bamboo salt in this toothpaste?[Multiple choice questions]

    A. Reduce the salty taste of salt

    B. Absorbed minerals from bamboo and other raw materials

    C. The impurities contained in the sun salt are removed .

    D. Repair enamel.

1.3 Mobile phone

  1. 1.

    What is the screen size of this phone?

    A. 4.57 inch B. 5.57 inch C. 6.57 inch D. 7.57 inch

  2. 2.

    How many megapixels is the rear main camera of this mobile phone?

    A. 12 megapixel B. 24 megapixel C. 32 megapixel D. 38 megapixel

  3. 3.

    What are the chip parameters of this mobile phone?

    A. A14bionic B. Snapdragon 865 C. Phecda 800U D. Kirin 990.

  4. 4.

    How many watts of fast charging does this phone support?

    A. 20 W B. 40W C. 60W D. 80W

  5. 5.

    What are the options for storage capacity of this phone? [Multiple choice]

    A. 8+18G B.16 + 128G C.8 + 256G D.16 + 256G

  6. 6.

    6.How many degree is the mobile phone portrait wide-angle lens?

    A. 65° B. 85° C.95° D.105°

  7. 7.

    7.How many colors are available for this phone?

    A. 3 B. 4 C. 5 D. 6

1.4 Laptop

  1. 1.

    What are the CPU parameters of this laptop?

    A. i5 B. i7 C. R5 D. i9.

  2. 2.

    How long can the laptop's battery capacity be used for daily office work?

    A. 2-3 h B. 3-4 Wh C. 5-6 h D.8-9 h

  3. 3.

    What is the size of this laptop monitor?

    A. 12 inch B.13 inch C. 14 inch D.15 inch

  4. 4.

    What is the weight of this notebook?

    A. 0.5 kg B. 1.5 kg C. 2.5 kg D. 3.5 kg

  5. 5.

    What are the parameters of this laptop graphics card?

    A.MX450-2G Discrete graphics card.

    B. Beast Core graphics card.

    C.4 G Core graphics card

    D.GTX1650-4G Discrete graphics card.

  6. 6.

    What is the memory capacity and hard disk capacity of this labtop?

    A. 8 GB+ 256 GB B.8  GB + 512 GB C. 16 GB + 256 GB D.1 6 GB + 512 GB

  7. 7.

    What interfaces does this laptop have? [Multiple choice]

    A.USB B. card reader C.HDMI D. Headset microphone connector.

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Diao, Y., Yang, Q., Ge, S. et al. A study on the role of information cues in E-commerce live streaming: evidence from self-reported and fNIRS data. Electron Commer Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-023-09772-8

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