Characteristics and roles of streamers in e-commerce live streaming
Abstract
Streamers are the individuals at the core of e-commerce live streaming (ELS), which is a successful influencer marketing strategy. However, a systematic profile of ELS streamers is lacking. This study aims to investigate the roles and characteristics of ELS streamers, as well as their matching relationships, by applying the grounded theory method to analyze semi-structured interviews of 96 consumers. Eight characteristics of ELS streamers (expertise, attractiveness, credibility, interactivity, popularity, price support, affinity, and responsiveness) are identified and further classified into four roles (opinion leader, spokesperson, interactive friend, and salesperson). This study is the first to create a role set for ELS streamers and the first to systematically elucidate the roles of ELS streamers and their corresponding characteristics. It not only supplements e-commerce, influencer marketing, and role theory research by identifying new characteristics and roles of ELS streamers, but it also provides a clear framework practitioners can use to train streamers.
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Cites
Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization
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“This study used a data saturation approach, which is a widely accepted method for data collection and sample size determination (Saunders et al., 2018).”
MethodThe future of social media in marketing
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“Furthermore, the roles of salesperson, spokesperson, and opinion leader identi fi ed in this study con fi rm the roles of in fl uencers described in in fl uen-cer marketing research (Appel et al., 2020; Godey et al., 2016; Hughes et al., 2019).”
BackgroundThe Role of Live Streaming in Building Consumer Trust and Engagement with Social Commerce Sellers
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“Wongkitrungrueng and Assarut (2018) mentioned streamers ’ credibility in the context of their role as sellers.”
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BackgroundEnhancing consumer engagement in e-commerce live streaming via relational bonds.
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How Do Fresh Live Broadcast Impact Consumers’ Purchase Intention? Based on the SOR Theory
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Tedjakusuma, A. P., Silalahi, A. D. K., Eunike, I. J., Phuong, D. T. T., & Riantama, D. (2025) · Digital Business · doi:10.1016/j.digbus.2025.100115 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
- Authors
- Zhang, S., Huang, C., Li, X., & Ren, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Anhui Polytechnic University (CN)
- SUNY New Paltz (US)
- Corresponding author
- Li, Xiaodong
- Venue
- The Service Industries Journal
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2022-04-25
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 13-14
- Pages
- 1001-1029
- ISSN
- 0264-2069 (ISSN-L)
- 1743-9507
- OpenAlex
- W4224814751
- Cited by
- 130
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 29 · 2025: 44 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 6
- FWCI
- 36.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Service Industries Journal (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (71701002)
- Anhui Philosophy and Social Science Planning (AHSKY2017D24)
- Anhui Polytechnic University (2020jyxm05)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Marketing and Social Media
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior and Marketing Influence
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › AI in Service Interactions
- Keywords
- live streaming e-commerce, streamers, influencer marketing, role theory, consumer perception
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