Exploring the Mechanisms of Live-streaming Technology and Impulse Buying Tendency: Do Zero Moment of Truth Value, Trust, and Emotional Engagement Matter?

Live-streaming e-commerce (LSE) platforms are information systems (IS) that blend real-time entertainment with instant purchasing to offer novel experiences to users. Drawing on cognitive appraisal theory, this study explains how LSE experiences stimulate users’ emotions and impulse buying behavior through a sequential process consisting of primary appraisal, secondary appraisal, and behavioral outcomes. Using a sample drawn from millennial users (between 18-35 years old), two studies were conducted. In the initial pilot investigation (n = 425), we examined users’ perceptions and behaviors when using LSE platforms; in the main study (n = 200), we explored the potential mediating and moderating factors affecting impulse buying tendency. Overall, the findings show that LSE affordances predict the zero moment of truth (ZMOT) value on LSE platforms. The results also indicate that both trust in the streamer and emotional engagement play a mediating role in the relationship between ZMOT value and impulse buying tendency. Finally, we find that trust beliefs in the LSE platform play an important moderation role in strengthening the prediction of impulse buying tendency. This study concludes with recommendations for future LSE research and practice.