Understanding the purchase intention in live streaming from the perspective of social image

E-commerce live streaming (hereafter, “ELS”) has introduced novel avenues for E-commerce. Driven by commercial goals, ELS streamers work to craft, sustain, and enhance their social images to attract popularity, acceptance, trust, and other beneficial outcomes. This article investigates how various characteristics of a streamer’s social image influence purchase intentions within ELS, using a conceptual model comprising fourteen hypotheses based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework. This model examines social image through three dimensions that correspond to the intentional behaviors of ELS streamers. The findings indicate that consumers’ purchase intention is significantly influenced by characteristics that benefit the first impression developed by the streamer, namely physical attractiveness. Characteristics that benefit the endorsement of products, namely matchup congruence, authenticity, and expertise, also positively affect consumer purchase intention. Moreover, the effect of streamers’ social image characteristics that benefit communication traits, entertainment, and responsiveness, are tested respectively. However, surprisingly contrary to our expectation, entertainment features have no significant effect on both trust and purchase intention. Responsiveness has significant effects on trust but no significant effects on purchase intention. Potential psychological and regulatory explanations for this finding is provided. The article also offers strategic recommendations for streamers and e-commerce businessmen to refine their live-streaming efforts.