Impulsive buying behaviour in live-streaming commerce: an application of S-O-R theory

The live-streaming commerce is a new chapter in sales that offers brands and retailers enormous scope for creating value. This approach is reshaping how businesses connect with their audiences by opening up exciting possibilities for growth and engagement. Thus, this study aims to investigate: (1) the effects of information quality, the social presence of live-streaming platforms and financial bonds on the customers’ flow state, and (2) the effect of flow state on impulsive buying behaviour of customers to adopt live-streaming commerce in Malaysia. An online survey is conducted among Malaysian customers with experience in live-streaming shopping, which yielded 203 usable responses. Findings reveal that information quality and the social presence of live-streaming platforms significantly affect the flow state, which in turn significantly stimulates customers’ impulsive buying behaviour. Conversely, financial bonds do not significantly affect Malaysian customers’ flow state in live-streaming commerce. Given that both s-commerce and e-commerce are different in terms of social aspects, future research should study both platforms separately with a more comprehensive range of variables. This provides live streamers and retailers insights on how to evoke Malaysian customers’ online buying behaviour.