Customer Motivation and Engagement in Entertainment Versus Education Types of Live‐Streaming

ABSTRACT Live‐streaming has emerged as a rapidly expanding force in digital marketing; however, the influence of motivational factors, specifically external regulation, intrinsic motivation, and amotivation, on customer engagement across distinct live‐streaming contexts (entertainment vs. education) remains underexplored. Addressing this gap, this study draws on self‐determination theory (SDT) to explore the psychological drivers of customer engagement in varied live‐streaming contexts. Four studies were conducted, including two online field studies in collaboration with professional live‐streamers and two controlled online experiments, to investigate customer behaviors in real‐world and experimental live‐streaming settings. Results from path analyses demonstrate that SDT‐based motivational factors influence customer engagement across live‐streaming types differentially. Particularly, external regulation emerged as the dominant driver of engagement in entertainment‐oriented live‐streaming, whereas intrinsic motivation played a more central role in educational live‐streaming. Additionally, amotivation consistently undermined customer engagement across both contexts. Notably, the moderating role of customer‐to‐customer interaction on the relationship between motivation and engagement was found to be conditional, varying according to live‐streaming type. This research advances theoretical understanding by extending SDT to the digital live‐streaming domain and revealing content‐specific nuances in motivational dynamics. Practically, the findings offer actionable insights for marketers, educators, and content creators by highlighting the importance of aligning engagement strategies with audience motivational profiles and fostering interactive communities tailored to different live‐streaming formats.