Reselling or Agency Selling: Technology Investment and Information Sharing Strategies in Live Streaming E-Commerce

With the rapid development of live streaming e-commerce, opening live streaming sales channels for online product sales has become an important strategic priority for enterprises. This paper examines information technology-driven operational decisions in live streaming e-commerce supply chains, including sales mode selection, technology investment, and information sharing. We develop game-theoretic models for reselling and agency selling modes under three scenarios: no technology investment, investment without information sharing, and investment with information sharing. Our findings show that under the reselling mode, e-tailers tend to accept information sharing when the live streaming creates high extra value or when the market demand is underestimated. Under the agency mode, e-tailers usually reject sharing. Regarding technology investment, platforms are motivated to invest under the reselling mode when the market is underestimated regardless of sharing; in contrast, under the agency mode, platforms only invest when e-tailers accept sharing and the market is severely underestimated, the sharing fee is moderate, and the agency fee and hassle cost are low. A win-win outcome arises when the agency fee is low and live streaming generates low extra value with high hassle costs, making the agency optimal for both e-tailers and platforms; conversely, when the agency fee is high and live streaming generates high extra value with low hassle costs, the reselling becomes optimal. This study provides important strategic guidance and policy insights for supply chain members, enabling firms to make better decisions and thus gain a competitive advantage in the face of fierce market competition.