The Impact of Broadcasters' Emotions and Interaction Rituals on Viewers' Purchase Intention

Background: The rise of live streaming has transformed the e-commerce landscape, enabling real-time interaction between broadcasters and viewers while enhancing immediacy, interactivity, and emotional engagement. Therefore, studying the emotional communication and interaction methods between broadcasters and viewers holds significant importance for improving live streaming sales. Method: The study integrated the Interaction Ritual Chain and Emotional Labor Strategy to create the combined IRC-ELS model. We proposed four hypotheses and designed two studies, which successfully collected 300 and 245 valid questionnaires respectively. Three of the hypotheses received empirical support. Results: The broadcasters' emotional labor strategy significantly influence viewers' consumption intention. Viewers' emotional identification with the broadcaster mediates the effect of emotional labor strategy on consumption intention. Emotional identification also directly affects consumption intention. However, emotional interaction does not moderate the relationship between emotional labor strategy and emotional identification. Conclusion: Through the IRC-ELS model, our research enriches the literature on broadcaster behavior and viewer consumption intention. It highlights the importance of broadcasters' emotional communication. The findings can also provide Asian live streaming enterprises with applicable research results on broadcaster behavior, demonstrating universal relevance.