EXPRESS: Selling Together: a Signaling Perspective on Co-Livestreaming Effectiveness

Influencer livestreaming has become a key marketing strategy for firms to engage with consumers. A recent trend, co-livestreaming, features the influencer and the brand representative jointly presenting and promoting products. However, the effectiveness of co-livestreaming remains unclear. Building on signaling theory, in this study we investigate how co-livestreaming (vs. single-influencer livestreaming) affects livestream performance. Using secondary data analysis and three experiments, we find that co-livestreaming outperforms single-influencer livestreaming, significantly enhancing both transactional (product sales) and relational (new follower count) performance. This effect is serially mediated by perceived brand endorsement and influencer credibility. However, the positive impact of co-livestreaming on performance diminishes as the popularity of the influencer and brand increases. These findings reveal the mechanism and boundary conditions of co-livestreaming effectiveness, providing actionable insights for firms and influencers to adopt more effective livestreaming strategies.