Host accent on product evaluation in live-stream E-commerce: the moderating role of product type and consumer regional background

Purpose As a central feature of live-stream e-commerce, the host’s accent serves as a salient external cue that can significantly influence consumer perceptions and product evaluations. Despite its importance, limited research has explored how host accent affects consumer response in this context. This study offers a nuanced exploration of how host accent (strong regional accent vs. Standard Mandarin) influences product evaluations in the context of live-stream e-commerce, as well as addressing the moderating factors of product type (local specialty vs. non-local specialty) and consumer regional identity (local vs. non-local consumers) on the main relationship. Design/methodology/approach This study employed a 2 × 2 × 2 full factorial experimental design and conducted a three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to examine the main and interaction effects of host accent, product type, and consumer regional background on product attitudes. To further explore specific group differences, multiple comparisons using Tukey’s HSD test were performed. These analyses provide empirical insights into consumer attitude responses within community-oriented contexts. Findings Our findings demonstrate that the host accent significantly influences product evaluations. Local consumers exhibit a stronger preference for hosts speaking with a pronounced regional accent, while non-local consumers favor Standard Mandarin. Additionally, an interaction effect between host accent and product type is observed: regional accents enhance evaluations of local specialty products by fostering cultural identification and emotional attachment, whereas Standard Mandarin boosts evaluations of non-local specialty products by conveying professionalism and linguistic neutrality. Originality/value Drawing on cue utilization theory, this study examines the influence of host accent (strong regional accent vs. Standard Mandarin) on product evaluations, considering the moderating effects of product types (local specialty vs. non-local specialty), and consumer regional identity (local vs. non-local consumers).