Competing to buy in Chinese influencer-hosted live auctions: parasocial relationships, benign envy and the urge to buy impulsively

Purpose This study develops a dual social architecture of purchase urge in Chinese influencer-hosted live auctions, examining perceived hedonic value and perceived competition through parasocial relationships and benign envy. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods design combined a cross-sectional survey of 1,284 consumers with retrospective interviews involving 28 purposively selected participants. Partial least squares path modelling estimated covariate-adjusted associations, while interview analysis examined their experiential content and variation. Findings Positive indirect associations linked perceived hedonic value with purchase urge through parasocial relationships (0.258) and perceived competition with purchase urge through benign envy (0.141). The statistical findings supported parallel pathways with limited cross-route links. Interview accounts distinguished continuing host attachment from comparisons with successful viewers and documented improvement motives both with and without immediate purchase urge. Practical implications The findings inform separate priorities for host communication and competitive allocation. Proposed measures include accurate product claims, verifiable inventory, spending displays and purchase-confirmation mechanisms for platform evaluation. Social implications The framework informs responsible auction design by connecting consumer deliberation with truthful host communication and transparent competitive allocation. Originality/value The study reconceptualises audience visibility through contested allocation: a successful viewer can both restrict access and provide a comparison standard. This relational specification explains why host attachment and rival-referenced self-improvement offer distinct accounts of purchase urge within the same auction setting.