Cross-Channel effects of online reputation and offline event participation in B2B Platforms: Synergy or Attenuation?

This study examines how online reputation and offline event participation jointly relate to seller performance on B2B platforms. Although omnichannel research often predicts online–offline synergy, the interaction between these channels remains underexplored in B2B platform settings. Drawing on media richness theory and anchoring logic, we view both channels as distinct yet potentially overlapping credibility cues. Using 30 months of operational data from sellers on a leading Chinese B2B platform, we find that both are positively associated with seller performance, but their interaction is negative: the conditional association of each mechanism weakens as the other strengthens. Online reputation also has a stronger average association with performance. These findings identify cross-channel attenuation as a boundary condition of omnichannel complementarity, suggesting that one salient credibility cue may reduce the other’s incremental informational value. The study contributes to B2B omnichannel research and informs online–offline investment allocation.