EXPRESS: Live Streaming Use and International Seller Sales Performance: An Information Economics Perspective

Abstract

Although rapid technological development has resulted in the proliferation of digital platforms, there is limited understanding of these platforms’ roles in international markets. Drawing on the information economics perspective, the authors investigate whether live streaming, as an emerging platform-based function, enables foreign sellers to enhance their sales performance in host markets. Using a unique longitudinal data set from a business-to-customer digital platform in China, the authors find that live streaming use is positively associated with international seller sales performance. This positive effect is stronger when cultural distance is higher. Moreover, the influence becomes stronger when product price is higher, while the effect is weaker for name-brand products than for non-name-brand products. These findings provide rich insights on the role of digitalization to the international marketing literature.