Brand influences on the relationship between livestream seller commissions and sales

IF 10.5 1区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS

Journal of Business Research Pub Date : 2025-05-09 DOI:10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115431

Jiani Jiang , Bruce A. Huhmann , Shiang Liu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Firms contract with livestream sellers to promote products through real-time online selling sessions, offering commissions as incentives. Using data from 2,535 livestream sessions from Chinese social media platform Douyin, this study finds a strong relationship between commissions and both unit and monetary sales outcomes. Synthesizing Social Identity and Expectancy Theories, findings show that commission’s influence on sales performance weakens when livestream sellers derive non-monetary motivation from brand identification. Third-party purchase platforms disrupt buying decisions, reduce the viewer-to-purchaser conversion rate, and lower sellers’ expectations of rewards. Instead, firms should integrate purchase options within livestream sessions to enhance marketing effectiveness. Both seller efforts and firm-led brand-building activities positively influence viewer visits to a session. These viewers, in turn, exert social influence through word-of-mouth and observed behavior, mediating the commission-sales relationship. This study also provides insights to help firms optimize livestream seller compensation and strategically invest in brand-building to maximize livestream selling’s benefits.

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品牌对直播卖家佣金与销售额关系的影响

企业与直播卖家签订合同，通过实时在线销售环节推广产品，并提供佣金作为奖励。该研究使用了中国社交媒体平台抖音2535个直播环节的数据，发现佣金与单位和货币销售结果之间存在很强的关系。综合社会认同理论和期望理论，研究结果表明，当直播卖家从品牌认同中获得非金钱动机时，佣金对销售业绩的影响减弱。第三方购买平台扰乱了购买决策，降低了浏览者到购买者的转化率，降低了卖家对奖励的期望。相反，公司应该在直播环节中整合购买选项，以提高营销效果。卖家的努力和公司主导的品牌建设活动都对观众的访问产生了积极的影响。这些观众，反过来，通过口碑和观察行为施加社会影响，调解佣金销售关系。本研究还提供了一些见解，以帮助企业优化直播卖家的薪酬，并战略性地投资于品牌建设，以最大化直播销售的利益。

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来源期刊

Journal of Business Research BUSINESS-

CiteScore

20.30

自引率

10.60%

发文量

956

期刊介绍： The Journal of Business Research aims to publish research that is rigorous, relevant, and potentially impactful. It examines a wide variety of business decision contexts, processes, and activities, developing insights that are meaningful for theory, practice, and/or society at large. The research is intended to generate meaningful debates in academia and practice, that are thought provoking and have the potential to make a difference to conceptual thinking and/or practice. The Journal is published for a broad range of stakeholders, including scholars, researchers, executives, and policy makers. It aids the application of its research to practical situations and theoretical findings to the reality of the business world as well as to society. The Journal is abstracted and indexed in several databases, including Social Sciences Citation Index, ANBAR, Current Contents, Management Contents, Management Literature in Brief, PsycINFO, Information Service, RePEc, Academic Journal Guide, ABI/Inform, INSPEC, etc.