Revisiting perceived gratification, consumer attitudes and purchase impulses in cross-border e-commerce live streaming: a direct and indirect effects model

Purpose Cross-border e-commerce live streaming morphs into an epidemic shopping scenario, yet there is a paucity of research on impulse purchasing in this context. The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the adoption motivation of cross-border e-commerce live streaming and its influence mechanism on intrinsic response and purchase impulse and to highlight the mediating role of browsing behavior. Design/methodology/approach Based on the use and gratification lens, a new conceptualization model is established to captivate the theoretical relationships between perceived stimuli, individual attitudes, browsing behavior and impulsive purchases. A questionnaire survey was used to collect cross-sectional data from 427 Malaysian consumers and the estimated framework was validated through AMOS-structural equation modeling technique. Findings The findings confirm that perceived interactivity, perceived information usefulness and perceived enjoyment significantly influenced positive attitudes toward live-streaming, which in turn induced impulsive purchases; however, perceived affective gratification did not stimulate positive attitudes. Consumers’ utilitarian browsing had a stronger effect on impulse purchases than hedonic browsing and utilitarian browsing behavior mediated the relationship between positive attitudes and impulse buying; however, hedonic browsing had neither a direct nor a mediating effect on impulsive purchases. Practical implications This research enhances the literature on the impact of cross-border e-commerce live streaming, an emerging technology, on consumer behavior and offers managerial implications for e-commerce practitioners to gain insights into consumer impulse purchasing behavior. Originality/value The findings revamp conventional knowledge and provide new angles for understanding the formation mechanisms of impulse purchases, motivations for virtual media use and browsing behavior mediating effects in the context of live streaming.