Stepping forward or hiding: the effect of influencer streamers’ responsibility-taking on consumer trust after live-streamed product failures

Purpose This research investigates how influencer streamers' strategies, which combine their responses to backward-looking and forward-looking responsibility, repair consumers' cognitive trust (CT) and affective trust (AT) damaged by product failures in live streaming commerce. It also examines the mediating role of consumer forgiveness and the moderating role of consumers' perceived parasocial interaction with influencer streamers. Design/methodology/approach Two scenario-based experimental studies were conducted to test the proposed hypotheses. Data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance and bootstrap methods. Findings The influencer streamers' strategy of taking both backward-looking and forward-looking responsibility is as effective in repairing consumers' CT and AT as the strategy of taking only forward-looking responsibility. When consumers perceive higher levels of parasocial interaction with influencer streamers, these responsibility-taking strategies are more effective in enhancing their forgiveness, which in turn improves their trust in influencer streamers. Practical implications To effectively repair consumer trust after live-streamed product failures, influencer streamers should prioritize taking responsibility for resolving these failures rather than clarifying their responsibility for causing them. Efforts to strengthen parasocial interaction with consumers can allow influencer streamers to improve the effectiveness of their responsibility-taking strategies. Originality/value This research is among the first to extend the scope of trust repair research to the context of live streaming commerce and to tailor responsibility-taking strategies for influencer streamers who are trustees with collateral responsibility for transgressions. It also provides novel insights into the critical role of parasocial interaction in facilitating the effective repair of consumer trust in influencer streamers.