The influence and configuration effect of content characteristics on customer input in the context of short video platforms

Purpose This study focuses on the influence of content characteristics on customer input on short video platforms (CISVP) and the mediating role of groundedness, fun and customer inspiration as well as the asymmetric relationships among these variables. Design/methodology/approach This study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the research model. Then, fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was conducted to test the asymmetric relationships. Findings SEM shows that content originality and relevance have a direct positive effect on CISVP. Groundedness and customer inspiration partially mediate the relationship between content relevance and CISVP, and customer inspiration also partially mediate the relationship between content originality and CISVP. However, the mediating effect of fun is not significant. FsQCA reveals three configurations for high levels of CISVP. Some fsQCA results align with the SEM results but also offer additional interesting findings. Originality/value This study makes an important contribution to the literature on interactive marketing, short video marketing and content marketing. It also contributes to the theory of groundedness, customer inspiration and fun. Furthermore, this study has implications for individual influencers, organizational actors and platforms to encourage more CISVP.