E-commerce live streaming (ELS) has rapidly gained popularity, particularly in China, with millions of active users and a massive market size. ELS streamers cultivate their social image to attract viewers, build trust, and drive sales. This study examines how different dimensions of a streamer's social image impact consumer trust and purchase intention. The research questions address the influence of social image characteristics on trust in ELS shopping, the effect of social image on purchase intention, and the mediating role of trust between social image and purchase intention. The study uses a conceptual model based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework and dramaturgical theory, categorizing streamer social image into three dimensions: (1) "I am attractive" (physical attractiveness); (2) "I am the right professional product endorser/spokesperson" (matchup congruence, authenticity, expertise); and (3) "I am an interesting and effective communicator with customers" (entertainment, responsiveness). The SOR framework explains how these stimuli influence consumer perceptions (trust) and behaviors (purchase intention).

The literature review examines existing research on ELS streamers, their identity construction, and the role of influencers. It highlights the importance of social image, similar to a streamer persona, which is a combination of external image, personality, and expertise. Prior research on streamer personas indicates a complex interplay of live performance, platform features, and individual style. The review explores various streamer characteristics studied previously, such as attractiveness, expertise, popularity, and responsiveness. However, few studies have explored the effect of streamer characteristics on buying behavior through the lens of a purposefully manifested social image. This study bridges this gap by examining the influence of diverse aspects of the streamer’s social image on purchase intention in the context of Chinese ELS.

The study employed a questionnaire adapted from existing scales to measure physical attractiveness, matchup congruence, authenticity, expertise, responsiveness, entertainment, trust, and purchase intention. A five-point Likert scale was used for all items. A focus group discussion, pilot study, and pretest were conducted to ensure questionnaire quality and accurate translation for Chinese respondents. Data were collected from 323 respondents (88.49% effective response rate) who had purchased through ELS, using both online and offline surveys. The online surveys were disseminated through popular social media platforms in China (WeChat, Weibo, Zhihu), while offline surveys were distributed in person. Reliability and validity of the measures were assessed using Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, and average variance extracted (AVE). Discriminant validity was also tested. AMOS 24 was used to analyze the structural equation model (SEM) and assess the hypotheses. A bootstrapping procedure with 2,000 samples was conducted to examine confidence intervals for indirect effects.

The results supported ten of the thirteen hypotheses. Physical attractiveness, matchup congruence, expertise, and authenticity significantly impacted consumer trust. Matchup congruence had the strongest effect on purchase intention, followed by expertise, authenticity, and attractiveness. Surprisingly, entertainment had no significant effect on trust or purchase intention, and responsiveness significantly affected trust but not purchase intention. Consumer trust significantly impacted purchase intention. Mediation analysis revealed that trust significantly mediated the relationship between physical attractiveness, matchup congruence, expertise, authenticity, and responsiveness and purchase intention, but not for entertainment. The Cronbach's alpha for the entire scale was 0.925, indicating high reliability. Convergent and discriminant validity were also established for all constructs.

The findings confirm the significance of social image in ELS, aligning with the SOR framework and dramaturgical theory. Physical attractiveness positively affects first impressions, crucial for viewer engagement. Matchup congruence, expertise, and authenticity build trust and influence purchase decisions. The lack of significant effects of entertainment and responsiveness on purchase intention may be due to the one-to-many nature of ELS, viewers’ independent decision-making, the entertainment focus of ELS, and regulatory transparency requirements. Social comparison theory helps explain the influence of matchup congruence and expertise. The study highlights the complex interplay between various social image characteristics and their differential impact on consumer behavior. The mediating role of trust underscores its importance in bridging the gap between streamer image and purchase decisions.

This study provides valuable insights into the impact of ELS streamers' social image on consumer trust and purchase intention, particularly in the Chinese context. The findings emphasize the importance of physical attractiveness, matchup congruence, expertise, and authenticity in building consumer trust and driving purchases. Future research should investigate cross-cultural differences, examine the moderating effect of product categories, explore post-purchase behavior, and consider the influence of platform characteristics and regulatory policies.

The study's limitations include its focus on Chinese consumers, which may limit generalizability. The study also did not fully account for the variety of ELS formats and situations or explore the moderating effects of product category. The investigation was limited in tracking post-purchase behaviors. Finally, the study excluded e-commerce livestreaming platform characteristics and price/discount factors. Future research should address these limitations for a more comprehensive understanding.