Exploring the effects of streamer credibility, customer-to-customer interactions and IT affordances on customer experience in live-stream commerce: a socio-technical perspective

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to explore the combined effects of streamer credibility, customer-to-customer interactions and information technology (IT) affordances on customer experiences in live-stream commerce, using socio-technical systems theory as a framework. The purpose is to deepen understanding of how social and technical factors collectively shape cognitive and affective experiences. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling was employed to assess the hypotheses based on 462 valid questionnaire responses from Chinese live-stream consumers. Findings The findings demonstrate that streamer credibility (attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise), customer-to-customer interactions (product and interpersonal interactions) and IT affordances (visibility, metavoicing, triggered attending and trading) significantly influence cognitive and affective experiences. Originality/value By extending socio-technical systems theory into the experiential marketing domain, this study enriches the existing literature and reveals how the joint functioning of social and technical subsystems drives both cognitive and affective experiences. It reconceptualizes the social subsystem as multi-layered by incorporating both streamers and co-viewers as influential actors, moving beyond dyadic models of social influence. Furthermore, it identifies antecedents distinctive to live-stream commerce, thereby refining prior context-dependent models of customer experience. These contributions advance theoretical understanding of experience formation in live-stream commerce and provide practitioners and policymakers with actionable insights to enhance customer experience, optimize live-stream strategies and foster sustainable digital commerce ecosystems.