Online users' behaviours and behavioural intentions with reference to live streaming : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand. EMBARGOED until 26 March 2023.

Embargoed until 26 March 2023Live streaming, as a new medium, allows users to participate in real-time interaction. It has attracted a large number of online users, and become a new social commerce venue and lucrative business, especially in China where the live streaming industry is growing explosively and is the largest in the world. This thesis aims to comprehensively investigate users’ behaviours and behavioural intentions in live streaming through both qualitative and quantitative approaches using the Chinese live streaming as an example. This thesis contains four studies to investigate from both streamers’ and viewers’ aspects. Firstly, we conducted two qualitative studies to investigate users’ online behaviours in the social commerce practice in live streaming by exploring how streamers attract viewers (Chapter 2) and encourage gifting (Chapter 3). Novel multiple triangulation was used, including data source triangulation and methodological triangulation. Through multiple triangulation, three behaviours for viewer attraction and four behaviours for gifting encouragement were identified. These two chapters help to comprehensively understand streamers’ online behaviours in this new form of social commerce. Next, we conducted two quantitative studies to explore why viewers continue to watch streams (Chapters 4 and 5). Based on expectation-confirmation theory (ECT), in Chapter 4, we modified the post-acceptance model of information system continuance and re-defined the constructs in a structural equation model of predictors of continuance intention of watching live streams. Chapter 4 successfully connects intention and continuance intention of watching, and integrates disparate understandings of viewers’ watching behaviours. To solve the deficiencies identified in current ECT-based models and further increase the explanation of variance in continuance intention of watching, in Chapter 5, we proposed a value-based continuance intention model (V-ECM), which theoretically extends ECT-based studies by including a process of overall practical assessment between users’ perceived benefits and perceived sacrifices. V-ECM appears to be a better model for explaining users’ continuance intention in the stream-watching context. Also, V-ECM could be used broadly in online and/or technology-related fields. Overall, this thesis comprehensively investigates both streamers’ and viewers’ behaviours and behavioural intentions in live streaming. Insights from this thesis can improve the design, functions and marketing within live streaming platforms. Also, this thesis provides strong foundations for further online behaviour studies, for example, stream-watching addiction

Viewers\u27 Consumption Intentions in the Live Game Streaming Context

Live-streaming in the game industry have grown fast and is becoming popular as a form of online entertainment. However, a key issue has yet received less attention: why people around the globe spend their time on watching other playing games? Why viewers would be willing to subscribe or donate money to a streamer? To fill the research gap, this study examines how emotional attachment and group identification influence viewers’ continuous watching, donation, and subscription intentions based on the theoretical lens of common identity and common bond. Specifically, the crucial roles of para-social interaction with the streamer and co-viewers as antecedents of identity- and bond-based attachment are also investigated. An empirical research with a sample of viewers with live game streaming spectating experience will be conducted. This study has important implications for both researchers and practitioners, especially for streamers in the live game streaming context

Game Mechanics on Social Live Streaming Service Websites

Social live streaming services (SLSSs) are a worldwide rapidly growing kind of synchronous social networking services. Most of the SLSSs are highly gamified to increase the users’ engagement and to change their behavior, what consequently drives users to continue the usage of a service. This study examined 21 different SLSS websites on what gamification elements are used in each system. A literature review as well as a content analysis were conducted to gather the SLSS websites as well as game elements. Which gamification elements are implemented on social live streaming service websites? And, how many game mechanics can we find on each SLSS? Nearly every SLSS offers the opportunity to follow users and their activities, leaderboards to compare one’s ability and performance with other streamers, and gifts to reward others. SLSSs websites with the top browsing location China are the most gamified

The Role of Media Synchronicity Fit and Sense of Community in Live Streaming Platforms

To understand viewers’ sense of community in the live streaming environment, this research synthesizes media synchronicity theory and sense of community theory to develop a theoretical framework. We aim to examine the antecedents and consequences of the sense of community in live streaming platforms. We expect that viewers’ actual communication purpose (e.g., conveyance or convergence) will influence viewers\u27 sense of community in the live streaming context and further impact their activities in traditional third-party online communities. We first use experiments to validate the mechanism in our theoretical model and then collect observational data from Twitch, a popular live streaming platform, to test our hypotheses. Our results will provide theoretical contributions to the live streaming, online community, and communication literature. Our findings will provide practical implications for streamers in the live streaming platform

View, play and pay? – The relationship between consumption of gaming video content and video game playing and buying

Consuming live-streamed or pre-recorded gaming video content through video sharing services such as YouTube and Twitch has become a significant aspect of the modern gaming and online media culture. Although it has been argued that watching such content may replace some first-hand gaming activities, it has also been argued that consuming gaming video content may further increase both gaming activities and purchases related to gaming. This study provides the first empirical evidence on how the consumption of three popular types of gaming video content (game reviews, let’s plays and esports) affect the gameplay activity and game related purchasing behaviour and therefore extends our knowledge about digital consumer behaviour and its latest forms. Results indicate that all three forms of gaming video content have a positive association with time spent playing games. Moreover, gaming video consumption, especially the consumption of review video content, is positively associated with game purchasing behaviour

Live Streaming Commerce: Uses and Gratifications Approach to Understanding Consumers’ Motivations

In this paper, we introduce live streaming commerce– e-commerce integrated with real-time social interaction via live streams. Using a uses and gratifications framework, we identified four motivations (enjoyment of interaction, substitutability of personal examination, need for community, and trend setting) related to live streaming commerce, and explored relationships between motivations and behavioral intentions in three different scenarios: general watching scenario, product search scenario, and internet celebrity scenario. Results showed that substitutability of personal examination was associated with the general watching scenario and product search scenario, while enjoyment of interaction was associated with the internet celebrity scenario. Trend setting was associated with all scenarios but need for community was insignificant with all scenarios. Design implications based on results are discussed for future live streaming commerce system development

What Drives Streamers? Users’ Characteristics and Motivations on Social Live Streaming Services

With platforms such as YouNow, Periscope and Ustream, a new type of social networking services (SNSs) became popular, namely general social live streaming services (SLSSs). SLSSs combine Live-TV and social media, leading to video-based social computing. In the empirical part of the paper, we are going to answer three research questions: (1) What are the motivations of the streamers? (2) Is there a relation between motivations and streamed contents? (3) Do gender-specific and generational differences in motivation exist? As research methods, we worked with the systematic observations and content analysis of live online videos (N = 7,667)

Gledanje videoigara: što potiče gledanje igranja videoigara na YouTubeu?

This article addresses the phenomenon of gameplay video watching on YouTube. The study investigates what drives people to watch gameplay videos and what gratifications they seek in performing the activity of gameplay viewing. To this end, the authors adopted the uses and gratifications theory (UGT) and a qualitative methodology involving three online discussion groups with 100 members of international gameplay communities. While the results pinpoint the attractiveness of the player as the most important motive, other reasons, such as preview and learning aspects or substitution for the real game, also appear to be important. The qualitative approach enabled to uncover unique aspects of the motives of watching YouTube gameplay videos. In this respect, five distinctive types of gameplay viewers are identified – Spectator, Performer, Selector, Viewer, and Substitutor – where each of them seems to engage in such practices with specific motives and accompanying gratifications.Ovaj se znanstveni rad bavi fenomenom gledanja videa na YouTubeu koji prikazuju igranje videoigara. Studija ispituje što ljude potiče na gledanje igranja videoigara te koje zadovoljstvo u tome traže. Autori se pozivaju na teoriju koristi i nagrada (uses and gratifications theory – UGT) te se koriste kvalitativnom metodologijom. Autori su proveli tri online grupne rasprave sa 100 članova međunarodne gaming zajednice. Iako se u kao najvažiji motiv gledanja ističe atraktivnost igrača, važni su i drugi razlozi, poput promatranja i učenja, ali i zamjene za pravo igranje. Taj kvalitativni pristup omogućuje otkrivanje jedinstvenih aspekata motiva gledanja igranja videoigara na Youtubeu. Tako je u ovom radu identificirano pet različitih vrsta gledatelja – promatrač, izvođač, onaj koji bira, gledatelj i zamjena – pri čemu se svaki uključuje u gledanje videoigara zbog specifičnih motiva i pratećeg zadovoljstva

Lo-fi Hip Hop Streaming in China: Online Engagement, Motivation, and Sense of Community

As a new wave of music, Lo-fi Hip Hop has emerged on YouTube, and Bilibili in China, transforming into a trending and distinctive video streaming phenomenon. However, it remains unknown how viewers with divergent socio-cultural backgrounds engage with the Lo-fi Hip Hop streaming video on digital platforms, why they participate, and how the sense of community is exhibited. A qualitative mix-method study containing comment analysis and in-depth interviews (N=12) was conducted to investigate the uniqueness of the Lo-fi Hip Hop community on Bilibili. The findings revealed the difference in viewers’ online community engagement between YouTube and Bilibili and various motivations of watching Lo-fi Hip Hop streaming. Lastly, the study also extends the Sense of Community (SoC) theory to the community with implications for the application. The study further contributes to the research of Lo-fi Hip Hop video streaming in a global context