Marketing Seminar (2020-08)

Topic:HappinessBegetsMoney:Emotion and Engagement in Live Streaming

Speaker:Dai Yao, the National University of Singapore

Time: Wednesday, 25 November, 13:30-15:00

Microsoft Teams:

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3aade8e46052fa419798afcaf6aad0ad20%40thread.tacv2/1604998565547?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2280b7b804-c47e-4119-8274-0f6835b8e89f%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22dae73385-f69d-4688-a153-ff18e3659b00%22%7d

Abstract:

Live streaming offers anunprecedentedopportunity for content creators (broadcasters) to delivertheir content to consumers (viewers) in real time. In a live stream, viewers may send virtual gifts(tips) to the broadcaster, and engage free of charge by likes and chats. These activities reflecttheunderlying viewer emotion, and are likely to be affected by the broadcaster emotion. This paperexamines the role of emotion in interactive and dynamic business settings such as live streaming.To account for the possibility that broadcasteremotion,viewer emotion, and viewer activitiesinfluence each other, we estimate a panel vector autoregression (PVAR) model on data attheminute level from 1,450 live streams. The results suggest that a happier broadcaster makes theaudience happier, and begets intensified viewer activities, in particular, tips. Meanwhile,broadcasters reciprocate viewer engagement with more smiles. Further analyses suggest that theseeffects are pronounced only after a live stream has been on for a while, and theymanifestonly instreams by broadcasters who have more experience,are more popular, and/orreceive more tipsinpast live streams. These results help platforms and broadcasters optimize schedules of marketinginterventions such as broadcaster emotion enhancement inlive streaming business, andquantifythe financial returns.

Introduction:

Dr. Dai Yao is an assistant professor of marketing at the National University of Singapore Business School. He received his PhD in Management from INSEAD, Master of Science in Operations Management from Singapore Management University, and Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Technology from Tsinghua University. His research examines consumer and firm behaviors in various business contexts enabled by new technologies and new transactional relationships, and has been published in top marketing and management journals such as Marketing Science and Management Science. Prior to academia, he had extensive working experience in high-tech research institutes and companies such as Microsoft Research Asia, Netease, Infosys, IDC, and Sohu.

Your participation is warmly welcomed!