The Role of Live Streaming Interaction and Consumer Trust in Shaping Purchase Intention on Social Commerce Platforms

This study aims to examine the role of live-streaming interaction and consumer trust in increasing purchase intention on social commerce platforms. The study applies the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework by positioning live-streaming interaction as the external stimulus, consumer trust as the internal psychological state, and purchase intention as the behavioral response. A quantitative explanatory design was employed using a simulated dataset of 250 social commerce users who had watched live-shopping sessions and purchased products through live commerce within the previous six months. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling to evaluate the measurement model, structural relationships, and mediation effect. The simulated results indicate that live-streaming interaction has a positive and significant effect on consumer trust, while consumer trust has a positive and significant effect on purchase intention. However, the direct effect of live-streaming interaction on purchase intention is not statistically significant. Consumer trust significantly mediates the relationship between live-streaming interaction and purchase intention, indicating that interaction alone does not necessarily encourage consumers to purchase unless it successfully establishes trust. These findings imply that social commerce platforms, sellers, and streamers should prioritize credible, transparent, responsive, and informative communication rather than merely increasing interaction volume. The originality of this study lies in its emphasis on consumer trust as the primary psychological mechanism linking live-streaming interaction to purchase intention. Nevertheless, because the results are based on simulated data, empirical testing with actual respondents is required before definitive conclusions can be drawn.