Abstract:

As live streaming e-commerce matures, more e-tailers are focusing on producing top-notch live streaming content. Meanwhile, real-time interactions of live streaming can effectively reveal product information. This paper develops a supply chain with a manufacturer and an e-tailer to explore live streaming strategy and selling mode selection (reselling or agency selling) through game models. It highlights several findings. First, when the live streaming content effectively improves consumers’ perception of the product quality, i.e., the content improvement effect is strong, and the cost is not high, live streaming should be adopted. Live streaming adoption can create a triple-win situation for the manufacturer, the e-tailer, and consumers. In addition, not all products are suitable for live streaming. Live streaming is more suitable for products with a high initial informativeness. Firms should consider multiple dimensions such as product attributes and target market to choose whether to adopt live streaming. Moreover, compared with intensive product introduction, high product quality, high prices, and rich content should be the development orientation of live streaming. Furthermore, in the absence of live streaming, if the agency fee is low (high), the agency selling (reselling) mode is the only common preference of both the manufacturer and the e-tailer. The adoption of live streaming will affect the choice of selling mode. Particularly, the reselling (agency selling) mode can also be the preferred choice for both the manufacturer and the e-tailer when the agency fee is low (high).

Key words: live streaming e-commerce, live product selection, choice of selling mode, product quality design, game theory

摘要：

随着直播电商进入规范成熟期，更多的电子零售商追求优质的直播内容。同时，直播的实时性和互动性有效传递了产品信息。考虑上述特点，构建由制造商和电子零售商组成的供应链，通过博弈模型探讨了电子零售商的直播决策和销售模式选择（转销或者代销）。研究发现：① 当直播内容有效提高消费者对产品质量的感知（即内容提升效应强）且成本不高时，直播应该被采用。此时，制造商、零售商和消费者达到三赢的局面。② 不是所有的产品都适合直播，直播更适合初始信息度较高的产品。企业应该考虑其产品属性和目标市场等多个维度选择是否采用直播。③ 相比于进行密集的产品介绍，产品的高质量、高价格以及丰富的直播内容应该成为直播带货新的发展定位。④ 在不采用直播时，如果佣金较低（高），代销（转销）模式是供应链双方唯一的共同偏好，而直播的采用会影响均衡模式的选择。具体而言，当佣金较低（高）时，转销（代销）模式也能够成为供应链双方的均衡选择。

关键词: 直播电商, 直播选品, 销售模式选择, 产品质量设计, 博弈论