Revisiting Source Credibility Theory in Live Commerce: The Effects of Host Expertise, Trustworthiness, and Attractiveness on Digital Customer Engagement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59024/jise.v4i4.2467Keywords:
digital customer engagement, host live attractiveness, host live expertise, host live trustworthiness, live commerceAbstract
The widespread adoption of live commerce has fundamentally reshaped digital interactions between businesses and consumers by enabling real-time communication and product promotion. Nevertheless, customer participation within these platforms remains largely transactional, indicating that meaningful Digital Customer Engagement (DCE) has yet to be fully achieved. This study investigates the influence of host live expertise, host live trustworthiness, and host live attractiveness on Digital Customer Engagement in live commerce environments. An explanatory quantitative research design was employed, and data were obtained through a structured questionnaire administered to 100 respondents with prior experience watching or interacting with live commerce sessions. Respondents were selected using purposive sampling, while multiple linear regression analysis was applied to examine the proposed relationships after confirming the validity and reliability of the measurement instrument. The empirical findings demonstrate that host live expertise, host live trustworthiness, and host live attractiveness each exert a positive and statistically significant effect on Digital Customer Engagement. Moreover, the three dimensions collectively provide a substantial contribution to explaining customers' engagement behavior during live-stream shopping activities. These findings highlight that consumers become more actively involved when hosts are perceived as knowledgeable, credible, and personally appealing, thereby encouraging stronger cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement. This study extends the application of Source Credibility Theory within the live commerce context by demonstrating that multiple dimensions of host credibility simultaneously shape digital customer engagement. From a managerial perspective, the findings suggest that organizations should prioritize the development of hosts' professional competence, credibility, and interpersonal appeal to create more engaging live commerce experiences and strengthen sustainable customer relationships.
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