打赏给朋友还是陌生人--用户生成直播中的网络结构对打赏对象的影响

To Friends or to Strangers?Impact of Network Structure on Tipping Behaviors in User-generated Live Streaming

随着我国在线直播行业的快速发展,直播企业正在通过社会网络探索培养用户付费习惯和提高企业绩效的方式。本文以某在线音乐社区中近3万用户的直播数据为例,基于社会临场感理论,分析用户生成直播模式下,直播间内强关系数量对用户选择打赏对象的影响,并在此基础上分析直播中的直播间内观众规模、打赏者的网络中心性和被打赏者的级别对以上影响的调节作用。研究结果发现:(1)用户在参与在线唱歌直播时,直播间内强关系的数量对用户选择打赏给朋友有显著的正向影响;(2)随着直播间规模的扩大,直播间内强关系数量对用户选择给朋友打赏的正向影响有所减弱;(3)相比网络中心度低的打赏用户,网络中心度越高的用户,直播间中强关系数量对其选择给朋友打赏的正向影响越小;(4)当主播级别越高,直播间中用户的强关系数量越多,用户越有可能给朋友打赏。本文研究了用户的社会网络结构对其选择打赏对象的影响,既丰富了直播相关的理论文献,也拓展了社会网络理论的应用,本文的结论对于直播企业的实践也有重要的指导意义。

With the rapid development of live streaming industry, live streaming firms try to increase performance by forming users’ payment habits through social network.This paper collected the live streaming data of nearly 30,000 users in an online music community.Based on social presence theory, we tested the impact of the number of strong ties on user’s gift-giving decision in user-generated live streaming.Besides, we studied the moderating effect of audience scale, network centrality of tippers and levels of tipped broadcasters.When a user engaged in a live streaming, the results show that,(1)the number of strong ties has a positive effect on tipping to friends;(2)the increase of the size of live streaming weakens the above effect;(3)when the user has a relatively higher social centrality, the main effect becomes lower;(4)The main effect is more pronounced when the levels of tipped broadcasters become higher.Overall, this research has significant implications for firms’ strategies to facilitate live streaming and achieve competitive advantages.