How do sales promotions, communication agents, and psychological contracts determine purchase hesitation? Evidence from live stream influencers’ fan groups

Abstract

Drawing on social exchange theory within the context of live-stream influencer (LSI) fan groups, we conducted two 2 x 2 between-subjects experiments to examine the impact of different sales promotion strategies (price discount vs. free product) on consumer purchase hesitation, influenced by different communication agents (chatbot vs. human agent). The results show that, in the case of free product promotion, human agents are more effective at reducing consumer purchase hesitation. However, there is no significant difference in the impact of human agents and chatbots on purchase hesitation in the context of price discount promotions. Our findings indicate that psychological contracts mediate the impacts of sales promotions and communication agents on consumer purchase hesitation. This study solidifies the theoretical foundations regarding the impact of traditional and AI-assisted sales promotions on consumer psychology, ultimately leading to purchase hesitation. Moreover, it offers LSIs strategic insights for implementing commercial business models to monetize fan engagement.