The Channel Choice in Live Streaming Commerce Live Streaming Commerce 中的频道选择
Yina Li ^(1){ }^{1}, Yu Ning ^(1){ }^{1}, Weiguo Fan², Fei Ye ^(1){ }^{1}, Ajay Kumar ^(3,4){ }^{3,4} 李伊娜 ^(1){ }^{1} ， 宁宇 ^(1){ }^{1} ， 范伟国²， 叶飞 ^(1){ }^{1} ， Ajay Kumar ^(3,4){ }^{3,4}School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, China 华南理工大学工商管理学院Department of Business Analytics, Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa, USA 美国爱荷华大学蒂皮商学院商业分析系EMLYON Business School, France 法国 EMLYON 商学院IDSS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA 美国剑桥麻省理工学院 IDSS
Abstract 抽象
Live streaming has significantly altered the landscape for both offline and online retail operations. This paper examines whether and when should a firm with a specific product introduce a live streaming channel, and if so, with what type of live streaming (the third-party, self-run or both). We demonstrate that there is no one channel structure that is universally superior to the other: the firm’s optimal channel open strategy depends on the streamer’s popularity and bargaining power, the initial investment and endeavor cost, the consumer’s channel preference, the cross-channel spillover, as well as the price sensitivity of the product. In general, for a start-up firm, we find that the third-party live streaming channel should only be adopted when the streamer’s popularity is relatively large while the bargaining power is not overwhelming, while a high initial investment can be an important deterrent for the adoption of the self-run live streaming channel. For an established firm that considers to leverage two or more channels simultaneously to achieve a higher profit, however, should additionally take the cross-channel spillover, the channel encroached cost and channel competition into consideration besides these distinct features of two types of live streaming channels. 直播极大地改变了线下和线上零售业务的格局。本文研究了拥有特定产品的公司是否以及何时应该引入直播频道，如果是，使用什么类型的直播（第三方、自营或两者兼而有之）。我们证明了没有一种渠道结构普遍优于另一种渠道结构：公司的最佳渠道开放策略取决于主播的受欢迎程度和议价能力、初始投资和努力成本、消费者的渠道偏好、跨渠道溢出以及产品的价格敏感性。一般来说，对于一家初创公司来说，我们发现只有在主播人气相对较大且议价能力不压倒性的情况下，才应该采用第三方直播频道，而较高的初始投资可能是采用自营直播频道的重要威慑因素。然而，对于考虑同时利用两个或多个渠道来实现更高利润的老牌公司来说，除了两种直播渠道的这些独特特征外，还应考虑跨渠道溢出、渠道侵蚀成本和渠道竞争。
Keywords: Live streaming; Channel choice; Commission; Cross-channel Spillover 关键词：直播;频道选择;委员会;跨渠道溢出
1. Introduction 1. 引言
In the last decade, the explosive expansion of social technology has been transforming interactions among firms and consumers (Qiu and Whinston, 2017; Cui et al., 2018; Hu et al., 2019; Qiu et al., 2021). As a kind of emerging social technology, live streaming is creating a new type of sales channel that enables real-time interaction between influencers or celebrities (from the supply side) and their followers (from the demand side), and changes the landscape of operations in online retailing (Qiu et al., 2017; Mallipeddi et al., 2021). Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, live streaming has 在过去十年中，社交技术的爆炸式扩张正在改变公司和消费者之间的互动（Qiu 和 Whinston，2017 年;Cui et al.， 2018;胡 et al.， 2019;Qiu et al.， 2021）。作为一种新兴的社交技术，直播正在创造一种新型的销售渠道，使影响者或名人（来自供应方）和他们的追随者（来自需求方）之间能够实时互动，并改变了在线零售的运营格局（Qiu et al.， 2017;Mallipeddi 等人，2021 年）。尤其是在 COVID-19 大流行期间，直播已经
offered a more convenient and secure purchasing route for consumers than offline shopping. At a time when gaining new customers is becoming progressively costly, live streaming helps firms rapidly expand their market relatively easily through product exposure via the streamer’s broadcasting. An increasing number of firms are now selling to consumers through live streaming. Chinese retail giants such as Taobao.com and JD.com have leveraged live streaming as a new revenue generator. For example, Taobao Live, Alibaba’s live streaming platform, generated more than $61.7\$ 61.7 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV) in 2020 (Business Wire, 2021). Walmart has also sold goods through a famous live streaming platform, TikTok (Perez, 2020). 为消费者提供了比线下购物更方便、更安全的购买途径。在获得新客户的成本越来越高的时候，直播通过流媒体的广播进行产品曝光，帮助公司相对容易地快速扩展市场。越来越多的公司现在通过直播向消费者销售产品。Taobao.com 和 JD.com 等中国零售巨头已将直播作为新的收入来源。例如，阿里巴巴的直播平台淘宝直播在 2020 年产生了超过 $61.7\$ 61.7 10 亿的商品交易总额 （GMV）（美国商业资讯，2021 年）。沃尔玛还通过著名的直播平台 TikTok 销售商品（Perez，2020 年）。
Despite the promising market potential of social technology, it is also a double-edged sword. Working in commerce with famous live streamers is expensive. It is not uncommon in practice for the additional revenue from live streaming sales fails to cover the expenditure, due to the hefty commission paid to the live streamers, especially the most popular ones. For example, with nearly 40 million followers on Taobao Live, streamers Austin Li and Viya, who are household names in China, can sell tens of thousands of products in seconds (Lauren, 2021). Indeed, many firms simply cannot afford such commission fees (Ye, 2020). This, along with the financial pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic, has led some firms to turn to self-run live streaming; that is, the firm trains its sales employees to broadcast on its behalf, the top Chinese cosmetics brand Perfect Diary for example (Lauren, 2021). 尽管社交技术具有广阔的市场潜力，但它也是一把双刃剑。与著名的直播主进行商业合作是昂贵的。由于向直播主播（尤其是最受欢迎的直播主播）支付了巨额佣金，因此直播销售的额外收入无法支付支出的情况在实践中并不少见。例如，在淘宝直播上拥有近 4000 万粉丝的主播 Austin Li 和 Viya 是中国家喻户晓的名字，可以在几秒钟内卖出数万件产品（Lauren，2021）。事实上，许多公司根本负担不起这样的佣金（Ye，2020 年）。这与 COVID-19 大流行带来的财务压力一起，导致一些公司转向自营直播;也就是说，该公司培训其销售员工代表其广播，例如中国顶级化妆品品牌 Perfect Diary（Lauren，2021 年）。
Live streaming has received increasing attention from scholars in recent years given its growing prevalence. Most of the present studies have mainly focused on examining what factors in live streaming would motivate customers’ engagement and purchase intention from the demand side (Hilvert-Bruce et al., 2020; Wongkitrungrueng et al., 2020; Guo et al., 2021; Kang et al., 2021), or investigated the cooperation issues (price, commission rate, capacity investment decisions) between firms and third-party live streamers (Zhao et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2019; Kouvelis and Shi, 2020; Liu and Liu, 2021; Hou et al, 2020). However, the present studies did not explore whether and when should firms to introduce a live streaming channel, or the choice of the type of live streaming (the third-party, self-run or both) when taking into consideration both the positive and negative aspects of the live streaming channel under different market conditions. 近年来，随着直播的日益普及，直播受到了学者们越来越多的关注。目前的大多数研究主要集中在研究直播中的哪些因素会从需求侧激发客户的参与和购买意愿（Hilvert-Bruce et al.， 2020;Wongkitrungrueng 等人，2020 年;Guo et al.， 2021;Kang et al.， 2021），或调查了企业与第三方直播者之间的合作问题（价格、佣金率、容量投资决策）（Zhao et al.， 2018;Wang et al.， 2019;Kouvelis 和 Shi，2020 年;Liu 和 Liu，2021 年;Hou et al， 2020）。然而，本研究并未探讨企业是否以及何时应该引入直播频道，或在考虑直播频道在不同市场条件下的积极和消极方面时，选择直播类型（第三方、自营或两者兼而有之）。
In this study, we examine whether and when should a firm with a specific product introduce a live streaming channel, and if so, with what type of live streaming (the third-party, self-run or both). Incorporating the market factors (price sensitivity, the consumer’s channel preference, the cross- 在这项研究中，我们研究了拥有特定产品的公司是否以及何时应该引入直播频道，如果是，使用什么类型的直播（第三方、自营或两者兼而有之）。结合市场因素（价格敏感性、消费者的渠道偏好、交叉
channel spillover) and the salient characteristics associated with the live streaming channel (the streamer’s popularity and bargaining power, the initial investment and endeavor cost), we develop models to analyze the decisions and profits under seven channel structures: the traditional direct channel only (Channel D); the self-run live streaming channel only (Channel S); the third-party live streaming channel only (Channel T); and the combinations of two or three of them (namely, Channel DS, Channel DT, Channel ST, Channel DST). The firm will strategically choose the most profitable one tailored to his own situations. Our results suggest that for a start-up firm, the trade-off depends critically on the price sensitivity, the third-party streamer’s popularity and bargaining power, as well as initial investment for running a self-run live streaming channel. Channel T should only be adopted when the streamer’s popularity is relatively large while the bargaining power is not overwhelming, while a high initial investment can be an important deterrent for the adoption of Channel S. For an established firm that considers to leverage two or more channels simultaneously to achieve a higher profit, however, should additionally take the cross-channel spillover, the channel encroached cost and channel competition into consideration besides these distinct features of two types of live streaming channels. 频道溢出）以及与直播频道相关的突出特征（主播的受欢迎程度和议价能力、初始投资和努力成本），我们开发了模型来分析七种频道结构下的决策和利润：仅限传统的直接频道（频道 D）;仅限自营直播频道（频道 S）;仅限第三方直播频道（频道 T）;以及其中两个或三个的组合（即通道 DS、通道 DT、通道 ST、通道 DST）。公司将战略性地选择适合他自己的情况的最有利可图的那个。我们的结果表明，对于一家初创公司来说，权衡在很大程度上取决于价格敏感性、第三方主播的受欢迎程度和议价能力，以及运营自营直播频道的初始投资。只有当主播的受欢迎程度相对较高，议价能力不是压倒性的时，才应该采用 Channel T，而较高的初始投资可能是采用 Channel S 的重要威慑因素。然而，对于考虑同时利用两个或多个渠道来实现更高利润的老牌公司来说，除了两种直播渠道的这些独特特征外，还应考虑跨渠道溢出、渠道侵蚀成本和渠道竞争。
2. The channel choice for a start-up firm 2. 初创公司的渠道选择
This section studies the channel choice for a start-up firm. We consider a value chain with a startup firm (he), a third-party live streamer (she), a live streaming platform, and a continuum of consumers. The start-up firm (e.g., a retailer or a manufacturer) decides whether to sell his products through the traditional channel (can be brick-and-mortar or online) or a live streaming channel, and, if adopts the live streaming channel, what type of live streaming: self-run or third-party. That is, the start-up firm can choose from three possible channel structures: the traditional channel (Channel D); a self-run live streaming channel (Channel S); or a third-party live streaming channel (Channel T), as shown in Figure 1. The start-up firm will choose the most profitable one. 本节研究初创公司的渠道选择。我们考虑一个价值链，其中包含一家初创公司 （he）、一家第三方直播主 （she）、一个直播平台以及一系列消费者。初创公司（例如零售商或制造商）决定是通过传统渠道（可以是实体店或在线渠道）还是直播渠道销售其产品，如果采用直播渠道，则选择哪种类型的直播：自营还是第三方。也就是说，初创公司可以从三种可能的渠道结构中进行选择：传统渠道（渠道 D）;自营直播频道（频道 S）;或第三方直播频道（Channel T），如图 1 所示。初创公司将选择最赚钱的公司。
