Exploring the motivating factors for using live‐streaming and their influence on consumers' hedonic well‐being: The mediating effect of psychological engagement

Abstract This study employs a multimethod approach to examine the factors motivating consumers to interact with brands through live‐streaming platforms and how they affect their hedonic well‐being. The result indicates that exclusively relying on the net effects of the motivating factors could be misleading. It presents an insight into how a mediation effect (psychological engagement) affects the interdependence of the independent variables in achieving hedonic well‐being. Although the structural equation modeling results highlight the significant mediating impact of psychological engagement, the fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis shows that psychological engagement is only a core condition in one configuration (out of the three configurations). That is when two motivational factors (brand awareness and real‐time customer service) act as a substitute, and the others (convenience and consumer–brand relationship quality) are present. Therefore, psychological engagement is indifferent when all motivational factors are present. This study, through the application of a multimethod approach, shows that motivational factors for using live‐streaming are only necessary for escalating consumer well‐being but not sufficient in themselves.