Purchase intention for agriculture products via livestreaming: A study based on neighborhood effect theory and the elaboration likelihood model

Abstract

Livestreaming platforms bring various benefits to both buyers and sellers and have become a potential sales channel for agricultural products. Based on the combination of neighborhood effect theory and elaboration likelihood model, this study evaluates the impacts of neighborhood effect, source credibility and celebrity endorsement on customer purchase intention of agricultural products on livestreaming platforms. The study conducted a survey of 322 respondents in the Northern midland and mountainous areas of Vietnam and applied partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis to evaluate the impacts of the factors. The study results show that neighborhood effect, source credibility and celebrity endorsement directly positively influence purchase intention. Moreover, neighborhood effect indirectly positively affects purchase intention via source credibility and celebrity endorsement as the mediators. Several solutions are proposed to enhance customer purchase intention of agricultural products on livestreaming. Future research may consider conducting cross-local comparative studies to draw more insightful findings and propose comprehensive solutions for developing livestreaming sales channels for agricultural products.