Turning Chatters into Donators: An Investigation of Topic-Based Bullet Screen Mode on a Livestreaming Platform

Xiaodie Pu, Tanguy Tresor Sindihebura, Yue Guo, Alain Yee Loong Chong

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Despite the importance of social interaction in virtual communities, scant research has investigated the outcomes of social interaction features. Our study aims to investigate the business value of social interaction features in the context of livestreaming platforms. Specifically, we investigate the effect of the activation of topic-based bullet screen mode – an interactive feature which allows the streamers to set a theme or topic for the viewers to send bullet screen comments about. Our results from the regression discontinuity estimation suggest that the activation of the topic-based bullet screen mode yields an immediate decrease in viewers' chat interaction, which challenges the conventional wisdom social interaction features is a panacea for boosting increased user engagement. Nevertheless, we observe a compensatory effect whereby the decrease in chat interaction was accompanied by a surge in gift donations. This counterintuitive finding highlights the intricate interplay between social interaction features, user motivations, and platform affordances.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationInternational Conference on Information Systems, ICIS 2023
Subtitle of host publication"Rising like a Phoenix: Emerging from the Pandemic and Reshaping Human Endeavors with Digital Technologies"
PublisherAssociation for Information Systems
ISBN (Electronic)9781713893622
Publication statusPublished - 2023
Event44th International Conference on Information Systems: Rising like a Phoenix: Emerging from the Pandemic and Reshaping Human Endeavors with Digital Technologies, ICIS 2023 - Hyderibad, India
Duration: 10 Dec 202313 Dec 2023

Publication series

NameInternational Conference on Information Systems, ICIS 2023: "Rising like a Phoenix: Emerging from the Pandemic and Reshaping Human Endeavors with Digital Technologies"

Conference

Conference44th International Conference on Information Systems: Rising like a Phoenix: Emerging from the Pandemic and Reshaping Human Endeavors with Digital Technologies, ICIS 2023
Country/TerritoryIndia
CityHyderibad
Period10/12/2313/12/23

Keywords

  • Livestreaming
  • bullet screen
  • danmu
  • gifting
  • social interaction

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Science Applications
  • Information Systems

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Turning Chatters into Donators: An Investigation of Topic-Based Bullet Screen Mode on a Livestreaming Platform'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this