The power of livestreaming: Will it become an alternative strategy for startups?

The main purpose of this study is to develop and empirically examine an integrated theoretical model to understand the relationship between Startups' livestreaming (SLS) efforts and firm performance, with a particular emphasis on the mediating role of customers' investment and the moderating role of SLS experience. This may be one of the pioneer studies in this field that demonstrates company performances with firm-level information. The research model was developed with the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory as its foundation, after collecting data from a useable sample of 289 respondents, comprising of business founders, managers, employees, and vloggers across several startup industries, the research hypotheses were tested using AMOS (version 24), a program for conducting structural equation modeling (SEM). The study results showed a direct association of SLS efforts with all of its endogenous variables, i.e., SLS adoption, consumer investment, and firm performance. Furthermore, consumer investment fully mediates the relationship between SLS adoption and firm performance. SLS experience noticeably moderates all of our study model's anticipated pathways. Based on the study's findings, some significant theoretical advancements and entrepreneurial ramifications have been identified. The report finishes by identifying its shortcomings and ideas for future research. •Our study examines startups' adoption of livestreaming, their reasons, its customer investment potential, and its impact on firm success.•This study contributes theoretically to livestreaming services, examining SLS adoption, consumer investment, and firm performance.•The study's findings offer insights for crafting effective marketing strategies and promoting legal livestreaming content, crucial for CRM and firm performance.