| dc.description.abstract | Since 2010, the creation of smartphone and the evolution of mobile internet technologies allow people to share information conveniently and instantly. Therfore, the “live streaming platform” develops rapidly. The broadcasters can share videos through the live streaming platform and the viewers can interact or respond to broadcasters and other viewers immediately.
In recent years, domestic and foreign broadcast platforms (such as Twitch, Periscope, 17 and douyu live) have been watched by an increasing number of web traffic and users. According to the relevant rsurvey, the total watching hours of Twitch, the world′s largest live platform, have more than 2 billion hours in the first quarter of 2018. In addition, the world′s broadcast income will increase up to $7.4 billion, including Taiwan and China accounted for more than half of that. Therefore, “broadcast industry” is the trend of the Internet over the next few years and the broadcast usage behaviors of Mandarin region (Taiwan, China) will be a popular issue.
This study attempts to investigate how brand personality improves viewer-broadcaster relationship via key mediator of viewers’ gratifications. I developed a systematic two-level framework,including the group and individual levels, to extensively explore how brand personality improves viewer-broadcaster relationship through the key mediating roles of viewers’ gratifications. The present study employed hierarchical liner modeling to test the research hypotheses. In total, 913 surveys were distributed, and a total of 566 valid samples were retrieved from 28 viewer-groups in Taiwan and 20 viewer-group in China, yielding a valid total response rate of 61.99%；Taiwan sample size was 430, yielding a valid response rateof 64.47%; China sample size was 136, yielding avalid response rate of 55.28%.
This research was divided into two parts. First, how do brand personalities (which includes sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness) affect the viewer-broadcaster relationship (which includes instrumental ties, expressive ties and mixed ties) was explored. Second, the mediating effects of viewers’ gratifications between brand personalities and viewer-broadcaster relationshipwere examine. The results show that:
1. The “excitement” and the “competence” don’t have positive effect on all kinds of the viewer-broadcaster relationship but they can affect all kinds of the viewer-broadcaster relationship through viewers’ gratifications.
2. The “sophistication” and the “ruggedness” affect positive two of the viewer-broadcaster relationship. However, they don’t affect the viewer-broadcaster relationship through viewers’ gratifications.
3. The “sincerity” has no effect on all kinds of the viewer-broadcaster relationship through viewers’ gratifications.
This study contributes to research in five aspects. First, the concept of “personal brand” was applied to investigate the behaviors of broadcasters. Second, the Mandarin region (Taiwan, China) brings over half of the world′s broadcast income, so the broadcast usage behaviors of Mandarin region is a popular issue. Hwang’s “Chinese relationship theory (1987)” was applied to explore the broadcast usage behaviors of Mandarin region. Third, the mediating effects of viewers’ gratifications between brand personalities and viewer-broadcaster relationship were examined; it fills the theoretical gap of the research field associated with brand and broadest. Fourth, a comprehensive theoretical framework for broadcast in Mandarin region were proposed. Finally, hierarchical liner modeling was conducted to analyze the research hypotheses. Hierarchical liner modeling was used to analyze the cross-level relationships between the the group and individual level effectively and accurately. This methodology contributes and advances the research field of broadcasters’ brand personality. | en_US |