On March 5th, the 123rd session of the Luojiashan Economics and Management Innovation Forum was held at the School. Professor CAI Fengyan from Shanghai Jiao Tong University delivered an academic lecture titled "When the Trivial Becomes Crucial: The Impact of Small Talk on Consumer Engagement in Live Shopping." The forum was hosted by the School's Department of Marketing and Tourism Management, with participation from numerous faculty members and students, and was moderated by Professor ZHU Huawei.

Lecture Highlights:

Professor CAI Fengyan's research explores whether incorporating small talk into live streaming can enhance viewer engagement, including boosting sales. Based on field data from Douyin live shopping and four experimental datasets, the study reveals that the host's small talk can indeed strengthen viewer engagement. The research confirms that this small talk effect occurs because viewers perceive a more communal and friendship-like relationship with the host through the small talk. However, this effect diminishes when:

1. Viewers seek a more transactional (commercial) relationship with the host (e.g., when the host acts as a brand representative).

2. The host's speech conveys a lower degree of their own intentions (e.g., when the dialogue is prepared by others).

3. The amount of small talk is excessive, leading to an inverted U-shaped relationship between small talk and viewer engagement.

Based on these findings, Professor Cai advocates for the inclusion of small talk in live shopping but advises caution to avoid the negative impact of excessive small talk.

Research Significance:

The research questions addressed in this forum are highly significant both theoretically and practically. The novel and unique research perspective provides strong inspiration. Professor CAI engaged in a lively discussion with attendees regarding model assumptions, mechanisms of action, and potential extensions of the research.

About Professor CAI Fengyan:

CAI Fengyan is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and a national high-level talent. She has served as an associate editor for "Psychology & Marketing" and is currently on the editorial board of "Journal of Business Research," "Psychology & Marketing," and the "Journal of Marketing Science." Her main research area is consumer information processing, with applications in areas such as consumer prosocial behavior, green consumption behavior, pricing and promotion, and cross-cultural marketing. She has published over 10 papers in international academic journals such as "Journal of Marketing Research," "Journal of Marketing," "Journal of Consumer Research," "Psychological Science," "Journal of Consumer Psychology," and "Journal of The Academy of Marketing Science." Her research has been reported by media outlets such as The New York Times and BBC News. She has received the Best Paper Award from the American Consumer Research Association, the first prize for outstanding research achievements in philosophy and social sciences in Shanghai, and the third prize for outstanding research achievements in humanities and social sciences from the Ministry of Education.

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Correspondent: Lei Han

Reviewed by: Huang Minxue