Consumers' attitudes towards personal branding on Twitch.tv and their subsequent purchase intention

Through the past decade live streaming has grown to be a greater sensation, creating a competitive scene among those involved. Live streamers are able to broadcast their daily life or their gameplay sessions while also interacting with viewers. As this is a relatively new phenomenon it has not yet been fully explored, and it is missing critical research in how attitudes and purchase intention among viewers change with different factors. Previous research has shown that elements such as demographics, content consumption and behavioral aspects might increase viewers’ purchase intention. Furthermore, in accordance with attitudinal theory, attitudes have been shown to correlate with the general purchase intention, when it comes to Internet users. This study was therefore conducted to fill the gap in knowledge regarding personal branding on Twitch.tv, or Twitch in short, and how it affects attitudes with its subsequent purchase intention. This research adopted an exploratory approach as it aimed to “explore the unknown” and to provide pertinent data for future studies. This was realized via a qualitative method of semi-structured one-to-one interviews involving both streamers and viewers. Findings show that two aspects of personal branding on Twitch have a greater potential of affecting attitudes; namely personalities of a streamer and the type of content they provide. If these two are managed well there are implications of positive attitudes among the viewers and subsequently an intention to purchase