The Influence of Host Credibility on Impulsive Buying Behavior in Indonesia

Live streaming e-commerce has rapidly grown in Indonesia, largely fueled by platforms like TikTok Shop. This study looks at how host credibility, which includes expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness, affects impulsive buying behavior. It also considers perceived value, perceived trust, and perceived enjoyment as key factors. Instead of the usual one-tail approach where each credibility dimension matches a single mediator, this study uses a two-tail Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model. Here, each stimulus dimension affects all three organism variables, leading to 12 structured hypotheses. Data from 173 valid respondents were collected through an online survey conducted from May to June 2026 in Jabodetabek. This data was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4.0, with 35 measurement items covering seven constructs. The results show that host expertise and host attractiveness significantly influenced all three organism variables. However, host trustworthiness did not have any significant direct effects because it was highly correlated with attractiveness. Among the paths from organism to response, only perceived trust was a significant predictor of impulsive buying behavior. These findings support the two-tail S-O-R model and suggest that Ohanian’s source credibility model needs to be adapted for live streaming contexts. In practice, platform operators and brands should focus on hosts who can create real cognitive trust through product knowledge and clear communication.