Social commerce has become a mainstream online shopping phenomenon. The effects of single social-commerce modes, such as live streaming and online consumer reviews (OCRs), on consumers’ purchase intention have attracted much attention. However, the existing literature overlooks the combined impact and complementary mechanisms of multiple social business modes on purchase intention. Drawing on the previous research, we identified the characteristics of live streaming and the characteristics of OCRs. Drawing inspiration from channel complementarity theory, a dual-channel influence model is presented. We collected 448 online questionnaires from several social-commerce platforms. The data were processed via structural equation modeling. The results show that the social-commerce modes of live streaming and OCRs can jointly influence consumers’ purchase intention, sense of community, interactivity, perceived usefulness, and perceived trust as antecedents of purchase intention, with customer engagement playing a mediating role. However, emotional support had no impact on purchase intention. This study provides useful insight into the mechanisms behind how multiple social-commerce channels influence purchase intention.

Purpose: This study explores how chatbot gender and symbolic service recovery may improve the satisfaction of angry customers in the context of service failures. It provides a strategy for companies to deploy chatbots effectively in customer anger.Design/methodology/approach: This research relies upon a systematic literature review to propose three hypotheses, and we recruit 826 participants to examine the effect of chatbot gender on angry customers through one lab study and one field study.Findings: This research shows that female chatbots are more likely to increase the satisfaction of angry customers than male chatbots in service failure scenarios. In addition, symbolic recovery (apology vs. appreciation) moderates the effect of chatbot gender on angry customers. Specifically, male (vs. female) chatbots are more effective in increasing the satisfaction of angry customers when using the apology method, whereas female (vs. male) chatbots are more effective when using the appreciation method.Originality/value: The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence technology have significantly enhanced the effectiveness of chatbots as virtual agents in the field of interactive marketing. Previous research has concluded that chatbots can reduce negative customer feedback following a service failure. However, these studies have primarily focused on the level of chatbot anthropomorphism and the design of conversational texts, rather than the gender of chatbots. Therefore, this study aims to bridge that gap by examining the effect of chatbot gender on customer feedback, specifically focusing on angry customers following service failures.

People pay much attention to food and health issues, more so these days. Organic food brings its own “organic” aura as soon as it is produced. Despite the many studies on organic food packaging at present, they mainly focus on packaging design, materials, and colors and pay less attention to packaging size. In view of this gap in the literature, this study explores the influence of organic food packaging size on consumer purchase intention. This article conducted two experiments with 755 participants to examine the effect of organic food packaging size on purchase intention. The results show that the packaging size of organic food has a significant influence on consumer purchase intention. Specifically, the small size of organic food packaging (vs. large) can improve consumer purchase intention, and the green perceived value plays an intermediary role (Study 1). In addition, the consumers’ construal level moderates the influence of organic food packaging size on their purchase intention. For consumers with a high construal level, the small size of organic food packaging (vs. large) can improve their purchase intention. For consumers with a low construal level, large packaging size (vs. small) of organic food can improve their purchase intention (Study 2). This study reveals the psychological mechanism and boundary conditions of organic food packaging size on consumer purchase intention and provides practical enlightenment for enterprises in formulating the size of organic food packaging.