Live streaming shopping, the streaming of real-time videos promoting products that consumers can purchase online, has recently been a booming area of e-commerce, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The success of live streaming e-commerce largely relies on the extent to which the broadcaster can get consumers engaged by the live stream. Thus, it is important to discover the antecedents of consumer engagement in such a context. Drawing on consumer engagement and neuroscience literature, this study used electroencephalography inter-subject correlation to explore (...) how broadcasters' entrepreneurial passion during live streaming videos influenced consumers' neural engagement as they watched the live streaming videos. We used the framework of displayed passion and preparedness from the entrepreneurial passion literature to predict consumer engagement. We found significant ISC for strong displayed passion, while preparedness had partially significant effects on the first, second, and summed components of ISC. The interaction effects of these two factors on the first and summed components of ISC were partially significant. Strong displayed passion and preparedness activated the left and right prefrontal regions of the consumers' brains. These findings indicate that broadcasters' displayed passion and preparedness can influence consumer engagement in live streaming e-commerce settings. Our findings suggest that a scientific approach could be used to improve a broadcaster's performance by testing ISC during rehearsals before live streaming. (shrink)

Transgender women experience serious psychiatric problems and high suicide rates. According to the interpersonal theory of suicide, thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness play major roles in suicidality and can be measured by the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire. However, no study has validated the use of the INQ in TGW. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the INQ among TGW. We recruited 198 TGW from Shenyang, China, using snowball sampling. The construct validity of the INQ was assessed through factor (...) analysis, and convergent and divergent validity were examined through a structural equation model with other psychosocial factors. The construct validation analysis supported a three-factor model with satisfactory fit indices: χ2/df = 1.54, RMSEA = 0.052, CFI = 0.931, TLI = 0.916, SRMR = 0.053. The thwarted belongingness was significantly associated with self-esteem and social support, and the social exclusion was significantly associated with loneliness, depression, entrapment, and defeat, suggesting satisfactory convergent and divergent validity for the three-factor model. The present findings indicate that for TGW, high social exclusion is important in assessing perceived interpersonal needs, while the notable deviation from previous two-factor model warrants further study. (shrink)

The intertemporal stability of research and development investment is a key issue in successfully promoting the continuation of innovation activities under high uncertainty in entrepreneurship. R&D smoothing helps firms to navigate the uncertainties of the external environment and maintain the stability of their investments in innovation. Chief executive officers are the most important decision-makers in firms' strategic planning. However, overconfident CEOs may overlook the importance of their firms' strategic actions on innovative activities. Drawing on upper echelons theory, this paper examines (...) how CEO overconfidence affects firms' R&D smoothing. Using a sample of firms listed in China's Growth Enterprises Market between 2013 and 2020, this study finds that CEO overconfidence has a significant negative impact on R&D smoothing. Furthermore, our findings reveal that firms' internal control quality and institutional investor monitoring can mitigate the negative association between CEO overconfidence and R&D smoothing. Our findings provide new insights into the micro-level theoretical explanations for R&D smoothing and offer practical implications for technology-based entrepreneurial firms. (shrink)

Digital companies exhibit discontinuous growth in the process of shifting from their existing core business to a newer and less familiar business. This pattern of growth often ends in failure mainly because companies invest most of their resources in maintaining the value network of their existing core business, which ultimately results in a “lock-in” effect. The fractal theory assumes that there are similarities among fractals within companies. These similarities may reduce the threats posed by the value network lock-in effect and (...) increase the chances of successful discontinuous growth. In this study, we applied fractal theory to consider the following questions: in what aspects does the successful discontinuous growth of digital companies exhibit fractal characteristics? What strategy does digital companies use to ensure these fractal characteristics? We adopted an exploratory single-case study method and chose ByteDance as the case company to analyze its successful shift from Toutiao to Douyin. Our results show that a necessary condition for the successful discontinuous growth of digital companies is that similarities exist between the existing core business and the new business and entrepreneurial bricolage is a strategy used by digital companies to ensure the existence of fractal characteristics of similarities. We discuss the theoretical contributions and practical implications of this finding. (shrink)