{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,7]],"date-time":"2026-05-07T04:19:57Z","timestamp":1778127597145,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Purpose<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Driven by the rapid expansion of online retail and the surge in livestream commerce, the impact of different livestream mode on brand and platform performance has become a critical issue. This paper analyzes the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and key opinion leader (KOL) livestream on the profitability of brands and the platform, incorporating the effects of horizontal interactions to identify the optimal livestream mode.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This paper develops a model of a platform supply chain involving two brands and a platform, where each brand independently decides whether to utilize KOL or AI livestream. Applying Stackelberg game approach, the study derives equilibria for various livestream scenarios, identifying the optimal livestream mode for both parties. Additionally, the model is extended to incorporate asymmetric market potential and network externality to evaluate their impact on a brand\u2019s choice of livestream mode.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Findings<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Several interesting and important results are derived in this paper. Firstly, it is found that AI livestream enables brands to leverage network externality and mitigate the market disadvantage, thereby gaining a competitive advantage. Secondly, while KOL livestream promotes trust, the medium KOL commission rates could cause brands to be trapped in a prisoner\u2019s dilemma, and excessively high commission rates may render them less profitable. Thirdly, the KOL commission rate, network externality intensity, horizontal interactions and market disadvantage are critical determinants influencing a brand\u2019s choice of livestream mode.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Originality\/value<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study is the first to investigate the effects of horizontal interactions, asymmetric market potential and asymmetric network externality on livestream mode selection by brands within a platform supply chain. The research provides valuable insights into optimizing livestream strategies to enhance brand profitability.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/k-04-2024-0977","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,9]],"date-time":"2024-10-09T14:25:31Z","timestamp":1728483931000},"page":"360-379","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Brand livestream mode options: AI\u00a0vs KOL livestream in the platform supply chain"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"55","author":[{"given":"Xiaoxue","family":"Yu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Management, Shandong University of Technology , ,","place":["Zibo, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6082-355X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Tao","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Management, Shandong University of Technology , ,","place":["Zibo, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Qi","family":"Tan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Economics and Management, Harbin University of Science and Technology , ,","place":["Harbin, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bin","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Management, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology , ,","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hui","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Management, Shandong University of Technology , ,","place":["Zibo, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"140","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,10]]},"reference":[{"issue":"3","key":"2026010512521201300_ref001","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"991","DOI":"10.1016\/i.ejor.2024.01.015","article-title":"Improving efficiency in supply chains with a capital-constrained app developer under the agency contract","volume":"315","author":"Avinadav","year":"2024","journal-title":"European Journal of Operational Research"},{"issue":"6","key":"2026010512521201300_ref002","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2878","DOI":"10.1111\/itor.12768","article-title":"Whether a retailer should enter an e-commerce platform taking into account consumer returns","volume":"27","author":"Cao","year":"2020","journal-title":"International Transactions in Operational Research"},{"key":"2026010512521201300_ref003","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"366","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tourman.2018.10.020","article-title":"An investigation on online reviews in sharing economy driven hospitality platforms: a viewpoint of trust","volume":"71","author":"Cheng","year":"2019","journal-title":"Tourism Management"},{"key":"2026010512521201300_ref004","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jretconser.2021.102593","article-title":"Price and quality decisions in a vertically-differentiated supply chain with an \u201cOnline-to-Store\u201d channel","volume":"62","author":"Hou","year":"2021","journal-title":"Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services"},{"issue":"7","key":"2026010512521201300_ref005","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1236","DOI":"10.1111\/poms.12864","article-title":"Selling innovative products in the presence of externalities","volume":"27","author":"Huang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Production and Operations Management"},{"key":"2026010512521201300_ref006","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.elerap.2023.101271","article-title":"Agency selling or reselling? 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