Organizing theory has largely been confined to explaining action mechanisms on the supply side. This paper extends that perspective to the demand side by examining the organizing mechanisms and characteristics that emerge when community influencers are empowered by digital technologies. Based on an ethnographic study of e-commerce livestreaming practices, the study identifies consumption organizing as a key mechanism through which community influencers serve segmented consumer demand. It addresses two questions: What is consumption organizing? How do community influencers in e-commerce livestreaming use consumption organizing to serve segmented demand and facilitate commercial transactions? This paper offers three main findings: First, consumption organizing differs from supply-side organizing in three aspects: construction of community resources, deployment of social capabilities, and formation of community stickiness. Second, consumption organizing comprises three key mechanisms: community activation, supply-demand coordination, and transaction conversion. Third, consumption organizing driven by community influencers enables fine-grained matching between the demand side and the supply side, thereby facilitating transactions. On this basis, this paper develops a mechanism model of consumption organizing driven by community influencers in the context of e-commerce livestreaming, and achieves theoretical innovation by revealing the mechanisms of demand-side resource integrators. The findings offer important implications for social commerce innovation in the era of the digital economy.
/ Journals / Foreign Economics & ManagementForeign Economics & Management
JIN Yuying, Editor-in-Chief
ZhengChunrong, Vice Executive Editor-in-Chief
YinHuifang HeXiaogang LiuJianguo, Vice Editor-in-Chief
Consumption Organizing: A Study on the Mechanisms of Community Influencers Integrating Brands and Users
Foreign Economics & Management Vol. 48, Issue 10, pp. 100 - 128 (2026) DOI:10.16538/j.cnki.fem.20260530.301
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Wu Yao, Long Yu, Hu Linrui, et al. Consumption Organizing: A Study on the Mechanisms of Community Influencers Integrating Brands and Users[J]. Foreign Economics & Management, 2026, 48(10): 100-128.
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