In algorithm-driven short-video ecosystems, scripted performative content may temporarily enhance user immersion and interaction. However, its excessive performativity and diminished authenticity are likely to undermine users’ trust in both content and platforms, thereby weakening continued usage intention and platform stickiness. Focusing on the Douyin platform, this study constructs a mediation model centered on user trust and incorporates algorithmic regulation as a moderating variable to examine the boundary conditions of platform governance. The empirical results indicate that excessive scripted performative content exerts a significant negative effect on user stickiness. User trust plays a critical role in mediating, whereby content-related risks primarily lead to stickiness erosion through the indirect pathway of trust deterioration. Furthermore, algorithmic regulation effectively mitigates the negative impact of such content on user trust and attenuates the trust-induced decline in user stickiness. This study highlights a fundamental governance paradox faced by short-video platforms between “watchability” and “stability”. To achieve sustainable user retention, platforms must jointly manage the boundaries of content authenticity, safeguard trust as a core relational asset, and enhance the signaling effectiveness of algorithmic governance mechanisms.
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Gan, W., Xiao, M., Zhang, N. (2025) “The More It Is Performed, the Less It Sticks”: The Erosive Mechanism of Excessive Scripted Performative Content on User Stickiness on China’s Douyin Platform – A Moderated Mediation Perspective of User Trust and Algorithmic Regulation. Hong Kong Financial Bulletin, 1(6), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.71052/hkfb2025/NHBS8569