Ethical Responsibility and AI-Driven Transparency in TikTok Live Commerce: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Description
TikTok live commerce has emerged as a complex digital marketing ecosystem, particularly for women's fashion SMEs relying on product visualization and real-time communication as core selling strategies. The integration of artificial intelligence into TikTok's algorithmic recommendation system raises significant ethical challenges concerning product information transparency, consumer behavior manipulation, and platform accountability. This study employs a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) adapted from the PRISMA 2020 framework, analyzing peer-reviewed literature from Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and other academic databases published between 2020 and 2026. The findings reveal that AI-based recommendation systems amplify product exposure while simultaneously exacerbating risks of impulse buying and product misrepresentation. Algorithmic transparency and platform accountability emerge as critical determinants of sustainable consumer trust. This study contributes an integrative conceptual framework synthesizing Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theory, Consumer Trust Theory, Algorithmic Governance Theory, and the Digital Ethics Framework, offering practical implications for SMEs, platform providers, and regulators.
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This study employs a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) using a qualitative-descriptive approach to examine ethical responsibility and AI-driven transparency in TikTok live commerce practices. The SLR method was selected because it facilitates the systematic identification, evaluation, and synthesis of relevant literature. In addition, this study adopts the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) framework to ensure a structured and rigorous process of literature searching, screening, and selection. The research data were collected from scholarly articles indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, Emerald Insight, Taylor & Francis, and Google Scholar as a supplementary source. The literature search was conducted using keywords such as “TikTok,” “live commerce,” “social commerce,” “AI transparency,” “algorithmic transparency,” “AI ethics,” “ethical responsibility,” “platform governance,” “consumer trust,” and “impulse buying.” The inclusion criteria were limited to peer-reviewed publications published between 2020 and 2026, available in full text, and directly relevant to TikTok live commerce, AI ethics, algorithmic transparency, platform governance, and consumer behavior. The article selection process consisted of four stages: identification, screening, eligibility assessment, and inclusion, following the PRISMA 2020 framework. Articles that were irrelevant to the research objectives, unavailable in full text, classified as non-academic opinions or editorials, or lacking a clear research methodology were excluded from the analysis. The selected studies were subsequently examined using thematic and content analysis to identify recurring patterns, conceptual relationships, and major themes within the literature. The findings were synthesized into several key themes, including ethical responsibility, AI-driven transparency, consumer behavior dynamics, platform governance, and emerging AI-powered commerce practices. These themes were then utilized to develop a conceptual framework that explains the relationships among ethical responsibility, AI-driven transparency, platform governance, and consumer behavior in TikTok live commerce. The framework integrates perspectives from the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) Theory, Consumer Trust Theory, Algorithmic Governance Theory, and the Digital Ethics Framework to provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of AI, platform governance, and consumer behavior in the evolving TikTok live commerce ecosystem.
Institutions
- Binus UniversityJakarta, Jakarta