• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.23-45
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• 2007

Today, most companies are building up and using online communities on their websites. But there are few studies on forming and operating online communities. This study shows the influence of social presence on these factors like usefulness, ease of use, playfulness, satisfaction community trust, and its ultimate contribution to community flow. An Empirical results suggest as follows. (1) social presence has stronger effect on usefulness, ease of use, playfulness, (2) usefulness and playfulness has a positive influence on satisfaction, (3) ease of use doesn't have a significant impact on flow, (4) satisfaction is positively influences on community trust and flow, (5) community trust influences on flow. It is necessary to succeed with next studies following this one about online community in spite of its limitation. Finally, we present contribution and propose future research directions.

• Informatization Policy
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.23-48
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• 2011

This empirical study is on the factors that influence college students'intention of using online communities by focusing on the social influence, online community identification and attitude toward using online community, and the perceived usefulness. The results of this study are as follows. First, the most popular online community site is Cyworld, and was found to provide additional services like cafes, blogs, facebook, etc. Second, the social influence in the proposed model has been classified as a subjective norm, perceived usefulness of social influence has been identified as a significant variable, and online community identification of subjective norm was significant. Third, the model configuration in a path relationship between the variables, the indirect effect of online community identification and perceived usefulness affect usage intention of online communities was larger than a direct effect. Therefore, in order to increase the usage intention of online communities, online community identification and perceived usefulness, as well as by attitude toward using online community need to be considered as ways to improve were identified.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.17-35
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• 2010

As the internet has been used widely, many online communities have been appeared. Initially, many users used online communities for communication and information sharing. Recently, users start using online communities for building, maintaining, and extending social networks which they did in offline environments previously. The importance of online community is considered by many scholars and also companies to use it strategically. Therefore many studies have focused on exploring characteristics of online communities. Most of them have emphasized the importance of online community. Few study focuses on dynamics within online community. By using social network analysis (SNA), this study tries to explore dynamics of online community. Specially, By measuring the centrality of online community and tracing its changes, this study investigates how the relationships among participants in online communities have been changed over the time. Findings of this study indicate that, as participants has joined in an online community over the time, an opinion leader is appeared, and her/his power is changed.

• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.113-135
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• 2008

This study introduces the construct of social influence and combines the construct with the flow theory and TAM framework Subjective norm, image, and visibility identified as the dimensions of social influence are hypothesized to influence flow and perceived usefulness, and then the intention to use of online community. Data were collected through a survey of respondents who have the experience of using an online community, and analyzed by using structure equations modelling. The major findings of this study are as follows: First, subjective norm was found to have a positive influence on flow and intention to use. Second, image was found to have a positive effect chi flow and perceived usefulness. Third, visibility was found to have a positive influence on perceived usefulness. Finally, flow and perceived usefulness were also found to have a positive effect on the intention to use. Implications of these findings are discussed for researchers and practitioners.

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.153-167
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• 2008

This study examines the effect of sense of community on the relationship between learner satisfaction and influencing factors related to the online learning environment. Influencing factors related to the online learning environment are derived from previous literature and classified into two groups : social dimension (leader's enthusiasm, offline activities) and system dimension (usefulness, ease of use, enjoyability). Learner satisfaction is defined as the learners' perceived learning gains from taking an online class. Study participants included 250 university students from two different institutions. The participants were divided into 43 groups and asked to complete an online TOEIC preparation module using a commercial cooperative learning system over 4 weeks. Data were collected at three points for each participant, at the beginning, 3 weeks after, and at the end of the online module. Two system factors related to the online learning environment (ease of use, usefulness) directly influenced learner satisfaction, while social factors indirectly influenced learner satisfaction through the mediating role of sense of community.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.107-116
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• 2018

The aim of this study is to delve deeper into the online brand community study. This study tests (a) the effects of online brand community on its outcomes, (b) the impact of value creation practice construct as a whole, (c) the effects of value creating practice construct on the two types of loyalty, loyalty toward the brand and the community. Participants of this study (N=353) are members of four types of online brand communities (e.g., business-to-consumer virtual product support community, firm-hosted online community, user-generated online community, peer-to-peer problem-solving community, and social media based brand community). Data were collected online using Amazon Mechanical Turk from April 10, 2016 to May 10, 2016. The data were analyzed through structural equations modeling using AMOS 20. The three community markers (e.g., consciousness of kind, rituals and traditions, and moral responsibility) and the four value creation practices (e.g., social networking, impression management, community engagement, and brand use) are proved to be significant indicators of online brand community and value creation practice constructs, respectively. Test results showed that strong and effective online brand communities generate value creation practices, and value creation practices enhance brand loyalty. The mediating effects of community loyalty between value creation practices and brand loyalty were revealed.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.21-31
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to clarify the factors that characterize the fashion brand online communities that have a high participation rate among high school students, and to determine the impact of those factors on the high school students' commitment to the community, especially in relation to their demographics. The study was implemented through a descriptive survey method using an online questionnaire. The sample consisted of 301 members of online fashion brand communities operated on the Daum portal site. The data were analyzed by frequency, factor analysis, and regression analysis. The results are as follows: (1) Factor analysis revealed that the characteristics of a fashion brand online community are associated with three factors ; compensation/interest, interactivity, and information. (2) Regression analysis showed that the more compensation/interest, opportunity for interaction, and information the community provides, the more likely high school student members are to show a higher level of commitment to the community. (3) There was no difference in the effect of community attribute factors on the high school student members' commitment to the community according to gender. The group of students majoring in human and liberal education was the most influenced by the attributes of fashion brand online communities. The interactivity factor had a greater impact on the group of students majoring in art and physical education than on the other groups. The greater the use of the Internet, the greater the impact of community attributes on commitment. (4) In the process of developing an online community, marketers should fully consider the fact that information factors have the biggest impact on high school students' commitment to the community. Therefore, greater effort should be made to differentiate between community attributes based on high school students' majors and their amount of Internet use in order to motivate commitment to the community and brand loyalty as well.

• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.191-214
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• 2005

The interests and impacts on the phenomena online are increasing, due to the development of the Internet. Above all, the importance of the online community, which is similar to the community in reality and has a feature being easily committed is on the rise. Firms are transformed into a relationship for successful e-business in line with the online community utilization, as the digitalization society develops. Hereby, this study was intended to empirically analyze the impacts of individual participatory motives (perceived usefulness, perceived. ease of use and perceived playfulness) in the online community and social influences (subjective norm, visibility and image) on the user's attitudinal and behavioral commitment. In the empirical study of this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted targeting individuals who participated in the online community, and the related data was collected through on/offline. Finally, 280 samples were used in the analysis. The results of the major hypotheses test using the covariate structural model analysis are as follows: First, there are differences in the impacts of individual participatory motives in the online community and social influence factors on the commitment. The individual participatory motives in the online community influence the behavioral commitment positively, but the social influence factors are not significant. Second, the attitudinal commitment in the online community shows a mediate effect on the behavioral commitment in the subjective norms and image variables excluding visibility. Third, the relationship between the attitudinal commitment and behavioral commitment is significant.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.181-188
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• 2020

Many areas are on the verge of disappearing soon due to low birth rates and an increasing number of elderly people. To overcome this crisis, efforts must be made to escape the destruction of the area through the village community. This study was conducted to find out the use of online platforms for village communities and through literature research, current status surveys, and surveys, we wanted to find out how online platforms are being utilized. The study results are summarized as follows. First, urban renewal support projects are currently being conducted under the government-led initiative to revitalize the village community, and online platforms are being used mainly by local governments' urban renewal support centers. Second, if you look at the frequency of online platform usage by ordinary people, you are using Naver the most in all age groups, and next, you are using the website. People in their 20s and 30s use Instagram more than Facebook, while those in their 40s and 50s use Facebook more than Instagram. In utilizing the online platform for the village community, the status and frequency of use of the online platform should be taken into account comprehensively.

• Journal of Korea Society of Industrial Information Systems
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.1-15
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• 2005

This study investigates the relationships between extrinsic motivation (perceived usefulness), intrinsic motivation (perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment), and attitude toward online community. With 252 valid responses, the research hypotheses are tested using by structured equation model. The results show that perceived ease of use affects perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment, that perceived enjoyment has a positive impact on perceived usefulness and attitude toward online community, and that perceived usefulness positively influences attitude toward online community. The study can help IS managers and professionals plan their courses of action more effectively for users' continuous visits on online community.