• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.69-90
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• 2005

Online community as a business model has gotten much attention in online market. And it has been recognized as an increasingly important tool for better understanding and relationships with customers. Thus, There are needs for conducting researches, such as those being performed in social psychology area. Due to the lack of current researches on online community, variables that have been considered in social science and factors in relationship marketing are adopted in this study. The primary purpose of this research is to develop and test a model that explains the process of how sense of online community through relationship quality influences customer loyalty. The major findings of this study are as follows: First, sense of online community was found to have a positive influence on relationship quality. Second, relationship quality was found to have a strong positive effect on customer loyalty. Finally, relationship quality was found to have a mediation effect between the sense of online community and the customer loyalty. Implications of these findings are discussed for researchers and practitioners.

• Fashion, Industry and Education
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2017

The proliferation of social media has given rise to the new consumer group, namely, social consumers. This study identified the distinct characteristics of social consumers (i.e., online social search, online social navigation, online social connection) and examined the impacts of social consumer attributes on the engagement with fashion brands via brands' SNSs (BSNSs). A sample of 141 U.S. consumers who had browsed and/or participated in a fashion brand's BSNS (i.e., the Facebook page for fashion brands) was used to examine hypothesized relationships. The analyses involved running a confirmatory factor analysis and a structural equation modeling. The result indicates that the impacts of the social consumer attributes on the benefits of BSNSs (i.e., experiential and functional benefits) as perceived by consumers were significant, except the link between online social connection and functional benefits. In addition, consumers' existing relationship with a brand served as a moderating variable, strengthening the impacts of social consumer attributes on BSNS benefits. The perceived benefits of BSNSs positively affected perceived relationship investment which in turn influenced brand loyalty. Practical marketing suggestions are provided for fashion brands.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.103-112
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• 2019

Online self-disclosure was hypothesized as a mediating variable, explaining the relationship between Facebook access motivation (relationship expansion, curiosity about others' life, maintenance of social connection, social pressure from others, habitual use, impression management, searching for information, and content sharing) and Facebook addiction. Data came from 407 high school students in the Busan, and Gyeongnam provinces. Structural analysis was used to specify the relations among measured construct. Facebook access motivation of curiosity about others' life, Facebook access motivation of maintenance of social connection, Facebook access motivation of social pressure from others, Facebook access motivation of habitual use, and Facebook access motivation of impression management were significant predictors of Facebook addiction. Online self-disclosure mediates between Facebook access motivation of curiosity about others' life, Facebook access motivation of social pressure from others, Facebook access motivation of searching for information & Facebook access motivation of content sharing and Facebook addiction. Viewing online self-disclosure as a mediator has important implications for social media addiction counseling practice.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.691-715
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• 2022

In this study, we investigated the relationship between Finsta use and perceived online social support, self-monitoring, and subjective well-being. Furthermore, we investigated whether the number of Instagram accounts mediates the relationship between self-monitoring and perceived online social support. For this reason, To this end, we conducted an online survey of 396 adults in their 20s. Results indicated that the number of Instagram accounts showed a positive correlation with perceived online social support and self-monitoring, but did not show a significant correlation with subjective well-being. Next, it was found that the higher the level of self-monitoring, the higher the probability of using of Finsta. In addition, the number of Instagram accounts was found to partially mediate the relationship between self-monitoring and perceived online social support. In other words, the higher the self-monitoring was associated with, , the more Instagram accounts were, and many Instagram accounts increased the level of perceived online social support. For the first time in Korea, this study confirmed the relationship between Finsta use and perceived online social support, self-monitoring, and subjective well-being., Also, this study was meaningful because itand explored whether self-monitoring leads to perceived online social support through the number of Instagram accounts. In addition, this studyit has social meaning in that it sheds light on how online interactions are connected to the real world.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.55-76
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• 2020

Sociability is an inherent part of human life and also possesses an important value as a comprehensive ability. While the lack of sociability has been pointed out as a representative problem of game use in general, this paper analyzed studies on the relationship between online video games and social competence. In this field, the view that the relationship in the online game may replace or complement the actual relationship and will potentially hinder the development of sociability currently faces a conflict with the opinion that online video games may not directly have a negative effect on sociability but rather result in a positive outcome by providing a social learning space. In a large scale survey that measured the use of online games, psychological characteristics, and social competence, no distinct relationship between game use and degradation of sociability was observed. Based on this analysis, we suggest that efforts are necessary to break away from the stereotype that online game play may cause a decline in sociability and to improve the validity of related research.

• Educational Technology International
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.111-137
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• 2021

Embracing the important roles of presence, this study focused on exploring how to enhance online learners' learning engagement and learning achievement in distance higher education settings. More specifically, this study examined the structural relationships among university students' teaching presence, social presence, learning engagement, and perceived learning achievement in online learning environments using structural equation modeling. Data were collected from 206 university students enrolled in online courses in the second semester of 2020 at two large universities. According to the results of the data analysis, there was a significant relationship between teaching and social presence. Teaching presence and social presence predicted learning engagement that positively affected perceived learning achievement. Teaching presence was strongly associated with perceived learning achievement while social presence had a negative impact on that. Additionally, learning engagement had a mediating effect on the relationship between teaching presence and perceived learning achievement. This study found that students who perceived higher levels of teaching and social presences tend to more engage in learning, leading to perceiving better learning achievement. The findings suggest that the design, development, and implementation of effective online instruction should be needed to promote learning engagement, which can be linked to enhancing students' learning achievement. Implications and discussion are addressed in this article.

• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.163-186
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• 2012

With the development of Internet and transition to information society, social capital is expanding to online from the traditional offline context. Especially with the widespread of social network service(SNS) the number of SNS users is increasing sharply and the importance of online social capital has been more and more significant. Most studies on social capital focused on organizational aspects but few studies have payed attention to personal aspect. Empirical studies on the relation between SNS and social capital were seldom conducted in previous studies. Based on the theory of social capital this study targets on the relationship formed through SNS and analyzes on how the relationship affects the perceived social capital. In this study 'self-presentation', 'playfulness' and 'critical mass' are posited as the antecedent factors of 'SNS usage'. This study proposes a research model to examine the effect of 'SNS usage' on 'relationship reinforcement', 'relationship building' and 'perceived social capital'. According to the results of empirical analysis, 'self-presentation', 'playfulness' and 'critical mass' can generate significant positive influence on 'SNS usage'. It also confirms not only the effect of 'relationship reinforcement' and 'relationship building' formed through SNS on 'perceived social capital' but also relationship between the social capital formation and SNS usage. The outcome obtained in this study can be applied in developing SNS services.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.11
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• pp.381-391
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• 2020

This research article investigates the way eWOM in social media influences the formation of destination image through development of trust and satisfaction for the potential tourist. The research involved administering an 18-point questionnaire taking online reviews, tourist involvement, and eWOM, destination image components of trust and satisfaction as variables. Data was collected from 554 individuals forming a cross-section of social media users and analyzed using multi-variate techniques (Reliability, CFA, and SEM). Results indicate a positive and significant relationship between all except online review and destination trust and satisfaction. Indirect and direct effects indicate that eWOM fully mediates the relationship between destination satisfaction and involvement and partially mediates the relationship between destination trust and involvement. In the case of online reviews, eWOM acts as a full mediator between destination trust and destination satisfaction for the future traveler using social media. The study proposes that components of image vary depending upon the degree of involvement, volume online reviews and eWOM generated also termed as 'virality' and these in turn influence the intention to revisit or recommend a destination. The study highlights its utility for National Tourist Organizations (NTOs) and online travel intermediaries to enhance destination marketing efforts.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.57-65
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• 2018

Purpose - Recently, internet access and social network utilization using smart phone are increasing. In such a smart environment, interactive activities such as information generation, information searching and information sending are increasing rapidly on-line environment. Therefore, consumers tend to purchase something according to eWOM and also meet the social consensus online environment. In connectivity society, consumers became accessible and engaged in the opinions of others easily. Many decisions that seem like personal decisions are actually social decisions on online connectivity. This paper seeks to explore factors that can help generate a social decision on purchasing of new products in an online environment. Research design, data, and methodology - The process of collecting a lot of wisdom and making an agreement online is called social decision. The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the influence of factors such as online ties, online eWOM expectancy and online information behavior on online social decision. In addition, We studied online social decision by analyzing the moderating effect of new product innovation. To understand this structural relationship, research hypotheses and research models were set up and empirical analysis was conducted. In order to verify the hypothesis, 208 questionnaires were collected from the residents of Seoul city/Gyeonggi province. The answered questionnaire verifies reliability and validity using SPSS/AMOS and test hypotheses through path analysis and multiple regression analysis. Results - According to the research results, First, online ties don't have a positive impact on online social decision, Second, online eWOM expectancy have a positive impact on online social decision. Third, online information behaviors have a positive impact on online social decision. The degree of innovation of new products have a moderating effect between Independent variables of three factors and dependent variable of social decision. Conclusions - Social decisions have a positive impact on purchasing decisions about new product. There is a great significance in the fact that the online social influence and online social decision have been studied academically. It is meaningful that we have studied in depth the changing phenomenon of consumer purchase decision process in smart environment. The results of these studies provide academic and practical implications.