• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.102-117
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• 2019

Purpose - This paper tried to identify the impact of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on purchase intention (PI) of Korean-brand cars in the context of Russian consumers, taking into consideration the credibility, quality, and quantity of eWOM while also considering the mediation effects of brand image (BI) and perceived quality (PQ). Although there is a considerable number of studies discussing the impact of eWOM determinants on PI, not many studies were conducted focusing on the Russian market. Design/methodology - This paper is considered to fill this gap between eWOM and (PI) and, in order to do so, 211 Russian respondents were randomly selected. Descriptive analysis, factor, and reliability analysis were conducted using SPSS version 22.0. While structural equation modeling was conducted using AMOS version 24.0. Findings - The results display that, in terms of Russian consumers' perception, eWOM credibility, quality, and quantity for Korean-brand cars show a substantial impact on PI. The mediation effects of brand image, as well as perceived quality, were also supported by analysis. In the final part of the paper, theoretical and managerial implications alongside limitations with further research suggestions are presented. Originality/value - This study endeavored to explore the degree of impact of eWOM and mediating roles of BI and PQ on Russian customer intentions to buy Korean-brand cars.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.1-25
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• 2010

Motion pictures are so typical experience goods that consumers tend to look for more credible information. Hence, movie audiences consider movie viewers' reviews more important than the information provided by the film distributor. Recently many portal sites allow consumers to post their reviews and opinions so that other people check the number of consumer reviews and scores before going to the theater. There are a few previous researches studying the electronic word of mouth(eWOM) effect in the movie industry. They found that the volume of eWOM influenced the revenue of the movie significantly but the valence of eWOM did not affect it much (Liu 2006). The goal of our research is also to investigate the eWOM effects in general. But our research is different from the previous studies in several aspects. First, we study the eWOM effect in Korean movie industry. In other words, we would like to check whether we can generalize the results of the previous research across countries. The similar econometric models are applied to Korean movie data that include 746,282 consumer reviews on 439 movies. Our results show that both the valence(RATING) and the volume(LNMSG) of the eWOM influence weekly movie revenues. This result is different from the previous research findings that the volume only influences the revenue. We conjectured that the difference of self construal between Asian and American culture may explain this difference (Kitayama 1991). Asians including Koreans have more interdependent self construal than American, so that they are easily affected by other people's thought and suggestion. Hence, the valence of the eWOM affects Koreans' choice of the movie. Second, we find the critical defect of the previous eWOM models and, hence, attempt to correct it. The previous eWOM model assumes that the volume of eWOM (LNMSG) is an independent variable affecting the movie revenue (LNREV). However, the revenue can influence the volume of the eWOM. We think that treating the volume of eWOM as an independent variable a priori is too restrictive. In order to remedy this problem, we employed a simultaneous equation in which the movie revenue and the volume of the eWOM can affect each other. That is, our eWOM model assumes that the revenue (LNREV) and the volume of eWOM (LNMSG) have endogenous relationship where they influence each other. The results from this simultaneous equation model showed that the movie revenue and the eWOM volume interact each other. The movie revenue influences the eWOM volume for the entire 8 weeks. The reverse effect is more complex. Both the volume and the valence of eWOM affect the revenue in the first week, but only the volume affect the revenue for the rest of the weeks. In the first week, consumers may be curious about the movie and look for various kinds of information they can trust, so that they use the both the quantity and quality of consumer reviews. But from the second week, the quality of the eWOM only affects the movie revenue, implying that the review ratings are more important than the number of reviews. Third, our results show that the ratings by professional critics (CRATING) had negative effect to the weekly movie revenue (LNREV). Professional critics often give low ratings to the blockbuster movies that do not have much cinematic quality. Experienced audiences who watch the movie for fun do not trust the professionals' ratings and, hence, tend to go for the low-rated movies by them. In summary, applied to the Korean movie ratings data and employing a simultaneous model, our results are different from the previous eWOM studies: 1) Koreans (or Asians) care about the others' evaluation quality more than quantity, 2) The volume of eWOM is not the cause but the result of the revenue, 3) Professional reviews can give the negative effect to the movie revenue.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.721-729
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• 2022

The pandemic of COVID-19 has led "E-commerce+ Live streaming", the new form of retail business, development rapidly. And more and more consumers choose to buy commodities in E-commerce live streaming. According to the related investigation at home and abroad, the purchase intention and WOM intention are two important measuring factors of the effect of the direct transmission of e-commerce. In previous research, the author proved that IWOM has become an important reference for consumers to make online purchases. In this study, the author mainly focus on the impact of online WOM on consumer intention. Based on the Involvement Theory, this paper proposes a model of the influence of IWOM on WOM intention in e-commerce live broadcast which is adjusted by the product involvement degree. The results show that the characteristics of anchor, the quantity and quality of IWOM, the prescription of IWOM, the difference of IWOM and the intention of WOM are positively regulated by the product involvement. However, product involvement did not play a moderating role between relationship strength and WOM intention.