• International Journal of Contents
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.18-31
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• 2022

This study explored the effects of the parasocial relationship formed by CCTV (China Central Television) TV news and non-traditional news on users' perceived media credibility and their online and offline political participation. This study conducted a survey with the Chinese CCTV users between April 19 and April 30, 2021, and finally, 701 respondents' data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The study results showed that both TV news and non-traditional news had positive effects on parasocial relationships and the parasocial relationship positively influenced media credibility, which subsequently facilitated political participation. However, there was no direct effect between media usage and media credibility. This implies the important mediating role of parasocial interactions, which enables CCTV news to gain media credibility and subsequently influence political participation. This study suggests that CCTV needs to improve the parasocial interactions between their audience and media figures by utilizing the interactive mechanism of non-traditional media.

• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.89-110
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• 2022

Purpose To verify the factors that encourage consumers' favorable reaction toward virtual influencer, we proposed consumers' perception of subjective and objective similarity. The purpose of this study is to comprehensively investigate the impacts of consumers' perception toward virtual influencer on purchase intention through psychological distance and parasocial relationship. Design/methodology/approach This study was designed to examine the structural relationships among consumers' perceived external similarity, internal similarity, controllability, animacy toward virtual influencer, psychological distance, parasocial relationship and purchase intention. Findings The results are as follows. First, perceived external similarity, internal similarity, perceived controllability, and animacy had a positive impact on psychological distance. Second, psychological distance had a positive impact on parasocial relationship, whereas it had no significant impact on purchase intention. However, we found that the relation between psychological distance and purchase intention was mediated by parasocial relationship. Lastly, parasocial relationship had a positive impact on purchase intention. Based on these results, this study can propose the way to generate revenue to companies that consider advertising campaign using virtual influencer.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.39-50
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• 2022

Live streaming has become one of the most important communication tools for influencers to synchronously interact with viewers. It is critical to understand the effect of the reciprocal and synchronously interactive relations built between influencers and viewers, so-called trans-parasocial relations, in the context of live streaming. In this study, we investigate how trans-parasocial relations impact viewers' stickiness and purchase intention on live streaming platforms. Furthermore, we investigate fanship as a mediating factor in the relationship between trans-parasocial relations and viewers' behaviors. Overall, the results reveal significant direct and indirect effects of trans-parasocial relations on viewers' stickiness and purchase intention. Higher trans-parasocial relations further lead to stronger viewers' fanship toward influencers and increases their willingness to stay longer or make purchases on live streaming platforms. These findings further the understanding of influencer-viewer relations and viewers' behavior on live streaming platforms and provide valuable insights into influencer marketing and live streaming.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.270-281
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• 2021

The emergence of social media and technical development of smart phone allows media users to produce, share and spread a variety of contents, which results in a big change in their media usage pattern. Among those changes, the most prominent one is Youtube's powerful growth. Creators' enthusiastic content productions and users' active sharing actions are caused of the growth. Recently, creators give a powerful effect on users as social media influencer, and the practice of influencer marketing has been focused. This current study is examined the effects of parasocial interaction and relationship on brand attitude and purchase intention. Specially, parasical interaction is divided into identification, interest, and experience parasocial interaction, and the divisions of relationship are trustworthy, friendship, understanding, and commitment. As a result, interest and trustworthy are significant predictors of brand attitude. Also, experience parasocial interaction is negative and friendship is positive predictors of purchase intention. Theoretical and practical implication are discussed.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.88-103
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• 2017

The rapid growth in the popularity of social media sites has meant that social media has become an important communication channel for brands. Brands create brand pages on social media to cultivate positive and strong relationships with consumers. This study seeks to enhance our understanding of how fashion brand pages in social media foster consumer-brand relationships by exploring the factors that affect the development of consumer-brand relationships. Drawing on the parasocial interaction theory, this study proposes parasocial interaction as a key factor of this process. Specifically, this study proposes four antecedents (vividness, interactivity, social presence, and focused attention) of consumers' parasocial interaction with brand pages, which further affects consumer responses in terms of affective engagement and brand loyalty. An online survey was administered with consumers who have followed and visited at least one fashion brand page via a social networking site (SNS). Structural equation modeling revealed that consumers' perceptions of vividness, interactivity, social presence, and focused attention on a fashion brand page positively affected their feelings towards parasocial interaction with the brand page, which in turn led to their affective engagement with the brand page and consequent brand loyalty. These findings suggest that consumers build relationships of varying degrees with brand pages in a similar manner to that with people, which leads to their development of a positive relationship with the brand. This study concludes with discussions and practical implications.

• (The) Korean Journal of Advertising
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.51-80
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• 2018

This study aims to investigate how the storytelling elements of brand webtoon has influence on developing brand webtoon users' parasocial interaction relationship and their attitude towards brand webtoon contents and word of mouth intention. The results of this study shows that parasocial interaction is strongly influenced by the sub-dimensions of digital storytelling components of brand webtoon (i.e., relevance, trustworthiness, clarity). More specifically, respondents who perceive that the given message of digital storytelling in brand webtoons is relevant to the brand, is trustworthy, and is clear to understand show a higher degree of parasocial interaction with the webtoon content and in turn, it has a strong positive influence on the attitude towards the brand webtoon. In sum, this study not only provides a theoretical foundation to understand how consumers develop parasocial interaction with brand webtoons in terms of the brand webtoon's digital storytelling, but this study has implications for practitioners who are interested in using a brand webtoon for marketing.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.1073-1080
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• 2023

This study aims to explore the psychological factors influencing the persuasive effect of virtual influencers, with a specific focus on the impact of social exclusion. Additionally, it examines the mediating effect of parasocial relationships on advertising effectiveness. To achieve these goals, the study conducted an experiment using a 2 (influencer type: human vs. virtual human) × 2 (social exclusion: social exclusion vs. social acceptance) between-group factorial design. The results revealed that consumers who experienced social exclusion exhibited more positive attitudes toward the influencer and the product, higher intentions to purchase the product, and a greater willingness to share or recommend it, especially when the influencer was a real human (vs. a virtual influencer). These moderating effects were found to be mediated by parasocial relationships.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.319-333
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• 2017

This study is aimed at investigating the factors that influence the profits of Internet personal broadcasting to improve unstable benefit structure. 50 viewers of game broadcasting that includes most of internet personal broadcasting's personalities are surveyed, who are watching the broadcasting everyday more than an hour and backing to a broadcast conductor. For investigating Benefit Structure Analysis of Internet Personal Broadcasting, independent variables are composed of Social viewing experience, Parasocial relationship, and Information seeking motive and mediator is composed of viewing satisfaction that influences dependent variable, purchase intention. As a result the study founds that only two independent variables(Parasocial relationship, Information seeking motive) affect to mediator and viewing satisfaction affected to dependent variable.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.238-249
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• 2021

This research aims to present effective influencer marketing strategies against a heavy blow in Korean influencer marketing industry because of the paid advertisement controversy and the reinforcement of regulations for online advertisement. By investigating the effects of influencer reputation, which is composed of communication skills, influence, authenticity and professionalism on marketing effect, as well as the mediating effect of parasocial relationship, the study provides some implications for influencer selecting. The effect of economic interests is examined under 4 experimental conditions of paid advertisements, brand collaboration, brand gifts and organic review to figure out how to arrange an appropriate sponsorship plan. According to results of PLS structural equation analysis, it shows that the influence and authenticity of an influencer have a significant positive effect on marketing effect and the mediating effect of parasocial relationship is partially proved. It seems that the effect of influencer reputation on marketing effect is significantly differentiated in different contexts, which confirms the moderating effect of economic interest. Distinguish from previous studies, this study focuses on types of economic interest rather than a simple comparison between sponsorship disclosure versus no disclosure and makes contributions to expanding reputation research. Meanwhile, findings of this study could give some practical implications for marketing practitioners in planning influencer marketing.

• Journal of Public Diplomacy
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2023

Objectives: This study aims to discover how the spread of K-POP and the diversification of the Korean Wave affects Korea's national reputation. K-POP stars are diversifying their interactions with fandom by creating an online space to consume various products and services related to their stars and engage in fan activities. Because of this, this study aims to examine the relevance of K-POP to national reputation through a parasocial relationship with K-POP stars by fandom forming a community and utilizing media. Methods: An online survey was conducted in English using the Amazon survey company Mechanical Turk for BTS fans living in the United States. A total of 195 people's data, excluding incomplete responses, were used for the analysis. Results: It was found that BTS fans' social media participation activities themselves did not directly affect Korea's national reputation. But the mediating effect of BTS fans' parasocial relationship was found. That is, BTS fans' social media participation activities had a positive effect on their parasocial relationships with BTS which in turn had a positive effect on their national reputation. Conlusions: The use and participation of BTS fans in social media in Korea's national reputation has no significant effect on itself, but it has been found that it affects the national reputation through forming parasocial relationships. From the study results, the parasocial relationship of K-POP fans can be used as a strategic mechanism to enhance the national image and Korea's national reputation.