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ISSN : 1738-3110
Does Social Distance Always Increase Content Performance in Online Distribution Channels?
Kang, Seong-Ho
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Abstract
Purpose - This study examines the positive impact of the social distance between producers and users of online content, investigating and analyzing the most popular Web content. In addition, it tries to elicit the matching effect that appears when the individuals'cultural background is consistent with social distance. Research design, data, and methodology - We collected and analyzed actual data about 4,981 videos clips on YouTube, looking at six countries in order to verify the content of this study. Based on the results of the data analysis, the study conducted behavioral measurements on popularity, social distance, culture, and user engagement. The unit of analysis was the content and we collected information about the content producers and the content records. We controlled the views, comments, likes, calendar dates, and ages in the empirical models. The data was collected in 2011, with the records coming from South Korea, Japan, China, U.S., German, and France. A total of 4,980 elements were analyzed in the model. The empirical model estimated is the bivariate negative binomial distribution (NBD) model. Results - It turns out that there is a possibility that the matching effect can be diminished by variables that reflect the psychological involvement of user engagement. This study proposes academic and practical implications based on these research results. This research shows the positive effect of social distance between users and producers on the increased performance of the online content. We find the effect of social distance to be a stronger tendency in collectivism. The collectivists follow their sense of friendship and intimacy in their culture and, the social congruence effect can be found there as well. The effect, however, could erode in a social case where users are motivated by strong intrinsic and psychological factors. In addition, user engagement complicates the process of user decision making regarding the information. Conclusions - This study examines how the differential effects of social distance caused by culture could disappear through user commitment as a complicated user motivation. Some potential implications are as follows. First, a firm in the collectivism culture has to communicate based on the social distance. In fact, most online channels do not have a function that indicates the social distance as measured by favorites or subscribers. This function could help increase the performance of the content in online channels, but this increasing effect can only be found in a collectivist culture. Based on this, the firms have to communicate and announce to users the actual social distance between users and producers. Second, firms should develop a system that discovers the social distance and culture and shows these measures to users and producers, since the congruence effect between social distance and culture is found only for low user engagement. The firms can take the advantage of the congruence effect only for the development of the social distance and culture visualized system.
- keywords
- Online Contents, Social Distance, Individualism and Collectivism Culture, User Engagement
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