Earticle

초록

영어

The purpose of this study is the investigation of the effects of user participation, network effect, social influence, and usefulness on stickiness and continued use on Internet communities. In this research, stickiness refers to repeat visit and visit duration to an Internet community. Continued use means the willingness to continue to use an Internet community in the future. Internet community-based companies can earn money through selling the digital contents such as game, music, and avatar, advertizing on Internet site, or offering an affiliate marketing. For such money making, stickiness and continued use of Internet users is much more important than the number of Internet users. We tried to answer following three questions. First, what is the effects of user participation on stickiness and continued use on Internet communities? Second, by what is user participation formed? Third, are network effect, social influence, and usefulness that was significant at prior research about technology acceptance model (TAM) still significant on Internet communities?
In this study, user participation, network effect, social influence, and usefulness are independent variables, stickiness is mediating variable, and continued use is dependent variable. Among independent variables, we are focused on user participation. User participation means that Internet user participates in the development of Internet community site (called mini-hompy or blog in Korea). User participation was studied from 1970 to 1997 at the research area of information system. But since 1997 when Internet started to spread to the public, user participation has hardly been studied. Given the importance of user participation at
the success of Internet-based companies, it is very meaningful to study the research topic of user participation.
To test the proposed model, we used a data set generated from the survey. The survey instrument was designed on the basis of a comprehensive literature review and interviews of experts, and was refined through several rounds of pretests, revisions, and pilot tests. The respondents of survey were the undergraduates and the graduate students who mainly used Internet communities. Data analysis was conducted using 217 respondents (response rate, 97.7 percent). We used structural equation modeling (SEM) implemented in partial least square (PLS). We chose PLS for two reason. First, our model has formative constructs. PLS uses components-based algorithm and can estimate formative constructs. Second, PLS is more appropriate when the research model is in an early stage of development. A review of the literature suggests that empirical tests of user participation is still sparse.
The test of model was executed in the order of three research questions. First, user participation had the direct effects on stickiness (β = 0.150, p < 0.01) and continued use (β = 0.119, p < 0.05). And user participation, as a partial mediation model, had a indirect effect on continued use mediated through stickiness (β = 0.070, p < 0.05). Second, optional participation and prosuming participation significantly formed user participation. Optional participation, with a path magnitude as high as 0.986 (p < 0.001), is a key determinant for the strength of user participation. Third, Network effect (β = 0.236, p < 0.001), social influence (β = 0.135, p < 0.05), and usefulness (β = 0.343, p < 0.001) had directly significant impacts on stickiness.
But network effect and social influence, as a full mediation model, had both indirectly significant impacts on continued use mediated through stickiness (β = 0.11, p < 0.001; and β = 0.063, p < 0.05, respectively).
Compared with this result, usefulness, as a partial mediation model, had a direct impact on continued use and a indirect impact on continued use mediated through stickiness.
This study has three contributions. First, this is the first empirical study showing that user participation is the significant driver of continued use. The researchers of information system have hardly studied user participation since late 1990s. And the researchers of marketing have studied a few lately. Second, this study enhanced the understanding of user participation. Up to recently, user participation has been studied from the bipolar viewpoint of participation v.s. non-participation. Also, even the study on participation has been studied from the point of limited optional participation. But, this study proved the existence of prosuming participation to design and produce products or services, besides optional participation. And this study empirically proved that optional participation and prosuming participation were the key determinant for user participation. Third, our study compliments traditional studies of TAM. According prior literature about of TAM, the constructs of network effect, social influence, and usefulness had effects on the technology adoption. This study proved that these constructs still are significant on Internet communities.

목차

Abstract
 Ⅰ. 서론
 Ⅱ. 사용자 참여에 관한 선행연구
  2.1 쾌락적 정보시스템으로서의 인터넷 커뮤니티
  2.2 정보시스템 개발에서의 사용자 참여
 Ⅲ. 연구모델과 연구가설
  3.1 밀착도와 지속적 이용의도
  3.2 사용자 참여
  3.3 네트워크 효과
  3.4 사회적 영향
  3.5 유용성
 Ⅳ. 연구 방법론
  4.1 데이터 수집
  4.2 측정문항 개발
  4.3 측정지표의 구분 : 반영지표와 조형지표
 V. 분석 결과
  5.1 측정모형
  5.2 구조모형
  5.3 결과에 대한 논의
 Ⅵ. 결론
  6.1 연구결과의 요약
  6.2 연구의 공헌도
  6.3 경영적 시사점
  6.4 연구의 한계와 향후 연구의 제언
 참고문헌
 부록

저자

• 고미현 [ Mihyungo Ko | 충북대학교 경영정보학과 박사과정 ]
• 권순동 [ Sundong Kwon | 충북대학교 경영정보학과 조교수 ] 교신저자

참고문헌