Earticle

초록

영어

In the rapidly evolving digital entertainment landscape, Chinese Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms markedly diverged from their international counterparts by cultivating a distinctive paradigm of "interactive immersion." Fueled by technological innovation and the increasingly sophisticated expectations of digital natives, these platforms have incorporated complex functional features that extend far beyond simple video playback. Nevertheless, existing research largely focuses on content consumption, leaving a critical gap in understanding how interface mechanics shape user’s psychological experiences. This study aims to address this gap by examining the interactive functional features of Chinese OTT platforms and their influence on user "viewing flow" through the theoretical framework of flow theory. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, this study categorizes interface features characteristic of the Chinese context into three dimensions: Danmaku, social and personalization. A conceptual model was developed to analyze the direct effects of these features on viewing flow, with demographic variables incorporated as moderating factors. Adopting a quantitative research design, the study utilizes survey data collected from active users of iQIYI, one of China's leading OTT platforms. Hierarchical regression and moderation analysis were conducted to test the proposed hypotheses. The empirical results support the proposed model and reveal distinct psychological mechanisms. Specifically, the Danmaku feature (β = 0.368, p < 0.001), social features (β = 0.163, p < 0.001), and personalization features (β = 0.242, p < 0.001) all significantly enhance users’ viewing flow. Further the moderation analysis indicates that age significantly moderates these relationships: the positive effects of Danmaku and personalization features on viewing flow weaken as age increases. Theoretically, this study extends flow theory by conceptualizing viewing flow as an interface-mediated experiential state within Chinese OTT environments. It demonstrates that interactive functional features facilitate flow through distinct psychological mechanisms, particularly by enhancing ambient social presence and perceived control. By shifting the analytical attention from content-centered immersion to interface-level affordances, this research expands the theoretical boundaries of flow theory to encompass highly interactive and non-linear digital media systems. Practically, the findings provide actionable insights for OTT platform developers and interface designers: to enhance user retention and engagement, platforms should prioritize the optimization of interactive and social layers, particularly when targeting the Generation Z demographic.

목차

Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Background and Research Hypothesis
2.1. Interactive Functional Features of Chinese OTT Platforms: The Case of iQIYI
2.2. User Experience on OTT Platform and the Flow Experience
2.3. Hypothesis Development
3. Method
3.1. Data Collection
3.2. Measurement
4. Results
4.1. Reliability and Validity
4.2. Factor Analysis
4.3. Correlation Analysis
4.4. Regression Analysis
4.5. Moderation Analysis
5. Discussion
5.1. Research Contributions
5.2. Limitations and Future Research
References

키워드

저자

• Zheng, Shuang [ Department of Visual Contents, Graduate School of Dongseo University, Korea ]
• Kim, Mijin [ Department of Visual Contents, Graduate School of Dongseo University, Korea ] Corresponding Author

참고문헌

발행기관

간행물

표지보기 관심저널 등록

• 간행물명

  Journal of China Studies

• 간기

  계간

• pISSN

  1975-5902

• eISSN

  3022-5590

• 수록기간

  2006~2026

• 등재여부

  KCI 등재

• 십진분류

  KDC 912 DDC 951