Earticle

Online product (or service) review platforms are increasingly incorporating receipt-based consumer verification as a means of filtering out fake reviews. In this method, consumers are required to upload a photocopy of their receipt before they can write a review. This study aims to examine how this additional step before writing a review impacts the length and ratings of the online review. We analyze a large-scale database of reviews obtained from a prominent Korean portal that initially featured a platform-verified review system only but later introduced a receipt-based consumer-verified review system. The unique contextual setting, where a single platform offers both platform-verified and consumer-verified review systems, enables us to compare review elements between the two different systems without being concerned about potential effects arising from differences in platform characteristics. We found that receipt-based consumer verification leads to shorter and more negative reviews compared to platform verification. We also found that the introduction of a consumer-verified review system reduced the average review duration in the platform-verified review system. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of the study.

Live-streaming commerce has gained popularity in recent years, shifting users’ shopping patterns from traditional experiences to real-time interactions, by delivering information and entertainment to users. Drawing upon the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) framework, this study investigates the influence of perceived live-streaming affordance and perceived streamer characteristics on users’ cognitive and emotional states (enjoyment, psychological distance, trust) and behavioral response (purchase intention) from a live-streaming commerce perspective. The data were collected through a survey administered to South Korean respondents with prior experience in using live-streaming commerce. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used to verify the relationships proposed in the model. The results showed that perceived live-streaming affordance and perceived streamer characteristics have a positive impact on enjoyment and trusting the seller, reducing psychological distance and promoting users’ purchase behavior. The results provide theoretical and practical insights into the psychological mechanisms of live-streaming commerce that influence the psychological distance felt by users towards the products. Relevant managerial implications are discussed.

The field of Information Systems (IS) has emerged as a core domain within the convergence paradigm that integrates information technology (IT) and management to advance both academic and practical applications. As developments in information and communication technology (ICT) have made large-scale data more accessible, research efforts have increasingly focused on uncovering the structural evolution of IS knowledge systems and research trends. Previous studies have employed text mining and network analysis to analyze titles, abstracts, and keywords from IS journals; however, most have been limited to specific time periods or domestic journals, lacking a longitudinal and comparative perspective across leading global and regional journals. To address this gap, this study collected all articles published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Information Systems (APJIS) (1991–Q3 2022) and Management Information Systems Quarterly (MISQ) (1977–Q3 2022). The extracted keywords were categorized into research topics, methodologies, and theories, followed by four analytical approaches: frequency analysis, trend analysis, topic modeling, and keyword network analysis. These methods were used to identify and compare the longitudinal research trends and intellectual structures of the two journals. The findings reveal that both APJIS and MISQ have evolved from system- and technology-centered studies toward data-driven, AI-enabled, and user-focused research. While MISQ has consistently led the introduction of new research themes and theoretical frameworks, APJIS has expanded and contextualized these themes within the Asia-Pacific setting. This study is expected to provide practical guidance for IS journal stakeholders and future researchers by identifying the developmental trajectories of global and regional IS research and proposing promising directions for future studies.

Researchers have been continuously interested in the adoption of information technology (IT) since it is of great importance to the information systems success and it is also an important stage to the success. Adoption alone, however, does not ensure information systems success because it does not necessarily lead to achieving organizational or individual objectives. When an organization or an individual decide to adopt certain information technologies, they have objectives to accomplish by using those technologies. Adoption itself is not the ultimate goal. The period after adoption is when users continue to use IT and intended objectives can be accomplished. Therefore, continued IT use in the post-adoption period accounts more for the accomplishment of the objectives and thus information systems success. Previous studies also suggest that continued IT use in the post-adoption period is one of the important factors to improve long-term productivity. Despite the importance there are few empirical studies focusing on the user behavior of continued IT use in the post-adoption period. User behavior in the post-adoption period is different from that in the pre-adoption period. According to the technology acceptance model, which explains well about the IT adoption, users decide to adopt IT assessing the usefulness and the ease of use. After adoption, users are exposed to new experiences and they shape new beliefs different from the thoughts they had before. Users come to make decisions based on their experiences of IT use whether they will continue to use it or not. Most theories about the user behaviors in the pre-adoption period are limited in describing them after adoption since they do not consider user's experiences of using the adopted IT and the beliefs formed by those experiences. Therefore, in this study, we explore user's experiences and beliefs in the post-adoption period and examine how they affect user's intention to continue to use IT. Through deep literature reviews on the construction of subjective beliefs by experiences, we draw three meaningful constructs which theoretically have great impacts on the continued use of IT: perceived habit, confirmation, and computer self-efficacy. Then, we examine the role of the subjective beliefs on the cognitive/affective attitudes and intention to continue to use that IT. We set up a research model and conducted survey research. Since IT use implies interactions among a user, IT, and a task, we carefully selected the sample of users using same/similar IT to perform same/similar tasks, to exclude unwanted influences of other factors than subjective beliefs on the IT use. We also considered that the sample of users were able to make decisions to continue to use IT volitionally or at least quasi-volitionally. For each construct, we used measurement items recognized for reliability and widely used in the previous research. We slightly modified some items proper to the research context and a pilot test was carried out for forty users of a portal service in a university. We performed a full-scale survey after verifying the reliability of the measurement. The results show that the intention to continue to use IT is strongly influenced by cognitive/affective attitudes, perceived habits, and computer self-efficacy. Confirmation affects the intention to continue indirectly through cognitive/affective attitudes. All the constructs representing the subjective beliefs built by the experiences of IT use have direct and/or indirect impacts on the intention of users. The results also show that the attitudes in the post-adoption period are formed, at least partly, by the experiences of IT use and newly shaped beliefs after adoption. The findings suggest that subjective beliefs built by the experiences have deep impacts on the continued use. The results of the study signify that while experiencing IT in the post-adoption period users form new beliefs, attitudes, and intentions which may be different from those of the pre-adoption period. The results of this study partly demonstrate that the beliefs shaped by the behaviors, those are the experiences of IT use, influence users' attitudes and intention. The results also suggest that behaviors (experiences) also change attitudes while attitudes shape behaviors. If we combine the findings of this study with the results of the previous research on IT adoption, we can propose a cycle of IT adoption and use where behavior shapes attitude, the attitude forms new behavior, and that behavior shapes new attitude. Different from the previous research, the study focused on the user experience after IT adoption and empirically demonstrated the strong influence of the subjective beliefs formed in the post-adoption period on the continued use. This partly confirms the differences between attitudes in the pre-adoption and in the post-adoption period. Users continuously change their attitudes and intentions while experiencing (using) IT. Therefore, to make users adopt IT and to make them use IT after adoption is a different problem. To encourage users to use IT after adoption, experiential variables such as perceived habit, confirmation, and computer self-efficacy should be managed properly.

Online reviews, as a notable form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), have demonstrated a significant association with a broad range of consumers, particularly in shaping their impressions of products or services and influencing their purchasing intentions. Both review ratings and sentiment reflect the reviewer’s satisfaction and attitude after using a product or service. Additionally, reviewers with greater relevant experience are often able to provide more insightful evaluations. Based on this, our study analyzes the relationship between review ratings and textual sentiment and their link to review helpfulness, using movie reviews collected from IMDb.com, while also considering the moderating role of the reviewer’s relevant experience. Our findings indicate that extreme ratings are more strongly related to review helpfulness. Moreover, regardless of the sentiment expressed in the review title and text, reviews with more negative sentiment are generally perceived as more helpful. Reviewer experience, especially when relevant to the movie genre being reviewed, amplifies the connection between rating, title sentiment, and text sentiment and review helpfulness. This study confirms the relationship between three key factors and review helpfulness, further clarifying the moderating role of reviewer relevant experience. These results contribute to eWOM research and enrich the literature on review helpfulness.

Lots of virtual communities and online businesses presently derive their primary sources of revenues through advertising, but nevertheless are plagued with marginal profitability though they might possess a significant user base. In the light of the need for an efficacious business model, there have been recent insights of an online community in particular reaping profits through an innovative and lucrative revenue generation method that earns by selling digital items. There have been some obvious evidences (e.g., Cyworld, SecondLife, Habo Hotel, etc.) that online communities can be profitable through their unique business model of selling digital items. However, there is lack of understanding about the motivation of purchasing digital items. This study tries to identify the main motivators of digital item purchases based on social/individual identity theory and self-presentation theory. ”Digital items”, otherwise known as ”virtual assets”, may include online avatars, accessories for the avatars, decorative ornaments like furniture, digital wallpapers, skins, background music and virtual weapons used for Internet games. These digital items are employed by users for representation and articulation in the online space, especially to create and enhance their online profiles in web pages and games. Prices for digital items typically range from a few cents to a few dollars each. Based on the theoretical framework like social identity theory and self-presentation theory, we developed the research model and proposed seven hypotheses. An analysis of 225 members of Cyworld found that digital item purchase intention in virtual world is affected by both members' need for self-presentation and need for affiliation. We also found that the need for self-presentation is significantly increased by innovativeness of members, community group norm, and community involvement. We concluded that the need for self-presentation could be a key variable for profitable business model in online community service industry. However, neither individual self-efficacy nor the need for affiliation significantly influenced the need for self-presentation which triggers purchase intention of digital items. In term of the theoretical and practical contribution, this study can be a pioneering empirical research that investigates the purchase intention of digital items based on social identity theory and self-presentation theory in the online context. Also, the findings of our study are valuable and practical for practitioners in the market who wish to adopt or improve the business model of selling digital items in an online community. From the findings, it can be seen that innovativeness of users, community group norm, and community involvement are three significant factors that influence need for self-presentation of users which ultimately leads to their intentions to buy digital items. These findings put forth that virtual community providers and online businesses selling digital items should prioritize their efforts and focus on these three factors if they want to increase the sales of these digital items and generate greater revenues. This study provides important implications for academic researchers and practitioners to understand why the community members pay money for their digital items in virtual world and how the practitioners can increase the sales of digital items in an online community. A couple of limitations of the study and futureresearch directions are also discussed.

Our society has long been talking about necessity for innovation. Since companies in particular need to carry out business innovation in their overall processes, they have attempted to apply many innovation factors on sites and become to pay more attention to their innovation. In order to achieve this goal, companies has applied various information technologies (IT) on sites as a means of innovation, and consequently IT have been greatly developed. It is natural for the field of IT to have faced another revolution which is called cloud computing, which is expected to result in innovative changes in software application via the Internet, data storing, the use of devices, and their operations. As a vehicle of innovation, cloud computing is expected to lead the changes and advancement of our society and the business world. Although many scholars have researched on a variety of topics regarding the innovation via IT, few studies have dealt with the issue of could computing as IT. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to set the variables of innovation attributes based on the previous articles as the characteristic variables and clarify how these variables affect ”Performance Expectancy” of companies and the intention of using cloud computing. The result from the analysis of data collected in this study is as follows. The study utilized a research model developed on the innovation diffusion theory to identify influences on the adaptation and spreading IT for cloud computing services. Second, this study summarized the characteristics of cloud computing services as a new concept that introduces innovation at its early stage of adaptation for companies. Third, a theoretical model is provided that relates to the future innovation by suggesting variables for innovation characteristics to adopt cloud computing services. Finally, this study identified the factors affecting expectation and the intention to use the cloud computing service for the companies that consider adopting the cloud computing service. As the parameter and dependent variable respectively, the study deploys the independent variables that are aligned with the characteristics of the cloud computing services based on the innovation diffusion model, and utilizes the expectation for performance and Intention to Use based on the UTAUT theory. Independent variables for the research model include Relative Advantage, Complexity, Compatibility, Cost Saving, Trialability, and Observability. In addition, 'Acceptance for Adaptation’ is applied as an adjustment variable to verify the influences on the expected performances from the cloud computing service. The validity of the research model was secured by performing factor analysis and reliability analysis. After confirmatory factor analysis is conducted using AMOS 7.0, the 20 hypotheses are verified through the analysis of the structural equation model, accepting 12 hypotheses among 20. For example, Relative Advantage turned out to have the positive effect both on Individual Performance and on Strategic Performance from the verification of hypothesis, while it showed meaningful correlation to affect Intention to Use directly. This indicates that many articles on the diffusion related Relative Advantage as the most important factor to predict the rate to accept innovation. From the viewpoint of the influence on Performance Expectancy among Compatibility and Cost Saving, Compatibility has the positive effect on both Individual Performance and on Strategic Performance, while it showed meaningful correlation with Intention to Use. However, the topic of the cloud computing service has become a strategic issue for adoption in companies, Cost Saving turns out to affect Individual Performance without a significant influence on Intention to Use. This indicates that companies expect practical performances such as time and cost saving and financial improvements through the adoption of the cloud computing service in the environment of the budget squeezing from the global economic crisis from 2008. Likewise, this positively affects the strategic performance in companies. In terms of effects, Trialability is proved to give no effects on Performance Expectancy. This indicates that the participants of the survey are willing to afford the risk from the high uncertainty caused by innovation, because they positively pursue information about new ideas as innovators and early adopter. In addition, they believe it is unnecessary to test the cloud computing service before the adoption, because there are various types of the cloud computing service. However, Observability positively affected both Individual Performance and Strategic Performance. It also showed meaningful correlation with Intention to Use. From the analysis of the direct effects on Intention to Use by innovative characteristics for the cloud computing service except the parameters, the innovative characteristics for the cloud computing service showed the positive influence on Relative Advantage, Compatibility and Observability while Complexity, Cost saving and the likelihood for the attempt did not affect Intention to Use. While the practical verification that was believed to be the most important factor on Performance Expectancy by characteristics for cloud computing service, Relative Advantage, Compatibility and Observability showed significant correlation with the various causes and effect analysis. Cost Saving showed a significant relation with Strategic Performance in companies, which indicates that the cost to build and operate IT is the burden of the management. Thus, the cloud computing service reflected the expectation as an alternative to reduce the investment and operational cost for IT infrastructure due to the recent economic crisis. The cloud computing service is not pervasive in the business world, but it is rapidly spreading all over the world, because of its inherited merits and benefits. Moreover, results of this research regarding the diffusion innovation are more or less different from those of the existing articles. This seems to be caused by the fact that the cloud computing service has a strong innovative factor that results in a new paradigm shift while most IT that are based on the theory of innovation diffusion are limited to companies and organizations. In addition, the participants in this study are believed to play an important role as innovators and early adapters to introduce the cloud computing service and to have competency to afford higher uncertainty for innovation. In conclusion, the introduction of the cloud computing service is a critical issue in the business world.

With the advancements and widespread adoption of social media platforms, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) has become increasingly diverse, significantly impacting consumer decisions through its varied information dissemination. Compared to textual reviews, video reviews on the social medias are becoming more crucial in consumers' shopping decision-making process. This is attributed to video reviews offering consumers more comprehensive information through visual cues and dynamic product explanations. While the perceived helpfulness of information presented in video reviews can reflect viewers' evaluations of review quality, there is a notable absence of research examining the factors influencing the assessment of review helpfulness in videos. To bridge this gap, we investigated the impact of YouTube channel characteristics and video duration on the helpfulness of video reviews for electronic products. Additionally, this study applied speech-to-text conversion and text mining techniques to extract and analyze emotional factors. The findings of the model analysis revealed that a greater number of subscribers to a channel corresponds to increased helpfulness of video reviews. Furthermore, the helpfulness of video reviews tends to rise when the expressed emotions are more negative. This study also confirmed a non-linear relationship between video duration and review helpfulness, concluding that videos of an appropriate duration are most beneficial to consumers. This study not only adapted and validated the antecedents of helpfulness from textual reviews to video reviews but also expanded research on the review helpfulness within the realm of social media. Drawing on the analytical outcomes, practical insights were provided for the generation and management of eWOM and video reviews on social media platforms. Especially, the results provide constructive for individuals and platforms involved in generating and presenting more helpful content for product reviews.

The development of modern society is intricately linked to data, which is regarded as a crucial resource for social and economic progress. The global push for government data transparency has garnered significant attention, with numerous countries actively promoting its utilization. In line with this trend, the Korean government has sought to improve public services through enhanced data accessibility. However, few companies are utilizing open government data (OGD). Thus, this study investigates the factors contributing to OGD adoption hesitancy by examining the perspectives of two primary stakeholder groups: the government and companies. Using social representation theory, we analyze news articles to reveal company perspectives and identify their reluctance to use OGD. The findings reveal 15 key thematic categories, highlighting significant differences in stakeholder perceptions. By exploring and comparing government and company perspectives, this study provides insights into the underutilization of OGD and proposes practical strategies to enhance its adoption. These recommendations are essential for effectively formulating and implementing policies, fostering greater business engagement, and driving economic innovation and growth.

Digital learning platforms enable global knowledge sharing, yet cultural and linguistic diversity presents ongoing engagement challenges. This study examines how language and cultural diversity influence learner engagement and academic performance in massive open online courses (MOOCs). Drawing on cognitive dissonance and adaptive learning theories, we investigate whether learners who initially encounter cultural or linguistic barriers ultimately achieve superior outcomes. We analyze observational data from a 10-week edX course on baseball analytics, chosen due to the varying cultural familiarity with baseball. Results indicate that while in-group learners (English speakers from countries where baseball is culturally familiar) initially exhibit higher engagement and performance, persistent out-group learners demonstrate deeper social engagement, increased forum persistence, and superior long-term academic performance. Their sustained engagement significantly improves the discussions quality, benefiting other learners in the course. These findings contribute to cognitive dissonance theory by showing that initial discomfort can improve learners’ cognitive engagement and learning outcomes. From a practical perspective, this study provides managerial implications for learner support, adaptive assessment design, and diversity management in MOOC setting.