Antecedent factors that affect purchase intentions of Korean consumer products: a focus on K-drama binge-watchers in Malaysia

• Main Author: Tengku Mohd Azzman, Tengku Siti Aisha
• Format: Proceeding Paper
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: H Social Sciences (General); P87 Communication. Mass media
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/107466/12/107466_ANTECEDENT%20FACTORS%20THAT%20AFFECT%20PURCHASE%20INTENTIONS%20OF%20KOREAN%20CONSUMER%20PRODUCTS.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/107466/7/107466_Programme%20event.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/107466/; https://comet.iium.edu.my/
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Audience involvement through attachment with media personae and immersion in media content is a growing area in communication research. Scholars argue that audience involvement is important as mediated characters can act as social agents and influence their fanbase. Therefore, we seek to examine two forms of audience involvement with K-dramas: parasocial interaction and transportation, among K-drama binge-watchers. Due to the recent surge of Hallyu in Malaysia, K-dramas are a top choice for the streaming audience. Thus, as binge-watchers eagerly consume K-drama content on streaming platforms, their involvement with K-dramas may influence how they feel about Korean culture and subsequently their intention to purchase Korean consumer products. Consequently, the research objectives of this study are twofold: (a) to identify predictors of intention to purchase Korean consumer products, and (b) to examine the mediating role of parasocial interaction (PSI), transportation (MT), and binge-watching tendencies (BWT) in the relationship between cultural affinity (CA) and intention to purchase consumer products from Korea (PI). Seven hypotheses were proposed in this study. An online survey was distributed among undergraduate students taking communication courses from March to June 2023. Respondents must use streaming platforms and be familiar with K-dramas to participate in the study (N = 219). Zero-order correlations and the parallel mediation analysis using PROCESS macro (model 4) was used to test the hypotheses of the study. Five hypotheses were supported; CA, PSI and BWT positively predicted PI. Also, PSI and BWT mediated the relationships between CA and PI. Implications of these findings on research linking contemporary audience involvement and consumer behavior will be deliberated.