A Cross-cultural Comparative Study of User-Created Content Usage in Korea and the US

This study identifies the determinants of favorable user-created content (UCC) usage and compares Korea's collectivistic culture to the individualistic culture of the US. Finding shows the significant effects of perceived usefulness and ease of use on UCC use. Pleasure and arousal are also considered to be positively related with UCC usage. Particularly in social influence constructs, the subjective norm is the only construct that is differentiated in the two countries. Subjective norm is significantly related to perceived usefulness and UCC usage in Korea's collectivistic culture, but is proven to be insignificant in the individualistic culture of the United States. In addition, image is positively related with perceived usefulness in both countries.