Fan identification and narrative transportation as determinants of perceived value of webtoon-based merchandise
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17832004 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Seungyeon Ha (0000-0002-4887-2882, Korea University), Seongcheol Kim (0000-0001-6703-4465, Korea University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-25 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2662-9992 • E-ISSN: 2662-9992 |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1057/s41599-026-06961-2 |
| OpenAlex | W7140322951 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 110 |
Licensed merchandise is a key strategy for managing and leveraging one’s intellectual property (IP) assets. However, existing research offers a limited understanding of licensed merchandise in narrative entertainment, where consumer perceptions are shaped by both narrative engagement and fan identification. Therefore, this study explores how consumers in the entertainment industry perceive the value of licensed merchandise. Specifically, it examines the effect that fan identification and narrative transportation have on this value using social identity theory and the extended transportation imagery model (ETIM). Focusing on webtoons as an important entertainment IP, this study conducted an online survey and collected data from 300 webtoon readers. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze the relationship between content and fan attributes on fan identification and narrative transportation. The results show that character identification, perceived setting richness, and social interaction capacity all positively relate to fan identification and narrative transportation. While fan identification has a positive relationship with perceived merchandise value, no relationship was found with narrative identification. This study offers both academic and practical contributions by extending merchandise research to narrative entertainment and advancing fandom-based merchandise planning through strategies grounded in the factors that shape perceived merchandise value
Entertainment · Narrative · Perception · Social identity theory · Structural equation modeling · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Media, Gender, and Advertising
Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) Using R
Partial least squares structural equation modeling in HRM research
Drivers of consumer–brand identification
The role of consumer–brand identification in building brand relationships
Antecedents and consequences of psychological and team empowerment in organizations
Social Identity Theory and Self‐Categorization Theory
How does social presence influence SNS addiction? A belongingness theory perspective
Social Identity Theory and Self‐categorization Theory
The Function of Fiction is the Abstraction and Simulation of Social Experience
Understanding the Bond of Identification
How to perform and report an impactful analysis using partial least squares
Mundane Consumption and the Self
Consumer Perceptions of Price, Quality, and Value
Mediated Merchandise, Merchandisable Media
The effect of audience–character similarity on identification with narrative characters
Character identification is predicted by narrative transportation, immersive tendencies, and interactivity
How Interactive Storytelling Persuades
Exploring fans’ participation in digital media
There and Back Again? Exploring the Real-Time Cognitive Journey of Narrative Transportation
Repeated Exposure to Narrative Entertainment and the Salience of Moral Intuitions
The Tempering Effect of Transportation
The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior
Psychic Income and Intention to Attend Games, Intention to Purchase Licensed Merchandise, and Life Satisfaction
Sport fans’ curiosity and impulsive buying
Winning With Personality
Foreign fandom and the Liverpool FC
Football fandom
Entertainment?Education and Elaboration Likelihood
Fictionality and Perceived Realism in Experiencing Stories
Transportation Into Narrative Worlds
Cognitive and Affective Determinants of Fan Satisfaction with Sporting Event Attendance
Factors Affecting Fan Attendance
Role of Identification with a Group, Arousal, Categorization Processes, and Self-Esteem in Sports Spectator Aggression
Building Online Social Identity and Fandom Activities of K-pop Fans on Twitter
Positive Psychosocial Outcomes and Fanship in K-Pop Fans
The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives
Factors Affecting Purchase Intention of University‐Licensed Apparel
Defining Identification
Alumni and their alma mater
The Platformization of Culture
The Buying Impulse
Possessions and the Extended Self
The Extended Transportation-Imagery Model
Utopian Enterprise
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |