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Purpose: The first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was documented in China, and the virus was soon to be introduced to its neighboring country – South Korea. South Korea, one of the earliest countries to initiate a national pandemic response to COVID-19 with fairly substantial measures at the individual, societal and governmental level, is an interesting example of a rapid response by the Global South. The current study examines contact tracing mobile applications (hereafter, contact tracing apps) for those who were subject to self-quarantine through the lenses of dataveillance and datafication. This paper analyzes online/digital data from those who were mandatorily self-quarantined by the Korean government largely due to returning from overseas travel. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses an Internet ethnography approach to collect and analyze data. To extract data for this study, self-quarantined Korean individuals' blog entries were collected and verified with a combination of crawling and manual checking. Content analysis was performed with the codes and themes that emerged. In the COVID-19 pandemic era, this method is particularly useful to gain access to those who are affected by the situation. This approach advances the author's understandings of COVID-19 contact tracing mobile apps and the experiences of self-quarantined people who use them. Findings: The paper shows Korean citizens' understandings and views of using the COVID-19 self-tracing application in South Korea through examining their experiences. The research argues that the application functions as a datafication tool that collects the self-quarantined people's information and performs dataveillance on the self-quarantined people. This research further offers insights for various agreements/disagreements at different actors (i.e. the self-quarantined, their families, contact tracers/government officials) in the process of contact tracing for COVID-19. Originality/value: This study also provides insights into the implications of information and technology as they affect datafication and dataveillance conducted on the public. This study investigates an ongoing debate of COVID-19's contact tracing method concerning privacy and builds upon an emerging body of literature on datafication, dataveillance, social control and digital sociology. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-08-2020-0377 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how usability and sociability differ in the way they influence users’ experiences using social TV (STV). Design/methodology/approach – The research model is theoretically proposed and empirically tested through a survey of STV users in South Korea. The model was analysed using structural equation modelling, and the results were input to a neural network model to predict adoption. Findings – Users differ in their emphasis on the identified dimensions when they view STV and socialise through it. Furthermore, the findings show the mediating and moderating roles of perceived sociability on the effect of performance on intention. That is, with sociability, users perceive higher utilitarian value and enjoyable hedonic value and thus are more likely to intend to use STV. Research limitations/implications – The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of building a theory of sociability and providing practical insights into developing a meaningful sociable TV experiences. Originality/value – As multidimensional constructs, users’ perceptions of sociability and usability are determined by multiple heterogeneous factors, such as utility and social interaction. This study highlights these two aspects in terms of the rising use of STV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a research model examining users' perceived value of a location-based social networking service (LB-SNS) through hedonic, utilitarian, and social values. This study investigates the impact for each type of perceived value on user satisfaction, behavioural intention to use, and word-of-mouth for LB-SNS. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 172 Korean smartphone users with experience using LB-SNS. This study employed PLS to test the proposed model and corresponding hypotheses. Findings – A positive influence exists for each type of perceived value on satisfaction with hedonic value having the strongest relationship. Hedonic value is positively correlated with behavioural intention to use LB-SNS and positive word-of-mouth while social value affects positive word-of-mouth. Utilitarian value did not influence either behavioural intention to use LB-SNS or positive word-of-mouth. User satisfaction has a significant influence on both behavioural intention to use LB-SNS and positive word-of-mouth. Research limitations/implications – This study is at the forefront of research focused on LB-SNS adoption, extending beyond the utilitarian-hedonic value dichotomy to include a social dimension. This study confirmed that perceived value is an antecedent of satisfaction, which leads to behavioural intentions. Practical implications – The advantages and benefits of LB-SNS should be emphasised to increase users' perceived value. LB-SNS providers can improve user satisfaction by increasing the hedonic, utilitarian, and social value of their services. Organisations should seek out and explore the possibilities of marketing campaigns through LB-SNS. Originality/value – This study is the first empirical study examining user acceptance of LB-SNS incorporating users' perceived value satisfaction and behavioural intentions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]