KOREASCHOLAR

Organizations are increasingly implementing recommendation systems on their websites. A growing body of research is focusing on how the characteristics of online message content affect consumers’ consumption intentions, taking into account consumers’ static personal information, such as demographics. However, limited research has explored how the social context of consumers and online message content characteristics can affect the consumers’ intention to consume events. To address this gap, the present study investigates the joint effects of consumers' social context and arousal potential cues on their intention to attend cultural events. Based on the Target-arousal level theory, we suggest that people who anticipate solo consumption (i.e., accompanied by no one) will tend to attend cultural events promoted by a low arousal potential cue ("A calming experience."), while those who anticipate social consumption (i.e., accompanied by one or more companions) will tend to attend cultural events promoted by a high arousal potential cue ("An exciting experience”). Furthermore, we argue that anticipated enjoyment will mediate this relationship. The joint impact of the social context and arousal potential cues of a cultural event on consumers' intention to attend, as well as the mediating role of anticipated enjoyment, were demonstrated through two studies. The use of message cues and personalized recommendation algorithms as tools to target consumers and improve attendance rates is discussed. References available upon request.

• Inyoung Lee(Seoul National University, South Korea)
• Sang-Hoon Kim(Seoul National University, South Korea)
• Jisu Yi(Gachon University, South Korea)