The influence of cultural familiarity on Tanzanian millennials' perceptions of Korea: the mediating roles of involvement

The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelationships between cultural familiarity (CF), Korean cultural involvement (KCI), involvement with Korean celebrities (IKC), attitude toward a country (ATCOUN), and word-of-mouth (WOM) toward Korea. Survey data were collected from 358 Tanzanian college students within Tanzania in March of 2017. The findings reveal that CF exerted a positive and significant influence on KCI, IKC, and ATCOUN. Moreover, KCI positively and significantly forms both IKC and ATCOUN. Additionally, IKC was a positive influence on ATCOUN. ATCOUN was demonstrated to be a significant predictor of WOM, while KCI was demonstrated to act as a partial mediator between CF and ATCOUN. IKC was a partial mediator between CF and ATCOUN. IKC was a full mediator between KCI and ATCOUN.