Date of Award
Summer 2025
Document Type
Open Access Dissertation
Department
Moore School of Business
First Advisor
Sali Li
Abstract
This dissertation examines how digital identity, comprising visual, psychological, and strategic components, impacts entrepreneurial success on global digital platforms. Rather than treating identity as a static or aesthetic trait, this study conceptualizes it as a dynamic and strategic construct shaped by audience perception, algorithmic systems, and institutional environments. The research is structured into three empirical studies. The first explores how facial visibility and social media engagement affect monetization on YouTube, considering the international context. The second study empirically investigates how a biometric cue influences entrepreneurial performance on digital platforms and interprets the results through the lens of social psychological perspectives. The third study employs machine learning techniques to evaluate how platform strategies, specifically a multi-homing approach, can predict early success.
Across these studies, the findings highlight multiple mechanisms through which digital identity informs entrepreneurial success, ranging from perceptual signals to strategic behavior. This dissertation contributes to the fields of international business and digital entrepreneurship by redefining digital identity as a key performance mechanism in platform-based economies. It offers actionable insights for content creators, marketers, and strategists navigating algorithm-driven environments, highlighting new directions for future research on digital identity and culturally adaptive digital platform strategies.
Rights
© 2025, Hoik Kim
Recommended Citation
Kim, H.(2025). Beyond Entertainment: Unveiling Digital Platform Strategic Implications for International Business Growth of Individual Entrepreneurs. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/8524