The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/1066-2243.htm

Unveiling the success factors of Success factors

of BTS
BTS: a mixed-methods approach
So-Hyun Lee
School of Management, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China, and
Soobin Choi and Hee-Woong Kim
Graduate School of Information, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea Received 11 December 2019
Revised 25 August 2020
29 November 2020
Abstract Accepted 29 November 2020
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the key success factors behind Bangtan Boys’ (BTS)
popularity, and how they can contribute to sustaining it, along with detailed strategies for the success of
global pop.
Design/methodology/approach – This study adopts a mixed-methods approach that uses text mining and
interviews and uses the success of BTS to find the key factors accounting for its sustained popularity. For use
in text mining, we collected data related to BTS from social network sites (SNS) and analyzed this data using
latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modeling, term frequency analysis and keyword extraction. In addition,
we conducted interviews to explore the key factors accounting for the sustained popularity of BTS.
Findings – We found ten key success factors—active global fandom, SNS communication, fans’ loyalty,
empathy through music, storytelling and world view, performance quality, music video quality, overseas
expansion at an early stage, efforts for self-development and teamwork among members— for a global pop
group’s success and sustained popularity.
Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to the literature by finding key factors for
success and sustained popularity of a global group through using a mixed-methods approach.
Practical implications – Our results suggest strategies to sustain the popularity of global groups and its
potential to benefit across the entertainment industry.
Originality/value – This study is among the first to comprehensively examine the key factors for Korean
pop’s (K-pop) sustained popularity by using a mixed-methods approach of text mining and interviews.
Keywords Mixed methods, Text mining, Interview, BTS, Global pop music industry
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
The world music market continues to grow through digital sound sources and streaming
services despite the decline of the record industry. By 2023, worldwide revenues are expected
to exceed 65bn dollars (Watson, 2019). However, only a few musicians gain global popularity,
despite the growth and potential profitability of the music market. Among all musicians
worldwide, 90.7% remain unknown, and only 0.2% can be considered successful (Benatar,
2019). Moreover, the competition within this market is only becoming fiercer, creating a
climate in which only a small number of musicians can profit (Welsh, 2014). Nevertheless, in
this fiercely competitive market, Bangtan Boys (BTS), the representative Korean pop (K-pop)
band and global group, has gained tremendous popularity and become a worldwide
sensation. BTS generates an estimated four trillion won ($3.54bn) in economic value to the
country per year and 1.42 trillion won ($1.26bn) as added value per year (Chung et al., 2018).
Influenced by the growth of the music industry and BTS’s great popularity as a world-class
group, entertainment companies not only in Korea but also in many other countries are trying
to create groups like BTS. Over the last decade, 400 K-pop groups have had global ventures,
but only one or two groups barely survive each year. Applied to the global market, this
survival rate implies fiercer competition abroad (Chosun, 2017). BTS attracts tremendous
Internet Research
The previous version of this paper was presented at the Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems © Emerald Publishing Limited
1066-2243
(PACIS), 2019. DOI 10.1108/INTR-12-2019-0507
INTR attention each year as an influential top global group. However, such worldwide popularity is
difficult to attain and even harder to sustain. To understand the success of global groups like
BTS, it is necessary to understand the public’s desires in the changing music market and to
explore the specific characteristics of them.
As the global music industry has grown and drawn more attention to global pop music, it
has attracted more research. Most global music-related studies (Jin and Yoon, 2016;
Johansson, 2020; Vannini and Myers, 2002; Xu et al., 2017) cover the characteristics and
spread of pop music. Those that have presented strategies to succeed in the global pop music
market are rare. In a music market that is constantly changing due to the development of
information technology, it is necessary to understand what the public desires and to analyze
from different perspectives in order to comprehensively find key factors for success and
sustained popularity as a global pop group. However, most previous studies focused on a
single perspective through interviews or reviews of existing literature. Moreover, previous
research lacked a theoretically grounded approach. Therefore, this study aims to explore the
key factors of a global pop group’s sustained popularity from multiple perspectives by
applying a mixed-methods approach and interpreting the key factors theoretically.
This study seeks to answer three research questions: (1) What are the key factors among
the public that account for the success and sustained popularity of BTS as a global group?
(2) What do fandom and experts think are the key factors behind the success and sustained
popularity of BTS as a global group? (3) What are the differences and similarities between the
two perspectives? Based on the research questions, we needed complementary approaches
(i.e. to gain complementary views about the same phenomena or relationships) with different
methods. We applied a mixed-methods approach through text mining and interviews. For
text mining (related to the first research question), we derived from social networking sites
(SNS) the key factors that the public thinks account for BTS’s success and sustained
popularity. To do so, we collected BTS-related keywords. Then we subjected these to text-
mining techniques that analyzed them in terms of topic modeling, term frequency analysis
and keyword extraction to derive the key success factors. In our interviews (related to the
second research question), we explored the key factors by interviewing BTS fans and
entertainment experts. We compared and integrated the key success factors derived through
text mining and interviews (related to the third research question), and then we interpreted
the integrated factors theoretically based on the theory of involvement. We suggested
detailed strategies for the global group’s success and sustained popularity. This study
contributes to the existing literature by finding the key factors for success and sustained
popularity from multiple perspectives through mixed-methods and interpreting the key
factors theoretically. The results of this study can contribute to the improvement of the music
industry by suggesting detailed strategies for success and sustained popularity for singers
and groups who make their debut around the world.

Conceptual background and literature review

BTS
Pop is a genre of popular music that started in the mid-1950s as a modern form in the United
States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK), and its purpose is to appeal the general audience.
Because the term “pop” has been widely used, most countries outside of those in the West
attach the initials of their countries’ to the word, as in K-pop and J-pop. Pop music is spreading
faster due to the development of information technology, and people throughout the world
can enjoy various types of pop music beyond their boundaries. Especially after K-pop gained
great popularity overseas, the term K-pop is broadly used as the genre of Korean pop music.
BTS, a representative K-pop band and global group, is idolized by its extensive global
fandom which continues to grow. The group debuted in South Korea on June 13, 2013, and
quickly established a global presence. In 2015, its first album and title song both ranked Success factors
number one on the iTunes K-pop chart in the US. Its second album, released in 2016, ranked of BTS
26th in the US Billboard 200 chart. In December 2018, BTS set the record for selling ten million
albums in the shortest span of time (i.e. five and a half years) among all Korean acts since
2000. Five million of those albums were sold in South Korea during 2018 alone (Sports
Kyunghyang, 2018). As of August 2019, it has sold over 15 million physical albums in just
over six years (Choi, 2019). These sales place BTS as the most idolized music group in
the world.
Numerous pop groups have large numbers of fans all over the world, but only a few have
sustained their popularity for as long as BTS. Since BTS’s debut in 2013, its popularity has
increased every year, along with the attention it receives from fans around the world. Because
of its status as a K-pop phenomenon, we have used BTS in our search for the key factors for
success and sustained popularity as a global group. Most obviously, BTS has differentiated
itself from other pop groups, including other K-pop groups. First, BTS has formed its own
artistic identity, largely by creating and performing its own music. BTS members make their
stories into songs in which they address critical social issues. Most other groups sing about
universal issues of love and separation. Second, BTS uses social media to communicate with
and connect with fans. BTS members also made their efforts to communicate with fans
through their own personal SNS accounts. BTS also shares the characteristics of other K-pop
groups. K-pop incorporates coherent performance concepts such as choreography, stage
performances and costumes. While conforming to these overall characteristics of K-pop, BTS
also creates its own identity through costumes, choreography and performance standards
based on their own designs, performance concepts and standards. In this study, we use the
BTS case to explore the specific characteristics of a global group that has achieved global
success.

Literature review
The recent growth of global pop music and the attention it has attracted has spurred the
conduct of research into this phenomenon. These studies fit into two categories, those on the
global music industry (Benner and Waldfogel, 2016; Hon, 2013; Parc and Kawashima, 2018;
Williamson and Cloonan, 2007) and those on global pop music (Jin and Yoon, 2016; Johansson,
2020; Kim et al., 2014; Oh and Lee, 2013; Vannini and Myers, 2002; Xu et al., 2017) as shown in
Table 1. Most studies focusing on the global music industry seek to understand it in terms of
the influence of technological changes. Those concerned with the music and its performers
cover its characteristics and the spread of specific countries’ pop music along with the role of
social media in this spread (Jin and Yoon, 2016; Kim et al., 2014; Oh and Lee, 2013; Xu et al.,
2017). However, few studies have examined the phenomena from the viewpoint of suggesting
strategies to succeed and sustain popularity. A few previous studies have also focused on the
role of social media in the success of K-pop (Oh and Lee, 2013). However, no study has
analyzed global music and its successful performers from the standpoint of uncovering the
secrets to success in this competitive market. It is necessary to understand the desire of the
public in the changing music market and to explore the specific characteristics of global
groups that have accomplished global success and sustained their popularity. Especially to
comprehensively find the key success factors of a global group, it is necessary to analyze from
multiple perspectives. Most of the previous studies were focused on a single perspective
through interviews and literature reviews, but none presents the secrets of success and
sustained popularity from various perspectives. In addition, there were no studies that based
their research on theory or interpreted their results through a theoretical approach.
Therefore, this study aims to find the key success factors of a global group’s sustained
INTR Theme Author Method Purpose Results

Global Parc and Literature To study why J-pop industry Demonstrated different
music Kawashima review declined despite favorable results from whether to
industry (2018) conditions while K-pop embrace or wrestle with
industry expanded its digitization
influence despite
unfavorable conditions
Benner and Data To study the influence of Found that technology
Waldfogel analysis major technological changes changes have facilitated new,
(2016) and specifically how lower cost ways of
different types of music label conducting industry
organizations respond to the activities
changes
Hon (2013) Data To identify the best year in Found that the best year in
analysis the UK pop music industry music was 1981
Williamson Literature To examine the music Understanding of the music
and Cloonan review industry industry and the
(2007) development of policies for it
Global Johansson Interview To explore the styles of Found that Swedish pop is
pop music (2020) Swedish pop music part of a globalized culture,
while also retaining elements
that are uniquely Swedish
Xu et al. (2017) Case study To seek to build a hybrid Found that YouTube
model of internet-based commenters play a role as
cultural diffusion of K-pop gatekeepers and act as
conscious and critical
cultural consumers in a sea of
various cultural offerings
Jin and Yoon Interview To explore how the Hallyu Found that technological
(2016) phenomenon is integrated affordances of social media
into social media-driven platforms and fans’ sociality
cultural landscape interplay with each other
resulted in the rapid spread
of hallyu
Kim et al. Webometric To provide in-depth Found that Twitter’s
(2014) understanding of technological design can
communication world that shape communication
Twitter mediates, centered patterns and structures of
on K-pop K-pop diffusion
Oh and Lee Case study To explore importance of Found that K-pop’s success
(2013) mass media technologies in hinges on its heavy reliance
the birth of new popular on exports through YouTube
music genres
Vannini and Literature To explore the Found the characteristics of
Myers (2002) review characteristics of teen pop teen pop lyrics and their
Table 1. lyrics and their significance significance
Previous studies on at the personal and socio-
global music cultural level

popularity through the case of BTS from multiple perspectives and to interpret the factors
explored theoretically.
Involvement theory and social media Success factors
Involvement theory has been applied to behavioral research into social psychology and of BTS
marketing (Huang et al., 2010). Involvement is defined as a motive or state of interest to be
provided in a particular situation (Rothschild, 1984). Havitz and Dimanche (1997) described
the arousal of or interest in certain recreational activities or associated products as
involvement. The involvement theory can explain the fandom phenomenon in the music
industry. The theory consists of situational involvement and enduring involvement (Richins
et al., 1992; Whang et al., 2016), which can indicate arousal or interest in global pop. In the
context of this study, involvement is defined as an interest in or arousal by a form of global
pop such as K-pop. Situational involvement refers to a temporary interest in a specific
behavior or a specific object in a specific situation. It indicates that each individual’s
involvement with the same subject may vary depending on its characteristics as well as its
surrounding conditions. When social pressure is exerted on a certain phenomenon as well as a
certain desire, the tendency toward such a phenomenon or desire may increase accordingly.
Social media, which has recently soared in use, can act as a powerful force to stimulate the
spread of global pop.
Enduring involvement is associated with a desire or motive that lasts longer than what
occurs with a specific person, group or event. Fandom for a certain celebrity or character is
related to enduring involvement. In this study, an individual’s internal enthusiasm about
global pop is considered enduring involvement. In contrast, the influence of communication
channels or situational contexts on an individual’s enthusiasm is considered situational
involvement (Kang et al., 2013). Many global singers or groups use social media not only as a
means to promote their songs and music videos but to communicate closely with their fans as
well. Fans use social media to share the songs, music videos and activities of musicians they
are interested in (Dholakia and Durham, 2010; Lee and Kim, 2020). Situational involvement
can now be more easily formed because social media allows people to access various musical
content with minimal and nonspecific effort. As this content gets repeated and satisfies an
individual’s desire, it leads to enduring involvement. Based on these two categories of the
involvement theory, we can interpret the key success factors of the global groups explored in
this study.
Through social media, the range of situational involvement for global pop has expanded.
The previous studies (Jin and Yoon, 2016; Oh and Lee, 2013; Xu et al., 2017) on global pop
music showed that social media played a major role in its spread and success. Other studies
(Jain, 2013; Kaplan and Haenlein, 2012; Nanda et al., 2018; Moses et al., 2016; Oh et al., 2015;
Treme and VanDerPloeg, 2014) on the use and impact of social media have been conducted on
its use as a major digital marketing method in the music industry as well as the film industry.
In previous research related to using social media in the entertainment field, it was observed
that social media played an important role in promoting and spreading certain information.
Therefore, this study collected comments about BTS, a representative global pop group, by
using SNS that many people use freely. Twitter, the SNS channel used in this study, is one
social media site on which official BTS fan clubs communicate most actively and presented
the greatest opportunity for deriving meaningful results.

Research methodology
A mixed-methods approach and procedure
In general, a mixed-methods approach is a methodology for combining both quantitative and
qualitative methods, and they can be executed concurrently or sequentially depending on the
purpose of the study (Venkatesh et al., 2016; Plano Clark and Badiee, 2010). This study
applied a mixed-methods approach using a text-mining technique and interviews because a
single research method would be inadequate to address our three research questions from
INTR multiple perspectives. Following the guidelines of Venkatesh et al. (2013), we used a
concurrent mixed-methods design to conduct both research methods simultaneously and also
independently. This research design serves the complementarity (i.e. to gain complementary
views about the same phenomena or relationships) purpose in our study. We used a digital
mixed-methods design to integrate qualitative data and quantitative data. The integration of
data herein includes the transformation of qualitative data into quantitative data (Bazeley,
2010; O’Halloran et al., 2018). In accordance with the digital mixed-methods design, we used
text-mining techniques, latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modeling, keyword extraction
and word frequency analysis in order to collect and analyze keywords related to BTS in social
media. At the same time, interviews, the other method used in this study, collect qualitative
data by interviewing fans of BTS and experts involved in the entertainment industry. Our
study’s results integrate the outcomes of the text mining and interview analyses and then
identify their astringencies before devising their meta-inferences. Figure 1 illustrates our
research procedure.
We conducted the two research methods (i.e. text mining and interviews) concurrently.
Our reason for using these two research methods was to derive opinions from different
perspectives (i.e. public, fandom and experts). To answer our first research question, we
collected the data based on SNS and analyzed it with the use of text mining techniques (i.e.
LDA topic modeling, keyword extraction and term frequency analysis) in order to derive the
public’s opinions on the key factors of BTS’s success and sustained popularity. To answer
our second research question, we conducted interviews to explore the opinions of fans and
experts in the industry on the key factors of BTS’s success and sustained popularity. As for
the third question, we identified the differences and similarities of the key success factors
explored through text mining and interviews and integrated them. The results of the analyses
of this integrated data were used to derive meta-inferences (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 2008)
that we subsequently used to suggest strategies to gain and sustain popularity in global pop.

Text-mining analysis and procedure

We used web crawling to collect BTS-related posts from Twitter to use for text mining. We
selected Twitter because its BTS account ranks as the most “tweeted” account and therefore
presumably offers the greatest opportunity to secure a diverse range of opinions about BTS.
The analysis was performed as follows: (1) collection of BTS-related posts from Twitter;
(2) data preprocessing; (3) LDA topic modeling, term frequency analysis, and keyword
extraction and (4) interpretation and integration of the results of the analysis. Our collection
through web crawling of BTS-related posts from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018,

Text mining analysis Interviewee selection

Data crawling

LDA Interview analysis Fans

topic modeling

Social Term frequency

Meta- Code analysis Industry experts
media analysis
inferences (BTS agency,
(Twitter)
entertainment
reporters, etc)
Keyword extraction

Figure 1.
Research procedure
Text mining analysis Interview analysis
amassed 20,175 posts for analysis. Because this number included posts by both BTS fans and Success factors
BTS members, it was possible to secure a range of comments and data about BTS. of BTS
In the second procedural step, data preprocessing and morphological analysis were used
to eliminate any unnecessary information from the collected data. Because noun morphemes
carry the most significant meanings, keywords, mostly nouns, were used to extract data. In
addition, any unnecessary or insignificant words became stop words during this process.
From the refined data, keyword extraction was used to address the priority of keywords to
ensure the post was BTS-related. After these data collection and preprocessing steps, we
moved onto the third procedural steps of LDA topic modeling, term frequency analysis and
keyword extraction analysis–the three techniques of text mining. Topic modeling is a
procedural probability distribution model that finds a certain pattern in a document or text
and reveals potentially meaningful topics. We chose to use LDA topic modeling to fix the set
of topics that represent a set of words to permit mapping all of the tweeted data and identify
their important parts. The primary idea of LDA topic modeling is that each document can be
described by a distribution of topics, and each topic can be described by a distribution of
keywords. After extracting meaningful sets of keywords on BTS from the total data set, we
could divide all the keywords into groups of sets. The relationships between keywords within
each separate set of keywords were analyzed; next, topics were determined to properly
represent the sets of keywords. The designation of topics for this upper category was made
through consultation among researchers after consideration of the meaning of each keyword
and its relationship with others.
Next, term frequency analysis was performed to identify the words occurring most
frequently in the collected data in relation to BTS. It is obvious that longer documents have a
higher possible count of typical words, but term frequency analysis could divide the total
number of terms in a document as a way of normalization. The last step in this third
procedure was keyword extraction, defined as the identification of major keywords in the
data field (Lee and Kim, 2009). By extracting the most significant and popular keywords, it
was possible to establish the foundation to identify a recent trend (Matsuo and Ishizuka, 2004;
Habibi and Popescu-Belis, 2015). We used the term frequency-inverse document frequency
(TF-IDF) weight model for this extraction. This model is typically used for this step (Lee and
Kim, 2009) and is a statistical measure intended to reflect how relevant a term is in a given
document. By using these text-mining techniques, keywords of BTS were identified for use in
turn as the key factors to explain the success and sustained popularity of BTS.

Interview-based code analysis and procedure

We conducted interviews for the second analytical procedure of this study with the goal of
identifying the most significant factors of BTS’s sustained popularity. An interview is a
highly reliable research method that allows the deduction of the nature of a phenomenon for
exploration and investigation from the perspective of an interviewee (Yin, 2003). The
interview and its analysis were conducted as follows: (1) selection of interviewees, (2) selection
of interview inquiries, (3) conduct of interviews, (4) analysis of interview results (coding
analysis) and (5) interpretation and integration of analytical results. (1) For the interviews, we
divided interviewees into two groups: BTS fans and entertainment industry experts.
Through the interviews with BTS fans, we found the reasons why they liked BTS and
identified what they perceived as the key factors of its success and sustained popularity. We
also conducted interviews with entertainment industry experts and explored their views of
the key factors of BTS’ success and sustained popularity. To recruit interviewees for the
interview with BTS fans, we used a snowball sampling technique, which is a process of chain
referral; when members of the target population are located, they are asked for the names and
contact information of other members of the target population. This technique has been used
INTR to create sampling frames with nonprobability methods of selection (Biernacki and Waldorf,
1981). For qualitative data collection (i.e. interviews), first, we recruited two fans from ARMY,
BTS’ official fan club. Then, we recruited additional interviewees among their acquaintances.
All 20 interviewees were official members of ARMY: 12 were Koreans. The remaining eight
were American, Japanese and Russian. The number of interviewees was determined by
confirming theoretical saturation (Strauss and Corbin, 1998). We conducted face-to-face
interviews with all interviewees.
(2) (3) The questions in the interviews, because we wanted to identify the key factors of
BTS’s success and sustained popularity, were as follows: “Why do you like BTS?” and “Why
do you think BTS is popular all over the world and is able to retain its popularity?” Each
interview took about 20 minutes. The interview with entertainment industry experts was
conducted by collecting official online interviews of a representative from BTS’ agency,
entertainment journalists and other related parties and analyzing them. We sought responses
to questions related to the key factors of BTS’ success and sustained popularity, such as
“what do you think BTS was successful for?” and “why do you think BTS is popular all over
the world?” Related information was collected through web-crawling, and a total of eight
interviews with experts were used. (4) After the interviews, the results of the interviews with
BTS fans and entertainment experts were analyzed in the same manner but separately by
each group. The interview transcripts of each group were subjected to content analysis based
on an open coding approach (Neuman, 2006).
Open coding in the course of examining transcription documents is the initial step in
theoretical analysis that pertains to the initial discovery of categories and their properties
(Arpaci et al., 2018; Glaser, 1992). Three researchers participated in this coding. During open
coding, each coder examined the interview responses line-by-line to identify codes within the
textual data. The coders then discussed each identified concept and arrived at a consensus on
how to name it. To validate the data coding results, two other researchers conducted a peer
review of the interview details and keyword classifications. To settle any interrater
disagreements, we recruited a coder who was uninvolved with either the data collection or its
discussion. (5) For the last step, the results of each group’s interview were interpreted and
integrated to identify the key factors of BTS’s success and sustained popularity.

Text mining analysis results

Table 2 shows the results of the LDA topic modeling, the first analysis of text mining in this
study. We derived ten topics, and the topics were selected in consideration of the meanings
and relationships of keywords. The ten topics selected are as follows: loyalty to BTS; SNS
voting for BTS; loyalty to each BTS member; ARMY (Fan club); BTS concerts and tours;
history of awards; best idol group; BTS music and performance; collaboration with BTS and
new challenges by BTS.
The results of term frequency analysis are listed in Table 3, showing the top 30 words in
frequency. For each term, the interpretation is displayed in the table, along with the frequency
of occurrence. We could find that “bts_twt” has the highest term frequency value (1,871),
which is the official account of BTS on Twitter. This means BTS members and fans are
constantly communicating globally through online official accounts. As shown in the
frequency of occurrence of the top ten terms, the frequency of terms about the BTS is
significantly higher, and the terms about BTS concerts and fandom also have a high
frequency. As a result of the data analysis, it can be confirmed that the fans mention concerts
a lot and use words related directly to the BTS themselves through the official SNS account.
Also, because the fan-related words such as the fan club (e.g. btsarmy) show high frequency,
the fandom activity is demonstrably very active.
 Description
Topic Label
1 Loyalty to BTS
2 SNS voting for BTS
3 Loyalty to each BTS
member
4 ARMY (Fan club)
5 BTS concerts and tours
6 History of awards
7 Best idol group
8 BTS music and
performance
9 Collaboration with BTS
10 New challenges by BTS
Success factors
Keywords of BTS
angel, proud, love, beautiful, thank you, best, talented
bts_twt, retweet, likes, replay, vote, awards, rates
방탄소년단(BTS), 뷔(V), V, bts_twt, bts, jimin, 제이홉(j-hope), JIN,
뷔(V)
ARMYs, btsarmy, 아미(ARMY), mostrequestlive, bts_twt,
minniejoons
btsloveyourselftour, btsincitifield, concert, newyork, btsworldtour
billboard, pcas, disney, Europe, mpn, bts, epiphany
kpop, idol, thegroup, bts_bighit, US, universe
뷔(V), 방탄소년단(BTS), rap, music, jimmy, thesong
Table 2.
bts_collab, vt_cosmetics, moment, making, g8, g6 LDA topic modeling
rts, game, kpop, wanted, movie, tweet, heart results

Term Freq Interpretation Term Freq Interpretation

01 bts_twt 1871 BTS Group 16 jimmyfallon 104 Fandom

02 btsxcitifield 1606 BTS Concert 17 btsvotingteam 100 SNS Voting
03 Bts 1076 BTS Group 18 army 87 Fandom
04 뷔(V) 516 BTS Member 19 제이홉(j-hope) 83 BTS Member
05 방탄소년단(BTS) 447 BTS Group 20 태형(Taehyoung) 81 BTS Member
06 btsincitifield 349 BTS Concert 21 thesong 78 BTS Music
07 Pcas 274 Awards 22 taehyung 78 BTS Member
08 citifield 252 BTS Concert 23 rm 76 BTS Member
09 btsarmy 243 Fandom 24 mostrequestlive 74 BTS Music
10 minniejoons 203 Fandom 25 Jungkook 73 BTS Member
11 btsloveyourselftour 201 BTS Concert 26 bts_bighits 71 Kpop Idol
12 idol 195 Kpop Idol 27 concert 71 BTS Concert
13 지민(Jimin) 160 BTS Member 28 정호석(Hoseok Jung) 71 BTS Member
14 thegroup 142 Kpop Idol 29 themusicvideo 47 BTS Music Table 3.
15 newyork 113 Fandom 30 mpn 42 Awards Term frequency results

In keyword extraction, the third analysis of text mining, the top 30 keywords are listed in
order of their weighted value that is indicative of their term frequency-inverse document
frequency value. These top 30 keywords are listed in Table 4. These results show not only
that the keywords are related to the BTS members (eight keywords) mentioned most
frequently, but also that the weights of these keywords are also highly distributed. Followed
by BTS member-related keywords, six keywords related to BTS concerts are in the top 30,
and their weights are also generally higher. In conclusion, it can be understood that the main
keywords in the BTS-related Twitter data are the names of BTS members and the group’s
concerts. Further, these keywords illustrate that BTS fans are interested in the individual
members, as much as the group itself, also the BTS concerts are a major element in attracting
its fan base.
Using the three text-mining techniques, we analyzed the data related to BTS and found the
results shown in Figure 2. The result of keyword extraction and term frequency analysis were
mapped on ten topics derived from the topic modeling. The factors commonly found by all
three text-mining techniques are as follows (seven factors): SNS voting for BTS; loyalty to
each BTS member; ARMY (fan club); BTS concerts and tours; history of awards; best idol
INTR group and BTS music and performance. From these results of the three text-mining
techniques, it is observable that ARMY is actively engaging with its fan activities via the
official BTS Twitter account. It is also possible to see that BTS fans have a deep affection
toward not only each member, but also its music, performances and concerts. In addition,
BTS’ global fandom has proven that BTS is the most idolized pop group in the world and its
history of awards it has won is proof of its popularity.
In this study, the results of the text-mining analysis were compared and integrated to
derive a result from a more comprehensive perspective. In other words, by integrating the
results of the three text-mining techniques, it becomes possible to derive more comprehensive

Keyword Weight Interpretation Keyword Weight Interpretation

01 태형_뷔(V) 1 BTS Member 16 boxy_smile 0.455 Performance

02 milktae_jpg 0.771 BTS Member 17 concert_venue 0.445 BTS Concert
03 shoot_dance 0.583 Performance 18 security_guard 0.433 BTS Concert
04 뷔_(V) 0.534 BTS Member 19 family_members 0.433 BTS Member
05 eng_vers 0.516 BTS Music 20 rap_duo 0.412 BTS Music
06 btschartdata 0.498 SNS Voting 21 finger_heart 0.391 Performance
07 btsloveyourselftour 0.498 BTS Concert 22 Concerts 0.385 BTS Concert
08 fanart 0.498 Fandom 23 슈가(SUGA) 0.368 BTS Member
09 lip_bite 0.498 Performance 24 fan_account 0.355 Fandom
10 universe 0.498 Idol Group 25 music_nominations 0.326 Awards
11 boys 0.498 Idol Group 26 monster_army 0.279 Fandom
12 taehyung 0.497 BTS Member 27 bts_collab 0.270 Collaboration
Table 4. 13 attendance_record 0.464 BTS Concert 28 Prince 0.266 BTS Member
Keyword extraction 14 solo_spotlight 0.458 BTS Concert 29 heart_attack 0.262 BTS Member
results 15 btsvotingteam01 0.385 SNS Voting 30 idol 0.257 Idol Group

Topic modeling results

Term frequency analysis results
Loyalty to BTS
BTS group
Keyword extraction results SNS voting for BTS
SNS voting
SNS voting Loyalty to each BTS
member
BTS member
BTS members ARMY (Fan club )
Fandom
Fandom
BTS concerts and tours
BTS concert
BTS concert
History of awards
Awards
Awards
Best idol group
K-pop idol
Idol group
BTS music and performance
BTS music
BTS music
Collaboration with BTS

Figure 2. Performance
New Challenges by BTS
Cross mapping of the
text mining results Collaboration
results while arriving deductively at more in-depth meanings. The key factors supporting Success factors
BTS are: first, SNS voting for BTS represents that the fans actively engage in activities via of BTS
SNS to promote voting for BTS in many award contests, constant promotion and supportive
activity by an organized global fandom that may be the most powerful and dedicated in the
world. Second, BTS fans have great loyalty not only to the group but also to each member.
They regularly mention each member’s name on Twitter, and this has an effect of further
promoting BTS that goes beyond mentioning the names of its members. Third, ARMY, as the
official fan club of the BTS, represents the significant position that the fans’ activities are
taking. ARMY not only participates in the performances and concerts of BTS, but also shares
such experiences via SNS to memorialize every moment of every performance (Delgado,
2019). Fourth, BTS keeps communicating face to face with fans through concerts and world
tours. Fifth, BTS performs good music and has a stage presence that has captured the hearts
of fans. Sixth, BTS is recognized worldwide for the members’ good manners and kindnesses,
as much as they are known for being talented performers. Lastly, BTS’ many global music
awards prove their success and may create a ‘bandwagon’ effect that attracts new fans.

Interview analysis results

We conducted interviews with two groups: fans of BTS and experts in the entertainment
industry. Through open coding of the interviews with BTS fans, nine factors were revealed:
visual beauty on YouTube, satisfaction with concerts/tours, sincere communication with fans
via SNS, outstanding dancing skills, high empathy with lyrics, fan benefits, sense of growing up
together, sense of belonging among fans and teamwork among members (see Table 5).
Additional analysis was performed through indirect interviews with experts in the
entertainment industry. Interviews’ representative of Big Hit Entertainment, an agency of
BTS, and entertainment reporters were used for this analysis. Nine more factors emerged
from this analysis: music philosophy, concept consistency, voluntary efforts, communication
with fans, visual beauty of music videos, performance quality, passion for music, targeting the
global market at an early stage and strong teamwork (see Table 6). In order to verify the
reliability and validity of the interview results, we checked the inter-rater reliability (Leiva
et al., 2006; Strauss and Corbin, 1990). Inter-rater agreement scores averaged of the coding
results of interviews for fans of the BTS and experts in the entertainment industry are 0.88
respectively. Inter-rater disagreements were reconciled through discussion and by another
coder who was uninvolved in the data collection. In the results of interviews with BTS fans, a
total of 60 codes were grouped into nine main factors, while in the results of interviews with
entertainment industry experts, a total of 46 codes were grouped into nine main factors.
By integrating the results of the interviews with BTS fans and with the people working in
the entertainment industry, we concluded that eight key factors account for BTS’ sustained
popularity (see Figure 3). These eight are sincere fandom management via SNS, united
through music, consistent self-development, strong teamwork, attractive performance,
outstanding visual beauty, storytelling and overseas expansion strategies. First, sincere
fandom management via SNS was derived by integrating sincere communication with fans
via SNS, fan benefits, sense of belonging among fans and communication with fans all of
which were extracted from interviews with fans and people in the entertainment industry.
BTS constantly communicates with fans through SNS and delivers messages with apparent
sincerity. By using SNS, they are able to communicate actively with their fans without regard
for time or space (Lee et al., 2019a). BTS’ fandom has expanded not only because of its active
promotion of its information and music content but also through the expert use of SNS in
communicating with fans.
Second, unity through music was derived by integrating high empathy with lyrics and
music philosophy from interviews with fans and experts. BTS’ music philosophy involved
INTR Frequency
Concept Exemplary response (%)

Visual beauty on YouTube
Satisfaction with concerts/
tours
Sincere communication with
fans via SNS
Outstanding dancing skills
High empathy with lyrics
Fan benefits
Sense of growing up together
Sense of belonging among
fans
Teamwork among members
Table 5.
Results of the open
coding of interviews
with fans
I have become a fan of the BTS after watching reaction videos 10 (16.7)
and others on YouTube
I have become a fan of the BTS after accidently watching
music videos of the BTS on YouTube
I felt that the music video was very beautiful and of high
quality
The BTS offers various performances, so possible to 9 (15)
experience its performance often
Its performance at the concert is magnificent
I like its magnificent, exotic melody at the concert
I like the BTS for leaving a tweet every day 8 (13.3)
The BTS always leave its daily pictures on Twitter, and I feel
like I am with them
The BTS is really dedicated to SNS. The BTS even translates
messages of its fans in other languages and leaves replies
I cannot take my eyes off its performances on stage 7 (11.7)
They have a strong energy. Especially, their synchronized
choreography is just awesome
Their dancing skills are even highly praised by professional
choreographers
Lyrics are so healing, and I can relate to them 6 (10)
Every single line of lyrics is meaningful
I have learned to love and respect myself after listening to its
music
I can relate to and feel comforted by lyrics
I have joined a fan club because of a benefit to make an 6 (10)
advanced reservation for concert
Exclusive information is given to its member
Many exclusive fan benefits
The BTS seems to develop every day 6 (10)
The BTS seems to develop each time, making us proud
Since the BTS is not from a major entertainment agency, we
feel like that we are developing together
Have a feeling of belonging by engaging in fan activities 5 (8.3)
Have a feeling of belonging by sharing exclusive information
Proud to be a part of a fan club/caf
e
Members have good relationships. It is good to see that they 3 (5)
are dedicated to the team
Unlike other idol groups, there has been no gossip or reports
of trouble among members
Members are solid with each other, and every member has
renewed the agreement with the agency
Total 60 (100)

singing its own songs which allowed it to deliver its own message, encouraging many fans to
empathize with members of the group. Third, consistent self-development was derived by
integrating a sense of growing up together, voluntary efforts, and passion for music from the
same fan interviews and people in the entertainment industry. Since BTS was not produced
by a well-established entertainment agency, the group had little support at its debut;
however, based on a strong passion for music and consistent efforts they gradually bolstered
its position step-by-step. Fourth, the factor of strong teamwork not only grew out among
members but between fans and members of the music industry as well. Both fans and the
 Frequency
Success factors
Concept Exemplary response (%) of BTS
Music philosophy The BTS has a firm philosophy that it tells its own story 10 (21.7)
It does not rely on any flash idea. Does not like anything
artificial
Concept consistency Follows the music and trends of today 8 (17.4)
Still stick with its concept of telling the growth and
development of the 10s and 20s
By singing a story of today, the BTS tends to tell a story of
growth
Voluntary efforts Practices on its own and request feedback from others 7 (15.2)
Keeps showing its continuous efforts
Communication with fans Becomes familiar with its fans by communicating with them 5 (10.9)
via many channels, including SNS.
The BTS believes that the sharing its daily life with its fans
is the most important
Visual beauty of music videos The BTS does not solely rely on its music, but also MV. 4 (8.7)
The BTS reflects the trendiest items in MV.
Performance quality The BTS becomes so energetic on the stage 4 (8.7)
Its glamorous performance and trendy music have
succeeded in capturing global attention
Passion for music Members of the BTS study various fields to continuously 3 (6.5)
create and offer good music content
Enormous passion for music
Targeting the global market at Access to the global market even from an early stage via 3 (6.5)
an early stage YouTube
By integrating unique features of K-POP and trendy pop
music of the US, the BTS has accessed the global market
even from an early stage Table 6.
Strong Teamwork Strong bond and teamwork 2 (4.4) Results of open coding
All seven members seem to be on intimate terms without of interviews with
any gossip people in
Total 46 (100) entertainment industry

Industry experts
Fans interview results Key factors for success and Interview results
sustained popularity
Sincere communication Communication with fans
with fans via SNS Sincere fandom management via SNS
Music philosophy
Fan benefits
United through music
Voluntary efforts
Sense of belonging
among fans Consistent self-development
Passion for music
High empathy with lyrics
Strong teamwork
Performance quality
Outstanding dancing skills
Attractive performance
Strong teamwork
Sense of growing up together
Outstanding visual beauty
Visual beauty of music videos
Teamwork among members
Storytelling
Concept consistency
Satisfaction with concerts/tours Figure 3.
Overseas expansion strategies Integration of the
Targeting the global market interview results
Visual beauty on YouTube at an early stage
INTR entertainment industry have taken note of the cooperative and harmonious relationship
among members of BTS. Fifth, the factor of attractive performance was obtained from the
integration of outstanding dancing skills, concerts/tours satisfaction and performance
quality.
Sixth, the factor of outstanding visual beauty was obtained from the integration of visual
beauty on YouTube and the visual beauty of music videos. BTS provides online content via
various online channels and especially puts a lot of effort into its videos. In fact, many global
fans of BTS were first introduced to BTS via YouTube because they were amazed by the
aesthetics of the music videos. Seventh, the factor of storytelling was derived by integrating
high empathy with lyrics and concept consistency. BTS members write their own lyrics,
telling their stories in songs. They tell of their experiences via their songs, i.e. storytelling.
This is not only about singing and telling their own unique stories but also about addressing
socially sensitive issues such as competition, bullying and school violence. In turn, this
musical social awareness gains fans’ emotional immersion and empathy. Lastly, the factor of
overseas expansion strategies was obtained from targeting the global market at an early
stage, which came from the interviews with the people working in the entertainment industry.
BTS became exposed to overseas fans from the outset by successfully harnessing SNS to earn
an overseas follower base first and then expanding its fan base.

Discussion and implications

Discussion of findings
The purpose of this study was to find the key factors for success and sustained popularity as
a global group using the BTS case. We used three text-mining techniques–LDA topic
modeling, keyword extraction and term frequency analysis—and detected ten factors we
deemed important. At the same time, we conducted interviews and found other factors also
important to the sustained popularity of BTS. We derived not only the same factors but also
different factors through text mining and interviews. The factor of fans’ loyalty was explored
through text mining, in contrast to the factors of music video quality and overseas expansion
at an early stage, which were examined via interviews. These results from both analytical
techniques were integrated to permit us to draw meta-inferences (Tashakkori and Teddlie,
2008). Based on these meta-references, we arrived at ten key factors that account for the
success and sustained popularity of global groups. Figure 4 shows these factors: active global
fandom; fans’ loyalty; SNS communication; empathy through music; storytelling and world
view; performance quality; music video quality; overseas expansion at an early stage; efforts for
self-development and teamwork among members.
The factors derived in this study can be interpreted through the involvement theory
(Huang et al., 2010; Richins et al., 1992; Whang et al., 2016). The two factors of active global
fandom and fans’ loyalty among the ten derived factors can be explained as enduring
involvement. The four factors of SNS communication, performance quality, music video
quality and overseas expansion at an early stage can be explained as situational involvement.
Because enduring involvement constantly engages with a specific object, the two factors (i.e.
active global fandom and fans’ loyalty) that show continuous affection for specific celebrities
can be considered as enduring involvement. Although high involvement occurs mostly
because of individual interest as enduring involvement, one’s surroundings also partly form
involvement (i.e. situational involvement) (Whang et al., 2016). While living in the era of
advanced information technology, communication channels such as SNS or a situational
context can influence an individual’s enthusiasm (Kang et al., 2013; Whang et al., 2016). The
factor of SNS communication, through which people can easily listen to music from all over
the world and can communicate with musicians because of the development of information
technology and the increased use of social media (Lee et al., 2019b), is situational involvement.
 Text mining analysis results Key factors of Success and sustained popularity
Devoted fandom Success factors
Active global fandom
of BTS
ARMY (Fan club)
Fans’ loyalty

SNS Voting for BTS

Social media strategies
Interview analysis results
Loyalty to BTS SNS communication

Emotional empathy
History of awards Sincere fandom management via SNS
Empathy through music
Loyalty to each BTS member
United through music
Storytelling and world view

BTS music and performance Distinguished music style

Visual effects

BTS concerts and tours Performance quality Attractive performance

Best idol group Music video quality Outstanding visual beauty

New challenges by BTS Spirit of adventure Overseas expansion strategies

Overseas expansion
Collaboration with BTS at an early stage Consistent self-development

Strong team cohesion Strong teamwork

Figure 4.
Efforts for self-development Key factors of BTS’s
success and sustained
Teamwork among members popularity

Situational involvement also includes the factors of performance quality and music video
quality because people can access music videos and stage performances through various
types of social media. The factor of overseas expansion at an early stage is situational
involvement as an effective strategy in the current situation in which social media is actively
used in the entertainment business field.
The factors of empathy through music and storytelling and world view can be considered
as both enduring and situational involvement. They can be situational involvement when
people take interest in a specific singer’s song and the story that he or she intends to convey is
spread and shared through various types of media; the enduring involvement in such cases is
a continuous affection for the song and story. The factors of effort for self-development and
teamwork among members show each member of a group and their efforts and passion are
not explained as either enduring or situational involvement. These ten factors were then
grouped into six categories: devoted fandom; social media strategies; emotional empathy;
visual effects; spirit of adventure and strong team cohesion.
First of these, the devoted fandom includes two subfactors: active global fandom and fans’
loyalty. Active global fandom represents the involvement of ARMY, the official fan club of
BTS that operates on a global scale. In the case of fans’ loyalty, this club demonstrates the
dedicated support of fans since the group’s inception and the importance of fans of
professional longevity. To summarize, devoted fandom shows that earning fans’ influence
and sustaining their allegiance and affection is vital in both the short and long term for its
success. Second, social media strategies include a subfactor of SNS communication. SNS
communication represents BTS’ consistent communication with its fans via SNS, an activity
diligently pursued to share the daily lives of BTS members. Regularly sharing their daily
lives through various SNS channels creates a strong sense of belonging among fans. Third,
emotional empathy includes two subfactors: empathy through music and storytelling and
INTR world view. Empathy through music highlights the degree to which many people empathize
with the music and the lyrics of BTS’ songs. There are many storytelling elements in BTS’
song lyrics that young people can empathize with, and each album it releases is a series of
songs that incorporate storytelling throughout the album. The lyrics addressing issues that
young people connect with are central to achieving a deep and empathetic connection with
their fans (Woodside, 2010; Woodside et al., 2008). BTS also has distinct values and
worldviews that are reflected in the group’s music and help further cement an emotional
connection with its fan base.
The fourth issue of visual effects includes the subfactors of performance quality and
music video quality. Ultimately, this issue underlines the invaluable contribution of visual
aesthetics of both on-stage and music video performance to the success of a group—BTS.
Fifth, the spirit of adventure includes the subfactor of overseas expansion at an early stage.
This early-stage expansion concerns the simultaneous debut of BTS in Korea and in the
overseas market and emphasizes the importance of having an overseas expansion strategy at
the outset in contrast to focusing first on the domestic market and then venturing overseas.
The final issue, the strong team cohesion includes two subfactors, efforts for self-
development and teamwork among members. Efforts for self-development represent the
persistence of BTS in pursuit of constant performance improvement despite existing praise
for its current achievements. Teamwork among members of BTS represents the strong bond
and coordination among members and could be interpreted as illustrative of the importance
of good relationships inside a performance group if it is to reach the peaks of stardom and
retain its perch there.

Suggestions for the sustained popularity of global pop groups

This study applied a mixed-methods approach and identified the key factors for the success
and sustained popularity of global groups through an analysis of the achievements of BTS.
We integrated results of text mining and interviews to draw meta-inferences, and based on
them, we found ten key factors that appear to explain the sustained popularity of global pop
(Venkatesh et al., 2013). These ten key factors were further analyzed and grouped into five
issues and used to develop strategies to sustain the popularity of global groups (see Figure 5).
First, devoted fandom shows the importance of fans because a large fan base is essential for
global groups to gain prominence that can be leveraged into global popularity. Using SNS,
global groups can create personal profiles, link the sites and share their activities and
information with their fans (Kim, 2018) to create a sense of personal connection. These
activities to connect with fans should always contain expressions of gratitude for the
attention of fans.
Second, emotional empathy indicates the importance of emotional communication with
fans through music. Presumably, global singers fare better in popularity if they write lyrics
with themes fans can easily relate to. Moreover, because music trends always change, it is
best to have melodies and rhythms appropriate to new trends in popular music. Storytelling
is expanding in a variety of fields as an important element of content in product marketing.
Storytelling is also applicable to music, and it is necessary that aspiring groups of global
success create their own unique stories to attract and retain global fans. Third, visual effects
are not only important as a way to attract attention but to add a dimension of visual appeal to
musical performance. Due to the importance of attracting public attention, the visual effects
of music videos should be carefully evaluated just as the music itself, perhaps more so, paying
special attention to costumes and stage settings. As for choreography, considered a strength
of K-pop groups, it could be helpful to have a director who fully understands the concept and
identity of the groups and let them participate in the entire planning of performances to
ensure that performances and choreography are appealing when viewed from any angle.
 Devoted fandom Suggested strategies
Success factors
Active global fandom
• Constant sharing of a daily life through SNS
of BTS
SNS communication • Real-time response to its fan through live streaming
• Make full use of SNS for communication with fans all over the world
• Sincere expression of its gratitude for fans at all times
Fans’ loyalty

Emotional empathy
Empathy through music
Storytelling and world view
• Write lyrics based on its own experiences at age similar with of its fans
• Write lyrics reflecting the times
• Make songs and lyrics to reflect the trend of the day
• Make their own stories to empathize emotionally

Visual effects
Performance quality
Music video quality
• Invest in visual elements when producing music videos
• A visual designer for producing a video
• Diversification of stage costume concepts
• Performance should be well seen well at any angle

Spirit of adventure
• Remake popular music and share it online at an early stage
Overseas expansion • Promote itself through YouTube
at an early stage • Extend to adjacent nations first and then, gradually expand its scope

Strong team cohesion Figure 5.

Suggested strategies
Efforts for • Voluntary efforts and practice, in turn enhancing dancing and singing skills
self-development • A team should be consisted of members who could be on good terms
for the sustained
• A team should be consisted of members, sharing the same direction for music popularity of global
Teamwork among members • A team should be consisted of members who could supplement each other pop groups

Fourth, a spirit of adventure indicates the importance of having a strategy to venture into the
global market at the outset or an early stage. It would be necessary to appear via online
channels such as YouTube prior to in-person overseas appearances because YouTube has a
solid global audience. Lastly, strong team cohesion establishes the importance of voluntary
efforts of each member of a group to commit to actions that strengthen teamwork and reject
those things that do not. Previous studies have shown that the quality of a relationship
between participants influences the participants’ relational consequences and behavior (Lin
et al., 2003; Wu et al., 2017). For a global group to sustain its popularity, it is important to select
members who are willing to commit to the group and to maintain good relationships among
comembers. Specifically, it is important to select members whose talents lie in different fields
so that the members complement each other. Most of all, members should share the same
passion for music and similar preferences for the same type of music.

Limitations and future research

The results of this study should be interpreted while considering its limitations as followed.
First, data collected from Twitter for use in the text-mining analysis were from 2017 to 2018,
years when the BTS won its highest number of awards. However, considering that 2013 was
the year of their debut and 2014 was the year of their entry into the global market, an
extension of the range of the data collection would have made it possible to find the success
factors at each stage of the group’s career, in turn enhancing the reliability of the factors of its
sustained popularity. In future research, we need to extend the data period from the group’s
debut to the present. In addition, it could be possible to analyze the collected data for each
period and investigate their entire process of success in stages. Second, we only collected data
from Twitter for the text-mining analysis. There are various online channels for global pop
fans to communicate with each other. There is a broad spectrum of online channels for BTS
INTR fans, including Twitter, Daum Fan Caf
e, YouTube and V Live, and each channel has a
different purpose. Therefore, it might be possible in a future study to include more online
channels and even analyze each one. Because YouTube is the platform on which fans from
other parts of the world could most easily be exposed to K-pop, a focus on YouTube might be
best in a future study.
In addition to text mining, interviews were conducted to investigate the subjective
opinions of BTS fans. In total, 20 fans, including 12 Koreans and eight fans from the US, Japan
and Russia, were interviewed. However, with BTS fans all over the world, this interview
sample may be too small in terms of numbers and the nationalities consulted. Thus, in future
research, it would be possible to expand the scope of nationalities of the BTS fans to be
interviewed. It would be possible to analyze its popularity in each nation and develop
strategies that take into consideration the properties and culture of each nation as a way to
provide and suggest more sophisticated strategies to sustain the popularity in the global
market.

Implications for research

The results of this study have several implications for research. First, we used three text-
mining techniques, LDA topic modeling, keyword extraction and term frequency analysis,
with mass data on public opinion. Most of the previous studies used a literature review and
interview methods (Jin and Yoon, 2016; Parc and Kawashima, 2018; Vannini and Myers, 2002;
Williamson and Cloonan, 2007). Interviews, as a research method, have an advantage in
gaining in-depth information on the phenomena being explored but complicate the effort to
arrive at objective results. A new approach is needed to arrive at factors of phenomena that
can be explored from a comprehensive perspective. Thus, we collected mass data through
SNS and analyzed the data objectively through three text-mining techniques. The results of
this text mining were integrated to transform qualitative data into quantitative data for
interpretation (Guetterman et al., 2015; O’Halloran et al., 2018). This study, unlike the previous
studies that relied on literature reviews or interview methods, can be considered a pioneering
attempt to use a data analysis approach with actual online data.
Second, this study contributes to the improvement of research results by applying a
mixed-methods approach that used a text-mining technique and interviews to cope with the
weaknesses of each method (Duan et al., 2016). This study derived the key factors of success
and sustained popularity of BTS as a global pop group from multiple perspectives. This
study used different research methods according to each viewpoint. With regard to the
public’s point of view, we used text-mining techniques to derive the factors through SNS
where the public speaks more freely. In relation to the perspectives of entertainment experts
and official fan club members, we collected in-depth information of qualitative data through
interviews. In terms of research results, it is of significance that this approach not only
overcomes the limitations of a single research method but also collects and analyzes
comprehensive opinions. Most of the previous studies used a single method, bolstering the
significance of this study in its use of two different research methods so that each one offsets
the weakness of the other (O’Halloran et al., 2018). In addition, this study could find its
significance in the provision of the more comprehensive insights and elevated reliability of its
results that were gained by using a mixed-methods approach (Venkatesh et al., 2013).
Third, we interpreted the explored factors theoretically by using the theory of
involvement (Huang et al., 2010; Richins et al., 1992; Whang et al., 2016). This study shows
interest in and desire for global pop based on the involvement theory and explains different
motives as new perspectives according to the categories of situational involvement and
enduring involvement (Babbie, 2007; Huang et al., 2010). New phenomena are occurring in the
music industry due to the recent development of information technology. The phenomenon of
easily releasing, sharing and communicating music through social media can be seen as Success factors
further facilitating situational involvement. This study newly interpreted the music industry of BTS
and fandom phenomena that change with the development of information technology
through the situational involvement of the involvement theory. By adopting the involvement
theory, this study contributes to expanding this theory and to extending the literature in the
entertainment field. This study adds theoretical value to the previous literature by
interpreting its results based on the involvement theory.

Implications for practice

From a practical perspective, this study contributes to the promotion and development of
profits in the music industry by suggesting detailed strategies to grow into a global group
and gain sustained popularity. Since the music industry has changed in response to the
development of information technology, its scale and potential are getting greater. As the
music industry has grown—and will continue to grow—musicians compete with a ferocity
that will only exacerbate. Many pop groups and singers make their debut each year, but few
gain popularity and even fewer sustain their hard-won popularity. Therefore, this study
suggests detailed strategies to grow and sustain popularity as a global group (see Figure 5).
This contributes to the economic, social and cultural development as well as the development
of pop groups or singers from the individual perspective, entertainment companies that
manage them from the business perspective and the entertainment industry from the national
perspective.
First, from the individual perspective, many pop groups and singers around the world are
currently debuting and working, but only a few are remembered by the public and maintain
their popularity. The rate of success is extremely low compared to the time and effort they
invest. However, as the recent development of information technology makes it possible to
release and share music through social media in a different way from traditional media, the
advance into the global market is becoming more active. It is now possible to share newly
created music with the public without spending a lot of money and effort, and channels for
communication with fans have been diversified. This study contributes to the success of
global musicians by not only suggesting the key factors for sustained popularity but also
offering concrete strategies for singers and groups who aspire to perform on the world stage.
Second, even from the business perspective, many entertainment companies are making
their singers and groups debut in the global market, but the ratio of successful musicians
compared to the cost and effort they invest is low. Entertainment companies prepare their
singers and groups to enter the global market based on their experiences and trends in the
music industry. However, it is not easy to train their singers and groups to match the
preferences of the public and the rapidly changing trends in the music industry. In this study,
we suggested practical strategies for success as a global pop group by comprehensively
analyzing the opinions of the public around the world as well as entertainment industry
experts. Entertainment companies in the music industry can expand operations with their
performers and increase earnings by utilizing the key factors and strategies suggested in
this study.
Finally, from the national perspective, the development of information technology makes
it possible to share music of various countries easily across borders. Affecting food, language
and culture not to mention music, sharing music has a great ripple effect on society, economy
and culture. As a representative example, as BTS recently gained tremendous popularity
around the world, overseas fans’ demand for Korean food and language has also increased.
BTS fans around the world have become interested in the country of Korea, creating a
phenomenon of eating Korean food and learning the language. Therefore, the success of a
global musician through the strategies suggested in this can contribute not only to the
INTR development of the music industry, but just as well to social, cultural and economic
development at the national level.

References
glu, M. (2018), “Individualism and Internet addiction: the mediating role
Arpaci, I., Kesici, Ş. and Balo
of psychological needs”, Internet Research, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 293-314.
Babbie, E.A. (2007), The Practice of Social Research, 11rd ed., Wadsworth, Belmont, CA.
Bazeley, P. (2010), “Computer-assisted integration of mixed methods data sources and analysis”, in
Tashakkori, A. and Teddlie, C. (Eds), Sage Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social and
Behavioral Research, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 431-467.
Benatar, J. (2019), “Next big sound’s state of the industry 2013”, available at: https://blog.
nextbigsound.com/next-big-sounds-state-of-the-industry-2013-e2edd4d0f897 (accessed 11
December 2020).
Benner, M.J. and Waldfogel, J. (2016), “The song remains the same? Technological change and
positioning in the recorded music industry”, Strategy Science, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 129-147.
Biernacki, P. and Waldorf, D. (1981), “Snowball sampling: problems and techniques of chain referral
sampling”, Sociological Methods and Research, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 141-163.
Choi, T.Y. (2019), “The million sellers - physical album sales”, available at: https://web.archive.
org/web/20190829090631/http://www.gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/article/view.gaon?
idx515713&sgenre5opinion (accessed 20 February 2020).
Chosun (2017), “Debut idol team 436 for 10 years. . . only one or two teams remain per year”, available
at: https://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2017/07/22/2017072200936.html (accessed 3
January 2020).
Chung, M., Oh, J.B., Shin, Y.R. and Ryu, S.H. (2018), Economic Effect of BTS, Hyundai Research
Institute, Issue Report, Vol. 18, No. 15, pp. 1-11.
Delgado, S. (2019), “The BTS ARMY is sharing their favorite memories for BTS’s sixth birthday”,
available at: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/bts-army-favorite-memories-bts-sixth-birthday
(accessed 13 February 2020).
Dholakia, U.M. and Durham, E. (2010), “How effective is Facebook marketing”, Harvard Business
Review, Vol. 88 No. 3, p. 26.
Duan, W., Yu, Y., Cao, Q. and Levy, S. (2016), “Exploring the impact of social media on hotel service
performance: a sentimental analysis approach”, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Vol. 57 No. 3,
pp. 282-296.
Glaser, B.G. (1992), Basics of Grounded Theory Analysis: Emergence vs Forcing, Sociology Press, Mill
Valley, CA.
Guetterman, T.C., Fetters, M.D. and Creswell, J.W. (2015), “Integrating quantitative and qualitative
results in health science mixed methods research through joint displays”, The Annals of Family
Medicine, Vol. 13 No. 6, pp. 554-561.
Habibi, M. and Popescu-Belis, A. (2015), “Keyword extraction and clustering for document
recommendation in conversations”, IEEE/ACM Transactions on Audio, Speech, and
Language Processing, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 746-759.
Havitz, M.E. and Dimanche, F. (1997), “Leisure involvement revisited: conceptual conundrums and
measurement advances”, Journal of Leisure Research, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 245-278.
Hon, L.Y. (2013), “The greatest era of the UK pop music industry”, Popular Music History, Vol. 8 No. 3,
pp. 289-306.
Huang, C.Y., Chou, C.J. and Lin, P.C. (2010), “Involvement theory in constructing bloggers’ intention to
purchase travel products”, Tourism Management, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 513-526.
Jain, V. (2013), “Prediction of movie success using sentiment analysis of tweets”, The International
Journal of Soft Computing and Software Engineering, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 308-313.
Jin, D.Y. and Yoon, K. (2016), “The social mediascape of transnational Korean pop culture: hallyu 2.0 Success factors
as spreadable media practice”, New Media and Society, Vol. 18 No. 7, pp. 1277-1292.
of BTS
Johansson, O. (2020), “An analysis of Swedish pop music”, in Wissmann, T. and Palis, J. (Eds), Songs
from Sweden, Palgrave Pivot, pp. 99-135.
Kang, J.M., Song, Y.J. and Choi, M.K. (2013), “Social phenomena and challenges for internet fandom
culture (be focused on the method of link value and scalability for Korea wave fandom)”, The
Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 235-241.
Kaplan, A.M. and Haenlein, M. (2012), “The Britney Spears universe: social media and viral marketing
at its best”, Business Horizons, Vol. 55 No. 1, pp. 27-31.
Kim, M., Heo, Y.C., Choi, S.C. and Park, H.W. (2014), “Comparative trends in global communication
networks of # Kpop tweets”, Quality and Quantity, Vol. 48 No. 5, pp. 2687-2702.
Kim, J.Y. (2018), “A study of social media users’ perceptional typologies and relationships to self-
identity and personality”, Internet Research, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 767-784.
Lee, S.J. and Kim, H.J. (2009), “Keyword extraction from news corpus using modified TF-IDF”, The
Journal of Society for e-Business Studies, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 59-73.
Lee, S.H. and Kim, H.W. (2020), “Investigating brand page engagement in the SNS marketing context”,
Asia Pacific Journal of Information Systems, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 284-307.
Lee, S.H., Choi, S.J. and Kim, H.W. (2019a), “What makes people send gifts via social network services?
a mixed methods approach”, Internet Research, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 315-334.
Lee, S.H., Lee, B.Y. and Kim, H.W. (2019b), “Decisional factors leading to the reuse of an on-demand
ride service”, Information and Management, Vol. 56 No. 4, pp. 493-506.
Leiva, F.M., Rios, F.J.M. and Mart
ınez, T.L. (2006), “Assessment of interjudge reliability in the open-
ended questions coding process”, Quality and Quantity, Vol. 40 No. 4, pp. 519-537.
Lin, N.P., Weng, J.C.M. and Hsieh, Y.C. (2003), “Relational bonds and customer’s trust and commitment
– a study on the moderating effects of web site usage”, The Service Industries Journal, Vol. 23
No. 3, pp. 103-124.
Matsuo, Y. and Ishizuka, M. (2004), “Keyword extraction from a single document using word co-
occurrence statistical information”, International Journal on Artificial Intelligence Tools, Vol. 13
No. 1, pp. 157-169.
Moses, C., Maxwell, A., Adegbuyi, O., Akinbode, M. and Inelo, F. (2016), “The overriding influence of
social media as the key driver of cinematic movie sales”, International Business Management,
Vol. 10 No. 6, pp. 718-725.
Nanda, M., Pattnaik, C. and Lu, Q.S. (2018), “Innovation in social media strategy for movie success”,
Management Decision, Vol. 56 No. 1, pp. 233-251.
Neuman, W.L. (2006), Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, 6th ed.,
Pearson International Edition, London.
O’Halloran, K.L., Tan, S., Pham, D.S., Bateman, J. and Vande Moere, A. (2018), “A digital mixed
methods research design: integrating multimodal analysis with data mining and information
visualization for big data analytics”, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, Vol. 12 No. 1,
pp. 11-30.
Oh, I. and Lee, H.J. (2013), “Mass media technologies and popular music”, Korea Journal, Vol. 53 No. 4,
pp. 34-58.
Oh, S., Ahn, J. and Baek, H. (2015), “The effects of social media on music-induced tourism: a case of
Korean pop music and inbound tourism to Korea”, Asia Pacific Journal of Information Systems,
Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 121-143.
Parc, J. and Kawashima, N. (2018), “Wrestling with or embracing digitization in the music industry:
the contrasting business strategies of J-pop and K-pop”, Kritika Kultura, Vol. 30, pp. 23-48.
INTR Plano Clark, V.L. and Badiee, M. (2010), “Research questions in mixed methods research”, in
Tashakkori, A. and Teddlie, C. (Eds), Handbook of Mixed Methods Research, Sage, Thousand
Oaks, CA, pp. 275-304.
Richins, M.L., Bloch, P.H. and McQuarrie, E.F. (1992), “How enduring and situational involvement
combine to create involvement responses”, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Vol. 1 No. 2,
pp. 143-153.
Rothschild, M.L. (1984), “Perspectives on involvement: current problems and future directions”,
Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 11, pp. 216-217.
Sports Kyunghyang (2018), “BTS, sell over 10 million copies of their albums. . . achieves this goal in
just 5 years and 6 months since their debut in 2013”, available at: https://web.archive.org/web/
20181209165222/https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid5144&aid50000586190 (accessed 23
November 2019).
Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. (1990), Basic of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and
Techniques, Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. (1998), Basics of Qualitative Research Techniques, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Tashakkori, A. and Teddlie, C. (2008), “Quality of inferences in mixed methods research: calling for an
integrative framework”, in Bergman, M. (Ed.), Mixed Methods Research: Theories and
Applications, Sage, London, pp. 101-119.
Treme, J. and VanDerPloeg, Z. (2014), “The twitter effect: social media usage as a contributor to movie
success”, Economics Bulletin, Vol. 34 No. 2, pp. 793-809.
Vannini, P. and Myers, S.M. (2002), “Crazy about you: reflections on the meanings of contemporary
teen pop music”, Electronic Journal of Sociology, Vol. 6 No. 2, available at: http://www.sociology.
org/content/vol006.002/vannini_myers.html.
Venkatesh, V., Brown, S.A. and Bala, H. (2013), “Bridging the qualitative-quantitative divide:
guidelines for conducting mixed methods research in information systems”, MIS Quarterly,
Vol. 37 No. 1, pp. 21-54.
Venkatesh, V., Brown, S.A. and Sullivan, Y.W. (2016), “Guidelines for conducting mixed-methods
research: an extension and illustration”, Journal of the Association for Information Systems,
Vol. 17 No. 7, p. 2.
Watson, A. (2019), “Global music industry revenue 2012-2023”, available at: https://www.statista.com/
statistics/259979/global-music-industry-revenue/ (accessed 10 January 2020).
Welsh, D. (2014), “6 qualities that all successful musicians have”, available at: https://blog.sonicbids.
com/6-qualities-all-successful-musicians-have (accessed 11 September 2019).
Whang, H., Yong, S. and Ko, E. (2016), “Pop culture, destination images, and visit intentions: theory
and research on travel motivations of Chinese and Russian tourists”, Journal of Business
Research, Vol. 69 No. 2, pp. 631-641.
Williamson, J. and Cloonan, M. (2007), “Rethinking the music industry”, Popular Music, Vol. 26 No. 2,
pp. 305-322.
Woodside, A.G., Sood, S. and Miller, K.E. (2008), “When consumers and brands talk: storytelling
theory and research in psychology and marketing”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 25 No. 2,
pp. 97-145.
Woodside, A.G. (2010), “Brand-consumer storytelling theory and research: introduction to a
psychology and marketing special issue”, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 27 No. 6,
pp. 531-540.
Wu, S.H., Huang, S.C.T., Tsai, C.Y.D. and Lin, P.Y. (2017), “Customer citizenship behavior on social
networking sites: the role of relationship quality, identification, and service attributes”, Internet
Research, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 428-448.
Xu, W.W., Park, J.Y. and Park, H.W. (2017), “Longitudinal dynamics of the cultural diffusion of Kpop
on YouTube”, Quality and Quantity, Vol. 51 No. 4, pp. 1859-1875.
Yin, R.K. (2003), Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods, 3rd ed., Sage, Success factors
Thousand Oaks.
of BTS

Corresponding author
Hee-Woong Kim can be contacted at: kimhw@yonsei.ac.kr

For instructions on how to order reprints of this article, please visit our website:
www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/licensing/reprints.htm
Or contact us for further details: permissions@emeraldinsight.com