• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.29-52
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• 2012

Consumers differ in the way they make a purchase. An audio mania would willingly make a bold, yet serious, decision to buy a top-of-the-line home theater system, while he is not interested in replacing his two-decade-old shabby car. On the contrary, an automobile enthusiast wouldn't mind spending forty thousand dollars to buy a new Jaguar convertible, yet cares little about his junky component system. It is product involvement that helps us explain such differences among individuals in the purchase style. Product involvement refers to the extent to which a product is perceived to be important to a consumer (Zaichkowsky, 2001). Product involvement is an important factor that strongly influences consumer's purchase decision-making process, and thus has been of prime interest to consumer behavior researchers. Furthermore, researchers found that involvement is closely related to perceived risk (Dholakia, 2001). While abundant research exists addressing how product involvement relates to overall perceived risk, little attention has been paid to the relationship between involvement and different types of perceived risk in an electronic commerce setting. Given that perceived risk can be a substantial barrier to the online purchase (Jarvenpaa, 2000), research addressing such an issue will offer useful implications on what specific types of perceived risk an online firm should focus on mitigating if it is to increase sales to a fullest potential. Meanwhile, past research has focused on such consumer responses as information search and dissemination as a consequence of involvement, neglecting other behavioral responses like online merchant selection. For one example, will a consumer seriously considering the purchase of a pricey Guzzi bag perceive a great degree of risk associated with online buying and therefore choose to buy it from a digital storefront rather than from an online marketplace to mitigate risk? Will a consumer require greater trust on the part of the online merchant when the perceived risk of online buying is rather high? We intend to find answers to these research questions through an empirical study. This paper explores the impact of enduring product involvement and perceived risks on required trust level, and further on online merchant choice. For the purpose of the research, five types or components of perceived risk are taken into consideration, including financial, performance, delivery, psychological, and social risks. A research model has been built around the constructs under consideration, and 12 hypotheses have been developed based on the research model to examine the relationships between enduring involvement and five components of perceived risk, between five components of perceived risk and required trust level, between enduring involvement and required trust level, and finally between required trust level and preference toward an e-tailer. To attain our research objectives, we conducted an empirical analysis consisting of two phases of data collection: a pilot test and main survey. The pilot test was conducted using 25 college students to ensure that the questionnaire items are clear and straightforward. Then the main survey was conducted using 295 college students at a major university for nine days between December 13, 2010 and December 21, 2010. The measures employed to test the model included eight constructs: (1) enduring involvement, (2) financial risk, (3) performance risk, (4) delivery risk, (5) psychological risk, (6) social risk, (7) required trust level, (8) preference toward an e-tailer. The statistical package, SPSS 17.0, was used to test the internal consistency among the items within the individual measures. Based on the Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ coefficients of the individual measure, the reliability of all the variables is supported. Meanwhile, the Amos 18.0 package was employed to perform a confirmatory factor analysis designed to assess the unidimensionality of the measures. The goodness of fit for the measurement model was satisfied. Unidimensionality was tested using convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity. The statistical evidences proved that the three types of validity were all satisfied. Now the structured equation modeling technique was used to analyze the individual paths along the relationships among the research constructs. The results indicated that enduring involvement has significant positive relationships with all the five components of perceived risk, while only performance risk is significantly related to trust level required by consumers for purchase. It can be inferred from the findings that product performance problems are mostly likely to occur when a merchant behaves in an opportunistic manner. Positive relationships were also found between involvement and required trust level and between required trust level and online merchant choice. Enduring involvement is concerned with the pleasure a consumer derives from a product class and/or with the desire for knowledge for the product class, and thus is likely to motivate the consumer to look for ways of mitigating perceived risk by requiring a higher level of trust on the part of the online merchant. Likewise, a consumer requiring a high level of trust on the merchant will choose a digital storefront rather than an e-marketplace, since a digital storefront is believed to be trustworthier than an e-marketplace, as it fulfills orders by itself rather than acting as an intermediary. The findings of the present research provide both academic and practical implications. The first academic implication is that enduring product involvement is a strong motivator of consumer responses, especially the selection of a merchant, in the context of electronic shopping. Secondly, academicians are advised to pay attention to the finding that an individual component or type of perceived risk can be used as an important research construct, since it would allow one to pinpoint the specific types of risk that are influenced by antecedents or that influence consequents. Meanwhile, our research provides implications useful for online merchants (both online storefronts and e-marketplaces). Merchants may develop strategies to attract consumers by managing perceived performance risk involved in purchase decisions, since it was found to have significant positive relationship with the level of trust required by a consumer on the part of the merchant. One way to manage performance risk would be to thoroughly examine the product before shipping to ensure that it has no deficiencies or flaws. Secondly, digital storefronts are advised to focus on symbolic goods (e.g., cars, cell phones, fashion outfits, and handbags) in which consumers are relatively more involved than others, whereas e- marketplaces should put their emphasis on non-symbolic goods (e.g., drinks, books, MP3 players, and bike accessories).

• 마케팅과학연구
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.141-173
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• 2007

본 연구는 점포를 방문하는 동안 노출되는 매장의 물리적 환경 특성이 서비스 브랜드 개성과 재구매의도에 미치는 영향력을 규명하기 위해 시도되었다. 이를 위해 연구모형을 개발하여, 특정 서비스 브랜드의 이용객을 대상으로 설문조사를 실시하고 구조방정식을 이용하여 분석하였다. 연구 결과는 우선, 서비스의 물리적 환경은 주변요인, 디자인요인, 사회요인으로, 그리고 서비스브랜드 개성은 유능함, 성실함, 흥분됨, 세련됨, 강인함 차원으로 분류되었다. 둘째, 물리적 환경의 모든 차원들이 모든 서비스 브랜드 개성차원에 정(+)의 영향을 주었으며, 물리적 환경의 서비스 브랜드 개성에 대한 영향력은 각 차원별로 상이하였다. 셋째, 서비스 브랜드 개성은 모두 재구매의도에 정(+)의 영향을 주었으며, 특히 세련됨 차원에 미치는 영향이 가장 켰다. 넷째, 서비스의 물리적 환경은 재구매의도에 정(+)의 영향을 주었으며, 특히 물리적 환경 중 사회요인이 재구매의도에 가장 큰 영향을 주는 것으로 나타났다. 이와 같은 결과들은 물리적 환경 연출은 브랜드 개성 형성의 결정요인으로 서비스 브랜드 차별화의 핵심요인으로 작용하므로, 호의적인 브랜드 개성 창출을 위해서는 우선적으로 물리적 환경에 대한 효율적 관리 방안이 강구되어야 함을 보여준다.

• 마케팅과학연구
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.51-89
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• 2007

본 연구는 의류 브랜드 온라인 커뮤니티의 이용욕구충족과 커뮤니티 몰입간의 관계 및 이들 관계에 대한 브랜드 이미지의 조절효과를 검증하는 것이다. 9개 캐주얼 의류 브랜드 커뮤니티 회원 317명을 대상으로 온라인 서베이를 실시하여 자료를 수집하였다. 다중회귀분석 결과, 의류 브랜드 커뮤니티에서의 이용욕구 충족은 커뮤니티에 대한 몰입과 유의한 관계가 있었다. 그리고 조절회귀분석 결과, 의류 브랜드 커뮤니티에서의 관계욕구 충족이 커뮤니티 몰입(감정적 몰입, 지속적 몰입, 규범적 몰입)에 영향을 미칠때 의류 브랜드 이미지 수준에 따른 조절효과가 작용함이 발견되었다. 또한 의류 브랜드 이미지의 조절효과는 의류 브랜드 커뮤니티에서의 거래욕구 충족과 커뮤니티에 대한 감정적 몰입의 관계에서도 나타났다. 특히 의류 브랜드 커뮤니티인 경우, 커뮤니티에서의 관계욕구 충족수준에 따른 커뮤니티 몰입의 정도는 브랜드 이미지가 낮을 때 보다 높을 때 더 크게 나타났다. 이것은 의류 브랜드 커뮤니티에서의 이용욕구 충족을 통해 회원들의 커뮤니티 몰입을 증대시키는 전략은 의류 브랜드 이미지 수준이 다른 의류 브랜드 유형에 따라 그 효과에 차이가 있음을 의미한다. 따라서 의류기업의 마케터들은 자사 브랜드의 이미지 수준을 평가하고, 이에 맞춰 커뮤니티 몰입을 증대시키는 전략을 모색할 필요가 있다. 브랜드 커뮤니티에 대한 몰입은 브랜드에 대한 구전이나 재구매 행동과 연결되므로, 명품 의류 브랜드들인 경우 온라인 브랜드 커뮤니티를 구축하고 회원들의 커뮤니티에 대한 몰입을 증대시킴으로써 브랜드 자산을 극대화시킬 수 있을 것이다.

• 대한지리학회지
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• 제30권1호
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• pp.68-92
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• 1995

소매업은 경제, 사회, 문화, 정치를 배경으로 소비자의 요구에 부응하며 발전해 가 기 때문에 지역구조의 이해라는 측면에서 증요한 연구 주제이다. 또한 소매업은 일상생활을 영위하기 위한 기본적인 기능이므로, 이에 대한 이해는 삶의 질 향상이라는 측면에서도 중 요하다. 최근, 우리나라는 주민소득의 향상과 그에 따른 수요의 다양화, 개성화, 그리고 정보 화 사회로의 이행, 대기업 및 외국유통업의 참여, 정부의 유통산업 근대화 작업 등 소매업 환경의 변화와 함께 소매업이 크게 변화하고 있다. 따라서 미래의 변화 예측과 바람직한 발 전 방향이 제시되어야 함에도 불구하고, 이에 대한 연구가 미흡하다. 이에 광주시를 연구대 상지역으로 선정하여, 소매업의 입지와 그에 대한 주민의 이용 행태, 그리고 주민의 바람직 한 이용방안을 분석하였다. 이는 입지행태라는 순수한 학문적기여 뿐 아니라, 지역의 효율성 과 평등성의 실현이라는 응용면에서도 중요한 의의를 지닌다.

• 마케팅과학연구
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.37-46
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• 2009

The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced in May 2008 that U.S. retail e-commerce sales for 2006 reached $ 107 billion, up from $ 87 billion in 2005 - an increase of 22 percent. From 2001 to 2006, retail e-sales increased at an average annual growth rate of 25.4 percent. The explosive growth of E-Commerce has caused profound changes in marketing channel relationships and structures in many industries. Despite the great potential implications for both academicians and practitioners, there still exists a great deal of uncertainty about the impact of the Internet channel introduction on distribution channel management. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the ownership of the new Internet channel affects the existing channel members and consumers. To explore the above research questions, this study conducts well-controlled mathematical experiments to isolate the impact of the Internet channel by comparing before and after the Internet channel entry. The model consists of a monopolist manufacturer selling its product through a channel system including one independent physical store before the entry of an Internet store. The addition of the Internet store to this channel system results in a mixed channel comprised of two different types of channels. The new Internet store can be launched by the independent physical store such as Bestbuy. In this case, the physical retailer coordinates the two types of stores to maximize the joint profits from the two stores. The Internet store also can be introduced by an independent Internet retailer such as Amazon. In this case, a retail level competition occurs between the two types of stores. Although the manufacturer sells only one product, consumers view each product-outlet pair as a unique offering. Thus, the introduction of the Internet channel provides two product offerings for consumers. The channel structures analyzed in this study are illustrated in Fig.1. It is assumed that the manufacturer plays as a Stackelberg leader maximizing its own profits with the foresight of the independent retailer's optimal responses as typically assumed in previous analytical channel studies. As a Stackelberg follower, the independent physical retailer or independent Internet retailer maximizes its own profits, conditional on the manufacturer's wholesale price. The price competition between two the independent retailers is assumed to be a Bertrand Nash game. For simplicity, the marginal cost is set at zero, as typically assumed in this type of study. In order to explore the research questions above, this study develops a game theoretic model that possesses the following three key characteristics. First, the model explicitly captures the fact that an Internet channel and a physical store exist in two independent dimensions (one in physical space and the other in cyber space). This enables this model to demonstrate that the effect of adding an Internet store is different from that of adding another physical store. Second, the model reflects the fact that consumers are heterogeneous in their preferences for using a physical store and for using an Internet channel. Third, the model captures the vertical strategic interactions between an upstream manufacturer and a downstream retailer, making it possible to analyze the channel structure issues discussed in this paper. Although numerous previous models capture this vertical dimension of marketing channels, none simultaneously incorporates the three characteristics reflected in this model. The analysis results are summarized in Table 1. When the new Internet channel is introduced by the existing physical retailer and the retailer coordinates both types of stores to maximize the joint profits from the both stores, retail prices increase due to a combination of the coordination of the retail prices and the wider market coverage. The quantity sold does not significantly increase despite the wider market coverage, because the excessively high retail prices alleviate the market coverage effect to a degree. Interestingly, the coordinated total retail profits are lower than the combined retail profits of two competing independent retailers. This implies that when a physical retailer opens an Internet channel, the retailers could be better off managing the two channels separately rather than coordinating them, unless they have the foresight of the manufacturer's pricing behavior. It is also found that the introduction of an Internet channel affects the power balance of the channel. The retail competition is strong when an independent Internet store joins a channel with an independent physical retailer. This implies that each retailer in this structure has weak channel power. Due to intense retail competition, the manufacturer uses its channel power to increase its wholesale price to extract more profits from the total channel profit. However, the retailers cannot increase retail prices accordingly because of the intense retail level competition, leading to lower channel power. In this case, consumer welfare increases due to the wider market coverage and lower retail prices caused by the retail competition. The model employed for this study is not designed to capture all the characteristics of the Internet channel. The theoretical model in this study can also be applied for any stores that are not geographically constrained such as TV home shopping or catalog sales via mail. The reasons the model in this study is names as "Internet" are as follows: first, the most representative example of the stores that are not geographically constrained is the Internet. Second, catalog sales usually determine the target markets using the pre-specified mailing lists. In this aspect, the model used in this study is closer to the Internet than catalog sales. However, it would be a desirable future research direction to mathematically and theoretically distinguish the core differences among the stores that are not geographically constrained. The model is simplified by a set of assumptions to obtain mathematical traceability. First, this study assumes the price is the only strategic tool for competition. In the real world, however, various marketing variables can be used for competition. Therefore, a more realistic model can be designed if a model incorporates other various marketing variables such as service levels or operation costs. Second, this study assumes the market with one monopoly manufacturer. Therefore, the results from this study should be carefully interpreted considering this limitation. Future research could extend this limitation by introducing manufacturer level competition. Finally, some of the results are drawn from the assumption that the monopoly manufacturer is the Stackelberg leader. Although this is a standard assumption among game theoretic studies of this kind, we could gain deeper understanding and generalize our findings beyond this assumption if the model is analyzed by different game rules.

• 마케팅과학연구
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.31-54
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• 2007

첨단산업의 기업들은 환경의 변화에 효과적으로 대응하는 것을 기업 성패에 중요한 요인으로 여기고 있다. 하지만 첨단산업의 환경 동태성이 공급체인 구성원 간 관계 결속에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구가 부족하여, 환경 변화에 효과적인 대응을 어렵게 하고 있다. 본 연구는 첨단산업에서 환경 동태성이 공급체인의 결속에 영향을 미치는 메커니즘에 대해 규명하고 있다. 좀 더 구체적으로 말하면, 첫째, 첨단산업의 고객, 경쟁, 기술 동태성이 공급체인의 결속에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지, 둘째, 공급체인의 유연성과 의존성이 이러한 영향에 어떠한 조절효과를 가지는 지 실증하고 있다. 구조방정식 모형에 의한 가설검정 결과 첨단산업의 고객 동태성은 공급체인의 결속을 약화시켰지만 경쟁 동태성은 강화시키는 역할을 하였다. 한편 유연성과 의존성은 고객과 경쟁 동태성에 유의적인 조절 효과를 가졌다.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• 제12권4호
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• pp.55-78
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• 2011

외식업계에서는 충성도제고를 위한 장기적 고객 관리 프로그램으로서 사용금액 대비 일정률의 포인트를 적립해주는 고객보상(로열티)프로그램을 시행해왔으며, 단기적인 매출 증대를 목적으로 신용카드사나 이동통신사와의 전략적 제휴를 통해 소비자에게 할인혜택을 제공하는 제휴할인카드를 경쟁적으로 도입하고 있다. 포인트 적립과 제휴카드할인 프로그램은 추구하는 목적은 서로 다르나 소비자에게는 동일한 구매시점에 둘 중에서 하나를 선택해야하는 경합적인 대안이 된다. 일반적으로 소비자는 손실에 대해 더 민감하게 반응하는 위험회피 성향을 보이며, 실용적 동기에 의한 취득 및 거래효용의 관점에서 할인이 강력한 구매 동기가 되므로, 분리된 이익으로서의 포인트 적립 보다 할인 혜택을 제공함으로써 손실의 감소로 인식되는 제휴카드할인이 더 선호될 것으로 예상할 수 있다. 기업의 입장에서도 제휴기업간의 비용분담을 통해 보다 적은 비용으로 큰 소비자 할인혜택을 제공할 수 있다는 비용효율의 장점 및 경쟁 대응 필요성 때문에 제휴카드할인을 도입하게 된다. 그러나 할인판촉은 실제적인 비용이 투입되므로 매출의 증가를 통해 비용 보다 큰 수익이 보장될 때만 의미를 가지는 촉진 수단이다. 외식업의 경우 방문객수가 증가해야 매출의 증대를 이룰 수 있으며 운영효율이 향상된다. 테이블당 고객수 증가는 공간효율을 높여주어 이익개선에 기여가 크다. 따라서 제휴카드할인이 실제적인 기업성과향상을 가져오려면 할인이 객수의 증가 특히 테이블당 객수의 증가에 기여를 해야 한다. 제휴카드할인이 객수증가 및 이익률의 향상에 도움이 되는지의 여부를 알아보기 위하여 패밀리 레스토랑업체의 실제 매출 데이터를 사용하여 검증해 본 결과 포인트 적립제도는 객수 증가와 유의적 관계를 보이지 않은 반면 제휴할인은 객수 증가에 실제적인 영향이 있음이 밝혀졌으며, 할인율이 증가하면 테이블당 고객수도 증가하며 약 25%의 할인이 제공되면 추가로 한 명의 고객이 유인되는 효과가 있었다. 또한 수익성의 측면에서는 1인당 지불금액 즉 객단가는 할인율의 증가에 따라 하락하는 경향을 보였지만 객수의 증가로 인한 추가이익이 추가비용을 상쇄하고 있어서 제휴할인카드의 도입이 비용 대비 효과의 측면에서 적극적으로 고려할 수 있는 촉진 수단임이 입증되었다. 본 연구는 기업의 실측 데이터를 활용하고 있다는 점에서 소비자 태도나 의도의 변화를 기준으로 기업의 의사 결정 정보를 제공하고자한 기존연구보다 현실적인 접근을 하고 있다. 즉, 기업의 실제 데이터로 제휴카드할인 프로그램의 효과를 측정하였고, 포인트 적립 및 차감제도를 직접 비교함으로써 기업에게 향후 마케팅 전략 수립에 관한 현실적인 시사점을 제공하였다는 점에서 연구의 의의를 찾을 수 있을 것이다.

• 한국유통학회지:유통연구
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.1-34
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• 2010

소비자의 구매 행위가 합리적이고 실용적인 방향으로 변화하는데 힘입어 할인점업계는 급속한 외형적인 성장과 함께 경쟁도 치열하다. 따라서 업계는 그 해결책으로 차별화와 수익성을 동시에 실현 시킬 수 있는 유통업체 브랜드(PB: Private Brand) 개발에 사활을 걸고 있다. 또한 치열한 경쟁 환경 하에서 생존하기 위해서는 고객만족을 넘어서 고객충성도를 높이는 것이 효과적인 방법임이 밝혀짐에 따라 PB가 고객충성도를 제고시키기 위한 전략적인 도구로 사용되고 있다. PB 이용 고객의 충성도를 높이려면 우선 고객집단의 특성을 파악해서 소비자가 지각하는 품질수준을 우선적으로 맞춰줘야 고객만족과 고객신뢰를 얻을 수 있고 결과적으로 고객충성도로 유도할 수 있다. 이에 본 연구는 지각된 품질에 영향을 미치는 선행요인과 고객충성도에 영향을 미치는 변수들 간의 관계에 대한 체계적인 분석결과를 제시하기 위해 선행연구에서 검증된 인과관계를 기반으로 연구모형과 연구가설을 설정했고, 주요 연구결과는 다음과 같다. 기업명성, 브랜드명성, 제품경험, 브랜드친숙도가 높을수록 지각된 품질이 높아지고, 지각된 품질이 높을수록 고객만족, 고객신뢰, 고객충성도가 높아지며, 고객만족과 고객신뢰가 높을수록 고객충성도가 높아지는 것으로 조사되었다. 또한 기업명성이 지각된 품질에 미치는 영향력은 PB가 NB보다 높게 나타난 반면 브랜드명성과 브랜드친숙도가 지각된 품질에 미치는 영향력은 NB가 PB보다 높게 나타났다. 이러한 실증분석 결과는 지각된 품질에 영향을 미치는 선행요인과 결과요인에 대한 보다 명확한 이해를 바탕으로 실무자가 마케팅 활동을 하는데 유용하게 활용할 수 있을 것이다.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• 제19권3호
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• pp.69-98
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• 2009

We investigated what factors motivate gamers to participate in a guild and why they continue to be engaged as members of the guild. We find that, based on the result of focus group interviews with MMORPG gamers, social support and self-esteem factors play important roles. Considering both prior research and the focus group interviews we have conducted, we define social support and character control as independent variables. Character identity, guild identity, and self-esteem are proposed as mediating variables while guild flow and game loyalty as dependent variables. Accordingly, we develop the research model and hypotheses, and verify them empirically. Based on our experiences of playing the WoW game, we proposed a research model and conducted focus-group interviews (FGIs). FGIs involve formulating a hypothesis and then collecting some relevant data. FGIs were conducted face-to-face with students of C University in Korea. We formulated structured interview schedules, and the questions were based on our research variables and personal experiences. The questions for the interviews encompassed the following areas: (a) the demographic characteristics of the focus group; (b) the number of years for which respondents had played online games; (c) the motive for starting a game; (d) the number of game-characters assumed by each gamer; (e) the type of game played; and (f) other issues such as the reasons for involvement in the play, the willingness to reuse the game in case new versions were released, etc. On average, it took two hours to interview each of three groups. A primary set of FGIs was conducted with three groups on the premise that there would be some differences caused by character race (Horde vs. Alliance) or by playable server (Normal vs. Combat). With respect to the manner of playing, we found that guild members shared information, felt a sense of belonging, and played computer games for quite a long time through the guild; however, they did not undergo these experiences when playing alone. Gamers who belonged to a specific guild helped other players without expecting compensation for that, freely shared information about the game, gave away items for free, and more generous with other members who made mistakes. The guild members were aware of the existence other members and experienced a sense of belonging through interactions with, and evaluations from, other players. It was clear that social support was shown within the guild and that it played an important role as a major research variable. Based on the results of the first FGIs, a second set of in-depth FGIs was carried out with a focus on the psychology of the individual within the guild and the social community of the guild. The second set of FGIs also focused on the guild's offline meetings. Gamers, over all, recognize the necessity of joining a community, not only off-line but also online world of the guild. They admit that the guild is important for them to easily and conveniently enjoy playing online computer games. The active behavior and positive attitudes of existing guild members can motivate new members of the guild to adapt themselves to the guild environment. They then adopt the same behaviors and attitudes of established guild members. In this manner, the new members of the guild strengthen the bonds with other gamers while feeling a sense of belonging, and developing social identity, thereby. It was discovered that the interaction among guild members and the social support encouraged new gamers to quickly develop a sense of social identity and increase their self-esteem. The guild seemed to play the role of socializing gamers. Sometimes, even in the real world, the guild members helped one another; therefore, the features of the guild also spilled over to the offline environment. We intend to use self-esteem, which was found through the second set of FGIs, as an important research variable. To collect data, an online survey was designed with a questionnaire to be completed by WoW gamers, who belong to a guild. The survey was registered on the best three domestic game-sites: 'WoW playforum,' 'WoW gamemeca,' and 'Wow invent.' The selected items to be measured in the questionnaire were decided based on prior research and data from FGIs. To verify the content of the questionnaire, we carried out a pilot test with the same participants to point out ambiguous questions as a way to ensure maximum accuracy of the survey result. A total of 244 responses were analyzed from the 250 completed questionnaires. The SEM analysis was used to test goodness-of-fit of the model. As a result, we found important results as follows: First, according to the statistics, social support had statistically significant impacts on character control, character identity, guild identity and self-esteem. Second, character control had significant effects on character identity, guild identity and self-esteem. Third, character identity shows its clear impact on self-esteem and game loyalty. Fourth, guild identity affected self-esteem, guild flow and game loyalty. Fifth, self-esteem had a positive influence on the guild flow. These days, the number of virtual community is rising along with its significance largely because of the nature of the online games. Accordingly, this study is designed to clarify the psychological relationship between gamers within the guild that has been generally established by gamers to play online games together. This study focuses on the relationships in which social support influences guild flow or game loyalty through character control, character identity, guild identity, and self-esteem, which are present within a guild in the MMORPG game environment. The study results are as follows. First, the effects of social support on character control, character identity, guild identity and self-esteem are proven to be statistically significant. It was found that character control improves character identity, guild identity and self-esteem. Among the seven variables, social support, which is derived from FGIs, plays an important role in this study. With the active support of other guild members, gamers can improve their ability to develop good characters and to control them. Second, character identity has a positive effect on self-esteem and game loyalty, while guild identity has a significant effect on self-esteem, guild flow and game loyalty. Self-esteem affects guild flow. It was found that the higher the character and guild identities become, the greater the self-esteem is established. Contrary to the findings of prior research, our study results indicate that the relationship between character identity and guild flow is not significant. Rather, it was found that character identity directly affects game players' loyalty. Even though the character identity had no direct effect on increasing guild flow, it has indirectly affected guild flow through self-esteem. The significant relationship between self-esteem and guild flow indicates that gamers achieve flow, i.e., a feeling of pleasure and excitement through social support. Several important implications of this study should be noted. First, both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to conduct this study. Through FGIs, it was observed that both social support and self-esteem are important variables. Second, because guilds had been rarely studied, this research is expected to play an important role in the online community. Third, according to the result, six hypotheses (H1, H5, H6, H7, H8, and H11) setup based on FGIs, were statistically significant; thus, we can suggest the corresponding relationships among the variables as a guideline for follow-up research. Our research is significant as it has following implications: first, the social support of the guild members is important when establishing character control, character identity, guildidentity and self-esteem. It is also a major variable that affects guild flow and game loyalty. Second, character control when improved by social support shows notable influence on the development of character identity, guild identity and self-esteem. Third, character identity and guild identity are major factors to help establish gamers' own self-esteem. Fourth, character identity affects guild flow through self-esteem and game loyalty. The gamers usually express themselves through characters; the higher character identity is, the more loyalty a gamer has. Fifth, guild identity, established within the guild, has clear effects on self-esteem, guild flow and game loyalty. Sixth, qualitative and quantitative methods are employed to conduct this study. Based on the results of focus group interviews and SEM analysis, we find that the social support by guild members and psychological factors are significant in strengthening the flow of guild and loyalty to the game. As such, game developers should provide some extra functions for guild community, through which gamers can play online games in collaboration with one another. Also, we suggest that positive self-esteem which is built up through social support can help gamers achieve higher level of flow and satisfaction, which will consequently contribute to minimizing the possibility for the players to develop negative attitude toward the guild they belong to.

• 중소기업연구
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• 제31권2호
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• pp.85-102
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• 2009

기업환경의 국제화 및 세계화에 따라 국내에 진출하는 다국적기업의 수는 증가할 것으로 보이는데, 그들을 효율적으로 관리할 수 있는 적절한 수단은 별로 연구되고 있지 않은 것 같다. 다국적기업의 국제이전가격은 정교하게 설정되어 조세부담을 회피할 수 있기 때문에, 이를 관리하기 위해서는 다국적기업의 행태를 이해할 필요가 있다. 본 연구는 우리나라에 진출한 외국인 기업의 특성 및 환경적 요인이 국제이전가격의 설정방식에 미치는 영향을 확인하고자 하는데 그 목표를 두고 있다. 2004년 현재 우리나라에 미화 100만불 이상의 직접투자를 수행하고 있는 외국인 투자기업 861개 기업을 대상으로 설문조사를 시행한 결과 121개 기업이 응답하여 이를 본 연구의 분석자료로 사용하였다. 종속변수로는 국제이전가격설정방법이 시장기준 혹은 원가기준에 의거하였는지의 여부를 묻는 2원적변수를 채택하였다. 시장기준방법의 경우 객관성이 높아 세무당국이 선호하는 방법임에 비해 원가기준은 경영자의 주관적인 판단이 개입될 소지가 많아 객관성이 떨어진다는 점에서 구분되기 때문이다. 독립변수로는 법인세, 관세, 세무당국과의 관계, 세무조사가능성, 현지투자자의 지분율, 내부거래비중, 매출액 및 제품수명주기가 채택되었고, 통제변수로는 중소기업여부 및 투자자의 국적이 더미변수의 형태로 포함되었다. 분석 결과를 살펴보면 세무변수로는 법인세와 관세가 유의하게 나타났는데, 그 중요도가 높을수록 경영자에게 재량권이 있는 원가기준이전가격방식을 선호하는 것으로 나타났다. 또 세무당국과의 관계를 중요하게 평가할수록 시장기준이전가격방식을 선호하는 것으로 나타났는데, 현지 정부는 객관성이 높은 시장기준을 가장 선호하기 때문에 기업의 입장에서 이 점을 고려한 것이라 생각할 수 있다. 제품 수명주기의 성숙도가 높을수록 원가기준을 선호하는 것으로 나타났는데, 이는 제품의 성숙도가 높을수록 경쟁 때문에 현지자회사가 시장을 확보하는데 어려움을 느끼게 되므로 이를 지원하는 수단으로 원가기준을 선호하는 것으로 보인다.