• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.132-141
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• 2012

This current survey was conducted to examine consumer attitudes toward factors determining beef purchasing and improving distribution systems. The frequency of beef purchasing was shown to reflect social and economic status, where inhabitants in large cities, such as Seoul, with higher salaries showed a higher frequency. In addition, consumers that were in their forties bought beef more frequently than consumers that were in their twenties. Consumers in Seoul and the megalopolis with a monthly income of higher than 200 million won preferred to purchase meat from department stores and discount markets. In contrast, people in small cities with lower incomes tended to buy meat from butcher shops and brand shops. In a question regarding unsatisfaction factors of retail beef, individuals that were in their thirties with a high income had concerns associated with packaging problems. For people under thirty with low income, the consistency of quality and price were the prime concerns. In regards to the beef grading system, consumer response varied between inhabitants, monthly income and age group, where consumers from small cities that were in their twenties and forties with a low income had a negative viewpoint. For the differential beef distribution system, housewives between the ages of 30 and 40 from a small city with an income higher than 200 million won had a positive response; however, a large number of consumers were not familiar with this system. The most demanding beef cuts were in the following order: loin, flank and rib. In addition, the most important factors determining purchasing beef were as follows: price, breed and portion.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.456-463
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• 2006

The purposes of this study were to extract choice attributes of bakery cafe customers and to conduct important- performance analysis (IPA) of choice attributes perceived by bakery cafe customers. The questionnaire was developed through literature review and focus group interview, and modified after pilot test. The questionnaires for main survey were distributed to 320 males and females aged 20 and over in Seoul. A total of 275 questionnaires were used for analysis (85.9%) and the statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS Win (12.0) for descriptive analyses, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, and correlation analyses. The main results were as follows. 'Products', 'convenience to use', 'services and price', 'interior environments' 'brand' and 'location' dimensions were extracted as choice attributes dimensions of bakery cafe customers and customers of bakery cafe regarded 'sanitation and cleanness', 'kindness of employees', 'quality of products', 'comfortable and pleasant facilities' and 'taste of bakery products' as more important than other attributes. In addition, the results of IPA showed that marketing managers of bakery cafes should focused on the dimension of 'services and price' in the reason that this dimension was low at performance although customers regarded it very important. Overall, researchers and managers of bakery cafes should understand unique choice attributes of bakery cafe customers, and make efforts to establish marketing strategies that meet bakery cafe customers' needs.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.8-34
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• 2014

We reviewed foreign evaluation systems based on the macrobenthic and macroalgal communities and developed a system, composed of a set of ecological indices able to evaluate the functionality (FI, Functional Index; estimation of stability and productivity) and maturity (MI, Maturity Index; comparisons with biological parameters of natural reefs) of artificial reefs by comparing the status in the adjacent natural reefs in Korean coastal waters. The evaluation system was applied to natural and artificial reefs/reef-planned areas (natural reefs), established in the 5 marine ranching areas (Bangnyeong-Daechung, Yeonpyung, Taean, Seocheon and Buan) in the west coast of Korea. The FI ranged between 31.6 (Bangnyeong-Daechung) and 72.5% (Buan) and MI did between 53.1 (Seocheon) and 76.9% (Taean) in average. The evaluation of artificial reefs by the two indices, showed the most appropriate status in Taean. The FI between the adjacent artificial and natural reefs were in significant linear relationship ($r^2=0.83$, p=0.01). This indicated the local status of biological community may be critical in determining the functionality of the artificial reefs. We have suggested an integrative but preliminary evaluation system of artificial reefs in this study. The output from the evaluation system may be utilized as a tool for environment/resource managers or policy makers, responsible for effective use of funds and decision making. Given the importance, we need to use the options to enhance and improve the accuracy as follows: (1) continuous validation of the evaluation system and rescaling the criteria of indicators, (2) vigorous utilization of observation and experience through the application and data accumulation and (3) development and testing of brand-new indicators.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.267-274
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of dentifrice among children in a bid to provide information on dentifrice including its function to children's parents, the major consumers of dentifrice for child. And it's additionally meant to offer useful information on the production of toothpaste for kid. The subjects in this study were parents with children, who dwelled in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. After a self-administered survey was conducted for about three months from May to July 2007 to gather data on their use of dentifrice for child, a comparative analysis was implemented. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. Concerning the state of the use of their children's dentifrice, the largest number of the children(58.1%) started to use toothpaste at the age of one or down, and the most common first toothpaste they used was dentifrice for preschooler(86.8%). As for whether to use fluoride-containing toothpaste, the largest group of the parents(58.1%) gave an affirmative answer. Regarding the form of the toothpaste in use, the majority of their children used toothpaste of cream type(86.2%). The greatest group of the children used the amount of toothpaste that was as large as the three-tenths or four-tenths of the bristles(35.9%). 2. As for the state of the use of dentifrice for kid, the greatest group used that kind of toothpaste(81.4%). In the event of those who didn't use it, the last time when their children used toothpaste for kid was when they were at the western age of 3(33.9%) and 4(33.9%). Concerning the reason why they replaced toothpaste for kid with one for adult, the largest group of the parents did that on their own judgment(58.1%). As to the right time for replacing toothpaste for kid by one for adult, the greatest group considered it advisable for children to start using toothpaste for adult at the western age of 4 or 5(43.2%). 3. In relation to the state of the purchase of toothpaste for their children, the largest group was under the moderate influence of the children when they bought it(45.2%). The greatest group attached importance to the ingredients of toothpaste(41.6%), and the most preferred ingredient was fluoride(56.3%). 53.0 percent took consideration on the content of ingredients or the instructions. 4. In regard to priorities for the choice of toothpaste for their children, they gave top priority to brand(16.7%), followed by quality(14.6%) and ingredients(13.5%). The age of the parents made a statistically significant difference to the children's age when they started using toothpaste, and how they started to do that and whether they used fluoride-containing toothpaste were statistically significantly different according to that as well(p < 0.01). In regard to the impact of the occupation of the parents, the use of fluoride-containing toothpaste was more common among the stay-at-home mothers(p < 0.01).

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.17-26
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• 2012

Suncheon is a city comprising a rural and urban area, where there are four types of large stores. Studies have shown that there are too many large stores serving the local population of just 300,000. However, geographically, Suncheon is located at a transportation hub that borders the cities of Gwangyang and Yeosu as well as the local counties of Boseong and Gurae. Residents of these areas can reach these shopping stores within an hour's drive. Thus, the managers of these four stores regard residents in these areas as their valued customers and endeavor to create a differentiated image among them. In this study, 13 different images were used to determine the public's opinions and feelings towards these stores and the differences were analyzed. The store images measured overall store impression, diversity of the product, the quality of products displayed at the store, accessibility, the atmosphere, service to the customers, and so on. These images are evaluated subjectively by each customer and are major factors in them deciding to revisit the stores. The 13 images are classified into five main categories and further classified into 13 sub-categories. Three kinds of factor images were extracted from the store images in the five main categories by factor analysis using SPSS Ver. 19. The first factor image was extracted from the images of convenience, atmosphere, and service in the main categories and is called a sub-service factor for the store in this study. Accessibility to the store was classified as a convenience image in the main category and was extracted as a common factor along with diversity and the price of goods. These differences are expected according to the store location, that is, the difference between stores located in a large city and those in a small local city, and depending on the nature of survey respondents. The result shows that there is a significant difference between the stores' images with regard to accessibility, the price of products, brand image, and lighting/sound image. This study has the following limitations. First, the survey sample was restricted to residents of a small local city that includes rural and urban populations. The differences between the store images regarding traffic and accessibility are factored by store location, whether they are located within a large or a small city as well as the economic situation of these cities. Second, only the customers of large-scale stores were included in the survey as respondents. Relatively large traditional markets are held every five days in local cities and there is competition between large-scale stores and traditional markets with regard to diversity and the price of goods. It could be expected that customers in large-scale stores and customers in traditional markets would hold different store images. In future studies, images of stores in large cities should be compared with the images of stores located in small local cities. In addition, customer behavior when buying goods in large-scale stores should be compared with their behavior when buying goods in traditional markets.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.137-164
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• 2011

In the past, retailers secured customer loyalty by offering convenient locations, unique assortments of goods, better services than competitors, and good credit policy. All this has changed. Goods assortments among stores have become more alike as national-brand manufacturers place their goods in more and more retail stores. Service differentiation also has eroded. Many department stores have trimmed services, and many discount stores have increased theirs. Customers have become smarter shoppers. They don't pay more for identical brands, especially when service differences have diminished. In the face of increased competition from discount storess and specialty stores, department stores are waging a comeback war. Growth of intertype competition, competition between store-based and non-store-based retailing and growing investment in technology are changing the way consumers shop and retailers sell. Different types of stores-discount stores, catalog showrooms, department stores-all compete for the same consumers by carrying the same type of merchandise. The biggest winners are retailers that have helped shoppers to be economically cautious, simplified their increasingly busy and complicated lives, and provided an emotional connection. The growth of e-retailers has forced traditional brick-and-mortar retailers to respond. Basically brick-and-mortar retailers utilize their natural advantages, such as products that shoppers can actually see, touch, and test, real-life customer service, and no delivery lag time for small-sized purchases. They also provide a shopping experience as a strong differentiator. They are adopting practices as calling each shopper a "guest". The store atmosphere should match the basic motivations of the shopper. If target consumers are more likely to be in a task-oriented and functional mindset, then a simpler, more restrained in-store environment may be better. Consistent with this reasoning, some retailers of experiential products are creating in-store entertainment to attract customers who want fun and excitement. The retail experience must deliver value to turn a one-time visitor into a loyal customer. Retailers need a tool that measures the full range of components that define experience-based value. This study uses an experiential value scale(EVS) developed by Mathwick, Malhotra and Rigdon(2001) which reflects the benefits derived from perceptions of playfulness, aesthetics, customer "return on investment" and service excellence. EVS is useful to predict differences in shopping preferences and patronage behavior of customers. EVS consists of items measuring efficiency, economic value, visual appeal, entertainment value, service excellence, escapism, and intrinsic enjoyment, which are subscales of experiencial value. Efficiency, economic value, service excellence are linked to the utilitarian shopping value. And visual appeal, entertainment value, escapism and intrinsic enjoyment are linked to hedonic shopping value. It has been found that consumers value hedonic experiences activated from escapism and attractiveness of shopping environment as much as the product quality, price, and the convenient location. As a result, many department stores, discount stores, and other retailers are introducing differential marketing strategy based on emotional/hedonic values. Many researches suggest that consumers go shopping not only for buying products but also for various shopping experiences. In other words, they seek the practical, rational value as well as social, recreational values in the shopping process(Babin et al, 1994; Bloch et al, 1994). Retailers may enhance buyer's loyalty to store by providing excellent emotional/hedonic value such as the excitement from shopping, not just the practical value of buying good products efficiently. We investigate the effect of perceived shopping values on the emotional experience and store loyalty based on the EVS(Experiential Value Scales) developed by Holbrook(1994), Mathwick, Malhotra and Rigdon(2001). This study assumes that the relative effect of shopping value dimensions on the responses of shoppers will differ according to types of stores and analyzes the moderating effect of store type(department store VS. discount store) on the causal relationship between shopping value dimensions and store loyalty. Emprical results show that utilitarian values of shopping experience and hedonic value of shipping experience give the positive effect on the emotional response of consumers and store loyalty. We also found the moderating effect of store types. The effect of utilitarian shopping values on the attitude toward discount store is higher than the effect of utilitarian shopping values on the attitude toword department store. And the effect of hedonic shopping value on the emotional response to discount store is higher than on the emotional response to department store. The empirical results reflect on the recent trend that discount stores try to fulfill the hedonic needs of consumers as well as utilitarian needs(i.e, low price) that discount stores traditionally have focused on