• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.41 no.12
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• pp.13-26
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• 2003

This study was designed (1) to examine adolescents' body cathexis, ideal body image, clothing behavior, and clothing purchasing behavior, and (2) to identify gender and age differences. Descriptive statistics, Chi-Square ($\chi^2$) analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Duncan-Test were employed to analyze the data collected from the convenience sample of 729 middle- and high-school students in Gyeongnam, Korea. Adolescents tended to be dissatisfied with their body, while female high school students' dissatisfactory degrees were higher The ideal body image was thinner than normal, and neither gender nor age differences were observed. Adolescents showed higher dependences compared to other clothing behaviors including conformity, fashion, popularity, brand, and exhibition, and gender and age differences were observed. Fit/comfort and clothing displayed in store were most important evaluative criterion and information search method. Adolescents tended to prefer shopping in department store with friends or parents in less than 3 hours. Gender and age differences were observed in those clothing purchasing behavior. Marketing strategies generated from the results of this study were suggested.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.487-501
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• 1997

Prepurchase decision making process was investigated for the female high school students grouped by fashion leadership. Differences in the fashion leadership were also investigated among the groups determined by demographic characteristics. Data were obtained from 600 female students attending at 4 different high schools in Seoul by self-administered questionnaires, and 430 were used for the data analysis. Respondents were divided into 5 groups by fashion leadership: innovators(6.3%), early adopters(29.8%) , early majority(43.7%) , late majority(16.9%) , laggards(3.3%) , The groups with higher monthly allowances and monthly clothing expenditures showed higher fashion leadership. At the problem recognition stage, students with higher fashion leadership felt buying needs more often than those with lower fashion leadership. At the information search stage, students with higher fashion leadership tended to use higher number of information sources and mass media, visited stores more often, spent more time and collected new information more often, and tended to show higher satisfaction levels with searched information than students with lower fashion leadership. Leaders tended to search information at bonded goods stores and small shops in the area, and laggards prefered to visit small stores in the market. At the alternative evaluation stage, students with higher fashion leadership reported to use higher number of evaluative criteria and consider brand name, acknowledgment of others, becomingness with wardrobe as important criteria for evaluating apparel products; those with lower fashion leadership thought utility, comfort, size, sewing quality an6 fit as key criteria.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.1419-1429
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• 2009

This study tests the validity of the Susceptibility of Global Consumer Culture (SGCC) Scale that is composed of three dimensions, conformity to consumption trend, quality perception, and social prestige, on Korean consumers. The study also identifies the relationships with consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence and attitude toward purchasing global fashion brands. Utilizing the convenience sampling method, college students aged over 20 living in the Seoul metropolitan area were selected. Three hundred questionnaires were used in the statistical analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, paired t test, and path analysis using structural equation modeling. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the SGCC scale measured by three dimensions fit well for young Korean consumers. Path analysis showed that identical conformity positively influences all three dimensions of the SGCC scale and that informational conformity positively influences purchasing intention toward global fashion brands. Among the three dimensions of SGCC, quality perception and social prestige positively influence purchasing intention toward global fashion brands.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.73-84
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• 2023

This study aims to identify the current sizing communication issues of menswear on retail websites and to suggest an effective size information presentation method. Based on sales frequency and awareness in the Korean menswear market, 22 brand websites were selected, and size-related information was investigated using 7 types of representative apparel items. The current diverse types of size codes had limitations in delivering actual product size information. Many websites preferred to display garment dimensions rather than basic body measurements, which is the suggested size designation method in Korean Standard. The websites posted fit model photos and customer reviews. However, the body size specifications, which consumers can use as a useful reference, were often omitted. There was also a high uncertainty in product size selection, with only the basic body measurement information listed, and there was a high deviation of garment dimensions within the same basic body measurements. The product size distribution did not match actual Korean body types. Based on the findings, we suggested improved effective sizing communication methods. These methods will contribute to a better online shopping environment for both consumers and retail sellers.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.1-16
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• 2002

The need for ready-to-wear clothing increases as the problem comes to arise from the fit of custommade clothing due to the characteristics of middle-aged women's somatotype. At this point of time, a study on the realities of production of custom-made clothing in middle-aged women's clothing business firms is of very greatly significance. Therefore, this study was intended to identify the problem and improvements through the survey research of production of custom-made clothing in middle-aged women's clothing business firms and further present the plan for development of custom-made clothing business. The questionnaire was framed based on the contents extracted from the preliminary questionnaire research for the pattern section chief of each business firm. Collected data were statistically processed using the SPSS 10.0 Windows program. As a result, the following findings were obtained: 1. The target age of the middle-aged women's clothing business firms ranged from more than 45 years to less than 50 years of age. Clothing business firms much made inroads into the ready-to-wear clothing market largely in the 1980s and the 1990s. Their active entry into the custom-made clothing market occurred in the 1970s and the 1980s. 2. In terms of the clothing production method of middle-aged women's clothing firms, some private boutique and designer brand clothing firms entered the clothing market with a focus on custom-made clothing in the beginning of its organization and introduced the production method of ready-to-wear clothing in accordance with changes in production methods and consumers' needs and wants. National brand clothing firms manufactured clothing with a focus on ready-to-wear clothing from the beginning of its organization, but at last they manufactured both partial custom-made and whole custom-made as the problem arose from ready-to-wear clothing. Seeing that their clothing production showed the ratio readyto-wear to custom-made clothing of 2.58:1. And it was found that the manufacture of ready-to-wear and custom-made clothing took into consideration the great difference in the pattern, size and design plan. The research of the clothing production process showed that whole custom-made and partial custommade were distinguished according to whether or not the sample was presented. 3. The ready-to-wear pattern of middle-aged women's clothing firms were used with a focus on the 'patternmaker-developed pattern' and company-developed pattern'. Most clothing businesses produced clothing in 4 to 5 basic sizes, which is found to be insufficient to complement the physical characteristics of middle-aged women with many specific somatotypes. In the pattern of custom-made clothing, the 'pattern of ready-to-wear were applied' or the 'customized pattern was developed'. Actual measurements were most used as the size of custom-made, and accordingly it is predicted that the level of satisfaction is higher with the fit of custom-made clothing than that of ready-to-wear. The selling place and the head office showed the similar percent as the place for measuring the size of custom-made clothing. Size measurers were mostly the shop master. And it was found that most clothing business firms had a problem when the measured size was applied to the pattern. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide education on size measurement for shop masters. 4. It was found that in the middle-aged women's clothing firms, the pattern correction of the length of sleeve, jacket and slacks occupied the highest percent. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide for the size system to complement the accurate somatotype characteristics of middle-aged women. 5. In custom-made clothing customer management, most firms engaged in customer somatotype management through size management. They provided customers with commodity information by informing them of the sales and event period and practiced human management for customers by maintaining the get-together and friendly relationship. 6. Middle-aged women's clothing businesses responded that it would be necessary to improve the fit of custom-made clothing and complement their pursuit for individuality as the plan to improve its quality. In consequence, it suggests that middle-aged women's clothing businesses should provide middle-aged women with the clothing of better-suited size and refined design. Middle-aged women's clothing businesses responded that it was the most urgent task to form the custom-made clothing manufacturing team as the plan to expand the custom-made clothing market, which is identified as their emphasis on the systematized production of custom-made clothing.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.49-59
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• 2011

Although the South Korean organic food market is in the infancy compared to other industrialized countries, Korean consumers'interest in organic food and retail stores devoting space to organic products have been rapidly increasing. Despite the fact of organic food popularity, the term "organic" is interpreted differently by individuals. As opposed to the US, Japan and the EU where have operated an integrated organic food labelling system, Korea has adopted complex organic labelling systems regulated by several different government bodies. As a result, complicated food labelling standards make consumers confused when purchasing organic foods. Furthermore, in terms of country of origin (COO), it is argued by a lot of researchers that COO effects vary from product to product and from country to country; moreover, other informational cues such as brand and price can influence COO effects. In modern society, COO labelling has been complicated, due to the sourcing, manufacturing and market locations of merchandise spread over the world. Accordingly, the evaluation of COO effects has become complex. In order to examine these issues, a quantitative research was selected to classify the commonfeatures of organic food consumers and construct statistics such as the extent to which people are aware of organic food and COO labellingvia a questionnaire which took place in two cities in Korea with a cluster sample of 161 organic food purchasers. As for the data analysis, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), T-tests, bivariate crosstatulations with Cramer's V were conducted,depending on the characteristics of variables and the assumptions the research data need to fit. It has been concluded that in general, Korean organic consumers comprehend the term "organic"in a closer way to the general concept rather than technical term, thus people do not appreciate environmentally labels which include organic food labels, although marital status influence the degree of label awareness, regardless of gender, age, education level and so on. Regarding COO effects on organic food, home organic products were Korean consumers'first choice over those from industrialized countries and developing nations. Specifically, in processed organic product category, domestically cultivated and processed organic products were absolutely preferred to leading national brands produced with imported ingredients and international brands. However, due to a lack of checks of ingredients' COO, consumers tend to purchase a leading national organic food brand, believing that it is a pure organic food sourced domestically. As a consequence, this research has suggested some important managerial implications and future research directions. In order to prevent consumer confusion when buying organic foods, it should be noted that consumers do not comprehend the organic food certifications, due to complicated labelling systems for organic produce and processed organic foods. Therefore, government bodies related to organic food distribution have to know consumers' perception of organic food labels and the significance of customer-oriented labels and reestablish labelling standards. Similarly, public advertising should be followed to raise public awareness of the labelling to enable customers to have the correct information. In addition, not only international marketers but also domestic marketers need to understand COO images and also the influence COO of ingredients has on the image of an organic product.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.9
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• pp.101-112
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• 2014

Purpose - Recently, although corporate social responsibility activities have been increasing in size, they do not have to achieve qualitative improvements and can be passive and cost consuming. Therefore, companies should make quantitative as well as qualitative improvements in their efforts in corporate social responsibility activities. In this study, the classification of social responsibility activities in a variety of studies was analyzed through a more specific path than in previous studies. Corporate behavior image, social behavior image, and corporate contributions image were analyzed through a more detailed analysis of performance. This study suggests that more detailed and concentrated social responsibility activities be pursued by forming companies. Research design, data, and methodology - The purpose of study is to gauge the corporate need for a more intensive, specific area of CSR activities. For this purpose, the sample of consumers that were targeted for CSR activities, recognized as 261 persons, have been investigated. Through a theoretical discussion on previous research, nine hypotheses were established on corporate image, the influence of corporate performance on CSR, and the CSV regulation effect. In order to test the hypothesis, a survey was conducted on 261 male and female consumers who were targeted for CSR, being persons in their 20s to 40s. PASW Statistics 18.0 and AMOS 18.0 were used for statistical analysis. Results - Corporate behavior image was formed through legal responsibility activities and economic responsibility activities. In addition to economic responsibilities, ethical responsibilities and environmental responsibilities were confirmed to have influence on social behavior image. Corporate social responsibility and philanthropic responsibility were confirmed to have influence on economic contribution image. Corporate image has positive effects on brand attitude, corporate reputation, and corporate competition. In addition, when CSV awareness is high, consumers perceive corporate image only through economic responsibility. However, when CSV awareness is low, economic responsibility as well as legal responsibility through charitable activities form the corporate image that influences the brand attitude and corporate reputation, as well as corporate competitiveness. It would appear that the area of corporate social responsibility needs more intensive management for corporate image and corporate competitive advantage. Conclusion - First, the findings of this study show that each CSR activity has a different effect on corporate image and thus, the corporate image influences corporate performance in distinct ways, depending on the CSR activity. This implies that reactive strategies should be tailored to the required image. Second, there is a difference in CSV awareness between groups. When the CSV awareness is low, we can confirm that legal responsibility activities have an especially significant effect on corporate image, implying that corporations should pursue their economic objectives within legal regulations and need to invest significant time and effort for this. This study has limited generalization potential because the result of the model fit has insufficient reference value. In future research, we need to approach various dimensions of corporate performance.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.291-299
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• 2021

In 2019, SUV sales surpassed sedans in the domestic sales market with phenomenal domestic sales. The strength of SUVs around the world is expected to continue in the future. South Korea's K-company aggressively launched small SUVs in the SUV market. Its simple lineup is recognized as a brand image, not as a SUV. It is time to evaluate this. Therefore, it influences the purchasing decisions of potential customers and buyers of small SUVs through the evaluation of design images of small SUVs in Korea. Rather than the functional properties of the SUV model, it is purchased by emotional characteristics, brand symbolism, and image. Subconsciousness of the purchasing psychology of the end consumer was used by metaphor extraction techniques. Customers wanted to study the evaluation of small SUV design images that fit their needs. We wanted to see if consumers who intend to purchase or purchase small SUVs in Korea had a connection with the image of design of small SUVs in Korea. The conclusion of the study was extracted through ZMET, a metaphor extraction technique, with the latent consciousness of the primary ambiguous message from the consumer's feeling and representation of the image. Therefore, based on the results of this study, we hope that the images presented in SUVs in the future will be used as a design guide in the development of small SUVs to influence customer thinking and behavior.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.15 no.3 s.68
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• pp.394-404
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• 2007

The purpose of the study was to analyze the difference in knitwear purchasing behaviors of female college students in the U.S., Korea, and China. It was developed questionnaire that included knitwear purchasing behavior that is fashion information sources, evaluation criteria of knitwear products, store attributes of knitwear, knitwear buying places, and purchasing experience of foreign-made knitwear. The final sample used in this study consisted of 119 female college students in U.S., 150 female college students in Korea, and 217 female college students in China. Aged from 18 to 33. ANOVA, factor analysis, Duncan's multiple range test, frequency, and percentage as analysis methods were used. The results of the study were as follows. The preference of knitwear among the respondents was shown highly. This result is due to a world-wide trend of casual clothing, and is to prove, that knitwear is that made with flexibility, drape, and stretch, is the item that is able to satisfy consumer's desires. Knitwear preference of knitwear the U.S. respondents was shown highly, and buying intention of them was also high, not only for sweaters and t-shirts but for pants, skirts, jackets, coats, and dresses as well. Knitwear information the U.S. respondents considered important, was not only purchasing experience but also shop display and magazine advertisements. By evaluating criteria of knitwear, the U.S. respondents considered good fit, design, color, and comfort important, and they didn't consider the country of origin important. By store attributes of knitwear, the U.S. respondents specially considered the display, variety, price level, and sale frequency of merchandise. The respondents of China was shown higher than them of Korea in the intention of all items. Knitwear information the China respondents considered important, was not only purchasing experience but also shop advertisements of Newspaper and magazine and fashion articles in Newspaper and magazine. By evaluating criteria of knitwear, the China respondents considered good fit, design, color, and comfort important, and they considered fiber content and the country of origin higher than the respondents of U.S. By Store attributes of knitwear, the China respondents specially considered product knowledge and friendliness of sales personnel, Layaway payment plan, Brand names, New Fashion, and Dressing Facilities higher than the respondents of U.S. or Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.31 no.2 s.161
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• pp.177-188
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to provide basic materials for the brief patterns and design development for the elderly women to select number 1 to 3 brands according to their brand preference surveying the elderly women with average shapes, and to compare and analyze the exterior fit and functionality. Accordingly, this study proposed basic materials needed for panty pattern suitable for average shapes of the elderly women. The results of the study are as follows: 1 . Looking into the style, they preferred white the best. Regarding the patterns, almost half preferred patterns and rest of them did not. With the panty with patterns, they wanted small and implicit flower patterns. The design they liked was midi, maxi and then mini in order. When looking into the brands, they preferred 'Company B', 'Company SS', 'Company SY', and then market products. The reason why they selected those panty was feeling of fitness, price and then material. 2. To classify the figures of elderly women, we grouped the subjects with strata method using minimal dispersion method. Type 1 is the average, type 2 is for obese women and type 3 is slender women. 3. 3 brands were selected that were produced using CM 40's and elderly women preferred best. When executing wearing test on two elderly women who have average figure according to the body measures in previous study and body measure of Size Korea total exterior evaluation score was Company A, B and C in order.