• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.262-268
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• 2010

Virtual communities (VCs) have developed rapidly, with more and more people participating in them to exchange information and opinions. A virtual community is a group of people who may or may not meet one another face to face, and who exchange words and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin boards and networks. A business-to-consumer virtual community (B2CVC) is a commercial group that creates a trustworthy environment intended to motivate consumers to be more willing to buy from an online store. B2CVCs create a social atmosphere through information contribution such as recommendations, reviews, and ratings of buyers and sellers. Although the importance of B2CVCs has been recognized, few studies have been conducted to examine members' word-of-mouth behavior within these communities. This study proposes a model of involvement, statistics, trust, "stickiness," and word-of-mouth in a B2CVC and explores the relationships among these elements based on empirical data. The objectives are threefold: (i) to empirically test a B2CVC model that integrates measures of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors; (ii) to better understand the nature of these relationships, specifically through word-of-mouth as a measure of revenue generation; and (iii) to better understand the role of stickiness of B2CVC in CRM marketing. The model incorporates three key elements concerning community members: (i) their beliefs, measured in terms of their involvement assessment; (ii) their attitudes, measured in terms of their satisfaction and trust; and, (iii) their behavior, measured in terms of site stickiness and their word-of-mouth. Involvement is considered the motivation for consumers to participate in a virtual community. For B2CVC members, information searching and posting have been proposed as the main purpose for their involvement. Satisfaction has been reviewed as an important indicator of a member's overall community evaluation, and conceptualized by different levels of member interactions with their VC. The formation and expansion of a VC depends on the willingness of members to share information and services. Researchers have found that trust is a core component facilitating the anonymous interaction in VCs and e-commerce, and therefore trust-building in VCs has been a common research topic. It is clear that the success of a B2CVC depends on the stickiness of its members to enhance purchasing potential. Opinions communicated and information exchanged between members may represent a type of written word-of-mouth. Therefore, word-of-mouth is one of the primary factors driving the diffusion of B2CVCs across the Internet. Figure 1 presents the research model and hypotheses. The model was tested through the implementation of an online survey of CTrip Travel VC members. A total of 243 collected questionnaires was reduced to 204 usable questionnaires through an empirical process of data cleaning. The study's hypotheses examined the extent to which involvement, satisfaction, and trust influence B2CVC stickiness and members' word-of-mouth. Structural Equation Modeling tested the hypotheses in the analysis, and the structural model fit indices were within accepted thresholds: ${\chi}^2^$/df was 2.76, NFI was .904, IFI was .931, CFI was .930, and RMSEA was .017. Results indicated that involvement has a significant influence on satisfaction (p<0.001, ${\beta}$=0.809). The proportion of variance in satisfaction explained by members' involvement was over half (adjusted $R^2$=0.654), reflecting a strong association. The effect of involvement on trust was also statistically significant (p<0.001, ${\beta}$=0.751), with 57 percent of the variance in trust explained by involvement (adjusted $R^2$=0.563). When the construct "stickiness" was treated as a dependent variable, the proportion of variance explained by the variables of trust and satisfaction was relatively low (adjusted $R^2$=0.331). Satisfaction did have a significant influence on stickiness, with ${\beta}$=0.514. However, unexpectedly, the influence of trust was not even significant (p=0.231, t=1.197), rejecting that proposed hypothesis. The importance of stickiness in the model was more significant because of its effect on e-WOM with ${\beta}$=0.920 (p<0.001). Here, the measures of Stickiness explain over eighty of the variance in e-WOM (Adjusted $R^2$=0.846). Overall, the results of the study supported the hypothesized relationships between members' involvement in a B2CVC and their satisfaction with and trust of it. However, trust, as a traditional measure in behavioral models, has no significant influence on stickiness in the B2CVC environment. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on B2CVCs, specifically addressing gaps in the academic research by integrating measures of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors in one model. The results provide additional insights to behavioral factors in a B2CVC environment, helping to sort out relationships between traditional measures and relatively new measures. For practitioners, the identification of factors, such as member involvement, that strongly influence B2CVC member satisfaction can help focus technological resources in key areas. Global e-marketers can develop marketing strategies directly targeting B2CVC members. In the global tourism business, they can target Chinese members of a B2CVC by providing special discounts for active community members or developing early adopter programs to encourage stickiness in the community. Future studies are called for, and more sophisticated modeling, to expand the measurement of B2CVC member behavior and to conduct experiments across industries, communities, and cultures.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-31
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• 2008

Trust is central to human relationships, at all times and places. The importance of trust is fundamental in all areas of human life, not only in the area of business administration. 2,500 years ago in China, Confucius taught that the foundation of politics was the trust of the people, more important even than military strength or the supply of food. Shakespeare's play, "Much Ado about Nothing' is about trust and deception. These days, trust and transparency in a commercial organization's business culture form the basis of the 'social capital' by which that organization increases its productivity. A successful company raises productivity by the accumulation of social capital, derived from a trust relationship between business partners, and between the company and consumers. Trust is the crucial factor. At the national level, building trust determines a nation's competitiveness. For a company, long term trust relationships with customers are essential for its survival in a business environment of rapid change. Such relationships, based on trust, are important assets to ensure a company's competitive advantage, and need to be organic to that company's business culture. Because of this importance, trust relationships have been studied in diverse areas within business administration, and especially within marketing, where they form the basis of a successful relationship between producer and consumer. However, what has been lacking is a unified definition of trust. Research has been conducted on the basis of various definitions and models. The majority of researchers have not considered the multidimensional character of the concept of trust until now. Approaches based on a one dimensional model have undermined the value of research results. Furthermore, researchers have only considered trust and trustworthiness as a single component. The majority of research has explored the consequences of perceived trust for outcomes such as loyalty or cooperation, but has neglected the effects of trustworthiness upon the mechanisms of consumer trust. This study focuses on the dimension of trust from such a perspective. It seeks to verify the effect of trust on customer intentions by breaking it down into three separate components: 1) the salesperson, 2) the product/service, and 3) the company. The purposes of this paper are as follows: Firstly, we review the multidimensional nature of trust objects: the salesperson, the product/service, and the company. Secondly, we analyze the relationship between multidimensional trust and trustworthiness. Thirdly, we analyze the connection between trust and repeat purchase intentions for the maintenance of long term relationships. For these purposes the author has developed several hypotheses as follows: H1-1: The competence of a salesperson is positively associated with the trust given by the consumer to the salesperson. H1-2: The benevolence of a salesperson is positively associated with the trust given by the consumer to the salesperson. H2-1: The competence of product/service is positively associated with the trust given by the consumer to the product/service. H2-2: The benevolence of product/service is positively associated with the trust given by the consumer to the product/service. H3-1: The reputation of a company is positively associated with the trust given by the consumer to the company. H3-2: The physical environment of a company is positively associated with the trust given by the consumer to the company. H4-1: Trust in a salesperson is positively associated with repeat purchase intentions. H4-2: Trust in a product/service is positively associated with repeat purchase intentions. H4-3: Trust in a company is positively associated with repeat purchase intentions. The data was compiled from 366 questionnaires. 500 questionnaires were collected, but some of the data was considered unsuitable and inappropriate. The subjects of the survey were male and female customers purchasing products at department stores in Seoul, Daegu and Gyeongbuk. It was carried out between Oct. 25 and 29, 2007. The data was analyzed by frequency analysis using SPSS 12.0 and structural equation modeling using LISREL 8.7. The result of the overall model analysis is as follows: Chi-Square=445.497, d.f.=185, p-value=0.0, GFI=.901, RMSEA=.0617, NNFI=.986, NFI=.981, CFI=.989, AGFI=.864, RMR=.0872. The results of the overall model analysis were coherent. It was found that trust is a multi-dimensional construct, that each of the dimensions of trust are meaningful influences on customer's repurchase intention. Trust in a company may be the most relevant, while trust in a product/service and a salesperson may be less relevant to repurchase intentions. The effective factors in determining trust in a salesperson and a company's product/service were found to be competence and benevolence. Factors in determining trust in a company were its reputation and physical environment, and the relationship of each effective trust factor has been verified in this research. As a result, it was found that competence and benevolence have a meaningful influence on trust in a salesperson and in product/service. It was also found that a company's reputation influences the overall trust in the company significantly but a company's physical environment does not have much effect.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.3-19
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• 1978

Five species, Abies koreana Wilson (A. koreana), Castanopsis cuspidata var. Sieboldii Nakai (C. Cuspidata). Machilus thunbergii Sieb. et Zucc. (M. thunbergii), Styrax japonica (S. japonica), and Quercus acuta Thunberg(Q. acuta) growing in the southern part of Korea were selected for the investigation of wood properties. In order to evaluate the wood properties of these five species, anatomical, physical, mechanical, chemical and pulping characteristics were investigated. And this study also covered wood technological problems related to the drying, gluing, debarking, flooring, and wood workability so that these species might serve to the best advantage. The results obtained were summarized as follows: 1. The trunk of A. koreana with many knots was straight. However, the trunks of S. japonica and C. cuspidata were crooked. 2. A. koreana showed the longest and the widest ill the fiber morphology; 2.97mm in length, 39.3${\mu}$ in width. In general, fiber width of all the species investigated were greater than those of other Korean hardwoods. 3. The specific gravity of Q. acuta was 0.74${\pm}$0.03, and that of A.koreana was 0.34${\pm}$0.02. The range of specific gravity of the other species was 0.47-0.52. 4. The adsorption of water was propotioned inversely with the specific gravity, but the adsorption of humidity was proportioned with the specific gravity. In spite of their medium density, S. japonica showed the greatest adsorption, and M. thunbergii the least. The water adsorption of cross section was twice greater than that of lateral direction, and there was a slight difference in between the radial and the tangential direction. 5. Shrinkage for tested five species was ranged from 5.36 to 10.24% in tangential direction, and 2.83~6.13% in radial direction. Q. acuta recorded the greatest shrinkage rate, and A. koreana the least. The greater was the specific gravity, the larger was the shrinkage rate. 6. The mechanical properties of Q. acuta were similar to those of Quercus mongolica which grow in Kangwon-Do. Strength properties of C. cuspidata, M. thunbergii, A. koreana were equivalent to those of other Korean commercial woods with similar specific gravity, except S. japonica which showed slightly higher strength than that of other species with similar density. 7. Higher glue joint strength for urea and phenol adhesieves was recorded in the species of M. thunbergii and C. cuspidata, however, high-density species(Q. acuta) and even low-density species(A. koreana) did not show good joint strength. 8. The attractive figure of M. thunbergii in texture seemed to he appreciated for decoration. And the grain and texture of other species were proper for furniture and building materials. 9. All of the species except Q. acuta were considered good for wood workability. 10. The denser the specific gravity was, the longer the drying time took. However, severe drying defects were formed in M. thunbergii whose density was medium. 11. All the species were considered suitable for the flooring wood expect A. koreana whose density was light. 12. Pentosan component in all the species was great, and the amount of extractives in Q. acuta was worth noticing. 13. Yield in kraft pulp was above the level of economic pulp yield, i.e. 45% in all species. 14. Debarking was easy in the species of A. koreana and M. thunbergii, and debarking after being boiled in water was the most efficient in all species.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.37
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• pp.285-307
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• 2004

Synthesize and examine petrological characteristic and geochemical characteristic by weathering formation of rock and progress of weathering laying stress on stone cultural properties of Unjusa temple of Chonnam Hwasun county site in this research. Examine closely weathering element that influence mechanical, chemical, mineralogical and physical weathering of rocks that accomplish stone cultural properties and these do quantification, wish to utilize by a basic knowledge for conservation scientific research of stone cultural properties by these result. Enforced component analysis of rock and mineralogical survey about 18 samples (pyroclastic tuff; 7, ash tuff; 4, granite ; 4, granitic gneiss; 3) all to search petrological characteristic and geochemical characteristic by weathering of Unjusa temple precinct stone cultural properties and recorded deterioration degree about each stone cultural properties observing naked eye. Major rock that constitution Unjusa temple one great geological features has strike of N30-40W and dip of 10-20NE being pyroclastic tuff. This pyroclastic tuff is ranging very extensively laying center on Unjusa temple and stone cultural properties of precinct is modeled by this pyroclastic tuff. Stone cultural propertieses of present Unjusa temple precinct are accomplishing structural imbalance with serious crack, and because weathering of rock with serious biological pollution is gone fairly, rubble break away and weathering and deterioration phenomenon such as fall off of a particle of mineral are appearing extremely. Also, a piece of iron and cement mortar of stone cultural properties everywhere are forming precipitate of reddish brown and light gray being oxidized. About these stone cultural properties, most stone cultural propertieses show SD(severe damage) to MD(moderate damage) as result that record Deterioration degree. X-ray diffraction analysis result samples of each rock are consisted of mineral of quartz, orthoclase,plagioclase, calcite, magnetite etc. Quartz and feldspar alterated extremely in a microscopic analysis, and biotite that show crystalline form of anhedral shows state that become chloritization that is secondary weathering mineral being weathered. Also, see that show iron precipitate of reddish brown to crack zone of tuff everywhere preview rock that weathering is gone deep. Tuffs that accomplish stone cultural properties of study area is illustrated to field of Subalkaline and Peraluminous, $SiO_2$(wt.%) extent of samples pyroclastic tuff 70.08-73.69, ash tuff extent of 70.26-78.42 show. In calculate Chemical Index of Alteration(CIA) and Weathering Potential Index(WPI) about major elements extent of CIA pyroclastic tuff 55.05-60.75, ash tuff 52.10-58.70, granite 49.49-51.06 granitic gneiss shows value of 53.25-67.14 and these have high value gneiss and tuffs. WPI previews that is see as thing which is illustrated being approximated in 0 lines and 0 lines low samples of tuffs and gneiss is receiving esaily weathering process as appear in CIA. As clay mineral of smectite, zeolite that is secondary weathering produce of rock as result that pick powdering of rock and clothing material of stone cultural properties observed by scanning electron micrographs (SEM). And roots of lichen and spore of hyphae that is weathering element are observed together. This rock deep organism being coating to add mechanical weathering process of stone cultural properties do, and is assumed that change the clay mineral is gone fairly in stone cultural properties with these. As the weathering of rocks is under a serious condition, the damage by the natural environment such as rain, wind, trees and the ground is accelerated. As a counter-measure, the first necessary thing is to build the ground environment about protecting water invasion by making the drainage and checking the surrounding environment. The second thing are building hardening and extirpation process that strengthens the rock, dealing biologically by reducing lichens, and sticking crevice part restoration using synthetic resin. Moreover, it is assumed to be desirable to build the protection facility that can block wind, sunlight, and rain which are the cause of the weathering, and that goes well with the surrounding environment.

• Korean small business review
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.65-87
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• 2010

With the advent of knowledge-based society, the revitalization of technological innovation type SMEs, termed "inno-biz" hereafter, has been globally recognized as a government policymakers' primary concern in strengthening national competitiveness, and much effort is being put into establishing polices of boosting the start-ups and innovation capability of SMEs. Especially, in that the inno-biz enables national economy to get vitalized by widening world markets with its superior technology, and thus, taking the initiative of extremely competitive world markets, its growth and development has greater significance. In the case of Korea, the government has been maintaining the policies since the late 1990s of stimulating the growth of SMEs as well as building various infrastructures to foster the start-ups of the SMEs such as venture businesses with high technology. In addition, since the enactment of "Innovation Promotion Law for SMEs" in 2001, the government has been accelerating the policies of prioritizing the growth and development of inno-biz. So, for the sound growth and development of Korean inno-biz, this paper intends to offer effective management strategies for SMEs and suggest proper policies for the government, by researching into the effect of technological innovation capability and technology commercialization capability as the primary business resources on business performance in Korean SMEs in the light of market information orientation. The research is carried out on Korean companies characterized as inno-biz. On the basis of OSLO manual and prior studies, the research categorizes their status. R&D capability, technology accumulation capability and technological innovation system are categorized into technological innovation capability; product development capability, manufacturing capability and marketing capability into technology commercialization capability; and increase in product competitiveness and merits for new technology and/or product development into business performance. Then the effect of each component on business performance is substantially analyzed. In addition, the mediation effect of technological innovation and technology commercialization capability on business performance is observed by the use of the market information orientation as a parameter. The following hypotheses are proposed. H1 : Technology innovation capability will positively influence business performance. H1-1 : R&D capability will positively influence product competitiveness. H1-2 : R&D capability will positively influence merits for new technology and/or product development into business performance. H1-3 : Technology accumulation capability will positively influence product competitiveness. H1-4 : Technology accumulation capability will positively influence merits for new technology and/or product development into business performance. H1-5 : Technological innovation system will positively influence product competitiveness. H1-6 : Technological innovation system will positively influence merits for new technology and/or product development into business performance. H2 : Technology commercializing capability will positively influence business performance. H2-1 : Product development capability will positively influence product competitiveness. H2-2 : Product development capability will positively influence merits for new technology and/or product development into business performance. H2-3 : Manufacturing capability will positively influence product competitiveness. H2-4 : Manufacturing capability will positively influence merits for new technology and/or product development into business performance. H2-5 : Marketing capability will positively influence product competitiveness. H2-6 : Marketing capability will positively influence merits for new technology and/or product development into business performance. H3 : Technology innovation capability will positively influence market information orientation. H3-1 : R&D capability will positively influence information generation. H3-2 : R&D capability will positively influence information diffusion. H3-3 : R&D capability will positively influence information response. H3-4 : Technology accumulation capability will positively influence information generation. H3-5 : Technology accumulation capability will positively influence information diffusion. H3-6 : Technology accumulation capability will positively influence information response. H3-7 : Technological innovation system will positively influence information generation. H3-8 : Technological innovation system will positively influence information diffusion. H3-9 : Technological innovation system will positively influence information response. H4 : Technology commercialization capability will positively influence market information orientation. H4-1 : Product development capability will positively influence information generation. H4-2 : Product development capability will positively influence information diffusion. H4-3 : Product development capability will positively influence information response. H4-4 : Manufacturing capability will positively influence information generation. H4-5 : Manufacturing capability will positively influence information diffusion. H4-6 : Manufacturing capability will positively influence information response. H4-7 : Marketing capability will positively influence information generation. H4-8 : Marketing capability will positively influence information diffusion. H4-9 : Marketing capability will positively influence information response. H5 : Market information orientation will positively influence business performance. H5-1 : Information generation will positively influence product competitiveness. H5-2 : Information generation will positively influence merits for new technology and/or product development into business performance. H5-3 : Information diffusion will positively influence product competitiveness. H5-4 : Information diffusion will positively influence merits for new technology and/or product development into business performance. H5-5 : Information response will positively influence product competitiveness. H5-6 : Information response will positively influence merits for new technology and/or product development into business performance. H6 : Market information orientation will mediate the relationship between technology innovation capability and business performance. H7 : Market information orientation will mediate the relationship between technology commercializing capability and business performance. The followings are the research results : First, as for the effect of technological innovation on business performance, the technology accumulation capability and technological innovating system have a positive effect on increase in product competitiveness and merits for new technology and/or product development, while R&D capability has little effect on business performance. Second, as for the effect of technology commercialization capability on business performance, the effect of manufacturing capability is relatively greater than that of merits for new technology and/or product development. Third, the mediation effect of market information orientation is identified to exist partially in information generation, information diffusion and information response. Judging from these results, the following analysis can be made : On Increase in product competitiveness, directly related to successful technology commercialization of technology, management capability including technological innovation system, manufacturing capability and marketing capability has a relatively strong effect. On merits for new technology and/or product development, on the other hand, capability in technological aspect including R&D capability, technology accumulation capability and product development capability has relatively strong effect. Besides, in the cast of market information orientation, the level of information diffusion within an organization plays and important role in new technology and/or product development. Also, for commercial success like increase in product competitiveness, the level of information response is primarily required. Accordingly, the following policies are suggested : First, as the effect of technological innovation capability and technology commercialization capability on business performance differs among SMEs; in order for SMEs to secure competitiveness, the government has to establish microscopic policies for SMEs which meet their needs and characteristics. Especially, the SMEs lacking in capital and labor are required to map out management strategies of focusing their resources primarily on their strengths. And the government needs to set up policies for SMEs, not from its macro-scaled standpoint, but from the selective and concentrative one that meets the needs and characteristics of respective SMEs. Second, systematic infrastructures are urgently required which lead technological success to commercial success. Namely, as technological merits at respective SME levels do not always guarantee commercial success, the government should make and effort to build systematic infrastructures including encouragement of M&A or technology trade, systematic support for protecting intellectual property, furtherance of business incubating and industrial clusters for strengthening academic-industrial network, and revitalization of technology financing, in order to make successful commercialization from technological success. Finally, the effort to innovate technology, R&D, for example, is essential to future national competitiveness, but its result is often prolonged. So the government needs continuous concern and funding for basic science, in order to maximize technological innovation capability. Indeed the government needs to examine continuously whether technological innovation capability or technological success leads satisfactorily to commercial success in market economic system. It is because, when the transition fails, it should be left to the government.