• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.165-175
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• 2008

A cross-cultural study was carried out in Germany and in South Korea in order to investigate the relationship between brand personality and product personality facilitating the three dimensions of personality agreeableness, excitement, and extroversion. Two pairs of shoes were prepared across categories of product function symbolic (a pair of high-heeled shoes) versus utilitarian (a pair of sport shoes). In experiments, each pair of shoes was labeled as a luxury brand ("Versace") or a casual brand ("C&A", Germany; "Migliore", South Korea) or left unlabeled. Prior to the experiments, an expert group in each country evaluated the brand personality in terms of "cheerful" (agreeableness), "honest"(conscientiousness), and "provocative" (extroversion) and the results were considered as a baseline. In Experiment I and II, subjects were exposed to two pairs of shoes labeled in one of the three ways and assessed the personality of both pairs of shoes using the personality traits, cheerful, honest, and provocative. Identical versions of the experiment were conveyed in Germany (N=56), an individualist culture, and in South Korea (N=72), a collectivist culture, and we purposed to find cultural differences in evaluating product personalities influenced by brands. The empirical results do not show any significant influence of brand personality on product personality in either cultural group (p>.05). Nevertheless, the subjects estimated the retail price of the shoes to be significantly different depending on the brands in both cultural groups (p<.001).

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.45-53
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• 2010

When the user's role is getting more important in contents communicated online, we must know that the cultural trait of content that is reflecting user's mental model, needs and tastes. An attempt to study about cross-cultural characteristics focused on contents of global website give us the best chance to understand user. This paper takes a look if there are any linkages between certain country and its preferable contents and analyze that whether this preference is result from the cultural differences or not. This analysis is based on Hofstede's and Schwartz's framework. So, this content analysis examines cultural influence on the contents of global website in Korea and U.S and Japan and China. The results provide CIC(Cultural Index of Content) which is extended framework adding interaction. We expect that it can help service providers and content creators to have some new ideas.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.45
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• pp.55-83
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• 2016

To provide a set of data with which instructors may boost the sagging demand for Anglo-American poetry classes, this thesis classifies the kinds of difficulties the students face in reading English poems. Asses to the classification is an analysis on the causes of the difficulties at different levels of the reading process, from the linguistic to the cultural. Arnoldian insight argues that poetry is the best of all forms of writing. Without an ample exposure to poetry, average English majors would barely sharpen the skills that they use to deal with other kinds of writing. To help ease the continuing need for a workable teaching model in English poetry reading classes, this thesis suggests focusing on the kinds of wrong translations produced by the students. According to the theory of cultural translation, any translation, even the wrong kind, is already a product of a very complicated process of interpretation that involves many cultural factors. With the analysis of these factors discovered in Korean college English reading classes, this thesis tries to explain the mechanisms through which wrong translations are produced, since these inevitably lead to wrong interpretations of given poetic texts.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.23
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• pp.101-126
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• 2011

The principal purpose of this study is to analyse and critique how precisely the representation of women in the film Retrato de Teresa reconstructs the socio-cultural image of the female in the late seventies of Cuban society. The film of Pastor Vega is obviously an outstanding challenge on the new subject of 'women's liberation' against machismo in the context of the Cuban society. Teresa, the female character, as a socio-cultural image of the Cuban society don't focuses on the declarative and iconic images of the women's role as a revolutionary heroin that had appeared frequently in the films of the sixties, but she struggles for getting more realistic and pragmatic values such as women's emancipation to take rights in daily life. Therefore, the declaration of the emancipation of Teresa against machismo of her husband $Ram{\acute{o}}n$ has the special and symbolic meanings of social role and function of the film in the process of Cuban cultural revolution. The film concentrates on inducing the audience to make new perspectives such as women and gender issues in the daily experience of Cuban society where the machista ideologies and practices characteristic of a patriarchal society. Conclusively the female image of this film does not represent a national heroin, but reflects the women's desire, hope, and dreams in the society. Teresa makes the audience think of representations of the true meanings of the revolution in daily life, the machista ideologies in the patriarchal society, and the women's role and fuction in the Cuban society.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.46-57
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• 2021

Purpose - In terms of human resource management, many Korean enterprises in China have experienced problems such as frequent resignations of Chinese employees and labor disputes. This can be mainly attributed to the fact that Chinese employees are not consistent with Korean vertical management methods, which is closely related to the national culture theory proposed by Hofstede, specifically the dimension of power distance and long- versus short-term orientation (LTO). Therefore, this research aims to investigate cultural differences between Korea and China from these two dimensions, and the impact on the human resource management of Korean-invested enterprises in China. Design/methodology - This research first utilizes the latest data (Wave 7) of the World Values Survey (WVS) to verify the difference in power distance and long- versus short-term orientation between Korean and Chinese cultures using responses from Korea and China, and then uses case analysis to analyze the impact of this cultural difference on the human resource management of Korean enterprises in China. Findings - Our main findings can be summarized as follows. Korea and China have significant differences in power distance and long- versus short-term orientation. In terms of power distance, Korean respondents show higher power distance compared to Chinese respondents. In the dimension of long- versus short-term orientation, it was found that Chinese respondents showed a shorter-term orientation, whereas Korean respondents showed a longer-term orientation. Originality/value - Previous studies put focus on the power distance and individualism-collectivism dimensions to explain cultural differences between Korea and China, and generated contradictory results. This research further confirms the cultural differences between Korea and China from the dimensions of power distance and long-versus short-term orientation using secondary data. The comparative studies from this perspective have long been underexplored and lack empirical confirmation.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.113-145
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• 2009

Recently, due to the globalization of the IT(Information Technology) market, devices and systems designed in one country are used in other countries as well. This phenomenon is becoming the key factor for increased interest on cross-cultural, or cross-national, research within the IT area. However, as the IT market is becoming bigger and more globalized, a great number of IT practitioners are having difficulty in designing and developing devices or systems which can provide optimal experience. This is because not only tangible factors such as language and a country's economic or industrial power affect the user experience of a certain device or system but also invisible and intangible factors as well. Among such invisible and intangible factors, the cultural characteristics of users from different countries may affect the user experience of certain devices or systems because cultural characteristics affect how they understand and interpret the devices or systems. In other words, when users evaluate the quality of overall user experience, the cultural characteristics of each user act as a perceptual lens that leads the user to focus on a certain elements of experience. Therefore, there is a need within the IT field to consider cultural characteristics when designing or developing certain devices or systems and plan a strategy for localization. In such an environment, existing IS studies identify the culture with the country, emphasize the importance of culture in a national level perspective, and hypothesize that users within the same country have same cultural characteristics. Under such assumptions, these studies focus on the moderating effects of cultural characteristics on a national level within a certain theoretical framework. This has already been suggested by cross-cultural studies conducted by scholars such as Hofstede(1980) in providing numerical research results and measurement items for cultural characteristics and using such results or items as they increase the efficiency of studies. However, such national level culture has its limitations in forecasting and explaining individual-level behaviors such as voluntary device or system usage. This is because individual cultural characteristics are the outcome of not only the national culture but also the culture of a race, company, local area, family, and other groups that are formulated through interaction within the group. Therefore, national or nationally dominant cultural characteristics may have its limitations in forecasting and explaining the cultural characteristics of an individual. Moreover, past studies in psychology suggest a possibility that there exist different cultural characteristics within a single individual depending on the subject being measured or its context. For example, in relation to individual vs. collective characteristics, which is one of the major cultural characteristics, an individual may show collectivistic characteristics when he or she is with family or friends but show individualistic characteristics in his or her workplace. Therefore, this study acknowledged such limitations of past studies and conducted a research within the framework of 'theoretically integrated model of user satisfaction and emotional attachment', which was developed through a former study, on how the effects of different experience elements on emotional attachment or user satisfaction are differentiated depending on the individual cultural characteristics related to a system or device usage. In order to do this, this study hypothesized the moderating effects of four cultural dimensions (uncertainty avoidance, individualism vs, collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, and power distance) as suggested by Hofstede(1980) within the theoretically integrated model of emotional attachment and user satisfaction. Statistical tests were then implemented on these moderating effects through conducting surveys with users of four digital devices (mobile phone, MP3 player, LCD TV, and refrigerator) in three countries (US, Germany, and Russia). In order to explain and forecast the behavior of personal device or system users, individual cultural characteristics must be measured, and depending on the target device or system, measurements must be measured independently. Through this suggestion, this study hopes to provide new and useful perspectives for future IS research.

• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.115-130
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• 2013

This paper describes Cross reference services in Knowledge contents based on UCI. Cross references are effective features that can increase the value of the contents. Knowledge contents include academic papers, research reports, archives, historical and cultural heritage, and professional databases. Cross references are consists of reference-to and cited-by links which can be made by reference list in article. Some of cross reference services provided are considered. We designed cross reference services for knowledge contents in Korea and prototype services are provided. The reference linking service in the area of national R&D will enable the linking of heterogeneous information produced at different sources.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.48
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• pp.135-191
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to select words with "shared cultural charge" that are unique in French culture and to study cultural content hidden in these words. It also explores the cultural phenomenon of same French borrowed words used in the Korean language. The study was conducted from two perspectives: perspective of internal French culture defined by Galisson and inter-cultural perspective. The first section of this study introduces the theory "lexiculture" and definition of the words "shared cultural charge." In the following section, among main items of 795 borrowed words in the Korean language, we examined seven words in areas such as clothing, food, and housing. We studied content of the French culture according to the following three categories: (1) dictionary definition, (2) cultural phenomena, (3) special phenomenon in idiomatic expression. Our study illustrated a special connotation beyond the dictionary definition of words. In the next section, we examined the birth of a new cultural phenomenon and process of acquiring a new meaning in the Korean language. Finally, we analyzed differences and similarities between linguistic and cultural elements in both cultures. In this study, we provide basic data for inter-cultural education between France and Korea.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.35-64
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• 2009

In an effort to increase our understanding of green buying behavior, the present study proposes and tests a comprehensive model of how values influence attitudes toward the environment and preferences for green products in a cross-cultural setting. Data were collected from a survey with consumers in two cultures, diametrically different on values salient to environmental consumerism, the U.S. and Korea. As a result of model testing both at the national and multi-group levels, a refined, final model is presented. While the core human values were found to relate to environmental attitudes and green buying behavior, the patterns of the relationships among the variables emerged to differ between the two cultures, highlighting the importance of cross-cultural investigations in this area. Results suggest that biospheric values significantly influence environmental attitudes and green consumption in both countries. However, the effects of egoism were significant among American respondents whereas altruism appeared to have a significant influence on attitude and behavior in the Korean sample. Findings of this study should aid international marketers in their understanding of what drives consumers' green buying behavior in different cultural settings.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.137-152
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• 2018

Hofstede cultural value model is one of the most influential model for cross-cultural studies to measure national difference. In this study, we examine that Hofstede Cultural Dimensions can be measured by World Value Surveys. Selected WVS questions for 31 measurable countries after Exploratory Factor Analysis(EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA), approved valid through empirical analysis. It is applicable that Individualism values(IND) has related to 2 questionnaires including life satisfaction, Power Distance values(PDI) to 2 questionnaires about political action(Signing a petition and Joining in boycotts), Masculinity values(MAS) to 2 sexual-role questionnaires like "University is more important for a boy than for a girl", Uncertainty Avoidance values (UAI) to 3 questionnaires about confidence(Parliament, The Political parties and Justice System), Long-Term Oriented values(LTO) to 4 questionnaires including "How proud of nationality" and Indulgence versus Restraints values (IVR)to 2 questionnaires including Feeling of Happiness.