• Title/Summary/Keyword: Customer Oriented Marketing

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A Study on Perceived Quality affecting the Service Personal Value in the On-off line Channel - Focusing on the moderate effect of the need for cognition - (온.오프라인 채널에서 지각된 품질이 서비스의 개인가치에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구 -인지욕구의 조정효과를 중심으로-)

  • Sung, Hyung-Suk
    • Journal of Distribution Research
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    • v.15 no.3
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    • pp.111-137
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    • 2010
  • The basic purpose of this study is to investigate perceived quality and service personal value affecting the result of long-term relationship between service buyers and suppliers. This research presented a constructive model(perceived quality affecting the service personal value and the moderate effect of NFC) in the on off line and then propose the research model base on prior researches and studies about relationships among components of service. Data were gathered from respondents who visit at the education service market. For this study, Data were analyzed by AMOS 7.0. We integrate the literature on services marketing with researches on personal values and perceived quality. The SERPVAL scale presented here allows for the creation of a common ground for assessing service personal values, giving a clear understanding of the key value dimensions behind service choice and usage. It will lead to a focus of future research in services marketing, extending knowledge in the field and stimulating further empirical research on service personal values. At the managerial level, as a tool the SERPVAL scale should allow practitioners to evaluate and improve the value of a service, and consequently, to define strategies and actions to address services for customers based on their fundamental personal values. Through qualitative and empirical research, we find that the service quality construct conforms to the structure of a second-order factor model that ties service quality perceptions to distinct and actionable dimensions: outcome, interaction, and environmental quality. In turn, each has two subdimensions that define the basis of service quality perceptions. The authors further suggest that for each of these subdimensions to contribute to improved service quality perceptions, the quality received by consumers must be perceived to be reliable, responsive, and empathetic. Although the service personal value may be found in researches that explore individual values and their consequences for consumer behavior, there is no established operationalization of a SERPVAL scale. The inexistence of an established scale, duly adapted in order to understand and analyze personal values behind services usage, exposes the need of a measurement scale with such a purpose. This need has to be rooted, however, in a conceptualization of the construct being scaled. Service personal values can be defined as a customer's overall assessment of the use of a service based on the perception of what is achieved in terms of his own personal values. As consumer behaviors serve to show an individual's values, the use of a service can also be a way to fulfill and demonstrate consumers'personal values. In this sense, a service can provide more to the customer than its concrete and abstract attributes at both the attribute and the quality levels, and more than its functional consequences at the value level. Both values and services literatures agree, that personal value is the highest-level concept, followed by instrumental values, attitudes and finally by product attributes. Purchasing behaviors are agreed to be the end result of these concepts' interaction, with personal values taking a major role in the final decision process. From both consumers' and practitioners' perspectives, values are extremely relevant, as they are desirable goals that serve as guiding principles in people's lives. While building on previous research, we propose to assess service personal values through three broad groups of individual dimensions; at the self-oriented level, we use (1) service value to peaceful life (SVPL) and, at the social-oriented level, we use (2) service value to social recognition (SVSR), and (3) service value to social integration (SVSI). Service value to peaceful life is our first dimension. This dimension emerged as a combination of values coming from the RVS scale, a scale built specifically to assess general individual values. If a service promotes a pleasurable life, brings or improves tranquility, safety and harmony, then its user recognizes the value of this service. Generally, this service can improve the user's pleasure of life, since it protects or defends the consumer from threats to life or pressures on it. While building upon both the LOV scale, a scale built specifically to assess consumer values, and the RVS scale for individual values, we develop the other two dimensions: SVSR and SVSI. The roles of social recognition and social integration to improve service personal value have been seriously neglected. Social recognition derives its outcome utility from its predictive utility. When applying this underlying belief to our second dimension, SVSR, we assume that people use a service while taking into consideration the content of what is delivered. Individuals consider whether the service aids in gaining respect from others, social recognition and status, as well as whether it allows achieving a more fulfilled and stimulating life, which might then be revealed to others. People also tend to engage in behavior that receives social recognition and to avoid behavior that leads to social disapproval, and this contributes to an individual's social integration. This leads us to the third dimension, SVSI, which is based on the fact that if the consumer perceives that a service strengthens friendships, provides the possibility of becoming more integrated in the group, or promotes better relationships at the social, professional or family levels, then the service will contribute to social integration, and naturally the individual will recognize personal value in the service. Most of the research in business values deals with individual values. However, to our knowledge, no study has dealt with assessing overall personal values as well as their dimensions in a service context. Our final results show that the scales adapted from the Schwartz list were excluded. A possible explanation is that although Schwartz builds on Rokeach work in order to explore individual values, its dimensions might be especially focused on analyzing societal values. As we are looking for individual dimensions, this might explain why the values inspired by the Schwartz list were excluded from the model. The hierarchical structure of the final scale presented in this paper also presents theoretical implications. Although we cannot claim to definitively capture the dimensions of service personal values, we believe that we come close to capturing these overall evaluations because the second-order factor extracts the underlying commonality among dimensions. In addition to obtaining respondents' evaluations of the dimensions, the second-order factor model captures the common variance among these dimensions, reflecting the respondents' overall assessment of service personal values. Towards this fact, we expect that the service personal values conceptualization and measurement scale presented here contributes to both business values literature and the service marketing field, allowing for the delineation of strategies for adding value to services. This new scale also presents managerial implications. The SERPVAL dimensions give some guidance on how to better pursue a highly service-oriented business strategy. Indeed, the SERPVAL scale can be used for benchmarking purposes, as this scale can be used to identify whether or not a firms' marketing strategies are consistent with consumers' expectations. Managerial assessment of the personal values of a service might be extremely important because it allows managers to better understand what customers want or value. Thus, this scale allows us to identify what services are really valuable to the final consumer; providing knowledge for making choices regarding which services to include. Traditional approaches have focused their attention on service attributes (as quality) and service consequences(as service value), but personal values may be an important set of variables to be considered in understanding what attracts consumers to a certain service. By using the SERPVAL scale to assess the personal values associated with a services usage, managers may better understand the reasons behind services' usage, so that they may handle them more efficiently. While testing nomological validity, our empirical findings demonstrate that the three SERPVAL dimensions are positively and significantly associated with satisfaction. Additionally, while service value to social integration is related only with loyalty, service value to peaceful life is associated with both loyalty and repurchase intent. It is also interesting and surprising that service value to social recognition appears not to be significantly linked with loyalty and repurchase intent. A possible explanation is that no mobile service provider has yet emerged in the market as a luxury provider. All of the Portuguese providers are still trying to capture market share by means of low-end pricing. This research has implications for consumers as well. As more companies seek to build relationships with their customers, consumers are easily able to examine whether these relationships provide real value or not to their own lives. The selection of a strategy for a particular service depends on its customers' personal values. Being highly customer-oriented means having a strong commitment to customers, trying to create customer value and understanding customer needs. Enhancing service distinctiveness in order to provide a peaceful life, increase social recognition and gain a better social integration are all possible strategies that companies may pursue, but the one to pursue depends on the outstanding personal values held by the service customers. Data were gathered from 284 respondents in the korean discount store and online shopping mall market. This research proposed 3 hypotheses on 6 latent variables and tested through structural equation modeling. 6 alternative measurements were compared through statistical significance test of the 6 paths of research model and the overall fitting level of structural equation model. and the result was successful. and Perceived quality more positively influences service personal value when NFC is high than when no NFC is low in the off-line market. The results of the study indicate that service quality is properly modeled as an antecedent of service personal value. We consider the research and managerial implications of the study and its limitations. In sum, by knowing the dimensions a consumer takes into account when choosing a service, a better understanding of purchasing behaviors may be realized, guiding managers toward customers expectations. By defining strategies and actions that address potential problems with the service personal values, managers might ultimately influence their firm's performance. we expect to contribute to both business values and service marketing literatures through the development of the service personal value. At a time when marketing researchers are challenged to provide research with practical implications, it is also believed that this framework may be used by managers to pursue service-oriented business strategies while taking into consideration what customers value.

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A Study on the Successful Case of Brand Renewal through American National Brand 'C' Company's Marketing Strategy (미국(美國) 내셔널브랜드 C사(社)의 마케팅전략(戰略)을 통한 브랜드리뉴얼 성공사례(成功事例) 연구(硏究))

  • Koh, Hee-Sook
    • Journal of Fashion Business
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    • v.6 no.1
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    • pp.137-154
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    • 2002
  • It's not easy to renew old brand of over 50 years history to the tastes of new consumer of our time. Most of national brands that has a history of some 20 years in Korea have strove for continuation and growth of brand to no avails, which can be taken as a good example of current situation. For instance, C company, one of the National brand of US which has a history of 51 years, has made its position secure as a fashion group and based itself on a sound foundation by establishing new marketing strategy and completing successful brand renewal in the process of strategic M&A with Italian company. Those successful marketing strategies are as follows. 1) they regarded both market and consumer oriented marketing activity as company's highest priority strategy and put great emphasis upon concentration on target market and reestablishment of brand image of business casual wear. 2) Setting up and operating planning team composed of merchandizer alone in Milano, they set the direction of plan on the basis of concentrated research on potential item in market according to thorough market research done by buying office in Korea, branch office in Hong Kong and buyer in US prior to blueprint planning for season. 3) Great emphasis was placed on business which focused on intensive presentation of basic key item for apparel career women who are main consumer group in the midium-low prices market in US and on supplementation of size and color. they named this line 'collectibles' and helped their customer develop their own clothes plan without worrying about the change of color and fabric by supporting same fabric and color throughout the year and enabled them to add variation easily by supplementing new trend item. 4) Company set black as a main color that lots of apparel career women find easy to care and to express their own image and presented them with pebble which belongs to navy and beige and added fashion color such as wine and brown etc as season goes by. They constructed basic line in order for their customers to coordinate purchased item with new one or to add them to present collection, and to achieve efficient sale by setting up strategy which allows this cross coordination and changing pattern occasionally. 5) Though basic jacket for 99$, short slim skirt for 49$ are products within midium-low prices range, in the material planning stage aiming at production of item that has both resonable function appealing to consumer and is fashionable, synthetic material had to be used as a main source due to price competitiveness. Despite this situation, considering comfortable sense of fit and refined drape of silhouette that has no sign of cheap material, whole collectible line was divided into two items, which contributed to reduction of cost. In case of material that is composed of triacetate and polyester in 70 to 30 ratio, was used up to 4 million yard, which allowed drastic curtailment of cost accompanied by concentration. In case of 'collectibles' line, using Korean material mainly, C company chose to have their product sewed in Southeast Asian countries where transportation is well developed and both productivity and quality verified by operating global production system which aiming at cutdown of cost through outsourcing production from the country where labor cost is low and getting finished product. Polarization between present consumers telling us that consumers with the mind of middle classes in the past no longer exists between consumers who seek after only fine article of highest quality and wise consumers who are sensible enough to judge bubble on correlation between price and quality. To cope with this change in new consumer mind, apparel makes changing their policy so as to produce item that has reasonable quality and falls within affordable price range anywhere in the world. and they're striving to get out of difficult situation by operating global marketing strategy which stresses separation of planning, production and sale and sensibility of fashion shared worldwide. The marketing strategy of C company can be exemplified as a successful one.

An Impact Analysis of Call System of Agricultural Extension Services in Korea (농촌지도사업의 콜센터 운용효과 분석)

  • Ahn, Jin-Gon;Kim, Jeh-Ho;Kim, Sung-Soo;Lee, Dong-Jin
    • Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
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    • v.15 no.3
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    • pp.461-497
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    • 2008
  • The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of the Call System of agricultural extension services in Korea. The respondents were satisfied on the speedy solution (74.5%), consultation (88.4%), and accessibility (79.7%) of the call system. However, satisfaction of farmers on in-depth consultation was higher (74.3%) than the satisfaction rated by the public servants of RDA (48.9%). Both groups replied positively (70.4%) on the need for expansion of the call system. The analyses of the results leads to a conclusion that there is a need to increase marketing on the importance of RDA's Call System to customers of agricultural extension and to improve accessibility through expansion of the system in other areas. These could solve the decreasing number of extension professionals and improve the quality and efficiency of extension services. These analyses may be useful as bases for a nationwide Call System that connects the center with other districts and for planning a renovation of information-oriented agricultural extension services. The issue that needs improvement is to abandon the grounds of agricultural technology information provider and respond to the customers' needs efficiently by building an established Call System which can minimize the side effect of the trends of reforming and downsizing the organization. It is needed to develop a unified management Call System of agricultural technology information that could provide real-time information, and database the results simultaneously for use as feedback to the Rural Development Programs. Related laws and policies need to be improved to establish a nationwide information network that maximizes the current network in agricultural regions to spread information, to provide institutional support, and to encourage development of training system and research and development by concerned institutes.

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A Study on VMD for Development of Traditional Markets: Focused on Korean Clothes Shops

  • Lee, Lang-Ju
    • Journal of Distribution Science
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    • v.10 no.1
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    • pp.11-22
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    • 2012
  • The traditional market in the nation was forced to decrease greatly users as well as sales because of opening of all of the markets, Internet shopping mall, home shopping and other new types of marketing businesses to lose market functions remarkably. Therefore, the Agency for Traditional Market Administration of Small & Medium Business Administration made efforts to develop traditional market, for instance, modernization of the facilities to improve physical environment, and improvement of each shop by using VMD, and so on. The purpose of the study was to examine efficiency of VMD shops for development of traditional market by the Agency for Traditional Market Administration and effects of VMD upon sales of each shop, and to help establish VMD strategies for customer satisfactions as well as visual environment of traditional market. The author visited five shops at Busan Jin Market, special market of articles for wedding ceremony that joined VMD shop guide of traditional market, and taught VMD on-the-spot and investigated it. Questionnaire of Agency for Traditional Market Administration was used to interview shop owners, shopkeepers and consumers, etc and to examine factors of changes of sales and customers' satisfactions before and after VMD. The purpose of the study was to investigate effects and satisfactions of increase of the sales of VMD shop guide that the government promoted to develop traditional market so far. Therefore, the author investigated VMD presentation, increase of the sales before and after VMD presentation, increase of number of customers, and satisfactions, etc of Korean clothes shops that joined improvement of VMD shop guide of traditional market of the government in 2010. The author investigated effects of the sales, increase of customers and satisfactions, etc by case study and empirical analysis, and she presented user-oriented VMD presentation techniques of traditional market and suggested improvement. After applying VMD, the shops could increase sales more than 20 percent in average, and satisfaction of VMD presentation was more than 88 points or more to be very much high. This study suggested VMD strategies and presentation of traditional market to give consumers affirmative visual images and to develop traditional market.

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A Study on the Development of One-Mile Comfort Wear Products for New Silver Women (뉴 실버 여성의 원마일 컴포트웨어 제품개발 연구)

  • Eun-Jung Cho;Chan-Ho Kim
    • Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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    • v.26 no.2
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    • pp.57-72
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    • 2024
  • Currently, Korea is on the verge of entering into an ultra-aged society and the associated market size is growing. In this regard, customer-centered design that understands the consumer needs of the new silver generation, which is emerging as a new consumer group, and reflects them in products is the key to the success of the high-value-added fashion industry. Therefore, this study reviewed the changes in physical, biological, social, and psychological characteristics of the new silver generation, through a review of related books and previous studies, and secured the direction for clothing product development for the new silver generation. The literature review was supplemented by group interviews to accurately identify the needs of silver consumers. In addition, the study conducted case analysis through web searches of fashion magazines, newspaper articles, brand web sites, and trend information sites to investigate the market trends of one-mile wear products that have emerged due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the characteristics of one-mile wear brands, and products for new silver women, including size specification analysis and sewing techniques that minimize skin irritation while reflecting the consumer's characteristics. Based on the results of this study, a competitive design and product development were proposed from an economic and industrial perspective that can enhance the product value and maximize the marketing effect by developing consumer-oriented one-mile comfort wear products with aesthetic, practical, functional, and economic values that satisfy the characteristics and needs of new silver women.

The Effect of Perceived Shopping Value Dimensions on Attitude toward Store, Emotional Response to Store Shopping, and Store Loyalty (지각된 쇼핑가치차원이 점포태도, 쇼핑과정에서의 정서적 경험, 점포충성도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구)

  • Ahn Kwang Ho;Lee Ha Neol
    • 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

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The Impacts of Education Service Quality in the Traditional Market Merchant College on Business Performance (전통시장 상인대학 교육서비스 품질이 경영성과에 미치는 영향)

  • Choi, Dong-Gyu;Hwang, Hee-Jung;Song, In-Am
    • Journal of Distribution Science
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    • v.11 no.10
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    • pp.81-92
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    • 2013
  • Purpose - This study empirically analyzes the effect of improvements in the quality of service management performance of college education on traders' conscious change of business management innovation and diverse sales expertise for a year. The use of traders' conscious changes and sales expertise as variables for the verification of the effects of parameters related to the active trader's traditional education market is a desirable direction. The method of research reflects the quality of education service, management result, traders' conscious changes, and sales expertise to understand the precise essence and definition of teaching quality at merchant colleges through theoretical consideration. Moreover, its impact on traders' conscious changes and sales expertise in empirical analysis acts as an intermediary. Research design, data, methodology - The hypothesis of this study leverages the SPSS statistical program. To gather actual proof, sample survey for theoretical research examined 262 valid papers of the 300 papers written by 10 merchants who graduated from merchant's university. First, using the SERVQUAL model, Parasuraman et al. (1996) indicated that for quality of education service, the configuration of factors is the same as the sympathetic performance, that is, responsiveness and empathy, and traders are aware of these elements. However, our preliminary investigation revealed that traders' university education has been excluded as a component of quality of service in the earlier studies. Moreover, we found that certainty of knowledge, reliability, and sympathy are influenced by challenges and by the changing intentions of merchant consciousness. In addition, our study confirms that improvements in convincing abilities and sales technique have a positive impact. Second, merchants' and traders' expertise are proven to affect business performance. In other words, university education of traders and merchants affects the consciousness of consumers, and changes patterns of sales. Third, the quality of service management education and change in the consciousness has a considerable impact on the trader, thereby maximizing business performance and acting as an intermediary for verification. Fourth, the quality of service management education affects the trader's sales expertise to maximize business performance. Results - To summarize, the quality of college educational services relates to the improvement of business performance and the role of the resulting virtuous cycle. Consequently, we can look for suggestions in the traditional markets, where the Government pays attention to the exterior environmental factors as well as to the changing business environment. However, the most important aspect is the merchant awareness. That is, a merchant should understand the distribution environment. Several competitor and trend analyses should be conducted to meet customers' expectations positively and proactively cope with any challenges related to changes. Further, expertise in sales and marketing skills need to be acquired to improve customer convincing abilities and develop a customer-oriented mindset. Conclusions - According to the changes in consumption trends of business enterprises, new management techniques are required to survive competition by improving traditional markets, which will necessitate more competitive education programs in merchant universities.

A Study on the Effect of Selection Attribute of Cruise Service on Tourism Satisfaction and Behavioral Intention (크루즈 서비스 선택속성이 관광만족과 행동의도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구)

  • Pak, Myongsop;Kang, Yongjoon;Cho, Sungwoo
    • Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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    • v.28 no.3
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    • pp.193-214
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    • 2012
  • The interest on cruise service has been increased due to the economic development and income growth all over the world during last several decades. However, cruise industry in Korea is located in the initiating stage and the service is just focused on costal cruise service. This study investigates relationship between influencing factors of the selection attributes of cruise service on tourism satisfaction and behavioral intention. Additionally, the study aims to provide information to establish customer-oriented marketing strategies for cruise tour service. Literature review is conducted to find out the factors in order to meet the future users preference and expectations. The data was collected on-board customers of "One Night Cruise" on Panstar Line. The result of the study shows that a certain number of factors are statistically significant on the cruise tour intention of potential customers. It shows that there is significant difference related to the using purpose and the usage attitude. Managers in the cruise company are able to utilize the practical implications of the present study when the cruise service launches in Korea. This study exists limitations that samples are not sufficient and the research can not be generalized due to the inadequate samples of target company.

Service Science: Theory Review and Development of Analytical Framework (서비스사이언스: 이론적 고찰과 분석 프레임워크 개발)

  • Nam, Ki-Chan;Kim, Yong-Jin;Nam, Jung-Tea;Bae, Young-Woo;Byun, Hee-Sun;Lee, Nam-Hee
    • Information Systems Review
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    • v.10 no.1
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    • pp.213-235
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    • 2008
  • Recent reports about economic structure and changes show that global economy changes to rely on service rather than manufacturing. This phenomenon can be explained in two ways: the growth of service industry itself and the increasing reliance on service by other industry areas. The importance of service is indicated by the fact that the contribution of research and development, marketing, and finance to the revenue generation of companies is getting greater than that of manufacturing. This change in the economic structure calls for researchers' attention on the importance of service and the service-based economy. In the service-based economy, firms are considered value proposition providers and consumers actual value creators so that the concept of co-value creation becomes a key thesis to study. However, there are a variety of definitions of service and diversified measurements of service anchored in the supplier-oriented understanding of service yet. This lack of understanding of the service and the economic paradigm change causes a lot of problems in the areas of service productivity, service quality, and service innovation. Even though a new movement called service science started and rigorously pursues the way of enhancing the understanding of the economic change and service productivity, there is no framework that provides a unified view about the new role of service, service productivity, service quality, and thus service innovation. This study proposes a unified framework to provide a structured view about service provision and to facilitate the research on service. The framework is built on the concepts from previous studies about service marketing and service science: service life cycle and service networks including value activity network, resource integrator network, and capability network. We hope this study can be used as the basis for future studies on service science.

Choice-based Conjoint Analysis of Consumer Preferences for Health Food Attributes Focused on Vitamin C Supplements (선택형 컨조인트 분석을 통한 건강기능식품 속성의 소비자 선호에 관한 연구: 비타민 상품을 중심으로)

  • Kim, Tae-Hoon;Kim, Bo-Yong
    • Journal of Distribution Science
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    • v.13 no.3
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    • pp.79-91
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    • 2015
  • Purpose - First, the study identifies and analyzes consumer preferences with regard to health foods and supplements. Second, it identifies and analyzes consumer preferences with regard to the properties of Vitamin C supplements. Third, in order to provide a basic data for the development of Vitamin C supplements and to measure how consumers value the properties of different Vitamin C products, a consumer survey was conducted through the choice-based conjoint model. Based on the results, the research estimates consumers' relative product-related priorities as well as price levels and willingness to pay (WTP) for different product types, and makes suggestions regarding consumer-oriented new product development and progressive directions for the successful launch of health foods and supplements. Research design, data, and methodology - This study aims to define the attributes of health foods and supplements based on several characteristics including their natural ingredients, product price, product originality, natural ingredient content, and additional functional ingredients, and makes suggestions regarding strategic market pricing and product development for health foods and supplements according to customer attitudes and characteristics. The research used choice-based conjoint analysis methodology based on the Multinomial Logic Model and collected 94 questionnaires filled out by users of Korean Vitamin C supplements. Results - Product price is the most influential factor among the five analyzed properties. When consumers buy Vitamin C products, the relative significance level of four of the examined properties is as follows: 40.9% for product price, 23.3% for product originality, 21.9% for natural ingredient content, and 13.9% for additional functional ingredients. Vitamin C content is excluded as it is not a statistically significant factor. It is interesting that supplement manufacturers and retailers consider Vitamin C content to be very important whereas consumers do not regard it as an important factor at the time of purchase. The results for the marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for each property of Vitamin C supplements show that consumers are willing to pay an additional 11,146 Korean won for a 50% increase in the natural ingredient content. With regard to product originality, consumers are willing to pay an additional 11,301 Korean won for products manufactured in Europe than for products manufactured in China. Moreover, consumers show a greater preference for products manufactured in Korea than in Europe. However, consumers are not willing to pay more for additional Vitamin C or additional functional ingredients added to Vitamin C products. Conclusions - According to the results of consumer research on Vitamin C supplements, which represent a popular health food supplement in Korea, most Korean health food and supplement companies are not consumer- or market-oriented when developing new products. Companies gather information from either R&D specialists or sales managers and their opinions are highly reflected in new product development. The study's results will help companies recognize the importance of understanding consumers' unmet needs in advance to develop new products in the future.