• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.1-13
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• 2015

The purposes of this research are to develop a measurement of Islamic religiosity and applying these measurements to examine the relationship between religiosity and selection of the Islamic bank. Literature searches and in -depth interviews are used to obtain the statement item to build measurement. Furthermore, result of the religiosity measurement will be used to study the relationship between religiosity and the selection of the Islamic bank. Population of the study is Muslim who has bank(s) account. A total 375 questionnaires were distributed to the three groups of bank customers (125 respondents in each group). This res earch has successfully developed a measurement of religiosity, which is called Islamic Religiosity Scale (IRS). On the one hand, the study indicate that religiosity plays a significant role on the decision of customers to choose Islamic banks, because the degree of religiosity of Islamic bank customers is higher than conventional bank customers. Nevertheless, on other hand, this study also revealed that religiosity is not the only factor that influences customers to selecting the Islamic banks, because the degree of religiosity of Islamic bank customers do not differ significantly with customers who hold accounts in both bank.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.289-297
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• 2012

Recently the coffee industries rapidly grow as people's dietary life changes and quality of life improves. Proliferation of coffeehouses let people cognize them as cultural spaces not only mere spaces for drinking coffee beverages. Therefore, distinguished strategy for space design became the one of the most important factor for customers' decision-making. This study analysed the strategies for space design by the brands of coffeehouses, and focused on understanding how those strategies cognized by customers and how they affect customers' level of satisfaction and intention of revisitation. The result of analysis showed that the level of satisfaction was raised when customers cognized unique strategies by brands and the intention of revisitation was raised when the level of satisfaction and reflection of strategy were high. In other words, setting and applying unique strategies by brands are to raise up level of satisfaction and intention of revisitation. The result of study could be used for the basic data on designing coffeehouses attracting customers' revisitation. Also, it could be the basis for effective strategy for customers.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.37-46
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• 1998

This paper analyzes the present state of customers' effect in distribution system by momentary voltage variation. Customers are becoming increasingly concerned about the quality of electric power. Most of all, the voltage magnitude quality is very important because it can have a direct effect on customers. Especially, according to the development of automatic process, momentary voltage variations result in the shutdown of sensitive loads such as electronic equipment, computer and magnetic contactor, and so on. To analyze the shutdown rate of customers' equipments by the momentary voltage variation, we present the CVEMA curve and he cumulative CVEA curve of each load type through the experiment for the customers' sensitive equipments. Also, we have surveyed customers' opinion by the questionnaire as "Survey of Power Quality" an then the results are reported.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.167-174
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to categorize customers types in accordance with current shop masters' perception of difficult customers and to identify their responding techniques and know-hows in dealing with those customers in detail, a qualitative study is carried out by conducting thorough interviews with the shop masters. The interview contained questions on occupational hold-ups of shop masters, types of hard-to-handle customers, techniques in handling difficult customers, their know-hows in customer managements and what they perceived as the qualities of a shop master. T The results were as follows: 1) Customers who are perceived as difficult by shop masters are categorized into six types, making unreasonable demands, pointing out product defects, disregarding salespersons, making no purchase after testing products, having no personality and having no response. 2) Responding techniques for difficult customers were categorized into three types, 'active response', 'standby' and 'polite refusal'. 3)The result from the question on know-hows of shop masters in customer management can be divided into 4 groups, providing special treatment or information, building one-to-one relationship with the customer, suggesting garments in accordance with the customer's taste and providing friendly customer service. 4) For the question on perceived qualities as a shop master, individual quality, customer management capacity, work experience and occupational knowledge were answered.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.81-101
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• 2021

Traditional department stores have been struggling to attract customers for several years. Many retail stores have closed in recent years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. The reinvention of in-store shopping value and experience is imperative to attract customers and reinvigorate retail business. The purpose of this study was to discover which in-store components can improve customer experiences and loyalty while also identifying dissatisfaction issues in consumer experiences in department stores. The data was collected from two consumer groups-luxury department store (Selfridges) customers and mid-market department store (Debenhams) customers-to identify the types of value and experiences they seek most often. The findings showed that to enhance their store patronage, Debenhams should reposition their brand image in a way that allows customers to connect with their self-image and lifestyle by improving efficiency and convenience and prioritizing the utilitarian and social value types. By contrast, Selfridges should enhancetheir store atmosphere, visual merchandising and sensory experiences by maximizing slow retailing experiences and emphasizing the aspirational self-concept image for symbolic and hedonic value. This research uncovered the existence of numerous overlappingvalue dimensions, each of which contributed to the enhancement of the others. Several young customers expressed their support for ecologically responsible, cost-effective second-hand luxury products. Instead of focusing merely on conventional value dimensions, department retailers should determine how environmental and ethical objectives can be fulfilled. This study explained how department stores can craft their in-store environments to appeal to their customers' preferred value types to ensure success in a competitive market.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.49-61
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• 2022

Advancements in technology and the proliferation of digital services have highlighted the importance of luxury brands in service environments. Based on the social exchange theory, this study investigated the interaction between customers and luxury brands in a traditional offline service encounter and a digital online service encounter. The interaction area was classified into three parts: human-human, human-digital, and human-physical environments. We qualitatively investigated the practitioners' working experiences with luxury brands. The study determined that both online and offline service encounter interactions between luxury brands and customers have become diverse. First, forming a special relationship with customers and frontline employees in traditional service encounters is important. Second, luxury brands should focus on the interaction among customers. Third, various digital tools should be considered to provide information about the brand to customers. Fourth, the exclusive benefits of offline service encounters should be maximized to stimulate positive experiences. The findings provide valuable insight to scholars and marketers on the new interaction phase between customers and luxury brands in the digital age.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.31-42
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• 2021

Several studies have been conducted on market orientation over the last three decades. However, the majority of previous research focused exclusively on an internal vision that conceives the market orientation from an organizational perspective, considering the market orientation as a strictly perceived culture or behavior by company's staff (managers and employees) .This study aims to emphasize the importance of analyzing the market orientation from a dual perspective by investigating simultaneously the perceptions of customers and those of managers. It examines the perceptual gap or perceptual congruence of market orientation between customers and managers. A survey is conducted with Tunisian bank managers and B to B customers to measure their market orientation perception. The results should reveal level of manager's market orientation in Tunisian banks compared to customers' perceptions. The perception gaps of market orientation between managers and customers named congruence is highlighted and categorized. This study provides some contributions to fill the gap emerging from the one-sidedness of market orientation evaluation and gives a dyadic vision of market orientation that helps managers in their continuous learning about markets and sensing customers' needs and expectations. Market orientation level between the two groups is evaluated to give some managerial recommendations.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.37-47
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• 2010

CRM refers to the operating activities that always maintain and promote good relationship with customers to ultimately maximize the company's profits by understanding the value of customers to meet their demands, establishing a strategy which may maximize the Life Time Value and successfully operating the business by integrating the customer management processes. In our country, many big businesses are introducing CRM initiatively to use it in marketing strategy however, most medium and small sized companies do not understand CRM clearly or they feel difficult to introduce it due to huge investment needed. This study is intended to present CRM promotion strategy and activities plan fit for the medium and small sized companies by analyzing the success factors of the leading companies those have already executed CRM by surveying the precedents to make the distributors out of the industries have close relation with consumers to overcome their weakness in scale and strengthen their competitiveness in such a rapidly changing and fiercely competing market. There are 5 stages to build CRM such as the recognition of the needs of CRM establishment, the establishment of CRM integrated database, the establishment of customer analysis and marketing strategy through data mining, the practical use of customer analysis through data mining and the implementation of response analysis and close loop process. Through the case study of leading companies, CRM is needed in types of businesses where the companies constantly contact their customers. To meet their needs, they assertively analyze their customer information. Through this, they develop their own CRM programs personalized for their customers to provide high quality service products. For customers helping them make profits, the VIP marketing strategy is conducted to keep the customers from breaking their relationships with the companies. Through continuous management, CRM should be executed. In other words, through customer segmentation, the profitability for the customers should be maximized. The maximization of the profitability for the customers is the key to CRM. These are the success factors of the CRM of the distributors in Korea. Firstly, the top management's will power for CS management is needed. Secondly, the culture across the company should be made to respect the customers. Thirdly, specialized customer management and CRM workers should be trained. Fourthly, CRM behaviors should be developed for the whole staff members. Fifthly, CRM should be carried out through systematic cooperation between related departments. To make use of the case study for CRM, the company should understand the customer and establish customer management programs to set the optimal CRM strategy and continuously pursue it according to a long-term plan. For this, according to collected information and customer data, customers should be segmented and the responsive customer system should be designed according to the differentiated strategy according to the class of the customers. In terms of the future CRM, integrated CRM is essential where the customer information gathers together in one place. As the degree of customers' expectation increases a lot, the effective way to meet the customers' expectation should be pursued. As the IT technology improved rapidly, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) appears. On a real-time basis, information about products and customers is obtained massively in a very short time. A strategy for successful CRM promotion should be improving the organizations in charge of contacting customers, re-planning the customer management processes and establishing the integrated system with the marketing strategy to keep good relation with the customers according to a long-term plan and a proper method suitable to the market conditions and run a company-wide program. In addition, a CRM program should be continuously improved and complemented to meet the company's characteristics. Especially, a strategy for successful CRM for the medium and small sized distributors should be as follows. First, they should change their existing recognition in CRM and keep in-depth care for the customers. Second, they should benchmark the techniques of CRM from the leading companies and find out success points to use. Third, they should seek some methods best suited for their particular conditions by achieving the ideas combining their own strong points with marketing. Fourth, a CRM model should be developed that will promote relationship with individual customers just like the precedents of small sized businesses in Switzerland through small but noticeable events.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.157-170
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• 2014

Professional coffee shops are trying to increase customers' satisfaction and to invite more customers by providing the differentiated services. The existing researches show that the effects which the physical environment in shops has on customers' satisfaction and word of mouth intention are appealing to people's attention. In comprehensively examining the studies related to the physical environment, they can be summarized into two main perspectives, that is, the direct effect that the physical environment has on customers' satisfaction, quality perception, and other customers' responses (purchase desire, revisit intention, etc.) and the indirect effect that the physical environment has on customers' responses by means of customers' emotion or value perception. This research established 4 hypotheses by sampling 321 customers of those who have visited professional coffee shops, and empirically analyzed them. The empirical analysis carried out the structure analysis of covariance by using SPSS 17.0 statistics package and AMOS 17.0. As a result of the hypothesis qualification, the other hypotheses excluding one little hypothesis were adopted. The one refused hypothesis is that the only symbolism of the environmental elements in shops doesn't influence the customers' emotion positively (+). This is considered as a very unexpected result, and yet many customers who visit coffee shops express the symbols of professional coffee shops using the expressions such as 'bean coffee shop' or 'star coffee shop', but these expressions seem not to influence customers' mind positively in practice.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.41-52
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• 2015

Purpose - Given globalization, the new niche market of medical tourism is likely to experience sustainable growth for various reasons, such as aging populations and a shift in the medical consumerism paradigm toward prevention. Importantly, understanding medical customers' behavior is necessary to benefit from a competitive advantage in this industry. The existing research primarily accessed the key factors of medical quality and costs to explain health customers' behavior but is limited in terms of enabling an understanding of the decision process. This limitation exists because, given the intangibility and greater associated risks in the highly professional industry of international medical tourism, most customers lack the knowledge and experience needed to evaluate the central factors-such as the medical competence of health care countries-before purchases. Therefore, they actively search for useful information through various distributions to reduce uncertainty and to make better choices. Interestingly, most of these information channels are associated with word-of-mouth (WOM). However, no evidence is found in the literature to estimate the effect of WOM in the medical tourism field. Thus, this study focuses on WOM to explore its interaction with key medical characteristic factors and the attractiveness of destinations referred to by sources. This study also affects customers' evaluations and, in turn, influences their intention to seek health care services abroad. Research design, data, and methodology - The literature review addressed an interesting research model for estimating the relations among WOM, medical characteristics, attractiveness, and customers' choice intention regarding international health care. In the key economic regions in China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Guangdong, 2,500 survey questionnaires were distributed to potential customers of different ages, education, and income levels. A resulting 1,717 (68.68 percent of the original 2,500) usable surveys were obtained for analysis. Moderated regression analysis was used to determine the effects of WOM in the decision process regarding international health care destinations. Results - The results indicate that WOM is a good moderator of the relationships between the factors evaluated by sources and customers. More importantly, the WOM effects reflect the factors of tie strength, credibility, and vividness. The results also reveal that, given the moderating role of WOM, the intention of potential Chinese customers to seek the referred health care country varies according to the medical characteristics of medical competency and reputation as evaluated by customers. In contrast, the travel attractiveness of the attractions, facilities, accessibility, and social environment are critical determinants of destination choice intention. Conclusions - The moderating role of WOM has been confirmed through the international healthcare destination selection process. Medical tourism managers should user WOM as an effective marketing tool for industry development. Specially, marketers should consider the effects of WOM determinants, such as tie strength, credibility, and vividness, to develop an effective strategy. Furthermore, this study estimates the factors that affect customers' selection of medical tourism destinations. Health care managers or policy makers should consider a broad variety of variables that may attract more Chinese customers to international health care.