• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.29-44
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• 2017

In Internet commerce, consumers are heavily influenced by product reviews written by other users who have already purchased the product. However, as the product reviews accumulate, it takes a lot of time and effort for consumers to individually check the massive number of product reviews. Moreover, product reviews that are written carelessly actually inconvenience consumers. Thus many online vendors provide mechanisms to identify reviews that customers perceive as most helpful (Cao et al. 2011; Mudambi and Schuff 2010). For example, some online retailers, such as Amazon.com and TripAdvisor, allow users to rate the helpfulness of each review, and use this feedback information to rank and re-order them. However, many reviews have only a few feedbacks or no feedback at all, thus making it hard to identify their helpfulness. Also, it takes time to accumulate feedbacks, thus the newly authored reviews do not have enough ones. For example, only 20% of the reviews in Amazon Review Dataset (Mcauley and Leskovec, 2013) have more than 5 reviews (Yan et al, 2014). The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors affecting the usefulness of online product reviews and to derive a forecasting model that selectively provides product reviews that can be helpful to consumers. In order to do this, we extracted the various linguistic, psychological, and perceptual elements included in product reviews by using text-mining techniques and identifying the determinants among these elements that affect the usability of product reviews. In particular, considering that the characteristics of the product reviews and determinants of usability for apparel products (which are experiential products) and electronic products (which are search goods) can differ, the characteristics of the product reviews were compared within each product group and the determinants were established for each. This study used 7,498 apparel product reviews and 106,962 electronic product reviews from Amazon.com. In order to understand a review text, we first extract linguistic and psychological characteristics from review texts such as a word count, the level of emotional tone and analytical thinking embedded in review text using widely adopted text analysis software LIWC (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count). After then, we explore the descriptive statistics of review text for each category and statistically compare their differences using t-test. Lastly, we regression analysis using the data mining software RapidMiner to find out determinant factors. As a result of comparing and analyzing product review characteristics of electronic products and apparel products, it was found that reviewers used more words as well as longer sentences when writing product reviews for electronic products. As for the content characteristics of the product reviews, it was found that these reviews included many analytic words, carried more clout, and related to the cognitive processes (CogProc) more so than the apparel product reviews, in addition to including many words expressing negative emotions (NegEmo). On the other hand, the apparel product reviews included more personal, authentic, positive emotions (PosEmo) and perceptual processes (Percept) compared to the electronic product reviews. Next, we analyzed the determinants toward the usefulness of the product reviews between the two product groups. As a result, it was found that product reviews with high product ratings from reviewers in both product groups that were perceived as being useful contained a larger number of total words, many expressions involving perceptual processes, and fewer negative emotions. In addition, apparel product reviews with a large number of comparative expressions, a low expertise index, and concise content with fewer words in each sentence were perceived to be useful. In the case of electronic product reviews, those that were analytical with a high expertise index, along with containing many authentic expressions, cognitive processes, and positive emotions (PosEmo) were perceived to be useful. These findings are expected to help consumers effectively identify useful product reviews in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.746-756
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate food safety knowledge, food safety attitudes, and handling behavior in the elderly. The survey was conducted on 358 individuals over 65 years old in urban and rural areas. Data were analyzed with descriptive analysis and ${\chi}^2$ test analysis of variance using SPSS. From the results on elderly's food safety knowledge, the item 'tangerines should be washed before eating' was correctly answered by urban subjects (75.4%) than rural subjects (49.7%). 'Is it okay to cook meat left on the sink since afternoon in the evening' showed the lowest correct answer rate in both urban (23.1%) and rural (31.9%) subjects. For the item related to food keeping, 'Bacterial cells do not multiply in Samgyetang when it is kept in a refrigerator right after boiling thoroughly', 58.5% of urban and 54.6% of rural elderly answered correctly. Most elderly people showed a tendency to think that boiled foods might be safe to eat. Secondly, for food safety attitudes, urban elderly had more proper attitude regarding the item, 'Namul is very tasty only when mixed with bare hands' (disagree rate 34.9%) than rural elderly (P<0.05)'. On the other hand, rural elderly had more positive attitudes regarding the store principle "first in, first out" compared to urban elderly (P<0.001). Thirdly, regarding food safety behaviors, only 67.9% of urban and 58.7% of rural elderly responded that they washed their hands right after answering the telephone while cooking. Exactly 33.8% of urban and 39.6% of rural older people replied 'defrost meat on top of sink or table' as the defrost method for frozen foods, showing that elderly did not recognize the risk of foodborne illness during improper defrosting at room temperature.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.42 no.8
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• pp.770-783
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• 2009

The school foodservice was quantitatively extended by policy of government all the while. There was carried out the survey of customer satisfaction about school foodservice by the ministry of education, science, and technology since 2006 years. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to grasp an improvement of the scores of school foodservice' quality attributes and satisfaction as compared with the preceding year by respondents and school type (elementary school, middle school, and high school). An annual survey was practiced to respondents (students, parents, and faculty) on september 2007 years and 2008 years in 16 cities and provinces. The statistics was analyzed to descriptive analysis and t-test for SPSS 12.0. The scores of school foodservice' quality attributes and overall customer satisfaction were almost increased to students, parents, and faculty and especially, big elevation in middle school. There was big increased the quality attributes such as 'providing information on foodservice', 'pleasant foodservice environment', 'kindness offered by employee' in elementary school, middle school, and high school to total respondents. An overall satisfaction in school foodservice was improved from 69.2 score to 71.9 score. On students, scores of overall satisfaction was increased from 72.9 to 74.0 as students of elementary school and from 61.5 to 65.8 as students of middle school (p < .001). Therefore, for improvement and development of school foodservice, there should be a necessary for an operator of school foodservice and an office of education to make an effort.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.199-207
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• 2010

For us, there is virtually no distinction between being a responsible citizen and a successful business... they are one and the same for Wal-Mart today." ~ Lee Scott, al-Mart CEO after the 2005 Katrina disaster; cited in Green to Gold (Esty and Winston 2006). Lee Scott's statement signaled a new era in sustainability as manufacturers and retailers around the globe watched the world's largest mass merchandiser confirm its intentions with respect to sustainability. For decades, the environmental movement has grown, slowly bleeding over into the corporate world. Companies have been born, products have been created, academic journals have been launched, and government initiatives have been undertaken - all in the pursuit of sustainability (Peattie and Crane 2005). While progress has been admittedly slower than some may desire, the emergence and entrance of environmentally concerned mass merchandisers has done much to help with sustainable efforts. To better understand this movement, we incorporate the perspectives of both executives and consumers involved in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. This research relies on three underlying themes: (1) Conceptual and anecdotal evidence suggests that companies undertake sustainability initiatives for a plethora of reasons, (2) The number of sustainability initiatives continues to increase in the consumer packaged goods industries, and (3) That it is, therefore, necessary to explore the role that sustainability plays in the minds of consumers. In light of these themes, surveys were administered to and completed by 143 college students and 101 business executives to assess a number of variables in regards to sustainability including willingness-to-pay, behavioral intentions, attitudes, willingness-to-pay, and preferences. Survey results indicate that the top three reasons why executives believe sustainability to be important include (1) the opportunity for profitability, (2) the fulfillment of an obligation to the environment, and (3) a responsibility to customers and shareholders. College students identified the top three reasons as (1) a responsibility to the environment, (2) an indebtedness to future generations, and (3) an effective management of resources. While the rationale for supporting sustainability efforts differed between college students and executives, the executives and consumers reported similar responses for the majority of the remaining sustainability issues. Furthermore, when we asked consumers to assess the importance of six key issues (healthcare, economy, education, crime, government spending, and environment) previously identified as important to consumers by Gallup Poll, protecting the environment only ranked fourth out of the six (Carlson 2005). While all six of these issues were identified as important, the top three that emerged as most important were (1) improvements in education, (2) the economy, and (3) health care. As the pursuit and incorporation of sustainability continues to evolve, so too will the expected outcomes. New definitions of performance that reflect the social/business benefits as well as the lengthened implementation period are relevant and warranted (Ehrenfeld 2005; Hitchcock and Willard 2006). We identified three primary categories of outcomes based on a literature review of both anecdotal and conceptual expectations of sustainability: (1) improvements in constituent satisfaction, (2) differentiation opportunities, and (3) financial rewards. Within each of these categories, several specific outcomes were identified resulting in eleven different outcomes arising from sustainability initiatives. Our survey results indicate that the top five most likely outcomes for companies that pursue sustainability are: (1) green consumers will be more satisfied, (2) company image will be better, (3) corporate responsibility will be enhanced, (4) energy costs will be reduced, and (5) products will be more innovative. Additionally, to better understand the interesting intersection between the environmental "identity" of a consumer and the willingness to manifest that identity with marketplace purchases, we extended prior research developed by Experian Research (2008). Accordingly, respondents were categorized as one of four types of green consumers (Behavioral Greens, Think Greens, Potential Greens, or True Browns) to garner a better understanding of the green consumer in addition to assisting with a more effective interpretation of results. We assessed these consumers' willingness to engage in eco-friendly behavior by evaluating three options: (1) shopping at retailers that support environmental initiatives, (2) paying more for products that protect the environment, and (3) paying higher taxes so the government can support environmental initiatives. Think Greens expressed the greatest willingness to change, followed by Behavioral Greens, Potential Greens, and True Browns. These differences were all significant at p<.01. Further Conclusions and Implications We have undertaken a descriptive study which seeks to enhance our understanding of the strategic domain of sustainability. Specifically, this research fills a gap in the literature by comparing and contrasting the sustainability views of business executives and consumers with specific regard to preferences, intentions, willingness-to-pay, behavior, and attitudes. For practitioners, much can be gained from a strategic standpoint. In addition to the many results already reported, respondents also reported than willing to pay more for products that protect the environment. Other specific results indicate that female respondents consistently communicate a stronger willingness than males to pay more for these products and to shop at eco-friendly retailers. Knowing this additional information, practitioners can now have a more specific market in which to target and communicate their sustainability efforts. While this research is only an initial step towards understanding similarities and differences among practitioners and consumers regarding sustainability, it presents original findings that contribute to both practice and research. Future research should be directed toward examining other variables affecting this relationship, as well as other specific industries.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.77-88
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• 2014

Purpose: This study analyzed the foodservice satisfaction and menu preference of 506 high school boarding students in Jeju surveyed from July 2-30, 2012 with the aim of providing basic data for improving the quality of boarding food-service management. Methods: The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, t-test, and Pearson's correlation coefficients, using the SPSS Win program (version 12.0). Results: Regarding satisfaction with dormitory foodservice, the satisfaction scores for service and hygiene were 3.46 (out of 5 scales), whereas the score for menu quality was 3.26 points. In terms of satisfaction by meal, dinner showed the highest score, at 3.70 (out of 5 scales). The satisfaction scores for breakfast were significantly higher in girls (3.36) than boys (2.93). Regarding intake of meals provided, dinner showed the highest score, at 3.96 (out of 5 scales), whereas breakfast showed the lowest score, at 3.63 points. Intake of lunch and dinner was significantly higher in boys (4.12, 4.17, respectively) than girls (3.72, 3.76, respectively). Regarding the requirements of subjects for dormitory foodservice, 43.4% of subjects selected improvement of food taste and 36.6% of girls chose menu diversity. In terms of menu preferences for main dishes, the students preferred noodles (4.06) and one-dish cooked rice (3.92) to cooked rice (3.66). The subjects preferred beef rib soup (4.10) and Kimchi stew (3.99) in soups and stews. With regard to the menu preferences for side dishes, steamed foods showed the highest score, at 3.95 (out of 5 scales), whereas seasoned foods showed the lowest score, at 2.89 points. The students preferred beef, pork, and chicken to fish and vegetables. The students preferred dessert the most with fruit juices (4.52). Bread and rice cake were more favored by girls, showing significant differences between boys and girls (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, respectively). Conclusion: Development of a systematic nutrition education program that can encourage practice of proper eating habits is needed. In addition improvement of the quality of boarding school meals through the service of various menus is needed.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.870-886
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• 2008

The purposes of this study were to (a) analyze school foodservice employees' knowledge and performance degree of HACCP system and (b) provide the basic data for planning the strategies which can be performed for systematic HACCP system in school foodservice. For these purposes, the subjects included 91 dieticians (a response rate 98.9%) and 270 foodservice employees (a response rate 98.2%) at school in Jeju city and they were surveyed from October 21 to November 4, 2006. The data were analyzed by descriptive analysis, reliability analysis, t-test, ANOVA (Duncan multiple range test) and Pearson's correlation coefficients using the SPSS Win Program (version 12.0). In terms of the number of training practice, the result of sanitary training indicated that the dieticians who trained the employees more than once per a week (48.6%) or everyday (36.3%) were 84.7%. And the dieticians who were higher age, full-time job, and working at middle school implemented significantly more training the employees. In the training methods, 40.7% of dieticians used the oral presentation and 37.4 % utilized the printed matters. Also, most of employees (98.1%) have experienced for the training, 39.6% of them did not have regular training experience and 40.7% of them responded that they were understanding the HACCP system well. The result of employees' knowledge level of HACCP system reported that the items of the personal hygiene scored the highest (92.3 points) whereas the items of CCP3 scored the lowest (58.3 points) as the average being 84.2 points (out of 100 scale). In terms of the performance degree of HACCP system, the average was 4.40 (out of 5 scale), the items of the personal hygiene scored the highest as 4.51 whereas the items of CCP2 scored the lowest as 4.31 points. The dieticians' perception degree of employees' performance degree in HACCP system showed that the average was 4.13 (out of 5 scale), so it was significantly lower than actual performance degree as average 4.40 (out of 5 scale). Additionally the employees' knowledge level was positively correlated to performance degree and employees' knowledge level of CCP3, CCP4, and the personal hygiene significantly influenced to the HACCP performance degree. Finally, the dieticians have to recognize correctly the employees' performance degree and on the basis of it must plan the sanitary training which has a proper contents and methods to enhance the employees' knowledge level and achieve more systematic HACCP system in school foodservice.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.250-256
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• 2003

Background : Anthracofibrosis, a descriptive term for multiple black pigmentation with fibrosis on bronchoscopic examination, has a close relationship with active tuberculosis (TB). However, TB activity is determined in the later stage by the TB culture results in some cases of anthracofibrosis. Therefore, it is necessary to identify early markers of TB activity in anthracofibrosis. There have been several reports investigating the serum levels of IL-2 $sR{\alpha}$, IFN-${\gamma}$ and TBGL antibody for the evaluation of TB activity. In the present study, we tried to measure the above mentioned serologic markers for the evaluation of TB activity in patients with anthracofibrosis. Methods : Anthracofibrosis was defined when there was deep pigmentation (in more than two lobar bronchi) and fibrotic stenosis of the bronchi on bronchoscopic examination. The serum of patients with anthracofibrosis was collected and stored under refrigeration before the start of anti-TB medication. The serum of healthy volunteers (N=16), patients with active TB prior to (N=22), and after (N=13), 6 month-medication was also collected and stored. Serum IL-2 $sR{\alpha}$, IFN-${\gamma}$ were measured with ELISA kit (R&D system, USA) and serum TBGL antibody was measured with TBGL EIA kit (Kyowa Inc, Japan). Results : Serum levels of IL-2 $sR{\alpha}$ in healthy volunteers, active TB patients before and after medication, and patients with anthracofibrosis were $640{\pm}174$, $1,611{\pm}2,423$, $953{\pm}562$, and $863{\pm}401$ pg/ml, respectively. The Serum IFN-${\gamma}$ levels were 0, $8.16{\pm}17.34$, $0.70{\pm}2.53$, and $2.33{\pm}6.67$ pg/ml, and TBGL antibody levels were $0.83{\pm}0.80$, $5.91{\pm}6.71$, $6.86{\pm}6.85$, and $3.22{\pm}2.59$ U/ml, respectively. The serum level of TBGL antibody was lower than of other groups (p<0.05). There was no significant difference of serum IL-2 $sR{\alpha}$ and IFN-${\gamma}$ levels among the four groups. Conclusion : The serum levels of IL-2 $sR{\alpha}$, IFN-${\gamma}$ and TBGL antibody were not useful in the evaluation of TB activity in patients with anthracofibrosis. More useful ways need to be developed for the differentiation of active TB in patients with anthracofibrosis.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2010

Green or an environmental consciousness has been a major issue for businesses and government offices, as well as consumers, worldwide. In response to this movement, the Korean government announced, in the early 2000s, the era of "Green Growth" as a way to encourage green-related business activities. The Korean fashion industry, in various levels of involvement, presents diverse eco-friendly products as a part of the green movement. These apparel products include organic products and recycled clothing. For these companies to be successful, they need information about who are the consumers who consider green issues (e.g., environmental sustainability) as part of their personal values when making a decision for product purchase, use, and disposal. These consumers can be considered as eco-sumers. Previous studies have examined consumers' purchase intention for or with eco-friendly products. In addition, studies have examined influential factors used to identify the eco-sumers or green consumers. However, limited attention was paid to eco-sumers' disposal or recycling behavior of clothes in comparison with their green product purchases. Clothing disposal behaviors are ways that consumer can get rid of unused clothing and in clue temporarily lending the item or permanently eliminating the item by "handing down" (e.g., giving it to a younger sibling), donating, exchanging, selling, or simply throwing it away. Accordingly, examining purchasing behaviors of eco-friendly fashion items in conjunction with clothing disposal behaviors should improve understanding of a consumer's clothing consumption behavior from the environmental perspective. The purpose of this exploratory study is to provide descriptive information about Korean eco-sumers who have ecologically-favorable lifestyles and behaviors when buying and disposing of clothes. The objectives of this study are to (a) categorize Koreans on the basis of clothing disposal behaviors; (b) investigate the differences in demographics, lifestyles, and clothing consumption values among segments; and (c) compare the purchase intention of eco-friendly fashion items and influential factors among segments. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on previous studies. The questionnaire included 10 items of clothing disposal behavior, 22 items of LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) characteristics, and 19 items of consumption values, measured by five-point Likert-type scales. In addition, the purchase intention of two eco-friendly fashion items and 11 attributes of each item were measured by seven-point Likert type scales. Two polyester fleece pullovers, made from fabric created from recycled bottles with the PET identification code, were selected from one Korean brand and one US imported brand among outdoor sportswear brands. A brief description of each product with a color picture was provided in the survey. Demographic variables (i.e., gender, age, marital status, education level, income, occupation) were also included. The data were collected through a professional web survey agency during May 2009. A total of 600 final usable questionnaires were analyzed. The age of respondents ranged from 20 to 49 years old with a mean age of 34 years. Fifty percent of the respondents were males and about 58% were married, and 62% reported having earned university degrees. Principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation was used to identify the underlying dimensions of the clothing disposal behavior scale, and three factors were generated (i.e., reselling behavior, donating behavior, non-recycling behavior). To categorize the respondents on the basis of clothing disposal behaviors, k-mean cluster analysis was used, and three segments were obtained. These consumer segments were labeled as 'Resale Group', 'Donation Group', and 'Non-Recycling Group.' The classification results indicated approximately 98 percent of the original cases were correctly classified. With respect to demographic characteristics among the three segments, significant differences were found in gender, marital status, occupation, and age. LOHAS characteristics were reduced into the following five factors: self-satisfaction, family orientation, health concern, environmental concern, and voluntary service. Significant differences were found in the LOHAS factors among the three clusters. Resale Group and Donation Group showed a similar predisposition to LOHAS issues while the Non-Recycling Group presented the lowest mean scores on the LOHAS factors compared to the other segments. The Resale and Donation Groups described themselves as enjoying or being satisfied with their lives and spending spare-time with family. In addition, these two groups cared about health and organic foods, and tried to conserve energy and resources. Principal components factor analysis generated clothing consumption values into the following three factors: personal values, social value, and practical value. The ANOVA test with the factors showed differences primarily between the Resale Group and the other two groups. The Resale Group was more concerned about personal value and social value than the other segments. In contrast, the Non-Recycling Group presented the higher level of social value than did Donation Group. In a comparison of the intention to purchase eco-friendly products, the Resale Group showed the highest mean score on intent to purchase Product A. On the other hand, the Donation Group presented the highest intention to purchase for Product B among segments. In addition, the mean scores indicated that the Korean product (Product B) was more preferable for purchase than the U.S. product (Product A). Stepwise regression analysis was used to identify the influence of product attributes on the purchase intention of eco product. With respect to Product A, design, price and contribution to environmental preservation were significant to predict purchase intention for the Resale Group, while price and compatibility with my image factors were significant for the Donation Group. For the Non-Recycling Group, design, price compatibility with the factors of my image, participation to eco campaign, and contribution to environmental preservation were significant. Price appropriateness was significant for each of the three clusters. With respect to Product B, design, price and compatibility with my image factors were important, but different attributes were associated significantly with purchase intention for each of the three groups. The influence of LOHAS characteristics and clothing consumption values on intention to purchase Products A and B were also examined. The LOHAS factor of health concern and the personal value factor were significant in the relationships with the purchase intention; however, the explanatory powers were low in the three segments. Findings showed that each group as classified by clothing disposal behaviors showed differences in the attributes of a product, personal values, and the LOHAS characteristics that influenced their purchase intention of eco-friendly products. Findings would enable organizations to understand eco-friendly behavior and to design appropriate strategic decisions to appeal eco-sumers.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.189-200
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• 2016

Purpose: This study analyzed job importance, job performance, and job satisfaction in 38 dietitians working at geriatric hospitals and elderly healthcare facilities in Jeju surveyed from September 15-24, 2014 with the aim of providing basic data for improving the quality of meals and nutrition management for elderly patients. Methods: Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, ${\chi}^2$-test, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation coefficients using the SPSS Win program (version 12.0). Results: Regarding job importance, the average score was 4.29 (out of 5), indicating that hygiene and safety management scored the highest at 4.77 (out of 5), and nutrition management scored the lowest at3.86. In terms of job performance of subjects, the average score was 2.87 (out of 5), indicating that cooking operation management scored the highest at 4.42 (out of 5). Regarding the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) of job importance and job performance, hygiene and safety management and cooking operation management scored high for importance and performance (B quadrant) menu management, human resource management, and nutrition management scored low for importance and performance (C quadrant) and purchasing management and financial management were included inD quadrant and A quadrant, respectively. For the level of job satisfaction of subjects, the average score was 3.37 (out of 5), indicating that relationships with colleagues scored the highest at 3.72, and improving professionalism scored the lowest at 2.95. Additionally, job importance and performance of subjects were positively correlated withjob satisfaction (r = 0.395, r = 0.386, both p < 0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, scores for job importance and job performance of nutrition management were low, and job satisfaction of improving professionalism scored low. Therefore, continuous training and education programs of nutrition management should be provided to improve professionalism of dietitians at geriatric hospitals and elderly healthcare facilities.

• Korean small business review
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.67-93
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• 2009

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relations between financial constraints and dividend smoothing of innovative small and medium sized enterprises(SMEs) listed on Korea Securities Market and Kosdaq Market of Korea Exchange. The innovative SMEs is defined as the firms with high level of R&D intensity which is measured by (R&D investment/total sales) ratio, according to Chauvin and Hirschey (1993). The R&D investment plays an important role as the innovative driver that can increase the future growth opportunity and profitability of the firms. Therefore, the R&D investment have large, positive, and consistent influences on the market value of the firm. In this point of view, we expect that the innovative SMEs can adjust dividend payment faster than the noninnovative SMEs, on the ground of their future growth opportunity and profitability. And also, we expect that the financial unconstrained firms can adjust dividend payment faster than the financial constrained firms, on the ground of their financing ability of investment funds through the market accessibility. Aivazian et al.(2006) exert that the financial unconstrained firms with the high accessibility to capital market can adjust dividend payment faster than the financial constrained firms. We collect the sample firms among the total SMEs listed on Korea Securities Market and Kosdaq Market of Korea Exchange during the periods from January 1999 to December 2007 from the KIS Value Library database. The total number of firm-year observations of the total sample firms throughout the entire period is 5,544, the number of firm-year observations of the dividend firms is 2,919, and the number of firm-year observations of the non-dividend firms is 2,625. About 53%(or 2,919) of these total 5,544 observations involve firms that make a dividend payment. The dividend firms are divided into two groups according to the R&D intensity, such as the innovative SMEs with larger than median of R&D intensity and the noninnovative SMEs with smaller than median of R&D intensity. The number of firm-year observations of the innovative SMEs is 1,506, and the number of firm-year observations of the noninnovative SMEs is 1,413. Furthermore, the innovative SMEs are divided into two groups according to level of financial constraints, such as the financial unconstrained firms and the financial constrained firms. The number of firm-year observations of the former is 894, and the number of firm-year observations of the latter is 612. Although all available firm-year observations of the dividend firms are collected, deletions are made in the case of financial industries such as banks, securities company, insurance company, and other financial services company, because their capital structure and business style are widely different from the general manufacturing firms. The stock repurchase was involved in dividend payment because Grullon and Michaely (2002) examined the substitution hypothesis between dividends and stock repurchases. However, our data structure is an unbalanced panel data since there is no requirement that the firm-year observations data are all available for each firms during the entire periods from January 1999 to December 2007 from the KIS Value Library database. We firstly estimate the classic Lintner(1956) dividend adjustment model, where the decision to smooth dividend or to adopt a residual dividend policy depends on financial constraints measured by market accessibility. Lintner model indicates that firms maintain stable and long run target payout ratio, and that firms adjust partially the gap between current payout rato and target payout ratio each year. In the Lintner model, dependent variable is the current dividend per share(DPS_t), and independent variables are the past dividend per share(DPS_t-1) and the current earnings per share(EPS_t). We hypothesized that firms adjust partially the gap between the current dividend per share(DPS_t) and the target payout ratio(Ω) each year, when the past dividend per share(DPS_t-1) deviate from the target payout ratio(Ω). We secondly estimate the expansion model that extend the Lintner model by including the determinants suggested by the major theories of dividend, namely, residual dividend theory, dividend signaling theory, agency theory, catering theory, and transactions cost theory. In the expansion model, dependent variable is the current dividend per share(DPS_t), explanatory variables are the past dividend per share(DPS_t-1) and the current earnings per share(EPS_t), and control variables are the current capital expenditure ratio(CEA_t), the current leverage ratio(LEV_t), the current operating return on assets(ROA_t), the current business risk(RISK_t), the current trading volume turnover ratio(TURN_t), and the current dividend premium(DPREM_t). In these control variables, CEA_t, LEV_t, and ROA_t are the determinants suggested by the residual dividend theory and the agency theory, ROA_t and RISK_t are the determinants suggested by the dividend signaling theory, TURN_t is the determinant suggested by the transactions cost theory, and DPREM_t is the determinant suggested by the catering theory. Furthermore, we thirdly estimate the Lintner model and the expansion model by using the panel data of the financial unconstrained firms and the financial constrained firms, that are divided into two groups according to level of financial constraints. We expect that the financial unconstrained firms can adjust dividend payment faster than the financial constrained firms, because the former can finance more easily the investment funds through the market accessibility than the latter. We analyzed descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and median to delete the outliers from the panel data, conducted one way analysis of variance to check up the industry-specfic effects, and conducted difference test of firms characteristic variables between innovative SMEs and noninnovative SMEs as well as difference test of firms characteristic variables between financial unconstrained firms and financial constrained firms. We also conducted the correlation analysis and the variance inflation factors analysis to detect any multicollinearity among the independent variables. Both of the correlation coefficients and the variance inflation factors are roughly low to the extent that may be ignored the multicollinearity among the independent variables. Furthermore, we estimate both of the Lintner model and the expansion model using the panel regression analysis. We firstly test the time-specific effects and the firm-specific effects may be involved in our panel data through the Lagrange multiplier test that was proposed by Breusch and Pagan(1980), and secondly conduct Hausman test to prove that fixed effect model is fitter with our panel data than the random effect model. The main results of this study can be summarized as follows. The determinants suggested by the major theories of dividend, namely, residual dividend theory, dividend signaling theory, agency theory, catering theory, and transactions cost theory explain significantly the dividend policy of the innovative SMEs. Lintner model indicates that firms maintain stable and long run target payout ratio, and that firms adjust partially the gap between the current payout ratio and the target payout ratio each year. In the core variables of Lintner model, the past dividend per share has more effects to dividend smoothing than the current earnings per share. These results suggest that the innovative SMEs maintain stable and long run dividend policy which sustains the past dividend per share level without corporate special reasons. The main results show that dividend adjustment speed of the innovative SMEs is faster than that of the noninnovative SMEs. This means that the innovative SMEs with high level of R&D intensity can adjust dividend payment faster than the noninnovative SMEs, on the ground of their future growth opportunity and profitability. The other main results show that dividend adjustment speed of the financial unconstrained SMEs is faster than that of the financial constrained SMEs. This means that the financial unconstrained firms with high accessibility to capital market can adjust dividend payment faster than the financial constrained firms, on the ground of their financing ability of investment funds through the market accessibility. Futhermore, the other additional results show that dividend adjustment speed of the innovative SMEs classified by the Small and Medium Business Administration is faster than that of the unclassified SMEs. They are linked with various financial policies and services such as credit guaranteed service, policy fund for SMEs, venture investment fund, insurance program, and so on. In conclusion, the past dividend per share and the current earnings per share suggested by the Lintner model explain mainly dividend adjustment speed of the innovative SMEs, and also the financial constraints explain partially. Therefore, if managers can properly understand of the relations between financial constraints and dividend smoothing of innovative SMEs, they can maintain stable and long run dividend policy of the innovative SMEs through dividend smoothing. These are encouraging results for Korea government, that is, the Small and Medium Business Administration as it has implemented many policies to commit to the innovative SMEs. This paper may have a few limitations because it may be only early study about the relations between financial constraints and dividend smoothing of the innovative SMEs. Specifically, this paper may not adequately capture all of the subtle features of the innovative SMEs and the financial unconstrained SMEs. Therefore, we think that it is necessary to expand sample firms and control variables, and use more elaborate analysis methods in the future studies.