• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.245-276
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• 2008

Brand equity is one of the most important concepts in business practice as well as in academic research. Successful brands can allow marketers to gain competitive advantage (Lassar et al.,1995), including the opportunity for successful extensions, resilience against competitors' promotional pressures, and the ability to create barriers to competitive entry (Farquhar, 1989). Branding plays a special role in service firms because strong brands increase trust in intangible products (Berry, 2000), enabling customers to better visualize and understand them. They reduce customers' perceived monetary, social, and safety risks in buying services, which are obstacles to evaluating a service correctly before purchase. Also, a high level of brand equity increases consumer satisfaction, repurchasing intent, and degree of loyalty. Brand equity can be considered as a mixture that includes both financial assets and relationships. Actually, brand equity can be viewed as the value added to the product (Keller, 1993), or the perceived value of the product in consumers' minds. Mahajan et al. (1990) claim that customer-based brand equity can be measured by the level of consumers' perceptions. Several researchers discuss brand equity based on two dimensions: consumer perception and consumer behavior. Aaker (1991) suggests measuring brand equity through price premium, loyalty, perceived quality, and brand associations. Viewing brand equity as the consumer's behavior toward a brand, Keller (1993) proposes similar dimensions: brand awareness and brand knowledge. Thus, past studies tend to identify brand equity as a multidimensional construct consisted of brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand knowledge, customer satisfaction, perceived equity, brand associations, and other proprietary assets (Aaker, 1991, 1996; Blackston, 1995; Cobb-Walgren et al., 1995; Na, 1995). Other studies tend to regard brand equity and other brand assets, such as brand knowledge, brand awareness, brand image, brand loyalty, perceived quality, and so on, as independent but related constructs (Keller, 1993; Kirmani and Zeithaml, 1993). Walters(1978) defined information search as, "A psychological or physical action a consumer takes in order to acquire information about a product or store." But, each consumer has different methods for informationsearch. There are two methods of information search, internal and external search. Internal search is, "Search of information already saved in the memory of the individual consumer"(Engel, Blackwell, 1982) which is, "memory of a previous purchase experience or information from a previous search."(Beales, Mazis, Salop, and Staelin, 1981). External search is "A completely voluntary decision made in order to obtain new information"(Engel & Blackwell, 1982) which is, "Actions of a consumer to acquire necessary information by such methods as intentionally exposing oneself to advertisements, taking to friends or family or visiting a store."(Beales, Mazis, Salop, and Staelin, 1981). There are many sources for consumers' information search including advertisement sources such as the internet, radio, television, newspapers and magazines, information supplied by businesses such as sales people, packaging and in-store information, consumer sources such as family, friends and colleagues, and mass media sources such as consumer protection agencies, government agencies and mass media sources. Understanding consumers' purchasing behavior is a key factor of a firm to attract and retain customers and improving the firm's prospects for survival and growth, and enhancing shareholder's value. Therefore, marketers should understand consumer as individual and market segment. One theory of consumer behavior supports the belief that individuals are rational. Individuals think and move through stages when making a purchase decision. This means that rational thinkers have led to the identification of a consumer buying decision process. This decision process with its different levels of involvement and influencing factors has been widely accepted and is fundamental to the understanding purchase intention represent to what consumers think they will buy. Brand equity is not only companies but also very important asset more than product itself. This paper studies brand equity model and influencing factors including information process such as information searching and information resources in the fashion market in Asia and Europe. Information searching and information resources are influencing brand knowledge that influences consumers purchase decision. Nine research hypotheses are drawn to test the relationships among antecedents of brand equity and purchase intention and relationships among brand knowledge, brand value, brand attitude, and brand loyalty. H1. Information searching influences brand knowledge positively. H2. Information sources influence brand knowledge positively. H3. Brand knowledge influences brand attitude. H4. Brand knowledge influences brand value. H5. Brand attitude influences brand loyalty. H6. Brand attitude influences brand value. H7. Brand loyalty influences purchase intention. H8. Brand value influence purchase intention. H9. There will be the same research model in Asia and Europe. We performed structural equation model analysis in order to test hypotheses suggested in this study. The model fitting index of the research model in Asia was $X^2$=195.19(p=0.0), NFI=0.90, NNFI=0.87, CFI=0.90, GFI=0.90, RMR=0.083, AGFI=0.85, which means the model fitting of the model is good enough. In Europe, it was $X^2$=133.25(p=0.0), NFI=0.81, NNFI=0.85, CFI=0.89, GFI=0.90, RMR=0.073, AGFI=0.85, which means the model fitting of the model is good enough. From the test results, hypotheses were accepted. All of these hypotheses except one are supported. In Europe, information search is not an antecedent of brand knowledge. This means that sales of global fashion brands like jeans in Europe are not expanding as rapidly as in Asian markets such as China, Japan, and South Korea. Young consumers in European countries are not more brand and fashion conscious than their counter partners in Asia. The results have theoretical, practical meaning and contributions. In the fashion jeans industry, relatively few studies examining the viability of cross-national brand equity has been studied. This study provides insight on building global brand equity and suggests information process elements like information search and information resources are working differently in Asia and Europe for fashion jean market.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.39-44
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• 2009

Geothermal energy is the heat contained in the earth and its internal fluids. Geothermal energy is stored as sensible or latent heat. Supplied by both internal and external sources, it represents a vast supply which is only started to be tapped for generation of electric power. In general, this is natural dry or wet medium to high enthalpy steam at temperatures above $150^{\circ}C$. For some time, binary systems employing substances with a lower boiling point than water in a secondary circuit have been used to generate vapor for driving turbines at a lower temperature level. The utilization of binary plants and the possibility of production from enhanced geothermal systems can expand its availability on a worldwide basis. The geothermal electricity installed capacity is approaching the 10,000GW threshold. Geothermal energy is not present everywhere, but its baseload capability is a very important factor for its success.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.173-181
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• 2019

The paper aims to evaluate the combination of strategies that influence the success of New Technology Based Firms (NTBFs) located in isolated areas with resource constraints. We utilize the Kauffman Firm Survey to construct a subset of 224 firms operating in primary metal manufacturing industries and who are located in non-thriving areas. We focus on the impact of technological strategy, in the form of Inward Technology Licensing (ITL), combined with financial strategy, in the form of increased financial slack. Using a negative binomial-specification technique to model these relations, we find that ITL positively impacts internal innovation in the firm and this relation is strengthened by the presence of greater financial slack. This positive impact of financial slack supports the behavioral theory of the firm rather than agency theory in that financial slack enables further innovation rather than stifling it. This research confirms the importance of resource acquisition, suggesting that entrepreneurs may utilize external sources of knowledge in an effort to build a favorable situation when facing the challenges of location. Finally, by presenting evidence showing the compatibility of a financial strategy with a knowledge strategy (ITL), this study emphasizes the importance to entrepreneurs of choosing the proper combination of varying strategies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.125-135
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• 2011

This study compares the expected values of appearance management for the suit buying behavior of men in two age groups: (20s-30s and 40s-50s) to investigate the effect of male consumers' expected values in regards to appearance management on the purchase behavior of men's suits between two generations. A survey was carried out with male consumers between the ages of 20 and 50; a total of 135 responses were analyzed by descriptive analysis, factor analysis, a reliability test, an independent samples t-test, MANOVA, ANOVA, and regression analysis. The results of this study were as follows: 1) From a result of the factor analysis on male consumers' expected value of appearance management and the information sources and purchase evaluative criteria for buying men's suits, each of three variance assessments clearly showed factorial structures. 2) There were significant differences between those in their 20s-30s and those in their 40s-50s in terms of male consumers' expected values of appearance management, their information sources, and their purchase evaluative criteria when buying men's suits. 3) As a result of looking at the differences in the effects of expected values of appearance management on men's suit buying behavior according to age (generation), the younger generation in this study showed that men's suit purchasing tendency was affected by the managing appearance factor for internal reasons such as enjoyment and self-satisfaction. On the other hand, the assessment of the older generation revealed that appearance management for external reasons such as showing social power, good human relationships, and conformity influenced their suit purchase behaviors.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.97-103
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• 2002

We have mapped 1 $deg^2$ region toward a high latitude cloud MBM 40 in the J = 1 - 0 transition of $^{12}CO$ and $^{13}CO$, using the 3 mm SIS receiver on the 14 m telescope at Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory. We used a high resolution autocorrelator to resolve extremely narrow CO linewidths of the molecular gas. Though the linewidth of the molecular gas is very narrow (FWHP < 1 km $s^{-1}$ ), it is found that there is an evident velocity difference between the middle upper part and the lower part of the cloud. Their spectra for both of $^{12}CO$ and $^{13}CO$ show blue wings, and the position-velocity map shows clear velocity difference of 0.4 km $s^{-1}$ between two parts. The mean velocity of the cloud is 3.1 km $s^{-1}$. It is also found that the linewidths at the blueshifted region are broader than those of the rest of the cloud. We confirmed that the visual extinction is less than 3 magnitude, and the molecular gas is translucent. We discussed three mass estimates, and took a mass of 17 solar masses from CO integrated intensity using a conversion factor $2.3 {\times} 10^{20} cm^{-2} (K\;km s^{-1})^{-1}$. Spatial coincidence and close morphological similarity is found between the CO emission and dust far-infrared (FIR) emission. The ratio between the 100 f.Lm intensity and CO integrated intensity of MBM 40 is 0.7 (MJy/sr)/(K km $s^{-1}$), which is larger than those of dark clouds, but much smaller than those of GMCs. The low ratio found for MBM 40 probably results from the absence of internal heating sources, or significant nearby external heating sources.

• Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.1-8
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• 2014

The broad aim of this paper is to provide a detailed understanding of the post-war problems associated with materials for reconstruction in Libya, and to identify key problems and obstructions. Theoretical and empirical studies are being conducted in Libya. The theoretical study focuses on materials for construction and the key issues such as sources, transport and storage of materials, as well as their impact on the national economy, the nation's socio-economic development and the environment. This empirical study employed questionnaires, observations and a series of interviews with researchers, academics, suppliers and manufacturers, supported by the researcher's three decades of experience of working in the construction industry and its associated processes and operations. The empirical study illustrated that materials for post-disaster reconstruction in Libya suffer from external problems related to policies and decision-making in terms of availability of materials, fluctuation of prices of materials, specifications, building codes, legislation and regulations, and internal problems related to the construction and building material's key players: construction companies, consultancy firms, manufacturers and suppliers.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.9
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• pp.341-350
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• 2020

This study aims to verify the relationship between overseas activities and performance of Korea's SMEs during the last financial crisis. Whether overseas activity performance of enterprises differed was determined based on characteristic variables, including the degree of concentration on R&D and marketing. This study also examined how SMEs' international transactions and their performance differed based on internal variable such as the level of stock holding and firm size. This study developed a model for analyzing the relationship between the level of internationalization and performance of Koran SMEs listed in the KOSDAQ. We used firm-level data, including annual reports and various data sources such as the KISVALUE program. To smooth annual fluctuations in accounting data, we used a three-year average from 2006 to 2009 for each variable in the study. The results showed that proactive overseas activities ultimately had a positive effect on an enterprise's performance, even though it initially had a negative effect. Therefore, enterprises should focus their capacity on R&D and marketing environment. Although numerous studies have focused on the relationship between overseas activities and performance of enterprises, the present study analyzed whether enterprises should continuously engage in overseas activities and what capacities they should strengthen during a global economic recession.

• Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.266-275
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• 2012

The rise of crowdsourcing and web 2.0 opens plenty of opportunities for companies who want to exploit external sources of ideas for internal innovation. Utilization of crowdsourcing for product design and development has been attracting the attention of both enterprises and researchers. Many cases of implementation of crowdsourcing for product design and development such as: Threadless, FIAT Mio, Lego online Factory, etc., have made crowdsourcing a promising alternative source of innovative power. Although crowdsourcing gained access due to improved Internet access and web 2.0, it is little understood how the crowd, with respect to participation, behaves for any crowdsourcing project. To investigate this, we conducted an experiment on a real crowd of engineering related individuals to figure out the crowd participation pattern for various product design and development phases of a new product development project. The experiment results give a quantitative view of the participation of the crowd (i.e., crowd participation pattern) in various phases of a product design and development process that utilizes crowdsourcing, provide a practical guidance for companies to harness the power of the crowd sensibly, and provide experimental data for further research in this field.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.81-91
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• 2023

Purpose: The article aims to assess the possibilities and contribution of countries to the creation and distribution of knowledge circulating in the scientific and technological space of the EAEU. Research design, data, and methodology: To understand the conditions and possibilities for the distribution of knowledge, the methodology of the quality of economic space used. The space is considered through density, placement, connectedness, and asymmetry. Used bibliometric analysis, balance of payments analysis, and integration indicators. Results: The study showed that low barriers, including language, created visible advantages in the mutual distribution of knowledge. However, the geo-technological space of the EAEU is polarised and has differences in the density and distribution of scientific resources. Asymmetries are shown in the distance between countries in multidirectional trends. Cooperation between countries has a different level of interaction. Conclusions: The internal resources of the geo-technological space of the EAEU are limited, and most of the needs are covered by external sources. Some mechanisms of the scientific policy of countries in scientific careers act as «demotivates» for distributing knowledge within the EAEU. Countries need to improve the quality of services and trade data to better understand technology distribution processes through bilateral channels.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.1994-1998
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• 2005

Characteristic analysis of the depth measurement system with a laser, a camera and a rotating mirror has been done and the parameter calibration technique for it has been proposed. In the proposed depth measurement system, the laser beam is reflected to the object by the rotating mirror and again the position of the laser beam is observed through the same mirror by the camera. The depth of the object pointed by the laser beam is computed depending on the pixel position on the CCD. There involved several number of internal and external parameters such as inter-pixel distance, focal length, position and orientation of the system components in the depth measurement error. In this paper, it is shown through the error sensitivity analysis of the parameters that the most important parameters in the sense of error sources are the angle of the laser beam and the inter pixel distance. The calibration techniques to minimize the effect of such major parameters are proposed.