• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.139-166
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• 2010

The supply chain management (SCM) systems have emerged as strong managerial tools for manufacturing firms in enhancing competitive strength. Despite of large investments in the SCM systems, many companies are not fully realizing the promised benefits from the systems. A review of literature on adoption, implementation and success factor of IOS (inter-organization systems), EDI (electronic data interchange) systems, shows that this issue has been examined from multiple theoretic perspectives. And many researchers have attempted to identify the factors which influence the success of system implementation. However, the existing studies have two drawbacks in revealing the determinants of systems implementation success. First, previous researches raise questions as to the appropriateness of research subjects selected. Most SCM systems are operating in the form of private industrial networks, where the participants of the systems consist of two distinct groups: focus companies and vendors. The focus companies are the primary actors in developing and operating the systems, while vendors are passive participants which are connected to the system in order to supply raw materials and parts to the focus companies. Under the circumstance, there are three ways in selecting the research subjects; focus companies only, vendors only, or two parties grouped together. It is hard to find researches that use the focus companies exclusively as the subjects probably due to the insufficient sample size for statistic analysis. Most researches have been conducted using the data collected from both groups. We argue that the SCM success factors cannot be correctly indentified in this case. The focus companies and the vendors are in different positions in many areas regarding the system implementation: firm size, managerial resources, bargaining power, organizational maturity, and etc. There are no obvious reasons to believe that the success factors of the two groups are identical. Grouping the two groups also raises questions on measuring the system success. The benefits from utilizing the systems may not be commonly distributed to the two groups. One group's benefits might be realized at the expenses of the other group considering the situation where vendors participating in SCM systems are under continuous pressures from the focus companies with respect to prices, quality, and delivery time. Therefore, by combining the system outcomes of both groups we cannot measure the system benefits obtained by each group correctly. Second, the measures of system success adopted in the previous researches have shortcoming in measuring the SCM success. User satisfaction, system utilization, and user attitudes toward the systems are most commonly used success measures in the existing studies. These measures have been developed as proxy variables in the studies of decision support systems (DSS) where the contribution of the systems to the organization performance is very difficult to measure. Unlike the DSS, the SCM systems have more specific goals, such as cost saving, inventory reduction, quality improvement, rapid time, and higher customer service. We maintain that more specific measures can be developed instead of proxy variables in order to measure the system benefits correctly. The purpose of this study is to find the determinants of SCM systems success in the perspective of vendor companies. In developing the research model, we have focused on selecting the success factors appropriate for the vendors through reviewing past researches and on developing more accurate success measures. The variables can be classified into following: technological, organizational, and environmental factors on the basis of TOE (Technology-Organization-Environment) framework. The model consists of three independent variables (competition intensity, top management support, and information system maturity), one mediating variable (collaboration), one moderating variable (government support), and a dependent variable (system success). The systems success measures have been developed to reflect the operational benefits of the SCM systems; improvement in planning and analysis capabilities, faster throughput, cost reduction, task integration, and improved product and customer service. The model has been validated using the survey data collected from 122 vendors participating in the SCM systems in Korea. To test for mediation, one should estimate the hierarchical regression analysis on the collaboration. And moderating effect analysis should estimate the moderated multiple regression, examines the effect of the government support. The result shows that information system maturity and top management support are the most important determinants of SCM system success. Supply chain technologies that standardize data formats and enhance information sharing may be adopted by supply chain leader organization because of the influence of focal company in the private industrial networks in order to streamline transactions and improve inter-organization communication. Specially, the need to develop and sustain an information system maturity will provide the focus and purpose to successfully overcome information system obstacles and resistance to innovation diffusion within the supply chain network organization. The support of top management will help focus efforts toward the realization of inter-organizational benefits and lend credibility to functional managers responsible for its implementation. The active involvement, vision, and direction of high level executives provide the impetus needed to sustain the implementation of SCM. The quality of collaboration relationships also is positively related to outcome variable. Collaboration variable is found to have a mediation effect between on influencing factors and implementation success. Higher levels of inter-organizational collaboration behaviors such as shared planning and flexibility in coordinating activities were found to be strongly linked to the vendors trust in the supply chain network. Government support moderates the effect of the IS maturity, competitive intensity, top management support on collaboration and implementation success of SCM. In general, the vendor companies face substantially greater risks in SCM implementation than the larger companies do because of severe constraints on financial and human resources and limited education on SCM systems. Besides resources, Vendors generally lack computer experience and do not have sufficient internal SCM expertise. For these reasons, government supports may establish requirements for firms doing business with the government or provide incentives to adopt, implementation SCM or practices. Government support provides significant improvements in implementation success of SCM when IS maturity, competitive intensity, top management support and collaboration are low. The environmental characteristic of competition intensity has no direct effect on vendor perspective of SCM system success. But, vendors facing above average competition intensity will have a greater need for changing technology. This suggests that companies trying to implement SCM systems should set up compatible supply chain networks and a high-quality collaboration relationship for implementation and performance.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.661-667
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• 2005

This study was to examine the effect of the environmental characteristics on overall quality of employee and food service in Korean foodservice firms. The four factors of the environmental characteristics of Korean foodservice firms consist of service, atmosphere, food & beverage, and event. To analyze the data collected from 414 respondents, the several statistical methods were used including frequency and descriptive analysis, factor analysis, reliability test, and multiple regression analysis. The empirical results are as follows: First, the employee service factor has a significantly positive effect on overall employee service quality. Second, the food & beverage factor has a significantly positive effect on overall employee service quality. Third, the food & beverage factor has a significantly positive effect on overall food & beverage service quality. Fourth, the event factor has a significantly positive effect on overall food & beverage service quality Managerial implications can be drawn from the present data. First, Korean restaurant managers can identify which factors of environmental characteristics influence customers' attitudes and evaluations in service encounter. Second, Korean restaurant managers can use the environmental characteristics as differentiation strategy, and allocate their resources into the activities of marketing strategy.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.61-101
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• 2014

This study investigates when and how disagreements in online customer ratings prompt more favorable product evaluations. Among the three metrics of volume, valence, and variance that feature in the research on online customer ratings, volume and valence have exhibited consistently positive patterns in their effects on product sales or evaluations (e.g., Dellarocas, Zhang, and Awad 2007; Liu 2006). Ratings variance, or the degree of disagreement among reviewers, however, has shown rather mixed results, with some studies reporting positive effects on product sales (e.g., Clement, Proppe, and Rott 2007) while others finding negative effects on product evaluations (e.g., Zhu and Zhang 2010). This study aims to resolve these contradictory findings by introducing preference heterogeneity as a possible moderator and causal attribution as a mediator to account for the moderating effect. The main proposition of this study is that when preference heterogeneity is perceived as high, a disagreement in ratings is attributed more to reviewers' different preferences than to unreliable product quality, which in turn prompts better quality evaluations of a product. Because disagreements mostly result from differences in reviewers' tastes or the low reliability of a product's quality (Mizerski 1982; Sen and Lerman 2007), a greater level of attribution to reviewer tastes can mitigate the negative effect of disagreement on product evaluations. Specifically, if consumers infer that reviewers' heterogeneous preferences result in subjectively different experiences and thereby highly diverse ratings, they would not disregard the overall quality of a product. However, if consumers infer that reviewers' preferences are quite homogeneous and thus the low reliability of the product quality contributes to such disagreements, they would discount the overall product quality. Therefore, consumers would respond more favorably to disagreements in ratings when preference heterogeneity is perceived as high rather than low. This study furthermore extends this prediction to the various levels of average ratings. The heuristicsystematic processing model so far indicates that the engagement in effortful systematic processing occurs only when sufficient motivation is present (Hann et al. 2007; Maheswaran and Chaiken 1991; Martin and Davies 1998). One of the key factors affecting this motivation is the aspiration level of the decision maker. Only under conditions that meet or exceed his aspiration level does he tend to engage in systematic processing (Patzelt and Shepherd 2008; Stephanous and Sage 1987). Therefore, systematic causal attribution processing regarding ratings variance is likely more activated when the average rating is high enough to meet the aspiration level than when it is too low to meet it. Considering that the interaction between ratings variance and preference heterogeneity occurs through the mediation of causal attribution, this greater activation of causal attribution in high versus low average ratings would lead to more pronounced interaction between ratings variance and preference heterogeneity in high versus low average ratings. Overall, this study proposes that the interaction between ratings variance and preference heterogeneity is more pronounced when the average rating is high as compared to when it is low. Two laboratory studies lend support to these predictions. Study 1 reveals that participants exposed to a high-preference heterogeneity book title (i.e., a novel) attributed disagreement in ratings more to reviewers' tastes, and thereby more favorably evaluated books with such ratings, compared to those exposed to a low-preference heterogeneity title (i.e., an English listening practice book). Study 2 then extended these findings to the various levels of average ratings and found that this greater preference for disagreement options under high preference heterogeneity is more pronounced when the average rating is high compared to when it is low. This study makes an important theoretical contribution to the online customer ratings literature by showing that preference heterogeneity serves as a key moderator of the effect of ratings variance on product evaluations and that causal attribution acts as a mediator of this moderation effect. A more comprehensive picture of the interplay among ratings variance, preference heterogeneity, and average ratings is also provided by revealing that the interaction between ratings variance and preference heterogeneity varies as a function of the average rating. In addition, this work provides some significant managerial implications for marketers in terms of how they manage word of mouth. Because a lack of consensus creates some uncertainty and anxiety over the given information, consumers experience a psychological burden regarding their choice of a product when ratings show disagreement. The results of this study offer a way to address this problem. By explicitly clarifying that there are many more differences in tastes among reviewers than expected, marketers can allow consumers to speculate that differing tastes of reviewers rather than an uncertain or poor product quality contribute to such conflicts in ratings. Thus, when fierce disagreements are observed in the WOM arena, marketers are advised to communicate to consumers that diverse, rather than uniform, tastes govern reviews and evaluations of products.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.194-204
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• 1999

The objectives of this study were to assess the current practices of implementing selective menus and to identify the perception of foodservice manager and customer on selective menus for hospital foodservice would be fulfilled. Two types of questionnaires for hospital foodservice managers as well as customers were developed. Questionnaires were distributed to managers of 8 hospital foodservice department and 317 customers of patient meal service, and 6 managers and 139 customers were responded. The data were analyzed using frequency and t-test. The results of this study can be summarized as follows : 1. In hospital foodservice operations, the selective menu pattern was first introduced by L hospital on June 1994 in Seoul and recently 8 hospitals were currently implementing selective menus. But using rate of selective menus by patients were relatively low(23.2%), ranging from 15% to 32%. 2. Customers' needs for selective menus were rated significantly higher in the group of patients(4.24/5) who chose the selective menus than their counterpart(3.88/5). 3. The main reason not choosing selective menus was identified by patients as 'not knowing the implementation of selective menus'(52.6%), inconvenient factors in using selective menus for customer were also identified as orders : 'lack of nutrition information on menu item'(38.6%), 'complexity in procedure'(29.8%), and 'lack of menu variety'(26.3%). However managers considered 'managerial burden' and 'limited human resource' as main obstacle to implement the selective menu pattern. 4. Customers indicated 'variety of menu', 'active public relations' as effective methods to enhance using rate of selective menus, however, foodservice manager indicated 'variety of menu'(50%), 'improvement of quality'(16.7%), and 'simplicity in procedure'(16.7%). Based on the results of this study, following recommendations have been suggested : Managers in patient meal service should recognize customer needs for implementing selective menus and pay more attention in implementing selective menus and activating this program. For more effective implementation of activating selective menu program, the foodservice department should establish action plan on 'active publicity work', 'simplicity in procedures', 'variety of menu' and 'improvement of quality'. Especially nutrition informations on meals should be provided for customers in order to elevate participation rate.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.115-132
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• 2000

Eggshell strength and eggshell pigmentation are described in this paper since these are needed for quality egg production. A strong eggshell is determined by the components of the shell (cuticle, true shell and membranes) as well as the proper function of the gastrointestinal tract, the shell gland, the Kidneys and the endocrine system. When the puller reaches sexual maturity, the medullary bone must be ready for the laying hen at the peak egg shell formation. The amount of calcium in the layer diet, sources of calcium feed, the ratio of calcium and phosphorus in the layer diet, adequate levels of vitamin D and the dietary mineral (electrolyte) balance in the body fluid are important factors along with the levels of other nutrients. Biological, environmental and managerial factors such as the age of laying flock, temperature and humidity of the hen house, bird strain, disease, egg collection through transportation and others and influence the shell breakage at various stages of movement of the eggs from the producer to the consumer. The pigments present in eggshells are protoporphyrin-Ⅸ, biliverdin-Ⅸ and its zinc chelate and occasional traces of coproporphyrin-Ⅲ. However, there are several causes of changes in eggshell pigmentation such as the age of hen, disease, drugs and surface defects due to abnormal post-cuticular deposits.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.139-169
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• 2023

This study analyzes the effects of firms' technology innovation(patent applications) on employment(number of workers and proportion of high-skilled workers) and corporate performance(sales per worker), while considering the two-way causal relationships between these variables. We used the three-stage least squares(3SLS) estimation to examine system of equations in which the dependent variables affect each other with a two-year lag wherever relevant, and applied it to firm-level panel data of Korean manufacturers with 100 or more workers. Our data covered the period of 2005-2017. Exogenous variables, such as firms' managerial and other characteristics, were controlled as explanatory variables. The identification variables for each equation included firms' R&D intensity, labor cost per worker(or operation of firms' own R&D center), and investment on worker training. We find that firms' patent applications increased number of workers, proportion of high-skilled workers, and sales per worker; the causal relationships in the opposite direction were also significant. Evidently, firms' technology innovation is critical to the growth and quality improvement of employment as well as sustainable corporate growth.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.1-34
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• 2010

Introduction As consumers' purchase behavior change into a rational and practical direction, the discount store industry came to have keen competition along with rapid external growth. Therefore as a solution, distribution businesses are concentrating on developing PB(Private Brand) which can realize differentiation and profitability at the same time. And as improvement in customer loyalty beyond customer satisfaction is effective in surviving in an environment with keen competition, PB is being used as a strategic tool to improve customer loyalty. To improve loyalty among PB users, it is necessary to develop PB by examining properties of a customer group, first of all, quality level perceived by consumers should be met to obtain customer satisfaction and customer trust and consequently induce customer loyalty. To provide results of systematic analysis on relations between antecedents influenced perceived quality and variables affecting customer loyalty, this study proposed a research model based on causal relations verified in prior researches and set 16 hypotheses about relations among 9 theoretical variables. Data was collected from 400 adult customers residing in Seoul and the Metropolitan area and using large scale discount stores, among them, 375 copies were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 and Amos 7.0. The findings of the present study followed as; We ascertained that the higher company reputation, brand reputation, product experience and brand familiarity, the higher perceived quality. The study also examined the higher perceived quality, the higher customer satisfaction, customer trust and customer loyalty. The findings showed that the higher customer satisfaction and customer trust, the higher customer loyalty. As for moderating effects between PB and NB in terms of influences of perceived quality factors on perceived quality, we can ascertain that PB was higher than NB in the influences of company reputation on perceived quality while NB was higher than PB in the influences of brand reputation and brand familiarity on perceived quality. These results of empirical analysis will be useful for those concerned to do marketing activities based on a clearer understanding of antecedents and consecutive factors influenced perceived quality. At last, discussions about academical and managerial implications in these results, we suggested the limitations of this study and the future research directions. Research Model and Hypotheses Test After analyzing if antecedent variables having influence on perceived quality shows any difference between PB and NB in terms of their influences on them, the relation between variables that have influence on customer loyalty was determined as Figure 1. We established 16 hypotheses to test and hypotheses are as follows; H1-1: Perceived price has a positive effect on perceived quality. H1-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of perceived price on perceived quality. H2-1: Company reputation has a positive effect on perceived quality. H2-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of company reputation on perceived quality. H3-1: Brand reputation has a positive effect on perceived quality. H3-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of brand reputation on perceived quality. H4-1: Product experience has a positive effect on perceived quality. H4-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of product experience on perceived quality. H5-1: Brand familiarity has a positive effect on perceived quality. H5-2: It is expected that PB and NB would have different influence in terms of brand familiarity on perceived quality. H6: Perceived quality has a positive effect on customer satisfaction. H7: Perceived quality has a positive effect on customer trust. H8: Perceived quality has a positive effect on customer loyalty. H9: Customer satisfaction has a positive effect on customer trust. H10: Customer satisfaction has a positive effect on customer loyalty. H11: Customer trust has a positive effect on customer loyalty. Results from analyzing main effects of research model is shown as