• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1721-1732
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• 2007

This study identified types of information source, and explored a path model for consumer information search by shopping attributes in the context of online decision making. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires during regularly scheduled classes. A total of 219 usable questionnaires were obtained from respondents who enroll at universities in the southwestern region of the United States. For data analysis, factor analysis and path model estimation were used. Consumer information source was classified into three types for online clothing purchases: Online source, Offline retail source, and Mass media. Consumers were more likely to rely on offline retail source for online clothing purchases, than other sources. In consumer information search by shopping attributes, online sources were more likely to be related to transaction-related attributes(e.g., incentive service), whereas offline retail source(e.g., displays in stores, manufacturer's catalogs and pamphlets) were more likely to be related to product and market related attributes(e.g., aesthetics, price) when purchasing clothing online. Also, the path model emphasizes the effect of shopping attributes on traditional retailer search behavior, leading to online purchase intention for clothing. This study supports consumer information search by attributes, and discusses a managerial implication of multi-channel retailing for apparel.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1891-1902
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• 2008

With concerns for consumers' return behaviors affecting internet shopping malls' profits and product management in the internet clothing market, this study is designed to investigate determinants affecting return and path models for return behaviors. For an empirical study, questionnaires are prepared and respondents in their 20s and 30s with internet clothing purchase experience are selected using the convenience sampling. A total of 517 questionnaires are used for the final analysis. Data are analyzed by using SPSS 12.0 software and descriptive statistics, $x^2$-test, discriminant analysis, regression analysis, and path analysis is conducted. The results are as follows. First, ones who have returned after purchasing clothing items in internet shopping reached 63.4% of the total consumers. Respondents returned items with price at 50 thousand won or less stood at 67.2%, and the most frequent return shopping malls are open markets with their return rate at 51.1%. Second, variables such as risk perception, information search, impulse buying, buying experience, and age have a positive effect on return experience. Impulse buying and buying experience turn out to have a significant effect on the degree of return, but risk perception, information search, age, and gender to have an insignificant effect. Return intention is significantly affected by risk perception, gender, and age. Third, the analysis of path model for return experience shows that perceived risk has a positively effect, and information search has a direct effect as well as an indirect effect through buying experience or impulse buying. The analysis of path model for the degree of return shows that risk perception does not have effect, but information search has indirect effect through buying experience or impulse buying. This study is thought to find consumers' return behavior characteristics in online shopping, and help businesses operating online shopping malls to efficiently manage returns and set up strategies against returns.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.609-614
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• 2009

Sesame oil was sometimes replaced by mixed oil due to high price in Korean market. To find out authentic sesame oil, electronic nose (E-nose) based on mass spectrometer system was used. Sesame oil was blended with perilla oil at the ratio of 97:3, 94:6, 91:9, 88:12 and 85:15, respectively. Intensities of each fragment from sesame oil by E-nose based on MS were completely different from those of perilla oil. The obtained data was used for discriminant function analysis. For quantitative analysis, the partial least square algorithm was used. The added concentration of perilla oil to sesame oil was correlated with discriminant function first score (DF1) and second score (DF2). From this relationship it could be found out how much perilla oil added. DFA plot indicated a significant separation of pure sesame oil and pure perilla oil. The different geographical origin of sesame oil was used for blending with perilla oil were closed to that of sesame oil. Korean sesame oil mixture and Indian sesame oil one were well separated. And the correlation between mixing ratios and DF1 values was found at the ratio of 97:3, 91:9, and 85:15 (SE vs PE oil), respectively. But the added concentration of perilla oil to sesame oil was correlated with discriminant function first score (DF1). E-nose based on MS system could be used as an efficient method for purity of oil quality.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.329-342
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate consumers' perceptions of sodium saccharin in social media. Data was collected from Naver blogs and Naver web communities (Korean representative portal web-site), and media reports including comment sections on a Yonhap news website (Korean largest news agency). The results from Naver blogs and Naver web communities showed that it was primarily mentioned 'sodium saccharin-no added' products, properties of sodium saccharin, and methods of reducing sodium saccharin in food. When media reported the expansion of food categories permitted to use sodium saccharin, search volume for sodium saccharin has increased in both PC and mobile search engines. Also, it was mainly commented about distrust of government, criticism of food product price, and distrust of food companies below the news on the news site. The label of sodium saccharin-no added products in market emphasized "no added-sodium saccharin". These results suggest that consumers are interested in sodium saccharin and especially when media reported the expansion of food categories permitted to use it. Consumers were able to search various information on sodium saccharin except safety or acceptable daily intake through social media. Therefore media or competent authority should report item on sodium saccharin with information including safety or acceptable daily intake based on scientific background and reference or experts' interview for consumers to get reliable information.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.367-376
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• 2013

The objectives of this study are to provide the food market of internet shopping malls with effective marketing data, to provide basic data for the development of related fields of the study, and ultimately to increase the satisfaction of food consumers of internet shopping malls. To achieve the object of this research, a cluster analysis of the research subjects was carried out based on the following 5 factors of food purchasing attribute that had been deduced by a factor analysis by the types of food purchasers: quality characteristics, informativity, convenience, price and diversity. According to the result of the cluster analysis, the research subjects were classified into the 2 clusters of diversity and informativity. The deduced 2 clusters, together with age and occupation among general characteristics, were used as independent variables to find out food purchasing behaviors and satisfaction at internet shopping malls. The results are as follows: Regarding the frequency of food purchasing experiences at internet shopping malls according to occupation, the highest frequency was shown by those involved in service, sales and self-employed businesses; whereas regarding the frequency according to age, those in their 30s and 40s showed the highest frequency. The total amount of money spent on food purchasing for 1 year at internet shopping malls was shown to increase as age increased. The frequency of the purchasing experiences of agricultural products and fish products was shown to be higher as age increased. However, overall purchase satisfaction was highest among those in their 30s, while lowest among those in their 40s. Regarding satisfaction by the types of food purchased via internet shopping malls, satisfaction was relatively higher with common foods and functional foods, while lower with fish products. Taken together, it was concluded that purchasing behaviors at internet food shopping malls, such as the frequency of purchasing experiences and purchase amount, varied depending on age rather than purchasing attribute. Accordingly, in order to vitalize internet food shopping malls, it would be necessary to provide customized food shopping information for individual age groups.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.309-315
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• 2000

Panax ginseng is an important medicinal plant that has been used worldwide for geriatric, tonic, stomachic, and aphrodisiac treatments. Ginsenosides contained in the ginseng root are the main substances having active functions for human body. The price of ginseng is very expensive due to a complex process of cultivation, and the yield of ginseng is limited, which cannot meet the demand of the increasing market. Researchers have applied plant biotechnology to solve the problems but there are still things to be determined towards ginsenoside production by large-scale adventitious root culture. In this experiment, 5 to 20 liter bioreactors were employed to determine optimal conditions for adventitious root culture and ginsenoside production of Panax gineng. Callus was induced from the ginseng root on MS agar medium containing 1.0 mg. $L^{-1}$ 2,4-D and 0.1 mg. $L^{-1}$ kinetin. Then the callus was cultured on MS agar medium supplemented with 2.0 mg. $L^{-1}$ IBA, 0.1 mg. $L^{-1}$ kinetin, and 30 g. $L^{-1}$ to induce adventitious roots. The maximum root growth and ginsenoside production were obtained in 1/2 MS medium. 2.0 mg. $L^{-1}$ naphthalene acetic acid resulted in greater root growth than 2.0 mg $L^{-1}$ indole-3-butyric acid. Ginsenoside content increased with 2.0 mg. $L^{-1}$ benzyl adenin or kinetin. High concentrations of benzyl adenin (above 3.0 mg. $L^{-1}$ ) decreased the adventitious root growth and ginsenoside productivity. N $H_{4}$$^{+}$ inhibited the ginsenoside accumulation, while high concentrations of $K^{+}$, $Mg_{2}$$^{+}$, and $Ca_{2}$$^{+}$ increased it. N $H_{4}$$^{+}$ at 0.5 and 1.0 times of the normal amount in 3/4 SH medium resulted in the greatest biomass increase, but the highest ginsenoside productivity was obtained when N $O_{3}$$^{-}$ was used as the sole nitrogen source in the medium. Most microelements at high concentrations in the medium inhibited the root growth, but high concentrations of MnS $O_4$enhanced the root growth. Root dry weight increased with increasing sucrose concentrations up to 50 g. $L^{-1}$ , but decreased from 70 g $L^{-1}$ Ginsenoside productivity was maximized at the range of 20 to 30 g. $L^{-1}$ sucrose. In the experiment on bioreactor types, cone and balloon types were determined to be favorable for both adventitious root growth and ginsenoside production. Jasmonic acid was effective for increasing ginsenoside contents and Rb group ginsenosides mainly increased. These results could be employed in commercial scale bioreactor cultures of Panax ginseng.x ginseng.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.91-101
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• 2000

The optimal congestion charge in transportation economics corresponds to the solution to the welfare maximization Problem for users of a certain road link where congestion takes Place. This congestion charge is in nature the optimal Price of the transportation facility, which is derived by the Partial equilibrium analysis on that facility. Therefore it is not certain that this congestion charge can maximize the well-being of all the users of the total transportation network, since the analysis does not count the impact of the congestion charge on traffic volumes of other links. This study suggests an alternative approach to estimate the optimal congestion charge. The key difference of this study from Previous ones is to derive the solution through the general equilibrium analysis on a market where several transportation facilities as well as Private goods are available to consumers. This approach shows a set of solutions a little different from the Previous one, which are explained below. The optimal congestion charge is derived for two different cases. One is the situation of which the congestion charge is levied on every transportation facility In this case, the optimal solution of each facility should equate the marginal utility of every user to the marginal cost of the corresponding facility. This analysis result in general equilibrium coincides with the Previous analysis result in partial equilibrium. However this result cannot apply to another case of which the charge is imposed only on a certain transportation facility. In this case, the optimal charge on a certain transportation facility should be less than the optimal congestion charge of partial equilibrium analysis.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.77-95
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• 2011

This paper investigates the relationship between export and economic variables such as trade insurance, world economy activity, relative price, unemployment rate, exchange rate volatility, using monthly data. I employ Johansen cointegration methodology since the model must be stationary to avoid the spurious results. The results indicate that there is a long-run relationship between export and variables. Also, the empirical analysis of cointegrating vector using the CCR, DOLS, FMOLS reveals that the increases of trade insurance has positive relations and the increases of exchange rate volatility have negative relations with export. Especially, DOLS based on Monte Carlo simulations, of this estimator being superior in small samples compared to a number of alternative estimators, as well as being able not only to accommodate higher orders of integration but also to account for possible simultaneity within regressors of a potential system. This paper also applies impulse-response functions to get the additional information regarding the responses of the export to the shocks of the variables. The result indicates that export positively to trade insurance and then decay fast compare with exchange rate volatility. Consequently, trade insurance plays the role of trade policy for export promotion in Korea. Whereas, increase of exchange risk result in reduction of export. Therefore, the support of trade insurance should be expanded and the stabilization of the foreign exchange market must be done for the export promotion.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-36
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• 2017

This study aimed to analyze influencing factors to increase the wage differential between large enterprise and subcontracted small-medium enterprises by using panel data composed of 19 manufacturing industries for 16 years from 1999 to 2014. According to the results of analysis, in large enterprises the elasticity of substitution between the labor inputs and the subcontracted product supplies from small-medium enterprises was significantly less than 1. So, the increase in wages of workers of large enterprises, whose degree of employment protection was relatively high, seemed to increase the share of wage cost in total cost and was resulted to decrease the cost share of subcontracted product supplies significantly. This was interpreted to be able to exert a negative influence upon the price of subcontracted product supplies and the wages of workers in subcontracted small-medium enterprises, and, therefore, to increase the wage differentials between large enterprises and subcontracted small-medium enterprises. Furthermore, it was also found that the increases in the labor union participation rate at large enterprises and the openness rate of the industry concerned were contributing to make such effects much stronger significantly. In order to mitigate the wage differentials and the polarizing trend in labor market, we can suggest to establish a certain kind of flexible wage system and to introduce co-bargaining practices with the workers of subcontracted small-medium enterprises within large enterprises, and also for the workers of small-medium enterprises, to prepare new social systems to upgrade their human resources and job skills drastically.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.26-34
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• 2010

KOGAS, established in 1983 by law to ensure stable gas supply to the public, is responsible for the wholesale distribution to 30 city gas companies that deal with the retail distribution of natural gas in their geographic areas. The gas imported by KOGAS is measured by checking the level difference of LNG shipped in tankers before and after unloading. The analysis of gas composition is essential because the imported gas price is determined by its calorific value. The turbine meter is widely used for measuring the gas sold to city gas companies. Unlike the metering system for power plants, there is no gas chromatograph since the custody transfer of gas to the city gas companies is not billed by calorific value, but by volume basis. The gas quantity that a city gas company has bought from KOGAS is not equal to the quantity that the company sold to its customers. There have been some discrepancies between the wholesale gas meter readouts and retail ones due to some inherent errors of meters and some operational issues of the meters. This paper investigates the controversies regarding the real quantity of gas between distributors and consumers. It will discus and suggest desirable policies, both technically and economically, in order to solve the discrepancies of gas measurement.