• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1-22
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• 2007

Customer satisfaction is important in an increasingly competitive and global marketplace. This implies that customer service is a critical factor for many organizations. In service encounter context, customer satisfaction is affected by employees' attitudes and behaviors. Accordingly, service firms have been focusing on selecting high quality of service employees, which resulted the ability to identify and select quality service- or customer- oriented employees to become critical for an organization's success. It was suggested that customer service orientation links to performance and subsequent organizational revenue. Moreover, it was found that service encounter failures were among the major reasons for customers' service switch. Therefore, the selection of customer service oriented employees is a key factor in establishing customer service - a potential source of sustained competitive advantage. However, the measurement of employee service orientation is more confusing than that of definitive answers. The difficulty of measuring service orientation is attributed to the use of broad versus narrow measures of personality. Advocates for the broad perspective prefer using basic personality constructs, such as the Big Five personality traits. On the contrary, the latter prefer a construct-oriented approach of personality research that provides a better measure of job performance because it requires the specification of the relationship of the personality traits with multiple dimensions of job performance. The customer service orientation was defined as "a set of basic individual predispositions and an inclination to provide service, to be courteous and to be helpful in dealing with customers and associates." Similarly, it is a fact that the Big five personality traits are predictors of customer orientation, and employee's self- and supervisor performance. They propose that basic personality traits may be too far removed from focal service behaviors to be able to predict specific service behaviors (customer orientation) and service worker performance. Also, customer orientation is defined as "an employee's tendency or predisposition to meet customer needs in an on-the-job context." This means that people who have job-relevant personality traits such as concern, empathy, and conscientiousness will be more adept at customer service than people who do not possess these traits. However, little attention has been given to the exploration of the service orientation of customer-contact employees who play a key role in creating satisfactory service encounters in the hospitality industry except for Kim, McCahon, & Miller (2003)'s study, especially in family restaurants context. Thus, the purposes of this study are to examine and validate the customer service orientation of customer-contact employees using the instrument developed by Donavan (1999) in Korean family restaurants, because the scale was developed to measure the personality traits related job behaviors. And this study explores the relationships between customer service orientation, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and self service performance using structural equation modeling (SEM). And this study explores the relationships between customer service orientation, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and self service performance using structural equation modeling (SEM). For these purposes the author developed several hypotheses as follows: H1: Employee's service orientation is associated with service performance. H2: Employee's service orientation is positively associated with job satisfaction. H3: Employee's service orientation is positively associated with organizational commitment. H4: Service performance is positively associated with job satisfaction. H5: Service performance is positively associated with organizational commitment. H6: Job satisfaction is negatively associated with organizational commitment. The data were collected from 278 employees in 5 deluxe hotels located in Pusan, Korea. The researcher contacted the manager of the restaurants, and managers consented to administer surveys to their employees. The survey was executed during one month period in the October of 2007. The data were analyzed with structural equation modeling with LISREL 8.7 W. The result of the overall model analysis appeared as follows: $X^2$=122.638 (p = 0.00), df=59, GFI=.936, AGFI=.901, NFI=.948, CFI=.971, RMSEA=.0625. Since the result of the overall model analysis demonstrated a good fit, we could further analyze our data. The findings can be summarized as follows: First, the greater the employee service orientation, the greater the service performance. Second, the greater the employee service orientation, the greater the job satisfaction. Third, the greater the employee service orientation, the greater the organizational commitment. Fourth, the greater the service performance, the greater the job satisfaction. Fifth, the greater the service performance, the greater the organizational commitment. Finally, the greater the job satisfaction, the greater the organizational commitment. Seventh, the greater the customer satisfaction, the greater the customer loyalty.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.53-67
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• 2009

For the last decades, service quality has been studied as one of the most important tools for a service company to compete with the other companies. Based on these past researches, it has been agreed that the service quality is a basic and powerful tool to create the competitive advantage. Due to similar reason, many service marketing practitioners have been also focused on the service quality to retain the existing consumers and collect the new consumers. However, service quality is subjectively perceived by individual consumers. Consumer evaluation of service quality can be different from each other. Especially consumers with one life-style may evaluate the service quality differently from the consumers with the other life-styles. Therefore we need to know whether there are differences in service quality perception on the categories of life-style. Life-style refers to a distinctive mode of living in its aggregate and broadest sense. It embodies the patterns that were developed and emerged from the dynamics of living in a society. Since the concept of life-style and its relationship to marketing was introduced in 1963 by William Lazer, methods of measuring the life-style and their application have been developed. Life-style has been usually used to segment the marketplace because it offers marketers a unique and important view of the market. When Life-style is combined with clustering methods, life-style segmentation can generate identifiable whole persons rather than isolated fragment. Life-style segmentation begins with people instead of products and classifies them into different life-style types, each characterized by a unique style of living based on a wide range of activities, interests, and opinions(Plummer, 1974). In this study we applies the life-style segmentation based on the AIO(Activities, Interests, and Opinions) to the consumers of the large discount stores. In Korea, the large discount store market has entered into maturity stage so that the market differentiation strategy is becoming a more critical issue to the marketing practitioners. One of the most important tools to differentiate from the competitors in large discount store market is continuously to provide service of better quality than competitors. This study tries to find answers about the following questions: 1) How can we categorize the consumer life-styles in the large discount store? 2) What are the characteristics of the categorized groups? 3) Are there any differences in service quality perception among the consumers with different life-styles 4) Are there any differences in consumer behavior among them in the large discount store? For the purpose, we collected survey data from consumers and analyzed the data with the SPSS package where we had $X^2$-test, factor analysis, ANOVA, MANOVA, and cluster analysis. The survey was made during one month in the April of 2008. Among the collected 306 copies of questionnaires, 281 copies were chosen as the effective samples for empirical analysis except 25 copies with wrong responses. To identify the life-style patterns, we used the measures employed by Kim and Kwon(1999), where 44 items on a seven-point scale were used to measure factors of the life-style patterns. The Principal Component Method was used for factor extraction, and the VARIMAX orthogonal factor rotation was employed. The 7 items showing low factor loading were eliminated. The results of the factor analysis suggested that nine factors of the life-style patterns were identified as follows: 1) the equality-of-sexes and pursuit-of-independence tendency 2) self-management tendency 3) sociable tendency 4) self-display tendency 5) degree of a dilettante life 6) pursuit-of-information tendency 7) bargain hunter tendency 8) TV preference tendency 9) pursuit-of-leisure tendency. Next, after the K-means cluster analysis was performed with nine factors of the life-style patterns, the life-styles of the respondents were classified into four groups which are named as the 'progressive practicality-oriented group', 'positive success-oriented group', 'sociable ostentation-oriented group', 'stable conservation-oriented group'. The analysis results for usage behavior between the market segments showed statistically significant differences in the frequency of usage, duration time in the store, consumer satisfaction, and loyalty. Also, we tried to investigate whether the large discount store consumers differently perceive the quality of service based upon the types of life-style. To measure the service quality of large discount store, we adapted several measurement models measuring the service quality such as SERVPERF, BCP, R-SERVPERF, R-BCP. MANOVA and One-Way ANOVA were performed to confirm the difference in service quality perception based on the market segments. The results have also shown significant differences between life-style types in service quality perception. These findings show that the large discount store marketers should consider consumer life-style as one of the most important market segments for marketing and understand the difference in service quality perception between life-style types. Our findings give important implications to marketers of large discount stores as well as life-style researchers. First, this study showed there were significant differences in consumer's service quality perception and usage behavior between the types of life-style. It provides evidence that the life-style approach can be a important basis in segmenting the large discount store market and will make consumers perceive the service quality high. Second, most previous researches on service quality have been in aggregate level. However, our results imply that the future research on service quality have to focus on segment level.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.584-596
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• 1994

The objective of the study is to explore the relationships between the variables of nursing productivity on the framework of system del in the tertiary university based care hospital in Korea. Productivity is basically defined as the relation-ship between inputs and outputs. Under the proposition that the nursing unit is a system that produces nursing care output using personal and material resources through the nursing intervention and nursing care management. And this major conception of nursing productivity system comproises input, process and output and feed-back. These categorized variables are essential parts to produce desirable and meaningful out-put. While nursing personnel from head nurse to staff nurses cooperate with each other, the head nurse directs her subordinates to achieve the goal of nursing care unit. In this procedure, the head nurse uses the leadership of authority and benevolence. Meantime nursing productivity will be greatly influenced by environment and surrounding organizational structures, and by also the operational objectives, the policy and standards of procedures. For the study of nursing productivity one sample hospital with 15 general nursing care units was selected. Research data were collected for 3 weeks from May 31 to June 20 in 1993. Input variables were measured in terms of both the served and the server. And patient classification scores were measured drily by degree of nursing care needs that indicated patent case-mix. And also nurses' educational period for profession and clinical experience and the score of nurses' personality were measured as producer input variables by the questionnaires. The process varialbes act necessarily on leading input resources and result in desirable nursing outputs. Thus the head nurse's leadership perceived by her followers is defined as process variable. The output variables were defined as length of stay, average nursing care hours per patient a day the score of quality of nursing care, the score of patient satisfaction, the score of nurse's job satis-faction. The nursing unit was the basis of analysis, and various statistical analyses were used : Reliability analysis(Cronbach's alpha) for 5 measurement tools and Pearson-correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and canonical correlation analysis for the test of the relationship among the variables. The results were as follows : 1. Significant positive relationship between the score of patient classification and length of stay was found(r=.6095, p.008). 2. Regression coefficient between the score of patient classification and length of stay was significant (β=.6245, p=.0128), and variance explained was 39%. 3. Significant positive relationship between nurses’ educational period and length of stay was found(r=-.4546, p=.044). 5. Regression coefficient between nurses' educational period and the score of quality of nursing care was significant (β=.5600, p=.029), and variance explained was 31.4%. 6. Significant positive relationship between the score of head nurse's leadership of authoritic characteristics and the length of stay was found (r=.5869, p=.011). 7. Significant negative relationship between the score of head nurse's leadership of benevolent characteristics and average nursing care hours was found(r=-.4578, p=.043). 8. Regression coefficient between the score of head nurse's leadership of benevolent characteristics and average nursing care hours was significant(β=-.6912, p=.0043), variance explained was 47.8%. 9. Significant positive relationship between the score of the head nurse's leadership of benevolent characteristics and the score of nurses' job satis-faction was found(r=.4499, p=050). 10. A significant canonical correlation was found between the group of the independent variables consisted of the score of the nurses' personality, the score of the head nurse's leadership of authoritic characteristics and the group of the dependent variables consisted of the length of stay, average nursing care hours(Rc²=.4771, p=.041). Through these results, the assumed relationships between input variables, process variable, output variables were partly supported. In addition it is also considered necessary that-further study on the relationships between nurses' personality and nurses' educational period, between nurses' clinical experience including skill level and output variables in many research samples should be made.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.95-112
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• 2020

This paper is to investigate how cognitive bias of college students and entrepreneurs relates to perceived risks and entrepreneurial opportunities that represent uncertainty, and how various cognitive bias and entrepreneurial efficacy In the same way. The purpose of this study is to find improvement points of entrepreneurship education for college students and to suggest problems and improvement possibilities in the decision making process of current entrepreneurs. This empirical study is a necessary to improve the decision-making of individuals who want to start a business at the time when various attempts are made to activate the start-up business and increase the sustainability of the existing SME management. And understanding of the difference in opportunity evaluation, and suggests that it is necessary to provide good opportunities together with the upbringing of entrepreneurs. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, questionnaires were conducted for college students and entrepreneurs. A total of 363 questionnaire data were obtained and demonstrated through structural equation modeling. This study confirms that there is some relationship between perceived risk and cognitive bias. Overconfidence and control illusions among cognitive bias have a significant relationship between perceived risk and wealth. Especially, it is confirmed that control illusion of college students has a significant relationship with perceived risk. Second, cognitive bias demonstrated some significant relationship with opportunity evaluation. Although we did not find evidence that excess self-confidence is related to opportunity evaluation, we have verified that control illusions and current status bias are related to opportunity evaluation. Control illusions were significant in both college students and entrepreneurs. Third, perceived risk has a negative relationship with opportunity evaluation. All students, regardless of whether they are college students or entrepreneurs, judge opportunities positively if they perceive low risk. Fourth, it can be seen from the college students 'group that entrepreneurial efficacy has a moderating effect between perceived risk and opportunity evaluation, but no significant results were found in the entrepreneurs' group. Fifth, the college students and entrepreneurs have different cognitive bias, and they have proved that there is a different relationship between entrepreneurial opportunity evaluation and perceived risk. On the whole, there are various cognitive biases that are caused by time pressure or stress on college students and entrepreneurs who have to make judgments in uncertain opportunities, and in this respect, they can improve their judgment in the future. At the same time, university students can have a positive view of new opportunities based on high entrepreneurial efficacy, but if they fully understand the intrinsic risks of entrepreneurship through entrepreneurial education and fully understand the cognitive bias present in direct entrepreneurial experience, You will get a better opportunity assessment. This study has limitations in that it is based on the fact that university students and entrepreneurs are integrated, and that the survey respondents are selected by the limited random sampling method. It is necessary to conduct more systematic research based on more faithful data in the absence of the accumulation of entrepreneurial research data. Second, the translation tools used in the previous studies were translated and the meaning of the measurement tools might not be conveyed due to language differences. Therefore, it is necessary to construct a more precise scale for the accuracy of the study. Finally, complementary research should be done to identify what competitive opportunities are and what opportunities are appropriate for entrepreneurs.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.255-279
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• 2014

It is not too much to say that smartphones have become an essential part of our lives due to their versatility. Nevertheless, they still have less overall capabilities than their desktop counterparts. Specifically, they have small screens and low resolutions, which make their applications difficult to have a usable interface. To account for these limitations, the interface of smartphone applications should be designed carefully and properly. Good interface design to any application is critical. However, a comprehensive information systems (IS) literature review found that there has been little research on the user interface design of smartphone applications. More specifically, there has been little empirical evidence and understanding about how metaphors, an imaginative way of describing objects and concepts, in the user interface of smartphone applications affect users' intention to use the applications. Thereby, the research goals of this study are to examine 1) the effects of the metaphors in the user interface of smartphone applications on the interaction between users and applications and 2) the effects of mediating variables including the interaction between users and applications, users' beliefs and attitudes, on users' intention to use the applications. A survey was conducted to collect data. University students and practitioners participated in the survey. A 24-item questionnaire was developed on a 5-point Likert-type scale. The measurement items were mostly adapted from the previous studies in the IS literature and modified to fit the context of this study. First, a principal component factor analysis was performed to explore the inter-relationships among a set of variables. The analysis showed that most of the items loaded quite strongly on the six components. The analysis also revealed the six components with eigenvalues exceeding 1, explaining a total of 70.7 per cent of the variance. The reliabilities of the items were also checked. Most Cronbach alpha values were above 0.8, so the scales were considered reliable. In sum, the results of the analysis support the decision to retain the six factors for further investigation. Next, the structural model was analyzed with AMOS structural equation modeling. The values of GFI, AGFI, NFI, TLI, CFI, and RMSEA were checked. The values showed that the research model considerably have a good fit in general. Next, the convergent and discriminant validities of all constructs were examined. The values for the standardized regression weights and critical ration (CR) indicated sufficient convergent validity for all constructs. In addition, the square root of the average variance extracted (AVE) of each construct was compared with its correlations with all other constructs. The results supported discriminant validity for all constructs. In sum, the results of analysis demonstrated adequate convergent and discriminant validities for all constructs. Finally, path coefficients between the variables were examined. Methphor was found to have an impact on interaction (${\beta}$ = .457, p = .000). There were also significant effects of the interaction on perceived usefulness (${\beta}$ = .273, p = .000) and ease of use (${\beta}$ = .405, p = .000). User attitude was significantly influenced by these two beliefs, perceived usefulness (${\beta}$ = .386, p = .000) and ease of use (${\beta}$ = .347, p = .000) respectively. Further, the results of analysis found that users' intention to use smartphone applications was significantly influenced by user attitude (${\beta}$ = .567, p = .000). Based upon the analyses, all hypotheses were supported. This study found that the metaphors used in the interface of smartphone applications affect not only the interaction between users and applications, but also users' intention to use the applications through the mediating variables, perceived usefulness and ease of use. These findings imply that if the metaphors used in the user interface of application are easy enough to understand for smartphone users, then the application can be perceived useful and easy to use, which in turn make users to have an intention to use the application. In conclusion, this study contributed not only to validate and extend Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) partially, but also to develop the construct of metaphor in smartphone settings. However, since a single empirical study cannot be enough to validate the findings, some limitations should be considered.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.132-138
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• 2009

Studies on target motion in 4-dimensional radiotherapy are being world-widely conducted to enhance treatment record and protection of normal organs. Prediction of tumor motion might be very useful and/or essential for especially free-breathing system during radiation delivery such as respiratory gating system and tumor tracking system. Neural network is powerful to express a time series with nonlinearity because its prediction algorithm is not governed by statistic formula but finds a rule of data expression. This study intended to assess applicability of neural network method to predict tumor motion in 4-dimensional radiotherapy. Scaled Conjugate Gradient algorithm was employed as a learning algorithm. Considering reparation data for 10 patients, prediction by the neural network algorithms was compared with the measurement by the real-time position management (RPM) system. The results showed that the neural network algorithm has the excellent accuracy of maximum absolute error smaller than 3 mm, except for the cases in which the maximum amplitude of respiration is over the range of respiration used in the learning process of neural network. It indicates the insufficient learning of the neural network for extrapolation. The problem could be solved by acquiring a full range of respiration before learning procedure. Further works are programmed to verify a feasibility of practical application for 4-dimensional treatment system, including prediction performance according to various system latency and irregular patterns of respiration.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.151-161
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• 2006

This study was made to find out how health practice affect on nutrition status of the college freshmen in male and female. 400 freshmen students in 4year colleges were surveyed. Questionnaire and blood analysis were made. The contents of questionnaire contained general characteristics, health practice behavior, and food intake. The physical measurement included height, weight and blood pressure. The questions for health practice were about drinking, smoking, BMI, skipping breakfast and sleeping. Nutrient intake was expressed by DDS(Dietary Diversity Score by 5 food groups) and DVS (Dietary Variety Score) and 24-hrs recall method was used to find out the quantity of daily food intake. EAR% was calculated and NAR and MAR were produced. The results are as follows: 1) BMI was $22.77kg/m^2$ for males and $20.42kg/m^2$ for females. The ratio maintaining normal weight indicated by BMI of 18.5-23 was higher(p<0.001) for female students(63.2%) than males(56.5%). The ratio of overweight with over $23kg/m^2$ of BMI was 28.5% for males and 8.8% for females(p<0.001). 2)The ratio of drinking students was 59.4% for males and 40.6% for female(p<0.001). And the ratio of smoking students was 95.2% for males and 4.8% for females(p<0.001). 3) The ratio of poor health practice group was 35.7% for males and 25.5% for females, and that of excellent one was 25.4% for males and 33.1% for females(p<0.05). 4) In NAR, the lowest ratio was observed for the intake of Ca, Fe, Vitamin C and Vitamin $B_2$. The intake of Fe, Vitamin $B_2$ and phosphorus were different significantly according to sexuality. For Fe, female students showed lower level than male students(p<0.001). For Vitamin $B_2$, and phosphorus female students showed higher level(p<0.001). 5) In MAR, there was no difference according to sexuality in almost all of the ingredients. 6) For energy intake, male and female students showed 59% and 66% of EAR and it was insufficient for them. 7) For protein, more than 100% was obtained. The lowest ratio was observed for the intake of vitamin C 50.8%, Ca 53.6% and Fe 65.1% of EAR were obtained. The lowest intake ratio and for the intake of Fe female students obtained just 37.5% of EAR showing high risk of anemia. The intake of energy(p<0.001), phosphorus(p<0.01), niacin(p<0.05), Fe(p<0.001), and Vitamin $B_2$ (p<0.001) were different significantly according to sexuality. For Fe, female students showed lower level than male students(p<0.001). For energy, phosphorus, niacin, and Vitamin $B_2$ female students showed higher level(p<0.001) than male students. 8) For blood pressure, male students showed normal level of 120.7/79.1 mmHg, however, female students showed 114.5/75.4 mmHg lower than male (p<0.001). 9). In blood, for hemoglobin female students showed significantly lower level than that of male(p<0.001). T-Cholesterol and HDL-Cholesterol female students showed higher level than males (p<0.001), And for triglyceride male students showed higher level than females(p<0.001). Ca and Fe female students showed lower level (p<0.001).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.377-381
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• 2013

The study attempted to analyze items presented in Act on safety control of radioactive rays around living environment, which has been recently enacted. The test items have been divided into cosmic rays, cosmic rays, terrestrial radiation, and byproduct, etc., and the selected locations for measurement included an airplane at 8000m in the air, mountainous area at 1000m above sea level, 15m-underground building, construction site, and seashore at 0m altitude. The test showed that, based on cosmic rays, plane at 8000m in the air had 4.91mSv/y of effective dose per year. The mountainous area at 1000m above sea level, which was chosen to measure cosmic rays and terrestrial radiation, was measured 0.35mSv higher than the seashore at 0m in altitude due to the effect of cosmic rays and terrestrial radiation from the greater height above sea level. The construction site, chosen as a location to measure byproduct, showed the highest value among the items with 6.66mSv, which is as 10times high as that of a completed building. The seashore at 0m in altitude had 5.96mSv, and, 15m-underground building, based on terrestrial radiation, was the lowest with 4.91mSv. This suggests that, despite the assumption that terrestrial radiation will have greater effect deeper underground, it did not affect inside the building significantly. This study showed that the items presented in Act on safety control of radioactive rays around living environment were not close to effective dose limit for radiation workers proposed by ICRP. However, they were between 4 and 7 times higher than that for general public. This suggests that there should be continuous research on and attention to Safe Management of Daily Surrounding Radiation Act, which is still at its beginning stage.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.113-145
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• 2009

Recently, due to the globalization of the IT(Information Technology) market, devices and systems designed in one country are used in other countries as well. This phenomenon is becoming the key factor for increased interest on cross-cultural, or cross-national, research within the IT area. However, as the IT market is becoming bigger and more globalized, a great number of IT practitioners are having difficulty in designing and developing devices or systems which can provide optimal experience. This is because not only tangible factors such as language and a country's economic or industrial power affect the user experience of a certain device or system but also invisible and intangible factors as well. Among such invisible and intangible factors, the cultural characteristics of users from different countries may affect the user experience of certain devices or systems because cultural characteristics affect how they understand and interpret the devices or systems. In other words, when users evaluate the quality of overall user experience, the cultural characteristics of each user act as a perceptual lens that leads the user to focus on a certain elements of experience. Therefore, there is a need within the IT field to consider cultural characteristics when designing or developing certain devices or systems and plan a strategy for localization. In such an environment, existing IS studies identify the culture with the country, emphasize the importance of culture in a national level perspective, and hypothesize that users within the same country have same cultural characteristics. Under such assumptions, these studies focus on the moderating effects of cultural characteristics on a national level within a certain theoretical framework. This has already been suggested by cross-cultural studies conducted by scholars such as Hofstede(1980) in providing numerical research results and measurement items for cultural characteristics and using such results or items as they increase the efficiency of studies. However, such national level culture has its limitations in forecasting and explaining individual-level behaviors such as voluntary device or system usage. This is because individual cultural characteristics are the outcome of not only the national culture but also the culture of a race, company, local area, family, and other groups that are formulated through interaction within the group. Therefore, national or nationally dominant cultural characteristics may have its limitations in forecasting and explaining the cultural characteristics of an individual. Moreover, past studies in psychology suggest a possibility that there exist different cultural characteristics within a single individual depending on the subject being measured or its context. For example, in relation to individual vs. collective characteristics, which is one of the major cultural characteristics, an individual may show collectivistic characteristics when he or she is with family or friends but show individualistic characteristics in his or her workplace. Therefore, this study acknowledged such limitations of past studies and conducted a research within the framework of 'theoretically integrated model of user satisfaction and emotional attachment', which was developed through a former study, on how the effects of different experience elements on emotional attachment or user satisfaction are differentiated depending on the individual cultural characteristics related to a system or device usage. In order to do this, this study hypothesized the moderating effects of four cultural dimensions (uncertainty avoidance, individualism vs, collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, and power distance) as suggested by Hofstede(1980) within the theoretically integrated model of emotional attachment and user satisfaction. Statistical tests were then implemented on these moderating effects through conducting surveys with users of four digital devices (mobile phone, MP3 player, LCD TV, and refrigerator) in three countries (US, Germany, and Russia). In order to explain and forecast the behavior of personal device or system users, individual cultural characteristics must be measured, and depending on the target device or system, measurements must be measured independently. Through this suggestion, this study hopes to provide new and useful perspectives for future IS research.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-31
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• 2009

This paper empirically examines factors that potentially influence the success of a Web-based semantic search engine. A research model has been proposed that shows the impact of quality-related factors upon the effectiveness of a semantic search engine, based on DeLone and McLean's(2003) information systems success model. An empirical study has been conducted to test hypotheses formulated around the research model, and statistical methods were applied to analyze gathered data and draw conclusions. Implications for academics and practitioners are offered based on the findings of the study. The proposed model includes three quality dimensions of a Web-based semantic search engine-namely, information quality, system quality and service quality. These three dimensions each have measures designed to collectively assess the respective dimension. The model is intended to examine the relationship between measures of these quality dimensions and measures of two dependent constructs, including individuals' net benefit and user satisfaction. Individuals' net benefit was measured by the extent to which the user's information needs were adequately met, whereas user satisfaction was measured by a combination of the perceived satisfaction with search results and the perceived satisfaction with the overall system. A total of 23 hypotheses have been formulated around the model, and a questionnaire survey has been conducted using a functional semantic search website created by KT and Hakia, so as to collect data to validate the model. Copies of a questionnaire form were handed out in person to 160 research associates and employees working in the area of designing and developing semantic search engines. Those who received the form, 148 respondents returned valid responses. The survey form asked respondents to use the given website to answer questions concerning the system. The results of the empirical study have indicated that, of the three quality dimensions, information quality was found to have the strongest association with the effectiveness of a Web-based semantic search engine. This finding is consistent with the observation in the literature that the aspects of the information quality should serve as a basis for evaluating the search outcomes from a semantic search engine. Measures under the information quality dimension that have a positive effect on informational gratification and user satisfaction were found to be recall and currency. Under the system quality dimension, response time and interactivity, were positively related to informational gratification. On the other hand, only one measure under the service quality dimension, reliability was found to have a positive relationship with user satisfaction. The results were based on the seven hypotheses that have been accepted. One may wonder why 15 out of the 23 hypotheses have been rejected and question the theoretical soundness of the model. However, the correlations between independent variables and dependent variables came out to be fairly high. This suggests that the structural equation model yielded results inconsistent with those of coefficient analysis, because the structural equation model intends to examine the relationship among independent variables as well as the relationship between independent variables and dependent variables. The findings offer some useful implications for owners of a semantic search engine, as far as the design and maintenance of the website is concerned. First, the system should be designed to respond to the user's query as fast as possible. Also it should be designed to support the search process by recommending, revising, and choosing a search query, so as to maximize users' interactions with the system. Second, the system should present search results with maximum recall and currency to effectively meet the users' expectations. Third, it should be capable of providing online services in a reliable and trustworthy manner. Finally, effective increase in user satisfaction requires the improvement of quality factors associated with a semantic search engine, which would in turn help increase the informational gratification for users. The proposed model can serve as a useful framework for measuring the success of a Web-based semantic search engine. Applying the search engine success framework to the measurement of search engine effectiveness has the potential to provide an outline of what areas of a semantic search engine needs improvement, in order to better meet information needs of users. Further research will be needed to make this idea a reality.