• Asia Marketing Journal
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.159-189
• /
• 2012

What attracts consumers to bloggers' reviews? Consumers would be attracted both by the Bloggers' expertise (i.e., knowledge and experience) and by his/her unbiased manner of delivering information. Expertise and trustworthiness are both virtues of information sources, particularly when there is uncertainty in decision-making. Noting this point, we postulate that consumers' motives determine the relative weights they place on expertise and trustworthiness. In addition, our hypotheses assume that tie strength moderates consumers' expectation on bloggers' expertise and trustworthiness: with expectation on expertise enhanced for power-blog user-group (weak-ties), and an expectation on trustworthiness elevated for personal-blog user-group (strong-ties). Finally, we theorize that the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review is moderated by tie strength; the predictive power of credibility is more prominent for the personal-blog user-groups than for the power-blog user groups. To support these assumptions, we conducted a field survey with blog users, collecting retrospective self-report data. The "gourmet shop" was chosen as a target product category, and obtained data analyzed by structural equations modeling. Findings from these data provide empirical support for our theoretical predictions. First, we found that the purposive motive aimed at satisfying instrumental information needs increases reliance on bloggers' expertise, but interpersonal connectivity value for alleviating loneliness elevates reliance on bloggers' trustworthiness. Second, expertise-based credibility is more prominent for power-blog user-groups than for personal-blog user-groups. While strong ties attract consumers with trustworthiness based on close emotional bonds, weak ties gain consumers' attention with new, non-redundant information (Levin & Cross, 2004). Thus, when the existing knowledge system, used in strong ties, does not work as smoothly for addressing an impending problem, the weak-tie source can be utilized as a handy reference. Thus, we can anticipate that power bloggers secure credibility by virtue of their expertise while personal bloggers trade off on their trustworthiness. Our analysis demonstrates that power bloggers appeal more strongly to consumers than do personal bloggers in the area of expertise-based credibility. Finally, the effect of review credibility on willingness to accept a review is higher for the personal-blog user-group than for the power-blog user-group. Actually, the inference that review credibility is a potent predictor of assessing willingness to accept a review is grounded on the analogy that attitude is an effective indicator of purchase intention. However, if memory about established attitudes is blocked, the predictive power of attitude on purchase intention is considerably diminished. Likewise, the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review can be affected by certain moderators. Inspired by this analogy, we introduced tie strength as a possible moderator and demonstrated that tie strength moderated the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review. Previously, Levin and Cross (2004) showed that credibility mediates strong-ties through receipt of knowledge, but this credibility mediation is not observed for weak-ties, where a direct path to it is activated. Thus, the predictive power of credibility on behavioral intention - that is, willingness to accept a review - is expected to be higher for strong-ties.

• Management & Information Systems Review
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.195-217
• /
• 2018

Inaction inertia effect refers to the phenomenon wherein people who missed attractive opportunities in the past do not take any action when they are given the opportunity to receive discounts (sale). The main objective of this study was to find out how such inaction inertia effect influenced the expected regret from the action, expected regret from inaction, and purchase intention depending on the two types of consumption purposes-for pleasure and for practical use. As the personal disposition of each consumer differs from one another, it was expected that habitual purchase behavior and maximization behavior would influence the inaction inertia. An experiment was thus conducted by using a scenario to satisfy the objective of this study. Results showed that in the case of consumers whose consumption purpose was for pleasure, those who habitually purchased the same brand showed a higher level of expected regret from the action and expected regret from inaction. In the case of maximization behavior, no differences were found in the expected regret from the action between practical consumption purpose and pleasurable consumption purpose. On the other hand, differences were found in the level of expected regret from inaction, which is the case wherein consumers who missed their first opportunity to receive discounts (sale) did not make any purchase on their second opportunity for discounts (sale). Thus, inaction inertia was shown in accordance with habitual purchase behavior in the case of consumption purpose for pleasure, but it was not clearly shown in the case of consumption for practical use. This is because there is a relatively low level of justification on consumption, in the case of consumption for practical use. On the other hand, it was found that consumers with maximization behavior felt a stronger sense of regret in the case of their expected regret for inaction in consumption for practical use than in consumption for pleasure. Also, with regard to purchase intention, it turned out that only consumers with pleasurable consumption purpose had purchase intentions. Through these study results, it would be necessary to consider the consumption purpose behind the purchase of products or services, with regard to inaction inertia, depending on personal dispositions. In accordance with these study results, several theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.16 no.6
• /
• pp.223-232
• /
• 2018

This study aims to incorporate resilience factors into current suicide research that is focused on risk factors by validating the role of hope and self-forgiveness, which are potential resilience factors, in thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness, risk factors according to the interpersonal theory of suicide. Data was collected from 316 undergraduates in Seoul and Gyeonggi areas. We examined the correlations between self-forgiveness, hope, perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness and suicidal ideation and tested moderating effects of self-forgiveness and hope on the relationship between perceived burdensomeness and suicidal ideation and between thwarted belongingness and suicidal ideation. The study results were all significant, indicating that self-forgiveness moderates the relationship between perceived burdensomeness and suicidal ideation and that hope moderates the relationship between thwarted belongingness and suicidal ideation. The result will be a basis for incorporating and resilience factors into the suicide risk assessment when educating suicidal prevention and counseling college students. Further research on studying more risk factors and resilience factors will contribute to establishing more useful and various suicide risk factor evaluation, prevention education, counseling and policies.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.19 no.6
• /
• pp.513-526
• /
• 2014

Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of low sodium diet education program on dietary habits, diet quality, and measures of obesity in overweight or obese middle-aged women. Methods: Subjects were 81 individuals aged 45 years or over, who completed an 8-week nutrition education. The subjects were divided into a normal group (N = 30) and an overweight-obese group (N = 51) according to the BMI. The effects were evaluated by anthropometric measurement, biochemical analysis, questionnaire, and diet records before and after the program. Results: Overweight-obese group showed significant decreases in weight (p < 0.0001), BMI (p < 0.0001), percent of body fat (p = 0.0087), waist circumference (p < 0.0001), systolic (p = 0.0003) and diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.0261). Nutrients intakes were not different between the two groups and only sodium intake was decreased after education. Total score of general dietary habits, dietary behavior related to sodium intake, dietary diversity score (DDS), diet variety score (DVS), and diet quality index-international (DQI-I) were improved in both groups compared to the baseline. Overweight-obese group showed significant improvement in 'having fruits everyday', 'having fish everyday', 'trying to eat many kinds of food', 'eating less broth when eating soup, stew, and noodles', 'eating less kimchi and salt-fermented vegetable', and 'propensity to think that dishes should be pretty seasoned'. In addition, moderation of empty calories food (p = 0.0064) and macronutrient ratio (p = 0.0004) were improved in the overweigh-obese group, but in the normal group, the results did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: These results suggested that low sodium diet education program may contribute to obesity management by improving diet quality and dietary habits in middle-aged women.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.18 no.8
• /
• pp.217-224
• /
• 2020

The purpose of this study is to discuss implications for government policy aimed at increasing public's intention to accept AI. Knowledge regarding AI and feelings regarding AI were found to influence acceptance to intention towards AI. Hierarchical regression analysis was then conducted to explore the moderation effect of confidence in government on knowledge and feelings regarding AI. Results showed that as advanced knowledge regarding AI has a positive influence on acceptance intention towards AI and negative feelings regarding AI has a negative influence on acceptance intention towards AI. Feelings regarding AI had the highest impact on acceptance intention towards AI, followed by confidence in government and knowledge regarding AI. Results also revealed that a high level of confidence in government regulations was associated with greater acceptance intention towards AI and a low level of confidence in government regulations acceptance intention towards AI was more influenced by feelings regarding AI than by knowledge regarding AI. Furthermore, religion had a significant influence on acceptance intention towards AI, which provides one insightful direction for future research.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.1247-1260
• /
• 2009

This dissertation aims to study the five tastes in the Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine. Medicinals as well as Foods are classified by the five tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and pungent, which can be tasted by the tongue. With the development of the theory dealing with the medicinal properties, some flavors are summarized out of clinical actions of medicinals, therefore, there is a little difference between the flavors of medicinal herbs and the tastes got by tongue. Each taste acts on or has direct influence on a specific vital organ, and each of which has different physiologic actions. Taste also has a long-term or post digestive effect on the body and its metabolism. When each taste is consumed in moderation, it benefits the corresponding organ. Over-indulgence in any taste harms the organ and creates imbalance among the five vital organ systems. The Korean medicinal herbs with same flavor mostly possess similar actions while the medicinal herbs with different flavors show different actions in the treatment, which are shown as follows. Sour has absorbing, consolidating and astringent actions and acts on the liver. Bitter has the actions of drying or resolving dampness, purging and lowering and acts on the heart. Sweet has the nourishing, harmonizing and moistening actions and acts on the spleen. Pungent has an action of dispersing and promoting circulation of gi and blood and acts on the lungs. Salty has the effects of softening hard nodes or masses and promoting defecation, etc and acts on the kidneys. The five organ systems control and support each other. Proper coordination only exists when there is no one organ stronger or weaker than the rest. Since the five tastes have direct influences on the five organs, the diet we take should have a good combination of the five tastes in order to promote internal balance and harmony. They control our well-being and create dietary balance. Excessive consumption of any of these could result in adverse effects. In a word, when the properties of the five tastes respectively are distinguished, their natures and flavors cannot be separately considered. I think the harmonization of food and medicinals should be stressed on good nutritional diet to maintain good health. The traditional belief that food and medicine share the same origin is a part of Korean medicine tradition.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.17 no.9
• /
• pp.221-227
• /
• 2016

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of social factors and social stress with respect to alcohol consumption for university students and to provide basic data in efforts to develop educational method that teaches how to decrease alcohol consumption and deny demanding drinking. Questions concerning typical features and social stress from drinking were revised through 300 university students' self-recording surveys between April 8 and 9 in 2015. It consisted of 10 questions using a 4-point Likert scale. Moreover, the reliability of tool was Cronbach ${\alpha}=.82$. We used SPSS 18.0 and conducted frequency, ${\chi}^2$ and path analysis. If the frequency of drinking (B=.206, p<.001) gets low and the social stress from drinking is low (B=-.397, p<.001), the amount of drinking increases, particularly for men more than women (B=.169, p<.05). For women more than men (B=.274, p<.01), if monthly income is high (B=.178, p<.05) and stress from drinking is low (B=-.349, p<.01), the frequency of drinking is high. If the culture of practice in drinking has not formed voluntarily through education or publication, legal restriction that increases the cost of drinking has to be established, like smoking, to reduce the volume of drinking and promote moderation in drinking. The publication and education that teaches drinking leads to bad situations have to be conducted, much like the education programs involved for smoking. Also, discrimination of non-drinker has to be removed with the change of culture to reduce the stress by drinking.

• Knowledge Management Research
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.227-241
• /
• 2020

In the acceptance of new technology products, not only the characteristics of the product itself, but also the consumer's psychological perception of the product has a great influence. This study analyzed the effects of psychological variables such as perceived risk, technology trust, and optimistic bias on consumers' intention to accept new technology products. This study selected nanotechnology, and we found consumers with high perceived risk showed relatively low intent to accept nanotechnology products compared to consumers with high perceived risk. However, in case of high level of technology trust, consumers with high perceived risk did not show any significant difference in the intention to accept nanotechnology products. We also found that such moderating effect of technology trust is mediated by optimistic bias. We hope that the findings of this study can give meaningful implications to nanotechnology developers, marketers, and policy makers in nanotechnology industry.

• Informatization Policy
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.36-53
• /
• 2021

Recently, Korean society has emphasized the level of digital information usage in each individual's life due to the advent of the intelligent information society and the great digital transformation. The purpose of this study is to examine how the level of digital information usage of people with disabilities affects their satisfaction with life and whether social support moderates the relationship between the level of digital information usage and life satisfaction. This study analyzed the data of 2,200 people with disabilities taken from the 2020 Survey on the Digital Divide conducted by the National Information Society Agency. The results of the analysis suggest that people with disabilities have a higher degree of satisfaction when they are employed and have a higher than average monthly income and higher levels of digital information usage and social support. In addition, the results show that social support played a negative moderator role between the level of digital information usage and life satisfaction. This shows that life satisfaction can increase when the disabled frequently use digital devices and technologies in their daily lives without relying on social support, and suggested the need for intervention in policies and practice sites.

• Information Systems Review
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.121-140
• /
• 2016

Today, consumers are interested in branded apps as new marketing channels. Consumers do not have ready access to information that will enable them to judge the quality of a particular product or service before purchase, but they will gain such information with branded apps. As they need to be actively chosen and downloaded to users' smartphone by the users themselves, branded apps have greater marketing effectiveness and influence than traditional channels. Therefore, corporations that place emphasis on interactions with customers anticipate a new marketing effect with their branded apps. With previous research on smartphone applications as a background, this research finds key factors in branded apps that influence users' satisfaction. Additionally, the study centers on the relationship in which satisfaction in the branded app significantly influences the purchase intention for the branded product/service.