• 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.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.159-181
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• 2015

This study proposes a comprehensive model of purchasing intention of customers in agricultural products online shopping malls. In this study, we derived the factors through the literature reviews and logical reasoning and classified the factors as a business point of view, an information systems point of view and an agricultural characteristics point of view, and developed the integrated research model which is the factors affect purchase intentions by mediating trust and the perceived usefulness. A total of 329 samples of a valid survey data from the members of small agricultural online shopping malls were collected and the research model was empirically analyzed by a confirmatory factor analysis and path analyses using structural equation modeling with the data. The results show that the product quality and the service quality of the business point of view have effects on the trust, however the price adequacy and entertainment have no effect on the trust and the perceived usefulness respectively, also the advertising exposure has no effect on the trust but it has an effect on the purchase intention directly. The information quality and the ease of use of the information systems point of view have an effect on the trust and perceived usefulness. At last, the seasonal product of the agricultural characteristics point of view has effects on perceived usefulness but the regional brand has no effect on the trust. The results of this study provide strategic implications for successful development and operation of agricultural products online shopping malls.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.265-284
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• 2020

This study aimed to analyze the performance of Disney-collaborated fashion lines based on online consumer reviews. To do so, the researchers employed text mining and network analysis to identify key words in the reviews of these products. Blogs, internet cafes, and web documents provided by Naver, Daum, and YoutTube were selected as subjects for the analysis. The analysis period was limited to one year after for the 2019. Data collection and analysis were conducted using Python 3.7, Textom, and NodeXL. The research terms in question were as follows: 'Disney fashion collaboration' and 'Frozen fashion collaboration'. Preliminary survey results indicated that 'Elsa's dress' was the most frequently mentioned term and that the domestic fashion brand Eland Retail was the most active in selling Disney branded clothing through its own brand. The writers of reviews for Disney-collaborated fashion products were primarily mothers with daughters. Their decision to purchase these products was based upon the following factors; price, size, stability of decoration, shipping, laundry, and retailer. The motives for purchasing the product were the positive response of the consumer's child and the satisfaction of the parents due to the child's response. The problems to be solved included insufficient quantity of supply, delay in delivery, expensive price considering the number of times children's clothes are worn, poor glitter decoration, faded color, contamination from laundry, and undesirable smells immediately after the purchase.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.9-18
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• 2022

Purpose: K-beauty products industry trends, estimates and dynamics are examined in this study to discover a potential possibility for growth. There is a thorough examination of the elements that drive and impede the expansion of the K-beauty industry. This study aims to investigate marketing strategy of K beauty product to enhance economic growth in South Korea. Research design, data and methodology: This study used one of the most famous approach for analyzing the current literature which is a PRISMA (Process and Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) method. This method maps out the number of records identified, the included and the excluded ones with the reasons for the exclusion. The technique clearly states the research problem and the appropriate scope. Results: The theoretical findings of prior literature indicates K-beauty companies should retain physical locations despite the trend toward online commerce, in order to guarantee that they meet the demands of different customers and enhance customer experiences to develop trust and loyalty. Conclusions: The findings of this research are of academic importance since they provide light on customer preferences for new K-beauty products. While past research has often ignored certain kinds of influencers, this study emphasized the need of considering influencers and certain product exposure strategies together, which has major academic consequences.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.73-84
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• 2023

This study aims to identify the current sizing communication issues of menswear on retail websites and to suggest an effective size information presentation method. Based on sales frequency and awareness in the Korean menswear market, 22 brand websites were selected, and size-related information was investigated using 7 types of representative apparel items. The current diverse types of size codes had limitations in delivering actual product size information. Many websites preferred to display garment dimensions rather than basic body measurements, which is the suggested size designation method in Korean Standard. The websites posted fit model photos and customer reviews. However, the body size specifications, which consumers can use as a useful reference, were often omitted. There was also a high uncertainty in product size selection, with only the basic body measurement information listed, and there was a high deviation of garment dimensions within the same basic body measurements. The product size distribution did not match actual Korean body types. Based on the findings, we suggested improved effective sizing communication methods. These methods will contribute to a better online shopping environment for both consumers and retail sellers.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.207-218
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• 2020

Recently, due to the increase of online reviews and the development of analysis technology, the interest and demand for online review analysis continues to increase. However, previous studies have not considered the emotions contained in each vocabulary may differ from one reviewer to another. Therefore, this study first classifies the customer group according to the customer's grade, and presents the result of analyzing the difference by performing review analysis for each customer group. We found that the price factor had a significant influence on the evaluation of products for customers with high ratings. On the contrary, in the case of low-grade customers, the degree of correspondence between the contents introduced in the mall and the actual product significantly influenced the evaluation of the product. We expect that the proposed methodology can be effectively used to establish differentiated marketing strategies by identifying factors that affect product evaluation by customer group.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.617-627
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• 2020

This study investigates the apparel sizing communication presented in online retail websites focusing on women's ready-to-wear tailored jackets and to analyze the meaning of these information as the actual product size guide factor. A total of 34 retail websites were selected based on the highest growth fashion companies list and the best fashion brands list. We collected size information in two types: size specifications including sizing code, body measurements, garment measurements, and size references including customized size guide tools, size information in customer reviews, model size information, and others. Most websites prefer to present garment measurements rather than body measurements that are recommended notations under Korean standards and related regulations. In addition, there was the absence of consistency in presenting measurements list and terms that can confuse consumers in size communication. This study found that the stature measurement was a key factor in size reference despite that it did not represent a proper garment size. The obsolete Korean numbering sizing code such as '55 and '66 was still used in many ways such as idiomatic expressions for body shape. It also implied that we can take advantage of the old sizing code for accessible size information. The finding of this study gives an in-depth diagnosis of current online sizing information problems and suggests useful basic data for developing online apparel size standards and marketing strategies.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.213-219
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• 2020

Studies related to Electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) show that the acceptance of eWOM information is an important factor in customer purchase decisions. When consumers accept eWOM information, they tend to use that information in considering before making purchase decisions. In Viet Nam, there are few studies about eWOM information, especially on the acceptance of eWOM information. Research is conducted to test the influence of consumers on the perception of the senders' identity to the acceptance of online reviews (a kind of eWOM) in Viet Nam - a case study in Ho Chi Minh City. Using adjustment techniques, inspecting the scales and a theoretical model represent the relationship among the influential factors. The research is based on a sample of 522 consumers who use the Internet to search for product reviews before buying and used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test the relationships among the variables. The research results show that the scales of the variables: Message Quality, Source Credibility, Perceived Message Usefulness, Perceived Senders' Identity, Perceived Message Credibility, Message Acceptance attain the validity and reliability in the research. The research contributes to the understanding of the determinants that influence the acceptance of eWOM information, which are informational factors, and factors related to consumer skepticism.

• Journal of Information Processing Systems
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.219-231
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• 2023

Intelligent applications are crucial for increasing the popularity of shared urban electric bicycles (EBs). Building an application platform architectural system that can satisfy independent user operations is critical for increasing the intelligent usage of shared EBs. Consequently, we collected online reviews of shared EB applications, conducted semantic processing and sentiment analysis, and refined the positive and negative review data for each function. The positive and negative review indices of each function were calculated using the formulae for positive and negative review indices of product functions, thereby determining the functions that need to be improved. Each function of the Shared EB application was improved according to its business process. The main contributions of this study are to build a user requirement architecture system for the Shared EB application with five dimensions and 22 functions using the Delphi method to design the user interface (UI) of this application based on user satisfaction evaluation results; to create a high-fidelity dynamic interaction prototype and compare user satisfaction before and after improving the Shared EB application functions. The testing results indicate that the changes in the UI significantly improve the user experience satisfaction of the urban Shared EB application, with the positive experience index increasing by 69.21% and the negative experience index decreasing by 75.85% overall. This information can be directly used by relevant companies to improve the functions of the Shared EB application.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.576-595
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• 2024

Bracelets have enjoyed extensive use among the Chinese since antiquity as decorative pieces credited with warding off evil forces and inviting auspicious fortune. This study aims to integrate traditional cultural elements, such as Yuan blue and white porcelain flower patterns, into modern design using 3D printing technology to create culturally inspired bracelets. To this end, bracelet designs from the top four museums on Taobao were examined. In addition, we analyzed online reviews of culturally themed bracelets using text mining and applying FEA criteria and found that Chinese consumers are easy to wear and sizable, enhance cultural pride, and drive the demand for artistically sophisticated bracelets. The research culminates in the development of a modular bracelet design inspired by flower motifs from blue and white ware of the Yuan dynasty, with an emphasis on iterative improvements based on reviewer feedback. The final design meets consumers' expressive and aesthetic needs while also maintaining cultural integrity and functionality. The aim of the study is to inspire pride in traditional culture, provide insights for fashion accessory industries, and promote the national image through the development of culturally inspired products.