• Title/Summary/Keyword: Scale-model

Search Result 8,303, Processing Time 0.046 seconds

Object Tracking Based on Exactly Reweighted Online Total-Error-Rate Minimization (정확히 재가중되는 온라인 전체 에러율 최소화 기반의 객체 추적)

  • JANG, Se-In;PARK, Choong-Shik
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
    • /
    • v.25 no.4
    • /
    • pp.53-65
    • /
    • 2019
  • Object tracking is one of important steps to achieve video-based surveillance systems. Object tracking is considered as an essential task similar to object detection and recognition. In order to perform object tracking, various machine learning methods (e.g., least-squares, perceptron and support vector machine) can be applied for different designs of tracking systems. In general, generative methods (e.g., principal component analysis) were utilized due to its simplicity and effectiveness. However, the generative methods were only focused on modeling the target object. Due to this limitation, discriminative methods (e.g., binary classification) were adopted to distinguish the target object and the background. Among the machine learning methods for binary classification, total error rate minimization can be used as one of successful machine learning methods for binary classification. The total error rate minimization can achieve a global minimum due to a quadratic approximation to a step function while other methods (e.g., support vector machine) seek local minima using nonlinear functions (e.g., hinge loss function). Due to this quadratic approximation, the total error rate minimization could obtain appropriate properties in solving optimization problems for binary classification. However, this total error rate minimization was based on a batch mode setting. The batch mode setting can be limited to several applications under offline learning. Due to limited computing resources, offline learning could not handle large scale data sets. Compared to offline learning, online learning can update its solution without storing all training samples in learning process. Due to increment of large scale data sets, online learning becomes one of essential properties for various applications. Since object tracking needs to handle data samples in real time, online learning based total error rate minimization methods are necessary to efficiently address object tracking problems. Due to the need of the online learning, an online learning based total error rate minimization method was developed. However, an approximately reweighted technique was developed. Although the approximation technique is utilized, this online version of the total error rate minimization could achieve good performances in biometric applications. However, this method is assumed that the total error rate minimization can be asymptotically achieved when only the number of training samples is infinite. Although there is the assumption to achieve the total error rate minimization, the approximation issue can continuously accumulate learning errors according to increment of training samples. Due to this reason, the approximated online learning solution can then lead a wrong solution. The wrong solution can make significant errors when it is applied to surveillance systems. In this paper, we propose an exactly reweighted technique to recursively update the solution of the total error rate minimization in online learning manner. Compared to the approximately reweighted online total error rate minimization, an exactly reweighted online total error rate minimization is achieved. The proposed exact online learning method based on the total error rate minimization is then applied to object tracking problems. In our object tracking system, particle filtering is adopted. In particle filtering, our observation model is consisted of both generative and discriminative methods to leverage the advantages between generative and discriminative properties. In our experiments, our proposed object tracking system achieves promising performances on 8 public video sequences over competing object tracking systems. The paired t-test is also reported to evaluate its quality of the results. Our proposed online learning method can be extended under the deep learning architecture which can cover the shallow and deep networks. Moreover, online learning methods, that need the exact reweighting process, can use our proposed reweighting technique. In addition to object tracking, the proposed online learning method can be easily applied to object detection and recognition. Therefore, our proposed methods can contribute to online learning community and object tracking, detection and recognition communities.

Optimization of Medium for the Carotenoid Production by Rhodobacter sphaeroides PS-24 Using Response Surface Methodology (반응 표면 분석법을 사용한 Rhodobacter sphaeroides PS-24 유래 carotenoid 생산 배지 최적화)

  • Bong, Ki-Moon;Kim, Kong-Min;Seo, Min-Kyoung;Han, Ji-Hee;Park, In-Chul;Lee, Chul-Won;Kim, Pyoung-Il
    • Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
    • /
    • v.25 no.1
    • /
    • pp.135-148
    • /
    • 2017
  • Response Surface Methodology (RSM), which is combining with Plackett-Burman design and Box-Behnken experimental design, was applied to optimize the ratios of the nutrient components for carotenoid production by Rhodobacter sphaeroides PS-24 in liquid state fermentation. Nine nutrient ingredients containing yeast extract, sodium acetate, NaCl, $K_2HPO_4$, $MgSO_4$, mono-sodium glutamate, $Na_2CO_3$, $NH_4Cl$ and $CaCl_2$ were finally selected for optimizing the medium composition based on their statistical significance and positive effects on carotenoid yield. Box-Behnken design was employed for further optimization of the selected nutrient components in order to increase carotenoid production. Based on the Box-Behnken assay data, the secondary order coefficient model was set up to investigate the relationship between the carotenoid productivity and nutrient ingredients. The important factors having influence on optimal medium constituents for carotenoid production by Rhodobacter sphaeroides PS-24 were determined as follows: yeast extract 1.23 g, sodium acetate 1 g, $NH_4Cl$ 1.75 g, NaCl 2.5 g, $K_2HPO_4$ 2 g, $MgSO_4$ 1.0 g, mono-sodium glutamate 7.5 g, $Na_2CO_3$ 3.71 g, $NH_4Cl$ 3.5g, $CaCl_2$ 0.01 g, per liter. Maximum carotenoid yield of 18.11 mg/L was measured by confirmatory experiment in liquid culture using 500 L fermenter.

Development of the Korean version of Postconcussional Syndrome Questionnaire (한글판 뇌진탕후증후군 척도의 개발)

  • Yoon, Mi-Ri;Ko, Young-Hoon;Han, Chang-Su;Joe, Sook-Haeng;Jeon, Sang-Won;Han, Chang-Woo
    • Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
    • /
    • v.23 no.1
    • /
    • pp.26-35
    • /
    • 2015
  • Objectives:The purpose of this study was to evaluate reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Postconcussional Syndrome Questionnaire(KPCSQ) which was originally developed in 1992 by Lees-Haley. Methods:Patients with traumatic brain injury were recruited from April 2009 to December 2011 from the Korean University Ansan Hospital. We selected patients that met the ICD-10 diagnostic criteria of postconcussional syndrome and organic mental disorder including organic mood disorder, organic emotionally labile disorder, organic anxiety disorder and organic personality disorder. The KPCSQ, Trait and State Anxiety Inventory(STAI-I, II), and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale(CESD) were administered to all subjects. Factor analysis of the items were performed and test-retest correlation were evaluated. Internal consistency of the KPCSQ and its subscales was assessed with Cronbach's alpha. External validity of the KPCSQ were examined by correlation coefficient with the STAI-I, II, and CESD. Results:The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the total PCSQ was 0.956. The test-retest reliability coefficient was 0.845. The PCSQ showed significant correlation with STAI-I, II and CESD. The factor analysis of the PCSQ yielded 4 factors model. Factor 1 represented 'affective and cognitive symptoms', factor 2 represented 'somatic symptoms', factor 3 represented 'infrequent symptoms' and factor 4 represented 'exaggeration or inattentive response'. There was no significant difference between the PCS group and the organic mental disorder group in the score on each measure. The scores on KPCSQ and its subscales in the subjects that had scored 5 or more in 'exaggeration or inattentive response' are significantly higher than those in the subjects had scored 4 in 'exaggeration or inattentive response'. Conclusions:This study suggests that the Korean version of PCSQ is a valid and reliable tool for assessing psychiatric symptomatology of patients with traumatic brain injury. Further investigations with greater numbers of subjects are necessary to assess the clinical usefulness of the KPCSQ.

Structuration of Space Change due to Planning and Leisure Activities in Hangang River Park - Focused on the Hangang River Park in Yeouido from the 1970s to the 2000s - (여가 활동 공간으로서 여의도 한강공원 공간변화의 구조화 - 1970년대부터 2000년대까지 여의도 한강공원의 여가 활동과 계획을 중심으로 -)

  • Cho, Han-Sol
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
    • /
    • v.47 no.2
    • /
    • pp.13-27
    • /
    • 2019
  • This study shows the changes in the space created by the planning and leisure activities of Hangang River Park, focusing on the Yeouido portion of the Hangang River Park, which has the most users and the greatest degree of planning. The relationship between planning, behavior, and space changes are explained based on Giddens's Structural Theory. As research material, Hangang River Park plans and satellite photos were interpreted and newspaper articles were used to identifying the space changes and their causes, and a model of the space changes was derived through the application of the theory. The flow of space change in the Yeouido portion of the Hangang River Park due to planning and leisure activities is as follows. In the 1970s, the first sports spaces are made due to need from residents near the riverside, but huge plans for the utilization of the entire space were not realized. In the 1980s, leisure spaces were planned and developed through a comprehensive plan. Various sports spaces were built, but the environment of the spaces became a slum. In the 1990s, various leisure activities were revitalized due to the revision of the legal system, regulations on the usage of space, and space maintenance, and from the late 1990s, ecological issues arose along the Hangang River. In the 2000s, there was an overall space improvement project directed by two comprehensive plans, and cultural and ecological issues appeared in the Hangang River Park plans. However, actual leisure spaces were developed along with the promotion of large-scale activities. Regarding the structuration theory, elements of interaction, modality, and structure are the aspects of space changes in the Yeouido portion Hangang River Park. As the flow of the space change, the proportions of the comprehensive plan and the individual plans were similar. The comprehensive plan was influenced by the change of public businesses and the proliferation of large-scale activities. Individual plans were influenced by the user's activities and opinions. However, both plans were influenced by the users and suppliers. The leisure space of the Hangang River Park can be viewed as a social space, in terms of the structuring as a theory due to the user repeatedly changing the use of the space. The purpos of this study is to investigate the changes in the Hangang River Park space through planning and leisure activities. Through this study, we can understand the characteristics of the Hangang River Park in planning the leisure activity space.

A Study on Training Dataset Configuration for Deep Learning Based Image Matching of Multi-sensor VHR Satellite Images (다중센서 고해상도 위성영상의 딥러닝 기반 영상매칭을 위한 학습자료 구성에 관한 연구)

  • Kang, Wonbin;Jung, Minyoung;Kim, Yongil
    • Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
    • /
    • v.38 no.6_1
    • /
    • pp.1505-1514
    • /
    • 2022
  • Image matching is a crucial preprocessing step for effective utilization of multi-temporal and multi-sensor very high resolution (VHR) satellite images. Deep learning (DL) method which is attracting widespread interest has proven to be an efficient approach to measure the similarity between image pairs in quick and accurate manner by extracting complex and detailed features from satellite images. However, Image matching of VHR satellite images remains challenging due to limitations of DL models in which the results are depending on the quantity and quality of training dataset, as well as the difficulty of creating training dataset with VHR satellite images. Therefore, this study examines the feasibility of DL-based method in matching pair extraction which is the most time-consuming process during image registration. This paper also aims to analyze factors that affect the accuracy based on the configuration of training dataset, when developing training dataset from existing multi-sensor VHR image database with bias for DL-based image matching. For this purpose, the generated training dataset were composed of correct matching pairs and incorrect matching pairs by assigning true and false labels to image pairs extracted using a grid-based Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) algorithm for a total of 12 multi-temporal and multi-sensor VHR images. The Siamese convolutional neural network (SCNN), proposed for matching pair extraction on constructed training dataset, proceeds with model learning and measures similarities by passing two images in parallel to the two identical convolutional neural network structures. The results from this study confirm that data acquired from VHR satellite image database can be used as DL training dataset and indicate the potential to improve efficiency of the matching process by appropriate configuration of multi-sensor images. DL-based image matching techniques using multi-sensor VHR satellite images are expected to replace existing manual-based feature extraction methods based on its stable performance, thus further develop into an integrated DL-based image registration framework.

Laboratory chamber test for prediction of hazardous ground conditions ahead of a TBM tunnel face using electrical resistivity survey (전기비저항 탐사 기반 TBM 터널 굴진면 전방 위험 지반 예측을 위한 실내 토조실험 연구)

  • Lee, JunHo;Kang, Minkyu;Lee, Hyobum;Choi, Hangseok
    • Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
    • /
    • v.23 no.6
    • /
    • pp.451-468
    • /
    • 2021
  • Predicting hazardous ground conditions ahead of a TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) tunnel face is essential for efficient and stable TBM advance. Although there have been several studies on the electrical resistivity survey method for TBM tunnelling, sufficient experimental data considering TBM advance were not established yet. Therefore, in this study, the laboratory-scale model experiments for simulating TBM excavation were carried out to analyze the applicability of an electrical resistivity survey for predicting hazardous ground conditions ahead of a TBM tunnel face. The trend of electrical resistivity during TBM advance was experimentally evaluated under various hazardous ground conditions (fault zone, seawater intruded zone, soil to rock transition zone, and rock to soil transition zone) ahead of a tunnel face. In the course of the experiments, a scale-down rock ground was provided using granite blocks to simulate the rock TBM tunnelling. Based on the experimental data, the electrical resistivity tends to decrease as the tunnel approaches the fault zone. While the seawater intruded zone follows a similar trend with the fault zone, the resistivity value of the seawater intrude zone decreased significantly compared to that of the fault zone. In case of the soil-to-rock transition zone, the electrical resistivity increases as the TBM approaches the rock with relatively high electrical resistivity. Conversely, in case of the rock-to-soil transition zone, the opposite trend was observed. That is, electrical resistivity decreases as the tunnel face approaches the rock with relatively low electrical resistivity. The experiment results represent that hazardous ground conditions (fault zone, seawater intruded zone, soil-to-rock transition zone, rock-to-soil transition zone) can be efficiently predicted by utilizing an electrical resistivity survey during TBM tunnelling.

Study on Tourism Demand Forecast and Influencing Factors in Busan Metropolitan City (부산 연안도시 관광수요 예측과 영향요인에 관한 연구)

  • Kyu Won Hwang;Sung Mo Nam;Ah Reum Jang;Moon Suk Lee
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
    • /
    • v.29 no.7
    • /
    • pp.915-929
    • /
    • 2023
  • Improvements in people's quality of life, diversification of leisure activities, and changes in population structure have led to an increase in the demand for tourism and an expansion of the diversification of tourism activities. In particular, for coastal cities where land and marine tourism elements coexist, various factors influence their tourism demands. Tourism requires the construction of infrastructure and content development according to the demand at the tourist destination. This study aims to improve the prediction accuracy and explore influencing factors through time series analysis of tourism scale using agent-based data. Basic local governments in the Busan area were examined, and the data used were the number of tourists and the amount of tourism consumption on a monthly basis. The univariate time series analysis, which is a deterministic model, was used along with the SARIMAX analysis to identify the influencing factor. The tourism consumption propensity, focusing on the consumption amount according to business types and the amount of mentions on SNS, was set as the influencing factor. The difference in accuracy (RMSE standard) between the time series models that did and did not consider COVID-19 was found to be very wide, ranging from 1.8 times to 32.7 times by region. Additionally, considering the influencing factor, the tourism consumption business type and SNS trends were found to significantly impact the number of tourists and the amount of tourism consumption. Therefore, to predict future demand, external influences as well as the tourists' consumption tendencies and interests in terms of local tourism must be considered. This study aimed to predict future tourism demand in a coastal city such as Busan and identify factors affecting tourism scale, thereby contributing to policy decision-making to prepare tourism demand in consideration of government tourism policies and tourism trends.

Re-validation of the Revised Systems Thinking Measuring Instrument for Vietnamese High School Students and Comparison of Latent Means between Korean and Vietnamese High School Students (베트남 고등학생을 대상으로 한 개정 시스템 사고 검사 도구 재타당화 및 한국과 베트남 고등학생의 잠재 평균 비교)

  • Hyonyong Lee;Nguyen Thi Thuy;Byung-Yeol Park;Jaedon Jeon;Hyundong Lee
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
    • /
    • v.45 no.2
    • /
    • pp.157-171
    • /
    • 2024
  • The purposes of this study were: (1) to revalidate the revised Systems Thinking Measuring Instrument (Re_STMI) reported by Lee et al. (2024) among Vietnamese high school students and (2) to investigate the differences in systems thinking abilities between Korean and Vietnamese high school students. To achieve this, data from 234 Vietnamese high school students who responded to translated Re_STMI consisting of 20 items and an Scale consisting of 20 items were used. Validity analysis was conducted through item response analysis (Item Reliability, Item Map, Infit and Outfit MNSQ, DIF between male and female) and exploratory factor analysis (principal axis factor analysis using Promax). Furthermore, structural equation modeling was employed with data from 475 Korean high school students to verify the latent mean analysis. The results were as follows: First, in the item response analysis of the 20 translated Re_STMI items in Vietnamese, the Item Reliability was .97, and the Infit MNSQ ranged from .67 to 1.38. The results from the Item Map and DIF analysis align with previous findings. In the exploratory factor analysis, all items were loaded onto intended sub-factors, with sub-factor reliabilities ranging from .662 to .833 and total reliability at .876. Confirmatory factor analysis for latent mean analysis between Korean and Vietnamese students yielded acceptable model fit indices (χ2/df: 2.830, CFI: .931, TLI: .918, SRMR: .043, RMSEA: .051). Lastly, the latent mean analysis between Korean and Vietnamese students revealed a small effect size in systems analysis, mental models, team learning, and shared vision factors, whereas a medium effect size was observed in personal mastery factors, with Vietnamese high school students showing significantly higher results in systems thinking. This study confirmed the reliability and validity of the Re_STMI items. Furthermore, international comparative studies on systems thinking using Re_STMI translated into Vietnamese, English, and other languages are warranted in the context of students' systems thinking analysis.

An Empirical Study in Relationship between Franchisor's Leadership Behavior Style and Commitment by Focusing Moderating Effect of Franchisee's Self-efficacy (가맹본부의 리더십 행동유형과 가맹사업자의 관계결속에 관한 실증적 연구 - 가맹사업자의 자기효능감의 조절효과를 중심으로 -)

  • Yang, Hoe-Chang;Lee, Young-Chul
    • Journal of Distribution Research
    • /
    • v.15 no.1
    • /
    • pp.49-71
    • /
    • 2010
  • Franchise businesses in South Korea have contributed to economic growth and job creation, and its growth potential remains very high. However, despite such virtues, domestic franchise businesses face many problems such as the instability of franchisor's business structure and weak financial conditions. To solve these problems, the government enacted legislation and strengthened franchise related laws. However, the strengthening of laws regulating franchisors had many side effects that interrupted the development of the franchise business. For example, legal regulations regarding franchisors have had the effect of suppressing the franchisor's leadership activities (e.g. activities such as the ability to advocate the franchisor's policies and strategies to the franchisees, in order to facilitate change and innovation). One of the main goals of the franchise business is to build cooperation between the franchisor and the franchisee for their combined success. However, franchisees can refuse to follow the franchisor's strategies because of the current state of franchise-related law and government policy. The purpose of this study to explore the effects of franchisor's leadership style on franchisee's commitment in a franchise system. We classified leadership styles according to the path-goal theory (House & Mitchell, 1974), and it was hypothesized and tested that the four leadership styles proposed by the path-goal theory (i.e. directive, supportive, participative and achievement-oriented leadership) have different effects on franchisee's commitment. Another purpose of this study to explore the how the level of franchisee's self-efficacy influences both the franchisor's leadership style and franchisee's commitment in a franchise system. Results of the present study are expected to provide important theoretical and practical implications as to the role of franchisor's leadership style, as restricted by government regulations and the franchisee's self-efficacy, which could be needed to improve the quality of the long-term relationship between the franchisor and franchisee. Quoted by Northouse(2007), one problem regarding the investigation of leadership is that there are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are people who have tried to define it. But despite the multitude of ways in which leadership has been conceptualized, the following components can be identified as central to the phenomenon: (a) leadership is a process, (b) leadership involves influence, (c) leadership occurs in a group context, and (d) leadership involves goal attainment. Based on these components, in this study leadership is defined as a process whereby franchisor's influences a group of franchisee' to achieve a common goal. Focusing on this definition, the path-goal theory is about how leaders motivate subordinates to accomplish designated goals. Drawing heavily from research on what motivates employees, path-goal theory first appeared in the leadership literature in the early 1970s in the works of Evans (1970), House (1971), House and Dessler (1974), and House and Mitchell (1974). The stated goal of this leadership theory is to enhance employee performance and employee satisfaction by focusing on employee motivation. In brief, path-goal theory is designed to explain how leaders can help subordinates along the path to their goals by selecting specific behaviors that are best suited to subordinates' needs and to the situation in which subordinates are working (Northouse, 2007). House & Mitchell(1974) predicted that although many different leadership behaviors could have been selected to be a part of path-goal theory, this approach has so far examined directive, supportive, participative, and achievement-oriented leadership behaviors. And they suggested that leaders may exhibit any or all of these four styles with various subordinates and in different situations. However, due to restrictive government regulations, franchisors are not in a position to change their leadership style to suit their circumstances. In addition, quoted by Northouse(2007), ssubordinate characteristics determine how a leader's behavior is interpreted by subordinates in a given work context. Many researchers have focused on subordinates' needs for affiliation, preferences for structure, desires for control, and self-perceived level of task ability. In this study, we have focused on the self-perceived level of task ability, namely, the franchisee's self-efficacy. According to Bandura (1977), self-efficacy is chiefly defined as the personal attitude of one's ability to accomplish concrete tasks. Therefore, it is not an indicator of one's actual abilities, but an opinion of the extent of how one can use that ability. Thus, the judgment of maintain franchisee's commitment depends on the situation (e.g., government regulation and policy and leadership style of franchisor) and how it affects one's ability to mobilize resources to deal with the task, so even if people possess the same ability, there may be differences in self-efficacy. Figure 1 illustrates the model investigated in this study. In this model, it was hypothesized that leadership styles would affect the franchisee's commitment, and self-efficacy would moderate the relationship between leadership style and franchisee's commitment. Theoretically, quoted by Northouse(2007), the path-goal approach suggests that leaders need to choose a leadership style that best fits the needs of subordinates and the work they are doing. According to House & Mitchell (1974), the theory predicts that a directive style of leadership is best in situations in which subordinates are dogmatic and authoritarian, the task demands are ambiguous, and the organizational rule and procedures are unclear. In these situations, franchisor's directive leadership complements the work by providing guidance and psychological structure for franchisees. For work that is structured, unsatisfying, or frustrating, path-goal theory suggests that leaders should use a supportive style. Franchisor's Supportive leadership offers a sense of human touch for franchisees engaged in mundane, mechanized activity. Franchisor's participative leadership is considered best when a task is ambiguous because participation gives greater clarity to how certain paths lead to certain goals; it helps subordinates learn what actions leads to what outcome. Furthermore, House & Mitchell(1974) predicts that achievement-oriented leadership is most effective in settings in which subordinates are required to perform ambiguous tasks. Marsh and O'Neill (1984) tested the idea that organizational members' anger and decline in performance is caused by deficiencies in their level of effort and found that self-efficacy promotes accomplishment, decreases stress and negative consequences like depression and emotional instability. Based on the extant empirical findings and theoretical reasoning, we posit positive and strong relationships between the franchisor's leadership styles and the franchisee's commitment. Furthermore, the level of franchisee's self-efficacy was thought to maintain their commitment. The questionnaires sent to participants consisted of the following measures; leadership style was assessed using a 20 item 7-point likert scale developed by Indvik (1985), self-efficacy was assessed using a 24 item 6-point likert scale developed by Bandura (1977), and commitment was assessed using a 6 item 5-point likert scale developed by Morgan & Hunt (1994). Questionnaires were distributed to Korean optical franchisees in Seoul. It took about 20 days to complete the data collection. A total number of 140 questionnaires were returned and complete data were available from 137 respondents. Results of multiple regression analyses testing the relationships between the each of the four styles of leadership shown by the franchisor as independent variables and franchisee's commitment as the dependent variable showed that the relationship between supportive leadership style and commitment ($\beta$=.13, p<.001),and the relationship between participative leadership style and commitment ($\beta$=.07, p<.001)were significant. However, when participants divided into high and low self-efficacy groups, results of multiple regression analyses showed that only the relationship between achievement-oriented leadership style and commitment ($\beta$=.14, p<.001) was significant in the high self-efficacy group. In the low self-efficacy group, the relationship between supportive leadership style and commitment ($\beta$=.17, p<.001),and the relationship between participative leadership style and commitment ($\beta$=.10, p<.001) were significant. The study focused on the franchisee's self-efficacy in order to explore the possibility that regulation, originally intended to protect the franchisee, may not be the most effective method to maintain the relationships in a franchise business. The key results of the data analysis regarding the moderating role of self-efficacy between leadership behavior style as proposed by path-goal and commitment theory were as follows. First, this study proposed that franchisor should apply the appropriate type of leadership behavior to strengthen the franchisees commitment because the results demonstrated that supportive and participative leadership styles by the franchisors have a positive influence on the franchisee's level of commitment. Second, it is desirable for franchisor to validate the franchisee's efforts, since the franchisee's characteristics such as self-efficacy had a substantial, positive effect on the franchisee's commitment as well as being a meaningful moderator between leadership and commitment. Third, the results as a whole imply that the government should provide institutional support, namely to put the franchisor in a position to clearly identify the characteristics of their franchisees and provide reasonable means to administer the franchisees to achieve the company's goal.

  • PDF

Study on the Relationships Among Perceived Shopping Values, Brand Equity, and Store Loyalty of Korean and Chinese Consumers: A Case of Large Discount Store (한국과 중국 소비자의 쇼핑 경험가치 지각과 브랜드자산 및 점포충성도의 관계에 관한 비교 연구: 대형 할인점을 중심으로)

  • Hwang, Soonho;Oh, Jongchul;Yoon, Sungjoon
    • Asia Marketing Journal
    • /
    • v.14 no.2
    • /
    • pp.209-237
    • /
    • 2012
  • 1. Research Purpose Consumers rely on various clues to evaluate their decision to patronize a retail store, and store brand is one of them (Dodds 1991; Grewal et al. 1998). As consumers find ever increasing variety of contact points connecting them to specific store, the value of experiential shopping as a means of increasing store's brand equity warrants greater attention from scholars of retail management. Retail shopping values are credited for creating not only cognitive experiences like brand knowledge but also emotional experiences such as shopping pleasure and pride (Schmitt 1999). This may be because today's consumers place emphasis on emotional values associated with shopping pleasure, lifestyle brought to life, brand relationship, and store atmosphere more than utilitarian values such as product quality and price. Many previous literature found this to be true (Ahn and Lee 2011; Mathwick et al. 2001). This brings forth important research issues and questions regarding the roles of shopping experiential values and brand equity with regard to consumer's retail patronage choice. However, despite this importance, research on this area remains quite inadequate (Hwang 2010). For this reason, this study aims to verify the relationships among experiential shopping values, retail store brand equity and tries to link that with customer loyalty by surveying large-scale discount store shoppers in Korea and China. 2. Research Contents In order to carry out the research objective, this study conducted comprehensive literature survey on previous literature by discussing major findings and implications with regard to shopping values and retail brand equity and store loyalty. For data collection, researcher employed survey-based research method where data were collected in two major cities of Korea (Seoul) and China (Bejing) and sampling frame was based on patrons of large discount stores in both countries. Specific research questions raised in this study are as follows; RQ1: How do Korean and Chinese consumers differently perceive of shopping values regarding shopping at large-sclae discount stores? RQ2: Are there differences in consumers' emotional consumption propensities? RQ3: Do Korean and Chinese consumers display different perceptions of brand equity towards large-scale discount stores? RQ4: Are there differences in relationships between shopping values and brand equity for Korean and Chinese consumers? For statistical analysis, SPSS17.0, AMOS17.0 and SmartPLS were employed. 3. Research Results The data collected through face-to-face survey conducted in Seoul and Bejing revealed appropriate data validity and reliability as a result of exploratory/confirmatory factor analysis and reliability tests, andh SEM model yielding satisfactory model fitness. The result of the study may be summarized by three main points. First, as a result of testing differences in consumption dispositions, Chinese consumers showed higher scores in aesthetic and symbolic dispositions, whereas Korean consumers scored higher in hedonic disposition. Second, testing on perceptions toward brand equity of large discount stores showed that Korean consumers exhibited more positive perceptions of brand awareness and brand image than Chinese counterparts. Third, the result of exploratory factor analysis on the experiential shopping values revealed different factors for each country. On Korean side, consumer interest value, aesthetic value, and hedonic value were prominent, whereas on Chinese side, hedonic value, aesthetic value, consumer interest value, and service excellence value were found salient. 4. Research Implications While many previous studies on inter-country differences in retailing area mainly focused on cultural dispositions or orientations to explain the differences, this study sets itself apart by specifically targeting individual consumer's shopping values from an experiential viewpoint. The study result provides important theoretical as well as practical implications for large-scale discount store, especially the impotance of fully exploring the linkage between shopping values and brand equity, which has significant influence on loyalty. Therefore, the specific implications deriving from the result shed some important insights upon the consumption values based on shopping experiences and brand equity. The differences found in store shoppers between the two countries may also provide useful insights for Korean and Chinese retailers who plan to expand their operations globally. Related strategic implications derived from this study is the importance of localizing retail strategy which is based on the differences found in experiential shopping values between the two country groups. Especially the finding that Chinese consumers value consumer interest and service excellence, whereas Koreans place importance on hedonic or aesthetic values indicates the need to differentiate the consumer's psychographical profiles when it comes to expanding retail operations globally. Particularly important will be to pursue price-orienated strategy in China in consideration of the high emphasis on consumer interests and service excellence, but to emphasize the symbolic aspects of brand equity in Korea by maximizing the brand equity associated with aesthetic values and hedonic orientations. 5. Recommendations This study focused on generic retail branded discount stores in both countries, thus making it difficult to tease out store-specific strategies based on specific retail brands. Future studies may benefit fro employing actual brand names in survey questionnaire to verify relationship between shopping values and brand-based store strategy. As with other studies of this nature, this study needs to strengthen the result's generalizability by selecting respondents from a wider spectrum of respondents.

  • PDF