• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.43-56
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• 2020

Recommender systems help users make the best choice among various options. Especially, recommender systems play important roles in internet sites as digital information is generated innumerable every second. Many studies on recommender systems have focused on an accurate recommendation. However, there are some problems to overcome in order for the recommendation system to be commercially successful. First, there is a lack of transparency in the recommender system. That is, users cannot know why products are recommended. Second, the recommender system cannot immediately reflect changes in user preferences. That is, although the preference of the user's product changes over time, the recommender system must rebuild the model to reflect the user's preference. Therefore, in this study, we proposed a recommendation methodology using topic modeling and sequential association rule mining to solve these problems from review data. Product reviews provide useful information for recommendations because product reviews include not only rating of the product but also various contents such as user experiences and emotional state. So, reviews imply user preference for the product. So, topic modeling is useful for explaining why items are recommended to users. In addition, sequential association rule mining is useful for identifying changes in user preferences. The proposed methodology is largely divided into two phases. The first phase is to create user profile based on topic modeling. After extracting topics from user reviews on products, user profile on topics is created. The second phase is to recommend products using sequential rules that appear in buying behaviors of users as time passes. The buying behaviors are derived from a change in the topic of each user. A collaborative filtering-based recommendation system was developed as a benchmark system, and we compared the performance of the proposed methodology with that of the collaborative filtering-based recommendation system using Amazon's review dataset. As evaluation metrics, accuracy, recall, precision, and F1 were used. For topic modeling, collapsed Gibbs sampling was conducted. And we extracted 15 topics. Looking at the main topics, topic 1, top 3, topic 4, topic 7, topic 9, topic 13, topic 14 are related to "comedy shows", "high-teen drama series", "crime investigation drama", "horror theme", "British drama", "medical drama", "science fiction drama", respectively. As a result of comparative analysis, the proposed methodology outperformed the collaborative filtering-based recommendation system. From the results, we found that the time just prior to the recommendation was very important for inferring changes in user preference. Therefore, the proposed methodology not only can secure the transparency of the recommender system but also can reflect the user's preferences that change over time. However, the proposed methodology has some limitations. The proposed methodology cannot recommend product elaborately if the number of products included in the topic is large. In addition, the number of sequential patterns is small because the number of topics is too small. Therefore, future research needs to consider these limitations.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1-27
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• 2011

Introduction: Sales of private labels(PU have been growing m recent years. Globally, PLs have already achieved 20% share, although between 25 and 50% share in most of the European markets(AC. Nielson, 2005). These products are aimed to have comparable quality and prices as national brand(NB) products and have been continuously eroding manufacturer's national brand market share. Stores have also started introducing premium PLs that are of higher-quality and more reasonably priced compared to NBs. Worldwide, many retailers already have a multiple-tier private label architecture. Consumers as a consequence are now able to have a more diverse brand choice in store than ever before. Since premium PLs are priced higher than regular PLs and even, in some cases, above NBs, stores can expect to generate higher profits. Brand extensions and private label have been extensively studied in the marketing field. However, less attention has been paid to the private label extension. Therefore, this research focuses on private label extension using the Multi-Attribute Attitude Model(Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). Especially there are few studies that consider the hierarchical effect of the PL's two parent brands: store brand and the original PL. We assume that the attitude toward each of the two parent brands affects the attitude towards the extended PL. The influence from each parent brand toward extended PL will vary according to the perceived fit between each parent brand and the extended PL. This research focuses on how these two parent brands act as reference points to one another in the consumers' choice consideration. Specifically we seek to understand how store image and attitude towards original PL affect consumer perceptions of extended premium PL. How consumers perceive extended premium PLs could provide strategic suggestions for retailer managers with specific suggestions on whether it is more effective: to position extended premium PL similarly or dissimilarly to original PL especially on the quality dimension and congruency with store image. There is an extensive body of research on branding and brand extensions (e.g. Aaker and Keller, 1990) and more recently on PLs(e.g. Kumar and Steenkamp, 2007). However there are no studies to date that look at the upgrading and influence of original PLs and attitude towards store on the premium PL extension. This research wishes to make a contribution to this gap using the perceived fit difference between parent brands and extended premium PL as the context. In order to meet the above objectives, we investigate which factors heighten consumers' positive attitude toward premium PL extension. Research Model and Hypotheses: When considering the attitude towards the premium PL extension, we expect four factors to have an influence: attitude towards store; attitude towards original PL; perceived congruity between the store image and the premium PL; perceived similarity between the original PL and the premium PL. We expect that all these factors have an influence on consumer attitude towards premium PL extension. Figure 1 gives the research model and hypotheses. Method: Data were collected by an intercept survey conducted on consumers at discount stores. 403 survey responses were attained (total 59.8% female, across all age ranges). Respondents were asked to respond to a series of Questions measured on 7 point likert-type scales. The survey consisted of Questions that measured: the trust towards store and the original PL; the satisfaction towards store and the original PL; the attitudes towards store, the original PL, and the extended premium PL; the perceived similarity of the original PL and the extended premium PL; the perceived congruity between the store image and the extended premium PL. Product images with specific explanations of the features of premium PL, regular PL and NB we reused as the stimuli for the Question response. We developed scales to measure the research constructs. Cronbach's alphaw as measured each construct with the reliability for all constructs exceeding the .70 standard(Nunnally, 1978). Results: To test the hypotheses, path analysis was conducted using LISREL 8.30. The path analysis for verification of the model produced satisfactory results. The validity index shows acceptable results(${\chi}^2=427.00$(P=0.00), GFI= .90, AGFI= .87, NFI= .91, RMSEA= .062, RMR= .047). With the increasing retailer use of premium PLBs, the intention of this research was to examine how consumers use original PL and store image as reference points as to the attitude towards premium PL extension. Results(see table 1 & 2) show that the attitude of each parent brand (attitudes toward store and original pL) influences the attitude towards extended PL and their perceived fit moderates these influences. Attitude toward the extended PL was influenced by the relative level of perceived fit. Discussion of results and future direction: These results suggest that the future strategy for the PL extension needs to consider that positive parent brand attitude is more strongly associated with the attitude toward PL extensions. Specifically, to improve attitude towards PL extension, building and maintaining positive attitude towards original PL is necessary. Positioning premium PL congruently to store image is also important for positive attitude. In order to improve this research, the following alternatives should also be considered. To improve the research model's predictive power, more diverse products should be included in study. Other attributes of product should also be included such as design, brand name since we only considered trust and satisfaction as factors to build consumer attitudes.

• Journal of the HCI Society of Korea
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.47-55
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• 2016

Three Dimensional Printing (herein, 3D printing) not only gives novelty and interests to modern people but is also a spotlighted technology that could herald a new industrial revolution. The introduction of various 3D printing service platforms has enabled individuals to easily possess products designed through 3D printing. However, there are still many issues to consider until the era of new manufacturing, when 3D printing becomes available to the general public so that anyone can make and design products with 3D printing. For instance, there needs to be sufficient consideration and research on whether the current 3D printing services can prove their higher capability to produce products conventionally done by machines and hands through 3D printing, and on the meaning of selling a wide range of product families like those of most 3D printing service platforms to the consumers. This study, which was initiated in this context, aimed to gain insight on the directions that 3D printing services need to advance going forward by letting consumers have first-hand experience on 3D printing online service platforms with a wide range of product families and those with relatively limited services, and then asking them to answer multiple-choice and short-answer survey questions on the websites they wish to purchase from, diversity of designs, design satisfaction, perceived technical skills, perceived purchase satisfaction, perceived after-sales service(A/S). As a result, we were able to witness that consumers generally had a strong preference for services with a wide range of product families (e.g. Shapeways) compared to services with a narrow range (e.g. Digital Forming). We also verified that design diversity and the possibility of realizing the designs were the crucial aspects that need to be considered with 3D printing services. Moreover, we also carried out discussions on carrying out design consulting by securing a pool of designers from diverse fields, on providing web-based designing software that can be utilized even by beginners, and on operating shops both online and offline in order to provide more competitive 3D printing services.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.1-25
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• 2008

Ⅰ. Introduction Retailers in the 21st century are being told that future retailers are those who can execute seamless multi-channel access. The reason is that retailers should be where shoppers want them, when they want them anytime, anywhere and in multiple formats. Multi-channel access is considered one of the top 10 trends of all business in the next decade (Patricia T. Warrington, et al., 2007) And most firms use both direct and indirect channels in their markets. Given this trend, we need to evaluate a channel equity more systematically than before as this issue is expected to get more attention to consumers as well as to brand managers. Consumers are becoming very much confused concerning the choice of place where they shop for durable goods as there are at least 6-7 retail options. On the other hand, manufacturers have to deal with category killers, their dealers network, Internet shopping malls, and other avenue of distribution channels and they hope their retail channel behave like extensions of their own companies. They would like their products to be foremost in the retailer's mind-the first to be proposed and effectively communicated to potential customers. To enable this hope to come reality, they should know each channel's advantages and disadvantages from consumer perspectives. In addition, customer satisfaction is the key determinant of retail customer loyalty. However, there are only a few researches regarding the effects of shopping satisfaction and perceptions on consumers' channel choices and channels. The purpose of this study was to assess Korean consumers' channel choice and satisfaction towards channels they prefer to use in the case of electronic goods shopping. Korean electronic goods retail market is one of good example of multi-channel shopping environments. As the Korea retail market has been undergoing significant structural changes since it had opened to global retailers in 1996, new formats such as hypermarkets, Internet shopping malls and category killers have arrived for the last decade. Korean electronic goods shoppers have seven major channels : (1)category killers (2) hypermarket (3) manufacturer dealer shop (4) Internet shopping malls (5) department store (6) TV home-shopping (7) speciality shopping arcade. Korean retail sector has been modernized with amazing speed for the last decade. Overall summary of major retail channels is as follows: Hypermarket has been number 1 retailer type in sales volume from 2003 ; non-store retailing has been number 2 from 2007 ; department store is now number 3 ; small scale category killers are growing rapidly in the area of electronics and office products in particular. We try to evaluate each channel's equity using a consumer survey. The survey was done by telephone interview with 1000 housewife who lives nationwide. Sampling was done according to 2005 national census and average interview time was 10 to 15 minutes. Ⅱ. Research Summary We have found that seven major retail channels compete with each other within Korean consumers' minds in terms of price and service. Each channel seem to have its unique selling points. Department stores were perceived as the best electronic goods shopping destinations due to after service. Internet shopping malls were perceived as the convenient channel owing to price checking. Category killers and hypermarkets were more attractive in both price merits and location conveniences. On the other hand, manufacturers dealer networks were pulling customers mainly by location and after service. Category killers and hypermarkets were most beloved retail channel for Korean consumers. However category killers compete mainly with department stores and shopping arcades while hypermarkets tend to compete with Internet and TV home shopping channels. Regarding channel satisfaction, the top 3 channels were service-driven retailers: department stores (4.27); dealer shop (4.21); and Internet shopping malls (4.21). Speciality shopping arcade(3.98) were the least satisfied channels among Korean consumers. Ⅲ. Implications We try to identify the whole picture of multi-channel retail shopping environments and its implications in the context of Korean electronic goods. From manufacturers' perspectives, multi-channel may cause channel conflicts. Furthermore, inter-channel competition draws much more attention as hypermarkets and category killers have grown rapidly in recent years. At the same time, from consumers' perspectives, 'buy where' is becoming an important buying decision as it would decide the level of shopping satisfaction. We need to develop the concept of 'channel equity' to manage multi-channel distribution effectively. Firms should measure and monitor their prime channel equity in regular basis to maximize their channel potentials. Prototype channel equity positioning map has been developed as follows. We expect more studies to develop the concept of 'channel equity' in the future.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.127-140
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• 2010

The benefit that a consumer derives from the use of a good often depends on the number of other consumers purchasing the same goods or other compatible items. This property, which is known as network externality, is significant in many IT related industries. Over the past few decades, network externalities have been recognized in the context of physical networks such as the telephone and railroad industries. Today, as many products are provided as a form of system that consists of compatible components, the appreciation of network externality is becoming increasingly important. Network externalities have been extensively studied among economists who have been seeking to explain new phenomena resulting from rapid advancements in ICT (Information and Communication Technology). As a result of these efforts, a new body of theories for 'New Economy' has been proposed. The theoretical bottom-line argument of such theories is that technologies subject to network effects exhibit multiple equilibriums and will finally lock into a monopoly with one standard cornering the entire market. They emphasize that such "tippiness" is a typical characteristic in such networked markets, describing that multiple incompatible technologies rarely coexist and that the switch to a single, leading standard occurs suddenly. Moreover, it is argued that this standardization process is path dependent, and the ultimate outcome is unpredictable. With incomplete information about other actors' preferences, there can be excess inertia, as consumers only moderately favor the change, and hence are themselves insufficiently motivated to start the bandwagon rolling, but would get on it once it did start to roll. This startup problem can prevent the adoption of any standard at all, even if it is preferred by everyone. Conversely, excess momentum is another possible outcome, for example, if a sponsoring firm uses low prices during early periods of diffusion. The aim of this paper is to analyze the dynamics of the adoption process in markets exhibiting network effects by focusing on two factors; switching and agent heterogeneity. Switching is an important factor that should be considered in analyzing the adoption process. An agent's switching invokes switching by other adopters, which brings about a positive feedback process that can significantly complicate the adoption process. Agent heterogeneity also plays a important role in shaping the early development of the adoption process, which has a significant impact on the later development of the process. The effects of these two factors are analyzed by developing an agent-based simulation model. ABM is a computer-based simulation methodology that can offer many advantages over traditional analytical approaches. The model is designed such that agents have diverse preferences regarding technology and are allowed to switch their previous choice. The simulation results showed that the adoption processes in a market exhibiting networks effects are significantly affected by the distribution of agents and the occurrence of switching. In particular, it is found that both weak heterogeneity and strong network effects cause agents to start to switch early and this plays a role of expediting the emergence of 'lock-in.' When network effects are strong, agents are easily affected by changes in early market shares. This causes agents to switch earlier and in turn speeds up the market's tipping. The same effect is found in the case of highly homogeneous agents. When agents are highly homogeneous, the market starts to tip toward one technology rapidly, and its choice is not always consistent with the populations' initial inclination. Increased volatility and faster lock-in increase the possibility that the market will reach an unexpected outcome. The primary contribution of this study is the elucidation of the role of parameters characterizing the market in the development of the lock-in process, and identification of conditions where such unexpected outcomes happen.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.54-67
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• 2020

Purpose: This study examined the relationship between job stress, attributes of health functional food (HFF) selection, and consumption values for information technology (IT) workers, and analyzed the factors influencing the selection of HFF to improve health by making the right choice of HFFs. Methods: Three hundred forty IT workers in Gyeonggi area participated in the study. The participants were divided into low or high job stress group. The differences in participants' general characteristics, attributes of HFF selection, and HFF consumption values were investigated, and the mediating effects of HFF consumption values on the relationship between job stress levels and the HFF selection attributes were analyzed. Results: Job stress levels were high in those IT workers with a length of service < 5 years (p = 0.013). The group with lower job stress levels had a higher tendency to consider the ingredients contained in HFF products (p < 0.001), and their efficacy (p = 0.047). They also showed greater emotional value for a sense of security from consuming HFFs to stay healthy (p = 0.047). The group with higher job stress levels had greater epistemic value in that their choice of HFFs differentiated them from the other workers (p = 0.036). Higher job stress was associated with less consideration of the intrinsic attributes such as ingredients and efficacy of the HFF selection attributes (p = -0.113), emotional value of the HFF consumption values (p = -0.136), and the functional value such as practicality, price, and safety (p = -0.134). The job stress level influenced the intrinsic attributes through the functional and emotional values, demonstrating that the functional and emotional values had appropriate mediating effects on the relationship between job stress levels and intrinsic attributes. Conclusion: Education needs to be provided for workers to relieve job stress and improve the functional and emotional values, which contributes to choosing the appropriate HFFs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.126-136
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• 2019

Objective: This study was performed to compare fat content, reducing sugar contents, sensory traits, and fatty acid (FA) and volatile compound profiles in longissimus thoracis (LT) among Korean cattle (KC), Holstein (HO), and Angus (AN) steers. Methods: Twelve LT samples (about 500 g each) of KC with an average age of $31{\pm}0.42months$, an average carcass weight of $431{\pm}12.5kg$, and a quality grade (QG) of 1+ were obtained from the joint livestock products market. Twelve LT samples of HO cattle with an average age of $24{\pm}0.54months$, an average carcass weight of $402{\pm}7.81kg$, and a QG of 2 were also obtained from the same market. Twelve LT samples of AN steers with an average age of about 20 months and a QG of choice were purchased from a beef delivery company. After slaughter, samples were kept at $4^{\circ}C$ for 42 days and prepared for immediate analysis or stored at appropriate conditions. The chemical composition, color, pH, shear force, collagen content, reducing sugars, sensory evaluation, FA composition, and volatile compound content for each LT sample were analyzed. Results: The LT of KC had the highest (p<0.05) fat content, the highest reducing sugar content, and the highest scores in the sensory evaluation (flavor, tenderness, juiciness, and overall acceptance). All the sensory traits were positively correlated (p<0.001) with intramuscular fat and reducing sugar content. Several FAs and volatile compound profiles varied among the breeds. KC LT had the highest (p<0.05) concentrations of acetaldehyde, 3-methyl butanal, and 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, and these volatile compounds were positively correlated (p<0.05) with all the sensory traits. Conclusion: Variations in fat content and reducing sugar contents and FA and volatile compound profiles may contribute to differences in the sensory quality of LT among breeds.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.102-105
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• 2002

Seventy-two crossbred pigs weighing an average of 41.5 kg were assigned on the basis of sex, weight and litter to one of four dietary treatments in a factorial (4 treatments${\times}$2 sexes) arrangement. The control diet was based on barley and soybean meal while the experimental treatments consisted of diets in which a portion of the dietary protein was supplied by 20% of a 50:50 blend of extruded ($130^{\circ}C$ for 20 to 25 sec) peas and full-fat canola seed, 20% of a 50:50 blend of unextruded peas and full-fat canola seed or a diet containing 10% peas, 6% canola meal and 4% canola oil (to equal the level of canola oil provided by 10% whole canola seed). Digestibility coefficients for dry matter, crude protein and gross energy were significantly higher (p<0.05) for the control diet than for the other three diets. Extrusion produced no beneficial effects (p>0.05) on nutrient digestibility and there were no differences in digestibility between the diet based on intact canola seed compared with the diet containing canola meal and oil. Choice of protein supplement had no significant effects on gain, feed intake or feed conversion during the grower or finisher phases and over the entire experimental period. Extrusion of the pea-canola blend produced no beneficial effects on pig performance as the performance of pigs fed either the extruded or unextruded blend of peas and canola seed was similar. In addition, the performance of pigs fed diets containing intact canola seed was similar to that of pigs fed canola meal and oil. Castrates gained faster and consumed more feed than gilts (p<0.05). However, their feed conversion was poorer than that of the gilts during the finisher period. There were no significant differences in carcass traits between pigs fed the control and any of the experimental treatments. Extrusion had no effect on carcass traits and the carcasses of pigs fed canola meal and oil did not differ from those of pigs fed whole canola seed. Castrates had a significantly lower dressing percentage, lower estimated lean yield but greater loin fat depth than gilts (p<0.05). The results of this experiment indicate that peas in combination with canola seed or canola meal are an acceptable alternative to soybean meal as a protein supplement for use in growing-finishing swine diets. Extrusion did not appear to have any beneficial effects on the nutritional value of the canola seed-pea blend as nutrient digestibility, growth performance and carcass traits were similar for pigs fed the unextruded blend of peas and canola seed compared with the extruded product. Since the process adds to the cost of the raw products, its use is unlikely to be economical.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.64-73
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• 2012

Objectives The purpose of this study is to see the prevalence and the patterns of the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in children and adolescent patients with allergies. Methods We analyzed data on 547 children and adolescents (age from 0-18 years old) chosen from all regions throughout the country with allergic diseases, including atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, asthma and allergic urticaria. We used multiple logistic regression modeling to predict CAM use based on predictor variables. Results The previous 12-months prevalence of CAM usage in overall was 70.7% (atopic dermatitis, 78.1%; allergic rhinitis, 52.9%; asthma, 70.3%; allergic urticaria, 86.3%). Central and southern regions displayed significantly lower rate of using CAM compare to the northern region, and CAM was less likely to be used for the allergic rhinitis patients than the atopic dermatitis patients. The most commonly used CAM type was natural products (62.2%). Top five of the most frequently used CAM modalities were softener water, vitamin, red ginseng, wood bathing and aloe oil. One of the main reasons for trying CAM was from the 'hope for a more effective outcomes in additional to the conventional medicine' (43.9%). The subjective effectiveness of CAM was found to be excellent in 74.0% of the patients, and 70.3% of the parents were willing to recommend CAM therapies to the others. Conclusions CAM is used widely to treat allergic diseases in children and adolescents in Korea. Korean medical doctors should actively discuss the use of CAM with the patients and provide information on the effectiveness and safety of CAM as guide in making choice for usage of CAM.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.73-80
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• 2017

Purpose - Since Korean distribution market was opened, the domestic environment in department stores has been changed by the pattern of consumption and consumer need based on income classes. As multilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) accelerates opening markets, the scale of circulating capital has become bigger. Large-scale commercial facilities have developed quickly as a form of a large shopping center, thus, the matter of choice and securing market area became an important valuable in this trend. Moreover, multi-complex space has been proposed as the goal of successful business with promoting the public benefit. Research design, data, and methodology - This research studied consumer behavior using data about the life style and sales of consumers, not statistical data or survey as previous studies. This research tried to find the differentiation in complex cultural space with consumption behavior of department store. Results - As the structure of society and culture was getting diverse and complex, economic growth and development with such diversity and complexity improved consumers' quality of life. The changes of consumer life style are quite natural like human instinct. Department stores have activated retail business with the products of accumulated technology. Moreover, they have created the space of consumption and culture. Because of these social and environmental changes, department stores are being developed as Multi-functional spaces as well as sale places considering the strategies of department and the changes of consumers' purchasing behaviors. Conclusions - Urban culture complex is a landmark standing for the culture era of 21st century. It has provided an opportunity for consumers to enjoy culture, and has been an important factor to improve company images. Based on these roles and needs, expectancy effects are related with consumer preference and space preference, and the attitude toward companies. Moreover, the expectancy effects from those relationships are getting bigger and bigger. We should respect nature, a characteristic of Korean architecture, maintain visual continuity that harmonies with nature in the development of the complex space of the domestic department stores, and should take significance in the development of the complex cultural space in the direction of feeling the hierarchy of the space to obtain the visual pleasure with the artificial structure.