• Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.55-73
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• 2016

Marketing activities play an important role in determining sales performances for B2B companies; however, prior research implies that the effect of marketing activities in the industrial market cannot be inferred from findings in the consumer market due to their differences such as types of customers or products. We further note that B2C companies (i.e. B2B client companies) serve individual consumers, and thus, B2B sales performance can be better understood as consumer market contexts are also taken into account. In this research, we study B2B marketing activities and B2C market contexts, and their effects on B2B sales performance. To this end, we focus on three factors : sales calls conducted by B2B companies, and market commercialization and social interactions in regions where B2C companies operate. Our empirical analyses provide the following results. First, B2B sales performance improves in proportion to sales calls. When sales calls serve as the means to provide product information, they help client companies understand product benefits and make purchases accordingly. Second, B2B sales performance increases as B2C markets become more commercialized, but the effect of sales calls on B2B sales declines. Commercialized markets are more attractive to individual consumers and thus, lead to greater sales in the consumer market. However, the role of sales calls as information sources weakens as B2C companies share product information themselves and develop expertise in commercialized markets. Finally, B2B sales are greater in urban markets compared to suburbs. However, the effect of sales calls on B2B sales increases in suburban markets compared to the urban counterpart. Cohesive social interactions in suburbs hinder information diffusion among B2C companies, which in turn strengthens the role of sales calls as information sources. We theoretically contribute to the B2B marketing literature and managerially suggest strategies to improve B2B sales performance.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.23-60
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• 2016

The major objective of this study was to develop further understanding of 3D nearshore hydrodynamics under a variety of wave and tidal forcing conditions. The main tool used was a comprehensive 3D numerical model - combining the flow module of Delft3D with the WAVE solver of XBeach - of nearshore hydro- and morphodynamics that can simulate flow, sediment transport, and morphological evolution. Surf-swash zone hydrodynamics were modeled using the 3D Navier-Stokes equations, combined with various turbulence models (${\kappa}-{\varepsilon}$, ${\kappa}-L$, ATM and H-LES). Sediment transport and resulting foreshore profile changes were approximated using different sediment transport relations that consider both bed- and suspended-load transport of non-cohesive sediments. The numerical set-up was tested against field data, with good agreement found. Different numerical experiments under a range of bed characteristics and incident wave and tidal conditions were run to test the model's capability to reproduce 3D flow, wave propagation, sediment transport and morphodynamics in the nearshore at the field scale. The results were interpreted according to existing understanding of surf and swash zone processes. Our numerical experiments confirm that the angle between the crest line of the approaching wave and the shoreline defines the direction and strength of the longshore current, while the longshore current velocity varies across the nearshore zone. The model simulates the undertow, hydraulic cell and rip-current patterns generated by radiation stresses and longshore variability in wave heights. Numerical results show that a non-uniform seabed is crucial for generation of rip currents in the nearshore (when bed slope is uniform, rips are not generated). Increasing the wave height increases the peaks of eddy viscosity and TKE (turbulent kinetic energy), while increasing the tidal amplitude reduces these peaks. Wave and tide interaction has most striking effects on the foreshore profile with the formation of the intertidal bar. High values of eddy viscosity, TKE and wave set-up are spread offshore for coarser grain sizes. Beach profile steepness modifies the nearshore circulation pattern, significantly enhancing the vertical component of the flow. The local recirculation within the longshore current in the inshore region causes a transient offshore shift and strengthening of the longshore current. Overall, the analysis shows that, with reasonable hypotheses, it is possible to simulate the nearshore hydrodynamics subjected to oceanic forcing, consistent with existing understanding of this area. Part II of this work presents 3D nearshore morphodynamics induced by the tides and waves.