• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.39-46
• /
• 1989

Kimura's Disease is a chronic inflammatory and proliferative condition producing subcutaneous masses especially in the head and neck area. This report of our experience with 5 patients with this disease is the first in the Korean surgical literature. Kimura's Disease is thought to be part of the larger spectrum of the entity known as angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE). It is characterized pathologically by hyperplastic lymphoid follicles, eosinophilic infiltration, and vase 비 ar proliferation. It produces masses which are most common in the area of the parotid, submandibular gland and upper neck. These masses occupy the subcutaneous tissues but also extend into salivary tissue and into upper neck nodes. One of our patients had masses in the groin. The tumors are extremely vascular due to the presence of new proliferative vessels and sinusoids. The average age of our 5 patients was 35, but all but one case were younger than 38 years of age. The male: female ratio was 3 : 2, and the average duration of symptoms was 5,2years. All patients had peripheral blood eosinophilia. All had multiple masses, sometimes symmetrical. The management was surgery alone in one case, surgery and steroids in one case, surgery and radiotherapy in two cases, and all three modalities in one case. The relationship of this entity to ALHE and our experience in the management of this disease are presented. A clinicopathological discrepancy alerted us to the existence of Kimura's Disease. A nineteen-year old male presented with subcutaneous masses over both mastoid areas present for 3 years (Case III). When biopsy on each side was reported as 'eosinophilic granuloma' we submitted the slides to an internationally expert pathologist. Symmetrically occurring tumors in the peri-parotid subcutaneous areas did not fit any category of neoplasm or granuloma known to us. The diagnosis, made by Dr. Gist Fan at the Ochsner Clinic, was Kimura's Disease. We found two additional cases in a review of soft tissue eosinophilic granuloma previously reported at Presbyterian Medical Center, and since then have diagnosed two new cases. These five cases constitute the basis for this, the largest series to be reported in Korea. These vascular, tumor-like lesions of the skin, subcutaneous areas and subjacent structures of the head and neck have been a variety of names, such as angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia, eosinophilic hyperplastic lymphogranuloma, angioblastic lymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia, histioid hemangioma, and epithelioid hemangioma. The history of this disease spectrum dates back to 1937 when Kimm and Szeto (1) reported 7 cases of 'eosinophilic hyperplastic lymphogranuloma' in the Proceedings of the Chinese Medical Journal. In 1948 Kimura and his associates(2) reported additional cases in Japan under the title 'On the unusual granulation combined with hyperplastic changes of lymphatic tissue.' From then until 1966 several hundred cases were reported in China and Japan. The first report from the West was by Wells and Whimster(3) in the British Journal of Dermatology, in 1969. These authors coined the term, angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE). Since that time a debate has ensued as to whether Kimura's Disease and ALHE are distinct entities, or whether Kimura's is part of the larger spectrum of ALHE, perhaps a later or advanced phase. From the clinical perspective, surgeons should be aware of the diagnosis of Kimura's Disease not only as part of the differential diagnosis of head and neck tumors but also because these lesions are indolent, and generally require conservative surgical removal as part of the management program. CASE I. A 37-year-old female company employee presented in August 1982 with submental swelling of 12 years' duration and with inguinal swelling of 7 years' duration. The submental mass measured 5x5cm. and the inguinal mass was 8x4cm. in size. Peripheral eosinophilia varying from 14% to 40% was found. On August 20, 1982, the submental mass was removed and a superficial groin dissection was done. In May 1983 an intraoral lesion of the palate was removed. The patient is free of disease. CASE II. A 23-year-old unemployed man visited this hospital for the first time in July, 1984, with swelling of the right cheek present for 6 years. The mass was soft and ill-defined but measured 10x20cm. and extended from the submandibular upper neck to the zygomatic arch, and from the mastoid to the cheek, over the parotid gland. Eosinophilia varying from 27% to 29% was noted in the peripheral blood. On March 21, 1986, the lesion was resected. The procedure comprised an extended superficial parotidectomy from the temporalis fascia to the upper neck. Post-operatively radiotherapy 3000 rad tissue dose was administered using the 6 MeV linear accelerator. The patient remains free of disease. CASE III. A 19-year-old student came to the clinic with masses over both mastoid areas, present 3 years. On the right there were two adjacent lesions, one over the mastoid, the other in the upper jugular level of the neck. On the left it was a single mass over the mastoid. Eosinophilia varied from 13 to 32% in the peripheral blood, and 11.6% in the bone marrow. Incisional biopsy revealed 'eosinophilic granuloma' and a trial of predisolone was employed. The mass increased in size so a small dose of radiation (600 rads) was used, with substantial regression,. The lesion on the left was excised and follwed by 1000 rads radiotherapy. Finally recurrent tumor on the right side was removed on November 5, 1985. The patient remains free of disease. CASE N. A 29-year-old local merchant had had swelling of both upper necks since childhood. At the time of his first visit on March 17, 1986, the right submandibular mass measured 5x3.5cm. and the ,right upper neck and parotid tail mass measured 2.5cm. On the left there were masses in the upper neck, the largest of which measured 2.5cm, and of the parotid tail, 2.0cm. in size.(See Fig. 1) Peripheral eosinophilia of 39% was recorded. Left side partial parotidectomy and resection of the upper neck and subdigstric mases was done on May 2, 1986. The mass involving the right parotid tail and upper neck nodes was removed on Angust 7,1986. Postoperatively the patient was placed on prednisolone 30 mg. per day. No definite masses are palpable. CASE V. A 66-year-old housewife informed us, at the time of her first visit in May, 1986, that she had had multiple neck masses since 10 years ago. On the right side there was a 2.5cm. subcutaneous mass of the upper neck, over the upper jugular chain. On the left there was a 9x4.5cm. mass involving the entire parotid, the post-auricular area and the upper neck. A third mass presented in the submental area and measured 3.5cm. (See Fig. 2) Eosinophilia of 51% was noted in the peripheral blood. partial excision of the left upper neck lesion and complete excision of the submental mass were performed on june 6, 1986. post-operatively she was placed on 20 mg. of prednisolone daily, but when the mass re-grew after two months she was referred to Radiation Therapy for a 2500 rad course of treatment. A barely palpable thickening remains.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.32-43
• /
• 2009

Trust has been studied extensively in psychology, economics, and sociology, and its importance has been emphasized not only in marketing, but also in business disciplines in general. Unlike past relationships between suppliers and buyers, which take considerable advantage of private networks and may involve unethical business practices, partnerships between suppliers and buyers are at the core of success for industrial marketing amid intense global competition in the 21st century. A high level of mutual cooperation occurs through an exchange relationship based on trust, which brings long-term benefits, competitive enhancements, and transaction cost reductions, among other benefits, for both buyers and suppliers. In spite of the important role of trust, existing studies in buy-supply situations overlook the role of trust and do not systematically analyze the effect of trust on relational performance. Consequently, an in-depth study that determines the relation of trust to the relational performance between buyers and suppliers of business services is absolutely needed. Business services in this study, which include those supporting the manufacturing industry, are drawing attention as the economic growth engine for the next generation. The Korean government has selected business services as a strategic area for the development of manufacturing sectors. Since the demands for opening business services markets are becoming fiercer, the competitiveness of the business service industry must be promoted now more than ever. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the mutual trust between buyers and suppliers on relational performance. Specifically, this study proposed a theoretical model of trust-relational performance in the transactions of business services and empirically tested the hypotheses delineated from the framework. The study suggests strategic implications based on research findings. Empirical data were collected via multiple methods, including via telephone, mail, and in-person interviews. Sample companies were knowledge-based companies supplying and purchasing business services in Korea. The present study collected data on a dyadic basis. Each pair of sample companies includes a buying company and its corresponding supplying company. Mutual trust was traced for each pair of companies. This study proposes a model of trust-relational performance of buying-supplying for business services. The model consists of trust and its antecedents and consequences. The trust of buyers is classified into trust toward the supplying company and trust toward salespersons. Viewing trust both at the individual level and the organizational level is based on the research of Doney and Cannon (1997). Normally, buyers are the subject of trust, but this study supposes that suppliers are the subjects. Hence, it uniquely focused on the bilateral perspective of perceived risk. In other words, suppliers, like buyers, are the subject of trust since transactions are normally bilateral. From this point of view, suppliers' trust in buyers is as important as buyers' trust in suppliers. The suppliers' trust is influenced by the extent to which it trusts the buying companies and the buyers. This classification of trust using an individual level and an organization level is based on the suggestion of Doney and Cannon (1997). Trust affects the process of supplier selection, which works in a bilateral manner. Suppliers are actively involved in the supplier selection process, working very closely with buyers. In addition, the process is affected by the extent to which each party trusts its partners. The selection process consists of certain steps: recognition, information search, supplier selection, and performance evaluation. As a result of the process, both buyers and suppliers evaluate the performance and take corrective actions on the basis of such outcomes as tangible, intangible, and/or side effects. The measurement of trust used for the present study was developed on the basis of the studies of Mayer, Davis and Schoorman (1995) and Mayer and Davis (1999). Based on their recommendations, the three dimensions of trust used for the study include ability, benevolence, and integrity. The original questions were adjusted to the context of the transactions of business services. For example, a question such as "He/she has professional capabilities" has been changed to "The salesperson showed professional capabilities while we talked about our products." The measurement used for this study differs from those used in previous studies (Rotter 1967; Sullivan and Peterson 1982; Dwyer and Oh 1987). The measurements of the antecedents and consequences of trust used for this study were developed on the basis of Doney and Cannon (1997). The original questions were adjusted to the context of transactions in business services. In particular, questions were developed for both buyers and suppliers to address the following factors: reputation (integrity, customer care, good-will), market standing (company size, market share, positioning in the industry), willingness to customize (product, process, delivery), information sharing (proprietary information, private information), willingness to maintain relationships, perceived professionalism, authority empowerment, buyer-seller similarity, and contact frequency. As a consequential variable of trust, relational performance was measured. Relational performance is classified into tangible effects, intangible effects, and side effects. Tangible effects include financial performance; intangible effects include improvements in relations, network developing, and internal employee satisfaction; side effects include those not included either in the tangible or intangible effects. Three hundred fifty pairs of companies were contacted, and one hundred five pairs of companies responded. After deleting five company pairs because of incomplete responses, one hundred five pairs of companies were used for data analysis. The response ratio of the companies used for data analysis is 30% (105/350), which is above the average response ratio in industrial marketing research. As for the characteristics of the respondent companies, the majority of the companies operate service businesses for both buyers (85.4%) and suppliers (81.8%). The majority of buyers (76%) deal with consumer goods, while the majority of suppliers (70%) deal with industrial goods. This may imply that buyers process the incoming material, parts, and components to produce the finished consumer goods. As indicated by their report of the length of acquaintance with their partners, suppliers appear to have longer business relationships than do buyers. Hypothesis 1 tested the effects of buyer-supplier characteristics on trust. The salesperson's professionalism (t=2.070, p<0.05) and authority empowerment (t=2.328, p<0.05) positively affected buyers' trust toward suppliers. On the other hand, authority empowerment (t=2.192, p<0.05) positively affected supplier trust toward buyers. For both buyers and suppliers, the degree of authority empowerment plays a crucial role in the maintenance of their trust in each other. Hypothesis 2 tested the effects of buyerseller relational characteristics on trust. Buyers tend to trust suppliers, as suppliers make every effort to contact buyers (t=2.212, p<0.05). This tendency has also been shown to be much stronger for suppliers (t=2.591, p<0.01). On the other hand suppliers trust buyers because suppliers perceive buyers as being similar to themselves (t=2.702, p<0.01). This finding confirmed the results of Crosby, Evans, and Cowles (1990), which reported that suppliers and buyers build relationships through regular meetings, either for business or personal matters. Hypothesis 3 tested the effects of trust on perceived risk. It has been found that for both suppliers and buyers the lower is the trust, the higher is the perceived risk (t=-6.621, p<0.01 for buyers; t=-2.437, p<0.05). Interestingly, this tendency has been shown to be much stronger for buyers than for suppliers. One possible explanation for this higher level of perceived risk is that buyers normally perceive higher risks than do suppliers in transactions involving business services. For this reason, it is necessary for suppliers to implement risk reduction strategies for buyers. Hypothesis 4 tested the effects of trust on information searching. It has been found that for both suppliers and buyers, contrary to expectation, trust depends on their partner's reputation (t=2.929, p<0.01 for buyers; t=2.711, p<0.05 for suppliers). This finding shows that suppliers with good reputations tend to be trusted. Prior experience did not show any significant relationship with trust for either buyers or suppliers. Hypothesis 5 tested the effects of trust on supplier/buyer selection. Unlike buyers, suppliers tend to trust buyers when they think that previous transactions with buyers were important (t=2.913 p<0.01). However, this study did not show any significant relationship between source loyalty and the trust of buyers in suppliers. Hypothesis 6 tested the effects of trust on relational performances. For buyers and suppliers, financial performance reportedly improved when they trusted their partners (t=2.301, p<0.05 for buyers; t=3.692, p<0.01 for suppliers). It is interesting that this tendency was much stronger for suppliers than it was for buyers. Similarly, competitiveness was reported to improve when buyers and suppliers trusted their partners (t=3.563, p<0.01 for buyers; t=3.042, p<0.01 for suppliers). For suppliers, efficiency and productivity were reportedly improved when they trusted buyers (t=2.673, p<0.01). Other performance indices showed insignificant relationships with trust. The findings of this study have some strategic implications. First and most importantly, trust-based transactions are beneficial for both suppliers and buyers. As verified in the study, financial performance can be improved through efforts to build and maintain mutual trust. Similarly, competitiveness can be increased through the same kinds of effort. Second, trust-based transactions can facilitate the reduction of perceived risks inherent in the purchasing situation. This finding has implications for both suppliers and buyers. It is generally believed that buyers perceive higher risks in a highly involved purchasing situation. To reduce risks, previous studies have recommended that suppliers devise risk-reducing tactics. Moving beyond these recommendations, the present study uniquely focused on the bilateral perspective of perceived risk. In other words, suppliers are also susceptible to perceived risks, especially when they supply services that require very technical and sophisticated manipulations and maintenance. Consequently, buyers and suppliers must solve problems together in close collaboration. Hence, mutual trust plays a crucial role in the problem-solving process. Third, as found in this study, the more authority a salesperson has, the more he or she can be trusted. This finding is very important with regard to tactics. Building trust is a long-term assignment; however, when mutual trust has not been developed, suppliers can overcome the problems they encounter by empowering a salesperson with the authority to make certain decisions. This finding applies to suppliers as well.