• Title/Summary/Keyword: fit evaluations

Search Result 78, Processing Time 0.037 seconds

Research on the Visual Image of Blue Jeans - Focusing on Korean and Chinese Women in Their 20s - (블루 진의 시각적 이미지에 관한 연구 - 한국과 중국 20대 여성을 중심으로 -)

  • Han-Xu Deng;Jeong-Mee Kim
    • Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
    • /
    • v.26 no.1
    • /
    • pp.1-16
    • /
    • 2024
  • This study aims to investigate the differences in blue jean styles and the visual images associated with them. To achieve this, literature reviews, case studies, and surveys were conducted. The results are as follows. 1) Based on previous studies, it was found that the design elements influencing the style of blue jeans and their visual images include waistline position, silhouette, details, decorations, and color. Additionally, differences in the preferences and visual evaluations of Korean and Chinese individuals regarding the style of blue jeans were confirmed. 2) Skinny blue jeans are typically characterized by a high waistline and a length that reaches the ankles, featuring a snug fit with stretchy fabric. Straight blue jeans, on the other hand, usually have a natural or high waistline and cover the instep, with a straight silhouette descending from the thigh to the hem. Bell-bottom blue jeans are primarily high-waisted and cover the instep with a silhouette forming a bell shape from the knee to the hem. 3) Korean and Chinese women in their 20s evaluated skinny, straight, and bell-bottom styles of blue jeans as having a 'casual' image. However, they also associated bell-bottom style blue jeans with 'unique' and 'attractive' images. Interestingly, Korean women described skinny-style blue jeans as making someone look 'youthful', while Chinese women perceived them as 'sophisticated', 'making the waist look thicker', and 'unassuming'. As for straight-style blue jeans, Korean women saw them as 'well-fitting', while Chinese women described them as 'making one appear taller', 'desirable', and 'free-spirited'.

Justice and Authenticity of Service Recovery : Effects on Customer Behavioral Intention (서비스 회복이 고객의 행동 의도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구 : 서비스 회복의 공정성과 진정성을 중심으로)

  • Park, Eun-Ji;Kim, Chang-Gon;Kim, Myung-Soo;Han, Jang-hui
    • Journal of Distribution Science
    • /
    • v.13 no.2
    • /
    • pp.63-73
    • /
    • 2015
  • Purpose - Satisfaction with service is evaluated according to customers' subjective judgment. The expected value of customer service and its evaluations depend on the customers' position. The customer recognizes two different forms of service levels. One is satisfaction and the other is dissatisfaction. Customers who are satisfied want to receive the service in future. However, those dissatisfied try to change the service. The service provider tries to improve the service. There are two different service cycles. One is the successful cycle and the other is the failure cycle. This study aimed to empirically determine the effects of the justice and authenticity of service recovery on customer behavioral intention through an integrated approach to cognitive justice and psychological authenticity. Research design, data, and methodology - Based on a literature review, justice of service recovery was categorized into three types: distributive, procedural, and interactive. Then, authenticity was added to obtain four independent variables, along with recovery satisfaction as a parameter. Behavioral intention, as an outcome variable, was divided into the repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth. The model and hypotheses were created and measurement items were developed. A questionnaire survey of items concerning the service recovery experience at family restaurants was conducted on college students and residents in Gwangju from September 30 to October 31, 2013. A total of 400 copies of the questionnaire were sent out and 385 were returned. Respondents answered questions about the importance of, and satisfaction with service recovery on a 5-point Likert scale. Excluding 174 copies without service failure experiences and 7 inappropriate copies, 204 copies were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 for Windows and AMOS 20.0 to determine the reliability and validity of measurements. The hypotheses were tested through a goodness-of-fit analysis. Results - First, distributive justice positively affected recovery satisfaction. Second, procedural and interactive justice had no impact. Third, authenticity positively affected recovery satisfaction. Fourth, distributive justice had relatively stronger effects on recovery satisfaction than authenticity. Fifth, recovery satisfaction significantly affected repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth and it proved effective in mediation. Finally, additional analysis was performed for descriptive statistics of the principal variables by various demographic characteristics and significant differences were found in gender, occupation, and so on. Conclusions - This study has academic significance as the fairness and authenticity of service recovery were investigated to reveal the effects on behavior. The findings could be applied to a wide range of service recovery strategies. However, there are some limitations. First, data was collected only from the residents of Gwangju and most respondents were aged 20-30. Future studies should target a wide range of areas and age groups. Second, because the questionnaire used in this study targets only convenience family restaurants, the results of this study cannot be generalized to all services companies. Future research should be done on a wide range of industries such as hotels, airlines, and hospitals, and perform a comparison between sectors.

Influence of Brine Soaking on Quality Characteristics of Dried Apples (염침지 공정이 사과의 건조 특성에 미치는 영향)

  • Kang, Sung-Won;Heo, Ho-Jin;Yang, Han-Sul;Kerr, William L.;Choi, Sung-Gil
    • Journal of agriculture & life science
    • /
    • v.46 no.6
    • /
    • pp.147-156
    • /
    • 2012
  • This study evaluated the effects of presoaking apple slices in 2 or 5% brine solution prior to air-drying at $50^{\circ}C$. Several quality factors of the dried apples were measured including moisture content (MC), water activity ($a_w$), shear force, color values, appearance and consumer likability. Except at time 0, the $a_w$ of presoaked samples was lower than those of control during and after drying. The relationship between MC and water activity during drying was well-fit by an exponential model. During drying, the moisture contents of presoaked samples were slightly higher than control samples with no presoaking. However, the $a_w$ of presoaked slices were lower than control at a given drying time. At a given $a_w$, presoaked slices had higher moisture content. The shear force was lower for samples presoaked in brine solution, particularly at shorter drying times. Presoaked apple slices also were lighter in color after drying than controls. Sensory evaluations suggest that presoaking of apple slices before drying may help enhance palatability. Samples presoaked in 2% brine solution had the highest scores for taste, texture and overallacceptability, while those presoaked in 5% brine solution had the highest scores for appearance.

Differences Between Wearing Styles and Preferring Styles and the Sensibility According to Men's Fashion Style (남성복의 감성 및 선호 스타일과 실제 착용간의 차이)

  • Rim, Byungmook;Lee, Janghyung;Kim, Jisu;Na, Youngjoo
    • Science of Emotion and Sensibility
    • /
    • v.19 no.4
    • /
    • pp.71-82
    • /
    • 2016
  • As times change rapidly the lifestyle, personality, and values of men have changed diversely. Not only have preferences for men's clothing changed, men's fashion market has also grown, and novel, non-preexisting styles have come into place. Also, there are many studies on sensibility of women's fashion while studies on sensibility of men's fashion are insufficient. This study categorized common styles for men in their 20s into 7 different representative samples and investigated consumers' sensibility evaluations for each representative sample. Style 1 (suit), style 2 (rider jacket + skinny pants), style 3 (blouson + straight pants), style 4 (cardigan + half pants), style 5 (military jacket + straight pants), style 6 (loose fit jacket + skinny pants), and style 7 (baseball jumper + straight pants) were prepared in the evaluation questionnaire. The study compared male and female interest and knowledge of men's fashion, evaluated the sensibility difference depending on the men's fashion, analyzed whether there is a difference between preferred men's clothing and actual wearing of the clothing, and examined the preferred style in relation with the lifestyle. The results are as follows: First, men's fashion was diversified and subdivided, and interest and knowledge about men's fashion was greater for males than females. Second, sensibility of men's fashion had significant differences depending on the style, and it did not depend on genders. Third, there was a clear difference between the most favored style by the 20s and the actual style they commonly wear; the favored style and the actual worn style were consistent 66.1% of all the cases, inconsistent 33.9% of those. Style 3 had the highest preference and the actual wearing rate, and style 5 was the least preferred and worn. Fourth, the more extroverted lifestyle rather than introverted one, the more it was likely to prefer diverse styles.

The Effect of Corporate Association on the Perceived Risk of the Product (소비자의 제품 지각 위험에 대한 기업연상과 효과: 지식과 관여의 조절적 역활을 중심으로)

  • Cho, Hyun-Chul;Kang, Suk-Hou;Kim, Jin-Yong
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
    • /
    • v.18 no.4
    • /
    • pp.1-32
    • /
    • 2008
  • Brown and Dacin (1997) have investigated the relationship between corporate associations and product evaluations. Their study focused on the effects of associations with a company's corporate ability (CA) and its corporate social responsibility (CSR) on consumers' product evaluations. Their study has found that both of CA and CSR influenced product evaluation but CA association has a stronger effect than CSR associations. Brown and Dacin (1997) have, however, claimed that there are few researches on how corporate association impacts product responses. Accordingly, some of researchers have found the variables to moderate or to mediate the relationship between the corporate association and the product responses. In particular, there has been existed a few of studies that tested the influence of the reputation on the product-relevant perceived risk, but the effects of two types of the corporate association on the product-relevant perceived risk were not identified so far. The primary goal of this article is to identify and empirically examine some variables to moderate the effects of CA association and CSR association on the perceived risk of the product. In this articles, we take the concept of the corporate associations that Brown and Dacin (1997) had proposed. CA association is those association related to the company's expertise in producing and delivering its outputs and CSR association reflected the organization's status and activities with respect to its perceived societal obligations. Also, this study defines the risk, which is the uncertainty or loss of the product and corporate that consumers have taken in a particular purchase decision or after having purchased. The risk is classified into product-relevant performance risk and financial risk. Performance risk is the possibility or the consequence of a product not functioning at some expected level and financial risk is the monetary loss one perceives to be incurring if a product does not function at some expected level. In relation to consumer's knowledge, expert consumers have much of the experiences or knowledge of the product in consumer position and novice consumers does not. The model tested in this article are shown in Figure 1. The model indicates that both of CA association and CSR association influence on performance risk and financial risk. In addition, the effects of CA and CSR are moderated by product category knowledge (product knowledge) and product category involvement (product involvement). In this study, the relationships between the corporate association and product-relevant perceived risk are hypothesized as the following form. For example, Hypothesis 1a($H_{1a}$) is represented that CA association has a positive influence on the performance risk of consumer. Also, the hypotheses that identified some variables to moderate the effects of two types of corporate association on the perceived risk of the product are laid down. One of the hypotheses of the interaction effect is Hypothesis 3a($H_{3a}$), it is described that consumer's knowledges of the product moderates the negative relationship between CA association and product-relevant performance risk. A field experiment was conducted in order to examine our model. The company tested was not real but imagined to meet the internal validity. Water purifiers were used for our study. Four scenarios have been developed and described as the imaginary company: Type A with both of superior CA and CSR, Type B with superior CSR and inferior CA, Type C with superior CA and inferior CSR, and Type D with both inferior of CA and CSR. The respondents of this study were classified into four groups. One type of four scenarios (Type A, B, C, or D) in its questionnaire was given to the respondent who filled out questions. Data were collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire to the respondents, chosen in convenience. A total of 300 respondents filled out the questionnaire but 207 were used for further analysis. Table 1 indicates that the scales in this study are reliable because the range of coefficients of Cronbach's $\alpha$ are from 0.85 to 0.92. The composite reliability is in the range of 0,85 to 0,92 and average variance extracted is in 0.72-0.98 range that is higher than the base level of 0.6. As shown in Table 2, the values for CFI, NNFI, root-mean-square error approximation (RMSEA), and standardized root-mean-square residual (SRMR) are acceptably close to the standards suggested by Hu and Bentler (1999):.95 for CFI and NNFI,.06 for RMSEA, and.08 for SRMR. We also tested discriminant validity provided by Fornell and Larcker (1981). As shown in Table 2, we found strong evidence for discriminant validity between each possible pair of latent constructs in all samples. Given that these batteries of overall goodness-of-fit indices were accurate and that the model was developed on theoretical bases, and given the high level of consistency across samples, this enables us to proceed the previously defined scales. We used the moderated hierarchical regression analysis to test the influence of the corporate association(CA and CSR associations) on product-relevant perceived risk(performance and financial risks) and to identify the variables moderating the relationship between the corporate association and product-relevant performance risk. In this study, dependent variables are performance and financial risk. CA and CSR associations are described the independent variables. The moderating variables are product category knowledge and product category involvement. The results are, as expected, found that CA association has statistically a significant influence on the perceived risk of the product, but CSR association does not. Product category knowledge and involvement moderate the relationship between the CA association and the perceived risk of the product. However, the effect of CSR association on the perceived risk of the product is not moderated by the consumers' knowledge and involvement. For this result, it is necessary for a corporate to inform its customers CA association more than CSR association so that they could be felt to be the reduction of the perceived risk. The important theoretical contribution of this research is the meanings that two types of corporate association that Brown and Dacin(1997), and Brown(1998) have proposed replicated the difference of the effects on product evaluation. According to Hunter(2001), it was an important affair to accomplish the validity of a particular study and we had to take about ten studies to deduce a strict study. Next, there is the contribution of the this study to find that the effects of corporate association on the perceived risk of the product are varied by the moderator variables. In particular, the moderating effect of knowledge on the relationship between corporate association and product-relevant perceived risk has not been tested in Korea. In the managerial implications of this research, we suggest the necessity to stress the ability that corporate manufactures the product well(CA association) than the accomplishment of corporate's social obligation(CSR association). This study suffers from various limitations that imply future research directions. The moderating effects of product category knowledge and involvement on the relationship between corporate association and perceived risk need to be replicated. Next, future research could explore whether the mediated effects of the perceived risk has the relationship between corporate association and consumer's product purchase. In addition, to ensure the external validity of the study will be needed to use realistic company, not artificial.

  • PDF

The Effect of Retailer-Self Image Congruence on Retailer Equity and Repatronage Intention (자아이미지 일치성이 소매점자산과 고객의 재이용의도에 미치는 영향)

  • Han, Sang-Lin;Hong, Sung-Tai;Lee, Seong-Ho
    • Journal of Distribution Research
    • /
    • v.17 no.2
    • /
    • pp.29-62
    • /
    • 2012
  • As distribution environment is changing rapidly and competition is more intensive in the channel of distribution, the importance of retailer image and retailer equity is increasing as a different competitive advantages. Also, consumers are not functionally oriented and that their behavior is significantly affected by the symbols such as retailer image which identify retailer in the market place. That is, consumers do not choose products or retailers for their material utilities but consume the symbolic meaning of those products or retailers as expressed in their self images. The concept of self-image congruence has been utilized by marketers and researchers as an aid in better understanding how consumers identify themselves with the brands they buy and the retailer they patronize. Although self-image congruity theory has been tested across many product categories, the theory has not been tested extensively in the retailing. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate the impact of self image congruence between retailer image and self image of consumer on retailer equity such as retailer awareness, retailer association, perceived retailer quality, and retailer loyalty. The purpose of this study is to find out whether retailer-self image congruence can be a new antecedent of retailer equity. In addition, this study tries to examine how four-dimensional retailer equity constructs (retailer awareness, retailer association, perceived retailer quality, and retailer loyalty) affect customers' repatronage intention. For this study, data were gathered by survey and analyzed by structural equation modeling. The sample size in the present study was 254. The reliability of the all seven dimensions was estimated with Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability values and average variance extracted values. We determined whether the measurement model supports the convergent validity and discriminant validity by Exploratory factor analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. For each pair of constructs, the square root of the average variance extracted values exceeded their correlations, thus supporting the discriminant validity of the constructs. Hypotheses were tested using the AMOS 18.0. As expected, the image congruence hypotheses were supported. The greater the degree of congruence between retailer image and self-image, the more favorable were consumers' retailer evaluations. The all two retailer-self image congruence (actual self-image congruence and ideal self-image congruence) affected customer based retailer equity. This result means that retailer-self image congruence is important cue for customers to estimate retailer equity. In other words, consumers are often more likely to prefer products and retail stores that have images similar to their own self-image. Especially, it appeared that effect for the ideal self-image congruence was consistently larger than the actual self-image congruence on the retailer equity. The results mean that consumers prefer or search for stores that have images compatible with consumer's perception of ideal-self. In addition, this study revealed that customers' estimations toward customer based retailer equity affected the repatronage intention. The results showed that all four dimensions (retailer awareness, retailer association, perceived retailer quality, and retailer loyalty) had positive effect on the repatronage intention. That is, management and investment to improve image congruence between retailer and consumers' self make customers' positive evaluation of retailer equity, and then the positive customer based retailer equity can enhance the repatonage intention. And to conclude, retailer's image management is an important part of successful retailer performance management, and the retailer-self image congruence is an important antecedent of retailer equity. Therefore, it is more important to develop and improve retailer's image similar to consumers' image. Given the pressure to provide increased image congruence, it is not surprising that retailers have made significant investments in enhancing the fit between retailer image and self image of consumer. The enhancing such self-image congruence may allow marketers to target customers who may be influenced by image appeals in advertising.

  • PDF

Self-Regulatory Mode Effects on Emotion and Customer's Response in Failed Services - Focusing on the moderate effect of attribution processing - (고객의 자기조절성향이 서비스 실패에 따른 부정적 감정과 고객반응에 미치는 영향 - 귀인과정에 따른 조정적 역할을 중심으로 -)

  • Sung, Hyung-Suk;Han, Sang-Lin
    • Asia Marketing Journal
    • /
    • v.12 no.2
    • /
    • pp.83-110
    • /
    • 2010
  • Dissatisfied customers may express their dissatisfaction behaviorally. These behavioral responses may impact the firms' profitability. How do we model the impact of self regulatory orientation on emotions and subsequent customer behaviors? Obviously, the positive and negative emotions experienced in these situations will influence the overall degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the service(Zeelenberg and Pieters 1999). Most likely, these specific emotions will also partly determine the subsequent behavior in relation to the service and service provider, such as the likelihood of complaining, the degree to which customers will switch or repurchase, and the extent of word of mouth communication they will engage in(Zeelenberg and Pieters 2004). This study investigates the antecedents, consequences of negative consumption emotion and the moderate effect of attribution processing in an integrated model(self regulatory mode → specific emotions → behavioral responses). We focused on the fact that regret and disappointment have effects on consumer behavior. Especially, There are essentially two approaches in this research: the valence based approach and the specific emotions approach. The authors indicate theoretically and show empirically that it matters to distinguish these approaches in services research. and The present studies examined the influence of two regulatory mode concerns(Locomotion orientation and Assessment orientation) with making comparisons on experiencing post decisional regret and disappointment(Pierro, Kruglanski, and Higgins 2006; Pierro et al. 2008). When contemplating a decision with a negative outcome, it was predicted that high (vs low) locomotion would induce more disappointment than regret, whereas high (vs low) assessment would induce more regret than disappointment. The validity of the measurement scales was also confirmed by evaluations provided by the participating respondents and an independent advisory panel; samples provided recommendations throughout the primary, exploratory phases of the study. The resulting goodness of fit statistics were RMR or RMSEA of 0.05, GFI and AGFI greater than 0.9, and a chi-square with a 175.11. The indicators of the each constructs were very good measures of variables and had high convergent validity as evidenced by the reliability with a more than 0.9. Some items were deleted leaving those that reflected the cognitive dimension of importance rather than the dimension. The indicators were very good measures and had convergent validity as evidenced by the reliability of 0.9. These results for all constructs indicate the measurement fits the sample data well and is adequate for use. The scale for each factor was set by fixing the factor loading to one of its indicator variables and then applying the maximum likelihood estimation method. The results of the analysis showed that directions of the effects in the model are ultimately supported by the theory underpinning the causal linkages of the model. This research proposed 6 hypotheses on 6 latent variables and tested through structural equation modeling. 6 alternative measurements were compared through statistical significance test of the paths of research model and the overall fitting level of structural equation model and the result was successful. Also, Locomotion orientation more positively influences disappointment when internal attribution is high than low and Assessment orientation more positively influences regret when external attribution is high than low. In sum, The results of our studies suggest that assessment and locomotion concerns, both as chronic individual predispositions and as situationally induced states, influence the amount of people's experienced regret and disappointment. These findings contribute to our understanding of regulatory mode, regret, and disappointment. In previous studies of regulatory mode, relatively little attention has been paid to the post actional evaluative phase of self regulation. The present findings indicate that assessment concerns and locomotion concerns are clearly distinct in this phase, with individuals higher in assessment delving more into possible alternatives to past actions and individuals higher in locomotion engaging less in such reflective thought. What this suggests is that, separate from decreasing the amount of counterfactual thinking per se, individuals with locomotion concerns want to move on, to get on with it. Regret is about the past and not the future. Thus, individuals with locomotion concerns are less likely to experience regret. The results supported our predictions. We discuss the implications of these findings for the nature of regret and disappointment from the perspective of their relation to regulatory mode. Also, self regulatory mode and the specific emotions(disappointment and regret) were assessed and their influence on customers' behavioral responses(inaction, word of mouth) was examined, using a sample of 275 customers. It was found that emotions have a direct impact on behavior over and above the effects of negative emotions and customer behavior. Hence, We argue against incorporating emotions such as regret and disappointment into a specific response measure and in favor of a specific emotions approach on self regulation. Implications for services marketing practice and theory are discussed.

  • PDF

The Impacts of Social Support and Psychological Factors on Guild Members' Flow and Loyalty in MMORPG (MMORPG에서 길드 구성원들의 사회적 지지와 심리적 요인들이 플로우 및 충성도에 미치는 영향)

  • Kang, Ju-Seon;Ko, Yoon-Jung;Ko, Il-Sang
    • Asia pacific journal of information systems
    • /
    • v.19 no.3
    • /
    • pp.69-98
    • /
    • 2009
  • We investigated what factors motivate gamers to participate in a guild and why they continue to be engaged as members of the guild. We find that, based on the result of focus group interviews with MMORPG gamers, social support and self-esteem factors play important roles. Considering both prior research and the focus group interviews we have conducted, we define social support and character control as independent variables. Character identity, guild identity, and self-esteem are proposed as mediating variables while guild flow and game loyalty as dependent variables. Accordingly, we develop the research model and hypotheses, and verify them empirically. Based on our experiences of playing the WoW game, we proposed a research model and conducted focus-group interviews (FGIs). FGIs involve formulating a hypothesis and then collecting some relevant data. FGIs were conducted face-to-face with students of C University in Korea. We formulated structured interview schedules, and the questions were based on our research variables and personal experiences. The questions for the interviews encompassed the following areas: (a) the demographic characteristics of the focus group; (b) the number of years for which respondents had played online games; (c) the motive for starting a game; (d) the number of game-characters assumed by each gamer; (e) the type of game played; and (f) other issues such as the reasons for involvement in the play, the willingness to reuse the game in case new versions were released, etc. On average, it took two hours to interview each of three groups. A primary set of FGIs was conducted with three groups on the premise that there would be some differences caused by character race (Horde vs. Alliance) or by playable server (Normal vs. Combat). With respect to the manner of playing, we found that guild members shared information, felt a sense of belonging, and played computer games for quite a long time through the guild; however, they did not undergo these experiences when playing alone. Gamers who belonged to a specific guild helped other players without expecting compensation for that, freely shared information about the game, gave away items for free, and more generous with other members who made mistakes. The guild members were aware of the existence other members and experienced a sense of belonging through interactions with, and evaluations from, other players. It was clear that social support was shown within the guild and that it played an important role as a major research variable. Based on the results of the first FGIs, a second set of in-depth FGIs was carried out with a focus on the psychology of the individual within the guild and the social community of the guild. The second set of FGIs also focused on the guild's offline meetings. Gamers, over all, recognize the necessity of joining a community, not only off-line but also online world of the guild. They admit that the guild is important for them to easily and conveniently enjoy playing online computer games. The active behavior and positive attitudes of existing guild members can motivate new members of the guild to adapt themselves to the guild environment. They then adopt the same behaviors and attitudes of established guild members. In this manner, the new members of the guild strengthen the bonds with other gamers while feeling a sense of belonging, and developing social identity, thereby. It was discovered that the interaction among guild members and the social support encouraged new gamers to quickly develop a sense of social identity and increase their self-esteem. The guild seemed to play the role of socializing gamers. Sometimes, even in the real world, the guild members helped one another; therefore, the features of the guild also spilled over to the offline environment. We intend to use self-esteem, which was found through the second set of FGIs, as an important research variable. To collect data, an online survey was designed with a questionnaire to be completed by WoW gamers, who belong to a guild. The survey was registered on the best three domestic game-sites: 'WoW playforum,' 'WoW gamemeca,' and 'Wow invent.' The selected items to be measured in the questionnaire were decided based on prior research and data from FGIs. To verify the content of the questionnaire, we carried out a pilot test with the same participants to point out ambiguous questions as a way to ensure maximum accuracy of the survey result. A total of 244 responses were analyzed from the 250 completed questionnaires. The SEM analysis was used to test goodness-of-fit of the model. As a result, we found important results as follows: First, according to the statistics, social support had statistically significant impacts on character control, character identity, guild identity and self-esteem. Second, character control had significant effects on character identity, guild identity and self-esteem. Third, character identity shows its clear impact on self-esteem and game loyalty. Fourth, guild identity affected self-esteem, guild flow and game loyalty. Fifth, self-esteem had a positive influence on the guild flow. These days, the number of virtual community is rising along with its significance largely because of the nature of the online games. Accordingly, this study is designed to clarify the psychological relationship between gamers within the guild that has been generally established by gamers to play online games together. This study focuses on the relationships in which social support influences guild flow or game loyalty through character control, character identity, guild identity, and self-esteem, which are present within a guild in the MMORPG game environment. The study results are as follows. First, the effects of social support on character control, character identity, guild identity and self-esteem are proven to be statistically significant. It was found that character control improves character identity, guild identity and self-esteem. Among the seven variables, social support, which is derived from FGIs, plays an important role in this study. With the active support of other guild members, gamers can improve their ability to develop good characters and to control them. Second, character identity has a positive effect on self-esteem and game loyalty, while guild identity has a significant effect on self-esteem, guild flow and game loyalty. Self-esteem affects guild flow. It was found that the higher the character and guild identities become, the greater the self-esteem is established. Contrary to the findings of prior research, our study results indicate that the relationship between character identity and guild flow is not significant. Rather, it was found that character identity directly affects game players' loyalty. Even though the character identity had no direct effect on increasing guild flow, it has indirectly affected guild flow through self-esteem. The significant relationship between self-esteem and guild flow indicates that gamers achieve flow, i.e., a feeling of pleasure and excitement through social support. Several important implications of this study should be noted. First, both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to conduct this study. Through FGIs, it was observed that both social support and self-esteem are important variables. Second, because guilds had been rarely studied, this research is expected to play an important role in the online community. Third, according to the result, six hypotheses (H1, H5, H6, H7, H8, and H11) setup based on FGIs, were statistically significant; thus, we can suggest the corresponding relationships among the variables as a guideline for follow-up research. Our research is significant as it has following implications: first, the social support of the guild members is important when establishing character control, character identity, guildidentity and self-esteem. It is also a major variable that affects guild flow and game loyalty. Second, character control when improved by social support shows notable influence on the development of character identity, guild identity and self-esteem. Third, character identity and guild identity are major factors to help establish gamers' own self-esteem. Fourth, character identity affects guild flow through self-esteem and game loyalty. The gamers usually express themselves through characters; the higher character identity is, the more loyalty a gamer has. Fifth, guild identity, established within the guild, has clear effects on self-esteem, guild flow and game loyalty. Sixth, qualitative and quantitative methods are employed to conduct this study. Based on the results of focus group interviews and SEM analysis, we find that the social support by guild members and psychological factors are significant in strengthening the flow of guild and loyalty to the game. As such, game developers should provide some extra functions for guild community, through which gamers can play online games in collaboration with one another. Also, we suggest that positive self-esteem which is built up through social support can help gamers achieve higher level of flow and satisfaction, which will consequently contribute to minimizing the possibility for the players to develop negative attitude toward the guild they belong to.