• Journal of Distribution Research
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.65-93
• /
• 2011

As relationship between buyer and seller has been brought closer and long-term relationship has been more important in B2B markets, the importance of service and service convenience increases as well as product. In homogeneous markets, where service offerings are similar and therefore not key competitive differentiator, providing greater convenience may enable a competitive advantage. Service convenience, as conceptualized by Berry et al. (2002), is defined as the consumers' time and effort perceptions related to buying or using a service. For this reason, B2B customers are interested in how fast the service is provided and how much save non-monetary cost like time or effort by the service convenience along with service quality. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate the impact of service convenience on relationship factors such as relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, and relationship performance. The purpose of this study is to find out whether service convenience can be a new antecedent of relationship quality and relationship performance. In addition, this study tries to examine how five-dimensional service convenience constructs (decision convenience, access convenience, transaction convenience, benefit convenience, post-benefit convenience) affect customers' relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, and relationship performance. The service convenience comprises five fundamental components - decision convenience (the perceived time and effort costs associated with service purchase or use decisions), access convenience(the perceived time and effort costs associated with initiating service delivery), transaction convenience(the perceived time and effort costs associated with finalizing the transaction), benefit convenience(the perceived time and effort costs associated with experiencing the core benefits of the offering) and post-benefit convenience (the perceived time and effort costs associated with reestablishing subsequent contact with the firm). Earlier studies of perceived service convenience in the industrial market are none. The conventional studies that have dealt with service convenience have usually been made in the consumer market, or they have dealt with convenience aspects in the service process. This service convenience measure for consumer market can be useful tool to estimate service quality in B2B market. The conceptualization developed by Berry et al. (2002) reflects a multistage, experiential consumption process in which evaluations of convenience vary at each stage. For this reason, the service convenience measure is good for B2B service environment which has complex processes and various types. Especially when categorizing B2B service as sequential stage of service delivery like Kumar and Kumar (2004), the Berry's service convenience measure which reflect sequential flow of service deliveries suitable to establish B2B service convenience. For this study, data were gathered from respondents who often buy business service and analyzed by structural equation modeling. The sample size in the present study is 119. Composite reliability values and average variance extracted values were examined for each variable to have reliability. We determine whether the measurement model supports the convergent validity by CFA, and discriminant validity was assessed by examining the correlation matrix of the constructs. For each pair of constructs, the square root of the average variance extracted exceeded their correlations, thus supporting the discriminant validity of the constructs. Hypotheses were tested using the Smart PLS 2.0 and we calculated the PLS path values and followed with a bootstrap re-sampling method to test the hypotheses. Among the five dimensional service convenience constructs, four constructs (decision convenience, transaction convenience, benefit convenience, post-benefit convenience) affected customers' positive relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, and relationship performance. This result means that service convenience is important cue to improve relationship between buyer and seller. One of the five service convenience dimensions, access convenience, does not affect relationship quality and performance, which implies that the dimension of service convenience is not important factor of cumulative satisfaction. The Cumulative satisfaction can be distinguished from transaction-specific customer satisfaction, which is an immediate post-purchase evaluative judgment or an affective reaction to the most recent transactional experience with the firm. Because access convenience minimizes the physical effort associated with initiating an exchange, the effect on relationship satisfaction similar to cumulative satisfaction may be relatively low in terms of importance than transaction-specific customer satisfaction. Also, B2B firms focus on service quality, price, benefit, follow-up service and so on than convenience of time or place in service because it is relatively difficult to change existing transaction partners in B2B market compared to consumer market. In addition, this study using partial least squares methods reveals that customers' satisfaction and commitment toward relationship has mediating role between the service convenience and relationship performance. The result shows that management and investment to improve service convenience make customers' positive relationship satisfaction, and then the positive relationship satisfaction can enhance the relationship commitment and relationship performance. And to conclude, service convenience management is an important part of successful relationship performance management, and the service convenience is an important antecedent of relationship between buyer and seller such as the relationship commitment and relationship performance. Therefore, it has more important to improve relationship performance that service providers enhance service convenience although competitive service development or service quality improvement is important. Given the pressure to provide increased convenience, it is not surprising that organizations have made significant investments in enhancing the convenience aspect of their product and service offering.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.79-88
• /
• 2015

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to examine the relationship between health belief and exercise compliance among elderly adults at senior centers and to identify factors influencing their exercise compliance. Methods: The subjects of this study were 100 elderly adults who were using senior centers in J City. Data were collected from the 5th of August to the 14th of September in 2014 using a questionnaire about general characteristics, health belief, and exercise compliance. Data analysis included one-way ANOVA, independent t-test, Pearson's correlation, and stepwise multiple regression using the SPSS/WIN 18.0 program. Results: The mean score for exercise compliance was 3.85 (range 1~5), and for perceived health state 3.17 (range 1~5). The mean score for each of the sub-factors of health belief was 3.89 for benefit, 1.94 for barrier, 3.34 for severity, 2.43 for sensitivity, and 3.65 for exercise self-efficacy (range 1~5). There was a significant correlation between exercise compliance and exercise benefit, and 28% of variance in exercise compliance was explained by exercise benefit in health belief, family history of illnesses, and perceived sensitivity in health belief. Conclusion: To promote exercise compliance among elderly adults at senior centers, exercise programs emphasizing exercise benefit should be developed.

• The Journal of Economics, Marketing and Management
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.27-37
• /
• 2022

Purpose: This study investigates how to successfully promote the smart product bundle by exploring (1) how consumers' adoption intention toward a smart product bundle differs by the complementarity level of the bundled items and (2) how the ad appeal type influences the effect of complementarity level on adoption intention via goal fluency. Research design, data and methodology: This study was a 2 (complementarity level: low vs. high) × 2 (ad appeal type: attribute vs. benefit) between-subjects experiment. The proposed hypotheses were verified using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and bootstrap analysis using PROCESS. Results: This research demonstrated that adoption intention toward smart products increases when the complementarity level of bundled smart items is high. Goal fluency underlies this relationship. Further, attribute versus benefit appeal type moderates the relationship between the complementarity level and goal fluency. Conclusions: Compared with the attribute appeal, benefit appeal leads to higher goal fluency when the complementarity level of the bundled items is low. However, there was no differential impact of appeal type on goal fluency when the complementarity level of bundled items is high. Finally, goal fluency mediated the interaction of complementarity level × ad appeal type on adoption intention.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
• /
• v.21 no.6
• /
• pp.1173-1184
• /
• 2012

This study estimates a structural model to examine the causal relationships among web browsing, switching cost, and site retention in the context of apparel shopping website. A total of 499 usable questionnaires were obtained from consumers aged from 20 to 49 years. For data analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural model were used. The result showed that consumer's perceived switching costs consisted of three factors: relationship cost, search cost and benefit loss cost. In estimated structural model, the relationship cost was influenced by leisure browsing; the search cost was influenced by informational browsing and leisure browsing; the benefit loss cost was influenced by leisure browsing. Especially, the leisure browsing was the most highly related to the benefit loss cost, and followed by relationship cost and search cost. However, hedonic browsing was not significantly related the factors of switching costs. The search costs significantly affected customer's intentions for site retention. A managerial implication was discussed for e-retailers in order to develop strategic switching costs in building long-term relationships with web browsers on the apparel shopping websites.

• The Journal of Information Systems
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.105-134
• /
• 2016

Purpose First, this study examines the relationship between characteristics of smartphone banking and trust of smartphone banking. Second, this study investigates the impact of perceived benefit on the trust and usage intention of smartphone banking. Finally, this study considers moderating effect of service quality in the relationships between perceived benefit and trust and usage intention of smartphone-based mobile banking. Design/methodology/approach This research uses the survey method to test its hypotheses, the survey population is smartphone baking users. A software tool called AMOS 17.0 used to analyze the research model. Findings The results showed that characteristics of smartphone banking channel like compatibility, timeliness, and mobility had a positive effect on the trust of smartphone banking. The device familiarity showed a significant positive impact on trust of smartphone banking. While the service quality moderated the relationship between trust and usage intention of smartphone banking, moderating effect of service quality in the relationship between perceived benefit and its usage intention was not significant. The results of this study could provide a theoretical framework to explain customers' decision of smartphone banking and practical implications for banking venders.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
• /
• 2004.09a
• /
• pp.20-24
• /
• 2004

The aim of this study was to analyse the cost-benefit-ratio of a soil remediation project. The target of the study was the 'Altablagerung Osnabrueck-Wueste' the largest inhabited former landfill site in Germany. The determination of benefit resulting from the soil remediation was quantified with the help of willingness-to-pay(WTP) analysis (contingent valuation method, CVM). 400 households participated in the survey. The average WTP was 6.5 Euro per household per month or 78 Euro per house-hold per year. The projected benefit generated by the remediation (consumer value) for the population in the landfill area was determined to be 0.7 million Euro per year. Factors which influence the will-ingness to pay were evaluated. The most important factors were age, garden use and the prevailing concern about personal health. A computation of the cost-benefit relationship was made on the basis of three different scenarios, which differed in terms of the projected benefits. Finally the economical efficiency of the project was determined. With a projection of 18 years and upwards the remediation of the soil is economically worthwhile.

• Knowledge Management Research
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.35-49
• /
• 2009

The purpose of this study is to examine whether suppliers are able to benefit by means of constructing a relationship-specific intangible asset and participating in collaboration with purchasers to actively maintain value created while mutually using inter-organizational information systems. To achieve the purpose of this study. 82 questionnaires have been analyzed from suppliers which are using electronic transactions through inter-organizational information systems. As a result, business process specificity and domain knowledge specificity, which are relationship-specific intangible assets, affect operational collaboration and strategic collaboration, which are classified by level of decision-making. Although both types of collaboration are needed to achieve both strategic and operational benefits, we find each collaboration to be uniquely promoted by a specific types of relationship-specific intangible asset. Operational collaboration is found to be an antecedent to operational benefit and strategic collaboration is found to be an antecedent to strategic benefits. No crossover between collaboration and supplier's benefits is found. Consequently, the result of this study shows collaboration is needed for domestic suppliers, which have relatively low levels of collaboration, to keep maintain relationship-specific intangible assets and to prevent the relationship termination cost when transactions have been stopped between supplier and purchaser. Also the results imply the supplier can have advantages by participating in collaboration.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.159-173
• /
• 2013

This research investigates the mechanism of ethical fashion consumption by examining the effects of benefit and risk perception on ethical fashion consumption attitudes and behavioral intention. To test the hypotheses, 300 female consumers between the ages of 20 and 49 were invited as study participants. The reliability and the validity of multi-item constructs were tested by Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The hypotheses were tested by utilizing Structural Equation Analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The benefit perception of ethical consumption was composed of three benefit types, which were altruistic benefit, social image benefit, and self-oriented benefit. Benefit perception, except social image benefit, had significant effects on consumer attitudes towards ethical fashion consumption; similarly, benefit perception had significant effects on behavioral intention (except self-oriented benefit) which had an effect on behavioral intention only when it was mediated by attitudes. Further analysis was conducted to understand the reason for the weak relationship between attitudes and behavioral intention. Financial and performance risk perceptions were tested for the moderating roles of attitudes and behavioral intention; subsequently, only financial risk interacted with attitudes and showed that the positive effects of attitudes on behavioral intention were weakened by a high financial risk perception. Performance risk had a main effect on behavioral intention independent of attitudes. Managerial implication and future study directions are also discussed.

• IE interfaces
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.234-245
• /
• 2000

In this paper, the conceptual framework of IBS(Intelligent Building Systems) is redefined, and we propose two ANP(Analytic Network Process) models for ranking IBS. Traditional models have ranked IBS according to technical features or the number of elements in IBS. But, we consider relative functional importance among IBS elements for efficient building operation. According to the structure of interactive-relationship among IBS elements, we present two types of model. The one is Model A that is composed of both hierarchical and network structures. It has $12{\times}12$ supermatrix consists of interdependent relationship between 6 benefit elements(Productivity, Saving, Safety, Convenience, Pleasantness, Environment Affinity) and 6 IBS elements(Building Operation, Security, Safety, Telecommunication(TC), Office Automation(OA), other elements). Each of 6 IBS elements has subelements in hierarchical structure. The other is Model B that has $25{\times}25$ supermatrix consists of interdependent relationship between 6 benefit elements and 19 IBS sub elements. Merits and demerits of each model are discussed in detail.

• Journal of Advanced Information Technology and Convergence
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.103-110
• /
• 2020

The course evaluations was used to collect the students' opinion and verify the learning performance for a long time. However, many evaluations' methods are not consider each characteristics of the course, and many courses were presented to students with the same question for the course evaluations. This research aims to make a learning success model considering the questionnaire of course evaluations and relationship between the factors of learning and learning satisfaction/benefit. In order to make a model, we identify the items of the questionnaire and distinguish the factors considering the items. The factors are Information Quality, Knowledge Quality, System Quality and Service Quality. Consequently, the research shows the connection and relationship between them and learning satisfaction/benefit.