• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.85-94
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• 2015

Purpose - This study attempts to examine the impacts of consumers' perceived service convenience of retailers on various service performance metrics such as service quality and customer satisfaction. It also tries to investigate differences in the importance of service convenience dimensions on service performance between a department store and a general super market. Research design, data, and methodology - The four hypotheses in this study were proposed and tested. Two hypotheses were on the causal relationships between service convenience dimensions and service performances (service quality and customer satisfaction). The other two hypotheses were on comparisons for the effects of convenience dimensions on service quality and customer satisfaction between department stores and general super markets. To test the hypotheses, three department store chains (Hyundai, Lotte, and Shinsegae department Store) and three general super markets (E-mart, Homeplus, and Lotte mart) were involved. Overall, 510 usable responses were used. The data were analyzed using regression analysis. Results - The results largely support the hypothesized relationships of the proposed model. The results show that access convenience, transaction convenience, benefit convenience, and post-benefit convenience have positive influences on service quality, whereas decision convenience, access convenience, transaction convenience, benefit convenience, and post-benefit convenience have positive effects on customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the results show that there are differences between department stores and general super markets in the effects of benefit convenience and post-benefit convenience on service quality as well as the effects of transaction convenience and post-benefit convenience on customer satisfaction. Conclusions - The concept of service convenience is important in retail environments but little is known about this topic in retail literature. Specially, while service convenience dimensions have different impacts on service performance in distinct retail environments, there has been little investigation or comparison between retail types as regards service convenience. This study is the first to test the differences between distinct retail types (department stores and general super markets) on the service convenience-service performance links. Managerially, the findings of this study suggest that the service convenience management of retailers is an important part of successful service performance management. Because it is most important that both department stores and general super markets enhance benefit convenience to improve service performance, managers of both store types need to invest their resources to reduce consumers' perceived time and effort expenditures to experience the retailer's core benefits. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that retail stores should spend human and financial resources to enhance customer perceptions of service convenience, while also considering what constitutes the service outcome in the consumer's mind. Furthermore, the findings suggest that managers need to use different service convenience management tactics in department stores and general super markets. Specifically, managers in general super markets should pay more attention to benefit convenience and transaction convenience to achieve better service performance whereas managers in department stores should concentrate on post-benefit convenience to create customers' positive evaluation.

• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.59-75
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• 2013

As education environment is changing rapidly and competition of education industry is more intensive, the importance of service view about education is increasing as a differential competitive advantage. This study attempted to investigate the impact of service convenience as a different competitive advantage on e-learning acceptance by using TAM. The purpose of this study is to examine how five-dimensional service convenience constructs(decision convenience, access convenience, transaction convenience, benefit convenience, post-benefit convenience) affect consumers' perceived usefulness, attitude and usage intention. For this study, data were gathered from respondents who bought or used e-learning services and analyzed by structural equation model. Among the five-dimensional service convenience constructs, two constructs(benefit convenience, post-benefit convenience) affected consumers' positive perceived usefulness, attitude and usage intention about e-learning service. The results show that management and investment to improve benefit and post-benefit service convenience make consumers' positive attitude and usage intention about e-learning service.

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

• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.1-14
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• 2015

As mobile distribution environment is changing rapidly and competition is more intensive in businesses today, technology based self service have been changed and developed. Among the change, financial institutes and consumers are interested in mobile banking services. This study attempted to investigate the impact of service convenience value on customer satisfaction and re-usage intention, and investigated the moderate effect of technology anxiety in the relationship between service convenience value and mobile banking service usage. For this study, data were gathered from respondents who have experience using mobile banking service and analyzed by structural equation model. A convenience value affected consumer satisfaction and re-usage intention toward mobile banking service. Also, this study found that the more technology anxiety, the less re-usage intention. The results show that management and investment to improve convenience value and to reduce technology anxiety make consumers' satisfaction and re-usage intention toward mobile banking service.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.9
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• pp.95-99
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• 2014

Purpose - This study aims to develop and empirically test a multi-dimensional service convenience scale with the dimensions and measurement items of service convenience perceived by Korean consumers in retail contexts. Research design, data, and methodology - The study adopts the framework suggested by Berry et al. (2002) and conceptualizes service convenience as a second-order reflective construct comprising 31 items. Three department store chains (Hyundai, Lotte, and Shinsegae) and three discount store chains (E-mart, Homeplus, and Lotte Mart) were involved 510 valid responses were used for the empirical testing. Results - The measurement model is acceptable for internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. Further, the structural model results show that service convenience is positively related to satisfaction. Results of the rival model comparison indicate that the proposed second-order factor model provides a better fit to the data than both the five-factor and the one-factor model. Conclusions - The multi-dimensional, second-order conceptualization of service convenience is robustly supported. This study provides psychometrically valid scales to measure service convenience in retail contexts as conceptualized by Berry et al. (2002).

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.123-133
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• 2016

Purpose - Understanding how service convenience drives shopping performance is imperative for retailers such as department and large discount stores. Retailers have to enhance shopping productivity by reducing the costs of shopping, as convenience triggers customers' perceived shopping value, leading to customer satisfaction, and ultimately patronage behavior. Consumers, generally considering time as a scarce resource, are more sensitive to the time costs of tasks in regard to shopping trip, differently from forming perceptions of convenience in time orientation. Therefore, this study attempts to examine the moderating effects of consumers' time orientation on the relationships among service convenience of retailers and shopping performances such as shopping value and service performances. Research design, data, and methodology - The department and discount store chains were chosen as the point of analysis in this study. Data were collected from a survey of real-life consumers and all respondents were screened to ensure only those who had visited in the department and discount store chains within past six month prior to the day of data collection. Out of 600 self-reported surveys that were distributed, a total of 530 responses were returned and after excluding 20 incomplete responses, the final sample size was 510. The three hypotheses were proposed and tested in this study. The one hypothesis was on the moderating effects of time orientation for the effects of service convenience on shopping value (hedonic and utilitarian shopping value). The other two hypotheses were on the comparisons between high and low time-oriented customers with the effects in shopping value from service performance. Hierarchical moderated regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Results - The results suggest that the effect of service convenience on utilitarian shopping value and the positive effect of utilitarian shopping value on customer satisfaction are greater in low time orientation than high time orientation customers. Conversely, when customers are highly oriented toward time, the effects of hedonic shopping value on customer satisfaction and revisit intention are greater than for customers who are lowly oriented toward time. Conclusions - This study has two-fold significance. First, this study contributes to the consumer behavior and services marketing literature by incorporating customers' time orientation into the service convenience-shopping performance. Although the effect of service convenience on shopping performance might differ from customers' perceptions concerning shopping, there has been little investigation or comparison between customers' perception on time. This study is a first attempt to consider how the effects of service convenience on shopping value and service performance vary with differing levels of customers' time orientation. This study advances prior studies by showing that the service convenience-shopping value and service convenience-service performance relationships vary across different combinations of the customer's time orientation. The findings of this study suggest that the retailers need to enhance the experiential aspects of the stores for their high time-oriented customers. Conversely, for the low time-oriented customers, the retailers should boost the visual distinctiveness and ease of store navigation.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.10
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• pp.11-17
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• 2014

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship that is found to exist between the technology-based self-service convenience orientation factor and the factors of convenience and quality. Research design, data, and methodology - The questionnaire was developed by using the modified and supplementary questions that were examined in previous studies. We used the SPSS/PC 18.0 and lisrel 8.3 statistical packages to analyze the results of the research. For validating the research hypothesis and structural relationship of the research model, path analysis was used in this study. Results - The ease of use exerted a significant influence on the four dimensions. Information had a significant influence on transaction, benefit, and post-benefit convenience. Control had a significant influence on five dimensions. Conclusions - This study suggests that technology-based self-service convenience is classified into five multi-dimensional levels. Further, the study reveals that control, ease of use, and information are important variables in order to increase convenience. Therefore, for improving technology-based self-service convenience, it is important to improve the control, ease of use, and information variables.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.1057-1068
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to clarify service quality of apparel stores and find out related variables. The related variables are contained customer's characteristics (shopping orientation, demographic characteristics), store types and store patronage behavior in apparel store. The subjects selected for the final analysis were 363 females aged from 20 to 59 who lived in Taejon. And the data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed through factor analysis, ANOVA, cluster analysis, regression, Duncan test, Tukey test. The results of this study were as follows; 1. Services quality of apparel stores consisted of seven dimensions ; ability of salesperson, belief in policy, convenience of facility, attractiveness of physical environment, convenience of using credit cards, convenience of space movement. and apparence of salespeople. 2. Shopping orientation consisted of four dimensions; recreational shopping orientation, rational shopping orientation. convenience-oriented shopping orientation, price-conscious shopping orientation. Shopper types consisted of three dimensions ; recreational-economical type shopper, rational type shopper, convenience-oriented type shopper. Significant relationships were found out between those shopper types and service quality. Significant difference was caused by demographic characteristics(age, marital status, education, income. job) except for places of residence and service quality. 3. The significant difference was found out between store types and service quality. 4. Service quality(ability of salespeople. belief in policy, convenience of facility, convenience of using credit cards. apparence of salespeople) were influenced store patronage behavior.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.101-108
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• 2015

Purpose - The convenience store business sector in South Korea has contributed to economic growth and job creation, and the growth potential of this market segment remains very high. In addition, service value is a more important factor than price in determining purchase intention. Research in the convenience store market is relatively very low compared to other retail sectors. In particular, research on service quality for the convenience of retailers who examine and analyze customer behavior and service quality factors used in the convenience store side of the situation is very inadequate. We have investigated the relationship of store service quality, service satisfaction, and store loyalty. In addition, we have examined the way service value moderates the relationship among these variables. Research design, data, and methodology - The questionnaire was developed using modified and supplementary questions based on the KD-SQS and RSQS models. The study suggested a theoretical model composed of 15 hypotheses on the relations between theoretic variables, and surveys conducted with consumers in discount stores in the Seoul and Gyunggi Metropolitan area in order to verify the hypotheses. We used the SPSS/PC statistical packages to analyze the results. The number of surveys used was 227. Moreover, a structural equating model was also used to analyze the reliability and validity of the composing elements and to verify the suggested hypotheses. Results - The overall results of this study are as follows. First, all service quality elements have a significant effect on service satisfaction. Second, all service quality elements have a significant effect on store loyalty. Third, service satisfaction has a significant effect on store loyalty. Finally, when the participants were divided into high and low service value the results of the multiple regression analyses showed that only the relationship between policy of service quality and satisfaction, and human interaction and policy of service quality and loyalty were significant. The implications are discussed based on the findings of the study. Conclusions - First, through direct hypotheses testing, we confirmed that the convenience service quality positively impacts the service satisfaction and loyalty of buyers. In particular, the reliability, origin benefit, and promotion were found to have more influence on satisfaction and loyalty of consumers of a convenience store. Further, for the service quality of the convenience for the consumer loyalty, greater human interaction was a high-value and statistically significantly higher than the degree of improvement in consumer loyalty. This underscores the importance of education and human services management of employees working in a convenience store. In particular, frequent changes in personnel generate results that negatively impact loyalty with customers. These results may lead to a serious problem in the economics of the store. Therefore, it should enhance the value of services through the establishment of training and compensation for employees. In addition, a certain educational level is required as well as a basis for compensation and retention.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.46-58
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to identify the physical surroundings and the salesperson's service in apparel stores, and to examine their effects on customer satisfaction and the intention to repurchase. The data was collected from a questionnaire conducted on 312 female adults who had just finished shopping, and was analyzed by frequency analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis, regressive analysis and ANOVA analysis with SPSS 10.0. The results were as follows: (1) As a result of the factor analysis, five factors were identified with regard to physical surroundings: spatial layout and functionality, presentation and aesthetics, ambience, convenience, and information. The factors pertaining to the salesperson's service in apparel stores were divided into four dimensions: knowledge and assurance, convenience and responsiveness, etiquette, and empathy. (2) As far as physical surroundings are concerned, spatial layout and functionality, presentation and aesthetics, ambience, and convenience were all found to influence customer satisfaction. In terms of salesperson's service, convenience and responsiveness, etiquette, and empathy each had an influence on customer satisfaction. (3) Furthermore, physical surroundings and the salesperson's service influenced the intention to repurchase. The intention to repurchase is influenced by spatial layout and functionality, ambience, convenience, and information with regard to physical surroundings, by knowledge and assurance, convenience and responsiveness, and empathy with regard to the salesperson's service. (4) It was revealed that the significance of the physical surroundings and salesperson service factors varies depending on the consumer's age, level of education, and income.