• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.147-174
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• 2017

Korean companies currently operating in China have made active efforts to undertake corporate social responsibility activities and corporate advertising to improve their image, as well as marketing activities directly related to their products. In this context, this study aims to analyze how corporate social responsibility activities and corporate advertising influence a company's image from the perspective of Chinese consumers. This study also analyzes corporate image, consumer-company identification, and the structural relationship between the consumers' behavioral responses and their evaluation of Korean products. Based on theoretical discussions and previous studies, the study tests five research hypotheses for the development of a theoretical research model. In order to empirically test the research model, data were collected by enlisting and observing MBA students from major universities in China. The results obtained by actual analysis are as follows. First, corporate social responsibility activities and corporate advertising were found to be positively influential on corporate image. Second, corporate image is positively influential on consumer-company identification. The consumer-company identification of Chinese consumers' evaluation of Korean products, and positive evaluation of Korean products in turn induce positive influences on Chinese consumers' behavioral responses. These results suggest that the Korean companies already established in China not only need to enhance a positive corporate image but also have to make efforts to undertake corporate social responsibility activities and corporate advertising activities in order to improve their continuous and long-term relationship with Chinese consumers.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.275-294
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• 2022

In recent years, with the continuous integrative development of e-commerce and social media, social commerce, as a trust-centered social transaction mode, has become an important performance form of e-commerce. The good experience of online community and abundant user-generated content (UGC) attract more and more users and businesses to participate in the community contribution. In this context, the cost of accessing information is continuously decreasing, which not only makes the purchase process more concise and efficient, but also greatly increases the possibility of consumers' impulsive consumption. However, there are very few empirical studies on the internal influencing mechanism of consumers' impulsive consumption based on the characteristics of UGC for social commerce. In view of this, based on S-O-R model, this study constructs a model of consumers' impulsive consumption in the context of social commerce from the characteristics of UGC, with perceived risk as the mediating variable and tie strength as the moderating variable. The results show that content authenticity, content usefulness, and content valence of UGC have significant negative impacts on consumers' risk perception in the process of purchase decision-making, and consumers' perceived risk has a significant negative impact on consumers' impulsive consumption. Meanwhile, the tie strength between UGC producer and UGC receiver plays a moderating role between content usefulness and perceived risk, as well as between perceived risk and impulsive consumption. Finally, combined with the above findings, this study provides effective suggestions for relevant participants in social commerce in terms of business management.

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.117-139
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• 2020

This research analyzes the factors that affect the consumers' participation of the internet-only banks, and suggests effective financial sales strategies and methods to attract more users. Through prior research review and interviews with experts, the factors affecting the consumers to sign up for the internet banks are identified. The actual user data from the internet banks are used for the analysis, providing more systematic and credible results. The research shows that social media buzz positively affects the user growth, proving Granger Causality relation of increasing social media buzz on K Bank increases K Bank users. The research also shows that marketing activities noticeably impacts K Bank's positive user growth. On the other hand, the event of Kakao Bank's grand opening shows negative effect. The results from the research validates the need for periodical monitoring process of social media buzz. Moreover, the research proves that the integrated analysis of social media buzz and marketing effect is also essential.

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.65-76
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• 2023

On social media, companies create brand experiences while customers actively seek, consume, and generate brand-related content. Customer engagement plays a vital role in the marketing performance of social media-driven brands. This study explores the positive relationship between brand authenticity, aligning brand identity with image, and self-brand connection, aligning brand identity with consumers' self-concepts, on customer engagement and its subsequent impact on brand loyalty. The study surveyed 243 consumers engaged with brand-related social media content, validating hypotheses using structural equation modeling. Results confirmed that brand authenticity and self-brand connection positively affect customer engagement, which, in turn, boosts brand loyalty. These findings highlight the importance of companies enhancing brand authenticity and self-brand connection to drive customer engagement, with theoretical and practical implications provided.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.570-583
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• 2020

The fashion industry is accountable for labor and environment-related issues. With such issues raised, consumers' social responsibility for environmental and labor issues has become an important factor that shapes the perception of companies. This study investigates the relationship between consumer values, concerns regarding social issues, and willingness to pay a premium for ethical fashion products. This study included two exogenous variables of altruistic value and egocentric value. In the conceptual model, consumers' social responsibility was conceptualized as two constructs of environmental consciousness and labor-issue consciousness. It was then analyzed as mediating variables. Willingness to pay a premium for ethical fashion products was the endogenous variable. Data was collected and analyzed with PLS-SEM from 600 consumers. The assessment of discriminant validity and construct validity using CFA were conducted before analyzing the model. Structural equation modeling results revealed that altruistic value directly influenced environmental consciousness and labor-issue consciousness. However, egocentric value was directly and significantly influenced only by labor-issue consciousness. Both environmental and labor issue consciousness directly influenced customers' willingness to pay a premium, but did not significantly change their willingness to pay a premium. Two-stage serial mediation analysis results indicated that the constructs did not have a significant mediation effect on the exogenous variables (altruistic value and egocentric value) and the endogenous variable (willingness to pay a premium) for ethical fashion products. This study found the influence of consumer's personal values on their willingness to pay a higher price for ethical fashion products.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.75-88
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• 2021

Purpose: This research aimed at exploring the functions of consumers' perceiving approach and avoidance roles and their feeling anger and disgust in the effect of the two types of self-discrepancy at social identity such as the ideal self-discrepancy and the ought self-discrepancy on within-self domain versus across-self domain consumption. Research design, data, and methodology - This study divided the self-discrepancy group into the ideal self-discrepancy and the ought self-discrepancy group as experimental groups for empirical study. Self-discrepancy type between-subjects design was used to develop two types of questionnaire according to the type of experimental groups. The platform, 'questionnaire stars' of 'WeChat' in China was used to collect 103 data from the ideal self-discrepancy group and 102 from the ought self-discrepancy group for empirical study. T-test and the structural equation model in Amos 21 were used to verify hypotheses developed through theoretical review. Results - First, ideal self-discrepancy positively affected the role-approaching goal and anger. Second, ought self-discrepancy positively affected the role-avoiding goal and disgust. Third, the role-approaching goal and anger positively influenced on the within- versus across- domain consumption. Fourth, the disgust negatively influenced on the within- versus across- domain consumption, however the role-avoiding goal did not influence on the consumption. Fifth, there was the mediation roles of anger (disgust) in the effects of ideal (ought) self-discrepancy on the consumption. Conclusions - When consumers feel anger at the ideal self- discrepancy induced by in-group, it is necessary for the marketers to promote their product brand used by the in-group. They should develop and advertise the messages priming the ideal self-discrepancy and the anger to increase the intent to purchase or use their product brand when the in-group members have used the brand by relating the brand to their social identity concerned with the ideal self-discrepancy. However, marketers should help consumers feel disgust by developing and advertising the messages expressing the ought self-discrepancy to lead the consumers to the place of purchasing or using their product brand when the members have used the brand based on keeping the consistence between the brand and other social identity not related to the ought self-discrepancy.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.294-306
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• 2021

In the era of brand economy, companies fulfill their social responsibilities to enhance consumers' brand trust, thereby enhancing brand loyalty. On the other hand, the current Covid-19 epidemic has accelerated the pace of digital transformation of enterprises and has also made consumers pay more attention to the online reputation of enterprises. Based on the Chinese consumer market, this paper studies the corporate social responsibility, Internet word-of-mouth, brand trust, and brand loyalty of electronic product companies. To verify the impact of corporate social responsibility on brand loyalty through Internet word-of-mouth and brand trust, this paper issued a questionnaire survey to Chinese consumers. A total of 469 questionnaires were used for empirical analysis, and SPSS21.0 was used to analyze the collected data. The results are summarized as follows: (1) CSR has a positive impact on brand trust. (2) CSR has a positive impact on brand loyalty. (3) Brand trust has a positive impact on brand loyalty. (4) Brand trust and e-WOM play an intermediary role in CSR and brand loyalty.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.455-466
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• 2019

This study was carried out to analyze trends in floral products and services through the big data analysis of various social networking services (SNSs) and then to provide objective marketing directions for the floricultural industry. To analyze the big data of SNSs, we used four analytical methods: Cotton Trend (Social Matrix), Naver Big Data Lab, Instagram Big Data Analysis, and YouTube Big Data Analysis. The results of the big data analysis showed that SNS users paid positive attention to flower one-day classes that can satisfy their needs for direct experiences. Consumers of floral products and services had their favorite designs in mind and purchased floral products very actively. The demand for flower items such as bouquets, wreaths, flower baskets, large bouquets, orchids, flower boxes, wedding bouquets, and potted plants was very high, and cut flowers such as roses, tulips, and freesia were most popular as of June 1, 2019. By gender of consumers, females (68%) purchased more flower products through SNSs than males (32%). Consumers preferred mobile devices (90%) for online access compared to personal computers (PCs; 10%) and frequently searched flower-related words from February to May for the past three years from 2016 to 2018. In the aspect of design, they preferred natural style to formal style. In conclusion, future marketing activities in the floricultural industry need to be focused on social networks based on the results of big data analysis of popular SNSs. Florists need to provide consumers with the floricultural products and services that meet the trends and to blend them with their own sensitivity. It is also needed to select SNS media suitable for each gender and age group and to apply effective marketing methods to each target.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.537-553
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• 2015

Recently, some fashion retailers have initiated sustainable actions in the form of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to address consumers' social concerns. This study intends to combine the concept of CSR motivation attributions with brand extension literature in order to examine how consumers' trust of a parent brand affects their CSR motivation attributions and ultimately their attitudes towards parent-brand CSR activities and sustainable extension lines. A self-administered online survey was conducted using scenarios describing a fast fashion retailer introducing a sustainable line. Data from 303 female U.S. consumers, aged between 18 and 34 years, were used for the statistical analysis. Data analyses were conducted using SPSS 21.0 for descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and regression analysis. The results revealed that all hypotheses were supported. The findings show that consumers' trust of a parent brand has an indirect impact on positive attitudes towards the parent brand's CSR activities as well as the sustainable extension product line, mediating positive evaluations of the brand's social CSR motivations. In addition, this study suggests consumers' prior trust of the parent brand is a variable that affects consumers' evaluation of CSR motivation sincerity. Marketing suggestions and thoughts based on the findings of this study were provided.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.61 no.7
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• pp.51-66
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• 2011

The study is intended to suggest the differentiated and subdivided indexes of the leisure fashion market and to provide the marketing strategy establishment and in-depth understanding of leisure fashion business by looking into the correlation between and among fashion involvement, clothing selection criteria and fashion information sources. This study was conducted by the questionnaire response method and the results were derived by using the SPSS 16.0 statistics program. The results of the study were as follows; 1) As a result of researching the difference between the leisure activities consumer groups and fashion involvement, there were significant differences in emotional and cognitive involvement. In the tour activity group and social activity group, emotional involvement was found to be higher than the cognitive experience while in the hobby and sports activity group, both involvements were equally as high. 2) As a result of researching the difference between the leisure activities groups and clothing selection criteria, it was found that the intrinsic and extrinsic criteria were high in the hobby and sports activity group and that the intrinsic criteria was high in the tour activity group and social activity group. 3) In the difference between the leisure activity groups and fashion information sources, it was found that media source, observation source and experience/personal source were high in the hobby and sports activity group. In addition, the experience and personal source were high in the social activity group. 4) In the difference between and among fashion involvement, clothing selection criteria and fashion information sources, it was found that the emotional involvement, intrinsic criteria and observation source were higher in the group of females than males. 5) In the difference between and among fashion involvement, clothing selection criteria and fashion information sources depending on the ages of leisure activities consumers, it was found that the emotional involvement and observation source were high in the group of 20-24 yrs old consumers and that the emotional involvement, intrinsic criteria and observation source were high in the group of 25-29 yrs old consumers. Also, in the group of 30-34 yrs old consumers, the emotional involvement, observation source and experience/personal source were high.