• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.320-328
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• 2008

Background: Numerous surgical devices for mitral repair have been used in the past with good results. In this study we describe a simple annuloplasty technique with using a new device ($Mitracon^{(R)}$). The aim of this study was to assess its efficacy and surgical results with using $Mitracon^{(R)}$. Material and Method: From May 2003 to October 2005, 46 patients (21 women and 25 men (mean age of $51.4{\pm}17.8$ years) with mitral regurgitation from various causes were treated with either the $Mitracon^{(R)}$ (the $Mitracon^{(R)}$ group) or the Capentier Edward rigid ring (the CE group). The median follow-up duration was 18.9 months. Result: The mean grade of mitral regurgitation before and immediately after surgery in the $Mitracon^{(R)}$ group and the CE group decreased from $3.2{\pm}0.8$ to $0.6{\pm}0.7$ and $3.4{\pm}0.7$ to $0.3{\pm}0.5$, respectively. There were no significant changes in the ejection fraction either between the two groups or before and immediately after surgery. No deaths were seen in either group. Early postoperative echocardiography of all 46 patients showed only trivial mitral regurgitation or none at all. Echocardiography at a median of 18.9 months also showed no progression in mitral regurgitation. The mean grade of mitral regurgitation in the $Mitracon^{(R)}$ group at this time point decreased from $3.2{\pm}0.8$ to $0.8{\pm}0.7$ (p<0.05). The CE group also showed a similar degree of decrease from $3.4{\pm}0.7$ to $0.3{\pm}0.6$ (p<0.05). The mitral valve area in the $Mitracon^{(R)}$ group at 1 year follow-up was $3.3{\pm}0.9cm^2$. The mitral valve area in the CE group was $2.7{\pm}0.6cm^2$. The mean mitral pressure gradient in the $Mitracon^{(R)}$ group at 1 year follow-up was $3.1{\pm}1.3$ mmHg. The mean pressure gradient in the CE group was $4.5{\pm}2.1$ mmHg, although any statistical significant difference for this between the groups was not reached. Conclusion: The present study showed the described technique to be safe and effective in the intermediate term. Because long term results are unavailable, a more extensive prospective randomized multicenter trial may be warranted to determine whether this procedure should be generally applied for repair of mitral valve disease.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.192-198
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• 2012

Experiments were conducted to investigate the optimum concentration of nutrient solution in hydroponics for strawberry 'Ssanta' bred at Gyongsangbuk-do Agricultural Research & Extension Services. Nutrient solutions for strawberry, which made by Yamazaki, were supplied EC (Electrical Conductivity) 0.6, 0.8, 1.2, and $1.8dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ after planting on cocopeat medium during experiment period. Growth of shoot of strawberries did not show statistical differences among treatments. Fruit length showed the longest in EC $0.8dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ in all clusters. In the second flower cluster, fruit length showed longer in EC 0.8 and $1.2dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ than EC 0.6 and $1.8dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$. In the third flower cluster, it showed the longest in EC 0.8 and $1.2dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$, followed by 0.6 and $1.8dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$. The longest was in EC $0.8dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ and the shortest in EC $1.8dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ in the fourth flower cluster. Fruit diameter did not show significant differences among treatments, but longest in EC 0.8 and $1.2dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ in all clusters. The heaviest mean fruit weight appeared in EC $0.8dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ in all flower clusters. And heavier in EC $1.2dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ in the second and third clusters. Also the weight was significantly light in plants grown in EC 0.6 and $1.8dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ in the second and third cluster. Soluble solids of fruit was the highest in EC $0.6dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ in all clusters. As the results, we came to the conclusion that the optimum EC for strawberry 'Ssanta' was EC $0.8{\sim}1.2dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$ in this experiment.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.75-84
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• 2013

Purpose: Changes of refractive correction value in different age group were investigated. Regarding the inhibitive effects against myopia progression after wearing reverse geometry contact lenses and myopia control lenses (MC lenses), the effects after wearing single vision lenses were compared. Methods: We organized children between the ages of six and fifteen into three groups by age, and distributed fifty-seven reverse geometry contact lenses, fifty-six MC lenses and seventy-eight single vision lenses among them to be worn. Group 1 consisted of children aged ten and under, Group 2 consisted of children between the ages of eleven and fifteen, and Group 3 represents all of the study participants. The aim of this study was to learn the inhibitive effects against myopia progression attained by changes of refractive correction value and to verify their statistical significance at twelve months and under, thirteen to twenty-four months and twenty-five to thirty-six months. Results: Changes of refractive correction value by each length of use in Group 3 were as follows. For the age group of under twelve months, participants using the reverse geometric contact lens showed no change, while those using the MC or single vision lens had significant changes (P<0.05) of $-0.36{\pm}0.10$ D and $-0.67{\pm}0.52$ D, respectively. Users of all three lens types displayed significant change (P<0.05), in the age group of between thirteen and twenty-four months, of $0.18{\pm}0.49$ D, $0.60{\pm}0.42$ D and $1.37{\pm}0.72$ D for users of the reverse geometry contact lens, the MC lens and the single vision lens, respectively. There were significant changes (P<0.05) of $0.29{\pm}0.61$ D, $0.93{\pm}0.57$ D and $1.72{\pm}0.78$ in the same respective order as the above in the age group of twenty-five to thirty-six months. Refractive correction value showed changes with different age group. Group 1 displayed significant changes (P<0.05) of $0.29{\pm}0.73$ D, $1.07{\pm}0.59$ D and $1.75{\pm}0.74$ D for users of the reverse geometry contact lens, MC lens and single vision lens, respectively, up to thirty-six months of lens wearing; Group 2, also up to thirty-six months, displayed significant changes (P<0.05) of $0.28{\pm}0.42$ D, $0.75{\pm}0.49$ D and $1.70{\pm}0.84$ D in the same respective order, and changes in refractive correction for the age group under ten years was significantly greater (P<0.05) for the age group of eleven and older. Conclusions: The results found in this study demonstrate that there were no changes of refractive correction value for the case of wearing reversing geometry contact lens up to twelve month or less. MC lens showed less changes in variations of visual acuity for all users which might be resulted in inhibiting progression of myoptia. When both reverse geometry contact lens and the MC lens are wearing for the period from 13 to 36 month, both lens showed less changes in variation of visual acuity for all users. The results suggested that the less changes in variation of visual acuity of both lens had an effect on inhibiting progression of myopia.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 1986

This experiment was carried out to obtain genetic information for future corn breeding. The materials used for the study were obtained from the nationwide collection of Korean local corn lines. A total of 262 lines were used for the study of morphological characters and for the classification of lines. Results obtained are summarized as follows; 1. The days to flowering of lines ranged from 57 days to 87 days. Most lines had an average of 67 days of flowering days. 2. The number of tillers of lines showed a lot of variation among lines with 49.2% of coefficient of variation. 3. The coefficients of variation computed based on the phenotypic observation or measurement of each line were 36.1%, 27.2%, 20.0%, 16.4% and 16.3% for kernel weight per ear, 100 kernel weight, ear height, plant height and ear length, respectively. 4. Ear height, ear length, ear diameter, tiller number and days to flowering were highly and positively correlation with the plant height. Kernel size, ear size, and plant height were highly correlated with 100 kernel weight and kernel weight per ear. 5. The 262 corn lines were possibly classified into four major groups by the Euclidean distance. Group I comprised 110 lines, group II 74 lines, group III 66 lines and group IV 12 lines, respectively. Group I was characterized as having early maturity, medium plant height large kernel size and large ear size. Group II had medium maturity, short plant height, medium kernel size and small ear size. Group III had medium maturity, medium plant height, large kernel size and medium ear size. Group IV had late maturity, long plant height, small kernel size, small ear size and many tillering. 6. The plant height showed significant difference between group I and II, II and III, and II and IV group. No statistical differences were observed between group III and IV. The ear size of group I was significantly different from those of group II, III and IV. Also difference of ear size between group II and III was significant. The kernel size, 100 kernel weight and kernel weight per ear were all significantly different among all groups classified. The row number was different between group I and II. The row number of lines in group IV was significantly different with group I, II, III respectively. The number of tillers and flowering days of lines in group IV were greatly different from those of group I, II and III. 7. The corn lines collected from northwest plain regions and middle hilly regions in Korea had medium maturity, medium plant height, large ear and large kernels. The corn lines from middle eastern hilly regions had medium size of ear kernels. The corn lines from middle southern hilly regions had late maturity, small kernel size and many tillers. The corn lines from southwest plain areas had late maturity, long plant height and many tillers.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.139-152
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• 2002

Objectives：This study was conducted to compare the clinical and neuropsychological characteristics by DSM-IV subtypes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) patients who did not have comorbid psychiatric disorders. Methods：5-15 year old children with ADHD were recruited at psychiatric outpatient clinic of Yeungnam University hospital and the patients with comorbidity or neurological abnormalities were excluded. Finally, total 404 children with ADHD were selected for this study. There were 234 subjects of ADHD-C(57.9%), 156 subjects of ADHD-I(38.6%) and 14 subjects of ADHD-HI(3.5%), who fulfilled the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. The mean age of the total subjects was 9.63±2.49 years old. The psychopathology, IQ, behavioral problems, neuropsychological executive function were evaluated before pharmacological treatment. The measures were Korean Personality Inventory of Child(K-PIC) for psychopathology, 4 behavioral check lists(ADDES-HV, ACTeRS, CAP, SNAP) for behavioral symptoms of ADHD, K-ABC and KEDI-WISC for IQ and Conner's CPT, WCST, SST for neuropsychological executive functions. Results：1) The prevalence of subtypes was ADHD-C, ADHD-I, ADHD-HI in decreasing order. There was no sex difference of prevalence among three subtypes. The mean age of ADHD-I was older than other subtypes. 2) There was significant differences of psychopathology among subtypes, the ADHD-C and ADHD-HI had higher than the ADHD-I in the scores of delinquent, hyperactivity and psychosis；the ADHD-C had higher than the ADHD-I in the scores of family relation and autism, the scores of ego resilience were lower than the ADHD-I. However, there was no difference in anxiety, depression and somatization scores among them. 3) The results of behavioral symptom check lists, the ADHD-C had higher the score of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity than the ADHD-I. Meanwhile the results of ACTeRs, which rated by the teachers, were different. 4) There were significant differences of sequential processing scale and arithmetics among subtypes in IQ using K-ABC, but there was no significant difference between the ADHD-C and the ADHD-I after excluding the ADHD-HI due to small numbers. 5) There was numerical difference among subtypes but did not reach statistical significance in three neuropsychological executive function tests. Conclusion：In conclusion, our results revealed that there was significant difference in clinical features among three subtypes but, no significant difference in executive functions.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.429-440
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine sodium-related nutrition knowledge, eating attitudes, eating behaviors, and self-efficacy by stages of behavioral change in reducing sodium intake among childcare center foodservice employees. Methods: Subjects (n = 333) were categorized according to two groups based on the stages of change; Pre-action stage (PA group: precontemplation/contemplation/preparation stage), Action stage (A group: action/maintenance stage). Results: A major source of sodium-related nutrition information was TV/radio (56.6%) and only 166 people (49.8%) have experienced nutrition education specific to sodium. Although the A group showed slightly higher scores for nutrition knowledge than the PA group, the difference was not significant. The percentages of correct answers for 'daily goal of sodium intake for adults (27.0%)', 'calculation of sodium content in nutrition labeling (30.3%)' were low for both groups. The A group (total score: 40.3) had more desirable eating attitudes regarding reducing sodium intake than the PA group (36.6, p < 0.001). The total score for eating behaviors was slightly higher in the A group (49.6) than in the PA group (48.5), but without statistical significance. The A group (total score: 58.2) also received higher scores for self-efficacy regarding reducing sodium intake than the PA group (52.5, p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study suggests that nutrition education for childcare center foodservice employees should be expanded and customized education should be implemented according to the stages in reducing sodium intake. It is also suggested that food companies make efforts to develop low-sodium products.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.127-135
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• 2001

Purpose : This study is a prospective randomized clinical trial comparing the efficacy and complication of anti-emetic drugs for prevention of nausea and vomiting after radiotherapy which has moderate emetogenic potential. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the anti-emetic efficacy of ondansetron $(Zofran^{\circledR})$ 8 mg bid dose (Group O) is better than the efficacy of metoclopramide 5 mg lid dose (Group M) in patients undergoing fractionated radiotherapy to the abdominal region. Materials and Methods : Study entry was restricted to those patients who met the following eligibility criteria: histologically confirmed malignant disease; no distant metastasis; performance status of not more than ECOG grade 2; no previous chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Between March 1997 and February 1998, 60 patients enrolled in this study. All patients signed a written statement of informed consent prior to enrollment. Blinding was maintained by dosing identical number of tablets including one dose of matching placebo for Group O. The extent of nausea, appetite loss, and the number of emetic episodes were recorded everyday using diary card. The mean score of nausea, appetite loss and the mean number of emetic episodes were obtained in a weekly interval. Results : Prescription error occurred in one patient. And diary cards have not returned in 3 patients due to premature refusal of treatment. Card from one patient was excluded from the analysis because she had a history of treatment for neurosis. As a result, the analysis consisted of 55 patients. Patient characteristics and radiotherapy characteristics were similar except mean age was $52.9{\pm}11.2$ in group M, $46.5{\pm}9.5$ in group O. The difference of age was statistically significant. The mean score of nausea, appetite loss and emetic episodes in a weekly interval was higher in group M than O. In group M, the symptoms were most significant at 5th week. In a panel data analysis using mixed procedure, treatment group was only significant factor detecting the difference of weekly score for all three symptoms. Ondansetron $(Zofran^{\circledR})$ 8 mg bid dose and metoclopramide 5 mg lid dose were well tolerated without significant side effects. There were no clinically important changes In vital signs or clinical laboratory parameters with either drug. Conclusion : Concerning the fact that patients with younger age have higher emetogenic potential, there are possibilities that age difference between two treatment groups lowered the statistical power of analysis. There were significant difference favoring ondansetron group with respect to the severity of nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. We concluded that ondansetron is more effective anti-emetic agents in the control of radiotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite without significant toxicity, compared with commonly used drug, i.e., metoclopramide. However, there were patients suffering emesis despite the administration of ondansetron. The possible strategies to improve the prevention and the treatment of radiotherapy-induced emesis must be further studied.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.100-106
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• 2001

Purpose : We performed a retrospective analysis to compare short term results of induction chemotherapy-radiotherapy versus concurrent chemo-radiotherapy in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Materials and Methods : From Oct. 1989 to May 1998, 62 patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma were treated with induction chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy (induction group) or concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (concurrent group). Induction chemotherapy was done for 50 patients, and concurrent chemotherapy for 12 patients. Age, sex, performance status, and pathologic types were evenly distributed between two groups. Stage distribution showed $32\%$ with IIB, $32\%$ with III, and $38\%$ with IV in induction group, and $50\%,\;33.3\%,\;and\;16.7\%$ in concurrent group, respectively. Chemotherapy regimen was CF (cisplatin and 5-FU) in both groups, and drug delivery method also same. Cisplatin $100\;mg/m^2$ was intravenously infused on day 1, and 5-FU $1,000\;mg/m^2$ on day $2\~6$. This was repeated at 3 weeks interval. At the end of radiotherapy, total cycles of chemotherapy were $1\~3$ (median 2) in both groups. Conventionally fractionated radiotherapy with daily fraction size $1.8\~2.0\;Gy$ and 5 fractions/week was done. Total dose was $69.4\~86\;Gy$(median 73.4 Gy) for induction group, and $69.4\~75.4\;Gy$ (median 70.8 Gy) for concurrent group. Follow-up time was $9\~116$ months (median 40.5 months) for induction group, $14\~29$ months (median 21 months) for concurrent group, respectively. Results : Overall 2 year survival rate (2YSR) for all patients was $78.7\%$. According to treatment modality, 2YSR were $77\%$ for induction group, $87\%$ for concurrent group (p>0.05). 2 year disease-free survival rate were $56\%$ and $81\%\;(p>0.05)$, respectively. Complete response to treatment were $75.5\%$ for induction group and $91.7\%$ for concurrent group, but there was no statistical difference. The incidence of grade $3\~4$ hematologic toxicity during radiotherapy was not differ between two groups, but grade 2 leukopenia was more frequent in concurrent group $(18\%\;vs\;66.7\%)$Grade $3\~4$ mucositis was more frequent in concurrent group $(4.0\%\;vs\;33.3\%)$. Overall incidence of grade $3\~4$ acute toxicity during radiotherapy was more frequent in concurrent group $(6.0\%\;vs\;41.7\%,\;p=0.005)$. Conclusion : Concurrent chemo-radiotherapy showed a trend of improvement in short-term survival and in treatment response when compared with induction chemotherapy-radiotherapy in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. More controlled randomized trial are needed.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.23-35
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• 2009

A hypermarket as the one of the most globally standardized retailing format is also the type of store among various types of stores that the most active in expanding into other foreign markets. Recently, as several Korean retailing companies start to penetrate into Chinese market they differentiate themselves with modern facilities and customers service oriented high-end concept. China and Korea as Far East Asian countries share many common values, however precise and careful analysis should be carried out since there may also be critical differences in socio-economic aspects as well as in consumption patterns due to the level of development stages of retail industry among two countries. Even though precise and careful study is crucial on Chinese retailing market and consumers, none of researches and studies on 'how the quality of service dimensional structure is different between Korea and China', and 'what will be the most important and influential service dimensional factors for Chinese consuers compared to the hypermarkets customers in Korea' in order to improve the level of Chinese consumers satisfaction' have been fulfilled At this point of view, this study uses KD-SQS (Rho Eun Jung & Sir Yong Gu, 2008) which is a measure of Korean hypermarkets service quality to set up a hypothesis on Korean and Chinese consumers, and an empirical analysis is conducted. We try to get the answers about how the comparative importance of Service quality dimensions which decides the level of customer satisfaction is different depending on the cultural dimensions and socio-economic factors among two countries, Korea and China. Based upon the results, we try to give a valuable suggestion of what service dimensional factors should be reinforced to improve the level of CS in Chinese retailing market. Hypotheses for this study are as follows : H1. Each dimension of Service Quality significantly affects the level of CS H2. The effect of 'Basic Benefit' in service quality dimensions on the level of CS is greater in China than in Korea H3. The effect of 'Promotion' in service quality dimensions on the level of CS is greater in China than in Korea H4. The effect of 'Physical Aspects'in service quality dimensions on the level of CS is greater in Korea than in China. H5. The effect of 'Personal Interaction' in service quality dimensions on the level of CS is greater in China than in Korea H6. The effect of 'Policy' in service quality dimensions on the level of CS will be greater in Korean than in China H7. The effect of additional convenience in service quality dimensions on the level of CS will be greater in Korean than in China. More than 1,100 data were collected directly from the surveys of Chinese and Korean consumers in order to verify the hypotheses above. In Korea, stores which have floor space of over $9,000m^2$and opened later than year 2000 were selected for the samples, and thus Gayang, Wolgye, Sangbong, Eunpyeong, Suh-Suwon, Gojan stores and their customers were surveyed. In China, notable differences in the income levels and consumer behaviors between cities and regions were considered, and thus the research area was limited to the stores only in Shanghai. 6 stores which have the size of over $6,000m^2$ and opened later than 2000, such as Ruihong, Intu, Mudanjang, Sanrin, Raosimon, and Ranchao stores were selected for the survey. SPSS 12.0 and AMOS 7.0 were used as statistical tools, and exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and multi-group analysis were conducted. In order to carry out a multi group analysis that decides whether the structure variables which shows the different effects of 6 service dimensions in Korean and Chinese groups is statistically valid, configural invariance, metric invariance, and structural invariance are tested in order. At the results of the tests, 3 out of 7 hypotheses were supported and other 4 hypotheses were denied. According to the study, 4 dimensions (Basic Benefit, Physical Environment, Policy, and additional convenience) were positively correlated with CS in Korea, and 3 dimensions (i.e. basic benefit, policy, additional convenience) were significant in China. However, the significance of the service-dimensions was turned out to be partially different in Korea and China. The Basic Benefit is more influential in deciding the level of CS in china than Korea, however Physical Aspect is more important factor in Korea. 'Policy dimension' did not make significant difference between two countries. In the 'additional convenience dimension', the differences in 'socio-economic factors' than in'cultural background' were considered as more important in Chinese consumers than Korean. Overall, the improvement of Service quality will be crucial factors to increase the level of CS in Chinese market same as Korean market. In addition, more emphases need to be placed on the service qualities of 'Basic Benefit' and 'additional convenience' dimensions in China. In particular, 'low price' and 'product diversity' that constitute 'Basic Benefit' are proved to be comparatively disadvantageous and weak points of Korean companies compared to global players, and thus the prompt strengthening those dimensions would be urgent for Korean retailers. Moreover, additional conveniences such as various tenants and complex service and entertaining area will be more important in China than in Korea. Besides, Applying advanced Korean Hypermaret`s customer policy to Chinese consumers will help to get higher reliability and to differentiate themselves to other competitors. However, as personal interaction, physical aspect, promotions were proved as not significant for the level of CS in China, Korean companies need to reconsider the priority order of resource allocations when they tap into Chinese market.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.115-132
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• 2008

Metal industry is one of the most representative heavy industries and the median sales volume of steel and nonferrous metal companies is over one billion dollars in the case America [Forbes 2006]. As seen in the recent business market situation, an increasing number of industrial manufacturers and suppliers are moving from adversarial to cooperative exchange attitudes that support the long-term relationships with their customers. This article presents the results of an empirical study of the antecedent factors of business relationships in metal industry of the United States. Commitment has been reviewed as a significant and critical variable in research on inter-organizational relationships (Hong et al. 2007, Kim et al. 2007). The future stability of any buyer-seller relationship depends upon the commitment made by the interactants to their relationship. Commitment, according to Dwyer et al. [1987], refers to "an implicit or explicit pledge of relational continuity between exchange partners" and they consider commitment to be the most advanced phase of buyer-seller exchange relationship. Bonds are made because the members need their partners in order to do something and this integration on a task basis can be either symbiotic or cooperative (Svensson 2008). To the extent that members seek the same or mutually supporting ends, there will be strong bonds among them. In other words, the principle that affects the strength of bonds is 'economy of decision making' [Turner 1970]. These bonds provide an important idea to study the causes of business long-term relationships in a sense that organizations can be mutually bonded by a common interest in the economic matters. Recently, the framework of structural bonding has been used to study the buyer-seller relationships in industrial marketing [Han and Sung 2008, Williams et al. 1998, Wilson 1995] in that this structural bonding is a crucial part of the theoretical justification for distinguishing discrete transactions from ongoing long-term relationships. The major antecedent factors of buyer commitment such as technology, CLalt, transaction-specific assets, and importance were identified and explored from the perspective of structural bonding. Research hypotheses were developed and tested by using survey data from the middle managers in the metal industry. H1: Level of technology of the relationship partner is positively related to the level of structural bonding between the buyer and the seller. H2: Comparison level of alternatives is negatively related to the level of structural bonding between the buyer and the seller. H3: Amount of the transaction-specific assets is positively related to the level of structural bonding between the buyer and the seller. H4: Importance of the relationship partner is positively related to the level of structural bonding between the buyer and the seller. H5: Level of structural bonding is positively related to the level of commitment to the relationship. To examine the major antecedent factors of industrial buyer's structural bonding and long-term relationship, questionnaire was prepared, mailed out to the sample of 400 purchasing managers of the US metal industry (SIC codes 33 and 34). After a follow-up request, 139 informants returnedthe questionnaires, resulting in a response rate of 35 percent. 134 responses were used in the final analysis after dropping 5 incomplete questionnaires. All measures were analyzed for reliability and validity following the guidelines offered by Churchill [1979] and Anderson and Gerbing [1988]., the results of fitting the model to the data indicated that the hypothesized model provides a good fit to the data. Goodness-of-fit index (GFI = 0.94) and other indices ( chi-square = 78.02 with p-value = 0.13, Adjusted GFI = 0.90, Normed Fit Index = 0.92) indicated that a major proportion of variances and covariances in the data was accounted for by the model as a whole, and all the parameter estimates showed statistical significance as evidenced by large t-values. All the factor loadings were significantly different from zero. On these grounds we judged the hypothesized model to be a reasonable representation of the data. The results from the present study suggest several implications for buyer-seller relationships. Theoretically, we attempted to conceptualize the antecedent factors of buyer-seller long-term relationships from the perspective of structural bondingin metal industry. The four underlying determinants (i.e. technology, CLalt, transaction-specific assets, and importance) of structural bonding are very critical variables of buyer-seller long-term business relationships. Our model of structural bonding makes an attempt to systematically examine the relationship between the antecedent factors of structural bonding and long-term commitment. Managerially, this research provides industrial purchasing managers with a good framework to assess the interaction processes with their partners and, ability to position their business relationships from the perspective of structural bonding. In other words, based on those underlying variables, industrial purchasing managers can determine the strength of the company's relationships with the key suppliers and its state of preparation to be a successful partner with those suppliers. Both the supplying and customer companies can also benefit by using the concept of 'structural bonding' and evaluating their relationships with key business partners from the structural point of view. In general, the results indicate that structural bonding gives a critical impact on the level of relationship commitment. Managerial implications and limitations of the study are also discussed.