• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.85-111
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• 2012

Introduction : The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceptual characteristics of consumers and intent of relational continuance for PB(Private Brand) products in discount stores. This study was conducted as an empirical study based on survey. For the empirical study, factors of PB products as characteristics perceived by consumers such as perceived quality, store image, brand image and perceived value were deduced from preceding studies. The effect of such factors on intent of relational continuance mediated by brand trust and brand equity of PB products was structurally examined. Research Model : Based on theory analysis and hypotheses, constructed a Structural Equation Model(SEM). The research model is shown in Figure 1. Research Method : This paper is based on s qualitative study of selected literature and empirical data. The survey for empirical study was carried out on consumers in Gyeonggi and Busan between January 2012 and May 2012. 300 surveys were distributed and 253 (84.3%) of them were returned. After excluding omissions and insincere responses, 245 surveys (81.6%) were used for final analysis as effective samples. Result : First of all, the Reliability was carried out for instrument used. The lower limit of 0.7 for Cronbach's Alpha as suggested by Hair et al. (1998). And Construct validity was established by carrying out exploratory factor analysis by Varimax rotation for all. Four factor result for the consumer's perceptual characteristics of PB Products, two mediating factors and one dependent factor. All constructs included in research framework have acceptable validity and reliability. Table 1 shows the factor loading, eigen value, explained variance and Cronbach's alpha for each factor. In order to assure validity of constructs, I implemented Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), using AMOS 20.0. In confirmatory factor analysis, researcher can take control over the specification of indicators for each factor by hypothesizing that a specific factor is loaded with the relevant indicators. Moreover, CFA is particularly useful in the validation of scale for the measurement of specific construct. CFA result summarized Table 2 shows that the fit measures of all constructs fulfill the recommended level and loadings are significant. To test causal relationship between constructs in the research model, used AMOS 20.0 that provides a graphic module as method for analysing Structural Equation Modeling. The result of hypothesis test is shown in Table 3. As a result of empirical study, perceived quality, brand image and perceived value as selected attributes for PB products showed significantly positive (+) effect on brand trust and brand equity. Furthermore, brand trust and brand equity showed significantly positive (+) effect on intent of relational continuance. However, store image of discount stores selling the PB products was analyzed to have positive (+) effect on brand trust and no significant effect on brand equity. Discussion : Based on the results of this study, the relationship between overall quality, store image, brand image and value perceived by consumers about PB products and intent of relational continuance was structurally verified as being mediated by brand trust and brand equity. Looking at the results, a strategic approach that maximizes brand trust and equity value for PB products by large discount stores is required on top of basic efforts to improve quality, brand image and value of PB products in order to maximize consumer's intent of relational continuance and to continuously attract repeated purchase of products.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.43-54
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• 2009

This study attempted to develop a model for selecting sites for ecologically effective, multi-functional wetlands during the environmental and ecological planning stage, prior to land use Planning. This model was developed with an emphasis upon the creation of a water circulation system for a newly-created city, dispersing and retaining the run-off that is increased due to urbanization and securing spaces to create wetlands that can promote urban biodiversity. A series of Precesses for selecting sites for wetland restoration and creation - watershed analysis, selection of evaluation items, calculation of weights, reparation of thematic maps and synthesis - were incorporated into the model. Its potentials and limitations were examined by applying it to the recently-planned WiRae New Community Development Area, which is located in the Seoul metropolitan region. At the watershed analysis stage, the site was divided into 13 sub-catchment areas. Inflow to watersheds including the area was $3,020,765m^3$ Run-off before and after development is estimated as $1,901,969m^3$ and $1,970,735{\sim}2,039,502m^3$, respectively. The total storage capacity required in the development area amounts to $68,766{\sim}137,533m^3$. When thematic maps were overlapped during the selection stage for wetland sites, 13 sub-catchment areas were prioritized for wetland restoration and creation. The locations and areas for retaining run-off showed that various types of wetlands, including retaining wetlands (area wetlands), riverine wetlands (linear wetlands) and pond wetlands (point wetlands), can be created and that they can be systematically connected. By providing a basic framework for the water circulation system plan of an entire city, it may be used effectively in the space planning stage, such as planning an urban eco-network through integration with greet areas. In order to estimate reasonable run-off and create an adequate water circulation system however, a feedback process following land use planning is required. This study strived to promote urban changes in a positive direction while minimizing urban changes in negative forms.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.123-137
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• 2007

The advent of the Internet and related Web technologies has created an easily accessible link between a firm and its customers, and has provided opportunities to a firm to use information technology to support supplementary after-sale services associated with a product or service. It has been widely recognized that supplementary services are an important source of customer value and of competitive advantage as the characteristics of the product itself. Many of these supplementary services are information-based and need not be co-located with the product, so more and more companies are delivering these services electronically. Net-based customer service, which is defined as an Internet-based computerized information system that delivers services to a customer, therefore, is the core infrastructure for supplementary service provision. The importance of net-based customer service in delivering supplementary after-sale services associated with product has been well documented. The strategic advantages of well-implemented net-based customer service are enhanced customer loyalty and higher lock-in of customers, and a resulting reduction in competition and the consequent increase in profits. However, not all customers utilize such net-based customer service. The digital divide is the phenomenon in our society that captures the observation that not all customers have equal access to computers. Socioeconomic factors such as race, gender, and education level are strongly related to Internet accessibility and ability to use. This is due to the differences in the ability to bear the cost of a computer, and the differences in self-efficacy in the use of a technology, among other reasons. This concept, applied to e-commerce, has been called the "e-commerce divide." High Internet penetration is not eradicating the digital divide and e-commerce divide as one would hope. Besides, to accommodate personalized support, a customer must often provide personal information to the firm. This personal information includes not only name and address, but also preferences information and perhaps valuation information. However, many recent studies show that consumers may not be willing to share information about themselves due to concerns about privacy online. Due to the e-commerce divide, and due to privacy and security concerns of the customer for sharing personal information with firms, limited numbers of customers adopt net-based customer service. The limited level of customer adoption of net-based customer service affects the firm profits and the customers' welfare. We use a game-theoretic model in which we model the net-based customer service system as a mechanism to enhance customers' loyalty. We model a market entry scenario where a firm (the incumbent) uses the net-based customer service system in inducing loyalty in its customer base. The firm sells one product through the traditional retailing channels and at a price set for these channels. Another firm (the entrant) enters the market, and having observed the price of the incumbent firm (and after deducing the loyalty levels in the customer base), chooses its price. The profits of the firms and the surplus of the two customers segments (the segment that utilizes net-based customer service and the segment that does not) are analyzed in the Stackelberg leader-follower model of competition between the firms. We find that an increase in adoption of net-based customer service by the customer base is not always desirable for firms. With low effectiveness in enhancing customer loyalty, firms prefer a high level of customer adoption of net-based customer service, because an increase in adoption rate decreases competition and increases profits. A firm in an industry where net-based customer service is highly effective loyalty mechanism, on the other hand, prefers a low level of adoption by customers.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.377-388
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• 2023

Carbon management is emerging as an important factor for global warming control, and land use change is considered one of the causes. To quantify the changes in carbon stocks due to development, this study attempted to calculate carbon storage by borrowing the formula of the InVEST Carbon Storage and Sequestration Model (InVEST Model). Before analyzing carbon stocks, a carbon pool was compiled based on previous studies in Korea. Then, we estimated the change in carbon stocks according to the development of Osong National Industrial Park (ONIP) and the application of alternatives. The analysis shows that 16,789.5 MgC will be emitted under Alternative 1 and 16,305.3 MgC under Alternative 2. These emissions account for 44.4% and 43.1% of the pre-project carbon stock, respectively, and shows that choosing Alternative 2 is advantageous for reducing carbon emissions. The difference is likely due to the difference in grassland area between Alternatives 1 and 2. Even if Alternative 2 is selected, efforts are needed to increase the carbon storage effect by managing the appropriate level of green cover in the grassland, creating multi-layered vegetation, and installing low-energy facilities. In addition, it is suggested to conserve wetlands that can be lost during the stream improvement process or to create artificial wetlands to increase carbon storage. The assessment of carbon storage using carbon pools by land cover can improve the objectivity of comparison and evaluation analysis results for land use plans in Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment. In addition, the carbon pool generated in this study is expected to be used as a basis for improving the accuracy of such analyses.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.35-55
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• 2013

Information technology is a critical resource necessary for any company hoping to support and realize its strategic goals, which contribute to growth promotion and sustainable development. The selection of information technology and its strategic use are imperative for the enhanced performance of every aspect of company management, leading a wide range of companies to have invested continuously in information technology. Despite researchers, managers, and policy makers' keen interest in how information technology contributes to organizational performance, there is uncertainty and debate about the result of information technology investment. In other words, researchers and managers cannot easily identify the independent factors that can impact the investment performance of information technology. This is mainly owing to the fact that many factors, ranging from the internal components of a company, strategies, and external customers, are interconnected with the investment performance of information technology. Using an agent-based simulation technique, this research extracts factors expected to affect investment performance on information technology, simplifies the analyses of their relationship with economic modeling, and examines the performance dependent on changes in the factors. In terms of economic modeling, I expand the model that highlights the way in which product quality moderates the relationship between information technology investments and economic performance (Thatcher and Pingry, 2004) by considering the cost of information technology investment and the demand creation resulting from product quality enhancement. For quality enhancement and its consequences for demand creation, I apply the concept of information quality and decision-maker quality (Raghunathan, 1999). This concept implies that the investment on information technology improves the quality of information, which, in turn, improves decision quality and performance, thus enhancing the level of product or service quality. Additionally, I consider the effect of word of mouth among consumers, which creates new demand for a product or service through the information diffusion effect. This demand creation is analyzed with an agent-based simulation model that is widely used for network analyses. Results show that the investment on information technology enhances the quality of a company's product or service, which indirectly affects the economic performance of that company, particularly with regard to factors such as consumer surplus, company profit, and company productivity. Specifically, when a company makes its initial investment in information technology, the resultant increase in the quality of a company's product or service immediately has a positive effect on consumer surplus, but the investment cost has a negative effect on company productivity and profit. As time goes by, the enhancement of the quality of that company's product or service creates new consumer demand through the information diffusion effect. Finally, the new demand positively affects the company's profit and productivity. In terms of the investment strategy for information technology, this study's results also reveal that the selection of information technology needs to be based on analysis of service and the network effect of customers, and demonstrate that information technology implementation should fit into the company's business strategy. Specifically, if a company seeks the short-term enhancement of company performance, it needs to have a one-shot strategy (making a large investment at one time). On the other hand, if a company seeks a long-term sustainable profit structure, it needs to have a split strategy (making several small investments at different times). The findings from this study make several contributions to the literature. In terms of methodology, the study integrates both economic modeling and simulation technique in order to overcome the limitations of each methodology. It also indicates the mediating effect of product quality on the relationship between information technology and the performance of a company. Finally, it analyzes the effect of information technology investment strategies and information diffusion among consumers on the investment performance of information technology.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.11-20
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• 2014

Recently K-POP's popularity and the success story of 'Psy' suggests that Korean Culture can get the possibility of entry into the global major market. Increasing the purchasing power of global contents distribution also shows that the delivery of cultural content can be a big business model to create economic benefits. However, for sustainable diffusion of Korean culture, we need efforts to expand the business scope to the global market like the establishment of global distribution platform. In this study, we investigated key factors for activating the global content distribution and then analyzed priority of importance of the factors to be utilized the strategic alternatives using AHP method. To ensure the reliability of the study, experts (30patients) who worked more than 10 years of relevant work were included as population of the questionnaire. The results of analysis, the relative importance of content aspects were higher than technical aspects and policy aspects. In the analysis of the importance of the second layer factors, the business models of policy aspects were analyzed as a factor of top priority, then high-quality content production was selected as an important factor of the next higher ranks.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.223-255
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• 2008

This study explores the determinants and processes of IT consolidation of Korean conglomerates. Through an extensive analysis of cases, this study identifies the drivers, benefits and critical success factors of IT consolidation, and observes the transition of vision for the IT service subsidiaries in the conglomerates. The results show that most firms in this analysis have completed the organizational, physical, and logical consolidation of their IT resources, and currently some of them are preparing for the next stage of IT consolidation such as rational consolidation and virtualization. It is also found that the strategic factor was one of the most significant determinants in consolidating IT resources which leaded the transition of vision of the IT service firms in the conglomerates from "cost center" to "profit center". The results of this study can provide a fundamental and empirical basis for building a theory of IT consolidation, and be used as a valuable benchmarking model for the organizations which consider starting a project of IT consolidation.

• Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.205-227
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• 1995

The objectives of this study were to 1) classify the cooperative farmers' organizations in Korea according to the development level and institutional aspects through the exploration of its' conceptual and institutional basis, 2) analyze the farmers' needs for organization, 3) identify the problems and situation of organizations, and 4) formulate an effective management model for each cooperative farmers' organization. The study was carried out through a review of literature and using available statistical data collected from various sources and empirical survey. Major findings of the study were: 1) the cooperative farmers' organizations could be classified into four types : crop units, farming cooperative corporation, trust farming companies and joint-stock agri-business. 2) a lot of members of the organization feel that the information is insufficient, the opportunity to suggest their own ideas is hardly given, and the members are not satisfied with the cooperation among the members, 3) the members who have higher level of schooling education showed a higher participation level in the organization, 4) most of members did not recognize the organization they participated in, 5) participation of the organization's members and concerned institutions is an important factor to promote problem solving and better communication within the organization, 6) any type of continuing education for the members is needed to facilitate the transfer of a new agricultural and organizational technology, 7) research and development(R & D) is one of the most important factors of the development of organizations, 8) most organizations are deficient in professional management skills(financial, personal, accounts, etc.), 9) the trust farming companies have difficulties in managing the firm on account of the characteristics of agriculture(especially seasonal), the dispersed trust lands, and the need for more alternative work in the winter season, and 10) in the case of agri-businesses, their organizations are more specialized in marketing and have more structured systems of management. Based on the results of the study the following recommendations were made for further improvement and development of agricultural cooperative organizations : (1) More governmental support should be given to education for improvement of the organizational structure. And more deliberate and differentiated governmental support should be provided for the organizations to be viably managed. (2) For more efficient communication between the members and the organization, more opportunities for discussion are needed. (3) The more research should be committed to this kind of work in order to get more analytic data and strategic plans of cooperative organizations.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.264-279
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• 2015

This study is conducted to investigate the relationships among service quality, satisfaction, and revisit intention of franchise snack bars customers located in Busan. The quality of franchise Korean snack bars' service was estimated by examining three sub-dimensions: service environment factors, interaction factors, and outcome quality factors, which are classified from Brady & Cronin's third-dimensional model. The survey was performed from March 9th to March 13th in 2015. Total 300 questionnaires were distributed and 272 questionnaires were employed for final analysis. SPSS 21.0 program was used to derive the following: factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation, simple regression and multiple regression analysis. In results, the approachableness such as convenience for access was the most important reason when people choose a franchise Korean snack bar company followed by food taste and reasonable price. In addition, the results indicate that service environment quality, interaction quality, and outcome quality have all positive impact on the customers' satisfaction as well as revisit intention. Specifically, outcome quality have the greatest influence on the satisfaction and revisit intention among three service quality factors. This outcome proves that Korean snack bar franchise companies need to investigate more to improve their outcome quality such as food quality and serving time to satisfy customers. In conclusion, current study confirmed the relationships among service quality, satisfaction, and revisit intention in context of franchise snack bar stores. These results will suggest the snack bar foodservice segmentation as valuable marketing strategic, and that it can be utilized as a fundamental data to establish an efficient business plan in the industry.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.93-105
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• 2014

Group creativity has recently been heightened as a core competence in the 21st century. Therefore, there is a need for introduction of concepts on design thinking emphasizing the collaboration and empathy to science education as an effective method for fostering group creativity. Understanding design thinking for effective introduction should be preceded, so we explore the characterizations of design thinking through the generic model overlay method, focus group interview, and critical incident technique analysis. The results reveal 4 cluster units of competency and 15 core competencies. The collaboration cluster consists of 5 competencies and they are as follows: organization of the team, communication, self-control, persuasiveness, and initiative competency. The integrative thinking cluster consists of 3 competencies and they are as follows: analytical, strategic, and intuitive thinking competency. The human-centeredness cluster consists of 3 competencies and they are as follows: user-orientation, relationship building, and interpersonal understanding competency. The multidisciplinary cluster consists of 4 competencies and they are as follows: achievement orientation, information seeking, curiosity, and flexibility competency. Findings are expected to provide the basic data for developing programs and establishing strategies in order to foster group creativity as well as introducing design thinking to science education effectively.