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A Study on the Use Impact on the Trail in Gwanak Mountain, Korea (관악산 등산로 이용에 따른 영향에 관한 연구)

  • Yoo, Ki-Joon
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.25 no.1
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    • pp.111-117
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    • 2011
  • The purpose of this study is to establish trail use impact indicators, and evaluate the degree of use impact based on the understanding of the causality among the impacts on the spot. Theoretical reviews developed three indicators in terms of three ecological impacts, four physical impacts, and five sociological impacts, respectively. With this indicators, observation and questionnaire survey were employed on Gwanak Mountain Trail to measure the levels of impacts forementioned. As for the ecological impact, Some loss of ground cover vegetation was reveled near the trail due to trail use, however the level of disturbance by the naturalized and exotic plants was insignificant. Physical impacts such as soil hardness, enlargement of trail width were found intensified. The result of measuring sociological impacts showed visitors had expected higher level of crowding and encounters before their visit, therefore overall satisfaction level was positive, despite higher awareness level of actual crowding. Intensified continuing use of the trail is aggravating ecological and physical impacts on Gwanak Mountain trail, because of its location in a metropolitan area. Sociological impacts seem favorable at present, however if ecological and physical impacts were deteriorated, sociological impacts would also be affected. To maintain the quality level of use experience, managerial efforts to improve climbing culture as well as ecological and physical environment such as restoration of damaged areas are needed.

A study of pain perception related to IV therapy in hospitalized preschool children and their mothers (정맥주사와 채혈시 학령전기 아동과 어머니가 인지하는 동통)

  • 임지영
    • Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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    • v.22 no.1
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    • pp.49-67
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    • 1992
  • Most hospitalized children will experience physical pain as well as psychological distress. Preschool children's pain perception related to painful procedures can increase due to elevated anxiety and fear because they do not have understanding logical of their disease and hospitalization. In particular, they are distressed about needle - related procedures which are feared because they are seen to be a cause of bodily damage. This descriptive study attempted to identify pain perception levels in preschool children and their mothers. A self-reporting measurement and behavioral observation were used to collect the data. A total of 25 hospitalized preschool children and their mothers were investigated and data were collected about 60 painful procedures. Data collection was carried out by the researcher and two trained investigators from November first to December tenth. Three insruments were used to collect the data : Faces Pain Rating Scale(FPRS) developed by Beyer was used to measure the degree of preschool children's pain perception about painful procedures. The Visual Analogue Scale(VAS) devised by Huskisson was used to assess the degree of mothers' pain perception about their children's painful procedures. A Pain Behavioral Checklist based on the Procedure Behavior Check List by LeBaron and Zelter and modified by the researcher was used to observe behaviors of preschool children, their mothers, and nurses when the painful procedures took place. The data were analyzed by an SPSS program, and were tested using real numbers, percentages, Pearson correlation coefficient, t-test, and ANOVA. The results of this study are as follows : 1. Of all the painful procedures, the mean score for the FPRS for the preschool children's pain perception was 4.02 points, and the mean score for the VAS of mothers' pain perception was 10.92 points. 2. A Positive correlation which was statistically significant was found between the pain perception of preschool children and their mothers (r=.53, p<.01). that is, the higher the children's pain perception was, the higher their mothers' pain perception was. 3. The characteristics of the painful procedures related with children's pain perception as follows : The type of painful procedure was found to be statistically significant (F=23.44, p<.01), Among the three procedures Ⅳ starting was found to be perceived as the most painful procedures to the children. The greater the number of times that the procedure had been done, the higher the pain perception was (F=4.44, p<.01), and the longer the duration of the procedure, the higher the pain perception wa(r=.30, p<.05). Pain perception in the treatment room was higher than in the children's room(t=6.30, <.01), pain perception in the mother's presence was the higher than when the mother was not present (t=2.91, p<.01). 4. The characteristics of the painful procedures related with the mothers' pain perception as follows : The type of painful procedure was found to be statistically significant(F=6.01, p<.01). Among the three procedures Ⅳ sampling was found to be perceived as the most painful procedures to the mothers. The greater the number of times that the procedure had been done, the higher the pain perception was (F=5.95, p<.01), and the longer the duration of the procedure, the higher the pain perception was (r=.31, p<.05). Pain perception in the treatment room was higher than in the children's room (t=3.51, p<.01), but pain perception in the mother's presence showed statistically significant no difference. 5. Of all of the 19 children's behaviors during the painful procedures, the most frequent behaviors observed Were as follows in order of frequency “crying”, “screamirig”, “facial grimacing”, “physical resistance”, Of all of the nine methers' behaviors, the most frequent by observed in “console children”, “hold children”, “applaud children”, Of all of the 11 nurses' behaviors during the painful procedures, the mast frequent in order were “smiling”, “physical restraint”, “console children”, “praise children”. 6. A positive correlation between children's and mothers' pain perception and children's behaviors was found to be statistically significant (r=.65, p<.01, r=67, p<.01). Also the relationship between children's and mothers' pain percertion, and mothers' behavior was found to be statistically significant (r=.57, p<. 01, 4=.60, p<.01). The relationship between children's pain perception and nurses' behaviors was also found to be statistically significant (r=.46, p<.01), but there was difference between mothers' pain perception and nurses' behaviors.

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Brand Equity and Purchase Intention in Fashion Products: A Cross-Cultural Study in Asia and Europe (상표자산과 구매의도와의 관계에 관한 국제비교연구 - 아시아와 유럽의 의류시장을 중심으로 -)

  • Kim, Kyung-Hoon;Ko, Eun-Ju;Graham, Hooley;Lee, Nick;Lee, Dong-Hae;Jung, Hong-Seob;Jeon, Byung-Joo;Moon, Hak-Il
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.18 no.4
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    • pp.245-276
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    • 2008
  • Brand equity is one of the most important concepts in business practice as well as in academic research. Successful brands can allow marketers to gain competitive advantage (Lassar et al.,1995), including the opportunity for successful extensions, resilience against competitors' promotional pressures, and the ability to create barriers to competitive entry (Farquhar, 1989). Branding plays a special role in service firms because strong brands increase trust in intangible products (Berry, 2000), enabling customers to better visualize and understand them. They reduce customers' perceived monetary, social, and safety risks in buying services, which are obstacles to evaluating a service correctly before purchase. Also, a high level of brand equity increases consumer satisfaction, repurchasing intent, and degree of loyalty. Brand equity can be considered as a mixture that includes both financial assets and relationships. Actually, brand equity can be viewed as the value added to the product (Keller, 1993), or the perceived value of the product in consumers' minds. Mahajan et al. (1990) claim that customer-based brand equity can be measured by the level of consumers' perceptions. Several researchers discuss brand equity based on two dimensions: consumer perception and consumer behavior. Aaker (1991) suggests measuring brand equity through price premium, loyalty, perceived quality, and brand associations. Viewing brand equity as the consumer's behavior toward a brand, Keller (1993) proposes similar dimensions: brand awareness and brand knowledge. Thus, past studies tend to identify brand equity as a multidimensional construct consisted of brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand knowledge, customer satisfaction, perceived equity, brand associations, and other proprietary assets (Aaker, 1991, 1996; Blackston, 1995; Cobb-Walgren et al., 1995; Na, 1995). Other studies tend to regard brand equity and other brand assets, such as brand knowledge, brand awareness, brand image, brand loyalty, perceived quality, and so on, as independent but related constructs (Keller, 1993; Kirmani and Zeithaml, 1993). Walters(1978) defined information search as, "A psychological or physical action a consumer takes in order to acquire information about a product or store." But, each consumer has different methods for informationsearch. There are two methods of information search, internal and external search. Internal search is, "Search of information already saved in the memory of the individual consumer"(Engel, Blackwell, 1982) which is, "memory of a previous purchase experience or information from a previous search."(Beales, Mazis, Salop, and Staelin, 1981). External search is "A completely voluntary decision made in order to obtain new information"(Engel & Blackwell, 1982) which is, "Actions of a consumer to acquire necessary information by such methods as intentionally exposing oneself to advertisements, taking to friends or family or visiting a store."(Beales, Mazis, Salop, and Staelin, 1981). There are many sources for consumers' information search including advertisement sources such as the internet, radio, television, newspapers and magazines, information supplied by businesses such as sales people, packaging and in-store information, consumer sources such as family, friends and colleagues, and mass media sources such as consumer protection agencies, government agencies and mass media sources. Understanding consumers' purchasing behavior is a key factor of a firm to attract and retain customers and improving the firm's prospects for survival and growth, and enhancing shareholder's value. Therefore, marketers should understand consumer as individual and market segment. One theory of consumer behavior supports the belief that individuals are rational. Individuals think and move through stages when making a purchase decision. This means that rational thinkers have led to the identification of a consumer buying decision process. This decision process with its different levels of involvement and influencing factors has been widely accepted and is fundamental to the understanding purchase intention represent to what consumers think they will buy. Brand equity is not only companies but also very important asset more than product itself. This paper studies brand equity model and influencing factors including information process such as information searching and information resources in the fashion market in Asia and Europe. Information searching and information resources are influencing brand knowledge that influences consumers purchase decision. Nine research hypotheses are drawn to test the relationships among antecedents of brand equity and purchase intention and relationships among brand knowledge, brand value, brand attitude, and brand loyalty. H1. Information searching influences brand knowledge positively. H2. Information sources influence brand knowledge positively. H3. Brand knowledge influences brand attitude. H4. Brand knowledge influences brand value. H5. Brand attitude influences brand loyalty. H6. Brand attitude influences brand value. H7. Brand loyalty influences purchase intention. H8. Brand value influence purchase intention. H9. There will be the same research model in Asia and Europe. We performed structural equation model analysis in order to test hypotheses suggested in this study. The model fitting index of the research model in Asia was $X^2$=195.19(p=0.0), NFI=0.90, NNFI=0.87, CFI=0.90, GFI=0.90, RMR=0.083, AGFI=0.85, which means the model fitting of the model is good enough. In Europe, it was $X^2$=133.25(p=0.0), NFI=0.81, NNFI=0.85, CFI=0.89, GFI=0.90, RMR=0.073, AGFI=0.85, which means the model fitting of the model is good enough. From the test results, hypotheses were accepted. All of these hypotheses except one are supported. In Europe, information search is not an antecedent of brand knowledge. This means that sales of global fashion brands like jeans in Europe are not expanding as rapidly as in Asian markets such as China, Japan, and South Korea. Young consumers in European countries are not more brand and fashion conscious than their counter partners in Asia. The results have theoretical, practical meaning and contributions. In the fashion jeans industry, relatively few studies examining the viability of cross-national brand equity has been studied. This study provides insight on building global brand equity and suggests information process elements like information search and information resources are working differently in Asia and Europe for fashion jean market.

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The vertical location of the center of resistance for maxillary six anterior teeth during retraction using three dimensional finite element analysis (상악 6전치부의 후방견인시 저항중심의 수직적 위치에 관한 3차원 유한요소법적 연구)

  • Lee, Hye-Kyoung;Chung, Kyu-Rhim
    • The korean journal of orthodontics
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    • v.31 no.4 s.87
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    • pp.425-438
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    • 2001
  • The delivery of optimal orthodontic treatment is greatly influenced by clinician's ability to predict and control tooth movement by applying well-known force system to dentition. It is very important to determine the location of the centers of resistance of a tooth or teeth in order to have better understanding the nature of displacement characteristics under various force levels. In this study, three dimensional finite element analysis was used to measure the initial displacement of the consolidated teeth under loading. The purpose of this study was to define the location of the centers of resistance at the upper six anterior segment. To observe the changes of six anterior segment, 200gm, 250gm, 300gm, and 350gm forces at right and left hand side each were imposed toward lingual direction. For this study, two cases, six anterior teeth and six anterior teeth after corticotomy, were reviewed. In addition, it was reviewed the effects of changes on the location of the center of resistance in both cases based on different degree of forces aforementioned. The results were that : 1. The instantaneous center of resistance for the six anterior teeth was vertically located between level 4 and level 5, which is, at 6.76mm, $44.32\%$ apical to the cementoenamel junction level. 2. The instantaneous center of resistance for the six anterior teeth after corticotomy was located vertically between level 4 and level 5, that is, at 7.09mm $46.38\%$ apical to the cementoenamel junction level. 3. Changes of force showed little effect on the location of the center of resistance in each case. 4. It was observed that the location of the instantaneous center of resistance for the six anterior teeth after corticotomy was changed more than the six anterior teeth without corticotomy to the apical part, and the displacement of the consolidated anterior teeth moved further in case of the consolidated teeth after corticotomy.

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Relationships between Learning Modes and Knowledge Structures of Primary School Children: Reflected on the Concept Maps of the 'Structure and Function of Plant' Unit ('식물의 구조와 기능'에 대한 초등학교 아동들의 지식구조와 학습성향과의 관계)

  • Kim, Jong-Jung;song, Nam-Hi
    • Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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    • v.22 no.4
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    • pp.796-805
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    • 2002
  • This study examined the knowledge structure constructed by children before formal instruction, and successive changes in the structural complexity of knowledge during and after the learning of 'Structure and Function of Plant' unit. It also investigated how those changes were affected by children's learning modes. The researchers made the 5th graders draw the first draft of their concept map to see the pre-existing knowledge structure concerned with the unit and four more concept maps after completing every fourth lesson. And to see how long their knowledge structures were preserved, the researchers made children draw additional concept maps in 3 days, 3 months, and 7 months after completing the unit. Children drew their current concept maps on the basis of the previous one while learning the unit and without the previous one after completing the unit. Each concept map drawn by children showed the degree of their current understanding on the structures and functions of plants. The results revealed that only two levels of hierarchy and five relationships among the components of the first concept map(relationship, hierarchy, cross link and example) were proven to be valid in terms of conceptual relevance. Growth in the structural complexity of knowledge took place progressively throughout the unit and the effects of learning mode on the growth were favorably reflected in concept map scores of meaningful learners over time(relationship, cross link, example: p<.01, hierarchy: p<.05). Although there were some differences on the concept map scores between two types of learners, they commonly showed that knowledge restructuring had occurred apparently in the early periods from the 1st to the 6th lesson and had not occurred at all in the last period of the unit. The frequency of tuning was higher in rote learners than in meaningful learners throughout the unit, but the frequency of accretion was reverse. Concept map scores of rote learners constructed in the course of learning of the unit decreased little by little gradually in all the categories after completing the unit. However, the average total map score of meaningful learners increased a little more in 7 months than in 3 months after completing the unit. Therefore it can be inferred that meaningful learners construct more stable and well-differentiated knowledge structures than the rote learners.

A Study on the Service Quality Improvement by Kano Model & Weighted Potential Customer Satisfaction Index (Kano 모델 및 가중 PCSI를 통한 서비스품질 개선에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Sang-Cheol
    • Journal of Distribution Science
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    • v.8 no.4
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    • pp.17-23
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    • 2010
  • The Banking industry is expanding rapidly. To keep the competitive advantages, participating companies concentrate their resource to provide the distinguishable services by increasing the service quality. This study is to find that how three kinds of service quality(process, output, and service environment) affect on the customer satisfaction. In this paper, WPCSI (Weighted Potential Customer Satisfaction Index) was developed using Kano model and PCSI. Kano's model of service quality classification was used to improve customer satisfaction, customer satisfaction index was calculated. Customer satisfaction index was calculated using the existing potential for improving customer satisfaction index (PCSI Index) to complement the limitations of the weighted potential improve customer satisfaction index (WPCSI) were used. Analysis using PCSI improve the quality of service levels may be useful in assessing. However, this figure is a marginal degree of importance on customers and quality characteristics have been overlooked but has its problems. A service provided to customers with some important differences depending on the interpretation of the scope for improvement is to be classified. In other words, the level of customer satisfaction and the satisfaction of the current difference between the comparison factor for the company to provide information about the priority of the improvement was not significant. Companies are also considered important that the customer does not consider the uniform quality of service provided can be fallible. In this study, the weighted potential to improve it improve customer satisfaction index (WPCSI) proposed a new customer satisfaction index. This is for customers to recognize the importance of quality characteristics by weighting factors, to identify practical and improved priority to provide more useful information than has been. Weighted potentially improve customer satisfaction index (WPCSI) presented in this study by the customers aware of the importance of considering the quality factor is an exponent. The results, 'Employees' working ability', 'provided the desired service level', 'staff to handle this task quickly enough' to the customer of the factors had significant effects on satisfaction are met. On the other hand 'aggressiveness on the product description of employees', 'service environment as a whole, beautiful enough to' meet and shows no significant difference between satisfaction. But 'aggressiveness on the product description of employees' and reverse (逆) were attributable to the quality. Small dogs and overly aggressive products that encourage the customer dissatisfaction that can result in widening should be careful because the quality factor can be said. As a result, WPCSI is more effect to find critical factors which can affect customer satisfaction than PCSI. After that, we discuss effects and advantages of customer satisfaction using WPCSI. This study, along with these positive aspects, the limitations are implied. First, this study directly to the bank so that I could visit any other way for customers, utilizing the Internet or mobile to take advantage of the respondents were excluded from the analysis. Second, in survey questionnaires can help improve understanding of the measures will be taken. In addition to the survey targeted mainly focused on Seoul, according to a sample, so sampling can cause problems is the viscosity revealed intends.

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A checklist of vascular plants in limestone areas on the Korean Peninsula (한반도 석회암지대의 관속식물 목록)

  • KIM, Jung-Hyun;NAM, Gi-Heum;LEE, Seung-bae;SHIN, Sookyung;KIM, Jin-Seok
    • Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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    • v.51 no.3
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    • pp.250-293
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    • 2021
  • Limestone areas are sedimentary rock outcrops consisting of calcium carbonate created several hundreds of millions of years ago by calcium-secreting marine organisms and subsequently lifted above sea level by tectonic movement. Limestone areas support very high levels of endemic species of plants and are recognized as biodiversity areas with much biological information. The purpose of this study is to devise a strategy for the comprehensive conservation of the vegetation of limestone areas through analyses of the floristics and plant species compositions in ten limestone areas on the Korean Peninsula. The results of 153 field surveys from April of 2010 to October of 2016 identified 1,202 taxa in total, representing 1,096 species, 18 subspecies, 84 varieties, 2 forms, and 2 hybrids in 530 genera and 133 families. Among them, 55 taxa were endemic plants to Korea, and 38 taxa were red data plants. The floristic target plants amounted to 102 taxa, specifically 27 taxa of grade V and 75 taxa of grade IV. In all, 121 alien plants were recorded in the investigated area. Calciphilous plants amounted to 102 taxa, specifically 14 taxa of calciphilous indicator plants, 30 taxa of superlative most calciphilous plants, and 58 taxa of comparative more calciphilous plants. A cluster analysis showed a high degree of similarity between sites that are geographically adjacent with similar habitat environments. Limestone areas also supported groups distinct from those in non-limestone areas, demonstrating the specificity of limestone flora. Plant geography approaches therefore appear to be crucial to gain a better understanding of the level of biodiversity in limestone areas, not only at the interspecific but also at the intraspecific level. These results highlight the importance of protecting limestone habitats to preserve not only their interspecific but also the intraspecific diversity, which is highly threatened.

Degree of Self-Understanding Through "Self-Guided Interpretation" in Yeoncheon, Hantan River UNESCO Geopark: Focusing on Readability and Curriculum Relevance (한탄강 세계지질공원 연천 지역의 자기-안내식 해설 매체를 통한 스스로 이해 가능 정도: 이독성과 교육과정 관련성을 중심으로)

  • Min Ji Kim;Chan-Jong Kim;Eun-Jeong Yu
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.44 no.6
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    • pp.655-674
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    • 2023
  • This study examined whether the "self-guided interpretation" media in the Yeoncheon area of the Hantangang River UNESCO Geopark are intelligible for visitors. Accordingly, two on-site investigations were conducted in the Hantangang River Global Geopark in September and November 2022. The Yeoncheon area, known for its diverse geological features and the era of geological attraction formation, was selected for analysis. We analyzed the readability levels, graphic characteristics, and alignment with science curriculum of the interpretive media specific to geological sites among a total of 36 self-guided interpretive media in the Yeoncheon area. Results indicated that information boards, primarily offering guidance on geological attractions, were the most prevalent type of interpretive media in the Yeoncheon area. The quantity of text in explanatory media surpassed that of a 12th-grade science textbook. The average vocabulary grade was similar to that of 11th- and 12th-grade science textbooks, with somewhat reduced readability due to a high occurrence of complex sentences. Predominant graphic types included illustrative photographs, aiding comprehension of the geological formation process through multi-structure graphics. Regarding scientific terms used in the interpretive media, 86.3% of the terms were within the "Solid Earth" section of the 2015 revised curriculum, with the majority being at the 4th-grade level. The 11th-grade optional curriculum terms comprised the second largest portion, and 13.7% of all science terms were from outside the curriculum. Notably, variations in the scientific terminology's complexity was based on geological attractions. Specifically, the terminology level on the homepage tended to be generally higher than that on information boards. Through these findings, specific factors impeding visitor comprehension of geological attractions in the Yeoncheon area, based on the interpretation medium, were identified. We suggest further research to effect improvements in self-guided interpretation media, fostering geological resource education for general visitors and anticipating advancements in geology education.

The Impact of the Internet Channel Introduction Depending on the Ownership of the Internet Channel (도입주체에 따른 인터넷경로의 도입효과)

  • Yoo, Weon-Sang
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.19 no.1
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    • pp.37-46
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    • 2009
  • The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced in May 2008 that U.S. retail e-commerce sales for 2006 reached $ 107 billion, up from $ 87 billion in 2005 - an increase of 22 percent. From 2001 to 2006, retail e-sales increased at an average annual growth rate of 25.4 percent. The explosive growth of E-Commerce has caused profound changes in marketing channel relationships and structures in many industries. Despite the great potential implications for both academicians and practitioners, there still exists a great deal of uncertainty about the impact of the Internet channel introduction on distribution channel management. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the ownership of the new Internet channel affects the existing channel members and consumers. To explore the above research questions, this study conducts well-controlled mathematical experiments to isolate the impact of the Internet channel by comparing before and after the Internet channel entry. The model consists of a monopolist manufacturer selling its product through a channel system including one independent physical store before the entry of an Internet store. The addition of the Internet store to this channel system results in a mixed channel comprised of two different types of channels. The new Internet store can be launched by the independent physical store such as Bestbuy. In this case, the physical retailer coordinates the two types of stores to maximize the joint profits from the two stores. The Internet store also can be introduced by an independent Internet retailer such as Amazon. In this case, a retail level competition occurs between the two types of stores. Although the manufacturer sells only one product, consumers view each product-outlet pair as a unique offering. Thus, the introduction of the Internet channel provides two product offerings for consumers. The channel structures analyzed in this study are illustrated in Fig.1. It is assumed that the manufacturer plays as a Stackelberg leader maximizing its own profits with the foresight of the independent retailer's optimal responses as typically assumed in previous analytical channel studies. As a Stackelberg follower, the independent physical retailer or independent Internet retailer maximizes its own profits, conditional on the manufacturer's wholesale price. The price competition between two the independent retailers is assumed to be a Bertrand Nash game. For simplicity, the marginal cost is set at zero, as typically assumed in this type of study. In order to explore the research questions above, this study develops a game theoretic model that possesses the following three key characteristics. First, the model explicitly captures the fact that an Internet channel and a physical store exist in two independent dimensions (one in physical space and the other in cyber space). This enables this model to demonstrate that the effect of adding an Internet store is different from that of adding another physical store. Second, the model reflects the fact that consumers are heterogeneous in their preferences for using a physical store and for using an Internet channel. Third, the model captures the vertical strategic interactions between an upstream manufacturer and a downstream retailer, making it possible to analyze the channel structure issues discussed in this paper. Although numerous previous models capture this vertical dimension of marketing channels, none simultaneously incorporates the three characteristics reflected in this model. The analysis results are summarized in Table 1. When the new Internet channel is introduced by the existing physical retailer and the retailer coordinates both types of stores to maximize the joint profits from the both stores, retail prices increase due to a combination of the coordination of the retail prices and the wider market coverage. The quantity sold does not significantly increase despite the wider market coverage, because the excessively high retail prices alleviate the market coverage effect to a degree. Interestingly, the coordinated total retail profits are lower than the combined retail profits of two competing independent retailers. This implies that when a physical retailer opens an Internet channel, the retailers could be better off managing the two channels separately rather than coordinating them, unless they have the foresight of the manufacturer's pricing behavior. It is also found that the introduction of an Internet channel affects the power balance of the channel. The retail competition is strong when an independent Internet store joins a channel with an independent physical retailer. This implies that each retailer in this structure has weak channel power. Due to intense retail competition, the manufacturer uses its channel power to increase its wholesale price to extract more profits from the total channel profit. However, the retailers cannot increase retail prices accordingly because of the intense retail level competition, leading to lower channel power. In this case, consumer welfare increases due to the wider market coverage and lower retail prices caused by the retail competition. The model employed for this study is not designed to capture all the characteristics of the Internet channel. The theoretical model in this study can also be applied for any stores that are not geographically constrained such as TV home shopping or catalog sales via mail. The reasons the model in this study is names as "Internet" are as follows: first, the most representative example of the stores that are not geographically constrained is the Internet. Second, catalog sales usually determine the target markets using the pre-specified mailing lists. In this aspect, the model used in this study is closer to the Internet than catalog sales. However, it would be a desirable future research direction to mathematically and theoretically distinguish the core differences among the stores that are not geographically constrained. The model is simplified by a set of assumptions to obtain mathematical traceability. First, this study assumes the price is the only strategic tool for competition. In the real world, however, various marketing variables can be used for competition. Therefore, a more realistic model can be designed if a model incorporates other various marketing variables such as service levels or operation costs. Second, this study assumes the market with one monopoly manufacturer. Therefore, the results from this study should be carefully interpreted considering this limitation. Future research could extend this limitation by introducing manufacturer level competition. Finally, some of the results are drawn from the assumption that the monopoly manufacturer is the Stackelberg leader. Although this is a standard assumption among game theoretic studies of this kind, we could gain deeper understanding and generalize our findings beyond this assumption if the model is analyzed by different game rules.

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The Effects of Intention Inferences on Scarcity Effect: Moderating Effect of Scarcity Type, Scarcity Depth (소비자의 기업의도 추론이 희소성 효과에 미치는 영향: 수량한정 유형과 폭의 조절효과)

  • Park, Jong-Chul;Na, June-Hee
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.18 no.4
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    • pp.195-215
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    • 2008
  • The scarcity is pervasive aspect of human life and is a fundamental precondition of economic behavior of consumers. Also, the effect of scarcity message is a power social influence principle used by marketers to increase the subjective desirability of products. Because valuable objects are often scare, consumers tend to infer the scarce objects are valuable. Marketers often do base promotional appeals on the principle of scarcity to increase the subjective desirability their products among consumers. Specially, advertisers and retailers often promote their products using restrictions. These restriction act to constraint consumers' ability th take advantage of the promotion and can assume several forms. For example, some promotions are advertised as limited time offers, while others limit the quantity that can be bought at the deal price by employing the statements such as 'limit one per consumer,' 'limit 5 per customer,' 'limited products for special commemoration celebration,' Some retailers use statements extensively. A recent weekly flyer by a prominent retailer limited purchase quantities on 50% of the specials advertised on front page. When consumers saw these phrase, they often infer value from the product that has limited availability or is promoted as being scarce. But, the past researchers explored a direct relationship between the purchase quantity and time limit on deal purchase intention. They also don't explored that all restriction message are not created equal. Namely, we thought that different restrictions signal deal value in different ways or different mechanism. Consumers appear to perceive that time limits are used to attract consumers to the brand, while quantity limits are necessary to reduce stockpiling. This suggests other possible differences across restrictions. For example, quantity limits could imply product quality (i.e., this product at this price is so good that purchases must be limited). In contrast, purchase preconditions force the consumer to spend a certain amount to qualify for the deal, which suggests that inferences about the absolute quality of the promoted item would decline from purchase limits (highest quality) to time limits to purchase preconditions (lowest quality). This might be expected to be particularly true for unfamiliar brands. However, a critical but elusive issue in scarcity message research is the impacts of a inferred motives on the promoted scarcity message. The past researchers not explored possibility of inferred motives on the scarcity message context. Despite various type to the quantity limits message, they didn't separated scarcity message among the quantity limits. Therefore, we apply a stricter definition of scarcity message(i.e. quantity limits) and consider scarcity message type(general scarcity message vs. special scarcity message), scarcity depth(high vs. low). The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the scarcity message on the consumer's purchase intension. Specifically, we investigate the effect of general versus special scarcity messages on the consumer's purchase intention using the level of the scarcity depth as moderators. In other words, we postulates that the scarcity message type and scarcity depth play an essential moderating role in the relationship between the inferred motives and purchase intention. In other worlds, different from the past studies, we examine the interplay between the perceived motives and scarcity type, and between the perceived motives and scarcity depth. Both of these constructs have been examined in isolation, but a key question is whether they interact to produce an effect in reaction to the scarcity message type or scarcity depth increase. The perceived motive Inference behind the scarcity message will have important impact on consumers' reactions to the degree of scarcity depth increase. In relation ti this general question, we investigate the following specific issues. First, does consumers' inferred motives weaken the positive relationship between the scarcity depth decrease and the consumers' purchase intention, and if so, how much does it attenuate this relationship? Second, we examine the interplay between the scarcity message type and the consumers' purchase intention in the context of the scarcity depth decrease. Third, we study whether scarcity message type and scarcity depth directly affect the consumers' purchase intention. For the answer of these questions, this research is composed of 2(intention inference: existence vs. nonexistence)${\times}2$(scarcity type: special vs. general)${\times}2$(scarcity depth: high vs. low) between subject designs. The results are summarized as follows. First, intention inference(inferred motive) is not significant on scarcity effect in case of special scarcity message. However, nonexistence of intention inference is more effective than existence of intention inference on purchase intention in case of general scarcity. Second, intention inference(inferred motive) is not significant on scarcity effect in case of low scarcity. However, nonexistence of intention inference is more effective than existence of intention inference on purchase intention in case of high scarcity. The results of this study will help managers to understand the relative importance among the type of the scarcity message and to make decisions in using their scarcity message. Finally, this article have several contribution. First, we have shown that restrictions server to activates a mental resource that is used to render a judgment regarding a promoted product. In the absence of other information, this resource appears to read to an inference of value. In the presence of other value related cue, however, either database(i.e., scarcity depth: high vs. low) or conceptual base(i.e.,, scarcity type special vs. general), the resource is used in conjunction with the other cues as a basis for judgment, leading to different effects across levels of these other value-related cues. Second, our results suggest that a restriction can affect consumer behavior through four possible routes: 1) the affective route, through making consumers feel irritated, 2) the cognitive making route, through making consumers infer motivation or attribution about promoted scarcity message, and 3) the economic route, through making the consumer lose an opportunity to stockpile at a low scarcity depth, or forcing him her to making additional purchases, lastly 4) informative route, through changing what consumer believe about the transaction. Third, as a note already, this results suggest that we should consider consumers' inferences of motives or attributions for the scarcity dept level and cognitive resources available in order to have a complete understanding the effects of quantity restriction message.

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