• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.65-93
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• 2011

As relationship between buyer and seller has been brought closer and long-term relationship has been more important in B2B markets, the importance of service and service convenience increases as well as product. In homogeneous markets, where service offerings are similar and therefore not key competitive differentiator, providing greater convenience may enable a competitive advantage. Service convenience, as conceptualized by Berry et al. (2002), is defined as the consumers' time and effort perceptions related to buying or using a service. For this reason, B2B customers are interested in how fast the service is provided and how much save non-monetary cost like time or effort by the service convenience along with service quality. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate the impact of service convenience on relationship factors such as relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, and relationship performance. The purpose of this study is to find out whether service convenience can be a new antecedent of relationship quality and relationship performance. In addition, this study tries to examine how five-dimensional service convenience constructs (decision convenience, access convenience, transaction convenience, benefit convenience, post-benefit convenience) affect customers' relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, and relationship performance. The service convenience comprises five fundamental components - decision convenience (the perceived time and effort costs associated with service purchase or use decisions), access convenience(the perceived time and effort costs associated with initiating service delivery), transaction convenience(the perceived time and effort costs associated with finalizing the transaction), benefit convenience(the perceived time and effort costs associated with experiencing the core benefits of the offering) and post-benefit convenience (the perceived time and effort costs associated with reestablishing subsequent contact with the firm). Earlier studies of perceived service convenience in the industrial market are none. The conventional studies that have dealt with service convenience have usually been made in the consumer market, or they have dealt with convenience aspects in the service process. This service convenience measure for consumer market can be useful tool to estimate service quality in B2B market. The conceptualization developed by Berry et al. (2002) reflects a multistage, experiential consumption process in which evaluations of convenience vary at each stage. For this reason, the service convenience measure is good for B2B service environment which has complex processes and various types. Especially when categorizing B2B service as sequential stage of service delivery like Kumar and Kumar (2004), the Berry's service convenience measure which reflect sequential flow of service deliveries suitable to establish B2B service convenience. For this study, data were gathered from respondents who often buy business service and analyzed by structural equation modeling. The sample size in the present study is 119. Composite reliability values and average variance extracted values were examined for each variable to have reliability. We determine whether the measurement model supports the convergent validity by CFA, and discriminant validity was assessed by examining the correlation matrix of the constructs. For each pair of constructs, the square root of the average variance extracted exceeded their correlations, thus supporting the discriminant validity of the constructs. Hypotheses were tested using the Smart PLS 2.0 and we calculated the PLS path values and followed with a bootstrap re-sampling method to test the hypotheses. Among the five dimensional service convenience constructs, four constructs (decision convenience, transaction convenience, benefit convenience, post-benefit convenience) affected customers' positive relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, and relationship performance. This result means that service convenience is important cue to improve relationship between buyer and seller. One of the five service convenience dimensions, access convenience, does not affect relationship quality and performance, which implies that the dimension of service convenience is not important factor of cumulative satisfaction. The Cumulative satisfaction can be distinguished from transaction-specific customer satisfaction, which is an immediate post-purchase evaluative judgment or an affective reaction to the most recent transactional experience with the firm. Because access convenience minimizes the physical effort associated with initiating an exchange, the effect on relationship satisfaction similar to cumulative satisfaction may be relatively low in terms of importance than transaction-specific customer satisfaction. Also, B2B firms focus on service quality, price, benefit, follow-up service and so on than convenience of time or place in service because it is relatively difficult to change existing transaction partners in B2B market compared to consumer market. In addition, this study using partial least squares methods reveals that customers' satisfaction and commitment toward relationship has mediating role between the service convenience and relationship performance. The result shows that management and investment to improve service convenience make customers' positive relationship satisfaction, and then the positive relationship satisfaction can enhance the relationship commitment and relationship performance. And to conclude, service convenience management is an important part of successful relationship performance management, and the service convenience is an important antecedent of relationship between buyer and seller such as the relationship commitment and relationship performance. Therefore, it has more important to improve relationship performance that service providers enhance service convenience although competitive service development or service quality improvement is important. Given the pressure to provide increased convenience, it is not surprising that organizations have made significant investments in enhancing the convenience aspect of their product and service offering.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.29-41
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• 2012

This paper undertakes a conceptual review of transaction cost to broaden the understanding of the transaction cost analysis (TCA) approach. More than 40 years have passed since Coase's fundamental insight that transaction, coordination, and contracting costs must be considered explicitly in explaining the extent of vertical integration. Coase (1937) forced economists to identify previously neglected constraints on the trading process to foster efficient intrafirm, rather than interfirm, transactions. The transaction cost approach to economic organization study regards transactions as the basic units of analysis and holds that understanding transaction cost economy is central to organizational study. The approach applies to determining efficient boundaries, as between firms and markets, and to internal transaction organization, including employment relations design. TCA, developed principally by Oliver Williamson (1975,1979,1981a) blends institutional economics, organizational theory, and contract law. Further progress in transaction costs research awaits the identification of critical dimensions in which transaction costs differ and an examination of the economizing properties of alternative institutional modes for organizing transactions. The crucial investment distinction is: To what degree are transaction-specific (non-marketable) expenses incurred? Unspecialized items pose few hazards, since buyers can turn toalternative sources, and suppliers can sell output intended for one order to other buyers. Non-marketability problems arise when specific parties' identities have important cost-bearing consequences. Transactions of this kind are labeled idiosyncratic. The summarized results of the review are as follows. First, firms' distribution decisions often prompt examination of the make-or-buy question: Should a marketing activity be performed within the organization by company employees or contracted to an external agent? Second, manufacturers introducing an industrial product to a foreign market face a difficult decision. Should the product be marketed primarily by captive agents (the company sales force and distribution division) or independent intermediaries (outside sales agents and distribution)? Third, the authors develop a theoretical extension to the basic transaction cost model by combining insights from various theories with the TCA approach. Fourth, other such extensions are likely required for the general model to be applied to different channel situations. It is naive to assume the basic model appliesacross markedly different channel contexts without modifications and extensions. Although this study contributes to scholastic research, it is limited by several factors. First, the theoretical perspective of TCA has attracted considerable recent interest in the area of marketing channels. The analysis aims to match the properties of efficient governance structures with the attributes of the transaction. Second, empirical evidence about TCA's basic propositions is sketchy. Apart from Anderson's (1985) study of the vertical integration of the selling function and John's (1984) study of opportunism by franchised dealers, virtually no marketing studies involving the constructs implicated in the analysis have been reported. We hope, therefore, that further research will clarify distinctions between the different aspects of specific assets. Another important line of future research is the integration of efficiency-oriented TCA with organizational approaches that emphasize specific assets' conceptual definition and industry structure. Finally, research of transaction costs, uncertainty, opportunism, and switching costs is critical to future study.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.143-143
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• 2010

GTL(Gas-to-Liquids)공정 중 합성가스 제조공정(Reforming Process)인 ATR(Auto-Thermal Reforming), SCR(Steam Carbon Reforming), POx(Partial Oxidation)의 시뮬레이션 연구를 수행하였다. Reforming 공정에서 생산된 합성가스는 GTL 합성유 제조공정인 FT(Fischer-Thropsch) 반응기로 주입되며, 합성유 생산에 최적의 효율을 보이는 H2/CO 비(합성가스에 포함된 반응물비)는 2.0으로 알려져 있다. FT공정은 합성가스를 원료로 고온 및 고압 반응을 거쳐 GTL 공정의 최종 생산품인 FT합성유를 제조하는 공정이다. 본 연구에서는 FT공정 효율 극대화를 위해 reforming 공정에서 생성되는 합성가스 내 H2/CO의 비를 2로 수렴토록 모사조건을 설정하였으며, 상기 조건을 만족하는 reforming 공정들의 운전 온도 및 feed 조성을 분석하고 비교하고자 한다. 현재 GTL 플랜트관련 산업계에 적용 혹은 주 연구대상인 reforming 공정으로는 ATR, SCR, POx 공정이 있다. ATR 공정은 $850{\sim}1100^{\circ}C$에서 메탄, 스팀 및 산소를 원료로 활용하여 H2 및 CO를 생산하는 공정으로 발열/흡열 반응이 상존하여 에너지 비용이 낮지만 공정구조 상 열회수설비 및 ASU(Air Separation Unit)이 필요하기에 CAPEX(초기설비 설치비용)가 높은 편이다. SCR공정은 CH4, Steam 및 CO2를 연료로 하기에 이산화탄소가 일정부분 포함된 가스전에도 적용이 가능하나 공정 운전 중 지속적으로 외부에서 열을 공급해야 하기에 에너지 투입비용이 높은편이며, 탄소침적의 문제가 있어 대용량 플랜트에는 적합하지 않다. POx공정은 약 $1,500^{\circ}C$의 고온에서 CH4가 O2에 의해 부분 산화되는 방식으로 촉매가 필요없어 설비비가 타 공정에 비해 저렴하나 생산가스의 H2/CO비가 다소 낮아 전체적인 GTL 공정효율이 저하되는 단점이 있다. 상기 세 공정은 GTL 산업계에서 실증 및 효율증대를 위해 주로 연구되는 공정이기에 본 연구의 분석대상으로 설정하였다. 본 연구에서는 상용공정모사기인 Aspen Plus를 활용하여 reforming 공정별로 FT합성공정의 최적 조건(H2/CO=2)을 만족하는 합성가스 생산조건 분석 및 비교를 수행할 예정이다. 운전조건인 공정 운전온도 및 feed 가스조성 등을 모사하기 위해 합성가스 reforming 공정을 모델링하고 공급유량 및 압력 등의 운전변수는 GTL국책과제 1단계 연구수행 결과를 토대로 선정하고자 한다. GTL공정의 경우, 설비의 운전조건이나 연료가스의 구성 및 유량에 따라 적합한 reforming 공정이 다르기에 본 시뮬레이션 결과를 향후 GTL 플랜트 공정모델 설계시 reforming 공정선정에 참고자료로 활용하고자 한다.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.10 no.12
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• pp.2151-2156
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• 2006

Beamforming for underwater acoustic communication (UAC) is affected by the broadband feature of UAC signal, which has relatively low currier frequency as compared to the signal bandwidth. The narrow-band assumption does not hold good in UAC. In this paper, we discuss a broadband FIR beamformer for UAC using the baseband equivalent way signal model. We consider the broadband FIR beamformer for QPSK UAC with carrier frequency 25kHz and symbol rate 5kHz. Array geometry is a uniform linear way with 8 omni-directional elements and sensor spacing is the half of the carrier wavelength. The simulation results show that the broadband n beamformer achieves nearly optimum signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) and outperforms the conventional narrowband beamformer by SINR 0.5dB when two-tap FIR filter is employed at each sensor and the inter-tap delay is a quarter of the symbol interval. The broadband FIR beamformer performance is more degraded as the FIR filter length is increased above a certain value. If the inter-tap delay is not greater than half of the symbol period, SINR performance does not depend on the inter-tap delay. More training period is required when the inter-tap delay is same as the symbol period.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.97-105
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• 1992

The purpose of this study is to provide the cause and countermeasure for track problems in the high speed railways due to the irregularly increasing dynamic wheel loads running over the speed range of 300 km/h. It has long been recognised that the track problems encountered on high speed railways are associated mainly with vertical dynamic loads which are related to the unsprung mass of vehicles and track irregularities. In addition to these parameters for the estimation of the dynamic wheel load variation, however, the dynamic characteristics of track structures are discussed in this paper with reference to mathematical modelling of the tracks and vehicle. From the results of the more detailed analyses, the effects of track stiffness and damping characteristics are considered to be significant for reducing the dynamic wheel loads. To make this point clear and appraise the overall performance of the track components, the theoretical analysis on the dynamic behavior of the tracks and wheel set impact tests on several track structures are performed. The experimental results from different track components are compared with each other. The track stiffness and damping characteristics are also presented quantatively.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.10 no.12
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• pp.387-397
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between health related physical fitness, cognitive function, depression and quality of life variables of elderly people in a comprehensive way based on quantitative evaluation. The subjects of this study were 385 people who voluntarily participated in the elderly welfare center in Gyeonggi and Seoul the elderly people. As for the data collection methods, were measured the characteristics, depression and quality of life, cognitive function questionnaires along with measures of lower and upper body strength, dynamic equilibrium and agility, total endurance and grip strength. As a result, the first was a statistically significant correlation between integrated health of the elderly, cognitive function, quality of life and depression. Second, the analysis of cognitive function, elderly integrated health, quality of life, and depression revealed statistical significance among all variables. Third, there was the partial intervention effect of function in the quality of life and depression of the elderly.

• The Journal of Bigdata
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.1-15
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• 2021

The unprecedented pandemic of infectious diseases called COVID-19 has dampened human and material movement, and changes in the global economic structure have caused various economic and industrial problems such as worsening employment along with the domestic and international economic recession. In this crisis situation, the government announced the "New Deal" as a new card to enhance economic vitality following the "emergency disaster support fund." This means that the first business of the Digital New Deal, the beginning and core of the New Deal, begins digital transformation from collecting data, which is the "rice" of digital transformation to the data dam. Until now, not only the government but also local governments have established and operated platforms for collecting and sharing public data by establishing various data portals. It is evaluated that it lacks utilization for commercialization as not only the government but also local governments focus only on building the platform without considering the business model when building the initial public data platforms. In particular, in the case of regions, there is a lack of public data to be used for data business, so it is necessary to utilize data from public institutions in the region. In this study, various data collection, data quality improvement, and data utilization improvement were suggested as measures to solve these problems.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.48
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• pp.9-33
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• 2016

The purpose of the present study was to find out cause-and-effect relationship between job requirements and job resources, with job burnout as a mediator variable, and the effects of these variables on organizational effectiveness. The population in the present study was private security guards employed by 13 private security companies in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do areas, and a survey was conducted on 500 security guards selected using purposive sampling technique. Out of 460 questionnaires distributed, 429 responses, excluding 31 outliers or insincere responses, were used for data analysis. For analysis, data were coded and entered into SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 18.0, which were used to analyze the data. Descriptive analyses were performed to find out sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to test the validity of the measurement tool, and the Cronbach's Alpha coefficients were calculated to test the reliability. To find out the significance of relationships among variables, Pearson's correlation analysis was performed. Covariance Structure Analysis (CSA) was performed to test the relationship among latent factors of a model for job requirements, job resources, job burnout, and organizational effectiveness of the private security guards, and the fitness of the model analyzed with CSA was determined by the goodness-of-fit index ($x^2$, df, p, RMR, GFI, CFI, TLI, RMSEA). The level of significance was set at .05, and the following results were obtained. First, even though the effect of job requirements on job burnout was not statistically significant, it had a positive influence overall, and this result can be considered such that the higher the perception of job requirements by the member of the organization, the higher the perception of job burnout. Second, the influence of job resources on job burnout was negative, which can be considered that the higher the perception of job resources, the lower the perception of job burnout. Third, even though the influence of job requirements on organizational effectiveness was statistically nonsignificant, it had a negative influence overall, and this result can be considered that the higher the perception of job requirements, the lower the perception of organizational effectiveness. Fourth, job resources had a positive influence on organizational effectiveness, and it can be considered that the higher the perception of job resources, the higher the perception of organizational effectiveness. Fifth, the results of the analysis between job burnout and organizational effectiveness revealed that, even though the influence of job burnout on organizational effectiveness was statistically nonsignificant, it had partial negative influences on sublevels of organizational effectiveness, and this may suggest that the higher the perception of job burnout by the organization members, the lower the organizational effectiveness. Sixth, the analysis of mediating role in the relationship between job requirements and organizational effectiveness, job burnout was taking partial mediating role between job requirements and organizational effectiveness. These results suggest that reducing job burnout by managing job requirements, organizational effectiveness that leads to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention can be maximized. Seventh, the analysis of mediating role in the relationship among job requirements, job resources, and organizational effectiveness, job burnout was assuming a partial mediating role in the relationships among job requirements, job resources, and organizational effectiveness. These results suggest that organizational effectiveness can be maximized by either lowering job requirements or burnout management through reorganizing job resources.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2005

Metallothionein (MT) is a low molecular weight, cysteine-rich, metal-binding, and non-enzymatic protein. The present study was carried out to investigate the expression of MT gene as well as the localization of MT in regenerating rat liver. In partial hepatectomized rats, MT mRNA was detected as early as 1 hr and reached a maximal level by 8 hr after the operation. Thereafter, this level decreased gradually until 24 hr, and it became similar to that of sham control. Meanwhile, time course of MT immunoreactivity using immunogold-labelling revealed that the number of gold particles in hepatocytes increased significantly by 12 hr, but decreased at 48 hr after partial hepatectomy. Ultrastructurally, immunogold particles indicating the presence of MT were distributed in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus of the rat hepatocytes, particularly the particles were distributed at rough endoplasmic reticulum and nucleolus and did not seem to adhere to mitochondria or lysosomes in proliferating hepatocytes. Briefly, high level of MT mRNA expression and the intense immunoreactivity and/or the specific localization of MT was observed during liver regeneration. These results suggest that MT possibly involves hepatocyte proliferation via the storage or the supply of various metal ions in the regenerating rat liver.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.25-39
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to understand interrelationships among young entrepreneurs' growth factors, entrepreneurial capability and entrepreneurial intentions, targeting the students who major in culinary and foodservice. Based on total 327 samples obtained from the empirical research, this study reviewed reliability and fitness of the research model and verified total 2 hypotheses with the Amos program. The proposed model provided an adequate fit for the data, $x^2$=495.217 (p<.001), df=231, CMIN/DF 2.144, GFI .902, AGFI .878, NFI .911, CFI .954, RMSEA .067. The SEM results showed that the young entrepreneurs' growth factors such as policy support(${\beta}$=.457, p<.001), skills & knowledge(${\beta}$=.244, p<.01), role model(${\beta}$= .242, p<.05) in order had significantly positive effects on entrepreneurial capability, and entrepreneurial capability(${\beta}$= .787, p<.001) had positive(+) effects on entrepreneurial intentions, verifying organic causal relationships among the growth factors, entrepreneurial capability, and entrepreneurial capability. These study results showed that there should be more systematic supports to encourage young entrepreneurs. Limitations and further research directions are also discussed.