• Title/Summary/Keyword: 조절점

Search Result 2,488, Processing Time 0.038 seconds

The Ability of Anti-tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha(TNF-${\alpha}$) Antibodies Produced in Sheep Colostrums

  • Yun, Sung-Seob
    • 한국유가공학회:학술대회논문집
    • /
    • 2007.09a
    • /
    • pp.49-58
    • /
    • 2007
  • Inflammatory process leads to the well-known mucosal damage and therefore a further disturbance of the epithelial barrier function, resulting abnormal intestinal wall function, even further accelerating the inflammatory process[1]. Despite of the records, etiology and pathogenesis of IBD remain rather unclear. There are many studies over the past couple of years have led to great advanced in understanding the inflammatory bowel disease(IBD) and their underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms. From the current understanding, it is likely that chronic inflammation in IBD is due to aggressive cellular immune responses including increased serum concentrations of different cytokines. Therefore, targeted molecules can be specifically eliminated in their expression directly on the transcriptional level. Interesting therapeutic trials are expected against adhesion molecules and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-${\alpha}$. The future development of immune therapies in IBD therefore holds great promises for better treatment modalities of IBD but will also open important new insights into a further understanding of inflammation pathophysiology. Treatment of cytokine inhibitors such as Immunex(Enbrel) and J&J/Centocor(Remicade) which are mouse-derived monoclonal antibodies have been shown in several studies to modulate the symptoms of patients, however, theses TNF inhibitors also have an adverse effect immune-related problems and also are costly and must be administered by injection. Because of the eventual development of unwanted side effects, these two products are used in only a select patient population. The present study was performed to elucidate the ability of TNF-${\alpha}$ antibodies produced in sheep colostrums to neutralize TNF-${\alpha}$ action in a cell-based bioassay and in a small animal model of intestinal inflammation. In vitro study, inhibitory effect of anti-TNF-${\alpha}$ antibody from the sheep was determined by cell bioassay. The antibody from the sheep at 1 in 10,000 dilution was able to completely inhibit TNF-${\alpha}$ activity in the cell bioassay. The antibodies from the same sheep, but different milkings, exhibited some variability in inhibition of TNF-${\alpha}$ activity, but were all greater than the control sample. In vivo study, the degree of inflammation was severe to experiment, despite of the initial pilot trial, main trial 1 was unable to figure out of any effect of antibody to reduce the impact of PAF and LPS. Main rat trial 2 resulted no significant symptoms like characteristic acute diarrhea and weight loss of colitis. This study suggested that colostrums from sheep immunized against TNF-${\alpha}$ significantly inhibited TNF-${\alpha}$ bioactivity in the cell based assay. And the higher than anticipated variability in the two animal models precluded assessment of the ability of antibody to prevent TNF-${\alpha}$ induced intestinal damage in the intact animal. Further study will require to find out an alternative animal model, which is more acceptable to test anti-TNF-${\alpha}$ IgA therapy for reducing the impact of inflammation on gut dysfunction. And subsequent pre-clinical and clinical testing also need generation of more antibody as current supplies are low.

  • PDF

Comparison of the Perception of Meals and Nutrition Knowledge in General and Vocational High Schools (인문계·실업계 고등학생의 식사에 대한 인식과 영양지식 비교)

  • Yun, Eun-Jung;Chung, Hae-Young
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
    • /
    • v.40 no.9
    • /
    • pp.1244-1255
    • /
    • 2011
  • The purpose of this study was to compare the perception of meals and nutrition knowledge among high school students in Seoul. A survey was carried out on 548 male/female students in general and vocational high schools. The general high school students showed higher frequency of breakfast than the vocational high school students (p<0.001). As for the reasons for eating alone, the general high school students showed high frequency of 'busy', whereas the vocational high school students revealed high frequency of 'irregular meal times' (p<0.001). Concerning the habit of eating alone, 'irregular meal times (25.0%)', 'unbalanced diet (22.4%)', and 'instant food (16.6%)' were observed in that order (p<0.01). The percentage of high school students who regarded family meals as meals eaten with every member of their family was 70.6% (p<0.05). The percentage of general high school students who ate family meals was 61.8% and that of vocational high school students was 50.0% (p<0.01). When agreement with attitudes, environment, and participation in family meals was evaluated using a Likert scale (strongly agree 5 points, strongly disagree 1 point), the general high school students showed a higher level of agreement than the vocational high school students, and the results showed a significantly higher level of agreement as the frequency of family meals increased. Likewise, the groups who scored a higher level of nutrition knowledge had positive attitudes, environment, and participation in family meals with significant differences.

Semiweekly variation of Spring Phytoplankton Community in Relation to the Freshwater Discharges from Keum River Estuarine Weir, Korea (금강하구언 담수방류와 춘계 식물플랑크톤 군집의 단주기 변동)

  • Yih, Won-Ho;Myung, Geum-Og;Yoo, Yeong-Du;Kim, Young-Geel;Jeong, Hae-Jm
    • The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
    • /
    • v.10 no.3
    • /
    • pp.154-163
    • /
    • 2005
  • Irregular discharges of freshwater through the water gates of the Keum River Estuarine Weir, Korea, whose construction had been completed in 1998 with its water gates being operated as late as August 1994, drastically modified the estuarine environment. Sharp decrease of salinity along with the altered concentrations of inorganic nutrients are accompanied with the irregular discharges of freshwater into the estuary under the influence of regular semi-diurnal tidal effect. Field sampling was carried out on the time of high tide at 2 fixed stations(St.1 near the Estuarine Weir and St.2 off Kunsan Ferry Station) every other day for 4 months from mid-February 2004 to investigate into the semi-weekly variation of spring phytoplankton community in relation to the freshwater discharges from Keum River Estuarine Weir. CV(coefficient of variation) of salinity measurements was roughly 2 times greater in St.1 than that in St.2, reflecting extreme salinity variation in St.1 Among inorganic nutrients, concentrations of N-nutrients($NO_3^-,\;NO_2^-$ and $NH_4^+$) were clearly higher in St.1, to imply the more drastic changes of the nutrient concentrations in St.1. than St.2 following the freshwater discharges. As a component of phytoplankton community, diatoms were among the top dominants in terms of species richness as well as biomass. Solitary centric diatom, Cyclotella meneghiniana, and chain-forming centric diatom, Skeletonema costatum, dominated over the phytoplankton community in order for S-6 weeks each (Succession Interval I and II), and the latter succeeded to the former from the time of <$10^{\circ}C$ of water temperature. Cyanobacterial species, Aphanizomenon Posaquae and Phormidium sp., which might be transported into the estuary along with the discharged freshwater, occupied high portion of total biomass during Succession Interval III(mid-April to late-May). During this period, freshwater species exclusively dominated over the phytoplankton community except the low concentrations of the co-occurring 2 estuarine diatoms, Cyclotella meneghiniana and Skeletonema costatum. During the 4th Succession Interval when the water temperature was over $18^{\circ}C$, the diatom, Guinardia delicatula, was predominant for a week with the highest dominance of $75\%$ in discrete samples. To summarize, during all the Succession Intervals other than Succession Interval III characterized by the extreme variation of salinity under cooler water temperature than $18^{\circ}C$, the diatoms were the most important dominants for species succession in spring. If the scale and frequency of the freshwater discharge could have been adjusted properly even during the Succession Interval III, the dominant species would quite possibly be replaced by other estuarine diatom species rather than the two freshwater cyanobacteria, Aphanizomenon flosaquae and Phormidium sp.. The scheme of field sampling every other day for the present study was concluded to be the minimal requirement in order to adequately explore the phytoplankton succession in such estuarine environment as in Keum River Estuary: which is stressed by the unpredictable and unavoidable discharges of freshwater under the regular semi-diurnal tide.

A Study on the Spatial Structure of Eupchi(邑治) and Landscape Architecture of Provincial Government Office(地方官衙) in the Late Joseon Dynasty through 'Sukchunjeahdo(宿踐諸衙圖)' - Focused on the Youngyuhyun Pyeongan Province and Sincheongun Hwanghae Province - (『숙천제아도(宿踐諸衙圖)』를 통해 본 조선시대 읍치(邑治)의 공간구조와 관아(官衙) 조경 - 평안도 영유현과 황해도 신천군을 중심으로 -)

  • Shin, Sang sup;Lee, Seung yoen
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
    • /
    • v.49 no.2
    • /
    • pp.86-103
    • /
    • 2016
  • 'Sukchunjeahdo' illustration-book, which was left by Han, Pil-gyo(韓弼敎 : 1807~1878)in the late Joseon Dynasty, includes pictorial record paintings containing government offices, Eupchi, and Feng Shui condition drawn by Gyehwa(界畵) method Sabangjeondomyobeop(四方顚倒描法) and is the rare historical material that help to understand spatial structure and landscape characteristics. Youngyuhyun(永柔縣) and Sincheongun(信川郡) town, the case sites of this study, show Feng Shui foundation structure and placement rules of government offices in the Joseon Period are applied such as 3Dan 1Myo(三壇一廟 : Sajikdan, Yeodan, Seonghwangdan, Hyanggyo), 3Mun 3Jo(三門三朝 : Oeah, Dongheon, Naeah) and Jeonjohuchim(前朝後寢) etc. by setting the upper and lower hierarchy of the north south central axis. The circulation system is the pattern that roads are segmented around the marketplace of the entrance of the town and the structure is that heading to the north along the internal way leads to the government office and going out to the main street leads to the major city. Baesanimsu(背山臨水 : Mountain in backward and water in front) foundation, back hill pine forest, intentionally created low mountains and town forest etc. showed landscape aesthetics well suited for the environmental comfort condition such as microclimate control, natural disaster prevention, psychological stability reflecting color constancy principle etc. and tower pavilions were built throughout the scenic spot, reflecting life philosophy and thoughts of contemporaries such as physical and mental discipline, satisfied at the reality of poverty, returning to nature etc. For government office landscape, shielding and buffer planting, landscape planting etc. were considered around Gaeksa(客舍), Dongheon(東軒), Naeah(內衙) backyard and deciduous tree s and flowering trees were cultivated as main species and in case of Gaeksa, tiled pavilions and pavilions topped with poke weed in tetragonal pond were introduced to Dongheon and Naeah and separate pavilions were built for the purpose of physical and mental discipline and military training such as archery. Back hill pine tree forest formed back landscape and zelkova, pear trees, willow trees, old pine trees, lotus, flowering trees etc. were cultivated as gardening trees and Feng-Shui forest with willow trees as its main species was created for landscape and practical purposes. On the other hand, various cultural landscape elements etc. were introduced such as pavilions, pond serving as fire protection water(square and circle), stone pagoda and stone Buddha, fountains and wells, monument houses, flagpoles etc. In case of Sincheongun town forest(邑藪), Manhagwan(挽河觀), Moonmujeong(文武井), Sangjangdae(上場岱) and Hajangdae(下場岱) Market place, Josanshup<(造山藪 : Dongseojanglim(東西長林)>, Namcheon(南川) etc. were combined and community cultural park with the nature of modern urban park was operated. In this context, government office landscape shows the garden management aspect where square pond and pavilions, flowering trees are harmonized around side pavilion and backyard. Also, environmental design technique not biased to aesthetics and ideological moral philosophy and comprehensively considering functionality (shielding and fire prevention, microclimate control, etc.) and environmental soundness etc. is working.

Optimum Radiotherapy Schedule for Uterine Cervical Cancer based-on the Detailed Information of Dose Fractionation and Radiotherapy Technique (처방선량 및 치료기법별 치료성적 분석 결과에 기반한 자궁경부암 환자의 최적 방사선치료 스케줄)

  • Cho, Jae-Ho;Kim, Hyun-Chang;Suh, Chang-Ok;Lee, Chang-Geol;Keum, Ki-Chang;Cho, Nam-Hoon;Lee, Ik-Jae;Shim, Su-Jung;Suh, Yang-Kwon;Seong, Jinsil;Kim, Gwi-Eon
    • Radiation Oncology Journal
    • /
    • v.23 no.3
    • /
    • pp.143-156
    • /
    • 2005
  • Background: The best dose-fractionation regimen of the definitive radiotherapy for cervix cancer remains to be clearly determined. It seems to be partially attributed to the complexity of the affecting factors and the lack of detailed information on external and intra-cavitary fractionation. To find optimal practice guidelines, our experiences of the combination of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and high-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy (HDR-ICBT) were reviewed with detailed information of the various treatment parameters obtained from a large cohort of women treated homogeneously at a single institute. Materials and Methods: The subjects were 743 cervical cancer patients (Stage IB 198, IIA 77, IIB 364, IIIA 7, IIIB 89 and IVA 8) treated by radiotherapy alone, between 1990 and 1996. A total external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) dose of $23.4\~59.4$ Gy (Median 45.0) was delivered to the whole pelvis. High-dose-rate intracavitary brachytherapy (HDR-IBT) was also peformed using various fractionation schemes. A Midline block (MLB) was initiated after the delivery of $14.4\~43.2$ Gy (Median 36.0) of EBRT in 495 patients, while In the other 248 patients EBRT could not be used due to slow tumor regression or the huge initial bulk of tumor. The point A, actual bladder & rectal doses were individually assessed in all patients. The biologically effective dose (BED) to the tumor ($\alpha/\beta$=10) and late-responding tissues ($\alpha/\beta$=3) for both EBRT and HDR-ICBT were calculated. The total BED values to point A, the actual bladder and rectal reference points were the summation of the EBRT and HDR-ICBT. In addition to all the details on dose-fractionation, the other factors (i.e. the overall treatment time, physicians preference) that can affect the schedule of the definitive radiotherapy were also thoroughly analyzed. The association between MD-BED $Gy_3$ and the risk of complication was assessed using serial multiple logistic regression models. The associations between R-BED $Gy_3$ and rectal complications and between V-BED $Gy_3$ and bladder complications were assessed using multiple logistic regression models after adjustment for age, stage, tumor size and treatment duration. Serial Coxs proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate the relative risks of recurrence due to MD-BED $Gy_{10}$, and the treatment duration. Results: The overall complication rate for RTOG Grades $1\~4$ toxicities was $33.1\%$. The 5-year actuarial pelvic control rate for ail 743 patients was $83\%$. The midline cumulative BED dose, which is the sum of external midline BED and HDR-ICBT point A BED, ranged from 62.0 to 121.9 $Gy_{10}$ (median 93.0) for tumors and from 93.6 to 187.3 $Gy_3$ (median 137.6) for late responding tissues. The median cumulative values of actual rectal (R-BED $Gy_3$) and bladder Point BED (V-BED $Gy_3$) were 118.7 $Gy_3$ (range $48.8\~265.2$) and 126.1 $Gy_3$ (range: $54.9\~267.5$), respectively. MD-BED $Gy_3$ showed a good correlation with rectal (p=0.003), but not with bladder complications (p=0.095). R-BED $Gy_3$ had a very strong association (p=<0.0001), and was more predictive of rectal complications than A-BED $Gy_3$. B-BED $Gy_3$ also showed significance in the prediction of bladder complications in a trend test (p=0.0298). No statistically significant dose-response relationship for pelvic control was observed. The Sandwich and Continuous techniques, which differ according to when the ICR was inserted during the EBRT and due to the physicians preference, showed no differences in the local control and complication rates; there were also no differences in the 3 vs. 5 Gy fraction size of HDR-ICBT. Conclusion: The main reasons optimal dose-fractionation guidelines are not easily established is due to the absence of a dose-response relationship for tumor control as a result of the high-dose gradient of HDR-ICBT, individual differences In tumor responses to radiation therapy and the complexity of affecting factors. Therefore, in our opinion, there is a necessity for individualized tailored therapy, along with general guidelines, in the definitive radiation treatment for cervix cancer. This study also demonstrated the strong predictive value of actual rectal and bladder reference dosing therefore, vaginal gauze packing might be very Important. To maintain the BED dose to less than the threshold resulting in complication, early midline shielding, the HDR-ICBT total dose and fractional dose reduction should be considered.

The Impact of Market Environments on Optimal Channel Strategy Involving an Internet Channel: A Game Theoretic Approach (시장 환경이 인터넷 경로를 포함한 다중 경로 관리에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구: 게임 이론적 접근방법)

  • Yoo, Weon-Sang
    • Journal of Distribution Research
    • /
    • v.16 no.2
    • /
    • pp.119-138
    • /
    • 2011
  • Internet commerce has been growing at a rapid pace for the last decade. Many firms try to reach wider consumer markets by adding the Internet channel to the existing traditional channels. Despite the various benefits of the Internet channel, a significant number of firms failed in managing the new type of channel. Previous studies could not cleary explain these conflicting results associated with the Internet channel. One of the major reasons is most of the previous studies conducted analyses under a specific market condition and claimed that as the impact of Internet channel introduction. Therefore, their results are strongly influenced by the specific market settings. However, firms face various market conditions in the real worlddensity and disutility of using the Internet. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of various market environments on a firm's optimal channel strategy by employing a flexible game theory model. We capture various market conditions with consumer density and disutility of using the Internet.

    shows the channel structures analyzed in this study. Before the Internet channel is introduced, a monopoly manufacturer sells its products through an independent physical store. From this structure, the manufacturer could introduce its own Internet channel (MI). The independent physical store could also introduce its own Internet channel and coordinate it with the existing physical store (RI). An independent Internet retailer such as Amazon could enter this market (II). In this case, two types of independent retailers compete with each other. In this model, consumers are uniformly distributed on the two dimensional space. Consumer heterogeneity is captured by a consumer's geographical location (ci) and his disutility of using the Internet channel (${\delta}_{N_i}$).
    shows various market conditions captured by the two consumer heterogeneities.
    (a) illustrates a market with symmetric consumer distributions. The model captures explicitly the asymmetric distributions of consumer disutility in a market as well. In a market like that is represented in
    (c), the average consumer disutility of using an Internet store is relatively smaller than that of using a physical store. For example, this case represents the market in which 1) the product is suitable for Internet transactions (e.g., books) or 2) the level of E-Commerce readiness is high such as in Denmark or Finland. On the other hand, the average consumer disutility when using an Internet store is relatively greater than that of using a physical store in a market like (b). Countries like Ukraine and Bulgaria, or the market for "experience goods" such as shoes, could be examples of this market condition. summarizes the various scenarios of consumer distributions analyzed in this study. The range for disutility of using the Internet (${\delta}_{N_i}$) is held constant, while the range of consumer distribution (${\chi}_i$) varies from -25 to 25, from -50 to 50, from -100 to 100, from -150 to 150, and from -200 to 200.
    summarizes the analysis results. As the average travel cost in a market decreases while the average disutility of Internet use remains the same, average retail price, total quantity sold, physical store profit, monopoly manufacturer profit, and thus, total channel profit increase. On the other hand, the quantity sold through the Internet and the profit of the Internet store decrease with a decreasing average travel cost relative to the average disutility of Internet use. We find that a channel that has an advantage over the other kind of channel serves a larger portion of the market. In a market with a high average travel cost, in which the Internet store has a relative advantage over the physical store, for example, the Internet store becomes a mass-retailer serving a larger portion of the market. This result implies that the Internet becomes a more significant distribution channel in those markets characterized by greater geographical dispersion of buyers, or as consumers become more proficient in Internet usage. The results indicate that the degree of price discrimination also varies depending on the distribution of consumer disutility in a market. The manufacturer in a market in which the average travel cost is higher than the average disutility of using the Internet has a stronger incentive for price discrimination than the manufacturer in a market where the average travel cost is relatively lower. We also find that the manufacturer has a stronger incentive to maintain a high price level when the average travel cost in a market is relatively low. Additionally, the retail competition effect due to Internet channel introduction strengthens as average travel cost in a market decreases. This result indicates that a manufacturer's channel power relative to that of the independent physical retailer becomes stronger with a decreasing average travel cost. This implication is counter-intuitive, because it is widely believed that the negative impact of Internet channel introduction on a competing physical retailer is more significant in a market like Russia, where consumers are more geographically dispersed, than in a market like Hong Kong, that has a condensed geographic distribution of consumers.
    illustrates how this happens. When mangers consider the overall impact of the Internet channel, however, they should consider not only channel power, but also sales volume. When both are considered, the introduction of the Internet channel is revealed as more harmful to a physical retailer in Russia than one in Hong Kong, because the sales volume decrease for a physical store due to Internet channel competition is much greater in Russia than in Hong Kong. The results show that manufacturer is always better off with any type of Internet store introduction. The independent physical store benefits from opening its own Internet store when the average travel cost is higher relative to the disutility of using the Internet. Under an opposite market condition, however, the independent physical retailer could be worse off when it opens its own Internet outlet and coordinates both outlets (RI). This is because the low average travel cost significantly reduces the channel power of the independent physical retailer, further aggravating the already weak channel power caused by myopic inter-channel price coordination. The results implies that channel members and policy makers should explicitly consider the factors determining the relative distributions of both kinds of consumer disutility, when they make a channel decision involving an Internet channel. These factors include the suitability of a product for Internet shopping, the level of E-Commerce readiness of a market, and the degree of geographic dispersion of consumers in a market. Despite the academic contributions and managerial implications, this study is limited in the following ways. First, a series of numerical analyses were conducted to derive equilibrium solutions due to the complex forms of demand functions. In the process, we set up V=100, ${\lambda}$=1, and ${\beta}$=0.01. Future research may change this parameter value set to check the generalizability of this study. Second, the five different scenarios for market conditions were analyzed. Future research could try different sets of parameter ranges. Finally, the model setting allows only one monopoly manufacturer in the market. Accommodating competing multiple manufacturers (brands) would generate more realistic results.

  • PDF
  • Effects of Reward Programs on Brand Loyalty in Online Shopping Contexts (인터넷쇼핑 상황에서 보상프로그램이 브랜드충성도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구)

    • Kim, Ji-Hern;Kang, Hyunmo;Munkhbazar, M.
      • Asia Marketing Journal
      • /
      • v.14 no.2
      • /
      • pp.39-63
      • /
      • 2012
    • Previous studies of reward programs have generally focused on designing the best programs for consumers and suggested that consumers' perception of the value of reward programs can vary according to the type of reward program (e.g., hedonic vs. utilitarian and direct vs. indirect) and its timing (e.g., immediate vs. delayed). These studies have typically assumed that consumers' preference for reward programs has a positive effect on brand loyalty. However, Dowling and Uncles (1997) pointed out that this preference does not necessarily foster brand loyalty. In this regard, the present study verifies this assumption by examining the effects of consumers' perception of the value of reward programs on their brand loyalty. Although reward programs are widely used by online shopping malls, most studies have examined the conditions under which consumers are most likely to value loyalty programs in the context of offline shopping. In the context of online shopping, however, consumers' preferences may have little effect on their brand loyalty because they have more opportunities for comparing diverse reward programs offered by many online shopping malls. That is, in online shopping, finding attractive reward programs may require little effort on the part of consumers, who are likely to switch to other online shopping malls. Accordingly, this study empirically examines whether consumers' perception of the value of reward programs influences their brand loyalty in the context of online shopping. Meanwhile, consumers seek utilitarian and/or hedonic value from their online shopping activity(Jones et al., 2006; Barbin et al., 1994). They visit online shopping malls to buy something necessary (utilitarian value) and/or enjoy the process of shopping itself (hedonic value). In this sense, reward programs may reinforce utilitarian as well as hedonic value, and their effect may vary according to the type of reward (utilitarian vs. hedonic). According to Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001), consumers' perception of the value of a brand can influence their brand loyalty through brand trust and affect. Utilitarian value influences brand loyalty through brand trust, whereas hedonic value influences it through brand affect. This indicates that the effect of this perception on brand trust or affect may be moderated by the type of reward program. Specifically, this perception may have a greater effect on brand trust for utilitarian reward programs than for hedonic ones, whereas the opposite may be true for brand affect. Given the above discussion, the present study is conducted with three objectives in order to provide practical implications for online shopping malls to strategically use reward program for establishing profitable relationship with customers. First, the present study examines whether reward programs can be an effective marketing tool for increasing brand loyalty in the context of online shopping. Second, it investigates the paths through which consumers' perception of the value of reward programs influences their brand loyalty. Third, it analyzes the effects of this perception on brand trust and affect by considering the type of reward program as a moderator. This study suggests and empirically analyzes a new research model for examining how consumers' perception of the value of reward programs influences their brand loyalty in the context of online shopping. The model postulates the following 10 hypotheses about the structural relationships between five constructs: (H1) Consumers' perception of the value of reward programs has a positive effect on their program loyalty; (H2) Program loyalty has a positive effect on brand loyalty; (H3) Consumers' perception of the value of reward programs has a positive effect on their brand trust; (H4) Consumers' perception of the value of reward programs has a positive effect on their brand affect; (H5) Brand trust has a positive effect on program loyalty; (H6) Brand affect has a positive effect on program loyalty; (H7) Brand trust has a positive effect on brand loyalty; (H8) Brand affect has a positive effect on brand loyalty; (H9) Consumers' perception of the value of reward programs is more likely to influence their brand trust for utilitarian reward programs than for hedonic ones; and (H10) Consumers' perception of the value of reward programs is more likely to influence their brand affect for hedonic reward programs than for utilitarian ones. To test the hypotheses, we considered a sample of 220 undergraduate students in Korea (male:113). We randomly assigned these participants to one of two groups based on the type of reward program (utilitarian: transportation card, hedonic: movie ticket). We instructed the participants to imagine that they were offered these reward programs while visiting an online shopping mall. We then asked them to answer some questions about their perception of the value of the reward programs, program loyalty, brand loyalty, brand trust, and brand affect, in that order. We also asked some questions about their demographic backgrounds and then debriefed them. We employed the structural equation modeling (SEM) method with AMOS 18.0. The results provide support for some hypotheses (H1, H3, H4, H7, H8, and H9) while providing no support for others (H2, H5, H6, H10) (see Figure 1). Noteworthy is that the path proposed by previous studies, "value perception → program loyalty → brand loyalty," was not significant in the context of online shopping, whereas this study's proposed path, "value perception → brand trust/brand affect → brand loyalty," was significant. In addition, the results indicate that the type of reward program moderated the relationship between consumers' value perception and brand trust but not the relationship between their value perception and brand affect. These results have some important implications. First, this study is one of the first to examine how consumers' perception of the value of reward programs influences their brand loyalty in the context of online shopping. In particular, the results indicate that the proposed path, "value perception → brand trust/brand affect → brand loyalty," can better explain the effects of reward programs on brand loyalty than existing paths. Furthermore, these results suggest that online shopping malls should place greater emphasis on the type of reward program when devising reward programs. To foster brand loyalty, they should reinforce the type of shopping value that consumers emphasize by providing them with appropriate reward programs. If consumers prefer utilitarian value to hedonic value, then online shopping malls should offer utilitarian reward programs and vice versa.

    • PDF

    A Study on Perceived Quality affecting the Service Personal Value in the On-off line Channel - Focusing on the moderate effect of the need for cognition - (온.오프라인 채널에서 지각된 품질이 서비스의 개인가치에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구 -인지욕구의 조정효과를 중심으로-)

    • Sung, Hyung-Suk
      • Journal of Distribution Research
      • /
      • v.15 no.3
      • /
      • pp.111-137
      • /
      • 2010
    • The basic purpose of this study is to investigate perceived quality and service personal value affecting the result of long-term relationship between service buyers and suppliers. This research presented a constructive model(perceived quality affecting the service personal value and the moderate effect of NFC) in the on off line and then propose the research model base on prior researches and studies about relationships among components of service. Data were gathered from respondents who visit at the education service market. For this study, Data were analyzed by AMOS 7.0. We integrate the literature on services marketing with researches on personal values and perceived quality. The SERPVAL scale presented here allows for the creation of a common ground for assessing service personal values, giving a clear understanding of the key value dimensions behind service choice and usage. It will lead to a focus of future research in services marketing, extending knowledge in the field and stimulating further empirical research on service personal values. At the managerial level, as a tool the SERPVAL scale should allow practitioners to evaluate and improve the value of a service, and consequently, to define strategies and actions to address services for customers based on their fundamental personal values. Through qualitative and empirical research, we find that the service quality construct conforms to the structure of a second-order factor model that ties service quality perceptions to distinct and actionable dimensions: outcome, interaction, and environmental quality. In turn, each has two subdimensions that define the basis of service quality perceptions. The authors further suggest that for each of these subdimensions to contribute to improved service quality perceptions, the quality received by consumers must be perceived to be reliable, responsive, and empathetic. Although the service personal value may be found in researches that explore individual values and their consequences for consumer behavior, there is no established operationalization of a SERPVAL scale. The inexistence of an established scale, duly adapted in order to understand and analyze personal values behind services usage, exposes the need of a measurement scale with such a purpose. This need has to be rooted, however, in a conceptualization of the construct being scaled. Service personal values can be defined as a customer's overall assessment of the use of a service based on the perception of what is achieved in terms of his own personal values. As consumer behaviors serve to show an individual's values, the use of a service can also be a way to fulfill and demonstrate consumers'personal values. In this sense, a service can provide more to the customer than its concrete and abstract attributes at both the attribute and the quality levels, and more than its functional consequences at the value level. Both values and services literatures agree, that personal value is the highest-level concept, followed by instrumental values, attitudes and finally by product attributes. Purchasing behaviors are agreed to be the end result of these concepts' interaction, with personal values taking a major role in the final decision process. From both consumers' and practitioners' perspectives, values are extremely relevant, as they are desirable goals that serve as guiding principles in people's lives. While building on previous research, we propose to assess service personal values through three broad groups of individual dimensions; at the self-oriented level, we use (1) service value to peaceful life (SVPL) and, at the social-oriented level, we use (2) service value to social recognition (SVSR), and (3) service value to social integration (SVSI). Service value to peaceful life is our first dimension. This dimension emerged as a combination of values coming from the RVS scale, a scale built specifically to assess general individual values. If a service promotes a pleasurable life, brings or improves tranquility, safety and harmony, then its user recognizes the value of this service. Generally, this service can improve the user's pleasure of life, since it protects or defends the consumer from threats to life or pressures on it. While building upon both the LOV scale, a scale built specifically to assess consumer values, and the RVS scale for individual values, we develop the other two dimensions: SVSR and SVSI. The roles of social recognition and social integration to improve service personal value have been seriously neglected. Social recognition derives its outcome utility from its predictive utility. When applying this underlying belief to our second dimension, SVSR, we assume that people use a service while taking into consideration the content of what is delivered. Individuals consider whether the service aids in gaining respect from others, social recognition and status, as well as whether it allows achieving a more fulfilled and stimulating life, which might then be revealed to others. People also tend to engage in behavior that receives social recognition and to avoid behavior that leads to social disapproval, and this contributes to an individual's social integration. This leads us to the third dimension, SVSI, which is based on the fact that if the consumer perceives that a service strengthens friendships, provides the possibility of becoming more integrated in the group, or promotes better relationships at the social, professional or family levels, then the service will contribute to social integration, and naturally the individual will recognize personal value in the service. Most of the research in business values deals with individual values. However, to our knowledge, no study has dealt with assessing overall personal values as well as their dimensions in a service context. Our final results show that the scales adapted from the Schwartz list were excluded. A possible explanation is that although Schwartz builds on Rokeach work in order to explore individual values, its dimensions might be especially focused on analyzing societal values. As we are looking for individual dimensions, this might explain why the values inspired by the Schwartz list were excluded from the model. The hierarchical structure of the final scale presented in this paper also presents theoretical implications. Although we cannot claim to definitively capture the dimensions of service personal values, we believe that we come close to capturing these overall evaluations because the second-order factor extracts the underlying commonality among dimensions. In addition to obtaining respondents' evaluations of the dimensions, the second-order factor model captures the common variance among these dimensions, reflecting the respondents' overall assessment of service personal values. Towards this fact, we expect that the service personal values conceptualization and measurement scale presented here contributes to both business values literature and the service marketing field, allowing for the delineation of strategies for adding value to services. This new scale also presents managerial implications. The SERPVAL dimensions give some guidance on how to better pursue a highly service-oriented business strategy. Indeed, the SERPVAL scale can be used for benchmarking purposes, as this scale can be used to identify whether or not a firms' marketing strategies are consistent with consumers' expectations. Managerial assessment of the personal values of a service might be extremely important because it allows managers to better understand what customers want or value. Thus, this scale allows us to identify what services are really valuable to the final consumer; providing knowledge for making choices regarding which services to include. Traditional approaches have focused their attention on service attributes (as quality) and service consequences(as service value), but personal values may be an important set of variables to be considered in understanding what attracts consumers to a certain service. By using the SERPVAL scale to assess the personal values associated with a services usage, managers may better understand the reasons behind services' usage, so that they may handle them more efficiently. While testing nomological validity, our empirical findings demonstrate that the three SERPVAL dimensions are positively and significantly associated with satisfaction. Additionally, while service value to social integration is related only with loyalty, service value to peaceful life is associated with both loyalty and repurchase intent. It is also interesting and surprising that service value to social recognition appears not to be significantly linked with loyalty and repurchase intent. A possible explanation is that no mobile service provider has yet emerged in the market as a luxury provider. All of the Portuguese providers are still trying to capture market share by means of low-end pricing. This research has implications for consumers as well. As more companies seek to build relationships with their customers, consumers are easily able to examine whether these relationships provide real value or not to their own lives. The selection of a strategy for a particular service depends on its customers' personal values. Being highly customer-oriented means having a strong commitment to customers, trying to create customer value and understanding customer needs. Enhancing service distinctiveness in order to provide a peaceful life, increase social recognition and gain a better social integration are all possible strategies that companies may pursue, but the one to pursue depends on the outstanding personal values held by the service customers. Data were gathered from 284 respondents in the korean discount store and online shopping mall market. This research proposed 3 hypotheses on 6 latent variables and tested through structural equation modeling. 6 alternative measurements were compared through statistical significance test of the 6 paths of research model and the overall fitting level of structural equation model. and the result was successful. and Perceived quality more positively influences service personal value when NFC is high than when no NFC is low in the off-line market. The results of the study indicate that service quality is properly modeled as an antecedent of service personal value. We consider the research and managerial implications of the study and its limitations. In sum, by knowing the dimensions a consumer takes into account when choosing a service, a better understanding of purchasing behaviors may be realized, guiding managers toward customers expectations. By defining strategies and actions that address potential problems with the service personal values, managers might ultimately influence their firm's performance. we expect to contribute to both business values and service marketing literatures through the development of the service personal value. At a time when marketing researchers are challenged to provide research with practical implications, it is also believed that this framework may be used by managers to pursue service-oriented business strategies while taking into consideration what customers value.

    • PDF

    (34141) Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, 245, Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon
    Copyright (C) KISTI. All Rights Reserved.