• Title/Summary/Keyword: Effect Difference

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Quality improvement and aging effect of beef by low-temperature treatment of non-preferred parts of beef (비선호 부위 소고기의 저온처리에 의한 품질향상 및 소고기의 숙성효과)

  • Hyun Kyoung Kim;Soon Cheol Kim;Hyeon Jin Kim;Yeong Mi Kim
    • The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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    • v.9 no.5
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    • pp.753-760
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    • 2023
  • In this study, quality improvement of beef was attempted according to the low temperature treatment and aging period of grade 1 compared to grade 1++ beef. The fat content and shear force of beef grade 1++ were 13.03% and 114.26N, but beef grade 1 was 3.21% and 149.67N. Meanwhile, after low-temperature treatment of grade 1 beef at -26℃ for 12 hours and low-temperature aging at 0 ℃ for 14 days, the shear force was greatly reduced to 87.85N, improving overall preference, softness, dripping gravy, flavor, and chewing texture. The essential free amino acid content was as low as 22.17mg/100g in grade 1++ beef, but the contents were high at 41.31~45.11mg/100g in three samples of grade 1, and there was no change in content according to cold treatment conditions. As a specific component of beef, Taurine was 30.94~34.41mg/100g, and the difference in content was small according to beef grade, but Anserine and Creatine were low at 19.68mg/100g and 70.01mg/100g in beef grade 1++ and high at 26.38~31.23mg/100g and 154.09~167.26mg/10g in beef grade 1. The content ratio of oleic acid (c18:1)/stearic acid (c18:0) as an monounsaturated fatty acid/saturated fatty acid ratio was low at 5.29 for grade 1++ beef, but high at 6.13~6.78 for grade 1 beef. In addition, there was no trend in the content ratio of these fatty acids according to the low-temperature treatment conditions and aging period in beef grade 1. As a result of this study, it was possible to improve the quality of beef grade 1 by low-temperature treatment at -26 ℃ for 12 hours and then aging at 0 ℃ for 14 days.

Study on Characteristic Factors of Female Entrepreneurs for Vitalization of Female Entrepreneurship: Focusing on Case Studies (여성창업 활성화를 위한 여성창업가의 특성요인에 관한 연구: 사례연구를 중심으로)

  • Kim, Yun-Sun;Lee, Il-Han
    • Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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    • v.17 no.5
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    • pp.49-65
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    • 2022
  • This study conducted an exploratory study based on in-depth interviews to understand the characteristics and capabilities of female entrepreneurs to promote women entrepreneurship. Therefore, in this study, through in-depth interviews with eight female entrepreneurs, the main contents of entrepreneurial attitudes (need for independence, development desire, favorable conditions), start-up entry rate, start-up motivation, start-up activities and constraints were analyzed. As a result, first, it was found that the entrepreneurial attitude of female entrepreneurs has a strong motivation for successful management based on a feeling of self-satisfaction, has characteristics that prioritize independence and self-actualization, and favorable conditions for starting a business are important. Second, it was found that women's individual differences from men and social structural factors had no significant effect on the entry rate of women. Third, it was found that the most important entrepreneurship motivation for women is the spirit of challenge, self-satisfaction, and the desire to balance work and family. Fourth, female entrepreneurs showed little difference in perception between male and female entrepreneurs in terms of resource access, but there was some discrimination in the network. Fifth, the main industries of female entrepreneurs are small businesses, and there is a tendency to be concentrated in industries with low profit margins and low growth and sales. Finally, it was found that barriers to women's entrepreneurship still exist. Based on the results of this study, the following implications are suggested. First, this study is differentiated in that it mainly identified the characteristics of women's experiences and social environments while starting a business and running a business. Second, in the case of female entrepreneurs, there is a need to spread a positive awareness of women entrepreneurship by arguing that the barriers to entrepreneurship unique to women are not high and can be sufficiently overcome. Lastly, although opportunistic start-ups based on women's social experience or management ability in work life are important for women's entrepreneurship, government support policies are needed to promote professional technology start-ups.

Risk Factors for Binge-eating and Food Addiction : Analysis with Propensity-Score Matching and Logistic Regression (폭식행동 및 음식중독의 위험요인 분석: 성향점수매칭과 로지스틱 회귀모델을 이용한 분석)

  • Jake Jeong;Whanhee Lee;Jung In Choi;Young Hye Cho;Kwangyeol Baek
    • Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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    • v.40 no.4
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    • pp.685-698
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    • 2023
  • This study aimed to identify binge-eating behavior and food addiction in Korean population and to determine their associations with obesity, eating behaviors, mental health and cognitive characteristics. We collected clinical questionnaire scores related to eating problems (e.g. binge eating, food addiction, food cravings), mental health (e.g. depression), and cognitive functions (e.g. impulsivity, emotion regulation) in 257 Korean adults in the normal and the obese weight ranges. Binge-eating and food addiction were most frequent in obese women (binge-eating: 46.6%, food addiction: 29.3%) when we divided the participants into 4 groups depending on gender and obesity status. The independence test using the data with propensity score matching confirmed that binge-eating and food addiction were more prevalent in obese individuals. Finally, we constructed the logistic regression models using forward selection method to evaluate the influence of various clinical questionnaire scores on binge-eating and food addiction respectively. Binge-eating was significantly associated with the clinical scales of eating disorders, food craving, state anxiety, and emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal) as well as food addiction. Food addiction demonstrated the significant effect of food craving, binge-eating, the interaction of obesity and age, and years of education. In conclusion, we found that binge-eating and food addiction are much more frequent in females and obese individuals. Both binge-eating and food addiction commonly involved eating problems (e.g. food craving), but there was difference in mental health and cognitive risk factors. Therefore, it is required to distinguish food addiction from binge-eating and investigate intrinsic and environmental risk factors for each pathology.

Antimicrobial effect of infrared diode laser utilizing indocyanine green against Staphylococcus aureus biofilm on titanium surface (티타늄 표면에 형성한 Staphylococcus aureus 바이오필름에 대한 인도시아닌 그린을 활용한 광역학치료의 항미생물 효과)

  • Seung Gi Kim;Si-Young Lee;Jong-Bin Lee;Heung-Sik Um;Jae-Kwan Lee
    • Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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    • v.40 no.2
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    • pp.55-63
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    • 2024
  • Purpose: This study aimed to assess the antimicrobial efficacy of an 810-nm infrared diode laser with indocyanine green (ICG) against Staphylococcus aureus on sandblasted, large grit, and acid-etched (SLA) titanium surfaces, comparing its effectiveness with alternative chemical decontamination modalities. Materials and Methods: Biofilms of S. aureus ATCC 25923 were cultured on SLA titanium disks for 48 hours. The biofilms were divided into five treatment groups: control, chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX), tetracycline (TC), ICG, and 810-nm infrared diode laser with ICG (ICG-PDT). After treatment, colony-forming units were quantified to assess surviving bacteria, and viability was confirmed through confocal laser-scanning microscope (CLSM) imaging. Results: All treated groups exhibited a statistically significant reduction in S. aureus (P < 0.05), with notable efficacy in the CHX, TC, and ICG-PDT groups (P < 0.01). While no statistical difference was observed between TC and CHX, the ICG-PDT group demonstrated superior bacterial reduction. CLSM images revealed a higher proportion of dead bacteria stained in red within the ICG-PDT groups. Conclusion: Within the limitations, ICG-PDT effectively reduced S. aureus biofilms on SLA titanium surfaces. Further investigations into alternative decontamination methods and the clinical impact of ICG-PDT on peri-implant diseases are warranted.

Efficacy and Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines in Adolescents: Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Studies and Observational Studies

  • Soo-Han Choi;Su-Yeon Yu;Jimin Kim;Miyoung Choi;Youn Young Choi;Jae Hong Choi;Ki Wook Yun;Young June Choe
    • Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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    • v.31 no.1
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    • pp.12-24
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    • 2024
  • The number of pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases worldwide are increasing compared to the early phase of the pandemic, along with highly transmissible severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus variant and the increase in adult COVID-19 vaccination. We conducted a rapid systematic review and meta-analysis of published randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of the COVID-19 vaccines and the observational retrospective studies on adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination in adolescents. Seventeen studies were finally included in this systematic review. Meta-analysis showed that although vaccination in adolescents was significantly effective to prevent COVID-19 infection in retrospective studies (risk ratio [RR], 0.29; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.22-0.37; I2 =100%), however the effect of preventing COVID-19 infection was lower than in RCTs (RR, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.01-0.27). In five retrospective studies, the pooled estimated proportion of participants with myocarditis and/or pericarditis was 2.33 per 100,000 of the population (95% CI, 0.97-5.61 per 100,000). Sub-group analysis with sex and vaccine doses showed that male (5.35 per 100,000) and the second dose (9.71 per 100,000) had significantly higher incidence of myocarditis and/or pericarditis than female (1.09 per 100,000) and the first dose (1.61 per 100,000), respectively. Our study showed that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in adolescent recipients were favorable and effective against COVID-19 in RCT as well as observational studies. The safety findings of BNT162b2 vaccine in adolescents were explored and we found the difference of safety according to sex and vaccine doses. The occurrence of adverse events after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination should be monitored.

Effects of the Type of Exchanged Ions and Carbon Precursors on Methane Adsorption Behavior in Zeolite Templated Carbons Synthesized Using Various Ion-Exchanged Faujasite Zeolites (이온교환된 Faujasite 제올라이트를 이용한 제올라이트 주형 탄소체 합성 시 이온 교환 금속과 탄소 전구체가 메탄 흡착 거동에 미치는 영향)

  • Ki Jun Kim;Churl-hee Cho;Dong-Woo Cho
    • Clean Technology
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    • v.30 no.2
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    • pp.123-133
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    • 2024
  • Zeolite template carbon (ZTC) was synthesized as an adsorbent to remove low-concentration CH4 from the atmosphere. The synthesis of ZTC was performed using CH4 and C2H2 as carbon precursors and their impact on adsorption was investigated. ZTC was also synthesized using Y zeolite ion-exchanged with CaCl2 and LiCl as templates to investigate the effect of using metals in ion exchange. The comparison of the carbon precursors revealed that C2H2 had a higher carbon yield than CH4. The synthesized ZTC exhibited developed micropores due to carbon deposition deep inside the micropores of the zeolite template. The kinetic diameter of C2H2 (0.33 nm) is smaller than that of CH4 (0.38 nm), which allowed for its deposition. The study compared metal precursors used for ion exchange and confirmed that the CaCl2-based ZTC developed more micropores compared to the LiCl-based ZTC. The ion-exchanged Ca inhibited pore blocking by the carbon precursor, allowing it to enter the pores. The ability of synthesized ZTC to adsorb N2 and CH4 at 298 K was investigated. The results showed that CH4 had a higher overall adsorption amount than N2. The sample synthesized using C2H2 and CaY exhibited the highest N2 and CH4 adsorption capacity. However, the sample synthesized with CH4 had the highest CH4/N2 gas uptake ratio, which is a crucial factor in designing an adsorption process. The observed difference was likely caused by the underdevelopment of ultrafine pores that are associated with N2 adsorption. This resulted in a reduction of N2 adsorption, leading to an increase in CH4/N2 separation.

The effect of dental hygiene students' knowledge and attitude toward the elderly on the discrimination of the elderly (치위생학과 학생들의 노인에 대한 지식 및 태도가 노인차별주의에 미치는 영향)

  • Young-Sun Kim;Jung-Hwa Lee
    • Journal of Korean Dental Hygiene Science
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    • v.6 no.2
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    • pp.129-139
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    • 2023
  • Background: The elderly population aged 65 or older in Korea is expected to continue to increase to 18.4% in 2023, and to enter a super-aged society at 20.6% in 2025. In clinical practice, the elderly discrimination of dental hygienists may experience difficulties during dental hygiene treatment due to an increase in the number of elderly patients due to aging, which can lead to maladjustment to work and turnover, so education on the understanding of the elderly is essential for students in the Department of Dentistry, who are prospective dental hygienists. Accordingly, a study was conducted to prepare for a super-aged society by studying the relationship between elderly discrimination and the knowledge and attitudes of the elderly, and to change the curriculum of universities and develop programs related to the elderly. Method: 204 students enrolled in the Department of Dentistry in D area were analyzed using the SPSS/WIN 25.0 program. The subject's geriatric discrimination, knowledge about the elderly, and attitude toward the elderly were calculated as the mean and standard deviation. T-test and one-way ANOVA were performed to verify the difference in geriatric discrimination according to the general characteristics of the subject, with a Scheffe' test applied for post-hoc analysis. Correlation analysis was conducted on the subject's geriatric discrimination, knowledge about the elderly, and attitudes toward the elderly. Results: Geriatrics scored 2.03±0.36 out of 4. Knowledge about the elderly was categorized as follows: physical domain 0.57±0.15; social domain 0.36±0.17; and psychological domain 0.35±0.20. The attitude toward the elderly was 3.86±0.27. Knowledge of the elderly averaged 11.27±3.30 points out of 25. The question with the highest percentage of correct answers to knowledge about the elderly was 'physical strength tends to decrease with age', which was 93.1%. The attitude toward the elderly according to the general characteristics of the study subjects showed significant differences in gender (p=0.040), age (p=0.026), and life experience with grandparents (p=0.001). The elderly discrimination of the study subjects showed a negative correlation in both attitude and knowledge toward the elderly, and among the elderly discrimination, there was a high positive correlation with regard to emotional avoidance (r=.892, p<0.001). Conclusion: College students are the leading players in caring for the elderly and are directly affected by aging social problems. Therefore, it is considered necessary to apply various programs in the state, society, and educational institutions to avoid negative prejudices that lead to positive thinking and discrimination against the elderly.

Effects of Pad Cooling Systems in Tunnel-Ventilated Broiler House on Reducing Indoor Temperature and Level of Temperature-Humidity Index during Summer (국내 터널식환기 무창 육계사에서 여름철 쿨링패드 사용에 따른 계사 내부 온도 저감 효과 및 더위지수(THI)에 미치는 영향)

  • Hye Ran Kim;Seol Hwa Park;Jisoo Wi;Seongshin Lee;Sung Dae Lee;Hwan Ku Kang;Chaehwa Ryu
    • Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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    • v.51 no.2
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    • pp.57-63
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    • 2024
  • As global warming worsens, it is feared that higher ambient temperatures and relative humidity might result in a more intense heat stress for livestock animals, especially broilers, which lack sweat glands for thermoregulation and have been selectively bred for rapid growth. Therefore, strategic livestock management is needed to mitigate the adverse effects of heat stress on broilers. In Korea's poultry farming systems, tunnel-ventilated broiler houses and pad cooling systems are commonly installed to lower indoor temperatures during the summer. However, caution is advised with pad cooling systems as they can increase the humidity inside the houses, potentially causing further harm. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of pad cooling systems in tunnel-ventilated broiler house by assessing the reduction in indoor temperature using the Temperature-Humidity Index (THI), which accounts for the impact of relative humidity. Temperature and humidity data were collected during the summer (Jun to Sep) from eight farms with tunnel-ventilated broiler house located in different regions of Korea. The farms were divided into two groups based on the use of pad cooling systems is used, and temperature and humidity data, along with THI values, were analyzed two weeks before the birds were marketed. Meta-analysis results showed that at the hottest time of the day, 14:00, farms with pad cooling systems had significantly lower indoor temperatures compared to the control group, but observed an increase in indoor temperatures by 16:00 (p<0.05). There is no significant difference in relative humidity (p>0.05). The THI values decreased in the treatment group with cooling pads compared to the control group starting from 15:00, suggesting a diminished effect (p<0.05). This study indicates the potential for developing optimal operational guidelines for cooling pads to reduce heat stress in broilers during the summer season.

Perceptional Change of a New Product, DMB Phone

  • Kim, Ju-Young;Ko, Deok-Im
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.18 no.3
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    • pp.59-88
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    • 2008
  • Digital Convergence means integration between industry, technology, and contents, and in marketing, it usually comes with creation of new types of product and service under the base of digital technology as digitalization progress in electro-communication industries including telecommunication, home appliance, and computer industries. One can see digital convergence not only in instruments such as PC, AV appliances, cellular phone, but also in contents, network, service that are required in production, modification, distribution, re-production of information. Convergence in contents started around 1990. Convergence in network and service begins as broadcasting and telecommunication integrates and DMB(digital multimedia broadcasting), born in May, 2005 is the symbolic icon in this trend. There are some positive and negative expectations about DMB. The reason why two opposite expectations exist is that DMB does not come out from customer's need but from technology development. Therefore, customers might have hard time to interpret the real meaning of DMB. Time is quite critical to a high tech product, like DMB because another product with same function from different technology can replace the existing product within short period of time. If DMB does not positioning well to customer's mind quickly, another products like Wibro, IPTV, or HSPDA could replace it before it even spreads out. Therefore, positioning strategy is critical for success of DMB product. To make correct positioning strategy, one needs to understand how consumer interprets DMB and how consumer's interpretation can be changed via communication strategy. In this study, we try to investigate how consumer perceives a new product, like DMB and how AD strategy change consumer's perception. More specifically, the paper segment consumers into sub-groups based on their DMB perceptions and compare their characteristics in order to understand how they perceive DMB. And, expose them different printed ADs that have messages guiding consumer think DMB in specific ways, either cellular phone or personal TV. Research Question 1: Segment consumers according to perceptions about DMB and compare characteristics of segmentations. Research Question 2: Compare perceptions about DMB after AD that induces categorization of DMB in direction for each segment. If one understand and predict a direction in which consumer perceive a new product, firm can select target customers easily. We segment consumers according to their perception and analyze characteristics in order to find some variables that can influence perceptions, like prior experience, usage, or habit. And then, marketing people can use this variables to identify target customers and predict their perceptions. If one knows how customer's perception is changed via AD message, communication strategy could be constructed properly. Specially, information from segmented customers helps to develop efficient AD strategy for segment who has prior perception. Research framework consists of two measurements and one treatment, O1 X O2. First observation is for collecting information about consumer's perception and their characteristics. Based on first observation, the paper segment consumers into two groups, one group perceives DMB similar to Cellular phone and the other group perceives DMB similar to TV. And compare characteristics of two segments in order to find reason why they perceive DMB differently. Next, we expose two kinds of AD to subjects. One AD describes DMB as Cellular phone and the other Ad describes DMB as personal TV. When two ADs are exposed to subjects, consumers don't know their prior perception of DMB, in other words, which subject belongs 'similar-to-Cellular phone' segment or 'similar-to-TV' segment? However, we analyze the AD's effect differently for each segment. In research design, final observation is for investigating AD effect. Perception before AD is compared with perception after AD. Comparisons are made for each segment and for each AD. For the segment who perceives DMB similar to TV, AD that describes DMB as cellular phone could change the prior perception. And AD that describes DMB as personal TV, could enforce the prior perception. For data collection, subjects are selected from undergraduate students because they have basic knowledge about most digital equipments and have open attitude about a new product and media. Total number of subjects is 240. In order to measure perception about DMB, we use indirect measurement, comparison with other similar digital products. To select similar digital products, we pre-survey students and then finally select PDA, Car-TV, Cellular Phone, MP3 player, TV, and PSP. Quasi experiment is done at several classes under instructor's allowance. After brief introduction, prior knowledge, awareness, and usage about DMB as well as other digital instruments is asked and their similarities and perceived characteristics are measured. And then, two kinds of manipulated color-printed AD are distributed and similarities and perceived characteristics for DMB are re-measured. Finally purchase intension, AD attitude, manipulation check, and demographic variables are asked. Subjects are given small gift for participation. Stimuli are color-printed advertising. Their actual size is A4 and made after several pre-test from AD professionals and students. As results, consumers are segmented into two subgroups based on their perceptions of DMB. Similarity measure between DMB and cellular phone and similarity measure between DMB and TV are used to classify consumers. If subject whose first measure is less than the second measure, she is classified into segment A and segment A is characterized as they perceive DMB like TV. Otherwise, they are classified as segment B, who perceives DMB like cellular phone. Discriminant analysis on these groups with their characteristics of usage and attitude shows that Segment A knows much about DMB and uses a lot of digital instrument. Segment B, who thinks DMB as cellular phone doesn't know well about DMB and not familiar with other digital instruments. So, consumers with higher knowledge perceive DMB similar to TV because launching DMB advertising lead consumer think DMB as TV. Consumers with less interest on digital products don't know well about DMB AD and then think DMB as cellular phone. In order to investigate perceptions of DMB as well as other digital instruments, we apply Proxscal analysis, Multidimensional Scaling technique at SPSS statistical package. At first step, subjects are presented 21 pairs of 7 digital instruments and evaluate similarity judgments on 7 point scale. And for each segment, their similarity judgments are averaged and similarity matrix is made. Secondly, Proxscal analysis of segment A and B are done. At third stage, get similarity judgment between DMB and other digital instruments after AD exposure. Lastly, similarity judgments of group A-1, A-2, B-1, and B-2 are named as 'after DMB' and put them into matrix made at the first stage. Then apply Proxscal analysis on these matrixes and check the positional difference of DMB and after DMB. The results show that map of segment A, who perceives DMB similar as TV, shows that DMB position closer to TV than to Cellular phone as expected. Map of segment B, who perceive DMB similar as cellular phone shows that DMB position closer to Cellular phone than to TV as expected. Stress value and R-square is acceptable. And, change results after stimuli, manipulated Advertising show that AD makes DMB perception bent toward Cellular phone when Cellular phone-like AD is exposed, and that DMB positioning move towards Car-TV which is more personalized one when TV-like AD is exposed. It is true for both segment, A and B, consistently. Furthermore, the paper apply correspondence analysis to the same data and find almost the same results. The paper answers two main research questions. The first one is that perception about a new product is made mainly from prior experience. And the second one is that AD is effective in changing and enforcing perception. In addition to above, we extend perception change to purchase intention. Purchase intention is high when AD enforces original perception. AD that shows DMB like TV makes worst intention. This paper has limitations and issues to be pursed in near future. Methodologically, current methodology can't provide statistical test on the perceptual change, since classical MDS models, like Proxscal and correspondence analysis are not probability models. So, a new probability MDS model for testing hypothesis about configuration needs to be developed. Next, advertising message needs to be developed more rigorously from theoretical and managerial perspective. Also experimental procedure could be improved for more realistic data collection. For example, web-based experiment and real product stimuli and multimedia presentation could be employed. Or, one can display products together in simulated shop. In addition, demand and social desirability threats of internal validity could influence on the results. In order to handle the threats, results of the model-intended advertising and other "pseudo" advertising could be compared. Furthermore, one can try various level of innovativeness in order to check whether it make any different results (cf. Moon 2006). In addition, if one can create hypothetical product that is really innovative and new for research, it helps to make a vacant impression status and then to study how to form impression in more rigorous way.

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An Empirical Study in Relationship between Franchisor's Leadership Behavior Style and Commitment by Focusing Moderating Effect of Franchisee's Self-efficacy (가맹본부의 리더십 행동유형과 가맹사업자의 관계결속에 관한 실증적 연구 - 가맹사업자의 자기효능감의 조절효과를 중심으로 -)

  • Yang, Hoe-Chang;Lee, Young-Chul
    • Journal of Distribution Research
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    • v.15 no.1
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    • pp.49-71
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    • 2010
  • Franchise businesses in South Korea have contributed to economic growth and job creation, and its growth potential remains very high. However, despite such virtues, domestic franchise businesses face many problems such as the instability of franchisor's business structure and weak financial conditions. To solve these problems, the government enacted legislation and strengthened franchise related laws. However, the strengthening of laws regulating franchisors had many side effects that interrupted the development of the franchise business. For example, legal regulations regarding franchisors have had the effect of suppressing the franchisor's leadership activities (e.g. activities such as the ability to advocate the franchisor's policies and strategies to the franchisees, in order to facilitate change and innovation). One of the main goals of the franchise business is to build cooperation between the franchisor and the franchisee for their combined success. However, franchisees can refuse to follow the franchisor's strategies because of the current state of franchise-related law and government policy. The purpose of this study to explore the effects of franchisor's leadership style on franchisee's commitment in a franchise system. We classified leadership styles according to the path-goal theory (House & Mitchell, 1974), and it was hypothesized and tested that the four leadership styles proposed by the path-goal theory (i.e. directive, supportive, participative and achievement-oriented leadership) have different effects on franchisee's commitment. Another purpose of this study to explore the how the level of franchisee's self-efficacy influences both the franchisor's leadership style and franchisee's commitment in a franchise system. Results of the present study are expected to provide important theoretical and practical implications as to the role of franchisor's leadership style, as restricted by government regulations and the franchisee's self-efficacy, which could be needed to improve the quality of the long-term relationship between the franchisor and franchisee. Quoted by Northouse(2007), one problem regarding the investigation of leadership is that there are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are people who have tried to define it. But despite the multitude of ways in which leadership has been conceptualized, the following components can be identified as central to the phenomenon: (a) leadership is a process, (b) leadership involves influence, (c) leadership occurs in a group context, and (d) leadership involves goal attainment. Based on these components, in this study leadership is defined as a process whereby franchisor's influences a group of franchisee' to achieve a common goal. Focusing on this definition, the path-goal theory is about how leaders motivate subordinates to accomplish designated goals. Drawing heavily from research on what motivates employees, path-goal theory first appeared in the leadership literature in the early 1970s in the works of Evans (1970), House (1971), House and Dessler (1974), and House and Mitchell (1974). The stated goal of this leadership theory is to enhance employee performance and employee satisfaction by focusing on employee motivation. In brief, path-goal theory is designed to explain how leaders can help subordinates along the path to their goals by selecting specific behaviors that are best suited to subordinates' needs and to the situation in which subordinates are working (Northouse, 2007). House & Mitchell(1974) predicted that although many different leadership behaviors could have been selected to be a part of path-goal theory, this approach has so far examined directive, supportive, participative, and achievement-oriented leadership behaviors. And they suggested that leaders may exhibit any or all of these four styles with various subordinates and in different situations. However, due to restrictive government regulations, franchisors are not in a position to change their leadership style to suit their circumstances. In addition, quoted by Northouse(2007), ssubordinate characteristics determine how a leader's behavior is interpreted by subordinates in a given work context. Many researchers have focused on subordinates' needs for affiliation, preferences for structure, desires for control, and self-perceived level of task ability. In this study, we have focused on the self-perceived level of task ability, namely, the franchisee's self-efficacy. According to Bandura (1977), self-efficacy is chiefly defined as the personal attitude of one's ability to accomplish concrete tasks. Therefore, it is not an indicator of one's actual abilities, but an opinion of the extent of how one can use that ability. Thus, the judgment of maintain franchisee's commitment depends on the situation (e.g., government regulation and policy and leadership style of franchisor) and how it affects one's ability to mobilize resources to deal with the task, so even if people possess the same ability, there may be differences in self-efficacy. Figure 1 illustrates the model investigated in this study. In this model, it was hypothesized that leadership styles would affect the franchisee's commitment, and self-efficacy would moderate the relationship between leadership style and franchisee's commitment. Theoretically, quoted by Northouse(2007), the path-goal approach suggests that leaders need to choose a leadership style that best fits the needs of subordinates and the work they are doing. According to House & Mitchell (1974), the theory predicts that a directive style of leadership is best in situations in which subordinates are dogmatic and authoritarian, the task demands are ambiguous, and the organizational rule and procedures are unclear. In these situations, franchisor's directive leadership complements the work by providing guidance and psychological structure for franchisees. For work that is structured, unsatisfying, or frustrating, path-goal theory suggests that leaders should use a supportive style. Franchisor's Supportive leadership offers a sense of human touch for franchisees engaged in mundane, mechanized activity. Franchisor's participative leadership is considered best when a task is ambiguous because participation gives greater clarity to how certain paths lead to certain goals; it helps subordinates learn what actions leads to what outcome. Furthermore, House & Mitchell(1974) predicts that achievement-oriented leadership is most effective in settings in which subordinates are required to perform ambiguous tasks. Marsh and O'Neill (1984) tested the idea that organizational members' anger and decline in performance is caused by deficiencies in their level of effort and found that self-efficacy promotes accomplishment, decreases stress and negative consequences like depression and emotional instability. Based on the extant empirical findings and theoretical reasoning, we posit positive and strong relationships between the franchisor's leadership styles and the franchisee's commitment. Furthermore, the level of franchisee's self-efficacy was thought to maintain their commitment. The questionnaires sent to participants consisted of the following measures; leadership style was assessed using a 20 item 7-point likert scale developed by Indvik (1985), self-efficacy was assessed using a 24 item 6-point likert scale developed by Bandura (1977), and commitment was assessed using a 6 item 5-point likert scale developed by Morgan & Hunt (1994). Questionnaires were distributed to Korean optical franchisees in Seoul. It took about 20 days to complete the data collection. A total number of 140 questionnaires were returned and complete data were available from 137 respondents. Results of multiple regression analyses testing the relationships between the each of the four styles of leadership shown by the franchisor as independent variables and franchisee's commitment as the dependent variable showed that the relationship between supportive leadership style and commitment ($\beta$=.13, p<.001),and the relationship between participative leadership style and commitment ($\beta$=.07, p<.001)were significant. However, when participants divided into high and low self-efficacy groups, results of multiple regression analyses showed that only the relationship between achievement-oriented leadership style and commitment ($\beta$=.14, p<.001) was significant in the high self-efficacy group. In the low self-efficacy group, the relationship between supportive leadership style and commitment ($\beta$=.17, p<.001),and the relationship between participative leadership style and commitment ($\beta$=.10, p<.001) were significant. The study focused on the franchisee's self-efficacy in order to explore the possibility that regulation, originally intended to protect the franchisee, may not be the most effective method to maintain the relationships in a franchise business. The key results of the data analysis regarding the moderating role of self-efficacy between leadership behavior style as proposed by path-goal and commitment theory were as follows. First, this study proposed that franchisor should apply the appropriate type of leadership behavior to strengthen the franchisees commitment because the results demonstrated that supportive and participative leadership styles by the franchisors have a positive influence on the franchisee's level of commitment. Second, it is desirable for franchisor to validate the franchisee's efforts, since the franchisee's characteristics such as self-efficacy had a substantial, positive effect on the franchisee's commitment as well as being a meaningful moderator between leadership and commitment. Third, the results as a whole imply that the government should provide institutional support, namely to put the franchisor in a position to clearly identify the characteristics of their franchisees and provide reasonable means to administer the franchisees to achieve the company's goal.

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