• Title/Summary/Keyword: Fashion Model

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Inhibitory Effects of Total Ginseng Saponin on Catecholamine Secretion from the Perfused Adrenal Medulla of SHRs

  • Jang, Seok-Jeong;Lim, Hyo-Jeong;Lim, Dong-Yoon
    • Journal of Ginseng Research
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    • v.35 no.2
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    • pp.176-190
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    • 2011
  • There seems to be some controversy about the effect of total ginseng saponin (TGS) on the secretion of catecholamines (CA) from the adrenal gland. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine whether TGS can affect the CA release in the perfused model of the adrenal medulla isolated from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). TGS (15-150 ${\mu}g/mL$), perfused into an adrenal vein for 90 min, inhibited the CA secretory responses evoked by acetylcholine (ACh, 5.32 mM) and high $K^+$ (56 mM, a direct membrane depolarizer) in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. TGS (50 ${\mu}g/mL$) also time-dependently inhibited the CA secretion evoked by 1.1-dimethyl-4 -phenyl piperazinium iodide (DMPP; 100 ${\mu}M$, a selective neuronal nicotinic receptor agonist) and McN-A-343 (100 ${\mu}M$, a selective muscarinic M1 receptor agonist). TGS itself did not affect basal CA secretion (data not shown). Also, in the presence of TGS (50 ${\mu}g/mL$), the secretory responses of CA evoked by veratridine (a selective $Na^+$ channel activator (50 ${\mu}M$), Bay-K-8644 (an L-type dihydropyridine $Ca^{2+}$ channel activator, 10 ${\mu}M$), and cyclopiazonic acid (a cytoplasmic $Ca^{2+}$-ATPase inhibitor, 10 ${\mu}M$) were significantly reduced, respectively. Interestingly, in the simultaneous presence of TGS (50 ${\mu}g/mL$) and N${\omega}$-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride [an inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthase, 30 ${\mu}M$], the inhibitory responses of TGS on the CA secretion evoked by ACh, high $K^+$, DMPP, McN-A-343, Bay-K-8644, cyclopiazonic acid, and veratridine were considerably recovered to the extent of the corresponding control secretion compared with the inhibitory effect of TGS-treatment alone. Practically, the level of NO released from adrenal medulla after the treatment of TGS (150 ${\mu}g/mL$) was greatly elevated compared to the corresponding basal released level. Taken together, these results demonstrate that TGS inhibits the CA secretory responses evoked by stimulation of cholinergic (both muscarinic and nicotinic) receptors as well as by direct membrane-depolarization from the isolated perfused adrenal medulla of the SHRs. It seems that this inhibitory effect of TGS is mediated by inhibiting both the influx of $Ca^{2+}$ and Na+ into the adrenomedullary chromaffin cells and also by suppressing the release of $Ca^{2+}$ from the cytoplasmic calcium store, at least partly through the increased NO production due to the activation of nitric oxide synthase, which is relevant to neuronal nicotinic receptor blockade, without the enhancement effect on the CA release. Based on these effects, it is also thought that there are some species differences in the adrenomedullary CA secretion between the rabbit and SHR.

Mechanism of Epibatidine-Induced Catecholamine Secretion in the Rat Adrenal Gland

  • Lim, Dong-Yoon;Lim, Geon-Han;Oh, Song-Hoon;Kim, Il-Sik;Kim, Il-Hwan;Woo, Seong-Chang;Lee, Bang-Hun
    • The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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    • v.5 no.3
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    • pp.259-270
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    • 2001
  • The present study was attempted to investigate the characteristics of epibatidine on secretion of catecholamines (CA) from the isolated perfused model of the rat adrenal gland, and to establish the mechanism of action. Epibatidine $(3{\times}10^{-8}\;M)$ injected into an adrenal vein produced a great inhibition in secretory response of CA from the perfused rat adrenal gland. However, upon the repeated injection of epibatidine $(3{\times}10^{-8}\;M)$ at 15 min-intervals, CA secretion was rapidly decreased after second injection of epibatidine. However, there was no statistical difference between CA secretory responses of both 1st and 2nd periods by the successive administration of epibatidine at 120 min-intervals. Tachyphylaxis to releasing effects of CA evoked by epibatidine was observed by the repeated administration. Therefore, in all subsequent experiments, epibatidine was not administered successively more than twice only 120 min-intervals. The epibatidine-induced CA secretion was markedly inhibited by the pretreatment with atropine, chlorisondamine, pirenzepine, nicardipine, TMB-8, and perfusion of $Ca^{2+}-free$ Krebs solution containing EGTA, while was not affected by diphenhydramine. Moreover, the CA secretion evoked by ACh for 1st period $(0{\sim}4\;min)$ was greatly potentiated by the simultaneous perfusion of epibatidine $(1.5{\times}10^{-8}\;M),$ but followed by time-dependently gradual reduction after 2nd period. The CA release evoked by high potassium $(5.6{\times}10^{-8}\;M),$ for 1st period $(0{\sim}4\;min)$ was also enhanced by the simultaneous perfusion of epibatidine, but those after 2nd period were not affected. Taken together, these experimental data suggest that epibatidine causes catecholamine secretion in a calcium dependent fashion from the perfused rat adrenal gland through activation of neuronal cholinergic (nicotinic and muscarinic) receptors located in adrenomedullary chromaffin cells. It also seems that epibatidine-evoked catecholamine release is not relevant to stimulation of histaminergic receptors.

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Induction of Apoptosis by Methanol Extract of Gloiopeltis furcata in Human Leukemia Cell Line U937 (인체백혈병세포의 증식에 미치는 불등가사리 메탄올 추출물의 영향)

  • Choi, Woo Young;Park, Cheol;Kim, Gi Young;Lee, Won Ho;Bae, Song-Ja;Choi, Yung Hyun
    • Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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    • v.1 no.2
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    • pp.76-83
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    • 2006
  • Epidemiological studies have indicated that the ubiquitous consumption of seaweeds is a protective factor against some types of cancer. Previous results showed that the administration of seaweed powder or extract reduced the incidence rate of chemically induced tumorigenesis using in vivo animal model. Recently, we reported that the extracts of Gloiopeltis furcata, a kind of Korean edible seaweed, caused he cell growth inhibition of various human cancer cell lines, among them methanol extract exhibited a relatively strong antiproliferative activity. However, the molecular mechanisms of this seaweed in malignant cells have been poorly studied until now. To elucidate this problem, we investigated the effects of methanol extract of G. furcata (MEGF) on the growth inhibition in several human cancer cell lines, and further we analyzed the effects of this extract were tested on the activity of apoptosis induction in human leukemic cells. The results demonstrated that MEGF treatment resulted in the morphological changes and the growth inhibition in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, MEGF potently suppresses the growth of human leukemic U937 cells by induction of apoptosis, which was associated with induction of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21(WAF1/CIP1) in a tumor suppressor p53-independent fashion and up-regulation of Fas/FasL system. Further studies will be needed to identify the active compounds that confer the anticancer activity of MEGF. Once such compounds are identified, the mechanisms by which they exert their effects can begin to be characterized.

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Instructional Development of Making Upcycle Clothing Accessories for the Middle School Home Economics Classes Applying the Design Thinking Technique (디자인씽킹 기법을 활용한 중학교 가정교과 의류 업사이클링 소품제작 수업개발)

  • Yu, Myoung Suk;Lee, Yhe Young
    • Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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    • v.33 no.3
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    • pp.173-187
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    • 2021
  • The purpose of this research was to develop instructions for making upcycled clothing accessories related to the 'clothing management and recycling' unit of middle school home economics applying the design thinking technique. Teaching and learning process plans were developed according to the ADDIE model which includes the following process: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. The design thinking process includes understanding the related knowledge, sympathizing, problem identification(sharing perspectives) and idea development, making prototypes, testing, and making the actual product. Thirteen home economics teachers served as critics. Student feedbacks were collected to evaluate whether the course objectives were attained after the implementation. As a result, teaching and learning process plans, course materials, and evaluation rubrics for ten class sessions were developed. Student feedbacks confirmed the attainment of following five course objectives: improvement of ethical responsibilities through the exploration of various clothing recycling techniques, practice of creative and eco-friendly clothing culture, acquisition of the skills to use sewing tools safely, improvement of abilities to think, sympathize, and communicate, and exploration of aesthetic activities and fashion careers.

Impact of the Physical Characteristics of Smart Wristbands and Smartwatches on Perceived Functional, Aesthetic, And Symbolic Values (스마트팔찌와 스마트워치의 물리적 특성이 지각된 기능적, 심미적, 상징적 가치에 미치는 영향)

  • Soo In Shim;Heejeong Yu
    • The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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    • v.10 no.1
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    • pp.525-532
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    • 2024
  • This study explores the impact of physical characteristics (e.g., shape, color, material, size, weight, technical features) of smart wristbands and smartwatches on consumers' perceived functional, aesthetic, and symbolic values using an extended technology acceptance model. An online survey was conducted with adult residents of the United States who had experience using smart wristbands or smartwatches. Participants were asked about various physical characteristics of products they had used in the past year or were currently using, and their evaluations of these characteristics. The results revealed that the shape of the front display shape significantly influenced symbolic value, with circle shape and square shpae showing significantly higher symbolic value than rectangle shape. Wristband materials also had a significant impact on symbolic value, with metal and leather showing higher symbolic value among various materials. Additionally, an increase in product size was associated with higher symbolic value. Moreover, certain technical features such as activity tracker, alarm clock, and distance tracking influenced perceived functional value, while functions like time display, GPS, and email influenced perceived aesthetic value. Pedometer, GPS, and email were found to enhance perceived symbolic value. These findings provide valuable insights into consumer preferences for smart wristbands and smartwatches, serving as valuable information for product improvement and new product development.

A Study on the Perceived Value and Intention of Use of Mobile Shopping Apps Using Value-Based Adoption Model (VAM) (가치기반수용모델(VAM)을 활용한 모바일 쇼핑 앱의 지각된 가치와 사용의도에 관한 연구)

  • Jhee, Seon Young;Kim, Mun-Ki;Han, Sang-Lin
    • Journal of Service Research and Studies
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    • v.14 no.2
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    • pp.101-116
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    • 2024
  • As the spread of smartphones has become more common and the utilization rate has increased, the mobile shopping market is also growing and expectations for related industries are also increasing. Mobile shopping apps are converging with various industries such as fashion, beauty, and lifestyle, and competition among companies to increase the number of users is intensifying with the activation of non-face-to-face. Accordingly, in this study, a study on the perceived value and intention to use mobile shopping apps was conducted based on a VAM. In order to test the hypothesis of this study, a questionnaire was conducted on 266 people who had used a mobile shopping app and it was used for analysis. Looking at the results, it was confirmed that both usefulness and enjoyment among the perceived benefit of mobile shopping apps have a positive (+) effect on the perceived value. However, it was found that the technicality and perceived risk among the perceived sacrifices of mobile shopping apps did not significantly affect the perceived value. Finally, it was confirmed that the perceived value of the mobile shopping app had a positive (+) effect on the intention to use. Through this study, we would like to examine the factors that can affect perceived value and usage intention in the mobile shopping app industry, which is increasingly competitive among companies along with the rapid growth of mobile technology and market, and suggest practical implications for related companies and officials to establish efficient strategies to further increase mobile shopping app users.

Extension Method of Association Rules Using Social Network Analysis (사회연결망 분석을 활용한 연관규칙 확장기법)

  • Lee, Dongwon
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.23 no.4
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    • pp.111-126
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    • 2017
  • Recommender systems based on association rule mining significantly contribute to seller's sales by reducing consumers' time to search for products that they want. Recommendations based on the frequency of transactions such as orders can effectively screen out the products that are statistically marketable among multiple products. A product with a high possibility of sales, however, can be omitted from the recommendation if it records insufficient number of transactions at the beginning of the sale. Products missing from the associated recommendations may lose the chance of exposure to consumers, which leads to a decline in the number of transactions. In turn, diminished transactions may create a vicious circle of lost opportunity to be recommended. Thus, initial sales are likely to remain stagnant for a certain period of time. Products that are susceptible to fashion or seasonality, such as clothing, may be greatly affected. This study was aimed at expanding association rules to include into the list of recommendations those products whose initial trading frequency of transactions is low despite the possibility of high sales. The particular purpose is to predict the strength of the direct connection of two unconnected items through the properties of the paths located between them. An association between two items revealed in transactions can be interpreted as the interaction between them, which can be expressed as a link in a social network whose nodes are items. The first step calculates the centralities of the nodes in the middle of the paths that indirectly connect the two nodes without direct connection. The next step identifies the number of the paths and the shortest among them. These extracts are used as independent variables in the regression analysis to predict future connection strength between the nodes. The strength of the connection between the two nodes of the model, which is defined by the number of nodes between the two nodes, is measured after a certain period of time. The regression analysis results confirm that the number of paths between the two products, the distance of the shortest path, and the number of neighboring items connected to the products are significantly related to their potential strength. This study used actual order transaction data collected for three months from February to April in 2016 from an online commerce company. To reduce the complexity of analytics as the scale of the network grows, the analysis was performed only on miscellaneous goods. Two consecutively purchased items were chosen from each customer's transactions to obtain a pair of antecedent and consequent, which secures a link needed for constituting a social network. The direction of the link was determined in the order in which the goods were purchased. Except for the last ten days of the data collection period, the social network of associated items was built for the extraction of independent variables. The model predicts the number of links to be connected in the next ten days from the explanatory variables. Of the 5,711 previously unconnected links, 611 were newly connected for the last ten days. Through experiments, the proposed model demonstrated excellent predictions. Of the 571 links that the proposed model predicts, 269 were confirmed to have been connected. This is 4.4 times more than the average of 61, which can be found without any prediction model. This study is expected to be useful regarding industries whose new products launch quickly with short life cycles, since their exposure time is critical. Also, it can be used to detect diseases that are rarely found in the early stages of medical treatment because of the low incidence of outbreaks. Since the complexity of the social networking analysis is sensitive to the number of nodes and links that make up the network, this study was conducted in a particular category of miscellaneous goods. Future research should consider that this condition may limit the opportunity to detect unexpected associations between products belonging to different categories of classification.

The Usefulness of Product Display of Online Store by the Product Type of Usage Situation - Focusing on the moderate effect of the product portability - (사용상황별 제품유형에 따른 온라인 점포 제품디스플레이의 유용성 - 제품 휴대성의 조절효과를 중심으로 -)

  • Lee, Dong-Il;Choi, Seung-Hoon
    • Journal of Distribution Research
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    • v.16 no.2
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    • pp.1-24
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    • 2011
  • 1. Introduction: Contrast to the offline purchasing environment, online store cannot offer the sense of touch or direct visual information of its product to the consumers. So the builder of the online shopping mall should provide more concrete and detailed product information(Kim 2008), and Alba (1997) also predicted that the quality of the offered information is determined by the post-purchase consumer satisfaction. In practice, many fashion and apparel online shopping malls offer the picture information with the product on the real person model to enhance the usefulness of product information. On the other virtual product experience has been suggested to the ways of overcoming the online consumers' limited perceptual capability (Jiang & Benbasat 2005). However, the adoption and the facilitation of the virtual reality tools requires high investment and technical specialty compared to the text/picture product information offerings (Shaffer 2006). This could make the entry barrier to the online shopping to the small retailers and sometimes it could be demanding high level of consumers' perceptual efforts. So the expensive technological solution could affects negatively to the consumer decision making processes. Nevertheless, most of the previous research on the online product information provision suggests the VR be the more effective tools. 2. Research Model and Hypothesis: Presented in

    , research model suggests VR effect could be moderated by the product types by the usage situations. Product types could be defined as the portable product and installed product, and the information offering type as still picture of the product, picture of the product with the real-person model and VR. 3. Methods and Results: 3.1. Experimental design and measured variables We designed the 2(product types) X 3(product information types) experimental setting and measured dependent variables such as information usefulness, attitude toward the shopping mall, overall product quality, purchase intention and the revisiting intention. In the case of information usefulness and attitude toward the shopping mall were measured by multi-item scale. As a result of reliability test, Cronbach's Alpha value of each variable shows more than 0.6. Thus, we ensured that the internal consistency of items. 3.2. Manipulation check The main concern of this study is to verify the moderate effect by the product type of usage situation. indicates that our experimental manipulation of the moderate effect of the product type was successful. 3.3. Results As
    indicates, there was a significant main effect on the only one dependent variable(attitude toward the shopping mall) by the information types. As predicted, VR has highest mean value compared to other information types. Thus, H1 was partially supported. However, main effect by the product types was not found. To evaluate H2 and H3, a two-way ANOVA was conducted. As
    indicates, there exist the interaction effects on the three dependent variables(information usefulness, overall product quality and purchase intention) by the information types and the product types. As predicted, picture of the product with the real-person model has highest mean among the information types in the case of portable product. On the other hand, VR has highest mean among the information types in the case of installed product. Thus, H2 and H3 was supported. 4. Implications: The present study found the moderate effect by the product type of usage situation. Based on the findings the following managerial implications are asserted. First, it was found that information types are affect only the attitude toward the shopping mall. The meaning of this finding is that VR effects are not enough to understand the product itself. Therefore, we must consider when and how to use this VR tools. Second, it was found that there exist the interaction effects on the information usefulness, overall product quality and purchase intention. This finding suggests that consideration of usage situation helps consumer's understanding of product and promotes their purchase intention. In conclusion, not only product attributes but also product usage situations must be fully considered by the online retailers when they want to meet the needs of consumers.

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  • The Effect of Curiosity and Need for Uniqueness on Emotional Responses to Art Collaborated Products including Moderating Effect of Gender (독특성 추구성향과 호기심이 아트 콜라보레이션 제품에 대한 소비자의 감정에 미치는 영향: 성별에 따른 조절효과)

    • Ju, Seon Hee;Koo, Dong-Mo
      • Asia Marketing Journal
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      • v.14 no.2
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      • pp.97-125
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      • 2012
    • Companies recently introduce art collaborated products incorporating culture into a product. Art collaborated products include incorporating famous movies and/or design of an artist into a newly launched product. The introduction of art collaborated products are gradually increasing. However, research for this trend is relatively scarce. Although research concerning design has discussed a number of different factors as playing a role in influencing responses to design including culture, fashion, innate preferences, etc.), only limited attention has been paid to the processes by which consumers generate responses to product designs. People with different characteristics may respond differently. When people encounter these art products, they may become curious, may think that these products are unique, novel and innovative. People tend to show different levels of curiosity when they encounter new and novel objects, which they have rarely seen or experienced. Curiosity is defined as a desire for acquiring new knowledge and new sensory experience. Previous studies demonstrated that curiosity motivates individuals to engage in exploratory behaviors. People also show different levels of need for uniqueness, which is defined as being different from others or becoming distinctive among a larger group. Individual's need for uniqueness results from signals conveyed by the material objects that individuals choose to display. Recently, researcher have developed the need for uniqueness with three distinct constructs. These three concepts include creative choice, unpopular choice, and avoidance of similarity. Creative choice is a trait tendency of an individual by expressing or differentiating himself from others through consumptions of unique products. Unpopular choice is related to an individual's tendency to consume products, which deviates from group norms. Avoidance of similarity is linked to the avoidance of consumption behavior of products that are not famous. Past research implies that people with different levels of need for uniqueness show different motivational processes. Previous research also demonstrates that different customer emotions may be derived when consumers are exposed to these art collaborated products. Research tradition has been investigated three different emotional responses such as pleasure, arousal, and dominance. Pleasure is defined as the degree to which a person feels good, joyful, happy, or satisfied in a situation. Arousal is defined as the extent to which a person feels stimulated, active, or excited. Dominance is defined as the extent that a person feels powerful vis-a-vis the environment that surrounds him/her. Previous research show that complex, speedy, and surprising stimuli may excite consumers and thus make them more pleased and engaged in their approach behavior. However, the current study identified these emotional responses as positive emotion, negative emotion, and arousal. These derived emotions may lead consumers to approach and/or avoidance behaviors. In addition, males and females tend to respond differently when they are exposed to art collaboration products. Building on this research tradition, the current study aims to investigate the inter-relationships between individual traits such as curiosity and need for uniqueness and individual's emotional responses including positive and negative emotion and arousal when people encounter various art collaborated products. Emotional responses are proposed to influence purchase intention. Additionally, previous studies show that male and females respond differently to similar stimuli. Accordingly, gender difference are proposed to moderate the links between individual traits and emotional responses. These research aims of the current study may contribute to extending our knowledge in terms of (1) which individual characteristics are related to different emotions, and (2) how these different emotional responses inter-connected to future purchase intention of arts collaborated products. In addition, (3) the different responses to these arts collaborated products by males and females will guide managers how to concoct different strategies to these segments. The questionnaire for the present study was adopted from the previous literature and validated with a pilot test. The survey was conducted in Daegu, a third largest city in South Korea, for three weeks during June and July 2011. Most respondents were in their twenties and thirties. 350 questionnaires were distributed and among them 300 were proved to be valid (valid response rate of 85.7%). Survey questionnaires from valid 300 respondents are used to test hypotheses proposed. The structural equation model (SEM) was used to validate the research model. The measurement and structural model was tested using LISREL 8.7. The measurement model test demonstrated that consistency, convergent validity, and discriminat validity of the measurement items were acceptable. The results from the structural model demonstrate that curiosity has a positive impact on positive emotion, but not on negative emotion and arousal. Need for uniqueness has three different sub-concepts such as creative choice, unpopular choice, and avoidance of similarity. The results show that creative choice has a positive effect on arousal and positive emotion, but has a negative impact on negative emotion. Unpopular choice has a positive effect on arousal, but on neither positive nor negative emotions. Avoidance of similarity has no impact on neither emotions nor arousal. The results also demonstrated that gender has a moderating influence. Males show more negative emotion to creative and unpopular choices. Implications and future research directions are discussed in conclusion.

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    How Enduring Product Involvement and Perceived Risk Affect Consumers' Online Merchant Selection Process: The 'Required Trust Level' Perspective (지속적 관여도 및 인지된 위험이 소비자의 온라인 상인선택 프로세스에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구: 요구신뢰 수준 개념을 중심으로)

    • Hong, Il-Yoo B.;Lee, Jung-Min;Cho, Hwi-Hyung
      • Asia pacific journal of information systems
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      • v.22 no.1
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      • pp.29-52
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      • 2012
    • Consumers differ in the way they make a purchase. An audio mania would willingly make a bold, yet serious, decision to buy a top-of-the-line home theater system, while he is not interested in replacing his two-decade-old shabby car. On the contrary, an automobile enthusiast wouldn't mind spending forty thousand dollars to buy a new Jaguar convertible, yet cares little about his junky component system. It is product involvement that helps us explain such differences among individuals in the purchase style. Product involvement refers to the extent to which a product is perceived to be important to a consumer (Zaichkowsky, 2001). Product involvement is an important factor that strongly influences consumer's purchase decision-making process, and thus has been of prime interest to consumer behavior researchers. Furthermore, researchers found that involvement is closely related to perceived risk (Dholakia, 2001). While abundant research exists addressing how product involvement relates to overall perceived risk, little attention has been paid to the relationship between involvement and different types of perceived risk in an electronic commerce setting. Given that perceived risk can be a substantial barrier to the online purchase (Jarvenpaa, 2000), research addressing such an issue will offer useful implications on what specific types of perceived risk an online firm should focus on mitigating if it is to increase sales to a fullest potential. Meanwhile, past research has focused on such consumer responses as information search and dissemination as a consequence of involvement, neglecting other behavioral responses like online merchant selection. For one example, will a consumer seriously considering the purchase of a pricey Guzzi bag perceive a great degree of risk associated with online buying and therefore choose to buy it from a digital storefront rather than from an online marketplace to mitigate risk? Will a consumer require greater trust on the part of the online merchant when the perceived risk of online buying is rather high? We intend to find answers to these research questions through an empirical study. This paper explores the impact of enduring product involvement and perceived risks on required trust level, and further on online merchant choice. For the purpose of the research, five types or components of perceived risk are taken into consideration, including financial, performance, delivery, psychological, and social risks. A research model has been built around the constructs under consideration, and 12 hypotheses have been developed based on the research model to examine the relationships between enduring involvement and five components of perceived risk, between five components of perceived risk and required trust level, between enduring involvement and required trust level, and finally between required trust level and preference toward an e-tailer. To attain our research objectives, we conducted an empirical analysis consisting of two phases of data collection: a pilot test and main survey. The pilot test was conducted using 25 college students to ensure that the questionnaire items are clear and straightforward. Then the main survey was conducted using 295 college students at a major university for nine days between December 13, 2010 and December 21, 2010. The measures employed to test the model included eight constructs: (1) enduring involvement, (2) financial risk, (3) performance risk, (4) delivery risk, (5) psychological risk, (6) social risk, (7) required trust level, (8) preference toward an e-tailer. The statistical package, SPSS 17.0, was used to test the internal consistency among the items within the individual measures. Based on the Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ coefficients of the individual measure, the reliability of all the variables is supported. Meanwhile, the Amos 18.0 package was employed to perform a confirmatory factor analysis designed to assess the unidimensionality of the measures. The goodness of fit for the measurement model was satisfied. Unidimensionality was tested using convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity. The statistical evidences proved that the three types of validity were all satisfied. Now the structured equation modeling technique was used to analyze the individual paths along the relationships among the research constructs. The results indicated that enduring involvement has significant positive relationships with all the five components of perceived risk, while only performance risk is significantly related to trust level required by consumers for purchase. It can be inferred from the findings that product performance problems are mostly likely to occur when a merchant behaves in an opportunistic manner. Positive relationships were also found between involvement and required trust level and between required trust level and online merchant choice. Enduring involvement is concerned with the pleasure a consumer derives from a product class and/or with the desire for knowledge for the product class, and thus is likely to motivate the consumer to look for ways of mitigating perceived risk by requiring a higher level of trust on the part of the online merchant. Likewise, a consumer requiring a high level of trust on the merchant will choose a digital storefront rather than an e-marketplace, since a digital storefront is believed to be trustworthier than an e-marketplace, as it fulfills orders by itself rather than acting as an intermediary. The findings of the present research provide both academic and practical implications. The first academic implication is that enduring product involvement is a strong motivator of consumer responses, especially the selection of a merchant, in the context of electronic shopping. Secondly, academicians are advised to pay attention to the finding that an individual component or type of perceived risk can be used as an important research construct, since it would allow one to pinpoint the specific types of risk that are influenced by antecedents or that influence consequents. Meanwhile, our research provides implications useful for online merchants (both online storefronts and e-marketplaces). Merchants may develop strategies to attract consumers by managing perceived performance risk involved in purchase decisions, since it was found to have significant positive relationship with the level of trust required by a consumer on the part of the merchant. One way to manage performance risk would be to thoroughly examine the product before shipping to ensure that it has no deficiencies or flaws. Secondly, digital storefronts are advised to focus on symbolic goods (e.g., cars, cell phones, fashion outfits, and handbags) in which consumers are relatively more involved than others, whereas e- marketplaces should put their emphasis on non-symbolic goods (e.g., drinks, books, MP3 players, and bike accessories).

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