• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.9-20
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• 2018

Global rating agencies, such as Moody's and S&P, have assigned credit ratings to corporate bonds issued by Japanese firms since 1980s. Local Japanese rating agencies, such as R&I and JCR, have more market share than the global raters. We examine the yield spreads of 1,050 yen-denominated corporate bonds issued by financial firms in Japan from 1998 to 2014 and find no evidence that bonds rated by at least one global agency are associated with a significant reduction in the cost of debt as compared to those rated by only local rating agencies. Unlike non-financial firms, the reputation effect of global rating agencies does not exist for Japanese financial firms. We also observe that firms with less information asymmetry are more likely to acquire ratings from Moody's or S&P. Additionally, the firm's financial profile does not affect its choice to seek out ratings from global raters. Our findings are contradictory to those by Han, Pagano, and Shin (2012), who employ bonds issued by non-financial firms in Japan. Our conjecture is that the asymmetric nature of financial firms makes investors less likely to depend on a credit risk assessment by rating agencies in determining the yields of new bonds.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.53-64
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• 2017

Purpose - This study focuses on use intention of mobile travel Apps by Chinese tourists visiting Korea based on UTAUT model, ISS model and ITM model. And the corresponding market promotion schemes are proposed for operators of mobile travel Apps by the research results. Research design, data, and methodology - After collecting 326 respondents in China with cross-sectional questionnaires, this study begins the empirical research with users of mobile travel Apps, and analyzes data with IBM SPSS 23.0 and IBM AMOS 23.0. Results - The results of this study include the following aspects: firstly, the System quality and Information quality are accepted for hypotheses of Satisfaction and Performance expectancy. Secondly, the Personal Propensity to Trust and Firm Reputation are accepted for Initial Trust hypothesis, and the hypotheses of Firm Reputation and Initial Trust are accepted for Use Intention. Thirdly, the Performance expectancy, Effort expectancy, Social influence are accepted for Use Intention hypothesis. Conclusions - With the increase of tourists visiting Korea, it can be predicted that the needs visiting Korea will be increased persistently for Chinese - this trend brings about the increase of the Chinese travel. First, information quality greatly influences satisfaction and performance expectancy. The research result shows that, the higher the mobile traveling App's information quality is, the higher the satisfaction and performance expectancy will be. Therefore, operators of mobile traveling App should have in-depth investigations towards users, to know the latter's real demand to the information quality and then provide corresponding services. Second, performance expectancy and effort expectancy greatly influence users' intention. Therefore, mobile traveling App operators should improve Apps' convenience and efficiency and, in doing so, find an effective method for market expansion. Third, social influence greatly affects users' intention. The result shows that mobile traveling App operators should pay attention to the influence of mass media and friends' recommendation on users, thereby it is necessary to improve advertisement activities. Fourth, initial trust also influences users' intention. The result shows that initial trust is a key element inducing users to generate use intention. Therefore, mobile traveling Apps operators should make efforts to catch elements that influence users' initial trust.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.188-198
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• 2010

This study attempts to examine the influence that negative WOM (NWOM) has in an online context. It specifically focuses on the impact of the service failure description and the perceived intention of the communication provider on consumer evaluations of firm competence, attitude toward the firm, positive word of mouth and behavioral intentions. Studies of communication persuasiveness focus on "who says what; to whom; in which channel; with what effect (Chiu 2007)." In this research study, we examine electronic web posting, particularly focusing on two aspects of "what": the level of service failure communicated and perceived intention of the individual posting. It stands to reason electronic NWOM that appears to be trying to damage a product’s or firm's reputation will be viewed as more biased and will thus be considered as less credible. According to attribution theory, people search for the causes of events especially those that are negative and unexpected (Weiner 2006). Hennig-Thurau and Walsh (2003) state "since the reader has only limited knowledge and trust of the author of an online articulation the quality of the contribution could be expected to serve as a potent moderator of the articulation-behavior relationship. We therefore posit the following hypotheses: H1. Subjects exposed to electronic NWOM describing a high level of service failure will provide lower scores on measures of (a) firm competence, (b) attitude toward the firm, (c) positive word of mouth, and (d) behavioral intention than will subjects exposed to electronic NWOM describing a low level of service failure. H2. Subjects exposed to electronic NWOM with a warning intent will provide lower scores on measures of (a) firm competence, (b) attitude toward the firm, (c) positive word of mouth, and (d) behavioral intention than will subjects exposed to electronic NWOM with a vengeful intent. H3. Level of service failure in electronic NWOM will interact with the perceived intention of the electronic NWOM, such that there will be a decrease in mean response on measures of (a) firm competence, (b) attitude toward the firm, (c) positive word of mouth, and (d) behavioral intention from electronic NWOM with a warning intent to a vengeful intent. The main study involved a2 (service failure severity) x2 (NWOM with warning versus vengeful intent) factorial experiment. Stimuli were presented to subjects online using a mock online web posting. The scenario described a service failure associated with non-acceptance of a gift card in a brick-and-mortar retail establishment. A national sample was recruited through an online research firm. A total of 113 subjects participated in the study. A total of 104 surveys were analyzed. The scenario was perceived to be realistic with 92.3% giving the scenario a greater than average response. Manipulations were satisfactory. Measures were pre-tested and validated. Items were analyzed and found reliable and valid. MANOVA results found the multivariate interaction was not significant, allowing our interpretation to proceed to the main effects. Significant main effects were found for post intent and service failure severity. The post intent main effect was attributable to attitude toward the firm, positive word of mouth and behavioral intention. The service failure severity main effect was attributable to all four dependent variables: firm competence, attitude toward the firm, positive word of mouth and behavioral intention. Specifically, firm competence for electronic NWOM describing high severity of service failure was lower than electronic NWOM describing low severity of service failure. Attitude toward the firm for electronic NWOM describing high severity of service failure was lower than electronic NWOM describing low severity of service failure. Positive word of mouth for electronic NWOM describing high severity of service failure was lower than electronic NWOM describing low severity of service failure. Behavioral intention for electronic NWOM describing high severity of service failure was lower for electronic NWOM describing low severity of service failure. Therefore, H1a, H1b, H1c and H1d were all supported. In addition, attitude toward the firm for electronic NWOM with a warning intent was lower than electronic NWOM with a vengeful intent. Positive word of mouth for electronic NWOM with a warning intent was lower than electronic NWOM with a vengeful intent. Behavioral intention for electronic NWOM with a warning intent was lower than electronic NWOM with a vengeful intent. Thus, H2b, H2c and H2d were supported. However, H2a was not supported though results were in the hypothesized direction. Otherwise, there was no significant multivariate service failure severity by post intent interaction, nor was there a significant univariate service failure severity by post intent interaction for any of the three hypothesized variables. Thus, H3 was not supported for any of the four hypothesized variables. This study has research and managerial implications. The findings of this study support prior research that service failure severity impacts consumer perceptions, attitude, positive word of mouth and behavioral intentions (Weun et al. 2004). Of further relevance, this response is evidenced in the online context, suggesting the need for firms to engage in serious focused service recovery efforts. With respect to perceived intention of electronic NWOM, the findings support prior research suggesting reader's attributions of the intentions of a source influence the strength of its impact on perceptions, attitude, positive word of mouth and behavioral intentions. The implication for managers suggests while consumers do find online communications to be credible and influential, not all communications are weighted the same. A benefit of electronic WOM, even when it may be potentially damaging, is it can be monitored for potential problems and additionally offers the possibility of redress.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.10 no.10
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• pp.155-163
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• 2012

This study investigated Korean TV advertising's creative strategy and trend. To achieve the goal, we conducted content analysis for prime time TV advertising messages (KBS, MBC, SBS). We found that Korean TV advertising contents showed more direct messages than indirect messages, much relationship between ads messages and product, more brand in advertisements, little humor, relatively many celebrities in ads. and much importance on the reputation of the firm. The findings will be a significant source regarding promotion strategy for global company who plans to enter into Korean market.

• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.253-271
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• 2013

Innovation becomes norm rather than exception in today's business, and accordingly firms are working on how to make their employees to work smarter using information systems and technologies. Smart work demands virtual collaboration and cooperation among team members in different places and different time. Sharing of knowledge among team members in these innovative activities are critical in every sense for the successful performance. This study explores the antecedents of knowledge sharing among team members in team-based innovation activities. Five factors (pleasure of knowledge sharing, self-efficacy, management support, rewards, and system usage) are identified through extant review of literature and an instrument is adopted and validated from previous studies. The instrument is adminitered against 138 individuals in and across 54 teams in a telecommunication firm. Except self efficacy, all the paths in the proposed research model is confirmed with different levels of relational coefficients towards the levels of knowledge sharing and innovation activities in teams. Surprisingly, findings indicate that intrinsic pleasure of sharing is most critical than management support, organizational rewards or system usage. This study fills the research gap in team management. Findings provide important implications for managing teams in coming virtual and smart environment.

• Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.77-91
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• 2016

Every service firm must find ways to attract new customers, retain existing customers, and remain competitive and profitable. As competition increases, delivering better service becomes more important. Service quality is considered as a vital aspect for the success of the firms. Restaurant cannot be separated from the service quality they have to deliver. The development of restaurant is supported with the reputation of the country where the food comes from. Recently, one of the most trending topic is Korean wave which affects the Korean cuisine. A fuzzy AHP was employed to evaluate the service quality. It is more preferable than traditional AHP which is criticized for its inability to handle the uncertainty of the decision maker's perception. Six attributes are used to evaluate five Korean restaurants in Semarang, Indonesia. The result shows that innovation is the most important attribute. It seems that decision makers viewed the food variation and new method service as main factors that the restaurants have to manage. This finding can provide the managers with valuable insights into the attribute that reflects customers' perceptions; also to position their service based on their competitors. Validating the scale in other culture-based restaurants is an interesting area to be pursued.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.13-27
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• 2020

This study aims to analyze the effect on the adherence intention of enterprise image, trust, and relationship maintenance by the relation marketing in companies, especially in design companies, to examine the relationship establishment in the operation and communication between customers (users) on using the company's service and the member working for the company, and to suggest its substantiation of the mutual satisfaction effect. The research method was, first, analyzed based on the data collected after examining the published domestic and foreign papers, academic journals, publications, books, and internet in order to conduct the theoretic consideration. Also, for objective validity and empirical proof, the empirical analysis was conducted on the survey conducted and collected over two months for the employees of design companies living in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, and the results are as follows. First, the result of verifying the relationship between relationship marketing and trust showed that the company's expertise does not significantly affect its trust while the company's communication and reputation affect significantly on trust. Second, the relationship between relationship marketing and sustainability has been verified that all variables, such as expertise, communication and reputation does not significantly effect the relationship maintenance. Third, the company's trust has significant effect on relationship maintenance. In addition, the implication and limitation of the study related to this were suggested in the conclusion.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.1-21
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• 2018

According to the results of the FKI's ethical management status and CSR promotion status, about 95% of domestic companies enact the Code of Ethics, while 64% of companies operating systems for communication and dialogue with stakeholders in the process of CSR activities, It seems that strategic CSR activities of domestic companies have not been fully established yet compared with the introduction of ethical management. Even if companies conduct CSR activities strategically, there is very little CSR level of the companies that consumers perceive. This is because the psychological mechanism of CSR on consumers' perceptions is too complicated and detailed, resulting in a positive result and a negative result depending on the investigator's research method. So far, there have been many studies on the direct impact of CSR on corporate evaluation, purchase intention, and corporate image. However, there are few studies on the effect of CSR and CA on purchase intention through product attitude. Therefore, The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the effect of corporate social responsibility(CSR) and corporate Ability(CA) on the purchase intention through product attitudes perceived by consumers, and the moderating effect of corporate reputation between product attitude and purchase intention. As a research method, we selected 4 companies, such as Samsung etc, who have been conducting CSR for the past 10 years, as a sample. The relationship between the CSR and the corporate competence of these companies on purchasing intention was examined through questionnaires for general consumers. The results of this study show that CSR and CA have a positive effect on product attitude, and consumers' product attitude has a positive effect on purchase intention. In addition, CSR and CA were found to have a positive (+) effect on purchase intention through consumer attitude. Finally, it is found that the reputation of the firm has a moderating effect on the relationship between consumer's product attitude and purchase intention. This study suggests that CSR should be strategically promoted in order to positively shape the attitude of consumers toward products of companies and their companies. As a theoretical implication, this study showed that the effect of CSR activities and CA on consumer's product attitude and purchase intention, centered on mediating effects of product attitude and corporate reputation discrimination.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.55-67
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• 2024

This study aims to identify signals that can predict the quality of startups aiming to be listed on Korea's KOSDAQ market. The startups are divided into two groups: those backed by venture capital, where a third party has addressed information asymmetry, and those not backed by venture capital. The study seeks to identify signals to help select good companies for each group. The study primarily focuses on underpricing, which strongly correlates with company quality. It aims to investigate the causal relationship between underpricing and independent variables such as underwriter reputation, institutional investor competition rate, locked-up share ratio, and extended lockup period. The empirical analysis shows that IPOs with high institutional investor subscription competition, IPOs of start-ups without VC backing matched with reputable lead managers, and IPOs with high lockup shares of start-ups with VC backing are significantly underpriced. This study provides a theoretical and logical basis for strategically choosing the level of underpricing, considering the circumstances of the firm going public, mainly whether it is VC-backed or not, and considering the effectiveness of other signals mentioned above. It also opens the door for further research by researchers in other regions to study institutional investors' subscription ratio as the pre-listing signal that can help address information asymmetry. From a policymaker's perspective, the disclosure of the above information can be considered to reduce information asymmetry for investors.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.9
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• pp.101-112
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• 2014

Purpose - Recently, although corporate social responsibility activities have been increasing in size, they do not have to achieve qualitative improvements and can be passive and cost consuming. Therefore, companies should make quantitative as well as qualitative improvements in their efforts in corporate social responsibility activities. In this study, the classification of social responsibility activities in a variety of studies was analyzed through a more specific path than in previous studies. Corporate behavior image, social behavior image, and corporate contributions image were analyzed through a more detailed analysis of performance. This study suggests that more detailed and concentrated social responsibility activities be pursued by forming companies. Research design, data, and methodology - The purpose of study is to gauge the corporate need for a more intensive, specific area of CSR activities. For this purpose, the sample of consumers that were targeted for CSR activities, recognized as 261 persons, have been investigated. Through a theoretical discussion on previous research, nine hypotheses were established on corporate image, the influence of corporate performance on CSR, and the CSV regulation effect. In order to test the hypothesis, a survey was conducted on 261 male and female consumers who were targeted for CSR, being persons in their 20s to 40s. PASW Statistics 18.0 and AMOS 18.0 were used for statistical analysis. Results - Corporate behavior image was formed through legal responsibility activities and economic responsibility activities. In addition to economic responsibilities, ethical responsibilities and environmental responsibilities were confirmed to have influence on social behavior image. Corporate social responsibility and philanthropic responsibility were confirmed to have influence on economic contribution image. Corporate image has positive effects on brand attitude, corporate reputation, and corporate competition. In addition, when CSV awareness is high, consumers perceive corporate image only through economic responsibility. However, when CSV awareness is low, economic responsibility as well as legal responsibility through charitable activities form the corporate image that influences the brand attitude and corporate reputation, as well as corporate competitiveness. It would appear that the area of corporate social responsibility needs more intensive management for corporate image and corporate competitive advantage. Conclusion - First, the findings of this study show that each CSR activity has a different effect on corporate image and thus, the corporate image influences corporate performance in distinct ways, depending on the CSR activity. This implies that reactive strategies should be tailored to the required image. Second, there is a difference in CSV awareness between groups. When the CSV awareness is low, we can confirm that legal responsibility activities have an especially significant effect on corporate image, implying that corporations should pursue their economic objectives within legal regulations and need to invest significant time and effort for this. This study has limited generalization potential because the result of the model fit has insufficient reference value. In future research, we need to approach various dimensions of corporate performance.