• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.43-62
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• 2010

The notion of customer orientation is now importantly considered in the context of banking industries. Despite customer-oriented organizational cultures, there are few studies addressing the relationship between customer orientation and its outcomes. In particular, this study aims at testing the effect of customer orientation as a key marketing effort designed by a bank. This is because interest rate sensitivity is critical for evaluating banking services after raising the base rate. In so doing, first, this study investigates the relationships among customer orientation, interest rate sensitivity, and customer loyalty. Second, this paper examines how the moderating effects of both deposit interest and loan interest rates influence the linkages of customer orientation-interest rate sensitivity and customer orientation-customer loyalty. To test the proposed model, research data are collected from 304 subjects who use banking services(e.g., Shin-Han, Kookmin, the First Bank, Hana, and Woori banks). Each construct was measured by published items and the psychometric properties of the three constructs, excluding two constructs of the moderators, were evaluated by employing the method of confirmatory factor analysis via the use of AMOS. The model fit was also evaluated using the CFI, TLI, and RMSEA fit indices that are recommended based on their relative stability and insensitivity to sample size. The findings show that the relationship between customer orientation and customer loyalty is significant, whereas the relationships between customer orientation and interest rate sensitivity and between interest rate sensitivity and customer loyalty are not supported. Although customer orientation is highly evaluated, customers' interest rate sensitivity that results in the comparison of interest rates plays an important role in reducing the effect of customer orientation. As a consequence, interest rate sensitivity does not influence customer loyalty. First of all, one of interesting results in this study is that the moderating effect of loan interest rate is quite different from deposit interest rate. In the case of deposit interest rate, the linkages both customer orientation-interest rate sensitivity and customer orientation-customer loyalty are insignificant. In the case of loan interest rate, however, the two proposed linkages are supported. As our proposed relationships are still in its infancy in the context of banking industry, our study contributes to enhance scholars' knowledge of bank services and provides insights for practitioners when their marketing strategies, particularly both deposit and interest rates, have to be established. Finally, this research also illuminates the need for further research that considers the influence of customer orientation on consumer's decision-making and bank profits. More specifically, the results are encouraging and will lead us to further investigate this key outcome of the banking deposit/interest rates.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.95-119
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• 2010

Although there have been many studies regarding the inconsistency between consumers' attitudes and behavior, prior research has almost exclusively focused on the relationship between the attitude before behavior and the initial behavior. Relatively little research has been conducted on consumer satisfaction after purchase and post-purchase behavior. This research proposed that the relationship between satisfaction and post-purchase behavior is moderated by consumers' psychological characteristics such as need for cognitive closure(NCC) and temporal self-construal(SC). The need for cognitive closure refers to individuals' desire for a firm answer to a question and an aversion toward ambiguity. We assumed the need for cognitive closure as a major moderating variable because it is judged that the requirement for cognition clearly varies between when a consumer repurchases the same product and seeks a new alternative. Individuals who tend to end cognition due to time constraints or inappropriate conditions may display considerable cognitive impatience or impulsivity and has a higher probability in repurchasing the same product than a consumer without such limitations. They would avoid further consideration for new alternatives and the likelihood of the repurchase for prior alternative would increase. As hypothesized, significant moderating effect of the NCC was confirmed. This result gives a significant implication for a corporate to establish effective marketing strategies. For a corporate or product brand that has been occupying the market after entering the market earlier, it would be effective to maintain need for cognitive closure high in the existing consumers and thereby preventing the consumers from being interested in the new alternatives. On the other hand, new brands that have just entered the market need to lower the potential consumers' need for cognitive closure so that the consumers can be interested in new alternatives. Along with need for cognitive closure, temporal self-construal also turned out to moderate the satisfaction-repurchase. temporal SC reflects the extent to which individuals view themselves either as an individuated entity or in relation to others. Consumers under a temporarily independent SC would repurchase former alternative again according to their prior satisfaction and evaluation. In contrast, consumers in temporal interdependent SC tended to switch to a new alternative because they value interpersonal relationships above anything else and have a tendency to rely heavily on in-group opinions. When they are confronted with additional opinions, it is highly probable that he/she will choose a new product as an alternative. By proving the impact that temporal self-construal has on repurchasing behavior, this study is providing the marketers with new standards for establishing successful promotional strategies. For example, if the buyer and the user is the same for a product, it would be effective for the seller to convince the consumer to make decision subjectively by encouraging temporal independent self-construal. On the contrary, in the case where the purchase is made by an individual but the product is consumed by a group of people. For example, a housewife is more likely to choose the products or brands that her husband or children prefer rather than the ones that she likes by herself. In that case, emphasizing how the whole family can be satisfied and happy about the product would be effective for promoting repurchase.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.205-218
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• 2022

A social enterprise is an enterprise that pursues a social purpose with financial resources obtained through its own profit-making activities.. In a rapidly changing market environment, it is becoming increasingly difficult for social enterprises to maintain sustainability. Due to the poor and limited resources of social enterprises, the core competency of human resources is the most important point. In order for social enterprises to maintain their sustainability, it is very urgent to create conditions so that workers can stably commit themselves in their work. Therefore, this study tried to increase the sustainability of social enterprises by empirically analyzing the factors that affect job commitment among workers of social enterprises. As factors affecting job commitment, job fit and organizational justice factors were derived. In addition, the moderating effect of emotional leadership was also analyzed in the relationship between them. For this, a questionnaire survey was conducted on employees of social enterprises and 260 valid samples were used for the analysis. The empirical analysis results were as follows. Job knowledge, job skill, job experience, job desire as sub-factors of job fit, and distributive justice, procedural justice, which were sub-factors of organizational justice, had a significant positive (+) effect on job commitment. The impact of influence was in the order of procedural justice, job experience, job desire, distributive justice, job skill, and job knowledge. On the other hand, the significance of interactional justice was not tested. Emotional leadership was analyzed to play a moderating role between job knowledge, job skill, job desire, distributive justice, procedural justice and job commitment. However, moderating effect were not tested between job experience, interactional justice and job commitment. The results of this empirical study expanded the scope of existing job-related studies by empirically analyzing the factors affecting job commitment within the category of social enterprises at the academic level. At the psychological level, job experience was found to be one of the most important factors among various influencing factors. Significant implications necessary for future training for workers and implementation of various systems were presented.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.89-104
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• 2022

Entrepreneurship by seniors who have accumulated skills and expertise in the industrial field is very important from a social point of view. This study aimed at seniors to find out the major start-up capabilities of seniors in an economic situation where instability factors and uncertainties are amplified due to the social structure of jobs that has changed due to COVID-19 during the 4th industrial revolution and the rapidly progressing high interest rates and global supply chain problems. The purpose of this study was to empirically verify how variables affect entrepreneurial intention. In addition, from the perspective of mindset, which is the individual psychological characteristic of pre-entrepreneurs, we tried to empirically verify whether growth mindset and fixed mindset have a significant effect on senior entrepreneurship intention. The psychological characteristics of founders were approached from the perspective of mindset, and an attempt was made to apply them to the field of entrepreneurship and to obtain practical implications. This study empirically analyzed the effects of growth mindset, fixed mindset, technical competency, network competency, and funding competency, which are components of mindset, on senior entrepreneurial intention, and verified the mediating effect of entrepreneurial efficacy. As a result of the empirical analysis, it was verified that growth mindset and technological competency had a positive (+) effect on entrepreneurial intention. In addition, it was verified that the mediating effect of entrepreneurial efficacy was significant in the influence of growth mindset and technological competency on entrepreneurial intention, and it was verified that growth mindset and technological competency are important variables in senior entrepreneurship. The study results provide the following policy implications. In order to activate senior entrepreneurship, first, to maximize the effect of founder education, programs such as customized entrepreneurship education that match the growth mindset characteristics, which are the psychological characteristics of founders, are needed. Second, it is required to expand the base of technology startups by expanding government support, such as expanding low-interest policy financing, for senior startups with technological capabilities and expertise. Third, it is necessary to provide institutional support for starting a business, such as providing a start-up program even before retirement, so that the expertise and technology accumulated by seniors can be linked to start-ups even after retirement.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.103-117
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• 2022

The recent corporate economy, such as the COVID 19 pandemic that has spread all over the world since the beginning of 2020, the acceleration of the 4th industrial revolution, and supply chain management risks triggered by the US-China conflict and the Ukraine crisis, is more serious than ever before. CEOs who have started and managed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are more concerned than ever about the sustainability of their businesses in this reality. Nevertheless, there were few empirical studies on the factors that influence the intention of SME CEOs to discontinue business. In this study, the perception of the business environment of SMEs (intensity of competition in key business areas, difficulty in manpower management), corporate competency (employee competency, company product or service competitiveness, supply chain and consumer relations, digital competency and technical expertise), and CEO's competency(trust between employees and the CEO, management competency and perceived health status of CEO) on CEO's intention to discontinue business was discussed. As a result of the study, the intensity of competition in the main business field, and the difficulty in manpower management had a positive (+) effect on the intention to discontinue the business, and the employee competency, product (service) competitiveness, digital competency of the company, and the CEO's Health status had a negative (-) effect on intention to discontinue business. The relationship between these influences was found in the order of CEO's health status, product competitiveness, employee competency, digital competency, competitive strength in the main business, and difficulty in manpower management. It was analyzed that supply chain and consumer relations, trust between employees and the CEO, and management capabilities did not significantly affect the intention to discontinue business. On the other hand, business confidence has a mediating effect between the intensity of competition in the main business field, the difficulty in manpower management, product or service competitiveness, digital competency, trust between employees and the CEO, and the management capability and intention to discontinue business was tested. This study had academic significance in that it empirically analyzed factors related to intention to discontinue business targeting small and medium-sized business CEOs. In practice, as it has been found that business environment awareness, corporate competency, managerial competency, and business confidence are factors that influence the intention to discontinue business, if an action ideas that can reinforce this part can be found, SMEs can achieve sustainable growth or it may help CEO find an meaningful exit.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.2094-2123
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• 2021

Incidental thyroid nodules are commonly detected on ultrasonography (US). This has contributed to the rapidly rising incidence of low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma over the last 20 years. The appropriate diagnosis and management of these patients is based on the risk factors related to the patients as well as the thyroid nodules. The Korean Society of Thyroid Radiology (KSThR) published consensus recommendations for US-based management of thyroid nodules in 2011 and revised them in 2016. These guidelines have been used as the standard guidelines in Korea. However, recent advances in the diagnosis and management of thyroid nodules have necessitated the revision of the original recommendations. The task force of the KSThR has revised the Korean Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System and recommendations for US lexicon, biopsy criteria, US criteria of extrathyroidal extension, optimal thyroid computed tomography protocol, and US follow-up of thyroid nodules before and after biopsy. The biopsy criteria were revised to reduce unnecessary biopsies for benign nodules while maintaining an appropriate sensitivity for the detection of malignant tumors in small (1-2 cm) thyroid nodules. The goal of these recommendations is to provide the optimal scientific evidence and expert opinion consensus regarding US-based diagnosis and management of thyroid nodules.

• Bangmulgwan gwa yeongu (The National Museum of Korea Journal)
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• v.1
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• pp.174-197
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• 2024

Personal ornaments made from precious metals that have been excavated from tombs dating to the Maripgan period (4th-6th century) of the Silla Kingdom are a major subject of analysis in the study of gender and hierarchy among the tomb occupants. Nonetheless, bracelets had been neglected until Ha Daeryong's recent research on determining gender through bracelets attracted attention. Accordingly, an examination and organization of the fundamental elements of Silla bracelets was needed. In response, this paper examines their physical characteristics, appearance, changes over time, and related wearing practices. The data for this study is derived from 176 bracelets, mostly made from silver or gold. Copper and glass bracelets are also included. Many of them were cast in a single-use earthen mold. Even the notched and protruding designs were created by casting rather than carving. Glass bracelets and bracelets with dragon designs were made using molds with round cavities. Excluding those produced using metal sheets, the rest of the bracelets are thought to have been cast in a mold with a long-string-shaped cavity and then bent round. After being bent, the two ends were either soldered together (closed type) or left open (open type). As demonstrated in the study by Lee Hansang, Silla bracelets evolved from plain rounded rod-shaped bracelets, such as the one excavated from the Northern Mound of Hwangnamdaechong Tomb, to versions with notched designs, and eventually to those with protruding designs, which gained popularity by the sixth century. The precedents of plain rounded rod-shaped bracelets are presumed to have been thin rod-shaped bracelets from the Proto-Three Kingdoms period. Bracelets need to be fit to the wrists so that they do not slip off easily when worn. The open type design was the preferable way to achieve this. Moreover, given the ductility of gold, silver, and copper, it seems that it would have been possible to stretch or deform them. In the end, I concluded that even if a bracelet is too small to pass man's hand, the open type could have been worn. Furthermore, if a closed-type bracelet were pressed into an oval shape, it would not be impossible for a man to put it on. When bracelets are divided according to their degree of deformability into type A (the open type) through type D, which is almost impossible to deform, type A is commonly found with wearers of thin hollow earrings, and types C and D (which are difficult to deform) are not found with wearers of thin hollow earrings, but only with wearers of thick hollow earrings. Therefore, it can be seen that men were allowed to wear bracelets, and the existing studies that differentiate between men and women based on the wearing of thin hollow earrings, thick hollow earrings, and swords remain valid.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.187-201
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• 2024

Osteoporosis is a major health issue globally, often remaining undetected until a fracture occurs. To facilitate early detection, deep learning (DL) models were developed to classify osteoporosis using abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans. This study was conducted using retrospectively collected data from 3,012 contrast-enhanced abdominal CT scans. The DL models developed in this study were constructed for using image data, demographic/clinical information, and multi-modality data, respectively. Patients were categorized into the normal, osteopenia, and osteoporosis groups based on their T-scores, obtained from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, into normal, osteopenia, and osteoporosis groups. The models showed high accuracy and effectiveness, with the combined data model performing the best, achieving an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.94 and an accuracy of 0.80. The image-based model also performed well, while the demographic data model had lower accuracy and effectiveness. In addition, the DL model was interpreted by gradient-weighted class activation mapping (Grad-CAM) to highlight clinically relevant features in the images, revealing the femoral neck as a common site for fractures. The study shows that DL can accurately identify osteoporosis stages from clinical data, indicating the potential of abdominal CT scans in early osteoporosis detection and reducing fracture risks with prompt treatment.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.447-454
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• 2023

In the environment in which humans live, there are various antigens that invade the human body and interfere with humans leading a healthy life, so the immune system recognizes the antigen then removes them through a complex mechanism. Macrophages are widely distributed immune cells involved in the innate immune system, and produce various immune modulators such as inducible nitric oxide synthase-induced nitric oxide, cyclooxygenase-2 induced prostaglandin E2 and proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha. On the other hand, Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae are a type of edible insect that have emerged as an alternative to the future food supply problem. The immuno-modulatory effect through the activation of murine macrophage RAW264.7 cell via mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathways has been reported. Based on this report, in this study, we confirmed how the expression of immune modulators induced by Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae extracts in RAW264.7 cells was changed by treatment with pharmacological inhibitors of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), MAPKs and NF-κB signaling pathways. As a result, reduction of immune modulators was confirmed in the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor treatment group and NF-κB inhibitor treatment group among the Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae-treated RAW264.7 cell. Furthermore, in the TLR4 inhibitor-treated group, decreases in phosphorylation of JNK and NF-κB factors were confirmed in Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae-treated RAW264.7 cell, as well as decreases in immune modulators. This results suggest that Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae activates RAW264.7 cells by the engagement of TLR4-JNK/NF-κB signaling pathway.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.34-43
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• 1983

These studies have been carried out to find better locations for sericultural service regardless of the international silk market fluctuation in Korea. In order to acieve the purpose, various investigations and analyses have been carried out for more than four hundred sericultural communities to find out the main factors which caused to decrease in cocoon production in spite of a gloomy past silk market. Now, we believe that we have set up some fundamental guide lines in developing sound serviceable sericultural communities in Korea in case the government accepts the written advices, and the results obtained are as follows: 1. The Korean sericulture has been very prosperous from the 60's to the 70's. In 1976 the cocoon production was at its peak, reaching 41,704M/T from which its decline took place with annual averages of 18.5% for total cocoon production and 16.4% for mulberry field. These figures represent a quantitative decrease to one-third of the total amount in 1976. Since then, the Korean sericulture had continuously suffered from a shortage of raw silk resulting in a slow development of sericulture. At present, a steady development through all possible measures is great importance. 2. The downfall of the korean sericulture resulted from two factors of such as the external, which led to the decline in the price of raw silk at the international market and restrain of import and, the internal, resulting in the little increase of cocoon price and a comparatively lower benefits from the sericulture than from other cash crops. 3. The already established sericultural zone collapsed and then reorganized with the outstanding regional specialization so the decline in total cocoon production in the country. Based on the agricultural regions, 1980 cocoon production was very stable in the mountaineaus area of the east-south which used with intercropping. In this area there was small decline of 33% compare with that of the 1979, and with 70% decline in the dry field farming area of Kangwon Do. In an administrative districtwise, six counties beginning with Sanchnung county of Kyungsang Nam Do, showed less than 20% decline of cocoon production, sixteen counties beginning with Samchuck county of Kangwon Do marked above 80% decrease of cocoon production. In the smaller unit area-wise, there was a big difference among them. twenty-five myons rather increased and a hundrd fourty-three myons decreased above 80% of it. 4. The cocoon production was positively correlated with the decreasing percentage of cocoon production per household. It was also affected by the ratio of the mulberry field area to the total cultivated area per household and cocoon productivity per 10a. 5. Four hundred sixty-four villages in the seventeen counties were surveyed on the basis of farm management and techniques concerned ('80/'79), and then the results were evaluated by using of computer. These results are summarized as foolows: (1) Cocoon production per household There was no difference among the agricultural regions in cocoon production. The cocoon production per household in the comparatively stable villages increased from 100.8kg in 1979 to 122kg in 1981. Cocoon yield in the stable villages decreased by 20% of '81/'79. The cocoon production per house hold in while that of the unstable villages decreased by more than 40% from 102.9kg in 1979 to 82kg in 1981. (2) Cocoon yield per 10a mulberry field The cocoon yield per 10a was higher in the plain area than in the mountaineous area. The stable villages had an average of 73.4kg cocoon yield/10a while the unstabe ones had only an average of 55kg. (3) Adoption the mulberry branch rearing method The branch rearing method was more popular in the plain area than in the mountainous area. In the stable vilages adopted 24.2% in spring and 16.7% in autumn of 1979. In 1981 it shwed increases of 34.3% and 10.1% in the two seasons respectivly. However, the unstable villages showed 13.3% and 126% in both seasons, respectively. (4) The patterns of the combined management system in the sericultural farming The popular management system in the sericultural from was combined with rice and other cash crops, showing 55% of the total households surveyed. Fourteen percent of the households combined the management system with rice and other cash crops and 14% of the households combined with rice only. The villages wich earned less than 20% of the total income from the sericulture reached 81% of the total houscholds indicating that they were still far beyond a complete combination system. (5) Damage by agricultural chemicals The damage caused by agricultural chemicals was mainly due to the protection of rice against insectpests and diseases in the plain areas and took place mostly in the autumn season. The chemicals applied was 65% of Iiquid and 35% of powder forms and 35% of damage was from granulat form of the chemicals. The use of the granular chemicals was low because of high cost.