• Title/Summary/Keyword: Products reliability

검색결과 1,065건 처리시간 0.031초

Study on ZnO Nanoparticle Dispersions in Test Media Including Natural Organic Matter for Ecotoxicological Assessment (천연유기물을 포함한 산화아연 나노입자 분산배지의 생태독성평가 적용성 연구)

  • Park, Sun-Young;Kim, Kyung-tae;Shin, Yu-jin;Kim, Ji-eun;Lee, Jae-woo;Jo, Eunhye;Sung, Hwa kyung;Kim, Pil-je;Choi, Kyung-hee;Eom, Ig-chun
    • Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
    • /
    • 제39권11호
    • /
    • pp.634-640
    • /
    • 2017
  • Toxicity and fate assessment is necessary in the evaluation of the environmental, health and safety risks of engineered nanomaaterials (ENMs). Therefore, in order to ensure the reproducibility, reliability and relevance of ENMs toxicity results, stable and monomodal dispersion protocols in toxicity test media are needed. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO) are widely used in various products such as cosmetic products, paper, paints etc. In this study, nZnO dispersions in ecotoxicity test media were produced by following a series of steps of modified National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special publication 1200-5. In addition, natural organic matter (humic acid (HA)) was used as a stabilizing agent to disperse nZnO in the test media. The hydrodynamic diameters (HDD) of the nZnO in dispersion ranged between 150 and 200 nm according to the dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurement. Based on these dispersions in ecotoxicity test using ecological species (Oryzias latipes, Daphnia magna, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Chironomusus riparius), dispersion protocol was found to have a considerable potential in ecotoxicity test of ENMs.

A Study on the Relationship among Skin Care Situations, Skin Care Recognition, and Skin Care Satisfaction by Gender in Medical Skin Care Center Patients: - Focused on Females and Males in Hainan Province, China-

  • Jia, Yue;Kim, Kyeong-Ran
    • Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
    • /
    • 제26권6호
    • /
    • pp.173-181
    • /
    • 2021
  • Chinese people have increasingly high interests in skin care and trust and prefer medical institution products and equipment to treat skin problems. The purpose of this study is to examine skin types and skin care situations, skin care recognition, and skin care satisfaction by gender in medical skin care center patients from in their 10s to 50s in Hainan Province, China. The questionnaire survey consisted of general characteristics(n=8), skin care situations(n=6), skin care recognition(n=11), and skin care satisfaction(n=21). A total of 328 questionnaires were researched from December 21, 2020 to January 9, 2021 using WeChat and Wenjuanxing program. Data were analyzed by SPSSWIN 21.0. Frequency analysis was applied for general characteristics, skin care situations, skin care recognition, and skin care satisfaction and Cronbach's α was used for the reliability of skin care recognition and satisfaction. The relationship among skin care situations, skin care recognition, and skin care satisfaction was analyzed by χ2 test and t-test. As a result, the common skin types by gender was dry skin in females and oily skin in males. The highest skin trouble was melasma and pigments in females and pimple in males. The most common way to manage troubled skin was homecare in both females and males, followed by the dermatology department in females and pharmacy in males, suggesting a significant difference. The common period of skin trouble was from one year to three years and the most effective way to improve skin was good life habit, followed by laser treatment in both females and males. The most important consideration to choose a hospital was a famous franchise hospital and the most important matters in management was doctor or skin care professionalism. Skin care and treatment recognition was high in external effects for females and internal effects for males. Skin care satisfaction was high in service for females and effect for males. Skin care satisfaction was significantly higher in males than in females. In conclusion, there was a difference in skin types, skin troubles, skin problems, skin care ways, and skin care satisfaction by gender in Chinese medical skin care center patients. Therefore, this study suggests the development of various products and the need of systematic management programs.

Studies on Xylooligosaccharide Analysis Method Standardization using HPLC-UVD in Health Functional Food (건강기능식품에서 HPLC-UVD를 이용한 자일로올리고당 시험법의 표준화 연구)

  • Se-Yun Lee;Hee-Sun Jeong;Kyu-Heon Kim;Mi-Young Lee;Jung-Ho Choi;Jeong-Sun Ahn;Kwang-Il Kwon;Hye-Young Lee
    • Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
    • /
    • 제39권2호
    • /
    • pp.72-82
    • /
    • 2024
  • This study aimed to develop a scientifically and systematically standardized xylooligosaccharide analytical method that can be applied to products with various formulations. The analysis method was conducted using HPLC with Cadenza C18 column, involving pre-column derivatization with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazoline (PMP) and UV detection at 254 nm. The xylooligosaccharide content was analyzed by converting xylooligosaccharide into xylose through acid hydrolysis. The pre-treated methods were compared and evaluated by varying sonication time, acid hydrolysis time, and concentration. Optimal equipment conditions were achieved with a mobile phase consisting of 20 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 6)-acetonitrile (78:22, v/v) through isocratic elution at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min (254 nm). Furthermore, we validated the advanced standardized analysis method to support the suitability of the proposed analytical procedure such as specificity, linearity, detection limits (LOD), quantitative limits (LOQ), accuracy, and precision. The standardized analysis method is now in use for monitoring relevant health-functional food products available in the market. Our results have demonstrated that the standardized analysis method is expected to enhance the reliability of quality control for healthy functional foods containing xylooligosaccharide.

A Study on the Method for Quantifying CO2 Contents in Decarbonated Slag Materials by Differential Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (DTG 분석법을 활용한 슬래그류 비탄산염 재료의 CO2 정량 측정방법 연구)

  • Jae-Won Choi;Byoung-Know You;Yong-Sik Chu;Min-Cheol Han
    • Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
    • /
    • 제12권1호
    • /
    • pp.8-16
    • /
    • 2024
  • Limestone (CaCO3, calcium carbonate), which is used as a raw material in the portland cement and steel industry, emits CO2 through decarbonation by high temperatures in the manufacturing process. To reduce CO2 emissions by the use of raw materials like limestone, it has been proposed to replace limestone with various industrial by-products that contain CaO but less or none of the carbonated minerals, that cause CO2 emissions. Loss of Ignition (LOI), Thermogravimetric analysis (TG), and Infrared Spectroscopy (IR) are used to quantitative the amount of CO2 emission by using these industrial by-products, but CO2 emissions can be either over or underestimated depending on the characteristics of by-product materials. In this study, we estimated CO2 contents by LOI, TG, IR and DTG(Differential Thermogravimetric analysis) of calcite(CaCO3) and samples that contain CO2 in the form of carbonate and whose weight increases by oxidation at high temperatures. The test results showed for CaCO3 samples, all test methods have a sufficient level of reliability. On the other hand, for the CO2 content of the sample whose weight increases at high temperature, LOI and TG did not properly estimate the CO2 content of the sample, and IR tended to overestimate compared to the predicted value, but the estimated result by DTG was close to the predicted valu e. From these resu lts, in the case of samples that contain less than a few percent of CO2 and whose weight increases during the temperature that carbonate minerals decompose, estimating the CO2 content using DTG is a more reasonable way than LOI, TG, and IR.

The Effect of Brand Extension of Private Label on Consumer Attitude - a focus on the moderating effect of the perceived fit difference between parent brands and an extended brand - (PL의 브랜드확장이 소비자태도에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구 : 모브랜드 적합도 인식 차이의 조절효과를 중심으로)

  • Kim, Jong-Keun;Kim, Hyang-Mi;Lee, Jong-Ho
    • Journal of Distribution Research
    • /
    • 제16권4호
    • /
    • pp.1-27
    • /
    • 2011
  • Introduction: Sales of private labels(PU have been growing m recent years. Globally, PLs have already achieved 20% share, although between 25 and 50% share in most of the European markets(AC. Nielson, 2005). These products are aimed to have comparable quality and prices as national brand(NB) products and have been continuously eroding manufacturer's national brand market share. Stores have also started introducing premium PLs that are of higher-quality and more reasonably priced compared to NBs. Worldwide, many retailers already have a multiple-tier private label architecture. Consumers as a consequence are now able to have a more diverse brand choice in store than ever before. Since premium PLs are priced higher than regular PLs and even, in some cases, above NBs, stores can expect to generate higher profits. Brand extensions and private label have been extensively studied in the marketing field. However, less attention has been paid to the private label extension. Therefore, this research focuses on private label extension using the Multi-Attribute Attitude Model(Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). Especially there are few studies that consider the hierarchical effect of the PL's two parent brands: store brand and the original PL. We assume that the attitude toward each of the two parent brands affects the attitude towards the extended PL. The influence from each parent brand toward extended PL will vary according to the perceived fit between each parent brand and the extended PL. This research focuses on how these two parent brands act as reference points to one another in the consumers' choice consideration. Specifically we seek to understand how store image and attitude towards original PL affect consumer perceptions of extended premium PL. How consumers perceive extended premium PLs could provide strategic suggestions for retailer managers with specific suggestions on whether it is more effective: to position extended premium PL similarly or dissimilarly to original PL especially on the quality dimension and congruency with store image. There is an extensive body of research on branding and brand extensions (e.g. Aaker and Keller, 1990) and more recently on PLs(e.g. Kumar and Steenkamp, 2007). However there are no studies to date that look at the upgrading and influence of original PLs and attitude towards store on the premium PL extension. This research wishes to make a contribution to this gap using the perceived fit difference between parent brands and extended premium PL as the context. In order to meet the above objectives, we investigate which factors heighten consumers' positive attitude toward premium PL extension. Research Model and Hypotheses: When considering the attitude towards the premium PL extension, we expect four factors to have an influence: attitude towards store; attitude towards original PL; perceived congruity between the store image and the premium PL; perceived similarity between the original PL and the premium PL. We expect that all these factors have an influence on consumer attitude towards premium PL extension. Figure 1 gives the research model and hypotheses. Method: Data were collected by an intercept survey conducted on consumers at discount stores. 403 survey responses were attained (total 59.8% female, across all age ranges). Respondents were asked to respond to a series of Questions measured on 7 point likert-type scales. The survey consisted of Questions that measured: the trust towards store and the original PL; the satisfaction towards store and the original PL; the attitudes towards store, the original PL, and the extended premium PL; the perceived similarity of the original PL and the extended premium PL; the perceived congruity between the store image and the extended premium PL. Product images with specific explanations of the features of premium PL, regular PL and NB we reused as the stimuli for the Question response. We developed scales to measure the research constructs. Cronbach's alphaw as measured each construct with the reliability for all constructs exceeding the .70 standard(Nunnally, 1978). Results: To test the hypotheses, path analysis was conducted using LISREL 8.30. The path analysis for verification of the model produced satisfactory results. The validity index shows acceptable results(${\chi}^2=427.00$(P=0.00), GFI= .90, AGFI= .87, NFI= .91, RMSEA= .062, RMR= .047). With the increasing retailer use of premium PLBs, the intention of this research was to examine how consumers use original PL and store image as reference points as to the attitude towards premium PL extension. Results(see table 1 & 2) show that the attitude of each parent brand (attitudes toward store and original pL) influences the attitude towards extended PL and their perceived fit moderates these influences. Attitude toward the extended PL was influenced by the relative level of perceived fit. Discussion of results and future direction: These results suggest that the future strategy for the PL extension needs to consider that positive parent brand attitude is more strongly associated with the attitude toward PL extensions. Specifically, to improve attitude towards PL extension, building and maintaining positive attitude towards original PL is necessary. Positioning premium PL congruently to store image is also important for positive attitude. In order to improve this research, the following alternatives should also be considered. To improve the research model's predictive power, more diverse products should be included in study. Other attributes of product should also be included such as design, brand name since we only considered trust and satisfaction as factors to build consumer attitudes.

  • PDF

A Study on Market Size Estimation Method by Product Group Using Word2Vec Algorithm (Word2Vec을 활용한 제품군별 시장규모 추정 방법에 관한 연구)

  • Jung, Ye Lim;Kim, Ji Hui;Yoo, Hyoung Sun
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
    • /
    • 제26권1호
    • /
    • pp.1-21
    • /
    • 2020
  • With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, various techniques have been developed to extract meaningful information from unstructured text data which constitutes a large portion of big data. Over the past decades, text mining technologies have been utilized in various industries for practical applications. In the field of business intelligence, it has been employed to discover new market and/or technology opportunities and support rational decision making of business participants. The market information such as market size, market growth rate, and market share is essential for setting companies' business strategies. There has been a continuous demand in various fields for specific product level-market information. However, the information has been generally provided at industry level or broad categories based on classification standards, making it difficult to obtain specific and proper information. In this regard, we propose a new methodology that can estimate the market sizes of product groups at more detailed levels than that of previously offered. We applied Word2Vec algorithm, a neural network based semantic word embedding model, to enable automatic market size estimation from individual companies' product information in a bottom-up manner. The overall process is as follows: First, the data related to product information is collected, refined, and restructured into suitable form for applying Word2Vec model. Next, the preprocessed data is embedded into vector space by Word2Vec and then the product groups are derived by extracting similar products names based on cosine similarity calculation. Finally, the sales data on the extracted products is summated to estimate the market size of the product groups. As an experimental data, text data of product names from Statistics Korea's microdata (345,103 cases) were mapped in multidimensional vector space by Word2Vec training. We performed parameters optimization for training and then applied vector dimension of 300 and window size of 15 as optimized parameters for further experiments. We employed index words of Korean Standard Industry Classification (KSIC) as a product name dataset to more efficiently cluster product groups. The product names which are similar to KSIC indexes were extracted based on cosine similarity. The market size of extracted products as one product category was calculated from individual companies' sales data. The market sizes of 11,654 specific product lines were automatically estimated by the proposed model. For the performance verification, the results were compared with actual market size of some items. The Pearson's correlation coefficient was 0.513. Our approach has several advantages differing from the previous studies. First, text mining and machine learning techniques were applied for the first time on market size estimation, overcoming the limitations of traditional sampling based- or multiple assumption required-methods. In addition, the level of market category can be easily and efficiently adjusted according to the purpose of information use by changing cosine similarity threshold. Furthermore, it has a high potential of practical applications since it can resolve unmet needs for detailed market size information in public and private sectors. Specifically, it can be utilized in technology evaluation and technology commercialization support program conducted by governmental institutions, as well as business strategies consulting and market analysis report publishing by private firms. The limitation of our study is that the presented model needs to be improved in terms of accuracy and reliability. The semantic-based word embedding module can be advanced by giving a proper order in the preprocessed dataset or by combining another algorithm such as Jaccard similarity with Word2Vec. Also, the methods of product group clustering can be changed to other types of unsupervised machine learning algorithm. Our group is currently working on subsequent studies and we expect that it can further improve the performance of the conceptually proposed basic model in this study.

A study on the Degradation and By-products Formation of NDMA by the Photolysis with UV: Setup of Reaction Models and Assessment of Decomposition Characteristics by the Statistical Design of Experiment (DOE) based on the Box-Behnken Technique (UV 공정을 이용한 N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) 광분해 및 부산물 생성에 관한 연구: 박스-벤켄법 실험계획법을 이용한 통계학적 분해특성평가 및 반응모델 수립)

  • Chang, Soon-Woong;Lee, Si-Jin;Cho, Il-Hyoung
    • Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
    • /
    • 제32권1호
    • /
    • pp.33-46
    • /
    • 2010
  • We investigated and estimated at the characteristics of decomposition and by-products of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) using a design of experiment (DOE) based on the Box-Behken design in an UV process, and also the main factors (variables) with UV intensity($X_2$) (range: $1.5{\sim}4.5\;mW/cm^2$), NDMA concentration ($X_2$) (range: 100~300 uM) and pH ($X_2$) (rang: 3~9) which consisted of 3 levels in each factor and 4 responses ($Y_1$ (% of NDMA removal), $Y_2$ (dimethylamine (DMA) reformation (uM)), $Y_3$ (dimethylformamide (DMF) reformation (uM), $Y_4$ ($NO_2$-N reformation (uM)) were set up to estimate the prediction model and the optimization conditions. The results of prediction model and optimization point using the canonical analysis in order to obtain the optimal operation conditions were $Y_1$ [% of NDMA removal] = $117+21X_1-0.3X_2-17.2X_3+{2.43X_1}^2+{0.001X_2}^2+{3.2X_3}^2-0.08X_1X_2-1.6X_1X_3-0.05X_2X_3$ ($R^2$= 96%, Adjusted $R^2$ = 88%) and 99.3% ($X_1:\;4.5\;mW/cm^2$, $X_2:\;190\;uM$, $X_3:\;3.2$), $Y_2$ [DMA conc] = $-101+18.5X_1+0.4X_2+21X_3-{3.3X_1}^2-{0.01X_2}^2-{1.5X_3}^2-0.01X_1X_2+0.07X_1X_3-0.01X_2X_3$ ($R^2$= 99.4%, 수정 $R^2$ = 95.7%) and 35.2 uM ($X_1$: 3 $mW/cm^2$, $X_2$: 220 uM, $X_3$: 6.3), $Y_3$ [DMF conc] = $-6.2+0.2X_1+0.02X_2+2X_3-0.26X_1^2-0.01X_2^2-0.2X_3^2-0.004X_1X_2+0.1X_1X_3-0.02X_2X_3$ ($R^2$= 98%, Adjusted $R^2$ = 94.4%) and 3.7 uM ($X_1:\;4.5\;$mW/cm^2$, $X_2:\;290\;uM$, $X_3:\;6.2$) and $Y_4$ [$NO_2$-N conc] = $-25+12.2X_1+0.15X_2+7.8X_3+{1.1X_1}^2+{0.001X_2}^2-{0.34X_3}^2+0.01X_1X_2+0.08X_1X_3-3.4X_2X_3$ ($R^2$= 98.5%, Adjusted $R^2$ = 95.7%) and 74.5 uM ($X_1:\;4.5\;mW/cm^2$, $X_2:\;220\;uM$, $X_3:\;3.1$). This study has demonstrated that the response surface methodology and the Box-Behnken statistical experiment design can provide statistically reliable results for decomposition and by-products of NDMA by the UV photolysis and also for determination of optimum conditions. Predictions obtained from the response functions were in good agreement with the experimental results indicating the reliability of the methodology used.

An Exploratory Study on the Effects of Relational Benefits and Brand Identity : mediating effect of brand identity (관계혜택과 브랜드 동일시의 역할에 관한 탐색적 연구: 브랜드 동일시의 매개역할을 중심으로)

  • Bang, Jounghae;Jung, Jiyeon;Lee, Eunhyung;Kang, Hyunmo
    • Asia Marketing Journal
    • /
    • 제12권2호
    • /
    • pp.155-175
    • /
    • 2010
  • Most of the service industries including finance and telecommunications have become matured and saturated. The competitions have become severe while the differences among brands become smaller. Therefore maintaining good relationships with customers has been critical for the service providers. In case of credit card and debit card, the similar patterns are shown. It is important for them to maintain good relationships with customers, and therefore, they have used marketing program which provides customized services to customers and utilizes the membership programs. Not only do they build and maintain good relationships, but also highlight their brands from the emotional aspects. For example, KB Card or Hyundai Card uses well-known designers' works for their credit card design. As well, they differentiate the designs of credit cards to stress on their brand personalities. BC Card introduced the credit card with perfume that a customer would like. Even though the credit card is small and not shown to public easily, it becomes more important for those companies to touch the customers' feelings with the brand personalities and their images. This is partly because of changes in consumers' lifestyles. Y-generations becomes highly likely to express themselves in many different ways and more emotional than X-generations. For the Y-generations, therefore, even credit cards in the wallet should be personalized and well-designed. In line with it, credit cards with good design can be seen as an example of brand identity, where different design for each customer can be used to recognize the membership groups that customers want to belong. On the other hand, these credit card companies offer the special treatment benefits for those customers who are heavy users for the cards. For example, those customers who love sports will receive some special discounts when they use their credit cards for sports related products. Therefore this study attempted to explore the relationships between relational benefits, brand identification and loyalty. It has been well known that relational benefits and brand identification lead to loyalty independently from many other studies, but there has been few study to review all the three variables all together in a research model. Furthermore, as reviewed above, in the card industry, many companies attempt to associate the brand image with their products to fit their customers' lifestyles while relational benefits are still playing an important role for their business. Therefore in our research model, relational benefits, brand identification, and loyalty are all included. We focus on the mediating effect of brand identification. From the relational benefits perspective, only special treatment benefit and confidence benefit are included. Social benefit is not applicable for this credit card industry because not many cases of face-to-face interaction can be found. From the brand identification perspective, personal brand identity and social brand identity are reviewed and included in the model. Overall, the research model emphasizes that the relationships between relational benefits and loyalty will be mediated by the effect of brand identification. The effects of relational benefits which are confidence benefit and special treatment benefits on loyalty will be realized when they fit to the personal brand identity and social brand identity. In the research model, therefore, the relationships between confidence benefit and social brand identity, and between confidence benefit and personal identity are hypothesized while the effects of special treatment benefit on social brand identity and personal brand identity are hypothesized. Loyalty, then, is hypothesized to have positive relationships with personal brand identity and social brand identity. In addition, confidence benefit among the relational benefits is expected to have a direct, positive relationship with loyalty because confidence benefit has been recognized as a critical factor for good relationships and satisfaction. Data were collected from college students who have been using either credit cards or debit cards. College students were regarded good subjects because they are in Y-generation cohorts and have tendency to express themselves more. Total sample size was two hundred three at the beginning, but after deleting those data with many missing values, one hundred ninety-seven data points were remained and used for the model testing. Measurement items were brought from the previous literatures and modified for this research. To test the reliability, using SPSS 14, chronbach's α was examined and all the values were from .874 to .928 exceeding over .7. Using AMOS 7.0, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to investigate the measurement model. The measurement model was found good fit with χ2(67)=188.388 (p= .000), GFI=.886, AGFI=.821, CFI=.941, RMSEA=.096. Using AMOS 7.0, structural equation modeling has been used to analyze the research model. Overall, the research model fit were χ2(68)=188.670 (p= .000), GFI=.886, AGFI=,824 CFI=.942, RMSEA=.095 indicating good fit. In details, all the paths hypothesized in the research model were found significant except for the path from social brand identity to loyalty. Personal brand identity leads to loyalty while both confidence benefit and special treatment benefit have a positive relationships with personal and social identities. As well, confidence benefit has a direct positive effect on loyalty. The results indicates the followings. First, personal brand identity plays an important role for credit/debit card usage. Therefore even for the products which are not shown to public easy, design and emotional aspect can be important to fit the customers' lifestyles. Second, confidence benefit and special treatment benefit have a positive effects on personal brand identity. Therefore it will be needed for marketers to associate the special treatment and trust and confidence benefits with personal image, personality and personal identity. Third, this study found again the importance of confidence and trust. However interestingly enough, social brand identity was not found to be significantly related to loyalty. It can be explained that the main sample of this study consists of college students. Those strategies to facilitate social brand identity are focused on high social status groups while college students have not been established their status yet.

  • PDF

A Study on Intelligent Value Chain Network System based on Firms' Information (기업정보 기반 지능형 밸류체인 네트워크 시스템에 관한 연구)

  • Sung, Tae-Eung;Kim, Kang-Hoe;Moon, Young-Su;Lee, Ho-Shin
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
    • /
    • 제24권3호
    • /
    • pp.67-88
    • /
    • 2018
  • Until recently, as we recognize the significance of sustainable growth and competitiveness of small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs), governmental support for tangible resources such as R&D, manpower, funds, etc. has been mainly provided. However, it is also true that the inefficiency of support systems such as underestimated or redundant support has been raised because there exist conflicting policies in terms of appropriateness, effectiveness and efficiency of business support. From the perspective of the government or a company, we believe that due to limited resources of SMEs technology development and capacity enhancement through collaboration with external sources is the basis for creating competitive advantage for companies, and also emphasize value creation activities for it. This is why value chain network analysis is necessary in order to analyze inter-company deal relationships from a series of value chains and visualize results through establishing knowledge ecosystems at the corporate level. There exist Technology Opportunity Discovery (TOD) system that provides information on relevant products or technology status of companies with patents through retrievals over patent, product, or company name, CRETOP and KISLINE which both allow to view company (financial) information and credit information, but there exists no online system that provides a list of similar (competitive) companies based on the analysis of value chain network or information on potential clients or demanders that can have business deals in future. Therefore, we focus on the "Value Chain Network System (VCNS)", a support partner for planning the corporate business strategy developed and managed by KISTI, and investigate the types of embedded network-based analysis modules, databases (D/Bs) to support them, and how to utilize the system efficiently. Further we explore the function of network visualization in intelligent value chain analysis system which becomes the core information to understand industrial structure ystem and to develop a company's new product development. In order for a company to have the competitive superiority over other companies, it is necessary to identify who are the competitors with patents or products currently being produced, and searching for similar companies or competitors by each type of industry is the key to securing competitiveness in the commercialization of the target company. In addition, transaction information, which becomes business activity between companies, plays an important role in providing information regarding potential customers when both parties enter similar fields together. Identifying a competitor at the enterprise or industry level by using a network map based on such inter-company sales information can be implemented as a core module of value chain analysis. The Value Chain Network System (VCNS) combines the concepts of value chain and industrial structure analysis with corporate information simply collected to date, so that it can grasp not only the market competition situation of individual companies but also the value chain relationship of a specific industry. Especially, it can be useful as an information analysis tool at the corporate level such as identification of industry structure, identification of competitor trends, analysis of competitors, locating suppliers (sellers) and demanders (buyers), industry trends by item, finding promising items, finding new entrants, finding core companies and items by value chain, and recognizing the patents with corresponding companies, etc. In addition, based on the objectivity and reliability of the analysis results from transaction deals information and financial data, it is expected that value chain network system will be utilized for various purposes such as information support for business evaluation, R&D decision support and mid-term or short-term demand forecasting, in particular to more than 15,000 member companies in Korea, employees in R&D service sectors government-funded research institutes and public organizations. In order to strengthen business competitiveness of companies, technology, patent and market information have been provided so far mainly by government agencies and private research-and-development service companies. This service has been presented in frames of patent analysis (mainly for rating, quantitative analysis) or market analysis (for market prediction and demand forecasting based on market reports). However, there was a limitation to solving the lack of information, which is one of the difficulties that firms in Korea often face in the stage of commercialization. In particular, it is much more difficult to obtain information about competitors and potential candidates. In this study, the real-time value chain analysis and visualization service module based on the proposed network map and the data in hands is compared with the expected market share, estimated sales volume, contact information (which implies potential suppliers for raw material / parts, and potential demanders for complete products / modules). In future research, we intend to carry out the in-depth research for further investigating the indices of competitive factors through participation of research subjects and newly developing competitive indices for competitors or substitute items, and to additively promoting with data mining techniques and algorithms for improving the performance of VCNS.

The Effect of E-SERVQUAL on e-Loyalty for Apparel Online Shopping (재망상복장구물중전자(在网上服装购物中电子)E-SERVQUAL 대전자충성도적영향(对电子忠诚度的影响))

  • Kim, Eun-Young;Jackson, Vanessa P.
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
    • /
    • 제19권4호
    • /
    • pp.57-63
    • /
    • 2009
  • With an exponential increase in electronic commerce (e-commerce), marketers are attempting to gain a competitive advantage by emphasizing service quality and post interaction service aspects, which leads to customer satisfaction or behavioral consequence. Particularly for apparel, service quality is one of the key determinants in encouraging customer e-loyalty, and hence the success of apparel retailing in the context of electronic commerce. Therefore, this study explores e-service quality (E-SERVQUAL) factors and their unique effects on e-loyalty for apparel online shopping based on Parasuraman et al' s (2005) framework. Specific objectives of this study are to identify underlying dimension of E-SERVQUAL, and analyze a structural model for examining the effect of E-SERVQUAL on e-loyalty for online apparel shopping. For the theoretical framework of service quality in the context of online shopping, literatures on traditional and electronic service quality factors were comparatively reviewed, and two aspects of core and recovery services were identified. This study hypothesized that E-SERVQUAL has an effect on e-loyalty; customer satisfaction has a positive effect on e-service loyalty for apparel online shopping; and customer satisfaction mediates in the effect of E-SERVQUAL on e-loyalty for apparel online shopping. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on literatures. A total of 252 usable questionnaires were obtained from online consumers who had purchase experience with online shopping for apparel products and reside in standard metropolitan areas, in the United States. Factor analysis (e.g., exploratory, confirmatory) was conducted to assess the validity and reliability and the structural equation model including measurement and structural models was estimated via LISREL 8.8 program. Findings showed that the E-SERVQUAL of shopping websites for apparel consisted of five factors: Compensation, Fulfillment, Efficiency, System Availability, and Responsiveness. This supports Parasuraman (2005)'s E-S-QUAL encompassing two aspects of core service (e.g., fulfillment, efficiency, system availability) and recovery related service (e.g., compensation, responsiveness) in the context of apparel shopping online. In the structural equation model, there are five exogenous latent variables for e-SERVQUAL factors; and two endogenous latent variables (e.g., customer satisfaction, e-loyalty). For the measurement model, the factor loadings for each respective construct were statistically significant and were greater than .60 and internal consistency reliabilities ranged from .85 to .88. In the estimated structural model of the e-SERVEQUAL factors, the system availability was found to have direct and positive effect on e-loyalty, whereas efficiency had a negative effect on e-loyalty for apparel online shopping. However, fulfillment was not a significant predictor for explaining consequences of E-SERVQUAL for apparel online shopping. This finding implies that perceived service quality of system available was likely to increase customer satisfaction for apparel online shopping. However, it was not supported that e-loyalty was determined by service quality, because service quality has an indirect effect on e-loyalty (i.e., repurchase intention) by mediating effect of value or satisfaction in the context of online shopping for apparel. In addition, both compensation and responsiveness were found to have a significant impact on customer satisfaction, which influenced e-loyalty for apparel online shopping. Thus, there was significant indirect effect of compensation and responsiveness on e-loyalty. This suggests that the recovery-specific service factors play an important role in maximizing customer satisfaction levels and then maintaining customer loyalty to the online shopping site for apparel. The findings have both managerial and research implications. Fashion marketers can establish long-term relationship with their customers based on continuously measuring customer perceptions for recovery-related service quality, such as quick responses to problem and returns, and compensation for customers' problem after their purchases. In order to maintain e-loyalty, recovery services play an important role in the first choice websites for consumers to purchase clothing. Given that online consumers may shop anywhere, a marketing strategy for improving competitive advantages is to provide better service quality, maximize satisfaction, and turn to creating customers' e-loyalty for apparel online shopping. From a researcher's perspective, there are some limitations of this research that should be considered when interpreting its findings. For future research, findings provide a basis for the further study of this important topic along both theoretical and empirical dimensions. Based on the findings, more comprehensive models for predicting E-SERVQUAL's consequences can be developed and tested. For global fashion marketing, this study can expand to a cross-cultural approach into e-service quality for apparel by including multinational samples.

  • PDF