• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.157-176
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• 2012

Brand switching data frequently used in market structure analysis is adequate to analyze non- durable goods, because it can capture competition between specific two brands. But brand switching data sometimes can not be used to analyze goods like automobiles having long term duration because one of main assumptions that consumer preference toward brand attributes is not changed against time can be violated. Therefore a new type of data which can precisely capture competition among durable goods is needed. Another problem of using brand switching data collected from actual purchase behavior is short of explanation why consumers consider different set of brands. Considering above problems, main purpose of this study is to analyze market structure for durable goods with consideration set. The author uses exploratory approach and latent class clustering to identify market structure based on heterogeneous consideration set among consumers. Then the relationship between some factors and consideration set formation is analyzed. Some benefits and two demographic variables - age and income - are selected as factors based on consumer behavior theory. The author analyzed USA automotive market with top 11 brands using exploratory approach and latent class clustering. 2,500 respondents are randomly selected from the total sample and used for analysis. Six models concerning market structure are established to test. Model 1 means non-structured market and model 6 means market structure composed of six sub-markets. It is exploratory approach because any hypothetical market structure is not defined. The result showed that model 1 is insufficient to fit data. It implies that USA automotive market is a structured market. Model 3 with three market structures is significant and identified as the optimal market structure in USA automotive market. Three sub markets are named as USA brands, Asian Brands, and European Brands. And it implies that country of origin effect may exist in USA automotive market. Comparison between modal classification by derived market structures and probabilistic classification by research model was conducted to test how model 3 can correctly classify respondents. The model classify 97% of respondents exactly. The result of this study is different from those of previous research. Previous research used confirmatory approach. Car type and price were chosen as criteria for market structuring and car type-price structure was revealed as the optimal structure for USA automotive market. But this research used exploratory approach without hypothetical market structures. It is not concluded yet which approach is superior. For confirmatory approach, hypothetical market structures should be established exhaustively, because the optimal market structure is selected among hypothetical structures. On the other hand, exploratory approach has a potential problem that validity for derived optimal market structure is somewhat difficult to verify. There also exist market boundary difference between this research and previous research. While previous research analyzed seven car brands, this research analyzed eleven car brands. Both researches seemed to represent entire car market, because cumulative market shares for analyzed brands exceeds 50%. But market boundary difference might affect the different results. Though both researches showed different results, it is obvious that country of origin effect among brands should be considered as important criteria to analyze USA automotive market structure. This research tried to explain heterogeneity of consideration sets among consumers using benefits and two demographic factors, sex and income. Benefit works as a key variable for consumer decision process, and also works as an important criterion in market segmentation. Three factors - trust/safety, image/fun to drive, and economy - are identified among nine benefit related measure. Then the relationship between market structures and independent variables is analyzed using multinomial regression. Independent variables are three benefit factors and two demographic factors. The result showed that all independent variables can be used to explain why there exist different market structures in USA automotive market. For example, a male consumer who perceives all benefits important and has lower income tends to consider domestic brands more than European brands. And the result also showed benefits, sex, and income have an effect to consideration set formation. Though it is generally perceived that a consumer who has higher income is likely to purchase a high priced car, it is notable that American consumers perceived benefits of domestic brands much positive regardless of income. Male consumers especially showed higher loyalty for domestic brands. Managerial implications of this research are as follow. Though implication may be confined to the USA automotive market, the effect of sex on automotive buying behavior should be analyzed. The automotive market is traditionally conceived as male consumers oriented market. But the proportion of female consumers has grown over the years in the automotive market. It is natural outcome that Volvo and Hyundai motors recently developed new cars which are targeted for women market. Secondly, the model used in this research can be applied easier than that of previous researches. Exploratory approach has many advantages except difficulty to apply for practice, because it tends to accompany with complicated model and to require various types of data. The data needed for the model in this research are a few items such as purchased brands, consideration set, some benefits, and some demographic factors and easy to collect from consumers.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.115-132
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• 2008

Metal industry is one of the most representative heavy industries and the median sales volume of steel and nonferrous metal companies is over one billion dollars in the case America [Forbes 2006]. As seen in the recent business market situation, an increasing number of industrial manufacturers and suppliers are moving from adversarial to cooperative exchange attitudes that support the long-term relationships with their customers. This article presents the results of an empirical study of the antecedent factors of business relationships in metal industry of the United States. Commitment has been reviewed as a significant and critical variable in research on inter-organizational relationships (Hong et al. 2007, Kim et al. 2007). The future stability of any buyer-seller relationship depends upon the commitment made by the interactants to their relationship. Commitment, according to Dwyer et al. [1987], refers to "an implicit or explicit pledge of relational continuity between exchange partners" and they consider commitment to be the most advanced phase of buyer-seller exchange relationship. Bonds are made because the members need their partners in order to do something and this integration on a task basis can be either symbiotic or cooperative (Svensson 2008). To the extent that members seek the same or mutually supporting ends, there will be strong bonds among them. In other words, the principle that affects the strength of bonds is 'economy of decision making' [Turner 1970]. These bonds provide an important idea to study the causes of business long-term relationships in a sense that organizations can be mutually bonded by a common interest in the economic matters. Recently, the framework of structural bonding has been used to study the buyer-seller relationships in industrial marketing [Han and Sung 2008, Williams et al. 1998, Wilson 1995] in that this structural bonding is a crucial part of the theoretical justification for distinguishing discrete transactions from ongoing long-term relationships. The major antecedent factors of buyer commitment such as technology, CLalt, transaction-specific assets, and importance were identified and explored from the perspective of structural bonding. Research hypotheses were developed and tested by using survey data from the middle managers in the metal industry. H1: Level of technology of the relationship partner is positively related to the level of structural bonding between the buyer and the seller. H2: Comparison level of alternatives is negatively related to the level of structural bonding between the buyer and the seller. H3: Amount of the transaction-specific assets is positively related to the level of structural bonding between the buyer and the seller. H4: Importance of the relationship partner is positively related to the level of structural bonding between the buyer and the seller. H5: Level of structural bonding is positively related to the level of commitment to the relationship. To examine the major antecedent factors of industrial buyer's structural bonding and long-term relationship, questionnaire was prepared, mailed out to the sample of 400 purchasing managers of the US metal industry (SIC codes 33 and 34). After a follow-up request, 139 informants returnedthe questionnaires, resulting in a response rate of 35 percent. 134 responses were used in the final analysis after dropping 5 incomplete questionnaires. All measures were analyzed for reliability and validity following the guidelines offered by Churchill [1979] and Anderson and Gerbing [1988]., the results of fitting the model to the data indicated that the hypothesized model provides a good fit to the data. Goodness-of-fit index (GFI = 0.94) and other indices ( chi-square = 78.02 with p-value = 0.13, Adjusted GFI = 0.90, Normed Fit Index = 0.92) indicated that a major proportion of variances and covariances in the data was accounted for by the model as a whole, and all the parameter estimates showed statistical significance as evidenced by large t-values. All the factor loadings were significantly different from zero. On these grounds we judged the hypothesized model to be a reasonable representation of the data. The results from the present study suggest several implications for buyer-seller relationships. Theoretically, we attempted to conceptualize the antecedent factors of buyer-seller long-term relationships from the perspective of structural bondingin metal industry. The four underlying determinants (i.e. technology, CLalt, transaction-specific assets, and importance) of structural bonding are very critical variables of buyer-seller long-term business relationships. Our model of structural bonding makes an attempt to systematically examine the relationship between the antecedent factors of structural bonding and long-term commitment. Managerially, this research provides industrial purchasing managers with a good framework to assess the interaction processes with their partners and, ability to position their business relationships from the perspective of structural bonding. In other words, based on those underlying variables, industrial purchasing managers can determine the strength of the company's relationships with the key suppliers and its state of preparation to be a successful partner with those suppliers. Both the supplying and customer companies can also benefit by using the concept of 'structural bonding' and evaluating their relationships with key business partners from the structural point of view. In general, the results indicate that structural bonding gives a critical impact on the level of relationship commitment. Managerial implications and limitations of the study are also discussed.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.155-190
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• 2015

The court sentenced meaningful decisions related to the medical service in 2014. The court assumed the negligence of medical staff in the accident if being broken while using the medical equipment for not an original purpose at the time of surgery and ruled that the compensation for damage can be recognized in recognition of the causal relationship between the explanation duty violation and side effect's happening when unproven surgery on safety is implemented regarding the duty of explanation, that in the case of cosmetic surgery, the subject on the duty of explanation needs to be expanded compared to the general medical practice and that the duty of explanation cannot be accepted for the range that cannot be expectable. Also, the court has provided the requirement and limitation of self-determination exercise in case of the crash between patient's self-determination and doctor's duty of care and has ruled that as automobile insurance contract is a contract with the insurance company to pay regarding liability for car accidents, treating patients and taking the insurance money is not illegal activity even for the unlicensed hospital violating the medical law while established. The judgment stating the opinion that medical practitioners cannot be punished according to the medical law prohibiting the receiving of rebate in case that medical practitioners did not receive benefit while the medical institution itself gained an unfair economic benefit also stands out. And the court has ruled that even if the medical institution who received a business suspension is closed, the suspension is still effective in case that the same operator opens a new medical institution in the same place, ruled on the requirement to conduct a medical service outside of the medical institution that the doctor opened and ruled that the administrative penalty cannot be conducted prior to the conviction on charge of violating the medical law.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.63-84
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-perceived benefits from singing and the quality of life of older adults aged 75 years and older. A total of 231 older adults participated in this study with 141 of them living alone and 90 of them living with others. Each participant was instructed to complete the investigator-constructed questionnaire and the Quality of Life scale. The questionnaire consisted of 49 items on demographic information, involvement in leisure activities and singing-related experiences, and perceived benefits from singing. The results showed that the amount of involvement in leisure activities and the measured quality of life were found to differ between the two subgroups of older adults living with and without others. The number of older adults who had singing-related experiences was also differed between the groups. A positive correlation was found between the amount of self-perceived benefit from singing and quality of life. These results indicate that self-perceived benefits from singing could be an important factor for the quality of life of older adults. This study supports the potential benefits of incorporating singing as an active leisure activity into interventions for older adults, expanding the research that has been extensively based on listening-based interventions. Also, it presents clinical implications for how singing interventions and programs could be designed and suggested to support this population to better cope with their life issues and enhance the quality of life.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.156-171
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• 2014

The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine if the application of smart technology(ST) would assist adjustment to the nursing home facilities in the elderly. Since there is not much previous research on this subject, we generated survey questionnaires on our own. Data were collected from the survey of 127 employees at 6 nursing homes including geriatric care workers, social workers and nurses who provide direct as well as indirect care services. Results showed that the utilization of ST would benefit the areas of family relationship support, health support, leisure support, and physical environment adjustment. As for physical environment adjustment, study participants reported that ST would help elders familiarize employees and find directions for specific space the most. As for health support, ST would be best utilized as a security sensor and program alarm system. As for support for family relationship, ST was expected to be utilized as looking at family pictures and playing with self pictures/videos. As for leisure support, ST was expected to assist elders to listen to music and watch movies/TV. These results were different according to the characteristics of the participants and the smartifacts. These results of the study will show the direction for more in-depth studies on application of smart technology for the elderly in the future.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.41-50
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• 2013

Purpose - Inducing consumers' behavioral intent to use an outlet shopping center is a critical issue for managers since it can be used as a guide for developing marketing strategies. Low prices could lead to a growth in retail purchases, but there might also be a positive relationship between prices and customer perceptions of product quality. The extent to which consumers use price as a predictor of quality may differ according to the availability of important alternative cues such as brand, store name, and identity salience triggered by the store. Consumers can obtain non-economic benefits from marketing exchanges that go beyond basic economic achievement. We argue that identity salience can play a crucial mediating role when consumers, acting as exchange partners, seek to obtain social benefits. This study shows that identity salience could mediate the relationship between identity salience-inducing factors such as multi-finality, prestige and role performance, and consumers' behavioral intent to use an outlet shopping center. Research design, data and methodology - The survey was conducted on college students enrolled in marketing classes. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed, of which only 194 were returned. After five incomplete questionnaires were excluded, a final sample of 189 was used for empirical analysis. Using a covariance structural analysis in Amos17, we confirmed the fit of the research model and estimated its parameters by using the maximum likelihood method. Results - The results of the hypotheses testing are as follows. First, both identity salience and economic benefits have positive effects on the behavioral intent to use an outlet shopping center. Second, role performance, prestige, and multi-finality have positive effects on identity salience. Finally, the additive analysis of the direct effects of identity salience-inducing factors shows that the role performance, prestige, and multi-finality factors have no direct effects on the behavioral intent to use an outlet shopping center, suggesting that identity salience plays a positive mediating role. Conclusions - This study informs marketers that not only price but shoppers' identity salience directly affects their intent to visit an outlet shopping center. To strengthen shoppers' identity salience, marketers should find ways to help shoppers fulfill their multiple social roles, realize their multiple goals, and achieve prestige. In other words, outlet shopping centers must improve their personal service environment in order to enhance their employees' service quality and assist the execution of multi-finality by minimizing the perceived costs (e.g., travel time, effort) associated with shopping trips, thus making it easier for consumers to combine visits to multiple stores in outlet shopping centers and buy the items required for their consumption goals. Outlet shopping centers must also offer assortments with both breadth and depth in order to help consumers play the social roles their social networks have given them.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.269-279
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• 2017

Today, labor unions have become more serious and have more critical roles in the IT industry. Labor union should enhance the quality of working life in an organization. It is the most important role of the union to satisfy employees. When a labor union enriches its roles, members have a positive attitude to the union. Hence, workers will be more satisfied and make more positive results. Moreover, although members have positive attitudes to the union, when labor and capital have a negative relationship, workers do not make the best performance. Furthermore, although unions and the companies work in close cooperation, when members have a negative attitude to the labor union, workers' performance will also decline. Hence, a positive attitude to labor unions and union-management relations has a mutual benefit for performance. This study explains these relationships with the effect of attitudes to labor unions (satisfaction, trust, and commitment) on organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior, and the moderate effect of union- management cooperation. The purpose of this study is to suggest that labor unions should have a positive relationship with management and win members' recognition in the IT field.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.153-164
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• 2015

This research focuses on analyzing how leisure satisfaction of line dance participating middle-aged and old women impacts on self esteem and quality of life. By identifying the relationship between these factors, benefit of line dancing by middle-aged and old women will be confirmed. The result of this study are as follows. First, group participating in 2 hour class of line dancing had highest leisure satisfaction. Secondly, in analyzing the effect of leisure satisfaction on self-esteem, health factor was the only sub-factor of leisure satisfaction to impact self-esteem. Thirdly, in analyzing the effect of leisure satisfaction on quality of life, health factor was the only sub-factor of leisure satisfaction to have effect on quality of life sub-factors, such as daily life satisfaction, emotional satisfaction, and environmental satisfaction. Fourthly, self-esteem also directly affects quality of life. Since health factor of leisure satisfaction directly affected self-esteem and quality of life, a causal relationship can be seen between the three variables: leisure satisfaction, self-esteem, and life quality.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.143-160
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• 1994

I have investigated questionaire concerning to the view of worth and construction of consciousness as to boarding system collegian who will employed in fisheries and maritime industries. The results were as follows; It appeared 38.9% that most collegian had a firm subjectivity about enrolled motive, selection of department, they had selected department according to the neighborhood recommendation, own squired score rather than the adaption and prospection, also it was appeared 55% that they had not satisfied with attending to their college, accordingly, the effectiveness of education were demolished in such aspects. It was appeared 74.3% that the education of fisheries and maritime college were divided into theory and practice pertinently also, 77.1% that modulate both technical education and human like education but as a general rule, the education of ocean going liscensed officer was appeared 7.1% only so that, the reformation of the curriculum and contents of education would be needed. As to the relation between professors and collegian, it was appeared 38.4% that well understanding professor, 18.1% that well teaching professor, 13.3% that they having humanlish relation with professor, 30.6% that they will benefit to vocational selection. consequently, the professor have to brings up the harmony on dint of education and industries. The things which collegian think to be worth were 43.6%, intercourse of friend 30.3%, circle activity. 6.6% listening lecture, also, the leisure activity after school were 74.7% with friends. 16.4% alone. consequently, the professor has to guide of leisure activity after lesson. most collegian has a good relationship with their parent(91.6%) but the respond with bad relationship was 8.4%. The most serious agony which collegian think about is vocational problems (48.9%), the other sex problem(22.5%). The objects consult with agony was aquaintance(54.9%). The parent(5.1%), professors(2.3%), the collegian who did not consult with agony was 20.9%. The parents and the professor is not object consult with their agony. so that, the professors has to strengthen the education according to the human nature. As to job after graduation of such college, collegian who wish to be taken job on the fisheries and maritime industry were 50.5%, on the contrary, the collegian who wish to be taken a job no relation with his major subjects was 29.1% especially, the collegian who want to be embarked was 26.3% (fisheries 23.3%, maritime 30.5%). so that, we must adopt the counter plan for the globalization and effective investment on the fisheries and maritime college.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.199-214
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• 2016

There is a negotiation between management and labors about paying incentive at the every end of the year. This result causes the conflict between management and labors. The successful operation of incentive system is based on respect and common benefit between workers and managers. The manager-trust is the power of leading reciprocality. This research started from the issues of companies with incentive system at this year. This research analysed the influence of manager-trust by the fairness of incentive system. and how HRM system affects the manager-trust through the strength of the HRM system. It appeared in a survey that shows the fairness of incentive system and manager-trust effect positive matter. As a result of the control effect in the strength of the HRM system, the relationship between distributive justice and manager-trust shows that Distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus have the control effect. Although the Distinctiveness has control effect, consistency and consensus didn't have control effect in the relationship between perceptual justice and manager-trust.