• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.71-81
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• 2013

Purpose - The TOEIC test has been leading the change in the quality and the globalization of companies for about last 30 years. The TOEIC test is taken by about two million people each year and is used as a criterion to select new employees in companies or government offices, for performance ratings, and for overseas posting selections. Universities also use TOEIC test in various ways. Since the TOEIC test is used for the selection of new students for admission, transferring extra credits, scholarships, graduation certification, and admission of international students studying abroad, many universities all over the country provide students with TOEIC study lectures through their own language institutes. Despite the fact, there has been no research on the service quality or even the current situation of these institutes. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the factors that impact TOEIC lecture service quality and analyzes the effect of the expectation related to the education service quality and the result of education on intentional behavior. Research design, data, methodology - Data was collected by administering a survey to current TOEIC students from different university language institutes. The survey questionnaire comprised of a five-point Likert scale. The demographic analysis was conducted using the frequency analysis method and the factor analysis was conducted to verify the validity of questionnaire over any variable. The reliability analysis was conducted to verify the reliability of the results. Besides, multiple regression analysis, regression analysis, and mediated effect verification were also conducted. For education service quality, four different independent variables such as reliability, response, conviction, and sympathy were considered using the SERVQUAL survey model. Based on the research models, the study hypotheses below were formulated in order to recognize an effect relationship between the variables. The four hypotheses are, "the hypothesis on education service quality and TOEIC study result expectation," "the hypothesis on education service quality and behavioral intention," "the hypothesis on study result expectation and behavioral intention," and "the hypothesis on study result expectation and mediated effect." Results - The results are as follows. First, the factors like response, conviction, and sympathy have a positive influence on TOEIC study result expectations. Second, the TOEIC study result expectation has a positive influence on the factors of behavioral intention such as re-sign up, positive word-of-mouth, "loyalty towards school." Third, it was verified that the mediated effect on behavioral intention was influenced by education service quality at university foreign language institute, while the study result expectation has only a partial mediated effect. Conclusions - The implications of this study are summarized as follows: First, it suggests a new research model for the effect of the expectation related to the education service quality and the result of education in the university language institutes on the behavioral intention. Second, it has established a relationship between the education service quality and study result expectation by verifying the mediated effect on them.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.123-128
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• 2016

Purpose - Korean Wave that overspreads around Asia and America, especially the Korean beauty wave, has reached Mongolia and Mongolian consumers. Mongolia consumers usually prefer foreign cosmetic brands to local brands, because the local brands cannot satisfy fast changing needs and wants of local consumers. Research design, data, and methodology - Based on previous studies about life style of Mongolian consumers, advertisement properties and consumer behaviors, we propose a research model and related hypothesis. In order to test hypotheses, we analyzed 366 survey data out of 376 by eliminating improper 10 responses. Factor analysis and reliability analysis was conducted by SPSS 22.0. We used multiple regression analysis and parameter analysis to test the relation between variables. Results - As exploring the Mongolian consumers' current usage of cosmetic products, we found that the customers' focus is how the products fit with their skin. Mongolian consumers often get the information about cosmetic products through TV and internet. Mongolian consumers show positive attitudes on the appearance of Korean celebrities in responsibility, while there is no significant effect on attractiveness. Mongolian consumer's behaviors toward brand have positive effect on both responsibility and attractiveness of Korean commercial celebrities. Responsibility and attractiveness of Korean commercial celebrities have positive effect on the behaviors toward advertisements of cosmetic products. Conclusions - Behaviors toward advertisements of cosmetic products have positive effect on both purchase intention and loyalty of customer. Responsibility and attractiveness of Korean commercial celebrities have positive effect on mediating variable of behavior toward advertisement and independent variable of purchase intention. Responsibility and attractiveness of Korean commercial celebrities have positive effect on mediating variable of behavior toward advertisement and independent variable of loyalty of customer. In order to improve the effect of advertisements, firms need to consider not only the technique of the model but also the image of model in regard to trust and professionalism appealing to consumers. In addition, firms need to choose the model who fits in with the image of the firms and the products and service of the firms. Finally, Mongolian consumers tend to acquire the shopping information through TV advertisements, especially featuring Korean popular stars, thus, TV advertisements can be a wise option in Mongolian cosmetic market.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.60
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• pp.75-103
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to explore the meaning and the effect of communication as social capital, which needs to be evaluated empirically focusing on corporate reputation. Also, it tried to analyze consumers' communication network in the structural, substantial, and relational level, which is to verify how characteristics and meanings of communication network structure affect to a good corporate reputation. A survey toward 200 participants was conducted during 5 days from March 29 to April 3, 2012. Characteristics of communication network structure of a corporation with higher reputation is analyzed using the index such as degree, degree centrality, and density. The findings of the study show that a corporation with higher reputation has higher network degree, degree centrality, and density compared to a corporation with lower reputation. Consumers of a corporation with higher reputation get information from various overlapping sources. It allows them to share similar interpretation, which could elevate the degree, degree centrality, and density of network. It also proved that when the network density is high, a corporation with higher reputation can distribute information much faster and easier. Moreover, in the substantial level of social capital, product/service information network has high degree and density rather than corporate issue information network. Likewise, degree and density of information acquisition network was higher than those of information provision network. Also, this study verified the effect and relationship between the network structure characteristics and corporate loyalty in a relational level. In this way, the positive effect of the degree centrality on corporate loyalty was supported. In conclusion, as consumers share more information from overlapping sources, the degree of communication network gets higher. Throughout this network, the diffusion of information among consumers would be activated, and this confirmed that corporate reputation and corporate loyalty is closely related.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.42-57
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• 2015

When a customer chooses a coffee shop, different factors can influence his/her purchase. These factors can include tangible as well as intangible elements such as the coffee shop's atmosphere, layout, and interior. Thus, many coffee brands strive to serve not only a diverse menu, but also a unique quality of environment. This study aimed to investigate the influence of physical environment on customer satisfaction and loyalty in the coffee shop and evaluate the influential power of the physical environment factors using hierarchical regression analysis. Data was collected from customers of coffee shops in Texas, the U.S. The study found that the coffee shops' physical environment influenced the customer's satisfaction and loyalty. Particularly, the coffee shop's physical environment including ambient and interior design greatly influenced the customers' satisfaction. However, a broad range of physical environment factors such as temperature, aroma, lighting, color, and interior furnishings should be provided to increase the customer loyalty. The results may have a broader application to provide effective managerial and marketing information to Korean coffee entrepreneur brand in the U.S. and beyond.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.111-137
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• 2010

The basic purpose of this study is to investigate perceived quality and service personal value affecting the result of long-term relationship between service buyers and suppliers. This research presented a constructive model(perceived quality affecting the service personal value and the moderate effect of NFC) in the on off line and then propose the research model base on prior researches and studies about relationships among components of service. Data were gathered from respondents who visit at the education service market. For this study, Data were analyzed by AMOS 7.0. We integrate the literature on services marketing with researches on personal values and perceived quality. The SERPVAL scale presented here allows for the creation of a common ground for assessing service personal values, giving a clear understanding of the key value dimensions behind service choice and usage. It will lead to a focus of future research in services marketing, extending knowledge in the field and stimulating further empirical research on service personal values. At the managerial level, as a tool the SERPVAL scale should allow practitioners to evaluate and improve the value of a service, and consequently, to define strategies and actions to address services for customers based on their fundamental personal values. Through qualitative and empirical research, we find that the service quality construct conforms to the structure of a second-order factor model that ties service quality perceptions to distinct and actionable dimensions: outcome, interaction, and environmental quality. In turn, each has two subdimensions that define the basis of service quality perceptions. The authors further suggest that for each of these subdimensions to contribute to improved service quality perceptions, the quality received by consumers must be perceived to be reliable, responsive, and empathetic. Although the service personal value may be found in researches that explore individual values and their consequences for consumer behavior, there is no established operationalization of a SERPVAL scale. The inexistence of an established scale, duly adapted in order to understand and analyze personal values behind services usage, exposes the need of a measurement scale with such a purpose. This need has to be rooted, however, in a conceptualization of the construct being scaled. Service personal values can be defined as a customer's overall assessment of the use of a service based on the perception of what is achieved in terms of his own personal values. As consumer behaviors serve to show an individual's values, the use of a service can also be a way to fulfill and demonstrate consumers'personal values. In this sense, a service can provide more to the customer than its concrete and abstract attributes at both the attribute and the quality levels, and more than its functional consequences at the value level. Both values and services literatures agree, that personal value is the highest-level concept, followed by instrumental values, attitudes and finally by product attributes. Purchasing behaviors are agreed to be the end result of these concepts' interaction, with personal values taking a major role in the final decision process. From both consumers' and practitioners' perspectives, values are extremely relevant, as they are desirable goals that serve as guiding principles in people's lives. While building on previous research, we propose to assess service personal values through three broad groups of individual dimensions; at the self-oriented level, we use (1) service value to peaceful life (SVPL) and, at the social-oriented level, we use (2) service value to social recognition (SVSR), and (3) service value to social integration (SVSI). Service value to peaceful life is our first dimension. This dimension emerged as a combination of values coming from the RVS scale, a scale built specifically to assess general individual values. If a service promotes a pleasurable life, brings or improves tranquility, safety and harmony, then its user recognizes the value of this service. Generally, this service can improve the user's pleasure of life, since it protects or defends the consumer from threats to life or pressures on it. While building upon both the LOV scale, a scale built specifically to assess consumer values, and the RVS scale for individual values, we develop the other two dimensions: SVSR and SVSI. The roles of social recognition and social integration to improve service personal value have been seriously neglected. Social recognition derives its outcome utility from its predictive utility. When applying this underlying belief to our second dimension, SVSR, we assume that people use a service while taking into consideration the content of what is delivered. Individuals consider whether the service aids in gaining respect from others, social recognition and status, as well as whether it allows achieving a more fulfilled and stimulating life, which might then be revealed to others. People also tend to engage in behavior that receives social recognition and to avoid behavior that leads to social disapproval, and this contributes to an individual's social integration. This leads us to the third dimension, SVSI, which is based on the fact that if the consumer perceives that a service strengthens friendships, provides the possibility of becoming more integrated in the group, or promotes better relationships at the social, professional or family levels, then the service will contribute to social integration, and naturally the individual will recognize personal value in the service. Most of the research in business values deals with individual values. However, to our knowledge, no study has dealt with assessing overall personal values as well as their dimensions in a service context. Our final results show that the scales adapted from the Schwartz list were excluded. A possible explanation is that although Schwartz builds on Rokeach work in order to explore individual values, its dimensions might be especially focused on analyzing societal values. As we are looking for individual dimensions, this might explain why the values inspired by the Schwartz list were excluded from the model. The hierarchical structure of the final scale presented in this paper also presents theoretical implications. Although we cannot claim to definitively capture the dimensions of service personal values, we believe that we come close to capturing these overall evaluations because the second-order factor extracts the underlying commonality among dimensions. In addition to obtaining respondents' evaluations of the dimensions, the second-order factor model captures the common variance among these dimensions, reflecting the respondents' overall assessment of service personal values. Towards this fact, we expect that the service personal values conceptualization and measurement scale presented here contributes to both business values literature and the service marketing field, allowing for the delineation of strategies for adding value to services. This new scale also presents managerial implications. The SERPVAL dimensions give some guidance on how to better pursue a highly service-oriented business strategy. Indeed, the SERPVAL scale can be used for benchmarking purposes, as this scale can be used to identify whether or not a firms' marketing strategies are consistent with consumers' expectations. Managerial assessment of the personal values of a service might be extremely important because it allows managers to better understand what customers want or value. Thus, this scale allows us to identify what services are really valuable to the final consumer; providing knowledge for making choices regarding which services to include. Traditional approaches have focused their attention on service attributes (as quality) and service consequences(as service value), but personal values may be an important set of variables to be considered in understanding what attracts consumers to a certain service. By using the SERPVAL scale to assess the personal values associated with a services usage, managers may better understand the reasons behind services' usage, so that they may handle them more efficiently. While testing nomological validity, our empirical findings demonstrate that the three SERPVAL dimensions are positively and significantly associated with satisfaction. Additionally, while service value to social integration is related only with loyalty, service value to peaceful life is associated with both loyalty and repurchase intent. It is also interesting and surprising that service value to social recognition appears not to be significantly linked with loyalty and repurchase intent. A possible explanation is that no mobile service provider has yet emerged in the market as a luxury provider. All of the Portuguese providers are still trying to capture market share by means of low-end pricing. This research has implications for consumers as well. As more companies seek to build relationships with their customers, consumers are easily able to examine whether these relationships provide real value or not to their own lives. The selection of a strategy for a particular service depends on its customers' personal values. Being highly customer-oriented means having a strong commitment to customers, trying to create customer value and understanding customer needs. Enhancing service distinctiveness in order to provide a peaceful life, increase social recognition and gain a better social integration are all possible strategies that companies may pursue, but the one to pursue depends on the outstanding personal values held by the service customers. Data were gathered from 284 respondents in the korean discount store and online shopping mall market. This research proposed 3 hypotheses on 6 latent variables and tested through structural equation modeling. 6 alternative measurements were compared through statistical significance test of the 6 paths of research model and the overall fitting level of structural equation model. and the result was successful. and Perceived quality more positively influences service personal value when NFC is high than when no NFC is low in the off-line market. The results of the study indicate that service quality is properly modeled as an antecedent of service personal value. We consider the research and managerial implications of the study and its limitations. In sum, by knowing the dimensions a consumer takes into account when choosing a service, a better understanding of purchasing behaviors may be realized, guiding managers toward customers expectations. By defining strategies and actions that address potential problems with the service personal values, managers might ultimately influence their firm's performance. we expect to contribute to both business values and service marketing literatures through the development of the service personal value. At a time when marketing researchers are challenged to provide research with practical implications, it is also believed that this framework may be used by managers to pursue service-oriented business strategies while taking into consideration what customers value.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.1-28
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• 2013

Given that smartphone-based social network services (SNS), such as KakaoStory is now being widely used as a way for people to connect and communicate with each other, this study examines key factors leading to the continued use of SNS. People have been using PC-based SNS, such as Cyworld, for years are now using smartphone-based SNS, such as KakaoStory. KakaoStory developed by KakaoTalk has rapidly grown up as the largest smartphone-based SNS in Korea as smartphone penetration increases. It is more difficult for firms to maintain their current users over time in that alternative SNSs satisfying people's new needs are constantly emerging and evolving. In this sense, one of the most challenging issues for SNS firms is how to retain their current users in the long run. However, there are few empirical studies on this issue. Applying the IS continuance model proposed by Bhattacherjee [2001], this study explores key determinants of users' smartphone-based SNS continuance intention. The model suggests that perceived usefulness and user satisfaction are the key determinants of IS continuance intention. However, the model includes only the utilitarian value that users can obtain through the use of smartphone-based SNS, by considering perceived usefulness. Therefore, the study attempts to extend the IS continuance model by considering hedonic and social values simultaneously. More specifically, we consider subjective norms as social value that are proposed by the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior. We also consider perceived enjoyment as hedonic value that is emphasized as a key factor influencing users' behavior intention and actual behavior, particularly in the context of hedonic IS use. By considering the three values in our model simultaneously, we could offer a deeper understanding of smartphone-based SNS continuance. That is, this study could offer an explanation of how each value is associated with user satisfaction and SNS continuance intention. The customer value-satisfaction-loyalty model can strengthen the assertion that smartphone-based SNS continuance intention is determined by various different types of customer values, such as utilitarian, hedonic, and social ones. Moreover, the model provides a theoretical basis for the assertion that customer values lead to increased loyalty via customer satisfaction. In this regard, we theorize that SNS continuance intention is influenced by users' various values, namely perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, and subjective norms, via user satisfaction. To test the proposed research model and hypotheses, we conducted a partial least squares analysis using a total of 253 data collected on the users of smartphone-based SNS (i.e., KakaoStory). The key findings are as follows: First, it has been found that SNS continuance intention considerably depends on user satisfaction. Second, user satisfaction is determined by confirmation, perceived usefulness, and perceived enjoyment. Third, concerning the effects of the three values on SNS continuance intention, only perceived enjoyment regarded as hedonic value was statistically significant. That is, perceived usefulness considered as utilitarian value and subjective norms considered as social value had no effect on SNS continuance intention. Finally, our results indicate that confirmation increases perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, and user satisfaction. The results reconfirm the effectiveness of IS continuance model in predicting smartphone-based SNS continuance intention. Moreover, the results demonstrate that perceived enjoyment reflecting hedonic value is the most important predictor of SNS continuance intention. Therefore, it is imperative for firms to meet SNS users' hedonic value to retain them in the long run. Meanwhile, we could not find any empirical evidence to support the assertion that subjective norms are associated with user satisfaction and SNS continuance intention. The results lead us to conclude that when users have enough direct experience in SNS use, subjective norms have no effect on SNS continuance intention. Discussions and implications of the results are provided.

• The Journal of Society for e-Business Studies
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.1-22
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• 2016

News contents has been collected, selected, edited and sometimes distorted by the news recommendation mechanisms of online portals in nowadays. Prior studies had not confirmed the consensus of newsworthiness, and they had not tried to empirically validate the impacts of newsworthiness on audience reactions. This study challenged to summarize the concepts of newsworthiness and validate the impact of representativeness of both editor's and audience's perspective on audience reactions as perceived news quality, trust on news portal, perceived usefulness, service satisfaction, loyalty, continuous usage intention, and word-of-mouth intention by adopting the representativeness heuristics method and information adoption model. 357 valid data had been collected using a scenario survey method. Subjects in each groups are exposed by 3 news recommendation mechanisms: 1) the time-priority news exposure mechanism (control group), 2) the reference-score-based news recommendation mechanism (a single treatment group), and 3) the major-news-priority exposure mechanism sorting by the reference scores made by peer audiences (the mixed treatment group). Data had been analyzed by the MANOVA and PLS method. MANOVA results indicate that only mixed method of both editor and audience recommendation mechanisms impacts on perceived news quality and trust. PLS results indicate that perceived news quality and trust could significantly affect on the perceived usefulness, service satisfaction, loyalty, continuance usage, and word-of-mouth intention. This study would contributions to empathize the role of information technology in media industry, to conceptualize the news value in the balanced views of both editors and audiences, and to empirically validate the benefits of news recommendation mechanisms in academy. For practice, the results of this study suggest that online news portals would be better to make mixed news recommendation mechanisms to attract audiences.

• The Journal of Society for e-Business Studies
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.123-142
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• 2010

Generally speaking, user behavior in the post-adoption period is different from that in the pre-adoption period. Users come to make on their experiences of IT use whether they will continue to use it or not. Most theories about the user behaviors in the pre-adoption period are limited in describing them after adoption since they do not consider user's experiences of using the adopted IT and the beliefs formed by those experiences. Therefore, in this study, we explore user's experiences and beliefs such as familiarity, satisfaction and habits in the post-adoption period and examine how they affect user's intention to continue in using Mobile Social Network Service. Through literature reviews, we proposed the conceptual model to explain the role of users' habits in continuance of IT post-adoption stage. Then, we examine the impact of the constructs to affect the intention to continue using the Mobile SNS. The results show that the intention to continue to use Mobile SNS is strongly influenced by users' habits, satisfaction and familiarity; users' habits is strongly influenced by satisfaction and familiarity; satisfaction is strongly influenced by familiarity.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.206-224
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to examine the formation of customer's repeated use that is real long-term commitment in franchise/chain coffee shops. 457 effective samples were analyzed using PASW 18.0 and AMOS 18.0. The results of the analysis of the relationships between user experience, customer satisfaction, customer commitment and repeated use are as follows. First, it was presented that atmosphere, price fairness and coffee product quality had a positive impact on customer satisfaction. Second, customer satisfaction had a positive impact on customer commitment and repeated use. Finally, there was the mediating effect of continuous commitment between customer satisfaction and repeated use. Based on the results of the above analysis, the managerial implications for increasing repeated use of coffee shops are as follows. First, the strategy for enhancing performance of user experience is to try to improve atmosphere(facilities, ambient/lighting), price fairness, coffee product quality(taste, flavor, temperature). Second, the strategy for forming repeated use is to enhance customer commitment(affective commitment, continuous/normative commitment).

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1-11
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• 2015

This study uses the contingent valuation method to estimate the switching cost for adopting the MVNO service. The findings are as follows.: First, Willingness To Switch(WTS) increases as users' using pattern and perceived degree of MVNO service, but satisfaction with current service provider does not play a significant role in predicting Switching Cost. This means that as amount of money users can save exceeds a certain level, users decide to willingly change their service provider to MVNO regardless of their level of satisfaction with current service provider. Second, there are differences in WTS among service subscribers in SKT, KT and LGU+. It means that there will be a difference in the tendency to switch to MVNO among subscribers of service providers. This study suggest the following mangerial perspective to effectively promote the MVNO and boost the MVNO market for activation of mobile data services.: First, MVNOs are better off applying differentiated pricing scheme at attractive rates than using a differentiation of service product and quality. Second, regulators should consider how to implement an MVNO regulatory policy when there is an asymmetric customer loyalty among MNOs. This research will be used to set the MVNO's pricing strategy and to build up a successful regulatory policies.