• 디지털융복합연구
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.169-178
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• 2018

본 연구는 ASP 서비스를 활용하고 있는 소기업을 대상으로 혁신특성과 관계특성이 고객성과에 미치는 영향과 공급자 신뢰가 혁신특성 및 관계특성과 고객성과 간에 미치는 조절적인 영향을 분석하였다. 표본자료는 설문지 기법을 활용하여 수집하였으며, 통계분석은 회귀분석을 이용하였다. 분석결과 혁신특성의 상대적 이점, 타사업자 영향은 고객성과에 긍정적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 분석되었다. 관계특성에서는 정보공유정도는 고객성과에 긍정적인 영향을 미치는 변수로 분석되었으나, 참여자 유연성 요인은 고객성과에 긍정적인 영향을 미치지 않는 변수로 분석되었다. 공급자 신뢰의 조절적 역할을 분석한 결과에서는 공급자 신뢰는 혁신특성 및 관계특성과 함께 고객성과에 조절적인 역할을 하는 변수로 분석되었다. 따라서 ASP 서비스를 이용하고 있는 소기업에서는 고객성과를 극대화하기 위해서는 혁신특성과 관계특성의 정보공유정도 요인이 중요한 요인임을 알 수 있었고, 공급자 신뢰는 고객사에게는 아주 중요한 변수임을 알 수 있었다.

• 한국정보과학회논문지:소프트웨어및응용
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• 제36권1호
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• pp.1-9
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• 2009

분산된 환경에서 유사한 기능을 제공하는 서비스들의 수가 증가함에 따라, 웹서비스의 신뢰성은 매우 중요한 서비스 선택 요인이 되고 있다. 기업 간 협업과 같은 개방적 비즈니스 모델을 충족시키기 위해, 여러 단위 웹서비스들이 상호 연동하여 상위 수준의 비즈니스 트랜잭션을 형성하는 웹서비스 조합에서 신뢰성의 문제는 더욱 중요해진다. 그러나 단위 웹서비스 각각의 신뢰성이 보장된다고 해도, 조합된 서비스의 신뢰성은 보장되지 않는다. 따라서, 조합된 서비스의 신뢰성에 대한 평가 및 서비스 결정을 위한 방법이 필요하다. 본 논문은 웹서비스의 신뢰성을 평가하기 위한 신뢰도 평가 메트릭스를 정의하고, 이를 통해 조합된 웹 서비스의 신뢰수준을 추측하기 위한 평가 방법을 제안한다. 제안된 신뢰성 평가 모델을 기반으로 웹서비스 조합에서 신뢰할 수 있는 웹서비스 선택을 지원하기 위한 프레임워크를 정의한다. 서비스 사용자의 직관적인 선택이 아니라 정량적인 평가를 통한 선택이 이루어짐으로써, 사용자가 기능적 요구사항뿐만 아니라 품질 요구사항에서도 보다 만족할만한 선택 결과를 얻을 수 있을 것으로 기대한다.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• 제6권9호
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• pp.2370-2387
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• 2012

A new security management model based on Rough set and Bayesian learner is proposed in the paper. The model focuses on finding out malicious nodes and getting them under control. The degree of dissatisfaction (DoD) is defined as the probability that a node belongs to the malicious node set. Based on transaction history records local DoD (LDoD) is calculated. And recommended DoD (RDoD) is calculated based on feedbacks on recommendations (FBRs). According to the DoD, nodes are classified and controlled. In order to improve computation accuracy and efficiency of the probability, we employ Rough set combined with Bayesian learner. For the reason that in some cases, the corresponding probability result can be determined according to only one or two attribute values, the Rough set module is used; And in other cases, the probability is computed by Bayesian learner. Compared with the existing trust model, the simulation results demonstrate that the model can obtain higher examination rate of malicious nodes and achieve the higher transaction success rate.

• 경영정보학연구
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.163-188
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• 2018

검색엔진을 통해서 맛집(레스토랑)에 대한 정보를 찾는 경우 유저들은 맛집을 주제로 한 블로그에 있는 맛집 리뷰 포스트만이 아니라 맛집이 아닌 다른 것들을 주제로 한 블로그에 위치한 맛집 리뷰 포스트에도 방문할 수 있다. 이 연구의 목적은 검색 엔진을 통해 맛집 리뷰 포스트에 방문 했을 때 포스트와 블로그의 주제 사이의 관련성이 해당 맛집 리뷰에 대한 유저의 신뢰에 영향을 미치는지를 알아보는 것이다. 또한, 우리는 유저의 연령이 이 결과에 영향을 미치는 지도 알아보려고 한다. 이 연구를 위해서 우리는 동일한 맛집 리뷰 포스트가 있는 2개의 다른 주제를 가진 블로그들을 제작하였다. 하나는 포스트와 블로그 주제 간의 관련성 높은 맛집을 주제로 한 블로그이고, 다른 하나는 포스트와 블로그 주제 간의 관련성 낮은 맛집을 주제로 하지 않은 블로그다. 실험참가자들은 2개의 그룹으로 나누어져 각각 다른 블로그에 있는 동일한 맛집 리뷰를 방문한 후 설문 조사에 응답했다. 이 연구는 총 206명의 실험 참가자들을 대상으로 한 온라인 설문 조사를 통해 연구를 검증했다. 본 연구의 결과는 1) 리뷰 포스트와 블로그 주제의 관련성의 높고 낮음에 따라서는 두 그룹 간의 메시지 신뢰도(리뷰에 대한 유저의 신뢰)에 큰 차이가 없었으며 2) 30세 이상 유저 그룹에서는, 포스트와 블로그 주제 간의 관련성이 유저의 블로그에 대한 매체 의구심과 전문성(리뷰 포스트가 충분한 레스토랑 정보를 제공한다는 유저의 믿음) 사이의 관계에서 조절 효과를 보였으며 3)맛집 리뷰에 대한 유저의 지각된 가치는 전문성과 추가적인 정보를 검색하려는 의도 간의 관계에서 매개 효과가 있는 것으로 검증되었다.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• 제18권4호
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• pp.27-55
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• 2008

Due to the increasing and intensifying competition in the Internet shopping market, it has been recognized as very important to develop an effective policy and strategy for acquiring loyal customers. For this reason, web site designers need to know if a new Internet shopping mall(ISM) will be accepted. Researchers have been working on identifying factors for explaining and predicting user acceptance of an ISM. Some studies, however, revealed inconsistent findings on the antecedents of user acceptance of a website. Lack of consideration for individual differences in user ability is believed to be one of the key reasons for the mixed findings. The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and several studies have suggested that individual differences in ability plays an moderating role on the relationship between the antecedents and user acceptance. Despite the critical role of user ability, little research has examined the role of user ability in the Internet shopping mall context. The purpose of this study is to develop a user acceptance model that consider the moderating role of user ability in the context of Internet shopping. This study was initiated to see the ability of the technology acceptance model(TAM) to explain the acceptance of a specific ISM. According to TAM. which is one of the most influential models for explaining user acceptance of IT, an intention to use IT is determined by usefulness and ease of use. Given that interaction between user and website takes place through web interface, the decisions to accept and continue using an ISM depend on these beliefs. However, TAM neglects to consider the fact that many users would not stick to an ISM until they trust it although they may think it useful and easy to use. The importance of trust for user acceptance of ISM has been raised by the relational views. The relational view emphasizes the trust-building process between the user and ISM, and user's trust on the website is a major determinant of user acceptance. The proposed model extends and integrates the TAM and relational views on user acceptance of ISM by incorporating usefulness, ease of use, and trust. User acceptance is defined as a user's intention to reuse a specific ISM. And user ability is introduced into the model as moderating variable. Here, the user ability is defined as a degree of experiences, knowledge and skills regarding Internet shopping sites. The research model proposes that the ease of use, usefulness and trust of ISM are key determinants of user acceptance. In addition, this paper hypothesizes that the effects of the antecedents(i.e., ease of use, usefulness, and trust) on user acceptance may differ among users. In particular, this paper proposes a moderating effect of a user's ability on the relationship between antecedents with user's intention to reuse. The research model with eleven hypotheses was derived and tested through a survey that involved 470 university students. For each research variable, this paper used measurement items recognized for reliability and widely used in previous research. We slightly modified some items proper to the research context. The reliability and validity of the research variables were tested using the Crobnach's alpha and internal consistency reliability (ICR) values, standard factor loadings of the confirmative factor analysis, and average variance extracted (AVE) values. A LISREL method was used to test the suitability of the research model and its relating six hypotheses. Key findings of the results are summarized in the following. First, TAM's two constructs, ease of use and usefulness directly affect user acceptance. In addition, ease of use indirectly influences user acceptance by affecting trust. This implies that users tend to trust a shopping site and visit repeatedly when they perceive a specific ISM easy to use. Accordingly, designing a shopping site that allows users to navigate with heuristic and minimal clicks for finding information and products within the site is important for improving the site's trust and acceptance. Usefulness, however, was not found to influence trust. Second, among the three belief constructs(ease of use, usefulness, and trust), trust was empirically supported as the most important determinants of user acceptance. This implies that users require trustworthiness from an Internet shopping site to be repeat visitors of an ISM. Providing a sense of safety and eliminating the anxiety of online shoppers in relation to privacy, security, delivery, and product returns are critically important conditions for acquiring repeat visitors. Hence, in addition to usefulness and ease of use as in TAM, trust should be a fundamental determinants of user acceptance in the context of internet shopping. Third, the user's ability on using an Internet shopping site played a moderating role. For users with low ability, ease of use was found to be a more important factors in deciding to reuse the shopping mall, whereas usefulness and trust had more effects on users with high ability. Applying the EML theory to these findings, we can suggest that experienced and knowledgeable ISM users tend to elaborate on such usefulness aspects as efficient and effective shopping performance and trust factors as ability, benevolence, integrity, and predictability of a shopping site before they become repeat visitors of the site. In contrast, novice users tend to rely on the low elaborating features, such as the perceived ease of use. The existence of moderating effects suggests the fact that different individuals evaluate an ISM from different perspectives. The expert users are more interested in the outcome of the visit(usefulness) and trustworthiness(trust) than those novice visitors. The latter evaluate the ISM in a more superficial manner focusing on the novelty of the site and on other instrumental beliefs(ease of use). This is consistent with the insights proposed by the Heuristic-Systematic model. According to the Heuristic-Systematic model. a users act on the principle of minimum effort. Thus, the user considers an ISM heuristically, focusing on those aspects that are easy to process and evaluate(ease of use). When the user has sufficient experience and skills, the user will change to systematic processing, where they will evaluate more complex aspects of the site(its usefulness and trustworthiness). This implies that an ISM has to provide a minimum level of ease of use to make it possible for a user to evaluate its usefulness and trustworthiness. Ease of use is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the acceptance and use of an ISM. Overall, the empirical results generally support the proposed model and identify the moderating effect of the effects of user ability. More detailed interpretations and implications of the findings are discussed. The limitations of this study are also discussed to provide directions for future research.

• 마케팅과학연구
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.32-43
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• 2009

信任在心理学, 经济学, 社会学中已被广泛研究, 其重要性不仅在市场营销中被强调, 在一般商业原则中也被强调. 供应商和买家之间的关系与过去不同, 过去的关系需要相当大的私人网络优势, 并可能涉及不道德的商业行为. 而在以工业营销成功的为核心的二十一世纪激烈的全球竞争中, 供应商和买家之间的关系是伙伴关系. 在相互合作的高级别信任的基础上, 通过交换的关系, 这会给买家和供应商带来长期的利益, 竞争力增强和交易成本的降低以及其他福利. 尽管现有的研究有信任的重要性, 但是在购买与供应关系中却忽视了信任的作用, 也没有系统地分析信任对关系的影响. 因此, 深入研究, 确定买家和商业服务供应商之间信任和关系绩效之间的联系是绝对需要的. 本研究中的商业服务, 包括那些支持制造业, 正作为下一代经济增长的引擎而吸引着人们的注意. 韩国政府已选择其作为制造业发展的战略领域. 由于商业服务开放市场的需求日趋激烈, 商业服务业的竞争力应该比以往得到更多的提倡. 本研究的目的是探索相互信任对买家和供应商之间的关系绩效的影响. 具体来说, 本研究在商业服务交易中提出了一个关于信任-关系绩效的理论模型, 并实证检验根据模型而提出的假设. 这项研究表明, 研究结果有战略意义. 本研究通过多种方法收集经验数据. 这些方法包括通过电话, 邮件和面试. 作为样本的公司是在韩国供应和购买商业服务的以知识为本的公司. 本研究收集的是二进的基础数据. 每个样本公司对包括购买公司及其相应的供应公司. 并跟踪调查每个公司对的相互信任. 本研究为商业服务的买卖双方提出了信任-关系绩效的模型. 该模型由信任和它的前因和后果. 买家的信任分为对供应公司的信任和对销售人员的信任. 根据Doney 和Cannon (1997)的研究我们在个人水平和组织水平上观察信任. 通常情况下, 买方是信任的受体, 但这项研究我们建议以供应商为观察受体. 因此, 它独特的关注了双边角度的知觉风险. 换言之, 供应商和买家一样, 是信任的主体, 因为交易通常是双边的. 从这个角度来看, 供应商对买家信任和买方对供货商的信赖一样重要. 供应商的信任从某种程度上受它信任的买方公司和买家的影响. 这种使用个人水平和组织水平的信任分类是根据Doney 和Cannon (1997)的研究. 信任影响供应商的选择, 这是一项双向放的工作. 供应商们积极参与供应商选择过程中, 和买家密切的一起工作. 此外, 该过程从某种程度上受每一方信任的合作伙伴的影响. 挑选过程包括一些步骤: 识别, 信息检索, 供应商选择和绩效评价. 作为这一进程的结果, 买家和供应商都进行绩效评估, 并就这些结果为基础, 采取有形或无形的纠正行动. 本研究中使用的关于信任的测量问项是根据Mayer, Davis 和 Schoorman (1995) 以及Mayer和Davis (1999)的研究发展起来的. 根据他们的建议, 有关信任的三个方面的研究包括有能力, 善和完整. 根据商业服务这个背景我们调整了原来的问题. 例如, 如 "他/她的专业能力" 已被改为 "当我们讨论我们的产品时销售人员表现出专业能力. "这项研究使用的测量问项不同于在以往的研究中使用的问项（Rotter 1967; Sullivan和Peterson 1982; Dwyer和Oh 1987. 本研究中有关信任的前因后果的测量问项是根据Doney和Cannon (1997)的研究为基础制定的. 根据商业服务这个背景我们调整了原来的问题. 特别是, 问题被设计为对买家和供应商以解决下列因素: 信誉 (诚信, 客户服务, 良好意愿), 市场地位 (公司规模, 市场份额, 在行业中的地位), 愿意定制（产品, 过程, 交付), 信息共享(专有信息, 个人信息), 愿意保持良好关系, 认为专业, 权威授权, 买方与卖方的相似性, 以及接触频率. 作为信任相应的变量, 我们对关系绩效进行了测试. 关系绩效分为有形的影响, 无形影响, 和副作用. 有形的影响包括财务业绩;无形的影响, 包括关系的改善, 网络开发, 以及内部员工的满意度;副作用包括既不是有形影响也不是无形影响的影响. 我们联系了350对公司, 105对公司答复了我们. 由于不完整我们删除了5对公司, 105对公司被用于数据分析. 用于数据分析的回应率为30%(三百五十零分之一百零五), 高于工业营销的平均回复比率. 至于回复的公司的特点, 大多数的公司运作的商业服务既为买方(85.4%)也为供应商(81.8%). 大部分买家是做消费品贸易(76%), 而供应商的大部分(70%)是做工业品贸易. 这可能意味着买家的过程是购入材料, 部件和组件从而生产消费品成品. 正如他们对他们与合作伙伴关系的长度的报告表示, 供应商比买家有更长的商业关系. 假设1测试买方-供应方特点对信任的影响. 销售人员的专业度(t=2.070, p<0.05)和权威授权(t=2.328, p<0.05)积极影响买方对供应方的信任. 另一方面, 权威授权(t=2.192, p<0.05)积极影响供应方对买方的信任. 对买方和供应方来说, 权威授权的程度对保持对彼此的信任有关键作用. 假设2测试买卖双方关系特点对信任的影响. 买家倾向于信任供应方, 因为供应方总是尽全力联系买方(t=2.212, p<0.05)这种倾向性在供应方方面也表现得很强(t=2.591, p<0.01). 另一方面, 供应商对买方的信任是由于供应商感知买家与自己的相似性(t=2.702, p<0.01). 这一发现证实了Crosby, Evans, 和Cowles(1990)的研究结果. 他们的结果表明供应方和买方通过商务或私务的定期会议来建立彼此的联系. 假设3测试信任对感知风险的影响. 结果表明无论对买方还是供应方, 信任越低, 感知风险就越大(买方: t =-6.621, p<0.01; 供应方: t=-2.437, p<0.05). 有趣的是, 这一趋势已被证明对买方更强. 这种较高水平的感知风险的一个可能的解释是在商业服务交易中买方通常比供应方感知到更大的风险. 为此, 有必要对供应商对买方实施减少风险的战略. 假设4测试信任对信息搜集. 根据结果, 对供应方和买方, 与预期相反, 信任取决于他们合作伙伴的名誉(买方t=2.929, p<0.01; 供应方t=2.711, p<0.05). 这一发现表明, 具有良好信誉的供应商往往是可信的. 以往的经验并没有显示出任何与买家或供应商信任的重要关系. 假设5测试信任对供应方/买方选择的影响. 与买方不同, 当供应方认为以往与买方的交易重要时, 供应方倾向信任买方(t=2.913 p<0.01). 但是, 本研究并没有现实资源忠诚和买方对供应方的信任之间有显著关系. 假设6测试的是信任对关系绩效的影响. 对买方和供应方, 当财务表现被报告提高时, 他们比较信任他们的合作伙伴(买方: t=2.301, p<0.05;供应方: t=3.692, p<0.01). 有趣的是, 这种趋势在供应方比较明显. 类似的, 当竞争力被报告提高时, 买卖双方比较信任他们的合作伙伴(买方t=3.563, p<0.01 ; 供应方t=3.042, p<0.01). 对供应方来说, 当对买方信任时效率和生产力会提高(t=2.673, p<0.01). 其他绩效指标与信任没有显著关系. 这项研究结果有一定的战略意义. 首先和最重要的是, 以信任为基础的交易对供应商和买家而言都是有益的. 根据研究证实, 通过努力建立和保持相互信任可以使财务表现提高. 同样, 可以通过同样的努力提高竞争力. 第二, 以信任为基础的交易能够减少购买情况中的感知风险. 这对供应商和买家都有启示. 人们普遍认为, 在一个高度参与的采购情况中买家感知到更高的风险. 为了减少风险, 以往的研究已建议供应商制定降低风险的策略. 而本研究的特点是从双边角度关注知觉风险. 换言之, 供应商也容易存在风险, 特别是当他们提供的服务, 需要非常先进的技术, 操作和维护. 因此, 购买者和供应商必须一起密切合作解决问题. 因此, 相互信任在问题解决过程中起着关键作用. 第三, 在这项研究中发现, 销售人员有更多的授权, 他或她越被信任. 这一发现从战术角度看是非常重要的. 建立信任是一个长期的任务, 然而, 当互信尚未开发, 供应商能够通过授权销售人员做出某些决定来克服遇到的问题, 这一结论也适用于供应商.

• 정보보호학회논문지
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• 제25권5호
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• pp.1225-1233
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• 2015

본 연구는 정교화 가능성 모델(Elaboration Likelihood Model, ELM)의 관점에서 E-Commerce에서 발생하는 소비자의 정보보안 인식의 영향을 조사하고, 소비자의 관여도와 경험의 조절 효과를 분석한 것이다. 소비자는 E-Commerce에 대한 관여도와 경험의 수준에 따라 E-Commerce 웹사이트를 사용하고 있다. 본 연구는 ELM을 기반으로 하여 소비자의 E-Commerce에 대한 정보보안 인식이 형성되고, 소비자의 관여도, 경험의 정도에 따라 그 효과 크기가 조절된다는 것을 설명하는 이론적 모형을 제시하고, 실증 연구를 통해 모형을 확인한다. 연구 결과, 소비자는 E-Commerce 웹사이트에 대한 인식의 유형에 따라 서로 다른 경로를 통해 E-Commerce 업체에 대한 신뢰 태도를 형성했고, 그 영향을 소비자의 관여도와 경험이 조절했다. E-Commerce에서 소비자의 정보보안 인식유형을 연구하는 것은 신뢰 형성에 대한 새로운 관점을 제시할 것으로 생각된다.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.401-411
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The expansion of menu labeling to restaurants has created a need to study customers' behavior toward nutrition information. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to compare college students' behavior toward nutrition information communication between Korea and the US. This study consisted of three objectives: 1) to compare the frequency of usage as well as degree of trust regarding smartphone-based communication channels in the acquisition of nutrition information among college students between Korea and the US, 2) to compare knowledge-sharing behavior related to nutrition information among college students between Korea and the US, and 3) to identify the role of country in the process of knowledge-sharing behavior. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A survey was distributed via the web to college students in Korea and the US. Data were collected in the 2nd week of March 2017. Completed responses were collected from 423 Koreans and 280 Americans. Differences between Koreans and Americans were evaluated for statistical significance using a t-test. In order to verify the effects of knowledge self-efficacy and transactive memory capability on knowledge-sharing behavior related to nutrition information, a regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: Significant differences were found in the frequency of usage as well as degree of trust in communication channels related to nutrition information between Korean and American college students. While knowledge self-efficacy and tractive memory capability had positive effects on knowledge-sharing behavior related to nutrition information, country had a significant effect on the process. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to compare customer behavior toward nutrition information acquisition and sharing between Korea and the US. Comparative research on nutrition information revealed differences among the different countries. Therefore, this study contributes to the body of knowledge on the nutrition information research, in particular, by providing a comparison study between countries.

• 한국조경학회지
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• 제39권3호
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• pp.74-82
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• 2011

본 연구는 공원관리 참여조직간의 사회적 연결망을 분석하고, 참여조직의 활동을 활성화하는 방향을 모색하기 위한 것이다. 이를 위해서 공원관리 참여조직 간의 신뢰, 참여, 정보교류의 실태를 사회 연결망 분석을 통해 살펴보았다. 구체적으로 서울숲을 대상으로 하였으며, 행정기관, 시민단체, 주민단체, 기업으로 구성된 15개 참여조직과 핵심인물 30명을 조사대상으로 선정하였다. 설문조사는 조직간 신뢰, 참여, 정보교류 및 연구 통계적 속성에 관한 내용으로 구성되었으며, 분석은 사회 연결망 분석 프로그램인 UCINET을 활용하였다. 분석결과, 1) 신뢰, 참여, 정보교류의 연결구조에서 다른 조직에 비해 많은 관계를 유지하고 있는 중추조직(HUB)는 서울숲 사랑모임과 서울숲 관리사무소로 나타났다. 2) 함께 일하고 싶은 조직과 향후 활발한 참여를 바라는 조직에 대한 연결망 분석에서는 환경 예술분야의 시민단체에 대한 요구가 높게 나타났다. 3) 부녀회, 통장단 등 지역 주민단체 연결망을 살펴보면 중심성이 매우 낮으며 서로간의 연결관계도 거의 없는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구결과와 함께 다양한 도시공원과 지역을 대상으로 공원관리 참여조직간의 사회 연결망 실태를 파악함으로써 주민참여와 협력 이 활발한 공원관리 방안을 마련하는데 활용할 수 있다.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.29-52
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• 2012

Consumers differ in the way they make a purchase. An audio mania would willingly make a bold, yet serious, decision to buy a top-of-the-line home theater system, while he is not interested in replacing his two-decade-old shabby car. On the contrary, an automobile enthusiast wouldn't mind spending forty thousand dollars to buy a new Jaguar convertible, yet cares little about his junky component system. It is product involvement that helps us explain such differences among individuals in the purchase style. Product involvement refers to the extent to which a product is perceived to be important to a consumer (Zaichkowsky, 2001). Product involvement is an important factor that strongly influences consumer's purchase decision-making process, and thus has been of prime interest to consumer behavior researchers. Furthermore, researchers found that involvement is closely related to perceived risk (Dholakia, 2001). While abundant research exists addressing how product involvement relates to overall perceived risk, little attention has been paid to the relationship between involvement and different types of perceived risk in an electronic commerce setting. Given that perceived risk can be a substantial barrier to the online purchase (Jarvenpaa, 2000), research addressing such an issue will offer useful implications on what specific types of perceived risk an online firm should focus on mitigating if it is to increase sales to a fullest potential. Meanwhile, past research has focused on such consumer responses as information search and dissemination as a consequence of involvement, neglecting other behavioral responses like online merchant selection. For one example, will a consumer seriously considering the purchase of a pricey Guzzi bag perceive a great degree of risk associated with online buying and therefore choose to buy it from a digital storefront rather than from an online marketplace to mitigate risk? Will a consumer require greater trust on the part of the online merchant when the perceived risk of online buying is rather high? We intend to find answers to these research questions through an empirical study. This paper explores the impact of enduring product involvement and perceived risks on required trust level, and further on online merchant choice. For the purpose of the research, five types or components of perceived risk are taken into consideration, including financial, performance, delivery, psychological, and social risks. A research model has been built around the constructs under consideration, and 12 hypotheses have been developed based on the research model to examine the relationships between enduring involvement and five components of perceived risk, between five components of perceived risk and required trust level, between enduring involvement and required trust level, and finally between required trust level and preference toward an e-tailer. To attain our research objectives, we conducted an empirical analysis consisting of two phases of data collection: a pilot test and main survey. The pilot test was conducted using 25 college students to ensure that the questionnaire items are clear and straightforward. Then the main survey was conducted using 295 college students at a major university for nine days between December 13, 2010 and December 21, 2010. The measures employed to test the model included eight constructs: (1) enduring involvement, (2) financial risk, (3) performance risk, (4) delivery risk, (5) psychological risk, (6) social risk, (7) required trust level, (8) preference toward an e-tailer. The statistical package, SPSS 17.0, was used to test the internal consistency among the items within the individual measures. Based on the Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ coefficients of the individual measure, the reliability of all the variables is supported. Meanwhile, the Amos 18.0 package was employed to perform a confirmatory factor analysis designed to assess the unidimensionality of the measures. The goodness of fit for the measurement model was satisfied. Unidimensionality was tested using convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity. The statistical evidences proved that the three types of validity were all satisfied. Now the structured equation modeling technique was used to analyze the individual paths along the relationships among the research constructs. The results indicated that enduring involvement has significant positive relationships with all the five components of perceived risk, while only performance risk is significantly related to trust level required by consumers for purchase. It can be inferred from the findings that product performance problems are mostly likely to occur when a merchant behaves in an opportunistic manner. Positive relationships were also found between involvement and required trust level and between required trust level and online merchant choice. Enduring involvement is concerned with the pleasure a consumer derives from a product class and/or with the desire for knowledge for the product class, and thus is likely to motivate the consumer to look for ways of mitigating perceived risk by requiring a higher level of trust on the part of the online merchant. Likewise, a consumer requiring a high level of trust on the merchant will choose a digital storefront rather than an e-marketplace, since a digital storefront is believed to be trustworthier than an e-marketplace, as it fulfills orders by itself rather than acting as an intermediary. The findings of the present research provide both academic and practical implications. The first academic implication is that enduring product involvement is a strong motivator of consumer responses, especially the selection of a merchant, in the context of electronic shopping. Secondly, academicians are advised to pay attention to the finding that an individual component or type of perceived risk can be used as an important research construct, since it would allow one to pinpoint the specific types of risk that are influenced by antecedents or that influence consequents. Meanwhile, our research provides implications useful for online merchants (both online storefronts and e-marketplaces). Merchants may develop strategies to attract consumers by managing perceived performance risk involved in purchase decisions, since it was found to have significant positive relationship with the level of trust required by a consumer on the part of the merchant. One way to manage performance risk would be to thoroughly examine the product before shipping to ensure that it has no deficiencies or flaws. Secondly, digital storefronts are advised to focus on symbolic goods (e.g., cars, cell phones, fashion outfits, and handbags) in which consumers are relatively more involved than others, whereas e- marketplaces should put their emphasis on non-symbolic goods (e.g., drinks, books, MP3 players, and bike accessories).