• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2010

Green or an environmental consciousness has been a major issue for businesses and government offices, as well as consumers, worldwide. In response to this movement, the Korean government announced, in the early 2000s, the era of "Green Growth" as a way to encourage green-related business activities. The Korean fashion industry, in various levels of involvement, presents diverse eco-friendly products as a part of the green movement. These apparel products include organic products and recycled clothing. For these companies to be successful, they need information about who are the consumers who consider green issues (e.g., environmental sustainability) as part of their personal values when making a decision for product purchase, use, and disposal. These consumers can be considered as eco-sumers. Previous studies have examined consumers' purchase intention for or with eco-friendly products. In addition, studies have examined influential factors used to identify the eco-sumers or green consumers. However, limited attention was paid to eco-sumers' disposal or recycling behavior of clothes in comparison with their green product purchases. Clothing disposal behaviors are ways that consumer can get rid of unused clothing and in clue temporarily lending the item or permanently eliminating the item by "handing down" (e.g., giving it to a younger sibling), donating, exchanging, selling, or simply throwing it away. Accordingly, examining purchasing behaviors of eco-friendly fashion items in conjunction with clothing disposal behaviors should improve understanding of a consumer's clothing consumption behavior from the environmental perspective. The purpose of this exploratory study is to provide descriptive information about Korean eco-sumers who have ecologically-favorable lifestyles and behaviors when buying and disposing of clothes. The objectives of this study are to (a) categorize Koreans on the basis of clothing disposal behaviors; (b) investigate the differences in demographics, lifestyles, and clothing consumption values among segments; and (c) compare the purchase intention of eco-friendly fashion items and influential factors among segments. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on previous studies. The questionnaire included 10 items of clothing disposal behavior, 22 items of LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) characteristics, and 19 items of consumption values, measured by five-point Likert-type scales. In addition, the purchase intention of two eco-friendly fashion items and 11 attributes of each item were measured by seven-point Likert type scales. Two polyester fleece pullovers, made from fabric created from recycled bottles with the PET identification code, were selected from one Korean brand and one US imported brand among outdoor sportswear brands. A brief description of each product with a color picture was provided in the survey. Demographic variables (i.e., gender, age, marital status, education level, income, occupation) were also included. The data were collected through a professional web survey agency during May 2009. A total of 600 final usable questionnaires were analyzed. The age of respondents ranged from 20 to 49 years old with a mean age of 34 years. Fifty percent of the respondents were males and about 58% were married, and 62% reported having earned university degrees. Principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation was used to identify the underlying dimensions of the clothing disposal behavior scale, and three factors were generated (i.e., reselling behavior, donating behavior, non-recycling behavior). To categorize the respondents on the basis of clothing disposal behaviors, k-mean cluster analysis was used, and three segments were obtained. These consumer segments were labeled as 'Resale Group', 'Donation Group', and 'Non-Recycling Group.' The classification results indicated approximately 98 percent of the original cases were correctly classified. With respect to demographic characteristics among the three segments, significant differences were found in gender, marital status, occupation, and age. LOHAS characteristics were reduced into the following five factors: self-satisfaction, family orientation, health concern, environmental concern, and voluntary service. Significant differences were found in the LOHAS factors among the three clusters. Resale Group and Donation Group showed a similar predisposition to LOHAS issues while the Non-Recycling Group presented the lowest mean scores on the LOHAS factors compared to the other segments. The Resale and Donation Groups described themselves as enjoying or being satisfied with their lives and spending spare-time with family. In addition, these two groups cared about health and organic foods, and tried to conserve energy and resources. Principal components factor analysis generated clothing consumption values into the following three factors: personal values, social value, and practical value. The ANOVA test with the factors showed differences primarily between the Resale Group and the other two groups. The Resale Group was more concerned about personal value and social value than the other segments. In contrast, the Non-Recycling Group presented the higher level of social value than did Donation Group. In a comparison of the intention to purchase eco-friendly products, the Resale Group showed the highest mean score on intent to purchase Product A. On the other hand, the Donation Group presented the highest intention to purchase for Product B among segments. In addition, the mean scores indicated that the Korean product (Product B) was more preferable for purchase than the U.S. product (Product A). Stepwise regression analysis was used to identify the influence of product attributes on the purchase intention of eco product. With respect to Product A, design, price and contribution to environmental preservation were significant to predict purchase intention for the Resale Group, while price and compatibility with my image factors were significant for the Donation Group. For the Non-Recycling Group, design, price compatibility with the factors of my image, participation to eco campaign, and contribution to environmental preservation were significant. Price appropriateness was significant for each of the three clusters. With respect to Product B, design, price and compatibility with my image factors were important, but different attributes were associated significantly with purchase intention for each of the three groups. The influence of LOHAS characteristics and clothing consumption values on intention to purchase Products A and B were also examined. The LOHAS factor of health concern and the personal value factor were significant in the relationships with the purchase intention; however, the explanatory powers were low in the three segments. Findings showed that each group as classified by clothing disposal behaviors showed differences in the attributes of a product, personal values, and the LOHAS characteristics that influenced their purchase intention of eco-friendly products. Findings would enable organizations to understand eco-friendly behavior and to design appropriate strategic decisions to appeal eco-sumers.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.148-163
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• 2024

With the digitalization of production and consumption environments, consumers are no longer merely targets of marketing, but key players in creating value jointly with companies by participating in various decision-making processes. Much virtual content in particular, such as fashion shows, exhibitions, games, social activities, and shopping, which fashion brands implement in virtual worlds, cannot be completed without consumers' active engagement and interaction. Thus, this study considers consumers' participation in virtual content provided by fashion brands as value co-creation in virtual worlds. This study aims to examine how consumer (i.e., consumer smartness) and fashion firm (i.e., perceived intellectual capital) factors influence value co-creation behavior intention in virtual worlds. Data were collected from 410 consumers in their 20s nationwide through an online survey, and a higher-order structural equation modeling analysis was conducted to test the research model. The results showed that both consumer smartness and perceived intellectual capital positively influenced customer participation behavior and citizenship behavior intentions. Specifically, perceived intellectual capital had a greater impact on value co-creation behavior in the virtual world than consumer smartness. The findings provide empirical evidence that the fashion firms' intangible assets and consumers' competence in the digital shopping environment encourage their intentions to co-create value in virtual worlds.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.805-812
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is to analyze the shopping orientation and purchase behavior of missy women who are the main consumers of baby's wear and to identify the differences between decision criteria for baby's wear purchase and purchase behavior by their types of shopping orientation. The results of this study are as followings: 1. The analysis of shopping orientation shows that there are five factors; pleasure-oriented, practicality-oriented, impulse-oriented, store-devoted, and individual-oriented shopping. The group analysis shows that there are five groups; store-devoted shopping group, individual-oriented shopping group, impulse-oriented shopping group, practicality-oriented shopping group and pleasure-oriented shopping group. 2. The analysis of the differences in decision criteria for baby's wear purchase by the types of shopping orientation demonstrates that there are significance differences in all variables except price and design variables. The results show that store-devoted shopping group puts an emphasis on the quality and practicality. Individual-oriented shopping group emphasizes practicality. Impulse-oriented shopping group considers brand image and fashionableness. Practicality-oriented shopping group focuses on practicality. And pleasure-oriented shopping group regards brand image and fashionableness. 3. In order to find out the purchase behavior by the types of shopping orientation, several variables, such as favored images by the types, information resources, store selection behavior, purchase expanses, purchase frequency, and the ratio of purchasing imported baby's wear, are analyzed. The results show no significant differences among them.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.119-138
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• 2023

Purpose - This research is to empirically explore the differences in apparel consumption among male and female teenagers and college students in Korea and China. By conducting a survey to understand customers' needs and behaviors, fashion businesses will be able to improve their customer satisfaction and avoid redundancy, inventory, and the waste of resources, effort and money. Design/methodology - The research design considers the consumption patterns of male and female high school and college students in Korea and China. To analyze the data, the study employs decision trees, a type of machine learning algorithm. A decision tree model was developed to examine the relationship between the explanatory and response variables, which can be either quantitative or qualitative in nature. Findings - The main findings of this study indicate that there are differences in shopping behavior among different customer segments. The results show that men have a simpler shopping behavior compared to women. Additionally, cultural factors and the difference in fashion needs between students and non-students have a significant impact on the shopping choices of Chinese and Korean individuals. Originality/value - Existing studies often assume that the shopping behavior of high school and university students is similar and that there are no significant differences in clothing purchases between men and women across countries. The results provide valuable insights into the unique shopping behavior of different customer segments, and can inform fashion businesses in their efforts to meet the needs of their customers.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.265-284
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• 2020

This study aimed to analyze the performance of Disney-collaborated fashion lines based on online consumer reviews. To do so, the researchers employed text mining and network analysis to identify key words in the reviews of these products. Blogs, internet cafes, and web documents provided by Naver, Daum, and YoutTube were selected as subjects for the analysis. The analysis period was limited to one year after for the 2019. Data collection and analysis were conducted using Python 3.7, Textom, and NodeXL. The research terms in question were as follows: 'Disney fashion collaboration' and 'Frozen fashion collaboration'. Preliminary survey results indicated that 'Elsa's dress' was the most frequently mentioned term and that the domestic fashion brand Eland Retail was the most active in selling Disney branded clothing through its own brand. The writers of reviews for Disney-collaborated fashion products were primarily mothers with daughters. Their decision to purchase these products was based upon the following factors; price, size, stability of decoration, shipping, laundry, and retailer. The motives for purchasing the product were the positive response of the consumer's child and the satisfaction of the parents due to the child's response. The problems to be solved included insufficient quantity of supply, delay in delivery, expensive price considering the number of times children's clothes are worn, poor glitter decoration, faded color, contamination from laundry, and undesirable smells immediately after the purchase.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.254-265
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• 2017

This study examines the possibility of a neuro-scientific approach to fashion Visual Merchandising (VM), by researching the brain activation of customers about fashion stores in terms of VM. Study subjects were in 20's-30's residing in Busan and ten ordinary person or fashion industry related individuals, it measures the change of cerebral blood flow on positive/negative photo stimulus in terms of VM using a functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) device, and then compared the brain activation to the difference of the fashion store VM. Photo stimuli utilized in the experiment were selected through a preliminary study in advance. The results of this study are as follows. First, the brain activation was found in all 16 channels of stimulus ranges of fashion store VM regardless of positive/negative stimulus. This means that the VM of fashion store causes changes to the cerebral blood flow of consumers, which implies that consumer behavior can be affected by store VM. It also shows that the brain is more active in negative VM stimulus than positive VM despite slight differences in the subjects. In terms of VM, this suggests that the negative factors of fashion stores have a greater effect on the brains of consumers compared to the positive factors. Second, the reaction of the brain channel is different according to the positive/negative VM stimulus of the fashion store by product group and confirms that positive/negative VM stimulus can be distinguished by brain-reaction for the three product groups except for the underwear group among four product groups (men's wear store, women's wear store, underwear store, and sportswear store). The results indicate that more objective scientific measure and decision-making are possible through neuro-science in the strategic execution of VM. This study verified the possibility for a neuro-scientific approach to fashion VM; therefore, there are expectations for the various activation of interdisciplinary research and subsequent development of VM that utilize neuroscience in fashion marketing.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.637-649
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• 2011

Environmental protection has become more important than ever because of increasing environmental pollution and abnormal climatic changes caused by the depletion of resources from industrial activities. Fashion products can create various environmental pollutants during the production process. Since they are in direct contact with the body, the environment-friendly features for the fashion industry will become increasingly important and the necessity to execute a detailed study regarding the environment-friendly fashion marketing will also become increasingly important. The purpose of this study was to segment the levels of environment-friendly fashion marketing mixes, that analyze the relationship between consumer decision-making factors and purchasing intentions. We propose effective several marketing strategies. A total of 457 questionnaires were analyzed using frequency analysis, t-tests, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and ANOVA in SPSS. The results are as follows: First, environment-friendly fashion products were segmented into four groups, environment-friendly materials, environment-friendly production, environment-friendly management, and recycling/ disuse of products. Second, the promotion of environment-friendly fashion products were highly ranked, followed by materials used, distribution methods, and production management. Third, women considered usage, management, and price for environment-friendly fashion products as more important than men did. Finally, a total of 39.4% of the respondents had purchased environment-friendly fashion products, with a preference to buy environment-friendly underwear, outerwear, bags, shoes, and accessories. By establishing and executing the environment-friendly fashion marketing mixes, fashion companies execute successful marketing activities in both domestic and international markets.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.48 no.10
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• pp.37-49
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to identify preteen girls and their mothers' apparel image preference and apparel purchase behavior. This study was particularly interested in verifying the influencing factors of plus size preteen girls' apparel choice by investigating the correlations between preteens' physical characteristic and their apparel related variables. Data were obtained from the questionnaire by 190 preteen girls and 120 mothers. The influential power of preteens on apparel purchase decision was greater than that of their mothers, and their preferred apparel images were comfortable/neat, cute/girlish, and mature/chic. Comparing to preteen girls, their mothers preferred comfortable/neat and cute/girlish images to mature/chic apparel image. Their physical maturity levels were significantly correlated with apparel image preference. Moreover, plus size preteen girls' interests in appearance and clothing was higher than that of normal weight preteen girls, this implied potentiality in apparel market for plus size preteen.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.20-27
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• 2005

To find suitable color for an individual is very important in personal image-making. In recent years, the importance and role of personal image is also more emphasized. This study deals with the necessity d personal color system and the proposal of color which looks nice on a person as a result d personal color system. It also includes the method of making personal image by balancing between and using both favorite color and unfavorite color. Besides, I study how does the color image affect the personal appearance image in this paper. From clinical experiments, I concluded as follow. First, Each person has his suitable color. When the color is used, the color, pimples, flows and so on are covered and defects of his face are made up for. Second, By changing the factors of his own original color-group and decision factors - color d skin, hair, eye, etc -, I can change personal color-group. Third, The image of color affects the personal appearance image, when it used in make-up and hair-color. Considering above results, If one uses one's suitable color, one will complement defects done's face and improve merits of one's. Besides, One will be more confident and active by using one's suitable color.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.184-193
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• 2020

The purposes of this paper are to find the effects of beauty shop online motivations on the convenience of reservation system, to investigate the convenience of reservation system on satisfaction, and to determine the effects of satisfaction on word-of-mouth behaviors. Based on the results, there are three factors in the motivations: diversion, service-prioritized, and impulse-driven tendencies. Also, there are five factors in the reservation convenience perception: efficiency of decision-making, easy monetary transaction, overall convenience, accessibility, and effortless nature of rewarding system. In terms of the convenience of online booking, the access convenience was found that as the motivation diversion and the service-prioritized motivation higher and as the impulse reservation motivation lower. Furthermore, this paper concludes that offered by online beauty service reservation systems, and higher satisfaction rate leads to higher review behaviours.