• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.11 no.12
• /
• pp.39-49
• /
• 2013

Purpose - This study attempts to examine the underlying dimensions of service quality (tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy) for low-cost carriers. It subsequently seeks to determine the effect of the relationships of the dimensions of service quality, airline image, and behavioral intentions on airline services to provide adequate basic information and attributes for developing differentiated and competitive service marketing strategies. Research design, data, and methodology - The survey for this study was conducted on patrons with low-cost carrier boarding experiences in districts near universities and central businesses of Seoul and Busan from 5/10/2012 to 16/10/2012. Out of 346 questionnaires, 20 questionnaires with missing data and insincere answers were excluded for this study. Collected data were processed using SPSS 18.0, and the hypothesis was verified by analyzing the structural equation model with Lisrel 8.54. First, the frequency analysis was conducted to identify universal characteristics. Second, the exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis were conducted to identify the accuracy of the variable measurements of the construct. Third, to assess uni-dimensionality and reliability, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. Finally, to verify the adequacy of the research model and research hypothesis, the structural model was employed. Results - The results revealed that the factors, "tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy" were shown to be the most important dimensions of service quality for the airline image of the low-cost carrier which was consistent with previous studies. Therefore, it is fair to suggest that these verified factors are crucial attributes for the brand image of low-cost carriers. Second, as reliability and responsiveness were shown to be the most important factors for behavioral intentions, it is viable to suggest that these two attributes are crucial for the sales value of low-cost carriers. Further, it was found that the brand image of low-cost carriers was closely related to behavioral intentions. Therefore, in order to ensure the competitiveness and loyalty of patrons, the airline image value is a crucial attribute. Conclusions - The result of this study established that service quality is the most important attribute for marketing to ensure competitiveness, and intensive and differentiated service marketing play a crucial role in creating profits for low-cost carrier companies. First, as tangibility is found to be the most crucial factor in ensuring service quality, quality control and maintenance of medium and small carriers must be provided to ensure reliability, as they are the main attributes of low-cost carriers. Second, in order to promote positive behavioral intentions, it is essential to enhance the value of airline image. Third, in order to ensure competitiveness, it is imperative to carry out intensive and differentiated service marketing. Therefore, to promote the image of low-cost carriers and enhance behavioral intentions, the level of service quality must be secured by developing appropriate service improvement programs.

• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.11 no.12
• /
• pp.25-37
• /
• 2013

Purpose - The structure of retailing has changed as retailers develop markets in response to business environment changes. This study aims to analyze the general situation of retailers in order to predict future global strategy using case studies of overseas expansion strategy and the Metro Group's global strategy. Research design, data, and methodology - The backgrounds to the new retail business model and retailer classification are analyzed as theoretical data. In addition, the key success point of the Metro Group's "cash and carry" strategy is analyzed as is the Metro Group's global CFAR (collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment) strategy. Finally, the plan for cooperation and precise forecasting under the Metro Group's supply chain management are analyzed from the promotion environment viewpoint. Related materials analyzed included the 2012 annual report, the Metro Group's web page, and a video interview with the executive in charge of global strategy and the new market development department. Some data were revised to avoid disrupting essential aspects of the case studies. Results - The important finding was that the Metro Group could be a world-class retail company with its successful global expansion strategy. The Metro Group's global strategy's primary goal is to have a leading business position in Eastern and Western Europe. The "cash and carry" strategy is highest priority in its overseas expansion strategy. Moreover, the Metro Group has standardized product planning capacity, which could be applied in various countries with different structural and cultural backgrounds. This is the main reason that the Metro Group could rapidly become successful in the Eastern Europe and Asian markets through its structural overseas expansion strategies. In addition, the Metro Group emphasizes the importance of supply chain management. Conclusions - First, retailers should create additional value through utilizing the domestic market, market power, and economies of scale to launch a global strategy to maximize benefits from diversification. Second, the political, economic, and cultural background of the target country needs to be understood to successfully implement the overseas expansion strategy. Third, the main factor of successful cooperation with a local partner is how quickly the company gains total understanding of the business resources and core competence of its partner. All organizations should focus on the achievement of goals in order to successfully operate the partnership. Fourth, retailers should improve their business, financial and organizational structure. Moreover, the work processes and company culture should also be improved to respond strongly in the competitive global market. Fifth, the essential point of a successful retail business is the control capacity of its branding and format. The retailer could avoid forecasting errors through supply chain management by perfectly distributing the actual amount of its inventory. In addition, the risks along the supply chain are effectively shared between the supply chain partners. Finally, the central tendency of the market is to gain in strength with this taking place across all parts of the business.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.39-60
• /
• 2006

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of two different characteristics of music(tempo) and advertising photograph(type) in a fashion store on consumers' emotional responses and approach behavior and to suggest competitive in-store atmospheric strategies. To test the conceptual model, this study used a video simulation method. Researchers selected a fashion casual wear retail store for young people and videotaped to provide realistic store settings. Two different levels of background music(fast, slow) and advertising photograph(sexy, cheerful) were inserted into the video clip generating four stimuli. Including a stimulus for the control group, 5 video clips were created. A total of 289 subjects answered the questionnaire after viewing a two-minute video clips. The results are as follows: First, advertising photograph in a store had a significant effect on consumers' in-store emotional state, whereas musical tempo did not. Second, the effect of in-store consumers' emotional state on behavioral reponses were investigated. Results showed that consumers' positive emotional state lead to consumers' approach behavior. The results of this study indicated that background music and advertising photograph in a fashion store affected consumers' in-store emotional state, and ultimately these affected consumers' positive approach behavior. Thus retailer should try to create a pleasant store environment using effective store atmospheric factors like background music and advertising photograph.

• Management & Information Systems Review
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.187-209
• /
• 2017

Service industry performance and competitive advantage depend on the attitudes and behavior of customer service employees who produce and deliver services through contact with customers. Most studies on customer service employees so far have concentrated on kindness, attitudes, or benefits. This study focuses on the increasing importance of customer service employees and intends to study them from the viewpoint of human brands that recognize customer service employees as a brand. In addition to the role of the employee at the service contact point, the customer participation behavior affects the interaction process with the customer service employee. Ultimately, customers could no longer be excluded from control to improve service quality. This study based on theory that the human brand characteristics of the customer service employees lead the customer's participation, which has a positive effect on the relationship with the service brand and the service brand attitude surveyed and analyzed customers who use service brand. This study is summarized as follows. First, the relationship between the service brand and the customer is examined. Second, this study also expands prior studies by examining the human brand characteristics of customer service employees and customers' willingness to participate in providing information on the impact of the consumer-brand relationship. The results of the study indicate that among the customer service employees' human brand characteristics reliability, familiarity, and empathy were found to affect the relationship between customers, the service brand, and the attitude toward the service brand the most. This study provides important implications for theoretical and practical strategies by examining the qualities and characteristics of customer service employees, which are the most important agents of marketing.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.178-192
• /
• 2010

This research aimed to analyze the effects of brand equity has on satisfaction and brand loyalty of food service consumers in restaurants. For the empirical analysis, we used the self-administered method, using 250 copies of questionnaire in total. 235 copies(94%) was collected and we used the 223 copies(89%) for the analysis. For data processing, we used the statistical package program of SPSS WIN Version 12.0, conducting a frequency analysis, a reliability analysis and a factor analysis, and verifying hypotheses through a regression analysis. As the result of the research, for the hypothesis that "Brand equity(brand recognition, brand image, perceived quality, brand attitude) will have a significant effect on satisfaction," it showed that brand recognition, brand image and perceived quality have a significant effect on satisfaction, and for the hypothesis that "Satisfaction will have a significant effect on brand loyalty," it showed that satisfaction has a significant effect on brand loyalty. For the hypothesis that "Brand equity (brand recognition, brand image, perceived quality, brand attitude) will have a significant effect on brand loyalty," it showed that brand recognition, perceived quality and brand attitude have a significant effect on brand loyalty. To build a competitive brand of the food service industry on the basis of the results of this research, they will concentrate their energy on outlining strategies which can remind customers of their brands by managing their brands systematically and on strengthening their brand equity effectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
• /
• v.38
• /
• pp.193-211
• /
• 1998

Without a solid marketing system in placed, the fashion industry cannot flourish on out-standing design or technology alone. Even though the significance of collecting and analyzing information, merchandising, and retail distribution is recognized, these functions are not firmly rooted or prevalent in our industry. In contrast, Italy which possesses similar demographic traits such as the lack of natural resources and other physical factors has succeed-ed in globalizing its fashion market by responding swiftly and exercising flexiblity to its constantly changing consumer demand. This in turn has earned Italy the competitive edge in the global fashion arena. Italy's unique management skills and operation know-how, along with successful market strategies come into play in bringing competitiveness to Italy's fashion market. Firstly, smaller companies with ability to adopt swiftly to the ever changing market. Secondly, fashion friendly social environment. Thirdly, niche marketing through highly specialized system and differentiation. Fourthly, timeless innovation through intense corporate competition. Lastly, establishment of foundations to support the industry through diverse networking. The alone building blocks have formed a basis for erecting an unparalleled market with a reputation for excellence in design and quality in the global fashion world. This study has examined how Italy's fashion industry has evolved from an underdeveloped textile business into a cutting edge fashion in-dustry. Italy's unique business processes and practices were studied to come up with a collection and merchandising ideas in a niche market. By selecting this venue we are able to continuously grow and develop in a market with diverse consumer needs. To analyze the Italian fashion market, data from 3 institutions were utilized, namely, CIT-ER which has provided consumer trends and sales analysis, SITA,a data service provided statistics from the textile and apparel businesses, and NBI has also furnished valuable data. Italian consumer preference, buying behavior, consumer profile, retail channels and other related data from the above institutions has formed a backbone for market segmentation and target markets, and as a result, we were able to zero in on the type of consumer, produce, pricing and retail channels for our womenswear. Going forward the direction is to elevate product image and pretige, and create syn-ergy between related industries, and at the same note, in order to develop internationally recognized brands such as Max Mara and Benetton. Certain elements such as the specialization of the fashion industry, alon-g with fashion-related data base and systems support, and most importantly experts with acute fashion sense and capacity to analyze pertinent data are in need. I firmly believe that we can achieve Italy's level in the fashion market with support from the government and unrelenting effort within the industry itself, and hope that this report can prove to be useful.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.741-752
• /
• 2010

City culture resources are critical elements to city brand strategies for improving city attraction and provide much contribution to induce visitors from competitive city. A city brand needs to be distinguished and differentiated from competing cities because they are all engaged in the similar environment of city. The differentiation of brand achievement has become increasingly important to highlight certain brand functions to include emotional, self-expressive, and symbolic functions since the importance of such functions has been further emphasized in promoting tourism activities. In particular, That is the recent role of city brand personality that has been emphasized in city management. In other words, visitors now freely and actively express their personalities or egos in tourism activities, taking an important role in construction of a brand asset. The study examines how culture resources affect city brand personality, relationship quality, and city brand royalty in the tourism city. The authors test the proposed model using data from Jeju tourists. The pivotal findings via the structural equation model in the study are as follows; 1) culture resources have been classified culture programs, culture infra, human resources, 2) The city brand personality has been classified as innovativeness, peacefulness, sophistication, confidence and dynamics; 3) The culture resources influenced on the city brand personality; 4) The city brand personality influenced on the satisfaction and involvement; 5) The satisfaction and involvement influenced on the loyalty. Results from the empirical study indicates that culture resources have a strong positive impaction on city brand personality. To increase tourist' royalty of city brand personality, managements must manage culture effectively and create friendly city brand personality to in accord with tourist needs.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.111-118
• /
• 2007

Global warming crisis due primarily to continued green house gas emission requires impending change to renewable alternative energy than continuously depending on exhausting fossil fuels. Bioenergy including biodiesel and bioethanol are considered good alternatives because of their renewable and sustainable nature. Bioethanol is currently being produced by using sucrose from sugar beet, grain starches or lignocellulosic biomass as sources of ethanol fermentation. However, grain production requires significant amount of fossil fuel inputs during agricultural practices, which means less competitive in reducing the level of green house gas emission. By contrast, cellulosic bioethanol can use naturally-growing, not-for-food biomass as a source of ethanol fermentation. In this respect, cellulosic ethanol than grain starch ethanol is considered a more appropriate as a alternative renewable energy. However, commercialization of cellulosic ethanol depends heavily on technology development. Processes such as securing enough biomass optimized for economic processing, pretreatment technology for better access of polymer-hydrolyzing enzymes, saccharification of recalcitrant lignocellulosic materials, and simultaneous fermentation of different sugars including 6-carbon glucose as well as 5-carbon xylose or arabinose waits for greater improvement in technologies. Although it seems to be a long way to go until commercialization, it should broadly benefit farmers with novel source of income, environment with greener and reduced level of global warming, and national economy with increased energy security. Mission-oriented strategies for cellulosic ethanol development participated by government funding agency and different disciplines of sciences and technologies should certainly open up a new era of renewable energy.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.5 no.3
• /
• pp.47-68
• /
• 2010

In this study, a unit of regional tourism as a cluster of innovative strategies that can be an assumption that the activation of tourism clusters building on local festivals and participated to review the empirical aims. The purpose of this study was to achieve literature and empirical research were given recognition for the cultural festival in Chungnam, Chungcheong-do you want to go to the local cultural festival linked to the tourist attractions, the cluster characteristics, participation motives, the festival satisfaction, revisit the decision, recommendation of the The analysis was carried out degrees. To this end, local cultural festivals and attractions, Chungnam 150 spectators in the survey was conducted, the statistical analysis using SAS 9 statistical package program was analyzed. Used for statistical analysis, frequency analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis, multiple regression analysis. Festival of the cluster attribute satisfaction and revisit four on the most direct impact on the competitive conditions were not. Festival in regard to motivation and satisfaction with intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation in returning to the doctor more were affected. The condition is the element intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation is a race condition was the biggest influence. Therefore, the element condition Satisfaction Festival, a race condition in four to revisit the biggest indirect impact can be seen.

• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.12 no.9
• /
• pp.101-112
• /
• 2014

Purpose - Recently, although corporate social responsibility activities have been increasing in size, they do not have to achieve qualitative improvements and can be passive and cost consuming. Therefore, companies should make quantitative as well as qualitative improvements in their efforts in corporate social responsibility activities. In this study, the classification of social responsibility activities in a variety of studies was analyzed through a more specific path than in previous studies. Corporate behavior image, social behavior image, and corporate contributions image were analyzed through a more detailed analysis of performance. This study suggests that more detailed and concentrated social responsibility activities be pursued by forming companies. Research design, data, and methodology - The purpose of study is to gauge the corporate need for a more intensive, specific area of CSR activities. For this purpose, the sample of consumers that were targeted for CSR activities, recognized as 261 persons, have been investigated. Through a theoretical discussion on previous research, nine hypotheses were established on corporate image, the influence of corporate performance on CSR, and the CSV regulation effect. In order to test the hypothesis, a survey was conducted on 261 male and female consumers who were targeted for CSR, being persons in their 20s to 40s. PASW Statistics 18.0 and AMOS 18.0 were used for statistical analysis. Results - Corporate behavior image was formed through legal responsibility activities and economic responsibility activities. In addition to economic responsibilities, ethical responsibilities and environmental responsibilities were confirmed to have influence on social behavior image. Corporate social responsibility and philanthropic responsibility were confirmed to have influence on economic contribution image. Corporate image has positive effects on brand attitude, corporate reputation, and corporate competition. In addition, when CSV awareness is high, consumers perceive corporate image only through economic responsibility. However, when CSV awareness is low, economic responsibility as well as legal responsibility through charitable activities form the corporate image that influences the brand attitude and corporate reputation, as well as corporate competitiveness. It would appear that the area of corporate social responsibility needs more intensive management for corporate image and corporate competitive advantage. Conclusion - First, the findings of this study show that each CSR activity has a different effect on corporate image and thus, the corporate image influences corporate performance in distinct ways, depending on the CSR activity. This implies that reactive strategies should be tailored to the required image. Second, there is a difference in CSV awareness between groups. When the CSV awareness is low, we can confirm that legal responsibility activities have an especially significant effect on corporate image, implying that corporations should pursue their economic objectives within legal regulations and need to invest significant time and effort for this. This study has limited generalization potential because the result of the model fit has insufficient reference value. In future research, we need to approach various dimensions of corporate performance.