• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.12
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• pp.3848-3855
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• 2009

Many social and environmental changes emerged by the increasing of the number of the aged to entrance the aged society. This study explored the current supply status on Contents Technology R&D(research and development) of CT ministries and market policies(senior friendly industry) targeting to elderly consumers and the needs and demand of elderly generation to knowledge information technology. In, 2008, Ministries announced the sixth category of CT R&D's fundamental planning. The 'public culture service' to elderly and handicapped person is one of CT R&D category. This study investigated the information technology participation(internet participation rate, blog and internet cafe commitment) and contents technology to the elderly. The research indicated the desired needs of elderly consumers are creativity contents, emotional & experience and communication needs. These three factors of CT R&D to elderly consumers meets the needs non-game factors such as health, economic stability and information seeking in entertainment game.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.41-49
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• 2013

This study finds out the aged consumers' needs on the developing elderly friendly and sensitive bathtub. This bathtub focuses on enhancement of multi-senses and enhancement of health, safety & convenience during bath. The enhancing multi-senses would have four functions; therapy with color and aroma, the massage with micro water bubbles, the visual and auditory with TV & cinema, and the auditory with music and radio. Also, enhancing others of bathtub would have seven functions; emergency bell, blood-pressure check system for health condition, water temperature indicator, keeping water warm, reading a book in that, and controlling of house entrance door and a getting the phone during bath. The aged consumers' needs find throughout a questionnaire survey, and 497 data was analyzed. The main results are as follow. They consider a full bath behavior as a healthcare. They have an intention to purchase or use the elderly and friendly bathtub, and they prefer using it in common facilities to using it at home. They highly need health related function of bathtub, which are massage (64.4%), blood-pressure check system (55.1%) and aroma therapy (45.7%). The emergency bell (67.0%), keeping water warm (62.2%), and water temperature indicator (49.7%), related to safety & information function of bathtub, are needed. Also, they think tolerance for error and low physical effort in bathtub design alternative, opening door and inside sitting support, to be important.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.36 no.8B
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• pp.986-995
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• 2011

Recently, the market of fiber and apparel industry is rapidly changing from producer to consumer oriented. This trend emphasizes the necessity of SCM systems being able to do flexible correspondences to the market changing through synthetically reflecting consumers' various needs and a variety of patterns. However, because traditional SCMs manage their supply chains being based on bar code systems from the production to the distribution, they are suffering from the needs of real time information sharing and have their essential restrictions in the response to the environmental changes of the market and consumers' needs. This paper suggests a new RFID based u-SCM system optimized into the fiber and apparel industry. The proposed system has the benefits that through basing on RPID can collect information of the production and the distribution real time and make better use of it and connect to the legacy systems organically via Web services and rapidly respond to the market changing and consumers' needs. Through implementation, it is demonstrated that the proposed system can effectively facilitate them.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.417-425
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• 2020

There is a growing global interest in food choices that could affect health. Consumer food choices are dictated by numerous factors such as attitudes, beliefs, desires and preferences stemming from psychological and physiological attributes. The present study aimed to understand consumers' internal perceptions about cream soup, cream sauce, and tomato sauce using ZMET (Zaltman's Metaphor Elicitation Technique). The 9 step ZMET interview process was conducted for a sample of 36 consumers (12 consumers for each sauce). A content analysis of the survey results was carried out. From this, 56 concepts of cream soup were derived, and 15 constructs that met with the agreement of more than one-third of the total sample consumers were extracted. These 15 constructs included 'Soft', 'Recollection', 'Familiar', 'Warm', 'Comfortable', etc. Similarly, for cream sauce, 67 concepts and 20 constructs 'Silky', 'Warm', 'Restaurant', 'Family', 'Memory', etc. were deduced. A total of 66 concepts and 20 constructs for tomato sauce 'Sourness', 'Sauce Bottle', 'Pleasant', 'Ingredient', 'Cooking', etc. were derived. The analysis of consumers' consensus maps through this study provides a deep and useful understanding of consumers and their latent needs. Also, the results of this study indicate that exploring consumers' internal perceptions is critical to understanding their healthy food choices. This can be used as basic data for formulating marketing strategies.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.70-79
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• 2010

There has been some research conducted that addressed immoral consumer behaviors in Korea; however, most of this research focused on purchasing counterfeits or shoplifting. High return rates of apparel and used apparel returns have been acknowledged as problem areas within the fashion industry. However, very few researchers have addressed this issue. Therefore, the goal of this research was to explore consumer's retail borrowing experience using a mixed methods approach. In study 1 Korean consumer's retail borrowing experiences was explored through focus group interviews. Findings informed study 2 an examination of apparel consumers' attitudes toward retail borrowing behavior via an online survey. Findings assist both researchers' and practitioners' understanding of retail borrowing behaviors and provide insight into retail borrowing issues in the apparel retail industry. For study 1, five focus-group interviews were conducted with seven panels of individuals that had retail borrowing experience within the past year. Thirty-five Korean consumers who lived in a metropolitan area participated in the focus group interviews. Most of consumers were in their 20's (n=21) and were women (n=24). Most participants purchased apparel items from a retail store and returned the worn items for either a full refund or exchanged the worn item for another item. Motives underlying retail borrowing behavior included social needs, job-related needs, fashion needs, and "smart shopping." Similar to existing research findings from other countries, social needs were the most frequently mentioned cause of retail borrowing in fashion stores. Consumers' moral values, attitude toward large corporations, and prior retail borrowing experience were mentioned as possible factors affecting consumers' retail borrowing behavior. For study 2, the questionnaire used to gather the data was developed based on the findings of part I and existing research. Questions concerning consumers' moral beliefs, sensation seeking tendencies, self-worth, past retail job experience, retail borrowing experience, and some demographic characteristics were included in the questionnaire. The data were collected via an online survey using an online panel provided by a commercial online research company located in Seoul, Korea. In order to obtain various consumers, a quota sample was (male: female=1:1, 20's:30's:40's=1:1:1, retail experience: no retail experience=1:3) obtained from the company. A total of 401 consumers who had shopped for apparel items during the prior 6 months participated in the online survey. The results indicated that 19.7% of the respondents reported they had experience borrowing fashion merchandise. Among these individuals, male borrowers (57%) outnumbered female borrowers. In terms of age distribution, x2 revealed that there was a statistical difference between respondents with and without retail borrowing experiences: 41.8% of the respondents with retail borrowing experience were in their 40's, while respondents without retail borrowing experience were evenly distributed between their 20's to 40's. There was also a significant difference between respondents with and without retail borrowing experience in terms of income: respondents with retail borrowing experience tended to have higher incomes than those without retail borrowing experience. T-tests were performed to compare respondents' fashion shopping behavior, moral beliefs, sensation-seeking tendencies, and attitudes toward retail borrowing behavior between participants with and without retail borrowing experience. As compared to those with no borrowing experience, respondents with experience tended to shop for fashion items more frequently and spent more on shopping for fashion items. Consumers with experience borrowing tended to have higher sensation-seeking tendencies than consumers without retail borrowing experience. A regression analysis revealed that attitudes toward fashion retail borrowing were negatively related to consumers' moral beliefs, but positively related to monthly fashion shopping frequency, sensation-seeking tendencies, and past fashion retail borrowing experience. Among these variables, past retail borrowing experience was the most significant predictor, followed by moral beliefs. This research serves as an initial attempt to address the motives that underlie retail borrowing behaviors and the factors affecting those behaviors. The findings of this study may facilitate an understanding of the consumer's retail borrowing, which will provide a basis for approaches that may help decrease retail borrowing and inappropriate returns at fashion retail stores. The findings may also provide materials for consumer education over the long term. In order to better understand fashion retail borrowing behavior, more research is needed in the future.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.337-349
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• 2003

This study was dealt with consumers' attitudes and requests for refunds on the basis of data gathered in 1997 and 2000 and examined factors shaping the differences of the consumers' requesting for refunds and investigated variables influencing the presence or absence of requests for refunds. Research outcomes could be summarized as follows. First there were no differences in consumers' searches for information of refunds, degrees of satisfactions for practices of refunds, knowledges for refunds, consumers' expectation for the permission of refunds between two periods Consumers generally showed more active behaviors for the request for refunds in 2000 than in 1997. In cases of defects, the chance of getting refunds was higher while consumers feel greater needs for refund. Second, consumers perception for the necessity of refund and their expectations for successful outcomes were higher in cases of defects than in the opposite case; consumers were also more active to request for refunds and get more positive responses in the former case. Third, in cases of defects in 1997, as consumers faced the unsatisfactory response for their previous requests for refunds, they did not actively request for refunds. In 2000, requesting for refunds were more active as they were more knowledgeable, actively search for information of refunds before their purchases, and expect more positive outcomes for their requests for refund. On the other hand, in cases of no defects in 1997, consumers showed more active behaviors requesting for refunds as their own professional jobs, owned greater consumer expectation for positive outcomes and showed greater satisfactions for the previous requests of refunds. In the survey of 2000, consumers showed active behaviors requesting for refunds as they were highly educated, gather much information for refund, and showed positive expectations for the possibility of refund.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.149-168
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• 2016

Even though Korean consumers have shown the strong preference for environment-friendly agricultural products, the real market of environment-friendly agricultural products may reach a plateau. In order to overcome this problem, researchers should find the more specific consumers' needs, including taste, flavor, shape, and others. and offer some implications to farmers and marketers. The object of this paper is to analyze the determinant factors of Korean consumers about environment-friendly carrot and oriental melon, through survey and fuzzy multi-criteria decision making approach. The results of analyses present that Korean consumers have the unique determinant factors about environment-friendly carrot and oriental melon, which are different from conventional carrot and oriental melon. Korean consumers' experience of the buying of environment-friendly vegetable is also influential in the determinant factors. Findings and implications from this research may be useful to Korean producers and other researchers.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.36 no.9
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• pp.107-125
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• 1998

Focusing on 'reuse' with a view to the importance of unused cloths, this paper investigates the aspects of consumers' recycling attitudes regarding the cause and treatment of unused clothes. This research examines the responsibilities for recycling from the standpoint of consumers, and shows their requirements and advice to consumers themselves, clothing companies as the subject of production and the government and society. Considering the pattern of clothing life, this research deals with housewives who live I Seoul, Sung-nam and Choong-ju. After several pretests, the content and format of this questionnaire is revised and added. This investigation is carred by individual interviews and reponders' filling-out, from 24 November 1997 to 5 January 1998. Among the total 1,200 questionnaires, 1,150 sheets are taken back, but only 1,132 are available to analysis. The results are as follows: Most of all, among the causes of unused clothes, the problem of clothes itself is stemmed from the more responsibility of clothing companies rather than consumers'. From production to sale the companies, considering environment and recycling, should choose proper cloth material and adequate design. And then they require the consumers' attention to laundry and conservation. More important, consumers' attitudes should be changed because consumers themselves, in fact, recognize their responsibilities for recycling of clothing, from the questionnaire. After all, the recycling of clothing should lead to reduction of unused clothes as a fundamental solution. When it comes to unused clothes, its elimination pays more money and needs specialization. Moreover, citizens should participate in the problem independently and more information on the policies of recycling should be well-informed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fashion and Beauty
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• v.3 no.2 s.2
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• pp.55-64
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is to investigate consumers' knowledge and preference towards functional cosmetics. Through the beauty advisors' surveys, their own selling styles and consumer behaviors recognized by beauty advisors were analyzed. It was intended to help extend and strengthen the functional cosmetic market which has continued to grow rapidly since the approved goods under cosmetic law in 2001. For this study, the data was collected through questionnaires the professional consumer counselors confirmed from Korean women over the age. of twenty old living in the Seoul and Kyoungki areas. After pre-research was implemented on 45 women, 328 samples were analyzed as final samples. In addition,46 samples, which were collected through the questionnaires from beauty advisors were analyzed. Samples were analyzed by frequency, percentage, T-test, ANOVA using the SPSS program. The results of study were as follows: First consumers recognized whether functional cosmetics or not. According to the beauty advisor's surveys, consumers regard the functional cosmetic boundary as being wider than real functional cosmetic boundary according to cosmetic law. So, there is a gap between consumers' opinions and real law. Second, regarding the purchasing channels, the largest channel is the cosmetic store. As far as consumers are concerned the most important factor when buying cosmetics, is the suitability of their own skin types. The second factor is product quality and the third factor is price. Functional cosmetics non-experienced group are more concerned with price compared to experienced group. Related to purchasing products, functional cosmetics experienced group buy set products compared to non-experienced group buy one product. Third, the ultraviolet filter cosmetics portion is the largest in the functional cosmetics market the second largest portion is bleaching cosmetics and the third largest portion is the anti-senility cosmetics. However, Most preferred by consumers is the anti-senility cosmetics. Moreover, preference for ultraviolet filter cosmetics is the least. Finally, the level of satisfaction for functional cosmetics is high and dissatisfaction is low. Consumers feel that beauty advisors are simply pushing high priced products without recognizing the consumers' real needs. In conclusion, to develop the functional cosmetic market continually in the future, it needs to extend various products and advertise them until consumers are more aware.

• Journal of the Korea Furniture Society
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.380-391
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• 2010

Modular furniture's colors, materials, finishing materials and quantities are determined by users' tastes and it's diverse functions, shapes and sizes are determined by the spaces of users. That is, modules satisfy the diversity of consumers, meet differentiated individuals' tastes and enable communications with consumers rather than delivering one-way messages of designers. The contemporary spaces of the 21st century have been gradually shifting from uniform spaces attaching weight on individuals' individuality and tastes and along with it, the consumption of expensive custom-made furniture and foreign branded furniture is increasing to satisfy those small numbers of consumers who want to express diversified individuality. The modular furniture as a concept which is the most suitable to Mass Customization can be produced in large quantities while considering the diverse needs and tastes of individuals and it does not have absolute shapes or sizes. The concept of modular furniture shows similarities to the creation of fractals that forms shapes by self similarities, repeats and similar transformations which is in the same context as the characteristics of a modular design that presents diversity with scales, materials and jointing points. Fractals will be combined with the digital media of today to present great plasticity and influence designers more heavily. Pursuit of new modeling is a requisite for the creation of future spaces and it will require continuous creativity and the transformable modular furniture will contribute to the satisfaction of diverse consumers' needs. This study is to propose the modular furniture that considers the diversity of the public in the 21st century and their individuality and that will enable interactions between designers and consumers.