• 한국사회정책
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.149-183
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• 2012

This article aims to analyze main features of activation policy and compare major programmes in terms of their impact on employment performances in Korea. Since the introduction of National Basic Living Security Act in 2000, a series of activation policies have been in place for social assistance recipients, low-income employees, and youth unemployed by means of providing tailored employment and social services via in-depth counselling and case management. These activation policies carry both enabling and demanding elements: requiring programme participation in exchange for public assistance benefit receipts on the one hand, and providing various social services to remove barriers to employment through case management on the other hand. Therefore, it merits attention to analyze how various features of activation programmes affect employment outcomes, the effectiveness of delivery system and policy instruments as well. In analyzing employment outcomes of activation policy of which main characteristics lie in provision of employment and social services, this article points out the features and policy instruments of the activation policy that contribute to labor market entry of public assistance recipients and low income employees. In addition, it also delineates the determinants of exit from benefit receipts. Results from statistical analysis show that activation policy with intense employment service helps both benefit recipients and low income employees enter into the labor market at a faster rate. However, tailored social service provision enables social assistance recipients to exit from benefit receipts. These results suggest theoretical and policy relevant implication in regards to redesigning the delivery mechanisms and service instruments of activation policy.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.355-364
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• 2022

BACKGROUND: Pre-harvest interval and decline pattern of thiamethoxam were determined in kiwifruit using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LCMS/MS). The study was carried out to propose import tolerance using OECD maximum residue limit (MRL) calculator for the export promotion of kiwifruit to Taiwan. METHODS AND RESULTS: The thiamethoxam residue in kiwifruit was determined by using the LC-TriQ-MS/MS with the analytical process to set up the import tolerance under greenhouse conditions for Taiwan. Excellent linearity was observed for all of the analytes with a determination coefficient (R²)≥0.99. The limit of quantification was determined to be 0.01 mg/kg for both thiamethoxam and clothianidin in kiwifruit. Linearity was determined from the co-efficient of determinants (R²) obtained from the seven-point calibration curve. The standard calibration curve showed as follows; 1) Site 1 (Gimje): y = 944,406X + 1,583 (R²=0.9995), 2) Site 2 (Goheung): y = 1,356,205X + 934 (R²=0.9983), and 3) Site 3 (Jangheung): y = 1,239,937X - 3,090 (R²=0.9908). The residue of thiamethoxam in the kiwifruit for three decline trials showed the range of 0.35 to 0.56 mg/kg in site 1 (Gimje), 0.24 to 0.55 mg/kg in site 2 (Goheung), and 0.28 to 0.42 mg/kg in site 3 (Jangheung), respectively. However, clothianidin was not detected in all of the treatments. The maximum residual amounts (decline) in the samples, sprayed according to the safe-use standard for thiamethoxam 10% WG in kiwifruit (30 days before harvest, 3 sprays every 7 days) were 0.56 mg/kg in site 1, 0.55 mg/kg in site 2, and 0.42 mg/kg in site 3, respectively. CONCLUSION(S): The import tolerance (IT) of thiamethoxam for kiwifruit may be proposed to be 0.9 mg/kg by using the OECD MRL calculator.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.21-38
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• 2012

Until recently, successful implementation of ERP systems has been a popular topic among ERP researchers, who have attempted to identify its various contributing factors. None of these efforts, however, explicitly recognize the need to identify disparities that can exist between organizational information requirements and ERP systems. Since ERP systems are in fact "packages" -that is, software programs developed by independent software vendors for sale to organizations that use them-they are designed to meet the general needs of numerous organizations, rather than the unique needs of a particular organization, as is the case with custom-developed software. By adopting standard packages, organizations can substantially reduce many of the potential implementation risks commonly associated with custom-developed software. However, it is also true that the nature of the package itself could be a risk factor as the features and functions of the ERP systems may not completely comply with a particular organization's informational requirements. In this study, based on the organizational memory mismatch perspective that was derived from organizational memory theory and cognitive dissonance theory, we define the nature of disparities, which we call "mismatches," and propose that the mismatch between organizational information requirements and ERP systems is one of the primary determinants in the successful implementation of ERP systems. Furthermore, we suggest that customization efforts as a coping strategy for mismatches can play a significant role in increasing the possibilities of success. In order to examine the contention we propose in this study, we employed a survey-based field study of ERP project team members, resulting in a total of 77 responses. The results of this study show that, as anticipated from the organizational memory mismatch perspective, the mismatch between organizational information requirements and ERP systems makes a significantly negative impact on the implementation success of ERP systems. This finding confirms our hypothesis that the more mismatch there is, the more difficult successful ERP implementation is, and thus requires more attention to be drawn to mismatch as a major failure source in ERP implementation. This study also found that as a coping strategy on mismatch, the effects of customization are significant. In other words, utilizing the appropriate customization method could lead to the implementation success of ERP systems. This is somewhat interesting because it runs counter to the argument of some literature and ERP vendors that minimized customization (or even the lack thereof) is required for successful ERP implementation. In many ERP projects, there is a tendency among ERP developers to adopt default ERP functions without any customization, adhering to the slogan of "the introduction of best practices." However, this study asserts that we cannot expect successful implementation if we don't attempt to customize ERP systems when mismatches exist. For a more detailed analysis, we identified three types of mismatches-Non-ERP, Non-Procedure, and Hybrid. Among these, only Non-ERP mismatches (a situation in which ERP systems cannot support the existing information needs that are currently fulfilled) were found to have a direct influence on the implementation of ERP systems. Neither Non-Procedure nor Hybrid mismatches were found to have significant impact in the ERP context. These findings provide meaningful insights since they could serve as the basis for discussing how the ERP implementation process should be defined and what activities should be included in the implementation process. They show that ERP developers may not want to include organizational (or business processes) changes in the implementation process, suggesting that doing so could lead to failed implementation. And in fact, this suggestion eventually turned out to be true when we found that the application of process customization led to higher possibilities of failure. From these discussions, we are convinced that Non-ERP is the only type of mismatch we need to focus on during the implementation process, implying that organizational changes must be made before, rather than during, the implementation process. Finally, this study found that among the various customization approaches, bolt-on development methods in particular seemed to have significantly positive effects. Interestingly again, this finding is not in the same line of thought as that of the vendors in the ERP industry. The vendors' recommendations are to apply as many best practices as possible, thereby resulting in the minimization of customization and utilization of bolt-on development methods. They particularly advise against changing the source code and rather recommend employing, when necessary, the method of programming additional software code using the computer language of the vendor. As previously stated, however, our study found active customization, especially bolt-on development methods, to have positive effects on ERP, and found source code changes in particular to have the most significant effects. Moreover, our study found programming additional software to be ineffective, suggesting there is much difference between ERP developers and vendors in viewpoints and strategies toward ERP customization. In summary, mismatches are inherent in the ERP implementation context and play an important role in determining its success. Considering the significance of mismatches, this study proposes a new model for successful ERP implementation, developed from the organizational memory mismatch perspective, and provides many insights by empirically confirming the model's usefulness.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-23
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• 2008

As managing customer relationship gets more important, companies are strengthening information service using multi-channels to their customers as a part of their customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives. It means companies are now accepting such information services not as simple information -delivering tools, but as strategic initiatives for acquiring and maintaining customer loyalty. In this paper, we attempt to validate whether or not such various information services would impact on organizational performance in terms of CRM strategy. More specifically, our research objective is to answer the next three questions: first, how to construct the instruments to measure not information quality but information service quality?; second, which attributes of information service quality can influence corporate image and customer loyalty?; finally, does each information service type have unique characteristics compared with others in terms of influencing corporate image and customer loyalty? With respect to providing answers to those questions, the previous studies had been limited in that those studies failed to consider the variety of types of information service or restricted the quality of information service to information quality. An appropriate research model answering the above questions should consider the fact that most companies are utilizing multi channels for their information services, and include the recent strategic information service such as customer online community. Moreover, since corporate information service could be regarded as a type of products or services delivered to customer, it is necessary to adopt the criteria for assessing customer's perceived value when to measure the quality of information service. Therefore, considering both multi-channels and multi-traits may enable us to tell the detailed causal routes showing which quality attributes of which information service would affect corporate image and customer loyalty. As information service channels, we include not only homepage and DM (direct mail), which are the most frequently applied information service channels, but also online community, which is getting more strategic importance in recent years. With respect to information service quality, we abstract information quality, convenience of information service, and timeliness of information service through a wide range of relevant literature reviews. As our dependant variables, we consider corporate image and customer loyalty that both of them are the critical determinants of organizational performance, and also attempt to grasp the relationship between the two constructs. We conducted a huge online survey at the homepage of one of representative dairy companies in Korea, and gathered 367 valid samples from 407 customers. The reliability and validity of our measurements were tested by using Cronbach's alpha coefficient and principal factor analysis respectively, and seven hypotheses were tested through performing correlation test and multiple regression analysis. The results from data analysis demonstrated that timeliness and convenience of homepage have positive effects on both corporate image and customer loyalty. In terms of DM, its' information quality was represented to influence both corporate image and customer loyalty, but we found its' convenience have a positive effect only on corporate image. With respect to online community, we found its timeliness contribute significantly both to corporate image and customer loyalty. Finally, as we expected, corporate image was revealed to provide a great influence to customer loyalty. This paper provides several academic and practical implications. Firstly, we think our research reinforces CRM literatures by developing the instruments for measuring information service quality. The previous relevant studies have mainly depended on the measurements of information quality or service quality which were developed independently. Secondly, the fact that we conducted our research in a real situation may enable academics and practitioners to understand the effects of information services more clearly. Finally, since our study involved three different types of information service which are most frequently applied in recent years, the results from our study might provide operational guidelines to the companies that are delivering their customers information by multi-channel. In other words, since we found that, in terms of customer loyalty, the key areas would be different from each other according to the types of information services, our analysis would help to make decisions such as selecting strengthening points or allocating resources by information service channels.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.19-36
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• 2020

The bidding phase for logistics outsourcing services is critical for both shippers and logistics companies. According to the logistics bidding phase, the shipper should provide logistics operation information to logistics companies to resolve uncertainty. In addition, the logistics company can win the contract volume that was placed in the bid by expressing their experience and know-how, and proposing to share the risks and benefits of the shipper's logistics operation. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the factors that can be identified during the bidding phase for logistics outsourcing and how these factors affect the satisfaction of logistics outsourcing services. Based on the factors identified in the preceding studies on logistics outsourcing partnership factors and those on logistics outsourcing determinants, a survey was conducted on experts engaged in logistics companies, performing logistics for domestic shippers and analyzed using Smart-PLS. This study presents the following implications. First, in the logistics bidding phase, the shipper should provide its logistics operation information to logistics firms to resolve uncertainties. Details An in-depth explanation of the operation details will be presented via the bidding presentation, and on-site tours of manufacturing plants and logistics centers should also be carried out if necessary. Second, in the bidding phase, logistics companies should appeal through proposals to their competitiveness, such as experience and knowledge of the logistics of the shipper, and also consider alliances with other logistics companies to supplement their insufficient logistics services. Third, logistics companies should make proposals to share profits and risks through logistics outsourcing during the bidding phase, propose accepting risks from environmental uncertainties of the shipper within its capacity to an acceptable extent, and share the benefits of carrying out the shipper's logistics.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.77-90
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• 2023

This study aims to investigate the potential of alternative credit assessment through Social Networking Sites (SNS) as a complementary tool to conventional loan review processes. It seeks to discern the impact of SNS usage characteristics and loan product attributes on credit loan repayment. To achieve this objective, we conducted a binomial logistic regression analysis examining the influence of SNS usage patterns, loan characteristics, and personal attributes on credit loan conditions, utilizing data from Company A's credit loan program, which integrates SNS data into its actual loan review processes. Our findings reveal several noteworthy insights. Firstly, with respect to profile photos that reflect users' personalities and individual characteristics, individuals who choose to upload photos directly connected to their personal lives, such as images of themselves, their private circles (e.g., family and friends), and photos depicting social activities like hobbies, which tend to be favored by individuals with extroverted tendencies, as well as character and humor-themed photos, which are typically favored by individuals with conscientious traits, demonstrate a higher propensity for diligently repaying credit loans. Conversely, the utilization of photos like landscapes or images concealing one's identity did not exhibit a statistically significant causal relationship with loan repayment. Furthermore, a positive correlation was observed between the extent of SNS usage and the likelihood of loan repayment. However, the level of SNS interaction did not exert a significant effect on the probability of loan repayment. This observation may be attributed to the passive nature of the interaction variable, which primarily involves expressing sympathy for other users' comments rather than generating original content. The study also unveiled the statistical significance of loan duration and the number of loans, representing key characteristics of loan portfolios, in influencing credit loan repayment. This underscores the importance of considering loan duration and the quantity of loans as crucial determinants in the design of microcredit products. Among the personal characteristic variables examined, only gender emerged as a significant factor. This implies that the loan program scrutinized in this analysis does not exhibit substantial discrimination based on age and credit scores, as its customer base predominantly consists of individuals in their twenties and thirties with low credit scores, who encounter challenges in securing loans from traditional financial institutions. This research stands out from prior studies by empirically exploring the relationship between SNS usage and credit loan repayment while incorporating variables not typically addressed in existing credit rating research, such as profile pictures. It underscores the significance of harnessing subjective, unstructured information from SNS for loan screening, offering the potential to mitigate the financial disadvantages faced by borrowers with low credit scores or those ensnared in short-term liquidity constraints due to limited credit history a group often referred to as "thin filers." By utilizing such information, these individuals can potentially reduce their credit costs, whereas they are supposed to accrue a more substantial financial history through credit transactions under conventional credit assessment system.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.99-123
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• 2019

The software industry is a high value-added industry in the knowledge information age, and its importance is growing as it not only plays a key role in knowledge creation and utilization, but also secures global competitiveness. Among various SW available in today's business environment, Open Source Software(OSS) is rapidly expanding its activity area by not only leading software development, but also integrating with new information technology. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to empirically examine and analyze the effect of factors on the switching behavior to OSS. To accomplish the study's purpose, we suggest the research model based on "Push-Pull-Mooring" framework. This study empirically examines the two categories of antecedents for switching behavior toward OSS. The survey was conducted to employees at various firms that already switched OSS. A total of 268 responses were collected and analyzed by using the structural equational modeling. The results of this study are as follows; first, continuous maintenance cost, vender dependency, functional indifference, and SW resource inefficiency are significantly related to switch to OSS. Second, network-oriented support, testability and strategic flexibility are significantly related to switch to OSS. Finally, the results show that willingness to secures SW competitiveness has a moderating effect on the relationships between push factors and pull factor with exception of improved knowledge, and switch to OSS. The results of this study will contribute to fields related to OSS both theoretically and practically.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.65-86
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• 2012

The $20^{th}$ century was the era of manufacturer brands which built higher brand equity for consumers. Consumers moved from generic products of inconsistent quality produced by local factories in the $19^{th}$ century to branded products from global manufacturers and manufacturer brands reached consumers through distributors and retailers. Retailers were relatively small compared to their largest suppliers. However, sometime in the 1970s, things began to slowly change as retailers started to develop their own national chains and began international expansion, and consolidation of the retail industry from mom-and-pop stores to global players was well under way (Kumar and Steenkamp 2007, p.2) In South Korea, since the middle of the 1990s, the bulking up of retailers that started then has changed the balance of power between manufacturers and retailers. Retailer private labels, generally referred to as own labels, store brands, distributors own private-label, home brand or own label brand have also been performing strongly in every single local market (Bushman 1993; De Wulf et al. 2005). Private labels now account for one out of every five items sold every day in U.S. supermarkets, drug chains, and mass merchandisers (Kumar and Steenkamp 2007), and the market share in Western Europe is even larger (Euromonitor 2007). In the UK, grocery market share of private labels grew from 39% of sales in 2008 to 41% in 2010 (Marian 2010). Planet Retail (2007, p.1) recently concluded that "[PLs] are set for accelerated growth, with the majority of the world's leading grocers increasing their own label penetration." Private labels have gained wide attention both in the academic literature and popular business press and there is a glowing academic research to the perspective of manufacturers and retailers. Empirical research on private labels has mainly studies the factors explaining private labels market shares across product categories and/or retail chains (Dahr and Hoch 1997; Hoch and Banerji, 1993), factors influencing the private labels proneness of consumers (Baltas and Doyle 1998; Burton et al. 1998; Richardson et al. 1996) and factors how to react brand manufacturers towards PLs (Dunne and Narasimhan 1999; Hoch 1996; Quelch and Harding 1996; Verhoef et al. 2000). Nevertheless, empirical research on factors influencing the production in terms of a manufacturer-retailer is rather anecdotal than theory-based. The objective of this paper is to bridge the gap in these two types of research and explore the factors which influence on manufacturer's private label production based on two competing theories: S-C-P (Structure - Conduct - Performance) paradigm and resource-based theory. In order to do so, the authors used in-depth interview with marketing managers, reviewed retail press and research and presents the conceptual framework that integrates the major determinants of private labels production. From a manufacturer's perspective, supplying private labels often starts on a strategic basis. When a manufacturer engages in private labels, the manufacturer does not have to spend on advertising, retailer promotions or maintain a dedicated sales force. Moreover, if a manufacturer has weak marketing capabilities, the manufacturer can make use of retailer's marketing capability to produce private labels and lessen its marketing cost and increases its profit margin. Figure 1. is the theoretical framework based on a strategic market management perspective, integrated concept of both S-C-P paradigm and resource-based theory. The model includes one mediate variable, marketing capabilities, and the other moderate variable, competitive intensity. Manufacturer's national brand reputation, firm's marketing investment, and product portfolio, which are hypothesized to positively affected manufacturer's marketing capabilities. Then, marketing capabilities has negatively effected on private label production. Moderating effects of competitive intensity are hypothesized on the relationship between marketing capabilities and private label production. To verify the proposed research model and hypotheses, data were collected from 192 manufacturers (212 responses) who are producing private labels in South Korea. Cronbach's alpha test, explanatory / comfirmatory factor analysis, and correlation analysis were employed to validate hypotheses. The following results were drawing using structural equation modeling and all hypotheses are supported. Findings indicate that manufacturer's private label production is strongly related to its marketing capabilities. Consumer marketing capabilities, in turn, is directly connected with the 3 strategic factors (e.g., marketing investment, manufacturer's national brand reputation, and product portfolio). It is moderated by competitive intensity between marketing capabilities and private label production. In conclusion, this research may be the first study to investigate the reasons manufacturers engage in private labels based on two competing theoretic views, S-C-P paradigm and resource-based theory. The private label phenomenon has received growing attention by marketing scholars. In many industries, private labels represent formidable competition to manufacturer brands and manufacturers have a dilemma with selling to as well as competing with their retailers. The current study suggests key factors when manufacturers consider engaging in private label production.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.57-63
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• 2009

With an exponential increase in electronic commerce (e-commerce), marketers are attempting to gain a competitive advantage by emphasizing service quality and post interaction service aspects, which leads to customer satisfaction or behavioral consequence. Particularly for apparel, service quality is one of the key determinants in encouraging customer e-loyalty, and hence the success of apparel retailing in the context of electronic commerce. Therefore, this study explores e-service quality (E-SERVQUAL) factors and their unique effects on e-loyalty for apparel online shopping based on Parasuraman et al' s (2005) framework. Specific objectives of this study are to identify underlying dimension of E-SERVQUAL, and analyze a structural model for examining the effect of E-SERVQUAL on e-loyalty for online apparel shopping. For the theoretical framework of service quality in the context of online shopping, literatures on traditional and electronic service quality factors were comparatively reviewed, and two aspects of core and recovery services were identified. This study hypothesized that E-SERVQUAL has an effect on e-loyalty; customer satisfaction has a positive effect on e-service loyalty for apparel online shopping; and customer satisfaction mediates in the effect of E-SERVQUAL on e-loyalty for apparel online shopping. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on literatures. A total of 252 usable questionnaires were obtained from online consumers who had purchase experience with online shopping for apparel products and reside in standard metropolitan areas, in the United States. Factor analysis (e.g., exploratory, confirmatory) was conducted to assess the validity and reliability and the structural equation model including measurement and structural models was estimated via LISREL 8.8 program. Findings showed that the E-SERVQUAL of shopping websites for apparel consisted of five factors: Compensation, Fulfillment, Efficiency, System Availability, and Responsiveness. This supports Parasuraman (2005)'s E-S-QUAL encompassing two aspects of core service (e.g., fulfillment, efficiency, system availability) and recovery related service (e.g., compensation, responsiveness) in the context of apparel shopping online. In the structural equation model, there are five exogenous latent variables for e-SERVQUAL factors; and two endogenous latent variables (e.g., customer satisfaction, e-loyalty). For the measurement model, the factor loadings for each respective construct were statistically significant and were greater than .60 and internal consistency reliabilities ranged from .85 to .88. In the estimated structural model of the e-SERVEQUAL factors, the system availability was found to have direct and positive effect on e-loyalty, whereas efficiency had a negative effect on e-loyalty for apparel online shopping. However, fulfillment was not a significant predictor for explaining consequences of E-SERVQUAL for apparel online shopping. This finding implies that perceived service quality of system available was likely to increase customer satisfaction for apparel online shopping. However, it was not supported that e-loyalty was determined by service quality, because service quality has an indirect effect on e-loyalty (i.e., repurchase intention) by mediating effect of value or satisfaction in the context of online shopping for apparel. In addition, both compensation and responsiveness were found to have a significant impact on customer satisfaction, which influenced e-loyalty for apparel online shopping. Thus, there was significant indirect effect of compensation and responsiveness on e-loyalty. This suggests that the recovery-specific service factors play an important role in maximizing customer satisfaction levels and then maintaining customer loyalty to the online shopping site for apparel. The findings have both managerial and research implications. Fashion marketers can establish long-term relationship with their customers based on continuously measuring customer perceptions for recovery-related service quality, such as quick responses to problem and returns, and compensation for customers' problem after their purchases. In order to maintain e-loyalty, recovery services play an important role in the first choice websites for consumers to purchase clothing. Given that online consumers may shop anywhere, a marketing strategy for improving competitive advantages is to provide better service quality, maximize satisfaction, and turn to creating customers' e-loyalty for apparel online shopping. From a researcher's perspective, there are some limitations of this research that should be considered when interpreting its findings. For future research, findings provide a basis for the further study of this important topic along both theoretical and empirical dimensions. Based on the findings, more comprehensive models for predicting E-SERVQUAL's consequences can be developed and tested. For global fashion marketing, this study can expand to a cross-cultural approach into e-service quality for apparel by including multinational samples.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.169-187
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• 1995

Contemporary US metropolitan areas have undergone divergent economic transformation, and as a result labor markets have become the focus of concern in their role as determinants of earnings attainment. Explanations of individual earnings attainmnent as a lobor market outcome have been established in two diafferent stances one who emphasizes personal or group attributes in the human capital perspective and the other who emphasizes economic structure in the labor market segmentation perspective. While remaining at the conceptual level and yet relatively unexplored, the importance of place in labormarket operation is a significant advancement as it appears in labor market areas and local labor markets considering that labor market areas represent the intersection of labor market structure and individual labor market experiences at specific geographic places. The substantive inquiry of this study was to explore labor market characteristics and their differentiation across large metropolitan areas, and assess their effects on the individual earnings attainment. Integating individual attributes and labor market characteristics as major factors of labor market operation, this study intended to contextualize individual earnings attainment with geographic labor market areas. Using 1990 US population census 5% "Public-Use Microdata Samples, " the largest 65 metropolitan areas were first selected and employed male workers who are aged between 25 and 50 for whites, blacks, asians, and hispanics. As an initial step earnings differentials between racial/ethnic groups and selected 65 metropolitan areas were examined using analysis of variance, and then earnings differentials were attributed to the individual attributes such as education, age, and immigration status, and four dimensions of metropolitan labor market differentiation devised by principal component analysis of industrial and occupational segments: Public versus Blue Collar Core(CS1), Finance-Core Utility versus Blue Collar Local Monopoly (CS2), Oligopoly versus Blue Collar Periphery(CS3), and Self Employed-White Collar Periphery versus Low-Skill Core(CS4). As a final analysis, individual earnings were related to each individual attribute and its interaction with metropolitan labor market characteristics to examine how the differentiated metropolitan labor market characteristics alter the role of individual attributes on earnings attainment. The findings indicated that individual attributes, education in particular exert significant effects on earnings attainment, but their effects were significantly altered by metropolitan labor market characterristics. Particularly important dimensions were: Oligopoly differentiated from Blue Colla Periphery metropolitan areas enhancing earnings returns to individual attributes for all groups but minority groups (black, asians, hispanics) rely more on this, and Finance-Core Utility differentiated from Blue Collar Local Monopoly metropolitan areas provide higher earnings returns to whites exclusively. These findings suggest that individuals with identical individual attributes involving racial/ethnic categories would have different earnings atteinments depending on the metropolitan labor market characteristics where they reside. Referring back to the major traditions of the human capital and the labor market segmentation in labor market research, the interaction between individual attributes and metropolitan labor market haracteristics on earnings attainment highlights the complimentary nature of the two on earnings determination in particular geographic places, Hence, labor market characteristics differentiatcd across metropolitan areas are an integral part of labor market operation which should be considered for the explanation of individual earnings attainment and racial/ethnic group earnings differentials. Gcographic places are the important contexts for labor market segmentation and individual labor market experiences. In conclusion, this study brings geographic labor markets to the forefront in the examination of individuals' earnings attainments. The empirical vaidation of the role of metropolitan labor market charecteristics on earnings attainment, while exploratory contributes towards a broader perspective of geographic labor market research that recognizes that individuals' labor market experiences are intertwined with geographic contexts of labor market operatin. operatin.