• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.81-89
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• 2013

Purpose - The market orientation of a manufacturer is a very critical competitive advantage factor in the development of new markets and the sustainability and maintenance of existing ones, achieved through the design of customer-oriented products. This is recognized as a virtuous circle, in which firms grow by means of promoting quality management. However, though market-oriented activities are important in management and operations, they seem to be promoted mainly by large-scale enterprises rather than by small- and medium-scale firms, the latter having invested relatively few company resources. Furthermore, few studies and analyses have examined how market orientation relates to the expansion of quality programs within organizations or with business performance; the market orientation and customer-orientation concepts are mixed together when both are used in research. Given the current market situation in which the servitization of manufacturing firms is rapidly expanding, this study's analysis of the effect on market orientation of manufacturers is a significant contribution. From this perspective, this study has several objectives. First, is to analyze and suggest the relationship between market orientation and quality management activity for manufacturers, focusing on three sub-activities: products, process, and quality management activities. Second, it is intended to identify correlation between manufacturers' market oriented activity and their management performance and then to analyze how market orientation affects business performance. The results of a number of prior studies on the correlation between market orientation and management performance have indicated that market orientation does affect management performance. Third, this study also investigates whether any differences in the relationship among market orientation, quality management activity and business performance occur according to company size. The results are used to present operational suggestions for large- and small- and medium-size firms. Research design, data, methodology - This study seeks to analyze and identify the causal features of the organic relationship among market orientation, quality management, and management performance for Korean manufacturing companies using three years (2005-2007) of market orientation, quality management, and business performance data. Subsequently, structural equation modeling was used to analyze the causal features of related factors and it aims to identify the features of market orientation, quality management, and business performance. Results - The analysis examined how market orientation affected the quality management and management performance of 159 smalland medium-size companies. In particular, enterprise quality management was analyzed in relation to management performance with a focus on activities such as leadership, measurement and improvement, quality control, cost management, and process management. Conclusions - The result of the analysis show that market orientation significantly affected all of the quality management activities and that market orientation in turn significantly affected organizational performance. The result of analysis indicate that quality management activities have a significant effect on quality control and cost management.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.79-92
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• 2015

Purpose - The aim of this study is to develop an empirical model of the effects of traditional market service quality factors on customer value, relationship quality, and behavior. The specific objectives of the study are as follows: 1) to classify study objects into cultural tourism markets and non-cultural tourism markets as well as to verify the differences in service quality among the two markets and, 2) to present practical service marketing methods that fit with the characteristics of the traditional markets by amending the five quality evaluation items of SERVQUAL (a multiple-item scale for measuring service quality)to suit the characteristics of the traditional markets and establish the relationship among customer value, relationship quality, and behavior intention. Research design, data, and methodology - The study methods of empirical investigation are as follows. First, this study selected for a study object the Suwon Paldalmun Gate Market to represent the cultural tourism market, and general traditional markets to represent the non-cultural tourism market. This study also conducted personal interviews in order to increase the response rate and collected a total of 418 responses between March 18, 2014 and April 05, 2014. The total of 418 responses used for this study excluded 14 responses that had either misleading information or missing values. Results - This study verified the perceived differences of service quality based on traditional market specialization through an independent sample t-test. It appeared that the perceived service quality of the cultural tourism market was generally higher than that of the non-cultural tourism market. This study executed a path analysis in order to examine the effects of service quality factors on customer value, relationship quality, and behavior intention. This study also comprehensively analyzed the specialized market and non-specialized market separately. Although there were some differences among the results, the overall results were uniform. It appeared that convenience, reliability, and empathy, among the service quality factors, exerted meaningful effects on customer value. On the other hand, convenience, reliability, responsiveness, and empathy, excluding the tangibles, exerted meaningful effects on the relationship quality. In addition, it appeared that all service quality factors exerted meaningful effects on the customer value, relationship quality, and behavior intention. Therefore, the study verified that all of the hypotheses formulated in the study were generally adopted. Conclusions - The implication of this study may be classified into academic and practical implication as follows. With respect to the academic implication, it seems that this study is among the early studies to verify the differences between the cultural tourism market and the non-cultural tourism market. The practical implication of this study is that the perceived service quality, such as convenience, reliability, responsiveness, and tangibles, excluding empathy, was higher in the cultural tourism market than in the non-cultural tourism market. This means that customer satisfaction is enhanced by governmental aid such as hardware, software, and information and communications technology.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.231-246
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• 2023

Purpose - This study attempts to provide a new theoretical perspective on the quality signaling and its impact on a market under information asymmetry, focusing on how the accuracy and the cost of quality signaling affect sellers' and buyers' profit, suggesting appropriate designs of quality signaling methods which mitigates information asymmetry. Design/methodology/approach - In order to examine the effect of quality signaling on strategic interactions within the market, we establish an analytic model where market outcomes are determined by seller's quality claim and price, and buyers are risk-neutral. By investigating this analytic model through relevant game trees, we find the subgame perfect Nash equilibria of the market and predict related market outcomes based on sellers' quality signaling strategy. Findings - Our analytic model shows counterintuitive results that seller profit will be the lowest with inaccurate quality signaling and the highest with no quality signaling, mostly due to the certification cost. Consequently, sellers should proceed with caution if the quality signaling is less than accurate, as it may backfire. We believe that this is due to the fact that the inaccuracy of quality signaling causes some confusion and uncertainty in both sellers and buyers' decision to maximize profit, making it hard for sellers to predict buyers' behavior. Research implications or Originality - Although the sources and types of quality signaling errors have been investigated in the literature, there has not been satisfactory understanding regarding how inaccuracy of quality certification affects specific market outcomes. We expect that our theoretical model would provide important implications on how to utilize quality signaling to solve adverse selection issues in markets under information asymmetry.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.8
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• pp.185-195
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• 2020

This study examines the association between governance quality at country level and stock market performance. Specifically, the study investigates the influence of control of corruption, government effectiveness, political stability and absence of violence, rule of law, regulatory quality, and voice and accountability on all-share index of the stock markets of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This study is anchored on two theories - the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) and Institutional Theory. The study employs panel data spanning from 2006 to 2017. The findings show that political stability and absence of violence and rule of law exhibit a significant positive impact on stock market performance, while regulatory quality and voice and accountability have a significant, but negative relationship with stock market performance. The results imply that quality of governance in terms of rule of law and political stability devoid of violence have strong impact on stock market returns. Similarly, improved stock market returns are largely dependent on the efficiency of the institutional environment of market as investors are always wary of the inherent risks associated with the uncertainty of the market. This study has crucial policy implications for the government of the GCC countries and stock market participants.

• Korean Journal of Artificial Intelligence
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.23-59
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to develop a measure of service quality in the traditional market by examining previous research on the service quality of the traditional market studied so far. After defining basic concepts through definition of traditional market and existing studies, 5 categories of configuration items for SERVQUAL measurement in traditional market were made up based on existing researches related to definition of service quality and service quality of traditional market. A survey was conducted on the items that fit the intention of this study and various statistical analyzes were conducted. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 22.0. The reliability of the items was measured by the reliability test, and the predictability and accuracy of the items were examined. The validity of the measured variables was verified through confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability, empathy, responsiveness, certainty, and tangibility were the most important factors in this study. Responsiveness factors include communication, time reduction, real time, promptness. Assurance factors include the assurance of delivery, prompt answers, product knowledge items. Tangibility factors include, convenient device systems, location information, presence as a fact, and as a result, the latest modern items are adopted. The quality of service in the traditional market developed in this study was found to be good in reliability and validity test. Confirmatory factor analysis result using structural equation model also met the conformity index standard. If service satisfaction is measured based on this research, basic data can be presented to policy makers who implement policies on traditional markets to make the right decisions. In addition, it will be able to provide traditional market operators with operational strategy and marketing data. In the future, based on the traditional market service quality scale developed in this study, it is necessary to grasp the factors to be continuously managed to improve the service quality of the traditional market, user satisfaction, and intention to use.

• International Journal of Reliability and Applications
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.161-187
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• 2001

Starting with the meaning of the word quality, diverse concepts connoted by the term are examined. Instead of a bathtub curve, the desirable shape of a failure rate covering the entire life of a good product, which might be called hockey-stick line, is introduced. From the hockey-stick line and the definition of reliability, two measurements are extracted. The terms reliability, failure rate, product life, and durability are explained. From the customer's standpoint, the concept of product quality is classified in five factors, according to related technology: performance, reliability, conformance to specifications, customer perception, and fundamentals advantage. The correlation of the five factors for a first-class product is discussed, Since the market share of a company is determined as the competition result of its product value, defined as product quality and price, the market share increase is derived mathematically from the increment of product value. The market share increase, $\Delta$S, can be calculated from the present market share, S, and the oriented relative value increment of new product, R, to the current product in the same company for the same market target: $\Delta$S : $\Delta$(1-S). R/(1+S.R). Finally, the importance of separating warranty cost from the profit equation for the durables is explained.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.33-39
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• 2019

Purpose - This paper examines whether product market competition in distribution and service industries is related to audit quality. This paper investigates, specifically, the relationship in distribution and service industries by using Herfindahl-Hirschman Index and audit quality measured by audit fee and audit hour. Research design, data, and methodology - Using 1,011 firm-year observations of listed companies from 2002 to 2016 in distribution and service industries, this study examines whether product market competition in distribution and service industries is related to audit quality. Results - This study finds that market competition in distribution and service industries is negatively related to audit quality and this negative relation is pronounced for the firms with high outside director groups. Further analysis suggests that the relationship between market competition and audit hours is no longer significant. Conclusions - This study extended the existing scope of the audit quality study by systematically analyzing the impact of industrial-level characteristics (i.e. market competition) in the distribution service industries on audit quality. This study, in other words, suggests the regulatory body consider the industrial-level characteristics of each industry in order to enhance audit quality.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.99-109
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aims to develop and empirically analyze a research model in order to comprehend the relationship among the service quality of market-wholesaler system, re-transaction intention, and recommendation intention of forwarder. Further, we suggest new six factors reflecting the service quality of market-wholesaler system and highlight market expansion of forwarder as a mechanism in the relationship. Research design, data and methodology: The authors developed the new scales measuring the service quality of market-wholesaler system (i.e. trade price, price fluctuation, payment receipt, settlement period, trade information, and customer service) and conducted a cross-sectional survey for 439 forwarders in a wholesale market. And then we performed a series of path analyses to test hypotheses. The hypotheses are as follows. [H1] The service quality of market-wholesaler system will positively affect forwarders' market expansion, [H2] Forwarders' market expansion will positively affect their re-transaction intention, [H3] Forwarders' market expansion will positively affect their recommendation intention, [H4] Forwarders' re-transaction intention will positively affect their recommendation intention. Results: The results showed that all the six factors for the service quality of market-wholesaler system were positively related to market expansion of forwarders. There was a differential effectiveness in the six factors of the service quality. More specifically, the positive effect of customer service factor was the strongest on market expansion of forwarders. And the respective effects of trade price, price fluctuation, settlement period, trade information factors were followed in order. The positive effect of payment receipt factor was the weakest on market expansion of forwarders. Also, market expansion of forwarders was positively related to their re-transaction intention and recommendation intention. Furthermore, market expansion of forwarders was indirectly related to recommendation intention through re-transaction intention as well. Conclusions: The research findings provide important theoretical and practical implications. This study is the first to attempt to test the perception of forwarders for the service quality of market-wholesaler system by developing and using the new scales. Also, there has been a sharp controversy about the effectiveness of market-wholesaler system. The findings support that market-wholesaler system would be activated by empirically verifying the effectiveness of the service quality on the various outcomes.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers A
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• v.52 no.7
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• pp.381-386
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• 2003

To provide a specified power quality under electric market system is becoming an important issue for customers and utility company. However, there is no realistic infra-structure to design a power system for the specified power quality. Present electric market is operating under the economic point of view. The low power price could be attractive, but the effect of low price could result the lower power quality for the long time and threat power system security. This paper presents a model which conceptualize the dynamic power quality control mechanism to minimize total cost of a society which is affected electric power quality. This model aims to produce a basic infra-structure to balance cost and quality under the electric market system.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.40-53
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• 2017

This study identified the important service quality of the emerging night market as an alternative for the revitalization of the traditional market. This study also was to analyze the effects of service quality on customers' emotions, behavior intention and local performance in night market, and to provide an effective operation plan. The collected data were analyzed by frequency analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis and multiple regression analysis using SPSS 16.0 Version, a statistical package program, and various results were discovered. First, all the service quality factors (convenience, food, event program, physical environment) had a positive (+) effect on positive emotion, and the service quality factors except event program had a negative (-) effect on negative emotions. Second, the service quality factors had a partially positive (+) effect on behavior intention and local performance. Third, the positive and negative emotions had a effect on behavior intention, however, the positive emotions had a positive (+) effect on local performance. Consequently, the present study confirmed that service quality in the night market is important factors for emotions, behavior intention, and local performance. Therefore, the findings of this study is capable of being the basic data for revitalizing the traditional market in the future.