• Journal of Distribution Research
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.55-80
• /
• 2012

I. Introduction Developing the relationships between companies is very important issue to ensure a competitive advantage in today's business environment (Bleeke & Ernst 1991; Mohr & Spekman 1994; Powell 1990). Partnerships between companies are based on having same goals, pursuing mutual understanding, and having a professional level of interdependence. By having such a partnerships and cooperative efforts between companies, they will achieve efficiency and effectiveness of their business (Mohr and Spekman, 1994). However, it is difficult to expect these ideal results only in the B2B corporate transaction. According to agency theory which is the well-accepted theory in various fields of business strategy, organization, and marketing, the two independent companies have fundamentally different corporate purposes. Also there is a higher chance of developing opportunism and conflict due to natures of human(organization), such as self-interest, bounded rationality, risk aversion, and environment factor as imbalance of information (Eisenhardt 1989). That is, especially partnerships between principal(or buyer) and agent(or supplier) of companies within supply chain, the business contract itself will not provide competitive advantage. But managing partnership between companies is the key to success. Therefore, managing partnership between manufacturer and supplier, and finding causes of conflict are essential to improve B2B performance. In conclusion, based on prior researches and Agency theory, this study will clarify how business hazards cause conflicts on supply chain and then identify how developed conflicts have been managed by two control mechanisms. II. Research model III. Method In order to validate our research model, this study gathered questionnaires from small and medium sized enterprises(SMEs). In Korea, SMEs mean the firms whose employee is under 300 and capital is under 8 billion won(about 7.2 million dollar). We asked the manufacturer's perception about the relationship with the biggest supplier, and our key informants are denied to a person responsible for buying(ex)CEO, executives, managers of purchasing department, and so on). In detail, we contact by telephone to our initial sample(about 1,200 firms) and introduce our research motivation and send our questionnaires by e-mail, mail, and direct survey. Finally we received 361 data and eliminate 32 inappropriate questionnaires. We use 329 manufactures' data on analysis. The purpose of this study is to identify the anticipant role of business hazard (environmental dynamism, asset specificity) and investigate the moderating effect of control mechanism(formal control, social control) on conflict-performance relationship. To find out moderating effect of control methods, we need to compare the regression weight between low versus. high group(about level of exercised control methods). Therefore we choose the structural equation modeling method that is proper to do multi-group analysis. The data analysis is performed by AMOS 17.0 software, and model fits are good statically (CMIN/DF=1.982, p<.000, CFI=.936, IFI=.937, RMSEA=.056). IV. Result V. Discussion Results show that the higher environmental dynamism and asset specificity(on particular supplier) buyer(manufacturer) has, the more B2B conflict exists. And this conflict affect relationship quality and financial outcomes negatively. In addition, social control and formal control could weaken the negative effect of conflict on relationship quality significantly. However, unlikely to assure conflict resolution effect of control mechanisms on relationship quality, financial outcomes are changed by neither social control nor formal control. We could explain this results with the characteristics of our sample, SMEs(Small and Medium sized Enterprises). Financial outcomes of these SMEs(manufacturer or principal) are affected by their customer(usually major company) more easily than their supplier(or agent). And, in recent few years, most of companies have suffered from financial problems because of global economic recession. It means that it is hard to evaluate the contribution of supplier(agent). Therefore we also support the suggestion of Gladstein(1984), Poppo & Zenger(2002) that relational performance variable can capture the focal outcomes of relationship(exchange) better than financial performance variable. This study has some implications that it tests the sources of conflict and investigates the effect of resolution methods of B2B conflict empirically. And, especially, it finds out the significant moderating effect of formal control which past B2B management studies have ignored in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
• /
• v.62 no.2
• /
• pp.87-102
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study is to identify conceptual constructs of well-being consciousness and appearance management behaviors, and to examine the effects of these two variables on attitudes toward Korean herbal cosmetics for Korean and Japanese consumers. A survey was carried out among female consumers between the ages of 20 and 50, and a total of 500 responses were analyzed by descriptive analysis, reliability test, t-test, and confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling and multi group analysis. The results of this study were as follows: 1) The result of CFA and the reliability test on well-being consciousness and appearance management of Korean and Japanese respondents clearly showed factorial structures on each of the variant assessments. 2) In regards to the well-being consciousness, Korean and Japanese respondents highly tended to perceive well-being as a benefit to the physical health and an eco-friendly lifestyle respectively. In the area of appearance management, Korean and Japanese respondents had similar patterns that showed high scores of skin care and weight control. Both Korean and Japanese consumers showed favorable attitudes toward Korean herbal cosmetic products. 3) The consumers' well-being consciousness revealed to have positive influences on appearance management behavior. Both well-being consciousness and appearance management positively influenced attitudes toward Korean herbal cosmetics. 4) As a result of MGA, the well-being consciousness had more positive impacts on Korean respondents' attitudes toward Korean herbal cosmetics than the appearance management variable when compared to the Japanese respondents. On the other hand, appearance management had more positive impacts on Japanese respondents' attitudes to-ward Korean herbal cosmetics than well-being consciousness when compared to the Korean respondents. These results suggest that differentiated marketing strategies for Korean herbal cosmetics are crucial when targeting Korean and Japanese consumers.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
• /
• v.36 no.8
• /
• pp.797-806
• /
• 2008

In a double-passage cascade apparatus, only two blades are installed in order to increase the accuracy of experimental result by applying bigger blade than the size of multi-blades on the same apparatus. However, this causes difficulties to make correct periodic condition. In this study, sidewalls are designed to meet periodic condition without removing the operating fluid or adjusting tail boards. Surface Mach number on the blade surface is applied to a responsible variable, and 12 design variables which are related with sidewall profile control are selected. A gradient-based optimization is adopted for wall design and CFX-11 is used for the internal flow computation. The computed result shows that it could obtain the same flow structure by modifying only the sidewalls of the double-passage cascade apparatus.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.245-251
• /
• 2008

The cooling load in winter is significant in buildings and hotels because of the usage of office equipments and the high efficiency of wall insulation. Hence, the development of a multi-heat pump that can cover heating and cooling simultaneously for each indoor unit is required. In this study, the operating characteristics and performance of a simultaneous heating and cooling heat pump in the heating-main operating mode were investigated experimentally. The system adopted a variable speed compressor with four indoor units and one outdoor unit with R-410A. In the heating-main mode, the cooling capacity was lower than the design cooling capacity due to the reduction of the flow rate in the indoor unit for the cooling, with the increase of the heating capacity. To solve these problems, the performance characteristics of the simultaneous heating and cooling heat pump in the heating-main mode were investigated by varying the flow rate to the indoor unit for the cooling and the compressor rotating speed. In addition, the adequate control methods were suggested to improve the system efficiency.

• Journal of Korea Game Society
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.15-24
• /
• 2014

Semiotics studies the structures and systems of all signs related to human life, thus being capable of analyzing games. "Playing games" can be deemed as an act of reading or interpreting games semiotically, which makes game producers "senders," games "texts," gamers "receivers," and gamers playing games "contexts." Since most games are in the multi-variable narrative format, however, it is not a frequent case that gamers interpret games in the ways intended by producers. This study thus set out to analyze and interpret the console game (2001) remembered as the same evaluation by many gamers in the way intended by the producer. For analysis, the study defined its story program by analyzing the plot and sequence. For semantic analysis, the study applied the Actor Model and the Semiotic Square Model to interpret . The process identified such codes as confrontation, assistance, collaboration, and control and confirmed that Ico and Yorda, non-subject characters, were transforming into subject ones. That is, tells a story of the main characters that used to lead a non-subject life earning lives of their own.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.64 no.4
• /
• pp.631-643
• /
• 2021

Objective : Here, we evaluated whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) profiles and their changes after intraventricular chemotherapy for leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC) could predict the treatment response or be prognostic for patient overall survival (OS) along with clinical factors. Methods : Paired 1) pretreatment lumbar, 2) pretreatment ventricular, and 3) posttreatment ventricular samples and their CSF profiles were collected retrospectively from 148 LMC patients who received Ommaya reservoir installation and intraventricular chemotherapy. CSF profile changes were assessed by calculating the differences between posttreatment and pretreatment samples from the same ventricular compartment. CSF cell counts were further differentiated into total and other based on clinical laboratory reports. Results : For the treatment response, a decreased CSF 'total' cell count tended to be associated with a 'controlled' increase in intracranial pressure (ICP) (p=0.059), but other profile changes were not associated with either the control of increased ICP or the cytology response. Among the pretreatment CSF profiles, lumbar protein level and ventricular cell count were significantly correlated with OS in univariable analysis, but they were not significant in multi-variable analysis. Among CSF profile changes, a decrease in 'other' cell count showed worse OS than 'no change' or increased groups (p=0.001). The cytological response was significant for OS, but the hazard ratio of partial remission was paradoxically higher than that of 'no response'. Conclusion : A decrease in other cell count of CSF after intraventricular chemotherapy was associated with poor OS in LMC patients. We suggest that more specific CSF biomarkers of cancer cell origin are needed.

• Advances in nano research
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.369-383
• /
• 2024

Annular nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS) in intelligent prosthetic hands enhance precision by serving as highly sensitive sensors for detecting pressure, vibrations, and deformations. This improves feedback and control, enabling users to modulate grip strength and tactile interaction with objects more effectively, enhancing prosthetic functionality. This research focuses on the electro-thermal buckling behavior of multi-directional poroelastic annular NEMS used as temperature sensors in airplanes. In the present study, thermal buckling performance of nano-scale annular functionally graded plate structures integrated with piezoelectric layers under electrical and extreme thermal loadings is investigated. In this regard, piezoelectric layers are placed on a disk made of metal matrix composite with graded properties in three radials, thickness and circumferential directions. The grading properties obey the power-law distribution. The whole structure is embedded in thermal environment. To model the mechanical behavior of the structure, a novel four-variable refined quasi-3D sinusoidal shear deformation theory (RQ-3DSSDT) is engaged in obtaining displacement field in the whole structure. The validity of the results is examined by comparing to a similar problem published in literature. The results of the buckling behavior of the structure in different boundary conditions are presented based on the critical temperature rise and critical external voltage. It is demonstrated that increase in the nonlocal and gradient length scale factor have contradicting effects on the critical temperature rise. On the other hand, increase in the applied external voltage cause increase in the critical temperature. Effects of other parameters like geometrical parameters and grading indices are presented and discussed in details.

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.159-188
• /
• 2008

This study suggests strategies which can enable to creation of new opportunities of competitive advantages while operating a long lasting and consistent business with major trading partners, based on interorganizational information systems (IOISs) specially established and installed for interorganizational transactions. Nowadays, IOISs based mechanism having been widely expanded as a conventional business infrastructure for the interorganizational transactions and/or exchanges, it is customary difficult to obtain any strongly sound advantage over the competitors who have adopted even the simplest deployment of the IOIS mechanisms. In this connection, this study intends to investigate the interorganizational collaborative activities conducted by under the auspicious of IOISs, focused on the prospect of the exploitation of IOISs rather than the implementation of the IOISs. In this study, we, firstly, suggest the concept of Electronic Collaboration which can be defined by the collaborative activities conducted by IOISs, compared to the ones conducted on off-line. In addition, we suggest the Electronic Collaboration as a multi-dimensional concept, constituted by three sub-constructs, the Electronic Information Sharing (EIS), the Electronic Joint Activity (EJA), and the construction of the Electronic Relational Knowledge Store (ERKS). Secondly, we empirically verify the effects of relational and environmental determinants on the Electronic Collaboration. In this study, the relational determinants relate to the variables created in interorganizational relationship like Trust, Influence, Relational Specific Asset-asset invested for the transaction-, and Continuity of the relationship. On the other hand, the environmental determinants relate to the variables surrounding the relationship which are difficult to control. We consider Product Complexity, Technological Uncertainty, and Market Variability as the domain of the environmental determinants. To test our hypotheses, we conducted both paper-based survey and online-based survey. After refining the data with missing responses, a total of 150 data was used for analysis. The results were as follows : Firstly, it is statistically significant that the Electronic Collaboration is composed of EIS, EJA, and ERKS. In particular, the results imply that the firms are able to accumulate relational knowledge base as well as to exchange information or knowledge, and to conduct joint activities through effort to further expand the Electronic Collaboration. Secondly, we have verified the individual effects of the relational and the environmental determinants on the Electronic Collaboration. Product Complexity has been revealed as the most influential variable affecting the Electronic Collaboration. Next, Interorganizational Trust and Technological Uncertainty, in that order, have been seen to have significant effects on the Electronic Collaboration. In other words, when products or services seem to be difficult to standardize, and the core technologies seem to rapidly change, the need for the Electronic Collaboration increase. In addition, the observation dictates that the interorganizational trust turns out to be a critical variable in building a relationship and in seeking further collaboration. The results, further, illustrate that the environmental determinants are relatively more effective than the relational determinants, which is not consistent with a few prior researches relational determinants emphasized. It is because this study doesn't consider the size of the firm. A few researchers have given an emphasis on the relational determinants like trust and influence, especially from the perspective of small firms in interorganizational relationship. However, in our study, where all the sizes of the firms are contained, electronic collaboration is considerably affected by the environmental determinants.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
• /
• 2017.06a
• /
• pp.303-303
• /
• 2017

Japanese agriculture has faced to several threats: aging and decrease of farmer population, global competition, and the risk of climate change as well as harsh and variable weather. On the other hands, the number of large scale farms is increasing, because farm lands have been being aggregated to fewer numbers of farms. Cost cutting, development of efficient ways to manage complicatedly scattered farm lands, maintaining yield and quality under variable weather conditions, are required to adapt to changing environments. Information and communications technology (ICT) would contribute to solve such problems and to create innovative technologies. Thus we have been developing an early warning and decision support system to reduce weather and climate risks for rice, wheat and soybean production in Japan. The concept and prototype of the system will be shown. The system consists of a weather data system (Agro-Meteorological Grid Square Data System, AMGSDS), decision support contents where information is automatically created by crop models and delivers information to users via internet. AMGSDS combines JMA's Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System (AMeDAS) data, numerical weather forecast data and normal values, for all of Japan with about 1km Grid Square throughout years. Our climate-smart system provides information on the prediction of crop phenology, created with weather forecast data and crop phenology models, as an important function. The system also makes recommendations for crop management, such as nitrogen-topdressing, suitable harvest time, water control, pesticide spray. We are also developing methods to perform risk analysis on weather-related damage to crop production. For example, we have developed an algorism to determine the best transplanting date in rice under a given environment, using the results of multi-year simulation, in order to answer the question "when is the best transplanting date to minimize yield loss, to avoid low temperature damage and to avoid high temperature damage?".

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.23 no.3 s.31
• /
• pp.309-315
• /
• 1990

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of zinc administration on the autistic children. The subject diagnosed as infantile autism were 24 male and 10 female children of a special school in Taegu city. Control group were selected from 1:2 ratio matched with cases on sex and age. The results were as followings. In female autistic group, the mean content of zinc in hair was significantly lower than control group, but in male the result was inverse at all age group. The content of zinc in hair showed significant correlation with age in male autistic group and control group. Zinc content of hair, age and sex accounted for 37.2% of the variance of autistic score and the most significant variable was zinc content. Autistic group were divided into two group. Group I which zinc content of hair below 150 ppm were administrated with multi-vitamin contained 10 mg of zinc, Group II which zinc content of hair above 150 ppm were administrated with placebo. Total administration period was eight weeks. In zinc administration group, there was a decreasing tendency of autistic score as the zinc content of hair was increased but the relationship was not statistically significant.