• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.141-177
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• 2011

I. Research Objectives: Most of the previous studies on diffusion have concentrated on efficacy of WOM communication with the use of variables at individual level (Iacobucci 1996; Midgley et al. 1992). However, there is a paucity of studies which investigated network's structural properties as antecedents of WOM from the perspective of consumers' sociocultural propensities. Against this research backbone, this study attempted to link the network's structural properties and consumer' WOM behavior on cross-national basis. The major research objective of this study was to examine the relationship between network properties and WOM by comparing Korean and Chinese consumers. Specific objectives of this research are threefold; firstly, it sought to examine whether network properties (i.e., tie strength, centrality, range) affect WOM (WOM intention and quality of WOM). Secondly, it aimed to explore the moderating effects of cutural orientation (uncertainty avoidance and individuality) on the relationship between network properties and WOM. Thirdly, it substantiates the role of innovativeness as antecedents to both network properties and WOM. II. Research Hypotheses: Based on the above research objectives, the study put forth the following research hypotheses to validate. ${\cdot}$ H 1-1 : The Strength of tie between two counterparts within network will positively influence WOM effectivenes ${\cdot}$ H 1-2 : The network centrality will positively influence the WOM effectiveness ${\cdot}$ H 1-3 : The network range will positively influence the WOM effectiveness ${\cdot}$ H 2-1 : The consumer's uncertainty avoidance tendency will moderate the relationship between network properties and WOM effectiveness ${\cdot}$ H 2-2 : The consumer's individualism tendency will moderate the relationship between network properties and WOM effectiveness ${\cdot}$ H 3-1 : The consumer's innovativeness will positively influence the social network properties ${\cdot}$ H 3-2 : The consumer's innovativeness will positively influence WOM effectiveness III. Methodology: Through a pilot study and back-translation, two versions of questionnaire were prepared, one in Korean and the other in Chinese. The chinese data were collected from the chinese students enrolled in language schools in Suwon city in Korea, while Korean data were collected from students taking classes in a major university in Seoul. A total of 277 questionnaire were used for analysis of Korean data and 212 for Chinese data. The reason why Chinese students living in Korea rather than in China were selected was based on two factors: one was to neutralize the differences (ie, retail channel availability) that may arise from living in separate countries and the second was to minimize the difference in communication venues such as internet accessibility and cell phone usability. SPSS 12.0 and AMOS 7.0 were used for analysis. IV. Results: Prior to hypothesis verification, mean differences between the two countries in terms of major constructs were performed with the following result; As for network properties (tie strength, centrality and range), Koreans showed higher scores in all three constructs. For cultural orientation traits, Koreans scored higher only on uncertainty avoidance trait than Chinese. As a result of verifying the first research objective, confirming the relationship between network properties and WOM effectiveness, on Korean side, tie strength(Beta=.116; t=1.785) and centrality (Beta=.499; t=6.776) significantly influenced on WOM intention, and similar finding was obtained for Chinese side, with tie strength (Beta=.246; t=3.544) and centrality (Beta=.247; t=3.538) being significant. However, with regard to WOM argument quality, Korean data yielded only centrality (Beta=.82; t=7.600) having a significant impact on WOM, whereas China showed both tie strength(Beat=.142; t=2.052) and centrality(Beta=.348; t=5.031) being influential. To answer for the second research objective addressing the moderating role of cultural orientation, moderated regression anaylsis was performed and the result showed that uncertainty avoidance moderated between network range and WOM intention for both Korea and China, But for Korea, the uncertainty avoidance moderated between tie strength and WOM quality, while for China it moderated between network range and WOM intention. And innovativeness moderated between tie strength and WOM intention for Korea but it moderated between network range and WOM intention for China. As a result of analysing for third research objective, we found that for Korea, innovativeness positively influenced centrality only (Beta=.546; t=10.808), while for China it influenced both tie strength (Beta=.203; t=2.998) and centrality(Beta=.518; t=8.782). But for both countries alike, the innovativeness influenced positively on WOM (WOM intention and WOM quality). V. Implications: The study yields the two practical implications. Firstly, the result suggests that companies targeting multinational customers need to identify segments which are susceptible to the positive WOM and WOM information based on individual traits such as uncertainty avoidance and individualism and based on that, develop marketing communication strategy. Secondly, the companies need to divide the market on Roger's five innovation stages and based on this information, enforce marketing strategy which utilizes social networking tools such as public media and WOM. For instance, innovator and early adopters, if provided with new product information, will be able to capitalize upon the network advantages and thus add informational value to network operations using SNS or corporate blog.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.87-106
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• 2013

In the service-oriented economy, knowledge and skills are considered core resources to secure competitive advantages and service innovation. Knowledge management capability, which facilitates to produce, share, accumulate and reuse knowledge, becomes as important as knowledge itself to create service value. Along with knowledge management capability, dynamic capability and operational capability are the key capabilities related to managing service delivery processes. Previous studies indicated that these three capabilities are related to service innovation. Although separately investigate the relationship between the three capabilities. The purpose of this study is 1) to define variables that have effects on service innovation including knowledge management capability, dynamic capability and operational capability, and 2) to empirically test to identify relationship among variables. In this study, knowledge management capability is defined as the capability to manage knowledge process. Dynamic capability is regarded as the firm's ability to integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external competences to address rapidly changing environments. Operational capability refers to a high-level routine that, together with its implementing input flows, confers upon an organization's management a set of decision options for producing significant outputs of a particular type. The proposed research model was tested against the data collected through the survey method. The survey questionnaire was distributed to the managers who participated in an educational program for management consulting. Each individual who answered the questionnaire represented a knowledge based service firm. About 212 surveys questionnaires were sent via e-mail or directly delivered to respondents. The number of useable responses was 93. Measurement items were adapted from previous studies to reflect the characteristics of the industry each informant worked in. All measurement items were in, 5 point Likert scale with anchors ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). Out of 93 respondents, about 81% were male, 82% of respondents were in their 30s. In terms of jobs, managers were 39.78%, professions/technicians were 24.73%, researchers were 12.90%, and sales people were 10.75%. Most of respondents worked for medium size enterprises (47,31%) in their, less than 30 employees (46.24%) in their number of employees, and less than 10 million USD (65.59%) in terms of sales volume. To test the proposed research model, structural equation modeling (SEM) technique (SPSS 16.0 and AMOS version 5) was used. We found that the three organizational capabilities have influence on service innovation directly or indirectly. Knowledge management capability directly affects dynamic capability and service innovation but indirectly affect operational capability through dynamic capability. Dynamic capability has no direct impact on service innovation, but influence service innovation indirectly through operational capability. Operational capability was found to positively affect service innovation. In sum, three organizational capabilities (knowledge management capability, dynamic capability and operational capability) need to be strategically managed at firm level, because organizational capabilities are significantly related to service innovation. An interesting result is that dynamic capability has a positive effect on service innovation only indirectly through operational capability. This result indicates that service innovation might have a characteristics similar to process innovation rather than product orientation. The results also show that organizational capabilities are inter-correlated to influence each other. Dynamic capability enables effective resource management, arrangement, and integration. Through these dynamic capability affected activities, strategic agility and responsibility get strength. Knowledge management capability intensify dynamic capability and service innovation. Knowledge management capability is the basis of dynamic capability as well. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed further in the conclusion section.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.191-225
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• 2014

Most of all, this paper analyzes the current situation of EU(European Union) and ascertain EU's economic condition in terms of tariff lines and non-tariff barriers. and the purpose of this article is to find out the problems of EU's tariff lines and non-tariff barriers. Next, We suggest some future direction of export promotion from Korea to EU more largely for our companies. First, this paper describes the characteristics and outline of EU. The EU is a politico-economic union of 28 member states that are primarily located in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community(ECSC) and the European Economic Community(EEC), formed by the Inner Six countries in 1951 and 1958, respectively. After that, The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union under its current name in 1993. The latest major amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in 2009. There are a combined population of over 500 million inhabitants and generated a nominal gross domestic product(GDP) of 16.692 trillion US dollars in EU. The results are as follows ; First of all, In terms of tariff lines and customs duties, Our companies have to know precisely EU's real tariff lines and other customs duties, and such as value added tax and exercise tax, corporate tax regulated by EU commission and EU's 28 members. second, our companies have to confirm EU's non-tariff barriers. such as RoHS, WEEE, REACH. These non-tariff barriers could be hindrances or obstacles to trade with foreign companies in other countries. We perceive all companies exporting to EU are related with these Technical Barriers to Trade irrespective of their nationality. So, Our companies fulfill the requirements of EU Commission concerning safety, health, environment etc. Also, Our companies choose market-driven strategy to export more largely than before in the field of marketing and logistics.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.173-198
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• 2010

The purpose of this paper is to research on the liability for the space damage and the settlement of the dispute with reference to the space activity under the international space treaty and national space law of Korea. The United Nations has adopted five treaties relating to the space activity as follows: The Outer Space Treaty of 1967, the Rescue and Return Agreement of 1968, the Liability Convention of 1972, the Registration Convention of 1974, and the Moon Treaty of 1979. All five treaties have come into force. Korea has ratified above four treaties except the Moon Treaty. Korea has enacted three national legislations relating to space development as follows: Aerospace Industry Development Promotion Act of 1987, Outer Space Development Promotion Act of 2005, Outer Space Damage Compensation Act of 2008. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 regulates the international responsibility for national activities in outer space, the national tort liability for damage by space launching object, the national measures for dispute prevention and international consultation in the exploration and use of outer space, the joint resolution of practical questions by international inter-governmental organizations in the exploration and use of outer space. The Liability Convention of 1972 regulates the absolute liability by a launching state, the faulty liability by a launching state, the joint and several liability by a launching state, the person claiming for compensation, the claim method for compensation, the claim period of compensation, the claim for compensation and local remedy, the compensation amount for damage by a launching state, the establishment of the Claims Commission. The Outer Space Damage Compensation Act of 2008 in Korea regulates the definition of space damage, the relation of the Outer Space Damage Compensation Act and the international treaty, the non-faulty liability for damage by a launching person, the concentration of liability and recourse by a launching person, the exclusion of application of the Product Liability Act, the limit amount of the liability for damage by a launching person, the cover of the liability insurance by a launching person, the measures and assistance by the government in case of occurring the space damage, the exercise period of the claim right of compensation for damage. The Liability Convention of 1972 should be improved as follows: the problem in respect of the claimer of compensation for damage, the problem in respect of the efficiency of decision by the Claims Commission. The Outer Space Damage Compensation Act of 2008 in Korea should be improved as follows: the inclusion of indirect damage into the definition of space damage, the change of currency unit of the limit amount of liability for damage, the establishment of joint and several liability and recourse right for damage by space joint launching person, the establishment of the Space Damage Compensation Review Commission. The 1998 Final Draft Convention on the Settlement of Disputes Related to Space Activities of 1998 by ILA regulates the binding procedure and non-binding settlement procedure for the disputes in respect of space activity. The non-binding procedure regulates the negotiation or the peaceful means and compromise for dispute settlement. The binding procedure regulates the choice of a means among the following means: International Space Law Court if it will be established, International Court of Justice, and Arbitration Court. The above final Draft Convention by ILA will be a model for the innovative development in respect of the peaceful settlement of disputes with reference to space activity and will be useful for establishing the frame of practicable dispute settlement. Korea has built the space center at Oinarodo, Goheung Province in June 2009. Korea has launched the first small launch vehicle KSLV-1 at the Naro Space Center in August 2009 and June 2010. In Korea, it will be the possibility to be occurred the problems relating to the international responsibility and dispute settlement, and the liability for space damage in the course of space activity. Accordingly the Korean government and launching organization should make the legal and systematic policy to cope with such problems.

• Archives of design research
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• v.19 no.1 s.63
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• pp.201-214
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• 2006

Modern society is an age of vagueness and confusion. In addition, vagueness, complexity and variety are seen throughout art including modern philosophy, literature, and environmental design. A phenomenon like this shows that modern society has integrated different components as an organic relationship frequently crossing the boundary of fields. This feature can be regarded as hybrid related with accepting contradictory components and binding them into one under relationship between part and whole. As new design concept, presented are attitude to accept the two instead of attitude to select one of the alternatives, abundance instead of dearness, and ambiguity instead of simplicity. This principle has a crucial influence on creative design providing opposing contradiction and several alternative plans as non-deterministic form not completed one and, above all, useful information in mutual dependence and mutual relationship. When it comes to hybrid, therefore, a strategy is needed to consider layer of several fields getting out of standardizing space into a single space. As an event of this situation and concept, space experience means behaving freely based on experience of users' body. It can be known that this experience brings about users' more dynamic experience in comparison with the experience of seeing environmental design from a viewpoint of visual ism on the existing simplicity. Such a practical experience is subjective, synesthetic, and non-observational one. Therefore, hybrid has brought active users to the stage, which is distinguished from synesthesia felt through body's experience, not through observational attitude and visual space which achieve former balance and harmony with non-determination. That's because hybrid creatures are turning to a product resulted from creative imagination instead of from reappearance which makes text visualized. Such experience performed by user's active participation collapses the boundary between special elite-centered art and daily life and it is the present progressive form showing creation process of future events and new esthetic experience.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.593-601
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• 2016

This study was carried out to establish an effective marketing strategy based on Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) of rice-convenience foods. IPA is one of the most efficient and simple methods to evaluate product quality. Data were collected from 652 people (320 males and 332 females) and analyzed by SPSS 19.0. Subjects consumed rice-convenience foods as a snack substitute (19.3%), breakfast (20.7%), lunch (37.4%), dinner (15.2%), and late-night meal (7.4%). The purpose for consumption of rice-convenience foods were as follows: light meal (34.8%), lack of time to prepare meal (42.2%), favorite restaurant is not nearby (2.3%), save money (3.4%), and outdoor activities (9.7%). All attributes about rice-convenience foods were categorized into intrinsic property and extrinsic property. As a result of factor analysis, health, sensibility, and diversity factors were extracted from intrinsic property. In addition, dependence and appearance factors were drawn from extrinsic property. In analyzing the differences between importance and performance, there were significant differences; 16 items in the intrinsic property (P<0.01), and 10 items in the extrinsic property (P<0.001). The IPA matrix is composed of four quadrants, and each represents different strategies; the first, 'keep up the good work', the second, 'possible overkill', the third, 'low priority for management', and the fourth, 'concentrate management'. As a result, factors of rice-convenience foods positioned in the fourth quadrant were 'safety (from food additives, etc.)' and 'price' in the intrinsic property and 'nutrition label' and 'safety of packaging material' in the extrinsic property. They need to be improved immediately. In this study, rice-convenience food factors for continuous maintenance and concentrative improvement were compared by IPA. Based upon the results of this study, it is necessary to develop methods to make efficient use of limited resources and practical marketing strategies.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.2215-2224
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• 2013

This study performed empirical analysis to estimate SMEs needs in terms of business support policy by growth stages(start-up growth expansion). The subject is the SMEs in Cheonan and Asan, ChungNam and the results are as follows. First, In the initial start-up stage, management plays a key role in dealing with money, labor force, markets and technology while running the organization is a key role of the management in the expansion stage. Major policies to help SMEs grow includes money provision needed in the start-up stage, domestic marketing assistance and the provision of human resources in the growth stage, and assistance in foreign marketing and R&D in the expansion stage. Second, To achieve markets businesses aim at entering the existing and niche markets in the initial phase, and creating new markets in the growth phase. Third, Labor force for technology, sales and management planning in the start-up stage, marketing in the growth stage, and labor force for production in the expansion stage are core man- power needed. Fourth, Money for technology development, securing land for factories, organizing man power, securing markets and running the company is needed in the initial and growth stages while fund for facility investment is needed to grow in the expansion stage. Five, Regarding technology, the initial stage needs technology related to new product development, renewing existing products, improving the existing manufacturing process or developing new manufacturing process, while the growth stage needs processing techniques, and the expansion stage needs technology for developing new manufacturing process. Sixth, Making supply contracts with conglomerates, SMEs and public institutions, and sales to foreign markets are ways for SMEs to grow sales. Seventh, What SMEs wish to get includes business incubating support, R&D assistance, information exchanges, practical use of the R&D results, merchandising support, help with the land to build factories and custom-made support for management in the foundation stage while the support they want to get in the growth stage and in the expansion stage is training assistance and trial production respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.47-61
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to understand the laws related to the safety management of children's play facilities(LRSMCPF) including the "Safety Supervision Law of Children's Play Facilities(SSLCPF)" and the "Quality Management and Industrial Products Safety Management Law(QMIPSAL)", in order to analyze the problems by 4 phases-development of products, landscape design, landscape construction and maintenance considering landscape project procedure-and to propose a revision of the laws. The results are as follows: 1. The various LRSMCPF, SSLCPF and QMIPSAL, as basic laws for the safety management of children's play facilities, were insufficient regarding the features of children's play facilities and play spaces, which are both comparatively varied and complex. 2. In development of products, the one-year duration of safety certification based on QMIPSAL was too short and the procedure for safety certification were redundant in both products and plants inspection, and export and import product inspection. 3. The field inspection of construction sites based on SSLCPF was repeated with quality control and a consultation of rules based on "Construction Technology Management Law". 4. There are not enough safety inspection organizations regarding children's play facilities to meet the demand of safety certification, safety inspection, and safety education in the near future. 5. For children's play safety, the establishment of a general safety management system for children's play connected with the phases is needed to ensure safe play equipment, to construct safe playgrounds, and to manage play facilities. The criteria, regulations, and procedure regarding safety certification and safety inspection of play facilities must be revised efficiently and standardized to a global level as well. To improve the system and contents of safety certification and inspection, authorization of safety inspection organizations based on landscape architecture is needed. Further study will be required to concretely analyze in detail the laws, enforcement decrees and rules, and ordinances that consider the practical experience of professional landscape architects, inspectors, and lawyers.

• 한국벤처창업학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.45-75
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• 2006

How much influence does a business plan have on a corporate performance? Whilst previous studies and literatures all assert a strong correlation between the two, very few have actually conducted practical analyses to support that. This study takes an empirical approach in its analysis of Korea' s small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) with the view to finding an answer to the question. A business plan' s components, which have to date been suggested only in theory and in concept, have been selected through the study of literatures and preliminary examination. The selected components were then narrowed down into five factors of productivity, implementation, operational direction, product/service and customer accessibility by applying factor analysis. With which items to measure corporate performance is also an important question as results differ depending on which measurement items were used. For the purpose of this study, corporate performance was classified into effectiveness, adaptability and efficiency to measure how greatly each is influenced by the components of a business plan. Results show that effectiveness and adaptability have a positive (+) influence on corporate performance. The regression model seems to explain effectiveness particularly well. However, different directions of influences were showed in explain power of the research model were not high. And it can be interpreted that implementation of the plan is as important as the establishment of it. Thus a good corporate performance is to be had only under an excellent plan and following an excellent implementation. In most of the companies surveyed, business plans were established regularly led by the intense involvement of the CEO. Such plans were then used in internal operations, such as guiding operational direction and measuring corporate performance. Unlike general expectations, relatively few companies used them in financing from external sources such as banks or venture capitals. These findings are different from previous studies conducted in this field. Also, as market uncertainty was pointed out as the biggest obstacle to business planning. a manager must pay more attention to acquiring external information and knowledge so as to minimize it.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.191-203
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• 2016

This purpose of this study is to academically define what "luxury products" mean, and to clarify the cognitive structural relationship between corporate attributes and "luxuriousness" in relation to the determinant of luxuriousness that eventually affects the purchase intention of consumers. This study is also written under the theory that luxuriousness leads to benefits such as functional benefit, experiential benefit, symbolic benefit, and exclusive benefit; which all provide core values to consumers and serve as effect factors that influence the psychological satisfaction of consumers. The commonly discussed measure of the determinant of luxuriousness has often failed to adequately describe the reasons to why the consumers prefer luxury products. This study also aims to suggest a new path in how and what the consumers perceive as luxury products, and to conceptualize what luxuriousness means in the marketing perspectives on the background of a previous theory. The part of corporate attributes are divided in the following sections: corporate ability(CA) and corporate reputation(CR). The part of the determinant of luxuriousness is divided in sections of superiority, scarcity, differentiation, and traditionality. Therefore, this study used the theoretical concept used in such common measures as well as 282 examples to empirically analyze the relationship between corporate attributes and luxuriousness of luxury products, and how such affect the purchase intentions of consumers. The survey used to aid this study targeted luxury product consumers regarding "B" brand of automobiles. Using the analysis through a structural equation model, the study draws a conclusion that in a relationship between corporate attributes and luxuriousness, corporate ability(CA) of corporate attributes affects the facts of differentiation and traditionality in a significant way, and corporate reputation(CR) of corporate attributes affects the factors of superiority and scarcity in a significant way. Additionally, the superiority and scarcity of luxuriousness positive significantly affects purchase intention, and differentiation and traditionality of luxuriousness affects purchase intention in a negative significant way. The structural concept of luxury and luxuriousness suggested in the study will provide the theoretical basis for building a new case study, and the determinants of luxuriousness in the marketing perspective will be a practical help for checking the consumers' psychological reasons for purchase.