• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.106-130
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• 1999

The main objective of this paper is to perform an empirical analysis on the relationship between various marketing activities and financial performance of Korean hospitals. A survey was conducted through structured questionnaire for 495 hospitals, and data from 218 hospitals were utilized in the final anaylsis.(response rate: 44%) Survey items include general characteristics of the hospitals(size, type, location), degree of competition, financial performance. marketing organization! budget, and level of various marketing activities in service development, access improvement, promotion, and pricing. We examine descriptive statistics of the response scores on marketing activities to evaluate the current status of marketing management of Korean hospitals, compare the results across hospital size, type and location, and perform regression analysis to investigate the relaionship between marketing and financial performance. Major findings are as follows: 1) About 46% of the responding hospitals have marketing departments although they are named as 'planning' or 'PR' departments, and the marketing budget on average represents 1.74% of the total expenditures. 2) Average level of marketing activities is calculated to be about 3.32 on 5-point scale, meaning that Korean hospitals implement their marketing programs 'somewhat actively'; however, the scores on the areas of marketing plannning and strategy are relatively low. 3) Large hospitals tend to be more active in marketing than small hospitals, and public hospitals' activities in marketing are not lower compared to private hospitals. 4) Level of overall marketing activities is positively related with financial performance measured by various finacial indicators except for profitability, implying that marketing is successful in revenue generation but needs to be more cost-effective. Also, when the marketing variables are separately included in the regression, no significant relationship is found, which means that various marketing activities are more effective when they are collectively implemented.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.311-321
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• 2024

This study comprehensively analyzed the perceptions of Chinese consumers who have and have not purchased Samsung smartphones, based on data from the social media platform Weibo. Various big data analysis techniques were used, including text mining, frequency analysis, centrality analysis, semantic network analysis, and CONCOR analysis. The results indicate that positive perceptions of Samsung smartphones include aspects such as design aesthetics, camera functionality, AI features, screen quality, specifications, and performance, and their status as a premium brand. On the other hand, negative perceptions include issues with pricing, a yellow tint in photos, slow charging speeds, and safety concerns. These findings will provide a crucial basis for making significant improvements in Samsung's market strategy in China.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.189-207
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• 2010

We applied IT ecosystem analysis to Smart Grid system in this paper and thereby compared various arguments about Smart Grid technologies against the reality of the power generation and distribution in South Korea with a special attention to the power distribution side. Our work attempts to propose policy implications in the government-level based on a firm-level analysis using the framework of the competitive strategy and advantage. The Smart Grid initiative is expected to enhance the efficiency in the power generation and distribution. In addition, the Smart Grid initiative aims at capturing the opportunities in the electric power business such as parts, components, supplies, and system products in the global arena. Prerequisites of smart distribution system include building infrastructure based on smart distribution parts, information systems, communication technologies, and developing various application programs and interfaces that would interact with the consumers. Consumers are expected to play an integral role by changing their consumption patterns in response to dynamic pricing and quality choices enabled by the smart distribution technologies. In order to induce the consumers to participate actively in the program, firms and policy makers should consider providing consumers economic incentives and proper education for better understanding of new technologies. Our work helps policy makers and firm better understand the nature of technology and stakeholders for the successful implementation of smart distribution technologies.

• Korean Business Review
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.133-149
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• 2005

DAB is meeting with mixed success. Denmark is performing similarly to the UK thanks to the innovation of the public broadcaster but where DAB is not so strong, the problem can usually be pointed at the lack of enabling regulation. The UK's example, whilst not appropriate everywhere, has valuable lessons including licensing incentives for existing analogue commercial broadcasters and a market-building obligation on the national multiplex licensee. Despite the obvious success of DAB, it would be an omission to leave some of the continued criticisms unanswered, whether of its slow start or the underlying technology. True, there was much over-optimism in the mid-1990s, coupled with unrealistic promises and expectations of receiver pricing and consumer take-up. Governments across Europe have legislated for DAB digital radio in a variety of ways but few as successfully as the UK. It is essential that both public and private broadcasters are encouraged equally to participate in digital radio. The UK is fortunate because, for the last 10 years, there has been a progressive government policy towards digital broadcasting. The 1996 Broadcasting Act set out a full licensing regime for both digital television and digital radio. The 1996 UK legislation contained a number of key elements which have been cornerstones of its success. DAB digital radio began test broadcasting around ten years ago but it has not been a universal consumer success across Europe. In the UK, however, digital radio receivers are one of the fastest-selling consumer electronics products and sales have overtaken those of analogue radios. Why has the UK succeeded with DAB digital radio when other European countries have yet to see their markets take off? This article explains what steps the UK took to make DAB digital radio a success.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.63-74
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• 2018

Recently, in the asset management industry, the smart beta strategy, which has an intermediate nature between passive and active strategies, is attracting attention. In this smart beta strategy, value, momentum, low volatility, and quality index are widely used. In this study, we analyzed the quality index which is not clear and complicated to calculate. According to the MSCI methodology, the quality index was calculated using three variables: return on equity, debt to equity, and earnings variability. In addition, we use the index using only return on equity variable, the index using only two variables of return on equity and debt to equity, and the KOSPI index as comparison targets for the quality index. In order to evaluate the performance of the indices used in the analysis, the arithmetic mean return, the coefficient of variation, and the geometric mean return were used. In addition, Fama and French (1993) model, which is widely used in related studies, was used as a pricing model to test whether abnormal returns in each index are occurring. The results of the empirical analysis are as follows. First, in all period analysis, quality index was the best in terms of holding period returns. Second, the quality index performed best in the currency crisis and the global financial crisis. Third, abnormal returns were not found in all indices before the global financial crisis. Fourth, in the period after the global financial crisis, the quality index has the highest abnormal return.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.361-372
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• 2023

In this study, three luxury fashion start-up platforms, Balaan, Trenbe, and Must-it, were selected as research subjects. The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the marketing mix strategies of each of the three online sites. The results of our study are as follows. First of all, the product strategies of the three luxury platform companies are characterized by the composition of products from high-end brands to SPA brands, and product composition such as kids, home living, Used goods and art in addition to women's and men's wear. In addition, the pricing strategies of luxury platforms show price differences depending on the luxury platform even for the same product. It is shown as a structure that directly determines margin. Therefore, in order to secure an edge in price competitiveness, each platform provided discount coupons and savings that are not available in offline stores such as department stores, providing opportunities to purchase luxury goods at a lower price than offline stores.Lastly, the sales promotion strategies of the three luxury platform companies was used include price discount promotions such as price discounts, discount coupons, and regular sales, and value-added sales such as membership registration/review points, events, product information, delivery services, social contribution activities, and SNS utilization.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.39-48
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• 2011

One of the major reasons for fierce competition among firms is that they strive to increase their own market shares in the same market with similar and apparently undifferentiated products in terms of quality and perceived benefit. Due to such changes in the marketing environment, differentiated after-sales service and diversified promotion strategies have become more important in the race to gain a competitive advantage. Price discount is one of the popular promotion strategies that most retailers use, especially to increase sales, but offering a price discount does not always lead to the expected result. If marketers apply an identical price-promotion strategy without considering the characteristic differences in products and consumer preferences, the discounted price itself may make people skeptical about the quality of the product. Moreover, the changes in perceived value may appear differently depending on factors such as consumer involvement. This implies that variables such as the level of consumer involvement, brand loyalty, and external reference prices, in reality, would have different effects on how consumers perceive the value of price discounts. The variables that affect consumers' perceived values and buying decisions are diverse and complicated. Several studies have examined the effects of such variables as external reference price, selling price, and brand on consumers' perceived value of products. Results have not shown consistent patterns. Therefore, we must note that the factors affecting consumers' value perceptions and buying behaviors are diverse and that the results of studies on the same dependent variable come out differently depending on what that variable is. This study focused on the level of consumer involvement as a salient variable that supposedly affects the perceived value of a product, willingness to buy, and search intentions. We tried to examine whether a price discount affects the perceived value-such as perceived acquisition value and perceived transaction value-in different ways depending on the level of consumer involvement. In addition, we proposed managerial implications that marketers need to consider as a whole, for instance, product attributes, brand loyalty, and involvement and then established a differentiated pricing strategy, case by case, in order to effectively enhance consumers' perceived values. As a result, we found that perceived transaction value positively affects perceived acquisition value and when discounting the price of a high-involvement product enhances the consumer's willingness to buy, but perceived acquisition value does not affect the search intentions significantly. In the case of discounting prices of low-involvement products, on the other hand, the perceived transaction value has a positive effect on the willingness to buy, but the negative effect of perceived acquisition value on the search intentions was not significant. We suppose that people doubt a product's quality because of a declined perceived quality derived from a price discount. Even though the price discount enhanced the transaction value, people eventually increased their level of searching for additional product information. From the results of this study, we suggest that marketers ought to establish an appropriate value-enhancing strategy based on the understanding of which perceived value consumers rely on more when they conduct purchasing behavior because consumers perceive the degree of importance of acquisition value or transaction value differently, depending on their level of involvement.

• Journal of KIISE:Software and Applications
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• v.30 no.7_8
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• pp.672-680
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• 2003

A shopbot is a software agent whose goal is to maximize buyer´s satisfaction through automatically gathering the price and quality information of goods as well as the services from on-line sellers. In the response to shopbots´ activities, sellers on the Internet need the agents called pricebots that can help them maximize their own profits. In this paper we adopts Q-learning, one of the model-free reinforcement learning methods as a price-setting algorithm of pricebots. A Q-learned agent increases profitability and eliminates the cyclic price wars when compared with the agents using the myoptimal (myopically optimal) pricing strategy Q-teaming needs to select a sequence of state-action fairs for the convergence of Q-teaming. When the uniform random method in selecting state-action pairs is used, the number of accesses to the Q-tables to obtain the optimal Q-values is quite large. Therefore, it is not appropriate for universal on-line learning in a real world environment. This phenomenon occurs because the uniform random selection reflects the uncertainty of exploitation for the optimal policy. In this paper, we propose a Mixed Nonstationary Policy (MNP), which consists of both the auxiliary Markov process and the original Markov process. MNP tries to keep balance of exploration and exploitation in reinforcement learning. Our experiment results show that the Q-learning agent using MNP converges to the optimal Q-values about 2.6 time faster than the uniform random selection on the average.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.79-91
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• 2015

Purpose - First, the study identifies and analyzes consumer preferences with regard to health foods and supplements. Second, it identifies and analyzes consumer preferences with regard to the properties of Vitamin C supplements. Third, in order to provide a basic data for the development of Vitamin C supplements and to measure how consumers value the properties of different Vitamin C products, a consumer survey was conducted through the choice-based conjoint model. Based on the results, the research estimates consumers' relative product-related priorities as well as price levels and willingness to pay (WTP) for different product types, and makes suggestions regarding consumer-oriented new product development and progressive directions for the successful launch of health foods and supplements. Research design, data, and methodology - This study aims to define the attributes of health foods and supplements based on several characteristics including their natural ingredients, product price, product originality, natural ingredient content, and additional functional ingredients, and makes suggestions regarding strategic market pricing and product development for health foods and supplements according to customer attitudes and characteristics. The research used choice-based conjoint analysis methodology based on the Multinomial Logic Model and collected 94 questionnaires filled out by users of Korean Vitamin C supplements. Results - Product price is the most influential factor among the five analyzed properties. When consumers buy Vitamin C products, the relative significance level of four of the examined properties is as follows: 40.9% for product price, 23.3% for product originality, 21.9% for natural ingredient content, and 13.9% for additional functional ingredients. Vitamin C content is excluded as it is not a statistically significant factor. It is interesting that supplement manufacturers and retailers consider Vitamin C content to be very important whereas consumers do not regard it as an important factor at the time of purchase. The results for the marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for each property of Vitamin C supplements show that consumers are willing to pay an additional 11,146 Korean won for a 50% increase in the natural ingredient content. With regard to product originality, consumers are willing to pay an additional 11,301 Korean won for products manufactured in Europe than for products manufactured in China. Moreover, consumers show a greater preference for products manufactured in Korea than in Europe. However, consumers are not willing to pay more for additional Vitamin C or additional functional ingredients added to Vitamin C products. Conclusions - According to the results of consumer research on Vitamin C supplements, which represent a popular health food supplement in Korea, most Korean health food and supplement companies are not consumer- or market-oriented when developing new products. Companies gather information from either R&D specialists or sales managers and their opinions are highly reflected in new product development. The study's results will help companies recognize the importance of understanding consumers' unmet needs in advance to develop new products in the future.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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• v.1
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• pp.125-146
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• 1989

This paper is examine the problems of U.S.-Korea Air Service Agreement and recommend some directions for its improvement under the rapidly changing circumstance and growing importance of Korean penisula. Since the provisional agreement of 1949, U.S. -Korea Air Service Agreement has consistently been favorable to U.S. side. Fair and equal opportunity is the principle and basis of the bilateral air agreement. Notwithstanding such principle, it is only the U.S. carriers who can freely enter into any market, under the discretion of business strategy, while Korean carrier can serve only three points including Honolulu. In an effort to recitify such serious imbalance, Korea continuousely requested additional rights and has given utmost efforts to accommodate requests made by U.S. carries without much success. When we review aviation market between Korea and U.S. under the present agreement, Korea is fully open to U.S. carries as they can connect from any or all points in the U.S. via any or all points in Korea and all points beyond Korea. Increased number of U.S. carriers are enjoying greater utilization of the opportunity accorded them. Four(4) U.S. carries now operate to Korea using thirteen(13) gateway points and about one hundred fifty(150) on-line points in the U.S. such imbalance can be well understood when we review the exchange of traffic rights between the U.S. and the Pacific rim countries. During the yeras following the 1978 agreement with Korea, the U.S. proceeded to sign liberal agreements with Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore and the Phillipines. In exchange, the U.S. granted the four Pacific rim countries substantially greater rights than were granted to Korea, although Korea was the first Asian nation to sign a pro-competitive aviation agreement which granted U.S. carriers unrestricted market access and pricing flexibility. Moreover, Korea ranks the 2nd trading and tourist partner to the U.S. among the Pacific rim countries (Japan is the largest partner to the U.S. in terms of both trade and tourist market). In this paper such problems in the Korea-U.S. Air Services Agreement are analyzed in terms of historical perspective, U.S. Aviation policy, imbalance status in detail cases, discrimination to Korea comparing to other Asian countries, and theoretical application. And further it discusses current aviation issues between Korea and U.S. such as the ratification of 1980 MOU and various doing business issues of U.S. carriers in Korea. Finally, this paper concludes the analysis and suggests some directions to improve and rectify the problems and imbalance of U.S.-Korea Air Services Agreement in question.