• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.81-101
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• 2021

Traditional department stores have been struggling to attract customers for several years. Many retail stores have closed in recent years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. The reinvention of in-store shopping value and experience is imperative to attract customers and reinvigorate retail business. The purpose of this study was to discover which in-store components can improve customer experiences and loyalty while also identifying dissatisfaction issues in consumer experiences in department stores. The data was collected from two consumer groups-luxury department store (Selfridges) customers and mid-market department store (Debenhams) customers-to identify the types of value and experiences they seek most often. The findings showed that to enhance their store patronage, Debenhams should reposition their brand image in a way that allows customers to connect with their self-image and lifestyle by improving efficiency and convenience and prioritizing the utilitarian and social value types. By contrast, Selfridges should enhancetheir store atmosphere, visual merchandising and sensory experiences by maximizing slow retailing experiences and emphasizing the aspirational self-concept image for symbolic and hedonic value. This research uncovered the existence of numerous overlappingvalue dimensions, each of which contributed to the enhancement of the others. Several young customers expressed their support for ecologically responsible, cost-effective second-hand luxury products. Instead of focusing merely on conventional value dimensions, department retailers should determine how environmental and ethical objectives can be fulfilled. This study explained how department stores can craft their in-store environments to appeal to their customers' preferred value types to ensure success in a competitive market.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.109-126
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• 2022

Purpose: The role of salespersons' emotions in effective selling behavior garners attention among scholars and practitioners. Previous studies have investigated the effects of emotional intelligence and emotional labor on sales success separately. However, to understand the whole process, the relationships among salespersons' cognition, emotions, and behaviors should be considered simultaneously. Accordingly, we uniquely examined how salespersons' emotional intelligence (emotional antecedent) and customer orientation (cognitive antecedent) influence their emotional labor (deep acting vs. surface acting), adaptive selling behavior, and the selling results in the retail environment. Research design, data, and methodology: To improve methodological rigor, we used the dyadic approach. We measured 182 salespersons' emotional intelligence, customer orientation, and emotional labor, and 364 customers assessed the salespersons' adaptive selling behavior and selling results in the insurance and duty-free department retailing sectors. Result: The findings suggest that salespersons' customer orientation and emotional intelligence relate to deep-acting of emotional labor, affecting their adaptive selling behavior and relationship quality with customers. Conclusions: As for managerial implications, sales managers may well consider emotional intelligence levels when selecting salespersons in the retail industry. Additionally, practical training programs are required to cultivate customer orientation, emotional intelligence, and deep acting while performing emotional labor.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.97-125
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• 2015

In this study, we tried to evaluate the relative importance and find out the differences in consumer perceptions regarding service recovery strategies and the service provider in the distribution industry by using AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) analysis method. Therefore in this study, we tried to systematize various recovery strategies which were considered very important during service failure process in the distribution industry and analyze the relative importance for each recovery strategy. We set hierarchy composed of four items of monetary, action-oriented, psychological, and assured level as primary selection criteria and a total of 16 items(indemnity, refund, gift, gift certificate, prompt resolution, exchange, manager support, explanation, apology, empathy, acknowledge, kindness, assortment, after service, manage subcontractor, manage employee) as secondary selection criteria. We tried to take one step further from the service sector and study service recovery strategies specialized in distributor services. This study suggests various implications about service recovery strategies of distributors. First, this study can provide practical implications - e.g. service recovery efforts should be applied differently depending on service channels. There is a perceptual difference with respect to the importance of the types of service recovery strategies between service provider and final customer. Second, we can find theoretical implications in terms of identifying the priorities through hierarchy design of new recovery strategies and comparison of each element from the classifications of the current fractional recovery strategies. We hope to help service providers to build more efficient recovery strategy system based on the results of this study.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.1-11
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aims at understanding the impacts of three omnichannel attributes (channel transparency, channel uniformity, channel convenience) and four customer perceptions (perceived innovativeness, perceived personalization, perceived risk, perceived credibility) on customer experience and channel selection decision. Research design and methodology: A quantitative online survey with 356 shoppers was executed. The partial least squares linear structural model (PLS-SEM) and Smart PLS were adopted to analyze the collected data and test the proposed hypotheses. Results: The research findings indicate four dominant results: (i) The customers' channel selection is directly determined by customer experience; perceived innovativeness; perceived personalization; perceived risk; and perceived credibility; and (ii) among these, the perceived risk shows negative impact on the customer's experience and customers' channel selection whereas others reveal the positive status; (iii) The customer experience represents the most decisive impact on the channel selection, then perceived personalization, perceived credibility, perceived innovativeness, and perceived risk. (iv) Three proposed channel attributes (transparency, uniformity, convenience) significantly influence the overall customer experience. Conclusions: This research adds to the body of knowledge in omnichannel retailing, customer experience, and customer channel selection. Furthermore, this research provides omnichannel retailers with practical implications for improving customer channel selection.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.1113-1136
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• 2023

With increasing interest in sustainability, several fashion and beauty brands have developed and offered unique types of sustainable packaging in their stores (e.g., 'knot-wrap,' 'seaweed-based' packaging). The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived value (i.e., green, aesthetic, functional, emotional, social, self-expression) of unique types of sustainable packaging and its impact on consumers' packaging evaluation, store evaluation, and store patronage intentions in the context of a fashion retail store. This study also assessed the moderating effects of consumer innovativeness and environmental concern. Data were collected from 210 US consumers aged 18 to 26 years through Amazon MTurk. The results of structural equation modeling revealed that green, emotional, self-expression, functional, and aesthetic values perceived from unique types of sustainable packaging had significant positive impacts on packaging evaluation. Packaging evaluation, in turn, positively impacted store evaluation, subsequently influencing store patronage intentions. Consumer innovativeness and environmental concern moderated several paths between the variables. This study adds to the existing literature on sustainable packaging by investigating consumer responses to sustainable packaging that incorporates the 'uniqueness' aspect. Managerial implications regarding the importance of developing and offering unique types of sustainable packaging for fashion brands in their retail stores are discussed.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.103-113
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• 2024

Purpose: With the popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) in the service industry and occurrence ofservice failures in AI-based services, understanding human-robot interaction issues in service failure situations is especially important. Some issues which deserve further empirical investigation are whether consumers can develop the same tolerance for chatbots after service failure as they have for human agents, and the relationship between agent type and tolerance is mediated by the mechanisms of perceived warmth and perceived competence. Research Design, Data, and Methodology: This research experimentally collected and analyzed data from 119 university students who had experienced chatbots service failures. Differences in tolerance towards human agents and chatbots after experiencing service failures were explored, with a further examination of the mediating pathways between this relationship via perceived warmth and perceived competence. Results: Consumers are more tolerant ofservice failure with chatbots compared to service failure with human agents. Significant mediation of the relationship between service agent and service failure tolerance by perceived competence, while perceived warmth has no significant mediating effect. Conclusions: This research enhances our understanding of AI-assisted services, human-computer interaction, improves the service functionality of existing smart devices, and deepens the understanding of the relationship between consumer responses and behaviors.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.45-69
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• 2024

Purpose - To examine the influence of mobile visual search as a strategic technology service on consumer perceived economic value and customer commitments, which in turn affect consumer's usage intention of mobile visual search. This study also explores the moderating effect of different levels of consumer online shopping orientation. Design/methodology/approach - One-by-one open-ended in-depth interview was first undertaken to 15 Korean consumers to figure the features of mobile visual search. Then a conceptual model was built to verify the hypotheses that indicate the impact of mobile visual search on consumer perceived economic value and customer commitment, which further influence consumer's usage intention. Findings - The results show Convenience, Information quality, Personalization, Text-free search interface design and Visual communication of mobile visual search positively influence consumer perceived economic value and customer commitment and in turn positively affect consumer's usage intention. Moreover, the different levels of consumer online shopping orientation also found to have different effects on consumers' perception and behavior of using mobile visual search in online fashion shopping. Research implications or Originality - The present study verified that mobile visual search is a service tool that consumers want to use in the online fashion shopping journey since it provides economic benefits.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.68-92
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• 1995

Recentry the structure of the retail trade have been chanaed with its environmantal changes. Some studies may be necessary on the changing process of environment and fundamental structure analyses of the retail trade. This study analyzes the location of retail trades, inhabitants' behavior in retail tredes and their desirable utilization scheme of them in Kwangju-si. Some study methods, contents and coming-out results are as follows: 1. Retail trades can be classified into independent stores, chain-stores (supermarket, voluntary chain and frenchiise system and convenience store), department stores, cooperative associations, traditional, markets mail-order marketing, automatic vending and others by service levels, selling-items, prices, managements, methods of retailing and store or nonstore type. 2. In Kwangju, the environment of retail trades is related to the consumers of population structure: chanes in consumers pattern, trends toward agings and nuclear family, increase of leisur: time and female advances to society. Rapid structural shift in retail trade has also been occurred due to these social changes. Traditionl and premodern markets until 1970s altere to supermarkets or department stores in 1980s, and various types, large enterprises and foreign capitals came into being in 1990s. 3. The locational characteristics of retail trades are resulted from the spatial analysis of the total population distribution, and from the calculation of segregation index in the light of potential demand. The densely-populated areas occurs in newly-built apartment housing complex which is distributed with a ring-shaped pattern around the old urban core. The numbers and rates of the aged over sixty in Kwangsan-gu and the circumference area of Mt.Moodeung, are larger and higher where rural elements are remarkable. A relation between population distribution and retail trade are analysed by the index of population per shop. The index of the population number per shop is lower in urban center, as a whole, being more convenient for consumers. In newly-formed apartment complex areas, on the other, the index more than 1,000 per shop, meeting not the demands for consumers. Because both the younger and the aged are numerous in these areas, the retail trade pattern pertinent to both are needed. Urban fringes including Kwangsan-gu and the vicinity of Mt.Moodeung have some problems owing to the most of population number per shop (more than 1, 500) and the most extensive as well. 4. The regional characteristic of retail trade is analyzed through the location quotient of shops by locational patterns and centerality index. Chungkum-dong is the highest-order central place in CBD. It is the core of retail trades, which has higher-ordered specialty store including three big department stores, supermarkets and large stores. Taegum-dong, Chungsu-dong, Taeui-dong, and Numun-dong that are neiahbored to Chungkum-dong fall on the second group. They have a central commercial section where large chain stores, specialty shopping streets, narrow-line retailing shops (furniture, amusement service, and gallary), supermarkets and daily markets are located. The third group is formed on the axis of state roads linking to Naju-kun, Changseong-kun, Tamyang-kun, Hwasun-kun and forme-Songjeong-eup. It is related to newly, rising apartment housing complex along a trunk road, and characterized by markets and specialty stores. The fourth group has neibourhood-shopping centers including older residential area and Songjeong-eup area with independent stores and supermarkets as main retailing functions. The last group contains inner residential area and outer part of a city including Songjeong-eup. Outer part of miscellaneous shops being occasionally found is rural rather than urban (Fig. 7). 5. The residents' behaviors using retail trade are analyzed by factors of goods and facilities. Department stores are very high level in preference for higher-order shopping-goods such as clothes for full dress in view of both diversity and quality of goods(28.9%). But they have severe traffic congestions, and high competitions for market ranges caused by their sma . 64.0% of respondents make combined purpose trips together with banking and shopping. 6. For more efficiency of retail-trading, it is necessary to induce spatial distribution policy with regard to opportunity frequency of goods selection by central place, frontier regions and age groups. Also we must consider to analyze competition among different types of retail trade and analyze the consumption behaviors of working females and younger-aged groups, in aspects of time and space. Service improvement and the rationalization of management should be accomplished in such as cooperative location (situation) must be under consideration in relations to other functions such as finance, leisure & sports, and culture centers. Various service systems such as installment, credit card and peremium ticket, new used by enterprises, must also be carried service improvement. The rationalization and professionalization in for the commercial goods are bsically requested.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.207-222
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• 2008

This research suggests the method of how to build agricultural and stockbreeding products recommender systems based on RFID technology for monitoring crop and livestock production, tracing production history as an application strategy. In the past the studies on enterprise applications have been barely implemented owing to the rack of business model and limitation of technical development. Currently however there have been enormous technological progress of RFID and agricultural and stockbreeding products retailing sites are increased. Therefore this paper suggests PDCF-ASP(Profile Decay based Collaborative Fltering for Agricultural and Stockbreeding Products) which is designed to reduce customers… search efforts in finding safety and fresh products on the internet shopping mall. For this, product decay function is defined to make sure whether the products are safety or not and to adopt a change in customer preferences. And for the implementation of PDCF-ASP, the system structure including functional agents is schematized.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.103-119
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• 2008

Traditional market which is characterized by the folksy retailing market has lost its competitiveness rapidly due to the emergence of the Internet and the change of customer's purchasing behavior. The recession of the traditional market contracts the regional economy. We suggest a u-Market, a traditional market with ubiquitous computing capability, to revitalize traditional market. The suggested u-Market system applies ubiquitous computing technologies characterized by communications between customers and objects without limitations of time and location. The proposed u-Market system offers location information and specific contents of traditional market to customers. Furthermore, u-Market system recommends the store and product list that customers are likely to visit and purchase based on their contexts, so they can save their time and effort to search the products or contents.