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Vol.11 No.10

Sun, Zhong-Yuan ; Na, Seung-Hwa pp.5-15 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.13106/jds.2013.vol11.no10.5.
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Purpose - With the increase in fervor to purchase luxury brands, new social problems have arisen, such as excessive preoccupation with luxury brands and high preference for forged luxury goods. Therefore, the issues related to luxury brands, termed "Luxury Syndrome," have emerged as an area of great interest for researchers and practitioners. However, previous studies neglect to categorize this preference for luxury brands. Therefore, this study aims to identify the different purchasing behaviors of consumers using the types of luxury brands preferences as parameters. Research design, data, and methodology - This study arranges a causal relationship model assuming that purchase behaviors positively (+) affect typified preference for luxury brands and purchase intentions. We administered a questionnaire survey to the purchasers who bought luxury brands from department stores to secure additional data necessary to verify the hypotheses in this study. We then processed the data using SPSS 19.0. We further analyzed the basic data using frequency and descriptive statistical analysis, and verified the measurement tools through feasibility and reliability analyses. Moreover, this study uses multiple regression analysis to verify the hypotheses. Further, this study tests the path effect between luxury brand purchase attitude and purchase behavior, with non-intrinsic preference and intrinsic preference as the mediating variables. Results - Based on the results, the impact of tendencies of conspicuous consumption and self-monitoring on non-intrinsic preference was significantly positive (+), while the impact of tendencies of pursuit of a reference group, conspicuous consumption, and self-monitoring on intrinsic preference and purchase intentions was significantly positive (+). Further, non-intrinsic and intrinsic preferences positively (+) influence purchase intentions and the impact of non-intrinsic preference took an absolute portion. However, the tendency of dependence on brands negatively (-) impacts purchase intentions. The results showed that self-monitoring and conspicuous consumption tendencies have greater effect on purchase intention, which is mediated by non-intrinsic preference. In contrast, reference group following tendency has a greater effect on purchase intention, which is mediated by intrinsic preference. Conclusions - Based on the results, the study verifies that the consumption of luxury brands in Korea has not yet entered the settling period. The tendency for conspicuous consumption and the tendency for pursuit of the reference group were relatively important aspects for the consumers who prefer luxury brands non-intrinsically and intrinsically, respectively. Especially, it was found that the purchase intentions for forged brands originate from the tendency to depend on brands. Based on these findings, this study suggests the measures to develop and mature the luxury brands market, and reinforce marketing performance at the three levels, that is, government, distributors, and manufacturers. The luxury brands manufacturers should devote themselves to the production and design of products to catch the attention of mature consumers of luxury brands. The luxury brands distributors should then raise the level of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) for opinion leaders. Finally, the Government should prepare effective policies for the development of luxury brands and provide a variety of economic support.

Kim, So-Hyung ; Kang, Min-Jeong pp.17-25 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.13106/jds.2013.vol11.no10.17.
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Purpose - This study analyzes the effect of customers' perceived service innovativeness of service centers for electronic goods, on repurchase intentions of customers, using behavior intentions of service centers as a mediator variable. In customer management and customer relationship marketing, service centers can be the most representative customer relationship management departments because they are most closely placed at the interface with customers. In addition, this study intends to investigate if continuous relationship with customers during one-time product-selling can affect their repurchase intentions. Specifically, this research aims to investigate if the expansion of the saturated physical market of the manufacturing business, to intangible service markets, can be competitive enough to satisfy customer needs. Research design, data, and methodology - This study targets college students, and especially those who have computers, digital cameras, or cell-phones, and often use electronic products and services. In order to investigate our hypothesis, we analyzed dates through SEM (structural equation modeling) using SPSS for Windows 18.0 and AMOS 18.0. In addition, we measured Cronbach's α coefficient using SPSS for Windows 18.0 in order to measure reliability. Further, using AMOS 18.0, this research statistically measured convergent validity as well as discriminant validity, and examined mediation models and path models in which service innovativeness leads to customers' repurchase intentions of electronic products. Results - As a result, this research shows that customers' perceived service innovativeness of service centers for electronic goods has significant positive influence on customers' behavior intentions of service centers. In addition, service innovativeness of electronic goods' service centers also has significant positive influence on repurchase intentions of customers. Conclusion - This study investigates the effect of customers' positive relation with the innovativeness of electronic service center on their behavior intention and product repurchase. The more concrete, important results of the study are as follows. Through the mediating effect, the findings of the study suggest that customers' behavior intentions of service centers partially mediate the effect of customers'perceived service innovativeness of service centers for electronic goods on customers' repurchase intentions. This research also provides an insight that the importance of service innovativeness and innovative approaches in managing customers should be recognized in the process of repurchase and service roles of manufacturing business as a way for customer management. As a result, the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality of service centers for the electronic products is very sensitive. Although previous studies focus on certain aspects of the case for enhancing service innovation (Kim, 2012), this research recommends that the service centers need to understand the customers'desire first and try to adapt to achieve customer satisfaction by being innovative. This innovativeness of service centers would make customers visit them consistently, which in the long run, will also influence their repurchase decisions.

Kim, Yong-Wook ; Song, In-Am ; Hwang, Hee-Joong pp.27-36 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.13106/jds.2013.vol11.no10.27.
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Purpose - This paper empirically studies the effects of advanced design innovation strategy on business performance, to investigate manufacturing industries that can develop design-driven-innovation strategies. Many researchers now recognize the importance of design in a CEO's decision-making process. To analyze these effects, this study deduces the definition of advanced design strategy by reviewing existing studies. The advanced design is a strategy that is applied to improve business performance instead of the appearance of a product for increasing its sales. In terms of business processes, the advanced design strategy is defined as the incorporation of business activities prior to the development of the product, to offer new experiences and values to users, from those designs. Research design/data/methodology - This paper establishes a model for empirical analysis. In this study, we derived factors of the characteristics of advanced design based on previous studies. We tried to investigate whether advanced design innovation strategy and entrepreneur's characteristics could have any impact on business performance. At the same time, we tried to find out the moderating effect of entrepreneurs' characteristics. The advanced design is made up of three elements: precedence, integration, and immersion of design activities. These three elements are independent variables for the model. The dependent variables are: increased rate of sales, R & D performance, and public image of the company. Specifically, this study establishes a CEO's characteristics as a moderating variable between the independent and dependent variables. Results - We proved that the level of entrepreneurs' characteristics has a moderating effect on the business performance. The findings of this study offer the following theoretical implications. The precedence of design activities positively affects the increased rate of sales by offering new experiences to users and creating new values. The integration of design activities also has a positive effect on the R&D performance. In addition, the immersion of design activities positively influences all the elements comprising business performance. The analysis of moderating variables elucidates that CEO's characteristics have a moderating role between precedence, integration, and immersion of design activities, and business performance. Conclusions - The practical implications of the study are as follows. This study contributes to the progression of advance design theories by conducting an empirical study on the advanced design concept. More importantly, the empirical study on the CEO group seeking exploratory innovation supports Verganti's "design-driven innovation" concept, according to which design can make innovation successful by offering useful values to users, as evident in the case of many innovative companies, such as Nintendo and Apple. Future studies need to investigate the reliability of practical examples, including the various activities of business. We suppose that there may be real differences between the results of this study and the applicative situation in the presence of a CEO group.

Jang, Dong-Kwan ; Song, In-Am ; Hwang, Hee-Joong pp.37-45 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.13106/jds.2013.vol11.no10.37.
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Purpose - Appropriate response to the fast changing economic environment determines SMEs' competiveness in the era of globalization and open market and, therefore, government policies to strengthen SME's competitiveness will be very important in the future. It is time to investigate the element of strategic orientation that is necessary for strengthening the competitiveness of SMEs, and its effect on the success of a business start-up. This study analyzes the network orientation in addition to existing strategic orientation, and focuses on price and quality management capability as mediators for strategic orientation and outcomes of business start-ups. Research design/data/methodology - The orientations of technology-based business founders were classified into market, technology, network, and entrepreneurial orientation. We then investigated the effect of these orientations on product price and quality management capability, as well as the influence of price and quality management capability on the outcome of a business start-up. This study is based on the nation-wide survey of the founders and members of technology-based business establishments. The survey was administered to 300 selected companies via email for a period of one month, at the end of which 175 companies replied with valid answers. Further, for effective and objective research, we used SPSS 14.0 and Amos 7.0 for structural equation modeling assumptions and hypothesis verification. Results - Except for entrepreneurial orientation, the other three orientations, namely, technology, market, and network orientations, affect the price management capability according to our results. The price management capability relates significantly with the sales and customer satisfaction. Especially, technology orientation is the core competency of start-ups that affects price and quality management capabilities. However, technology and entrepreneurial orientation do not influence the outcome of business start-ups, but affect their quality management capabilities. Conclusions - This study confirms that the strategic orientation affects product price as well as quality management capabilities, to introduce new products and achieve successful outcomes. In conclusion, new business founders face the dilemma of trade-off between price and quality in the planning stage of new product development. In particular, price management capability directly affects the outcome. Therefore, price management is more important for a successful start-up than quality management. Especially, during the initial stages of starting up a new business, price management capability entails following the market-leading company, or price penetration strategy. In this stage, price management is dependent on the information from outside rather than on the founder's decision, and it directly affects sales performance and customer satisfaction. In contrast, quality management capability is directly related to the technology capability and market experience of founders. In this case, subjective and proactive decision making is required for differentiation and development of demand in the niche market, which does not directly influence the sales performance and customer satisfaction.

Nam, Se-Hyun ; Cho, Yoon-Ki ; Yoo, Jeong-Seok ; Kim, Dong-Tae pp.47-53 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.13106/jds.2013.vol11.no10.47.
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Purpose - Six months have passed since the amendment of the SSM regulation law; however, as yet, there is no confirmed research or report on the effects of this amendment, which are indefinite. Further, there have been no attempts to study the effects of the SSM regulation law from the consumers' viewpoint, which is important because consumers are the main agents that are greatly influenced by the amendment law. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the consumers' attitude toward the SSM regulation law as well as the effects of the SSM regulation law on the changes in purchase behavior. Research design, data, and methodology - This study was initiated from four research problems that are linked to consumer reaction to the SSM regulation law. Research problem 1: What is the consumers' reaction (perception, attitude, and perceived fairness) to the SSM regulation law? Research problem 2: How do the consumers' reactions to the SSM regulation law differ by consumers' characteristics? Research problem 3: Could the SSM regulation law change a consumer's purchase behavior? Research problem 4: Is it necessary to amend the SSM regulation law? This study collected the data through the interview and survey of housewives for the purpose of solving the research problems. The interview was conducted as a pilot study for the field survey. We interviewed three housewives, who were: an employed housewife, a full-time homemaker, and a manager of a housewife club, respectively. We then conducted a field survey of 232 housewives who were housewife club members or elementary school parents in Chunghcheong-do. Results - We verified the reliability and validity of the data, and analyzed it to solve the research problems. The main findings of this study were as follows. First, consumers still have a positive attitude toward large discount chains and SSM, which has been the case since the law was introduced. Second, perceived risk of consumers associated with traditional markets and small neighborhood shops was low. Third, consumers think that amendments of the SSM regulation law are important, and they positively assess the satisfaction, necessity, and propriety of the law. Fourth, although the SSM regulation law caused inconvenience to consumers, this law did not have any influence on the usage frequency and the use-behavior of large discount chains. Finally, consumers reacted very negatively to the toughening up of the SSM regulation law. Conclusions - In short, consumers still have a positive attitude toward the SSM regulation law. However, this act did not have any influence on the use-behavior of large discount chains (General Super Market). Thus, policy making authorities require active communication and promotions to enhance the effect of the SSM regulation law. This study was of the nature of exploratory research, which did not focus on hypothesis testing, but on finding solutions to the research problems. Therefore, this study is no more than a simple data analysis. Future studies should attempt to investigate the actual effects of the SSM regulation law, on the basis of sufficient literature review and real sales data.

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Purpose - The purpose of this study is to suggest a risk factor that significantly explains foreign currency risk premia. In recent years, some studies have found that the performance of the simultaneous consumption risk model improves considerably when tested on foreign currency portfolios, which are constructed based on the international interest rates differentials. However, this paper focuses on the long-run consumption risk factor. In our empirical research, we found that the real excess returns of high interest rate currency portfolios depreciate on average, when the future American long-run consumption growth rate appears low. This makes the high interest rate currency portfolios have relatively high risk premia. Meanwhile, the real excess returns of low interest rate currency portfolios appreciate on average, under the same conditions, which results in relatively low risk premia for these portfolios. Therefore, this long-run consumption risk factor might explain why low interest rate currencies do not appreciate as much as the interest rate differential, and why high interest rate currencies do not depreciate as much as the interest rate differential. Research design, data, methodology - In our explanation, we provide new evidence on the success of long-run consumption risks in currency risk premia by focusing on the long-run consumption risks borne by American representative investors. To uncover the hidden link between exchange rates and long-run consumption growth, we set the eight currency portfolios as our basic assets, which have been built based on the foreign interest rates of eighty countries. As these eight currency portfolios are rebalanced every year, the first group always contains the lowest interest rate currencies, and the last group contains the highest interest rate currencies. Against these basic eight currency portfolios, we estimate the long-run consumption risk model. We use recursive utility framework and the stochastic discount factor that depends on the present value of expected future consumption growth rates. We find that our model is optimized in the two-year period of constructing the durable consumption expectation factor. Our main results surprisingly surpass the performance of the existing benchmark simultaneous consumption model in terms of R<sup>2</sup>, relatively risk aversion coefficient &#x03B3;, and p-value of J-test. Results - The performance of our model is superior. R<sup>2</sup>, relatively risk aversion coefficient &#x03B3;, and p-value of J-test of our long-run durable consumption model are 90%, 93%, and 65.5%, respectively, while those of EZ-DCAPM are 87%, 113%, and 62.8%, respectively. Thus, we can speculate that the risk premia in foreign currency markets have been determined by the long-run consumption risk. Conclusions - The aggregate long-run consumption growth risk explains a large part of the average change in the real excess returns of foreign currency portfolios. The real excess returns of high interest rate currency portfolios depreciate on average when American long-run consumption growth rate is low, and the real excess returns of low interest rate currency portfolios appreciate under the same conditions. Thus, the low interest rate currency portfolios allow investors to hedge against aggregate long-run consumption growth risk.

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Purpose - This study analyzes the relationship and dynamic interactions between stock price index, interest rate, price index, and housing price indices using Korean monthly data from 2000 to 2013, based on a VAR model. This study also examines Granger causal relationships among these variables in order to determine whether the time series of one is useful in forecasting another, or to infer certain types of causal dependency between stochastic variables. Research design, data, and methodology - We used Korean monthly data for all variables from 2000: M1 to 2013: M3. First, we checked the correlations among different variables. Second, we conducted the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test and the co-integration test using the VAR model. Third, we employed Granger Causality tests to quantify the causal effect from time series observations. Fourth, we used the impulse response function and variance decomposition based on the VAR model to examine the dynamic relationships among the variables. Results - First, stock price Granger affects interest rate and all housing price indices. Price index Granger, in turn, affects the stock price and six metropolitan housing price indices. However, none of the Granger variables affect the price index. Therefore, it is the stock markets (and not the housing market) that affects the housing prices. Second, the impulse response tests show that maximum influence on stock price is its own, and though it is influenced a little by interest rate, price index affects it negatively. One standard deviation (S.D.) shock to stock price increases the housing price by 0.08 units after two months, whereas an impulse shock to the interest rate negatively impacts the housing price. Third, the variance decomposition results report that the shock to the stock price accounts for 96% of the variation in the stock price, and the shock to the price index accounts for 2.8% after two periods. In contrast, the shock to the interest rate accounts for 80% of the variation in the interest rate after ten periods; the shock to the stock price accounts for 19% of the variation; however, shock to the price index does not affect the interest rate. The housing price index in 10 periods is explained up to 96.7% by itself, 2.62% by stock price, 0.68% by price index, and 0.04% by interest rate. Therefore, the housing market is explained most by its own variation, whereas the interest rate has little impact on housing price. Conclusions - The results of the study elucidate the relationship and dynamic interactions among stock price index, interest rate, price index, and housing price indices using VAR model. This study could help form the basis for more appropriate economic policies in the future. As the housing market is very important in Korean economy, any changes in house price affect the other markets, thereby resulting in a shock to the entire economy. Therefore, the analysis on the dynamic relationships between the housing market and economic variables will help with the decision making regarding the housing market policy.

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Purpose - This study examines the impact of oil price volatility on economic activities in Korea. The new millennium has seen a deregulation in the crude oil market, which invited immense capital inflow into Korea. It has also raised oil price levels and volatility. Drawing on the recent theoretical literature that emphasizes the role of volatility, this paper attends to the asymmetric changes in economic growth in response to the oil price movement. This study further examines several key macroeconomic variables, such as interest rate, production, and inflation. We come to the conclusion that oil price volatility can, in some part, explain the structural changes. Research design, data, and methodology - We use two methodological frameworks in this study. First, in regards to the oil price uncertainty, we use an Exponential-GARCH (Exponential Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity: EGARCH) model estimate to elucidate the asymmetric effect of oil price shock on the conditional oil price volatility. Second, along with the estimation of the conditional volatility by the EGARCH model, we use the estimates in a VECM (Vector Error Correction Model). The study thus examines the dynamic impacts of oil price volatility on industrial production, price levels, and monetary policy responses. We also approximate the monetary policy function by the yield of monetary stabilization bond. The data collected for the study ranges from 1990: M1 to 2013: M7. In the VECM analysis section, the time span is split into two sub-periods; one from 1990 to 1999, and another from 2000 to 2013, due to the U.S. CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) deregulation on the crude oil futures that became effective in 2000. This paper intends to probe the relationship between oil price uncertainty and macroeconomic variables since the structural change in the oil market became effective. Results and Conclusions - The dynamic impulse response functions obtained from the VECM show a prolonged dampening effect of oil price volatility shock on the industrial production across all sub-periods. We also find that inflation measured by CPI rises by one standard deviation shock in response to oil price uncertainty, and lasts for the ensuing period. In addition, the impulse response functions allude that South Korea practices an expansionary monetary policy in response to oil price shocks, which stems from oil price uncertainty. Moreover, a comparison of the results of the dynamic impulse response functions from the two sub-periods suggests that the dynamic relationships have strengthened since 2000. Specifically, the results are most drastic in terms of industrial production; the impact of oil price volatility shocks has more than doubled from the year 2000 onwards. These results again indicate that the relationships between crude oil price uncertainty and Korean macroeconomic activities have been strengthened since the year2000, which resulted in a structural change in the crude oil market due to the deregulation of the crude oil futures.

Choi, Dong-Gyu ; Hwang, Hee-Jung ; Song, In-Am pp.81-92 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.13106/jds.2013.vol11.no10.81.
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Purpose - This study empirically analyzes the effect of improvements in the quality of service management performance of college education on traders' conscious change of business management innovation and diverse sales expertise for a year. The use of traders' conscious changes and sales expertise as variables for the verification of the effects of parameters related to the active trader's traditional education market is a desirable direction. The method of research reflects the quality of education service, management result, traders' conscious changes, and sales expertise to understand the precise essence and definition of teaching quality at merchant colleges through theoretical consideration. Moreover, its impact on traders' conscious changes and sales expertise in empirical analysis acts as an intermediary. Research design, data, methodology - The hypothesis of this study leverages the SPSS statistical program. To gather actual proof, sample survey for theoretical research examined 262 valid papers of the 300 papers written by 10 merchants who graduated from merchant's university. First, using the SERVQUAL model, Parasuraman et al. (1996) indicated that for quality of education service, the configuration of factors is the same as the sympathetic performance, that is, responsiveness and empathy, and traders are aware of these elements. However, our preliminary investigation revealed that traders' university education has been excluded as a component of quality of service in the earlier studies. Moreover, we found that certainty of knowledge, reliability, and sympathy are influenced by challenges and by the changing intentions of merchant consciousness. In addition, our study confirms that improvements in convincing abilities and sales technique have a positive impact. Second, merchants' and traders' expertise are proven to affect business performance. In other words, university education of traders and merchants affects the consciousness of consumers, and changes patterns of sales. Third, the quality of service management education and change in the consciousness has a considerable impact on the trader, thereby maximizing business performance and acting as an intermediary for verification. Fourth, the quality of service management education affects the trader's sales expertise to maximize business performance. Results - To summarize, the quality of college educational services relates to the improvement of business performance and the role of the resulting virtuous cycle. Consequently, we can look for suggestions in the traditional markets, where the Government pays attention to the exterior environmental factors as well as to the changing business environment. However, the most important aspect is the merchant awareness. That is, a merchant should understand the distribution environment. Several competitor and trend analyses should be conducted to meet customers' expectations positively and proactively cope with any challenges related to changes. Further, expertise in sales and marketing skills need to be acquired to improve customer convincing abilities and develop a customer-oriented mindset. Conclusions - According to the changes in consumption trends of business enterprises, new management techniques are required to survive competition by improving traditional markets, which will necessitate more competitive education programs in merchant universities.

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Purpose - This empirical analysis determines the structured causal relations between perceived value, customer satisfaction, and repurchase intention among users of traditional markets. The results of this analysis would help merchants and market operators indevisingan appropriate strategy to successfully manage traditional markets. Research design, data, methodology - The perceived value model of traditional markets includes functional value (price), functional value (quality), emotional value, and social value. In this study, the perceived value of traditional markets is considered as an independent variable, while customer satisfaction and repurchase intention are shown as the dependent variables, where customer satisfaction is also considered as the mediating variable. The study aims to ascertain the extent of influence of the perceived value of traditional markets on customer satisfaction and repurchase intention. We use regression analysis to verify the effects. The measurement items were already deemed as reliable and valid in the previous study, but for this purpose, we made some modifications. We distributed questionnaires to 300 consumers on a national scale, and finally used 241 consumer responses among these as a sample. We analyzed the data using the SPSS 21.0 statistical program. Results - We obtained the following results. First, the order of perceived value dimensions of traditional markets that positively impact customer satisfaction is functional value (price), social value, emotional value, and functional value (quality). Second, the perceived value sometimes directly affects repurchase intention; its effect is typically strong with customer satisfaction as a parameter. The order of perceived value dimensions that positively impact repurchase intention is social value, functional value (price), emotional value, and functional value (quality). Third, the perceived value significantly influences repurchase intention, with customer satisfaction as the mediating variable. Conclusions - We should recognize the importance of perceived value in retail distribution markets, such as traditional markets. Moreover, we need to develop strategies to improve the perceived value. The practical implications of the study are as follows. First, with regards to functional value (quality; price) dimensions, we should have an appropriate assortment of high quality products that are reasonably priced. In addition, customers are satisfied with the friendly service, discounts, and other benefits provided by the merchants. Second, in terms of emotional value dimension, we need to develop differentiated events that provide fun and emotional experience to the customers. Third, in the context of social values dimension, we should strive to positively influence society to enhance social image through activities such as social services and contribution to community development. On the basis of these results, we present the implications, limitations, and future directions for the research. One of the policy implications of the study is that merchants of traditional markets must actively select customers and develop customer value. However, this study is limited in the fact that the population used for data collection is not fully representative, as the survey only covered some specific areas. Moreover, future studies could also benefit with additional research using moderating variables.

Kim, Jong-Jin ; Shim, Kyu-Yeol ; Kim, Mi-Song ; Youn, Myoung-Kil pp.107-116 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.13106/jds.2013.vol11.no10.107.
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Purpose - Eggs are nutritionally complete and one of the most popular natural foods. Moreover, the poultry industry is one of the important food industries. However, early industrialization of the poultry industry on its own did not lead to further development compared to other livestock industries. In this study, we investigate what factors influence consumers' behavior and how consumers' understanding of retail business affects their propensity to consume. This study is different from other studies as it analyzes how the brand names of manufacturers and distribution companies affect the purchasing characteristics or actual purchase behavior of consumers in order to suggest how these manufacturers and distribution companies can increase their competitiveness. Research design, data, methodology - This study conducted a survey of 250 randomly selected egg purchasers in discount stores from January to April 2013. Consumers' purchase tendencies were calculated through frequency analysis. This result was then utilized using cluster analysis to draw a conclusion about which purchase tendency influenced consumers buying three different brands of eggs or whether this tendency really affected consumers. As a result, the outcomes of Hypotheses 2 and 3 were not clear so we drew a conclusion with our analysis of Hypothesis 1. Results - While the outcomes of Hypotheses 2 and 3 did not clearly indicate whether purchasing tendencies affected consumers when buying eggs, our analysis of Hypothesis 1 indicated that consumers were affected by the quality of the eggs rather than exterior factors such as the brand name. Thus, we concluded that it is important to promote the excellence of the quality of the eggs. Usually firms buy eggs from farms and repackage them in order to sell them. In this sense, if consumers were aware of this egg production process, and eggs were fairly distributed to retailers, large retail PB businesses would also be able to enhance their competitiveness. Conclusions - The brand, packaging, retail outlet, and other external features influenced the purchase of eggs to a certain degree, while shelf life, grade of the eggs, cleanliness, and other intrinsic characteristics had more influence. In particular, shelf life was the most important factor influencing purchase. Consumers were influenced not only by intrinsic characteristics of the eggs but also by large-scale producers' brands. Consumers relied upon the brand despite reduced competition because they found it difficult to identify shelf life and/or cleanliness. Small businesses and/or large-scale retailers can remain competitive by maintaining the freshness and cleanliness of the eggs. Further studies need to investigate areas in which consumers' cognition of the product is poor and/or the purchase inclination with regard to less developed industries such as eggs. In this study, the greatest problem was that consumers did not consume in accordance with the current situation as consumers have preferred fresh and clean eggs for a long time compared to purchase decisions based on external brands and/or packaging.

The Journal of Distribution Science