Cultural Differences in Online Community Motivations: Exploring Korean Automobile Online Brand Communities (KAOBCs) and American Automobile Online Brand Communities (AAOBCs)

To gain a better understanding of online brand communities, this study has examined why people joined in online brand communities and whether there were some differences in the motivations of Internet users based on different cultures. Open-ended questions were asked to the community members from both South Korean Automobile Online Brand Communities (KAOBC) and American Automobile Online Brand Communities (AAOBC) in the first stage and then generated and utilized an online survey for the study. The study found that KAOBC members tended to have a stronger social network, business, and communication motivations than AAOBC members. As a primary motivation, information seeking is the strongest motivation for members of both KAOBC and AAOBC. They had a similar level of information motivation.     

Psychological antecedents and risk on attitudes toward e-customization

Consumers can experience relatively low prices with the dramatic diffusion of online shopping even with customized products, which are commonly more expensive than regular products, due to unique functions of customized product order processes in online environments. This paper investigates how two psychological antecedents, (1) need for uniqueness and (2) status aspiration, can influence consumers' attitude with regard to forming procedures toward e-customized products and how perceived risk, another psychological factor, on purchasing e-customized products plays a role of moderating factor. A self-administered online survey of 321 Japanese consumers is conducted to examine a proposed conceptual model with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The analysis using results indicates that the need for uniqueness directly impacts on attitude toward e-customized products while it mediates the effect of status aspiration. A multi-group analysis to test a moderating effect of the perceived risk on purchasing e-customized products highlights the significant effects of psychological factors. The result also provides potential guidelines to e-tailors on possibility of segmenting markets as well as promoting their customized products using these psychological criteria of their target consumers.     

A composite measure of performance–expectation and performance-only measures

Performance–expectation measures and performance-only measures of service quality have been widely used in the literature. However, either of the two measures is not sufficient to explain customers’ evaluation of service quality and satisfaction. Their assumptions are too restrictive to explain the evaluation processes. From an analytic perspective, this paper derives a composite measure integrating both measures for service quality. The previous measures are nested in the composite measure. Due to this feature, the composite measure is more flexible than the previous measures. It can account for conflicting theories and empirical findings supporting each of the two measures. Furthermore, the composite measure allows us to interpret the link between service quality and customer satisfaction more intuitively.     

Examining futures price changes and volatility on the trading day after a limit‐lock day

This paper examines the effect that price limits have on futures prices by testing what happens to price changes and volatility on the trading day following a limit‐lock day. The results show evidence that prices continue to rise on average the day after an up‐limit day. In addition, limits appear to influence price volatility for some but not all of the futures contracts. However, since the findings vary across the different commodity futures contracts, it is likely that limits do not directly impact price volatility. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 20:445–466, 2000     

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS IN THE MAINTENANCE,REPAIR, AND OVERHAUL INDUSTRY: AN OPTIONS APPROACH

This paper presents a practical case application of the real options framework to a multi-stage investment in the aerospace maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) industry. With the deregulated commercial airline industry and military procurement reform, the $44 billion MRO sector must implement tools to remain strategically poised. In this case study, the MRO participant values a multi-stage irreversible expenditure in maintenance equipment and processes under air travel demand uncertainty using a real options analysis. The investment scenario is viewed from a delay, growth, and compound options framework, and an appropriate sensitivity analysis is performed. The main contribution of this paper is the detailed real option framing, valuation, and discussion that may be used as an illustration for industry practitioners or classroom instruction.     

Parent country nationals or local nationals for executive positions in foreign affiliates: An empirical study of Japanese affiliates in Korea

This study examines how the host country experience of Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs) affects their staffing policies for executive manager positions at foreign affiliates. Hypotheses on executive staffing policies for foreign affiliates are tested using survey data collected from 103 Japanese affiliates in Korea. Findings show that the level of global integration and the degree of centralization of decision-making positively affect an assignment of parent country nationals as executive managers of foreign affiliates. We further find that foreign affiliates’ experience in a host country moderates the effects of both global integration and centralization on staffing decisions for the affiliates.

Leveraging ideas from user innovation communities: using text‐mining and case‐based reasoning

User innovation communities, where end users voluntarily share their ideas about new products or services, have become an important source of innovation. While efforts have been made to extract and develop ideas from these sources, existing studies have largely focused on company‐led efforts to facilitate user participation, rather than on voluntary user discussions within communities themselves. As a remedy, this research proposes to directly target those voluntary ideas from user innovation communities for product/service innovation. Because quantities of textual information within these communities are rather massive, we propose a modified and integrated approach of text‐mining (TM) and case‐based reasoning (CBR). Specifically, by constructing two casebases on ideas and existing products using TM and checking for overlap between the two using CBR, the approach enables the identification of opportunities for innovation and reference products for adaptation. We demonstrate the approach through a case of mobile apps in Apple App Store, and our findings suggest that the approach can help firms and users/developers broaden the source of ideas and leverage them into new product concepts.     

The cross‐cultural study of LMX and individual employee voice: The moderating role of conflict avoidance

This article examines the role of national culture, measured by conflict avoidance, on the relationship between leader–member exchange (LMX) and individual employee voice. Using data collected from automotive industry employees in the United States and Korea, the findings show that conflict avoidance is negatively related to employee voice and also moderates the relationship between LMX and employee voice in the Korean sample. In particular, the relationship between LMX and voice becomes less positive when conflict avoidance is high. On the other hand, conflict avoidance does not have a direct effect on employee voice as well as an interactive effect with LMX on employee voice in the U.S. sample. This study, therefore, highlights the importance of the national culture in the comparative study of employee voice.     

Corporate association strategies and consumer responses: The relative effectiveness of CA versus CSR communication strategy by industry type

Given the importance of communication in the realm of corporate associations, this study analyzes the roles that communication strategies play in the formation of corporate associations. The study examines (1) whether particular types of associations (corporate ability or corporate social responsibility associations) can be developed through CA- or CSR-based communication strategies, and (2) the relative effectiveness of these two association types at amplifying favorable consumer responses across three different industries (consumable goods, durable goods, and stigmatized goods). An experiment was conducted to test the proposed model with six Fortune 500 companies. The results demonstrate that communication strategies can effectively facilitate a particular type of association. Differing levels of association effectiveness were found within each industry. For the consumable goods industry, CA associations are found to be more effective than CSR associations. For the durable goods industry, CSR associations are more influential at enhancing consumer attitudes and purchase intent than CA associations, while CA associations have a larger impact on supportive communication intent. In the case of the stigmatized industry, CSR associations play a determinant role in fostering positive consumer responses. This study provides managers and communication specialists with more concrete guidance for choosing a particular corporate positioning and communication strategy.