Gender differences in consumer evaluations of service quality: self-service kiosks in retail

This study investigates the effect of consumer characteristics on service quality for self-service kiosks, which, in turn, leads to the actual use of self-service kiosks. In addition, the authors attempt to explore gender differences in two aspects. First, it is investigated if the evaluation process of service quality differs by gender. Second, the moderating effect of gender on the relationships in the conceptual model is examined.     

Sources of TFP growth: occupational choice and financial deepening

This paper explains and measures the sources of total factor productivity (TFP) by developing a method of growth accounting based on an integrated use of transitional growth models and micro data. We decompose TFP growth into the occupational-shift effect, financial-deepening effect, capital-heterogeneity effect, and sectoral-Solow-residuals. Applying this method to Thailand, which experienced rapid growth with enormous structural changes between 1976 and 1996, we find that 73% of TFP growth is explained by occupational shifts and financial deepening, without presuming exogenous technical progress. Expansion of credit is a major part. We also show the role of endogenous interaction between factor price dynamics and the wealth distribution for TFP. We thank Richard Rogerson for his clarifying and helpful discussion. The comments from the participants of the Minnesota Workshop in Macroeconomic Theory 2004, Stanford Institute for Theoretical Economics (SITE) Summer Workshop 2004, European Meeting and North American Summer Meeting of the Econometric Society 2004, NEUDC 2004, Iowa Conference of Economic Development, and seminars at USC Marshall School, Penn State University, UCLA, and UCSD are also appreciated. Financial support from NSF (SES-0318340) and NICHD (R01 HD27638) is gratefully acknowledged.     

Developing a Risk Group Predictive Model for Korean Students Falling into Bad Debt

Using direct loan data for 2012 to 2014 from the Korea Student Aid Foundation, we develop a risk group predictive model for borrowers defaulting on their loans. We used a logistic regression model and the Cox proportional hazards model to develop the risk predictive model. We verified the validity of the models using a receiver operating characteristic curve and a validation dataset. The present study shows that area under the receiver operating characteristic curves is similar for the models and that the major influencing factors for defaulting on their loans are household income, whether a national grant was received, age, whether more than two accounts are overdue, field of study and the monthly repayment amount. The risk group predictive model in this study will be the basis for more efficient management of direct student loans.     

The Effects of Governance on Classification Shifting and Compensation Shielding

Prior research (e.g., Dechow, Huson, and Sloan 1994 ) documents that, on average, compensation practices appear to shield CEO pay from income‐decreasing special items. In some circumstances, compensation shielding can be efficient. For example, it may encourage CEOs with earnings‐sensitive pay to take an action that reduces current earnings but nevertheless enhances value. Compensation shielding can be inefficient in other circumstances, such as when a board of directors is captured by an overly powerful CEO or the magnitude of negative special items has been overstated (e.g., by shifting core expenses into special items). This paper explores whether strong governance can explain cross‐sectional variation in compensation shielding, and whether stronger governance and auditing are associated with less shifting of expenses. We find that strong corporate governance mechanisms, as captured by board (and committee) independence, the Sarbanes‐Oxley (2002) Act (SOX) and its related governance reforms, and switches to Big 4 auditors, are all associated with less compensation shielding. While our evidence suggests that strong overall governance is associated with a reduction in manipulation of core earnings through classification shifting in the cross‐section, we find inconclusive evidence to suggest that board independence or SOX influence classification shifting.     

To be true or not to be true: authentic leadership and its effect on travel agents

This study examines authentic leadership and its impact on employees in the travel industry. Based on previous studies, the study proposes and tests a framework, in which four dimensions of authentic leadership influence two types of trust (supervisor trust and organizational trust), which in turn affect employee burnout. The data were collected by using a survey on travel agents in South Korea. The study finds that not all four dimensions of authentic leadership influence trust and that supervisor trust affects organizational trust. Trust is found to mediate the relationship between authentic leadership and employee burnout. The study offers theoretical implications and practical suggestions.     

On the destination image of Korea by Russian tourists

This study investigates the importance of destination image as a determinant for the choice of a tourist destination. The inbound market examined is Korea while perceptions are captured from current and prospective Russian tourists. Empirical results show that a difference exists between visitors and non-visitors in terms of their perceived image of Korea. The study also finds that the relationship between overall image and loyalty to a destination is statistically significant. Regression results show in particular that Russians with a positive view of Korea are more likely to recommend Korea to others as a tourist destination.     

Queueing problems with two parallel servers

Agents are waiting for their jobs to be processed at a service facility. All agents need the same processing time but have different waiting costs per unit of time. The facility has two parallel servers and can serve two agents at a time. We are interested in finding the order in which to serve agents and the (positive or negative) monetary transfers they should receive. We introduce two rules, the "minimal transfer rule" and the "maximal transfer rule". We show that they correspond to the Shapley (1953) values of associated queueing games, for two alternative definitions of the worth of a coalition. The two-server queueing games correspond to the games similarly defined by Maniquet (2003) and Chun (2006a) for one server. If the worth of a coalition is defined by assuming that the coalitional members are served before the non-coalitional members, then the minimal transfer rule is obtained. If it is defined by assuming that the coalitional members are served after the non-coalitional members, then the maximal transfer rule is obtained.     

Commitment to a strategy of uniform pricing in a two-period duopoly with switching costs

This paper studies decisions by firms of whether to attempt “behavior-based” price discrimination in markets with switching costs by using a two-period duopoly model. When both firms commit themselves to a pricing policy and consumers are “sophisticated” and have rational expectations, there is a dominant strategy equilibrium with both firms engaging in uniform pricing. Both firms are better off in the uniform pricing equilibrium, compared with the discriminatory equilibrium.      

Moderating effect of personal innovativeness on mobile-RFID services: Based on Warshaw's purchase intention model

As telecommunication market becomes more competitive and the customers' expectations regarding services or products increases, understanding customer or market needs is at the center of successful telecommunication business.In this study, we attempt to explore the intention of using mobile services based on the Warshaw's purchase intention model. We also focus on a personal innovativeness in the domain of IT (PIIT) because we assumed that as characteristics of telecommunication services become increasingly sophisticated, personal innovativeness could be a key factor of telecommunication services usage. In this study, we examine whether PIIT has the moderating effect on purchasing mobile-RFID services.The result shows that both purchasability and perceived need collectively explain purchase intention of mobile-RFID services, as well as PIIT serves to moderate the relationship between perceived need and purchase intention of mobile-RFID services. The study findings also indicate that IT knowledge, responsiveness to IT news and ability to use mobile phone of customers are positively related with PIIT.     

Understanding museum visitor satisfaction and revisit intentions through mobile guide system: moderating role of age in museum mobile guide adoption

Drawing from the extended technology acceptance model, we develop and test a model that links the perceived characteristics of mobile guide system to visitor satisfaction toward mobile guide system and its effect on overall museum experience. Data were collected from 408 museum visitors who have used mobile guide system in National Museum of Korea. The results found that perceived usefulness (PU), perceived enjoyment, and perceived interactivity had direct positive effects on visitor satisfaction toward mobile guide system. In addition, we found the moderating role of age between PU and satisfaction toward the mobile guide system. Furthermore, this study revealed that the experience of using museum mobile guide system was significantly associated with the overall experience of visiting the museum.