Heeju Chae

Understanding fashion consumers’ attitude and behavioral intention toward sustainable fashion products: Focus on sustainable knowledge sources and knowledge types

Abstract Companies in the fashion industry recognize sustainability as a major issue and are placing intensive efforts to incorporate it into their marketing strategies. Yet they face a stumbling block as most fashion consumers still have limited knowledge or clarification about sustainability. In addition, there is a lack of in-depth research regarding sustainable knowledge in the fashion industry, especially considering its importance in this field. Therefore, this study, analyzes sustainable knowledge to better understand which sources and types of knowledge are effective. Thus, the purpose of this study is as follows: (1) to examine the influence of sustainable knowledge sources on different types of sustainable knowledge; and (2) to examine the impact of these types of knowledge on sustainable consumer behavior. A total of 245 responses are collected in South Korea through an online survey for the final analysis. The proposed model and research hypotheses are tested using AMOS and SPSS programs. Results indicates that fashion consumers have a positive effect on corporate marketing information. Effectiveness and social knowledge also play an important role in forming attitude toward sustainable fashion products. In conclusion, fashion brands must identify and incorporate effective sources and types of sustainable knowledge into their marketing strategies to expand their business scope. Moreover, this study stands out for examining the specific role of sustainable knowledge in the fashion industry, thus providing a direction for future research.

The Influence of Pop-up Store Attributions Toward Brand Attitude and Revisiting Intention - Focus on Sports Brands-

This study explores the characteristics and effects of a pop-up store based on how the store attributions of a pop-up store influence brand attitude and brand patronage intention. The questionnaire consisted of 3 instruments: store attributes, brand attitude, and brand revisiting intention. Data were analyzed by factor analysis, frequency analysis, reli- ability analysis, and multiple regressions, using SPSS 18.0. We surveyed 123 males and females, who had an experience of a pop-up store, and interviewed five experts who work in the fashion related area. The results of this study were as follows. First, it was shown that VMD has positive impacts on brand patronage intention, but with no significant rela- tionship to brand attitude. Second, a brand cultures experience of a pop-up store has a strong influence on brand attitude and brand patronage intention. Third, products in the store are the most important factors that influence brand attitude. The findings indicate that the promotion of diverse attributes of apop-up store is critical to make customers perceive brand attitude and brand patronage intention that are expected to be used to establish advanced marketing strategies.

The Effects of Usage Motivation of Hashtag of Fashion Brands' Image Based SNS on Customer Social Participation and Brand Equity : Focusing on Moderating Effect of SNS Involvement

Abstract : Hashtag has emerged and become one of cultural trend. Given that more and more firms in the fashion indus-try are using hashtag on images based on SNS to provide information of their products and to communicate with theircustomers. Especially, hashtags through voluntary participation of users provides the perspective of how customers con-sume their products. Therefore, this study focused on the using motives of hashtag in image based SNS with customersocial participation as mediator towards brand equity. The purpose of this study is (1) to investigate the usage motivationof hashtag of image contents based SNS, (2) to expose how each usage motive affects customer social participation and(3) to find out how customer social participation has an effect on brand equity. In order to achieve the objectives of thisstudy, first we conducted an in-depth interview on 8 image based SNS heavy users to understand the using motives ofhashtags. Furthermore, we conducted online surveys amongst people aged between 20s and 30s of image contents basedSNS users. As a result of this study, followings were figured out. First, four of usage motivation of hashtag were examinedthrough in-depth interview and previous studies; interest sharing, social interaction, ease of use and enjoyment. Second,usage motivation of hashtag has a significant effect on customer social participation. Third, customer-media participationand customer-customer participation impact positively on brand equity. Lastly, level of customer social participation hasthe moderating effect on the relationship between motivation of hashtag and customer social participation. Key words : hashtag(해시태그), fashion brands’ image based SNS(패션브랜드 이미지기반 SNS), customer socialparticipation(고객소셜참여 ), brand equity(브랜드자산 ), SNS involvement(SNS 참여도 )

The Effects of Image Based Fashion Brands' SNS Toward Flow and Brand Attitude : Focus on Pleasure Emotion as Mediator

As social networking service (SNS) users’ needs and wants have become more diverse, SNS is designed to provide various services and functions. As a result, an image based SNS with the purpose of sharing various interests has emerged. More and more fashion companies are using image based SNS to use it as a medium to better communicate with their customers. This study investigates the effect of usage motivation of image based SNS with the emotion of pleasure as the mediator and its impact towards flow and brand attitude. In order to verify the research model and to test the proposed hypotheses, we conducted a pilot test on 8 image based SNS heavy users, and followed through with 215 questionnaires which were collected via online survey. The results of this study are as follows. Each usage motivation of image based SNS had significant effect on each pleasure. The visual impact had a positive effect on sensory pleasure and the common interest significantly influenced on user’s affective preference. Curating, simplicity and interconnecting had a positive effect on cognitive pleasure. Affective and cognitive pleasures except sensory pleasure positively impacted the user on flow. The cognitive pleasure had a positive effect on the brand attitude. Lastly, flow had a positive effect on the brand attitude. This study is the foundation of the image based SNS academically in the new media research. Furthermore, it suggests managerial implications of a company to provide effective marketing strategy to make the best use of image based SNS.

A study of the authenticity of traditional cultural products: focus on Korean, Chinese, and Japanese consumers

ABSTRACT Countries’ specific traditional cultures are becoming popular subjects for commercialization. The research discussed here focuses on “traditional cultural products” (TCPs) and investigates consumer attitudes and behaviors with respect to cultural aspects. Consumer attitudes and the purposes of consumption within the commercialization of traditional cultures encircling cultural authenticity are scrutinized. Results show that while the personal factor of consumers’ open-mindedness toward other cultures positively influences their attitudes toward TCPs, the ethnocentrism and familiarity of the culture have negative effects. This analysis of the purchasing purpose model of culture products among three countries – Korea, China, and Japan – shows that positive attitudes toward the aesthetic elements are crucial in raising the will to consume traditional cultural goods. Moreover, Korean and Chinese consumers have significantly considered the cultural/historical authenticity of goods whereas Japanese consumers have found craftsmanship to be more vital.

Influence of SPA Brands’ Sustainable Activities on the Consumer's Ethical Consciousness, Brand Loyalty and Purchase Intention: Focused on H&M Brand (Korea vs. Russia)

Today, the fashion industries, which are appearing in the world, can satisfy their economic needs, as well as provide and distribute their products in order to introduce sustainable methods and avoid becoming a bad influence on future generations. Recently, SPA brands have contributed to the sustainable development of society with different kinds of products, such as organic, recycled and environmental products. For this research, among different SPA brands, we chose H&M as the most representative one. Using Russian and Korean consumers as examples, we analyzed how sustainable activities affect a consumers ethical consciousness, brand loyalty and purchase intention. The results of this study show that firstly, all sustainable activities have positive effects on the ethical consciousness of Russian and, in particular, Korean consumers. Secondly, ethical consciousness has a positive effect on brand loyalty, which, in turn, has a positive effect on purchase intention. Consequently, by adding to the existing sustainable and cultural activities, we can propose new perspectives for future research on sustainability. Due to the effect on a consumers ethical consciousness, future research might consider ethical consciousness as the main factor. By focusing on H&M as a representative of SPA brands with Russian and Korean consumers as target audiences, we can advise global SPA brands on the direction of their sustainable activities and exporting of their products to foreign markets.