Hong-Youl Ha

The effect of customized information on online purchase intentions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to employ a cross-cultural perspective to propose and empirically evaluate four models focusing on the role of satisfaction and trust in the formation of online travel purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach – A proposed model is compared with three alternative models of the relationships among, and impact of, independent variables on purchase intentions. Data from South Korea and UK are used to examine the proposed relationship and select the best model among four alternative models. Findings – Results suggest that there are significant differences as well as similarities across consumers in South Korea and the UK. Customized information has a direct affect on both satisfaction and trust. The effect of satisfaction on purchase intentions is mediated by attitude toward web site only in the UK sample, while it has direct and indirect effects on purchase intentions in the South Korean sample. However, the relationship between trust and purchase intentions is n...

Brand personality and its outcomes in the Chinese automobile industry

The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between ‘brand personality’ and key outcomes in the Chinese automobile industry. A secondary aim of the study is to look at whether or not these relationships hold across purchasers and non-purchasers. The major conclusion is that while brand personality dimensions are somewhat consistent across both purchasers and non-purchasers, the brand personality outcomes differ somewhat between the groups. First, brand personality plays a critical role in improving perceived quality and creating brand trust, a key finding given the intensely competitive nature of the Chinese automobile industry. Second, perceived quality plays an important role in mediating the relationship between brand personality and brand commitment for both groups. Third, perceived quality does not affect brand trust for the purchaser group. In the context of Chinese automobile industry, increasing the level of perceived quality of a particular brand requires convincing non-purchasers that the brand is valuable, and that the information being provided is useful. Fourth, since the relationship between perceived quality and brand trust was found to be non-significant, future research studies may wish to focus on obtaining a better understanding of Chinese cultural perspectives to shed further light on why perceived quality and brand trust are not related for the automobile purchaser group.

Temporal effects of information from social networks on online behavior

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the temporal effects of perceptions of information obtained from social networks (SNS) on online shopping behavior using trust as a mediator. The model adopts the two dimensional view of trust: cognitive and affective trust. The direct effects and indirect effects of information perceptions on behavioral intentions are empirically explored using a longitudinal approach. Specifically, we investigate the comparative roles of cognitive and affective trust on the influence of perceptions of information from SNS on online shopping behavior. Design/methodology/approach – The study was fielded at two points in time (T and T+1) that were approximately 14 months apart. The survey (T) was distributed via e-mail to 1,484 prospects. From this mailing, 297 prospects who had not replied and another 145 with missing data were removed, leaving 1,042 respondents. In all, 14 months later, the survey (T+1) was e-mailed to these 1,042 respondents who took part in the survey a...

Effects of economic and social satisfaction on partner trust: An investigation of temporal carryover effects

In the B2B research literature both perceived value from a relationship with a partner and satisfaction from the relationship over time have been viewed as playing important roles in improving loyalty intentions (Johnson et al. 2006), behavioral intentions (Mittal et al. 1999, 2001), and trust (Friman et al. 2002; Selnes 1998; Ulaga and Eggert 2006). Since extant research predominantly provides a cross-sectional understanding of customer satisfaction (e.g., Geyskens and Steenkamp 2000; Johnson et al. 2006), the present study aims to bolster this literature by investigating customer satisfaction from a longitudinal perspective.

The evolution of brand personality: an application of online travel agencies

Purpose This study aims to assess how continuous outcomes of brand personality vary as a function of time and other predictors. Specifically, the author investigates the roles of brand trust on the direct influence of brand personality, resulting in brand loyalty. Design/methodology/approach Using a longitudinal study of online travel consumers, the author demonstrates that the process of brand evolution is related to the investigation of both temporal and carryover effects. Findings The findings show that the effect of the brand personality–brand trust linkage decreases over time and leads to the re-evaluation of three dimensions of brand personality when changes in consumers’ perceptions are involved in brand evaluations. Another interesting finding is that the carryover effects of these three dimensions of brand personality are much stronger and stable than the effects of brand personality and brand loyalty. Furthermore, this research uncovers the important boundary conditions for the effects of brand trust on the brand personality–brand loyalty linkage. Originality/value This study contributes to the growing literature on tourism management by examining both temporal and carryover effects and using the longitudinal approach. Thus, our study extends prior findings by examining the dynamics of brand personality as determinants of brand loyalty as they develop over time.

Investigating temporal effects of risk perceptions and satisfaction on customer loyalty

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how product usage satisfaction mediates the link between two types of perceived risk and loyalty intentions, and investigate the three moderating effects (overall satisfaction of provider, switching costs, and remaining contract time) of the product usage satisfaction-loyalty intentions linkage. Design/methodology/approach – Using a longitudinal study, a total of 253 usable responses are collected from time T to time T+1. The paper uses the partial least squares (PLS-Graph 3.0) approach for structural parameters in the proposed model. Findings – The findings show that the temporal effect of performance risk and product usage satisfaction negatively increases, whereas the temporal effect between product usage satisfaction and loyalty intentions decreases over time. While the moderating effect between overall satisfaction of provider and product usage satisfaction strengthens loyalty intentions, the switching costs attenuate loyalty intentions. The proposed ...

Exploring key antecedents of purchase intentions within different services

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to investigate the direct and indirect effects of these determinants on purchase intentions. Competitive environments such as those in retail and banking industries impose increased pressure on managers to enhance customer satisfaction and purchase intentions. Even though satisfaction and purchase intentions are well studied in prior literature, their determinants such as service-oriented employee behavior, advertising campaign familiarity, physical environment and service quality have not been fully investigated together. Design/methodology/approach – Data from a survey of 508 customers of Korean up-market retail supermarkets and banks are utilized to empirically evaluate the model. Findings – Results indicate that service-oriented employee behavior and the physical environment have no direct effect on purchase intentions. However, these constructs indirectly influence purchase intentions through the mediating role of service quality and customer satisfaction. Se...

The Evolution of Expectations of and Attitudes Toward Online Travel Agencies Over Time

ABSTRACT The basic premise of this research is that customer satisfaction with online travel agencies (OTAs) is dynamic in nature. In this context, it still remains unclear what role satisfaction plays in affecting expectations and attitudes toward an online travel agent over time. The study thus utilizes longitudinal data from 353 customers of OTAs to test temporal and carryover effects pertaining to satisfaction. Results indicate that the temporal effect of the expectations–attitudes linkage decreases over time. Carryover effects suggest that customers integrate both pre- and post-travel assessments of expectations and attitudes when evaluating satisfaction.

Arbitrator acceptability in international commercial arbitration: The trading firm perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of arbitrator acceptability and investigate whether the perceived costs of arbitration moderate the relationship between arbitrator acceptability and arbitrator characteristics in international commercial arbitration. Design/methodology/approach A two-stage analytic process is used to test the dimensionality, reliability and validity of each construct and then the proposed hypotheses. Findings The findings show that the five constructs of arbitrator characteristics – reputation, practical expertise, legal expertise, experience and procedural justice – statistically significantly explain arbitrator acceptability. Moreover, perceived cost of arbitration moderates the relationship between arbitrator acceptability and arbitrator characteristics. However, the moderating effect of perceived costs of arbitration is not equal across characteristics. Research limitations/implications Knowledge regarding potential moderators of the strength of the indicators of arbitrator acceptability will be useful to future researchers in determining which variables to study in arbitrator selection research. Practical implications Useful guidelines in the selection of an international arbitrator are proposed. Originality/value This study contributes to arbitrator acceptability literature through the suggestion of a hypothesized model of arbitrator acceptability with auxiliary hypothesis of reputation in international contexts. In addition, this study investigates the moderating role of perceived cost of arbitration on the relationship between arbitrator acceptability and arbitrator characteristics.

An empirical test of replacement costs of turnover using human capital corporate panel in Korea

Abstract Scholars have devoted considerable attention to the role of turnover in influencing organizational resource allocation. Because research that addresses employee turnover based on longitudinal data remains relatively limited, the impact of employee turnover in a given time period on future turnover, as well as replacement costs, requires further explanation. This study uses the turnover–replacement cost mechanism to empirically test panel data from 224 South Korean firms between 2005 and 2015 (T1–T6). The findings indicate that the relationship between turnover and replacement costs gradually recovered following the global financial crisis and that the carryover effects have been dynamic over time. Although we found no significant effects that confirm the dynamics in our model, our findings suggest that firms must identify unstable dynamics and patterns to address future economic uncertainty. Finally, a comparison of our model to models without control variables reveals similarities and differences between the two control variables (i.e. firm size and type of industry).