Hyun Hee Park

How does visual merchandising in fashion retail stores affect consumers’ brand attitude and purchase intention?

Consumers’ perceptions of visual merchandising can arouse consumers’ in-store merchandise exploration, such as interacting with products, differentiate a retail brand among competitors; contribute to brand preference; and encourage purchase intentions. However, the combination of topics, visual merchandising and cognition, remains relatively unexplored. Thus, Study I develops measures of visual merchandising cognition and Study II examines the impact of visual merchandising cognition on brand preference, with a focus on fashion brands. This research used mixed methods and an experimental design to empirically test the influence of visual merchandising cognition on fashion brand preferences. Confirmatory factor analysis finds three dimensions of visual merchandising cognition: in-fashion, attractiveness, and function. A structural equation model confirms a conceptual framework for the influence of visual merchandising cognition on brand preferences. In-fashion and attractiveness have a significantly positive effect on brand aesthetic attributes. Function has a significantly positive effect on brand utilitarian attributes. Favorable attitudes toward visual merchandising directly transfer to favorable brand attitudes that are positively associated with purchase intentions.

The Influence of Innovativeness and Price Sensitivity on Purchase Intention of Smart Wear

Abstract This study examines the influence of innovativeness and price sensitivity on the purchase intention ofsmart wear. A total of 211 copies of data were analyzed to investigate a structural model and test researchhypotheses using AMOS 7.0 package. The results were summarized as follows. First, fashion innova-tiveness and technology innovativeness negatively affected price sensitivity; however, information innova-tiveness positively affected price sensitivity. Second, technology innovativeness positively affected thepurchase intention of smart wear; however, fashion innovativeness and information innovativeness did notaffect the purchase intention of smart wear. Third, price sensitivity negatively influenced the purchaseintention of smart wear. This study is useful for marketers and managers who establish marketing and aprice strategy for smart wear in an exploration of the relation of consumer innovativeness, price sensitivity,and the purchase intention of smart wear.Key words: Smart wear, Innovativeness, Price sensitivity, Purchase intention of smart wear; 스마트의류,혁신성, 가격민감도, 스마트의류 구매의도

Attributes of background music and consumers' responses to TV commercials: The moderating effect of consumer involvement

This study extends and crystallizes the literature on the effect of background music in the TV advertising setting by focusing on differential effects of attributes of background music on consumers’ attitudes toward TV advertising based on their involvement. The familiarity of background music was more likely to influence attitudes towards advertisement, brand attitudes and purchase intentions in the low-involvement condition, whereas the product fit of background music was more likely to do so in the high-involvement condition. This indicates that effective attributes of background music can be varied according to consumer involvement.This study extends and crystallizes the literature on the effect of background music in the TV advertising setting by focusing on differential effects of attributes of background music on consumers’ attitudes toward TV advertising based on their involvement. The familiarity of background music was more likely to influence attitudes towards advertisement, brand attitudes and purchase intentions in the low-involvement condition, whereas the product fit of background music was more likely to do so in the high-involvement condition. This indicates that effective attributes of background music can be varied according to consumer involvement.

The impact of mixed eWOM sequence on brand attitude change: cross-cultural differences

Despite the importance of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in e-commerce transactions on the global market, there is still limited understanding about the effect of eWOM sequence and its psychological mechanism in cross-cultural settings. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences in brand attitude changes according to the eWOM sequence, as well as cross-culturally, based on thinking styles. Furthermore, the authors examine the moderated mediation effect of perceived cognition congruency across cultures to explain its underlying mechanism.,The authors use a 2 (eWOM sequence: positive/negative, negative/positive) × 2(culture: East (South Korea), West (USA)) factorial design. Perceived cognition congruency is measured as a within-group variable.,First, brand attitude changes in the West (USA) for the negative/positive presentation order are significantly larger than for the positive/negative presentation order, while, in the East (South Korea), no significant differences exist. Second, in the Westerner group (analytical thinking style), the perceived cognition congruency shows a significant difference according to the eWOM sequence, whereas in the Easterner group (holistic thinking style), the perceived cognition congruency does not show a significant difference according to the eWOM sequence.,As such, a strategic interpretation of the mixed eWOM presentation order across cultures is needed. In the West, interest and attention are necessary for the eWOM sequence. However, in the East, a different strategic approach, except for the presentation order of mixed eWOM, is required. The other elements of the mixed eWOM, such as attribute type or intensity of negative information, need to be considered for mixed eWOM management.,This study expands the existing body of knowledge on the sequence effect of mixed eWOM. Furthermore, it provides strategic direction and practical implications for mixed eWOM-driven information management, focusing on sequence in cross-cultural settings.