Academic research (selected)
Lee, J., Lee, Y., & Lee, Y. J. (2012). Do customization programs of e-commerce companies lead to better relationship with consumers?. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 11(3), 262-274.
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to propose a model that explains the consumers’ perception of customization in e-commerce. This study suggests two determinants of consumer attitude toward the e-commerce website with customization options: perceived participation and perceived company responsiveness. Consumer attitude was posited to influence consumers’ intention to consider a long-term relationship with an e-commerce company. In this model, two consumer characteristics—consumer expertise and preference stability—were considered as moderators of the relations between consumers’ perception of participation and company’s responsiveness and consumer attitude toward the customization program. The model was tested by structural equation modeling (SEM) using AMOS 14.0, and the posited relations were confirmed. The moderating effect of preference stability was found significant. The perceived participation level of those with a more stable preference influenced their attitude toward the customization experience, while the company’s responsiveness was influential only for those with a less stable preference.
Chung, K., Youn, C., & Lee, Y. (2014). The Influence of Luxury Brands’ Cross-Border Acquisition on Consumer Brand Perception. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 32(4), 219–234.
Abstract
With global recession and growing international competition among brands, cross-border acquisitions (CBAs) are increasing in the luxury industry. Since country-of-origin (COO) plays a large role in a luxury brand’s image, a CBA that changes the nationality of the company owning the luxury brand and modifies consumer COO knowledge can influence consumer brand perception. This study explores the influence of a luxury brand’s CBA on perceived brand value and the moderation effect of brand loyalty. In the case of a CBA by a company associated with a superior country image, only perceptions of low-loyalty consumers are affected positively by the CBA information. In the case of a CBA by a company associated with an inferior country image, only perceptions of high-loyalty consumers are affected negatively by the CBA information. The result of this study provides a deep understanding of how consumer brand perception is influenced by the changes of brand-country association.
Youn, C., Kim, S, Lee, Y, Choo, H.J., Jang, S., & Jang, J.I. (2017). Measuring Retailers' Sustainable Development. Business Strategy and the Environment, 26(3), 385-398.
Abstract
This study aimed to develop a framework and measurement items for retailers to assess sustainability while avoiding potential subjectivity by combining top-down and bottom-up approaches, and verifying their validity based on consumer perceptions of sustainable retailing. The framework consisted of 54 measurement items categorized into a three-order hierarchical model. At the top level of the model, there were three third-order dimensions respectively related to consumers, retailers, and society. At the middle level, eight second-order sub-dimensions associated with retailing mix were classified into the aforementioned third-order dimensions. At the bottom level, there were 21 first-order sub-dimensions related to the sustainable retailing activities. The development of sustainability assessment by combining top-down and bottom-up approaches and including consumer perceptions will allow retailers to assess their sustainability more strategically, as it will reduce the subjectivity and increase consumers' recognition of sustainable retailing.
Cho, E., Lee, J., & Lee, Y. (2017). Corporate Philanthropy Affecting Consumer Patronage Behavior: The Effect of Reciprocity and the Moderating Roles of Vicarious Licensing and Strategic Fit. Sustainability, 9(7), https://doi.org/10.3390/su9071094
This study investigates the manner in which corporate philanthropy affects consumer patronage toward a brand. In so doing, we propose reciprocity as a key mechanism, which manifests the effect of corporate philanthropy on patronage behavior, and examine how vicarious licensing and strategic fit would mitigate the relationship between reciprocity and patronage behavior. The results indicate that reciprocity significantly increases one’s intention to participate in the philanthropic activities that a company supports and the intention to purchase its products. Vicarious licensing is found to lessen the effects of reciprocity on participation intention and purchasing intention. Strategic fit strengthens the path from participation intention to purchasing intention.
Park, S., Choi, YJ*., & Lee, Y. (2019).Understanding fashion communication between Korean middle‐aged mothers and daughters. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 43(1), 58-67. https://DOI: 10.1111/ijcs.12483
Daughters can be considered important social role models for middle‐aged mothers in fashion communication such as the clothing purchase or conformity. This study explores antecedents (trust in daughters as fashion informants and internalized social pressure for appearance management) and outcomes (solidarity between mother and daughter, psychological well‐being of mother) of fashion communication (mother–daughter shopping, clothing conformity) between middle‐aged mothers and daughters. The data were collected using a self‐administered online survey of 307 middle‐aged Korean women between ages of 45 and 65. The result shows that mothers’ trust in daughters as fashion informants and internalized social pressure for appearance positively influence mother–daughter shopping and mothers’ clothing conformity to daughters. Next, mother–daughter shopping and mothers’ clothing conformity have a positive influence on the solidarity of mothers and daughters. When solidarity becomes stronger, the degree of the mothers’ psychological well‐being increases.
Kim, H.Y. & Lee, Y.* (2019): The Effect of Online Customization on Consumers’ Happiness and Purchase Intention and the Mediating Roles of Autonomy, Competence, and Pride of Authorship, International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, DOI:10.1080/10447318.2019.1658375
Advanced information communication technology and production technologies such as 3D printing have enhanced consumers' personalized experiences. Customization as one of the noticeable personalization is attracting attention to both consumers and companies because of its significant leverage on transformation of production-consumption paradigm. This study aims to identify the effect of online customization experiences on consumers' happiness and behavioral intention. The findings suggest that customization experiences have a positive effect on happiness, and autonomy, competence, and pride of authorship play a mediating role between the two variables. In addition, happiness has a positive effect on purchase intention, and an indirect effect of happiness between online customization experience
and purchase intention was found. This study suggests that creative activities via computers can bring happiness to consumers and increase purchase intention. Therefore, practitioners need to consider maximizing autonomy, competence, and pride of authorship to enhance consumers' happiness and purchase intention when consumers interact with computers.
Kim, Y. & Lee, Y.* (2020): Cross-channel spillover effect of price promotion in fashion, International Journal of Retail & Distribution, 48(10) 1139-1154, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-12-2019-0393
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether consumers differ in their online or offline purchase intention, depending on which channel with price promotion information they are first exposed to, and to analyse the moderating role of brand trust.
Design/methodology/approach: Overall, 174 responses were obtained via an online survey using two contact channels (online/offline) by two levels of brand trust (high/low) between-subject designs.
Findings: Spillover effects were found across channels when a consistent price promotion is executed in both online and offline channels, purchase intentions for cross-channel and contact channel increase simultaneously. Although there was a similar effect in the discrepancy of purchase intentions towards the cross-channel according to contact channels, it varied depending on brand trust. When brand trust is high, having contact with offline price-discount information has a large online spillover effect. When brand trust is low, the spillover effect from online to offline is large.
Research limitations/implications: This study expands the multi-channel research by proving the spillover effects between channels and confirming the difference according to brand trust.
Practical implication: Increasing promotion information for online contact is effective in driving offline visits for new brands, and the effective use of promotion information at offline stores can have a positive impact on online channels for well-known brands.
Originality/value: This study explores the cross-channel spillover effect of price promotion and proves that these effects depend on brand trust.
Kim, H.Y., Lee, Y.*, Cho, E., & Jung, Y.J. (2020): Digital atmosphere of fashion retail stores. Fashion and Textiles, 7: 30, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40691-020-00217-6
This study sheds light on a prominent issue in retailing: how the digital atmosphere can affect the consumer decision-making process in a fashion retail store. Digital devices and services such as digital screens and digital signage are widely employed in fashion retail stores, transforming the way consumers make decisions about purchasing fashion products. This research investigates how the digital atmosphere affects consumers’ purchase behavior patterns based on the attention-interest-desire-search-action-share (AIDSAS) model. The findings show that attention is a key antecedent to interest, desire, and behavioral responses (search, action, and share) triggered by the digital atmosphere. The findings further suggest that attention has significantly positive effects on consumers’ purchasing patterns of utilizing the digital atmosphere in two types of fashion retail stores: sports and luxury stores. However, we find that these positive effects are more pronounced for sports retail stores than luxury retail stores. This research contributes to understanding consumer behavior related to the digital atmosphere of fashion retail stores by applying the AIDSAS model and helps uncover the stepwise relationships between attention to the store atmosphere-interest/desire and the products-behavior response. These findings have practical implications that can be applied in the fashion industry.
Kim, S., Jang, S., Choi, W., Youn, C.*, Lee, Y. (2022): Contactless service encounters among Millennials and Generation Z: the effects of Millennials and Gen Z characteristics on technology self-efficacy and preference for contactless service. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 82-100. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-01-2021-0020.
Purpose: “Contactless service” refers to the use of technology in providing products or services without a salesperson. This study explores the mechanism underlying Millennial and Generation Z (M/Z generations) consumers' preference for contactless service over salespersons in retail stores. In addition, this study tests differences between the M/Z generations.
Design/methodology/approach: The researchers predict characteristics to be antecedents of young consumer's preference for contactless service over salespersons and that the effects are mediated by technology self-efficacy. Next, a moderating variable (perceived consumer conformity) is added in the path between technology self-efficacy and the preference for contactless service. The hypotheses are tested among 142 Gen Z and 137 Millennial respondents.
Findings: The results show that M/Z generations’ characteristics significantly influence the preference for contactless service, except for security seeking. Also, interests in new technology and safety seeking are perceived higher by M/Z generations. The influence of technology self-efficacy on the preference for contactless service is moderated by social conformity.
Originality/value: As retail technology rapidly develops, the service industry is expected to change from the past, where salespersons played an important role, to contactless services. This study has academic and practical values, for the authors clarify the underlying psychological mechanisms of why young consumers prefer retail technology rather than communication with salespersons.
Choi, W., Jang, S.*, Kim, H.Y., Lee, Y., Lee, S., Lee, H. & Park, S. (2023): Developing an AI-based automated fashion design system: reflecting the work process of fashion designers. Fashion and Textiles, 10:39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40691-023-00360-w.
With the recent expansion of the applicability of artificial intelligence into the creative realm, attempts are being made to use AI (artificial intelligence) in the garment development system in various ways, both in academia and the fashion business. Several IT companies have developed and possess AI-based garment design technologies that utilize StyleGAN2 for image transformation. However, they are not widely utilized in the fashion business. Since fashion brands need to create numerous designs to launch new garment products for at least two seasons per year, the adoption of AI-based garment design generation technology can be one way to increase work efficiency. Therefore, this research aims to collect and analyze existing cases of AI-based garment design tools in order to identify the similarities and differences between the garment development processes of human designers and the existing AI-based garment design tools. Based on this analysis, the research aims to develop an AI-based garment development system that takes into consideration the garment development process of human designers, incorporating fashion domain knowledge.