• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.70-79
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• 2010

There has been some research conducted that addressed immoral consumer behaviors in Korea; however, most of this research focused on purchasing counterfeits or shoplifting. High return rates of apparel and used apparel returns have been acknowledged as problem areas within the fashion industry. However, very few researchers have addressed this issue. Therefore, the goal of this research was to explore consumer's retail borrowing experience using a mixed methods approach. In study 1 Korean consumer's retail borrowing experiences was explored through focus group interviews. Findings informed study 2 an examination of apparel consumers' attitudes toward retail borrowing behavior via an online survey. Findings assist both researchers' and practitioners' understanding of retail borrowing behaviors and provide insight into retail borrowing issues in the apparel retail industry. For study 1, five focus-group interviews were conducted with seven panels of individuals that had retail borrowing experience within the past year. Thirty-five Korean consumers who lived in a metropolitan area participated in the focus group interviews. Most of consumers were in their 20's (n=21) and were women (n=24). Most participants purchased apparel items from a retail store and returned the worn items for either a full refund or exchanged the worn item for another item. Motives underlying retail borrowing behavior included social needs, job-related needs, fashion needs, and "smart shopping." Similar to existing research findings from other countries, social needs were the most frequently mentioned cause of retail borrowing in fashion stores. Consumers' moral values, attitude toward large corporations, and prior retail borrowing experience were mentioned as possible factors affecting consumers' retail borrowing behavior. For study 2, the questionnaire used to gather the data was developed based on the findings of part I and existing research. Questions concerning consumers' moral beliefs, sensation seeking tendencies, self-worth, past retail job experience, retail borrowing experience, and some demographic characteristics were included in the questionnaire. The data were collected via an online survey using an online panel provided by a commercial online research company located in Seoul, Korea. In order to obtain various consumers, a quota sample was (male: female=1:1, 20's:30's:40's=1:1:1, retail experience: no retail experience=1:3) obtained from the company. A total of 401 consumers who had shopped for apparel items during the prior 6 months participated in the online survey. The results indicated that 19.7% of the respondents reported they had experience borrowing fashion merchandise. Among these individuals, male borrowers (57%) outnumbered female borrowers. In terms of age distribution, x2 revealed that there was a statistical difference between respondents with and without retail borrowing experiences: 41.8% of the respondents with retail borrowing experience were in their 40's, while respondents without retail borrowing experience were evenly distributed between their 20's to 40's. There was also a significant difference between respondents with and without retail borrowing experience in terms of income: respondents with retail borrowing experience tended to have higher incomes than those without retail borrowing experience. T-tests were performed to compare respondents' fashion shopping behavior, moral beliefs, sensation-seeking tendencies, and attitudes toward retail borrowing behavior between participants with and without retail borrowing experience. As compared to those with no borrowing experience, respondents with experience tended to shop for fashion items more frequently and spent more on shopping for fashion items. Consumers with experience borrowing tended to have higher sensation-seeking tendencies than consumers without retail borrowing experience. A regression analysis revealed that attitudes toward fashion retail borrowing were negatively related to consumers' moral beliefs, but positively related to monthly fashion shopping frequency, sensation-seeking tendencies, and past fashion retail borrowing experience. Among these variables, past retail borrowing experience was the most significant predictor, followed by moral beliefs. This research serves as an initial attempt to address the motives that underlie retail borrowing behaviors and the factors affecting those behaviors. The findings of this study may facilitate an understanding of the consumer's retail borrowing, which will provide a basis for approaches that may help decrease retail borrowing and inappropriate returns at fashion retail stores. The findings may also provide materials for consumer education over the long term. In order to better understand fashion retail borrowing behavior, more research is needed in the future.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.62-76
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to identify apparel consumers' immoral shopping behaviors from apparel retail sales associates' perspectives. As a first step to understand immoral consumer behaviors in apparel retail setting, the study took an exploratory approach using five focus-group interviews with 35 apparel salespeople. The immoral behavior of fashion (product) consumers was divided into two categories: one was the immoral behavior associated with the product, and the other was the immoral behavior relative to the consumer. The immoral behavior associated with the product was classified into three types: shoplifting, inappropriate returns, and damaging to merchandise. Immoral behavior relative to the consumer was classified into two types: abusive behavior by a consumer toward sales associates and excessive demand. Although, shoplifting was the primary immoral behavior mentioned by all interview participants, most sales associates failed to recognize shoplifting as a serious criminal behavior. Another commonly mentioned immoral consumer behaviors was retail borrowing, which may pose serious problems to the fashion industry. The findings of this study will provide a basis for approaches that may help decrease immoral consumer behavior at fashion retail stores and provide a basis for developing materials for consumer education over the long term.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.257-269
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• 2012

Global crisis expedites the change in the environment of industry and puts small size enterprises in danger of mass bankruptcy. Because of this, domestic small size enterprises is an urgent need of restructuring. Based on the small business data registered in the Credit Guarantee Fund, we estimated the survival probability in the context of the survival analysis. We also analyzed the survival time which are distinguished depending on the types of business in the small business. Financial variables were also conducted using COX regression analysis of small businesses by types of business. In terms of types of business wholesale and retail trade industry and services were relatively high in the survival probability than light, heavy, and the construction industries. Especially the construction industry showed the lowest survival probability. In addition, we found that construction industry, the bigger BIS (bank of international settlements capital ratio) and current ratio are, the smaller default-rate is. But the bigger borrowing bond is, the bigger default-rate is. In the light industry, the bigger BIS and ROA (return on assets) are, the smaller a default-rate is. In the wholesale and retail trade industry, the bigger bis and current ratio are, the smaller a default-rate is. In the heavy industry, the bigger BIS, ROA, current ratio are, the smaller default-rate is. Finally, in the services industry, the bigger current ratio is, the smaller a default-rate is.