Showing papers on "Product type published in 2008"

Luxury Brand Management: A World of Privilege

Abstract: INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 - SPECIFICITIES OF THE LUXURY INDUSTRY WHAT IS SO DIFFERENT ABOUT THE LUXURY INDUSTRY? The meaning of size Sales figures are difficult to compare How many employees? The specific financial characteristics A very high break even A limited cash need A different time frame a) The specific case of the fashion cycle b) The time necessary for a turn around or a major change KEY TO SUCCESS IN LUXURY GOODS 1. The need for a strong name Why are you better off with the name of a person? Brand extension and legitimacy To make products that can be identified a) The primacy of design b) The "reason for being" behind each product Products must be part of the social and cultural environment a) How to keep in line with social trends? b) Should one react when out of phase with the trends? THE MAJOR OPERATORS 1. What is the size of the luxury market? How the French and the Italian perform? It this an oligopoly or an open market? The three large corporations a) LVMH b) Richemont c)PPR Gucci Can the mono brand company survive? CHAPTER 2 - MAJOR LUXURY SECTORS A THE READY TO WEAR ACTIVITIES 1. The specific fashion business and the way to operate The different nationalities How to develop a brand? How to make money? 2. Key management issues a) The creative process b) The worldwide presence c) Why is it difficult to make money? 3. The most frequent organization structure B. THE PERFUMES AND COSMETICS BUSINESS 1. The perfumes and cosmetic market a) Consumer expectations b) Product types c) The financial aspect 2. The major operators a) The major brands b) The major corporations c) Is there room for outsiders? 3. Key management issues a) Sophisticated marketing b) Worldwide advertising and promotion c) Managing distribution networks Organization structures C. WINES AND SPIRITS 1. The wines and spirits market a) The "brown" products b) The "white" products c) Champagnes d) Other categories 2. The major operators a) The major brands b) The major corporations 3. Key management issues a) Dealing with mass merchandisers b) The need for a worldwide structure c) Financing inventories d) The need for "pull" marketing 4. Organization structures D. THE WATCH AND JEWELRY MARKET 1. The market a) The jewelry market b) The watch market 2. The major operators a) The jewelry brands b) The watch brands 3. KEY MANAGEMENT ISSUES a) Retail versus wholesale b) Pricing and product lines for jewelry and watches c) The risk of the major customer 4. Organization structures CHAPTER 3 - THE POWER OF THE LUXURY BRAND A. THE VALUE OF A BRAND 1. The methodology of Interbrands 2. The luxury brand in the total universe of brands 3. The luxury brands in the top 100 B. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A BRAND 1. The brand as contract 2. Brands and time 3. Brands and society C. THE BRAND AND ITS SIGNS 1. Brand names 2. Logos a) The functions of the logo b) A few forms of logo c) Managing logos d) Logomania 3. Other signs of recognition D.THE LEGAL ASPECTS AND THE DEFENCE OF A BRAND 1. Brand protection a) brand registration b) Registration renewal c) the original regustration 2.Fighting counterfeit activities a) The case of knock offs and tables of correspondence b) The case of Chinese or Korean counterfeits c) The "lenient" countries CHAPTER 4 - PRODUCT LYFE CYCLE 1. Measuring a brand's strength 2. The birth of a brand Growth of a brand a) Sectorial growth b) Geographical expansion c) New categories of products d) Optimization of internal processes e) Brand repositioning f) Conclusion A brand's maturity Decline, relaunching and death of a brand a) Continuing decline b) The death of a brand c) Relaunching Global brands, local brands a) Conditions and advantages of a global strategy b) Possibilities for local strategy c) The vulnerability of global brands CHAPTER 5 - THE LUXURY CLIENT A. WHO ARE THE LUXURY CLIENTS? 1. The rich, the very rich or everybody? 2. The excursionists B. THE NEW CONSUMER 1. New customer expectations 2. New customer behaviors C. ARE THE CLIENTS FROM DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES SIMILAR? 1. Differences in consumption patterns between nationalities a) The ready to wear and accessories b) Perfumes and cosmetics c) Wines and spirits 2. Differences in attitude between nationalities 3. The RISC study CHAPTER 6 - BRAND IDENTITY A. A STILL TOO UNFAMILIAR CONCEPT B. TOOLS FOR ANALYZING BRAND IDENTITY 1. The identity prism 2. Brand ethic and aesthetic The semiotic square Semiotic mapping The narrative scheme 3. Others analytical models C. FROM THE SEMIOLOGIST TO THE MANAGER 1. Brand identity and consumer identity 2. Single identity/multiple perceptions 3. The need to evolve D. THE LIMITS OF BRAND IDENTITY 1. Operational implications 2. The place of the brand identity in company strategies 3. Limitations of the concept of identity 4. The responsibilities of the company CHAPTER 7 - MANAGING CREATION A. NATURE OF THE CREATIVE ACTIVITIES B. ORGANIZATION OF THE CREATIVE FUNCTION 1. Example of some leather goods brands design organizations 2. Mass market versus luxury brands C. MANAGING THE PRODUCT 1. The Collection Plan 2. The Collection Calendar 3. The Product Empowerment Teams D. BRAND AESTHETICS Relevance of the notion of Brand aesthetics Issues better treated with the notion of brand aesthetics E.COMMUNICATION ISSUES Possible brand aesthetics management tools Conclusion on brand aesthetics F.BRANDS AND ARTS 1. From brands to arts 2. From arts to brands Campbell art versus Warhol brand Museum business CHAPTER 8 - COMMUNICATION A. OBSOLESCENCE OF THE 4 PS Table 5 Brand meaning and consumer's behaviour B. ADVERTISING 1) The media 2) The advertising process 3) The advertising agencies C. PR, EVENTS, WEBSITES AND PROMOTION 2) Promotion. D. THE PLACE OF THE PRODUCT 1) The product tangible attributes 2) The key to the brand's relationship with the consumer 3) The principal dimension of creation and innovation 4) Always in context E. COMPANY BEHAVIOUR 1. Uncontrolled behaviours 2. Controlled decisions F. ACTUAL CONSUMERS G. WHAT IS GOOD COMMUNICATION? CHAPTER 9 - INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION A. INTERNATIONAL "DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS" B. THE DIFFERENT "DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS" 1) Exclusive sales from Paris or Milan 2 )Subsidiaries 3) Local distributors 4) The joint venture system C. PRICE STRUCTURES D. THE ADVERTISING BUDGET AND ADVERTISING POLICIES E. THE SPECIAL CASE OF THE DUTY FREE OPERATIONS 1) The duty free system 2) The major duty free operators 3) The negotiation F. THE PARALLEL MARKET : REASONS AND CONSEQUENCES 1) The reason why of the parallel market 2) How to collect products for the parallel markets? 3) How to fight the parallel distribution? CHAPTER 10 - RETAILING A. BACKGROUND ANALYSIS 1) Store location and site selections 2) In-store behaviour 3) Retailing indices 4) Internal Display rules of thumb in supermarkets B. RETAILING IN THE LUXURY FIELD 1) Store location and leasing systems a) store location b) The different leasing systems and their costs 2) Budget, planning and control a) The sales target b) Inventory forecast c) Purchasing plan d) Margin control 3) The store information system 4) Staffing, training and evaluation a) Staffing b) Training 5) Retail consumer response management C. THE STORE AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL 1) Landmark projects 2) The store communicating power THE SAME EXERCISE COULD BE CONDUCTED FOR EACH TYPE OF MANIFESTATIONS TO DEFINE WHAT PART OF THE COMMUNICATION PROGRAM IT COULD BEST CONVEY. 3) Store personnel communication 4) Internal and external display 5) Selling on line D. THE RETAIL VERSUS THE WHOLESALE MODEL 1. The so-called "ideal" model 2. The exceptions to the "ideal" model 3. The management of retail and wholesale CHAPTER 11 - LOGISTICS AND LICENSING A. LOGISTICS 292 1. Moving the product 2) Outsourcing KEEPING DIRECT CONTROL OF THE PRODUCTION 3) Deciding not to produce directly 4) Made in China B. LICENSING 297 1) The licensing process a) The selection of a licensee b) The development of this new activity c) The control of licensees 2) Different phases of licensing activities a) The phase 1 b) The phase 2 c) The phase 3 d) The phase 4 CHAPTER 12 - THE BRAND AUDIT 1. THE BRAND'S IDENTITY First category: the general esthetic. Second category: products. Third category: merchandising. Fourth category: the consumer. 3. The consistency and coherence transition 4. Perceptions of identity 5. The effectiveness transition 6. The act of purchase 7. The relevance transition a) Observation of points of sale b) Financial and management data c) Organizational charts d) Strategies and brand identity e) Manifestations of the brand's identity f) Verification of consistency and coherence g) Analysis of consumers h) Analysis of competitors and interviews with opinion leaders i) Verification of effectiveness j) Verification of relevance k) Recommendations B. CRITERIA OF GOOD BRAND MANAGEMENT 1. The product a)Expertise b)The product is the principal dimension of creation and innovation c)The product is its own best advertising d)The product is the key to the brand's relationship with the consumer e)The product is the basis of economic results 2. Identity a) A differentiated identity b) A perceived identity c) A relevant identity d) A well-managed identity 3. Organization and operational processes a) Logistics b) Organization 4. Innovation, attentiveness and reactivity to the market 5. A simple recapitulative diagram

To donate or not to donate? Product characteristics and framing effects of cause-related marketing on consumer purchase behavior

Abstract: The present study examines potential influences associated with donation framing, product price, product type, and donation magnitude on cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns, where money is donated to a charity each time a consumer makes a pur-chase. In addition to the main effects of the aforementioned factors, experimental results indicate that beneficial effects of product type (i.e., frivolous products bundled with a cause are more effective than practical ones) occur when donation information is framed in absolute dollar terms. The effects of donation framing are found insignificant when the donation magnitude is high. Influences of donation magnitude on CRM effectiveness are limited in high-priced items. When the donation magnitude is constant, a donation amount framed in absolute dollar value is more effective than that in percentage terms for low-priced products, and the opposite is true for high-priced items. In practice, marketers thus stand to gain not only by matching the donation magnitude in their advertised products with the right price but also by an appropriate “framing” of the offered bundles. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Credit Rating Agencies and the 'Worldwide Credit Crisis': The Limits of Reputation, the Insufficiency of Reform, and a Proposal for Improvement

Abstract: The "worldwide credit crisis" has thrust credit rating agencies into the spotlight, with attention focused on their ratings of novel structured finance products. Policymakers have undertaken a number of initiatives intended to address perceived problems with such ratings - enhancing competition, promoting transparency, reducing conflicts of interest, and reducing ratings-dependent regulation. These approaches are all broadly consistent with the dominant academic theory of rating agencies, the "reputational capital" model, which is taken to imply that under the right circumstances a well-functioning reputation mechanism will deter low-quality ratings. The policy initiatives currently under consideration can be seen as efforts to fix discrete problems with the rating market so that the reputation mechanism can work properly. This Article argues that these efforts are fundamentally incomplete, because even a well-functioning reputation mechanism does not generate optimum rating quality on new products: When a new product is introduced, agencies do not have a reputation for high quality in that product so they have nothing to lose from issuing the rating. Even if low quality for a specific product type harms the agency's reputation for rating other product types, the agency still will be induced to issue low-quality ratings if the new product type in question is large enough in volume. And as long as rating quality across new product types is high enough on average, it is rational for investors to rely on new-product ratings even if they know that some are of low quality. The incentive problem can be corrected by requiring an agency to disgorge profits on ratings that are revealed to be of low quality by the performance of the product type over time, unless the agency discloses that the ratings are of low quality. Such a system would be superior both to the current regime, which relies on market forces backed by antifraud rules, and to other alternatives, such as the recent proposal to forbid new-product ratings absent prior SEC approval of the products.

The effect of perceived product characteristics on private brand purchases

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of perceived product characteristics (i.e. involvement, product type, and switching cost) and consumer value consciousness on private brand purchase intent.Design/methodology/approach – A college student sample was surveyed to measure product characteristic perceptions for six product categories and to evaluate private brand purchase intent. Analysis of covariance was conducted for hypothesis testing.Findings – Support existed for the significant effects of all three product characteristics on the intent to purchase private brands. A moderating effect by value consciousness on the product type (search versus experience) emerged.Practical implications – It is critical that retailers identify appropriate product categories as they develop private brands. Private brand marketing strategies should be designed to reduce the level of product involvement and switching cost, and to increase consumer perception of search properties.Originality/value...

Implicit Value of Retail Beef Product Attributes

Abstract: To identify the value consumers place on observable characteristics of fresh beef products, primary data were collected on over 1,350 packages of beef from 66 randomly selected grocery stores located in three metropolitan areas--Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Denver, Colorado. Estimated linear and log-linear hedonic models reveal ground beef prices were significantly influenced by store location (i.e., metropolitan area) and store type, fat content, package size and type, expiration date, brand category, and special labels. Factors influencing steak prices included store location, product type, quality grade, package size and type, brand category, and special labels.

Method and system for creating a multifunctional collage useable for client/server communication

Abstract: A system for mining data about activity performed within a virtual shopping cart includes a server node for serving the virtual shopping cart and for enabling activity within the virtual shopping cart, and a module running on the server for analyzing activity performed within the virtual shopping cart and for recording results of the analysis. The activity data mined is aggregated with other data mined over time relative to the same shopping cart such that preference data related to product types, product styles, merchants, brands, colors, and sizes may be determined to help fine tune product offerings.

Business Drivers for Remanufacturing

Abstract: In this paper the aim is to explore what drives companies to get involved in the remanufacturing operations. In the previous research there have been numerous case studies that partly have addresses the issue of why a company is getting involved in remanufacturing. A main conclusion from this study is that the motives for remanufacturing a product are very case-dependent e.g. in what industry sector the company have business in and what product type being remanufactured. In this study it is found that there are mainly three general business drivers for remanufacturing. These are: profit, company policy and the environmental drivers. For remanufacturing to be successful, these drivers are crucial, although it does not propose that all of theses drivers have to be present for a successful remanufacturing system. When combining the profit, policy and environmental factors there is a great potential for a win-win-win situation, meaning that the customer gets a quality product at a lower price, the manufacturer reduces their manufacturing costs and the environment gains from a lower environmental impact.

A simulation approach to evaluate the impact of introducing RFID technologies in a three-level supply chain

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to analyze the impacts of RFID technologies on supply chain performances, in particular to evaluate their economical impacts and to conduct ROI (return-on-investment) analyses. We simulate a three-level supply chain in which thefts, misplacements and unavailable items for sale cause inventory inaccuracies that decrease the supply chain performance. We compare the effects of different RFID technologies and with different tagging levels for different product types. The main originality of our research is that we are considering that there are various possible RFID systems of different costs and potential profits. The results indicate that different technologies can improve the supply chain performance at different ratios. The economical impacts depend on the chosen technology, the tagging level and the product. Our analyses thus show that the ROI of RFID applications strongly depends on the settings.

Product placement of computer games in cyberspace.

Abstract: Computer games are considered an emerging media and are even regarded as an advertising channel. By a three-phase experiment, this study investigated the advertising effectiveness of computer games for different product placement forms, product types, and their combinations. As the statistical results revealed, computer games are appropriate for placement advertising. Additionally, different product types and placement forms produced different advertising effectiveness. Optimum combinations of product types and placement forms existed. An advertisement design model is proposed for use in game design environments. Some suggestions are given for advertisers and game companies respectively.

Mortgage Product Substitution and State Anti-Predatory Lending Laws: Better Loans and Better Borrowers?

Abstract: Mounting foreclosures and disclosures of abusive lending practices led many states to adopt new anti-predatory lending (APL) laws. Researchers have examined the impact of such laws on credit flows and the cost of credit. This research extends the literature by examining whether the market responded to these laws by substituting different mortgage products for those restricted by APL provisions. The evidence indicates that the laws were effective in restricting loans with targeted characteristics, and that the market substituted other product types to maintain access to credit and affordability in the face of these restrictions. The laws reduced the involvement of investor and second home purchases but appeared to impact borrower credit scores or down payments.

Who is gazing at whom? A look at how sex is used in magazine advertisements

Abstract: The portrayal of male and female advertising characters was examined to determine whether or not sex was used to sell a product. We defined sex as having at least one of three qualities. Two hundred and eighty-seven advertisements were content analyzed into four categories (gender of the actor, product type, whether or not sex was used to sell the product, and what kind of sexuality, if used, was shown). Most of the advertisements did not use sex to sell the product; however, if sex was used, it was more likely to appear in an advertisement aimed at a male audience. Objectified advertising characters were likely to be females alone or paired with males. Support was found for Mulvey's theory of the male gaze.

Scheduling orders on either dedicated or flexible machines in parallel to minimize total weighted completion time

Abstract: We are interested in the problem of scheduling orders for different product types in a facility with a number of machines in parallel. Each order asks for certain amounts of various different product types which can be produced concurrently. Each product type can be produced on a subset of the machines. Two extreme cases of machine environments are of interest. In the first case, each product type can be produced on one and only one machine which is dedicated to that product type. In the second case, all machines are identical and flexible; each product type can be produced by any one of the machines. Moreover, when a machine in this case switches over from one product type to another, no setup is required. Each order has a release date and a weight. Preemptions are not allowed. The objective is minimizing the total weighted completion time of the orders. Even when all orders are available at time 0, both types of machine environments have been shown to be NP-hard for any fixed number (≥2) of machines. This paper focuses on the design and analysis of approximation algorithms for these two machine environments. We also present empirical comparisons of the various algorithms. The conclusions from the empirical analyses provide insights into the trade-offs with regard to solution quality, speed, and memory space.

Decentralized multi-product multi-stage systems with backorders

Abstract: A multi-stage production/inventory system with decentralized two-card kanban control policies producing multiple product types is considered The system involves one-at-a-time processing at each stage, finite target levels in the buffers and batch transfers between production stages The demand process for each product is assumed to be Poisson and excess demand is backordered Products have a priority structure and the processor at each stage is shared according to a switching rule Our objective is to obtain steady-state performance measures such as the average inventory and service levels for each product type We propose an approximation algorithm based on: (i) characterization of the delay by a product type before receiving the processor's attention at each stage; and (ii) creation of subsystems for all the storage activity and phase-type modeling of the remaining system's behavior Numerical examples are presented to show the accuracy of the method and its potential use in system design

OSS Production and Licensing Strategies of Software Firms

Abstract: This study sheds light on the relatively recently emerged new business models employing open source activities in the software industry. We analyze data from 73 Finnish OSS companies' product type (i.e. proprietary vs. OSS product) and license type (i.e. the copyleft vs. non-copyleft licenses)choices. Our data indicate that firm ownership structure has a major influence on software firms' business strategies. Family owned firms tend to rely on the traditional proprietary software in their product selection, whereas diffusely held companies are more likely to supply OSS products. We also find that more service oriented firms are likely to offer more complementary products and further supply their products more often under the OS licenses. Moreover, the market trends concerning a firm's software products affect the license type decisions of the software firms. Consistent with the international data on the dominance of the Apache server that is released under the non-copyleft license, we find that servers are more likely to be licensed under the non-copyleft license. Our estimation results further suggest that a more restrictive form of open source licenses, the copyleft license, is used more often in those companies that have participated in open source software development projects. This finding is consistent with earlier studies that have found that more than 70% of the OSS development projects employ the GPL copyleft license.

Spinning the Web: The Interplay of Web Design Features and Product Types

Abstract: The objective of the study is to help online marketers in designing effective online stores. To accomplish that task we explore the mediating role of product types in consumers' evaluations of different characteristics of websites. Products are categorized using the FCB grid and web design features are identified based on past literature. To address the study objective we empirically test consumers' opinions and analyze the data using MANOVA procedures followed by ANOVA and t tests. The results of this research show that both product types and website characteristics influence how consumers view websites. Overall however, navigation, product comparison, and quality of information provided on the websites were found to be the most important across different product types.

Method and system for controlling production of items

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for controlling a production of items on a production line, wherein a digital image of each of said items is processed so as to obtain at least identified product type data and identified item data, said identified product type data and identified item data being further used for determining a reliable production volume per product type and per associated item.

On the relevance of IC ESD performance to product quality

Abstract: Correlations between ESD stress results and return rates are investigated for various product types. It appears that CDM data relates better to product quality than HBM and/or MM data. The paper clearly demonstrates the need for application specific stress standards to cover threats coming from external connections.

Exploring relationships between products characteristics and B2C interaction in electronic commerce

Abstract: The main purpose of the paper is to explore and discuss the influence of product type on customer interaction in electronic commerce. We have conducted two qualitative case studies in distance selling companies to inductively explore how the product characteristics of garments and music-CDs influence customer interaction. We apply a product classification scheme built on product theory to characterize and classify these products. By classifying product types according to this scheme we focus certain aspects; e.g., in which situation the customer uses the product and, thus, experiences potential satisfaction. By applying product theory to the electronic commerce context we are expanding this theory into a new area. Knowledge about product characteristics' influence on customer interaction in various phases of electronic commerce enriches and specifies the existing product theory. In order to put this theory contribution into practice, a set of focal questions with the aim to increase product understanding in an electronic commerce setting is formulated. The questions highlight product related issues that are important to consider when deciding communication media in electronic commerce.

Financial product design and implementation

Abstract: A front-to-back application suite may integrate new financial products on the fly, without a long development phase. A financial product type, such as a derivative product or structured product, may be created and integrated into a financial management suite for pricing, risk management analysis, deal capture, and trading activities. Information describing a financial product type, including one or more financial instruments and parameters, is received via a user interface and a meta language data script is generated to define the financial product type. A corresponding software object may be generated from the markup language data script and then invoked, for example, by interpreting code of the software object via a virtual machine. The new financial product type may be integrated into the financial management suite, so that specific deals may be created based on the financial product type and then trading activities involving the new deal may be performed within the financial management suite.

Integration of Product Use Information into PLM

Abstract: Today's product life cycle management (PLM) systems focus on supporting the early phases of the product life cycle. Downstream phases, such as the product use phase, are currently not, or only rudimentary flanked and supported. This paper presents a concept for integrating the product use phase into the PLM concept. It highlights the possibility of incorporating condition monitoring (CM) data from the product use phase into the development of following product generations and propagates the expansion of the conventional product type PLM with regard to the management of product item data, as it occurs within the product use phase.

Investigating the Effects of Product Type on Online Decision-Making Styles

Abstract: Decision-making styles have received attention from consumer behaviour researchers as a factor that influences consumer purchasing behaviour. This study explored whether online decision-making styles vary for different products, specifically tangible, standardized products (consumer electronics) and intangible, non-standardized products (accommodations). The findings showed a statistically significant effect for product type on perfectionism consciousness, brand consciousness, novelty and variety consciousness, as well as confusion by over-choice. The study concludes that online shopping for travel accommodation involves specific decision-making styles which need to be recognized by marketers and system designers.

Knowledge gathering methods and systems for transforming product descriptions into process networks

Abstract: Methods and systems for automated, local product classification through knowledge engineering aided by visual representation of the product may be combined with some targeted queries. A library of product descriptions, particularly, print product descriptions, are visualized and custom document visualizations can be created and added. Products in the library can be searched and managed via a query mechanism that filters on values of the product characteristics. Knowledge encoded in the visual representation is automatically mapped into the classification system's internal representation of the print products which is thus made common throughout the shop and may be made common across shops. The characteristics as described by the product visualization, in combination with ranges and other parameter constraints, can be subsequently mapped into the internal abstraction of product type representation of a conversation system for transforming product descriptions into process networks.

A new mathematical model for a distribution network problem in a multi-product supply chain system: a real-case study

Abstract: This paper presents a distribution network design problem in a multi-product supply chain system that involves locating production plants and distribution warehouses as well as determining the best strategy for distributing the product from plants to warehouses and from the warehouses to customers. The goal is to select the optimum numbers, locations and capacities of plants and warehouses to open, so that all customer demands of all product types are satisfied at minimum total costs of the distribution network. Unlike most of the previous researches, our study considers a multi-product supply chain system. We develop a mixed-integer mathematical programming model for designing a supply chain distribution network. Finally, this paper presents a real-case study to investigate designing a pharmaceutical supply chain distribution network. A possible extension is also offered in the conclusion.

The Platform Configuration for Product Family Production

Abstract: The focus of manufacturing has been shifting from mass production to mass customization and producers are seeking ways to reduce production costs, still offering a competitive basket of products. One approach for implementing mass customization is to develop or produce products based on platform architecture. We propose a platform based approach for the production of a product family under demand uncertainty. Using this approach, every product variant in the family may either be assembled directly from its components, or from any platform whose component set resembles those required by the product. The methodology seeks to minimize the overall production costs of the products, which include the costs of production, and holding cost of unused platform inventory and shortage cost of lost demands of products, while considering the stochastic demand of each product type. The problem is formulated as a two stage stochastic programming model with recourse. The platform formation problem for the economic production of a product family with stochastic demand of each of the product is modeled as a general optimization problem.

Internet Shopping Value, Store Image, Customer Satisfaction, and Re-Visit Intention - A Comparison by Product Types -

Abstract: This study aims to prove the connection between satisfaction and re-visit intention of customers by examining shopping value and store image depending on product types purchased at Internet shopping malls. The finding of this study revealed that shopping value could be classified into hedonic and utilitarian value, while store image could be extracted into six dimensions such as reputation, product and information service, customer service after purchase, atmosphere, convenience, and safety. Both search goods and experience goods among store image factors were found to have stronger effect on utilitarian shopping value than hedonic shopping one. In addition, it was found that store image and shopping value had an effect on customer satisfaction and re-visit intention depending on product types, with a significant difference. These findings are expected to provide marketing complications for the understanding of differentiated market segments in the Internet shopping mall market, which is facing ever-growing market.