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This paper aims to investigate whether the consumers who return a product and those who end up keeping a product after experiencing post-purchase dissonance (PPD) possess distinct underlying characteristics.

Field survey study consisting of two separate surveys conducted with consumers of New York City and neighboring areas of New York and New Jersey.

Product returners and keepers exhibited disparate demographic profiles regarding gender and household income, along with ethnicity to some extent. The two groups also exhibited different predispositions with regard to confidence in the purchase decision and expectations about their purchase. Finally, returners and keepers were engaged in divergent thoughts, feelings and activities to cope with PPD.

The findings of this study offer marketing practitioners new knowledge and insight into understanding product returners and keepers and will assist them in developing strategies to reduce and manage increasing product returns by consumers more effectively.

This study is the first to present empirical evidence that product returners and keepers have distinct profiles of demographic characteristics and predispositions toward purchase. The study also has found divergent PPD coping strategies used by the two types of consumers, which exposes an obsolete understanding of PPD in the marketing literature.

This study aims to investigate the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the relationship between buyer firms' corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities toward business partners, such as suppliers, and firm value. The study further explores the role of ownership structure in shaping this relationship.

The authors employ a difference-in-differences (DID) regression method to distinguish between the periods before and during the COVID-19 crisis. The authors utilize data from firms listed on the Korean stock market between 2013 and 2020.

The results show that CSR activities for suppliers have a positive impact on the value of buyer firms. Furthermore, this positive relationship is amplified during the COVID-19 period. In addition, the study finds that the positive relationship is more prominent in samples with higher ownership by controlling shareholders or foreign investors.

Overall, this study makes a valuable contribution to the existing literature by examining the positive effects of CSR activities on firm value and by shedding light on the role of ownership structure in influencing these effects. Additionally, the study emphasizes the significance of CSR activities for business partners in mitigating supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the global economy continues to boom, there remains a significant need for more efficient transportation and effective management in corporate logistics. In this regard, railways have been considered one of the most efficient modes for long distance transportation. In Asia, there are several extensive and direct railroads such as the TSR (Trans-Siberian-Railroad), the TCR (Trans-Chinese-Railroad) and the TMR (Trans-Mongolian-Railroad) which could connect Asia to Europe. If these railroad networks such as the TKR (Trans-Korean-Railroad) were fully operational, it is expected that they would replace a major portion of the current global trade transportation with is sent through other shipping methods. Therefore, the development of railroad networks is one of the most important steps toward an integrated international transportation system. However, in reality, it is difficult to achieve this vision because of the political and economic problems surrounding multiple countries that this network must cut across. Moreover, it is difficult to ensure the railways’ economic competitiveness when it is compared with other logistics options. In this study, we aim to discover the status quo about railway networks by focusing on the TCR and TSR. Through in-depth interviews and surveys with actual users of these networks, current issues and problems are analysed in order to make suggestions for improvements. This research also provides meaningful insights which the TKR-TSR and TKR-TCR railway networks should consider if they want to continue to be successful in the future.

The purpose of this article is to furnish empirical evidence on the degree of performance of the 23 major requirements of the ISO 9001:2000 standard implemented at Korean shipbuilding machinery manufacturing companies.

Deep interviews and surveys were made to measure how well the companies comply with the requirements of the new standard. Correlation analysis, standard t‐tests, and one‐way ANOVA were employed to identify significant differences for each major requirement depending on company size, top management type, implementation motive, and operating period.

Large‐sized companies achieved compliance with monitoring and measurement better than small‐sized ones; professional manager‐CEOs accomplished compliance with nine major requirements better than owner‐CEOs; companies that certified because of internal development reasons performed compliance with seven major requirements better than those that certified because of customer request; companies with different operating periods showed significant difference in performance for infrastructure, purchasing, and monitoring and measurement.

Adds to the body of knowledge concerning the ISO 9000(2000) version focused on Korean shipbuilding machinery manufacturing companies.

This study argues that the literature on public‐private distinction has failed to distinguish among different types of organizational culture found in the public sector, while recognizing other important differences. Drawing upon a distinctive bureaucratic culture in South Korea, this study seeks to examine Korean public and private managers' perceptual and attitudinal differences associated with their levels of organizational commitment. Influenced by Confucian values and experience with past military regimes, Korean public managers score higher on their perceived job prestige and perceived centralization than do their counterparts in the private sector. No significant differences are found in the dimensions of commitment to stay, job satisfaction, and perceived inequity between the two sectors. This study also reveals that one of the powerful antecedents of organizational commitment in the Korean public sector is the job prestige perceived by public managers. Finally, implications are discussed.

After the Korean War, South Korean politics was dominated by national security concerns. Reversing Carl von Clausewitz's well-known dictum, in South Korea, “politics is the continuation of war by other means.” Until the late 1980s, politics in South Korea was far from democratic. South Korea had five direct presidential elections (1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, and 2007) and six national assembly elections (1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008) after the democratic transition of 1987. In 1992, a civilian candidate, Young Sam Kim, was elected president. Young Sam Kim (1993–1998) prosecuted and punished former generals turned presidents Doo Hwan Chun (1980–1988) and Tae Woo Roh (1988–1993) for corruption, mutiny and treason in 1995. Dae Jung Kim (1998–2003) was elected president in 1997. For the first time in South Korean political history, regime change occurred between a ruling party and an opposition party.

In this chapter, the change and continuity of civil–military relations through the fluctuating dynamics of the democratic transition and consolidation in South Korea is examined. A positive consolidation of democratic reform is one that, while securing indisputable civilian supremacy, grants the military enough institutional autonomy for the efficient pursuit of its mission. Civilian supremacy should be institutionalized not only by preventing military intervention in civilian politics but also by ensuring civilian control over the formation and implementation of national defense policy.

In sum, despite three terms of civilian presidency, civilian supremacy has not yet fully institutionalized. Although significant changes in civil-military relations did occur after the democratic transition, they were not initiated by elected leaders with the intention of establishing a firm institutional footing for civilian supremacy. South Korea's political leaders have not crafted durable regulations and institutions that will sustain civilian control over the military.

More than six decades, Korea is still divided. The most highly militarized zone in the world lies along the demilitarized zone. How to draw the line prudently between seeking national security and promoting democracy shall be the most delicate task facing all the civilian regimes to come in South Korea. That mission will remain challenging not only for civilian politicians but also for military leaders.