Earticle

Research has emphasized that relationship marketing programs enhance customer satisfaction and reduce switching intentions by building switching barriers. However, the psychological reactance theory demonstrates that building switching barriers can make customers fsel that the alternative not chosen is more attractive, because their freedom of choice has been deprived. It can be hypothesized that a relationship marketing program, which is intended to offer various benefits to customers, may not result in positive customer attitude and behavior. This paper examines the effects of relationship marketing programs on customers' perceptions of switching cost and loss of freedom. The effects of those perceptions on customer satisfaction and switching intentions were identified. In addition, the moderating role of personal reactance was examined. The results of this study suggest that (1) perceived switching cost has significant influence on boosting perceived loss of freedom; (2) perceived loss of freedom has no significant effects on customer satisfaction; (3) perceived loss of freedom enhances customers' switching intentions. Furthermore, psychological reactance has a significant influence on customers' switching intentions. This study concludes that the role of relationship marketing programs should be reconsidered, especially in terms of customers' switching intentions. Customer satisfaction is not the key factor of predicting customers' future behavior.

This research investigates the effect of leisure activities on lifestyle satisfaction of senior citizens. The target of this research is 202 people over 60 years of age who live in Seoul. Collected data was analyzed using frequency, percentage, average, T-test, one-way ANONA, and logistic regression analysis. SPSS and the Excel PC Program were used for the analysis. The following is the summary of the result of this research. First - in terms of participation in leisure activities: more active participation is observed with the elderly who have a spouse than with those who do not in every kind of leisure activity (except for the pastime activities). Second - all of the variables indicating the level of satisfaction from activities of the seniors who have a spouse are by far higher than those of the elderly who have no spouse. Third - the leisure activities and the satisfaction from the activities prove affective variables on whether they have a spouse or not. Notably, the religious leisure activities are enjoyed more by those senior citizens who are married. Comparatively, the unmarried senior citizens participate more actively in recreational and pastime leisure activities. This study suggests various practical means to promote leisure activities to the elderly and to raise the level of satisfaction received from those activities, as well as to help those who are concerned with understanding and improving lifestyle satisfaction of the elderly population. Nonetheless, this analysis is limited due to the restriction on the number of objects and samples studied. Therefore, studies to analyze leisure activities by regions in order to account for a more balanced set of systematical tools should follow.

The purpose of this study is to determine how the culture of modern mass consumption is understood in determining a decent lifestyle. This study examined a variety of literature on this problem. The important results are as follows. The culture of consumption has evolved through the increase of productivity in modern industry. People's desires have instigated a developing consumption culture: the concepts of advertising, fashion, over-consumption, and conspicuous consumption. The dissemination of this new consumption culture in an information-rich society, facilitated by the popularization of the Internet, has started to influence every nook and comer of our lives. This change of lifestyle has resulted not only in positive effects, but also in negative ones, such as distortion of information, and inequality. Thus the culture of modern mass consumption has created a new concept of class order and has reinforced the unbalance between opinion-leaders and opinion-followers. It has also increased the ratio of needs to wants. Consumption makes escape and sensual pleasure possible. The conclusion of this study is that the culture of modern mass consumption has not upheld its original purpose, that is, the qualitative enrichment of life through consumption. It has only caused the disintegration of individuality.

In this study, the investigator examined employees' work-family conflict, and analyzed its relationship with family health, to clarify the two-way influence of work-family and to verify the influence of a family friendship system based upon work-family compatibility and a healthy family. Data from 379 married female and male corporate employees were collected. Collected data were analyzed on the SPSS WIN 12.0 program. Study findings are as follows: First - For the individual, in domain variables of work-family conflict according to socio-demographic characteristics, gender has a significant influence upon strain-based conflict, family interference with work, and time-based conflict. Second - Work domain variables such as occupation, career, employment type, and working hours have a significant influence upon work interference with family, while career, and a working couple have a significant influence upon family interference with work. Finally - average housework hours and children have a significant influence upon work interference with family, whereas the length of a marriage, the average housework hours, and a housework helper have a significant influence upon family interference with work.

The purpose of this study is to examine support policies regarding work and family reconciliation, to suggest plans to improve workplace policies, and to suggest directions for further studies. This study looks at OECD's work-life reconciliation policies as well as family friendly workplace policies in Korea to find a way to enhance business' receptiveness and implementation of the policies. By examining women's labor conditions, this study finds that family friendly workplace policies are necessarily imminent in our society of low fertility and ageing. Along with the evaluation of benefit level and the effectiveness of current policies, this study uses data from interviews with working mothers who have had the experience of family friendly benefits. The results of the analyses suggest that the government should focus on improving the workplace environment in companies that do not show bias against the use of family friendly policies. In order to farm more successful policies, future studies are needed to analyze the changes of fertility, working conditions, support programs, and benefits.

This study focuses on time management behavior, which differs in (1) the characteristics of schools and (2) the experience of education about time management. Also, this study examines the effect of time management behavior on life satisfaction of vocational and non-vocational high school students, and also those who attend life-long education schools. The study sample consists of 367 teen-age high school students in Seoul. The result of this study demonstrates that the experience of education about time management has a great effect on time management behavior. Students experiencing education about time management have higher scores in time management behavior than those who lack such experience. It also shows a close relationship between time management behavior and life satisfaction in non-vocational high school students and those attending life-long education schools.

This study was designed to verify the influence of mothers on their young adults in pro-environmental consuming consciousness and behavior. The compiled data are based on the responses of questionnaires from 278 young adults who reside in Seoul, Korea. The data were analyzed by frequency, standard deviation, mean, unitary dispersion, rank revolution analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple regression analysis by SPSS 14.0K for Windows. This study has discovered the following: First. A mother's pro-environmental consuming behavior is one of the most important factors significantly influencing a young adult's consciousness and behavior. Second. A friendly and positive consciousness about the environment enhances pro-environmental consuming behavior. A close inter-relationship exists between consciousness and behavior. However, some significant discrepancy was found between pro-environmental consuming consciousness and pro-environmental consuming behavior; that is, the level of pro-environmental consciousness was higher than the level of pro-environmental behavior. Third. Sensitivity to environmental information influenced pro-environmental consumption consciousness and behavior. Female students are more concerned about and sensitive to environmental matters than are male students. Fourth. Among the subordinate dependent variables, recycling behavior is most influenced by independent variables. Among the pro-environmental consuming behavior sector, a mother's disposal behavior exerts the most influence on the young adult's behavior. In the results of this study, it is pointed out that it is absolutely necessary fur young adults to bring up their practice level of pro-environmental purchase and consuming behaviors, and it is advised that appropriate and relevant education programs should be developed.