Brand equity is a valuable intangible asset for companies, yet is increasingly difficult in managing in an era with hard to control social media. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of social media usage characteristics on electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM), trust, and brand equity by dividing the characteristics to personality, social, and information. A survey was administered to 430 respondents who had experience of using airline social media and the collected data was analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results showed that the personality and informational characteristics from social media usage had statistically significant effects on e-WOM. It was found that the e-WOM had significant effects on trust and also on brand awareness. The trust was shown to have a statistically significant effect on brand awareness and brand image. Therefore, this study categorizes social media usage characteristics into three characteristics: personality characteristics, social characteristics, and information characteristics, and each of these usage characteristics present a strategy to improve actual brand equity of airline through e-WOM and trust in empirical methods. The findings of this study are expected to provide fundamental data for the development of strategies related to airline social media. In addition, this study has implications for suggesting to improve brand equity through e-WOM and trust.

This paper analyzes the effects of airport self-service characteristics on behavioral intention through the perceived values and satisfaction in passengers based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model. For this purpose, a survey was conducted with passengers having used self-service technologies (SSTs) at Incheon International Airport. A total of 400 questionnaires were then analyzed using structural equation modeling. Four SST factors—functionality, enjoyment, customization, and convenience—were found to have significant effects on behavioral intention through the perceived values and customer satisfaction. As for the moderating effects of self-efficacy and waiting time, significant differences were found in the effects of the airport self-service characteristics. The results of this study are expected to be useful as basic data to aid strategies to develop and improve SSTs at Incheon International Airport.

This study aims to intensively analyze the effects of Incheon International Airport’s implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on its reputation. CSR activities constitute a significant role as management strategies and sustain their business reputation in the airport industry based on the Incheon International airport in Korea. The purpose of this study is to provide CSR activities to promote the sustainable development of airports by verifying the impact of CSR on airport reputation through mediate variables within the airport industry in consideration of the value and importance of CSR. A survey was conducted for a total of 297 Incheon International Airport users, and the collected data was analyzed using the structural equation model. As a result, it was found that CSR has a positive effect on reputation. Therefore, CSR activities can positively enhance customer perception, strengthen the importance of sustainability, and play a very important role in Korea’s airport industry. It is expected that the results of this study will be used as basic data to emphasize the relative importance of airports’ CSR activities to enhance the reputation of airports in Korea and have a positive impact on sustainable development.

Korean duty-free shops sales rank first among duty-free shops around the world (Generation Research, 2018) and have become a target of interest for academics and industry observers. In particular, attention has been focused on variables affecting the shopping behavior of this fast-growing segment of online duty-free shop users. In this research, the main variables of the technology innovation acceptance model and the target-oriented behavior model are added. Focus is placed on the decomposed theory of planned behavior, and the variables affecting the behavioral intention are identified. A survey is conducted with users of online duty-free shops (Internet, mobile) as targets, and an analysis of the structural equation model is utilized. Among the technology innovation acceptance variables, the factors affecting attitude are compatibility and perceived usefulness. It is determined that only perceived behavioral control has a significant effect on behavioral intention, which is a dependent variable of the decomposed theory of planned behavior, and the attitude and subjective norms are found to have a significant effect on both desire and behavioral intention. Thus, it is confirmed that attitude is a key variable in explaining this research model. This research has academic implications because it examines variables affecting the behavioral intention of online duty-free shop users by integrating the theory of technology innovation acceptance and the decomposed theory of planned behavior, with the addition of a desire variable. Moreover, there are practical implications in that online duty-free shop operators have provided meaningful basic data to establish differentiated marketing strategies from offline duty-free shops with the goal of expanding use. The results of this study are expected to serve as basic data for increasing the behavioral intention of online duty-free shop users and promoting the sustainable development of online duty-free shops in South Korea.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a significant factor in determining business sustainability. This trend is particularly evident in the airline industry, as airlines endeavor to navigate highly competitive market circumstances. CSR activities constitute a significant duty as one of the survival strategies and to sustain their business based on the customer loyalty in the airline industry in Korea. The purpose of this research was to explore the influence of CSR on airline loyalty through meaningful mediators within the airline industry in order to elicit important insights and provide relevant conclusions for airline experts to apply toward business sustainability. This study employed three factors—passenger satisfaction, airline brand, and airline trust—as key mediators between CSR and airline loyalty. An online survey was carried out through private SNS channels targeting airline service users, and 312 completed surveys were collected. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) enabled the study to determine that CSR activities among airlines significantly impact passenger satisfaction, airline brand, and airline trust. Moreover, passenger satisfaction and airline trust have a notable influence on airline loyalty. Limitations and implications for both academia and management are also presented based on the results of this research.