Consumer preferences for gender typicality in front-line services staff in the United States vis-à-vis South Korea: an experimental approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (8) ◽  
pp. 1839-1864
Author(s):  
Andrew Timming ◽  
Chris Baumann ◽  
Paul Gollan
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Consumer Preference ◽  
The United States ◽  
Consumer Spending ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gender Typicality ◽  
Line Staff

Purpose This study aims to examine how variations in the perceived gender (a)typicality of front-line staff impact on consumer spending. Gender typicality is defined here as traditionally masculine-looking men and feminine-looking women, whereas gender atypicality, in contrast, refers to feminine-looking men and masculine-looking women. Design/methodology/approach Using an experimental design, the authors use simulated consumption scenarios across two separate studies, one in the USA and the other in South Korea. In each study, the authors investigate main and interaction effects in relation to front-line employees’ race (white vis-à-vis Asian) and baseline gender (originally male vis-à-vis originally female). Findings Across the two studies, consumers spent more money with gender-typical female front-line staff or, alternatively stated, less money with more masculine-looking female front-line staff. The effect of the male service staff was more complicated. In both countries, the authors found a significant consumer preference for gender-atypical (i.e. more feminine-looking), Asian male employees, compared to more masculine-looking Asian men. Research limitations/implications The experimental design strengthens claims of not only good internal validity but also weakens the generalizability of the findings. Field research is needed to explore these effects in various workplaces and sectors. The authors also acknowledge the limitations of operationalizing the gender (a)typicality of front-line staff by manipulating facial structures. Future research should manipulate gender (a)typicality using sociological and performative indicators. Practical implications The authors contribute to ongoing debates surrounding the legality and ethics of regulating employee appearance in the workplace. Employers must consider whether this type of “lookism” is legally and morally defensible. Originality/value This is, to the knowledge, the first-ever study to examine the effect of front-line employee gender non-conformity on consumer behavior and decision-making. The authors show how variations in perceived gender (a)typicality can, variously, promote or retard consumer spending. The study is original in that it shifts the debate from traditional studies of between-gender differences to a focus on within-gender differences. The key value of the research is that it shines a much-needed light on the changing role of gender in the workplace.

Gender differences in academic entrepreneurship: experience, attitudes and outcomes among NSF I-CORPS participants

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alanna Epstein ◽  
Nathalie Duval-Couetil ◽  
Aileen Huang-Saad
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intention ◽  
The United States ◽  
Technology Commercialization ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Interactions

PurposeExpanding access to entrepreneurship training programs can be a method to increase female involvement in technology commercialization only if these programs adequately address the specific challenges facing female faculty and graduate students. In the context of the US National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps) program, this study examines gender differences in prior experience and attitudes towards the training in order to propose improvements to the program design.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative study uses Pearson's Chi-Square and ANOVA tests on survey data from the I-Corps national program (n = 2,195), which enrolls faculty members, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and industry experts.FindingsIn comparison to male participants, female I-Corps participants reported less entrepreneurial experience prior to the program, poorer team relationships during the program and lower entrepreneurial intention and technology commercialization readiness at both the beginning and the end of the program. However, no gender differences were found in positive or negative perceptions of the instructional climate or perceptions of program usefulness.Originality/valueThis study is unique as it is based on a large-scale dataset drawn from sites across the United States. The results support potential changes to I-Corps and similar programs, including providing more explicit instructions for tasks with which female participants have less prior experience than males (e.g. in applying for patents), offering guidance for team interactions, and providing mentorship to assess whether low self-efficacy is leading women to underestimate the potential success of their projects.

scholarly journals Genome Sequences of Two Bacillus Phages Isolated from Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (50) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoga A. Handoko ◽  
Agustin K. Wardani ◽  
Aji Sutrisno ◽  
Simon B. Widjanarko ◽  
Trever L. Thurgood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Korea ◽  
The United States ◽  
Genome Sequences ◽  
Content Type

Here, the genome sequences of two soil bacteriophages isolated from a red chili plantation in Indonesia are presented. The genome of vB_BspS_SplendidRed (42,859 bp) is highly similar to Bacillus phage Ray17 from the United States, while vB_BspM_MarvelLand (156,945 bp) is highly similar to Bacillus phage BC01 from South Korea.

Fear of terrorism and its correlates in young men and women from the United States and South Korea

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-32
Author(s):  
Fang Hong ◽  
Yijing Lin ◽  
Mikyung Jang ◽  
Amanda Tarullo ◽  
Majed Ashy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Moral Disengagement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
The Usa

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine associations between fear of terrorism and several predictors (gender and nationality) and outcomes (moral disengagement, authoritarianism, aggression and social anxiety) in the USA and South Korean young adults. Of particular interest were the potential moderating and mediating roles of moral disengagement between fear of terrorism and the other outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Samples of 251 college students from the USA and 211 college students from South Korea completed survey packets including measures of fear of terrorism, moral disengagement, authoritarianism, aggression and social anxiety. Findings US participants expressed greater concern about a terrorist threat to their country, while South Koreans worried more about terrorist threats to their family or themselves. Females in both countries reported greater fear of terrorism and social anxiety. In both countries, fear of terrorism was associated with aggression, social anxiety and moral disengagement. Mediation analyses showed that fear of terrorism exerted a significant direct effect and an indirect effect via moral disengagement on aggression and authoritarianism in the US sample. Moderation analyses revealed that moral disengagement moderated the relationship between fear of terrorism and social anxiety in the Korean sample. Research limitations/implications This study has the common limitations of cross-sectional studies; i.e. it cannot prove causal relationships. Practical implications The findings support Albert Bandura’s view that efforts to address the excesses of counterterrorism and other negative outcomes of fear of terrorism, attending to issues of moral disengagement may be helpful. Originality/value The authors findings provide support for the view that fear of terrorism is associated with negative psychological and social outcomes and that moral disengagement can play an important role in those negative outcomes. Moreover, it adds to evidence that the negative role of moral disengagement shows considerable generalizability across gender and two very different cultures.

Trump may destabilise Korean Peninsula

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Korean Peninsula ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
North And South ◽  
Trump Administration

Subject US relations with North and South Korea under the incoming Trump administration. Significance The period of transition to Donald Trump's presidency in the United States has displayed neglect and misunderstanding of Korean peninsula affairs, adding to risks for the region as it approaches a period of significant strategic challenge. Impacts Until Trump's team enunciates policy on the Koreas, responses to events will be unprepared and reactive. Trump's policy will influence presidential elections in South Korea, where left-of-centre candidates question the value of the US alliance. The Trump administration’s policy and communication via Twitter heightens risk of misunderstanding within the region.

Ageing workforce will dampen South Korea’s GDP outlook

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Gdp Growth ◽  
Consumer Spending ◽  
Us South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ageing Workforce ◽  
Pull Out ◽  
The Us ◽  
Net Export

Significance Year-on-year GDP growth was little changed at 2.7% in the first quarter after easing to 2.8% in 2015 and 2016 from an average of 3.7% in the five years to 2014. In 2016 consumer spending grew by less than 2.5%, machinery investment did not grow at all and net export volumes subtracted from growth. Impacts The US administration may threaten to pull out of the US-South Korea free-trade deal unless terms are renegotiated. Samsung in the first quarter of 2017 reported its best profits since 2013, but it will face an increasingly competitive market. Talk of reunification with North Korea as a solution to demographic pressures is fanciful.

US rhetoric masks absence of fresh North Korea policy

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
National Security ◽  
North Korea ◽  
National Security Council ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The North ◽  
Nuclear Focus ◽  
Nuclear Issue

Significance South Korea’s unification minister (MOU) warned on April 10 that any US strike on North Korea would put “the safety of the public” at risk. A day later, Seoul’s defence (MND) and foreign (MFA) ministries dismissed rumours on local social media of an imminent war crisis as “overblown” and “groundless”, respectively. Moon Jae-in, the liberal opposition candidate whom most polls predict will win the May 9 snap presidential election, said he does not expect a US pre-emptive strike on the North. However, Moon also warned Washington that South Korea is “the concerned party” which “owns” peninsula-related matters, including the nuclear issue. Impacts Experienced military professionals in Trump’s cabinet and National Security Council are a restraining influence. South Korea and Japan, being in the front line, will counsel their US protector against any action that might imperil their security. If Moon Jae-in is elected, his desire to re-engage the North will clash with Trump’s hard-line attitude and narrow nuclear focus. After his smooth -- if insubstantial -- summit with Xi, Trump’s threatened unilateralism on North Korea is likely to stop at sanctions.

Pyongyang provocations signal end of detente

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Korea ◽  
The United States ◽  
Peace Accord ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Military Exercises ◽  
Supreme Leader ◽  
Do So

Significance It had threatened to do so during a fortnight of ever more violent rhetoric against South Korea and its president, spearheaded by supreme leader Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong. Pyongyang now threatens to nullify the 2018 peace accord by reactivating vacant border guard posts and holding military exercises near the Demilitarised Zone. Impacts President Donald Trump’s impulsiveness and a live dispute over history between Seoul and Tokyo hamper a coordinated response. Trump is unlikely to perceive yielding to pressure from Kim as something that will boost his chances of re-election. Tokyo’s recent suspension of a new missile defence project will reduce its ability to protect the United States from North Korean missiles. Increasing hostility between Washington and Beijing may reduce the latter’s willingness to put pressure on Pyongyang.

Pyongyang will press its advantage at Trump summit

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Korean War ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
South Korean ◽  
The Korean War ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Two Sides

Significance Eight months on, there is little progress on the key issues discussed at the Singapore summit: there has been no formal end to the Korean War, and the two sides are yet to agree on what ‘denuclearisation’ means in practice. Impacts As part of a deal in Hanoi, Trump may offer sanctions relief that allows inter-Korean initiatives to proceed. Seoul and Tokyo fear a deal that removes the threat to the United States but leaves Pyongyang’s regional capabilities intact. Serious deterioration of relations between Japan and South Korea strengthens Pyongyang’s position. If inter-Korean initiatives fail, the prospects rise of South Korean conservatives recapturing the legislature in next year's election.

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