Department of Apparel, Housing, and Resource Management

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Browsing Department of Apparel, Housing, and Resource Management by Author "Chen-Yu, Jessie H."

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    Comparisons of fabric care performances between conventional and high-efficiency washers and dryers
    Chen-Yu, Jessie H.; Emmel, JoAnn (2018-08-30)
    High-efficiency (HE) washers use 35–50% less water and about 50% less energy per load than conventional washers. However, there has been a consistent debate as to whether HE washers perform better or worse in garment care than conventional washers. Consumers need research-based information that would help them make informed decisions concerning the purchase of a clothes washer. The purpose of this study was to compare fabric hand, appearance retention (strain removal, color change, and fabric smoothness), and dimension stability (dimensional change and skewness change) after the specimens were repeatedly washed and dried for up to 20 cycles in three combinations of washer and dryer used: (a) conventional washer and dryer, (b) HE washer and conventional dryer, and (c) HE washer and dryer. The results showed that the specimens washed in the HE washer had better fabric hand and were smoother (fewer wrinkles) than those washed in the conventional washer. Conventional and HE washers performed similarly in color change, dimensional change, and skewness change. In regard to dryer, all results except those for stain removal showed no significant differences between the specimens dried in the conventional dryer and those dried in the HE dryer. In stain removal, when a softener was not used, the conventional dryer removed more stains from the specimens than the HE dryer. However, when a softener was used, the stains on the specimens dried in the conventional dryer were more difficult to remove than those on the specimens dried in the HE dryer.
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    Effects of price discount on consumers’ perceptions of savings, quality, and value for apparel products: mediating effect of price discount affect
    Lee, Jung E.; Chen-Yu, Jessie H. (2018-02-15)
    Extending the price–quality–value model (Monroe and Krishnan in The perception of merchandise and store quality 209–232, 1985) and means-end model (Zeithaml in J Mark 52:2–22, 1988), we developed a conceptual model to investigate the mediating role of price discount affect (feeling aroused by price discounts) in the relationship between price discounts and consumers’ perceptions (perceived savings, quality, and value) and in the relationship between perceived value and purchase intentions in the context of online apparel products. A between-subject experimental design with four levels of price discounts (10, 30, 50, and 70%) was used. Jeans were selected as the product stimulus. Web pages were developed to create a fictional online store and to collect data. A total of 209 usable responses were collected by a research firm in the United States, and structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the data. The results showed that price discount affect played an important mediating role in the relationship between price discounts and consumers’ perceptions. When the direct effect of price discounts on perceived quality was examined, consumers perceived the apparel product with higher discounts as lower quality (i.e., a negative direct relationship). However, when price discount affect served as a mediator, the feelings created by a price discount led to a positive perception of product quality (i.e., a positive indirect relationship). By considering the influence of price discount affect, our model provides a better understanding of the effect of price discounts on consumers’ perceptions of apparel products.