• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.29-62
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• 2012

As distribution environment is changing rapidly and competition is more intensive in the channel of distribution, the importance of retailer image and retailer equity is increasing as a different competitive advantages. Also, consumers are not functionally oriented and that their behavior is significantly affected by the symbols such as retailer image which identify retailer in the market place. That is, consumers do not choose products or retailers for their material utilities but consume the symbolic meaning of those products or retailers as expressed in their self images. The concept of self-image congruence has been utilized by marketers and researchers as an aid in better understanding how consumers identify themselves with the brands they buy and the retailer they patronize. Although self-image congruity theory has been tested across many product categories, the theory has not been tested extensively in the retailing. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate the impact of self image congruence between retailer image and self image of consumer on retailer equity such as retailer awareness, retailer association, perceived retailer quality, and retailer loyalty. The purpose of this study is to find out whether retailer-self image congruence can be a new antecedent of retailer equity. In addition, this study tries to examine how four-dimensional retailer equity constructs (retailer awareness, retailer association, perceived retailer quality, and retailer loyalty) affect customers' repatronage intention. For this study, data were gathered by survey and analyzed by structural equation modeling. The sample size in the present study was 254. The reliability of the all seven dimensions was estimated with Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability values and average variance extracted values. We determined whether the measurement model supports the convergent validity and discriminant validity by Exploratory factor analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. For each pair of constructs, the square root of the average variance extracted values exceeded their correlations, thus supporting the discriminant validity of the constructs. Hypotheses were tested using the AMOS 18.0. As expected, the image congruence hypotheses were supported. The greater the degree of congruence between retailer image and self-image, the more favorable were consumers' retailer evaluations. The all two retailer-self image congruence (actual self-image congruence and ideal self-image congruence) affected customer based retailer equity. This result means that retailer-self image congruence is important cue for customers to estimate retailer equity. In other words, consumers are often more likely to prefer products and retail stores that have images similar to their own self-image. Especially, it appeared that effect for the ideal self-image congruence was consistently larger than the actual self-image congruence on the retailer equity. The results mean that consumers prefer or search for stores that have images compatible with consumer's perception of ideal-self. In addition, this study revealed that customers' estimations toward customer based retailer equity affected the repatronage intention. The results showed that all four dimensions (retailer awareness, retailer association, perceived retailer quality, and retailer loyalty) had positive effect on the repatronage intention. That is, management and investment to improve image congruence between retailer and consumers' self make customers' positive evaluation of retailer equity, and then the positive customer based retailer equity can enhance the repatonage intention. And to conclude, retailer's image management is an important part of successful retailer performance management, and the retailer-self image congruence is an important antecedent of retailer equity. Therefore, it is more important to develop and improve retailer's image similar to consumers' image. Given the pressure to provide increased image congruence, it is not surprising that retailers have made significant investments in enhancing the fit between retailer image and self image of consumer. The enhancing such self-image congruence may allow marketers to target customers who may be influenced by image appeals in advertising.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.28-30
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• 1978

Communication actions as a social band or Human community stick (fast) to human being ceaselessly w without stopping everywhere. All of comm. actions can be kept up and developed by the education of its own. Comm. actions have to include a character of social process, and so for it the social science should t to be some essential part of it. Therefore, Comm. education have to be schemed for achieving with a point of view of synthetical s science including technical and social factor. However, recentry Comm. education be suffered to lose of itowns essential attribute and individual i independence becausing to reduce social weight recklessly in their education It is a prindiple that Comm. science is an integrate science being composed of human, social and t technical subdepartments and so comm. education have to obey for Comm. constuctional theory, i international and social claim. Originally in Korea a educational idea and genealogy forming by the comm. scientific theory has I inherited on orthodoxy. But in 1961, communication college that is only the orthodox model of Comm. education, was f forced to close by some reckless policy and then the national administration for the Comm. education h have been weakened, and so recently it’s education became to degenerate as out of genealogy or n nonsystem alike some scattering Family. On the other side, today comm. science make to it’s modern scientific factor and to keep its l integrate level, therefore, all of educational provisions and administration for the telecomm. should t to be supplement to be fit for their plural chatacters. Comm. education have to occupy an individual educational system through the comm. theory, and t then it can be coexisted with neighbour scientific field equally and can include, connect coordinate o or effect its inference in each subfactor organically. Finally, educational system for telecommunication should to be requested as preeedence that i independent field including pluralism must be formed and sufficient autonomy be guarenteed, and s so Comm. education must be to restored its orthodox genealogy and be recovered individual system a and seIfrestraint field, and then it can be accomplished its own duty for nation and society.