• 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.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.3225-3262
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• 1974

The purposes of this thesis are to clarify experimentally the variation of ground water temperature in tube wells during the irrigation period of paddy rice, and the effect of ground water irrigation on the growth, grain yield and yield components of the rice plant, and, furthermore, when and why the plant is most liable to be damaged by ground water, and also to find out the effective ground water irrigation methods. The results obtained in this experiment are as follows; 1. The temperature of ground water in tube wells varies according to the location, year, and the depth of the well. The average temperatures of ground water in a tubewells, 6.3m, 8.0m deep are $14.5^{\circ}C$ and $13.1^{\circ}C$, respercively, during the irrigation period of paddy rice (From the middle of June to the end of September). In the former the temperature rises continuously from $12.3^{\circ}C$ to 16.4$^{\circ}C$ and in the latter from $12.4^{\circ}C$ to $13.8^{\circ}C$ during the same period. These temperatures are approximately the same value as the estimated temperatures. The temperature difference between the ground water and the surface water is approximately $11^{\circ}C$. 2. The results obtained from the analysis of the water quality of the "Seoho" reservoir and that of water from the tube well show that the pH values of the ground water and the surface water are 6.35 and 6.00, respectively, and inorganic components such as N, PO4, Na, Cl, SiO2 and Ca are contained more in the ground water than in the surface water while K, SO4, Fe and Mg are contained less in the ground water. 3. The response of growth, yield and yield components of paddy rice to ground water irrigation are as follows; (l) Using ground water irrigation during the watered rice nursery period(seeding date: 30 April, 1970), the chracteristics of a young rice plant, such as plant height, number of leaves, and number of tillers are inferior to those of young rice plants irrigated with surface water during the same period. (2) In cases where ground water and surface water are supplied separately by the gravity flow method, it is found that ground water irrigation to the rice plant delays the stage at which there is a maximum increase in the number of tillers by 6 days. (3) At the tillering stage of rice plant just after transplanting, the effect of ground water irrigation on the increase in the number of tillers is better, compared with the method of supplying surface water throughout the whole irrigation period. Conversely, the number of tillers is decreased by ground water irrigation at the reproductive stage. Plant height is extremely restrained by ground water irrigation. (4) Heading date is clearly delayed by the ground water irrigation when it is practised during the growth stages or at the reproductive stage only. (5) The heading date of rice plants is slightly delayed by irrigation with the gravity flow method as compared with the standing water method. (6) The response of yield and of yield components of rice to ground water irrigation are as follows: \circled1 When ground water irrigation is practised during the growth stages and the reproductive stage, the culm length of the rice plant is reduced by 11 percent and 8 percent, respectively, when compared with the surface water irrigation used throughout all the growth stages. \circled2 Panicle length is found to be the longest on the test plot in which ground water irrigation is practised at the tillering stage. A similar tendency as that seen in the culm length is observed on other test plots. \circled3 The number of panicles is found to be the least on the plot in which ground water irrigation is practised by the gravity flow method throughout all the growth stages of the rice plant. No significant difference is found between the other plots. \circled4 The number of spikelets per panicle at the various stages of rice growth at which_ surface or ground water is supplied by gravity flow method are as follows; surface water at all growth stages‥‥‥‥‥ 98.5. Ground water at all growth stages‥‥‥‥‥‥62.2 Ground water at the tillering stage‥‥‥‥‥ 82.6. Ground water at the reproductive stage ‥‥‥‥‥ 74.1. \circled5 Ripening percentage is about 70 percent on the test plot in which ground water irrigation is practised during all the growth stages and at the tillering stage only. However, when ground water irrigation is practised, at the reproductive stage, the ripening percentage is reduced to 50 percent. This means that 20 percent reduction in the ripening percentage by using ground water irrigation at the reproductive stage. \circled6 The weight of 1,000 kernels is found to show a similar tendency as in the case of ripening percentage i. e. the ground water irrigation during all the growth stages and at the reproductive stage results in a decreased weight of the 1,000 kernels. \circled7 The yield of brown rice from the various treatments are as follows; Gravity flow; Surface water at all growth stages‥‥‥‥‥‥514kg/10a. Ground water at all growth stages‥‥‥‥‥‥428kg/10a. Ground water at the reproductive stage‥‥‥‥‥‥430kg/10a. Standing water; Surface water at all growh stages‥‥‥‥‥‥556kg/10a. Ground water at all growth stages‥‥‥‥‥‥441kg/10a. Ground water at the reproductive stage‥‥‥‥‥‥450kg/10a. The above figures show that ground water irrigation by the gravity flow and by the standing water method during all the growth stages resulted in an 18 percent and a 21 percent decrease in the yield of brown rice, respectively, when compared with surface water irrigation. Also ground water irrigation by gravity flow and by standing water resulted in respective decreases in yield of 16 percent and 19 percent, compared with the surface irrigation method. 4. Results obtained from the experiments on the improvement of ground water irrigation efficiency to paddy rice are as follows; (1) When the standing water irrigation with surface water is practised, the daily average water temperature in a paddy field is 25.2$^{\circ}C$, but, when the gravity flow method is practised with the same irrigation water, the daily average water temperature is 24.5$^{\circ}C$. This means that the former is 0.7$^{\circ}C$ higher than the latter. On the other hand, when ground water is used, the daily water temperatures in a paddy field are respectively 21.$0^{\circ}C$ and 19.3$^{\circ}C$ by practising standing water and the gravity flow method. It can be seen that the former is approximately 1.$0^{\circ}C$ higher than the latter. (2) When the non-water-logged cultivation is practised, the yield of brown rice is 516.3kg/10a, while the yield of brown rice from ground water irrigation plot throughout the whole irrigation period and surface water irrigation plot are 446.3kg/10a and 556.4kg/10a, respectivelely. This means that there is no significant difference in yields between surface water irrigation practice and non-water-logged cultivation, and also means that non-water-logged cultivation results in a 12.6 percent increase in yield compared with the yield from the ground water irrigation plot. (3) The black and white coloring on the inside surface of the water warming ponds has no substantial effect on the temperature of the water. The average daily water temperatures of the various water warming ponds, having different depths, are expressed as Y=aX+b, while the daily average water temperatures at various depths in a water warming pond are expressed as Y=a(b)x (where Y: the daily average water temperature, a,b: constants depending on the type of water warming pond, X; water depth). As the depth of water warning pond is increased, the diurnal difference of the highest and the lowest water temperature is decreased, and also, the time at which the highest water temperature occurs, is delayed. (4) The degree of warming by using a polyethylene tube, 100m in length and 10cm in diameter, is 4~9$^{\circ}C$. Heat exchange rate of a polyethylene tube is 1.5 times higher than that or a water warming channel. The following equation expresses the water warming mechanism of a polyethylene tube where distance from the tube inlet, time in day and several climatic factors are given: {{{{ theta omega (dwt)= { a}_{0 } (1-e- { x} over { PHI v })+ { 2} atop { SUM from { { n}=1} { { a}_{n } } over { SQRT { 1+ {( n omega PHI) }^{2 } } } } LEFT { sin(n omega t+ { b}_{n }+ { tan}^{-1 }n omega PHI )-e- { x} over { PHI v }sin(n omega LEFT ( t- { x} over {v } RIGHT ) + { b}_{n }+ { tan}^{-1 }n omega PHI ) RIGHT } +e- { x} over { PHI v } theta i}}}}{{{{ { theta }_{$\infty$ }(t)= { { alpha theta }_{a }+ { theta }_{ w'} +(S- { B}_{s } ) { U}_{w } } over { beta } , PHI = { { cpDU}_{ omega } } over {4 beta } }}}} where $\theta$$\omega$; discharged water temperature($^{\circ}C$) $\theta$a; air temperature ($^{\circ}C$) $\theta$$\omega$';ponded water temperature($^{\circ}C$) s ; net solar radiation(ly/min) t ; time(tadian) x; tube length(cm) D; diameter(cm) ao,an,bn;constants determined from $\theta$$\omega$(t) varitation. cp; heat capacity of water(cal/$^{\circ}C$ ㎥) U,Ua; overall heat transfer coefficient(cal/$^{\circ}C$ $\textrm{cm}^2$ min-1) $\omega$;1 velocity of water in a polyethylene tube(cm/min) Bs ; heat exchange rate between water and soil(ly/min)