Past research has shown that the self-congruity effect (Sirgy, 1982) is an important key predictor for consumers’ responses (e.g., attitude, purchase intention, choice, satisfaction, and loyalty) toward various marketing stimuli such as brand, store, and product (Barone, Shimp, and Sprott, 1999; Sirgy, Grewal, & Mangleburg, 2000). The self-congruity effect refers to the match between consumers’ actual self-concept and the image of objects compared, such as brand image, product image, store image, and advertising materials (Choi & Rifon, 2012; Sirgy, Grewal, & Mangleburg, 2000). These relationships, however, have not been tested in the context of luxury brand products (Sirgy, 1982). Our purpose is to address this knowledge gap by investigating the relevancy of self-congruity theory to the purchase of luxury brands. In contrast to the long-standing self-congruity effect, we propose that actual self-incongruity and ideal self-congruity effects will work when consumers evaluate luxury fashion brands. A survey method was used to gather data. Data were collected through an online panel provided by E-rewards, a marketing research company located in the United States. A stratified sampling method was employed to obtain an evenly distributed number of participants from different income classes. The strata was identified by income. Three strata were developed: (1) more than $100,000; (2) $55,000 to less than $100,000; and (3) less than $55,000. The sample (n = 502, average age = 41) represented most demographic categories. We tested the influence of actual self-incongruity and ideal self-congruity on brand attitude, purchase intention, and perceived quality for 3 brands. Actual self-incongruity had a significant positive effect on brand attitude, whereas ideal self-congruity had a significant positive effect on brand attitude, purchase intention, perceived quality. Overall, the results supported our main hypothesis. We conducted an additional analysis to examine the moderating role of income. Specifically, for brand attitude, the influence of actual self-incongruity was significantly positive only for the low-income group. The influence of ideal self-congruity was significantly positive only for the low- and middle-income groups. For purchase intention, the influence of ideal self-incongruity was significantly negative only for the low-income group, whereas the influence of ideal self-congruity was not significant for the middle- or high-income groups. Finally, for perceived quality, the influence of actual self- and ideal self-incongruity was significant only for the middle-income group, whereas that influence was not significant for the high-income group. This research contributes to the self-congruity effect in the context of luxury brands. Our results show the positive influence of ideal self-congruity and actual self-incongruity on the evaluation of luxury brand products. This is the first study identifying that actual self-congruity has a negative influence on the evaluation of brands in a luxury market context, as opposed to previous findings. Our results provide important implications to practitioners in planning their marketing communication strategies or consumer relationship management for luxury brand consumers.

The growth period of corn is so shorter than that of any other crops. So, corn is the most promising crop in upland cropping systems. However, there was not so much in basic informations related to cultivation method including seeding period. This study was undertaken to investigate how different seeding date affected the growth characteristics and yield in corn. Two corn varieties(Chalok 4, Ilmichal) were planted on 6 different seeding date(from April 11 to July 10) in upland and paddy field. The total growth period was the longest(105 days) on the seeding date of April 11 regardless of testing varieties and cultivation condition. The total growth period was ranged from 77 days to 86 days in other seeding dates. The commercial yield of corn was higher in paddy field than that of upland field. In consideration of economic productivity, it was concluded that seeding date can be possible from early in April to middle of July in middle and south plain regions.

This study was undertaken to determine how different harvesting times affected the nutritional compositions in two forage rice varieties(Nokyangbyeo, Dasanbyeo). The contents of crude protein in leaf and stem decreased, with time, after heading in Nokyangbyeo, Dasanbyeo, but there was not so changed in that of spikes. Contents of Neutral Detergent Fiber(NDF) and Acid Detergent Fiber(ADF) in leaf and stem increased slightly but decreased rapidly in these of spikes. Contents of Total Digestive Nutrient(TDN) in spikes was the highest compared to that of the other parts of plants. Contents of Total Digestive Nutrient(TDN) in plants was the highest at 40 days after heading in Nokyangbyeo and was the highest at 50 days after heading in Dasanbyeo.

This study was undertaken to determine how different seeding methods and harvesting times affected the biomass partitioning of forage rice. Two rice varieties(Nokyangbyeo, Dasanbyeo) were planted by 4 different seeding method(rice transplanting, direct seeding on dry paddy, water hill seeding, water seeding). The heading date was delayed more than 10 days in water seeding and water hill seeding compared to that of rice transplanting method. The biomass production by harvesting times was the highest at 50 days after heading in two rice varieties and was high in order of direct seeding on dry paddy〉water hill seeding〉rice transplanting〉water seeding in seeding methods. The ratios of spikes dry weight to total dry weight increased, with time, after heading. But the ratio of leaf and stem dry weight to total dry weight decreased, with time, after heading.