• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.81-101
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• 2012

A franchise system develops competitive products for a franchise store through the system established by the franchise head office. Therefore, it has advantages of expanding the marketing effect since the risk of failure is reduced for a founder and the franchise head office supports the overall sales, advertisement and promotional activities. Also, a franchise store has advantages of fulfilling necessary facilities and tools on advantageous terms, reducing expenses by purchasing in bulk, and getting a supply of products with stable qualities. However, aside from such advantages, franchise head offices are forcing franchise stores to make unnecessary investments in equipments and remodel the interior. Also, franchise business operators are being made to share the cost of marketing and multiple franchise stores are being approved within the same business district, and franchise business operators are suffering damages. Therefore, cases of shutting down a franchise store or not renewing the contract are frequent. From the position of a franchise head office, profits that are generated from franchise fees, interior remodeling fees and supplying facilities and materials will increase as the number of new franchise stores increases. However, franchise stores are faced with difficulties due to excessive competitions between similar types of businesses and the overlapping of business districts that come from increases in the number of stores, and they eventually end up shutting down. Therefore, in order for a franchise business operator and franchise head office to grow and develop continuously, opening new stores is important, but successfully renewing the contract by maintaining a relationship with an existing franchise business operator is desirable. In this aspect, a study that examines the elements that can affect the relationship between a franchise business operator and franchise head office is believed to be important for the development of the franchise industry and creating safe jobs for the public. With an emphasis on the relationship between a franchise head office and franchise store, this study attempted to examine the effect of characteristics of a franchise head office and franchise business operator on the bilateral relationship such as the faith and immersion, and wished to review the effects of such faith and immersion on the satisfaction of a franchise store, including an intention of renewing the contract. In particular, in the current situation of great uncertainties in the market, this study also wished to examine how uncertain market elements will affect the relationship between the characteristics of a franchise head office and franchise business operator, and the faith and immersion. The study revealed that among the characteristics of a franchise head office, the standardization management of a franchise head office hinders a franchise store's faith and immersion in a franchise head office. Also, a franchise head office's support was shown to increase a franchise store's faith and immersion. However, it was revealed that a franchise head office's regulation and incentive policies for a franchise store do not affect a franchise store's faith and immersion. Among characteristics of a franchise business operator, a franchise store's healthy financial status and entrepreneur spirits were shown to enhance the faith and immersion in a franchise head office. However, it was shown that excellent business abilities of a franchise business operator actually reduce the immersion for a franchise head office. Also, the faith and immersion in a franchise head office were shown to enhance the intention of renewing the contract by increasing the satisfaction for a franchise head office. In addition, it was originally believed that the effects of a franchise business operator's characteristics on the faith and immersion in a franchise head office will vary depending on the market uncertainty, but the effect of a franchise business operator's characteristics depending on the recognition of uncertainties was shown to be insignificant. Such findings show that instead of making a franchise store pay for equipment investments and marketing and obtaining profits by force, a franchise head office should actively support a franchise store so that a franchise store's business activities can be conducted well, which will bring profits to a franchise store and ultimately to a franchise head office. This is a more desirable direction for the development of both parties. Implications of such findings are summarized as follows. First, it was shown that a franchise head office's standardization management actually reduces a franchise store's faith and immersion. Therefore, it is believed that instead of conducting standardization managements for regulating and managing franchise stores, measures should be developed so that franchise stores can actually participate voluntarily. For this, a head office should put in efforts to develop and provide standardized manuals, and make sure that a self-review system takes root. Second, a franchise head office's incentives did not have significant effects on the faith and immersion, but the support was shown to be effective. Therefore, it can be seen that instead of taking post-measures for a franchise store, taking pre-measures of actively supporting is more effective in maintaining a franchise store. Third, among characteristics of a franchise head office, it was shown that a franchise store's healthy financial status increased the faith and immersion in a franchise head office. Therefore, when selecting a franchise business operator, instead of thoughtlessly opening up franchise stores for the profit of a head office, it is believed that reviewing a franchise business operator's financial firepower and credit status is necessary. As for academic implications, previous studies examined the relationship by focusing on the characteristics of a franchise head office and franchise store, but this study focused on the characteristics of a franchise business operator. Therefore, this study dealt with the importance of a franchise business operator's competence, and is significant because it revealed the fact that a franchise business operator's excellent commercialization ability can become an element that hinders the immersion in a franchise head office. It was originally believed that a franchise store's characteristics will have different effects on the faith and immersion depending on the market uncertainty, but it was shown that the effect of a franchise store's characteristics depending on the recognition of uncertainties was insignificant, and that is the limitation of this study.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-31
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• 1981

Experiments were conducted to investigate rice varietal response to low water and air temperatures at different growth stages from 1975 to 1980 in a phytotron in Suweon and in a cold water nursery in Chooncheon. Germination ability, seedling growth, sterility of laspikelets, panicle exertion, discoloration of leaves, and delay of heading of recently developed indica/japonica cross(I/J), japonica, and indica varieties at low air temperature or cold water were compared to those at normal temperature or natural conditions. The results are summarized as follows: 1. Practically acceptable germination rate of 70% was obtained in 10 days after initiation of germination test at 15\circ_C for japonica varieties, but 15 days for IxJ varieties. Varietal differences in germination ability at suboptimal temperature was greatest at 16\circ_C for 6 days. 2. Cold injury of rice seedlings was most severe at the 3.0-and 3.5-leaf stage and it was reduced as growth stage advanced. A significant positive correlation was observed between cold injury at 3-leaf stage and 6-leaf stage. 3. At day/night temperatures of 15/10\circ_C seedlings of both japonica and I/J varieties were dead in 42 days. At 20/15\circ_C japonica varieties produced tillers actively, but tillering of I/J varieties was retarded a little. At 25/15\circ_C, both japonica and I/J varieties produced tillers most actively. Increase in plant height was proportional to the increase in all varieties. 4. In I/J varieties the number of differentiated panicle rachis branches and spikelets was reduced at a day-night temperature of 20-15\circ_C compared to 25-20 or 30-25\circ_C, but not in japonica varieties although panicle exertion was retarded at 20-15\circ_C. The number of spikelets was not correlated with the number of primary rachis branches, but positively correlated with that of secondary rachis branches. 5. Heading of rice varieties treated with 15\circ_C air temperature at meiotic stage was delayed compared to that at tillering stage by 1-3 days and heading was delayed as duration of low temperature treatment increased. 6. At cold water treatment of 17\circ_C from tillering to heading stage, heading of japonica, I/J, and cold tolerant indica varieties was delayed 2-6, 3-9, and 4-5 days, respectively, Growth stage sensitive to delay of heading delay at water treatment were tillering stage, meiotic stage, and booting tage in that order, delay of heading was greater in indica corssed japonica(Suweon 264), japonica(Suweon 235), and cold tolerant indica(Lengkwang) varieties in that order. Delay of heading due to cold water treatment was positively correlated with culm length reduction and spikelet sterility. 7. Elongation of culms and exertion of panicles of rice varieties treated with low air temperature 17\circ_C. Culm length reduction rate of tall varieties was lower than that of short statured varieties at low temperature. Panicle exertion was most severaly retarded with low temperature treatment at heading stage. Generally, retardation of panicle exertion of 1/1 varieties was more severe than that of japonica varieties at low temperature. There was a positive correlation between panicle exertion and culm length at low temperature. 8. The number of panicles was increased with cold water treatment at tillering stage, but reduced at meiotic stage. As time of cold water treatment was conducted at earlier growth stage, culm length was shorter and panicle exertion poorer. 9. Sterility of all rice varieties was negligible at 17\circ_C for three days but 30.3-85.2% of strility was observed for nine-day treatment at 17\circ_C. Among the tested varieties, sterility of Suweon 264 and Milyang 42 was highest and that of Suweon 290 and Suweon 287 was lowest. The most sensitive growth stage to low temperature induced sterility was from 15 to 5 days before heading. There was positive correlation between sterility of rice plants treated with low temperature at meiotic and heading stage. 10. Percentage of spikelet sterility was greatest at cold water treatment at meiotic stage (auricle distance -15～-10cm) and it was higher in 1/1 (Suweon 264, Joseng tongil), japonica (Nongbaek, Towada), and cold tolerance indica(Lengkwang) varieties in the order. Level of cold water and position of young-ear affected on the sterility of varieties at meiotic stage; percentage of spikelet sterility of variety, Lengkwang, of which young-ear was located above the cold water level was high, but that of short statured variety, Suweon 264, of which young-ear was located in the cold water was lower. 11. Percentage of ripened grains was not reducted at 15\circ_C air temperature for three days at full heading stage in all varieties. However, at six-day low temperature treatment Suweon 287, Suweon 264 showed percentage of ripended grains lower than 60%, but at nine-day low temperature treatment all varieties showed percentage of ripened grains lower than 60%. Low temperature treatment of 17\circ_C from 10 days after heading for 20 days did not affect on the ripening of all varieties. 12. Uptake of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, and magnesium in whole plants was higher at average air temperature of 25\circ_C, but concentration of the elements was lower compared to those at 19\circ_C. However, both total uptake and concentration of manganese were higher at 19\circ_C compared to 25\circ_C. 13. Higher application of nitrogen, phosphorus, silicate, and compost increased yield of rice due to increased number of panicles and spike let fertility in cold water irrigated paddy.