Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2006. / Advisor: J. Dennis Cradit, Florida State University, College of Business, Dept. of Marketing. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Oct. 19, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains x, 101 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1985.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 1-3).

The goals of this dissertation were to determine the salient cognitive dimensions of retail image in the perceptions of consumers and the image attributes related to those dimensions. This study took advantage of multidimensional scaling techniques (MDS) to create dimensioned perceptual maps based on nonpredetermined attributes. Similarities data about five Dallas shopping centers, gathered by questionnaires from a sample (n=181) of women shoppers interviewed at the centers, were analyzed to discover the perceived dimensions of image. Similarities data were also collected on fifteen attributes previously found to be significant. MDS configurations of the attributes were compared with the retail image configuration by means of a matrix fitting technique. These comparisons categorized the attributes according to the dimensions with which they were congruent. Evaluation of these groups provided a means for identifying and naming the primary perceptual dimensions. Saliency of the perceived dimensions was tested by congruency matching respondent preferences to perceptions.