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1 – 10 of 34Leticia Suárez Álvarez, Rodolfo Vázquez Casielles and Ana María Díaz Martín
The current work aims to analyze the role of commitment perceived by the consumer in the maintenance of long‐term relationships. The context of analysis chosen is the tourism…
Abstract
The current work aims to analyze the role of commitment perceived by the consumer in the maintenance of long‐term relationships. The context of analysis chosen is the tourism sector, more specifically the relationships that retail travel agencies establish with their consumers. The study tests a conceptual model via a system of structural equations using the statistics package EQS 6.1 for Windows. The results corroborate the importance of the consumer’s trust in the travel agency and the consumer’s perception of the firm’s commitment, because this commitment acts as an antecedent of trust and creates the conditions for the firm to achieve a stable portfolio of customers.
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María Leticia Santos‐Vijande, Ana María Díaz‐Martín, Leticia Suárez‐Álvarez and Ana Belén del Río‐Lanza
Appropriate management of service failures involves a complex organizational response that allows an effective internal and external recovery, learn from mistakes and introduce…
Abstract
Purpose
Appropriate management of service failures involves a complex organizational response that allows an effective internal and external recovery, learn from mistakes and introduce future service innovations. Empirical evidence on the organizational recovery practices more suitable to achieve these objectives, leading to superior performance, is limited. The present work seeks to extend the existing literature by identifying the potential dimensions that constitute an integrated service recovery system (ISRS), introducing a strategic, proactive and relational approach to service failure and recovery management, and by proposing a causal model linking the ISRS with performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The ISRS dimensions and their attributes are derived from an extensive literature review and suggestions from academics and business experts. Structural equations modeling is used to test a model linking the ISRS (conceptualized as a second order construct), with client, employee and business performance indicators, using data from a Spanish sample of 151 Knowledge‐Intensive Business Services (KIBS).
Findings
Results confirm that the firms' ability to approach service recovery from a strategic, proactive and relational perspective allows improving performance among clients and employees, that is, the external and internal recovery to occur, which leads to a superior competitive performance.
Practical implications
The ISRS scale can provide managers with a diagnostic tool to analyze their recovery practices and to further improve their competitiveness in the long term.
Originality/value
The need to assess the integrative nature of effective service recovery systems has been claimed theoretically. An empirical study showing the link between comprehensive service recovery practices and performance was lacking.
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Celina González Mieres, Ana María Díaz Martín and Juan Antonio Trespalacios Gutiérrez
The purpose of the present study is to test that perceived risk is a multidimensional concept both when it is associated to the purchase of store brands and national brands and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the present study is to test that perceived risk is a multidimensional concept both when it is associated to the purchase of store brands and national brands and analyzes the effect of perceived risk on store brands proneness.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to achieve its objective the paper used a confirmatory factor analysis to validate the proposed perceived risk scale and three regression analysis were carried out to evaluate the effect of perceived risk on store brands proneness.
Findings
The results of the study show significant differences between store and national brands and, on the other hand, it has been confirmed that these differences contribute to decrease store brand proneness, the latter being measured through three variables: actual store brands purchase, consumption intensity and future purchase intention.
Originality/value
Previous empirical research has focused primarily on the perceived risk associated with store brands individually. On the contrary, this paper considers the perceived risk difference between store and national brands, believing that the difference between brands is what will really make the consumer choose a store brand or a national brand. On the other hand, the present study will permit the evaluation of the effects of the evolution of store brands in Spain, effects that can be replicated in other Mediterranean countries.
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Celina González Mieres, Ana María Díaz Martín and Juan Antonio Trespalacios Gutiérrez
The present study sets out to analyze the effects that a set of variables related to purchasing behaviour has on the difference in perceived risk between store brands and national…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study sets out to analyze the effects that a set of variables related to purchasing behaviour has on the difference in perceived risk between store brands and national brands.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology proposed to achieve the objective consists of analyzing the existing relationship between different aspects relating to purchasing behaviour of the consumer and the difference in perceived risk between the two types of brands through a causal and integrated model. Such a model covers both the direct effects and the indirect effects caused by these variables jointly. In order to do so data were obtained from two groups of people, which has allowed for cross‐validation of the methodology used, which, in turn, permitted a greater generalization of the results.
Findings
The variables which have proven to be most relevant when explaining this difference are the perceived quality of the store as opposed to that of the national brands, familiarity with the store brands and confidence in the extrinsic attributes of the product to assess its quality.
Originality/value
Previous empirical research has focused primarily on the individual effects of these variables. A causal model is proposed capable of demonstrating that, besides the direct effect of a variable on the difference in perceived risk between store brands and national brands, there may be other ways for this variable to exercise its influence. This is important because of the implications for retailers when managing their own brands.
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Emilia Fernandes and Silvana Mota-Ribeiro
This exploratory study aims to compare how businesswomen with different initial bounds to their businesses resort to gender discourses to construct a shared business identity in…
Abstract
Purpose
This exploratory study aims to compare how businesswomen with different initial bounds to their businesses resort to gender discourses to construct a shared business identity in group interaction.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted with two focus groups of Portuguese businesswomen with different initial bounds to their enterprises: those who created their own companies and those who “inherited” family businesses. All the participants of both groups own and manage their businesses.
Findings
A discourse analysis of the interactions shows that the identities of businesswomen are constrained and produced by different masculinities (authority, professionalism and self-determination) and femininities (restrictive and emancipatory). The interweaving of these gender discourses results in the production of a “respect” identity in the family businesses group and a “self-determination” identity in the start-up businesses group.
Practical implications
The comparison of the different business identities shared by women with particular business experiences contributes to reflections upon the diversified contours that gender discrimination can undertake, and upon the need of practitioners to adjust the gender policies according to those particular experiences.
Originality/value
The paper compares and highlights how Portuguese businesswomen with different business backgrounds collectively construct specific and shared business identities that allow them to deal with diverse experiences of gender discrimination and devaluation.
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Negin Zarandi, Ana Maria Soares and Helena Alves
In today’s global and highly competitive climate among universities, educational developers and instructors have focused more on trying to make the student experience more…
Abstract
Purpose
In today’s global and highly competitive climate among universities, educational developers and instructors have focused more on trying to make the student experience more engaging. In this manner, student co-creation activities have recently become a major research priority in marketing and higher education (HE) research. The purpose of this study is to present a systematic review of the literature on student co-creation roles and behaviors in HE in order to map extant research on this topic and offer a consolidated view of the co-creation process and approaches that can be employed by HEIs to motivate students to co-create their HE experience.
Design/methodology/approach
A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach was followed to classify, select, synthesize, analyze and assess the most relevant studies on student participation in co-creation in HE.
Findings
This study’s analysis has identified that the co-creation process in HE includes dialog, access, risk and transparency. The main approaches used by higher education institutions (HEIs) to motivate students to co-create their HE experience are student involvement, cognitive engagement, university affiliation and emotional engagement. Our review also shows that student co-creation behaviors are mainly participation and citizenship behavior, and their co-creation roles include those of co-producers, participants, change agents and partners.
Originality/value
This systematic literature review analyses and critically discusses the state of the art in student co-creation roles in HE and the approaches HEIs use. By providing a map of existing research, the paper contributes both to the clarification of student co-creation roles and behaviors in HE and the identification of research gaps and opportunities for further research.
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María Higueras, Ana Carrasco-Huertas, Ana Isabel Calero-Castillo, Manuel Moreno Alcaide and Francisco José Collado Montero
This paper aims to study the suitability of a selection of 3D printing liquid photopolymer resins for their application in the cultural heritage context.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the suitability of a selection of 3D printing liquid photopolymer resins for their application in the cultural heritage context.
Design/methodology/approach
The main concerns regarding the conservation and restoration of cultural assets are the chemical composition and long-term behavior of the new materials that will be in contact with the original object. Because of this, four different LED curing resins were exposed to an accelerated aging procedure and tested to identify the materials which demonstrated a better result. Some specific properties of the material (color, glossiness, pH and volatile organic compound emissions) were measured before and after the exposure.
Findings
Some of the properties measured reported good results demonstrating a decent stability against the selected aging conditions. The main changes were produced in the colorimetric aspect, probably indicating other chemical reactions in the material. Likewise, a case study could be also executed to demonstrate the usefulness of these materials in the cultural field.
Research limitations/implications
It is necessary to study in more detail the long-lasting behavior of the materials employed with these technologies. Further analysis should be carried out highlighting the chemical composition and degradation process of the materials proposed.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the introduction of curing 3D printing resins in the restoration methodologies of cultural assets. For this, the study of a selection of properties represents the first stage to suggest or reject their use.
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Maria J. Perez-Villadoniga and Ana Rodriguez-Alvarez
The purpose of this paper is to examine the gender wage gap not only in gross wages, but also focussing on a specific salary component, the base wage, which is determined by…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the gender wage gap not only in gross wages, but also focussing on a specific salary component, the base wage, which is determined by collective bargaining for each occupational category.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors estimate a wage frontier to analyze the difference between workers’ observed wages and their potential wage, given human capital endowments, as well as firm characteristics. Next, the authors examine the distance to the frontier as a function of workers’ gender, in order to test whether women fail to achieve potential wages to any great extent. To do so, the authors use data from the 2010 Spanish Structure of Earnings Survey.
Findings
While men nearly achieve their potential base wage, females are systematically and significantly below the wage frontier (93 per cent on average). In other words, even when the authors limit the analysis to the base wage, the authors still find a significant wage differential between men and women. A detailed analysis of this result points to the existence of occupational segregation in the labour market. Within each occupational category, females tend to be concentrated in the lower ranking jobs, which entail lower wages. This result is consistent with the existence of a sticky floors phenomenon.
Originality/value
The authors contribute to the literature on gender discrimination that focusses on specific wage components. As far as the authors know, to date this is the first analysis to focus on a component that responds more to the characteristics of the job rather than to those of the worker.
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Vanessa Yanes-Estévez, Ana María García-Pérez and Juan Ramón Oreja-Rodríguez
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the information shared by SMEs with their main customers and suppliers and its implications on their performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the information shared by SMEs with their main customers and suppliers and its implications on their performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper puts forward the concept of arcs of communication based on the frequency and direction of the information exchanged by SMEs with their main customers and suppliers. SMEs are classified by the arc of communication they belong to using data from a survey carried out in the Canary Islands (Spain). The Rasch Measurement Theory is applied.
Findings
The largest group of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) shares information frequently with both customers and suppliers (broad arc of communication). Differences were detected in the performance of SMEs belonging to this broad arc, as well as, in those firms that communicated frequently with their main suppliers (asymmetrical arc of communication towards suppliers). In both cases, these firms were better than their competitors in innovation.
Practical implications
This study demonstrates the need for better management of the links between SMEs and their suppliers and with their customers in accordance with their strategies, promoting a greater cooperative behaviour throughout the supply chain.
Originality/value
SMEs’ customers and suppliers are their main sources of information compared to large firms, which have greater resources to search for and acquire information. This paper investigates the information exchanged by SMEs with their main customers and suppliers from a strategic focus by adding to the literature the concept of arcs of communication. It also has the added value of applying the Rasch Measurement Theory (Rasch, 1960/1980).
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Lucas Finoti, Simone Regina Didonet, Ana Maria Toaldo and Tomás Sparano Martins
The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of the marketing strategy process in the relationship between innovativeness and organizational performance in SMEs.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of the marketing strategy process in the relationship between innovativeness and organizational performance in SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
The partial least squares-structural equation modeling technique was used to analyze data from Brazilian SMEs that belong to the software sector. Innovativeness was considered as a cultural aspect of the firm, which is related to being open to new ideas. The marketing strategy process was analyzed considering its two dimensions, i.e., formulation and implementation of marketing strategies. Organizational performance included variables of market, financial and innovation performance.
Findings
The results show that innovativeness positively influences organizational performance through the marketing strategy process. Specifically, the formulation of marketing strategies mediates the relationship between innovativeness and organizational performance. Implementation by itself does not mediate this relationship. When considering the path formulation→implementation as mediator, the influence is positive, i.e., formulation positively influences the implementation of marketing strategies and this path mediates the relationship between innovativeness and organizational performance. Therefore, the mediating role is stronger when considering the formulation-implementation path than when taking into account the activities of the formulation and implementation of marketing strategies separately.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by discussing how innovativeness influences SMEs’ performance through subsequent stages of the marketing strategy process. This is one of the first studies to consider activities in the marketing strategy process as a mediator in the innovativeness-performance relationship and explore its sequence.
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