Carmen Antón, Carmen Camarero and Javier Rodríguez
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the adoption process of e-book readers and examine how the perception concerning the advantages of this technology and its incompatibility…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the adoption process of e-book readers and examine how the perception concerning the advantages of this technology and its incompatibility with consumer values determine the pleasure felt and its effective use. The authors also propose that consumer involvement with information and communication technologies (ICTs) moderates these effects.
Design/methodology/approach
Hierarchical moderated regression analysis is used to test the proposed model with survey data from a sample of e-book reader owners.
Findings
Appraisal of the device’s reading features and the possibility for free downloading increases the pleasure found with its use and the extent to which it is actually used, whereas attachment to paper books decreases the emotional feeling, with some of these effects being moderated by the individual’s involvement with new ICTs. Pleasure mediates the influence of perceived advantages and attachment to the older technology on the use of the e-book reader device.
Practical implications
Two challenges to practitioners are suggested: to overcome the rejection of users who are less eager to experience pleasure and to use the e-reader, and to find the product’s objective or sensory characteristics that provide pleasure and promote long-lasting use.
Originality/value
The study extends previous studies on e-book readers by emphasizing the need to go beyond adoption intention. It analyzes effective use as a crucial measure of the true adoption of this technology and incorporates the perspective offered by the appraisal theory of emotion, which explains the key role of pleasure in this process.
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Margarita Lashkova, Carmen Antón and Carmen Camarero
The purpose of this paper is to examine the dual effect of sensory experiences on customer behaviour in the context of retailing. Based on the theoretical framework of the optimal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the dual effect of sensory experiences on customer behaviour in the context of retailing. Based on the theoretical framework of the optimal stimulation level theory, the authors propose that sensory experiences reinforce satisfaction, engagement and loyalty, but increase customers’ diversive exploration and curiosity for other experiences and may eventually led to reduced loyalty.
Design/methodology/approach
A self-administrated online questionnaire was distributed via e-mail to 1,000 households in a Spanish town, and 325 usable responses of supermarket customers were collected. The hypothesised relationships were tested using the partial least squares approach. The analysis is extended with an experiment in online fashion stores that explores whether a varied sensory experience reinforces consumers’ diversive exploration. In total, 68 students participated in the study. Hierarchical regression analysis is performed to analyse the results of the experiment.
Findings
Findings support the notion that a pleasant sensory experience increases customer satisfaction and therefore their engagement and behavioural loyalty (exclusivity) towards the retailer whilst also generating more ambitious consumer expectations vis-à-vis the shopping experience and thus encouraging them to search for new retailers and, so, to be less loyal.
Research limitations/implications
This research warns of the risk of increasing customer’s expectations and reducing their loyalty; hence satisfaction is not enough. Retailers should consider offering new experiences and surprise customers every so often, attempting to curtail the effect of satiation or the effect of over-arousal.
Originality/value
The novelty of this study is the proposal of a twofold effect of sensory experience on loyalty, a positive effect, through satisfaction, and a negative effect, through the search for new experiences.
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Carmen Camarero, Carmen Antón and Javier Rodríguez
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the driving factors of e-books’ illegal downloading and price acceptance from a theoretical perspective that embraces ethical and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the driving factors of e-books’ illegal downloading and price acceptance from a theoretical perspective that embraces ethical and technological aspects. The diffusion of e-readers and tablets has led to a spate of pirated copies of books.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed model holds that normative and value consciousness, as well as the self-efficacy, the usefulness and the use of the new technology, are determinants of the trend towards free downloads and the maximum acceptable price for e-books. Data are collected from a sample of 227 users of e-book reader devices.
Findings
The results provide evidence that individuals are inclined towards piracy when they use and control the technology, whereas value consciousness mitigates illegal downloading and is basic to the individuals’ acceptance of a higher price.
Implications
Bearing in mind that the spread of electronic devices has led to an increase in downloads, raising awareness of the norms among individuals is essential if piracy is to be curtailed. In addition, actions aimed at endowing electronic books with value would encourage consumers to pay a higher price for them.
Originality/value
Few attempts have been made to apply ethics theories and the technology acceptance model to the context of e-books’ piracy, and even less effort has been devoted to analyse consumers’ price acceptance in the e-book industry.
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Carmen Antón, Carmen Camarero and Mirtha Carrero
The objective of this work is to provide evidence of customer switching intentions as a complex phenomenon involving a series of firm actions – service quality failures, unfair…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this work is to provide evidence of customer switching intentions as a complex phenomenon involving a series of firm actions – service quality failures, unfair price, low perceived commitment and anger incidents – and factors relating to the purchase situation or the consumer that also play an important role as moderators in the dissolution process.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical study has been carried out in the case of customers of car‐insurance firms.
Findings
Results demonstrate the existence of some factors that have a weak influence on the switching intention – service quality and company commitment – and other factors that have a strong influence and precipitate the consumers' decisions – price changes and critical incidents. This study also underlines the moderator role of knowledge about alternatives and switching costs in this process.
Practical implications
This findings show that a continuing dissatisfaction with the firm as a consequence of a quality that is poorer than expected does not influence individuals as much as a change in the price policy or a one‐off incident in which consumers experience a strong unease.
Originality/value
This work provides empirical evidence about the existence of various determinants of switching: variables that weaken the relationship and variables that precipitate dissolution. These categories had already been discussed theoretically in previous work, but their effect had not been tested. Moreover, it advances in the idea that switching intention may fundamentally be conditioned by consumers' level of involvement and their knowledge about other alternatives.
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Tindara Addabbo, Rosa María García-Fernández, Carmen María Llorca-Rodríguez and Anna Maccagnan
The purpose of this paper is to assess the change in the Italian and Spanish wage polarization degree in a time of economic crisis, taking into account the factors affecting labor…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the change in the Italian and Spanish wage polarization degree in a time of economic crisis, taking into account the factors affecting labor force heterogeneity. Gender differences in the evolution of social fractures are considered by carrying out the analysis separately for males and females.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach by Palacios-Gonzánlez and García-Fernández (2012) on polarization is applied to the microdata provided by the EU Living Conditions Surveys (2007, 2010 and 2012). According to Palacios-Gonzánlez and García-Fernández’s approach, polarization is generated by two tendencies that contribute to the generation of social tension: the homogeneity or cohesion within group and the heterogeneity between groups. The following labor force characteristics are considered: gender, level of education, type of contract, occupational status and job status.
Findings
The results for Italy reveal a higher increase of polarization for women than for men from the perspective of the type of contract. In Spain, the wage polarization of women also increases more intensively compared to men from the perspectives of level of education, job status and occupational status, while in Italy the reduction of the wage polarization index by level of education can be related, above all, to an increase in overqualification of women.
Originality/value
While the empirical literature on polarization has made considerable investigation into employment and job polarization, this paper explores the rather less explored matter of wage polarization. Furthermore, particular attention is paid to the impact on polarization of the Great Recession.
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M. Jesús Alvarez, Carmen Jaca, Elisabeth Viles and Anna Colomer
The purpose of this paper is to see how quality management is carried out in hotels in the Basque Country, a region in the north of Spain with a long tradition in the tourist…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to see how quality management is carried out in hotels in the Basque Country, a region in the north of Spain with a long tradition in the tourist sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The objective of the study was to establish what approaches to quality management are utilised by hotels in the region. The data were collated from information gathered via a survey conducted by e‐mail.
Findings
A large percentage of surveyed hotels implement a quality management system that has been designed in‐house. A figure of note, is the fact that 79 per cent of participants claim their quality management system has been introduced successfully. The study also indicated that a significant number of hotels implement a policy of continuous improvement to the system, as hotels believe in the effectiveness of quality management systems and think that such systems have resulted in an increase in customers and profit.
Research limitations/implications
The hotels that responded to the survey could be those that are committed to quality management. That fact could introduce a bias that makes it seem that the situation is better than it really is.
Originality/value
This study offers an understanding on the philosophy of quality management adopted by hotels in the Basque Country. Moreover, it provides empirical evidence on the perceived results of the implementation of quality management in hotels.
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Khanh V. La and Jay Kandampully
The rapid development of electronic commerce (e‐commerce) has seen emerging electronic service retailers attracting the interest of, and gaining the patronage of, both service…
Abstract
The rapid development of electronic commerce (e‐commerce) has seen emerging electronic service retailers attracting the interest of, and gaining the patronage of, both service providers and customers. However, there is consensus that the e‐commerce industry in general has not been able to cope with all the challenges of, and to realise the true potential of, the technology‐based marketplace. Through an extensive literature review and the use of industry examples, this article brings together existing theories and new realities in the emerging electronic market. Argues that, although the Internet marketplace possesses unique characteristics, which Web‐based businesses must be able to manage, there are certain traditional values that remain central to business success in all markets. Offers a detailed analysis of the various factors that influence the market success of an electronic service retailer and provides specific managerial implications for practitioners.
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RUSSIA: Foreign reserves freeze points to default
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-ES267900
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
María del Mar Gálvez-Rodríguez, Carmen Caba-Perez and Manuel López-Godoy
The purpose of this paper is to analyze drivers for the proactive disclosure of information via the web in Colombian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as a strategy for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze drivers for the proactive disclosure of information via the web in Colombian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as a strategy for fostering their legitimacy and responding to the institutional pressure to which they are subjected.
Design/methodology/approach
The web sites of 196 NGOs from Colombia have been analyzed, first, via an Online Transparency Index that is consistent with Cronbach α coefficient and later, by performing a Tobit regression analysis.
Findings
The proactive online disclosure of information in Colombian NGOs is very low. In spite of the high distrust of the resource management they receive, the financial information is the least aspect disclosed in their web pages. In addition, the larger NGOs are the entities that most disclose information via their web site. Likewise, the factors of “internationalization”, “donations”, “community services” and “dependence on voluntary work” show a positive effect on certain aspects of the online disclosure of information analyzed.
Practical implications
The lack of web use as a strategy for a proactive disclosure of information is clearly observed. Therefore, both obligatory and voluntary accountability mechanisms should be more aware of the need for fostering the benefits of a web site, as being transparent in a proactive manner will increase trust in this sector.
Originality/value
As the majority of the research papers related to online disclosure are focused on the corporate and public sector, this study addresses the issue of the NGO sector and particularly aims to contribute to the scarce literature regarding web use of entities from developing countries.