Search results

This paper seeks to understand effects of ASP utilization on organization performance measured in terms of satisfaction and educational effectiveness on the part of the customer firm.

This study follows the positivist approach. After a research framework was developed and hypotheses defined, based on a thorough ASP literature review, data were collected from small firms which use ASP services. Results were discussed to suggest strategic directions of ASPs.

The results show that when customer firms perceive good service at a reasonable fee, they exhibit a high level of satisfaction with the service provider. Customer satisfaction is found to be significantly related to organizational performance. Also, the education content of training programs significantly influences educational effectiveness, which in turn contributes to organizational performance by impacting customer service.

The results of the study would help practitioners and researchers better understand ASP customers. The scope of this study is limited to leading IT adoption countries.

Based on the customer perspective, this paper delineates factors of ASP services that support small firms to be more successful.

This study aims to empirically analyze the effects of marketing communications, such as advertisement/promotion and social network service (SNS) content, on consumer engagement (CE), brand trust and brand loyalty.

The study’s participants were 230 US and 376 Korean consumers who have used (i.e. contacted) a food service establishment (i.e. family restaurant) at least once before and who continue to use an SNS (e.g. Facebook and Instagram). This study conducted a hypothesis test using structural equation modeling analysis. In addition, hierarchical analysis was performed to further generalize and support the statistical analysis results.

Advertisement/promotion and SNS content have a statistically significant positive effect on CE. Advertisement/promotion has a statistically significant positive effect on brand trust, and SNS content has a statistically significant negative effect on brand trust. CE has a statistically significant positive effect on brand trust, and CE and brand trust have a statistically significant positive effect on brand loyalty. No statistically significant differences were shown between the US and Korean consumer groups (critical ratios for difference of path coefficient < ± 1.96). The hypothesis test results of the structural equation model analysis and hierarchical analysis were the same for the entire group.

The findings indicate that the overall mediating role of CE is important. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate which marketing communication channels are most effective in the restaurant sector.

This paper aims to examine the effect of sesame oil (SO) on fatigue and mental health status in women with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) undergoing a weight-loss diet.

In total, 60 women with NAFLD were randomly assigned to receive 30 g/day of either SO (n = 30) or sunflower oil (n = 30). All the patients received a hypocaloric diet (−500 kcal/day) for 12 weeks in a double-blinded controlled trial. Anthropometric indices, dietary intake, physical activity, fatigue and mental health status were measured at the baseline and the trial cessation.

In total, 53 participants completed the intervention. Significant reductions in anthropometric indices were observed in both groups (p-value = 0.001). Following SO, fatigue (p-value = 0.002), anxiety (p-value = 0.011) and depression (p-value = 0.013) scores were significantly reduced, while no significant changes were observed in stress scores.

In summary, the present study was conducted to assess the efficacy of SO consumption on fatigue and mental health status among patients with NAFLD. The results revealed SO consumption significantly reduced fatigue, anxiety and depression scores in comparison with the control group, but not for stress scores. Further clinical trials, different doses, with a longer duration of intervention, in different groups, are necessary to confirm the veracity of the results.