Jorge Cruz-Cárdenas, Patricio Arévalo-Chávez and Jorge Guadalupe
The purpose of this paper is to establish the predictors of consumers’ annual monetary expenditures on clothing and footwear in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, a developing Latin…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish the predictors of consumers’ annual monetary expenditures on clothing and footwear in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, a developing Latin American country.
Design/methodology/approach
The research followed an exploratory, sequential, mixed methods design. The first phase consisted of in-depth interviews with adult individuals. The second phase involved surveying a similar segment of the population.
Findings
The present study supports the importance of demographic and psychological factors as predictors. The study also identifies two new groups of predictors: consumers’ reception of used clothing and physical space at home and its management.
Practical implications
In addition to demographic variables, consumer panels that measure expenditures on clothing and footwear should include psychological measures of participants, particularly clothing involvement. Clothing manufacturers and retailers in developing countries should consider the impact of receiving used clothes by consumers. Because clothing buying and disposal behaviors are positively associated, companies should become more involved in their customers’ disposal behavior.
Originality/value
The contribution of the present study is twofold. First, it contributes to the understanding of clothing and footwear expenditures by considering the individual consumer as a unit of analysis. Furthermore, it provides insights into this behavior from a little-studied context.
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Jorge Cruz-Cárdenas, Jorge Guadalupe-Lanas, Ekaterina Zabelina, Andrés Palacio-Fierro, Margarita Velín-Fárez and Marcin Waldemar Staniewski
The purpose of this paper is to understand in-depth how consumers create value in their lives using WhatsApp, the leading mobile instant messaging (MIM) application.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand in-depth how consumers create value in their lives using WhatsApp, the leading mobile instant messaging (MIM) application.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts the perspective of customer-dominant logic (CDL) and uses a qualitative multimethod design involving 3 focus groups and 25 subsequent in-depth interviews. The research setting was Ecuador, a Latin American country.
Findings
Analysis and interpretation of the participants’ stories made it possible to identify and understand the creation of four types of value: maintaining and strengthening relationships; improving role performance; emotional support; and entertainment and fun. In addition, the present study proposes a conceptual model of consumer value creation as it applies to MIM.
Practical implications
Understanding the way consumers create value in their lives using MIM is important not only for organizations that offer MIM applications, but also for those companies that develop other applications for mobile phones or for those who wish to use MIM as an electronic word-of-mouth vehicle.
Originality/value
The current study is one of the first to address the topic of consumer behavior in the use of technologies from the perspective of CDL; this perspective enables an integrated qualitative vision of value creation in which the consumer is the protagonist.
Propósito
El presente estudio busca comprender a profundidad la forma en que los consumidores crean valor en sus vidas usando WhatsApp, la aplicación líder de mensajería instantánea basada en móviles (MIM).
Diseño/metodología/aproximación
El estudio adopta la perspectiva de la lógica dominante del cliente y utiliza un diseño cualitativo multimétodo que involucra 3 grupos focales seguidos de 25 entrevistas a profundidad. El escenario de estudio es Ecuador, un país Latinoamericano.
Hallazgos
El análisis e interpretación de los relatos de los participantes hace posible identificar y comprender la creación de cuatro tipos de valor: Mantener y fortalecer relaciones, mejorar el desempeño de roles, apoyo emocional y, diversión y entretenimiento. Adicionalmente, el estudio propone un modelo conceptual de creación de valor aplicado a MIM.
Implicaciones prácticas
La comprensión de la forma en que los consumidores crean valor en sus vidas usando MIM, es importante no solo para las empresas que ofrecen aplicaciones MIM, sino también para las empresas que desarrollan otras aplicaciones para móviles o para aquellas que desean usar MIM como canal electrónico para estrategias boca a boca.
Originalidad/valor
El presente estudio es uno de los primeros en abordar el área del comportamiento del consumidor en el uso de tecnologías desde una perspectiva de la lógica dominante del cliente. Esta perspectiva permite presentar una visión cualitativa integrada de la creación de valor, en la cual el consumidor es el protagonista.
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Jorge Guadalupe-Lanas, Jorge Cruz-Cárdenas, Patricio Arévalo-Chávez and Andrés Palacio-Fierro
This study aims to analyze the influence of political regime on economic growth.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the influence of political regime on economic growth.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology was based on an inter-period comparison of the evolution of macroeconomic fundamentals in three different political regimes in Ecuador, a South American country.
Findings
The results showed that what determines the evolution of macroeconomic fundamentals is not the political regime that oversees it, but the size of a positive exogenous shock on the price of raw materials, which, by providing higher incomes, considerably increases the level of investment and net exports. However, the political regime does affect the distribution of income in sectors such as health and education.
Originality/value
As far as the authors know, this may be the first paper to explore the importance of a positive exogenous shock on a political regime for the case of primary-exporting Latin American economies, which are price takers subject to exogenous shocks.
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Ekaterina Zabelina, Jorge Cruz-Cárdenas, Olga Deyneka, Aleksandr Maksimenko, Jorge Guadalupe-Lanas and Carlos Ramos-Galarza
Green entrepreneurship is a topic of transcendental importance for today's societies. Studies on why entrepreneurs engage in green business have primarily focused on external…
Abstract
Purpose
Green entrepreneurship is a topic of transcendental importance for today's societies. Studies on why entrepreneurs engage in green business have primarily focused on external influences, paying little attention to internal factors such as cognitive mechanisms. This study aims to fill this gap by focusing on the characteristics of the perceived (psychological) time of entrepreneurs who choose green businesses.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sequential exploratory mixed methods design, this study conducts a series of 20 in-depth interviews with green entrepreneurs in Russia, an emerging economy, and then formulates the hypotheses. The hypotheses are tested in the quantitative phase by surveying 389 green and non-green entrepreneurs.
Findings
The data obtained in the survey phase support several hypotheses. Specifically, green entrepreneurs think more critically about their past than their non-green colleagues. Similarly, green entrepreneurs have a longer time perspective and are more focused on possible future events. Finally, green entrepreneurs are farsighted and perceive the future more negatively than non-green entrepreneurs.
Research limitations/implications
The data obtained in the survey phase support several hypotheses. Compared with non-green entrepreneurs, green entrepreneurs think more critically about their past, have a longer time perspective and are more focused on possible future events. In addition, green entrepreneurs are farsighted and perceive the future more negatively than their non-green counterparts.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the least examined area in the relevant literature by identifying internal factors that explain green entrepreneurship. Furthermore, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is one of the first to provide an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of the perceived (psychological) time of green entrepreneurs.