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1 – 10 of 16Mercedes Marzo-Navarro and Marta Pedraja-Iglesias
The purpose of this paper is to define and analyse not only the main categories of online marketing strategies used by Rioja wine producers but also how wineries use their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to define and analyse not only the main categories of online marketing strategies used by Rioja wine producers but also how wineries use their websites to provide information about wine tourism.
Design/methodology/approach
The content of websites corresponding to the Rioja designation of origin (Spain) is analysed, and the types of websites are determined according to significant differences in their content.
Findings
The websites used by Rioja wineries can be improved. The elements developed the best are those related to contact information and interactive communication, although interactive communication can also be enhanced through properly managed social networks. The study concludes that the websites can be further improved by including more information about the wines of the wineries, by improving their e-commerce platforms and interactivity and by including more information about other companies at the wine tourism destination. Two distinct types of websites were observed, differentiated by greater or lesser orientation towards the development of the region as a wine tourism destination.
Research limitations/implications
This study should be conducted for other designations of origin, both national and international, thereby allowing a comparison of not only the elements that are present on websites but also their orientation.
Practical implications
An outline is provided regarding the information that a winery's website must have to generate interest in a region as a wine tourism destination. The indicators that must be developed for a region to be tourism oriented are shown.
Social implications
The study highlights the importance of including wine tourism information on websites to improve social cohesion among wine tourism players and to contribute to both a stronger wine tourism identity and improved economic outcomes.
Originality/value
The proposed scheme is a diagnostic tool that allows determining the areas of improvement of one of the main sources of information used by tourists when selecting a destination. This tool can be applied by any winery regardless of its location.
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Ana Julia Grilló-Méndez, Mercedes Marzo-Navarro and Marta Pedraja-Iglesias
To identify the risks associated by consumers with renting clothes.
Abstract
Purpose
To identify the risks associated by consumers with renting clothes.
Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive research with a quantitative approach was carried out. First, the measurement models of the variables involved in the proposed model were validated. After verifying the existence of the variables, the resulting model was finally estimated through structural equation modelling.
Findings
The results obtained establish the six dimensions that make up the problems associated by consumers with the clothing rental business model. These problems encompass various types of risks: financial, physical, performance, psychosocial, inconsistency with values and lifestyle, as well as lack of trust in the service provider. The results obtained show that only inconsistency, financial risk and physical risk have a significant effect on attitude. These performance risks, together with the consumer's attitude towards renting, have a negative effect on the intention to rent.
Originality/value
Factors that have a negative effect on attitude have been studied less than the facilitators of attitude. This is the first study in Spain.
Practical implications
The results will help managers to understand the adoption behaviours of these models.
Social implications
This study helps understand the social innovation needed to change consumers' relationship to clothing.
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Mercedes Marzo‐Navarro, Marta Pedraja‐Iglesias and Pilar Rivera‐Torres
The curricular profile that businesses demand from their workers is undergoing considerable change, especially in regard to university graduates. Considering the functions that…
Abstract
Purpose
The curricular profile that businesses demand from their workers is undergoing considerable change, especially in regard to university graduates. Considering the functions that are associated with universities, they should respond to these business demands. As a result, they should educate their students following curricula that fit the needs of the labour market. This fit would allow improving the employability of university graduates. The objectives of this work consist of determining the competencies that firms demand from university graduates and determining the curricula that universities follow to educate their students.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a comparison of these objectives, the paper analyses the mismatches that exist between these competencies and the curricula, and action lines are proposed to correct them.
Findings
The results show the various competencies that universities must improve upon in the education of their students. This improvement would mean a better fit between university curricula and business demands.
Research limitations/implications
The research was applied in one region of Spain, and it would be appropriate to expand it to the entire country.
Practical implications
University managers can use the information obtained from this study as the basis for designing and subsequently implementing action lines that allow improving the curricular profile of university graduates.
Originality/value
There are few papers that analyse the competencies that firms demand from university graduates and that determine the curricula that universities follow to educate their students.
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Javier García‐Bernal, Ana Gargallo‐Castel, Mercedes Marzo‐Navarro and Pilar Rivera‐Torres
Human resources management directed at improving job satisfaction has become a subject of growing interest in both the professional world and the academic world, and is justified…
Abstract
Purpose
Human resources management directed at improving job satisfaction has become a subject of growing interest in both the professional world and the academic world, and is justified by the impact that satisfaction has on business performance. The main objective of this work is to determine empirically the factors that have an impact on the satisfaction of Spanish workers, as well as to compare the existence of differences in the key dimensions of satisfaction according to workers' gender.
Design/methodology/approach
Of the study sample, only information pertaining to Spain was selected. Of 413 specific cases, 668 per cent were male and 33.2 per cent female. A factor analysis was conducted on those variables which could impact on an individual's job satisfaction. These aspects were considered through an 11‐item questionnaire.
Findings
The results obtained in this research show that the job satisfaction of Spanish workers is an element that is susceptible to improvement. Moreover, it is observed that the level of job satisfaction is determined by four factors: “economic aspects”, “interpersonal relations”, “working conditions”, and “personal fulfilment”. A subsequent analysis according to workers' gender shows that although men and women take into account the same dimensions, the degree to which each dimension has an impact is different for each sub‐sample.
Research limitations/implications
The sample used refers to a Spanish case. In the future it would be interesting to extend this and include other countries.
Practical implications
The main results of this study are a knowledge of the variables that affect the level of employee satisfaction, which should be useful to the management of companies, and those that should be considered in order to take better advantage of the competitive opportunities that can provide a company with motivated to committed staff.
Originality/value
This study analyzes factors that determine job satisfaction according to the worker's gender.
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Mercedes Marzo‐Navarro and Marta Pedraja‐Iglesias
Wine tourism is emerging as a lucrative sector, with the capacity to generate growing and long‐lasting tourism. Despite Spain's tourism and wine potential, wine tourism is…
Abstract
Purpose
Wine tourism is emerging as a lucrative sector, with the capacity to generate growing and long‐lasting tourism. Despite Spain's tourism and wine potential, wine tourism is scarcely developed. In order to develop it strategically, it is necessary to know both the real and potential customers of this tourism. The purpose of this paper is to ask, who is the wine tourist and how is he or she different from other visitors to a destination?
Design/methodology/approach
The objective of this study is to determine the existence of a group of wine tourists who are clearly differentiated from those tourists who have never participated in wine tourism. If such a group exists, the study attempts to determine the type of wine tourists existing in our country.
Findings
This study endeavours to provide knowledge about the differences between those individuals who have never participated in wine tourism and those who have. Moreover, the profile of a wine tourist can be divided into two groups, thereby considering the variables of gender, age, wine consumption habits and involvement in activities related to wine.
Practical implications
The effect that wine tourism can have in the area where it is developed means that we must increase our knowledge of wine tourists. The determination of the types of wine tourists and their tastes, desires, preferences, etc. will help to develop suitable marketing strategies.
Originality/value
This paper constitutes one of the first approaches at segmenting wine tourists in Spain.
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Mercedes Marzo Navarro, Marta Pedraja Iglesias and Pilar Rivera Torres
The university environment is experiencing important changes that have to be managed in order to ensure the university's survival. One of the most notable changes is the…
Abstract
Purpose
The university environment is experiencing important changes that have to be managed in order to ensure the university's survival. One of the most notable changes is the appearance of a new kind of student who wants to update and/or expand his/her knowledge. This has caused universities to expand their educational offer through seminars, Master's programmes, special courses. This work endeavours a dual objective: to analyse the elements that determine the attendees' satisfaction with the stated courses; and to analyse the relationship between the satisfaction experienced by the course attendees and their loyalty to the institution that offers the courses.
Design/methodology/approach
The information from a survey of the attendees of these kinds of courses at a Spanish university has been used.
Findings
The work herein developed shows how the teaching staff, the teaching methods and course administration are key elements to achieving student satisfaction and their subsequent loyalty.
Research limitations/implications
This research has been applied to a specific university, and it would be appropriate to expand the research to other institutions of higher education.
Practical implications
The appropriate management of the determinants of satisfaction is vital to the strategic decisions of universities.
Originality/value
The work centres on the analysis framework, on a new kind of student and on these students' specific demands, specifically on the demands satisfied through short courses aimed at updating previously acquired knowledge. Most prior works focus on analysing the satisfaction with university degrees and on the educational offer that these organisations can provide, such as continuing education and/or complementary courses.
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Carmen Berné‐Manero, Hanns de la Fuente‐Mella and Mercedes Marzo‐Navarro
The purpose of this paper is to offer an economic analysis of the convenience store format and the various categories thereof for the Spanish case in the period 1998‐2004.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer an economic analysis of the convenience store format and the various categories thereof for the Spanish case in the period 1998‐2004.
Design/methodology/approach
Using secondary information sources, the analysis methodology is based on economic indicators of the output level and on the calculation of output/input ratios.
Findings
The results show a positive evolution of the format regarding both the sales volume and the number of establishments, a high‐concentration rate in the sector and a positive trend of the productivity ratios. However, differences are observed between distribution groups or chains, as well as between the various analysed types.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis uses secondary data, namely generally accepted apparent economic indicators that cannot reflect the entire reality of the market. The analysed market is the Spanish market. So, more effort of analysis is needed with primary data and it emerges the convenience of that the competent authorities provide more statistical information about the sector.
Originality/value
This work provides knowledge about management decisions by retailers regarding a specific format (the convenience format), which is emerging in some categories and is mature in others. This research covers a lack of both conceptual and empirical studies that are targeted at understanding these formats and at analysing their current and future situation. The most specific contribution is the focus on a specific format not analysed previously, from the point of view of economic ratios including an approximation to marketing productivity, a priority area of study in this area of knowledge. The analysis performed allows verifying the positive evolution shown by the format in recent years. It also reflects upon the fact that it would be advisable for competent authorities to publish periodic statistics on the global format and on its types.
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Keywords
Mercedes Marzo‐Navarro, Marta Pedraja‐Iglesias and Ma Pilar Rivera‐Torres
Globalization, competition and market saturation have caused a growing interest by firms in developing strategies directed at creating brand loyalty among their customers…
Abstract
Globalization, competition and market saturation have caused a growing interest by firms in developing strategies directed at creating brand loyalty among their customers, especially in markets with low growth rates. In order to reach this objective, relationship marketing must be applied, which considers the mutual benefits derived from the creation of stable relationships between buyers and sellers. The study herein developed analyses the existence of groups of customers from the service sector who value the offer of relational benefits by the organisation, in which benefits are centred basically on the relationship with the contact personnel. As a result, the customers state greater levels of satisfaction with and loyalty to the organisation.
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Mercedes Marzo‐Navarro, Marta Pedraja‐Iglesias and M. Pilar Rivera‐Torres
The recent changes that have occurred in the Spanish university teaching environment, such as growing competition, have caused these courses to become an important differentiating…
Abstract
Purpose
The recent changes that have occurred in the Spanish university teaching environment, such as growing competition, have caused these courses to become an important differentiating element of what is offered by each university. Therefore, the authors propose to delve deeper into the relationship existing between satisfaction and the intent to recommend the courses taken by the attendees.
Design/methodology/implications
The research developed in the paper endeavours to be a first approximation of the factors that determine the satisfaction of the people who attend the summer courses offered by a Spanish public university. Furthermore, this article analyses whether or not the satisfaction levels of the students translate into one of the positive behaviours that are set forth in specialised literature: recommendation. The information is based on the analysis of a self‐administered survey given to the students of the 2003 summer session after completing the course.
Findings
The results obtained show that the teaching staff, enrolment and course organisation are the elements that have an impact on student satisfaction, and they show that this satisfaction is what, to a large extent, explains the intent to recommend the courses. In addition to these three elements, and in order to increase the satisfaction levels of students, it is necessary to know the objectives that the students have.
Originality/value
This paper determines the elements that are potentially capable of generating satisfaction and the subsequent effect of the satisfaction on recommendations for the university (summer courses) have been analysed. Other papers analyse all universities, but this work analyses a university's summer courses.
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Mercedes Marzo‐Navarro and Marta Pedraja‐Iglesias
The main objective of this study is to determine the factors that could have an impact on intentions to participate in regional tourism activities related to wine, from the…
Abstract
Purpose
The main objective of this study is to determine the factors that could have an impact on intentions to participate in regional tourism activities related to wine, from the Spanish customer's point of view.
Design/methodology/approach
This study analyses the opinions of potential wine tourists. They are asked about the importance they give to various items regarding intention to participate in wine tourism. These items have been taken from a review of the relevant literature. The dimensions that could have an impact on participation in tourism activities related to wine are determined through a factor analysis. These dimensions, together with the barriers traditionally encountered to any kind of tourism activity, are used in a regression analysis. The predictors of the intention to participate in wine tourism are thus determined.
Findings
The services offered by wineries, the possibility of increasing knowledge about the wine product, the possibility of providing leisure activities, and interest in the wine product, are factors that positively affect the intentions of potential wine tourists. In the context analysed, neither cost nor time nor distance act as barriers to the development of wine tourism.
Practical implications
Tourism agents are provided with data for successfully developing wine tourism. Thus, in addition to elements that can be controlled by the provider – such as winery services, activities for children, wine therapy activities and activities to increase knowledge of wine – elements that cannot be controlled also have an influence, such as a tourist's interest in wine. This makes it necessary to develop communication strategies that increase interest in the wine product and in related activities.
Originality/value
A review of the existing literature on the approach to wine tourism development allowed the authors to establish that there are no papers examining the determinants that could have an impact on participation in tourism activities related to wine in Spain. Moreover, the tested model includes incentives for, and barriers to, the strategic development of wine tourism.
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