Background: Patient-reported quality of life in cancer patients is becoming increasingly important, especially for head-and-neck (H&N) cancers, which are at risk of experiencing severe ...treatment-related toxicities. Therefore, we sought to characterize the peritherapeutic HRQOL of contemporary patients using the well-validated EQ-5D-5 L questionnaire.
Methods: All patients receiving radiotherapy for H&N cancers between July 2019 and November 2019 at the University of Freiburg Medical Center who completed the first two follow-ups were included.
Results: All 49 patients completed the questionnaires at all time points of data collection, yielding 196 total questionnaires. The mean EQ-5D-5 L index score of the overall population before radiotherapy, after radiotherapy, and three and six months following radiotherapy was 0.837 (standard deviation, SD 0.17), 0.828 (SD 0.16), 0.855 (SD 0.15), and 0.856 (SD 0.14) respectively. The respective mean EQ VAS scores were 63.88 (SD 20.72), 63.67 (SD 21.81), 63.67 (SD 21.81), and 65.20 (SD 22.41) respectively. The respective changes of the HI and EQ VAS score over time for this cohort were not significant (Friedman test p = 0.273, p = 0.618).
Conclusion: Despite the known therapy-related toxicities, no significant permanent deterioration of HRQOL in this cohort was observed.
Highlights • First quantitative study about patient motives to participate in clinical training. • A comprehensive model pictures the joint impact of intra-/interpersonal appraisals. • Personal ...costs, anxiety beliefs and warm glow are identified as relevant appraisals. • The positive effect of awareness of the societal need is fully mediated. • The model is recalculated for patients with and without previous experience.
Nonprofit organizations need loyal donors to accomplish their mission and goals. However, organizations lose up to 60% of their first-time donors. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the ...determinants of donor loyalty is necessary. This study tests whether actual self-congruence, ideal self-congruence, and functional congruence strengthen the tie between nonprofit organizations and donors. In addition, and as an extension of the self-congruence theory, issue involvement is added as a moderator variable. The study results show that ideal self-congruence and functional congruence have a positive effect on donor loyalty, while actual self-congruence does not affect donor loyalty. Moreover, the study results show that issue involvement strengthens (mitigates) the effect of actual self-congruence (ideal self-congruence) on donor loyalty. Regarding the relationship between functional congruence and donor loyalty, issue involvement has no moderating effect. Based on the empirical findings, this study discusses academic implications and presents managerial implications for fundraisers and nonprofit organizations.
Marketing ist mehr als Menschen Dinge zu verkaufen, die sie nicht brauchen. Vielmehr verfolgt das Marketingkonzept das Ziel, die Bedürfnisse der Stakeholder durch geeignete Produkte und ...Dienstleistungen zu befriedigen. Zu diesem Zweck stellt es ein stringentes Vorgehen bereit und bringt einen großen Fundus an unterschiedlichen Techniken mit. Aus dieser Perspektive analysiert der vorliegende Artikel die Anwendbarkeit des Marketings in der Gemeinwirtschaft und im Gemeinwohl und geht dabei auf Vorteile und Herausforderungen ein. Anhand ausgewählter Beispiele für die Anwendung von Marketingtechniken wird die Ausgestaltung des Marketing-Mix für Organisationen in der Sozialwirtschaft und der Gemeinwohlökonomie dargestellt. Auch ethische Aspekte der Anwendbarkeit des Marketings werden diskutiert.
Marketing is more than selling people things they do not need; the goal of marketing is to meet stakeholders’ needs through the delivery of suitable products and services. For this purpose, marketing provides a stringent procedure and offers a large toolbox of different techniques. From this perspective, the present article analyzes the applicability of marketing for the social economy and for common welfare by addressing its advantages and challenges. By presenting selected examples of these marketing techniques, the article illustrates the design of the marketing mix for organizations of the social economy and common welfare sector. Ethical aspects of the applicability of marketing are also discussed.
•Chatbots are increasingly used as substitutes for human service agents in online shops.•Anthropomorphizing chatbots increases perceived consumer-chatbot similarity.•Matching chatbot gender with ...consumer gender positively impacts consumer behavior.•First insights indicate that non-binary consumers prefer neutral chatbots.
Chatbots are increasingly used as substitutes for human service agents in online shops. This has led researchers to analyze how chatbot characteristics influence consumer responses. However, while the relevance of chatbot characteristics has been examined, to date, consumers’ personalities have remained unattended in the research on this innovative mode of online support. Therefore, this study aims to understand how the interaction of consumer characteristics and chatbot characteristics influences consumer behavior. In doing so, we focus on how chatbots’ visual cues (i.e., anthropomorphization, gender) influence consumer behavior while also considering consumers’ self-concept. To answer the research question, we first conceptually discuss why consumer behavior depends on perceived self-congruence between consumers and a chatbot, which can be reached by anthropomorphizing chatbots and giving them the “right” gender. Subsequently, based on multiple studies, we empirically test the hypotheses considering male, female, and non-binary consumers. Our results demonstrate the relevance of both chatbot anthropomorphization and chatbot gender.
Consumer resistance against corporate wrongdoing is of growing relevance for business research, as well as for firms and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Considering Fournier’s (
1998
) ...classification of consumer resistance, this study focuses on boycotting, negative word-of-mouth (WOM), and protest behavior, and these behavioral patterns can be assigned to the so-called “active rebellion” subtype of consumer resistance. Existing literature has investigated the underlying motives for rebellious actions such as boycotting. However, research offers little insight into the extent to which motivational processes are regulated by individual ethical ideology. To fill this gap in existing research, this study investigates how resistance motives and ethical ideology jointly influence individual willingness to engage in rebellion against unethical firm behavior. Based on a sample of German residents, PLS path analyses reveal direct effects of resistance motives, counterarguments, and ethical ideologies as well as moderating effects of ethical ideologies, which vary across different forms of rebellion. First, the results indicate that relativism (idealism) is more relevant in the context of boycott participation and protest behavior (negative WOM). Second and contrary to previous findings, this study reveals a positive effect of relativism on behavioral intentions. Third, individuals’ ethical ideologies do not moderate the effect of motivation to and arguments against engaging in negative WOM. On the contrary, the empirical analysis reveals significant moderating effects of relativism and idealism with regard to the effects of resistance motives and counterarguments on boycott and protest intention. Directions for future research and practical implications are discussed based on the study results.
The shopping experience itself is becoming increasingly important in today's markets. As a result, a growing number of brands are opening pop-up stores. The focus of these time-limited stores is on ...the hedonic shopping value, which aims to offer consumers a unique experience and strengthen brand-consumer loyalty. In contrast, this study suggests that there is an effect on product-related rather than on brand-related reactions. Therefore, we first determined two central store-characteristics: time scarcity and hedonic shopping value. Then, by conducting two studies, we show by considering both short-term and long-term consumer reactions that only an effect on product-related reactions can be confirmed.
•We explore the effects of pop-up stores on consumer reactions•“Scarcity” and “hedonic shopping value” are pop-up store characteristics•Both characteristics have an impact on making pop-up stores unique•Perceived uniqueness serves as a second-stage mediator•Short-term consumer reactions are particularly affected by pop-up stores
In the hotel industry, it is crucial to reduce the inherent information asymmetry with regard to the goods offered. This asymmetry can be minimised through the use of smartphone-based virtual reality ...applications (SBVRs), which allow virtual simulation of real experiences and thus enable more efficient information retrieval. The aim of the study is to determine for the first time the user acceptance of these immersive hotel presentations for assessing the performance of a travel accommodation. For this purpose, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used to explain the acceptance behaviour for this new technology. A virtual reality application was specially developed, in which the participants could explore a hotel virtually. A total of 569 participants took part in the study. The structural equation model and the hypotheses were tested using a Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis. The results illustrate that the immersive product experience leads to more efficient information gathering. The perceived usefulness significantly affects the attitude towards using the technology as well as the intention to use it. In contrast to the traditional TAM, the perceived ease of use of SBVRs has no effect on the perceived usefulness or attitude towards using the technology.
Recent research on patients' perceptions of different hospitals predominantly concentrates on whether hospitals are nonprofit or for-profit. Nonprofit hospitals can be subdivided into hospitals that ...are affiliated with a religious denomination and those that are not. Referring to the stereotypic content model, this study analyzes patients' perceptions of religious hospitals based on the factors of warmth, competence, trustworthiness and Christianity. Using a survey of German citizens (N = 300) with a one-factorial betweensubject design (for-profit vs. nonfrofit vs. religious nonprofit), we found that religious affilication increases the perceptions of hospitals' trustworthiness and attractiveness. The study indicated that patients' perceptions of nonprofit hospitals with a religious affiliation differ from patients' beliefs about nonprofit hospitals without a religious affiliation, implying that research into ownership-related differences must account for hospital subtypes. Furthermore, religious hospitals that communicate their ownership status may have competitive advantages over those with a different ownership status.
As patient autonomy and consumer sovereignty increase, information provision is considered essential to decrease information asymmetries between healthcare service providers and patients. However, ...greater availability of third party information sources can have negative side effects. Patients can be confused by the nature, as well as the amount, of quality information when making choices among competing health care providers. Therefore, the present study explores how information may cause patient confusion and affect the behavioral intention to choose a health care provider. Based on a quota sample of German citizens (n = 198), the present study validates a model of patient confusion in the context of hospital choice. The study results reveal that perceived information overload, perceived similarity, and perceived ambiguity of health information impact the affective and cognitive components of patient confusion. Confused patients have a stronger inclination to hastily narrow down their set of possible decision alternatives. Finally, an empirical analysis reveals that the affective and cognitive components of patient confusion mediate perceived information overload, perceived similarity, and perceived ambiguity of information.
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