This paper assesses the digital divide between and within the 28 member-states of the European Union. The analysis comprised four socio-demographic contexts: age, education, gender, and income. ...Because of the digital divide’s complexity, a multivariate approach was applied - factor analysis with oblique rotation, which resulted in two distinct dimensions: e-Services and Social Networks. To test the significant differences of European Union positioning and European Union disparities, Multivariate Analysis of Variance and Squared Rank Test were computed. Findings show that e-Services adoption is influenced primarily by the education level of individuals, while Social Networks adoption is more affected by individuals’ age.
Recent studies have highlighted the importance of social media brand communities to brand loyalty. This paper aims to stress the role of the brand in that relationship, suggesting a conceptual model ...in mass-market products in which consumers’ engagement in social media brand communities, brand identity, and consumer-brand identification are related to brand outcomes, such as trust and loyalty. A qualitative analysis was conducted, through in-depth interviews with experts and focus group discussions with consumers, so as to evaluate their experience with brands on social media. The findings indicated that in mass-markets, consumers engaged in social media brand communities may develop positive attitudes towards the brand, such as trust and loyalty, and that consumer-brand identification may have a fundamental role in transforming consumer-brand community interactions into consumer-brand relationships.
With the prevalence of social media, a great deal of research has examined consumer engagement in social media brand communities. However, we lack a holistic understanding of the phenomena. Given the ...importance and relevance of this topic to Information Systems researchers, this study aims to summarise the current state of research on the topic and identify research gaps. Following the descriptive search approach, this study identifies and analyses 134 articles. Our analysis shows that prior studies adopted various research approaches and methods to study consumer engagement in social media brand communities. In addition, researchers adopted varied definitions and studied consumer engagement using the attitudinal, behavioural, and motivational dimensions. Our analysis also shows that Uses and Gratifications Theory and Social Identification Theory were the most referred theories in prior studies. Finally, we conclude our study by proposing an integrative framework and suggesting research opportunities and future research directions.
•Research on consumer engagement in brand communities was reviewed and analysed.•Six groups of variables were identified.•An integrated framework with propositions was proposed.•Future research directions of consumer engagement were discussed.
Consumer-brand identification and consumer engagement in social media brand communities (SMBC) are two of the concepts most highlighted in recent studies, as brand benefit facilitators. This study ...addresses the importance of these two concepts and their interaction effect on brand loyalty in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) category. The results of the quantitative study show that in FMCG, consumer engagement in SMBC is driven by information searching, brand passion, feelings of community connection, and self-expression in the community. Consumer engagement and consumer-brand identification have positive impacts on brand trust and loyalty. The moderating effect of consumer-brand identification on the relationship between consumer engagement in SMBC and brand loyalty is negative, revealing that consumer engagement in social media brand communities has a stronger impact on brand loyalty when consumer-brand identification is low. This study showed the role of SMBC as a powerful communication medium, where brands and consumers can meet, and reach a mutual understanding of common needs and aspirations.
Purpose
This paper analyzes previously unmeasured effects of a response to a service incident called “benevolent” within the customer –firm relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire ...was administered to telecommunication customers in a Western European country, and the model was estimated using partial least squares (PLS).
Findings
This study shows that the customer–firm relationship is surprisingly affected by the response to expected incidents that the customer interprets as acts of benevolence or opportunism. This research also shows that the firm's incident response interpreted as benevolence or opportunism has an effect that merely positive or negative events do not. Acts of benevolence response towards an incident positively affect customer–firm relationship quality, and expectations of such acts may lead to an upward spiral in customer commitment.
Originality/value
While benevolence trust has been proposed and studied before, the response to incidents interpreted as benevolent or opportunistic and their consequences have been under-studied, hence exhibiting a research gap.
研究目的
在公司與顧客之間的關係的範疇內, 公司對服務事故所作的被稱為仁慈的反應的影響不曾被測量; 本研究擬就該反應的影響進行分析和探討。
研究設計/方法/理念
研究以問卷方式進行¸ 對象為一個西歐國家裏的電訊服務客戶。研究人員使用偏最小平方法作估算, 設計有關的模型。
研究結果
研究結果顯示、若顧客對公司就預期的事故所作的反應看作是仁慈的話, 又或相反地視為是投機主義所驅使的, 則公司與顧客之間的關係會出人意表地受到影響。研究結果亦顯示、顧客的仁慈、抑或是投機主義的闡釋和理解所帶來的影響, 與單純積極正面事件或消極負面事件所帶來的影響是不一樣的。公司對事件仁厚的回應會給予顧客之間的關係的質量帶來正面的影響; 而且, 對這種回應的預期、或會給客戶承諾帶來螺旋上升。
研究的原創性/價值
對仁厚之信賴曾被提出並作探討。唯對被視為仁慈的或機會主義作祟的反應所作的研究則不足, 這方面實存研究缺口。
The music industry has undergone tremendous changes in relation to its production, distribution, and consumption habits due to the exponential development of new technologies, namely streaming ...platforms. The fact that sales of physical copies continue to decline significantly made it mandatory for this industry to reinvent itself by introducing music streaming services as a key part of its business development. This study aims to understand the factors that influence music consumption through streaming platforms, particularly studying the intention to adopt premium (paid) versions of a music streaming service and recommend them. An extension of the UTAUT2 model (version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, applied to the consumer side) was created. Based on data collected from 324 music streaming services users, the framework of this study was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). Research also included in-depth semi-structured interviews in order to generate a more profound knowledge about the profile, behaviours and motivations of the new music consumer. Our findings confirm that habit, performance expectancy and price value play the most important role in influencing the intention to use a paid music streaming service. Simultaneously, new dimensions such as personalisation, attitude towards piracy and perceived freemium-premium fit arise as having an additional relevant role in adopting this type of service. The research contributes insights into music streaming services consumer behaviour, providing several theoretical and practical implications to music streaming services providers.
Adoption, Customer purchase, Intention to recommend, SEM, Music streaming services.
Loyalty has, over the past decade, become a crucial construct in marketing, and particularly in the burgeoning field of customer relationship management. This paper shows that customer loyalty can be ...explained to a substantial degree by customer satisfaction, trust, and communication, and shows the direct and indirect effects among those constructs and other constructs in an extension of the European Customer Satisfaction Index (ECSI) model. Both ECSI model and the extended model are estimated with data from a survey carried out among customers of the banking sector. Within the limitations of the study, the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.
•We examine the effects of information-sharing values on BIS success dimensions relationships.•Information use depends on information quality, but not on system quality.•An increase in ...information-sharing values is reflected in increased information quality.•Information-sharing values are not directly linked to information use.•Information-sharing values negatively affect the information quality–information use link.
Although the constituents of information systems (IS) success and their relationships have been well documented in the business value of information technology (IT) and strategic IS literature, our understanding of how information-sharing values affect the relationships among IS success dimensions is limited. In response, we conduct a quantitative study of 146 medium and large firms that have implemented a business intelligence system in their operations. Our results highlight that in the business intelligence systems context information-sharing values are not directly linked to IT-enabled information use, yet they act as significant moderators of information systems success dimensions relationships.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical insights about service branding from higher education administrators (HEAs) perspectives and to identify the main factors involved in their ...strategic thinking in this sector.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting a qualitative approach, 22 in-depth interviews were performed in Brazilian HEAs to analyze service branding as a strategic institutional process in this context.
Findings
Findings reveal that service branding depends on several factors, e.g., in this case, deep integration between branding and services, leadership involvement, strong value propositions, sharing of strategic guidelines, branding experiences and, finally, credibility and reputation. Excellence of service is considered essential in higher education (HE) and, therefore, service branding faces the challenge of promoting the provision of quality services.
Originality/value
Although there have been many studies relating to HE and branding, few authors have studied service branding in educational sector and which issues must be observed in a competitive marketplace.
Background
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a frequent complication in patients with cancer and causes considerable morbidity and mortality. The risk of VTE is higher in patients with pancreatic ...cancer and is often associated with treatment delays or interruptions. Recently, the ONKOTEV score was proposed as a VTE risk predictor model for patients with cancer, but its validation is still ongoing.
Patients and Methods
We conducted a retrospective study to determine the incidence of VTE and to evaluate the ONKOTEV score as a VTE predictive tool in a population of patients with pancreatic cancer.
Results
Between February 2012 and May 2017, 165 patients were included in the study. The median age was 73 years, 45.5% of patients were female, and 55.8% had stage IV disease. Fifty‐one patients had a VTE (30.9%); 23.5% had pulmonary embolism, 25.5% had deep venous thrombosis, and 51.0% had visceral VTE (VsT). At a median follow‐up time of 6.3 months, cumulative incidence of VTE was less than 10% for ONKOTEV scores 0 or 1 and approximately 40% and 70% for scores 2 and ≥3, respectively.
Conclusion
The high VTE incidence observed in this study is consistent with prior reports. Patients at high risk for VTE with no increase in hemorrhagic risk should be considered for primary thromboprophylaxis. The ONKOTEV score may stratify VTE risk in patients with pancreatic cancer, with ONKOTEV score ≥2 being associated with a higher VTE occurrence.
Implications for Practice
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a frequent complication of patients with pancreatic cancer and causes considerable morbidity, treatment delays or interruptions, and mortality. Thromboprophylaxis is not used routinely in ambulatory patients. Tools to stratify the risk of VTE are important to help select patients who may benefit from thromboprophylaxis. Recently, the ONKOTEV score was proposed as a VTE risk predictor model for patients with cancer, but its validation is still ongoing. In this patient series, ONKOTEV score ≥2 was associated with high VTE occurrence and may stratify VTE risk in patients with pancreatic cancer, suggesting that ONKOTEV can be considered to select patients with pancreatic cancer for primary thromboprophylaxis.
Venous thromboembolism is a common complication of pancreatic cancer. This retrospective study was conducted to determine the incidence of VTE and to evaluate the ONKOTEV score as a VTE predictive tool in a pancreatic cancer population.
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