585 research outputs found

    How social media brand community development impacts consumer engagement and value formation; perspectives from the cosmetics industry

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    Social media and social media brand communities (SMBCs) are powerful tools for long-term consumer-brand relationship building. As a result, SMBCs are becoming significant marketing channels. Despite the wide use and adoption of SMBCs, further research is called for, as both practitioners and academics lack an understanding of the processes taking place within SMBCs. This study aims to contribute to knowledge of: (1) consumer engagement, (2) value formation in SMBCs, and (3) establishing the relationship between consumer engagement and value formation within the SMBC environment. This thesis adopts netnography, a method commonly employed to explore online communities in the social media environment. Three cosmetics brands were selected for this study. The selection was driven by geographical location, posting frequency and user activity. Data were retrospectively collected from Facebook SMBCs between 1st December 2019 and 31st January 2020. The data analysis employed thematic analysis techniques and was further guided by netnographic procedural steps, encompassing 25 distinct data operations. In total, 87 conversation threads were examined, which included 6,401 consumer comments. The findings present a typology of brand posts consisting of five overarching themes: presentation of offerings, belongingness building, engagement building, value-led, and educational. The research also identified a consumer comment typology consisting of four overarching themes brand-centred communication, cognitive-centred communication, conversation-centred communication, and personal experience-centred communication. Additionally, the thesis explores value formation processes within SMBCs, and the value types formed through consumer-to-consumer value formation interaction, brand-to-consumer value formation interaction, consumer-to-brand value formation interaction, as well as individual value formation processes, i.e., customer independent value formation and brand independent value facilitation. Through the findings, thesis broadens knowledge of the implication of SMBC development on consumer engagement. Additionally, this study extends the scope of value formation beyond service marketing, providing valuable insights into how value is created and perceived in the context of SMBCs. This research is also of significance for practice as it offers guidance and insight into how different brand posts can facilitate SMBC development, and, in turn, consumer engagement and value formation. The research provides a link between SMBC development and consumer engagement, highlighting the importance of SMBCs in the successful facilitation of consumer engagement. In particular, it provides evidence that the development of an SMBC has a significant impact on consumer engagement. The typology of brand posts that this study generates highlights the link between the types of posts published by the brand and SMBC development. In addition, the typology of consumer posts also suggests that there is a link between the types of comments published by consumers and the degree of SMBC development. As a result, the findings indicate significant growth in the variety of topics discussed within more developed SMBCs alongside a shift within the topics discussed. The study also investigates value formation within SMBCs, thereby enhancing the understanding of how SMBCs can facilitate value formation. By doing so, this research successfully extends the value formation lens predominantly applied in service marketing. In particular, the findings highlight the role of different actors in enabling the formation of different value types. Furthermore, the research emphasises the value of SMBCs as knowledge repositories as important virtual spaces for both brands and consumers. The findings facilitate understanding of the importance of SMBCs in value formation processes, contributing to advancing knowledge of the role of SMBCs in the development of consumer engagement and value formation. The thesis presents a contextualised conceptual framework of value formation within SMBCs, that captures different interactions taking place in the SMBC environment but also draws attention to the different value types generated through interaction between different actors. Finally, the thesis offers a conceptual framework of SMBCs, consumer engagement and value formation, which captures the correlation between the three researched concepts

    Modern meat: the next generation of meat from cells

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    Modern Meat is the first textbook on cultivated meat, with contributions from over 100 experts within the cultivated meat community. The Sections of Modern Meat comprise 5 broad categories of cultivated meat: Context, Impact, Science, Society, and World. The 19 chapters of Modern Meat, spread across these 5 sections, provide detailed entries on cultivated meat. They extensively tour a range of topics including the impact of cultivated meat on humans and animals, the bioprocess of cultivated meat production, how cultivated meat may become a food option in Space and on Mars, and how cultivated meat may impact the economy, culture, and tradition of Asia

    Cross-Supply Chain Collaboration Platform for Pallet Management

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    Standardized pallets are an important factor in today's logistics sector to enable efficient processes in transport, storage and handling. By using an open exchange pool for pallets, additional opportunities arise for horizontal and vertical collaboration of various actors from different supply chains. The dissertation "Cross-Supply Chain Collaboration Platform for Pallet Management" investigates the potential of a digital platform for such cross-actor collaboration in pallet management. The designed platform has special mechanisms for balancing pallet debts that arise in the network and for joint planning of empty pallet flows. Therefore, the impact of the designed platforms on logistic processes, especially transports, is explored using simulation modeling. Furthermore, blockchain technology is investigated, which could be used for the implementation of the platform concept and could generate trust in a network of unknown actors. In this context, an empirical online-experiment is used to analyze in a differentiated way which specific features of the blockchain technology generate trust in technology and how these features interact with each other

    Exploring Multi-Agent Systems for Intermodal Freight Fleets: Literature-based Justification of a New Concept

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    Freight transportation is increasingly connected with the automation of fleet assets by intelligent systems. This study emerges from the consortium research project Gaia-X 4 ROMS, which aims to develop a comprehensive approach for smart freight fleets in the field of parcel deliveries. Within this project, a novel type of multi-agent system (MAS) applied to freight fleet management is being developed. To determine the state of prior research and recent developments in this field, a systematic literature review was conducted and presented herein. The findings of the review demonstrate a significant lack of applied solutions in this topic, highlighting the need for a novel approach. Accordingly, a first framework for the envisioned multi-agent system, as conceptualized within the consortium research project, is presented in this work, serving as a basis for subsequent design phases

    The nexus between e-marketing, e-service quality, e-satisfaction and e-loyalty: a cross-sectional study within the context of online SMEs in Ghana

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    The spread of the Internet, the proliferation of mobile devices, and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have given impetus to online shopping in Ghana and the subregion. This situation has also created opportunities for SMEs to take advantage of online marketing technologies. However, there is a dearth of studies on the link between e-marketing and e-loyalty in terms of online shopping, thereby creating a policy gap on the prospects for business success for online SMEs in Ghana. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between the main independent variable, e-marketing and the main dependent variable, e-loyalty, as well as the mediating roles of e-service quality and e-satisfaction in the link between e-marketing and e-loyalty. The study adopted a positivist stance with a quantitative method. The study was cross-sectional in nature with the adoption of a descriptive correlational design. A Structural Equation Modelling approach was employed to examine the nature of the associations between the independent, mediating and dependent variables. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to control for the potential confounding effects of the demographic factors. A sample size of 1,293 residents in Accra, Ghana, who had previously shopped online, responded to structured questionnaire in an online survey via Google Docs. The IBM SPSS Amos 24 software was used to analyse the data collected. Positive associations were found between the key constructs in the study: e-marketing, e-service quality, e-satisfaction and e-Loyalty. The findings from the study gave further backing to the diffusion innovation theory, resource-based view theory, and technology acceptance model. In addition, e-service quality and e-satisfaction individually and jointly mediated the relationship between e-marketing and e-loyalty. However, these mediations were partial, instead of an originally anticipated full mediation. In terms of value and contribution, this is the first study in a developing economy context to undertake a holistic examination of the key marketing performance variables within an online shopping context. The study uniquely tested the mediation roles of both e-service quality and e-satisfaction in the link between e-marketing and e-loyalty. The findings of the study are novel in the e-marketing literature as they unearthed the key antecedents of e-loyalty for online SMEs in a developing economy context. The study suggested areas for further related studies and also highlighted the limitations

    Human-AI Interaction – Investigating the Impact on Individuals and Organizations

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    Artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly prevalent in consumer and business applications, equally affecting individuals and organizations. The emergence of AI-enabled systems, i.e., systems harnessing AI capabilities that are powered by machine learning (ML), is primarily driven by three technological trends and innovations: increased use of cloud computing allowing large-scale data collection, the development of specialized hardware, and the availability of software tools for developing AI-enabled systems. However, recent research has mainly focused on technological innovations, largely neglecting the interaction between humans and AI-enabled systems. Compared to previous technologies, AI-enabled systems possess some unique characteristics that make the design of human-AI interaction (HAI) particularly challenging. Examples of such challenges include the probabilistic nature of AIenabled systems due to their dependence on statistical patterns identified in data and their ability to take over predictive tasks previously reserved for humans. Thus, it is widely agreed that existing guidelines for human-computer interaction (HCI) need to be extended to maximize the potential of this groundbreaking technology. This thesis attempts to tackle this research gap by examining both individual-level and organizational-level impacts of increasing HAI. Regarding the impact of HAI on individuals, two widely discussed issues are how the opacity of complex AI-enabled systems affects the user interaction and how the increasing deployment of AI-enabled systems affects performance on specific tasks. Consequently, papers A and B of this cumulative thesis address these issues. Paper A addresses the lack of user-centric research in the field of explainable AI (XAI), which is concerned with making AI-enabled systems more transparent for end-users. It is investigated how individuals perceive explainability features of AI-enabled systems, i.e., features which aim to enhance transparency. To answer this research question, an online lab experiment with a subsequent survey is conducted in the context of credit scoring. The contributions of this study are two-fold. First, based on the experiment, it can be observed that individuals positively perceive explainability features and have a significant willingness to pay for them. Second, the theoretical model for explaining the purchase decision shows that increased perceived transparency leads to increased user trust and a more positive evaluation of the AI-enabled system. Paper B aims to identify task and technology characteristics that determine the fit between an individual's tasks and an AI-enabled system, as this is commonly believed to be the main driver for system utilization and individual performance. Based on a qualitative research approach in the form of expert interviews, AI-specific factors for task and technology characteristics, as well as the task-technology fit, are developed. The resulting theoretical model enables empirical research to investigate the relationship between task-technology fit and individual performance and can also be applied by practitioners to evaluate use cases of AI-enabled system deployment. While the first part of this thesis discusses individual-level impacts of increasing HAI, the second part is concerned with organizational-level impacts. Papers C and D address how the increasing use of AI-enabled systems within organizations affect organizational justice, i.e., the fairness of decision-making processes, and organizational learning, i.e., the accumulation and dissemination of knowledge. Paper C addresses the issue of organizational justice, as AI-enabled systems are increasingly supporting decision-making tasks that humans previously conducted on their own. In detail, the study examines the effects of deploying an AI-enabled system in the candidate selection phase of the recruiting process. Through an online lab experiment with recruiters from multinational companies, it is shown that the introduction of so-called CV recommender systems, i.e., systems that identify suitable candidates for a given job, positively influences the procedural justice of the recruiting process. More specifically, the objectivity and consistency of the candidate selection process are strengthened, which constitute two essential components of procedural justice. Paper D examines how the increasing use of AI-enabled systems influences organizational learning processes. The study derives propositions from conducting a series of agent-based simulations. It is found that AI-enabled systems can take over explorative tasks, which enables organizations to counter the longstanding issue of learning myopia, i.e., the human tendency to favor exploitation over exploration. Moreover, it is shown that the ongoing reconfiguration of deployed AI-enabled systems represents an essential activity for organizations aiming to leverage their full potential. Finally, the results suggest that knowledge created by AI-enabled systems can be particularly beneficial for organizations in turbulent environments

    CERNAS: Current Evolution and Research Novelty in Agricultural Sustainability

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    Climate changes pose overwhelming impacts on primary production and, consequently, on agricultural and animal farming. Additionally, at present, agriculture still depends strongly on fossil fuels both for energy and production factors ,such as synthetized inorganic fertilizers and harmful chemicals such as pesticides. The need to feed the growing world population poses many challenges. The need to reduce environmental impacts to a minimum, maintain healthy ecosystems, and improve soil microbiota are central to ensuring a promising future for coming generations. Livestock production under cover crop systems helps to alleviate compaction so that oxygen and water can sufficiently flow in the soil, add organic matter, and help hold soil in place, reducing crusting and protecting against erosion. The use of organic plant production practices allied to the control of substances used in agriculture also decisively contributes to alleviating the pressure on ecosystems. Some of the goals of this new decade are to use enhanced sustainable production methodologies to improve the input/output ratios of primary production, reduce environmental impacts, and rely on new innovative technologies. This reprint addresses original studies and reviews focused on the current evolution and research novelty in agricultural sustainability. New developments are discussed on issues related to quality of soil, natural fertilizers, or the sustainable use of land and water. Also, crop protection techniques are pivotal for sustainable food production under the challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, allied to innovative weed control methodologies as a way to reduce the utilization of pesticides. The role of precision and smart agriculture is becoming more pertinent as communication technologies improve at a rapid rate. Waste management, reuse of agro-industrial residues, extension of shelf life, and use of new technologies are ways to reduce food waste, all contributing to higher sustainability in food supply chains, leading to a more rational use of natural resources. The unquestionable role of bees as pollinators and contributors to biodiversity is adjacent to characterizing beekeeping activities, which in turn contributes, together with the valorization of endemic varieties of plant foods, to the development of local communities. Finally, the short circuits and local food markets have a decisive role in the preservation and enhancement of rural economies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    CERNAS – Current Evolution and Research Novelty in Agricultural Sustainability

    Get PDF
    This book addresses original studies and reviews focused on the current evolution and research novelty in agricultural sustainability. New developments are discussed on issues related with quality of soil, natural fertilizers or the sustainable use of land and water. Also crop protection techniques are pivotal for the sustainable food production under the challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, allied to innovative weed control methodologies, as a way to reduce the utilization of pesticides. The role of precision and smart agriculture is becoming more pertinent as the communication technologies improve at a high rate. Waste management, reuse of agro industrial residues, extension of shelf life and use of new technologies are ways to reduce food waste, all contributing to a higher sustainability of the food supply chains, leading to a more rational use of natural resources. The unquestionable role of bees as pollinators and contributors for biodiversity is subjacent to the work of characterization of beekeeping activities, which in turn contribute, together with the valorization of endemic varieties of plant foods, for the development of local communities. Finally, the short circuits and local food markets have a decisive role in the preservation and enhancement of rural economies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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