Alter ego, state of the art on user profiling: an overview of the most relevant organisational and behavioural aspects regarding User Profiling.

This report gives an overview of the most relevant organisational and\ud behavioural aspects regarding user profiling. It discusses not only the\ud most important aims of user profiling from both an organisation’s as\ud well as a user’s perspective, it will also discuss organisational motives\ud and barriers for user profiling and the most important conditions for\ud the success of user profiling. Finally recommendations are made and\ud suggestions for further research are given

An examination of online ratings on hotel performance indicators: An analysis of the Boston hotel market

This research study is designed to examine the impact that a posted online review rating has on the financial performance of a hotel room in the lodging industry. The popularity ratings of hotels in the Boston, Massachusetts market, as posted on the popular online travel review website TripAdvisor, will be examined against the hotel performance metrics of average daily rate (ADR), occupancy, and Revenue per Available Room (RevPar). This study examines the literature to better understand the previous research behind the impact that word-of-mouth communication, both in traditional and electronic forms, has on customer satisfaction. The emergence of social technologies has created an environment in which businesses can be rated and reviewed in an open market for potential future customers to read, and the development of user-generated content has become a more trusted and credible source of product and service information. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of these online ratings on hotel performance, specifically that of TripAdvisor rating attributes on the financial performance of a hotel. The study found that the various attributes had varying levels of significant impact on Average Daily Rate (ADR), Occupancy, and Revenue per Available Room (RevPar). Based on the natures of the lodging properties in Boston, Value was found to be statistically significant across all categories analyzed. Ultimately, the contribution of this research is both academic and practical, as this study will be among the first to examine and test the various TripAdvisor rating attributes on each hotel financial performance metric. In addition, this study will expand upon the current body of knowledge in the areas of user-generated content, online reviews, ratings of TripAdvisor, and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM)

Brand sabotage: Managing social media and reputational crises in utility companies

In 2011, the market leader in the Portuguese energy sector decided to delete its presence on Facebook, its most active social media platform, after a poorly perceived social media management decision went viral and unleashed a series of accusatory comments that harmed the company’s brand and reputation. Today, in 2018, this company is still opting not to be fully present on its social media platforms, revealing that the effects of the 2011 crisis were both long-lasting and harmful for the company’s image with its main stakeholders. In this thesis, we develop a set of best practices in social media management that can help prevent social media crises in the Portuguese energy sector and, simultaneously, provide energy companies with the tools to improve their brand awareness, image, and reputation through social media platforms in the current digital and globalized economy. We start by characterizing the main challenges faced by utility companies on their daily social media activities. Related to this, we identify the potential channels that can lead these companies into social media crises, and we study the best actions undertaken by the market leaders in the Spanish and UK energy markets against these reputation threats. To do so, we undertake a quantitative netnography analysis on these markets, using state-of-the-art data scrapping and text analytics techniques. Finally, we use the main results from the netnography analysis to clearly define the most important social media strategies followed by the Spanish and UK energy market leaders. We highlight the managerial implications of our analysis by developing a unifying social media strategy to help Portuguese energy companies prevent new social media crises and to allow them to effectively manage their brand awareness and reputation by using social media platforms. We conclude with the implementation of this strategy using a best practices framework that Portuguese energy companies could follow in the near future.No ano de 2011, a empresa líder no mercado de energia em Portugal, colocou um fim à sua presença ativa nas redes sociais, após a tomada de uma decisão estratégica que levou à massificação de críticas de clientes e seguidores. Atualmente, a empresa continua cautelosa em estar nas redes sociais, mantendo apenas uma presença limitada no YouTube e, mais recentemente, através de uma página de Instagram específica para divulgação de eventos patrocinados ou desenvolvidos pela mesma. Esta estratégia de comunicação online da EDP, revela que os eventos vividos em 2011 foram duradouros e prejudiciais para a reputação e imagem da mesma junto dos seus stakeholders. Nesta dissertação, é desenvolvido um conjunto de práticas para uma melhor gestão de redes sociais, com foco especial no Facebook. Esta análise tem como objetivo ajudar as empresas de Energia Portuguesas a prevenir crises virais relacionadas com a sua política de comunicação nestas plataformas e, por conseguinte, melhorar a brand awareness e reputação destas empresas no contexto de uma economia digital e globalizada. Para tal, caracterizamos os principais desafios de diferentes estratégias de comunicação, envolvendo redes sociais por parte de empresas internacionais no setor da Energia. Consequentemente, são então identificados os potenciais canais e ações destas empresas que poderão deteriorar a relação da empresa com os seus stakeholders e levar, eventualmente, a uma situação de crise. Para fazer face a tal possibilidade, são estudados exemplos de empresas líderes no setor de energia no Reino Unido e em Espanha, através de uma netnografia quantitativa, utilizando técnicas de data scrapping e text analytics. Através desta análise, são realçadas as principais melhores práticas que poderão ajudar empresas Portuguesas a prevenir eventuais crises de comunicação online nas suas páginas e plataformas sociais. O objetivo último desta dissertação é permitir a estas empresas gerir eficazmente a sua brand awareness e reputação e, simultaneamente, fomentar de forma eficiente e transparente a sua relação com os seus stakeholders

Immigrant health status and access to healthcare: The case of Norway

PhD Dissertation - The Institute of Economics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, 2018Health is one of the most important assets of a society; it is necessary for social and economic development and for achieving ample length and quality of life for its members. This thesis asserts that health should be a basic resource of the individual and of society as a whole. Understanding health as a fundamental right of every human being is the basis for taking action to improve the health of a society and its development. The aims of this doctoral thesis are to indicate the role of access to health services in improving the health of immigrants, as well as to identify and present the economic and social conditions and consequences of immigrants' limited access to health benefits in Norway. The study also examines the impact of health on the formation of human capital. The hypothesis of the field study is that there is a relationship between a society’s state of health and the availability of its health services. The most important research questions are whether health services and health facilities are available to immigrants in Norway, whether the Norwegian health care system responds to the economic and health needs of immigrants, and whether activities in the field to solve immigrants' health problems and enhance their access to health services improve their health. To answer these questions, a field study was conducted of 60 people living in Norway: 20 African immigrants, 20 European immigrants, and 20 native Norwegians (45 men and 15 women). The study consisted of interviews, observations, and surveys, which were supported by a review of literature. An interdisciplinary approach was applied, referring to areas such as economics and social policy, including health policy and political sciences, to better understand the determinants of the state of health of immigrants. The findings show that there are differences in the ease or difficulty of access to health services between Norwegian citizens and immigrants, as well as among immigrants. The differences in access among immigrants depend on their origins, genders, incomes, and educations. The findings also show that although the Norwegian government has taken significant steps to ensure that the health of both documented and undocumented immigrants is addressed, immigrants still face health-related challenges, and most end up not seeking medical assistance in times of need. Stress associated with financial adversity and hardship resulting from the social challenges of integrating, together with low socio-economic status, 9 have negative impacts on health. Feelings of social exclusion, lack of knowledge about the health-care system, and socio-economic barriers limit access to health-care services. The findings indicate that a higher level of social, economic, and political integration could enable migrants to understand the Norwegian healthcare system and, thus, give them the opportunity to better access health services. Because immigrants are a such an important source of human capital, an investment in immigrants as such and in their overall health could provide a subsequent increase in productivity, which in turn could promote the economy. Therefore, the Norwegian Government should take steps to ensure that any barriers to access to health care services, in particular its high costs and sometimes the unfavorable attitude of Norwegians toward immigrants, are eliminated. The social, economic, and political integration of migrants, the existence of local health-care services and education, the use and involvement of mediators from immigrant communities, and the recognition of individual needs are found to be key factors that would enable improved immigrant access to health services.acceptedVersio

An Integrated Framework for Self-disclosure on Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites usage has shown a meteoric rise over the past decade. Social networking sites survive and thrive based on the information that users disclose. The willingness of users to disclose their information lies at the core and is the driving force of the economies of these sites. This study proposed and tested an integrated theoretical framework for self-disclosure on social networking sites. Drawing from three different theoretical perspectives viz. self-congruency theory, privacy calculus theory, and extension of unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2), a research model was formulated. The model was tested using survey data of 380 university students. Facebook was used as a prototype for this research. This study examined the effects of the variables emanating from the three different theoretical perspectives mentioned above on the attitudinal, intentional, and behavioral aspects of self-disclosure on social networking sites. Further, the effects of self-congruency and perceived control on trust in social networking sites and its members were evaluated. The contributions to theory and practical implications of the findings are discussed

Online fashion shopping experiences, web atmospherics and consumer's emotions

This thesis was previously held under moratorium from 1st December 2016 until 1st December 2021.The notion of ‘experience’ marks a shift in consumer research from focusing on the rational consumer to focusing on emotions (Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982). This research studies consumer experiences in the specific context of online fashion shopping. It contributes to the field of atmospherics and consumption emotions and experiences, thus bridging a gap that has been highlighted in the literature (e.g. Turley & Milliman, 2000). This thesis aims to study the online fashion-shopping experience as the consumer lives and constructs it. The research conducted two studies that are underpinned by the philosophical stance of pragmatism. First, Kelly’s (1955) personal construct theory (PCT) is adopted to gain an in-depth understanding of consumers’ shopping experience using their own words and construction. The study conducted 25 repertory grid interviews, analysed first with Jankowicz’s (2005) method of initial eyeball and process analyses. Next, following Lemke, Clark, and Wilson (2011), qualitative construct coding was performed by multi-coders for inter-reliability checks. This study contributes to our understanding of the online fashion-shopping experience by (1) introducing the construction of the experience as emotional, perceptual, situational and behavioural, (2) highlighting how individuality in such experiences often changes the meaning of such constructs, and (3) arguing that situational constructs provide a context that shapes the whole experience. Second, screencast videography is introduced as a novel method that captures the shoppers’ live experiences. Critical incident analysis of ten videos allowed the experience journey to be mapped, highlighting the main critical incidents and the contexts (e.g. purposeful vs. purposeless browsing) that shape the experience. In addition to its methodological contribution, this study provides great insights into an otherwise unobservable phenomenon. Furthermore, it presents the ‘fashionscape’ as a concept tailored especially to understanding the online fashion-shopping environment in its visual, verbal, social and educational dimensions.The notion of ‘experience’ marks a shift in consumer research from focusing on the rational consumer to focusing on emotions (Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982). This research studies consumer experiences in the specific context of online fashion shopping. It contributes to the field of atmospherics and consumption emotions and experiences, thus bridging a gap that has been highlighted in the literature (e.g. Turley & Milliman, 2000). This thesis aims to study the online fashion-shopping experience as the consumer lives and constructs it. The research conducted two studies that are underpinned by the philosophical stance of pragmatism. First, Kelly’s (1955) personal construct theory (PCT) is adopted to gain an in-depth understanding of consumers’ shopping experience using their own words and construction. The study conducted 25 repertory grid interviews, analysed first with Jankowicz’s (2005) method of initial eyeball and process analyses. Next, following Lemke, Clark, and Wilson (2011), qualitative construct coding was performed by multi-coders for inter-reliability checks. This study contributes to our understanding of the online fashion-shopping experience by (1) introducing the construction of the experience as emotional, perceptual, situational and behavioural, (2) highlighting how individuality in such experiences often changes the meaning of such constructs, and (3) arguing that situational constructs provide a context that shapes the whole experience. Second, screencast videography is introduced as a novel method that captures the shoppers’ live experiences. Critical incident analysis of ten videos allowed the experience journey to be mapped, highlighting the main critical incidents and the contexts (e.g. purposeful vs. purposeless browsing) that shape the experience. In addition to its methodological contribution, this study provides great insights into an otherwise unobservable phenomenon. Furthermore, it presents the ‘fashionscape’ as a concept tailored especially to understanding the online fashion-shopping environment in its visual, verbal, social and educational dimensions

Information and the Regulatory Landscape: A Growing Need to Reconsider Existing Legal Frameworks

Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems are already being used to enhance our lives and to transform the way businesses operate. Businesses across a broad spectrum of industries are exploring the potential gains offered by AI systems. In fact, the use of AI systems is already widespread in areas such as transport, finance, defense, social security, education, policing, public safety, and healthcare. The recent explosion of machine learning technology is arguably a product of two things: “tremendous increases in computational power and enormous volumes of accumulated data.” Unsurprisingly, legal frameworks and industry-based governance regimes have failed to keep up with the newest AI. The existing gaps have led to industry attempting to fill the void, but these attempts are in their infancy and often fail to fully consider the various stakeholders impacted by the ubiquitous gathering and corresponding use of data

How to improve the customer experience when buying cosmetics online?

The cosmetics industry is currently facing major challenges, especially with the emergence of new trends and the growing importance of online shopping. The consumer experience when buying cosmetics online is set to evolve in order to fill some of the gaps that this dissertation aims to address. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to improve the customer experience when buying cosmetics online by capturing the online customer journey and proposing solutions to enhance it. In order to achieve this objective, this essay firstly provides an overview of the current cosmetics market, an analysis of the key concepts related to customer experience and a study of previous research regarding customer journey maps. Following this, a qualitative research study involving twenty interviews enabled the collection of precious customer data which was then analyzed using the Critical Incident Method to define typical customer journeys. After the study of these typical consumer paths, customer journey maps were developed to visualize their pain points and opportunities for improvement. The results of this study suggest various enhancements along the customer journey such as developing websites' UX, providing accessible and qualitative visual content (videos, photos, etc.), implementing personalized diagnostics, limiting delivery fees, simplifying customer feedback emails and adapting loyalty programs to current consumer needs etc. Thus, the visual tools provided by the customer journey maps allowed us to suggest solutions adapted to each phase of the online cosmetics purchase journey. These suggestions for improvement are summarized in a final customer journey map that includes the different phases, the consumer's actions and associated touchpoints, as well as their state of mind throughout the journey. Finally, this research provides valuable insight for cosmetic brands wishing to improve their online sales performance over the long term by understanding their customers' behaviors, needs and expectations.A indústria cosmética enfrenta atualmente grandes desafios, especialmente com o surgimento de novas tendências e a crescente importância das compras online. A experiência do consumidor na compra de cosméticos em linha deverá evoluir de modo a preencher algumas das lacunas que esta dissertação pretende colmatar. Portanto, o objetivo desta tese é melhorar a experiência do cliente na compra de cosméticos em linha, capturando a viagem do cliente em linha e propondo soluções para a melhorar. A fim de alcançar este objetivo, este ensaio fornece em primeiro lugar uma visão geral do mercado atual de cosméticos, uma análise dos conceitos-chave relacionados com a experiência do cliente e um estudo de pesquisas anteriores relativas a mapas de viagem do cliente. Em seguida, um estudo de investigação qualitativa envolvendo vinte entrevistas permitiu a recolha de dados preciosos dos clientes, que foram depois analisados utilizando o Método dos Incidentes Críticos para definir as viagens típicas dos clientes. Na sequência do estudo destes percursos típicos do consumidor, foram desenvolvidos mapas de viagem do cliente para visualizar os seus pontos de dor e oportunidades de melhoria. Os resultados deste estudo sugerem várias melhorias ao longo da viagem do cliente, tais como o desenvolvimento do UX dos websites, o fornecimento de conteúdos visuais acessíveis e qualitativos (vídeos, fotografias, etc.), a implementação de diagnósticos personalizados, a limitação das taxas de entrega, a simplificação de e-mails de feedback do cliente e a adaptação de programas de fidelização às necessidades actuais do consumidor, etc. Assim, as ferramentas visuais fornecidas pelos mapas de viagem do cliente permitiram-nos sugerir soluções adaptadas a cada fase da viagem de compra de cosméticos em linha. Estas sugestões de melhoria estão resumidas num mapa de viagem do cliente final que inclui as diferentes fases, as ações do consumidor e os pontos de contacto associados, bem como o seu estado de espírito ao longo de toda a viagem. Finalmente, esta pesquisa fornece uma visão valiosa para as marcas de cosméticos que desejam melhorar o seu desempenho de vendas on-line a longo prazo através da compreensão dos comportamentos, necessidades e expectativas dos seus clientes