Aiming at understanding consumers´ behavior in fast food restaurants: a food values approach

A partir de la clasificación de los valores alimenticios propuesta pertinente por Lusk y Briggeman (2009), este trabajo buscaba comprender el comportamiento de los consumidores en los restaurantes de comida rápida. Con este objetivo, se analiza una muestra de 400 consumidores de dos cadenas de comida rápida líderes en España. El análisis empírico de estos datos nos permitió observar no sólo la presencia de tres grupos de consumidores distintos de acuerdo con sus evaluaciones de los valores alimentarios, sino también varias diferencias entre estos grupos con respecto a hábitos diversos, así como resultados de satisfacción, confianza y lealtad. A partir de estos resultados, se proponen diversas recomendaciones estratégicas para mejorar el diseño y desarrollo de estrategias diferenciadas en la industria.Beginning with the classification of food values proposed in the relevant literature by Lusk and Briggeman (2009), this paper aimed at understanding consumers´ behaviour at fast-food restaurants. With this research goal in mind, a sample of 400 consumers was gathered in two different leading fast-food chains operating in Spain. The empirical analysis of these data enabled us to observe not only the presence of three different consumers’ clusters in accordance with their food values ‘assessments, but also several differences between these groups with regard to diverse habits as well as satisfaction, trust and loyalty outcomes. From these results, several managerial recommendations have been proposed in order to improve the design and development of differentiated strategies in the industry.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad ECO2014-59688-

Metaverse, a Holistic Vision of the New Virtual Reality

Metaverse bursts into the media as a new marketing channel in September 2021, creating an explosion of reactions as brands join the race to be pioneers. Within a fully digital society and from a mature gaming industry, Metaverse is much more than an incubator of marketing and advertising ideas for brands, Metaverse is envisioned as a social disruption. This scenario raises three relevant questions to resolve over time: 1) Will the Metaverse finally take shape as a virtual society or, on the contrary, will it be integrated as one more channel of relationship within the context omnichannel? 2) how customers, brands and institutions are reacting to the Metaverse and 3) in any case, what transversal disruptive changes will be necessary in the new scenario of the Metaverse? From the deep and constant search for information in secondary sources (desk research methodology), this article seeks a holistic vision of the Metaverse, and its reading will allow defining specific areas of research on behavior patterns of people in this new virtual reality.Metaverso irrumpe en los medios como un nuevo canal de marketing en septiembre de 2021, creando una explosión de reacciones a medida que las marcas se unen en la carrera por ser pioneras. Dentro de una sociedad totalmente digital y de una industria del juego madura, Metaverso es mucho más que una incubadora de ideas de marketing y publicidad para marcas, Metaverso se concibe como una disrupción social. Este escenario plantea tres cuestiones relevantes a resolver en el tiempo: 1) ¿Metaverso se configurará finalmente como una sociedad virtual o, por el contrario, se integrará como un canal más de relación dentro del contexto omnicanal? 2) ¿cómo están reaccionando los clientes, marcas e instituciones ante Metaverso? y 3) en todo caso, ¿qué cambios disruptivos transversales serán necesarios en el nuevo escenario del Metaverso? Desde la búsqueda profunda y constante de información en fuentes secundarias (metodologia desk research), este artículo pretende una visión holística del Metaverso, y su lectura permitirá definir áreas específicas de investigación sobre patrones de comportamiento de las personas en esta nueva realidad virtual

Factores que Afectan a la Adopción de las Tecnologías 4.0 en las Empresas del Sector del Mueble

The purpose of this study has been to determine which technological, organizational, and environmental factors affect the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies in the furniture sector companies. The furniture sector is an industry characterized by its dynamism and the high intensity of its labour force. Despite the sector's importance, it remains a very traditional industry, with only a minority of companies having adopted Industry 4.0. In this context, this study was conducted to investigate, through a qualitative analysis using nine in-depth interviews with industry experts, which factors most affect the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies in the furniture sector. The results indicate that organizational factors have the most influence on the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies. However, not all factors affect it in the same way: some facilitate technological adoption, while others inhibit it.El propósito del presente estudio ha sido determinar qué factores tecnológicos, organizacionales y ambientales afectan a la adopción de las tecnologías 4.0 en las empresas del sector del mueble. El sector del mueble es una industria caracterizada por su dinamismo y por la gran intensidad de su mano de obra. Pese a la importancia del sector, en la actualidad sigue siendo una industria muy tradicional, con una minoría de empresas que han adoptado la industria 4.0. En este contexto, se llevó a cabo este estudio para investigar, mediante un análisis cualitativo a través de nueve entrevistas en profundidad realizadas a expertos del sector, qué factores afectan más a la adopción de tecnologías 4.0 en el sector del mueble. Los resultados indican que los factores organizacionales influencian más en la adopción de tecnologías 4.0, sin embargo, todos no afectan de la misma forma: algunos facilitan dicha adopción tecnológica, mientras que otros la inhiben

Metaverse, a Holistic Vision of the New Virtual Reality

Metaverse bursts into the media as a new marketing channel in September 2021, creating an explosion of reactions as brands join the race to be pioneers. Within a fully digital society and from a mature gaming industry, Metaverse is much more than an incubator of marketing and advertising ideas for brands, Metaverse is envisioned as a social disruption. This scenario raises three relevant questions to resolve over time: 1) Will the Metaverse finally take shape as a virtual society or, on the contrary, will it be integrated as one more channel of relationship within the context omnichannel? 2) how customers, brands and institutions are reacting to the Metaverse and 3) in any case, what transversal disruptive changes will be necessary in the new scenario of the Metaverse? From the deep and constant search for information in secondary sources (desk research methodology), this article seeks a holistic vision of the Metaverse, and its reading will allow defining specific areas of research on behavior patterns of people in this new virtual reality

Consumer expectations of online services in the insurance industry: an exploratory study of drivers and outcomes

Today, the customer-brand relationship is fundamental to a company’s bottom line, especially in the service sector and with services offered via online channels. In order to maximize its effects, organizations need (1) to know which factors influence the formation of an individual’s service expectations in an online environment; and (2) to establish the influence of these expectations on customers’ likelihood of recommending a service before they have even used it. In accordance with the TAM model (Davis, 1989; Davis et al., 1992), the TRA model (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975), the extended UTAUT model (Venkatesh et al., 2012), and the approach described by Alloza (2011), this work proposes a theoretical model of the antecedents and consequences of consumer expectations of online services. In order to validate the proposed theoretical model, a sample of individual insurance company customers was analyzed. The results showed, first, the importance of customers’ expectations with regard to the intention to recommend the “private area” of the company’s website to other customers prior to using it themselves. They also revealed the importance to expectations of the antecedents perceived usefulness, ease of use, frequency of use, reputation, and subjective norm.Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under Research Project ECO2014-59688- R, “National Program for Research, Develop, and Innovation Oriented toward Societal Challenges,” within the context of the 2013–2016 National Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation Plan

Consumers´ behaviour in fast-food restaurants: a food value perspective from Spain

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand consumers’ behaviour in fast-food restaurants in Spain. To this end, the authors conducted a survey that combined a classification of food values, as proposed in the relevant literature, with a related model that links personal values to behaviour. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 400 consumers was gathered from two different, leading fast-food chains operating in Spain. With these data, respondents were grouped through hierarchical cluster analysis and K-measures, and in accordance with Lusk and Briggeman’s (2009) food values and the food-related lifestyle model. The authors validated these clusters by means of ANOVA and discriminant analysis, which led to useful observations about inter-group differences in consumers’ habits, as well as their satisfaction, trust and loyalty. Findings – The results indicate that consumers can be clustered into three groups based their food values assessments: the “mainly utilitarian” group, the “mainly hedonic” group and the “ethical values” group. These groups not only demonstrate diverse habits, but also differ on key variables such as satisfaction, trust and loyalty. Practical implications – The authors offer several managerial recommendations for designing and developing segmentation strategies in the fast-food industry. Any such strategies should acknowledge that all consumer groups appear to value restaurants’ efforts to provide them with both hedonic and utilitarian benefits, although the extent varies across groups. Originality/value – Among the relevant literature, this research is the only one that examines the existence of distinct consumer groups based on their food values assessments. In addition, this paper analyses inter-group differences in terms of both diverse consumptions habits ( frequency of visits, expenditure, etc.) and key marketing variables (satisfaction, trust and loyalty)

Archeological Tourist Destination Image Formation: Influence of Information Sources on the Cognitive, Affective and Unique Image.

A destination’s image is a critical factor in tourists’ perceptions and evaluations of said destination. This paper analyzes the formation of the tourist destination image of Segóbriga Archeological Park, a cultural destination located in the province of Cuenca (Spain) that holds great heritage value. To this end, the paper adopted a multidimensional approach and used PLS-SEM to analyze the destination image, taking into account not only its cognitive and affective components, but also the unique image component. The latter has received less attention in the literature and is a novel factor among cultural destinations. The results show that this component is essential to the overall image of an archeological destination, but is not influenced by information sources

Determinantes de la experiencia de cliente en e-servicios: el caso de las universidades virtuales

The proliferation of online universities has open many questions arise regarding the competitiveness and long-term permanence of this kind of institutions. From this perspective, one of the aspects that can contribute to increase their long-term competitiveness is the clients´ experience, in this case, the students. According the last ideas, this study analyses the key drivers of consumer experience in e-services. Particularly our goal is define and quantify the influence that website quality and university brand assess have on consumers experience, when he/she is a student of a virtual university. Using the PLS-SEM (partial least squares-structural equation modeling) has enabled us to demonstrate how the university brand is the most influential factor in the student’s experience. On the other hand, it is observed how the influence exerted by the web environment is lower where the service is offered. Of the three dimensions identified, the quality of the system is the one that exerts a greater influence, followed by the quality of the relationship, which is moderated by the role played by university staff.Este trabajo ha obtenido el Accésit del Premio Estudios Financieros 2017 en la modalidad de Educación y Nuevas Tecnologías. El auge de la universidad online plantea muchas cuestiones relacionadas con la competitividad y permanencia a largo plazo de este tipo de instituciones. Desde esta perspectiva, uno de los aspectos que puede contribuir a incrementar su competitividad a largo plazo es la experiencia de los clientes, en este caso, los estudiantes. Teniendo como antecedentes estas ideas previas, este estudio analiza los factores determinantes de la experiencia de los clientes en los servicios electrónicos. En concreto, el objetivo consiste en definir y cuantificar la influencia que la calidad del sitio web y la marca universidad ejercen sobre la experiencia de los estudiantes de una universidad virtual. El análisis empírico realizado –utilizando PLS-SEM (partial least squares-structural equation modeling)– ha permitido poner de manifiesto que la marca de la universidad es el factor que más influye sobre la experiencia del estudiante. Por otro lado, se observa que la influencia ejercida por el entorno web donde se ofrece el servicio es menor. De las tres dimensiones identificadas, la calidad del sistema es la que ejerce una mayor influencia, seguida de la calidad de la relación, la cual viene moderada por el rol ejercido por el personal del staff universitario