Multidimensional perspective of perceived value in industrial clusters

Purpose – This paper aims to demonstrate that aspects of a rational or functional character and aspects of an emotional and social nature condition the perceived value of the exchange relationships among firms in an industrial cluster. Design/methodology/approach: – The research uses structural equation models (SEM) to test the models and applies the maximum likelihood estimation method in all the causal models obtained in the course of the data analysis. Findings – The results obtained support the hypotheses put forward, and in particular the importance of emotional and social values in industrial relations. Research limitations/implications – Recent advances in consumer and services marketing consider that perceived value and satisfaction are central to explaining customer loyalty. However, very few studies in B2B explain the multidimensionality of perceived value. For this purpose, the authors test their working hypotheses in the Spanish ceramic tiles cluster. Specifically, they analyze the relationships between manufacturers and a supplier of frits, enamels and ceramic colors and related services. Practical implications – An empirical study demonstrates that experience and interpersonal relationships are more important than price and switching costs in an industrial cluster context. The empirical study and the results provide evidence for managers: the critical influence of the emotional and social values perceived by the customer on his level of satisfaction and on the achievement of final loyalty. Originality/value – The paper highlights the importance of the most intangible dimensions of value for the relations between companies in an industrial cluste

CX3CR1-deficient microglia shows impaired signalling of the transcription factor NRF2: Implications in tauopathies

TAU protein aggregation is the main characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies. Low-grade chronic inflammation is also another hallmark that indicates crosstalk between damaged neurons and glial cells. Previously, we have demonstrated that neurons overexpressing TAU P301L release CX3CL1, which activates the transcription factor NRF2 signalling to limit over-activation in microglial cells in vitro and in vivo. However, the connection between CX3CL1/CX3CR1 and NRF2 system and its functional implications in microglia are poorly described. We evaluated CX3CR1/NRF2 axis in the context of tauopathies and its implication in neuroinflammation. Regarding the molecular mechanisms that connect CX3CL1/CX3CR1 and NRF2 systems, we observed that in primary microglia from Cx3cr1 -/- mice the mRNA levels of Nrf2 and its related genes were significantly decreased, establishing a direct linking between both systems. To determine functional relevance of CX3CR1, migration and phagocytosis assays were evaluated. CX3CR1-deficient microglia showed impaired cell migration and deficiency of phagocytosis, as previously described for NRF2-deficient microglia, reinforcing the idea of the relevance of the CX3CL1/CX3CR1 axis in these events. The importance of these findings was evident in a tauopathy mouse model where the effects of sulforaphane (SFN), an NRF2 inducer, were examined on neuroinflammation in Cx3cr1 +/+ and Cx3cr1 -/- mice. Interestingly, the treatment with SFN was able to modulate astrogliosis but failed to reduce microgliosis in Cx3cr1 -/- mice. These findings suggest an essential role of the CX3CR1/NRF2 axis in microglial function and in tauopathies. Therefore, polymorphisms with loss of function in CX3CR1 or NRF2 have to be taken into account for the development of therapeutic strategiesThis work was supported by a Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Grants refs. SAF2016-76520-R

Customer loyalty in clusters: perceived value and satisfaction as antecedents

Purpose: This paper studies, from the perspective of relationship marketing, the loyalty behavior of industrial customers in the context of a cluster. Loyalty is a key variable for studying long term relationships between firms. Research implications: Recent advances in consumer and services marketing consider that perceived value and satisfaction are central to explaining customer loyalty. However, very few studies in B2B explain the antecedents of customer loyalty. This study adopts the relationship marketing approach, and loyalty behavior is being analyzed in a specific setting: an industrial cluster. Furthermore, the effect of the number of suppliers is analyzed as a possible moderator in the relationships of the model. Methodology Approach: We have chosen the Spanish tile cluster to test a series of the hypotheses. Questionnaires were elaborated from primary and secondary information and SEM has been used for statistical treatment and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Findings: Importance relationships between perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty and the importance of the different dimensions of perceive value. Practical implications: The empirical study and the results provide an importance evidence for managers: the critical influence of the Emotional and social perceived values by the customer on his level of satisfaction and on the achievement of final the commercial training programs of this matters. Originality, value, and contribution: This study highlights theimportance of the most intangibles dimensions of value for the industrial cluster relations between companie

Un estudio comparativo de los instrumentos de medición de la calidad de los servicios públicos

En este trabajo se hace un repaso conceptual a la discusión existente en torno a los instrumentos de medición de la calidad de un servicio, prestando especial atención a la medición de la calidad de los servicios públicos. En esta revisión destaca el debate que se ha producido en la literatura alrededor de qué instrumento es mejor para medir la calidad: el SERVQUAL o el SERVPERF. A continuación se presenta un trabajo empírico sobre 888 individuos repartidos en tres muestras de usuarios de servicios públicos hospitalarios, universitarios y ferroviarios. En dicho estudio se compara la fiabilidad y validez de estos los dos instrumentos de medición de la calidad.This paper presents a conceptual overview of the discussion on existing instruments measuring quality of service, with special attention to measuring the quality of public services . This review highlights the debate that has occurred in the literature about which instrument is best to measure quality: SERVQUAL or SERVPERF. Then an empirical study on 888 individuals divided into three samples of hospital users, academics and public rail services is presented. In this study the reliability and validity of these two instruments measuring quality are compared

Entrepreneurship innovation using social robots in tourism: a social listening study

The tourism sector has been one of the most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to restrictions on mobility and fear of social contact. In this context, business innovation through digital transformation is presented as a great opportunity for the tourism industry and the inclusion of social robots in service tasks is an example. This transformation requires new methodologies, skills and talent that must be promoted to improve the innovative tourism ecosystem. With this research, we try to determine how the inclusion of social or service robots in hotels can improve the image and perception held by clients or guests. For that, we frst analyse the degree of knowledge and sentiment generated by social robots through a social listening study in social networks. In addition, we determine whether these perceptions on the subject are in tune with other more formal felds, such as scientifc research, or with the strategies followed at a national or international level by companies, agencies and organisations related to the technology and innovation of social robotics. For both objectives, we use the Simbiu social listening tool, a software-based program on Talkwalker, and we obtain interesting results. Basically, people on Twitter have a neutral or positive feeling about the use of social robots, and people who write in English have a more positive attitude towards social robots than Spanish speakers. After COVID-19, are necessary changes in strategic decisions of the hospitality and it is essential to continue investigating the role of social robots in this new context.Funding for open access charge: CRUE-Universitat Jaume

The Made In Effect on the Perception of a Spanish Industrial Product in Foreign Markets

With globalization, organizations must be able to look for their own differentiation with the aim to obtain sustainable competitive advantages. Differentiation across the products can be a key factor if it is also associated with their place of origin. More and more, if we consider that the nowadays economical crisis is affecting several of the most representative sectors and industries. In this respect, this paper has as aim to analyze the perception that professionals of the construction industry of some of the main European markets, exactly, France, Poland and United Kingdom, have on different types of ceramic tiles having into account their place of origin.Ante la globalización, las empresas deben ser capaces de buscar sus propios parámetros de diferenciación con el fin de obtener ventajas competitivas sostenibles. La diferenciación a través de los productos puede ser un factor clave si además va asociada a su lugar de origen. Además la crisis de las principales economías mundiales afecta a varios de sus sectores más representativos. El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar la percepción que profesionales del sector de la construcción de algunos de los principales mercados europeos, concretamente, Francia, Polonia y Reino Unido, tienen sobre diferentes tipos de recubrimiento para suelos en función de su lugar de origen

Testing the Applicability of 119Sn Mössbauer Spectroscopy for the Internal Stress Study in Ternary and Co-Doped Ni-Mn-Sn Metamagnetic Alloys

The influence of both the Co addition and the internal stress on the atomic level magnetism is comparatively studied in Ni50Mn37Sn13 and Ni45Mn38Sn13Co4 alloys by magnetic measurements and 119Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy. The results show that the saturation magnetization and the hyperfine field follow the same temperature trend. The internal stress state is investigated by subjecting the samples to milling and annealing treatments, and tracking the singlet component revealed by 119Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy. Contrary to what was expected, in the Co-doped Ni-Mn-Sn sample the singlet component can be resolved between the milled and annealed states in both martensite and austenite phases. Therefore, the results demonstrate the feasibility of tracking the singlet component upon the structural recovery in Co-doped Ni-Mn-Sn alloys in a much wider range than in ternary alloys. In addition, it is concluded that the transferred dipolar field at Sn from the neighbor magnetic atoms depends very strongly on the stress field and on the microstructural order surrounding Sn atoms. The observed sensitivity of Sn Mössbauer probe atoms to slight microstructural distortions make 119 Sn a powerful technique for the characterization of the stress present in Sn containing metamagnetic shape memory alloys.This research was funded by Projects RTI2018-094683-B-C5 (4,5) (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE) and Basque Government Grant IT-1005–16

Identification of Linearized RMS-Voltage Dip Patterns Based on Clustering in Renewable Plants

[EN] Generation units connected to the grid are currently required to meet low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) requirements. In most developed countries, these requirements also apply to renewable sources, mainly wind power plants and photovoltaic installations connected to the grid. This study proposes an alternative characterisation solution to classify and visualise a large number of collected events in light of current limits and requirements. The authors' approach is based on linearised root-mean-square-(RMS)-voltage trajectories, taking into account LRVT requirements, and a clustering process to identify the most likely pattern trajectories. The proposed solution gives extensive information on an event's severity by providing a simple but complete visualisation of the linearised RMS-voltage patterns. In addition, these patterns are compared to current LVRT requirements to determine similarities or discrepancies. A large number of collected events can then be automatically classified and visualised for comparative purposes. Real disturbances collected from renewable sources in Spain are used to assess the proposed solution. Extensive results and discussions are also included in this study.The authors thank the financial support from the 'Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad' (Spain) and the European Union - ENE2016-78214-C2-2-R, Fulbright/Spanish Ministry of Education Visiting Scholar - PRX14/00694. This work was also supported by the US Department of Energy under contract no. DE-AC36-08-GO28308 with the National Renewable Energy LaboratoryGarcía-Sánchez, TM.; Gómez-Lázaro, E.; Muljadi, E.; Kessler, M.; Muñoz-Benavente, I.; Molina-García, A. (2018). Identification of Linearized RMS-Voltage Dip Patterns Based on Clustering in Renewable Plants. IET Generation Transmission & Distribution. 12(6):1256-1262. https://doi.org/10.1049/iet-gtd.2017.0474S12561262126Craciun B. Kerekes T. 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A., Molina-Garcia, A., & Canas-Carreton, M. (2009). Characterization and Visualization of Voltage Dips in Wind Power Installations. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, 24(4), 2071-2078. doi:10.1109/tpwrd.2009.2027513Gunther, E. W., & Mebta, H. (1995). A survey of distribution system power quality-preliminary results. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, 10(1), 322-329. doi:10.1109/61.368382Belloni F. Chiappa C. Chiumeo R.et al.: ‘Voltage dip measurements along MV lines vs primary substations measurements’.Int. Conf. on Renewable Energies and Power Quality (ICREPQ'12) March2012 pp.28–30Garcia-Sanchez, T., Gomez-Lazaro, E., Muljadi, E., Kessler, M., & Molina-Garcia, A. (2016). Statistical and Clustering Analysis for Disturbances: A Case Study of Voltage Dips in Wind Farms. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, 31(6), 2530-2537. doi:10.1109/tpwrd.2016.2522946Barrera Nunez V. Melendez Frigola J. 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Selective area growth of a- and c-plane GaN nanocolumns by molecular beam epitaxy using colloidal nanolithography

Selective area growth of a-plane GaN nanocolumns by molecular beam epitaxy was performed for the first time on a-plane GaN templates. Ti masks with 150 nm diameter nanoholes were fabricated by colloidal lithography, an easy, fast and cheap process capable to handle large areas. Even though colloidal lithography does not provide a perfect geometrical arrangement like e-beam lithography, it produces a very homogeneous mask in terms of nanohole diameter and density, and is used here for the first time for the selective area growth of GaN. Selective area growth of a-plane GaN nanocolumns is compared, in terms of anisotropic lateral and vertical growth rates, with GaN nanocolumns grown selectively on the c-plan

Influence of Structural Defects on the Properties of Metamagnetic Shape Memory Alloys

The production of μ-particles of Metamagnetic Shape Memory Alloys by crushing and subsequent ball milling process has been analyzed. The high energy involved in the milling process induces large internal stresses and high density of defects with a strong influence on the martensitic transformation; the interphase creation and its movement during the martensitic transformation produces frictional contributions to the entropy change (exothermic process) both during forward and reverse transformation. The frictional contribution increases with the milling time as a consequence of the interaction between defects and interphases. The influence of the frictional terms on the magnetocaloric effect has been evidenced. Besides, the presence of antiphase boundaries linked to superdislocations helps to understand the spin-glass behavior at low temperatures in martensite. Finally, the particles in the deformed state were introduced in a photosensitive polymer. The mechanical damping associated to the Martensitic Transformation (MT) of the particles is clearly distinguished in the produced composite, which could be interesting for the development of magnetically-tunable mechanical dampers.This research was funded by Projects RTI2018-094683-B-C5 (4,5) (MCIU/AEI/FEDER,UE); ASACTEI Pcia.Santa Fe IO-2017-00138, PID-UNR ING 575 and ING 612 (2018–202