Prioritizing the effective factors for customers attraction: A case study of Sepah Bank

During the past few years, privatization has recently changed banking industry and there has been an increase competition in this industry. New banks try to present better services to absorb customers and traditional banks attempt to improve their services to retain their existing customers. In such environment and with limited amount of resources, there is a necessity to prioritize different influencing factors on the quality of the services. The proposed study of this paper presents a multi criteria decision making method along with Kano method to prioritize the most influencing factors of service quality. The proposed study of this paper is implemented for one of the oldest banks in Iran called Sepah. We have gathered different factors influencing customer satisfaction for all Sepah banks located in Semnan, Iran and using, analytical hierarchy process we provide a detailed ranking

Assessment of Social Distance between Customers in Urban Hypermarket during COVID-19 Pandemic by Simulation Approach

Introduction: Social distance is important for reducing the spread of the new COVID-19 pandemic, especially in public places. In addition, urban stores are one of the crowded places where observing social distance is considered necessary. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the social distance between customers in urban stores during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic using a simulation method. Materials and methods: Research data were collected from the closed-circuit television footage of a store from a hypermarket in Iran, and then customers’ social distance was analyzed through their movement behaviors by two modes of 1 and 2-meter distance using software similar to the Pathfinder simulator. Further parts of the urban store required corrections considering the first scenario and the two-meter distance between people compared to the second scenario and the one-meter distance between them. Results: Based on simulation results, dense areas were identified in different sections of the hypermarket, namely, places where the shelves distance was 1 meter to 2 meters. More precisely, this research provided a method for evaluating different parts of the store in terms of population density regarding maintaining social distance. Conclusion: several suggestions were presented to stores for maintaining social distance based on research findings

Identification of Key Success Factors - in Developing a Character Merchandising in the Iranian Marketplace using Grounded Theory Method

Objective: Production and selling products under a brand earned its equity in a different area of product consumption is a popular strategy among manufacturers that do not have the ability or desire to invest in branding. This strategy is known as merchandising and character merchandising is one of the most common ones. This research is about to identify key success factors of character merchandising strategy in the Iranian market. Methods: As a qualitative research we conducted Grounded Theory in the present study. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with consumers of these types of goods and analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding, based on paradigm approach of GT. Results: Appropriate marketing mix, character origin, cultural fit, medium, competitive capability, and contextual factors have been identified and conceptualized as merchandising key success factors. Conclusion: Success of animation character merchandising in the Iranian market is mainly based on having knowledge about character origins and cultural symbols. Additionally, due to the cultural and social characteristics of the Iranian market, families are paying attention to the cultural appropriateness of the characters- an important factor for the competitiveness of products and characters

Explain the Causes of Customer Dissatisfaction based on Text Mining Analysis

Customer satisfaction requires the customer to be happy both in daily and long-term and global interactions. People's opinions about the products of a company on websites and social media can provide useful information for companies to evaluate customer satisfaction. In this research, using the methodology text mining and k- means clustering, customers' opinions about the three brands of Snowa, Pakshoma and Parskhazar from domestic appliances and comments on the three brands of Samsung, LG, and Tefal from external home appliances in the website of Digikala.com were analyzed. The results of this study show that dissatisfaction factors were clustered in six attributes, product failure, and price proportions with performance, efficiency, design, manufacturing quality and after-sales services. In domestic appliances, the most dissatisfaction factors were the product failure, price proportions with performance, manufacturing quality, after-sales service, efficiency, and design. And the factors causing dissatisfaction in external home appliances were manufacturing quality, product failure, design, after-sales service, price proportions with performance, and efficiency

Identifying and Prioritizing Cultural Barriers to Community-Based Tourism in Iran

AbstractCommunity-based tourism is an approach to achieving sustainable tourism that focuses on community productivity. Being productive in the context of a society in the field of community-based tourism requires active participation, which is greatly influenced by the cultural atmosphere of the society. For this purpose, the present study has identified and prioritized the cultural challenges of tourism stakeholder participation in Iran. Initially, nine major challenges were extracted based on domestic and foreign literature and localized and prioritized using the SWARA method based on the integration of the opinions of seven tourism, urban, and academic affairs experts. Structural relationships between challenges were performed using interpretive structural modeling, in which challenges were balanced at five levels. The DEMATEL method was used to confirm the results. According to the findings of the present study, among the cultural challenges of community-based tourism, the inefficiency of mass media and lack of sense of belonging had the most impact and lack of trust and limited interactions, ambiguity, and indifference of individuals had the most interaction with other challenges, respectively. IntroductionAchieving comprehensive and sustainable development is the main concern of most governments today. Community-based tourism (CBT) in its original form links community development strategies and sustainability in tourism activities. CBT is the interaction between different cultures in a single space and the benefit of all individuals from the benefits that are required, which requires principled management to take into account the preferences of all individuals. CBT must contribute to the independence of the society through comprehensive sustainable development. Local culture should be emphasized in the development of the community and at the grassroots level. The local cultural context should be considered and used as a starting point for community development projects. As tourism is a service and human-centered industry, the constructive role of the people for development should not be overlooked. People should be involved in the development of this industry and decisions and policies to participate in the implementation of programs and be well acquainted with the problems, obstacles, and benefits of this industry. Also because participation is greatly influenced by the cultural atmosphere of a community; therefore, the present study identifies and prioritizes cultural barriers affecting community-based tourism.Given the importance of community participation in the tourism industry, cultural barriers affecting the participation of tourism stakeholders have been identified. Using the interpretive structural modeling technique, a model of their internal relationships has been provided. This model is an appropriate approach in creating a hierarchical structure of factors, based on the degree of impact and effectiveness of each obstacle to form a comprehensive and clear view of key obstacles and how they relate to each other. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to answer the following three research questions: 1) what are the cultural barriers affecting community-based tourism? 2) What are the priorities for the implementation of these criteria from the perspective of experts? 3) What are the causal relations of cultural barriers to community-based tourism? The study mentions the research method and findings, conclusions, and suggestions for future studies. The results of this study can be used by policymakers to introduce more systematic solutions to remove cultural barriers to community-based tourism and to help communities and entrepreneurs overcome the challenges of sustainable development. Materials and MethodsThe present study is applied and descriptive survey in terms of research orientation and data collection, respectively. At first, using domestic and foreign literature, nine of the most important cultural barriers of stakeholder participation in tourism were identified and then weighed by seven experts active in the field of tourism and urban management using the SWARA method. The feature of the researchers in the present study was to use the information of experts based on their deep knowledge of the relevant field and their relative knowledge of the sub-dimensions of the subject. After prioritizing the barriers, using the ISM method, a model of the internal relationships of the barriers with each other was prepared and DEMATEL software was used to confirm the model. Discussion of ResultsPrioritized barriers in the interpretive structural sector were aligned at five levels, with the polarization of the social environment at the first level and the inefficiency of the mass media at the fifth level. Findings in the DEMATEL section showed that barriers to mass media inefficiency, lack of sense of belonging, limited cultural capacity with the highest (D-R), respectively, were identified as the most influential factors, and barriers to distrust and limited interaction, ambiguity and apathy, and lack of honesty of members with the highest (D + R), respectively, had the most interaction. ConclusionsIn this study, by reviewing the research literature and using the opinions of experts, cultural barriers to community-based tourism were identified and prioritized. According to the findings of Dematel causal analysis, barriers to mass media inefficiency, lack of sense of belonging, limited cultural capacity, and differences in value and norm were identified as effective barriers.Due to the high impact of mass media on community participation, future studies could examine how the media works to evoke a sense of belonging in communities and public participation in tourism procurement, how media policies, by eliminating the polar atmosphere in communities, motivate participation in joint programs between the government and the nation, and basically how to create a culture of participation and innovation in the development of participatory tourism destinations. Keywords: Community-Based Tourism, Cultural Barriers to Participation, Interpretive Structural Modeling, SWARA, Iran. References- Adi, T. J. W., & Musbah, A. (2017). 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The role of the mass media in urban management (case study: 22-district of Tehran Municipality). Journal of Urban Economics and Management, 4(16), 115-126.- Kwangseh, B. E. (2014). Community based tourism (CBT) planning– an analysis of opportunities and barriers: A case study of Cameroon. Unpublished Master Thesis, Eastern Mediterranean University, Gazimağusa, North Cyprus.- Le Bui Ngoc, A. (2019). The role of communication in leading a successful international project. Degree Programme in International Business. Saimaa University.- Lückmann, P., & Färber, K. (2016). The impact of cultural differences on project stakeholder engagement: A review of case study research in international project management. Journal of Procedia Computer Science, 100, 85-94.- Nazarian, A., Irani, Z., & Ali, M. (2013). The relationship between national culture and organisational culture: The case of Iranian private sector organisations. Journal of Economics, Business and Management, 1(1), 11-16.- Ochieng, E. 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Identifying and ranking the antecedents of digital ‎marketing development based on blockchain ‎technology ‎(case: aviation industry) ‎‎

Blockchain technology is one of the most promising technologies of this ‎century that has the potential to bring about fundamental changes in business ‎models in a wide range of industries. The current research seeks to identify ‎the antecedents of the development of digital marketing based on blockchain ‎technology from the point of view of marketing experts in the aviation ‎industry.This research is practical in terms of orientation and positivist from a ‎philosophical point of view, which was carried out using a mixed method.,In ‎this study, the antecedents of the development of digital marketing based on ‎blockchain technology were first extracted by literature review and semi-‎structured interviews, and with the help of experts, the final factors were ‎identified;Then, these factors in the form of Q cards were provided to ‎‏22‏‎ ‎marketing experts in the aviation industry who were selected purposefully ‎and finally their views were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis.The ‎participants in this research have ‎‏6‏‎ different views and their mental patterns ‎are categorized based on market variables, internal, content, technological, ‎human and environmental factors.The results of this research have given ‎useful insight to managers and decision makers in the aviation industry, so ‎that by knowing these factors, they can strengthen and develop digital ‎marketing in airline companies.

Factors Influencing Growth or Decline of Brand Performance in the Healthcare Industry: a case study in Shiraz hospitals

Background: In the competitive healthcare market, maintaining and developing a market share is the result of brand performance. Therefore, studying factors influencing decline or growth of brand performance is an important topic in hospital marketing strategies. Methods: The statistical population of this descriptive and applied study included individuals who received inpatient services during a 9- month period (March, 2017 to December, 2017) at one hospital in Shiraz. Cluster and convenient sampling was done and 396 ones were selected. The collected data were analyzed through Smart PLS software. Results: Hospital brand value was to a large extent influenced by brand association, perceived quality, brand trust, relationship commitment, brand loyalty, reputation and social responsibility. Hospital reputation from the patients' viewpoint with an impact of 0.875 and patients’ loyalty to hospital brand with an impact of 0.843 had the most important roles in enhancing hospital brand value. The factor of brand specific value affected hospitals brand performance with impact of 0.842. Relative Goodness of Fit (GOF) equal to 0.925 and R squares equal to 0.839 for hospital brand value and 0.725 for brand performance indicated that this model was valid for measuring hospital brand value and performance. Conclusion: Hospitals can improve their brand value and also other performance indicators through essential measures related to promotion of factors influencing the decline or growth of hospital brand performance such as service quality, association, trust, relationship commitment, loyalty, reputation and social responsibility

Presenting the Prediction Model for the Return of Health Tourists based on Lifestyle Clusters (with Emphasis on Ramsar Hot Springs)

The aim of this study is to draw a prediction model for the return of spa tourist based on lifestyle clusters. This was done in two related steps. In the first step, Abdi and Kajbaf lifestyle questionnaire was used, which its reliability and validity were verified through Cronbach's alpha and first and second confirmatory factor analysis respectively. The views of 391 tourists were gathered on 10 dimensions of lifestyle. Then using cluster analysis, K mean obtained and based on Davis-Bouldin index, optimum cluster were acquired. Spa tourists were classified in three clusters. In the second step, using profound semi-structured interviews with tourists, 14 effective indicators were identified for their re-travel. Using Decision tree method, the decision models of return of tourists designed and the rules if-then related to each cluster were extracted. The results showed that the tourists in the first cluster are highly sensitive to travel costs such as the cost of accommodation and the cost of the spring, for the tourists in the second cluster, the health factors of the spring, security facilities, and employees’ behavior are the priorities for decision making. Finally, in the pattern of the decision of tourists in the third cluster, three indicators of spring health, accommodation facilities, and counseling and medical facilities are of great importanc

A hybrid algorithm of BSC and QFD to determine the criteria affecting implementation of successful outsourcing

Successful organizations share some identical factors that pave the way for their success. Among these factors, strategic management is the key to success for organizations to contribute more to the competitive world market of today. In this respect, the pivotal role of outsourcing cannot be denied. This research parallelizes the criteria affecting the outsourcing success as presented in Elmuti model with the Balanced score card method in the Tose'e Ta'avon Bank. In this research, questionnaires and interviews with experts helped determine the strategic goals at four perspectives of balanced score card method (at Tose'e Ta'avon Bank) and the relative weights were computed for each of balance score card (BSC) perspectives by using AHP method. As the next step, the indexes were prioritized by applying the quality function development(QFD) technique and considering strategic goals at four perspectives in section "WHAT" and the outsourcing success criteria of Elmuti model in section "HOW". At the end of algorithm, the results are compared with the Elmuti method. Based on the results, the hybrid proposed technique seems to perform better than Elmuti

The study of effective factors on visitors' behavioral intentions in tourist destinations

The perception of visitors' behavioral intentions is of great importance for destination managers and marketers. The present study is about to study the effective factors on visitors behavioral intentions in tourist destinations,which examines the effect of destination attributes ,perceived quality of destination offerings, perceived value and satisfaction on behavioral intentions. The sample of the current study considersall the visitors of Torghabe tourist destination in Mashhad city in the summer of 2011 and chooses 494 visitors randomly. The research questionnaire was developed by the researcher after confirming the validity and reliability of data and then followed by their distribution; finally data collection was done through structural equation modeling and analyzed in LIZREL software.the results shows destination attributes have direct positive effect on perceived quality of destination offerings; and on the other hand, perceived value and satisfaction are under direct effect of perceived value. Furthermore, the positive direct effect of perceived value and satisfaction on behavioral intentions was confirmed. The results also indicated that visitors perceived value of destination offerings has an indirect effect on behavioral intentions through mediating variables of satisfaction and perceived value