Music Streaming Services: Understanding the drivers of customer purchase and intention to recommend these services

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Statistics and Information Management, specialization in Information Analysis and ManagementThe music industry has undergone strong changes in relation to its production, distribution and consumption habits, due to the exponential development of new technologies, namely streaming platforms. The fact that sales from physical copies continue to decline significantly made it mandatory for this industry to reinvent itself by introducing music streaming services as a key part of the development of its business. This study aims to understand the factors that influence the consumption of music through streaming platforms studying, particularly, the intention to purchase a paid version of a music streaming service and to recommend it. Therefore, an extension of the UTAUT2 model (version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, applied to the consumer side) was created. An online survey was used to collect data from 324 music streaming services users and the framework was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). It also included in-depth semi-structured interviews in order to draw conclusions about the profile of the new music consumer. Our findings verify that habit, performance expectancy and price value play the most important role in influencing the intention to use a paid music streaming service. The intention to recommend these services was also confirmed. With this analysis, centred in UTAUT2 theory, we contribute with new insights about music streaming services consumer behaviour, providing several theoretical and practical implications to music streaming services providers

Music streaming services and the drivers of customer purchase

Purpose- The music industry has undergone tremendous changes in relation to its production, distribution, and consumption habits due to the exponential development of new technologies, namely streaming platforms. This study aims to understand the factors that influence music consumption through streaming platforms, particularly analysing the differences between premium and freemium users on the intention to adopt premium (paid) versions of a music streaming service. Methodology- UTAUT2 model (version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, applied to the consumer side) was used as framework. Based on data collected from 324 music streaming services users (premium and freemium), this study was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings- Our findings, focused fundamentally on the initial period of pandemics (2020-2021), confirm that facilitating conditions, price value and performance expectancy play the most important role in influencing the intention to use a paid music streaming service for the premium sample. However, the freemium sample finds habit, price value and hedonic motivation the variables most relevant. Conclusion- The research contributes insights into music streaming services consumer behaviour, providing several theoretical and practical implications to music streaming services providers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Music streaming services: understanding the drivers of customer purchase and intention to recommend

Barata, M. L., & Coelho, P. S. (2021). Music streaming services: understanding the drivers of customer purchase and intention to recommend. Heliyon, 7(8). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07783The music industry has undergone tremendous changes in relation to its production, distribution, and consumption habits due to the exponential development of new technologies, namely streaming platforms. The fact that sales of physical copies continue to decline significantly made it mandatory for this industry to reinvent itself by introducing music streaming services as a key part of its business development. This study aims to understand the factors that influence music consumption through streaming platforms, particularly studying the intention to adopt premium (paid) versions of a music streaming service and recommend them. An extension of the UTAUT2 model (version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, applied to the consumer side) was created. Based on data collected from 324 music streaming services users, the framework of this study was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). Research also included in-depth semi-structured interviews in order to generate a more profound knowledge about the profile, behaviours and motivations of the new music consumer. Our findings confirm that habit, performance expectancy and price value play the most important role in influencing the intention to use a paid music streaming service. Simultaneously, new dimensions such as personalisation, attitude towards piracy and perceived freemium-premium fit arise as having an additional relevant role in adopting this type of service. The research contributes insights into music streaming services consumer behaviour, providing several theoretical and practical implications to music streaming services providers.publishersversionpublishersversionpublishe

Adoção do lean seis sigma em serviços: classificação, análise e discussão da literatura / Adoption of lean six sigma in services: classification, analysis and discussion of the literature

O setor de serviços na atualidade tem uma grande importância econômica na maioria das regiões do globo. Com suas particularidades, a principal característica do serviço é que o mesmo se envolve diretamente com seu cliente final, o que se faz necessário inovação estratégica dentro de seus processos, para que sua competitividade a frente do mundo globalizado não seja afetada. Muitas são as ferramentas e abordagens para que as melhorias nestes processos ocorram. E uma em especial, denominada lean seis sigma, vem ganhando espaço dentro de grandes organizações da manufatura e de alguns serviços, como os de saúde e bancários. Porém ainda fica bastante implícito dentro da literatura como essa metodologia que combina outras duas - lean e seis sigma - pode trazer resultados satisfatórios para as empresas e como esta combinação acontece de fato. O objetivo deste trabalho é, por meio de uma revisão sistemática da literatura, mapear, analisar e discutir a adoção do lean seis sigma no âmbito dos serviços, utilizando uma classificação com diversos parâmetros que visam identificar um panorama geral da literatura sobre este tema. Foi adotado um método sistemático de revisão onde foram mapeados 30 artigos sobre adoção lean seis sigma em serviços e a partir da leitura destes com a extração de dados pré-definidos. A partir desta etapa os estudos foram analisados quantitativamente e discutidos qualitativamente para compreender o estado da arte sobre a combinação lean seis sigma dentro dos mais diversos tipos de serviços. Ao final deste trabalho encontram-se algumas considerações sobre a metodologia lean seis sigma a partir dos resultados encontrados na classificação, como por exemplo, quais as ferramentas mais utilizadas no roteiro DMAIC, os pontos positivos e negativos da aplicação encontrados nos artigos e sugestões para pesquisas futuras dentro dos limites deste estudo

Proposta de melhoria do layout em uma loja varejista de peças de bicicleta: uma aplicação do planejamento sistemático de layout / Proposed layout improvement in a retail bicycle parts store: an application of systematic layout planning

O setor de serviços tem um impacto significativo para a economia brasileira. Por conta da concorrência acirrada e a exigência cada vez maior por parte dos clientes, empresas buscam cada vez mais se aprimorar no mercado, visando atender as demandas da melhor forma possível. Nesse contexto um bom layout em uma empresa varejista pode contribuir para melhorar a prestação do serviço ao consumidor, aumentar a produtividade e diminuir custos proposicionais. Logo, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo propor melhorias no layout em uma empresa varejista de peças de bicicleta utilizando o Planejamento Sistemático de Layout (PSL). Inicialmente foi feito uma análise bibliográfica para identificar os benefícios que o layout proporciona a uma empresa, para posterior aplicação por meio do PSL. Para a aplicação da ferramenta, foram seguidas algumas etapas necessarias, os desenhos de layout foram realizados com o auxílio do software Autocad 2017. Como resultado desse trabalho, demonstra-se a melhoria que o PSL pode trazer para a empresa através da análise de proposta de layout gerada, mostrando o aumento da eficiência no atendimento ao cliente, reduções de deslocamento e a melhor utilização do espaço físico da loja

Patient-physician discordance in assessment of adherence to inhaled controller medication: a cross-sectional analysis of two cohorts

We aimed to compare patient's and physician's ratings of inhaled medication adherence and to identify predictors of patient-physician discordance.(SFRH/BPD/115169/2016) funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT); ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029130 ('mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases—generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies') cofunded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Identification of clusters of asthma control: A preliminary analysis of the inspirers studies

This work was funded by ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI- -01-0145-FEDER-029130 (“mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases - generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies”) co-funded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).© 2020, Sociedade Portuguesa de Alergologia e Imunologia Clinica. All rights reserved. Aims: To identify distinct asthma control clusters based on Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) and to compare patients’ characteristics among these clusters. Methods: Adults and adolescents (≥13 years) with persistent asthma were recruited at 29 Portuguese hospital outpatient clinics, in the context of two observational studies of the INSPIRERS project. Demographic and clinical characteristics, adherence to inhaled medication, beliefs about inhaled medication, anxiety and depression, quality of life, and asthma control (CARAT, >24 good control) were collected. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed using CARAT total score (CARAT-T). Results: 410 patients (68% adults), with a median (percentile 25–percentile 75) age of 28 (16-46) years, were analysed. Three clusters were identified [mean CARAT-T (min-max)]: cluster 1 [27(24-30)], cluster 2 [19(14-23)] and cluster 3 [10(2-13)]. Patients in cluster 1 (34%) were characterised by better asthma control, better quality of life, higher inhaler adherence and use of a single inhaler. Patients in clusters 2 (50%) and 3 (16%) had uncontrolled asthma, lower inhaler adherence, more symptoms of anxiety and depression and more than half had at least one exacerbation in the previous year. Further-more, patients in cluster 3 were predominantly female, had more unscheduled medical visits and more anxiety symp-toms, perceived a higher necessity of their prescribed inhalers but also higher levels of concern about taking these inhalers. There were no differences in age, body mass index, lung function, smoking status, hospital admissions or specialist physician follow-up time among the three clusters. Conclusion: An unsupervised method based on CARAT--T, identified 3 clusters of patients with distinct, clinically meaningful characteristics. The cluster with better asthma control had a cut-off similar to the established in the validation study of CARAT and an additional cut-off seems to distinguish more severe disease. Further research is necessary to validate the asthma control clusters identified.publishersversionpublishe

Feasibility and Acceptability of an Asthma App to Monitor Medication Adherence : Mixed Methods Study

Background: Poor medication adherence is a major challenge in asthma, and objective assessment of inhaler adherence is needed. The InspirerMundi app aims to monitor adherence while providing a positive experience through gamification and social support. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the InspirerMundi app to monitor medication adherence in adolescents and adults with persistent asthma (treated with daily inhaled medication). Methods: A 1-month mixed method multicenter observational study was conducted in 26 secondary care centers from Portugal and Spain. During an initial face-to-face visit, physicians reported patients' asthma therapeutic plan in a structured questionnaire. During the visits, patients were invited to use the app daily to register their asthma medication intakes. A scheduled intake was considered taken when patients registered the intake (inhaler, blister, or other drug formulation) by using the image-based medication detection tool. At 1 month, patients were interviewed by phone, and app satisfaction was assessed on a 1 (low) to 5 (high) scale. Patients were also asked to point out the most and least preferred app features and make suggestions for future app improvements. Results: A total of 107 patients (median 27 [P25-P75 14-40] years) were invited, 92.5% (99/107) installed the app, and 73.8% (79/107) completed the 1-month interview. Patients interacted with the app a median of 9 (P25-P75 1-24) days. At least one medication was registered in the app by 78% (77/99) of patients. A total of 53% (52/99) of participants registered all prescribed inhalers, and 34% (34/99) registered the complete asthma therapeutic plan. Median medication adherence was 75% (P25-P75 25%-90%) for inhalers and 82% (P25-P75 50%-94%) for other drug formulations. Patients were globally satisfied with the app, with 75% (59/79) scoring >= 4,; adherence monitoring, symptom monitoring, and gamification features being the most highly scored components; and the medication detection tool among the lowest scored. A total of 53% (42/79) of the patients stated that the app had motivated them to improve adherence to inhaled medication and 77% (61/79) would recommend the app to other patients. Patient feedback was reflected in 4 major themes: medication-related features (67/79, 85%), gamification and social network (33/79, 42%), symptom monitoring and physician communication (21/79, 27%), and other aspects (16/79, 20%). Conclusions: The InspirerMundi app was feasible and acceptable to monitor medication adherence in patients with asthma. Based on patient feedback and to increase the registering of medications, the therapeutic plan registration and medication detection tool were redesigned. Our results highlight the importance of patient participation to produce a patient-centered and engaging mHealth asthma app