The impact of celebrities vs youtubers on brand trust, brand love and brand loyalty

Social media took over the past years and nowadays consumers are more exposed to wider information. This grows provided not only for brands a new way to interact with their consumers and impact their engagement, consumer’s retention and brand loyalty, but also, abled individuals to acquire large audiences of several people on these platforms, creating a new phenomenon called influencers, who reached fame through online media usage. Therefore, the concept of celebrity has changed slightly in the last years, celebrities nowadays are not only actors, athletes or models, it can also be Bloggers, Instagrammers and YouTubers. These new influencers have shown a potential for the brands, especially YouTubers because of YouTube videos as not seen by the consumers as a source of advertisement, which consumers generally view those content without guarding suspicious making marketing in YouTube content more effective than traditional marketing. Additionally, once in while they substitute celebrities in the company advertising. This dissertation investigates the difference between the use of YouTuber to a Celebrity in consumer behaviour, more specifically, in terms of brand trust, brand love and brand loyalty. This study was aimed at the Portuguese population and conducted through a focus group and an online questionnaire. This study revealed that YouTubers have a positive influence on brand trust, brand love and brand loyalty. However, Celebrities showed a more significant influence on the consumer in terms of brand trust and love. Thus, celebrities as endorsers are still more efficient and a better strategy than YouTubers.O uso de redes sociais tem vindo a crescer e os consumidores estão expostos a mais informação. Este crescimento proporcionou à marca uma nova maneira de interagir com seus consumidores e impactar seu engajamento, retenção pela marca e lealdade, mas também permitiu que os indivíduos adquirissem grandes audiências nessas plataformas, criando um novo fenômeno chamado influenciadores, que alcançaram a fama através das redes sociais. Portanto, o conceito de celebridade mudou nos últimos anos, hoje em dia as celebridades não são apenas atores, atletas ou modelos, mas também podem ser Bloggers, Instagrammers e YouTubers. Esses novos influenciadores mostram um potencial para a marca, especialmente os YouTubers, uma vez que os vídeos do YouTube não são vistos pelos consumidores como uma fonte de propaganda, pois os consumidores vêem esse conteúdo sem grandes suspeitas, tornando o marketing do YouTube mais eficaz do que o marketing tradicional. Por vezes, os YouTubers substituem as celebridades na publicidade. Esta dissertação investiga a diferença entre o uso de um YouTuber e uma celebridade no comportamento do consumidor, mais especificamente na confiança na marca, amor à marca e lealdade. Este estudo foi direcionado à população portuguesa, através de um focus group e de um questionário online. Este estudo revelou que os YouTubers têm influência na confiança, no amor e na lealdade à marca. No entanto, as celebridades mostraram uma influência maior no consumidor em termos de confiança e amor à marca. Assim, as celebridades como patrocinadores são mais eficientes e uma estratégia melhor do que os YouTubers

Culturally-driven agency in value cocreation within portuguese business ecosystem - a multiple case study approach

Doutoramento em GestãoUnderpinned by Service-dominant Logic (SdL), Neo-institutional Theory (NiT) and Theory of Structuration, the present research intends to deepen the understanding of how meta-layer, culturally-driven institutions shape the agency of decision-makers in service exchange engagement. Since there is a lack of works in SdL addressing how institutions coordinate value cocreation, the present research aims to fill this gap by focusing on how individuals conciliate institutions as it has significant implications on how they engage in service exchange. From the articulation of the three aforementioned distinct bodies of literature, a conceptual framework addressing the phenomenon under study emerged. In order to meet the research purposes, an interpretivist, naturalistic and mainly deductive perspective was taken and a multiple embedded case study research was adopted. The primary unit of analysis of the research is the individual, in its two dimensions (i.e. agency and social structure) and two additional units of analysis (embedded units) are considered: the firm and the organizational field where the individual is embedded in order to represent the phenomenon’s complexity. The research population is comprised by Portuguese individuals performing decision-making and troubleshooting roles as service beneficiaries, in Portuguese firms. From the population, eight cases meeting literal and theoretical replication criteria were initially selected and four additional cases were added to accomplish theoretical saturation. Interviews were conducted and document analyses and observation were performed to collect data. A framework based on empirical data regarding how culturally-driven institutions shape the agency of decision-makers is proposed. It considers not only what actions are affected by institutions but also how different institutions interact inside the individual’s structure. Also, this research brings to the forefront of SdL literature the concept of cultural resource by stressing its empirical relevance. These are two of the main contributions made by the current research to SdL, NiT and management practice.Suportada na Lógica dominante do Serviço (LdS), na Teoria Neo-institucional (TNi) e na Teoria da Estruturação, esta investigação pretende aprofundar o conhecimento sobre o efeito de instituições culturais na ação de decisores envolvidos em trocas de serviço. Dada a escassez de estudos que abordem a influência das instituições na co-criação de valor, a presente investigação pretende contribuir para reduzir esta lacuna focando-se na forma como os decisores conciliam as instituições, que tem, por sua vez, implicações na forma como os indivíduos desenvolvem trocas de serviço. Da articulação das três referidas teorias resulta um modelo conceptual do fenómeno a investigar. Durante a investigação foi adotada uma perspectiva interpretativista, naturalista e maioritariamente dedutiva para conduzir múltiplos casos de estudo em que a principal unidade de análise é o indivíduo nas suas duas dimensões (i.e. agência e estrutura). Foram ainda consideradas duas unidades de análise adicionais (i.e. a empresa e o campo organizacional em que o indivíduo está inserido) por forma a representar a complexidade do fenómeno em investigação. A população do estudo compreende indivíduos portugueses com papéis de decisão e de resolução de problemas enquanto beneficiários de um serviço, em empresas portuguesas. Da população foram selecionados oito casos iniciais com base em critérios de replicação literal e teórica e posteriormente, foram escolhidos mais quatro casos de forma a atingir a saturação teórica. A informação foi recolhida, através de entrevistas, dados secundários e observação, e analisada. A partir dos dados empíricos é proposto um modelo de como as instituições culturais condicionam a ação dos decisores, que considera que as ações são afetadas pelas instituições, bem como as diferentes instituições interagem dentro da estrutura do individuo. Adicionalmente, esta investigação sublinha a relevância empírica do conceito de recurso cultural, entre outras contribuições feitas para a LdS, para a TNi e para a prática da gestão.N/

Discussing the potential of the institutional theory to leverage service-dominant logic advancements

Purpose – Institutions play a central role in service-dominant logic. However, the discussion regarding how institutional theory supports service-dominant logic advancements is still insufficient. This paper aims to contribute to a discussion on the multiple service-dominant logic approaches to institutions. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper presents the characterization of the existing streams in the broad institutional literature, highlighting the differences among those streams and elaborates on how one of the discussed streams – neo-institutionalism – is suitable to support service-dominant researchers in understanding the role of institutions in markets and value co-creation. Findings – The paper shows that the three institutional perspectives presented are used indistinctly by service-dominant logic and a greater fit between the service-dominant logic and the neo-institutionalism stands out. Originality/value – The paper proposes that service-dominant researchers should look at the neoinstitutional streamas a particularly fertile ground for furthering their researchinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impacts of CO2 - Induced Ocean Acidification on predator detection ability and developementof temperate fish

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada no ISPA – Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida para obtenção de grau de Mestre na especialidade de Biologia Marinha e ConservaçãoA acidificação do oceano, causada por níveis elevados de dióxido de carbono (CO2) atmosférico, é reconhecida como uma ameaça aos ecossistemas marinhos. A maioria dos estudos tem-se centrado nos organismos de calcificação marinha, devido à dependência de carbonato de cálcio, que poderá ficar limitado no futuro. Menos atenção tem sido dada aos peixes, mas estudos recentes sobre os estados larvares sugerem que o comportamento, crescimento, desenvolvimento e mesmo a dimensão de estrutura como otólitos podem ser afetados com o aumento dos níveis de CO2. Contudo, outros estudos não conseguem detectar efeitos negativos, sugerindo vulnerabilidades variáveis entre espécies. Neste estudo foram testados os efeitos da acidificação no período larvar de Lepadogaster lepadogaster, uma espécie de peixe marinho temperado. Foram incubados ovos e desenvolvidas as larvas em cativeiro e em condições de controlo e de pCO2 elevado. As alterações morfométricas e o tamanho de otólitos foram examinados em larvas em préassentamento. Foi ainda testada a resposta comportamental a um odor de predador em larvas de L. lepadogaster e de Atherina presbyter, mantidas em condições de pCO2 elevado. A capacidade de reconhecer odores de predadores por ser uma resposta chave para a sobrevivência, sendo reconhecido em diversos estudos como um dos mais afetados em peixes expostos a altos níveis de CO2. Os resultados sugerem que as fases larvares de L. lepadogaster podem ser mais resilientes a cenários de acidificação, enquanto A. presbyter parece ser mais suscetível, com potenciais efeitos na sua sobrevivência. Estudos futuros deverão abordar a capacidade de diferentes espécies se adaptarem às condições de acidificação previstas até final deste século.Ocean acidification, caused by elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), is recognized as a serious threat to marine ecosystems. Until now, most studies have focused on marine calcifying organisms, due to dependence on calcium carbonate, which is likely to become limited under future acidification scenarios. Less attention has been given to fish, but recent studies on the early life stages suggest that behavior, growth, development and otolith size may be highly affected by increasing CO2 levels. Other studies, on the other hand, fail to detect negative effects, suggesting species-specific vulnerabilities to increasing concentrations of CO2 and point to a need of further research. Here we tested the effects of CO2-induced ocean acidification on the early life stages of a temperate marine fish, the clingfish Lepadogaster lepadogaster, by rearing larvae since hatching in control and high pCO2 conditions. Size-at-age metrics and otolith size were examined in pre-settlement stage larvae. Additionally, behavioral response to a predator odour was tested in L. lepadogaster larvae and in Atherina presbyter larvae, maintained in high pCO2 conditions. Recognition of predator odours is a key behavior for predator avoidance and survival, and is one of the most commonly affected behaviors in fishes exposed to high CO2 levels. Results suggest that early life stages of L. lepadogaster might be resilient to future scenarios of ocean acidification, whereas A. presbyter might be more susceptible, with potential impacts on its future survival. Future studies should address species capacity to adapt to the predicted ocean acidification over the next century

A importância da comunicação integrada de marketing em contexto B2B : elaboração de um plano de comunicação integrada de marketing na Get Done Lda.

Mestrado em MarketingNeste trabalho elaboramos um plano de comunicação integrada de marketing para uma empresa que trabalha exclusivamente em contexto business-to-business e pretende aumentar a sua notoriedade e quota de mercado. Para alcançar este objectivo, adopta-se uma estratégia muito suportada pela comunicação online, pela presença em media relevantes e através do desenvolvimento do trabalho de vendas por objectivos específicos. Foram escolhidas tácticas cuja operacionalização é realista e exequível, assim como mensurável a partir de indicadores de análise acessível por parte dos colaboradores da empresa. As áreas de actuação do plano - a comunicação interna, a comunicação online, a publicidade e as vendas pessoais e new business pretendem ser catalisadores da mudança de atitude do mercado face à empresa, e corresponder aos critérios de avaliação que serão aplicados no final do plano, nomeadamente através do indicador principal – o número de pedidos de propostas recebidos pela empresa.In this research we make an integrated marketing communication plan for a firm that works exclusively in the business-to-business context and aims to increase their visibility and market share. The strategy followed is mainly supported by online communications, presence of the brand on relevant media and through the development of specific sales objectives. For this research were chosen tactics whose operationalization are realistic, achievable, and measurable through indicators that can be accessed by company managers. The business scope of the plan - internal communication, online communication, advertising and personal sales and new business areas intends to be the catalyst for a change in the market awareness about the company and meet the evaluation criteria that will be applied at the end of the plan, in particular through the main indicator - the number of requests for proposals received by the company

Responsabilidade social das empresas e a sua implicação no marketing-mix e na marca

Mestrado em MarketingA responsabilidade social das empresas tem vindo progressivamente a integrar-se na gestão das empresas portuguesas. Este estudo trata da responsabilidade social das empresas portuguesas: (1) por que razões a empresa a decide adoptar, (2) em que áreas de gestão essa responsabilidade se faz sentir, (3) que iniciativas são desenvolvidas em prol dessa responsabilidade. Dentro da empresa, é dada especial atenção à relação entre a responsabilidade social e o marketing, nomeadamente (4) às suas implicações nas actividades de marketing e à (5) influência que tem sobre as marcas da empresa. Uma vez que a informação disponível sobre a responsabilidade social em Portugal não abarca os aspectos referidos, recorreu-se à aplicação de um questionário estruturado a uma amostra não probabilística para levar a cabo este estudo de carácter empírico e exploratório. Com a finalidade de estabelecer comparações entre grupos, seleccionou-se uma segunda amostra, também não probabilística, com base noutros critérios. Identificamos, com recurso a estatísticas descritivas e ao cálculo de índices, quais as razões mais e menos importantes para a adopção da responsabilidade social das empresas, quais as áreas de gestão da empresa em que esta se faz sentir mais e menos, quais as ferramentas que estão a ser utilizadas para gerir essa responsabilidade e quais as iniciativas desenvolvidas pelas empresas no âmbito da sua responsabilidade social. Relativamente às implicações desta nova temática com as actividades de marketing, quantificamos a percepção dos profissionais inquiridos das implicações desta nova postura na operacionalização do marketing (2,06 pontos para a amostra principal e 1,64 pontos para o grupo de controlo. Estes valores devem ser enquadrados numa escala máxima de 4 pontos) e da sua influência sobre as marcas da empresa (2,32 pontos para a amostra principal e 2,01 pontos para o grupo de controlo contextualizados numa escala máxima de 4 pontos).Corporate social responsibility is becoming more and more an integral part in Portuguese companies' management. This paper deals with Portuguese companies corporate social responsibility: (1) why do the companies assume it, (2) in which management areas does this responsibility has implications, (3) what kind of initiatives are there promoted in order to foster this responsibility. It is given a special attention to the relationship between social responsibility and marketing, namely (4) to the way it determines marketing activity and (5) to the way in which it has influence upon the company's brands. Once information available about social responsibility in Portugal does not include data regarding the afore-mentioned aspects, we used a structured questionnaire over a non-probabilistic sample, in order to make this empirical and exploratory study. In order to compare groups, a second sample was selected, a non-probabilistic as well, using other criteria. Using descriptive statistics and indexes computation, the more important reasons, and the lesser ones, why social responsibility is assumed in companies were identified. It was also identified in which management areas social responsibility make itself more, and less, felt, which tools are being used to manage this responsibility and which initiatives are being taken accordingly. Regarding the implications of the new issue of social responsibility upon marketing activity, we assessed quantitatively professionals' perception of it (2.06 points for the main sample and 1.64 for the control group. These values are placed on a scale with a maximum of 4) and its influence upon companies' brands (2.32 points for the main sample and 2.01 for the control group, on a scale up to 4)

Determinants of users’ continuance intention toward digital innovations: Are late adopters different?

This study examines the users of digital innovations with covariance-based structural equation modeling (CBSEM) and a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to understand the factors that drive their continuance intention. We examine the interplay between the perceptual factors related to the user experience with a digital product and personal factors that characterize late adoption. The findings highlight that perceived radicalness is a core condition to achieve the users’ continuance intention in a digital context. The findings contribute to theory by providing a better understanding of how personal factors in adoption interact with other determinants of the continuance intention. The study also presents practical implications. The results show that in the case of late adopters, firms should invest in both the radicalness and high system quality of their digital innovations.This work was supported by FCT, I.P.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Endometrial cancer after pelvic radiotherapy: a case-report and review of literature

Cancer treatment has evolved with advances in radiation and chemotherapy. However, over time the effects of ionizing radiation become more evident. In spite of attempting a more targeted therapeutic approach, the harmful effects of radiation on healthy tissues are many times inevitable. We report the case of a young woman who underwent chemoradiotherapy for stage IB2 cervical cancer with no evidence of relapse during 10 years follow-up. Instead she had radiation associated colitis and cystitis and vertebral necrosis. After 10 years an endometrial cancer was diagnosed. Radiation associated endometrial cancer is rare and may present with atypical symptoms making the diagnosis challenging. High degree of suspicion is necessary for an on time diagnosis and treatment

MCT1 is a new prognostic biomarker and its therapeutic inhibition boosts response to temozolomide in human glioblastoma

Background: Glioblastomas (GBMs) present remarkable metabolism reprograming, in which many cells display the “Warburg effect”, with the production of high levels of lactate that are extruded to the tumour microenvironment by monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs). We described previously that MCT1 is up-regulated in human GBM samples, and MCT1 inhibition decreases glioma cell viability and aggressiveness. In the present study, we aimed to unveil the role of MCT1 in GBM prognosis and to explore it as a target for GBM therapy in vivo. Methods: MCT1 activity and protein expression were inhibited by AR-C155858 and CHC compounds or stable knockdown with shRNA, respectively, to assess in vitro and in vivo the effects of MCT1 inhibition and on response of GBM to temozolomide. Survival analyses on GBM patient cohorts were performed using Cox regression and Log-rank tests. Results: High levels of MCT1 expression were revealed to be a predictor of poor prognosis in multiple cohorts of GBM patients. Functionally, in U251 GBM cells, MCT1 stable knockdown decreased glucose consumption and lactate efflux, compromising the response to the MCT1 inhibitors CHC and AR-C155858. MCT1 knockdown significantly increased the survival of orthotopic GBM intracranial mice models when compared to their control counterparts. Furthermore, MCT1 downregulation increased the sensitivity to temozolomide in vitro and in vivo, resulting in significantly longer mice survival. Conclusions: This work provides first evidence for MCT1 as a new prognostic biomarker of GBM survival and further supports MCT1 targeting, alone or in combination with classical chemotherapy, for the treatment of GBM.This work has been funded by ICVS Scientific Microscopy Platform, member of the national infrastructure PPBI–Portuguese Platform of Bioimaging (PPBI-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022122; by National funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)–project UIDB/50026/2020 and UIDP/50026/2020 and by the projects NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000039 and NORTE-01-0247- FEDER-045914, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by project PTDC/BTM-SAL/31142/2017 (funded by FCT) and Brazilian MCTI/CNPq No73/2013. VMG was recipient of a fellowship and BC recipient of a contract from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, refs. SFRH/BD/51997/2012 and CEECIND/00072/2018, respectivel