Towards a unified theory of brand equity: conceptualizations, taxonomy and avenues for future research

This paper aims to look into contemporary thinking within the brand equity paradigm, with a view to establishing avenues for further research on the drivers of brand equity formation, enabling a more in-depth understanding of the antecedents of brand equity and its determinants, as well as the development of an improved instrument to measure brand equity. We develop the relating conceptual study through differentiation and integration as a specific conceptual goal. We present a taxonomic framework of brand equity grounded on a synthesis of contemporary approaches to the theme. In so doing we identify gaps in the brand equity literature, which we hope will serve as beacons for future research and provide valuable theoretical insights on the determinants of brand equity formation and the development of better brand equity measurement tools. We argue that the unifying brand equity theory should be based on three pillars: stakeholder value, marketing assets and brand financial performance outputs.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

When firms go international: Deliberate or random?

The Net Outward Investment Position (NOIP) indicator is insufficient for the purposes of understanding firms’ internationalization decision-making behaviour. The indicator does not allow for the withdrawal of insights into the structure of an economy, and is a weak predictor of the degree of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). We argue that a typology of firms aggregated according to intrinsic characteristics of those firms is a better predictor of the degree of internationalization of an economy than the NOIP. We use a database of 2133 firms based in Portugal that are already internationalized, made available in AICEP, a government agency. We use multiple correspondence and cluster analyses to build a typology of firms, and obtain evidence of common characteristics of the constituent groups. We identify a typology of firms characterized by five types differentiated by firm age, length of internationalization process, sector of economic activity, legal status, and psychological/cultural proximity. These variables suggest an evolutionary, iterative, self-learning approach to internationalization, which can be better explained by the combined use of the Investment Development Path (IDP) framework, the Uppsala Evolutionary School, and Vernon´s Product Life Cycle theory. Additionally, we find that the most striking differences between developed and developing host countries are in terms of the economic sector, legal status of the firm, and belonging (or not) to an economic group. We establish a link between the IDP framework, the Uppsala Evolutionary school, and Vernon´s Product Life Cycle theory, using a categorization of firms made according to selected characteristics to understand the internationalization of firms.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Leigos para o Desenvolvimento: donations optimization through private segmentation

Leigos para o Desenvolvimento (LD) are a NGOD (Non-Governmental Organization for Development) whose financing derives from donations obtained in the wider community. In this context and with the purpose of optimizing resource allocation in donations collection and the maximization of revenue thereof, the current study aims to assess the relative effectiveness of segmentation tools in donations with that purpose in mind. In informing the process and strategy of donations and thus optimizing organizational revenue, we aim to confront the merits of intuitive and experiential solutions with those that result from empirical data gathered and statistical techniques applied to segmentation tools and techniques. We conclude that there exists no one segmentation solution for sorting out the problem, opting instead for claiming that each case should be treated as unique and evaluated on its own.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Instagram: A gimmick or a serious reputation builder in the airline business?

The purpose of the research is to shed light on the interrelatedness between Instagram and corporate reputation on the one hand and customer service expectations on the other. A conceptual model is proposed to be tested in the context of the civil aviation economy. A national flagship airline company was chosen in which to conduct the research. An online questionnaire was made available and 283 responses were collected. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test research hypotheses derived from the literature. The novelty of the work is in the scarce research found when scrutinizing the literature on possible links between Instagram and airline corporate reputation. The study found there to be a positive correlation between social media usage and corporate reputation in the airline sector. Future research needs to replicate this study across other airlines to ascertain the external validity of the current study and its potential for extrapolation.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Multiple single cannulation technique of arteriovenous fistula: A randomized controlled trial

Introduction: Despite the impact needling has had on vascular access survival and patient outcome, there is no universal or standardized method proposed for proper cannulation. Rigorous studies are needed, examining cannulation practices, and challenges to achieving complication-free cannulation. Methods: This randomized, open-label trial was conducted at 18 dialysis units owned by a large private dialysis provider operating in Portugal. Eligible patients were adults on chronic hemodialysis, with a new arteriovenous fistula (AVF); cannulated for at least 4 weeks complication-free. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to one of three cannulation techniques (CT): Multiple Single cannulation Technique (MuST), rope-ladder (RLC), and buttonhole (BHC). The primary endpoint was AVF primary patency at 1 year. Findings: One hundred seventy-two patients were enrolled between March 2014 and March 2017. Fifty-nine patients were allocated to MuST, 56 to RLC, and 57 to BHC. MuST and RLC were associated with a better AVF primary patency than BHC. Primary patency at 12 months was 76.3% in MuST, 59.6% in BHC, and 76.8% in RLC group. Mean AVF survival times were 10.5 months (95% CI = 9.6, 11.3) in the MuST group, 10.4 months (95% CI = 9.5, 11.2) in RLC, and 9.5 months (95% CI = 8.6, 10.4) in BHC. BHC was a significant risk predictor for AVF survival with 2.13 times more events than the other two CT (HR 2.13; 95% CI = 1.07, 4.21; p = 0.03). Discussion: MuST was easy to implement without a diagram and there is no need to use blunt needles. This study showed MuST was efficacious and safe in maintaining the longevity of AVF in dialysis patients.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Managing volunteerism behaviour: the drivers of donations practices in religious and secular organisations

This paper investigates the key drivers of donations practices and offers insights into volunteerism behaviour in order to help charities make better informed decisions when attempting to attract more volunteers as well as helping them to better manage fundraising activities/practices. A framework is presented to test if gender, age, religious affiliation, compassion, altruism, egoism, and religiosity impact on the level of volunteerism of the donor. By using an email survey-method, this study is informed by 612 respondents who donate regularly to charitable institutions. The study finds that religiosity, altruism, and compassion boost the volunteerism level of the donor. The findings suggest that religiosity and religious affiliation positively influence the volunteerism of a donor, and so organisations can successfully look for volunteers among religiously affiliated groups who actively participate in religious services. Altruism and compassion are also important drivers for donor volunteerism and, as a result, organisations can develop volunteering campaigns and messages by portraying them as related to altruistic values and compassionate behaviours.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Transmission phenotype of mycobacterium tuberculosis strains is mechanistically linked to induction of distinct pulmonary pathology

In a study of household contacts (HHC), households were categorized into High (HT) and Low (LT) transmission groups based on the proportion of HHC with a positive tuberculin skin test. The Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains from HT and LT index cases of the households were designated Mtb-HT and Mtb-LT, respectively. We found that C3HeB/FeJ mice infected with Mtb-LT strains exhibited significantly higher bacterial burden compared to Mtb-HT strains and also developed diffused inflammatory lung pathology. In stark contrast, a significant number of mice infected with Mtb-HT strains developed caseating granulomas, a lesion type with high potential to cavitate. None of the Mtb-HT infected animals developed diffused inflammatory lung pathology. A link was observed between increased in vitro replication of Mtb-LT strains and their ability to induce significantly high lipid droplet formation in macrophages. These results support that distinct early interactions of Mtb-HT and Mtb-LT strains with macrophages and subsequent differential trajectories in pathological disease may be the mechanism underlying their transmission potential.publishersversionpublishe

Mycobacterium tuberculosis progresses through two phases of latent infection in humans

Little is known about the physiology of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. We studied the mutational rates of 24 index tuberculosis (TB) cases and their latently infected household contacts who developed active TB up to 5.25 years later, as an indication of bacterial physiological state and possible generation times during latent TB infection in humans. Here we report that the rate of new mutations in the M. tuberculosis genome decline dramatically after two years of latent infection (two-sided p < 0.001, assuming an 18 h generation time equal to log phase M. tuberculosis, with latency period modeled as a continuous variable). Alternatively, assuming a fixed mutation rate, the generation time increases over the latency duration. Mutations indicative of oxidative stress do not increase with increasing latency duration suggesting a lack of host or bacterial derived mutational stress. These results suggest that M. tuberculosis enters a quiescent state during latency, decreasing the risk for mutational drug resistance and increasing generation time, but potentially increasing bacterial tolerance to drugs that target actively growing bacteria.publishersversionpublishe

Análise de triptofano livre em plantas de mirtilo.

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