Analysis of Antecedents that Contribute to Try New Products in Retail Commerce

Offering innovative goods and/or brands to attract and retain customers is one of the challenges in the retail sector, which is characterized by high competitiveness and economic recession. This chapter analyzes the different variables that contribute to increasing customers’ willingness to try retailers’ innovations relative to the products and/or brands they offer. Specifically, we discuss the role that consumer satisfaction with price level, perceived quality of the assortment, and trust in the retailer plays in the dependent variable. The model is tested empirically on a sample of 498 individuals responsible for purchasing consumer products; causality is contrasted using a structural equation model (SEM). The results show that customers’ trust in the retailer is the most important factor in explaining the decision to try new products and brands, followed by perceived quality of the assortment and satisfaction with price level. Furthermore, our finding that trust in the retailer is the most influential antecedent of customer willingness to try the retailer’s innovations shows the importance of relationship marketing in the proposed model. Since this influence is significantly higher in the group of regular customers of the commercial chain, regular customers represent a sensitive segment for retailers in terms of product acceptance and testing

Are health e-mavens the new patient influencers?

Even though the healthcare industry is usually considered a rather traditional and slowly evolving sector, change is happening. Digitalization is transforming the way of obtaining medical advice and treatment and the Internet has become a key source for the seeking of healthcare information. It has allowed people to turn into more active collaborators in matters of their own health by enabling them to easily search and share information with other patients. Although research points out the growing importance of user-generated content in many sectors and its positive impact on information credibility, trust, engagement, and, ultimately, customer behavior (Malthouse et al., 2016), there is a lack of attention to this topic in healthcare. In this brief review, we address this gap by analyzing the role of health e-mavens, which are a particular type of influencers that possesses both expertise and online social influence. We lastly illustrate possible benefits of their impact on other to the different parties involved and affected by this phenomenon

El marketing sensorial: una aproximación al mundo del retail español

El objetivo de este artículo es conocer la percepción de los decisores de los centros comerciales españoles sobre la aplicación de acciones de marketing sensorial y experiencial. Mediante una encuesta personal realizada en septiembre de 2014 a 171 profesionales del sector, el análisis empírico realizado sirve para responder a las siguientes preguntas ¿Qué grado de conocimiento tienen los gestores sobre el marketing sensorial? ¿Qué acciones se están utilizando en este ámbito con mayor frecuencia? ¿Se están midiendo sus efectos? ¿Con qué herramientas? ¿Qué impacto tienen sobre los resultados del negocio según los decisores? Entre los principales resultados obtenidos destaca el notable grado de conocimiento del concepto de marketing sensorial, si bien hay diferencias en cuanto a las acciones implantadas por tipo de empresa. Asimismo, los decisores valoran notablemente su impacto en los resultados. En definitiva, consideran que la inversión en marketing sensorial resulta rentable y eficaz.Plan Nacional de I+D+i ECO2012-31 51

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Customer Loyalty and Brand Management

Loyalty is one of the main assets of a brand. In today’s markets, achieving and maintaining loyal customers has become an increasingly complex challenge for brands due to the widespread acceptance and adoption of diverse technologies by which customers communicate with brands. Customers use different channels (physical, web, apps, social media) to seek information about a brand, communicate with it, chat about the brand and purchase its products. Firms are thus continuously changing and adapting their processes to provide customers with agile communication channels and coherent, integrated brand experiences through the different channels in which customers are present. In this context, understanding how brand management can improve value co-creation and multichannel experience—among other issues—and contribute to improving a brand’s portfolio of loyal customers constitutes an area of special interest for academics and marketing professionals. This Special Issue explores new areas of customer loyalty and brand management, providing new insights into the field. Both concepts have evolved over the last decade to encompass such concepts and practices as brand image, experiences, multichannel context, multimedia platforms and value co-creation, as well as relational variables such as trust, engagement and identification (among others)

Efectos de las promociones en precios sobre la satisfacción del turista: examen de la relación entre el precio y la satisfacción

In the tourist market, price promotions are frequently used in order to encourage the sales of a product. Nevertheless, the use of this promotional tool may affect the consumer’s evaluation of the purchase and the long-term business results. This study analyzes the effect of price promotions on the tourist’s evaluation of the package tour acquired and on his or her level of satisfaction. An empirical inves-tigation is performed, which was focused on tourists who travelled from Spain to South America, Central America or Caribbean through the purchase of a package tour. Results indicate that the perceived quality of the trip is the most important variable on the formation of satisfaction. Moreover, the effect of promotions in the satisfaction is nonlinear, indirect and negativ

Los precios de referencia en la evaluación online del servicio hotelero

The star hotel classification system should act as an external sign that provides clients with information regarding the expected hotel levels of prices and services. However, the stars assigned are not reviewed and usually, they are confusing signs for clients regarding quality levels. Nowadays, on-line reservation systems allow clients to obtain information quickly and easily regarding hotel prices and to consult other guests' satisfaction levels, also known as electronic word of mouth (e-WOM). Many times, this information is more credible than stars when it comes to look for a hotel stay. In this new informative context, this study aims at analyzing the posted data in a hotel reservation web site regarding rooms and the guests' assessment of quality perceived. Its objective is the analysis of the influence of published prices in the assessments made by hotel guests.El sistema de clasificación hotelera a través de las estrellas debería actuar como una señal externa que proporciona información a los clientes sobre los niveles esperados, de servicios y de precio, de los hoteles. Sin embargo las estrellas no se revisan y es habitual que se conviertan en señales confusas para los clientes sobre los niveles de calidad. Por otro lado, los sistemas de reservas on-line permiten que los clientes se informen de forma rápida y sencilla sobre los precios hoteleros y consulten los niveles de satisfacción de otros huéspedes, también conocido como la comunicación boca-oído electrónica (e-WOM). Esta información resulta, en muchos casos, más creíble para los clientes que están buscando un hotel donde alojarse que el número de estrellas otorgadas. En este nuevo contexto informativo, el objetivo de este estudio consiste en analizar la información publicada en una web de reservas hoteleras sobre los precios de las habitaciones y las evaluaciones sobre la calidad percibida por los huéspedes, con el fin de analizar la influencia del precio publicado sobre las evaluaciones obtenidas por los clientes del hotel

La denominación de origen en el desarrollo de estrategias de diferenciación: percepción y efectos de su utilización en las sociedades vinícolas de Mancha y Valdepeñas

El presente trabajo analiza el empleo de la Denominación de Origen por parte de las sociedades vinícolas en el desarrollo de estrategias de diferenciación. El análisis del sector demuestra la existencia de oportunidades estratégicas fundamentadas en el empleo de las Denominaciones de Origen. Comercialmente utilizadas como marcaparagüas o garantía, las mismas recogen en su concepto tanto el origen como la tradición y especialización en la elaboración de productos de alta calidad y de características diferenciales. Con su presencia, los empresarios, los Consejos Reguladores y la Administración Pública buscan facilitar en el consumidor el reconocimiento del producto y la percepción de una calidad y grado de diferenciación superiores