From social interactivity to buying: an instagram user behaviour based on the S-O-R paradigm

Social networks are one of the largest and fastest-growing marketing tools in the world. Their strength is proven by 3.8 billion users worldwide in 2020. The tool offers great economic potential for a commercial brand. This paper focuses on the social network sought after by the millennials - Instagram. One advertisement on Instagram can reach up to 849 million users. One-third of socalled stories are commercial and 200 million users a day look at a business profile. The aim of this paper is to characterize the influence of interactivity in the form of ‘liking’, commenting, and sharing on consumer shopping behavior. The partial goal of the paper is to characterize the interests of users on the social network Instagram. The paper is based on the stimulus-organismresponse paradigm developed by Howard and Sheth (1969). The research concerns the influence of interactivity on the motives for using Instagram (O) and especially on brand awareness and the intention to purchase (R). Interactivity only influences responses when it is mediated through the individual’s motivation to use the application, whether for hedonistic or utilitarian reasons. The data were obtained using a questionnaire and were evaluated using the Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Equation Structural Modelling

Dimensions of attractiveness in employer branding and the value proposition framework for young employees

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to expand the body of knowledge on employer branding by identifying the dimensions of employer attractiveness for Generation Z and to develop a framework for employee value creation in the specific context of Croatian culture. Methodology: The research was conducted on a sample of 220 key informants using the scale developed by Berthon et al. (2005). Since the purpose of the paper was to identify the various dimensions of employer attractiveness as well as the key factors of attractiveness as the basis for value proposition underlying respondents’ perception of employer attractiveness, exploratory factor analysis was applied to analyze the data, i.e. a total of 25 identified employer attractiveness variables. After performing factor analysis, the average rates of importance were measured using summated rating scales for variables of individual factors. Results: The study identified six organizational attractiveness dimensions relevant to Generation Z. In addition, a value proposition framework was developed. The attractiveness dimensions encompass Organization’s market orientation, Acceptance and good relationships with colleagues, Informal characteristics of the workplace, Potential of the workplace for gaining experience and career advancement, Salary and other material benefits, and Sense of belonging to the organization. The dimensions have changed compared to the original Berthon et al. (2005) scale. These differences can be attributed to the specific needs of young employees and to a specific culture and general current conditions. Conclusion: In the “war for talent”, especially for young employees who enter the labor market for the first time, marketing concepts can be a powerful weapon. In order to attract them, their needs and wants should be deeply understood. Based on the proposed value proposition framework and the identified organizational dimensions, a valuable employer brand can be developed and the possibilities to attract and engage employees can be increased

Koncept i mjerenje kvalitete usluge na tržištu poslovnog savjetovanja

Service quality is a key factor of the competitive capability of business consulting services providers – it helps strengthen the image, create references, establish long-term business relationships and reduce the perceived risk to the customer of such services. The existing service quality models are not suitable for application to the business-to-business (B2B) market due to differences in service characteristics and specific behavior of B2B customers. Business consulting services are highly intangible and complex to evaluate, with a large number of people involved generally both in their provision and use. Typically, they are implemented in the form of a project, characterized by a high degree of interaction between service providers and customers, who differ by their ability to be integrated in their service provision process. It is essential to adapt these services to specific customer needs, and the outcome of service provision may sometimes only be apparent a while after the consulting project has been completed. Therefore, there is no single, generally accepted model of conceptualizing and measuring the quality of B2B services such as business consulting services. Building from existing theoretical notions, the paper determines the suitability of Donabedian\u27s service quality model for conceptualizing and measuring the perceived quality of business consulting services. Based on the results of the empirical research conducted on a sample of 110 managers of the companies which use them, the perceived quality of business consulting services was found to be a multidimensional construct of a higher order which is perceived by customers through such dimensions as service potential, process and results. Thus, the preliminary hypothesis of the paper was confirmed. Research results provide the basis for recommendations to be presented for use by the marketing management of consulting services providers as well as serving as suggestions for future research.Kvaliteta usluge ključni je čimbenik konkurencijske sposobnosti pružatelja usluga poslovnog savjetovanja. Naime, njome se jača imidž, stvaraju reference, uspostavljaju dugoročni poslovni odnosi i smanjuje percipirani rizik za korisnika. Postojeći modeli kvalitete usluge nisu prikladni za primjenu na tržištu poslovne potrošnje zbog razlika u obilježjima poslovnih usluga i specifičnosti u ponašanju poslovnih korisnika. Usluge poslovnog savjetovanja izrazito su neopipljive, kompleksne za prosudbu, a u njihovu pružanju i korištenju uglavnom sudjeluje veći broj osoba. Realiziraju se u obliku projekta s visokim stupnjem interakcije između pružatelja i korisnika koji se razlikuju po svojoj sposobnosti za integraciju u proces pružanja usluge. Neophodno je prilagoditi ih specifičnim potrebama korisnika, a rezultati pružene/ih usluge/a mogu nastupiti nakon duljeg vremena od završetka projekta savjetovanja. Zbog toga jedinstveni, općeprihvaćeni model koncipiranja i mjerenja kvalitete za poslovne usluge, poput usluga poslovnog savjetovanja, ne postoji. Polazeći od postojećih teorijskih spoznaja, u radu se utvrđuje prikladnost Donabedianova modela kvalitete usluge za koncipiranje i mjerenje percipirane kvalitete usluge poslovnog savjetovanja. Na temelju rezultata empirijskog istraživanja provedenog na uzorku od 110 menadžera poduzeća korisnika, utvrđeno je da je percipirana kvaliteta usluge poslovnog savjetovanja višedimenzionalan konstrukt višeg reda, a korisnici ju percipiraju putem dimenzija potencijala, procesa i rezultata usluge. Time je potvrđena polazna hipoteza rada. Rezultati istraživanja osnova su za iznesene preporuke za marketinški menadžment pružatelja usluga poslovnog savjetovanja kao i za prijedloge za buduća istraživanja

Interdependence of life insurance service quality and premium

Intenziviranje konkurencijskih odnosa među osiguravajućim društvima u Hrvatskoj i slabo profilirana ponuda vlastitih usluga osiguranja života traže od osiguravajućih društava nove izvore konkurencijskih prednosti na hrvatskom tržištu usluga osiguranja života. U posljednje vrijeme, kako u marketinškoj literaturi, tako i u praksi, kao jedno od mogućih rješenja problema pronalaska novih konkurencijskih prednosti osiguravajućih društva na hrvatskom tržištu ističe se oblikovanje odnosa kvalitete i cijene usluga. Vlastitu ponudu usluga osiguranja života osiguravajuća društva trebala bi usmjeriti na one elemente kvalitete koji osiguraniku donose koristi i on ih je spreman platiti. Osiguranici su različito prosudili promjene pojedinih obilježja kvalitete. Razlike u prosudbama promjena pojedinih elemenata kvalitete usluge od strane osiguranika odražavaju se i na njegovu spremnost da te promjene primjereno honorira plaćanjem odgovarajuće visine premije osiguranja. Poboljšanje subjektivno prosuđenih važnih obilježja kvalitete usluge trebalo bi utjecati na osiguranikovo prihvaćanje više premije osiguranja života. U radu se razmatra međuodnos kvalitete usluge životnih osiguranja i premije s aspekta osiguranikove spremnosti plaćanja više premije osiguranja života za veću kvalitetu usluge.Insurance companies in Croatia feel the need to find new sources of competitive advantage on the Croatian life insurance market amid increasing competition and a poorly profiled offer of life insurance services. Lately, both marketing literature and practice seem to point to the shaping of a relationship between service quality and price as a possible solution to improving the position of insurance companies on the Croatian market. In providing life insurance services, the insurance companies should focus on the quality elements that offer certain benefits a client is willing to pay for. Changes in individual quality features have been evaluated differently by clients. Such differences in their evaluation of changes in the individual elements of service quality also reflect the willingness of clients to pay a suitable increase on their insurance premium. Improvements in the service quality features that are subjectively evaluated as important should lead to the client’s acceptance of a higher life insurance premium. The paper considers the interdependence between the quality of life insurance services and the premium from the aspect of the client’s willingness to pay a higher life insurance premium for a higher service quality

PRIMJENA KONCEPTA INTERNOG MARKETINGA U HRVATSKOM FINANCIJSKOM SEKTORU

Although the internal marketing concept emerged in the 1970s from service marketing, it has not been widely accepted in the business environment. One of the reasons lies in the fact that the concept and the components had not been precisely defined. The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent of the acceptance of the internal marketing philosophy in the Croatian financial sector and to identify the components of internal marketing. The conducted research highlights that the acceptance of the concept in the Croatian financial sector is mediocre. This confirms the insufficient application of the concept in practice. The study findings also suggest that internal marketing is perceived through three dimensions, e.g. development and communication to employees, rewarding and training and organization’s vision. These findings underline the issue that managers have to take into consideration when designing internal marketing programs, in order to achieve IM objectives. Furthermore, this study contributes to the literature by determining the components of the internal marketing that are somewhat different of the components indicated by previous research.Iako se koncept internoga marketinga pojavio 1970-ih godina u uslužnom marketingu, u poslovnom okruženju dugo nije bio široko prihvaćen. Jedan od razloga leži u činjenici da koncept internog marketinga kao i njegove komponente nisu bili precizno definirani. Svrha ovog rada je istražiti prihvaćenost koncepta internog marketinga u hrvatskom financijskom sektoru i odrediti njegove komponente. Provedeno istraživanje ističe da je prihvaćenost internog marketinga u hrvatskom financijskom sektoru osrednja. To potvrđuje nedovoljnu primjenu internog marketinga u praksi. Rezultati provedenog istraživanja ukazuju da se interni marketing percipira putem tri dimenzije odnosno razvoj i komunikacija sa zaposlenicima, nagrađivanje i trening te organizacijska vizija. Ovi rezultati ističu elemente koje menadžeri moraju posebice uvažavati prilikom oblikovanja internih marketing programa, ukoliko žele uspješno ostvariti nterno-marketinške ciljeve. Nadalje, ovo istraživanje pridonosi znanosti ističući i definirajući komponente internog marketinga koje se manjim dijelom razlikuju od komponenti navedenih u prijašnjim istraživanjima

PRIMJENA KONCEPTA INTERNOG MARKETINGA U HRVATSKOM FINANCIJSKOM SEKTORU

Although the internal marketing concept emerged in the 1970s from service marketing, it has not been widely accepted in the business environment. One of the reasons lies in the fact that the concept and the components had not been precisely defined. The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent of the acceptance of the internal marketing philosophy in the Croatian financial sector and to identify the components of internal marketing. The conducted research highlights that the acceptance of the concept in the Croatian financial sector is mediocre. This confirms the insufficient application of the concept in practice. The study findings also suggest that internal marketing is perceived through three dimensions, e.g. development and communication to employees, rewarding and training and organization’s vision. These findings underline the issue that managers have to take into consideration when designing internal marketing programs, in order to achieve IM objectives. Furthermore, this study contributes to the literature by determining the components of the internal marketing that are somewhat different of the components indicated by previous research.Iako se koncept internoga marketinga pojavio 1970-ih godina u uslužnom marketingu, u poslovnom okruženju dugo nije bio široko prihvaćen. Jedan od razloga leži u činjenici da koncept internog marketinga kao i njegove komponente nisu bili precizno definirani. Svrha ovog rada je istražiti prihvaćenost koncepta internog marketinga u hrvatskom financijskom sektoru i odrediti njegove komponente. Provedeno istraživanje ističe da je prihvaćenost internog marketinga u hrvatskom financijskom sektoru osrednja. To potvrđuje nedovoljnu primjenu internog marketinga u praksi. Rezultati provedenog istraživanja ukazuju da se interni marketing percipira putem tri dimenzije odnosno razvoj i komunikacija sa zaposlenicima, nagrađivanje i trening te organizacijska vizija. Ovi rezultati ističu elemente koje menadžeri moraju posebice uvažavati prilikom oblikovanja internih marketing programa, ukoliko žele uspješno ostvariti nterno-marketinške ciljeve. Nadalje, ovo istraživanje pridonosi znanosti ističući i definirajući komponente internog marketinga koje se manjim dijelom razlikuju od komponenti navedenih u prijašnjim istraživanjima

PRETHODNICI I ISHODI ZADOVOLJSTVA NAKNADOM ZA NEADEKVATNO PRUŽENU USLUGU U TELEKOMUNIKACIJAMA U HRVATSKOJ ZAJEDNO S ULOGOM IMIDŽA I PERCIPIRANIM TROŠKOVIMA PREBACIVANJA

The paper studies the effect of service recovery on the customer’s satisfaction as well as the outcomes of service recovery satisfaction, along with the moderating role of the image and perceived switching costs as exemplified by mobile telecommunications in Croatia. Using the concept of justice, the research shows that distributive, procedural and interaction justice lead to service recovery satisfaction, which consequently affects overall satisfaction and communication by word of mouth; these then strongly influence the customer’s intention to return as a customer. The role of service recovery satisfaction seen as a variable of mediator has been confirmed, but not the image and switching costs as moderators.Ovaj rad proučava efekt naknade za neadekvatno pruženu uslugu na zadovoljstvo klijenta kao i ishode zadovoljstva naknadom za neadekvatno pruženu uslugu, zajedno s moderatorskom ulogom imidža i percipiranih troškova prebacivanja na primjeru mobilnih telekomunikacija u Hrvatskoj. Koristeći koncept pravde, istraživanje pokazuje da distributivna, proceduralna i interakcijska pravda vode do zadovoljstva naknadom za neadekvatno pruženu uslugu, što naknadno utječe na ukupno zadovoljstvo i komunikaciju usmenom predajom; to, naposljetku, snažno utječe na odluku klijenta da se vrati kao klijent. Uloga naknade za neadekvatno pruženu uslugu sagledana kao medijacijska varijabla je potvrđena no ne i imidž i troškovi prebacivanja kao moderatori

ISTRAŽIVANJE VEZE IZMEĐU UČINKOVITE KOMUNIKACIJE, PRODAVAČEVA ZADOVOLJSTVA MENADŽEROM I RAZVOJA ODNOSA S KUPCEM

Razvoj i uspješno upravljanje odnosima s kupcima strateška je orijentacija većine organizacija na tržištu. Pri tome prodajno osoblje igra suštinsku ulogu, a njegova uspješnost ovisi i o tome je li ono zadovoljno poslom koji obavlja. Zadovoljstvo menadžerom prodaje komponenta je koja utječe na cjelokupno zadovoljstvo poslom. Prema tome, stavovi, ponašanje i vještine (poput vještine komuniciranja) prodajnog menadžera imaju velik utjecaj na zadovoljstvo prodajnog osoblja. Svrha je ovog rada istražiti odnos između različitih komponenti učinkovite komunikacije (vještine slušanja, otvorenog komuniciranja i mogućnosti jasnog komuniciranja povratne informacije) i zadovoljstva prodajnim menadžerom te odnos između potonjeg i razvoja odnosa s kupcima. Rezultati istraživanja mogu biti korisni prodajnom menadžmentu jer ukazuju na važnost i pozitivne efekte ispravnoga komuniciranja za ostvarivanje navedenih ciljeva. Nadalje, ovo istraživanje pridonosi znanosti ukazujući na specifičnosti odnosa među navedenim konstruktima u prodaji

Measuring the importance of communication skills in tourism

Tourism service providers need to have expressive communication skills to be able to offer a better tourism product and create a pleasant tourist experience. To better understand, conceptualize, and achieve the multidimensional concept of communication skills, this paper aims to investigate the literature and propose a measurement scale adapted to the modern tourism workplace. Results, based on a literature review and questionnaire survey, show that five communication skill dimensions emerge: written, oral, listening, digital, and non-verbal communication skills. The paper’s theoretical contribution is the systematization of the literature and the conceptualization of communication skills up to date, while its empirical contribution is based on the examination of collected data related to the validated scale measurement. The scale presented in this paper will assist future empirical research on communication skills required in the field of tourism. The paper will help generate novel research questions for identifying and analyzing acquired communication skills

MATERIALISM, STATUS AND CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION OF STUDENTS IN CROATIA

Predmet istraživanja su srodni, ali međusobno različiti koncepti prisutni u suvremenom potrošačkom društvu: materijalizam, statusna i upadljiva potrošnja. Polazeći od teorijskog razmatranja tih pojmova i analize dostupnih empirijskih istraživanja, problematika je istražena testiranjem hipoteza o razini njihove pojavnosti u izabranoj studentskoj populaciji Hrvatske, u cjelosti i prema spolu, te njihovog međusobnog odnosa. Istraživanjem putem anketnog upitnika i obradom rezultata utvrđuje se da je istraživana populacija ispodprosječno materijalistički orijentirana i nesklona statusnoj i upadljivoj potrošnji. Studenti muškog spola skloniji su statusnoj i upadljivoj potrošnji, dok kod materijalizma nema statistički značajne razlike, što potvrđuje nekonzistentnost dosadašnjih nalaza. U svezi njihova odnosa utvrđuje se da materijalizam utječe na statusnu i upadljivu potrošnju, kao što statusna potrošnja utječe na upadljivu potrošnju. Međutim, s obzirom na snažniji učinak materijalizma na upadljivu potrošnju kroz statusnu potrošnju zaključuje se da materijalistički orijentirani pojedinci žele posjedovati stvari radi postizanja određenog statusa u društvo i istovremeno se posjedovanjem stvari isticati u odnosu na druge. Ključne riječiThe research is focused on related but different concepts that exist in the contemporary consumerist society: materialism, status and conspicuous consumption. Starting from theoretical considerations of the above-stated terms and analysis of the available empirical research, the issue has been studied through testing the hypothesis of their manifestation level in the selected student population in Croatia, in total and with regard to gender, as well as their mutual relationship. The research based on the use of questionnaire shows that the studied population is orientated to materialism below the average, and disinclined to status and conspicuous consumption. Male students are more inclined to status and conspicuous consumption, whereas there is no statistically signifi cant difference in terms of materialism, which confi rms the inconsistency of previous results. Considering their relationship, it has been pointed out that materialism affects status and conspicuous consumption, just as status consumption affects conspicuous consumption. Speaking about a stronger infl uence of materialism on conspicuous consumption via status consumption, it has been concluded that individuals orientated to materialism want to possess things in order to reach certain status in the society and, at the same time, to stand out for possessing them