From brand experience to happiness: exploring the impacts on brand loyalty and price premium

Dr Karam Al Mandil, Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Cumbria, will be attending the Linnaeus University School of Business and Economics in Kalmar, Sweden which will play host to the 12th Global Brand Conference of the Academy of Marketing’s SIG (special interest group) in Brand, Identity and Corporate Reputation from April 26 2017. From a broadband provider offering to “do you right” to another supplier offering an “epic” feeling, marketing’s move to offer greater contentment is now much in evidence. “My paper argues that since the advent of the 21st Century, the overemphasis on the utilitarian aspects of products has shifted the interest to the hedonic facets of consumption,” Dr Al Mandil said. “Experience marketing presents a new approach to address this shift and to achieve long and lasting competitive advantages. More recently, happiness has received attention from marketers and studies examining happiness in consumer research have also begun to appear. Therefore, this research is investigating how brands contribute to consumers’ happiness through experiences.

Pulsed short wave therapy : its clinical use and physiological effects in healthy subjects and osteoarthritic patients

PSWT is a commonly used electrotherapy modality and surveys have shown it to be one of the most widely used modalities among physiotherapists in the UK. Nevertheless, the literature supporting its therapeutic effects and explaining its mechanism of actions remains scant, is of poor methodological quality and of minimal clinical value. This research program was set to examine both the nature of use and the efficacy of PSWT. The nature of PSWT use was examined in outpatient clinics using an audit and a nationwide survey. The efficacy of PSWT was examined in two randomised placebo controlled trials; one conducted in a laboratory setting on healthy subjects and the other was a clinical trial on patients with osteoarthritis. Following the same methodology and protocol, the effects of low and high dose of PSWT on skin temperature (SkT), blood volume (BVol), and nerve conduction velocity (NCV) were evaluated against a placebo and a control condition. The findings have revealed the poor documentary skills of physiotherapists, and a state of confusion ~n the clinical decision-making with regard to PSWT dosage. Based on experimentation, it was established that patients react differently from healthy subjects when similar levels of energies are applied. Whilst low dose resulted in non-significant changes in SkT and NCV in healthy subjects, the same dose significantly altered BVol, SkT, and NCV in patients. Placebo effects were found to account for 39% of the patients' response to PSWT treatments. The findings have revealed a discrepancy between evidence and practice that necessitates a reconsideration of the treatment approaches adopted by physiotherapists when using PSWT. The study has also demonstrated the physiological and therapeutic efficacy of PSWT on patients with osteoarthritis, and showed that treatment outcomes are dependent on the amount of exogenous energy applied and the type of tissue treated. The thesis also highlights areas for future research based on the literature reviewed and the experimentation conducted

Factors affecting decision making effectiveness in Palestinian Banks

This study investigated the influence of information quality on decision-making effectiveness among Palestinian bank managers. Previous studies revealed the importance of information quality on decision-making effectiveness in different fields of management. Organisational structure was found to moderate information quality and decision-making effectiveness in different fields of management. However, the moderating effect of organisational structure on the relationship between information quality on decision-making effectiveness had not been addressed in the banking sector in Palestine. This cross-sectional quantitative study examined the relationship between information quality and decision-making effectiveness as being moderated by organisational structure. A total of 146 managers were surveyed in which they were required to respond to 55 items that elicited the three variables. Information quality was represented by six dimensions, organisational structure three dimensions, and decision-making effectiveness three dimensions. The data were analysed by SPSS and PLS-SEM software. The findings indicated the relevance and importance of information quality dimensions to decision-making effectiveness in the banking sector of Palestine. The result revealed four dimensions of information quality, namely, accuracy, completeness, relevancy and interpretability had a significant relationship with decision-making effectiveness. Two dimensions of organisational structure, namely, formality and centralisation, significantly moderated the relationship between information quality and decision-making effectiveness while complexity did not show a moderating effect. Overall, this study extends the understanding of the decision- making effectiveness. It contributes to building the model of the relationship between information quality and decision-making effectiveness in the banking industry. These findings will benefit bank managers in Palestine to understand the role of information quality better and utilise it towards developing sustainable banking services in Palestine

From brand experience to happiness: exploring the impacts on brand loyalty and price premium

Since the advent of the 21st century, the overemphasis on the utilitarian aspects of products has shifted the interest to the hedonic facets of consumption (Pine & Gilmore, 2011). Experience marketing presents a new approach to address this shift and to achieve long and lasting competitive advantages (Gentile, Spiller & Noci, 2007) and loyalty (Smilansky, 2009). Despite the increasing number and quality of articles addressing brand experience, this research area remains underdeveloped and not as well-established as other marketing constructs, such as consumer attitudes, consumer satisfaction and brand equity (Schmitt & Zarantonello, 2013). More recently, happiness has received attention from marketers, and studies examining happiness in consumer research have also begun to appear (Schmitt, Brakus & Zarantonello, 2015; Bhattacharjee & Mogilner, 2014; Schmitt, 2012; Bettingen & Luedicke, 2009). Further, in a world where social concerns are garnering more insistence, it is argued that brands should contribute to consumers’ happiness through experiences (Schmitt, Brakus & Zarantonello, 2014). The main aim of this study is to model the relationship between brand experience dimensions (sensory, emotional, relational and cognitive) on the one hand and happiness on the other hand through the three orientations to happiness (pleasure, meaning, and engagement) (Peterson, Park & Seligman, 2005), and to examine the influence of happiness on brand loyalty and price premium. Therefore, the current research represents a meeting point between brand experience and happiness—two unique areas in marketing and psychology that are being afforded more importance nowadays (Brakus, Schmitt & Zarantonello, 2012; Carter & Gilovich, 2010; Brakus, Schmitt & Zarantonello, 2009; Peterson, Park & Seligman, 2005). Figure 1 displays the conceptual framework and the suggested hypotheses of the study

Defining tools to address over-constrained geometric problems

International audienceThis paper proposes a new tool for decision support to address geometric over-constrained problems in Computer Aided Design (CAD). It concerns the declarative modeling of geometrical problems. The core of the coordinate free solver used to solve the Geometric Constraint Satisfaction Problem (GCSP) was developed previously by the authors. This research proposes a methodology based on Michelucci's witness method to determine whether the structure of the problem is over-constrained. In this case, the authors propose a tool for assisting the designer in solving the over-constrained problem by ensuring the consistency of the specifications. An application of the methodology and tool is presented in an academic example

Ecodesign of Li-ion batteries

International audiencePrésentation des avancements de mon travail de thèse au sein du laboratoire G-SCOP, fait à l'occasion du congrès LCM2015 à Bordeuax

THE EFFECT OF HANDING MERCURY DROP ELECTRODE ON DIFFERENTIAL PULSE POLAROGRAPHIC BEHAVIOR AND DETERMINATION OF ROSUVASTATIN IN PURE AND PHARMACEUTICAL TABLETS

Objective: Developing a simple, accurate and very sensitive differential pulse polarographic method (DPPM) for determination of rosuvastatin (RSV) in pure and tablets dosage forms using handing mercury drop electrode (HMDE).Methods: The DPPM was applied in Na2HPO4 buffer at pH 1.5 using a HMDE in optimal conditions.Results: One redaction peak was observed in the range -929 to -940 mV (Ep). The peak current Ip is linear over the ranges 0.9631-192.61 ng. mL-1; Which led to increase the sensitivity about ten and hundred times when using SMDE and DME, respectively. The relative standard deviation did not exceed 3.6% and regression analysis showed a good correlation coefficient (R2= 0.9998). The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were to be 0.112 and 0.34 ng. mL-1, respectively. The amounts of RSV in different tablet dosage forms were decreases with the time (1.1-1.7% after six months at the end of the validity period).Conclusion: The proposed method was successfully applied to determine very small amounts of RSV (0.9631 ng. mL-1) in pure form and in pharmaceutical tablets.Â

A remanufacturing process library for environmental impact simulations

International audience'Closed loop' end-of-life strategies such as remanufacturing must be applied to create eco-efficient products. Remanufacturing may be a key element in reducing the environmental impact of products but this remains to be proved. The aim of this study is to help designers evaluate the environmental impacts of their remanufacturing process during the design phase. The first task is to identify, list and classify the various remanufacturing processes (disassembly, cleaning, sorting and controlling, reconditioning, reassembly) by type of process and then estimate the environmental impact for each process. These processes are then formalized by characterization and organised in a database. Using a simulator, the different processes can be aggregated to assess the environmental impacts of a remanufacturing line. An example is presented in the last part of this paper to illustrate the proposal

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF CEFPODOXIME PROXETIL IN PURE AND TABLET DOSAGE FORMS THROUGH ION-PAIR COMPLEX FORMATION USING BROMOTHYMOL BLUE

Objective: A simple, direct and accurate spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of cefpodoxime proxetil (CEFP) in pure and pharmaceutical formulations by complex formation with bromothymol blue (BTB).Methods: The method involves the formation of yellow ion-pair complexes between BTB reagent and CEFP in chloroform. The two formed complexes ([CEFP]: [BTB] and [CEFP]: [BTB]2) have maximum absorption at lmax 422 nm. The proposed method was validated for specificity, linearity, precision and accuracy, repeatability, sensitivity (LOD and LOQ) and robustness with an average recovery of 99.0-101.4%.Results: The formed complex ([CEFP]: [BTB]2) was measured against the reagent blank prepared in the same manner. Variables were studied in order to optimize the reaction conditions. Molar absorptivity (e) for two complexes were 8100 and 12600  L. mol-1. cm-1, respectively. Beer's law was obeyed in the concentration range of 0.5576-55.760 μg/ml in the present of 1x10-3 mol/l of BTB with good correlation coefficient (R2= 0.9995). The relative standard deviation did not exceed 4.7%. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.088 and 0.27 μg/ml, respectively.Conclusion: The developed method is applicable for the determination of CEFP in pure and different dosage forms with the average assay of marketed formulations 99.5 to 103.2%, and the results are in good agreement with those obtained by the RP-HPLC reference method. Â

Our energy for the future

The World is going to face three major challenges in the energy sector during the coming decades:A challenge for security of supply: will there be enough energy available for consumers’ needs?A challenge for environment protection: how to sharply reduce CO2 emissions?A challenge for economic growth: are high energy prices putting development at risk? Security of supply first: what is a cause of concern is not the amount of geological resources, which are probably bigger than many fear. The co..