Do firms still need to be social? Firm Generated Content in social media

The aim of this paper is to investigate how firm-generated content (FGC) impacts consumer brand awareness, brand loyalty, and electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and how this, in turn, influences consumer purchase intention. In order to test this conceptual framework, statistical analysis was carried out employing structural equation modelling. The findings indicate that FGC has a positive impact on brand awareness, brand loyalty, eWOM and purchase intention. Furthermore, the results reveal that a link exists between consumer eWOM behaviour and brand awareness and loyalty. This study also demonstrates that company communication through Facebook and Instagram has a positive effect on consumer purchase intention. Finally, it has been shown that, regarding eWOM and purchase intention, firm-generated content posted on Instagram has a greater impact on its users than that posted on Facebook. Consumer purchase intention is increasingly impacted by the growing use of social media (SM) by companies and marketers. This changing environment has opened up new challenges. However, there is still much work to be done in understanding the full effects of firm-generated content communication, and how this influences consumer brand perception and purchase intention

Magnetic monopole clusters, and monopole dominance after smoothing in the maximally Abelian gauge of SU(2)

In the maximally Abelian gauge of SU(2), the clusters of monopole current are found to divide into two distinct classes. The largest cluster permeates the lattice, has a density that scales and produces the string tension. The remaining clusters possess an approximate 1/l^3 number density distribution (l is the cluster length), their radii vary as \sqrt l and their total current density does not scale. Their contribution to the string tension is compatible with being exactly zero. Their number density can be thought of as arising from an underlying scale invariant distribution. This suggests that they are not related to instantons. We also observe that when we locally smoothen the SU(2) fields by cooling, the string tension due to monopoles becomes much smaller than the SU(2) string tension. This dramatic loss of Abelian/monopole dominance occurs even after just one cooling step.Comment: Talk presented at LATTICE97(topology). LaTeX, with 4 PS figure

Applying FCM to Predict the Behaviour of Loyal Customers in the Mobile Telecommunications Industry

Using empirical data from the Kuwaiti mobile telecommunications sector, this study models a fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) to investigate the reciprocal effects of customer loyalty and its antecedents in an emerging market context. This study investigates the effect of perceived service quality, perceived service value and brand equity on customer loyalty and the simultaneous analysis of the reverse causality of these variables. Data pertaining to 350 subscribers were analysed. According to the results, the model reaches the equilibrium when brand equity and customer loyalty are increased and reach an optimal level. Based on these findings, the authors provide implications for managers in the mobile telecom industry

Scaling and confinement aspects of tadpole improved SU(2) lattice gauge theory and its abelian projection

Using a tadpole improved SU(2) gluodynamics action, the nonabelian potential and the abelian potential after the abelian projection are computed. Rotational invariance is found restored at coarse lattices both in the nonabelian theory and in the effective abelian theory resulting from maximal abelian projection. Asymptotic scaling is tested for the SU(2) string tension. Deviation of the order of $6$ is found, for lattice spacings between 0.27 and 0.06 fm. Evidence for asymptotic scaling and scaling of the monopole density in maximal abelian projection is also seen, but not at coarse lattices. The scaling behavior is compared with analyses of Wilson action results, using bare and renormalized coupling schemes. Using extended monopoles, evidence is found that the gauge dependence of the abelian projection reflects short distance fluctuations, and may thus disappear at large scales.Comment: 28 pages, RevTeX, 12 figures using epsfig (included); accepted for publication in Physical Revie

Test of the QCD vacuum with the sources in higher representations

Recent accurate measurement by G.Bali of static potentials between sources in various SU(3) representations provides a crucial test of the QCD vacuum and of different theoretical approaches to the confinement. In particular, the Casimir scaling of static potentials found for all measured distances implies a strong suppression of higher cumulants and a high accuracy of the Gaussian stochastic vacuum. Most popular models are in conflict with these measurements.Comment: LaTeX, 7 page

Deconfinement at finite chemical potential

In a confining, renormalisable, Dyson-Schwinger equation model of two-flavour QCD we explore the chemical-potential dependence of the dressed-quark propagator, which provides a means of determining the behaviour of the chiral and deconfinement order parameters, and low-energy pion observables. We find coincident, first order deconfinement and chiral symmetry restoration transitions at \mu_c = 375 MeV. f_\pi is insensitive to \mu until \mu \approx \mu_0 = 0.7 mu_c when it begins to increase rapidly. m_\pi is weakly dependent on \mu, decreasing slowly with \mu and reaching a minimum 6% less than its \mu=0 value at \mu=\mu_0. In a two-flavour free-quark gas at \mu=\mu_c the baryon number density would be approximately 3 \rho_0, where \rho_0=0.16 fm^{-3}; while in such a gas at \mu_0 the density is \rho_0.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, epsfig.sty, elsart.st

Estimation of instantaneous flow from the indicator-dilution curve after bolus injection of indicator

The indicator-dilution technique is commonly used to determine mean flow estimates. The estimation of instantaneous flow from the shape of an indicator-dilution curve is the objective of this study. Based on a mixing chamber approach to the flow system, a mathematical relationship is derived to reconstruct momentary flow from an indicator-dilution curve. This relationship is verified in a model setup both with only constant flow and with a sinusoidal flow variation superimposed. This method proved to give good flow estimates for limited values of flow parameters. Also, some preliminary experiments were performed in a pulsating flow system simulating heart action. The results were promising although the method proved to be very sensitive to baseline offset

Magnetization process of the spin-1/2 XXZ models on square and cubic lattices

The magnetization process of the spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic XXZ model with Ising-like anisotropy in the ground state is investigated. We show numerically that the Ising-like XXZ models on square and cubic lattices show a first-order phase transition at some critical magnetic field. We estimate the value of the critical field and the magnetization jump on the basis of the Maxwell construction. The magnetization jump in the Ising-limit is investigated by means of perturbation theory. Based on our numerical results, we briefly discuss the phase diagram of the extended Bose-Hubbard model in the hard-core limit.Comment: 13 pages, RevTex, 7 PostScript figures, to appear in Phys.Rev.