Personalised Content in Mobile Applications and Purchase Intentions: An Exploratory Study

This study aims to examine how personalised content affects consumers’ purchase intentions in the mobile beauty shopping applications within the UK. Based on previous studies personalised content on mobile beauty applications influences consumer behaviour in terms of mobile application convenience, m-loyalty and emotions. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 females between the ages of 18-35 who live in the UK. According to the results, personalised content has a positive influence on both mobile convenience and m-loyalty while for emotions the influence is both positive and negative. Moreover, findings also suggested that the personalisation-privacy paradox can prevent consumers from making a purchase. The study provides suggestions towards m-retailers and managers in relation to m-commerce and beauty mobile applications. Findings also offer an insight with regards to how m-retailers can successfully incorporate personalised content to increase consumers’ retention and eventually their profitability

Assessing service quality and customer behavioral responses in hospital outpatient services: a formative measurement approach

Purpose – In contrast to the reflective approach of service quality measurement, this paper proposes and validates a parsimonious multidimensional second-order formatively measured model of service quality for primary healthcare services provided by hospital outpatient departments. The index’s empirical validity is examined by investigating the strength of its relationship with certain behavioral responses such as patient satisfaction and behavioral intentions.  Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected through a stratified random sampling from eight hospital outpatient departments in Greece. Covariance-based structural equation modelling techniques were used to validate the proposed service quality index and further investigate its effect on patient satisfaction and behavioral intention.  Findings - The data analysis indicated that the proposed formative index is fully functional with medical care being the factor mostly contributes to service quality perception, followed by administrative service and staff performance, facilities condition and nursing care. It, further, confirmed the partial mediating role of satisfaction as it enhances the high impact of service quality on behavioral intentions. Research limitations – The relationships among hospital outpatient departments service quality, patient satisfaction and behavioral intentions were validated with data from one country and a healthcare system which is state driven and funded.  Practical implications - An understanding of hospital primary healthcare service quality formation is important to healthcare decision makers because it offers them the opportunity to consider patients’ needs and wants and take the appropriate actions for improving the relevant underling procedures in a more efficient manner in order to achieve favorable behavioral responses.  Originality/value - The paper manages to propose and empirically evaluate a formatively measured approach of service quality and investigate the effects of the proposed index on patient satisfaction and behavioral intention, especially in the hospital outpatient services context in Greece

Re-assessing the influence of mental intangibility on consumer decision making

The present paper explores the influence of mental intangibility on the size of the consideration set, both on tangible products and services. This research also examines the moderating effect of purchase involvement and objective knowledge on the set. Two experimental studies were conducted to examine these relations. Overall, the results indicate that mental intangibility positively influences the size of the consideration set, regardless of the offering type (product or service). This effect is stronger in low levels of knowledge. Consumer involvement does not seem to have a moderating effect on this relation. This study’s implications and recommendations for future research are also discussed

Determinants of physicians' purchase intention for innovative services: Integrating professional characteristics with technology acceptance model and theory of planned behaviour

© 2015 Imperial College Press. This paper seeks to explore the factors that influence physicians' purchase intention for supplementary professional services that have been recently introduced to the market. For that reason, a model has been developed and empirically tested using data collected from 100 physicians regarding an innovative e-detailing service. Results show that physicians' purchase intention is significantly influenced by five factors. Three of them derive from the integration of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), i.e., perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and professional image. The rest, namely work experience, working status and innovativeness, refer to physicians' professional characteristics. Work experience and innovativeness were found to have a significant effect on physicians' perceptions of the innovative service, whereas, physicians' current working status was not found to have significant influence on either their perceptions of the innovative service or their purchase intention

The effectiveness of industrial print advertising in Greece: a theoretical and empirical approach

The main goal of this dissertation was a comprehensive approach to industrial print advertising in Greece. Driven by this general goal and after a through review of the relevant literature and the systematic contact with the Greek businesses in the fieldof the B2B market, a quantitative research study was conducted. In this context, the study included the investigation of the factors shaping a B2B print advertising campaign, regarding their effect on printed B2B advertising campaign effectiveness; the latter was evaluated on their basis of the campaigns achieving goals, ie, increasing awareness, creating positive attitude towards the brand or the company, and increasing sales. Factors that shape and affect the outcome of a printed B2B advertising campaign were also explored in terms of the impact they may have on the effectiveness of industrial print advertising, rated on the basisbasis of the customers' assessment. Finally, the characteristics of print industrial advertising have been examined both in terms of the impact they may have on the effectiveness of industrial print advertising as well as the effectiveness B2B print advertising campaign. Results are discussed and implications are provided.Βασικός στόχος της παρούσας διατριβής ήταν η διεξοδική προσέγγιση της έντυπης βιομηχανικής διαφήμισης, όπως αυτή λαμβάνει χώρα στον ελλαδικό χώρο. Με γνώμονα αυτό το γενικό στόχο και έπειτα από ενδελεχή επισκόπηση της σχετικής βιβλιογραφίας και αρθρογραφίας αλλά και τη συστηματική επαφή με την ελληνική πραγματικότητα στο χώρο της Β2Β αγοράς, προσδιορίστηκαν οι ερευνητικοί στόχοι που εν τέλει κατηύθυναν τη διεξαγωγή της παρούσας μελέτης. Στο πλαίσιο της διερεύνησης των παραγόντων διαμόρφωσης της έντυπης Β2Β διαφημιστικής καμπάνιας, καταγράφηκε η επίδρασή τους στην αποτελεσματικότητα της έντυπης Β2Β διαφημιστικής καμπάνιας, όπως αυτή αξιολογείται με βάση την επίτευξη των επιδιωκόμενων στόχων, δηλ., της αύξηση της αναγνωρισιμότητας, της δημιουργίας θετικής στάσης για το προϊόν ή την εταιρία, και της αύξησης των πωλήσεων. Οι παράγοντες που διαμορφώνουν και επηρεάζουν την έκβαση μιας έντυπης Β2Β διαφημιστικής καμπάνιας εξετάστηκαν και ως προς τον αντίκτυπο που μπορεί να έχουν στην αποτελεσματικότητα της έντυπης βιομηχανικής διαφήμισης, όπως αυτή αξιολογείται με βάση την κρίση των αναγνωστών – πελατών για συγκεκριμένες καταχωρήσεις. Τέλος τα χαρακτηριστικά της έντυπης βιομηχανικής διαφήμισης εξετάστηκαν τόσο ως προς τον αντίκτυπο που μπορεί να έχουν στην αποτελεσματικότητα της έντυπης βιομηχανικής διαφήμισης όσο και στην αποτελεσματικότητα της έντυπης Β2Β διαφημιστικής καμπάνιας, όπως αυτή αξιολογείται με βάση την επίτευξη των επιδιωκόμενων στόχων, δηλ., της αύξηση της αναγνωρισιμότητας, της δημιουργίας θετικής στάσης για το προϊόν ή την εταιρία, και της αύξησης των πωλήσεων