Internet-driven customer centric : an exploratory analysis

Firm’s are becoming everyday more focus on customer orientation, leading to the need use of new techniques or combine use of existent ones. Both Customer Relationship Management and Knowledge Management are increasingly relevant in the corporate agendas as well as been broadly studied by academic researchers and with the development of the digital economy it’s necessary to have a larger understanding of their role in e-business performance. Thus, our aims are to determine whether the implementation of virtual CRM and KM is linked to e-business performance and to identify the nature of the relationship existing in the combine use of these tools. Thus, this paper establishes a new model of the practices and results of the both tools which has been tested in European companies. For that purpose, we used a structural equation modelling analysis. The results show that both virtual CRM and KM have a positive impact on the maximization of e-business performance and that their combine use has also a positive impact on e-business performance. As limitations of the study we consider the need for more research into this field and the inclusion of news elements such as technological readiness and management support. This paper contributes to the research on this topic with new evidence in a broad sample.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessing the drivers of virtual knowledge management impact in European Firm’s performance : an exploratory analysis

E-Business is a phenomenon that has progressed over the past decades at record speed, with considerable promise and hype. It has been embraced with varying degrees of enthusiasm and impact by both large firms and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). Parallel with its development, E-Business has attracted research interests, seen in a plethora of new modules, programmes, models and tools. Knowledge Management (KM) is one tool that seams to gain a more relevant role, especially as managing knowledge has become increasingly important to all companies. Appropriate KM practices within organisations can be seen as one of the prerequisites to the enhancement of continuous performance improvement in the interne-based context. Thus, our aim is to develop a conceptual framework related to KM practices in a virtual context and to identify the nature of the relationship existing in those knowledge-driven elements and performance achievements. This paper aims to bridge the gap between the KM and e-business performance-related literatures from the viewpoint of European firms by establishing a model tested in European companies. For this purpose, we used a structural equation modelling analysis. The results show that KM has a positive impact on the maximization of e-business performance and that some elements individually have a positive influence on e-business performance. As limitations of the study, we consider the need for more research into this field and the inclusion of news elements such as technological readiness and management support to KM initiatives. The present study advances knowledge on the nature of the relative importance of different components of Internet-based KM as drivers of e-business performance and reinforces its importance as an integrated e-business tool.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Knowledge management : critical perspectives on e-business activities

This article is both a review and an agenda-setting piece. It argues that knowledge management suffers from conceptual and definitional ambiguity, oversimplification of its development processes, and methodological limitations. Nevertheless, there is a consensus in business and academia that knowledge is a key component of success and allows firms to achieve and sustains competitive advantages. In a digital era, these advantages arise from the potential of data and information that can be gathered, processed, shared, and used to improve e-business activities. Thus, this research bridges the gap in the assessment of knowledge management and e-business relationship, by applying an SEM to a large database sample of KM activities performed by European firms.N/

A influência dos adolescentes no processo de compra de viagens de lazer

A interação e influência das crianças e dos adultos nos processos de decisão de compra familiares têm sido alvo de inúmeros trabalhos académicos. As evidências empíricas apontam para uma decisão partilhada, quer na fase de reconhecimento do problema, quer nas últimas etapas do processo de decisão. Neste artigo a tónica é colocada na influência e nas táticas negociais empregues pelos adolescentes nesse processo familiar, que não tem sido alvo de grande atenção, apesar da reconhecida importância deste segmento, tanto pelos investigadores como pelas empresas. Assim, procura-se com este trabalho aferir as perceções e as táticas empregues pelos adolescentes e pelos seus progenitores com relação a dois tipos de produtos: viagens de lazer e cereais para pequenos-almoços. A escolha de dois tipos de produtos com tipologias e complexidade diferente permite retirar ilações quanto aos padrões empregues e à influência das caraterísticas demográficas no comportamento familiar de decisão de compra.ABSTRACT: Family decision-making research has frequently examined the roles of adults and children on purchase decisions. Empirical results show a propensity toward a joint decision process in problem recognition and the final decision stages. This article argues that teenagers’ influence on a family’ buying decisions suffers from a certain conceptual and definitional ambiguity, and oversimplification regarding the different modes of influence. Nevertheless, there is a consensus in business and academia that kids in general have an increasing influence in the decision making process of families. Thus, the objectives of this research are to measure teenagers’ and parents' perceptions regarding tactics used by both, especially pester power, in the context of the decision-making process for a family’s travelling choice and for breakfast cereals. The research aims to assess the differences driven by demographic characteristics

Social media and tourism : a wishful relationship

For decades hospitality firms were used to domain the communication process. Thematic social network sites such as TripAdvisor became very important tools for travelers when deciding which hotels to book, and what restaurants and tourist attractions to visit, been a visible part of tourism communication evolution. Evidence suggests that e-WOM serves as a primary information source when tourists choose destinations, hotels, and other experiences. The role and use of social media in tourists’ decision making has been widely discuss in tourism and hospitality research, especially in the research phase of the tourist’ travel planning process. With the wide adoption of social media the influence of customers’ word-of-mouth increased and influences not only the research phase, but the repetition and overall customers’ experiences. To answer these questions a model assessing e-wom was developed and data was gathering from TripAdvisor regarding customer’s opinion in restaurant experiences. The results found establish the bases for understanding tourists’ engagement level and profiles.N/

Knowledge IT-based Cycle and Territorial Digital Patterns Influence

Knowledge management, competitive intelligence, data mining are all buzzwords in a more digital and complex world. Nowadays, digital information and IT-based knowledge creation and application are present in most successful business initiatives. Unveil the surrounding factors of these successes is critical and therefore, this article discusses the relationship of digital patterns to knowledge management creation and application. It argues that some of the enablers and inhibitors come from firms’ regional and/or local environment. Understanding the factors that determine technology and knowledge management adoption is thus a highly relevant topic from the policy point of view. Considering the growing impact of e-business on regions, this research sets the background for the assessment of the relationship among ICT, knowledge management, and e-business practices

Adoption of CRM technology in multichannel environment : a review (2000-2013)

Despite the relevance of customer relationship management (CRM), there is a lack of a comprehensive literature review and a classification scheme for it in the last five years. This work provides an academic database of literature between the periods of 2000–2013, covering 28 journals and proposes a classification scheme to classify the articles in accordance to CRM main paths. Around fifty five hundred articles were identified and reviewed for their direct relevance to CRM in a multichannel environment. Eighty-seven articles were subsequently selected, reviewed and classified. Each of the selected papers was categorized on four CRM dimensions (Identification, Attraction, Retention and Development) and in the different channels involved (personnel sales, call center, email, web, and mobile). The review process was independently verified and promote interesting findings: Findings of this paper indicate that the research area of customer retention received most research attention during the first half of the years studied. On the other half, besides retention, development stage was truly relevant. Our analysis provides a roadmap to guide future research, as well as facilitate knowledge accumulation concerning the CRM in multichannel.N/

Internet sales as a new mode of internationalization

The way that organizations explore the Internet has been the focus of a substantial body of scientific studies and non-academic reflection. The main goal of this study is to analyze the potential of the internet as a mode of internationalization and the factors that influence the results of the adoption of this mean to access foreign markets. For this purpose, we examine the determinants of the level of international sales made via internet estimating an ordered probit model. The results show that the importance of previous experience in using the internet and developing international activity, together with the level of internet marketing budget , the level of investment on internet sophistication, the firm dimension, the business age and the type pf activity are variables that determine the results obtain in the international sales trough the internet.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Wages and Job Satisfaction in Portugal

The interest in the analysis of job satisfaction has increased among economists. Indeed, reported levels of satisfaction have been seen as a good predictor of individual behaviour such as job turnover, productivity and absenteeism. Because of this, several studies have tried to identify the determinants of job satisfaction. This paper is concerned with job satisfaction in Portugal. For this purpose, we use the first six waves of the European Household Panel Data (ECHP). The panel nature of the data allows us to use a random effects estimator in order to control for unobservable individual heterogeneity. The results indicate that wages matter for job satisfaction but do not tell the whole story. In particular, having a good health status, a permanent contract and working the public sector influences positively the level satisfaction. We also find a great heterogeneity in satisfaction by regions, even in a small country as Portugal. These findings are valid for overall job satisfaction as well as for satisfaction with specific job domains such as pay, security, type of work and hours worked. Key words: job satisfaction, wages, regions, unobserved heterogeneity JEL Code: J28

Assessing the Drivers of Virtual Knowledge Management Impact in European Firm's Performance: an Exploratory Analysis

Copyright © 2008 The Authors. Copyright © 2009 Academic Conferences Ltd.e-Business is a phenomenon that has progressed over the past decades at record speed, with considerable promise and hype. It has been embraced with varying degrees of enthusiasm and impact by both large and SME firms. Parallel with its development, E-Business has attracted research interests, seen in a plethora of new modules, programmes, models and tools. Knowledge Management (KM) is one tool that has seemed to gain a more relevant role, especially as managing knowledge becomes increasingly important to all companies. Appropriate KM practices within organisations can be seen as one of the prerequisites of enhancement of continuous performance improvement in the interne-based context. Thus, our aim is to develop a conceptual framework related to KM practices in a virtual context and to identify the nature of the relationship existing in those knowledge-driven elements and performance achievements. This paper aims to bridge the gap between the KM and e-business performance-related literatures from the viewpoint of European firms by establishing a model tested in European companies. For this purpose, we used a structural equation modelling analysis. The results show that KM has a positive impact on the maximization of e-business performance and that some elements individually have a positive influence on e-business performance. As limitations of the study, we consider the need for more research into this field and the inclusion of news elements such as technological readiness and management support to KM initiatives. The present study advances knowledge on the nature of the relative importance of different components of Internet-based KM as drivers of e-business performance and reinforce its importance as an integrated e-business tool