Profiles of social networking sites users in the Netherlands

Online social networking has become a reality and integral part of the daily personal, social and business life. The extraordinary increase of the user numbers of Social Networking Sites (SNS) and the rampant creation of online communities presents businesses with many challenges and opportunities. From the commercial perspective, the SNS are an interesting and promising field: online social networks are important sources of market intelligence and also offer interesting options for co-operation, networking and marketing. For SMEs especially the Social Networking Sites represent a simple and low cost solution for listening the customer’s voice, reaching potential customers and creating extensive business networks. This paper presents the results of a national survey mapping the demographic, social and behavioral characteristics of the Dutch users of SNS. The study identifies four different user profiles and proposes a segmentation framework as basis for better understanding the nature and behavior of the participants in online communities. The findings present new insights to marketing strategists eager to use the communication potential of such communities; the findings are also interesting for businesses willing to explore the potential of online networking as a low cost yet very efficient alternative to physical, traditional networking

El comportamiento del consumidor ante el diseño del punto de venta virtual: efectos e interacciones

El objetivo general de esta tesis doctoral se centra en analizar los efectos que el diseño del punto de venta presenta sobre las respuestas del individuo, tanto afectivas, cognitivas como comportamentales, dentro de un entorno virtual. Para ello, partimos del análisis de la situación del comercio electrónico y, en concreto, del b2b en nuestro país - y región - como punto de partida para tener una visión objetiva de la muestra susceptible de análisis. A continuación presentamos el marco teórico que encierra los trabajos que nos ofrece la literatura sobre la conceptuación de ambiente del punto de venta, los elementos constituyentes del establecimiento y los estudios que analizan el impacto del ambiente -como elementos individuales o de manera globalizada- sobre el comportamiento del individuo, tanto en contextos mnoristas convencionales como virtuales. Partiendo de tales fundamentos teóricos, a través de la creación de una herramienta web como base metodológica para la elaboración del análisis empírico de esta investigación, desarrollamos un estudio experimental entre sujetos 2x2x2 con el objeto de analizar el impacto que tres señales de ambiente web (estructura de navegación, música y animaciones de los productos) produce sobre los estados internos del individuo (cognitivos, afectivos y satisfacción) como las respuestas comportamentales (respuestas de acercamiento al sitio web y otros resultados obtenidos mediante el seguimiento de los registros web -duración de la visita, productos comprados y dinero gastado-.) Además, se analiza si determinadas variables -implicación, receptividad ante el medio virtual y riesgo percibido-. Actúan como mediadoras en la relación existente entre ambos constructos. Como resultados generales se obtienen diferencias positivas y significativas entre los grupos objeto de experimentación en lo que respecta a los efectos de las mencionadas variables independientes sobre unas u otras variables dependientes del modelo. Además, se obtiene que las variables mediadoras mejoren la significatividad de los contrastes. En conclusión, el minorista web ha de tener en cuenta las respuestas de su mercado objetivo a la hora de diseñar su portal de venta, con el fin de ofrecer diseños creativos, impactantes, de fácil manejo, etc... Que produzcan en el usuario un comportamiento positivo hacia su establecimiento virtual

Co-Innovation: motivators and inhibitors for customers to participate in online co-creation processes

This study is concerned with identifying the motivators and deterrents of consumers to participate in co-creation processes. Co-creation processes are activities by firms to include consumers in the product development process in order to achieve a higher value through a better fit between need and product. Based on a literature review a model is developed, which is tested through an online questionnaire. The main motivators are oriented to U&G, uses and gratification, Antecedents found in existing research were used. U&G theory is a functionalist perspective on mass media communication which identifies several motivational factors. The survey results show that there are two clusters of co-creators, “motivated co-creators” and “not motivated co-creators”. These show four factors as main motivators, which are implications with the product, enjoyment, network with community and satisfaction and enrichment. However, it was also found that most respondents never participated in co-creation activities. This implies possibilities for management to advertise such activities in order to benefit from the customers’ knowledge, which needs further\ud research in this area first, identifying more motivators with which the firms can gain the trust of costumers. The advertisement needs two strategies considering the two different groups of co-creators existing. “Motivated co-creators” put learning from the co-creation activities as their primary motivation. In contrast, “non-motivated co-creators” firstly seek the enjoyment out of such a participation

Disintermediation and User-generated Content: A Latent Segmentation Analysis

This research investigates the perceptions of different groups of consumers for and against the disintermediation of travel agencies also considering the relative power in influencing the tourist's choices exerted by user generated-content (UGC). A web-based survey is carried out in Spain and 961 complete questionnaires was obtained. A latent segmentation was applied on factors identified running an exploratory factor analysis on a list of 16 statements, the use and frequency of use of the Internet to make hotel reservations, if consumers are bookers or lookers, and they have changed hotel reservations after having read UGC. Findings revealed that different clusters exist based on the identified factors and aforementioned variables, and that significant differences between these clusters based on sociodemographic characteristics, their behavior in using the Internet for searching for information and/or buying, and the extent to which they change the accommodation that had been suggested by a travel agent after having read UGC. The generalization of this research is limited by its method of sampling. This study provides further insights into the scientific debate on disintermediation also considering the relative power of UGC in influencing the tourist's choices. Further, it suggests that hotel marketers should use different types of online and offline distribution channels according to the different characteristics of the consumers who use them and of the products they are looking fo

Co-creation: Customer Integration in Social Media Based Product and Service Development

Due to the rising level of global competition as well as a fast-growing number of innovations organizations are nowadays forced to find new ways to attract, gain and sustain loyal customers in order to stay competitive. Co-creation, the active involvement of customers in the process of new product and service development, has been identified as a reliable source of competitive advantage; however for most companies it still represents a challenge to find customers that are willing to openly cooperate and share their ideas and knowledge. This paper examines four different types of benefits derived from the Uses and Gratification approach motivating customers to participate in online co-creation activities. A pilot questionnaire and its practical applicability are being tested, confirming that customers’ participation is in fact stimulated by the four identified types of benefits and indicating that co-creators differ in their motivational levels. Finally, some recommendations on how to adapt the questionnaire for future research are given

Social media: a new frontier for retailers?

During the last two decades the retailing industry is finding itself in a state of constant evolution and transformation. Globalization, mergers and acquisitions, and technological developments have drastically changed the retailing landscape. The explosive growth of the Internet has been one of the main catalysts in this process. The effects of the Internet have been mostly felt in retail sectors dealing mainly with intangibles or information products. But these are not likely to be limited to these sectors; increasingly retailers of physical products realize that the empowered, sophisticated, critical and well-informed consumer of today is essentially different to the consumer they have always known. The web, and particularly what is known as Social Media or Web 2.0, have given consumers much more control, information and power over the market process, posing retailers with a number of important dilemmas and challenges. This article explains what the new face of the Internet, widely referred to as Web 2.0 or Social Media, is, identifies its importance as a strategic marketing tool and proposes a number of alternative strategies for retailers. Implementing such strategies will allow retailers not only to survive, but also create competitive advantages and thrive in the new environment

Historical query data as business intelligence tool on an internationalization contex

[EN] This article reports theory concerning the key strategies of information search behaviour on an international market-orientation context, proposing a common framework to identify search goals using data generated from the keyword planner from google covering the period 2014/17 applied to the clothing retail sector. A conceptual framework of user goal identification from search data within clothing retail sector is presented and discussed in light of existing empirical studies. For that, a case study of an important fashion retailer has been analyzed: Zara. This firm is situated in the second position within the ranking of most valuable brands of clothes 2015 around the world (Kantar, 2016). A comparative analysis of search patters of this company, between United Kingdom and Spain, has been developed in order to offer the possible internationalization strategies in the online retail sector. User goals are identifyed and are stable over the period of study, a framework that covers main clothing consumer search goals have been identifyed.This study has been developed within the Research Project funded by Fundación Ramón Areces, entitled “La colaboración abierta en Internet como estrategia de innovación e internacionalización del sector de moda y complementos [open collaboration in the Internet as innovation and internationalization strategies by fashion sector] (2015-2018).Carro-Rodríguez, J.; Lorenzo-Romero, C.; Gómez-Borja, M. (2018). Historical query data as business intelligence tool on an internationalization contex. En 2nd International Conference on Advanced Reserach Methods and Analytics (CARMA 2018). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 221-228. https://doi.org/10.4995/CARMA2018.2018.8361OCS22122

Utjecaj sadržaja koji stvaraju korisnici na odabire turista

Most research on user-generated content (UGC) has focused on readers of comments and reviews. However, very little research is aimed at profiling travelers based on the extent to which their decisions regarding the choice of hotels are influenced by UGC. This research was therefore carried out to profile tourists based on the extent to which their choices of hotels are influenced by different types of peer-to-peer applications, while also considering their socio-demographic characteristics, frequency of travel, and motivations for using the Internet and UGC when making their travel choices. For this purpose, latent class segmentation was applied on a sample of 607 Italian tourists, and three clusters were identified: “digitally passive tourists”, “focused tourists”, and “social tourists”. Wald and Chi-square tests revealed significant differences among the three clusters based on all the variables considered in the study. Its findings suggest that hospitality marketers should run their social media strategy by focusing their attention on Travel 2.0 applications according to the socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics of their target market. Contributions to the body of knowledge and suggestions for further research are given.Većina istraživanja o sadržaju koji stvaraju korisnici (user-generated content, UGC) usredotočena je na čitatelje komentara i recenzija. Unatoč tome, postoji malo istraživanja kojima je cilj profiliranje putnika prema mjeri u kojoj UGC utječe na njihovu odluku o odabiru hotela. Zbog toga je ovo istraživanje provedeno kako bi se profilirali turisti prema mjeri u kojoj je njihov odabir hotela pod utjecajem različitih vrsta peer-to-peer aplikacija. Pritom su se isto tako uzele u obzir njihove sociodemografske karakteristike, učestalost putovanja i motivacija za korištenje interneta te sadržaja koji stvaraju korisnici pri odabiru putovanja. U tu svrhu primijenjena je vrsta klasterske analize pod nazivom latent class segmenation anayisis na uzorku 607 talijanskih turista, pri čemu su identificirana tri klastera, a to su: „digitalno pasivni turisti“, „fokusirani turisti“ i „društveni turisti“. Na osnovi svih varijabli razmatranih u istraživanju Waldov i hi-kvadrat test pokazali su postojanje značajnih razlika između triju klastera. Nalazi istraživanja upućuju na to kako bi marketinški stručnjaci u turizmu i ugostiteljstvu trebali provoditi strategiju društvenih medija fokusirajući svoju pažnju na putničke 2.0 aplikacije, uzimajući u obzir socio-demografske i bihevioralne karakteristike njihovog ciljnog tržišta. Prikazan je doprinos postojećim spoznajama te su navedene preporuke za daljnja istraživanja

Do You Have Social Profile? Users And Non-Users Of Social Networking Sites In The Web 2.0

In light of the increasing importance of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) for both personal and professional relationships, the aim of this work is to contribute to the knowledge framework regarding the interactive behaviour of Internet users, particularly within Web 2.0, describing its evolution from Web 1.0. Moreover, this paper analyses the different behaviours on the Web by people who use or not use SNSs, as well as to determine whether any such differences are significant in order to discover the reasons why these people participate. As results, initial characterization of the users themselves is followed by an analysis of the main differences between users and non-users of these applications. With this information, companies can play an active role in this Social Web by becoming company 2.0 and participating actively in already existing SNSs or creating their own social network service