Causes and success of brand deletions. The role of brand orientation

La eliminación de una marca es una decisión crítica dentro de la estrategia de marketing de una empresa. Pese a que en los últimos años muchas organizaciones han tomado este tipo de decisión y han acometido drásticos programas de eliminación de marcas, la literatura sobre este tema es muy escasa y fragmentada, y son múltiples las cuestiones que se deben abordar. Concretamente, en este trabajo nos proponemos examinar la influencia de las causas de eliminación de una marca –previamente clasificadas en proactivas y reactivas– en el éxito de la decisión. Además, exploramos el efecto que la orientación a la marca tiene en la mayor o menor ocurrencia de eliminaciones por causas proactivas o reactivas. Implícitamente, en el trabajo proponemos que la orientación a la marca tendrá un doble efecto indirecto positivo en el éxito de una eliminación. En primer lugar, a través de incremento de eliminaciones exitosas que ocurren por causas proactivas y, en segundo, por la reducción de eliminaciones no exitosas que sobrevienen por causas reactivas. La propuesta investigadora que realizamos se testa sobre una muestra de 155 casos de eliminación de marca. Los análisis preliminares indican que la orientación a la marca contribuye al éxito a través de la adopción de eliminaciones enfocadas en el aprovechamiento de oportunidades de la marca, tales como un mayor ajuste estratégico o unos menores costes de oportunidad. Además, la orientación a la marca previene de realizar eliminaciones simplemente por causas problemáticas, eliminaciones que no acaban arrojando grandes resultados.Brand deletion (BD) is a critical decision within a firm’s marketing strategy. Despite in recent years many organizations have pruned their brand portfolios and undertaken drastic BD programs, the literature on this topic is extremely scarce and fragmented, and several issues of BD can be investigated. This research is primarily concerned with the study of the impact of BD causes –previously classified as proactive versus reactive– on BD success. In addition, we explore the effect of the firm’s brand orientation on the occurrence of deletions by proactive versus reactive causes. Implicitly, we suggest that brand orientation will have a double positive indirect effect on BD success: first, through the increase of successful BDs due to proactive causes and, second, by the reduction of unsuccessful BDs precipitated by reactive causes. Our research proposal is tested on a sample of 155 cases of BD. Preliminary findings indicate that brand orientation contributes to the BD success through the adoption of BDs focused on taking advantage of brand opportunities, such as searching for a better strategic fit or avoiding opportunity costs. Besides, brand orientation prevents deletions due to merely problematic causes, deletions that, after all, do not generate success

Nanoporous PMMA: A novel system with different acoustic properties

The acoustic properties of closed cell nanoporous and microporous poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) foams have been well characterized, showing that nanoporous PMMA exhibit a different absorption coefficient and transmission loss behavior in comparison with microporous PMMA. Experimental differences may be explained by the different wave propagation mechanism in the micro and nanoscale, which is determined by the confinement of both the gas (Knudsen regime) and the solid phases. These results place nanoporous materials as a new class of polymeric porous material with potential properties in the field of acoustics, especially in multifunctional systems requiring a certain degree of soundproofing

Organizational antecedents to designing a comprehensive complaint management system

Producción CientíficaThe literature highlights two main approaches to designing an effective complaint management system: the mechanistic and the organic. The mechanistic approach emphasizes the establishment of guidelines for the correct processing, attention and resolution of complaints received. In contrast, the organic approach relies on creating a supportive internal environment for correct customer attention, made possible through training and empowering employees responsible for complaint management and by promoting extra-role behaviour among them. The present research aims to study the antecedents of adopting these two approaches. From a strategic perspective, we analyse the influence of organizational culture variables (the extent to which the firm is customer- and innovation-oriented) and the nature of the objectives pursued by complaint handling (defensive vs. improvement objectives). The proposed model is tested on a sample of 140 manufacturing firms. Findings indicate these antecedents shape the complaint management system in a very differing and significant manner.Junta de Castilla y León (proyecto VA112P17)Junta de Castilla y León (proyecto VA085G18)Ministerio de economía, industria y competitividad (proyecto ECO2017-86628-P

Benefits from the standardisation of the complaint management system

Producción CientíficaThis research provides new developments in the conceptualization of the complaint management system by examining the benefits of the standardization of the complaint management process. In line with a mechanistic approach of organizational behaviour, we posit that standardization of complaint handling can help to overcome defensive behaviour by employees and managers, who can view receiving complaints as a decidedly negative experience. Specifically, we investigate the influence of three types of guidelines —procedural, behavioural, and outcome— on achieving fairer solutions for customers and, consequently, greater satisfaction with the system. The model proposed in the present research is tested considering the managers’ perspective and using data from a representative sample of manufacturing companies covering multiple industries. Our findings provide novel and interesting insights on the factors to which managers in manufacturing firms should pay closer attention when designing an effective complaint management system. All three types of guidelines help to explain perception of justice in the solution of complaints and, thus, customer satisfaction, but important differences exist for the different types of guidelines and their corresponding dimensions.Junta de Castilla y León (proyecto VA112P17)Junta de Castilla y León (proyecto VA085G18)Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (proyecto ECO2017-86628-P

Do proactive and reactive causes to delete a brand impact deletion success? The role of brand orientation

Producción CientíficaOne critical decision concerning a firm´s brand portfolio management is brand deletion (BD). Although many organizations have recently undertaken drastic BD programs and pruned their brand portfolios, the literature on this topic remains extremely scarce and fragmented. Our work focuses on studying the impact of BD causes –previously classified as proactive versus reactive– on BD success. How the firm’s brand orientation affects the incidence of proactive versus reactive deletions is also explored. Implicitly, we suggest that brand orientation exerts a positive indirect effect on BD success through increased successful BDs due to proactive causes. We test our research proposal on a sample comprising 155 cases of BD. Findings indicate that brand orientation contributes to BD success through the proactive adoption of BDs focused on taking advantage of brand opportunities, such as searching for a better strategic fit or avoiding opportunity costs. Moreover, brand orientation prevents deletions by reactive or problematic causes, deletions which, after all, do not generate success. In sum, brand oriented firms seek to prevent rather than fix any problems derived from maintaining inadequate brands in their portfolio.Fondo Social Europeo (proyecto ORDEN EDU/828/2014)Junta de Castilla y León (ORDEN EDU/828/2014)Ministerio de Economía y Competetitividad (proyecto ECO2017-86628-P)Fondo europeo de desarrollo regional (proyecto VA112P17)Junta de Castilla y León (proyecto VA085G18

Minimizing the negative impact of brand deletion

Producción CientíficaPurpose: This research is primarily concerned with studying the impact of brand workers' problems on brand deletion (BD) outcomes. The authors also analyze how the level of consensus achieved during BD adoption and implementation influences the impact of brand workers' problems on BD outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was designed to obtain data from a representative sample of 155 real cases of BD. Findings: Findings indicate that in contexts where workers feel their jobs are threatened or challenged, BD success may be undermined. However, the company does possess one important mechanism that can alleviate the negative impact of brand workers' problems: empowering them to pave the way toward consensus-building. Results do not support a negative effect of brand workers' problems on BD time efficiency or any effect of BD time efficiency on BD's contribution to a firm's economic performance. Practical implications: Managers must be aware that problems derived from brand workers' actions are especially harmful for the company when there is no consensus, such that managers must prevent deletion from occurring under these circumstances. Originality/value: This pioneering study proposes and empirically validates the relationship between brand workers' problems and BD success and BD time efficiency, moderated by consensus.Junta de Castilla y León (Project VA219P20)Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Project PID2021-123004NB-I00

Device principle, strictness and motivation in civil marriage

Este artículo tiene por fin estudiar aquellos principios que rigen la Casación en el proceso civil, específicamente el principio dispositivo, la taxatividad y la motivación, a la luz de la nueva Sentencia No. 1158-17-EP/21 emitida por la Corte Constitucional, con la finalidad de determinar si  un recurrente, al interponer un recurso extraordinario de casación y acusar la vulneración de la garantía de la motivación en el fallo de apelación, debe o no, identificar alguno de los tipos de deficiencia motivacional o de vicio motivacional que han sido desarrollados en la sentencia No. 1158-17-EP/21; para el efecto, se realizará un estudio normativo, jurisprudencial y doctrinario, a fin de comprender el verdadero alcance de la jurisprudencia emitida por la Corte Constitucional, frente a las particularidades que atañen a la sede casacional en la Corte Nacional de Justicia.The purpose of this article is to study those principles that govern Cassation in civil proceedings, specifically the dispositive principle, exhaustiveness and motivation, in light of the new Judgment No. 1158-17-EP/21 issued by the Constitutional Court, In order to determine whether an appellant, when filing an extraordinary appeal and accusing the violation of the guarantee of motivation in the appeal decision, must or not identify any of the types of motivational deficiency or motivational vice that have been developed in judgment No. 1158-17-EP/21; For this purpose, a normative, jurisprudential and doctrinal study will be carried out, in order to understand the true scope of the jurisprudence issued by the Constitutional Court regarding the particularities that concern the cassation venue in the National Court of Justice

Modeling the heat transfer by conduction of nanocellular polymers with bimodal cellular structures

Nanocellular polymers are a new generation of materials with the potential of being used as very efficient thermal insulators. It has been proved experimentally that these materials present the Knudsen effect, which strongly reduces the conductivity of the gas phase. There are theoretical equations to predict the thermal conductivity due to this Knudsen effect, but all the models consider an average cell size. In this work, we propose a model to predict the thermal conductivity due to the conduction mechanisms of nanocellular materials with bimodal cellular structures, that is, with two populations of cells, micro and nanocellular. The novelty of our work is to consider not only the average cell size, but the cell size distribution. The predictions of the model are compared with the experimental conductivity of two real bimodal systems based on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and it is proved that this new model provides more accurate estimations of the conductivity than the models that do not consider the bimodality. Furthermore, this model could be applied to monomodal nanocellular polymers. In particular, for monomodal materials presenting a wide cell size distribution and at low densities, the model predicts important variations in comparison with the current models in the literature. This result indicates that the cell size distribution must be included in the estimations of the thermal conductivity of nanocellular polymer

Advanced nanocellular foams: Perspectives on the current knowledge and challenges

Producción CientíficaNanocellular polymers (i.e., cellular polymers with cells and walls in the nanometric range) were first produced in the early 2000s, with the works of Yokoyama et al. being the main precedents in this field, producing nanocellular structures by using supercritical carbon dioxide. However, it was not until a decade later that this research field started to grow significantly, attracting several international research groups in the quest to obtain cellular polymers with cells in the nanocellular range. From 2010 to 2014, the basis of bulk nanocellular foam production was established, and the CO2 gas dissolution foaming technique rapidly proved to be the most suitable production route for such materials (details and theoretical basis of this technique can be found elsewhere). Continuous technical advances (e.g., higher saturation pressures, lower saturation temperatures, faster pressure drop rates) and diverse nucleating agents, from inorganic nanoparticles to block copolymers, provided a broad collection of cellular polymers with submicrometric and nanometric cells. Although quite diverse polymers allowed the achievement of submicrometric cells, amorphous polymers such as polyetherimide (PEI), polystyrene (PS), and, notably, poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) provided the best nanocellular structures, with cell sizes even below 100 nm and significant density reductions.Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital y FEDER (grants RTI2018-098749-BI00, RTI2018-097367-A-I00, and PRE2019-088820)Junta de Castilla y León (grants VA275P18 and CLU-2019-04

Juegos Arcade online sobre mapas reales

Este proyecto implementa juegos arcade, que se desarrollan sobre mapas reales. Están hechos para poder jugar de forma online, a través de internet. La información geográfica necesaria es obtenida de la página de la fundación OpenStreetMap. Es una fundación para crear mapas libre y editables, que cuenta con la colaboración desinteresada de los usuarios de la red. Tenemos dos opciones para elegir el lugar donde se expondrá el juego. Las opciones son: bien jugar sobre unos mapas descargados previamente al realizar la aplicación por los desarroladores, o bien de forma online elegir el lugar sobre el cual queremos jugar. Para esto último nos apoyamos en aplicaciones ofertadas por esta Comunidad como puede ser el namefinder. Nuestra aplicación ha sido desarrollada bajo el lenguaje de programación Java de la empresa Sun Microsystems. Se ha usado como entorno de programación Netbeans, de la misma empresa citada con anterioridad. El proyecto se divide en dos, siguiendo la arquitectura cliente-servidor. El servidor se encarga de toda la computación y el cliente es una página web para poder jugar sobre ella. Para llevar a cabo el cliente se ha usado un applet de Java, que no es más que un programa incrustado en un documento HTML. La conexión entre las dos partes del proyecto citadas se ha realizado a través de sockets. Se ha seguido un protocolo creado por nosotros para que las comunicaciones sean correctas. Los juegos arcades disponibles en la aplicación son: el comecocos, el pilla pilla, la serpiente y el pincha globos. [ABSTRACT] This project implements arcade games, which are developed on real maps. They are made for playing online, over network. The geographic information required is got from OpenStreetMap foundation´s web page. This foundation creates free geographic data, with the unselfish collaboration of network users. We have two options for choosing the place where we will play. The options are either to play on maps downloaded by the developers previously or to choose the place when you are using this application. For the latter we use applications offered by OpenStreetMap, for example namefinder. Our application has been developed under the Java programming language of Sun Microsystems. The programming environment used has been Netbeans, of the same company previously mentioned. This project is divided into two parts, carrying on the client-server architecture. The server does all computation meanwhile and the client is a web page for playing on it. A Java applet has been used for implementing the client, which is a program incrusted in a HTML document. The connection between the two parts of the project is made using sockets. The application use a protocol defined by us for correct communications. The arcade games available in the application are: pacman, the running-running, the snake and click-balloons