F. Javier Miranda

The region-of-origin (ROO) effect on purchasing preferences

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the “region-of-origin” effect in the purchase of cava, a sparkling wine. Cava is a multiregional designation of origin: although it is a product typical of a particular Spanish region (Catalonia), it is also produced in other regions in Spain. Design/methodology/approach – The technique of conjoint analysis is used to identify the structure of the preferences of cava consumers, and to evaluate how that structure is affected by the inclusion of a message that highlights the regional origin of the product. A survey was conducted among 473 wine buyers in the region of Extremadura (Spain). Findings – The main findings show that the “region-of-origin” effect is significant for the regional buyer of this type of wine, and that the sales of regional brands of cava would be greater if their regional origin were emphasized by indicating the location of the producer in a prominent place on the label. Moreover, three segments of purchasers differentiated by their pre...

Customer Loyalty in the ADSL Services Market in Spain: Background and Moderating Effects

It is important for asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) service operators to maintain a stable and lasting relationship with customers. They thus need to know which are the factors influencing customer loyalty, and how those relationships of influence are established. In the present study, structural analysis applied to data from a sample of 525 ADSL users showed the variables perceived quality, perceived value, and satisfaction to act as antecedents of loyalty. A novel finding of the study was the importance of the users attitude and aptitude with respect to Internet as variables moderating the relationships of the model.

Facebook as a Marketing Tool: An Analysis of the 100 Top-Ranked Global Brands

Social networks are one of the more notable sociological phenomena of the last years. Moreover, its apparition and acceptance by majority of the citizens also suppose an important challenge for the firms. Social networks are a new and relevant channel of communication and interaction with their consumers. For this, firms have to create their own place in the social network and actively manage the content that shares and the dialogue that is supported by their followers. In the first part of this paper, the authors explain the creation of an index to evaluate the presence of the companies in the social network more used to international level, Facebook. The Facebook Assessment Index FAI is formed by several indicators grouped in three dimensions: popularity, interactivity, and content. In the second part, the authors applied this index to the 150 largest firms according to Fortune 2011 ranking. At present, only 44% of these firms tested had an international official Facebook page. The results showed that the larger firms are those that in general terms best manage their presence on Facebook, have the greatest number of followers and a high degree of interactivity with them. However, the most interesting contribution of this work lies not in identifying firms that achieve higher scores on the FAI, but in comparing the pages with each other and making suggestions of ideas and practices that may improve a firms Facebook presence as a marketing tool.

An Assessment Methodology for Hotel Websites: Application to the Top 10 Cities Destination in the World

It is essential for hotel companies to evaluate and improve website performance in order to keep and increase their online presence and competitiveness in the marketplace. Based on the relative literature, in this article, the authors adapt the Web Assessment Index (WAI) to evaluate the attractiveness of the hotel websites. This has been validated in other studies in the literature, and measures the quality of a Website based on 4 dimensions: visibility, speed, navigability, and content. An application compares the performance of 10 hotels from each of the 10 top cities destinations in the world. The results show that there were significant differences between cities in the overall index and also between 4-stars and 5-stars hotels. The authors’ study also found a significant correlation between the WAI and the room price, so the more expensive hotels also show the best sites according with our index. The results could be useful for hoteliers to conduct a benchmarking analysis of the best sites, and propose improvements.

Quality in e-Government services: A proposal of dimensions from the perspective of public sector employees

Abstract The main objective of the work is to identify the key factors that must be considered by the Government when designing the web service portals used by its employees. To achieve these objectives, empirical work was then carried out to collect primary information, using the Delphi method and obtaining the opinion of 31 specialists who are experts in quality management in the university environment. The results of the study show that four dimensions must be considered to measure the quality of electronic services. These dimensions are: quality of information, technical efficiency, privacy and communication with the employee.

Academic entrepreneurial intention: the role of gender

Purpose The purpose of this study is firstly to analyze whether the determining factors of the entrepreneurial intention of academics are the same for men and women and test whether their degree of importance varies depending on gender, and secondly to test whether the lesser entrepreneurial intention of women detected in previous studies is because of the lesser presence of the determining factors of entrepreneurial intention among women or, on the contrary, is determined by the existence of implicit barriers that do not depend on these factors. Design/methodology/approach After conducting a survey on a sample of 1,178 academics, the results of a linear regression model confirm the hypothesis that female academics have less of an entrepreneurial intention. Findings Moreover, through the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition, it is observed that this lesser female entrepreneurial behavior is not because of the absence of any of the factors considered as determinants of entrepreneurial intention, but instead is related to the existence of implicit barriers for women that influence their entrepreneurial intention. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that a study of this nature has been conducted internationally. Unlike other studies on academic entrepreneurship, the authors do not restrict the sample to one or two universities but rather aim the study at all universities in Spain and, therefore, at all academics from all branches of knowledge.

An examination of the role of arousal and actual behaviour on commitment towards recycling and environmental preservation

Recycling and environmental preservation have been a topic of growing interest. However, the way individuals engage in a commitment process to the environment and its consequences are not well-known. In order to contribute to fill this gap, a model was proposed positing that self expression through environmentally proactive behaviours combined with a sense of arousal lead to an affective commitment to recycling and environmental preservation. Findings reveal the importance of energetic arousal to reinforce the self-expression in order to increase the commitment to the environmental preservation. Individuals who have an attitude of concern for the environment when making purchasing decisions tend to be more committed. Finally, committed people are more willing to sacrifice towards the cause and spread the word in favour of the cause. The study has enhanced the understanding of the determinants of recycling behaviour and has implications for schools and governmental agencies in educating and encouraging positive recycling behaviour.