Gandolfo Dominici

Viable Systems Approach and Consumer Culture Theory: A Conceptual Framework

The aim of this study is to depict the relational dynamics between the firm/brand and the individual/consumer or communities of consumers. To this aim we propose a conceptual framework, integrating the viable systems approach (VSA) with consumer culture theory (CCT), which considers the individual as an active co-maker of the product/brand (‘prosumer’). The VSA view of the firm overcomes the limitations of CCT research, which is mainly focused on the individual, giving little consideration to the other actors in the context. Among the different approaches under the umbrella of viable systems we chose the VSA because of its emphasis on the analysis of the systemic external relations with the agents in the context, helping to underscore the marketing and social perspectives of CCT. Using a viable systemic perspective, the firm/brand and the individual/consumer can be conceived as viable systems embedded in a social-business context. Therefore, the consumption system can be considered as the momentum for the creation and maintenance of symbolic and cultural relationships between the firm/brand and the individual/consumer or communities of consumers (i.e. brand communities or subculture of consumption). These relationships are finalized to establish a common and consonant language in order to achieve a desired consonance level capable of enabling both the consumer and the firm/brand to co-evolve, maintain, and enhance their systemic viability.

The drivers of customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry: applying the Kano model to Sicilian hotels

Starting from the assessment that hotels need to embrace a managerial approach oriented towards customer satisfaction, we adopt the Kano model to identify the relevant drivers of satisfaction of hotel guests in the main cities of Sicily, Italy. This study analyses the customer satisfaction requirements for Sicilian hotels in order to suggest and weigh a set of key attributes that hotel managers need to consider in order to create an attractive offer. We base our analysis on the qualitative data collected through 600 questionnaires submitted to hotel guests of 20 Sicilian three–star hotels located in city downtowns, in different provinces and locations.

Click and drive: Consumer attitude to product development: Towards future transformations of the driving experience

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to supply indications that may be useful in the process of development of new products that fully exploit the value potential of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in the automotive industry. To this aim, the authors investigate how applications of the IoT to smart vehicles are perceived by consumers and describe different ways to increase their satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – After a literature review focused on IoT and consumer behaviour in the automotive industry, the authors apply the Kano model to find the drivers for achieving customer satisfaction with new product developments in smartcars. Findings – Automotive companies need to consider what is attractive to drivers and what consumers consider to be “driver-friendly”. Using an empirical analysis, the authors highlight the motivations for developing a smartcar to fits the expectation of Italian drivers. Research limitations/implications – While the global framework given by this paper can be us...

Decoding the Dynamics of Value Cocreation in Consumer Tribes: An Agency Theory Approach

ABSTRACT In the last decade, marketing studies have tried to define methodologies, models, and tools to support organizations in developing pathways “oriented to” and “based on” the value cocreation. To shed light on these dynamics, using the interpretative lens offered by Agency Theory, this study investigates the sociocultural and cognitive/figurative roots of the process of emergence of consumer tribes in which and by which value cocreation takes place. This paper offers a possible advancement in knowledge useful to define approaches, models, and instruments able to better explain and manage the dynamics of value cocreation.

Small world theory and the World Wide Web: linking small world properties and website centrality

This qualitative paper aims to point out the incidence of small world characteristics in the World Wide Web. To this end, some theoretical implications of small world theory (SWT) are verified using information from focus groups and in-depth interviews administered to experts and users of the World Wide Web. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether it is possible to apply small world properties to online social networks while pointing out the key variables of website centrality in that context. Building on this, the paper traces possible contributions for better management of the World Wide Web in terms of the professional use of social media to facilitate information or product and service sharing. The results of the proposed investigation highlight some pivotal aspects of small world properties on the web, as well as on website centrality. The findings are relevant for the application of social media marketing (SMM) and search engine optimisation (SEO).

Decoding the XXI Century’s Marketing Shift: An Agency Theory Framework

Since the beginning of the XXI century, marketing theory has moved through a series of epistemological shifts from modern positivism to postmodern constructivism. This has resulted in a series of changes to the main concepts of “traditional” marketing such as: market, product, customer, and value. These shifts can be better viewed under a social cybernetics approach such as agency theory. This is because there is now a view that the linear concept of value creation needs to give way to the more complex process of value cocreation, where value is created collectively. Agency theory is one approach that is able to shed light on how customers and providers are able to recursively create collective value during interaction in a market. The theoretical framework provided here is able to provide improved understanding of the interactions betfween (and among) customers and providers in the value cocreation process. In this theory, value cocreation is depicted as an interactive process between a set of “living system” agencies (providers and customers) in a given market arena. The framework can be an effective tool for the managers involved in marketing to contribute to providers’ policies by supplying a clearer portrait of the systemic relations involved in the value cocreation dynamics.

A Complex Adaptive System Framework for Management and Marketing Studies

This theoretical work aims to analyze the choice of strategic management activities, taking into account a complex systems perspective. Following this approach, we represent the firm as a complex adaptive system, in which the management must be able to develop and implement different behaviors in order to dynamically ensure the viability of the firm or system. This implies that the management governing the firm or system is capable of choosing, from among a number of heterogeneous entities, the relevant stakeholders within the competitive context and of creating and maintaining significant relationships with them, which are considered to be relevant in a turbulent environment.

A Holistic Approach to Comprehending the Complexity of the Post-growth Era: The Emerging Profile

The goal of this study is to investigate the problems caused by the rapid growth of the global economy, coupled with high population growth and the excessive exploitation of natural resources. The global economy will not be able to maintain its current speed of growth in the long term, so a paradigm shift in production and consumption is necessary, if the collapse of ecosystems and the concurrent depletion of natural resources are to be avoided. This is the reason why capitalism needs to take a turn towards a sustainable and naturally harmonized development model.

An empirical analysis of online price dispersion in the Italian airline industry

Firms operating in the electronic marketplace set and adjust prices to affect demand and profitability. In service markets, such as airline markets, different prices are commonly offered by diverse firms to accommodate to a variety of market segments having particular sets of consumer attitudes. This variation in prices is the price dispersion and is based on market distinctiveness deriving from customer heterogeneity as well as the peculiar competition in the specific market arena. In this paper we use a panel dataset from the Italian airline market to investigate the role of competition and different online channels in the emergence of price dispersion. Specifically, we examine the unclear role of competition in price dispersion with novel data collected from different online channels, namely direct and Online Travel Agency (OTA) channels. We find that price dispersion is higher in routes where competition is higher even in presence of only one segment, namely the business segment. Our results also show that price dispersion significantly differs across different types of online channels.

Complexity Theory for a New Managerial Paradigm: A Research Framework

In this work, we have outlined a research framework for a new management paradigm, attempting trying to link the main concepts of complexity theory, change management, knowledge management, sustainable development and, cybernetics. We discussed the transition from the industrial era to the postindustrial age. In the development process, nothing is fixed in advance; we can say that it is opportunistic, and adapts to the challenges of the environment, as well as to their effects for and within organizations and society. We saw how the processes of organizational change have occurred as a result of the move to adapt to the changes in the various global and international business environments, and how this transformation has led to the shift towards the present innovation economy. We also pointed out some of the ways in which organizational change needs to deal with sustainability, so that the exploitation of resources, the direction of investment, the orientation of technological development, and the institutional change may be consistent with present needs, without compromising the future.