Jesús J. Cambra Fierro

Hospitality and Travel: The Nature and Implications of User-Generated Content

This article examines the phenomenon of user-generated content and particularly the influence of nationality both on the motivation to post (or not) and on where and what type of content consumers share in the context of a recent trip. The method used was an online survey of 568 respondents located in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Spain. By design, a plurality of respondents was less than thirty years old. The preliminary results reveal differences in national attitudes and motivations for posting on different types of user-generated content site (i.e., social media sites, hotel- or destination-operated sites, commercial review sites, video or picture sharing sites). For example, respondents in Switzerland and the United Kingdom were more likely to post photos or travelogues on Facebook or another social media site to share with friends or relive the vacation experience. Respondents from Spain preferred to post on TripAdvisor or the travel purveyors’ websites, with the goal of making recommendations to other travelers. A chief implication for travel and hospitality managers is that in fact people from different countries have diverse reasons for posting, and the hospitality industry must take into account the differences in posting behaviors. This article was originally presented at QUIS 12, the international Quality in Service Conference.

Importance of company size in long‐term orientation of supply function: an empirical research

Purpose – The study of the relationships established between firms and their suppliers is of great interest at the present time, not only among academics but also among practitioners in business. But, although many works analyze this temporal orientation, fewer analyze the effect of company size on it. This paper sets out to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approach – An important proportion of firms is made up of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), and their economic importance is vital. Therefore, this current work, taking the Spanish agro‐food industry as a reference, analyzes the possible influence of the size of the customer firm on the temporal orientation of its supply relationships, specifically differentiating between SMEs and micro‐SMEs. The moderating effect analysis, included in the EQS software, has been used.Findings – The company size influences the temporal orientation of firm‐supplier relationships. Important conclusions related to trust, commitment and satisfaction emerge. Di...

Moderating effect of type of product exchanged in long‐term orientation of firm‐supplier relationships: an empirical study

Purpose – Taking the Spanish agro‐food sector as reference, the current work seeks to examine the moderating effect of the type of input exchanged; specifically, to analyze the potential differences in temporal orientation of the relationships established between companies and suppliers of “core” and “auxiliary” inputs.Design/methodology/approach – The information was obtained by means of a postal survey of managers responsible for the supply function from a random sample of Spanish agro‐food companies, specifically wine producers. The reason for approaching these professionals was to obtain responses from individuals who are directly in contact with the firms suppliers, and who negotiate the purchasing agreements.Findings – The findings show that, although communication, trust and satisfaction are always important as evaluated elements, their importance is higher when “core” products are considered. The data also indicate that for the case of products that are considered “core”, the relation between com...

Assessment and reassessment of supply relationships: a case study in the Spanish wine industry

Purpose – Companies that are able to manage efficient relationships with their suppliers have a greater guarantee of success and profitability in their activity. Their products will achieve the desired standards of quality. The amount of time and economic resources that firms need to build relationships is substantial and hence involves greater risk and uncertainty. Furthermore, smaller firms have fewer resources than larger ones and, therefore, the management of supply relationships can be more complicated. Therefore, this paper, by analysing a specific case, tries to identify those factors that a small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) assesses when choosing and deciding on building a supply relationship with a specific supplier.Design/methodology/approach – Through a real and practical case, considering the customers point‐of‐view, this paper aims to offer a new model. It links to one group of some previously tested variables that illustrates the temporary evolution of supply relationships with present...

From dissatisfied customers to evangelists of the firm: A study of the Spanish mobile service sector☆

This paper takes a closer look at factors which serve as a catalyst for transforming initially dissatisfied customers into evangelists of the firm; that is, customers who spread positive word-of-mouth about a company, its products and/or services—and recommend them to other consumers. We propose a conceptual model, rooted in relationship marketing theory, which identifies a set of factors that afford a better understanding of post-service recovery customer transformation processes. The proposed model is empirically tested in the context of mobile telecommunications services using a structural equation modeling approach. Our findings reveal that when companies are capable of designing effective service recovery processes—where customers perceive effort and justice in the outcome—initial dissatisfaction can turn to brand loyalty, long-term commitment and, above all, readiness to speak positively about the company and its products. Finally, the main implications for marketing practice are discussed.

The Long-Term Orientation of Firm-Suppliers Relationships

Abstract Within the food products marketing area, traditional researches have centred their attention on market and consumers. But because the final products are defined by their inputs, supply relationships are also important. The long-term orientation of the commercial relationships established between firms and their suppliers is a subject of great interest at present. Prior researches have shown that lasting relationships with supplier have positive effects on the quality of final products and on the firms satisfaction. But although there are many works that look at this temporal orientation, there has been no previous research analysing the agro-food sector. Therefore, the present paper analyses the moderating effect of belonging to an agro-food protection system on the factors determining the temporal orientation of firm-supplier relationships. Thus, taking as reference the Spanish agro-food sector, this current work examines this moderating effect. Our findings indicate that this property does indeed have an influence: through the effects of trust and communication on perceived satisfaction, on the one hand, and through the effect of this level of satisfaction on the temporal orientation of the supply relationship, on the other. Firms that belong to an agro-food protection system seem to value trust, communication and satisfaction more than others.

El tamaño empresarial y la importancia del suministro como condicionantes en la generación de relaciones a largo plazo con empresas proveedoras

RESUMEN Las empresas, de cara a incrementar su eficiencia y probabilidad de exito, no se centran tan solo en gestionar contactos satisfactorios con sus clientes. Es necesario que den un paso mas y que identifiquen aquellas tareas que proporcionen mas valor a lo largo del ciclo completo de negocio. Un ejemplo son las relaciones de aprovisionamiento. El presente trabajo analiza el papel que juega la orientacion temporal en la relacion empresa-proveedor, en el contexto PYME. Asi, a traves de un estudio de perfil cualitativo, se comprueba que en general estas relaciones tienden a orientarse a largo plazo, aunque los motivos difieren dependiendo del tamano de las empresas y de la importancia del suministro. Aquellas empresas de mayor dimension basan su decision en el nivel de satisfaccion percibido, mientras que las organizaciones de menor tamano lo hacen en funcion de su “no-insatisfaccion”. Ademas, conforme aumenta la importancia del suministro se incrementan los costes de cambio. La metodologia seguida ha sido el estudio del caso, y las conclusiones obtenidas destacan el importante papel que en el contexto PYME tienen tanto el numero de alternativas disponibles como los costes de cambio como impulsores de relaciones duraderas con proveedores.