Marta Ugolini

A five-senses perspective to quality in hospitals

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on research on the sensory perceptions that patients and bystanders experience during hospitalisation. Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch influence both clinical outcomes and satisfaction. The paper offers suggestions to hospital management on ways to improve receivers’ sensory perceptions. Design/methodology/approach – Considering services as social interactions, a subjectivist view of reality is adopted and, accordingly, a qualitative research approach implemented. Data are collected through participant observation. Desk activity includes reasoned literature review, categorisation and model adaptation. Findings – A simplified system model for service provision in the hospital ward is proposed. A management tool is provided in the form of a check list that the ward management can employ to assess its service-provision system from a five-senses perspective. Research limitations/implications – The paper is affected by judgements subject to cultural biase...

Factors that influence intent to adopt a hearing aid among older people in Italy

Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent health impairments associated with ageing in developed countries, and it can result in social, emotional and communication dysfunction. Hearing loss in Italy is increasing, yet, despite the availability of free hearing aids and access to qualified community-based health professionals specialising in audiology services, their uptake remains low (about 15%-20%). This paper presents an investigation of the possible reasons why older people in Italy resist adopting a hearing aid. We used the literature to identify factors influencing people with hearing losss decision-making, and drew on the theory of reasoned action to create an explanatory model. To test our hypotheses, we applied a cross-sectional design. We developed a questionnaire including 13 items related to adopting a hearing aid. Health professionals identified 400 persons aged 60-90 who were candidates for a free hearing aid. Those willing to participate were sent a copy of the questionnaire and telephoned between August and September 2009; a total of 243 responded (response rate of 60.8%). Linear regression analysis highlighted that a persons intention to adopt a hearing aid was positively related to their attitude towards its adoption, but negatively linked to their perceived subjective norms. It was found that trust in the health professional does not moderate the relationship between a persons attitude and their intention to adopt a hearing aid, but trust mitigates the relationship between a persons perceived subjective norms and their intentions. These findings underline the importance of the potential role that the healthcare professional could play in reducing the uncertainty created by external social pressures. For this purpose, stronger collaboration between the various health professionals involved in hearing aid provision, from diagnosis to fitting, is recommended.

Can quality become tangible for health service users

– This paper aims to contribute to solving the problem of communicating quality to service users. In particular, it seeks to focus on how to render quality tangible for the users within the health service, characterized by a high information asymmetry., – The method adopted is a case study, preceded by a rapid theoretical focus on the role of communication in a model for service quality (SERVQUAL). The case study refers to the Stroke Process at the Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital in Negrar (Verona, Italy). Stroke Process represents an excellent health service reality, unique in the Italian National Health System, for the care of brain stroke, one of the most serious diseases in developed countries., – The main finding is a managerial tool – the Patients Charter – in which the health organization explicitly expresses its commitments, its standards and makes quality tangible for users., – The research limitations are linked to the single case taken into consideration; moreover, findings are confirmed by other studies about health organizations., – The practical implications consist of direct suggestions useful in health service management, specifically in communication activity. As a result of this research, Patients Charter adoption by health organization is recommended., – The study has a normative value and its indications can be extended also to other innovative health services (e.g. multidisciplinary practices).

The effects of goods-related and service-related B2B brand images on customer loyalty

Purpose Previous research has shown that business-to-business (B2B) brand image has positive effects on customer loyalty. However, the results have been inconsistent because they have highlighted that B2B brand image has either direct or mediated effects on loyalty. Drawing on the framework of service transition, this study aims to develop and test a model that reconciles previous findings. This model suggests that goods-related and service-related B2B brand images coexist in customers’ perceptions and impact customer loyalty in different ways. Design/methodology/approach A model was developed and estimated using covariance-based structural equation modeling. The data used in the analysis were collected through a survey in the Italian health-care industry, focusing on the relationship between hearing aid manufacturers and audiologists. Findings Both goods-related and service-related B2B brand images have positive effects on loyalty. However, while the effects of goods-related image on loyalty are fully mediated by satisfaction, service-related image has both direct and mediated effects on loyalty. Research limitations/implications This study reconciles previous work arguing that B2B brand image has either direct or mediated effects on loyalty by focusing on the transition from a goods-oriented logic for branding to service branding. In particular, the analysis focuses on the role of the brand in the co-creation process, suggesting that a service-related brand image reflects the value unfolding over time through co-created experiences. However, additional research needs to be conducted in other industries before the results can be generalized. Practical implications The findings provide managers with insights for the co-creation of their B2B brand images. In particular, the results urge managers to integrate the traditional goods-oriented approach to branding with service branding, showing that enriching B2B brand image with service-related aspects will have a direct and positive effect on loyalty. However, brand image cannot be created or changed unilaterally by the firm as it is determined by the customer based on co-creation experiences. Originality/value This is the first study to explicitly and separately consider the effects of goods-related and service-related aspects of B2B brand image on loyalty. It also is one of the first studies to apply service logic to B2B branding issues.

The perceived effectiveness of social couponing campaigns for hotels in Italy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effectiveness of social couponing campaigns for hotels. In particular, the perceived effectiveness related to four specific objectives is explored (acquiring and retaining new customers, building brand awareness, balancing seasonality and stimulating demand among existing customers). Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire-based survey was conducted that involved 108 hotels, each of which has run at least one social couponing campaign through Groupon in Italy. The importance-performance approach was applied to analyze the data. Findings – Overall, the perceived effectiveness of social couponing for hotels is quite low. Social couponing is useful to increase brand awareness but does not encourage customer behavioral loyalty. Larger hotels can successfully use this marketing tool to balance demand seasonality. Research limitations/implications – The sample size is limited but includes approximately one-fourth of all Italian hotels that have run soc...

Impact of voluntary product recalls on utilitarian and hedonic attitudes: Is it the same for all brands?:

The number of defective and unsafe products recalled from the market has increased dramatically in the last decade. While several studies have investigated consumer reaction to product recalls, the impact of such events on utilitarian versus hedonic attitudes towards the brand involved in the recall has not yet been assessed. Similarly, it is not clear whether brands with utilitarian positioning and brands with hedonic positioning are equally affected by recalls. Through an experiment based on a real-world stimulus from the laptop product category, this study shows that hedonic brands are more resistant to the negative effects of voluntary product recalls than are utilitarian brands. Furthermore, data show that brand familiarity mitigates the effect of the recall on utilitarian attitudes for both utilitarian and hedonic brands. Brand familiarity also positively moderates the impact of the recall on hedonic attitudes, but only for hedonic brands.

Service-based vs. goods-based positioning of the product concept

Purpose – To counteract increasing competition and satisfy evolving customers’ needs, many firms are changing the positioning of their product concepts, from being product-based into service-based. Despite the increasing relevance of this shift, it is still unclear if this choice has a differential impact on customer perceived value. The purpose of this paper is to analyze customer perceived value for a firm’s product concept being positioned either as service-based or goods-based. Design/methodology/approach – An experiment was conducted using stimuli for two different product categories (hearing aids and bicycles) and measuring customers perceived value through the PERVAL scale’s four dimensions (quality value, emotional value, price value and social value). Findings – The results show that presenting the product concepts as service-based instead of good-based can enhance customer perceived value (in particular: quality, emotional and social value), but only if customers are not familiar with the produc...

Services Branding: Is it a Matter of Gender?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to verify whether gender traits of brand personality (masculinity vs femininity) are able to differentiate services brands belonging to the same service industry. Second, this paper intends to assess the validity of Grohmanns scale (that measures the masculine and the feminine dimensions of brand personality) among Italian consumers. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical research was conducted on a sample of 200 consumers. Participants were asked to rate their perceptions of the masculinity vs femininity dimensions of four different service brands (two brands of food retailers and two brands of airlines). Findings – The findings show that Grohmanns scale reaches high levels of validity in the Italian context, as well and that femininity and masculinity measured by that scale are able to register differences in services brand positioning for brands belonging to the same service industry. Research limitations/implications – The services category includes very heter...

Dal passaggio generazionale alla continuità dell’impresa minore

Alarm bells can be heard from various quarters as there is concern about the risks related to the turnover rate of the bodies governing small businesses. There is even a whole series of tools aimed at providing support for the handing over the reins of a business, within the same family, from one generation to another. This study aims to consider alternative approaches which can already be implemented at the starting up stage of succession, when considering businesses as “business systems”, which have far wider interests than merely those of the family, or those of the individual entrepreneur. The hypothesis of handing over the business to managers, according to the LBO formula, in this way, takes on particular importance; any such individual managers must be particularly talented from the entrepreneurial point of view as well as having normal managerial skills. These talents will provide the basis from which the business will continue to draw its lifeblood and continuity.

Does this fit my style? The role of self-congruity in young women’s repurchase intention for intimate apparel

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of actual and ideal congruity in predicting the repurchase intentions of young women in relation to inconspicuous fashion items. Design/methodology/approach The research focussed on a non-luxury intimate apparel brand, typical of daily use and private consumption. Regression analyses were conducted on a sample of 308 young female consumers to identify the effect of actual and ideal congruity in determining repurchase intentions. A cluster analysis based on actual self-concept was employed to develop a typology for consumers. Findings Unexpectedly, the findings revealed that ideal congruity is a stronger predictor of repurchase intentions than actual congruity. Further, based on actual self-concept, three profiles of young women emerged: active romantics, self-assureds and reliables. The clusters differed in relation to perceptions of brand personality and the effect of self-congruity on repurchase intentions. Research limitations/implications This study was conducted using participants from one university in Northern Italy. Thus, the main limitations of this study relate to sample size and selection. Additionally, this study only investigated the perceptions of young women. Practical implications This study suggests that non-luxury intimate apparel items, typical of daily use, are not merely functional purchases, but reflect young women’s self-expression motives. Accordingly, fashion marketers should focus on consumers’ ideal self-concepts to develop effective promotion strategies. Further, specific dimensions of brand personality should be considered in relation to the different clusters. Originality/value This study shows that repurchase intentions towards inconspicuous non-luxury fashion items are explained more by self-esteem motives (i.e. ideal congruity) than self-consistency motives (i.e. actual congruity).