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Article
Publication date: 22 February 2013

Kalpana Chauhan and Anandan Pillai

The aim of this study is to attempt to understand the role of content strategy followed by leading higher education institutes in India which have created brand community on…

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to attempt to understand the role of content strategy followed by leading higher education institutes in India which have created brand community on social media web sites to initiate and enhance customer engagement. The impact of content strategy variables – content type, posting agility, posting day and content context on number of likes and number of comments, which were manifest variables for customer engagement was assessed here.

Design/methodology/approach

This study follows a positivistic paradigm and employs case study research design. The data were collected by netnography method from brand communities on social networking web sites. The data were collected on a longitudinal basis for one year. Ten brand communities were tracked for the period and the analysis is based on total 1,440 posts made by brands during this period.

Findings

The content type and content agility were found to have significant impact on number of likes and comments, which were treated as manifest variables for customer engagement. The two‐way interaction indicated that content type and content context had significant impact on number of likes and comments.

Research limitations/implications

It is one of the first attempts to characterize the relationship between a firm's content strategy of its BC on social networking sites and the customer engagement. This study identifies various manifest variables for both the content strategy of the firm and the customer engagement.

Practical implications

This study would facilitate practicing community managers and content managers to understand and develop content strategy which would lead to desired customer engagement on brand communities created on social media.

Originality/value

With the application of this study's results, an organization should be able to avoid misuse of its social media marketing efforts, and should be able to focus on its content strategy, which maximises customer engagement on its brand community.

Article
Publication date: 5 June 2009

Arvind Sahay and Anandan Pillai

The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of components of marketing expenditures, i.e. advertising and distribution expenditures on intangible value of firm (measured…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of components of marketing expenditures, i.e. advertising and distribution expenditures on intangible value of firm (measured in terms of Tobin's Q). The relationship is studied in the context of branding approaches (corporate and house of brands) that various firms follow.

Design/methodology/approach

The data are collected from databases of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) and from the web site of National Stock Exchange. Time series regression is performed using SPSS software to test the model.

Findings

Advertising expenditure has a positive impact on the intangible value of the firm and this relationship is stronger for firms following corporate branding than for firms that follow house of brands strategy. Distribution expenditure has negative impact on the intangible value of the firm and this relationship is stronger for firms following corporate branding than for firms that follow house of brands strategy.

Research limitations/implications

Since most of the data retrieved for the analysis were of B2B (business to business) firms, the findings may not be generalized for all firms.

Practical implications

Advertising expenditure has a diminishing marginal utility in creating intangible value. It would be useful for firms to understand where they are on this continuum and whether their advertising expenditure is giving adequate returns or may be better spent elsewhere.

Originality/value

In the literature, researchers have expressed mixed viewpoints regarding the impact of total marketing spend on intangible value. The marketing expenditures are found to have both positive and negative impact on intangible value, with respect to various contexts. However, the impact of major components of marketing expenditures is not addressed. This gap is addressed in this research paper.

Details

Journal of Indian Business Research, vol. 1 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-4195

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 August 2011

Anandan Pillai and Jaydeep Mukherjee

The technology acceptance model (TAM) was developed by Davies et al. to understand the utilitarian benefits of web sites. In recent times, scholars have extended TAM as…

1607

Abstract

Purpose

The technology acceptance model (TAM) was developed by Davies et al. to understand the utilitarian benefits of web sites. In recent times, scholars have extended TAM as theoretical underpinning to understand user acceptance of social networking web sites (SNWs) that were hedonic in nature, which seemed inappropriate. The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences in the user acceptance phenomenon of hedonic versus utilitarian SNWs, and highlight that it is essential to provide justice to varying value propositions offered by SNWs.

Design/methodology/approach

As the research study was variance based and followed a positivistic paradigm, the authors used survey methodology and collected data through online and offline questionnaires. In total, 181 usable responses were subjected to mediation analysis using structural equation modeling.

Findings

The perceived usefulness emerged as a significant mediator in the case of utilitarian SNWs and perceived enjoyment emerged as a significant mediator in the case of hedonic SNWs user acceptance phenomenon.

Research limitations/implications

One web site each from hedonic and utilitarian SNWs was considered for the study. Future studies may be conducted by incorporating multiple web sites in each category to further emphasize the findings. Also, future studies might study the user acceptance phenomenon on the theoretical underpinning of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, which is much comprehensive than TAM.

Practical implications

There seems to be a notion that SNWs need to be hedonic and offer entertainment value proposition to attract large number of users. However, SNWs with valuable utilitarian value propositions built around appreciable ideas would also be accepted by users as an efficient networking tool.

Originality/value

Research on user acceptance of SNWs has been focused mostly on hedonic SNWs like Facebook and MySpace, while user acceptance of utilitarian SNWs like LinkedIn and Ryze has remained an unexplored domain.

Content available
Article
Publication date: 22 February 2013

K.B. Saji

903

Abstract

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2011

Raju Shukla and Pramod Kumar

The purpose of this paper is to develop eco‐friendly coatings based on low‐cost epoxide resins prepared by using a natural phenolic material such as cardanol (non‐toxic), in place…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop eco‐friendly coatings based on low‐cost epoxide resins prepared by using a natural phenolic material such as cardanol (non‐toxic), in place of ordinary phenol (toxic), which can be self‐curable at an optimum temperature.

Design/methodology/approach

Cardanol‐formaldehyde novolac resins (CNs) were prepared by reacting cardanol with formaldehyde in different molar ratios varying from 1:0.6 to 1:0.9. Prepared CNs were epoxidised by reacting with epichlorohydrin to produce epoxide resins, which would be called as epoxidised CNs (ECNs). Further, ECNs were modified by reacting with diethanolamine (DEtOA), a secondary amine to introduce tertiary amino group(s) into the molecules, required for self‐curability of ECNs. These modified ECNs are referred to as MECNs. The molar ratio of ECNs to DEtOA was taken in accordance with epoxy functionality of epoxide resins (ECNs) which ranged from 0.5 to 2.9. Nine numbers of MECNs (MECN1 to MECN9) were prepared by using four epoxide resins. These resins viz. CNs, ECNs and MECNs were characterized by 1H NMR and FTIR spectroscopic methods for their structure elucidatation, and by gel permeation chromatography for determining their molecular weights.

Findings

The most suitable molar ratio of ECN:DEtOA for the preparation of MECNs was found to be 1:1. The CN prepared by using cardanol and formaldehyde in the molar ratio of 1:0.7 was used for the preparation of ECN2 and MECN2. Applied films of epoxide resins, designated as MECN2, had reasonably good physical and chemical resistance properties. With a wide cure window, the films of MECN2 were found to be self‐curable at an optimum cure schedule of 160°C/30 min. Owing to self‐curability of the developed epoxide resins, the coatings based on them did not require any additional/external crosslinker to be incorporated in the coating composition.

Research limitations/implications

The prepared epoxide resins (MECNs) had good physical and chemical resistance properties, but demonstrated low stability and low resistance to xylene, in particular.

Originality/value

The paper shows how the epoxide resins were prepared by using a low‐cost phenolic material (cardanol) which is obtained from natural renewable resources, instead of petroleum, and is non‐toxic. These developed coatings can be applied as primer coat and top coat on metallic substrates. True self‐curability of the coating films has been achieved via anionic polymerization.

Details

Pigment & Resin Technology, vol. 40 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0369-9420

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 March 2020

Mauro Cavallone and Rocco Palumbo

Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence and digitalization have got a momentum in health care. However, scholars and practitioners do not agree on their implications on health…

Abstract

Purpose

Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence and digitalization have got a momentum in health care. However, scholars and practitioners do not agree on their implications on health services' quality and effectiveness. The article aims at shedding light on the applications, aftermaths and drawbacks of industry 4.0 in health care, summarizing the state of the art.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review was undertaken. We arranged an ad hoc research design, which was tailored to the study purposes. Three citation databases were queried. We collected 1,194 scientific papers which were carefully considered for inclusion in this systematic literature review. After three rounds of analysis, 40 papers were taken into consideration.

Findings

Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence and digitalization are revolutionizing the design and the delivery of care. They are expected to enhance health services' quality and effectiveness, paving the way for more direct patient–provider relationships. In addition, they have been argued to allow a more appropriate use of available resources. There is a dark side of health care 4.0 involving both management and ethical issues.

Research limitations/implications

Industry 4.0 in health care should not be conceived as a self-nourishing innovation; rather, it needs to be carefully steered at both the policy and management levels. On the one hand, comprehensive governance models are required to realize the full potential of health 4.0. On the other hand, the drawbacks of industry 4.0 should be timely recognized and thoroughly addressed.

Originality/value

The article contextualizes the state of the art of industry 4.0 in the health care context, providing some insights for further conceptual and empirical developments.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 32 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

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