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1 – 10 of 17Letizia Alvino, Rob van der Lubbe, Reinoud A.M. Joosten and Efthymios Constantinides
The purpose of this paper is to assess whether or not electroencephalography (EEG) provides a valuable and substantial contribution to the prediction of consumer behaviour and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess whether or not electroencephalography (EEG) provides a valuable and substantial contribution to the prediction of consumer behaviour and their preferences during product consumption. In this study, the authors especially focus on individual preferences during a wine tasting experience.
Design/methodology/approach
A consumer neuroscience experiment was carried out with 26 participants that evaluated different red wines while their brain activity was recorded with EEG. A within-subjects design was employed and the experiment was carried out in two sessions. All participants took part in a blind taste session (no label session), in which information about the wine was not disclosed, and a normal taste session (label session), during which the bottle and its label were visible.
Findings
The findings suggest that EEG is a useful tool to study brain activity during product experience. EEG has high temporal resolution, low costs, small dimensions and superior manoeuvrability compared to other consumer neuroscience tools. However, it is noticed that there is a lack of solid theoretical background regarding brain areas (e.g. frontal cortex) and brain activity (e.g. brain waves) related to consumer preferences during product experience. This lack of knowledge causes several difficulties in replicating and validating the findings of other consumer neuroscience experiments for studying consumer behaviour.
Originality/value
The experiment presented in this paper is an exploratory study. It provides insights into the possible contribution of EEG data to the prediction of consumer behaviour during product experience.
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Zeynep Didem Nohutlu, Basil G. Englis, Aard J. Groen and Efthymios Constantinides
The purpose of this article is to obtain an in-depth insight into the nature and impact of customers´ cocreation experiences in online communities and the effects of customer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to obtain an in-depth insight into the nature and impact of customers´ cocreation experiences in online communities and the effects of customer cocreation on innovation processes.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is focused on an online cocreation community created by a market research company on behalf of a company. By means of a case study approach and through in-depth interviews, the authors identify the actual customer experiences and measure (or assess) the degree of involvement of customer creativity and experience in new idea generation.
Findings
Cocreation experience can be enhanced through evoking pragmatic, sociability, usability and hedonic experiences and more positive experiences and therefore, outcomes of collaborative innovation in online communities can be achieved. Findings show a classification of each role the community moderator/community manager and peer online community members perform as antecedents of cocreation experience, highlight the value of group feeling/sense of community/sense of belonging and homophily/communality in achieving that, the nature of a supportive online platform and give an overview of positive and negative outcomes of cocreation experience.
Originality/value
This case study provides with valuable insights in the phenomenon of customer cocreation and how to enhance participation of community members in collaborative innovation in online communities through positive experience, which is important for businesses involved in innovation trajectories and product and service improvement efforts.
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Amira Berriche, Christophe Benavent and Efthymios Constantinides
This paper aims to categorize users of voice assistants and analyze decision-making conflicts to predict intention to adopt voice commerce (v-commerce).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to categorize users of voice assistants and analyze decision-making conflicts to predict intention to adopt voice commerce (v-commerce).
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory study used expert survey-based data collection founded on data saturation.
Findings
This study identifies three forms of voice systems based on senses aroused (screen first, voice only and voice first) and four profiles of voice users (passive resistant, hedonistic adopter, utilitarian adopter and active resistant), each with a different appraisal of the benefits and costs of v-commerce adoption and the experiences (positive or negative) felt during the shopping experience. This study proposes a conceptual model to predict intention to adopt v-commerce depending on voice-system and -user characteristics.
Practical implications
Learning from this study can help improve the marketing strategies and actions put in place by voice-assistant brands and advertisers by providing insights for adapting product recommendation algorithms to meet the needs of the identified profiles.
Originality/value
This paper provides an answer to the limits of classical approaches based on “one-size-fits-all” strategy by showing how voice-assistant users have different profiles that span a gradient of advance in technology adoption.
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Carlota Lorenzo-Romero, Efthymios Constantinides and María-del-Carmen Alarcón-del-Amo
This study examines a cross section of the Spanish retailing branch on the adoption and use of Social Media tools, identifying users and nonusers and their impact on management…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines a cross section of the Spanish retailing branch on the adoption and use of Social Media tools, identifying users and nonusers and their impact on management experiences. The use of 2.0 technologies has also been analyzed based on company size.
Methodology
An online survey among 90 Spanish retailers provides a number of interesting insights in the adoption rates, the facilitating and disruptive factors in the adoption process, the types of applications used by retailers, and their experiences from them. Prior to filling in the online questionnaires, the recipients were contacted by phone and were informed about the study. A Chi-square analysis has been carried out to contrast the suggested research questions.
Findings
Retailers using Social Media as part of their marketing strategy use most social applications for customer-related purposes and see clear benefits in improving customer relations, market communication, improving their after-sales services, and obtaining customer feedback and customer information. Although many differences do not exist between large, medium, and small companies, it is remarkable that large companies use social web tools as branding and small companies as customer service.
Research limitations
The main problem of this study has been the low recruitment of answers by retailers.
Practical and social implications
Customers are using such technologies in overwhelming numbers and a substantial part of the customer generated content in Social Media is about brands, businesses, and products. Having a good idea about the customer dialog online can provide businesses with very valuable information and help them understand market trends but also identify potential areas of danger and problems.
Originality/value of chapter
The adoption of Social Media tools is a topic much studied from demand perspective. Nevertheless, the application to business and, specifically, retailing sector is less analyzed. With this study we pretend to improve this research line from offer perspective.
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Efthymios Constantinides, Carlota Lorenzo‐Romero and Miguel A. Gómez
This paper seeks to analyze the buying behavior of internet users in two European countries with different cultural backgrounds, Spain and The Netherlands, assessing the influence…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to analyze the buying behavior of internet users in two European countries with different cultural backgrounds, Spain and The Netherlands, assessing the influence of online experience factors on the choice of an internet vendor. It also aims to identify and compare the influence of personal and behavioral characteristics on the e‐vendor choice.
Design/methodology/approach
The study simulated a realistic virtual shopping activity in the computer laboratory; participants had to complete an online shopping assignment and an online questionnaire.
Findings
The findings indicate that the basic traits of the online consumer behavior of internet users in the two countries are quite similar. Most of the disparities observed are attributed to different levels of experience with the internet as a commercial channel.
Research limitations/implications
The outcome could suggest the emergence of a global virtual village, an issue worthy of further research but also of particular importance for global web vendors and website designers. The basic limitation of the study is that it is conducted in only two European countries and refers only to online purchasing of a standardized tangible consumer product.
Practical implications
The findings of the study can be translated to web design guidelines useful to online organizations operating in different cultural or ethnic environments.
Originality/value
The paper presents one of the first studies comparing the influence of online experience factors in two culturally different countries.
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This paper examines the strategic approach of two exemplar internet firms belonging to the first generation of dot.coms. The analysis identifies and compares their corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the strategic approach of two exemplar internet firms belonging to the first generation of dot.coms. The analysis identifies and compares their corporate strategic approach as one of the factors that helped these companies to escape the internet disaster and maintain their market leadership for more than ten years.
Design/methodology/approach
The study develops a methodological process for identification of growth‐oriented strategic decisions taken and implemented by the two internet corporations in a period of five years. The strategic decisions were classified and compared based on the methodology proposed by I. Ansoff.
Findings
The classification and comparison of the strategic course of the two firms reveals interesting similarities in their managerial approach and deviation from traditional strategic procedures and thinking. The most important conclusion is that successful firms in a market with low entry barriers maintain their market leadership by focusing on short‐term rather than long‐term competitive advantages. Such a strategy requires managerial flexibility and deviation from traditional strategic practices and thinking.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is required in order to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the strategic practices of successful virtual firms as well as in order to identify the critical differences between the online and the physical strategic practices.
Practical implications
Focusing on short‐term competitive positions as a strategy for survival and success in the virtual marketplace requires the continuous critical analysis of the external environment, efficient decision‐making processes and focus on continuous innovation and transformation.
Originality/value
The paper illustrates scientific evidence that transformation and innovation are the strategies most likely to contribute to the long‐term survival and success in unpredictable, sometimes chaotic and certainly fast evolving marketplaces like the internet One could assume that the findings could apply to physical markets characterized by evolution and change.
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Various developments in the marketing terrain in combination with the emergence of a new breed of information and communication technologies have been constantly transforming…
Abstract
Purpose
Various developments in the marketing terrain in combination with the emergence of a new breed of information and communication technologies have been constantly transforming market dynamics and customer behavior over the last two decades. The purpose of this article is to explain the reasons behind one of these changes – the customer empowerment – and to discuss the implications of this development for the marketing practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The article analyses the background of customer empowerment on the basis of literature review, anecdotal evidence and underlines the role of the internet as a tool of customer empowerment. The paper attempts to identify the main issues around this new subject and often makes use of practical cases. The scope of the paper is to underline the need for marketing strategists to approach their customers and markets in new ways.
Findings
The old type push marketing approaches based on mass media and massively produced products become less and less effective.
Practical implications
Marketers must realize that the empowered consumer is now in control of the message and the communication process. He is able to ignore the marketer and make decisions based on high quality information, many alternatives and new forms of transactions. Reaching this consumer requires a trust‐based approach (customer advocacy) based on openness and a real effort to help the customer achieve his objectives.
Originality/value
The paper summarizes several ideas and demonstrates with many practical examples the new market realities. The paper argues that strategists and marketers failing to understand the impact of the internet and the consequences of customer empowerment on their markets suffer from “Digital Myopia” that could endanger the survival of their business in the future.
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Liesbeth Y. Bout, Jaap H.M. Lombaers, Efthymios Constantinides and Petra C. de Weerd-Nederhof
This chapter addresses the introduction of a post-project market review, which is based on the concept of post-project reviews to stimulate commercialisation. It will start with a…
Abstract
This chapter addresses the introduction of a post-project market review, which is based on the concept of post-project reviews to stimulate commercialisation. It will start with a brief description of the case-company. After this, the motives of the research will be clear, and the research methodology will be explained in Chapter 2.
Carlota Lorenzo‐Romero, Efthymios Constantinides and María‐del‐Carmen Alarcón‐del‐Amo
The purpose of this paper is to study factors affecting the acceptance of social networking sites (SNS), analyze users' practices and behavior in these environments and assess the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study factors affecting the acceptance of social networking sites (SNS), analyze users' practices and behavior in these environments and assess the degree of acceptance of SNS in The Netherlands.
Design/methodology/approach
An extended technology acceptance model (TAM) was used to analyze the factors influencing the level of acceptance and use of SNS applying a structural equation modeling technique. Data were collected by means of an online national survey among Dutch SNS users.
Findings
Results support all hypotheses with positive relationships and influence between analyzed constructs; the only exception was the hypothesis on the relation between perceived risk and perceived usefulness.
Research limitations/implications
The survey was conducted in The Netherlands. This research can be considered as the basis for a more extensive research, covering other geographical areas, that will produce results allowing more specific and accurate predictions regarding the acceptance of SNS as marketing management tools.
Practical implications
The findings reveal a number of issues that are important for companies eager to explore the potential of the SNS as a strategic tool and as a means of improvement of their managerial processes in the area of marketing strategy.
Social implications
SNS are considered of great importance, both for individuals and businesses, since they support and expand existing social or business networks and allow the creation of new ones. The study underlines the importance of these networks as a communications and customer engagement channels.
Originality/value
The traditional TAM has been widely studied to analyze the adoption of new technologies. However, the adoption of SNS has been so far very little studied. The study provides new insights in this adoption process. Alongside this, the study added two personal variables of SNS users (i.e. trust and perceived risk), improving the traditional TAM approach.
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Addresses one of the fundamental issues of e‐marketing: how to attract and win over the consumer in the highly competitive Internet marketplace. Analyses the factors affecting the…
Abstract
Addresses one of the fundamental issues of e‐marketing: how to attract and win over the consumer in the highly competitive Internet marketplace. Analyses the factors affecting the online consumer's behavior and examines how e‐marketers can influence the outcome of the virtual interaction and buying process by focusing their marketing efforts on elements shaping the customer's virtual experience, the Web experience. Identifying the Web experience components and understanding their role as inputs in the online customer's decision‐making process are the first step in developing and delivering an attractive online presence likely to have the maximum impact on Internet users. Click‐and‐mortar firms delivering superior Web experience influence their physical clients’ perceptions and attitudes, driving additional traffic to traditional sales outlets. Provides a contribution to the theoretical debate around the factors influencing the online consumer's behavior and outlines some noticeable similarities and differences between the traditional and virtual consumers.
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