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Monitoring the perception of quality by parents and the satisfaction with their children’s treatment is crucial in developing high-level health-care services. The purpose of this paper is to identify the perceived quality factors by parents of paediatric orthodontic patients according to the levels of satisfaction.

A survey with 316 parents of paediatric orthodontic patients of 45 offices in a big Brazilian city was conducted. The questionnaires included statements on the parents’ satisfaction and perception of quality concerning their children’s treatment. The data were analysed using multivariate statistics (exploratory factor analysis, cluster analysis and discriminant analysis).

Parents were classified into three clusters according to their level of satisfaction. This survey identified 11 quality factors perceived by parents of patients regarding their children’s orthodontic treatment. Among them, five factors discriminated the clusters: orthodontist’s technical skills, administrative organisation, location (accessibility and convenience), treatment duration and dental supplies.

This research identified the perceived quality factors that most impacted parents of orthodontic patients’ satisfaction, contributing to dentists in developing strategies and actions to improve the quality of services in dental offices.

This paper included 11 perceived quality factors in the hypothetical model, identified through literature review and a qualitative phase. Moreover, multivariate statistical analyses confirmed the validity and reliability of the questionnaires, classified respondents in clusters and identified the perceived quality factors that most discriminated them. Therefore, the current investigation presented a more comprehensive and robust analysis than the previous studies on this topic.

Academics and managers scour to understand which perceived quality factors are paramount to consumers during their restaurant experiences and how they influence their emotions, satisfaction, propensity to loyalty and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). However, previous studies are divergent regarding the impacts of satisfaction on eWOM. This survey aims to (a) investigate the impacts of perceived quality by restaurant consumers on positive emotions, negative emotions and satisfaction; (b) verify the impacts of satisfaction on the propensity to loyalty and eWOM; (c) test whether the consumers’ behavioural engagement in the SNS (CBE-SNS) moderates the relationship between satisfaction and eWOM.

This survey included 416 university students in Peru who completed an electronic form about their experiences at à la carte restaurants. PLS-SEM tested the hypothetical model based on S-O-R Theory (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974).

The perceived quality by consumers regarding their restaurant experiences positively impacts satisfaction and positive emotions and negatively affects negative emotions. Satisfaction strongly influences the propensity to loyalty but weakly the eWOM. The CBE-SNS moderates the intensity of the relationship between satisfaction and eWOM.

This study is the first to concomitantly test the relationships between perceived quality, positive and negative emotions, satisfaction, the propensity to loyalty, e-WOM and CBE-SNS. Consumer engagement moderates the relationship between satisfaction and eWOM. Accordingly, to stimulate positive eWOM, restaurants must provide their customers with experiences with high perceived quality, impacting their satisfaction, emotions and propensity for loyalty, and developing strategies to increase CBE-SNS.

Hotels provide high-quality guest experiences to generate perceived value for money (PVM), positively influencing word-of-mouth (WOM) and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication. This study aims to (1) verify the impacts of the perceived quality by the guests about their experiences in hotels on their PVM; (2) inspect the influence of guests' perception of hotel prices on PVM; (3) examine the impacts of guest PVM on their hotel experiences on WOM and eWOM and (4) investigate the consequences of the hotel guests' behavioural engagement on social networking sites (HGBE-SNS) on eWOM.

This quantitative and descriptive study consists of a survey with 371 guests who evaluated their experiences at three hotels in Brazil. PLS-SEM tested the hypothetical model that resorted to the stimulus-organism-response theory (S-O-R), proposed by Mehrabian and Russell (1974). Cluster Analysis compared the PVM, WOM and eWOM of groups of hotel guests with different levels of social media engagement.

Perceived quality by hotel guests positively impacts PVM. Perceived price negatively influences PVM. PVM had a positive and robust impact on WOM. PVM impacts and explains weakly eWOM. In contrast, HGBE-SNS affects and better explains eWOM than PVM.

This unprecedented investigation concomitantly exhibits the relationships between perceived quality, price, PVM, WOM, eWOM and HGBE-SNS. Hotels must offer high perceived quality experiences to influence PVM and WOM positively. PVM is unable to stimulate eWOM strongly. HGBE-SNS is pivotal for guests to share their hotel experiences through eWOM. This study suggests marketing strategies for hospitality companies to amplify customer engagement on SNS.

Many restaurants offer high-quality service to their customers, hoping to provide memorable experiences that influence their loyalty and electronic word of mouth (eWOM). However, consumers' memorable experiences do not always imply positive eWOM. This study aims to (1) verify the direct impacts of the perceived quality by consumers of casual dining restaurants on positive emotions, negative emotions and memorable experiences; (2) investigate the impacts of memorable experiences on the propensity to loyalty and eWOM; (3) test the moderating effect of consumer behavioural engagement on social networking sites (CBE-SNS) on the relationship between memorable experiences and eWOM.

This survey included 475 university students in Brazil. Participants answered an electronic form about their experiences in casual dining restaurants. Structural equation modelling tested the hypothetical model based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theory (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974).

The quality perceived by restaurant consumers (stimulus) positively impacts their memorable experiences and positive emotions and negatively affects their negative emotions (organism). Memorable experiences positively impact the propensity to loyalty (response). The CBE-SNS moderates the intensity of the relationship between memorable experiences (organism) and eWOM (response).

This study is the first that demonstrates the relationships between perceived quality, positive and negative emotions, memorable experiences, the propensity to loyalty and CBE-SNS and e-WOM in restaurants. Casual dining restaurants must offer their customers services with high perceived quality, positively impacting their emotions and their memorable experiences. Finally, restaurants must create strategies and actions to increase the CBE-SNS to encourage them to share their memorable experiences through eWOM.

The study aims to ascertain the impacts of entertainment, social and functional values on the likelihood of sharing commercial videos online and verify whether consumers' likelihood to share videos impacts brand attachment and brand equity.

A survey was conducted with 368 university students who watched videos of five companies on YouTube Brazil. The electronic form had 24 questions covering the constructs entertainment value, social value, functional value, likelihood to share, brand attachment and brand equity. The structural equation modeling (SEM) tested the survey´s hypothetical model.

The entertainment value and the social value had positive impacts on the likelihood to share commercial videos online. Moreover, the likelihood to share videos positively impacted brand attachment and brand equity. Finally, brand attachment had a positive effect on brand equity.

Entertainment and social values affect the likelihood to share commercial videos, stimulating consumer engagement with brands through interactive marketing on SNSs. Therefore, companies should produce fun videos that add social value to consumers to go viral, positively influencing brands. Finally, another contribution is the impact of video sharing on brand attachment. Previous studies have contemplated only the opposite relationship between these constructs.

This research adds value to interactive marketing by investigating consumers' behaviors, their interactivity in social networking sites (SNSs) and the impacts on brands. It is the only study that simultaneously contemplates the effects of entertainment, social and functional values on the likelihood to share commercial videos online and demonstrates its impact on brand attachment and brand equity.

E-commerce platforms offer service guarantees (SGs) to improve consumers’ perceived quality and satisfaction. This survey aimed to test the direct and indirect effects of SGs on consumers’ perceived quality and satisfaction concerning the services of an international e-commerce platform.

The survey sample consisted of 378 consumers of an international e-commerce platform. Structural equation modelling (SEM) tested two structural models.

The first hypothetical model demonstrated that SGs positively and directly affects perceived quality and consumers' satisfaction on an e-commerce platform. This model also revealed that the perceived quality directly and positively impacted consumer satisfaction. The second hypothetical model confirmed that perceived quality mediates the relationship between SGs and satisfaction. Moreover, SGs positively and indirectly impacts consumer satisfaction.

This study suggests that e-commerce platforms use SGs as a marketing strategy in their business models to increase perceived quality and consumer satisfaction. However, to positively impact the perception of quality and consumer satisfaction, such SGs must have the following characteristics: unconditional, easy to understand and communicate, meaningful, easy and painless to invoke, and easy and quick to collect.

This research demonstrated the direct effects of SGs on perceived quality and consumer satisfaction on an international e-commerce platform. SGs directly impacts consumer satisfaction with the platform, even if they have not experienced its quality attributes (reliability, customisation, security and design). The indirect effects of SGs on consumer satisfaction were also proven, mediated by perceived quality. No previous study demonstrated such relationships simultaneously on e-commerce platforms.

À la carte restaurants have faced increasing challenges in meeting the needs and desires of new food consumers. The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a model for evaluating the consumers’ perceived quality of à la carte restaurants and to review the impact on their attitudes and behavioural intentions.

A survey was conducted with 508 university students in Brazil, and the data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM).

The results showed that global perceived quality (GPQ), which is a multidimensional construct with nine dimensions, directly impacted emotions, the satisfaction and perceived value by consumers. This satisfaction positively affected word-of-mouth (WOM) communication and the propensity for loyalty. Price did not have a statistically significant impact on customer satisfaction.

This paper, based on the structural model herein proposed and tested, is the most complete of all available articles in the literature about à la carte restaurants, as this study contemplates a greater number of perceived quality factors. In addition, both tangible and intangible perceived quality factors were included in this tested model, which goes beyond what is typically contemplated in other such. Moreover, none of the existing articles in the existing literature simultaneously observed the relationship between perceived quality, positive and negative emotions, price, perceived value, satisfaction, WOM communication and propensity to loyalty. Finally, the questionnaire developed in this study could be used both by academics in future studies and by restaurant managers.

Companies' relationship with their customers through e-commerce platforms has increased considerably in the past few years, bringing new challenges concerning service guarantees (SG). This study aims to propose a framework of the relations between customers' expectations on SG, their negative experiences and their attitudes and behavioural intentions towards an e-commerce platform.

The research had a qualitative and descriptive approach. Testimonials from clients of an online e-commerce platform were obtained through interviews via videoconference and non-participant observation on a complaints website in Brazil. The testimonies were analysed through content analysis.

The customer expectations regarding the SG offered by the e-commerce platform are congruent with the five categories of the theory that support this research. Customer testimonials on the complaints site show that their negative experiences with the e-commerce platform generated negative emotional, cognitive and behavioural responses towards the company. A framework was proposed, including customers' expectations regarding SG, their negative experiences and their repercussions on clients' attitudes and behavioural intentions.

This article is the only that contemplates customers' expectations about SG in an e-commerce platform, relating them to attitudes and behavioural intentions. Thus, its framework demonstrates the relationships between customer expectations about SGs, their negative experiences and attitudinal and behavioural repercussions. This article brings academic and managerial contributions for companies and managers of e-commerce platforms. It contributes to clients and consumer protection associations by revealing problems they face with SG on e-commerce platforms. This research can be used by those responsible for elaborating laws and public policies to regulate and inspect the relationships between e-commerce platforms and their customers.

Coffee in capsules consumers’ behaviour depends not only on the products’ attributes, but also the consequences perceived by them and the alignment with their values. This paper aims to investigate the impacts of the Attributes of coffees in capsules on the consequences perceived by consumers concerning their consumption and the effects of these Consequences on consumers’ Values.

This study developed a scale for assessing the perception of consumers of coffee in capsules about Attributes, Consequences and Values (A-C-V) regarding its consumption. A link to this survey’s electronic questionnaire was posted on the social networks Facebook and Peabirus. This research sample is for convenience and accessibility and has 213 consumers of coffee in capsules. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was the statistical method used for data analysis.

Attributes have two sub-dimensions (Own attributes and Functional attributes), while Consequences have three sub-dimensions (Handling Benefits, Rational Benefits, Convenience Benefits) and Values have just one dimension. Also, SEM has shown a statistically significant positive relationship between A-C-V perceived by consumers of coffee in capsules. These results confirm the hypotheses developed based on the Means-End Chain Theory (MEC).

As academic contributions, this paper develops a structural model that quantitatively demonstrates the impacts of Attributes perceived by consumers of coffee in capsules on the Consequences of consumption and its effects on their Values. The present survey is the first in the literature that uses structural models contemplating A-C-V. As managerial contributions, this survey provides relevant information to the decision-making of several stakeholders of the chain of coffee in capsules.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of product category on consumer brand relationships.

Based on a total of 800 consumers, respondents evaluated their relationship with their favorite brand in one of the four product categories studied (soft drink, mobile phone, shoes, cars). EFA, subsequent CFA, SEM and ANOVA were used to assess these relationships and the product category effect.

The authors find that brand love positively influences brand loyalty and both, influence positively WOM and purchase intention. Looking at the directionality of these relationships, the results show no product category differences. However, the authors found significant differences in terms of their intensity and their effect on the explanation power of the brand outcome variables WOM and purchase intention.

The survey was conducted in Brazil and future research should assess the same product categories in other cultural settings as well as consider other product categories to assess the external validity of these results.

This paper demonstrates that consumer brand relationships are not product category specific. However, certain product categories tend to have more intense relationships than other product categories.

Despite the importance of the product category effect in the branding literature, this study shows that consumer brand relationship theory can be applied to different product categories. This suggests, the product category is less important in the study design than the unit of analysis which requires to be consumer's favorite brands.