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This part of the book has provided overviews of the current situation of research management and administration (RMA) in over 50 countries around the world provided by a total of 96 authors. Thirty-eight chapters cover individual countries from six continents, with a chapter bringing together this situation in the three Baltic states, another covering the Western Balkans, one more focused on the Caribbean, and there is a chapter on the Catalonia region of Spain. Here, we attempt to draw out common themes and to highlight differences in RMA and of Research Managers and Administrators in different parts of the world. Further, more holistic, insights can be found in the final chapter of the book (Yang-Yoshihara, Kerridge, et al., 2023, Chapter 6).

The aim of this chapter is to describe a four-type model of organisational structures and to discuss two cases, Embrapa and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, as well as additional cases at SAM-Research and the centre for shared medical support services established at the University of Bologna.

These cases should help readers understand the importance of designing distinctive, tailored-made support services while keeping these structures flexible for further adaptation under unforeseen changes.

The chapter concludes by stressing the role of institutions to steadily invest in the design of these tailored support structures and in personalised training for their support staff.

This research aims to gain a holistic understanding of how video conferencing (VC) apps' media characteristics influence individuals' perceptions of VC apps and, ultimately, their use and continued use in professional settings.

A conceptual research model is developed by integrating constructs from media synchronicity theory (MST), social presence theory and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model, as well as ubiquity, technicality and perceived fees. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to empirically test the conceptual model using data collected from 252 working professionals from the European Union.

The results reveal that while performance expectancy (PE) and facilitating conditions (FC) are fundamental to VC app use, these factors alone do not explain the use and continuing use of VC apps in the professional context. Media characteristics that include synchronicity, social presence, and ubiquity are equally crucial to professionals using VC apps. It also confirms the moderating effect of convergence on the relationship between synchronicity and PE and the moderating effect of technicality and perceived fees on the relationship between ubiquity and FC.

For researchers, the study offers insights into the extent to which technological and socially derived characteristics of VC apps influence the routine tasks undertaken by professionals in virtual work settings. For practitioners, recommendations pivotal to the use of VC apps are presented to promote higher acceptance and improved well-being of the professional workforce.

Understanding how attributes, consequences and values (A-C-V) influence the predisposition to purchase and buying intention of organic food consumers (OFC) is crucial for its stakeholders. This study aims to (1) investigate whether OFC perceptions of the A-C-V impact their predisposition to purchase and buying intention; (2) examine the mediating effect of predisposition to purchase on the relationship between OFC personal values and their buying intentions and (3) verify whether consumers with distinct levels of organic food-buying intention perceive differently of the A-C-V, predisposition to purchase and consumption frequency.

This quantitative study comprised 307 consumers who filled out a form about their perceptions of organic foods’ A-C-V and their consumption frequency, purchasing predisposition and buying intention. Partial least squares strutural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) tested the hypothetical model that resorted to the means-end chain (MEC) theory (Gutman, 1982). Cluster analysis based on OFC’s buying intentions compared their perceptions of the A-C-V, purchasing predisposition and consumption frequency.

The OFC’s perception of the attributes of these foods impacts the consequences of their consumption and values. Such values positively influence their purchase predisposition and buying intention. Predisposition to purchase measured the relationship between OFC values and purchase intention. Three OFC clusters were identified according to their buying intentions. Such groups perceive the A-C-V singularly and have different purchasing predispositions and consumption frequencies.

OFC values directly influence buying intentions. However, the predisposition to purchase strongly mediates the relationship between values and buying intentions, producing an indirect impact more notable than a direct one. It brings academic and managerial contributions to organic food stakeholders.

This study aims to identify the impact of restaurant pandemic mitigation measures on perceived service quality.

A total of 15,251 reviews were collected from 300 TripAdvisor Lisbon restaurant Web pages between March 2020 and December 2021, when Covid-19 contingency measures were in place. Grounded on the online reviews, a word frequency matrix was created and used as input on partial least squares–structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results suggest that precaution measures, such as the Vaccination Certificate, negative tests and restaurant layout configuration, positively influenced perceived service quality and consumer satisfaction, moderated by consumers’ beliefs.

This study provides relevant information for restaurant managers, which will help them implement strategies to guarantee service quality, consumer satisfaction and revisit intentions in future pandemic scenarios.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a significant disruption in the educational systems worldwide. Some institutions opted for emergency remote education due to the need to cancel in-person activities. The aims of this paper were to evaluate the use of asynchronous methodology in health sciences education, determine whether asynchronous methodology was sacrificing overall student satisfaction, and investigate whether satisfaction improved as the program develops.

Initially, there was phase 1 that corresponded to four weeks of activities. Each professor produced a video lesson, and after each video lesson, a weekly educational activity was made available. Next, phase 2 was implemented using the same methodology, however lasting six weeks. Three questionnaires were developed, and a Likert scale was administered to verify the students’ level of satisfaction. Data were analyzed using frequency distributions, mean values, standard deviation and confidence interval. The normality of the sum data (total of the questionnaires) was tested using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test.

Although the students pointed out that the asynchronous methodology facilitated access to the content and considered this methodology satisfactory, they expressed a reduced level of satisfaction regarding emergency remote education in general when data from the first weeks were compared to those of the previous weeks. It is clear that students became increasingly discouraged and tired over time, which motivated the institution to shift into a combination of synchronous and asynchronous methodology to improve student learning.

Teaching in the field of health care encompasses difficult competencies that sometimes are impossible to be learned remotely, so there is a need to examine and evaluate properly the remote education in this area. With careful planning, educational institutions can evaluate their experiences during the pandemic, allowing those involved to highlight strengths and identify weaknesses to better prepare for future needs to improve remote education.

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.