Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2019-01-28"
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- Interest in participating in a mentoring program : by Wining Consulting EmployeesPublication . Almeida, Inês da Silva; Xavier, RuteThe purpose of this thesis is to study the interest that Winning Consulting employees have in joining a mentoring program. To try to understand better the profile of the collaborators who are interested in participating as well as to realize if they are only willing to integrate the project if they are compensated. For this purpose, a set of interviews were conducted with Winning Consulting employees, followed by a questionnaire about the organizational climate, the mentoring program as well as some personal information considered pertinent to the analysis of this study. Through a statistical analysis it was noted that both male and younger employees such as employees with higher education, new employees at Winning Consulting and those with senior positions within the company are more interested in integrating the mentoring program comparatively with the other type of collaborator. In addition, it was found that Winning Consulting employees who are interested in participating in the program value in a mentor the following characteristics: availability, proactivity and career path. Furthermore, our analysis concluded that, in the short term in the case of Winning Consulting implement an eventual mentoring program, they don’t need to bear the costs of the program participation bonuses, however in the long term, this possibility should be studied if the program generates future benefits to the organization.
- Luxury Hotel consumption : examining the effects of personality on consumers’ valuations involving inconspicuous versus conspicuous consumption experiencesPublication . Aleem, Aihoor Kayoom; Colaço, Vera HerédiaThe present dissertation aims to examine the impact of personality (introvert consumers versus extrovert consumers) on luxury hotel consumption, more specifically on inconspicuous versus conspicuous consumption. Based on a review of the academic literature, an experimental study was designed to test for the moderating impact of personality traits on the likelihood to engage in different types of consumption, willingness to pay, quality and sustainability perceptions. Results indicate that there is a positive causal effect between personality and luxury consumption, and that introvert consumers are associated more with inconspicuous consumption, whereas extrovert consumers are more associated with conspicuous consumption. Moreover, inconspicuous consumption is also perceived as being more sustainable, with introvert consumers being more preoccupied with sustainability practices. The present dissertation positively contributes to the literature on conspicuous and inconspicuous consumption and personality traits.
- The impact of loyalty program type, personality and brand familiarity on loyalty programs’ valuationPublication . Figueiredo, João Pedro Bruno de; Colaço, Vera HerédiaLoyalty programs are one of the main strategies companies implement to incentivize customers to continuously shopping from their brands. These programs have existed for a long time and have not changed a lot in the recent decades. Most of these programs don’t consider in which markets the brands are competing, focusing most of their offers on discounts, leaving a lot of other options unexplored. Based on the literature review about loyalty programs, marketing and personality traits, specifically on maximizers and satisficers, an experimental study was designed to test the moderating effects of brand familiarity and personality on loyalty programs’ valuation. Results suggest that maximizers predominantly impact loyalty program valuations, as they are more engaged and satisfied with this type of marketing strategy, showing higher satisfaction levels, as well. Furthermore, it was found that brand familiarity is an important aspect to take into account, especially for maximizers who value choosing high familiar brands over non-familiar, while satisficers showed no difference in their preferences.
- Relationships among airport service quality, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions : an application on Lisbon AirportPublication . Salvador, Bárbara Morgado; Almeida, José Queirós deBy exceeding the 25 million passengers in a year, Lisbon airport entered the ranking of the biggest European airports in 2017. This fact raises new concerns regarding service quality and passengers’ experience. As such, the purpose of this research is to extend the notions of service quality and satisfaction in the context of airport industry taking into account passengers’ behavioral intentions. In the context of an explanatory study, an online questionnaire was conducted. There were obtained 398 valid answers from passengers who travelled at least once during the last 12 months through the Lisbon airport. A path analysis was conducted to examine the model linking service quality, passenger satisfaction and behavioral outcomes, while a multivariate analysis determined the effects of a number of sociodemographic and travel characteristics on behavioral intentions - word-of-mouth and revisit intentions. Results showed that the impact of airport service quality on behavioral intentions is mediate by passengers’ satisfaction. The efficiency and effectiveness of the airport service are the factors that most affect passenger’ satisfaction, and this one has a high positive effect on word-of-mouth intentions. Moreover, there were found relevant differences on behavioral intentions according to passengers’ origin country and travel frequency. Findings that contribute to existent academic literature on airport industry but have also practical implication for managers of the Lisbon airport are discussed, limitations of the study are noted and possible areas for future research are indicated.
- Implications of Oil Price Shocks for the Macroeconomy of African Oil exporting countries : evidence from Angola and NigeriaPublication . Vaz, Carlos Deosvaldo Fragoso; Reis, HugoAngola and Nigeria are the two largest oil production countries in Africa. Oil related activities represent a large proportion of their economic activity which make them vulnerable to oil price shocks. A large body of research suggests that oil price fluctuations have considerable consequences on economic activity, however, the empirical literature on macroeconomics effects of oil price shocks is biased towards developed oil importing countries and lacks developing countries study cases (Bangara & Dunne, 2018). Following existing literature (Jiménez-Rodríguez & Sánchez, 2004), a quarterly four variables SVAR from 2002Q1 to 2017Q4 is applied to investigate the implications of oil price shocks in the key macroeconomic variables of Angola and Nigeria. The study finds that even though the two countries share similar dependence on oil exports, there is strong evidence that they react differently to crude oil price shocks. While in Angola oil prices granger-cause real GDP, real exchange rate and inflation, in Nigeria it only granger-cause real exchange rate. Furthermore, whereas in Angola, a positive oil price shock, increases real GDP, contributes to an appreciation of the real exchange rate and a reduction in inflation. In Nigeria, real GDP doesn’t seem to respond significantly to oil price shocks and at least in the short run neither inflation. These results suggest that Angola is more vulnerable to oil price shocks than Nigeria which maybe explained by the different structure of their domestic economies as well as the differences in the reserve buffers strategies to soften the magnitude of the external shock’s impact.
- Organic food consumer and impulsive buying tendencyPublication . Palhoto, Inês Isabel Pombas; Almeida, José Queirós deAlthough impulsive buying has been investigated for nearly 70 years, almost no research has examined this phenomenon on the organic food consumers. In the last 20 years, the organic food market has been reaching significant values worldwide and it is a market composed by consumers that have special attention and care when shopping. In order to increase sudden purchases in store, there is a need to understand how to deviate organic food consumers from their extremely controlled buying behaviors. Thus, through semi-structured interviews and an online questionnaire, the aim of this dissertation is to explore organic food consumers and their capacity to perform impulsive buying on the organic food category itself. As well, identify factors and specific-products, within the organic food category, that might provoke impulsive buying on these consumers. The results showed that organic food consumers were found to hold low levels of impulsive buying tendency. This data reveals a negative influence on the impulsive buying on the organic food category. However, on the other side, high levels of consumers involvement with organic food might positively influence the impulsive buying on this category. Moreover, within the organic food category, organic snacks and new products were considered the products more susceptible to be bought by impulse. As a view to generating impulsive buying, retailers must develop consumers involvement with the organic food category in their stores, enhance the novelty factor and choose the right products to display in the right places.
- Corporate Social Responsibility of the apparel clothing industry and its effects on the purchase intention of female Portuguese consumersPublication . Moniz, Maria Madalena Guedes Pereira; Almeida, José Queirós deThe concern about the environment and society has been increasing in the last years. Consequently, consumers increased their expectations regarding the behavior of companies, expecting them to be responsible and helpful towards the improvement of our planet. With the evolution of technology, it became easy for consumers to punish bad conducts of companies or to reward good behaviors. This study aims at identifying if Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) affects the purchase intention of female consumers in the Portuguese apparel retail industry and which/how of its dimensions impacts it the most. In addition, this research aims to understand if the increasing concern about the environment and society overlaps a critical factor in our country which is price considering the low average income in Portugal. In the context of an explanatory research, it was, firstly, performed an analysis of previous literature about the topic and secondly it was developed a questionnaire based on the model of Tian et al. (2011) which divides CSR into three dimensions: Perception, Awareness and Trust. The conclusions of this study reveal that women in Portugal see their purchase intention be affected by Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives originated by the brand from which they most purchased. Additionally, this study shows that purchase intention is substantially more affected by the fact that female Portuguese consumers are aware of CSR policies even if it is also influenced by perception and trust in the initiatives presented by the apparel retail companies in Portugal.
- Deviation from target capital structure : evidence from large acquisitionsPublication . Lange, Franziska; Bonfim, DianaThe thesis studies target capital structures in the context of 1,290 acquisitions. In particular, the thesis analyses whether firms have target leverage ratios and whether they affect the choice of payment in the transaction. It illustrates that overleveraged bidders are less likely to pay for the acquisition with cash only. Moreover, the thesis examines the post-acquisition changes within the firm’s capital structure and its adjustment speed. Addressing the change of target leverage after the transaction, the results suggest that managers consider the future target leverage of the combined firm in their acquisition’s financing choices. Firms with high growth opportunities use the merger-induced change in target leverage for leverage adjustment, to a greater extent than firms with smaller growth opportunities. Firms tend to adjust their market leverage towards target by 39% every year, on average. Taking into account the leverage effect of the merger, it is shown that about 47% of an acquirer’s leverage deviation caused by the merger is reversed after five years. Collectively, the results of the thesis support a capital structure model with a target ratio.
- Digital transformation in the german healthcare industry : an analysis of the video consultation (teledoctor) and how it can shape the german healthcare industryPublication . Laber, Carina; Pinho, AndréThe healthcare industry is currently undergoing a digital transformation. Thereby, efficiency and accessibility between physicians and patients shall be improved by innovative care and treatment concepts. One of these innovative concepts is the telemedicine and in particular the video consultation which enables a location independent treatment of patients through information and communication technology. However, this kind of digital medical treatment is currently not properly available in Germany. Therefore, this exploratory study deals with the current status and potential of video consultation in Germany, the challenges and derives potential impacts of the video consultation. The findings reveal that the legal framework of the video consultation, inappropriate reimbursement, acceptance within patients and physicians and no adequate expanded telematic infrastructure are the main challenges that hinder the further development of the video consultation. At the same time, an educated guess showed that a potential size of video consultation based on physicians and patient’s acceptance exists. The video consultation and its connected features will shift the physical based healthcare system to a more online focused and patient centered system which in return will affect all involved stakeholder. Patients will have better access to medical care and physicians will have more efficient practice processes and more flexible working models. In order to adapt to the digital change of society, physicians should provide VC and healthcare insurance companies should support it.
- Digital transformation in the utility industry : determination of potential benefits associated with virtual agentsPublication . Demund, Jennifer; Pinho, AndréIn recent years companies have been investing in Digital Transformation with the aim to increase efficiency and improve business processes. Virtual agents, also known as chatbots, represent one important trend within digitization. They are able to “simulate a natural person and exchange vital information with a human” (Nwankwo, 2018) and are increasingly deployed in customer services. In the utility industry virtual agents are still rare, but pioneers are already starting to discover the opportunities of this technology. This thesis aims at identifying potential benefits generated by the implementation of chatbots in customer services. It elaborates on the attitude of customers towards chatbots and potential savings that can currently and prospectively be achieved in the utility industry. Findings are based on a customer survey and expert interviews. Survey results indicate that customer predominantly prefer using chatbots to receive answers to simple questions and get them quickly and uncomplicated. Furthermore, employees are required as a backup in case the chatbot is not capable of resolving customer requests. Saving calculations reveal that chatbots have the potential to cut service center costs by 21% based on chatbots handling 68% of customer requests. It is recommended for utility organizations to deploy virtual agents as a complementation of service center employees.
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