CPBS - Dissertações de Mestrado / Master Dissertations
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- The impact of different creative display techniques on brand and purchase outcomesPublication . Rocha, Beatriz Monteiro da; Elmashhara, Maher GeorgesRetailers employ varied display strategies in pursuit of profit optimization; however, each strategy entails both advantages and drawbacks. This research aims to investigate how different creative levels of product display influence customers’ attitude towards the brand and purchase intention, considering the mediating effects of display attention drawing, perceived coolness, enjoyment, and novelty. To test the proposed model, we conducted an online experiment involving three display conditions and a sample of 251 respondents. The findings suggest that opting for a “more creative” product display, as opposed to a “less creative” one, enhances attention drawing, coolness, enjoyment, and perceived novelty. However, from all of these factors, only perceived coolness and novelty mediate the relationship between product display and customers’ attitudes towards the brand, as well as their purchase intention. Building upon these findings, the research delves into theoretical contributions and offers practical insights for retailers, suggesting the adoption of “more creative” product displays. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.
- OKRs nas empresas : o caso Amkor TechnologyPublication . Ferreira, Paulo Alexandre Santos da Costa; Macedo, Vítor Manuel da SilvaNo cenário empresarial atual, marcado pela competição e globalização crescentes, as organizações enfrentam uma variedade de desafios e complexidades. Nesse contexto, é essencial que as empresas estabeleçam estratégias claras para fortalecer a sua capacidade competitiva e para alcançar esse objetivo, é crucial contar com o suporte de metodologias eficazes de gestão. Essas abordagens não apenas ajudam a navegar pelas complexidades do ambiente empresarial, mas também permitem uma melhor adaptação às mudanças e uma maximização das oportunidades de crescimento. Seguindo exemplos bem-sucedidos como os da Intel e da Google, são cada vez mais as empresas que procuram e aplicam a metodologia OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). Com o presente estudo de caso, analisou-se o uso desta metodologia de forma complementar ao Balanced Scorecard, com vista a perceber como é que estas duas metodologias se podem juntar e trazer mais vantagens para a organização. Foram realizadas seis entrevistas dentro do grupo Amkor Technology, especificamente na fábrica em Portugal (ATEP). Os colaboradores escolhidos para estas entrevistas foram diretores de diferentes áreas (Recursos Humanos, Financeira, Operações e Qualidade), o Chef Operating Officer da empresa e um Engenheiro da Qualidade. Este estudo permitiu concluir que a organização encara a metodologia OKR como um meio de colmatar limitações que o Balanced Scorecard apresenta. Para além disso, aquela metodologia traz vantagens promissoras para o crescimento dos seus colaboradores e da empresa em si.
- Wine branding and consumer behaviour : font and quality perception in the wine marketPublication . Colli, Lorenzo; Machado, Joana Pinto Leite César; Martins, Carla Sofia CarvalhoThe goal of this study is to explore the role of font’s choice in shaping consumers’ quality perception of wine quality, with a specific focus on the Italian market. This research investigates whether serif fonts, traditionally associated with elegance and refinement, lead to a perception of higher quality than sans-serif fonts, generally linked to modernity and simplicity. From the survey made for this paper, serif font, traditionally linked with elegance and refinement, were consistently associated with higher quality by respondents, especially for less expert customers, suggesting that traditional aesthetics are very important for individuals who rely more on visual cues rather than product knowledge. Conversely, sans-serif fonts did not yield a significant effect on perceived quality, even among northern Italian consumers, countering initial hypotheses about regional preferences. Furthermore, font choice did not significantly influence purchasing decisions based on the occasion for which the wine was purchased, such as casual versus formal use. These findings provide useful indications for wine producers and marketers, suggesting aligning font choices with broader cultural and aesthetic expectations while maintain brand consistency and appealing to the target audience’s preference. Serif fonts can be used strategically to convey tradition and high quality, whereas sans-serif fonts may be better suited for products aimed at younger, experimental consumers or modern market segments.
- Digital dining experience : the attitude towards online consumer reviews and Hungarian consumers' restaurant visit intentionPublication . Jónás, Rebeka; Varga, ÁkosThis study explores the influence of Google reviews on Hungarian consumers' attitudes and intentions to visit restaurants. Employing an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and structural equation modelling (SEM), the research investigates key factors shaping attitudes toward Google reviews, including perceived enjoyment, usefulness, trustworthiness, information quality, review quantity, and ease of use. The findings reveal that perceived enjoyment, usefulness, and trustworthiness exert significant positive influences on attitudes, while perceived review quantity exhibits a negative effect. Notably, positive attitudes toward Google reviews significantly enhance restaurant visit intentions. Age emerges as a significant factor, with younger consumers more inclined to visit restaurants based on Google reviews. Results underscore the importance of fostering enjoyment, usefulness, and trust in leveraging online reviews for the Hungarian restaurant industry, while addressing potential concerns regarding review quantity.
- Exploring sustainability patterns in household food purchasing : a data analytics approachPublication . Teixeira, Rui Filipe Peixoto; Silva, Vera Lúcia Miguéis Oliveira eAt a time when global environmental challenges are pressing and consumer options are more diversified than ever, there is an urgent need to integrate sustainable practices with the growing availability of food items that may not always be beneficial to healthy living. This work describes a critical step in using food retailers’ data to turn complicated consumer interactions into meaningful insights. This initiative seeks to find opportunities to support more environmentally friendly and nutritionally healthy consumer choices by strategically analysing consumption habits. This thesis used a complex approach to data cleansing, which included a variety of standardisation and normalisation procedures to match diverse data structures and formats. The outcome of these efforts was the merging of three data tables, which converged to form an integrated data table that not only contained a retailer's product offerings, but also included the complete nutritional information and calculated environmental implications of each product. An important methodological highlight is the classification of clients into three unique segments based on macronutrient and micronutrient consumption, as well as environmental effect. This three-dimensional categorization is crucial, as it gives a full consumer profile and enables for a detailed knowledge of consumption behaviours across three important dimensions. This thesis lays the framework for future research on the sustainability and nutritional effect of consumer behaviours. It uncovers critical information that might drive policy decisions targeted at directing household consumption towards more sustainable and healthier results by segmenting consumer data in great detail.
- Exploring the impact of bike gadgets and app features on user behaviorPublication . Gomes, Rafael Augusto Leite Carvalho; Elmashhara, Maher GeorgesBiking has emerged as a prominent trend in transportation, offering eco-friendly and cost-effective benefits while also saving time for its users. With notable technological advancements witnessed in recent years, there arises a necessity to comprehend how technological gadgets and apps tailored for cyclists can augment the cycling experience. Accordingly, this thesis seeks to explore the impact of mobile applications and gadget features on user experience. Employing a qualitative approach, we conducted 18 interviews with bike users engaged in various biking activities. The findings delineate five key factors influencing the experience: navigation, trip data logging, device interaction issues, information accessibility, and social gains, often referred to as social recognition. Drawing from these results, this study delves into its implications for future research and offers practical insights for managers of companies producing mobile applications and gadgets aimed at enhancing the biking experience. These insights encompass strategies to enhance user experience by addressing participant concerns and proposing viable solutions, including optimization of features such as navigation information.
- Exploring factors impacting fashion choices for metaverse eventsPublication . Dionísio, Marta Sofia Correia; Elmashhara, Maher GeorgesVirtual fashion has garnered considerable attention as companies strive to stay up to date with emerging technologies and align with current trends. This study investigates the impact of virtual clothing's perceived attractiveness, perceived popularity, perceived novelty, and self-congruence with the displayed virtual clothes on the intention to purchase virtual clothes, considering also the moderating role of desire for uniqueness, social enhancement, social comparison, and fear of missing out (FOMO). We designed two online experiments (Total N = 271) to test the proposed model in two different contexts; a Metaverse party and a virtual work meeting. The results revealed differences between the two contexts: in the virtual work meeting scenario, virtual clothing perceived attractiveness and popularity were the most significant variables, while the Metaverse party condition exhibited higher scores in perceived novelty and self-congruence as drivers of purchase intention. Additionally, the thesis highlights a moderating role of the desire for uniqueness on the relation between perceived popularity and purchase intention, a moderating effect of social enhancement on the path between perceived attractiveness/perceived popularity and purchase intention, a moderating effect of social comparison on the relation between perceived popularity and purchase intention, and a moderating effect of FOMO on the path between perceived popularity and purchase intention. Drawing upon these findings, we discuss our theoretical contributions and offer managerial insights to retailers, proposing strategies for virtual clothing design.
- Inventory management as a driver for a higher service level : optical industryPublication . Carneiro, Marco André Cardoso Fernandes; Julião, Jorge Manuel SoaresThe present work demonstrates how inventory management can influence the service level within a supply chain structure. The observed company operates in the Optical industry, and it is situated in the last step of the supply chain before contacting the retail stores. Stock lenses were the studied inventory, that allowed to answer the proposed question. A literature review was conducted, documental analysis and structured observation were the chosen methods to collect data, that allowed the mapping of processes, understanding of the flows, identification of waste and improvement opportunities. Tools were applied to improve the inventory management, like ABC Pareto and Min-Max Inventory System with the three-bin system to optimize reordering points. The results show the application of the tools led to a reduction of stockouts of the stock lenses, ensuring a steady supply of the desired lenses and improving the overall Service Level. It was also emphasized that reviewing periodically the supplier performance and updating the reordering point of the products, would be critical to maintain the desired service level.
- Consumer attitudes and behaviors toward direct-to-consumer genetic testingPublication . Douss, Elyssa; Elmashhara, Maher GeorgesDirect-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) is a rapidly expanding sector within the healthcare industry. It offers individuals access to personal genetic information related to ancestry and health predisposition. However, DTC-GT poses significant challenges for consumers, particularly in terms of Data privacy. This study aims to examine consumer attitudes and behaviors toward ethnicity-based genetic testing and key factors influencing consumers to use or not use DTC-GT. To investigate this phenomenon, we conducted 10 in-depth semi-structured interviews with diverse participants to understand their perception of genetic services. The findings reveal that curiosity is the primary motivation for potential customers, it improves their sense of identity and connection to their heritage. Nevertheless, there are significant ethical concerns regarding data privacy and the potential misuse of genetic information. Participants expressed doubts about the reliability of genetic tests and the transparency of data management practices. Based on the findings, this study outlines the theoretical contributions and offers practical managerial insights for managers of DTC-GT platforms on how to improve trust and reliability for consumers.
- Application of artificial intelligence in efficiency measurementPublication . Costa, Maria Francisca da Rocha e; Teymourifar, AydinThis study evaluates the efficiency of OECD countries in achieving 14th Sustainable Development Goal - "Life underwater". Using a comprehensive model that integrates data analysis, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models, and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), the research focuses on marine resource management, specifically analyzing the impact of support to the fisheries sector on environmental indicators. The results reveal significant variations in efficiency between OECD countries, with Sweden systematically occupying the lowest position. Correlation analysis identifies support for sectoral services as crucial, suggesting that reducing support to the fisheries sector could increase the efficiency of marine conservation. The integrated DEA-ANN approach provides a customizable framework for assessing marine sustainability, offering valuable information for policymakers and stakeholders. Future research should extend the analysis to more countries, refine the model based on regional characteristics, and explore temporal dynamics for a comprehensive understanding of 14th SDG implementation.