Understanding the Role of Social Networks in Consumer Behavior in Tourism

Author(s):  
Luís Ferreira ◽  
Bruno Barbosa Sousa

This research seeks to understand the type of influence that the hotel sector in Portugal can achieve in its consumers, being the tourism sector an area in constant growth. To that end, a qualitative methodology was adopted, using semi-structured interviews, as a data collection tool to understand the type of use that hotels attribute to social networks, as well as the results obtained from their practices. In the investigation nine hotels were analyzed, presenting a diversified sample between the participants in terms of capacity, as well as recognition, proving that, in a general way, social networks help in the divulgation of the hotel, presenting these as a direct channel for consumers, facilitating brand exposure as well as interaction with customers.

2020 ◽  
pp. 095042222094474
Author(s):  
Jana Heilmaier ◽  
Mayyer Ling

This paper explores the role of higher education institutions in enhancing the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) ecosystem in Brunei Darussalam, particularly with regard to improving the spirit of entrepreneurship and the motivation to seek opportunities independently to propel the country’s transition economy forward. A qualitative methodology was adopted for data collection, using semi-structured interviews with Bruneian and German SME owner/managers and sales representatives. The economics perspective of the institutional framework was employed to identify the formal and informal constraints faced by SMEs in Brunei Darussalam. Recommendations are offered to inform the relevant stakeholders about the key issues faced by SMEs so that appropriate forms of guidance and benchmarking can be provided to facilitate the country’s economic development.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Kaminska ◽  
Stefano Borzillo

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the challenges to the emergence of a learning organization (LO) posed by a context of generational diversity and an enterprise social networking system (ESNS). Design/methodology/approach This study uses a qualitative methodology based on an analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews in a high-tech organization and internal company documents relating to the introduction of a new, centralized ESNS. Findings This study uncovers fundamental differences between Generation X and Y employees regarding their ESNS adoption and use. While Xers take more time to adopt the new centralized ESNS introduced into the company, their use seems in line with the company culture and corporate norms of behavior. At the same time, even if Yers are faster ESNS adopters, they use it as they use Facebook disregarding the hierarchy and organizational boundaries. This creates tensions between Generation X and Y and undermines the formation of the LO. Research limitations/implications As conclusions are specific to a context of a single organization, the authors recommend other case studies, to enrich the findings. Originality/value By highlighting how the use of social networks modifies who has the power and the control over knowledge in an organization, this paper enriches the theory on the LO. It has implications for managers wishing to design LOs in the context of intergenerational diversity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 244-261
Author(s):  
Dr. Théophile Bindeouè Nassè ◽  
Naab Francis Xavier ◽  
Bismark Boateng ◽  
Nicolas Carbonell ◽  
Justice Agyei Ampofo ◽  
...  

Researchers' interest in consumer religiosity and behavior is explained by the fact that religion influences not only the social behavior of individuals, but also their consumption behavior. Most of the studies on the subject come from Western and Asian countries with a few of such studies been conducted in Africa and particularly in Ghana. The aim of this paper is to explore the concepts of religiosity and consumer behavior in Ghana, in order to consider the role of culture in the management and marketing of industrial products. Ghana is a country where religion plays an important role in shaping lives and ensuring community cohesion. However, a determined part of the believers contributes to increasing the consumption of industrial beverages, and the obliviousness in the marketing sector also seems to be a barrier that slows the production and consumption of non-alcoholic industrial beverages. The research approach is exploratory and qualitative. The collection of qualitative data is done with the aid of a SONY voice recorder through some semi-structured interviews. Then, the qualitative data are transcribed manually and verbatim analyzed. The results show that in the context of Ghana, religiosity of believers affects the behavior of the consumer and that consumer behavior towards non-alcoholic industrial beverages affects religiosity. Keywords: Religiosity, Consumer Behavior, Industrial Beverages, Consumption, Marketing, Ghana.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 202-219
Author(s):  
Nathalia Cunha da Silva ◽  
Elizabeth Moraes Gonçalves

This article aims to understand how female photojournalists see maternity within the profession in the contemporary world through the use of a study on the cultural and historical influence of gender roles on the performance and development of female photojournalists in the city of São Paulo. A qualitative methodology was adopted using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted with nine female photojournalists from three different age groups who work both formally and informally. For the purposes of this study, we selected only the parts of the interview where the interviewees referred to their role of mother and professional. The analysis was based on a discursive approach, with theoretical support from French Discourse Analysis. The results show the influence gender roles have on forming symbolic barriers that connect having a career with an imbalance between paid work and maternity.O artigo objetiva compreender como as mulheres fotojornalistas percebem a maternidade dentro da profissão na contemporaneidade por meio de um estudo sobre a influência cultural e histórica dos papéis atribuídos de gênero na atuação e desenvolvimento feminino no fotojornalismo paulistano. A metodologia empregada é qualitativa, com uso de entrevista do tipo semiaberta. As entrevistas foram realizadas com nove mulheres que têm o fotojornalismo como principal atividade, com relações de trabalho formais e informais, divididas em três grupos etários. Para este texto foram selecionadas apenas as falas em que as entrevistadas faziam referência ao papel de mãe e profissional. O procedimento de análise seguiu uma abordagem discursiva, com subsídios teóricos na Análise do Discurso de linha francesa. Os resultados apontam a influência dos papéis atribuídos aos gêneros sobre a configuração de barreiras simbólicas que atrelam a permanência na carreira à exigência de um desequilíbrio entre trabalho remunerado e a maternidade. El artículo objetiva comprender cómo las mujeres fotoperiodistas perciben la maternidad dentro de la profesión en la contemporaneidad por medio de un estudio sobre la influencia cultural e histórica de los roles socialmente asignados de género en la actuación y el desarrollo de mujeres en el fotoperiodismo de la ciudad de Sao Paulo. La metodología empleada es cualitativa, con uso de entrevista del tipo semiabierta. Se entrevistó a nueve mujeres que actúan en el fotoperiodismo, con relaciones de trabajo formales o informales. Ellas han sido divididas en tres categorías de edad. Para este texto se seleccionaron sólo las palabras en las que las entrevistadas se referían al papel de madre y profesional. Los resultados apuntan a la influencia de los papeles atribuidos a los géneros sobre la configuración de barreras simbólicas que atrevan la permanencia en la carrera a la exigencia de un desequilibrio entre trabajo remunerado y maternidad.


Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori Uscher-Pines ◽  
Jessica Sousa ◽  
Kori S Zachrison ◽  
Amy K Guzik ◽  
Lee H Schwamm ◽  
...  

Objective: Although many emergency departments (EDs) have telestroke capacity, it is unclear why some EDs consistently use telestroke and others do not. We compared the characteristics and practices of EDs with robust and low assimilation of telestroke. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with representatives of EDs that received telestroke services from 10 different networks and had used telestroke for a minimum of two years. We used maximum diversity sampling to select EDs for inclusion and applied a positive deviance approach, comparing programs with robust and low assimilation. Data collection was informed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. For the qualitative analysis, we created site summaries and conducted a supplemental matrix analysis to identify themes. Results: Representatives from 21 EDs with telestroke, including 11 with robust assimilation and 10 with low assimilation, participated. In EDs with robust assimilation, telestroke workflow was highly protocolized, programs had the support of leadership, telestroke use and outcomes were measured, and individual providers received feedback about their telestroke use. In EDs with low assimilation, telestroke was perceived to increase complexity, and ED physicians felt telestroke did not add value or had little value beyond a telephone consult. EDs with robust assimilation identified four sets of strategies to improve assimilation: strengthening relationships between stroke experts and ED providers, improving and standardizing processes, addressing resistant providers, and expanding the goals and role of the program. Conclusion: Greater assimilation is associated with standardized workflow, leadership support, ongoing evaluation and quality improvement efforts, and mechanisms to address resistant ED providers.


Author(s):  
Catarina Peneda de Oliveira ◽  
Bruno Miguel Sousa

The current pollution and possible depletion of earth's natural resources combined with the growing concern in choosing healthier and environmentally friendly foods and gives origin to a new way of consumption: green consumption. Therefore, organizations have identified this business opportunity leading to the emergence of several brands related to the commerce of these kinds of products. Through a qualitative methodology of five semi-structured interviews, an attempt was made to understand how the strategy of product, price, communication, and distribution of these brands seek to influence consumer behavior and educate consumers to act in a sustainable way. The results show that clients are largely young-adult, female, with small children and above-average education and income. In terms of strategy, the brands currently bet on the sale in bulk as a way to avoid waste of product and packaging. The main concepts addressed in this chapter are consumer behavior, green consumer, and green marketing, and also by marketing compound strategy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arpita Agnihotri ◽  
Saurabh Bhattacharya

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore how institutional trust, frugality and materialism motivate consumers’ unethical behavior.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted the study in two phases – qualitative and quantitative. In the qualitative phase through a content analysis of semi-structured interviews, a list of unethical activities was obtained. In the quantitative phase, a questionnaire was developed, which had questions related to the unethical activities. Data collection for the quantitative phase was achieved through mall intercept surveys. The collected data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and multivariate regression analysis.FindingsPoor institutional environment, frugal attitude and materialistic values motivate consumers from an emerging economy to indulge in unethical acts some of which were not explored before such as booking a cab but not boarding or stealing electricity.Originality/valueResearch evidence on unethical consumer behavior is lacking from emerging markets. Furthermore, extant studies have used mainly national culture models to explore unethical behavior, and finally, the role of institutional trust and frugality has not been explored in previous studies. The present study tries to fill these gaps by considering these elements as the cornerstone of this study.


Author(s):  
Konstantinos Vrettos ◽  
Dimitris Gouscos

Social networks have become one of the most popular tools in promoting the tourism product. This applies to National Tourism Agencies, as well as tourism-related general government bodies (GGBs) and local authorities (LAs). This study examines such organizations alongside selected chief administration officials (CAOs) that are related with the tourism sector and attempts to evaluate their presence in three social networks: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. In order to do so, this article builds upon and expands on existing social networks' metrics, incorporating them into metrics of online followership. The quantitative analysis results in a ranking of best performers, from which the authors select three good performers in order to follow with a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews. By merging the quantitative results with the feedback from the interviews the authors propose a basic normative social networks management toolkit for tourism-related public entities, found to be comprised of six thematic axes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 601-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Anderson ◽  
Lisa Chaffey ◽  
Michael Dillon

Background: Mobility clinics are designed to extend gait and mobility training beyond rehabilitation programmes. No research has been undertaken into participants’ experiences of attending these multidisciplinary, experience-based clinics. Research in this area is needed to ensure clinics meet intended goals, including understanding the motivation and experience of attendees. Insights may improve mobility clinics and inform strategies to encourage greater participation. Objectives: To explore the motivation of people with limb loss to attend a mobility clinic, the experience of participation and their perception of the clinic’s benefits. Study design: Qualitative methodology, naturalistic enquiry. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine clinic attendees during the clinic. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, data thematically analysed and emergent themes underwent member checking. Results: Three themes emerged from the data: facing the challenge captured how participants’ have adapted to amputation, valuing peers highlights the important role of peers in learning and support and improving mobility described the ongoing quest to improve mobility. Conclusion: The mobility clinic was attractive to those who liked challenges and was an invaluable source of learning for those wishing to improve their mobility. Future clinics should ensure that peer education is supported, and activities cater for a range of skills and fitness levels. Clinical relevance Findings of this study indicate that those who attended the mobility clinic liked to challenge themselves. Participation with peers was an important source of learning and support. Those participants who had previously attended a mobility clinic reported improvements in their overall daily function.


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