What matters for keeping or losing support in televised debates

What leads citizens to change their candidate preferences during televised debates? The present paper addresses this question with real-time response and panel survey data from respondents recruited in the run-up to the 2017 German national election. Probing the importance of party identity and performance perceptions formed during the debate, the analysis more closely examines several core determinants than has previously been done with real-time response data. The findings suggest, first, that only a strong or very strong party identity is an effective barrier to candidate preference change. Second, beyond party identity, ratings of candidates’ issue-specific statements on policy issues show a very strong effect, albeit regardless of personal issue importance. Third, this influence of candidate ratings does not seem to be mediated through changes in valence perceptions. Rather, viewers seem to form a general impression of the candidates which cannot be reduced to performance perceptions regarding policy issues.

Determining the Role of Hotel Attributes in Building Customer Loyalty Using Importance–Performance Analysis: A Study in the Context of Tourist Nationalities

Identifying the importance and satisfaction of hotel attributes in the eyes of tourists and their role in building customer loyalty is critical for improving the service quality. Therefore, in our study, customers' importance and performance perceptions regarding the services offered by accommodation businesses were examined in terms of customers’ nationalities. Our research has two main objectives. The first objective is to determine the importance and performance perceptions of the services provided by the hotels according to the nationalities of the customers using the using importance-performance analysis (IPA) model and to compare the perceptions of importance-performance according to nationality. The second aim is to determine the effect of satisfaction perceptions regarding hotel services on customer loyalty according to customer nationality. The research was designed as a survey-based quantitative research methodology. Convenience sampling was used, which is a non-random sampling method. Data were obtained from 1153 German, Russian, and Turkish tourists accommodating in five-star hotels in Alanya, Turkey. A gap analysis was conducted using pairwise t-tests to evaluate whether the importance and performance perceptions of the participants differed. IPA was conducted with attributes being graphically displayed on the I-P grids. The impact of hotel service satisfaction on customer loyalty was investigated using regression analysis. The research findings reveal that customers' performance perceptions and services attach importance to differ significantly by nationality. And also, it was concluded that satisfaction with the services provided in accommodation businesses has a significant effect on customer loyalty and that this effect differs in customer groups. Determining satisfaction factors affecting customer loyalty according to customer characteristics make a significant contribution to service quality improvement. In this context, the research results provide practical and theoretical contributions to how customer satisfaction and customer loyalty can be improved according to market groups.

Perceptions of Green User Entrepreneurs’ Performance—Is Sustainability an Asset or a Liability for Innovators?

User entrepreneurs rely on regular consumers when starting their business, for example, when raising creative and financial support. This research examines regular consumers’ opinions with regard to the future business performance of green vs. non-green user entrepreneurs. We build on previous consumer behavior research on consumers’ performance perceptions. Specifically, consumers perceive products that use green, environmentally friendly technologies as having inferior performance compared to products that use traditional technologies. We investigate whether this so called “sustainability liability” effect can also be found in consumers’ perceptions of green user entrepreneurs’ performance. We ran an online scenario experiment with regular consumers who assessed the business performance of several (green vs. non-green) user entrepreneurs. Results reveal a “sustainability asset” effect for perceptions of green user entrepreneurs, such that consumers with strong environmental values perceived the business performance of green user entrepreneurs as superior compared to non-green user entrepreneurs. Consumers with weak environmental values perceived green and non-green entrepreneurs as equally performant. We discuss possible explanations of our findings. Furthermore, we propose potential consequences of our results both for consumers’ intentions to support user entrepreneurs as well as for user entrepreneurs’ motivation to engage in green innovations.

Virtual physical assessment training during the COVID-19 pandemic - student pharmacists’ performance & perceptions

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted pharmacy education and caused significant transformation in student learning and assessment. Pharmacy PA faculty transformed the traditional PA teaching and practicum to virtual utilising Zoom. PA practicum consists of demonstration of a set of short videos, followed by students identifying incorrect techniques, describing the correct technique, and the purpose of the specific PA skill. After completion of the virtual PA practicum examination, students were invited to complete a 20-item survey about their perceptions. Most students preferred blended learning (56.8%) format over in-class, even though students performed significantly better on the traditional practicum (0.89+0.13) rather than the virtual (0.84+0.11). Hands-on skills are an integral part to PA instruction and learning, making innovations in virtual delivery and assessment vital for student success. This pandemic gave opportunities to explore curricular innovations as our virtual formats provided alternative approaches to review and summative assessment of PA.

A Comparison of Conventional and Technology-Mediated Selection Interviews With Regard to Interviewees’ Performance, Perceptions, Strain, and Anxiety

Organizations increasingly use technology-mediated interviews. However, only limited research is available concerning the comparability of different interview media and most of the available studies stem from a time when technology-mediated interviews were less common than in the present time. In an experiment using simulated selection interviews, we compared traditional face-to-face (FTF) interviews with telephone and videoconference interviews to determine whether ratings of interviewees’ performance, their perceptions of the interview, or their strain and anxiety are affected by the type of interview. Before participating in the actual interview, participants had a more positive view of FTF interviews compared to technology-mediated interviews. However, fairness perceptions did not differ anymore after the interview. Furthermore, there were no differences between the three interview media concerning psychological and physiological indicators of strain or interview anxiety. Nevertheless, ratings of interviewees’ performance were lower in the technology-mediated interviews than in FTF interviews. Thus, differences between different interview media can still be found nowadays even though most applicants are much more familiar with technology-mediated communication than in the past. The results show that organizations should take this into account and therefore avoid using different interview media when they interview different applicants for the same job opening.

“Know That You’re Not Just Settling”: Exploring Women Athletes’ Self-Compassion, Sport Performance Perceptions, and Well-Being Around Important Competitive Events

Self-compassion, an adaptive self-attitude, is a resource that women athletes use during emotionally difficult times and as a way to reach their potential. The relationship between self-compassion and sport performance, however, is complex. The role and experience of self-compassion within perceived important competitive events are important to explore, as athletes face unique pressures and stressors in these meaningful sport experiences. This collective case study describes women athletes’ self-compassion, sport performance perceptions, and well-being around a self-identified important competitive event. Competitive women athletes (N = 9) participated in two one-on-one interviews, before and after their important competitive event. Results from the holistic, functional, and thematic analyses are represented by holistic case descriptions and an overarching theme, Continuing to Excel in Sport, and subthemes, Reframing Criticism and A Determined Approach. In important competitive events, women athletes utilize self-compassion to promote performance perceptions and well-being when preparing, competing, and reflecting to excel in sport.

An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Coach Perceptions in the Practice Environment

The psychological environment where sporting activity is undertaken has been suggested to influence performance. The coach orchestrates practice activities and their perception of the psychological environment has been regularly evaluated in competition research but not in practice. The aim of this study was to explore coach perceptions of the psychological influencing factors present in the practice environment. Participants were six U.K. academy basketball coaches (mean age = 35 years). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Five superordinate themes were constructed from data analysis, which were player characteristics, team-first orientation, current performance perceptions, coach characteristics, and coaching structure. Results suggest that the coach has a unique insight into the psychological influencing factors of the practice environment. Combined with the practice environment framework offered by Smith, Cotterill, and Brown, a model is offered to aid practitioners in understanding the interrelatedness of psychological influencing factors in the practice environment.