Customer Awareness of Shariah Compliant Hotels (Study on Hotel Customers in Malang)

This study aims to describe and analyze comprehensively and in detail the factors that are considered by customers in choosing hotels that comply with sharia principles in Malang City. This type of research is quantitative research. The data collection method used by researchers is the survey method. Respondents in this study were 171 sharia hotel consumers in Malang City. The data collected by questionnaire. The statistical test used Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The results showed that there are 9 factors considered by customers in choosing a hotel that is in accordance with sharia principles in the city of Malang, namely Sharia Compliant Concept, Information, Sharia Service, Customer Acceptance, Reference, Needs, Experience Anda Art

Application of E-Pharmacies in India

Consumer convenience and access are improved through E-pharmacy. This will mostly benefit chronic old patients living in nuclear families, as well as people who are unable to travel to a pharmacy. E-pharmacy also offers competitive prices, making drugs more affordable to those who are less well-off. Consumers in India focused on staying indoors after the COVID-19 lockdown was announced, which forced people to go digital, whether to pay bills or contact doctors. There are no exceptions when it comes to e-pharmacies. Brick-and-mortar pharmacies' home delivery of medicines has also increased. The aim of this paper is to discover and experimentally validate the many characteristics that influence customer acceptance, usage, and intent to suggest E-pharmacy for pharmaceutical purchases. This paper also aims to identify the factors that influence customers on choosing between the various e-pharmacies (PharmEasy, Tata 1mg, Net Meds, Apollo 24x7) providing their service in the market. For this research, the information from 106 respondents was collected and it was found that factors like ease of buying, discounts, user experience, customer care, and availability of the medicines/healthcare products influences their buying behaviour.

Investigation into the Hub-and-Spoke model using brand and frequent-flyer program

Purpose: This paper seeks to understand if customer acceptance on flying through a hub has changed today, compared to the findings from past research conducted many years ago. The study involves investigations of Singapore Airlines, a successful FSC in terms of its ability to generate sustainable profits for many consecutive years as reflected in its annual financial reports. The carrier also has a strong corporate brand, a world-class airport hub as well as a frequent flyer program, which makes it attractive to explore. Design/methodology/approach: The survey method is utilized in order to seek the answers to the three questions developed in the literature review. Descriptive statistics are employed to analyze 723 datasets using SPSS v20. Findings: Although the paper shows that some findings resonated past arguments, some others have changed. Brand has no longer become a significant factor for passengers when deciding to travel with a full-service carrier (FSC) via its hub, and an FFP that is likely to hold less compelling attractiveness with passengers with regard to purchasing consideration.Research limitations/implications: The research involved only passengers traveling two routes in Southeast Asia, therefore the generalization of the findings must be carried out with caution. Future studies to extend this research to different geographical markets are necessary to investigate if similar behaviours are also observed, as described in this study.Originality/value: This paper offers insights into in the hub-and-spoke airline business model discipline. The author suggests that the role of strong brands and frequent flyer program to attract passengers travelling via a hub have diminished. Nowadays, even FSC passengers are more concern with airfare.

The Dual-Channel Retailer’s Channel Synergy Strategy Decision

The main research question asked in this paper is whether and when a dual-channel retailer (retailer in short) should adopt the “buy online and pick up in store” (BOPS) strategy. To answer this question, we first derive the optimal price decision using the non-BOPS and BOPS strategies. Subsequently, we compare the performance of retailers under non-BOPS and BOPS scenarios. Our main findings are that under the monopoly scenario, retailers may not always benefit from the BOPS strategy. Retailers will benefit only if the offline operational costs are low and the degree of customer acceptance of the online channel is high. However, the BOPS strategy cannot improve dual-channel retailers’ market share. Furthermore, under a Stackelberg game scenario with e-retailers as leaders, when the value of a product is medium and the transaction costs of the offline channel are high, retailers can use the BOPS strategy to enhance their market share. If the degree of customer acceptance of the online channel is also high, retailers can further improve their profits by using the BOPS strategy. Overall, these findings not only provide decision support for retailers, but also enrich the theories on dual-channel retailing in operations management.

A Study on the Effect of Perceived Trust and Value of Hair Beauty O2O Service of Women Customer's on Customer Acceptance Intention and Satisfaction

This study was to clarify the effects of perceived trust and value of hair beauty O2O service of women customer's on customer acceptance intention and satisfaction. Based on the result, the purpose of this study is to suggest the effective marketing strategy of O2O service for customers. As for the subject of this study, 240 women customers who used O2O services in Seoul, Kyonggi and Chungcheong Province were selected to respond to and analyzed the self-administered questionnaire. Collected data was analyzed using SPSS 22.0. Analytical analysis was carried out on the data in the form of frequency analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis and regression analysis. The results of this study are summarized as follows. In the demographic characteristics shown in the results of the study, thirties of Seoul and Kyonggi Province were the highest. Married in marital status, students and specialized job in occupation, less than 2 million won in average monthly income and vocational colleges attendance or graduation in the highest level of education turned out to be the highest. Second, the result of the effect of perceived trust of hair beauty O2O service on customer acceptance intention and satisfaction are as follows. Acceptance intention and satisfaction were found to have significant result in trust of product, trust of information and trust of O2O. The effect of trust of information on acceptance intention and satisfaction was the highest. Third, he result of the effect of perceived value of hair beauty O2O service on customer acceptance intention and satisfaction are as follows. Acceptance intention and satisfaction were found to have significant result in functional value, psychic value. The effect of psychic value on acceptance intention and satisfaction was the highest.

Customer acceptance of frontline service robots in retail banking: A qualitative approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore what drives customer acceptance of frontline service robots (FSR), as a result of their interaction experiences with FSR in the context of retail banking services.Design/methodology/approachApplications of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and service robot acceptance model frame the exploration of customers’ interaction experiences with physical FSR to explain acceptance. A thematic analysis of information obtained through observations, focus groups and participant interviews was applied to identify themes.FindingsThis study identifies 16 dimensions that group into five main themes that influence customer acceptance of FSR in retail banking services: (1) utilitarian aspect, (2) social interaction, (3) customer responses toward FSR, (4) customer perspectives of the company brand and (5) individual and task heterogeneity. Themes 1 and 2 are labeled confirmed themes based on existing theoretical frameworks used; themes 3–5 are additional themes.Practical implicationsThis study provides actionable suggestions to allow managers to reflect on their strategy and consider ways to design and improve the delivery of services that involve FSR.Originality/valueThis study adds to our limited knowledge of how human-robot interaction research in robotics translates to a relatively new research area in frontline services and provides a step toward a comprehensive FSR acceptance model.

Exploring persuasive sales techniques to improve customer acceptance of sustainable but unfamiliar menu in restaurants

Purpose Although restauranteurs hope to incorporate offal or variety meat, in the menu as an attempt to reduce food waste, adopting these ingredients is still challenging due to customer rejections. This study aims to propose potential persuasive sales strategies based on customers’ different information sources to increase organ meat-based menu sales for restaurateurs. Design/methodology/approach In this research, a qualitative study was conducted to identify critical factors that show persuasive effects from external, interpersonal and experiential information sources. A total of 20 in-depth expert interviews with professional chefs and restauranteurs were conducted and key persuasive service tactics were analyzed. Findings From their experience of persuading customers to try unusual foods, insights about how to alleviate unfamiliar food aversion were obtained. The findings of this study showed that different persuasive sales tactics can be implemented to decrease customers’ aversion to offal and offcuts on menus. Research limitations/implications The context of offal is meaningful theoretically because it sheds light on the literature gaps related to persuasive sales strategies for food products with a negative social stigma. Practically, the findings of this study explicitly address that offal usage in restaurants can not only encourage the culinary uniqueness of a restaurant but also contribute to the reduction of food waste by foodservice operations. Originality/value This research answers the calls for more research on sustainable food sources in hospitality literature by proposing offal as a potential alternative protein source. The findings of this study can further be used to improve customer acceptance of other sustainable but unfamiliar food items.

Essento insect food AG: How edible insects evolved from an infringement into a sustainable business model

This case tells the story of the start-up Essento, which develops, produces and markets insect-based foods, and the nascent sustainable entrepreneur behind the company. Essento contributed significantly to shaping the legal basis for the consumption of edible insects in Switzerland and rises to the challenge of creating an entirely new market and lacking customer acceptance.

DESIGN FOR CONTINUOUS USE OF PRODUCT-SERVICE SYSTEMS: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Product-service systems (PSSs) have attracted researchers in engineering design for the past decades. Recent advances in digital technologies have expanded the potential functionalities that PSSs could deliver and designers' repertoire of tools and techniques to make new value propositions. The key to the success of new value propositions is to achieve customer acceptance and continuous use. However, little is known about the precise routes by which customers accept and use PSSs over time and its dynamics. This conceptual study aims to provide an enhanced view of customer acceptance and continuous use of PSSs by integrating multiple theories and literature streams. In this paper, we suggest three propositions based on the key concepts found in our literature review—well-being, trust and control—, and illustrate a conceptual framework that represents the dynamics of customer acceptance and continuous use of PSSs. Based on the proposed framework, we outline further research questions that could advance our knowledge about design for continuous use of PSSs.