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Rita, P., Tiago, M. T. B., & Caetano, J. (2023). The theory-practice research gains from big data: Evidence from hospitality loyalty programs. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-05-2022-0646 --- This work was supported by national funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia), under the project – UIDB/04152/2020 - Centro de Investigação em Gestão de Informação (MagIC)/NOVA IMS, research grants UIDB/04521/2020 of the Advance/CSG, ISEG – Lisbon School of Economics and Management; and UIDB/00685/2020 of the Centre of Applied Economics Studies of the Atlantic, School of Business and Economics of the University of the Azores. Purpose The hospitality industry values segmentation and loyalty programs (LPs), but there is limited research on new methods for segmenting loyalty program members, so managers often rely on conventional techniques. This study aims to use big data-driven segmentation methods to cluster customers and provide a new solution for customer segmentation in hotel LPs. Design/methodology/approach Using the k-means algorithm, this study examined 498,655 profiles of guests enrolled in a multinational hotel chain’s loyalty program. The objective was to cluster guests according to their consumption behavior and monetary value and compare data-driven segments based on brand preferences, demographic data and monetary value with loyalty program tiers. Findings This study shows that current tier-based LPs lack features to improve customer segmentation, and some high-tier members generate less revenue than low-tier members. Therefore, more attention should be given to truly valuable customers. Practical implications Hotels can segment LP members to develop targeted campaigns and uncover new insights. This will help to transform LPs to make them more valuable and profitable and use differentiated rewards and strategies. Originality/value As not all guests or hotel brands benefit equally from LPs, additional segmentation is required to suit varying guest behaviors. Hotel managers can use data mining techniques to develop more efficient and valuable LPs with personalized strategies and rewards. authorsversion epub_ahead_of_print

Family decision-making research has frequently examined the roles of adults and children on purchase decisions. Empirical results show a propensity toward a joint decision process in problem recognition and the final decision stages. This article argues that teenagers’ influence on a family’ buying decisions suffers from a certain conceptual and definitional ambiguity, and oversimplification regarding the different modes of influence. Nevertheless, there is a consensus in business and academia that kids in general have an increasing influence in the decision making process of families. Thus, the objectives of this research are to measure teenagers’ and parents' perceptions regarding tactics used by both, especially pester power, in the context of the decision-making process for a family’s travelling choice and for breakfast cereals. The research aims to assess the differences driven by demographic characteristics. A interação e influência das crianças e dos adultos nos processos de decisão de compra familiares têm sido alvo de inúmeros trabalhos académicos. As evidências empíricas apontam para uma decisão partilhada, quer na fase de reconhecimento do problema, quer nas últimas etapas do processo de decisão. Neste artigo a tónica é colocada na influência e nas táticas negociais empregues pelos adolescentes nesse processo familiar, que não tem sido alvo de grande atenção, apesar da reconhecida importância deste segmento, tanto pelos investigadores como pelas empresas. Assim, procura-se com este trabalho aferir as perceções e as táticas empregues pelos adolescentes e pelos seus progenitores com relação a dois tipos de produtos: viagens de lazer e cereais para pequenos-almoços. A escolha de dois tipos de produtos com tipologias e complexidade diferente permite retirar ilações quanto aos padrões empregues e à influência das caraterísticas demográficas no comportamento familiar de decisão de compra.

The project SEAValue proposes to develop a first integrate approach to valuation of the Sea of Azores from economic view analyses.The project aims the estimation of the contribution of the sea, namely, maritime sector and marine ecosystem services, and their benefits for the sustainable development of the Autonomous Region of Azores through a responsive and effective decision support process.Nowadays, the world context of the sustainable ocean governance is one of the paradigms that the Azores Autonomous Region should address, in particular, due to the geographical position in the core of the Atlantic area and its geopolitical implicit factors. The extension of the Portuguese EEZ would raise new challenges and responsibilities to sea management. Different governance transversal issues as legal, planning, conservation, economic and their scales of articulation into local, national, European and international level, need a coherent governance framework. Estimate the value, specially the economic value, bring the awareness of the benefits that sea offers to Azores. Furthermore it would enhance the decision support process through define of strategic options for the development of public policy of the Region. The multidisciplinary research of the project from Governance, Economy and Environmental Planning approach provides integrate and holistic vision of the Sea and would project outputs as tools and options for operational decisions. O presente artigo identifica e salienta um conjunto de benefícios e oportunidades derivados da aplicação da metodologia de clustering a vetores económicos endógenos, em particular, os do ambiente marinho. Num contexto de desenvolvimento regional, os clusters têm-se demonstrado importantes ferramentas para a governação e a implementação política. O atual contexto económico força as regiões a desenvolverem um novo paradigma de sustentabilidade. Assim, para o caso das pequenas regiões como os Açores, o modelo de desenvolvimento deve dar atenção às oportunidades decorrentes da governação dos seus recursos internos. Tendo por base uma abordagem de gestão estratégica, este trabalho efetua uma análise prospetiva que identifica o quadro, os fatores e os requisitos necessários para a definição de um Cluster do Mar para os Açores. O âmbito do cluster deve abranger não somente as principais atividades existentes no Mar dos Açores, bem como outros setores com potencial para a região e que se entrecruzam pelo uso e valor do Mar. A estrutura proposta visa contribuir para o desenvolvimento do Mar dos Açores, enquanto força económica endógena. Por outro lado, a presente investigação avalia as contribuições do cluster do mar para o sistema económico regional e nacional, bem como a sua ligação a outros vetores económicos. A proposta do Cluster do Mar dos Açores surge como um smart mechanism que permite o acompanhamento das dinâmicas derivadas da agenda europeia e internacional sobre os assuntos do mar, particularmente o crescimento económico e economia azul. ABSTRACT: This paper points out the benefits and opportunities of using the clustering methodology applied to the endogenous economic drivers, in particular, the marine domain. In regional development context, the cluster appears as a powerful tool for governance and policy implementation. Currently, economic transition forces the regions to develop a new sustainability paradigm. In the case of small regions, such as the Azores Archipelago, the development model relies on the governance opportunities of internal resources. Using a strategic management approach the paper performs a prospective analysis to identify the framework, factors and requirements needed to define the Azores Marine Cluster. The cluster congregates the main sea activities already performed in the region and add the potential sectors recognized. This structure derives from the evaluation of the overall potential of the Sea of the Azores as an endogenous economic force. The paper weighted the contributions of the Azores marine cluster to the regional economic system and the link to other economic drivers. The Azores Marine Cluster arises as a smart mechanism to implement recommendations and requirements, especially at the European and International governance agenda. Funding for this work is granted by FCT - CEEAplA, Research Centre of Applied Economics Studies of the Atlantic. FRCT- Regional Technology and Science Regional Azores Fund. Science Regional Azores Fund

Submitted by Maria Tiago (mariaborges@uac.pt) on 2013-12-04T12:45:07Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tiago &Tiago 2013.pdf: 670062 bytes, checksum: be9d93b86f860587255faa2821bd14f3 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2014-04-17T11:47:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 6516314932913139.zip: 627004 bytes, checksum: 6af222274905ce01c0285c7967b6a52d (MD5) Tiago &Tiago 2013.pdf: 670062 bytes, checksum: be9d93b86f860587255faa2821bd14f3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013

This is an open access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In recent years, mobile operations have gained wide popularity among mainstream users, and banks tend to follow this trend. But are bank customers ready to move forward? Mobile banking appears to be a natural extension of Internet banking, . Thus, to predict consumer decisions to adopt mobile banking, it’s useful to understand the pattern of adoption of Internet banking (IB). This investigation seeks contribute to an expansion of the knowledge regarding this matter by researching Portuguese consumers’ patterns and behaviors concerning the acceptance and use intention of IB as a foundation for establishing growth strategies of mobile banking. For data collection, we used an online “snowball” process. The statistical treatment used included a factor analysis in order to allow examination of the interrelationships between the original variables. The analysis was made possible by developing a set of factors that expresses the common traits between them. The results revealed that the majority of respondents did not identify problems with the use of and interaction with the IB service. The study generated some interesting findings. First, the data generally supports the conceptual framework presented. However, some points need to be made: (i) trust and convenience, from all the elements referenced in the literature as relevant from the client’ perspective, continue to be a very important elements; (ii) the results did not support the paradigm that the characteristics of individuals affect their behavior as consumers, (iii) individual technological characteristics affect consumer adoption of IB service; (iv) consumer perceptions about the IB service affect their use, as reveal by the existence of three types of customers that show different practices and perceptions of IB; and (v) intention to use IB is dependent upon attitudes and subjective norms regarding the use of IB.

Copyright © 2013, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. This chapter acts as both a review and an empirical framework analysis piece. It argues that technological acceptance and adoption by healthcare firms still suffers from oversimplification of its development, and specially, it measurement processes. There is a common thought both in business and academia that the technology adoption process is a key component of success and allows firms to achieve and sustain competitive advantages. In a digital era, these advantages arise from the potential of information and communication technology to improve firms’ daily activities. This research tries to reinforce the assessment of ICT impacts on healthcare firm performance, presenting a set of induced and intangible benefits besides the traditional financial benefits, as well as measuring IS integration impact. To do so, a structural equation model is applied to a large database sample covering firms from 17 European countries. The results reinforce the importance of induced and structural benefits in firms’ overall performance. It also found a positive relationship between IS integrated systems and performance. These results can be a starting point for a rethinking of the measurement models used in healthcare firms, and reinforce the argument stating that an IS integrated approach can provide better outcomes. Nevertheless, some questions remain unanswered regarding the impacts of ICT acceptance process on overall benefits, and therefore, future research will focus on this domain.

A interação e influência das crianças e dos adultos nos processos de decisão de compra familiares têm sido alvo de inúmeros trabalhos académicos. As evidências empíricas apontam para uma decisão partilhada, quer na fase de reconhecimento do problema, quer nas últimas etapas do processo de decisão. Neste artigo a tónica é colocada na influência e nas táticas negociais empregues pelos adolescentes nesse processo familiar, que não tem sido alvo de grande atenção, apesar da reconhecida importância deste segmento, tanto pelos investigadores como pelas empresas. Assim, procura-se com este trabalho aferir as perceções e as táticas empregues pelos adolescentes e pelos seus progenitores com relação a dois tipos de produtos: viagens de lazer e cereais para pequenos-almoços. A escolha de dois tipos de produtos com tipologias e complexidade diferente permite retirar ilações quanto aos padrões empregues e à influência das caraterísticas demográficas no comportamento familiar de decisão de compra. ABSTRACT: Family decision-making research has frequently examined the roles of adults and children on purchase decisions. Empirical results show a propensity toward a joint decision process in problem recognition and the final decision stages. This article argues that teenagers’ influence on a family’ buying decisions suffers from a certain conceptual and definitional ambiguity, and oversimplification regarding the different modes of influence. Nevertheless, there is a consensus in business and academia that kids in general have an increasing influence in the decision making process of families. Thus, the objectives of this research are to measure teenagers’ and parents' perceptions regarding tactics used by both, especially pester power, in the context of the decision-making process for a family’s travelling choice and for breakfast cereals. The research aims to assess the differences driven by demographic characteristics.

4th Conference of ENTERprise Information Systems - aligning technology, organizations and people (CENTERIS 2012). Copyright © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of CENTERIS/SCIKA - Association for Promotion and Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge. This research attempts to unveil some of the impacts on internet marketing and firms’ online performance driven from the adoption and integration of Enterprise Information subsystems. To accomplish this goal a framework is set and test in a sample of 9.192 European firms using Structural Equation Model estimation. This project contributes to the research on this topic with new evidence in a broad sample, and advances knowledge on the nature of the relative importance of different technological subsystems on Internet Marketing as drivers of e-business performance, applied to the European reality.

Copyright © 2012 The Japan Section of the Regional Science Association International. Both academic literature and regional governments are interested in the innovativeness of regions and the drivers of competitiveness, especially when considering the impacts on economic development and social progress. Innovation is the basis for global competitiveness. Innovative capacity enables regions to increase productivity and attract investments, thereby sustaining continuous progress in quality and standard of living. A literature review regarding regional innovativeness produces some insights into the effect of contextual elements on the performance of regions and reveals new perspectives on this issue. This study aimed to measure the innovativeness of different European regions and evaluate the nature of the process of innovation, and relationship between its innovativeness and region of origin. This study proceeded from the assumption that the competitiveness of a region is reflected in its capacity or dynamics of innovation. Therefore, we compared European regions verifying the existence of subjacent clusters and determining the characteristics that distinguish the different groups of regions. Innovative capacity was considered in terms of innovative output and several factors were analysed to identify and differentiate the dynamics of innovations of the regions. The results point to the existence of five groups of regions, and the factors identified are related to innovative processes, namely forms of innovation, factors and objectives of innovation, and aspects related to the framework of innovation such as tertiary education and life-long learning, business and public R&D expenses, and level of collaboration for innovation.

Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Our work conceptualizes and highlights the determinants of customers’ loyalty in the Portuguese mobile market. We raise questions about the interrelationships of the cost and values dimensions and the consequences of these relationships on customer satisfaction and trust and consequently loyalty among different operators, addressing some recent models. By organizing and synthesizing the major research streams and tests empirically a conceptual framework through a SEM, with data gather in a survey of Portuguese clients, the present study advances knowledge on the nature of the relative importance of different components of loyalty to mobile communications operators. Some useful preliminary insights were produced related to customers’ retention process in primary mobile operator, which appears strongly related to price/quality, followed by the emotional connection to the operator staff and others clients. Nonetheless, a considerable number of issues were left for future research, including the possibility of extending the investigation to other countries.

In the last two decades, Supply Chain Management (SCM) continues to gain popularity among companies and has been broadly studied by academic researchers. However, with the development of the digital economy, a new paradigm has emerged in this arena: virtual supply chain management (e-SCM). Thus, this paper establishes a new model, considering the results of virtual SCM adoption on e-business performance, which has been tested in European companies. For that purpose, we used a structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The way that organizations explore the Internet has been the focus of a substantial body of scientific studies and non-academic reflection. The main goal of this study is to analyze the potential of the internet as a mode of internationalization and the factors that influence the results of the adoption of this mean to access foreign markets. For this purpose, we examine the determinants of the level of international sales made via internet estimating an ordered probit model. The results show that the importance of previous experience in using the internet and developing international activity, together with the level of internet marketing budget , the level of investment on internet sophistication, the firm dimension, the business age and the type pf activity are variables that determine the results obtain in the international sales trough the internet. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

E-Business is a phenomenon that has progressed over the past decades at record speed, with considerable promise and hype. It has been embraced with varying degrees of enthusiasm and impact by both large firms and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). Parallel with its development, E-Business has attracted research interests, seen in a plethora of new modules, programmes, models and tools. Knowledge Management (KM) is one tool that seams to gain a more relevant role, especially as managing knowledge has become increasingly important to all companies. Appropriate KM practices within organisations can be seen as one of the prerequisites to the enhancement of continuous performance improvement in the interne-based context. Thus, our aim is to develop a conceptual framework related to KM practices in a virtual context and to identify the nature of the relationship existing in those knowledge-driven elements and performance achievements. This paper aims to bridge the gap between the KM and e-business performance-related literatures from the viewpoint of European firms by establishing a model tested in European companies. For this purpose, we used a structural equation modelling analysis. The results show that KM has a positive impact on the maximization of e-business performance and that some elements individually have a positive influence on e-business performance. As limitations of the study, we consider the need for more research into this field and the inclusion of news elements such as technological readiness and management support to KM initiatives. The present study advances knowledge on the nature of the relative importance of different components of Internet-based KM as drivers of e-business performance and reinforces its importance as an integrated e-business tool. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This paper examines the imbalances in the availability and usage of communication and information technology infrastructure. These imbalances could be broadly attributed to differences in funding, management and technical expertise, exposure and awareness of available technologies, training, and other infrastructures like R&D institutions. In our sample, the imbalances could be broadly attributed not only to differences in such factors as industry, dimension, management education, but also to lack of cooperation, workers mobility and reduced markets which are common factors in disfavoured regions. First Published Online: 14 Oct 2010

Dissertação de Mestrado, Ciências Económicas Empresariais (Marketing), 27 de julho de 2022, Universidade dos Açores. As TICs têm sido fundamentais na modernização e transformação digital do setor público e seus serviços. Como resultado, temos assistido a uma mudança do paradigma da própria gestão pública. O processo de transição digital contribui para uma melhor compreensão das necessidades e expectativas dos cidadãos e das empresas, permitindo a melhoria e otimização da prestação de serviços públicos, adjuvados pela tecnologia. A transformação digital nos governos é essencial para melhorar as relações com a sociedade e resolver problemas sociais, externa e internamente, contribuindo para fluxos de trabalho mais satisfatórios, simples e menos dispendiosos. Portanto, espera-se que os serviços públicos digitalizados sejam mais fluidos, dinâmicos e intuitivos e reconhecidos como tal pelos utilizadores: cidadãos e organizações. Com este quadro teórico de base procurou-se neste trabalho aferir quais os determinantes da satisfação do cidadão enquanto utilizador dos serviços públicos digitais. Os resultados sugerem que a tipologia de serviços influencia a satisfação do utilizador. Acresce, ainda, a reconhecida influência da experiência dos cidadãos com as tecnologias como influenciador significativo da perceção da funcionalidade e do valor destes serviços digitais. Embora existam algumas limitações no presente trabalho, os resultados permitem incrementar o conhecimento sobre o processo de valorização da tecnologia pelos cidadãos e consequentemente, ser empregue para melhorar o desempenho digital dos serviços públicos e a própria orientação para o cliente. ABSTRACT: There is general recognition of ICT’s importance in supporting the transformation and modernization of the public sector and its services. As a result, we have been witnessing a public management paradigm shift. The digital transition process contributes to a better understanding of citizens' and firms’ needs and expectations while allowing the improvement and optimization of the provision of public services, attending to them simultaneously. Digital transformation in governments is essential to improve relationships with society and solve social problems, externally and internally, contributing to more satisfying, simple, and less expensive workflows. Therefore, digitalized public services are expected to be more fluid, dynamic, and intuitive. Therefore, the empirical research carried out within this investigation aims to validate the determinants of citizen satisfaction as users of digital public services. The study shows that determinants such as the category of services influence user satisfaction. In addition, citizens' technology experience is the most significant determinant of technology's perceived functionality and value when using digital services. Although there are some limitations in the present work, it advances knowledge to enhance public services' digital performance and customer orientation.

Dissertação de Mestrado, Gestão de Empresas (MBA), 22 de abril de 2022, Universidade dos Açores. Turismo e hotelaria, bem como restauração, apresentaram um significativo crescimento até 2020. Deste este ano até ao presente, as fases passaram da resiliência ao início, sendo necessário a mudança dos sistemas. Com a mais recente pandemia Covid-19, a indústria sente-se obrigada a rever as suas produções e vendas, com os impactos que este vírus proporciona. Deste modo, o objetivo deste projeto é verificar como e de que forma estas alterações afetaram o turismo e, consequentemente, a restauração na hoteleira nos Açores, mais propriamente em São Miguel. Deste modo procurou-se perceber se existe uma diferenciação na imagem de marca, na essência bem como na oferta do serviço a ser prestado por restaurantes situados nos hotéis, tanto a nível rural e urbano. Atendendo a que se pretendia aferir o diferencial entre o rural e urbano, foram escolhidos como caso de estudo dois grupos de hotelaria predominantes nos Açores: Bensaude e Discovery Hotel Management - DHM, mais concretamente as suas unidades rurais - Terra Nostra Garden Hotel e Furnas Boutique Hotel - e as suas unidades citadinas - Hotel Marina Atlântico e Azor Hotel, respetivamente. Para compreender esta realidade de forma mais completa, o trabalho contou com entrevistas aos respetivos responsáveis do departamento da restauração hoteleira e com inquéritos a clientes procuram este tipo de serviços. Como se trata de um estudo feito entre o ano de 2020/2021, foi importante dar enfase à perceção do impacto da pandemia, COVID-19, nesta área de mercado. Em suma, verificou-se que os grupos supracitados se diferenciam significativamente a nível de oferta, essência e imagem de marca. É também de referir que em ambos são predominantes os turistas, embora que com a pandemia os residentes tenham sentido mais necessidade de procurar este tido de serviços. Estes últimos são clientes residentes, com hábitos de frequentar restaurantes e com poder económico mais elevado. As conclusões deste trabalho permitem aferir que ainda existe espaço para uma maior diferenciação da oferta. ABSTRACT: Tourism and hospitality presented an unprecedented growth until 2020. From them-on, it passes from resilience to a reignition phase, changing supply and demand systems. The well-known reality pre-Covid needs to be revisited to understand the present situation and the long-lasting impacts of the pandemic. Therefore, this work aims to understand and check how these changes affected tourism, hospitality, and the foodservice industry. Moreover, getting to know and to see which projections they have at this specific sector, because the main goal is to understand if there’s any difference between Rural and Civic environment as far as brand image, essence and service provided. For this purpose, the Azores, more specifically São Miguel, was chosen as a study field. Two major Azorean hospitality groups - Bensaude and Discovery Hotel Management - DHM - were picked and within two hotels from each one, both rural and city, namely, Terra Nostra Garden Hotel; Hotel Marina Atlântico and Furnas Boutique Hotel; Azor Hotel. Data was gathered using interviews with the general managers, and the online survey addressed hotel-restaurant clients, who use these types of services. Yet, was important to understand the Covid-19 impacts because this work was made during the years 2020 to 2021. The work's outcome establishes that regardless of their close physical location, these two groups couldn’t be more apart since they are significantly different in terms of the service offered, essence, and brand image. Another aspect highlighted by the results is that residents felt the necessity of this type of service, increasing the domestic/local tourism demand. Yet, not everyone can afford it; it's more likely middle/high population class. The outcome of this study allows inferring that there is still space for hotel restaurants to invest in differentiation and tailor-made services based on the uniqueness of their location.

Dissertação de Mestrado, Ciências Económicas e Empresariais, especialização em Marketing, 21 de março de 2019, Universidade dos Açores. O E-marketing – processo de marketing efetuado através da utilização de canais de media digitais – tomou o mundo dos media de assalto na última década. As empresas tiveram de mudar drasticamente para sobreviver, e reinventar-se para permanecerem competitivas no mercado global. Algumas encararam a mudança como uma oportunidade de crescimento e de extensão da marca nos canais online, infiltrando-se no quotidiano dos consumidores. Outras não se adaptaram à constante mutação do ecossistema empresarial. As que prevaleceram consolidaram a consciencialização da marca e nutriram relacionamentos com os consumidores mais facilmente que nunca. Aproveitaram ainda os meios digitais para aumentar rapidamente as suas vendas através de campanhas de publicidade baseadas no desempenho (performance). Campanhas unicamente focadas na otimização do ROI através do rastreamento da atividade online dos utilizadores. Adotaram uma mentalidade smart, tirando partido da tecnologia, para disfrutar de um relacionamento mais próximo com os consumidores. Dois tipos de publicidade paga prosperaram em redes sociais e motores de busca: branding e performance. Contudo, serão estes modelos verdadeiramente opostos? Esta tese procura responder a esta questão de um ponto de vista complementar, que é consolidado com a análise de um caso de estudo, onde a performance está ao serviço de uma típica campanha de branding. ABSTRACT: E-marketing – marketing through the usage of digital media channels – has taken the world of media by storm in the past decade. Companies have had to change drastically to survive and reinvent themselves to remain competitive in a global market. Some saw an opportunity to thrive and extend their branding to online channels, infiltrating the everyday life of consumers. Others failed to adapt to the everchanging business ecosystem. The ones that prevailed have built brand awareness and nurtured brand relationships more easily than ever before. They also leveraged digital media to rapidly grow their sales through performance-based advertising campaigns. Campaigns solely focused on the optimization of ROI via the tracking of online user activity. They have adopted a smart mindset, taking advantage of technology to enjoy a closer relationship with consumers. Two types of advertising have flourished in paid social networks and search engines: branding and performance. However, are they truly opposite models? This thesis seeks to answer this question from a complementary point of view, which is consolidated by the analysis of a case study where performance is at the service of a typical branding campaign.

Dissertação de Mestrado, Gestão de Empresas/MBA, 26 de Fevereiro de 2015, Universidade dos Açores. O facto de que as actividades de eWoM e as novas utilizações da Internet têm surtido mudanças na forma como os indivíduos comunicam tem sido alvo de debate frequente na comunidade académica. Tratam-se de fenómenos aos quais lhes foi reconhecida a capacidade de afectar a reputação de uma empresa e até, em casos extremos, sobrevivência, pois foi verificado que acabariam por alterar profundamente a forma como os indivíduos recolhem a informação de que necessitam para levar a cabo as suas decisões de compra, assim como as suas atitudes e expectativas em geral. Para além disso, atendendo a um uso intensificado das redes sociais digitais, fenómenos virais digitais começaram a emergir, atraindo também a atenção de académicos e negócios enquanto formas potencialmente adequadas e acessíveis de aumentar a notoriedade de uma dada empresa. Assim sendo, também começaram a aparecer estudos que tentam desmistificar que aspectos do conteúdo e que estruturas sociais digitais poderão potenciar a viralidade. Com efeito, o presente estudo pretende aferir se certos pressupostos anteriormente validados como sendo potenciadores da viralidade poderiam ser identificados no caso da página de “Retrospectiva” do Facebook. Tal página foi alvo de uma difusão em massa aquando do seu lançamento, ressalvando assim o interesse em perceber que aspectos relacionados com diferentes perfis de utilizador de Internet e de emoções provocadas pelo conteúdo teriam condicionado as acções tomadas pelos indivíduos. Tal foi testado por via de um inquérito aberto a todos os indivíduos que pretendessem participar, sob condição de terem uma conta no Facebook. As conclusões obtidas acabariam por ressalvar aspectos já anteriormente associados à viralidade, sobretudo contemplando os contributos de Berger e Milkman, mas também sobre a existência de diferentes grupos de indivíduos, com diferentes acções e comportamentos online, o que estará em concordância com contributos já feitos por Brandtzæg. Para além disto, considerações gerais e relativas à utilização da Internet e das redes sociais também foram possíveis à luz dos resultados obtidos, consolidando assim outros aspectos mencionados no decurso da revisão bibliográfica. ABSTRACT: The fact that eWoM activity and overall Internet use have shaped the way individuals communicate has been subject to a rather intense and frequent debate in the academic community. These phenomena are said to have an impact on companies’ reputations and, at the extreme, survival, as they have been found to be deeply affecting the way individuals gather the information necessary for their purchase decisions, and overall attitudes and expectations. Moreover, in light of an intensified use of social media applications, viral digital phenomena have started to emerge, and have also caught the attention of academics and businesses as potentially good and rather inexpensive ways to enhance a company’s awareness. As such, studies that try to unveil what aspects of content and social structures may help enhance virality, have also started to appear. Thus, the following study aims to test whether previously validated aspects that have been found to make content more eager to virality can be identified, concerning Facebook’s “A look back” page. Accordingly, this feature has experienced widespread diffusion upon its release, making it interesting to see if aspects related to Internet user profiles and content-evoked emotions had conditioned the action that individuals took. This has been tested through the use of a survey open to all willing respondents who held a Facebook account. The obtained results will therefore shed light on some of the previously validated drivers of diffusion, mainly set out by Berger and Milkman, but also on the fact that, indeed, there are different sets of individuals, with different online actions and behavior predispositions, as already noted by Brandtzæg. Nevertheless, further considerations regarding Internet and social media use may also be found in light of the obtained results, thus reinforcing some of the aspects mentioned in the course of the literature review.

Dissertação de Mestrado em Gestão de Empresas/MBA. Com o aumento da importância dada aos social media pelo mundo empresarial, os decisores estão cada vez mais interessados nesta temática. As plataformas online como o Facebook, Twitter e YouTube fazem, hoje em dia, parte das estratégias comunicacionais das empresas, provocando um diálogo entre os marketers e os utilizadores/consumidores. Embora estas estratégias comunicacionais estejam a ser usadas na indústria farmacêutica, esta indústria, e especialmente o seu departamento de marketing, encontra-se sob altas pressões regulamentares devido à natureza do seu negócio que podem suprimir a adesão rápida aos social media. Também devido à falta de regulação oficial e específica dirigida para os social media, torna-se difícil, ao nível do marketing farmacêutico, delinear uma estratégia comunicacional nesta área. Esta investigação tem como objetivo avaliar a presença da indústria farmacêutica nos social media, nomeadamente no Facebook, Twitter e YouTube, e ao mesmo tempo caracterizar as diferentes estratégias para o engagement digital. De forma a concretizar esta investigação foi desenvolvida uma abordagem metodológica específica e um modelo concetual que permitiu avaliar a presença nos social media selecionados, das principais 20 das empresas farmacêuticas a nível mundial. Este trabalho incluiu uma análise descritiva das plataformas usadas por cada empresa farmacêutica, bem como uma análise de clusters seguida de uma caracterização de cada cluster através de uma análise “crosstabs”. Através desta investigação foi possível constatar que nem todas as empresas farmacêuticas estão presentes nos social media e que o nível de adoção de algumas plataformas difere entre elas. Verificou-se, também, que o nível de engagement parece não estar associado à dimensão das empresas e que as estratégias para o engagement digital variam entre plataformas. Esta investigação tenta fornecer uma visão sobre a atuação das empresas farmacêuticas ao nível dos social media e, ao mesmo tempo, contribui com uma metodologia e um modelo base para futuras investigações nesta área. Algumas das limitações encontradas serão trilhos para investigações a desenvolver no futuro. ABSTRACT: The emerging importance of social media in business organizations is raising the awareness of the decision makers towards this thematic. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are now a part of the businesses communication strategies, leading to a dialogue between users/consumers and marketers. In the pharmaceutical industry similar communication strategies are being adopted. However, this industry and specially its marketing department are subjected to intensive regulations due to the healthcare nature of the business, that can suppress a quick adoption of these platforms. Moreover, in the pharmaceutical marketing environment, the lack of official and specific regulations for social media creates uncertainty, which also turns social media implementation process into a difficult path to follow. This research has as objective to evaluate the presence of the pharmaceutical industry on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and characterize the types of digital engagement strategies used. To perform this research, a new methodological approach and concept model were developed in order to evaluate the top 20 pharmaceutical companies’ presence on the selected social media. This new methodology includes a descriptive analysis of each social media platform for each pharmaceutical company, followed by a cluster analysis with a characterization of each cluster using a crosstabs analysis. Findings from this study show that not all pharmaceutical companies are present on social media, and some platforms are more used than others. Interestingly the level of engagement was not associated with the size of the companies and the digital engagement strategies varied between the analysed social media platforms. This research provides insights of how pharmaceutical companies are organized on social media, and clearly contributes with a framework and methodology for future researches in this domain. Also, some of the limitations encountered provide suggestions of how to proceed in future studies.