Customer Involvement Research Articles

Customer involvement in co-development: problem-solving and decision-making in new product development

PurposeCustomers can participate in new product development (NPD) in many ways. Drawing on the knowledge-based view (KBV) and innovation literature, this study aims to contrast two main product development activity types, i.e. problem-solving and decision-making. It proposes customers play distinct roles if they get involved in these activities, which influence NPD outcomes differently. It also explores customer need specificity as a boundary condition for the above-mentioned relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected survey data from 308 managers in the innovation domain.FindingsCustomer involvement in problem-solving and decision-making distinctively influences new product innovativeness and development speed. Customer need specificity interacts with the two co-development types differently to impact these NPD outcomes further.Research limitations/implicationsThis research extends the KBV and addresses the inconsistent findings in the literature regarding customer involvement as co-developers in innovation. It also provides novel insights into how knowledge characteristics like customer need specificity can direct co-developing activities to generate distinct NPD results.Practical implicationsThis paper offers practical implications for firms on how to involve customers in developing innovative new products while managing development speed.Originality/valuePrior research has yet to distinguish customer responsibilities related to co-development activities. This research fills this gap and offers novel insights that problem-solving and decision-making have opposite impacts on different NPD outcomes. This research demonstrates that finer knowledge about customer involvement responsibilities is needed for critical NPD outcomes.

The impact of Fintech innovations on digital currency adoption: a blockchain-based study in India

Purpose The purpose of this study is to integrate customer value theory (CVT) and protection motivation theory (PMT) to understand the factors that have an impact on customer experience, e-trust and intention to recommend, which influence the adoption behaviour of digital currency users. Design/methodology/approach A purposive sampling technique was used, and data were gathered through an online survey of 414 respondents. The measurement and structural models were tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling to establish linkages between the constructs. Findings Functional, emotional and social values positively impact customer experience. Furthermore, perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, response efficacy and self-efficacy had a positive impact on e-trust. E-trust positively affects customer experience and intention to use the digital currency directly. The study demonstrated that perceived value and protection motivation factors play a significant role in influencing the use of digital currency. Practical implications For managers and policymakers interested in the Indian digital currency market, it is suggested that functional utility and emotional and social benefits can enhance user satisfaction. In an e-trust model, user education to increase risk and protection awareness, effectiveness of responses and self-efficacy are critical to building e-trust. Originality/value Building on CVT and PMT’s usage in the broader financial services domain, this research empirically confirms the significance of perceived value and protection motivation factors while adopting digital currency. It provides an extensive and multifaceted approach to comprehending customer involvement and trust in digital financial services, thus enhancing the theoretical and empirical knowledge of both the fintech and blockchain industries.

Telepresence, social presence and involvement in consumer’s intention to buy apparels through an interplay of consumer brand engagement

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to explore the effect of telepresence, social presence and consumer involvement on intention to purchase, with an intervening impact of three dimensions of consumer brand engagement (cognitive processing, affection processing and activation).Design/methodology/approachThe study followed a surveying technique and an adopted questionnaire was used to collect data from 426 shoppers of apparels. The model was tested using Smart PLS and it was found that there is a positive relationship between telepresence, social presence and consumer brand involvement with consumer brand engagement, which also mediates their relationship with intention to purchase.FindingsThis study offers analytical evidence for telepresence, social presence and involvement of customers and advances the literature of brand engagement. Marketers can benefit from this study and design their future campaigns to enhance the involvement of customers by utilizing the outcomes of this study.Originality/valueThis study offers analytical evidence for telepresence, social presence and involvement of customers and advances the literature of brand engagement. Marketers can benefit from this study and design their future campaigns to enhance the involvement of customers by utilizing the outcomes of this study.

Activating the sustainable consumer:The role of customer involvement in corporate sustainability

AbstractTackling grand challenges and making sustainable development a reality through sustainable consumption crucially depends upon both companies’ activities as well as individuals’ consumption choices. In opinion polls, many consumers claim to favor sustainable products over conventional ones. However, a large gap remains between their stated purchasing intentions and actual decisions, posing a challenge for companies in predicting product demand and strategically managing their product portfolios. In this study, we develop a conceptual framework to demonstrate how companies can encourage sustainable consumption behavior among their customers by involving them in their corporate sustainability (CS) activities. We introduce psychological ownership as the underlying mechanism explaining how customer involvement in CS activities translates into changes in their consumption choices. We further argue that the link between customer involvement and psychological ownership depends on the type of a company’s CS—that is, whether CS is embedded in or peripheral to the company’s core business. The results from three experiments, including one field experiment conducted in collaboration with a fashion retailer and involving real customer purchase decisions, support our theorizing. The findings reveal the power of customer involvement as a marketing tool in promoting sustainable consumption.

Knowledge Extraction of Gojek Application Review Using Aspect-based Sentiment Analysis

Social media is transforming business, costumer relations, and behavior. The involvement of customers and impacts from social media affect product or service performance. This is because the consumer’s reviews are another important factor that builds brand image by showing product advantages and disadvantages. In order to enhance the business environment, the company may utilize this knowledge base to evaluate and enhance its business activities. The knowledge base approach might help the company or organization examine and extract information by using knowledge extraction. In this research, knowledge Extraction utilize Aspect-based Sentiment Analysis as the method for a better understanding and improving in analyze Gojek application reviews with Machine Learning approach by using Support Vector Machine (SVM).

Entrepreneurial Resilience During COVID-19: The Survival of Small Businesses Using Dynamic Capabilities Theory and Effectuation Theory

Objectives: This study explores how Bali's sport tourism stakeholders used dynamic capabilities to mitigate COVID-19's impacts. Given Bali's reliance on sport tourism, understanding recovery is crucial. The research aims to identify pandemic challenges, explore strategic recovery plans, and understand how entrepreneurs leverage dynamic capabilities for survival and growth. Theoretical Framework: The study integrates dynamic capabilities and effectuation theories with entrepreneurial resilience. Dynamic capabilities involve adapting, learning, and transforming activities to meet changing environments. Effectuation theory focuses on leveraging available means and making decisions based on emerging opportunities. Together, these theories offer a comprehensive understanding of adaptation strategies among Bali's sport tourism entrepreneurs. Method: Using a qualitative design, the research conducts semi-structured interviews with 10 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bali's sport tourism sector. Results and Discussion: Findings highlight resilience's role in fostering adaptability, motivation, and a learning mindset. An activity-based model for dynamic capabilities focuses on integration, learning, and transformation with employee and customer involvement. Leveraging dynamic capabilities, assessing opportunities with available means, and using innovative technologies are crucial for strategic decisions in uncertain environments. Research Implications: This study contributes to the entrepreneurship and strategic management literature. Integrating dynamic capacities, effectuation theories, and entrepreneurial resilience provides useful insights for academics, policymakers, and practitioners. The work offers practical solutions for resilience in dynamic contexts. Originality/Value: This study enhances understanding of how Bali’s sport tourism entrepreneurs adapt to a transformed entrepreneurial ecosystem. It serves as a valuable resource for developing resilient strategies for future disruptions.

During-experience involvement and dining experience

Involvement has been viewed as a central tenet of experience. Nevertheless, the predominant types of involvement in the service and marketing literatures arguably fail to fully capture the involvement of customers throughout their experiences. As a result, this research proposes a new type of involvement, namely situated involvement to investigate how tourists’ interest in/motivation for a dining experience is enhanced in restaurants. The research also investigates whether such involvement impacts the dining experiences. The findings from 20 interviews in Queenstown, New Zealand reveal 13 themes related to factors contributing to situated involvement. Moreover, it appears that situated involvement plays a positive role in dining experiences of tourists.

Best Agile method selection approach at workplace

Selecting the most suitable agile software development method is a challenging task due to the variety of available methods, each with its strengths and weaknesses. To achieve project goals effectively, factors such as project needs, team size, complexity, and customer involvement should be carefully evaluated. Choosing the appropriate agile method is crucial for achieving high client satisfaction and effective team management, but it can be a challenging task for project managers and higher-level management officials.This paper presents a solution aiming to help them in selecting the most suitable software development method for their project. In this regard, this solution includes a pre-project management approach model and a decision tree that considers the unique requirements of the project. In the proposed solution results, Scrum was found to be suitable for both small and large projects, on the condition that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and that the approach is people-centric. Furthermore, high-risk mitigation measures should be added for small projects. To facilitate the use of our model, a software application has been developed which implements the decision-making tree.

Empowering co-creation of services with artificial intelligence: an empirical analysis to examine adoption intention

PurposeCo-creation of services (CCOS) is a collaborative strategy that emphasises customer involvement and their expertise to increase the value of the service experience. In the service ecosystem, artificial intelligence (AI) plays a key role in value co-creation. Therefore, this study is undertaken to empirically uncover how AI can empower CCOS.Design/methodology/approachThe source data were collected from 305 service provider respondents and quantitative methodology was applied for data analysis.FindingsNew service development augmented with AI provides tangible value to service providers while also providing intangible value to supportive customers. With AI, service providers adapt to new innovations and enrich additional information, which eventually outperforms human-created services.Research limitations/implicationsAI adoption for CCOS empowerment in service businesses brings “service-market fit”, which represents the significant benefits wherein customers contribute to creativity, intuition, and contextual awareness of services, and AI contributes to large-scale service-related analysis by handling volumes of data, service personalisation, and more time to focus on challenging problems of the market.Originality/valueThis study presents theoretical concepts on AI-empowered CCOS, AI technological innovativeness, customer participation in human-AI interaction, AI-powered customer expertise, and perceived benefits in CCOS, and subsequently discusses the CCOS empowerment framework. Then, it proposes a novel conceptual model based on the theoretical concepts and empirically measures and validates the intention to adopt AI for CCOS empowerment. Overall, the study contributes to novel insight on empowering service co-creation with AI.

The influence of functionality and innovativeness of smart service systems on customer’s impulse buying behaviors

This research aims to analyze the effect of two external factors—the functionality and innovativeness of smart service systems (SSSs)—on customers’ impulse purchasing behavior using the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model. We collected data using a questionnaire survey, yielding 272 valid responses. The data was then analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The study found that SSS functionality and innovativeness positively influenced experience value, which in turn significantly affected perceived pleasure and usefulness, promoting impulse buying behaviors. This study examines how external environmental stimuli in SSSs prompt impulse buying using the SOR framework, focusing on "experience value." The study found that SSS functionality enhances time-saving, usefulness, customer involvement, and business scale, leading to increased service use and positive customer experiences, ultimately promoting impulse buying behaviors. This study contributes to academic knowledge by integrating experience value into the S-O-R framework, demonstrating that SSS functionality and innovativeness significantly enhance customer experience value, perceived usefulness, and pleasure, thereby promoting impulse buying behaviors. The study shows smart meal-ordering systems enhance efficiency and customer satisfaction. Operators should optimize system value, expand payment options, improve service quality, and use visual and social marketing to boost customer engagement and impulse buying behaviors.

Collaborative servitization in service-oriented company: The case study of telco company.

There is a growing interest in the subject of product-service system (PSS) and collaborative servitization in academia and practice. However, the focus is on exploring the growth of manufacturing companies without specifically analyzing the growth of service companies in applying PSS. There are companies, especially in the telco industry, that expand their service business to complex bundles of products and services. The paper investigates PSS in the service company and the role of collaboration in different PSS development phases: idea generation, development and go to market phase. The study adopted case-based research conducted in international Telco organization. The research demonstrates how a company creates and commercializes integrated packets of products and services, it identifies partners company works with and the benefits and challenges of their cooperation. The study addresses collaboration with customers and identifies five different customer profiles according to their openness to participate in the development of PSS. The study highlights the importance of (1) collaboration models, (2) customer involvement, and (3) strategic focus in successful application of collaborative servitization. The findings complement the literature for collaborative servitization and offer concrete input for companies in terms of how to better organize business, profit from collaboration models and gain market advantage.

Two forms of customer involvement and new product development performance in the digital context: The moderating role of new product development stage

Customer involvement plays a critical role in firms' new product development (NPD), especially in the digital context. Prior research has distinguished between two forms of customer involvement: customers as an information source (CIS) and customers as co-developers (CIC). We build on this stream of literature and investigate the impact of CIS and CIC on firms’ NPD performance in the digital context by considering both the benefits and costs of these two forms of customer involvement. Furthermore, we explore the moderating role of NPD stage. Based on survey data collected from 263 informants, we show that whereas CIS has a positive effect on NPD performance, CIC has an inverted U-shaped relationship with NPD performance. More interestingly, the positive relationship between CIS and NPD performance is more pronounced in the ideation stage than in the product development stage, and the inverted U-shaped relationship between CIC and NPD performance is steeper in the product development stage than that in the ideation stage. In our additional analyses, we further divide the NPD stage into four stages and found similar results as our main analyses. Our study enriches the customer involvement literature and offers practical implications regarding whether, how, and when to involve customers in the NPD process.

How does AI agent (vs. IVR system) service failure impact customer purchase behavior: mediating effect of customer involvement

ABSTRACT In recent years, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) agents in customer service has become a prominent area of study, focusing on their influence over consumer behavior. However, there is a noticeable gap in the current literature regarding AI agent service failures during product information consultations and their effects on customer purchase behavior. The present study, grounded in attribution theory, investigates the effects of various types of self-service failures in both Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems and AI agents on customer involvement and subsequent purchase behavior. The findings indicate that customers experiencing service failures with AI agents during the consultation stage are more inclined to make purchase behavior after human-led recovery compared to those encountering IVR system failures. Additionally, customer involvement is found to play a pivotal role as a mediator between types of service failures and purchase behavior. The results of this work may offer valuable theoretical and practical insights.

Role of Cultural Intelligence and Customer Involvement on Behavioral Loyalty Toward Manufactured Products in Nigeria

Evidence from the literature reveals that customer loyalty research is growing and is becoming more widely integrated into related disciplines. This study evaluates the role of sales representatives’ cultural intelligence (CI) in the behavioral loyalty (BL) of customers of SMEs in Nigeria, through the mechanism of customer involvement (CuI). Two sets of questionnaires were administered directly to the sales representatives, and indirectly to the customers, via the sales representatives. Three hundred and fifty copies of the sales representatives’ questionnaire were administered, based on the population of 65 manufacturing SMEs and an average of 5.4 copies per SME, while 384 copies of the customers’ questionnaire were sent to the unknown pool of customers. Data were col- lected from the two sets of respondents, which were analyzed through a variance-based structural equation modeling using Smart-PLS software. The results reveal a positive and significant relationship between cultural intelligence and behavioral loyalty, while the in- direct relationship reveals customer involvement does strongly mediate the relationship between the antecedent and the outcome. The findings imply that behavioral loyalty is engendered when sales representatives possess high cultural intelligence, and customers are strategically involved through consultations and product co-creation.

The Evolution of Consumer Adoption in AI-Enhanced Social Commerce

The COVID outbreak caused governments worldwide to put social distancing regulations, ban physical contact, and close physical enterprises, which changed how multitudinous businesses operated. Due to the epidemic, businesses were impelled to modify their business plans by incorporating the current electronic system of operation, or electronic commerce. Electronic commerce, ore- commerce, enhanced businesses' external connections with their stakeholders. multitudinous businesses stopped operating their physical stores and started up, or bolstered, their online presence by moving toper- existing- commerce platforms (Chengeta, 2022). The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 2021 report states that, in distinction to 2018, there was an unexpected 4 rise in global- commerce in 2020. demonstrating the significant increase in e- commerce, which includes business- to- business (B2B) and business- to- consumer (B2C) deals, and the growing significance of online exertion (UNCTAD, 2021). Indeed, while demand shifted from physical stores to online retailers, certain- commerce companies outperformed others in terms of digital addition. predicated on gross wares value (GMV), e-commerce companies like Alibaba, Amazon, JD.com, and Pendulous ranked as the top four B2Ce- commerce enterprises in 2020 (UNCTAD, 2021). Businesses with significant drops in their 2020 GMV compared to 2019 were Expedia, Booking goods, and Airbnb (UNCTAD, 2021). Because of their proficiency with Artificial Intelligence (AI), the top- ranked e- commerce companies demonstrated strong performance in digital addition (Micallef and Gupta, 2021). Thanks to large data, artificial intelligence (AI) has come a technical priority. for multitudinous online retailers in recent times (Davenport Tal, 2018). The use of AI has increased by over 300 in the last numerous times and has the implicit to be profitable for businesses. exploration and examination of the use of AI one- commerce platforms are long overdue. To increase the perceived demands of guests being satisfied, the commerce effectiveness of AI operations one- commerce platforms is a vital concern. E-commerce platforms produce a competitive edge by virtue of their distinct and delicate to replicate characteristics, as demonstrated by the IS literature (Schreyer, 2012). Former studies on AI operations emphasize that to give AI capacity value, organizational and mortal resources are demanded the factory of Ramsbotham teal. ultimate of the disquisition on AI operations in e- commerce has concentrated on handover and operation oddities (Khari, 2020). Consumer- AI operation commerce effectiveness has entered lower attention, and as a result, the benefits of AI operation Ine- commerce have not been fully appreciated. The operation's end stoners, or consumers, anticipate a positive hassle with slice- edge technical apps one- commerce platforms. To close this gap, the current study examines the unique advanced technologies and platform structures one- commerce platforms as AI capabilities that elicit favourable sentiments about consumer participation. It does this by erecting on earlier disquisition from the viewpoint of the consumers (Howard and Roswell- Jones, 2019). This study specifically assesses chatbots, image quest, recommendation machines, and post- purchase backing as AI factors in an online store, and how well they communicate with guests to draw in favourable observed(behavioural) and unobserved(cerebral) engagement stations. Using the instigations- organism- response (S- O- R) model, this study investigates how consumers' behavioural engagement stations(R) are sparked by AI rudiments(S) in response to their cerebral engagement(O) and attention to social comparison (Congeal, 2019). When a consumer interacts with the AI features on and- commerce platform, they witness a happy, fulfilling state of mind known as cerebral engagement. This state is characterized by devotion, absorption, and vitality. The response, which was behavioural the term" engagement" describes the ongoing, visible relations that stoners have with thee- commerce platform because of their positive perceptions of the platform and their relations with the AI rudiments that are there (Luetta., 2019). Literature on AI operations and IT capabilities in information system disquisition is consulted in this study. Also, by using the scale, we created a check instrument to measure guests' satisfaction with AI capabilities and their stations about consumer engagement. development morals set up in the literature on operation information systems (Mackenzie Tal., 2011). This is how the rest of the composition is structured. The literature on the S- OR model, customer involvement, and the history of thee- commerce platforms used for the study is curtly introduced in the following section. Next, the study's abstract frame, hypotheticals, and explanations for the AI constructs are established. The process is also described, and initially, the analysis's outgrowth and interpretation. In conclusion, we go over the results and point out the implications, constraints, and future disquisition directions of the work.

Proposed Marketing Strategy to Improve Customer Loyalty of Brand XYZ

This research aims to provide strategies to increase customer loyalty from brand XYZ. This research was conducted using the variables brand image, customer involvement, and customer satisfaction. Internal analysis using Marketing Mix, STP, and VRIO as well as external analysis, namely PESTLE, Porter's Five Forces, Competitor Analysis, and Customer Analysis in this research are used to find out what the internal and external conditions of brand XYZ are. In this research, primary data and secondary data are used to support the analysis to be carried out. The primary data used was obtained from interviews with brand XYZ, as well as questionnaire surveys distributed to brand XYZ customers which will then be processed using Structural Equation Modeling Partial Least Square (SEM PLS). Secondary data is used in this research to support analysis in the form of theory from sources relevant to this research. The results of internal and external analysis as well as the results of the hypothesis in this research are that brand image and customer engagement have a significant and positive influence on customer loyalty, but customer satisfaction does not have a significant influence on customer loyalty. Based on the results of the analysis that has been carried out, a marketing strategy recommended by the author to increasing customer loyalty.

Internationalization Development Strategies of Applied Local Undergraduate Colleges and Universities Based on Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence Customer Research

In an era of globalization and rapid technological advancement, internationalization has become a vital requirement for higher education institutions around the world. This research investigates the efficacy of incorporating virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into internationalization initiatives for applied local undergraduate institutions and universities. A multistep technique was used, which included market research, immersive customer involvement, content production, and strategic collaborations. A pilot study of 200 prospective international students looked at the influence of VR and AI-based initiatives on key recruitment indicators like application and conversion rates. The results demonstrated significant gains in both application rates and conversion rates in the experimental group compared to the control group, demonstrating the transformative potential of immersive technology and data-driven engagement approaches in higher education recruitment and retention efforts. Furthermore, increases in engagement time and satisfaction scores demonstrated the beneficial effects of VR and AI technology on student engagement and contentment. This study adds to the expanding body of literature on the interface of technology and international education, providing useful insights for institutions looking to increase their worldwide reach and competitiveness. However, further study is needed to investigate the long-term effectiveness and scalability of VR and AI-based projects in higher education internationalization. Overall, this study indicates the potential for VR and AI technology to transform internationalization policies and build a more inclusive and integrated learning environment in higher education.

Consumers of different generations towards innovative technologies in customer service in retail


 
 
 The aim of the paper is to identify the importance of innovative technologies used in retail during the pandemic for consumers and the willingness of different generations of consumers to use these solutions in the future. The article was prepared on the basis of the literature on the subject, research reports, websites of companies preparing or implementing modern technologies in retail, and the results of direct research conducted in 2022 using the online survey technique among 1,100 consumers.
 The paper presents the issues related to the possibility of using modern technologies in the customer service process, specifically those that allow for even greater customer involvement in the purchasing process and increase their independence and self-service. A special emphasis was given to the self-service store, currently considered one of the greatest achievements (“milestones”) in brick-and-mortar retail trade, which is crucial for the issues presented. The paper shows the results of direct research on selected elements of purchasing behavior of different generations of consumers that are related to the use of innovative solutions in retail trade and intentions to use these solutions in the future.
 
 

Addressing Environmental Challenges in Technology Adoption within the Digital Supply Chain of Readymade Garments

The study aims to investigate the challenges of technology adoption in the Digital Supply Chain (DSC) of the Readymade Garment (RMG) business, focusing on environmental barriers. The study utilizes the T-O-E framework to examine a sample of 380 participants, consisting of owners and top managers from RMG facilities. The data is analyzed using PLS-SEM Modeling with the aid of SmartPLS4 software. It examines the complex interrelationships between competitive pressure, consumer, external support, stakeholder networks, environmental concerns, and technology adoption within the digital supply chain of the RMG industry. The technology adoption is substantially influenced by environmental conditions, particularly regarding the alignment with customers. The analysis of mediation sheds light on the significance of the environment in both partial and complete mediation, as it exerts influence on competitive pressures, customer involvement, external support, and stakeholder networks. Comprehending this interrelationship is crucial for making well-informed business and policy formulation decisions. organizations must incorporate environmental factors into their strategic decision-making processes, ensuring sustainable technologies are adopted. Policymakers can employ these findings to implement environmentally sustainable policies, promoting innovation within the RMG sector. These measures guarantee the long-term viability of the industry and promote ecological accountability.

Assessing the drivers and capabilities for faster product launch: a scale for time‐to‐market reduction in start‐ups

The acceleration of new product development (NPD) and market introduction is essential for companies to maintain competitiveness, enhance customer base, and achieve financial success. While the existing literature addresses time‐to‐market (TTM) reduction factors in a scattered manner, focusing on aspects like supplier and customer involvement, leadership, and learning, there is a noticeable gap in construct development and measurement validation for TTM reduction, particularly in start‐up contexts. Addressing this gap, our research introduces and validates a comprehensive, hierarchical scale designed to measure both the drivers and capabilities associated with TTM reduction in start‐ups. This innovative scale broadens the scope of traditional constructs, incorporating emerging dimensions such as transformational leadership, experiential learning, agile methodologies, and dynamic marketing strategies. We used our dataset and structural equation modeling (SEM) to validate the proposed scale, comparing the effect of drivers and capabilities on TTM reduction and the role of companies' age on this relationship. This approach confirms the scale's reliability and highlights its versatility. This research holds significant implications for enhancing NPD endeavors in start‐up environments. Introducing a methodologically robust scale equips managers with a powerful tool for setting realistic goals, monitoring progress, and assessing capabilities and contextual factors to refine NPD processes. Furthermore, the scale serves as a benchmarking instrument for start‐ups, aiding them in attracting investments and achieving a competitive advantage. Our study, therefore, stands as an essential contribution to the strategic management of NPD in the dynamic and evolving landscape of start‐ups.