Marketing Decisions Research Articles

A study on the effect of user experience of fitness APP on product trust and purchase intention

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to take fitness APP users as the research object from the perspective of user experience to explore the influence of fitness APP user experience factors on product trust and purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach - The study collected data on 275 customers who had experience buying and using fitness apps. To test the hypothesis, SPSS 27.0 and AMOS 26.0 statistical packages were used based on the collected data. Findings - The results showed that the user experience factors (usefulness, ease to use, enjoyment, interaction) of fitness APP and the relationship between product trust had a positive effect, and product trust had a positive effect on purchase intention. In addition, exercise experience, showed a moderating effect in the relationship between the usefulness, easy to use of user experience and product trust. Research implications or Originality - This study provided research model among user experience factors of fitness APP, product trust and purchase intention. This study can help sports and fitness companies with product optimization and marketing decisions.

A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS ON CRYPTOCURRENCY AND BEHAVIOURAL FINANCE

The cryptocurrency market has received much interest in the media and academia because of its large price fluctuations since the beginning of 2013. By looking into the impact of behavioral finance elements on investing decisions in the cryptocurrency market, investors who invest in the cryptocurrency market will be able to make better decisions. Based on studies on its principal currency, the 18th of December 2017 has been designated as the peak date of the cryptocurrency market's greatest bubble. A bibliometric approach by means of quantitative analytical methods was applied to discover the relationship between the keywords associated with cryptocurrency and behavioral finance. Articles were extracted from the Scopus database that was published between 2018 and 2021. Publication Year, nation, area of research, journal, authors, and organizational affiliations were all examined in the extracted records. The VOSviewer application was used to visualise relation between both the research themes. Analysis of 102 review and original articles exposed that the total number of publications has incessantly increased over the last 4 years. This study examines the countries that contribute more publications in the selected field of research. The current study uses bibliometric approaches to evaluate cryptocurrency research and highlighted current trends in the interaction between cryptocurrencies and behavioural finance using several metrics, as well as prospective future research hot spots in this sector.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN THE RETAIL INDUSTRY: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ON BENEFITS, CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES

İnternetin yaygın olarak kullanılması ve kullanıcılarının sosyal ağlara ilgisi, işletmelerin pazarlama yaklaşımlarını, geleneksel yöntemlerden çevrimiçi yöntemlere doğru yöneltmiş ve sosyal medya pazarlamasının doğmasına neden olmuştur. Sosyal medya, içeriğe katkıda bulunmaya, içeriği paylaşmaya ve iki yönlü iletişime imkân sağlayarak, müşterileri pasif izleyicilerden aktif katılımcılara dönüştürmüş ve müşterilerin ürün/hizmetleri arama, seçme ve satın alma davranışlarında büyük değişimler yaratmıştır. Sosyal medya pazarlaması, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn vb. sosyal medya siteleri aracılığıyla işletmelerin yaptığı tüm pazarlama faaliyetlerine odaklanmaktadır ve işletmelere marka bağlılığı, marka bilinirliği, satışları arttırma ve en uygun maliyetle daha fazla müşteriye ulaşma gibi birçok fayda sağlamaktadır. Bu çalışma, sosyal medya pazarlamayla ilgili geniş bir kavramsal çerçeve oluşturmaya odaklanmaktadır. Ayrıca çalışma, perakende sektöründe sosyal medya pazarlamasının avantajlarını, zorluklarını ve stratejilerini inceleyerek ilgili pazarlama kararlarını alırken işletme yöneticilerine ve pazarlama uzmanlarına yardımcı olmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Investor psychology in the stock market: An empirical study of the impact of overconfidence on firm valuation

Behavioral theories suggest that overconfident investors overestimate the quality of their information and underestimate risk. They have a high demand for risky assets and require a lower risk premium, causing asset prices to rise and leading to overvaluation. We investigate how overconfidence affects firm valuation in Saudi Arabia's emerging stock market. We used 4004 firm-quarter observations. To ensure that our results are robust to unobserved firm-specific heterogeneity and endogeneity issues, we used the fixed-effects panel data model and the dynamic panel data model. The findings show that overconfidence positively and significantly affects firm valuation. Results remain robust when using various overconfidence proxies and when replacing the different econometric models. This study has important implications for academics, investors, and regulators. Hopefully, it will make investors more aware of the impact of their psychology on asset pricing; thus, increasing the rationality of their stock market decision making for improved market efficiency.

Day-ahead joint clearing model of electric energy and reserve auxiliary service considering flexible load

With the increasing of renewable energy penetration, adequate reserve capacity is more important to modern power system facing with various uncertain factors. Mobilizing the enthusiasm of units and demand response to participate in reserve auxiliary service can reduce the reserve providing pressure of conventional power supplies, which is conducive to the reliable and economical operation of system. The uncertain factors such as system random failure, prediction error of both load and renewable energy output are considered, and taking unit reserve, demand response such as flexible loads as system reserve resources, this paper establishes the risk cost models to optimize system up and down reserve requirement and make optimal allocation among units and flexible loads. A joint market clearing model of day-ahead electric energy and reserve auxiliary service is established in which both the units and flexible loads participate, and is solved by the robust optimization theory. The joint market clearing model takes the reliability and the economy of the system operation into account, and optimizes the clearing scheme for market decision makers, which can provide a decision reference for the market to resist the risk of uncertainty. Finally, the effectiveness of the model and method proposed in this paper is verified by a modified 10-machine 39-bus simulation example system.

Green marketing orientation impact on business performance: Case of pharmaceutical industry of Pakistan.

This study is based on the natural resource based view, which examines the impact of holistic marketing orientation on business performance (BP) by defining the role of enablers and mediators. The drivers, including corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental culture (EC) influence, are tested by analyzing the role of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) as a mediator. The analysis is based on 298 samples collected from top and middle-level managers working in the pharmaceutical industry. Structural equation modeling was undertaken using Smart PLS 3.2.8. The research outcomes reveal that corporate social responsibility and environmental culture have a substantial impact on green marketing orientation (GMO). The results show that GMO has a significant direct and indirect impact on business performance while a full mediation of sustainable competitive advantage exists between the green marketing orientation and business performance. The outcomes will facilitate managers in green marketing strategy and decision making in the long-term, with 3-fold benefits in addition to strengthening their competitiveness.

What do women like? A quantitative study of the female behavior of sparkling wines consumers

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the purchase process of the sparkling wines female consumers, in order to understand the variables that influence the purchase process of this product. The consumer behavior in the purchase decision process is one important topic of the marketing studies, to the extent that it helps to explain how decisions are made and what elements determine them, it can support strategic marketing decisions. The importance of gender segmentation has been highlighted in several studies; in addition, women have made most purchases and their influence in purchase decision has been highlighted. This study uses data from a survey carried out on a representative sample of 1,003 female consumers from Brazil. It was used a five levels Likert scale; Independent tests and correspondence analyses were performed. The study could identify the five main factors influencing the choice. Also, the results contribute to elucidate points such as confidence to choose and consumption occasions and contexts.

85 Automated Walk-Over Weighing System: Methods to Track Daily Body Mass and Growth in Grazing Steers

Abstract Body weight (BW) is a critical component for monitoring animal weight gain, body condition, nutritional status. Remote animal weighing systems facilitate frequent collection of animal BW, however, datasets often contain spurious data. The objective of this study was to describe the utility of using a remote Walk-over-Weigh system and subsequent methods for data cleaning. Beef steers (n = 10) were tagged with Electronic RFID tags (EID) in an improved pasture (~12.1 hectares) containing Bermuda and Tall Fescue and inter-seeded with Annual Ryegrass and grazed from Feb. – Dec. 2020. Static chute weights (n = 80) were collected monthly, and a WOW system placed by the water to remotely collect BW (n = 5,466). Data were first loaded into Program R and scanned for spurious data using each of 2 primary approaches, 1) the whole herd and individual means ± 1 standard deviation (SD) calculated daily or over the entire trial and 2) each of 3 data smoothing algorithms, which included a quadratic growth model, cubic splines, and polynomial regression. Then, data with spurious observations removed were paired with static chute weights and fitted to a linear model to measure accuracy (mean bias) and precision (R2) of WOW data. Whole herd mean ± 1SD and individual daily mean ± 1SD identified 1,204 and 1,516 spurious data, with mean bias of -12.46 and -15.37 KG and R2 of 0.90 and 0.68, respectively. Smoothing functions identified 1,707, 4,684, and 4,776 spurious points, with a mean bias of 13.61, -19.78, and 12.58 KG, and R2 of 0.94, 0.70, and 0.87 for quadratic growth models, cubic splines, and polynomial regression, respectively. These results indicate the utility of using a simple WOW system to collect data for measuring growth curves and using weight data in a real-time fashion to make management and marketing decisions.

Classical approach to the theory of marketing research during the predigital economy

The aim of the article. The purpose of the article is to generalize classical approaches to the theory of marketing research, systematize the stages of development of scientific thought according to marketing research and the corresponding methodological basis, develop a typology of the goals of marketing research, provide relevant methods of marketing research, and propose a classification of marketing research in the period of the pre-digital economy. The results of the analyses. Methods of marketing research use methods, procedures and operations of theoretical and practical research, empirical research, analysis of the marketing environment of enterprises. Conducting marketing research contributes to reducing the level of information asymmetry. First, due to the enterprise obtaining reliable information about the parameters of the external market environment: the size and structure of current and future market demand, the possible production volumes of competitors, the market situation, trends in the development of the industry and scientific and technical policy in the industry, the political and economic situation, conditions competition. This is due to increasing the effectiveness of communication activities, which is one of the objects of research. Conclusions and perspectives for further research. With scientific thought, a wide range of arguments, definitions and classifications has been developed on issues, methods of conducting and results of marketing research, technology of making marketing decisions; identifying marketing opportunities and solving marketing problems. The results of marketing research are determined by research goals and are formed in a form that depends on the type of research: search, descriptive, experimental, innovative. Marketing research methods have multiple classifications depending on a wide range of features. The paper systematizes the stages of the development of scientific thought regarding marketing research and the corresponding methodological basis, the goals of marketing research and the methods of marketing research corresponding to them, a classification of marketing research is proposed based on the generalization of existing approaches. In further developments in this direction, it is planned to modernize the theoretical foundation of marketing research in the conditions of the digital economy.

Portfolio Construction Based on Bigdata Analysis in Terms of Minimum Variance Model

Contemporarily, A-share market keeps being in a trough, hence investors (especially the retail investors) seek ways to expand profit and reduce loss when speculating in stock market, but sometimes fail because of the lack of knowledge in investment. To remedy this problem, this paper introduces a complete process from the concepts of bigdata analysis to figure out investment decisions, including evaluating single stocks and choosing stocks to construct portfolios. The objectives of portfolio construction used in this paper are minimum variance and maximum Sharpe Ratio. The whole article presents an example of making investment decisions in A-share market. In the particular situation, two best portfolios which minimizes variance and maximizes Sharpe Ratio respectively are constructed among the training of abundant data capacity. It is also observed that with different goal of investment the best choice for investors could be greatly different. Investment strategy given in this paper may be helpful for investors, which offers a guideline for constructing portfolio under some objectives.

The influence of firms’ social relationship with customers on online retail channel

Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and WeChat have become a distribution channel for market campaigning. Is it a sustainable channel which could provide support for firms' marketing decisions? To boost sales, firms have begun to adopt social media to provide an information service for customers. Considering the impact of the relationships between customers, manufacturers, and retailers, it is still unclear who should offer an information service on how to make optimal marketing decisions. Using the Stackelberg game theoretical model, two scenarios are considered, in which the manufacturer and the retailer solely provide the information service. After comparing the firms’ pricing strategy and the information service provision strategy and profit of the two scenarios, the study finds: first, the better information service the firms offer, the more potential customers will be attracted; second, firms are willing to offer a better information service if the customers have a strong social relationship on social media; third, it is unnecessary for the manufacturer to raise the wholesale price if the retailer provides the information service; fourth, manufacturers or retailers would like to obtain “free riding” – the one who provides the information service will benefit less from it than the one who does not; and finally, the whole online retail channel is better off if the one with stronger social relationship offers the information service.

Price Competition, Experiential Quality and Online Marketing Decisions of a Tourism Supply Chain

ABSTRACT This study examines the price competition, experiential quality and online marketing decisions of a tourism supply chain, consisting of a tourism operator and two online retailers. The equilibrium solutions and the conditions for unique optimal solutions are derived in three supply chain strategies. This study also investigates performance improvement measures, including the operator’s involvement in online marketing and online reviews for quality improvement. An experimental analysis is conducted to compare supply chain performance and provide tourism managerial insights. The investigation provides a reference for tourism policies that could assist in improving experiential quality and operation performance.

A dynamic analysis of wine pricing in Argentina

Purpose The purpose of the study is to investigate micro determinants for dynamic wine pricing in Argentina. We test whether attributes and time affect the price rate of change. The rate of change is selected given the inflationary context of the country. The analysis provides valuable information for wine marketing decisions. Design/methodology/approach The modeling approach relies on panel data analysis for exploiting the data cross-section and time dimension. The contribution explores a massive price dataset at a weekly frequency. The dependent variable is the weekly price variation rate for product/wine and covariates are attributes, time and nominal variables. Given that endogeneity issues arose, the estimations rely on a two-stage least squares and instrumental variables with cluster-robust errors. Findings Estimations show that attributes, time and cost variables are statistically significant, with clear seasonal patterns and quality segmentation affecting pricing: wines made out of specific grapes such as Chenin, Merlot and Seedling or composing a broad category such as red wine, exhibit price undershooting (price rate of change below average). On the other hand, wines out of grapes such as Bonarda, Margaux, Mistela, Moscatel, Oporto, Tannat and Sauvignon Blanc show price overshooting (rate of change above average). In summary, wine made from determined grapes and specific wineries show divergent pricing. Research limitations/implications Covariates such as alcohol content, label descriptor information, winery history, substitute competition and vintage, among others, have not been considered given that the research analyzes more than 750 wine products. Another limitation is that the work does not explore many time-series covariates, such as promotions and idiosyncratic shocks. Practical implications The contribution presents new information on wine pricing patterns affected by weeks, months and years, including the effect of the prolonged 2020 Argentine lockdown. It also analyzes estimations on pricing at the level of grape/blend and wineries previously unknown in this market. The information can influence inventory decisions on the side of the sellers and purchase decisions on the side of consumers. Social implications The analysis includes fine but also low-cost wines that form part of the diet of low-income families in the country. The work detects a divergent pattern in pricing divided by the quality/price of the wine. It also presents information on price timing that may help consumers in the best moment to buy. Originality/value The contribution analyzes unprecedented information on weekly wine prices and presents evidence of pricing tactics from a point-of-sale perspective: It identifies different adjustment speeds related to product features and time effects.

Application of Virtual Network Mapping Algorithm Based on Optimal Subnet in Enterprise Cost Accounting Platform

The price of the product has a great impact on the market competitiveness of the product. The manager can adjust the operation strategy according to the cost information of the product, cut costs, adjust the market decision and make the product more competitive in the market. Therefore, the research of product costing method has a very important significance. Considering that the physical resources in the processing of the virtual network mapping (VNM) fragment embedded in the request are rejected, and the problem of physical resource usage is weakened, a VNM algorithm based on the optimal subnet edge matching algorithm is proposed. After the VNM request is coarsened to the subnet, the breadth-first search algorithm is used to create the physical subnet candidate set, and the constraints of the virtual node and the coarsening network topology are complied with. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm reduces the number of link mapping hops and can improve the acceptance rate and cost-benefit ratio of virtual networks. First of all, this paper analyzes the research background of manufacturing cost calculation and the research situation at home and abroad, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of standard cost calculation and studies and analyzes the principles, advantages and disadvantages of standard cost calculation in daily business activities. Second, design a new mathematical accounting model based on the mathematical model of standard cost calculation in daily business activities. This combines the advantages of standard costing and time-based activity costing, and provides theoretical support for manufacturing companies to use this accounting method. Finally, the research results of this paper are summarized, and the shortcomings of this paper are analyzed. Cost accounting method needs to be further studied.

Modeling the Microgrid Operator Participation in Day-Ahead Energy and Reserve Markets Considering Stochastic Decisions in the Real-Time Market

The penetration of the distributed energy resources in the distribution networks is facilitated by the structure of the microgrids (MGs). The MG operator (MGO) can schedule the MG resources to meet the local load and participate in the wholesale markets. In this article, a new model is developed for the MGO participation in the day-ahead (DA) (energy and reserve) and the real-time (RT) energy markets under uncertainties. For this purpose, the effect of the uncertainties of demand and generation from renewable energy sources on the MGO decisions is represented in a two-stage stochastic model. The MGO bids in the DA and RT markets are modeled as the first and the second stage decisions, respectively. Moreover, the information gap decision theory method is used to model the behavior of the MGO to address the uncertainties of the RT energy market price and the probability of calling the reserve. The results show that as the RT price uncertainty radius increases, the energy sold to the RT market decreases/increases in the risk-averse/risk-taker strategy. Furthermore, to manage the uncertainty related to the probability of calling the reserve, the reserve capacity provided by the MGO in the risk-averse and the risk-taker strategies decreases and increases, respectively.

An Empirical Analysis of a Stock Market Index of a Developing Country: Case of the Main Index of the Casablanca Stock Exchange MASI

Purpose: Managing stock market risk and making an optimal investment decision in a stock market requires study- ing the dynamics of this market and analyzing the fluctuations of its benchmark index in order to avoid heavy damage in the event of crises. This paper aims to study and analyze the fluctuations of the main index of the Casablanca Stock Exchange "MASI" to explore its efficiency and stability in the normal financial context (especially before the recent pandemic crisis). Design/methodology/approach: To carry out this study, two methods are proposed, the first one, how evolves this index over time depending on some random data generation processes widely used for stock prices: A Random Walk with a drift RW(α) and an autoregressive process of order 1 AR(1). Based on the actual MASI returns series used (2007-2018), we estimate each equation parameter according to the process chosen to generate the artificial MASI returns series to know the most relevant data generation process in the case of The Moroccan financial market. The second method focuses on the technique of "simple moving average" as a method of stock prices fluctuation analysis to make its investment decision, choosing the proper order on the same series. Findings: The results and findings of our econometric study show, in the first method, that either the RW(α) or the AR(1) process cannot adequately model MASI fluctuation. However, the results of the second method affirm the utility of the simple moving average to identify trends, their strength and buy / sell signals, using some techniques known in this field, in order to make decisions and draw interpretations in investment terms and risk management, which can prove that the market is less efficient and stable. Research limitations/implications: An important implication of this study is the need to explore the efficient models to describe the MASI return series. Originality/value: This study offers empirical evidence in relation to the estimation of the econometric model to describe MASI and how to make adequate investment decisions in the Moroccan stock market. Moreover, contributes to future research to find other more appropriate models.

Regional Renewable Energy Installation Optimization Strategies with Renewable Portfolio Standards in China

In this paper, we provide theoretical and policy support for quota-allocation strategies based on a national unified renewable energy (RE) power market. Renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) are of great significance in promoting the stable development of renewable energy and improving power market decision making in China’s power industry. To resolve the geographical, resource allocation, and power-grid problems of multi-regional RE power generation, we constructed a regional distribution optimization model with the lowest cost under the RPS policy and designed a set of dynamic distribution mechanisms based on the renewable energy power quota index. The results show that it is necessary to prioritize development of wind-generated power on the North China and Northeast Power Grids, solar energy on the Northwest Power Grid, and biomass energy generation on grids in other regions to plan specific task undertakings and allocate RE power generation to each grid. We propose a multi-regional power distribution model at the lowest cost under the RPS policy to provide solutions and references for renewable energy power market quota allocation.

Distinguishing the most valuable consumers in social commerce using graphical evaluation and review technique – in the view of incentives

PurposeThe incentive cost of enterprises increases significantly with the rapid growth of the social commerce (SC) market. In this context, enterprises need to develop the optimal strategy to improve incentive effectiveness and reduce cost. Different types of consumers’ responses to incentives bring different values to enterprises. Hence, this paper proposes the social commerce value network (SCVN) to help enterprises study the contributions of different types of consumers to the network.Design/methodology/approachBased on the graphical evaluation and review technique (GERT), the authors construct the social commerce value GERT (i.e. SCV-GERT) network and design three progressive experiments for estimating the value contributions of “network stage”, “consumer type”, and “resource type” to the SCVN under the same incentives. The authors initialize the SCV-GERT model with consumer data in SC and distinguish the most valuable consumers by adjusting the incentive parameters.FindingsThe results show that the SCV-GERT model can well describe the value flow of SCVN. The incentive on forwarding consumers brings the greatest value gain to the SCVN, and social trust contributes the most to forwarding consumers.Practical implicationsUnder the guidance of the results, platforms and enterprises in SC can select the optimal type of consumers who bring the maximum network value so as to improve the effectiveness of incentive strategy and reduce marketing costs. A four-level incentive system should be established according to the ranking of the corresponding value gains: forwarding consumers > agent consumers > commenting consumers > potential consumers. Enterprises also need to find ways to improve the social resource investments of consumers participating in SC.Originality/valueThis paper investigates the incentive problem in SC grounded in the SCVN and uses the GERT method to construct the SCV-GERT model, which is the first attempt to introduce GERT into the SC context. This study also makes up for the lack of comparative research on different types of consumers in SC and can provide support for enterprises’ customer relationship management and marketing decisions.

Relationship Marketing and Customer Purchase Decision of Insurance in Lagos State, Nigeria

The purchasing behavior of the nation’s insuring public determines the performance of the risk management and investment functions of insurance service, and its overall contribution to the development of the economy. In Nigeria, the contribution of insurance to the nation’s GDP is extremely low at 0.4% as majority of the population live without insurance protection. The low level of customer’s patronage may be attributed to inadequate application of relationship marketing factors. This study examined the influence of relationship marketing dimensions of customer awareness, customer trust, customer service quality, product innovation and customization, and customer satisfaction on customer purchase decision of Insurance in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study adopted a survey research design. The population of study consisted of 375,000 estimated consumers of insurance service in Lagos State, Nigeria. A sample size of 1,650 consumers were drawn from selected Local Government Areas of Lagos State through non-probability sampling technique. A questionnaire titled relationship marketing and market penetration of insurance was adapted and validated. The Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient for the constructs ranged between 0.76 and 0.90. A total of 1,650 copies of the questionnaire were administered, with a response rate of 80%. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential (multiple linear regression analysis) statistics. Findings revealed that relationship marketing had significant effect on customer purchase decision of Insurance (Adj. R2 = 0.420; F (5, 1306) = 190.773, p<0.05). Significant positive relationships were also found between some of the relationship marketing constructs and customer purchase decision of insurance. The study concluded that relationship marketing dimensions of customer awareness, customer trust, customer service quality, product innovation and customization, and customer satisfaction are significant predictors of customer purchase decision of insurance in Lagos State, Nigeria. Thus, to influence customer purchase decision of insurance, the adoption of relationship marketing is highly recommended. Keywords: Relationship Marketing, Customer Awareness, Customer Trust Customer Service Quality

A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of Garnier Green Beauty Advertisement

This study investigates how a multinational cosmetic company uses its advertising to promote green cosmetics in Indonesia. Using Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA), the study analyzes how Garnier utilized linguistics features and discourse strategies and positioned their customers in the Garnier Green Beauty advertisement. The analysis revealed that Garnier employed some linguistic features (e.g., positive adjectives, pronouns, repetitions, etc.) and scientific-sounding words as a discourse strategy in the advertisement. It was also found that Garnier made a deliberate marketing decision to employ advertising, positioning their customer as empowered actors to create socio-environmental change. The findings also discuss the features distinguishing green cosmetics advertisements from typical ones.