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With national data from tourists who reside in Spain, this article researches antecedents of tourist autonomy in trip planning, including both tourists’ characteristics and details of their trips. The results indicate positive relationships of tourists’ educational background and their travel experience with autonomy but negative relationships of trip length with autonomy. These data from Spain also highlight the role of the last global economic crisis, revealing its moderating influence on the relationships among several of the antecedent factors and autonomy. These results in turn have relevant managerial implications for tourism operators.

En este trabajo se presenta una nueva propuesta docente para las clases de dibujo técnico (expresión gráfica), en la que se incorpora el “Proceso de Diseño” al aula. Se ha trabajado la metodología de forma experimental, a través de un seminario-taller con un grupo de estudiantes del Máster en Profesorado de Educación Secundaria (especialidad en “Dibujo, Imagen y Artes Plásticas”) de la Universidad de Almería (España). El objetivo es brindar al futuro profesorado perspectivas y herramientas alternativas que proyecten un mayor dinamismo a la enseñanza-aprendizaje de la materia. El seminario se desarrolló siguiendo un planteamiento de co-participación (docente-alumnado). Además, inicialmente se reflexionó sobre el concepto de diseño y sus dificultades para abordar su definición. Con respecto al análisis de la experiencia, se han relacionado diferentes procedimientos metodológicos: índice NPS (Net Promoter Score), escala Likert de 0-10 puntos y estadísticos descriptivos. Los hallazgos obtenidos apuntan a que el enfoque metodológico propuesto es útil para el futuro profesorado de la asignatura de dibujo técnico, y favorece el desarrollo de la creatividad entre el alumnado. Esta propuesta podría inscribirse dentro de la incipiente filosofía educativa “STEAM”, interrelacionando diferentes disciplinas profesionales, como por ejemplo la ingeniería, el arte y el diseño.

Value co-creation with customers has emerged as a relevant topic at both academic and managerial level. Considering the positive outcomes derived from value co-creation, firms should learn how to properly manage this process which requires active customer involvement and this paper demonstrates that the level of customer participation (CP) depends to a large extent on their perception of how the hotel favours the process of value co-creation (CcV). Our model also proves the customer perception of the hotel's process of value co-creation has a positive impact on the hotel's brand equity (BE) whereas customer participation positively affects the customer's perceived value (PV). Additionally, both brand equity and perceived value are positively linked with customer satisfaction (CS). The findings indicate the moderating effect of customers' prior experience with the hotel chain in reference to some of the relationships considered (CcV→BE→CS and PV→CS).

Online peer-to-peer platforms empower individual users and facilitate value-oriented exchanges. Personal profiles are the main point of contact with consumers on these platforms. Although individual sellers can use these profiles to market their own products, the optimal communication strategies that maximize their revenues remain uncertain. In line with construal-level theory, a self-presentation strategy that reduces social distance might increase sellers’ revenues. An empirical validation, based on 6,074 Airbnb listings, affirms that self-presentation that evokes social values leads to higher revenues. The length of the self-presentation also exerts a notable impact. Specifically, an inverted U-shaped effect on revenues reaches its peak at 424 words. This research has rich managerial implications, in that it demonstrates how sellers on peer-to-peer platforms can increase their revenues simply by emphasizing social values in their self-presentations.

Product quality is a key determinant of a firm’s competitiveness, though previous literature lacks a clear definition of product quality for organic markets. This study proposes a new model that highlights consumers’ perceptions of specific organic product attributes: environmental protection, health, and hedonic aspects. Quality assessments based on these three perceptions depend on other factors too, such as the product category and the cognitive style consumers use to process information. A study with 209 respondents offers empirical evidence that environmental protection, health and hedonic perception positively affect quality perception and that the effect of perceptions of environmental protection on perceived quality is greater for organic products in a virtue category (e.g., yogurt) than a vice category (e.g., chocolate). Hedonic perceptions also have a greater impact on perceived quality when consumers are intuitive versus analytical. These findings suggest some important theoretical and managerial implications.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to address the potential impact of need for touch (NFT) on perceived product quality and the possible roles of purchasers’ social (subjective norms), personal (buying impulsiveness) and epistemic (e-commerce orientation) factors, as well as the likely interaction effect of the shopping channel.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical study is based on 540 observations, analysed in a partial least squares structural equation model.FindingsThe link between the NFT and perceived quality tends to be negative, especially for online purchases. E-commerce orientation reduces the need to touch products, but subjective norms and buying impulsiveness have no significant effects.Research limitations/implicationsThe NFT scale might be improved by adding more items. Some of the structural model coefficients indicate a low effect size. Finally, the results are limited to Spanish purchasers of the focal product.Practical implicationsFirms should appeal to purchasers’ e-commerce orientation to reduce the negative implications of a need to touch products among consumers shopping online.Originality/valueThe need to touch a product may be an obstacle to online purchases, yet few studies deal with its impact in online, relative to offline, contexts to evaluate product quality. This study also integrates personal, social and epistemic factors.

Xylotrechus arvicola is a pest of grape in some vine-producing regions of the Iberian Peninsula. Biological parameters and relationships (fecundity and percent fertility of eggs in relationship to body size) of females obtained in the laboratory and captured in vineyards were studied. In laboratory conditions, the mean developmental time of larvae ranged from 384 to 392 days and pupal stage varied between 12 to 14 days. Body size (BS) of X. arvicola females was significantly bigger than males. Fecundity was greater in the laboratory (147 eggs) than in the field (50 eggs) females, but the percent fertility of the laboratory eggs was lower (16 eggs). Laboratory females showed a bigger relationship between the production of eggs and BS than females captured in vineyards. Wild females (PDO Ribera del Duero and Tierra de Leon) had a positive relationship between the percent fertility of eggs and the BS. No correlation between the percent fertility of eggs and the BS was displayed by females captured in PDO Toro, but these females had a higher percent fertility (53 eggs) than the others PDO's. These biological parameters and relationships studied suggest that the artificial diet may lack certain essential nutrients that vine varieties can provide that favor the fertility of eggs. This explains why wild females have the potential to become a problem pest in the Tempranillo grape variety, with bilateral cordon and bush vines training systems that have the highest incidence of this cerambycid.

Tourists increasingly rely on Internet-based, autonomous resources to gather information, book, and pay for their trips; this increasing autonomy may affect their overall satisfaction. Using data about how Spanish tourists search for information and complete their bookings, this study analyzes the influence of tourist autonomy on overall satisfaction with the trip, as well as the effects of moderating characteristics related to both tourists and their trips. The results indicate a direct relationship between tourists’ autonomy and their overall satisfaction, as well as positive moderating effects of tourists’ previous travel experience and education, but negative moderating effects of trip complexity.

The bean weevil, Acanthoscelides obtectus Say (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae), causes severe post-harvest losses in the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L. The control of this insect is still poor and involves the use of conventional insecticides. There is an increasing demand in the search for new active substances and products for pest control towards reduction of adverse effects on human health and the environment. The protection of grains with alternative products, such as essential oils, is a possible alternative to meet the needs described above. Therefore, this investigation evaluated the applications of basil, Ocimum basilicum, and citronella, Cymbopogon winterianus, essential oils for A. obtectus control. These essential oils significantly reduced the bean weight losses and the number of beans damaged by A. obtectus at higher doses than 60 or 120 &mu, L/sample. The number of holes per bean did not differ between the doses of basil essential oil, not even at the dose of 60 &mu, L, while it was higher at 120 &mu, L, probably due to a lower capacity of movement of the insects treated with this dose and/or the oil&rsquo, s direct or indirect effects on the insects. Basil and citronella oils exhibited similar patterns of insecticidal activity over the insect, both directly in adult insects or indirectly over bean seeds. These essential oils affected the development of A. obtectus since the greatest doses applied on beans decreased the emergence of the bean weevil. The results prove the insecticidal capacity of the tested essential oils and hence their potential as active substances against A. obtectus in environmentally low risk pest control strategies. Supplementary trials should be conducted under real storage conditions.

What claims should companies use to improve consumer perceptions of their certified organic products and help consumers differentiate them from conventional products? This study focuses on advertising – specifically, on packaging claims that differ in their degree of explicitness and message topic. A laboratory experiment shows that a single claim positively influences perceptions of organic products, though additional claims can cancel out this positive effect. Different claims have distinct impacts on consumer perceptions. This study, thereby, reveals an effect of thematic scope: messages related to the environment have greater scope than those related to health, and they influence both environmental and health perceptions strongly.

Robert G. (Bob) Douglas, an internationally recognized micropaleontologist and marine geologist, passed away on January 26, 2016, after a long battle with cancer. During his career he pursued a diverse range of research interests, including the study of living foraminifera and modern environments, Cretaceous foraminiferal biostratigraphy, Cretaceous and modern paleoceanography and biogeography, and more. He published an extensive series of important and highly-cited articles, and he sat on a number of editorial boards and international scientific committees. Within every group that included Bob as a member, he was quickly recognized as a natural leader and a wise counselor. He was also a warm, thoughtful person with a great sense of humor and humility. A South Bay native, Bob’s interest in geology began during his childhood growing up in Palos Verdes, California. He and his brothers would hike around the Palos Verdes Peninsula, playing in the canyons, finding rocks, arrowheads and fossils, which sparked his curiosity, and ultimately lead him into a career in the Earth Sciences. He graduated from Redondo Union High School in 1955, and received his bachelor’s degree in Geology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1959. After graduating from UCSB, Bob worked as a geologist in Shell Oil’s Alaska Division before earning his PhD from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1966. At UCLA, Bob was part of the first group of graduate students working under the guidance of his PhD supervisor at UCLA, Helen N. Tappan. There Bob participated in seminars on micropaleontology and marine geology and in field trips to the coast that inspired his later work. Helen and her husband Alfred R. Loeblich Jr., who at the time was a chief scientist for oil exploration at Chevron Research Lab in La Habra, California, and …

Acanthoscelides obtectus is an insect pest feeding on common beans Phaseolus vulgaris. Three strains of Trichoderma harzianum and one strain of Trichoderma citrinoviride were sprayed on insect adults and Phaseolus vulgaris L. beans in order to investigate the efficiency of the fungi in combating Acanthoscelides obtectus insect pest. The strains E20, T34, and T019 exhibited high virulence on adults. Spores of T34 isolate were more attractant for both sexes and showed a higher mortality rate on insects in contact with treated beans than the other strains. Treated beans showed a lower weight loss compared to the untreated ones. T019 and T008 treatments resulted in a lower weight loss of beans than the other fungal strains. Daily insect emergence was reduced in treated beans. The strain T34 accounted for the lowest daily emergence of insects. T008, T019, and E20 exhibited the capacity to repel insects, which resulted in a reduction of damaged beans as well as a lower number of holes per bean. Trichoderma strains were re-isolated from insects’ cadavers extracted from treated beans. Regarding these results, T34 strain could be used in the control of A. obtectus adults due to its high lethal effect. Additionally, T008 and T019 strains, showing good results in terms of insecticidal activity, insect repellency, reduction of damaged beans and lower weight loss of beans, could also be used for the biological control of A. obtectus.

This paper details the process of generating the 2017 Land Use/Land Cover Map of Catalonia (MUCSC) using automatic classification of satellite imagery and auxiliary cartographic and remote sensing data. A total of 60 images (6 dates for each of the 10 tiles covering Catalonia) captured by the Sentininel-2A and Sentinel-2B satellites were used. These images as well as texture variables, terrain models derived from lidar processing, and vegetation and wetness indices were classified using the k-Nearest Neighbor algorithm (kNN) to obtain a map with 25 categories. The categories related to urbanized areas (urban areas, urbanizations and industrial zones/ commercial areas), road infrastructures and burned areas were edited using official cartographic datasets of the Catalan Government [Generalitat]. The results have an overall accuracy greater than 98 %, which was evaluated with a set of more than 8.6 million independent test pixels. This work represents an important milestone in terms of the computational effort it involves due to the territorial extension (32 000 km2), the spatial detail of between 2 and 20 m, the use of up to 58 variables, the relative completeness of the legend and the level of success achieved. The MUCSC 2017, which is part of a 30-year quinquennial series beginning in 1987, can be downloaded in different formats (also in MMZX: new ISO 19165-2) and at resolutions of 10 m and 30 m pixel side from the Ministry of Territory and Sustainability website of the Catalan Government.

Resumen basado en el de la publicación Título, resumen y palabras clave también en inglés Desarrollado en el marco de un proyecto de innovación educativa para la adaptación de la Universidad de Almería al EEES, tiene como objetivo general el estudio del potencial de los entornos inmersivos 3D para la enseñanza-aprendizaje a distancia. En este sentido se ha evaluado el uso de la plataforma Second Life para complementar y reforzar las clases presenciales de la asignatura Diseño Asistido por Ordenador mediante una alternativa eficaz y ágil para la comunicación a distancia a través de la WWW, manteniendo, en la medida de lo posible, el sentimiento de pertenencia a una clase de todas las personas participantes. El estudio se llevó a cabo a lo largo de tres fases diferenciadas. En la primera, se diseñó y planificó el procedimiento para la investigación experimental. En la segunda, se llevaron a cabo las diferentes sesiones programadas en el marco del proyecto y se procedió a la obtención de las valoraciones del alumnado. En la tercera fase se adaptó y aplicó el conocido modelo de Kano para obtener una evaluación cuantitativa de la satisfacción del grupo de estudiantes tanto con la interfaz del entorno inmersivo 3D empleado como con el propio método de enseñanza síncrona a distancia. En líneas generales la respuesta del alumnado participante en relación a la componente teórica de la asignatura ha sido ampliamente positiva, inclinándose por una docencia presencial en el caso de la componente puramente práctica o aplicada. Los hallazgos obtenidos pueden ser de utilidad para el profesorado/personal investigador interesado en el diseño y recreación de aulas virtuales análogas, así como para avanzar en estrategias que promuevan de una forma efectiva la enseñanza B-Learning apoyada en entornos inmersivos 3D. ESP

This article addresses the potential of reputable brands to overcome the lack of tangibility that characterizes the process of e-commerce through an experiment-based analysis. In a sequential argument, the authors propose that (1) the brand becomes more important in online than in offline channels, as a consequence of the intangibility or lack of physical contact in online purchasing processes; (2) the limitations associated with the need for touch and the lack of access to the physical product during the buying process does not have equal importance across all product categories and (3) the role of the brand in online channels thus is more relevant if the product category is associated with a higher need for touch. The study based on the experimental design reveals that leading brands enjoy an advanta in consumers' quality assessments, regardless of the objective attributes that characterize the products. This advantage may be greater in online channels, though only for product categories for which the lack of physical contact with the product during the purchase process is an important limitation. In such cases, brand associations can compensate for intangibility during purchase.

Purpose – This article aims to seek to provide a performance measurement scale for customer relationship management (CRM) software. The CRM concept is wide, yet prior literature offers only specific approaches. This scale goes beyond specific scenarios, to cover the various perspectives on CRM and provide quantitative validation of the measures. Design/methodology/approach – This paper describes the complete process for conceptualizing and operationalizing this reflective second-order construct, including a thorough literature review, qualitative research and a quantitative study with 208 companies that have implemented CRM software. Findings – Three main, interconnected constructs emerge to measure CRM software performance: customer life cycle, firm performance and operational performance. Retention, loyalty and satisfaction indicators form the customer life-cycle dimension. Firm performance refers to market share, efficiency, product adaptation, and new product launch indicators. The operational dimension includes improvement in sales performance, marketing campaigns, customer service and analysis of customer information. Research limitations/implications – This scale guides every element involved in CRM software implementation, toward a common objective. Practical implications – The CRM scale supports CRM software industry players and firms that intend to implement CRM software. The three model constructs provide guidelines about which improvements should be noted with a CRM implementation. Social implications – This scale help the companies who intend to implement CRM software conduct their agreement with the other parts involved (consultants, software developers and the firm). Originality/value – This paper meets an identified need, namely, to provide a CRM software performance measurement scale. The huge, unique sample is exclusive and obtained from a dedicated CRM software developer.

In recent years, retailers have worked to advance store-brand strategies, leading to greater success and higher congruence with the retailer's positioning. In this new competitive context, this research aims to characterize store-brand shoppers in terms of motivation and benefits sought, as well as analyze, on the basis of congruence theory, the moderating role of a retailer's price positioning on store-brand shopper characterizations. The empirical study combines survey and household panel information related to leading retailers in Spain; the findings reveal that store-brand shoppers are motivated by their price sensitivity, whereas they are less sensitive to service quality and name brands. However, the retailer's price positioning exerts a moderating effect on shopper profiles: In less price-oriented retail chains, store-brand purchases seem motivated less by price and more by quality, brand awareness, and brand reputation. C

Summary This study establishes a theoretical framework and provides empirical evidence related to the motivations and benefits sought by store-loyal customers. From a theoretical perspective, the proposed framework distinguishes utilitarian benefits, such as monetary and time savings, from hedonic benefits, such as shopping enjoyment, innovativeness and impulsiveness. From a methodological perspective, this study suggests the appeal of considering different measures of store-loyal behaviour, particularly those based on consumers’ self-assessments, as alternatives to measures based on solely on their budget allocations. The empirical findings indicate moderate consistency between these measures; self-assessment measures are more closely related to consumers’ motivational profiles. They also indicate the greater explanatory power of motivational variables compared with socio-demographic variables for characterising store-loyal buyers. Finally, store-loyal buyers’ general profile is less price sensitive, more time and service sensitive, less concerned about entertainment and new experiences, more likely to feature planning and more brand loyal.

Firms invest considerable resources to control any of their operations that may have environmental impacts in an attempt to reduce such impacts but also generate economic value. Various studies of the basic creation or destruction of monetary value through environmental performance offer contradictory evidence. Therefore, the present study proposes a new definition of environmental management as the transformation of inputs (resources assigned) into outputs (valuable results). Both inputs and outputs should be taken into account to explain financial outcomes; further consideration should also include a third aspect, namely, ‘environmental management productivity’, which describes the relationship between the outputs and inputs of environmental management. Empirical analyses of Spanish firms with a certified environmental management system subject to the European Union's CO2 emissions trading system provide evidence that all three aspects must be considered in combination to achieve a more comprehensive view of the impact of environmental management on financial performance. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Many firms attempt to develop market-oriented attitudes and behaviors because of their presumably positive consequences for performance. A market orientation can provide the cultural basis for successful differentiation strategies focused on customer satisfaction. However, inconclusive evidence regarding the relationship between market orientation and performance demands an analysis of possible moderators. This paper therefore analyzes the moderating role of environmental characteristics in the market orientation–performance relationship. Heterogeneous methodologies and measures could explain some diversity in empirical results. Moreover, both the market orientation–performance relationship and the moderating effects of environment dynamism, turbulence, hostility, and complexity may depend on more general characteristics of the environment. A complete diagnostic of the moderating effect of the environment must analyze phenomena in different socioeconomic and political–regulatory contexts. Therefore, the authors (1) analyze the moderating role of environmental dynamism and competitive intensity; (2) consider a broad range of performance measures, distinguished as effectiveness, efficiency, and adaptability measures and as financial and operational measures; and (3) focus on a priority 1 region of the European Union, characterized by small and medium-sized enterprises that face a global competitive scenario from a disadvantaged local environment. The empirical results support the positive relationship between market orientation and performance and indicate the relationship is inhibited by competitive intensity, which contrasts with existing arguments and empirical results.

Creating and maintaining customer loyalty are strategic requirements for modern business. In the current competitive context, product quality and brand experience are crucial in building and maintaining customer loyalty. Consumer loyalty, which may be classified into cognitive loyalty and affective loyalty, is related to customers’ quality perception. Cue utilization theory distinguishes two dimensions for perceived quality, extrinsic quality –linked to the brand– and intrinsic quality –related with internal product characteristics. We propose that (i) cognitive loyalty is more influenced by intrinsic product quality whereas extrinsic product quality (brand name) is more salient for affective loyalty and, (ii) different commercial stimuli have a differential effectiveness on intrinsic and extrinsic perceived quality. In fact, in this study, we analyze how perceived quality dimensions may influence the effectiveness of two different commercial stimuli: displays and advertising flyers. While displays work within the point of sale under time-constrained conditions where consumers are more likely to use heuristics to simplify their decisions, advertising flyers work outside of the point of sale under low time-constrained conditions, and therefore favor a more reasoned purchase decision where systematic processing will be more likely. We analyze the role of quality perception in determining the effectiveness of both these commercial stimuli for selling products that induce high purchase involvement and perceived risk. The empirical analysis focuses on computer products sold by one of Europe’s largest computer retailers and it combines scanner, observational, and survey data. The results show that both dimensions of quality perceptions moderate the influence of displays and advertising flyers on sales, but their impact is different on each commercial stimuli. Extrinsic quality perception increases to a greater extent the effect of displays due to the use of a brand name heuristic. However, intrinsic quality perception improves to a greater extent the effect of advertising flyers, which in turn are more closely related to systematic decision processing.

This study considers two main research issues: the relationship between objective quality and business performance and the moderating role of an entrepreneur's knowledge (education and experience) and involvement (exclusiveness in professional dedication) in that relationship. A sample of 103 rural tourism entrepreneurs in Spain serves as the study setting. Results indicate the positive influence of an establishment's quality on performance. Moreover, both knowledge and involvement have direct effects on performance, but involvement influences performance to a greater extent and even reaches profits. Positive moderating effects of experience and exclusiveness also emerge, as does an unexpected negative moderating effect of education.

For their simplicity and using cheap support materials, biological filtration of municipal wastewater can be adequate for developing countries where the legislation is not as strict as in other countries, like the members of the European Union. Biological filters are fixed biomass reactors where the suspended pollutants can easily be retained and the dissolved substances can be transformed by microbial activity. A pilot anaerobic filter was built and filled with lava stones sieved to obtain particles with an average size of 6 mm. The filter was fed with municipal wastewater during 220 days under hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 4.3 and 9.8 hours (average organic loading rates of 0.48 and 1.23 kgCOD/m3 d). The results show that the pH did not change significantly during the process. Lower organic loading rates (higher HRT) resulted in better COD and TSS removal rates. Average biogas composition showed methane to be 67% for the lower organic loading rate and 63% for the higher one. Backwashing with air for 5 minutes every 72 hours did not negatively affect the overall anaerobic process. Average TSS removal was 79 and 73% for the higher and lower HRT (lower and higher organic loading rates), respectively. The overall performance of the anaerobic filter is comparable with the reported values in the literature. The COD and TSS removal rates are slightly inferior to the ones reported in the literature for UASB reactors treating municipal wastewater.

Despite extensive research, the relationship between store brand loyalty and store loyalty remains uncertain. Recent research suggest a nonmonotonic relationship between store brand loyalty and store loyalty: positive up to a certain store brand loyalty level, after which it becomes negative (inverted U). However, existing arguments suggest this relationship may relate to the competitive positioning of store brands, especially their price–quality positioning. The more quality-oriented the store brand positioning, the more favorable the effect of store brand loyalty appears to be on store loyalty. An empirical study, focused on retailers that simultaneously offer several store brands with different price–quality positions, corroborates this proposition. The store brand loyalty level at which store brand loyalty induces a negative effect on store loyalty occurs earlier when the store brand positioning stresses price instead of quality.

This study focuses on analyzing the variables that moderate the effectiveness of the advertising flyers, one of the most used tools in retailing, to improve product sales. In previous literature, studies analyzed and confirmed the effectiveness of flyers to increase the traffic store, the general store sales or the synergistic effect of them to highlight and improve the effectiveness of promotions. Despite their confirmed effectiveness on these issues and their large use by retailers and manufacturers, it is missed studies that analyze the variables that may moderate their effectiveness on the sales of the products displayed on it. In fact, only Zhang et al. (2009) tried to analyze if the location in which the product is displayed have an influence on its effectiveness. According to them, they obtained inconclusive results due to their sample size. This study, considering the consumer’s cognitive process, analyzes how the presentation and the position of the product in flyers have an effect on their effectiveness to increase the displayed product’s sales. The results show that (i) the special signage on a displayed product in flyers increases their effectiveness to increase displayed product’s sales, and (ii) not only being highlighted increases the effect of the flyer, but that the product positioning affects decisively. For example, some locations -such as the cover, the top of the pages and areas on the left-, increase the visibility of the product and are more effective than other positions to increase displayed product’s sales. These results are in line with previous studies that indicate the importance of the directionality of reading to capture the customer’s attention in other environments. In sum, as happens inside the store or in the shelf, depending on if the product is displayed with a special signage or in an area where the customers pay more attention due to the standard cognitive process, the effectiveness of the flyers increase. Thus, retailers and manufacturers must consider how and where to be in the flyer, not just being.

This article studies the impact of retailers' store brands on store performance. Specifically, we analyze the extent to which store brands contribute to store loyalty. On the one hand, a positive relationship between customers' familiarity with and loyalty to the retailer's own brand and customers' loyalty to the retailer should result from the potential of the store brand to differentiate the retailer. On the other hand, an negative relationship between customers' familiarity with and loyalty to the retailer's own brand and customers' loyalty to the retailer may result from store brands' association with more price-sensitive customers, who have a higher propensity to buy at different stores that offer the best bargain. The empirical analysis, conducted with a sample of customers of leading retailers in the Spanish detergent market, shows no relationship between store brand loyalty and loyalty to the retailer. Although the purchase of store brands relates positively to higher loyalty to the retailer, this...

In highly competitive environments, such as retail markets, characterized by a growing heterogeneity of demand and the proliferation of new retail formats, cross-shopping behavior between stores and formats is becoming increasingly common. This process makes customer loyalty a key strategic challenge for retailers that want to consolidate their position within the market. To contribute to the analysis and comprehension of this reality, the authors propose and assess different objective indicators of store loyalty, store format loyalty, and intra-format store loyalty based on budget allocation. Specifically, they analyze the role of retail format in observable loyalty patterns in a market. Through an empirical analysis of grocery purchase patterns of a sample of 580 Spanish households, the authors find that diverse objective loyalty indicators based on budget allocations provide very similar information from a practical point of view. They also find that consumers' regular use of various formats (specifically, supermarkets, hypermarkets, and discount stores) for their purchases explain observed disloyalty better than does purchasing in several stores within these formats. The observed patterns reveal that retail formats define differentiated store profiles that relate to the benefits sought in different purchase situations.

This paper explores the linkages between the practices and behaviour developed in the operations function of a company and the implementation of the ISO 14001 standard by that company. Specifically, it is argued that (1) those companies with a more proactive operations function are also the companies more inclined to develop capabilities that facilitate the development of an environmental management system in compliance with the standard and (2) the adoption of such a system is associated with the generalized implementation and development of diverse environmental management practices in the operations function. The analysis of empirical data provided by 184 Spanish manufacturers gives support to these propositions.

This article examines the role of industrial firms' market orientation as a moderator of the economic–ecologic conflict. Specifically, the authors consider the effect of industrial firms’ market orientation on perceptions of the environmental pressure exerted by stakeholders and the environmental practices implemented in response to that pressure. Because market orientation is related to the collection and assessment of and response to opportunities and threats, market orientation should act as a driver of perceptions of and responses to environmental pressures exerted by stakeholders. An empirical analysis of a sample of Spanish industrial firms shows that market orientation is linked to more intense perceptions of pressure from nongovernmental stakeholders. However, the results are not conclusive with respect to the relationship between market orientation and the intensity of the response to environmental pressures characterized by the implementation of environmental practices.

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of different merchandising techniques and in-store promotions in boosting sales of private label grocery products. Private labels differ substantially from (leading) national brands in product positioning and target customer group, and may therefore require a different in-store marketing mix to support their sales. By analyzing the relationship between brand type and the sales impact of different merchandising and promotion tools, we aim to obtain a better insight into which types of in-store stimuli are more appropriate to stimulate private label sales. Results confirm that (1) in-store stimuli have a differential effect on sales of private labels and national brands, and (2) merchandising and promotion tools that trigger a more cognitive and reasoned decision process are more effective in stimulating private label sales.

Many of the management practices that contribute to improving a firm's environmental performance are developed in the area of logistics management. The aim of this work is to contribute to identifying the factors determining the implementation of these practices by studying two variables: the environmental pressure of the stakeholders as perceived by the firm and the values and beliefs of its managers. The analysis of data provided by 186 industrial firms reveals that two dimensions of pressure can be distinguished, governmental and non-governmental, and that only the latter is able to explain the implementation of environmental practices in logistics. The empirical results also confirm the effect of management's values and reveal that part of this effect is channelled through the influence of these values in the perception of environmental pressure.

The relationship between market orientation and organizational performance has been the focus of many studies for the last few years. The conclusions reported are very diverse and even contradictory. This ambiguity is reinforced to some extent by the high degree of methodological heterogeneity in the definition and measure of market orientation and organizational performance and the empirical formalization of the relationship between both concepts. This study tackles this question by comparing different methodological approaches. Three key aspects are considered: (1) cultural and operational approaches for measuring market orientation; (2) objective and subjective measures of performance; and (3) the source of information in the organization, specifically the perspective of production and operations. The results obtained from a sample of Spanish industrial firms show a stronger positive relationship for operational market orientation and subjective performance. Moreover, the adoption of ‘operational recipes’ of market orientation by the production and operations function seems to improve organizational performance regardless of the existence of any cultural support for market orientation.

In this paper, four calibration approaches to exploit budget allocation data in maximum likelihood estimation of multi-attribute choice models are proposed. They differ on the implicit meaning of the dependent variable: (A) share of consumers according to the preferred alternative; (B) share of sales; (C) average share of consumer's budget; and (D) share of sales according to the preferred alternative. Differences between them can be conceived as depending on two circumstances: customer loyalty and customer selectivity. These are tested in the context of spatial consumer behavior, market response to hypermarket chains being represented as a function of their location strategies. Results show that different nuances on the definition of the dependent variable lead to slightly different relationships with the explanatory variables and to different predictive capabilities.

Aims: Xylotrechus arvicola is an important pest in vineyards of the Iberian Peninsula. The action of X. arvicola larvae, associated to the spread of fungi, causes direct and indirect damage in the vineyard. Biological parameters from wild (captured in the field) and laboratory females (reared in the laboratory) were investigated to provide more information about the pest-control measures.Methods and results: The pre-laying period, post-laying period, longevity and egg laying parameters (fecundity, viability and number) were evaluated in wild and laboratory females. Both female groups (wild and laboratory) needed a short pre-laying period, which was longer in wild females. Laboratory females, whose larvae were reared on artificial diet, had the greatest fecundity during the 1st two egg layings. Wild females showed the greatest fecundity and viability of eggs during the 1st egg laying; these fecundity and viability rates decreased over time with the next egg layings, whereas in laboratory females, fecundity and viability decreased faster. Wild females had the greatest percentage of viable eggs in the 1st six egg layings (44.11% in the 1st and 11.15% in the 6th), reaching a maximum number of 18 egg layings in laboratory.Conclusions: These results suggest that the diet satisfies larval nutritional requirements, increasing production of laboratory females´ eggs (greatest fecundity in the 1st two egg layings). Nevertheless, this artificial diet may lack certain essential nutrients that would increase the viability of eggs.Significance and impact of the study: The host, a woody plant, would provide these essential nutrients when the larvae of wild females are developing in the field, these wild females being able to perform successive egg layings in laboratory with a high viability of eggs.

Private labels are growing fast in Europe and USA, especially in the context of nondurable consumer goods. Moreover, the traditional association of private labels solely with a price focus, to the detriment of quality, appears to be diminishing. This research aims to clarify the effect of price sensitivity toward and quality perceptions of private labels on private label consumption. It analyzes the role of a retailer's price positioning as a moderator of the importance of these effects as determinants of private label purchases. With household panel data and survey information, this study investigates private labels’ share of wallet as the dependent variable; thus the logit-type model is adapted to a resource allocation context. Five sequential models specify and test the four hypotheses. In support of the hypotheses, price sensitivity and quality perceptions relate positively to private label consumption. For the moderating effect of retailer's price positioning, a negative moderating effect arises for price sensitivity, whereas a positive moderating effect appears for quality perceptions of private labels. The findings indicate that retailers’ efforts to convert private labels into tools to support positioning strategies are effective.

This research addresses the relationship between an organisation's assimilation of its environmental management system (EMS), the experience it gains through it, and its environmental performance. Assimilation here refers to the degree to which the requirements of the management standard are integrated within a plant's daily operations. Basing ourselves on the heterogeneity of organisations, we argue that assimilation and experience will inform environmental performance. Furthermore, we posit that the relationship between assimilation and environmental performance depends on experience. The attempt to obtain greater assimilation in a shorter time leads an organisation to record a poorer environmental outcome, which we shall refer to as time compression diseconomies in environmental management. We provide empirical evidence based on 154 plants pertaining to firms in Spain subject to the European Union's CO2 Emissions Trading System.

Although several articles have studied the effect that stakeholder pressure has on the environmental behavior of firms, little research has attempted to identify the contingencies that explain such pressure. This article investigates the effects of six relevant variables on stakeholder environmental pressure perceived by industrial companies: size, internationalization, location of manufacturing activities, position in the supply chain, industrial sector, and managerial values and attitudes. The effect is theoretically determined by distinguishing between pressure intensity and perception capacity and empirically tested with a sample of 186 Spanish manufacturers. The analyses reveal two dimensions of stakeholder pressure, governmental and nongovernmental, and show that variables such as environmental awareness among managers, internationalization, industrial sector and company size play important roles in determining both dimensions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.