Science (Universidade Europeia)
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A combined training program’s effect on anthropometry, body composition, physical fitness and blood pressure in elite police
No full textBACKGROUND: Combined training (CT) simultaneously associates aerobic and strength exercises. Worldwide, studies on CT’s on Police officers’ physical fitness are scarce. This study aims to measure a 4-month CT program’s impact in the Close Protection Unit of the Portuguese Elite Police.
METHODS: A pre-and post-test study included 32 participants (mean age 30.1±2.7 years old). Anthropometry, body composition, physical fitness, and blood pressure assessments were collected. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, 26.0; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) with a significance level at P≤0.05.
RESULTS: The main results showed an improvement in anthropometrics; aerobic capacity, strength, muscular endurance, and systolic blood pressure. However, a lean mass decrease, a fat mass increase, and worse results in other bioimpedance measures were observed.
CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the poor body composition results may imply a closer look for health concerns, although physical fitness has improved. Thus, it might be suggested that a CT program is helpful to increase physical fitness in elite police officers. Yet, improvements for its future application can be suggested, namely to include and address hydration level, nutrition, and rest/sleep moments. Moreover, because a high physical fitness level is needed in these population throughout their lifespan, ministerial policies should develop specific training programs, that can reduce morbidity and premature mortality, and have a major cost-effectiveness impact on public health
A scoping review of digital solutions that might be used as cognitive screening instruments of community-dwelling older adults
No full textCognitive health status is a determining factor for quality of life. Since early identification of mild cognitive impairment is critical to better manage further decline, and to guide therapeutic and rehabilitation interventions, there is the need for efficient clinical instruments able to monitor the individuals, particularly older adults, in their residential environments. This paper presents a scoping review to identify of innovative digital solutions to detect cognitive impairments and that might be used as a screening tool for age related cognitive impairment of community-dwelling older adults. Nineteen articles were included in this scoping review. As a main conclusion, most of the included articles report digital solutions to support the application of existing paper-based clinical instruments to assess specific or multiple cognitive functions. However, six studies explore new approaches to assess cognitive functions including virtual reality and serious games
The influence of post-purchase experience on customer loyalty in the telecommunications sector in Portugal
No full textThis study aims to analyse the influence of post-purchase experience on customer loyalty in the telecommunications sector in Portugal. A quantitative deductive approach was chosen, supported by the literature review of exploratory nature, analysing if there are significant differences between telecommunications operators regarding customer perceptions of Service Quality and verifying the customers’ intention to recommend telecom operators through the Net Promoter Score. Data collection was performed following the non-probabilistic sampling technique by age groups directed to the working population aged between 18 and 64 years. The tool chosen for the collection was the questionnaire survey, and the dissemination was done online and obtained a valid sample of 709 responses. It was found that the operator with more promoters is the one that obtained the best result when comparing the averages among its competitors, showing that, in fact, a good experience provided at these points boosts recommendations. Specifically, Net Promoter Score revealed that Vodafone is the operator with the largest number of promoters and NOS with the largest number of detractors. Although the topic of customer experience in the telecommunications sector had already been studied, no similar study has been done on the Portuguese context
Do NFTs sound good? An exploratory study on audio NFTs and possible avenues
No full textCrypto, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the metaverse have taken a massive place in our daily conversations and are highly valued. Moreover, NFTs range from luxury fashion to art, and sound is no exception, although it still needs to be explored. Could this be a unique opportunity to go digital from creation to distribution? This study looks at sound NFTs and new avenues for digital audio communication. During the pandemic, podcasts have been exhausted, leaving space for new digital media business opportunities. We look at how sound has grown, assuming a prominent role in the new media ecosystem due to podcasts consumption. We explore NFTs and their evolution in different markets over the years, highlighting the space that sound content has gained on these platforms as new possibilities for dissemination, promotion, and sale. We use content analysis on marketplaces that provide sound NFTs to understand what audio content consumers can find and future opportunities
Knowledge management in marketing
No full textIt is an undoubted fact that we live in the age of knowledge and a moment of unpredictable events. The increasing globalization of knowledge and marketing prompts both individual and organizational knowledge. The market demands organization; further knowledge management is necessary in proportion to contemporary requirements in terms of personal skills for marketing management that altogether are expected to augment business performance. Nowadays, knowledge constitutes a significant capital, being paramount to manage it properly because it most likely provides superior productivity and competitive advantage. Only through successful knowledge management (KM in further text), companies are able to succeed in terms of their marketing strategies. Nevertheless, although KM has gained impetus in the past decade, the literature is diverse and fragmented with regard to its focus on marketing issues. In this paper, a systematic analysis of KM marketing-related literature is carried out in order to ascertain its research themes and developmental patterns. The key KM issues upon marketing debate are discussed, namely disparate contexts, KM interplay with firms’ functions, dynamic capability, conceptual maps, branding, innovation, its contribution to knowledge boundary spanning, and media and content production. These KM trends identify the research gap and provide rich avenues for further research drawn on KM and marketing literature
The effectiveness of sales promotion techniques on the millennial consumers’ buying behavior
No full textPurpose: This paper attempts to find out the major dimensions of Millennial consumers’ perception about the benefits derived from sales promotion and the influence of word-of-mouth (WOM) on purchase intention.
Design/methodology/approach: A convenience sample of 564 Millennials from 24 different nationalities completed a survey on sales promotion and buying behavior. Structural Equation Modeling approach was used to test the proposed model.
Findings: The findings of the study revealed the perception of monetary savings, opportunities for value-expression and WOM as key-drivers of buying intention behavior.
Theoretical contributions: Millennials have an overall positive attitude towards the use of sales promotion techniques, being particularly positive towards price reduction (monetary-based promotion) and product samples (nonmonetary-based promotions). Moreover, Millennials are influenced by others’ opinions and their perception of monetary savings (as a part of utilitarian benefits) and opportunities for value-expression (as a part of hedonic benefits) provided by sales promotion elicit buying behavior of products and brands on sale.
Originality/value: This study examines how the perception of benefits (utilitarian and hedonic) of sales promotion and word-of-mouth (WOM) influence purchase intention, thus filling an important gap in the literature by exploring utilitarian and hedonic benefits’ perception of Millennials.
Managerial implications: The perception of upgrading to high-quality products and brands seems not to induce Millennials to buy the product on offer. The findings will help companies to select the appropriate types of premium offers that greatly influence the buying behavior of Millennials. Companies should manage monetary savings benefits complemented by the management of value-expression dimension
Organizing sports events: The promoters’ perspective
No full textPurpose: This study aims to develop a battery of items that assess the factors affecting sports events’ success from the promoters’ perspective and a measurement tool that identifies these stakeholders’ main priorities based on the importance-performance analysis (IPA) framework. Design/methodology/approach: The research was conducted using mixed methods. In the first qualitative step, sports event management’s main dimensions were identified based on the existing literature and a comprehensive battery of corresponding items were developed via content analysis of interviews with experts. The second quantitative step focused on Lisbon, the 2021 European City of Sport. Promoters of 21 different medium or large sports events (number = 41 respondents) were asked to fill out a survey ranking each dimension’s items by performance and room for improvement. The IPA’s results are presented both for the overall sample and by promoter type (i.e. events with or without sports facilities). Findings: The 46 items identified fall into the following three categories: sports infrastructure, city image and hospitality and event management (i.e. pre-event, event and post-event). Pre-event includes stakeholder management, organigram and responsibilities, business plan, marketing mix, risk assessment and sponsorship management. Sponsorship management stands out among the areas considered a priority by event promotors. Originality/value: This study adds to the literature by offering a comprehensive approach to assessing empirically all stages of the event management process
Serviços na pandemia de Covid-19: Impacto no bem-estar do consumidor e na intenção de recompra
No full textPurpose: This research aims to explore how the maintenance of customers’ relations with service providers during the Covid-19 pandemic affects customers’ well-being and repurchase intentions for the post-pandemic period. Originality/value: This paper uses empirical data collected during the Covid-19 pandemic to shed light on how individuals can improve their well-being during stressful life events through service provisions and how businesses can increase chances of recovery after stressful situations such as a pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected during the pandemic with Brazilian consumers. Structural equations models (SEM) techniques were used. Findings: Results show that the stronger the customer’s trust in the service provider before the stressful event, the higher the maintenance of the provider’s relationship during this period. More importantly, this relationship maintenance with the service provider during the Covid-19 pandemic (even when the service is not being provided as previously agreed, e.g., online yoga classes) improved the individual’s satisfaction with life and health (i.e., well-being). These positive effects on well-being are explained by perceptions of control and the feeling of helping the service provider during a crisis (i.e., a pandemic). Furthermore, maintaining the relationship with the service provider during this period increased customers’ future repurchase intentions with the business
Consumer involvement in the co-creation of a disruptive offer: The case study of Continente Labs
No full textDuring the last decade, the development of new technologies has revolutionized the operational models of the food retail sector. Despite the endless opportunities created by exponential technological growth, it has been increasingly challenging for companies to provide exceptional customer experiences. In this highly competitive context, retailers have been investing on shopping experiences that integrate technological environments to enhance and personalize the customer journey and also to optimize their operations. In addition, customers are very aware of their buying habits and, more than a simple purchase, they want to connect with brands. Thus, this research focuses on the consumer experience in the co-creation of a new and disruptive Sonae MC brand—Continente Labs—in which an analysis of the consumer experience in the online community was carried out. Through a qualitative exploratory methodology, we used netnography to analyze the participation and dynamics of the consumer in the Comunidade Labs platform. With regard to the customer cooperation platform at Continente Labs—Comunidade Labs—this study demonstrated customers increasing willingness to participate in co-creation processes, in the context of the firm’s strategy to attract customers. In this sense, through the study of the user experience in the online community, it was possible to explore and understand the experience of the collaborative consumer in a disruptive retail environment, which is developed through engaging, and personalized, experiences, allowing to connect customers and the brand, in order to satisfy their wishes
Design for culture
No full textIn an era of continuous scientific and technological progress, which gives rise to a contemporaneity invaded by communications and messages presented in an intangible way, Design asserts itself as the discipline which understands the physical properties of artefacts as well as the importance of intangible culture, with its semantic and symbolic values. Culture allows imaginary spaces, endowed with evocative power, to which Design methods are indebted; in that sense, the main focus of Design Culture is not only in the internal project, but in an ambition that transcend it. This chapter titled “Design for culture” presents contributions on issues that pursue the role of memory and heritage in Design Culture and methods, establishing the threads between the material and the intangible that have enabled the development of new scientific approaches and research in the multidisciplinary field of Design