1522 research outputs found
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MODELLING THE INFLUENCE OF BRAND TRUST ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONSUMER, CEO & CORPORATE REPUTATION
Get PDFThe image congruity theory has received great interest by marketing academics over the decades (Bellenger et al., 1976; Malhotra, 1981; Sirgy et al. 2000). However, to date most of the research concerning image congruity is based on the assumption that the greater the image match between consumer and brand, the more favourable the relationship between the two (Malhotra, 1981; Aaker, 1997). Aaker’s (1997) Brand Personality Scale was validated for a variety of consumers and products, and was generally made up of positive dimensions (e.g. sincere, rugged, competent, sophisticated) and proposed that a good image was determined by those brands which rated highly on positive dimensions. Recently, there has been an extension to the concept of image congruence and its application to corporate image (Davies et al., 2004; Argenti and Druckenmiller, 2004). However to date, the marketing literature has neglected to investigate brand-consumer incongruency, and more importantly to try to offer explanations for this with regard to outcomes such as satisfaction and purchase behaviour. We argue that success is neither about having an image which rates either positively (for example, highly agreeable) or negatively (for example, highly ruthless) on various dimensions of brand personality, nor is it about always having a congruence or “match” between brand image and consumer image as theoretical contributions have suggested. This paper aims to investigate this issue and offer such explanations by investigating brands traditionally viewed as “ruthless” on a measurement scale (Davies et al., 2002) through the development and testing of a conceptual model. That said, surely it is not only ruthless people who purchase ruthless brands.
We propose that corporate image is every dimension of the brand, which is externally perceived by the consumer. It is therefore the aggregate of product brand image, corporate brand image, and CEO image. The management of this externally perceived image is clearly of significance to the field of corporate reputation management. For instance, today there are numerous companies who are perceived as ruthless in their business operations but yet hold a positive image with their publics e.g. Ryanair. Similarly, there are numerous CEO’s that hold somewhat ruthless images but these traditionally negative images are not influential over public perception of the corporate image e.g. Richard Branson (seen as ruthless) and Virgin (seen as an agreeable alternative). We use the metaphor of ‘brand as person’ to present a conceptual framework that illustrates the relationships between consumer, corporate brand, product brand and CEO image. The influence that brand trust as a moderator has on these relationships is examined, and likewise the influence that brand trust has on outcomes of satisfaction, purchase intention and brand loyalty are discussed. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for theory and managerial practice
Autonomic Computing: A Goal-Based Management Architecture
No full textAs systems are growing more complex their control and configuration requirements exceeds the comprehension and ability of their operators [15]. Increasingly, the services provided by large-scale distributed systems have to fulfill a variety of user-specific quality of service requirements. The complexity of modern network information systems and the higher service availability constraints have reached a level that puts them beyond our ability to deploy, manage and keep functioning correctly through traditional techniques. A novel approach, called Autonomic Computing, proposes that the systems manage themselves according to an administrator's goals. These goals, refined into low-level policies, represent the user-level and the business-level requirements and they are distributed among Autonomic Elements that compose an Autonomous System. In this paper, we present an architecture that supports the development of self-managed and self-optimized networks. We explore different approaches to model the autonomic behavior and to render network equipments capable of correlating their actions to accomplish administrator's goals. A laboratory prototype has been developed to highlight some aspects of our proposal that demonstrate the autonomic behavior of the network in fulfilling heterogeneous VoIP and Video streaming applications QoS requirement
COORDINATED ADAPTATION OF CONTEXT SENSITIVE COMPOSITE SERVICES
No full textWithin the future computing environment of the mobile user, one will begin to see a convergence between Internet and telecommunications networks, sometimes referred to as B3G (Beyond 3rd Generation) or 4G (4th Generation) networks. As is the nature of the mobile users’ environments, little can be guaranteed to be static. The dynamic adaptation of services within this environment in response to change is therefore a major factor in the optimal delivery of services to the mobile user. The problem begins when a set of third party services are configured and composed together to deliver a service within this dynamic environment. Currently there is no standard method of coordinating the adaptation of third party services within a composition to ensure optimal service behaviour in response to varying context conditions. This document, offers an overview of the State of the Art in the area of service adaptation, and introduces our views on research challenges we wish to address
RATING DYNAMICALLY COMPOSED SERVICES
No full textMany computer science researchers are currently pursuing the vision of serviceoriented software architectures through which end-users can seamlessly access customised, potentially disposable services to aid them carry out a myriad of everyday tasks. Full realisation of this vision requires deployment of facilities for the dynamic discovery, composition, interoperation and execution monitoring of pre-existing networked software services, possibly administered by different organisations or originated by multiple developers. In this report, we discuss the ongoing development of one of these facilities, a rating engine, implemented as part of this research programme
Delay-Induced Excitability
Get PDFWe analyze the stochastic dynamics of a bistable system under the influence of time-delayed feedback.
Assuming an asymmetric potential, we show the existence of a regime in which the system dynamics
displays excitability by calculating the relevant residence time distributions and power spectra.
Experimentally we then observe this behavior in the polarization dynamics of a vertical cavity surface
emitting laser with optoelectronic feedback. Extending these observations to two-dimensional systems
with diffusive coupling, we finally show numerically that delay-induced excitability can lead to the
appearance of propagating wave fronts and spirals
Active Node support for Autonomic Communications supporting Pervasive Systems
Get PDFIn the past, pervasive systems have concentrated largely on integrating contextawareness for supporting application adaptations to suit user activities. However, with the increase complexity of pervasive computing applications and their requirements, there is also a need for more autonomic functionalities in the communication infrastructure to support this complexity. In this paper, we propose a hierarchical architecture based on active nodes, which maximizes the computational capabilities of various nodes within the pervasive computing environment, to support both pervasive user applications as well as autonomic functionalities within the communication infrastructures. The migratable active node architecture employs various decision-making processes for evaluating a rich set of context information
User survey at Waterford Institute of Technology Libraries: How a traditional approach to surveys can inform library service delivery
No full textThis paper describes a comprehensive user survey carried out in an Irish higher education academic library (Waterford Institute of Technology library service) as part of a strategic initiative to engage with library users
Coordinating Adaptation of Composite Services
No full textWe contend that the adaptation of third party services within a composition is an optimisation problem, and that coordination techniques must be used to ensure optimised composite service behaviour. Within the future-computing environment of the mobile user, one will begin to see a convergence between Internet and telecommunication networks, incorporating context information to provide the user with a personalised services environment. As is the nature of the mobile users' environment, nothing can be guaranteed to be static. The dynamic adaptation of services within this environment in response to change is therefore a major factor in the optimal delivery of services to the mobile user. The problem begins when a set of third party services are configured and composed together to deliver a service within this unpredictable environment. We demonstrate our contention through the use of a scenario. We then outline some open issues and future work
Silver ion release from antimicrobial polyamide/silver composites
Get PDFSilver ion (Ag+) the versatile antimicrobial species was released in a steady and prolonged manner from a silver-filled polyamide composite system. Metallic silver powder having varying specific surface area (SSA) has been used as a resource of biocide in polyamide. Strong evidences are found showing the release of the antimicrobial species from the resulting composite upon soaking it in water due to the interaction of the diffused water molecules with the dispersed silver powder within the matrix. The Ag+ release was observed as increasing with time and concentration of the silver powder and is found to be influenced by the SSA of the silver powder, changes in the physical state of the composite specimen as a result of the water diffusion and the composite morphology. It is observed that the Ag+ release increases initially which is followed by a marginal increase between day 4 and 6. Composites containing higher amounts of silver (4 and 8 wt%) exhibit a further rise in Ag+ release from the sixth day of storage in water. Composite containing silver particles with the lowest specific surface area (0.78m2/g) showed highest Ag+ release. SEM shows a finer dispersion of the silver powder (4 wt%) having lowest SSA. However particles with higher (1.16 and 2.5m2/g) SSA possess an agglomerated morphology leading to lower Ag+ release. The composites are found to release Ag+ at a concentration level capable of rendering an antimicrobial efficac