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About

About

Ana Torres holds a Ph.D. in Management Science from the Faculty of Economics of University of Porto. She was assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Aveiro, and presently she teaches Marketing and Business Management at the Higher Institute of Accountancy and Administration, of the University of Aveiro, as adjunct professor.

She is Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the European Journal of Applied Business and Management (EJABM), Member of the Scientific Committee of the International Conference of the Applied Business and Management (ICABM) and Reviewer for the special issue Intellectual Capital Management as a Driver of Competiveness and Sustainability of the Journal of Intellectual Capital (Emerald Group Publishing).

She has published in the Handbook of Research on Enterprise 2.0: Technological, Social, and Organizational Dimensions, Hershey PA: IGI Global. USA (book chapter), International Journals and in several International conferences on Internet and leading technologies. (with peer review).
Her current research interests are in digital economy, networks, social marketing research, e-commerce, Web metrics, e-consumer behavior and quantitative marketing models. Her research is empirical in nature and makes extensive use of multivariate data analysis and econometric modeling.
Her previous work experience was in market research and marketing consultancy, having worked with several industries and services.

Interest
Topics
Details

Details

  • Name

    Ana Torres
  • Role

    External Research Collaborator
  • Since

    17th December 2015
001
Publications

2023

How Startups and Entrepreneurs Survived in Times of Pandemic Crisis: Implications and Challenges for Managing Uncertainty

Authors
Silva E.; Beirão G.; Torres A.;

Publication
Journal of Small Business Strategy

Abstract
The recent pandemic crisis has greatly impacted startups, and some changes are expected to be long-lasting. Small businesses usually have fewer resources and are more vulnerable to losing customers and investors, especially during crises. This study investigates how startups’ business processes were affected and how entrepreneurs managed this sudden change brought by the COVID-19 outbreak. Data were analyzed using qualitative research methods through in-depth interviews with the co-founders of eighteen startups. Results show that the three core business processes affected by the COVID-19 crisis were marketing and sales, logistics and operations, and organizational support. The way to succeed is to be flexible, agile, and adaptable, with technological knowledge focusing on digital channels to find novel opportunities and innovate. Additionally, resilience, self-improvement, education, technology readiness and adoption, close relationship with customers and other stakeholders, and incubation experience seem to shield startups against pandemic crisis outbreaks.

2023

Confronting security and privacy challenges in digital marketing

Authors
Pires, PB; Santos, JD; Pereira, IV; Torres, AI;

Publication
Confronting Security and Privacy Challenges in Digital Marketing

Abstract
Marketing, and specifically its digital marketing component, is being challenged by disruptive innovations, which are creating new, unique, and unusual opportunities, and with the emergence of new paradigms and models. Other areas of knowledge have embraced these innovations with swiftness, adapting promptly and using them as leverage to create new paradigms, models, and realities. Marketing, in clear opposition, has been somewhat dismissive, ignoring the potential of these new contexts that are emerging, some of which are already unavoidable. Confronting Security and Privacy Challenges in Digital Marketing identifies the most relevant issues in the current context of digital marketing and explores the implications, opportunities, and challenges of leveraging marketing strategies with digital innovations. This book explores the impact that these disruptive innovations are having on digital marketing, pointing out guidelines for organizations to leverage their strategy on the opportunities created by them. Covering topics such as blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality, this book is ideal for academicians, marketing professionals, researchers, and more. © 2023 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.

2023

Rating and perceived helpfulness in a bipartite network of online product reviews

Authors
Campos, P; Pinto, E; Torres, A;

Publication
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RESEARCH

Abstract
In many e-commerce platforms user communities share product information in the form of reviews and ratings to help other consumers to make their choices. This study develops a new theoretical framework generating a bipartite network of products sold by Amazon.com in the category musical instruments, by linking products through the reviews. We analyze product rating and perceived helpfulness of online customer reviews and the relationship between the centrality of reviews, product rating and the helpfulness of reviews using Clustering, regression trees, and random forests algorithms to, respectively, classify and find patterns in 2214 reviews. Results demonstrate: (1) that a high number of reviews do not imply a high product rating; (2) when reviews are helpful for consumer decision-making we observe an increase on the number of reviews; (3) a clear positive relationship between product rating and helpfulness of the reviews; and (4) a weak relationship between the centrality measures (betweenness and eigenvector) giving the importance of the product in the network, and the quality measures (product rating and helpfulness of reviews) regarding musical instruments. These results suggest that products may be central to the network, although with low ratings and with reviews providing little helpfulness to consumers. The findings in this study provide several important contributions for e-commerce businesses' improvement of the review service management to support customers' experiences and online customers' decision-making.

2023

Online Shopping Experience on Satisfaction and Loyalty on Luxury Brand Websites

Authors
Oliveira, R; Pereira, IV; Santos, JD; Torres, A; Pires, PB;

Publication
Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies

Abstract
The internet massification and e-commerce growth that have been driven by “millennials” and the coronavirus pandemic cannot remain indifferent to luxury brands. These brands have had to adapt to e-commerce and develop an online shopping experience which satisfies its customers, so that they repeat purchase. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to understand the main impacts of shopping experience on luxury brand websites on satisfaction and loyalty. A model which analyzes the relationship between the three constructs was developed and information was gathered through an online survey, from which resulted 356 valid answers. Through the analysis of data collected and using a structural equation model, using SmartPLS software, we realized that online shopping experience is positively related to satisfaction. Loyalty, in turn, is positively affected by brand satisfaction. This study makes an important contribution to luxury brands and to people in charge of marketing and online platforms selling luxury goods. It helps brands understand that enhancing online shopping experience can positively impact satisfaction and loyalty levels. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

2023

Analyzing Driving Factors of User-Generated Content on YouTube and Its Influence on Consumers Perceived Value

Authors
Torres, A; Pilar, P; Santos, JD; Pereira, IV; Pires, PB;

Publication
Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies

Abstract
Companies are increasingly focusing on audiovisual content as part of their strategy, and YouTube being a massive video hosting platform that makes content sharing possible has been the most successful platform for reaching their consumers products and services. Researches have proven that user-generated content impacts brand engagement, loyalty and firm revenue. Therefore, it is necessary to determine what factors stimulate the creation of consumers perceived value from user-generated content, on social media. We analyze the driving factors of user-generated content on YouTube and its influence on consumers perceived value. The sample data consists of 282 YouTube users’ responses collected through an electronic survey. This research contributes toward the digital content marketing literature by complementing existing research exploring consumer behavior on social media, assessing the driving factors of user-generated content and its impacts on customer perceived value. The study findings provide academic contributions and several challenges for firm and user-generated content, on actions they can tackle. Finally, based on the study limitations, we discuss future research in generated content in social media, providing insights for future research directions. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Supervised
thesis

2022

Classification of Cervical Cancer Risk Using Deep Learning

Author
Nuno Pinheiro da Silva Mota Freitas

Institution
UP-FEUP

2020

Exploring the Application of Service Design Methodologies in the Design of an Innovation Management System

Author
Filipa Marques de Aguiar Lopes Pinto

Institution
UP-FEUP

2020

Marketing de influência nas redes sociais: Determinantes dos influenciadores digitais na influência social e impacto na intenção de compra dos seguidores

Author
André Emanuel Sousa Ferreira

Institution
IPP-ISCAP

2020

Marketing de influência nas redes sociais: Determinantes dos influenciadores digitais na influência social e impacto na intenção de compra dos seguidores

Author
André Emanuel Sousa Ferreira

Institution
IPP-ISCAP

2019

Domain specific languages for kidney exchange programs

Author
João Viana

Institution
UP-FCUP