2019
Authors
Sirsat, MS; Mendes Moreira, J; Ferreira, C; Cunha, M;
Publication
Engineering in Agriculture, Environment and Food
Abstract
Grapevine yield prediction during phenostage and particularly, before harvest is highly significant as advanced forecasting could be a great value for superior grapevine management. The main contribution of the current study is to develop predictive model for each phenology that predicts yield during growing stages of grapevine and to identify highly relevant predictive variables. Current study uses climatic conditions, grapevine yield, phenological dates, fertilizer information, soil analysis and maturation index data to construct the relational dataset. After words, we use several approaches to pre-process the data to put it into tabular format. For instance, generalization of climatic variables using phenological dates. Random Forest, LASSO and Elasticnet in generalized linear models, and Spikeslab are feature selection embedded methods which are used to overcome dataset dimensionality issue. We used 10-fold cross validation to evaluate predictive model by partitioning the dataset into training set to train the model and test set to evaluate it by calculating Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) and Relative Root Mean Squared Error (RRMSE). Results of the study show that rf_PF, rf_PC and rf_MH are optimal models for flowering (PF), colouring (PC) and harvest (MH) phenology respectively which estimate 1484.5, 1504.2 and 1459.4 (Kg/ha) low RMSE and 24.6%, 24.9% and 24.2% RRMSE, respectively as compared to other models. These models also identify some derived climatic variables as major variables for grapevine yield prediction. The reliability and early-indication ability of these forecast models justify their use by institutions and economists in decision making, adoption of technical improvements, and fraud detection. © 2019 Asian Agricultural and Biological Engineering Association
2019
Authors
Brito, PQ; McGoldrick, PJ; Raut, UR;
Publication
VISION-THE JOURNAL OF BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
Abstract
The objective of this study is to understand to what extent hedonic and utilitarian consumer profiles are affected by situational factors and how in turn they impact shopping centre patronage. A six step multiple regression analysis corresponding to six different shopping centres has been applied to two clusters of consumers. The data are based on consumers' hedonic/utilitarian customer profile. First, results show that in general the impact on shopping centre patronage is largely affected by proximity, convenience and accessibility variables, which are more relevant among the utilitarian profile consumers. On the other hand, in the hedonic profile segment, affect, that is, the experience of feeling or emotion is the relevant variable explaining patronage. Second, the predictive contribution of these variables on patronage varied according to the shopping centres' positioning. With the findings of the present study, retail managers can formulate marketing strategies, which will attract retail consumers towards their shopping centre and also help them to enhance the significant factors that influence retail store consumer's purchase decision. Also, this investigation contributes to the diagnosis of how consistent is the retailers' in their positioning strategy in targeting the market segments. The present research integrates both situational factors and hedonic as well as utilitarian consumer profiles along with the role of situational dynamics to explain shopping centres' patronage.
2019
Authors
Fam, K; Brito, PQ; Gadekar, M; Richard, JE; Jargal, U; Liu, WC;
Publication
ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MARKETING AND LOGISTICS
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare the influence of age, education, income, product involvement and sales promotion (SP) characteristics on consumer attitudes towards SP across eight culturally dissimilar environments. Design/methodology/approach A multi-country mall intercept and mail survey was conducted in Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand (n=4,125 respondents). Findings Country, education level and income significantly influence consumer attitudes towards SP. Some countries show a significant monetary value interaction effect. Consumers using delayed-reward SPT reported a significantly more positive attitude towards SP. Discounts and coupons are the two most highly ranked SP across the sampled countries. Research limitations/implications - Limitations include the use of intercept and mail sampling. Extending the study to include additional Asian countries and other regions would benefit the understanding of cultural influences on SP. Practical implications - Multinational marketing managers should consider three aspects of SP implementation strategy: cultural and demographic factors, interaction between delayed-reward SP and socio-demographics variables; country specific SP preferences to promote both sales and brand equity. Originality/value This study investigates and extends research on SP across cultures. In particular the research helps better understand the impact of demographic factors and culture on attitudes towards SP, and implementation of global promotions.
2019
Authors
Barbosa, B; Brito, PQ;
Publication
Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science
Abstract
This study aims to contribute to the understanding of children’s word-of-mouth communication: how it is processed, its dimensions and its relation to other sources of information and to young consumers’ use of the Internet. Theoretical contributions from consumer socialization, new media and word-of-mouth communication studies are assembled, and an exploratory qualitative analysis in the form of focus group interviews with 7–11-year-old children is reported. We provide empirical evidence for word-of-mouth communication being a common activity among children. Observation and marketing exposure both complement and trigger word-of-mouth activity. Electronic word-of-mouth communication is less frequent, but the Internet is a relevant source of information and marketing exposure; it assists children’s learning about products and brands and furthers their purchase decision processes. This study suggests that word-of-mouth communication received by children is more complex and dynamic as compared to extant literature, suggesting that future research further explores its sought and unsought components, as well as its relationship with non-verbal peer influence that results from observation. © 2019, Academy of Marketing Science.
2019
Authors
Raut, UR; Pawar, PA; Brito, PQ; Sisodia, GS;
Publication
Spanish Journal of Marketing - ESIC
Abstract
Purpose: This paper aims to examine the mediating role of brand satisfaction and brand trust in brand equity antecedents and outcomes through an empirical investigation of brand equity elements. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted in Pune and Mumbai, two prominent cities of India. A structured questionnaire focussed on garnering responses on measuring brand equity antecedents and outcomes was circulated to the cell phone users. The questionnaire aimed to assess the role of two additional variables, namely, brand satisfaction and brand trust, in the existing and the conceptual model of brand equity (Keller, 2001). Based on the data analysis, a structural equations path and the mediating model were developed. Findings: The findings of this study show that the new brand equity model is highly relevant in predicting brand equity as compared to the existing brand equity model (Keller, 2001). The brand equity mediation model clearly elucidates the role of brand trust and brand satisfaction. Research limitations/implications: With reference to a theoretical contribution, the study broadens the existing hypothetical model of brand equity. The findings of this research provide a strategic and analytical model for brand managers to build brand relationships among their consumers. Originality/value: The present study challenges the existing model of brand equity (Keller, 2001) and further makes an effort to fill in the gaps in the existing theoretical model of brand equity. © 2019, Umesh Ramchandra Raut, Prafulla Arjun Pawar, Pedro Quelhas Brito and Gyanendra Singh Sisodia.
2019
Authors
Meireles, R; Campos, P;
Publication
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION
Abstract
Faster Internet connections are breaking most of the geographic barriers. At the same time, the huge digital content that have been generated in last years is motivating new forms of digital piracy. We know that piracy of copyrighted digital material has a huge impact on countries' economy, being a major issue for the whole society and not only for content creators. The purpose of this paper is to investigate digital piracy intention. For that purpose, we have expanded the framework of the theory of planned behavior using the utility theory, the deterrence theory and other relevant constructs. Using data from students of a Portuguese university and high school, a sample of 590 questionnaires has been collected. Two models were developed and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The first considers the full sample (Full Model), while the second considers only those who had pirated (Pirate Model). The pirate model confirmed the existence of a significant and strong relation between past behavior and intention toward digital piracy.
The access to the final selection minute is only available to applicants.
Please check the confirmation e-mail of your application to obtain the access code.