Abstract
The use of mobile phones to make payments is already a wide-spreading reality. While some mobile payment solutions achieved a considerable success and are already in use, others failed in the pilot phase. Nevertheless, there is an area where mobile payments have been quite successful: mobile ticketing in public transport. In fact, there are several advantages of mobile ticketing over traditional ticketing systems, such as queue avoidance, ubiquitous and remote access to payment, and the lack of need to carry coins and cash. This paper intends to propose a mobile payment system to be implemented in the Public Transport of Metropolitan Area of Oporto. After defining the payment ticketing model, a prototype was developed and tested by a sample of users. These tests allowed gathering some feedback about the feasibility of the system as well as useful insights about the concept, new in public transport in Portugal. The findings attained so far suggest that users considered the system extremely useful, since it is more convenient than traditional systems, improving the travelling process and experience. It was also clear that users valued the integration of additional and complementary services with mobile payments, such as real-time traffic information, maps and schedules. There are also several barriers to the adoption of such a system elicited by users, such as premium price, complex interfaces and perceived risks, such as security and privacy concerns.

Abstract
The customer experience is important for adding value to firms' offerings but two challenges arise: the customer experience is increasingly created through interactions with product-service systems (PSSs) and it is formed through all moments of interaction with multiple firms. Incorporating customer experience requirements (ERs) into the design of PSSs is therefore a complex task. To address this challenge, this paper presents an extension of the Kansei engineering method consisting of two components. First, the extension includes an in-depth study of the customer experience from a holistic perspective that informs the design process. Second, it involves the active participation of multidisciplinary experts from the different partner companies that together enable the PSS offering. An application of this new extension is presented for mid-distance bus trips, involving passengers, a vehicle manufacturing and a transport provider company. The research followed design-science guidelines using an action research approach to develop new public transportation PSS concepts by involving a multidisciplinary design team. The customer experience study enables the team adequately incorporate ERs along the development process, and the joint work of the intercompany team of experts enables integration of the different PSS elements into a solution that enhances the travel experience from a holistic perspective.

Abstract
Purpose - This article seeks to contribute to a better understanding of company social networks (CSNs), which constitute people connected to a company or brand through a social networking site. To this end, the research addresses both participation goals and CSN attributes that drive participation in CSNs. Design/methodology/approach - With a grounded theory approach, this research begins with an exploratory study of the page maintained by a large retailer for six months, followed by a qualitative study featuring in-depth individual interviews and focus groups with 26 members of the CSN. Findings - The results highlight differences between CSNs and other types of online communities (OCs). Members rely on the company to help them achieve their goals; few count on their CSN peers, with whom they maintain weak ties. Unlike in brand communities (BCs), most members are not enthusiasts but instead engage in a pragmatic relationship with the brand. Practical implications - CSNs can create value for both the host company and its members; active management is necessary to unlock that potential. The implications for CSN management include strategies to foster participation and increase value for companies and members. Originality/value - Although the previous research has studied OCs, specific research on CSNs is scarce. This study characterizes CSNs and provides details regarding participation factors in this new context, as well as relevant implications for CSN management and service research.

Abstract
This article presents the results of a qualitative study with 49 bus passengers in two types of mid-distance journeys: (1) experience-centric trips (touristic), and (2) utilitarian trips (intercity transportation). Study results show that passenger travel experience encompasses all moments of contact with the transportation service, as well as aspects that are not in direct control of the transportation provider. The results also reveal that the travel experience involves a holistic set of customer responses that go beyond cognitive assessments, also comprising sensorial and emotional components. The comparison of the two transportation settings shows that both experience-centric and utilitarian trip passengers have a holistic view of the travel experience, although focusing on different experience drivers and customer responses. These findings indicate that transport providers and planners should pay attention to the overall customer travel experience from a holistic view, and that transportation services should be carefully designed and managed in a systemic way.

Abstract
The profit resulting from customer relationship is essential to ensure companies viability, so an improvement in customer retention is crucial for competitiveness. As such, companies have recognized the importance of customer centered strategies and consequently customer relationship management (CRM) is often at the core of their strategic plans. In this context, a priori knowledge about the risk of a given customer to mitigate or even end the relationship with the provider is valuable information that allows companies to take preventive measures to avoid defection. This paper proposes a model to predict partial defection, using two classification techniques: Logistic regression and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS). The main objective is to compare the performance of MARS with Logistic regression in modeling customer attrition. This paper considers the general form of Logistic regression and Logistic regression combined with a wrapper feature selection approach, such as stepwise approach. The empirical results showed that MARS performs better than Logistic regression when variable selection procedures are not used. However, MARS loses its superiority when Logistic regression is conducted with stepwise feature selection.

Abstract
This paper aims to provide an assessment of urban quality of life (QoL) of European cities from the perspective of qualified human resources. The competitiveness of cities relies increasingly in their capacity to attract highly educated workers, as they are important assets for firms when choosing a location. Qualified human resources, on the other hand, tend to value QoL over other urban features. This is why policymakers and urban planners need to evaluate QoL of cities and be provided with tools that can guide action to improvements in this area. We assess urban QoL by means of a composite indicator constructed using data envelopment analysis, based on Urban Audit data and Mercer's framework of analysis, to give account of 246 European cities. Besides presenting a ranking of the best and the worst scores of QoL, this methodology allows benchmarking strategies.