It is important for companies to reach their goal of marketing success and a way for them doing so is to improve their sales and differentiate themselves from their competitors. There is in fact a need for companies to focus on sustainable consumption and how customers are influenced by purchasing these products. Since several research has been studying the impact brand equity has on purchase intention, this paper intends to explain this impact further by adding the context of sustainability. In order to explain this, this paper used a quantitative approach where a survey was sent out. A total of 220 responses were collected and the answers given were calculated through the program SPSS. In SPSS a multiple regression line was conducted where the results could be found, where the developed hypotheses showed acceptance or rejection. The result showed that the variables of brand equity had different levels of impact, where three out of four hypotheses were accepted. Even though one of the variables was rejected, the overall representation of brand equity had a positive impact on purchase intention when the context of sustainability was added.

abstract: Social media sites focusing on health-related topics are rapidly gaining popularity among online health consumers, also known as "e-patients". The increasing adoption of social media by e-patients and their demand for reliable health information has prompted several health care organizations (HCOs) to establish their social media presence. HCOs are using social media to connect with current and potential e-patients, and improve patient education and overall quality of care. A significant benefit for HCOs in using social media could potentially be the improvement of their quality of care, as perceived by patients. Perceived quality of care is a key determinant of patients' experience and satisfaction with health care services, and has been a major focus of research. However, there is very little research on the relationship between patients' online social media experience and their perceived quality of care. The objective of this research was to evaluate e-patients' online experience with an HCO's social media sites and examine its impact on their perceived quality of care. Research methodology included a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Data for this study was collected from Mayo Clinic's social media sites through an online survey. Descriptive statistics were used to identify basic demographic profiles of e-patients. Linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between online experience and perceived quality of care. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Results showed a positive relationship between online experience and perceived quality of care. Qualitative data provided information about e-patients' attitudes and expectations from healthcare social media. Overall, results yielded insights on design and management of social media sites for e-patients, and integration of these online applications in the health care delivery process. This study is of value to HCOs, health communicators and social media designers, and will also serve as a foundation for subsequent studies in the area of health care social media. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.D. Design 2011

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo principal a proposição de modelos ampliados para a satisfação de clientes de serviços, através da identificação de relações entre determinantes da satisfação, e da inclusão dos principais atributos e dimensões que afetam a qualidade percebida dos clientes, para vários segmentos de serviços. Para isto, o trabalho se propõe: (i) propor uma abordagem alternativa ao uso de equações estruturais para a modelagem das relações entre determinantes da satisfação de clientes em serviços; (ii) estabelecer métodos para identificar e hierarquizar atributos de qualidade percebida em serviços; (iii) propor dimensões de qualidade percebida em serviços a partir dos atributos que afetam a percepção de qualidade dos clientes e (iv) identificar relações entre determinantes da satisfação e atributos de qualidade percebida para vários tipos de serviços. Uma das principais contribuições desta teses é a proposição de uma sistemática alternativa ao uso de equações estruturais para identificar as relações entre determinantes da satisfação do cliente, seguindo procedimentos mais simples, utilizando múltiplas variáveis e sem o requerimento de amostras extensas. Além disso, os modelos ampliados para a satisfação dos consumidores de serviços podem servir de ferramenta para auxiliar profissionais das empresas de serviços a focar seus esforços e direcionar políticas estratégicas para atributos importantes para os clientes, que afetam diretamente a sua percepção de qualidade e satisfação. As características diferenciadoras dos serviços são consideradas nos modelos ampliados propostos para a satisfação de clientes, uma vez que são avaliados serviços de diferentes tipologias (no que tange a grau de tangibilidade e grau de contato e de envolvimento do cliente). / This study's main objective is to propose expanded models for customer satisfaction in services through the identification of relationships among determinants of satisfaction, and the inclusion of key attributes and dimensions that affect the perceived quality of customers for various segments of services. For this, the study intends: (i) to propose an alternative approach to structural equation for modeling the relationships among determinants of customer satisfaction in services, (ii) to explore methods to identify and rank attributes of perceived service quality; (iii) to propose dimensions of perceived quality in services considering the attributes that affect customers quality perception, and (iv) to identify relationships among determinants of satisfaction and perceived quality attributes for various types of services. One of the main contributions of this thesis is to propose a systematic alternative to the use of structural equations for identifying relationships among determinants of customer satisfaction by following simple procedures, using multiple variables and without the requirement of extensive samples. In addition, the expanded models for consumer satisfaction in services may be a useful tool for service companies to focus their efforts and direct strategic policies considering the attributes important for customers, which directly affect their perception of quality and satisfaction. The distinguishing characteristics of services are considered in the proposed expanded models for customer satisfaction, since different types of services (concerning to degree of tangibility, degree of customer contact and involvement of the client) were evaluated.

Submitted by Lucia Salmonson Guimarães Barros (lucia.barros@fgv.br) on 2017-02-16T11:43:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Crowdfunding_biblioteca_vf.pdf: 1891312 bytes, checksum: 6d94a5e4f152497a8a5a503ccfc37e36 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2017-02-23T17:49:40Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Crowdfunding_biblioteca_vf.pdf: 1891312 bytes, checksum: 6d94a5e4f152497a8a5a503ccfc37e36 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-24T12:55:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Crowdfunding_biblioteca_vf.pdf: 1891312 bytes, checksum: 6d94a5e4f152497a8a5a503ccfc37e36 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-01-30 / Although there has been growing interest in how solicitors and funders behave in crowdfunding platforms, it is an open question whether and if so how information about the time left to complete the campaign and past funding impact funder’s decision in all-or-nothing non-investment crowdfunding platforms. Relying on a new outcome measure: the funding rate (i.e., the ratio of the number of supports to number of web page visits on a given week), and a unique dataset of about three and a half million web page visits and 79.6 thousand supports for 931 different projects, this research investigates the impact of past funding and time on a project’s funding rate in the largest 'all or nothing' non-investment Brazilian crowdfunding platform. We found that people seem concerned about the usefulness of their funds: they are willing to help solicitors, but mainly when they believe the project is good (i.e., it has a minimum chance of reaching the target) and when 'their help really helps' (i.e., before the target is reached).

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo principal o desenvolvimento de estruturas que contribuam para avaliação do alinhamento entre percepções de qualidade e planejamento de investimentos que impactem na melhoria da qualidade dos serviços aeroportuários prestados aos passageiros. Para tanto, o trabalho se propõe: (i) realizar o levantamento na literatura dos atributos de qualidade que afetam aos passageiros nos terminais; (ii) criar uma estrutura para avaliação de qualidade em serviços aeroportuários; (iii) hierarquizar atributos de qualidade; (iv) avaliar a qualidade percebida de atributos de qualidade; (v) analisar de gaps de importância atribuída e qualidade percebida, nas percepções de passageiros e gestores; (vi) verificar as relações entre investimentos e atributos de qualidade; e (vii) avaliar o impacto dos investimentos na qualidade percebida por passageiros. Entre as principais contribuições desta dissertação, está a proposição de três estruturas: (i) estrutura para avaliação da qualidade em serviços aeroportuários; (ii) estrutura para análise de gaps de qualidade em serviços aeroportuários; e (iii) uma estrutura para avaliação do impacto dos investimentos na qualidade percebida por passageiros. Utilizando o método proposto, os gestores dos aeroportos podem realizar diagnósticos, verificar oportunidades de melhoria e priorizar a alocação de recursos em planos de investimentos futuros. Além disso, as estruturas propostas nos capítulos deste trabalho podem auxiliar os profissionais aeroportuários a direcionar esforços e políticas estratégicas para atributos importantes e com baixa qualidade percebida pelos passageiros. As características diferenciadoras e específicas dos serviços aeroportuários são consideradas nas pesquisas desenvolvidas, uma vez que foram validadas por especialistas do setor. / This study's main objective is to develop frameworks for contribute to assess the alignment between quality perceptions and investment planning, that impact on improving airport services quality, provided to passengers. Thus, this study proposes: (i) a literature survey of quality attributes that affect passengers in the terminals; (ii) to create a framework for quality assessment in airport services; (iii) prioritize quality attributes; (iv) evaluate quality perceived of quality attributes; (v) analyze gaps of prioritization and perceived quality, on the perceptions of passengers and managers; (vi) verify the relationship between investments and quality attributes; and (vii) evaluate the impact of investments in the quality perceived by passengers. Among the main contributions of this study is the proposition of three frameworks: (i) framework for the evaluation of quality attributes in airport services; (ii) quality gaps framework in airport services; and (iii) framework for evaluate the impact of investments in the quality perceived by passengers. Using the proposed method, airport managers can perform diagnostics, check opportunities for improvement and prioritize the allocation of future investment plans resources. In addition, the proposed frameworks in the chapters of this work can contribute to a structured model for analyse the alignment between perceived quality assessment and planning of airport investiments. This model can help airport managers to direct efforts and strategic policies for important attributes and low quality perceived by passengers. The distinguishing and specific characteristics of the airport services are considered in the research developed, since had been validated by sector experts.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo principal a avaliação de qualidade dos serviços aeroportuários considerando a perspectiva das Companhias Aéreas. Para tanto, o trabalho visa: (i) propor um modelo baseado em atributos de qualidade para os serviços prestados pelos gestores dos aeroportos às Companhias Aéreas; (ii) realizar a implementação desse Modelo para a avaliação da qualidade de ditos serviços; e (iii) avaliar a qualidade dos serviços oferecidos tanto para passageiros quanto para Companhias Aéreas. Assim, dois Modelos são propostos e aplicados, o primeiro com foco em Companhias Aéreas e o segundo que integra as perspectivas delas e dos passageiros, com relação aos serviços comuns. A construção dos Modelos foi baseada na revisão da literatura e no conhecimento de especialistas dos setores de aeroportos e serviços. A implementação dos modelos foi realizada em dois Aeroportos da América do Sul, um no Brasil e outro na Colômbia, abrangendo os pontos de vista dos atores: Gestores de Aeroporto, Companhias Aéreas e passageiros. Assim, foi possível analisar os aspectos que esses atores valorizam, sua percepção sobre a qualidade e, ainda, proceder a uma análise de gaps. A inclusão do ponto de vista das Companhias Aéreas na avaliação da qualidade dos aeroportos representa uma contribuição à literatura, devido à pouca quantidade de trabalhos sobre o assunto e a importância dos aeroportos atenderem esses clientes. Na prática, os modelos apresentados podem ser usados pelos gestores dos aeroportos como ferramentas para a avaliação de seus serviços, análise do conflito de interesses, integração das perspectivas de passageiros e Companhias Aéreas, e identificação de oportunidades de melhoria. / This paper aims to evaluate the quality of airport services considering the Airlines perspective. Thus, this paper intends to: (i) propose a Quality Attributes-based model for services provided by the Airport operator to airlines; (ii) implement a model for the quality evaluation of those services; and (iii) evaluate the quality of the services provided to passengers and airlines. Two models were proposed and implemented, the first had a focus on airlines and the second integrated the perspectives of airlines and passengers in respect of common services. The models were built based in the literature review and the knowledge of airport and services experts. The implementation of these models was done in two South America airports, one in Brazil and other in Colombia, comprising the point of view of airport managers, airlines and passengers. Consequently, it was possible to analyze the items they value, their perception about quality attributes and also to conduct a Gaps analysis. The inclusion of airline’s point of view in the airport quality assessment represents a contribution to the literature, due to the small amount of papers on the subject and the relevance of these clients. In practice, the proposed models can be used by airport managers for assessing their services, analyzing the conflict interests and the integration between the passengers and airlines perspectives; and identifying opportunities for improvement.

Em que pese o esforço de redução do déficit habitacional por parte do Governo Federal nas últimas décadas, as ações que visam à melhoria da qualidade da construção e à redução de custos ao longo do ciclo de vida dos empreendimentos são críticas para a melhoria da qualidade de vida da população de baixa renda. A indústria da construção civil, no entanto, tem dificuldades em gerenciar o conhecimento adquirido ao longo de seus processos, em especial com relação à confiabilidade de seus produtos ao longo da vida útil, bem como no que se refere à percepção de seus usuários sobre a qualidade construtiva. Diversos trabalhos vêm contribuindo para o entendimento da qualidade na indústria da construção civil a partir da formulação de modelos, métodos e ferramentas que abordam o emprego de diferentes dimensões da qualidade, nas diferentes etapas dos empreendimentos de construção. Contudo, estes estudos com frequência resultam em análises fragmentadas da qualidade, no que se refere às diferentes dimensões da qualidade ou etapas do empreendimento, sem buscar uma relação entre os diferentes tipos de avaliação. O objetivo do presente trabalho consiste em desenvolver um método de avaliação sistemática da qualidade de empreendimentos habitacionais de interesse social, baseado em uma análise técnica dos edifícios e na percepção dos usuários das habitações. Para a análise técnica foi desenvolvido um diagrama de afinidades que relaciona: (a) as partes da edificação; (b) possíveis origens de falhas nos estágios de projeto e produção; (c) falhas que podem ser observadas na etapa de uso; e (d) possível comprometimento do desempenho da habitação, devido à ocorrência de uma falha. Os dados foram coletados em empreendimentos habitacionais de interesse social no estado do Rio Grande do Sul Para o processamento dos dados foram empregadas as técnicas estatísticas de análise de confiabilidade e análise fatorial exploratória. Para as análises sobre a percepção dos usuários foi empregada uma técnica estatística denominada de Fração Atribuível Populacional. Adotou-se a abordagem de pesquisa denominada constructive research, em que se desenvolve um artefato para a solução de classes de problemas práticos. O desenvolvimento desta pesquisa foi dividido nas seguintes etapas: (a) revisão bibliográfica; (b) compreensão do problema de pesquisa; (c) desenvolvimento e aplicação da solução; e (d) avaliação da solução. Como contribuição teórica, o estudo propõe uma conceitualização da qualidade na habitação de interesse social, com base nas dimensões de confiabilidade, desempenho e qualidade percebida, bem como discute as relações entre as referidas dimensões da qualidade, a partir do desenvolvimento de um conjunto de medidas para a análise combinada entre o desempenho técnico e a percepção dos usuários. Como resultado prático tem-se o próprio método de avaliação da qualidade, o qual pode apoiar a tomada de decisão de gerentes envolvidos na concepção de programas habitacionais de interesse social, ou na avaliação de empreendimentos habitacionais, bem como projetistas e gerentes de construção. / Despite the effort of reducing the housing shortage by the Federal Government in the last few decades, measures aimed at improving construction quality and reducing project life-cycle are critical for improving the quality of life of the low-income population. The construction industry, however, has difficulties in managing the knowledge acquired throughout its processes, especially regarding the reliability of products along their life-cycle, as well as the perception of the users on construction quality. Several studies have contributed to the understanding of quality in the construction industry by developing models, methods, and tools that address different quality dimensions, at different project stages. However, studies on quality of social housing have often resulted in fragmented analyses in relation to quality dimensions or project stages, without searching for a relationship between different types of evaluation. The aim of this study is to devise a systematic evaluation method of the quality of social housing projects, based both on a technical assessment of the buildings and on the housing users’ perception. An affinity diagram was developed for the technical assessment, which relates: (a) parts of the building; (b) possible causes of failures in the design and production stages; (c) failures observed in the use phase; and (d) negative impact in housing performance due to the occurrence of failures. Data were collected in social housing projects from the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Data processing involved the application of statistical techniques for reliability analysis and exploratory factor analysis. Moreover, the Population Attributable Fraction (FAP) technique was used to analyze users' perceptions The research approach adopted in this research work was Constructive Research, in which an artifact was devised to solve classes of practical problems. The development of this research was divided into the following steps: (a) a literature review; (b) understanding of the research problem; (c) development and implementation of the solution; and (d) evaluation of the solution. As a theoretical contribution, the study proposes a conceptualization of quality in social housing based on the reliability, performance, and perceived quality dimensions, as well as discusses the relationships between those dimensions based on a set of measures that can be used to perform joint assessments involving technical performance and users’ perception. The main practical contribution if the quality assessment method itself, which can support decision making for managers involved in the conception of social housing programs or in the assessment of housing projects, as well as designers and construction managers.

O conceito de produtividade é um termo utilizado em grande escala no setor industrial, porém, no setor de serviços a produtividade ainda é vista de forma um tanto nebulosa pela sua intangibilidade e heterogeneidade inerente a sua natureza. Com a dificuldade encontrada para a mensuração mais adequada da produtividade, tendo em vista a influência do cliente no processo de serviços, surgiu a necessidade do presente estudo. Inicialmente, se realizou uma vasta procura na literatura nacional e internacional sobre o tema produtividade e qualidade no setor de serviços, sendo encontrados poucos autores que indicavam métodos de mensuração da produtividade neste setor, bem como autores que utilizassem a qualidade percebida pelo cliente como fator importante nesta mensuração. Os estudos encontrados se atêm a literatura ou tratam a qualidade e produtividade de forma separada. Essa lacuna no contexto de Centro de Serviços Compartilhados (CSC) é ainda maior, não sendo encontrados estudos com metodologias que incorporassem a qualidade e a produtividade, assunto relevante visto que estes centros são cada vez mais utilizados pelas empresas para o fornecimento de serviços de apoio Após a revisão teórica sobre o tema partiu-se para a proposição de um método de mensuração da produtividade e qualidade percebida em CSC, que considera a análise e separação do processo de serviços em atividades de front office e back office, para a melhor definição de métricas de desempenho dos serviços. O método faz uso de ferramentas como SSA (Service System Architecture) e service Blueprinting para mapeamento do processo e de instrumentos de avaliação da qualidade percebida para a avaliação da percepção do cliente ajuste das métricas de produtividade. Para teste do modelo, o mesmo foi aplicado em duas empresas do setor de serviços. Ambas as empresas escolhidas para o estudo possuíam métodos de mensuração de produtividade distintos, porém possui em comum um setor de CSC, que presta serviços financeiros para ambas as empresas. Para comparação foi realizado este estudo em uma célula de serviços comum às empresas: célula de serviços logísticos. Os resultados da aplicação foram comparados identificando diferenças e similaridades nos casos analisados. / The concept of productivity is a term used on a large scale in the industrial sector, but in the service sector productivity is still somewhat blurred by its intangibility and heterogeneity inherent in its nature. With the difficulty found for the most adequate measurement of productivity, considering the influence of the customer in the service process, the need arose for the present study. Initially, a great demand was made in the national and international literature on the topic of productivity and quality in the service sector, with few authors indicating methods of measuring productivity in this sector, as well as authors who used the quality perceived by the customer as an important factor in this measurement. The studies found stick to the literature or treat quality and productivity separately. This gap in the context of Shared Services Center (SSC) is even greater, and studies with methodologies that incorporate quality and productivity are not found, a relevant issue since these centers are increasingly used by companies to provide support services After the theoretical review on the subject, we started with the proposal of a method of measuring productivity and quality perceived in SSC, which considers the analysis and separation of the service process in front office and back office activities, in order to better define performance metrics. The method makes use of tools such as Service System Architecture (SSA) and service blueprinting for process mapping and perceived quality assessment tools for the evaluation of customer perception adjustment of productivity metrics. To test the model, the same was applied to two companies in the service sector. Both companies chosen for the study had different methods of measurement of productivity, but they have in common a SSC sector, which provides financial services for both companies. For comparison, this study was carried out in a service cell common to companies: cell of logistics services. The results of the application were compared identifying differences and similarities in the cases analyzed.

The 21st century automobile has become more than just a simple tool for transportation and more of a brand image or a way for drivers to express their personal taste. This has made it increasingly important for automotive manufacturers to design the driver experience and driver feeling so as to tailor their preferences and interests. Currently there is not enough information on how to design or brand the communication of meaningful feedback from the automobile to the driver. With the development of new advanced technologies such as electric steer-by-wire systems or electric automobiles, the need to provide meaningful feedback to the driver plays a central role in the experience of using the new driving technology. Thus it is important to understand how to assess the emotional response to the stimuli reaching the driver so to be able to optimise at later stage the perceived experience. Steering wheel vibration feedback plays an important role for the driver’s control input when driving. There is currently a lack of research on the formal assessment criteria of driver emotional response used to define automotive steering wheel vibration feedback, therefore this thesis proposes a newly Driver Emotional Semantic (DES) Scale to answer the research question: “How can the emotional response to steering wheel vibration be assessed?”. This study starts with a comparison of a questionnaire survey (Exp.1) and a laboratory test (Exp.2) to identify if a correlation exists between the emotional ratings measured from the expected driver’s perception of the vibration and the experienced emotional feeling of steering wheel vibration. The work then defines a semantic scale to capture the vibrational vocabulary used by the driver to express their feeling of perceived vibration during real-road driving scenarios. Experiment 3 was therefore carried out to gather the underlying semantic descriptors used by drivers during driving scenarios. To test the reliability of the descriptive pairs of the DES rating scale developed, two evaluations of the assessment criteria were carried out: in real road scenarios (Exp.4) and laboratory test setting (Exp.5). Current research findings of this thesis suggest that the consistency of the scale dimensions found in the field study has captured with greater accuracy the driver semantic experience of automotive steering wheel vibration character as compared to the laboratory experiment dimensionality. Results suggest that the main vibrotactile semantic descriptors to assess the human emotional response to automotive steering wheel vibration were found to be four: pleasant, smooth, sharp and powerful. The final proposed DES scale could help automotive research and industry determine and customise the aspects of the automobile towards drivers’ preferences of felt experience.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo principal a proposição de modelos ampliados para a satisfação de clientes de serviços, através da identificação de relações entre determinantes da satisfação, e da inclusão dos principais atributos e dimensões que afetam a qualidade percebida dos clientes, para vários segmentos de serviços. Para isto, o trabalho se propõe: (i) propor uma abordagem alternativa ao uso de equações estruturais para a modelagem das relações entre determinantes da satisfação de clientes em serviços; (ii) estabelecer métodos para identificar e hierarquizar atributos de qualidade percebida em serviços; (iii) propor dimensões de qualidade percebida em serviços a partir dos atributos que afetam a percepção de qualidade dos clientes e (iv) identificar relações entre determinantes da satisfação e atributos de qualidade percebida para vários tipos de serviços. Uma das principais contribuições desta teses é a proposição de uma sistemática alternativa ao uso de equações estruturais para identificar as relações entre determinantes da satisfação do cliente, seguindo procedimentos mais simples, utilizando múltiplas variáveis e sem o requerimento de amostras extensas. Além disso, os modelos ampliados para a satisfação dos consumidores de serviços podem servir de ferramenta para auxiliar profissionais das empresas de serviços a focar seus esforços e direcionar políticas estratégicas para atributos importantes para os clientes, que afetam diretamente a sua percepção de qualidade e satisfação. As características diferenciadoras dos serviços são consideradas nos modelos ampliados propostos para a satisfação de clientes, uma vez que são avaliados serviços de diferentes tipologias (no que tange a grau de tangibilidade e grau de contato e de envolvimento do cliente). / This study's main objective is to propose expanded models for customer satisfaction in services through the identification of relationships among determinants of satisfaction, and the inclusion of key attributes and dimensions that affect the perceived quality of customers for various segments of services. For this, the study intends: (i) to propose an alternative approach to structural equation for modeling the relationships among determinants of customer satisfaction in services, (ii) to explore methods to identify and rank attributes of perceived service quality; (iii) to propose dimensions of perceived quality in services considering the attributes that affect customers quality perception, and (iv) to identify relationships among determinants of satisfaction and perceived quality attributes for various types of services. One of the main contributions of this thesis is to propose a systematic alternative to the use of structural equations for identifying relationships among determinants of customer satisfaction by following simple procedures, using multiple variables and without the requirement of extensive samples. In addition, the expanded models for consumer satisfaction in services may be a useful tool for service companies to focus their efforts and direct strategic policies considering the attributes important for customers, which directly affect their perception of quality and satisfaction. The distinguishing characteristics of services are considered in the proposed expanded models for customer satisfaction, since different types of services (concerning to degree of tangibility, degree of customer contact and involvement of the client) were evaluated.