Purpose The purpose of this research is to investigate online WOM in terms of its practice and the effect it can have on movie consumers. What are the motives moviegoers have in generating eWOM? Where can eWOM on movies be found online, and how does it impact its readers? Design/methodology/approach In order to develop our aim and research questions, the main concepts about WOM in general and WOM in the film industry were reviewed. Furthermore, the method of research was quantitative and was conducted on Business students at the University of Gävle, Sweden. An online survey was put at their disposal by mail as well as social media. Findings With the help of the results of our study, we discovered that our respondents had a positive attitude towards generating online WOM if given the opportunity. We identified the main motives movie consumers have, when it comes to generating eWOM, positive as well as negative. The effect of eWOM on moviegoers was also analyzed and we could conclude that positive eWOM can influence moviegoers to consider a specific movie and negative eWOM can either have no impact on filmgoers or make them disregard the specific movie. Finally, our findings also suggest that social media and review websites are the most used platforms for eWOM on movies. Theoretical & Practical implications This research offers a base for further research as it specifically focuses on consumer behavior towards eWOM, specifically in the film industry. The behavior of the consumers was examined from both the negative and the positive aspects of eWOM to deeper understand the effect it has in the film industry. Furthermore, the willingness to generate eWOM, motives, platforms of generation and effect were also key aspects of our research. Originality/value This research is unique in its kind due to its consideration of differentiating on both negative and positive aspects of eWOM. Previous research tends to focus only on the general phenomena of WOM, which did not give the possibility to understand the different ways it affects the consumers.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:55:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 BezalielASP_DISSERT.pdf: 2307069 bytes, checksum: aa5ddc5e2ae2722d27d66e85a1e511f1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-03 / This work develops a methodology for defining the maximum active power being injected into predefined nodes in the studied distribution networks, considering the possibility of multiple accesses of generating units. The definition of these maximum values is obtained from an optimization study, in which further losses should not exceed those of the base case, i.e., without the presence of distributed generation. The restrictions on the loading of the branches and voltages of the system are respected. To face the problem it is proposed an algorithm, which is based on the numerical method called particle swarm optimization, applied to the study of AC conventional load flow and optimal load flow for maximizing the penetration of distributed generation. Alternatively, the Newton-Raphson method was incorporated to resolution of the load flow. The computer program is performed with the SCILAB software. The proposed algorithm is tested with the data from the IEEE network with 14 nodes and from another network, this one from the Rio Grande do Norte State, at a high voltage (69 kV), with 25 nodes. The algorithm defines allowed values of nominal active power of distributed generation, in percentage terms relative to the demand of the network, from reference values / Neste trabalho, prop?e-se uma metodologia para defini??o dos valores m?ximos de pot?ncia ativa a serem injetados em barras pr?-definidas das redes de distribui??o estudadas, considerando a possibilidade de m?ltiplos acessos de unidades geradoras. A defini??o desses valores m?ximos se obt?m a partir de um estudo de otimiza??o, no qual as novas perdas n?o superam as do caso base, ou seja, sem a presen?a da gera??o distribu?da. No estudo atendem-se as restri??es de carregamentos nos ramos e tens?es do sistema. Para tratar o problema, prop?e-se um algoritmo baseado no m?todo num?rico de otimiza??o nuvem de part?culas, ou particle swarm optimization PSO, aplicado ao estudo de fluxo de carga convencional CA e ao fluxo de carga ?timo para maximiza??o da penetra??o da gera??o distribu?da. Tamb?m se incorporou o m?todo de Newton-Raphson, como alternativa, para a resolu??o do fluxo de carga. Realiza-se a programa??o computacional no software SCILAB. Testa-se o algoritmo proposto com os dados da rede IEEE-14 barras e de uma rede de distribui??o em alta tens?o (69 kV) do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte, com 25 barras. O algoritmo determina valores permitidos de pot?ncia ativa nominal de gera??o distribu?da, em termos percentuais relativos ? demanda da rede, a partir de valores de refer?ncia