Papers by Ovidiu I Moisescu
Journal of Business Research, 2022
With the increasing prominence of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in... more With the increasing prominence of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in business research, the use of latent class analyses for identifying and treating unobserved heterogeneity has also gained momentum. Researchers have introduced various latent class approaches in a PLS-SEM context, of which finite mixture PLS (FIMIX-PLS) plays a central role due to its ability to identify heterogeneity and indicate a suitable number of segments to extract from the data. However, applying FIMIX-PLS requires researchers to make several choices that, if incorrect, could lead to wrong results and false conclusions. Addressing this concern, we present the results of a systematic review of FIMIX-PLS applications published in major business research journals. Our review provides an overview of the interdependencies between researchers' choices and identifies potential problem areas. Based on our results, we offer concrete guidance on how to prevent common pitfalls when using FIMIX-PLS, and identify future research areas.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Journal of Product and Brand Management, 2020
Purpose-This study aims to reexamine the discriminant validity of the customer-based corporate re... more Purpose-This study aims to reexamine the discriminant validity of the customer-based corporate reputation (CBR) scale in both its original and short forms. Design/methodology/approach-The authors used data from end-use customers in two countries and two service industries. Results obtained in partial least squares structural equation modeling for the heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT)-based inference test and the Fornell and Larcker criterion were compared to make judgements about the empirical distinctiveness of the CBR scale's five dimensions. Findings-This study's findings demonstrate that the CBR scale in both its original and short forms lacks discriminant validity when using the HTMT-based inference test. Conversely, the discriminant validity of the five corporate reputation dimensions is generally supported when using the more liberal Fornell and Larcker criterion. Research limitations/implications-Future studies using the CBR scale in either the original or its short form should rely on the more stringent HTMT criterion to ensure the discriminant validity of the scale's five dimensions. Originality/value-By addressing recent findings regarding the HTMT criterion's superiority in uncovering discriminant validity issues compared to that of the Fornell and Larcker criterion, this study is the first, to the best of the authors' knowledge, to reexamine the discriminant validity of the well-known CBR scale.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020
The purpose of the current study was to comparatively estimate, for generation X and generation Y... more The purpose of the current study was to comparatively estimate, for generation X and generation Y, the impact of corporate environmental and social responsibility on customer loyalty, via customer-company identification and customer satisfaction as mediators. For this, a survey was conducted among a sample of telecom customers, comprising 445 members of generation X, and 601 of generation Y. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis. Results revealed that the impact of corporate environmental responsibility on customer loyalty is significantly higher within generation Y, while the social facet of corporate responsibility is more relevant for customers from generation X. The current study contributes to the literature by developing and testing, within multiple generational groups, a theoretical model which outlines the links between environmental and social responsibility and customer outcomes. As these relationships have been scarcely analyzed in the context of age cohort membership as a moderator, our study fills an important literature gap, emphasizing significant differences between generations X and Y. The findings have relevant implications for the effective communication of corporate environmental and social responsibility activities, providing important insights on how messages and communication channels should be adapted to generations X and Y as target audiences.
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 2021
Nowadays, in the technological era, social networking sites (SNSs) have the capacity to influence... more Nowadays, in the technological era, social networking sites (SNSs) have the capacity to influence, through electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), consumers' attitudes towards brands and companies. Consequently, eWOM via SNSs has become an important marketing communication tool for facilitating consumer interaction, acquiring new customers, and enhancing customer loyalty. However, despite the extensive research conducted to identify and depict the antecedents of eWOM, the prediction
Decision Support Systems, 2020
Online stores currently use recommendation systems (RSs) quasi-universally to provide their custo... more Online stores currently use recommendation systems (RSs) quasi-universally to provide their customers with added value and increase their profits, thus reshaping the world of e-commerce. RSs, however, depend on the availability of e-commerce user data to be effective. Nevertheless, data privacy regulations are increasingly becoming more restrictive and e-commerce users more aware of and concerned about their data being collected, stored, and processed for RSs. On the other hand, in the RSs context, there is currently a very limited understanding of e-commerce users' attitudes toward data privacy and of these attitudes' antecedents. This study examines the influence that an RS's perceived usefulness has on e-commerce users in terms of a specific RS collecting, storing, and processing their data. In addition, this study investigates the extent to which RSs' overall relevance for users depends on their perceived usefulness and users' degree of consent. We conducted an online survey of 597 e-commerce users, thereafter analyzing the data by means of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that an RS's perceived usefulness positively and significantly influences the extent to which users consent to the RS's provider collecting and storing their data, which in turn also impact RSs' overall relevance for e-commerce users. The findings have practical implications for e-commerce industry players, as well as for national and international authorities responsible for online data privacy regulations
Journal of Family Business Strategy, 2021
Journal of Consumer Marketing, 2021
Purpose-Big data and analytics are being increasingly used by tourism and hospitality organisatio... more Purpose-Big data and analytics are being increasingly used by tourism and hospitality organisations (THOs) to provide insights and to inform critical business decisions. Particularly in times of crisis and uncertainty data analytics supports THOs to acquire the knowledge needed to ensure business continuity and the rebuild of tourism and hospitality sectors. Despite being recognised as an important source of value creation, big data and digital technologies raise ethical, privacy and security concerns. This paper aims to suggest a framework for ethical data management in tourism and hospitality designed to facilitate and promote effective data governance practices. Design/methodology/approach-The paper adopts an organisational and stakeholder perspective through a scoping review of the literature to provide an overview of an under-researched topic and to guide further research in data ethics and data governance. Findings-The proposed framework integrates an ethical-based approach which expands beyond mere compliance with privacy and protection laws, to include other critical facets regarding privacy and ethics, an equitable exchange of travellers' data and THOs ability to demonstrate a social license to operate by building trusting relationships with stakeholders. Originality/value-This study represents one of the first studies to consider the development of an ethical data framework for THOs, as a platform for further refinements in future conceptual and empirical research of such data governance frameworks. It contributes to the advancement of the body of knowledge in data ethics and data governance in tourism and hospitality and other industries and it is also beneficial to practitioners, as organisations may use it as a guide in data governance practices.
Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 2021
Purpose-According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, sustainable tourism is a form... more Purpose-According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, sustainable tourism is a form of tourism that meets the needs of present tourists and host regions, while protecting and enhancing the opportunity for the future. It aims at having a low impact upon the environment and local culture; generating income and employment; and ensuring the conservation of local ecosystems. This paper aims to examine the ways in which the development and promotion of a new tourism product based on unique rural heritage and traditions contribute to the development of sustainable tourism by relating the practices to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) 1, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 17.
Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 2019
Purpose-This paper aims to examine the negative effects of events on residents' quality of life. ... more Purpose-This paper aims to examine the negative effects of events on residents' quality of life. Particularly, the paper analyses the specific negative effects generated via "overtourism" for the duration of large-scale music festivals. Design/methodology/approach-The paper uses a case study method approach to examine the negative effects that UNTOLD, the largest music festival in Romania, has on residents' quality of life. The case is analysed via a comprehensive desk research of secondary data from industry and academic sources. Findings-Despite its success and the positive economic impact UNTOLD festival had on the host city, several issues have a negative impact on residents' quality of life and well-being. The negative impacts are noise pollution, vandalism and crime, traffic and parking issues, waste and damages to the natural environment, pressure on and over usage of local services and infrastructure and the increased cost of living. Social implications-Whilst organisers, local businesses and local authorities are the main parties benefiting from events, residents mainly feel the negative impact. Organisers, local authorities and businesses need to minimise the negative effects residents' experience during the event by building sustainable partnerships and taking a more hands-on approach to sustainable and socially responsible practices. Current and potential initiatives are discussed in the paper. Originality/value-This paper examines the negative impacts events may have on residents' quality of life and discusses the case of a large-scale music festival, an under-researched context. The analysis and discussion may assist scholars and industry experts alike in generating new debates in sustainable event management practices, as well as festival organisers and public authorities in developing strategies for avoiding, containing or minimising the negative effects of events.
Sustainability, 2020
This paper investigates how customer loyalty can be enhanced by improving customers' perceptions ... more This paper investigates how customer loyalty can be enhanced by improving customers' perceptions of corporate fairness towards public authorities, taking into account the mediating role of customer-company identification, in a multi-sectorial context, in a developing country in Central and Eastern Europe. The investigation is conducted comparatively within four main industries (telecom services, retail banking services, dairy products and personal care products) and depicts the particular impact these perceptions have on customer loyalty in each domain, with practical implications concerning corporate social responsibility (CSR) communications. A consumer survey was designed and implemented among a sample of 1464 customers from Romania. The collected data was analyzed by means of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). We found that customers' perception of corporate fairness towards public authorities has a significant and positive impact on customer loyalty in all investigated industries, both directly and indirectly via customer-company identification, with a higher impact for services, especially for retail banking services.
Tourism Economics, 2019
Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) has become a standard tool for analy... more Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) has become a standard tool for analyzing complex interrelationships between observed and latent variables in tourism and numerous other fields of scientific inquiry. Along with the recent surge in the method's use, research has contributed several complementary methods for assessing the robustness of PLS-SEM results. Although these improvements are documented in extant literature, research on tourism has been slow to adopt the relevant complementary methods. This article illustrates the use of recent advances in PLS-SEM, designed to ensure structural model results' robustness in terms of nonlinear effects, endogeneity, and unobserved heterogeneity in a PLS-SEM framework. Our overarching aim is to encourage the routine use of these complementary methods to increase methodological rigor in the field.
E & M Ekonomie a Management, 2017
The current research investigates the moderating influence of consumer demographics on the relati... more The current research investigates the moderating influence of consumer demographics on the relationship between customers’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and their corporate brand loyalty towards retail banks in Romania, a typical developing country and one of the largest countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The investigation is based on data collected within a survey conducted among a sample of 1449 Romanian retail banking customers, based on a questionnaire including a specific set of items drawn up from the literature, intended to reflect corporate brand loyalty, as well as perceptual CSR dimensions, from a sustainable development and stakeholder-based perspective. After an exploratory factor analysis, the observed variables were grouped into several latent variables regarding perceived CSR and brand loyalty and, further on, these were included into a multiple regression model which was tested comparatively within various sample groups generated based on consumer demographics variables. The results emphasize several significant dissimilarities between gender, age, education and residence type based consumer segments in what concerns the impact of various CSR dimensions, as perceived by customers, on brand loyalty towards corporate brands in the banking sector. Thus, brand loyalty is significantly influenced by: perceived responsibility towards the environment - only in the case of female, younger and/or higher educated customers; perceived responsibility towards public authorities - only in the case of customers who are male, older, less educated and/or residing in larger cities; by perceived responsibility towards shareholders - only when for customers who are older, higher educated and/or residing in larger cities. The findings have practical implications for enhancing corporate brand loyalty in the regional retail banking sector market by outlining those CSR policies, actions and attitudes which should have priority within local banks’ marketing communications.
Scientific Annals of Economics and Business, 2017
The objective of the current paper is to investigate the impact of customers' perceptions of thei... more The objective of the current paper is to investigate the impact of customers' perceptions of their service providers' corporate social responsibility (CSR) on customer loyalty, bringing relevant and useful insights regarding the nature of this relationship in the retail banking industry, and in the particular context of a developing country. The objective was accomplished by planning and implementing a consumer survey among a sample of 1449 Romanian retail banking customers, using an item-pool drawn up from the literature. The observed variables were grouped into several reflective latent variables, and afterwards included into a multiple regression model. The results indicate that customers' loyalty towards retail banking companies is significantly and positively impacted by how customers perceive their providers' CSR. Moreover, analyzing each category of responsibilities individually, banks' responsibility towards their customers can be emphasized as being the most important dimension in our research context. The results convey practical implications for customer loyalty enhancement in a European developing country's retail banking industry, by identifying those CSR dimensions on which organizations should focus on within their CSR policies implementation and communication.
Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 2017
Purpose – According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, sustainable tourism is a fo... more Purpose – According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, sustainable tourism is a form of tourism that meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing the opportunity for the future. It is an industry that aims at having a low impact upon the environment and local culture, generating income and employment, and ensuring the conservation of local ecosystems. The aim of this paper is to examine the ways in which the development and promotion of a new tourism product based on unique rural heritage and traditions contribute to the development of sustainable tourism strategies in Romania. Design/methodology/approach – This paper includes a literature review on the topic of sustainable tourism in post-conflict destinations and provides arguments for the adoption and development of sustainable tourism. Using a case study methodological approach, this paper provides an example of a sustainable tourism destination from the Central development region of Romania (Alba County, Transylvania) to depict specific sustainable tourism practices and their impact on the place, in a post-communist and post-conflict context. The study uses a comprehensive desk-research based on secondary data from key industry and academic sources. Findings – The research findings show that rural tourism can greatly support the (re)development of post-conflict destinations, and it makes a significant contribution to the sustainable development of the Romanian tourism industry, in general, and rural economies in particular, as shown in the case examined in this paper. Practical implications – This paper illustrates that fostering the unique rural heritage and traditions of a post-conflict destination can contribute to the revival and sustainable development of the place. Sustainable tourism practices contribute not only financially to a destination but also to its social infrastructures, jobs, nature conservation, adoption of new working practices and the revitalisation of passive and poor rural areas. Originality/value – This paper examines and depicts rural tourism development as an innovative and sustainable strategy for Romania, a post-conflict destination that experienced severe political and social turmoil during the communist regime, and ethnic conflicts and violent events in the 1990s. The research findings may be applicable to other geographic regions and post-conflict destinations with similar contexts.
Economic Research - Ekonomska Istraživanja, 2018
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of customer-based perceptual corporate sus... more The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of customer-based perceptual corporate sustainability on customer loyalty in a comparative manner, in four important industries (mobile telecommunications services, retail banking services, dairy products and personal care products) in a developing country. A consumer survey was implemented among a sample of 1464 consumers from the urban area of a developing European country. Our research reveals that customer-based perceptual corporate sustainability significantly and positively impacts customer loyalty in all investigated industries, with a stronger impact in retail banking services and a lower one in the case of personal care products. The research identifies those perceptual corporate sustainability dimensions which significantly impact customer loyalty and on which companies should focus within their marketing communication in order to increase customer loyalty. The paper brings relevant multi-sectorial insights, filling a regional knowledge gap, in the particular socio-cultural and economic context of a developing country, and thinking forward the general theoretical knowledge regarding the relationship between customer loyalty and perceptual corporate sustainability as complex constructs. Moreover, by using a quasi-exhaustive manner to conceptualise corporate sustainability, this paper complements previous research on the topic, in which corporate sustainability was constructed narrowly, within limited conceptual frameworks.
Romanian Rural Tourism in the Context of Sustainable Development. Present and Prospects, 2016
The vast majority of travelers who purchased accommodation services in Romania during the last ye... more The vast majority of travelers who purchased accommodation services in Romania during the last years did research online before their buying decision. Online sources of information (websites of accommodation providers, social media, booking websites, and others) regarding such services can be very influential both because they are involved in the information gathering stage, one of the most important stages in the consumer decision process, but also because they can convey certain long-term consumer attitudes or levels of consumer trust or preference. Despite the increasing role of the online environment in the accommodation industry, and its potential to enhance Romanian rural tourism attractiveness, little is known about Romanian agro-guesthouses’ practices regarding the presence in the online arena. The objective of this paper will be to investigate the extent to which Romanian agro-guesthouses, more specifically those from the rural areas of the historical region of Transylvania, use own websites, social media such as Facebook, and booking websites such as bookings.com in order to promote their services and attract guests.
Society and Economy, Mar 1, 2017
The goal of the paper is to analyze the demographic discrepancies in the relationship between cus... more The goal of the paper is to analyze the demographic discrepancies in the relationship between customers’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and their loyalty towards mobile telecommunication companies, within the particular socio-cultural and economic context of one of the largest national markets of Central and Eastern Europe. For this purpose, a survey was conducted among a sample of 1,464 mobile telecommunication customers from the urban areas of Romania. The findings emphasize several significant dissimilarities between gender, age, education and residence type based consumer categories in what concerns the impact of various CSR dimensions, as perceived by customers, on corporate brand loyalty. The results have practical implications for enhancing corporate brand loyalty in the regional mobile telecommunication market by outlining those CSR policies which should have priority in implementation and, especially, communication.
The paper investigates the extent to which Romania’s largest travel agencies adopt and implement ... more The paper investigates the extent to which Romania’s largest travel agencies adopt and implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies, correlating these findings with their business performance refl ected by their net turnover and net profit. In order to evaluate the level of CSR policies adoption and implementation, an online survey was conducted among top managers from each travel agency. The questionnaire comprised several sets of items refl ecting work-place, environmental, marketplace, community, and, respectively, company values policies. Our results point to the fact that the CSR policies adopted and implemented to the highest degree are those concerning the marketplace, while the least embraced CSR policies refer to the environment. Our findings also suggest that there are several CSR policies which are adopted and implemented to a higher degree by larger travel agencies in terms of net turnover, while some other CSR policies are adopted more thoroughly by smaller ones. The results also indicate positive correlations between the profi tability of travel agencies and the adoption and implementation of certain CSR policies. Last but not least, our research suggests that marketplace policies adoption and implementation could have a significant positive impact on business performance of travel agencies in terms of both net turnover and net profitability.
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Papers by Ovidiu I Moisescu