Influencer marketing furthers the goals of relationship marketing. Companies use influencers to advertise their products through social networks such as Instagram. This digital advertising is aimed at shifting the company’s goals from customer acquisition to retention and commitment. While several articles provide interesting advances analyzing social media and sustainability goals, research about influencer types and their impact on engagement preserving corporate sustainability is limited. Thus, the objectives of this study are: (1) Select general influencer traits as positive characteristics in promoting a product; (2) analyze them for micro and macro influencer scenarios; (3) explore potential differences in their adequacy determining customer engagement and preserving corporate sustainability. Credibility, pleasantness, and emotions are the criteria analyzed through multivariate analysis applied over two independent samples of followers. Pleasantness and appearance in the macro influencer scenario and perceived integrity in that of the micro influencer appear to conflict with the desired transparency of the message, while transmission of emotions plays an essential role in both scenarios. This is a very important finding. Companies should assess candidate influencers’ emotional projection skills, in addition to evaluating the brand sponsorship costs and defining the target audience for the advertisement, always under the premise of preserving corporate sustainability.

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Abstract:The booking purchase process in B2C tourism online from the perspective of the quality-satisfaction-loyalty value chain has scarcely been investigated. The measurement models of the variables are not unified and essential variables, as transaction costs, need more research in order to achieve a comprehensive model of the digital tourist purchase process. This research is aimed at solving this gap through the proposal of a theoretical structural model, which is tested for the Spanish context. The results show that the measurement of website-perceived quality must include utilitarian and hedonic aspects, which can provide a competitive advantage to acquire and retain customers. Perceived quality and transaction costs determine customer's satisfaction and, ultimately, repurchase intentions or brand loyalty. Prices are found as mediator variables fostering the effect of quality on satisfaction, and non-monetary costs act as a cause of satisfaction. The online B2C tourism business must implement efficient internal and external processes to justify perceived costs.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to offer an economic analysis of the convenience store format and the various categories thereof for the Spanish case in the period 1998-2004. Design/methodology/approach -Using secondary information sources, the analysis methodology is based on economic indicators of the output level and on the calculation of output/input ratios. Findings -The results show a positive evolution of the format regarding both the sales volume and the number of establishments, a high-concentration rate in the sector and a positive trend of the productivity ratios. However, differences are observed between distribution groups or chains, as well as between the various analysed types.Research limitations/implications -The analysis uses secondary data, namely generally accepted apparent economic indicators that cannot reflect the entire reality of the market. The analysed market is the Spanish market. So, more effort of analysis is needed with primary data and it emerges the convenience of that the competent authorities provide more statistical information about the sector. Originality/value -This work provides knowledge about management decisions by retailers regarding a specific format (the convenience format), which is emerging in some categories and is mature in others. This research covers a lack of both conceptual and empirical studies that are targeted at understanding these formats and at analysing their current and future situation. The most specific contribution is the focus on a specific format not analysed previously, from the point of view of economic ratios including an approximation to marketing productivity, a priority area of study in this area of knowledge. The analysis performed allows verifying the positive evolution shown by the format in recent years. It also reflects upon the fact that it would be advisable for competent authorities to publish periodic statistics on the global format and on its types.

Recent tourism literature reviews the movement of the current distribution landscape toward disintermediation as the Internet and mobile technologies provide consumers with more and more tools for researching suppliers/providers and purchasing products and services directly. This calls into question the necessity and role of retailers in the industry. Focusing on online travel agencies (OTAs), this chapter is aimed at solving three main research questions: What is the current position of online tourism retailers as indirect channels in the online tourism distribution system? What are the strengths of OTAs as seen by their customers? and How should OTAs face the future? A database drawn from a survey of Spanish digital tourists is used to illustrate the initial theoretical discussion and concluding remarks.