PurposeIn 2008, a phenomenon emerged in online retail that attracted the attention of many people, creating a new virtual model of commerce. This phenomenon was called online group buying and arrived in Brazil in 2010. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that affect satisfaction and loyalty to group buying sites.Design/methodology/approachThrough structural equation modeling, the relationships between the attractiveness of discount rates, service quality, popularity, online brand image, antecedent word of mouth (WOM), creativity and trust in relation to consumer general satisfaction, declared loyalty, repurchase intention and positive WOM were observed. A total of 727 valid questionnaires were collected from online group buyers to test the 11 hypotheses proposed in this study.FindingsThe main contribution of this study was that it identified the strong influence of service quality, popularity and online brand image on consumer general satisfaction, and the influence of service quality, trust and general satisfaction on repurchase intention. It also identified the influence of trust, creativity and general satisfaction on declared loyalty, and finally, the influence of trust and general satisfaction on positive WOM.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of the extensive and robust model, other statistical interactions among the constructs were gauged. It is possible that new structures and paths for alternative models can be proposed in the future with the inclusion of new relationships not analyzed in the present study. Furthermore, future studies should consider testing the generated model in other countries, as the particular features of collective purchasing in Brazil should be taken into account.Practical implicationsIn addition to being concerned with the attractiveness of discounts, marketing managers of group buying sites should concentrate their efforts on strengthening perceived quality, image, trust and the creativity of the site to ensure customer loyalty.Social implicationsThe online group buying business model that was established in Brazil differs significantly from the American and European models. As many online group buying studies have been conducted in these markets, Brazilian consumers will enjoy substantial gains in the quality of the service provided by collective purchasing sites through the development of actions that focus on improving the factors that affect these consumers.Originality/valueThe originality of this study lies in the development of a single model that tests a set of factors gauged separately in other studies related to online purchase behavior in a broader perspective.

Codes of ethics and code of conduct formalize an ideal of expected behavior patterns to managers and employees of organizations, providing standards and orientation that states companies interactions with the community, through products /services, sales force, marketing communications, investments, and relationships with other stakeholders, influencing company reputation and overall Marketing performance. The objective of this study is to analyze the differences in codes of ethics of the largest companies based in Brazil and in Portugal, given their cultural and linguistic similarities. Findings show that the use of codes of ethics are more common in Brazil than in Portugal and that codes of ethics are substantially more extensive and cover a larger number of categories in Brazilian companies, reflecting the organizations mission and perception of stakeholders concerns and priorities. We conclude that ethical issues severely impact company reputation and, in a comprehensive sense, overall Marketing performance. Marketing professionals should be systematically aware of how company core values are transmitted to different audiences, including the use of code of ethics to communicate both with internal and external publics.

Data de recebimento: 09-07-2014 Data de aceite: 05-11-2014 À medida que aumentam os investimentos no patrocínio esportivo, notadamente no futebol, torna-se importante para o marketing entender os diversos aspectos deste tipo de estratégia. O presente trabalho busca aprofundar o entendimento sobre a atitude de consumidores-torcedores em relação a marcas patrocinadoras de times rivais aos seus. A análise de amostra de 280 respondentes fornece subsídios para explorar com maior profundidade as proposições de que torcedores mais envolvidos com seu time apresentam atitudes menos positivas em relação aos patrocinadores de times adversários e também de que o envolvimento afeta a intenção de compra de produtos destas marcas, mesmo quando há reconhecimento da excelência da oferta.

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Purpose This paper aims to identify the influence of dimensions of movie theater service on customer behavior intention, comparing linear and nonlinear methods. Design/methodology/approach With a sample of 345 cinema customers, the analysis compares penalty–reward contrast analysis (PRCA) and multiple linear regression analysis (MLR). Findings This research demonstrates that PRCA brings a better identification of the antecedents of customer behavior intention than MLR, showing that a nonlinear analysis can bring superior decision information to movie theater managers. Also, this study shows that superior performance of aspects related to the client's feelings leads the consumer to a tendency to return and recommend the cinema (behavior intention). This study also confirms that successful recovery actions can compensate for failures. Originality/value Although the nonlinear antecedents of customer satisfaction have been studied in the scientific literature, there is a gap of studies applying methods to identify nonlinear antecedents of customer behavior intention (tendency to return and recommend), particularly in the industry of movie theater services. The findings of this research may allow movie theaters to improve the service provided, confronting the great challenges of online movie-watching alternatives.