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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand in-depth how consumers create value in their lives using WhatsApp, the leading mobile instant messaging (MIM) application. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts the perspective of customer-dominant logic (CDL) and uses a qualitative multimethod design involving 3 focus groups and 25 subsequent in-depth interviews. The research setting was Ecuador, a Latin American country. Findings Analysis and interpretation of the participants’ stories made it possible to identify and understand the creation of four types of value: maintaining and strengthening relationships; improving role performance; emotional support; and entertainment and fun. In addition, the present study proposes a conceptual model of consumer value creation as it applies to MIM. Practical implications Understanding the way consumers create value in their lives using MIM is important not only for organizations that offer MIM applications, but also for those companies that develop other applications for mobile phones or for those who wish to use MIM as an electronic word-of-mouth vehicle. Originality/value The current study is one of the first to address the topic of consumer behavior in the use of technologies from the perspective of CDL; this perspective enables an integrated qualitative vision of value creation in which the consumer is the protagonist.

This paper reviews Ecuador’s population structure and labor market dynamics with a focus on the causes of inequality, particularly among older adults receiving contributory pensions. This serves as a basis for characterizing the main restrictions that the Ecuadorian pension system must address. This analysis is valuable for three key reasons. First, the population structure of many less developed countries is converging toward that of developed countries, with older age groups increasing in proportion. Second, Ecuador is among the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with the highest degree of informality in the labor market, which lowers the coverage of contributory pension schemes. Third, regarding gender inequality, the rate of women’s labor participation in 2010 was among the lowest in South America. The findings suggest that a younger population structure will not be the main solution to financial problems and the pension inadequacy that are facing most pension systems worldwide. Improvements in labor market institutions are required to increase the pension system’s insurance. The study concludes by discussing several proposals aimed at increasing pension coverage and reducing inequality.

El presente texto recopila las Memorias del I Simposio de Pensiones: “Situación de los Sistemas Públicos de Pensiones: Reformas necesarias en una economía con alta informalidad”, realizado el día 8 de abril de 2019, en las instalaciones de la Universidad Indoamérica, sede Quito. El objetivo de dicha jornada fue reflexionar sobre la situación del sistema de pensiones en Ecuador. Para ello se requirió abordar una aproximación al funcionamiento del mercado laboral, teniendo en cuenta los elevados índices de informalidad que ahora prevalecen, así como una evaluación de las normas actuales y de los mecanismos de coordinación entre instituciones responsables, directa o indirectamente, de su desarrollo e implementación. Tras una panorámica general de la situación de los sistemas públicos de pensiones en países europeos, presentada por Juan Francisco Jimeno, del Banco de España, que permitió establecer las principales bases del análisis, se presentaron resultados de investigaciones recientes que analizan la situación de Ecuador y posibles reformas a considerar en el futuro, por parte de investigadores nacionales.