Now showing 1 - 10 of 37
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Temporal Focus as a Mediator between Cultural Values and Subjective Happiness: Evidence from Ecuador and Russia [Временной фокус как медиатор взаимосвязи между культурными ценностями и субъективным счастьем: на материале Эквадора и России]

2022 , Zabelina E.V. , Cruz Cárdenas, Jorge , Guadalupe-Lanas J. , Deyneka O.S.

Though numerous scholars have studied subjective time, its predictors and effects, the general model considering demographic variables, cultural values and level of wellbeing is not presented. This study seeks to bridge this gap by contributing a comparative study of two very different countries: Ecuador (N=745, aged 19—76, 48.7% male), a Latin American developing country, and Russia (N=428, aged 18— 72, 40.2% male), an emerging Eurasian nation. We assumed that temporal focus plays the role of a mediator in the relationship between cultural values and subjective happiness in both countries. To predict the temporal focus (Temporal Focus Scale by Shipp, Edwards, and Lambert, 2009) in both countries, based on the previous literature the study tests the importance of three groups of variables: demographic factors (gender, age, education, income), subjective happiness (Subjective Happiness Scale by Lyubomirsky and Lepper, 1999), and cultural values (Cultural Values Scale by Yoo, Donthu and Lenartowics, 2011). The first stage of analysis involved confirmatory factor analyses and invariance tests for the scales used. Subsequently, multiple regression models made it possible to establish that sociodemographic variables, introduced as covariates, had little influence on the prediction of people's temporal orientation. However, the cultural and psychological variables (long-term orientation, uncertainty avoidance and subjec - tive happiness) introduced as predictors played an important role in the prediction of temporal (current, past and future) focus. Additionally, there are some cultural and psychological predictors of temporal focus specific for each country. Ultimately, structural equation models demonstrated that temporal focus plays the role of the mediator in the relationship between cultural values and subjective happiness in both Ecuador and Russia. © 2022. Cultural-Historical Psychology. All Rights Reserved.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Empirical evidence for intransitivity in consumer preferences

2020 , Guadalupe, J , Cruz Cárdenas, Jorge , Artola-Jarrín V. , Palacio Fierro, Andrés

Consumer preferences patterns; Edible and nonedible goods; Transitivity assumption; Preference reversal phenomenon; Strong and weak transitivity, Behavioral economics; Money; Macroeconomics; Econometrics; Experimental economics. © 2020The present paper addresses one of the most important assumptions in consumer preference patterns: transitivity. This assumption states that, logically, selections between goods are rational because of the transitivity statement, which posits that people always prefer goods in the following order: A is preferred to B, and B is preferred to C, so A is preferred to C. With the aim of proving this principle's validity, we conducted an experiment with 70 subjects and probed their preferences in relation to edible and nonedible goods. We used a survey methodology, which allowed us to analyze three distinct situations: 1) individuals faced with goods choices without restrictions; 2) individuals facing budget restrictions and price changes; and 3) individuals faced with decreased disposable income. The results mostly showed that there was no evidence of transitivity in consumer preferences. On average, transitivity appeared in only 8% of the sample, and in cases where transitivity was proved, it was revealed to be strong. The preferences were transitive primarily in relation to edible rather than nonedible goods. © 2020

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Hedonic and Utilitarian Motivations in Predicting the Buy Intention of Technological Products: A Study in Developing and Emerging Countries

2021 , Cruz Cárdenas, Jorge , Zabelina E. , Deyneka O. , Ramos Galarza, Carlos

An area of great interest for business is establishing the factors that determine consumer intentions to purchase new technological products. The present study seeks to contribute to this field of research by establishing how the consumer’s hedonic and utilitarian motivations help explain their purchase intentions. The present study consisted of a survey completed by 725 people in Ecuador (a developing country) and 376 in Russia (an emerging country). The data obtained were analyzed with a multiple regression, with the purchase intentions of five technological products being the variable to be predicted and the two motivations for the use of technologies as the predictor variables. Various demographic variables were introduced as control variables. The results obtained point to a secondary role for demographic variables. On the other hand, and in a consistent manner, hedonic and utilitarian motivations were significant predictors positively associated with purchase intentions in both countries. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Organizational Culture and Digital Transformation: A Bibliometric Approach

2022 , Cruz Cárdenas, Jorge , Parra-Domínguez J. , Zabelina E. , Deyneka O. , Ramos Galarza, Carlos

Organizational culture is a key to the success of business digital-transformation initiatives. The current study presents a bibliometric approach to the current knowledge of culture and digital transformation. For this purpose, 407 relevant documents were analyzed. The descriptive analysis indicated a panorama of great growth in the literature. An analysis of word co-occurrence in titles and abstracts was used to identify four areas of research interest: (1) training and learning among personnel, (2) cultural values that underpin the digital transformation, (3) environmental influences, and (4) technologies that enable digital transformation. Finally, little international collaboration between author networks was found. © 2022 IEEE.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Impact of Technology on Eating Disorders

2023 , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , López-Cárdenas M.J. , Cruz Cárdenas, Jorge

Eating disorders are a wide range of abnormal behaviors related to food and the vision of the body, and they are diseases that can cause permanent damage to the human being until death. It has been seen that there is a close relationship in the impact of social networks and the use of various technologies that have led new generations to shape their perspective of the body and their food in a different and complicated way. Technology becomes the link that people use to relate to the world and allows them to create and transform themselves around body stereotypes that lead them to modify the quantity and quality of their food. On the other hand, technology also provides the human being with an addictive and possibly sedentary part, which makes the person stop being active, having as a consequence anomalies in their diet such as weight gain. This article aims to consider the role of technology in eating disorders. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Evaluation of Online Learning Platforms in Latin America

2022 , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , Cóndor-Herrera, Omar , Cruz Cárdenas, Jorge

Introduction: The use of online learning platforms has made a huge contribution to the online learning process. A key tool in this world is videoconferencing, which allows the efficient advancement of knowledge of a specific subject during synchronized timing. Objective: With this proposed context, the objective of this investigation is to determine which online video-conference platform has more benefits to be applied in Latin America. Method: A study was carried out with a quantitative method, transversal temporality, and a correlational and comparative process. There was a sample of 272 participants between 12 and 55 years old. Results and conclusion: It was found that the platform with the most benefits according to the analysis of gender, age, and profession is ZOOM. These results allow us to analyze the usefulness of this platform and its benefits in the learning process in Latin America. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee ESJ, Italy.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

University Students’ Rejection to Learning Statistics: Research from a Latin American Standpoint

2023 , Ramos Galarza, Carlos , Ramos V. , Cruz Cárdenas, Jorge , Bolaños-Pasquel, Mónica

Introduction: Negative beliefs, fear, avoidance behaviors, and superficial attitudes surrounding the learning of statistics create significant problems for university students in Latin America. Objective: To analyze the impact of fearful behavior, superficial work, and avoidance displayed by university students when it comes to statistics. Method: In this article, we give details about a quantitative research project carried out by two independent studies. The first (N = 310) focused on the development of a scale to assess negative beliefs, fears, and avoidance behaviors towards statistics, in which goodness of fit was determined in a 3-factor model. In the second study (N = 250), it was hypothesized that undergraduates perform superficially due to negative beliefs and avoidance behaviors when learning statistics. Findings: The proposed model explained 42% of the variance. In addition, in the analysis of the proposed mediation model, an adequate adjustment was found. In the discussion of this research project, the need to intervene in the negative beliefs, fears, and avoidance behaviors displayed by university students towards statistics is highlighted. Novelty: This research project explains why college students dislike or avoid learning statistics in depth. The findings will allow for a modification in the way statistics is taught so that Latin American professionals achieve better performance in this field. © 2023 by the authors. Licensee ESJ, Italy.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Consumer value creation through WhatsApp use: A qualitative multimethod approach in a Latin American scenario

2019 , Cruz Cárdenas, Jorge , Guadalupe, J , Zabelina E. , Palacio Fierro, Andrés , Velín-Fárez M. , Staniewski M.W.

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. © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Consumer expenditures on clothing and footwear: a mixed methods study

2018 , Cruz Cárdenas, Jorge , Arévalo-Chávez P. , Guadalupe J.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to establish the predictors of consumers’ annual monetary expenditures on clothing and footwear in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, a developing Latin American country. Design/methodology/approach: The research followed an exploratory, sequential, mixed methods design. The first phase consisted of in-depth interviews with adult individuals. The second phase involved surveying a similar segment of the population. Findings: The present study supports the importance of demographic and psychological factors as predictors. The study also identifies two new groups of predictors: consumers’ reception of used clothing and physical space at home and its management. Practical implications: In addition to demographic variables, consumer panels that measure expenditures on clothing and footwear should include psychological measures of participants, particularly clothing involvement. Clothing manufacturers and retailers in developing countries should consider the impact of receiving used clothes by consumers. Because clothing buying and disposal behaviors are positively associated, companies should become more involved in their customers’ disposal behavior. Originality/value: The contribution of the present study is twofold. First, it contributes to the understanding of clothing and footwear expenditures by considering the individual consumer as a unit of analysis. Furthermore, it provides insights into this behavior from a little-studied context. © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Smartphones and Higher Education: Mapping the Field

2023 , Cruz Cárdenas, Jorge , Zabelina E. , Deyneka O. , Palacio-Fierro A. , Guadalupe-Lanas J. , Ramos-Galarza C.

Smartphones are devices widely used by the global population and are the main means by which people connect to the Internet. Smartphones are also being increasingly used in higher education, which has resulted in the generation of a large amount of academic and scientific literature. To present an ordered picture of this significant body of knowledge, the present study seeks to carry out a bibliometric analysis of the academic and scientific literature on smartphones and higher education. For this purpose, the present study uses the Scopus database from which 2,453 articles were selected. A descriptive analysis of this body of documents allows us to observe a rapid growth rate in the number of documents published annually. Additionally, it is possible to establish that the most research on the topic has been carried out in developed and emerging countries. An analysis of the co-occurrence of terms makes it possible to define three research areas: 1) technology and the applications of smartphones in higher education, 2) administrative and pedagogical considerations in the use of smartphones in higher education, and 3) negative effects of smartphone use on students. An analysis of the evolution of research priorities shows a shift of interest from a focus on smartphone technology and its applications to a focus on the negative impacts of the use of these devices and their prevention. The present study ends by presenting the most relevant conclusions and the implications of the findings for future studies. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.