José Luís Abrantes - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by José Luís Abrantes

Research paper thumbnail of Health Risks, Pandemics and Epidemics Affecting Tourism: Understanding COVID-19 Pandemic

Pandemics and Travel, 2021

This work presents insights on the epidemics, pandemics and virus outbreaks that have occurred th... more This work presents insights on the epidemics, pandemics and virus outbreaks that have occurred throughout the twenty-first century and how those occurrences have affected the tourism industry and the global economy. A brief literature review on health risks in tourism is presented, followed by a clinical perspective to help people understand the differences between endemics, outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics. Then, the study offers a presentation of the most significant pandemics in recent human history and a deep analysis of the COVID-19 disease. Finally, the effects that the different pandemics, epidemics and outbreaks that occurred in the present century had on tourism are explained, and the challenges tourism has to face are presented and discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Perceptions of Safety and Risk in the Daily Life and Travel Plans in the COVID-19 Context: One Year and Three Waves After

Pandemics and Travel, 2021

The discussion focuses on the kind of implications this situation may have for tourism destinatio... more The discussion focuses on the kind of implications this situation may have for tourism destination management and marketing. Study limitations and guidelines for future research are also forwarded.

Research paper thumbnail of Does Tax, Financial, and Government Incentives Impact Long-Term Portuguese SMEs’ Sustainable Company Performance?

Sustainability

This article aims to assess how fiscal and financial incentives and government support conditione... more This article aims to assess how fiscal and financial incentives and government support conditioned the profitability of Portuguese SMEs between 2010 and 2019. The high tax and financial burdens on SMEs have consequences for sustainability and business development. Thus, the study analyzes different incentives provided by the Portuguese government to ease this burden and improve business profitability. The study uses panel data with fixed effects using five different sources of information from five internal tax grant types, three different European Union program financial subventions, and three national budget-specific expenses. The results obtained suggest that tax incentives influence the profitability of SMEs; however, government incentives do not have any impact. The QREN (financial) incentives positively decide the ROA and negatively impact the ROE, contributing to sustainable performance. Portugal 2020 incentives have a weak effect on the first years, improving in the followin...

Research paper thumbnail of The influence of terrorism in tourism arrivals: A longitudinal approach in a Mediterranean country

Annals of Tourism Research

Abstract This longitudinal study examines the impact that terrorist attacks within a representati... more Abstract This longitudinal study examines the impact that terrorist attacks within a representative group of European countries can have on the tourism demand of a South European country with no record of terrorism attacks. In order to analyze the connections between terrorist attacks and tourists' arrivals, occurred between 2002 and the end of 2016, an Unrestricted Vector Autoregressive model was used for multivariate time series analysis. The main results show that terrorist attacks have a strong impact on tourist arrivals and confirm the existence of terrorism spillover, namely the substitution and generalization effects phenomena.

Research paper thumbnail of Peacefulness at home: impacts on international travel

International Journal of Tourism Cities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of peacefulness in the tourists’ count... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of peacefulness in the tourists’ country of origin in their main decisions and behaviours when travelling internationally. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 600 international tourists from 49 countries was divided into five groups according to each respondent’s belonging to a country with a specific level of peacefulness, assessed by the Global Peace Index, to test differences in international travel decision and behaviour patterns. Findings Travel safety is a critical issue to most tourists, while the peacefulness level of travellers’ country of origin is an important key factor for understanding different travel behaviours and safety perceptions held when going on an international trip, namely, regarding involvement, risk and safety/insecurity perceptions. Research limitations/implications This is one of the few studies investigating the impact of peacefulness in the tourist’s country of origin on travel decisions an...

Research paper thumbnail of Innovscale

Research paper thumbnail of Comparing CB-SEM and PLS-SEM results: an empirical example

Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Partial Least Squares Path Modeling - The Conference for PLS Users, 2015

Many scholars view PLS-SEM as less rigorous than CB-SEM, namely due to is less restrictive assump... more Many scholars view PLS-SEM as less rigorous than CB-SEM, namely due to is less restrictive assumptions. The main objective of this research is to compare the results of both approaches, for a given model, to examine if there are, indeed, noteworthy differences. The study shows that the results obtained in both approaches are very similar. These findings provide useful insights to researchers.

Research paper thumbnail of WOM antecedents in backpacker travelers

Journal of Business Research, 2015

This study examines the antecedents of Word-of-Mouth (WOM) message content (MC) of backpackers' t... more This study examines the antecedents of Word-of-Mouth (WOM) message content (MC) of backpackers' travelers. How travel motivation, the sense of belonging, social interaction places and cultural activities influence WOM-MC in the case of backpacker travelers. The study tests a model empirically using a survey of 656 backpackers from 75 different countries.

Research paper thumbnail of The influence of motivations in tourists’ involvement

Anatolia, 2015

One of the main aspects in the consumer behavior is the concept of involvement because it influen... more One of the main aspects in the consumer behavior is the concept of involvement because it influences the decision rules used by tourists to reach the final decision. An empirical study of 600 international tourists reveals that motivation to relax, influences tourists' involvement with the trip. A structural model shows that when tourists are motivated to relax they get directly more involved with their trip (pleasure and information seeking). The motivation to relax also influences indirectly the tourist involvement with the evaluation and quality perception of the trip through its influence on involvement with the trip planning. Discussion centers on the implications of this model to theory and management specifically to the development of tourism and services strategies.

Research paper thumbnail of The STUDENTSCALE: Measuring Students’ Motivation, Interest, Learning Resources and Styles

Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, 2015

It becomes important to consider the role of Information Technologies (IT) in society and at scho... more It becomes important to consider the role of Information Technologies (IT) in society and at school, including its impact on the teaching-learning process transformation. The use of IT should be done in an integrated and inclusive way, it is critical to teach how to use, consume and interact with technology. This study intends to contribute to a more depth understanding of the IT impact in the teaching-learning process. Our main goal is to create a scale to measure the Subjects' Interest and Motivation, Motivation and Involvement with Learning Resources and Learning Styles. Those are important factors that impact on students' Learning Performance. Insights from an empirical study of 357middle education students indicate that this multi-dimensional scale incorporates the following constructs: a) Interest and Motivation, b) Motivation and Involvement with IT's Learning Resources, c) Motivation and Involvement with Teachers' Learning Resources, and d) Non Literary Learning Styles. Discussion centers on this scale implications for theory development andmanagement decisions. Teachers' and schools' managers may better understand the learning resources and styles preferred by students, and thus to create more motivational learning programs. Directions for future research are also presented.

Research paper thumbnail of Residents’ Perceptions of Mountain Destinations

ABSTRACT Some tourism destinations have powerful symbolic features that exert a strong influence ... more ABSTRACT Some tourism destinations have powerful symbolic features that exert a strong influence on destination image formation, such as mountain places (Silva, Kastenholz & Abrantes, 2013). Mountains are cultural, natural, social and physical spaces (Robertson & Hull, 2001). But they are also socially, cognitively and emotionally constructed sites (Evernden, 1992; Greider & Garkovich, 1994; Cronon, 1995; Soper, 1995), made up of ideas and perceptions that exist in the minds of individuals and partly shared with others (Robertson & Hull, 2001). Until very recently, tourism studies concerned with mountain places mainly focused on physical, ecological and environmental perspectives (Smethurst, 2000). A perspective of mountain tourism within the corresponding image context is therefore most interesting. Furthermore, residents are an important part of the tourism system, which are many times ignored. Residents have a distinct image of their own place, which could and should be measured and taken into account when promoting mountain tourism (Andriotis, 2005). Therefore, the study aims to analyze, in a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach, residents’ images of mountain destinations. The aim is to develop the RMDI Residents’ Mountain Destination Image Scale - in order to assess a wider set of cognitive and affective mountain destination image parameters. Based on a extensive literature review on destination image (125 studies) and on social and cultural meanings of mountains overtime, the conceptual model was developed integrating seven destination image dimensions regarding mountain places: (1) Mystique/ Sacred, (2) Natural/ Ecological, (3) Historic-Cultural, (4) Social and Prestige, (5) Sport and Leisure, (6) Facilities and Infrastructures, and (7) Affective.

Research paper thumbnail of Measuring innovation capability in exporting firms: the INNOVSCALE

International Marketing Review, 2015

Purpose – The development of innovation capability is an important topic for both managers and ac... more Purpose – The development of innovation capability is an important topic for both managers and academics. However, studies that investigate which elements integrate innovation capability in the context of export market are very scarce. Drawing on the resource-based view, the purpose of this paper is to identify important dimensions in order to build a scale to measure innovation capability in exporting firms – the INNOVSCALE. Design/methodology/approach – The study draws on data collected by online questionnaire in a sample survey of 471 exporting manufacturing firms. The results were obtained using structural equation modeling. Statistical tests demonstrate that the scale presents composite reliability as well as convergent and nomological validity. Findings – The findings reveal that innovation capability is a higher-order construct formed by four dimensions: product development capability, innovativeness, strategic capability, and technological capability. The results also indica...

Research paper thumbnail of A Educação para a Alimentação e as Práticas Alimentares de Jovens que Frequentam os 2º e 3º Ciclos do Ensino Básico

Saber & Educar, 2014

Este trabalho procura avaliar o conhecimento e as práticas de jovens no que concerne à alimentaçã... more Este trabalho procura avaliar o conhecimento e as práticas de jovens no que concerne à alimentação saudável. Para o efeito, foi realizado um inquérito por questionário a uma amostra de 852 alunos do 5.º ao 9.º ano de escolaridade, do concelho de Viseu (Portugal). Os dados revelam que os inquiridos possuem alguma informação sobre alimentação saudável. A maior parte identifica a roda dos alimentos atual e é através da escola, pais/ familiares e TV que obtém o conhecimento. Contudo, verifica-se que há conteúdos não assimilados, o que demonstra que há ainda trabalho pedagógico a desenvolver ao nível da educação alimentar dos jovens.

Research paper thumbnail of Pedagogical Interaction and Learning Performance as Determinants of Academic Achievement

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2015

This investigation aims to relate teacher competencies, student-student interactions and learning... more This investigation aims to relate teacher competencies, student-student interactions and learning performance, and its direct and indirect effects on academic achievement of high school students. A quantitative research was carried out, involving a representative sample of 1986 students attending Secondary Education Schools located in the central region of Portugal. The results obtained through the structural model show that perceived teacher competencies influence student-student interactions and learning performance positively and significantly; student-student interactions positively and significantly influence the learning performance which, in turn, influences positively and significantly students' academic achievement. The established model provides insights for a better understanding of the importance of communication, in the context of the classroom, and of the students' learning involvement in the academic activities, towards the promotion of school success.

Research paper thumbnail of 8 Push Motivations for Tourism Mountain Destinations

Research paper thumbnail of Drivers of In-Group and Out-of-Group Electronic Word-of-Mouth (EWOM)

European Journal of Marketing, 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to address a recent call for additional research on eWOM (G... more Purpose: The purpose of this study is to address a recent call for additional research on eWOM (Gupta and Harris, 2010; Zhang et al., 2010). In response to this call, this study draws on the social network paradigm and the uses and gratification theory (UGT) to propose and empirically test a conceptual framework of key drivers of two types of eWOM, namely In-Group and Out-of-Group. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed model, which examines the impact of usage motivations on eWOM In-Group and eWOM Out-of-Group, is tested in a sample of 302 Internet users in Portugal. Findings: Results from the survey show that the different drivers (i.e., mood-enhancement, escapism, experiential learning and social interaction) vary in terms of their impact on the two different types of eWOM. Surprisingly, while results show a positive relationship between experiential learning and eWOM Out-of-Group, no relationship is found between experiential learning and eWOM In-Group. Research limitations/i...

Research paper thumbnail of The STRATADAPT scale: a measure of marketing strategy adaptation to international business markets

The first author is grateful to the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) and Nova F... more The first author is grateful to the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) and Nova Forum for their financial support. The authors acknowledge the comments on earlier versions of this paper of Maria Saaksjarvi and Helena Martins Gonçalves, and the reviewers of the ...

Research paper thumbnail of Place-attachment, destination image and impacts of tourism in mountain destinations

Tourism mountain destinations are places with powerful symbolic features that exert strong influe... more Tourism mountain destinations are places with powerful symbolic features that exert strong influence on destination image formation. They are, particularly, apt to create strong links with the people who visit them. In addition, mountains are nature spaces that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of tourism development, more or less visible to visitors. The present study analyses, in a holistic and multidisciplinary approach, the relation between perceptions of tourism impacts, tourists' destination image, and their place-attachment regarding mountain destinations. Based on data collected in a survey of 315 tourists visiting three European mountain areas – Peaks of Europe (Spain), the Alps (France, Austria, and Switzerland), and Serra da Estrela (Portugal), the relationship between these variables was analysed, using structural equation modelling. The structural model reveals that tourists' perceptions towards tourism development in mountain destinations affect their cognitive and affective destination images as well as tourists' place-attachment. Discussion centres on the implications of this model on both theory and mountain destination management. In addition, limitations of the study are presented and guidelines for future research proposed.

Research paper thumbnail of Travel content creation

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Pedagogical affect, student interest, and learning performance

Journal of Business Research, 2007

Using a sample of more than 1000 students, this study reveals that students' perceived learning d... more Using a sample of more than 1000 students, this study reveals that students' perceived learning depends directly on their interest, pedagogical affect, and their learning performance and indirectly on the student-instructor interaction, the instructor's responsiveness, course organization, the instructor's likeability/concern, and the student's learning performance. Likeability/concern indirectly affects student interest by influencing learning performance. The results yield recommendations for schools, department heads, and university administrators.

Research paper thumbnail of Health Risks, Pandemics and Epidemics Affecting Tourism: Understanding COVID-19 Pandemic

Pandemics and Travel, 2021

This work presents insights on the epidemics, pandemics and virus outbreaks that have occurred th... more This work presents insights on the epidemics, pandemics and virus outbreaks that have occurred throughout the twenty-first century and how those occurrences have affected the tourism industry and the global economy. A brief literature review on health risks in tourism is presented, followed by a clinical perspective to help people understand the differences between endemics, outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics. Then, the study offers a presentation of the most significant pandemics in recent human history and a deep analysis of the COVID-19 disease. Finally, the effects that the different pandemics, epidemics and outbreaks that occurred in the present century had on tourism are explained, and the challenges tourism has to face are presented and discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Perceptions of Safety and Risk in the Daily Life and Travel Plans in the COVID-19 Context: One Year and Three Waves After

Pandemics and Travel, 2021

The discussion focuses on the kind of implications this situation may have for tourism destinatio... more The discussion focuses on the kind of implications this situation may have for tourism destination management and marketing. Study limitations and guidelines for future research are also forwarded.

Research paper thumbnail of Does Tax, Financial, and Government Incentives Impact Long-Term Portuguese SMEs’ Sustainable Company Performance?

Sustainability

This article aims to assess how fiscal and financial incentives and government support conditione... more This article aims to assess how fiscal and financial incentives and government support conditioned the profitability of Portuguese SMEs between 2010 and 2019. The high tax and financial burdens on SMEs have consequences for sustainability and business development. Thus, the study analyzes different incentives provided by the Portuguese government to ease this burden and improve business profitability. The study uses panel data with fixed effects using five different sources of information from five internal tax grant types, three different European Union program financial subventions, and three national budget-specific expenses. The results obtained suggest that tax incentives influence the profitability of SMEs; however, government incentives do not have any impact. The QREN (financial) incentives positively decide the ROA and negatively impact the ROE, contributing to sustainable performance. Portugal 2020 incentives have a weak effect on the first years, improving in the followin...

Research paper thumbnail of The influence of terrorism in tourism arrivals: A longitudinal approach in a Mediterranean country

Annals of Tourism Research

Abstract This longitudinal study examines the impact that terrorist attacks within a representati... more Abstract This longitudinal study examines the impact that terrorist attacks within a representative group of European countries can have on the tourism demand of a South European country with no record of terrorism attacks. In order to analyze the connections between terrorist attacks and tourists' arrivals, occurred between 2002 and the end of 2016, an Unrestricted Vector Autoregressive model was used for multivariate time series analysis. The main results show that terrorist attacks have a strong impact on tourist arrivals and confirm the existence of terrorism spillover, namely the substitution and generalization effects phenomena.

Research paper thumbnail of Peacefulness at home: impacts on international travel

International Journal of Tourism Cities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of peacefulness in the tourists’ count... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of peacefulness in the tourists’ country of origin in their main decisions and behaviours when travelling internationally. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 600 international tourists from 49 countries was divided into five groups according to each respondent’s belonging to a country with a specific level of peacefulness, assessed by the Global Peace Index, to test differences in international travel decision and behaviour patterns. Findings Travel safety is a critical issue to most tourists, while the peacefulness level of travellers’ country of origin is an important key factor for understanding different travel behaviours and safety perceptions held when going on an international trip, namely, regarding involvement, risk and safety/insecurity perceptions. Research limitations/implications This is one of the few studies investigating the impact of peacefulness in the tourist’s country of origin on travel decisions an...

Research paper thumbnail of Innovscale

Research paper thumbnail of Comparing CB-SEM and PLS-SEM results: an empirical example

Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Partial Least Squares Path Modeling - The Conference for PLS Users, 2015

Many scholars view PLS-SEM as less rigorous than CB-SEM, namely due to is less restrictive assump... more Many scholars view PLS-SEM as less rigorous than CB-SEM, namely due to is less restrictive assumptions. The main objective of this research is to compare the results of both approaches, for a given model, to examine if there are, indeed, noteworthy differences. The study shows that the results obtained in both approaches are very similar. These findings provide useful insights to researchers.

Research paper thumbnail of WOM antecedents in backpacker travelers

Journal of Business Research, 2015

This study examines the antecedents of Word-of-Mouth (WOM) message content (MC) of backpackers' t... more This study examines the antecedents of Word-of-Mouth (WOM) message content (MC) of backpackers' travelers. How travel motivation, the sense of belonging, social interaction places and cultural activities influence WOM-MC in the case of backpacker travelers. The study tests a model empirically using a survey of 656 backpackers from 75 different countries.

Research paper thumbnail of The influence of motivations in tourists’ involvement

Anatolia, 2015

One of the main aspects in the consumer behavior is the concept of involvement because it influen... more One of the main aspects in the consumer behavior is the concept of involvement because it influences the decision rules used by tourists to reach the final decision. An empirical study of 600 international tourists reveals that motivation to relax, influences tourists' involvement with the trip. A structural model shows that when tourists are motivated to relax they get directly more involved with their trip (pleasure and information seeking). The motivation to relax also influences indirectly the tourist involvement with the evaluation and quality perception of the trip through its influence on involvement with the trip planning. Discussion centers on the implications of this model to theory and management specifically to the development of tourism and services strategies.

Research paper thumbnail of The STUDENTSCALE: Measuring Students’ Motivation, Interest, Learning Resources and Styles

Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, 2015

It becomes important to consider the role of Information Technologies (IT) in society and at scho... more It becomes important to consider the role of Information Technologies (IT) in society and at school, including its impact on the teaching-learning process transformation. The use of IT should be done in an integrated and inclusive way, it is critical to teach how to use, consume and interact with technology. This study intends to contribute to a more depth understanding of the IT impact in the teaching-learning process. Our main goal is to create a scale to measure the Subjects' Interest and Motivation, Motivation and Involvement with Learning Resources and Learning Styles. Those are important factors that impact on students' Learning Performance. Insights from an empirical study of 357middle education students indicate that this multi-dimensional scale incorporates the following constructs: a) Interest and Motivation, b) Motivation and Involvement with IT's Learning Resources, c) Motivation and Involvement with Teachers' Learning Resources, and d) Non Literary Learning Styles. Discussion centers on this scale implications for theory development andmanagement decisions. Teachers' and schools' managers may better understand the learning resources and styles preferred by students, and thus to create more motivational learning programs. Directions for future research are also presented.

Research paper thumbnail of Residents’ Perceptions of Mountain Destinations

ABSTRACT Some tourism destinations have powerful symbolic features that exert a strong influence ... more ABSTRACT Some tourism destinations have powerful symbolic features that exert a strong influence on destination image formation, such as mountain places (Silva, Kastenholz & Abrantes, 2013). Mountains are cultural, natural, social and physical spaces (Robertson & Hull, 2001). But they are also socially, cognitively and emotionally constructed sites (Evernden, 1992; Greider & Garkovich, 1994; Cronon, 1995; Soper, 1995), made up of ideas and perceptions that exist in the minds of individuals and partly shared with others (Robertson & Hull, 2001). Until very recently, tourism studies concerned with mountain places mainly focused on physical, ecological and environmental perspectives (Smethurst, 2000). A perspective of mountain tourism within the corresponding image context is therefore most interesting. Furthermore, residents are an important part of the tourism system, which are many times ignored. Residents have a distinct image of their own place, which could and should be measured and taken into account when promoting mountain tourism (Andriotis, 2005). Therefore, the study aims to analyze, in a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach, residents’ images of mountain destinations. The aim is to develop the RMDI Residents’ Mountain Destination Image Scale - in order to assess a wider set of cognitive and affective mountain destination image parameters. Based on a extensive literature review on destination image (125 studies) and on social and cultural meanings of mountains overtime, the conceptual model was developed integrating seven destination image dimensions regarding mountain places: (1) Mystique/ Sacred, (2) Natural/ Ecological, (3) Historic-Cultural, (4) Social and Prestige, (5) Sport and Leisure, (6) Facilities and Infrastructures, and (7) Affective.

Research paper thumbnail of Measuring innovation capability in exporting firms: the INNOVSCALE

International Marketing Review, 2015

Purpose – The development of innovation capability is an important topic for both managers and ac... more Purpose – The development of innovation capability is an important topic for both managers and academics. However, studies that investigate which elements integrate innovation capability in the context of export market are very scarce. Drawing on the resource-based view, the purpose of this paper is to identify important dimensions in order to build a scale to measure innovation capability in exporting firms – the INNOVSCALE. Design/methodology/approach – The study draws on data collected by online questionnaire in a sample survey of 471 exporting manufacturing firms. The results were obtained using structural equation modeling. Statistical tests demonstrate that the scale presents composite reliability as well as convergent and nomological validity. Findings – The findings reveal that innovation capability is a higher-order construct formed by four dimensions: product development capability, innovativeness, strategic capability, and technological capability. The results also indica...

Research paper thumbnail of A Educação para a Alimentação e as Práticas Alimentares de Jovens que Frequentam os 2º e 3º Ciclos do Ensino Básico

Saber & Educar, 2014

Este trabalho procura avaliar o conhecimento e as práticas de jovens no que concerne à alimentaçã... more Este trabalho procura avaliar o conhecimento e as práticas de jovens no que concerne à alimentação saudável. Para o efeito, foi realizado um inquérito por questionário a uma amostra de 852 alunos do 5.º ao 9.º ano de escolaridade, do concelho de Viseu (Portugal). Os dados revelam que os inquiridos possuem alguma informação sobre alimentação saudável. A maior parte identifica a roda dos alimentos atual e é através da escola, pais/ familiares e TV que obtém o conhecimento. Contudo, verifica-se que há conteúdos não assimilados, o que demonstra que há ainda trabalho pedagógico a desenvolver ao nível da educação alimentar dos jovens.

Research paper thumbnail of Pedagogical Interaction and Learning Performance as Determinants of Academic Achievement

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2015

This investigation aims to relate teacher competencies, student-student interactions and learning... more This investigation aims to relate teacher competencies, student-student interactions and learning performance, and its direct and indirect effects on academic achievement of high school students. A quantitative research was carried out, involving a representative sample of 1986 students attending Secondary Education Schools located in the central region of Portugal. The results obtained through the structural model show that perceived teacher competencies influence student-student interactions and learning performance positively and significantly; student-student interactions positively and significantly influence the learning performance which, in turn, influences positively and significantly students' academic achievement. The established model provides insights for a better understanding of the importance of communication, in the context of the classroom, and of the students' learning involvement in the academic activities, towards the promotion of school success.

Research paper thumbnail of 8 Push Motivations for Tourism Mountain Destinations

Research paper thumbnail of Drivers of In-Group and Out-of-Group Electronic Word-of-Mouth (EWOM)

European Journal of Marketing, 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to address a recent call for additional research on eWOM (G... more Purpose: The purpose of this study is to address a recent call for additional research on eWOM (Gupta and Harris, 2010; Zhang et al., 2010). In response to this call, this study draws on the social network paradigm and the uses and gratification theory (UGT) to propose and empirically test a conceptual framework of key drivers of two types of eWOM, namely In-Group and Out-of-Group. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed model, which examines the impact of usage motivations on eWOM In-Group and eWOM Out-of-Group, is tested in a sample of 302 Internet users in Portugal. Findings: Results from the survey show that the different drivers (i.e., mood-enhancement, escapism, experiential learning and social interaction) vary in terms of their impact on the two different types of eWOM. Surprisingly, while results show a positive relationship between experiential learning and eWOM Out-of-Group, no relationship is found between experiential learning and eWOM In-Group. Research limitations/i...

Research paper thumbnail of The STRATADAPT scale: a measure of marketing strategy adaptation to international business markets

The first author is grateful to the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) and Nova F... more The first author is grateful to the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) and Nova Forum for their financial support. The authors acknowledge the comments on earlier versions of this paper of Maria Saaksjarvi and Helena Martins Gonçalves, and the reviewers of the ...

Research paper thumbnail of Place-attachment, destination image and impacts of tourism in mountain destinations

Tourism mountain destinations are places with powerful symbolic features that exert strong influe... more Tourism mountain destinations are places with powerful symbolic features that exert strong influence on destination image formation. They are, particularly, apt to create strong links with the people who visit them. In addition, mountains are nature spaces that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of tourism development, more or less visible to visitors. The present study analyses, in a holistic and multidisciplinary approach, the relation between perceptions of tourism impacts, tourists' destination image, and their place-attachment regarding mountain destinations. Based on data collected in a survey of 315 tourists visiting three European mountain areas – Peaks of Europe (Spain), the Alps (France, Austria, and Switzerland), and Serra da Estrela (Portugal), the relationship between these variables was analysed, using structural equation modelling. The structural model reveals that tourists' perceptions towards tourism development in mountain destinations affect their cognitive and affective destination images as well as tourists' place-attachment. Discussion centres on the implications of this model on both theory and mountain destination management. In addition, limitations of the study are presented and guidelines for future research proposed.

Research paper thumbnail of Travel content creation

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Pedagogical affect, student interest, and learning performance

Journal of Business Research, 2007

Using a sample of more than 1000 students, this study reveals that students' perceived learning d... more Using a sample of more than 1000 students, this study reveals that students' perceived learning depends directly on their interest, pedagogical affect, and their learning performance and indirectly on the student-instructor interaction, the instructor's responsiveness, course organization, the instructor's likeability/concern, and the student's learning performance. Likeability/concern indirectly affects student interest by influencing learning performance. The results yield recommendations for schools, department heads, and university administrators.

Research paper thumbnail of Travel Content Creation: The influence of innovativeness, involvement and use of social media

The development of social media travel websites has dramatically changed travelers’ behavior, par... more The development of social media travel websites has dramatically changed travelers’ behavior, particularly in the travel planning process. Travelers now depend on social media travel websites to plan their trips and make decisions based on online reviews. What is noticeable is that there are far more people consuming information than generating it. However, online travel marketers need to pay attention to travelers that share their experiences online, since they have the potential to drive sales. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine factors that affect the likelihood to share travel experiences online.
Using a sample of 244 Portuguese tourists, a structural model reveals that travelers’ level of involvement with tourism products, innovativeness and use of social media directly influences writing reviews about travel experiences.
Discussion centers on the implications of this model to theory and managerial development of tourism strategies. Recommendations for destinations managers and promoters and tourist organizations administrators are addressed.