A informação estatística na tomada de decisão das Bibliotecas do Ensino Superior em Portugal

Este estudo procurou, por um lado, caracterizar as bibliotecas das Universidades públicas portuguesas em termos de recolha de dados estatísticos, seu tratamento e posterior utilização na gestão e tomada de decisão nessas bibliotecas. Por outro lado, procurou auscultar a satisfação do staff e a satisfação dos utilizadores dessas mesmas bibliotecas. Além desta competente mais descritiva, este estudo incluiu também uma componente explicativa baseada num modelo teórico que sugere, primeiramente, a existência de uma relação entre a utilização de informação estatística (IE) na gestão e tomada de decisão e a satisfação do staff e a satisfação dos utilizadores. E, seguidamente, a presença de uma relação de interdependência entre o grau de satisfação do staff e o grau de satisfação dos utilizadores, tal como é sugerido pela teoria da cadeia de lucro na prestação de serviços (Heskett et al., 1994). Foi possível apurar a existência de uma cultura de recolha de dados estatísticos, tratamento e utilização dessa informação para a gestão e tomada de decisão entre as bibliotecas participantes. O estudo também revela que a recolha e utilização de IE tem um impacto positivo na satisfação dos utilizadores, mas afecta negativamente a satisfação do staff com o ambiente de trabalho. / ABSTRACT; This study characterizes the Portuguesa Higher Education Libraries with respect to the collection of data, its statistical analysis and subsequent use in the management and decision making of these Libraries. ln addition, the study also tried to obtain information on the level of satisfaction of staff and users in the same Libraries. Besides this descriptive component, this study includes an explicative component based on a theoretical model. This model first suggests the existence of a positive relationship between the use of statistical information in management and decision making in a Library and the level of satisfaction of users and staff. A second prediction of the model is the existence of an interdependence relationship between the level of satisfaction of the staff and the level of satisfaction of the users, as it is suggesting by the service-profit-chain theory (Heskett et al., 1994). The results reveal the existence of a culture of data collection, statistical analysis of the data and subsequent use in management and decision making among the participant libraries. The study also shows that the collection and use of statistical information has a positive impact on the level of satisfaction of the users but a negative impact on the level of satisfaction of staff regarding the job environment.

Customer Loyalty toward grocery retailing service: a multidimensional approach to costumer perceived value

Structured abstract Purpose: To deepen, in grocery retail context, the roles of consumer perceived value and consumer satisfaction, as antecedents’ dimensions of customer loyalty intentions. Design/Methodology/approach: Also employing a short version (12-items) of the original 19-item PERVAL scale of Sweeney & Soutar (2001), a structural equation modeling approach was applied to investigate statistical properties of the indirect influence on loyalty of a reflective second order customer perceived value model. The performance of three alternative estimation methods was compared through bootstrapping techniques. Findings: Results provided i) support for the use of the short form of the PERVAL scale in measuring consumer perceived value; ii) the influence of the four highly correlated independent latent predictors on satisfaction was well summarized by a higher-order reflective specification of consumer perceived value; iii) emotional and functional dimensions were determinants for the relationship with the retailer; iv) parameter’s bias with the three methods of estimation was only significant for bootstrap small sample sizes. Research limitations:/implications: Future research is needed to explore the use of the short form of the PERVAL scale in more homogeneous groups of consumers. Originality/value: Firstly, to indirectly explain customer loyalty mediated by customer satisfaction it was adopted a recent short form of PERVAL scale and a second order reflective conceptualization of value. Secondly, three alternative estimation methods were used and compared through bootstrapping and simulation procedures.