Abstract:

The purpose of this article is to present the practice of price differentiation in multichannel sales conditions. The study reviews the literature on channel pricing policy. The authors set a goal to study the practices of retailers operating in online and offline channels in Poland in terms of price differentiation between channels. Using the example of the EMPIK and SMYK chains, price differences between online and offline channels were analysed for several 100 products in key categories for these retailers. The prices were obtained by scraping the data from the websites of both retailers in November 2022. Statistical analysis was designed to examine differences in pricing by product category, position on the “most frequently purchased” list and price range. This research confirmed previous results that online vs. offline price differentiation was not widely used by leading multichannel retailers in the most popular categories bought online: only two out of 12 retailers elicited for the study were found to perform it. It also confirmed previous findings that if price differentiation was applied, the items were cheaper online more often. However, the average depth of discount was considerably higher. Apart from these general findings, our research delivered detailed insights at the category level as the depth of discount and the share of products sold at a discount online considerably differed between categories with comparable and non-comparable offers. Additionally, this study provided a unique analysis of the multichannel price differentiation strategy in relation to popularity or the absolute price of the product. While in the case of the popularity of the product, the offer uniqueness seemed to play a role, the relation to the absolute price of the product showed a mixed picture and would need further investigation.

Abstract:

The development of crowdfunding widened the inventory of the available funding methods for scientific and extracurricular projects and boosted the interest of those entities that have not used this form of creative funding until now. American universities are both pioneers in this field and the most successful in this type of fundraising. At universities in Poland, crowdfunding is in the phase of initial development, therefore this paper is aimed at introducing and evaluating the first crowdfunding platform launched at Poznań University of Economics and Business — GOuep.pl. The experience gained and conclusions drawn from the first fundraisings organised for the implementation of selected projects provide interesting, practical implications for the parties potentially interested in this method of project funding. University fundraisings usually do not reach beyond a given university’s community, making them rather small, local projects with moderate financial goals. Crowdfunding is still so fresh and unexplored at universities in Poland, that significant resources, both financial and in the form of expert knowledge, need to be spent in order to take full advantage of it. It is also a lesson for the entire academic community on how to use the potential of engagement in university projects, understood as events that integrate particular groups and affect the development of the potential and attractiveness of a university. The paper contributes towards recognising predictors of successful crowdfunding at Polish universities and indicates the possibility to use crowdfunding platforms as tools in building the university image and strengthening the integration of academic communities.

Abstract:

In modern business, personal branding (PB) is perceived as a ‘leadership imperative’. The main purpose of the present article is to analyse last-year students, often being professionals and market-entrant entrepreneurs, at the same time, attitudes towards PB’s role in business.

Primarily, it is investigated whether they need to be taught principles, rules and tools of PB in the course of their studies. To achieve this goal, a qualitative, in-depth interview method is used. The data are analysed using the thematic analysis method. The results obtained supplement the knowledge of management sciences with issues concerning the perception of PB and state a significant set of practical implications for the authorities of universities and the authors of academic curricula.

Abstract:

The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of students’ engagement in value co-creation on the perception of online learning experience and the effect of online learning experience on student satisfaction. The research method was a survey conducted on a sample of 532 respondents from a public business school. The findings show that increased students’ engagement in value co-creation results in their improved perception of e-learning experience, which in turn influences student satisfaction. Thus, in order to facilitate the engagement of students in the value co-creation process, it is imperative to optimise the quality of dialogue, enhance the availability of pertinent information, promote intellectual stimulation, increase participation in scholarly pursuits, and foster opportunities for inter-student interactions. The study also complements the current body of knowledge on value co-creation in higher education with an online context.

Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the learning process, which was previously carried out conventionally with face-to-face interaction, into an online learning activity (e-learning). e-Learning has several benefits, but it also has some challenges that need to be addressed.
A preliminary survey has been conducted by asking open-ended questions regarding students’ experience and obstacles during e-learning to determine their perceptions of e-learning, and the results showed that there were problems faced by students in implementing
e-learning, especially pertaining to student loyalty. Previous research has stated that e-learning service quality exercises an influence on student satisfaction and student loyalty. This research focusses on the influence of e-learning service quality factors on student perceived value (SPV) and student satisfaction, and ultimately on its role in influencing student loyalty. This research was conducted using a quantitative approach, wherein data were gathered, using judgement sampling, from 309 undergraduate students enrolled across six universities in Tangerang. These data were analysed by partial least squares structural equation modelling (SEM-PLS), and the results of the analysis indicated the presence of a positive and significant relationship between these variables. Resultant to the analysis, there emerged some useful suggestions for educational institutions and lecturers that would enable them to improve the quality of e-learning.

The findings of the present study imply that improving the factors of e-learning service quality will inculcate in students a favourable value perception towards the university, as well as create a feeling of satisfaction in them, arising from the fulfilling character of the experience to which they were exposed during the e-learning process; these phenomena are expected in turn to increase students’ loyalty towards the university.

Abstract:

‘Word of mouth’ (WOM) as a communication tool has evolved quite significantly over the last few decades. Originally, word-of-mouth communication was limited to local coverage, i.e. it was restricted only to the closest people in the circle of the sender of the message.
Technological developments over the past 30 years, particularly in computer and mobile technologies, have brought about significant changes in this form of communication. The information provided has become global; the consumer can communicate directly with the entrepreneur. Examples of bibliographic analyses of only electronic word of mouth (eWOM) without consideration of traditional WOM can be found in the literature. It therefore seems important to try to analyse the literature collection on both WOM and eWOM. The article aims to identify and present the most frequently cited works (along with their authors), as well as the publications most frequently referred to by authors publishing works related to WOM. Citation analysis and co-citation analysis were used to realise the stated aim. The basis for the analyses is a collection of publications from the WoS database. The results obtained made it possible to identify and create a list of the most frequently cited and co-cited publications.