Abstract:

Image management in crisis situations is one of the most important functions, not only for a company’s team responsible for marketing, but also for its executives and strategists. Given today’s ubiquity of the Internet, crises spread faster than just a few years ago, making it important to halt them effectively with the help of virtual communication. This article first considers the theoretical fundamentals in the field of image management, defining the concept of crisis, its sources and phases. Next, the empirical part presents a profile of the company under consideration, CD Projekt, examining selected examples of the crisis situations in has experienced. We then describe the solutions and strategies the company undertook to minimize the effects of the crisis, mainly losses of reputation. A survey was also carried out on a sample of 354 people from the company’s broader environment in order to gauge people’s opinions about changes in the company’s perception.

Abstract:

The popularity of smart devices that collect and share data on user behaviour grows every year, and the number of such devices in households is forecast to rise steadily. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present the attitudes of young consumers regarding the security of their data collected by smart devices, interconnected via the existing Internet infrastructure or other network technologies within the Internet of Things (IoT) systems. The paper was written based on both secondary and primary sources of information. Secondary sources were used to define the discussed issues related to the Internet of Things and the security of data collected by smart devices. Primary sources, on the other hand, offered direct evidence of the attitudes of young consumers on the security of such data. Direct research was carried out using an online survey carried out in 2021 on a sample of 588 consumers aged 18–34 living in Poland. The results show that more than half of the respondents pay great attention to where the data collected by the devices used in their households is kept and whether such data is safe. In spite of such declarations, more than half of those surveyed have no knowledge about the level of the security of such data. The respondents agreed with the statement that consumers accepted the uncertainty related to the loss of control over their personal data collected by smart devices more quickly than the risk involved in becoming disconnected from them.

Abstract:

This study — carried out in May 2020, early on during the COVID-19 pandemic – examines the situation in the Polish e-education market, as perceived by secondary school and university students who consume e-education services and by the providers of such services. Firstly, to set the stage, in-depth interviews were carried out with eight owners of companies offering commercial e-education services. Next, an extensive online survey was carried out among secondary school and university students in the 2019–2020 school/academic year using the CAWI method on a sample of 803 respondents — with secondary school students (group I) accounting for 30% of the sample and university students (group II) making up the remaining 70% — concerning their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with e-education services. Taken together, the findings allow for an assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning and point to the increased demand for e-education services during the pandemic, in tandem with a continually shifting e-education services market.

Abstract:

Money donation and time donation, as charitable donations from individuals to organizations, are two forms of prosocial behavior that have been increasingly studied in recent years. Despite the vast amount of research about money and/or time donation, however, only limited work has been done on reviewing the research on these two forms of charitable donations as comparable or parallel entities. In this paper, we seek to help fill this gap by reviewing the existing research. We applied the backwards and forwards snowballing technique to arrive at a review sample of 39 experimental papers published in 2000–2020 that have compared money and time donation, or at least analyzed them as two parallel entities. We examine the issues that are predominantly considered in these experimental papers and summarize the general directions of their findings. We also point out certain gaps in the existing literature and posit some potentially fruitful directions for future experimental research regarding money and time donation.

Abstract:

This article presents a methodology for forecasting the expected sales of innovative tourism products in the domestic market. The principles of the product life cycle concept and consumer behavior theory are taken as starting points for calculating the sales volumes of an innovative product as well as the rate of its penetration into the market. A method of measuring the level of consumer commitment to a travel agency and its offerings is posited, and the relationship between the structure of the target market and market activity in purchasing tourist products is demonstrated. Deep market segmentation is applied to take into account the behavioral peculiarities of individual subsegments (Loyalists Market, Sympathizers Market, Qualified Market, Finders Market, Serviced Market, Possible Market, Potential Consumers Market, Perspective Market). Formulas are proposed for calculating the volume of each of the identified markets. An improved and adapted model for the tourist market (by E. Rogers and F. Bass) is used to calculate the diffusion rates of domestic tourist products. This methodology of forecasting the expected sales of innovative tourism products in the domestic market is empirically confirmed based on data on the domestic tourism market in the region of Vinnytsiya, Ukraine.

Abstract:

Communication activities in social media have a direct impact on shaping consumer behavior, in particular among the youngest group of consumers — Generation Z. This paper analyzes young Polish consumers’ interactions with fast-fashion brands on social networking platforms, focusing on their motives for engaging with fashion brands’ communication activities on such social media platforms as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. It presents the empirical findings of a quantitative, pencil-and-paper questionnaire survey carried out among a representative sample of 1000 high-school and university students (representatives of Generation Z) in Poznań, Poland, regarding their perceptions of the profiles of fast-fashion clothing brands on selected social media sites. Principle Component Analysis was used to identify the critical factors determining the involvement of Polish Generation Z representatives in clothing brand profiles (active involvement in the clothing brand profile, observation for measurable benefits and brand loyalty), the main assumptions held by survey participants regarding the clothing brands’ motives for being present and active on social media platforms (image/sales goals and cognitive goals) and two groups of the “best” social media activities conducted by clothing brands (entertainment activities and information activities).