Purpose This precis on recent service breakdown prevention (SBP) theory and research advocates innovation organizational leadership and actions via business-to-organization (B-to-O) training focusing on how to manage face-to-face server-client encounters by designing/engaging in effective processes to achieve highly desirable outcomes. This research note advocates the use of role-playing training in experiencing simulated disastrous processes and how-to-avoid such outcomes. Focus This research note builds and extends prior research on "broadening the concept of marketing" to organizational-client contexts beyond retail store setting, telephone, and website-e-mail interactions by recognizing and adopting B-to-O-to-C frontline engagement in server-client interactions - where "B" includes effective trainers/firms helping organizations (O) (e.g. police departments) to SBP tools with civilians (C). The research note briefly reviews available (numerous) videos of uninformed frontline services attempting to enforce unlawful procedures and bad organizational policies with highly knowledgeable clients (e.g. bodycam videos of servers offering unsolicited help and by "first amendment auditors"). "Client" is used broadly here to include consumers and citizens performing naturally occurring "normal" acts and legal acts appearing unusual to servers, as well as consumers engaging in purchasing/returning products and services. Recommendations This research note points out the general absence of scholarly research in relevant literature comparing the effectiveness of alternative training program designs focusing on delivering high-quality serving. Managerial implications The research note here provides clues on how to move forward in providing effective training of both high-quality service and decreasing bad service practices - by first recognizing that these two objectives have asymmetrically different configurations of causes.

In the present research we make a comparative study in detail of the evolution of several commercial indicators linked to the activity of the car dealers located in territories economically depressed during the crises of 1993 and 2008, as well as an analysis of the evolution in the same periods of its financial results and of various socioeconomic variables, at national and local levels, that could affect its activity. It is concluded that the observation and systematic analysis of the deterioration of these data in the pre-crisis phases should help to predict the coming of an economic crisis that will affect to other economic sectors and more favoured geographical areas.

This study describes the use of a true (not quasi or "natural") field experiment to test the impact of a third-party endorsement message embedded in an email advertisement on customer behavior - the message embed calls attention to reviews of third-persons' hotel-stays, mostly positive assessments, and a high overall rating (i.e. four stars in TripAdvisor for a national (Spanish) hotel chain. Applying a between-subjects experiment design, each of two versions of the email advertisement was sent to one of two random samples of treatment (embed) and control (no embed) groups of hotel's customers (n = 97,451 and 97,662, respectively). The study includes five dependent variables (DVs): clicks-to-open email; clicks-to-open offer; clicks-to-purchase room rental; number-of-nights stayed; and total revenue generated for the treatment versus control groups. Behavior was higher for all dependent measures per participants in the treatment versus control groups. Revenue per study participant was 0.083 euro for members in the control group versus 0.134 euro for members in the treatment group. Total revenue was 13,097 euro in the treatment group and 8,143 euro from guests in the control group. The share increases in the DVs may be useful as baseline share changes in future studies on behavior influences of social media embeds in internet advertisements.

This study investigates competing for theoretical stances (i.e., choice overload vs. choice cornucopia) and explores how increases in spending occur in high and low choice conditions following receiving promotional gift offers in a service consumption setting. This study includes a nonobtrusive field experiment (n¿=¿200) that includes measured and manipulated variables: purchase versus nonpurchase conditions and size of expenditures. The study's context tests the use of two versus five promotional gift options and two levels of gift value (6 vs. €20). Findings using symmetrical (analysis of variance [ANOVA]) and asymmetrical (fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis [fsQCA]) methods of analysis support the choice overload hypothesis in this unobtrusive field experiment. Also, spending in the high versus low choice condition increased when hotel guests were offered a high¿value gift for using room service. Given the nature of the nonobtrusive field experiment, this study provides valuable information for marketers and consumers regarding the moderating effects of promotional gifts in many option environments. While prior studies explore the conditions of choice cornucopia versus choice overload, to date few or possibly no attempts to identify practical ways of reducing the negative effects of choice overload.

This paper introduces a special issue devoted to the emergence of new marketing models and tools within a fashion e-commerce context. Despite the importance of physical stores, in recent years, we have witnessed substantial development regarding the electronic trade in fashion products. In effect, fashion products represent a major category within e-commerce and have witnessed the development of a "new" form of online marketing. Special attention should be paid to the internationalization of e-commerce within the fashion industry. New models and tools have emerged in relation to: the technology/consumption interface and the strategies of the different players within the business sector; the integration of online and offline fashion marketing; the impact of new IT technologies and new marketing on preexisting fashion marketing policies, such as customization; and the role of new emerging players such as fashion bloggers and influencers. In this period of change, new and traditional marketing tools co-exist. The five articles in this special issue seek to contribute to research whose aim is to systemize new models and tools that may be useful for practitioners and marketing researchers working in this field.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the role that e-commerce has to play in the internationalization of Spanish luxury multi-brand stores. Possible answers are sought to the following research question: How might the adoption of e-commerce platforms affect the international sales of multi-brand retailers? This paper presents a data analysis of the 15 most important Spanish fashion multi-brand retailers and the different prospects of e-commerce today. Our analysis of online stores shows an open mentality when it comes to adapting to this new business model, but the late integration and inexperience of the majority of retailers limit their performance. Information from different channels and further research through the collaboration of brands would have given us more detailed information regarding the current situation within this sector. The paper analyzes the current situation of e-commerce luxury fashion multi-brand stores and mainly focuses on the Spanish market, even though it also offers a global overview.

Introduction: The objective of this research was to analyse how the use of instant messaging services impacts the Spanish university context and what positive and negative consequences it generates on students' behaviour. In order to do this, we worked on the most popular application in the territory in question, WhatsApp, and its use by university students. Methodology: The research developed has used the quantitative technique (survey to a sample n = 332) to determine the use that is given to conventional text messages, as well as other options for instant messaging (such as voice or images). Likewise, some impacts on the academic environment were analysed, such as the possible stress it generates on human behaviour. Results and conclusions: The main conclusions of the study include the convenience and free nature of WhatsApp that drive its use in the educational environment. It can be seen that the majority of students use this type of instant messaging applications also for issues related to university affairs -besides their personal lives-. In addition, it has been found that a very high percentage of the groups analysed are members of a study-related chat group or is included in conversation groups on academic subjects.

In this article we study the social media used by tourist businesses to attract visitors to Barcelona (Catalonia). The methodology used is a quantitative method that converts the object of the study into numerical data, with emphasis on the measurable objective. A quantitative questionnaire was prepared. The multiple choices questions are an instrument for obtaining data and are used to gather the information needed, such as facts, opinions, and trends. The data collection was carried out for 4 months in 2015 with a final sample of 494 participants. The conclusion is that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Foursquare are the types of social media used mostly by young people, and gender does not influence their use. However, the degree of use of Google+, Linkedin, TripAdvisor and Booking has no significant relationship among them, considering such variables as age and gender.

This study examines influences on quality-of-life of national cultures as complex wholes and entrepreneurship activities in Brazil, Russia, India, China, Germany, and the United States (the six focal nations) plus Denmark (a small-size, economically-developed, nation). The study tests McClelland's (1961) and more recent scholars' proposition that some cultural configurations nurture entrepreneur startups while other cultures are biased toward thwarting startups. The study applies complexity theory to develop and empirically test a general theory of cultures', entrepreneurship's, and innovation's impact on quality-of-life across nations. Because culture represents a complex whole of attitudes, beliefs, values, and behavior, the study applies a set-theoretic approach to theory development and testing of alternative cultural configurations. Each of 28 economical developed and developing nations is scored for the level of the national cultures for each of six focal countries. The study selected for the study enables multi-way comparisons of culture-entrepreneurship-innovation-QOL among large- and small-size developing and developed nations. The findings graphically present the complex national cultural configuration (x-axis) with entrepreneur nurture/thwart (y-axis) of the 28 nations compared to the six focal nations. The findings also include recognizing national cultures (e.g., Switzerland, USA) nurturing entrepreneurial behavior versus other national cultures (e.g., Brazil and