Gastronomic experiences offer a set of stimuli that affect the customer’s perception of chef-designed food. This empirical study aims to analyze the influence on the consumer, at a cerebral level, of the stimuli characteristic of a high-level gastronomic experience, in a Michelin starred restaurant. The presentation by the waiter or chef, the plate design, the dish served, the taste of food, interaction or moment in which the food is served are the variables analyzed. Through the use of neuromarketing techniques – galvanic skin response to register emotional arousal, eye tracking to identify where consumers look, and electroencephalography to interpret emotional reactions – combined with qualitative research technique (In-depth interviews with all consumers), in order to know the natural and suggested memories, the objective of this research is to determine the emotional impact of the variables analyzed against the actual taste of food, obtaining conclusions about each variable in overall experience and allowing the authors to propose a model of order design of dishes, designed by the chef, based on emotions and thereby achieving greater efficiency in results of the experience and the memory of it. Results indicate a favorable influence on emotions when the chef presents the food. Likewise, dishes with special presentation have a greater influence at the level of interest than conventional dishes. It is important to highlight that the levels of emotion and attention fall after the midway point of the experience, due to the duration of the experience. Therefore, the dishes do not have the same emotional impact, despite being as special as at the beginning of the experience.
The reverse logistics process (RLP) has become a key process for the supply chain (SC) given its importance for treating the increasing quantity of returned or recovered products and its impact on sustainability. However, the RLP is complex and involves a high degree of uncertainty and difficult decisions that affect SC efficiency. One of the aspects that can help the most to reduce this complexity and to improve SC efficiency is to formalize this process. The consulted studies agree on the numerous benefits of RLP formalization, but no tools, methodologies or specific solutions were found that help companies to advance in this matter. This work aims to develop a specific tool for RLP formalization so that its efficiency can be increased, leading to an improvement of SC sustainability. The main results comprise a reference model for RLP (RM-RLP) and an associated methodology so that any company can formalize its RLP by modeling its activities. The proposed tool (RM-RLP and methodology) is applied to a closed loop SC of relaxing chairs as an example of RLP formalization, proving its usefulness and, additionally, the improvements that can be reached in three RLP key indicators: total process duration, customer response time and the perceived autonomy and trust of the workers participating in the process.
Haute cuisine is emblematic in the world of tourism and is of fundamental importance in the economic and social life in most countries worldwide. Haute cuisine gastronomic experiences play with the senses, involving the diner, thus generating a unique experience for the customer. This empirical study aims to analyze the influence on the consumer of the characteristic stimuli of a high-level gastronomic experience in a restaurant with two Michelin stars. Using neuromarketing biometrics, combined with a qualitative research technique, the objective of this research was to determine the emotional impact of the presentation and tasting of dishes compared to wines and to draw conclusions about each variable in the general experience. The results indicate that the dishes have a greater influence on the level of interest than the wines, and both have a different emotional impact at different moments of the experience due to its duration.
Manufacturing engineering is responsible for the design, development and improvement of production systems that convert raw materials into finished products. Each product is designed to be sold to numerous potential consumers, so the importance of the stimuli surrounding the product in packaging, and at the point of sale, cannot be underestimated. The environmental, social, and ethical commitments of industrial design (and their implications in manufacturing) are establishing universal principles in a common effort to foster a more harmonious and sustainable society. This work aims to analyse, through eye tracking biometric techniques, the level of saturation of information generated by the concentration of stimuli in packaging and the retail channel, possibly creating a lower level of attention towards the product itself. This research confirms that every product associated with a manufacturing process seeks to respond to a need, so the associated responsibility is significant. This would suggest that designers incorporate knowledge from multiple fields, including marketing strategies, design, research and development, basic knowledge related to production, integration management and communication skills. More than 50% of consumer attention is dedicated to other elements/items that accompany the product, so it is important to consider this in the design phase. The results can be used to improve efficiency in both generating product attention, and stimulus design for the purchasing process.
7 March 2024 in International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal
This study examines the influence of emotional factors on entrepreneurial decision-making, specifically focusing on early-stage entrepreneurs and those with more years of experience in the entrepreneurial process. The aim is to understand how emotional intensity affects business decisions at different stages of entrepreneurship. Neuroqualitative interviews were conducted using a stratified sample of entrepreneurs. The methodology included semi-structured interviews. Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) technology was employed to simultaneously measure participants’ emotional levels during the interviews. The results revealed significant differences in emotional levels between novice and experienced entrepreneurs concerning the analysed emotional factors. Novice entrepreneurs exhibited higher levels of anxiety and fear, especially in questions not previously anticipated, while experienced entrepreneurs showed confidence and a more optimistic outlook, particularly on topics related to long-term consolidation and revenue forecasting. This study highlights originality by demonstrating the importance of emotional factors in entrepreneurial decision-making and their variation over time in the entrepreneurial process. The use of GSR technology in neuroqualitative interviews adds a unique dimension by providing an objective assessment of entrepreneurs’ emotional levels, thus complementing the qualitative richness of verbal responses. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of emotional complexity in business decision-making and emphasize the need to consider these aspects in entrepreneurship support strategies.
1 April 2024 in International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal
This study aims to conduct a literature review and examine key research topics within the field of neuroentrepreneurship, categorizing works based on this classification and specifying different directions of research lines. Additionally, it seeks to compile definitions and their evolution regarding the concept of neuroentrepreneurship, contributing a new proposal. The methodology involves identifying keywords related to main themes and their direct relation to all research works encompassed in the entrepreneurship spectrum. Research articles matching the query are extracted from the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases, as they provide a comprehensive citation search and access to multidisciplinary research, adhering to established inclusion-exclusion criteria. Findings allow the classification of contributions to the literature into four themes: Neuroscience and entrepreneurship, the use of neurotechnologies in entrepreneurship research, the neurological profile of the entrepreneur, and ethics in neuroentrepreneurship. Lastly, this study emphasizes its originality by presenting a set of works directly related to neuroentrepreneurship, establishing a classification based on four thematic research lines in neuroentrepreneurship. This allows extracting a limited set of definitions for the concept, classifying them based on themes incorporated in the definition. Finally, the authors provide a comprehensive definition of neuroentrepreneurship, tailored to the four major research blocks in this discipline.