Purpose À la carte restaurants have faced increasing challenges in meeting the needs and desires of new food consumers. The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a model for evaluating the consumers’ perceived quality of à la carte restaurants and to review the impact on their attitudes and behavioural intentions. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted with 508 university students in Brazil, and the data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings The results showed that global perceived quality (GPQ), which is a multidimensional construct with nine dimensions, directly impacted emotions, the satisfaction and perceived value by consumers. This satisfaction positively affected word-of-mouth (WOM) communication and the propensity for loyalty. Price did not have a statistically significant impact on customer satisfaction. Originality/value This paper, based on the structural model herein proposed and tested, is the most complete of all available articles in the literature about à la carte restaurants, as this study contemplates a greater number of perceived quality factors. In addition, both tangible and intangible perceived quality factors were included in this tested model, which goes beyond what is typically contemplated in other such. Moreover, none of the existing articles in the existing literature simultaneously observed the relationship between perceived quality, positive and negative emotions, price, perceived value, satisfaction, WOM communication and propensity to loyalty. Finally, the questionnaire developed in this study could be used both by academics in future studies and by restaurant managers.

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PurposeCompanies' relationship with their customers through e-commerce platforms has increased considerably in the past few years, bringing new challenges concerning service guarantees (SG). This study aims to propose a framework of the relations between customers' expectations on SG, their negative experiences and their attitudes and behavioural intentions towards an e-commerce platform.Design/methodology/approachThe research had a qualitative and descriptive approach. Testimonials from clients of an online e-commerce platform were obtained through interviews via videoconference and non-participant observation on a complaints website in Brazil. The testimonies were analysed through content analysis.FindingsThe customer expectations regarding the SG offered by the e-commerce platform are congruent with the five categories of the theory that support this research. Customer testimonials on the complaints site show that their negative experiences with the e-commerce platform generated negative emotional, cognitive and behavioural responses towards the company. A framework was proposed, including customers' expectations regarding SG, their negative experiences and their repercussions on clients' attitudes and behavioural intentions.Originality/valueThis article is the only that contemplates customers' expectations about SG in an e-commerce platform, relating them to attitudes and behavioural intentions. Thus, its framework demonstrates the relationships between customer expectations about SGs, their negative experiences and attitudinal and behavioural repercussions. This article brings academic and managerial contributions for companies and managers of e-commerce platforms. It contributes to clients and consumer protection associations by revealing problems they face with SG on e-commerce platforms. This research can be used by those responsible for elaborating laws and public policies to regulate and inspect the relationships between e-commerce platforms and their customers.

PurposeCoffee in capsules consumers’ behaviour depends not only on the products’ attributes, but also the consequences perceived by them and the alignment with their values. This paper aims to investigate the impacts of the Attributes of coffees in capsules on the consequences perceived by consumers concerning their consumption and the effects of these Consequences on consumers’ Values.Design/methodology/approachThis study developed a scale for assessing the perception of consumers of coffee in capsules about Attributes, Consequences and Values (A-C-V) regarding its consumption. A link to this survey’s electronic questionnaire was posted on the social networks Facebook and Peabirus. This research sample is for convenience and accessibility and has 213 consumers of coffee in capsules. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was the statistical method used for data analysis.FindingsAttributes have two sub-dimensions (Own attributes and Functional attributes), while Consequences have three sub-dimensions (Handling Benefits, Rational Benefits, Convenience Benefits) and Values have just one dimension. Also, SEM has shown a statistically significant positive relationship between A-C-V perceived by consumers of coffee in capsules. These results confirm the hypotheses developed based on the Means-End Chain Theory (MEC).Originality/valueAs academic contributions, this paper develops a structural model that quantitatively demonstrates the impacts of Attributes perceived by consumers of coffee in capsules on the Consequences of consumption and its effects on their Values. The present survey is the first in the literature that uses structural models contemplating A-C-V. As managerial contributions, this survey provides relevant information to the decision-making of several stakeholders of the chain of coffee in capsules.

PurposeMany restaurants offer high-quality service to their customers, hoping to provide memorable experiences that influence their loyalty and electronic word of mouth (eWOM). However, consumers' memorable experiences do not always imply positive eWOM. This study aims to (1) verify the direct impacts of the perceived quality by consumers of casual dining restaurants on positive emotions, negative emotions and memorable experiences; (2) investigate the impacts of memorable experiences on the propensity to loyalty and eWOM; (3) test the moderating effect of consumer behavioural engagement on social networking sites (CBE-SNS) on the relationship between memorable experiences and eWOM.Design/methodology/approachThis survey included 475 university students in Brazil. Participants answered an electronic form about their experiences in casual dining restaurants. Structural equation modelling tested the hypothetical model based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theory (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974).FindingsThe quality perceived by restaurant consumers (stimulus) positively impacts their memorable experiences and positive emotions and negatively affects their negative emotions (organism). Memorable experiences positively impact the propensity to loyalty (response). The CBE-SNS moderates the intensity of the relationship between memorable experiences (organism) and eWOM (response).Originality/valueThis study is the first that demonstrates the relationships between perceived quality, positive and negative emotions, memorable experiences, the propensity to loyalty and CBE-SNS and e-WOM in restaurants. Casual dining restaurants must offer their customers services with high perceived quality, positively impacting their emotions and their memorable experiences. Finally, restaurants must create strategies and actions to increase the CBE-SNS to encourage them to share their memorable experiences through eWOM.

O objetivo deste artigo é avançar na compreensão da relação casual de crowding na variável lealdade via satisfação do cliente, em processos de compras no varejo. E realizar testes para examinar as implicações da mediação da satisfação do cliente entre crowding e a lealdade do consumidor. Para verificação das hipóteses geradas sob a luz da teoria, realizou-se um survey em corte transversal com a participação de 486 estudantes universitários. A análise dos dados, por meio de modelagem de equações estruturais (MEE) com estimação dos mínimos quadrados parciais, indicou que o efeito direto entre a percepção de crowding e a lealdade é mediado pela satisfação declarada do consumidor. Com isto, a principal contribuição desse estudo é corroborar ao posicionamento teórico de que pode haver resposta positiva do consumidor aos ambientes varejistas com alta densidade humana.Palavras-chave: Crowding. Satisfação. Lealdade. Comportamento do Consumidor no Varejo.

Recebido em 11/2/08; aceito em 13/4/09; publicado na web em 26/8/09 DISTRIBUTION AND BIOAVAILABILITY OF CHROMIUM IN CONTAMINATED SOILS BY TANNERY RESIDUES. Samples of soil, water and sediment were collected and analyzed in order to evaluate chromium contamination due to deposition of tannery residues onto soils under different management regimes. The results showed that soils used for sugar cane cultivation were not adversely impacted. However, in the case of mango plantations, variable concentrations of chromium were measured in the soil profile, with 22.2% of values being higher than permitted legal limits, and 38.9% being at levels requiring remediation. Concentrations of bioavailable chromium were lower than the detection limit of the method (0.01 mg of chromium kg -1 of soil), indicating that all of the chromium present in the samples was either complexed or in an insoluble form. Chromium concentrations measured in samples of water and sediments were indicative of low mobility of the metal in soils. The main cause of differences found between soil samples obtained from different cultivations was the type of soil management.Keywords: environmental contamination; tannery residues; chromium. INTRODUÇÃOA contaminação ambiental por metais potencialmente tóxicos tem sido objeto de vários estudos, devido à sua elevada aplicabilidade e toxicidade.1,2 Entre os metais mais usados no setor industrial destacase o crômio, empregado na fabricação de aço inoxidável, pigmentos, cerâmica, borracha, fitas magnéticas e em curtumes.1,2 No processamento do couro a etapa de curtição é fundamental e consiste na reação de espécies químicas, como o crômio, com proteínas, ocorrendo a transformação do colágeno da pele em couro pelo entrelaçamento das protofibrilas do colágeno.3 Os couros obtidos pelo curtimento com crômio caracterizam-se por elevada estabilidade hidrotérmica, maior flexibilidade e resistência, características desejadas pelo mercado consumidor.1 O crômio possui diferentes estados de oxidação Cr(II), Cr(III), Cr(IV), Cr(V) e Cr(VI), sendo as formas mais estáveis Cr(III) e Cr(VI) e sua toxicidade depende do estado de oxidação. O crômio(III) é um elemento essencial à nutrição humana e sua deficiência provoca distúrbios relacionados ao metabolismo da glicose, uma vez que age como potencializador da insulina. Entretanto, em elevadas concentrações no organismo, o Cr(III) pode ser responsável pela inibição de diferentes processos celulares.4 O Cr(VI) é tóxico para o organismo humano devido a seu elevado potencial de oxidação e capacidade para atravessar membranas biológicas, sendo classificado como carcinogênico classe A.5 Reações de óxido-redução modificando os estados de oxidação do crômio podem ocorrer naturalmente no ambiente, embora a forma hexavalente, em geral, se apresente em menor concentração.Em solos, as formas mais estáveis do crômio são Cr(III) e Cr(VI), mas em algumas plantas Cr(V) foi determinado como produto intermediário da redução de Cr(VI).6 Ferreira et al. 7 avaliaram o efeito da adição de resíduos de cur...