BRAND CONCEPT OF A RESORT AND RECREATIONAL ENTERPRISE

Background. Brand formation of a resort and recreational enterprise is a key factor of success and competitive advantage. The socio-economic development of the destination, its investment attractiveness and the development of an export-oriented model of the resort and recreational sphere depend on the strength of the brand’s influence. This significant scientific aspect requires a theoretical substantiation of the brand concept of a resort and recreational enterprise and the study of the basic of its formation. The aim of the article is to study the methodological foundations of the brand concept of the resort and recreation enterprise, taking into account the key features of the resort and recreation service, which will increase brand awareness, provide reliable information to consumers, the resort and recreation company will balance supply and demand especially during periods of seasonal fluctuations. Materials and methods. The theoretical and methodological basis of the article are theoretical and analytical-applied researches of Ukrainian and foreign scientists on bran­ding, as well as statistical data of international organizations, UNWTO, GWI, the State Sta­tistics Service of Ukraine, statistical and financial reporting of resort and recreational enter­prises, etc. Such scientific methods and approaches as system, analysis and synthesis, compa­rison, graphic have been used in the research. Results. Definitive analysis of the essence of the brand concept has showed that the concept covers key ideas and essence, it is irrational, it is transmitted non-verbally and it is a guide for consumers in the market environment. Functional attributes of resort and recrea­tional services are a consequence of interpenetration of features of resort, hotel and re­creational services. The brand of the resort-recreational enterprise must transmit information about the resort and recreational service as a set of services aimed at providing medical, health, rehabilitation, valeological, recreational and animation services. Taking into account the phenomenon of diffusion is associated primarily with the reflection in the brand of the enterprise of the complexity of the signs of resort and recreational services. The concept of a diffuse brand of a resort and recreational enterprise should reflect a suggestive and marke­ting approach to brand formation. Conclusion. Diffuse brand is an indicator that reflects the multifunctional of the resort and recreational service and broadcasts relevant information about its consumer character­ristics. Disclosure of the concept of the brand of the resort and recreational enterprise through a diffuse brand is a marker of the effectiveness of marketing activity of the resort-recreational enterprise in differentiating marketing communication channels to address poten­tial customers and stimulate sales of resort and recreational services. Keywords: concept, resort and recreational enterprise, resort and recreational service, diffusion, diffuse brand of a resort and recreational enterprise.

A diffusion model for service products

Purpose – This paper aims to develop a diffusion model that can be used to understand and forecast the market growth of service products in a competitive environment. Despite the fast growth of the service sector, the existing literature has dedicated little effort to modeling the market growth of service products. Design/methodology/approach – The authors propose a choice-type diffusion model that links the issues of service product utility, customers’ choice preference, customer switching behavior and the market growth of service products. The authors use the market data of one online product and assess the performance of the proposed model using this case. Findings – The results demonstrate the model’s good fitting and forecasting performance. Specifically, the proposed model has better performance than the benchmarks the authors choose from the existing literature. Originality/value – This study shows that market growth of service products can have different diffusion patterns with that of durable goods, which is evidence of the needs for specific models for service diffusion. Further, this study demonstrates the important role of customer switching in service diffusion. Also for marketing practitioners, this study provides an explanation and forecasting tool for the market growth of service products, which can be used for marketing planning in the service industry.

A Discrete Model for Diffusion-Induced Grain Boundary Deterioration

Polycrystalline materials may suffer internal damage due to diffusion of chemically aggressive species during service. Diffusion rates are greatly enhanced on grain boundaries (GB). This can be modelled with discrete networks, where the GB structure is represented by links with local diffusivities. We present a site-bond model for concentration-driven diffusion that can be used to study the accumulation of chemical species at GB, leading to deterioration and eventual cracking. We employ realistic distributions of GB energies and corresponding diffusivities from published works. We show how the model can be used to predict macroscopic diffusivities with little experimentation. We demonstrate how the grain boundary structure controls the extent of internal damage resulting from the diffusion of chemical species.

Diffusion of Palm Biodiesel in Elastomers Undergoing Multiaxial Large Deformations

Petroleum-based fuel is facing significant depletion issue due to its limited reserves and increasing demand from various industries. Thus, various considerations from economical, environmental and political concerns have motivated researchers to develop alternative energy sources such as biofuel to decrease dependence on petroleum-based fuel. However, the changes in the fuel composition of biofuel affect the material compatibility. In engineering applications where elastomeric components are exposed to hostile environment such as palm biodiesel medium, at least two aspects contribute to the degradation of the materials during the service: diffusion of the liquids leading to swelling and fluctuating multiaxial mechanical loading leading to fatigue failure. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to study the mechanical responses of elastomers under this coupled diffusion-mechanical loading in order to predict accurately their fatigue failure. The present work investigates the swelling of elastomers under simultaneous diffusion of palm biodiesel and multiaxial large deformations.