Tourist satisfaction models typically assume that service performance dimensions carry the same weight for all travelers. Drawing on Bourdieu, we reconceptualize age, gender, and region of origin as demographic capital, durable resources that mediate how visitors decode service cues. Using a SERVPERF-based survey of 407 international travelers departing Quito (Ecuador), we test measurement invariance across six sociodemographic strata with multi-group confirmatory factor analysis. The four-factor SERVPERF core (Access, Lodging, Extra-hotel Services, Attractions) holds, yet partial metric invariance emerges: specific loadings flex with demographic capital. Gen-Z travelers penalize transport reliability and safety; female visitors reward cleanliness and empathy; and Latin American guests are the most critical of basic organization. These patterns expose a boundary condition for universalistic satisfaction models and elevate demographic capital from a descriptive tag to a structuring construct. Managerially, we translate the findings into segment-sensitive levers, visible security for youth and regional markets, gender-responsive facility upgrades, and dual eco-luxury versus digital-detox bundles for long-haul segments. By demonstrating when and how SERVPERF fractures across sociodemographic lines, this study intervenes in three theoretical conversations: (1) capital-based readings of consumption, (2) the search for boundary conditions in service-quality measurement, and (3) the shift from segmentation to capital-sensitive interpretation in emerging markets. The results position Ecuador as a critical case and provide a template for destinations facing similar performance–perception mismatches in the Global South.

This article aimed to understand the operational activities that gastronomic companies consider in the economic, social, and environmental spheres within the framework of sustainable development. Through a study methodology of non-experimental design, with a quantitative approach of exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional level, and a data collection technique based on the survey, the correlation between three dimensions and 35 indicators was analyzed. The results showed that there is a greater awareness on the part of companies about social and economic principles than environmental ones; 21 indicators do not significantly align with the proposed model, and the variables of sustainable development can act as partial and total mediators among them. It is concluded that companies must consider the principles of sustainable development of each dimension, based on good business practices, to achieve a balanced model.

Objetivo Evaluar el estado nutricional según el índice de masa corporal de los estudiantes universitarios de pregrado de la Universidad Central del Ecuador (UCE) y de la Universidad Tecnológica Equinoccial (UTE) de la ciudad de Quito, estableciendo sujetos de estudio con un perfil entre los 19 a 24 años de edad a través del uso de indicadores antropométricos.Metodología Se estableció una muestra conformada por 235 estudiantes que regularmente utilizan los comedores universitarios; de este estudio el 53% eran mujeres y el 47% hombres. Para esto se tomó como dimensión un estudio comprendido entre el periodo julio de 2013 a marzo de 2014.Resultados Entre los principales resultados se determinó que existió una prevalencia de malnutrición de 28,1%, en donde se evidenció una mayor presencia de exceso de peso (22,1%) que de déficit (6,0%); estos datos fueron más críticos para los hombres, con un 34,2% frente al 22,6% de las mujeres.Conclusión Los resultados de sobrepeso y obesidad encontrados en los estudiantes universitarios ecuatorianos fueron de 18,3% y 3,8%, respectivamente, inferiores que los reportados para el país, en la Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición en 2013.

La chicha es una bebida ancestral que goza de cierto reconocimiento en los países andinos, ha logrado vencer decenas de obstáculos gracias al fuerte arraigo producido entre sus consumidores, sus característicos sabores y ritualidades. El objeto de este artículo es reconocer similitudes y/o diferencias entre las chichas emblemáticas de un lugar situado en Colombia (Chorro de Quevedo) y otro de Ecuador (Otavalo). El documento incluye un trazado histórico-social y una aproximación a la opinión de consumidores/productores sobre el papel que cumple esta bebida en la idiosincrasia de sus lugares de origen. Se concluye que las condiciones específicas en cuanto a contexto geográfico, histórico y cultural han configurado de diferente manera la forma de preparación, el consumo y las ritualidades alrededor de la chicha.

El comportamiento del consumidor pasa por cinco etapas: reconocimiento del problema, búsqueda de información, evaluación de alternativas, decisión de compra y comportamiento poscompra. El objetivo es determinar los criterios de decisión que se presentan en cada una de las etapas del proceso de compra del consumidor y la relación que existe entre sí de forma sistematizada entre los consumidores que compran alimentos de restaurantes y cafeterías. Se realizó un estudio cuantitativo, no experimental, de nivel descriptivo y transversal en 385 consumidores. Como resultado, se identificaron 41 aspectos que el consumidor evalúa ante una decisión de compra, distribuidos en cada una de las etapas del proceso. Se concluye que existe una relación entre los factores que conforman cada una de las dimensiones.

Soybean oil is the second most consumed vegetable oil worldwide and is recognized as a source of heart-healthy polyunsaturated fatty acids. Optimizing the extraction process in the oil industry is essential for both economic and environmental sustainability. This research aimed to determine the optimal conditions for various extraction parameters—stripper temperature (110–140 °C), stripper pressure (150–210 mbar), and dryer pressure (60–120 mbar)—and their effects on the physicochemical properties of soybean oil. These properties include oil-insoluble fine substances, acidity, the color index, peroxide value, oxidative stability, and moisture content. The results indicated that the stripper temperature significantly influenced oil-insoluble fine substances, acidity, the color index, and peroxide value (p < 0.05). The optimal conditions for oil extraction were found to be a stripper temperature of 110 °C, a stripper pressure of 150 mbar, and a dryer pressure of 120 mbar. Under these conditions, the oil-insoluble fine substances, acidity, the color index, peroxide value, oxidative stability, and moisture content of soybean oil were in the ranges of 0.2–0.58%, 0.63–1.15%, 4.3–5.5, 0.67–1.23 meqO2/kg, 3–5.5, and 0.05–0.11%, respectively. These findings provide valuable insight for optimizing soybean oil extraction processes to enhance quality and efficiency. Future advancements in industrial oil extraction are expected to focus on integrating efficient, eco-friendly technologies and enhancing precision through automation and data analytics to optimize yield and minimize waste.

The present study aims to analyze the relationship between a tourist’s personality traits and the diverse motivational factors that guide their selection of a travel destination. To conduct this research, we adopted a quantitative, cross-sectional approach, collecting information through a survey involving 384 participants in Quito. The results revealed that potential tourists consider various factors, including their needs, desires, available offerings, and personality traits, when choosing a destination. However, it was established that personality traits do not significantly influence tourism needs and offerings. Furthermore, desires do not serve as direct or indirect mediating variables between needs and offerings. In conclusion, an individual’s personality does not necessarily dictate motivation when selecting a tourist destination. This study provides a comprehensive view of how psychological and motivational factors interact in the complex decision-making process within tourism.