The rapid increase in car ownership has caused rigorous issues for people living in the major cities in China, which is observe from traffic pressure, the inconvenience of city travelling, and air pollution. While the fast development of digital service platforms based on the Internet provides an alternative approach to touch the problems, leading a researchable phenomenon, online car-sharing service in China. This paper strives to explore the impact of car sharing on millennial sustainability attitudes by using the daily service on apps to ‘drive less, share more’. The paper is conducted using mixed research methods in Suzhou, China. Principally, the researchers interviewed ten car- sharing consumers during shared ride. To ensure the creditability and reliability, the paper collected 326 online survey responses from local car-sharing platforms as comparable data. The results show that most millennials agree car-sharing service makes their traffic modes more convenient, and taking shared ride more compared to self-driving has a significant influence on social and environmental issues in cities. Also, some respondents present willingness or already take actions on giving up car ownerships. However, the result also emphasises the fundamental reasons for millennials to participate in car-sharing service, which is personalised service and reasonable price. The paper closes with three outcomes, sharing economy as ‘Development’, digital service as ‘Innovation’, and sustainability as ‘The future’. They not only enrich the current literature research between Millennials and sharing economy, but also promote further strategies for car-sharing companies with empirical data.

Advertising and media creates and maintains standardized norms and beauty ideals for how women should look and it is often not realistic or representative of ordinary women. Consumers are now demanding representation of women who differs from the unreachable ideals and show how ordinary women actually look. Despite various companies try to include different types of women, they are met with criticism. It becomes clear that it is difficult for companies to represent ordinary women. Instead of using models to represent “ordinary” women Cellbes has their customers as models. How these women are portrayed and perceived and whether they differ from the traditional portrayal of women in advertising is examined in our study. This is with the aim of examining how "ordinary" women are communicated and understood from a consumer-cultural perspective, based on the commercial female representation that addresses women with "ordinariness" as a selling point.A critical discourse analysis combined with a netnographic case study have been applied as the design of the study. The gathered material consists of advertising images with associated texts and comments as well as a discussion in chat format. The material has been collected through screenshots from Cellbes’ website, Facebook and Instagram as well as from a focus group. The result was thematized from the identified discourses regarding the female representation. The themes identified are the following: solidarity, ambassadors, bodies, age, motherhood, exclusion and the reality effect. Within the various discourses, the result was analyzed and discussed related to previous research and the theoretical framework. "Ordinary" women are portrayed in commercial use with meaning-bearing signs that indicate their "ordinarity". Cellbes establish women in reality by letting their personalities appear in the images. Cellbes portrays “ordinary” women as larger and older than previous norms and ideals, which the viewers of the images appreciate and can partially identify with. To some extent, viewers are still influenced by the traditional portrayal, as they willingly identify themselves with models that are younger than themselves. Cellbes portrays "ordinary" women more deviant than the viewer's perception of ordinary women. In order for the representation to be accepted by the viewers it is necessary to highlight one, different from the traditional portrayal, attribute at a time. / Reklam och media skapar och upprätthåller normer och skönhetsideal för hur kvinnor ska se ut. Skönhetsidealen som massmedia har förmedlat är ofta inte realistiska eller representativa för “vanliga” kvinnor. Konsumenter efterfrågar nu kvinnor som strider mot de ouppnåeliga idealen och visar upp hur “vanliga” kvinnor ser ut. Trots olika företags försök att inkludera olika typer av kvinnor möts de av kritik. Det blir tydligt att det finns en svårighet för företagen att representera “vanliga” kvinnor. Istället för att använda modeller som ska representera den “vanliga” kvinnan har företaget Cellbes använt sig av konsumenter som fått agera modeller. Hur dessa kvinnor framställs och uppfattas samt om det skiljer sig från den traditionella framställningen av kvinnan i reklam undersöks i vår studie. Detta med syftet att utifrån den kommersiella kvinnliga representationen som vänder sig till kvinnor, med “vanlighet” som försäljningsargument, undersöka hur “vanliga” kvinnor kommuniceras och förstås ur ett konsumentkulturellt perspektiv.En kritisk diskursanalys i kombination med en netnografisk fallstudie har tillämpats för studiens utformning. Det bearbetade materialet består av reklambilder med tillhörande texter och kommentarer samt en diskussion i chattformat. Materialet har samlats in genom skärmdumpar från Cellbes hemsida, Facebook och Instagram samt från en fokusgrupp. Resultatet tematiserades utifrån identifierade diskurser gällande den kvinnliga framställningen. De teman som identifierats är följande: gemenskap, ambassadörer, kroppar, ålder, moderskap, exkludering och realitetseffekten. Under de olika diskurserna analyserades och diskuterades resultatet utifrån tidigare forskning och teoretiskt ramverk. “Vanliga” kvinnor framställs kommersiellt med meningsbärande tecken som tyder på deras “vanlighet”. Cellbes förankrar kvinnorna i verkligheten genom att låta deras personligheter synas i bilderna. Cellbes framställer “vanliga” kvinnor som större och äldre än tidigare normer och ideal, vilket betraktarna av bilderna uppskattar och delvis kan identifiera sig med. I viss mån präglas betraktarna fortfarande av den traditionella framställningen då de gärna identifierar sig med modeller som är yngre än de själva. Cellbes framställer “vanliga” kvinnor mer avvikande än vad som stämmer överens med betraktarnas egna uppfattningar av “vanliga” kvinnor. För att framställningen ska accepteras av betraktarna gäller det att framställa ett, från den traditionella framställningen, avvikande attribut i taget.

Abstract  Background: E-commerce and omni-channel retailing strategies have emerged with digitalization. Digital channels have affected many parts of the daily life for consumers and as a result the consumer’s decision-making processes have become more complex. Born natives are a generation of consumers that have grown up having access to digital technology and their behaviors form a unique phenomenon as consumers within the omni-channel environment. At the same time, continuous growth in the Swedish furniture industry has allowed for new retailing strategies to emerge. The sample of born natives born during the 1990’s provides a unique insight in how these consumers behave and interact in the Swedish omni-channel furniture retailing environment.  Research question: How does the omni-channel retailing environment affect decision-making Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how digital native consumers who now comprise a larger consumer segment on the furniture market perceive the omni-channel environment in addition to how the digital omni-channel environment affects their decision- making process when it comes to furniture purchases in terms of perceived risks, purposes, and consumer benefits.  Methodology: This study is of qualitative nature which approaches the research problem and purpose with a relativistic philosophical stance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to provide relevant data by individual consumers, and which have been analyzed with a hermeneutical approach. An inductive approach was adopted to explore the phenomenon.  Conclusion: Consumers perform multiple different actions and adopt different behaviors when operating in the furniture omni-channel retailing environment. Risk aversion, identity building, entertainment and channel selection are all aspects of furniture shopping that are impacted by digital natives operating in the omni-channel retailing environment.

[pt] Esta tese de doutorado investiga aspectos relacionados à participação em cruzeiros marítimos por consumidores emergentes, pertencentes à chamada nova classe média brasileira . O arcabouço teórico do estudo está vinculado à corrente teórica denominada CCT – Consumer Culture Theory, ancorando-se particularmente no modelo conceitual proposto por McCracken (1986) sobre a transferência de significados do mundo culturalmente constituído para o consumidor e nas metáforas de consumo propostas por Holt (1995). Partiu-se do entendimento de que o consumo é essencialmente simbólico, uma vez que o consumidor atribui a bens e serviços significados que vão além do aspecto meramente utilitário. Buscou-se identificar a natureza dos significados atribuídos a cruzeiros marítimos por consumidores emergentes, assim como elementos do processo pelo qual se dá a transferência de significados do mundo culturalmente constituído para o consumidor. Adotou-se, assim, uma abordagem interpretativa, em que o que está em jogo não são os aspectos objetivos do consumo, mas a subjetividade inerente à percepção do consumidor em relação ao fenômeno pesquisado. A pesquisa desenvolveu-se por meio de combinação sistemática entre teoria e campo, seguindo a abordagem abdutiva proposta por Dubois e Gadde (2002). O estudo caracteriza-se ainda como pesquisa multimétodos, sendo constituído por três trabalhos empíricos que buscam entender o fenômeno investigado a partir de diferentes perspectivas. Os três estudos empíricos que compõem esta tese de doutorado são: (i) análise de conteúdo de anúncios de empresas que oferecem cruzeiros marítimos; (ii) grupos de foco com consumidores emergentes que ainda não haviam participado de um cruzeiro; e (iii) observação participante em cruzeiros marítimos posicionados para este segmento de consumidores. Por meio desses três estudos, buscou-se identificar a natureza simbólica dos cruzeiros marítimos para consumidores emergentes, tanto no que se refere à associação dos cruzeiros marítimos a significados atrelados ao produto por meio da propaganda das empresas organizadoras de cruzeiros, como aqueles que lhe são atribuídos pelos próprios consumidores. No primeiro estudo foram analisados 60 anúncios de empresas que oferecem cruzeiros marítimos, veiculados no semestre que antecedeu a temporada de cruzeiros 2011/2012, utilizando análise de conteúdo quantitativa e qualitativa. No segundo estudo, foram realizados quatro grupos de foco, com o propósito de entender o conteúdo simbólico presente no imaginário desse grupo, já que os consumidores que dele participaram não haviam tido ainda a experiência de consumo, embora tivessem a intenção de fazê-lo. Por fim, a observação participante foi realizada em dois cruzeiros. A primeira observação participante foi encoberta, ou seja, a pesquisadora conviveu com os participantes do cruzeiro sem revelar sua identidade, o que levou à realização de entrevistas em profundidade após o término do cruzeiro; a segunda foi aberta, tendo a pesquisadora revelado seu propósito durante o cruzeiro e realizado as entrevistas em profundidade ao longo do mesmo. Os métodos utilizados permitiram identificar tanto os significados veiculados pela propaganda das empresas ofertantes de cruzeiros marítimos, como aqueles que os consumidores associam ao consumo desse tipo de lazer. Verificou-se que a propaganda não surge como elemento principal no processo de transferência de significado para esses consumidores, sendo a difusão boca a boca mais importante, em função de sua credibilidade, além das imagens presentes no imaginário coletivo. Além de confirmar as metáforas de consumo propostas por Holt, o estudo identificou novas metáforas, em particular a de consumo como realização , em que os consumidores emergentes utilizam o consumo de cruzeiros como forma de evidenciar, para si mesmos e para os demais, sua ascensão social. / [en] This thesis investigates aspects related to participation in maritime cruises for emerging consumers belonging to the so called new Brazilian middle class. The theoretical framework of the study is linked to the theoretical trend called CCT - Consumer Culture Theory, anchoring particularly in the conceptual model proposed by McCracken (1986) on the transfer of meaning from the culturally constituted world to the consumer and the consumer metaphors proposed by Holt (1995). It started with the understanding that consumption is essentially symbolic, since consumers assign meanings to goods and services that go beyond the purely utilitarian aspect. It sought to identify the nature of the meanings assigned to cruises by emerging consumers, as well as elements of the process by which meanings are transferred from the culturally constituted world to the consumer. Thus, an interpretive approach was adopted, in which what is at stake is not the objective aspects of consumption, but the subjectivity inherent to the consumer s perception regarding the researched phenomenon. The research was developed through a systematic combination between theory and field, following the abductive approach proposed by Dubois and Gadde (2002). The three empirical studies that comprise this thesis are: (i) content analysis of advertisements from companies offering cruises; (ii) focus groups with emerging consumers who had not yet participated in a cruise; and (iii) participant observation in a cruise targeted at this consumer segment. Through these three studies, it sought to identify the symbolic nature of cruises to emerging consumers with regard to the association of such cruises to the meanings attached to products through the advertising of cruise organizer companies, as well as those meanings attributed to the cruise by the consumers themselves. In the first study 60 ads published by cruise companies were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative content analysis. These ads were published in the semester preceding the 2011/2012 cruise season. In the second study, four focus groups were conducted, with the purpose of understanding the symbolic content present in the imagination of this group, as consumers participating had not yet experienced of this type of consumption, although they intended to do so. Finally, the participant observation was carried out in two cruises. The first participant observation was covert, meaning that the researcher experienced the cruise with the participants without revealing her identity, which led to the realization of in-depth interviews after the cruise; the second participant observation was overt, the researcher revealed her purpose during the cruise, and in-depth interviews were conducted during the trip. The methods allowed for the identification of both the meanings conveyed by the advertisement of companies that offer cruises, and those that consumers associate to the consumption of this type of leisure. Results indicate that advertisements do not appear as the main element in the process of meaning transference for these consumers; word of mouth is the more important and credible information dissemination path, as well as the images present in the collective imagination. Besides confirming the metaphors of consumption proposed by Holt, the study identified new metaphors, in particular that of consumption as achievement, where emerging consumers use consumption of maritime cruises as a way to demonstrate to themselves and to others, their social advancement.

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En publicerad studie avslöjar en överraskande brist på konsumenters medvetenhet kring storleken på deras garderober. Denna insikt pekar på en växande överkonsumtion och ett behov av att förenkla våra livsstilar. Tidigare forskning inom textil- och modeindustrin har visat att sektorn är en betydande förbrukare av resurser och en källa till föroreningar. Med tanke på en växande överkonsumtion och branschens miljöpåverkan, ämnar studien att undersöka vad konsumenters uppfattningar om hållbar klädkonsumtion och identifiera hur konsumenterna ser på begreppet hållbarhet när det gäller deras klädkonsumtion. För att besvara syftet används en kvalitativ metod och insamling av data genomfördes via garderobsundersökningar, som sedan följdes upp med semistrukturerade intervjuer med informanterna. För att tolka resultaten har de teoretiska perspektiven, consumer culture theory samt det performativa perspektivet använts. Resultatet av studien visar att det finns en mångfald i tolkningen av begreppet "hållbara kläder", vilket är starkt påverkat av individuella föreställningar och den kulturella och sociala kontexten. I resultatet kunde även en klyfta mellan föreställningar och köpbeteende identifieras, där konsumenternas faktiska köpbeteende inte alltid speglar deras uttalade värderingar kring hållbarhet. Trots uttalade önskemål att konsumera mer hållbart mode möter konsumenterna hinder i form av bristande tillgänglighet av information och priskänslighet. Insikter utifrån resultatet understryker ett behov av ökad tillgång till pålitlig information från företag. Bristen på tillförlitlig information från företag utgör en betydande utmaning för konsumenter som strävar efter att göra hållbara val och hindrar konsumenterna från att agera enligt sina värderingar. / A published study reveals a surprising lack of consumer awareness regarding the size of their wardrobes. This insight points to growing overconsumption and a need to simplify our lifestyles. Previous research within the textile and fashion industry has observed that the sector is a significant consumer of resources and a source of pollution. Given the increasing overconsumption and the industry's environmental impact, the study aims to investigate consumers' perceptions of sustainable clothing consumption and identify how consumers view the concept of sustainability in relation to their clothing consumption. To answer this purpose, a qualitative method was used, and data collection was conducted through wardrobe surveys, which were then followed up with semi-structured interviews with the informants. To interpret the results, the theoretical perspectives of consumer culture theory and the performative perspective were applied. The results of the study show a diversity in the interpretation of the concept of "sustainable clothing", which is strongly influenced by individual beliefs and the cultural and social context. The results also identified a gap between perceptions and purchasing behavior, where consumers' actual purchasing behavior does not always reflect their stated values regarding sustainability. Despite expressed desires to consume more sustainable fashion, consumers face obstacles such as a lack of accessible information and price sensitivity. Insights from the results highlight the need for increased access to reliable information from companies. The lack of reliable information from companies poses a significant challenge for consumers striving to make sustainable choices and prevents them from acting according to their values.

This paper explores value co-creation and value co-destruction with a focus on the social practices embedded in the online brand community “My Starbucks Idea (MSI).” The objectives of the research are accomplished through a detailed explanation of the study’s stages, starting with the Research design/Planning, and followed by the Community Entry (Entrée), Data collection, Limitations, and Ethical implications. Since the study is exploratory in character, the qualitative research strategy was used. As Bryman and Bell (2011) note, qualitative research gives particular attention to words rather than numbers in the gathering and interpretation of data. This study applied a modified ‘netnographic’ approach, a new qualitative method devised specifically to investigate consumer behaviour vis-à-vis cultures and communities present on the Internet (Kozinets 1998). This study identifies three elements of practice: stalking, gossip, and exhibitionism. It also supports the idea stated by Echeverri & Skålén (2011) that there is no positive without a negative in interactive value formation. Although those authors’ work was focused on the provider-customer interface, the idea proves applicable to the online brand community (OBC) used for illustration in this study. The present study also draws attention to a vital characteristic of practice often forgotten: ‘Language’ as an enabler of all other elements (Whittington 2006). The paper contributes to the knowledge in the practice theory domain, and thus consumer culture, especially relating to OBCs. When using OBCs as a marketing tool, considerable ingenuity must be employed by business managers to gain strategic information and feedback from online forum discussions. Such information can help in the company’s strategic decision making. By building relationships and gaining new customers through the process of collaboration, managers can become more like brand storytellers. Also, such communication can be channelled as a means to create greater awareness, both of the brand and the users’ experiences, along with aiding in the development of better services and products to meet customers’ needs. In the current study, consent was an ethical concern that limited the scope and path taken by the paper. The ten-week research period was another limiting factor in properly covering all of the contextualized consumption activities and gaining sufficient experience within the MSI community.

Submitted by SBI Biblioteca Digital (sbi.bibliotecadigital@puc-campinas.edu.br) on 2017-04-05T17:01:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ZULEICA MARIA QUEIROZ GUIMAR?ES MANENTE.pdf: 19864474 bytes, checksum: ba4fb840faf0d8656ea19f3903c0d0de (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-05T17:01:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ZULEICA MARIA QUEIROZ GUIMAR?ES MANENTE.pdf: 19864474 bytes, checksum: ba4fb840faf0d8656ea19f3903c0d0de (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-22 / This research investigates the present-day metropole (Metropolitan Area of Campinas) focusing on the dispersed urbanization and the urbanization process, as a part of which themall Shopping Iguatemi was built in the city of Campinas, considering it an indicator of regional sca/e dynamics, but with deep implications to the city and the local environment. Since Iguatemi opened its doors, almost three and a half decades ago, some changes have been happening in the city's dynamics, as much in the population profile as in its behavior, such as purchasing habits, culture and local and regional trade. There's an upper and middle class consumer displacement from downtown to the ma 11, as well as the pendulum-like motion of the Metropolitan Area of Campinas' population in pursue of new consumption options. Given this migration from downtown and Metropolitan Area of Campinas to the margins of the urban area (city expansion zone), some residential enterprises and business have a/so been built around Iguatemi. Since its opening, Iguatemi has been through five expansions and will soon build a residential complex as part of a larger project aiming the densification of its surroundings. The enterprise's primary expansions have been defined, in a way, by the new re/ationships amongst the city and the Metropolitan Area of Campinas, by the need to innovate in order to attract the consumer given the implementation of another eight malls in the c?ty, and the new consumption habits defined by the contemporary life in constant search for entertainment, leisure and specialized trade. This research is based on bibliographica/, documental and joumalistic sources, and it addresses how Shopping Iguatemi has been backing the dispersion of the eastem zone of Campinas in the last thirty-five years, given the rapid changes in the characterization of the urban environment. It a/so analyzes how entrepreneurs have identified market opportunities in this new consumer society, offering new leisure altematives to fulfill the demando This process has been happening since the 80s and it has been changing its outlines since the late 20th century. / Este trabalho investiga a metr?pole contempor?nea (Regi?o Metropolitana de Campinas) com enfoque na urbaniza??o dispersa e no processo de urbaniza??o no qual se insere o Shopping Iguatemi na cidade de Campinas, considerando este como ind?cio de din?micas na escala regional, mas com profundas implica??es para a cidade e para o contexto local. Nota-se que, a partir da inaugura??o do Shopping Iguatemi, ocorrida h? quase tr?s d?cadas e meia, algumas mudan?as foram ocorrendo na din?mica da cidade, tanto no perfil da popula??o, como nos costumes, com novos h?bitos de consumo, cultura e no com?rcio local e regional. Percebe-se um deslocamento do p?blico consumidor das classes alta e m?dia das ?reas centrais para o shopping, bem como a mobilidade pendular da popula??o da Regi?o Metropolitana de Campinas em busca de novas formas de consumo. Com essa migra??o do centro e da Regi?o Metropolitana de Campinas para as adjac?ncias da malha urbana (?reas de expans?o da cidade), alguns empreendimentos residenciais e estabelecimentos comerciais tamb?m come?aram a despontar na regi?o pr?xima ? localiza??o do Iguatemi. Desde a sua origem, o Shopping Iguatemi passou por cinco expans?es e em breve implantar? um novo complexo residencial como parte de um projeto maior para adensamento do seu entorno. As principais amplia??es do empreendimento foram determinadas, em parte, pelas novas formas de relacionamento entre a cidade e a Regi?o Metropolitana de Campinas, pela necessidade de inova??o para atrair o p?blico consumidor frente as implanta??es de mais oito shoppings no munic?pio e pelos novos h?bitos de consumo definidos pela vida contempor?nea em busca de alternativas de entretenimento, lazer e com?rcio especializado. Esta pesquisa foi embasada em fontes bibliogr?ficas, documentais e jornal?sticas e aborda como o Shopping Iguatemi vem contribuindo para a dispers?o da regi?o leste da cidade de Campinas nos ?ltimos trinta e cinco anos, tendo em vista as aceleradas mudan?as na configura??o do espa?o urbano. Analisa tamb?m como os empreendedores?investidores identificaram as oportunidades de mercado nessa nova sociedade de consumo oferecendo eventos de lazer para atender a demanda. Esse processo vem ocorrendo desde a d?cada de 1980 e atinge novos contornos no final do s?culo XX e na atualidade.