The advance of the Internet has resulted in an immensely interconnected world, which produces a tremendous amount of data. It has come to change our daily lives and behaviours tremendously. The trend is especially seen in the field of e-commerce where the customers have started to require more and more from the product and service providers. Moreover, with the rising competition, the companies have to adopt new ways of doing things to keep their position on the market as well as keeping and attracting new customers. One important factor for this is excelling customer service. Today, companies adopt technologies like BDA and AI to enhance and provide excellent customer service. This study aims to investigate how two Swedish cooperations extract value from their customer services with the help of BDA and AI. This study also strives to create an understanding of the expectations, requirements and implications of the technologies from the participants' perspectives that in this case are the employees of these mentioned businesses. Moreover, many fail to see the true potential that the technologies can bring and especially in the field of customer service. This study helps to address these challenges and by pinpointing the ’value- factors’ that companies participating in this study extracts, it might encourage the implementation of digital technologies in the customer service with no regard to the size of the company. This thesis was conducted with a qualitative approach and with semi-structured interviews and systematic observations with two Swedish companies acting on the Chinese market. The findings from the interviews, conducted with these selected companies, present that the companies actively use BDA and AI in their customer service. Moreover, several value-factors are pinpointed in the different stages of customer service. The most reoccurring themes are: ”proactive support”, ”relationship establishment”, ”identifying attitudes and behaviours” and ”real-time support”. Moreover, as for the value-creating factors before and after the actual interaction the reoccurring themes are ”competitive advantage”, ”high-impact customer insights”, ”classification”, ”practicality”, as well as ”reflection and development”. This essay provides knowledge that can help companies to further their understanding of how important customer service along with BDA and AI is and how they can support competitive advantage as well as customer loyalty. Since the thesis only focused on the investigation of Swedish organizations on the Shanghainese market, it would be of interest to continue further research on Swedish companies as China is seen to be in the forefront when it comes to utilizing these technologies.

The use of strategy to build brand loyalty and improve customer experience by retail managers is essential in driving sales revenue and increasing profitability. Retail managers should perceive customer experience strategy as a tool for product differentiation, which could be leveraged to attain benefits, such as, repeat business, positive word of mouth, increased sales, and the competitive advantage. Some retail managers may not fully comprehend customer experience strategy, and may solely focus on individual facets such as, customer service and employee training. This qualitative multiple case study explored the strategies retail managers used to build brand loyalty and improve customer experience. Olivier's confirmation- expectation theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Ten retail managers from Castries, St. Lucia, who performed their roles for a minimum of 4 years, were selected to participate in semistructured interviews using purposive sampling. Data was also collected from company documents, such as, merchandising policy, the company's website, and past campaign fliers. Three of the themes that arose from the thematic analysis of interview data and company documents were, building and sustaining brand loyalty, store image, and competitive advantage. Findings from this research may contribute to positive social change by providing retail managers a better understanding of customer experience and brand loyalty strategies as additional avenues to achieving operational results such as increased sales revenue, improved sales margins, and increased profitability. Local communities may experience increased employment opportunities, enhanced business activity, and increased tax receipts.

This work elaborates the impacts of strategically constructed silos that are not byproducts of flagging cross-departmental cooperation or the cumulative effect of decades of decentralized command and control. Rather, these silos are strategically intended structures within organizations. Most significantly, the substantive theory of strategically constructed silos and their impact on customer service contributes to the field by illustrating the presence and consequence of silos occurring in suboptimal conditions. The existence of silos has implications that extend far beyond the retail area. A key take-away from this research is that contrary to how most customer service processes are designed, not all customer-company interactions are alike. As shown in the data, interaction types vary both in regard to the degree of knowledge needed by retail employees to fully serve customers, and the routine or nonroutine nature of the interaction. This is an important finding since it directly relates to whether the existence of a silo is appropriate (or optimal) for a specific interaction or task. Additionally, the findings suggest the role that a task's "routine-ness" plays is secondary to the degree of specialized knowledge needed by retail employees to meet customer expectations. Understanding the various customer-company interaction types and how each interaction type may be affected by silos is crucial for designing customer experiences that will sustain over time. Likewise, identifying customer-company interaction types correctly and then subsequently developing strategies to support these interaction types is critical for both customer experience management (CEM) initiatives and customer relationship management (CRM) system design within the company. This work provides an overview of the implications of strategically constructed silos occurring in suboptimal conditions and provides recommendations for diagnosing customer-company interactions based on interaction type. By identifying strategically constructed silos as an intended structure of the company, the model elaborated here works to deliver prescriptive and specific strategies for managers and employees' use as they attempt to improve their firm's customer-company interaction outcomes.

Se ha estudiado, a lo largo de la historia, sobre diversos factores del servicio al cliente que pueden influir en la preferencia de consumo de los mismos, al igual que se han desarrollado diversos escritos sobre restaurantes a nivel mundial y también en el Perú; sin embargo, ¿se ha escrito lo suficiente sobre los factores de calidad del servicio al cliente que influyen en la preferencia de consumo de los clientes hacia diversos restaurantes? El objetivo de este estudio es determinar si existe relación entre los factores de calidad del servicio al cliente y la preferencia de consumo en restaurantes, pero para tener un panorama más específico, este estudio se centrará en el distrito limeño de San Isidro, por poseer una gran variedad de ofertas de platos, así como por poseer rangos diferentes de precios. En este contexto, se ha realizado un estudio de tipo exploratorio descriptivo correlacional, puesto que se busca establecer la relación existente entre las variables del estudio. El diseño del estudio se basó un uno no experimental de corte transversal, debido a que se analiza la variable de estudio sin la necesidad de tener que manipular o realizar cambios, puesto que solo serán observados los hechos que surgen de forma natural. Teniendo esto en cuenta, se recomienda que los restaurantes realicen evaluaciones sobre la calidad de servicio, para que tomen conocimiento de los puntos negativos que aquejan a los clientes, a fin de destinar presupuesto para corregir y tomar medidas de mejora. Se recomienda también aplicar una clara estrategia de marketing sensorial, en donde se ocupen de redistribuir el mobiliario del local o destinar presupuesto para ampliar el lugar y generar accesos para personas con discapacidad, además de colocar señalética que ofrezca mayor comodidad a los comensales. / Throughout history, various factors of customer service that can influence consumer preference have been studied, just as various writings have been developed on restaurants worldwide and also in Peru. However, has enough been written about the customer service quality factors that influence customers' consumer preference for various restaurants? The objective of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between the factors of quality of customer service and the preference of consumption in restaurants, but to have a more specific panorama, this study will focus on San Isidro, which is a district of Lima, as it has a wide variety of dish offers, as well as having different price ranges. In this context, a correlational descriptive exploratory study has been carried out, since it seeks to establish the relationship between the study variables. The study design was based on a non-experimental cross-sectional one, because the study variable is analyzed without the need to manipulate or make changes, since only the facts that arise naturally will be observed. Likewise, it is recommended that restaurants carry out evaluations on the quality of service, so that they become aware of the negative points that affect customers, in order to allocate a budget to correct and take improvement measures. It is also recommended to apply a clear sensory marketing strategy, where they take care of redistributing the furniture of the premises or allocate a budget to expand the place and generate access for people with disabilities, in addition to placing signage that offers greater comfort to diners / Tesis

ABSTRACT  Title: Customers perception of Artificial Intelligence as Chatbots in CRM  Subject: Bachelor thesis in business administration, 15 hp  Authors: Hanna Trägårdh & Elsa Kuylenstierna  Supervisor: Klaus Solberg Söilen  Examiner: Ulf Aagerup  Keywords: Artificial intelligence, Chatbots, Customer Relationship Management, Generation Z, Generation Y  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the perception Swedish customers from Gen Z and Gen Y have of companies using chatbots in customer relationship management. Furthermore the study will analyze if the different generational groups perceive chatbots in different ways. The study also focuses on finding out what role chatbots play in terms of CRM.  Methodology: In this study a deductive research approach was used where the empirical study was collected through a survey. The survey had 212 respondents, 100 of them were between 15 and 25 years old and 112 were between 26 and 44 years old.  Conclusion: Gen Z and Gen Y have similar opinions about how they perceive chatbots. Both Gen Z and Gen Y prefer communicating with a human since chatbots are not living up to their expectations. However, they are optimistic that chatbots have the potential to improve customer services to the better. Companies need to make sure that chatbots create value for customers and not only for companies themselves. Chatbots need to keep developing and make progress to be beneficial for customers to use.  Implications: This study can contribute with new perspectives about chatbots and customer relationships that can be a big advantage for companies when implementing chatbots for their business. The study brings attention to the unexplored issue of Gen Z and Gen Y’s perception in this matter. This study can also be helpful for further research within the subject area.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Policy development and management remains the subject of boardrooms and societal preoccupation. This is precisely because policies are a vehicle for customer service and service delivery. For any product or service that is produced or consumed or used, there must be certain standard operating procedures, processes, and protocols generated and developed to produce or deliver that product or service to the users (consumers) who are mainly the people. Therefore, policy implementation is the framework that guides processes and procedures to deliver services and products to the people. Thus, this study focuses on the policy implementation process. The aim of the study was to investigate public policy implementation, with a focus on the indigent policy in a local municipality. A qualitative study was undertaken to investigate implementing the indigent policy in the Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality, hereafter referred to as the Greater Tzaneen Municipality. A non-probability sample frame was used where purposive samples were drawn from among municipal administrators (staff), ward committee members, community development workers, politicians (Councillors), indigent beneficiaries, and ordinary community members of the Greater Tzaneen Municipality. Data was collected using semi-structured open-ended question interview guide. In-depth, face-to-face (one-on-one) and telephonic interviews were conducted with the director responsible for finance and the councillor responsible for the social cluster portfolio in the Greater Tzaneen Municipality respectively. Focus group discussions including the officers (staff) responsible for the management and delivery of the indigent services in the Greater Tzaneen, the ward committee members, the community development workers (six), the ward councillors (six), community members and the indigents (six) of the Greater Tzaneen Municipality were also conducted. The participants were organised into Groups A, B, and C for efficient data management. There was a total complement of 20 participants and respondents. This study used the 5C Protocol plus the sixth C, hereinafter also referred to as the Protocol, to investigate implementing the indigent policy in the Greater Tzaneen Municipality. Findings and recommendations deduced from the study mainly highlight the positive or negative outcomes of compliance, namely, lack of capacity to measure water and sanitation in rural areas; policy content well designed and packaged; context variable still needs more attention to cite but a few

Актуальность темы обусловлена потребностью предприятия, АО «ПФ «СКБ Контур» для автоматизации процесса обработки обращений клиентов в чаты, для увеличения эффективности работы сотрудников и сокращению ресурсных затрат, а также для повышения клиентского сервиса предприятия. Научная новизна состоит в том, что проанализировано большое количество программных средств для реализации проекта, продемонстрировано большое количество применений чат-ботов в бизнесе, а также разработан уникальный чат-бот, непосредственно для компании СКБ Контур. Практическая значимость заключается в том, что данный чат-бот можно применить в любой компании, в которой есть бизнес-процесс обработки обращений клиентов в чат. Экономическая эффективность проекта заключается в том, что система полностью окупит себя и начнет приносить стабильную прибыль после 9,5 месяцев эксплуатации, а также в увеличении эффективности клиентского сервиса и полной автоматизации бизнес-процесса. / The relevance of the topic is due to the need of the enterprise, SKB Kontur, to automate the process of processing customer requests in chats, to increase the efficiency of employees and reduce resource costs, as well as to improve the customer service of the enterprise. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that a large number of software tools for the implementation of the project have been analyzed, a large number of applications of chat bots in business have been demonstrated, and a unique chat bot has been developed, directly for SKB Kontur. The practical significance lies in the fact that this chatbot can be used in any company that has a business process for processing customer requests to chat. The economic efficiency of the project lies in the fact that the system will fully pay for itself and begin to bring stable profits after 9.5 months of operation, as well as in increasing the efficiency of customer service and fully automating the business process.

Данная работа посвящена прогнозированию эффекта от внедрения цифрового сервиса в деятельность компании «М.Видео». Актуальность темы обусловлена неэффективностью форм организации бизнес-процессов в сервисном центре компании «М.Видео». Разработанная в среде имитационного моделирования Powersim модель позволяет спрогнозировать и обосновать эффективность внедрения дополнительного функционала в приложение для обслуживания клиентов на основе анализа изменения количества клиентов. / This work is devoted to predicting the effect of introducing a digital service into the activities of the M.Video company. The relevance of the topic is due to the inefficiency of the forms of organization of business processes in the service center of the M.Video company. The model developed in the Powersim simulation environment allows predicting and justifying the effectiveness of introducing additional functionality into a customer service application based on an analysis of changes in the number of customers.

Digitalisering är under ständig utveckling inom banksektorn. I och med den växande utvecklingen så har intresset för artificiell intelligens ökat men trots detta finns det fortfarande kvar osäkerheter kring användandet av AI-chatbots. Banker hanterar en stor mängd känsliga uppgifter vilket gör att konsumenters upplevda oro och tillit är extra känsligt. Detta är viktigt att understryka då tidigare forskning har visat att tillit utgör en stor del av konsumenters beslut att använda AI-chatbot. Baserat på tidigare forskning har denna studie knutit samman teorier om vilka faktorer som påverkar svenska bankkonsumenters tillit till AI chatbots samt vilka faktorer som påverkar svenska bankkonsumenters intention att använda AI chatbots vid utförande av bankärenden online. Detta utgör även studiens syfte. Det teoretiska ramverket i studien utgörs av technology acceptance model (TAM), on-line trust-modellen och upplevd mänsklighet. Utifrån dessa teorier har studiens hypoteser byggts upp där vardera hypotes testar en faktor som beskrivs i de valda teorierna. Datainsamlingen skedde genom en enkätundersökning online som distribuerades på sociala kanaler. Undersökningen genererade 87stycken fullständiga svar. Insamlade data analyserades med hjälp av Minitab och Excel. De analysmetoder som använts för att analysera insamlade data var huvudsakligen korrelationstest och regressionsanalys. Resultatet visade att den upplevda nyttan och tillit är faktorer som påverkar intentionen till användning positivt. Resultatet visade även att faktorerna trovärdighet och användarvänlighet påverkar tilliten positivt samt att risk har en negativ påverkan på tilliten. För att effektivisera användning av AI-chatbots som kundtjänstverktyg så rekommenderas svenska banker att fokusera på att öka den upplevda nyttan i form av att säkerställa snabbhet, produktivitet och enkelhet. Svenska banker bör även säkerställa att bankkonsumenter känner tillit till AIchatbots. Detta kan göras genom att fokusera på ökad användarvänlighet och trovärdighet samtidigt som banker bör minska den upplevda risken i form av integritetsrisk då detta är faktorer som visat samband med tillit till AI-chatbots inom banksektorn. / Digitalization is under constant development within the banking industry. With this comes a growing interest in artificial intelligence. Despite this, uncertainty regarding the use of AI-chatbots remains. Banks handle a large amount of sensitive information which, for the consumers, makes the perceived trust especially delicate. Earlier research has shown that trust has a significant impact on the consumers intention to use AI-chatbots. Based on previous research this study aims to tie together theories about which factors impact Swedish bank customers’ trust towards AI-chatbots, as well as the customers’ intention to use AI-chatbots while performing bank-related business online. This is also considered to be the purpose of this paper. In this study the theoretical standpoint is based on the technology acceptance model (TAM), on-line trust and perceived humanness. From these well-established theories a set of hypotheses has been presented, where each hypothesis examines different factors that are presented in the used model. The data collection in this study was conducted through an online survey, where a total of 87 answers were collected. The data was analyzed using Minitab. The main analysis methods used were correlation tests as well as a regression analysis. The results showed that the perceived usefulness and trust are factors that have a positive impact on the intention to use AI-chatbots while performing banking tasks. The results also showed that ease of use and credibility have a positive impact on trust while risk has a negative impact on trust toward AI-chatbots. To make the use of AI-chatbots more effective as a customer service tool this study recommends Swedish banks to focus on increasing the perceived usefulness of the AI-chatbots. This can be done by ensuring the AI-chatbots are able to provide productivity, simplicity and swiftness to its users. Swedish banks should also focus on increasing customers’ perceived trust in the AIchatbots. This can be achieved by increasing the ease of use as well as the credibility of the system. To decrease the experienced risk of using the AI-chatbots, this study recommends banks to focus on decreasing the integrity risk.

In the increasingly frequent distribution of the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry, there is an evident need of improving supply chain operations to ensure sustainability. As part of the supply chain, the distribution of goods often accounts for a major part of costs and resources. Therefore, focus needs to be directed toward ensuring a continuously functional distribution network. Performance measures of high asset utilization and high customer service level are often contradictory to some extent, making the improvement work even more complex. One way of increasing the performance of distribution operations is to take part in an interorganizational collaboration. The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate how the distribution operations of a FMCG company connected to a collaborative distribution network could be improved. Through a single case study, the researchers identify shortcomings in the distribution operations of a cross-docking network with a focus on a specific customer segment flow. By using concepts of demand management, supply chain collaboration, and customer satisfaction, the findings are analysed to highlight shortcomings in the distribution. Researchers discuss how distribution performance consequences could be related to certain managerial actions by presenting three different scenarios. The scenarios show a distinct effect on the number of shipments conducted towards cross-dock. As the number of shipments are reduced, economic benefits could be realized. However, these benefits must be carefully compared with the potential reduction in the level of customer service. The conclusion of this study suggests that managerial action is necessary to increase the economic sustainability of the distribution. / Med den allt mer ökande distributionsfrekvensen inom dagligvaruhandeln finns det ett tydligt behov av att av att förbättra värdekedjeoperationerna för att säkerhetsställa hållbarhet. Distribution av det fysiska varuflödet är en viktig del av värdekedjan och står för en stor del av de totala kostnaderna och resursanvändningen. Det är därför väsentligt att fokusera på att säkerhetsställa ett funktionellt distributionsnätverk som presterar kontinuerligt. Hög nyttjandegrad samt hög kundnöjdhet är två prestationsgrundade objekt som är svåra att uppnå parallellt vilket försvårar ett förbättringsarbete. En metod för förbättring är att flera dagligvaruhandelsbolag går in i ett distributionssamarbete. Syftet med denna masteruppsats är att undersöka hur distributionsverksamheten i ett dagligvaruhandelsbolag som är kopplat till ett kollaborationsdistributionsnätverk kan förbättras. Genom en fallstudie identifierades flera tillkortakommanden i distributionsverksamheten i en del av varuflödet kopplat till en kundgrupp. Resultaten analyserades med hjälp av koncept från kundnöjdhet, kollaborationsvärdekedjor samt hantering av efterfrågan för att belysa tillkortakommanden inom distributionsverksamheten. Genom tre olika scenarion diskuteras olika konsekvenser på distributionsverksamheten som kan kopplas till olika åtgärder. Scenarierna visar att antalet genomförda leveranser till mellanlager har en stor inverkan på hur väl distributionsverksamheten presterar ekonomiskt. Studien föreslår sammanfattningsvis att olika beslutsåtgärder är nödvändiga för att öka den ekonomiska hållbarheten i distributionen.