abstract: In this study I investigate the factors that may influence consumer preference and choice in China’s home interior decoration industry. With the fast development of information technology such as the internet in China, it becomes increasingly important to have a more precise understanding of consumer preference and choice in home interior decoration decisions so that companies in this industry can provide better services to meet customer needs. Using survey data from a sample of potential customers and a sample of existing customers of a large home interior decoration company, I find that (1) internet has become the mostly used channel by consumers to gather information about home interior decoration, (2) design style is the most influential factor in consumers’ choice of home interior decoration company, and (3) consumers are more likely to choose home interior decoration companies to provide full services when they are between 35 to 45 years old or above 55 years old, when it is the first time for them to purchase a real estate property, and when they are located in the Eastern region of China. Findings of this study can help home interior decoration companies better understand customer needs and preferences, facilitate changes in their marketing and sales strategies, and consequently strengthen their competitive advantage． / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2015

[pt] O termo trade marketing é bastante comum entre as indústrias de bens de consumo e faz referência a um departamento que fica alocado entre as áreas de marketing e vendas. Entretanto, entre as empresas não há consenso quanto ao entendimento deste conceito ou das práticas utilizadas: esses são os motivos para a realização deste estudo. A ausência de uniformidade no conceito e a escassez de referencial teórico sobre o tema justificam a escolha da metodologia de estudo de múltiplos casos. Para tal, foram escolhidas quatro empresas de bens de consumo que já adotam o conceito há mais de três anos e possuem distribuição de seus produtos em todo o território brasileiro. A pesquisa sugere algumas proposições que deverão ser confirmadas em futuros estudos, como: o conceito de trade marketing está evoluindo em direção a um posicionamento mais estratégico; parte das funções exercidas pelo departamento de trade marketing começam a migrar para outras áreas de suporte comercial; e o próprio termo trade marketing começa a ser substituído por novas nomenclaturas. / [en] The term trade marketing is very common among the consumable industries, and its application happens by a department allocated between the marketing and sales areas. However, among companies there is not such cohesion in the understanding of such concept or in the used practices, and these are the reasons for the development of this study. The absence of uniformity of concept, and the shortage of theoretical reference on the subject justify the choice of the methodology of study of multiple cases. To this end, four companies of consumables were chosen which have already been adopting the concept for over three years, and with distribution of their products throughout the Brazilian territory. The research suggest some propositions which shall be confirmed in future studies, such as: the trade marketing concept is evolving towards a more strategic position; part of the functions performed by the trade marketing department starts to migrate to other areas of commercial support; and the actual trade marketing term is being replaced with new nomenclatures.

El Estado de Emergencia Nacional en el Perú, declarado por el Poder Ejecutivo desde marzo de 2020 como consecuencia de la pandemia provocada por el nuevo coronavirus que afecta a la mayoría de los países del mundo, ha tenido un impacto negativo en la economía nacional, especialmente en el rubro de venta de comida en salón, al cual se dedican muchas pequeñas y medianas empresas. Si bien aquel escenario es adverso al sector gastronómico peruano, obliga a repensar los modelos de negocio, no solo desde su estructura de costos (en donde se incluía alquileres de local, menajes o mobiliario), sino también en público objetivo, que actualmente orienta su interés en alimentos que contribuyan a fortalecer su sistema inmunológico. En ese sentido, a partir de dos análisis (de mercado y estratégico) se plantea como objetivo el describir una propuesta de plan de negocio que se ajusta a la nueva demanda del mercado, orientada a una alimentación más saludable sin divorciarse de la tradición gastronómica nacional, al mismo tiempo que reformula el modelo clásico de negocio de venta de comida en restaurantes a una de distribución a domicilio (delivery). Para la determinación de la factibilidad de la referida propuesta, el estudio adoptó un enfoque metodológico cualitativo, desde la perspectiva del estudio de caso, sustentada no solo en fuentes documentales para describir los factores externos, sino también en el empleo del grupo focal para establecer los factores claves internos. El modelo de negocio que sustenta el plan que se propone para Los Postres de Mamá® SAC, es factible no sólo porque se encuentra en uno de los sectores con mayor demanda, sino también porque las particularidades del escenario de pandemia que se proyecta hasta fines del 2021 están obligando a que esta se oriente a una alimentación más saludable, especialmente para un público altamente vulnerable. / The State of National Emergency in Peru declared by the Executive Power since March 2020 as a consequence of the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus, which affects most countries in the world, has had a negative impact on the national economy, especially in the sale of food in the hall, to which many small and medium-sized companies are dedicated. Although that scenario is averse to the Peruvian gastronomic sector, it forces us to rethink the business models, not only from their cost structure (which included rental of premises, household goods or furniture), but also the target audience, which currently guides its interest in foods that help strengthen your immune system. In this sense, based on two analyzes (market and strategic), the objective is to describe a business plan proposal that adjusts to the new market demand aimed at a healthier diet without divorcing itself from the national gastronomic tradition. At the same time, it reformulates the classic business model for the sale of food in restaurants to one of home distribution (delivery). To determine the feasibility of the aforementioned proposal, the study adopted a qualitative methodological approach, from the perspective of the case study, supported not only by documentary sources to describe the external factors, but also by the use of the focus group to establish the internal key factors. The business model that supports the plan proposed for Los Postres de Mamá® SAC is feasible not only because it is in one of the sectors with the highest demand, but also because of the particularities of the pandemic scenario that is projected until the end of 2021 they are forcing it to be oriented towards a healthier diet, especially for a highly vulnerable public. / Tesis

I dagens värld där digital och teknisk utveckling rör sig snabbt tvingas företagen att skapa dynamiska affärsmodeller anpassande efter dynamiska marknadsförutsättningar. Kunderna blir allt mer digitala, förväntar sig realtidstjänster och är mindre öppna för komplikationer. Linjerna mellan olika marknader som IT och telekom blir all mer oklara utvecklingen av ICT och IOT kommer att förändra vardagen för både B2B och B2C kunder. Denna utveckling påverkar olika marknader på olika sätt och i olika takt. Telekombranschen står inför en global utveckling där konkurrerande företag definierar sig som digitala tjänsteleverantörer samt skapar samarbeten och digitala marknadsplatser vilka erbjuder tjänster som sträcker sig utanför sitt klassiska affärsområde. Inför denna utveckling med nya digitala affärsstrategier och nya försäljningsstrategier är nyckeln att vara en del av den tekniska utvecklingen, dessutom vara en del av nästa generations telekomoperatörer. Möjligheten att ompositionera sig som digital tjänsteleverantören kommer med strategiska utmaningar och nuvarande organisationer måste utvärderas för att bilda en strategi angående hur man ska konkurrera och lyckas i den framtida marknad som uppstår. Detta har gjorts i form av en fallstudie som utförts inom en av de största teleoperatörerna i världen. Bolaget valt är en av ledarna erbjuder både mobila och fasta tjänster med en bred produktportfölj. Studien är dock koncentrerad till en division av bredband och digital-TV, men som studien visar blir förmågan att röra sig över gränserna allt viktigare. Den kvalitativa studien innebär empirisk forskning genom att intervjua hela kedjan av beslutstagare inom företaget. Resultaten tyder på att företaget i fråga visar incitament till att bli en digital tjänsteleverantör och att avancera i sin digitala försäljningsstrategi och digitala kommunikation mot både B2B och B2C kunder. Dock måste företaget att avancera i flera områden av betydelse för att bli en dynamisk digital tjänsteleverantör. Skapa digital kommunikation, förlänga värde-propositioner, skapa innovativa samarbeten samt investera mot ny kärnteknologi för att flytta bort från den prispressning som är associerad med dagens telekom marknad. Resultatet av studien har innebörd ur såväl teoretiskt som ett industriellt perspektiv. Ur en teoretisk synvinkel, bidrar resultaten till befintlig forskning inom hur digitaliseringen påverkar traditionella affärsmodeller och hur bolag bör omformas efter alltmer digitala marknader och kunder. Ur industriell synpunkt bidrar studien med interna och externa faktorer i hur man ska hantera den allt mer digitala telekommarknaden samt viktigaste förbättringsområden. / In today’s world the digital and technological development are moving fast forcing companies to create dynamic business models following the new incentives in the market. Customers are becoming increasingly digital, expecting real time services and are less open towards complications. The walls between different markets such as IT and telecom are becoming increasingly unclear. The development of ICT and IOT will change the everyday life for both B2B and B2C customers. This development is affecting different markets in different ways and in different pace. The telecom industry is facing a global development where competing companies are rebranding and repositioning themselves as digital service providers creating collaborations offering services stretching outside of their classical business area. Facing this development, a new digital business strategy and a new sales strategy is key to be part of the technological evolution, furthermore to be part of the next generation telecom operators. The opportunity as moving toward a position becoming a digital service provider is a strategic shift and current organizations need to be evaluated in order to form a strategy regarding how to compete and succeed in the market. This has been done in a shape of a case study performed in one of the biggest telecom operators in the world. The company chosen is one of the leaders providing both reliable and secure services with a broad product portfolio. The study, however, is concentrated towards the division of broadband and digital TV, but as the study proves, the ability to move across boundaries is becoming increasingly important. The qualitative study involves empirical research interviewing the entire chain of decision makers within the company. The results indicate that the company in question shows incentive into become a digital service provider and to advance in their digital sales strategy and digital communication towards both B2B and B2C customers. However, the company needs to advance in several crucial areas of importance to become a dynamic digital service provider. Create digital communication, extend VPs, create innovative collaborations, capex toward new core technology to move away from the price pressing business of providing a commodity. The findings of the study have implication in both theoretical and an industrial perspective. From a theoretical point of view, the findings contribute to existing research on how digitalisation affects traditional business models and how to reshape the company after increasingly digital markets and customers. From an industrial point of view, the study contributes with internal and external factors in how to address the increasingly digital market with the main areas of improvement

隨著世界經濟的快速變遷，企業全球化已是不可不進行的企業經營走向。對於跨國科技業而言，它們在世界各地皆面臨產品同質化日趨嚴重的競爭，服務作為產品的價值延伸已經成為各企業爭取消費者的重要策略，並成為跨國科技業在當地分公司實行差異化不可或缺的工具。然而服務創新的研究時間不長，且主要集中在服務業或知識密集服務業，在台灣也有針對專業代工進行服務創新之論述，但科技業的服務創新相對而言仍屬附屬。本研究透過創新經營模式與新服務概念、新服務交付系統、新顧客介面及技術選擇的服務創新四構面之架構，並透過企業與專案層級的實例，針對跨國科技業分公司銷售策略與服務創新以質性方法與個案實例進行研究與分析。結論發現跨國科技業分公司基於服務創新的銷售策略，針對當地市場的產業特性，進行最完善的銷售，期許對跨國科技業分公司策略之擬定與服務創新之推動有所裨益，達到「以服務傳遞價值，以價值創造銷售」的主要目的。 / With the rapid change in the world, enterprise globalization is the inevitable trend. As to the transnational technology industry, the companies face to the serious product competition with the same functions. Therefore, the service providing has become the important strategy to expand product value in order to refine the sales. However, the research period in service innovation is relatively short, and also most of researches are focus on service industry and KIBS (Knowledge Intensive Business Services). In Taiwan, there are some papers mentioning the ODM and OEM service research but still belong to subsidiary. In this study, qualitative research and case study method were applied to analysis the sales strategy and service innovation of transnational enterprise by the combination of Innovation Business Model and Four Dimensions of Service Innovation. Besides, in order to collect the needed data, the data triangulation was applied in this study, including the in-depth interview and the collection of secondary data. The results shows that the sales strategy based on service innovation and local environment will precede the better sales. The findings in this study will reach the “Use service to provide value, and use value creates sales” goal.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a technology that enables to print three dimensional solid objects which can be metal, plastic, and similar. AM has a lot of advantages such as lead time reduction and reduction in the number of steps required for manufacturing compared to the traditional manufacturing (TM) method.    This research is focused on adoption of AM in the food manufacturing industry. The use of AM in the food industry currently seems to be low. Therefore, the main aim of the research is to understand adoption of AM through marketing, sales, and after-sales strategies, which can be best suited for introduction and saturation of AM products and applications in the food industry.  The primary data is gathered from the potential customers (experts from the food industry), sales personnel who sell products and machinery in the food industry and the employees of the sponsor company, and it consists of thirteen different interviews. Qualitative interviews were conducted to obtain an in-depth knowledge about the perceptions and perspectives of AM in the food industry. AM has the potential to be adopted as the main manufacturing method for spare parts in the food industry. But, considering the market today, the potential of adoption seems to be wasted. Three different analyses help in determining the current situation of the AM industry and help to understand the potential that AM brings to the food industry. Outcomes of the qualitative interviews present the researchers with in-depth knowledge of facilitators and barriers that AM companies may face when approaching customers from the food industry. Outcomes of the qualitative interviews also suggest that there is limited knowledge about AM in the food industry. There is also a knowledge gap about the regulations and possibilities to use AM in the food industry based on these regulations. Indeed, food manufacturers are interested in the adoption of newer technologies and present the researchers with the formation of various themes to develop strategies for adoption of AM, through a recommendable marketing, sales and aftersales strategy that can be employed by AM companies.

有鑑於台灣市場狹小，本地電影公司較難自給自足，基於台灣電影產業未來永續發展的前提下，應積極拓展海外市場，獲取利潤以支撐本地產業。然而由於台灣本土電影長期票房低落，美商八大發行系統基於商業考量，較不願發行國片，因此台灣電影通常選擇獨立發行公司或代理商協助進入市場。而前述拓展海外市場之最佳管道為「國際影視市場展」。透過市場展以爭取發行之優勢在於其經費成本較低、參與集會成員廣且眾，適合預算與知名度較低、題材較不商業的台灣電影爭取曝光進而取得國際發行管道。基於以上背景，本研究以台灣電影於「國際影視市場展」中爭取國際發行與販賣海外版權為主題，以通路理論為基礎，經由針對「2009年釜山亞洲電影市場展」與「2010年香港影視市場展」兩項活動進行實地考察並訪談與會者，同時選擇《刺陵》與《父後七日》兩部台灣參展電影做為研究個案，訪談負責該片國際發行與版權銷售的電影工作者，以瞭解並分析評估個案在國際發行與國際市場展活動、交易的策略及執行成效。 本研究發現：第一，華語電影在國際市場的發展，由於卡司、語言文化，與影像風格等因素而有所侷限，宜將重心先著力於華語市場，再依序拓及亞洲市場與非亞洲市場將較符合經濟效益；第二，台灣電影的風格、題材等因素是台灣電影在國際接受度不高的主因，而台灣電影人口市場狹小加上長期以來票房不佳，導致投資方信心不足，則相當程度侷限本土電影的拍片規模。儘管台灣電影現階段規模較小，但仍可透過強化故事內容、題材層次等方式來拍攝品質精良的中、小型電影，再透過有效的宣傳包裝來塑造電影形象；第三、台灣缺乏類型電影，導致操作空間與可行銷性低，若未來選擇走藝術電影類型，將面臨藝術電影市場競爭激烈，以及亟需提昇藝術層次的問題。最後，就國際發行策略而言，若能從電影主題與劇本開始就鎖定目標市場，再根據市場偏好修正製作方向，進而藉由參與國際市場展、影展等途徑爭取曝光，將是台灣電影突破海外銷售瓶頸的良方。

The aim of this essay is to find out in what ways the global clothing company H&M uses political and ideological statements, such as feminism, as a sales strategy. I have noticed an expanding trend in fashion; the use of feminism as branding, and how companies such as H&M have started profiling themselves with feminism. This could be seen as a typical neoliberal-femvertising phenomenon. In this essay, I use critique of ideology, a method developed by the Frankfurt school, to examine how H&M expresses feminism through their clothes, whether H&M’s production could be considered as a feminist one, and what consequences H&M’s use of feminist ideology have on the feminist political movement. To be able to answer these questions, I use gender theory and postcolonial theory. My aim is to show how neoliberal/capitalist ideologies often contain cultural and political appropriation, where an ideology such as feminism is exploited in order to make a higher profit. My conclusion is that when companies use feminist statements in their clothing they use irony and humour to emphasize positivity, such as “girl power”, instead of confronting structural inequalities among the sexes and harmful norms and gender stereotypes within this hierarchy. The consequence of this process is that feminism is depoliticized, which is harmful to the feminist political agenda.

The aim of this essay is to find out in what ways the global clothing company H&M uses political and ideological statements, such as feminism, as a sales strategy. I have noticed an expanding trend in fashion; the use of feminism as branding, and how companies such as H&M have started profiling themselves with feminism. This could be seen as a typical neoliberal-femvertising phenomenon. In this essay, I use critique of ideology, a method developed by the Frankfurt school, to examine how H&M expresses feminism through their clothes, whether H&M’s production could be considered as a feminist one, and what consequences H&M’s use of feminist ideology have on the feminist political movement. To be able to answer these questions, I use gender theory and postcolonial theory. My aim is to show how neoliberal/capitalist ideologies often contain cultural and political appropriation, where an ideology such as feminism is exploited in order to make a higher profit. My conclusion is that when companies use feminist statements in their clothing they use irony and humour to emphasize positivity, such as “girl power”, instead of confronting structural inequalities among the sexes and harmful norms and gender stereotypes within this hierarchy. The consequence of this process is that feminism is depoliticized, which is harmful to the feminist political agenda.

In recent decades, the use of incentive-based reward programs to foster customer loyalty and promote sales has become prevalent in various industries. While these strategies are widely accepted and implemented, there is a significant gap in empirical studies to ascertain their real-world effectiveness. This thesis embarks on a comprehensive examination into the effectiveness of an online business's reward program, utilizing data from the past five years and employing data mining techniques, including RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) model and clustering algorithms; hypothesis tests are employed to further strengthen the drawn conclusions. Contrary to popular theories, the findings reveal that small incentives such as rewards did not induce significant changes in customer purchasing behavior, nor did they effectively boost sales among rewarded customers. A control group of non-rewarded top-class customers showed more robust purchasing patterns. These unexpected results challenge existing beliefs and call for a critical re-evaluation of current practices in sales promotion and customer loyalty. The research underscores the need for empirically grounded strategies, further exploration into alternative loyalty-building methods, and a recognition of the complex realities influencing customer engagement.