The aim of the thesis is to broaden the research in the field of housing economics using the statistical tool of meta-analysis. The thesis examines the relationship between the selling price of a house and the time the house spends at the housing market. Although the research investigating this relation is of a wide comprehension, the results arising from various primary studies differ a lot. The goal of the thesis is to explain the source of this heterogeneity and determine the factors causing this variation. According to the results, it can be concluded that the effect size is influenced mainly by number of observations, modelling technique and specification of the model. Median income or location are other factors also determining the size of estimated coefficients. Also publication bias has been investigated although its presence is not confirmed in this thesis.

This thesis is the theoretical part discusses various approaches to calculating warehouse and sales price as reported in the literature and other sources. In the practical part analyzes the calculation of inventory and sales prices Pierburg, Ltd. Based on the analysis highlights the positive and negative aspects of the price system used, or will be proposed recommendations for future adjustments.

The advent of the Internet, the influx of technology comparison shopping, and the evolvement of channels have increased the knowledge base of the consumer to the point where some scholars claim the multichannel consumer has more knowledge and control than the salesperson. Selling to a customer who has the control is a challenge for retailers and their sales forces. The purpose of this research is to examine the underlying decision process of the multichannel consumer and the impact of the retail salesperson. This present study tests a conceptual model that suggests multichannel consumers' perceptions of information asymmetry lead to perceived control and purchase intention. Based upon the model, the salesperson's new role is to motivate purchase intention by using adaptive selling to affect the consumer's perception of information asymmetry and perceived control. Using a scenario-based methodology tested with a sample of 307 multichannel consumers, the current investigation examined the impact of: (1) information asymmetry on the consumer's perceived control, (2) perceived control on purchase intention, (3) perceived control as a mediator between information asymmetry and purchase intention, (4) adaptive selling behavior on the consumer's perception of information asymmetry, and (5) adaptive selling behavior on the consumer's purchase intention. The findings revealed that if the multichannel consumer perceives an advantaged information asymmetry then perceived control and purchase intention will be impacted. Adaptive selling behavior affects the consumer's perceptions of information asymmetry but not perceived control. These findings can be used to help managers devise techniques to support the salesperson's ability to secure the sale with the multichannel consumer.

The marketing of personnel assessment services by a variety of individuals and groups has developed into a highly competitive, somewhat unstable, and unusually controversial major American merchandising effort. This study contains a review of the promotional materials and activities of several commercial assessment organizations. Emphasis has been placed upon various "scientific breakthroughs" in the field, including, when possible, the descriptive as well as the predictive utilities that are claimed to result from their use. Three procedures were studied under actual industrial conditions, using tenure and productivity measures as criteria. None of the procedures was found to be significantly predictive in this instance.

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to identify and describe how B2B salespeople utilize social media when prospecting for new customers based on a sequential sales process.Design/methodology/approach - The study employs an interpretive approach as it attempts to convey a phenomenon through the eyes of the participants. The data is derived from six participants collected through semi-structured interviews. The thematic analysis aids to decipher patterns in the data and display these descriptive and narratively.Findings - The study identified four themes of social media use when prospecting for new customers. Further, the study suggests that salespeople are using social media to identify and qualify the prospects and their competencies in a networking manner and consequently follow the key targets of interest in order to initiate possibilities for offering customized solutions or adapt their approach accordingly.Research limitations/implications - The findings describes prospecting on social media through identified themes and points to new techniques to obtain information regarding prospects. This study opens up for future research in order to strengthen the newly discovered themes and its underlying forces.Managerial implications - The study reveals that prospecting techniques on social media are exercised and fueled by a salesperson's own intuition. This should be considered by the management as the employees’ intuition may depart from a company’s core strategy and values.Originality/value - No studies has examined how prospecting is carried out in practice on social media. The empirical findings in this study provide a new suggestion of how social media is used by salespeople and accordingly contributes to current sales literature by adding four descriptive themes of prospecting on social media.

Expensive medicine cost is always a thorny livelihood problem that most people complain about in China. From pharmaceutical factories to consumers, medicines prices increases several times during the circulation. Due to this situation, many hospitals launched different pattern of purchasing and selling medicines to decrease patients’ drug costs. Among them, the uniform bidding mode is the mode most commonly used by state-operated institutions in China. However, as a typical innovation pattern of purchasing and selling medicines, the drug direct supply mode launched by Hubei Zhongshan Hospital has achieved remarkable progress.   In this thesis, I intend to analyze these two modes and compare the performance of them to give some suggestions for future medical reform. The unified bidding mode achieved a win-win-win between pharmaceutical suppliers, medical institutions and patients. The direct supply mode compressed intermediate circulations to transfer multilayer wholesalers' profits to the patients to reduce their burden of medicine costs. However, the introduction of this purchasing mode may lead to market concentration which may influence prices in the longer run. For future medical reform, in the long run, the key is the separation of medical services and pharmaceutical sales. However, from a short-term perspective, direct supply mode can be adopted to solve the core issue of excessive price-adding in medicine circulations.

The recent machine learning and analytics advances in customer relationship management (CRM) technologies place new demands on marketing education and practitioners to develop the skills needed to use the technology. Compounding the issue, research on the use of technology in sales curriculum is underdeveloped. In a comprehensive review of the sales education literature, one study identified that only six articles on sales technology were published in major marketing education journals from 1979 to 2013. In an effort to bridge the gap between critical industry competencies and marketing curriculum, understanding the impact of technology use and training is important for educational planning and student development. Using a survey of 82 salespeople in the United States, the current study empirically evaluates how use of technologically advanced CRM features influences self-perception of CRM knowledge, the perception that additional technology training would be beneficial, and adaptive selling performance of sales practitioners. A majority of survey respondents in the current study cited a need for college students to receive increased exposure to advanced CRM technology training and skill development. We propose an experiential learning approach to teach marketing college students advanced CRM features to help them bolster their effectiveness and value in the workplace.

Technology is transforming industries, challenging traditional marketing channels, and providing digital avenues for dynamic growth. The popularity of digital platforms has disrupted traditional distribution channels, increased reach of social networks, and changed the way people interact. This research examines how advanced technology is enabling direct sellers to create and maintain relationships. It investigates the multidimensional aspect of technology use and advances the proposition that it acts as a strategic success factor for customer relationship performance specifically within the peer-guided marketplace of direct selling. Using a survey of 114 direct sellers, findings suggest that, in general, technology use does enhance direct sellers' ability to create and maintain consumer relationships, especially among less-experienced salespeople.

Dans le premier chapitre, j'examine si les vendeurs à découvert sont mieux informés à propos des enchères d'obligation souveraines que le marché. Je trouve, en moyenne, une forte augmentation de la demande de vente à découvert avant les enchères. Néanmoins, la demande de vente à découvert ne prédit pas une augmentation future du rendement. Les vendeurs à découvert ne sont donc pas mieux informés sur le résultat des enchères et n'interprètent pas mieux que le marché.Dans le second chapitre, je développe et teste un modèle expliquant la baisse graduelle des prix observée dans les jours qui conduisent à des ventes anticipées d'actifs telles que les enchères du Trésor. Dans le modèle, les investisseurs averses au risque anticipent une vente d'actifs dont l'ampleur − et donc le prix − sont incertains. Je montre que les investisseurs font face à un compromis entre se hedger au moyen d'une position longue et spéculer sur la différence entre le prix avant la vente et le prix espéré de vente. En raison du hedging, le prix d'équilibre est supérieur au prix de vente espéré. À l'approche de la date de vente, l'incertitude quant au prix de vente diminue, les positions spéculatives à découvert augmentent et le prix diminue. Conformément aux prédictions, je trouve que le rendement des bons du Trésor italien augmente de 1,2 points de base après la publication d'informations sur le prix d'enchère, par rapport aux jours sans information.Dans le troisième chapitre, j'étudie le lien entre les prix et les taux repo au cours de la crise des subprimes. Je trouve que la relation de non-arbitrage entre les prix et les taux repo de Duffie (1996) performe moins bien pendant la crise. Cependant, les obligations à faible taux repo ont 18.0% plus de chance d'être plus coûteuses que les obligations identiques à taux repo élevé lors de la crise, contre seulement 9.0% avant la crise. Dans l'ensemble, bien qu'il existe de fortes limites à l'arbitrage, les prix et les taux repo présentent des co-mouvements plus importants pendant la crise. / In the first chapter, I ask if short-sellers are superiorly informed about sovereign auctions. I find a large average increase in demand for short-selling prior to auctions. Yet, the demand for short-selling a bond does not predict a subsequent increase in the bond's yield. Overall, there is no evidence that short-sellers predict or interpret auction outcomes better than the market.In the second chapter, I develop and test a model explaining the gradual price decrease observed in the days leading to large anticipated asset sales such as Treasury auctions. In the model, risk-averse investors anticipate an asset sale which magnitude, and hence price, are uncertain. I show that investors face a trade-off between hedging the price risk with a long position, and speculating on the difference between the pre-sale and the expected sale prices. Due to hedging, the equilibrium price is above the expected sale price. As the sale date approaches, uncertainty about the sale price decreases, short speculative positions increase and the price decreases. In line with the predictions, I find that the yield of Italian Treasuries increases by 1.2 bps after the release of auction price information, compared to non-information days.In the third chapter, I study the link between prices and repo rates during the subprime crisis. I find that the no-arbitrage relationship between prices and repo rates in Duffie (1996) fares worse during the crisis. However, low-repo-rate bonds have an 18.0% higher probability of being more expensive than identical high-repo-rate bonds during the crisis, compared to only 9.0% before the crisis. Overall, while there are high limits of arbitrage, prices and repo rates feature larger co-movements during the crisis.

A digital timbermarket helps forest owners reach out to severaltimber purchasers and be able to compare the forest companies’ price lists. The purpose of this study was to examine how the forest owners would respond to a digital timbermarket.The study analyzes if Swedish forest owners are interested in the use of a digital timbermarket. By using a web survey, the forest owner’s responses about a digital timbermarket have been collected and analyzed. The results of the study showed that most of the forest owners were positiveabout using a digital timbermarket. The forest owners who were positive usually had smaller properties, no education or work experience in forestry.Those who were most unwillingto use a digital timbermarket were mostly over 70 years old, had made more than 30timber sales and own forest properties over 300 hectares. / En digital virkesmarknad är en webbplats där skogsägaren kan nå ut till flera olika virkesköpare vid försäljning av virke, köpare somskogsägarna i vanliga fall inte nått ut till. Här finns även offentliga prislistor från flera köpare samlade och detta kan på så sätt leda till en trasparantare virkesmarknad. Frågan är om skogsägare i Sverige är intresserade av att sälja virke genom en digital virkesmarknad, där olika bud kan jämföras. Om skogsägarna är det, vilka skogsägare är i så fall öppna för en digitaliserad marknad och vilka vill fortsätta sälja på traditionellt sätt. För att ta reda på hur intresset ser ut, har en webbenkät publicerats på Internet där skogsägare från hela Sverige kunnat fylla i enkäten. Totalt svarade 173 skogsägare. Deras svar har sedan sammanställts och analyserats för att se vad som skiljer skogsägare som är intresserade av att sälja virke genom en digital virkesmarknad från de som hellre säljer virke på traditionellt sätt. Studien visade att majoriteten (72 %) av skogsägarna var intresserade av att sälja virke genom en digital virkesmarknad. De skogsägare som skulle kunna tänka sig använda en digital virkesmarknad vid försäljning av sitt virke har oftast mindre fastigheter, ingen skoglig utbildning, använder Internet dagligen, ägt skogsfastigheten mindre än 10år och därmed gjort färre virkesaffärer. De som inte skulle kunna tänka sig använda en digital virkesmarknad vid försäljning av sitt virke är oftast över 70år, fastigheten är på över 300ha och gjort fler än 30 virkesaffärer.