The main topic of the diploma thesis “Marketing mix of a sports facility” is a detailed analysis related to a marketing strategy of the company that offers services in the area of sports and physical training. The theoretical part is devoted to the general basis that is essential for further elaboration of following practical sections. The analytical part deals with analysis of the current situation within the sport facility. On the basis of the conclusions from analytical part, the specific recommendations are presented to be implemented in the analysed company in order to significantly strengthen its overall marketing strategy.

University of Macau / Faculty of Business Administration / Department of Management and Marketing

Diskussionen inom tjänstemarknadsföring har länge handlat om att klassificera skillnader mellan varor och tjänster i termer om greppbarhet. Senare forskning har visat på klassificeringens irrelevans och presenterat en servicecentrerad logik, där erbjudandet i sig spelar roll för värdet. Filosofin låter varor och tjänster konvergera och ser till icke greppbara aspekter som relationer, dynamik, utbyte och kompetenser. Teorier har visat att kunden är medskapare av värde tillsammans med serviceutövaren och detta synliggörs i interaktionen. Kundens agerande kan således påverka servicesituationen och upplevelsen, vilket leder till en fråga om roller. Vidare är upplevd servicekvalitet subjektiv och grundas i en helhetsupplevelse med emotionella och funktionella inslag. Resonemangen leder vidare till kundens del i serviceupplevelsen och det delade ansvaret.Syftet med denna studie är att utveckla synen kring kundens ansvar i serviceupplevelsen genom att se till aspekter såsom värdeskapande, roller och servicekvalitet.Studiens empiriska del baserades på en kvalitativ intervjuserie med både kunder och serviceutövare i fyra olika branscher samt två introspektioner.Slutligen visar studien på att kundens roll och agerande är av betydelse för värdeskapande i interaktionen. Emotionellt och praktiskt kan kunden bidra såväl positivt som negativt till upplevd servicekvalitet. Kundens ansvar i serviceupplevelsen handlar om möjligheten till att aktivt eller passivt påverka servicesituationen.Nyckelord; service, ansvar, serviceupplevelse, roller, värdeskapande, servicekvalitet, servicecentrerad logik, tjänstemarknadsföring, interaktion. / The theoretical discussion within the area of service marketing has predominantly dealt with how to distinguish the differences between goods and services in terms of tangibility. Later studies have proven its irrelevance by presenting a service-centered logic, in which it is thought the actual offer of the product or service is what matters. This philosophy converges on goods and services, analyzing non-tangible aspects such as relations, dynamics, exchange and competences. Theories have shown that there is a co-production of value between company and customer which can be visible during the service interaction. The behavior and actions of the customer may affect the service situations as well as the experience. This leads to a question about roles. Furthermore, service quality is experienced subjectively. Customers tend to see the whole picture as in an experience, involving both emotional and functional parts.The discussion focuses on the customer’s part in a service experience and shared responsibility.This study aims to develop this discussion and assess the different view points concerning how the customer has a responsibility for the service experience by looking into aspects such as value creation, roles and service quality.The empirical part of the study is based on qualitative interviews from four different branches and two introspections.Conclusively, the study shows the role and acts of the customers are of importance for the value creation and the interaction. Emotionally and functionally, the customer can contribute positively and negatively to experienced service quality. Customer responsibility is about actively or passively using the opportunity to have an effect on the service situation.Key words: service, responsibility, service experience, roles, value creation, service quality, service-centered logic, services marketing, interaction,

No description available.

[Truncated abstract] The Australian higher education sector has changed markedly in the last two decades. The size of the sector has swelled in size as new universities have been created from former Colleges of Advanced Education and Institutes of Technology, and succeeding governments have introduced policies that have embedded increasingly corporate and commercial practices into university administration. This has caused the creation of what are becoming known as ‘enterprise universities’. This thesis examines hypotheses arising from two fundamental questions. (i) Given the increasingly market-oriented higher education environment in Australia, will a model developed from the study of services marketing (which has developed since the 1970s as a distinct sub-branch of the Marketing discipline) show itself to be applicable to universities operating in the Australian sector? (ii) If so, are there demonstrable differences in the way in which ‘student customers’ respond in terms of the antecedents of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty within different types of university? . . . The study found that the model tested was highly appropriate for indicating the major antecedents of satisfaction and loyalty in this setting. It showed that the institutional image was a relatively stronger antecedent of perceived value and customer satisfaction than were elements of service quality, and that the model was effective in accounting for a large proportion of the variance found in students’ loyalty to their institution. It also found that there was relatively little difference between students attending different types of university in these matters. It argues that there is an important imperative for Australian universities to take a strategic image management approach to their marketing initiatives, and also issues related to the nature of higher education as a positional and public good.

Submitted by Kelly Ayala (kelly.ayala@fgv.br) on 2016-09-14T14:25:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Eduardo_Halpern1.pdf: 995475 bytes, checksum: 16f94dc92dd03c2d3cb4c34ef7c472c3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Kelly Ayala (kelly.ayala@fgv.br) on 2016-09-14T14:27:08Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Eduardo_Halpern1.pdf: 995475 bytes, checksum: 16f94dc92dd03c2d3cb4c34ef7c472c3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Kelly Ayala (kelly.ayala@fgv.br) on 2016-09-14T14:30:13Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Eduardo_Halpern1.pdf: 995475 bytes, checksum: 16f94dc92dd03c2d3cb4c34ef7c472c3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-14T14:43:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Eduardo_Halpern1.pdf: 995475 bytes, checksum: 16f94dc92dd03c2d3cb4c34ef7c472c3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / The research´s main goal was to understand how certain servicescapes are apropriated by groups of individuals who use them to build its cultural identidy, changing its original economic purpose. The literature review conducted to give theorical support to the investigation was based on services marketing and, more specificaly, on servicescapes. The field research was conducted in Casa da Matriz, a night club located in the neighborhood of Botafogo in the south side of the city of Rio de Janeiro. In depht interviews and participant observation were used to identify the approach used to design and to manage the servicescape of Casa da Matriz and the appropriation practices used by its customers in order to build theis cultural identidy. / O trabalho tem como objetivo central compreender como determinados ambientes físicos de serviços são apropriados pelos diferentes grupos de indivíduos que os utilizam para construir sua identidade cultural, modificando a finalidade econômica original para que foram projetados por seus gestores. O referencial teórico utilizado para dar suporte à investigação foi baseado na literatura sobre marketing de serviços e, mais especificamente, sobre ambientes físicos de serviços. A pesquisa de campo foi realizada na Casa da Matriz, uma casa noturna localizada no bairro de Botafogo, na zona sul da cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas em profundidade e observação participante foi possível identificar as abordagens utilizadas para projetar e gerenciar tal ambiente físico, bem como as práticas de apropriação adotadas pelas tribos urbanas que o freqüentam para construir sua identidade cultural.

abstract: This research is particularly concerned with organizations’ advocacy of value-based change aimed at improving consumers’ well-being. This work contributes to the Transformative Services Research area and presents a conceptualization of the value-laden service organization (VLSO), which I define as organizations that advocate for specific value-based behaviors from consumers both within and beyond the particular service setting. In a VLSO, consumers are expected to act in accordance with the values of the organization. If the consumer’s pre-existing value system is not aligned with the values of the service organization, the consumer may experience a sense of psychological disequilibrium, which can lead to unintended decrease in well-being. This research explores how value conflicts are managed by both the organization and by the consumers. This work emerges out of an interpretive study of a Catholic-based homeless shelter for pregnant women. From it, I identify the practices of consumers and the service organization and explored their interactions. This has resulted in a theoretical conceptualization of a Rescue Institution, which combines aspects of both a Total Institution and a Reinventive Institution in a unique way. Further, I conceptualize a cycle of agency and authenticity that maps the dynamics of the consumer in a VLSO as they negotiate the structure/agency duality. In gathering data, I used an interpretive approach over the course of three years’ of direct involvement with a service organization, St. Mary’s House. My methods included participant observation, collection of artifacts, and one-on-one in-depth interviews. I interviewed a total of 30 participants, whose transcribed interviews resulted in over 1500 pages of text. Analysis of themes and concepts occurred as a result of repeated examinations of both existing theory and data. My findings reveal key organizational and consumer practices that negotiate the tension between structure and agency. Organizational practices include rules and social norms, as well as two forms of hierarchy. Consumer practices, often in response to organizational practices, include a cycle of agency and authenticity and participation in a shadow structure. These practices collectively influence consumer’s interpretive drift, which is their adoption of the organization’s values that creates internalized change. I conclude with implications for theory and service organization management. First, value priorities mean that tradeoffs must be made, which can cause unexpected and painful conflict. The experience of change, from both the consumer and service provider perspective, can be very messy. This process includes a dynamic and individual negotiation of authenticity and agency, which will be of interest in future studies. The service providers must be open to this process, carefully navigating their responses to the consumer’s dynamic authenticity, agency and values. Service providers should expect and acknowledge the conflict in consumers’ experience in order to foster their long-term perspective and perseverance. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2015

Este trabalho enfoca o campo de atuação do marketing de serviços, setor cada vez mais representativo nas economias mundiais, em que a competitividade igualmente crescente demanda das empresas a capacidade de inovar e se diferenciar continuamente em prol da sobrevivência e crescimento. As características distintivas de marcas de serviços, sobretudo o caráter intangível da prestação, trazem para estas empresas o desafio da transformação dos serviços em benefícios concretos, buscando um posicionamento sólido junto aos consumidores e influenciando o processo de decisão de compra. Assim, é objetivo deste trabalho estudar como o posicionamento de marcas de serviços é gerido quando ocorre a introdução de uma inovação disruptiva, ou seja, quando a empresa decide pela introdução de uma tecnologia de ruptura, com uma proposição de valor consideravelmente diferente da tecnologia vigente. A metodologia adotada envolveu primeiramente a revisão de literatura nos temas de marketing de serviços, segmentação/posicionamento e aspectos da inovação disruptiva, buscando um entendimento da relação entre os construtos. De forma complementar, considerando-se a adequação com a questão de pesquisa, decidiu-se pela condução de um estudo de caso enfocando uma empresa do setor de serviços de telecomunicação móvel brasileiro, a Vivo S/A. A decisão pelo estudo de caso único foi motivada pelo caráter peculiar da situação estudada, representada pela introdução da tecnologia GSM pela empresa no período compreendido entre os anos 2006 e 2007, em caráter disruptivo. Estudou-se a forma como a empresa procedeu no tocante aos processos de segmentação, posicionamento e gestão do composto de marketing frente a este evento. Os resultados apontam para uma influência significativa da mudança tecnológica no posicionamento da marca, com maior impacto nos fatores relacionados a produto, promoção e pessoas, do composto de marketing de serviços. A pesquisa também revelou o poder de tecnologias emergentes em transformar as competências internas de uma empresa, muito além da tecnologia em si. Por fim, os resultados mostram como a empresa conseguiu resultados positivos nas dimensões de negócios e de marca, revertendo uma situação competitiva desfavorável, identificada no contexto que se pôde construir para o caso. / The following dissertation will address the theme of services marketing, a sector that has been increasingly representative in global economies, where competitiveness is constantly growing and demands that companies have the ability to continually innovate and differentiate in favor of their own survival and growth. The distinctive characteristics of service brands, especially the intangible characteristic, bring to these companies the challenge of transforming services into concrete benefits, seeking a solid position among consumers and influencing the purchase decision process. Thus, the objective of this project is to study how the positioning of services brands are managed when there\'s introduction of a disruptive innovation, ie, when the company decides to introduce a disruptive technology, with a value proposition considerably different from the current technology. The adopted methodology involved primarily a literature review in the areas of services marketing, segmentation / positioning and aspects of disruptive innovation, seeking to understand the relationship between the concepts. In a complementary way, considering the suitability to the research question, it was decided to conduct a case study focused on a mobile telecommunications company in Brazil, Vivo S/A. The decision for a single case study was motivated by the peculiar character of the studied situation, represented by the introduction of GSM technology by the company in the period between 2006 and 2007 in a disruptive character. The project sought to understand how the company proceeded regarding the processes of segmentation, positioning and management of the marketing mix, considering this event. The results point to a significant influence of technological change in brand positioning, with the greatest impact on factors related to product, promotion and people of the services marketing mix. The research also revealed the power of emerging technologies to transform the internal competencies of a company, beyond the technology itself. Finally, the results show how the company achieved positive results in the dimensions of business and brand, reversing a competitive disadvantage, identified in the context that could build into the case.

A classe média brasileira emergente, quebrando paradigmas e impulsionando a economia brasileira nas últimas décadas por meio do aumento do poder de compra e consequente consumo de produtos e serviços a que antes só eram acessíveis a classes sociais mais abastadas se tornou alvo de várias empresas que reviram suas estratégias de modo a criar uma oferta voltada ao interesse desse público. O presente estudo tem como objetivo identificar e analisar as diferenças e semelhanças nas atividades de marketing de serviços de empresas que criaram e adaptaram sua oferta por meio de novas marcas para atender à ascensão do poder de compra da classe média brasileira em relação às suas marcas já existentes. Com o aumento do poder de compra da classe média brasileira, esse segmento da população se tornou alvo do interesse de empresas que buscaram passar a atender esse segmento por meio, principalmente, da criação de novas marcas, tanto de bens como de serviços, direcionados a este público. Para cumprir com o objetivo proposto, primeiramente buscou definir-se quem é a classe média brasileira tratada pelo presente estudo, à luz dos diversos critérios de classificação disponíveis e suas características. A partir dessa definição, a revisão teórica abordou temas de marketing de serviços: segmentação, posicionamento, as diferenças entre bens e serviços, o composto de marketing aplicado a serviços, noções sobre o desenvolvimento de uma marca para um nível mais baixo e a aplicação do marketing de serviços à classe média brasileira, finalizando com os efeitos da crise econômica nas estratégias das empresas que desenvolveram novas marcas para atender esse público. O método utilizado para a pesquisa de campo foi o estudo de caso e as unidades de análise escolhidas foram o Grupo Fleury, com as marcas Fleury Medicina e Saúde e a+ Medicina Diagnóstica, o Grupo Bio Ritmo, com as marcas Bio Ritmo e Smart Fit e o Grupo Porto Seguro, com a Porto Seguro e a Azul Seguros. A análise dos casos foi feita, primeiramente, de forma individual, fazendo uma comparação com o observado na pesquisa de campo com o a revisão teórica e em seguida, os casos foram comparados entre si. Com a pesquisa, foi possível concluir que as marcas desenvolvidas para a classe média tem como principal segmento alvo a classe C, posicionadas como serviço econômico, eficiente e de boa relação custo-benefício. Além disso, a decisão de passar a atender o público da classe média, de renda inferior ao público já atendido pelas empresas por meio de novas marcas e não extensões de marca foi motivado, principalmente para preservar a reputação, credibilidade e posicionamento premium das marcas originais. A adaptação da oferta das empresas que criaram novas marcas para atender a classe média em ascensão econômica se deu, principalmente, na diferenciação da quantidade, variedade e sofisticação dos serviços suplementares oferecidos para a marca mais econômica serem inferiores em relação à marca original premium. A estrutura de custos das marcas voltada para a classe média se mostrou inferior à das marcas premium, resultando num preço consideravelmente mais baixo. Os efeitos da crise econômica percebidos pelas empresas que criaram marcas para a classe média envolvem a migração de clientes da marca premium para a marca mais econômica, principalmente motivados pela boa relação custo-benefício conseguida por meio da um nível semelhante de qualidade técnica do serviço principal e uma oferta mais simples de serviço total, minimizando a estrutura de custos necessária e, por isso, possibilitando a prática de um nível de preços baixo, muito atrativo em períodos de crise. / The emerging Brazilian middle class, breaking paradigms and boosting the Brazilian economy in recent decades through increased purchasing power and consequent consumption of goods and services that were previously only accessible to more affluent social classes became the target of several companies reviewed their strategies in order to create a directed offer to the interest of this audience. This study aims to identify and analyze the differences and similarities in the marketing activities of the services of companies that created and adapted their offer through new brands to meet the rising purchasing power of the Brazilian middle class in relation to their brands already existing. With increasing purchasing power of the Brazilian middle class, this segment of the population became the target of interest from companies that sought to move to serve this segment through mainly the creation of new brands, both goods and services, aimed at this audience. To meet the proposed objective, first sought to define who is the Brazilian middle class treated in this study, in the light of the vari-ous classification criteria available and their characteristics. From this definition, the theoreti-cal review addressed marketing issues services: segmentation, positioning, differences be-tween goods and services, the marketing mix applied to services, notions about the develop-ment of a brand to a lower level and the application of services to the Brazilian middle class marketing, ending with the effects of the economic crisis in the strategies of companies that have developed new brands to meet the public. The method used for field research was the case study and the studied units were Fleury, a+, Bio Ritmo, Smart Fit, Porto Seguro and Azul Seguros.The case analysis were made, first, individually, making a comparison with data from the field research with the theoretical review and then the cases were compared. Through research, it was concluded that the brands developed for the middle class\'s main tar-get segment the C class, positioned as economic, efficient and cost-effective. Moreover, the decision to serve the public of the middle class, lower public income already served by com-panies through new brands and not brand extensions was motivated mainly to preserve the reputation, credibility and premium positioning of original brands. The adaptation of the offer of companies that created new brands to meet the middle class in economic rise was mainly in the differentiation of the amount, variety and sophistication of additional services for the most economical brand being lower in relation to the original premium brand. The marks of the cost structure facing the middle class was inferior to the premium brands, resulting in a considerably lower price. The effects of the economic crisis perceived by companies that created brands for the middle class involve the migration of premium brand customers to the most cost brand, mainly motivated by cost-benefit achieved through a similar level of technical quality of the main service and a simpler offer full service, minimizing the cost structure required and, therefore, allowing the practice of a low price level, very attractive in times of crisis.

[pt] O objetivo principal deste trabalho consiste em identificar, dentre um conjunto de atributos de satisfação, lealdade e retenção, os elementos que têm maior impacto na retenção de clientes no serviço de telefonia celular. Foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo com uma amostra de 123 usuários do serviço de telefonia celular prestado por operadoras no estado do Rio de Janeiro. Inicialmente são discutidos os conceitos de satisfação, lealdade e retenção de clientes acompanhados pela identificação dos principais atributos destes elementos no serviço de telefonia celular. Logo após é apresentado o modelo integrativo de Gerpott, Rams e Schindler (2001) que serviu de base para este trabalho. Depois é apresentada a metodologia utilizada nesta pesquisa seguida pelos resultados obtidos na pesquisa de campo. A análise dos dados confirma a existência de uma relação causal de dois estágios entre a satisfação, lealdade e retenção de clientes, na qual a satisfação é um atributo chave da lealdade que, por sua vez, é um determinante central da retenção de clientes. O estudo também identifica que o atendimento aos clientes, os benefícios pessoais que o serviço de telefonia celular oferecem, e a avaliação que os clientes fazem sobre os preços cobrados pelo serviço são, dentre um conjunto de atributos de satisfação, lealdade e retenção, os elementos que têm o maior impacto na retenção de clientes no serviço de telefonia celular. / [en] The purpose of this study is to identify, among a group of elements of customer satisfaction, loyalty and customer retention, the elements which have the greater impact over customer retention in the mobile telecommunications service. A field research was conducted with a sample of 123 users of the mobile telecommunications service in Rio de Janeiro. Initially the concepts of customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention are discussed, followed by the identification of some of their elements in the mobile telecommunications service. Then Gerpotts, Rams and Schindlers (2001) integrative model, which is used as a basis for this study, is presented. Next, the methodology used in this research is explained, followed by the presentation of the results obtained in the field research. Data analysis supports the existence of a two- staged causal relationship between customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention, with satisfaction having a significant impact over loyalty which in turn influences customer retention. This research also identifies that customer care, the personal benefits derived from the use of the mobile telecommunications service, and the evaluation that clients make about the price of such service are, among a group of customers satisfaction, loyalty, and retention attributes, the elements which have the greater impact over customer retention in the mobile telecommunications service.