Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In recent years, the South African online shopping industry has experienced remarkable growth which has attracted multi-national online stores to operate in the South African market thus creating competitive pressure for domestic online stores. Consequently, this presence of competition from well-resourced and recognisable online store brands it is critical that domestic online stores adopt measures to protect their competitive positions and to pursue competitive advantage. An adoption of a customer-centred approach focused on increasing customer satisfaction is one strategy for online stores to consider. This study had as its primary objective to develop a theoretical model of psychographic influences on customer satisfaction with electronic service quality. The associated objectives were to develop a theoretical model to (i) assess online shopping customers’ perceptions of electronic service quality, (ii) illustrate the effect of electronic service quality on customer satisfaction, (iii) measure the effect of customer satisfaction on customer behavioural intentions, and (iv) determine how customers’ perceptions of electronic service quality differ across different customer psychographic profiles. A quantitative descriptive cross sectional study was conducted to address the research objectives. Data was collected through a questionnaire from a sample of 344 South African online store customers. Statistical descriptive and inferential analyses were performed including mean values, structural equation modelling and analysis of variance. The findings included that, i) customers have negative perceptions of electronic service quality in South African online stores, ii) the constructs of electronic service quality, efficiency and contact, have a significant positive effect on customer satisfaction, iii) customer satisfaction has a significant positive effect on customer behavioural intentions, and iv) a significant difference in the perceptions of electronic service quality was found to exist among customers with different psychological profiles. Based on the study findings it is recommended that South African online stores should improve electronic service quality and apply market segmentation on the basis of customer psychological profiles in order to gain competitive advantage.

Background: Most current research on consumption events like Black Friday has been done in an US context. Black Friday do not have any cultural heritage or any other social connection to Sweden, however, it is already considered as the second most significant sales opportunity annually in the country. Additionally, research has confirmed that online retailing has been faster than offline retailing regarding adoption to consumption events. Therefore, to qualitatively investigate motivation towards Black Friday consumption online, in a Swedish context, would provide new insight in the field. Purpose: This research serves to contribute to the research of motivation towards consumption events online, viewed upon from the consumers perspective. By uncover meanings for utilitarian and hedonic motivation dimensions towards consumption events online, using Black Friday Weekend as an empirical example, this research aims to, besides adding to previous research, clarify ambiguous situations and provide valuable insights for online retailers that may lead to potential business opportunities. Method: In order to achieve in-depth understanding of the topic, a qualitative study with exploratory design was conducted. Data was gathered through focus group interviews with participants chosen through a purposive sampling technique. The data was analyzed through thematic analysis which generated the empirical findings. Conclusion: Throughout this research, sixteen themes related to motivation emerged, eight utilitarian and eight hedonic. The themes offer more accuracy and a deepened understanding of motivation towards consumption events online for the empirical foundation researched by explaining meanings of the motivation dimensions in this particular context, namely Black Friday Weekend in Sweden.

How consumers act during the buyers decision making process can change with age. How older consumers use modern technology in the buyers decision making process has however not been given a clear picture by researchers. Therefore the purpose of this study is to examine how older consumers use technology in the buyers decision making process and create a more nuanced picture of their usage. By using a qualitative method in the form of small-N-study and semi-structured interviews we have been able to answer our research questions. We have found that the technology i mainly used during the information gathering stage and the evaluation stage of the buyers decision making process, according to our respondents. From this we have been able to identify two seperate user types: Searcher-Stig and Evaluation-Ulla (Sökar-Stig och Utvärderar-Ulla). These two user types describe how older consumers mainly use technology in the buyers decision making process. / Hur konsumenter agerar i köpprocessen kan ändras med åldern. Hur äldre konsumenter sedan använder teknologin i köpprocessen är dock något som forskningen inte lyckats ge en fullständig bild kring. Därmed är syftet med denna studie att undersöka hur äldre konsumenter använder modern teknologi i köpprocessen för att skapa en mer nyanserad bild av äldre konsumenters användning av teknologi. Genom att använda oss av en kvalitativ metod i form av en små-N-studie och semi-strukturerade intervjuer har vi kunnat besvara våra frågor. Enligt våra respondenter så används mobilen främst under informationssökningsfasen och utvärderingsfasen av köpprocessen. Detta har lett till at vi kunnat ta fram två användartyper: Sökar-Stig och Utvärderar-Ulla, som skall beskriva äldre konsumenters användning av teknologi i köpprocessen.

This study looks to better understand Swedish consumer purchasing intentions in the online second-hand clothing industry. This study examines factors affecting consumers’ intentions to purchase second-hand clothing online, as well as investigating how gender and a person’s general fashion involvement affects their purchasing intention. / Program: Textile Management, Fashion Management

The concept of communities and the interaction between people are not new concepts. People have always gathered around common conditions shared by those in the group such as shared emotions, interests, beliefs and needs. It is however the way we interact, with whom we interact, and when and where these meetings take place which has changed. This has been a direct result of the development of the internet and exacerbated with the move to the second phase of internet development. This second phase of internet development provides users with real-time functionality enabling interaction with global users in a virtual environment. This interaction is termed online social networking and takes place in online communities.Online communities present opportunities for marketers as they give rise to a virtually unlimited number of different consumers, structured around finer consumption and marketing interests. Research indicates that online community users are market-oriented and therefore online communities provide a meaningful medium of exchange for these users. The challenge for companies today has been trying to develop ways to capitalise on this trend and raise their competitive advantage. However, in order to effectively understand these users, an understanding of their characteristics is fundamental to the development of any tailored marketing campaign. This thesis therefore aims to shed an insight into a segmentation model designed for online communities - firstly by empirically testing it and secondly, by enriching the data with a typology of online buying behaviour characterised by psychographic and behaviour variables. Therefore the research question posed is “Can online community users be classified by their online buying behaviours so that they are useful to marketers?”.The empirical data was gathered quantitatively through an online questionnaire designed to classify the respondents into meaningful segments and clusters. The report reflects a social constructionist methodology where the results have been interpreted and given meaning. The report is based on the segmentation models presented by Kozinets’ ‘virtual communities of consumption’ and Barnes et al. typology on online buying behaviour. This report combines the two models in order to enrich the segmentation model presented by Kozinets’ with attributes of online buying behaviour in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of online community users. The results indicated that the four online user profiles defined in Kozinets’ model did not show differences in their online purchasing behaviour. Rather all online community users could be categorised by Barnes et al’s three clusters of online buying behaviour.

E-commerce has made life simple and innovative of individuals and groups; customer expectationin online shopping is different from the physical market where he has access to see the product.The primary goal of this research is to analyze the customer expectation and usability of the onlineshopping in Bangladesh. The theoretical framework discusses in brief about the customerexpectation and effect of retention on customer satisfaction. The study on customer expectation andonline shopping usability has been done from the perspective of a firm performing online business.To understand the customer satisfaction and loyalty level of online Bangladeshi shoppers, Ipursued with the collection of quantitative data with the help of survey. This study has no limitsregarding different product categories. From marketing and strategic point of view I will point outthose factors that might affect the customers, while purchasing goods online. Price, time savingand convenience were identified as important factors which lead to certain buying behavior inonline shopping. To measure the customer satisfaction and loyalty of online shoppers inBangladesh, the survey results are calculated with the help of SPSS software. The results of thesurvey reveal that while a moderate percentage of Bangladeshis are satisfied with online shoppingonly less than half of them stay loyal to their online sellers. However, on the long run, thesecustomers will be loyal and can be retained only when online businesses constantly satisfy them byproviding detailed product information on websites, superior customer service, quality and timelydelivery of goods and importantly effective website designs. This study does not control thedifferences across product categories. The study, focus on overall online shopping experience ofBangladeshi consumers. This research contributes to the study of online shopping customersatisfaction and loyalty in Bangladesh, and identifies the factors that might, influence the customer,while doing online shopping. / Program: Magisterutbildning i informatik

El presente trabajo de investigación consiste en crear una idea de negocio innovadora que cubra una necesidad actual y pueda ser viable de ejecutarse. En la investigación se identificó a través de entrevistas de profundidad que existen padres que cuando van a comprar ropa para sus bebés entre cero y dos años, se sienten abrumados porque los bebés se aburren rápidamente. Por esta razón, nace WAWA STORE, una idea de negocio que consiste en fabricar y comercializar ropa personalizada para bebés a través de una Web App. Para el desarrollo del presente proyecto se cuenta con un equipo de trabajo con experiencia en el rubro, uno de los integrantes en la actualidad cuenta con un negocio de ropa para niños y el equipo que lo acomp0aña cuenta con experiencia en administración, finanzas, y ventas. El presente proyecto cuenta con el potencial de generar una rentabilidad promedio anual de 15% asimismo, les permitirá a los accionistas recuperar su inversión con un excedente de S/.139,290 que logra una tasa de rendimiento interna de retorno de 84%. Por último, para poner en marcha el proyecto se requiere una inversión total de S/.89,186 soles, de los cuales se cuenta con el 66% de capital propio. En consecuencia, se busca adquirir un aporte de inversión de S/.30,000 para dar inicio a las operaciones. / The present research work is to create an innovative business idea that meets a current need and can be viable to execute. The research identified through in-depth interviews that there are parents who when they go to buy clothes for their babies between zero and two years old, they feel overwhelmed because babies get bored quickly. For this reason, WAWA STORE was born as a business idea that consists of manufacturing and marketing personalized baby clothes through a web app. For the development of this project there is a work team with experience in the field, one of the members currently has a business of clothing for children and the team that accompanies him has experience in administration, finance and sales. This project has the potential to generate an average annual return of 15% also, it will allow shareholders to recover their investment with a surplus of S/. 139,290 achieving an internal return rate of 89%. Finally, the implementation of the project requires a total investment of S/.89,186 soles, of which 66% own capital is available. Consequently, it seeks to acquire an investment contribution of S/.30,000 to start operations. / Trabajo de investigación

Predicting customers’ intention to purchase products online is an important issue. This thesis aims to understand how online shopping decision is determined by individual’s intention to buy via Internet and his/her attitude toward e-purchase. This study by integrating the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), attempts to understand how website usefulness and ease of use, as well as customers’ attitude toward online shopping, influence purchase intention influence the online purchase. Those two models adopted in an online environment were used to analyze the outcome of the survey among Polish e-shoppers. By adopting the idea of regular and heavy Internet users, this study tries to differentiate the online shopping behavior in those two groups. The findings of the thesis have been found to be partially consistent with both models. However the difference between heavy and regular Internet users in frequency of buying online has not been confirmed.

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