Digitalization is changing the world, and the retail industry is no exception. The new technologies are affecting retail in multiple ways to increase sales and customer satisfaction. This change is being observed in the physical stores as well as new online markets. The customers’ role in retail is increasing as self-service systems are taking over cashiers, and an increase in e-commerce websites begs the question if the digitalization is threatening the physical store and the number of employees. The worst case scenario being, digitalization rendering the physical stores obsolete. Managers and consumers have been the focus of previous studies, but little is known of how employees perceive the new forms of digitalization emerging in retail. This study examines front-line employees’ attitudes toward digitalization in the retail industry by answering the questions; what are the retail employees' attitudes toward digitalization? Do they differ depending on the industry? Which, if any, factors are affecting employees’ attitudes toward digitalization? This quantitative study has used a deductive approach to construct a cross-sectional survey. The survey has been used to answer the research questions, fulfill the studies purpose, and bridge the gap in research regarding employees’ attitudes. The results show that employees’ attitudes are somewhat positive toward digitalization, and evidence was found of multiple differences between the industries - employees’ attitudes toward digitalization being no exception. The study found that how useful employees perceive digitalization, their personal usage, and what industry they work in are factors affecting employees’ attitudes toward digitalization. This study can be used as a foundation for further study in multiple fields with a focus on retail employees and attitudes. The results of the study also have a practical contribution as it provides evidence of factors which could influence employees’ attitudes. This is of value for managers who can use the results of this study to better influence and manage the attitudes of employees.

This bachelor thesis gives insight to the reader on the 4P theory’s role in a company’s social media marketing. This is a multiple case study where the authors investigated how these two companies apply 4P theory in their social media marketing. Furthermore. social media has appeared through the era of digitalization which has become a tremendous phenomenon in a company’s marketing strategies. Therefore, there is a high competition among companies in order to attract customers through their social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. In this thesis it is investigated of how companies applies the 4P theory in their social media. The research question of this thesis is as follows: How does a company apply 4P in its social media platforms? In order to answer the research question of this thesis, the authors have used existing theories on digitalization, the new 4P’s and the traditional 4P’s as well as empirical data in the form of semi structured interviews. The results showed that the 4P theory has an enormous role in these companies’ marketing in social media.

Problemställning: Mellan åren 2011 och 2017 lades 5000 fysiska butiker i Sverige inom sällanköpsvaruhandeln ner, samtidigt har e-handelns omsättning ökat markant de senaste åren. I Linköping har den fysiska handeln inte minskat nämnvärt det senaste året vilket gör det intressant att studera hur de fristående butikerna i staden agerar för att hantera den ökade konkurrensen e-handeln och digitaliseringen bär med sig. Med anledning av detta undersöker studien hur fristående fysiska butiker konkurrerar och hur de står emot e- handeln. Forskningsfrågor: -        Hur arbetar fristående fysiska butiker med konkurrensstrategier? -        Hur påverkas fristående fysiska butikers strategier av de strukturella förändringar digitaliseringen medför? -        Hur ser fristående fysiska butiker på sin framtid med avseende på vilka strategier som kan stärka deras konkurrenskraft och möjlighet att långsiktigt överleva? Syfte: Studien syftar till att skapa förståelse för hur fristående fysiska butiker hanterar den ökade konkurrensen från e-handeln i och med digitaliseringen och hur de ser på sin framtid. Resultat: I studien framkommer att de fristående fysiska butikerna i regel inte arbetar efter strategier som framhävs i teorin, utan snarare baserar sina beslut på känsla. Vidare har e- handeln påverkat butikerna dels negativt på grund av bland annat priskriget den medför men även positivt då de fått möjlighet att nå fler kunder och sälja mer. Vår referensram visade sig inte vara tillräcklig för att beskriva vilka faktorer butikerna upplever som viktiga, utan behöver justeras eller kompletteras. Kunskapsbidrag: Studien bidrar med en insikt om hur fristående fysiska butiker i en svensk stad strategiskt hanterar den ökade konkurrensen som kommit i och med digitaliseringen. Studien belyser även att traditionella teorier behöver justeras och utökas för att beskriva handelssituationen för fristående fysiska butiker i ett digitaliserat samhälle. / Problem: Between 2011 and 2017, 5000 physical stores within durable goods in Sweden were closed, while e-commerce's sales have increased significantly in recent years. In Linköping, physical trade has not declined notably in the past year, which makes it interesting to study how independent stores in the city act to manage the increased competition e-commerce and digitalization entail. With this in mind, the study investigates how physical stores compete and how they resist e-commerce. Research Questions: -        How do independent physical stores work with competitive strategies? -        How are the strategies of independent physical stores affected by the structural changes caused by the digitalization? -        How do independent physical stores envisage their future when it comes to competitive strategy and long-term survival opportunities? Purpose: This study aims to create an understanding of how independent physical stores manage the increased competition from e-commerce and digitalization as well as how they envision their future. Conclusion: The study concludes that independent physical stores do not avail the competitive strategies provided by the theoretical framework, but rather base their decisions on intuition. The digitalization has brought both negative and positive consequences upon the independent physical stores. The competitiveness regarding pricing has increased which is negative, but digitalization can also be used as a tool to reach more potential customers and thus, enhance sales. The theoretical framework of this study proved to be limited in its ability to describe which factors the independent physical stores find important, and is therefore in need of adjustments or supplements. Contribution: The study contributes with knowledge of how independent physical stores in a Swedish city strategically manage the increased competition that has come with the digitalization. The study further highlights that traditional theories are in need of adjustments and expansion to better describe the trading situation of independent physical stores in a digitalized society.

<p>Mobile TV is an application which has not yet been much described in academic literature. But the media and telecommunications industries are busy with Mobile TV deployment, motivated by for example decrease in revenues from existing products. This study should be seen as an exploratory study in the academia, aiming at a context for the experiences from exploratory work in the industry.</p><p>The study of the status of the application Mobile TV focused on legislation, spectra, content and terminals. These areas are of great interest for the telecom and the media industries, and their interests were described with regards to Mobile TV. Large structures like local legislation, spectral resource management on EU level and charging for content becomes visible and are discussed. On a lower level, two differences between the industries were high-lighted. One is the way revenue is collected for content, and the other is information sharing about the Consumers preferences. Overcoming these differences would ease collaboration. Another business topic for the two industries is the relation between the SIM card (which manifest the subscription) and the charging for content.A value network model which satisfies the legal, technical and business requirements is presented. In particular, a new role as Content Site Provider is identified. Since the interviewees suggested a future hybrid solution, both Mobile TV via streaming and via broadcast are included in the model.It is concluded that the telecom industry had all the means and incentive to create Mobile TV. It is also concluded that the process of digitalization is an ongoing process which continues to have an impact on the two industries, in that different offerings can be bundled together. One possible scenario is an Internet-like evolution of the mobile Internet, the Consumers will learn to find the applications closer to the source. This would make a broadcast solution less likely. The higher cost for over-the-air transmission is one obstacle for this scenario, but it might vanish with next generation mobile networks.</p>

<p>The concept of the photographic truth has had a special status for almost 200 years. Yet with the emerge of digital technology and especially digital photography there has been a loss of the particular connection photography has had in reference to reality. The aim of this study is to see in what ways digitalization has affected the credibility of photography from the perspective of professionals in the field of photography. The digital technology that has enabled the large-scale manipulation of photographies is not, however, the main reason for the decreased credibility of photography. The ongoing discussion about the available possibilities concerning digital imagery and manipulation has had a far more powerful effect on the concept of the photographic truth. Along with these possibilities a post-photographic photograph has seen the light of day. We discuss further some credibility problems caused by this new phenomenon; i.e. the post-photographic photographies can’t be considered to have the same status as the traditional photographies when it comes to presenting reality truthfully. We approached the subject through theory studies and methodically through personal interviews.</p><p>Key words: credibility, digitalization, manipulation, remediation, reality, noeme, and the post-photographic era.</p>

<p>Several industries have been affected by digitalization over the last decade. Currently the world of printed media is experiencing numerous turbulent changes. Printed newspapers are increasing their presence online and starting to compete in digital channels. This makes for an interesting area of research. With this study we hope to create a greater understanding for how the newspaper industry is affected by digital technology. The theoretical framework of this study is based upon Christensen’s (2005) concept of disruptive technology as well as Yoo & Lyytinen et al. (2010) theories on digitalization and digital innovation. We conducted a case study at the local newspaper Alpha News. Five semi- structured interviews were performed with different employees with various distinct roles; all of them important to obtain an insight into the changes occurring at Alpha News. In our study we are able to identify several aspects of changes due to digitalization within Alpha News. The printed newspaper, for instance, faces a steady decline in subscription rates due to the readers increased reliance on digital alternatives for local news. Other shown effects of the digitalized business where also revealed. The pace of change, the use of technological aids, as well as the reader-relationship, all act as examples of these shown effects.</p>

<p>Abstract</p><p>Purpose/Aim: To study how Piratbyrån argues for a free distribution of information and culture products and to find a possible ideological explanation for their argumentation.</p><p>Method/Material: I have used a rhetorical analysis to study and describe Piratbyrån´s website, a website that promotes free distribution of information and culture products. I have done so to find out how Piratbyrån argues for a free distribution and to find out what ideological foundation their argumentation is based on.</p><p>Main results: The main results of the study show that Piratbyrån uses a variety of rhetorical techniques depending on the subject and purpose of the analyzed text. Their main arguments both promote their own thesis and argue against the copyright industry. The main part of the argumentation is based on logical and factual arguments, but parts of it also rely on an emotional appeal to the reader’s heart in order to persuade. The analysis also showed great similarities between Piratbyrån´s argumentation and the ideology that Siva Vaidhyanathan describes as information anarchy. An ideology that promotes free distribution of information and culture products, that relies on decentralized systems and nonhierarchical structures and is a result of the technological development such as digitalization and peer-to-peer networks.</p><p>Keywords: Rhetoric, technology, file sharing, digitalization, network, ideology, anarchy, oligarchy, copyright, website</p>

The concept of the photographic truth has had a special status for almost 200 years. Yet with the emerge of digital technology and especially digital photography there has been a loss of the particular connection photography has had in reference to reality. The aim of this study is to see in what ways digitalization has affected the credibility of photography from the perspective of professionals in the field of photography. The digital technology that has enabled the large-scale manipulation of photographies is not, however, the main reason for the decreased credibility of photography. The ongoing discussion about the available possibilities concerning digital imagery and manipulation has had a far more powerful effect on the concept of the photographic truth. Along with these possibilities a post-photographic photograph has seen the light of day. We discuss further some credibility problems caused by this new phenomenon; i.e. the post-photographic photographies can’t be considered to have the same status as the traditional photographies when it comes to presenting reality truthfully. We approached the subject through theory studies and methodically through personal interviews. Key words: credibility, digitalization, manipulation, remediation, reality, noeme, and the post-photographic era.

Abstract Purpose/Aim: To study how Piratbyrån argues for a free distribution of information and culture products and to find a possible ideological explanation for their argumentation. Method/Material: I have used a rhetorical analysis to study and describe Piratbyrån´s website, a website that promotes free distribution of information and culture products. I have done so to find out how Piratbyrån argues for a free distribution and to find out what ideological foundation their argumentation is based on. Main results: The main results of the study show that Piratbyrån uses a variety of rhetorical techniques depending on the subject and purpose of the analyzed text. Their main arguments both promote their own thesis and argue against the copyright industry. The main part of the argumentation is based on logical and factual arguments, but parts of it also rely on an emotional appeal to the reader’s heart in order to persuade. The analysis also showed great similarities between Piratbyrån´s argumentation and the ideology that Siva Vaidhyanathan describes as information anarchy. An ideology that promotes free distribution of information and culture products, that relies on decentralized systems and nonhierarchical structures and is a result of the technological development such as digitalization and peer-to-peer networks. Keywords: Rhetoric, technology, file sharing, digitalization, network, ideology, anarchy, oligarchy, copyright, website

Mobile TV is an application which has not yet been much described in academic literature. But the media and telecommunications industries are busy with Mobile TV deployment, motivated by for example decrease in revenues from existing products. This study should be seen as an exploratory study in the academia, aiming at a context for the experiences from exploratory work in the industry. The study of the status of the application Mobile TV focused on legislation, spectra, content and terminals. These areas are of great interest for the telecom and the media industries, and their interests were described with regards to Mobile TV. Large structures like local legislation, spectral resource management on EU level and charging for content becomes visible and are discussed. On a lower level, two differences between the industries were high-lighted. One is the way revenue is collected for content, and the other is information sharing about the Consumers preferences. Overcoming these differences would ease collaboration. Another business topic for the two industries is the relation between the SIM card (which manifest the subscription) and the charging for content.A value network model which satisfies the legal, technical and business requirements is presented. In particular, a new role as Content Site Provider is identified. Since the interviewees suggested a future hybrid solution, both Mobile TV via streaming and via broadcast are included in the model.It is concluded that the telecom industry had all the means and incentive to create Mobile TV. It is also concluded that the process of digitalization is an ongoing process which continues to have an impact on the two industries, in that different offerings can be bundled together. One possible scenario is an Internet-like evolution of the mobile Internet, the Consumers will learn to find the applications closer to the source. This would make a broadcast solution less likely. The higher cost for over-the-air transmission is one obstacle for this scenario, but it might vanish with next generation mobile networks.