Companies face competition that comes at them from different directions in the current environment of globalization, deregulation and the push for greater mass customization of products, which still can be differentiated from other products and services. A large number of companies have outsourced a large percentage of their non-core activities in order to concentrate on their core competencies with transportation of their goods being one of the aspects that they have outsourced. Companies are faced with shorter lead times, inaccurate forecasts, unexpected delays in production and need to seek out alternative transportation modes in order to get their goods to market on time. Transportation by air ends up being the best choice to handle requirements of time sensitivity and the transportation of high value goods. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how the air freight supply chain and network that is in place in the Jönkoping region is constructed; in addition to seeking out information in regards to the type of air freight goods being transported into and out of the region; along with the buying behavior and promotion strategies utilized in the promotion of air freight within the region of Jonkoping. The conclusions from this thesis show that there are a number of key actors (integrators and freight forwarders) involved in the air freight network within the Jönköping region. A number of them indicated that the actors they mainly interacted with, in terms of activity links and resource ties, were limited to the airports that were outside of the Jönköping region. There were a few of the actors in terms of integrators that did interact with the Jönköping airport in a capacity that was greater than other actors. In terms of the type of air freight goods that were transported into and out of the region spare parts made up a major portion of the goods transported, followed by clothing and textiles, and other mechanical industry products. The promotion of air freight mostly performed by integrators to their customers is done in terms of emphasizing reliability, punctuality, regularity and security to their customers.

This research is a qualitative case study at the industrial business-to-business startup Nytt Tech aiming to understand how startups work with networkbased relationship marketing in the early phase and how they gain access to the business network and benefit from creating relationships. The following research question is presented: How can a business-to-business startup gain access to and benefit from the business network to create relationships? The study is limited to Nytt Tech and the circumstances that prevail for them. As a basis, unstructured and semi-structured interviews have been held with the employees and key customers to understand how success has arisen so far and then examine how it can be further developed. The data has been processed and analyzed using the ARA-model as the theoretical framework. The study finds multiple drivers which will help Nytt Tech for continued growth. In terms of Actors, the close collaboration with their customers contributes to both knowledge and feedback. Simultaneously, it generates revenue and spreads the word, which can cause more paying customers. In terms of Resources, the close collaboration between university and industry is an essential resource in several areas; recruitment of talented and ambitious students, product development deeply rooted in research, and direct opportunity to apply the theory in practice. Finally, in terms of Activities, direct contact reduces the risk of creating a distance between the company's offer and the customer's actual needs, leading to increased success. To conclude, companies can gain access to and benefit from the business network by activating direct and indirect business relationships and working closely together over time. A startup company may not have established business relationships, but its people do. Each person has a network that is combined uniquely. Therefore, recommendations are given that the case company should continue to work closely and use their own and partners' business networks to access new potential customers.

Social media (SM) is an innovative strategy used to develop new forms of communication channels and platforms. This has led to a positive transformation in the marketing strategy for both small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises. There has been a lot of research conducted on the utilization of SM by Business-to-Consumer (B2C) marketing. However, the use of SM in Business-to-Business (B2B) marketing has not been explored as much in comparison to B2C marketing. The aim of this study is to understand the role of SM channels in B2B service-based SMEs, while also analyzing the challenges and opportunities incorporated by the integration of the SM platforms and the impact it has on B2B relationships. Our research builds on the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) related “Activities-Resources-Actors (ARA) Model” and the interconnection between the three layers to understand and analyze the utilization of SM.  This study takes a qualitative case study approach to answer the research question formulated in this study by conducting semi-structured interviews. The interviewees included five respondents: two from the focal company and three from their existing business networks. From the findings, three themes were formulated to understand and analyze the data collected: Adoption decision of SM channels in the case SME and the network firm, Collaboration process with the business customers, and Content co-creation. Based on the findings we conclude that SM is an emerging tool for SMEs to incorporate it in their marketing strategy. It can help the firm to improve the bonds between the actors within the organization as well as with their customers and networks. However, the successful utilization of SM in SMEs depends on the commitment of SMEs to incorporate SM tools effectively in their operations. This can be achieved by the “Hybrid approach” by integrating SM communication with the conventional modes of communication for B2B marketing.

Sammanfattning Titel: Norrlandsboomen - en kvalitativ studie om platsmarknadsföring för att attrahera nya invånare. Nivå: Examensarbete på grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi Författare: Julia Karlernäs och Simon Ivarsson Handledare: Katarina Arbin Datum: 2024 -januari Syfte: Denna uppsats syftar till att beskriva hur arbetet med platsmarknadsföring sker i samverkan mellan olika aktörer för att attrahera nya invånare till en ny geografisk plats Metod: Studien har använt sig av en kvalitativ metod med en abduktiv forskningsansats och grundar sig i insamlad empirisk data från sex intervjuer. Resultat och slutsats: Studien visar att de aktiviteter som sker i platsmarknadsföringen bland annat är marknadskommunikation av platsen via olika digitala plattformar, utveckling av samhället efter identifierade målgruppers efterfrågan samt arbete med värdskap och social inkludering för nyblivna invånare. Resurser som används är ekonomiska resurser, som hos kommunen är skattemedel och från H2 Green Steel kommer från investerare. Andra resurser är humankapital, organisatoriska och -relationella resurser. Huvudaktörer som är involverade är Boden kommun, turistföreningen Boden Turism, H2 Green Steel och Bodens invånare. Examensarbetets bidrag: Kandidatuppsatsen ger insikter i hur platsmarknadsföringen i en kommun går till för att attrahera nya invånare. Genom att identifiera aktiviteterna som utförs, resurserna som finns och vilka aktörerna är, klargör vi hur en kommun arbetar med platsmarknadsföring och vilka roller och uppgifter de olika organisationerna har. Vår studie bidrar även med kunskap om hur samarbetet och samverkan ser ut mellan de olika aktörerna. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Förslag till vidare forskning är att göra en större studie där fler perspektiv i platsmarknadsföringen studeras. Vidare föreslår vi att ytterligare studier bör fokusera på hur man kan mäta vilken effekt platsmarknadsföringen har på beslutet att flytta till en ny kommun. Nyckelord: Platsmarknadsföring, platsvarumärke, ARA-modell, nyindustrialisering, kompetensbrist / Abstract Title: Norrlandsboomen - a qualitative study of place marketing in attracting new residents. Level: Student thesis, Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Supervisor: Katarina Arbin Date: 2024 - january Aim: The aim of this study is to describe how place marketing occurs in collaboration between actors to attract new residents to a new geographic location. Method: The study used a qualitative method with an abductive research approach and is based on collected empirical data from six interviews. Results and conclusions: The study shows that activities occurring in place marketing are, among others, marketing communication of the place through digital platforms, development of the municipality based on the demands of identified target groups and the work with hosting and social inclusion of new residents. Resources used are financial resources, which at the municipality comes from tax money and within H2 Green Steel from investors. Other resources are human capital, organizational and -relational resources. The main actors involved are Boden municipality, the tourist association Boden Turism, H2 Green Steel and the residents of Boden. Contribution of the thesis: The thesis provides insights into how place marketing in a municipality takes place to attract new residents. By identifying the activities that are carried out, the resources that are used and who the actors are, we clarify how a municipality works with place marketing and what roles and tasks the various actors have. Our study also contributes to knowledge about how the cooperation and collaboration takes place between the various actors. Suggestions for future research: Suggestions for future research is to do a bigger study where more perspectives in place marketing is taken into account. Furthermore, we suggest that additional studies should focus on how to measure the effect that place marketing has in the decision about moving to a new municipality. Key words: Place marketing, place brand, ARA-model, new industrialization, skill shortage

Det finns idag en rad exempel på branscher där ett nytt företag förändrat hur kärnverksamheten genomförs. Detta har skett genom implementation av teknologi i en traditionell bransch. Mycket har skrivits om hur disruptiva företag verkar, men det finns bristande kunskap kring hur etablerade företag påverkas, och anpassar sin verksamhet. En framträdande skillnad mellan disruptiva och etablerade företag är att det etablerade företaget har ett befintligt nätverk att stödja sig mot. Syftet med studien är att öka förståelsen för hur företags nätverk påverkas av digitalisering inom industrin till följd av en disruptiv innovatörs etablering i industrin. Studien applicerar ARA-modellen, ekosystem och konceptet tjänstefiering som teoretiskt ramverk. En abduktiv forskningsansats appliceras, med en kvalitativ metod och fallstudie som forskningsstrategi. Fordonsindustrin väljs ut som en lämplig bransch att genomföra studien i, och Volvo som fallföretag. Det empiriska materialet består av sexton semistrukturerade intervjuer och sekundärdata. Intervjuerna har genomförts dels hos fallföretaget, dels med informanter i fallföretagets nätverk, vilket analyseras med hjälp av tematisk analys. Studiens resultat identifierade tre teman: digitalisering, samarbete och en fysisk och digital syntes. Studiens slutsatser är att konkurrensfördelar erhålls genom samarbete, där gemensamma resurser leder till ökad effektivitet. Konfigureringen av nya aktörsroller inom företaget möjliggör denna process. Digitalisering och tjänstefiering har påvisats vara ömsesidigt förstärkande processer, som sammantaget främjar implementationen av ett ekosystem. Inom hela processen är den disruptiva innovatören en drivande part. / There are several examples today of industries where a new company has changed how the core business is conducted. This has consistently occurred through implementation of technology in an otherwise traditional industry. Much has been written on how disruptive companies operate, but there is a lack of knowledge concerning how established companies are affected and adapt their operations. A prominent difference between the disruptive and the established companies is that the established companies have an existing network to rely on. The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of how a company’s network is affected by digitalization within the industry as a result of a disruptive innovator’s establishment in the industry. The study applies the ARA-model, ecosystem and the concept of servitization as a theoretical framework. An abductive research approach is applied, with a qualitative method and case study as its research strategy. The automotive industry is chosen as a suitable industry for the study, and Volvo is chosen as the case company. The empirical material consists of sixteen semi-structured interviews and secondary data. The interviews were conducted both at the case company and with informants in the case company’s network, which is analyzed using thematic analysis. The study’s findings identified three themes: digitalization, collaboration, and a physical and digital synthesis. The conclusions of the study is that competitive advantages are acquired through collaboration, where shared resources lead to an increased efficiency. The configuration of new actor roles makes this process possible. Digitalization and servitization has shown to be mutually reinforcing processes that collectively promote the implementation of an ecosystem. Through the entire process, the disruptive innovator is a driving force.