ABSTRACT CHOTVÁČ, Richard: Perception of beauty and body image in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary and its application in beauty industry. [Master thesis] -- University of Economics in Prague, VŠE. Faculty of Business Administration; Tutor: doc. Ing. Jan Koudelka, CSc. Prague: VŠE, 2013, 82pages. The Master thesis deals with the perception of the beauty in 3 countries, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. This thesis is showing differences between the perception of body image and beauty of women in 3 different countries by looking at the consumer's behavior. The first part of the thesis is theoretical and it is devoted to the definitions of beauty and body image of women. The Author shows consumers' differences between studied countries and the consequences of these differences. The objective of the second part is to analyze the survey of multiple respondents from Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Results of this survey are used in order to demonstrate differences in women's perception of the beauty shown in the theoretical part. Last part shows the practical approach to the thesis. Based on results from the survey, the author proposes the recommendations to the beauty industry marketers working for these countries. Key words: , , , , , , ,

Актуальность темы обусловлена высокой конкуренцией на рынке. Цель магистерской диссертации – исследование и внедрение информационной системы для оптимизации бизнес-процессов организации. Задачи работы: - проанализировать работу салона без внедрения системы; сделать обзор и анализ программного обеспечения для внедрения CRM-системы; оценить экономическую эффективность внедряемого проекта. Объект исследования данной работы является информационное веб-пространство салона красоты. Предмет исследования является информационное и программное обеспечение бизнес-процессов салона красоты. Результаты работы: практическим результатом работы является план внедрения информационной системы на предприятии, для автоматизации бизнес-процесса «Запись клиента на услугу» в салоне красоты «NB Nail Studio». / The relevance of the topic is due to high competition in the market. The purpose of the master's thesis is the research and implementation of an information system to optimize the organization's business processes. Tasks of work: analyze the operation of the cabin without introducing a system; make a review and analysis of software for the implementation of a CRM system; evaluate the economic efficiency of the implemented project. The object of study of this work is the information web space of a beauty salon. The subject of the research is information and software for business processes of a beauty salon. Results of the work: the practical result of the work is the plan for the implementation of the information system at the enterprise, to automate the business process “Registering a client for a service” in the NB Nail Studio beauty salon.

The increased importance of social media influencers in marketing activities has been evident in recent years. The purpose of the thesis was to understand the cognitive processing of social media micro influencers’ content and the resultant behavioral outcome of follower engagement and purchase intention. Specifically, it has aimed to evaluate if the format of the content had an impact on cognitive processing and ascertains the resultant outcomes of engagement and purchase intention. Elaboration likelihood model (ELM) adapted to social media, was used, and adopted in the study in order to understand and evaluate the purpose as well as the information process of individuals. The research was narrowed down to the micro-influencers in the fashion and beauty industry sharing content, as the industry's high usage of influencer marketing and disseminating persuasive messages on Instagram. The research was conducted by using the Experimental Vignette Methodology (EVM) in a quantitative experiment. By doing so, it enabled the research to examine the participants' response to natural stimuli with quantitative results. A questionnaire together with exposure to three stimuli were used as instrumental in the collection of data. The sample was collected through social media platforms, mainly Instagram and Facebook, and via email to the students of LTU. The collected data was later analyzed, through SPSS, in two levels: impact and hypothesis testing. The impact measurement was analyzed by using repeated measures ANOVA and later the multilinear regression analysis to test the independent variables of content format relation to the dependent variables of engagement (comment and like) and purchase intention (tendency and likelihood). The findings indicated a support to the existing theory of ELM, by confirming the importance of the argument quality in the persuasive message. High lighting in the importance of text content format,in both engagement via commenting and purchase intention, when the information is processed through the more long-lasting central route. The results contributed to current literature in micro influencer and social media influencer marketing by extending the literature in persuasive messaging in relation to the content format. The research provided practical implications with insights into the cognitive processing of content and its implications in consumer engagement and purchase intention to both managers as well as to the content providers, social media influencers. The study presented relative information for content creation, communication and opened possibilities for further research in persuasive messaging in the micro media influencer segment.

Background and problem discussion Organizations are today facing an uncertainty regarding how to properly integrate and work with CRM, in particular in regards to attraction and retention of customers. This can be managed through the use of marketing campaigns. There is a lack of practical research regarding the management and how to optimize the budget of marketing campaigns. Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a deeper understanding of how small e-commerce retailers within the beauty industry can optimize the marketing budget for social media campaigns. The purpose will be realized through application of hypotheses. Method This study has applied an experimental method design, where cause-effect in regards to how the marketing communication has influenced the customer behavior was investigated. This has been made through applying a modified A/B-test through the use of a marketing campaign, containing of three ads. The ads have been adapted in regards to the pre-study, using a company’s historical transaction data. Conclusion The results of the A/B-test show higher effectiveness and efficiency in the form of CTR, CPC,CPM, link klicks, more purchases, and lower cost per result. This is the result of the adaptation of the ads in regards to the target group. All of the ads in the campaign display a higher value than the Swedish average. This validates the notion that ads adjustments have a positive effect on customer conversion, and as a result on optimizing social media campaigns marketing budget. / Bakgrund och problemdiskussion Det råder osäkerhet hos företag hur de ska integrera och arbeta med CRM, i synnerlighet om attraherandet samt bibehållandet av kunder. Detta är något som företag kan hantera genomkampanjer, dock finns det en brist på praktisk forskning runt hantering och effektivisering av kampanjer och dess marknadsföringsbudget. Syfte Syftet med studien är att skapa en djupare förståelse för hur små e-handelsåterförsäljare inom skönhetsbranschen kan optimera en marknadsföringsbudget vid kampanjer på sociala medier. Syftet kommer att uppfyllas med en rad hypoteser. Metod Studien har designats som ett experiment då orsak-verkan undersöktes i hur kunders beteende påverkas av anpassad marknadskommunikation. Detta har gjorts genom att utforma ett modifierat A/B-test i form av en kampanj innehållandes tre annonser, vilket anpassats utifrån en förstudiebaserat på ett företags tidigare transaktionsdata. Slutsats Resultat av A/B-testet påvisar en höjd effektivitet i form av CTR, CPC, CPM, länkklick, flergenomförda köp samt ett lägre kostnad per resultat, detta till följd av annonsens anpassning till en specifik målgrupp. Samtliga annonserna i kampanjen visar på högre värden än det svenskagenomsnittet. Detta resultat visar på att anpassade annonser har en positiv påverkan på kundkonvertering, och därigenom på optimeringen av marknadsföringsbudgeten för sociala medier.

Digitalization is an important aspect for future growth of all organizations, and especially in times like the past year where most of the world has been faced with covid-restrictions and lockdown. Dermarome is a leading skincare and beauty distributor and are currently in the process of launching a new B2B website and web-shop. The aim of this research is to provide an answer to the following interrelated research questions:   1. How do the management of Dermarome decide on their investments in the business- to- business IT infrastructure?    2. How will the launch of the business- to- business website affect the purchasing behaviour of the business- to- business customers?    To answer these research questions a qualitative study has been made and the top management at Dermarome has been interviewed for this purpose. 5 interviewees were selected based on their knowledge and experience. All interviews that participated in this research were anonymous.    The result of this thesis is divided up into two parts, firstly, it describes how Dermarome has used the Payback rule and SWOT in order to make a decision regarding the investment in the B2B website. Secondly, it describes how Dermarome believes the saloon and spa customers purchasing behaviour will change due to this website, as it will lead to an increase in Dermarome’s sales.

The beauty industry has been booming in the last few years, generating immense profits as it now translates into an Internet global beauty culture in its own right that finally made room for women of color. As research barely mentions African women and their diasporas, this study aims to critically analyze the dynamic of this North American-dominated Internet beauty culture celebrating non-white women, looking at how it impacts African women and their diasporas and participates in affirming a global woman of color through commodity capitalism.  Based on discourse analysis of multiple actors in the industry using popular culture sources, I then conducted a critical feminist autoethnography of my beauty journey, put in perspective with the results of decolonial interviews with African and African diaspora women recruited online. I asked about their relationship with the beauty industry and their opinions on some arguments I made. Self and collective analysis demonstrated the emergence of an African diasporic hybrid beauty culture, empowering women to feel like actors of change.