The aim of this research project is to analyze why Tencent QQ developed so fast in China over nearly a decade, how they built the Tencent QQ brand so successfully, and how they maintained that success in China. Also discussed is the degree of influence which Tencent QQ has had in Sweden. Finally, suggestions are made about what Tencent QQ can do to develop and expand within overseas markets.

Decades after the idea of not-for-profit marketing was first introduced the uptake has not been universal. This study investigates the application of commercial marketing principles in a sector where objectives other than profit are pursued. In particular, it seeks to establish the effectiveness of not-for-profit marketing in encouraging the public to “pay” the required “price”; to investigate the influence of charity brands on stakeholder choices; the influence of a charity’s reputation on donor behaviour; and whether smaller charities are aware of and use their brands. A questionnaire tested donor perceptions and through a focus group insight was gained into the marketing practices of smaller charities. The results indicate that not-for-profit marketing is effective and that smaller organisations can compete through less expensive marketing techniques, that charity brands are extremely valuable but underutilised, and that an organisation’s reputation is its most valuable asset. Recommendations are made to improve the performance of smaller charities by addressing marketing and wider management practices.

<p>These days, brands play an increasing important role in our life. Most of firm work hard for brand development. The purpose of this study is to analyze the brand development of H&M in general and how it starts opening in China. The result shows that H&M develops its brand successfully around the world. It not only creates a wonderful reputation and healthy brand image in consumers’ minds, but also makes them satisfied. Even it has been doing well in its penetration in the Chinese market.</p>

These days, brands play an increasing important role in our life. Most of firm work hard for brand development. The purpose of this study is to analyze the brand development of H&amp;M in general and how it starts opening in China. The result shows that H&amp;M develops its brand successfully around the world. It not only creates a wonderful reputation and healthy brand image in consumers’ minds, but also makes them satisfied. Even it has been doing well in its penetration in the Chinese market.

Decades after the idea of not-for-profit marketing was first introduced the uptake has not been universal. This study investigates the application of commercial marketing principles in a sector where objectives other than profit are pursued. In particular, it seeks to establish the effectiveness of not-for-profit marketing in encouraging the public to “pay” the required “price”; to investigate the influence of charity brands on stakeholder choices; the influence of a charity’s reputation on donor behaviour; and whether smaller charities are aware of and use their brands. A questionnaire tested donor perceptions and through a focus group insight was gained into the marketing practices of smaller charities. The results indicate that not-for-profit marketing is effective and that smaller organisations can compete through less expensive marketing techniques, that charity brands are extremely valuable but underutilised, and that an organisation’s reputation is its most valuable asset. Recommendations are made to improve the performance of smaller charities by addressing marketing and wider management practices.

The diploma thesis focuses on the strategic development of the brand of the selected winery Znovín Znojmo. The work is divided into three parts. The theoretical part defines the market, customers, competitors, brand, brand identity and communication mix. The second part of the work is the analytical part, which aims to evaluate the current situation of the company and determine possible steps to develop the brand. The last part of the diploma thesis is a recommendation based on knowledge gained from the first parts for the strategic development of the brand.

Background: Partnerships between brands and social media influencers are becoming more and more common. This co-branding effort presents many benefits for both parties, thus making it a win-win situation. Understanding the motivations behind co-branded product launches, the nature of the partnership, as well as the risks and involved is important to achieve a successful outcome.   Research questions   RQ1: What is the managerial motivation behind a co-branding partnership?  RQ2: What does the level of integration into the co-branded partnership look like?  RQ3: What risks need to be considered when collaborating with influencers?   Purpose: The overall purpose of this study is to understand from a managerial point of view the overall effort put in co-branded product launches between human brands and companies. Three concepts will be considered: the motivations, the forms of partnership integration, and finally potential risks that may arise. Methodology: To fulfill the study’s research purpose, a qualitative study has been carried out. Prior studies have been reviewed, and semi-structured interviews have been conducted to generate primary data. This study consequently adopts an interpretative approach that embraces an inductive reasoning, while it at the same time combines some elements from the deductive approach in order to investigate the phenomenon of co-branding that is at the center of this research. Conclusion: The study interprets from a managerial point of view the various aspects of co-branded partnerships with human brands. The collected data imply three forms of integration in co-branded partnerships. These are namely influenced by factors such as the resources of the brands, their motives, and the duration of the partnership. In addition, the degree of compatibility in terms of brand values seems to affect the success of this partnership, in the same way as fundamental differences also create risks internally and externally.

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The Council for Geoscience (CGS) is one of the National Science Councils of South Africa and is the legal successor to the Geological Survey of South Africa. The total staff complements numbered 291 as of March 2006, consisting of four executive managers, 18 unit managers, 124 professionals, 84 technicians, 41 administrative personnel, 17 unskilled labourers 3 skilled workers. The strength of the CGS is manifested in its core of competent geoscience and technical staff. The primary business of the CGS is science; therefore scientists, apart from human resources, finance and procurement, are appointed to senior positions in the organisation. The criteria for scientists to qualify for managerial positions are either a masters or doctorate degree in science. Although a sound knowledge of science is needed for these positions, the necessary managerial and leadership characteristics have never played a significant role in the appointment of unit leaders. Therefore, it is the aim of this study to determine the leadership style of the scientists that were appointed as unit leaders. Theories on leadership provide for a variety of potential explanations regarding effective leadership, including personal attributes, contingencies, and the role of subordinates. By analysing managerial leadership, it becomes important to consider and recognise the complex interplay among the structure of organisational life, patterns of behaviour, varied beliefs, values, interests, and initiatives of the individuals who create and work within this structure. Research on organisational leadership has grown systematically with the advance of industrialisation. Large work organisations are associated with bureaucratic and technological complexity that affects the demand for managers and the need for coordination and leadership roles. Leadership theories have evolved over time, becoming more sophisticated and even more applicable for their “innovation”. Different perspectives have featured throughout history. Theories of leadership are primarily analytical, directed at better understanding of the leadership process and the variations among them. The most up- to- date concept within leadership is the theory of transformational and transactional leadership. Transformational leadership comprises five factors — (1) idealised influence: attributed; (2) idealised influence: behaviour; (3) inspirational motivation; (4) intellectual simulation; and (5) individualised consideration — of which the first two factors refer to the concern, power, personal morality, and sacrifice of the leader, as well as his or her ability to instil collective pride in the group’s mission. The third factor relates to motivating the group to accomplish missions through challenging goals and by indicating certainty in areas of uncertainty, which, in turn, arouse individual and team spirit. The fourth factor refers to the leaders’ ability to relate at an individual level to the follower and the fifth factor to intellectual stimulation. Transactional leadership display behaviours associated with constructive and corrective transactions, and comprises three factors— (1) contingent reward leadership; (2) management-by-exception: active; and (3) management-by-exception: passive — of which relates to leaders who involve themselves only when things go wrong, i.e. the constructive style. Their interventions are associated with failure and punishment. The corrective style is labelled management-by-expectation: active, which refers to the closer involvement in monitoring the subordinates’ actions. Contingent reward leadership relates to rewards for work performance. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) has become a standard instrument for assessing a variety of transformational, transactional and non-leadership scales and was used to assess the leadership style of scientists of the Council for Geoscience. The instrument measures a broad range of leadership types: passive leaders, leaders who give contingent rewards to subordinates and leaders who transform their subordinates into leaders themselves. The objectives of the study were to (1) determine the leadership style of scientists in positions of unit leaders; (2) how their supervisors, peers and subordinates perceive their leadership style; and (3) whether scientists as unit leaders, perceive their own leadership style differently than do their supervisors, peers and subordinates. The MLQ instrument contains 45 items that identify and measure key leadership and effectiveness behaviours. A five point rating scale (0: 1: 2: 3: 4) is used for rating the frequency of observed leader behaviour where 0=not at all, and 4=frequently, if not always. The average scores of the MLQ questionnaire for the Council for Geoscience ranged from 2 to 3 on the transformational leadership factors. Participants in general perceive scientists in unit leader positions more as transformational leaders as apposed to transactional leaders. The 2.5 rating on transformational leadership indicates that the unit leaders are often influential in the awareness of what is important. The ratings of scientists as unit leaders were similar to the ratings of their peers and 'others'. Supervisors and subordinates, however, rated them lower. Transactional leadership ratings for the majority of leaders were between 2.0–3.0 on CR, and MBEA and 1.0–2.0 on MBEP. The ratings obtained, indicate that unit leaders would be seen as people wwho prefer to monitor and take action before failures occur. Supervisors, peers and others rated the scientists as unit leaders higher on transactional leadership, except for subordinates who rated them lower. Leaders are rated 0–1 on laissez-faire leadership style. Supervisors, peers and subordinates rated scientists as unit leaders higher on laissez-faire leadership style than the rating they gave themselves (self-rating). The low rating on the laissez-faire leadership style confirms that leaders do get involved in important issues and have a need to be involved in the decision-making process. Scientists as unit leaders, however, perceive themselves to be more involved than do supervisors and subordinates. Attribution ratings (extra-effort, effectiveness and satisfaction) varied from 2.0–3.0. For attribution dimensions, supervisors and subordinates rated the scientists as unit leaders lower on extra-effort, effectiveness and satisfaction, whereas peers rated them higher. The satisfaction dimension indicates that unit leaders often work with others in a satisfactory way. For attribution dimensions, supervisors and subordinates rated the scientists as unit leaders lower on extra-effort, effectiveness and satisfaction, whereas peers rated them higher. Supervisors are less satisfied with the leaders than subordinates are. The results obtained from the MLQ questionnaire for the leadership style of scientists in the Council for Geoscience are slightly different from those of United States companies. The Council for Geoscience, compared with United States (US) companies, rated lower on both transformational leadership and attribution dimensions (extra-effort, effectiveness and satisfaction) and higher on both transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles. This seems to indicate that the Council for Geoscience tends to follow a less inspirational and influential leadership style with more objective setting and less satisfying methods of leadership, compared with US companies. Transformational leadership development is recommended for the scientists as unit leaders of the Council for Geoscience. It is important to note that false transformational leaders (seemingly transformational leaders with a self-absorbed tendency) should be distinguished from the genuine ones. Optimism and employee frustration can be used in future surveys by the Council for Geoscience to determine the progress of transformational leadership development in the organisation. The leadership of an organisation influences the organisational culture. Upper management is responsible for the implementation of the necessary changes to promote transformational leadership. The culture of an organisation is a reflection of upper management. If upper management does not realise the importance of transformational leadership, the chances for the rest of the organisation to promote a transformational leadership culture in the organisation are not good. One recommendation to consider is for the Council for Geoscience to employ people with adequate managerial skills in unit leader positions. These skills would include leadership traits, operational skills, financial skills, etc. A decision needs to be taken by the Council for Geoscience that when scientists are employed as unit leaders or as members of the upper management cadre, they must have adequate managerial and leadership skills, and all parties have to agree with the competency and be satisfied with the management styles. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / M.B.L.

This research began with the question: why is the retailer brand market share of Tesco Korea higher than that of local Korean retailers? Of the foreign grocery retailers who have expanded into Korea, Tesco has achieved the most outstanding performance, with the highest retailer brand share in the market. After the withdrawal of Wal-Mart and Carrefour from Korea in 2006, Tesco Korea has been positioned as the successful foreign retailer. Accordingly, how the retail operation of Tesco Korea differs from that of the local Korean retailers attracted the author’s interest, specifically in terms of the development and handling processes of the retailer brand. Rather than examining the customer perceptions of both Tesco Korea and the domestic Korean retailers, the researcher concentrated on identifying the differences between both parties from the point of view of their retailer brand program operations. Based on in-depth interviews with retailers and suppliers, store observations, the author’s own experience in retailer brand development, and company documentation, this research explored the differences between Tesco Korea and domestic Korean retailers in how they develop and handle their own brands. Tesco Korea has taken advantage of retailing know-how, that is, retailer brand development skills created by Tesco UK. With the help of Tesco UK, the retailer brand development process of Tesco Korea is differentiated in a number of areas from that of the local Korean retailers. The flows of retailing know-how from Tesco UK to Tesco Korea has also influenced the whole retailer brand market in Korea, as well as stimulated the local Korean retailers to improve their retailer brand development skills. The entry of retailers with advanced retailer brand development knowledge into markets where retailer brands are less well developed is a catalyst in promoting retailer brand markets, and in intensifying retail competition. Also, the retailer brand development know-how of domestic retailers is enhanced by imitating or benchmarking foreign retailers. This research suggests that retailer brand share is related to the degree to which retailers are proactively involved in the development and handling processes for retailer brand product ranges, as well as to how sophisticated or advanced their knowledge of the retailer brand development process is. Advanced development and handling skills make a considerable contribution to increasing retailer brand share in markets with a lower share or no presence of retailer brands.