The conditions in the international business market changed rapidly andunexpectedly when Covid-19 evolved into a pandemic in March of 2020. As a result of this, businesses had to adapt their operations to the new circumstances. The new circumstances implied, among other things, not being able to meet B2B customers in person. Before the pandemic, meeting customers in person was the usual way of building trust in business relationships. This is especially true for companies in the high-end segment as their customers value trust in their suppliers in their purchasing decisions. Therefore, this thesis investigates how high-end companies' trust and relationships have been affected by the pandemic. It also examined which factors have been crucial for high-end businesses when managing relationships and trust. A qualitative method has been utilized as a foundation for this thesis. Theoretical data were collected by reviewing several studies related to the topic. Empirical data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with seven case companies. With the gathered data as a foundation, three themes were formed: B2B relationships, trust, and crisis. The themes are reoccurring throughout the thesis to provide the reader with a red thread. The themes are continuously related to high-end sales. The data has been analyzed to investigate the relationships between the themes. This thesis concludes that Covid-19 positively has impacted high-end companies' trust and relationships. Crucial factors for managing trust and relationships during Covid-19 have proven to be mutual understanding, local presence on the international market, transparency, and flexibility.

Globalization and the rapid growth of online-transaction through e-commerce platforms is increasing at a fast pace, not to mention the acceleration during and after the pandemic of Covid-19. The purpose with this qualitative case study of a company operating in the fragrance industry is to give a better understanding of how a company successfully succeeded in internationalizing by utilizing a B2B e-commerce strategy, and how the same company can change strategy to utilize B2C e-commerce to enter a new market which in this case are Sweden. A key factor of the company's success turned out to be the building of the customer and supplier network, and the tight collaboration with already existing giants in the market to attract suppliers in the first place. This allowed the company to provide good customer service, and a variety of products. Further, to be able to enter the Swedish market promotional activities, a customer-centric website that provides in store-like experience, close relationships with their consumers, and cooperation with brand suppliers to build a strong strategic alliance has been shown as important factors in order to succeed in a B2C e-commerce internationalization process.

Det är vanligt förekommande att företag outsourcar logistiska aktiviteter genom samarbete med TPL-företag. Studien är baserad på företaget OBH Nordica som outsourcar lager- och transportlösningar till företaget Aditro Logistics. För att den interorganisatoriska relationen mellan leverantör och TPL-företag ska fungera på ett effektivt sätt är det viktigt att ha välfungerande koordineringsmekanismer mellan företagen. Den här studien fokuserar på claimshanteringen och hur den fungerar inom och mellan företagen. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur olika koordineringsmekanismer kan användas för att ta fram ett beslutsstödsunderlag för claimshanteringen mellan en leverantör och ett TPL-företag. Fokus ligger på att ta fram förbättringsförslag och skapa tydliga riktlinjer över hur arbetet bör gå tillväga innan ett beslut kring claimshanteringen tas. Resulterat bygger på den studerande relationen runt claimshantering mellan företagen och visar vikten av att ha en välfungerande koordinering. Studien har identifierat följande koordineringsmekanismer; kommunikations- och informationsflöde, relationer, kontrakt och betalningsmekanismer samt standardisering. Det har identifierats brister gällande relationen och kommunikationen mellan företagen på operativ nivå. Överflödig information i formuläret där claims registreras anses även det som ett problem eftersom det leder till misskommunikation och onödig mailkontakt med negativ ton. Ytterligare problem handlar om att OBH Nordica godkänner betydligt fler claims än Aditro Logistics och att Aditro inte använder sig av standardiserade svar. / <p>Examensarbetet är utfört vid Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap (ITN) vid Tekniska fakulteten, Linköpings universitet</p>

In the past decade, the energy markets within the European Union haveincreasingly been deregulated as a means to promote increased competition, andthereby efficiency, on these markets. As a result of this, several energy institutionshave been forced to become unbundled from their parent companies and toinstead form smaller separate entities. Contracts that previously were guaranteedare now subjected to public competition and in order to not risk decreasing in size,these companies must now find new ways to grow and generate new business. To study this, a case study was conducted at a Swedish energy servicescompany who recently has been unbundled from one of the largest Swedish gridowners. Specifically, the research focused on what companies in maturebusiness-to-business services contexts can do to increase their sales. The studywas conducted primarily through gathering qualitative interview data bothinternally and externally, but secondary data from surveys were also used. The findings indicate that the case company should focus on pursuing a combinedstrategy of market penetration and service/product penetration to increase sales.In addition, the company should continue to invest substantially into relationshipmarketing practices in order to build long-term potential for growth. Specifically,the findings indicate it should improve its communication and relationshipinvestment towards its customers. Furthermore, it should adopt appropriatestrategies to reduce the switching barriers of its prospective customers. The findings contribute to the understanding of how companies in similarsituations as the case company can act in order to drive growth. The studyprovides further empirical data in a field that has received relatively little academicattention. The author also suggests venues for future research in the concludingchapters.

During initial business-to-business encounters, salespeople try to enhance buyers’ future interaction intentions. A common belief is that increasing buyers’ similarity perceptions increases the chances of future interaction. This study assesses the impact of the similarity-attraction effect on future interaction. By synthesising social psychology and marketing literature, a conceptual framework is proposed, in which perceived similarity influences salesperson trust. This relationship is mediated by task-related and social assessments of buyers. Task-related assessments comprise willingness (benevolence and integrity) and competence (power and expertise). Social attraction is conceptualised as likeability. Salesperson trust drives anticipated future interaction, together with organisational trust and anticipated added value. The conceptual framework was empirically tested through a cross-sectional survey. Dutch professional buyers assessed recent initial sales encounters. A sample of 162 dyads was analysed, using PLS-SEM, including FIMIX segmentation. This study demonstrates support for a third willingness construct: willingness behaviour. This construct implies that buyers are more influenced by expectations regarding behaviour, than assessments of salespeople’s attitudes. A homogeneous analysis supports the influence of perceived similarity on salesperson trust, both directly and through willingness behaviour. However, model-based segmentation uncovers a segment of cost-oriented dyads and a segment of more profit-oriented dyads. In cost-oriented dyads, there is no significant direct effect between perceived similarity and salesperson trust, and willingness behaviour nearly fully mediates this relationship. In more profit-oriented dyads, the similarity-attraction effect is not present. Theoretical and methodological contributions and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

As social media platforms are increasingly becoming more popular and a part of everyday life, Business-to-Business (B2B) marketers from different industries are realizing social media’s potential for achieving marketing purposes. However, scientific literature regarding social media usage in B2B contexts is still filled with gaps in knowledge; especially when compared to literature about social media usage in Business-to-Customer (B2C) contexts. One of these research gaps is the lack of niched information about each effect of using social media. This paper aims at contributing to filling this research gap by presenting an extensive literature review about social media marketing in B2B; followed by an analysis of empirical data gathered from 11 different cases of B2B companies engaged in social media marketing. Moreover, this is to answer the research questions; how are B2B companies using social media to increase brand awareness? Which types of content inspire the most customer engagement? And how can B2B companies amplify their chances of succeeding in increasing brand awareness through social media? This paper will further contribute to this research topic, by identifying further research gaps and present suggestions for future research.

This study explores operationalizing UX practices in agile software development teams to integrate accessibility in B2B software products. We conducted a qualitative case study, collecting data through a user-centered approach with interviews, a workshop, prototyping, and user testing. Our findings highlight that the sporadic involvement of UX professionals, the B2B context’s restriction of communication with end-users, and the perception of accessibility as a non-critical concern, all limit the operationalization of UX practices. Additionally, the importance of implementing structured approaches to integrate UX practices. This study contributes theoretically by broadening the literature on integrating accessibility through UX practices within agile processes, providing insights into the challenges and strategies of B2B environments, and practically by introducing a prototype ecosystem to help product teams embed UX practices into their workflow for enhancing accessibility.

This study examines various approaches used by companies providingsoftware-as-a-service (SaaS) in a business-to-business (B2B) environment to find a pricing strategy. To be able to meet competition in a global market, a good pricing strategy is vital. Pricing is an important part of marketing, which must be congruent with the company's overall objectives. Strategic pricing is made up of different factors represented in the strategic pricing pyramid, which is based on a value-based approach. It is paramount to know your customers and their preferences when designing a pricing strategy and selecting pricing models, price metrics, market segmentation, bundling, and price levels. After having estimated how much value a product or service creates for a customer, this must be communicated to potential customers in order to convince them to purchase your offering. Choosing the right pricing strategy is not a onetime occurrence, but an on-going process. In this qualitative study, three case studies are performed to tie theory to real world practise.

知名企業如蘋果與谷歌能透過蒐集使用者的資訊並販售廣告、在 APP Store 、 iTunes 上販售服務與產品，而在消費者消費的過程中獲利。然而上述提及的這兩家都是 B2C 的產業，他們獲利的方式是否也能應用在 B2B 呢？ 晶片製造商英特爾公司 (Intel Corporation) 為世界上盈餘最高的B2B半導體公司，半導體產業是現今世界上產值極高的一個產業。因此本文利用英特爾的個案作為典型的 B2B 企業研究個案。 本研究希望藉由產業經濟學派、交易成本經濟學派、資源基礎論學派三種策略管理的學說，並藉由以生產過程為基礎的獲利策略以及以消費過程為基礎的獲利策略，分析英特爾在中央處理器這項產品的獲利策略。 而經由本研究的探討，發現英特爾的獲利策略可以從其獨特性資源如何建立競爭優勢與進入門檻並提高消費者的移轉成本；相對較低的交易成本讓英特爾獲得成本優勢；五力分析所得出的良好定位以及消費者在英特爾價值鏈上的連結做出發。 最後回顧了三個主流的策略管理學術理論，得出以下兩個結論：1、以消費過程為基礎的獲利策略可以用於 B2B 企業當中，2、英特爾同時透過生產過程為基礎（研發能力與生產經驗）以及以消費過程為基礎（行銷活動與品牌形象）的獲利策略」建立起優良的中央處理器競爭優勢。期許後續研究可以朝向英特爾在轉型後是否能持續建立競爭優勢做分析。 / Successful corporations such as Apple and Google can earn revenue through to the consumption process like selling advertisement after collecting users’ data, selling service or product on the APP Store and iTunes. Nevertheless, both the cases are B2C corporations. Can the same profiting strategy be applicable to B2B corporations? Intel Corporation, which is an integrated device manufacturer, is the largest B2B semiconductor corporation in the world. The semiconductor industry is one of the most valuable industry. Therefore, this research will test the hypothesis based on Intel’s case. This research will employ Industrial Economics, Transaction Cost Economics and Resource-Based View theory from the perspectives of the Production Based Appropriation and Consumption Based Appropriation to analyze the profiting strategy of Intel’s central processing unit product. We find that controlling key resources, lowering transaction costs and occupying fine position all contribute to the success of Intel’s profiting strategy. In addition, we have two conclusions. First, Consumption Based Appropriation can be applicable to B2B corporations. Second, Intel builds its competitive advantage through both Production Based Appropriation and Consumption Based Appropriation strategy.

På dagens hårt konkurrensutsatt marknad är inte bara priset en viktig konkurrenskraft, även relationen mellan kund och leverantör kan spela en avgörande roll för om det blir en affär eller inte. Möjligheten att låta kunden vara delaktig i produktutvecklingsprocessen är även ett sätt att stärka kundrelationerna. Uppsatsens syfte har därför varit att undersöka kundrelationerna både från leverantörens och kundens perspektiv. Avsikten med uppsatsen var även att undersöka hur kundrelationer och kundinvolverad produktutveckling kan användas för att skapa konkurrensfördelar inom Business-to-Business. Almedahls var även intresserade av att närmare undersöka möjligheterna för digitaltryck, vilket är en ny tryckprocess för företaget.Vi gjorde därför en fallstudie på Almedahls, ett tillverkande företag inom textilbranschen. Eftersom vi var intresserade av kundrelationer gjorde vi intervjuer med kunder samt anställda på Almedahls. Genom intervjuerna fick vi även svar på kundernas delaktighet i produktutvecklingen. Vi har även gjort en grundlig litteraturgenomgång för att finna tillämpbara teorier till fallstudien.Efter avslutad studie kan starka slutsatser dras att välutvecklade kundrelationer ger flera konkurrensfördelar. Dels ökar kundlojaliteten, kunden gör hellre affärer med någon de känner väl än en främmande leverantör, dels har företaget möjlighet att konkurrera med andra faktorer än lägsta pris. Kundinvolverad produktveckling ger även flera fördelar, risken att producera oattraktiva produkter minskar när kunden redan på ett tidigt stadium får utrycka sina åsikter och önskemål om produkten. Möjligheten till kundinvolvering uppfattas även positivt av kunderna, som ser företaget som mer kundorienterat. Att involvera kunder i produktutvecklingsprocessen är något som stärker relationen ytterligare.In today’s highly competitive market the price is not the only important competitive advantage, the relationship between the customer and the supplier can be a crucial factor for the customer to decide whether or not to buy from the supplier. The possibility to involve the customer in the product development process is another way for the supplier to strengthen the relationship with the customer. The purpose of the thesis has therefore been to investigate the customer relationship, both from the supplier’s and the customer’s perspective. The purpose was also to investigate how customer relationships and customer involved product development can strengthen a company’s competitiveness in Business-to-Business. Almedahls is also interested in further investigating the possibilities for digital textile printing, which is a new printing process for the company.We therefore made a case study on Almedahls, a manufacturer in the textile industry. Since we also were interested in the customer relationships we made interviews with customers and employees at Almedahls. Through the interviews we also received answers about the customers’ involvement in the product development. We have also made a thoroughly literature review to find applicable theories to the case study.After the study was done strong conclusions could be made about that strong customer relationships gives a company several competitive advantages. The loyalty of the customer base increases, customers are more willing of doing business with a company that they are familiar with rather than with unknown suppliers, it also gives the company other factors than price to compete with. Customer involved product development gives a firm plenty of advantages, the risk of producing unattractive goods decreases when the customers get the possibility to be involved in an early stage of the product development. When being involved in an early stage the customers have an opportunity to share their thoughts and wishes about the final product. The possibility for customer involvement is something that is appreciated by the customers, who perceive the company as more customer oriented. To involve the customers in the product development process will also help strengthen the relationship with the customer. / Program: Textilekonomutbildningen