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There are several models that can be found describing the organizational buying process. The organizational buying process (OBP) within B2B is also more complex and more time consuming than within B2C (Dwyer & Tanner Jr., 2002). The OBP is also continuously becoming more complex as new touchpoints are created through the rise of new communication channels (Mora Cortez & Johnston, 2017). Touchpoints are essentially places where the customer encounters the supplier (Moncrief & Marshall, 2005). These new communication channels and touchpoints have made the customer experience more important, although the customer experience is not yet well integrated into the OBP (Mora Cortez & Johnston, 2017). Social media is one of the new communication channels that has grown the last decade and has become important also for the OBP (Oyza & M. Edwin, 2015) With social media, companies have less control over the information online and social media is affecting companies in all industries (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). Despite some initial studies regarding social media, the effect they have on the OBP is still not well understood. The aim of this master thesis has therefore been to better understand how social media is affecting the OBP in terms of lead-time and win-rate. Win-rate can be used to measure sales success and is the percentage of the opportunities that the supplier won (Schultz, 2016). Through this case study, several semi-structured interviews were performed with both employees of the case study company and their customers. The data collected was thereafter analyzed through a thematic analysis resulting in various codes aligned under three main themes. The findings showed that LinkedIn was one of the main social media used. LinkedIn makes it easier to map out stakeholders and thereby also find new business opportunities through more quality leads. Within social media, targeted marketing was used toward selected organizations. With this said, social media has in different ways helped the company find more quality leads, influence the customer and also helped strengthen the brand of the company.

Recently, many studies have detailed how consumer perceptions and experiences affect attitudes and behaviours towards web service quality and e-satisfaction. Controversy arises when it comes to luxury brands. Luxury brands associate themselves with the concept of exclusivity and they position themselves in the market as such. But in online placement, how do they remain exclusive when information is accessible to everyone? Consumers of luxury products and services have varying opinions on the subject. Not all consumers are susceptible to online marketing and retailing. The perception of consumers is highly relevant when assigning the term ‘luxury’ to a brand. Therefore, a luxury brand has a certain personality and has an emotional and a creative appeal for the consumer. The aim of this research is to understand consumer attitude towards online luxury shopping websites before the purchase, during the purchase, and after the purchase. This study investigates the external factors that impact on consumer attitude toward purchasing online luxury shopping as a first step in the consumer online luxury shopping model. Further, it examines consumer attitude towards purchase life cycle, and the mediation role of consumer attitude between external factors and purchase intention. Moreover, this study investigates the relationships between different stages inside the purchase life cycle. This work is the first study focusing on the above aspects in a luxury context, the importance of which has been widely recognised in marketing literature but never explored empirically. Taking an exploratory approach, the study shows that in the case of brands in the premium luxury segment, external factors may have a positive influence on luxury perceptions, and more specifically on consumer attitude, which in turn may affect their intention to proceed to the online buying process. This study uses the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a theoretical grounding to study the adoption and evolution of a consumer online luxury shopping (COLS) model. A questionnaire was deployed online as a research instrument to collect the data from 313 online luxury consumers in the United Kingdom (UK) and United States (US). The data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with PLS software. Further analysis using multi group analysis (MGA) was conducted after the main analysis for comparison between country (UK and US), gender (Male and Female), and level of internet experience (Intermediate and Advanced). The empirical results from this study show that, among seven external factors that affect consumer attitude (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived brand value, e-WOM, e-service quality, social network site usage and social media marketing activities), e-service quality has the strongest impact on consumer attitude toward purchasing online. However, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and e-word of mouth were non-significant, while e-service quality, social network site usage, social media marketing activities, and perceived brand value were all significant, and positively impact on consumer attitude. Moreover, the rest of the relationships from the COLS findings were significantly positive. Finally, the findings of this study provide noteworthy theoretical insights in terms of development of the COLS from the theory of extended TAM, and the COLS highlights the importance of the external factors, consumer attitude, and purchase lifecycle as the key elements of online luxury shopping. Moreover, the COLS model has been tested using multi-group analysis in three sets (country, gender, and internet level of experience). Furthermore, these findings bring valuable marketing implications highlighted by this study, and covers before purchase, during purchase, and after purchase, which shows what is happening inside the entire buying process for online luxury shopping. Marketers might also note that adopting an online luxury shopping website and recognising what factors can affect buying externally or internally can improve business efficiency.

Shopping har tidigare varit en aktivitet som främst kvinnor har ägnat sig åt, men de senaste decennierna har fler och fler män börjat visa intresse för mode och shopping. I denna uppsats har vi valt att undersöka hur män beter sig när de handlar modekläder och hur de vill bli bemötta av personal i butik. För att undersöka detta har intervjuer med konsumenter och personal från butiker som erbjuder herrmode genomförts. Idag finns det många aktörer inom modebranschen vilket ger konsumenter flera alternativ att välja mellan när de ska handla kläder. Detta har lett till att modeföretag behöver anstränga sig för att kunna konkurrera med varandra på marknaden. Ett sätt att kunna differentiera sig på marknaden är att erbjuda en hög servicekvalitet. Butiksanställda har möjlighet att påverka kunder genom hela köpprocessen och därför är själva kundbemötandet ett verktyg företag kan använda sig av för att vinna konkurrensfördelar. Uppsatsens författare vill undersöka huruvida företag som erbjuder herrmode är medvetna om vilken typ av kundservice deras konsumenter förväntar sig och vill ha. Mellan den service som kunder förväntar sig och den service som sedan levereras av butiker skapas ett gap mellan förväntad och upplevd service, vilket kan påverka huruvida kunder är nöjda eller inte med sina köp. Utifrån insamlat material kan vi konstatera att intresset för mode och shopping bland män var större hos deltagande respondenter än vi förväntat oss. Konsumenterna var överens i fråga kring bemötande och har höga krav på personalens beteende. Vi anser därför att män borde ses som aktörer på modemarknaden i en högre grad då de verkar besitta ett högre intresse för mode och kläder än vad uppsatsens författare väntat sig. / Shopping was previously an activity that mostly women engaged in, but the last few decades, more and more men has begun to show interest in fashion and shopping. In this paper we have chosen to examine how men behave when they shop fashion clothes and how they want to be treated by staff in fashion stores. To examine this, interviews with consumers and staff from fashion stores that offer men's fashion have been conducted. This essay is written is Swedish. Today there are many actors in the fashion industry, giving consumers more options to choose from when they go shopping for clothes. This has led to that fashion companies need to make an effort to compete with each other on the market. One way to differentiate themselves in the market is to offer a high service quality. Store employees have the opportunity to influence customers throughout the buying process and therefore the customer service is a tool, which companies can use in order to gain competitive advantages. The essay writers want to examine whether companies offering menswear are aware of the nature of the customer service their consumers expect and want. Between the service that customers expect and the service that are then delivered in stores creates a gap between expected and perceived service, which can affect whether customers are satisfied or not with their purchase. Based on collected data, we can establish that the interest in fashion and shopping, among men was greater among participating respondents than we expected. Consumers were slightly concerned about the service and have high standards for personnel behaviour. We therefore believe that men should be seen as actors in the fashion market to a greater extent since they seem to inherit a bigger interest for fashion and clothing than expected by the essay writers.

Problem: The increasing online operations of the B2B market has led to companies being able to operate all over the world, making them exposed to various markets with different preferences of supplier relationships. For that reason, it is important for companies to consider aspects such as digitalization, culture and buyer-seller relationships when conducting business with foreign companies. One industry that has been reluctant towards this online shift is the display materials industry. However, during recent years display material suppliers operating online have become more successful. Therefore, understanding companies purchasing process when buying display material online is necessary.   Purpose: This thesis aims to explain and investigate the online organizational buying behavior of British and Swedish organizations while purchasing display materials and several factors that influence it, such as culture, digitalization and buyer-seller relationships are examined.   Method: A qualitative approach with semi-structured interview was used to conduct this research. Eight participants from British and Swedish organizations who are customers of the display material company SignMax were interviewed. The data collected has been analyzed together with literature on online organizational buying behavior and the influencing factors. Results: The findings of this research showed that the level of product involvement and national culture decides and forms the importance of the purchase, the purchasing process and the type of supplier-relationship desired. Additionally, the attitude towards digitalization and the experience of online purchases determine the level of personal contact and support. Based on the empirical analysis the findings showed that for the cases of UK and Sweden, UK was more performance-oriented in their supplier relationships and highly valued ease of use and a smooth purchasing process. Sweden on the other hand, focused more on soft-values such as personal contact and support.

Este estudo tem por objetivo identificar quais são os atributos de produto mais importantes – e seu grau de importância relativa – na compra ou recomendação de interruptores a consumidores finais, eletricistas e arquitetos. O método foi dividido em fases, com abordagem qualitativa e quantitativa. Inicialmente, foram conduzidas entrevistas em profundidade com consumidores e especialistas, com o objetivo de levantar o máximo de atributos salientes, bem como seus níveis. Em seguida, uma survey online, com 558 consumidores, identificou quais desses atributos são mais importantes no processo decisório de compra e uma validação com executivos da área foi conduzida. Os cinco atributos definidos como mais importantes foram: Marca, Acabamento, Garantia, Material Amarelar e Preço. Para identificar o grau de importância relativa de cada atributo, foi utilizado o método conjoint analysis. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida com 116 pessoas, sendo 60 consumidores finais, 28 arquitetos e 28 eletricistas, de cinco regiões do Brasil. Os resultados foram segmentados e analisados de forma agregada, por região, por atuação profissional e por clusters, grupos com preferências de atributo em comum. A análise conjunta revelou que Marca e Material Amarelar obtiveram a maior importância relativa para a amostra total. Pretende-se que este estudo contribua para que executivos da área possam aplicar estratégias de marketing em seus negócios, a fim de obter melhores resultados. / This study aims to identify what are the most important product attributes - and its degree of relative importance – in the purchase or recommendation of interrupters by end users, electricians and architects. The method was divided into phases of qualitative and quantitative approach. Initially, interviews in depth were conducted with consumers and experts in order to enumerate the maximum salient attributes and their levels. Then an online survey with 558 consumers identified which of those attributes are most important in the decision buying process and a validation with area executives was conducted. The five attributes defined as most important were: Brand, Finishing, Warranty, Material Yellowing and Price. To identify the degree of relative importance of each attribute, conjoint analysis method was used. The survey was conducted with 116 people, 60 end users, 28 architects and 28 electricians on five different regions of Brazil. The results were segmented and analyzed in aggregate way, by region, by professional role and by clusters, group with attribute preferences in common. The analysis revealed that the Brand and the Material Yellowing obtained the greater relative importance for the total sample. It is intended that this study will contribute to that area executives can apply marketing strategies in their business in order to get better results.

Syftet med studien är att försöka förstå vilka betydelsefulla delar som Acne bör fokusera på isamband med försäljning via outletbutik respektive concept store. Frågeställningarna syftartill att undersöka om varumärkets profil förändras genom att fler konsumenter har tillgång tillvarumärket genom en outletbutik. Ett annat delproblem inriktar sig på köpbeteende och hurdet förändras liksom säljtekniken i en outletbutik i jämförelse med en concept store. Vårstudie har genomförts med både kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder i egenskap av intervjuer,marknadsundersökningar samt observationer. Problemformuleringen har besvarats utifrån tvåempiriska perspektiv, företagets och konsuments perspektiv. Vår avgränsning har gjorts tillvarumärket Acne, deras concept store i Göteborg och deras outletbutik på Freeport DesignerOutlet Village i Kungsbacka. De två olika perspektiven har använts för att beskriva ochanalysera de olika synvinklar samt teorin som använts för att utifrån det kunna dra slutsatser.Vi anser att de betydelsefulla delar Acne bör fokusera på i samband med försäljning viaoutletbutik respektive concept store är säljteknik och visual merchandising. Vi grundarslutsatsen på den analys vi genomfört och anser att aspekterna bör tillhandahållas på de bådaförsäljningsplatserna. En rad olika steg innefattas i en kunds köpprocess där inga markantaskillnader utmärktes av köpbeteendet i jämförelse mellan en concept store och en outletbutik.Utgången av vår analys har resulterat i att trovärdheten av varumärket genom outlet-konceptetkan ta skada på lång sikt utifall det missbrukas. / Program: Butikschefsutbildningen

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<p>The process that consumers go through while buying something is called consumer buying process and has been studied for a long time. Three stages of the Five-Stage Model (Kotler, 2006) provide a starting point for analysis in this paper and the reason of using this model is to make collected data more structured and easier for understanding. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze costumer buying process online.The method for data collection applied in this study is called “think-aloud” that means participants are verbalizing their screen activity and thoughts during the process of observation. The results of this research show that consumer buying process online is a complex process that is influenced by the amount and intensity of information received during the process as well as consumer knowledge and experience on the area of problem. The sequence of the stages proposed by the research model can vary depending on the preferences of consumer and readiness to make a decision.</p>

Det krävs att företag utvecklar sig för att vara konkurrenskraftiga på en ständigt föränderlig marknad. Ett sätt för företag i livsmedelsbranschen att differentiera sig är att endast använda ekologiska råvaror i framställningen av sin produkt. Om de gör det kan de bli godkända för miljömärkning och få använda KRAV:s logotyp på sin produkt. Den massmediala uppmärksamheten riktas allt mer på klimatkrisen vilket har gjort konsumenterna mer medvetna och villiga att påverka genom sitt eget agerande. Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att utreda hur en KRAV-märkning kan påverka varumärke och konsumentbeteende. För att kunna besvara syftet har vi studerat teorier inom varumärkesforskning och beteendevetenskap. Empirin baseras på nio genomförda telefonintervjuer och relevant sekundärdata. Forskningsfrågorna ämnar presentera de för- respektive nackdelar som företag får av att KRAV-märka sina produkter samt hur en KRAV-märkning påverkar konsumenterna i hennes köpprocess. Uppsatsens slutsatser visar att de fördelar som märkningen kan erbjuda beror på hur välkänt företagets eget varumärke är. För redan välkända varumärken fungerar märkningen som ett komplement i företagets varumärkesstrategi och vara en genväg till en bättre image. Det ger en trovärdighetsstämpel och kan fungera som ett positioneringsverktyg. För mindre kända varumärken fungerar märkningen som en dörröppnare för nya marknadskanaler. De nackdelar som kan förekomma är urvattning av varumärket samt att lönsamheten är lägre än för de konventionella produkterna. KRAV-märkningen underlättar konsumentens köpprocess i affären och ger henne en garanti att varan är ekologiskt producerad. De nackdelar som finns med en KRAV-märkning är främst att de är dyrare än de konventionella produkterna och att ett uppskov av märken leder till förvirring bland konsumenterna. / There is a need for continuous development of the companies if they want to stay competitive in a constantly changing world. One way for companies in the industry of daily consumer goods to differentiate themselves is to only use organic raw material in their products. If they do so they can get certified and will be allowed to use KRAV:s brand on their product. The medial attention is focused on the climate crisis which has made the consumers aware of and more willing to influence through their actions. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the effects of the eco-label KRAV on the brand and consumer behaviour. To fulfill the aim we have studied branding and consumer behaviour theories. The empirical findings are based on nine phone interviews and relevant secondary data. The questions set up for investigation aims to present the advantages and disadvantages companies can experience through an eco-labeling as well as how an eco-label can influence the consumers in their buying process. The conclusions show that the advantages the eco-label can provide depend on how well-known the company’s own brand is. For brands that are already well-known the eco-label works as a complement in their branding strategy and can be a short cut to a better image. It gives a guarantee and can work as a means of positioning. For brands that are less known it can work as a tool to get in to new market channels. The disadvantages that can arise are that the brand can get blurred and the profitability is lower than for conventional products. The eco-label makes the buying process easier and gives the customer a guarantee for an organically produced product. The disadvantages with an eco-label for the customer are primarily that they are more expensive than the conventional products and that many labels can confuse the customer.