Digitaliseringen har skapat nya möjligheter för konsumenterna att dra nytta av både e-handeln och de fysiska försäljningskanalerna. Detta har skapat utmaningar och möjligheter för företag att arbeta i en mer digitaliserad marknadsmiljö. Studien betonar vikten av att erbjuda en integrerad och enhetlig upplevelse för konsumenterna, så kallad omnihandel. I denna studie undersöks ett fallföretags övergång till just omnihandel. Studiens syfte är att skapa en djupare förståelse om fenomenet omnihandel samt att utforska hur en omställning till omnihandel har sett ut från ett företagsperspektiv. Dessutom utforskas de upplevda fördelarna och nackdelarna ur ett kundperspektiv. Studien använde sig av ett explorativt tillvägagångsätt för att kunna utforska fenomenet. För att samla in data användes semistrukturerade intervjuer med tre respondenter från Elgigantens ledningsgrupp och fokusgrupper med kunder. Intervjuerna användes för att utforska ledningens syn på deras omställning till omnihandel, medan fokusgrupperna användes för att fånga kundernas direkta erfarenheter och åsikter. Resultaten från intervjuerna bidrog med värdefulla insikter om hur omställningen har skett i praktiken för fallföretaget. Resultaten från fokusgrupperna bidrog med insikter om att omnihandel kan ge fördelar som kundnöjdhet och stärkt varumärkeslojalitet. Vidare kunde slutsatsen visa att fallföretaget har gjort betydande framsteg i att integrera sina försäljningskanaler för att skapa en enhetlig kundupplevelse över både digitala och fysiska plattformar. Studiens slutsats visar att fenomenet omnihandel kan bidra till ökad kundnöjdhet och stärkt varumärkeslojalitet. Dock fastställdes att kundnöjdheten kan påverkas negativt om integreringen av försäljningskanalerna brister. / The digitization has created new opportunities from both e-commerce and physical sales channels. This has created challenges and opportunities for companies to operate in a more digitized market environment. The study emphasizes the importance of providing an integrated and consistent experience for consumers to remain competitive. This study examines a case company's transition to omnichannel retailing, aiming to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon from both company and customer perspectives. It explores the transition process, as well as the perceived advantages and disadvantages from the customer's viewpoint. An exploratory approach was employed, utilizing semi-structured interviews with three members of Elgiganten's management team and conducting focus groups with customers to collect data. The results from the interviews provided valuable insights into how the transition has occurred for the case company in practice and the focus groups contributed insights into the advantages of omnichannel such as customer satisfaction and strengthened brand loyalty. In conclusion, the study identified that the phenomenon of omnichannel can contribute to increased customer satisfaction and strengthened brand loyalty. However, the study was able to determine that deficiencies in the integration of the sales channels lead to unachieved customer satisfaction.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka hur företag samlar in och utnyttjar kundinformation mellan försäljningskanalerna. Men även att utreda motiven bakom att bli en multikanalåterförsäljare samt produkttypens roll i beslutet. En kvalitativ fallstudie med semistrukturerade intervjuer har tillämpats, där fyra företag och en expert deltagit. Studien har visat att information om kunden har varit värdefull och har använts emellan handelskanaler för att anpassa butikens sortimentsmix, skapa välgrundade kampanjer och styra kunder till butik. De mindre företagen, sett till omsättning, har haft mer användning av kundinformation vid beslutet att öppna fysiska butiker än de större. Motivationen bakom att bli multikanalhandlare har varit potentialen att nå fler kunder men även bättre kundfokus. Andra faktorer än produkttyp har varit av intresse för företagen vid öppnandet av de fysiska butikerna men arbetet med returer har visat att produkttyp kan spela roll. / The study investigates how companies gather and use customer information between sales channels. But it will also investigate the motive behind expanding to multichannel retailing and the role of the product type in that decision. A qualitative case study with semi structured interviews has been applied, were four companies and one expert has participated. The study has shown that data about the customer has been valuable and has been used between sales channels to adjust the stores product mix, create well-founded campaigns as well as directing customers to the stores. The smaller companies, in terms of turnover, used a greater amount of customer information in the decision of adding stores than the larger ones. The motivation behind going multichannel has been the potential of reaching more customers but also getting better customer focus. Other factors than product type has been of interest to the companies when the stores were added, but the work around product returns has shown that the product type can matter.

With the rise of the Internet and the emergence of online shopping, traditional retailing has transformed substantially. Retailers have developed multichannel strategies and, in particular, have integrated their offline channels with online channels. Such an integration of offline and online channels is associated with the concept of cross-channel integration. This cumulative dissertation aims to investigate cross-channel integration holistically from a demand point of view and a supply point of view. It consists of four independent studies embedded in an overarching introduction and conclusion part. The first study provides the conceptual base by conducting a systematic literature review. It identifies, analyzes, structures, and extracts 169 publications in the research field of cross-channel integration and concludes by suggesting two dominant paths for future research. These two research directions are addressed in three subsequent empirical studies. One empirical study focuses on the consumer perspective by investigating channel switching behavior. It finds that customers have a fundamental need for certainty within and after the buying process when it comes to channel switching. The remaining two studies are related to the supply side of cross-channel integration and investigate effects of strategies, retailers can deploy when integrating channels. One study assesses the profitability of a channel addition. It establishes that adding an offline store to online channels increases profits absolutely, but reduces the profit margin in the short run. The other study related to the supply side conceptualizes cross-channel technologies along the customer’s purchase process and experimentally assesses one of these technologies. Finally, based on the insights of the four independent studies, the dissertation concludes by summarizing the contribution and by deriving overarching implications for researchers and practitioners, the latter are equipped with a checklist for cross-channel integration.

Healthcare is a very important and intimate service virtually all people use at least at some occasion in a lifetime. It is also highly complex and variable with heterogeneous patients requiring individualised attention in order to be effectively treated. This requires large resources in terms of labour, knowledge, skill, and time which is why in the past, improving productivity has been difficult. Information and communications technology, ICT, has been seen to have potential to improve productivity in e.g. diagnosing, devising treatment plans, communicating with patients and clinical staff, and record-keeping if applied correctly. During mainly the 1990s, the banking sector changed its distribution channel strategy to focus increasingly on Internet banking rather than local branches. If parallels are drawn between the two, such as comparing local branches to clinics, what can a rheumatology department learn? A case study was conducted at Karolinska University Hospital's Department of Rheumatology. Existing communication pathways associated with the clinic-patient communication were identified, theory and knowledge of the banking sector change was compiled and some current efforts of ICT integration in healthcare were briefly reviewed. Finally, the project sought to provide a future vision for communications in rheumatology. Examples of risks and difficulties considered were legal issues, patient safety and the current compensation for the clinics, which today represent a major limitation for strategy formulation. The study identified several key issue areas to consider when implementing ICT in healthcare and the importance of aligning ICT with workflow. Parts of the banks strategic choices are also applicable in healthcare, e.g. using a multi-channel strategy where different customer segments are targeted with different channels. Further, a unified customer management system containing input from patient as well as provider is highly recommended, together with an online portal increasing accessibility for patients. Most importantly, all distribution channels and ICT systems considered for use should be thoroughly integrated with day-to-day workflow.