Whilst the idealisation of extreme slenderness is widely recognised as a problematic issue, the negative portrayal of larger individuals is rarely criticised for its link with stigmatisation and problems with self-esteem. To the contrary, the representation of larger individuals in dehumanising terms – whether in news reports, advertising and research accounts – is generally regarded as a necessary means to encourage the pursuit of a ‘better’, ‘healthier’ self. However, these negative stereotypical portrayals – generally excluding the perspective and consent of those depicted – can also have adverse effects on human dignity, legitimacy and self-esteem of those thus depicted. Building on the work of fat studies scholars, as well as feminist marketing researchers, this research project seeks to contribute to the inclusion and rehumanisation of fuller-figured individuals, by involving them in the dialogue of visual and research representation. To do so, this research invited a group of fuller-figured women living in the UK and Canada, to ‘envision’, ‘model’, and ‘review’ their own self-presentations, primarily via the use of self-directed portraits, blogs, and conversations. Whilst the inclusion of their embodied perspectives is expected to contribute to humanising the representation of larger individuals – and offer a glimpse into what could be if we started considering women ‘of size’ as authors of their own depictions – it also contributes in filling a gap left by consumer researchers who have overlooked the way larger individuals make sense of their selves, bodies and well-being. As such, this research contributes to existing consumer research theories by explaining the ways individuals can envision their selves/bodies in the shadow of, but also in contrast with, the dominant marketplace promotion of slenderness. In terms of contribution, this research illustrates the relevance of therapeutic and embodied perspectives to understand the self, the body and to engage in acts of consumption. A new ‘self-nurtured’ discursive position offers challenges to the meanings generally attributed to larger individuals, and to the traditional approaches taken by consumer researchers to solve the ‘obesity crisis’. Overall, this research provides empirical, methodological and theoretical contributions to the field of consumer research. It also offers practical implications for the representation of larger individuals, and recommendations for those interested in the social marketing of health to enjoin people of all sizes in mindful acts of self-care and consumption.

Uppsatsen har för avsikt att skapa förståelse i hur symboliska värden påverkar konsumtionen av naturvin. I den postmoderna konsumtionskulturen sker konsumtionen i syfte att bygga upp bilden av sig själv, snarare än att konsumera produkter av praktisk nytta. Studien omfattar ett teoretiskt ramverk bestående av symbolisk interaktionism, konsumtionskulturen och den postmoderna marknadsföringen. Genom en existentiell fenomenologisk metod har konsumenters upplevelser med naturvinet studerats och tolkas. Tolkning utfördes genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys och mynnade ut i betydelsefulla symboler. Resultatet pekar på att symbolerna i naturvinet bidrar till ett gott liv, en gemenskap och en kamp om vinets existens. I studien framgår det att konsumtionens främsta anledning inte handlar om smakupplevelsen utan har en djupare mening än så.

Along with an increased online presence, as well as expanded trade agreement between EU countries, the Swedish online gambling market has been facilitated and made more accessible than ever before. As a consequence, this growing gambling market has also correlated with increased gambling-related health- and economical issues amongst Swedish gamblers. At the same time online gambling companies keep increasing their investments in external communication and marketing activities. In order to protect the public, the governmental initiative “Spelinspektionen” initiated the new law, spellagen (2018:1138), which from the 1st of January 2019 is supposed to regulate marketing from online gambling companies. Based on a multimodal critical discourse analysis, the purpose of this study is to examine how spellagen (2018:1138) has affected marketing strategies from three different gambling companies; Leovegas, Ninja Casino and No Account Casino. The analysis studies a material based on six movies before the introduction of spellagen, and six movies after the introduction. Four central discourses has been identified, called The Hero, Action, Escapism, and Alonetime. Based on these discourses, the analysis used different tools from a multimodal discourse analysis in order to distinguish the strategies upon which the hidden- or open message was communicated. The analysis found that the gambling companies regularly used Per Binde ́s motives for gambling in their commercials. At least three out of five motives were identified through identity-creating strategies and emotional strategies which could be connected to Bindes motives “chances of winning”, “the jackpot-dream” and “moodswings”. The most prominent strategy for all of the commercials was the use of symbols and representation, which allows the company to communicate hidden or subtle meanings through connotations the company know that their target group will make. This main strategy did not make any drastic changes after the introduction of spellagen (2018:1138). The same message was still communicated, but now more often through visual elements rather than linguistic ones. The conclusion pointed out that in order for spelinspektionen to protect Swedish gamblers, spellagen (2018:1138) must be more concrete and descriptive, so that no alternative interpretations can be made. Other measures for spelinspektionen to consider is the amount of gambling commercials which the Swedish public are exposed to today.

<p>Continuous improvement (CI) is a well-known approach within total quality management. Based on it, Continuous Improvement Behavior Model (CIBM) is a model that put behavioral patterns in work practice in focus, and is associated with learning process and routines across the whole organization. The purposes of this thesis are twofold: firstly, to analyse the differences in CI behavior between firms in Sweden and Hong Kong (HK); secondly, to analyse the reasons for these differences by using Hofstede’s culture theory. This study was based on data from the 2nd international CINet survey and IBM questionnaire survey, limited to the culture in Hong Kong (HK) and Sweden. The finding of this comparative study showed that there are significant differences in CI behavior in the following aspects:</p><p> The view in HK is that the interest of the group should prevail over the individual’s, because there has a proverb”unity is power” in Chinese culture. Firms in Sweden are more concerned with the interests of individual’s.</p><p> Employees in Hong Kong would like to use organizational formal tools and techniques to deal with a problem, although it is a society characterized by weak uncertainly avoidance. But firms in Swedish believe that problems can be solved without formal rules.</p><p> Employees in HK emphasizes cooperation and relationship in the process of working, while it is influenced by the culture of”guanxi” and collectivism. In comparison, Swedish employees care less about relationship.</p><p> People in HK pay much attention to the personal development, due to a competitive environment and a long-term orientated culture manifested as:”it is never too old to learn”. Swedes, however, want to study when it is necessary.</p><p> Managers in HK are willing to support CI activities by provide sufficient resources and self-discipline influenced by the Chinese culture of ”set an example”. Correspondingly, Swedish firms don't have the regulation about what manager necessary should do.</p><p>This is the first study that tries to explain the difference on CI behavior by using Hofstede’s culture theory in HK and Sweden, using a statistical method to test 34 behaviors in CI Behavior Model. It has to mention that there have 17 behaviors in the total behaviors which have been proved to be different, and 11 of these behaviors can be explained by Hofstede’s model in this thesis. There are also some other factors that can explain the differences in CI behaviors.</p><p>In this thesis, it is shown that size of company matters. Possible explanations provided by other cultural theories are also presented.</p>

Continuous improvement (CI) is a well-known approach within total quality management. Based on it, Continuous Improvement Behavior Model (CIBM) is a model that put behavioral patterns in work practice in focus, and is associated with learning process and routines across the whole organization. The purposes of this thesis are twofold: firstly, to analyse the differences in CI behavior between firms in Sweden and Hong Kong (HK); secondly, to analyse the reasons for these differences by using Hofstede’s culture theory. This study was based on data from the 2nd international CINet survey and IBM questionnaire survey, limited to the culture in Hong Kong (HK) and Sweden. The finding of this comparative study showed that there are significant differences in CI behavior in the following aspects:  The view in HK is that the interest of the group should prevail over the individual’s, because there has a proverb”unity is power” in Chinese culture. Firms in Sweden are more concerned with the interests of individual’s.  Employees in Hong Kong would like to use organizational formal tools and techniques to deal with a problem, although it is a society characterized by weak uncertainly avoidance. But firms in Swedish believe that problems can be solved without formal rules.  Employees in HK emphasizes cooperation and relationship in the process of working, while it is influenced by the culture of”guanxi” and collectivism. In comparison, Swedish employees care less about relationship.  People in HK pay much attention to the personal development, due to a competitive environment and a long-term orientated culture manifested as:”it is never too old to learn”. Swedes, however, want to study when it is necessary.  Managers in HK are willing to support CI activities by provide sufficient resources and self-discipline influenced by the Chinese culture of ”set an example”. Correspondingly, Swedish firms don't have the regulation about what manager necessary should do. This is the first study that tries to explain the difference on CI behavior by using Hofstede’s culture theory in HK and Sweden, using a statistical method to test 34 behaviors in CI Behavior Model. It has to mention that there have 17 behaviors in the total behaviors which have been proved to be different, and 11 of these behaviors can be explained by Hofstede’s model in this thesis. There are also some other factors that can explain the differences in CI behaviors. In this thesis, it is shown that size of company matters. Possible explanations provided by other cultural theories are also presented.

Konsumenter använder varumärken dagligen och exponering av varumärken sker överallt: i reklam, böcker, filmer, människor och så vidare. Tidigare forskning visar att konsumenter använder varumärken för att bygga upp sin självbild och skapa sin identitet, samt att konsumenter kan ha mer eller mindre starka relationer till varumärken. Varumärken i sig är bara materiella markörer, de blir meningsfulla för konsumenterna först då de sätts in i ett sammanhang och får en individuell historia uppbyggt kring sig. Studiens syfte är att utifrån ett konsumentperspektiv visa hur meningsskapande i en relation mellan ett varumärke och en konsument kan se ut. Detta genom att reda ut frågeställningen: ”Hur kan en konsument skapa mening i sin relation till ett varumärke?”. En fallstudie har genomförts, där en individs meningsskapande kring ett varumärke har undersökts. Fallstudien bestod av två djupgående intervjuer och fem observationer. Resultatet har analyserats med hjälp av teorier kring bland annat meningsskapandeprocesser och varumärkessymbolik. Slutsatsen är tre faktorer som kan bidra till meningsskapande kring ett varumärke: överensstämmelse med konsumentens ”jag”, symbolisk innebörd och visuellt tilltalande, och användning. / Consumers use brands daily and the exposure of brands takes place everywhere: in advertisements, books, movies, people, and so on. Previous research shows that consumers use brands to create their self-image and identity, and that consumer can have stronger or weaker relationships with brands. Brands in their selves are only material markers, brands become meaningful to consumers when they are put into a context and receive an individual story built around them. The purpose of this paper is to show how consumers can create meaning in their relationship with brands. This is by sorting out the issue: “How can a consumer create meaning in the relationship with a brand? “. A case study has been carried out, in which an individual's meaning creation to a brand has been investigated. The case study consisted of two interviews and five observations. The results were analyzed using theories about meaning creation processes and brand symbolic. The conclusions are three factors that may contribute to the creation of meaning towards a brand: correspondence with the consumer's “self”, symbolic meaning and visually appearance, and the use of the brand.

National culture has a significant influence on how innovations are adopted and diffuse throughout society. Existing innovation literature often employ Hofstede’s cultural difference dimensions to predict technology diffusion, which is critical to international marketers who are interested in tapping into this region. However, whilst Hofstede initially clustered the Arab nations into one region, past works have failed to compare and predict the diffusion of innovations amongst the Middle East and North African (MENA) nations. To address this research gap and to challenge Hofstede’s assumption of the MENA region as one cultural homogenous group, this study proposes to 1) measure the cultural differences of the seven nations, including Kuwait, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, and Lebanon within the MENA region and 2) explore the relationship between national culture and the diffusion of innovations amongst the seven countries. Using Hofstede’s latest national culture instrument, the Value Survey Model 2013 (VSM13), 775 survey data is collected from university students based in the seven nations to obtain new national cultural profiles on six dimensions, which are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, indulgent versus restraint, long-term orientation and masculinity femininity index. Empirical evidence shows that all seven nations differ significantly on each of Hofstede’s national culture dimensions, particularly on the power distance, uncertainty avoidance, indulgent versus restraint, and long term orientation dimension. The Bass Model is employed to estimate each of the seven nation’s diffusion patterns based on their mobile subscription data, and then correlated with their national culture ranks along with other variables such as socioeconomic indicators and telecommunication sector specific variables. The findings indicate that out of the six national culture indices, only the power distance index, indulgent versus restraint, long term orientation, and uncertainty avoidance dimensions show significant correlations with the innovation and imitations levels on the national level, suggesting that these particular cultural scales can effect and limit the innovation levels and the speed of the diffusion process of innovations. Results also indicate that literacy rate and urbanization are significantly correlated with the speed of the diffusion process and imitation levels on the national level. This research sheds new light on cross national diffusion literature by empirically revealing the innovative and imitative profiles of seven Arab States that were previously underrepresented and untested. The present study also provides fresh insights into the diffusion and national culture relationship by analysing the MENA region, which presents a theoretical contribution to cross cultural diffusion studies by advancing our understanding of the process by which Hofstede’s dimensions are associated with innovative and imitative levels. International marketing managers are thus advised to adopt a waterfall strategy when approaching the MENA region, in which innovative countries, such as Kuwait, are first targeted for introducing innovative products and services, through mass media and advertising. Whilst imitative countries, such as Egypt, are targeted for last entry, with a marketing communication plan that utilizes brand ambassadors and influencers, so as to reduce the risk and uncertainty of the innovation in question.

The purpose of the study is to investigate how men and women experience personalized advertising, whether it affects the purchase decision and whether there are differences between men and women. A qualitative method has been used with the help of structured interviews within a delimitation of the Stockholm area. The theories used in this study consisted of the AIDA model, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Relationship Marketing (RM), Customization and Personalization and Consumer Culture Theory. Results of the study show that there are clear differences in how men and women experience Instagram. The main difference is that women have a more positive view of personalized advertising, which leads to actual purchases to a greater extent than men. The men in the study, on the other hand, show that it is negative to individualized advertising to a greater extent.

This study aimed to examine how a company like Anamma creates a platform where people can connect and inspire others to buy vegan food and what strategies they use to do so. The empirical material consisted of eight posts on Instagram made by the Swedish vegan company Anamma. The posts are showing how vegan meals can be healthy, tasteful but also how it is good for the environment. Since the material in these posts were both text, pictures and animated videos a multimodal analysis was most suitable to get a valid and true result. Initially the posts were analyzed one by one. Then we summarized the result into three themes based on what was discovered during the first analysis. The study shows that Anamma is using strategic tools like the theory of Two-step-flow, or Word of mouth to make people hear about them. By using hashtags and tagging people they are creating a chain of equivalence, using the digital platform to spread their message. They also use words like, “together”, “all of us” and “save the planet” et cetera, which is assumed to make people want to be a part of making the world a better place. Also, they frequently use statistics as a strategy of persuasion to show how much less effluent vegan food is to the environment compared to meat. Using the word “Anamma-friends” is a strategy that helps create a strong community for their customers. All their strategies combined contributes to creating social identity and a feeling of belonging. However, this study is not a study of communication effects, since that would require a different approach. Therefore the conclusion of this study is that Anammas communication is effective and adequate towards the social context and can be seen as successful in relation to the purpose of the study.

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