Thesis (M.S.C.I.T.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Jun. 25, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Psych.Org.) - University of Queensland, 2003. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (M.S.C.I.T.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on May 25, 2006). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canterbury, 2006. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 201-220).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-73).

Orientadora: Marcia Cristina de Carvalho Pazin Vitoriano / Banca: Marta Lígia Pomim Valentim / Banca: José Ricardo Scarelli Carrijo / Banca: / Resumo: Este trabalho tem como objetivo, verificar a contribuição do CRM para o processo decisório organizacional, no que tange ao desenvolvimento de estratégias de ação para a captação e retenção de clientes em uma empresa do ramo óptico. Essa é uma pesquisa de abordagem quali-quantitativa de caráter exploratório e descritivo. Tem como método de pesquisa o estudo de caso. Com o estudo foi possível perceber a importância do uso de uma ferramenta que gerencie o relacionamento entre a empresa e o cliente e, a importância de administrar as informações que são coletadas pela mesma. O CRM é considerado por muitas empresas, o principal meio de junção da gestão de informações sobre clientes; este será composto por informações que auxiliarão os gestores nas tomadas de decisões. Com esta pesquisa, foi possível perceber que a empresa não utiliza de nenhuma ferramenta para gestão da informação do cliente, tampouco, utiliza das informações dos clientes para tomar decisões, o que acarreta decisões tardias ou falhas com relação a reposição de mercadoria, soluções de problemas e alcance na divulgação da empresa. O CRM traria a empresa maior organização da informação interna e externa de forma a dar respostas mais rápidas ao cliente, controlando sua satisfação e necessidade. A ferramenta CRM pode ser implementada no sistema utilizado pela empresa, se o desenvolvedor se dispuser a criar as abas necessárias, possibilitando que a empresa não precise implantar novamente os dados em um novo sistema. / Abstract: This work aims to verify the contribution of the CRM to the organizational decision-making process, in what concerns the development of strategies of action for the capture and retention of clients in an optical company. This is a qualitative-quantitative research of exploratory and descriptive character. It has as a research method the case study. With the study it was possible to perceive the importance of using a tool that manages the relationship between the company and the client and the importance of managing the information that is collected by it. CRM is considered by many companies as the main means of joining customer information management; this will be composed of information that will assist managers in decision making. With this research, it was possible to perceive that the company does not use any tool to manage the information of the customer, nor does it use the information of the clients to make decisions, which entails late decisions or failures in relation to the reposition of merchandise, solutions of problems and scope in the disclosure of the company. The CRM would bring the company greater organization of internal and external information in order to give faster responses to the client, controlling their satisfaction and need. The CRM tool can be implemented in the system used by the company, if the developer is willing to create the necessary tabs, allowing the company does not need to deploy the data in a new system. / Mestre

This study consists of two essays. In the first essay, I examine whether the overlap in institutional investors between the supplier and its customer can be an efficient monitoring mechanism in the product market. Using a large sample of supplier–customer relationships for the period 1980–2011, I provide the following evidence. First, a high level of overlapping institutional ownership mitigates the adverse effect of asymmetric interdependence between supplier and customer on their firm performance. Second, relationship-specific investments and partnership duration are identified as underlying channels through which overlapping institutional ownership mitigates the adverse effect of asymmetric interdependence on partners’ performance. Third, overlapping institutional ownership is negatively associated with accounts receivable when the supplier is more financially constrained than the customer, suggesting that overlapping institutional ownership improves the efficiency of trade credit allocation. These findings survive out of a series of robustness checks. The findings of this study highlight that the overlap in institutional investors between supplier and customer plays as an efficient monitoring mechanism in the product market. In the second essay, I examine the informational role of overlapping transient institutional investors who hold stocks of both the firm and its customers in disseminating customer information to the firm’s bond market and document four findings. First, I find that overlapping transient institutional ownership significantly alleviates the prediction of lagged customer-portfolio bond returns to supplier bond returns even after controlling for the interaction effect between stock market and bond market. This finding survives out of a series of robustness checks. The alleviation effect is more pronounced for firms with high customer concentration and low customer industry competition, or with non-investment grade. Second, I find that overlapping transient institutional ownership represents more than a mere proxy for investor attention and leads to information advantage over overlapping institutional bondholders. Third, I find that current customer-portfolio return is significantly associated with the trading volume of overlapping transient institutional investors in the bond market, suggesting that overlapping transient institutional investors indeed take customer information into account when they trade bonds of suppliers. Fourth, I examine the real effect of customer information on bondholders and find that customer bond return is significantly related to the supplier’s future operating performance, which is an important predictor of credit risk. Overall, my results show that overlapping transient institutional shareholders take economically linked information into account when they trade in the bond market and improve the informativeness of bond price. Keywords: supplier–customer relationships, overlapping institutional investors, monitoring mechanism, bond price informativeness

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Business, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree Magister Technologiae in Business Administration. / The different opinion about customer satisfaction amongst academics and practitioners is useful in gaining broader understanding of the term customer satisfaction. This study anchors its definition of customer satisfaction on three main drivers: (1) product’s knowledge such as emotional or cognitive, (2) consumption experience and (3) the response after consumption. Although, this definition departs from market expectation of companies’ production and marketing orientation, it certainly forms the base for concerns about the need for product quality that now drives companies’ quality and competitive strategy. This study evaluates the usage of quality management to understand management perception of product quality and its relationship with customers’ satisfaction and competitiveness. This evaluation used survey research method to collect empirical data from 110 respondents randomly selected from manufacturing companies based in Cape Town. The data received were analysed using descriptive statistic, presented in tables and charts to understand and describe respondents’ perception of the usage of quality management for improved customer satisfaction. The finding shows that quality, management was used to improve satisfaction of customers.

Orientador: Paulo de Barros Correia / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecanica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T16:28:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Montadon_ErikaShiota_M.pdf: 3486503 bytes, checksum: 322a07ea8531d4c6bea1fc08299394dd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: Dentre as alternativas para a contratação de energia elétrica no ambiente livre, encontrar a que mais traduz as necessidades dos compradores e vendedores, respeitando as características e limitações de ambas as partes, tornou-se um desafio para o mercado. A oportunidade de tomar decisões estratégicas de curto e longo prazos para negociar energia elétrica dentro de um novo ambiente, criou expectativas de melhores resultados para o setor e motivou a elaboração deste trabalho. O estudo apresenta os atores participantes da livre comercialização, a regulação específica, os riscos existentes nas contratações e os conceitos para gerenciá-los, baseados na tipificação de contratos e ferramentas estratégicas. A aplicação é apresentada sob a ótica dos consumidores livres e comercializadores. São explorados os itens relevantes em um contrato e os aspectos significativos para realizar-se uma contratação, considerando-se estratégia, cenários, preços e conjunturas internas e externas. Paralelos como a descrição dos ambientes livre e cativo são traçados, com o objetivo de demonstrar as principais características e alternativas existentes para cada situa¸c¿ao. Para ilustrar as operações de curto e longo prazos, criadas a partir de cenários e efetivados por meio de derivativos de energia, estudos de caso s¿ao apresentados, com o intuito de mostrar a aplicação das regras e procedimentos de comercialização do mercado de curto prazo e o que impacta nas curvas de consumo e no cenário de contratação. O trabalho consolida um conjunto de informações para a atuação na livre comercialização, abordando o tema através de conceitos e aplicações utilizados no mercado de energia. / Abstract: Finding the best alternatives for power contracts in competitive electricity market that adapt the necessities of suppliers and consumers, considering features and limitations of both parts, became a challenge to power market. The opportunity of taking strategic decisions of long and short-term market to trade electricity in the new environment, created expectations of better results to the electric sector and motivated the development of this work. The analysis presents the participant actors of competitive electricity market, the specific regulation, the market risks and concepts to manage them, based on different types of financial instruments and their strategic tools. The application was analyzed from the optics of free consumers and traders. It was explored the main items in a contract and all aspects to make a contract, considering strategy, scenarios, prices and internal and external conjunctures. Parallels as the description of competitive and no-competitive markets are formed, in order to demonstrate the main features and alternatives for each situation. To illustrate short and long term operations, created from scenarios and accomplished by electricity derivatives, case studies are analyzed, purposing the application of commercialization rules and procedures of short term market and the impact in the consumer curve and contracts scenarios. The work consolidates a set of informations to the performance in competitive electricity market, approaching the subject through concepts and applications used in power market. / Mestrado / Mestre em Planejamento de Sistemas Energéticos

M.Comm. / The first objective of this study is to determine the techniques appropriate for building customer relations. The second objective of this study is to establish the guidelines necessary for improving customer relations. The third objective is to establish the levels of relationships that have taken place between the respective manufacturing and customer (retail) companies under study. The fourth objective is to discover if any best practices with regards to relationship building can be identified. Restrictions/Limitations The study under focus relates only to a small sample in the South African economy. Although one could probably use the findings as a representative sample, a more valid statistical measure will be gleaned from a larger sample. Unfortunately little research has been reported on relationship marketing in South Africa in recent years. A report by Jordaan et. al. (1997) was released on key account management, which is an instrument to successful marketing relationships. In fact, no concrete conclusions have been drawn with regards to South African companies' channel relationship positions between suppliers and customers. Due to the latter, the research study has been of an exploratory nature. The hypothesis put forward, together with the research study, will serve as an excellent cornerstone for further research developments. Research methodology Part One: Theory Information for this study has been collected by making use of the following ways. Firstly information concerning the development of customer relations from the pre 1960's, was retrieved from a product manager at Unilever, by means of an interview. Secondly, information was captured from published and unpublished literature about the development of the concept of relationship marketing and its rightful place within the general field of marketing. Information concerning techniques, guidelines and best practices for relationship/partnership building, have been extracted from various literature sources. Part Two: Empirical study An empirical study has been undertaken to determine to what extent South African fast moving consumer goods companies have progressed towards a synergistic partnership between supplier and customer. The information was collected by means of an unstructured questionnaire directed at the following five focus group companies, namely, Cadbury's/Schweppes, Coca-Cola, Nestle, National Brands and Unilever.