published_or_final_version / Business / Master / Master of Philosophy

Med en allt mer mode och trend inriktad marknad där kortare ledtider efterfrågas för att kunna tillgodose sina konsumenter med mode inriktade och trend riktiga plagg i rätt tid och på rätt plats så har dagens klädmarknad utvecklats till en allt mer dynamisk affärsmiljö med ett snabbare affärsklimat. Denna marknad kan idag refereras som ”fast fashion” marknaden. Samtidigt som brand loyalty och återkommande konsumenter blir allt viktigare och viktigare i dagens affärsklimat så blir det i den allt mer dynamiska fast fashion marknaden allt svårare att upprätthålla lojaliteten bland konsumenterna. Mot denna bakgrund undersökte denna studie hur konsumenterna inom fast fashion marknaden agerar utifrån brand loyalty konceptet. För att genomföra denn ställdes följande forskningsfråga för att besvaras: Hur framstår konsumenters brand loyalty genom deras agerande och köpbeteende inom fast fashion marknaden?Studien använde sig av Aaker och hans modell rörande brand loyalty som teoretisk utgångspunkt för genomförandet av analysen av studiens empiriska material. Studiens metod utfördes med fem stycken semi strukturerande intervjuer med utvalda personer där alla respondenter var aktiva konsumenter inom fast fashion marknaden. Studiens slutsats fann att ett flertal konsumenter inom fast fashion marknaden var mindre lojala på grund utav att konsumenterna var benägna till att byta till ett annat varumärke om priset hade en bättre relevans till plaggets design och kvalité. / With an increasingly fashion and trend-oriented market, where short lead times are demanded to be able meet consumer’s expectations and demands of fashion oriented and trendy garments at the right time and in the right place. Today's clothing market has evolved increasingly towards a more dynamic business environment with a fast changing business climate. This market can today be referred to as the "fast fashion" market. While brand loyalty and recurring consumers are becoming more and more important in today's business environment, the dynamic fast fashion market have difficulties retaining the loyalty among their consumers. Based on this background, this study examines how consumers in the fast fashion market act based on the concept of brand loyalty. To carry out the study, the following research question have been answered:" What emerges consumers' behavior regarding brand loyalty within the fast fashion market?"The study used Aaker and his model on brand loyalty as a theoretical basis for the implementation of the analysis to the study's empirical material. The study's methodology is claiming five semi structuring interviews with selected persons where all respondents were active consumers in the fast fashion market. The conclusion of the study are that the majority of consumers in the fast fashion market were less loyal because consumers tend to switch brands if the price where relevant to the garments design and quality.

Purpose The aim of the paper is to improve the understanding of effects caused by involvement of brand community members in communication with a brand owning company. The research has been conducted in Moscow, Russia. It examines brand values associated with Audi by Audi Club Moscow members, and those ones perceived by non-community members, and beside this, the degree of involvement in communication with the company of both. Research Method Numerous in-depth interviews have been processed among brand community members, people outside the community and the Audi AG employees. Results Through the analysis of primary data it was found that thanks to active communication with Audi brand community members associate with the brand values, similar to the brand holder’s ones. However, people outside the community, who do not actively communicate with the company, have the tendency to perceive brand values, controversial to brand owner’s ones. Research limitations/implications Due to the time and resources limits only one Audi brand community was chosen to represent Russia’s market. The investigation of communication channels between a brand and brand communities could be the direction of further studies. Practical implications The results of the study might have value for practical implementation in business; they could be used for building up and managing communication between a company and brand communities. Originality/value This study supplies the contribution to the existing literature and companies’ managers disclosing a field not analyzed before

Today, in a world of consumption where almost everything is branded, every consumer has a brand that they love, a so called lovemarks. Nowadays, it takes more than just a commercial to make consumers stay committed to a brand. Consumers need to relate on a more personal level. There lies a deep rooted love, consistent over long periods of time, making the luxury brand consumer’s one the most loyal consumers in the world. Consequently, it is the consumers that decide what a lovemarks is, and why they go back to repurchasing that brand again, a kind of on-going romance between consumer-brand.   The purpose of this dissertation is to explore why consumers develop emotional attachment and loyalty towards brands, leading to a long-lasting, devoted relationship between the consumer and the brand. The aim is to find out elements that are needed to love a brand consistently. The outcome of this study will provide a better look into the consumer’s attitude towards lovemark brands.   A qualitative study has been performed on consumer attitudes towards their lovemarks brand, and the language they use when describing their motive to stay loyal to their brand of preference. Furthermore, the view of what elements are needed for them develop emotional attachment towards that brand is explored.   The conclusion of this dissertation is that in order for consumers to develop loyalty and emotional attachment to brands, they need the elements of emotion, quality, trust, image, timeless fashion, and tradition. These elements combined, make the ultimate consumer that many brands want to have.

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Darbo tikslas – įvertinti vartotojų lojalumą „Tena“ prekiniam ženklui. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. išanalizuoti „Tena“ higieninių priemonių ir odos valymo bei priežiūros priemonių vartotojų elgseną jų lojalumo šiam prekiniam ženklui aspektu. 2. įvertinti respondentų lojalumą „Tena“ higieninėms priemonėms bei odos valymo ir priežiūros priemonėms. Metodai: tyrime buvo naudojama anketine apklausa atlikta interviu būdu. Respondentai buvo apklausiami Lietuvos vaistinių tinkluose „Tena“ higieninių priemonių prezentacijų metu. Tyrimo metu buvo apklausta 200 respondentų, bet buvo analizuoti tik 163 (81,5 proc.) respondentų duomenys. Anketiniai duomenys buvo apdoroti ir analizuojami naudojant statistinį duomenų analizės paketą SPSS 9.0. Rezultatai. Dauguma (80 proc.) respondentų teigė, jog „Tena“ produkcija yra kokybiška, 73 proc. patogi dėvėti, 72 proc. nurodė didelį pasirinkimą, 55 proc. nurodė, kad jas lengva naudoti, bet tik 12 proc. nurodė, kad jos pigios. 22 proc. respondentų rinkosi 0,5 lašo „Mini Magic“ įklotus, kas antras (52 proc.) vartojo “Slip“ sauskelnių rūšis. Du trečdaliai (65 proc.) vyrų vartojo sauskelnes, o 45 proc. moterų vartoja įklotus, 14 proc. moterų sauskelnes (²=95,5, p=0,0001). Vyresnio amžiaus respondentai dažniau rinkosi sauskelnes, o jaunesnio – įklotus (c²=123, p=0,0001). „Tena“ higieninių įklotų pasirinkimas priklausė nuo vartotojo sveikatos būklės, susijusios su šlapimo nelaikymu (turintys pastovų šlapimo nelaikymą naudoja didesnio sugėrimo laipsnio... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of the work– to evaluate the loyalty of the users for “Tena” trademark. The tasks of the work: 1. To analyze the behaviour of “Tena” hygiene products and “Tena” skin cleaning and care products users according to their loyalty to this trademark. 2. To evaluate the loyalty of the responders to the “Tena” hygiene products and skin cleaning and care products. Methods: there was a questionnaire used in the research and the answers were collected by interviewing. The respondents were questioned in the pharmacies in Lithuania during the presentations of “Tena” hygiene products. There were 200 respondents questioned in this research. The data was processed and analysed using a statistical data analysis packet SPSS 9.0. Results. Most of the respondents (80 percent) stated that “Tena” production is a good quality one, 73 percent – comfortable to use, 72 percent noted a variety of choice, 55 percent noted it is easy to use and only 12 percent stated that production is cheap. 22 percent of the respondents chose “Mini Magic” 0.5 drops pads; every second (52 percent) used “Slip” type diapers. Two thirds (65 percent) of men used diapers, 45 percent of women used pads, and 14 percent of women used diapers (²=95,5, p=0,0001). Elder respondents chose diapers more often, and younger age ones – pads (²=123, p=0,0001). The choice of “Tena” hygiene products depends on the user’s health related with enuresis (the ones with regular enuresis use the products of higher absorption level... [to full text]

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Technology: Marketing, Durban University of Technology, 2012. / The aim of this study is to investigate service quality at retail banks, such as Standard Bank, ABSA Bank, First National Bank and Nedbank in Durban. The four objectives of this study are set as: Firstly, to identify the level of satisfaction with customer service received from different retail banks in Durban; Secondly, to identify customers’ expectations in terms of quality services provided by retail banks; Thirdly, to ascertain the perceptions of customers towards the service provided by retail banks in Durban; Fourthly, to measure the gaps between customer expectations and perceptions of service quality, using a modified version of the SERVQUAL model. The instrument used to assess the retail bank customer’s expectation and expectations of service quality, was the SERVQUAL questionnaire, measuring expectations and perceptions according to five quality dimensions. A total of 448 students were surveyed. Quota sampling was used in this study, in order to improve representativeness. Using quota sampling involves selecting the characteristics that are required in the sample and then sampling until enough representatives of each category are achieved. Although this is a form of non-probability sampling, a quota sample can provide a good approximation to a probability sample. It means that distributing questionnaires to a certain group would be stopped after the prescribed quota is reached. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Conclusions and recommendations were thereafter drawn from the literature and the findings of the study. The study shows that retail bank customer expectations of service quality exceeded their perceptions in the five service quality dimensions used in the SERVQUAL questionnaire. This study is also important because it will assist bank managers to convert negative perceptions to positive impressions. Consequently, customers will benefit from the improved, outstanding customer service.

Sociala medier har fått en allt större roll i det svenska samhället och användarantalet ökar ständigt. I takt med att internetuppkopplingen blivit mer lättillgänglig genom exempelvis smarta telefoner har sättet som kommunikation idag sker på fått nya dimensioner. Privatlivet har således börjat gå in i arbetslivet och tvärtom, vilket har lett till att gränsen blivit otydlig och svårdefinierad. Vad arbetstagare får uttrycka i sociala medier är omdiskuterat och åsikter mellan arbetsgivare, Arbetsdomstolen och andra aktörer går isär. Den grundläggande Yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen inskränks i den privata sektorn av lojalitetsplikten och även rätten att kritisera arbetsgivaren begränsas. Hur långtgående arbetsgivares bestämmanderätt är i fråga om reglering av sociala medier är en annan problematik. Arbetsgivare har möjlighet att skapa olika typer av riktlinjer och policies och är relativt obegränsade i utformningen av dessa genom arbetsledningsrätten. Lagstiftningen har i vissa fall fått svårigheter med att följa den snabbt växande teknikutvecklingen, vilket därför har lett till att ändringar i exempelvis Yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen och Tryckfrihetsförordningen ofta måste göras. Sociala medier domineras av den yngre generationen och det har skapat klyftor mellan olika ålderskategorier. Hur dessa klyftor påverkas av att sociala medier får en större roll i arbetslivet studeras i uppsatsen genom ett åldersdiskriminerande perspektiv. Frågeställningarna baseras på arbetstagares skyldigheter, arbetsgivares bestämmanderätt, åldersaspekten samt vilka effekter regleringar av sociala medier har i samhället. / Social media has been receiving an increasingly important role in Swedish society and the number of users is constantly increasing. As the internet connection has become more accessible for an example by the smart phones, the way of communication has acquired the situation new dimensions. Personal life has now begun to go into work and vice versa, which has led to that the border has become unclear and difficult to define. What employees may express in social media is controversial and opinions between employers, the Labour Court and other stakeholders diverge. The basic Freedom of Speech is restricted in the private sector by the duty of loyalty and the right to criticize the employer is limited. How far-reaching employer's discretion goes in regulation of social media is another problem. Employers have the opportunity to create different types of policies and guidelines and are relatively unrestricted in the design of these through the labor management law. The legal regulation has in some cases had difficult to follow the rapidly growing technology development, which therefore has led to a lot of changes in for example, Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press. Social media is dominated by the younger generation and it has created a rift between different age categories. In which way this gap is affected by the fact that social media has received a larger role in work life is studied in this paper by an age-discriminatory perspective. The questions are based on employee’s obligations and employer discretion in social media. Age aspect constitutes an issue in the essay and the effects of regulations in social media in society are the final issue.

Šiuo metu esant itin nepalankiai ekonominei situacijai, susitraukus rinkai bei smarkiai didėjant konkurencijai, įmonių prioritetu, siekiant išlikti, tampa esamų klientų išlaikymas. Tad, bakalauriniame darbe nagrinėjama šiandien labai aktuali tema – AB „Lietuvos draudimas“ klientų lojalumo stiprinimas. Analizuoti šią temą buvo išsikeltas šio darbo tikslas - išsiaiškinti pagrindinius veiksnius, skatinančius klientų prisirišimą prie bendrovės bei pateikti pasiūlymus, kaip stiprinti kiekvieno tipo vartotojų lojalumą. Norint pasiekti šį tikslą, buvo išsikelti pagrindiniai šio darbo uždaviniai: 1. Atlikti AB „Lietuvos draudimas“ išorinės ir vidinės aplinkos analizę, išsiaiškinti ne gyvybės draudimo rinkos tendencijas. 2. Atlikti empirinį tyrimą, siekiant išsiaiškinti vartotojų lūkesčius draudimo paslaugoms bei išmatuoti jų prisirišimo prie įmonės lygį. 3. Pateikti vadybinius pasiūlymus, problemos sprendimo būdus, kaip reikėtų skatinti AB „Lietuvos draudimas“ klientų lojalumą, atsižvelgiant į jų prisirišimo stiprumą. Pirmoje darbo dalyje – įvade - buvo pagrįstas pasirinktos temos aktualumas nagrinėjamai įmonei, nustatytas bakalaurinio baigiamojo darbo tikslas ir uždaviniai, nurodyti atlikto empirinio tyrimo metodai bei praktinė darbo vertė. Antrojoje darbo dalyje nagrinėjama ne gyvybės draudimo rinka, rinkos tendencijos, vartotojai ir konkurentai bei makroaplinka veikianti rinką. Vėliau pateikiama AB „Lietuvos draudimas“ vidinės aplinkos analizė, kuri apibendrinama, pateikiant... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Currently, while economic conditions are negative, market is declining and competition is growing fast, companies want to survive by retaining their current customers. Consequently, this bachelor thesis subject „Customer Loyalty Enhancement at AB "Lietuvos draudimas" is very relevant for today. In order to analyse this subject, the goal was to find out what are the main factors influencing customers‘ commitment and offer suggestions how to enhance loyalty of different types of customers‘. To achieve this goal, the main objectives were settled: 1. To analyse AB„Lietuvos draudimas“ external and internal environments and to ascertain future tendency of non-life insurance market. 2. To do empirical research, on purpose to find out what consumers‘ suspenses for insurance services are, and to measure customers‘ commitment. 3. To give suggestions to the company, how to enhance customers‘ loyalty, considering level of their commitment. In the first part of work, the relevance of the bachelor thesis subject for AB „Lietuvos draudimas“ was reasoned. Then goal and objectives were settled, also empirical research methods and practical value of bachelor thesis was indicated. In the second part of the thesis, there is an analysis of non-life insurance market and its future tendency. Also market consumers, competitors and macro-environment factors which are influencing the market are presented. Then there is an internal analysis of AB „Lietuvos draudimas“, which is later summarized by... [to full text]

Formuluojant pozityvų požiūrį į lojalumo naudą organizacijai versle svarbu suformuoti lojalių klientų kontingentą. UAB „Palink“ CENTO parduotuvių tinklas Lietuvoje dar nėra labai populiarus, todėl vartotojų lojalumo suformavimas šiam tinklui yra esminis ateities uždavinys. Pasiekus aukštą lojalių klientų lygį išauktų CENTO tinklo parduotuvių žinomumas, o tai sąlygotų spartų apyvartos ir įmonės vertės augimą. Baigiamojo darbo tikslas pateikti UAB „Palink“ CENTO parduotuvės vartotojų pasitenkinimo ir lojalumo didinimo priemones. Teorinėje darbo dalyje plačiai aptariama mokslinės literatūros lojalumo koncepcijos samprata, ypatumai, vartotojų lojalumo nauda organizaciajai ir lojalumo formavimo argumentai skatinantys pardavimų augimą. Analitinėje darbo dalyje supažindinama su organizacijos UAB „Palink“ CENTO parduotuvių tinklo veikla bei pateikiamos esamos tinklo pirkėjų lojalumo programos, pateikiami atlikto tyrimo rezultatai apie CENTO parduotuvės pirkėjų apsipirkimo įpročius ir lojalumo egzistenciją. Projektinėje darbo dalyje pristatatomi esminiai pasiūlymai UAB „Palink“ CENTO parduotuvių pirkėjų pasitenkinimo didinimui ir priemonės, kurios skatintų parduotuvės pirkėjų lojalumo formavimasi. Efektyvesnį ir ilgalaikį UAB „Palink“ CENTO parduotuvės pirkėjų lojalumo suformavimą paskatintų platesnis ir kokybiškesnis siūlomų prekių asortimentas, daugiau akcijų, žemesnių kainų. Išleista nuolaidų kortelė turėtų būti skirta visiems pirkėjams ir funkcionalesnė. Taip pat puikus sprendimas... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / It is important to create the contingent of loyal customers and to form positive attitude to the loyalty benefit when operating business. UAB „Palink“ CENTO supermarket is not still very popular in Lithuania, so the main future objective of this supermarket is to establish loyalty towards its customers. The high level of loyal customer’s will enable to increase the notoriety of CENTO supermarket. It will allow generating the fast growing of turnover and give long-term benefit. The main goal of the thesis is to submit measures of customer satisfaction and loyalty increase of UAB „Palink“ CENTO supermarket. In the theoretical part on the basis of scientific literature issues the essence of loyalty conception and it‘s features, customer loyalty benefit for an organization and loyalty arguments stimulating the growth of sales are widely discussed. The analytical part provides the information about the activity and current customer loyalty programs, offered by UAB „Palink“ CENTO supermarket and research results presenting customer shopping habits and the existence of loyalty in CENTO supermarket. In the project part tools promoting the formation of customer’s loyalty and essential offers are presented for CENTO supermarket in order to improve customer satisfaction. UAB „Palink“ CENTO supermarket should offer wider and better quality product assortment, make changes in pricing strategy by setting discounted and low prices in order to form more efficient and long-term customer... [to full text]