The food industry faces many challenges in its sustainability work, and consumers demand that companies in the food industry should increase their transparency. For the food industry to be more transparent, it must improve its traceability throughout the supply chain. Previous research let us know that traceability is not a new thing, but the way that new technologies such as blockchain revolutionize the way data can be communicated. Many companies have just started to use this to trace the supplies along their supply chain and are not using the data collected in the most efficient way. Therefore, this thesis presents data from two illustrative case studies to show the opportunities and challenges of using blockchain traceability technology. The opportunities show the benefits of being the first mover in the market to create new boosts for the products together with increasing consumer loyalty through more transparency. This paper also concludes that it's expensive to implement new technology in the supply chain and challenging to encourage consumers to make a local, organic, or sustainable choice despite the higher cost of the products.

Background: The consulting industry’s growth has continuously outpaced the gen- eral economy, leading to more new entrants and increased intra-industry competition. Thus, competitive practices must be revised to ensure existing consultancies’ market position. Since customer loyalty is today’s most prominent success factor for con- sultancies, this is what to increase. Customer loyalty’s most influential factor is the competitive practice of customer intimacy, which in turn consists of subgroups. The investigated subgroups are employee and business specific traits. Objectives: This master thesis aims to uncover what direct and underlying factors of customer intimacy increase customer loyalty and how they compare to each other. Methods: This paper will take a quantitative approach by utilizing the concept of Structural Equation Modeling. Surveys will gather primary data for the model and consist of a questionnaire aiming to retrieve valid and reliable answers from people with experience working with consultants. Results: The results show that most direct factors used in customer intimacy have a positive influence on customer loyalty while the underlying factors thin out. Busi- ness specific traits showed to have a significant impact on customer intimacy while employee specific traits did not. Conclusions: This study concludes that direct and underlying factors of customer intimacy help consultancies improve their competitive practices to increase customer loyalty.

Covid-19 affected all industries worldwide and were affected differently, but one industry that faced many setbacks due to the Covid-19 pandemic is the restaurant industry. According to SCB (2021), cities between 50 000 – 99 999 inhabitants decreased by 18,9% in sales. My aim with the thesis is to examine the impact of digital marketing strategies on the sales and customer loyalty of restaurants during the Covid-19 pandemic in medium-sized cities. This thesis is intended to contribute information on how restaurants have worked to keep their customers during the pandemic with the help of digital tools such as social media marketing and online delivery services.  The usefulness of online delivery services and the shift toward digital and social media marketing because of covid-19 are the focus of this thesis research into the restaurant industry's marketing strategies. The thesis emphasizes how digital tools can help restaurants keep customers during the pandemic and speed up their recovery. Digital marketing was a cost-effective way to reach customers during the pandemic, according to the thesis conducted with six restaurant owners and managers in a medium-sized city. Despite the competitive advantage of online delivery services, maintaining customer loyalty was primarily driven by existing relationships. / Covid-19 påverkade alla branscher globalt och alla påverkades olika, men en bransch som ställdes inför många bakslag på grund av Covid-19-pandemin är restaurangbranschen. Enligt SCB (2021) minskade försäljningen 18% i städer med mellan 50 000 - 99 999 invånare.Mitt syfte med uppsatsen är att undersöka digitala marknadsföringsstrategiers påverkan på försäljning och kundlojalitet för restauranger under Covid-19-pandemin i medelstora städer. Denna uppsats är avsedd att bidra med information om hur restauranger har arbetat för att behålla sina kunder under pandemin med hjälp av digitala verktyg som sociala medier marknadsföring och online-leveranstjänster.Nytta av online-leveranstjänster och skiftet mot digitala och sociala medier-marknadsföring på grund av Covid-19 är fokus för denna uppsats om restaurangbranschens marknadsföringsstrategier. Uppsatsen betonar hur digitala verktyg kunde hjälpa restauranger att behålla kunder under pandemin och påskynda deras återhämtning. Digital marknadsföring var en kostnadseffektiv metod för att nå kunder under pandemin, enligt uppsatsen som genomförts med sex restaurangägare och chefer i en medelstor stad. Trots fördelen med online-leveranstjänster var bibehållandet av kundlojalitet främst av befintliga relationer.

This study seeks to investigate, from both macro and micro perspectives, the effect of brand activism on consumer loyalty.  The macro perspective examines the general relationship between brand activism and consumer loyalty, whereas the micro perspective examines the specific context of companies' withdrawal from Russia as a form of brand activism.  The study conducts a comprehensive analysis of how the consumer receives information about brand activism. The macro-level literature review investigates the definition and evolution of brand activism, the relationship between brand activism and consumer loyalty, and the communication strategies' effect on consumer loyalty. On a micro level, the study concentrates on the decisions corporations made as part of their brand activism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict of 2022.  The purpose of this study is to thoroughly comprehend the intricate relationship between brand activism and consumer loyalty.  The methodology section describes the hypotheses model as well as the research strategy based on surveys and interviews.  This study's findings provide new insights into the influence of brand activism on consumer loyalty and its three components (cognitive, affective, and behavioral) as well as brand activism communication strategies on the macro level, and into the specific context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the micro level. It highlights that brand activism shapes consumer loyalty differently through the three components and according to the context. Additionally, social media is the communication channel that influences the most the relationship between brand activism and consumer loyalty on both macro and micro perspectives.  This study contributes to the disciplines of marketing and consumer behavior by advancing the relationship among brand activism, consumer loyalty, and communication.

The internet has enabled billions of online transactions with customers transacting in real-time from various geographical points, while ecommerce could make more for Quebec traders dealing in various commodities. Quebec's ecommerce is still underdeveloped. This thesis seeks to understand the factors behind an e-consumer making a purchasing decision on a Quebec ecommerce site by using the Online Purchase assessment tool (OPAT) model to pinpoint emerging e-commerce trends, a literature review, and a questionnaire to discover the reality of why consumers purchase online. It discovered that e-commerce is not well-developed in Quebec because platforms use French and leave out English-speaking shoppers, most residents prefer physical shopping, and poor pricing strategies by foreign ecommerce platforms. This study aims to uncover why the Quebec retail industry is underdeveloped when it has enormous potential to lead among Canadian provinces. It evaluates consumer purchasing behaviors from online stores based on three moments that happen during the purchasing process. Summarily, it measures the first moment a retailer visits the platform, when they decide to purchase, and loyalty when they return to purchase again. It also provides recommendations for Quebec retailers regarding factors to consider when setting up their ecommerce stores to be successful.

No description available.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the appropriate and effective use of branding as a vital part of the communication process of an organization. In addition, this project will help identify issues to improve enthusiasm for the use of the brand, help managers become aware of brand loyalty, and show how to measure the effectiveness of the brand.

<p>This study uses the Large Commercial Producer Survey distributed by Purdue University in 2021. It was analyzed using a Marginal Probability Effects Probit Model to evaluate driving factors behind relational contracts and loyalty in agricultural capital equipment.</p>

Communicating data-driven and personalized marketing content is today common among large B2C businesses with loyalty programs. Email has become the standard digital channel for this type of communication as it offers high cost-efficiency among digital channels and great possibilities for creating appealing content customized to the customer. This thesis aims to identify what effects personalized communication through email can lead to within loyalty programs and whether businesses should invest in personalized email communication. The methodology consisted of two quantitative case studies in the form of data analysis on eleven personalized  newsletters and one activation email for a business in the fuel and convenience industry. A series of qualitative interviews with individuals that work in the field of personalized communication was also conducted. The results show that the loyalty members to a large extent accept the communication and are exposed to the personalized content. The emails in the form of monthly newsletters did not show any consistent positive effects on increased sales, store visits or in upsell. The activation email, which was part of the activation phase in the customer lifecycle, showed greater promise as it increased number of visits and led to a positive overall upsell. Additional effects in the form of switching costs and brand awareness were also identified, as long as the content reaches the customers personalization is deemed relevant. Otherwise it risks alienating them as customers today expects digital marketing to be personalized. In summary, the effects of personalized email justifies investing in it, but one should be aware of what effects to expect. / Kommunikation av data driven och individanpassad marknadsföring är idag vanligt bland stora kundbaserade företag med lojalitetsprogram. E-post har blivit standard som digital kanal för sådan typ av kommunikation främst för att den erbjuder hög kostnadseffektivitet och goda möjligheter att skapa attraktivt innehåll anpassat efter kund. Den här uppsatsen har som syfte att identifiera vilka effekter individanpassad kommunikation genom e-post kan leda till inom lojalitetsprogram, samt om företag bör investera i individanpassad e-post kommunikation. Metoden bestod av två kvantitativa fallstudier i form av analys av elva individanpassade nyhetsbrev och ett aktiveringsbrev av ett företag verksam inom bränsle och närbutik. En serie kvalitativa intervjuer hölls också med individer verksamma inom individanpassad kommunikation. Resultaten visar att lojalitetsmedlemmarna i hög grad accepterar kommunikationen och nås av innehållet. De individanpassade nyhetsbreven visade inga tydliga positiva effekter inom försäljning, butiksbesök eller merförsäljning. Aktiveringsmailet, som var en del av aktiveringsfasen i kundlivscykeln visade på mer lovande resultat genom att leda till fler butiksbesök och ledde till en positiv merförsäljning. Ytterligare effekter inom byteskostnad och varumärkesmedvetenhet identifierades även, såvida innehållet når kunderna och uppfattas som relevant. Om inte riskerar innehållet att stöta bort kunderna eftersom det idag förväntas att digital marknadsföring är individanpassad. Sammanfattningsvis så rättfärdigar de identifierade effekterna investering i individanpassad kommunikation, men man bör vara medveten om vilka effekterna är.

Social responsibility and ethics have been shown to have a positive influence on consumer behavior, however the vast majority of related research has measured this relationship indirectly through scenario analysis of hypothetical firms rather than consumers' perceptions of real-world firms. This dissertation focused on a real-world application of the theory. Each hypothesis that specified a positive relationship was supported. These results show that Brand Social Responsibility Image not only positively influences Brand Loyalty, but also influences the perception of both Product Quality and Service Quality. Concurrently, it was found that both Product and Service Quality Image influenced Brand Loyalty. When controlling for the effect of other variables, some of the relationships proved to be weaker than expected. There were three hypotheses that tested the moderating effect of Inclination to Reward Brand Social Responsibility Image. The moderating influence of Inclination to Reward Brand Social Responsibility Image (RSRI) on the relationships between Brand Social Responsibility Image (BSRI) and Product Quality Image and between BSRI and Brand Loyalty were greatest for low levels of BSRI. Consumers rated Product Quality Image and Brand Loyalty lowest under conditions of L-BSRI and H-RSRI. Alternatively, when BSRI was high, both high and low treatments of RSRI resulted in similar sample means for both Product Quality Image and Brand Loyalty (i.e., minimal moderating effect). Inclination to Reward Brand Social Responsibility Image (RSRI) appeared to moderate the relationship between Brand Social Responsibility Image (BSRI) and Service Quality Image at high levels of BSRI. In other words, the perception of service quality was relatively high when both BSRI and RSRI were viewed as being high. Under conditions of H-BSRI and L-RSRI, Service Quality Image was substantially lower. Under conditions of L-BSRI, there was very little difference between L- and H-RSRI. / Ph. D.