Användandet av sociala medier ökar kraftigt och har under de senaste åren blivit en viktig del i människors vardag. Detta ger företag en möjlighet att använda sig av sociala medier i sin marknadsföring och är en av de mest populära strategierna just nu är när företag samarbetar med influencers i sin marknadsföring. Detta kallas influencer marketing. Dock finns det svårigheter för företag att hitta rätt influencer att samarbeta med och det finns olika faktorer som behöver värderas innan ett samarbete startar. Forskningsfrågorna som har besvarats i denna studie är vilka faktorer företag anser är viktigast samt vad konsumenterna anser är viktigt när företag samarbetar med influencers på Instagram. Räckvidd, relevans samt resonans är tre faktorer som tidigare studier visar har betydelse samt är viktiga vid influencer marketing. Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ ansats i form av fokusgrupp med konsumenter samt intervjuer med marknadsförare som arbetar på företag inom mode- och skönhetsbranschen i Sverige. Denna information utgjorde den empiriska data som studien består av. Resultatet av studien visar att både konsumenterna och företagen inom mode- och skönhetsbranschen värderar faktorn relevans högst. Konsumenterna anser att det viktigaste är att influencern är trovärdig samt kunnig om produkten personen marknadsför, medan företagen värderade högst att influencerns image speglar företagets. Förslag till fortsatt forskning är att studera vad influencers tycker är viktigast när de väljer företag att samarbeta med. Det skulle vara intressant att veta influencernas åsikter angående detta och om även de värderar relevansen högst.

Submitted by Anderson do Nascimento Ricci (anderson.ricci@fgv.br) on 2018-07-23T14:09:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 J.Ribeiro da Silva_Tese FGV.pdf: 2952965 bytes, checksum: 91408927dff5ec9499641b2db136c131 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2018-07-24T13:39:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 J.Ribeiro da Silva_Tese FGV.pdf: 2952965 bytes, checksum: 91408927dff5ec9499641b2db136c131 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-24T18:59:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 J.Ribeiro da Silva_Tese FGV.pdf: 2952965 bytes, checksum: 91408927dff5ec9499641b2db136c131 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-20 / Purpose – The Match-up hypothesis is a concept which suggests that the stronger the match (i.e. the congruence, adequacy), between both a celebrity and a product, the more effective an endorsement will be. In this paper, we pretend to examine the mentioned match-up hypothesis under a social class perspective. Design/Methodology – An experiment, consisting of two surveys, was conducted to evaluate both the perceived adequacy of a celebrity-product match and its impact on consumers’ purchase intentions. Findings – Results revealed that, although the match enhanced consumer’s perceived adequacy, this rise was not translated into greater purchase intentions. Research limitations – The usage of only one product category, as well as differences regarding personal preferences and biases stemming from the non-probabilistic sampling method, were some of the limitations faced during the research. In addition, the lack of information about the topic, since it had never been studied, corresponded to another limitation. Practical implications – By acknowledging that consumers do perceive an adequacy and match between the type of products and the celebrities’ social class, companies, through their marketing and communication departments, are able to create, design and “shape” specific strategies in order to increase both the effectiveness of endorsements and consumers’’ engagement. Social implications – As a result of its marketing nature and company specific focus, the present research does not offer a wide spectrum of social implications. However, one might consider the understanding of an existing cognitive association, as well as a mental construct, between consumers’ minds and the social characteristics of the elements involved in a consumption decision as a major contribution in this field. Originality - Extant literature has only focused on the celebrity’s attractiveness (physical and/or intellectual) and credibility (expertness and trustworthiness), being the present work the first to focus and explore other perspectives and characteristics such as the social class. / Objetivo – A teoria de “Match-up hypothesis” (hipótese de combinação) é um conceito que sugere que quanto mais intensa, forte, for a combinação (i.e., a congruência ou adequação) entre a celebridade e o produto promovido, maior será a eficácia do endosso. Neste trabalho, nós pretendemos examinar o referido conceito e o impacto do mesmo sob uma perspectiva de classe social. Metodologia – Um experimento/estudo, consistindo em dois questionários, foi conduzido com o objetivo de avaliar tanto a adequação percebida entre celebridade e produto, assim como o impacto da última nas intenções de compra dos consumidores. Resultados – Os resultados revelaram que, não obstante ao facto do o referido “match” realçar e aumentar a adequação percebida pelo consumidor, esse aumento não se traduz num crescimento das intenções de compra. Limitações – A utilização de apenas uma categoria de produtos, assim como as diferenças relacionadas com preferências pessoais e enviesamento decorrente de um método de amostragem não probabilística, foram algumas das limitações enfrentadas durante a pesquisa conduzida. Adicionalmente, a falta de informação e dados sobre o tópico discutido, uma vez que nunca fora antes estudado, correspondeu a outra limitação. Aplicabilidade do trabalho – Ao reconhecer que os consumidores são capazes de entender a existência de um “match”, uma relação, entre o tipo de produtos e a classe social da celebridade, as empresas podem criar, projetar e “desenhar” estratégias específicas de forma a aumentar não só a eficácia do endosso como também o engajamento dos consumidores. Contribuições para a sociedade – Devido à natureza do trabalho e ao seu foco nas ações de uma empresa, o presente estudo não oferece um espectro muito alargado de contribuições no campo social. Todavia, o reconhecimento da existência de uma associação cognitiva, assim como de construções mentais, entre a mente dos consumidores e as características sociais dos elementos envolvidos na decisão de consumo pode ser considerado o maior contributo do estudo neste campo em análise. Originalidade – A literatura existente tem-se apenas focado na atratividade (aparência, física e/ou intelectual) e na credibilidade (perícia e confiança) de uma celebridade, sendo o presente trabalho o primeiro a focar-se e explorar outras perspectivas e características tais como a classe social.

As a result of three decades of rapid economic development, China has become the world’s second largest economy and the second biggest market for luxury consumer products (Chevalier & Lu, 2009; Degen, 2009). The most populous nation in the world is also a leading sports power with strong yet mythical potentials in its sports business market (Chadwick, 2008). This thesis studies the area where luxury consumption and sports business intersect in the market by examining the phenomenon of sports celebrity endorsement of luxury brands and how such endorsements lead to the intentions and decisions by Chinese consumers to purchase the endorsed brands. Employing a mixed-method approach by using qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys, this study adopts a methodological triangulation research design, which involves semi-structured interviews with brand managers and professionals to explore their knowledge and experiences, questionnaire surveys of consumers to understand their demographic characteristics and luxury consumption motives and considerations, and confirmative structured interviews with consumers to ensure the reliability of the research and expand the findings. Research data analysis generated three major findings. Firstly, the purchasing intentions and decisions of the consumers are the result of the synchronised functioning of a triad of social, personal, and commercial factors that define both the endorsers and the consumers. Secondly, the characteristics of the sports celebrity endorsers in terms of their attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise have positive relationships with the represented brand equity, which in turn has a positive relationship with the consumers’ intentions and decisions to purchase the endorsed products. Thirdly, Chinese consumers demonstrate a weak and conditional preference for local sports celebrities to endorse international luxury brands. These research findings explain why it is more difficult for luxury brand owners to sell to the consumers than to impress or interest them, particularly in the context of the Chinese market. This is a pioneering academic study, intended to provide insights into how consumers in China respond to sports celebrity endorsement of luxury brands. It 2 provides an academic understanding of a knowledge gap between the studies of luxury business and sports marketing. It may benefit the strategists and practitioners of luxury brands by providing an empirical understanding of Chinese consumers and their decision-making processes under the influences of sports celebrity endorsements, so they can develop marketing communication strategies more effectively in the emerging market.

Background: Today ’s organizations receive increasing pressure from society and workers to maintain good work life balance. Flexible working arrangement is one of the HRM policies to improve employee’s work performance, job satisfaction and retention. Prior discussion still does not find the clear result on the positive effect of FWAs. Due to the administrative burdens, many organizations, especially SMEs are still hesitant to introduce such policies. In this study, the authors examine the effects on FWAs on employee’s improved engagement. The study will take a form of replicative study, and focus is on leader endorsement and feeling of respect in relation to leader prototypicality. Moreover, different circumstances of informal FWA based on size of the organization is explored. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to make contribution to create a cumulative knowledge on FWA studies by testing the generalization of a prior study. The result of this study will ultimately have an implication for how organizations may benefit from allowing their employees to have access to FWAs. Methodology:In this study, the authors use statistical approach to test the effect of FWA on employee’s improved feelings and the leader endorsement in relation to leader prototypicality. The research approach, measures, method and model are designed to be exactly same as Koivisto and Rice, (2016) however one change in research context is made, which is number of employees in the company. Conclusion: The result of the study shows that FWA allowance may not have significant influence on subordinates’ feeling of respect and leader endorsement. This implies the difficulty for leaders to use FWA as a tool to influence employee commitment on shared goal. Moreover, difference between prior finding indicates that FWA study may need to be separated for different size of the company. / <p></p><p></p>

Problem formulation: What factors affect the consumers perception of credibility in influencer marketing on social media? How and why do certain factors affect the credibility of influencer marketing? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to understand what factors affect the perception of credibility in influencer marketing on social media. Moreover, the aim is to understand how and why certain factors affect the credibility in influencer marketing in order to elaborate a conceptual model consisting of factors generating credible influencer marketing. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework of this paper consists of existing theories regarding social identity theory, perception, brand communication, word-of-mouth (WOM), celebrity endorsement and social influencers. Methodology: This study is conducted through both a quantitative and a qualitative study with a deductive approach. The collection of primary data consists of an online survey where 120 respondents participated followed by five qualitative interviews. In order to determine what aspects to examine, a conceptual model was created based on the previous findings within credibility in WOM and celebrity endorsement. The secondary data building the theoretical framework of this thesis are collected from peer reviewed articles published in scientific journals as well as books. Empirical findings: The empirical findings consist of the result from the qualitative and quantitative study. The result of the quantitative study presents the outcome from 24 Likert scale items presented in text, charts and tables. The empirical findings from the qualitative study presents the outcome from the interviews conducted through personal communication face to face or through Skype and are presented in text that are strengthened with citation from the interviews. Conclusion: The findings show that the credibility in influencer marketing is positively affected by the perception of the influencer being a credible source and the influencer and the brand being a good fit.

The optimal relational experiences of infants and young children demand a cross-sector workforce informed by Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) principles and practices. A recent review by the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health, Inc identified seven themes that help define “What makes an IECMH association strong?”: (1) Identity, (2) Cross-Systems Collaborations, (3) Sound Organizational Structure, (4) Competency-Informed Training, (5) Reflective Supervision Capacity, (6) Policy, and (7) Higher Education. The present paper documents the story of the Association of Infant Mental Health in Tennessee (AIMHiTN) and the role of the Endorsement for Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice Promoting IECMH in that growth across those seven themes with the additional themes of (8) Funding and, (9) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. First, foundational literature is reviewed to summarize IECMH-informed workforce development. Next, AIMHiTN's story of workforce development is mapped onto the nine themes and challenges and lessons learned are summarized. The article aims to serve as a roadmap for other states, provinces, territories, or nations hoping to develop their own Association for Infant Mental Health (AIMH) as well as a guide for those with existing AIMHs for promoting continued growth and sustainability.

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the relationship between an influencer’s endorsement of a brand and the subsequent brand’s equity within a consumer’s mind. Research Question: How will an influencer endorsement influence a consumer’s brand equity?  Design, Methodology, and Approach: The authors of this paper used a qualitative approach, inductive structure. Due to the explorative nature of this paper, the authors have conducted 10 semi-structured interviews. This method generated a depth of information which was then coded for the analysis process.  Findings: The findings of the research suggest a strong relation between frequent engagement from the influencer and brand awareness through endorsement. There is also a positive association between the relationship with an influencer. Furthermore, trust in influencers is built through two components, knowledge/expertise and authenticity, however, trust does not influence brand loyalty.  Limitations: The interviews were conducted in English although English was not the first language for any of the participants, this caused some confusion when the interviewees had to explain the more technical terms in simplified language. Furthermore, this may have hindered their ability to express themselves 100% accurately, however, the researchers made sure to get a detailed answer for every question to ensure nothing was lost in translation.  Keywords: Influencer, influencer endorsement, brand equity, brand loyalty, brand image, brand awareness, trust, knowledge, expertise, authenticity.

Influencer marketing and celebrity endorsement has grown in the past years and has become a vital part of marketing in the fashion industry. This field has been well researched, however a gap in the research is the focus on men and the role brand love has. The purpose of this study has been to enhance the understanding of how brand love influences men’s perception when exposed to influencer marketing and celebrity endorsement on Instagram. Additionally, the aim was to examine if influencer marketing or celebrity endorsement was most appropriate when marketing brands.    The method for this thesis was a qualitative approach by interviewing men in focus groups. The empirical findings were analyzed together with the literature in order to find thematics. The conclusions from the analysis was men do not experience brand love in the same capacity as the literature describes. However their emotional preferences and connections can still influence how they view brands being marketed on Instagram by an influencer or celebrity endorser. Men tend to trust celebrity endorsement more compared to influencer marketing regardless of gender, as they are viewed as more professional aligned with source credibility. However, the empirical findings showed men do not feel a need for male influencers. A reason why brands need to rethink marketing through endorsers.

The widespread use of social media platforms and the emergence of influencer marketing have revolutionized brand-consumer interactions, particularly among the younger demographic. In line with this trend, the influence of e-cigarette influencers on Generation Z (Gen Z) has become a prominent area of research. As influencer marketing continues to thrive and the e-cigarette industry experiences significant growth, it is imperative to comprehend how these influencers shape Gen Z's perception of influencers endorsing e-cigarette brands. Therefore, this study aims to examine the perception of Gen Z towards Instagram influencers in the United States who endorse e-cigarette brands. By exploring the perspectives of Gen Z, this research seeks to gain insights into the potential impact of these influencers on Gen Z's attitudes and behaviours regarding e-cigarettes. The study was based on the theory of source credibility and celebrity endorsement. The study adopted a qualitative research approach and employed in-depth interviews and netnography as methodology. A total of eleven in-depth interviews were conducted with participants from Gen Z who possessed knowledge and familiarity with e- cigarettes. Additionally, through netnography, comments from publicly available Instagram posts of the selected e-cigarette influencers were collected and examined over a period of three years. The findings highlight that Gen Z generally holds a positive perception of e-cigarette influencers on Instagram, perceiving them as credible sources of information and inspiration, thereby influencing their attitudes and behaviours concerning e-cigarettes. These insights have practical implications for e-cigarette brands aiming to engage Gen Z through influencer marketing, emphasizing the importance of trust and expertise in influencer-generated content. However, the study also highlights potential societal implications, including the potential for i increased e-cigarette consumption and ethical concerns surrounding the influence of trustworthy influencers on underage users. In conclusion, the study proposes avenues for future research, such as conducting surveys with larger sample sizes and exploring perceptions of e- cigarette influencers on alternative social media platforms like TikTok.

Sport sponsorship on social media is a marketing promotional tool that has become increasingly popular. Further, the sport sponsorship spending is only expected to increase. Athletes are becoming brand ambassadors and communicators advertising products and brands on their social media channels. Collaborations between athletes and brands can be essential for both parties. Previous research has studied the concept of sport sponsorship´s influence on brand equity and sport sponsorship´s influence on social media engagement. However, to the best of the author's knowledge, no prior study has focused on how an individual's personality affects the perception of the brand personality of the sponsor brand, as well as the personality of the promoting athlete in the context of social media marketing. As culture differences have been reported to affect sport sponsoring, the decision was taken to focus on the Swedish market, which has not been studied before. Thus, the following research question was put forth: How do Swedish consumers perceive sport sponsorship on social media, and what are the effects of congruence? Through a mixed method approach the study aimed to answer the research question. The aim of the study was to develop a deeper understanding around sport sponsorship on the social media platform Instagram and how it affects consumers' attitude towards and perception of the brand acting as a sponsor. An online questionnaire was sent out to consumers within Generation Z as well as interviews were held with business practitioners to gain information from various perspectives. The findings of the study will give brand managers within the Swedish market insights into the consumers´ attitude towards sport sponsorship which will be of major importance when planning future activities within this area. The study is based on the theoretical framework centered on the Big 5 Personality Traits, Brand Personality and Congruency Theory. Results reveal that congruence between the consumer ́s personality traits and the athlete ́s personality traits as well as between the athlete´s personality traits and the brand's personality both have an impact on how consumers perceive the outcomes of sport sponsorship on social media. The outcomes studied were consumers´ perception of fit, consumers´ attitude towards the sport sponsorship, brand reputation and consumers perception of self-brand connection. Looking at the brand personality dimensions, sincerity is considered to be highly essential for a brand as it is this dimension alone that was shown to have an effect on how consumers view the sport sponsorship when it comes to overall fit, attitude, reputation and self-brand connection. An athlete, on the other hand, should be sought by being perceived as conscientious, as this trait is shown to have a positive impact on the congruence between the respondent and the athlete and influences the perceived overall fit, attitude, and self-brand connection. However, results also reveal that different athletes are perceived differently and thus the outcomes of the sport sponsorship, from the sponsoring brand´s perspective, may differ.