Background: Previous research highlights that marketing is a success factor for startups to thrive. New companies face specific challenges due to their novelty, size, and limited resources. It is necessary to understand and distinguish startups from other companies. Given that startups differ from other companies, it has become evident that traditional marketing needs to be complemented by entrepreneurial marketing for these businesses. There is a lack of quality studies on marketing strategies for startups. There is a need for qualitative studies that highlight the marketing challenges startups endure. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the marketing process for startup companies,including the marketing theories and strategies used in practice, and to identify any similiarities and differences between the industries of the companies. Research questions: What does the marketing process look like for startups? How do marketing strategies differ across various industries? Method: The study is a case study and employs a qualitative method based on three semistructured interviews with three different startup companies. The research approach is abductive, using previous research as support for the analysis of the empirical data. The empirical findings develop the underlying theory through new insights from practical contexts. Conclusions: The conclusions show that all three startup companies use entrepreneurial marketing, characterized by limited resources, the absence of a specific marketing team, and an experimental approach. Digital marketing has been used to varying degrees, with different results depending on the product and industry. All companies focus on identifying their target segments and using various methods to reach them, as well as differentiating themselves from competitors through product development. Industry-specific differences impact their expansion opportunities, where complex products require specific customer segments and high competition drives continuous product development. / Bakgrund: I tidigare forskning lyfts det upp att marknadsföring är en framgångsfaktor för att startups ska lyckas. Nya företag möter specifika utmaningar på grund av deras nymodighet, storlek och begränsade resurser. Det är nödvändigt att förstå och urskilja startups från övriga företag. I samband med att startups skiljer sig från övriga företag, har det framkommit att traditionell marknadsföring behöver kompletteras av den entreprenöriella marknadsföringen fördessa. Det råder brist på kvalitetsstudier om marknadsföringsstrategier för startups. Det finns ett behov för kvalitativa studier som lyfter upp marknadsföringsutmaningar som startups utstår. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att utforska marknadsföringsprocessen för startup-företag, med marknadsföringsteorier och strategier som används i praktiken samt synliggöra eventuella likheter och skillnader mellan företagens branscher. Frågeställningar: Hur ser marknadsföringsprocessen ut för startups och hur skiljer sig marknadsföringsstrategierna inom olika branscher? Metod: Studien är en fallstudie och har en kvalitativ metod som är uppbyggd på tre semistrukturerade intervjuer med tre olika startupföretag. Forskningsansatsen är abduktiv där tidigare forskning används som stöd till analys av empirin. Empirin utvecklar den bakomliggande teorin genom nya insikter från praktiska sammanhang. Slutsatser: Slutsatserna visar att alla tre startupföretagen använder entreprenöriellmarknadsföring, kännetecknad av begränsade resurser, avsaknad av specifikt marknadsteamoch ett experimentellt tillvägagångssätt. Digital marknadsföring har använts i varierande grad, med olika resultat beroende på produkt och bransch. Alla företag fokuserar på att identifiera sina målsegment och använda olika metoder för att nå dessa, samt att differentiera sig frånkonkurrenter genom produktutveckling. Branschspecifika skillnader påverkar deras expansionsmöjligheter, där komplexa produkter kräver specifika kundsegment och högkonkurrens driver kontinuerlig produktutveckling.

This PhD thesis examines the factors that have shaped entrepreneurial cognition and practice in entrepreneurs from within the world’s oldest monotheistic religious community; the Zarathustrian community. Zarathustrianism is the religion that was founded by a Prophet named Zarathustra in approximately 1200 BCE. Marketing and Entrepreneurship have, until quite recently, remained two quite independent scholarly domains. In 2002, Morris et al., provided a definition of Entrepreneurial Marketing as, "an integrative construct for conceptualising marketing in an era of change, complexity, chaos, contradiction, and diminishing resources, and one that will manifest itself differently as companies age and grow. It fuses key aspects of recent developments in marketing thought and practice with those in the entrepreneurship area into one comprehensive construct". Since then, research in this field has grown in significance across the globe. A recent book by Sethna, Jones and Harrigan (2013) presents important theoretical developments with regard to research at the Marketing and Entrepreneurship Interface and which addresses critical issues for businesses, both small and large, from global perspectives, and covers topics such as new venture creation, marketing in Small-to-Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) as well as large companies, renewal of existing businesses facing market challenges, internationalization, innovative cost-effective marketing strategies and practices, along with recent exploration of entrepreneurship theory and entrepreneurial behaviour of individuals and, in organisations. Zarathustrianism has not only been instrumental in shaping nascent civilisation of ancient Iran, but has also wielded a considerable influence on Biblical religions and Greaco-Roman philosophical thought. Zarathustra gave his followers a basic and comprehensive ethical rule to live by, namely that they should think Good Thoughts, speak Good Words and perform Good Deeds (Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta in the ancient Persian language called Avestan). This PhD thesis explores the impact of these basic tenets – Good Words, Good Thoughts and Good Deeds - on Zarathustrian entrepreneurship. The researcher takes the stance that the realities of the Entrepreneur/Owner-Manager (EOM) are socially constructed, using ‘thoughts, words and deeds’, rather than objectively determined. In doing so, this research is interested in understanding why things are happening to those Zarathustrian EOMs (actors) and how their different experiences eventually shape, nurture and affect the actors’ entrepreneurial behaviour. Thus, throughout this research study, a qualitative research design based on the Carson et al. (2005) perspectives on an ‘integrative multiple mix of methodologies’ is used, but primarily all centred around ethnographic form. The use of narrative theory and life story techniques is further overlaid with the use of the EMICO framework, a qualitative research model developed by Jones and Rowley (2009) as the basis for exploring ‘entrepreneurial marketing and the Zarathustrian entrepreneur’. The findings reveal that whilst the dimensions of the EMICO framework are both usable and valid for Zarathustrian entrepreneurs, when applied to these firms in the context of ‘ethnic’ entrepreneurs, the framework is lacking in two particular areas; Family Support and Religio-Cultural Identity and Influences of business practice. The thesis makes a significant contribution to the EM and ethnic entrepreneurship literature by first of all re-developing and re-naming the framework, 2e(EMICO), and secondly by further extending the knowledge in respect to Zarathustrian entrepreneurship, about which nothing currently exists in the EM literature.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-13T14:10:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Reynaldo Dannecker Cunha.pdf: 4178316 bytes, checksum: 5c6ede73ac739087ad5073ff365195d4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-04-24 / This study analyzes the influence of marketing activities in the internationalization process of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in emerging countries, focusing on export operations carried out by Brazilian companies. The overall objective is to analyze these activities and check its impact on export performance of MSEs. The specific objectives involve the evaluation of adaptation-standardization strategies, considering the marketing mix (product, price, communication and distribution) on foreign markets; the export performance and its relevance to their business success. To that end, it was developed a conceptual framework that examines company and products characteristics, entrepreneurial marketing and how they influence the marketing activities in the export process. The model is based on a conceptual analysis on export marketing strategy (EMS) and export performance developed by Cavusgil and Zou (1994). In order to understand the context, a comprehensive theoretical review evaluated theories of globalization, marketing and the historical performance of micro and small enterprises in Brazilian exportation. To test the hypothesis a survey was performed with 173 MSEs available at SEBRAE, ABICALÇADOS and Serasa Experian databases; data were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate statistics by structural equation modeling (SEM). It was possible to detect the importance of EMS in the export performance of MSEs studied, mainly by adapting the price to the target market, making it more competitive. It was identified the critical role of international competence of the company for greater success in exporting, as well as the indirect influence of entrepreneurial marketing in export performance, through the impact on EMS. As contributions, the development of the conceptual model adapted to MSEs improves Cavusgil and Zou (1994) model, because this has been tested only in large companies, filling therefore an empirical gap. In addition, studying the export performance of MSEs is aligned with the importance of such company for the Brazilian economy, and the diagnosis on export performance of the same, from economic and strategic criteria, not only contributes to managerial decisions, but to government policies. / Este estudo analisa a influência das atividades de marketing na internacionalização de micro e pequenas empresas (MPEs) em países emergentes, com foco nas operações de exportação desenvolvidas por empresas brasileiras. O objetivo geral é analisar essas atividades e verificar seu impacto na performance de exportação das MPEs. Os objetivos específicos envolvem a avaliação da estratégia de adaptação versus a de padronização, sendo abordado o composto de marketing (produto, preço, comunicação e distribuição) com vistas a mercados externos; a performance de exportação e sua relevância para o sucesso das empresas. Para tanto, foi elaborado um modelo conceitual que analisa as características da empresa, características de seus produtos e o marketing empreendedor, e como estas influenciam as atividades de marketing nos processos de exportação. O modelo está baseado na análise conceitual sobre estratégia de marketing para exportação (EMS) e performance de exportação construído por Cavusgil e Zou (1994). Para contextualizar o campo de estudo, realizou-se uma revisão teórica sobre teorias de internacionalização, sobre marketing e sobre o desempenho histórico das micro e pequenas empresas brasileiras na exportação. Para testar as hipóteses foi realizada uma survey com 173 MPEs oriundas de bases de dados do SEBRAE, da ABICALÇADOS e da Serasa Experian, e os dados obtidos foram analisados utilizando-se estatística descritiva e multivariada, por meio da modelagem de equações estruturais (SEM). Foi possível detectar a importância das EMS na performance de exportação das MPEs estudadas, principalmente pela adaptação do preço ao mercado de destino, tornando-o mais competitivo. Identificou-se o papel decisivo da competência internacional da empresa para obter maior sucesso na exportação, assim como da influência indireta do marketing empreendedor na performance de exportação, por meio dos impactos nas EMS. Como contribuições, a elaboração do modelo conceitual adaptado a MPEs apresenta uma evolução do modelo de Cavusgil e Zou (1994), pois este foi testado apenas em grandes empresas, preenchendo, portanto, um gap empírico. Além disso, estudar a performance de exportação das MPEs está alinhado com a importância desse tipo de empresa para a economia brasileira, e o diagnóstico sobre desempenho de exportação das mesmas, a partir de critérios econômicos e estratégicos, contribui para decisões não apenas gerencias, mas para as políticas do Governo.

The main purpose of this thesis is to recognize the entrepreneurial identity of femaleartists today in Greece, as portrayed from their accounts on Instagram. This study uses aquantitative method to examine the ways in which artists become digital and culturalentrepreneurs. The results reveal that cultural and digital entrepreneurial identity is evidentthrough entrepreneurial marketing by female artists in Greece. The findings can also supportfuture research on the digitization of art and the entrepreneurial activities and marketingstrategies from the art world in Greece.The proposed research question of this study refers to the ways in which Greek femaleartists act as digital and cultural entrepreneurs on Instagram. The study is based on a specificsample of female artists in Greece who use Instagram to project and promote their artworks.In doing so, there are samples of entrepreneurial marketing which indicate that beside theirrole as artists they act as entrepreneurs and they are heading towards a social impact on the artworld in Greece.The “4Ps” of marketing mix were used as a method for collecting data from Instagramaccounts while for the analysis a code book was created, in order to interpret the collecteddata. The findings of this research were able to confirm that the traditional marketing mixapplies to the accounts of the five artists and also can be used in a digital and cultural context.One main limitation of this study was the number of accounts included in the research, aswell as the weaknesses of content analysis as a method itself. However, the findings can shedlight in the area of female entrepreneurship in Greece and valuable insights in how the “4Ps”of marketing can be applied in a modern context. Additionally, this research can be used as astarting point for further research on female entrepreneurship and for the application ofvarious research methods on the subject.