Despite the vast research within the fields of buyer-supplier relationships and the fashion industry, a lack of comprehensive understanding concerning the connection between the two seems to be found. Research regarding long-term relations and key concepts in form of trust and commitment, are stated to be crucial in order to create a long-term relationship. However, the importance of these concepts application regarding small-sized fashion retailers was identified to be an unexplored area; thus, a research gap was detected. This highlights a need for further research of the characteristics of the buyer- supplier relationships within small-sized fashion retailers. The purpose of this study was consequently to investigate buyer-supplier relationships within small-sized fashion retailers. Furthermore, based on the literature review of the theoretical framework, three research questions were formulated. To gather empirical data, a multiple-case study was conducted and semi-structured interviews with four purchasing managers working in the fashion industry were performed.   This study discloses that the concepts of trust and commitment were identified as being of great importance, in order to maintain a long-term relationship between the parties. Further, several factors, e.g. communication, conflict resolution and identification were distinguished to have a significant impact on the character of a close relationship. Finally this study concluded that the relation between the buyer and supplier is highly valued; with especially trust as a key factor. Both affective and calculative commitment was identified to exist, often depending on the size and dependence of the supplier. However, the prosperity of the business was ultimately argued to be the main reason for maintaining a partnership. Hence, the retailers preferred a close relationship, but sometimes accepted a transactional one due to their own customer demand.

Submitted by Carlota Kelly (carlotakelly@hotmail.com) on 2018-08-08T10:46:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 FGV_EBAPE_Carlota_Kelly_final_version_dissertation_2018_.pdf: 4716025 bytes, checksum: 1169e49f54e77901ef15e05eea835461 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2018-08-21T12:51:00Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 FGV_EBAPE_Carlota_Kelly_final_version_dissertation_2018_.pdf: 4716025 bytes, checksum: 1169e49f54e77901ef15e05eea835461 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T17:46:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FGV_EBAPE_Carlota_Kelly_final_version_dissertation_2018_.pdf: 4716025 bytes, checksum: 1169e49f54e77901ef15e05eea835461 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-22 / OBJETIVO: Esta tese propõe – se a avaliar a influência de dois tipos de campanhas de e-mail nas vendas online, no contexto de um retalhista na área de moda. A plataforma online do retalhista engloba três conceitos diferentes: LA Woman, LA Kids e LA Loft. Deste modo, o estudo ambiciona entender recorrendo às ferramentas disponíveis, a resposta dos diferentes tipos de campanhas de email ao tráfico gerado e transações no website da marca. METODOLOGIA: Relativamente à abordagem de pesquisa, um estudo de caso foi o método selecionado com ajuda dos dados obtidos das duas plataformas: base de dados interno de email marketing e Google Analytics. Consequentemente, práticas de pesquisa descritiva e explicativa foram conduzidas de modo abordar as perguntas propostas no âmbito desta dissertação. RESULTADOS: As principais conclusões demonstram que campanhas de email de natureza informativa são mais bem-sucedidas atendendo as vendas, enquanto que as campanhas de email com reduções de preço associadas geram um maior número de tráfico no website. Esta primeira descoberta foi reconfirmada, visto que os utilizadores que regressam ao site veem sobretudo através de campanhas de email de origem informativa, que geram maior número de receitas e transações LIMITAÇÕES: A dissertação apresenta algumas limitações associadas à natureza da sua abordagem de pesquisa, bem como aos dados fornecidos pela marca. Desde modo, seria interessante para estudos futuros considerar – se a avaliação os resultados obtidos no ponto de vista de outras empresas do sector da moda, de forma a obter um cenário mais completo. APLICABILIDADE DO TRABALHO: Atendendo aos resultados desta dissertação, a empresa da área da moda, Lanidor, poderá adaptar a sua estratégia digital, de modo a estabelecer e obter uma maior aprovação da sua lista de subscritores. Adicionalmente, este estudo concede a oportunidade de adaptar o tipo de campanhas de email usadas, bem como, o seu conteúdo consoante os seus objetivos e a sua estratégia digital. / PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of two type of email campaigns on e-commerce revenues, in the context of a fashion retailer. This retailer´s e-commerce platform englobes three concepts: LA Woman, LA Kids and LA Loft. Given these circumstances, the study aims to understand under the guidance of the disposable metrics, the response from the different email campaigns to traffic driven and sales conversion on the website. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY: A case study research approach was employed with the support of data obtained from two platforms: in-house email marketing database and Google Analytics. Furthermore, some descriptive and explanatory research was conducted to address the proposed research questions. FINDINGS: The key findings display that informative email campaigns are well succeeded concerning sales conversion, while price reduction email campaigns generate a higher amount of traffic into the website. Moreover, this was reconfirmed as returning visitors to the site come mainly through informative email campaigns generated higher revenues and transactions. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS: The study presented any limitations associated with the nature of the research approach and the organisation of the data provided by the company. Future research can evaluate the results from other companies’ scope and have a more complete overview. PRATICAL IMPLICATIONS: From these results, the fashion brand used to conduct this analysis, Lanidor, can adapt its digital strategy to better address and engage their mailing list. Besides it can adapt the type of email campaigns and content to the different aims beyond their digital marketing strategy.