Abstract This study explores the cross-functional conflicts in new product launches in the context of food industry, with particular focus to fast moving consumer goods setting. The purpose of this study is to develop an empirically grounded model of cross-functional conflicts in new product launches for the food industry. The theoretical approach taken in this study follows the resource based view of the firm. The theoretical framework was developed to make the conflict enablers, cross-functional conflicts and new product launches explicit for analysis. The empirical part of this study includes a qualitative single case study, which was geographically and culturally focused on Saudi Arabia. The research data was collected primarily through interviews from selected informants of the selected case company and representatives of two strategic partners and two competitors. The data was analyzed to empirically elaborate the theoretical framework. As a result of the data analysis, the cross-functional conflicts were categorized under task and relationship conflicts. The role of marketing resources in cross-functional conflicts was found to be more complex than what had been reported in their earlier research. The results of the data analysis were used to revise the theoretical model of cross-functional conflicts in the new product launches. The research provides several theoretical contributions and managerial implications in cross-functional conflicts in new product launches. / Abstrakti Väitöstutkimuksessa tarkastellaan yrityksen toimintojen välisiä konflikteja uusien tuotteiden lanseerauksen yhteydessä. Empiirisenä kohdetoimialana tarkastellaan elintarviketeollisuutta, erityisesti nopeasti liikkuvien kulutustuotteiden kontekstissa. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on kehittää empiirisesti perusteltu malli toimintojen välisistä konflikteista uusien tuotteiden lanseerauksessa elintarviketeollisuudessa. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen lähestymistapa hyödyntää resurssiperustaista teoriaa. Työssä laaditun teoreettisen viitekehyksen avulla voidaan analysoida konfliktien mahdollistajia, toimintojen välisiä konflikteja ja uusien tuotteiden lanseerausta. Tutkimuksen empiirisessä osassa on toteutettu laadullinen tapaustutkimus, joka sijoittuu maantieteellisesti ja kulttuurisesti Saudi Arabiaan. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin pääasiassa haastattelemalla valitun kohdeyrityksen edustajia sekä kahden strategisen kumppaniyrityksen edustajia sekä kahden kilpailijayrityksen edustajia. Teoreettista viitekehystä täydennettiin ja täsmennettiin empiirisen aineiston analyysin avulla. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että toimintojen välisiä konflikteja voidaan kategorisoida tehtävään ja suhteisiin liittyviin konflikteihin. Markkinointiresurssien rooli toimintojen välisissä konflikteissa näyttäytyi monimutkaisempana kuin olemassa oleva kirjallisuus antoi olettaa. Teoreettista mallia muokattiin empiirisen analyysin perusteella. Tutkimus tarjoaa useita teoreettisia kontribuutioita ja liikkeenjohdollisia implikaatioita liittyen toimintojen välisiin konflikteihin uusien tuotteiden lanseerauksessa.

This thesis focuses on marketing campaign life cycle management and customer relationship management in the area of fast moving consumer goods. Because of the highly competitive nature of this market the companies are in search of ways how to gain an advantage over their competitors -- which can be more effective marketing towards customers. The main goals of this thesis are completion of thorough theoretical fundamentals and subsequently design of methodology of marketing campaign management. The theoretical part of this thesis presents basic concepts and discuses the topic separately from both technology and marketing standpoint. Also this part presents current trends in the EMM area and explains the customer relationship management specifics of the FMCG market. Practical chapters consist in development of the marketing campaign lifecycle methodology. The methodology is based on theoretical concepts presented in the first part of thesis and my own professional experience with implementation projects. The main merit of this thesis is development of the methodology, which is technology independent, intuitive, flexible and utilizable not only in the FMCG area. Another merit is drawing up of complex theoretical concepts that are merely covered by professional literature.

In today’s constantly changing, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) retail market environment, it is imperative that retailers should focus on creating a pleasant shopping experience to differentiate their stores in order to achieve a competitive advantage. One of the strategies to achieve competitive advantage can be human variables. This study focused on the influence of human variables on consumers’ shopping experience in FMCG retail stores in Ekurhuleni. Therefore, this study expands the existing knowledge of human variables in the FMCG retail environment. Human variables in the context of this study comprise other customers and sales associates. Each of these human variables is made up of sub-variables. The sub-variables of other customers include crowding and social relations. On the other hand, the sub-variables of sales associates are sales associates’ availability, physical attributes of sales associates and behavioural attributes of sales associates. This empirical study was conducted with 400 FMCG retail stores consumers of the ages between 18 and 60 who reside in Ekurhuleni. The study followed a descriptive research design and quantitative approach in order to address the research objectives. A convenience sampling method and a mall-intercept survey by means of self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted in which the Likert scale statements in question 2 - 6 (see Appendix B) measuring different sub-variables of other customers and sales associates were subjected to a Principal Axis Factoring with Oblimin rotation. The results of the final EFA involved 13 Likert scale items. The test were conducted to validate the measures of human variables. The Principal Axis Factoring revealed five factors. These factors were social relations, behavioural attributes, crowding, physical attributes and sales associates’ availability. Therefore, reliability tests were conducted on the final items measuring the human variables. The results of this research study indicate that social relations, sales associates’ availability, physical attributes of sales associates and behavioural attributes of sales associates influence consumers’ shopping experience in FMCG retail stores in Ekurhuleni. However, the consumers felt neutral with regard to crowding. The test results of a chi-square for equal proportion revealed that all the five hypotheses (H1, H2, H3, H4, and H5) were supported as the proportions of consumers with regard to the influence of these sub-variables on their shopping experience were statistically different. Furthermore, ANOVA and F-test results for testing whether there were differences between demographics indicated that H1a, H2b and H5c were supported because there were statistically significant differences between genders with regard to the influence of crowding, between age groups regarding social relations, as well as between racial groups with regard to the influence of behavioural attributes of sales associates on consumers’ shopping experience. / Business Management / M. Com (Business Management)

Syftet med denna studie är att bidra till en djupare förståelse för vilka faktorer som påverkar fristående varumärkesförlängningar bland företag inom dagligvaruhandeln. Studien tillämpar en kvalitativ metod där semistrukturerade intervjuer används för att samla in empiriska data. Intervjuerna har genomförts med anställda på tre olika företag inom dagligvaruhandeln. Analysen av empiriska data har genomförts med hjälp av abduktiv metod med inspiration från grundad teori. Slutsatsen i denna studie är att det finns ett flertal påverkande faktorer vid fristående varumärkesförlängningar, bland annat konsumenters och återförsäljares innovationsförmåga, användningen av ambassadörer vid kommunikation och lansering samt att innovativa konsumenter inte nödvändigtvis kan ses som illojala mot varumärken. Den faktor som studien visar har störst påverkan vid en fristående varumärkesförlängning är förlängningens varumärkesrelevans. Studiens presenterar även en modell för påverkande faktorer vid fristående varumärkesförlängningar. Denna studie bidrar till en djupare förståelse ur ett företagsperspektiv för de påverkande faktorerna vid fristående varumärkesförlängningar. Studien visar även att innovativa konsumenter som i allmänhet anses vara illojala mot varumärken efterfrågar förlängningsprodukter i större utsträckning om dessa marknadsförs av ambassadörer i sociala medier, samt att återförsäljare i vissa fall kräver att få ta del av företagens marknadsföringsstrategier vid presentation av en varumärkesförlängning. Studiens förslag till vidare forskning är att närmare utreda om ambassadörer påverkar slutkonsumenternas varumärkeslojalitet och underlättar mottagandet av varumärkesförlängningar, samt att utveckla den modell som vi har framtagit för påverkande faktorer vid varumärkesförlängningar och anpassa denna till olika branscher. / The aim of this study is to contribute to a deeper understanding of which factors affect independent brand extensions among companies in the fast-moving consumer goods market. This study applies a qualitative approach where semi-structured interviews have been conducted to gather empirical data. The interviews have been conducted with employees from three different companies in the consumer goods market. The empirical data has been analyzed through an abductive method with inspiration from grounded theory. The conclusion of this study is that there are several affecting factors on independent brand extensions, inter alia, the level of innovation among consumers and retailers, the usage of ambassadors when communicating and launching the brand extensions and that innovative consumers isn´t generally disloyal to brands. The study also concludes that relevance of the extension to the core brands a particularly influential factor for independent brand extensions. The study also presents a model for factors affecting independent brand extensions. This study contributes to a deeper understanding, from a business perspective, of the affecting factors on independent brand extensions. The study also finds that innovative consumers who are generally considered to be disloyal to brands request extension products to a larger extent if the products are marketed by ambassadors in social media, and that retailers may want to receive information on the companies’ marketing plans when presenting a brand extension product. The proposal for further research is to investigate whether ambassadors influence consumer brand loyalty and facilitate the acceptance of brand extensions, and to further develop our model for affecting factors on independent brand extensions and adapt it to other sectors of business.

Issues relating to inventory capacity resulting from high fill rates (inventory pressure) have been identified as a major problem for growing Fast-Moving Consumer Goods firms. The implications of these capacity problems include increased costs of working capital and cost-inefficient rental of external storage space. The study is focused towards the food retail segment and aims to address the lack of a detailed SKU-level KPI for inventory pressure and a model for identifying its root causes. The research design is based on a review of literature and a live case study at the Swedish food retailer Axfood, including qualitative interviews in addition to the collection and analysis of inventory data. The inventory turnover ratio was determined to be an accurate KPI in this case, where lower ratio values tend to correspond with high inventory pressure, and vice versa. With the KPI established, a regression analysis was performed, in order to find critical determinants of the problem in the Axfood case. The regression analysis yielded a number of highly influential factors for inventory pressure, mainly low order frequencies, high variability of demand and prolonged supplier lead times, in addition to a number of less influential determinants. The study also included the identification of key drivers of inventory pressure within various Axfood product segments, where private label product stands out as a particular product segment of interest. A numerous of segments were identified as particularly problematic, however private label products where not found to influence the overall level of inventory pressure in any significant manner. While the study is in no way exhaustive about the highly complex nature of the researched problem, the establishment of a KPI and use of a regression model has provided a basis for discussion regarding the problem. In addition, the proposed framework is applicable for future similar studies on other FMCG cases, in addition to more detailed case studies into inventory capacity issues. / Lagerkapacitetsproblem som härrör från höga fyllningsgrader (lagertryck) har identifierats som ett avgörande problem för växande företag verksamma inom snabbrörliga konsumentvaror. Konsekvenserna av sådana kapacitetsfrågor är bland annat ökade kostnader för rörelsekapital och kostsam inhyrning av externt lagringsutrymme. Denna studien är inriktad mot livsmedelsbranschen och syftar till att adressera bristen på ett detaljerat mätetal för att följa upp lagertryck på artikelnivå, samt en modell för att identifiera dess underliggande orsaker. Forskningsmetodiken är baserad på en litteraturstudie och en fallstudie hos den svenska livsmedelsåterförsäljaren Axfood, som innefattar kvalitativa intervjuer samt insamling och analys av lagerdata. Lageromsättningshastigheten ansågs vara ett tillförlitligt mätetal i denna fallstudie, där lägre värden tenderar att motsvara högt lagertryck och vice versa. Med detta mätetal som grund utfördes en regressionsanalys för att finna kritiska förklaringsfaktorer till problemet i Axfood-fallstudien. Regressionsanalysen gav ett antal starkt inflytelserika faktorer för lagertryck, främst låg orderfrekvenser, hög varians av efterfrågan samt långa ledtider från leverantörer. Även ett antal mindre inflytelserika determinanter hittades. Studien innefattade också identifiering av kritiska faktorer för lagertryck inom olika produktsegment hos Axfood, där egna märkesvaror utmärker sig som ett segment av särskilt intresse. Ett flertal segment identifierades som särskilt problematiska, egna märkesvaror visade sig emellertid inte påverka det totala nivån av lagertryck på något avgörande sätt. Denna studie utger sig inte för att vara uttömmande om forskningsproblemets mycket komplexa natur. Upprättandet av ett mätetal samt tillämpandet av en regressionsmodell har dock legat till grund för en diskussion om problemet. Det i studien föreslagna ramverket är applicerbart för liknande studier på andra FMCG-fall i framtiden, samt mer detaljerade fallstudier av lagerkapacitetsproblem.

This thesis examines how to design a mathematical inventory model for a ”Fast Moving Consumer Goods”-company (FMCG-company), which determines the optimal reorder point and order quantity such that the average inventory cost is minimized. The thesis was made in collaboration with a ”Software as a Service”- company which provided the data containing information about the products and inventory management of one of their customers, a FMCG-company. The thesis first considers a basic EOQ-model, with constant demand rate, that suggests a reorder time and order quantity for the products. Since constant demand rate might be an unrealistic assumption for a FMCG-company, the thesis also considers a (R,Q)-model, where the demand was based on a forecast made by using the Holt-Winters model on previous sales history. The solutions were found by investigating the singular points and comparing them to the critical point. The thesis shows that the EOQ-model gives useful results for the most indemand products, while the reorder times for the less popular products are instead impractically high. The (R,Q)-model showed more stable solutions for all products and therefore proves to be a better inventory model for FMCG-companies, as expected. Simulations of the (R,Q)-model showed various inventory cases, where some showed a mismatch between the inventory level and the demand. The cases shows how demand planning can be applied for different products for when to consider changing inventory strategy or discontinuing products and how the orders can be made optimally. / Detta examensarbete undersöker hur en matematisk lagermodell kan utformas för ett ”Fast Moving Consumer Goods”-företag (FMCG-företag), som bestämmer den optimala beställningspunkten och orderkvantiteten så att den genomsnittliga lagerkostnaden minimeras. Examensarbetet gjordes i samarbete med ett ”Software as a Service”-företag som tillhandahöll data innehållandes information om produkter och lagerhantering hos en av deras kunder, ett FMCG-företag. Avhandlingen behandlar först en grundläggande EOQ-modell, med konstant efterfrågan, som föreslår en återbeställningstid och orderkvantitet för produkterna. Eftersom att en konstant efterfågan kan anses vara ett orealistiskt antagande för ett FMCG-företag, tar avhandlingen även upp en (R,Q)-modell, där efterfrågan baserades på en prognos gjord med hjälp av Holt-Winters-modellen på tidigare försäljningshistorik. Lösningarna hittades genom att undersöka de singulära punkterna och jämföra dem med den kritiska punkten. Avhandlingen visar att EOQ-modellen ger användbara resultat för de mest efterfrågade produkterna medan beställningstiderna för de mindre populära produkter är ofta opraktiskt höga. (R,Q)-modellen visade mer stabila lösningar för alla produkter och visar sig därmed vara en bättre lagermodell för FMCGföretag, som förväntat. Simuleringar av (R,Q)-modellen visade olika fall, där vissa visade en obalans mellan lagernivån och efterfrågan. De olika fallen visar hur efterfrågeplanering kan tillämpas för olika produkter för när man ska överväga att ändra lagerstrategi eller avveckla produkter och hur beställningarna kan göras optimalt

Hållbarhet värderas allt högre utav konsumenter och allt fler företag satsar på ett utökat hållbarhetsarbete. Detta innebär att företag borde utveckla sitt hållbarhetsarbete för att bli eller fortsätta att vara konkurrenskraftiga. Konsumtionen av livsmedel står för 25 % av hushållens klimatpåverkan. Inom dagligvaruindustrin finns därmed en stor potential för förbättring. För ett utvecklat hållbarhetsarbete krävs innovativa lösningar. Design som process har visat sig kunnabidra med detta. Dock har studier visat på att trots att företag värderar design högt så implementeras det inte i samma utsträckning. Potentialen som design innehar riskerar därmed att gå förlorad av aktörerna på marknaden. Uppsatsen ämnar till att undersöka vilka faktorer som är viktiga för att design skall implementeras för att utveckla hållbara produkter inom dagligvaruindustrin. Studien är en multipel fallstudie med en kvalitativ ansats. Tre intervjuer har genomförts med europeiska företag som verkar på den svenska dagligvaru- och livsmedelsmarknaden. Studien visade på vikten av att företag genomsyras av hållbarhet och har en hög förståelse fördesign. Det är av vikt att såväl design som hållbarhet implementeras i början av produktutvecklingsprocessen som även kallas för Front-End. / Sustainability is increasingly valued by consumers and more companies are expanding the incorporation of sustainability in their work. This means companies should develop the incorporation of sustainability in their work to stay or become competitive on the market. The consuming of groceries accounts for 25 % of the households climate influence. Within the fast moving consumer goods industry there is therefore a potential of improvement. To develop the incorporation of sustainability in a company requires innovative solutions. Design as a process has been able to contribute with exactly this. Although, studies have shown that even though companies value design highly it is not implemented to the same extent. The potential that design possesses is therefore at risk of being lost by the actors of the market. The thesis intends to explore which factors that are important for design to be implemented to develop sustainable products in the fast moving consumer goods industry. The study is a multiple case study with a qualitative approach. Three interviews have beenmade with european companies that are active on the swedish fast moving consumer goodsindustry market. The study showed that it is of importance for a company to be permeated by sustainability andto have a high understanding of design. Furthermore, it is of importance that design as well assustainability is implemented in the beginning of the product development process that is also known as Front-End.

Abstract Authors: Mikael Forsberg and Sara-Maria Löfvenberg Tutor: Susanne Åberg Title: Socially Desirable Fast Moving Consumer Goods – A Literature Review on How To Decrease the Gap Between Intention & Purchase Behavior Through Marketing Keywords Branding, Consumer Behavior, Consumer Value Creation, Decision-making, Differentiation, Eco, Ecological, Environmentally Conscious Behavior, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Green Consumer, Green Marketing, In-store marketing, Marketing, Organic, Purchase decision, Socially Desirable, Value Creation. Background and Problem Consumers today are more environmentally conscious than ever. However, it has been found that there is a gap between the consumer’s intention and actual purchase when it comes to products that there is a social pressure to buy for environmental reasons. The potential for the socially desirable segment is estimated to have potential, but growth seems to be slow. It has been stated that until now, there is not enough research done that take a holistic perspective including several fields of marketing. There is a need to review and combine existing literature in various fields of marketing to investigate how the gap can be decreased and sales increased. Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to review and combine existing literature in the fields of consumer value creation, decision-making and in-store marketing. By doing so the authors of this thesis aim to present a theoretical model on how producers of socially desirable FMCG can decrease the gap between the consumers’ intention and actual purchase through marketing. Decreasing the gap refers to more fully exploit the potential size of the segment and generate more sales.   Method A completely theoretical method was chosen for this thesis. To the authors’ knowledge there has not been done enough specific research to match the purpose of this thesis. A literature review has therefore been conducted within three separate fields of marketing to get a broader understanding of how the gap between intention and actual purchase can be decreased. Based on the extensive literature review, the authors developed ten propositions that formed a model that can be used as the backbone for future theoretical and empirical research.   Final Discussion Some highlights of the theoretical discussions earlier in this thesis are presented in the final discussion. The authors suggest that purchase decisions of socially desirable FMCG initially are high-involvement decisions that often are formed outside the in-store-setting. This suggests that more long-term marketing efforts such as brand building in some cases can be more important than in-store marketing when it comes to FMCG that are socially desirable. Symbolic values should be highlighted in branding of socially desirable FMCG because the instrumental differences between FMCG and socially desirable FMCG is limited. It is therefore likely that it is more efficient to focus on consumers’ self-identity to convince them to purchase socially desirable FMCG. It is also important that producers of socially desirable FMCG provide consumers with clear product information in-store and that the products are easy to find. Based on the extensive literature review, the authors have developed eight propositions that form the model presented in this chapter.

Background and Problem: CSI is a topic with a limited amount of research despite it being a very relevant issue and that its counter pole CSR is one of today’s most popular subjects to study. In both areas there is a gap in the literature regarding the apparel industry where there CSI can be evident in many different aspects, especially in the production process. In the FMCG market, the demand for apparel that has been produced ethically has increased over the years. Still, the importance that the consumers place on ethical attributes in their purchase decisions is rather unknown. Purpose: The study's purpose is to investigate the young consumers’ emotions towards FMCG apparel corporations in order to see if CSI actions give them a negative attitude. It will further be explored to see if the attitude towards the corporations reflects in their intentional purchase behavior and their actual behavior. This will provide insight to the young consumers’ knowledge and interest for CSI, aiding corporations in their quest for excellence when it comes to consumer relationships. Method: This research is done through a deductive, qualitative research. A literature review is done to create a great understanding to the concepts of CSI, consumer attitudes and planned behavior. Four focus groups are conducted as a base for the empirical findings. Further, these two chapters are compared in an analysis to get an understanding about the young consumers’ attitudes towards corporations acting unethically and the affects it may have on their planned behavior. Conclusion: Based on the analysis, the study found clear evidence that the participants have a negative attitude towards corporations’ CSI activities. However, these attitudes did not, as theory suggests, have any effect on the participants’ intended and actual purchasing behavior. Instead it is shown that young consumers base their decisions on contextual factors, where the most significant one is price.

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the MTech: Internal Auditing In the Faculty of Business at the CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, 2010 / The concept of Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) was created and implemented by the South African Government in an attempt to improve the economy of South Africa, reducing the unemployment rate and eliminating poverty. As a basic objective, SMMEs strive toward sustainability, however in recent years sustainability is at an all time low as substantial a number of these businesses fail to become viable entities. Popular literature show that Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) retail SMMEs make ineffective use of their accounting resources, resulting in them making critical business decisions without understanding and interpreting their financial performance or financial positions. These decisions have a ‘toxic’ affect on their business sustainability and as a result, it is perceived that these SMMEs make inefficient use of financial performance measures. The key objective of this research is to establish what financial performance measures sourced from accounting resources are regarded as being critical for the sustainability of FMCG retail SMMEs during the current dispensation of an economic depression in South Africa. To achieve the above dispensation, applied research will be used using ‘action research’ as the primary research paradigm supported by questionnaires for the purpose of data analysis, results of which were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Recommendations culminate from the research to mitigate the research problem.