In markets with cyclical fluctuations, firms may have different dynamic decision rules facing upturns and downturns of industry cycles. This paper extends the dynamic factor demand model to consider industry cycles. Because investment behavior could be endogenous uncertainty involved on industry dynamics, the current industry dynamic models with state-of-the-art would not appropriately interpret industry dynamics. In order to solve the uncertain problem, we utilize the idea of transfer probability in Markov switching model to catch the industry cyclical behavior. Explicitly incorporating the Markov regime switching mechanism based on Nelson and Kim (2000), this paper measures the firm¡¦s dynamic adjustments when facing upturns and downturns of industry cycles. The empirical work is based on firm level data of Taiwan high-technology industries. The empirical results show that the expansionary strategy in labor and capital usage may not have positive impacts on output when considering uncertainty that may be casued by business cycles. To have correct prediction in cyclical fluctuation becomes important task for high-technology firms. However, the positive contribution of exogenous technology to output growth is so significant. This proves why every industry tries to impel technology in recent years. The industry dynamic model integrated with cyclical fluctuation and demand uncertainty allows us to examine how sharp changes in financial factors might affect investment behavior, technological nature and adjustment effects for industries in facing demand and investment shocks.

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is considered to be an important metric for measuring customer loyalty. The concept is widely popular and adopted in several established and emerging industries. This master’s thesis work is aimed to spot the factors influencing the NPS of a company and the score rated by an individual. The study is conducted at a SaaS company, Funnel. Starting with the exploration of NPS in Funnel, the thesis work goes on to deep-dive in the journey of Funnel’s customers who responded to NPS. Each customer journey is presented as an individual case study. There are five such case-studies that represent five customers belonging to three distinct behavioural groups marked by NPS (Promoter, detractors and passives). The cases are analysed together with formulation of a revised framework of customer loyalty. The framework demonstrates factors that affect the customer loyalty, individual NPS response, and consequently the customer behaviour. It is noticed that customer satisfaction plays an important role in the individual response to NPS survey along with multiple other factors that influence the customer attitude and behaviour in different ways. It is also observed that the customer behaviour in the cases differs from the expected behaviour of promoters, detractors and passives proposed by NPS.   The findings show that the loyalty behaviour could be manifested due to multiple industry-specific factors which are irrespective of company’s internal performance and satisfaction. Hence, the phenomenon of loyalty and satisfaction is addressed on an industry level. The analysis unfolds a theory that is demonstrated with a matrix to understand the impact of industry dynamic on satisfaction-loyalty relationship. This varying satisfaction-loyalty relationship calls for alterations in NPS practices as per the industry characteristics.

Die vorliegende Arbeit entstand im Rahmen einer Kooperation des Forschungszentrums Dresden-Rossendorf mit Qimonda Dresden GmbH & Co. OHG. Mithilfe der hochauflösenden Rutherford-Streuspektrometrie (HR-RBS) wurden das Diffusionsverhalten und Schichtwachstum von ZrO2 auf SiO2 und TiN im Anfangsstadium untersucht. Auf Grund der exzellenten Tiefenauflösung von 0,3 nm an der Oberfläche stand die Analyse von Konzentrationsprofilen in ultradünnen Schichten, respektive an deren Grenzflächen im Vordergrund. Zur qualitativen Verbesserung der Messergebnisse wurde erstmals ein zweidimensionaler positionsempfindlicher Halbleiterdetektor in den Aufbau der HR-RBS implementiert und charakterisiert. Außerdem wurde ein Messverfahren in Betrieb genommen, das mögliche Schädigungen durch den Ioneneintrag in die Messprobe minimiert. Durch die Optimierung der experimentellen Bedingungen und die Entwicklung eines Programmpaketes zur Unterstützung des Analysten konnte ein effizienter Routine-Messablauf erstellt werden. Im Moment einer binären Kollision zwischen einfallendem Ion und Targetelement kommt es bei kleinem Stoßparameter zu Veränderungen des Ladungszustands der gestreuten Ionen, insbesondere durch die abrupte Geschwindigkeitsänderung des Projektils und der Überlappung der Elektronenwolken. Bei der HR-RBS mit Energie separierendem Dipolmagneten muss zur Interpretation von Streuspektren die Ladungszustandsverteilung der gestreuten Projektile bekannt sein. Erstmalig konnte eine signifikante Abhängigkeit der Ladungszustandsverteilung gestreuter C-Ionen sowohl von der Schichtdicke als auch der Ordnungszahl des detektierten Targetelements, hier der vierten Nebengruppe, nachgewiesen werden. Diese gewonnen Erkenntnisse ermöglichten systematische Untersuchungen zum ZrO2-Schichtwachstum im Anfangsstadium. Zur Herstellung der ZrO2-Schichten wurde die Atomlagenabscheidung (ALD) verwendet. Anhand der nachgewiesenen Agglomeration von ZrO2 auf nativen SiO2 wurde mithilfe der Rasterkraftmikroskopie (AFM) zur Bestimmung von Oberflächenrauigkeiten eine Methode konzipiert, welche die Auswirkung lokaler Schichtdickeninhomogenitäten auf die niederenergetische Flanke eines Streuspektrums berücksichtigt. Auf dieser Grundlage durchgeführte Simulationsrechnungen ergeben, dass keine Diffusion von Zr in die darunter liegende Schicht stattfand, jedoch eine ZrSiO4-Grenzflächenschicht existiert. Für das Wachstum von ZrO2 auf TiN wird aus den hoch aufgelösten Streuspektren ein völlig anderes Verhalten abgeleitet. Messungen zu Oberflächentopografien der TiN-Schicht liefern nicht zu vernachlässigende Werte für die Rauigkeit. Um den Einfluss der Oberflächenrauigkeit auf die Form des hoch aufgelösten Spektrums erfassen zu können, wurde eine Software entwickelt. Auf Basis von AFM-Messungen ermöglicht dieses Programm das Extrahieren einer Energieverteilung aus den Weglängen von ausschließlich an der Oberfläche gestreuten Ionen. Unter Berücksichtigung des Effekts der Oberflächenrauigkeit auf die HR-RBS Spektrenform konnte die Diffusion von Zr in das polykristalline TiN erstmals verifiziert werden. Die Beobachtungen weisen daraufhin, dass bereits nach dem ersten ALD-Zyklus ein geringer Anteil der deponierten Zr-Atome bis in eine Tiefe von etwa 3 nm in das TiN diffundiert. Die vorläufigen Ergebnisse legen Korngrenzendiffusion nahe. / This thesis originated from a cooperation between Research Center Dresden-Rossendorf and Qimonda Dresden GmbH & Co. OHG. By means of High Resolution Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (HR-RBS) the diffusion behaviour and layer growth of ZrO2 on SiO2 and TiN in the initial regime were investigated. The analysis of concentration profiles in ultrathin layers and interfaces was the focus of this work, made possible by the excellent depth resolution of less than 0.3 nm near the surface. For the first time a two-dimensional position sensitive semiconductor detector was implemented and characterized in the setup of the HR-RBS for the improvement of the quality of the measurement results. Furthermore, a measurement procedure was put into operation that allowed the reduction of ion induced damage. Through the optimization of the experimental conditions and the development of a program package for the support of the analyst, an efficient measurement procedure could be routinely ensured. At the time of a binary collision between the incident ion and the target element with a small impact factor, the charge state changes frequently, especially due to the abruptly decreasing ion velocity of the projectile and the overlapping of the electron clouds. For HR-RBS with an energy-separating dipole magnet, the charge state distribution of the scattered ions must be known for the interpretation of the measured spectra. For the first time a significant dependence of the charge state distribution of the scattered C ions on the layer thickness as well as atomic number of the detected target elements, here from the fourth subgroup, was emonstrated. This new knowledge allowed systematic investigations of the ZrO2 layer growth in the initial regime. The ZrO2 layers were produced by means of the atomic layer deposition (ALD). Based on the evidence for agglomeration of ZrO2 on SiO2 a method was introduced, which takes local thickness variations into account during the simulation of the HR-RBS spectra. An accurate statement about the ZrO2/SiO2 interface was possible due to the extraction of the thickness variation by the atomic force microscopy (AFM). The boundary surface is sharp except for a small intermediate ZrSiO4 layer and no diffusion of Zr atoms in SiO2 could be detected. A quite different behaviour could be derived from high resolution spectra for the growth of ZrO2 on TiN. Measurements of the surface topography of the TiN layer revealed non negligible values for the surface roughness. A program was developed to capture the influence of the surface roughness on the shape of the high resolution spectrum. This software uses AFM measurements to extract an energy distribution from calculated path length differences for ions scattered at the sample surface. Diffusion of Zr into polycrystalline TiN was demonstrated for the first time taking into account the effect of the surface roughness on the shape of the spectra. This observation indicates that already after the first ALD reaction cycle a small part of the deposited Zr atoms diffuses into the TiN layer up to a depth of 3 nm. Such preliminary results suggest grain boundary diffusion.