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<p>The purpose of this study is to investigate how individual retirement savings are made tangible for potential customers. As case companies we have studied the marketing strategies of Handelsbanken and Swedbank.</p><p>We use Miller and Foust’s classification of services by intangibility based on attributes and benefits and Tarn’s four strategy marketing-based model in order to find out how the retirement savings are made tangible.</p><p>We find that the attributes and benefits that are used to define retirement savings depend on how the service is affiliated to life-insurance or banking services. Intangibility is coped by simplifying the products by lifting forward salient features. Complexity is overcome by explanation. Putting emphasis on flexibility is a mean to cope with the uncertainty of future income.</p>

This study examines whether back stage information in services advertisements would significantly influence intangibility of services and consumers¡¦ perceived risk by experimental design, and whether ¡§back stage information-perceived risk¡¨ relation would mediated by intangibility. The researcher provides back stage information by print advertisements. The presentation of back stage information, the types of services, and the attributes of services are considered and included in research design to explore their roles in ¡§back stage information-intangibility-perceived risk¡¨ relation. The result shows that intangibility of services and consumers¡¦ perceived risk are significantly lower after consumers reading advertisements with back stage information contrast with those without back stage information. Intangibility has partial mediating effect on ¡§back stage information-perceived risk¡¨ relation. Though, presenting back stage information simultaneously by picture and text has a slightly better effect than by text alone, however, the difference is not significant. The type and attribute of services have no moderation on ¡§back stage information-perceived risk¡¨ and ¡§intangibility-perceived risk¡¨ relations respectively.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how individual retirement savings are made tangible for potential customers. As case companies we have studied the marketing strategies of Handelsbanken and Swedbank. We use Miller and Foust’s classification of services by intangibility based on attributes and benefits and Tarn’s four strategy marketing-based model in order to find out how the retirement savings are made tangible. We find that the attributes and benefits that are used to define retirement savings depend on how the service is affiliated to life-insurance or banking services. Intangibility is coped by simplifying the products by lifting forward salient features. Complexity is overcome by explanation. Putting emphasis on flexibility is a mean to cope with the uncertainty of future income.

The feature of service intangibility is one of the most prominent, albeit controversial, problems in service marketing. Service providing firms have been trying to find ways to ‘tangibilize’ their service offerings in order to assist the potential customers to better understand the benefits and qualities of their services. A review of past literature revealed that most of the studies have been carried out on a theoretical level, but with an insufficient empirical back-up. The authors propose that Marketing based tangibilization (MBT), which has largely remained outside the focus of empirical research for the last four decades, offers a solution to the issue of intangibility on a marketing front. In order to address this issue, the authors of this report have designed a study whose purpose is to explore the effects of intangibility on the marketing activities of eight different service firms. The authors have derived several implications caused by intangibility through a thorough literature review and with that as a foundation they have interviewed one representative from each of the eight service firms – all of them offering consulting services in different domains – as well as analyzed their marketing materials. From this, the authors have deduced eight distinct marketing methods – trials, events and references to name a few – currently in use in those service companies in order to overcome intangibility and then evaluated those methods with respect to the aforementioned implications of intangibility on service marketing. The conclusion is that intangibility is a real issue to be dealt within the context of service provision, and that the resources available and the type of service provided will dictate which of the methods can be implemented at a certain service provider. Finally, several recommendations are provided that the companies could further look into in order to overcome the issue of intangibility, such as an increased use of the possibilities created by the Internet (e.g. social media). / KUTA-project

Background: Service quality is considered to be a vital strategy for survival and success in today’s competitive environment. Although there have been an emphasis in quality overall, the research in companies performance within a business-to-business approach is still largely unexplored. Accordingly, service quality in recruitment companies will be interesting to examine in order to explore the business-to-business industry further. Purpose &amp;: The purpose of this research is to study how recruitment Research Question: companies secure quality in their services. What factors indicate various quality levels? Methodology: This is a qualitative study with a deductive approach. Multiple case studies were conducted with a total of six respondents from three companies. Conclusion: This research concluded factors that indicate various quality levels in recruitment companies. The collected data that could not be strengthened with the theories was recommended as further research.

Cultural heritage confronts the notion of change, both in the development process and in the tourism context. In the tourism context, as being used as a unique selling point, it is unavoidable that cultural heritage facing commercialisation and commodification, or even vulgarisation due to being forced to change to meet the market demand and tourists’ expectations. Hence, the question is, if changing is inevitable, what are the potential risks that cultural heritage might face in the tourism context, and how to maintain its significance, which are attractions for tourists in the first place? The overall aim of the study was to use the notion of change as a lens to investigate the concept of authenticity as well as the relation between sustainability and resilience in culture. The study's objectives approached based on a qualitative method, with semi-structured interviews focusing on the perspective of the cultural heritage community – a group of people who work closely with cultural heritage - local community, practitioners, researchers, authorised agency, and tourism stakeholders. Concerning cultural heritage's interpretation based on its existing definition, the intertwined and interdependent relationship between the tangible and intangible aspects of cultural heritage was investigated. An authentication process was introduced. Resilience thinking in culture was given as proposals. In this study, a case study in Hue, Vietnam with two examples – Nhã nhạc (the court music) and áo dài (long dress or tunic) were examined regarding the notion of change in relation to the concept of authenticity, sustainability and resilience.

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to understand female consumers’ behaviour within online shopping, in order to identify which features within three chosen elements, common within the presentation of women’s tops, reduce mental intangibility and stimulate perceived value. Design/methodology/approach - A standard qualitative study approached through two methods of data collection; interviews and focus groups, from which specific patterns and concepts were identified during the development of conversations. Research limitations - This study is limited to female students from The Swedish School of Textiles. The research will focus on three visual variables common within the online presentation of women’s tops. Originality/Value - This study contributes knowledge to online apparel retailers, enabling them to optimise their website product display, thus increasing their competitive advantage. Our analysis of the chosen visual elements will contribute to a further understanding on how to reduce mental intangibility through visual communication. Additionally by acknowledging how to influence customers’ perceived value, online retailers will be able to trigger loyalty. / Program: Master Programme in Fashion Management

La mystérieuse notion de protection de la substance du droit recouvre dans la jurisprudence strasbourgeoise, comme en droit comparé, une double dimension : faisant instinctivement écho à une perception idéale du droit, trouvant ses origines dans un jusnaturalisme moderne, elle convoie tout d'abord un sens absolu. Il s’agit ainsi d’admettre l’existence d’une substance déterminée inhérente à tel ou tel droit garanti et sujette à une protection totale et inconditionnelle face aux limitations étatiques. Cela dit, les limites théoriques, mais surtout pratiques, à l’expression d’une conception absolue de la notion dans la jurisprudence conventionnelle sont nombreuses. Ces limites convergent vers l'adhésion principale du juge européen à une vision réaliste de la protection de la substance du droit. Comprise comme un strict outil du contrôle judiciaire, elle détient alors un caractère pleinement relatif, se voyant la plupart du temps associée de fait – voire, dans les principes – à une logique proportionnaliste par la Cour européenne. L’ambivalence globale et profonde d’une telle jurisprudence incite à repenser l’emploi de cette notion, tout en préservant sa précieuse finalité au sein du système conventionnel. / The mysterious notion of protection of the essence of the right has in European Court's case- law, as in comparative legal systems, a double dimension: it seems instinctively to be linked to an ideal vision of the law, drawing its roots in the jusnaturalist ideology, and possesses an absolute meaning. It implies admitting the existence of a specific essence, inherent to one or another right itself, and prone to a full and unconditional protection. However, theoretical and above all practical limits against the absolute conception of the notion in the Court's case-law are numerous. These limits converge towards the idea of a main support from the European judge to a realistic perception. Understood only as a tool for the judge, it covers then a relative conception, the protection of the essence of the right being often assimilated – in fact, and even within the principles – to the proportionality rule by the ECtHR. In front of the global and deep ambivalence of the related case-law, it appears necessary to rethink this notion, keeping in mind its precious purpose inside of the system of the ECHR.

A aquisição por companhias abertas de ações de sua própria emissão no Brasil constitui o núcleo de estudo desta dissertação. Também referida como recompra de ações, trata-se de operação comumente realizada por sociedades anônimas, principalmente por companhias abertas, tendo em vista os possíveis benefícios na organização da estrutura de capital da companhia, conciliados com a variedade de motivações para sua utilização. O trabalho aborda, inicialmente, o tratamento legal conferido às operações realizadas por companhias abertas e fechadas, em especial pela Lei no 6.404, de 15 de dezembro de 1976. Além da definição das operações e sua evolução legislativa, são analisadas as principais causas que levam uma sociedade anônima a adquirir ações de sua própria emissão, assim como os negócios jurídicos passíveis de realização para que uma aquisição se concretize, além do aproveitamento a ser conferido pela companhia para as ações recompradas quando estas não forem canceladas, poderão ser mantidas em tesouraria na qualidade de bens de titularidade da companhia. O estudo também dedica-se à análise específica da aquisição de ações de emissão própria por companhias abertas, sob o foco do regramento expedido pela Comissão de Valores Mobiliários CVM. Além dos atos normativos emanados pela autarquia, a análise enfatiza os principais interesses a serem tutelados nas operações, assim como aborda precedentes da CVM sobre o tema. / The purchase, by publicly-held companies, of its own shares in Brazil constitutes the core area of study of this dissertation. Also referred to as stock repurchase, it consists in a transaction commonly performed by corporations, mainly the publicly traded, seeking out the benefits to the organization of the companys capital structure, combined with the variety of motivations for its use. This work initially discusses the legal treatment for stock repurchases performed by publicly-held and closely held companies, in particular by Law 6404, of December 15th, 1976. In addition to the definition of the transaction, and its legal developments, this study analyzes the main causes for a corporation to buy its own shares, as well as the legal act of the acquisition per se, and the use of the repurchased shares whenever they are not canceled, such shares will be held in treasury as assets owned by the company. The study also presents the repurchase made by publicly-held companies in view of the rules issued by the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários CVM (the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission). Apart from examining CVMs regulation, the study refers to a broad variety of cases decided by CVM on the subject, and investigates the main interests involved on the transactions.