Följande studie fokuserar på möjliga orsaker till intention-beteendegapet som uppstår när konsumenter som vill handla miljö- och socialt hållbara livsmedel inte agerar i enlighet med sina intentioner. Den undersöker även om orsakerna skiljer sig åt beroende på om köpet sker på egen hand eller i sällskap. Analysmodellen baseras på Kotlers beslutsprocess samt teorier om engagemang och situationsspecifika faktorer. Två fokusgrupper med fyra deltagare vardera genomfördes. Den ena gruppen utgjordes av studenter och den andra av yrkesarbetande personer. Diskussionerna visar att informationsasymmetri, ineffektiv produktplacering, högre priser, egenintresset samt möjligheten att tillämpa neutraliseringsstrategier är faktorer som kan orsaka gapet. Dessa faktorer uppfattas som hinder eftersom konsumenterna har lågt engagemang vid livsmedelsköp. Studien visar även att konsumenternas beslutsprocess kan påverkas av sällskapet och andra referensgrupper. I detta fall beror orsakerna till att individen inte agerar i enlighet med intentionen på de andras inställning till hållbara livsmedel.

The aim of this research is to develop the understanding of food waste behavior by analyzing student’s intention to reduce household food waste. The determinants Attitude, Subjective Norm and Perceived Behavioral Control (scope of Theory of Planned Behavior), as well as the Anticipated Emotions were therefore investigated. Data from a sample of 209 students at Uppsala University, Campus Gotland (Sweden) were collected with a web-based survey and used to identify the relevant factors. A multiple linear regression analysis showed that Attitude and Perceived Behavioral Control has a significant positive relation to the students’ Intention to reduce food waste. Subjective Norm and Anticipated Emotions did not reach statistical significance and could therefore not be used to draw conclusions. As a limitation, it must be considered that the focus is purely on the intention and the actual behavior was not part of the research. In addition, a missing universal definition of food waste leaves space for interpretation. What food (parts) is seen as edible depends on individual perception. People have different perceptions of what is edible. The findings of the research are helpful to recommend strategies on how to increase the intention to waste less food. Therefore it contributes to address the global issue of food waste. It outlines the factors that appear to drive the largest change in altering the intention to reduce food wastage.

Building on the stimulus-organism-response model, this paper aims to fill the considerable research gap by developing a deeper understanding of social commerce as a global emerging phenomenon and investigating the effectiveness of social commerce marketing stimuli and its consequences on consumer behavior on Instagram. The study adopts a mixed-methodology approach, including a web-based survey and a focus group interview, to build a deeper understanding of the phenomenon and account for the social aspects of social commerce. Based on a sample of 317 international consumers, the analysis demonstrates that all dimensions of social commerce marketing stimuli have significant effects on online brand engagement on Instagram; which consequently positively influences brand trust and online purchase intention. Moreover, the focus group interview complements the findings and provides potential explanations for the discovered relationships.

The purpose of this study is to further explore the modern phenomenon of COO, brand image, and online influencer marketing as they relate to consumer's purchase intention online. This empirical study employs a mixed method approach with quantitative exploratory factor analysis through a survey as well as qualitative exploration through focus groups and in-depth interviews. Quantitative data analysis revealed that online influencers have a significant effect on consumers’ purchase intent as well as their perception of COO or brand image. Qualitative data analysis further revealed that when consumers do not follow online influencers, they have a less than significant effect on the consumers’ perception of COO. However, if consumers actively follow online influencers, the probability of them adhering to the recommendations of purchasing from an unfamiliar COO is high. This results in the recognition of the need for further research, as well as some insightful avenues to investigate.

Background: Makeup has become the fastest‐growing beauty category in the last years, partly due to the effects of the digitalisation, and the growing importance conferred upon the digital image. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the business practices behind the goods they buy, and the impact of their purchases on the environment, and the human and animal welfare. However, not always ethical intentions are translated into purchases. This gap between the intention and the actual behaviour, also known as “I-B gap”, has been researched within the sectors of food or clothing; however, it remains unexplored in the case of makeup. Purpose: This thesis aims to explore the main reasons leading to the I-B gap in reference to ethical makeup. Method: An exploratory qualitative study based on 14 semi-structured interviews was conducted among European millennial females. Conclusions: The yawning gap existing between intention and behaviour towards ethical makeup is shown in this paper, as well as the factors that explain it. Despite the positive overall attitude and intention of the sample towards such products, the general lack of awareness associated with the ethical makeup is evidenced. Furthermore, the store environment, ranging from the products display and visibility, to the customer service, and the samples’ trial availability, exert a major influence on purchase. In addition, the brand or product attachment may play a crucial role in the final purchase decision. More specifically, this research reveals that consumers appeared to remain loyal towards makeup products that they are already satisfied and familiar with. These aspects seem to represent a challenge to overcome by ethical makeup companies, since above the ethical credentials, customers value other aspects such as the effectiveness, the suitability of the product with the skin type, the quality-price balance, the availability or the variety.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of social media marketing activities on customer equity and how that drive affects purchase intention in the context of the hotel industry with the perspective of Y-Generation. Design/methodology/approach: An explanatory, deductive, quantitative research approach and cross-sectional research design were utilized within this research, where self-completed questionnaires were distributed online with a number of 136 valid responses collected. Findings: The research found that social media marketing activities positively affected customer equity in the context of hotel industry. Brand equity and relationship equity had positive influence on customer’s purchase intention. Finally, information richness negatively moderated the relationship between social media marketing activities and purchase intention. Research implications/limitations: The main implication of this research is social media marketing activities should be utilized as an effective marketing strategy to enhance customer equity. In addition, for hotel managers, creating emotional tie with brands and building bond with customers are supposed to take priority. The main limitation of this research is the language barriers and the research is considered not to be generalized since most respondents are students. Future research: Further research could investigate how social media marketing activities influence other industries and also investigate other different consumer groups such as X-Generation. Sociodemographic variables such as gender, income, backgrounds could be used as moderators in future. Cultural difference is  interesting to go depth regarding to this topic.

In 21st century, the constant development in economy promotes the expanding advancement of science and technology. In the global range, mobile payment has witnessed continuous expanding and application in a wider range of situations, which is considered to be one of the most potential industries in the world. However, as has been noticed by researchers, the popularity of mobile payment is limited to people of certain age groups, different areas, countries and other factors. And compared to former research, this thesis is based on the background of that all the technology including mobile technology, intelligent phones, network and many other aspects in our lives have developed much these years, the collected data and results in this thesis can reflect the newest feeling and opinion about mobile payment. Therefore, in order to find out factors which influence the usage intention of using mobile payment in this modern society, qualitative method was used in this research. By observing and interviewing the participants from different age, countries and gender, the research finds out the perceived ease of use, the perceived usefulness, perceived risks, situations, reliance are the main factors which influence the people’s usage intention of mobile payment. Moreover, based on the analysis of factors of usage intention, useful suggestions has been given to help mobile payment providers widespread application of mobile payment and offer more convenient payment environment to users.

Partneravtal är ett växande fenomen i världen, inte enbart i kommersiella sammanhang. Det är en term som har funnits i många år för skilda ändamål och i denna uppsats riktas blicken till partneravtal inom affärsvärlden, som en möjlig associationsform. Partnerskap inleds som en samarbetsform mellan två eller flera företag för att tillsammans uppnå ett gemensamt mål. Det konkreta syftet specificeras i ett partneravtal och utifrån avtalet sker utbyten, såsom kunskap och resurser, mellan parterna i en slags samverkan. I förhållande till andra ”etablerade” samarbetsformer är den främsta skillnaden vid ett partneravtal att sådan avtalsform inte avser att gemensamt bilda ett nytt bolag.    Problem uppstår dock på grund av att det saknas en juridisk definition av partneravtal. Avsaknaden medför att partneravtal ingås med anledning av olika syften, i varierande former och särskilda krav. Saknaden av juridisk definition medför att partneravtal i dagsläget endast utgör ett avtal utan särskild tillhörighet till en associationsform. Utifrån uppsatsens analys har det dock framkommit att enkla bolag är en associationsform som torde motsvara partneravtalets innebörd, främst avseende de bolagsrekvisit som förutsätts i ett enkelt bolag. Sådana rekvisit kan ses i jämförande utsträckning för partneravtal. Eftersom partneravtal inte torde utgöra en egen associationsform enligt lag, kan i praktiken ett samarbete genom partnerskap leda till att ett enkelt bolag bildas. Likt tanken om att enkla bolag är en ”fri” associationsform, är partnerskapet likaså med anledning av att sådan ”bolagsform” saknar lagreglering och därmed förutbestämda krav. Enkla bolag är dock en lagreglerad associationsform men utgör ett bolagsavtal med viss frihet, eftersom lagbestämmelserna inte är lika omfattande som reglerna för andra associationsformer. Det medför att valfrihet föreligger för enkla bolag, för bildandet och genomförandet, av såsom passivt deltagande och ingen registreringsskyldighet. Med andra ord finns inte ett behov av att partneravtalet ska utgöra en egen associationsform, partneravtalet kan istället definieras som ett bolagsavtal för enkla bolag.    En jämförelse mellan partneravtal och enkla bolag är förhållandevis inte enkel. Saknaden av definition för partneravtal, i samband med att det är svårt att finna tillämplig innebörd och bolagsrekvisit för enkla bolag, talar för att en tydligare lagstiftning vore önskvärt. Ett förtydligande av enkla bolagets innebörd och bolagsrekvisit skulle minimera tolkningsmöjligheterna och därmed utforma en allmän accepterad definition. Enkla bolag anses utgöra en sorts slask-bolagsform, ändock är enkla bolag en populär associationsform, därför torde det finnas behov av ytterligare utredning av sådant bolagsavtal. En utredning som kanske skulle kunna upptäcka fler samarbetsformer som faller inom associationsformen, enkla bolag.

Intentionale Kontrolle ist ein fundamentaler Aspekt menschlichen Verhaltens. Jedoch gibt es bei der neuronalen Basis solcher Kontrollprozesse noch immer viele offene Fragen. Bis heute bleibt beispielsweise umstritten wie das frontoparietale Intentions-Netzwerk organisiert ist. Weiterhin üben motivationale Prozesse einen großen Einfluss auf intentionale Kontrollprozesse aus. In früheren Studien wurden motivationale und intentionale Kontrollprozesse jedoch oft als unabhängige Funktionen verstanden und untersucht. Diese Dissertation untersucht die neuronalen Grundlagen intentionaler Kontrolle, vor allem auf den Einfluss zweier motivationaler Variablen (Aufgabenschwierigkeit, monetäre Belohnungen) und die funktionelle Organisation des Kontrollnetzwerkes fokussierend. Experiment 1 untersuchte Effekte motivationaler Prozesse auf volitionales Verhalten sowie die neuronale Grundlage dieser Effekte. Experiment 2 untersuchte welche Hirnregionen Verhalten mit seinen Konsequenzen assoziiert. Dies ist eine zentrale Funktion, möchte man die positiven Konsequenzen eigenen Verhaltens maximieren. Experiment 3 untersuchte direkt die Repräsentationen frei gewählter und extern determinierter Intentionen und somit auch die funktionale Architektur des intentionalen Kontrollnetzwerkes. Die Ergebnisse aller drei Studien betonen die Wichtigkeit des anterioren zingulären Kortex, dorsomedialen Präfrontalkortex und des parietalen Kortex für die Vermittlung motivationaler Effekte auf intentionale Kontrolle. Weiterhin deuten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass das frontoparietale Kontrollnetzwerk sowohl für die Kontrolle frei gewählten als auch extern determinierten Verhaltens wichtig ist. Diese Ergebnisse stellen einen wichtigen Beitrag für aktuelle Debatten über die neuronale Grundlage intentionalen Verhaltens dar, und erweitern aktuelle Theorien über motivationale und intentionale Kontrolle. / Freely choosing one’s own course of action is a fundamental aspect of human behavior. Yet, despite its importance, there remain many open questions about the neural basis underlying intentional control of action. On the one hand, the functional organization of the fronto-parietal brain network associated with intentional control remains a debated topic. On the other hand, motivational processes evidently affect intentional control, as we often choose actions which promise desirable outcomes. Despite this, previous research largely treated intentional and motivational control as two independent functions. This thesis aims at shedding light on the neural basis of intentional control, focusing on the effects of two motivational variables on intentional control processes (effort, monetary rewards), as well as the functional organization of the intentional control network. Experiment 1 investigated the effect of motivational processes on voluntary behavior and its neural basis. Experiment 2 assessed which brain regions associate behaviors with their outcomes, an important piece of information for choosing actions which lead the most desirable outcomes. Experiment 3 directly contrasted the representations of freely chosen and externally cued intentions, in this way investigating the functional organization of the intentional control network. Overall, results from those three experiments highlight the role of the dorsal anterior cingulate, dorso-medial prefrontal, and parietal cortex in mediating motivational effects on intentional control. They further suggest that the fronto-parietal intentional control network likely has a role in both controlling behavior that is freely chosen and externally cued. These results inform debates on the neural basis of intentional control and extend some recent theories of motivational and intentional control functions. They provide a promising starting point for a systematic investigation of the neural basis of intentional control.

La robotique collaborative a pour vocation d'assister physiquement l'opérateur dans ses tâches quotidiennes. Les deux partenaires qui composent un tel système possèdent des atouts complémentaires : physique pour le robot versus cognitif pour l'opérateur. Cette combinaison offre ainsi de nouvelles perspectives d'applications, notamment pour la réalisation de tâches non automatisables. Dans cette thèse, nous nous intéressons à une application particulière qui est l'assistance à la manipulation de pièces de grande taille lorsque la tâche à réaliser et l'environnement sont inconnus du robot. La manutention de telles pièces est une activité quotidienne dans de nombreux domaines et dont les caractéristiques en font une problématique à la fois complexe et critique. Nous proposons une stratégie d'assistance pour répondre à la problématique de contrôle simultané des points de saisie du robot et de l'opérateur liée à la manipulation de pièces de grandes dimensions, lorsque la tâche n'est pas connue du robot. Les rôles du robot et de l'opérateur dans la réalisation de la tâche sont distribués en fonction de leurs compétences relatives. Alors que l'opérateur décide du plan d'action et applique la force motrice qui permet de déplacer la pièce, le robot détecte l'intention de mouvement de l'opérateur et bloque les degrés de liberté qui ne correspondent pas au mouvement désiré. De cette façon, l'opérateur n'a pas à contrôler simultanément tous les degrés de liberté de la pièce. Les problématiques scientifiques relatives à l'interaction physique homme-robot abordées dans cette thèse se décomposent en trois grandes parties : la commande pour l'assistance, l'analyse du canal haptique et l'apprentissage lors de l'interaction. La stratégie développée s'appuie sur un formalisme unifié entre la spécification des assistances, la commande du robot et la détection d'intention. Il s'agit d'une approche modulaire qui peut être utilisée quelle que soit la commande bas niveau imposée dans le contrôleur du robot. Nous avons mis en avant son intérêt au travers de tâches différentes réalisées sur deux plateformes robotiques : un bras manipulateur et un robot humanoïde bipède. / Collaborative robotics aims at physically assisting humans in their daily tasks.The system comprises two partners with complementary strengths : physical for the robot versus cognitive for the operator. This combination provides new scenarios of application such as the accomplishment of difficult-to-automate tasks. In this thesis, we are interested in assisting the human operator to manipulate bulky parts while the robot has no prior knowledge of the environment and the task. Handling such parts is a daily activity in manyareas which is a complex and critical issue. We propose a new strategy of assistances to tackle the problem of simultaneously controlling both the grasping point of the operator and that of the robot. The task responsibilities for the robot and the operator are allocated according to their relative strengths. While the operator decides the plan and applies the driving force, the robot detects the operator's intention of motion and constrains the degrees of freedom that are useless to perform the intended motion. This way, the operator does not have to control all the degrees of freedom simultaneously. The scientific issues we deal with are split into three main parts : assistive control, haptic channel analysis and learning during the interaction.The strategy is based on a unified framework of the assistances specification, robot control and intention detection. This is a modular approach that can be applied with any low-level robot control architecture. We highlight its interest through manifold tasks completed with two robotics platforms : an industrial arm manipulator and a biped humanoid robot.