Due to the growing involvement of external stakeholders including pressure groups such as Greenpeace, sustainability issues have increasingly become a focus point in the business sector. Thereby, many businesses began to integrate sustainability into their corporate mission and vision. Similar to fast food consumption, fast fashion consumption has decreased well-being of both nature and humans. With the goal of reducing harmful impact on people and planet, apparel and fashion firms such as C&A, H&M, and Nike have been gradually shifting the use of conventional cotton to bio-cotton in their production of clothing. The aim of the present thesis is therefore to investigate the influence of different factors on purchasing intention of bio-cotton clothing among young business students. In connection to this, the research question of the present study is formulated as follows: “What kind of impacts do attitude, social norm, perceived efficacy of consumer, perceived availability as well as functional, monetary, and psychological risk have on the purchase intention of bio-cotton clothing among young business students?”  The present study was conducted quantitatively by using online survey method. The survey was distributed to a random sample of 220 young business students at Umeå School of Business and Economics (USBE). The research model of this study comprises seven hypotheses. Each hypothesis is assigned with a unique independent variable and a dependent variable (i.e. purchase intention). All the constructs are derived from the Theory of Planned Behaviour as well as from the Theory of Perceived Risk. Following a multiple linear regression analysis, it was revealed that independent variables including attitude, social norm, perceived efficacy of consumer, and perceived availability significantly affect the purchase intention. All influencers except perceived availability was found to have a negative influence on purchase intention. Although none of the constructs from the Theory of Perceived Risk was found to significantly affect purchase intention, a significant quantity of variance in the purchase intention was explained by all independent variables combined. This contributes to the current research gap since numerous studies have focused on the behavioural intention of organic food rather than bio-cotton clothing. This study’s findings provide insights to businesses that intend to market their bio-cotton clothing among young business students. Since the availability of bio-cotton clothing was found to be low, managers are advised to increase the visibility and benefits of such products by using online and offline communication instruments. Policy makers, especially those from developed countries, are advised to support informational campaigns to transform consumer behaviour.

Background Contemporary business faces many challenges in constantly adapting to the ever-changing nature of the market. One of the most important challenges is obtaining the best workforce available in order to create competitive advantages and retain competence in the organization. In order to succeed with this task it is imperative to improve retention in the organization since it is very ineffective to lose employees with high competence and very costly to replace that competence. One business highly influenced by these changes is Call centers and it is important to assess the possible ways they can improve retention. Purpose The purpose of the thesis is to explore and elaborate upon how motivational factors induces turnover intention in employees in a Call center. It aims to discover the interplay between different factors and to facilitate the factors in order to improve retention. Methodology The study is of inductive nature and uses a qualitative method. The execution of the empirical gathering is with interviews in order to provide a deeper understanding of the motivational features influencing turnover intention. The interviewees are employees that recently left an organization operating in the Call center context. Conclusions The findings shed some light of the wide range of features influencing turnover intention as well as providing some insight to which one is of particular importance in the specific context. Other findings in the study argues that the different features influencing turnover intention compensate for each other. Which provides some further practical use in the strategical work to improve retention trough motivational aspects. It also provides some suggestion that will aid to decrease turnover intention.

Abstract Therefore, we remain, despite everything Factors affecting social workers to remain in the workplace       In studies conducted in the social welfare a complex picture regarding the social workers' job situation. The work of the public authority is complex and place high demands on the individual social worker. Social workers has a complex worksituation at the same time as many of the social offices has a high staff turnover and many teams go understaffed. Both in Sweden and internationally, many social workers choose to change jobs or to completely leave the social services because of the tough work situation. However, there are the social workers who choose to remain in their jobs despite a heavy workload and staff turnover. In the light of the social service current work situation, the question which factors make the social worker chooses to remain in the workplace. In this qualitative study, 12 social workers who have choosed to remain in their workplace been interviewed and the answers were then interpreted from a hermeneutic approach. The result shows that the work situation is tough as a social worker and that there are several factors that individually and together have an influence on choosing to remain in the workplace. The work- and work groups importance in combination with good management within organizations and a clear, empathetic and competent leadership and support in various forms are factors that are crucial to remain in the workplace.       Keywords: turnover, intention to quit, retention, social services, social workers, work conditions, satisfaction

This dissertation examines the antecedents and consequences of a fairly new construct in academic literature termed brand citizenship behavior. Constructs explored in the proposed model include brand identity, brand communication, internal marketing, brand pride, brand commitment, intention to stay and job satisfaction. A sample of 241 associates was surveyed at a large retail organization and key demographic variables were captured. Results indicate a causal relationship between internal marketing and brand citizenship behavior as well brand pride. While a causal link between brand citizenship behavior and brand commitment was not supported overall, permutations indicate causality among part time associates. Brand pride was found to mediate the relationship between brand citizenship behavior and brand commitment.

This study examined information technology professionals' perception of employee organizational commitment (OC) and its relationships to turnover across various industries in Thailand. Perceived job alternatives and thoughts of quitting were included to examine their influence on turnover intention both directly as independent variables and indirectly as mediators. Hypotheses tested were 1) the direct relationship between organizational commitment and turnover intention among IT personnel from various Thai companies, 2) the relationship between thoughts of quitting and turnover intention, 3) the relationship between perceived job alternatives and turnover intention, 4) the indirect relationship between organizational commitment and turnover intention through mediator - thoughts of quitting and 5) the indirect relationship between organizational commitment and turnover intention, as mediated by perceived job alternatives. The survey questionnaire used instruments that were already translated into Thai from previous research (Wongrattanapassorn, 2000). The original items in English were included with each item in the Thai language to provide respondents with additional information on the meaning of constructs. In addition to demographic items, the survey questionnaire contained four measures, one for each of the four variables: organization commitment (Allen & Meyer, 1990), thoughts of quitting (Peters, Jakofsky & Salter, 1981), perceived job alternatives (Peters, et al., 1981), and turnover intention (Hom, Griffeth & Sellaro, 1984). An accompanying letter with the hyperlink to the questionnaire page was sent via e-mail to 300 IT professionals who were randomly selected from the subscribers of Computerworld Thailand magazine and also those who attended IT seminars organized by Computerworld Thailand. Two hundred and eight responses returned, providing an acceptable response rate of 69.3 percent. Correlation and regression were used to test hypotheses. Results revealed that there was no direct relationship between overall organizational commitment and turnover intention. However, there was a negative direct relationship between continuance commitment and turnover intention. There was also no correlation between thoughts of quitting and turnover intention. There was a positive relationship between perceived job alternatives and turnover intention. For the mediating effect between organizational commitment and turnover intention, the results revealed that thoughts of quitting did not mediate the relationship as well as perceived job alternatives.

The primary interest of this investigation concerned working memory functioning and cue/act discrimination during encoding of intentions. The study included manipulations of working memory and intention load to investigate the encoding processes related to prospective memory (PM). Three experiments are presented that involve working memory distraction tasks at the time of encoding the PM intentions, as well as varying numbers of cues and actions. In the first experiment three cues were paired with one action, in the second, one cue with three actions, and in the third, three cues with three actions. Results suggest that the central executive is involved in binding a cue to an action, and that this operation is key to PM success. Furthermore, the phonological loop seems primarily involved with processing of cues and the visuospatial sketchpad with actions. It is further proposed that the processes of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad must be successful before the central executive can bind the cues and acts together, which is possibly the most important part in the encoding of intentions. By directly examining PM at the time of encoding, information was gained that allows for a more complete understanding of the nature of how we form and execute intentions.

Atualmente, observa-se que o ambiente virtual está cada vez mais povoado por pessoas com 60 anos ou mais e com os mais diversos interesses, todavia, verifica-se que há pouco conhecimento sobre como os consumidores idosos formam julgamentos e tomam decisões a respeito de produtos e serviços oferecidos na Internet, chegando a existir, inclusive, um pré-conceito de que estes indivíduos não são usuários da Internet e, portanto, não merecem que se façam investimentos para adequar produtos e serviços a eles. Sabe-se que diferentes fatores podem influenciar o comportamento do consumidor em sua tomada de decisão, principalmente quando se abordam produtos e serviços tecnológicos. Frente a esse contexto, é fundamental que se compreendam melhor os elementos que estão presentes nesse comportamento de consumo e as suas implicações futuras. Por essa razão, a presente pesquisa foi elaborada, pretendendo-se identificar os principais construtos que influenciam o comportamento do consumidor da terceira idade na Internet e analisar o seu impacto sobre a intenção de compra online. Objetivando responder a tal questionamento, projetou-se este estudo, para o qual foi elaborado um modelo teórico (testado empiricamente) contendo diversas variáveis e moderadores. Após 5 pré-testes e 8 entrevistas em profundidade, um questionário foi aplicado em 430 respondentes com 60 anos ou mais que tivessem utilizado a Internet pelo menos uma vez nos últimos 3 meses. O processamento de dados incluiu uma análise fatorial exploratória e uma confirmatória e a Modelagem de Equações Estruturais. Ao final deste estudo, obteve-se aceitação plena de cinco hipóteses, parcial de três e rejeição de duas, além de um bom ajuste do modelo proposto (a partir dos índices pré-definidos). Confirmou-se a hipótese de que o risco percebido pelos consumidores da terceira idade ao utilizar a Internet é um moderador no modelo estrutural proposto, uma vez que se comprovou diferença estatística significante entre as respostas dadas por um grupo mais avesso ao risco (Grupo 1) e outro menos avesso ao risco (Grupo 2) no que concerne às características demográficas e comportamentais (relacionadas ao uso da Internet). Já a escala de Tipo de Uso não se mostrou adequada para analisar a utilização da Internet pelo público da terceira idade. Constatou-se, da mesma forma, que a idade cognitiva influencia, de maneira inversa, no tempo de uso da Internet e que a satisfação com o uso da mesma tem impacto positivo no boca-a-boca positivo realizado, na intenção de (re)compra online e, também, no tempo de uso da rede. Acredita-se que os resultados obtidos a partir do teste do modelo apresentado possam fornecer importantes implicações acadêmicas e gerenciais, as quais possibilitarão uma maior compreensão sobre o uso da Internet por indivíduos da terceira idade, seus impactos futuros e a existência de moderadores importantes nesta relação. / Virtual environment has been increasingly used by people aged 60 and over who have a variety of interests. However, there is little knowledge concerning how elderly consumers form judgment and make decisions regarding products and services offered on the internet. Additionally, there is a preconception that these individuals do not use the internet; therefore, there would be no need for investment in redesigning products and services to suit them. It is known that there is a range of factors that may influence consumer behavior, especially in online environments involving technological products and services. In this context, understanding the elements involved in consumer behavior as well as its future implications is of paramount importance. Thus, this study reviewed the main constructs that influence the consumer behavior of the elderly on the internet and analyzed its impact on the online purchase intention. A theoretical model containing several variables and moderators was created and empirically tested. After 5 pretests and 8 in-depth interviews, a questionnaire was applied to 430 respondents aged 60 and over who had used the internet within the last 3 months. Data processing included an exploratory and a confirmatory factor analysis, as well as the Structural Equation Modeling. As a result, five hypotheses were fully supported, three were partially confirmed and two were rejected. Moreover, the proposed model proved to be well adjusted according to the pre-defined indexes. The hypothesis which states that the perceived risk by the elderly regarding the use of internet is a moderator on the proposed structural model was confirmed, since there was a statistically significant difference between the answers given by a more risk-averse group (Group 1) and the answers provided by a less risk-averse group (Group 2) concerning demographic and behavioral characteristics related to internet use. On the other hand, the Type of Internet Use scale was shown to be inadequate to analyze the internet usage by the aforementioned age group. Likewise, it was observed that cognitive age has an inversely proportional influence on time of Internet usage, and that satisfaction with its usage has a positive impact on positive word of mouth, online (re)purchase intention and time of web usage. It is believed that the results obtained from the testing of the presented model may provide important academic and managerial implications which will bring a greater understanding of internet usage by the elderly as well as its future impacts and the existence of important moderators within this relationship.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how consumers’ online purchase intention is impacted by sponsorship transparency and the use of disclosure. An online survey was collected from 135 people from 41 different countries around the world. The collected data was used to test the proposed four hypotheses and was analyzed with a linear regression test. The findings suggest that the ethical practice of sponsorship transparency negatively impacts purchase intention; and posits that an explicit sponsorship disclosure has no positive impact on purchase intention. However, the characteristic trait of the influencer, i.e. transparency and authenticity and their source credibility has a significant impact on prompting consumers toward purchase intention.

In recent years Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has gained increasing attention from companies, as CSR activities have been seen to increasingly influence consumers’ attitudes, intentions, and behaviors in relation to brands. This study aims to complement existing research, by focusing on how attitudes and purchase intention of university students are affected by CSR activities of companies within the outdoor industry specifically, as previous research has indicated the impact could vary between industries. Understanding the attitudes and intentions of university students can be seen as particularly interesting, as the attitudes and behaviors of early adopters, typically young and educated people, are typically spread to the majority of the population and market.   The research was done in a deductive manner, where two research questions were conducted to fulfill the purpose of the study. The research was conducted by using a quantitative study through a questionnaire responded by students at Luleå University of Technology. The statistical analysis is based upon a factor analysis and further a correlation analysis and a hierarchical multiple regression analysis.   Results from this study indicate that there is a relationship between university students’ attitudes towards CSR activities of companies within the outdoor industry and purchase intention. Further, the findings concluded this relationship positively. University students with a strong positive attitude towards a company’s CSR activities got a higher intention to purchase. Therefore, CSR activities should be considered as a strategically important opportunity and a tool for companies in the outdoor industry to influence young and educated consumers’ purchase intentions and attitudes towards the company in a positive way.

El propósito de esta investigación es conocer los elementos del marketing experiencial que influyen en la intención de compra de los consumidores entre los 25 y 35 años en Lima Metropolitana, tomando en consideración las dimensiones planteadas del marketing experiencial como lo son el ambiente, el mozo, el olor, música la carta didáctica y el sabor de la cerveza artesanal ofertada. La metodología empleada corresponde a un estudio cualitativo y cuantitativo a través de un análisis no probabilístico. En este caso se utilizó las herramientas de la entrevista a profundidad y la encuesta de un total de 150 encuestados. Los resultados obtenidos fueron que existe relación entre las dimensiones del marketing experiencial planteados con la intención de compra, siendo el ambiente del lugar el más destacado entre ellos; por otra parte, el trato del mozo es la segunda dimensión con mayor relación con la intención de compra de los consumidores. La dimensión con menor relación con la intención de compra fue el olor del bar y del producto. De igual forma todas las dimensiones tienen correlación positiva con la intención de compra. El presente trabajo servirá a todos los negocios similares al objeto de estudio para poder conocer cuál es la relación de las dimensiones del marketing evaluadas para mejorar la intención de compra de sus productos. / The purpose of this research is to know the elements of experiential`s marketing that influence the purchase intention of consumers between 25 and 35 years old in Metropolitan Lima, taking into consideration the dimensions raised of experiential marketing such as the environment, the waiter, the smell, music, the didactic letter and the taste of the craft beer offered. The methodology used corresponds to a qualitative and quantitative study through a non-probabilistic analysis. In this case, the tools of the in-depth interview and the survey of a total of 150 respondents were used. The results were that there is a relationship between the dimensions of experiential marketing raised with the purchase intention, being the environment of the place the most prominent among them; On the other hand, the waiter's treatment is the second dimension that is more related to the intention of consumers to buy. The dimension with the least relationship with the purchase intention was the smell of the bar and the product. Similarly, all dimensions have a positive correlation with the purchase intention. This work will serve all businesses similar to the object of study to know what is the relationship of the dimensions of marketing evaluated to improve the purchase intention of their products. / Trabajo de investigación