Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this research is to gain insight into the personalities of marketers and to identify a benchmark personality profile for a marketer in professional service industries. In order to accomplish this, the personality traits required when performing the general marketing role, as well as the personality tests to measure the identified traits, were investigated. A best-fit profile was then selected by matching these traits. The variations in the marketing role between the professional services and the goods industry were then investigated in order to adapt the profile for the specific traits required by professional service industries. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator and 16 Personality Factor scales were identified as the main tests and selected to measure the desired traits for the profile. Additional tests were identified to test for high levels of creativity, high levels of tolerance for ambiguity, strong internal locus of control, high need for achievement, high levels of emotional intelligence and entrepreneurial spirit. When comparing the traits required by the boundary spanning, entrepreneurial role of marketers inside organisations, with the descriptions of each of the 16 Myers Briggs types, the Extrovert, Instinctive, Thinking, Perceiving (ENTP) type was identified as the best-fit profile. A corresponding 16PF profile was constructed and compared using correlations between the two scales. No clashing personality traits could be identified when investigating the mainly relational marketing role requirements of the professional services industries. Replacement of the ENTP type was therefore not justified. Additional traits related to ‘loyalty’ and ‘trust’ were added as further advantages and an investigation into the Myers Briggs type theory identified ways of evaluating it. The subsequent theoretical profile and descriptions were then sent to experienced and practised marketers in the professional services industry, asking them to provide feedback regarding the personality traits of the theoretical profile and the methods followed. Feedback was provided by means of a Likert scale multiple-choice survey that was hosted online as well as private email conversations. The feedback was mostly positive and responses corresponded with the theoretical model with the exception of two specific personality traits of the 16PF in question that opposed the model. Personality tests can serve as a starting point for constructive discussions of individual behaviour and performance of current employees. These tests can be used for coaching, career counselling, conflict resolution, team and organisational development and to predict employee-role "fit". The tests and results can help provide a framework for assessing the ways that different individual personalities contribute to the behaviours that impact performance in the workplace.

Le présent travail s’intéresse à la nature et aux effets de l’intégration d’une logique de marketing dans les organisations du secteur des arts et de la culture. La recherche conduite ambitionne d’actualiser et de prolonger les connaissances acquises concernant le « conflit » artistes versus managers exposé par Chiapello (1998) tout en l’orientant vers le conflit artistes versus marketers. Inscrit dans une démarche compréhensive, ce travail s’appuie sur la méthode des cas. Une étude qualitative exploratoire constituée de 17 entretiens précède la réalisation de 5 études de cas, menées auprès de la Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), la Bibliothèque publique d’information (Bpi), le Musée national d’art moderne du Centre Pompidou (MNAM), le Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (MBAM) et la Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ). La mise en œuvre des études de cas se fonde sur des périodes d’immersion significatives au sein des institutions mentionnées ; durant ces périodes des entretiens semi-directifs et observations ont été collectés et analysés. Par ailleurs, cette recherche a permis de réaliser une analyse comparative France-Canada. Outre le constat sur l’actualité du conflit établi, la thèse propose des pistes à l’écriture d’une intégration efficace du marketing dans les organisations culturelles. / This work examines the nature and effects of integrating marketing logic into arts and culture organizations. The research aims to update and extend the knowledge acquired about the “conflict” between artists and managers exposed by Chiapello (1998) while orienting it towards the conflict between artists and marketers. As part of a comprehensive approach, this work is based on the case method. A qualitative exploratory study consisting of 17 interviews precedes the realization of 5 case studies, conducted at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), the Bibliothèque publique d’information (Bpi), the Musée national d’art moderne Centre Pompidou (MNAM), the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (MBAM) and the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ). The implementation of the case studies is based on significant immersion periods in the institutions mentioned; during these periods semi-structured interviews and observations were collected and analyzed. In addition, this research led to a comparative France-Canada analysis. In addition to the report on the actuality of the conflict established, the thesis proposes ways to write an effective integration of marketing in cultural organizations.

Online marketing professionals' perceptions about the challenges have got huge importance on marketing campaigns and conversion rates. Online marketing professionals' effective digital marketing strategies are crucial for businesses and clients to grow. However, marketers are facing several challenges in optimizing campaigns, and how they perceive them can affect the whole outcome of the campaigns, the clients' success, as well as certain markets. Understanding their perceptions is important for developing effective strategies and improving conversion rates. Therefore, this research aims to explore the perceptions of challenges that marketers are facing when it comes to optimizing online marketing campaigns. The data for this qualitative project was collected through a total of 9 interviews, of which 4 were in-depth, and 5 were conducted to support or refute the discovered themes. All of the interviewees are highly-experienced online marketing professionals who are currently working in this field. The findings of this study are divided into 5 themes, and each theme has a challenge and a solution part. Marketing professionals can perceive the challenges along these 5 themes when optimizing campaigns to improve conversions. These 5 themes cover: (1) client communication, (2) applied methods, (3) internal factors, (4) external factors, and (5) timeframe. The marketers perceive the challenges in our studied topic along the 5 identified factors below: (1) do not understand each other with the client, (2) there is no clear idea about what kind of methods can work, (3) they have a limited effect on the company's internal factors, (4) external factors cause an anomaly, (5) lack of long-term goals. They can overcome these with client-centric communication, clear ideas, a well-thought-out decision-making approach, market-appropriate strategies, and long-term goals.

Relationship marketing is a marketing theory that has gathered much focus in the marketing research area lately. The core idea of relationship marketing is to retain the existing customers of a company by establishing long-time relationships with them. The theory of brand equity is a well-known theory on brand development that deals with issues such as customer’s perceptions and the brand meaning. The main purpose of this thesis is to gain deeper understanding of what kind of role the front-line employees in terms of part-time marketers, have on the enhancing of Liseberg´s brand equity. Liseberg holds a special position for the citizens of Gothenburg, and as the biggest amusement park in the Nordic are with 3.1 million visitors in 2014, we argue that theories like relationship marketing and brand equity could be of importance for Liseberg to maintain their position in the minds of their customers. We have also been able to identify a research gap. We discovered that research about the role of part-time marketers in relation to brand equity is relatively scarce. Even more specifically, we have not been able to find studies regarding the role of part-time marketers in the enhancing of the brand equity of an amusement park. We have conducted a qualitative study in order to accomplish the purpose of our thesis. In our study, we conducted nine semi-structured interviews with managers, front-line employees and customers of Liseberg. The interviews helped us gain a deeper understanding on how the role of the front-line employees as part-time marketers was perceived both internally and externally in Liseberg. Data from different customer reports were also provided to us from Liseberg. From our qualitative studies as well as from the data provided by Liseberg, we can conclude that the role of the part-time marketers was perceived differently from the customer’s point of view, compared to what managers and front-line employees thought. Nevertheless according to our findings, we can conclude that part-time marketers have a very important role in the enhancing of Liseberg´s brand equity. Finally we have also made practical recommendations for the management of Liseberg regarding on how to work with the part-time marketer’s concept in mind to improve Liseberg´s brand equity.

Les travaux sur la résistance du consommateur fournissent une meilleure compréhension des manifestations et des facteurs situationnels déclenchant ces comportements. Afin d'aller plus loin dans l'identification des caractéristiques du consommateur résistant et des processus psychologiques qui le poussent à agir, nous proposons d'explorer l'existence d'une disposition individuelle stable – la propension à résister du consommateur (PRC) – susceptible d'expliquer la tendance de certains consommateurs à s'opposer à des formes d'influence marchande.L'objectif de cette recherche est donc (1) de proposer une conceptualisation de la propension à résister du consommateur comme variable individuelle centrale explicative du comportement de résistance ; (2) d'en fournir un outil de mesure fiable et valide ; (3) d'en déterminer l'impact sur les comportements de consommation et enfin (4) de tester le rôle différentiel de la situation et de cette variable dans la détermination des comportements de résistance.La mise en œuvre d'une double étude qualitative (focus groups et entretiens individuels) a permis de définir le construit et d'explorer sa dimensionnalité. Une échelle de mesure est ensuite validée sur deux dispositifs d'influence (la publicité et la vente) et confirme l'existence de deux profils de PRC : un profil orienté « confrontation » et un profil orienté « évitement ».Une expérimentation menée auprès de 500 personnes représentatives de la population française met en évidence un lien fort entre le niveau de PRC et les réactions négatives des consommateurs aux sollicitations marchandes. Elle montre que la PRC est un meilleur prédicteur du comportement de résistance dans les situations à faible potentiel de résistance, alors que la situation prédit mieux la résistance lorsque l'intensité de l'influence ou de la manipulation perçue est élevée. Les résultats de cette recherche invitent à considérer deux profils distincts de consommateurs résistants qui appellent des stratégies marketing différenciées. / Current researches on consumer resistance allow a better understanding of the manifestations and situational factors triggering these behaviors. In order to go further in the identification of the psychological processes underlying those behaviors, we propose exploring an individual disposition - consumers' propensity to resist (CPR)-.that may explain the tendency of some consumers to oppose marketers' influenceThe objective of this research is to (1) offer a conceptualization the consumer's propensity to resist the consumer, (2) to provide a reliable and valid measurement tool of this concept, (3 ) to determine the impact of this individual trait on some consumers behaviors and finally (4) to test the differential role of the situation and CPR in determining resistance behaviors.The implementation of a dual qualitative study (focus groups and in-depth interviews) helped to define the construct and explore its dimensionality. A measurement scale is then validated on two mechanisms of influence (advertising and sales) and confirms the existence of two profiles of CPR: a profile linked to “confrontation” and the other linked to “avoidance”.An experiment conducted with 500 people representative of the french population demonstrates a strong link between levels of CPR and negative reactions of consumers to marketers' demands. It shows that CPR is a better predictor of resistant behaviors in situations where the intensity of influence or the perceived manipulation is low, while the situation is a better predictor of resistance when the intensity of the influence or perceived manipulation is high The results of this research invite to consider two distinct profiles of resistant consumers that may deserve differentiated marketing strategies.

Bakgrund: Den ökade globaliseringen har ökat konkurrensen på B2B marknaden markant. Detta har bidragit till att det blir allt mer aktuellt att se till interaktionen som sker mellan olika företag och till det värde som uppstår i samspelet mellan olika aktörer för att kunna differentiera sitt värdeerbjudande från konkurrenterna. Den expanderande marknaden lämnade även utrymme för mjuka värden som går att spåra tillbaka till marknadsföraren - som länge ansetts vara av liten vikt inom B2B, såsom relationer och intellektuellt kapital. Syfte: Studien syftar till att addera ett perspektiv på värdesamskapande processer inom B2B genom att se till den externa marknadsföraren i interaktion och i olika faser av varumärkesbyggande. Eftersom varje aktör gör stort avtryck inom B2B bidrar studien till befintlig forskning genom att observera marknadsföraren som extern aktör i en kontext där deras roll hittills är bristfälligt granskad. Metod: Studiens metod består av semistrukturerade intervjuer som hade utgångspunkt i en intervjuguide, en fallstudie som innehöll flertalet deltagande observationer och som pågick under 4 månader samt dokumentstudier. Metoden och kodning av materialet utgick från studiens valda referensram; tjänstelogiken och Servbrand Framework. Den valda metoden identifierades som mest lämplig för att komma åt respondenternas och de studerade objektets egna erfarenheter och perspektiv inom den valda domänen. Resultat: Resultatet visar att marknadsförarens roll är av essentiell karaktär inom alla faser. De egenskaper som var mest avgörande initialt visade sig vara marknadsförarens förmåga att tolka kunden och alla omständigheter som präglade varumärket samt att kunna tydligt kunna kommunicera dess värden i interaktion. Denna kommunikation visade sig genomgående vara viktigt att upprätthålla för att bygga ett starkt varumärke. Slutsatser: Studien bekräftar att Servbrand Framework är en relevant modell för varumärkesbyggande inom B2B även ur marknadsförarens perspektiv. De kvaliteter knutna till marknadsföraren som var avgörande för värdesamskapande kunde härledas från de aspekter som ingick i de olika faserna. Det är när immateriella resurser hos marknadsföraren saknas som man misslyckas med att skapa värde i interaktion. / Background: The increased globalization has significantly promoted competition in the B2B market. This has contributed to the growing importance of considering the interaction that takes place between different companies and the value that emerges from the interplay among various actors, in order to differentiate one's value proposition from competitors. The expanding market has also created room for intangible values that can be traced back to the marketer – which previously have been regarded as of little importance in the B2B context – such as relationships and intellectual capital. Purpose: The study aims to add a perspective on value-creating processes in the B2B market by looking at the external marketer in interaction and in different phases of branding. Since each actor makes a big impression in B2B, the study contributes to existing research by observing the marketer as an external actor in a context where their role has so far been insufficiently examined. Methodology: The study utilized a mixed-methods approach, incorporating semi-structured interviews based on an interview guide, a case study involving multiple participant observations conducted over a four-month period, and document analysis. The methodology and coding of the material were guided by the chosen theoretical framework of service dominant logic and the Servbrand Framework. The selected method was deemed most appropriate for capturing the respondents' and the studied objects' own experiences and perspectives within the chosen domain. Findings: The results indicate that the role of marketers is of essential nature across all phases. The characteristics that were most crucial initially were found to be the marketer's ability to interpret the customer and all the circumstances that influenced the brand, as well as effectively communicating its values in interactions. This communication was found to be important for maintaining a strong brand. Conclusion: The study confirms that the Servbrand Framework is a relevant model for brand building in B2B, even from the marketer's perspective. The qualities associated with the marketer that were crucial for value creation could be traced back to the aspects included in the different phases. It is when the marketer lacks intangible resources that value creation in interactions fails.

Marketing, Direct Marketing, Tele-Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Tele-sales, Developing countries, Customer attitude/behavior, Call center, Outbound calls, Proactive telemarketing, Sales promotion ,Survey, Telemarketing center , Telemarketing sales , Telephone marketers , Cold calls.