Abstract Background: Micro-sized family businesses are facing great challenges in nowadays competitive markets. Marketing is one of the most essential fields if a company wants to suc-ceed. Traditional marketing reveal more and more disadvantages, with competition that is constantly rising, technological marketing methods that are breaking down geographical bur-dens and consumer markets that are getting more demanding. One way to step away from the traditional marketing patterns and differentiate is the implementation and usage of relation-ship marketing. As a novel strategic method, the focus shifts from the product to building a loyal customer relationship foundation. Purpose: Consequently the purpose of this thesis is to investigate which factors influence an implementation of relationship marketing in micro-size family businesses. Using a case study, we will investigate how the potential theories can be successfully translated into reality when using relationship marketing in micro family firms. For reaching this goal, we will mainly identify several influences that impact a relationship marketing implementation in micro family businesses. Method: The data used for our case study has been collected through email in-terviews. Using an abductive approach and a qualitative analysis we are investigating and analysing specific factors and their influence on relationship marketing in micro family busi-nesses, in particular Casa Canela. Although one case cannot act as a role model and offer generalisable suggestions on all micro sized family firms, it presents an interesting example of one case and we hope that the outcomes and results can offer a guideline and inspiration to other micro family businesses as well. Conclusion: All in all, this thesis suggests that relationship marketing can benefit micro-sized family businesses. Moreover, factors like the owner-managers, the location, the financial situation and long-term goals influence the implementation of this strategy. With the help of our case firm Casa Canela and the analysed factors, we concluded that relationship marketing can provide a solid foundation for a successful business performance in the long-run.

Title: Micro sized retailers usage of e-CRM: A study about how far micro sized retailers have implemented e-CRM and exploration of what factors can describe the e-CRM adoption   Course code: 4FE03E   Authors:        Fredrik Fagerström               880107                   Linda Sjögren                      880805   Research question: The research explores what factors can explain e-CRM adoption of micro sized retailers through 6 hypotheses, derived from literature review.   Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe how far micro sized retailers have implemented e-CRM and explore what factors can describe their e-CRM adoption.   Methodology: The result of the study consists of the participation of 137 micro sized retailers on the Swedish market. A quantitative questionnaire has been developed out of theories and qualitative pilot-studies.   Conclusion: This research can conclude that micro sized retailers on the Swedish market have, in average, implemented 5 e-CRM features per company. This equals a 12% usage of the total e-CRM features explored for this research. The one proved factor that can describe how retailers have adopted e-CRM is their profitability rate. Companies with a profitability rate below market average are more likely to have implemented more e-CRM features than companies with higher profit rate than market average. The explanation to this might be that companies with a low profit rate implement e-CRM as a tool to cure their low profit rate, since e-CRM is supposed to bring benefits as lower costs and increased sales with the purpose to increase their profit in the future.   Key words; e-CRM, growth orientation, micro sized companies, retailers

Many of the most pressing global challenges today and in the future center around the scarcity of sustainable energy and water sources. The innovative microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology addresses both as it utilizes bacteria to convert wastewaters into electricity. Advancing this technology requires a better understanding of the optimal materials, designs and conditions involved. The micro-sized MFC was recently developed to serve this need by providing a rapid testing device requiring only a fraction of the materials. Further, development of micro-liter scale MFCs has expanded into potential applications such as remote and self-sustained power sources as well as on-chip energy generators. By using microfabrication, the fabrication and assembly of microsized MFCs is potentially inexpensive and mass produced. The objective of the work within this dissertation was to explore and optimize the micro-sized MFC to maximize power and current generation towards the goal of a usable and application-oriented device. Micro-sized MFCs were examined and developed using four parameters/themes considered most important in producing a high power generating, yet usable device: Anode- The use of nano-engineered carbon nanomaterials, carbon nanotubes and graphene, as anode as well as testing semiconductor industry standard anode contact area materials for enhanced current production. 5 Cathode- The introduction of a membrane-less air cathode to eliminate the need for continuous chemical refills and making the entire device mobile. Reactor design- The testing of four different reactor designs (1-75 μLs) with various features intended to increase sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and usability of the microsized MFC. Fuels- The utilization of real-world fuels, such as industrial wastewaters and saliva, to power micro-sized MFCs. The micro-sized MFC can be tailored to fit a variety of applications by varying these parameters. The device with the highest power production here was designed to be an inexpensive and robust power source in applications like point-of-care diagnostics in developing countries. This 25 μL graphene nanomaterial anode, air cathode device in an inexpensive flexible rubber architecture was powered by saliva and achieved 3.55 μW/cm2 and 35.2 W/m3. The continued optimization of MFC technology promises many interesting and innovative applications.

Background: In recent studies a lot of attention is drawn to the connection between networking and entrepreneurship. Many scholars consider successful business and networking inseparable. Taking into consideration the topicality of the two notions discussed above the authors of this thesis decided to conduct the research dedicated to these phenomena in the field that interests them most – in the field of Swedish fashion. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to gain a deeper insight into entrepreneur’s experiences to point out the role of entrepreneurial networking in the process of internationalization of a micro-sized Swedish fashion company and to contribute to the research in this field by telling its unique story. Method: To achieve the purpose of the research a narrative ethnographic research was conducted. This research strategy was chosen because it suits the purpose best by giving an opportunity to get fresh insights into the field of entrepreneurial networking from the point of view of the entrepreneur. The data collected has a narrative nature therefore narrative analysis is used to present it. The methods of gathering the data are face-to-face interview and documents. Conclusion: we can define the most important role of entrepreneurial networking on the internationalization process of Odeur as an effective accelerator and a tool to fulfil the knowledge and expertise gaps in certain areas through other actors in the network.

Background: Social medias have contributed to big changes in the way firms and customers interact with each other. Due to the great amount of people using social medias, firms have understood the importance of incorporating social medias in their marketing strategy. However, due to increasing competition, customer engagement on social medias has become important. To generate customer engagement, firms must create engaging social media content that is worth the customer’s time and effort. The micro-sized firms are under researched and therefore the authors have chosen micro-sized firms as a study subject and hence the sender of the content. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to describe the key components of creating customer engagement on social medias for micro-sized firms. Methodology: This research took a qualitative approach in a deductive nature with a descriptive purpose and a cross-sectional research design. The need of primary data was collected by conducting seven semi-structured interviews with social media managers- and consultants. Participants were purposely sampled and the empirical findings were coded, concepts were identified and further categorised while trustworthiness was set to be a criterion for the quality of the research. Conclusion: The research provided seven key components of engaging social media content for micro-sized firms and further recommendations on how to implement them in the micro-sized firms social media management. The components are described together with an illustration. Keywords: Micro-sized firms, social media managers, social media, customer engagement, content appeals, social media targeting, social media timing and frequency, qualitative research, semi-structured interviews.

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Development of microsized batteries plays an important role in the design of in-situ electrochemical investigation systems and portable/wearable electronics. This emerging field intimately correlates with the topics of rechargeable batteries, nanomaterials, on-chip microfabrication, flexibility with reliable mechanical properties etc. Among the various energy materials, conversion-type materials have been proposed as high-energy-density alternatives to traditional intercalation-based materials. However, these materials usually show complex reaction processes accompanied by multi-reaction intermediates, which poses a great challenge to understand the chemical mechanisms. Benefiting from the merits of microsized battery devices, we develop a novel strategy to investigate and then optimize the electrochemical performance of a specific conversion-type material: nickel-iron oxide (NFO). Subsequently, this kind of materials are employed for flexible minimized energy storage systems. Unlike traditional characterization methods based on slurry-coated electrodes, micro-platforms directly probe the intrinsic electrochemical properties of a single active material in real-time due to the elimination of other additives. In this thesis, we firstly design a micro-lithium batteries (MLBs), based on a single “Swiss-roll” microtubular nanomembrane electrode. This platform enables us to investigate the electrochemical mechanisms of electrode materials in lithium batteries by in-situ Raman spectroscopy, electrical conductivity measurements, and electrochemistry characterization. With this designed MLBs, we systematically studied NFO nanomembranes. Using in-situ Raman spectroscopy during the delithiation/lithiation process, we monitored the transition of the chemical component directly. Guided by our investigations of micro-batteries, composite NFO nanomembrane electrodes were fabricated and tested in coin cells, which showed an excellent rate performance: 440 mAh g-1 at a high rate of 20 A g-1 and a long-term stable cycling performance over 1600 cycles. One step further, a flexible energy storage micro-device is achieved using such optimized materials. We demonstrate a thin, lightweight, and flexible micro-full lithium-ion battery based on nickel-iron oxide with a high-rate performance and energy density that can be repeatedly bent to 180° without structural failure and performance loss. It delivers a stable output capacity of 140 mAh g-1 over 1000 charge/discharge cycles. Meanwhile, the excellent rate performance guarantees high energy output up to 255 W h kg-1 at a high power density of 12000 W kg-1 at the microscale.

While the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is widely used, it is not seen as the most appropriate to describe responsible business activities in Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs). The concept of Responsible Business Practices (RBP) is better suited to SMMEs, although the theory is still based in the broader literature of CSR. Choices and decisions made by the owners/managers of SMMEs regarding the expenditures for RBP may reflect various influences. These influences may be conscious and purposely orientated toward a personal set of beliefs, but may also be indirectly, subconsciously influenced. This research will explore the influences behind expenditure decisions. Structured questionnaires will be used to reveal conscious influences that play a role in decision-making in SMMEs. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the aspects that consciously influence the decision-makers at SMMEs in Tshwane, South Africa, to expend resources on RBP. The study also aims to determine the awareness of, perceptions about and attitudes towards RBP among SMME decision-makers, as well as to determine the RBP activities SMMEs are involved in. Relationships between the extent of RBP engagement and the level of RBP awareness, the activities involved in, and the respondents’ highest level of education will be discussed. Key differences between the respondents’ age, highest level of education and gender with regards to the influencing aspects are also covered. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on individual-level studies in the RBP field and makes a contribution to the South African SMME literature that focuses on the doing of responsible business. It also addresses the gap in RBP knowledge by investigating the influences on RBP decisions in SMMEs, as the small business decision-making processes might prioritise influencing aspects differently than that in larger organisations. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)