Globalisation has created a world where countries compete with each other over trading. Historically, emerging countries started with a negative brand image to enhance exporting. This is particularly true in the Asian context where a general developmental path has been established by countries such as Japan and South Korea. Their success has gained a strong brand image for their products. China, after launching itself into the global market in the late 70s, has gained an increasing market share of ‘Made in China’ products. The reputation of ‘Made in China’, however, is perceived at low quality mass production of low-tech content, and there are only few Chinese brands which can stand out in the global market. This study explores ‘Made in China’ phenomenon in the global market, especially from the producer’s viewpoint. The literature review provides a background to the research. It covers the studies on Country of Origin (COO) effect, economic development strategies and competitive advantage theories. This research employs a mixed methods strategy that combines both quantitative and qualitative studies. The questionnaire survey was designed to reveal British importers’ perception of ‘Made in China’ products. Netnography and Interview are adopted to investigate the voice from Chinese producers and manufacturers. The design of this research allows for triangulating the findings. The results show the international buyers, i.e. British importers, perceive the biggest advantage for Chinese products is price. Chinese producers’ contributions suggest four themes to represent the current situation of ‘Made in China’, namely the image, price, quality and imitation. In their view the future development lies in ‘Created in China’, which consists of other four themes: creativity, branding, designing and R&D. A model of -From ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China’- is developed in this research. This model identifies the major obstacles that impede the development are thin profit and copying. This research shed lights on the study of developing a country brand, especially for the emerging nation like China. For the first time, this research explores the producers’ views to highlight the importance of their roles in a country brand’s development. The findings also have the implications for Chinese policymakers and industrial development agency. It further offers knowledge to the emerging nations who wish to develop their country brand in the international exporting market.

Nos últimos anos, muitos blogs ganharam notoriedade e se tornaram referências em determinados nichos. Estes blogs atraem tanto a atenção do público assim como de empresas querendo desenvolver ações promocionais junto a esta audiência. Por outro lado, o desenvolvimento de serviços de publicidade online permitiu o surgimento de novos pequenos anunciantes, assim como novos pequenos veículos que dispostos a exibir anúncios. O objetivo deste trabalho é, portanto, compreender a profissionalização dos blogs brasileiros a partir de uma investigação sobre as dinâmicas promocionais na blogosfera. A pesquisa busca discutir a relação entre a cultura participativa (Jenkins, 2006b) da Internet, a virtualização da economia e o papel dos blogueiros neste contexto. Para tal, foi conduzido um estudo netnográfico que consistiu em: a) acompanhar os cem blogs brasileiros de maior autoridade do ranking do indexador Blogblogs, onde investigou-se a presença e o gerenciamento de publicidade e buscou-se outros indícios da profissionalização do meio; b) realizar uma observação participante no I Fórum de Mídias Digitais e Sociais FMDS e no BlogCamp Paraná. / In recent years, many blogs have gained notoriety and have become authorities in certain niches. These blogs attract both the attention of the public as well as companies aiming to develop promotional campaigns targeting blogs audience. Moreover, the development of online advertising services allows the emergence of new small advertisers, in addition to new small vehicles willing to display ads. Therefore, the objective of this study is to understand the professionalization of Brazilian blogs through an investigation of the promotional dynamics in the blogosphere. The research discusses the relationship between the participatory culture (Jenkins, 2006b) of the Internet, the virtualization of the economy and the role of bloggers in this context. In order to achieve this work's goals, a netnographic study was conducted and it consisted of: a) following the 100 most authoritative Brazilian blogs ranked in the Blogblogs index to investigate the presence and management of advertising and to find other evidences of the professionalization of the medium; b) conducting a participant observation in the I Digital and Social Media Forum (FMDS) and in the BlogCamp Paraná.

Nos últimos anos, muitos blogs ganharam notoriedade e se tornaram referências em determinados nichos. Estes blogs atraem tanto a atenção do público assim como de empresas querendo desenvolver ações promocionais junto a esta audiência. Por outro lado, o desenvolvimento de serviços de publicidade online permitiu o surgimento de novos pequenos anunciantes, assim como novos pequenos veículos que dispostos a exibir anúncios. O objetivo deste trabalho é, portanto, compreender a profissionalização dos blogs brasileiros a partir de uma investigação sobre as dinâmicas promocionais na blogosfera. A pesquisa busca discutir a relação entre a cultura participativa (Jenkins, 2006b) da Internet, a virtualização da economia e o papel dos blogueiros neste contexto. Para tal, foi conduzido um estudo netnográfico que consistiu em: a) acompanhar os cem blogs brasileiros de maior autoridade do ranking do indexador Blogblogs, onde investigou-se a presença e o gerenciamento de publicidade e buscou-se outros indícios da profissionalização do meio; b) realizar uma observação participante no I Fórum de Mídias Digitais e Sociais FMDS e no BlogCamp Paraná. / In recent years, many blogs have gained notoriety and have become authorities in certain niches. These blogs attract both the attention of the public as well as companies aiming to develop promotional campaigns targeting blogs audience. Moreover, the development of online advertising services allows the emergence of new small advertisers, in addition to new small vehicles willing to display ads. Therefore, the objective of this study is to understand the professionalization of Brazilian blogs through an investigation of the promotional dynamics in the blogosphere. The research discusses the relationship between the participatory culture (Jenkins, 2006b) of the Internet, the virtualization of the economy and the role of bloggers in this context. In order to achieve this work's goals, a netnographic study was conducted and it consisted of: a) following the 100 most authoritative Brazilian blogs ranked in the Blogblogs index to investigate the presence and management of advertising and to find other evidences of the professionalization of the medium; b) conducting a participant observation in the I Digital and Social Media Forum (FMDS) and in the BlogCamp Paraná.

Nos últimos anos, muitos blogs ganharam notoriedade e se tornaram referências em determinados nichos. Estes blogs atraem tanto a atenção do público assim como de empresas querendo desenvolver ações promocionais junto a esta audiência. Por outro lado, o desenvolvimento de serviços de publicidade online permitiu o surgimento de novos pequenos anunciantes, assim como novos pequenos veículos que dispostos a exibir anúncios. O objetivo deste trabalho é, portanto, compreender a profissionalização dos blogs brasileiros a partir de uma investigação sobre as dinâmicas promocionais na blogosfera. A pesquisa busca discutir a relação entre a cultura participativa (Jenkins, 2006b) da Internet, a virtualização da economia e o papel dos blogueiros neste contexto. Para tal, foi conduzido um estudo netnográfico que consistiu em: a) acompanhar os cem blogs brasileiros de maior autoridade do ranking do indexador Blogblogs, onde investigou-se a presença e o gerenciamento de publicidade e buscou-se outros indícios da profissionalização do meio; b) realizar uma observação participante no I Fórum de Mídias Digitais e Sociais FMDS e no BlogCamp Paraná. / In recent years, many blogs have gained notoriety and have become authorities in certain niches. These blogs attract both the attention of the public as well as companies aiming to develop promotional campaigns targeting blogs audience. Moreover, the development of online advertising services allows the emergence of new small advertisers, in addition to new small vehicles willing to display ads. Therefore, the objective of this study is to understand the professionalization of Brazilian blogs through an investigation of the promotional dynamics in the blogosphere. The research discusses the relationship between the participatory culture (Jenkins, 2006b) of the Internet, the virtualization of the economy and the role of bloggers in this context. In order to achieve this work's goals, a netnographic study was conducted and it consisted of: a) following the 100 most authoritative Brazilian blogs ranked in the Blogblogs index to investigate the presence and management of advertising and to find other evidences of the professionalization of the medium; b) conducting a participant observation in the I Digital and Social Media Forum (FMDS) and in the BlogCamp Paraná.

The purpose of this essay was to examine conversations between two Swedish organizations and their customers to explore how online meetings and dialogs can affect organisations image and relationships between customers and organisations. Viasat and C More are both live sport broadcasters with online play services. The study was motivated by three research questions: (1) How high response rates do the company's Twitter accounts have on positive or negative feedback and questions? (2) What strategies do the companies twitter accounts apply to customers who experience problems with with their live broadcasts? (3) What appeal and tonality does the company's twitter accounts have? Previous research offers a descriptive account of interaction and interpersonal communication, communication strategies, relationship building between organizations and their customers on social media and effects of relationship management and relationship building in social media. The theoretical framework consists of theories about relationship building and management, interpersonal communication and crisis communication. A quantitative content analysis was implemented to analyse in what extent the chosen companies respond to their customers during September 16 2017 and November 21 2017. Data collected was 734 tweets, which resulted in 406 twitter conversations. A qualitative analysis was conducted with methodological tools form nethnography and social network analysis. The findings showed that both companies answered the majority of received tweets. Patterns and themes were found in the qualitative study that showed both differences and similarities in C More and Viasat’ way of interacting. Viasat often has the last word, and end conversations more often than C More did. Both companies act accordingly to Benoits theories about image restoration. Findings also suggest that both companies risk their reputations and images by engaging in dialog. Interaction and commitment is also the key to build and nurture customer and organisation relationship in order to gain positive outcomes.

Orientador: Edson do Carmo Inforsato / Banca: Dulcimeire Aparecida Volante Zanon / Banca: Denise Maria Margonari / Banca: Daniela Gonçalves Abreu / Banca: Francisco de Paiva Lima Neto / Resumo: Muitos professores de Ensino Básico II (que lecionam para os anos finais do ensino fundamental e para o ensino médio) têm buscado novas formações, entre elas, a Pedagogia como segunda licenciatura. Essa formação permite atuar na educação infantil, nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental, na gestão escolar, entre outras funções relacionadas à formação em Pedagogia. No entanto, é difícil para esses professores conciliar o trabalho escolar e a formação em outra licenciatura. Nesse sentido, a EAD tem sido uma modalidade adequada para atender a demanda desses profissionais. Além disso, essa modalidade encontra-se em progressiva expansão, de forma que é necessário expandir também o número de pesquisas quanto a ela. Nessa perspectiva, esta pesquisa teve como objetivo central analisar um dos aspectos que se refere à EaD na formação de professores, a saber: estudar as interações entre esses docentes em fóruns de ambiente virtual de aprendizagem. Assim, esperava-se entender como eram estabelecidas as interações e os saberes mobilizados por eles nos fóruns das disciplinas. Para tanto, utilizamos como metodologia a netnografia de Kozinets, em que o pesquisador se insere no ambiente como um integrante da comunidade virtual e analisa, na perspectiva científica, o objeto de estudo. Nessa vertente, foram utilizados como referenciais teóricos: a teoria da Zona de Desenvolvimento Proximal (ZDP) de Vigotski e os saberes docentes de Tardif na análise das interações dos fóruns associados ao perfi... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Many elementary school teachers (who teach for the final years of elementary school and high school) have sought new training, including pedagogy as a second degree. This training allows to work in early childhood education, in the early years of elementary school, in school management among other functions related to training in pedagogy. However, it is difficult for these teachers to conciliate school work and training in another degree concurrently. In this sense, distance learning has been an appropriate modality to meet the demand of these professionals. In addition, this modality is in progressive expansion, so it is necessary to expand the number of researches on it as well. From this perspective, this research has as its central objective to study one of the aspects that have the distance education in teacher training, that is, to analyze the interactions between these teachers in virtual learning environment forums. Thus, we expected to understand how the interactions between these professionals were established and the knowledge mobilized by them in the forums of the disciplines. To this end, we used as methodology the Kozinets' netnography, in which the researcher inserts himself in the environment as a member of the virtual community and analyzes the study object from the scientific perspective. In this aspect, the following theoretical framework was used: Vigotski's theory of the Proximal Development Zone (PDZ) and Tardif's teaching knowledge together with the an... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

This thesis is a netnographic study of Save Bugoma Forest Campaign and digitally enhanced environmental activism in Uganda. Save Bugoma Forest Campaign is a crusade run by a loose coalition of Ugandan environmentalists who oppose a planned sugarcane plantation project in Bugoma Central Forest Reserve, western Uganda. By examining who the activists envisage as their audiences, what online platforms they use and how, what messages they intend to send, and how the forest is represented in online narratives, I attempt to find out how Ugandan environmental activists use digital technologies as part of their campaigning strategies, and what the digital narratives created in these practices can reveal about their relation to nature. The study is built as a netnography, a research method developed by Robert E. Kozinets, which combines online participant observations, online interactions, and semi-structured online interviews. I highlight how digital platforms, social media in particular, should be understood as a tool for campaign activities or as an infrastructure within which the struggle takes place. I also show how nature receives multiple and dynamic meanings in digital narratives which are affected by the audience of choice. The findings indicate that, in addition to better understanding movements’ online practises, netnographic research methods can also give valuable insights into understanding culturally and socially bound phenomena and lend to a deep and rich reporting of the results.

This study aims to examine positive attitudes towards a certain group of immigrants in a group that is normally negative against them. Furthermore creating an understanding of their perception of what a “real” refugee is. The refugees chosen are Ukrainians due to the Russian invasion in 2022, and the empirical field of attitudes is studied on the online forum Flashback. To answer this, two questions were formed; how can the Ukrainian refugees' established status be understood, despite not being established in Swedish society? and how do the users on Flashback define what a “real” refugee is?  The study has used a qualitative approach with a netnographic method. A thread with roughly 1500 posts about whether Sweden should accept Ukrainian refugees was the main source of empirical material. The posts in the forum were analyzed by using Elias and Scotson's (2011) theory “the established and the outsiders”, and the “racialization” theory. The results showed that the Ukrainian refugees' established status can be understood through cultural ideas about a shared western race with the same values. When the users applied a race on the Ukrainians and on themselves, they also did it to the existing immigrants in the country, which can be understood as a way to elevate their own status through the idea that like-minded people will come into the country and improve it. The Ukrainians were defined as the “perfect” refugee, with qualities that the users believed the Swedish society needed. These qualities were easy to integrate, well-educated and toughness.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur autenticitet konstrueras i en nätgemenskap som bland annat ägnar sig åt att återskapa historiska kläder. Gruppen heter Vi som syr medeltidskläder och återfinns på Facebook. Konversationerna mellan medlemmar i gruppen analyseras med en netnografisk metod. Det teoretiska ramverket för undersökningen består av en konstruktivistisk syn på autenticitet, subkulturellt och socialt kapital, kategorier, dikotomier och formella och informella hierarkier.Undersökningen visar, bland annat, att autenticitet konstrueras genom konversationer mellan medlemmar i gruppen som har högt subkulturellt kapital och står högt upp i den informella hierarkin, med stöd av medlemmar högt upp i den formella hierarkin. Resultaten visar också att medlemmar med högt subkulturellt kapital ofta har en relation till museum och universitet och att dessa institutioner påverkar konstruktionen av det autentiska även här. Vidare visar undersökningen att synen på det autentiska utkristalliseras i gruppen, vilket leder till att medlemmar tvingas skapa eller gå med i nya, liknande grupper om deras syn inte stämmer överens med gruppens. / The aim of this study is to examine how authenticity is constructed in a group on the internet focusing on replicating historical clothes. The group is called Vi som syr medeltidskläder and is located on Facebook. The conversations between the members of the group is analysed with a netnographic method. The theoretical frame of the investigation is a constructive view on authenticity, subcultural and social capital, categories, dichotomies and formal and informal hierarchies. The investigation shows, among other things, that authenticity is constructed through conversations between members in the group with high subcultural capital, high up in the informal hierarchy with support from members with a place high up in the formal hierarchy. The results also show that the members with high subcultural capital often have a connection to museums and universities and that these places are related to the construction of authenticity even here. Further the investigation shows that the view on authenticity in the group is crystallizing, causing members to create or join new, similar groups if their view does not correspond to the view in the rest of the group.

The surge of mobile internet and electronic devices has revolutionized consumer interactions and information consumption. Livestreaming emerges as a prevalent advertising method in e-commerce, compensating for the static nature of traditional platforms by providing dynamic buying experiences. Yet, its impact on sales and customer engagement remains unclear. This study delves into how influencers leverage livestreaming for engagement and product promotion. This study investigates China's influencer e-commerce livestreaming strategies' effectiveness in enhancing consumer engagement and sales. It focuses on Li Jiaqi and Wei Ya's broadcasts, aiming to understand their communication strategies and impact on consumer behavior. Drawing on Laswell's communication model and "key opinion leader" theory, this research scrutinizes influencers' strategies to engage followers and drive sales. It explores how these influencers utilize personal branding, content, platforms, timing, and messaging to promote products effectively. Using qualitative methods, this study analyzes the livestreamed e-commerce content of Li Jiaqi and Wei Ya. Employing Netnography, it examines their language styles' persuasive aspects and their influence on product sales. Additionally, observation and interviews with consumers complement this analysis. The study underscores the rapid growth of influencer-driven e-commerce post-COVID-19, highlighting challenges such as audience retention, product quality, and false advertising. Addressing these issues is crucial to establishing effective influencer e-commerce livestreaming strategies in China.