<p>The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze how the online vinyl record network functions from both a consumer and retailer perspective, in order to gain an understanding of how the Internet facilitates the activity within a consumer culture. The vinyl record industry is experiencing a revival, with an upswing in sales and media attention and a significant increase in the amount of online trading. This inductive study contains data from qualitative interviews with ten vinyl record consumers and four vinyl record retailers, as well as observations of three relevant online forums. The study shows that the online vinyl record network is an e-tribe built upon a number of genre-specific member groups where the Internet facilitates consumption by informing, inspiring, and allowing network members to interact.  Among the respondents, consumers with sufficient resources in their offline network rely to a lesser extent on their online network for interaction. The study further indicates that retailers have little influence on the network, compelling them to adapt the information and structure of their marketing activities to the preferences of the individual consumer groups. In all, the online vinyl record network does contribute to the recent growth of the vinyl record industry.</p>

The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze how the online vinyl record network functions from both a consumer and retailer perspective, in order to gain an understanding of how the Internet facilitates the activity within a consumer culture. The vinyl record industry is experiencing a revival, with an upswing in sales and media attention and a significant increase in the amount of online trading. This inductive study contains data from qualitative interviews with ten vinyl record consumers and four vinyl record retailers, as well as observations of three relevant online forums. The study shows that the online vinyl record network is an e-tribe built upon a number of genre-specific member groups where the Internet facilitates consumption by informing, inspiring, and allowing network members to interact.  Among the respondents, consumers with sufficient resources in their offline network rely to a lesser extent on their online network for interaction. The study further indicates that retailers have little influence on the network, compelling them to adapt the information and structure of their marketing activities to the preferences of the individual consumer groups. In all, the online vinyl record network does contribute to the recent growth of the vinyl record industry.

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Submitted by Morgana Silva (morgana_linhares@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-09-01T17:42:44Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2043575 bytes, checksum: a727865931d5728085f817949960f18f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Morgana Silva (morgana_linhares@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-09-01T20:19:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2043575 bytes, checksum: a727865931d5728085f817949960f18f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Morgana Silva (morgana_linhares@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-09-01T20:21:15Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2043575 bytes, checksum: a727865931d5728085f817949960f18f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-01T20:21:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2043575 bytes, checksum: a727865931d5728085f817949960f18f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-26 / Debates about the collaborative consumption has gained strength in the current academic studies due to the fact that it is a recent subject, experienced differently by society, such as the Uber app, the Airbnb.com website, the online thrift stores, groups of online ride, the crowdfunding platforms such as Catharsis, among others. However, it was noted that most studies discusses the collaborative consumption in a more restricted way, to understand the consumption as the purchase, exchange or sharing of tangible goods. Although there is a perspective of collaborative consumption which relates to sharing of ideas, this one has the focus, usually in the development of a personal project. Thus, this research sought to understand how the collaborative consumption can be seen from the perspective of society, assisting projects aimed at helping people, such as social campaigns that have been carried out in the virtual environment. So, aimed to examine, in the light of online social networks, the possible relationships between the aid decision procedures to social campaigns and the collaborative consumption. To that end, a research model that describes the steps of the aid decision process was defined, which can be influenced by internal and external factors in order to analyze it from the perspective of social campaigns that are carried out on online social networks as a way of understanding how the collaborative consumption can occur in this process. As a result, the methodological procedures occurred as follows: in data collection were carried out in-depth interviews, qualitative, semi-structured, online through Facebook chat, with 16 people who said they had collaborated, more than once with this kind of campaign. The participants selection was based in friend’s suggestions and information sharing on social networks. To analyze the data, in turn, the content analysis was used. It was found that there are several types of social campaigns that are spread in social networks and that there is more than one way to collaborate with them, highlighting the donation of money that is similar to crowdfunding, donating blood, hair and provisions and sharing the campaign in their own social networking as a way to attract more collaborators. In addition, it was observed that the aid decision-making process regarding such campaigns following the steps outlined in the model, with a few own specifications of the context in which they are held (the virtual environment), being possible to suggest the stage of post collaboration, which occurs when the individual continues to accompany the campaign even after the collaboration. / Debates acerca do consumo colaborativo têm ganhado força nos estudos acadêmicos atuais, devido ao fato de ser um assunto recente, vivenciado de diferentes formas pela sociedade, como é o caso do aplicativo Uber, do site Airbnb.com, dos brechós online, dos grupos de carona online, das plataformas de financiamento coletivo como a Catarse, entre outros. Porém, percebeu-se que a maioria dos estudos discute o consumo colaborativo de uma maneira mais restrita, no sentido de compreender o consumo como a compra, troca ou compartilhamento de bens tangíveis. Apesar de existir uma perspectiva do consumo colaborativo referente ao compartilhamento de ideias, esta tem o foco, normalmente, no desenvolvimento de algum projeto pessoal. Dessa forma, esta pesquisa buscou compreender de que forma o consumo colaborativo pode ser visto pela perspectiva da sociedade, auxiliando projetos que visem a ajudar pessoas, como é o caso das campanhas sociais que têm sido realizadas no meio virtual. Com isso, teve como objetivo principal analisar, à luz das redes sociais online, as possíveis relações entre o processo de decisão de ajuda às campanhas sociais e o consumo colaborativo. Para tanto, foi definido um modelo de pesquisa que descreve as etapas do processo de decisão de ajuda, que pode sofrer influências de fatores internos e externos, no intuito de analisá-lo a partir da ótica das campanhas sociais que são realizadas nas redes sociais online, como uma forma de entender como o consumo colaborativo pode ocorrer nesse processo. Com isso, os procedimentos metodológicos ocorreram da seguinte forma: na coleta de dados foram realizadas entrevistas em profundidade, qualitativas, semiestruturadas, online, através do bate-papo da rede social Facebook, com 16 pessoas que afirmaram já ter colaborado, mais de uma vez, com esse tipo de campanha. A seleção dos participantes se deu por indicações de conhecidos e compartilhamento da informação nas redes sociais. Para a análise dos dados, por sua vez, utilizou-se a análise de conteúdo. Verificou-se que há diversos tipos de campanhas sociais que são divulgadas nas redes sociais e que há mais de uma forma de colaborar com elas, destacando a doação de dinheiro que se assemelha ao financiamento coletivo, a doação de sangue, cabelo e mantimentos e o compartilhamento da campanha nas próprias redes sociais como forma de atrair mais colaboradores. Além disso, observou-se que o processo de decisão de ajuda no que tange tais campanhas segue as etapas descritas no modelo, apenas com algumas especificações próprias do contexto em que são realizadas (o ambiente virtual), sendo possível sugerir a etapa da pós-colaboração, que ocorre quando a pessoa continua acompanhando o desenrolar da campanha mesmo após a colaboração.

Attractiveness matters in business markets, because firms do not dedicate resources equally to all partners. Instead they invest more resources in partners with higher relational attractiveness. Firms need to become attractive in order to gain access to more resources or to be able to work with more skilled or reputable partners. This dissertation studies the construct of relational attractiveness of the customer (RAC), defined as the attractiveness of a business relationship with a particular customer in the eyes of the supplier. The research also investigates corporate online references (COR), because gaining powerful referrals is one of the driving forces behind creating attractiveness in business markets. The study is a three-stage research project drawing on an empirical investigation comprising two focus groups, 79 interviews, a survey of 107 suppliers and online referral data from 1002 companies. These studies investigate the conditions and configurations leading to high or low relational attractiveness, and the motivational conditions and structure of a specific corporate online referral network. Bearing in mind that attractiveness exists in the eyes of the beholder, Study I resolves the previously unclarified problem of how attractiveness can be achieved in different ways. Social Exchange Theory helps to identify conditions of RAC: Trust, Dependency, Financial, Non-Financial Rewards and Costs. In Study II conditions of Trust and Dependency are further developed into Relational Fit and the Comparison Level of Alternatives that address the mutuality and network perspectives of relationship development. The time perspective is introduced to the configurational analysis of RAC through the Maturity condition. As it is revealed in Study I and II, Nonfinancial Rewards are important in creating attractiveness and one of their essential forms is referrals that are addressed in more detail in Study III. This PhD research takes a configurational approach to attractiveness and explores different causal recipes in order to reach the same outcome. In order to investigate the relational complexity of attractiveness, fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) is applied throughout the three studies combined with some other methods, such as content analysis and Social Network Analysis (SNA). QCA is a data analytic strategy that combines within-case analysis and formalised cross-case studies in order to identify multiple configurations leading to the same outcome. Hence, QCA deals more efficiently with the equifinality of complex business problems compared with traditional data analysis methods. Equifinality means that there are various ways in the causal system of achieving the desired outcome. QCA is sufficient in handling methodological challenges such as multi-causality (an outcome of interest rarely has a single cause), interrelatedness (causes are usually not independent of one another) and asymmetry (a specific cause may have different effects on the outcome depending on the context). By challenging existing knowledge, the results show that there is no one best way to achieve relational attractiveness. It is achievable even if Trust and Financial Rewards are not present. Very high RAC was typically achieved in less mature relationships. During the initiation of referral relationships in the case of COR, the expected increase in the initiators` attractiveness in the eyes of potential future partners also plays a vital role. The generalizability of the findings has some limitations, especially regarding the qualitative study where the results are appropriate to falsify some theories (for example, the primary importance of Financial Rewards) but their impact is more related to theoretical development than to statistical generalizability.

This study investigates and aims to capture a new phenomenon: “celebpreneurship”, a new form of entrepreneurship emerged through the celebrification process. Where ordinary individuals transform into celebrities, and become entrepreneurial when they reach certain amount of “well-knowness”, in order to monetize their activities. The empirical data is obtained based on a complete observational study of two exemplary cases dealing with this phenomenon; Chiara Ferragni, the fashion blogger and yTravel Blog, the travel bloggers. Celebpreneurs start to build up networks and communities online through accessible media as blogs and social networking websites, to create awareness and desire among their audience eventually. They follow the effectuation venturing principle to pursue capitals and resources and transform into stabilized causational ventures at a later stage. The commodification and contemporary fame of these individuals are fundamental in the establishments of further entrepreneurial activities. As result, the phenomenon shows the existence of entrepreneurship in different forms and areas, as the celebpreneurs are involved into various brand partnerships, endorsements, product campaigns and even in the creation of own ventures. The contribution of this study is to show how effectuation, community building and celebrification can extend, re-activate and mobilize the classical approach of entrepreneurship.  Keywords: Celebpreneurship, Entrepreneurship, Celebrification, Effectuation and Causation, Celebrity, Capitals, Online Networks, Social Media, Blogging

This study examines young people’s internet access and use in nine locations in Queensland, Australia. The primary aim of the research is to assess if internet use supports young people’s social inclusion: that is, if internet use supports young people to participate in society in ways they have most reason to value. The research findings demonstrate that the digital divide in Queensland – the gap between citizens with and without access to ICTs – continues to inhibit young people’s ability to participate online. This divide is embedded within historic, economic, social and cultural inequalities. To address this, this study proposes that a digital inclusion framework, founded on the concept of social inclusion, offers the Australian federal and state governments an opportunity to extend digital divide policies so that they connect with and complement broader social policy goals. The research outcomes also illustrate that creative uses of online networks provide a powerful means through which young people can participate in a networked society. While young people’s access to a range of ICTs impacts on their ability to use online networks, gradations of use, social networks and informal learning contexts frequently act as mediators to support effective internet use. This study contends that by understanding the social benefits of young people’s online network use and the role that mediators play in different environments, we can move towards a policy framework that supports equitable opportunities for young people’s digital inclusion.

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