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As globalization has contributed to the increased availability of foreign products across global markets, it is nowadays believed by some that a prerequisite for being able to compete on increased competitive levels is to adapt a global perspective. In this sense, marketing strategies aimed at promoting brands and products must be designed to function even on a global scale. Whereas it has in the past been useful to associate brands and products to specific nations in order to create an exotic appeal, it is questionable if such a marketing strategy would be of use today.   With this in mind, this thesis aims to answer why associating a brand to a nation would be used as a marketing strategy and how such an association would be expressed in practice by having performed a single case-study of the company of Orrefors Kosta Boda and its two brands’ marketing activities.   What this study concludes is that the main reason as to why Orrefors Kosta Boda’s two brands are associated to Swedish attributes, which are both positive and unique, is that there is a belief that this strategy allows the brands to be differentiated from other brands, and hence increases both brands’ equity. In addition, this study concludes that associations to Swedish attributes are developed by using a combination of two strategies, namely those of the country-of-origin strategy which serves to emphasize upon the products’ Swedish origin in terms of production and quality, and the culture-of-brand-origin strategy which is aimed at communicating culture-based symbolic attributes assigned to, amongst many, the brands’ heritages.

Internationalisering är en populär trend för svenska företag. För några av dem är det en nödvändig åtgärd för överlevnad och tillväxt. Spanien som marknad är viktig för svenska företag. Vid etablering på den spanska marknaden påverkas svenska företag av vissa förändringar i den rådande miljön. De kan påverkas av ekonomiska, sociala/kulturella, juridiska, politiska och även tekniska faktorer. Företagen har också en marknadsföringsmix att erbjuda som består av produkt, pris, plats och promotion. Denna studie undersöker i vilken grad två av dessa faktorer, produkt och pris måste anpassas eller standardiseras för att passa den spanska marknaden. Författarna undersöker även hur den nya miljön påverkar företagets beslut.   Detta är en kvalitativ studie och den bygger på intervjuer via telefon och Skype med två konsulter och två svenska företag som redan är etablerade i Spanien, Filippa K och ORDNING&REDA. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka i vilken grad de svenska företagen i Spanien anpassar eller standardiserar sina produkter och priser till den nya marknaden. För att kunna dra en slutsats behöver författarna ta reda på hur den spanska marknaden skiljer sig från den svenska.   Slutsatsen är att den spanska marknaden inte skiljer sig från den svenska marknaden i så stora drag men olikheter i köpbeteende existerar. Varje företag måste därför inse sitt eget behov av att göra eventuella förändringar, antingen för sina produkter och/eller priser. De undersökta miljöfaktorerna som påverkar ett företags verksamhet i Spanien utgör inte något problem och det är troligtvis därför företagen inte behöver anpassa sina produkter eller priser i stor utsträckning. Den vanligaste delen att anpassa är texterna på produkterna. Men det är viktigt att beakta den nya kultur och affärskultur som råder samt användningen av det spanska språket och katalanska. Det är även viktigt att ta hänsyn till den ekonomiska situationen i Spanien. Svenska företag har en stor konkurrensfördel eftersom de har en mycket positiv country of origin effekt.   Författarna uppfattade ett samband mellan de undersökta delarna av marknadsföringsmixen med den rådande miljön vilket resulterar i om företaget väljer att standardiserar eller anpassar. / Internationalisation is a popular trend for all companies, not least for Swedish companies. For some it is a necessary action for survival, growth and development. Spain as a market is important to Swedish companies. H&M, Volvo, Saab, IKEA, Ericsson and Scania are some of the already established companies in Spain. During their establishment on the Spanish market, the Swedish companies are faced with certain changes in the environment such as economic, social/cultural, legal, political and also technological factors. The companies has also a marketing mix to offer and to deal with which consists of product, price, place and promotion. This study examines two of these factors, product and price and in which grade these two factors have to be adopted or standardised to the Spanish market. It also studies how the new environment affects the Swedish companies’ to make its decisions. This is a qualitative study and it is based on interviews through telephone and Skype with two consultants and two originally Swedish enterprises that are already established in Spain, Filippa K and ORDNING&REDA. The aim with this study is to investigate in which grade the Swedish companies in Spain need to standardise or adapt its products and prices to the new market. To make a connection the authors need to find out how the Spanish market differs from the Swedish one. The conclusion is that the Spanish market does not differ from the Swedish market in big terms, but different purchasing behaviour exists. Therefore each company has to consider themselves if there is a need to make any changes for their products and price levels. The environmental factors do not pose any difficulties for the companies to operate in Spain and it is probably why the companies which operate there do not need to adapt their products or prices in a big grade. The most common part to adapt is the lyrics on the products. But it is important to consider the different culture in the society and in the business, the use of the Spanish language and the Catalan, and also the economic situation in Spain. The Swedish companies have a great advantage since they have a great country of origin effect. The authors perceived a connection between the examined parts of the marketing mix with the actual environment which concludes in the fact if the companies decide to standardised or adapt.

The RNA World hypothesis suggests that RNA, or a proto-RNA, existed in an early form of life that had not yet developed the ability to synthesize protein enzymes. This hypothesis, by some interpretations, implies that nucleic acid polymers were the first polymers of life, and must have therefore spontaneously formed from simple molecular building blocks in the "prebiotic soup." Although prebiotic chemists have searched for decades for a process by which RNA can be made from plausible prebiotic reactions, numerous problems persist that stand in the way of a chemically-sound model for the spontaneous generation of an RNA World (e.g., strand-cyclization, heterogeneous backbones, non-selective ligation of activated nucleotides). The Molecular Midwife hypothesis, proposed by Hud and Anet in 2000, provides a possible solution to several problems associated with the assembly of the first nucleic acids. In this hypothesis, nucleic acid base pairs are assembled by small, planar molecules that resemble molecules which are known today to intercalate the base pairs of nucleic acid duplexes. Thus, the validity and merits of the Molecular Midwife hypothesis can be, to some extent, explored by studying the effects of intercalation on the non-covalent assembly of nucleic acids. In this thesis, I explore the role of the sugar-phosphate backbone in dictating the structure and thermodynamics of nucleic acid intercalation by using 2′,5′-linked RNA intercalation as a model system of non-natural nucleic acid intercalation. The solution structure of an intercalator-bound 2′,5′ RNA duplex reveals structural and thermodynamic aspects of intercalation that provide insight into the origin of the nearest-neighbor exclusion principle, a principle that is uniformly obeyed upon the intercalation of natural (i.e. 3′,5′-linked) RNA and DNA. I also demonstrate the ability of intercalator-mediated assembly to circumvent the strand-cyclization problem, a problem that otherwise greatly limits the polymerization of short oligonucleotides into long polymers. Together, the data presented in this thesis illustrate the important role that the nucleic acid backbone plays in governing the thermodynamics of intercalation, and provide support for the proposed role of intercalator-mediated assembly in the prebiotic formation of nucleic acids.

Master thesis, Master's degree program Marketing, Economic School Linnaeus University, Växjö Sweden, Spring semester 2015. Author: Andersson Anthon, Guntell Robin Tutor: Soniya Billore Examiner: Anders Pehrsson Title: Advancing the COO Construct From an Affective Dimension: The Application of Projective Technique Purpose: The purpose in this article is to break from traditional research and its accompanying cognitive research methods in order to advance the COO field from a more accurate perspective that also involves an affective dimension as well. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing from prior research in the COO field, the methodology accounted for assumptions that were tested in collage technique and ad copy technique. Findings: The results shows that some people only seems to be susceptible to COO influence when communicating emotional CSAs nonverbally, whilst some people only reveal rational CSAs when being cognitively asked about COO influence in a directed manner. As a result, the present findings might suggest that prior research in the academic field might suffer from bias. Practical implications: In the light of COO, managers should bear in mind that some people cannot be targeted with solely rely on a cognitive marketing communication strategy. More specifically, the ad copy technique provides guidelines for appropriate design of advertisements when one consider to serving the brand’s origin as salient cue in consumers’ minds. Originality/value: Advancing the COO construct with using collage technique, this study is to the best our knowledge the second to account for an affective dimension as well.

Darbo objektas – apoloniškumo ir dionisiškumo tragiškumas. Darbo tikslas: analizuoti tragedijos gimimą ir mirtį F. Nietzsche‘s filosofiniame veikale „Tragedijos gimimas ir mirtis“. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Pristatyti apoloniškumo sampratą metafizine prasme; 2. Pateikti apoloniškumo sampratą estetine prasme; 3. Supažindinti su dionisiškojo prado samprata; 4. Priešpastatyti dionisiškumą sokratiškumui ir platoniškumui. Darbo problema. Savo veikale Tragedijos gimimas tragediją F. Nietzsche atskleidžia remdamasis dionisiškuoju ir apoloniškuoju pradais, išskirdamas jų skirtumus ir priešpriešas bei tuo pačiu pateikdamas jų sintezę. F. Nietzsche‘s suvokimas, kuris atsiskleidžia jo kūrinyje yra stipriai įtakotas A. Schopenhauerio, valios kaip vaizdinio supratimo, kuriuo yra pagrįstas apoloniškasis pradas ir R. Wagnerio muzikos suvokimo, kuris pasireiškia kaip dionisiškasis pradas. Apoloniškąjį pradą F. Nietzsche remdamasis Šopenhaueriu pateikia kaip plastinį vaizdinį, kurį prilygina sapnui. Apoloniškumą filosofas skirsto į dvi dalis: metafiziką ir estetiką. Pirmuoju atveju apoloniškumas suvokiamas, kaip tam tikros ribos, apibrėžiančios tai, kas yra gera ir teisinga, neperžengia saiko ribų. Antruoju atveju apoloniškumas suvokiamas, kaip grynas estetinis grožis. / The object – tragedy of Apolonas and Dionisius origins. Aim: To analyze the tragedy of the birth amd death of Nietzsche’s philosophical work The Birth of Tragedy. Tasks: Introduction to the concept of Apolonas origin metaphysical sense; The aesthetic concept of Apolonas origin; Introduction to the concept of Dionisius origin; Show opposition between origin of Dionisius and Socrates Work problem: In his work Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche reveals the basis of Apolonas and Dionisius origins, realeasing their differences and contradictions, and at the same time giving treir synthesis. Nietzsche’s perception, which revealed the piece is heavily influenced by A. Schopenhauer, the will of the visual understanding, which is based of Apolonas origin and Wagner’s music perception, which affects how origin of Dionisius is originated. Nietzsche based on Schopenhauer compares primal element of Apolonas origin presents as plastic visual, which he equates to the dream. The philosopher divides origin of Apolonas into two parts: the methaphysics and aesthetics. In the firs case origin of Apolonas is perceived as a certain threshold, which define what is good and right, as well as it doesn’t excess moderation limits. In the latter case, origin of Apolonas is perceived as pure aesthetic beauty.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att kartlägga användningen av Country of Origin och dess relevans på den globala marknaden genom att undersöka om en landsimage kan relateras till varumärke istället för produkt. Uppsatsen har en deduktiv ansats då den grundar sig på tidigare teori inom området Country of Origin, positionering samt varumärkesstrategier. En kvalitativ undersökning i form av djupintervjuer med valda företag genomfördes för att kunna besvara uppsatsen syfte. Slutsatserna till uppsatsen är att Country of Origin inte längre är en relevant strategi eftersom varumärkets landsimage är mer relevant än produktens härkomst. För att bättre passa dagens marknadsförutsättningar behöver COO därför modifieras och ge företag konkreta riktlinjer vid användningen av marknadsstrategin eftersom landsimage fortfarande anses vara relevant, men då i relation till varumärket.

The thesis is focused on import of goods to the Czech Republic in preferential and non-preferential systems from third world countries. The aim of this diploma thesis is to make recommendations which should be used as a useful tool for companies with business plan to import goods to the Czech Republic in both systems. There are also described documents used for proving in non-preferential and preferential system which are the source for setting the customs tariff. At the end of the thesis the differences of import caused by different origin of goods are evaluated.

O efeito placebo tem sua origem atrelada aos estudos ligados às ciências médicas e farmacológicas e, basicamente, consiste na capacidade de produtos inertes produzirem efeitos por meio do seu uso ou consumo. Esse efeito passou a fazer parte do escopo do Marketing em 2005, quando estudos mostraram a capacidade do preço gerar modificações sobre o desempenho de um produto. A ideia do efeito placebo desencadeado pelo preço dos produtos está ancorada no fato das crenças globais, que associam preço baixo a produtos de má qualidade, anteciparem as expectativas do consumidor acerca da resposta do produto e, a partir disso, alterarem o seu desempenho. Nessa mesma linha, o estereótipo do país de origem também se apresenta como uma crença global, em que produtos oriundos de países com estereótipo negativo são associados a produtos inferiores e de má qualidade. Sendo assim, esta pesquisa analisou a ocorrência do efeito placebo desencadeado pelo país de origem do produto, analisando, ainda, a interação da força das expectativas e do preço do produto na geração deste efeito. Para tanto, três estudos experimentais foram operacionalizados. O primeiro estudo apresentou as testagens iniciais sobre o efeito placebo gerado pelo país de origem e mostrou que o país de origem com estereótipo negativo é capaz de gerar um efeito placebo negativo sobre o desempenho do produto. Não foi identificado, no entanto, a ocorrência de efeito placebo gerado pelo estereótipo positivo do país de origem. No segundo estudo, analisou-se o efeito placebo do país de origem em cenário de alta e baixa expectativa. Como resultado, obteve-se, em cenário de baixa expectativa, a ocorrência de efeito placebo negativo gerado pelo estereótipo negativo do país de origem. Já em cenário de alta expectativa, os resultados indicam que o fortalecimento das expectativas eliminou o efeito placebo negativo e, além disso, promoveu a ocorrência de um efeito placebo positivo gerado pelo estereótipo positivo do país de origem. O último estudo observou a interação do país de origem e do preço do produto sobre a geração de efeito placebo. Os resultados mostram que, em cenário de preço baixo, há efeito placebo negativo gerado pelo país de origem com estereótipo negativo, mas não foi observada a ocorrência de efeito placebo positivo gerado pelo estereótipo positivo do país de origem. Já, em cenário de preço alto, não se observou a ocorrência de nenhum efeito placebo, nem positivo, nem negativo. Ou seja, o preço elevado do produto foi capaz de anular o efeito placebo negativo gerado pelo estereótipo negativo do produto, mostrando a capacidade do preço em compensar os efeitos negativos causados pelo país de origem com imagem desfavorável. Com base nisso, os achados desta tese contribuem para o avanço teórico dos estudos sobre efeito placebo em Marketing, uma vez que adicionam o país de origem como um elemento gerador deste tipo de efeito e, ao analisar a interação do país de origem com o fortalecimento das expectativas e o preço do produto, confirmam as bases conceituais sobre a relação entre esses elementos. Além disso, seus achados, em termos gerenciais, podem promover reflexões por parte das organizações que compõem o seu mix de produtos com bens importados e também que operaram no exterior e fazem investimentos externos diretos em diversas partes do mundo. / The placebo effect has its origin linked to studies related to medical and pharmacological sciences and basically consists in the ability of inert products to produce effects through its use or consumption. This effect became part of the Marketing scope in 2005 when studies showed the ability of pricing to generate changes on the performance of a product. The idea of the placebo effect triggered by product price is anchored on the fact that global beliefs, which associate low price to low quality products, anticipate consumer expectations about the response of the product and, from there, change its performance. Along the same line, the stereotype of the country of origin also presents itself as a global belief in that products from countries with negative stereotypes are associated with inferior and bad quality products. Thus, this research analyzed the occurrence of the placebo effect triggered by the country of origin of the product, also analyzing the interaction of the strength of expectations and of product price in the generation of this effect. For this purpose, three experimental studies were operationalized. The first study presented initial testings on the placebo effect generated by the country of origin and showed that the country of origin with negative stereotypes is able to generate a negative placebo effect on product performance. However, the occurrence of the placebo effect generated by positive stereotypes in the country of origin was not identified. In the second study, the placebo effect of the country of origin in a scenario of high and low expectations was analyzed. As a result, in a scenario of low expectations, the occurrence of a negative placebo effect generated by the negative stereotype of the country of origin was obtained. However, in a scenario of high expectations, results indicate that the strengthening of the expectations eliminated a negative placebo effect and in addition, promoted the occurrence of a positive placebo effect generated by the positive stereotype of the country of origin. The last study observed the interaction of the country of origin and the price of the product upon the generation of the placebo effect. The results show that in a scenario of low price, there is a negative placebo effect generated by the country of origin with a negative stereotype, but the occurrence of a positive placebo effect generated by the positive stereotype of the country of origin was not observed. However, in a scenario of high prices, there was no occurrence of a placebo effect, whether positive or negative. In other words, the high price of the product was able to cancel the negative placebo effect generated by the negative stereotype of the product, showing the capacity of the price to compensate for the negative effects caused by the country of origin with an unfavorable image. Based on this, this thesis’ findings contribute to the theoretical progress on the studies about the placebo effect in Marketing, once the country of origin is added as a generating element of this type of effect, and when analyzing the interaction of the country of origin with the strengthening of expectations and the price of the product, the conceptual foundations about the relationship between these elements are confirmed. Moreover, its findings in management terms can promote reflections by organizations that compose the product mix with imported goods and also that operate overseas and make foreign direct investments in various parts of the world.

O efeito placebo tem sua origem atrelada aos estudos ligados às ciências médicas e farmacológicas e, basicamente, consiste na capacidade de produtos inertes produzirem efeitos por meio do seu uso ou consumo. Esse efeito passou a fazer parte do escopo do Marketing em 2005, quando estudos mostraram a capacidade do preço gerar modificações sobre o desempenho de um produto. A ideia do efeito placebo desencadeado pelo preço dos produtos está ancorada no fato das crenças globais, que associam preço baixo a produtos de má qualidade, anteciparem as expectativas do consumidor acerca da resposta do produto e, a partir disso, alterarem o seu desempenho. Nessa mesma linha, o estereótipo do país de origem também se apresenta como uma crença global, em que produtos oriundos de países com estereótipo negativo são associados a produtos inferiores e de má qualidade. Sendo assim, esta pesquisa analisou a ocorrência do efeito placebo desencadeado pelo país de origem do produto, analisando, ainda, a interação da força das expectativas e do preço do produto na geração deste efeito. Para tanto, três estudos experimentais foram operacionalizados. O primeiro estudo apresentou as testagens iniciais sobre o efeito placebo gerado pelo país de origem e mostrou que o país de origem com estereótipo negativo é capaz de gerar um efeito placebo negativo sobre o desempenho do produto. Não foi identificado, no entanto, a ocorrência de efeito placebo gerado pelo estereótipo positivo do país de origem. No segundo estudo, analisou-se o efeito placebo do país de origem em cenário de alta e baixa expectativa. Como resultado, obteve-se, em cenário de baixa expectativa, a ocorrência de efeito placebo negativo gerado pelo estereótipo negativo do país de origem. Já em cenário de alta expectativa, os resultados indicam que o fortalecimento das expectativas eliminou o efeito placebo negativo e, além disso, promoveu a ocorrência de um efeito placebo positivo gerado pelo estereótipo positivo do país de origem. O último estudo observou a interação do país de origem e do preço do produto sobre a geração de efeito placebo. Os resultados mostram que, em cenário de preço baixo, há efeito placebo negativo gerado pelo país de origem com estereótipo negativo, mas não foi observada a ocorrência de efeito placebo positivo gerado pelo estereótipo positivo do país de origem. Já, em cenário de preço alto, não se observou a ocorrência de nenhum efeito placebo, nem positivo, nem negativo. Ou seja, o preço elevado do produto foi capaz de anular o efeito placebo negativo gerado pelo estereótipo negativo do produto, mostrando a capacidade do preço em compensar os efeitos negativos causados pelo país de origem com imagem desfavorável. Com base nisso, os achados desta tese contribuem para o avanço teórico dos estudos sobre efeito placebo em Marketing, uma vez que adicionam o país de origem como um elemento gerador deste tipo de efeito e, ao analisar a interação do país de origem com o fortalecimento das expectativas e o preço do produto, confirmam as bases conceituais sobre a relação entre esses elementos. Além disso, seus achados, em termos gerenciais, podem promover reflexões por parte das organizações que compõem o seu mix de produtos com bens importados e também que operaram no exterior e fazem investimentos externos diretos em diversas partes do mundo. / The placebo effect has its origin linked to studies related to medical and pharmacological sciences and basically consists in the ability of inert products to produce effects through its use or consumption. This effect became part of the Marketing scope in 2005 when studies showed the ability of pricing to generate changes on the performance of a product. The idea of the placebo effect triggered by product price is anchored on the fact that global beliefs, which associate low price to low quality products, anticipate consumer expectations about the response of the product and, from there, change its performance. Along the same line, the stereotype of the country of origin also presents itself as a global belief in that products from countries with negative stereotypes are associated with inferior and bad quality products. Thus, this research analyzed the occurrence of the placebo effect triggered by the country of origin of the product, also analyzing the interaction of the strength of expectations and of product price in the generation of this effect. For this purpose, three experimental studies were operationalized. The first study presented initial testings on the placebo effect generated by the country of origin and showed that the country of origin with negative stereotypes is able to generate a negative placebo effect on product performance. However, the occurrence of the placebo effect generated by positive stereotypes in the country of origin was not identified. In the second study, the placebo effect of the country of origin in a scenario of high and low expectations was analyzed. As a result, in a scenario of low expectations, the occurrence of a negative placebo effect generated by the negative stereotype of the country of origin was obtained. However, in a scenario of high expectations, results indicate that the strengthening of the expectations eliminated a negative placebo effect and in addition, promoted the occurrence of a positive placebo effect generated by the positive stereotype of the country of origin. The last study observed the interaction of the country of origin and the price of the product upon the generation of the placebo effect. The results show that in a scenario of low price, there is a negative placebo effect generated by the country of origin with a negative stereotype, but the occurrence of a positive placebo effect generated by the positive stereotype of the country of origin was not observed. However, in a scenario of high prices, there was no occurrence of a placebo effect, whether positive or negative. In other words, the high price of the product was able to cancel the negative placebo effect generated by the negative stereotype of the product, showing the capacity of the price to compensate for the negative effects caused by the country of origin with an unfavorable image. Based on this, this thesis’ findings contribute to the theoretical progress on the studies about the placebo effect in Marketing, once the country of origin is added as a generating element of this type of effect, and when analyzing the interaction of the country of origin with the strengthening of expectations and the price of the product, the conceptual foundations about the relationship between these elements are confirmed. Moreover, its findings in management terms can promote reflections by organizations that compose the product mix with imported goods and also that operate overseas and make foreign direct investments in various parts of the world.