The competition amongst companies is getting tougher and the economic markets are getting even bigger with new products and businesses. One way for companies to differentiate themselves from the competitors is through packaging design. If the merchandise is to send a reliable and solid message to consumers, the attributes of the packaging must be consistent and uniform. If the different attributes are not coherent, the message loses credibility towards the consumer. Through the sent messages, the pack signals the products’ expected quality and price. This paper includes two studies, in which the main objective is to discover and build understanding about Swedish consumers’ perception of a product’s price depending on the pack’s design. The focus of this paper is based upon household products. The first study is solely focused on consumers’ opinions on package design, while the second study is based on existing product packs on the market. The results obtained in the consumer study will discover eventual general opinions concerning cheap and expensive packages. These results will then be compared to a selection of products from the markets’ existing offers. The purpose of this study is to clarify how well companies shape their packs based on consumers’ general perception. It is finally discussed how the different attributes can be used to legitimize a higher or lower price. / Konkurrensen mellan företag ökar och blir allt hårdare med ett ständigt växande antal aktörer på marknaden. Ett sätt att differentiera sig från konkurrenter är genom förpackningsdesign. För att varan i sin helhet ska ge ett pålitligt intryck måste förpackningens attribut vara enhetliga och genomgående. Spretar attributen inger detta förvirring och skapar brist i trovärdighet hos konsumenten. Förpackningen signalerar varans förväntade kvalitet och pris. Denna uppsats omfattar två studier med syfte att kartlägga svenska konsumenters uppfattning av en produkts pris utifrån förpackningens utformning. Fokus i denna uppsats ligger på hushållsprodukter. Den första studien vänder sig direkt till konsumenten medan den andra undersöker befintliga förpackningar på marknaden. Resultatet av konsumenternas generella uppfattning, gällande billiga respektive dyrare förpackningar, jämförs med ett urval från marknadens befintliga utbud. Detta görs med syfte att klargöra för hur väl företagen arbetar efter konsumenternas generella uppfattning. Slutligen diskuteras hur de olika attributen kan användas i förpackningsdesign för att legitimera ett dyrare respektive billigare pris.

<p>Diss. Umeå : Umeå universitet, 1989</p> / digitalisering@umu

No description available.

In an attempt to reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction, manufacturers have been adopting strategies such as Delayed Product Differentiation (DPD) while managing broader product lines. In this study, first a general framework on DPD is formed in the light of basic articles in the literature. The vanilla box assembly process which is a special form of modular design type of DPD is modeled and analyzed. In the vanilla box assembly process, inventory is stored in a special form of semi-finished products, called vanilla boxes, that can serve more than one final product. We model the vanilla box assembly process considering the costs of inventory and unsatisfied demand under the capacity limitations, stochastic demand and bill of material requirements. We formulate the model as an extensive form of stochastic integer program in which stochastic demand is modeled using a set of demand scenarios each of which is assigned a probability of occurrence. The model is solved as a standard integer programming model that minimizes the expected value of the objective function. The impact of product demand scenarios, common component levels, shortage penalty cost to holding cost ratio levels and capacity restrictions on the total cost and fill rates is studied. We compare the performance of vanilla box assembly process to assemble-to-order process and provide insights on their performances. Computational results indicate that the vanilla box assembly process is a promising alternative to the assemble-to-order process in most of the problem instances.

This dissertation comprises three essays revisiting the classical topic of quality provision in a duopoly. Two essays consider a situation in which consumers cannot identify the origin of an individual product but observe or infer the average quality of the units brought to the market: Chapter 2 studies the case where the two producers bargain over a minimum quality standard before deciding about their own quality level, while Chapter 3 deals with the case where qualities are (exogenously) fixed and producers have to decide about the quantity they will offer for sale. The final essay (Chapter 4) switches to a perfect-information environment and asks whether the producer of an inferior variety is able to deter the entry of a superior product by having retailers sign onto exclusivity contracts. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2006

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:50:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1956.pdf: 1619964 bytes, checksum: d4b025f763637955a542d3a7166e90bf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-06-17 / The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the competitiveness of differentiation systems that use certification and brands as segmentation strategies in the bovine meat market in Brazil. It was developed a qualitative research in a multi case study including a bibliographic review and exploratory interviews. Five cases were identified and chosen to be analyzed: a case of public certification, two cases of private certification, one of publicprivate certification, and one about brand. The case analysis was conducted using an adapted methodology from agri-food chain studies with a model including competitive parameters from the original proposal as well as new parameters from economy of the transaction cost and propriety rights theories. The model for competitive analysis used thirteen parameters and grouped them in tree blocks: government controlled, firm controlled and quasi controlled parameters. These aspects made possible a better comprehension and knowledge about each case, allowing the competitive analysis among each strategy. Main conclusions are: government parameters had higher negative influence in the competitiveness; lack of institutions and good paper definitions on existent institutions involved in the certifications process are serious problems; the brand case presented better competitiveness parameters. / O presente estudo objetivou analisar e comparar a competitividade dos sistemas de diferenciação que utilizam a certificação e marcas como estratégias na segmentação de mercado de carne bovina no Brasil. A pesquisa proposta teve caráter qualitativo, com a condução de um estudo multicaso, no qual foram utilizadas duas etapas relativas a uma pesquisa bibliográfica e entrevistas exploratórias. Foram identificados os casos de certificação ou marcas coletivas realizados na pecuária de corte. Posteriormente foram escolhidos cinco casos para estudo, sendo selecionado um sistema de certificação público; um sistema de certificação privado coletivo (coordenado por uma associação); um sistema de certificação privado individual (coordenado por uma rede varejista); um sistema de certificação público/privado; e um sistema de desenvolvimento de marca. Para a análise dos casos foi adaptada uma metodologia de análise de cadeias produtivas agroindustriais. O modelo construído levou em consideração os direcionadores de competitividade utilizados na metodologia original, acrescidos dos direcionadores oriundos das teorias da Economia dos Custos de Transação, Direito de Propriedade. O modelo de análise da competitividade proposto analisou treze direcionadores e os agrupou em três blocos. O primeiro bloco continha fatores controláveis pelo governo; o segundo, fatores controláveis pela firma; e, o terceiro, fatores quase controláveis. Esses direcionadores proporcionaram melhor compreensão e conhecimento a respeito de cada caso estudado, permitindo que fossem encontradas diferenças estruturais e de funcionamento que diferenciaram as atividades e permitiram inferências sobre o desempenho competitivo de cada estratégia. As principais conclusões do trabalho são: os direcionadores controlados pelo governo apresentaram os maiores impactos negativos na competitividade dos casos estudados; são sérios os problemas devido à falta de instituições e de definições claras sobre o papel das instituições existentes no processo de certificação; e o caso de Marca é o que apresenta o melhor desempenho competitivo.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:50:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2002.pdf: 1604179 bytes, checksum: 5a37e41e433d33b749127ab05246e11c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-06-17 / The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the competitiveness of differentiation systems that use certification and brands as segmentation strategies in the bovine meat market in Brazil. It was developed a qualitative research in a multi case study including a bibliographic review and exploratory interviews. Five cases were identified and chosen to be analyzed: a case of public certification, two cases of private certification, one of publicprivate certification, and one about brand. The case analysis was conducted using an adapted methodology from agri-food chain studies with a model including competitive parameters from the original proposal as well as new parameters from economy of the transaction cost and propriety rights theories. The model for competitive analysis used thirteen parameters and grouped them in tree blocks: government controlled, firm controlled and quasi controlled parameters. These aspects made possible a better comprehension and knowledge about each case, allowing the competitive analysis among each strategy. Main conclusions are: government parameters had higher negative influence in the competitiveness; lack of institutions and good paper definitions on existent institutions involved in the certifications process are serious problems; the brand case presented better competitiveness parameters. / O presente estudo objetivou analisar e comparar a competitividade dos sistemas de diferenciação que utilizam a certificação e marcas como estratégias na segmentação de mercado de carne bovina no Brasil. A pesquisa proposta teve caráter qualitativo, com a condução de um estudo multicaso, no qual foram utilizadas duas etapas relativas a uma pesquisa bibliográfica e entrevistas exploratórias. Foram identificados os casos de certificação ou marcas coletivas realizados na pecuária de corte. Posteriormente foram escolhidos cinco casos para estudo, sendo selecionado um sistema de certificação público; um sistema de certificação privado coletivo (coordenado por uma associação); um sistema de certificação privado individual (coordenado por uma rede varejista); um sistema de certificação público/privado; e um sistema de desenvolvimento de marca. Para a análise dos casos foi adaptada uma metodologia de análise de cadeias produtivas agroindustriais. O modelo construído levou em consideração os direcionadores de competitividade utilizados na metodologia original, acrescidos dos direcionadores oriundos das teorias da Economia dos Custos de Transação, Direito de Propriedade. O modelo de análise da competitividade proposto analisou treze direcionadores e os agrupou em três blocos. O primeiro bloco continha fatores controláveis pelo governo; o segundo, fatores controláveis pela firma; e, o terceiro, fatores quase controláveis. Esses direcionadores proporcionaram melhor compreensão e conhecimento a respeito de cada caso estudado, permitindo que fossem encontradas diferenças estruturais e de funcionamento que diferenciaram as atividades e permitiram inferências sobre o desempenho competitivo de cada estratégia. As principais conclusões do trabalho são: os direcionadores controlados pelo governo apresentaram os maiores impactos negativos na competitividade dos casos estudados; são sérios os problemas devido à falta de instituições e de definições claras sobre o papel das instituições existentes no processo de certificação; e o caso de Marca é o que apresenta o melhor desempenho competitivo.

Orientador: Marco Túlio Ospina Patino / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-25T12:09:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Paseto_LuisaAmelia_M.pdf: 1520249 bytes, checksum: 15b13fa285ebb698c3151d858bce435e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: A problemática ambiental ocupa importante papel nas discussões sobre os rumos da economia e as políticas públicas. O conhecimento científico para um desenvolvimento econômico sustentável confronta-se com a necessidade de encontrar soluções capazes de integrar as diversas características e as relações de interdependência dos processos ambiental, produtivo e econômico. O objetivo deste trabalho foi de identificar e analisar os indicadores de boas práticas de gestão ambiental e seu grau de influência na formação de vantagem competitiva na cadeia de valor dos empreendimentos aquícolas de Capitólio/MG. Duas correntes econômicas sobre estratégias empresariais nortearam o estudo na evidência de vantagem competitiva. A primeira corrente utiliza o posicionamento como um atributo de desempenho interior e exterior das organizações e a segunda reconhece as capacidades coletivas como cadeia de valor dinâmica e inter-relacionada para a inserção e reconhecimento pelo mercado. Os métodos aplicados nesta pesquisa para determinação da geração de competitividade e seu aproveitamento, integram as dimensões biofísicas, políticas, culturais e econômicas, com uma visão multidisciplinar dos indicadores na cadeia de valor. As análises determinaram os pontos fortes e fracos necessários para o direcionamento das intervenções na cadeia de valor, de acordo com o potencial de criação de vantagem competitiva, sob a ótica do capital social. Os pontos fortes e fracos analisados se inter-relacionam nas atividades produtivas com a quantidade de ração administrada, minimização do estresse e mortalidade dos peixes e deficiências nutricionais que prejudicam a qualidade final do pescado e sua inserção no mercado. As respostas e análises apontam à necessidade do produtor associado e individual, perceberem que sua produção pode melhorar em custos, desempenho alimentar e qualidade nos tanques-rede, a partir de ajustes comportamentais, culturais e ou de gestão nas atividades que integram os stakeholders e os elos de inter-relacionamento na cadeia de valor. Uma simulação de custos e receitas de produção, com intervenção na cadeia de valor, demonstrou uma possibilidade de aumento do lucro de até 267%, permitindo ao produtor a inserção em um mercado consumidor que considera boas práticas de produção como valor agregado / Abstract: Environmental issues occupy an important role in discussions about the direction of the economy and public policy. Scientific knowledge for a sustainable economic development is faced with the need to find solutions capable of integrating the various characteristics and relationships of interdependence of environmental, productive and economic processes. The aim of this study was to identify and analyze good practice indicators of environmental management and their degree of influence in the formation of competitive advantage in the value chain of the aquaculture ventures of Capitólio/MG. Two current economic on business strategies guided the study on evidence of competitive advantage. The first uses the current positioning as an attribute of indoor and outdoor performance of organizations and the second recognizes the collective capabilities as interrelated and dynamic value chain for insertion and recognition by the market. The methods used in this research to determine the generation of competitiveness and their use, integrate biophysical dimensions, political, cultural and economic, with a multidisciplinary vision of the indicators in the value chain. The analysis determined the necessary strengths and weaknesses to the targeting of interventions in the value chain, according to the potential of creating competitive advantage, from the perspective of social capital. The strengths and weaknesses analyzed interrelate in productive activities with the ration quantity administered, minimizing the stress and mortality of fish and nutritional deficiencies that affect the final quality of the fish and its insertion in the market. The answers and analyses indicate the necessity of the associate and individual producers, realizing that their production may improve in costs, food and quality performance in tank-nets, from behavioral, cultural and/or management adjustments in the activities that integrate stakeholders and the related links in the value chain. A simulation of production costs and revenues with intervention in the value chain, demonstrated a possibility of profit increase of up to 267 percent, allowing the producer to insertion into a consumer market that considers good manufacturing practices as added value / Mestrado / Gestão de Sistemas na Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Rural / Mestra em Engenharia

Telecommunication has evolved tremendously from its origin to the present. Competition has grown in the telecommunications industry. One of the idiosyncratic characteristics of the mobile telecom services industry is the offering of homogenous products/services to the whole market, which indicates services being undifferentiated. The purpose of this paper is to study the differentiation strategies of mobile telecom operators and the impact of factors influencing the process of differentiation. The study will concentrate on the differentiation strategies of the mobile telecom service firms operating in Pakistan. The analysis model of this research was developed based on the determinants of product differentiation, relating to the tools that managers at mobile telecom service companies employ to execute differentiation strategies, and the factors influencing them. The empirical part of this study was conducted in January 2017. The multiple case study approach was adopted as a study method, and four case studies of the mobile telecom service companies operating in Pakistan were compared through cross-case analysis. Qualitative methods of data collection were employed and through semi-structured interviews primary data was gathered and secondary data was extracted from the websites and annual reports. The findings from the four case studies revealed that all the mobile operators opt for the differentiation strategies based on the determinants. It was examined from this research that these determinants are interrelated with each other. It was evident from the study of all the case companies that regulations affect the industry profits, increase the cost of upgrading the networks and infrastructures, causing a delay in the adoption of innovation, thereby influencing the differentiation strategy. The second factor influencing the differentiation process revealed in this study was competitive imitation, which caused convergence of strategies resulting in undifferentiated services even though operators tried to differentiate their services. The competitive imitation becomes easier due to the oligopoly structure of the mobile telecom industry.

Zusammenfassung Die Dissertation behandelt die Thematik der Unternehmensheterogenität. Die Arbeit besteht aus einem theoretischen und einem empirischen Teil. Im theoretischen Teil wird untersucht, wie sich Asymmetrien auf der Ebene der Konsumenten auf das Unternehmensverhalten auswirken. Im empirischen Teil wird die Frage behandelt, in welchem Maße die Performance von Firmen innerhalb der gleichen Industrie differiert. Kapitel 1 führt in die Literatur zur Unternehmensheterogenität ein. Kapitel 2 gibt einen Überblick über die aktuelle Literatur zu den Modellen der Horizontalen Produktdifferenzierung. In Kapitel 3 wird das Hotelling-Duopolmodell nach d'Aspremont, Gabszewicz und Thisse (1979) in Bezug auf die Anzahl der Spieler generalisiert. Es kann gezeigt werden, dass die Anzahl der Spieler einen Einfluss auf das Niveau der Differenzierung besitzt. Das Prinzip der Maximalen Differenzierung im Duopol verliert seine Gültigkeit für den Oligopolfall. In Kapitel 4 wird das Investitionsverhalten in neue Distributionstechnologien in Märkten mit Wechselkosten der Konsumenten mit Hilfe eines Realoptionsmodells analysiert. Kapitel 5 umfasst den empirischen Teil der Arbeit. Hier wird statistisch untersucht, ob innerhalb der Industrien Firmen langfristig eine ähnliche Performance aufweisen (Performancegruppen) und welchen Anteil der Varianz der Firmen durch diese gruppierten Unternehmen erklärt wird. Schlagwörter: Firmenheterogenität, Horizontale Produktdifferenzierung, Realoptionen, Wechselkosten, Strategische Gruppen / Abstract The dissertation considers the heterogenity of firms. It consists of a theoretical and an empirical part. In the theoretical part it is examined to what extent asymmetries between customers have an impact on firm behavior. In the empirical part, the author analyzes the level of heterogeneity of firm performance within industries. Chapter 1 introduces the reader into the topic of firm heterogeneity. Chapter 2 provides an overview over the recent literature on horizontal product differentiation. In Chapter 3 the Hotelling duopoly model à la d'Aspremont, Gabszewicz and Thisse (1979) is generalized with respect to the number of firms. It is shown that the number of firms has an impact on the level of product differentiation. The Principle of Maximum Differentiation valid for the duopoly does not hold for the oligoply case. In Chapter 4, the optimal investment in a new distribution technology in markets with consumer switching costs is investigated using a real option model. Chapter 5 corresponds to the empirical part of the dissertation. It is studied if there are firms within industries with a similar long-run performance (performance groups) and how much of the total variance of the firm profits are explained by these firm groups. Key words: firm heterogeneity, horizontal product differentiation, real options, switching costs, strategic groups