Background: Ethical consumerism is no longer a niche market and consumers are increasingly aware of the power they have when purchasing ethical and believe they can make a change. Most corporations have realized the importance of being ethical and incorporate it into their business strategies. Therefore, it is important to study consumers’ ethical purchasing patterns and which factors affect their intentions to purchase. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to test which of the following factors: social media, attitude, altruism, environmental knowledge, and financial factors, has a positive influence on female millennials, in Jönköping, purchasing intention towards cruelty-free cosmetic products. Method: This study was based on a conceptual framework which intended to test the most relevant constructs influencing ethical purchase intention, as proposed by previous researchers and theory. Hence, this paper follows a deductive approach which used quantitative methods to fulfil the purpose of this explanatory research. The data was gathered through a survey answered by 108 female millennials regarding their purchasing of cosmetics. Conclusion:   Both factors, attitude and environmental knowledge had a direct positive effect on consumers purchase intention towards cruelty-free cosmetics. The study provides empirical support for an indirect effect of altruism on purchase intention since the analysis showed that altruism had a direct effect on attitude. However, social media and financial constructs did not show any significant support for its positive effect on purchase intention in the empirical findings in this study.

Background Worldwide, one-third of all produced food is going to waste, and the number is increasing every year which consequently calls for action. A substantial share of the food waste is the outcome of grocery stores throwing away suboptimal food which yet is eatable but due to the date labeling, damaged packaging or in terms of appearance standards cannot be sold. Throughout the last years, numerous unique businesses have been formed in Sweden to offer suboptimal food both online and in physical stores. Still, Swedish grocery stores stand for 30 000 tons of food being wasted which is directly linked to the still evident unwillingness to offer, purchase and consume suboptimal food. By no means, this is a significant problem and need to be changed in order to reach a more sustainable world. Till this day, qualitative research on the topic is scare. Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to understand which components that affected Swedish grocery shoppers’ attitudes and purchase intentions towards suboptimal food in-store. Method In order to fulfil the purpose of this study, a qualitative methodology has been utilized. The qualitative data has been collected through semi-structured interviews amongst Swedish grocery shoppers. To explore the attitudes and purchase intentions towards suboptimal food product, an abductive research approach was applied to strengthen previous research findings and attempt to discover possible new theory.  Conclusion The empirical findings revealed that Swedish grocery shoppers in this research study hold an overall positive attitude towards suboptimal food. The study further reports four prominent barriers towards Swedish grocery shoppers’ purchase intentions of suboptimal food. In result, even though an overall positive attitude presented, the intention to purchase suboptimal food could be severely weakened by substantial restrictions encountered in grocery stores.

Building on the stimulus-organism-response model, this paper aims to fill the considerable research gap by developing a deeper understanding of social commerce as a global emerging phenomenon and investigating the effectiveness of social commerce marketing stimuli and its consequences on consumer behavior on Instagram. The study adopts a mixed-methodology approach, including a web-based survey and a focus group interview, to build a deeper understanding of the phenomenon and account for the social aspects of social commerce. Based on a sample of 317 international consumers, the analysis demonstrates that all dimensions of social commerce marketing stimuli have significant effects on online brand engagement on Instagram; which consequently positively influences brand trust and online purchase intention. Moreover, the focus group interview complements the findings and provides potential explanations for the discovered relationships.

The purpose of this study is to further explore the modern phenomenon of COO, brand image, and online influencer marketing as they relate to consumer's purchase intention online. This empirical study employs a mixed method approach with quantitative exploratory factor analysis through a survey as well as qualitative exploration through focus groups and in-depth interviews. Quantitative data analysis revealed that online influencers have a significant effect on consumers’ purchase intent as well as their perception of COO or brand image. Qualitative data analysis further revealed that when consumers do not follow online influencers, they have a less than significant effect on the consumers’ perception of COO. However, if consumers actively follow online influencers, the probability of them adhering to the recommendations of purchasing from an unfamiliar COO is high. This results in the recognition of the need for further research, as well as some insightful avenues to investigate.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of social media marketing activities on customer equity and how that drive affects purchase intention in the context of the hotel industry with the perspective of Y-Generation. Design/methodology/approach: An explanatory, deductive, quantitative research approach and cross-sectional research design were utilized within this research, where self-completed questionnaires were distributed online with a number of 136 valid responses collected. Findings: The research found that social media marketing activities positively affected customer equity in the context of hotel industry. Brand equity and relationship equity had positive influence on customer’s purchase intention. Finally, information richness negatively moderated the relationship between social media marketing activities and purchase intention. Research implications/limitations: The main implication of this research is social media marketing activities should be utilized as an effective marketing strategy to enhance customer equity. In addition, for hotel managers, creating emotional tie with brands and building bond with customers are supposed to take priority. The main limitation of this research is the language barriers and the research is considered not to be generalized since most respondents are students. Future research: Further research could investigate how social media marketing activities influence other industries and also investigate other different consumer groups such as X-Generation. Sociodemographic variables such as gender, income, backgrounds could be used as moderators in future. Cultural difference is  interesting to go depth regarding to this topic.

Titel: Från eWOM till köpintention – En studie om hur valens och argumentkvalitet i en recension påverkar konsumentens köpintention  Nivå: C-uppsats, examensarbete i ämnet företagsekonomi  Författare: Tobias Fält & Viktor Hamwi  Handledare: Jonas Kågström  Datum: 2019 - januari  Syfte: Syftet är att analysera vilken roll valens och argumentkvalitet i en restaurangs onlinerecensioner har för påverkan på konsumentens köpintention. Metod: Studien använder sig av en kvantitativ forskningsmetod med en webbaserad enkätundersökning som grund för det insamlade materialet. Den webbaserade enkätundersökningen samlade in totalt 157 svar från respondenter. Därefter analyserades de insamlade svaren i SPSS där deskriptiv analys, korrelationsanalys, faktoranalys, t-test och klusteranalys genomfördes. Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet av studien visar att valens har en direkt påverkan på konsumentens köpintention. Vidare visade resultatet att negativa recensioner har en större påverkan på konsumentens beteendemässiga intention än positiva recensioner, vilket styrker forskningen som påvisar att negativitetseffekten är aktuell. Studien fann också att argumentkvalitet inte har en signifikant påverkan på köpintentionen.  Uppsatsens bidrag: Uppsatsen bidrar till den befintliga forskningen genom att styrka att negativitetseffekten gäller även för restauranger, vilket belyser vikten i att behandla negativa recensioner då de kan spela en roll i restaurangens rykte och försäljning.  Förslag till vidare forskning: Vi ser gärna att framtida studier fokuserar på samma ämne, men med fler respondenter då vi inte fann något statistiskt samband mellan köpintention och argumentkvalitet. Framtida studier bör även fokusera på liknande tjänster då vi ser en överrepresentation av produkter som forskningsunderlag i denna typ av undersökningar.  Nyckelord: eWOM, recensioner, köpintention, valens, argumentkvalitet. / Title: From eWOM to purchase intention – A study of how valence and argument quality in a review effects a consumer`s purchase intention  Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degrees in Business Administration  Author: Tobias Fält & Viktor Hamwi Supervisor: Jonas Kågström Date: 2019 - January   Aim: The aim of this paper is to analyze the role of valence and argument quality on restaurants online reviews, and its impact on customers purchase intention. Method: This paper used a quantitative research method with a web-based survey as the basis for the collected material. The web-based survey collected a total of 157 responses from respondents. The collected answers were later analyzed in SPSS where descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, factor analysis, t-test and a cluster analyses were performed. Results and conclusion: The results show that valence has a direct impact on the consumer purchase intention. Furthermore, the results show that negative reviews have a greater effect on the consumer behavioral intention than positive reviews, which strengthens previous studies that show the relevance of the negativity effect. The study also shows that argument quality does not have a significant effect on the consumer’s purchasing intention.  Contribution: This study has contributed to previous research by demonstrating that the negativity effect is applied to restaurants as well, which shows the importance of addressing negative reviews as they can have an impact on a restaurant’s reputation and sales.    Further Research: We would like to see future studies focusing on the same subject, but with a larger number of respondents as seen as we could not find a statistical connection between purchasing intention and argument quality. Future studies should also focus on similar services since we see an overrepresentation of products as subject of examination in this field. Keywords: eWOM, reviews, purchase intention, valence, argument quality

Atualmente, observa-se que o ambiente virtual está cada vez mais povoado por pessoas com 60 anos ou mais e com os mais diversos interesses, todavia, verifica-se que há pouco conhecimento sobre como os consumidores idosos formam julgamentos e tomam decisões a respeito de produtos e serviços oferecidos na Internet, chegando a existir, inclusive, um pré-conceito de que estes indivíduos não são usuários da Internet e, portanto, não merecem que se façam investimentos para adequar produtos e serviços a eles. Sabe-se que diferentes fatores podem influenciar o comportamento do consumidor em sua tomada de decisão, principalmente quando se abordam produtos e serviços tecnológicos. Frente a esse contexto, é fundamental que se compreendam melhor os elementos que estão presentes nesse comportamento de consumo e as suas implicações futuras. Por essa razão, a presente pesquisa foi elaborada, pretendendo-se identificar os principais construtos que influenciam o comportamento do consumidor da terceira idade na Internet e analisar o seu impacto sobre a intenção de compra online. Objetivando responder a tal questionamento, projetou-se este estudo, para o qual foi elaborado um modelo teórico (testado empiricamente) contendo diversas variáveis e moderadores. Após 5 pré-testes e 8 entrevistas em profundidade, um questionário foi aplicado em 430 respondentes com 60 anos ou mais que tivessem utilizado a Internet pelo menos uma vez nos últimos 3 meses. O processamento de dados incluiu uma análise fatorial exploratória e uma confirmatória e a Modelagem de Equações Estruturais. Ao final deste estudo, obteve-se aceitação plena de cinco hipóteses, parcial de três e rejeição de duas, além de um bom ajuste do modelo proposto (a partir dos índices pré-definidos). Confirmou-se a hipótese de que o risco percebido pelos consumidores da terceira idade ao utilizar a Internet é um moderador no modelo estrutural proposto, uma vez que se comprovou diferença estatística significante entre as respostas dadas por um grupo mais avesso ao risco (Grupo 1) e outro menos avesso ao risco (Grupo 2) no que concerne às características demográficas e comportamentais (relacionadas ao uso da Internet). Já a escala de Tipo de Uso não se mostrou adequada para analisar a utilização da Internet pelo público da terceira idade. Constatou-se, da mesma forma, que a idade cognitiva influencia, de maneira inversa, no tempo de uso da Internet e que a satisfação com o uso da mesma tem impacto positivo no boca-a-boca positivo realizado, na intenção de (re)compra online e, também, no tempo de uso da rede. Acredita-se que os resultados obtidos a partir do teste do modelo apresentado possam fornecer importantes implicações acadêmicas e gerenciais, as quais possibilitarão uma maior compreensão sobre o uso da Internet por indivíduos da terceira idade, seus impactos futuros e a existência de moderadores importantes nesta relação. / Virtual environment has been increasingly used by people aged 60 and over who have a variety of interests. However, there is little knowledge concerning how elderly consumers form judgment and make decisions regarding products and services offered on the internet. Additionally, there is a preconception that these individuals do not use the internet; therefore, there would be no need for investment in redesigning products and services to suit them. It is known that there is a range of factors that may influence consumer behavior, especially in online environments involving technological products and services. In this context, understanding the elements involved in consumer behavior as well as its future implications is of paramount importance. Thus, this study reviewed the main constructs that influence the consumer behavior of the elderly on the internet and analyzed its impact on the online purchase intention. A theoretical model containing several variables and moderators was created and empirically tested. After 5 pretests and 8 in-depth interviews, a questionnaire was applied to 430 respondents aged 60 and over who had used the internet within the last 3 months. Data processing included an exploratory and a confirmatory factor analysis, as well as the Structural Equation Modeling. As a result, five hypotheses were fully supported, three were partially confirmed and two were rejected. Moreover, the proposed model proved to be well adjusted according to the pre-defined indexes. The hypothesis which states that the perceived risk by the elderly regarding the use of internet is a moderator on the proposed structural model was confirmed, since there was a statistically significant difference between the answers given by a more risk-averse group (Group 1) and the answers provided by a less risk-averse group (Group 2) concerning demographic and behavioral characteristics related to internet use. On the other hand, the Type of Internet Use scale was shown to be inadequate to analyze the internet usage by the aforementioned age group. Likewise, it was observed that cognitive age has an inversely proportional influence on time of Internet usage, and that satisfaction with its usage has a positive impact on positive word of mouth, online (re)purchase intention and time of web usage. It is believed that the results obtained from the testing of the presented model may provide important academic and managerial implications which will bring a greater understanding of internet usage by the elderly as well as its future impacts and the existence of important moderators within this relationship.

La siguiente investigación ha sido realizada con el objetivo de comprender la relación que existe entre el costo de adquisición, el valor cultural y el valor emocional con respecto la intención de compra de marcas de calzado casual para un público masculino de 20 hasta 24 años de edad. En primer lugar, el costo de adquisición es representado por dos variables: (i) El costo monetario del artículo y (ii) el costo de oportunidad del cliente que se toma el tiempo de ir hasta la tienda, buscar el producto y, finalmente, pagar por el mismo. En segundo lugar, el valor cultural ha sido representado por tres variables: (i) La marca como fuente de autoexpresión, (ii) la marca como símbolo de pertenencia a un grupo amical o cultural y (iii) la marca como un accesorio para mejorar la percepción de los demás sobre uno mismo. En tercer lugar, el valor emocional de una marca ha sido representado por tres variables: (i) la marca como una garantía de calidad de sus productos, (ii) la marca como una fuente de satisfacción en el uso de sus productos y (iii) finalmente, la marca como una fuente de motivación en el uso de sus productos. Después de la realización de encuestas realizadas a un muestreo de 250 personas, se confirma que existe una relación entre el costo de adquisición y el valor emocional de la marca (variables independientes) con la intención de compra respectivamente (variable dependiente). Todo esto debido al análisis de correlación que confirma la relación significativa entre estas variables independientes y la variable dependiente del estudio. / The following research has been carried out in order to understand the relationship between the cost of acquisition, cultural value and emotional value with respect to the intention to buy casual footwear brands for a male audience of 20 to 24 years of age. First, the cost of acquisition is represented by two variables: (i) The monetary cost of the item and (ii) the opportunity cost of the customer who takes the time to go to the store, look for the product and, finally, pay for it. Second, cultural value has been represented by three variables: (i) The brand as a source of self-expression, (ii) the brand as a symbol of belonging to an amical or cultural group and (iii) the brand as an accessory to improve the perception of others about oneself. Third, the emotional value of a brand has been represented by three variables: (i) the brand as a guarantee of quality of its products, (ii) the brand as a source of satisfaction in the use of its products and (iii) finally, the brand as a source of motivation in the use of its products. After conducting surveys on a sample of 250 people, it is confirmed that there is a relationship between the cost of acquisition and the emotional value of the brand (independent variables) with the purchase intention respectively (dependent variable). All this due to the correlation analysis that confirms the significant relationship between these independent variables and the dependent variable of the study. / Trabajo de investigación

Abstract In an increasingly digital world, organizations and individuals are turning to web-based applications as a source of information and method of inter-personal communication; this includes social media. This literature review analyzes the effects of social media marketing in luxury fashion brands. The research reveals luxury brands’ social media marketing positively affects purchase intention through user-to-user and brand-to-user communication, if the consumers trust the brand. On the other hand, disclosure language on Instagram and Facebook negatively affects consumer behavior, but the unique positioning of blogs allows them to positively influence their audience. In addition to this evidence, this paper also includes suggestions for future research. Keywords: social media, luxury brands, fashion, marketing, purchase intention, consumer behavior

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo principal determinar los factores de las variables del marketing mix que inciden significativamente en la intención y decisión de compra de mujeres de 18 a 25 años de edad de los NSE A y B de la Zona 7 de Lima Metropolitana (Miraflores, San Isidro, San Borja, Surco, La Molina) en la industria de la moda de prendas de vestir, con un enfoque especial en los influencers como parte de la P de promoción. Para ello, se realizó un estudio con enfoque mixto, ya que fue tanto cualitativo como cuantitativo. Por un lado, se utilizó el análisis factorial para medir la influencia en la intención de compra; y por el otro, el análisis discriminante para medir la influencia en la decisión de compra. Utilizamos esta metodología para medir el impacto de cada uno de los factores de las variables del marketing mix (producto, precio, plaza y promoción) y especialmente para validar si los influencers generan un impacto significativo sobre la intención y decisión de compra como parte de la P de promoción. Se realizó una entrevista a profundidad a un experto del rubro de la moda para validar nuestros objetivos e hipótesis. Asimismo, se realizó un Focus Group para obtener información relevante del segmento. Finalmente, se aplicó una encuesta a una muestra de 415 personas con la que se obtuvo la información necesaria para realizar el análisis estadístico. / The main objective of this research is to determine the factors of marketing mix variables that significantly affect purchase intention and decision of women between 18 and 25 years old that belong to the A and B socioeconomic status from seventh zone of Metropolitan Lima (Miraflores, San Isidro, San Borja, Surco, La Molina) in the fashion and clothing industry, with an special focus on influencers as part of promotion P. For this, we make a mixed approach study, since it was both qualitative and quantitative. On one hand, factor analysis was used to measure the influence on purchase intention; and on the other, the discriminant analysis to measure the influence on purchase decision. We use this methodology to measure the impact of each one of the factors of the marketing mix variables (product, price, place and promotion) and especially to validate if influencers generate a significant impact on purchase intention and decision as part of promotion. An in-depth interview was conducted with an expert from the fashion industry to validate our objectives and hypotheses. In addition, a Focus Group was carried out to obtain relevant segment information. Finally, a survey was applied to a sample of 415 people with whom the necessary information was obtained to perform the statistical analysis. / Tesis