Few different goods or beverages are as particular as wine in History of humanity, even being the main symbol of luxury and status from days of Rome. Its particular intoxicating effects together its complex and long-term elaboration makes wine one of the biggest attractions for food and beverages lovers.Unfortunately, being one of the most famous beverages in History does not provide wine to be a competitive good without proper commercial strategies. Due the big local offer and costs reduction, markets are saturated and the competitiveness versus other wines and other kind of drinks make more difficult to survive in a diverse and constantly evolving sector. Therefore, internationalization and marketing strategies become the key of success for small and medium size wineries to survive in this business ecosystem.The following thesis explores different marketing strategies developed on different wine markets, taking a small Spanish winery as a case study. In order to give an insight of the current strategies carried out by the company, the author interviews the main direction of the winery and analyse the data collected versus the theoretical framework developed. In addition, two other interviews on different levels of the wine market will be added to reinforce the empirical framework: from a wine import company and form a public institution for the promotion of the Spanish companies.

Title:  The effects of online third-party opinions toward Consumer Purchasing Decision on cosmetics products in Thai market Seminar date: June 4th , 2012 Course: Master thesis in International marketing, 15 credits Purpose: The overall purpose of this research is to explain the understanding of the effects of online third-party opinions toward consumer purchasing decision process on cosmetics products in Thai market. This includes the investigation of effective used of online third-party opinions with regards to source credibility and product involvement, specifically toward cosmetics products. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework of this research is based on literature concerning online third party opinion, consumer decision journey (CDJ), product involvement and source credibility. Methodology: Both quantitative and qualitative method was applied. And thus a questionnaire with 147 respondents on Thai market and two interviews of expert marketers were conducted. The respondents for questionnaire are Thai women with specific age range and criteria. Conclusion: The online third-party opinion plays the important role in nowadays in the marketing perspective. And it does affect the consumer purchasing decision process both pre-purchase and post-purchase stage. However, it mostly affects in Consider and Evaluation Stage. With regards to the product involvement and source credibility applying to cosmetics products, these two variables affect to the use of online third-party opinion. Online third-party opinion works best with high involvement product. However, low involvement product also be considered as suitable to use with online third-party opinion. For source credibility, both online expert and consumer reviews perform better when using with high involvement product comparing with low involvement one.

Due to the adverse environmental impacts today’s clothing consumption behaviour is causing, it is necessary to accelerate the awareness of sustainable fashion among consumers. Fashion companies are facing difficulties, as sustainable consumption has not yet made an impact on consumers’ fashion purchasing decision. To accelerate the sales of newly produced sustainable fashion, the willingness to purchase has to increase. This study suggests that it through different factors is possible to influence consumers’ rational behaviour. It examines the gap between Swedish fashion consumers’ willingness to purchase sustainable fashion and their actual actions from data collected through focus groups. The difficulty to recognize sustainable fashion, as well as the limitations of product options, appealing aesthetic and design explains the emerged gaps. Consumers are also requiring a modified usage of the concept as sustainability today is used without a consistent meaning. Findings indicate that fashion consumers’ demands sustainable fashion with appealing design, high quality as well as varied product options. It also showed a request for a standardized, simple and easily accessible label, representing the idea of sustainability equally without any room for interpretation. A standardized label symbolized with a consistent meaning could also be apart of the development of making sustainability a sustained trend - making sustainability the ‘new black’. / Dagens klädkonsumtion innebär en negativ miljöpåverkan som kräver nödvändiga åtgärder såsom att öka medvetenheten av hållbart mode bland konsumenter. Eftersom hållbarkonsumtion hittills inte har någon större inverkan på modekonsumenter i deras köpbeslut står modeföretagen inför en utmaning. För att öka försäljningen av nyproducerat hållbart mode måste viljan att handla hållbara plagg öka. Denna studie föreslår att det genom olika faktorer är möjligt att påverka konsumenters rationella beteende. Den undersöker vad som påverkar gapet mellan svenska modekonsumterns vilja att konsumera och deras faktiska ageranden genom två fokusgruppsintervjuer. Svårigheter att identifiera hållbart mode, likväl som begränsningen av utbudet, tilltalande estetik och design förklarar hur gapen uppstått. Konsumenter efterfrågar dessutom en förändrad användning av begreppet hållbarhet eftersom det idag används utan en konsekvent innebörd. Resultatet i studien visar på att modekonsumenter kräver hållbart mode som har en tilltalande design, god kvalité liksom ett större utbud. Den visar också på att de efterfrågar en enkel, lättillgänglig och standardiserad märkning som bör användas av alla modeföretag och som tydligt förklarar innebörden av hållbarhet utan att ge rum för tolkning av begreppet. En standardiserad märkning kan också bli en del av en ihållande trend som gör hållbarhet till det nya svarta.

Electric vehicle adoption is one of the most prominent discussions currently facing the automotive industry, as this is an inevitable change towards a more sustainable future of transportation. Traditionally, car manufacturers adapt to consumer needs changing, thus prompting high relevance for understanding the consumer perspective and purchasing influences. This study aims to build a deeper understanding of the importance of internal and external factors on the EV consumer decision-making process, as well as to explore how the perception of such factors change upon adoption of electric vehicles. The study follows a positivism approach by conducting deductive research. A conceptual framework is developed based on review of research literature of rational choice theory, the consumer decision-making model, and factors impacting EV consumers, and constructing a model from the findings. Quantitative survey data is then collected following the model presented, and results are obtained using SPSS. Finally, the analysis applies the social identity theory, innovation diffusion theory, and theory of planned behavior for further evaluative discussions. The findings show that internal factors such as environmental awareness and fears and anxieties have a vital impact on consumers’ decisions of EV adoption and evaluation of EV alternatives, while social influences have a relatively small impact on the decision. The findings suggest a link between the theory of planned behavior and changing perceptions upon adoption of EV, in which factors relating to attitudes and perceived behavioral control are more susceptible to changing, while factors relating to subjective norms are not.

The purpose of the paper is to create a deeper understanding of the effects a company’s CSR activities have on consumers' purchase decisions in the fast fashion industry. Additionally, how consumers' brand image changes when a company does not meet the criteria for CSR initiatives. We want to investigate if consumers prioritize and truly care about companies' sustainability work in the fast fashion industry. This considering clear statistics that the consumption of clothing increases even if companies do not meet the requirements within the various sustainability perspectives. The fast fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world. By examining the consumers’ perspective, we will potentially discover the components that make a consumer choose to shop from a fast fashion company, as well as finding what influences the consumer to refrain from supporting a company that does not fulfill its obligations within CSR. / Syftet med uppsatsen är att skapa en djupare förståelse för vilka effekter ett företags CSR-aktiviteter har på konsumenternas köpbeslut i fast fashionindustrin. Samt hur konsumenternas varumärkesimage förändras när ett företag inte uppfyller kriterierna för CSR-initiativ. Vi vill undersöka om konsumenterna prioriterar och bryr sig om företagens hållbarhetsarbete. Detta med tanke på tydlig statistik om att konsumtionen av kläder ökar även om företagen inte uppfyller kraven inom de olika hållbarhetsperspektiven. Fast fashion industrin är det näst mest förorenade industrin i världen. Genom att undersöka konsumentperspektivet kommer vi potentiellt att upptäcka vilka komponenter som gör att en konsument väljer att handla från fast fashionindustrin, samt hitta vad som påverkar konsumenten till att avstå från att stötta ett företag som inte uppfyller sina åtaganden inom CSR.

Much of the effort that goes into a purchasing decision occurs at the stage where a choice has to be made from the available alternative clothing products (Solomon & Rabolt, 2009:392). In this phase of the decision making process, consumers’ perceptions of the clothing item they anticipate to purchase includes evaluation of the clothing and the application of specific evaluative criteria in order to assess the suitability of the clothing item (Saricam, Kalaoglu, Ozdygu & Urun, & 2012:2). Evaluative criteria are the specifications or standards that consumers use when comparing and assessing alternatives (Forney, Park & Brandon, 2005:158). Because consumer needs vary not only by the product they want to purchase but also in terms of information (Forney et al., 2005:158), identifying the evaluative criteria that consumers use in the clothing purchasing decision-making process may provide an insight into preferences relative to specific products, such as clothing. While several studies have shown that the purchasing decision can be influenced by individual differences as well as environmental influences, it is no doubt that the investigation of each of these variables provides important clues to understanding consumer purchase decision broadly, but are limited in some parts in their explanations when it comes to clothing purchasing decision. Literature has highlighted the significance of body shape on clothing preferences because of the inherent relationship between the clothing product and the body. The difference in body shape often determines how clothing will drape on a figure, how comfortable the garment feels and ultimately how the clothing product will be evaluated by the consumer. Moreover, personal values, which are defined as the desired end-states have been shown to be one of the most powerful explanations of, and influence on the way consumers are likely to behave in a specific situation, such as the purchasing of new clothing product, the process that includes evaluation, choosing among the alternatives and finally the purchasing decision (Vincent 2014:119; Kim et al. 2002:481; Laverie, Klein & Klein, 1993:2). Additionally, while in the process of evaluating various clothing attributes for the suitability of the clothing product in terms of body shape and personal values, female consumers may experience either positive or negative emotions (Zeelenberg et al., 2008:18), depending on how the clothing is assessed. Most theories of emotional influences on decision making take the valence-based approach (Lerner & Keltener, 2000:473), focusing on the effects of positive versus negative emotional states. However, Lerner and Keltener (2000:473), have suggested that emotion specific approach, in particular the Appraisal-Tendency Framework (ATF) model is more effective to understand and predict the influence of specific emotions on decision making and behaviour. Consumers’ choice of the clothes based on the evaluative criteria during the decision making process is regarded as a form of consumer input to the clothing manufacturing and design (May-Plumee & Little, 2006:62). Since these underlying factors are regarded as important for understanding the rationale behind consumer clothing purchasing decision and behaviour, a thorough investigation of such factors on how they impact clothing evaluative criteria is greatly necessary. This may help and guide the clothing manufacturers and retailer on how to design and produce clothing products that are most relevant for the needs and preferences of South African female consumers. The study, therefore, aimed to determine the influence of body shape and personal values on women’s preferences for and use of intrinsic evaluative criteria (styling/design, colour/pattern, appearance, appropriateness/acceptance, fit/sizing, comfort and fibre content/material) in the purchasing of casual blouse/top, trouser/skirt and dress. Information on the relevant importance of various clothing product attributes in the consumers’ mind may provide clothing manufacturers and designers with the basis for effective new clothing product development and marketing strategies. Furthermore, considering that emotions are involved in clothing purchasing decision, the study also focused on understanding the influence of emotions on clothing purchasing decision and subsequent behaviour. This study reflected the postpositive philosophical worldview which is typically associated with quantitative approach. In this case, the study assumed quantitative research design and methods and is regarded as exploratory in nature. Using purposeful, convenient and snowball techniques, the sample was solicited in Gauteng, Johannesburg, South Africa. A total of 316 women aged between 18 and 66 plus years old took part in the study. A survey using a group administered questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the respondents. The group administered questionnaire included demographic information of the participants, self-reported perceived body shape measure, personal values measure, evaluative measure and emotions measure. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze demographic information, as well as on overall data before inferential statistics were performed. Inferential statistics such as the z-test was applied to establish the significant evaluative criteria and to test the proportions of the selected emotions. Chi-Square test of independence was used to determine the association between body shape evaluative criteria investigated, while nonlinear canonical correlation analysis (OVERALS) was performed to establish the relationship between personal values and evaluative criteria and lastly, discriminant analysis was used determine purchasing behaviour. The analysis established that fit/sizing and comfort are the most important evaluative criteria that women consider in the purchasing of casual clothing categories studied. Respondents, also agreed that styling/design was the determinant evaluative criteria when purchasing a casual dress, while fit/sizing was the determinant evaluative criteria in the purchasing of a casual blouse/top and trouser/skirt. The results further showed that respondents in this study who perceive themselves to be diamond shaped, think colour/pattern is very important particularly when purchasing a casual blouse/top. However, when purchasing a trouser/skirt, the results reflected that the oval body shaped respondents think styling/design is very important, while respondents who perceive themselves to be rectangular body shaped, consider comfort when purchasing a casual dress. With regards to the relationship between personal values and evaluative criteria, the study found that when purchasing a casual blouse, respondents consider the appearance for the achievement of warm relationship with others, excitement and confidence. The results also indicated that through fit/size of a blouse/top, female consumers strongly aspired for self-respect. The results further showed that through the styling/design of a blouse/top, female consumers in this study want to achieve self-fulfillment, while a sense of accomplishment is influenced by the comfort of a casual blouse/top. On the other hand it was also revealed that appropriateness/acceptability of a casual blouse/top seemed to influence fun and enjoyment as well as sense of belonging. In the purchasing of a casual trouser/skirt, the results clearly showed that in order to achieve a warm relationship with others, female consumers strongly considered the fibre content/material and colour/pattern of trouser/skirt. The results also suggested that consumer considered the appearance of a trouser/skirt for the achievement of sense of belonging and self-fulfillment, while the styling/design of a trouser/skirt was somewhat considered for attainment of excitement. Through the fit/sizing of a casual trouser/skirt, it was shown that female consumers strongly aspired to achieve self-respect, confidence as well as fun and enjoyment. The results further highlighted that respondents considered appropriateness/acceptability of a casual trouser to somewhat influence being well-respected, while comfort of a casual trouser somewhat influenced a sense of accomplishment. In the purchasing of a casual dress, the results indicated that in order to achieve excitement and a warm relationship with others, female consumers in this study considered the appearance. The results further suggested that through the appearance of dress respondents somewhat also aspired for a sense of belonging. On the other hand, the results clearly revealed that respondents will consider fibre content/material, styling/design, fit/sizing and colour of casual dress in order to achieve self-respect, self-fulfillment, confidence, being well-respected and a sense of accomplishment. Lastly the results demonstrated that the best behaviour that drives the emotion “disgust” is “I walk away”. On the other had the best behaviour that drives the emotion “sadness” is “I spend more time shopping around”. The results were fully consistent and gave support to the emotions specific hypothesis (ATF) which postulates that different emotions of the same valence for instance, “disgust” and “sad”, both being negative, can exert opposing influences on decision making and behavior. However, concerning the positive specific emotions, it emerged that there were no behaviour differences between the emotions “happiness” and “contentment”, probably, suggesting unpredictable behaviour. It is, therefore, recommended that clothing designers and retailers should have a knowledge of the attributes that are preferred by female consumers of various body shape. It is also recommended that clothing manufacturers and retailers should endeavor to understand the value systems of their target. This study has contributed to the body of knowledge of understanding the role that body shape, personal values and emotions play in the clothing purchasing decision and behaviour. / Life and Consumer Sciences / Ph. D. (Consumer Science)

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilka utmaningar och möjligheter återförsäljare i modebranschen i Sverige upplever med inköp via digitala möten samt dess inverkan på inköpsbeslutet. Studien ämnar också undersöka hur relationen mellan leverantör och återförsäljare påverkar inköpsbeslutet vid inköp via digitala möten. Studien har sin teoretiska utgångspunkt i van Weeles (2014) modell över inköpsprocessen och Dwyer, Shurr och Ohs(1987) modell över relationer mellan köpare och säljare. En kvalitativ studie har genomförts där data har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med tio återförsäljare i modebranschen. Datan har sedan analyserats med en tematisk analys. Resultatet visar att inköp via digitala möten har orsakat en större osäkerhet hos återförsäljare vid inköpsbeslutet. Den största utmaningen vid inköp via digitala möten är att mildra osäkerheten. Det finns möjligheterför återförsäljare att tids- och kostnadseffektivisera sin verksamhet med hjälp av inköp via digitala möten. Relationen mellan leverantör och återförsäljare har en betydande roll underinköp via digitala möten, där ett förtroende parterna emellan kan mildra osäkerheten. / The purpose of this study is to investigate what challenges and opportunities retailers in the fashion industry in Sweden experience with purchasing via digital meetings and its impact on the purchasing decision. The study also intends to investigate how the relationship between supplier and retailer affects the purchasing decision when purchasing via digital meetings. The theoretical basis of this study is van Weele's (2014) model of the purchasing process and Dwyer, Shurr and Oh's (1987) model of buyer-seller relationships. A qualitative study has been carried out where data has been collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 retailers in the fashion industry. The data has then been analyzed with a thematic analysis. The results show that purchases via digital meetings have caused greater uncertainty among retailers in the purchasing decision. The biggest challenge when purchasing via digital meetings is to mitigate uncertainty. There are opportunities for retailers to streamline their operations in terms of time and cost with the help of purchasing via digital meetings. The relationship between supplier and retailer has a significant role in purchasing via digital meetings, where trust between the parties can alleviate uncertainty.