Title: According to Swedish Citizens – Sweden has the Safest and Best food in the world – Really? Level: Thesis for Master’s Degree in Business Administration Authors: Benny Berggren and Mai Nasser Fouda Supervisor: Jonas Kågström, Ph.D. Date: May 20, 2013 Aim: The aim of this thesis is to fill the research gap on whether there are differences in how Swedish consumers remember publicized scandals in regards to the Country of Origin (COO), focusing on age, gender and time. Furthermore, this paper will also aim to look at how different scandals have affected the consumers trust based on whether foreign food scandals have a higher impact. Methodology: Since this thesis tested different relationships a deductive approach was taken with a conclusive research design. Quantitative data was collected via a VAS-scale questionnaire to 187 individuals via random sampling at train stations which had a response rate of 75,9%. By using SPSS, the primary data was analyzed via a Correlation and Factor analysis in accordance with scientific articles from within the fields of Purchasing Decision theory, the COO and Consumer Memory. A semi-open telephone interview with an expert from within the food industry was conducted as additional explanations to the findings were needed. Result & Conclusions: It was found that Swedish consumers remembered scandals differently depending on origin, and were according to themselves more affected by the foreign scandals. Gender did not have a preference depending on the COO of the product and consumer memory while age did. It was also found that trusting food was the essential theme throughout the empirical findings where the Swedish consumers valued cues such as food quality and food safety. This played a significant role on impacting the consumer’s long-term memory. Three different types of trust was found and divided by their characteristics; High-level-involvement products, the COO of the product or the company which the scandal was involved with, and finally, the size, positioning and equity of the brand involved. Business implications: Media can be seen as a key source of spreading negative publicity regarding scandals. It is therefore extra important for companies to act immediately, especially if they have any of the three characteristics of trust since it influences the consumer’s long-term memory in a negative way. These three characteristics combined could have strong more negative impact on the companies, where there is a risk of losing potential & current business partners, decreased brand equity & image and risk of facing legal aspects. This can be very costly both financially and time-wise which ultimately could lead to a negative turnover. Research Implications: future research is suggested to study why the results in this thesis differ from the other scientific findings when it comes to gender. Also suggested is that studies should be conducted similar to this, but based on specific types of food products since this thesis only studied food in general. Furthermore, studies comparing the effect of the consumer memory in regards to food scandals based on different companies are also suggested. Key words: Country of Origin, Scandals, Memory, Trust, Purchasing behavior.

Rapid growth of the internet and information technology help people communicate with others around the world through computers. The developing development of virtual communities¡]VCs¡^gather people with the same personalities in a VC website. VCs are not only a place of providing information and social contact for users, but also a precise market segment for marketers. The users of VCs are interested in the information provided within the VCs; therefore, marketers can reach potential customers in VCs more effectively. If the potential customers have high loyalty to a VC, they will consider the information provided by a VC as more important, their opinions on the product will be easily affected, and, ultimately, their purchasing decision will be influenced. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to analyze the loyalty of VC users to understand how VCs affect their purchasing decisions based on the EKB model by assuming VCs are external information sources, reference groups, and channels of post-purchase dissonance. Factors that affect VC users, including ¡uTechnology and Service¡v,¡uInformation Content¡v, and¡uEmotional Interact¡v, can be used to discover different types of loyalties of VC users and to understand if VC users are influenced by VCs when purchasing. A web survey was conducted on three VC websites discussing cosmetics¡]Fashion Guide, Urcosme and yam hercafe¡^,from January 18, 2008 to February 1, 2008 and received 416 valid samples. After analyzing the valid samples, the result suggested that¡G 1. ¡uInformation Content¡vis the most critical factor among the three factors of affecting loyalty of VC users. 2. VC users with a high level of loyalty who depend on the information provided by VC web sites consider VC websites as reference groups and are highly influenced by the site¡¦s recommendations 3. The users of high loyalty are affected by VC websites when purchasing. They search information in VCs before shopping, trust the information of VCs, are affected more easily by other VC users and recommend products to VC users or friends. Aside from this, they spend more time on the internet and VC websites than users of spurious loyalty. 4. The loyalty to and purchasing influence caused by a VC of female users are higher than male users as they consider the information provided by VCs more important. Users of low education levels have higher loyalties than those of higher education levels, however students are more easily influenced by VCs when purchasing.

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abstract: This study was designed to influence consumer habits, specifically those relating to purchases of fruits, vegetables, and junk food. Previous studies have clearly shown the ineffectiveness of simply describing the health benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables (F/V). In contrast, this study aimed to change the result by changing the message: providing participants with insight into the hidden agendas of food companies and grocery stores, provide useful tips on how to include children when selecting F/V, and emphasizing the importance of parental modeling in regard to food purchases. Participants of this study were separated into two groups, the tour group and the education group. The tour group was guided through a grocery store where they learned about sales tactics and manipulations used by grocery stores and food companies to influence purchases. Education group participants were provided with an education session focusing on USDA and FDA handouts displaying current educational suggestions for increasing F/V consumption. Grocery store receipts were collected and analyzed to track the progress of both groups. The goal of the study was to identify a method of informing consumers that will produce a significant change in behavior. Increasing F/V consumption, even in relatively small amounts, would be an important step forward in improving the diet and overall health of Americans. This study was the first of its kind to measure purchasing patterns objectively (through analysis of purchase receipts, rather than personal opinion/evaluation surveys) and in a wide-scope retail environment that includes all grocery store purchases by participants. Significant increases or decreases in the amount of money spent on F/V, or the amount (pounds) of F/V purchased were not seen, however a small correlation (r = 0.133) exists when comparing the weight of F/V purchased pre/post intervention. Data from Food Frequency Questionnaires shows participants consuming significantly higher amounts of F/V post intervention (p=0.043). The tour group and education group experienced an average increase of 0.7 servings per day. Future interventions might benefit by extending their scope to include cooking demonstrations, in-home interventions, and education on healthy eating outside of the home. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Nutrition 2013

We investigate to which degree one could trace Bitcoin transactions and characterize purchasing behavior of online anonymous marketplaces by exploiting side channels. Using a list of addresses found by the FBI on Silk Road servers, and information on the marketplace's official guides, we infer the role played by each address in the list and classify them based on heuristics. We then attempt to trace Bitcoin transactions and show that the anonymity set size is greatly reduced using product review data and the address classification performed on the previous step. Finally, using clustering techniques based on transaction graph analysis, we assign addresses into user wallets, then group these wallets together based on spending patterns, to be able to characterize purchasing behavior.

This thesis is focused on the analysis of purchasing behavior of consumers in the furniture market. In the introductory part is defined the purchase behavior. There is described the cultural, social, personal and psychological factors that influence consumer decision-making, and stages of purchase decision making process. The following chapters describe characteristics of Czech consumers, specific methods of furniture retailers and evaluation of the furniture market in the Czech Republic. The last chapter is devoted to the results of a questionnaire survey concerning the purchasing behavior of consumers in the market of furniture and household accessories.

The purpose of this study was to establish a predictive model of the factors that contribute to the decision-making process when purchasing denim by 13- to 19-year-old adolescents living in the U.S. The researcher created an online survey through Qualtrics and administered it to an opt-in panel of adolescents, through Centiment. There were 460 survey responses collected. Important denim attributes to respondents included comfort and fit, price, durability, and body perception. Significant predictors that increased respondents’ intention to purchase denim jeans included intrinsic attributes-appearance of fabric on the body, cognitive attributes, tighter fit, and purchased denim in the last three months. Significant predictors that decreased respondents’ intention to purchase denim jeans included if the price was increasingly more than $40 and gender. The information gathered in this study could help manufacturers focus on what adolescents consider important in denim jeans and adjust production and marketing strategy as needed. Future research should determine which attributes were contributing to the significance of intrinsic attributes-appearance of fabric on the body and cognitive attributes. Another future research study could conduct the research with physical examples of denim jeans present.

Abstract Problem: Food consumption represents the largest contributor to climate change in Sweden, with activities that contribute to excess waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Although studies indicate positive attitudes towards green purchasing behavior among young Swedish consumers, inconsistency between green purchasing intent and actual behavior have been noticed.   Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative research paper was to understand and identify underlying enablers and inhibitor to green purchasing behavior amongst young Swedish adults. Furthermore, the authors sought to understand the inconsistency between purchasing intent and actual purchasing behavior, of young Swedish consumers.   Method: To answer the research question a qualitative research was conducted with a deductive approach. Focus groups with semi-open interview questions were used to collect empirical data. The target group for this research were young Swedish adults between the ages of 20-26.   Conclusion: This research identified knowledge as the main inhibitor and enhancer of green purchasing behavior, as well as other factors that can be traced back to the amount and accessibility of knowledge. It was also concluded that companies have failed in delivering their green marketing strategies, as young consumers display confusion and mistrust towards green products.

Sammanfattning Titel: En studie om hur Front-of-packaging påverkar konsumenters attityder. Nivå: C-uppsats, examensarbete i ämnet företagsekonomi. Författare: Alexandra Ekstrand och Jasmine Wiberg. Handledare: Jonas Kågström och Benny Berggren. Datum: 2019-05-24. Syfte: Vårt syfte är att skapa en djupare förståelse för hur konsumenter värderar sötnings-relaterade hälsopåståenden på livsmedelsförpackningar. Metod: I denna studie har en kvantitativ metod använts där 186 enkätsvar samlades in via en webbaserad undersökning som publicerades på sociala medier. Enkätsvaren analyserades i data- och statistikprogrammet Jamovi där deskriptiva analyser samt faktoranalyser genomfördes. Resultat & diskussion: Ett genomgående drag för i stort sett alla faktoranalyser är att WTP inte påvisar något starkt samband gentemot övriga variabler. Det finns dock ett tydligt samband mellan köpintention och de specifika påståendena i samtliga av faktoranalyser. Det vi funnit är främst att natur- och närvarofokuserade sötningspåståenden på produktförpackningar genererar högst WTP samt att vetenskaps- och närvarofokuserade påståenden ger lägst WTP hos konsumenterna inom denna produktkategori när sötning är i fokus. Uppsatsens bidrag: Undersökningen har främst bidragit genom att utveckla och fördjupa det teoretiska ramverk som André et al. (2018) skapat. Studien har även skapat en djupare inblick i huruvida FOP:ers utformning och karaktär påverkar konsumenters preferenser och WTP samt givit granola-producenter viss vägledning kring vilken karaktär hos påståenden som preferens. Förslag till vidare forskning: Ett exempel på vidare forskning är att ge studien en ny vinkel genom att följa Bonilla (2010, s. 11) tes om att utföra experimentella studier för ett mer verklighetsförankrat resultat. T.ex. genom att utföra ett experiment som innefattar respondenternas interaktion med verkliga produkter och verkliga pengar.

L'objet de notre recherche est de clarifier les thèmes du réenchantement, de la théâtralisation et de l'expérience dans la distribution : ils correspondent à une réalité managériale diversifiée et répondent à l’impératif économique de se différencier dans un univers de plus en plus concurrentiel. Une étude menée auprès de professionnels de la distribution et de consommateurs de deux enseignes du secteur du jouet présentant des positionnements différents (expérientiel versus fonctionnel) nous permet de définir le concept de mise en scène d'un point de vente : création globale qui s'articuleautour des constituants suivants : décor ,scénario, acteurs, action, rebondissements et coup de théâtre. Cette vision holiste englobe la diversité des pratiques et dépasse l'équation théâtralisation = décor. Nous avons également établi que le consommateur vit une expérience spécifique lors de sa confrontation avec la mise en scène du point de vente. L'apport principal de cette thèse est de proposer le concept d’expérience de visite qui décrit l’interaction entre le consommateur et la mise en scène du point de vente. L’échelle de mesure développée comprend 5 dimensions : exploration, convivialité, exception, surprise et enchantement. Le prisme de l’expérience de visite représente graphiquement les scores atteints dans les 5 dimensions par une enseigne. Il permet ainsi de déterminer son degré de réenchantement et de procéder à des comparaisons avec ses concurrents. Nous avons eu recours au concept d'imagerie mentale, fondamentale dans la perspective expérientielle parmi les modalités sensorielles qui agissent dans la réception de l’expérience par le consommateur ; ce dernier interprétant la mise en scène grâce à la production d'images mentales. Une étude quantitative menée auprès des consommateurs des deux enseignes confirme :- qu'il existe des différences significatives entre enseignes pour chacune des dimensions de l’expérience ainsi que dans les caractéristiques des images mentales produites par le consommateur : nombre d’images, d’images congruentes suscitées par des techniques projectives, caractère agréable ;- que chacune des dimensions de l’expérience influence ces caractéristiques des images mentales ;- que chacune des dimensions de l’expérience influence le comportement d’achat : nombre d’articles achetés et nombre d’articles achetés non programmés.En effet, conscients de l’importance du critère de rentabilité des entreprises de distribution, nous avons mesuré l’impact de la production d’expérience sur le comportement d’achat. Le recueil des données dans les rayons s'est avéré d'une grande richesse et confirme la faisabilité technique pour les distributeurs de tester leur mise en scène in situ.Nos résultats montrent que l’expérience de visite est favorisée par la mise en scène du point de vente et exerce une influence sur le comportement d’achat. La mise en scène s’avère un levier stratégique que le distributeur doit s'appliquer à maîtriser et à rentabiliser afin d'améliorer ses résultats globaux. / The purpose of our research is to clarify the themes of reenchantment, dramatization and experience in retailing. They correspond to a diversified managerial reality and reveal the economic necessity to differentiate from competitors in ever increasing number. We have interviewed retailing specialists and consumers of two Toy retailers who have adopted opposite positioning : experiential versus functional. We have specified the French concept of dramatization : it is a global creation combining decor, scenario, actors, action, developments and coup de théâtre. This holistic view enables to include the variety of practices and to go beyond the equation dramatization = decor. We have highlighted that the consumer has a specific experience during the confrontation with the store dramatization. The main contribution of this design is to propose a new concept : the experience of visit, which describes the interaction between the consumer and the store dramatization. We have conceived a scale of measurement including five dimensions : exploration, conviviality,exception, surprise and enchantment. A prism shows graphically the scores reached by each of the five dimensions : for a retailer, it enables to measure his reenchantment level and to make comparison with competitors. The concept of mental imagery has been of great benefit for us. It is fundamental in the experiential perspective : among the sensorial modalities that act in the reception of experience, the consumer interprets the dramatization by the means of mental imagery.A quantitative study with consumers confirms that :- there exist significant differences between retailers for each dimension of the experience of visit, and for the characteristics of mental images produced by the consumer : number, number of congruent images and pleasantness ;- each dimension of the experience of visit has an influence on these characteristics of mental images ;- each dimension of the experience of visit has an influence on purchasing behavior : number ofpurchases and non planned purchases.Conscious that the return on investment is a main criterion for the managers, we have indeed measured the impact of experience production on purchasing behavior. Gathering the data in the store has revealed great interest and gives considerable support to the technical feasibility to test the store dramatization in situ. The results indicate that the experience of visit is favored by the store dramatization and has an influence on purchasing behavior. Managers should consider dramatization as a strategic means and try to control it and make it profitable.