Prof. F. Herbst

The Chinese inbound tourism market to SA has been acknowledged as an emerging market. However, South African tour operators experience difficulties in establishing and developing viable partner relationships with Chinese travel agents. Recognizing the size, importance and complexity of this market, the major purpose of this research is to explore and investigate the crucial process of developing Sino-South African partnership relationships in the tourism industry, to facilitate the establishment of business relationships with Chinese travel agents. This study is draws on applied marketing, management and cross-cultural theories on networking to explore the process of developing partnership relationships in the Chinese inbound tourism market to SA. The literature on networking, the development of networking relationships, and the effect of guanxi (connection), a key feature of Chinese business networking on partnership relations are reviewed. Given the limited research conducted on this topic and its cross-country nature, a quantitative research method was adopted for this study. Specifically, this study utilized e-mail survey techniques to explore the relationships between South African inbound tour operators and Chinese travel agents. This study identifies that the process of developing partnership relationships between Chinese travel agents and South African inbound tour operators is culturally embedded. They are giving rise to communication problems that affect partnership relationships. A new stage model of the development of partnership relationships between South African inbound tour operators and Chinese travel agents is therefore developed. In particular, the study identifies important factors in the process of developing business relationships. For example, mutual commitment, the pricing issue, word-of-mouth, and quality of services are all considered crucial in attaining long-term stable partnership relationships. Guanxi plays a significant, but not decisive role in the process of developing partnership relationships between Chinese travel agents and South African inbound tour operators. However, guanxi relationships can provide added value to the partnership relationships.

Mass marketing also referred to as traditional marketing, has been criticised for trying to appeal to everyone, without necessarily providing for customers’ needs and wants. Therefore, the traditional marketing mix has been deemed ineffectual in a highly competitive and ever-changing business world, especially in the banking sector. Changes in the marketing environment have led to the development of new concepts such as relationship marketing. The fundamental concept of relationship marketing involves maximising the longterm benefits for the bank and the customer, resulting in a series of transactions, which allow a long-term relationship to be established and maintained. In short, it is a marketing concept that revolves around building and maintaining a long-term link or bond with one’s customers. The Zimbabwean banking sector has been affected by the country`s political and economic turmoil over the past decade. The collapse of the economy has affected the banking sector and its relationship with clients. During the economic crisis, Zimbabwean banks were unable to meet the basic international requirements of the Basel Accord, and as such, no profits were made. Borrowers had problems repaying existing loans; and banks also became reluctant to lend more, as a liquidity problem in the financial system was prominent. In 2009, a new government was formed which introduced the multi-currency system and the economy went on a recovery path. Given the nature of the economy of Zimbabwe, relationship marketing becomes an indispensible marketing tool that banks can use. The main purpose of the research was to investigate the relevance of relationship marketing on the sustainability of Zimbabwean banks. Five independent variables (customer relations, product attributes, promotion and service delivery and information technology) were identified and were tested against one dependent variable (sustainability of banks). A positivist research paradigm approach was used to conduct the research. The approach uses the quantitative method of research to establish causal relationships. Null (Ho) and alternative hypotheses (Ha) were formulated in x order to test the relationship between variables. A five point Likert scale questionnaire was developed and administered in five major commercial banks in Harare, Zimbabwe namey; Banc ABC, Barclays bank, Commercial Banks of Zimbabwe, Stanbic Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. The five major banks were selected in terms of market capitalisation as well as total deposit share among other things. The empirical results revealed that five of the independent variables positively correlated with the dependent variable implying that they all have an impact on bank sustainability. However, the current situation (2011) in Zimbabwe shows that only two independent variables (product variables and service delivery) have any impact on bank sustainability. In other words, there was a relationship between product attributes and sustainability of banks. Additionally, there was a relationship between service delivery and sustainability of Zimbabwean banks. Conclusions sited that product attributes and service delivery, as variables of relationship marketing, if implemented desirably could salvage the lost confidence and contribute to bank sustainability in Zimbabwe. Therefore, recommendations given by the researcher extensively focused on the two variables that have a relationship with Zimbabwean banks’ sustainability; briefly on the three variables (customer relations, promotion and information technology) that had no relationship.

This study aimed to provide public relations professions with insight into the use of Social Customer Relationship Marketing as a marketing 2.0 tool which delivers the potential to elicit the opportunity for organisations to monitor, engage and manage conversations and relationships through Facebook. Drawing on literature from the fields such as new media, public relations, social customer relationship marketing, and public relations, a qualitative content analysis of case studies of selected organisations was conducted including 10 South African organisations that have incorporated Facebook into their Social Customer Relationship Marketing strategies. The content analysis was conducted to determine the amount of communications taking place on each fan page in order to support the data and provide additional insight into the research question, primary data was collected through two survey questionnaires of, firstly, social media users who subscribe to an organisation‘s Facebook page and, secondly, a survey conducted among the social organisations. Surveys were conducted to firstly determine the social organisations interactions with Facebook as secondly, to determine the social media users‘ interactions with the Facebook. The study found that the majority of the organisations under study in the content analysis successfully elicited user generated conversations about the brand, through content that was advocated by the organisations Facebook administrator. It is also evident as seen in the minority of organisations that these platforms are only likely to elicit consumer- driven dialogue on Facebook if the platform is managed effectively through initiated daily conversations about the brand. The continuous involvement by the administrator in encouraging conversations was necessary, as well as response to all wall posts by the social customer, participation in all conversations by providing accurate information to customers and potential customers about the brand. Conclusions from the survey questionnaires among the social identified the social customers need to be communicated with pro-actively by an organisations who can provide, through collaborative conversations, information pertaining to the brand in real time conversation, while the survey among the social organisation concluded the need for an organisation to not only create a social media footprint, but to allow for a space in which through conversation with the social customer, conversations can turn into relationships.

Teoretická část diplomové práce zahrnuje charakteristiku mezinárodního marketingu a vybraných strategických přístupů k mezinárodnímu podnikání, identifikaci specifických vlastností trhu průmyslových výrobků a jejich aplikaci při segmentaci tohoto trhu a užití marketingových nástrojů. Obsahem praktické části diplomové práce je analýza mezinárodní marketingové strategie společnosti S&T AG, která je předním dodavatelem IT řešení a služeb ve střední a východní Evropě. Praktická část zahrnuje také podrobný popis procesu vlastního marketingového výzkumu, který se týkal kompetenčních center S&T, a doporučení pro management.

M.Comm.

Orientador: Cláudio Marcondes de Castro Filho / Banca: Marta Lígia Pomim Valentim / Banca: Jorge Luz Henrique / Resumo: As Tecnologias da Informação e da Comunicação possibilitam a criação de espaços menos hierárquicos de circulação de informações. Os usuários vêm utilizando os sites de redes sociais como espaço para compartilhar informações, interesses e conhecimentos comuns. Por isso, diversas empresas no Brasil, à procura de formas para aprimorar sua estrutura informacional como base para satisfazer as necessidades dos seus clientes, consideram essas mídias como uma importante ferramenta de estratégia empresarial. Nesse sentido, esta pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar as atividades de gestão da informação que subsidiam o processo de gestão do relacionamento com consumidores que interagem com uma organização financeira por meio do Facebook. Para isso, inicialmente apresenta-se uma revisão da literatura nacional e internacional sobre os conceitos de: dado, informação, conhecimento, gestão da informação, redes e mídias sociais, gestão do relacionamento com o cliente, bem como outras temáticas que se fizeram necessárias. Depois, na fase empírica da pesquisa, foi estudado o ambiente organizacional de um grande banco de varejo brasileiro no que se refere ao relacionamento com consumidores a partir do Facebook. Para a organização e coleta de dados foi escolhido o método Estudo de Caso Único, com base nas orientações de Yin (2015). Como ferramentas e instrumentos de coleta de dados foram escolhidos: entrevistas; análise de documentos e registro em arquivos. Para a análise dos dados, utilizou-se o ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Information and Communication Technologies created less hierarchical spaces for information circulation. Users have been using social networking sites as a space to share information, interests and common knowledge. For this reason, several companies in Brazil, looking for ways to improve their information structure as a basis to satisfy the needs of their clients, consider these media as an important business strategy tool. In this sense, this research aims to analyze information management activities that support the relationship management process with consumers interacting with a financial organization through Facebook. For this, initially a review of the national and international literature on the concepts of: data, information, knowledge, information management, networks and social media, customer relationship management, as well as other topics that have become necessary are presented. Then, in the empirical phase of the research, the organizational environment of a large Brazilian retail bank was studied with regard to the relationship with consumers from Facebook. For the organization and data collection, the Single Case Study method was chosen based on the Yin (2015) guidelines. As tools and instruments of data collection were chosen: interviews; analysis of documents and database. For the analysis of the data, the Content Analysis method was used, according to Bardin (2011). As results, it was verified that the integration of Customer Relations and Information Man... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

The digitalization of the society is a fact and organizations must now be adaptable to where their customers are located. Along with this the ways in which we communicate have changed as well as the way you target your marketing. Already in the sixties customers begun to require products adapted to them and their requests, which revealed the need of a shift of focus in the marketing of organizations. Instead of putting the needs of the company first, organizations started to direct their attention to the needs of the customers. It all comes down to the customer and the user, who is now in charge of the evolution of the brand as well as for the underlying conditions of the interactive dialogue between them and the organization. Social media allows companies to be present and available to a larger extent than before which facilitates the opportunity to get a deeper understanding of the customers and their presence on social media. The real estate business is a complex market to operate within as the competition is very tough. This entails high demands on companies in order to stick out from the crowd and achieve visibility. Especially in a society where consumers are daily exposed to advertising and exhortation to commerce. The real estate agents most powerful communication tool is the ones who are generated from recommendation and word of mouth, which in turn is accomplished from maintaining a good relationship with customers. But what opportunities do real estate agencies have on social medias? And how can they achieve and exhort relationships through Instagram? By performing a qualitative study containing interviews with real estate agencies along with observations of their Instagram accounts, the authors of this study could deny that there was any common mode of operation between the organizations usage of the platform for building relationships. Instead the authors identified several strategies in accordance with the theory of how to engage users, which they believed the companies to be unaware of. The analysis of the Instagram accounts urged the thought of a correlation between the number of followers and the perceived reliability of the accounts as the user gives the account their faith by following - which in turn can be recognized by the follower’s followers and acquaintance. However, does the number of followers not necessary imply to more users interacting with the published content, which rather could have connection to the kind of content the account provides with. / Digitaliseringen av samhället är ett faktum och som företag måste man vara följsam med vart kunderna befinner sig. I samband med detta har också utgångspunkten för hur man riktar sin marknadsföring och i sin tur hur man kommunicerar förändrats. Redan på sextiotalet börjadekunderna ställa krav på att produkter skulle anpassas efter dem på deras begäran. Därigenom uppdagades skiftet av fokus i marknadsföring där företag övergick från att sätta företagens behov i centrum till att rikta sin uppmärksamhet till kundens önskemål. Från början till slut är det kunden och användaren som har makten. Både när det kommer till hur identiteten av varumärken utformas men också under vilka premisser man för interaktiva dialoger på. Sociala medier har skapat möjligheten för företag att vara närvarande och tillgängliga på ett annat sätt än tidigare. Vilket underlättar för kontinuerliga avlyssningar av marknaden och därigenom en djupare förståelse för sina kunder. Fastighetsmäklarbranschen är en komplex marknad att verka inom där konkurrensen är hård. Därför ställs det höga krav på företag för att överhuvudtaget sticka ut ur mängden och synas. Framförallt i ett samhälle där konsumenterna dagligen överöses med intryck i form av reklambudskap och uppmaningar till handel. Det mäktigaste kommunikationsverktyget en mäklare därför kan använda sig av är det som genereras av rekommendationer och word of mouth. Något som i sig beskrivs genereras av goda relationer till sina kunder. Men vilka möjligheter har man som fastighetsmäklarföretag på sociala medier? Och hur kan man skapa och uppmana till relationer via Instagram? Studien som utförts innefattande intervjuer med fastighetsmäklarföretag följt av observationer av respektive företags instagramkonto. Kunde vi dementera att det fanns ett gemensamt arbetssätt för relationsskapande på Instagram. Istället kunde vi identifiera flertalet omedvetna strategier företagen använt sig av som genererat engagemang och som kunnat härledas till vad som skrivits i teorin. Analysen av instagramkontona uppmanade dessutom till en tanke om en relation mellan antalet följare och kontots trovärdighet i den bemärkelse att följares bekanta ser att man ger sitt förtroende till företaget. Å andra sidan bedömer vi att antalet följare inte nödvändigtvis för med sig att fler väljer att interagera med det publicerade innehållet, utan ser istället att det har en anknytning till typen av innehåll man väljer att förmedla.

Manter e ampliar relacionamentos com clientes, na área de serviços, é estimular a retenção de clientes e, consequentemente, fazer com que as empresas passem a ser vistas de forma diferenciada pelo mercado. Entretanto, as empresas prestadoras de serviços devem compreender o processo que envolve os clientes nos encontros de serviços, investigando os construtos que implicam na captação e na retenção dos mesmos, para que sejam desenvolvidas estratégias adequadas. Sendo assim, esta pesquisa propôs a replicação e testagem de um Modelo Teórico, considerando os construtos Valor Percebido, Reputação do Provedor de Serviços, Confiança e Custos de Troca como determinantes da Retenção de Clientes. Desenvolveu-se, então, a construção teórica acerca da Retenção de Clientes e dos demais construtos contemplados nesta pesquisa, com a intenção de compreender e analisar a atuação dos mesmos no relacionamento entre clientes e prestadores de serviços, bem como suas relações com as estratégias competitivas das empresas. Dando sequência ao estudo, foi realizada a pesquisa quantitativa, por meio da aplicação de uma survey. Para a análise dos dados, foram utilizadas estatísticas multivariadas, incluindo a Modelagem de Equações Estruturais, para que fossem testadas e analisadas as hipóteses levantadas pelo estudo aqui proposto. Os resultados evidenciaram que: o valor percebido pelos clientes influencia positivamente a reputação do provedor de serviços; o valor percebido pelos clientes não influencia positivamente os custos de troca; a reputação do provedor de serviços influencia positivamente a confiança do cliente no provedor de serviços; a reputação do provedor de serviços não influencia positivamente os custos de troca; a confiança depositada pelo cliente em relação ao provedor de serviços influencia positivamente a retenção de clientes; os custos de troca não influenciam positivamente a retenção de clientes; e a reputação do provedor de serviços influencia positivamente a retenção de clientes. / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, CAPES. / Maintaining and expanding relationships with customers in the service area, is to encourage customer retention and thus cause the corporation to be viewed differently by the market. However, the service providers must understand the process involving customers in service encounters, investigating the constructs involving the capture and retention of the same, so that appropriate strategies can be developed. Thus, this research has proposed replication and testing a theoretical model, considering the constructs Perceived Value, Reputation of Service Provider, Reliability and Cost of Exchange as determinants of Customer Retention. Developed the theoretical construction about Customer Retention and others constructs included in this study, with the intent to understand and analyze the performance of the same in the relationship between clients and service providers, as well as its relations with the competitive strategies of firms. Giving sequence to the study, was realized a quantitative research by the application of a survey. For data analysis, multivariate statistics, including Structural Equation Modeling, to be tested and analyzed the hypotheses proposed by the study presented here. The results showed that: perceived value positively influences the reputation of the service provider; perceived value by customers not positively influences switching costs; the reputation of the service provider positively influences customer trust in the provider; the reputation of the service provider not positively influences the switching costs; the trust placed by the customer in relation to the provider positively influences customer retention; the switching costs not positively influences customer retention; and the reputation of the service provider positively influences customer retention.

This project will describe the nature of customer share marketing, its advantages and disadvantages. The project discusses how the marketing theme is graduating customers from market share marketing to customer share marketing and the use of customer share marketing to retain and grow existing customers.