Firms are interested in identifying customers who generate the highest revenues. Typically, customers are regarded as isolated individuals whose buying behavior depends solely on their own characteristics (e.g., previous purchase behavior, demographics etc.). In a social network setting, however, customer interactions can play an important role in purchase behavior. This thesis develops a generalizable methodology to identify high-value customers in a network. Previous work on social networks has focused most attention on modeling the interaction between individuals and understanding the positions of individuals in a network (e.g., measuring the influence of an individual based on his/her degree of network centrality). Little is known about how network influence directly translates into the benefits to the firm. In this study, the importance of taking into account both an individual characteristics and network effects when measuring customer value is argued. Drawing upon the spatial statistics literature, a spatial autocorrelation model is constructed that explicitly shows how these effects interact in generating firm revenue. This model is applied to a unique user-level dataset from a popular online gaming company in Korea. The data contain information about demographics of individual gamer, interaction between gamers, behavior within the game environment, and revenues generated by each individual. First, we propose a static model studying gamers' revenue in one period. We quantify the relative impact of an individual characteristics and network effects on revenue. The proposed static model shows better forecasts of an individual's value within a network for the firm than the benchmark models. The empirical analysis shows that individuals who are most influential in a network sense are not necessarily individuals who have the highest customer value. Next, we incorporate the spatio-temporal aspects of social influence in a network into the static model. This model is extended to construct the spatial dynamic model to forecast revenue in a social network. Second, we account for the homophily effects by separating the contemporaneous network effects out into the contemporaneous, temporal, and spatio-temporal effects. The proposed spatial dynamic model allows us to quantify an individual value in a network in a long-term perspective. The dynamic model is shown to outperform the static, and the other benchmark models in quantifying an individual value in revenue generation to the firm. Lastly, a dynamic coevolution model to account for homophily is suggested and discussed for future research.

Social commerce (s-commerce) relies on social media to support the buying and selling activities between customers and sellers. S-commerce sites have nowadays enabled their sellers to form their individual community, constitutes invited members of other shoppers, serving as trusted agents or targets and share shopping information and experience with their new customers. This study termed this new facet of communities as social commerce individual vendor community (SCIVC). A recent business paradigm of s-commerce sites indicates that customers spend a little time with s-commerce sellers and/or members in SCIVC, and thus swift trust, a quickly formed trust in a new relationship, deems be more appropriate representing as a basis of their trust building formulated. From the perspective of trust transfer theory, this thesis firstly develops the swift-based trust transfer process model and then examines how both swift trusts factors of individual sellers and members in SCIVC would affect customer trust in s-commerce sites. Secondly, this thesis verifies how the social support affects the model constructs of the swift-based trust transfer process, and subsequently how they further affect relationship outcomes on s-commerce sites. In this thesis, we quantified social support based on functional customer orientation construct and relational customer orientation construct; whereas respective swift guanxi and swift credibility constructs used to measure factors of swift trust factor between a customer with their seller and between a customer with their members of SCVIC. Lastly, we measured relationship outcomes by the following factors: repurchase intention, social shopping intention (i.e. measured by WOM adoption), and social sharing intention (i.e. measured by WOM intention). Based on a survey of 287 s-commerce shoppers from a s-commerce site - WeChat, our results revealed that the customer trust in s-commerce sites can be transferred from both respective swift trusts. This implies that their trust can be influenced by s-commerce parties, that are individual sellers and members of SCVIC. Our results also showed that the proposed social support factors, namely functional and relational customer orientation, both have mainly a positive relationship on respective swift guanxi, swift credibility, and customer trust factors, and subsequently influenced the three proposed factors of relationship outcomes. Exceptional insignificant cases included the relationship between relationship customer orientation and customer trust, the relationship between swift guanxi and WOM adoption and the relationship between swift credibility and WOM intention. In conclusion, this thesis makes three main contributions. First, it confirms consumer trust in s-commerce sites can be transferred from their sellers via guanxi trust and members in SCVIC via credibility trust. Second, it confirms functional and relational customer orientation have a profound total effect on both the proposed relationship mediator of trust and relationship outcomes. Lastly, it confirms the proposed customer orientation constructs and relationship mediator of trust promote not only s-commerce shopping behavior through collaborative sharing and social shopping but also individual-based repeat buying decisions.

This study involves establishing imperative customer relationship value antecedents and mediators within the business-to-business (B2B) railway industry of Southern Africa and determining whether these relationship value antecedents and mediators will achieve customer retention as an outcome. The goal is to create a conceptual model for the B2B railway industry of Southern Africa, which will be done through reviewing well-established theories and past literature on the topics of relationship marketing, relationship value, and retention within the B2B industry. After an examination of the existing literature, a proposed conceptual model will be developed and tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with a sample of 265 B2B supplier companies operating in the Southern African railway market. The CFA represents the measurement model of this research, which proposes the relationship value antecedents, mediators, and their influence on retention within the B2B railway industry of Southern Africa. Secondly, structural equation modelling (SEM) will be conducted, in order to test relation-ships with latent factors. The results indicate that the factors of service, supplier, relational, and financial performance are important antecedents, and that satisfaction and relationship value are significant mediators of customer retention in the B2B railway industry of Southern Africa. / Business Management / D. Admin. (Business Management)

Le processus de co-création de valeur est un sujet déjà bien étudié dans la littérature marketing. Pour autant, la co-création de valeur dans un contexte digital, reste un domaine peu abordé si l’on prend en compte le nombre des recherches empiriques sur ce sujet. La recherche menée par l’entreprise Forrester par exemple montre une corrélation entre l’expérience des clients et les gains de revenus liés à leur fidélisation, que cette dernière soit mesurée par des achats répétés, un taux de changement de marque moins élevé, ou une augmentation des recommandations par bouche-à-oreille. Cette étude a également révélé, sur l’ensemble des industries analysées, un revenu supplémentaire potentiel de deux milliards de dollars pour les compagnies aériennes et de un milliard pour le secteur de l’hôtellerie. Le but de cette étude est d’explorer le double aspect de co-création marketing et de mesure de la valeur client entre l’entreprise et ses clients, dans le cadre du marketing digital. Des études précédentes sur les communautés en ligne ont principalement abordé la création de valeur du point de vue du client (Cova, Pace, 2006; Cova et al., 2011; Pongsakornrungsilp, Schroeder, 2011) en positionnant celui-ci comme le principal acteur de la création de la valeur (Grönroos, 2008; Vargo, Lusch, 2004; Vargo, Lusch, 2008). / This thesis presents and analyses the findings that showcase value co-creation within an online community of a luxury hotel business: the Fairmont Resorts Hotels and International. The FRHI group consists of the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Swiss Hotel, and Raffles Hotels & Resorts, but the focus for this case is specifically the online community of the Fairmont Hotel & Resorts brand website. In July 2016, FRHI was acquired by AccorHotels Group. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, the Canadian based hotel group manages over 74 hotel properties in 21 countries worldwide. The aim of this study is to analyse the value dimensions between the company and its customers from a digital marketing perspective. Previous studies relating to value co-creation in digital communities have for the most part focused on the consumer perspective in the creation of that value (Cova and Pace, 2006; Cova et al. 2011; Grönroos, 2008; Vargo & Lusch, 2004, 2008; Pongsakornrungsilp and Schroeder, 2011). This thesis adopts a holistic approach through a qualitative multi-method case study, and reveals significant insights into the relationship between brand communities and company strategies. With the proliferation of social media platforms and consumers dedicating ever-increasing time to online activities this research area is becoming increasingly important to companies and their marketing executives (Wang et al. 2016).

A strong brand community is characterized by its value co-creation practices and brand community consumer relationships. Although previous brand community literature explains the contribution of brand community entities through these practices and relationships separately, no identified research has focused on how these practices are connected to the consumer relationships. In short, this body of literature has neglected to describe what practice corresponds to which consumer relationship. Therefore, the purpose of this study sought to describe the value co-creation practices within brand communities in relation to its consumer relationships. A comparative multiple case study of two Adidas Runners communities was applied to address this. The findings suggest that the higher level of brand community entity involvement in value-co creation practices, the stronger brand community consumer relationships. Furthermore, the study details the connections between the different value co-creation practices and their corresponding consumer relationships. Specifically, these connections are as follows; social networking and community engagement practices connected to the consumer-other consumers and consumer-marketer relationships, impression management practices connected to the consumer-brand relationship, and brand use practices connected to the consumer-product and consumer-marketer relationships. In addition, the findings suggest the practice of socializing to be added to the set of value cocreation practices.

Syftet med rapporten var att undersöka hur Mellanskog arbetar med kundnöjdhet och hur de skogsägare som anlitar dem för avverkningsuppdrag upplever kundnöjdheten. Resultatet från enkätundersökningen visade att de flesta som anlitat Mellanskog för ett avverkningsuppdrag visade en hög grad av kundnöjdhet. Mellanskog arbetade inte själv aktivt med analyser av kundnöjdhet eller hade ett uttalat arbetssätt kring kundnöjdhet.

Introduction - Artificial intelligence, defined as “the ability of a system to correctly interpret external data, learn from such data, and use these learnings to achieve specific goals and tasks through flexible adaptation” (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2020, p.17), is an important tool for facilitating interactions between companies and customers. Most companies are planning to utilize AI in some shape or form in the future, yet understanding the impact of AI technologies on marketing strategies involving relationship quality is in need of further research. Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore how AI affects relationship quality. Methodology - This inductive research utilized nine semi-structured interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used as the data analysis method. The sample consisted of consumers living in Sweden that have interacted with cognitive engagement applications, where a few recalled experiences with voice assistants and social bots, while a clear majority discussed experiences with customer service chatbots.  Findings - The findings of this research relate to AI’s effect on relationship quality as a whole. The three main themes that affect relationship quality were found to be AI characteristics, AI effects and AI encounters. Three propositions for future research are provided. P1: Trust from interactions with cognitive engaging AI is affected by AI system characteristics, AI engagement approach, AI information quality, AI realm, privacy concerns, bias concerns, hedonic usage and perceived human characteristics. P2: Satisfaction from interactions with cognitive engaging AI is affected by, AI system characteristics, AI engagement approach, hedonic usage and perceived human characteristics. P3: Commitment from interactions with cognitive engaging AI is affected by AI system characteristics, AI engagement approach, privacy concerns, AI interaction, hedonic usage and perceived human characteristics. Originality - This research has explored artificial intelligence's effect upon relationship quality as a whole, which has been largely ignored in literature as the only article found, that of Yao, Saad and Chong (2021), focused on the technology rather than its use in marketing. Keywords - Artificial Intelligence, Relationship Quality, Trust, Satisfaction, Commitment, Relationship Marketing, AI Interactions

Background: Social media has become a big part of our society. One platform that has had remarkable growth in popularity is Instagram. In Sweden, Instagram had 5.75 million users in 2021. The evolution of Instagram created an opportunity for people to establish new careers as social media influencers (SMIs). Today, SMIs are professional content marketers who monetize their large following making them dependent on being able to influence their followers.  Purpose: This paper aims to explore how SMIs can influence their followers on Instagram. A macro and micro perspective will be combined to create a broad and holistic understanding of the phenomenon. The study leverages on two theories; institutional theory and relationship marketing. Furthermore, the empirical context of this study is the SMI Bianca Ingrosso. Together, the theories and empirical data will address the research question.  Method: This is qualitative research that includes a netnography and 12 semi-structured interviews. The findings are analyzed with a thematic analysis approach.  Conclusion: Based on the frame of reference and empirical findings, a conceptual framework has been developed that gives a clear overview of the research subject. The authors have identified that SMIs can influence followers by acting according to Instagram’s logic, and they can exploit their legitimacy to increase their influence. Furthermore, SMIs make sure to maintain and build on their relationship with their followers by engaging in relationship marketing.

Background: KAM has received a lot of attention over the last decade, where organizations acknowledge the benefits, and choose to implement KAM programs within their companies. Research shows that the individual in a KAM manager role has a huge impact on the outcomes of KAM, crucially responsible for the relationships with the key accounts. Furthermore, there is a clear link between the selection of the right candidate in order to succeed with KAM, and the personality traits of a KAM manager.    Problem: Limited research has been carried out on the personality traits of KAM managers connected to the FFM, yet scholars indicate that the individual has a large effect on the outcomes of KAM. Also, few researchers study both the buyer´s and the supplier's side within KAM relationships, even though mutual benefits are an essential part of KAM.   Purpose: The purpose of the study is to identify if there is an existing mutual understanding between the buyer and supplier regarding valuable traits of a KAM manager to benefit KAM outcomes.    Method: The study utilizes a qualitative research approach, collecting primary data through six semi-structured interviews. The number of participants was equally distributed between buyers and suppliers, all experienced working with KAM. A thematic analysis was then used to analyze the empirical findings.     Conclusion: Based on the results, a conclusion is drawn that there is no mutual understanding between the buyer and supplier regarding valuable traits of a KAM manager. Aligning with previous research, all participants shared the view concerning the individual's importance in KAM, however having divided opinions about which personality traits would contribute to the valuable outcomes. The buyers emphasized the importance of structure and planning relating to the personality trait conscientiousness to optimize KAM outcomes, while the suppliers rather placed focus on aspects connecting to the personality trait extraversion.

Syfte:  Syftet är att analysera och utvärdera Apoteket Shop och The Body Shop som varumärke Metod:  Denna studie har utgått ifrån ett holistiskt synsätt. Det valda teoretiska förhållningssättet är deduktion och en kvalitativ forskningsmetod i form av djupintervjuer samt kvantitativ forskningsmetod i form av en enkätundersökning. Teorier:  Involvement Theory, Brand, Brand Strategy, Brand Equity, Business Concept, Planning Philosophies, Brand Service Value Chain, Total Communication. Empiri:  Totalt 6 st djupintervjuer med representanter på Apoteket Shop och The Body Shop. Enkätundersökning med 25 stycken kunder på vardera företag. Resultat:  Resultatet visar att Apoteket Shop har ett långsiktigt tänkande men en bit kvar i implementeringsarbetet. The Body Shop har ett långsiktigt tänkande vilket även syns tydligt i deras arbete.  Slutsats:  De otillbörliga konkurrensfördelar som Apoteket Shop har är att de redan tillhör ett starkt och väletablerat varumärke. Om Apoteket Shop inte arbetar så att organisationsutformningen är i samklang med den starka affärsidén/varumärket kommer de otillbörliga konkurrensfördelar endast att vara kortsiktiga då förutsättningarna för en långsiktighet inte finns inom organisationen. / Purpose:  The purpose is to analyze and evaluate Apoteket Shop and The Body Shop as a brand.   Method:  This essay will have a holistic approach. The chosen theoretical approach is deductive. Qualitative methods will be used in the form of deep interviews as well as quantitative methods in the form a questionnaire survey.   Theories:  Involvement Theory, Brand, Brand Strategy, Business Concept, Planning Philosophies, Brand Service Value Chain, Total Communication Empiric:  A total of six deep interviews with representatives from Apoteket Shop and The Body Shop. Questionnaire survey with 25 customers from each company. Result:  The result shows that Apoteket Shop has a long–term thinking in their work but needs to work more with taking these thoughts into action. The Body Shop has also a long–term thinking which clearly shows in the way they work.      Conclusion:  The undue competitive advantages that Apoteket Shop has are the fact that they already belong to a strong and well established brand. If Apoteket Shop doesn’t work so that the structure of their organization is in tune with the strong business concept/brand, these undue advantages will only be short-term since the conditions for a long-term doesn´t exist in the organization.