O elevado nível de competição e a turbulência também passaram a ser a realidade em mercados que tradicionalmente eram mais tranquilos no Brasil. É o caso de mercados como o de farmácias e drogarias, o de petshops e cuidados animais, o da beleza e estética, assim como o do turismo e hospitalidade. Este último tem apresentado considerável expressividade na economia do país; em 2016, o setor foi responsável por 3,2% do PIB (equivalente a R$ 175 milhões) e gerou 2,5 milhões de empregos (aproximadamente 3% das vagas formais no país). No Brasil, em 2015, segundo o Ministério do Turismo, mais de 18 mil agências estavam registradas - juntas empregavam mais do que a indústria automobilística: 35 mil empregos diretos e mais de 100 mil empregos indiretos. Contudo, apesar de seu crescimento e do acirramento da concorrência causada por fatores como a globalização e a internet, a profissionalização do setor não ocorreu na mesma velocidade, levando agências tradicionais a encerrarem suas atividades. Recentemente, a internet alterou consideravelmente a forma de distribuição de produtos turísticos. A rede mundial de computadores também potencializou a criação de novos destinos, aumentou o conhecimento e o poder do consumidor e deixou muitas empresas de turismo perdidas. Diversos autores destacam ainda que o comportamento do consumidor mudou. Não apenas em função de seu conhecimento e acesso a informações e fornecedores, mas em termos de exigência de atendimento, planejamento prévio, sensibilidade a preços e expectativa quanto ao padrão de qualidade dos serviços entregues pelos fornecedores. Neste contexto, definiu-se o problema de pesquisa do presente estudo: quais são as atividades de marketing praticadas pelas agências de viagens (operadoras ou não) no Brasil e como elas são desenvolvidas e aplicadas à luz da teoria? Por meio de uma pesquisa exploratória, de cunho qualitativa, foram identificados os principais players do setor (agências de luxo, de massa, online e de menor porte). Após 2 pré-testes, foram desenvolvidas 15 entrevistas: 13 com agências e 2 com profissionais especialistas no setor. O conteúdo das entrevistas foi então transcrito e analisado por meio de uma abordagem mais flexível, mas com categorias pré-determinadas. As categorias são justamente os itens explorados no referencial teórico, destacando-se as atividades de marketing: o mercado de turismo no Brasil e as entidades, as atividades relativas à segmentação e ao posicionamento, ao planejamento, a decisões de produto, de preço, de praça e de promoção, bem como sobre a captação e retenção de clientes, ao papel das pessoas, dos processos e das evidências físicas, e à utilização da tecnologia. Identificou-se que o setor tem passado por um processo de profissionalização, mas ainda há margem para o aprimoramento da maior parte das atividades de marketing. De modo geral, as agências sentem muita dificuldade em precificar seus produtos, ainda não desenvolveram estratégias para lidar com a realidade de multicanais, utilizam pouco o potencial da comunicação de marketing e não possuem programas de relacionamento com seus clientes. Com isso, parte do setor funciona com base em uma concorrência de preços, motivo pelo qual a internet tem crescido como canal de distribuição (seja por meio da venda direta ou pelo crescimento das OTAs). / The high level of competition recently became reality in markets that traditionally were less turbulent in Brazil. This is the case of markets such as drugstores, petshops and animal care, beauty and aesthetics, as well as tourism and hospitality. The latter has shown considerable expressiveness in the country\'s economy; in 2016, the sector accounted for 3.2% of the GDP (equivalent to R$ 175 million) and generated 2.5 million jobs (approximately 3% of the formal vacancies in the country). In Brazil, in 2015, according to the Ministry of Tourism, more than 18,000 travel agencies were registered - together they employed more than the automobile industry: 35,000 direct jobs and more than 100,000 indirect jobs. However, despite its growth and increased competition caused by factors such as globalization and the internet, the professionalization of the sector did not occur at the same speed, leading traditional agencies to end their activities. Recently, the internet has changed considerably the form of distribution of tourism products. It has also potentiated the creation of new destinations, increased consumer knowledge and bargaining power, and left many tourism companies lost. Several authors also point out that consumer behavior has changed. Not only due to their knowledge and access to information and suppliers, but in terms of service requirement, prior planning, price sensitivity and expectation regarding the quality standard of services delivered by suppliers. In this context, the research problem of the present study was defined: what are the marketing activities practiced by travel agencies (operators or not) in Brazil and how are they developed and applied in the light of the theory? Through an exploratory research, with a qualitative approach, the main players of the sector (luxury, mass, online and smaller agencies) were identified. After 2 pre-tests, 15 interviews were developed: 13 with agencies and 2 with professionals specialized in the sector. The content of the interviews was then transcribed and analyzed through a more flexible approach, with pre-determined categories. The categories are precisely the items explored in the theoretical referential, highlighting the marketing activities: the tourism market in Brazil and its entities, activities related to segmentation and positioning, planning, product decisions, price, place and promotion, as well as on the acquisition and retention of customers, the role of people, processes and physical evidence, and the use of technology. It was identified that the sector has undergone a process of professionalization, but there is still room for improvement of most marketing activities. Agencies generally find it difficult to price their products, have not yet developed strategies to deal with a multichannel reality, use little of the potential of marketing communication, and do not have customer relationship programs. As a result, part of the industry operates on the basis of price competition, which is why the internet has grown as a distribution channel (whether through direct sales or the growth of OTAs).

Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to undertake theory development and testing particular to re-purchase intention in an experiential service context, specifically the cultural performing arts. Services researchers suggest implementing a multi-disciplinary approach to research that uses theories and methods from several of the management fields will advance the domain of services research. This thesis aims to contribute to the field of service research by drawing from methods and theories offered in both service operations and services marketing fields. To date, service research has been preoccupied primarily with consumer behaviour aspects of services marketing such as satisfaction but underestimates the importance of constructs such as re-purchase intention and the subsequent implications for strategy formulation and implementation. Further to this, the current approach to services research has overlooked the nexus between marketing and operations and the importance of the implementation of strategy to achieve objectives. It is argued that failing to integrate service operations both practically and theoretically into the re-purchase intentions research framework confines its potential effectiveness. In addition, the lack of specific service context application has been identified as a significant oversight in previous services research. Construct measurements and findings have been difficult to replicate across contexts and contextual examination of constructs and relationships has been suggested as a solution. One such context deserving of attention is that of the experiential services, specifically the performing arts. Therefore, using measures and theories developed specifically for this context, this thesis will offer a more comprehensive approach to re-purchase intention research in a performing arts setting. This thesis adopts a mixed method approach by implementing a series of three integrated studies, which amalgamates both operations and marketing fields. This thesis aims to identify the aspects of a performing arts encounter that are relevant to the customer by conducting a two-staged set of qualitative interviews. This process is based on the operations technique Service Transaction Analysis (STA). First, consultant consumers and organisational personnel were used to formulate a consensus definition of a typical performing arts experience and, second, 26 in-depth interviews were conducted with potential future consumers of the performing arts based on this description of the offering. These two studies, coupled with extant literature, informed the research instrument designed for the main survey. This instrument was conducted on 273 potential future consumers of the performing arts. Qualitative work undertaken in Study 1 identifies the service experience description. Study 2 highlights the service management and marketing issues relating to re-purchase intention especially focusing on value, customer satisfaction, show experience and service quality and discloses a set of specific issues incorporated into the wording of the survey instrument. Study 3 measures and tests the key constructs of service quality, show experience, value, satisfaction and the significance of the hypothesised pathways to re-purchase intention. The proposed model is then analysed using the AMOS 5.0 Structural Equation Modelling package. This thesis is structured in the journal paper format with each of the chapters representing each of the five journal papers. In addition, an introductory and concluding chapter are appended with the concluding chapter providing an in-depth discussion of the contributions of this thesis. The papers are based on the progressive results of the research program and offer an integrated set of findings and discussions. The papers are not mutually exclusive but interrelated to comprehensively illuminate the central research theme of the thesis and discuss many aspects of marketing and operations significant to re-purchase intention. The entire thesis is drawn from the data set generated from the three integrated studies developed to address the overall research theme. The central research theme is to investigate the nature of re-purchase intention in an experiential setting using marketing and operations theories as platforms of analysis. Interestingly, the tested model of this thesis found empirically that the subjective and experiential aspects of the service, such as the emotional and artistic quality of the show, did not have a significant and direct relationship with re-purchase intention. This finding is of interest, in particular, to scholars of experiential consumption and marketing practitioners offering these types of services. Previous research has supported the desire to fulfil experiential needs as driving the initial purchase. Conversely, this finding suggests that the desire to visit again is driven by utility and value. As customer maintenance and repeat patronage are of utmost importance to practice, this is an exciting development. Offering further support, the tested model found service quality and show experience were mediated by value to satisfaction, with satisfaction inturn mediating the relationship between value and re-purchase intention. Collectively, these findings have lead to several developments and contributions for both scholarship and practice. The contributions to knowledge of this thesis highlight five main theoretical contributions and four main managerial implications. These encompass: · Advancing the ‘service management trinity’, specifically strengthening the importance of the relationship between service marketing and service operations. · Advancing service management theory by understanding the service offering more intricately and the importance of service description. · Clarifying the roles of experiential and utilitarian attributes of the service experience in an experiential setting extending knowledge related to re-purchase intention. · Particularizing and measuring the construct of re-purchase intention to the performing arts and clarifying the predictors of this construct in the context of experiential performing arts. . · Testing and clarifying the relationships of value and satisfaction to re-purchase intention extending the understanding of re-purchase intention in this field and elaborating the approach and understanding of this construct for future research. This thesis further contributes to knowledge by offering several managerial contributions. These incorporate: · Market segmentation and targeting strategies as critical for performing arts management. · Operations service design and creation strategies in the performing arts by including important aspects of the service experience as highlighted by customer driven research. · Specific recommendation for streamlining delivery through standardised mass customisation. · Offering value frameworks for creating value in service delivery and targeting customer perceptions of superior value. This extending the understanding of the customer perceived value equation. By contributing to the field of service management and advancing enquiry in the field of services marketing and service operations, this thesis offers a new perspective and practical approach to service marketing context analysis making a valuable contribution to scholarship. This approach is based on improving organisational performance in experiential services specifically by applying operations and marketing theory from a customer-perspective. By doing this, findings inform organisations of ways to better meet the needs and wants of consumers through design, delivery and marketing. Moreover, the findings assist researchers in further advancing the field of services research. This research positions the future research program to focus on continuing the advancement of service management by examining the higher order constructs of service quality and show experience and examining the impact of additional customer motivations such as emotional goal attainment and involvement in experiential settings.

Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to undertake theory development and testing particular to re-purchase intention in an experiential service context, specifically the cultural performing arts. Services researchers suggest implementing a multi-disciplinary approach to research that uses theories and methods from several of the management fields will advance the domain of services research. This thesis aims to contribute to the field of service research by drawing from methods and theories offered in both service operations and services marketing fields. To date, service research has been preoccupied primarily with consumer behaviour aspects of services marketing such as satisfaction but underestimates the importance of constructs such as re-purchase intention and the subsequent implications for strategy formulation and implementation. Further to this, the current approach to services research has overlooked the nexus between marketing and operations and the importance of the implementation of strategy to achieve objectives. It is argued that failing to integrate service operations both practically and theoretically into the re-purchase intentions research framework confines its potential effectiveness. In addition, the lack of specific service context application has been identified as a significant oversight in previous services research. Construct measurements and findings have been difficult to replicate across contexts and contextual examination of constructs and relationships has been suggested as a solution. One such context deserving of attention is that of the experiential services, specifically the performing arts. Therefore, using measures and theories developed specifically for this context, this thesis will offer a more comprehensive approach to re-purchase intention research in a performing arts setting. This thesis adopts a mixed method approach by implementing a series of three integrated studies, which amalgamates both operations and marketing fields. This thesis aims to identify the aspects of a performing arts encounter that are relevant to the customer by conducting a two-staged set of qualitative interviews. This process is based on the operations technique Service Transaction Analysis (STA). First, consultant consumers and organisational personnel were used to formulate a consensus definition of a typical performing arts experience and, second, 26 in-depth interviews were conducted with potential future consumers of the performing arts based on this description of the offering. These two studies, coupled with extant literature, informed the research instrument designed for the main survey. This instrument was conducted on 273 potential future consumers of the performing arts. Qualitative work undertaken in Study 1 identifies the service experience description. Study 2 highlights the service management and marketing issues relating to re-purchase intention especially focusing on value, customer satisfaction, show experience and service quality and discloses a set of specific issues incorporated into the wording of the survey instrument. Study 3 measures and tests the key constructs of service quality, show experience, value, satisfaction and the significance of the hypothesised pathways to re-purchase intention. The proposed model is then analysed using the AMOS 5.0 Structural Equation Modelling package. This thesis is structured in the journal paper format with each of the chapters representing each of the five journal papers. In addition, an introductory and concluding chapter are appended with the concluding chapter providing an in-depth discussion of the contributions of this thesis. The papers are based on the progressive results of the research program and offer an integrated set of findings and discussions. The papers are not mutually exclusive but interrelated to comprehensively illuminate the central research theme of the thesis and discuss many aspects of marketing and operations significant to re-purchase intention. The entire thesis is drawn from the data set generated from the three integrated studies developed to address the overall research theme. The central research theme is to investigate the nature of re-purchase intention in an experiential setting using marketing and operations theories as platforms of analysis. Interestingly, the tested model of this thesis found empirically that the subjective and experiential aspects of the service, such as the emotional and artistic quality of the show, did not have a significant and direct relationship with re-purchase intention. This finding is of interest, in particular, to scholars of experiential consumption and marketing practitioners offering these types of services. Previous research has supported the desire to fulfil experiential needs as driving the initial purchase. Conversely, this finding suggests that the desire to visit again is driven by utility and value. As customer maintenance and repeat patronage are of utmost importance to practice, this is an exciting development. Offering further support, the tested model found service quality and show experience were mediated by value to satisfaction, with satisfaction inturn mediating the relationship between value and re-purchase intention. Collectively, these findings have lead to several developments and contributions for both scholarship and practice. The contributions to knowledge of this thesis highlight five main theoretical contributions and four main managerial implications. These encompass: · Advancing the ‘service management trinity’, specifically strengthening the importance of the relationship between service marketing and service operations. · Advancing service management theory by understanding the service offering more intricately and the importance of service description. · Clarifying the roles of experiential and utilitarian attributes of the service experience in an experiential setting extending knowledge related to re-purchase intention. · Particularizing and measuring the construct of re-purchase intention to the performing arts and clarifying the predictors of this construct in the context of experiential performing arts. . · Testing and clarifying the relationships of value and satisfaction to re-purchase intention extending the understanding of re-purchase intention in this field and elaborating the approach and understanding of this construct for future research. This thesis further contributes to knowledge by offering several managerial contributions. These incorporate: · Market segmentation and targeting strategies as critical for performing arts management. · Operations service design and creation strategies in the performing arts by including important aspects of the service experience as highlighted by customer driven research. · Specific recommendation for streamlining delivery through standardised mass customisation. · Offering value frameworks for creating value in service delivery and targeting customer perceptions of superior value. This extending the understanding of the customer perceived value equation. By contributing to the field of service management and advancing enquiry in the field of services marketing and service operations, this thesis offers a new perspective and practical approach to service marketing context analysis making a valuable contribution to scholarship. This approach is based on improving organisational performance in experiential services specifically by applying operations and marketing theory from a customer-perspective. By doing this, findings inform organisations of ways to better meet the needs and wants of consumers through design, delivery and marketing. Moreover, the findings assist researchers in further advancing the field of services research. This research positions the future research program to focus on continuing the advancement of service management by examining the higher order constructs of service quality and show experience and examining the impact of additional customer motivations such as emotional goal attainment and involvement in experiential settings.

<p><strong>Datum:</strong> 2010-03-22</p><p><strong>Nivå: </strong>Kandidatuppsats i företagsekonomi, 15 hp</p><p><strong>Författare:</strong> Kristina Flintull, Malin Severin</p><p><strong>Handledare:</strong> Nazeem Seyed-Mohamed</p><p><strong>Titel:</strong> Katt och hund ska bli vår kund! En studie om Cura apotekets ambition att bli husdjursägarnas favoritapotek.</p><p><strong>Syfte:</strong> Med Cura apoteket som uppdragsgivare syftar studien till att undersöka vilka kvaliteter företaget bör framhäva i sin marknadsföring för att bearbeta och bli ICA Maxi:s kundsegment husdjursägares favoritapotek. Studien utreder även huruvida åsikterna om kvaliteter skiljer sig inom segmentet; mellan katt- och hundägare samt mellan män och kvinnor.</p><p><strong>Metod:</strong> Utifrån en kvalitativ intervju med Cura apotekets chef för inköp och sortiment presenteras teorier kring <em>The Services Marketing Mix</em> samt kundlojalitet. Med denna bakgrund genomfördes en kvantitativ enkätundersökning med 208 ICA Maxikunder med hund- eller katt. Telefonintervjuer med åtta deltagare från enkätundersökningen utfördes för att erhålla ett ytterligare kvalitativt perspektiv.</p><p><strong>Slutsats:</strong> Inga betydande skillnader mellan män och kvinnors åsikter inom segmentet husdjursägare kan utläsas. Olika åsikter förekommer däremot mellan hund- och kattägare inom kundsegmentet, där hundägare är mest positiva till de kvaliteter Cura apoteket kommer att kunna erbjuda. Cura apoteket bör därför rikta sin marknadsföring främst mot ICA Maxi:s hundägare och framhäva personalens kunskap, ett brett produktsortiment, lönsamma kunderbjudanden samt utökad tillgänglighet genom lojalitetsskapande aktiviteter.</p> / <p><strong>Date:</strong> 2010-03-22<strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Level:</strong> Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration, 15 credits</p><p><strong>Authors:</strong> Kristina Flintull, Malin Severin</p><p><strong>Advisor:</strong> Nazeem Seyed-Mohamed</p><p><strong>Title: </strong>We aim higher with your pet as our buyer! A study about the Cura pharmacy’s ambition to be pet owners’ favourite pharmacy.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The aim of this thesis is to study what qualities the Cura pharmacy should focus on in its marketing to become ICA Maxi’s segment pet owners’ favourite pharmacy. The study analyses differences in opinions about qualities within the segment; between cat- and dog owners as well as men and women.</p><p><strong>Methodology: </strong>Based on a qualitative interview with the Cura pharmacy’s head of purchase and assortment, the theories of The Services Marketing Mix and Customer Loyalty are presented. A quantitative survey was conducted with 208 cat or dog owners who do their shopping at ICA Maxi. Phone interviews were then made with eight participants from the survey to obtain further qualitative perspectives.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>No differences regarding opinions between men and women can be observed. Cat and dog owners have different views though, where dog owners are more positive to the qualities the Cura pharmacy will be able to offer. Therefore, the Cura pharmacy should focus their marketing mostly on ICA Maxi’s dog owners. The company should bring forward the knowledge of their pharmacists, their wide range of products, beneficial customer offers and extended availability, all through loyalty creating activities.</p>

Increasing unemployment and low economic growth are of growing concern in the world economy and a recognised intervention to combat these challenges is entrepreneurship. Tourism has been acknowledged as an underexploited sector with considerable potential for addressing these challenges. In order to advance entrepreneurial activity, it is essential for students to possess the necessary entrepreneurial skills. However, the absence of consensus on the content of training courses and curricula is currently a concern in the field of entrepreneurship. South African higher education institutions need to redefine their roles and academics should take heed, and ensure that the curricula that they provide correspond with the requirements of practitioners. Through analysing the development skills of successful entrepreneurs, the focus of training courses and curricula can be established. This study constitutes exploratory research into an important issue facing many higher education institutions today and is supported by a detailed literature review and an empirical study. Higher education institutions have to remain competitive due to the turbulent and changeable environment within which they operate. The literature review, in accordance with the scope and limitations of the study, concentrated on the principles of tourism management, together with the entrepreneurial and marketing development skills essential to tourism entrepreneurs. For the empirical part of the study, a self-administered questionnaire was sent to a sample of tourism enterprise owners, tourism management academics and tourism management students. The objective was to develop a set of guidelines for the content of the entrepreneurship and marketing subjects for tourism management students. The research findings provide a balanced view in that they incorporate the perceptions of tourism enterprise owners, tourism management academics and tourism management students. The skills analysed within this study, together with the suggested implementation method, can be used to guide the structured integration of the development of these skills into tourism management programmes. The intention of the study was to cover a wide range of entrepreneurial and marketing development skills essential for the tourism entrepreneur, so that a clear set of skills could be formulated for the recommended inclusion into the content of tourism entrepreneurship and marketing curricula. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Management))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding of the link between internal marketing and customer relationship management by conducting a case study of one Nordea call center. Background: Keeping existing customers is less expensive than acquiring new ones. Nowadays, up to sixty percent of marketing budgets are being dedicated towards retaining customers. So forth customer relationship manage-ment is slowly beginning to penetrate the banking industry as sustaina-ble relationships between organizations and their customers are becom-ing more evident. Theory: The case study is based on an internal marketing model by Bansal et al. (2001) which shows how managers can influence the job satisfaction of their employees through six dimensions. Based on the previously men-tioned model, customer relationship management theory and the service marketing triangle by Kotler et al. (2002), the researchers present their our own model, at the end of the theoretical section, which seeks to en-hance the understanding of the link between internal marketing and cus-tomer relationship management. Method: Since there was lacking theoretical evidence in how to link internal marketing to customer relationship management, the study was of exploratory nature. Qualitative data was collected by conducting two fo-cus groups (independently of each other) at one Nordea call center. The first focus group was composed of five managers and the second focus group of three frontline employees. Conclusion: Nordea has been used as an example to illustrate that customer relation-ship management, such as using sales opportunities to strengthen rela-tionships with customers, is dependent on managers‟ ability to “sell” the organization‟s customer relationship management ideas to its front-line employees. Moreover managers have the ability through the six dimensions of internal marketing to affect job satisfaction which in turn will determine how frontline employees make use of the sales opportu-nities provided by Nordea‟s content management system (CMS).

ABSTRACT Title: Services Marketing in a Cross-Cultural Environment – The Case of Elekta in Russia Level: Final assignment for Master Degree in Business Administration Authors: Alena Bazyleva and Maria Zaytseva Supervisor: Dr. Maria Fregidou-Malama Aim: The aim of this research is to investigate how the products and services of the Swedish company Elekta are marketed in Russia, a country with cultural environment different from Sweden. For this purpose such aspects of marketing strategy as adaptation/standardization, trust and network development, which help to decrease the influence of intangibility and heterogeneity of services, are examined. Method: In present research explanatory applied type of study was used to describe services marketing process. Combination of induction and deduction methods, and qualitative methods of research were used. Case study of Swedish company Elekta was chosen as the research area. Primary data was collected through survey by means of semi-structured interviews and open questionnaires. Secondary data was collected from sources such as relevant books, scientific articles, company brochure, and websites of company and its clients. Results and conclusion: The research reveals that trust, network building, balance of adaptation and standardization strategies, employed by Elekta company, help to overcome heterogeneity and intangibility of its services in Russian market. It has also been found that the image of Sweden as a country of origin plays an important role in trust establishment in Russia, but in a sense that it is a foreign country, not Sweden in particular. Moreover, it is suggested, that organizational structure of international company, matrix structure in this particular case study, favours the development and effectiveness of the discussed variables. In spite of such characteristics of Russian market as high bureaucracy, corruption, “blat” network, unstable laws, etc., this market is considered to be a promising emerging market for international business. Russian national culture displays large power distance, high uncertainty avoidance, collectivist and feminine values, which influence the whole society and the business sphere as well. Suggestions for future research: It would be beneficial for future research to expand the range of complementing studies, examining the cases of Elekta in different countries and emerging markets in particular. In addition, in order to develop international services marketing theory, it is necessary to include other services industries in the scope of research. Furthermore, getting feedback from the patients, who experienced treatment on Elekta equipment, can contribute to the future research. Contribution of the thesis: The modification and adaptation of the theoretical framework of Fregidou-Malama and Hyder (2011) made by authors of this study contributes to the theory of international services marketing process. In addition, as there is lack of research in this area for health care sector, this study can be valuable addition to this research area. Research of the case of Elekta in Russia complements the range of studies on international services marketing process in health care sector with the cases of Elekta company in different countries: Egypt, China, the Philippines, Brazil, Hong Kong. Besides, current research has certain practical value: it is beneficial for international companies expanding into emerging markets in general and in Russian market in particular. This research may help to increase awareness about Elekta treatment solutions. Key words: Elekta, Gamma Knife, Russia, Services Marketing, Services characteristics, Network, Trust, Adaptation, Standardization, Culture, Organizational structure.

Live performing arts are one of the most important heritages, defining the cultural identity of a society. Since live performing arts are cultural services, the process of experiencing them is pivotal in forming satisfaction on the customer side. Achieving customer satisfaction is crucial for non-profit cultural institutions operating under the Swedish cultural model. An investigation of the achieved level of customer satisfaction and a comparison to customer expectations is therefore necessary for offering cultural services, which meet customer expectations. Since service quality and hence customer satisfaction can be controlled via the elements of the services marketing mix, the authors focused on investigating the marketing mix of Programbolaget i Jönköping (PJ). The authors wish to investigate to what extent PJ’s current audiences are satisfied with the quality of the services marketing mix provided by PJ, what customers expect from it and what managerial implications can be advised to improve the service. The authors use a mixed methods approach. Quantitative data about customer satisfaction is collected via a questionnaire, which applies a five point Likert scale. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics are used in the data processing. Semi-structured interviews with PJ and customers are conducted to obtain information about the nature of PJ and customer expectations. The conclusions drawn from this study are that the overall level of satisfaction with PJs services marketing mix among PJ’s customers is satisfying, while deviations between the different elements exist, where the elements price, promotion and product score lowest. It is also found that some parameters of the marketing mix have significant levels of importance for customer groups. Customer expectations regarding the services, which scored low, were investigated through interviews. Based on the conducted statistical tests and the expectations of the customers, recommendations regarding PJ’s services are made in order to increase customer satisfaction.

Datum: 2010-03-22 Nivå: Kandidatuppsats i företagsekonomi, 15 hp Författare: Kristina Flintull, Malin Severin Handledare: Nazeem Seyed-Mohamed Titel: Katt och hund ska bli vår kund! En studie om Cura apotekets ambition att bli husdjursägarnas favoritapotek. Syfte: Med Cura apoteket som uppdragsgivare syftar studien till att undersöka vilka kvaliteter företaget bör framhäva i sin marknadsföring för att bearbeta och bli ICA Maxi:s kundsegment husdjursägares favoritapotek. Studien utreder även huruvida åsikterna om kvaliteter skiljer sig inom segmentet; mellan katt- och hundägare samt mellan män och kvinnor. Metod: Utifrån en kvalitativ intervju med Cura apotekets chef för inköp och sortiment presenteras teorier kring The Services Marketing Mix samt kundlojalitet. Med denna bakgrund genomfördes en kvantitativ enkätundersökning med 208 ICA Maxikunder med hund- eller katt. Telefonintervjuer med åtta deltagare från enkätundersökningen utfördes för att erhålla ett ytterligare kvalitativt perspektiv. Slutsats: Inga betydande skillnader mellan män och kvinnors åsikter inom segmentet husdjursägare kan utläsas. Olika åsikter förekommer däremot mellan hund- och kattägare inom kundsegmentet, där hundägare är mest positiva till de kvaliteter Cura apoteket kommer att kunna erbjuda. Cura apoteket bör därför rikta sin marknadsföring främst mot ICA Maxi:s hundägare och framhäva personalens kunskap, ett brett produktsortiment, lönsamma kunderbjudanden samt utökad tillgänglighet genom lojalitetsskapande aktiviteter. / Date: 2010-03-22 Level: Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration, 15 credits Authors: Kristina Flintull, Malin Severin Advisor: Nazeem Seyed-Mohamed Title: We aim higher with your pet as our buyer! A study about the Cura pharmacy’s ambition to be pet owners’ favourite pharmacy. Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to study what qualities the Cura pharmacy should focus on in its marketing to become ICA Maxi’s segment pet owners’ favourite pharmacy. The study analyses differences in opinions about qualities within the segment; between cat- and dog owners as well as men and women. Methodology: Based on a qualitative interview with the Cura pharmacy’s head of purchase and assortment, the theories of The Services Marketing Mix and Customer Loyalty are presented. A quantitative survey was conducted with 208 cat or dog owners who do their shopping at ICA Maxi. Phone interviews were then made with eight participants from the survey to obtain further qualitative perspectives. Conclusion: No differences regarding opinions between men and women can be observed. Cat and dog owners have different views though, where dog owners are more positive to the qualities the Cura pharmacy will be able to offer. Therefore, the Cura pharmacy should focus their marketing mostly on ICA Maxi’s dog owners. The company should bring forward the knowledge of their pharmacists, their wide range of products, beneficial customer offers and extended availability, all through loyalty creating activities.

The profession of architecture is passing through challenging times. Technological progress and a rapidly changing society have brought confusion into the profession regarding the self-image of architects and the image of architects from the viewpoint of clients and the public. This has a concomitant echo within the images communicated by the built environment; buildings do not always perform the importance of human benefits among the economical, technological or expressionistic advantages.Throughout history, the image of architects reflected the position of the profession in a particular time and place. Architects carried with them the tags of genius, God creators, heroes, etc. The more recent history of architecture has brought changes in the practice and services that architecture offers. Differentiation of the building and design aspects of practice was the result of the growing complexity of the building market. The new aspects of the practice have been followed by a corresponding confusion regarding the images of the profession.Architects in North America today are experiencing the declining power of the profession; the public cannot clearly recognize the role of architecture and its extensible possibilities within society; and clients are less blindly trustful of the genius of the architect and are more specific in defining their goals. In addition, the marketable image cf a building has grown in demand, further prompted by signature architecture popularity on the one side and the profit oriented building market on the other. This diminishes human benefits - such as contextual, environmental and functional demands, to a name few - that architecture, as a social practice, should provide.The hypothesis proposed by this paper is that the declining power and shaken authority of the architectural profession produce the possibility of a manipulation by those who perceive buildings as a market product which in turn significantly threatens human values and the quality of life.In order to better understand the problems that are facing the profession the author conducted a one-year, full-time internship employment in a New York City based architecture & interior design firm, observing in particular the architect-client relationship and the design process itself. This paper analyzes present conditions in architectural practice concerning issues such as the images which society and the profession itself hold of architecture, how these images influence the physical environment that architects are creating, especially the relationships that are making possible the misinterpretations of these images.The most important issues that this research reveals relate to perceptions about the role of the architects in the building process and in the society. perceptions which consequently frame the possibilities of architectural practice. The everyday professional practice of architecture is influenced by a variety of factors and participants, which together tend t,-; limit architects to a singular and specific position, thus rendering them vulnerable to control the building process and the final product. / Department of Architecture