No description available.

The engineering consulting industry in South Africa witnessed an overwhelming growth before the 2010 Fifa World Cup. The country had a lot of infrastructural development that needed the services of consulting engineers. A lot of people saw the challenge as a business opportunity and started their own consulting engineering companies. The demand for consulting engineering services was high before the 2010 Fifa World Cup; this changed after the completion of projects that were due for the world cup and some had to close or retrench staff due to scarcity of projects. The completion of 2010 Fifa World Cup projects is not the only challenge faced by the engineering consulting sector; government policies such tendering and procurement procedures that do not acknowledge performance, lack of funding etc. It is therefore important that companies look for better ways of gaining competitiveness in order to get more projects. These companies must not only rely on government projects but do marketing on the private sector as well. The purpose of the research is to assess and develop a marketing strategy for Company X Consulting engineers. A literature study on most successful marketing strategies employed by other service oriented companies was conducted. The literature study also comprised of the perception of marketing amongst consulting engineering companies. From the literature study mentioned above; questionnaires were drawn towards the development of a marketing strategy for Company X consulting engineers. The findings of the questionnaires were analysed and recommendation were made for the development of a marketing strategy for Company X.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / Relationship marketing is still in its infancy as a mainstream marketing concept, although it has established itself as an underlying paradigm in modern services marketing. Its importance is recognised to a growing extent with a call for organisations to move from a short-term transactional approach to a long-term relationship one (Kotler, 1992; Grönroos, 1994). From the interviews, it is clear that the directors support the findings in respect of the literature review that service marketing should be centred on the key concept that quality should form an integrated component of every step of the development and delivery of a service bundle and should be based on long-term customer relationship development. From the literature review, and with specific reference to the seven P’s marketing mix and relationship marketing approach, it can be delineated that service marketing practices are the combination of service-bundle development, pricing, process, promotion, place, people, physical evidence and the management of the relationship with the customer through the various relationship marketing practices. This conceptual framework will enable the Firm to categorise its marketing objectives and also to provide a clear description of how the marketing objectives identified will be achieved within a stated timeframe. Therefore, quality within the conceptual framework of marketing is measured through the perception of the customer primarily during two occurrences. The first is during any contact session between the customer and service provider or with one or more of the service provider’s employees and the second is when the service bundle is utilised. In the first instance referred to above, customer contact sessions provide the service provider with the opportunity to engage the customer by way of an interactive process in a social context, thus enhancing social bonds through relationship marketing. It has been accepted in the marketing industry that the relationship component is firmly underpinned by mutual trust. Where a service provider maintains strong trust relations with their customers, the relationships involved generally culminate both in the retention of the customer and in long-term profitability. The second determinant of service-bundle quality (product quality) requires from the service provider the skill and ability not only to develop a service bundle that meets the quality expectation of the customer, but which further extends to the ability of the service provider to ensure the recruitment of employees with the appropriate interpersonal skills, aptitude and service knowledge and to provide them with continuous training, leadership, coaching, development programmes and communication to ensure that they retain the skills and expertise to develop a professional service-bundle offering that meets the customers’ expectations. Consumers make judgements and deliver perceptions of the service provided based on that which is provided by those employees with whom they interact. Consequently, employees drive service value which, in turn, drives customer satisfaction and loyalty, resulting in increased revenue and profit (Hanna & Newman, 2007). It is, therefore, submitted that relationship marketing and quality control in development of the various service bundles by the professional service provider are essential if the Firm wants to obtain a form of competitive advantage over its competitors.

by Lee Mei-yee, May, Yeung Hung-yiu. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Bibliography: leaves 240-247. / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF ILLUSTRATION --- p.vi / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.viii / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter II. --- LAWS ON PROMOTION --- p.4 / Hong Kong Laws --- p.4 / History of Rule 2 --- p.4 / Solicitors' Publicity Code --- p.8 / Practice of the Bar Association --- p.11 / International Laws --- p.13 / Media of Advertisement --- p.15 / Claims to Specialization --- p.17 / Claims to Expertise --- p.19 / Comparison with Other Firms --- p.19 / Names of Clients --- p.19 / Statistics --- p.20 / Fee Advertising --- p.20 / Sponsorship of Sporting or Cultural Events --- p.20 / Publication of Firm Name in Seminars --- p.21 / General --- p.21 / Chapter III. --- PROMOTIONAL ASPECTS --- p.23 / Experience in Hong Kong --- p.23 / Experience in United Kingdom --- p.24 / Experience in United States --- p.27 / Experience in Other Professions --- p.31 / Consumer Attitudes towards Lawyer Promotion --- p.34 / Chapter IV. --- MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES --- p.37 / Institutional Marketing --- p.37 / Individual Firm Marketing --- p.39 / Identification of Service Products --- p.40 / Relevant Forms of Promotion --- p.45 / Public Relations --- p.46 / Advertising --- p.47 / Pricing --- p.50 / "Market Definition, Segmentation and Strategies" --- p.50 / Chapter V. --- OPINION SURVEY OF SOLICITORS AND THE PUBLIC --- p.52 / Research Method - Survey of Solicitors --- p.53 / Questionnaire Survey --- p.56 / Discussion of Results --- p.58 / Research Method - Survey of a Segment of the Public --- p.74 / Questionnaire Survey --- p.75 / Discussion of Results --- p.75 / Chapter VI. --- CONCLUSION --- p.82 / APPENDICES / Chapter 1. --- Solicitors Publicity Code 1990 issued the Law Society of Hong Kong --- p.85 / Chapter 2. --- Questionnaire Survey of the Law Society of Hong Kong --- p.96 / Chapter 3. --- Ruling 3 of the Professional Conduct Handbook of the Law Society of Alberta --- p.109 / Chapter 4. --- Part C of the Professional Conduct Handbook of the Law Society of British Columbia --- p.115 / Chapter 5. --- Rule 12 of the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Law Society of Upper Canada --- p.123 / Chapter 6. --- Solicitors Practice Rules 1988 and Solicitors Publicity Code of the Law Society of England and Wales --- p.128 / Chapter 7. --- Chapter 4 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Barristers & Solicitors of the New Zealand Law Society --- p.138 / Chapter 8. --- Solicitors (Scotland) (Advertising) Practice Rules 1987 --- p.142 / Chapter 9. --- Rule 7 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct issued by the American Bar Association --- p.145 / Chapter 10. --- Solicitors' (Professional Conduct and Practice) Rules of the Law Institute of Victoria --- p.149 / Chapter 11. --- Draft Solicitors' Practice Rules and Draft Publicity Code 1990 of the Law Society of England and Wales --- p.151 / Chapter 12. --- Solicitors' (Scotland) Practice Rules 1985 --- p.162 / Chapter 13. --- "Brochure of Messrs. Johnson Stokes & Master, Solicitors" --- p.169 / Chapter 14. --- "Brochure of Messrs. Deacons, Solicitors" --- p.190 / Chapter 15. --- Information pamphlet regarding Institutional Advertising issued by the Law Society of New South Wales --- p.209 / Chapter 16. --- Samples of Law Advertising in England and United States --- p.217 / Chapter 17. --- Sample of Questionnaire Survey for Solicitors --- p.230 / Chapter 18. --- Sample of Questionnaire Survey of Public Opinions --- p.237 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.240

Prior research has studied extensively technology mediation in services. Yet, much of this work focuses on the consumer (or customer) viewpoint and there is a scarcity of research that focuses on the service provider perspective. By extension, there is little empirical work on how service providers experience and interpret technology use that is discretionary in nature (i.e., not imposed at an organisational/firm level). This study focuses on the context of healthcare and aims to unpack healthcare service providers discretionary use of mobile applications (apps). The aim of this thesis is to gain new insights on the discretionary use of technology in professional services by investigating its multifaceted nature. In doing so, I bring together the theoretical constructs of legitimacy, institutional work, and institutional logics of neo-institutional theory, role theory, as well as theories of professional identity construction to study healthcare service providers experiences. The emergent findings are structured upon three chapters (articles) and develop specific research questions that address the overarching aims and objectives of the thesis. In essence, this research highlights three core aspects of discretionary technology use; (a) how it is experienced by service providers in regards to the logics and rules of a given institutional context (macro level), (b) how it is approached by service providers based on changes in their roles in the organisation (meso level), and (c) how it is interpreted by service providers in relation to their professional identity (micro level).

<p><strong> </strong><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><em>Aim:</em> Despite the domestic and international importance of services the research about the internationalization of services it is limited. Compared to products, services differ in nature. They are intangible and heterogeneous, meaning they are usually consumed at the point of purchase and are performed, as well as perceived differently. When a service provider wants to market its offerings in culturally distant country, the local country's culture is an important factor during the process of adaptation/standardization of the service. What is acceptable in one country might not be acceptable in another. Thus, this study aims to identify how adaptation/standardization of a service in a foreign country takes place, how the problems of intangibility and heterogeneity are handled.</p><p><em> </em></p><p><em>Method: </em>This study presents the single case of the Swedish medical systems company Elekta and its efforts to market its Gamma Knife Technology, a neurosurgical method, to Brazil. It is based on secondary data, in form of topic related books, scientific articles and internet sources, only. For gathering primary data, an exploratory research design was chosen to conduct a qualitative research. Structured interviews were chosen to acquire data since they are particularly helpful when dealing with complex issues. The interviews were sent in form of email questionnaires to a contact person at Elekta's head quarter in Sweden, as well as the Swedish/Brazilian co-operation. However, both interviewees did not respond contrary to prior agreements.</p><p><em> </em></p><p><em>Result & conclusion:</em> The analysis of the findings revealed that, according to Hofstede's  Five Cultural Dimensions both countries differ greatly in culture. Whilst some service characteristics are likely to be fully or mainly standardized, others will have to be adapted in order to fit the local culture. The service itself, as well as the service's process, its people involved and its physical evidence offer great potential for standardization, whereas pricing and promotion tend to be affected strongly by income and language and thus, is likely to require adaptation. Clearly, the local culture plays an important role during the process of adaptation/standardization. Cultural adaption can make service offering more tangible by reducing the gap of misunderstanding. Service providers should standardise service offerings, ideas, values and beliefs connected to the quality of a service and adapt factors related to the market. Standardisation and adaptation can both be implemented successfully in the market. A balanced combination makes services more homogenous and tangible.</p><p><em>Suggestion for further research: </em>There is limited research available concerning the internationalization of services, with special regards to the process of adaptation /standardization. This study is based only on a single case, without primary research. Further research in Trust and Networking is required to complete the model. Furthermore, lacking primary sources from both companies, further research regarding of how both companies are providing services are required.</p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Contribution of the thesis:</em> This work seeks to make a contribution towards a clearer understanding of international services marketing and the process of adaptation/standardization of services. It emphasizes on the importance of culture during the process of adaptation/standardization with regards to the intangibility and heterogeneity of services. It is based on previous research conduct by Hyder & Fregidou-Malama (2007) focusing on the adaptation/standardization of Elekta's services in Egypt.</p><p><em>Key words:</em> International services marketing, service, adaptation, standardization, culture, intangibility and heterogeneity</p><p> </p>

ABSTRACT   Aim: Despite the domestic and international importance of services the research about the internationalization of services it is limited. Compared to products, services differ in nature. They are intangible and heterogeneous, meaning they are usually consumed at the point of purchase and are performed, as well as perceived differently. When a service provider wants to market its offerings in culturally distant country, the local country's culture is an important factor during the process of adaptation/standardization of the service. What is acceptable in one country might not be acceptable in another. Thus, this study aims to identify how adaptation/standardization of a service in a foreign country takes place, how the problems of intangibility and heterogeneity are handled.   Method: This study presents the single case of the Swedish medical systems company Elekta and its efforts to market its Gamma Knife Technology, a neurosurgical method, to Brazil. It is based on secondary data, in form of topic related books, scientific articles and internet sources, only. For gathering primary data, an exploratory research design was chosen to conduct a qualitative research. Structured interviews were chosen to acquire data since they are particularly helpful when dealing with complex issues. The interviews were sent in form of email questionnaires to a contact person at Elekta's head quarter in Sweden, as well as the Swedish/Brazilian co-operation. However, both interviewees did not respond contrary to prior agreements.   Result &amp; conclusion: The analysis of the findings revealed that, according to Hofstede's  Five Cultural Dimensions both countries differ greatly in culture. Whilst some service characteristics are likely to be fully or mainly standardized, others will have to be adapted in order to fit the local culture. The service itself, as well as the service's process, its people involved and its physical evidence offer great potential for standardization, whereas pricing and promotion tend to be affected strongly by income and language and thus, is likely to require adaptation. Clearly, the local culture plays an important role during the process of adaptation/standardization. Cultural adaption can make service offering more tangible by reducing the gap of misunderstanding. Service providers should standardise service offerings, ideas, values and beliefs connected to the quality of a service and adapt factors related to the market. Standardisation and adaptation can both be implemented successfully in the market. A balanced combination makes services more homogenous and tangible. Suggestion for further research: There is limited research available concerning the internationalization of services, with special regards to the process of adaptation /standardization. This study is based only on a single case, without primary research. Further research in Trust and Networking is required to complete the model. Furthermore, lacking primary sources from both companies, further research regarding of how both companies are providing services are required. Contribution of the thesis: This work seeks to make a contribution towards a clearer understanding of international services marketing and the process of adaptation/standardization of services. It emphasizes on the importance of culture during the process of adaptation/standardization with regards to the intangibility and heterogeneity of services. It is based on previous research conduct by Hyder &amp; Fregidou-Malama (2007) focusing on the adaptation/standardization of Elekta's services in Egypt. Key words: International services marketing, service, adaptation, standardization, culture, intangibility and heterogeneity

Aim: The aim of this research is to explore how the process variables adaptation/standardization, trust and networks are utilized when handling the service characteristics heterogeneity and intangibility when services are introduced in new culture, in this case in Hong Kong. Method: The method chosen for the study was case study and primary qualitative data collection was made through semi-structured interviews with seven key persons at Elekta. Result and Conclusions: Results from this work indicate that networks, trust and adaptation/standardization are important variables for handling heterogeneity and intangibility in survives. It also shows that adaptation and standardization needs to be carefully balanced to achieve the optimum effect. The study show that the process model do have a basis for use in identifying how the adaptation/standardization, trust and networks might be utilized to reach a successful balance during service entry in a new culture, partly through the use of Hofstede’s 5 cultural dimensions together with time as a new variable. Suggestions for future research: For future research service introductions in other cultures need to be studied, both by Elekta as well as other service companies outside the MedTech Area. As a further expansion and for future generalization of the model, reversed studies should also be made where foreign companies entry into Sweden is studied. The possibilities of integrating culture closer into the process model also need to be explored as well as the inclusion of the time dimension in the relationship process. Contribution of the thesis: The thesis contributes to academic research in that it expands on the current state of theory and integrates Hofstede’s 5 cultural dimensions closer to existing models as well as including the time variable of relationship development. On a managerial perspective it provides the basis for a tool to show how, in practice, managers might act when introducing their business in a new culture. Finally it has a social dimension in that further research into a narrow field, increases the overall understanding of intercultural mechanisms.

Title: Trust development: a marketing strategy in the Internationalization of Healthcare Services.The case of Elekta in Spain Level: Master Thesis in Business Administration Author: Sara Arrese and Wang Liao Supervisor: Maria Fregidou-Malama Examiner: Akmal Hyder Date: 2014-10-02 Aim: The aim of this research is to examine how trust developing affects International Healthcare Services marketing while settling down into a new country. Our study is applied to Elekta in Spain. Method: In order to carry out this research, qualitative data is used, a single case study is applied, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were carried out to collect the needed primary data. Result and Conclusions: In the case of Elekta Spain, the trust development between suppliers and customer took place during the entire relationship. In addition, the trust level at company level and individual level were found to be the most significant leaving aside the country level as there were different opinions between customers (which did not find it a deciding factor) and Elekta. Hence, for the marketing strategy, standardization and adaptations can improve trust development. Suggestions for future research: Generalization cannot be made after this research as a single case study in one country has been the subject for investigation. Consequently, future research of other service industries and countries could expand this study. Contribution of the thesis: This thesis offers a new theoretical framework of trust development in the Spanish Healthcare Industry. This framework not only can be adapted to further study of other countries, but also can be adapted to further study of other service industries.

Abstract Title: Services Marketing in a Cross-Cultural Environment: Elekta in Germany Level: Master Thesis in Business Administration Author: Katrina Dietrich &amp; Giorgos Angelakis Supervisor: Maria Fregidou-Malama Examiner: Akmal Hyder Date: 2014-January   Aim: This study aims to examine how culture, trust, network and standardization/adaption are applied within the Service Marketing of Elekta in Germany and if they overcome the characteristics of Services within a culturally different environment.   Method: The research uses qualitative data, applies a single case study, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to collect primary data.   Result &amp; Conclusions: The applied model shows that Elekta uses a balance between adaptation and standardization as well as applies trust and network under awareness and use of the German culture. These factors are used in combination and are influencing each other in order to create a homogeneous and tangible service.   Suggestions for future research: The case study indicates that one company is subject of the study in one country, hence generalization cannot be achieved. Therefore future research of other countries and other service industries can extend this research.   Contribution of the thesis: This research stresses the importance of culture, adaptation/ standardisation and trust and networks in cross-cultural services marketing of Elekta. It shows how heterogeneity and intangibility are influenced by the variable trust, network, adaptation/ standardization and culture.