This explanatory study investigated the possible causal relationship between congruent background music and consumer behavior. We studied empirically whether sales of tex-mex products was affected when congruent music was played in conjunction to the tex-mex section of a Swedish grocery store. A field experiment was conducted where stereotypical Mexican music was played in conjunction to the tex-mex section. Previous experiments have tested, and confirmed, the notion that music stereotypically related to a country can prime related knowledge and the selection of certain products if the products fit with that knowledge. Earlier research has also been able to support the notion that consumers tend to spend more money and time in store when congruent music is played. Mexican, Pop, and no music was played during three weekends and sales data on tex-mex products was gathered and analyzed. The results indicate that fewer consumers purchased tex-mex products when Mexican music was played, but those who did spent more money and/or purchased a slightly larger number of tex-mex products. However, the small differences between the music conditions were not statistically significant. The potential reasons for this is discussed in the analysis and lastly, implications for future research as well as managerial implications are discussed.

Syfte och forskningsfråga: Vi ställer oss frågan hur festivalarrangörer kan stödja kundens upplevda värde genom utformningen av servicelandskapet. Fortsatt är syftet med denna uppsats följande: Att klargöra servicelandskapets betydelse för kundens festivalupplevelse Att tydliggöra kundens värdeskapande medverkan i festivalsammanhang   Metod: I denna uppsats har vi valt att göra en kvalitativ studie som är av en abduktiv karaktär. Studien avser musikfestivalbranschen som är en del av musikindustrin. Den empiriska studien bygger på åtta intervjuer med personer som har eller haft en stark anknytning till den svenska festivalbranschen varav sex stycken genomfördes ansikte mot ansikte, en via telefon och slutligen en via mail.   Slutsatser: Servicelandskapets miljömässiga utformning påverkar den enskilde besökaren via dess sinnen, vilket arrangörer har möjlighet att utnyttja till kundens fördel. Andra aktörer som vakter, volontärer, artister samt andra besökare påverkar kundens upplevelse genom interaktioner i festivalområdet. Festivalarrangören bidrar med arenan för upplevelsen samt verktyg för kundens värdeskapande. Kunden förverkligar individuellt värde av upplevelsen då den är närvarande och interagerar med inslag i servicelandskapet. / In this study the purpose has been to examine how organizers of music festivals can support the customer's perceived value through the design of the servicescape. Further, the purpose of this paper is as follows: To clarify the importance of the servicescape for the customer's festival experience. To clarify the customer's value-participation in the festival context. This study covers the festival industry which is a part of the music business, where we have chosen to do a qualitative study that is of an abductive nature. The empirical study is based on eight interviews with people who are or has been involved in the Swedish music festival industry, six of whom were made face to face, one by phone and one by e-mail. The conclusions from this study are that the servicescape’s environmental design affects the individual visitor through its senses, which organizers are able to use for the customers advantage. Other stakeholders as guards, volunteers, artist and other visitors affect the customer experience through interactions in the festival area. Finally, the festival organizers provide the platform where the experience takes place and tools for customer value creation. The customer creates individual value of the experience when it is present and interacts with elements in the servicescape.

No description available.

Vanligtvis har de flesta vuxna svenskar någon typ av relation till en bank. De svenska storbankerna erbjuder alla likartade tjänster och produkter. Ett av bankernas stora konkurrensmedel är räntorna, dock är det inte stora skillnader mellan räntenivåerna. Detta leder till en svårighet för bankerna att differentiera sig. En större förståelse av kunder och hur banklokalerna påverkar dem, kan vara en väg för bankerna att differentiera sig. / Almost every adult in Sweden have some kind of relationship to a bank. The Swedish banks provide similar goods and services with an interest rate that usually doesn’t differ from the competitors. Therefore it is difficult for banks to differentiate themselves under these circumstances.

Contemporary quality issues in product design are moving from materialistic to emotional user fulfillment; comprehensive research is needed to examine quality product feelings. This research is directed toward a deeper understanding of user and customer quality feelings for different product types, including services. The quality feelings concept includes dimensions of product quality, especially functionality, ergonomics and aesthetics. The first objective of this thesis is to identify, prioritize and synthesize quality feelings into product attributes in product development applications. The second objective is to explore, test and propose methodological approaches for designing quality feelings into products. Several methods from psychology, ergonomics, statistics and probabilistic methods and heuristics were applied to achieve the objectives. From a methodological viewpoint, Likert scales, free elicitation technique and Just About Right scales were applied for data collection. Multiple Regression, Factor Analysis, Correspondence Analysis, Genetic algorithms, Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Rough Sets (RS) were applied for data analyses. For ergonomic product evaluations, direct observations, 3D workload simulations, time and frequency analyses were conducted. Five product applications are included in this thesis: operator driver cabin design of reach trucks, steering wheel design trigger switch design in right-angled nutrunners, bed-making systemsproducts and waiting room environments. Heuristic methods were found effective when there is a high number of product attributes that interact to provide quality feelings. RS results are consistent with PLS attribute predictions. When the number of product attributes is large in comparison to the number of observations, PLS extracts informative results for quality feelings. The RS method is effective in identifying interactions among design attributes. Quality feelings are associated with both tangible (tactile characteristics) and intangible (quick and easy to use) product characteristics. Words such as safety, functionality, ergonomics, comfort, reliability, supportiveness, usability, feedback, pleasantness, attractiveness, durability and distinctiveness describe quality feelings from tangible products and services. Based on product type, the quality dimensions represented by these words possess different interactions and dependencies. In work environments, products act as prostheses between workers for social interaction, which need to be considered as important quality feelings dimensions. / QC 20111017

Syfte och forskningsfrågor Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur resebyråer som har fysisk butik kan utveckla kundens medverkan för att stärka sin verksamhet. För att klargöra syftet har vi tagit fram följande forskningsfrågor:   Vilken roll har kunden utifrån resebyråernas perspektiv? Hur kan resebyråer utveckla sina digitala plattformar för ökad kundmedverkan? Vilka fördelar erbjuder den fysiska resebyrån för kunderna, som de digitala tjänsterna inte kan?   Metod Studien har utgått ifrån en kvalitativ forskningsmetod där vi har varit deduktiva i början av arbetet, därefter utgick vi ifrån en mer induktiv ansats. De teoretiska referensramarna är framtagna utifrån det insamlade empiriska materialet vilket vi fick in genom intervjuer.   Slutsats Digitaliseringen har medfört att fler bokar på egen hand via de digitala plattformarna och inte i butikerna idag. Detta har lett till att flertalet resebyråer har blivit tvungna att stänga ner hela, eller delar av sin verksamhet. Vi har dragit slutsatsen att det fortfarande finns en efterfrågan på det fysiska mötet mellan kund och säljare. Resebyråer använder sig därför av olika metoder för att locka till sig fler kunder till de fysiska butikerna för att stärka sin verksamhet. Genom en högre kundmedverkan i det fysiska servicelandskapet samt de digitala kanalerna, så kan de traditionella butikerna stärkas i kundernas medvetande, förhöjd upplevd kvalitet samt återkommande kunder.   Nyckelord Kundmedverkan, Digitalisering, Servicelandskap, Produktivitet, Upplevelse / Purpose and research questions The aim of this thesis is to examine how travel agencies with physical stores can develop the customer´s involvement to strengthen their business. We have developed following research question in order to clarify our purpose:   What role does the customer have from the travel agencies perspective? How can travel agencies develop their digital platforms to increase customer involvement? What benefits does the physical travel agencies offer to the customers that the digital services can not?   Method The study has been based on a qualitative research method where we had a deductive approach in the beginning thereafter we used a more inductive method. The theoretical reference frames are based on the collected empirical data which we received through interviews.   Conclusion The digitalization has led to more online booking through the digital platforms. As a result most physical travel agencies has shut down, but we can draw the conclusion that there still is a demand for physical meeting between the customer and the salestaff. Travel agencies use different methods to attract more customers to their physical stores in order to strengthen their business. We can conclude that, through a more active involvement in the stores and on digital platforms will lead to higher awareness perceived quality and recurring customers.   Keywords Customer involvement, Digitalization, Servicescape, Productivity, Experience

abstract: Many communities that once relied on the extractive industries have since turned to tourism to find another source of income. These communities are primarily old mining towns. Since these towns have started to reinvent themselves, they have become important places of study. Previous literature has found specific factors that are common in tourist shopping villages. Currently, there is not much research that has explored the affect the streetscape and servicescape have on visitor experiences. Existing research focuses on urban shopping settings such as shopping malls. This study interviewed employees and surveyed visitors in two suburban tourist shopping villages in Arizona. More specifically, it is aimed to explore how the streetscapes and servicescapes in tourist shopping villages influence visitors' overall experience, intent to return to the village, and their purchasing behavior. This study adds to the current literature on tourist shopping villages and the streetscapes and servicescapes as there is a limited amount of information available. To date, the majority of scholarly information available describes the factors of tourist shopping villages and does not attempt to identify their importance for tourists. This study may serve as a stepping platform for future research. The findings of this study offer important implications for destination marketing organizations, different stakeholders of tourism, and the policy makers. This study primarily focuses on the tourists' view of tourist shopping villages, and can offer insight into how to increase visitor spending. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Community Resources and Development 2013

"Handelsbanken är en av nordens största banker med ett gott rykte och nöjda kunder, vilket studien även visat. Bankens märkesvärde grundar sig på en decentraliserad organisation, där varje kontor ansvarar för kunderna i sitt eget närområde och arbetar aktivt för att ha så nöjda kunder som möjligt. Eftersom varje kund tillhör ett visst kontor skapas ofta en relation till personalen på det kontoret och en känsla av tillhörighet uppnås. Många kunder upplever mindre och mindre av denna relation efter att många bankärenden utförs på internet. Kunder som använder internettjänsten för sina ärenden får fördelen med större kontroll och frihet över sin ekonomi, men för Handelsbankens del innebär det att de förlorar relationen med sina kunder. Istället för att med god service och professionell personal fånga kundens lojalitet till banken, upplever kunderna samma grad av service på internettjänsten som på vilken webbsida som helst. Handelsbankens märkesvärde som den trevliga och serviceinriktade banken håller på att gå förlorat. För att lösa detta problem måste Handelsbanken förmedla samma känsla av service och kundcentrering på webben som de idag enbart förmedlar på kontoren. Det är dags för Handelsbanken att nå ut till sina internetkunder och erbjuda det decentraliserade internetbankkontoret. En bra internettjänst är enligt studien en banks viktigaste konkurrensmedel. Samtidigt uppfattar bankkunderna just Handelsbankens internettjänst som sämst av samtliga studerade banker. Det är hög tid för Handelsbanken att förnya sig och med hjälp av teorier om servicescape, cyberscape, e-service och branding, visar denna uppsats ett sätt för Handelsbanken att framhäva sina främsta styrkor och erbjuda en internettjänst som lever upp till internetkundernas krav och behov."

The idea of this thesis is to achieve deeper understanding of how gender is materialised in the retail environments of brands challenging the traditional division between male and female especially in their marketing and style direction. Furthermore, the research aims to give deeper understanding on how the gendered shop environments are understood by a sample of Millennial consumers and how the consumers reflect on gender in these settings. Using varying data collection methods from in-store observations to go-along interviews with participants chosen with purposive sampling technique, the thesis uses qualitative method as a research tool and further analyses the data upon framework of servicescape theory. Using constructivist grounded theory as main analysis method, the findings suggest that there are significant differences between merchandising womenswear and menswear assortments. The research also indicates that among Millennial consumers there is clear interest and market potential towards the assortment of opposite gender, and the consumers also recognise the gendered differences in the materialised retail environments.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera hur livsmedelsföretag hanterar sin marknadsföring samt undersöka vilken påverkan som sker på kundernas köpbeteende under en pandemi. Vidare vill undersöka vilka som tar beslut om åtgärder och förändringar under en pandemi. Studien kommer att bidra till att uppfylla ett enligt oss outforskat område inom marknadsföring kring hur livsmedelsföretag agerar på beslut från myndigheter vid en pandemi.   Forskningsfrågor:  -       Hur anpassar livsmedelsbutiker marknadsföringen vid en pandemi?  -       Hur påverkar en pandemi kundernas köpbeteende? -       Vilka beslutfattare styr livsmedelsbutikernas agerande vid en pandemi? / The purpose of this research is to study how grocery stores handle their marketing and to investigate the impact on customers buying behavior during a pandemic. Furthermore, we want to investigate who decides on actions and changes during a pandemic. The study will help to fulfill an unexplored area of marketing in our view of how grocery stores act on government decisions in a pandemic.   Research questions:  -       How do grocery stores adapt their marketing to a pandemic? -       How does a pandemic affect customer buying behavior? -       Which decision-makers control the behavior of grocery stores in the event of a pandemic?