In Quality Management and Total Quality Management (TQM) customer focus and customer value creation is of importance and in organisations it is of high priority. Quality Management has had an internal focus when it comes to customer value creation but in the 21st century there is a need for an outward orientation and to go beyond the organisational borders. Also an increasing interest in social, societal and environmental issues can be seen, for instance by customers, organisations, quality awards and within the quality area. An area that considers these issues is the societal entrepreneurial sector.   The purpose of this thesis has been to contribute to the knowledge and understanding about customer value creation from a system view. Additionally the purpose has been to contribute to the development of Quality Management. In order to fulfil the purpose, case studies have been performed. Cases within the societal entrepreneurial area have been studied and seven studies have been performed. Data have been collected through interviews, direct observations, participating observations and documents. All data have been collected empirically except in one study where a literature case study was used. The data were analysed through tools such as process mapping, attribute value mapping and rich picture process maps combined with analytical methods for case study research. The research journey started out from TQM and an internal perspective on customer value creation. As the studies went on, the system borders became wider as other areas important to customer value creation were identified: the customer value creating system went from an internal perspective to include an external perspective.    The findings contribute to earlier research findings and give a comprehensive and simplified picture of a complex phenomenon and an opportunity to understand customer value creation from a system view. This thesis provides an overall map of the customer value creating system. Additionally it contributes to the development of Quality Management by expanding the view on customer value creation to include both an internal and an external oriented perspective. It also contributes by suggesting a fifth step in the quality management movement ´System Quality Management´ that considers social, societal and environmental factors through continuous improvement before, during and after value creation for customers. Further it contributes with a developed view on customers and the concept of customer value creation.   The overall map provided includes three areas. Growth and development of societal entrepreneurial initiatives. The result shows important components for the creation of societal value based on the growth and development of societal entrepreneurial initiatives. Included are the processes, input and output important for societal value creation from unidentified needs until societal value can be delivered, management process and support process fields.  Customer value creation in the customer sphere.  Customer value has been found to be created beyond the use or purchase of a product or service. Value has also been found to be created for those that are not in direct contact with an initiative or its product or service. Customer value has been found to spread into society like ripples in a complex system of value creation. And Value Ripple Logic has been developed to describe this phenomenon. Management role in customer value creation. The management’s role in value creation has been found to be of importance in the creation of customer value in an indirect way through interaction with the surroundings and the initiative.  Factors and behaviours have been found which are connected to the leaders and their essential management processes along with their input and output.   The findings presented in this thesis have considerable potential for development. Further studies need to be done within the area concerning how customer value is created and to achieve an even more comprehensive picture of the customer value creating system and the suggested fifth step. The results presented in this thesis are a contribution to the knowledge and understanding about customer value creation from a system view and the development of the Quality Management. / <p>Vid tidpunkten för disputationen var följande delarbeten opublicerade: delarbete 6 accepterat för publicering och delarbete 7 inskickat.</p><p>At the time of the doctoral defence the following papers were unpublished: paper 6 accepted for publication and  paper 7 submitted.</p>

The French composers Tristan Murail (b.1947) and Gerard Grisey (1946-98) are the two chief originators of “Spectral Music”, an approach to composition that developed in France from the mid-1970s, and which is characterised by the ‘spectrum’, a conception and codification of sound as a collection of individual, related partials, realised by orchestral synthesis. While the composers’ exploitation of the physical characteristics of sound, based on technological analysis, is well documented, Murail has drawn analogies throughout his mature work with other phenomena, including those associated with electroacoustic means of sound treatment and production, morphologies found in the earth’s surface (both land and water) and recently developed scientific paradigms (chaos theory and fractal geometry). In Murail’s most recent works, the complex properties of sound samples are used as compositional models. The application of these analogies is diverse, ranging from the use of relatively simple algorithms to the formation of elaborate structures that possess a highly evocative and metaphorical mode of communication. The use of inharmonic sounds, or “noise”, in particular, evokes nature and places the work in a particular relationship with the world. The thesis investigates the appropriation of phenomena by analogy through analysis of key compositions. While research focuses on Murail, the work will be contextualised alongside that of Grisey, and within Spectral Music in general, in order to gain a greater critical understanding of the music

Since the early days of corporate societal marketing, managers and researchers alike have considered perceived marketer motives as a key factor in eliciting positive consumer response. However, little is known as to how the perception of marketer motives is formed. This dissertation research looks into a number of factors that may influence the process of perceived marketer motives formation. In particular, the roles of corporate societal marketing type, cognitive capacity, ad skepticism, and cause-involvement are examined. In addition, the underlying structure of perceived marketer motives is also explored. The results showed that the effect of corporate societal marketing type on perceived marketer motives was not significant. Cognitive capacity did have a significant effect that subjects with unconstrained cognitive capacity perceived higher community-oriented motives than those with constrained cognitive capacity. The effect of ad skepticism was equivocal. Ad skepticism had a significant effect on perceived marketer motives in Study 1, but not in Study 2. The key methodological difference between the two studies is that ad skepticism was measured along with other constructs in Study 1 whereas it was measured two weeks prior to the lab experiment in Study 2. Cause-involvement had no significant effect on perceived marketer motives, although it did affect the subsequent consumer response. As for the structure of perceived marketer motives, data from both studies suggest that there are three dimensions: community-oriented motives, company-oriented motives, and manipulative motives. These three dimensions appeared to be independent from one another; each of them had unique effects on subsequent consumer response. Most notably, company-oriented motives had no significant effect on company evaluation, attitude toward the company, or purchase intent. As expected, community-oriented motives had positive effects on all three indicators of consumer response whereas manipulative motives had negative effects. Limitations in the current investigation are discussed and suggestions for future research are proposed. / text

The aim of this study is to assess the extent to which the Saudi Arabia National Dialogue and activities of King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue (KACND) represent a viable attempt to address socio-political issues; whether the ongoing National Dialogue process accurately reflects the aspirations and concerns of contemporary Saudi society; what its impact on socio-political development may be; and how it relates to wider regime strategies and to the evolution of the Saudi polity. The thesis examines KACND’s institutions, practices and impacts, as well as Saudis’ perceptions of all these. It does so by embedding the analysis in a survey of the evolution of broader Saudi socio-political dynamics; drawing in particular on Gramsci, it asks whether the system is moving from a form of patrimonial state to one of ideological hegemony, and whether the KACND is a catalyst in this transition or may even be part of the apparatus that is driving this transition, including its indirect or unintended effects. To that end, the thesis examines the mutual relationship between KACND and the key Saudi social constituencies, with their attendant issues. In particular, it explores the extent to which the KACND’s activities directly and indirectly impact on internal cross-constituency communication and discourse in the Kingdom. The thesis explores the legitimisation of state-society dialogue in Saudi Arabia, focusing on the direct and indirect consequences of the National Dialogue process with reference to the role and activities of KACND. It examines the expanding activities of KACND, including the evolving range of issues discussed as part of the institution’s activities, and the scope of participants. It highlights the shift from ideology-based National Dialogue Meetings such as on national unity and women’s rights, to service-based National Dialogues such as on employment and health. It also examines the newly established Cultural Discourse and assesses the impact of this initiative as a space for ideological debate. The study is based on extensive fieldwork in Saudi Arabia from 2009 to 2011, referencing information and official documentation not previously available, and drawing on findings from a wide range of focus groups, interviews, and participant observation with National Dialogue participants, KACND officials, government ministers, lawyers, journalists, scholars and members of minority constituencies

This study investigates women’s possibilities to actively participate in societal change in Egypt. It aims at enhancing the understanding of structural conditions for women’s agency and how these enables and/or restrains women’s participation in the aspiration for societal change as well as their aspiration to live a ‘full life’. Egypt was chosen as a field for studying women’s understanding of their opportunities of participation and empowerment before and during the revolution. The informants in the study are all consciously working for awareness and equality in society. Formal education in Egypt is criticized and the country suffers from a high illiteracy rate, making informal education an important way to attain knowledge that can assist women in their quest for societal change. The acknowledgment of participation as a human right is one of the issues women are fighting for in Egypt today. A specific interest in this study is what motivates some women to oppose social, cultural and political structures despite the often high personal cost, and how informal (educational) channels are being used in the quest for societal change. The theoretical construction in which the analysis is carried out is based on frictions between societal structures and agency, using the Capability Approach (Sen, 1999) which aims at understanding what agency women have in societal change. The concept of functionings is used to indicate what someone is able to do and be. By analyzing women’s valued functionings, their conditions and thus their sense of empowerment and their experienced opportunity costs emerge. Central to the analytically framed societal structures and how agency can be perceived within each structure are the social conversion factors, the norms that allow or hinder action. To frame the complexity of women’s conditions for active agency and the outcome of their actions, I use a theoretical framework that will comprise both goals and processes. Sen’s (1999) ideas on social choice along with Archer’s (1995) theory on social change, using her model of structural elaboration / reproduction, have proved useful when investigating women’s valued functionings and attained social changes. The results of the study show that when formal education is not adequate, knowledge is obtained outside the formal educational institutions. This is done through both non-formal and informal learning. However, to get access to informal learning, a number of valued functions have to be gained. These functionings are thus both conditions for change and an end in themselves. I try to show that the costs involved in transgressing the prevailing norms are high, but lack of hope, agency and empowerment are also experienced as a high cost for those who have, in fact, imagined another better life and are in opposition to the inhibitory societal structures. This is, however, a part of what motivates some women to continue to be involved in societal change in order to achieve a life they have reason to value.

Le vieillissement de la main-d’œuvre en France comme au Québec constitue un enjeu majeur tant pour les entreprises que pour les pouvoirs publics. Face à la perspective d’une éventuelle pénurie de main-d’œuvre et d’un déséquilibre dans le fonctionnement des finances publiques, les gouvernements des deux pays ainsi que les entreprises semblent avoir pris conscience de la nécessité de remplacer les pratiques de stigmatisation et d’exclusion des salariés vieillissants par des pratiques de rétention de ces derniers, afin de les garder le plus longtemps possible en emploi. Devant ce changement de paradigme, il convient de s’interroger sur les acteurs et les actions qui influencent la création et l’assimilation des pratiques de maintien en emploi des salariés vieillissants dans les entreprises. En s’appuyant sur la théorie de la régulation sociale et sur l’analyse sociétale, la recherche utilise la méthode de l’étude de cas multiple dans le but d’examiner et de comprendre les régulations qui se jouent entre les acteurs dans différents niveaux (sociétal, de l’entreprise et local). L’analyse des enjeux des acteurs, de leurs contextes et de leurs perceptions à chaque niveau et la comparaison internationale tenant compte des cohérences sociétales ont permis le développement de deux modèles explicatifs du processus d’émergence et de la construction des pratiques de maintien en emploi des salariés vieillissants en France et au Québec. Au terme de cette étude, nous concluons que les pratiques de rétention de la main-d’œuvre vieillissante dans une organisation sont le produit d’interactions ayant lieu entre différents acteurs agissant dans des espaces de régulation distincts. / The ageing of the workforce is a major stake both for employers and public authorities in France as in Quebec. Facing the perspective of a possible shortage in the workforce and an instability in the public finances functioning, the governments of both countries as well as the companies have become aware of the necessity of replacing the practices of stigmatization and exclusion of the aged employees by practices of retention to keep them in employment as long as possible. This change of paradigm makes us wonder about the actors and the actions that influence the creation and the assimilation of the practices of retention in employment of the ageing employees in companies. Based on the theory of social regulation and on a societal analysis, this research uses multiple case study method with the aim of examining and understanding the regulations which take place between actors in three levels (societal, company and local). The analysis of actors’ stakes, contexts and perceptions at every level and the international comparison taking into account societal coherences, allowed the development of two explanatory models of the process of emergence and construction of ageing employees’ retention in employment practices in France and in Quebec. At the end of this study, we conclude that retention practices of the ageing workforce in an organization are the product of interactions taking place between various actors acting in different spaces of regulation.

Background: Women partaking in businesses as entrepreneurs is a field getting increased attention in Palestine. Women’s underutilized economic potential along with entrepreneurial activity as a key driver behind economic progress, make the field of women entrepreneurship in Palestine a matter of importance. The agricultural sector is one of the larger for Palestinian women employment, which is why it might attract aspiring entrepreneurs. With investments from Palestinian authorities as well as NGOs, directed towards developing Palestinian women entrepreneurship, one could argue that the opportunities for women to become entrepreneurs exist. But what is the opinion of the women entrepreneurs themselves regarding existing possibilities and obstacles?Purpose of the study: To examine the process for women entrepreneurs of establishing and running micro companies in the agricultural sector on the West Bank in order to highlight the possibilities and obstacles that they experience.Methodological framework: The study had a qualitative approach in which we conducted semi-structured interviewes with eleven women entrepreneurs, active in agriculture.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that women enter entrepreneurship out of necessity as well as reasons more connected to self fulfilment and grasping at possibly profitable business opportunities. Previous experience in agriculture affected both the willingness to start a business and proved helpful for the entrepreneurial success. Notable challenges were found in marketing, legal matters and the physically tiring work. Most of our respondents did not concentrate on developing the support activities connected to their businesses, directing more of their attention towards primary activities. Our respondents also made use of networks, spanning from private connections to professional contacts.

Thesis advisor: William Stanwood / This analysis examined the effects of reality television on its audiences. The purpose of the research was twofold: to uncover the effects that reality television has upon its audiences, and to determine whether or not these effects indicate that reality TV acts as an agent of societal change. The genre was divided into two distinct programming types: documentary as diversion and lifestyle programs. The findings suggested that reality TV has many audience effects. Discussion centered around the investigation of the second research question. It was concluded that lifestyle programs are agents of societal change, while documentary as diversion programs are not. Limitations and suggestions for further research were put forth. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Communication Honors Program. / Discipline: Communication.

In this discussion paper, we outline and reflect on some of the key challenges that influence the development and uptake of more inclusive and responsible forms of research and innovation. Taking these challenges together, we invoke Collingridge's famous dilemma of social control of technology to introduce a complementary dilemma that of "societal alignment" in the governance of science, technology and innovation. Considerations of social alignment are scattered and overlooked among some communities in the field of science, technology and innovation policy. By starting to unpack this dilemma, we outline an agenda for further consideration of social alignment in the study of responsible research and innovation.

Submitted by Ana Paula Lisboa Monteiro (monteiro@univates.br) on 2009-05-11T13:19:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 AntonioCarbonari.pdf: 2106221 bytes, checksum: 4dcd62051e2bffd685d033fd8945dc2c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2009-05-11T13:19:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AntonioCarbonari.pdf: 2106221 bytes, checksum: 4dcd62051e2bffd685d033fd8945dc2c (MD5) / Neste período, em que se tem observado profundas e significativas transformações organizacionais ocorridas em concomitância com as questões e problemas ambientais de âmbito global, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo em um primeiro momento, aprofundar através de um estudo exploratório de caráter bibliográfico o histórico, a evolução e os principais conceitos sobre desenvolvimento sustentável, juntamente com uma abordagem das motivações e criticas da adoção desta questão filosófica e sua permeabilidade nas organizações como assunto estratégico, outro fator foi às relações praticas de responsabilidade que as organizações destinam a sociedade, caracterizando alguns problemas potenciais e sua estrutura referente ao meio ambiente. O referencial teórico ainda tratou do tema marketing analisando suas formas, abordagens evolutivas, conceitos, tendências em relação ao mercado passando pelas suas aplicações societal, social e finalmente ambiental. Em um segundo momento o que ofereceu encaminhamento a esta pesquisa foi à realização de um estudo qualitativo por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas com empresários e gestores tomadores de decisões estratégicas e de questões ambientais em suas organizações. Sendo que dezesseis companhias, dos mais diversos setores da economia do norte gaúcho, participaram da busca pela identificação e análise do conhecimento que as mesmas possuem sobre o desenvolvimento sustentável e o marketing com ênfase ambiental, bem como o posicionamento assumido por elas no mercado e comunidade que estão inseridos observando a utilização das questões do estudo e suas conexões práticas. Espera-se com este trabalho explicitar o caráter estratégico do marketing ambiental perante o desenvolvimento sustentável e ampliar a reflexão sobre a possibilidade de se aplicar esta ferramenta como fator de ganho sócio-ambiental.