Customer behavior has always been of interest for business researchers. However, it is just in recent years that there has been an increasing interest in the phenomenon of the sharing economy. It has been suggested that there is an ongoing shift in the traditional way of consuming. The idea behind the sharing economy is that two different parties can make use of their underused assets through an online platform. Previous quantitative research in the area of interest mainly focuses on the motivational factors for participation in the sharing economy; four of the most prominent factors were therefore identified and further investigated. In this thesis, these factors are referred to as drivers and more specifically, the drivers of enjoyment, sustainability, convenience, and financial benefits. Further, previous research gives an indication of a discrepancy between customer attitudes and actions when making a decision in the sharing economy. With this in mind, the purpose of this thesis is to describe customer behavior in the sharing economy. More specifically, this thesis seeks to study the relationship between attitudes and actions of customers in the sharing economy. Taking this into account, the following research question was formulated:   What is the relationship between attitudes and actions of the customers participating in the sharing economy of Rentl AB?   In order to fulfill the purpose of this thesis, the Swedish sharing economy business Rentl was addressed. To answer the research question a quantitative research strategy was followed where a survey was sent out to randomly chosen customers of Rentl and 145 responses were collected. The collected data was statistically analyzed by the use of Paired T-tests and Regression Analyses. Further, the empirical findings regarding the four identified drivers were analyzed in accordance with the theoretical framework. The identified attitude-action gap is therefore analyzed by the application of basic customer decision-making, the theory of Bounded Rationality, the Theory of Reasoned Action & the Theory of Planned Behavior, and finally the Self-Determination Theory.   The authors established that there is a positive relationship between attitudes and actions regarding the extrinsic drivers, convenience and financial benefits. However, it was further established that the intrinsic drivers, enjoyment and sustainability, do not have a significant influence on the actual actions. In other words, a positive attitude toward enjoyment and sustainability as drivers for participation in the sharing economy does not necessarily translate into actions. Thus, the authors identified that there is an attitude-action gap in the sharing economy.     In addition to the theoretical contributions, this research further contributes with practical aspects. More importantly, the sharing business Rentl is provided with a better understanding for the customer behavior in their business. Considering that the findings of this research identify convenience and financial benefits as significant drivers for participation, this can be emphasized in marketing contexts by managers.

Concept "value-action gap" is most often mentioned in frame of behavioral studies of individial approach to ecological issues. Its meaning lies in description of a gap that opens between values claimed by respondents and their consequent actions (people act in accordance with values which are different than those pro-environmental values that they originally signed up to). There also is a concept of "knowing-doing gap" which stems from a different context and describes different situations. Its authors demonstrate how many corporations/firms/organizations employ disfunctional/ineffective management practices and ways of work organization - and all that in a situation when responsible employees and managers know about better practices. Furthermore, those employees are being continually educated about those more effective practices; corporation/firm also has plans of implementation of those done by hired consultants and all those plans would have had better results, should they be implemented. But despite this knowledge and good experiences of other organizations - managers keep on working using old inefective means. In this text I examined whether it is possible to identify a combination of those two concepts/phenomena in a frame of discourse related to expert knowledge about a state of natural...

This thesis analyses how elite athletes travel to/from sport events and which barriers prevent them from engaging in a more sustainable travel behaviour. For this purpose, unstructured interviews with elite athletes were conducted to gain an in-depth understanding about travel experiences and decision-making from elite athletes’ perspective. The sport of biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting, was used as a case study. The analysis revealed that biathletes engage in frequent and extensive travelling, and that their most-used modes of transportation are road and air transportation. Travel arrangements were found to be usually taken care of by national federations and not by biathletes themselves. Moreover, the analysis demonstrated that while biathletes generally seem to be concerned about the environment, their environmental concern does not seem to translate into pro-environmental travel behaviour, which can be explained by the fact that sustainable transportation represents a high-cost situation. Furthermore, some barriers were found to prevent elite athletes from travelling more sustainably. The barriers are related to individuality (other priorities – performance), responsibility (not athletes’ responsibility) and practicality (national regulations regarding rifle transport in public transportation (PT)). However, many barriers were found to lie on a continuum between individuality and practicality. The most important of these barriers include travel time, equipment, exposure to other people or inconvenient PT system. Based on the findings, it was recommended to optimize schedules, which was found to be to be overall highly appreciated by biathletes. Some other recommendations include, for example, reservation of train compartments and/or special buses for biathletes and teams, communal equipment transportation between competition venues, vehicle provision at venues, or clear and updated information about regulations regarding rifle transport. These and other recommendations are believed to help biathletes to overcome some of their barriers and, thereby, encourage a more sustainable travel behaviour. Thereby, it is hoped that the knowledge gained in this thesis can help sport organizations and athletes to reduce the emissions from travelling to/from sport events. / <p>2024-01-19</p>

Climate change creates an urgency for action to be taken at government, corporate and individual level. Changing behaviours is a necessity to meet the global temperature goal of 2 °C increase, and companies have a significant role to play in this transformation. To change these behaviours, a change needs to happen in both attitudes and actions. Climate change education is one of many important methods to perform this transition. This study therefore aims to explore employee's perception of their ability to engage in their company's climate strategy and which development possibilities there are to increase their engagement. This is studied by looking at the effects of the game-based workshop, Climate Fresk, implemented in the Swedish sector of the global technical company Schneider Electric. Prior to collecting data, a pre research was conducted where background knowledge about Climate Fresk and Schneider was attained through observations of workshops and focus groups as well as an interview with the head of sustainability at Schneider. Data collection was thereafter made through 11 semi-constructed interviews with employees who had previously participated in Climate Fresk. The data given was processed through a thematic analysis to present three themes with eight sub themes, representing the results. These three themes visualizes employees' feelings, understandings and takeaways, as well as their perceived behavioural changes, attitude changes, hindrances and development suggestions for both Climate Fresk and involvement in Schneider’s climate strategy. The results show that employees have more understanding for climate change, feel more strengthened and more able to engage in Schneiders climate strategy after having participated in Climate Fresk. This is expressed both individually, but also collectively and with the support from role models and the positive climate change culture in Schneider. Still, some employees express credibility issues with Schneider due to high carbon-emitting activities. To make it easier for employees to engage in Schneiders climate strategy, development suggestions are made. Concretization of Schneiders goals for both employees and clients, a Schneider specific follow-up workshop and action accelerator programs both for collective climate change groups and individual aspiring climate role models within the company. / För att hindra klimatförändringarna behövs åtgärder tas på statlig, företagsmässig och individuell nivå. Omfattande beteendeförändringar är nödvändiga för att möta det globala målet på 2 °C, och företag har en stor roll att spela i den transformationen. För att förändra beteenden behöver tankar och attityder omformas, samt aktioner tas. Klimatrelaterad utbildning är en av de viktiga metoder som behövs för att genomföra transformationen. Denna studie syftar därför till att utforska anställdas uppfattning om möjligheterna att engagera sig i sitt företags klimatstrategi och vilka utvecklingsförslag som kan öka engagemanget. Detta studeras genom att se på effekterna av den spel-baserade workshopen, Climate Fresk, implementerad i den svenska sektorn av det globala, tekniska företaget Schneider Electric. Före datainsamling genomfördes en förundersökning om Climate Fresk och Schneider genom observation av en workshop, diskussion med en fokusgrupp av facilatorer samt en intervju med hållbarhetschefen på Schneider. Data insamlades därefter genom 11 semistrukturerade intervjuer med anställda som tidigare deltagit i Climate Fresk. Datan bearbetades genom en tematisk analys för att presentera tre teman och åtta underteman som representerar resultaten. Dessa tre teman innehåller uppfattningar kring medarbetarnas känslor, förståelser, beteendeförändringar, attitydförändringar, hinder och utvecklingsförslag för både Climate Fresk och Schneiders klimatstrategi.Resultaten visar att medarbetarna har större förståelse för klimatförändringar, känner sig mer stärkta och har större möjlighet att engagera sig i Schneiders klimatstrategi efter att ha deltagit i Climate Fresk. Detta kommer till uttryck både individuellt, men också kollektivt och med stöd av förebilder och den positiva hållbarhetsskulturen på Schneider. Fortfarande uttrycker vissa anställda trovärdighetsproblem med Schneider på grund av verksamheter med höga växthusgasutsläpp. För att göra det lättare för de anställda att engagera sig i Schneiders klimatstrategi ges flera utvecklingsförslag. Dessa är t.ex. konkretisering av Schneiders mål för både anställda och kunder, en Schneider-specifik uppföljande workshop och tillhandahållande av program både för kollektiva klimatförändringsgrupper och enskilda aspirerande klimatförebilder inom företaget.

Den här studien undersöker vad som påverkar beslutsfattandet för svenska högskolestudenter ur Generation Z när de gör inköp av kläder, samt vilka konsekvenser det leder till gällande konsumtionen av second hand och fast fashion. Studien undersöker även hur miljömedvetenhet påverkar dessa beslut. Studien är baserad på en enkätundersökning, där frågorna är baserade på teorierna Theory of Planned Behaviour och the Value-Action gap. Med hjälp av enkäten undersöks attityder till olika val samt hur deltagarna agerar. Studien utgår även från tillgänglig litteratur, bestående av vetenskapliga källor och rapporter. Resultaten visar att miljömedvetenhet har en stor inverkan på hur konsumenter agerar, samt att pris, tillgänglighet, kvalitet, storleksutbud och hållbarhet är avgörande när konsumenten fattar sina beslut. En jämförelse mot hållbarhetsmål 12 ur FN:s Agenda 2030, som anses aktuellt för studien, visar på att svenska högskolestudenter ur Generation Z konsumerar förhållandevis hållbart och ligger relativt bra i linje med de uppsatta målen. Resultaten visar även att den generella inställningen till fast fashion är negativ, och inställningen till second hand generellt är positiv. Detta ser lovande ut inför framtiden, och resultaten tyder även på att större medvetenhet kring miljöfrågor leder till mer hållbara val och konsumtionsmönster. / This study examines factors influencing decision-making among Swedish university students from Generation Z when purchasing clothing, as well as the consequences this has on the consumption of second hand and fast fashion. The study also explores how environmental awareness affects these decisions. The study is based on a survey, in which the questions are based on Theory of Planned Behaviour and Value-Action Gap. The survey explores attitudes towards different choices and how participants act. The study also draws from available literature, consisting of scientific sources and reports. The results show that environmental awareness has a significant impact on consumer behaviour, and that price, availability, quality, size range, and sustainability are crucial when consumers make their decisions. The results were compared with several sub-goals of Sustainable Development Goal 12 from the UN's Agenda 2030, which are considered relevant to the study. The results also indicate that the general attitude towards fast fashion is negative, and the attitude towards second hand is generally positive. This looks promising for the future, and the results also suggest that greater awareness of environmental issues leads to more sustainable choices and consumption patterns.