Cette thèse explore la perception par les consommateurs de services offerts par des firmes organisées en réseau. De nos jours, les clients sont confrontés de plus en plus à des situations de service complexes bien différentes des situations simples analysées traditionnellement par le marketing et le management des services (un seul service délivré par une entreprise bien identifiée et choisie par le client). Les entreprises de services ont évolué vers des offres de plus en plus complexes et riches (« fleurs de services », « bouquets » ou « constellations ») dans lesquelles le client se voit proposer des offres intégrant plusieurs prestataires, parfois mal identifiables. Le choix du client gagne en simplicité mais perd en liberté et l'on sait peu de choses sur les conséquences que cela peut avoir sur son comportement ultérieur. L'hypothèse centrale est qu'à la suite d'une expérience de ce type de service, le client opère une synthèse en termes de valeur perçue du réseau, et que cela détermine largement son comportement ultérieur. Une enquête par questionnaire menée dans le contexte des alliances aériennes, confirme que cette hypothèse peut être acceptée. Les alliances globales formées par les compagnies aériennes constituent un terrain d'observation privilégié car les services sont offerts aux clients à la fois par des compagnies de transport indépendantes et par une organisation commune assurant la coopération et la coordination nécessaires. Le modèle d'équations structurelles estimé par PLS-SEM identifie en outre les déterminants de la valeur perçue d'une alliance dans le cadre de transports aériens de longue durée et permet de hiérarchiser leurs impacts respectifs. / This research explores the services offered by networked firms and the way in which they are perceived by the customers. Nowadays customers are facing more and more often complex service situations which drastically differ from the simple situations traditionally analysed by service marketing and management studies (a single service delivered by a well identified single firm deliberately chosen by the consumer). Service firms now propose more and more complex and enriched offerings (service "flowers", "bunches" or "constellations") grouping several providers, but among them some are hardly identifiable by the customer. Consumers' decision is made simpler but a part of their liberty of choice has been lost. Little is known about the consequences this can have on their future behaviour.The main hypothesis is that after experiencing a service delivered by networked firms, the consumers synthesize all their perceptions in terms of the perceived value of the network; furthermore, this assessment will largely determine their behavioural intentions. A quantitative survey shows that such a hypothesis can be accepted. This survey was conducted in the field of airline industry, aiming at multi-lateral airline alliances. This context is particularly appropriate to our subject because during such a travel, services are delivered to passengers by independent airline companies as well as by the common organisation in charge of the co-ordination and co-operation. The structural equations model tested using the PLS-SEM method also identifies the determinants of perceived value of an alliance in the specific context of long haul flights and their respective weights and contributions.

<p> </p><p><strong>The airline industry and Sustainable Value</strong>The airline industry are, by many, considered to be an industry with a high level of environmental impact, in other words an environmental destroyer. Although some argue that it still does only produces a small part of the world’s total emissions it is still an industry under high pressure from regulatory institutions and customers.</p><p>Sustainable value is a rather new concept and allows the user measure a company’s social and/or environmental performance in monetary terms, which is the main difference from many financial calculation models. The ADVANCE sustainable value method is based on theories of opportunity costs and can give indications in terms of efficiency in comparison to a chosen benchmark.<strong>Purpose </strong>With the use of this method we are interested in finding out if an airline can create a <em>sustainable value</em> even though they are performing an activity that, for some, is seen as destroying the environment? The sustainable value method prime users would be stakeholders such as investors and as many companies in the airline industry are non-public companies, we also aim to discuss a wider range of usage for this method such as for the management internal decision process.</p><p><strong>Method</strong>We have chosen three major Swedish airlines to base our calculations on by using a nonprobability selection. We have excluded companies that are not registered in Sweden, does not provide actual passenger transport, are so called “virtual airline” and/or have not any publicly available information. A virtual airline, in this context, refers to an airline that does not own or lease any own aircrafts and instead are buying passenger chairs from another airline, called codesharing. We will benchmark our calculations towards the Swedish GDP and the Swedish Transport sector.</p><p><strong>Theoretical framework</strong>The management’s task is to, among other things, implement measures for the management accountants to use in their work. Corporate Sustainable Responsibility’s (CSR) general idea is to act responsible towards the most important questions for their stakeholders such as investors, government etc. CSR has led to that more sustainability information to stakeholders is produced, the type of information that we are using in our calculations.<strong>Our findings</strong>By the use of the ADVANCE method we can see that in fact airlines, despite the high preasure can create a positive Sustainable Value while comparing to the transport sector. We also argue the method can be used by the management as a complement to their other financial measures as it gives other efficiency indications than traditional methods.</p><p> </p> / <p><strong>Flygbranschen och hållbart värde</strong>Flygbranschen är, av många, ansed vara en industri med hög miljöpåverkan. Även om vissa hävdar att det fortfarande bara bidrar till en liten del av världens totala utsläpp, är det fortfarande en bransch under högt tryck från lagstiftande institutioner och kunder. Hållbart värde är ett tämligen nytt begrepp och tillåter att användaren att mäta ett företags sociala och / eller miljöprestanda i monetära termer, vilken är den största skillnaden från många ekonomiska beräkningsmodeller. ADVANCE Sustainable Value metoden är baserad på teorier om alternativa kostnader och kan ge indikationer i fråga om effektivitet i jämförelse med en vald riktmärke. <strong>Syfte</strong>Med hjälp av denna metod är vi intresserade av att veta om ett flygbolag kan skapa ett hållbart värde trots att de utför en verksamhet som, för vissa, ses som förstör miljön. Metodens främsta användarna är intressenter som investerare. Då många svenska företag i flygbranschen är icke-offentliga bolag, strävar vi också att diskutera en bredare användning för denna metod som för förvaltningen interna beslutsprocessen. <strong>Metod</strong>Vi har valt tre stora svenska flygbolag att basera våra beräkningar på genom att använda en icke sannolikhets urval. Vi har uteslutit företag som inte är registrerade i Sverige, inte ge nuvarande persontransporter, är så kallade "virtuella flygbolag" och / eller inte har någon allmänt tillgänglig information. Ett virtuellt flygbolag, i detta sammanhang hänvisar till ett flygbolag som inte äger eller leasar några egna flygplan och istället köper passagerare stolar från ett annat bolag, kallat code sharing. Vi kommer att jämföra våra beräkningar till den svenska BNP och den svenska transportsektorn. <strong>Teoretiskt ramverk</strong>Ledningens uppgift är att bland annat genomföra åtgärder för förvaltningen revisorer att använda i sitt arbete. Corporate Social Responsobilitys (CSR) allmänna tanken är att agera ansvariga gentemot de viktigaste frågorna för deras intressenter såsom investerare, regeringen osv. CSR har lett till att mer hållbarhets information  produceras, vilken är den typ av information som vi använder i vår beräkningar. <strong>Vårat resultat</strong>Genom användning av metoden kan vi se att det faktiskt finns ett flygbolag som trots det höga trycket kan skapa ett positivt hållbart värde när vi jämför mot transportsektorn. Vi hävdar också att metoden kan användas av ledningen som ett komplement till sina andra ekonomiska verktyg eftersom det ger andra effektivitet indikationer än traditionella metoder.</p>

<p>The objective of the dissertation was to study the cabin environment, and identify personal and environmental risk factors, associated with symptoms, and perception of cabin air quality. Another objective was to study if ban of smoking, and increased relative air humidity on intercontinental flights, could have a beneficial health effect. The studies were performed among Scandinavian cabin crew in one Airline Company. Office workers from the same company served as controls. Exposure differed between cruise and non-cruise conditions. Air humidity was very low during intercontinental flights (3-8%). Concentration of moulds, bacteria, formaldehyde, and ozone was low. Tobacco smoking increased respirable particles in the cabin air, from 3 to 49 mg/m3, and increased cotinine in urine. The ETS-exposure was highest in the aft part of the cabin. Symptoms and environmental complaints were more common among flight crew than office workers. We could identify personal factors of importance, and certain conditions that could be improved, to achieve a better cabin environment. There was an association between symptoms and environmental perceptions and work stress, lack of influence on working condition, and a history of atopy. After ban on smoking in aircraft, there was a decrease of ocular and general symptoms, and increased tear-film stability in aircrew. Air humidification reduced headache and ocular, nasal, and dermal dryness symptoms, increased tear-film stability, and increased nasal patency. Our result indicates that ETS and low air humidity are important environmental factors in aircraft, and that atopy, and work stress could be significant risk factors for symptoms and environmental perceptions.</p>

The objective of the dissertation was to study the cabin environment, and identify personal and environmental risk factors, associated with symptoms, and perception of cabin air quality. Another objective was to study if ban of smoking, and increased relative air humidity on intercontinental flights, could have a beneficial health effect. The studies were performed among Scandinavian cabin crew in one Airline Company. Office workers from the same company served as controls. Exposure differed between cruise and non-cruise conditions. Air humidity was very low during intercontinental flights (3-8%). Concentration of moulds, bacteria, formaldehyde, and ozone was low. Tobacco smoking increased respirable particles in the cabin air, from 3 to 49 mg/m3, and increased cotinine in urine. The ETS-exposure was highest in the aft part of the cabin. Symptoms and environmental complaints were more common among flight crew than office workers. We could identify personal factors of importance, and certain conditions that could be improved, to achieve a better cabin environment. There was an association between symptoms and environmental perceptions and work stress, lack of influence on working condition, and a history of atopy. After ban on smoking in aircraft, there was a decrease of ocular and general symptoms, and increased tear-film stability in aircrew. Air humidification reduced headache and ocular, nasal, and dermal dryness symptoms, increased tear-film stability, and increased nasal patency. Our result indicates that ETS and low air humidity are important environmental factors in aircraft, and that atopy, and work stress could be significant risk factors for symptoms and environmental perceptions.

The airline industry and Sustainable ValueThe airline industry are, by many, considered to be an industry with a high level of environmental impact, in other words an environmental destroyer. Although some argue that it still does only produces a small part of the world’s total emissions it is still an industry under high pressure from regulatory institutions and customers. Sustainable value is a rather new concept and allows the user measure a company’s social and/or environmental performance in monetary terms, which is the main difference from many financial calculation models. The ADVANCE sustainable value method is based on theories of opportunity costs and can give indications in terms of efficiency in comparison to a chosen benchmark.Purpose With the use of this method we are interested in finding out if an airline can create a sustainable value even though they are performing an activity that, for some, is seen as destroying the environment? The sustainable value method prime users would be stakeholders such as investors and as many companies in the airline industry are non-public companies, we also aim to discuss a wider range of usage for this method such as for the management internal decision process. MethodWe have chosen three major Swedish airlines to base our calculations on by using a nonprobability selection. We have excluded companies that are not registered in Sweden, does not provide actual passenger transport, are so called “virtual airline” and/or have not any publicly available information. A virtual airline, in this context, refers to an airline that does not own or lease any own aircrafts and instead are buying passenger chairs from another airline, called codesharing. We will benchmark our calculations towards the Swedish GDP and the Swedish Transport sector. Theoretical frameworkThe management’s task is to, among other things, implement measures for the management accountants to use in their work. Corporate Sustainable Responsibility’s (CSR) general idea is to act responsible towards the most important questions for their stakeholders such as investors, government etc. CSR has led to that more sustainability information to stakeholders is produced, the type of information that we are using in our calculations.Our findingsBy the use of the ADVANCE method we can see that in fact airlines, despite the high preasure can create a positive Sustainable Value while comparing to the transport sector. We also argue the method can be used by the management as a complement to their other financial measures as it gives other efficiency indications than traditional methods. / Flygbranschen och hållbart värdeFlygbranschen är, av många, ansed vara en industri med hög miljöpåverkan. Även om vissa hävdar att det fortfarande bara bidrar till en liten del av världens totala utsläpp, är det fortfarande en bransch under högt tryck från lagstiftande institutioner och kunder. Hållbart värde är ett tämligen nytt begrepp och tillåter att användaren att mäta ett företags sociala och / eller miljöprestanda i monetära termer, vilken är den största skillnaden från många ekonomiska beräkningsmodeller. ADVANCE Sustainable Value metoden är baserad på teorier om alternativa kostnader och kan ge indikationer i fråga om effektivitet i jämförelse med en vald riktmärke. SyfteMed hjälp av denna metod är vi intresserade av att veta om ett flygbolag kan skapa ett hållbart värde trots att de utför en verksamhet som, för vissa, ses som förstör miljön. Metodens främsta användarna är intressenter som investerare. Då många svenska företag i flygbranschen är icke-offentliga bolag, strävar vi också att diskutera en bredare användning för denna metod som för förvaltningen interna beslutsprocessen. MetodVi har valt tre stora svenska flygbolag att basera våra beräkningar på genom att använda en icke sannolikhets urval. Vi har uteslutit företag som inte är registrerade i Sverige, inte ge nuvarande persontransporter, är så kallade "virtuella flygbolag" och / eller inte har någon allmänt tillgänglig information. Ett virtuellt flygbolag, i detta sammanhang hänvisar till ett flygbolag som inte äger eller leasar några egna flygplan och istället köper passagerare stolar från ett annat bolag, kallat code sharing. Vi kommer att jämföra våra beräkningar till den svenska BNP och den svenska transportsektorn. Teoretiskt ramverkLedningens uppgift är att bland annat genomföra åtgärder för förvaltningen revisorer att använda i sitt arbete. Corporate Social Responsobilitys (CSR) allmänna tanken är att agera ansvariga gentemot de viktigaste frågorna för deras intressenter såsom investerare, regeringen osv. CSR har lett till att mer hållbarhets information  produceras, vilken är den typ av information som vi använder i vår beräkningar. Vårat resultatGenom användning av metoden kan vi se att det faktiskt finns ett flygbolag som trots det höga trycket kan skapa ett positivt hållbart värde när vi jämför mot transportsektorn. Vi hävdar också att metoden kan användas av ledningen som ett komplement till sina andra ekonomiska verktyg eftersom det ger andra effektivitet indikationer än traditionella metoder.

This dissertation investigates the relationship of competition and firms' price responses, by analyzing: i) whether new entry reduces price discrimination, ii) when incumbents reduce price discrimination preemptively in response to the threat of entry, and iii) how competition increases prices. The dissertation consists of three independent essays addressing each of the above questions. The first two essays present an empirical analysis of the airline industry and the third essay presents a theoretical analysis of the credit card industry. In the empirical study of the relationship between competition and firms' pricing in the airline industry, I emphasize the importance of distinguishing the equilibrium behaviors with respect to different market characteristics. Major airlines can price discriminate differently in a market where they compete with low-cost carriers comparing to in another market where they don't, and also they can respond dfferently to the threat of entry depending on whether they are certain about the rival's future entry. The study reveals that competition has a positive effect on price discrimination in the routes where major airlines compete against one anther. In these routes, competition reduces lower-end prices to a greater extent than upper-end prices. In contrast, an entry by low-cost carriers results in a significant negative relationship between competition and price discrimination. Thus, the opposite results in the literature are both evident in the airline industry, and it is very important to identify the different forces of competition on price discrimination. Firms can respond to potential competition as well as actual competition. So, I extend the study to the relationship of potential competition and price discrimination, specially in cases where major airlines compete against one another while facing Southwest's threat of entry. I also attempt to suggest major airlines' motives of reducing price discrimination preemptively. The results of the study suggest that incumbents reduce price dispersion when it is possible to deter the rival's entry and that the potential rival discourages incumbents from deterring entry by announcing before its beginning service. Finally, I examine when competition can increase prices in a market, by analyzing the issuing side of the credit card industry. This industry is characterized by a two-sided market with a platform. Under the no-surcharge rule that restricts merchants to set the same price for cash and card purchases, the equilibrium interchange fee increases with competition. This occurs because issuers can compensate losses from competing on the issuing side by collectively increasing the interchange fee. As a result, limiting competition may improve social welfare when the interchange fee is higher than the social optimal level. In contrast, in the absence of the no-surcharge rule, the analysis shows that competition always improves social welfare by lowering the price of the market.

民用航空器貿易之「AB大戰」，係指歐盟空中巴士公司（Airbus）與美國波音公司（Boeing）為了爭取訂單，聯合其母國政府，對民用航空器採購商之政府施加壓力，因而引發的貿易爭端，這也正是WTO民用航空器貿易協定（Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft ）制定之背景。 我國自二○○二年二月一日正式簽署上述協定，自應遵守該協定第4條禁止使用不合理壓力與誘因影響購機決定之規定。不料同年華航中程客機之採購，卻引發歐盟指控有違前述規定。事件最後在華航宣佈同時向波音、空中巴士購機後落幕，但也顯見AB大戰並未因民用航空器貿易協定之出爐而停息。 由於民用航空器產業目前最大者即為歐美之A、B兩大生產廠商，一旦一造在爭取訂單時，採取了違反民用航空器貿易協定第4條之手段，且得以因控方難以舉証其之違反而免於任何後果，則根據賽局理論，另一造必也會採取相仿之謀略。 根據上述的發現，華航未來的購機，難免會再度陷入腹背受脅、受誘的困境，不過由於舉證責任之困難，美、歐應不致對我國訴諸爭端解決，愈發突顯民用航空器貿易協定第4條規範功能之有限。 / Airbus and Boeing have long been in trade conflict, also known as the “AB War”, under which both companies unite their respective governments to exert pressure on the governments of countries which procure civil aircraft, all for the purpose of securing contracts. It is also the background behind the adapt of the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft. Taiwan became official signatory of the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft on Feb.1, 2002. As a signatory, Taiwan should obey the rules of Article 4 which forbids using unreasonable pressure and inducement to affect decisions on aircraft procurement. However, the procurement of aircraft by China Airlines at the same year was accused by the EU of violating the rule discussed above. The dispute ended finally after China Airlines announced that it would procure aircraft from both of these companies. It also reveals that this war has not been finished even with the existence of the agreement. Airbus and Boeing are the biggest manufacturers in world’s civil aircraft industry. If one of them adopts measures violating Article 4 of the agreement, and is relieved from any consequences because the plaintiff cannot prove the disobedience, the rival side would undoubtedly, at the time, according to the game theory, the take the same strategy. According to the discovery above, in the future the China Airlines will unavoidably fall into same dilemma of being threatened and induced by the manufacturers. However, It is believed that U.S and EU would not easily seek settlement of controversies considering the difficulty in producing proof. It also discloses that the function of Article 4 is obviously limited.

Airlines have endured a prolonged period of intense competition with the advent of deregulation in 1978. Market innovations and price-cutting dramatically expanded the number of travelers utilizing the national air transportation network. Bankruptcies and mergers reduced the number of contestants in the industry and eventually produced four national carriers controlling 80-85 percent of the passengers and routes. This new market power of the dominant airlines is resulting in industry changes designed to reduce operational uncertainty but is also having detrimental effects on many airports, particularly the smallest airports. This study employs qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the viability of the nation’s smallest primary commercial service airports. Three journal articles are fused in examining different aspects of the viability question. In Article 1, a longitudinal comparative analysis presents historic growth patterns for various sized airports during deregulation and reveals a distinctly lower growth rate for nonhub airports than their larger rivals. Even with a burgeoning market for travelers, growth for nonhub airports was anemic and the industry experienced massive passenger migration to the 60 largest airports. Article 2 addresses the topic of consumer switching, expands on extant literature with qualitative analyses, and proposes a theoretic, conceptual framework of four primary types of traveler purchasers. Each traveler type has its own distinct switching rationale and creates leakage patterns contoured to the features of their preferred airport. Building on the migration and switching findings of the first two articles, Article 3 explores converging market conditions and factors that are threatening future airline service for dozens of the smallest airports. By extracting findings from contemporary research, a comparative analysis of airports identifies 33 airports that face the highest risk of losing air service. The explanatory model places the airports in rank order by weighting various threat criteria. Qualitative interviews of air service professionals offer insider observations generally not known to the public, confirm observations found in existing research and verify that market forces are acting to reduce the number of airports in the network. The key contribution of the three articles of the thesis is its description of how key actors (firms, customers, agencies) interact and respond to policy decisions that have unintended consequences to small airports and their regional economies. There are predictable patterns in the relational linkages of these actors that contribute to our understanding of how a particular industry evolves under various pressures and how it interacts with factors outside the industry. The preponderance of the evidence from this study reveals that current market trends are generally caustic to the continued operation of small airports. Industry experts are reticent in acknowledging that the next phase of deregulation is underway with the consolidation of the nation’s nonhub airports.

Power imbalances and gender-based violence (GBV) have increasingly been cited as important determinants putting women at risk of HIV infections. Studies have shown that globally one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. The study explored working women’s perceptions of power, gender-based violence and HIV-infection risks. A qualitative, explorative study was conducted among female employees in an airline business in Namibia. Five women participated in in-depth, face-to-face interviews. The findings show that all of the participants experienced power imbalances and GBV in their intimate relationships. All of the women reported emotional or psychological abuse, whilst the majority were subjected to economic abuse, followed by physical abuse, and two alleged having been sexually abused. The study concludes with specific recommendations for the development and successful implementation of workplace policy and programmes to protect and promote women’s rights. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

本文以美國境內航空市場為例，探討多重市場接觸與價格離散的關聯，並研究大型航空公司併購案前後多重市場接觸對航空公司競爭策略的影響。本研究發現：(一) 相互容忍說於併購案發生前後皆成立。(二) 相較於考量擴大市場的市佔率，航空公司更應該關注與競爭者間的競爭關係。(三) 併購案發生前後，航空公司的訂價行為都深受競爭對手的競爭策略影響。(四) 併購案發生前，因競爭者多，市場上航空公司平均市佔率的大小是航空公司可採取競爭手段重要因素之一。在最大的1000 個市場中，雖然每家航空公司的市場力量不大，航空公司仍可採取價格競爭，然若是對手間聯合懲罰，則航空公司不敢採取激進手段，且多重市場接觸越多，價格離散程度越大。而在次要競爭的市場中，則因航空公司的平均市占率是最大的1000 個市場的兩倍，因此航空公司並未有明顯競爭行為。但若考量競爭對手間的碰面次數，則多重市場接觸與不同分位價格關係為正，且多重市場接觸越多，價格離散程度越低。併購案發生後，因航空公司間彼此箝制力量大，與競爭對手間的碰面次數越多，越傾向隱性勾結，且高價位的價格上升較低價位價格多，使價格離散程度越大。 / In this paper, we discuss whether multimarket contact matters for price dispersion in the U.S. airline industry, and compare the influence of multimarket contact on airlines’ competition strategies before and after airline mergers and acquisitions. We find that: (a) Before and after the mergers, mutual forbearance exists. (b) In contrast to an airline‘s market share, the relationship between airlines and itself plays a more important role in its pricing strategy.(c) Before and after the mergers, airline companies’pricing strategies are significantly affected by their competitors’strategies. (d) Before the mergers, because of the intense competition, it is the size of the competitors‘ market share that the company decide whether to take aggressive strategies. In the top 1000 competitive markets,airline companies will take aggressive actions to get more passengers for the punishment from its competitor is an incredible threat, however, if competitors collude together, airline companies will hardly dare to cut price. And the effect of an increase in multimarket contact on price dispersion is positive and significant. In the second competitive markets, since the average market share is twice bigger than in the top 1000 markets, airlines prefer not to participate in cut-throat competition. However, if competitors collude, then airline companies will cooperate together, and the effect of an increase in multimarket contact on price dispersion is negative and significant. After the mergers, increase in contacts with competitors would facilitate mutual forbearance and increase price dispersion and higher-percentile prices will increase more than lower-percentile prices.