Modalidade de ensino em crescimento no Brasil desde o início dos anos 2000 e com expectativa de contínua expansão, especialmente em função da cada vez maior facilidade de comunicação, seja via Internet, seja via celular ou tablet, a educação a distância (EaD) permite que indivíduos de áreas remotas ou aqueles com pouca disponibilidade de rotina regular para frequentar um curso tradicional, possam obter um diploma superior. Do ponto de vista das instituições de ensino, porém, as altas taxas de evasão são um obstáculo à manutenção e ampliação da oferta desta tipologia de curso. Para que haja a queda destas taxas, é necessário aumentar a lealdade dos estudantes e, para tanto, o valor percebido no curso, que, no caso da educação, faz sentido supor que seja criado entre alunos e universidade; isto porque, além de haver a necessidade de ambos os agentes para a prestação de serviço, o aluno possui papel fundamental para o sucesso do que se oferece (qualificação acadêmica). A literatura acadêmica do setor de serviços indica que, apesar de existir relação entre [cocriação de] valor e lealdade, esta, em geral, se apresenta mediada por qualidade e/ou satisfação. É neste contexto que este trabalho está inserido, apresentando como objetivo identificar os aspectos de cocriação de valor determinantes para a qualidade percebida e lealdade, com foco em educação a distância, por meio de uma pesquisa quantitativa com estudantes desta modalidade de ensino. Esta pesquisa foi antecedida pela exploração do tema com especialistas do setor que contribuíram com seus conhecimentos e experiências. Para a pesquisa quantitativa foi enviado questionário online de autopreenchimento para endereço eletrônico de estudantes de graduação EaD fornecidos por parceria com faculdades privadas e empresa de pesquisa voltada à educação. Ao final, foram obtidas 400 respostas válidas, usadas para entender o comportamento do aluno perante cocriação de valor e suas relações com demais dimensões de interesse (qualidade percebida, satisfação e lealdade). Duas vertentes mostraram-se relevantes na composição da cocriação de valor: coprodução, que engloba o compartilhamento de conhecimento, a interação faculdade-aluno e transparência na transmissão de valores e interesses da faculdade; e valor em uso, refletindo a experiência, o relacionamento e a capacidade de personalização do serviço educacional. Como era suposto, a cocriação mostrou-se influente na explicação dos construtos e tem a imagem da faculdade como uma dimensão importante em sua explicação. Quando observadas as relações entre variáveis latentes segundo o perfil do aluno, encontra-se que aqueles pertencentes à Geração Y são os que mais condicionam sua satisfação e lealdade à participação na criação do valor. / Growing type of education in Brazil since the early 2000s and with expectations of continued expansion, especially given the increasing ease of communication, whether via the Internet, whether via mobile phone or tablet, distance education (DE) allows individuals from remote areas or those with limited availability of regular routine to attend a traditional course, get a higher degree. From the perspective of educational institutions, however, the high dropout rates are an obstacle to the maintenance and expansion of supply of this type of course. In order to make these rates fall, it is necessary to increase the loyalty of students and, therefore, the perceived value, which in the case of education, it makes sense to assume created between students and university; this is because in addition to be a need for both agents to provide service, the student has fundamental role in the success of what is offered (academic qualification). The academic literature in the service sector indicates that although there is a relationship between [co-creation of] value and loyalty, this relation is usually presents mediated by quality and/or satisfaction. In this context, this work is inserted, aiming to identify the aspects of value co-creation that are determinants for perceived quality and loyalty, focusing on distance education, through a quantitative survey of students of this type of education. This research was preceded by an exploration of the theme with specialists of the sector who contributed with their knowledge and experiences. For the survey, an online self-completion questionnaire was sent to the e-mail of undergraduate students provided by a partnership with private colleges and a research company focused on education. In the end, 400 valid answers were obtained, used to understand the student\'s behavior in relation to value creation and their relationships with other dimensions of interest (perceived quality, satisfaction and loyalty). Two aspects have been relevant in the composition of value co-creation: co-production, which includes knowledge sharing, college-student interaction and transparency in the transmission of values and interests of the college; and value-in-use, reflecting the experience, the relationship and the capacity of personalization on the educational service. As was supposed, co-creation has proved to be influential in the explanation of constructs, and the image of college is an important dimension in its explanation. When the relationships between latent variables were observed according to the profile of the student, it was found that those belonging to Y Generation are the ones that present their satisfaction and loyalty conditioned to participation in the creation of value.

O setor de serviços, onde os bancos estão inseridos, se caracteriza pelo o uso intenso de recursos humanos, grande heterogeneidade de atividades e simultaneidade entre produção e consumo de produtos/serviços. Este contexto torna bastante complexo e desafiador a proposição de especificações de qualidade que contribuam com o aumento da satisfação e da lealdade dos clientes. Embasado em fundamentação teórica sobre os temas setor de serviços, qualidade, satisfação, imagem corporativa, lealdade e valores humanos, este trabalho se propôs a buscar uma melhor compreensão sobre como estes fatores atuam em uma agência bancária. O estudo foi executado em uma agência bancária de médio porte localizada na região metropolitana de São Paulo. Para cumprir com os objetivos de pesquisa foram realizadas entrevistas, observações durante o expediente bancário e pesquisa de campo com 202 clientes. A fase qualitativa, composta pelas entrevistas e pelas observações, foi transcrita e consolidada segundo a relevância das informações colhidas; na fase quantitativa, após a coleta de dados, foram realizadas análises estatísticas em contexto univariado, bivariado e multivariado por meio das técnicas de Análise fatorial, Análise de conglomerados, Análise de regressão logística e Modelagem de equações estruturais. Os resultados indicam que a qualidade funcional é o fator mais importante da qualidade na agência bancária objeto de estudo. O estudo demonstrou, também, que a capacidade de compreender as necessidades individuais, um relacionamento comercial pautado na transparência e na integridade e o valor humano de responsabilidade sócio-ambiental contribuem na diferenciação entre clientes leais e não leais a agência bancária em questão. O trabalho também indicou que há uma relação direta entre os construtos Lealdade, Qualidade, Satisfação e Valores humanos. / The service sector, in which banks have been inserted, is characterized by the intense use of human resources, heterogeneity and simultaneity of activities between production and consumption of products / services. This condition makes it quite complex and challenging proposing quality specifications that contributes to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Based in theoretical grounding on service\'s sector main themes, such as quality, satisfaction, loyalty, corporate image and human values issues, this study proposes to seek a better understanding of how these factors work in a bank. The study had been performed in a midsize bank agency located in the metropolitan region of São Paulo. To accomplish research goals, interviews, observations during business hours and fieldwork surveys were made with 202 clients. In the qualitative step, which is consisted by the interviews and observations, the information has been transcribed and consolidated according to relevance. In the quantitative step, after data collection, statistical analyzes were performed in univariate context, bivariate and multivariate analysis through factorial analysis techniques, cluster analysis, logistics regression analysis and structural equation modeling. The results suggests that functional quality is the most important factor in the quality of bank\'s agency object of study. The study also evidenced that the ability to understand individual needs, a business relationship built on transparency and integrity and the human value of social and environmental responsibility contributes in differentiating loyal and non-loyal agency\'s customers. The study also indicated that there is a direct relation between the Loyalty, Quality, Satisfaction and human values constructs.

Denna undersökning handlar om hur användandet av CRM-system (Customer Relationship Management) påverkar företag och dess kundrelationer. Forskningen om detta visar att CRM-system kan ge stora fördelar för både kunderna, företaget och relationerna där emellan. Men det finns många delar som påverkar hur mycket ett CRM-system förändrar relationerna mellan företag och deras kunder. Resultatet från denna undersökning kan vara av intresse för företag som går i tankarna att skaffa ett CRM-system eller förnya det som dem redan har. Vilket leder fram till vår problemfråga: Hur påverkar CRM-system företag och dess kundrelationer? Syftet med uppsatsen är att beskriva och analysera hur ett CRM-system påverkar företag och dess kundrelationer. Undersökningen baseras på en teoriram som ger en inblick i vad relationer är och vilken betydelse kundrelationer har för företag, även behandlas CRM-system och dess effekter på företag. Den insamlade teorin utmynnar i en undersökningsmodell som utgår ifrån ett CRM-system och visar hur det enligt teoriramen kan påverka ett företag och dess kundrelationer. Denna modell används som grund för insamlandet av vårt empiriska underlag. Studien inleddes med litteraturstudier som sedan resulterade i en undersökningsmodell. Det utfördes sex intervjuer på fyra företag som använder sig av CRM-system. Därefter utfördes med hjälp av undersökningsmodellen en analysering av intervjusvaren och en sammanställning av resultat och slutsatser. I uppsatsen konstateras det att de undersökta företagen inte använder CRM-systemens fulla potential. Utan att en centraliserad databas är en av de viktigaste komponenterna i CRM-system i företags arbete mot bättre kundrelationer. Undersökning utmynnar i en lista över de faktorer vi anser vara av vikt för ett företag som vill veta hur ett CRM-system kan påverka företag och dess kundrelationer. Om ett företag använder sitt CRM-system på rätt sätt kan de både få bättre kundservice, individualiserade tjänster, förbättrad informationshantering och ökad kundlojalitet vilka samtliga bidrar till bättre kundrelationer och ger företag konkurrensfördelar / This research is about how the usage of a CRM-system (Customer Relationship Management) affects companies and its customer relations. Other researches show that CRM-systems can give big advantages for both the customers, companies and the relations in-between. But there are many issues that affect how much a CRM-system change the relations between companies and its customers. The result from this research could be of interest for a company which is thinking about implementing a CRM-system or improve one they already use. Which leads us to our research question: How does CRM-system affect companies and their customer relations? The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze how a CRM-system affects companies and their customer relations. The research is based on a theory framework that gives an insight into what relations are and of what significance customer relations have for a company, also CRM-systems is discussed and their effects on companies. The collected theory concludes with a research model that begins with a CRM-system and shows how it according to the theory framework could affect a company and its customer relations. This model is used as the foundation in the collection of the empirical information. The study began with a literature study that resulted in a research model. We performed six interviews at four companies that use CRM-systems. Then with help from the research model we analyzed the answers from the interview and created the result and conclusions. In the thesis it’s established that the examined companies don’t use the CRM-systems full potential. A centralized database is one of the most important CRM-system components in a company’s strive for better customer relations. The research concludes with a list of the factors we consider being of weight for a company that wants to know how a CRM-system could affect companies and their customer relations. If a company use its CRM-system in the right way they can get both better customer service, individualized services, improved information management and increased customer loyalty which all contributes to better customer relations and gives companies competitive advantages.

This thesis deals with problematics of customer satisfaction in company OKAY electronics. The whole research and final asking were done in Brno, in two selected shops of the company. The work connects theoretical knowledge, from the field of satisfaction research, with the practical part made by asking customers personally. From those surveys the final conclusions and recommendations are made. Based on the conclusions from questionnaire result, some areas were defined, which should be improved by workers of company OKAY.

Magister Commercii - MCom / The concept of brand loyalty highlights the importance of brands in marketing strategy development because it leads to a stream of benefits for the company (lower marketing costs, less price sensitivity, greater market share and greater profits). Questions thus arise about how brand loyalty is achieved, especially for low involvement product categories classified as fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs). Models of how brand loyalty is built have been tested and most agree that brand loyalty is linked to satisfying customer needs. Knowledge about the type of needs (utilitarian and hedonic) is however, not usually determined. How the different types of needs first influence brand trust and brand affect, before affecting consumer satisfaction, also requires investigation. This study therefore tested how brand building efforts for some selected FMCG brands in South Africa impact on brand loyalty, as well as the extent to which utilitarian and hedonic need satisfaction leads to brand trust and brand affect for these low involvement products. The study also examined the extent to which brand trust and affect influence consumer satisfaction, examined as drivers of attitudinal and behavioural brand loyalty. Quantitative research methods were used to collect and analyse the data, appropriate because of the nature of the research (testing relationships between multi-variables), and the fact that standardised instruments were available to test the proven and valid variables. Data was collected from 272 White, Indian, Coloured and Black South Africans living in Cape Town. The respondents were sampled from malls in Nyanga (targeting Black consumers, most of whom represent lower income consumers), Mitchell's Plain (targeting middle income Coloured and Black consumers), and Canal Walk (targeting high income White, Coloured, Indian and Black consumers), all of which either have SPAR, Pick n Pay or Shoprite/Checkers retailers that sell FMCGs. Structural equation modelling was the main data analysis method for this multivariate investigation.

Since 2000, local municipalities have been through a process of transformation which amalgamated a number of smaller local municipalities into larger municipalities. The amalgamation of a number of municipalities brings together an array of people, and therefore a myriad of organisational cultures are combined. The organisational culture of an organisation has an effect on the organisational commitment of its employees. A fit between the organisational culture and the employees will increase the organisational commitment of those employees and contribute towards improved service delivery. A survey conducted in South Africa indicated that the local municipalities have been delivering poor standards of service to the community; therefore there is a need to increase the service delivery within local municipalities. The importance of looking at the organisational commitment of a local municipality is because if there is commitment within the organisation, then employees will identify with their organisation and its goals, and will deliver the service more effectively and efficiently. Therefore, increasing the service delivery of local municipalities can be achieved through diagnosing the organisational commitment and organisational culture of employees within the selected municipality. The primary objective of this research was therefore to diagnose the relationship between organisational culture and the organisational commitment of employees at the selected municipality. In order to achieve this objective, a survey was conducted to canvas the opinions of respondents (N = 148) from the selected local municipality regarding their perceptions of the existing organisational culture, their preferences regarding the organisational culture within the selected municipality, and finally the organisational commitment. The main findings of this research conducted at a selected municipality can be summarised as follows: The dominant existing organisational culture is the power culture, while the dominant preferred organisational culture is the support culture; There is an organisational culture gap between the existing and preferred organisational cultures at the selected municipality; The dominant organisational commitment within the selected municipality is normative commitment; The findings pertaining to the relationship between organisational culture and organisational commitment of employees within the selected municipality can be stated as follows: The existing organisational cultures have significant effects on the organisational commitment of employees; The preferred organisational cultures do not have significant effects on the organisational commitment of employees; and The organisational culture gap does not have a significant effect on the organisational commitment of employees; The findings pertaining to the relationship between the biographical variables and the existing and preferred organisational culture, organisational commitment and the organisational culture gap can be stated as follows: There is no significant relationship between biographical variables and the existing organisational culture; There are significant relationships between the biographical variables, namely the departments in which respondents work, and the education level of respondents, and the preferred organisational culture; There are significant relationships between the biographical variables and organisational commitment; and The average organisational culture gap scores of the organisational culture scales for the biographical variables are significantly different. It can be concluded that organisational culture has a significant effect on the organisational commitment of employees within the selected municipality and therefore can affect the service delivery of the selected municipality.

Magister Commercii - MCom / A brand extension strategy is one of the marketing tools that firms utilise to introduce new products in the market. One of the advantages of adopting this strategy is that firms are able to leverage on the positive image, reputation, and equity of a recognised and established brand,thereby reducing risk associated with launching new products.This study examines how consumers perceive the overall quality and similarity/fit of the brand extensions (Nike camera, Nike socks, and Nike golf balls) in relation to the original brand (Nike athletic shoes) and how these perceptions influence their attitudes towards the extensions. The researcher proposes that the perceived overall quality of the brand extensions will be congruent to that of the original brand and that the attitude towards the brand extensions will be favourable only when there is a perceived similarity/fit between the brand extensions and the original brand.In order to get these insights, the study surveyed 147 undergraduate and postgraduate students from the University of the Western Cape across all faculties. A non-probability convenience sampling method was used to access respondents. To collect data, qualitative and quantitative methods were employed using a questionnaire which consisted of open-ended and closed-ended questions in the form of free associations technique and 5-point Likert scales. The data gathered was analysed by means of descriptive statistics and Spearman correlation coefficient. The findings indicate two things.(1) respondents only perceived Nike socks’ overall quality to be congruent to the original brand, Nike athletic shoes. (2) respondents only perceived Nike socks to be strongly similar to the original brand, Nike athletic shoes. Despite this, respondents had a favourable attitude towards all the brand extensions irrespective of whether they perceived the overall quality of the extensions to be congruent to the original brand or not, and whether they perceived the extensions to be similar to the original brand or not. These factors did not influence respondents’ attitudes towards the extensions negatively.

Magister Commercii - MCom / This study aimed to shed insight on how store image influences customer perception. Everything customers see, hear and experience is linked together and forms their overall perception of a store. The first objective of the study was to analyze whether a relationship exists between the store choice and customers biographical details. The second objective is to identify components of store image that shoppers may consider important in store selection process; how the case company can use this knowledge and develop the business and customer service even further. Eight dimensions of shopping enjoyment are proposed and a 47-item measure was developed to measure 155 consumer perceptions from various malls in the geographical area of Cape Town. Findings indicate that there are no statistically significant relations between store image and consumers demographic factors such as age, gender, level of education, marital status, occupation and income. Furthermore, respondents rated physical characteristics of the store which included factors such as the neatness and cleanliness of the store, its decor, the wideness of the aisles, air-conditioning and lighting as the most important element when making a store choice. The implications of these results are discussed, together with practical and theoretical implications, study limitations, and future research directions.

The goal of the diploma thesis was an analysis of an influence of team-building activities on motivation, performance and loyalty of employees in the Národní Pokladnice s.r.o.. The answers on the previous questions was found out by questionnaires among the employees of the company. The answers on the previous questions were found out via questionnaires among the employees of Národní Pokladnice s.r.o. company. The fact that the employees are more loyal due to team-building activities I can confirm on the grounds of the questionnaires as well as the team-building can have an impact on work performance derivatively thanks to pleasant working conditions, nice group of people and good relationships. The work relationships and motivation are topics full of contradictions in theory as well as in practise. In spite of that, the respondents tend to an opinion that the relationships are motives for them. A partial goal was to suggest a better way of organization of the event in the future or to decide whether to hold the event at all. The employees evaluate last events very positively and they are looking forward to the next one. I recommend to keep the general thought of the event but to diversify particular activities more in accordance with a difficulty.

At present, a theme of loyalty programs is very popular. The valuable loyalty programs can be considered as some kind of competitive advantage that helps company to grow. However, business organization has to do its activities with regard to its customers. This Master thesis attempts to create a complex concept of loyalty program for clothing shops according to customers wishes. The results indicate that customers want loyalty program of clothing shops based on permanent discounts. The findings also suggest that even though people do not want to share personal data they are willing to exchange those data with companies for rewards when loyalty program benefits seems to be attractive to them. These finding have major implementation for marketing managers who want to build successful loyalty programs.