Background and problem: The abolishment of the mandatory audit in Sweden resulted in a marketorientation in which the small sized enterprises gained a stronger position. Theaudit firms are faced with the challenge to better meet the clients need and todemonstrate the value of audit now when it is optional. In coherence with thisclient focus it is endorsed to implement a value-based pricing that primarilyconsiders the client’s value and willingness to pay. The value of audit andaccounting services to small sized enterprises is not yet fully investigated, whyit is difficult to implement a value-based strategy. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the value of audit and accounting servicesto the small sized enterprises through the study of which attributes theseservices consist of and which priority the small sized enterprises attach to thedifferent attributes. This study will result in the optimal combination ofattributes and levels of performance related to audit and accounting servicesthrough the eyes of the small sized enterprises. Method: In order to investigate the attributes of audit and accounting services, we haveconducted a qualitative pre-study including three interviews with small sizedenterprises about their perception of the value of these services. Thereafter aquantitative survey study has been realized through the function Conjoint Analysis in the Excel program named Marketing Engineering. The purpose is toinvestigate the preferences of small sized enterprises in order to present theoptimal combination. Results and conclusion: In addition to the presentation of the optimal combination, this study impliesthat the value of audit and accounting services partly consists of a functionaluse, where the utilization of these services solves the client’s problems. Partlythe services consist of more hedonic values, where the relationship with and theconsulting from the person who performs the service are highly valued by thesmall sized enterprises. In order to create additional value, the information aboutthese services needs to be improved. / Bakgrund och problem: Revisionspliktens avskaffande ledde till en marknadsorientering därsmåföretagarna har intagit en starkare position. Revisionsbyråerna står inför enutmaning att bättre tillgodose klientens behov och påvisa nyttan med revision dåden numera är frivillig för småföretag. I linje med denna klientfokuseringförespråkas en implementering av den värdebaserade prissättningen som utgårfrån klientens värde och betalningsvillighet. Småföretagarnas värde avrevisions- och redovisningstjänster är dock inte helt utrett varför det än så längeär svårt att implementera en värdebaserad prissättningsstrategi irevisionsbranschen. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka småföretagarnas upplevda värde avrevisions- och redovisningstjänster genom att studera vilka attribut dessa tjänsterbestår av och vilken prioritet småföretagarna fäster vid de olika attributen.Genom denna studie förmedlas en bild av den optimala kombinationen avattribut och prestationsnivåer relaterade till revisions- och redovisningstjänsterur småföretagarens synvinkel. Metod: För att kunna undersöka vilka attribut en revisions- och redovisningstjänst kanbestå av har vi genomfört en kvalitativ förstudie där vi intervjuat tre småföretagom deras uppfattning kring värdet av dessa tjänster. Därefter har en kvantitativsurveyundersökning genomförts på 20 företag med hjälp av Excel-programmet Marketing Engineering där funktionen Conjoint Analysis har tillämpats för attkunna undersöka småföretagarnas preferenser och slutligen presentera denoptimala kombinationen. Resultat och slutsats: Utöver presentationen av den optimala kombinationen framgår i denna studie attvärdet med revisions- och redovisningstjänster dels består av en funktionellnytta, där utnyttjandet av tjänsterna löser klienternas problem. Dels bestårtjänsterna av mer hedonistiska inslag, där relationen med och rådgivning fråntjänsteutövaren värdesätts av småföretagen. För att skapa ytterligare värde börfrämst informationen kring tjänsterna förbättras.

Abstract The purpose of this paper is attempt to build and test the model of consumer behavior, using data communication on the mobile phone. Despite the explosive growth of 2nd generation mobile system (GSM) and rapidly increasing number of consumers who use media (such as photos or access the website) and try to get information they want. We adopt four dimensions to build the structural model of consumer behavior, including need for cognition, product attributes, price factors and purchase intention, and define them as unobserved variables in the LISERL. Finally, we perform relative strength in the Path analysis showing causal model. For model analysis, there are two phase to implement as follows: Firstly, we use Confirmatory Factors Analysis (CFA) to explore the correlation between unobserved (latent) and observed variables. Secondly, the relative relations of four unobserved variables will be confirmed by identification, estimation, test and model-fitting in the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). We expect that the model of consumer behavior will be appropriately inferred and explain to 3rd mobile communication (3G) in the future.

Many firms attempt to ensure the success of new product introductions by applying an existing, well-known brand name to the product. The strategy, known as brand extension, has become commomplace. In recent years, the strategy has been used in media industry. Especially, since the Internet started gaining in popularity in the mid-1990s, the newspaper industry has started applying brand extensions to online markets. For example, United Daily News, Chinatimes, and so on has developed websites of various types. However, we doubt whether it¡¦ll affect consumers¡¦ attitude toward the parent brand. For this reason, we attempt to figure out consumers¡¦attitude toward the newspaper brand when a newspaper office has introduced extensions with good or poor fit. Besides, in this study, we also propose that three factors including ownership status, product attributes, and dominance of the parent brand will influence consumers¡¦s evaluation of the parent brand. Previous research have provided mixed evidence about the reciprocal effects of a brand extension on its parent brand and rarely studied the impact of these four factors on parent brand evaluation, especially in media industy. As a result, we select United Daily News and Appledaily as two objects of the study and find out the extensions (websites) with good and poor fit of these two newspaper brands through group discussing. After T-test analysis, we have some findings as follows: 1.There¡¦s no significant effect of fit on parent brand attitude toward United Daily News, but there¡¦s significant difference for Appledaily. 2.The consumers who think of the newspaper brand as more dominant have higher evaluation of attitude toward the parent brand than those who think of the newspaper brand as less dominant, whether extensions with good or poor fit introduced. 3.The owners of newspaper brands have higher evaluation of attitude toward the parent brand than nonowners, whether extensions with good or poor fit introduced. 4.The product attributes of newspapers brands will affect consumers¡¦s attitude toward the newspaper brands.

The basic notion of this study is related with visual attributes of products which reflect the identity of the company as well as form and design consistency which is a factor forming corporate identity. The sub-notions of the topic are elaborated in the literature review. The efforts which aimed at finding out the distinguishing characteristics of products focused on certain sample products. Digital camera is selected for the field study. The objective of the study is to put evidence that firms can be distinguished from each other with the help of visual attributes of their products and to determine which factors are effective throughout this process.

This study discusses product form perception within the context of communication. The emphasis is on meanings attributed to product visual form, and more specifically the correspondence between messages designers intend users to receive and the messages that users actually receive. Four groupings of appearance-based product attributes are identified / 1) social values and positions / 2) usability and interaction / 3) visual qualities / and 4) personality characteristics. The study was driven by the main research question / &lsquo / do users perceive the same meaning from product appearance as designers intended, or is there a level of mismatch?&rsquo / . An empirical study was conducted using newly-designed Turkish seating furniture to investigate the relationship between designers&rsquo / and users&rsquo / ascription of meanings to products based on appearance, as a means to validate or refute opposing answers to the main research question. The results of the study reveal that there exist some considerable differences between designers&rsquo / intended messages and users&rsquo / perceived messages decoded from product visual form. The study suggests that designers perform less well at communicating product meanings related to two of the four groupings: usability and interaction, and personality characteristics. Accordingly, these are identified as priority areas for improved message transmission.

Software product lines provide the opportunity to improve productivity, quality and time-to-market of software-based systems by means of systematic reuse. So as to accomplish systematic software reuse, elicitation of commonality knowledge is to be upheld by the analysis and management of variability knowledge inherent in domain requirements. Considerable effort is devoted to the management of functional variability, often neglecting the impact of quality concerns originating from non-functional requirements. In this thesis, a hybrid approach concentrating on the modeling of quantitative as well as qualitative concerns on quality has been proposed. This approach basically aims to support the domain design process by modeling non-functional variability. It further aims to support application design process by providing trade-off selection ability among quality concerns to control functional features that belong to the same domain. This approach is implemented and evaluated on an example domain to reveal its benefits on non-functional variability.

he purpose of this study was to examine faculty perceptions about attributes and barriers impacting diffusion of Web-based distance education (WBDE) at the China Agricultural University (CAU). Random and stratified sampling was used and 273 faculty participated in the study. About 70% of participants stayed in early stages in the innovation-decision process related to WBDE (no knowledge, knowledge, or persuasion) and about 30% were in later stages (decision or implementation). Faculty members' stage differed significantly by professional area, level of education, teaching experience, and distance education experience. Gender, age, and academic rank had no significant influence on faculty members' stage. CAU faculty tended to agree with the existence of the five attributes of WBDE (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability). Professional area, gender, age, level of education, and academic rank had no significant influence on the five perceived attributes. Teaching experience had no significant influence on the five perceived attributes, except compatibility. Distance education experience had no significant influence on the five perceived attributes, except compatibility and observability. CAU faculty perceived ten factors (concerns about time, concerns about incentives, WBDE program credibility, financial concerns, planning issues, conflict with traditional education, fear of technology, technical expertise, administrative support, and infrastructure) as moderate barriers to diffusion of WBDE. Age, level of education, academic rank, and teaching experience had no significant influence on faculty perception about the ten barriers. Professional area and gender had no significant influence on faculty perception about the ten barriers, except concerns about time. Distance education experience had no significant influence on faculty perception about the ten barriers, except conflict with traditional education. Faculty members' stage in the innovation-decision process had no significant influence on faculty perceptions about relative advantage of WBDE and nine of the ten barriers. Faculty members' stage in the innovation-decision process, however, did have a significant impact on faculty perception about compatibility, complexity, trialability, observability of WBDE, and WBDE program credibility as a perceived barrier. Relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, and trialability were correlated with at least one of the ten barriers. Observability was not related with any of the barriers.

<p>This thesis emphasizes on investigating the relationship between the quality attributes and service oriented architecture (SOA). Due to quality attributes requirements drive the design of software architecture, it is necessary to maintain the positive quality of SOA and improve the negative quality of SOA. This thesis gives an introduction to SOA, Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) and MULE. Then, it covers information on quality of systems and tactics for achieving each quality attribute. Finally, we discuss the quality of SOA in detail, and illustrate how to set up a SOA and how to improve its quality using a case of an order for supermarket.</p> / Order system

Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 30-32).

This thesis proposes a novel directed hypergraph based model for any database. We introduce the notion of association rules for multi-valued attributes, which is an adaptation of the definition of quantitative association rules known in the literature. The association rules for multi-valued attributes are integrated in building the directed hypergraph model. This model allows to capture attribute-level associations and their strength. Basing on this model, we provide association-based similarity notions between any two attributes and present a method for finding clusters of similar attributes. We then propose algorithms to identify a subset of attributes known as a leading indicator that influences the values of almost all other attributes. Finally, we present an association-based classifier that can be used to predict values of attributes. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed model, notions, algorithms, and classifier through experiments on a financial time-series data set (S&P 500).