Businesses worldwide are confronting a more internationalized market. With this trend, companies frequently turn to international branding and rebranding initiatives through the acquisition of companies to grow. During this process, businesses are updating their brand identity and/or strategy, while also dealing with various challenges. Studies focusing on these challenges on the B2B field remain little explored and are necessary, due to its highly competitive characteristic. Especially in the life science industry, due to its institutional differences between national markets in the sector. Therefore, the overall research purpose in this licentiate thesis is to describe and understand how the international branding and rebranding process is developed in the life science industry. In this thesis, two studies were made to achieve this purpose. One literature review to explore the current literature of the field and one empirical study using a single case study method. The main contribution of this licentiate thesis is to describe in-depth how the brand rebranding process is implemented in the life science industry, and its main hinders. They are: internal and external legitimation. More importantly, this study presents a framework that demonstrates how businesses in emerging regions face more external legitimation challenges as a result of institutional constraints, as opposed to developed countries, where internal legitimation barriers are more prominent during the rebranding process. This licentiate thesis contributes to creating knowledge in international branding since it provides an overview of the past years of research in the area and suggests research gaps that need further investigation. In parallel, it generates insights into the analyzed process of international branding and rebranding, bringing understanding into the corporate brand area and the management of B2B brands in life science industries.

Background: Manufacturing companies have started to adapt to the rising popularity of servitization and have begun to offer digital services that they produce. However, there is limited research on various pricing models and factors affecting willingness to pay for digital services provided by manufacturing companies. Objective: The purpose of this study is to create a deeper understanding of the factors affecting willingness to pay for digital services from manufacturing companies. At the same time, this study aims to contribute to and build upon previous research on willingness to pay for digital services by providing empirical results on consumer behavior. Methods: The study uses a quantitative research design based on a conjoint analysis to investigate the numerous factors affecting willingness to pay. The sample consists of data collected through survey questionnaires aimed at existing and potential customers of Roxtec International AB's digital Business to Business (B2B) service. Data analysis is conducted using statistical methods to draw conclusions about the most influential factors. Results: The results show that factors such as the seller's reputation have a significant and greatest impact on decision-making while other factors like price and cost savings are considered less important, although they also matter. Conclusions: The conclusion is that the reputation of the seller has the greatest impact on the willingness to pay. This insight is particularly relevant for industrial companies striving to be competitive in the rapidly growing market for digital services. / Bakgrund: Tillverkningsföretag har under de senaste åren allt mer börjat anpassa sig till den stigande populariteten av tjänstefiering och har börjat erbjuda digitala tjänster som de själva producerar. Eftersom det är en förändring som pågår i marknaden så finns det begränsat med forskning kring olika prissättningsmodeller och faktorer som påverkar betalningsviljan inom branschen. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att skapa en större förståelse för vilka faktorer som påverkar när en kund inom Business to Business (B2B) ska köpa digitala tjänster av tillverkningsföretag. Samtidigt syftar denna studie till att bidra och bygga vidare på den tidigare forskningen om betalningsvilja för digitala tjänster genom att tillhandahålla empiriska resultat om kundbeteende. Metod: Studien använder sig av en kvantitativ forskningsdesign baserat på en konjointanalys för att undersöka de olika faktorerna som påverkar betalningsviljan. Urvalet består av data insamlad genom enkätundersökningar riktade till befintliga och potentiella kunder till Roxtec International ABs digitala tjänst inom B2B. Dataanalysen genomförs med hjälp av statistiska metoder för att dra slutsatser om de mest inflytelserika faktorerna. Resultat: Resultaten visar att faktorer som rykte hos försäljaren har en signifikant och störst inverkan på beslutsfattandet medan andra faktorer som pris och kostnadsbesparingar anses vara mindre viktiga även om de också har betydelse. Slutsatser: Slutsatsen är att ryktet hos försäljaren har störst inverkan på betalningsviljan. Detta är särskilt relevant för industriföretag som strävar efter att vara konkurrenskraftiga på den snabbt växande marknaden för digitala tjänster.

In this thesis, we present a novel approach for the preservation of trade secrets in a Business-to-Business (B2B) environment that involves trade among competitors. The Web provides a low cost medium for B2B collaborations. Information exchange may take place during such a collaboration. The exchanged information may be of a sensitive nature, forming a business trade secret. The open nature of the Web calls for techniques to prevent the disclosure of trade secrets. The emerging Semantic Web is expected to make the challenge more acute in terms of trade secret protection due to the automation of B2B interactions. In this thesis, the different businesses are represented by Web services on the envisioned Semantic Web. We propose a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) approach for preserving trade secrets in B2B interactions. We introduce a set of techniques based on data perturbation for preserving data privacy. The techniques presented in our thesis are implemented in WebBIS, a prototype for accessing e-business Web services. Finally, we conduct an extensive performance study (analytical and experimental) of the proposed techniques. / Master of Science

Yes / Organizations have cultural-cognitive and regulative as well as normative elements that impact their employees. Organizations, by definition, cannot achieve a pure, stable state and always go through various change processes, both incremental and radical changes. Moving from legacy business-to-business (B2B) relationship management to an artificial intelligence-based customer relationship management (AI-CRM) is a gradual but paradigm change. AI-CRM leverages intelligent systems to automate the B2B relationship activities where the decision can be taken automatically without any human intervention. Relationship management in the B2B segment is considered a strategic activity of an organization. Moving from legacy to AI-CRM to facilitate B2B relationship management activities is an important decision, and proper implementation of AI-CRM is a critical success parameter for an organization. This study combines institutional theory and the resource-based view (RBV) in B2B relationship management to understand how AI-CRM could impact the firm's performance with varied firm size, firm age, and industry type.

Yes / The objective of this research is to increase understanding about B2B company-led user engagement on social media content. Building on hierarchy-of-effects (HoE) theory, we explore how the world’s leading B2B companies use content objectives (why), strategies (how), and tactics (what) on Twitter. We first integrate B2B advertising and social media research on companies’ content objectives, strategies, and tactics. Then, using qualitative analyses, we examine the existence of objectives, strategies, and tactics in the most engaging tweets (N=365) of the worlds’ ten leading B2B brands, covering five industries, in 2017. Finally, we quantitatively examine how the use of diverse objectives and strategies differs between the most engaging tweets (N=318) and least engaging tweets (N=229) of the companies in 2018. The companies use objectives, strategies and tactics that relate to creating awareness, knowledge and trust, interest, and liking in the majority of their most and least engaging tweets, and express preference, conviction and purchase aspects much less. Differences exist in general, industry-wise, and company-wise. The study is a rare attempt to integrate the extant B2B advertising and social media research, and compare the most and least engaging B2B social media content.

Yes / This study examines the effect of big data powered artificial intelligence on customer knowledge creation, user knowledge creation and external market knowledge creation to better understand its impact on B2B marketing rational decision making to influence firm performance. The theoretical model is grounded in Knowledge Management Theory (KMT) and the primary data was collected from B2B companies functioning in the South African mining industry. Findings point out that big data powered artificial intelligence and the path customer knowledge creation is significant. Secondly, big data powered artificial intelligence and the path user knowledge creation is significant. Thirdly, big data powered artificial intelligence and the path external market knowledge creation is significant. It was observed that customer knowledge creation, user knowledge creation and external market knowledge creation have significant effect on the B2B marketing-rational decision making. Finally, the path B2B marketing rational decision making has a significant effect on firm performance.

近年來，電子商務飛速發展，已取得長足進步。電子商務可以高效利用有限資源，加快商業週期循環，節省時間、降低成本、提高利潤和增強企業競爭力，並以傳統經營方式所無法比擬的優點受到全球關注。因此，電子商務給企業所帶來的影響是非常重要且值得探討。 在電子商務貿易模式中，信息的高效傳遞成為平台上賣方增強競爭力的重要手段。但是過去鮮少有研究以信號理論觀點，切入探討B2B交易平台上賣方信號對買方之吸引力，以及鮮少有研究探討其中是否有其他變數可能會增加或削弱兩者之間的關係。因此本研究旨在探討賣方採用的信號與買方聯繫賣方之可能性的關係，並以企業外部市場化發展程度因素作為干擾變數。 本文共蒐集167家中小企業信息作為研究對象，並以階層回歸作為分析方法，進一步釐清賣方所採用的信號與買方聯繫賣方之可能性之間的關係，並以企業外部市場化發展程度作為干擾變數，研究外部環境情況是否會強化賣方所採用的信號與買方聯繫賣方之可能性之間的關係，補充過去文獻鮮少探討之觀點。冀望本研究結果能為平台賣方之決策者在考慮如何運營，提供一些參考與建議。

Frågeställning: Hur kan sociala medier användas för att engagera B2B kunder till relationsskapande? Syfte: Syftet med examensarbetet är att analysera och tolka vad som engagerar B2B kunder till relationsskapande och hur sociala medier kan användas i detta sammanhang. Som delmål ämnar examensarbetet även att ge fallföretaget Leax Falun AB en inblick i ett nytänkande sätt att nå ut till kunder på, samt ge underlag för beslut om att förändra den befintliga marknadsföringsstrategin för att nå ut till kunder. Metod: Det här examensarbetet har en induktiv ansats med ett explorativt syfte och har utförts med kvalitativa forskningsmetoder. Datainsamling har skett genom personliga intervjuer. Insamlad empiriska data har analyserats genom en kvalitativ dataanalys. Resultat och slutsatser: Det har visat sig finnas fördelar med vissa av sociala mediers funktioner som B2B kunderna menar kan ge dem ökat värde i den informationssökande processen, när de letar nya leverantörer. Informationskommunikation på sociala medier, om det sker på rätt sätt, kan engagera B2B kunder på såväl ett rationellt som ett emotionellt plan. Teoretiskt och praktiskt bidrag: Teoretiskt bidrar det här examensarbetet till att fylla ett identifierat kunskapsglapp i teorin, detta genom en reviderad undersökningsmodell. Praktiskt bidrar det här examensarbetet till att ge samarbetsföretaget LEAX Falun AB rekommendationer till hur de kan förbättra sin användning av sociala medier i affärssyfte och på ett nytänkande sätt nå ut till kunder. / Research question: In what way can social media be used to engage business-to-business customers to relationship-building? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and interpret what engages customers to relationship-building, and how social media can be used in this context. I also intend to give the company LEAX Falun AB a glimpse of an innovative way to reach out to customers. Furthermore, I aim to provide a basis for the company’s decision making about changing the existing marketing strategy to reach out to customers. Method: This thesis has been conducted as a qualitative research with an exploratory purpose and an inductive approach. Data has been collected through interviews and analyzed through a qualitative data-analysis. Results and conclusions: I can conclude that there is potential in some of the features of social media that B2B customers believe, can give them increased value during the information seeking process, when they are searching for new suppliers. Informationcommunication on social media, if done properly, can engage B2B customers on both a rational to an emotional level. Theoretical and practical contributions: Theoretically, this thesis contributes to fill an identified knowledge gap, this by a revised research model. Practical contribution is given through this thesis by providing LEAX Falun AB with recommendations regarding how they can improve their use of social media for business purposes, and by showing them an innovative way to reach out to customers.

The adopting of self-service technologies (SST) has for years been used as a vehicle for delivering service in aim to create value. The popularity of SST has recently increased within organizations and suppliers struggle to persuade customers to adopt the technique in order to co-create value for both customer and supplier. Previous research has covered this type of technology and its effects on service delivery in a business to consumer (B2C) perspective but it is relative undiscovered in the context of business to business (B2B). By studying the B2B relation within SST and the effects on value and value creation this paper identifies three value clusters at the supplier perspective and three at the customer perspective. At each perspective our result shows that there are two positive and one negative value clusters. These clusters can help organizations with both preventive actions and management of the negatives by seeing how relationships between values and value creation exist. Our study contributes empirical, theoretical and practical in the research fields of B2B, SST, service and business values.

There has been a lot of research and studies done about the positive effects of inbound marketing and previous research clearly states that engaging customers is crucial when developing a successful inbound marketing strategy. However, a gap in connecting inbound marketing to a B2B-perspective is evident. Little information can be found about this specific field of practice when using inbound marketing strategy. Therefore, the aim of this study is to increase the understanding of in what way business to business companies use inbound marketing and the reasons they have for applying this strategy. This study was constructed by a qualitative method with an abductive approach where six companies were interviewed. The interviews were then compared with each other and the collected data from the Frame of Reference in order to gain a deeper understanding of the companies work with inbound marketing. The result of the study gives an insight into how companies can implement inbound marketing in their marketing strategy and the benefits it will lead to if executed correctly. Furthermore, a model has been created to help companies implement inbound marketing and shows which inbound marketing tools that can be used in the different stages of the sales and marketing process.