Este trabalho objetiva analisar os atributos no processo de decisão de compra de notebooks no segmento B2B. Observa-se que os players que vendem notebooks para o mercado corporativo têm dificuldades para identificar os atributos que são mais importantes para seus clientes. Com o intuito de auxiliar na resolução deste problema, foram entrevistados presencialmente profissionais responsáveis pela área de infraestrutura de TI de 15 empresas da região de Porto Alegre, pedindo para que eles ordenassem 20 cartões de perfil completo contendo a descrição técnica de alguns notebooks. A partir da apresentação dos dados gerais da amostra, estruturou-se os dados dentro do software de estatística SPSS, tendo como input os fatores e níveis estabelecidos a partir de reuniões realizadas com profissionais da área de Marketing que trabalhavam na mesma empresa do pesquisador e da literatura a respeito de atributos no processo de decisão de compra de notebooks. Em seguida, procedeu-se com a análise estatística propriamente dita, começando pelo estudo desagregado, passando pela etapa agregada e finalizando com a identificação dos clusters Os resultados obtidos indicaram que o storage é o fator com a maior importância relativa para as empresas estudadas, seguido por processador, preço, marca e memória. A análise de subgrupos indicou que 5 segmentos resultaram na menor soma dos erros quadrados. Assim, verificou-se a relevância que o conhecimento dos atributos de notebooks tem para as empresas atuantes neste setor, de modo a conseguirem definir preços baseados em valor, posicionar melhor seus produtos, desenvolver novas estratégias de negócio e elaborar campanhas promocionais direcionadas. / This paper aims to analyze the attributes on the buying decision process of notebooks in the B2B segment. It is notable that players who sell notebooks for the corporate market have difficulty identifying the attributes that are most important to their customers. In order to assist in solving this problem, professionals responsible for the IT infrastructure area of 15 companies from the Porto Alegre region were interviewed in person and they were asked to order 20 complete profile cards containing the tecnhincal description of some notebooks. Based on the sample overall data presentation, the data were structured whithin the SPSS statistical software, considering as inputs the factors and levels defined from meetings held with Marketing area professionals who worked in the same company as the researcher and from the literature with respect to attributes on the buying decision process of notebooks. Then, the statistical analysis itself was made, starting with the individual analysis, going through the aggregated stage and ending up with the clusters identification. The obtained results showed that the storage is the factor with the greatest relative importance for the analyzed companies, followed by the processor, price, brand and memory. The subgroup analysis pointed out that 5 segments resulted in the smallest sum of squared errors. Thus, it was verified the relevance that the notebooks attributes knowledge has for the companies that play in this sector, in order to achieve price definition based on value, better position their products, develop new business strategies and elaborate driven promotional campaigns.

Virtual reality is a rapidly growing innovation that has many real-world applications inengineering, healthcare, education and much more. More startups are emerging, and someof these companies are developing virtual reality simulators that allows the user toimmerse themselves completely in the virtual world with the use hardware devices.Companies like Infinadeck and Omnifinity have developed one such hardware known asthe walking simulator. This paper studied virtual reality and the barriers that occur whenlaunching a virtual reality walking simulator in the US for the entertainment industry. Theresearch was conducted on B2B companies that manufacture and use virtual realitywalking simulators with the addition of an industry outside of the entertainment industryto allow for comparison of the barriers. This study was a qualitative and comparativestudy based on a theoretical framework combined with empirical findings gathered fromeleven interviews with individuals from the manufacturers, entertainment center and themilitary. By analyzing and comparing the findings throughout this study, the authors canconclude that there are several barriers that can occur and affect launching a virtual realitywalking simulator process negatively. The barriers identified were price, hesitation to tryand reliability. These findings when analyzed with the theoretical framework identified that the emergence of these barriers was due to VR being such advanced technology. Thecustomers understanding of the value it creates is a determining factor when deciding tomake the purchase which showed to be highly complex with the VR walking simulator.The study also offers suggestions that can be taken for future research.

The adoption of Green Marketing within the Swedish forest industry has raised questions as to why there has been an increase in implementation of the concept, and what the results have showed. After conducting eight semi-structured qualitative interviews with companies involved with forestry in Sweden, this paper has been able to showcase an in-depth analysis. The companies interviewed include a forest owner, five forestry companies, a packaging company, and a lobby initiative in Sweden. This has allowed the research to explore different perspectives in the forest industry. The answers derived from the interviews were for the most part in correlation to each other, and highlighted the similar ways to approaching Green Marketing within the Swedish forest industry. Public concern, governmental regulations, and opportunity to form strong relationships were all seen as reasonings behind the usage of Green Marketing. The Swedish forest industry has done very well in avoiding many Green Marketing mistakes, and has also showcased a strong effort in following what is known as the ‘Golden Rules of Green Marketing’.

This thesis is investigating in how current buying and purchasing decisions within retail interior are made and how they possibly could be changed or affected with sensory engagement, to promote social sustainability by promoting individual knowledge and sense making in B2B (business to business) context.  The background for this thesis sprung from many sources but is mainly based on the last couple of decades’ societal changes in both digital developments, contributing to more separated consumer behaviour but also in the economical shift from a production area to a consumption age. Which both have fostered a, social and common confidence in the visual sense.  Purchasers are today in 2017, are despite last year’s recent sustainability focus within, b2b, still controlled by business factors such as generating profit and increase market share. For this reason and due to a supportive technical development urging on screen information, much of previous instinctive material and production knowledge have gone missing since the faith in the mere visual still dominate the human perception and information intake.  Business reliance on economical components has proven to not support the individual knowledge generation nor engage with entailing learning. In a series of interviews and LAB experiments this thesis explored the concept of lost material knowledge and developed a conceptual design tool for conversation and learning. Reaching out to rookies as well as advanced constructors of retail interior creating a bridge of tactile experiences to discuss and explore in B2B.  By creating a common tool, effacing the focus on the visual, this thesis argues for the importance of bringing back the information and richness of tactile engagement in order to support and foster the individual learning process and break the chain of lost knowledge.  A hypothesis that this essay is arguing for is that a reintroduction of importance at the individual level can make employees, within B2B, feel more involved and important in its development. In the long run, a continuation and development of this type of methods could change and question existing business strategies and promote the possibilities for social soft values to enter the B2B world.

This thesis investigates how recommendation systems has been used and can be used with the help of different machine learning algorithms. Algorithms used and presented are decision tree, random forest and singular-value decomposition(SVD). Together with Tingstad, we have tried to implement the SVD function on their recommendation engine in order to enhance the recommendation given. A trivial presentation on how the algorithms work. General information about machine learning and how we tried to implement it with Tingstad’s data. Implementations with Netflix’s and Movielens open-source dataset was done, estimated with RMSE and MAE.

Este trabalho objetiva analisar os atributos no processo de decisão de compra de notebooks no segmento B2B. Observa-se que os players que vendem notebooks para o mercado corporativo têm dificuldades para identificar os atributos que são mais importantes para seus clientes. Com o intuito de auxiliar na resolução deste problema, foram entrevistados presencialmente profissionais responsáveis pela área de infraestrutura de TI de 15 empresas da região de Porto Alegre, pedindo para que eles ordenassem 20 cartões de perfil completo contendo a descrição técnica de alguns notebooks. A partir da apresentação dos dados gerais da amostra, estruturou-se os dados dentro do software de estatística SPSS, tendo como input os fatores e níveis estabelecidos a partir de reuniões realizadas com profissionais da área de Marketing que trabalhavam na mesma empresa do pesquisador e da literatura a respeito de atributos no processo de decisão de compra de notebooks. Em seguida, procedeu-se com a análise estatística propriamente dita, começando pelo estudo desagregado, passando pela etapa agregada e finalizando com a identificação dos clusters Os resultados obtidos indicaram que o storage é o fator com a maior importância relativa para as empresas estudadas, seguido por processador, preço, marca e memória. A análise de subgrupos indicou que 5 segmentos resultaram na menor soma dos erros quadrados. Assim, verificou-se a relevância que o conhecimento dos atributos de notebooks tem para as empresas atuantes neste setor, de modo a conseguirem definir preços baseados em valor, posicionar melhor seus produtos, desenvolver novas estratégias de negócio e elaborar campanhas promocionais direcionadas. / This paper aims to analyze the attributes on the buying decision process of notebooks in the B2B segment. It is notable that players who sell notebooks for the corporate market have difficulty identifying the attributes that are most important to their customers. In order to assist in solving this problem, professionals responsible for the IT infrastructure area of 15 companies from the Porto Alegre region were interviewed in person and they were asked to order 20 complete profile cards containing the tecnhincal description of some notebooks. Based on the sample overall data presentation, the data were structured whithin the SPSS statistical software, considering as inputs the factors and levels defined from meetings held with Marketing area professionals who worked in the same company as the researcher and from the literature with respect to attributes on the buying decision process of notebooks. Then, the statistical analysis itself was made, starting with the individual analysis, going through the aggregated stage and ending up with the clusters identification. The obtained results showed that the storage is the factor with the greatest relative importance for the analyzed companies, followed by the processor, price, brand and memory. The subgroup analysis pointed out that 5 segments resulted in the smallest sum of squared errors. Thus, it was verified the relevance that the notebooks attributes knowledge has for the companies that play in this sector, in order to achieve price definition based on value, better position their products, develop new business strategies and elaborate driven promotional campaigns.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T15:08:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo2_1.pdf: 1166295 bytes, checksum: 19280378807644260216fa4f22882ea5 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Esta dissertação consiste em um estudo sobre as ações de recuperação de falhas logísticas realizadas pelo Rapidão Cometa. O objetivo principal desta pesquisa foi entender as ações empreendidas pela empresa em questão no gerenciamento de recuperação de falhas, considerando a sua estratégia de segmentação no contexto B2B. Utilizando a metodologia de estudo de caso, este trabalho possui um caráter exploratório. Os dados obtidos e a análise realizada demonstram que a estratégia de segmentação adotada pelo Rapidão Cometa influenciou as ações de recuperação de falhas e a partir deste conhecimento foi possível identificar os principais fatores que determinam o curso destas ações

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T15:08:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo4_1.pdf: 1166295 bytes, checksum: 19280378807644260216fa4f22882ea5 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Esta dissertação consiste em um estudo sobre as ações de recuperação de falhas logísticas realizadas pelo Rapidão Cometa. O objetivo principal desta pesquisa foi entender as ações empreendidas pela empresa em questão no gerenciamento de recuperação de falhas, considerando a sua estratégia de segmentação no contexto B2B. Utilizando a metodologia de estudo de caso, este trabalho possui um caráter exploratório. Os dados obtidos e a análise realizada demonstram que a estratégia de segmentação adotada pelo Rapidão Cometa influenciou as ações de recuperação de falhas e a partir deste conhecimento foi possível identificar os principais fatores que determinam o curso destas ações

Poucas indústrias têm crescido tanto e tão rápido quanto a Indústria de Tecnologia da Informação e Comunicações (ICT), particularmente o segmento de software, que foi definido pelo governo federal como uma das áreas prioritárias de sua política industrial. O Brasil, que detém a maior indústria da Informática e Telecomunicações da América Latina, tem direcionado recursos para formação de profissionais nos níveis de graduação e pós-graduação e incentivado empresas do setor. Neste cenário, é importante que se desenvolvam estudos não só no campo técnico, mas também no campo da administração com vistas a subsidiar as empresas brasileiras para uma competição global. Os softwares utilizados nas empresas para suportar seus processos administrativos podem ser comercializados como pacotes, que são softwares padronizados, que não demandam interação entre quem os desenvolve e quem os utiliza, ou então como serviço, caso em que a empresa usuária contribui com o desenho do produto final. Esse “software-serviço”, ou “software sob encomenda” é o foco do presente estudo, que possui dois objetivos: - Explorar a segmentação do mercado empresarial para esse serviço, buscando identificar como os clientes podem ser agrupados a partir da análise das UTDs (unidades de tomada de decisão) formadas para sua compra; - Explorar como esses clientes enxergam e avaliam os fornecedores, entendendo principalmente quais dimensões utilizam para posicioná-los. O embasamento teórico do estudo é provido pelos construtos desenvolvidos no campo do marketing estratégico, marketing B2B e marketing de serviços, pois se considera que o software sob encomenda é um caso particular de compra de serviços industriais. A pesquisa de campo foi feita a partir da seleção de cinco casos de compra, e seus resultados permitem proposições sobre a formação e a dinâmica das UTDs para compra de software sob encomenda. Uma dessas proposições é a possibilidade de segmentação do mercado a partir das crenças que o líder do processo de compra tem acerca de seu papel. Outro resultado é a constatação do uso de critérios subjetivos na avaliação dos fornecedores, mesmo nesse tipo de compra industrial, dita “racional”. Finalmente, a pesquisa permite inferências sobre as diferenças nas dimensões de posicionamento dos fornecedores adotadas pelos representantes técnicos (TI) e pelos não técnicos (negócio) participantes da compra e uso dos serviços. / Few industries have grown so much and so rapidly as the Information and Communication Technology (ICT), particularly the software segment, defined by Brazilian federal government as one of its high priority areas. Brazil, a country that has the larger ICT industry in Latin America, has assigned resources to encourage graduate and postgraduate studies in the field, and has fostered the development of firms in the sector. Considering such scenario, the academic research is needed not only in the technical field, but also in the business administration field, in order to support Brazilian companies to face a global competition. Software used to support business administration processes can be marketed as packages, standardized software that do not require interaction between the developer and the user, or as a service, in which the user firm contributes to the final product design. Such “service-software” or customized software is the focus of this study, which has two main objectives: - Explore market segmentation for such service, aiming at identifying how the clients can be grouped based on the analysis of the DMU’s – Decision Making Units – formed for a specific purchase. - Explore how the clients evaluate their suppliers, understanding what dimensions they use to position them. The theoretical background for the study is provided by the constructs developed in the field of strategic marketing, B2B marketing and services marketing, because customized software is here considered as a particular case of industrial service purchase. The field research was accomplished based on five selected purchase cases, and its results allow propositions about formation and dynamics of DMU’s for customized software purchase. One of such propositions is the possibility of market segmentation based on the beliefs the purchase process leader has about his/ her organizational role. Another result is the observation of use of subjective evaluation criteria for supplier assessments in the industrial purchase, frequently called “rational”. Finally, the research allows inferences about the supplier positioning dimensions adopted by the technical (IT) and non-technical (business) representatives participating in the service purchase or use.

Date June 12, 2008 Program IT Management Authors Jessica Jarrell, 820506. Västerås Rais Iqbal, 791229. Västerås Supervisor Ole Liljefors Title Business-to-Business IT Integration Introduction As business world has moved into digital era, new trends in business models have been emerged to do business. Digital infrastructure provided by internet enables enterprises to extend their boundaries for new customer and trading partners. Extending the enterprise without a solid IT infrastructure is incomplete, this is the reasons that enterprises are investing more and more in IT to build an IT integrated infrastructure where all its trading partners are linked together. On the other hand, technological world provides solutions and services to build IT integration for such extended enterprises. A wide variety of IT integration solutions and patterns available for enterprise to meet their integration goals, but this often brings unclear situation where companies have to think a lot before implementing IT integration patterns. A slight mistake in this scenario could shake the equilibrium between IT and business, to keep the equilibrium steady companies need to thoroughly examine their short-term and long-term goals and then different integration patterns can be employed to meet these goals. Research Question What approaches can be helpful for companies to accomplish successful business-to-business IT integration pattern for their short-term and long-term goals? Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to describe the concept of extended enterprises and, identify and describe the existing B2B IT integration approaches employed by extended enterprises. Method The research is of qualitative type and secondary data is used to conduct this research. Books and research papers has been used to construct theoretical framework. Electronic databases available at library of Mälardalen University such as Google scholar, Emerald and interlibrary network of Sweden (Libris) are used to search for secondary data. Analysis Findings from the detailed literature study are analyzed to answer the research question. Integration patterns are analyzed described by the different authors of integrations patterns in three different ways. Firstly, integration patterns were analyzed in term of their advantages and disadvantages with technology and business, secondly, maturity of these integration patterns are analyzed and finally these integration patterns are analyzed for company’s short-term and long-term goals. Conclusion Business process oriented and method-oriented approaches are good for long-term goals due to handling of business process management in both approaches and reusability aspects of method oriented approach. For short-term goals portal-oriented approach dominating in the integration community, application interface oriented approach is also good to meet the short-term goals. However, combinations of different approaches are found feasible.