The fair trade is a concept that comes with better conditions for producers of the developing countries. It aims to improve their social, economic and environmental profile. If we want to describe fair trade market in South Bohemia Region, we have to deal with points of sale and customer's preferences. The growing phenomenon of the fair trade is also caused by many campaigns and projects supporting its philosophy.

The goal of this thesis is to design and implement a system that analyses data from the web mentioning Czech grocery chain stores. Implemented system is able to download such data automatically, perform sentiment analysis of the data, extract locations and chain stores' names from the data and index the data. The system also includes a user interface showing results of the analyses. The first part of the thesis surveys the state of the art in collecting data from web, sentiment analysis and indexing documents. A description of the discussed system's design and its implementation follows. The last part of the thesis evaluates implemented system

This research had an objective of exploring the role of MSEs in LED through analysis of wood-work MSE value chain. The basic research questions underscore what the domestic wood-work value chain looks like; what major weaknesses and challenges confront the operation of MSEs; what major areas of upgrading and inter-firm relations are evident in the sector; and what MSE value chains contribute to LED. The research exercise was based on review of related literature and a field survey, involving MSE operators drawn from the study area (Addis Ababa). Mixed method of analysis (quantitative and qualitative) was employed to deal with the data collected through questionnaires and interviews. Porter’s model of VC (1985) and UNIDO’s description of wood-work VC (2005) were used to provide conceptual framework. The wood-work sub-sector in Ethiopia has a domestic value chain since main inputs are from local sources, designs are by local producers, and products are for domestic markets. Domestic actors govern the allocation of resources and the distribution of benefits. Public enterprises control plantations hence primary inputs. Wholesalers in turn control inputs, which finally reach MSEs through retailers. Design, production and marketing decisions are made by MSE operators. Middlemen are minor as most of the products reach consumers directly. The value-chain’s downstream is thus described by a short distribution-channel. Horizontal, non-market, linkages characterize inter-firm relations; whereas, arm’s length market linkages dominate the supplier-MSE-buyer relations. In the absence of “lead firms”, wood-work MSE value chains fail to qualify for the mainstream “buyer-driven” model. Without buyer-dominated quasi-hierarchical relationship, MSEs exercise “incremental upgrading” through learning-by-doing. Measures taken to upgrade the production process are considerably inclined to the physical (hardware) aspects of the firm. The MSE value-chain is restrained by internal and external problems. The current state of design marks underdeveloped links in the chain and delays entry into competitive markets. Despite the drawbacks, MSEs enable localities mobilize fragmented resources and create employment. MSEs contribute to LED through the value chain, right from input-sourcing to production and marketing. Inter-firm relations and upgrading efforts uphold the contributions. / Development Studies / Ph. D. (Development Studies)

This research had an objective of exploring the role of MSEs in LED through analysis of wood-work MSE value chain. The basic research questions underscore what the domestic wood-work value chain looks like; what major weaknesses and challenges confront the operation of MSEs; what major areas of upgrading and inter-firm relations are evident in the sector; and what MSE value chains contribute to LED. The research exercise was based on review of related literature and a field survey, involving MSE operators drawn from the study area (Addis Ababa). Mixed method of analysis (quantitative and qualitative) was employed to deal with the data collected through questionnaires and interviews. Porter’s model of VC (1985) and UNIDO’s description of wood-work VC (2005) were used to provide conceptual framework. The wood-work sub-sector in Ethiopia has a domestic value chain since main inputs are from local sources, designs are by local producers, and products are for domestic markets. Domestic actors govern the allocation of resources and the distribution of benefits. Public enterprises control plantations hence primary inputs. Wholesalers in turn control inputs, which finally reach MSEs through retailers. Design, production and marketing decisions are made by MSE operators. Middlemen are minor as most of the products reach consumers directly. The value-chain’s downstream is thus described by a short distribution-channel. Horizontal, non-market, linkages characterize inter-firm relations; whereas, arm’s length market linkages dominate the supplier-MSE-buyer relations. In the absence of “lead firms”, wood-work MSE value chains fail to qualify for the mainstream “buyer-driven” model. Without buyer-dominated quasi-hierarchical relationship, MSEs exercise “incremental upgrading” through learning-by-doing. Measures taken to upgrade the production process are considerably inclined to the physical (hardware) aspects of the firm. The MSE value-chain is restrained by internal and external problems. The current state of design marks underdeveloped links in the chain and delays entry into competitive markets. Despite the drawbacks, MSEs enable localities mobilize fragmented resources and create employment. MSEs contribute to LED through the value chain, right from input-sourcing to production and marketing. Inter-firm relations and upgrading efforts uphold the contributions. / Development Studies / Ph. D. (Development Studies)

Oregon's nursery and greenhouse industry has ranked the first in the State's agricultural for 18 years. The majority of nursery sales from the Pacific Northwest come from Oregon. Due to data limitations, empirical study of the Oregon nursery industry is rare. The present dissertation consists of three essays that analyze the demand and supply of inputs and outputs and the relationship between producers and retailers in the Oregon nursery industry. Chapter 2 identifies the major factors affecting farm labor supply and demand and evaluates their relative importance in the Oregon nursery industry from 1991 to 2008. Empirical results show that border control effort doesn't have an influential role in labor supply, while the Oregon and Mexican minimum wage do. It is because of the substantial gap between the U.S. and Mexican economies, reflected for an example in the minimum wage gap, which attracts a continual flow of immigrants. Risk of border apprehension is not great enough to prevent the flow. Increases in Oregon minimum wage is more effective than border apprehension policies in boosting the average wage and in reducing the number of hours that illegal immigrants work in the nursery sector. Chapter 3 investigates producers' and retailers' choices of, and reactions to, various contract types in the Oregon nursery industry from 2005 to 2010. As new and fast-growing retailers in the industry, big-box stores are less likely than independent retailers to make pre-order contracts with the producer. However, once a pre-order contract is chosen, big-box stores demand more days of pre-order interval than independent retailers do. Transactions with independent retailers exhibit – on average over the sample range – scale economies and scope diseconomies. Boosting per-transaction revenue scale and the number of species sold to big-box stores enhances transaction efficiency. Chapter 4 examines the interaction between supply and demand in Oregon nursery products. The result indicates that the production and transaction costs are major drivers on the supply side, while transportation costs and consumer demand for nursery products play important roles on the demand side. At the genus level, the supply elasticities of coniferous plants are larger than those of deciduous plants, which in turn are higher than those of flowering plants. The demand elasticities are the lowest in coniferous trees followed by deciduous plants, then flowering plants. Price discounts on plants with high demand elasticities would significantly boost sales and enlarge the market, while those on plants with low demand elasticities would have less sales impact. Empirically, patenting seems to bring no direct signs of greater profitability. The wholesale nursery may wish to reconsider the pricing and marketing policies of its patented plants to differentiate them more effectively from its non-patented plants. / Graduation date: 2013

Aujourd'hui l'image de marque des chaînes de distribution est un élément central deleur succès. La plupart d'entre elle ont des programmes destinés à mesurer lesdifférentes dimensions de leur performance au niveau du point de vente, de lasatisfaction de leur client, de la qualité de leur relation-client et de leur image demarque.Ces facteurs sont supposés contribuer à la fidélité des clients. La question est d'enconnaître le poids relatif. L'objet de cette recherche est d'en proposer un modèleintégré et d'en tester la valeur empirique, dans le cas d'une chaîne de distributioniranienne, sur la base d'un échantillon de 500 consommateurs. La qualité des pointsde vente, la satisfaction des consommateurs, l'image de marque de l'entreprise, et laqualité de la relation sont intégrés dans un modèle explicatif de la fidélité desconsommateurs. Effort rarement fait, la littérature ayant testé séparément lesdifférentes hypothèses. / Today, the most successful corporate image in the world are retailing and chain stores. Most chainstores and retailing companies have research programs designed to measure Point of Sale (Store),Customer Satisfaction (Experience), Brand Image (Corporate Image) and Quality of relationship.Such programs are designed to allow management to measure store (POS) constructs and relationswith corporate image, satisfaction, quality of relationship and store loyalty. This constructs provideessential information to guide efforts to increase the excellent variability in stores and will help toensure there continued loyalty and patronage. There is evidence as to the link between store qualityand excellence chain store performance and chain store –level data suggests as link between higherstore quality, higher corporate image, higher customer satisfaction, higher loyalty and improved themarket share, customer share and profitability.The survey effect of Store Quality Dimensions as a POS toward Customer Satisfaction and LoyaltyDimensions, to creating the loyal customers is one of the most important in literature of this thesis.There have been different but homogenous approach for considering research constructs. Thecustomer - based approach, the financial approach and combination approach. While this studyfocus on customer approach and survey the effective process of “SQD ---CS---LD path” in chainstore industry.This constructs used to operationalization of customer loyalty as target objective of model .we usedthe store quality as an antecedent of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty and called “SQDbased-LD” approach. The contribution of this study is formulating and development of aconceptual framework that integrates the constructs of model and extraction of SQD – LD Modelin Iran chain stores.

It is well established that national retail chains impact small, single location retail businesses in terms of revenue generation, retail structure, retail type diversity, and location. This study examines the retail structure and diversity of five retail districts in the City of Denton, Texas. The analysis focuses on one central business district (CBD), one traditional retail strip center (University Drive, also known as US HWY 380), one special retail district (Fry Street District), one traditional enclosed shopping mall and associated development (Golden Triangle Mall), and one power retail center (Denton Crossing). The empirical foundation for the investigation is a historical business database covering years 1997 to 2010, obtained from Info Group's Reference USA. This Reference USA database includes location, industry, and status (single versus chain location) information for each business. Retail diversity and evenness were measured for each of the five retail districts using the Simpson's Diversity Index and the Simpsons Measure of Evenness, leading to specification of the differences that exist in retail structure and diversity among the districts. Golden Triangle Mall and Denton Crossing were primarily chain location in composition while Fry Street District, the CBD, and University Drive were primarily single location in composition. Across all years, the single versus chain status of the local business communities did not substantially change within any of the districts. The Fry Street District exhibited the most change in diversity as well as the lowest overall diversity among the retail districts, followed by University Drive and Golden Triangle Mall. The CBD did not experience any major change in retail type diversity. However, all retail districts experienced major changes in retail evenness. Overall for the city, single location retail businesses accounted for the majority of all the retail businesses, however, chain locations employed more people. In total, these findings indicate that the development of retail districts composed primarily of chain location retailer's affects retail district diversity and evenness but not retail structure.

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