The continued advances in service-oriented computing and global communications have created a strong technology push for online information sharing and business transactions among enterprises, organizations and individuals. While these communities offer enormous opportunities, they also present potential threats due to a lack of trust. Reputation systems provide a way for building trust through social control by harnessing the community knowledge in the form of feedback. Although feedback-based reputation systems help community participants decide who to trust and encourage trustworthy behavior, they also introduce vulnerabilities due to potential manipulations by dishonest or malicious players. Therefore, building an effective and resilient reputation system remains a big challenge for the wide deployment of service-oriented computing. This dissertation proposes a decentralized reputation based trust supporting framework called PeerTrust, focusing on models and techniques for resilient reputation management against feedback aggregation related vulnerabilities, especially feedback sparsity with potential feedback manipulation, feedback oscillation, and loss of feedback privacy. This dissertation research has made three unique contributions for building a resilient decentralized reputation system. First, we develop a core reputation model with important trust parameters and a coherent trust metric for quantifying and comparing the trustworthiness of participants. We develop decentralized strategies for implementing the trust model in an efficient and secure manner. Second, we develop techniques countering potential vulnerabilities associated with feedback aggregation, including a similarity inference scheme to counter feedback sparsity with potential feedback manipulations, and a novel metric based on Proportional, Integral, and Derivative (PID) model to handle strategic oscillating behavior of participants. Third but not the least, we develop privacy-conscious trust management models and techniques to address the loss of feedback privacy. We develop a set of novel probabilistic decentralized privacy-preserving computation protocols for important primitive operations. We show how feedback aggregation can be divided into individual steps that utilize above primitive protocols through an example reputation algorithm based on kNN classification. We perform experimental evaluations for each of the schemes we proposed and show the feasibility, effectiveness, and cost of our approach. The PeerTrust framework presents an important step forward with respect to developing attack-resilient reputation trust systems.

All companies, are vulnerable to events that could impact their reputation. These events can arise from various factors, such as a company's employment practices, economics, natural disasters, pollution, poor governance or poor management. Effective risk managers identify the different circumstances and factors that may impact on the reputation of a company, prior to the incident occurring. In order to assist risk managers, this dissertation proposes a structured approach to the management of reputational risks, which would ensure that the impact on the reputation of the company is minimised. The proposed approach was collated and deduced from the actions taken by companies that have suffered attacks against their reputations, but have successfully mitigated the consequences and minimised the damage to their reputations. Specific South African legislative requirements are also taken into account. This approach is highlighted and confirmed by contrasting it to the actions taken by companies that failed to counter the attacks on their reputation. / Business Management / M.Com. (Business Management)

The automotive industry in South Africa is now more than ever before, facing a new era of intense international competition and as a means to survive; organisations are continuously searching for ways to increase their competitiveness. To this end, recent approaches have focussed on the role that people perform in bringing about competitive advantage and has resulted in greater emphasis being placed on the attraction as well as retention of the right people to achieve organisational success. However, developing trends such as changes in the supply of workers, expectations of new generations and a more diverse population have pressurised organisations to institutionalise a dynamic solution. This has placed greater imperative on becoming an employer of choice - those organisations that can differentiate their human resource practices from the competition in order to attract, develop and retain the people they need. The research problem that was addressed in this study is to identify and investigate the organisational attributes of an employer of choice. A comprehensive literature review was executed to review the various definitions, trends impacting as well as the significance of the status - employer of choice. Furthermore strategies for becoming an employer of choice were evaluated and prominent employer of choice attributes identified from the literature. The researcher has also found that a significant number of authors have suggested employer branding as a key strategy in the effort to become an employer of choice. The concept of employer branding was therefore extensively explored in this study. An empirical study was conducted after the appropriate measuring instrument was developed. The purpose of the measuring instrument was to validate the literature findings, identify the rank importance of the identified attributes and to evaluate the extent to which these factors are provided for in the organisation. A sample consisting of 110 employees were selected to participate in the survey via a random sampling method and a response rate of 89% or 98 employees was obtained. The major findings indicated that the sample group agreed that the prominent attributes in literature are important attributes of an employer of choice. Overall the majority of the sample group does not regard the organisation as an employer of choice and while some of the attributes were present in the organisation, others had serious shortcomings. The literature findings together with the empirical study findings resulted in the development of a strategic model to serve as a guide in determining the initiatives the organisation should embark upon to become an employer of choice.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:26:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Elisabeth Barbieri Lerner.pdf: 4124571 bytes, checksum: db4fb20d64783014dfdb33124ae336cc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-12-07 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / This research evaluated the relationship between the corporate reputation and the corporate social responsibility under the perspective of internal and external stakeholders of the companies. To carry through the research it was necessary to develop measurement scales for the two searched constructs. In the case of the corporate social responsibility, the development of a scale led to the discussion of models of corporate social performance and how to translate them into and operational measure for social responsibility. Two recognized instruments used by the companies to report their social performance had been adopted as starting point (GRI guidelines e Ethos questionnaire). The study of corporate reputation investigated how it has been defined and which variables have been associated with this construct. It was observed that corporate reputation and corporate image frequently appear in the literature as identical, as totally separate concepts or as interrelated phenomena depending on the viewpoints adopted and a proposition for a definition of corporate reputation and corporate image has also been done. The procedures adopted for the construction of the reputation scale had been based on the studies developed by Schwaiger (2004) and Helm (2005), based in Churchill (1979), Anderson and Gerbing (1991), Bagozzi (1994a), Rossiter (2000), Diamantopoulos and Winklhofer. Both scales were developed by type of stakeholder however with the objective to be universal for the diverse sectors of the economy. The sample of respondents was composed of 7129 customers and 679 employees of four national banks. The results had shown strong relationship between the constructs demonstrating that companies that don t assume a responsible posture won t be able to build a good reputation. It was also possible to identify which factors of the corporate social responsibility are most correlated with corporate reputation and to contribute for the discussion of how companies can more effectively plan their actions for these two groups of stakeholders. The study also contributes for the discussion of the form to measure the two constructs. This is a relevant aspect, considering the diversity of approaches for reputation and the necessity of academic treatment for the subject corporative social responsibility. / Esta pesquisa avaliou a relação entre a reputação corporativa e a responsabilidade social corporativa pela perspectiva de stakeholders internos e externos às empresas. Para realizar pesquisa foi necessário desenvolver escalas de mensuração para os dois construtos. No caso da responsabilidade social corporativa, a confecção de um instrumento de medida levou à discussão de modelos teóricos de desempenho social corporativo e como traduzi-los operacionalmente na mensuração da responsabilidade. Dois reconhecidos instrumentos utilizados pelas empresas para reportar o seu desempenho social foram utilizados como ponto de partida (GRI guidelines e questionário Ethos). O estudo da reputação procurou entender as definições e atributos associados ao construto. Observou-se que a reputação corporativa e a imagem corporativa frequentemente aparecem na literatura como conceitos idênticos, totalmente separados ou inter-relacionados e, portanto foi feita uma proposição de definição para imagem e reputação. Os procedimentos adotados para a contsrução da escala de reputação basearam-se nos estudos desenvolvidos por Schwaiger (2004) e por Helm (2005), embasados em Churchill (1979), Anderson e Gerbing (1991), Bagozzi (1994a), Rossiter (2000), Diamantopoulos e Winklhofer (2001). As escalas desenvolvidas para a mensuração dos dois construtos foram construídas de forma segmentada por stakeholder, porém com o objetivo de serem universais para os diversos setores da economia. A amostra de respondentes foi composta de 7129 clientes e 679 funcionários de quatro bancos nacionais. Os resultados mostraram forte relação entre os construtos para os dois grupos de stakeholders demonstrando que empresas que não assumam postura socialmente responsável não poderão construir boa reputação. Pôde-se ainda identificar separadamente para clientes e funcionários quais os fatores da responsabilidade social são mais fortemente correlacionados com a reputação corporativa e contribuir para a discussão de como as empresas podem direcionar suas ações para estes públicos de forma mais efetiva. O estudo contribui também para a discussão da forma de medir os dois construtos. Este é um aspecto relevante, considerando a diversidade de correntes que abordam reputação e a necessidade de abordagem acadêmica para o tema responsabilidade social corporativa.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-05-13T14:48:49Z No. of bitstreams: 1 cibelemariaferraz.pdf: 1475176 bytes, checksum: f46f9c8a34be2052f7b050187c64407a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-06-27T20:49:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 cibelemariaferraz.pdf: 1475176 bytes, checksum: f46f9c8a34be2052f7b050187c64407a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-27T20:49:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 cibelemariaferraz.pdf: 1475176 bytes, checksum: f46f9c8a34be2052f7b050187c64407a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-21 / Partindo do pressuposto de que as ferramentas virtuais alteraram as relações entre as organizações e seus públicos de interesse - pensamento defendido por autores como Argenti, Bueno, Nepomuceno, entre outros -, diminuindo a distância entre conteúdos públicos e privados e, consequentemente, aumentando o desafio das corporações em manterem a reputação positiva, avaliamos se houve mudanças tanto no perfil dos profissionais quanto no status das áreas de comunicação das organizações. Através da análise de empresas associadas à Aberje (Associação Brasileira de Comunicação Empresarial) foi verificado se a gestão da comunicação se altera com as mudanças de contexto social e tecnológico, orientando-se de forma mais estratégica. Examinou-se, também, se houve uma intensificação do trabalho com foco em resultados no desenvolvimento da comunicação corporativa e, por fim, investigamos se as habilidades e as competências dos gestores foram alteradas para enfrentar as mudanças de contexto organizacional e qual o novo perfil desejado para os profissionais da área. Foram realizadas entrevistas qualitativas em profundidade e semiestruturadas ou semiabertas com os gestores das áreas de comunicação. Dos resultados, originou-se uma análise de conteúdo sobre os efeitos de determinados aspectos levantados. Nas dimensões teóricas foram abordados os conceitos de organização, comunicação organizacional, imagem e identidade corporativa, além de gestão e competências contemporâneas. Os resultados permitem afirmar, entre outras considerações, que as formas de relacionamento mediadas pelas ferramentas digitais de comunicação inspiram novos desafios aos profissionais de comunicação organizacional, porém, não são decisivas para a mudança da importância do setor dentro das corporações. / The virtual tools have changed the relationship between organizations and their stakeholders – a thought defended by authors such as Argenti, Bueno, Nepomuceno, among others – and narrowed the gap between public and private. Consequently, they challenged companies to keep a positive reputation; therefore, the aim of the current study is to assess whether there were changes both in the professional profile and in the status of communication sectors within the organizations. An analysis involving companies affiliated to the Brazilian Association of Corporate Communication (Aberje - Associação Brasileira de Comunicação Empresarial) enabled us to check whether the communication management is influenced by changes in social and technological contexts, and thus becomes more strategic. In addition, we assessed whether the work in such sectors turned its attention to corporate communication development. Finally, we investigated whether managers’ skills and competencies have changed in order to face the new the organizational contexts and to draw the desired new profile for professionals in this field. In-depth semi-structured or semi-open qualitative interviews were conducted with the managers of communication sectors and the results enabled analyzing the effects of certain aspects described in the interview contents. Concepts such as organization, organizational communication, image and corporate identity were discussed in theoretical dimensions, as well as contemporary management and skills. The results allow stating, among other things, that the relationships mediated by digital communication tools lead to new challenges faced by organizational communication professionals; however, these challenges do not change the importance given to this sector within corporations.

Orientador: Maria das Graças Conde Caldas / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T19:49:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lima_LeilaCristinaBonfietti_M.pdf: 4111951 bytes, checksum: 46649b952c267e988559434e48448193 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: As instituições de pesquisa e agências de fomento estão cada vez mais conscientes sobre a importância da divulgação da produção científica brasileira para a formação de uma cultura científica no país. A formação de jornalistas especializados na cobertura de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (C,T&I) e a profissionalização das assessorias de comunicação têm sido fundamentais para a ampliação e a melhoria da qualidade da divulgação científica nos meios de comunicação. Este é o caso do setor de comunicação científica da Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Fapesp), criado em 1995, e que desde então vem aprimorando suas atividades de divulgação e influenciando outras agências de fomento do país, pautadas pela sua experiência. Examinar o trabalho de comunicação integrada da Fapesp, cuja atuação tem contribuído na consolidação da imagem da Fundação é o objetivo principal deste trabalho. Trata-se de um Estudo de Caso, que utiliza a técnica da Análise de Conteúdo, com apoio da pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e entrevistas semi-estruturadas. A pesquisa é de natureza qualitativa, combinada com o método quantitativo para ilustrar algumas das informações. Os resultados da pesquisa indicam que a divulgação científica realizada pelo setor de comunicação da Fapesp está em processo contínuo de aperfeiçoamento e tem sido fundamental para a consolidação da imagem institucional. Os diferentes veículos e abordagens (revista Pesquisa Fapesp, Agencia Fapesp, Portal, entre outros) têm se tornado referência na área e contribuído para a divulgação das pesquisas financiadas pela instituição na mídia em geral e para a formação de uma cultura científica / Abstract: Research institutions and funding agencies have been increasingly concerned about how important is the dissemination of Brazilian scientific production for the development of a scientific culture in the country. Education for journalists specialized in the coverage of Science, Technology and Innovation and the increasing professionalism of Communications Offices have been essential to the expansion and improvement of scientific dissemination in the media. This is the case of Fapesp (Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) Communications Office, established in 1995. Since its foundation, Fapesp Communications Office has been enhancing its activities and has become an example for other funding agencies in the country, guided by its experience. The main objective of this project is to examine the work done by Fapesp Communications Office which performance has helped consolidating the image of the referred agency. This research is a case study, which uses the techniques of content analysis, supported by literature, documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. The research is qualitative, combined with the quantitative method to illustrate some information. The survey results indicate that the scientific outreach done by Fapesp is in continuous process of improvement and has been essential in the consolidation of the institutional image. The different vehicles and approaches (Pesquisa Fapesp magazine, news agency, sites, etc.) have become a reference in the area and contributed to the dissemination of the researches funded by the institution in the media, and to the formation of a scientific culture as well / Mestrado / Divulgação Científica e Cultural / Mestre em Divulgação Científica e Cultural

Increasing competition in the market place has made business ever tougher for the multibrand store. In order to create new customers as well as keeping existing customers loyal, companies must create and maintain a strong brand identity and project a strong brand image within their chosen segment. By successfully working with the image companies can create brand recognition and confidence in the brand among customers. By actively aligning the communication of the brand and its image to the image and desires of its customers a company can create a greater brand recognition and loyalty among the customers. But how does a successful communication of the brand image and identity work? Our thesis is based on a case study of a multibrand store focusing on how identity can be communicated through a unique and well put together store environment. We have looked at how they project and communicate their brand image and identity through their shops and how that communication is perceived by their customers.The main purpose is to find out if the corporate image is congruent with the identity of the company. The study is based on interviews with the area manager of the stores in the Gothenburg area and interviews with eight of the stores customers. The questions are focusing towards the identity of the company, communication, image and trust based on the company and the T w ’ importance. The company in focus in this study has achieved a strong level of loyalty for its customers through managing the store design, assortment and service. The result shows that an inspiring store is strong enough for establishing a corporate identity.Keywords: / Det har blivit allt tuffare för klädbutiker att vara framgångsrika då det ständigt etableras nya konkurrenter som vill positionera sig på marknaden. För att åstadkomma trogna kunder krävs det att företaget har en stark identitet och image. Genom att skapa en bra image kan företaget etablera ett starkt igenkännande hos kunderna. Det kan resultera i att kunderna känner tillit till butiken. Imagen bygger på kundernas bild av företaget. Att arbeta aktivt med hur företagets identitet kommuniceras kan leda till överensstämmelse mellan identiteten och imagen, vilket är företagets mål för en lyckad konkurrensstrategi. Men vad är en effektiv kommunikation av företagets identitet till kunderna? Uppsatsen bygger på en fallstudie av en multibrandbutik med fokus på hur butiken kommunicerar ut sin identitet genom sin unika och välarbetade butiksmiljö. Syftet är att ta reda på om den image som företagets befintliga kunder uppfattar stämmer överens med företagets identitet. Undersökningen baseras på intervjuer med företagets regionchef för butikerna i Göteborgsregionen och intervjuer med åtta av butikens kunder. Intervjufrågorna fokuserar på företagets identitet, kommunikation, image och förtroende utifrån företagets och kundernas perspektiv. Resultatet visar att hur man kommunicerar via butikens miljö är viktigt. Företaget i vår studie har lyckats skapa ett starkt förtroende hos sina kunder genom att de arbetar aktivt med butikens inredning, sortiment och service. Det visar sig att en inspirerande butiksmiljö är stark nog för att förmedla företagets identitet.

The essence of this Master thesis is the analysis of corporate identity and image in the selected part of non-profit organization. Furthermore, this analysis will provide valuable information about how it tries to be perceived and how it is perceived in reality. The theoretical part explains terms related to the topic, mainly focuses on corporate identity and its three components, as well as on essence and importance of the corporate image. Then briefly describes the issue of non-profit organization. The methodical part defines the objectives, methods and respondents of the thesis. The practical part is based on theoretical knowledge of the first part. First is presented selected non-profit organization and its part, which is the subject of research. The subsequent own research is divided into two parts, the analysis of identity by using the qualitative research in the form of individual interviews and the analysis of image by using the quantitative research in the form of questionnaire survey. The thesis is concluded by suggestion and recommendations for the non-profit organization.

Cette thèse a pour objectif de déterminer les facteurs explicatifs de la fidélité à l’enseigne - marque de service dans le contexte du pays émergent en intégrant le management de service et le marketing relationnel. Elle se compose de deux parties. La première partie permet de clarifier le concept de la fidélité à l’enseigne-marque de service selon une approche historique, conceptuelle et pluridisciplinaire. Elle vise à mieux comprendre la nature économique, culturelle, socio-démographique des pays émergents. Après une étude qualitative exploratoire, elle propose un modèle conceptuel de la fidélité du consommateur en combinant l’ensemble des concepts de l’expérience de service (qualité de service, image corporate) et de la relation client-marque (confiance, attachement). La deuxième partie est consacrée au test des hypothèses et à l’analyse des résultats suite à une enquête quantitative réalisée auprès des consommateurs bancaires vietnamiens. Les données sont traitées par les méthodes des équations structurelles, d’analyse des effets médiateurs simples et multiples, et la méthode d’orthogonalisation. Les résultats précisent la nécessité de concilier l’approche servicielle et relationnelle dans les études de la fidélité. Plus précisément : Valider l’impact direct et positif de toutes les variables centrales sur la fidélité du consommateur en soulignant le rôle pivot de la qualité perçue de service ; Valider l’impact indirect et positif de la qualité perçue, de l’image sur la fidélité à travers la confiance et l’attachement; Détecter et valider l’effet modérateur des variables contextuelles de la conformité sociale et de la familiarité du consommateur des pays émergents. / The objective of this thesis is to determine the factors explaining the service encounter/brand loyalty in the context of an emerging country by integrating service management and relationship marketing. It consists of two parts.The first part deals with the conceptual framework of this research. It clarifies the concept of service encounter/brand loyalty from a historical, conceptual and multidisciplinary approach. Second, it aims to better understand the demographic, economic and cultural nature of emerging countries. Finally, this section proposes, after an exploratory qualitative study, a conceptual model of customer loyalty by combining all of the concepts of the service experience (perceived service quality, corporate image) and customer - brand relationship (trust, attachment).The second part presents the empirical framework. It is dedicated to assumptions testing and results analyzing based on a quantitative survey of Vietnamese banking consumers. The data are processed by the methods of structural equation analysis, single and multiple mediating effects, and orthogonalization method. The results indicate the need to balance the service-based and relational approach in studies of loyalty. More specifically: i. Validate the direct and positive impact of all central variables on the customer loyalty by highlighting the pivotal role of the perceived quality of service; ii. Validate indirect and positive impact of perceived quality and corporate image on loyalty through trust and attachment; and iii. Detect and validate moderating effect of contextual variables of social compliance and familiarity of the consumer in emerging markets.

The objective of the thesis is an impartial definition of elements that make up the image and identity of the Telefónica Czech Republic, a.s. company. The work is divided into theoretical and analytical part. Introduction of the theoretical part clarifies concepts such as company image and company identity within various factors of management of profit-making organizations. The theoretical part of the thesis seeks to draw on available, especially foreign literature. The subsequent analytical part is exclusively devoted to the central theme of the thesis, i.e. detailed analysis of corporate identity and corporate image of the Telefónica Czech Republic, a.s. company with the emphasis on their mutual differences. After several chapters, followed by a part focusing on active research with the help of a questionnaire survey. Here, the thesis analyses and consequently summarizes data obtained from the questionnaire survey of the scope of image and identity of Telefónica Czech Republic, a.s.. The partial objective of the analytical part is also a comparison within the competitive telecommunications market in the Czech Republic. The main aim of the thesis is to try to find possible activities leading to continuous positive development of the image and identity od Telefónica Czech Republic, a.s..