Word-of-mouth communication (WOMC) has been recognized as a powerful marketing communication medium that many consider beyond marketers' control and yet is a reliable, creditable, trustworthy information-gathering tool, especially in credence-based services (CBS). To date, the various types of WOMC messages have not yet been adequately studied in the context of CBS. Using the individual face-toface convergence interview (CI) technique as the primary data collection method of exploratory research, this study attempts to fill this gap by describing the types, the characteristics, and the significance of WOMC messages involved in a CBS information gathering process (e.g. selection of an Australian higher education service). Marketers in the higher education sector feel WOMC advertising is unfamiliar and less manageable, but powerful in practice, especially in recruiting overseas Asian students. This study took the strengths of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS), N*Vivo 2, to manage qualitative transcriptions and enhance the data analysis process in organizing, linking, coding categorizing, organizing, summarizing behaviour patterns in order to explore the insightful findings and answer research questions. The study summarizes participants' motivation items and the specific information gathering steps as the foundation to discover the three types of WOMC messages (service information gathering, subjective personal experience, and personal advice) the characteristics of WOMC messages and the significance of WOMC messages in the CBS information gathering process. In theoretical terms, the findings on the role of types of WOMC messages have extended Beltramini model in the information gathering stage. In terms of the management implications, this research advances the current understanding of the types of WOMC messages, insightful WOMC characteristics and significances in behaviour patterns in the CBS information gathering process. As a result, university marketers are able to effectively cultivate various types of WOMC messages in promotion campaigns.

Cette thèse se situe en organisation industrielle appliquée à l’analyse des marchés des labels privés et des labels collectifs gérés au sein des coopératives. Dans un premier temps, nous analysons théoriquement, comment le pouvoir de négociation entre certificateurs de labels et firmes peut avoir un effet sur le niveau de qualité offert sur le marché. Nous montrons alors que la présence du pouvoir de négociation a pour effet de diminuer le niveau du standard de la certification privée. L’analyse montre également que la présence du pouvoir de négociation peut modifier l’efficacité des politiques de régulation environnementale telles que la taxe et la subvention. Dans unsecond temps, nous analysons empiriquement, comment que le paiement incitatif peut réduire le problème du passager clandestin et améliorer la réputation des labels collectifs gérés au sein des coopératives. Nous montrons donc que la rémunération en fonction de la qualité peut écarter l’option de frauder des membres d’une coopérative. Cette rémunération a un effet positif sur la performance de la coopérative. Ces deux grandes approches sont précédées d’un état de la littérature sur les labels certifiés par les certificateurs privés à but lucratif et sur les labels collectifs. / This thesis applies industrial organization to the analysis of private and collective label markets managed within cooperatives. First, we analyze theoretically how bargaining power between certifiers of labels and firms can have an effect on the level of quality offered on the market. We then show that the presence of bargaining power has the effect of lowering the standard of private certification. The analysis also shows that the presence of bargaining power can change the effectiveness of environmental regulation policies such as taxes and subsidies. Secondly, we analyze empirically how an incentive payment can reduce the free rider problem and improve the reputation of collective labels managed within cooperatives. We therefore show that quality-basedremuneration can exclude the option of defrauding members of a cooperative. Thisremuneration has a positive effect on the performance of the cooperative. These two major approaches are preceded by a review of the literature on labels certified privately for profit and collective labels.

Since the turn of the century, the focus in marketing has shifted to a service-centred view, where co-creation of value between customer and business is central. Services, which are characterized by intangible resources, co-production and heterogeneity, account for the majority of employment in society today. Much research has been done on how customers perceive services and how it affects trust and satisfaction. Therefore, this study aims at investigating the role of the service company in the value creation process by studying how they facilitate the value creation of the customer and how their value offerings can affect the customer's experience of the service. The empirical part of the study is based on interviews made with representatives from two companies, Pinchos (restaurant) and Fysiken (gym), which are classified as experience and credence services. Their perspective on customer experience and expectations has then been compared with their customers' actual experience and expectations through interviews with current or former customers. The study shows that the role of the respective companies in the value creation process in this case is great as the customers of these companies have a lot of responsibility and control over their own experiences. Therefore, value creation is a major part for both companies because they have to offer the resources that the customer needs to independently create value of the service. / Sedan sekelskiftet har fokus inom marknadsföring gått från en varucentrerad till en tjänstecentrerad vy, där samskapande av värde mellan kund och företag är centralt. Tjänster, som karaktäriseras av immateriella resurser, samproduktion och heterogenitet, står idag för majoriteten av sysselsättningen i samhället. Mycket forskning har gjorts om hur kunder uppfattar tjänster och hur detta påverkar tillit och nöjdhet. Därför syftar denna studie på att undersöka tjänsteföretagets roll i den värdeskapande processen genom att studera hur de underlättar för kunden att skapa värde och hur deras värdeerbjudanden kan påverka kundernas upplevelse av tjänsten.Den empiriska delen i studien baseras på intervjuer gjorda med representanter från två företag, Pinchos (restaurang) och Fysiken (gym), som klassats som upplevelse- respektive förtroendetjänster. Deras perspektiv på kundernas upplevelse och förväntningar har sedan jämförts med deras kunders faktiska upplevelse och förväntningar genom intervjuer med nuvarande eller tidigare kunder. Studien visar på att respektive företags roll i den värdeskapande processen i dessa fall är stor då kunderna till dessa företag har mycket ansvar och kontroll över sina egna upplevelser. Därför blir värdeunderlättande en stor del för båda företagen eftersom de måste erbjuda de resurser som kunden behöver för att självständigt kunna skapa värde av tjänsten.

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L’agriculture biologique sort aujourd’hui des frontières des pays du Nord en se développant dans de nombreux pays dits du Sud. Cette dynamique a tout d’abord été celle d’un positionnement sur des filières d’export de produits à haute valeur ajoutée. Parallèlement à l’export, émergent dans un nombre croissant de pays en développement, et notamment au Kenya, des marchés domestiques. La thèse pose la question des dynamiques permettant l’émergence et le développement de ces nouveaux marchés. La recherche est structurée autour de quatre questions. La première porte sur les formes d’organisation des échanges de produits biologiques à Nairobi. À partir du cadre de l’économie néo-institutionnelle, nous expliquons comment, en l’absence de systèmes de certification crédibles, ces produits parviennent à être vendus avec premiums. La seconde question porte sur les conditions d’accès des producteurs à ces marchés. Il est fréquent de mettre en avant leur caractère plus rémunérateur. Or, une partie des producteurs qui pourraient effectivement vendre sur ces marchés privilégient les marchés conventionnels. À partir du concept de coûts de transaction, nous montrons le rôle de coûts de négociation et de suivi. Dans notre troisième chapitre, nous posons la question des effets de l’accès à ces marchés sur la diversification des cultures des producteurs, et par là sur la durabilité économique et environnementale de leurs exploitations. À partir des apports de la micro-économie, nos résultats confirment l’effet positif de l’accès aux marchés biologiques.Enfin, notre quatrième et dernier chapitre consiste en une analyse de l’efficacité de ces marchés et des conditions de leur pérennité. Nous proposons une grille d’analyse associant économie de l’information et analyse de la construction de la qualité. Elle nous permet de comparer les différents dispositifs de certification existant au Kenya. L’analyse montre que le dispositif le moins efficace est celui qui est amené à se développer, posant ainsi la question de la pérennité des marchés biologiques domestiques kenyans. / Over the past two decades the organic agro-food system has been transformed, extending beyond Northern countries and expanding in many so-called developing countries.This dynamic was first a positioning on high added value products’ export markets. Since several years, domestic markets have emerged in a growing number of developing countries, including Kenya. This thesis attempts to shed light on the dynamics explaining these new markets’ emergence and development. The research is based on four questions. The first one concerns the way organic transactions have been organized in Nairobi. Based on neo institutional economics, we explain how, in the absence of credible certification systems, these products are able to be sold with premium. The second question deals with the conditions of producers’ access to these markets. It is common to highlight that organic domestic Kenyan markets are more profitable than conventional ones. However, some producers, who could actually sell in these markets, prefer conventionalones. Thanks to the concept of transaction costs, we show the role of negotiation and monitoring transaction costs. Chapter 3 analyses the effects of selling on organic market on crops’ diversification, as a proxy of economic and environmental sustainability .Based on microeconomics’ contributions our results confirm the positive effect of organic markets. Finally, our fourth and final chapter provides an analysis of the conditions of these markets sustainability. We propose an analysis grid combining economy of information and quality construction approach, based on Hirschman (1970) works.This grid helps us comparing different certification and verification schemes existing in Kenya. Analysis shows that the least effective scheme is the one that is bound to grow,raising the question of the sustainability of Kenyan domestic organic markets.

故事能夠深入人心，為因應數位行動平台的蓬勃發展，廠商將自家品牌產品的故事應用在微電影、微小說…等新式廣告手法在近年來競相而出，「故事行銷」儼然成為品牌商在行銷應用上的新寵。另一方面，品牌產品依據屬性的不同可大致分為三個種類：搜尋品、經驗品與相信品。消費者在不同種類產品上因為能力與動機的不同，在產品上投入的成本亦不盡相同，故事行銷在不同種類的品牌產品應用上是否能夠一概而論？實屬本研究所探討的一大重點。 本研究旨在分析如何能夠有效將故事行銷應用在不同種類的品牌產品上。在進入研究主題前，本研究整理了過去文獻，並將故事一般化地拆解成四大元素：訊息(Message)、衝突(Conflict)、故事角色(Characters)與故事劇情(Plot)。接著，在限制其他因素不變之下，操弄衝突這項故事元素，並以相信品、搜尋品為例，探測不同衝突大小的品牌故事對於不同種類的產品是否存具有不同的適用性。 本研究採2(故事衝突程度：大、小) ╳ 2(產品種類：相信品、搜尋品)的二因子實驗，加上兩組不同產品種類的無故事版本控制組，共分6組。 本研究發現，品牌故事的植入對於品牌產品是有幫助的，且衝突程度不同的品牌故事對於不同種類的產品存在著適用上的差異性。 在相信品的應用上，消費者對於品牌產品的整體信任感可藉由衝突程度較大的品牌故事來提升；在搜尋品的應用上，衝突程度較大的品牌故事對於品牌產品的整體喜好、整體觀感以及整體信任感皆有負向的影響。 整體來看，相信品較適用於衝突程度較大的品牌故事；搜尋品的故事衝突程度則不宜過大。 關鍵字：故事元素、故事衝突、產品種類、相信品、搜尋品 / Storytelling is a powerful tool for marketing, with the explosive growth of social media and content marketing, more and more companies have begun to paint a picture of their culture and values toward their target customers through storytelling. According to the literature, there are four elements that make up the core basis of storytelling: Message, Conflict, Characters and Plot. These elements can be mixed, matched and applied in variety of ways depending on the context in which the story is told, and company’s purpose. This article focus on manipulating one of these elements: Conflict, using 2 ╳ 2 factorial design to test if there are statistical significance between different degrees of conflicts(high level, low level) and different types of products (search goods, credence goods), on the other hand, this article also set contral groups which without brand story to see if storytelling really makes the difference to customer behavior or not. From what has been discussed, this article finds out that storytelling is significantly good for branding; the result of this article also tells about that the higher level of brand story-conflict creates higher level of the overall trust between brand product and customers on credence goods; on the other hand, the higher level of brand story-conflict decreases the overall trust, preference and perception between brand product and consumers on search goods. Key words: Elements of story, Conflict of story, Product type, Credence goods, Search goods