「知識經濟」概念開始於90年代初期。「經濟合作開發組織」在「1996年科學技術和科技展望」的報告中，該報告認為以知識為本位的經濟即將改變全球經濟發展型態；知識已成為生產力提升與經濟成長的主要驅動力，隨著資訊通訊科技的快速發展與高度應用，世界各國的產出、就業及投資將明顯轉向知識密集產業，這些「以知識密集產業為基礎的經濟」簡稱為知識經濟。 知識經濟時代是顧客導向時代，以全球化競爭、創新、研發與累積智慧資本的時代。在這樣特質的時代裡，知識管理是知識經濟時代最重要的管理方向。討論知識經濟時代的品質管理時，『知識管理』的精神和作法是探討的主軸。所以如何在全面品質管理中加入知識管理的程序，包含知識的確認、知識的獲得、知識的發展與創造、知識的分享與移轉、知識的具體使用和知識的維持與剔除等重要要素，是知識經濟時代品質管理的重要課題。 品質管理從泰勒的科學管理、專業分工提出後，就一直為產業界所重視。隨著創新和知識經濟的浪潮，品質管理應如何在這波浪潮中繼續其功能，在所謂的新知識經濟時代，品質管理的手法與應用，又會以何創新的面貌，在企業中推行實施，創造出最高的價值，這是非常值得省思的的主題。也是這篇論文主要的研究原因和動機。 本論文由品質管理大師的理論著手，介紹全面品質管理的理論基礎、全面品質管理核心內涵、進而探討在知識經濟中的品質體系和管理模式。由傳統品質要求，進到知識經濟時代的品質系統建構。其中加入企業個案與作法，使實務與理論得以互相對照。 關鍵詞：知識經濟、顧客導向、知識管理、全面品質管理

<p><strong>Syfte:</strong> Syftet med denna uppsats ligger i att undersöka hur svenska fastighetsmäklarföretag använder sig av sociala medier i sitt vardagliga arbete. Vi har undersökt hur komponenter så som <em>kundfokus, marknadsföring </em>samt <em>försäljning </em>återspeglas mot företagen i och med deras inträde i de sociala medierna.</p><p><strong>Metod: </strong>Vi har använt oss av en kvalitativ metod i arbetet och det grundar sig på en empirisk studie där vi bearbetat inhämtat material ifrån intervjuer. Vi har även haft en kumulativ inriktning i vårt arbete för att på så sätt få en mer unik aspekt på arbetet.</p><p><strong>Resultat & slutsats: </strong>Resultatet visar på att det finns en stor möjlighet för svenska fastighetsmäklarföretag att använda sig av sociala medier i ett syfte som ligger i att öka försäljningen. I dagsläget anser vi inte att medvetenheten hos svenska fastighetsmäklarföretag gällande sociala mediers betydelse är tillräckligt stor. Dessutom finns inte en insikt om att den förmodade framtida expansionen av sociala medier. Riskerna som finns i och med expansion av företaget via sociala medier är något vi tittat väldigt noga på och kommit fram till att företagen står inför en avvägning gällande taktiskt tillvägagångssätt. Riskerna som uppstår i och med att agera som marknadsledande är stora, men den fördelen det ger om man lyckas menar vi helt klart vara värt det.</p><p><strong>Förslag till fortsatt forskning:</strong> Vårt förslag till vidare forskning handlar då om ett utförligt förslag till hur företag ska framställa sin framtida expansion på marknaden. Vi har i vår uppsats tagit reda på möjligheterna och riskerna med sociala medier. Därför skulle vi se att en grundlig forskning i ett sätt att hantera problemet som detta innebär som högst relevant för fastighetsmäklarbranschen.</p><p><strong>Uppsatsens bidrag: </strong>Vi har i vår uppsats behandlat dagens situation gällande Sociala Medier inom fastighetsmäklarbranschen. Vi har utarbetat problemen i dagens läge och diskuterat huruvida dessa kan lösas för framtiden. Således menar vi att denna uppsats mycket väl kan ligga som grund för en framtida utveckling för Sociala Medier inom fastighetsmäklarbranschen.</p> / <p><strong>Aim:</strong> The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Swedish real estate brokerage firm makes use of social media in their everyday work. We have investigated how components such as customer focus, marketing and sales are reflected in the companies and their entry into social media.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> We have used a qualitative approach in the work and it is based on an empirical study where we worked material obtained from interviews. We also have a cumulative approach in our work so as to get a more unique aspect of the work.</p><p><strong>Result & Conclusions: </strong>The results show that there is a great opportunity for Swedish real estate broker to make use of social media with a purpose to increase sales. In the current situation we do not believe that the awareness of Swedish real estate brokerage firm concerning social media is important enough. In addition, there is a realization that the probable future expansion of social media. Risks that exist in the expansion of the company through social media are something we have looked very carefully and have concluded that they face a balancing force tactical approach. The risks that arise in that acting as if you were the market leading company are very crucial. Although the advantage it gives if you succeed we have realized are very well be worth it.</p><p><strong>Suggestions for future research: </strong>Our proposal forfurther research is a more detaled research for how companies will be able to use social media in its future expansions in the market. We have in our thesis examined the possibilities and risks of social media. Therefore, we see that a thorough research in a way to deal with the problem that this presents as highly relevant for the real estate business.</p><p><strong>Contribution of the thesis: </strong>We have in our thesis examined the current situation concerning Social Media in the real estate business. We have developed todays problems and discuss whether these can be resolved for the future. Thus, we believe that this thesis may well serve as a basis for future development of Social Media in the real estate business.</p>

<p>This thesis investigates the utilization of customer and dealer feedback within organizations. Only few companies seem to fully exploit the valuable information they receive on customer and dealer opinions and preferences. The purpose of this study is to examine how firms can ensure that feedback contributes to the development of improvements in the organization in order to become more customer-centric. Theoretical approaches to a company’s relationships with customers and dealers, the importance of internal and external customer satisfaction, the creation of knowledge and the role of the organization have been considered. Thereafter, the current processes of feedback utilization in the case company Volvo Construction Equipment Region International have been analyzed, the organization’s internal environment studied and the perspective of its dealers included. These steps have been taken in order to answer the main research question of this thesis, namely ‘How can the administrative functions of an MNC become more customer-centric by improving an existing customer and dealer feedback process?’ Several conditions have been identified in this study, which need to be in place in order for companies to benefit from customer and dealer feedback. Especially the development of adequate processes for feedback analysis, knowledge creation and action-taking, as well as an appropriate organizational culture, appear to be central in this context. The provided recommendations of this thesis regarding the involvement of employees, procedures in the process of feedback utilization, a framework for company-wide learning, and the role of the dealers shall help to understand how to make better use of feedback in future.</p>

Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats ligger i att undersöka hur svenska fastighetsmäklarföretag använder sig av sociala medier i sitt vardagliga arbete. Vi har undersökt hur komponenter så som kundfokus, marknadsföring samt försäljning återspeglas mot företagen i och med deras inträde i de sociala medierna. Metod: Vi har använt oss av en kvalitativ metod i arbetet och det grundar sig på en empirisk studie där vi bearbetat inhämtat material ifrån intervjuer. Vi har även haft en kumulativ inriktning i vårt arbete för att på så sätt få en mer unik aspekt på arbetet. Resultat &amp; slutsats: Resultatet visar på att det finns en stor möjlighet för svenska fastighetsmäklarföretag att använda sig av sociala medier i ett syfte som ligger i att öka försäljningen. I dagsläget anser vi inte att medvetenheten hos svenska fastighetsmäklarföretag gällande sociala mediers betydelse är tillräckligt stor. Dessutom finns inte en insikt om att den förmodade framtida expansionen av sociala medier. Riskerna som finns i och med expansion av företaget via sociala medier är något vi tittat väldigt noga på och kommit fram till att företagen står inför en avvägning gällande taktiskt tillvägagångssätt. Riskerna som uppstår i och med att agera som marknadsledande är stora, men den fördelen det ger om man lyckas menar vi helt klart vara värt det. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Vårt förslag till vidare forskning handlar då om ett utförligt förslag till hur företag ska framställa sin framtida expansion på marknaden. Vi har i vår uppsats tagit reda på möjligheterna och riskerna med sociala medier. Därför skulle vi se att en grundlig forskning i ett sätt att hantera problemet som detta innebär som högst relevant för fastighetsmäklarbranschen. Uppsatsens bidrag: Vi har i vår uppsats behandlat dagens situation gällande Sociala Medier inom fastighetsmäklarbranschen. Vi har utarbetat problemen i dagens läge och diskuterat huruvida dessa kan lösas för framtiden. Således menar vi att denna uppsats mycket väl kan ligga som grund för en framtida utveckling för Sociala Medier inom fastighetsmäklarbranschen. / Aim: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Swedish real estate brokerage firm makes use of social media in their everyday work. We have investigated how components such as customer focus, marketing and sales are reflected in the companies and their entry into social media. Method: We have used a qualitative approach in the work and it is based on an empirical study where we worked material obtained from interviews. We also have a cumulative approach in our work so as to get a more unique aspect of the work. Result &amp; Conclusions: The results show that there is a great opportunity for Swedish real estate broker to make use of social media with a purpose to increase sales. In the current situation we do not believe that the awareness of Swedish real estate brokerage firm concerning social media is important enough. In addition, there is a realization that the probable future expansion of social media. Risks that exist in the expansion of the company through social media are something we have looked very carefully and have concluded that they face a balancing force tactical approach. The risks that arise in that acting as if you were the market leading company are very crucial. Although the advantage it gives if you succeed we have realized are very well be worth it. Suggestions for future research: Our proposal forfurther research is a more detaled research for how companies will be able to use social media in its future expansions in the market. We have in our thesis examined the possibilities and risks of social media. Therefore, we see that a thorough research in a way to deal with the problem that this presents as highly relevant for the real estate business. Contribution of the thesis: We have in our thesis examined the current situation concerning Social Media in the real estate business. We have developed todays problems and discuss whether these can be resolved for the future. Thus, we believe that this thesis may well serve as a basis for future development of Social Media in the real estate business.

This is a dissertation about customer focus. Customer focus is a concept that can be understood in terms of giving the customer what the customer wants. It has been argued that the industrial society has transformed into a service society with the obvious consequence that services nowadays play a leading part, not at least in regard to customer focus. The customer of today is claimed to have lost interest in mass consumption and is much attracted to personalized and unique solutions, something that results in the fact that businesses must create or develop customer focus, i.e. listen to the customer’s wishes, needs, and demands. According to most researchers in this field, “service excellence” is the primary aspect one firm can use in order to successfully compete with other similar firms. According to Service Management, customer focus is much about developing a personal relationship between the service provider (employee) and the customer. In order to that, the service provider needs to adjust his or hers behaviour in accordance with the customer. This circumstance has a tendency to lead to a “master-and-servant” relation, in which the service provider must obey the various wishes, needs, and demands any customer may have. Most studies on customer focus have been undertaken in the context of low skill service work, but the results have often (implicitly) been generalized to comprise all service work in the whole service sector. As a consequence of this situation, my survey takes on high skill service work (banking and health care). The main purpose of the survey is to examine if the results and analyses, presented from service management apply when the services are not low skill. The results from this survey shows that Service Managements heavily emphasis of the personal relationship between employee and customer – in which the service provider in some meaning need to undertake the role of a servant – can be questioned. The results also show that there is a discrepancy between (bank customers’ and patients’) opinion on an abstract comprehensive level and a specific level where various situations and errands are defined. Further, the dissertation shows that the various factors that can be included in the conception of customer focus, need to be examine more carefully. Some factors integrate in a way that makes it difficult to separate them, and one specific factor can in fact hold a variety of essences.

This thesis investigates the utilization of customer and dealer feedback within organizations. Only few companies seem to fully exploit the valuable information they receive on customer and dealer opinions and preferences. The purpose of this study is to examine how firms can ensure that feedback contributes to the development of improvements in the organization in order to become more customer-centric. Theoretical approaches to a company’s relationships with customers and dealers, the importance of internal and external customer satisfaction, the creation of knowledge and the role of the organization have been considered. Thereafter, the current processes of feedback utilization in the case company Volvo Construction Equipment Region International have been analyzed, the organization’s internal environment studied and the perspective of its dealers included. These steps have been taken in order to answer the main research question of this thesis, namely ‘How can the administrative functions of an MNC become more customer-centric by improving an existing customer and dealer feedback process?’ Several conditions have been identified in this study, which need to be in place in order for companies to benefit from customer and dealer feedback. Especially the development of adequate processes for feedback analysis, knowledge creation and action-taking, as well as an appropriate organizational culture, appear to be central in this context. The provided recommendations of this thesis regarding the involvement of employees, procedures in the process of feedback utilization, a framework for company-wide learning, and the role of the dealers shall help to understand how to make better use of feedback in future.

Frågeställning: Hur kan DMOs arbeta för att förstå turisternas förväntningar inför en destinationsupplevelse? Syfte: Syftet med undersökningen är att skapa en förståelse för turisternas förväntningar, både hur de skapas och hur de kan påverka turistens uppfattade destinationsupplevelse. Vi vill även kunna förklara hur turister kan delas in i olika målgrupper baserat utifrån vad de efterfrågar av en destinationsupplevelse. Slutligen syftar undersökningen till att kunna förklara för DMOs hur de kan arbeta med hänsyn till turisternas förväntningar i framtida destinationsutveckling. Metod: Uppsatsen har haft en deduktiv ansats med både ett sambandsbaserat och beskrivande syfte. Undersökningen innefattar både kvantitativa och kvalitativa metoder. Datainsamlingen genomfördes via fokusgrupp, enkät och dagböcker. Resultat: För att förstå hur turistens förväntningar bildas bör en DMO dela in turisterna i målgrupper baserade på vilken destinationsupplevelse de söker. Olika segment bildar sina förväntningar på olika sätt vilket gör det viktigt att differentiera sin kommunikation till turisten för att kunna påverka förväntningarna. Begränsningar: Undersökningen av DMOs är på regional nivå, vilket begränsar undersökningen till att inte uttala sig om DMOs på nationell eller lokal nivå. Turisterna vi har undersökt är fritidsturister som är bosatta i Sverige, vilket gör att undersökningen inte är gällande för affärsresenärer eller turister som är bosatta utanför Sverige. Teoretiskt och praktiskt bidrag: Det teoretiska bidraget består av att vi har kunnat konstatera att Parasuramans et al. (1985) gapmodell är applicerbar på en destination, med vissa anpassningar till turismlitteraturen. I slutsatsen presenteras den teoretiska modell som illustrerar gapen för en destination. Det praktiska bidraget består av rekommendationer som en DMO kan följa för att steg för steg överbygga gapen. / Research question: How may a DMO be organized to enable an understanding of tourist expectations before the destination experience? Purpose: The purpose with this study is to create an understanding of tourist expectations, including how they are conducted and how the expectations may influence the perceived experience of the destination. The aim of this study is also to explain how tourists may be diverted into segments by what a tourist demands of a destination experience. This thesis will end in recommendations according to how a DMO could be organized to gain a greater knowledge of tourism expectations that will be useful for future innovation at the destination. Methods: The research approach of this thesis is deductive, with both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The data collection consisted of a focus group, a survey and personal notebooks. Results: To be able to understand how a tourist creates expectations of a destination a DMO must segment their tourists into different segments, depending on what kind of experience they are looking to find at the destination. Expectations are created in different ways by different segments. This increases the importance for DMOs to differentiate their marketing communications to the tourist and thereby influence their expectations. Limitations: The thesis is not applicable for national or local DMOs, since the data is collected from regional DMOs. It is neither applicable for business travellers nor tourists that live outside of Sweden, seeing that the population and sample of tourists lives in Sweden and are leisure travellers. Theoretical and practical contribution: The conclusion of this thesis makes us confident that Parasuraman et al. (1985) gap model may be applied at the complexity of a destination, with certain adjustments from the tourism literature. The conclusion made us able to create a theoretical model. The practical contribution of this thesis is the recommendations that will enable a DMO to step-by-step overcome the complexity of a destination.

På grund av den kraftiga tillväxt som skett i servicesektorn, vilken idag står för ungefär 70 procent av den totala ekonomiska aktiviteten i världen, har anpassning till nya krav blivit en förutsättning för att säkra en stark position på en snabbt föränderlig och konkurrensutsatt marknad. Oron för kvalitet har därmed vuxit och begreppet är idag, mer än någonsin, en viktig del av en organisations verklighet och vardag. Tidigare modeller för utvärdering av servicekvalitet betonar att kvalitetsbegreppet är mångfacetterat. Trots detta föreslås dessa modeller vara ganska begränsade utifrån en helhetssyn. Vidare är de heller inte tillräckligt anpassade till den specifika service som är föremål för utvärdering. Syftet med detta examensarbete var att utveckla en heltäckande modell och metod för utvärdering och förbättring av servicekvalitet, vilken medför att ett privat utbildningsföretag kan säkra en stark position på en konkurrensutsatt och snabbt föränderlig marknad. En fältstudie bestående av ett antal semistrukturerade intervjuer och en datorbaserad enkät genomfördes i samarbete med ett privat utbildningsföretag. Med hjälp av Voice of the Customer och ett systembaserat synsätt kunde kvalitetskonceptet definieras och de följande kvalitetsdimensionerna kunde identifieras: - Resultatkvalitet - Kvalitet hos lärarnas interaktionsförmåga - Struktur- och innehållskvalitet - Kvalitet hos den fysiska miljön - Kvalitet hos den administrativa Personalens interaktionsförmåga Kvalitetsansvariga inom sektorn för privat utbildning kan använda den föreslagna modellen som ett verktyg för utvärdering av nuvarande arbete och därigenom genomföra viktiga kvalitetsförbättringar. Vidare kan den föreslagna modellen och metoden också användas som grund för studier inom andra serviceområden för utveckling av liknande och för dessa områden anpassade modeller. / Due to the considerable growth of the service sector, which today accounts for roughly 70 percent of the total economic activity worldwide, adapting to new demands is a prerequisite for securing a strong position on a rapidly changing and competitive market. The concern for quality grows and the concept has become a more than ever important part of organizational reality. Existing models for evaluation of service quality share the common trait of emphasizing the concept of quality as a multifaceted one; still these models are proposed to be rather limited from a comprehensive view. Furthermore, they are not adapted specifically to the service being subject to evaluation. The purpose of this thesis was to develop a comprehensive model and approach for evaluation and improvements of service quality in order for a private education company to secure a strong position in a competitive and rapidly changing market climate. A case study consisting of a number of semi-structured interviews and a computer-based survey was performed in cooperation with a private education company. By using Voice of the Customer and a systems approach the concept of quality could be defined and the following dimensions of quality could be identified: - Outcome Quality - Teacher Interaction Quality - Structure and Contents Quality - Physical Environment Quality - Administration Interaction Quality Service Quality Managers in the sector of private education can use the proposed model as a tool for evaluation of current work and thereby enforce important quality improvements. Furthermore, the proposed model and approach can also be used as a foundation for studies within other service settings for development of similar and for those areas adapted models.

Nos últimos anos, as organizações enfrentam um mercado com alta competitividade e, obrigatoriamente, buscam vantagem competitiva. Diante desse cenário, o foco no cliente é apontado como solução para o alcance da vantagem competitiva sustentável. E, conseqüentemente, a filosofia do marketing Itol é inserida nesse contexto. Paralelamente, o grande desenvolvimento da tecnologia de informação aparece como uma variável ímpar nesse cenário, agravando a concorrência no mercado e, simultaneamente, viabilizando a filosofia do marketing Itol. Desse modo, surge o CRM (Customer Relationship Management) como estratégia de negócio. Este trabalho, baseado na pesquisa bibliográfica e no estudo de caso exploratório, propõe um conjunto de soluções de CRM para uma empresa do setor sucroalcooleiro. Ao longo desse estudo, procurou-se analisar os principais conceitos, ferramentas, condições propícias e obstáculos inseridos nesse assunto e, sobretudo, identificá-los e contextualizá-los na realidade empresarial pesquisada. Sendo assim, após esse estudo de caso, conclui-se que a concepção do CRM precisa ser uma necessidade organizacional e coerente com o respectivo contexto. Entretanto, percebe-se a pertinência das principais condições propícias e dificuldades para a implantação do CRM, que foram observadas e discutidas no decorrer da revisão bibliográfica. Finalmente, ressaltam-se a individualidade organizacional e a peculiaridade do respectivo mercado de atuação. Portanto, pode-se afirmara necessidade de personalizar cada estratégia de CRM. / In recent years, the organizations have being faced a very competitive marketplace and they must seek for a competitive advantage. According to the scenery, the focus on clients is pointed out as the solution to reach a sustainable competitive advantage. Consequently, the conception of the marketing one to one appears in this context. Moreover, the huge development of the information technology represents an important factor, which aggravates the competition in the marketplace and, at the same time, it enables the conception of the marketing one to one. In this case, the CRM (customer relationship management) surges as a business strategy. This dissertation, which is based on the bibliographic research and the case study, proposes a set of solutions of CRM for a company of the sugar alcohol industry. During this study, some aspects were analyzed such as main concepts, tools, good conditions and obstacles inside of this subject and, especially, defining them in the reality of this researched organization. To make a summary, after this study, it is possible to conclude that the conception of CRM should be a company necessity and coherent with its context. However, it is also possible to realize the relevance of the major suitable conditions and the difficulties to set up of the CRM, which were discussed in the bibliographic review. Finally, it must emphasize the organizational individuality and the peculiarity of the respective market. Therefore, it confirms the needof personalizing each strategy of CRM.

The thesis investigated the application and implementation of marketing practices in public library services in the UK and Republic of Ireland, using local authority leisure services as a comparator. The empirical research included both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to assess marketing strategy development in public libraries, using a comparison with local authority leisure services to provide a contextual framework. The research covered the period 1991-1999, using a triangulation approach of national questionnaire surveys, case study interviews and document analysis, as well as extensive reference to the relevant literature. The research was conducted during a period of increasing economic, political and social pressure to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public sector services. The growth of consumerism in the 1980s and 90s had increased pressures on public libraries to provide an even wider range of quality services at a time of financial restraint. The hypotheses for the research were: that marketing principles, which have been modified to meet the needs of not-for-profit services, are essential for the delivery of effective public library services; the successful implementation of such relevant marketing principles and practice in public library services is dependent on a range of organizational, environmental and cultural constraints. The research found the hypotheses to be valid; there were a number of significant constraints on public library marketing, including government legislation, budget reductions, local government reorganization, and a lack of marketing awareness and customer orientation. Recommendations included the fundamental reorientation of library service delivery from a product orientated organization to a customer focused service; further research to investigate the linkages between marketing tools and the principles of total quality management; and research into the marketing training and continuing education needs of senior managers, the marketing awareness of elected members, and the in-house training of all library staff in marketing theory and techniques.