Young people, born in the 1990s, are pictured by the society as individuals who are connected and who tend to put their physical moments besides. Only a few studies have been carried out to understand how they feel and why they act as they do. The purpose of this study was to understand the consumption behaviour and the characteristics of a new generation: Generation D, in order to reach them efficiently with fairer market alternatives. This research seeks to address the following questions: 1.Who are the people representing Generation D? 2.What is sustainable, what is fair? 3.How should the relationship between the generation and fair-trade brands look like? We found out, with the help of the empirical findings and the analysis, that a company needs to take into account two main characteristics to target this generation. We noticed that social media have a real impact on the people from this generation. This generation grew up with the development of the technological world; the internet is part of their life. We noticed that social media might influence the self-esteem of this individuals, they tend to compare their life to others. However, social media are one of their main channels of communication. We also found out that the individuals who are part of this generation are looking for meaningful actions. They want to be useful and help our society by protecting the environment or social rights. To be able to reach the people from this generation, companies need to use social media to communicate with them and focus on the understanding of the true feelings of these individuals. They need to establish an honest relationship. This thesis might be valuable for companies who want to target young generations and reach them efficiently. They need to understand the true feelings of their target group and rethink marketing strategies to differentiate themselves from the jungle of competitors. Marketers can also use our synthesis of the theoretical framework and apply it to their segment. Lastly, this study helps in raising awareness regarding the effects of using the internet and regarding the expression of oneself.

Background: Digital platforms include various business models and represent a large and growing part of the economy empowered by digitalization. The added value of platforms depends crucially on their user interactions, which is why adopting new users is crucial. In the internationalization process, digital platforms differ from traditional companies because it is not their own presence that matters, but the users’ location.   Problem: To join a digital platform, the size of the existing user base has been discussed as a decisive feature by the literature. This assumption is based on the concept of network effects. However, these can lose their effect when national borders are crossed and/or digital platforms are location-bound. In the overall discussion about digital platforms, the relevant sub-category of digital marketplaces, especially in the B2B area, has not yet been taken into account and no alternatives for the size of the existing user base have been discussed.   Purpose: This study aims to investigate the attractiveness of digital platform attributes for potential international users of digital B2B marketplaces when the latter enter a foreign market.   Research Question: Which attributes and which of their levels do potential users prefer in a cross-border digital B2B marketplace?   Method: The study is a quantitative, inductive research with an exploratory purpose. An internal realist ontology and a positivist epistemology are applied. Data are collected and analyzed by using the traditional rating-based conjoint analysis. Four attributes with two times two and two times three levels are queried in nine company profiles using an Internet survey questionnaire with n = 159.    Conclusion: This study extends the existing literature on digital platforms by capturing identifying characteristics of digital B2B marketplaces and exploring potential users' preferences for such platforms. We conclude a high importance of distance to users who are already active on the platform, as well as the language of the platform. This is followed by the location of active users and rounded off with a lower importance of user verification.

This work deals with Government Cloud (G-Cloud) solutions which provide shared ICT services in the field of public authorities. These solutions are deployed mainly because they bring significant financial savings for government. The aim of this work is to analyse three selected G-Cloud solutions and based on this analysis propose a concept of the solution suitable for the Czech Republic. G-Cloud solutions used in Denmark, Great Britain and Slovakia were selected for this analysis. First, a set of unified criteria was established to allow an objective analysis. Through these criteria, analysed solutions were described in terms of concept, offered services, delivery process and service usage, scheduling the entire solution and its component parts, security, legislation, and providing information to interested parties. The main benefits of this work are the comparison of analysed solutions and the draft concept of the solution for the Czech Republic.

Digital marketplaces gained increased importance in the circular economy. Although their economic benefits are a popular subject in present literature, research is scarce on their environmental impact. Since economic motivations often collide with environmental motivations on digital marketplaces within the circular economy, rebound effects can occur. Therefore, it is crucial for companies to continuously evaluate the environmental value of their service. Consequently, this thesis aims at creating a framework to identify the environmental impact of digital marketplaces within the circular economy. Two important questions had to be answered in this research: How environmental impact assessment and user behavior can be combined to identify factors that influence the environmental impact of such digital marketplaces and how these factors can be incorporated into a framework. Based on a review of relevant literature on circular economy, environmental impact assessment and user behavior, a single case study was conducted on the digital marketplace of the urban logistics startup Tiptapp. Qualitative data was gathered by interviewing users. Respondents were divided into two groups depending on their role on the platform: ‘helpers’ (supply) and ‘advertisers’ (demand). The results indicated that mainly three factors influence the environmental impact: user behavior, user flow and direct interactions, and external factors. By designing the framework to outline the influencing factors and their relationship, an initial foundation has been built for digital marketplaces and their providers to evaluate the environmental impact of their services and to actively counteract concealed rebound effects. Future research is needed to facilitate generalizability of the proposed framework as well as data integration and accurate impact calculations. / Digitala marknadsplatser har ökat i betydelse för den cirkulär ekonomin. Även om deras ekonomiska fördelar är ett populärt ämne i nuvarande litteratur är forskning om deras miljöpåverkan knapp. Eftersom ekonomiska motiv ofta kolliderar med miljömässiga motiv på digitala marknadsplatser inom den cirkulära ekonomin kan rebound-effekter uppstå. Därför är det avgörande för företag att kontinuerligt utvärdera miljövärdet av deras tjänster. Följaktligen syftar den här studien till att skapa ett ramverk för att identifiera miljöpåverkan av digitala marknadsplatser inom cirkulär ekonomi. Två viktiga frågor måste besvaras i denna forskning: Hur miljökonsekvensbedömning och användarbeteende kan kombineras för att identifiera faktorer som påverkar miljöpåverkan av sådana digitala marknadsplatser och hur dessa faktorer kan integreras i ett ramverk. Baserat på relevant litteratur om cirkulär ekonomi, miljökonsekvensbedömning och användarbeteende har en fallstudie genomförts på den digitala marknadsplatsen Tiptapp, som är ett urbant logistik-startup. Kvalitativa data samlades in genom att intervjua användare. De svarande delades in i två grupper beroende på deras roll på plattformen: "helpers" (utbud) och "advertisers" (efterfrågan). Resultaten indikerade att främst tre faktorer har påverkan på miljön: användarbeteende, användarflöde och direkta interaktioner samt externa effekter. Genom att utforma ett ramverk för att beskriva de påverkande faktorerna och deras förhållande har en första grund byggts. Detta för att digitala marknadsplatser och deras leverantörer ska kunna utvärdera miljöpåverkan av deras tjänster och aktivt motverka dolda rebound-effekter. Framtida forskning behövs för att underlätta generaliserbarhet av det föreslagna ramverket samt dataintegration och exakta konsekvensberäkningar.

Digitala marknadsplatser är digitala plattformar baserade på användargenererat innehåll. De är svåra att etablera då de huvudsakligen är beroende av användarens motivation och fria vilja att bidra med innehåll. Syftet med kandidatuppsatsen är att utforska och förvärva kunskap om användare av digitala marknadsplatsers perspektiv på den nuvarande utformningen av en digital marknadsplats. Målet med studien är att rekommendera designriktlinjer genom interaktionsdesign. Baserat på användares önskade egenskaper hos en förbättrad design av den digitala marknadsplatsen, som kan motivera användare att bidra med användargenererat innehåll. En kvalitativ ansats med en fenomenologisk forskningstradition har tillämpats för att besvara forskningsfrågorna, detta genom en gruppintervju med en fokusgrupp. Ett strategiskt urval görs, baserat på fem individer med tidigare kunskap om den digitala marknadsplatsen. För att analysera data tillämpas en tematisk analys, som sedan sammanställs i form av ett affinitetsdiagram. Self-determination Theory (SDT) tillsammans med en litteraturöversikt med fokus på områden inom marknadsplatser, användargenererat innehåll (UGC) och marknadsplatsdesign utgör en teoretisk ram som används för att förstå, tolka och diskutera forskningsresultaten. Forskningsresultaten visar att användare måste förses med enkla verktyg för att bidra med användargenererat innehåll. De känner sig också motiverade att bidra med innehåll när systemet består av ett gränssnitt med få steg, vilket gör det enkelt att interagera med andra användare. Genom att dela med sig av sina erfarenheter upplever användaren en känsla av samhörighet och gemenskap, vilket även ökar motivationen att bidra. Slutligen visar studien att anpassa designen av den digitala marknadsplatsen till specifika användare och deras behov, ökar användarens motivation att bidra med användargenererat innehåll. / Digital marketplaces are digital platforms based on user-generated content. They are difficult to be established as they mainly depend on users’ motivation and free will to contribute with content. Thus, the purpose of this bachelor thesis study is to explore and acquire knowledge about digital marketplace platform users’ perspectives of the current design of a digital marketplace platform. The aim of the bachelor thesis research is to recommend interaction design guidelines. Based on users’ desired characteristics of an improved design of the digital marketplace platform that could, subsequently, motivate users in contributing user-generated content. For the research, a qualitative approach with a phenomenological tradition is followed. The empirical data is collected through a focus group interview with five purposively selected participants that have previous knowledge of the digital marketplace platform. To analyze the data, a thematic analysis is applied, which is, then, compiled in the form of an affinity diagram. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) along with a literature review focusing on areas within marketplaces, user-generated content (UGC) and, marketplace design, formulate a theoretical framework that is used to understand, interpret and discuss the research findings. The research results show that users feel motivated to contribute content when simple tools are provided to them. Furthermore, users feel motivated to contribute content when the system consists of an interface with few steps, which enables easy interaction with other users and sharing of their experiences by giving them the feeling of belonging to a community. Finally, adapting the design of the digital marketplace platform to specific users and their needs inspires and increases the motivation of users to contribute with user-generated content.

This essay explores the early experiences of Bangladeshi blue-collar service workers in digitalising their livelihoods. It is a qualitative study that surveys and interviews service-providers in Dhaka who use the business aggregator platform Sheba.xyz, an online service marketplace, and seeks to understand what brought these self-employed micro-entrepreneurs, previously outside the digital economy, to adopt an ICT-enabled solution. The study is guided by Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory, one of the historically dominant paradigms in the field of communication for development (C4D). The overarching research question is, “Why did blue-collar service-providers in Dhaka adopt and use a digital business aggregator platform?” The aim is to explore what motivated/discouraged and enabled/hindered innovation adoption among a group of users previously marginalised from digital and financial inclusion. The findings suggest that adoption of Sheba.xyz among service-providers was not driven so much by a desire to digitalise one’s business per se, and as a means of mitigating a previous inability to do so. Rather, the factors that emerge from the qualitative data are other perceived relative advantages of the solution – of increase in customers, income, and opportunity. Survey respondents and interviewees also displayed strong affiliation with, and trust in, the platform provider; an alertness for fair treatment; and a drive to prosper, suggesting that they embraced a comprehensive concept and altered life situation where belonging, respect, and self-fulfilment matters, rather than narrowly adopted a new mobile application.