Sociala medier har fått allt större betydelse när det gäller kommunikation mellan människor och för företag har explosionen av sociala medier inneburit både möjligheter och utmaningar. För att möta konsumenterna där de befinner sig har företag nu följt efter kunderna till de sociala medierna. I strävan efter att öka sin lönsamhet har företag tagit tillvara på sociala medier som en ny och effektiv e-handelskanal, en verksamhet som fått namnet social commerce. Social commerce är ett nytt fenomen i Sverige och handlar om försäljning av varor och tjänster via sociala medier. Vårt mål med denna studie är att undersöka anledningarna till varför några svenska företag har valt att använda sociala medier som en plattform för sin e-handel samt klargöra vad det är som gör att sociala medier är en lämplig plattform för e-handel. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer med företag som på olika sätt bedriver social commerce. Undersökningen baseras på intervjuer med respondenter från totalt fem svenska företag där tre av dessa står i fokus för undersökningen. Dessa tre företag är; Comviq, Pocket Shop och Lagerhaus, som alla bedriver social commerce. Ytterligare två intervjuer har utförts med företagen Askås och Cloud Nine som utvecklar e-handelstjänster till den sociala medieplattformen. Resultatet av vår undersökning visar att de kommunikativa aspekter som sociala medier innehar underlättar spridning av information vilket är en viktig anledning till varför de undersökta företagen anser att sociala medier passar för e-handel. Den virala spridningen av online word-of-mouth har en enorm effekt tack vare att informationen kan spridas snabbt, effektivt och till många via människor i det sociala nätverket. Denna förmåga är ett viktigt skäl till varför de tre undersökta företagen använder sociala medier som en plattform för sin e-handel. I vår slutsats noterar vi att konvergensen mellan e-handel och sociala medier och konsumenternas behov av att delta är tecken på hur vårt förändrade sätt att kommunicera påverkar vårt sätt att konsumera. / Title: Social commerce - A study of how our changing way of communicating affects the way we consume Number of pages: 39 (43 including enclosures) Author: Linda Bogren Ericsson, Sara Eklöf Tutor: Ann-Marie Morhed Course: Media and Communication Studies C Period: HT 2011 University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University. Purpose/Aim: The purpose with this thesis is to study the phenomenon social commerce in Sweden and investigate the reasons why Comviq, Pocket Shop and Lagerhaus have chosen to use social media as a platform for their e-commerce. Furthermore, we want to clarify what it is that makes social media a suitable platform for e-commerce and how e-commerce can take advantage of the unique features that social media possesses. Material/Method: The study was conducted through qualitative interviews with companies who are in contact with social commerce in different ways. The study was based on interviews with respondents from five Swedish companies. Three of these companies, Comviq, Pocket Shop and Lagerhaus are all engaged in social commerce, and the other two, Askås and Cloud Nine are developers of e- commerce services for the social media platform. Main Results: The result of our study showed that Comviq, Pocket Shop and Lagerhaus chose to use social media as a platform for e-commerce in order to increase their sales. Furthermore, social media holds important communicative features that facilitate the dissemination of information. The viral spread of online word-of-mouth can quickly and effectively reach many people through the connected network within social media. This ability is an important reason for why the three companies use social media as a platform for e-commerce. It also emphasizes how e-commerce can benefit from a presence on social media. In our conclusion, we note that the convergence of e-commerce and social media, and the consumer’s need for participation are signs of how our changing way of communicating affects the way we consume.

Detta arbete inkluderar en undersökning av hur unga förhåller sig till brand content på Sociala medier. Resultaten av denna undersökning har bidragit till två slutprodukter som i sin tur levererats till två olika uppdragsgivare. Målgruppen är unga personer i åldrarna 15-24 bosatta i Sverige. Undersökningen har även inkluderat om målgruppen följer företag/varumärken på Sociala medier, anledningarna till varför de gör det, samt vad för slags innehåll som intresserar dem. Utifrån resultaten kan vi konstatera att ålder och/eller kön inte är avgörande för hur unga personer förhåller sig till, och konsumerar, brand content på sociala meder. Det beror snarare på personlighet och individuellt beteende. Av de data som har samlats in under arbetet har vi skapat två olika slutprodukter, en vardera till de olika uppdragsgivarna. / This project contains an analysis about how young people relate to brand content on Social media. The findings of the study have contributed to two end products that have been delivered to two different customers. The target group is between 15-24 years old and are residents in Sweden. The analysis has also included if the target group follow brands on Social media, reasons why they do, and what kind of content interests them. The report shows that age and/or gender does not correlate to how young people relate to, or consume, brand content on social media. The consumption of and relation to social media content is more dependent on aspects like the consumer’s personality and individual behaviour. From the data collected during the project we have created two different end products, one to each of the different clients.

Företag blir idag mer exponerade för negativ publicitet än tidigare i och med digitaliseringens framfart. Det är därför viktigt för företag att veta hur de ska hantera den negativa publiciteten som mottages för att sedan kunna förebygga en kris och sitt företagsrykte genom väl genomtänkta strategier. Tidigare forskning jämför hur företag inom samma bransch förebygger och hanterar en företagskris. Däremot, att undersöka hur företag i olika branscher förebygger en kris är outforskat och det behövs vidare forskning kring detta ämne. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilka strategier företag i olika branscher arbetar med för att förebygga en företagskris för att se huruvida olika branscher använder sig av samma strategier.  Studien har använt sig av en kvalitativ studie genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex fallföretag varav två företag är verksamma inom samma bransch: bank-, el- och telekommunikationsbranschen.  Resultatet visar att företagen strävar efter samma mål genom samma strategier men utförandet kan skilja sig åt efterom de har olika förutsättningar beroende på bransch. Genom studien har en analysmodell skapats för att visa företag de olika strategier som kan appliceras vid förebyggandet av en kris och sambandet mellan att arbeta proaktivt och reaktivt med varumärket, kundlojalitet och krishantering. Studien bidrar till att ge företag oavsett bransch praktiska lösningar som kan tillämpas i praktiken då företagen i de olika branscherna använder sig av samma strategier vid förebyggandet och under en kris. / Companies today are more exposed to negative publicity than ever before due to digitalization. It is important for companies to know how to manage the negative publicity that is received in order to be able to prevent a crisis and reputation through well-thought-out strategies. Previous research shows how companies within the same industry prevent and manage a crisis. However, investigating how companies in different industries prevent a crisis is unexplored and further research is needed on this topic. This study aims to highlight which strategies companies in different industries use to prevent a corporate crisis to see whether different industries use the same strategies.  The study has used a qualitative study where the primary data has been collected through semi-structured interviews with six case companies, two of which are active in the same industry: banking, electrical and telecommunications industry. The result shows that the companies strive for the same goals through the same strategies, but the execution may differ because they have different conditions depending on the industry. Through the study, an analysis model has been created to show how companies the different strategies that can be applied in order to prevent a crisis as well as the connection between working proactive and reactive with the brand, customer loyalty and crisis management which contributes to providing companies, regardless of industry, with practical solutions that can be applied in practice.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka inflytandet av influencers på sociala medier (SMI), elektronisk word-of-mouth (e-WOM) och upplevd kvalitet på svenska konsumenters köpintention vid skönhetsprodukter som rekommenderas av skönhetsinfluencers på Youtube. Det för att bidra till kunskap som företag kan utgå ifrån när de skapar sina marknadsföringsstrategier. Studien är en replikering av en studie av forskarna Rosaria och Luthfia (2020) som genomfördes i Indonesien och därmed användes samma metod: en kvantitativ metod via en webbaserad enkät. Den besvarades av 127 respondenter varav 91 uppfyllde urvalskriterierna då de var kvinnor mellan 17-30 års ålder som följer en skönhetsinfluencer på Youtube. Resultatet visade att SMI och upplevd kvalitet för sig har ett signifikant inflytande på köpintention, förutom e-WOM. Det visade också att alla tre har samtidigt ett signifikant inflytande på köpintention. När det gäller framtida forskning skulle det vara intressant att genomföra en kvalitativ studie om samma faktorer för att få en djupare förståelse om varför dessa faktorer har ett inflytande. / The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of social media influencers (SMI), electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) and perceived quality on Swedish consumers' purchase intention when it comes to beauty products recommended by beauty influencers on Youtube. This is to contribute to knowledge that companies can use as a starting point when creating their marketing strategies. The study is a replication of a study conducted by researchers Rosaria and Luthfia (2020) in Indonesia and thus the same method was used: a quantitative method via a web-based survey. It was answered by 127 respondents, of which 91 met the selection criteria as they were women between the age of 17 and 30 who followed a beauty influencer on Youtube. The results showed that both SMI and perceived quality have a significant influence on purchase intention, except for e-WOM. They also showed that all three factors collectively have a significant influence on purchase intention. In terms of future research, one suggestion would be to conduct a qualitative study on the same factors to gain a deeper understanding of why these factors have an influence.

Unter dem geografischen Südpol liegt das IceCube Neutrino Observatorium. Es nutzt einen Kubikkilometer Gletschereis, um Sekundärteilchen aus Neutrinointerkationen zu detektieren. Der Detektor besteht aus insgesamt 5160 optischen Sensoren, die das Cherenkov Licht der relativistischen, geladenen Teilchen messen. Um die Sensitivität und das Detektionsvermögen zu erhöhen sind Vergrößerungen des Detektors mit neuentwickelten optischen Sensoren geplant. Mindestens einer dieser neuen Sensoren soll den Messbereich aus dem optischen Bereich in den UV Bereich erweitern, wobei eine neu entwickelte wellenlängenschiebende Technologie verwendet wird. Um die Verbesserungen dieser neuen Module zu verstehen, wurde ein Kalibrierungsgerät gebaut, getestet und zweimal bei einer in-situ Messung am geografischen Südpol verwendet. Die Messung wurde in dem offenen SPICEcore borehole durchgeführt. In dem Kalibrierungsgerät waren sowohl Lichtquelle, als auch Detektor verbaut. Um die Eiseigenschaften zu vermessen, wurde Licht in möglichst kurzen Pulsen in das Eis gestrahlt. Der Detektor hat nun die Zeitverteilung gemessen, mit der die Photonen wieder zu dem Detektor zurückgestreut werden. Zur Detektion nutzt das Kalibrierungsgerät die gleiche wellenlängenschiebende Technologie, wie die neuentwickelten optischen Module. Die Messung wurde für Wellenlängen zwischen 245 nm und 400 nm an mehreren Tiefen in einem Bereich, in dem auch IceCube liegt durchgeführt. Diese in-situ Messungen sind der erste erfolgreiche Einsatz der neuen wellenlängenschiebenden Technologie. Mit einem likelihood fit wurde die Messung mit einer Simulation verglichen, welche die Absorption und Streuung der Photonen im Eis als Parameter variiert. Mit dieser Analyse konnte für jede Wellenlänge und Tiefe am besten passende Parameter mit Unsicherheiten, bestehend aus statistischen und systematischen Fehlern gefunden werden. Der größte Einfluss auf die Unsicherheiten ist die schlechte Zeitauflösung des Detektors. Die Ergebnisse legen eine hohe Transparenz im tiefen UV-Bereich nahe und erlauben einen tieferen Einblick in die Streuprozesse im antarktischen Eis. / The IceCube Neutrino Observatory lies under the South Pole. It instruments one cubic kilometer of glacial ice to detect secondary particles originating from neutrino interactions. The detector consists of 5160 optical sensors, which measure the Cherenkov light of these relativistic, charged particles. In order to increase the sensitivity and detection range, new extensions with newly developed optical sensors are planned. At least one of these new sensors is supposed to expand the detection range from the optical into the UV range, using a new wavelength shifting technology. To understand the improvements of these new modules, the UV calibration device was built, tested, and deployed twice in in-situ measurements at the geographic South Pole. The measurement was carried out in the open SPICEcore borehole. A light source and a detector were included in the design of the UV calibration device. To measure the ice properties, the light was pulsed in the ice as short as possible. The detector measured the timing distribution of the light getting scattered back. For the detection, the wavelength shifting technology developed for the new optical sensors is used. The measurement was carried out with four wavelengths between 245 nm and 400 nm at several depths, some within the IceCube range. These in-situ measurements successfully applied the new wavelength shifting technology for the first time. Using a likelihood fit, the measurements were compared to a simulation, which varied the absorption and scattering coefficients of the photons in the ice as parameters. With this analysis, a best-fitting set of parameters could be found for each wavelength and depth. The uncertainties are very conservative, consisting of statistical and systematic errors. The most significant influence on the uncertainties is caused by the insufficient time resolution of the detection system. The results suggest a high transparency for the deep UV range and provide a deeper insight into the scattering processes of Antarctic ice.

Abstract Title: Recruiting Through the Grapevine - The relevance of employee referral programs within the field of employer branding   Date: 2016-06-03   Authors: Mikaela Löjdqvist & Isabella Nilsson   Course: Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration (FOA214), 15 HP   University: Mälardalen University   Academia: School of Business, Society and Engineering   Supervisor: Magnus Hoppe   Examiner: Eva Maaninen-Olsson   Co-assessor: Konstantin Lampou ____________________________________________________________________________   Research question: How do employee referral programs, as a part of the recruitment process, connect to the employer brand of a company?     Purpose: Understanding the correlation and connection between the two concepts, employer branding and employee referral programs, may help companies recognize the importance of using such programs as a stable foundation of their recruitment process. Thus concurrently, identifying the consequences that the employer brand presents, has on the employees and their willingness to recommend. This leads to the purpose of this thesis, which is to examine the connection between employee referral programs and a company's employer brand.     Methodology: Answering the purpose and research question was approached by using a mixed method, based on the qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative method was used in the two semi-structured in-depth interviews, while the quantitative approach was used in construction and analysis of the survey. Both methods provide a foundation to strengthen the arguments not only for the results of the survey, but also for drawing conclusions when trying to answer the research question. By using a case company, a real-life understanding of how the connection between employer branding and the employee referral program correlates.     Conclusion: A connection between employee referral programs and the employer brand can be denoted from the conducted research within the chosen case company. However, if this connection is true for all companies, needs to be further investigated.     Keywords: employer branding, employee referral programs (ERP), employee value proposition (EVP), recruitment, staff-word-of-mouth (SWOM), word-of-mouth (WOM)

Submitted by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2018-12-04T14:57:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 JUAN CARLOS EIRAS FONTENLA.pdf: 37460316 bytes, checksum: 5a19a5ab0f7946890115b5aa57700093 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2018-12-04T14:58:30Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 JUAN CARLOS EIRAS FONTENLA.pdf: 37460316 bytes, checksum: 5a19a5ab0f7946890115b5aa57700093 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Cristina Ropero (ana@espm.br) on 2018-12-04T16:40:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 JUAN CARLOS EIRAS FONTENLA.pdf: 37460316 bytes, checksum: 5a19a5ab0f7946890115b5aa57700093 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-04T16:41:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JUAN CARLOS EIRAS FONTENLA.pdf: 37460316 bytes, checksum: 5a19a5ab0f7946890115b5aa57700093 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-13 / This study aimed to identify why positive recommendations are important in leisure services consumption by third age. Recommendations were investigated from the receiver´s standpoint. The research undertakes third age, word of mounth and leisure services literature review. It addresses in a qualitative and exploratory way the consumers age group between 60 and 70 years in Brazil. The paper presents word-of-mounth components and aspects, sumarizes major recommendations theoretical propositions and identifies factors generated by the positive recommendations on recipients. It resides on importance of studies that support understanding of the third age consumer behavior and the contemporary world market environment. Most word-of-mouth studies focus on the sender of recommendation. In contrast, this study provides information about the impact of recommendation on the receiver. Major results indicated that factor generated by recommendations such as security, engagement, relief, knowledge acquisition, socialization and trust appear strongly and are fundamental for third age consumers purchasing decision process. The expectation, enthusiasm and satisfaction generated by the positive recommendations appear less incisively, but still relevant. Also, was found a significant nexus between recommendations' relevance and the fact that vthey were sent by close or reliabe people of positive recommendations are affected both emotionally and rationally and shows the importance of recommendations for the third age who will soon be a society segment larger than the young pipulation. The research findings are important for scholars, managers, regulator and policy makers. They show that positive recommendations play an important role on purchase decision-making process and the conservative buyng behavior as well of this age group. / As recomendações foram investigadas do ponto de vista do receptor. A pesquisa empreende uma revisão da literatura da terceira idade, boca-a-boca e serviços de lazer. Aborda de forma qualitativa e exploratória os consumidores da faixa etária entre 60 e 70 anos no Brasil. O trabalho apresenta os componentes e aspectos do boca-a-boca, sintetiza as principais proposições teóricas das recomendações e identifica fatores gerados pelas recomendações positivas nos receptores. Reside na importância de estudos que ajudem na compreensão do comportamento do consumidor da terceira idade e do ambiente mercadológico do mundo contemporâneo. A maioria das pesquisas do boca-a-boca concentra-se no emissor da recomendação. Em contraste, este estudo fornece informações sobre o impacto da recomendação no receptor. Os principais resultados indicaram que fatores gerados pelas recomendações como segurança, engajamento, alívio, aquisição de conhecimento, sociabilização e confiança aparecem de forma contundente e mostram-se fundamentais para o processo de decisão de compra do consumidor de terceira idade. A expectativa, entusiasmo e a satisfação geradas pelas recomendações positivas aparecem de forma menos incisiva, mas ainda relevante. Ainda, constatou-se relação significativa entre a relevância das recomendações e o fato de terem sido emitidas por pessoas de confiança ou próximas aos receptores da terceira idade. O trabalho amplia a compreensão sobre como os receptores das recomendações positivas são afetados tanto emocional como racionalmente e mostra a importância das recomendações para os consumidores da terceira idade que, em breve, serão um segmento da sociedade maior que a população jovem. Os achados da pesquisa são importantes para estudiosos, gerentes, reguladores e decisores políticos. Eles evidenciam que as recomendações positivas desempenham um papel importante no processo de tomada de decisão de compra e no comportamento de compra conservador desta faixa etária.

This dissertation discusses Gayl Jones’s and Toni Morrison’s characterisation of black women’s journeying towards empowered subjectivity and agency. Through comparative analysis of eight fictional works, I explore the writers’ idea of female freedom and emancipation, the structures of power affecting the transition from oppressed towards liberated subject positions, and the literary techniques through which the authors facilitate these seminal trajectories. My research addresses a corpus comprised of three novels and one book-long poem by Gayl Jones, as well as four novels by Toni Morrison. These two writers emerge in the US literary scene during the 1970s, one of the decades of the second black women’s renaissance (1970s, 1980s). This period witnessed unprecedented developments in US black literature and feminist theorising. In the domain of African American letters, it witnessed the emergence of a host of black women writers such as Gayl Jones and Toni Morrison. This period also marks a turning point in the reconfiguration of African American literature, as several unknown or misplaced literary works by pioneering black women writers were discovered, shifting the chronology of African American literature. Moreover, the second black women's renaissance marks a paradigmatic development in black feminist theorising on womanhood and subjectivity. Many black feminist scholars and activists challenged what they perceived to be the homogenising female subject conceptualised by US white middle-class feminism and the androcentricity of the subject proclaimed by the Black Aesthetic Movement. They claimed that, in focusing solely on gender and patriarchal oppression, white feminism had overlooked the salience of the race/class nexus, while focus by the Black Aesthetic Movement on racism had overlooked the salience of gender and heterosexual discrimination. In this dissertation, I discuss the works of Gayl Jones and Toni Morrison in the context of seminal debates on the nature of the female subject and the racial and gender politics affecting the construction of empowered subjectivities in black women's fiction. Through the metaphor of journeying towards female empowerment, I show how Gayl Jones and Toni Morrison engage in imaginative returns to the past in an attempt to relocate black women as literary subjects of primary importance. I also show how, in the works selected for discussion, a complex idea of modern female subjectivities emerges from the writers' re-examination of the oppressive material and psychological circumstances under which pioneering black women lived, the common practice of sexual exploitation with which they had to contend, and the struggle to assert the dignity of their womanhood beyond the parameters of the white-defined “ideological discourse of true womanhood” (Carby, 1987: 25).

Word-of-mouth is positive or negative communication between customers. Word-of-mouth has been recognized as an effectiveand credible marketing source but stillrecognizedas the least understood marketing strategy. The, for companies actuable, elements of quality, interaction and service recovery are argued to influence satisfaction and word-of-mouthin general while their effect onword-of-mouth onsocial mediais not known. Facebook is the biggest social media today and itfacilitates communicationbetween users.  The messages are spread among friends and thus perceived by the receiver as trustworthysince it is not of commercial nature. The reasons whyword-of-mouth are spread on social media were investigated throughFacebook. Bymappingthe antecedents of positive word-of-mouthon social mediaitis also possible to guideline relationship marketingsince satisfaction is connected to both relationship marketing and word-of-mouth. Hence, the purpose of this study wasto examinethe impact of the relationship marketing elements quality, interaction and service recovery for triggering positiveword-of-mouth on social media. 272 respondents, who historically had written positive comments about companies on Facebook, answered a questionnaire. The results showed that qualityhad the highest impact on satisfaction. The relationship marketing element qualitywas confirmed to have an impact onword-of-mouth on social media. It wasalso shown that interaction has the highest potential to be a word-of-mouth trigger on social media if the customer perceivedthat it was performed at a good or better than expected level of the elementstested. The relationship marketing element interaction can therefore be seen as a very important aspect fortriggeringword-of-mouth on social media. The relationship marketing element service recovery is supported as an important aspect for triggering word-of-mouth on social mediaas well.The better relationship marketing is performed the more satisfaction will be triggered,which in turn will lead to word-of-mouth on social media.

Problem formulation: What factors affect the consumers perception of credibility in influencer marketing on social media? How and why do certain factors affect the credibility of influencer marketing? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to understand what factors affect the perception of credibility in influencer marketing on social media. Moreover, the aim is to understand how and why certain factors affect the credibility in influencer marketing in order to elaborate a conceptual model consisting of factors generating credible influencer marketing. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework of this paper consists of existing theories regarding social identity theory, perception, brand communication, word-of-mouth (WOM), celebrity endorsement and social influencers. Methodology: This study is conducted through both a quantitative and a qualitative study with a deductive approach. The collection of primary data consists of an online survey where 120 respondents participated followed by five qualitative interviews. In order to determine what aspects to examine, a conceptual model was created based on the previous findings within credibility in WOM and celebrity endorsement. The secondary data building the theoretical framework of this thesis are collected from peer reviewed articles published in scientific journals as well as books. Empirical findings: The empirical findings consist of the result from the qualitative and quantitative study. The result of the quantitative study presents the outcome from 24 Likert scale items presented in text, charts and tables. The empirical findings from the qualitative study presents the outcome from the interviews conducted through personal communication face to face or through Skype and are presented in text that are strengthened with citation from the interviews. Conclusion: The findings show that the credibility in influencer marketing is positively affected by the perception of the influencer being a credible source and the influencer and the brand being a good fit.