The mobile channel is becoming increasingly relevant within the retail industry and with that, new mobile technologies are being developed and adopted. Past research examines consumer adoption of new technology but rarely analyzes the business component, specifically those businesses developing  these new technologies. This research  seeks to complement past research by investigating mobile commerce ventures. Through a series of semi-structured Interviews with investors, retail experts, and mobile commerce startups, the research collects qualitative data that contributes to a better understanding of the Swedish mobile commerce market and an analysis on mobile commerce startup success factors. The research suggests differences  in consumer and business adoption of technology.  While  consumers adopt technology according to the TAM model, based on enjoyment, usefulness and ease of use, businesses focus on competition, consumer satisfaction and sales. The results suggest that businesses should invest in and develop new retail technologies that fulfill the TAM model  in order to succeed. This research has practical implications for  mobile commerce companies  hoping to succeed and retailers looking to invest in mobile commerce solutions

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Research on Voluntary Information Disclosure (VID) has been of interest in several disciplines including, but not limited to, entrepreneurship, accounting, finance, law, and marketing. Although there has been extensive research on VID aimed at financial market investors, scant research in marketing exists on VID targeted at prospective business partners that can influence firm future performance significantly. Financial and marketing disclosures have been advocated for by investors and public policymakers as they mitigate the adverse selection problems between the firm and its stakeholders (e.g., investors, customers, and prospective channel partners). Managers are, however somewhat skeptical about its outcomes because of the cost of disclosures (i.e., ex-ante costs of collecting, processing and disseminating the information, ex-post costs of conflicts and litigations, competitive position and proprietary costs). My dissertation consists of three essays on voluntary disclosure of performance metrics in marketing channels and aims to enhance our understanding of the antecedents and consequences of such VIDs. The first essay examines the antecedents of ex-ante VID for standardized contracts in marketing channels. Prior literature in accounting, entrepreneurship, and marketing has investigated drivers of information disclosures to analysts, investors, and customers. Nonetheless, this study bridges the gap in examining why some firms disclose information to prospective channel partners when it cost them to do so and makes the firms vulnerable to competitors. If the disclosure is a signal of quality, we are also interested in knowing whether it is a substitute for other signals of quality or a complement. I draw on signaling and institutional theories to develop a theoretical framework and empirically test it through econometric analyses of multi-sector panel data for the U.S. franchising industry. The results suggest that firms (e.g., franchisors) make such disclosures to prospective business partners (e.g., franchisees) in order to signal profitability of partnering, to attract financial and managerial resources, and develop their entrepreneurial networks. This study contributes to signaling theory literature by investigating organizational quality signaling, providing empirical evidence for drivers of multiple signaling and shedding light on the conflicting views on substitutability or complementarity of multiple quality signals. The study has implications for managers who wish to attract potential business partners through signaling profitability of their business. Furthermore, there are some insights for regulators on the debate on making voluntary disclosures mandatory. The second essay examines the performance consequences of i) signaling through ex-ante voluntary disclosure of performance metrics and ii) screening through selection standards, in the formation stage of new partnerships in marketing channels. It is essential for many entrepreneurial business networks to expand their channel by attracting business partners while still preventing low-quality partners from joining the network. However, information asymmetry between the two parties introduces a double-sided adverse selection problem to the relationship. In other words, the heterogeneous quality - the ability to perform the job - of each party (i.e., the focal firm or the prospective partner) is unknown to the other party. To date, most of the empirical studies have addressed the issue from only one side, either from the perspective of the buyer or the supplier, and have assumed that the other side is open to the relationship. However, in a selective inter-firm relationship that both parties have the option to select the other party, adverse selection problems should be resolved for both of them to enhance the performance of the partnership. To bridge this gap in the literature (i.e., to mitigate double-sided adverse selection problems), I propose a novel framework based on signaling and transaction cost theories. This study suggests and empirically examines a complementary effect of the simultaneous use of signaling and screening on the firm performance. I integrate secondary data from various sources to shape a unique multi-sector panel data set that allows for assessment of the effects of these predictors on firm performance over time through a rigorous econometric model. Contrary to some claims in the extant literature, the results demonstrate that rigorous screening process hurts the firm performance unless it is combined with a proper quality signaling mechanism. This study contributes to the B2B marketing literature and provides implications for practitioners by shedding light on the performance implications of channel governance mechanisms such as signaling and screening. Further, it provides empirical support for the effects of B2B marketing strategies on firm sales revenue growth. The third essay looks closely into the voluntary disclosure of performance metrics. In the previous studies, the decision to disclose is operationalized as a binary variable of whether a firm discloses or not. In the absence of comprehensive regulation, disclosure strategies are subject to significant variation amongst firms, but can also vary over time within an individual firm. Through a content analysis of disclosure documents and scrutiny of the different components that comprise them, I explore the impact of disclosure content on firm performance. This study attempts to reconcile conflicting views of managers, investors, analysts, and regulators. On the one hand, VID should positively impact firm performance through mitigating information asymmetry. On the other hand, skeptical managers make the argument that VID negatively impacts a firm’s performance through costs of preparation, dissemination, potential litigation, and competition. Using a sample of publicly traded restaurant chains in the U.S., I empirically assess firm performance as a function of the disclosure strategy and its interactions with the firm’s characteristics and governance mechanisms. I collect independent variables from the firms’ disclosures through content analysis of public documents and obtain performance metrics of the firms in the stock market from Compustat. This study provides a novel context within which to investigate whether and how financial markets look at the firm’s disclosure behavior in dealing with its prospective channel partners, and it contributes to marketing-finance interface literature. My dissertation is positioned in the marketing strategy-entrepreneurship interface domain and is a multi-faceted study that looks at the phenomenon of VID from different angles and provides implications for several stakeholders. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Distribution channel strategy has a long-term effect on firm performance, is associated with considerable irreversible costs, and can constitute a sustainable asset and competitive advantage for firms. Information asymmetry among the distribution channel members has been known as the basis of opportunistic actions in such exchange relationships. My dissertation research investigates drivers and consequences of information disclosure strategies and is focused on the firms’ voluntary disclosure of performance metrics at the inter-firm relationship formation stage of developing marketing channels. This dissertation consists of three inter-related essays. In the first one, I study drivers of voluntary information disclosures to prospective channel partners. Then, I investigate the performance consequences of such disclosures and their interactions with channel governance mechanisms such as screening, in the second study. Since firms are heterogeneous in the content of their disclosures, in the third study, I conduct a content analysis of the firm’s disclosures to understand its influence on firm performance. Based on Organizational Economics theories and Institutional Theory, I develop my theoretical frameworks and test them empirically using archival data. The empirical context for my work is the franchising industry because it is the most common type of partner-based retail system and is a significant component of the US economy as well as other developed countries and emerging economies. The research findings offer both theoretical and practical implications for researchers and practitioners and contribute to the literatures on signaling and transaction cost theories as well as information disclosure and franchising.

The purpose of this thesis is to describe how the factors influence the level of adaptation and standardization of a marketing strategy and subsequently analyze how the factors influence the level of adaptation and standardization of Swedish MNCs’ in the German market. The relevant factors for the decision towards standardization and adaptation are found out using a framework composed by Viswanathan & Dickson (2007). The factors chosen are homogeneity of customer response to the marketing-mix, transferability of competitive advantage, homogeneity of economic freedom and decision variables.   This thesis does so in a deductive and qualitative approach using Swedish retailer Clas Ohlson as a case study. Underlying this is a contextualized and interpretivist point of view. Data was collected through focus group interviews with German and Swedish students and complemented through data mining.   An analysis of the empirical data shows a high homogeneity of customer response to the marketing-mix, the possibility of transferring the competitive advantage and a high homogeneity of economic freedom was discovered. When applying the frame of reference on the empirical data, Swedish MNCs, especially Swedish retailers, are recommended to choose a high degree of standardization for their IMS in the German market. It was discovered that the used framework does to some extent not cover a wish proposed by the German participants calling for a partial adaptation of the international marketing strategy. This disproves the assumption underlying the frame of reference as the majority of factors suggest standardization, yet from a consumer perspective, there is the wish to partially adapt. In the conclusion managerial implications, limitations and research implications are mentioned as well.

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In the wake of globalization, an increasing amount of firms must consider internationalization strategies to remain competitive. The strategic decision of where to expand is complex by nature. This is particularly true for retailers, and despite this being generally accepted, relatively little is in fact known about retailers ́ choice of foreign markets. Hence, this study investigates international market selection (IMS) strategies of Swedish retailers with global operations. The purpose of this study is twofold; first, to explore which criteria Swedish retailers use upon making international market selection decisions and investigate the relative importance among these criteria. Second, to assess the possibilities of creating a weighted IMS model for retailers, which can be use as guidance for marketing practitioners. The research questions which will be answered are: How do Swedish international retailers select foreign markets? What are the possibilities of creating a weighted IMS model for retailers? The study embraces a qualitative strategy with an exploratory research approach and a multiple case study design. Through extensive literature review, a conceptual framework is constructed, and subsequently developed, post gaining insight in practitioners’ reasoning. The empirical data was gathered through interviews with managers of Swedish retailers with international presence, as well as strategy consultants who routinely work with strategy conformation for Swedish retailers. Our findings show that criteria which influence IMS decisions among Swedish retailers are quite similar among firms and can be arranged under three main categories; market attractiveness, psychic distance and internal factors. Moreover, as a result of the empirical findings, we suggest previous IMS research lack one important factor which influences the IMS decisions, namely “gut-feeling”/coincidence. The relative importance among factors proved to vary among firms. Consequently, four concepts aiming at explaining the variations were developed. The four concepts include firm size, firm objective, industry of the firm, and ownership structure. Finally, with support from respondents, we arrived at a conclusion suggesting that construction of a weighted IMS model for all types of retailers is unfeasible. However, if the scope is limited to only include firms of similar characteristics as proposed by the four concepts, such model could potentially yield solid validity.

Cette thèse porte sur l’analyse du processus d’adoption par le client d’une innovation commerciale. Plus particulièrement, elle étudie le rôle de la Socialisation Organisationnelle du Client sur le lien entre la Satisfaction Relationnelle et la Fidélité client à une nouvelle forme de vente. Dans cette optique, nous avons réalisé une étude exploratoire dans le but d’identifier les variables favorisant le succès d’une innovation commerciale ainsi que le processus d’adoption et d’apprentissage d’une innovation commerciale. La particularité de notre démarche réside dans le fait d’avoir interrogé différents segments de clients (et de non clients) mais aussi d’avoir observé les collaborateurs d’un DRIVE (Click&Carry). La première partie aboutit ainsi à une modélisation de l’adoption d’une innovation commerciale que nous testons dans la deuxième partie auprès de clients et d’employés. De plus, nous mettons en relation l’extraction des données de consommation des clients interrogés avec les données déclaratives issues des clients et des employés de contact.Les résultats de la recherche corroborent le rôle modérateur de la Socialisation Organisationnelle du Client (SOC) et de la Perception de la Socialisation Organisationnelle de l’Employé (PSOE), leur rôle variant en fonction du type d’innovation commerciale observée. Il en va de même au sujet du lien entre la Socialisation Organisationnelle de l’Employé (SOE) et, la Socialisation Organisationnelle du Client (SOC) d’une part, et, d’autre part, la Perception de la Socialisation Organisationnelle de l’Employé (PSOE), bien qu’il ne s’agisse que d’une démarche exploratoire / This thesis focuses on the analysis of a retailing innovation adoption process by customers. More in particular it examines the effect of Customer Organizational Socialization on the relationship between Relational Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty to a new form of selling.Towards this end, we conducted an exploratory study to identify variables promoting the success of a retailing innovation as well as the adoption and learning processes of a new form of selling. The advantage of our approach lies not only on having surveyed various customers and non-customers groups but also on having observed employees of a "Click and Collect". The first part led to a model of the adoption of a retailing innovation. In the second part, we tested this model on the basis of a customer and employee database. In addition, we related the extraction of our surveyed customers consumption data with declarative data from customers and contact employees.The research findings support the moderating effect of Customer Organizational Socialization (COS) and the Perception of Employee Organizational Socialization (PEOS), their role varying depending on the type of the retailing innovation. The same results are obtained about the relationship between Employee Organizational Socialization (EOS) and Customer Organizational Socialization (COS) on one part, and the Perception of Employee Organizational Socialization (PEOS) on the other part, although it is only an exploratory approach

Background: Today’s marketers are focusing on creating more than just a transaction place for consumers seeking to purchase products in physical stores, such as a pleasant in store experience. The reason for this is due to the increased competition that present retailers are experiencing. The implementation of sensory marketing in stores has been proven to be useful in order to influence the behaviors of consumers. To do so, sensory cues have been applied as a mean to trigger the emotions of the people visiting the stores. Scholars have stressed the importance of identifying in what manner different sensory cues affect the behavior of consumers. Moreover, there is a need to further research how a visual sensory cue could influence the approach behavior of consumers and enhance their desire to touch products.   Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to expand the knowledge of how a certain visual sensory cue in a retail atmosphere influences the consumers’ approach behavior and the desire to touch. Additionally, in order to attain valuable insights, two research questions have been designed.   Method: A mixed research methodology has been applied for this study, where the triangulation of using observations, follow-up interviews and in-depth interviews has acted as the source to fulfill the objective of this thesis. The conducted observations account for the quantitative data that have been collected, whereas the follow-up and in-depth interviews generated rich qualitative data. The main methodological focus of this study is to ensure the ability to interpret the findings. Therefore, in order to identify how visual cues influence consumers’ approach behavior and the desire to touch, an inductive approach has been used together with open questions to generate fruitful conversations and theory development. In order to obtain the required data a convenience sampling procedure was employed.   Conclusion: The empirical findings suggest that visual stimuli in the store environment can influence approach behavior of consumers. However, to what extent the visual sensory cue affected the approach behavior and the desire to touch among the participants of this study could not be accounted for. The empirical findings demonstrate that color and smell in the store environment had a positive effect on the emotions of the participants. This further influenced the approach behavior, as well as the desire to touch products.

As centrais de carga são um importante mecanismo de coordenação do mercado de fretes, tendo como um de seus objetivos ampliar as informações sobre este mercado, reduzindo a incerteza na obtenção de cargas e os custos de transportes. Com o avanço da internet, a possibilidade de criação de centrais de cargas abrangendo grandes áreas e um grande número de usuários tornou-se uma alternativa atraente, utilizada cada vez com maior freqüência. Entretanto, pouco se conhece sobre a sua utilização em atividades ligadas à área de logística. Assim, este trabalho objetivou caracterizar as centrais de cargas na internet, a sua utilização, por embarcadores e transportadoras, em atividades logísticas e testar a hipótese de que diferentes empresas, trabalhando com diferentes tipos de produtos, terão percepções e necessidades diferentes em relação aos serviços oferecidos. As análises fatorial e de conglomerados foram utilizadas para se atingir esses objetivos. No período estudado observou-se um aumento significativo no número de serviços disponíveis em diversos países e que as empresas possuem uma série de características comuns, como a orientação voltada tanto para embarcadores como transportadores, a formação de preços por meio de leilões e o aumento no número de centrais com participação na transação efetuada por seus usuários. O grupo de empresas estudadas caracterizou-se por transportar/produzir cargas gerais e produtos agrícolas, empregando a internet principalmente nas áreas administrativas, para a contratação de fretes e tomadas de preço. Os serviços oferecidos atualmente pelas centrais foram considerados importantes pelas empresas pesquisadas, que ressaltaram a necessidade de conhecer e identificar os parceiros com que se negocia na rede. A análise fatorial permitiu agrupar as características e serviços que aparecem com mais freqüências nos sites, gerando 6 fatores identificados como: serviços prestados, segurança e tamanho da comunidade de usuários, serviços adicionais, pré-seleção de participantes e abrangência dos serviços, integração e forma de negociação e imparcialidade do site. Esses fatores indicam quais os pontos que devem ser considerados para o estabelecimento de novos sistemas ou na melhoria dos existentes. Na análise de conglomerados foram obtidos 3 grupos de empresas. O grupo 1 apresentou um número equivalente de embarcadores e transportadores, que trabalham principalmente com cargas gerais e agrícolas, estando dividido entre empresas que utilizam, ou não, a internet. Esse grupo apresenta a melhor distinção entre a importância atribuída aos serviços, quando comparado aos outros dois. O conglomerado 2 possui principalmente operadores logísticos e transportadoras, que trabalham com a maior variedade de cargas entre os grupos. No grupo predominam as empresas que não utilizam a internet. Esse conglomerado atribuiu os maiores valores às questões referentes aos serviços oferecidos pelas centrais, considerando-as como importantes. O c onglomerado 3 é formado principalmente por embarcadores, possui o maior número de usuários da internet e atribuiu os menores valores aos serviços avaliados. Com base nesses resultados, pode-se inferir que empresas diferentes, no caso embarcadores e transportadores, atribuem importância diferente aos serviços oferecidos pelas centrais de cargas. Deve -se considerar que os resultados encontrados são válidos apenas para as empresas pesquisadas e focam a realidade de um período determinado, exigindo um acompanhamento de seu desenvolvimento ao longo do tempo. / Load matching services are a ve ry important mechanism for coordination of the freight market and enlarging the information on such market is one of their targets, in order to reduce the uncertainty in the load obtainment and transportation costs. With the advance of the internet, the possibility of creation of load matching services including large areas and a large number of users became an attractive alternative, which is used in larger frequency. Nevertheless its application related to activities in the Logistics is not well known yet. This study aims at the characterization of load matching services in the internet, its use by shippers and carriers in Logistic activities and also the test of the hypothesis that different types of companies dealing with different types of products will have different perceptions and needs on the available services. The factor analyses and cluster analyses were used in order to reach such objectives. During the period the study was conducted it has been observed a significant increase in the number of services available in several countries and that the companies have a series of common characteristics, such as the orientation either to shippers as well as tocarriers; price formation by means of auction and the increase of the load matching services with participation of their users in the transaction. Transporting/producing general cargoes and agricultural products using the internet mainly in the administrative areas for hiring the freights and price checkouts have characterized the group of companies that was studied. The current services offered by the load matching services were considered important by the companies that were surveyed; such companies highlighted the need of knowing and identifying the partners with whom they deal in the web. The factor analyses allowed to group up the characteristics and services that are more common in the sites, generating 6 factors identified as services offered, safety and size of the user's community, additional services, pre-selection of participants and wide ranging of services, integration and negotiation style and impartiality on the site. These factors indicate which aspects must be taken into account in order to establish new systems or to improve the existing ones. In the cluster analyses, three different groups were identified. Group 1 presented an equivalent number of shippers and carriers that deal mainly with general and agricultural cargoes and that are split into companies that use or not the internet. This group shows the best distinction between the importance given to the services when compared with the other groups. Group 2 has mainly logistic operators and carriers that work with the biggest variety of loads among the groups. In this group there is a predominance of companies that do not use the i nternet. This group has attributed the biggest values to aspects referring to the services offered by the load matching services, considering them as very important. Group 3 is made up mainly by shippers, has the largest number of the internet users and has the least values to the evaluated services. Based on these results, one can infer that different companies (in the case shippers and carriers) give different importance to the services offered by the load matching services. One must have in mind that the results obtained are valid only to the companies that were studied and that the research focuses the day-to-day reality of a specific period of time what, in turn, creates the need of its posterior development in time.