Recent technological developments have changed the lifestyle of people around the world. The business sector is not an exception, and companies frequently adjust to such changes by investing in their online presence. Furthermore, the internet provides consumers with different channels to find and share their purchase experiences, and such digital interactions result in bringing forth the electronic word of mouth (eWOM). Although eWOM is an essential aspect of the overall marketing mix of modern firms, its research is heavily limited to the developed world. Thus, a qualitative study of 10 millennials from Pakistan was designed to understand how three eWOM components, i.e., Valence, Channels, and Length, affect consumer purchase intentions. The data was collected through semi-structured online interviews, and the findings show that each component has a significant impact on purchase intentions. The result confirms factors such as communicator credibility, trustworthiness, and Valence ratio as essential characteristics of the eWOM components. This study contributes to further understanding of global consumers and help companies to identify eWOM components useful for promoting and selling their products in the Pakistani market.

There has been a huge increase for start-ups in the construction business between 2019 & 2021. During this period of time covid-19 pandemic gradually spread and exposed the society for a severe challenge with social distancing, work from home and liquidation of several companies as a consequence. The demand for services in the construction business went however in the opposite direction and they were positively affected. Additional companies who join the market generate an increase in competition were smaller companies in the construction business needs to find competitive advantage in order to establish and survive.    This study focuses on how start-ups in the construction business is currently working with digital marketing. Data has collected through qualitative interviews with eight individuals, all of them are owners of small companies in the construction business. The collected data has been analyzed together with previous research in digital marketing where some key factors for improvements has been identified. The study indicates a huge lack of knowledge for the respondents according to digital marketing and how its tools can be used. However, the majority of the respondents points out the advantage in digital marketing and wants to add some knowledge in the area, illuminating especially social media. By increase the knowledge, design marketing strategies, and actively work with eWOM could generate valuable competition advantages for smaller companies in the construction business.

Date: 3 June 2021 Level: Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Battha Mohammed Jargalsaikhan Erdenebulgan                     (93/06/10)               (99/12/14) Title: The affect of eWOM on the brand image and purchase intention Tutor: David Freund Keywords: Electronic word of mouth (eWOM), word of mouth (WOM), brand image, smartphone Research question: Does eWOM affect a brand image? Purpose: The purpose of this research study is to determine eWOM affects on brand image concerning smartphone industries in Sweden Method: To fulfill the purpose of the research study used quantitative method. The quantitative method is used by applying questionnaires to collect the empirical data to answer the research question. A sample size of 168 respondents was selected and statistical analyses were carried out to show the distribution of the collected data. Conclusion: The study found that there is a strong affect of eWOM on the brand image of the smartphone industry in Sweden. The study concludes that it is important for firms and brands to invest in their technological marketing platforms where they can respond to customer concerns immediately.

Titel: Social Customer Relationship Management - En kvalitativ studie om hur svenska företag inom dagligvaruhandeln använder sociala medier för att skapa samt hantera kundrelationer   Nivå: Examensarbete på Grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi   Författare: Jennifer Palm och Louise Wallsten   Handledare: Jonas Molin och Lars-Johan Åge   Datum: 2021 - maj     Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att få ökad förståelse för hur företag inom dagligvaruhandeln arbetar med SCRM.     Metod: En kvalitativ forskningsansats tillämpas för denna uppsats. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer samt en mailintervju med respondenter som tillhör företag inom dagligvaruhandeln.      Resultat & slutsats: Studiens samtliga respondenter är överens om kundens centrala roll och betonar den framgång som sociala medier har bidragit med i skapandet samt hanteringen av kundrelationer. För att skapa dessa önskade kundrelationer används sociala medier som det kommunikationsverktyg där företagen kontinuerligt kommunicerar med sina kunder. Genom kundernas återkopplingar får företagen en ökad vetskap gällande hur relationer ska formas för att tillfredsställa kundens behov.      Examensarbetets bidrag: Det teoretiska bidraget för studien är den analysmodell som har utformats i syfte att minimera osäkerheten gällande företags implementering av SCRM. Vidare till det praktiska bidraget visar denna studie de positiva aspekter som finns vid implementeringen av SCRM och hoppas att företag inom dagligvaruhandeln kommer finna ett större intresse av SCRM då fördelarna med användningen överväger dess nackdelar.     Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Denna studie har ett empiriskt urval som består av respondenter från dagligvaruhandeln. Detta gör att resultatet för studien endast kan appliceras på företag som befinner sig inom liknande bransch. Vi finner därför att vidare forskning är intressant att genomföra för företag inom en annan specifik bransch i syfte att se hur dessa företag arbetar med sociala medier i koppling till kundrelationer     Nyckelord: Social Customer Relationship Management (SCRM), Sociala medier, Electronic-Word-Of-Mouth (eWOM) och Dagligvaruhandel

Background: After the boom of mukbang videos in South Korea and its popularity spread tothe rest of the world, companies have started to use mukbang influencers tobuild a strong brand identity and to create a topic for debate.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine womens’ outlook on mukbang videosand marketing in mukbang videos.Method: The study has a qualitative study method, where an abductive approach hasbeen chosen. Nineteen digital interview have been done to get answers to ourstudy.Conclusion: Together with the study’s empirical data and analysis, this study has been ableto clarify women’s attitude towards mukbang videos and mukbang influencerswith an insight into the differences in the generations. The result of the studyshowed that a majority of the respondents have a positive attitude towardsmukbang but that there were some critical aspects regarding the marketing ofthe products. The respondents answered that the reason for the criticism wasthat paid marketing is not seen as truthful review according to them.

En el Perú, el eWOM, está en crecimiento, ya que muchas empresas la están aplicando en sus estrategias de marketing, pues se da la posibilidad que el eWOM negativo pueda influenciar en la intención de compra de moda urbana femenina. Por ello, el estudio tendrá la finalidad de determinar la relación del eWOM en redes sociales y si esta influye en la intención de compra en la categoría de ropa urbana femenina. El eWOM ha ido evolucionando y con el surgimiento de nuevas herramientas y plataformas digitales el nivel de influencia del eWOM es cada vez más relevante. Si bien es cierto, existe eWOM positivo y negativo a nivel internacional el que predomina es el positivo en relación a la intención de compra. Sin embargo, en el Perú es posible que el eWOM negativo tenga la misma relevancia o mayor que el positivo, ya que hemos podido observar opiniones de este tipo. / In Peru, eWOM is growing, since many companies are applying it in their marketing strategies, since it is possible that the negative eWOM may influence the intention to buy women's urban fashion. For this reason, the study will aim to determine the relationship of eWOM on social networks and whether it influences the intention to buy in the category of women's urban clothing. The eWOM has evolved and with the emergence of new tools and digital platforms the level of influence of the eWOM is increasingly relevant. Although it is true, there is a positive and negative eWOM at the international level, the predominant one is the positive one in relation to the purchase intention. However, in Peru it is possible that the negative eWOM has the same relevance or greater than the positive, since we have been able to observe opinions of this type. / Trabajo de investigación

Influencer marketing som marknadsföringsmetod befinner sig i en stark tillväxtfas. Samtidigt har influencer marketing tidigare varit, tämligen oreglerat. Den 1 januari 2019 lagstadgades det i Sverige att alla produkter en privatperson mottas ska beskattas på. Därmed finns det nu anledning att uppmärksamma mellanhanden i influencer marketing, dess funktioner och möjliga nya position i och med lagen. Denna studie behandlar därför just detta. Syftet med studien är att bidra till ökad förståelse om hur mellanhanden kan fungera för varumärken, även vad det möjligtvis har eller kommer att utvecklas till med den nya lagen om skatt för varumärken. För att undersöka detta tillämpades metoden semistrukturerad kvalitativ intervju med sju stycken respondenter verksamma med mellanhänder på olika vis i deras dagliga arbete. Respondenterna tillhörde således en av de tre aktörerna varumärke, mellanhand eller influencer. Resultatet visar att respondenterna vittnar om tre stycken funktioner som mest väsentliga för varumärken: tillgången till mellanhandens databas av influencers, funktionen av mellanhanden som administrativt stöd och funktionen av matchningen mellan varumärke och influencer. Vidare visar studien att lagen som infördes den 1 januari 2019 har resulterat i ett fortsatt växande beroende hos varumärkena gentemot deras mellanhänder. Även vikten av mellanhanden som ett ännu större administrativt stöd för varumärkena, i större utsträckning nu än innan stadgandet av lagen. Angående framtiden och mellanhanden kan slutsatsen dras att framställningen av mätbara resultat är fortsatt till mellanhandens fördel, att framtidens in- house alternativ kan skapa konkurrens och slutligen att mellanhanden bör sträva efter flexibilitet för att vara fortsatt konkurrenskraftiga inom influencer marketing. / Influencer marketing as a marketing method seems to be in a rising phase and state of growth. At the same time influencer marketing is a method that formerly has been somewhat unregulated. Since the requirement of paying taxes when receiving products in Sweden was legislated the 1st of January in 2019, reason to draw attention to the intermediary in influencer marketing and its functions for brands has emerged. This study covers the intermediary in influencer marketing, its functions for brands and possible new position in the future. The aim is to contribute to an increased understanding about how the intermediary can function for brands, as well as what the intermediaries functions has or will develop to for brands due to the new law. In order to explore this seven semi structured qualitative interviews were held with respondents related to intermediaries in their daily work in some way. The respondents belonged to one of the three operator groups: brand, intermediary or influencer. The results show that the respondents portray three essential functions, whereupon these are the access to the intermediaries database of influencers, the function of the intermediary as the brands’ administrative support and the matchmaking between the brands and the influencers. Furthermore the study shows that the law of taxes on products has resulted in brands continuing growing dependence of their intermediary, and also the significance of the intermediary as an even greater administrative support for the brands. Regarding the future and the intermediary the implication is that the manufacturing of measurable data persists to be an advantage for the intermediaries and that the futures in-house alternatives can create competition. Aswell as how the intermediary ought to thrive for flexibility in order to stay competitive within influencer marketing.

Date: (05/01/22)   Level: Bachelor thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr   Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University   Authors: Las Amin, Saad Husseino, Nour Kellawi   Title: The Impact of Instagram Influencers on Consumer Purchasing Intention   Supervisor: Noushan Memar   Keywords: Influencers, Online purchasing intention, Instagram, Online influencer marketing, Trust, eWOM, Generation Z   Research question: What are the impacts of Instagram influencers on online consumer purchasing intentions?   Purpose: The primary purpose of this research is to investigate how social media influencers, otherwise dubbed as “Instagrammers,” particularly impact the online purchasing intentions of buyers and understand the role of Instagram influencers in the different online purchasing trends in organizations that rely on these individuals for their marketing activities in e-commerce.   Method: Qualitative research using focus group method for data collection and analysis. Conclusion: Instagram influencers of all types have a noteworthy influence on the different online consumer purchasing intentions on the platform, where several factors determine the scope of their impact. Trust is considered one of the most significant ones. It is perspicuous that trust in Instagram influencers is intertwined with three aspects: the emotional feelings of the users in regard to the person, the social responsibility of the influencer toward the society, and the influencer fan base. Most users consider electronic word-of-mouth very effective, as it makes a difference in their pre-purchasing stage. The research resulted in a clear distinction between two types of eWOM, one being negative and the other being positive.

This thesis is situated in the research field of electronic commerce, specifically the aspect of fast fashion brands. This has drawn consumer interest because they find struggles when shopping for clothes online due to their inability to try the product before purchasing from sellers, which tends to result in information asymmetry. Therefore, they may be more hesitant to purchase online due to the perceived risk that results in low level of trust while shopping clothes online; therefore, businesses should strive to alleviate their concerns. Previous research has shown that electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) can guide and increase confidence.  The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how consumers perceive online reviews as ways of reducing information asymmetry and reduce risk in order to ensure that they will be satisfied with their purchase. Furthermore, many factors identified in previous research that could influence the use of online reviews were identified and analyzed in the context of fast fashion for this study. Therefore, the study discovered several factors that influenced the use of online reviews.  This study investigates the role of trust as a mediator between customers' perception of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and their subsequent actions. Specifically, the study focuses on the influence of the perceived usefulness of online reviews on customer trust in fast fashion websites. To gain a comprehensive understanding of consumers' opinions on online reviews, a qualitative research approach employing semi-structured interviews was conducted. The interviews provided participants with the opportunity to elaborate on their responses and provide nuanced insights. The findings indicate that fast fashion brands should prioritize the inclusion of online reviews and enhance their mechanisms based on the factors identified in this study. By recognizing the importance of customer trust and addressing the perceived usefulness of online reviews, fast fashion brands can improve their relationship with customers and foster positive consumer actions. This study contributes to the existing literature on eWOM, trust, and online reviews, offering practical implications for fast fashion brands aiming to optimize their online platforms.

Background: Over time, social media platforms have become a part of people’s daily lives. Social media allows consumers to share thoughts, ideas, and experiences with other consumers, and eWOM evolved. Lately, TikTok has become one of the biggest social media platforms and, in turn, one of the biggest for eWOM; consumers use the app to share content, including product evaluation and recommendations. But there is limited understanding of how eWOM affects consumers’ purchasing behaviour on a platform like TikTok. Purpose: The purpose of the research is to explore the area of young adults’ consumer purchasing behaviour based on their experience of TikTok eWOM regarding beauty products and how the products’ virality affects their purchasing behaviour. Method: The study follows an interpretivist philosophy with an inductive research approach, as the aim is to understand and explore how eWOM affects consumer purchasing behaviour. Further, data were collected through four focus groups. Data were later analysed through inductive coding. Conclusion: The study concluded that four significant characteristics and evaluation factors of eWOM on TikTok affect the consumer's purchase behaviour. The characteristics are the content creators’ effect on the video message, quality, quantity, and following trends. Where quantity and following trends lead to virality and FOMO, which influences purchase behaviour. eWOM on TikTok was perceived to cause more impulsive purchases than on other social media platforms because of its algorithm and user platform trust. Impulsive purchases, in turn, influenced consumer purchase behaviour.