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Nowadays, about one fourth of all prime time commercials in the United States feature celebrity endorsers. Previous research has identified numerous benefits of this powerful marketing strategy. Unfortunately, celebrities have been increasingly involved in negative publicity in the recent past. Using event study methodology, I examine the influence of negative celebrity endorser publicity on immediate and subsequent stock returns, covering 59 events during a 25 year period from 1988 to 2012. My research shows that firms do not have to take losses for granted. By choosing proactive versus reactive/passive strategies, firms can successfully counteract the subsequent negative stock returns. Thus, it is not the negative event itself that drives the subsequent financial performance, but rather the immediate response of firms. Although immediate firm reactions increase the salience of the event and cause stock prices to drop initially, they also build up investors' trust and confidence again, ultimately leading to increased stock returns in the subsequent weeks. On the flipside, a reactive/passive strategy shows a lack of control and leadership, which can lead to substantial financial losses in the subsequent weeks. I show that this main effect is attenuated for subsidiary (vs. corporate) brands. Further, the appropriateness of the reaction (match between expected and actual firm reaction) is also crucial. Overall, this dissertation helps to advance the knowledge regarding the financial risk of negative celebrity endorser publicity and provides firms with advice to best manage the situation. / Ph. D.

I denna studie undersöker vi hur stor roll influencers spelar in på den digitala marknadsföringen bland världens tre största sportföretag. Kända personer har sedan långt tillbaka innan internet använts av företag i marknadsföringssyfte vilket legat till grund för kommunikationsteorier som celebrity endorsement och parasocial relations. I dagens läge är denna typ av strategi lika relevant om inte mer, då det talas om influencer marketing som en betydande roll inom den digitala marknadsföringen. Denna studie går ut på att undersöka och mäta hur ofta influencers används på sociala medier samt att se mer djupgående på vilka sorts influencers som blir mest representerade. De grupper som studien undersöker är nano, micro, macro och mega-influencers. Vi vill se om det finns ett mönster i vilken typ av influencer som skapar störst engagemang i form av gillningar och kommentarer då tidigare forskning visat en delad bild. Något som även kan vara en påverkande faktor i ökat engagemang är i vilket format inlägget publicerats i. Vi kommer därför undersöka om inläggets format bidrar till ökat engagemang, det vill säga om inlägget är publicerat som en bild, video eller karusell. För att utforma denna studie har vi utgått från en kvantitativ metod där vi samlat in data från alla publicerade inlägg på Adidas, Puma och Nikes Instagram profil 2023. Totalt har 564 inlägg analyserats utifrån ett utformat kodschema för att få svar på frågeställningarna. I inläggen undersöker vi hur ofta företagen använt sig av influencers, vilka influencers som förekommer och vilket format som har använts mest. Detta har vi sedan jämfört med antalet gillningar och kommentarer inlägget besitter för att komma fram till ett resultat i vad som väcker störst, kontra minst engagemang. Huvudresultatet av studien visar att influencers har en betydande roll för alla tre företagens digitala marknadsföring då majoriteten av alla undersökta inlägg innehöll åtminstone en influencer. Mega-influencers är den grupp som både används mest och presterat bäst bland alla tre företag. Det är den grupp som lyckats skapa störst engagemang jämfört med de andra grupperna. Generellt kunde vi se att ju fler följare en influencer besitter desto bättre presterade inlägget, men att påverkan fortfarande är diskuterbar då många inlägg även visade lågt engagemang. När det kom till formatet kunde vi se att videoinlägg används mest frekvent, men att karusellinlägg presterade bäst i engagemanget.

This thesis aims to describe American Military Chaplains’ thoughts and concerns on secularism and religious pluralism in the Millennial generation. The goal is to analyze how a potential change in this generation affects the chaplain’s role. The method is in-depth semi-structured interviews with three chaplains from different service branches. The main finding is that they detect a substantial decrease in religiousness, which follows overall trends in society. Their experience is not that pluralism is gaining substantial ground, rather it is that a large portion of the troops are indifferent to religion. Even so, they do not experience a decrease in interest or need for their services, since counselling is an increasing part of their workload. The ambiguity of their role is mostly perceived as a challenge to balance their religious task with non-religious counselling/coaching and practical duties as an officer.

The use of the social media platform Instagram has increased the fastest and has given the opportunity for the phenomenon of influencer marketing to grow in the fashion industry. The increase of influencer marketing has led marketers to understand that a change of focus is needed. Much of the previous research done in the field has focused on what distinguishes or does not distinguish effective use of influencer marketing for a company. Therefore, it is interesting to study the actual role of influencers in a fashion company’s brand communication and this by studying the fashion companies’ choice of influencers and the way consumers perceive the role of influencers in a fashion company. To operationalize the study, a semiotic analysis has been applied where images have been analyzed to answer the purpose of the study from a business perspective. The results from this are the basis for the design of a qualitative method which is then followed up by a quantitative method for answering the purpose from a consumer perspective. The data was collected through the themes formulated with the support of previous research and theories. These were consumption, the consumer’s approach to influencers and belonging to a group and identity. Within the framework of these themes, the study’s findings showed that influencer marketing is beneficial to use for a company in some areas and in others not. The semiotic analysis showed with certain deficits in the match that the companies choose influencers based on the respondents’ preferences and wishes. / Användningen av det sociala mediet Instagram är den plattform som idag ökar snabbast och har gett möjlighet för fenomenet influencer marketing att växa fram främst inom modebranschen. Ökningen av influencer marketing har lett marknadsförare till att förstå att det behövs ett fokusskifte. Mycket av den tidigare forskning som gjorts inom området har fokuserat på vad som utmärker eller inte utmärker effektiv användning av influencer marketing för ett företag. Därför är det intressant att studera den faktiska rollen av influencers i ett modeföretags varumärkeskommunikation och detta genom att studera modeföretags val av influencers och på vilket sätt konsumenter uppfattar rollen av influencers i ett modeföretag. För att operationalisera studien har en semiotisk analys tillämpats där bilder analyserats för att besvara studiens syfte utifrån ett företagsperspektiv. Resultaten från denna ligger som grund för utformningen av en kvalitativ metod som sedan följs upp av en kvantitativ metod för att besvara syftet utifrån ett konsumentperspektiv. Datan samlades in genom de teman som formulerats med stöd av tidigare forskning och teorier. Dessa var konsumtion, konsumentens förhållningssätt till influencers samt grupptillhörighet och identitet. Inom ramen för dessa teman visade studiens resultat att influencer marketing är gynnsamt att använda för ett företag i vissa avseenden och i andra inte. Bildanalysen visade med vissa brister i matchningen att företagen väljer influencers utifrån respondenternas preferenser och önskemål.

The top endorsed athletes in the world are most likely the ones who have the biggest impact on their sport. These athletes are usually among the best in their sport or they might have something special that creates a strong relationship between the athlete and his or her fans. It is possible to say that this relationship combined with their skills on and off of the fields, courts, or arenas is what makes these athletes special. Big companies all over the world feel attracted to these athletes and, as a result, they spend millions of dollars every year in order to make these athletes the face of their companies. This research investigates the relationship between the monetary values of the top 50 most endorsed athletes in the world and their behaviors. Companies spend millions of dollars every year on endorsement deals, so it is important that they pick the right athlete to represent them. Furthermore, the athletes that are being endorsed need to know if there is a possibility of gaining or losing endorsements based upon their behaviors. The methodology in this research utilizes Analysis of Variance to investigate this relationship.

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.

Over the past twenty years, classrooms throughout the United States have becomes more ethnically and linguistically diverse with the influx of immigrant residents. The impact of this demographic change has directly affected the makeup of the mainstream classroom. One response to this rapid growth in diversity demographics has been the requirement of additional teacher preparation for instruction of English language learners. The study focuses on the impact of English as a Second Language endorsement (ESL) on the English language acquisition and academic achievement of elementary English language learners (ELL) over a two year period in a large mountain west urbansuburban school district. The rationale for the study was to examine the impact of ESL endorsement as required for continued service in this school district. Data were collected from 1,838 English language learners and their 276 mainstream elementary classroom teachers in grades two through six over a two-year period. A one-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to compare the mean change in language levels during a two year period as measured on the IDEA Proficiency Test (IPT), including the oral, reading and writing scores, between ELL students taught by mainstream classroom teachers with ESL endorsement and those taught by teachers without ESL endorsement. A one-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was also used to compare elementary ELL students’, taught by teachers with and without ESL endorsement, mean Language Arts and mathematics Criterion Referenced Tests score gains using the state’s Neutral Value Table point assignment. Covariates included student gender, socio-economic status, minority status, language level, and teacher’s years of experience. The results of this analysis indicate that teacher endorsement did not account for a significant amount of variance in the dependent measure of change in English language acquisition nor the dependent measure of change in academic achievement in Language Arts and mathematics. The findings raise further questions about the quality of professional development of mainstream teachers of English language learners and the accountability standards required for elementary English language learners. The study concludes with implications and recommendations for policies and practices applicable to teacher preparation for English as a Second Language and accountability levels for English language learners.