<p>Environment friendly, so called green marketing has become a discussed subject and companies are constantly trying to find the best ways to reach the customers with their green message. A trademark is considered to be able to work as a source of information and risk reducer for customers, which can be a step towards green communication. Customers are becoming more demanding and they have started to pay more attention to the environment. What is important with trademarks is how customers perceive them, what the image of the trademark is. The aim of this study is to find out and compare how two multinational car manufacturers, Honda and Renault, have used their strategic trademark in order to create a “green” image. By green image meaning so called goods that are being perceived as environmental friendly by the customers. The research study took place in Worcester and Birmingham in England, during the spring 2009. A questionnaire was designed in order to find out how people perceive these two trademarks and how aware they are of the “environmental contribution” that is being made by these companies. The question we wanted to find a respond to where “Have the automobile companies Honda and Renault achieved to deliver their environmental message to their customers?” The results from this illustrates that both companies need to increase their communication with the customers, and that attributes like price and quality are more important than “environmental responsibility”. This study is based on only Honda and Renault and has not taken the rest of the automobile industry into consideration.</p>

Environment friendly, so called green marketing has become a discussed subject and companies are constantly trying to find the best ways to reach the customers with their green message. A trademark is considered to be able to work as a source of information and risk reducer for customers, which can be a step towards green communication. Customers are becoming more demanding and they have started to pay more attention to the environment. What is important with trademarks is how customers perceive them, what the image of the trademark is. The aim of this study is to find out and compare how two multinational car manufacturers, Honda and Renault, have used their strategic trademark in order to create a “green” image. By green image meaning so called goods that are being perceived as environmental friendly by the customers. The research study took place in Worcester and Birmingham in England, during the spring 2009. A questionnaire was designed in order to find out how people perceive these two trademarks and how aware they are of the “environmental contribution” that is being made by these companies. The question we wanted to find a respond to where “Have the automobile companies Honda and Renault achieved to deliver their environmental message to their customers?” The results from this illustrates that both companies need to increase their communication with the customers, and that attributes like price and quality are more important than “environmental responsibility”. This study is based on only Honda and Renault and has not taken the rest of the automobile industry into consideration.

Problem: Environmental awareness was rated as the most current trend in 2006 by the readers of Swedish newspaper DN (Olausson, 2007), and in 2005 97 per cent of the Swed-ish population thought that environmental issues will have or already have had an influence on Sweden (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, 2005). Higher awareness about environmental issues leads to more environmental friendly products and new processes by companies for lower consumption of energy and harmful materials. However, the impor-tance of the contribution of households and electronics on the environment seems to be underestimated. Therefore, it is of importance to understand how consumers consider the environmental friendliness of electronic products, and computers in specific for this thesis. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine how consumers value environmental friendliness when buying computers and how this influences their purchase decision. Method: In order to achieve the purpose stated, a conjoint analysis was first made through an experiment in order to see how the consumer make trade-offs between certain attributes of computers. After the experiment, respondents were asked to answer a questionnaire which has been used to connect computer purchasing and environmental values to con-sumer behaviour theories. Conclusions: The assumption on environmental friendliness being the least valued attrib-ute by consumers has not been supported by the results of the conjoint analysis done; in fact it has instead portrayed environmental friendliness as the second most important, be-fore price and performance, only after accessories. The results have also shown that envi-ronmental friendliness was appreciated in a computer, and that its existence in a computer affects the purchase decision positively. The results of the post-experiment questionnaire have illustrated that environmental friendliness of computers has a strong effect on the purchase decision when combined with other attributes, although it may not be regarded of high value by itself. While a computer by it self are likely to satisfy needs as low as social need, the environmental friendliness of computers appears to satisfy esteem needs. It has also been demonstrated that social factors could have strong effects on purchasing of green computers if more and better information were available. Further, moral obligations and at-titude to behaviour factors concerning green computers seem to be strong, while perceived control and subjective norms appear to be low in today’s society.

<p>Problem: Environmental awareness was rated as the most current trend in 2006 by the readers of Swedish newspaper DN (Olausson, 2007), and in 2005 97 per cent of the Swed-ish population thought that environmental issues will have or already have had an influence on Sweden (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, 2005). Higher awareness about environmental issues leads to more environmental friendly products and new processes by companies for lower consumption of energy and harmful materials. However, the impor-tance of the contribution of households and electronics on the environment seems to be underestimated. Therefore, it is of importance to understand how consumers consider the environmental friendliness of electronic products, and computers in specific for this thesis.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine how consumers value environmental friendliness when buying computers and how this influences their purchase decision.</p><p>Method: In order to achieve the purpose stated, a conjoint analysis was first made through an experiment in order to see how the consumer make trade-offs between certain attributes of computers. After the experiment, respondents were asked to answer a questionnaire which has been used to connect computer purchasing and environmental values to con-sumer behaviour theories.</p><p>Conclusions: The assumption on environmental friendliness being the least valued attrib-ute by consumers has not been supported by the results of the conjoint analysis done; in fact it has instead portrayed environmental friendliness as the second most important, be-fore price and performance, only after accessories. The results have also shown that envi-ronmental friendliness was appreciated in a computer, and that its existence in a computer affects the purchase decision positively. The results of the post-experiment questionnaire have illustrated that environmental friendliness of computers has a strong effect on the purchase decision when combined with other attributes, although it may not be regarded of high value by itself. While a computer by it self are likely to satisfy needs as low as social need, the environmental friendliness of computers appears to satisfy esteem needs. It has also been demonstrated that social factors could have strong effects on purchasing of green computers if more and better information were available. Further, moral obligations and at-titude to behaviour factors concerning green computers seem to be strong, while perceived control and subjective norms appear to be low in today’s society.</p>

Background: Logistics is paramount in the business operations as it ensures transit of goods from one point to the other. Green logistics are measures in the logistics systems that are put in place to minimize the environmental implication of logistics operations while at the same time saving on cost. Thus, green logistics is adopted as it conveys a competitive merit which enhances performance of a company. Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) is one of the biggest petrochemicals in Saudi Arabia and holds the fifth position in the world among the leading producers of petrochemicals. The company already has green logistics in place. Purpose: To explore chemical industries green logistics practices and profitability with a particular case study of SABIC. The goal of this paper was achieved by investigating how has SABIC incorporated green practices into supply chain operations to remain profitable. The study answers “how has chemical industries incorporated green practices into supply chain operations to stay profitable?’ And “how do logistic managers recognize green logistics and to what level do chemical industries apply green logistics? Investigating a chemical industry green logistics is important as it contributes to literature since no single study has been carried out in this area. Suggestions from this study are crucial to SABIC, other chemical industry besides any other industry since in one way or the other companies do logistics. Method: The study utilized interpretivism. This study was a case study type of thesis focusing merely on SABIC, and it employed induction approach as well as the qualitative method of collecting data.  Interviews were used to explore the experiences, beliefs, motivations and views of individual participants. Using non-probability sampling method, five members in SABIC supply chain department were selected. Conclusion: The results show that SABIC or chemical industries utilize most of the green logistics activities (fuel efficiency, route optimization package optimization and calculating carbon emission). However, it was found out that fuel efficiency, route optimizations, and packaging optimization were most common activities. It was also discovered that one major objective of chemical industries going green was to cut cost which contributes positively to its profitability. However, reverse logistics was not familiar because of its nature; it cannot be sufficient on its own.

<p>Abstract</p><p><strong>Date: </strong>2010-05-28</p><p><strong>Authors</strong>:        Aamer Shahzad & Syed Nadeem Hussain Shah.</p><p><strong>Advisor: </strong>Mr. Konstantin Lampou</p><p><strong>Program: </strong>M.S. International Marketing</p><p><strong>Title: </strong><em>If and how environmental friendliness be a profitable marketing strategy in the current recession? </em><em>A comparative study on managements’ perspectives at two food retailers in Sweden.</em><em> </em></p><p><strong>Problem: </strong>During the current recession, consumers are not as much willing to pay more for green but expensive products as were in the past. However, despite this changing consumer attitude, food retailers in Sweden claim their marketing strategy as environmentally friendly. When maximizing profits is considered major corporate goal of every business, investigating the managements’ point of view on environmental friendliness as profitable marketing strategy in the recession period becomes an interesting topic for research.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The objective of this paper is to get insight on management’s perspectives from large-scale food retailers in Sweden on their choice of environmental friendliness as marketing strategy with respect to profitability in the current recession.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>This qualitative study utilizes realist approach to research and exploratory research method. Through literature review, a conceptual model was developed for study. Primary data comes from interviews whereas secondary data from websites and annual reports of the companies.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The green marketing strategy is profitable even in recession as it is a great source of competitive advantage and numerous profitable opportunities. This commitment to environment in hard times yields favorable reputation and helps companies in developing new products; finding new markets and suppliers; expanding customer-base; improving processes and stores; enhancing efficiency; etc.</p><p><strong>Key Words: </strong>Environmental friendliness, green marketing strategy, food retailers in Sweden, green products, impact of recession, profitability, communication.</p>

Purpose: This thesis investigates and analyzes the customer satisfaction over a 10-year time period among Trivselhus customers. Background: More companies in the building sector are starting to realize the importance of using cus-tomer satisfaction as a tool to enhance their competitive advantage. Customer satisfaction brings several positive aspects to a company, which can contribute to a successful business. It is crucial to fulfill customers‟ wants and needs in order to obtain customer satisfaction. Building a house is one of the largest investment people make in life, with important deci-sions that can affect their current way of living. Customer satisfaction is, therefore, crucial for a company like Trivselhus, where it is essential to keep their customers satisfied by of-fering the right products that fulfill their expectations. Another increasingly important aspect in people‟s lives today is the environment. This has now come to affect the house building industries as they have to fulfill customer expecta-tions regarding energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. Method: To answer the purpose, primary data have been collected by conducting a telephone sur-vey. The survey was made randomly among Trivselhus customers. From the different theo-ries, important categories that affect customer satisfaction were found. Aspects from all these categories were included in the questionnaire to explain customer satisfaction. The analysis is based on statistical data generated from the survey. Central tendency values and regression analysis makes it possible to explain which variables affect customer satisfaction among Trivselhus customers. Conclusion: The outcome of the research signifies, that customer satisfaction among Trivselhus cus-tomers has not changed during all the years covered in this research. There are several va-riables affecting customer satisfaction. These variables are included in different categories; Complaints, Expectations, Service Quality, Energy, Product Quality, and Image. Further-more, there is not enough evidence to prove that energy efficiency and environmental friendliness affect customer satisfaction geographically. / Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka och analysera kundnöjdheten bland Trivselhus kun-der över en 10 års period. Bakgrund: Fler företag inom byggsektorn har börjat inse vikten utav att använda kundnöjdhet som ett redskap för att skaffa sig konkurrensfördelar. Kundnöjdhet medför flera positiva aspekter till ett företag, som kan bidra till en framgångsrik affärsverksamhet och det är viktigt att uppfylla kundernas förväntningar och behov för att få kunde nöjd. Att bygga ett hus är en utav de största investeringar som görs i livet, med viktiga beslut som kan påverka ens levnadssituation. Kundnöjdhet är därför avgörande för ett företag såsom Trivselhus, där det är viktigt att hålla sina kunder nöjda genom att erbjuda rätt produkter som uppfyller deras förväntningar och krav. En annan viktig aspekt idag är miljön. Det har visat sig att miljön har kommit att påverka byggsektorn eftersom de nu måste uppfylla kunders förväntningar även angående miljö och energi aspekter. Metod: För att besvara syftet har primärdata samlats in genom en telefonundersökning. Undersök-ningen gjordes slumpmässigt bland Trivselhus kunder. Från teorier hämtades viktiga kate-gorier som påverkar kundnöjdhet. Aspekter från alla dessa kategorier ingick i frågeställ-ningen för att kunna förklara kundnöjdhet. Analysen bygger på statistiska uppgifter. Me-delvärden samt regressions analys gör det möjligt att förklara vilka variabler som påverkar kundnöjdheten bland Trivselhus kunder. Slutsats: Resultatet utav studien visar att kundnöjdheten bland Trivselhus kunder inte förändrats under åren som behandlats, men det finns flera variabler som påverkar kundnöjdhet. Dessa variabler är inkluderade i olika kategorier; Klagomål, Förväntningar, Servicekvalitet, Energi, Produktkvalitet och Image. Vidare så finns det inte tillräckligt med bevis för att miljö och energi påverkar kundnöjdheten geografiskt.

Abstract Date: 2010-05-28 Authors:        Aamer Shahzad &amp; Syed Nadeem Hussain Shah. Advisor: Mr. Konstantin Lampou Program: M.S. International Marketing Title: If and how environmental friendliness be a profitable marketing strategy in the current recession? A comparative study on managements’ perspectives at two food retailers in Sweden. Problem: During the current recession, consumers are not as much willing to pay more for green but expensive products as were in the past. However, despite this changing consumer attitude, food retailers in Sweden claim their marketing strategy as environmentally friendly. When maximizing profits is considered major corporate goal of every business, investigating the managements’ point of view on environmental friendliness as profitable marketing strategy in the recession period becomes an interesting topic for research. Purpose: The objective of this paper is to get insight on management’s perspectives from large-scale food retailers in Sweden on their choice of environmental friendliness as marketing strategy with respect to profitability in the current recession. Method: This qualitative study utilizes realist approach to research and exploratory research method. Through literature review, a conceptual model was developed for study. Primary data comes from interviews whereas secondary data from websites and annual reports of the companies. Conclusion: The green marketing strategy is profitable even in recession as it is a great source of competitive advantage and numerous profitable opportunities. This commitment to environment in hard times yields favorable reputation and helps companies in developing new products; finding new markets and suppliers; expanding customer-base; improving processes and stores; enhancing efficiency; etc. Key Words: Environmental friendliness, green marketing strategy, food retailers in Sweden, green products, impact of recession, profitability, communication.

<p><strong><p>Purpose:</p><p>This thesis investigates and analyzes the customer satisfaction over a 10-year time period among Trivselhus customers.</p><strong><p>Background:</p><p>More companies in the building sector are starting to realize the importance of using cus-tomer satisfaction as a tool to enhance their competitive advantage. Customer satisfaction brings several positive aspects to a company, which can contribute to a successful business. It is crucial to fulfill customers‟ wants and needs in order to obtain customer satisfaction.</p><p>Building a house is one of the largest investment people make in life, with important deci-sions that can affect their current way of living. Customer satisfaction is, therefore, crucial for a company like Trivselhus, where it is essential to keep their customers satisfied by of-fering the right products that fulfill their expectations.</p><p>Another increasingly important aspect in people‟s lives today is the environment. This has now come to affect the house building industries as they have to fulfill customer expecta-tions regarding energy efficiency and environmental friendliness.</p><strong><p>Method:</p><p>To answer the purpose, primary data have been collected by conducting a telephone sur-vey. The survey was made randomly among Trivselhus customers. From the different theo-ries, important categories that affect customer satisfaction were found. Aspects from all these categories were included in the questionnaire to explain customer satisfaction. The analysis is based on statistical data generated from the survey. Central tendency values and regression analysis makes it possible to explain which variables affect customer satisfaction among Trivselhus customers.</p><strong><p>Conclusion:</p><p>The outcome of the research signifies, that customer satisfaction among Trivselhus cus-tomers has not changed during all the years covered in this research. There are several va-riables affecting customer satisfaction. These variables are included in different categories; Complaints, Expectations, Service Quality, Energy, Product Quality, and Image. Further-more, there is not enough evidence to prove that energy efficiency and environmental friendliness affect customer satisfaction geographically.</p></strong></strong></strong></strong></p> / <p>Syfte:</p><p>Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka och analysera kundnöjdheten bland Trivselhus kun-der över en 10 års period.</p><p>Bakgrund:</p><p>Fler företag inom byggsektorn har börjat inse vikten utav att använda kundnöjdhet som ett redskap för att skaffa sig konkurrensfördelar. Kundnöjdhet medför flera positiva aspekter till ett företag, som kan bidra till en framgångsrik affärsverksamhet och det är viktigt att uppfylla kundernas förväntningar och behov för att få kunde nöjd.</p><p>Att bygga ett hus är en utav de största investeringar som görs i livet, med viktiga beslut som kan påverka ens levnadssituation. Kundnöjdhet är därför avgörande för ett företag såsom Trivselhus, där det är viktigt att hålla sina kunder nöjda genom att erbjuda rätt produkter som uppfyller deras förväntningar och krav.</p><p>En annan viktig aspekt idag är miljön. Det har visat sig att miljön har kommit att påverka byggsektorn eftersom de nu måste uppfylla kunders förväntningar även angående miljö och energi aspekter.</p><p>Metod:</p><p>För att besvara syftet har primärdata samlats in genom en telefonundersökning. Undersök-ningen gjordes slumpmässigt bland Trivselhus kunder. Från teorier hämtades viktiga kate-gorier som påverkar kundnöjdhet. Aspekter från alla dessa kategorier ingick i frågeställ-ningen för att kunna förklara kundnöjdhet. Analysen bygger på statistiska uppgifter. Me-delvärden samt regressions analys gör det möjligt att förklara vilka variabler som påverkar kundnöjdheten bland Trivselhus kunder.</p><p>Slutsats:</p><p>Resultatet utav studien visar att kundnöjdheten bland Trivselhus kunder inte förändrats under åren som behandlats, men det finns flera variabler som påverkar kundnöjdhet. Dessa variabler är inkluderade i olika kategorier; Klagomål, Förväntningar, Servicekvalitet, Energi, Produktkvalitet och Image. Vidare så finns det inte tillräckligt med bevis för att miljö och energi påverkar kundnöjdheten geografiskt.</p>

Development is currently being driven towards products that are linked to sustainability. Products with a positive imprint in sustainability are becoming increasingly valuable to consumers, which in turn creates increased value for producers and suppliers. The current pricing tools do not have room to consider the value of the sustainable properties of new products. This is something that the wood industry is following and is now facing the challenge of estimating the value of sustainable production. The study aims to estimate a value for environmentally/climate-friendly products in the wood industry from a customer perspective. This has been done by performing a conjoint analysis using PAPRIKA (Potentially All Pairwise Rankings of all possible Alternatives), to determine the relative importance of 6 product properties. The results of the study show that price is the most important property of wooden floor decking. The mean weight of the 6 attributes included in the study is; price (25,0%), aging (21,9%), maintenance intervals (16,9%), climate impact (16,9%), dimensional stability (10,2%) and biocides (9,1%). The conclusion of the results is if the purpose is to cover the majority of consumers, several different products with different properties should be produced. The results also indicate that the weight for sustainability attributes can increase if the consumer becomes more informed and gains a broader knowledge of the meaning of the properties. / Utvecklingen drivs just nu mot produkter som anknyts till hållbarhet. Produkter med ett positivt avtryck inom hållbarhet blir allt mer värdefull för konsumenten vilket i sin tur skapar ett ökat värde för producenter och leverantörer. De nuvarande verktygen för prissättning har inte utrymme att överväga värdet för hållbara egenskaper hos nya produkter. Denna utveckling är en central del inom träindustrin, som nu står inför utmaningen att estimera värdet av en hållbar produktion. Studien syftar att estimera ett värde för miljö-/klimatvänliga produkter inom träindustrin från ett kundperspektiv. Detta har gjorts genom att utföra en conjointanalys med användandet av PAPRIKA (Potentially All Pairwise RanKings of all possible Alternatives), för att bestämma den relativa betydelsen för 6 produktegenskaper. Resultatet av studien visar att priset är den viktigaste egenskapen hos trallvirke. Medelvikten för de 6 egenskaperna som inkluderats i studien är; pris (25,0%), åldring (21,9%), underhållsintervall (16,9%), fossilt kolspår (16,9%), dimensionsstabilitet (10,2%) och biocider (9,1%). Slutsatsen av studiens resultat är om sortimentet för trallprodukter ska täcka majoriteten av konsumenterna, bör man ha flera olika produkter med olika egenskaper. Resultatet tyder också på att vikten för hållbarhetsattributen kan öka ifall konsumenten blir mer informerad och får en bredare kunskap om egenskapernas innebörd.