Nowadays, having a communication strategy is essential. Companies are offering the same product and it’s really difficult for them to differentiate. What can really make the difference is the message that they send to the consumers and the media they utilize; so how they implement their market communication strategy. The research is focusing on how the franchisor communication guidelines are followed and adapted by the franchisee. The research is conducted through a qualitative approach based on a case study where the data are mainly collected through interviews. From this research, it is possible to understand that the level of standardization in a franchisee is really high, and the adaptation appears whenever there the costumers culture is different. Thus, adaptation occurs whenever the retailer has to penetrate a different market and it has to deal with a different culture; standardization is about using the company concept in the same way as the franchisor provides it. / Nuförtiden, har kommunikation blivit väsentligt. Företag erbjuder samma typ av produkter och det blir svårare att sticka ut. Vad som kan göra stor skillnad är budskapet som de sänder till oss och vilken typ av media de använder sig av; hur de genomför sin marknads kommunikations strategi. Forskning fokuserar på hur olika franchises kommunikations riktlinjer är följda och implementerade av franchisetagaren. Forskningen genomförs genom en kvalitativ metod baserat på en fallstudie där data är primärt samlad genom intervjuer. Från den här forskningen, så är det möjligt att förstå att nivån av standardisering inom en franchise är mycket hög, och adaption sker när en kommer i kontakt med en annan konsument miljö. Adaption sker när en återförsäljare måste bryta sig igenom en ny marknad och när de måste ha och göra med en annan konsument kultur. Standardisering handlar om att använda företagskonceptet på samma sätt som franchisen erbjuder.

Is commercialism a threat to authenticity? This is a qualitative research method and study of IKEAs advertising series Där livet händer. To appear genuine and authentic has become highly important for companies and brands. Critical consumption discourses makes it harder for companies to be perceived as genuine. Där livet händer was launched autumn of 2016 by IKEA Sweden. An advertising series with a concept that aims to represent swedes in their everyday life. The creators of the production worked to avoid traditional language within advertising, instead they wanted to achieve an authentic expression. This study aims to get a better and deeper understanding of advertising where the producer strives for authentic expression. To fulfill the purpose of the study we have used a semiotic analysis of the series Där livet händer, and done qualitative group interviews with different types of consumer groups with different kinds of perspectives on consumption. The theoretical framework for this study is based on Jenkins theory about convergence, Bauman’s theory about consumption culture and Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis. This study shows that the consumer’s individual identity projects through consumption controls how they perceive commercial messages. Brands can through authentic expression, as in authentic recognition, reach different types of consumer groups. To be perceived as authentic, however, seems to be more difficult. Especially if you want to reach consumer groups with more critical perspectives on mass consumption. The home is central in the IKEA commercials, it is also strongly related to the origin, presence and human identity. By recognition linked to the nuclear family and the home, IKEA has more or less managed to affect the different consumer groups in this study.

Our modern society is based on a culture of consumption, where individuals are in an on- going search for self-realization through consumption. But in a society with buzz a of commercials and information, a society where media users are getting more critical towards commercialized messages it’s harder for companies to be heard. To be heard, companies need to create messages that their customers choose to listen to. Content marketing is a marketing strategy that aims to do just that. The purpose with this study is to get a deeper understanding of content marketing as a phenomenon within a consumption society by studying IKEAs series Vad gafflar ni om?. The study has a starting point in Bauman’s theories about consumption life, Giddens theories about the reflexive self, Jenkins theories about convergence culture and Faircloughs critical discourse analysis. The critical discourse analysis was made through Faircloughs three-dimensional conception of discourse, which is a model consisting a linguistic analysis of the text, the discourse practise and the social practice. To get a deeper insight in the reception of the text, qualitative interviews with text consumers where also made. The result of the analysis showed that different types of identities and norms where presented by IKEA in the series, which all could be achieved through consumption. The text consumer is most likely influenced by the ideology consumerism, which can be why they agree with how IKEA present different identities. IKEA presents a narrow image of the typical swede, where that are presumed to be middle class and own their own house. A distinct promotion discourse could not be identified, although a consumption discourse was identified throughout the series. The text consumers felt that the content was mostly entertaining and educating, which could be the result of the non-exiting promotional discourse but also the use of an entertaining-genre. The text consumers were also positively disposed by the content that can be, in comparison to Grusells study, because they choose to see it by themselves.

Introduction In this study, we have explained the complexities of social media, as it is still a relatively unexplored area. With the rapidly growing use of social media in recent years, companies have chosen to establish themselves in social networks to advertise themselves and communicate with their customers. In this study we analyze IKEA Sweden and their use of social media on the national market, where focus lies upon IKEA Sweden Facebook-page. The study intends to find out how the company uses social media as a marketing and communication tool and also analyzes the relations and conversations that occur on the Facebook-page.   Purpose and research questions The purpose of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of how a large Swedish company as IKEA has chosen to use social media and how it's perceived by them. We also intended to find out how IKEA Sweden uses social media in their daily work and how the company communicates through this media channel. The research questions for this study were: how does IKEA Sweden use social media and in what purpose? How does IKEA Sweden want their communication on Facebook to look like and how do they really communicate? What are the employees at different levels view of the company's use of social media? How do they see the development of social media, in general and for the company?                       Methodology We are using semi-structural interviews and text-analyzing as qualitative methods. We chose to do a text-analysis of IKEA Sweden's Facebook page where relationships, interactions, intertextuality and coherence where viewed upon. Semi-structured interviews have been used with five respondents who therefore represented IKEA Sweden in this study.   Theoretical perspective We present a number of different theories to give the reader a greater insight into the relationship between scientific media theories and its application in how companies communicate through social media. To further enhance the reader's understanding of the material presented in this study we describe how we attach these theories to this study and why we found them relevant.   Conclusions IKEA Sweden has a vision to strengthen relations with their consumers and to market themselves on Facebook. They want to create an image of themselves as transparent, available and honest in the dialogue and managing feedback from their consumers. IKEA Sweden use social media as a supplement to tradition marketing and consumer service. We have been able to discern certain awareness in our respondents of the fact that companies are increasingly encroaching on their consumers' private spaces, which may affect the company's presence in social media in the future.

The interest in using finite element analysis (FEA) as a product development tool is present within IKEAof Sweden (IoS). To gain additional support from within IoS a project was issued to identify the meritsand demerits of FEA. This was done by applying FEA to optimise an existing product, namely theEktorp sofa frame. Three important questions are addressed in this report: • How can the finite element method efficiently and reliably be applied to improve an existingproduct? • What types of improvements can be anticipated from using the finite element method andhow can these be achieved? • What products are suitable to be developed with the use of FEA? As the sofa frame mainly consists of wood a literature study is conducted to answer several questionsregarding the use of wood in conjunction with FEA. Real life tests are performed to verify acquiredmaterial data. The original design is analysed with FEA to act as reference for newer concepts and also to identifyareas of improvement. Additional design tools are also applied to complement the FEA. Concepts are generated to improve a number of factors such as weight, number of components andcost. These concepts are analysed with FEA to be compared to the original design and incrementallychanged until meeting set requirements. A final concept where the cost, weight and number of components are reduced is thoroughlydescribed and presented as a CAD model. The final result is the Ektorp sofa frame with its weightreduced by 10.9%, number of components reduced by 18.2% and material cost reduced by 13.4%. The conclusion from this process is that FEA can efficiently and reliably be applied to improve anexisting product. This, however, requires thorough knowledge in FEA. Strength, weight and cost arethe most obvious factors that can benefit from the use of FEA while almost all design changes canbenefit indirectly as well. Almost any product can benefit from the use of FEA; however, severalfactors decide the efficiency and reliability of these analyses, such as analysis experience and productcomplexity. / Det finns ett intresse för att använda finita element analyser (FEA) som ett produktutvecklingsverktygpå IKEA of Sweden (IoS). För att få ett ökat stöd inom IoS skapades ett projekt där för och nackdelarnamed FEA kan identifieras. Detta projekt baserades på att optimera en existerande produkt, nämligenEktorp soffans ram. Tre viktiga frågor behandlas i och med detta projekt: • Hur kan finita element metoden appliceras på ett effektivt och tillförlitligt sätt för att optimeraen existerande produkt? • Vilka typer av förbättringar kan man förvänta sig genom att använda finita element metodenoch hur uppnås dessa? • Vilka produkter lämpar sig att utvecklas med hjälp av FEA? Eftersom soffans ram till större delen består av trä inleds en litteraturstudie för att besvara frågor somberör användandet av trä i samband med FEA. Verkliga tester utförs för att verifiera insamladematerialdata. Originalkonstruktionen analyseras med FEA för att skapa en referens till kommande koncept och ävenför att identifiera möjliga förbättringsområden. Flera designverktyg används för att komplettera FEA. Koncept genereras för att förbättra en rad faktorer såsom vikten, antalet komponenter och kostnaden.Dessa koncept analyseras med FEA och jämförs mot originalkonstruktionen för att förbättrasinkrementellt tills det att fastställda krav uppfylls. Ett slutgiltigt koncept där kostnad, vikt och antalet komponenter är minskat beskrivs i detalj ochpresenteras som en CAD modell. Det slutgiltiga resultatet är Ektorp-soffans ram där vikten ärreducerad med 10,9%, antalet komponenter reducerade med 18,2% och materialkostnadernareducerade med 13,4%. Slutsatsen från projektet är att FEA kan appliceras på ett effektivt och tillförlitligt sätt för att förbättraen existerande produkt. Detta kräver dock omfattande kunskap inom FEA. Hållfasthet, vikt ochkostnad är de mest uppenbara parametrar som kan tjäna på användandet av FEA medan nästan allakonstruktionsändringar kan dra nytta av FEA indirekt. Nästan alla produkter kan dra nytta av FEA, detfinns dock en rad faktorer som avgör hur pass effektiva och tillförlitliga analyserna blir. Exempel pådessa är användarerfarenhet och produktkomplexitet.

The exploitation of land in Northern Sweden has caused a significant depletion of grazing grounds for semi-domesticated reindeer. This is a threat to the indigenous Sami reindeer herders of Sweden, who rely on the grazing ground in order to sustainably feed their herds. In the last decade, a significant amount of grazing land has been lost due to the construction of wind power parks (WPP) in important grazing regions. This thesis examines the discourse surrounding a WPP built in Härjedalen for IKEA. The WPP was built on Glötesvålen, a unique highland used for grazing by Mittådalen, a local herding community. Through a dissection of electronic sources and semi-structured interviews, the author conducts a discourse analysis to identify the most prevalent narratives surrounding the construction of IKEA’s WPP on Glötesvålen. An inductive approach is used to identify underlying ideologies present in the discourse through a relevant theoretical framework. The results show a pervasive enthusiasm for the WPP as a pivot towards renewable energy which mirrors the ideology of ecological modernization. The results also find a critical narrative which lifts the uneven power dynamic experienced by reindeer herders. This narrative is understood through the lens of Spivak’s (2010) “Can the Subaltern Speak?”. An additional discourse found is the symbolic issue between industrial ecological transitioning and the right to reindeer husbandry as a cultural heritage. / Exploateringen av mark i norra Sverige har orsakat en betydande förlust av betesmarker för renskötare. Detta hotar den svensk-samiska rennäringen, som förlitar sig på betesmarken för att hållbart mata sina hjordar. Under det senaste decenniet har en betydande mängd betesmark gått förlorad på grund av den ökande mängden vindkraftsparker (WPP) på, eller intillrenbetesmarker. Denna avhandling undersöker diskursen kring en WPP byggd i Härjedalen för IKEA. WPP byggdes på Glötesvålen, ett låg-fjäll som tidigare haft strategiskt viktiga betesmarker för samebyn Mittådalen. Genom en dissektion av elektroniska källor och halvstrukturerade intervjuer genomför författaren en diskursanalys för att identifiera de vanligaste narrativen om IKEAs vindkraftpark på Glötesvålen. En induktiv metod används för att identifiera underliggande ideologier som finns i diskursen genom ett relevant teoretisk ramverk. Resultaten visar en genomgripande entusiasm för vindkraft som ett steg mot förnybar energi. Detta narrativ speglar ideologin för ekologisk modernisering. Resultaten hittar också ett kritisk narrativ som lyfter den ojämna maktdynamiken som renskötarna upplever. Detta förstås genom Spivaks (2010) "Kan den underordnade tala?". Ytterligare en diskurs som upptäcks är symbolfrågan mellan industriell ekologisk omställning och bevarandet av renskötseln som kulturarv.

Introduktion – Millennials, är den första generation som har växt med teknologi nära tillhands. För dem har mobilen fått bli en integrerad del av deras liv, vilket har påverkat hur dem som konsumenter interagerar med en butik och dess miljö. På många sätt har mobilen blivit en distraktion för dem när de är i butiken, men på vissa sätt så kan den också vara en hjälp för dem, speciellt i komplexa köp. Detaljhandlare har däremot fram tills nu sett mobilen som ett problem då den leder till att konsumenten ignorerar det som finns i butiken, men eftersom mobilen har betydande roll i konsumenternas liv bör de istället byta fokus. De måste istället hitta sätt att dra nytta av mobilanvändningen, både för deras egen fördel och förkonsumenternas. Syfte och metod – Studiens syfte var därmed att få en djupare förståelse för hur detaljhandlare kan hitta värde i mobilanvändandet för millennials i komplexa köp. Vidare, syftade den till att kunna ge teoretiska bidrag kring konsumentens värdeskapande, genom att sammanfläta mobilanvändandet med butiksmiljön. Studien gjordes som en kvalitativ fallstudie på IKEA genom användningen av två metoder. 47 respondenter tillfrågades att göra tre uppgifter på köksavdelning medans de bar eye trackingglasögon som filmade vad de gjorde. Efter det, fick de göra en komplimenterande semistrukturerad intervju, och alla data analyserades sedan med hjälp av en tematisk analys. Resultat och slutsatser – Resultatet visar att millennials använder sin mobil för att hjälpa dem navigera sig i butiken, hitta information, och viktigast, för att ta foton på information och inspiration. Däremot, även ifall konsumenten ser mobilen som ett värdefullt verktyg, visar också resultatet att trots det fortfarande är viktigt med personlig service i komplexa köp. Till sist, finns det också indikationer på att serviceerbjudande i butiken måste anpassas för att återge mer tydlig och relevant information, samt att skyltarna behöver skapa interaktioner mellan konsumenterna och mobilen, till exempel genom användningen av QR-koder. Teoretiskt, bidrar denna studie både genom att ge ytterligare stöd till tidigare studier och genom att bidra med nya insikter kring värdeskapande i serviceerbjudandet. / Introduction – The digital native generation, millennials, is the first generation to grow up with technology close at hand. For them the mobile phone is an integrated part of their lives, which has an impact on how they as consumers interact with the retail environment. In many ways the mobile phone can be a distraction for them in store, but in some ways, it can also be a help for them, especially in high involvement purchases. Retailers has up until now found the mobile phone to be a problem since it can make the consumers ignore the retail landscape. However, since the prominent role the mobile phone has in the consumers life, there need to be a switch in focus, and retailers needs to utilise it, both for their own and the consumers benefit. Purpose and methodology - The aim of this study was therefore to get a deeper understanding of how retailers can find value in mobile phone use for the millennial consumer in high involvement purchases. In addition, it aimed to make theoretical contributions to consumer value creation, by incorporating the mobile phone usage into the retail environment. The study was done using a qualitative multiple research method in a single case study on IKEA. 47 millennials respondents were asked to perform three tasks in the kitchen department while wearing eye tracking glasses to record their actions. Thereafter, a complementary semistructured interview was performed, and the data was later analysed using thematic analysis. Result and conclusion – The results show that the millennial consumers use their mobile phone to help them navigate the store, find information, but most importantly to take photos for information and inspirational purposes. However, even though many consumers found the mobile phone as a valuable tool, in high involvement purchases personalised service is still highly valued. Finally, the result indicated the services cape needs to be adapted with clearer and more relevant information as well as signs to create interactions with the consumer and the mobile phones such as QR codes. Theoretically, this study both supports the results from previous studies as well as contributes with new insights to the theoretical field of value in service.

Reklamfilmer berör konsumenter på olika sätt. De kan informera, irritera och rörakonsumenten till tårar. Denna studie undersöker hur fyra emotionella reklamfilmer frånGoogle, Nike, Ikea och Ica påverkar konsumenter. Syftet med studien är att undersöka huremotionell marknadsföring kan se ut, hur konsumenters bild av ett företag kan påverkas avemotionell marknadsföring i videoformat samt vad som kan påverka konsumenter när de serpå reklamfilmer. Syftet besvaras med hjälp av teorier inom marknadsföring, semiotiskinnehållsanalys, storytelling, retorik och musik.Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och undersökningen har genomförts genom åttasemistrukturerade intervjuer fördelade på två grupper, konsumenter i åldrarna 20—30 årrespektive 55—65 år. En inledande studie i form av en fokusgruppsintervju låg till grund förundersökningen. Analyser av reklamfilmerna samt den tematiska analysen avintervjumaterialet visar att olika reklamfilmer påverkar konsumenter på olika sätt. Delsmåste konsumentens bild av företaget stämma överens med dess tolkning av reklamfilmensbudskap, dels måste konsumenten ha ett grundläggande förtroende för företaget. Faktorersom relaterbarhet, musikens roll i reklamfilmen samt konsumentens generella syn på reklampåverkar också hur konsumenten uppfattar reklamfilmerna. Studien visar attkonsumenterna antingen accepterar eller avvisar reklamfilmens budskap baserat på dessafaktorer. / tears. This study examines how four emotional TV commercials from the companies Google,Nike, Ikea and Ica affects consumers. The purpose of this study is to examine what emotionalmarketing may look like, how consumers’ image of a company may be affected by emotionalvideo marketing, as well as what conditions may affect a consumer watching a TVcommercial. The purpose is answered through theories of marketing, semiotic contentanalysis, storytelling, rhetorics and music.This study employed a qualitative research approach and the study was conducted througheight semi-structured interviews of two groups of consumers, consumers aged 20—30 yearsand 55—65 years respectively. A preliminary study consisting of a focus group interview wasconducted preceding the study. Analyses of the commercials and the thematic analysis of theinterviews show that different commercials may affect consumers differently. The consumers’image of the company must correlate with their interpretation of the commercial message,and the consumer must have a fundamental trust in the company. Factors such asrelatability, the role of music in the commercial, as well as consumers’ general view ofcommercials also affect how they perceive the commercials. The study shows that consumerseither accept or reject the commercial message based on these factors.

This essay explores the correlation between the design of stemware and the production of artistically produced glassware at the Swedish glassworks Orrefors, between the years of 1960 and 1990. The aim of this investigation is to see in what way the artistic glass has influenced the design of the stemware. Furthermore, the essay discusses in what way this change in design can be due to factors like competition with cheaper stemware from IKEA, the aesthetic trends of different decades and the economic situations of the glassworks. This essay also investigates in what way this change in design and aesthetics correlates to a change in pricing of the exclusive stemware produced at Orrefors. These subjects have been investigated using both a qualitative and a quantitative method, with the aim of understanding their correlations. The result of this study has shown that the artistically produced glassware has had a noticeable impact on the design of stemware, particularly from the mid 70´s and onwards. This is concluded to be due to a combination of factors, such as the ones stated above.

Nowadays, multinational organisations face the challenge of managing a diverse workforce. The role of diversity has become increasingly important in a world that is influenced by the outcomes of globalisation. Organisations operate worldwide and therefore recruit their employees from all around the world, which leads to diverse workforces. It is essential for an organisation to be aware of differences within the workforce and to manage diversity actively in order to benefit from its positive potential. The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact diversity has on organisations such as IKEA. Especially how the everyday business life is affected by diversity and if the positive or negative aspects prevail. Further, it is investigated how cross-cultural management can be used as a managerial tool to influence and adjust diversity in a certain way. The organisational culture of an organisation was identified as the third important cornerstone in that relation. The researchers presumed a correlation between those three phenomena. The aforementioned assumptions led to the construction of the following research questions for this study: What impact does diversity have on an organisation such as IKEA? and How does cross-cultural management influence outcomes of diversity and what role does organisational culture play in that context? To answer these research questions, an exploratory study was carried out. An abductive approach was chosen that allowed for adding new theories throughout the research process. The data was collected through nine semi-structured interviews with experienced IKEA managers. Additionally, scientific articles and books were used as support to develop theoretical and practical contributions to the fields of diversity, cross-cultural management and organisational culture. The study revealed that diversity has a large impact on organisations such as IKEA. Furthermore, a correlation between diversity, cross-cultural management and organisational culture was identified. The findings led to the conclusion that diversity within an organisation creates the need for cross-cultural management. Organisational culture, in that context, builds a foundation for values and perceptions that are shared by the workforce. Therefore, a strong organisational culture helps to utilize the positive aspects of having a diverse workforce. In the case of IKEA, successful organisational socialisation and institutionalisation function as tools for preserving institutional memory, in terms of values and ethical business behaviour.