Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The internet has introduced a new channel of sales to the retail industry. Traditionally, the bricks and mortar retail space has predominated the retail giants’ attention; however, the e-commerce space has introduced a new dynamic they cannot ignore. South Africa, as a developing country, has faced challenges with the availability of internet access across all its regions due to the geographical location and spread. Location and logistics are but a few of the challenges facing the e-commerce organisation and consumer. A review of the public literature has identified a gap in research into the critical success factors and challenges facing the clothing e-commerce industry in South Africa. The intention of this study was to identify key themes of critical success criteria and challenges facing the clothing e-commerce industry by interviewing e-commerce professionals. The open questions and challenges identified through these interviews were combined with open questions from the literature review to form a primary questionnaire that could be launched to a primary consumer market segment. This retail consumer market was approached through a mall intercept survey and an online survey to obtain a reasonable representation of internet users and non-internet users in the target sample. Key findings from the e-commerce professional and manager interviews ratified the key themes of the critical success factors and challenges identified in the public literature review. The interviews did, however, place stronger emphasis on product range, price and customer service as being key contribution areas for critical success factors. The research identified a good product range, experienced and skilled senior management, good customer service, a robust and quality logistics model, strong security and clearly defined efficient internal processes. The research also identified high delivery costs and delays, product promised is not the product delivered, inefficient return policies and low quality e-commerce websites as key challenges facing the clothing e-commerce industry. The researcher suggests that further research can be conducted on the consumer adoption rates of clothing e-commerce and the impact of the declining Rand on the profitability of clothing e-commerce in South Africa.

本研究之研究目的在於瞭解目前部落格行銷的特性與人口統計變項及代言人偏好間的關聯性，並研究部落格行銷特性與顧客關係導向的顧客關係利益與顧客關係品質間的相關性，驗證結論部落格行銷特性在【小s性感媽咪日記】是否能得到實證上支持與部落格行銷人口統計變項及代言人偏好的相關調查。本研究對經營行銷部落格提出以下三點建議：一、繼續使用、永續經營。二、設法增加訂閱人數。三、建立使用者資料庫。 / The absence of the empirical study of the importance and the correlation of blog marketing and the customer relationship aroused the practice of the research. Blog marketing attributes: abundant information, customized content, interaction and user friendly surface affect the scales of the customer relationship benefits and qualities profoundly. Managing to take the full advantages of the blog marketing, manager should use and update the blog constantly, trying to make the subscriber as mush as possible and finally end up with the set up of the user database, keep tracking of the blogger.

Advertisements (ads) in social networking sites (SNSAs) have been considered by many researchers as a crucial area of research. However, the scope of the existing studies on consumers’ assessments of SNSAs has been very limited. Most of the existing studies on assessing SNSAs have focused on Ducoffe’s (1996) model with its three variables, and they have ignored other related variables like the credibility value and interactivity value of the advertisement, which are more logically related to SNSAs than the traditional ads. Moreover, most of these studies have been skewed towards younger users and have ignored the social networking site (SNS) users from other age categories. Finally, previous studies about the assessment of SNSAs have depended on data collected from users of popular SNSs and ignored active users from the brand communities (fans of brands on SNSs). In this thesis, the present author has emphasized these three points as the major gaps in the literature about assessing SNSAs. Moreover, to deepen our understanding of how SNS users assess SNSAs this study presents the research findings of three published papers with three different purposes and with different levels of analysis. The first article aimed to extend Ducoffe’s (1996) model – which was used in the previous literature in assessing SNSAs – by considering the ads’ credibility and interactivity values in addition to Ducoffe’s (1996) three variables of information value, entertainment value, and irritation value. A multiple regression analysis was used to test the modified model, and based on the regression analysis of testing the five predictors, the model without the irritation value had the best coefficient of determination (R2). Moreover, coefficient analysis to test the given hypothesis and to determine the coefficients of the predictors was used. According to this survey study, the four primary variables that predicted the consumers’ assessment of the SNSAs were the information value, entertainment value, credibility value, and interactivity value. As perceived by the SNS users, the interactivity value was the strongest among the four predictors. Based on the unexpected result ofthe irritation value of the first paper, the second paper focused on testing the extended model of the assessments of SNSAs as perceived by a different research population, in this case, brand communities’ consumers (BCCs). Based on the regression analysis of testing the five predictors, the model with the five predictors had the best coefficient of determination (R2). The coefficient analysis was used to test the given hypothesis, to determine the coefficients of the five predictors, and to form a construct equation for assessing the SNSAs. Based on this survey study, the four variables with significant positive effects on the consumers’ assessment of SNSAs were informativeness, entertainment value, credibility value, and interactivity value, while the fifth dimension (irritation value) had a significant negative coefficient on the consumers’ assessment of SNSAs. Moreover, that study provided a deeper understanding of how the BCCs assess SNSAs, and it contributed to identifying the main characteristics ofthe BCCs on an SNS. The third paper focused on exploring the effect of national culture on the consumers’ assessment of SNSAs. The cultural features of the respondents in that study gave additional evidence about how a nation’s cultural characteristics can influence the consumers’ assessment of SNSAs. This study helped to identify how SNS users from Egypt, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom assess SNSAs. In this study, one-way analysis of variance with post hoc tests was used to compare the assessments of the three nations. Based on the empirical findings of this survey study, the three groups had significant difference F-ratios for their perception of four of the five variables for assessing SNSAs. Their perceptions of the entertainment value did not significantly differ between the three groups while the interactivity value had the strongest F-ratio. The overall purpose of this study was to deepen our understanding of how SNS users are assessing SNSAs in different settings by considering SNS users, BCCs, and others from various nations. All of the studies presented here have focused on variables for assessing the ads that have been used by other researchers in different research contexts.

The work deals with the possibilities of using internet marketing in the management of the schools involved in the regional system of Czech education. Based on searches of domestic and foreign literature and personal experience, the author explains and assesses how resources can be used for internet marketing activities and how to measure the results of such action. The work is complemented by research that answers the question of how school internet marketing resources currently actually use.

The emergance of modern technologies has essential impact on the way people communicate, spend lisure and shop. The influence of internet has not avoid the market with psychoactive substances. Aproximately since 2008 has happend significant rise among the sops with new psychadelic substances(NPS). The rise of the shops has risen also an afford to monitor this new phenomenon. This thesis follows project Itrend that haas monitored the NPS shop in 2014 and 2015. The aim of the work is to provide more detailed estimate of this size of the market with NPS and the dynamics of its developement between years 2014 and 2106. The analysis of data overstep frame of project I­Trend. keywords: NSP,web shops, internet,marketing strategies

M.A. (Tourism and Hospitality Management) / Travel agents have been traditionally seen as the key intermediary between suppliers of travel services and the traveller. Developments in the field of information technology offer consumers an alternative to booking via a travel agent - the option to plan and arrange holidays online. Due to the ever developing nature of technology, travellers have the luxury of a multitude of choices in their everyday life - particularly so in making decisions regarding travel. Travellers will seek to optimise choices by selecting a distribution channel which will provide them with the greatest perceived value. The primary goal of the study is to explore the underlying factors that influence consumer behaviour in making travel decisions, with specific reference to choosing between booking through a travel agent or online. Research with a perspective on travel decision-making in South Africa is limited. In attempting to fill the void, this study surveyed 408 respondents residing in South Africa using a structured questionnaire, and examined preference in booking holiday flights or accommodation travel through a travel agent or Internet. A literature review was embarked upon to create a framework for this study and to recognise previous research related to travel decision-making. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify factors influencing traveller decision-making. Statistical tests, such as Chi-square and correlation tests, were further used to examine the degree of relationship and significance between items and factors. Factors that influence travel decision-making were identified, namely trust and financial risk perception, convenience and adoption of technology, price, personal contact or empathy and the role of demographic factors such as age, income and ethnicity...

The aim of this work is the analysis of current practices and techniques of Internet marketing. The work is divided into two parts. The theoretical part presents the current internet marketing tools, the optimal utilization is reflected in the practical part, which is carried out a comprehensive plan for internet marketing strategy with emphasis on SEO for start-up company in the field of accommodation and hospitable service. This is a company Penzion U Lišky, which offers accommodation in Southern Bohemia. The work will serve as a guide for small and medium organizations in the development of marketing projects. The practical part of the evidence considered in developing websites and methods to optimize site for search engines. The next section provides recommendations for use of PPC campaigns and presentation of the company's social networking site Facebook. The analysis methods for increasing traffic through social networking, PR articles, blogging and other tools.

Methods used in the thesis include online polling and personal interviews with experts. The goal was to theoretically cover the area of internet marketing and analyze own conducted research. Research has revealed that the internet had the biggest influence on the phases of assessing the options, buying and searching for information of the last purchases of the respondents. The categories which were mostly affected by the internet were electronics and tourism services. With the increasing price of goods the influence of the internet was also growing. The most important internet marketing tools were web sites, search engines and search tools to compare prices. Concerning the social networks, their influence on consumer decision-making was only marginal. The work includes a comparison of theoretical knowledge with research and expert opinions as well.

My diploma thesis addresses the usage of the internet for marketing of small-scale enterprises in our surroundings. My goal is to analyse the internet environment and the possibilities of its use for marketing purposes. The analysis of internet utilities is also included. There is one case study of small-scale enterprise with appropriate conclusions in the final part of my diploma thesis. My thesis is divided into two parts. In the first part I created theoretical footholds for my thesis and I described the dilemma of the internet marketing with the use of propriate specialized literature and internet sources. I describe small-scale enterprises and it's role in our economy. This parts also includes the development of the Internet in the whole world and in the Czech republic and I want to make the acquaintance of internet as a marketing tool. The second part, the practical one, covers specific possibilities of the usage of the internet for marketing of small-scale enterprises. This part contains their characteristics and their advantages and drawbacks in different surroundings. The most important point of the second part is the case study of the shopping portal Zoot.

This Master's Thesis describes the evolution of the Internet, its importance in marketing and new trends and tools used in internet marketing. It also deals with question of potential Internet collapse in future, describes variants of how it could happen and gives the suggestions to solve this problem, too. The Master's Thesis also includes forecasts of evolution of the Internet till 2030 and forecasts of major global agencies concerning the evolution of information technologies and technological news, which can significantly influence the entrepreneurial activity of many companies all over the world.