Date: 2021/06/03 Level: Master Thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Shadi Botros, Yacoub Said (87/07/24) (95/01/01) Title: LUXURIOUS BRAND AND SOCIAL MEDIA Tutor: Edward Gillmore Keywords: Luxury brands, Social media marketing activities, Brand perceptions, Brand awareness, Purchase intention. Research questions: What are the outcomes of social media marketing used by luxury brands, brand awareness and brand perception, on purchase attention? Purpose: The purpose of this research is to study if social media marketing can have an effect on luxuries brands perception in consumers mind and if social media can influence consumers purchase intention. Method: This study is following a quantitative approach by using statistical methods to test the hypothesis. Conclusion: Luxury brands are considered as exclusive and expensive brands. Social media is a mass communication tool that is usually used to reach a broad segment of consumers. The authors found out through the gathered data that consumers are aware about the brand and they perceive the brand as a luxury brand. However, consumers were not only relying on the official home page of the brand to obtain information.

Research Question: To what extent do social media reviews’ effect on the purchase   intention and actual buying behaviour of consumers differ in the beauty industry in a cross-country comparison?     Purpose:   The purpose of this study is to explore to what extent consumers in the beauty industry perceive the importance of social media reviews and if it has direct or indirect effect on either their purchase intentions or buying behaviors or if not on both. The aim is then to contribute to limited research available and to see if this connection differs with the country particularly between Sweden and Sri Lanka.   Methodology:     A descriptive qualitative research strategy was approached conducting semi-structured interviews with a total of fourteen participants both from Sweden and Sri Lanka. Open-ended questions were asked and thematic analysis was used when analyzing the collected primary data.   Conclusion: Respondents from Sweden were more engaged with social media reviews and their purchase decisions were based mostly on social media reviews. Sri Lankan respondents were interested in negative reviews while Swedish respondents were highly affected and motivated by positive reviews. Even if young consumers in Sri Lanka were motivated to purchase beauty products because of social media reviews, almost all of the Sri Lankan respondents’ purchase decisions were highly impacted by family and friends compared to effects of social media reviews.

We are currently in the middle of the digital marketing era where technological developments have made it possible for customers and businesses to communicate around the clock. Social media is a tool that makes it possible for companies and brands to create and maintain relationships. To understand social media usage and the motivations behind it, Uses & Gratifications theory is commonly used. Motivations are important when exploring consumer behaviour and understanding the customer journey. A customer journey can be explained as the different touch-points a customer has with a firm during a purchase cycle. Marketing on social media often has different objectives where purchase intention is one important, since it indicates the real value of advertising on social media. Earlier research has not combined these three concepts: motivations to social media usage, the customer journey and purchase intention and this gap got us interested in examining the relationships between these. To do this we developed two research questions: RQ1: Do motivations to use social media affect stages in the customer journey?  RQ2: Do the different stages of the customer journey affect purchase intention?  The purpose of this study is to investigate motivations that lead to social media usage and if these affect the stages in the customer journey, and further how the customer journey affects purchase intention. We also wanted to investigate if usage of social media has changed during the Covid-19 pandemic. To answer our research questions and fulfill the purpose of this study, we conducted a quantitative research targeting students in Sweden.  Based on existing literature regarding social media, motivations, Uses & Gratification theory, the customer journey, customer decision process and purchase intention we created a theoretical framework and a conceptual model whose aim was to explain relationships between motivations to use social media, the stages of the customer journey and purchase intention. We also developed 12 hypotheses that we tested and included in the model. We collected data by using an online questionnaire and then analysed it and ran tests in SPSS. Our results showed that 4 out of 12 hypotheses could be supported: There is a positive relationship between cognitive motivation and the pre-purchase stage of the customer journey; There is a positive relationship between cognitive motivation and the purchase stage of the customer journey; There is a positive relationship between hedonic motivation and the pre-purchase stage and lastly; There is a positive relationship between the pre-purchase stage and purchase intention. The conclusion is that changes in purchase intention mostly rely on the impact of the pre-purchase stage. The pre-purchase stage is in turn affected by cognitive and hedonic motivations to use social media.

This study examines the online atmospheric cues of colour and music and their impact upon feeling and purchase intention of consumers in the online environment. The research design was experimental and used data from a questionnaire. A pilot test of the instrument was conducted. The final questionnaire contained 39 items and a demographic section. A total of 200 questionnaires were collected. Participants were exposed to a specific set of online atmospheric elements. Results indicated a difference in regard to purchase intention when exposed to different colour. Results also found a correlation between feeling and internet purchase intention. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed along with future research suggestions.

Title: Impact of country of origin on consumer purchase intention amongPakistani customers buying fashion clothes onlineLevel: Master Programme in Business Administration (MBA): Business ManagementAuthor: Hafiz Azhar Ahmed KhanSupervisor: Dr. Ehsanul Huda Chowdhury & Dr. Katarina ArbinExaminer: Dr. Daniella FjellströmDate: March 2022Aim: The research study investigates the impact of country of origin on consumerpurchase intention through consumer preference for Pakistani consumers buying fashioncloth online.Method: The study is using a quantitative research method Data has been collectedthrough a questionnaire that 157 respondents answered. Results were analyzed throughSPSS.Results & Conclusions: The results of this study show that country of origin andconsumer purchase intention has a significant relationship with each other, andconsumer preference mediates the relationship between the variables. Furthermore, itdepicts that when consumers take the country of origin positively, their purchaseintention also becomes positive and vice versa. Further, it has also been found thatconsumer preference builds a strong relationship between a country of origin andpurchase intention.Contribution of the thesis: The current idea has contributed to research related to thecountry of origin because there is no specific study in the Pakistani context which hasstudied the impact of country of origin on consumer preference and how preference canmediate the country of origin‘s effect on consumer purchase intention. In both ways,current research has explained how Country of origin is positively changing preferencesof fashion clothes, and mediation of consumer preference is also proven. It extends theliterature on the Country of origin concerning new context and new mediating variables.It makes the findings of the theory of planned behavior more significant for extrinsiciicues. It also guides managers to schedule their ads and marketing strategies to makethem more successful and competitive.Suggestions for future research: Future researchers should take the current research tothe next level and identify more outcomes of country of origin, such as how it can betterbrand equity or Sales volume. Furthermore, comparative studies can be conducted inwhich a developing and developed country can be specified. Responses for bothcountries should be obtained separately, and then differences can be brought to see themultilevel impact of country of origin. Another suggestion for future research is toconduct a comparative study between online and physical shoppers as the currentresearch was limited to online fashion clothes only

El social media se ha convertido en medio importante para las actividades de marketing, generando que tanto las personas como las empresas creen contenido y desarrollen oportunidades de negocio a través de este medio. Por ende, este estudio analiza los efectos de las actividades de marketing en social media (AMSM) sobre la satisfacción con relación a la intención de compra en marcas deportivas en la generación Y de Lima Metropolitana. Con el objetivo de resolver la problemática que pocos estudios han desarrollado particularmente investigando la importancia relativa de cada componente de las AMSM y analizando los efectos en las variables propuestas. Este estudio tuvo un enfoque mixto, realizando diversas técnicas cualitativas y cuantitativas para la recopilación y análisis de datos. Los resultados mostraron que las variables que tienen mayor impacto en la satisfacción son el entretenimiento, tendencia y personalización, mientras que no se pudo comprobar el impacto de la satisfacción en la intención de compra. Finalmente, se recomienda a las empresas aumentar el contenido y sus actividades digitales enfocándose en las tres variables principales como el entretenimiento, tendencia y personalización, ya que, esas variables son las más valoradas por el usuario en el social media. / Social media has become an important medium for marketing activities, generating that both individuals and companies create content and develop business opportunities through this medium. Therefore, this study analyzes the effects of marketing activities in social media (AMSM) on satisfaction in relation to purchase intention in sports brands in generation Y of Metropolitan Lima. With the aim of solving the problem that few studies have developed, particularly by investigating the relative importance of each component of the AMSM and analyzing the effects on the proposed variables. This study had a mixed approach, using various qualitative and quantitative techniques for data collection and analysis. The results showed that the variables that have the greatest impact on satisfaction are entertainment, trend and personalization, while the impact of satisfaction on purchase intention could not be verified. Finally, companies are recommended to increase the content and their digital activities focusing on the three main variables such as entertainment, trend and personalization, since these variables are the most valued by the user in social media. / Trabajo de investigación

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo analizar cómo los chatbots de Facebook se relacionan con la intención de compra de entradas a exposiciones de arte contemporáneo de Lima Metropolitana. El chatbot es una herramienta automática de atención al cliente que permite conversar con posibles consumidores rápidamente sin la necesidad de una persona de por medio. Las redes sociales han hecho más accesible su implementación en toda clase de negocios por lo que se busca analizar el impacto de la herramienta en la industria del arte. Para conseguir la información cualitativa necesaria se usaron entrevistas a profundidad y focus group a expertos y público objetivo mientras que para la información cuantitativa se usó una encuesta online a personas que usaron la herramienta de las distintas instituciones investigadas. Después de analizar los datos se encontró una relación positiva entre el nivel de satisfacción con el chatbot de Facebook de las instituciones de arte y las distintas variables de intención de compra. Sin embargo, todavía es necesario desarrollar la calidad de las herramientas implementadas actualmente para aprovechar todo su potencial. / This investigation has as an objective to analyze how Facebook chatbots relate with the purchase intention of tickets for contemporary art expositions in Metropolitan Lima. The chatbot is an automatic tool for customer support that allows conversations with potential clients in a fast manner without the need of a person in between. Social media has made accessible its implementation in all type of businesses so there is a need to analyze the impact of this tool in the art industry. To get the qualitative information it was used in-depth interviews and focus groups to experts and the target audience while for the quantitative information it was used an online poll to people that have used the tool of the different researched institutions. After analyzing the data a positive relation was found between the level of satisfaction with the Facebook chatbot from the art institution and the different purchase intention variables. However, there is still a need to develop the quality of the tools that are implemented right now to take advantage of its full potential. / Trabajo de investigación

Este trabajo de investigación muestra la relación entre la calidad de servicio y atmósfera del local con la intención de revisita en los restaurantes temáticos, específicamente del sector AB en Lima Metropolitana. Mediante este trabajo se analizarán y evaluarán las diversas dimensiones que poseen las variables mencionadas. A su vez, se observarán las estrategias que utiliza este sector para incentivar el retorno al local. Los restaurantes temáticos son una tendencia actualmente en el mercado, puesto que se diferencian frente a los restaurantes tradicionales. Presentan una temática específica generando una experiencia diferente hacia el consumidor. Destacando su calidad de servicio, es decir, la atención personalizada, conocimiento de carta por parte del mesero y la calidad del producto; y atmósfera: el ambiente del local y elementos de diseño. Sin embargo, dichos elementos no son suficientes para que el exigente consumidor tenga intención de retornar al restaurante. A través del estudio cualitativo y cuantitativo, que incluían entrevistas al público objetivo, expertos en el tema de investigación y encuestas por Google Forms, se comprobó que existe una relación entre la calidad de servicio y atmósfera del local con la intención de revisita. El cliente cuenta con expectativas altas, las cuales el restaurante temático no estaba cumpliendo. Al ser un restaurante diferencial, se espera una atención sumamente personalizada, con buenos productos y un ambiente que traslade al comensal a la temática que propone el restaurante, así como una interacción entre local y consumidor generando que este tenga una buena experiencia y aumente la probabilidad de revisita. / This research work shows the relationship between the quality of service and atmosphere of the premises with the intention of revisiting in thematic restaurants, specifically the AB sector in Lima Metropolitana. This work will analyze and evaluate the various dimensions of the above variables. In turn, the strategies used by this sector to incentivize return to the premises will be observed. Themed restaurants are currently a trend in the market, as they differ from traditional restaurants. They present a specific theme generating a different experience towards the consumer. Highlighting its quality of service, that is, personalized attention, knowledge of the menu by the waiter and the quality of the product; atmosphere: the atmosphere of the place and design elements. However, those elements are not sufficient for the demanding consumer to intend to return to the restaurant. Through the qualitative and quantitative study, which included interviews with the target audience, experts on the subject of research and surveys by Google Forms, it was found that there is a relationship between the quality of service and atmosphere of the premises with the intention of revisit. The customer has high expectations, which the themed restaurant was not meeting. Being a differential restaurant, we expect a highly personalized attention, with good products and an atmosphere that brings the diner to the theme proposed by the restaurant, as well as an interaction between local and consumer generating that it has a good experience and increases the likelihood of revisit. / Trabajo de investigación

El formato de pasajes low cost es una tendencia que ha ido estableciéndose en el mercado peruano. No obstante, no han logrado tener la acogida esperada por parte de los consumidores peruanos, debido a diferentes aspectos. Por ello, en la presente investigación se analizarán factores asociados a la compra de pasajes low cost en hombres y mujeres de 20 a 50 años. De esta manera, se han seleccionado las variables valor hedónico, valor utilitario, influencia social, precio, promociones, página web, experiencia de compra y riesgo percibido. Con la finalidad de poder comprobar las hipótesis se ha desarrollado una investigación mixta. Por un lado, en el estudio cualitativo se realizaron dos focus groups al público objetivo y tres encuestas a profundidad a expertos en el sector. Por otro lado, para el estudio cuantitativo se aplicó un cuestionario a 355 personas. Cabe mencionar que se hizo un estudio de regresión lineal múltiple. De esta manera, se obtuvo que las variables valor hedónico, página web y experiencia de compra fueron que las que presentaron una relación con la intención de compra. Finalmente, es importante mencionar que la presente investigación es una de las pocas investigaciones realizadas sobre los factores que pueden presentar una relación sobre compra de pasajes low cost en el mercado peruano. / The low-cost ticket format is a trend that has been establishing itself in the Peruvian market. However, due to different aspects the low-cost airlines have not managed to achieve the expected reception by Peruvian consumers. For this reason, this research will analyze factors associated with the purchase of low-cost tickets for men and women between 20 and 50 years of age in Lima. In this way, we select the variables hedonic value, utility value, social influence, price, promotions, website, purchase experience and perceived risk. In order to be able to evaluate the hypotheses, a mixed investigation has been developed. On the one hand, the qualitative study will analyze two focus groups on the target audience and three in-depth surveys of experts in the sector. On the other hand, for the quantitative study, a questionnaire was applied to 355 people. It should be noted that a multiple linear regression study was done. In this way, it was obtained the variables hedonic value, website and purchase experience had a relationship with the purchase intention. Finally, it is important that this investigation be one of the few investigations carried out on the factors that may present a relationship on the purchase of low-cost tickets in the Peruvian market. / Trabajo de investigación

Actualmente, la economía compartida está ganando terreno en el sector del turismo, específicamente, en la industria hotelera, mediante las viviendas de uso turístico, también conocidas como alojamientos peer to peer (P2P). Bajo el concepto del consumo colaborativo, los alojamientos P2P representan ser una opción, tanto viable como atractiva, para los viajeros de hoy en día. Por ello, es de gran importancia comprender de mejor manera los factores que motivan a los consumidores a hospedarse en este tipo de alojamiento. En la presente investigación se estudiarán las motivaciones de los adultos jóvenes de 18 a 35 años de edad con relación al alquiler de viviendas de uso turístico. Los factores elegidos son: Beneficio económico, diversión, beneficio del alojamiento, autenticidad, beneficio social, e-wom y sostenibilidad. Para lograr comprobar las hipótesis planteadas, se ha realizado una investigación mixta: En el estudio cualitativo se realizaron focus grupales y entrevistas a expertos y, en el estudio cuantitativo; encuestas aplicadas a 258 personas. / Currently, the shared economy is gaining ground in the tourism sector, specifically in the hospitality industry, through tourist housing, also known as peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation. Under the concept of collaborative consumption, P2P accommodation represents being an option, both viable and attractive, for today's travelers. Therefore, it is of great importance to better understand the factors that motivate consumers to stay in this type of accommodation. This research will study the motivations of young adults between 18 and 35 years of age in relation to the rental of housing for tourist use. The chosen factors are: Economic benefit, fun, accommodation benefit, authenticity, social benefit, e-wom and sustainability. In order to verify the hypotheses presented, a mixed investigation was carried out: In the qualitative study, group focus and interviews with experts were carried out, and in the quantitative study; surveys to 258 people were applied. / Trabajo de investigación