In the ever changing business climate, the service sector has become a major focus of attention. One key aspect of this competitive environment is the effort of many businesses to differentiate themselves by creating unique customer experiences that accompany their products and services. The challenge to creating memorable consumer experiences is the proper identification of specific characteristics that influence experiences and gaining better understanding of how these impact consumers perceived values. To this end, this study attempted to develop a model that identifies influencing dimensions of consumer experiences and investigates the composition of consumer experiences and the relative outcome on consumer's perceived values in a hospitality setting. To facilitate this research objective, a model was presented which proposed that consumer experiences are composed of both physical and human interaction characteristics. The consumer's perspective of these characteristics, and hence the actual service experience, are affected by situational factors and individual characteristic which in return impact perceived emotive and cognitive values. A set of propositions are presented based on the model and literature review to measure the relationship between these factors. To initiate this research, an intercept survey approach was taken. Four hundred sixty-two (462) surveys were completed by hotel guests staying in one of three market segments in Orlando, FL. Participants completed the self-administered survey by answering questions concerning their current stay experience relating to physical environment, human encounters, trip-related factors, individual characteristics, and perceived values. Overall, the results found that trip-related factors and individual characteristics affect perceptions of physical environment and human interactions consumer experiences during their hotel stay. In addition, the results revealed that both physical environment and human interactions have significant and positive relationship with perceived values. These results can give lodging managers a better understanding of the composition of consumer experiences and how these events influence perceived values.

This thesis offers dialogue about the relations between learning and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The dialogue is guided by the question of how to design education to increase perceived values of learning. It pays attention to how learners approach learning availabilities in various learning settings based on learners’ perceived values of learning. The aim is to understand the perceived values of learning in order to reflect its relation to ICTs. The field of learning is understood from the perspectives of formal, non-formal and informal learning. The field of ICTs is understood from the perspectives of information, communication and technology. The perspectives of learning and ICTs are chosen as a way to understand them by ‘going back to basics’ to find an origin or a point of departure for reinterpreting and understanding them. This approach has influenced the presentation of the thesis and how it is structured so that dialogic and interpretive research opens up dialogic spaces for reflections regarding the relations between learning and ICTs. Two studies in two different education systems, formal and non-formal, are included in the thesis work. The data are collected via qualitative methods such as photo interviews and individual and group interviews in which learners’ expressions of learning are in focus. The approach of the included articles that present the two studies was to first understand learning and then relate it to the understanding, potential and use of ICTs. The results and contributions from the articles are summarised via the three perspectives of the perceived values of learning, the relations between learning and ICTs and the influences of perceived values of learning. The theoretical tools, pedagogical attitude and positioning of ICTs guide the discussions and analysis of these perspectives towards the conclusions of the thesis work. The reader of the thesis can expect a journey along a winding road, which both addresses and involves policies’ and researchers’ implications and conceptions of learning and education. A framework for the perceived values of education when perspectives of learning and ICTs are related is considered to represent the understanding of the coherent whole of the thesis work. Three main contributions of the thesis work are put forth. The first contribution is the framework for perceived values of education, or the perceived value framework (PVF). The second contribution is the understanding of perceived values of learning. The third contribution is the specific photo interviews about learning situations that is considered to be a contribution to already existing methods such as photo-eliciting (Cappello, 2005) and stimulated recall (Haglund, 2003).

Purpose: This study aims to test which values from the mass customization process that affect the willingness to pay for products in the consumer electronics industry. Method: We have used a quantitative method with a deductive approach. The study is based on the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) performed on the test and survey which was inspired by the CPVT model. Primary data has been manually gathered from the survey via Google Forms and later analyzed in EXCEL, SPSS as well as AMOS. The timeperiod for the survey lasted between 2020-11-01 to 2020-12-01. The final sample amounted to 145 observations. Conclusion: This study found that creative achievement value (which refers to the customers pride of authorship and is directly connected to the codesign process in the product configurator), had an effect on the perceived satisfaction (the enjoyment which comes from the mass customization process) which in turn effected their willingness to pay (an increase or decrease in incitement to pay for a product after going through the mass customization process). There was a strong positive covariance (correlation between the variable groups) between the factor for satisfaction and the factor for willingness to pay in the factor correlation matrix. / Syfte: Denna studie avser sig testa vilka värden från kundanpassningsprocessen som påverkar betalningsviljan för produkter inom hemelektronikbranschen. Metod: Vi har använt oss av en kvantitativ metod med en deduktiv ansats. Studien baserar sig kring en konfirmativ faktoranalys (CFA) som gjordes på det test och enkät som inspirerats av CPVT modellen. Primärdata har manuellt samlats in från enkäten via Google Forms och analyserats i EXCEL, SPSS samt i AMOS. Tidsperioden för undersökningen varade mellan den 2020-11-01 och 2020-12-01. Det slutliga urvalet uppgick till 145 observationer. Slutsatser: Studien fann att kreativt prestationsvärde (vilket syftar till kundens upplevda stolthet vid vetskapen av att ha skapat något och är direkt kopplat till designprocessen i produktkonfiguratorn) påverkade kundens upplevda tillfredsställelse (den belåtenhet som kommer från kundanpassningsprocessen) som i sin tur påverkade kundens betalningsvilja (en ökning eller minskning av incitamentet till att betala ett högre pris för produkten efter att ha gått igenom kundanpassningsprocessen). Det fanns en starkt positiv kovarians (korrelationen mellan variabelgrupperna) mellan tillfredsställelse och betalningsvilja i väg-diagrammet samt en godtycklig korrelation mellan faktorn för tillfredsställelse och faktorn för betalningsvilja i faktor-korrelationsmatrisen.

Thừa Thiên Huế dispose d’une situation géographique stratégique, possédant des paysages somptueux, des villages artisanaux et d’une culture très riche avec deux patrimoines culturels mondiaux... Parmi les ressources naturelles potentielles de Hue, la lagune de Tam Giang - Cầu Hai (TG-CH), avec ses ressources précieuses, est une nouvelle destination touristique de cette province. À TG-CH, les activités touristiques sont apparues depuis 2010. Mais en réalité, le tourisme à la lagune de TG-CH ne montre pas vraiment qu’il est un outil efficace pour lutter contre la pauvreté pour la communauté lagunaire locale. Cette étude vise à un développement local durable en analysant plusieurs facteurs. Les analyses profondes sur les impacts touristiques, sur la participation communautaire dans le tourisme ont une relation directe avec la valeur perçue par la communauté locale sur le tourisme à TG-CH. Spécialement, une proposition initiale du « tourisme à la ville fantôme » dans la lagune de TG-CH montre une destination unique dans le monde entier que les responsables de Thừa Thiên Huế ne connaissent pas. Pour la première fois, la culture locale devient une clé importante pour comprendre, pour expliquer les pratiques des communautés locales. Cette recherche va être encore développée pour un développement local durable à TG-CH. / Thừa Thiên Huế inherites a strategic geographic position with many majestic landscapes, traditional villages and a diverse culture with two world cultural heritages. Among various potential natural resources of the place, Tam Giang – Cầu Hai Lagoon (TG-CH), with its precious resources, is an emerging tourist destination of the province. Althought tourism has established at TG-CH since 2010, it, in fact, has not shown as an effective tool for poverty alleviation. This research is aiming to a sustainable development of the area through analysing various factors. Analysises on the impacts of tourism and the involvement of local community in tourism have a very strong connection with the community perceived value in tourism. Specifically, a proposal for a model “tourism in the ghost town” at TG-CH would bring a unique aspect of a lost world which could not even be in the mind Thừa Thiên Huế authorities. For the first time, local culture becomes a significant key to understand and elaborate social changes. This research will continuously develop toward the sustainable development of TG-CH.