The thesis analyses the strategy of the natural bio cosmetics brand Sanoflore that is adapted on Czech market. It is devided into three parts. The first two serve as the theoretical basis for the practical part. The first part defines the brand, its components, hierarhcy and kinds. The second one describes brand management, positioning and brand strategy. The third, practical part analyses the strategy of Sanoflore and the change in order to improve its performance are recommended.

The thesis focuses on defining the strategic brand positioning, its long term building possibilities in a competitive market environment and assesment methods. The thesis includes case study on international cosmetic brand Dove and how the communication influences the brand.

This master thesis deals with proposal of Tim Hortons' communications strategy, Canada's largest chain of fast food restaurants, when entering the Czech market. The main theme is the analysis of existing communications strategy and the subsequent setting of the marketing communication plan for 2011. The thesis is divided into two parts - theoretical and practical. Theoretical part characterizes the marketing and commercial communications and provides the basic theory of the stages of marketing communication plan planning. The practical part introduces company Tim Hortons, its marketing initiatives and then the concrete steps to build a communication strategy for the Czech market. Based on comparison of Tim Hortons brand positioning with its main competitors it is created the right communication campaign, its timing, budget and usage of appropriate media. Finally, the thesis summarizes the results of the analysis and the key pillars of the proposed marketing communication plan, which are positioning, creative and media strategy, sponsorship and campaign management.

Ett starkt varumärke är nyckeln till att ett tjänsteföretag ska lyckas behålla en framstående position på marknaden samt för att urskilja dem från andra aktörer. Därutöver krävs det att företaget lyckas med sin positionering, det vill säga att när kunden eller intressenten får ett behov ska den kunna koppla företagets varumärke till just det uppkomna behovet. Vid etablering på en ny marknad är det viktigt att undersöka företagets positionering och varumärkesstyrkor på hemmamarknaden för att avgöra om dessa går att nyttja även på den nya marknaden, eller om de behöver anpassas. Fastighetsmäklarföretag har sett sin chans att internationalisera sig då allt fler svenskar väljer att köpa bostad utomlands. Ett av de mest populära länderna för svenskar att köpa bostad i är Spanien, detta med anledning av klimatet, atmosfären, arbetssituationer eller familjerelationer. Forskare menar att ett företag kan ha svårigheter med att imitera samma varumärkesimage på den internationella marknaden som på hemmamarknaden, det kan beror på faktorer som exempelvis kulturella och legala skillnader. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur svenska fastighetsmäklarföretag valt att positionera sitt varumärke på hemmamarknaden respektive den spanska marknaden samt utreda om de anpassar sin positioneringsstrategi beroende på vilken marknad de riktar sig till. I teoridelen användes befintliga teorier och modeller, i den empiriska delen utgicks detifrån den kvalitativa forskningsmetoden därdatainsamlingen begränsadestill intervjuer. Detta ansågs ge störst djupet i studien samt att det var den mest lämpliga metoden för att få ut den informationen som söktes från informantföretagen. Resultatet av studien visade att samtliga informantföretag vill förmedla ett enhetligt varumärke till sina kunder på de båda marknaderna för att öka tryggheten mot dem. Dock tyder resultatet på att fastighetsmäklarföretagen väljer att anpassa sin positioneringsstrategi på hemmamarknaden jämfört med den spanska marknaden då de huvudsakligen vill förmedla en dröm. / For a company to succeed it must have a strong and recognizable brand, this is the most important tool a company can use to be successful. If a company succeeds with its positioning, the client should be able to connect the company’s brand to their needs. When starting in a new market, it is important to examine the company’s positioning and brand strengths in the home market in order to determine whether they can use similar ideas in the new market, or whether the brand positioning need to be adapted. Real estate brokerage firms have seen their opportunity to internationalize due to that more and more Swedes are choosing to buy a property abroad. Spain is one of the most popular countries for Swedes to buy properties in, because of the climate, the atmosphere, work situations and family relationships. Researchers believe that a company may have difficulties imitating the same image in the international market as the home market, it may depend on factors such as cultural and legal differences. The purpose of this study was to investigate how Swedish real estate brokerage firms have chosen to position their brand in the home market and the Spanish market, as well as investigate whether they adapt their positioning depending on the market they are operating on. Existing theories and models where used and as for the empirical part, we have chosen to use qualitative research method and to limit the data collection to interviews. We believed this provided a greater depth to our study and that it was the most feasible way to get access to the information we sought from the companies that we interviewed. We came to the conclusion that all companies that took part in our study want to convey a united brand to its customers in both markets. However, we found that theychoose to alter the way of working their positioning strategy in their home market compared to the Spanish market.

The purpose of this thesis is to find a proper positioning strategy for China self-owned car brands in the Chinese market. For this purpose, the authors used the theory about brand positioning, target market and segmentation, brand image, differentiation and general positioning process. What’s more, the authors conducted a questionnaire research, studied the Geely acquisition case, and collected information from consumers’ perspectives to understand the current positioning situation of the Chinese automakers. In the methodology part, limitations of the quantitative and qualitative data are discussed, and the authors presented suggestions for further studies. After gathering empirical data, the authors analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of Chinese car, Geely and Volvo, introduced competitor’s performance to make clear the current situation of China self-owned car brands. From the analysis, the present brand image of Chinese car is low-price and bad-quality in the consumers’ mind. The authors tried to figure out a proper brand image for Chinese car to increase the market share in the domestic market. In conclusion, developing safe car of high quality and targeting the middle-class market is the optimal choice for current China self-owned car brands.

PhD thesis / High-tech firms are no longer able to rely exclusively on their internal knowledge and technologies to respond effectively to current market dynamics. Instead, they frequently collaborate with external entities to access new technologies and share the costs and risks of the innovation process. However, the effectiveness of such collaborations is questioned by many executives. Yet, as these Product Development Collaborations (PDCs) become crucial for a firm’s growth and success in current times, executives and academics alike are paying growing attention to them. In marketing, PDC is an active research topic since 1999. However, the body of marketing knowledge on the PDC is scattered across several studies over an extended period of more than two decades. In addition, the extant marketing studies report results that are inconsistent on some PDC issues and have overlooked others. In particular, marketing strategy considerations, in terms of firm’s strategic capabilities and objectives, have received somewhat of a short shrift in the literature. My dissertation contributes to our marketing literature with (a) a systematic review study that synthesizes the current state of marketing knowledge on the topic, identifies the research lacunas, and sets a future research agenda; and (b) two theory-driven empirical studies that provide new insights and novel implications to enrich our understanding of PDCs, their relation to the firm’s marketing strategy, and provide clear guidance to practitioners on how to benefit most from their supplier collaborations. v Grounding on several theories, creating and using a unique dataset, and utilizing multiple research and econometric techniques, my dissertation empirically addresses the following two general research questions: RQ1. Can their functional (marketing, technological, and operations) capabilities lead firms into competency traps and hurt their innovation performance? How? Do international PDCs outperform domestic PDCs in combating the competency trap effect? When? RQ2. What is the appropriate PDC governance mechanism (joint ventures, agreements, or licenses) that would enhance innovation performance? How do governance and capabilities simultaneously impact innovation performance? How does the firm’s product positioning strategy (differentiation versus cost-leadership) interact with governance and capabilities to affect innovation outcomes? / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Many firms establish Product Development Collaborations (PDCs) with suppliers to innovate new products. Although PDCs have numerous advantages, they are ladened by various contractual hazards and risks. This raises concerns of many executives about their effectiveness. In this dissertation, I systematically review the existing marketing studies on the PDC topic. Then, building on my review, I empirically investigate several marketing strategy factors that impact a PDC's effectiveness in terms of enhancing the innovation performance of focal firms. Drawing on several theories, building and using a unique dataset, and utilizing multiple research and econometric techniques, I conduct two empirical studies to examine the impact of four strategic considerations (i.e., functional capabilities, international PDCs, PDC governance mechanisms, and positioning strategy) and their interactions on innovation performance of high-tech firms in PDCs. My results reveal various interesting and important relationships and interactions that advance our understating of PDCs, their relation to marketing strategy, and provide important managerial implications to practitioners.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 Teresa_Cristina_Alves_Charotta.pdf: 2804681 bytes, checksum: aa9f030caaa3032e561644d098e3ca4c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-05-19 / The research question that guided this dissertation was how does the management of stakeholders contribute to the implementation of innovations in services? Thus, the general objective of the dissertation was to understand how the positioning and the relationship of the stakeholders guide the strategies of implementation of innovations in services. In order to do so, it was analyzed, as research object, the implementation of innovation in services in the Brazilian pharmaceutical retail. A descriptive exploratory qualitative research was conducted with a single case study method with intracausal analysis of the Pague Menos Pharmacies Network, with structured field interviews and the Focus Group. Next, it was categorized for Stakeholder analysis: Strategy of Positioning and Relationship Approach to carry out the data collection. In the first. In the data collection stage, field interviews were conducted with highlevel hierarchical stakeholders, CEOs, CIOs and specialized managers in the pharmaceutical and health market. A Focus Group was held with consumers who attend pharmacies and drugstores, but are unaware of what differentiated pharmaceutical services are. Participation in the Abrafarma Future Trends 2016 Event provided observational interviews with entity and government (Anvisa). The data collection period occurred between August and November 2016. As an academic contribution, what was sought in this study was to bring the Stakeholders Theory applied to innovation, service innovation and business model innovation to respond as the stakeholder (Freeman, 1984) and strategic relationship matrix (Frooman, 1999, 2002) that identified the interests, the potential of Power and threat potential of stakeholders. The study was able to demonstrate the strategy adopted by stakeholders the retail network, whether it is supported, partially supported or unsupported. As a managerial contribution, we sought to answer the questions Carrol and Buchholtz (2000) establish for an organization to orient itself in the development of actions with stakeholders. / A questão de pesquisa que guiou essa dissertação foi como a gestão dos stakeholders contribui na implementação de inovações em serviços? Assim o objetivo geral da dissertação foi compreender como o posicionamento e o relacionamento dos stakeholders direcionam as estratégias de implementação de inovações em serviços. Para tanto, foi analisada, como objeto de pesquisa, a implementação de inovação em serviços no varejo farmacêutico brasileiro. Foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa exploratória descritiva com método estudo de caso único com análise intracaso da Rede de Farmácias Pague Menos, com entrevistas de campo estruturadas e Focus Group. Em seguida, foi categorizada para análise em Stakeholders: Estratégia de Posicionamento e Abordagem de Relacionamento para realização da coleta de dados. Na 1ª. etapa da coleta de dados foram realizadas entrevistas de campo com stakeholders dirigentes de alto nível hierárquico, CEO, CIO e gestores especialistas atuantes no mercado farmacêutico e da Saúde. Na 2ª. etapa foi realizado um Focus Group com consumidores que frequentam farmácias e drogarias, mas desconhecem o que são serviços farmacêuticos diferenciados. A participação no Evento Abrafarma Future Trends 2016 proporcionou a realização de entrevistas observacionais de entidade e Governo (Anvisa). O período da coleta de dados aconteceu entre os meses de agosto e novembro de 2016. Como contribuição acadêmica o que se buscou nesse estudo foi trazer a Teoria dos Stakeholders aplicada à inovação, inovação em serviços e inovação de modelo de negócio para responder como o stakeholder se comporta perante a implementação de inovação em serviços no varejo farmacêutico brasileiro, o qual foi baseado na matriz estratégica de posicionamento (Freeman, 1984) e matriz estratégica de abordagem de relacionamento (Frooman, 1999, 2002) que identificou os interesses, o potencial de poder e potencial de ameaças exercidas pelos stakeholders. O estudo conseguiu demonstrar a estratégia adotada pelos stakeholders e a rede varejista, se é suportada, parcialmente suportada ou não suportada. Como contribuição gerencial buscou-se responder as questões que Carrol e Buchholtz (2000) estabelecem para uma organização se orientar no desenvolvimento de ações com os stakeholders.

No description available.

本研究採用「商業生態系統」觀點，以「利基者」的角度出發，來探討利基型軟體公司經營模式的變遷。研究對象為屬於「利基者」的資訊安全軟體公司，以及其所處的環境。研究分為「歷史分析」與「探索性個案研究」兩大部分。首先，本研究以「歷史分析」作為前導研究，探討資訊安全軟體由1986年至2007年的發展沿革，並釐清防毒軟體廠商、防火牆軟體廠商，以及入侵偵測/防禦軟體廠商所處的商業生態系統，以及廠商在其中的角色。此外，在歷史分析中，本研究也探討了主要商業生態系統之間的關係。而「探索性個案研究」，則選擇了五個成功的資訊安全軟體公司，以及五個失敗的資訊安全軟體公司，探討這些廠商在1986年至2000年之間經營模式的變遷，以了解成功及失敗的因素為何。此外，也描述繼續存活的成功廠商，如何在2001年之後，因應環境「擾動」而動態調整其經營模式。 在「歷史分析」的部份，本研究首先發現，資訊安全軟體自1986年開始出現，此時的資訊安全軟體廠商，主要為防毒軟體廠商，而廠商在「個人電腦商業生態系統」以及「區域網路商業生態系統」中扮演「利基者」的角色。在1994年後，「Internet商業生態系統」蓬勃發展，除了防毒軟體廠商之外，防火牆軟體廠商以及入侵偵測軟體廠商開始出現。而資安軟體廠商在「Internet商業生態系統」中扮演「利基者」的角色。之後，資訊安全軟體廠商逐漸形成了一個「邊界安全商業生態次系統」。在這個「次系統」中，不同的廠商分別扮演了次系統中的「關鍵者」、「支配者」，以及「利基者」。另一方面，三個「主系統」之間，存在「演替」的現象，後者的重要性，逐漸超越前者。而到了2001年之後，由於環境中的劇烈「擾動」，產生了新的生存空間，也改變了既有「物種」的「種間關係」。而另一方面，主要商業生態系統中「關鍵者」的跨入，也嚴重壓縮了既有「利基者」的生存空間。 「探索性個案研究」中，本研究又分為「規範性個案研究」與「描述性個案研究」兩部分。「規範性個案研究」探討五個成功的資訊安全軟體公司，包括Symantec、Trend Micro、McAfee、Check Point，以及Internet Security Systems(ISS)，在1986年至2000年之間，調整經營模式的動態過程，並與五個失敗的公司，包括ACSI、ESaSS、EliaShim/eSafe、Raptor，以及Axent進行比較。研究首先發現，成功的「利基者」，充分「借助」了「關鍵者」的資源，包括「技術」、「夥伴」、「聲譽」，並透過學習，運用關鍵者的「知識」，提升組織的能力。其次，成功的「利基者」，都能建立以自己為中心的「商業生態次系統」，包括「通路次系統」或是「技術平台次系統」。此外，成功的「利基者」，也都能及時參與新興的商業生態系統，並察覺商業生態系統「演替」(亦即「消長」)的狀況，進而調整參與的重心。而失敗的五個「利基者」，均於2000年之前被其他公司購併，主要因為較欠缺這些作為，或在這些方面未能成功。「描述性個案研究」則描述在2001年之後繼續存活的成功「利基者」，如何因應環境「擾動」與其他廠商行為的改變，動態調整經營模式。這些廠商調整經營模式，以鞏固既有的生存空間，並掌握新的生存空間。同時，也多方參與由不同的「關鍵者」所主導，未來可能成為「主流設計」的技術架構。 綜合來說，成功的利基型軟體公司，由創立開始，隨著成長的過程，「參與」以其他關鍵者為中心的商業生態系統，同時也致力於「建立」以自己為中心的商業生態系統。「參與」及「建立」二者與時並進，並適時調整，利基者才得以維持長久生存。 / This study takes the view of niche players to explore their business model changes in the software business ecosystem. Software firms in the information security software industry and their environments are selected as research context. The research is comprised of two main parts: a historical analysis and an exploratory case study. The historical analysis serves as a pilot study, in which information security software industry’s historical development is scrutinized to clarify which business ecosystems these security software firms, including antivirus software firms, firewall software firms, and intrusion detection/prevention software firms, participate in as they grow, as well as these firms’ roles within the business ecosystems. Relationships between different busines ecosystems are also studied in the historical analysis. In the exploratory case study, five successful security software firms and five failed security software firms are selected as case companies. The case study explores how successful firms and failed firms, from 1986 to 2000, differ in the way they changed their business models, in order to understand why successful firms remain in existence after 2000. The case study also describes how these surviving firms have, responding to “disturbance” in the environments, been adjusting their business models dynamically since 2001. The historical analysis reveals that the “PC business ecosystem”, the “LAN (local area network) business ecosystem”, and the “Internet business ecosystem” are involved as security software firms grow. Information security software firms have participated in the “PC business ecosystem”, when antivirus software was brought to the world in 1986. Antivirus software firms played the role of “niche players” in the “PC business ecosystem” at that time. Later when local area network was getting prevalent, a few antivirus firms participated in the “LAN business ecosystem”, playing the role of “niche players” as well. When the Internet commercialized around 1994, firewall software firms and intrusion detection software firms emerged. All participating information software firms played the role of “niche players” in the “Internet business ecosystem”. In 1996, a “sub-system”—“perimeter security sub-system” —was formed within the “Internet business ecosystem” by various security software firms and hardware companies. This “sub-system” had its own “keystones”, “dominators”, “hub landlords”, and “niche players”. In addition, “ecosystem succession” phenomenon is observed between the three “main system” —the “PC business ecosystem”, the “LAN business ecosystem”, and the “Internet business ecosystem”. Importance of the latter gradually surpassed the former. Furthermore, “disturbance” has emerged since 2001, creating new living space, but at the same time altered the “inter-species relationship” between existing species. Some “keystones” in the main ecosystems turned into “dominators”, highly decreased existing niche players’ living space. The exploratory case study is divided into a “normative case study” and a “descriptive case study”. In the “normative case study”, five successful security software firms, including Symantec, Trend Micro, McAfee, Check Point, and Internet Security Systems (ISS) are compared with five failed firms—ACSI, ESaSS, EliaShim/eSafe, Raptor, and Axent in the way they adjusted their business models from 1986 to 2000. Evidences revealed that successful niche players sufficiently leveraged resources provided by keystones. Resources include technologies, partners, and reputation. Successful niche players also learn from keystones to acquire knowledge, which further improves niche players’ organization capabilities. In addition, successful niche players are capable of building up their own “sub-systems,” which can be “channel sub-systems” or “technological platform sub-systems.” Furthermore, successful niche players, in time, participate in every promising business ecosystems, and sense the “ecosystem succession” phenomenon when it takes place to adjust their efforts on different business ecosystems. Five unsuccessful case companies fail to achieve similar accomplishments. Consequently, all of them have been acquired or merged by other firms by 2000. Meanwhile, in the “descriptive case study,” I describe how five successful firms keep surviving after 2001, adjusting their business models to secure existing living space and seize emerging opportunities. These successful niche players also participated in all information security architectures proposed by different keystones, expecting that one of these architectures will turn out to be the “dominant design” in the future. Overall, successful niche players, as they grow, participate in business ecosystems led by other keystones, and build up their own business ecosystem as well. They advance and adjust both their “participating” and “builing up” activities to secure long-term survival.