Abstract Date: 2010-05-28 Authors:        Aamer Shahzad & Syed Nadeem Hussain Shah. Advisor: Mr. Konstantin Lampou Program: M.S. International Marketing Title: If and how environmental friendliness be a profitable marketing strategy in the current recession? A comparative study on managements’ perspectives at two food retailers in Sweden. Problem: During the current recession, consumers are not as much willing to pay more for green but expensive products as were in the past. However, despite this changing consumer attitude, food retailers in Sweden claim their marketing strategy as environmentally friendly. When maximizing profits is considered major corporate goal of every business, investigating the managements’ point of view on environmental friendliness as profitable marketing strategy in the recession period becomes an interesting topic for research. Purpose: The objective of this paper is to get insight on management’s perspectives from large-scale food retailers in Sweden on their choice of environmental friendliness as marketing strategy with respect to profitability in the current recession. Method: This qualitative study utilizes realist approach to research and exploratory research method. Through literature review, a conceptual model was developed for study. Primary data comes from interviews whereas secondary data from websites and annual reports of the companies. Conclusion: The green marketing strategy is profitable even in recession as it is a great source of competitive advantage and numerous profitable opportunities. This commitment to environment in hard times yields favorable reputation and helps companies in developing new products; finding new markets and suppliers; expanding customer-base; improving processes and stores; enhancing efficiency; etc. Key Words: Environmental friendliness, green marketing strategy, food retailers in Sweden, green products, impact of recession, profitability, communication.

This paper focuses on the consumer expenditure habits in the years following the 2008 recession as compared to Milton Freidman’s Permanent Income Hypothesis. Panel data collected at the household level from the Consumer Expenditure Survey was used to analyze the change in consumption based on the change in income for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011. To achieve a greater understanding of expenditure patterns, this essay also analyzes the income elasticity of demand for elastic goods including expenditure on apparel, food eaten at restaurants, entertainment and transportation. With the use of panel and time series regressions we find that the Permanent Income Hypothesis holds true and consumers only marginally responded to a change in income in their consumption patterns. We hypothesize that the large spike in savings that was seen in May of 2008 resulted because of low consumer confidence, which in turn lead to a change in transitory consumption. Furthermore, we find that older adults spent more money on elastic goods than younger adults. This may be because older adults tend to have other assets that can financially support them in the case of a drastic change in income.

The world today is confronted by the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1920’s. Due to the financial system being globalised and interdependent, the contagion effects of the financial crisis trickled down to Europe and ultimately triggered the recession of 2007-2009, which had far-reaching repercussions on cross-border economic activities. The severe international downturn had a significant effect on the Swedish economy and Swedish SMEs. Moreover, the recession has heightened economic uncertainty and combined with the existing challenges facing SMEs, created one of the most difficult business climates in decades, hence, a prevailing need for creating resilience. The purpose of this study is to examine how Swedish Internationalised SMEs remain resilient during times of recession. This will be studied through investigating what resources and capabilities were crucial for building resilience and how the SMEs changed their strategy during the recession to remain resilient. The study is conducted through a qualitative case study and an abductive approach in order to get a profound insight into the firm’s behaviour. The theoretical framework is founded on the area of strategy and resilience, by accounting for strategy formulation, the RBV, resilience and strategic change. Moreover, the empirical chapter presents the results of the data gathered from the six case companies and is structured according to the companies and the three research problems. In the analysis, the patterns emerging from the theoretical framework and the empirical data is analysed based on the three research problems through trying to understand the underlying reasons for the emerging patterns. The study conclude that Swedish internationalized SMEs remained resilient during the recession of 2007- 2009, through reconfiguring its critical resources and capabilities, and changing their strategy to adapt to the changes in the external environment caused by the recession.

The thesis investigates the phenomenon of items affecting comparability and its development in 30 Swedish companies during the period 2005-2010. It further tries to answer the question of how these items affect different groups of financial statements users. Previous research indicates that managers have incentives to take a “big bath” during crises. To answer the questions both a quantitative research by examining 180 annual reports and a qualitative containing three interviews has been conducted. The result reveals an increase of reported items affecting comparability costs during 2008 and 2009. Managers engage in “big bath” accounting as well as accounting for cutting down on the extra capacity that emerges during recessions. The impact this has on the users of financial statements varies, where some find it to be an important issue, others see it as a minor problem. The small sample used made the study fragile for extreme values. In order to make more conclusive conclusions a larger sample would be necessary.

No description available.

The objectives of this research are to measure the aquifer properties (S, T, and K) of selected watersheds delineated to the U.S. Geological Survey gauging stations using streamflow recession and baseflow data and to describe the relations among the properties of shallow aquifers and the physical properties of the basins, such as slope, regolith type and thickness, and land use type. Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques are utilized to investigate critical physiographic controls on transmissivity and storage coefficients on a regional basis. Moreover, the effect of evapotranspiration on recession index is illustrated. Finally, a detailed quantitative comparison of results for the Piedmont and the Blue Ridge Physiographic Provinces in southeast of the U.S. is provided. Recession index, annual groundwater recharge, and annual baseflow data were obtained from 44 USGS-gauging stations with drainage areas larger than 2 (mi2) and less than 400 (mi2). These gauging stations are located in Georgia and North Carolina. Analyses of data focused on GIS techniques to estimate watershed parameters such as total stream length, drainage density, groundwater slope, and aquifer half-width. The hydraulic diffusivity, transmissivity, and storage coefficient of watersheds were computed using hydrograph techniques and the Olmsted and Hely, and Rorabaugh mathematical models. Median recession index values for the Blue Ridge and Piedmont Provinces are 87.8 and 74.5 (d/log cycle), respectively. Median areal diffusivity values for the Blue Ridge and Piedmont are 35,000 and 44,200 (ft2/d), respectively. Median basin-specific estimates of transmissivity for basins in the Blue Ridge and Piedmont are 150 and 410 (ft2/d), respectively. The large values of transmissivity obtained for the Piedmont regolith may be attributed to the thick regolith, low values of basin relief, and voids that develop as a result of fracturing, foliation, weathering, and fractured quartz veins in the saprolite. Median basin-specific estimates of storage coefficient for basins in the Blue Ridge and Piedmont are 0.005 and 0.009, respectively. In general, the results from this study reveal great differences in basin-specific hydraulic parameters of the regolith material within the Piedmont compared to that of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province.

Nearly 80 years earlier, Henry Ford advised during the 1930 depression that: "A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time". The purposes of this case study was to determine whether legal firms have taken cognisance of these wise words and have refrained from cutting back on expenses, and more particularly its promotional budget expenses during a down turning economy. It was discovered that, like nearly 80 years ago, costs today is still an important issue when considering and exploreing promotional opportunities. Small legal organisations have in general indicated that cost effectiveness is an important factor to take into consideration when deciding which type of promotion to explore. A further prerequisite was that the promotion should be target market orientated and effective. Interestingly enough, more than 60% of the sample organisations have failed to analyse their target market before commencing with any type of promotion. This immediately raised the question whether costs have not been wasted on wrong promotional efforts, rather than costs being an issue when considering promotion? It was concluded that small legal organisations have failed to properly analyse their target market and hence was unaware of their client?s needs. Various types of promotion were undertaken by the organisation, but in many instances were ineffective and costly. Should organisations have properly analysed their target markets they would have been in a better position to select an effective and less costly type of promotion. Limited recommendations were made in an attempt to assist small legal organisations to firstly analyse their target market which will result in more cost effective marketing and will enable them to address the needs of their target market directly. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Nearly 80 years earlier, Henry Ford advised during the 1930 depression that: "A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time". The purposes of this case study was to determine whether legal firms have taken cognisance of these wise words and have refrained from cutting back on expenses, and more particularly its promotional budget expenses during a down turning economy. It was discovered that, like nearly 80 years ago, costs today is still an important issue when considering and exploreing promotional opportunities. Small legal organisations have in general indicated that cost effectiveness is an important factor to take into consideration when deciding which type of promotion to explore. A further prerequisite was that the promotion should be target market orientated and effective. Interestingly enough, more than 60% of the sample organisations have failed to analyse their target market before commencing with any type of promotion. This immediately raised the question whether costs have not been wasted on wrong promotional efforts, rather than costs being an issue when considering promotion? It was concluded that small legal organisations have failed to properly analyse their target market and hence was unaware of their client?s needs. Various types of promotion were undertaken by the organisation, but in many instances were ineffective and costly. Should organisations have properly analysed their target markets they would have been in a better position to select an effective and less costly type of promotion. Limited recommendations were made in an attempt to assist small legal organisations to firstly analyse their target market which will result in more cost effective marketing and will enable them to address the needs of their target market directly. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Submitted by Claudio Ramos Conti (claudio_conti@hotmail.com) on 2014-06-16T19:10:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertation defense - completa para Bilioteca Digital 16 jun 2014.pdf: 1996146 bytes, checksum: ce7d575e4bb9a7e35329ad8e331b134e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by ÁUREA CORRÊA DA FONSECA CORRÊA DA FONSECA (aurea.fonseca@fgv.br) on 2014-06-17T13:24:45Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertation defense - completa para Bilioteca Digital 16 jun 2014.pdf: 1996146 bytes, checksum: ce7d575e4bb9a7e35329ad8e331b134e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2014-06-18T11:48:21Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertation defense - completa para Bilioteca Digital 16 jun 2014.pdf: 1996146 bytes, checksum: ce7d575e4bb9a7e35329ad8e331b134e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-18T11:48:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertation defense - completa para Bilioteca Digital 16 jun 2014.pdf: 1996146 bytes, checksum: ce7d575e4bb9a7e35329ad8e331b134e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-13 / In recent years, emerging countries have assumed an increasingly prominent position in the world economy, as growth has picked up in these countries and slowed in developed economies. Two related phenomena, among others, can be associated with this growth: emerging countries were less affected by the 2008-2009 global economic recession; and they increased their participation in foreign direct investment, both inflows and outflows. This doctoral dissertation contributes to research on firms from emerging countries through four independent papers. The first group of two papers examines firm strategy in recessionary moments and uses Brazil, one of the largest emerging countries, as setting for the investigation. Data were collected through a survey on Brazilian firms referring to the 2008-2009 global recession, and 17 hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling based on partial least squares. Paper 1 offered an integrative model linking RBV to literatures on entrepreneurship, improvisation, and flexibility to indicate the characteristics and capabilities that allow a firm to have superior performance in recessions. We found that firms that pre-recession have a propensity to recognize opportunities and improvisation capabilities for fast and creative actions have superior performance in recessions. We also found that entrepreneurial orientation and flexibility have indirect effects. Paper 2 built on business cycle literature to study which strategies - pro-cyclical or counter-cyclical – enable superior performance in recessions. We found that while most firms pro-cyclically reduce costs and investments during recessions, a counter-cyclical strategy of investing in opportunities created by changes in the environment enables superior performance. Most successful are firms with a propensity to recognize opportunities, entrepreneurial orientation to invest, and flexibility to efficiently implement these investments. The second group of two papers investigated international expansion of multinational enterprises, particularly the use of distance for their location decisions. Paper 3 proposed a conceptual framework to examine circumstances under which distance is less important for international location decisions, taking the new perspective of economic institutional distance as theoretical foundation. The framework indicated that the general preference for low-distance countries is lower: (1) when the company is state owned, rather than private owned; (2) when its internationalization motives are asset, resource, or efficiency seeking, as opposed to market seeking; and (3) when internationalization occurred after globalization and the advent of new technologies. Paper 4 compared five concurrent perspectives of distance and indicated their suitability to the study of various issues based on industry, ownership, and type, motive, and timing of internationalization. The paper also proposed that distance represents the disadvantages of host countries for international location decisions; as such, it should be used in conjunction with factors that represent host country attractiveness, or advantages as international locations. In conjunction, papers 3 and 4 provided additional, alternative explanations for the mixed empirical results of current research on distance. Moreover, the studies shed light into the discussion of differences between multinational enterprises from emerging countries versus those from advanced countries.

Sabe-se que o controle do biofilme supragengival por meio da escovação dentária é fundamental para prevenção de gengivite e cárie dentária. Entretanto, a literatura ainda é escassa quanto a características de um modelo de escova manual ideal, que seja t.1o efetiva no controle de placa, quanto segura. O objetivo desta dissertação foi avaliar a eficácia de duas escovas manuais na remoção do biofilme supragengival, bem como investigar a relação entre dureza de cerdas e formato da ponta de escovas manuais quanto a efeitos adversos da escovação. Esta dissertação é compost.'l por dois estudos, um ensaio clínico randomizado (ECR) e uma revisão sistemática da literatura. O ECR comparou a eficácia na remoção de biofilme supragengival de duas escovas macias em 70 voluntários que foram randomizados para os grupos Colgate SlimSoft ou Curaprox CS5460. O exame de placa por meio do Índice de Placa da Marinha, modificado por Rustogi foi realizado no momento inicial pré- e pósescovação supervisionada por 1 minuto, bem como após 7 dias de utilização da escova e dentifrício fornecidos. A escova SlimSoft apresentou uma maior redução de escores de placa interproximais e de boca toda, tanto na pós-escovação inicial (p<O.OS), quanto após 7 dias, em que houve um incremento na redução de placa dessas áreas, quando comparado a escova Curaprox (p<O.OS). Assim, a escova SlimSoft apresentou uma maior eficácia para remoção do biofilme supragengival quando comparada à Curaprox. A revisão sistemática da literatura investigou se a dureza e a ponta das cerdas de escovas manuais estão associadas com efeitos adversos da escovação. Para isso, três bancos de dados eletrônicos foram acessados utilizado uma estratégia de busca pré-estabelecida. Dois pesquisadores analisaram a inclusão dos títulos, resumos, leitura completa e extração de dados dos artigos e, se um consenso não fosse possível. um terceiro pesquisador estaria incluído neste processo. De 126 artigos lidos na íntegra, 11 foram elegíveis para inclusão. Cinco estudos analisaram ponta das certas das escovas, dois a dureza e quatro investigaram tanto a ponta da cerda quanto a dureza de escovas. Ainda, quatro estudos apresentaram efeito adverso como desfecho primário. Observou-se mais lesões gengivais quanto maior a dureza das cerdas das escovas. As lesões de recessão gengiva! permaneceram estáveis ao longo do tempo e o número de lesões de abrasão gengiva! foram semelhantes com o uso de escovas macias, tanto com cerdas afiladas, quanto arredondadas. Os estudos que tiveram segurança como desfechos secundários não reportaram efeitos adversos. Assim, sugeriu-se que o uso de escovas macias e extra-macias, independentemente da ponta da cerda, pareceram não apresentar riscos clínicos relevantes para os tecidos moles bucais. / Jt is known that toothbrushing is an excellent method for mechanical supragingival biofilm remova! and it is associated with prevention of both gingivitis and dental caries. However, the literature is still scarce regarding the characteristics of an ideal manual toothbrush, which is as effective in plaque contrai as safe. The aim o f this dissertation was to evaluate the efficacy oftwo manual toothbrushes in supragingival biofihn remova), as well as to investigate the relation of bristle stiffness and bristle end-shape with potential adverse effects. The present work is composed of two studies, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and a systematic review of the literature. The RCT compared the efficacy in supragingival plaque remova! of two soft-bristle toothbrushes in 70 volunteers that were randomly allocated to the Colgate SlimSoft or Curaprox CS5460 toothbrush groups. Subjects underwent plaque examination using the Rustogi Modification of the Navy Plaque Index with pre- and post-brushing examinations under supervision at baseline and after 7 days of daily oral hygiene with their assigned toothbrush and dentifrice provided. The mean plaque score presented a greater reduction of whole-mouth and interproximal plaque scores in the SlimSoft group after a single toothbrushing at baseline (p<O.OS) and after 7 days compared to the Curaprox group (p<O.OS). Thus, the SlimSoft toothbrush presented greater efficacy in supragingival plaque remova) than did the Curaprox CS5460 toothbrush. The systematic review investigated if bristle stiffness and bristle end-shape of manual toothbrushes are associated with toothbrushing adverse effects. Three electronic data bases were searched and a pre-established search strategy was performed. Inclusion of titles, abstracts, full textanalysis and data extraction was dane by two reviewers, and when a consensus was not possible, a third researcher was included in this process. From 126 potentially relevant articles for full-text analysis, only 11 were included. Five studies analyzed toothbrush endendshape, two studies investigated toothbrnsh bristle stiffness and four articles examined both the end-shape and bristle stiffness ofmanual toothbrushes. Moreover, four studies presented safety as a primary outcome. Hard toothbrush appeared to produce more gingival lesions when compared to soft and medium bristles. The majority of gingival recessions remained stable over time and new gingival abrasion lesions were observed with the use of both endrounded and tapered toothbrushes. Nane of the studies that evaluated safety as a secondary outcome presented adverse effects. Thus, soft and extra-soft toothbrushes tended to be safe and both tapered and end-rounded bristles might not present a clinically relevant concern to oral soft tissues.