The focus of marketing for modern companies who have a high profile and who are constantly in public view has shifted from traditional marketing to one of having and enhancing relationships with stakeholders, including their employees. As stakeholders’ perceptions of a company are important, it has become necessary for such a company to determine which factors influence the stakeholders’ relationship with the company and ultimately influences their perceptions. Companies are being held accountable by their stakeholders for all that is said and done and are expected to include responsibility to society and the environment as a core part of company strategy. Given that corporate branding plays such an important role in the formation of perceptions of employees, companies should present themselves in such a way that stakeholders (including employees) are able to understand the company values, involvement and direction. As such employees’ perceptions regarding the company’s CSR and corporate brand can largely influence their relationship with the company. The Solidarity Movement is a company with a rich history within the mine workers union and trade union sectors, operating in extremely diverse environments, with stakeholders having various expectations of the company. The company was recently restructured with various companies merging under the Solidarity Movement corporate brand. Solidarity Helping Hand forms part of the Solidarity Movement and fulfils the company’s CSR in the community. Diverse studies on CSR and corporate branding have been done. To date, no examples of research of the possible influence of CSR on corporate branding within the trade union sector could be traced. Against this background, the following research question is asked: What is the relationship between employees’ perceptions of the Solidarity Movement’s CSR project, Helping Hand, and their perceptions of the Solidarity Movement’s corporate brand? A quantitative questionnaire was applied as data collection method. The results confirmed that employees perceived the Solidarity Movement’s corporate brand and CSR in a positive light and felt that they could identify with the company’s CSR and that they contributed to the corporate brand of the company. With regard to the correlation between CSR and corporate branding, this study indicated a relationship between employee’s perceptions of the company’s CSR projects and their perceptions of the corporate brand. The fact that employees could identify with the company’s CSR and its focus, viewed Solidarity Helping Hand as aligned with the business strategy of the Solidarity Movement and felt that this resulted in them wanting to have a long-term relationship with the company impacted most on perceptions of the corporate brand. / MA (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The focus of marketing for modern companies who have a high profile and who are constantly in public view has shifted from traditional marketing to one of having and enhancing relationships with stakeholders, including their employees. As stakeholders’ perceptions of a company are important, it has become necessary for such a company to determine which factors influence the stakeholders’ relationship with the company and ultimately influences their perceptions. Companies are being held accountable by their stakeholders for all that is said and done and are expected to include responsibility to society and the environment as a core part of company strategy. Given that corporate branding plays such an important role in the formation of perceptions of employees, companies should present themselves in such a way that stakeholders (including employees) are able to understand the company values, involvement and direction. As such employees’ perceptions regarding the company’s CSR and corporate brand can largely influence their relationship with the company. The Solidarity Movement is a company with a rich history within the mine workers union and trade union sectors, operating in extremely diverse environments, with stakeholders having various expectations of the company. The company was recently restructured with various companies merging under the Solidarity Movement corporate brand. Solidarity Helping Hand forms part of the Solidarity Movement and fulfils the company’s CSR in the community. Diverse studies on CSR and corporate branding have been done. To date, no examples of research of the possible influence of CSR on corporate branding within the trade union sector could be traced. Against this background, the following research question is asked: What is the relationship between employees’ perceptions of the Solidarity Movement’s CSR project, Helping Hand, and their perceptions of the Solidarity Movement’s corporate brand? A quantitative questionnaire was applied as data collection method. The results confirmed that employees perceived the Solidarity Movement’s corporate brand and CSR in a positive light and felt that they could identify with the company’s CSR and that they contributed to the corporate brand of the company. With regard to the correlation between CSR and corporate branding, this study indicated a relationship between employee’s perceptions of the company’s CSR projects and their perceptions of the corporate brand. The fact that employees could identify with the company’s CSR and its focus, viewed Solidarity Helping Hand as aligned with the business strategy of the Solidarity Movement and felt that this resulted in them wanting to have a long-term relationship with the company impacted most on perceptions of the corporate brand. / MA (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Submitted in compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology: Business Administration, Department of Entrepreneurial Studies and Management, Durban University of Technology, 2009. / The purpose of this study is to identify the influence of customer-supplier relationships through facilitation of credit on the development of Micro enterprises in the Sobonakhona Makhanya Tribal Area of KZN. This study originates from the fact that there are many SMME‟s in South Africa, absorbing about 15 million people (DTI, 1995:7). Even though this sector is providing most of the employment in the country, they still find it difficult to arrange funds to start or expand their businesses. Lending institutions do not want to provide finance for them, and if they do, they do it with reluctance and reservations. As a result, SMME‟s are not able to grow and develop into big businesses. This is a quantitative and exploratory research study which was used to explore, for the first time in Sobonakhona Makhanya Tribal area, the relationship between customer-supplier relationships and accessibility of credit facilities. The study made use of questionnaires to obtain the respondents‟ perceptions on the research questions developed. A questionnaire that consisted of 35 questions was distributed to 50 SMME owners in Adams Mission, Madundube and Umbumbulu (AMU) villages. Cronbach‟s reliability analysis was not applied as it was not appropriate for use with this questionnaire. The research showed that a relationship between customers and suppliers assists SMME‟s to obtain access to credit facilities. Added to this, SMME owners, who had access to credit facilities, experienced positive changes in their businesses. This serves to prove that access to credit is essential for the development of SMME‟s. As a result, recommendations to train and educate SMME owners on how to manage their businesses, how to apply for credit and the requirements needed for applications have been set out.

Problemformulering: Vår studie handlar om konsumenters relation till butikspersonalen inom dagligvaruhandeln, alltså butiker som i första hand säljer livsmedel men även andra dagligvaror. Hur interaktionen mellan konsument och produkt är och hur situationen vid konsumtionen ser ut är faktorer som Laaksonen (2010) menar påverkar den engagemangsnivå konsumenten upplever. Vi vill därför studera hur relationen till butikspersonalen kan påverka hur konsumtionssituationen upplevs av konsumenten och hur den påverkar engagemangsnivån, då dagligvaror ofta anses som lågengagemangsprodukter. Det behövs mer studier som skapar förståelse om vilken påverkan personalen har på konsumentens upplevelse av relationen, då relationen är en faktor som bidrar till konsumentens lojalitet. Syfte: Studien syftar till att få större kunskap om vilken betydelse relationen med butikspersonalen har för konsumentens upplevelse av lojalitet. Lojalitet innefattar många faktorer, vi har valt att fokusera på faktorn relationer. Detta för att bidra till en ökad förståelse om konsumentens relation till butikspersonalen då det kan hjälpa butiken att förstå hur de kan arbeta vidare med relationsskapandet till konsumenten. Detta är viktigt för butiken att ha förståelse om då relationen även påverkar konsumentens relation till butiken som i sin tur påverkar konsumentens lojalitet. Metod: För att få större kunskap om hur viktigt konsumenter upplever att personalen i butiken är och vad hos butikspersonalen som konsumenten efterfrågar i relationen, valde vi att samla in data från konsumenter och analysera svaren, vilket i detta fall gjorts via intervjuer. Teori: Den teori som vi främst använt oss av är lojalitetsbegreppet och relationsmarknadsföring. Slutsats: Priser, öppettider och sortiment är viktiga faktorer vid skapandet av en långvarig relation med butiken men för att konsumenten ska välja en butik framför en annan måste bemötandet från personalen vara bra. Det finns många dagligvarubutiker att välja på i konsumenternas närområde vilket gör att faktorerna priser, öppettider och sortiment inte blir avgörande. Det är istället relationen till butikspersonalen och att konsumenten känner sig speciell, respekterad och betydelsefull som blir en konkurrensfördel och avgörande faktor för konsumenternas val av butik. En tillmötesgående och positiv personal gör att relationen stärks och konsumenterna får en mer positiv inställning till butiken. Även i de fall där konsumenterna inte upplever personalen som så viktig bidrar ändå en tillmötesgående personal till att konsumenten uppfattar butiken som mer attraktiv. / Problem: Our study is about consumers' relationship with the store staff in the grocery store, then stores that primarily sell food but also other consumer goods. How the interaction between the consumer and the product is and how the situation looks at consumption are factors Laaksonen (2010) argues affect the commitment level of the consumer experience. We therefore want to study how the relationship with the store staff can affect the consumption situation experienced by the consumer and how it affects the level of commitment, then consumer goods often considered low-engagement products. It needs more studies to create understanding about the impact staff have on the consumer's perception of the relationship, then the relationship is a factor contributing to consumer loyalty. Objective: This study aims to gain greater knowledge of the importance of the relationship with the store staff for the consumer’s experience of loyalty. Loyalty involves many factors, we have chosen to focus on the factor relationships. This will contribute to a better understanding of the consumer's relationship with the store staff as it can help the store to understand how they can work on creating relationships with the consumer. This is important for the store to have an understanding of because the relationship also affects the consumer's relationship with the store, which in turn affects the consumer's loyalty. Method: To gain greater knowledge of how important the consumer experience that the staff in the shop is and what the consumer request of the staff in the relationship, we chose to collect data from consumers and analyze the responses, which in this case was collected by interviews. Secondary data that we used was collected from books and scientific articles. Theory: The main theory that we used was the concept of loyalty and relationship marketing. Conclusion: Prices, opening hours and range are important factors in creating a long-lasting relationship with the store, but for the consumer to choose one store over another the personal treatment from the staff must be good. There are many grocery stores to choose from in the immediate area of consumer, making the elements of prices, opening hours and range not crucial. It is instead the staff and their attitude that becomes a competitive advantage and crucial factor in consumers' choice of store. An accommodating and positive staff makes the relationship stronger and the consumer gets a more positive attitude to the store. Even in cases where consumers do not experience the staff as an important contribution they still experience that an accommodating staff makes the shop more attractive.

The current literature indicates that research concerning the area of industrial interorganisational relationships (lORs) and relationship marketing (RM) in an international context is growing in size as well as importance, and is regarded by many as constituting a paradigmatic shift in contemporary marketing thought. The study of lORs, however, has suffered from empirical neglect, particularly in an international context. The extant literature is unclear concerning the development process of relationships. In particular, the antecedents of commitment in affectively committed relationships (positive attachment) and calculatively committed relationships (negative attachment) and their performance outcomes, the causes of dissolution in previously committed relationships and the impact national culture has on the process when it traverses national borders is not well understood. Therefore, the primary objectives of this study were to investigate the stages of the development process of international lORs, and to determine the level of influence national culture exerted on this process. Two stages of empirical research using a mixed methodology were conducted. The first stage of fieldwork -an exploratory case study approach -used seven in-depth interviews with UK. import/export executives in charge of relationship development within their respective companies. The first stage of fieldwork was used to examine the stages of international lOR development and the influence national culture exerts on it in order to develop a set of hypotheses for subsequent testing. Stage two -a mail survey approach was mailed to 3000 UK import/export executives and used data from 322 questionnaires to test a set of hypotheses developed from the first stage of fieldwork. The study had significant findings in three key areas. Firstly, the research identified that the antecedents of commitment in affectively and caculatively committed relationships differed significantly and furthermore, relationships based on affective commitment enjoyed relatively greater levels of performance outcomes in comparison to relationships based on calculative commitment. Secondly, the study identified the causes of dissolution in previously committed relationships in four categories: buyer factors, supplier factors, competitor factors, and environmental factors. The findings also indicated that relationship dissolution could be classified in three ways: full exit, partial exit and temporary exit, and that dissolution was influenced by the motive for commitment prior to dissolution. The period of time spent in dissolving relationships was often found to be lengthy and was influenced by five categories of factors that impede partners' speed of exit. Finally, the study applied the assumptions of Hofstede (1980; 1991) to examine the extent to which national culture affects relationship development when it crosses national borders. The findings revealed little concrete evidence to suggest that national culture has a strong influence on international business relationships. International business relationships were, however, susceptible to factors such as infrastructure barriers and political barriers that were obstacles to foreign market success. The thesis contributes to current knowledge by offering the first empirically supported model of lOR development from pre-formation to dissolution in the extant literature; principally, identifying the antecedents of effective and ineffective relationships and also the stages of dissolution when relationships dissolve. The national culture literature within the domain of Marketing, and in particular, the literature concerning lORs, is advanced by suggesting that Hofstede's (1980; 1991) cross-cultural assumptions may not impact significantly on international lORs in a manner prescribed by Hofstede. In order to achieve the primary research objectives a number of scales were operationalised including scales to measure the influence of national culture on lORs, and aspects of relationship development including a multi-dimensional scale to measure trust. The study offers a number of recommendations for practitioners, and presents a number of future research directions. These are principally, to identify the antecedents of calculative commitment (that are hitherto unknown), and incorporate variables that may legitimately act as antecedents of commitment not examined in this study.

The banking sector has undergone major changes as a result of the technological development. The emergence of digital services in the banking sector has led to that the customers are able to manage their errands on their own. As a natural consequence, the physical contact between the bank and customer has reduced. The purpose of the study is to improve the understanding of what aspects that are important for banks to work with in order to maintain good customer relationship considering the technological developments. A qualitative method was used in the study through personal interviews with office managers from three of Sweden's major banks. Analysis of the collected empirical data showed that the banks believe that it is important to make sure that the customers get the right help at the right time. Customers should also feel that it is easy and comfortable to use digital services when they handle their errands. The bank must also work to improve digital services to provide improved service to customers. Focusing on customer satisfaction is also important since customer satisfaction in the long term can lead to profitability for the bank. Building long-term relationships by focusing on existing relationships lead to lower costs for the company, which also leads to profitability. Trust is an important part of the customer relationship and affects customers’ willingness to remain in the bank. It is important that the bank is honest to the customers and does not act on the basis of self-interest. / Banksektorn har genomgått stora förändringar som en följd av den teknologiska utvecklingen. Framväxten av digitala tjänster har inom banksektorn lett till att kunderna kan sköta sina ärenden på egen hand. Som en naturlig följd har den fysiska kontakten mellan bank och kund reducerats. Syftet med studien är att öka förståelsen kring vilka aspekter som är betydelsefulla för bankerna att arbeta med för att upprätthålla en god kundrelation med hänsyn till den teknologiska utvecklingen inom banksektorn. En kvalitativ metod tillämpades i studien genom personliga intervjuer som genomfördes med kontorschefer från tre av Sveriges storbanker. Analys av insamlad empiri visar att bankerna anser att det är viktigt att kunderna får rätt hjälp vid rätt tidpunkt. Kunderna ska känna att det är enkelt och bekvämt att använda sig av digitala tjänster när de ska hantera sina ärenden. Banken måste arbeta med att förbättra de digitala tjänsterna för att ge förbättrad service till kunderna. Fokus på kundnöjdhet är viktigt då nöjda kunder på lång sikt kan leda till lönsamhet för banken. Att skapa långsiktiga relationer genom att fokusera på befintliga relationer bidrar till lägre kostnader för företaget som i sin tur leder till lönsamhet. Förtroendet utgör en viktig del för kundrelationen och påverkar kundernas vilja till att stanna kvar i banken. Det viktigt att banken är ärlig mot sina kunder och inte agerar utifrån egenintresse. / <p>Denna uppsats är godkänd av exminator och ska publiceras, tack.</p>

Background: Given the situation that todays’ companies establish deeper relationships with their clients, focusing on long- term collaboration and emphasis on mutual cooperation, the communication with the clients is increasingly based on one-to- one communication. Personal selling is described in literature as one tool of the communication mix. This tool of one-to one communication has become very important. Several companies spend 8-15% of their net sales on personal selling to communicate directly with their clients, supporting them in evaluating specific needs and thus be able to offer the right product. The B2B environment is highly complex in its various characteristics. In regards to personal selling, the characteristics of intercultural aspects, B2B Relationships and Relationship Marketing has been chosen. The usage of personal selling could improve B2B Relationships. Research Question: How companies use and manage personal selling to strengthen B2B relationships? What are the cultural differencesregarding to the country of operation? Purpose: The purpose of this master thesis is to identify how personal selling can influence and strengthen B2B relationships. In this evaluation, the authors like to examine the differences in personal selling management according to the country of operation. The objective is to arrive on implications for B2B companies, especially in the IT sector. Method: The study uses an inductive research approach. The target is to arrive on new insights whether personal selling improves business- to business relations. Within the qualitative research method four case- studies of B2B IT companies from Brazil and Sweden will be evaluated. Through semi- structured personal interviews primary data will be obtained from each company. Through the conduction of the interviews in two countries, the impact of cultural aspects will be evaluated simultaneously. Theoretical Framework: The study evaluates literature about Cultural Aspects, Relationship Marketing, B2B Marketing and Sales Management in order to gain knowledge in accordance to the thesis’ research topics. B2B Markets are characterized by its complexity. The study uses those B2B characteristics which are influences by personal selling. Findings &amp; Conclusion: Through the evaluation of the case studies in two countries, it can be outlined that personal selling has a positive impact on the establishment of long-term business relation, increase market recognition and leads to mutual business cooperation with the customer, that is necessary for future business development and product development according to customer and market demands. Understanding hereby the cultural background of the client is evaluated as an advantage on the direct communication and establishment of business relation.It is thus suggested to focus on personal selling, while providing technical advance solutions that require a high demand on communication.

Abstract  Titel: Content Marketing - A study of how companies work with content marketing to create loyal customers  Authors: Emma Persson and Jennifer Sirén  Supervisor: Navid Ghannad  Examiner: Hélène Laurell  Level: Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration, focusing on  International Marketing (15 ECTS), Spring-2016  Keywords: Content marketing, storytelling, customer loyalty, relationship marketing  Purpose: The purpose of the study is to gain a better understanding of how businesses use content marketing to create loyal customers.  Frame of References: This section begins with storytelling and content marketing, followed by relationship marketing and customer loyalty.  Method: The thesis is a qualitative method with a deductive approach  which includes three cases with interviews. All companies has knowledge and working actively in the area.  Empirical Data: In this part the results of the interviews with the three case studies are presented.  Conclusion: In this study, the authors concluded that all the investigated case companies use content marketing to a greater extent in order to maintain loyalty among its already existing customers / Sammanfattning  Titel: Content marketing - En studie om hur företag arbetar med content marketing för att skapa lojala kunder  Författare: Emma Persson  och Jennifer Sirén  Handledare: Navid Ghannad  Examinator: Hélène Laurell  Nivå: Kandidatuppsats inom företagsekonomi med inriktning på internationell marknadsföring (15 HP), VT-2016  Nyckelord: Content marketing, storytelling, kundlojalitet, relationsmarknadsföring  Syfte: Syftet med studien är att få bättre förståelse om hur företag        använder content marketing för att skapa lojala kunder.  Teoretisk referensram: Detta avsnitt inleds med storytelling och content marketing,  följt av relationsmarknadsföring och kundlojalitet.  Metod: Uppsatsen har en kvalitativ metod med en deduktiv ansats i vilken tre fallföretag intervjuats. Företagen är kunniga inom content marketing och arbetar aktivt med metoden.  Empiri: I denna del presenteras de intervjuer som genomförts med de tre fallföretag.  Slutsats:  I denna studie har författarna kommit fram till att alla de undersökta fallföretagen använder content marketing i högre utsträckning för att bibehålla lojalitet bland sina redan existerade kunder.

Background: Marketing communication is constantly changing and one way to communicate with customer is to use sponsoring. Sponsorship in sport has changed over the past years and new opportunities has developed. It is therefore interesting to ask sponsors what their opinion about sponsoring is. Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to find out why companies choose to work with sport sponsorship and what there opinion about it is versus other marketing strategies. Method: A qualitative study based on interviews with non-probability sample. Conclusion: This study reveals that there are several reasons to sponsor sporting events. The main reason is the possibility to communicate with a large and diverse targetgroup and have the opportunity for a personal meeting with the targetgroup. In today's information society, it is important to be unique and to communicate on a platform where consumers are responsive. All sponsorship needs to be evaluated and measured to be justified. The study also indicate that sponsorship is different from other marketing methods but the message is the same as in other marketing channels. The primary difference is the relationship with the customer and also the companies commitment to the sporting event through activation.

The main aim of this thesis, „An Examination of the Marketing and Relationship Marketing Concepts, by Analysing Power, Disciplining and Compliance in Customer-Provider Relations‟, is to expand knowledge and thinking in the subject area of marketing by researching power, disciplining and compliance in relations between customers and providers. As such, it is part of current developments in marketing theory, as the following discussion will illustrate. Marketing is a dynamic and evolving discipline (Saunders and Lee 2005) and has been enriched by the introduction of significant new topics such as consumer passion, longing, gift giving, and history of ownership (Belk et al. 2003; Lowrey et al. 2004). The „variety and eclecticism‟ in current marketing research (Saunders and Lee 2005) have been achieved partly by drawing on frameworks, concepts and models developed in other disciplines (Baumgartner 2002). In recent years, „a more open minded attitude to research‟ and „methodological relaxation‟ have been encouraged (Tapp and Hughes 2008), and new methodological approaches have been explored (e.g. Thompson 1998, 2002; Sherry and Schouten 2002). Moreover, the supremacy of experimental-nomothetic methodological positions of quantification is being questioned (Fournier and Glenn Mick 1999) and, even though quantitative research continues to dominate (Hanson and Grimmer 2007), previously „unconventional‟ methodologies such as narrative analysis and hermeneutical frameworks demonstrate the growing acceptability of a wider range of methodologies (Saunders and Lee 2005). Such developments in marketing thought and approaches result from the identification of weaknesses or gaps in the conventional received wisdom on the subject (Wells 1993), and so place existing interpretations under scrutiny (Dawes and Brown 2000). However, commentators suggest that further growth and development are required. For instance, while Svensson (2006) argues that traditionalism still predominates, Tapp and Hughes (2004) and Katsiekas et al. (2007) invite scholars to analyse new topics and areas which are pertinent to practitioners and which contribute to a better understanding of marketing practice. At stake is the degree to which marketing research offers practitioners and society something „novel‟ and „of relevance‟ (Gummesson 2005). For marketing thinking to develop further, topics which are as yet inadequately researched need to be analysed more systematically (Katsiekas et al. 2007). An example of such a topic is the expression of power, influencing, disciplining and relational problems during interactions between customers and providers (Brown et al. 2000; Keysuk 2000; Ivens and Blois 2004). Though present in marketing theory, there are aspects of power which deserve greater attention. Examples of such issues are the types of power applied by providers and the ways in which providers design and carry out the disciplining of consumers during interactions in order to make them more compliant. These are the issues addressed in this thesis.