Purpose The purpose of the paper is to understand how crucial of importance is e-WOM within the French tourism industry with a focus on trip retailers – travel agencies and tour-operators – by observing and analyzing how they encourage and manage e-WOM.   Methodology The paper uses deductive approach with a triangulation method based on a qualitative research through 24 semi-structured telephone interviews and a quantitative research through the behavior analysis of 112 trip retailers on online communities. Findings It was found that the French trip retailers encourage e-WOM by primarily joining and using online communities via posting pictures and special offers at least twice a week on social networks. Besides, among those that collect and manage positive and negative comments, they mainly do it on Facebook by rather adopting a non-defensive attitude. Managerial implications The authors suggest trip retailers not use as many online communities they can but regularly be active on the one(s) they choose to use. Moreover, responding not only to negative but also to positive e-WOM may be a strategy that paid off since few trip retailers take it into consideration. Regarding the management of negative e-WOM, the authors recommend against deleting non-eulogistic comments and reply publicly within 24 hours.   Limitations This study was limited to French trip retailers and cannot consequently be generalised for all international trip retailers. Additionally, the specific sector trip retailers work with has not been taken into consideration. Moreover, even if trip retailers have been classified within four categories, no deeply correlation has been studied between the size and their online activity.   Further research suggestions Future research is needed to possibly confirm and subsequently generalise the findings of this paper to the overall tourism industry in France. Moreover, it is necessary to compare what trip retailers think to do and what they really do on the web and determine a degree of relevance. Furthermore, due to the constantly growing interest for online communities by tourism professionals, an updated study of that one should be conducted during the next five years and results compared. It would be finally also interesting to measure the impact of e-WOM on online communication strategies   Article classification Qualitative and quantitative studies

Abstract The natural progression of generators and retailers, following electricity deregulation, to vertically integrate is a contentious subject involving, at one extreme, expectations that a laissez- faire market approach will deliver economic benefits to all participants, and at the other extreme, suspicions that the unusual features of the electricity sector, in providing generators with market power, may not provide electricity consumers with an improved outcome. The objectives of this thesis were to: understand fully the drivers of generators and retailers to vertically integrate and to apply this knowledge to the Queensland electricity market to determine the financial impact on generators, retailers and consumers from vertical integration (VI). A literature review was undertaken of VI in a generic sense, noting the distinction between market contracting and ‘internalisation’, with particular reference to the writings of Oliver Williamson. The Federal Court case involving Australia’s largest electricity retailer, Australian Gas and Light Ltd, seeking approval to purchase a minority shareholding in the Victorian generator Loy Yang Power, was closely examined from the perspectives of theoretical and practical electricity sector VI integration issues. A quantitative analysis was undertaken of an assumed 60% VI of the Queensland electricity market to assess the costs and benefits to generators that vertically integrated and to consumers. The quantified generator benefits included margin elimination, savings in overheads, more rapid decision-making, and demand side management (DSM) savings in deferred capital expenditure on peaking generation and network expenditure through reduced peak demand. To support the quantitative analysis, two scenario models were developed. The first model replicates the process by which generators build up revenue certainty over time from hedge contract sales and bidding of output into the electricity grid. How generator bidding behaviour is affected by the level of hedge cover and hedge contract prices is examined, particularly in regard to how this behavior is affected by the competitive relationship between retailers and generators. The second scenario model replicates the attitude of vertically integrated generators (VIGs) towards offering DSM services by observing how the attitude of individual VIGs is affected by level of peaking generation and by the generation-to-retailing output proportion. It was determined that a combination of these features and particular market scenarios could result in some VIGs being financially worse off by providing DSM services, an important conclusion in the context of the increased community focus on energy conservation. The extent to which VIGs pass on VI and DSM benefits to consumers was calculated under scenarios of weak and strong retail competition. Of most relevance was the difference in market behaviour between retailers that had became vertically integrated, and those that had not, with the latter expected to become less competitive in both the wholesale and retail markets. This outcome was observed to provide generators with additional market power potential, a subject closely examined. The quantitative analysis of the Queensland market concluded that the maximum possible benefit that consumers could expect from VI was $138 million per annum with current DSM technology and strong retail competition, increasing to $156 million per annum if DSM technology improved, for example in regard to more cost-efficient meters. Total possible benefits to VIGs and consumers was estimated at $321 million per annum, so that consumers could expect to receive no more than 50% of total expected benefits from VI. This conclusion is not surprising because generators will only seek to be vertically integrated if they perceive clearly identified benefits from VI. The reasons why consumers are unlikely to receive benefits greater than this are: • $30 million per annum of internal savings being retained by VIGs; • VIGs achieving a minimum $60 million per annum additional revenue benefits through wholesale and retail price increases, arising from their stronger generation and retail positions; and • $75 million per annum of potential DSM benefits not being offered to consumers, because of the reluctance of VIGs to provide DSM services where the outcome could be reduced export revenue, reduced sales revenue and lower pool prices. In summary, using the Queensland market as a case study, in a strongly competitive retail market consumers could expect to receive, at the most, 50% of VI and DSM benefits. However in a weakly competitive retail market, where VIGs retain most of the benefits and are able to achieve higher wholesale prices, the outcome could instead be an overall cost to consumers. The thesis concludes with a brief discussion of policy implications and approaches to addressing key issues arising from increasing VI in deregulated electricity markets.

MCom / Department of Business Management / Textbooks in the school context have a crucial role to play in order to achieve educational objectives as well as in directing teaching approaches (Doll, 1996). Curriculum change creates a demand for new textbooks (Taylor & Richards, 2014). The market for publishing and retailing of textbooks has many unique features, including the demand and supply aspect which is influenced by public procurement, and the existence of profit-driven textbook publishers and retailers. The phenomenon of curriculum change represents another distinctive characteristic of the market, which acts as a disruptor to the economics with significant implications for roleplayers in the market. These effects may be positive or negative, as insufficient information exists on the impacts of this feature of the market, especially in the South African context. In this study, textbooks publishers and retailers are the focus as it is their business obligation to supply textbooks to the Department of Education. The primary purpose of the study is to investigate the perceptions of selected textbook publishers and retailers on the impact of curriculum change on the performance of their businesses. The study identified proper communication and lack of intensive training as gaps that need to be addressed to ensure that textbook publishers and retailers succeed well in their businesses despite curriculum change. An in-depth qualitative study was conducted using purposive sample of 30 key respondents, that is, ten respondents from textbook publishers, ten respondents from textbook retailers and another ten from the Department of Education. The study employed the hermeneutic approach to analyse the empirical qualitative data generated from the research study. The analysis of the study was focused on the challenges that textbook publishers and retailers face due to curriculum change as well as their strategic response to curriculum change. The study found that textbook publishers and retailers’ perceptions on the impact of curriculum change on their business is both negative and positive and that the industry appreciates curriculum change as a stimulus of economic activity despite the challenges experienced. Recommendations for textbook publishers and retailers to cope with curriculum change are given.

Purpose: The study aims to increase knowledge of dealers' purchasing behavior of impulse goods in wholesale trade. Methodology: An exploratory survey method has been selected in order to investigate the relatively unexplored topic; buyer behavior of impulse goods in the wholesale. Data has been collected through interview of 27 dealers that conduct business with bulk confectionery sales across Sweden. A semi-structured interview technique has been selected, with a predetermined interview schedule but with space for follow-up questions and discussion. Conclusion: The background to this work argued that there is not much research on how retailers reasons when buying convenience products, or also called as impulse items. It is usually the sale of goods such as several of the informants believe is critical to their business existence. Impulse goods which do not require any effort, has little search time and usually are cheap and suits many customers pockets. It was therefore of interest to investigate whether the retailer is acting as their customers when they buy in bulk confectionery, which separated this study and considered to be an impulse to be, by definition, from wholesalers like Axfood Närlivs. What are the factors they take into consideration when choosing a product? How do they reflect on price, quality, delivery, access and communication with the wholesaler?

Over the past two decades, South Africa has introduced several laws regulating business and providing protection to consumers. These include the Competition Act (89 of 1998), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (25 of 2002), the National Credit Act (34 of 2005), and the Consumer Protection Act (68 of 2008) (CPA). The CPA was implemented to conform to international best practice regarding consumer law, to replace the existing but outdated laws, and most importantly, to provide protection to vulnerable consumers (Department of Trade and Industry, 2004:14; Rampersad & Reddy, 2012:7407). The importance of protecting vulnerable consumers can be attributed to South Africa’s history of discrimination and excluding the majority of the population from quality education and equal opportunities in the marketplace (Rampersad & Reddy, 2012:7407). However, the CPA is of small value to consumers if it is not generally known and applied; thus, consumers will continue to be at the mercy of retailers who very often do not have their best interests at heart. Therefore, this study was undertaken to measure the awareness and knowledge of the CPA among retailers. The research was done among small independent retailers located in shopping malls in the Vaal Triangle, South Africa. The study followed a quantitative approach, using a self-administered questionnaire to obtain a single cross-sectional sample. From the data gathered, it is clear that most of the participants considered themselves well informed regarding consumer rights; 88 present of the participants indicated that they are familiar with the nine consumer rights contained in the CPA. However, this stands in stark contrast to the results obtained in the section measuring the actual knowledge of the CPA; only 49 present of the participants managed to answer more than half of the questions correctly, and none answered more than 70 present correctly. In addition, the participants seemed to score higher on those rights that existed before the CPA came into effect, and lower on the new rights introduced by the Act. This seems to indicate that retailers are not yet familiar with the Act; it is, therefore, unlikely that they do business in a manner that complies with the CPA, which robs consumers of the benefit and protection of the Act. Of the retailers who participated in this study, 72 present said they believe the CPA is necessary to protect consumers. This would seem to indicate that it is the lack of knowledge rather that real resistance to the Act which is standing in the way of wider compliance. Therefore, steps should be taken with utmost urgency to educate and increase awareness of the Act, both among retailers and consumers. / MCom (Marketing Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Responsible Sourcing is gaining growing importance for companies willing to demonstrate responsibility and commitment to sustainable practices. Sourcing is a key element of supply chain management and by adopting responsible sourcing practices, companies can greatly contribute to the sustainability of their entire supply chains. Being close to both customers and suppliers, retailers hold a particularly influential position in the supply chain and their sourcing choices can play a key role for sustainability improvements. This paper investigates the different strategies that can be adopted to guarantee responsible sourcing in the retail sector, through the specific case study of two UK retailers, Sainsbury´s and Tesco, and their offer of sustainable seafood. Specifically, the relation between the offer of MSC certified products and the retailers´ commitment to source responsibly is here analysed. The main source of data collection is a content analysis of retailers´ CSR online reports and web pages. Additional information is obtained through reports and web pages’ analysis of four UK organizations dealing with sustainable seafood issues. The findings of the study suggest that the offer of MSC certified products is positively correlated with the adoption of responsible sourcing practices; different strategies are available to retailers to guarantee responsible sourcing and that retailers´ sourcing policies can be influenced by other stakeholders´ guidelines for responsible sourcing.

Large investments in sparsely populated areas have the reputation to increase the attractiveness of these areas. This is said to lead to more investments, followed by growths in population, unemployment rates and tax revenues. Usually, city officials in Sweden trust in this formula and have the tendency to provide financial and other incentives for companies to start large investment projects in their towns (Hrelja, Isaksson, and Richardson, 2012). This thesis investigates the actual impact of such projects by the example of the large retail chain IKEA in Sweden. The development of three medium-sized cities in sparsely populated areas in Sweden which recently opened IKEA stores are compared to close-by cities and benchmark cities of a comparable size with respect to their unemployment rates, income, population, retail sales and trade indexes. The results will be used to predict the impact of the new IKEA store planned in Umeå.

Traditional Chinese snacks have been part of Chinese food culture for years but many types of snacks have been disappearing in Singapore as a result of globalization and modernization. Since the late 1990s, however, some types of Chinese snacks have become increasingiy popular as they are being marketed in new food retail spaces. In the 1940s, kaya toast started as an inexpensive breakfast snack for Chinese immigrants but has since evolved into a lifestyle snack enjoyed by Singaporeans at any time of the day. The growing popularity of kaya toast and some other types of snacks has revived the traditional Chinese snack food industry. This thesis examines the re-emergence of a traditional Chinese snack culture in Singapore. It discusses the history of traditional Chinese snacks, its continuity and the changing nature of Chinese snack foods in Singapore. Based on case studies conducted in 2005 with retailers of selected traditional Chinese snack foods, the study examines when such food enterprises in Singapore were established, why they were established and the ways in which they were able to survive in the highly competitive market for various kinds of snack foods. It examines the business characteristics and strategies of the new vendors by comparing them to traditional hawkers in the past. Techniques employed in this study include interviews, participant observation, spatial mapping and document analysis. The findings indicate that the adaptation of the retailers by fusing authentic recipes with new ingredients and flavours, using modern technology, adopting marketing techniques, using media promotion, as well as the offering of a diverse product mix and the setting up of numerous retail outlets have helped the new hawker-entrepreneurs to stay competitive in the growing snack food market in Singapore.

This thesis presents a study of business adaptation strategies employed by small and medium retailers in order to be sustainable in a climate of rapid and significant environmental change in regional Thailand. The study was carried out in Ubon Ratchathani, a large regional city in North Eastern Thailand which shares many of the difficulties encountered by regional businesses in regional Thailand. Changes over the last ten years have been considered in this work and recent strategies adopted by the small and medium retailers have been investigated. Using extensive input from a study group which represented approximately 10% of all small and medium retailers, the study attempts to isolate the successful strategies for the region.

Title: Micro sized retailers usage of e-CRM: A study about how far micro sized retailers have implemented e-CRM and exploration of what factors can describe the e-CRM adoption   Course code: 4FE03E   Authors:        Fredrik Fagerström               880107                   Linda Sjögren                      880805   Research question: The research explores what factors can explain e-CRM adoption of micro sized retailers through 6 hypotheses, derived from literature review.   Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe how far micro sized retailers have implemented e-CRM and explore what factors can describe their e-CRM adoption.   Methodology: The result of the study consists of the participation of 137 micro sized retailers on the Swedish market. A quantitative questionnaire has been developed out of theories and qualitative pilot-studies.   Conclusion: This research can conclude that micro sized retailers on the Swedish market have, in average, implemented 5 e-CRM features per company. This equals a 12% usage of the total e-CRM features explored for this research. The one proved factor that can describe how retailers have adopted e-CRM is their profitability rate. Companies with a profitability rate below market average are more likely to have implemented more e-CRM features than companies with higher profit rate than market average. The explanation to this might be that companies with a low profit rate implement e-CRM as a tool to cure their low profit rate, since e-CRM is supposed to bring benefits as lower costs and increased sales with the purpose to increase their profit in the future.   Key words; e-CRM, growth orientation, micro sized companies, retailers