I takt med den digitala revolutionen har vidden av skivbolagens aktiviteter reducerats. Idag kan individer göra mycket på egen hand som skivbolagen traditionellt sett gjort för sina artister. Rollen som de spelar anses inte vara lika väsentlig i en artists karriär till följd av digitaliseringen.       Syftet med denna studie är att skapa förståelse för hur skivbolagens roll ser ut i en digitaliserad och tjänst-dominerad musikbransch. För att kunna besvara syftet har tre semistrukturerade intervjuer utförts, varav en består av två respondenter. Intervjuerna genomfördes med skivbolagen Universal Music, Amuse och ett independent bolag i Stockholm.      Studiens empiri visar att aktiviteterna som skivbolag utför är anpassat utefter digitala medier, samt att alla respondenter menar att även om artister i dagsläget kan göra allting själva, är det lättare att lyckas med hjälp av ett skivbolag.      Slutsatserna som nåtts är att skivbolagens roll ser ut på det viset att de är artisternas partner, som innebär att de är med dem, och inte för dem. Rollen skivbolagen har i en digitaliserad och tjänst-dominerad musikbransch innebär att de erbjuder artisterna kunskap, kontakter och kapital. Skivbolagens roll har försvagats inom de traditionella aktiviteterna marknadsföring och distribution, och anses istället finnas som stöd och komplement inom dessa aktiviteter. Skivbolagens roll har istället blivit viktigare när det gäller att upptäcka, bygga samt driva artisternas karriärer. / With the digital revolution, the scope of record labels’ activities have been reduced. Today, individuals can do a lot on their own, that record labels have traditionally done for their artists. The role they played is not considered as important in the career of an artist today, due to digitization.      The aim of this essay is to examine and create insight on how record labels’ role looks like in a digitalized and serice-dominated music industry. To do this, three interviews have been carried out, whereof one interview included two respondents. The interviews were held with the record labels Universal Music, Amuse and an independent label in Stockholm.      The results show that the activities that record labels perform are adjusted according to digital media. The results also show that all of the respondents claim that even though artists today can do everything on their own, it is easier to succeed with the help of a record label.      The conclusion is that the record labels’ role is that they are partners with their artists, which means that they are with them, and not for them. The role record labels have in a digitalized and service-dominated music industry is that they offer knowledge, connections and capital to their artists. The record labels’ role has been weakened within the traditional activities marketing and distribution. Instead, they are regarded as existing as a support and complement within these activities. The record labels’ role has therefore become more important in finding, building and operating artists’ careers.

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Why do individuals derive different value when working remotely using Enterprise Collaboration Systems during Covid-19? This mixed methodology research used a Service-Dominant Logic lens and undertook a literature review, qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey to identify the characteristics and variables that impacted perceived value for individual Australian Actors. To assist future studies it also developed an equivalency model of value and the desire to work remotely. The research found the strongest predictive variable is the suitability of the workspace, followed by a list of a dozen significant variables. By knowing these variables and their predictive weights, Actors can adjust them to optimise the value derived from working remotely through ECSs.

I takt med den ökade globaliseringen har konkurrensen tilltagit på marknaden och påverkat förutsättningarna för de traditionella tillverkningsföretagen. Att utöver produkter sälja tjänster har blivit ett vanligt sätt att differentiera sig från andra aktörer och höja det värde som erbjuds mot kunderna. Denna lösning kallas tjänstefiering och är en växande trend inom tillverkningsindustrin.  Syftet med denna studie är att identifiera vad som är av vikt att fokusera på för företag som tillverkar konsumtionsvaror vid utformning av tjänstefierade erbjudanden till restauranger. Genom att samla in material har vi utformat praktiska rekommendationer till företag som tillverkar konsumtionsvaror kring vad som är av vikt att tänka på vid tjänstefiering. Tidigare forskning inom tjänstefiering har utförts främst i en kapitalvarukontext, detta trots att det visat sig både i praktik och teori att tjänstefiering är lönsamt även för andra typer av tillverkningsföretag. Forskningen har även främst utförts ur ett företagsperspektiv, trots att kundens viktiga roll i tjänstefiering är vida känt. Litteraturområdet som belyser tjänstefiering kopplat till konsumtionsvaror ur ett kundperspektiv anses därav vara begränsat. Studien har därför utförts i en restaurangkontext då restauranger köper in olika typer av konsumtionsvaror vilket ansågs bidra till en bredd i studien. För att undersöka detta område har studien därför haft för avsikt att besvara frågeställningen: Vad värdesätter restauranger vid utformning av tjänstefierade erbjudanden av konsumtionsvaror? För att besvara denna fråga har vi genomfört sju kvalitativa intervjuer med personer som arbetar på olika restauranger med en sådan position att de har insyn kring köp av tjänstefierade erbjudanden. Inför intervjuerna skapade vi en teoretisk referensram med relevant forskning för vår studie gällande tjänstefiering och kundvärde. Referensramen har sedan använts som stöd vid utformning av intervjuguiden som använts vid genomförandet av intervjuerna samt använts vid analys av den insamlade datan.  Resultatet från studien visar att restauranger värdesätter flera faktorer vid utformning av tjänstefierade erbjudanden av konsumtionsvaror från alla dimensioner av kundvärdet. Relationer och den personliga kontakten, möjlighet till att påverka erbjudandet och delta i utvecklingen samt ekonomi visade sig vara värdeskapande aspekter där den personliga kontakten var något som visade sig vara en avgörande faktor för restaurangerna.

The amount of people in Sweden who were made redundant during the corona pandemic exceeds both the Swedish financial crisis in 1990 and the global financial crisis in 2008.  The negative economic development led to more pressure on people to work harder and perform better in order for their firm to survive. The purpose of this thesis was to explore if and how the value creation process between service providers and their customers, from a business perspective, had been influenced by the corona pandemic.  A conceptual model based on service-logic was created to shed light on potential disruptions affecting the value creation. Empirical data was collected through qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with sales-associates employed by a mobile-operator firm in Sweden. Findings resulted in five main insights of disruptions that impact the provider and its value-creation with its customers. These include managerial decisions, unreasonable goal-setting, social distancing, new provider-customer frictions and foot-traffic, which all stemmed from decisions taken by the firm and government restrictions.   This dissertation has contributed to additional insights in how the service-logic and its various concepts regarding value creation, from a firm’s perspective, is affected during a major crisis. The difficulties experienced by sales-associates during the corona pandemic is two-fold. The sales-associates have to adhere to decisions made by the firm which often leads to more pressure to perform, and the restrictions implemented by governments leads to poor conditions for creating customer-relationships in turn. These conditions impact the firm’s ability to facilitate and co-create value with its customers.

Samtidigt som fokuset på hållbarhetsarbete inom organisationer har ökat, har det även resulterat i frågor om hur företag skapar ett hållbart värde. Hållbarhet har definierats utifrån tre grundpelare: miljömässig-, ekonomisk- och socialhållbarhet. Inom tjänsteteori har intresset för hållbarhetsteorier ökat, men relationen mellan dessa områden är relativt outforskade. Detta är förvånansvärt då många organisationer är beroende av hållbart värdeskapande. Således är syftet med studien att alstra förståelse för hur aktörer skapar värden inom ett hållbart tjänsteekosystem. Studien utgår från ett makroperspektiv eftersom viktiga implikationer för värdeskapande kan upptäckas då hållbarhet genererar värde för flera aktörer. Det teoretiska ramverket omfattar tre delar; teori om tjänsteekosystem, hållbarhet och en sammanföring mellan dessa områden. Eftersom värdeskapande inom hållbara tjänsteekosystem är relativt outforskat valdes en kvalitativ och explorativ ansats för att undersöka hur hållbart arbete inom ett tjänsteekosystem bidrar till att skapa värde.  Analysen förankras i nio semistrukturerade intervjuer som genomfördes med respondenter från olika organisationer som tillhörde företagsklustret Paper Province. Intervjuerna kombineras med teori för att skapa en koppling mellan ett empiriskt fall och teori. Deltagande respondenter hade hög befattning inom respektive organisation, vilket var viktigt för att förstå organisationens struktur. Studien visar att hållbarhet inte bara ligger till grund för organisationers värdeskapande logik utan även skapar en grund för arbetsstrukturer. Genom att utgå från tjänstedominant logik ger analysen ett nytt sätt att se på hållbara aktörers värdeskapande. Inom det hållbara tjänsteekosystemet skapar aktörer förutsättningar för ett högre samhällsvärde till följd av hållbar resursintegration. / At the same time as the focus on sustainability work within organizations has increased, it has also resulted in questions about how companies create sustainable value. Sustainability has been defined based on three pillars: environmental, economic, and social sustainability. In service theory, interest in sustainability theories has increased, but the relationship between these areas is relatively unexplored. This is surprising as many organizations are dependent on sustainable value creation. Thus, the study aims to generate an understanding of how actors create value within a sustainable service ecosystem. The study is based on a macro perspective because important implications for value creation can be discovered as sustainability generates value for several actors. The theoretical framework comprises three parts; theory of service ecosystems, sustainability, and a merger between these areas. Since value creation in sustainable service ecosystems is relatively unexplored, a qualitative and exploratory approach was chosen to investigate how sustainable work in a service ecosystem contributes to creating value.  The analysis is anchored in nine semi-structured interviews conducted with respondents from various organizations that belonged to the Paper Province cluster. The interviews are combined with theory to create a connection between an empirical case and theory. Participating respondents held senior positions within each organization, which was important for understanding the organization's structure. The study shows that sustainability forms the basis for organizations' value-creating logic and creates a basis for work structures. Based on service-dominant logic, the analysis provides a new way of looking at sustainable players' value creation. Within the sustainable service ecosystem, actors create conditions for a higher societal value because of sustainable resource integration.

This work offers a framework for researchers by linking service-dominant (S-D) logic to an intersubjective stream of philosophy of science. Service-dominant logic has resonated in marketing, but no existing research has attempted to link S-D logic with basic meta-theory to provide a framework. Since the range of philosophies of science (isms) referred to in the marketing literature is broad, varying from ‘realism’ to ‘relativism’, from ‘positivism’ to ‘constructivism’ and from ‘structuralism’ to ‘post-structuralism/postmodernism’, first the different isms are grouped into four main groups/streams and then S-D logic is analyzed and classified according to these streams. The four streams are: object-orientation (realism, positivism, empiricism, and so on); subject orientation (constructivism, interpretivism, and so forth); intersubjective orientation (social constructionism, pancritical rationalism, methodological constructivism, and so on); and sign orientation (post-structuralism, postmodernism, and variations). S-D logic is mainly underpinned by an intersubjective orientation and has a huge potential for further development both in and for marketing if seen from a sign-orientated, post-structural perspective and linked to the theory of practices.

Resource integration, as it relates to value creation, has recently been a key aspect of the discussions about service-dominant (S-D) logic. However, the majority of research pays relatively little explicit attention to the process of theorizing and the epistomological and ontological assumptions upon which the theorizing process is based. This article addresses these issues. The processes that relate to theorizing and developing strong theory are discussed. We then examine how to conceptualize ‘resources’ and ‘resource integration’ following differing ontological and epistemological assumptions that guide the theorizing process. Research recommendations to help navigate through the finer details underlying the theorizing process and to advance a general theory of resource integration are developed.

In today’s society media is ubiquitous. Through its pervasiveness it plays an inextricable role in society, impacting on culture, economy, politics, education and communication. In a postmodern society technological advances have had a profound impact on the development of media, most notably digital media. The intention of this study was to establish whether, in the context of an assumed postmodern culture, young South African adults display behaviour that manifest the tenets of postmodernism in their reactions to contemporary marketing and/or marketing communication, as apparent through their attitudes towards retail shopping and brands, together with their attitudes towards and use of digital media. In this instance digital media is limited to social media and media accessible on mobile phones. The unique properties and interactive capabilities of digital media have altered the dynamics of communication and have given rise to new applications that were not previously possible. This poses challenges for organisations in terms of marketing communication practices with one of the problem areas being that marketers do not know: <ul><li> Whether young South African adults (Generation Y) exhibit postmodern behaviour, in the context of today’s postmodern culture. </li><li> How young South African adults (Generation Y) use digital media? </li><li> How to leverage the unique properties of digital media in marketing communication efforts directed towards young South African adults (Generation Y)? </li> </ul> The main purpose of this research was to reflect on the applicability of modern marketing and/or marketing communication theories, in their current state, in the context of a postmodern society, with specific emphasis on the use of digital media. The secondary purpose of the research was to investigate the affect of postmodern variables on Generation Y and the perspective of this population towards digital media and its role in marketing communication. The study aimed to contribute to the theoretical body of knowledge as follows: <ul><li> To question the application of modern marketing and/or marketing communication theories in postmodern society. In so doing, it suggested that in any given era marketing theories should be representative of the target society, therefore inferring the need to adjust existing theories and their application or formulate new ones that are representative of the specific era. </li><li> To empirically determine whether Generation Y are exhibiting characteristics indicative of postmodern society. </li></ul> Furthermore, the study added value from a practitioner perspective by contributing to new knowledge in the study of Generation Y and digital media. It is anticipated that an improved understanding of Generation Y’s attitudes towards marketing and digital media will serve to improve knowledge of how Generation Y will react in the future as they mature and potentially provide an indication of forthcoming generations’ attitudes towards marketing. Nine research objectives emanating from the research problem were empirically tested through a cross-sectional quantitative exploratory descriptive survey research design. Items in the survey were developed on the basis of observable postmodern characteristics presented in the literature and in consultation with a panel of experts. The survey was distributed by email, which provided a web-based link to access the survey, to the sampling frame; a database comprising of 2,265 students, between the ages of 18-34, enrolled full-time with the department of Marketing and Communication Management (University of Pretoria) during 2011. Convenience sampling was used until a sufficient quantity of fully completed surveys had been collected; 333 usable questionnaires were obtained. The collected data received statistical treatment primarily through the application of exploratory factor analysis and multivariate analysis of co-variance. The theoretical synthesis showed that characteristics of postmodernism are evident in society and affect marketing and/or marketing communication activities. The results of the empirical phase of the investigation demonstrated that respondents show postmodernism traits in their behaviour towards digital media and their reactions towards brands and marketing and/or marketing communication. The most dominant postmodern characteristics displayed by respondents were hyperreality, de-differentiation and fragmentation. Several factors were found to be statistically significant, which may be related to socio-economic conditions, behavioural patterns, and digital infrastructure. These were: ethnicity, cell phone usage, frequency of social media usage, cell phone plan, average monthly Internet expenditure for cell phones, use of Internet bundles on cell phones, and the device used most often to access the Internet. Social media use was identified as an important behavioural outcome by respondents, and the most significant influencing factors related to the dependence that respondents placed on their cell phones and the need to fulfil certain activities only available in the social media space. Finally a conceptual framework was proposed, which integrated theoretical and empirical findings. This framework suggested a broadening of certain roles within marketing and/or marketing communication, namely: consumers transforming to collaborators; communication transforming to interaction; and value exchange transforming to value-in-use. It is anticipated that this study has added to the theoretical level of knowledge by indicating the need to readdress principles and theories of marketing and/or marketing communication in the context of a postmodern society and in particular the use of digital media. An outcome of the study was the proposition of a conceptual framework, which addressed a number of aspects in the transformation from modern to postmodern marketing. Furthermore, at the practitioner level the study has broadened understanding of Generation Y’s behaviour towards digital media in the marketing and/or marketing communication context. Managerial recommendations were expressed on the basis of the theoretical and empirical findings. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Marketing Management / PhD / Unrestricted

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