Many entrepreneurs pursue the IT-industry, which is characterized by opportunities and international growth. However, due to failures in sales, marketing and operations, many IT-startups never reach profitability and sustainable performance.  On behalf of the IT-startup Realbridge, the authors have been asked to investigate how their sales process can be made more efficient. By identifying elements in the sales process, the authors can provide suggestions supported by theories and qualitative data on how Realbridge and similar companies can redesign and improve their sales process. The study further investigates the role of sales in the business model and how a changed sales process impact value delivery and innovate the business model. Consequently, the thesis aims to answer the following research questions: How does a firm’s sales process impact value delivery in the business model? How can small IT-companies similar to Realbridge and their product improve their sales process efficiency? This degree project has several purposes. Firstly, it aims to further investigate the role of sales in value delivery in the business model. This will extend knowledge and research on value delivery and sales, and will further investigate the relationship between components of the business model. Secondly, it will serve as a guide for managers in IT-firms on how they can improve the sales process. Thirdly, it will create an understanding of how IT-firms similar to Realbridge can develop or innovate their business model in terms of changed value delivery, key activities and sales process. As the aim of this study is to extend knowledge in the business model and sales literature, as well as analyze Realbridge’s sales process and culminate in recommendations on how IT-startups can increase their sales efficiency, this degree project takes form as a qualitative case study. Interviews have been conducted with interviewees in four different organizations with three different perspectives: Realbridge’s perspective, customer in the car dealership industry’s perspective and non-customer in the car dealership industry’s perspective. The data has been processed in accordance to thematic analysis. The analysis has led the authors to the conclusion that a changed sales process impact value delivery and consequently innovate the business model. It is also found that the sales process impact value creation and capture. Moreover, in order to effectively design a sales process, Realbridge and similar companies must effectively segment the market, focus on fewer segments initially and target them according to their expected financial contribution. They should state and communicate a specific value proposition related to the approached segment’s main needs. Furthermore, customer preferences have to be accounted for in terms of sales channels and type of relationships, and it can be seen as a financial risk to maximize value creation and value delivery for all customers.

Organisations strive to gain competitive advantages and there is an increasing demand for more advanced technology in today's dynamic and complex environment. The importance of engineering is increasing in the global world, which leads to a higher demand of professional engineers. They represent among the hardest roles to fill. The short supply of engineers, the high employment rate and low unemployment rate among engineers in Sweden makes it difficult for companies to attract them. This issue is often described as ‘The War for Talent’. The War for Talent is a greater issue for organisations within the public sector because of negative prejudices, reputations and stereotypes. This and the fact that there are limited resources for marketing within the public sector when they are funded by the government, make it difficult to compete with organisations within the private sector. The public sector in Sweden is relatively large, and The Swedish Transport Administration is a large company within the public sector that need to prepare for the war for talents among companies within the private sector. The purpose of this research is to investigate work value preferences of professional engineers and important recruitment aspects to consider, when choosing an employer. To deal with the war of talents effectively, the concept of employer branding has been developed as an effective organisational strategy for employment. In the report, we will study the concept of employer branding and the employer branding process, work value preferences and important recruitment aspects to enhance understanding of how companies can attract professional engineers in Sweden, to initiate a career within the public sector. Our data collection was through qualitative interviews with eight professional engineers, both from the private and the public sector. Our study developed an adapted framework with work values preferred by Swedish professional engineers that can be used as a guide to help and enable to attract and recruit engineers towards the public sector. We found differences between the public sector and the private, and six core values preferred by Swedish professional engineers, where organisations in the public sector should put a certain emphasis on two of them. There were some certain preferences among recruitment channels, and we found that recruitment strategies could enhance, improve or damage the brand and that the corporate reputation affects the opinion of the company. We also have some specific recommendations towards the case company.

Submitted by Mariana Dornelles Vargas (marianadv) on 2015-03-20T13:19:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 dinamicas_competitivas.pdf: 1702018 bytes, checksum: a7f7e9c2098a95a895b1aab3780c69a1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-20T13:19:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dinamicas_competitivas.pdf: 1702018 bytes, checksum: a7f7e9c2098a95a895b1aab3780c69a1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Nenhuma / Em um ambiente de negócios globalizado, que está em constante mudança, as organizações hospitalares vêm evoluindo e adaptando-se às exigências a elas impostas, ora pelo governo através de políticas de saúde publica, ora pelo mercado por meio da pressão natural pela eficiência, efetividade, e pela busca da sustentabilidade econômica. Ao abordar o tema de dinâmicas competitivas no setor da saúde no âmbito das organizações hospitalares filantrópicas de Porto Alegre, o presente estudo investiga sobre as transformações e movimentos estratégicos que ocorrem nestas organizações.As dificuldades financeiras enfrentadas pela maioria das organizações hospitalares filantrópicas brasileiras, que são aquelas que tem um regime especial de isenção de impostos, vêm despertando preocupações de ordem política e social e se tornado, nos últimos anos, um dos maiores desafios enfrentados pelas supracitadas entidades. A escolha do tema justifica-se pelo fato de o setor da saúde ter importância capital para a o bem estar de qualquer sociedade, e isto se dá não só pela natureza de suas operações, mas também por fomentar o desenvolvimento científico e tecnológico. O objetivo deste estudo consistiu em responder a seguinte questão de pesquisa: quais as dinâmicas competitivas que se manifestam atualmente no ambiente das instituições filantrópicas de saúde de Porto Alegre? O método escolhido teve um caráter qualitativo a partir de um estudo de caso exploratório. Para tanto, foram entrevistados seis diretores de entidades de saúde referenciais de Porto Alegre, o Secretário Adjunto da Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Porto Alegre, dois ex Secretários Estaduais da Saúde do Rio Grande do Sul, um ex Secretário Nacional da Saúde, o diretor presidente da Federação dos Hospitais do Rio Grande do Sul, o diretor presidente do Sindicato dos Hospitais e Clínicas de Porto Alegre, o superintendente de uma operadora de saúde complementar, três representantes da cadeia de suprimentos de saúde, e um representante de serviços de imagem e diagnóstico. Foi aplicado um questionário semiestruturado, direcionado para cada categoria de entrevistado, contemplando questões referentes ao ambiente regulatório no segmento de saúde, as implicações da sustentabilidade para diferentes entidades, as estratégias adotadas no setor, as pressões exercidas pelas forças que governam a competição no ambiente da saúde, e elementos referentes a proposição de valor nos serviços médicos. As entrevistas foram gravadas e transcritas, procedendo-se a análise de conteúdo, como método de análise e interpretação dos dados coletados. Os resultados indicam a adoção de estratégias empresariais distintas por parte das entidades pesquisadas, cabendo ressaltar: a cooperação como uma orientação estratégica predominante, a proposição de valor como forma de posicionamento, horizontalização das entidades de saúde e foco em especialidades de alta complexidade. O ambiente regulatório do setor, assim como localização geográfica e porte organizacional são apresentados como elementos que condicionam o teor das respostas das entidades hospitalares pesquisadas. / In a globalized business environment, wich is constantly changing, hospitals organizations have been evolving and adapting to the demands imposed on them, either by the government, through public health policies or by the market, through the natural pressure for efficiency and effectiveness, and the pursuit of economic sustainability. When approaching the theme of competitive dynamics in the health section within the philanthropic hospital organizations from the city of Porto Alegre, the present study investigates the transformation and strategic movements that occur in the institutions. The financial difficulties faced by most Brazilian philanthropic hospital health care organizations, which are those with a special tax exemption, have been raising concerns of political and social order and has become, in recent years, one of the biggest challenges faced by the entities already mentioned. The choice of the theme is justified by the fact that the health sector has capital importance, for any society's welfare, not only by the nature of its operations, but also for fostering scientific and technological development. The aim of this study consisted in answering the following question: what are the competitive dynamics that are currently displayed in the environment of the philanthropic health instutions in Porto Alegre? The chosen method had a qualitative character from an exploratory case study. In order to do this, six directors of health care reference entities from Porto Alegre were interviewed, the Secretary of Health of city, two former Secretaries of Health of Rio Grande do Sul, a former National Secretary of Health, two directors of professional associations, the superintendent of an operator of health security plan, three representatives of the supply chain health, and a representative of imaging services and diagnosis. It was applied a semi-structured questionnaire, directed to each category of respondent, covering issues like the regulatory environment in the healthcare segment, the implications of sustainability for different entities, the strategies adopted in the sector, the pressures imposed by the forces that govern the competition, and elements regarding the value proposition to medical services. The interviews were taped and transcribed, and proceed to content analysis, as analysis method and data interpretation. The results indicate the adoption of distinguished strategies by the surveyed entities, highlighting the cooperation as prevailing strategic orientation, the value proposition as a way of positioning, horizontalization of the health institutions and focus on high complexity specialties. The regulatory environment of the sector, as well as its geographical localization and organizational vessel are presented as elements that subject the contents of the surveyed hospital entities' answers.

Submitted by Nara Lays Domingues Viana Oliveira (naradv) on 2015-08-31T14:52:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 trento.pdf: 349792 bytes, checksum: 4458108b507b516de0a6dadd4e324eed (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-08-31T14:52:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 trento.pdf: 349792 bytes, checksum: 4458108b507b516de0a6dadd4e324eed (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-26 / Nenhuma / Este estudo analisa como empresas fabricantes de produtos e serviços de tecnologia identificam, avaliam e gerenciam oportunidades de agregação de valor. Foram investigadas dez fornecedoras de produtos e serviços de tecnologia. Os achados indicam que a identificação de oportunidades requer que os fornecedores desenvolvam relacionamentos e contatos em diferentes níveis com o cliente. Esses relacionamentos objetivam identificar oportunidades de agregação de valor, remover barreiras à compra, fundamentar ofertas de preços, aprimorar propostas comerciais, e conhecer os movimentos e inovações da concorrência. Problemas técnicos ou comerciais ocorridos no passado podem influenciar negativamente na futura identificação de oportunidades de criação de valor entre as partes. Os fornecedores avaliam a viabilidade de exploração de uma oportunidade de agregação de valor junto a seus clientes a partir da consideração conjunta de aspectos técnicos, operacionais, mercadológicos (internos e externos) e estratégicos. O posicionamento final do fornecedor acerca da exploração da oportunidade de agregação de valor é determinado pela análise estratégica da oportunidade. Essa análise define se o fornecedor desenvolverá soluções inovadoras e menos sensíveis à guerra de preços para ampliar margens, ou aprimorará soluções existentes com o intuito de aumentar a competitividade dessas, ou, então, se o fornecedor deixará a oportunidade para seus concorrentes. O gerenciamento das oportunidades de agregação de valor requer que as empresas identifiquem os benefícios que a solução agrega ao cliente. Esses benefícios são quantificados de forma a subsidiar a definição das proposições de valor a serem, posteriormente, apresentadas aos clientes. Este estudo analisa como empresas fabricantes de produtos e serviços de tecnologia identificam, avaliam e gerenciam oportunidades de agregação de valor. Foram investigadas dez fornecedoras de produtos e serviços de tecnologia. Os achados indicam que a identificação de oportunidades requer que os fornecedores desenvolvam relacionamentos e contatos em diferentes níveis com o cliente. Esses relacionamentos objetivam identificar oportunidades de agregação de valor, remover barreiras à compra, fundamentar ofertas de preços, aprimorar propostas comerciais, e conhecer os movimentos e inovações da concorrência. Problemas técnicos ou comerciais ocorridos no passado podem influenciar negativamente na futura identificação de oportunidades de criação de valor entre as partes. Os fornecedores avaliam a viabilidade de exploração de uma oportunidade de agregação de valor junto a seus clientes a partir da consideração conjunta de aspectos técnicos, operacionais, mercadológicos (internos e externos) e estratégicos. O posicionamento final do fornecedor acerca da exploração da oportunidade de agregação de valor é determinado pela análise estratégica da oportunidade. Essa análise define se o fornecedor desenvolverá soluções inovadoras e menos sensíveis à guerra de preços para ampliar margens, ou aprimorará soluções existentes com o intuito de aumentar a competitividade dessas, ou, então, se o fornecedor deixará a oportunidade para seus concorrentes. O gerenciamento das oportunidades de agregação de valor requer que as empresas identifiquem os benefícios que a solução agrega ao cliente. Esses benefícios são quantificados de forma a subsidiar a definição das proposições de valor a serem, posteriormente, apresentadas aos clientes. / This paper analyzes how product manufacturers and technology service providers identify, evaluate, and manage value-added opportunities. The study looks into ten product manufacturers and technology service providers. The findings indicate that the identification of opportunities requires that the suppliers develop customer relationships and contacts at different levels. The purpose of such relationships is to identify value-added opportunities, remove barriers to buying, make price offers, improve business propositions, and get to know the competitors’ moves and innovation initiatives. Past technical and business issues may adversely influence the future identification of opportunities of co-creation of value between the parties. The suppliers evaluate the feasibility of exploring a value-added opportunity with their customers by means of a joint consideration of technical, operational, marketing (internal and external) and strategic aspects. The suppliers make their final decision whether or not to explore value-added opportunities based on a strategic analysis of the opportunity. The analysis defines whether the supplier will develop innovative solutions that are less sensitive to the price wars to increase their margins, improve the existing solutions in order to enhance their competitiveness, or leave the opportunity to their competitors. The management of value-added opportunities requires that the companies identify the benefits that the solution adds to the customer. Those benefits are quantified so as to subsidize the definition of proposed values that will then be presented to the customers.

El presente Trabajo de Investigación tiene como finalidad plantear el desarrollo de una Plataforma de Auto Decoración que permite al usuario poder decorar su hogar sin la necesidad de contratar los servicios de un decorador. Esta propuesta estará dirigida al NSE B y C de Lima Metropolitana. Los sondeos de mercado realizados permitieron validar la viabilidad del modelo de negocio propuesto, así como la propuesta de valor del mismo, tanto para el consumidor final (Business to Consumer) como para los comercios locales de venta de artículos decorativos que sean parte de esta plataforma (Business to Business). Para desarrollar este modelo de Startup, se requerirá de una inversión inicial de S/.116,550 nuevos soles, donde la mayor inversión estará destinada al programa principal de la plataforma: Realidad Aumentada. En cuanto a los ingresos, se considera que se obtendrán tanto por parte del Business to Consumer (B2C) como del Business to Business (B2B) y los gastos, la mayor parte estará destinada a los gastos de Marketing Online y Offline, acciones comerciales y el mantenimiento de la plataforma digital. La estrategia del plan de negocio estará enfocada en desarrollar un sólido plan de marketing online y offline basado en la Experiencia, Exchange, Evangelism y Everyplace del Marketing Mix con la finalidad de: generar audiencia de consumidores potenciales, generar acuerdos comerciales con empresas locales de venta de artículos decorativos, a través de una plataforma que sea simple e intuitiva gracias a la tecnología de la Realidad Aumentada. / The following Research Work is about the creation of a Self-Decoration Platform that will allow users to decorate their own spaces without the need to hire an interior decorator. This business plan is aimed to people for the Socio-economic Level B and C of Lima Metropolitana. A market research was made to ratify the viability of this Business Plan and the value proposition for both the business-to-consumer and business-to-business. To develop this Startup Model, it will require an initial investment of S/.116,550 nuevos soles. The highest investment will be related to the main component of the platform: Augmented Reality. About the revenues, will be derived from the Business to Consumer (B2C) and from the Business to Business (B2B). On the other hand, the expenditure will mostly be from the Marketing Online and Offline, the commercial activities and maintenance of the digital platform. The strategy of this Business Plan is focusing on building a Marketing Online and Offline based on the Experience, Exchange, Evangelism and Everyplace of the Marketing Mix. The aim is to generate audience of potential customers, generate commercial agreements with local enterprises that sales decorative products that will become our principal stakeholders. All this will be done through a simple and intuitive digital platform thanks to the Augmented Reality. / Trabajo de Investigación

The research for this thesis "Options for Developing a New Mid Micron Value Proposition for Consumers", is a part of a larger "New Mid Micron Products" project initiated by Mid Micron New Zealand Inc with the key goal of turning the Mid Micron Sector into a more vibrant and profitable one. The motivation for the project can be found in the dramatic fall in demand for New Zealand Mid Micron wool over the past decade. Two dominant causes for the fall in demand for Mid Micron wool were identified: the substandard skin comfort of final products made from Mid Micron wool, and a problem with the structure of the Mid Micron Sector. These problems are addressed in the "New Mid Micron Products" project that combines new product development and new marketing initiatives. Product development involved the use of new spinning technology to improve skin comfort quality and develop new products that are softer and prickle free. The aim is to extract more value for woolgrowers by having the wool converted into a higher value product. The new marketing initiatives, which were identified in this thesis research, Focusing On New Market Segments via E-Commerce and Reconfiguring The Value Chain, and concentrate on the operational issues of capturing the value from the newly developed Mid Micron products. Taking into account the nature of the overall Mid Micron Project and type of developed products, this research identified the Operational Excellence and Product Leadership models as alternative routes to develop a new Mid Micron Value Proposition for consumers. Operational Excellence, and the associated Cost Leadership strategy, is a low capital investment option, while Product Leadership and the associated Differentiation strategy is a high capital investment option. The models' principles and their elements, products, price and delivery to market, are evaluated in the context of the Mid Micron Business.

Šimkevičienė, D. (2008) Didmeninės prekybos įmonės ir jos atstovaujamų prekių ženklų žinomumo vaidmuo formuojant vertybinį pasiūlymą darbuotojams. Magistratūros baigiamasis darbas. Vilnius: ISM Vadybos ir ekonomikos universitetas. Darbo tikslas – Nustatyti didmeninės prekybos įmonės ir jos atstovaujamų prekės ženklų žinomumo reikšmę renkantis didmeninės prekybos įmonę, kaip darbdavį. Darbo dalys. Pirmajame darbo etape atlikta mokslinės literatūros analizė ir apibendrinimas. Joje išnagrinėta darbdavio, kaip prekės ženklo žinomumo vertė esamiems ir potencialiems darbuotojams. Taip pat darbuotojų įsitraukimo į darbdavio prekės ženklo kūrimą svarba ir prekių ženklų architektūros tipai. Šio etapo rezultatas – nustatyti patrauklaus darbdavio prekės ženklo kūrimo atributai ir įvardintas prekių ženklų architektūros tipas atitinkantis didmeninės prekybos įmones. Antrajame šio darbo etape empiriniu tyrimu nustatyta kokį svorį didmeninės prekybos įmonės darbdavio pasiūlymo krepšelyje sudaro kompanijos ir jos atstovaujamų prekės ženklų žinomumas. Rezultatai. Tyrimas leido nustatyti ir įvertinti didmeninės prekybos įmonės ir jos atstovaujamų prekės ženklų žinomumo santykinį suvokiamą naudingumą renkantis didmeninės prekybos įmonę, kaip darbdavį, bei per matuotus atributus įvertinti kompanijos ir jos atstovaujamų prekių ženklų žinomumo lygius, kurie buvo išreikšti per atlyginimo dydį procentais. Darbo mokslinė reikšmė. Išnagrinėti iki šiol mažai tirti ryšiai tarp didmeninės prekybos įmonės... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Šimkevičienė, D. (2008) The role of brand recognition and brands representing a distribution company in modelling employee value propositions. Final Master‘s Thesis. Vilnius: ISM University of Management and Economics. Objective of the Thesis: to identify the significance of brand recognition and brands representing a distribution company in selecting a distribution company as an employer. Parts of the Thesis. The first phase of the Thesis included the analysis of scientific literature and summary. During this phase, the analysis of an employer’s value as brand recognition for current and potential employees was executed. The importance of involvement of employees into the employer’s branding, and types of brand architecture were highlighted. The outcome of this phase of the Thesis is: identification of attributes an engaging employer branding; specification of the type of brand architecture complying with the distribution companies. During the second phase of the Thesis the empiric survey provided for specification of standing of a company’s brand recognition and representing brands in the employer’s package offer of a distribution company. Outcomes. The survey provided for the identification and evaluation of relative perceptible utility of brand recognition and brands representing a distribution company in selecting a distribution company as an employer; and evaluation, through the measured attributes, the levels of brand recognition and brands representing a company... [to full text]

Forskare och praktiker är överens om att digital tjänsteinnovation är en absolut nödvändighet för organisatorisk överlevnad. Att tillämpa ett tjänsteperspektiv vid innovationsarbete är emellertid inte någon mindre förändring. Det är ett paradigmskifte där traditionella ideal ersätts med nya. Det nya tjänsteorienterade idealet påverkar också den organisatoriska innovationsprocessen och dess resultat. Resultatet förändras bland annat genom att fokus i den digitala innovationsprocessen flyttas från produkt till ett digitalt värdeerbjudande som består av ett antal olika komponenter och resurser. Något som är viktigt för att förbättra möjligheter för att effektivisera den digital tjänsteinnovationsprocessen. Problemet vi adresserar är att det saknas kunskap om vilka komponenter ett tjänsteorienterat värdeerbjudande består av i en i en IT-kontext. Att okritiskt tillämpa kunskap identifierad i en kontext till en annan är problematiskt eftersom attribut i kontexter kan skilja sig åt. Problemet får stöd av nyligen publicerade forskningsresultat som efterfrågar fler studier om värdeerbjudandets uppbyggnad i olika kontexter. Syftet med denna kandidatuppsats inom informatik är att undersöka hur det digitala värdeerbjudandet sätts samman i en tjänsteorienterad IT-kontext. För att uppfylla syftet har vi följt fallstudiemetoden där fyra anonymiserade organisationers digitala värdeerbjudanden har studerats. Data har samlats in genom granskning av relaterad litteratur, samt semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra respondenter med olika roller från respektive organisation. Inför de semistrukturerade intervjuerna har en intervjuguide tagits fram utifrån konceptuell modell som baserats på tidigare forskning inom området. Resultatet visar att värdeerbjudandet i en IT-kontext består av tio komponenter, grupperade i tre dimensioner. Fem av dessa metoder är signifikanta för tillämpningen av befintliga ramverk vanligt förekommande inom IT-kontexten. Studiens resultat visar att ett värdeerbjudandets komponenter i en IT-kontext inkluderar följande processer: tjänsteportföljsprocessen, business relationship management, incidenthantering, tillgänglighetshantering, samt change management. Den empiriska studien resulterade även i framtagande av en konceptuell modell av ett digitalt värdeerbjudande. / Scientists and practitioners agree that digital service innovation is an absolute necessity for organizational survival. Applying a service dominant logic to innovation work, however, is not a minor change. It is a paradigm shift where traditional ideals are replaced with new ones. The new service-dominant ideal also affects the organizational digital innovation process and its results. The result is, among other things, changing the focus of the digital innovation process from product to a digital value proposition consisting of a number of different components and resources. Something that is important for improving opportunities to streamline the service innovation process. The problem we address is that there is no knowledge of which components a service-dominant value propositions consists of in an IT context. Uncritically applying knowledge identified in context to another is problematic because attributes in context can differ. The problem is supported by recently published research results that demand more studies about the value proposition structure in different contexts. The purpose of this report is to investigate how the value proposition is put together in a service-dominant IT context. In order to fulfil the purpose, we have followed the case study methodology where four anonymous organizations' value propositions have been studied. Data has been collected by reviewing related literature as well as semi structured interviews with four respondents with different roles from each organization. Before the semi structured interviews, an interview guide has been developed based on a conceptual model based on previous research in the field. The result shows that the value propositions in an IT context consists of ten components grouped into three dimensions. Five of these methods are significant for the application of existing frameworks commonly used in the IT context. The study results show that value propositions components in an IT context include the following processes: service portfolio process, business relationship management, incident management, availability management and change management. The empirical study also resulted in the development of a conceptual model of a digital value proposition.

This study examines how digitalization changes the value proposition and the business model within the forest industry from the perspective of the forest owners and how this changes the experienced customer value. Previous studies have focused on how digitalization creates value for the company, and this study contributes to research by giving insights in how the customers perceive a digitalization and is useful in the design of the value proposition and the business model.  The Swedish forest industry is highly competitive and the companies have to compete for the wood and forest service jobs, which puts pressure on the wood buyers to offer the best solutions and the best customer experience to be able to compete for the wood. According to a study about digital Customer Experience Management (CEM) maturity, the forest industry is far behind other industries such as finance and retail. The low maturity is due to skepticism and the lack of urgency. However, this is starting to change as some forest companies in Sweden are starting to formulate digital strategies and form dedicated units for digital innovation in order to differentiate their offering and strengthen competitiveness.     The problem is that many forest companies do not know how to handle the forest owners, as they are a heterogeneous group with differences in age, internet usage, computer knowledge and customer needs. Another problem is that there is an expressed concern that a digitalization would diminish the personal relationship between the forest owner and the wood buyer, which denotes a fundamental part of the experienced customer value. Former studies show that the key to successful digitalization is to understand what the customers want and what creates the best customer experience. With the base in these problems, this study aims to create understanding for what value the customers experience in digitalization, and how the forest companies can adapt to this. The purpose of this study is to “describe and analyze how the value proposition changes from a customer perspective when the forest business is digitalized”. To answer this a case study has been conducted on the company Holmen Skog in which the experienced customer value has been compared before and after a digitalization using the value proposition and the business model. Customer value is defined as the balance between the perceived benefits and sacrifices and the results show that the forest owners foremost perceive that a digitalization increase the functional and emotional benefits while the sacrifices considering psychological costs and personal investment decrease. The areas where customer value potentially can decrease due to a digitalization are decreased social benefits when the digital transactions exchanges the personal relationship and increased sacrifices in the shape of increased risks, foremost for customers with a low digital maturity. The forest owners are mainly positive to a digitalization, but since there are areas where the customer value potentially could decrease, it is not possible to design a complete value proposition only from customer surveys. The forest companies should rather work agile and stepwise implement small digital changes, performing pilot studies before introduction. Initially the forest companies should focus on digital tools and to inquiry quotes and counselling through digital channels, as the customers perceive the highest value in these digital changes. Furthermore, the forest companies should facilitate and rationalize the work of the wood buyers by giving them an integrated and mobile tool that collects CRM-system, quote tools, and wood measuring tools, both for streamlining and for customer value. / Den här studien undersöker hur digitalisering förändrar värdeerbjudandet och affärsmodellen inom skogsbranschen utifrån skogsägarnas perspektiv och hur detta förändrar det upplevda kundvärdet. Tidigare studier har fokuserat på vilket värde en digitalisering skapar för företaget, och denna studie bidrar genom att ge insikter i kundernas syn på en digitalisering och hur detta kan användas för att utforma värdeerbjudandet och affärsmodellen. Skogsbranschen präglas av en hög konkurrens om skogsägarnas virke och skogliga tjänsteuppdrag vilket sätter press på de virkesköpande aktörerna att erbjuda de bästa lösningarna och den bästa kundupplevelsen för att kunna konkurrera om skogsråvaran. Enligt en undersökning kring digital Customer Experience Management (CEM) mognad ligger skogsbranschen efter andra branschen som finans- och detaljhandelsbranschen. Den låga mognaden förklaras bero på skepticism och avsaknad av brådska. Detta har dock börjat förändras då en del skogsbolag har börjat formulera digitala strategier och införa dedicerade enheter för digital innovation för att differentiera sitt erbjudande och skapa konkurrenskraft. Problemet är att de flesta skogsbolag inte vet hur de ska hantera skogsägarna då det är en heterogen kundgrupp där det skiljer stort i ålder, internetanvändning, datorkunskap och kundbehov samt att det finns en uttalad risk i att den personliga relationen mellan virkesköpare och skogsägare kan förringas vid en digitalisering. Tidigare studier visar att nyckeln till en lyckad digitalisering är att förstå vad kunderna vill ha och vad som skapar den bästa kundupplevelsen. Med utgångspunkt i dessa utmaningar avser därmed studien att skapa förståelse för vilket värde kunderna ser i en digitalisering och hur skogsbolagen bör anpassa sig till detta. Syftet med studien är att ”Beskriva och analysera hur värdeerbjudandet förändras ur ett kundvärdesperspektiv då skogsaffären digitaliseras”. För att besvara detta har en fallstudie gjorts på det svenska skogsbolaget Holmen Skog där det upplevda kundvärdet jämförs före och efter en digitalisering utifrån företagets värdeerbjudande och affärsmodell. Kundvärde definieras som avvägningen mellan upplevda fördelar och uppoffringar och resultatet visar att skogsägarna främst upplever att de funktionella och emotionella fördelarna ökar samtidigt som uppoffringar i form av psykologiska kostnaderna och den personliga investeringen minskar. De områden där kundvärdet potentiellt kan minska vid en digitalisering är uppoffringar i form av risker, främst för skogsägare med en låg digital mognad, och sociala fördelar när skogsaffären blir helt digital och relationen med virkesköparen förringas. Skogsägarna är överlag positiva till en digitalisering, men då det finns områden där kundvärdet potentiellt kan försämras går det inte att enbart genom kundundersökningar utforma värdeerbjudandet utan skogsbolagen bör arbeta agilt och genomföra digitala förändringar i små steg där pilotstudier genomförs innan nya lösningar lanseras. Initialt bör skogsbolagen fokusera på digitala verktyg samt offertförfrågning och rådgivning via digitala kanaler då skogsägarna ser störst värde i detta. De borde även underlätta och effektivisera virkesköparnas arbete genom att ge dem ett fullt integrerat och mobilt verktyg som samlar CRM-system, offert- och virkesmätverktyg för både effektivisering och att skapa kundvärde.

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.