Uppsatsen syftar till att undersöka efterfrågan på Rättvisemärkt kaffe och vilka faktorer som påverkar denna. I uppsatsen diskuteras även hur rättvist Rättvisemärkt är egentligen och ifall producenter i u-länder påverkas positivt eller negativt av att konsumenter i väst handlar Rättvisemärkt.   För att utreda efterfrågan har en betalningsviljestudie genomförts på studenter på Karlstads Universitet. Resultaten från studien pekar på att efterfrågan på Rättvisemärkt kaffe är relativt hög bland studenterna, vilket överensstämmer med tidigare rapporter som visat att efterfrågan på Rättvisemärkt kaffe ökar. Vad det gäller faktorer som påverkar betalningsviljan har kön samt inkomst visat sig vara av betydelse. Ålder verkar dock inte vara en avgörande faktor. För att utreda hur rättvist Rättvisemärkt egentligen är har en litteraturbaserad studie om Rättvisemärkts för- och nackdelar gjorts. Vissa forskare menar att Rättvisemärkt har en positiv inverkan på bönder och arbetare i utvecklingsländer, medan andra anser att Rättvisemärkt inte alls fyller sitt syfte utan i många fall har negativ inverkan. / The essay aims to examine the demand for Fairtrade coffee and the factors influencing it. It also discusses how fair Fairtrade really is and whether producers in developing countries are positively or negatively affected by consumption of Fairtrade products in the west.     In order to investigate the demand, a willingness-to-pay study was implemented on students at Karlstad University. The results from the study indicate that the demand for Fairtrade coffee is relatively high among the students, which is consistent with previous reports which have shown that the demand for Fairtrade coffee is increasing. Regarding factors affecting the willingness to pay, sex and income have proved themselves important. Age, however, does not seem to be an essential factor.  In order to examine how fair Fairtrade really is, a literature based study concerning Fairtrade’s benefits and disadvantages was conducted. Some researches argue that Fairtrade is affecting farmers and workers in developing countries positively while others argue that Fairtrade does not fulfill its purpose and in many cases has a negative impact.

Abstract The purpose of our thesis was to comprehend how organizations approach the Corporate Social Contract that exists between them and society. The empirical data was gathered to reflect a comprehension of the Corporate Social Contract as a whole and as the product of its components, i.e.: Corporate Social Responsibility and Reciprocity. Other concepts interconnected with our main topic were also used in order to better comprehend the concept of Corporate Social Contract as well as our interpretations of the collected empirical data. These interconnected concepts were Corporate Sustainability, Corporate Citizenship, Shared Value, and Willingness to Pay.   The research work was approached from the qualitative standpoint. Considering that the perspective of our thesis was an organizational one, we approached 5 organizations within which to conduct interviews on the stated topic. Our aim was merely to understand the organizational perspective and approach to the concept of Corporate Social Contract, not to compare these perspectives and approaches.   Each of the chosen organizations met certain basic criteria mentioned in our work that permitted us to include them in our sample. The thesis’ conclusion reflected various organizational approaches towards Corporate Social Contract from the angle of Corporate Social Responsibility as well as varying perspectives on, and expectations of, society’s reciprocity. The study has shown that our view of the equal importance of the concepts of CSR and Reciprocity, within the framework of CSC fulfillment, is an under investigated area in both academics and in the practical business world. This has also been supported by our interviewees’ view on expectations, placed on society, as an implicit area in their organizations’ policies. Through our study we have uncovered practical reasons as to why CSC cannot be fulfilled all the time, how expectations between both organizations and society differ from project to project, and the importance of societal reciprocity in the aim of CSC fulfillment. And thus, through our study, we endeavor to comprehend how organizations fulfill the CSC and how they view society’s attempts to fulfill its end of the contract.   As a result of our work, future students and researchers stand to gain insights into the mentalities of organizations that hail from different industries and are based in different parts of the world. Future students and researchers could also derive their own interpretations of our respondents words based on the culture prevalent in the country in which the respondents are based. Apart from this, one can note that the respondents were also from a range of departments and their professionally skewed perspective on our topic makes for an interesting contribution to those seeking insights into our topic and those interlinked.   Key Words: Corporate Social Contract, Corporate Social Responsibility, Reciprocity, Corporate Sustainability, Corporate Citizenship, Shared Value, and Willingness to Pay.

The bison industry has limited resources for increasing market share. Exploring how consumers react to information about bison and discovering what people know about bison is important to determine the most efficient way to increase market share and ensure the sustainability of the bison industry. <p> This thesis examines the impact of three different information treatments on willingness-to-pay for bison. The three treatments are a nutritional comparison chart of negatively-perceived nutrients, a bison taste testimonial from a chef and a statement concerning the absence of growth hormones and antibiotics in the processed bison product used in the research. The hypothesis tested is that nutritional information about bison would elicit the greatest increase in willingness-to-pay for the processed bison product. <p> A random nth-price auction was conducted in December 2002 in Guelph, Ontario with 57 participants to elicit willingness-to-pay values for the processed bison product. Participants initial bids for the processed bison product were elicited without being given any information and a second round of bidding was conducted once participants had reviewed an information treatment. The mean difference in the bids between round two and round one are $0.221 for the nutritional comparison treatment, $0.210 for the taste testimonial treatment and $0.185 for the natural aspects treatment. ANOVA results indicate no statistically significant difference between the mean difference in bids between the three treatments. Further analysis with a regression model using the difference in bids as the dependent variable, dummy variables representing treatment types and survey data for the other relevant independent variables, shows that the coefficient for the nutritional comparison treatment is not significantly different from zero. Therefore, the hypothesis that nutritional information about bison would elicit the greatest increase in willingness-to-pay for the processed bison product has been rejected. The other independent variables examined in the regression are not significant. <p> This thesis does not clearly indicate which information treatment would be the most effective for the bison industry to utilize in a bison information campaign. However, each information treatment did increase the group mean willingness-to-pay so any information relevant to consumers about bison may be beneficial in increasing market share for bison products. Industry participants may need to work together to simultaneously increase awareness, distribution and consumption of bison products to ensure the sustainability of the bison industry.

Private Environmental Preference (PEP), measured by the willingness to spend on pollution reduction and its casual factors. A PEP model is constructed for Canada, China, India, and USA using data from the World Value Survey and Structural Equation Models. The results revealed that the most important factors are: environmental organization membership, acknowledgement of global environmental problems, Machiavellian attitudes towards money, and confidence in governing bodies. Other significant factors include: the acknowledgement of local environmental problems, income level, occupational characteristics, and work ethic. The acknowledgement of global problems and confidence in governing bodies increase PEP, while Machiavellian attitudes towards money reduce PEP across all four countries. Environmental organizational membership on PEP increase PEP in Canada and USA, but decrease PEP in India. White-collar occupational characteristics have a positive effect on PEP in Canada, but negative in China and India. Policy recommendations are provided given these observations.

Private Environmental Preference (PEP), measured by the willingness to spend on pollution reduction and its casual factors. A PEP model is constructed for Canada, China, India, and USA using data from the World Value Survey and Structural Equation Models. The results revealed that the most important factors are: environmental organization membership, acknowledgement of global environmental problems, Machiavellian attitudes towards money, and confidence in governing bodies. Other significant factors include: the acknowledgement of local environmental problems, income level, occupational characteristics, and work ethic. The acknowledgement of global problems and confidence in governing bodies increase PEP, while Machiavellian attitudes towards money reduce PEP across all four countries. Environmental organizational membership on PEP increase PEP in Canada and USA, but decrease PEP in India. White-collar occupational characteristics have a positive effect on PEP in Canada, but negative in China and India. Policy recommendations are provided given these observations.

This thesis contains six papers closely related to current research topics in the field of economic evaluation in health care. The thesis discusses methodological features of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA). It further relates to issues of modelling and how to account for uncertainty in economic evaluations. The thesis contributes both with an analysis of the costs and benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and new approaches for analysing uncertainty in economic evaluations. The first part of the thesis (Papers 1-4) analyses the costs and benefits of HRT in the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal women’s health problems. The second part of the thesis (Papers 5-6) analyses issues of uncertainty in economic evaluations. Contents: Paper 1: Willingness to Pay for Hormone Replacement Therapy. (A revised version of this paper has been published in Health Economics, Vol. 7 No. 1, 1998, pp 31-38.) Paper 2: The Impact of Hormone Replacement Therapy on Quality of Life and willingness to Pay. (Co-authored with Magnus Johannesson, Peter Henriksson and Roland T. Strand.) (This paper was published in British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Vol. 104, 1997, pp 1191-1195.) Paper 3: Estimating Hip Fracture Costs and Potential Savings. (Co-authored with Ulf-G Gerdtham.) (This paper was published in International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, Vol. 14, 1998, pp 255-267.) Paper 4: A Computer Model to Analyse the Cost-Effectiveness of Hormone Replacement Therapy (Co-authored with Magnus Johannesson and Bengt Jönsson.) (A revised version of this paper has been published in International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, Vol. 15, No. 2, Spring 1999, pp 352-365.) Paper 5: Bootstrap Confidence Intervals for Cost-Effectiveness Ratios: Some Simulation Results. (Co-authored with Magnus Tambour.) (A revised version of this paper has been published in Health Economics, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp 143-147.) Paper 6: Non-Parametric Willingness to Pay Measures and Confidence Statements. (Co-authored with Magnus Tambour.) / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.</p>

The bison industry has limited resources for increasing market share. Exploring how consumers react to information about bison and discovering what people know about bison is important to determine the most efficient way to increase market share and ensure the sustainability of the bison industry. <p> This thesis examines the impact of three different information treatments on willingness-to-pay for bison. The three treatments are a nutritional comparison chart of negatively-perceived nutrients, a bison taste testimonial from a chef and a statement concerning the absence of growth hormones and antibiotics in the processed bison product used in the research. The hypothesis tested is that nutritional information about bison would elicit the greatest increase in willingness-to-pay for the processed bison product. <p> A random nth-price auction was conducted in December 2002 in Guelph, Ontario with 57 participants to elicit willingness-to-pay values for the processed bison product. Participants initial bids for the processed bison product were elicited without being given any information and a second round of bidding was conducted once participants had reviewed an information treatment. The mean difference in the bids between round two and round one are $0.221 for the nutritional comparison treatment, $0.210 for the taste testimonial treatment and $0.185 for the natural aspects treatment. ANOVA results indicate no statistically significant difference between the mean difference in bids between the three treatments. Further analysis with a regression model using the difference in bids as the dependent variable, dummy variables representing treatment types and survey data for the other relevant independent variables, shows that the coefficient for the nutritional comparison treatment is not significantly different from zero. Therefore, the hypothesis that nutritional information about bison would elicit the greatest increase in willingness-to-pay for the processed bison product has been rejected. The other independent variables examined in the regression are not significant. <p> This thesis does not clearly indicate which information treatment would be the most effective for the bison industry to utilize in a bison information campaign. However, each information treatment did increase the group mean willingness-to-pay so any information relevant to consumers about bison may be beneficial in increasing market share for bison products. Industry participants may need to work together to simultaneously increase awareness, distribution and consumption of bison products to ensure the sustainability of the bison industry.

Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about their foods and more particularly, the origin of their foods and the ingredients they contain. In light of the demand for additional origin information, the 100% Canadian milk branding initiative was launched in 2009 as a means of informing consumers about the origin of milk in their dairy products. The information is indicated by the presence of the 100% Canadian milk symbol on dairy products and can be characterized a form of co-branding. The literature on co-branding stipulates that co-branding can result in changed product perceptions either negatively or positively. In addition, the willingness to pay (WTP) literature stipulates that WTP is determined by product attributes and individuals’ characteristics. This thesis therefore seeks to ascertain the factors affecting consumers’ preferences and WTP for products with the 100% Canadian milk symbol. Specifically, the effects of individual characteristics such as health consciousness, patriotic values and risk perceptions on preferences for dairy products with the symbol are evaluated. Concurrently, the study explores the relationship between respondents’ knowledge of the Canadian dairy industry and WTP for the symbol. Data were gathered from a total of 1012 milk and ice cream consumers using two nationwide internet surveys. Estimations are carried out using the Multinomial Logit (MNL) and the Random Parameter Logit models (RPL). The results suggest that consumers in general have positive perceptions of milk and ice cream with the 100% Canadian milk symbol but negatively perceive store brand and organic labels. However, in some cases, combining a store brand label or organic label with the 100% Canadian milk symbol, are shown to alter consumers’ perceptions of the product. Some socio-demographic variables and individual characteristics were also found to be influential in intended purchase behaviours and WTP for milk and ice cream. The findings from this study provide information on consumers’ perceptions and attribute preferences and are expected therefore to contribute to the marketing strategies of the Canadian dairy industry as a whole.

This study assessed the desirability for High-Occupancy/Toll (HOT) lanes in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) through stated preference and revealed traffic volume data gathering and analysis techniques. 4,000 surveys, distributed in five sample areas, asked respondents how much they would be willing to pay to escape congestion in eight unique trip conditions. Stated preference results found considerable public support for HOT-lanes in the GTA. In six out of eight trip conditions, a majority of respondents preferred to pay to travel in express lanes rather than endure congestion. Respondent willingness to pay (WTP) mean values varied considerably by trip condition. Willingness to pay to escape congestion was influenced by trip characteristics and driver factors. Trip urgency, traffic speed, and freeway trip distance were found to be statistically significant trip characteristic indicators of WTP. Previous exposure to electronic tolling and annual household income were found to be significant driver factor indicators of WTP in most trip conditions. Respondent gender and freeway travel frequency were found to be statistically significant driver factor indicators of WTP in some trip conditions. The presence of Hwy 407-ETR, an electronically tolled by-pass to Hwy 401, allowed for an examination of the effects of Hwy 401 volume and trip urgency on driver choice to use the tolled alternative. Results indicated that trip urgency and Hwy 401 volume were correlated with Hwy 407 throughput share. During periods of high trip urgency and high Hwy 401 volume, a substantial proportion of Hwy 401/407 corridor drivers chose to pay approximately $0.20/km to escape congestion.

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find out which personal-related factors are influencing on the task performance and the contextual performance of expatriate managers. Design/Methodology/Approach This research adopts a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews with key-information from the managers taking international assignments. Findings The findings indicate that there is a series of significant associations between personal-related factors (personality traits, competences/skills, self-willingness and previous experience) and the performance of expatriates’ assignments. Research limitations/implications One suggestion for further research is to explore deeper and more comprehensive on other less important factors or the important factors which we are overlooking; it also could be more comprehensive on the factors that relate to the performance of expatriates. Practical implications We present a table of the relationship between personality traits, competences/skills, self-willingness, previous experience and the job performance of expatriates’ assignments. Thus, HR departments can follow this guidance when selecting expatriates to manage overseas assignments. Furthermore, individuals can take this model as a reference when making decisions for their career lives. Keywords Expatriate assignments, personality traits, self-willingness, competences/skills, previous experience, job performance, task performance, contexture performance Paper type Master Thesis