CSR och transparens blir alltmer vanliga verktyg för företag för att kunna belysa konsumenter om deras ansvarstagande och hållbara arbete. För att dessa aktiviteter ska nå konsumenterna krävs en kommunikation från företaget. Som konsument kan det vara svårt att uppfatta informationen och tolka den som företaget önskar. Den här studien undersöker hur konsumenter uppfattar H&Ms marknadskommunikation gällande CSR och transparens och hur kommunikationen påverkar konsumentens köpbenägenhet av gröna modeprodukter på H&M. I studien genomfördes sju semistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnliga studenter i åldrarna 21-26. I intervjuerna förklarar informanterna sina åsikter gällande företagsmarknadskommunikation av dessa områden och hur de uppfattat H&Ms sådan. Efter genomförd tematisk analys av det empiriska datamaterialet har det kunnat fastställas att konsumenterna haft svårigheter att uppfatta H&Ms marknadskommunikation angående dess hållbarhetsarbete. Den information som nått ut har därmed mottagits med bristande trovärdighet. Detta visade sig vara oberoende av respondentens kunskapsnivå eller grad av engagemang inom hållbarhetsfrågor. / CSR and transparency are becoming two common tools for companies to highlight consumers about the company’s responsibility and sustainable work. In order for these activities to reach the consumers, a communication from the company is required. As a consumer, it may be difficult to perceive and interpret the information in a way that the company desires. This study investigates how consumers consider H&M’s marketing communication regarding these topics and how this communication affects consumers’ willingness to buy green fashion products at H&M. In the study, seven semistructured interviews were conducted with female students in the ages between 21-26. In the interviews the informants explained their opinions on the company’s marketing communication of these subjects and how they perceived H&M’s communication. After a succeeded the matic analysis of the empirical data material it has been found that the consumers had difficulty understanding H&M’s marketing communication regarding its sustainable work. The information obtained has thus been received with insufficient credibility. This is stated as not related to the level of knowledge the respondents possessed or their commitment in sustainability.

The aim of the thesis was to assess objectively the exploitation of the functional capacity of milking machines in the system of free moving animals. There were data coming from seven agricultural companies analysed in the thesis. The data collection took place from January to November 2009. We were provided with the preliminary data by the individual farms taking part in a programme called T4C. The information on problematic dairy cows comes directly from their breeders. The average production of the dairy cows was the first assessed criterion. The highest production (28.79kg) was achieved by little private agricultural companies. The lowest production (25.22kg) was ascertained in middle-sized companies. As far as the breed of dairy cows is concerned, the Holstein dairy cows gave the highest possible amount of milk (40.43; 30.16 a 27.01 kg). The CRV Fleckvieh cattle dairy cows gave the lowest possible amount of milk (24.83; 21.04 a 22.74 kg). The assessment of the number of milking by means of the robotic milking system represents the next criterion. Little private agricultural companies showed the highest frequency of milking (140.88). Whereas the big agricultural companies showed the lowest frequency of milking (119.28). Mostly the Holstein dairy cows were milked by the robotic milking machines (130.34). On the other hand, the CRV Fleckvieh cattle dairy cows were milked least by the robotic milking machines by contrast (107.94). The middle-sized agricultural companies achieved the highest number of milking per dairy cow, per day (2.47). The little private agricultural companies proved the lowest number of milking per dairy cow (2.34). The mixed herds of the Holsteins and CRV Fleckviehs proved the rate of 2.47. The Holstein dairy cows showed the milking frequency 2.45 per day while the CRV Fleckvieh dairy cows 2.32. The dairy cows from the big agricultural companies went to be milked by the robotic milking machine most frequently from the point of view of willingness, what follows is that these dairy cows showed the highest number of refusals per one milking (2.19). The lowest values of this criterion were shown in little private agricultural companies (1.10). With reference to the breed, the values of this indicator proved the lowest number of refusals (1.85) whereas the CRV Fleckviehs showed the highest number of refusals (2.25). The exploitation of the time capacity has been proven as the most effective one - 78.61% in little private agricultural companies. Whereas the lowest time exploitation has been proven in big agricultural companies - 68.11%. As far as the cow breed is concerned, it was ascertained that the Holstein dairy cows were milked longest -73.21%. On the other hand the CRV Fleckviehs were milked shortest - 63.17%. The highest amount of the dairy cows that needed to by accompanied to the robotic milking machine was recorded in big agricultural companies - 20.1%. Remarkably lower number of problematic cows was ascertained in middle-sized agricultural companies - 9.7%. The number of problematic cows in little private agricultural companies proved to be similar to the number in middle-sized agricultural companies 9.3%. It was ascertained that the most problematic dairy cows came from the mixed herds - 18.7%. The CRV Fleckviehs were the least problematic - 8.8%.

O presente trabalho analisa a implantação de uma metodologia de cobrança pelo uso da água no qual os aspectos econômicos e ambientais são considerados como variáveis fundamentais na determinação do valor a ser cobrado. Evidencia formas de mensurar a capacidade de pagamento dos usuários de água, a fim de confrontar este dado com os valores da cobrança. Os resultados apontam que dependendo do grau de saturação do corpo d\'água, mesmo com capacidade de pagamento positiva, alguns setores teriam dificuldades de honrar com o pagamento de cobrança, o que evidencia a importância de um processo de gestão que considere o binômio localização - tipologia no processo de tomada de decisão quanto à implantação de atividades econômicas. Outro aspecto interessante se refere a elasticidade preço da demanda. Dependendo das condições de elasticidade uma unidade de produção, mesmo com situação financeira precária, estaria em condições de honrar com o pagamento da cobrança. / This study analyses the introduction of a method for levied on the use of water in which economic and environmental aspect, are considered as basic variables in the determination of the amount to be charged. It presents various ways for measuring the willingness of the users to pay for water in order to compare it to the the charges levied. The willingness to pay is an important mechanism for obtaining information about the economic impact of the policy of levying taxes. The results show that, depending upon the saturation degree of the water bodies, some sectors would have difficulty in paying the charges even when they show positive willingness to pay. It shows the importance of a management policy that considers the duality site-type in the decision-making process as regards the implantation of economic activities. Elasticity in demand prices is another important factor in this process. Depending upon the conditions of elasticity, a production unit would be able to honor its tax liabilities despit its delicate financial situation.

In the age of Web 2.0 users contribute to platforms success by providing personal information by actively uploading information (e.g. messages, preferences, biographies) and also by leaving traces of their online behavoiour as can be derived from their clicks, navigation paths, etc. While there is a market for trading such information among companies, there is little knowledge about how users actually value their personal information. In an online survey-based experiment we have asked 1.045 Facebook users how much they would be willing to pay for keeping their personal information. Surprisingly, 48.1 percent of participants are not willing to pay a single Euro, - thus, valuing their information at zero. Results indicate that people that show 'spamming' behaviour and users that use Facebook for 'diary keeping' are significantly more willing to pay a certain amount higher than zero to be able to keep their personal Facebook information. Interestingly, having analysed various kinds of user behaviour, the regression model still explains no more than 14.2 percent of variance. Additionally, this article discusses four different method manipulations for eliciting people's willingness to pay for personal information and provides methodical guidance for future research in the field.

In this paper we address the problem of negative estimates of willingness to pay. We find that there exist a number of goods and services, especially in the fields of marketing and environmental valuation, for which only zero or positive WTP is meaningful. For the valuation of these goods an econometric model for the analysis of repeated dichotomous choice data is proposed. Our model restricts the domain of the estimates of WTP to strictly positive values, while also allowing for the detection of zero WTP. The model is tested on a simulated and a real data set.

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Approximately 50% of girls and young women are not satisfied with their bodies. A huge reason for this is the thin body ideal dominating today’s social media. Lingerie and swimwear companies like Victoria’s Secret, Hunkemöller and Triangl uses the thin body ideal in their social media marketing but do not get any consequences for it. Today’s generation Z have been affected a lot from this kind of marketing. The purpose of the study was to understand how it is possible that young women from generation Z are willing to buy products from the lingerie and swimwear industry, when most of the time these companies’ social media marketing have an unrealistic image of the perfect body. In order to fulfill the purpose, a qualitative strategy was conducted through the use of three different focus groups. In these interviews, fifteen young women discussed the Instagram pictures of Victoria’s Secret, Hunkemöller and Triangl. The conclusions of the study show how companies are using the thin body image in their marketing to influence young women from generation Z into wanting to buy their products. When companies use the stereotyped woman in their marketing, consumers would either want to resemble the models that are perceived as the female stereotype or be socially accepted by being thin. However, consumers could also want to be perceived in a certain way, that is the way of the stereotyped woman on social media. Therefore, the product is attractive for the consumers even though this situation can be understood as unethical.

M.A. (Tourism and Hospitality Management) / The primary objective of this study was to determine the relationship between perceived value and the purchase intentions of consumers relating to Private Label Brands (PLBs) of wine within the retail sector in South Africa. Private Label Brands (PLBs), also referred to as store brands or house brands, are defined as products that the retailer owns, sells and distributes to consumers. Producer brands, which are also known as manufacturer or national brands, are made by a specific brand name company or producer. If retailers can successfully influence the perceived value of their PLB wines, it will allow them to influence consumers’ purchase intentions and increase their profits and market share. This study adds value to the limited research that is available on the perceived value of PLB wines in South Africa, and the effect that it has on consumers’ purchase intentions. The study provides valuable insight for Mass Grocery Retailers (MGRs) on how to effectively market their PLB wines in order to capture a larger market share, and gain a competitive edge over their brand name rivals. This study aimed to investigate the moderating role of perceived value on consumers’ purchase intentions of private label wine brands. Perceived relative price, perceived quality and perceived risk comprise the concept of perceived value, which affects consumers’ purchase intentions. These aspects in the wine purchasing decision have not been researched extensively in South Africa and in order for MGRs to take advantage of the unique growth opportunity that the PLB market has to offer, in-depth research needed to be conducted...

A laboratory scale method was used to produce pellets from cassia tora stems with pelletizing temperature conditions of 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105 and 120oC under a pressure of 50, 70, 90,120 and 140 MPa. A total of 30 pellets were produced under each condition of production. The physical and chemical properties of the pellets were investigated. The pellets produced under 75oC and 90 MPa were found to have durability 90 %. A Bulk density range of 617 to 619 kgm-3 was measured for all the produced pellets irrespective of production conditions. The pellets produced in the range of 50 MPa/30oC-140 MPa/120oC were found to have a moisture content ranging between 7.18- 9.6 %. Ash content of 4.2 % was achieved using both Thermogravimetry (TGA) and CEN/TC 335 standard. The gross calorific value of the pellet was determined to be in the range of 17.89-18.1 MJ/kg. TGA results also indicates low moisture and ash content and the process of pyrolysis occurred at 137-550oC at 10oC/min heating rate. The activation energies and reactivities determined from TG/DTG curve are 72.01, 106.81 and 88.67 kJ/mol and 1.76 E+19, 5.1 E+06 and 3.92 E+05 for step I, II and III respectively. A water boiling experiment was carried out to evaluate the cooking efficiency of the pellets compared to fuel wood, kerosene and liquefied natural gas (LPG). The energy intensities and energy cost of 1.2, 0.78, 0.56 and 1.36 kJ/g of water and 0.2, 0.7, 0.4 and 0.2 Nigerian Naira (N) were calculated for fuel wood, kerosene, LPG and the pellets respectively. vii An economic analysis of fuel pellet production from Cassia tora stems has been carried out for conditions found in Kano state, Nigeria. The total production cost, for a base case scenario of 5t/h and operating for 270 days a year, is £4/tonne (1094.5 Naira/ton) of pellets. A ‘Willingness to pay’ analysis was also performed using the Contingent Valuation Technique. A structured contingent valuation questionnaire was administered to 420 randomly selected households in the Kano metropolis and Chi-square analysis was conducted on the data collected. The results of the analysis, at a 5 percent (0.05) confidence level, showed that p-values were less than 0.05 (0.05>p) for all the responded variables. It is confirmed, from the analysis, that an inadequate supply of energy is a statistically significant problem in Kano state and households significantly use fuel wood for domestic energy applications. The results also indicated the willingness of households to switch to a new product and were willing to pay a mean amount of £5 (1361.5 Naira) for a ton of the fuel pellets. Properties of the cassia tora pellets were found to be comparable with other biomass fuel pellets. It is recommended that policy and investment should be geared towards fuel pellet production in Nigeria, to address problems of energy poverty and environmental deterioration, and provide a means for further economic development.

Cette recherche traite des programmes hiérarchiques attribuant des statuts à ses membres (e.g. Gold, Silver,…). La littérature suggère la supériorité de ce design sur les programmes dits « linéaires » car ils apportent plus de considération aux clients ayant atteint un certain niveau de dépenses. Pourtant, si un consommateur baisse sa consommation, l’entreprise devrait le rétrograder au statut inférieur ; or la rétrogradation a des effets délétères sur les intentions de fidélité. Cette recherche tente de pallier cette limite en répondant à deux questions : comment inciter le client à conserver son statut ? Ces incitations contribuent-elles à atténuer les effets négatifs de la rétrogradation ? Les résultats de quatre expérimentations conduites auprès de 922 personnes dans deux secteurs d’activités ont permis de montrer qu’il est possible d’inciter les consommateurs à modifier leur comportement pour conserver leur statut en utilisant la communication persuasive, via (1) des stratégies préventives, (2) le cadrage, et (3) en tenant compte de l’intensité de l’effort à réaliser pour le client. Enfin, les résultats montrent qu’il est possible d’atténuer les effets de la rétrogradation mais que les stratégies testées ne permettent pas d’annihiler totalement ses effets sur le consentement à payer, les intentions de fidélité et de prosélytisme. / This research focuses specifically on hierarchical programs (e.g. Gold, Silver). Literature empirically demonstrates the superiority of this kind of design ; they bring more consideration to customers who meet predefined spending level. However, if a customer falls short of the required spending level, firms have to downgrade him to a lower status and we know that demotion has negative effects on loyalty intentions. This research attempts to overcome this limitation by answering two questions : how to get the customer to maintain his/her status? and can we eliminate the negative effects of demotion ?The results of four experiments conducted with 965 people in two different sectors have shown that it is possible to encourage consumers to change their behavior to maintain their status using persuasive communication via (1) prevention strategies, (2) framing and (3) by taking into account effort intensity. Finally, the results show that it is possible to mitigate the effects of demotion but the tested strategies fail to completely eradicate their effects on willingness to pay, loyalty intentions and word of mouth.