Språkinlärning är inte alltid problemfri för elever. Ett problem som kan uppstå är språklig ängslan som gör att språkinlärning förknippas med negativa känslor. Språklig ängslan kan påverka elever långt fram i livet och även påverka andra områden om de inte uppmärksammas i tid. Examensarbetet Tysta elever inom engelskundervisning syftar till att undersöka hur lärarna i studien resonerar kring begreppet språklig ängslan, elevers motivation till att prata engelska och hur lärarna tror att elever påverkas av lärarens inställning till ämnet. Undersökningen genomfördes med enkäter som publicerades på internet. Svaren på enkäterna kategoriserades och tolkades för att sedan kopplas till MacIntyres teori -willingness to communicate (WTC). Resultatet av undersökningen visade att även om inte alla lärare kände till begreppet språklig ängslan så hade nästan samtliga upplevt konsekvenserna av denna ängslan. Enligt lärarna är motivation och glädje viktiga komponenter i engelskundervisning och kan locka ängsliga elever till att prata engelska. Att elever påverkas av lärarens inställning till ämnet är något lärarna i studien är överens om. I de fall läraren har dåliga erfarenheter som påverkar inställningen negativt kan denna erfarenhet vändas till något positivt om läraren är medveten om sin inställning och använder den på ett genomtänkt sätt. Fortsatt forskning inom området kan vara att mer utförligt undersöka lärarens roll som motivationshöjare för språkligt ängsliga elever. / <p>Engelska</p>

Sammanfattning Titel: Billigt eller dyrt, udda eller jämt? - Hur prisprecisionseffekten påverkar Willingness to pay Nivå: Examensarbete på Grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi. Författare: Lovisa Axenfalk Pettersson och Wilhelm Ericsson. Handledare: Jonas Kågström. Datum: 2018 - Maj. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka hur prisprecisionseffekten i samband med Willingness to pay påverkar bostadstransaktioner. Metod: Kvantitativ metod, enkäter med experimentella inslag. Resultat och slutsats: Denna studies resultat visar att när det kommer till priser på bostäder, är det inte enbart priset som påverkar köpet och WTP. Gällande det marknadsförda pris som lockar flest spekulanter, bör det antingen vara avrundat pris eller just below pris. Det mest ärliga marknadsmässiga priset är avrundat pris. Ett precist pris är det utgångspris, som anses vara satt av en seriös fastighetsmäklare och visar att fastighetsmäklaren är kunnig och sätter ett seriöst pris utifrån vad bostaden faktiskt är värd. Gällande vad som leder till det högsta slutpriset, kan det vara avrundat pris, precist pris samt just below pris. Varför resultatet av slutpriset skiljer sig åt är beroende på situationen på marknaden och tillgänglig information för köparen. Examensarbetets bidrag: Denna studie har bidragit med att skapa en ökad förståelse till personer som är delaktiga i en köpprocess utifrån prisprecisionseffektens prissättningar. Vidare är bidraget att människor påverkas av tillgänglig information, vilket påverkar köparens WTP och vad köpare anser om olika priser. Med kunskap från denna studie kan köpare av bostäder få en bättre förståelse för hur det marknadsförda utgångspriset kan påverka köparens WTP av bostaden de är intresserad av att köpa och den bostadens slutpris. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Studien fastställer att det finns flera möjligheter till fortsatt forskning. Det skulle kunna vara att studera prisprecisionseffekten i en verklig miljö. Att studera hur ankareffekten och prisprecisionseffekten påverkar varandra. Väva in andra prispåverkande faktorer än bara själva priset. Samt att vända perspektiv och utgå från säljaren istället. Nyckelord: Prisprecisionseffekten, WTP - Willingness to pay, avrundat pris, precist pris, just below pris, utgångspris och bostadstransaktioner. / Abstract Title: Cheap or expensive, odd or even? - How the price precision effect, affects willingness to pay Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration. Author: Lovisa Axenfalk Pettersson and Wilhelm Ericsson. Supervisor: Jonas Kågström. Date: 2018 - May. Aim: The aim is to further investigate how the price precision effect associated with willingness to pay affects sales of real estate transactions. Method: Quantitative method through a survey with experimental elements. Result and conclusion: The results in the study indicates, regarding prices on the housing market, that it is not only the price that affects pursues and WTP. Regarding the marketed list price, which attracts the most potential buyers, they should either be a rounded or just below price. The most honest market price is a rounded price. A list price set at a precise price, is considered to be listed from a serious real estate broker. It also indicates that the real estate broker is knowledgeable and puts a serious price based on what the residence is actually worth. To get the highest selling price, it can be all of the price precision effect prices, rounded price, precise price or just below price. Why the result of the highest selling price differ, is depending on the situation on the market and available information for the buyer. Contribution of the thesis: The contribution for this study has been to create an increased understanding about the price precision effect and its prices for the persons involved in a buying process. Furthermore, the contribution is that people are influenced by available information, affecting the buyer's WTP and what buyers consider about different prices. With knowledge from this study, buyers can gain a better understanding of how the marketed list price may affect the buyer's WTP for the real estate they are interested in buying and its final selling price. Suggestion for future research: To summarize the possibilities for future research this paper suggests; to analyze the price precision effect from the sellers point of view. To analyze the price precision effect in a real setting instead, where actual transactions are being made. To further investigate the ratio between the anchoring effect with the price precision effect, and how they affect each other. The final suggestions for future research is to involve other aspects into the price precision effect, despite only the price, because it is not only the price that affects the house buying market. Keywords: Price precision effect, WTP - willingness to pay, rounded price, precise price, just below price, list price and real estate transaction.

Le gouvernement français s'est engagé sur un ambitieux objectif de développer l'éolien offshore pour atteindre une capacité de 6 GW d'ici 2020. La construction d'éoliennes terrestres, tout comme les éoliennes offshore, est très contestée en raison de leur impact visuel sur le paysage. Dans la région française du Languedoc Roussillon, les acteurs concernés (industrie touristique, commerces, pêcheurs, élus locaux), craignent que la construction de parc éoliens offshore aie des effets néfastes sur le tourisme, en donnant à la région une image industrialisée et « bétonnée ». Jusqu'à présent, en mer du Nord, il n'a jamais été mis en évidence que la construction de parcs éoliens offshore ait réellement affecté l'attractivité touristique des côtes environnantes. On peut se demander si ce constat peut être extrapolé à la cote méditerranéenne. Depuis une dizaine d'années, lorsqu'ont débuté les débats sur la possibilité d'exploiter les vents méditerranéens, beaucoup de préjugés sont apparus sur l'impact potentiel négatif que cela pourrait avoir sur le tourisme. La réticence a d'autant plus augmenté lorsque le Languedoc Roussillon a été inclus dans le zonage de l'appel d'offre concernant la construction de 2 GW de parcs éoliens.Il était donc pertinent de mener une enquête auprès des touristes du littoral pour évaluer comment l'installation de parcs éoliens, installés à des distances réalistes des côtés, pourrait affecter le tourisme balnéaire. Par ailleurs, il était également intéressant de proposer des stratégies que les stations balnéaires pourraient adopter pour augmenter le nombre de touristes et leurs profits, avec ou sans parc éolien. Pour répondre à ces questions, une enquête d'évaluation mobilisant la méthode des « choice experiment », a été réalisée durant l'été 2010, auprès de plus de 350 touristes, sur les plages languedociennes.Les résultats de cette enquête, présentés au chapitre 3, montrent que les coûts liés à la nuisance visuelle s'annulent lorsque le parc éolien est installé à des distances comprises entre 8 et 12 km de la côte. L'enquête a également mis en évidence une forte demande pour la mise en place de démarches éco responsable (favorisant les produits locaux, le vélo, les transports publics et les économies d'eau et d'énergie) par les stations balnéaires. Ainsi, nos résultats montrent que la nuisance vécue par l'installation d'un parc à 8 km de la cote serait compensée par la mise en place simultanée d'une « démarche verte ». Par ailleurs, la construction de récifs artificiels associé au parc éolien, qui permettrait l'accès à des loisirs récréatifs (plongée sous marine par ex.) générerait, d'après nos résultats, une augmentation des dépenses des touristes, si ce parc était installé à une distance d'au moins 5 km de la côte.De nos résultats émergent deux principaux constats :- L'implantation d'une éolienne à 12 km de la côte, sans aucune évolution de la station par ailleurs, n'aurait pas d'incidence négative sur le tourisme.- Si la station balnéaire met simultanément en place des actions environnementales et des activités récréatives, le parc éolien peut alors être conçu à partir d'une distance de 5 km de la côte.L'écart entre le Consentement à Payer pour un bien et le Consentement à Recevoir une compensation pour renoncer à ce même bien est un phénomène très largement mis en évidence en économie de l'environnement. Dans une seconde partie de la thèse, nous prenons en compte dans nos estimations économétriques cet écart entre les pertes et des gains dans la fonction d'utilité. En tenant compte de cette asymétrie, nous estimons une réduction de moitié de la nuisance vécue par rapport aux éoliennes si le parc éolien est déjà installé. D'un autre côté, les bénéfices liés aux activités récréatives et à une démarche éco responsable sont perçu comme plus élevés si ces activités étaient déjà mises en place. / The French government has committed itself to an ambitious target of boosting the offshore wind power capacity to reach 6 GW by 2020. Wind turbines onshore as well as offshore are highly contested on visual grounds. Affected stakeholders, ranging from business and property owners, fishermen and elected municipal planners, fear significant negative economic impacts on their ‘business' or their ‘property'. In the French Mediterranean region of the Languedoc Roussillon, the expectation is that the tourist industry will be chagrined in the presence of an offshore wind farm – giving a windy and cemented image of the region. Since talks began about 10 years ago, on the potential for ‘harvesting' the winds of the Mediterranean Sea, many postulates have been made with regard to the impact on coastal tourism. In particular, resistance mounted when plans to include the Languedoc Roussillon in the 2011 tender for the construction of 2 GW wind power capacity were materialising. In this light, it was considered of pertinence to investigate how offshore wind farms, installed at realistic distances from the coast (5, 8 or 12 km), would affect coastal tourism. Additionally, it was considered of interest to help define strategies that coastal community resort may adopt to boost visiting numbers or profit margins with or without wind farms. To answer these questions a full-scale choice experiment valuation survey with over 350 tourists was undertaken in the summer of 2010 on Languedoc beaches.Our survey results show (in chapter 3) that average visual disamenity costs tends to zero, when an offshore wind farm is installed somewhere between 8 and 12 km from the shore. We also find that there is considerable demand for “sustainable” coastal community resorts that favours local produce, bicycling, public transport, energy and water saving devices. Thus, our estimates show that a wind farm installed 8 km from the shore could be ‘compensated for' through the simultaneous ‘greening' of the coastal community resort. If in addition a wind farm is associated with artificial reefs and recreational user access, our results point to an actual rise in tourist related revenues when the wind farm is located min. 5 km from the coast. The policy recommendation is thus two fold: Everything else equals, a wind farm located 12 km offshore will have no negative incidence on tourism. With simultaneous application of a coherent environmental policy and wind farm associated recreational activities, wind farm siting can be conceived from 5 km and outwards.In a latter stage (chapter 5) we explicit account for the well-established fact that humans' over-estimate losses compared with equal-sized gains, in our econometric estimations. By incorporating so-called gain-loss asymmetry in the utility function, we observe that the WTP to remove wind farms had they already been installed is half the compensation required to accept their presence during a vacation. The disamenity costs associated with wind farm installation are thus of a significantly smaller magnitude had the wind farms already been installed. On the other hand, the welfare benefits associated with eco-efficiency and wind farm associated recreational activities are larger had they already been invigorated. The verdict is that asymmetry should be accounted for, or at least recognised in stated preference valuation studies that simultaneously use utility increasing and utility decreasing attributes.

Motivation: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka huruvida Country-of-Origin (COO) påverkar svenska konsumenters Willingness to Pay (WTP) &amp; Willingness to Buy (WTB). Vidare kommer studien även undersöka om svenska konsumenter besitter någon kännedom kring produktionsländer vid köp av klädprodukter inom premiumsektorn. Problemdiskussion: Utifrån den nuvarande ökade trenden mot en mer medveten kund önskar studien att undersöka vilka aspekter som har en avgörande roll i köpbeslutet för premiumprodukter samt hur vetskapen om produktionsland påverkar företagets image, kundens köp-och betalvilja. Denna studie kommer därmed fylla en klar funktion eftersom det finns få tidigare studier som flätar samman begreppen COO, WTB &amp; WTP i relation till Premium Branding i modesammanhang på den svenska marknaden. Metod: Studien är genomförd med en kvantitativ metod med fokus på en stor empirisk enkätundersökning där 200 svenska respondenter deltog. Frågorna var tagna från de valda huvudbegreppen COO, Brand Image, Premium, WTP/WTB samt kvalitet. Respondenterna var systematiskt tillfrågade på olika geografiska platser runt Stockholmsområdet. Resultat: Genom att enskilt testa hypoteserna som är utvecklade från tidigare teori, finner denna studie att svenska konsumenter värderar kvalitet som den viktigaste faktorn när de handlar kläder samt att deras WTB/WTP förändras vid vetskapen om produktionsland. Svenska konsumenter värderar samtidigt produkterna utifrån produktionsland samt anser sig ha en låg kännedom var produkterna är tillverkade. Implikationer: Studien kan agera som lösning för företag som vill hitta nya konkurrenskraftiga fördelar samt skapa ett större omfång av värdeskapande aktiviteter som kan locka in en större andel av marknaden. / Motivation: The purpose of this study is to examine whether Country-of-Origin (COO) affects Swedish consumers' Willingness to Pay (WTP) &amp; Willingness to Buy (WTB). Furthermore, the study will also focus on whether Swedish consumers have any knowledge of production countries when purchasing clothing products in the premium sector. Problem statement: Based on the current increased trend towards a more conscious consumer, the study intends to investigate which aspects have a crucial role in the purchasing decision for premium products. Also, how the knowledge of production country affects the company's image, the consumers WTB/WTP. This study will thus fulfil a clear function as there are few previous studies that merge the concepts of COO, WTB &amp; WTP in relation to Premium Branding in fashion context in the Swedish market. Methodology: The study was conducted with a quantitative method focusing on a large empirical survey in which 200 Swedish respondents participated. The questions were conducted from the selected main concepts of COO, Brand Image, Premium, WTP / WTB and quality. Respondents were systematically asked at various geographical locations around the Stockholm area. Results: By separately testing the hypotheses conducted from previous theory, this study finds that Swedish consumers value quality as the most important factor when purchasing premium fashion and their WTB / WTP changes based on the knowledge of production countries. Swedish consumers at the same time value the products along the COO and consider themselves to have a low knowledge of where the products are manufactured. Implications: The study can act as a solution for companies that want to find new competitive advantages and create a larger range of value-creating activities that can attract a larger share of the market.

Purpose - The purpose of this thesis was to develop a method for how practitioners can utilize value-based pricing of smart services. In order to fulfill this purpose, the following research questions were addressed: RQ1) How can firms identify value drivers for their smart services in order to understand customer perceived value? RQ2) How can firms match the perceived value of their smart service and what type of revenue model to use (i.e., how to price and how much to price)? RQ3) How can firms use value-based pricing for calculating the optimal price of their smart service? Method - This thesis adopts a mixed method. This is done by collecting data through interviews and surveys. This data is then analyzed and utilized to develop a method for value-based pricing of smart services.  Findings - Based on the insights gathered through the explored methods for identifying and measuring value drivers, concluding customers’ willingness to pay, matching it with revenue and pricing mechanisms and finally deriving an optimal price a holistic and structured process that connected these different activities has been proposed (see Appendix S). Theoretical contribution - The major theoretical contribution is the synthesis of three different literature streams (i.e., VBP, revenue model design and smart service commercialization). These areas have, to our knowledge, previously never been integrated in one study. In addition, the developed method successfully addresses identification of value drivers, which previously has been labeled as the biggest barrier for B2B firms wanting to transition towards VBP (Liozu et al., 2012).  Practical implications - This thesis supports management in commercialization of smart services by providing a holistic and systematic process for identifying and measuring value drivers, concluding customers’ WTP, matching it with revenue and pricing mechanisms and finally deriving an optimal price based on VBP. The final developed method is presented in Appendix S. / Syfte - Syftet med detta examensarbete var att utveckla en metod för hur praktiker kan utnyttja värdebaserad prissättning av smarta tjänster. För att uppfylla detta syfte togs följande forskningsfrågor upp: RQ1) Hur kan företag identifiera värdedrivare för sina smarta tjänster för att förstå kundens upplevda värde? RQ2) Hur kan företag matcha det upplevda värdet av sin smarta tjänst och vilken typ av intäktsmodell de ska använda (dvs hur man prissätter och hur mycket prissätter man)? RQ3) Hur kan företag använda värdebaserad prissättning för att beräkna det optimala priset för sin smarta tjänst? Metod - Detta exjobb använder en blandad metod. Detta görs genom att samla in data genom intervjuer och enkäter. Denna data analyseras sedan och används för att utveckla en metod för värdebaserad prissättning av smarta tjänster. Resultat - Baserat på de insikter som samlats in genom de utforskade metoderna för att identifiera och mäta värdedrivande faktorer, utnytja kundernas betalningsvilja, matcha den med intäkts- och prissättningsmekanismer och slutligen härleda ett optimalt pris har en holistisk och strukturerad process som kopplar samman dessa olika aktiviteter presenterats (se Bilaga S). Teoretiskt bidrag - Det största teoretiska bidraget är syntesen av tre olika litteraturströmmar (dvs VBP, intäktsmodelldesign och kommersialisering av smarta tjänster). Dessa områden har, såvitt vi vet, tidigare aldrig integrerats i en studie. Dessutom tar den utvecklade metoden framgångsrikt in på identifiering av värdedrivare, som tidigare har stämplats som den största barriären för B2B-företag som vill gå över till VBP (Liozu et al., 2012). Praktiska implikationer - Det här examensarbetet stöder ledning i kommersialisering av smarta tjänster genom att tillhandahålla en holistisk och systematisk process för att identifiera och mäta värdedrivare, avsluta kundernas WTP, matcha den med intäkts- och prissättningsmekanismer och slutligen härleda ett optimalt pris baserat på VBP. Den slutligen utvecklade metoden presenteras i Bilaga S

Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / Xianghong Li / Hikaru H. Peterson / The organic food market in the United States expanded rapidly at annual rates between 12% and 21% from 1997 to 2008, yet the adoption rate of organic farming remained stagnant. Industry sources suggest that the degree of outsourcing organic inputs has been increasing during the most recent years. Organic foods are available at traditional supermarkets and mass merchandisers. Many retailers now offer organic food products in their private labels. This study focuses on organic soymilk, which illustrates these recent trends. China, a major low income country which supplies organic agricultural ingredients to the U.S. , has raised food safety concerns fueled by recent incidents. Organic foods have been marketed in China as eco-products in an effort to promote safer foods to meet domestic needs. While organic soybean is one of China’s primary organic exports, China has been the leading importer of conventional soybeans with U.S. as its largest source, but most U.S. production is transgenic. China has a labeling policy on GM (genetically modified) products, which has been more tightly enforced in recent years. This thesis examines U.S. and Chinese consumers’ valuations of attributes of processed organic products, with an emphasis on eliciting their preferences of organic ingredients from different origins, in the case of soymilk. A survey was designed for each country. The U.S. survey was administered online nationwide. An enumerated survey was administered at three types of food retail channels in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China. Respectively, 316 and 300 responses were collected from the U.S. and China. Choice experiment was used to elicit consumer values for various attributes of soymilk in both markets. The results show that consumers in both countries are willing to pay premiums for processed foods such as soymilk with organic and non-GMO ingredients. The premium for organic soybeans is significantly higher than that for non-GMO beans. The results also indicate that U.S. consumers hold strong preferences for organic soymilk produced with domestically produced soybeans. In terms of brand preferences, U.S. respondents are willing to pay more for national brands relative to store brands, with taste as a major differentiating factor. In contrast, Chinese consumers’ valuations depend greatly on nationalities of certifying agencies. U.S. certified organic product was perceived higher than EU or Chinese certified organic products, but Chinese-certified non-GMO products were preferred over those certified by U.S. agencies. Chinese consumers’ values varied by cities and retail types where respondents were surveyed.

The equine influenza virus is a significant cause of respiratory disease in horses. Even though horses generally recover from this virus, sometimes horses with equine influenza develop secondary bacterial infections which can cause severe pneumonia, thereby increasing recovery times. Owners and managers are faced with the decision of whether to delay preventative treatment in hopes of the horse avoids contracting a secondary bacterial infection (“wait and see”) or aggressively treat the horse with an antibiotic in hopes of avoiding a serious infection (“treat now”). From a decision making standpoint, the economic considerations include explicit treatment costs as well as nonmonetary costs the owner or manager bear when caring for an ill horse. This study investigating horse owner/manager preferences for treatment alternatives is approached in two parts. The first part of the study collects data from field practitioners to estimate the cost of treatment strategies under different scenarios. The second part consists of a questionnaire presented to horse owners and managers and includes four choices between alternative treatment strategies. Analyzing the data using a conjoint analysis approach, respondents’ willingness to pay for different elements of a treatment strategy are estimated. Based on treatment strategies and demographic interactions, a respondent was willing to pay to cover the cost of a horse who became ill with the equine influenza, but individual price sensitivities suggested horse owners and managers are willing to “treat now” versus “wait and see” in order to not see their horse feel poorly and miss training time.

Subsidies to professional sports teams remain a controversial issue, and in most European countries these subsidies have decreased over the past decades. However, in Sweden they are a common occurrence, municipalities are giving generous amounts of money to their local team. To justify these subsidies, proponents of sports team claim their great economic impact on the local area. Nevertheless, in the sport economic literature, most of the researchers cannot find any positive impact and some of them even find negative impact from a hosting a professional sports team. This study will give an explanation and extension to the earlier articles about sport economics written in Sweden by Emelie Värja (2014) and Lars Behrenz (2009). In this essay we will present two models. The idea behind our first model is to investigate if professional sport events should be considered as a substitute to other leisure activities. This model indicates that there is a substitution effect between ice hockey games and cinema admissions in Sweden. The outcome from our other model which studies the condominium market strongly contradicts the generous sport subsidies given by Swedish municipalities. The results indicate that the presence of a professional ice hockey team lowers the condominiums prices.

Bus is the main mode of urban transport in most cities in developing countries. Despite a high mode share, bus service quality is often poor and para-transit services are regarded as a problem in urban transport systems rather than a solution. Using Dhaka as a case study, this thesis investigates bus service quality through identification and valuation of thirteen important attributes using discrete choice models. The attributes examined are travel time, travel cost, waiting time, headway, priority seats for women, crowding inside the bus, boarding and alighting, picking up and dropping off passengers, bus stop facilities, driving quality, driver and crew behaviour, cleanliness inside the bus, and air conditioning. Five focus groups were conducted to identify key qualitative bus attributes and their levels in order to design choice experiments for valuation. A survey of 431 respondents in Dhaka was then undertaken. Two choice experiments were designed and implemented within the survey, each with seven attributes (set A and set B) with travel cost as the common attribute. Multinomial Logit (MNL) models and Mixed Logit (MXL) models were developed using the Dhaka choice data. Twelve of the thirteen attributes were statistically significant at the 99% level. The values of in-vehicle time (IVT), waiting time and headway were BDT 34.80, 47.40 and 64.20 per hour respectively for low income groups in the segmented model. Waiting time has a premium valuation, 1.36 times higher than IVT, which endorses existing evidence. The highest valuation is for the dummy variable seating all the way which is BDT 42.20 for high income females. The next largest was bus stops properly, picks and drops passengers nicely , followed by wide door and mild steps for boarding and alighting , smooth and safe journey , bus stop with shed, but no seating arrangements , and air conditioning . The lowest value was BDT 4.61 for deck and seats are clean and tidy , for the low income group. The WTP for the qualitative attributes is high, but given the poor level of the existing service and low fare levels this seems reasonable. Income has a significant impact on travel cost, as well as gender on priority seats for women and crowding inside the bus. However, household car ownership does not have a significant impact on any of the bus attributes examined. The high income group has 75% higher WTP for A set attributes and 79% higher WTP for B set attributes than low income group. Females have 76% higher WTP for standing comfortably all the way , but 38% higher WTP for seating all the way compared to the male. However, females have a WTP of BDT 0.44 for per percent of priority seats for women in contrast with males who have a WTP of BDT -0.11. There is significant taste heterogeneity for both quantitative and qualitative attributes. The qualitative attributes for picking up and dropping off passengers, boarding and alighting facilities and driving facilities have higher valuation and this attributes came from the existing within the market competition structure in a highly fragmented bus market. Therefore, it is recommended to introduce competition for the market and incentives for bus industry consolidation.

We test our hypotheses on 186 participants designing their own scarves with an MC toolkit. After completing the process, they submitted binding bids for "their" products in Vickrey auctions. We therefore observe real buying behavior, not merely stated intentions. We find that the subjective value of a self-designed product (i.e., one's bid in the course of the auction) is indeed not only impacted by the preference fit the customer expects it to deliver, but also by (1) the process enjoyment the customer reports, (2) the interaction of preference fit and process enjoyment, and (3) the interaction of preference fit and perceived process effort. In addition to its main effect, we interpret preference fit as a moderator of the valuegenerating effect of process evaluation: In cases where the outcome of the process is perceived as positive (high preference fit), the customer also interprets process effort as a positive accomplishment, and this positive affect adds (further) value to the product. It appears that the perception of the self-design process as a good or bad experience is partly constructed on the basis of the outcome of the process. In the opposite case (low preference fit), effort creates a negative affect which further reduces the subjective value of the product. Likewise, process enjoyment is amplified by preference fit, although enjoyment also has a significant main effect, which means that regardless of the outcome, customers attribute higher value to a self-designed product if they enjoy the process. The importance of the self-design process found in this study bears clear relevance for companies which offer or plan to offer MC systems. It is not sufficient to design MC toolkits in such a way that they allow customers to design products according to their preferences. The affect caused by this process is also highly important. Toolkits should therefore stimulate positive affective reactions and at the same time keep negative affect to a minimum. (authors' abstract)