This thesis aims to analyze how members of a coworking space create a Sense of Community through the different types of social interactions that occur. Furthermore, it is investigated how the Sense of Community contributes to Word of Mouth. The authors conducted a qualitative case study of Norrsken House where members and managers of the coworking space were interviewed. The results of the study reveal that a Sense of Community is created through various interactions and occurrences. Additionally, it is stated that the creation of a Sense of Community for members is complex, where different experiences trigger different social elements. Even though there are similarities identified among the interviewed members, the evidence shows that the reality of each individual is based on previous experiences. Moreover, the authors show that the perceived Sense of Community could result in both positive and negative Word of Mouth activities between members and peers outside of the community. Based on the results, the authors elucidate how managers can design strategies to make the product offering more attractive.

This study aimed to examine how a company like Anamma creates a platform where people can connect and inspire others to buy vegan food and what strategies they use to do so. The empirical material consisted of eight posts on Instagram made by the Swedish vegan company Anamma. The posts are showing how vegan meals can be healthy, tasteful but also how it is good for the environment. Since the material in these posts were both text, pictures and animated videos a multimodal analysis was most suitable to get a valid and true result. Initially the posts were analyzed one by one. Then we summarized the result into three themes based on what was discovered during the first analysis. The study shows that Anamma is using strategic tools like the theory of Two-step-flow, or Word of mouth to make people hear about them. By using hashtags and tagging people they are creating a chain of equivalence, using the digital platform to spread their message. They also use words like, “together”, “all of us” and “save the planet” et cetera, which is assumed to make people want to be a part of making the world a better place. Also, they frequently use statistics as a strategy of persuasion to show how much less effluent vegan food is to the environment compared to meat. Using the word “Anamma-friends” is a strategy that helps create a strong community for their customers. All their strategies combined contributes to creating social identity and a feeling of belonging. However, this study is not a study of communication effects, since that would require a different approach. Therefore the conclusion of this study is that Anammas communication is effective and adequate towards the social context and can be seen as successful in relation to the purpose of the study.

Denna studie undersöker hur B2B-mikroföretag i mediebranschen ser på marknadsföring och relationsbyggande via sociala medier samt nätverkande och word of mouth. Syftet är att bidra till en ökad medvetenhet om hur de nämnda kanalerna kan användas i marknadsföringssyfte samt vilken roll nätverkande och kundrelationer har för B2B-mikroföretag. Studien är en kvalitativ studie med fenomenologin som undersökningsmetod. Den har en induktiv ansats och metoden som har använts för insamlandet av empiriskt material är intervjuer med sju respondenter från sex företag. Resultatet visar att användandet av sociala medier är viktigt för B2B-företag i mediebranschen när det kommer till varumärkesbyggande. Emellertid bör sociala medier främst ses som en portfolio och en informationskanal där företaget visar vad de kan, snarare än en marknadsföringskanal. Resultatet talar för vikten av relationsbyggande och nätverkande som den viktigaste aspekten för B2B-mikroföretag i mediebranschen för att etablera nya kundkontakter och bibehålla befintliga. Kunden bör ses som en samarbetspartner snarare än enbart en kund och för att lyckas krävs långsiktigt relationsbyggande. Slutsatsen är att B2B-mikroföretag bör satsa på nätverkande och relationsbyggande via fysiska möten och word of mouth och använda sig av sociala medier som ett komplement till detta för att kunna visa sin kompetens och stärka varumärket. / This essay examines how B2B micro companies in the media industry looks at social media, networking and word of mouth as a marketing tool and to build relationships with their customers. The study aims to contribute with an increased awareness of how social media can be used for marketing purposes and what impact networking and customer relations have for B2B companies. The study is based on a qualitative method and uses phenomenology as research method. It has an inductive approach and the method used for the gathering of empirical data is interviews with seven respondents from six different companies. The result shows that the use of social media is important for brand building for B2B companies in the media industry, but should primarily be seen as a portfolio where the company shows what they can do and to provide information, rather than a marketing tool. The result indicates that relationship building and networking are the most important aspects for B2B companies to establish new customer relationships and maintain existing ones. The customer should be seen as a partner rather than just a customer and in order to succeed, long-term relationship building is required. The conclusion is that B2B micro companies should focus on networking and relationship building through physical meetings and word of mouth, but use social media as a complement to this to be able to demonstrate their competence and strengthen the brand.

Nudging är idag ett omtalat ämne och pratas om i flera olika sammanhang, exempelvis i Morgonpasset i P3, på Instagram och på portalen Resumé. Tekniken nudging har funnits länge men det var först år 2008 som begreppet myntades. Nudging är en marknadsföringsteknik som innebär att avsändare ”knuffar” kunden eller besökaren i ”rätt” riktning och gör det lättare att välja ”rätt” än att välja ”fel”. Nudging används inom allt från den ytliga skönhetsbranschen till livsviktig organdonation. 2015 utvecklades detta begrepp till digital nudging, det vill säga samma marknadsföringsteknik men som nu används digitalt.Studiens syfte är att ta reda på om konsumenten blir påverkad av digital nudging när personen ska handla något på en webbsida innehållande hudvård, samt vad konsumentens attityd till digital nudging är. För att möjliggöra detta syfte gjordes en marknadsundersökning i form av ett iscensatt köptillfälle, med markerade nudges från utgångspunkt av teorin som användes som underlag till diskussionen. När denna marknadsundersökning var gjord jämfördes det med ett antal webbsidor som säljer hudvård för att hitta den sida med flest synliga nudges som användes till datainsamlingen.Sammanfattningsvis visade det sig att studiens respondenter använder sig av recensioner när de handlar på en webbsida, vilket är en typ av nudging nämligen the scarcity effect. Övriga nudges påverkade dem inte avsevärt, enligt dem beror det på att de inte syntes tillräckligt mycket eller för att de är en medveten generation och därför vana att behöva sortera bort onödig information. / Nudging is today a talked-about topic and is discussed in several different contexts, for example in Morgonpasset i P3, on Instagram and on Resumé. The technology nudging has been around for a long time but it was not until 2008 that the concept was coined. Nudging is a marketing technique that means that the sender "pushes" the customer or the visitor in the "right" direction and makes it easier to choose "right" than to choose "wrong". Nudging is used in different businesses, from superficial beauty industry to vital organ donation. In 2015, this concept developed into digital nudging, that is the same marketing technique but which is now used digitally.The aim of the study is to find out if the consumer is affected by digital nudging when the person is shopping something on a web page containing skin care, and what the consumer's attitude to digital nudging is. To enable this purpose, a market research was made with a staged buying process, with marked nudges from the theory and used as a basis for the discussion. When this market research was developed, it was compared with a number of web pages that sell skin care to find the side with the most visible nudges that were used for data collection.In conclusion, it turned out that this study's respondents use reviews when shopping on a web page, which is a type of nudging namely the scarcity effect. The other nudges did not significantly affect them, according to them that depends their generation. They mean that their generation is used to sort out unnecessary information.

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Sammanfattning Titel Effekten av Influencer Marknadsföring på konsumenters: En studie av hur influencer kampanjer påverkar konsumenternas varumärkeslojalitet och köpintention Nivå C- uppsats, 15 hp Författare Charlotte Krönlein och Hanna Kram Handledare Afshin Afsharipour Examinator Svante Andersson Termin VT 2023 Syfte: Syftet med studien är att förstå effekten av hur influencers medverkan i kampanjer på konsumenters varumärkeslojalitet och köpintention, samt att undersöka eventuella skillnader mellan män och kvinnor i detta sammanhang. Studiens syfte är att skapa en förståelse för hur mycket influencers medverkan i kampanjer påverkar människors vilja att köpa företagets produkter och hur de bidrar till varumärkeslojalitet, samtidigt som den tar hänsyn till skillnader mellan män och kvinnor. Teoretiska referensramen: Uppsatsen är fördelad och uppdelad på teori inom fem olika områden. Referensramen börjar med att presentera köpintention, därefter tillit och förtroende som följs med influencer marknadsföring,  social identitet och electronic word of mouth.  Metod: För att undersöka våra tre forskningsfrågor utfördes en kvantitativ studie med 294 respondenter som var jämnt fördelade mellan kvinnor och män, samt åldrar mellan 18-60+ år.  Empiri: Med hjälp av en enkätundersökning samlades 294 svar in från kvinnor och män. Vidare presenterades resultatet i form av tabell och diagram som senare har analyserats med hjälp av den teoretiska referensramen.  Diskussion och slutsats:  Denna studie belyser influencer-marknadsförings effekt på varumärkeslojalitet och köpintention. Nyckeln till framgång ligger i att välja rätt influencer och att det finns en positiv inställning till influencern och deras marknadsförda produkter. Resultaten visar också på könsrelaterade skillnader, att män tycker den känslomässiga anknytningen är viktigare vilket öppnar upp för vidare forskning. Nyckelord: Influencer marknadsföring, köpintention, varumärkeslojalitet, social identitetsteori, electronic word of mouth, Theory of Planned Behavior

Background Today the hotel industry has become very digitalized compared to when there was only a travel catalogue to look in. Nowadays people search for information about hotels and read reviews from past guests online. There are different kinds of accommodations and lately it has become popular with shared services like Airbnb. With the rise of digitalization the hotel market competition has increased tremendously, therefore it is important for the hotels to keep a good reputation. Services like a hotel stay can be experienced differently from person to person and thus it is important for the service personnel to possess emotional intelligence.  Purpose The purpose with this study is to find out how the consumer behavior changes depending on the reviews. The study should give knowledge to hotel management about how it is possible to improve their relationship with guests by service, reviews and the use of digitalization. This study wants to update the research on the topic reviews and how it affects the consumers when booking a hotel with new information since the technology changes constantly and thus some research about the field in the past might not mirror the reality today.  Method This study was conducted using a quantitative method survey study in the form of an internet questionnaire. This questionnaire contained mostly closed ended questions however there were some open questions that allowed the participants to name a factor that was important for them. The survey used convenience sampling to be able to receive a lot of answers quickly. To ensure that the answers were of good quality anonymous answers has been applied and there was a qualification question that can sort out unqualified and spam answers to obtain the best quality. To analyze the results from the survey, descriptive analytics and statistical inference will be used and compared with previous research. The statistical analysis will be done by SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) and Excel.  Conclusion  The study has come to the conclusion that reviews affect and have an impact on all the different stages in the consumer decision making process. The study also conclude that it is important for the hotel to try to increase the number of reviews since with the rise of reviews the more trustworthy the reviews will be. The study also concluded that it has become important with digitalization in the hotel industry and that 29,5% of the study participants use the mobile app when booking a hotel. Thus, the hotel management must follow and adapt the hotel to the new way of communication.

This thesis is situated in the research field of electronic commerce, specifically the aspect of fast fashion brands. This has drawn consumer interest because they find struggles when shopping for clothes online due to their inability to try the product before purchasing from sellers, which tends to result in information asymmetry. Therefore, they may be more hesitant to purchase online due to the perceived risk that results in low level of trust while shopping clothes online; therefore, businesses should strive to alleviate their concerns. Previous research has shown that electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) can guide and increase confidence.  The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how consumers perceive online reviews as ways of reducing information asymmetry and reduce risk in order to ensure that they will be satisfied with their purchase. Furthermore, many factors identified in previous research that could influence the use of online reviews were identified and analyzed in the context of fast fashion for this study. Therefore, the study discovered several factors that influenced the use of online reviews.  This study investigates the role of trust as a mediator between customers' perception of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and their subsequent actions. Specifically, the study focuses on the influence of the perceived usefulness of online reviews on customer trust in fast fashion websites. To gain a comprehensive understanding of consumers' opinions on online reviews, a qualitative research approach employing semi-structured interviews was conducted. The interviews provided participants with the opportunity to elaborate on their responses and provide nuanced insights. The findings indicate that fast fashion brands should prioritize the inclusion of online reviews and enhance their mechanisms based on the factors identified in this study. By recognizing the importance of customer trust and addressing the perceived usefulness of online reviews, fast fashion brands can improve their relationship with customers and foster positive consumer actions. This study contributes to the existing literature on eWOM, trust, and online reviews, offering practical implications for fast fashion brands aiming to optimize their online platforms.

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) recommendations are online consumer-generated recommendations posted on the service providers' or the third-party websites, which are expected to affect consumers’ perceptions of adopting experience services. In recognition of the increasing significance of eWOM recommendations, this study delves further into this topic by proposing a research model that explains the contingency factors affecting the effectiveness of eWOM recommendations on consumers’ perceptions of adopting experience services. We contend that the effectiveness of eWOM recommendations is contingent on the task complexity of evaluating the experience services and consumers’ degree of cognitive and sensory innovativeness. We draw on the elaboration likelihood model, cognitive load theory, service adoption process theory, and the two dimensions of consumer’s innovativeness (i.e., cognitive innovativeness and sensory innovativeness), as the theoretical underpinnings, to propose nine hypotheses. These hypotheses are empirically tested based on data collected from 263 subjects. To that end, we used a controlled longitudinal laboratory experiment, based on a mixed methods (quantitative – qualitative) research methodology. The results of statistical tests of quantitative data and the content analysis of the qualitative data illustrate that the effectiveness of eWOM recommendations on consumers’ perceptions of adopting experience services is contingent on the consumers’ prior knowledge of the service context, consumers’ level of cognitive and sensory innovativeness, and the consumers’ level of experience with the service, which is determined by the stage of the service adoption process (i.e., pre-usage, initial use, and repeated use). Our findings show that the confluence of these factors creates different settings that determine the effectiveness of eWOM recommendations. These findings provide valuable contributions to the theory and practice by ameliorating important gaps in the eWOM literature. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The scarce internet access in Ethiopia puts heavy weight on traditional media and people to spread news and information. By testing if the marketing strategy Word of Mouth is applicable on informative content, rather than just brands and products, this thesis explore the motivation to spread news as well as how it is received by a non-internet using group. As with brands, a common trigger for WOM was the subject being brought up in a discussion, both offline and online. Conditions that increased WOM in marketing such as being sociable and feeling a responsibility also increased WOM for more political content. The study also found that there is a low trust for internet as a source, but a high trust for the word of many. If the message was heard multiple times it was more believable, even though a primary source was lacking. In general both internet users and non-internet users were actively spreading information with the reason that it needed to be spread, something that was concluded as a collectivist action where information is spread quickly through social ties. Non-internet users were considered to be extra fragile and exposed to fake news due to the unequal distribution of information and technology. Since trust was based on the message of many, echo chambers and confirmation bias is discussed, as well as how Ethiopia might tackle the segregation of technology in the country in order to decrease inequality in the future. / Den svaga tillgången till internetuppkoppling i Etiopien lägger ett stort ansvar på traditionell media, och människor, för att sprida nyheter och information till landets stora befolkning. Genom att testa om marknadsföringsstrategin Word of Mouth också är applicerbar på informativa budskap undersöker denna uppsats motivationen bakom att sprida nyheter, samt hur denna mottas av en grupp som inte använder internet. Liksom med varumärken var en vanlig trigger för WOM med informativ kontext att ämnet nämndes i en pågående diskussion, både online och offline. Förutsättningar som stärkte WOM vid marknadsföring, såsom att vara social och känna ett samhällsansvar ökade också WOM för nyheter. Studien fann också att det var låg tillit för internet som källa, men att det fanns stor tilltro till information som upprepades av olika personer. Ett budskap som hördes från flera olika var mer trovärdigt, oavsett vilken den primära källan var eller om den saknades helt. Generellt spred både internetanvändare och icke-användarna information av anledningen att det behövdes spridas och höras av alla invånare, vilket tolkades som en kollektivistisk handling där nyheter snabbt spreds i sociala nätverk. De som inte använder internet ansågs vara extra exponerade för fake news på grund av den ojämställda distributionen av information och tillgången till teknologi. Då tillit var baserat på upprepning från många diskuterar uppsatsen även echo chambers och confirmation bias, samt hur Etiopien i framtiden kan tackla den tekniska segregationen.