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This thesis is written based on secondary research to understand the main determinants of purchase intention of Generation Y women towards Fast Fashion products and how important is sustainability among those determinants. There are many different studies dedicated to Generation X and Z, however, when it comes to Generation Y there are not many sources available. I decided to put them together in this study.
This thesis consists of secondary researches, mostly journal articles and case studies from different countries, with detailed specific information.
The gathered information is categorized into 3 small hypotheses, which include theoretical and practical approaches.
More research can be made conducting primary research in different countries using physical stores and online stores.
Moving places in cars impacts human activity daily. Therefore, living in a world without cars is inconceivable. While demand for cars exists, supply experiences shortcomings. Customers receive their vehicles with only one key or must deal with long delivery times. There is a correlation between the car industry, supply shortfalls and the current state of the world regarding COVID-19. The objectives of this research are examining how the semiconductor chip shortage affected sales and production of German car manufacturers and what strategic conclusions can be drawn for the future. To reach the objectives a quantitative theory analysis of existing literature was applied. The chosen car manufacturers are Audi AG, BMW AG, and Mercedes-Benz Group AG.
The results show that all objects to the research topic experienced a decline in production and sales. Further, that the semiconductor shortage, mainly anticipated by the pandemic, revealed the fragility of supply networks of the automotive industry. Different strategic attempts may cure supply chain management issues as such; however, it depends on the evaluation of the automotive industry whether this crisis carries a sustainable effect with its presence or not.
The creation of a positive organizational culture has become of increasing interest during the past decades. Various studies have assessed the impact of organizational culture and employee satisfaction in relation to individual and organizational performance. A cross-comparison of these studies is difficult, as the results strongly depend on the definition of the investigated variables. Additionally, the concept of organizational culture remains a unique concept within the group and is influenced by the respective organizational structures and processes.
Therefore, this bachelor thesis attempts to investigate the concept of organizational culture and its determinants in general, as well as making the case of the critical im-portance of organizational culture, specifically for the company MS Plastic Welders, LLC (MSPW).
In this context, to form a comprehensive analysis and theoretical framework, secondary data was examined. In line with the qualitative findings, the application of a descriptive employee survey at MSPW intended to examine the employees’ perceptions towards their job satisfaction and the overall working environment. The aim of the study was to uncover the main areas for improvement, forming the basis of leading a positive culture change. Following the survey, conclusions about the organizational culture at MSPW were drawn and put into perspective in the form of recommendations for the company. The survey results indicated that the company needs to communicate a clear organizational mission and additionally needs to determine and communicate their organizational values, in order to clearly direct the employees’ mindsets, behavior and actions. After determining the organizational direction, the internal structures and processes need to be aligned to support the desired behavior patterns and in order to enhance the long-term organizational performance perspectives through positive culture change.
The awareness of fintech has been on the rise, as more banks participate in technological changes, new unconventional companies and start-ups begin to offer fintech solutions to the public, and an increase in fintech exhibitions and fairs can be observed all around the world. Below is a figure obtained from Google Trends, which illustrates the trend of Google searches related to fintech the past 5 years. As Google is known to be one of the most frequently used search engine around the world, the trend depicted will accurately reflect the awareness in fintech.
With reference to Figure 1, a value of 0 indicates that there is insufficient information regarding searches for fintech and a value of 100 indicates the maximum peak popularity for fintech. Therefore, Figure 1 represents the growing attention of fintech since 2015. The ‘note’ in Figure 1 represents an improvement made on Google Trends to collect search results.
Fintech is most known for its disruptive and unconventional impacts it brings to the traditional banking industry. (World Economic Forum, 2017) In light of fintech, the perception of banking today has changed drastically as compared to the past. As opposed to traditional banking that was once the monopoly of the industry, banks these days are following the trend of moving towards digitalisation, in order to remain competitive. (Williams-Grut, 2015) (World Economic Forum, 2018)
Attention for fintech amongst the public, investors and governments grew rapidly since 2014. (Arner) The graph below indicates a flourishing expectation in the fintech investments. (Statista, 2015) From the year 2008 to the year 2020, the value of fintech investments all around the world is projected to grow to a USD$46 billion industry. A market analysis that was done by Deloitte also suggests the same growing trend. (Deloitte, 2015)
Numbers in Figure 2 represent the total value of fintech investments across all segments of fintech. In general, fintech is divided into 4 segments: payments, financing, asset management and others. (Gregor Dorfleitner, 2017) However, there are variations from publications to publications. An industry report conducted by Statista found that digital payments segment in fintech was the largest in 2017, with a global transaction value (TAV) of US$2753.70 billion. (Statista, 2018) Following digital payments was alternative lending, followed by personal finance and lastly alternative financing.
As part of the thesis, an expert survey was conducted. Professionals who are currently working in the fintech industry, in addition, expressed most positivity and expectations in the payment sector of the fintech industry. Moreover, results gathered from another survey participated by members of the public also indicated the most interest in payment/personal banking. Approximately 50% of all responses collected indicated “Yes” for payment/personal banking services. Due to this uprising expectations of the payments sector by experts in fintech, this thesis aims to focus on the payment sector in fintech and to predict trends as accurately as possible. The integration of fintech initiatives into payments has brought about new areas of studies, in terms of business models, types of services, customers as well as the security of data. (Salmony, 2014) Therefore, this thesis aims to address these areas, as well as to offer suggestions to counter threats faced by payments in the fintech industry.
This thesis will be based heavily on business to customers (B2C) fintech products and services. It will consist of an extensive literature review and empirical research on reliable sources of information. Data used in this thesis will be from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data is collected through two surveys. The survey was divided into two target groups- first for the mass market and second only for senior professionals in the fintech industry. The purpose of the first public survey is to understand the preferences and needs of the mass market. The second expert survey was done to understand the strategy of two highly successful fintech company and their future expectations from a professional’s perspective. The experts are current professionals from Murex and Allianz Technology. As for secondary data, it is obtained from credible sources, such as government websites and industrial analysis reports. As certain names and keywords vary from sources to sources, they will be classified accordingly, as accurately and closely as possible. The information used in this thesis is further explained under “Methodology”. Primary data collected and secondary data gathered will be compared with each other to verify their accuracy.
The first chapter of this thesis gives an introduction to the fintech industry. The second chapter will analyse the digital payment environment. This includes the SWOT, PESTEL analyses and advantages and disadvantages. In the third chapter, it will discuss the digital payment industry today. The fourth chapter will be related to primary data findings through surveys and a comparison with secondary data gathered. Future predictions will be covered in chapter five. In chapter six, challenges and suggestions will be discussed to help fintech companies to overcome challenges and remain competitive. Finally, a conclusion will be in chapter seven.
The promotion of Fruits and Vegetables (F&V) is challenging, especially in the past
centuries. The difficulties in branding or advertising arise from traits of the produce,
making it less presentable than manufactured products. Modern farming technologies
ensure better produce appearance, therefore, need to re-examine the possibilities of its
promotion. The technology changed, so had the dietary trend. In contrary to modernised
farming, F&V advertising that appeared to be a carry-on from the 40s had seemingly
dissociated itself from consumers. This paper collected results from empirical studies.
Most of the works, however, conducted experiments with manufactured products, might
not apply to fresh produce. Discussions on the relevance of the sources are, therefore,
necessary. This research identifies a lack of branding of fresh produce, which could be a
direct causal for inactive promotion. Further examinations suggest deeper market
segmentation, which helps the marketer to create a better advertisement. The research
also notices many researchers regard promoting nutritional value as equivalent to
effective advertising, which leads to higher consumption. Promoting nutritional value,
however, appears to be merely attractive to the certain consumer. In many cases, other
mechanisms, for instance, originality, health, fun and other emotional tags, could attract
more attentions.
Although sustainability reporting in China receives more attention in the past ten years, effective studies and literature of sustainability reporting are still in urgent need. A good sustainability reporting will provide stakeholders with needed information and guidance in the activities, and it also minimises the potential harm while creating economic, social and environmental values (Schaltegger & Wagner, 2006, 5). The main objectives of this research are not only to have an overall view of Chinese sustainability reporting situation but also to look into how Chinese companies will develop or what needs to be changed for a better development. To achieve this goal, sustainability reporting issued by top 10 manufacturing companies will be studied concerning GRI. During the analysis, the GRI Specific Standard Disclosures and Principle of Defining Report will be adopted to view how Chinese companies perform in sustainability reporting both in content and quality. Further, the possible elements of influencing companies development will be illustrated. Then make an attempt of what will future SR focus. The result obtained from the analysis is that Chinese sustainability reporting still have many problems in both quality and content. Most of them share the similar preference on how and what to disclose, such as focusing on resource saving. After making an explanation of what will affect future development of the companies in China, it is concluded that in the future the focus of SR will be concentrated on adoption of new energy, technology innovation, application of greener supply chain and consumption of green products.
New product development is essential for a company to grow and sustain itself. Usability testing is a crucial part of the new product development process, and it helps reduce product uncertainty and market failure. There are many methods available and they vary depending on the product development phase. This thesis focuses on methods used in the deployment phase, which is the final stage before mass production. The methods used differ subjecting to different customers.
A number of studies have suggested that marketing and sales should vary when the nature of customer differs. However, only a few studies focus on how the nature of customer influences new product testing. This research compares the involvement of B2B and B2C customers during the product innovation testing phase.
The comparison has been subcategorised into four smaller hypotheses. First, the methodologies used, such as virtual prototype testing, field testing, lab usability testing, and more, are discussed whether companies use them differently according to customers' nature. Second, the process of identifying and recruiting testers is examined. Third, testers' qualification is analysed, whether participants are ordinary users or professionals or companies prefer a mixture of both. Last, the sample size, which is simply the amount of testers who participated in the usability test.
With the rise of the internet and the flood of information it provides at no cost, print is no longer the main source of information. The German magazine market has been highly affected by this change. Publishers are faced with declining sales volumes, loss of advertising income and increasing costs. The implementation of Augmented Reality technology could make print magazines less static by providing the opportunity to add extra content and create an interactive reading experience. However, so far the use cases of this technology in print magazines have been rare, which might be due to the deficiency of information publishers have about its likelihood of success. To reduce this information gap and provide some recommendations for publishers, a web survey and expert interviews were conducted to establish the consumer perspective on an implementation of AR technology and to provide a potential future outlook based on the opinions of German AR solution providers. It was concluded that an implementation of AR would lead to a value addition for consumers and would result in an increase in purchase intention. Despite also resulting in an improved perceived image of the magazine, it should only be implemented if it does not lead to an increase in price or the reduction of editorial content, to avoid losing readers, who will not access the additional content. The substantial costs involved in implementing AR as well as existing technological limitations, which affect the ease of use for consumers, will likely prevent many publishers from realising such an implementation. AR glasses will play a significant role in the decision if AR technology will have a future in German print magazines according to the interviewed experts, in case they are accepted by the general public.
In the time of a globalizing economy where the costs of production and the closeness to customers, due to transportation cost, become more and more important. More and more medium-sized companies seek for the advantages of production facilities abroad either to cut cost and stay competitive or to follow other companies using their products. For several years Freilacke has been active in the Russian Federation via a subsidiary company (sales office in Moscow). This paper will analyze chances and risks for a possible production facility inside Russia. After tremendous changes in the situation in Ukraine, the production location Russian Federation has lost a bit of attractiveness. Nevertheless Russia is largest country in the world and with more than 146.3 million inhabitants on the ninth rank due to population worldwide and therefore remains an interesting destination. Follow-up analysis and numbers will show that even if the western world will close the borders to east Eurasia, the domestic market bares a high potential and attractiveness for investors.
The automotive industry is undergoing substantial structural changes. New forms of powertrains and players are emerging. Manufacturers, due to internal as well as external drivers, are building their cars on platforms. By making use of modular design approaches, they hope to satisfy customer needs best and stay competitive. When designing global platforms, local variations are to be avoided. The presented paper offers an approach to rank components of an electric vehicle according to their likeliness of a local design adaption. To verify the results of the value chain- based analysis, the variant indicator analysis, interviews were carried out. The analysis shows that the battery is most likely subject to design changes. Also, variant drivers in the value chain bear the highest potential for local redesigns.
The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to provide an overview on the development, acceptance and the current status quo in the application of the concept of Lean Administration in Germany. In this context, based on an extensive literary and quantitative research, the Japanese concept of Lean Management, its history, principles, related approaches and the according criticisms will be explained. Of particular importance is hereby the concept of Lean Administration, which is intended to transfer the Lean Principles from the direct business divisions to the indirect business divisions of a company. Through the execution of the literary research, it became apparent that the Lean Principles are already well established and acknowledged in many parts of the world. Particularly, manufacturing companies in Japan and Germany create their production systems in accordance to the Lean Approach. In addition to this, the principles of Lean Management are increasingly applied in indirect business areas, predominantly in Japan. But also in Germany, the awareness of the principle of Lean Administration is increasing, although the implementation of the Lean Principles in administrative areas in German companies still appears to be very restrained.
In order to investigate this circumstance in more detail, a quantitative study was subsequently conducted on the topic of "Lean Administration in Germany: Demographic and cultural factors impacting the success of the implementation of the concept“. Therefore, various factors that could have an influence on the acceptance towards the concept of Lean Administration were examined. Particular weight was given to the analysis of the cohesion between age and the level of professional experience of the respective subjects, and the openness towards the application of the concept of Lean Administration. Contrary to the initial hypothesis that both, a young age and a low level of professional experience would have a positive impact on the acceptance towards Lean Administration, the main finding of the statistical analysis is that there is no identifiable relationship between the three variables.
Nevertheless, even though no statistical evidence could be found for the initial hypothesis, the following significant findings could be identified. Accordingly, it seems that particularly subconscious factors have an influence on the acceptance of the concept of Lean Administration in Germany. Due to the habits of common approaches for processing administrative tasks and the fear of uncertainty about Lean Administration in practice, employees often feel insecure or not sufficiently encouraged to try out a new concept in administration. In this context, this bachelor thesis represents an overview and a guideline - especially for managers, department heads and employees in human resources - on the approaches, which can be used to promote Lean Administration in an adequate environment for increasing the resource efficiency in indirect areas in the long term. Consequently, through a well-structured approach and the usage of visual graphics in an appealing design, this thesis explains, what is required to be considered or could be investigated in the future in order to sustainably establish the concept of Lean Administration in German companies.
Companies are progressively implementing remote work models to handle the evolving changes in economic, social, and technological environments and facilitate their business operations amidst these. Meaning more teams including multicultural ones are deployed to function on a virtual basis, during the course of their employment, or for a specific project.
Therefore, this thesis focuses on presenting the main challenges that these global virtual teams typically face and the practices to implement as a way to resolve them.
Data were obtained from both a literature study and interviews run with a total of six experts. Four of them being managers and two, employees so that varying perspectives on different organizational levels could be covered.
The findings emphasize that the virtual element significantly impacted communication, coordination, collaboration, and the social aspect. Hence teams and/or management need to dedicate more time to collectively decide on and elaborate a set of common guidelines, best practices, and tools to address this. Whilst maintaining openness and a sense of trust throughout, as incidents or interactions can come up that normally prompt unintended assumptions. For reoccurring issues or generally to ensure the team’s performance and well-being though, companies and/or top management need to regularly follow up and be prepared to intervene.
When scaling, startups face managerial challenges and a downfall in innovation. A growing team and the resulting increased communication and organizational complexity bring issues previously not existing. Accountability Systems can assist startups overcome the mentioned issues and maintain their essence of innovation, vital for their success.
This paper discusses the relevance and benefits of implementing formal managerial systems in a growing startup. By mapping out the interdependence of culture, innovation and growth, it is demonstrated how Accountability Systems can support the preservation of an innovative culture when scaling a startup.
In a time when innovation is often disregarded due to a focus on process efficiency, Accountability Systems can provide a valuable tool for managing transition. This thesis serves as a general evaluation of Accountability Systems and their benefits. It is important to note that this paper is not intended to serve as a directly adaptable guide for startups.
The present study was conducted in the International Purchasing Department at the Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG which is the headquarters of the international grocery retail discounter Lidl. The subject was defined by the author in cooperation with Mr. Robert Maier, executive manager for non-food and brand, and Ms. Silvia Carazo Soto, manager for the product range development in the Lidl non-food sector. The present study has two major purposes: Firstly, to investigate how customers perceive the non-food products and sector at Lidl and secondly, to identify what characteristics they value and would like to see improved in the Lidl stores.
The goal of this present study is to determine various proposals to optimize the non-food sector of Lidl stores in order to increase customer satisfaction and sales. Data and information material for this research were gathered through the author’s mentors, colleagues, meetings, an empirical survey, internal company presentations, the company homepage, the university’s EBSCO online research database, various business press as well as scientific publications.
In the first part, a theoretical background on the subject as well as company insights into the non-food division is provided. These show that the spending power of consumers has increased, consumers are becoming progressively demanding and that Lidl is faced by strong competitors on the food retail market.
The thesis then presents the empirical study conducted by the author from 30 November 2015 until 12 December 2015. Three hundred customers in ten different Lidl stores in four German federal states were interviewed face-to-face. The survey included fifteen questions regarding the customer’s shopping behavior at Lidl, the customer’s satisfaction with regards to a non-food purchase as well as customer expectations, experience and improvement proposals of the non-food sector.
The survey results show that 77% of all participants had bought non-food products at Lidl during the six months before the survey date. Of all these participants, 75% were either very satisfied or satisfied with their non-food purchase. Furthermore, it was concluded that Lidl lives from its price-performance ratio and promotion via the Lidl leaflet in-store or distributed to home. Inferential, the survey results suggest that the product presentation and the store atmosphere need to be optimized as well as the product availability. Moreover, the results indicated that customers think that up-to-date Lidl leaflets, information boards, product brochures and a mirror need to be available at the non-food sector.
In conclusion, on the basis of the results of this research, the author recommends optimizing the non-food sector in the Lidl stores by means of five different proposals. First of all, to improve the customer experience in a Lidl store by providing a “five senses experience” and secondly to optimize in-store promotion by integrating speed-bumps and optimizing the creation and presentation of product posters, banners and product paper models. Thirdly, the author recommends introducing a digital terminal as an operation tool to order and purchase non-food products that are sold out or not available in a Lidl store with the possibility to choose a home or store delivery, to search products on the Lidl homepage and to watch non-food product videos. Furthermore, the terminal includes a built-in shelf to collect paper product brochures. Fourthly, in order to optimize the product presentation of non-food products, two proposals for a sample product presentation are made. Primarily by means of a non-food module which is attachable to a non-food table in order to present a sample either on a coat hanger or a built-in shelf or by means of a hallstand with an integrated mirror. In addition, the author presents the option of a digital mirror. The fifth proposal is a category management LED lighting module installed above the non-food tables to facilitate the customer orientation in the non-food sector. In addition, the author presents three further proposals including executing customer satisfaction survey periodically, optimizing employee training and improving the Online Shop.
In conclusion, the thesis argues that Lidl is prepared to optimize the non-food sector in the interest of increasing customer satisfaction, attracting new customers, staying competitive and trendy and increasing sales. The author recommends focusing on providing an optimized customer experience in the Lidl stores, thereby primarily focusing on the most important sense, sight. For this, an optimized sample product presentation is primarily of highest interest followed by a better in-store promotion. The present thesis hopes to offer the Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG useful ideas on how to optimize the non-food sector and thus contribute to Lidl’s company success.
This research paper explores consumer behaviour towards the purchase and usage of Electric Power Two Wheelers (EP2W) by German millennials, the target consumers of this paper. To evaluate the purchasing intentions of German millennials on EP2W, academic research has been conducted. Therefore, data from scientific studies have been collected with a focus on which aspects influence the target consumers’ opinions between electric P2W and fossil fuel P2W. The resulting data showed that millennials exhibit stronger purchase motives towards EP2W. It also states that the purchase price of the EP2W serves as a primary factor.
Fast and flexible – today's two most desired traits within the business environment. The quickly rising technological advancement makes it difficult for organizations to keep up with their productivity. Owing to the digitalization, organizations have to rethink their structures and processes to be able to adjust to the constantly changing environment and ultimately continue to stay a successful force. A “one-size-fits-all” solution does not exist, which makes the initiatives time-consuming and difficult.
Since digitalization comes with major challenges that have to be tackled to decrease the gap in potential business productivity, the first objective of this paper is to identify relevant action points for organizations, together with the examination of the best practice of agility and its structural and cultural traits.
Further, this work aims to comprehend the structural and cultural traits of the case of [company name]. This is approached by a mixed method empirical analysis. First, by qualitative in-depth interviews with the first and second level managers based on the preceding theoretical framework of Spiral Dynamics and a concept of organizational culture analysis. Second, by a quantitative online survey with the remaining workforce based on the model of Competing Values Framework, assessing not only the current but also the by the workforce desired structural and cultural traits.
The model of Spiral Dynamics defines differing predominant core value systems of mankind, whereas challenges that cannot be accomplished with current behaviors initiate the evolution to another core value system – just like digitalization does with the case of [company name]. The Competing Values Framework is a scientifically justified concept to analyze organizational culture.
The last objective of this paper is to develop a set of tailored recommendations towards agile work approaches for the case of [company name] based on the preceding analysis and the theoretical framework of a scientifically justified change management process.
The conducted research reveals that the organization’s culture mainly shows traits of a traditional organization, with top-down decision-making and task assignments, selective transparency, silo-communication and a lack of interdisciplinary collaboration, which results in the predominant core value system of Success. Additionally, the analysis of the desired traits reveals a congruency with agile organizational traits, or in other words, the predominant value system of Synergy. With respect to the results, the study makes seven recommendations, incorporating the theory of a successful change initiative. Together with specified action examples, the way towards the desired predominant value system is paved.
With information on corporate ethical behavior now more accessible than ever, consumers have become increasingly socially and environmentally aware, which has translated into a growing demand for ethically made products. For ethically minded consumers, certification labels such as fair trade or organic are simple indicators of whether a product meets their ethical standards. For companies that wish to become certified, which is a lengthy and sometimes expensive process, there are several pertinent questions to consider, such as how much customers really value particular labels and whether multiple labels yield significant added competitive benefits. One should also consider how best to collect this information, because simply asking customers via surveys isn’t guaranteed to return results that actually reflect or predict real-life behavior (Carrington et al. 2010). For this paper, we collected information on consumers’ willingness to pay for products with the organic and fair trade labels (both individually and in combination) using two different methods: a traditional questionnaire and a reaction-time based electronic research method designed to reveal subconscious value perceptions. The factors involved were product type and number of labels. We found little evidence to suggest that additional ethical labels significantly increase willingness to pay.
Globalisation and technological advancements over the last decade have changed the way that business organisations operate. In response to these developments many companies have opted for a global strategy which usually entails a form of standardisation. This thesis will focus on standardisation of human resources software. There are many articles and journals on the field of human resources management, the impact of technology of human resources and standardisation of processes in general but very little literature on standardisation of human resources software despite the huge role that it plays in supporting global HR strategy.
Using mainly qualitative research and primary first-hand experience this thesis will look into the factors affecting standardisation of human resources software. The assumption is that standardisation of HR software is the only option for global strategy and that it will increase efficiency, reduce costs and create other benefits for an organisation.
The research shows that when technical and non-technical factors are not equally considered standardisation of HR software is likely to take longer than intended and according to the measurements put in place it may fail completely or the perceived benefits are not fully realised. Additionally, constant technological innovations could redefine standardisation and the role of HR software in an organisation.
The fight against global warming and the challenge of reducing CO2 output are critical issues for emitters, such as the fossil fuel sector. Many governments, acting in concert, will heavily regulate emissions in the future to not exceed a 2°C increase in temperature, as agreed on in the Paris Agreement in 2005. Heavy investments in renewables, research and development, and carbon storage are signs of the beginning of this progress to energy transition.
Due to the increases in CO2, measured in the atmosphere, many environmental organizations and scientists have studied the matter carefully. Their results show that if nations continue on their current path and do not decrease their CO2 output, it will take no longer than 26 years to exceed the 2°C limit.
The fossil fuel industry, as the main emitter of CO2, will have to depreciate many of their reserves, because CO2 containing fossil fuels listed on stock exchanges exceed the amount absorbable by the earth. This means, that if the content of CO2 recorded on worldwide stock exchanges would be extracted, an increase beyond 2°C is foreseeable. The bubble, similar to the Lehmann Brother case in 2008, will burst someday and cause high losses when extraction limits are implemented.
The impact of climate change related emission regulations on entities´ financial statements is identified as a research gap. This study focuses on the accounting standards and depreciation of minerals as it is an important matter for the current and future economic situation. Depending on current actions taken by extracting entities and governing power the future for the energy industry will look very different from today.
The main purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate the customers’ motivation to participate in SAP‘s Influencing Programs and to subsequently generate suggestions for possible improvements.
The framework for the domains of interview design, analysis of conducted interviews, as well as the analysis of secondary sources is presented by theoretical analysis of both the involvement of business-to-business customers in the innovation process as well as the nature of motivation.
Empirical findings show that customers’ motivation to participate in SAP IPs consists of, in descending order of importance, the following motives: Influencing functionality, understanding functionality, learning about future functionality, contact to SAP, and contact to other companies. The design of SAP’s Influencing Programs is generally in line with the motivation of participating customers. Still, improvements could be realized in terms of customer involvement during the selection process, internal alignment between different Influencing Program teams, and mandatory training of Influencing Program moderators.
When enterprises decide to expand operations to new foreign markets, they are encountered with the crucial decision of how to implement their marketing strategy in each market without losing consistency across their global brand image. This thesis will focus especially on the impact culture has on this decision and on its implementation. To do so, a qualitative analysis in form of expert interviews was performed in six multinational companies across different industries. Marketing managers from the headquarters were questioned about the implementation of their global marketing strategy in their local markets. The findings give new insights for managers in terms of future adaptations for efficient communication of marketing strategy across the multinational company.
The two strategic options standardisation and adaptation are examined in the literature to set a foundation to later discuss culture’s influence on this decision. Furthermore, a cultural framework will be given and the communication structure of the two main parties of a multinational company will be reviewed in the existing literature.
Many entrepreneurs are still conducting business today according to the principle "the purpose of business is business". The focus here is primarily placed on the corporation’s profits while human relations within the enterprise are almost completely ignored. Humanity and business are, after all, seen as two mutually exclusive concepts. However, results of studies undertaken by well-known research institutes, such as Gallup, indicate this management style to be inefficient for businesses in the long run as the resulting low emotional bond of employees with their companies generates high costs for organizations.
For this reason, the present paper examines the extent to which humanity and business are really two mutually exclusive ideas and provides an answer to the research question of whether taking a human approach in a business is a crucial factor for its success. In addition, the possible effects resulting through the integration of humanity in business are analyzed.
To provide an answer to the research question, the currently most recent working challenges in organizations as well as their corresponding demands were first worked out. Subsequently, the human being - with a specific focus on human emotions and emotional needs – was closer examined due to its significance in the company. Finally, the possible effects achieved by taking a human approach in a business were presented on the basis of two already human-oriented corporations. All researches were predominantly based on primary sources as well as on the results of a self-conducted qualitative interview.
The results of all investigations clearly suggest that taking a human approach in an organization is a decisive factor for its success. In addition, it was established that human interactions even help enterprises in achieving astonishingly quick and long-lasting financial successes.
It is therefore plain that it is necessary for companies pursuing the goal to be successful in the long-term to break free from the common principle of "the purpose of business is business" and instead be more open to new forms of management, such as "Humanity and Business".
Social media has become inseparable from our daily lives thanks to the widely use of internet and mobile technological advancement. Travel and tourism has benefited a lot from social media, especially the travelers. Not only can they find travel-related information on social media platforms, but they can also discuss and exchange necessary and relevant opinions and information.
The purpose of this research study is to examine how social media influences where German millennials determine their holiday destination. This dissertation analyzes to what extend social media influences the individual German millennial’s decision and whether reviews and comments affect their decisions.
The research study comprises of 5 chapters which represent the analytical process from beginning to end. The first chapter is the introduction, then literature reviews, then the methodology for primary research of this research is identified and explained. Results from the online questionnaire are then presented followed by an analysis and interpretation. Finally, the conclusion and limitation of the research have been discussed.
This research study concludes that social media does influence German millennials when they use social media to compare the holiday destinations in comparison to those who do not use social media for this purpose. It is clear that social media is the main source of information when they are looking for holiday destination information and is preferred compared to travel books and travel agencies. The results have shown that TripAdvisor is the most used holiday destination information page among other social media platforms. Furthermore, most of German millennials are passive users of travel-related social media platforms. That means they only consume information but do not necessarily write reviews or comments after their holiday experience.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often said to increase efficiency which is why it is especially interesting to companies seeking possibilities to improve existing processes. Consequently, this thesis, written in cooperation with the Corporate Communications and Marketing / Public Affairs department at Marquardt GmbH, explores opportunities in this field by determining prerequisites that should be met when considering working with AI as well as risks that should be taken care of. In order to determine the department’s level and progress in the field of AI, the employees involved in the existing tasks and processes completed a questionnaire, resulting in the department being at the lowest level. Moreover, providers of tools within the fields of social bots, document classification, content marketing, media planning and sentiment analysis are compared with the help of utility analyses, allowing for a recommendation regarding what the next steps of the department should be. The fields were chosen premised on the emplyoees’ current tasks while information required for the analyses was obtained by contacting the providers as well as their websites. Based on findings of the thesis, the department is recommended not to follow the trend of AI immediately as the effort required would be disproportionate to the return.
Advantest Company ("the company") is the world’s leading manufacturer of automatic test and measurement equipment used in the design and manufacturing of semiconductors. Because of the complexity of technologies and the supply chain of the semiconductor business segment, the company depends on both internal and external suppliers to manage some aspects of the supply chain of its main product, the System on Chip (“SoC”) test system. As a result, it is of ongoing interest to the company to have tools to continually strive for increased quality, reliability, capacity, and speed. Above all, these tools must enhance the relationships with the suppliers, and ensure the profitability and the company's position in the future.
The goal of this thesis is to understand the supply chain procedure at Advantest Company’s current state from the data-driven perspective by using the process mining technique. This technique is an emerging discipline, providing a comprehensive set of tools to provide fact-based insights and support process improvement. This new discipline is built on process model-driven approaches and data mining.
In this thesis, we discuss opportunities for process mining with an approach to analyse the process and how it can help the company enhance the procedure. This approach, which consists of data extraction from both third-party and internal software solutions, provides better visibility and faster disruptive event notification of the supply chain at the company.
Digitalisation has great impact on employee-employer relationships. With Web 2.0 modern features like flexibility and mobility influence the organisational structure. Crowdsourcing is a new form of remote employment which will be analysed in this work. This system consists of several anonymous freelancers taking part in task collaboration via the internet. It is a process of connecting with a large group of unknown people in order to find solutions for a certain problem. This phenomenon describes several possibilities and challenges for Human Resources Management.
Based on the main literature two hypotheses were stated: The first one assumed that this certain success is dependent on participation and the second hypothesis proposes the dependence of the digital community itself. This bachelor thesis tries to investigate the influential factors contributing to a successful crowdsourcing initiative in the context of HR. The essence of this lies in motivational aspects therefore first crucial features were determined that lead to and result from motivation. Next, desirable characteristics of the crowd itself were identified such as diversity and autonomy. This all was concluded with the assumption that HR’s responsibility is developing novel possible practices in order to cope with the new challenges crowdsourcing presents. How those mentioned processes and suggestions might be put into practice maintains a suspect matter which requires more investigation in the future.
The aim of this study is to investigate how cultural diversity is implemented and promoted in German startups and what best practices can be derived from these insights. The research question is: How is cultural diversity being implemented and promoted in German startups? Challenges and best practices.
As an empirical method to address the research question, expert interviews were conducted to gain precise insight into the strategies and initiatives of startups related to cultural diversity.
The results of the research have shown that cultural diversity has a significant impact on fostering innovation and creativity in startups. It also became clear that leadership within the company plays a crucial role in implementing cultural diversity and creating an inclusive environment. Research also showed that the implementation of formal initiatives in startups is limited due to company size and resource constraints.
Overall, the study has demonstrated that cultural diversity plays an important role in startups that should not be overlooked. Based on theoretical insights as well as findings from the study, best practices have been derived to serve as guidelines for startups aiming to efficiently and resourcefully implement cultural diversity.
The aim of this bachelor thesis is to research a way to implement mobile work successfully into the department of IDS Sales Service at Roche Diabetes Care Germany GmbH. To achieve this objective, a literature review was done that identifies the most expected threats and determines strategies to overcome them. In the practical part, the tasks in the department in question are categorized and it is analyzed which threats are most significant in this case. Further, using the outcomes of a department survey and pilot days, policies are formulated to reduce these probable threats and to define the terms and conditions of the arrangement. Due to the findings in this thesis, mobile work was successfully implemented into the department of IDS Sales Service.
While Africa presents huge markets for foreign software, sales in these markets have been decreasing over the years. This downward movement in sales can be attributed to the challenges software companies are facing in these markets.
Using the case of TeamViewer GmbH in South Africa and Nigeria, this paper seeks to examine these challenges and give possible recommendations on how to improve sale. It also would analyze the opportunities present in these markets for foreign software.
Through an interview with customers and re-sellers in the South African and Nigerian markets, we uncover that, high prices, competition, unawareness of subscription, to name a few, are some of the challenges resulting in poor sales. Also, using the political, economical, social, technological, legal and environmental (PESTLE) model of analysis, an overview of the socio-economic and political situation in these markets were examined. The findings from this paper would serve as a spring board for further research on this topic.
In 2008 a white paper called “Bitcoin: A Peer-To-Peer Electronic Cash System” was published by Satoshi Nakamoto. This paper describes an electronic payment system that succeeds where many have failed before. The system is called Bitcoin and it deals with the double spending problem. Also, it is a peer-to-peer decentralized system meaning that it works separately from any government or any financial institution. Bitcoin relies on cryptographic proof-of-work blocks any chance of protocol disruption. Satoshi Nakamoto called Bitcoin an electronic payment system but the public now calls it a cryptocurrency because of its similarities to a currency.
Many pessimists thought that Bitcoin could never be successful and that this technology will not have any value in the future. Despite that, a considerable amount of people believe in the possibilities of cryptocurrencies and in the possible developments that this futuristic technology could inspire, especially in the financial service sector.
This purpose of this thesis is to investigate cryptocurrencies and the financial service industry in order to examine the challenges and opportunities that cryptocurrencies deliver. Section I of the paper will look into cryptocurrencies and their mechanism. Afterwards, an analysis of whether cryptocurrencies are actual currency will be given. The next section of the thesis will cover government regulations on cryptocurrencies. Then, the paper will analyze public perception and why it is important. Section II of this thesis evaluates the current financial service system and the potential benefits of the blockchain. Central banks and moral hazards in the finance sector are examined afterwards. Then, analysis on inflation and wealth is provided. After that, a summary of the advantages and drawbacks of both the cryptocurrency system and the traditional finance service system are given, followed by a section that estimates the utilities and effects of cryptocurrencies in the future. Finally, a conclusion is derived.
Creating effective cross-cultural advertising campaigns is one of the most challenging ongoing topics in international marketing. This paper aims to apply the insights of cross-cultural neuroscience of emotion to advertising in China and Germany.
Examining the differences in cross-cultural perception of emotions will be instrumental for models used in advertisements across China and Germany, help understand the role of consumer age for the emotional reaction to advertisements and elucidate the influence of emotions on cross-cultural prejudices and memory.
Based on an expert interview conducted with the neuroscientist Dr. Henning Beck, several hypotheses were generated. In order to investigate the hypotheses, a cross-cultural survey in China and Germany was conducted testing the influence of the own-race bias on emotional advertising using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM). The results of the primary research suggest that the perception of emotions is culturally trained and can lead to a different emotional experience of advertising for Chinese and German citizens.
In the last few years no other innovation has been able to influence the marketing environment like neuromarketing, the new science of consumer behaviour, which combines neuroscientific techniques with marketing in order to understand brain functions in terms of marketing activities. This combination helps to improve the understanding of the influence of emotions and senses on decision-making and buying-behaviour. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential and limitations of neuromarketing, by taking a close look into published data, conducted studies and expert opinions concerning this new field of science. The published data retrieved from studies using brain-imaging techniques found that emotions and human senses influence every second in human beings’ perception and that consumers are not able to decide completely economically. Nevertheless, further research is recommended in order to gain a deeper understanding of the human brain and how it conducts
decision-making processes. Additionally, consumer neuroscience has high potential to become a commonly used technique, which sustainably supports traditional
market research. Neuromarketing seems to become a promising technique to provide consumers with desired products, services, web shops and advertising
design.
The purpose of this thesis is to examine how process mining might enhance and benefit processes to increase the competitive advantage, while also examining the difficulties businesses are facing when implementing process mining and the purpose for which they have implemented it. Presentations of cases from various industries are backed up by in-person interviews with representatives of various businesses. The findings show that process mining is a tool that users highly recommend since it produces results that have never been seen before, regardless of the field in which it is used and regardless of their initial purpose for choosing such a concept. It also emphasizes the importance of the staff and people in putting a new idea into practice, as well as their obstacles embracing anything new.
Businesses that are competing for an advantage knock on many doors. The last ten years have seen many businesses of all kinds open their doors to process mining. A notion that identifies their shortcomings, provides them with room to grow and gives them transparency. One would assume that firms' focus is on keeping costs low in today's environment, where expenses climb enormously daily, therefore that's why they introduce innovative concepts. That may be true at first, but once the concept's genuine usefulness is realized, their focus is simple to change. Companies today recognize the need of process optimization if they wish to operate with a competitive edge and have a sound business plan. Until businesses decide to test the idea themselves, the network effect is important in such situations.
Since the concept hasn't been on the market for very long and not many companies have had experience with it thus far, it was observed that the results of the literature review with regard to the content of the interviews were practically comparable.
Finally, this paper provides recommendations for a transition from the conventional business models that firms are still using to more modern technical, data-based approaches. Only a broad analysis and conclusion are possible with the sample size of eleven companies and ten specialists.
The interest in topics such as understanding the communication between product design and customer has increased dramatically in recent years. Researchers have been dedicated to understanding more of product design, its dimensions and the consumer perception of it.
The spirits industry competition is dominating in the alcoholic beverages, and the second largest spirit which has a highly competitive market, is vodka. Companies are struggling to stand out from the competition and grab the consumer attention. The following study will explore the aesthetic and symbolic dimensions of a product design and it will show how the design of the vodka bottles is communicating with the consumer. The research questions that are going to be explored are: Which parts of the aesthetic dimension are positively influencing the consumer and how does the consumer perceive the bottle shape when there is no brand influence?
In answering these questions, a secondary data has been reviewed and a questionnaire has been developed where participants will be answering attitudinal questions, open-ended questions and picture choice questions. The questionnaire has been completed from a random sample group of 92 participants of whom mostly are students.
The findings of the questionnaire indicate that angular shape and thin body of a vodka bottle are most positively appraised by the customer. In combination with a bright colour, the bottle express feelings of excitement and elegance. However, the questionnaire has been conducted with no brand logos, shapes or descriptions, and consumers still have found similarities in the shapes because of the strong influence of some world-famous brands.
This research shows that consumers are affected of how a product is designed and, that certain shapes and colours do not seem to be an option for a vodka bottle. The findings in this study are important, because a better understanding of colour-shape composition could potentially improve vodka company’s marketing strategy.
The topic of the thesis is ‘‘Identification of success patterns of the most successful SAP SFSF VARs as a base to recruit new high-potential partners. A way to achieve time to revenue efficiency for new partners joining the SAP ecosystem.’’. The whole approach is based on SAP SE, an international company providing enterprise application software with a focus on cloud solutions. The objective of the thesis is to help SAP SE to expand their cloud partner ecosystem and achieve time to revenue efficiency for new partners joining SAP ecosystem. The research question explores what are the success patterns of SAP TOP 20 SuccessFactors (SFSF) value-added resellers (VARs). The aim is to use the insights as a template to recruit new partners who show high potential for future success in reselling SAP SFSF (cloud) solutions. Currently, SAP is facing a challenge to recruit partners who are successful as VARs for cloud solutions in the small and medium size enterprises (SME) market. So far, SAP focused on increasing its market coverage by continuously expanding its Ecosystem, while the quality of the recruited partners was neglected. As a result, SAP invested a lot of resources in terms of time and money trying to onboard partners who could not deliver the expected impact. Recruiting partners who have the right patterns will decrease the resources that SAP spends on onboarding and training process while at the same time the partners will generate the revenue faster. However, SAP needs to have a clear view what a high-potential partner looks like. Therefore, it could be said, that the topic of the thesis is crucial for SAP further channel development and expansion, invested resources and indirect revenue. In order to answer the research question, the whole study is divided into seven chapters. The theoretical framework provides a general idea about the importance of partners for reselling cloud services to SMEs and what are the factors and practices that make partners successful. The empirical research explores the common success patterns of the Top 20 most successful SAP SuccessFactors value-added resellers. The author came to the conclusion that in order to be achieved time to revenue efficiency, the company should recruit only those partners who are representing the following set of success patterns: international presence, quality webpage, human capital management as a core line of business, strong digital and event marketing.
Resulting from the rapid technological advancement in the field of artificial intelligence and its implementation in the business world, intelligent systems are gradually adopted in recruitment. As this development is fast evolving and recent, there is comparatively little research about artificial intelligence in conjunction with recruitment. Hence, this thesis aims at exploring the effects of intelligent algorithms on the recruitment process and the biases involved.To investigate the topic, existing literature was analysed and primary research in form of expert interviews was conducted.The thesis describes the current state of implementation, effects on recruiters and bias as well as potential drawbacks. Overall, it was identified that artificial intelligence cannot prevent bias in personnel selection.The findings imply the need to further research the topic, particularly the implications of algorithmic bias.
Optimization of an omni-channel strategy in fashion retail – the case of Hunkemöller International
(2018)
In fashion retail, omni-channel management has become an important strategy to offer the customer a seamless shopping experience across various channels. Customers want to shop from anywhere and at any time. Therefore, retailers integrate their operations among all channels and manage them simultaneously. The customer´s interaction with the brand along various touchpoints is thereby an important factor, since the number of touchpoints along a customer´s journey is increasing. This work analyzes a fashion retailer that is already executing an omni-channel strategy, to find challenges that the company is facing and thus an approach for optimization. This is done for the example of Hunkemöller International B.V., a Dutch lingerie retailer, which is dedicated to consistently improve its omni-channel strategy.
The following work examines current literature of omni-channel management in fashion retail and sets up a framework of success factors. These are compared to the current state of the company´s omni-channel strategy through qualitative research in form of an expert interview. This research is followed by more inter-views, which give insights to the challenges that stores are facing while execut-ing omni-channel activities. In addition, the work focuses on the purchasing phase of a customer´s journey and builds a framework to investigate customer touchpoints in the respective phase. Quantitative research is carried out through an in-store customer survey that gives insights on challenges from customer´s side and on customer´s attitude towards omni-channel. Thereby a customer touchpoint analysis is conducted. The conclusion presents recommendations for Hunkemöller on how to face the challenges and optimize the current omni-channel strategy. Limitations of the research and points for future research are discussed in the end.
The goal of the following paper is to examine if Corporate Architecture can be used as a tool for Employer Branding, as both concepts gained of importance over the last years, due to the war for talents. Therefore, specific aspects of each of the theories are focused on. The focus of Corporate Architecture lies on the interior design of offices, specifically in combination with the color association theory. This theory states, that colors are associated with specific values, things or emotions. The focus of Employer Branding is set on the values of cohesion and agility, as those are key characteristics of innovative teams and organizations.
The rapid pace of change is posing a series of challenges both in industrialized and in emerging economies. Throughout history, one important measure to deal with change was to further develop technology, to find the right solution, to improve the current standard, in one word: to innovate. Over the past decades, different types of innovation have emerged. One fairly recent form is frugal innovation. The principle of frugal innovation is to build a strategic fit between affordability, quality and sustainability with the aim to create a greater value for customers while using fewer resources as capital, time or material. In view of contemporary developments like globalization, climate change, or increasing poverty which create issues across countries, industries and social classes, frugal innovation can offer solutions. Existing literature mainly reports about frugal innovation as an option to serve consumers from low income markets in developing countries. However, the concept might be already or might become in future equally crucial for industrialized economies. The purpose of this research is to investigate the future development of frugal innovation in industrialized economies. A critical question in this paper is to identify how much innovation concepts in industrialized economies differ from innovation concepts in emerging countries and in the following, to assess to what extend the frugal innovation concept would imply a reorientation for industrialized economies. The results indicate that innovators in industrialized economies still follow the typical “higher, faster, further strategy” and that different mind-sets might be necessary to introduce a frugal innovation approach. Moreover, the results show that frugal innovation offers a unique combination of principles that respond to a very high degree to present consumer, market or eco-political trends. A limitation of this paper is that in industrialized countries, hitherto there exist very few examples of frugal innovation concepts. Subsequently, the theoretical and empirical literature, which can be reviewed, is limited.
Key factors sustainability and digitalization – an analysis of countries performance and actions
(2022)
Climate change is an extremely relevant topic nowadays in everyday life, politics and even economy. Therefore, it is important to understand the dimension of this topic and be conscious about how it is affecting everyone’s life. Many people’s base of living is fading through for example crop failure or natural disasters. Next, businesses must also adapt since many governments have implemented emission caps which force organizations to restructure business processes to meet those goals. Adapting to new circumstances or ways of working is crucial to fight back menacing environmental changes and without coherent enforcement, the goal of combating global warming and tackling climate change can’t be achieved.
But how can these challenges be fought against in a meaningful way and matter in a long-term perspective? There were already some attempts made like setting a maximum for global warming worldwide. On the other hand, there is no country which can meet those in the required period of time. Next to battle the problem of global warming every country in the world has to take part and work together, or else the goals can’t be fulfilled, which can occur to be difficult and hard to execute in reality. If there is no coherency in enforcement the aim of fighting the global warming and climate change can’t be attained.
The essential query I want to obtain with this thesis is what the possibilities for countries through sustainability and digitalization to live and operate in a more renewable way are. Part of this work will be assessing Sweden’s progress and development in this field since they are pioneers in both key areas. Afterwards there will be a comparison to Morocco and Singapore which at first glance differ completely from each other to work out differences and common ground.
In the end contrasting key factors like climate and geography, politics or economy etc. will give insights about opportunities and unused potential in making the world more sustainable with the help of digitalization.
The technique of acquiring the data is mainly focused on news articles, tech, and business publications as well as governmental proclamation and reporting of environmental portals. The reasoning for this is that the topic is very up to date and the source of information needs to be as recent as possible.
The intention of the project is to generate understanding and awareness about how sustainability and digitalization can be drivers and work together in a complex sphere like environmental change.
This research study will analyze the flourish and outcomes of the sharing economy nowadays. The sharing economy has raised controversy in our society, rising significant importance on ecological and economic matters, thus it is imperative to evaluate its total effects. It is intended to discover the issues of the sharing economy model and its impacts towards sustainability and economic development. Who is being benefited by the sharing economy? A broad and deep analysis and breakdown of the structure involved by the sharing economy was made in order to clarify the overall positive and negative effects of such a model. Upon the examination of the influences and drivers of the sharing economy concerning the economy, society and ecology, awareness and insights of sustainable and economic enhancements are built. A distinctive perspective of the sharing economy is obtained based on evaluations of the relevant evidence collected.
A few years ago Porsche AG defined its “Strategy 2018”, to be followed by all subsidiaries worldwide. This includes ambitious sales and financial targets, which only can be fulfilled if Porsche becomes more efficient. One of Porsche’s core measures to reach the set targets is the development of its global dealer network. Currently, the subsidiary Porsche Middle East and Africa, responsible for the future growth in the Middle East, India and Africa, lacks this efficiency. A defined process for the set up of a new dealership in this region is not existent and tasks as well as responsibilities are not transparent among the task force.
This thesis was used to analyze the set up process of Porsche Middle East and Africa and to define an overall concept. Based on relevant literature, conducted interviews and gathered information, the required activities to successfully establish a new dealership have been identified and finally an all-encompassing concept have been created. The three stakeholders of a dealer set up, the parent company, its regional and its local presence served as informants.
The proposed concept provides Porsche Middle East and Africa and the new investors with a detailed guideline during the whole process and permits a smooth and punctual dealer set up and opening. The process integration takes Porsche Middle East and Africa a major step forward on its way to Porsche’s ‘Strategy 2018’.
Digital innovations and the opportunity to create new service-oriented business models are shaping the German power tools industry. Companies, such as Robert Bosch Power Tools GmbH strive for further differentiation and competitive advantage, as from a product-perspective the market seems to be saturated. The digital ecosystem Bosch PRO360, launched in May 2020, has high growth potential and should provide a solid basis for further digital offerings to professional craftsmen in the industry. A significant number of innovative product and service ideas, which can be integrated into PRO360 are present. Specifically, the selection of promising ideas represents a considerable challenge for innovators, thus, requires appropriate idea evaluation tools and techniques.
The aim of this thesis is to create a criteria catalogue with weighted criteria and the allocation of corresponding scale values serving as a supportive tool regarding idea evaluation procedures. To this end, a detailed literature review and analysis was executed. To gain validated conclusions of the catalogue, its application in practice was tested during five semi-structured interviews with customers of Robert Bosch Power Tools GmbH.
Results demonstrate that a standardised evaluation framework is beneficial to evaluators and, thus, should be retained for future reference. The developed framework provides clarity, transparency and security not only regarding the idea selection and decision-making process but also beyond, as it allows post-decision reviews, continuous improvement and adaption. Concerning the early stage of the project, this framework can be taken as a guidepost and support to taking the first steps towards the creation of new business models.
The current mechanisms and information sources for international students in Germany are insufficient. This thesis aims to evaluate the need for potential substitutes of preexisting information sources. Specifically, it analyzes if a commercial service provider can operate as a successful alternative. To investigate current mechanisms and their shortcoming, former information sources were assessed and evaluated. Additionally, five expert interviews were conducted gaining a time accurate evaluation of the present situation. The results show that current information sources are too bureaucratic and restricted in their actions. Nonetheless, the findings also display that there is a great need for optimal and effective access points. This thesis concludes with an analysis of a likely business model, and how it would successfully operate within the Chinese market. Conclusively, a commercial service provider has the optimal prerequisites to fulfill the current demands of international students.
This thesis explores the dynamics of digital marketing, brand positioning, and
branding strategies within the agri-food sector, and delves into the current efforts of Finca San Antonio, a Peruvian cacao farm that manufactures their own products. The rapid growth of digitalization in Peru, emphasize the changing landscape of consumer behavior and media channels. This creates a need for companies to enter the digital era and update their traditional marketing efforts, in order to cater to the new arisen needs.
The study further delves into the dimensions and strategies for brand positioning
in the agri-food industry, shedding light on the relevance of product differentiation
and market segmentation. The case of Finca San Antonio exemplifies the
incorporation of sustainability and eco-branding in building brand identity and value proposition, which is instrumental to establishing brand loyalty. Overall, this research serves as a comprehensive overview of the interplay between digital marketing and brand positioning, especially in the agri-food sector.
In recent years, the topics of new work and agile practices have received growing at-tention. The concept and mindset Working Out Loud are embedded in this field. It is described by five practices and attitudes being visible work, relationships, leading with generosity, purposeful discovery, and having a growth mindset.
The present study attempts to evaluate whether it holds that this concept is predomi-nantly adopted by employees in hierarchical companies. The underlying assumption is that employees in hierarchical settings are deprived of a sense of self-efficacy which they gain by applying Working Out Loud. The results and conclusions are based on a combination of the findings of existing academic literature and the outcomes of con-ducted interviews with Working Out Loud promoters. As the concept Working Out Loud is not yet scientifically proven, the interviews are particularly important to draw relevant conclusions. For this purpose, employees were asked questions aiming at de-fining the present organizational structure in their companies and the underlying rea-sons for them engaging in Working Out Loud practices.
The conducted interviews and analyses yielded the result that employees tend to adopt Working Out Loud practices due to an underlying missing sense of self-efficacy, among other reasons. It could be shown that although not previously selected, the in-terview sample of Working Out Loud promoters appeared to be predominantly posi-tioned in hierarchical structures. Whether this proves the hypothesis right or whether the benefit and visible change in a hierarchical context is higher than in an agile one, needs to be further analyzed in future research.
Total Hip Arthroplasty is a highly effective procedure. Precise preoperative planning is crucial for a positive patient outcome. One approach to improve patient outcomes is preoperative planning of hip implants, which could replace the currently dominant 2D planning and improve processes in dealer markets by enabling more efficient delivery. The objective of this study is to survey and measure dealers’ acceptance of a patient-specific delivery and operating room setting. The evaluation is based on the Technology Acceptance Model. A recommendation for action will be derived from the evaluation.
This study examines the acceptance of new technologies through a systematic literature review utilizing the Technology Acceptance Model. Additionally, it presents the current state of 2D and 3D planning for hip implants and analyzes the Italian and Brazilian dealer markets. The target group was surveyed quantitatively, and their acceptance was analyzed and interpreted using descriptive statistical evaluation.
The two markets share similarities in their current requirements and conditions. In Italy and Brazil, planning is done intraoperatively by surgeons, which has been identified as an obstacle on several occasions. Acceptance of the new process is therefore mixed and requires supportive measures.
The similarities between the two markets allow for uniform comparability and interpretation. However, the acceptance can be traced back to the lack of preoperative planning among surgeons. It is clear that both markets are rather critical of a switch to preoperative planning, especially 3D planning. Therefore, some measures and further research on surgeons must first be taken before a successful implementation is possible.
This thesis will examine the impact of cashless payments on E-commerce industry in India. In November 2016 Indian government banned the use of 500 INR (Indian rupee note) and 1000 INR note. Since November 2016 Indian government is encouraging cashless transaction or digital payments. There are several modes of online payments. This study will put some light on the basics and facts to understand what demonetization is and on how it increases popularity of cashless payments, the benefits, and challenges it imposes. In the end this study answers the question that if digital transactions will keep growing in India and it effects on e-commerce industry
In recent decades, the topic of increasing wealth and income inequalities has received growing attention in research. The focus was frequently placed on examining past developments and influencing factors, which might have produced the present distributions.
This thesis attempts to summarize the effects of past developments and tendencies on the distribution of income and wealth of households based on the findings of existing academic literature. An understanding of the underlying forces is particularly important to respond correctly and effectively to rising inequality. In addition, this thesis aims at presenting the distribution of income and wealth in the euro area with respect to similarities and differences across euro area countries. For this purpose, data provided through the Household Finance and Consumption Survey has been used. Furthermore, the observations have been compared to corresponding data on income and wealth distributions in the United States, allowing for a better assessment of the circumstances in the euro area. The Federal Reserve Board and the U.S. Census Bureau published data on household wealth and income in the United States, which has been utilized in this thesis. The observed points in time are 2010 and 2014.
The conducted investigations and analyses yielded the result that relevant developments have been the process of globalization, the technological advancement, the evolution of labour markets, the growing importance of capital, the changes in governmental policies and societal developments. Furthermore, it could be shown that both income and wealth tend to be unequally distributed within and between euro area countries. In fact, wealth appeared to be much more concentrated than income. Large heterogeneity across countries was detected. Nevertheless, the degree of inequality is less severe than the one observed in the United States.
In 2020 a pandemic caused the universities in Germany to close their doors for their
students. For the Hochschule Furtwangen University, it was the first time that online
classes were introduced on a large-scale. The objective of this thesis paper is to
investigate how international students at HFU Business School cope with having online
classes due to COVID-19 and to derive based on those findings a recommended course
of action.
The researcher conducted 32 semi-structured in-depth interviews with international
students, local students, professors, and university employees to examine the status quo.
A thorough literature review on studying and working from home formed the interview
questions' foundation. The interview covered several aspects of students' life, such as
studying, language development, or social factors.
Based on the findings, a recommended course of action was derived. Those 14
recommendations include practical suggestions covering different facets for the
university to implement to improve international students' ability to cope with the
restrictions caused by the pandemic and the resulting online classes successfully.
Social media and social networks are terms which appear daily in all sort of different contexts. The importance of such online platforms is growing day by day. People spend an immense time of their everyday life in such networks. Therefore, it is not surprising that marketers have encountered the great opportunity coming along with this. This paper contributes to the little research on follower demographics and delivers an insight into the hotel industry in the Black Forest. It attempts to close the knowledge gap of comparing social media followers of hotels to actual hotel guests, shows how hotels can integrate social media in their marketing strategy and why it is relevant for different market participants. Moreover, a comparison of possible target groups was made.
For analysing social media followers of hotels, own primary data was collected in form of an email survey of hotels in the Black Forest. The findings were afterwards compared to actual tourist demographics derived from a former hotel guest survey in the Black Forest. According to responses of 85 hotels, the study found that hotel guests are usually from older generations (60+) and mainly male, whereas hotel social media follower tend to be younger (around 30) and female. This shows the possibility for hotels to target customers, different from their loyal customer base, via social media. Secondary data helped drawing further conclusions. Instagram clearly supports hotels to attract new customers. It has high relevance for hotels, as well as individuals, and can be integrated in each step of a marketing planning process. Target group analysis of current guests and potential new clients, who are present on social media, has made clear that both are coming with advantages and disadvantages. Hotels should enter new markets to enlarge their customer group, however, not at the dispense of loyal guests. Loyalty and customer relation management in the accommodation industry will always be an essential point.
This thesis examines the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores and portfolio returns using ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions and statistical tests. ESG scores were collected from Refinitiv Datastream between January 2007 and February 2023 and consist primarily of companies listed in the Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) Index. The risk factors were calculated using data from Kenneth R. French’s data library. OLS regressions are used to estimate abnormal returns. The portfolios are created by dividing stocks into five equal quantiles and allocating them to five portfolios according to their ESG scores. The portfolios were then reconstructed each year based on the company's ESG rating. This analysis concludes that there is no significant evidence of abnormal returns for high-rated ESG portfolios. Instead, it shows that the portfolio with the lowest 20% ESG ratings outperformed all other portfolios, including the sample market, over the indicated period.
Globalization brought high competition in the market. Therefore, international Marketers started to use a strategy of linking a product to its Country of Origin to get a potential competitive advantage on their product. Previous studies have found that the effect of Country-of-Origin on consumer´s product evaluation, perception and purchase intention. However, it was limited to find the County-Of-Origin effect on different age groups especially in Germany.
The purpose of this research was to analyze the effect of Country of Origin on German consumer´s product evaluation and different age groups. Projective test was adopted for designing the questionnaire and Italy, China and France were selected as the country. In the end, the data was represented by statistical analysis and graphic representation.
This research comes to the conclusion that the Country of Origin either has an impact or has no impact on German consumer´s product evaluation. Their evaluation showed various results based on country and product information such as Country image, Country of Manufacturer image, product category and brand. Therefore, this research was not able to define the general Country of Origin effect on German consumer´s product evaluation. However, this research will give an insight for designing a future research and a more comprehensive understanding of the Country of Origin effect on age groups.
The rapid development of digital technologies has stimulated the shift from real life interaction to online communication. Internet audience is rapidly growing every day, while cost of reaching it is remains affordable.
Transformational changes in business environments, skills and cultures have led to the shift from product-based to knowledge-based economies.
New models of employment are getting more and more common, non-standardized employment has risen. The work lifecycle is changing. Instead of linear pattern— education, work, and retirement— there is a move to “cyclic life plans,” with periods of education, work and recreation overlapped and interspersed across a lifetime. This trend challenges standardized career paths, development programs and incentive systems. “Employee consumerism” is rising, especially for those with in-demand skills and experience.
All the above trends in global economy bring a new challenge for the individuals who want to succeed in their careers and personal development. This challenge is decent self-promotion on a labor market, which can be achieved by using efficient self-marketing channels and tools, in particular online.
Automated Advisory Services. An investigation of Efficiency on Using the Black-Litterman Model
(2016)
This thesis seeks to investigate efficiency of current portfolio theory, using the Black-Litterman Model, for creating portfolio recommendations as offered by Automated Advisory Services. These services have recently appeared, offering wealth management through a digital store front. As the human component has been removed from the equation, algorithms based on portfolio theory provide portfolio recommendations upon profiling the user of such services. Tests on parameters of the Black-Litterman Model will be run between September 2007 and December 2009, the financial crisis. The aim is to understand how efficient the parameters are able to steer the model to reflect the investor preferences, and how Black Litterman portfolios would have performed during turbulent economic times to test the efficiency claim by providers of automated advisory services.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine leadership trends in France and Germany. It is examined whether leadership in both France and Germany is going to become participative in the near future due to increasing internationalization and due to the emergence of a new leadership generation in France and Germany with different expectations and behaviors, namely
Millennials.
Design/methodology/approach – This thesis comprises three major parts: First, leadership career paths in France and Germany are compared. Second, French and German management cultures are compared and their likelihood of convergence examined. Third, a closer look is taken at inter- as well as intra-generational differences with particular focus on Generation Y/ Millennials – the new leadership generation. Their differences and similarities in comparison with older generations as well as across national cultures are presented and discussed.
Findings – The analysis shows that outstanding leadership in both France and Germany seems to be participative. Further, French and German Millennials tend to be more open towards participative leadership than older generations. Nevertheless, participative leadership is more likely to be practiced in Germany than in France. French top managers still share very distinct national career path patterns, providing an elitist reputation and certain privileges. This often leads to rather non-participative, but authoritarian command-and-control based leadership
practices in France.
Research limitations/implications – Limitations of this thesis include the enormous scope of the topic - not everything could be covered in depth. Further, the up-to-date nature of the data used must be questioned - the incredible speed of change in today’s business world makes even recent research studies outdated within a short period of time.
Originality/value – French and German top management career paths as well as French and German management practices have been examined individually as well as comparatively in countless studies. However, different than probably any research study so far, this thesis also
includes inter- generational as well as intra-generational differences and similarities in France and Germany in order to reveal future trends. All in all, this thesis provides a broad outline of leadership trends in France and Germany and points out where further research must be carried out in more depth.
The aim of this thesis is to gain an understanding of why and how electronic word of mouth (eWOM) is influencing consumers buying decisions, and to furthermore describe the opportunities and limitations, which using electronic word of mouth on YouTube as marketing tool represent. This thesis is a compilation of the most important studies and finding conducted in this field. It discusses the concept of word of mouth and some dimensions in which eWOM differs from its traditional counterpart and describes the most important criteria related to the influence of eWOM on consumers buying behaviours. It provides an overview of relevant studies regarding the impact of eWOM on the buying behaviour and discusses YouTube as a marketing platform. Finally, it identifies opportunities and limitations based on the previous findings related to using eWOM on YouTube as part of the marketing mix. The findings suggest that eWOM differs from its traditional counterpart mainly due to its wide and fast spread and is therefore perceived as more influential. Its influence was furthermore found to depend on factors related to the eWOM valence, the product or service addressed, the eWOM source and sender, as well as the platform used. Further, using eWOM shared on YouTube as marketing tool was identified to offer companies the opportunity to reach a wide and also usually hard-to-reach audience, increase awareness, interest and influence on consumers buying behaviour. Limitations were identified to be the uncontrollable spread, the target audience, the constant availability and uncertain credibility, risking authenticity as well as the interdependent influence.
The present study examines stock split announcements with regard to the semi-strong form of the efficient market hypothesis. Daily security price data and a sample of 262 stock split announcements observed on the New York Stock Exchange during the ten-year period from January 2006 to December 2015 are applied on parametric as well as nonparametric tests. The test results provide empirical evidence in favor of the semi-strong form of market efficiency. This implies that the marketplace immediately and efficiently reacts to stock split announcements by adjusting security prices. Therefore, it is not possible to generate significant abnormal returns by trading on the information content implicit in stock split announcements.
Strategic Performance Management with the Balanced Scorecard in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
(2015)
Although the Balanced Scorecard, designed by Kaplan and Norton in 1992, seems to be established as accepted performance measurement and management tool, a minority of small and medium-sized enterprises were recognised using it. Thus, further investigation of this minority was seen as interesting. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to demonstrate and examine possible drivers and challenges within small and medium-sized enterprises using a Balanced Scorecard and additionally provide areas of improvement for the analysed company, tecnotron. In order to reach this, a company study was conducted, clustering around three types of data collection, including the analysis of company documents, information obtained from general managers, and semi-structured personal interviews with six key persons of the middle management. This enabled to create a holistic view of the current practices used at tecnotron and revealing possible issues with regard to their performance measurement framework and system. The results of the study demonstrated that quality certification norms are supportive approaches and can be seen as drivers to succeed in developing and using a Balanced Scorecard in small and medium-sized enterprises. Moreover, the study results primarily indicated challenges regarding the selection of measures and the movement towards a strategically linked Balanced Scorecard with the perception as strategic management tool. For tecnotron it was recommended that the consideration of establishing linkages among their objectives, with the help of a strategy map, could be advantageous for their future development.
All kind of human interaction such as conflict resolution or engaging in new business partnerships are essentially based on bargaining and negotiations. The following thesis examines the basic elements of negotiations especially in a global working environment. A special focus is set on the most prevalent characteristics of negotiation patterns used in the US as well as their way of navigating international negotiations successfully, corroborated by an example case of conflict resolution by the US-American company Apple in China. In essence, deep knowledge and intercultural sensitivity is the key to successful negotiations whereas strategy choices based on the negotiator’s inherited culture should not be depreciated.
The topic of simplicity has drastically increased in branding in recent years, as it allows companies to conquer a competitive world dominated by growth and complexity. There are studies explaining the benefits and power of simplicity in business in general. Nevertheless, simplicity is a field that has not been explored extensively for single industries.
The bachelor thesis attempts to investigate the critical importance and power of simplicity in the customer journey of the car rental business and to provide an overview of possible improvements for the customer experience on the example of car rental company Hertz. Secondary data adopted from academic books, academic journals, study reports and press articles are used to develop a comprehensive analysis and a theoretical framework on the topic of customer experience, customer loyalty in connection with simplicity. The car rental company Hertz and its customer journey are being investigated through the lens of simplicity. Qualitative and quantitative research is adapted to cover insufficient information on Hertz and to uncover the pain points in Hertz’s customer journey. An expert interview with a Hertz executive is conducted to gather first-hand insights on Hertz's viewpoint of simplification and to what extent the company aims to use simplicity as a tool for its customer journey. A succeeding customer survey is executed to gain a better understanding of Hertz customers' perceptions and towards Hertz and to collect a broader picture of Hertz's customer journey. The conclusion drawn is used to derive possible simplification enhancements for Hertz in order to achieve various desired business results. A critical assessment for future research on the topic and limiting conditions are discussed in the conclusion.
The goal of this thesis is to evaluate the impact the choice of registered cooperatives as legal form for start-ups can have on the success of crowdfunding campaigns regarding information asymmetry and agency costs. The theoretical analysis argues that due to the reduction of information asymmetry between founders and contributors, agency costs should be reduced,and success of their crowdfunding campaigns should be more likely. This result is confirmed with some caveats with the help of expert interviews. In conclusion, only companies that aim for additional benefits of registered cooperatives are eligible to be founded as registered cooperatives in order to decrease information asymmetry and increase chances of success in crowdfunding.
Throughout the paper, the different concepts are applied to the practical example of the founding process of a social start-up, the Zeitcafé Freiburg, which results in the recommendation of registered cooperatives as legal form and crowdfunding as one source of capital.
Currently, inflation is rising again at a pace not observed since the decade of high inflation in the 1970s, and consumer sentiment is falling to record lows. This work seeks to understand the extent and potential differences of how inflation impacts consumer behavior in these two inflation periods. To this end, we employ an adaptive theory of consumer behavior using a variant of a stimuli-response model.
We analyze stimuli of behavioral changes along two dimensions. We describe consumers’ ability to buy by external factors and their willingness to buy by internal influences. Relevant quantities for each are determined, and their time series are investigated. We investigate responses to the stimuli in two categories. We assess adaptions in behavioral patterns by reviewing research studies and surveys. We analyze salient responses via times series.
The results of this work reveal that inflation does have a significant impact on consumer behavior. Many effects of inflation on consumer behavior are similar for both inflation periods. External and internal factors are needed to explain behavioral changes. This work also finds different responses for the two inflation periods, although internal influences are very similar. Qualitatively, we can explain these different responses by external factors that differ between the two time periods. For more quantitative conclusions, one would have to consider additional internal factors. Further longitudinal studies to identify internal stimuli and consumer responses would also be of great value.
In 2016, Germany’s population consisted of 22.5% of individuals with a migration background and the share is expected to further grow in the future. Therefore, how to successfully integrate migrants is a recurring topic. This paper examines the labour market integration and identificative integration among one of Germany’s largest minorities, migrants from the former Soviet Union. Due to a lack of data on the second-generation migrants and outdated findings on older migrants, secondary research and primary research in form of an online survey is conducted to disclose the current integration status and how it is affected by the cultural background of both generations. Furthermore, possible differences in the integration process of migrants of different ages are investigated.
The results show that the integration of the target population is characterized by a relatively high employment rate, a positive attitude towards Germany and pursuit of the most rewarding acculturation strategy. However, the lack of interethnic networks and the strong presence in blue-collar jobs leave room for improvement. Through the deployment of migrant networks, the target group benefits from its cultural background but also feels discriminated because of it. Only a few significant differences between the integration of migrants of different ages are discovered, including the command and use of German as well as the role of migrant networks.
Internationally standardized POS layout considering success factors - the example of Würth Group
(2017)
This work is part of the project “International expansion – Standards”. The overall objective of this thesis is to develop an internationally standardized POS layout which ensures a uniform international appearance. The situation in Germany as the headquarters and development center and the surrounding countries Austria, Switzerland and France has been taken into consideration. An analysis of the current layouts regarding shelving system, arrangement of the product groups, guidance system and design factors has been carried out in selected pick-up shops in these countries. In addition, a customer survey has been conducted whereby orientation, overview and legibility of the store have been focal points. As a third analysis the assortments of the respective countries have been analyzed and compared. It was found that some areas at the POS vary from country to country. Major differences exist in the assortments of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France. Among the areas of arrangement of the shelves and product groups, size of the sales area, guidance system and coloring scheme, differences have been revealed as well. Taking into consideration the differences and similarities in the layouts and assortment optimization possibilities have been worked out. As a result an ideal layout has been developed on the basis of the conducted analyses. The layout itself can be implemented cross-nationally. Due to limitations in the analysis of the assortment, it must be analyzed in more detail in order to implement it for the new shop concept. However, a cross-national uniform appearance can only be reached if in addition to the new stores all existing pick-up shops are adapted to the ideal layout.
Despite the fact, that women’s underrepresentation in finance is tried to be encountered by legal regulations, little research has been conducted on why most women still decide to not pursue a career in finance. Thus, finance currently remains to be a male-dominating sector. However, which potential consequences homogeneous versus heterogenous groups in finance have on the success of financial decision-making results in companies in the long term is still little studied. According to this research gap, this thesis sets out to research the cause of gender imbalance as well as the impact of the perception of gender differences in finance from a neuroscientific perspective.
First, it is examined whether distinct biological factors in men and women lead to different interests, skills, and abilities that explain a superior natural suitability to perform in finance. Further, it is discussed how the brain processes financial decisions and which internal- as well as external factors impact decision-making. This will be set in context with major findings from psychologist Iain McGilchrist and his hemispheres-approach, and Daniel Kahnemann and his dual-process theory. Further, it is investigated how particularly women respond to stereotype-threat, applying the latest theories by neuroscientist Gina Rippon, and how this influences women’s ability to perform in the financial sector. According to this, it is explained how deep-rooted gender roles, stereotyping and unconscious biases lead to self-fulfilling prophecies in performance, and thus, restrain the advancement of gender diversity in finance. Finally, it is researched in what way homogenous groups in finance are susceptible to overconfidence and groupthink and to what extend enhancing gender diversity can improve financial decision-making. According to this, neuroscientific strategies that counteract unconscious biases and irrational decision-making in finance are discussed.
This study explores the attitudes and perceptions of consumers of the baby boomer generation (age 50-62) concerning contents on the social media channels of Facebook and YouTube. Ten in-depth interviews are conducted in which representatives of the target group perform tasks on the two platforms such as gathering information about a firm or comparing advertisements. The main finding of the empirical research conducted is a set of preferences and attitudes about social media contents classified in following categories: 1) company profiles on Facebook 2) company channels on YouTube 3) sponsored posts on Facebook 4) sponsored search results on YouTube and 5) navigation on the two platforms. The obtained results significantly complement existing research on firm-supplied contents on social media for several reasons. Firstly, baby boomers represent a highly valuable target group as they possess immense consumption power and demonstrate high willingness to try new products and services, as well. Moreover, they increasingly join social networks, first of all Facebook,and they browse other social media channels, but they have been mostly neglected in research about social media in Germany. Secondly, this study links inbound marketing via social media to small and medium-sized enterprises. For the latter, this holds substantial benefits to facilitate being found by consumers on social media platforms in order to compete against larger firms. Therefore, implications for small business managers and marketing representatives are given. Thirdly, the study focuses on the attitudes and perceptions of consumers in order to replenish data on consumer behavior on Facebook and YouTube obtained by the algorithms of the platform providers. Therefore, it complements extensive existing studies focusing on analyzing the latter. Furthermore, the distinct advertising and targeting functions of Facebook and YouTube have been considered in the creation of the interview in pursuance of pertinent practically oriented results.
The primary purpose of this bachelor thesis is to explore the impact of information and communication technologies on the work-life boundary and to find out whether this impact constitutes a negative spillover. At the beginning of this paper, an examination of the general impacts, with an emphasis on flexibility and permanent connectivity, is conducted. In a second stage, these two major effects are assessed to find out in what way they influence the boundary between work and life. In a third stage, the finding is evaluated by analyzing the extent to which stress level, physical and mental health as well as work-life conflict and satisfaction are increased or decreased. Finally, the question concerning whether information and communication technologies are the only reason behind the change is addressed. The results of this thesis show that information and communication technologies indeed seem to lead to an increase in flexibility and permanent connectivity and therefore to a blurring of the boundary between work and life. This blurring is evaluated as being neither entirely good nor bad, as a dissolving boundary can have both positive and negative effects on stress, health, satisfaction and conflict. Furthermore, it is argued that technologies only enable change but cannot enforce it on their own. Instead, personal preference, institutional rules and culture play an important role in the determination of the extent to which individuals allow a blurring of their roles. Accordance between these factors is crucial to the health, productivity and motivation of employees.
Thus, it is recommended that employers analyze the preferences and cultural backgrounds of their employees in order to be able to provide tools and resources to blur or maintain boundaries depending on what is required
This thesis deals with the first evaluation of an entry program for the specialist career path,using the example of the ‘Graduate Specialist Program’ of the cooperation partner and topic initiator Bosch Rexroth AG. The overall research question examines whether the ‘Graduate Specialist Program’ comes out to be a success story to compete in the ‘War for talent’ and to what extent it contributes to fill high level expert positions. Background information about Graduate Programs and the Expert Career is therefore provided as a first step. In order to get an overview and detect any conspicuity, a quantitative data analysis is used which expresses the program’s development in figures. The focus hereby lies with the former candidates’ wage development as success indicator and the parallel existing program for the
management career, namely the ‘Junior Managers Program’, is used for a comparison. Qualitative interviews with former ‘Graduate Specialist Program’ participants and current mentors are conducted, inquiring the atisfaction with the program execution and its relationship with the subsequent career. Moreover, their opinion on the feasibility of an expert career in general and related to their department is inquired. The results state a clear satisfaction with the program, yet requires minor changes in the program elements. Generally, the concept of a graduate program tailored for future specialist is supported, even though the majority of the program respondents strive for a career in management in the long-run. It is named in this context that limits in career prospects can lead participants to switch to the management career. It can be concluded that the ‘Graduate Specialist Program’ is a success story as graduates are attracted for specialist tasks in the short to medium term. To conclude, the program’s major impact as a general recruitment instrument to compete on the labor market for junior staff in general outweighs the intention of training young talents for a career as high level experts in the long run. Thus, its characteristics relate more to the category of Generalist Graduate Programs.
Since the occurrence of cybercrime rises every year, it has become increasingly important for companies to further secure their data and important information. It is not enough to just secure the data inside of the company, by now companies must go one step further.
This thesis focuses on a way to develop tools and methods to determine whether company data is secure in the hands of third-parties as well. To do so it is important to understand what different methods are available and reliable enough for the everyday usage.
The aim of this thesis is to present an evidence-based methodology to identify third-party risks. To achieve this goal, an analysis of international standards of technology knowledge is conducted. The market is searched for already existing service providers with the intend to find already existing information and templates on the topic. By conducting interviews information and expert knowledge is gathered.
The analysis and interviews contribute to the development of a generalized questionnaire which can be used to evaluate third-party risks. A generalized questionnaire that is fit for every third-party working with company data, that can be adjusted if necessary.
An Empirical Investigation of the Effect of Packaging Design on Consumers' Willingness to Pay
(2021)
This study sheds light on the extent to which high-quality aesthetic packaging can positively influence consumer choice and raise willingness to pay at the point of sale. In two separate parts, we measure purchasing decisions and willingness to pay by contrasting high- and low-quality packaging of a pullover and a vodka bottle.
Findings show that, compared to cheap and standardized designs, visually appealing packages can significantly raise willingness to pay for a product. Besides, packaging design is crucial when consumers buy the product as a gift rather than for self-consumption. This research provides evidence that beautifully designed packages can positively influence consumer choice at the point of purchase. However, packaging can only influence purchase decisions within a specific price range. If prices are too high and above the individual’s accepted price limit, packaging cannot convince consumers to buy the product. Further, our investigation shows that consumers’ age, gender, educational level, and occupational status can be related to their package choices. The late adulthood, men, and individuals with higher education and professional status are likely to spend more on attractively packaged products than other demographic groups.
In 2013 China's President Xi Jinping announced a new project. In his vision, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) creates and opens trade routes between China and western countries, mostly the Middle East, Central Asia, Afrika, and Europe, via maritime and land routes. These trade corridors should establish and improve trade relationships often by high investments in the infrastructure.
The motivation behind the initiative is manifold. On the one hand, China wants to become more independent from the Western industrialized countries by building a new economic system. On the other hand, it wants to consolidate and expand its geopolitical influence.
China's state-owned banks have been the largest investors in the Belt and Road Initiative so far, but China has also been able to attract major EU countries such as Germany, France, the UK, and others to jointly establish the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and invest in BRI projects through it.
Although German companies are hoping to participate in the Belt and Road because they expect significant economic benefits, the German government is refraining from concluding an agreement with China for the time being. The EU is somewhat skeptical about the initiative, but no sanctions or interventions have been taken from its side so far. Yet, the EU is split, and countries such as Greece or Italy have already signed an agreement with China and thus received financial support for their infrastructure.
This bachelor thesis explains the Belt and Road Initiative in detail, tries to highlight the motives behind it and illustrates the impact the Belt and Road Initiative has on Germany and the EU and which implications this has for the German economy.
The following thesis aims at analyzing the development of media in travel planning and the role of Google.
The theoretical part of this thesis deals with the media used and their evolution and impact in travel planning. Due to tools like Google Maps, Google Hotel Finder and Google Flight Search the company has enormous opportunities to step further into the online travel market. If the European Parliament does not restrain Googles power, it is likely to extend its current position as an uncontested market leader in search engine marketing even further, leading to a monopoly in online travel planning. The vast impact of Google in travel planning is tested and proven by the advertising spending of the Danish holiday house portal Cofman A/S and a survey among newsletter subscribers of this company in the practical part.
This bachelor thesis is about a Business Plan in form of a Business Model for a healthcare and mediation company for Germany and Switzerland.It basically asks the question how can vale for the customer, the placed employees and the company be created, maintained and increased. The purpose of this assignment is to analyze the existent HR Industry market and position the Company in a profitable niche in order to achieve a strategically important growth into other fields. The present work consists of five parts.In the following first part the HR Industry and its market potential are explained. Secondly the Business Model is explained theoretically and then applied to CarePers. In the third part the Philippines are analyzed culturally and the effects are used on an elaborated business adaptation. In the fourth part mayor basic strategy concepts are introduced and applied to CarePers. The fifth part concludes the work.
Several interviews have taken place with the company’s founder and the company’s COO. Extensive analysis of the market has been done by revising several official statistics. Based on theoretical aspects presented and explained a practical realization and adaptation of the academic content has been done
This thesis is concerned with the analysis and the improvement design of the Disposal Structure Optimization Process (DSOP) which is used by Global Flow GmbH (GF) within the waste consulting services conducted for its clients. The study is elaborated on behalf of GF that desires formalizing its procedure in order to identify deficiencies and yet unrecognized potentials to be leveraged. Thus, a process analysis according to Harrington was applied to the DSOP, in which the process was first documented through description and visualization and then evaluated in order to eventually come up with suggestions for improvement. The process-related data was drawn from interviews with GF management and evaluated from the author’s perspective. The subsequent design of an advanced DSOP was based on the previous evaluation and focused on the enhancement of the process’ value creation by providing improvement measures concerning knowledge-creation for customers, work organization for consultants and decision-making support for management. Hence, four measures were elaborated for purposeful process improvement and designed into the advanced process model: knowledge management, software support, performance measurement and a process infrastructure of standardized information flows. If implemented, the advanced process could enhance GF’s performance and support proactive consideration of strategic stakes.
Creating successful teams after an M&A is challenging enough when employees share the same location and the same cultural background, but when the team consists of people coming from different cultures and is working in different locations, social distance can cause misunderstandings, distrust and miscommunication which makes successful M&As even more challenging. After the acquisition of Letrika in Slovenia and Kokusan Denki in Japan, the workforce within MAHLEs mechatronic division became highly diverse. On the one hand, this diversification is regarded as added value, but on the other hand it bears numerous challenges in day-to day business.
This thesis aims to outline cultural differences between Japan, Slovenia and Germany that affect collaboration within this division. Using literature research and an online questionnaire, the author intends to compare theoretical concepts with actual data collected at MAHLE Mechatronics. The questionnaire also includes multiple open questions that allow examining the current situation and supports the findings with real-life examples.
The first part focuses on the theoretical framework for this thesis. In chapter two an understanding for the concept of culture is given. Different models and explanations provide fundamental knowledge to grasp the construct of culture. Chapter 2.1. depicts the Lewis model, a model developed in 1996 categorizing cultures into three groups. In chapter 2.2., the paper continues with the GLOBE model which forms the basis of the empirical research conducted at MAHLE. Afterwards, culture specific characteristics of Japan, Germany and Slovenia are portrayed and compared in order to predict possible clashes that might emerge in work-related encounters (chapter 3). The illustration of the concept of intercultural competence, a skill to manage, understand, decode and interpret behaviors and mindsets of people from different cultures, will conclude the first part of this thesis (chapter 4).
Chapter five describes the methodology used in this paper. The findings of this study are presented in chapter six and are followed by the discussion and reflection (chapter 7). The paper concludes with an analysis and interpretation (chapter 7.1.), recommendations for future action (chapter 7.2.) and limitations of the study (chapter 7.3.) highlighting the main findings of the study and emphasizing the development of intercultural competence at MAHLEs mechatronic division.
This thesis addresses the relationship between sustainability action and firm competitiveness. Through the analysis of literature and by conducting a survey on consumer demands and preferences, the question whether sustainability action can help companies in the consumer electronics sector gain a competitive advantage is answered.
This thesis comes to the conclusion, that sustainability action can yield many advantages for companies, when executed properly. In general, companies with a strong sustainability performance reduce their production cost, have easier access to capital and labor, show financial and stock performance on the same level or higher than less sustainable companies, reduce stakeholder risk and gain consumer goodwill which can materialize into a competitive advantage. Regarding the consumer electronics sector,
this thesis shows that most consumers would prefer more sustainable products over less sustainable ones and would be willing to pay a price premium. What seems to be a big issue in the consumer electronics market is, that even though companies like Apple already act on the issue of sustainability, they are either doing a bad job or having a hard
time communicating their sustainability initiatives to consumers.
This thesis analyzes reverse logistics exemplified by Kärcher, a manufacturer of cleaning devices, and elaborates a conceptual framework for developing a business model for reverse logistics. A literature review is undertaken for theoretical infor-mation; expert interviews and a quantitative study are carried out. The aim of the lit-erature research is to investigate the importance of reverse logistics and its future viability. Reverse logistics can be divided into two parts, the entry channel and the value-adding part, whereas this thesis focuses on the value adding part. Previous studies mention that reverse logistics is ignored and underestimated by companies; nevertheless it is important for a functioning returns process as return quantities are increasing in the future inter alia because of online retailing. Furthermore, the re-verse logistics process of Kärcher is compared to the industry-wide standards. For understanding the process at Kärcher, exploratory interviews with several SDCs and a census are conducted. To compare the Kärcher reverse logistics process with the industry, a benchmark is performed. The benchmark is carried out with competitors based on short expert interviews and two international companies are analyzed from the literature. The outcome of the benchmark is that until now, there are no industry-wide standards to be found and therefore Kärcher cannot adhere to standards. Last-ly the business model concept Canvas is investigated in theory and applied to the reverse logistics process at Kärcher with the objective to explore, to what extent Canvas can be implemented. In addition, the Canvas is used to define a conceptual framework for further elaboration with the aim to possibly regain value from returns in the future. Finally a recommended course of action for Kärcher concerning reverse logistics is derived.
„We are not thinking machines that feel, we are feeling machines that think.” (A.R. Damasio). This quote from famous neuroscientist Antonio R. Damasio illustrates the significant role emotions play in human perception, behavior and decision making. Marketers in Business-to-Consumer and Business-to-Business sectors increasingly realize that establishing an emotional connection with the company’s or brand’s target group is crucial to aid differentiation, competitiveness and awareness. Especially in highly competitive environments it is important to find ways to connect more closely with the target groups. KLS Martin Group, a medical technology company based in Tuttlingen, Germany, strives to strengthen its brand awareness through Audio Branding and Influencer Marketing and thereby adding an emotional value to the brand. Hence, this bachelor thesis investigates how these two concepts can contribute to this ambition. An empirical qualitative study has been conducted with eight cases to examine the concept of Audio Branding and nine cases regarding the topic of Influencer Marketing as tools to emotionalize the brand and to find out how they can support awareness-raising endeavors. This thesis reveals and illustrates frameworks, emphasizing the dimensions of acceptance, identifiability, continuity and adaptability for Audio Branding and the 4-C framework including the elements credibility, content communication, closeness and control. Further, practical approaches regarding the implementation of Audio Branding and Influencer Marketing in the context of emotions at KLS Martin Group are expounded.
The necessity and efficiency of a well-designed onboarding program is undeniable. In addition to the individual design of an onboarding program, the presentation and marketing of the activities in this context differ, with potential indications of onboarding strategies. The thesis aims to investigate the communication of onboarding-relevant content by German companies to detect characteristic indications of two controversial onboarding strategies – the Cold water and the Babysitting approach. In this context, the following research question was established: How do German mid-sized companies present their onboarding activities?
The research is based on communication content, whereby the qualitative content analysis according to Mayring was applied which provides the basis for subsequent analyses investigating linguistic and industrial interrelationships. The study was performed on the 50 MDAX-listed companies as a representative of all German corporations.
The qualitative examination revealed a strong preference towards the Babysitting approach. Here, linkages were identified regarding a segmentation of the onboarding content by target groups based on entry and experience levels, supporting the detailed presentation and implementation of this approach. Also, the address towards potential candidates of these companies was increasingly characterized by a personal 'Du' address. These findings support the associated perception of the employer as employee- oriented and are thus coherent with the characteristics of this approach. Indications of the Cold water method were found more among innovative industries. The analysis also demonstrated the use of existing employees as transmitters regarding onboarding relevant content, with storytelling and blogs emerging as the primary channels of communication of Cold water corporations. Additionally, the communication of general rather than specific onboarding topics supports the characteristics of the Cold Water approach, as the onboarding phases are non-prestructured and the responsibility of a successful integration lies with the new employee.
A Successful introduction of E-learning for Bosch Car Service and Auto Crew Workshops Worldwide.
(2016)
The purpose of this study is to determine how to introduce E-learning successfully for Bosch soft franchise workshops to maintain quality in services and a high level of customer satisfaction. The study focuses on two research question A) Should Bosch continue to invest in producing elearning course for workshops. B) How to increase workshop’s participation for e-learning. Regional Concept Managers from 14 countries evaluated the existing e-learning courses to define exclusively “E-learnings” pro and cons as per their marketplace to see if investing in elearning is beneficial. Secondly, the emphasis was placed on Regional Managers to brainstorm on what are the new strategies can be used to motivate the workshop to take part in e-learning. Broadly speaking, learning is an expensive and time-consuming activity that can be a disadvantage when it comes to teaching people. Bosch was one of the pioneer company after Daimler that uses e-learning platform to train their workshops- Bosch car Service and Auto Crew. The vision for e-learning was very innovative and useful for the workshops to teach the structured way of showing all the works that carried out in a workshop. However, low participation from the workshop in e-learning courses has been a challenge.
The first part of the thesis provides a theoretical understanding of the Automotive Aftermarket. It also gives detail introduction and usage of “E-learning” in 21st century. The second part explains the workshop concepts “Bosch Car Service” and “Auto Crew.” It also provides an overview of “how e-learning course is produced and used for workshops” and the final part consists of an “Empirical Research” that includes the findings from Expert Interview and survey with Regional Managers. The findings from empirical part reveal that E-learning courses are useful for the workshop. Therefore, Bosch should continue to invest in producing E-learning Courses. However, study shows the different areas that need improvement, therefore findings from the empirical research need to be considered by the Headquarter as well as the Regional Organization to successfully introduce “E-learning” for the workshops.
The following study examines the influence selected variables have on the price of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin by utilizing a multiple linear regression model. Data of 267 observations for each variable during a five-year period from 13 August 2016 to 1 October 2021 are analyzed. The results present empirical evidence on the relationship of Bitcoin and external determinants such as traditional financial assets, in particular the stock market, the bond market, domestic currencies, the real estate market, gold, and the popularity of Bitcoin, represented by a Google Trends analysis. The findings imply that only the stock market and the real estate market proxies significantly influence the price of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
According to the United Nations, more than 70% of the world trade is carried out by the multinational companies which represent nearly 250% increase in the last four decades. This also represents the extended number of inter-company transactions such as transfer of money as well as transfer of goods and services from parent company to daughter company and vice versa. This issue of transfer of goods and more specifically transfer of money – as in transfer of profits – gave rise to debates in ‘Transfer Pricing’ in the international context. The companies use number of complex business models such as the Principal Company model as their supply chain network and move profits between different entities and create the tax advantages on basis of corporate tax rates in the different tax jurisdictions by allocating all the sales and profits to the principal company. The entities in high-tax jurisdictions, however, perform business activities on contractual basis and remunerated on cost plus mark-up by the principal company. This results several tax saving benefits for the group as a whole.
Under this behavior of the MNCs, the finance ministers of G20 and the authorities in OECD developed a 15 Action Plan under Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (hereafter “BEPS”) Agenda to develop ways to avoid tax evasions by the multinational corporations in the high-tax jurisdictions. The Action 7 of BEPS Agenda – artificial avoidance of Permanent Establishment status – was introduced for the change of wordings in the Article 5 of the OECD Model Tax Convention which explains the definition of a Permanent Establishment. By doing so, the contractual entities in high-tax jurisdictions, performing business activities on behalf of their cross-border parent in a low-tax jurisdiction, will be given a status of a PE and the sales and profits generated by these entities will be allocated to them and subjected to be taxed accordingly in a high-tax jurisdiction.
The analysis of the profit distribution and taxation of the contractual entities of the cross-border principal company in Germany is conducted by the author in this piece of research and shows the effect on the taxation of a company if the Action 7 of BEPS Agenda carries forward as a local legislation in the OECD countries.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the development process of renewable energy sector in Bulgaria and how far it is at the moment. Another aim was to find out the issues that exist in this field, as well as possible forecasts for the future.
The research was based on different literature sources and primary research techniques like interviews, which succeeded to answer the proposal questions. The key challenges Bulgaria is faced with were also identified through provided industry analysis and detailed outlook of the available renewables in Bulgaria.
The analyses of the thesis indicate the main issues that appear in the current legislative and administrative structure. Furthermore, the investigation found that there is a lack of liberalization of the market, which leads to confusion in the whole business picture of Bulgaria.
This research contributes for better understanding the potential of the renewables in Bulgaria although the non-availability of great political conditions as well as the pure issues in the social and economic growth. The results provide also suggestions for making better policies and finding more partners due to the fact that sustainable future is better for all of us.
Small and Medium Enterprises are facing challenges when it comes to outsourcing. This piece of work investigates the factors that are needed for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union to attain outsourcing criteria. Some of the challenges in the European Union face include; rising cost, risk uncertainty, large companies’ potency, internationalization and lack of entrepreneurship and innovation. Through understanding and choosing outsourcing criteria, they can select a type of outsourcing in line with their objectives and goals. Therefore, they end up achieving benefits. This could assist them in different sectors across the European Union ease risks. They find solutions to obstacles derived from within the different sectors located in the European Union.
This thesis analyses how the SMEs decide on outsourcing criteria challenges and how they can be changed into benefits. The literature findings help in contrasting sectors around the European Union to determine which outsourcing criteria could aid them in achieving resolutions. The complications and objections are due to the following outcomes which include; no loss or gain observation, no specific benefit construction, unexplored innovation strategies, supplier opportunism, outsourcing drivers and cultural fit.
Over many decades, greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity have been increasing and negatively impacting the environment and promoting climate change. One sector that contributes heavily to these emissions is the food industry.
With the aim of reducing these environmental impacts, climate labeling has been introduced as one possible approach to target emissions related to consumer purchasing behavior. This thesis investigates consumer responses to the possible introduction of climate labeling of food products. Moreover, necessary criteria for such an implementation and the potential consequences in terms of increasing sustainability in the food industry are evaluated.
Findings indicate that a label can be effective and change consumer behavior if food labels meet specific label criteria such as an attractive design and little but comprehensible information. Moreover, other factors such as pricing of products can influence the success of food labels.
Regarding the overall food industry, a label could have positive effects but is dependent on changes on both consumer and producer sides following the label introduction. However, it is difficult to exactly evaluate the impact of a label on an entire industry, as green-house gas reductions caused by a label would be hard to measure specifically. Due to the lack of data, it is impossible to predict the actual impact of a climate label on the food industry, but it is possible to assume a positive tendency towards more sustainability.
The access to the Internet has enabled various peer-to-peer marketplaces to develop with fast pace and complete with traditional businesses by offering broader range of goods and services. In some cases peer-to-peer markets offer a solution to a problem, going beyond the capabilities of a traditional business. This thesis studies a particular peer-to-peer market called crowdfunding that offers a solution to individuals who require funds and has been a subject of experts’, regulators’ and media attention. In particular, the paper studies the way crowdfunding websites Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Crowdfunder match buyers and sellers and discovers that some websites might have an incentive to manipulate matching. Furthermore, the paper analyzes the pricing structure these websites use and learns that price discrimination is present in crowdfunding. Additionally, the paper investigates the most fundamental mechanism that allows Internet platforms to function, which is reputation. In particular it uncovers that the way trust is built in crowdfunding differs to certain extant to other peer-to-platforms and that this questions requires further research. Finally, after looking at the arising regulatory issues, it becomes clear that there are opposing opinions of experts and regulators about regulation of crowdfunding that create both fear and hope. Privacy and data usage by the crowdfunding websites seems to be an issue that also requires further attention.
Challenges in a multi-country and multinational project environment within a matrix organization
(2015)
Comau S.p.A. -Powertrain- (PWT) mainly manages its projects on a multinational level. In the past, several issues were identified some of which can be attributed to the complexity of a matrix organizational structure. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to investigate whether PWT project teams are still experiencing certain issues while working in multi-country projects and to develop certain proposals for improvement by analysing the possible causes. For this purpose a survey was conducted among project participants to identify the present issues and to discover the reasons for their occurrence. In addition, an analysis of cultural differences was performed also based on secondary data to examine the influences of cultural differences on employees’ perceptions. The results of the analysis indicated that some of the project teams are still facing certain issues while collaborating across regions and functions. Therefore, the importance of a better communication of certain defined roles was identified. In addition, an increasing awareness of the Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) as a tool for also obtaining the overall agreement of project responsibilities and as team building measure was recognized as important. Moreover, to obtain new insights into present issues from the perspectives of the project teams and for further research purpose, the execution of a workshop including all survey participants was stated as potentially worthwhile.
Life cycle management of key products (franchises) offered by a company is one of its most strategically important tasks. As their overall ability to capture and use sales data improves, companies have been able to investigate and manage their franchises better than ever before.
This thesis explored the franchise management framework of Nike Inc., a global leader within the sporting goods retail industry. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part explored the current franchise management framework of Nike and its effectiveness. The second part applies this framework to one of Nike’s biggest franchises and prime sources of revenue for the ‘Running’ category. ‘Nike Free’, the franchise in question, suffered a big decline in sales and surgical franchise management had to be applied in order to revive it. The results indicated that this framework delivered positive results and helped improve the performance of this franchise.
Fact based decision making, enabled by effective gathering and processing of sales data was used during this study. Overall, the goal of the thesis is to help understand and lay a foundation for effective franchise management for a sales organization.
The currently ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting recession in the economy offers opportunities for start-ups and times of hardship are a driver for entrepreneurship. Although the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers is high, and financing becomes increasingly difficult, many start-ups managed to report a strong fiscal year through innovative processes, especially in the finance and insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and education sector. To combat the crisis, governments across the EU implemented state aid schemes to support businesses, which however, SMEs often do not receive. The coronavirus pandemic potentially sparks a rethinking process and with an increasing share of start-ups in the economies across the EU, the recognition and funding opportunities will improve, with InvestEU being a step into the right direction.
In this thesis, the author researches the topic of global Scotch whisky marketing strategies and adapted strategies for the emerging markets in Asia, using the example of Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal. Scotch whisky has become a truly international spirit, with a growing demand coming from the emerging markets of Asia. The multinational players in the Scotch whisky industry soon recognized the need to adapt their marketing strategies for the Asian markets in order to gain a foothold and survive in the highly competitive spirit market. The two leading multinational Scotch whisky producers are Diageo and Pernod Ricard. They both successfully market two blended Scotch whisky brands globally, Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal. Their current global marketing strategies for these brands are based on six key elements, which are Innovative Packaging, Responsibility/Consideration of Social Aspects/Care about Society, Strategic Sponsorships/Partnerships, Celebrity Branding, Digital Marketing/ Social Media Engagement, and Experiential Marketing /Physical Spaces. The marketing actions of Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal in Asian markets have four elements in common, which can be seen as key success factors for a successful marketing strategy in Asian markets: tell sophisticated Brand Stories in an authentic, inspiring and emotional connecting way; use Digital Content and interactive platforms, like Social Media, to engage with Asian consumers; create rich brand experiences with Physical Spaces, and use the power of Influencers to inspire and communicate brand content.
Open-plan office design is deemed to be a beneficial tool for facilitating communication and collaboration. However, its alleged advantages are not proven by the chosen contemporary research presented in this thesis. By means of comparative analysis of secondary data, the thesis provides evidence for detrimental influence of open-plan office design to the workforce. Consequently, the well-being model proposed by Chartered Institute of Personnel Development is employed, thus enabling placing the influence of open-plan design within well-being domains and determining that this workspace arrangement affects employee well-being detrimentally. Having established the interconnectedness of the subjects, the thesis concludes by providing suggestions for management and expressing the need for further research.
The research analyses current literature and available data on the lithium market, an analysis of the environment, particularly the surge in demand for the metal for the production of lithium-ion batteries, evaluates the potential for a significant rise in production for the metal throughout years 2020 to 2030 among many competing countries. The focus of the research is set on predicting the contributions to the GDP of Chile derived from future lithium compound exports in the timespan between years 2020 to 2030 via multiple linear regression. The results of the study estimate contribution values to increase by 291% by 2030 and find a high degree of statistical relevance for lithium prices and battery electric vehicles in use in the production of lithium.
The following thesis examines the role of drug advertising in the United States. It takes a theoretical approach to explore the relationship between drug sales and the corresponding advertising and their perception, effects and implications on the public by focusing on the opioid crisis in the United States. In order to assess the effectiveness of drug advertising, the theoretical hierarchical framework by Robert J. Lavidge and A Steiner was utilized as it provides a straight-forward and frequently applied model to examine the workings of advertising in general.
The thesis’s conclusions give a synopsis of the results both for drug advertising and its effects on sales, as well as the implications drug advertising can entail as demonstrated in the case of the opioid crisis.
The following bachelor thesis was written in cooperation with the company GF Automotive AG located in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. It is a worldwide recognized development and serial production partner of the automotive industry. The thesis covers the topic ‘The potential of gaining competitive advantage through Green Marketing’. The purpose of this thesis is to research if sustainability within the automotive supply industry is of high importance and can be used to gain competitive advantage. The thesis offers possible measures to implement successful practices that were detected in the conducted benchmark. It points out that green marketing in the B2B business can support companies to differentiate and it illustrates how marketing communication of the company GF Automotive AG can be adapted in order to succeed and remain leader in the highly competitive automotive supply market
Advanced sales approach to increase professional fairs participation: international experience
(2016)
The following bachelor thesis was written in cooperation with Hannover Fairs USA, Inc. (HFUSA), which is the Deutsche Messe AG’s (DMAG) U.S. subsidiary. DMAG in Hannover, Germany, is one of the biggest and most active event organizers in the world. The target region of the HFUSA office is North America. Their function is to host industrial trade shows in Chicago and to sell exhibit space at their parent company’s shows in Germany to American companies. The focus of the thesis will be on the DMAG’s CeMAT show which serves the intralogistic and material handling industry. The topic of the thesis is ‘Evolving a structured and advanced sales approach to enhance the number of American companies, participating at the Deutsche Messe’s CeMAT show.’ The research focus is on the intralogistic and material handling industry, the meaningfulness of trade shows and various skills and processes of sales theory. Furthermore, it places emphasis on corporate and sales strategy. The thesis offers possible measures which should serve c-level employees of the company as a basis for creating a more standardized corporate, marketing, and sales strategy to streamline the process amongst employees, to enhance sales processes, improve efficiency and therefore increase revenue in the long run. This will also positively influence the process of achieving their goal of enhancing the number of participating U.S. companies at the CeMAT show in Hannover.
The objective of this thesis is it to find out which factors are influencing the interpersonal
communication between two leaders in job sharing. With the help of a literature review,
a communication model including three relevant factors for the area of application could
be developed. Those factors are the relationship between the partners, the choice of an
adequate communication medium and contextual factors. It could be shown that those
factors have an influence on the communication frequency and mode. Recommendations
what needs to be considered regarding each factor to ensure an effective communication
are given.
The employee referral program and the relation of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation to referrals
(2018)
The aim of this bachelor thesis is to give an overview of current practices in employee referral programs and to establish the link between motivation and propensity to refer on the basis of motivational theories in order to identify which methods a company can use to obtain the highest possible quality referrals from its employees. On the basis of relevant scientific literature, the employee referral program is described, related rewards explained and relevant motivational theories outlined. The factors of intrinsic, prosocial and extrinsic motivation, as well as the overjustification effect are evaluated, to understand their impact on an employee’s propensity to refer and to draw conclusions for practical implications.
The Light Commercial Vehicle is a small vehicle, of up to 6 tons, mainly used for small business in the transportation of good or for personal purposes. LCV market is not well known and yet to be considered as a potential business, especially for Commercial Vehicles Business Unit which belongs to the Interior division of Continental Automotive. Some neighboring segments within Interior division have some participation in the market; however, it is not considered as a main priority for either of them. There is no proper focus on analyzing its potential and find the right strategy to tackle it. Due to some sort of pressure to grow Continental’s businesses, Commercial Vehicles BU, represented by Vehicle Electronics segment, has come up with the intention of finding how to approach this new business opportunity in the face of other neighboring segments of the same division also getting into this broad opportunity. There is also a need to establish a right internal communication process and its impact upon a concrete choice of product to enter this new business. Finally, to establish if LCV market is a promising opportunity, in particular for Commercial Vehicle Business Unit. This research is highly beneficial for Continental Automotive, in special for Commercial Vehicle Business Unit since it helps to understand its current situation in the market at different regions levels. Business Unit is able to find right approach for the LCV market together with a suitable sales strategy for each region and a concrete choice of products at a competitive price level with the results, discussion and recommendation of this research. In other words, to get new businesses for future sales growth. Continental Automotive was founded in Hannover in 1871. Nowadays, it is one of the German Automotive Supplier leaders of the automotive market worldwide. The company has presence in 50 countries and sales of €34.5 billion and mainly supplies tires, brake systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics and powertrain controls. Vehicle Electronics segment, part of Commercial Vehicles segment, is the direct responsible for this LCV market. The segment specialist in electronic solutions in six fields of applications such as Commercial Vehicles, Bus, Agriculture, Construction, 2-Wheeler and Marine business. The Light Commercial Vehicle is consider as an important part of the fleet of vehicles and for a number of years now have been taking a constantly increasing share of the transport services, both in Germany and Europe” (BASt, DEKRA, UDV, & VDA, 2013, p. 5). The potential market for this kind of vehicle stands on BRIC countries, mainly India and China. Although Brazil is considered as the most mature and stable of the BRIC by (Barclay, 2010), still is hard to forecast due to economic volatility and changing regulation, indicates (Roland Berger, 2014). The market development in Russia is hard to anticipates, points out (Barclay, 2010) due to its crisis and political issues. “India is expected to return stronger growth” (Roland Berger, 2014) owning the fastest production growth from the other three. For (Roland Berger, 2014) China will be the global volume driver in automotive, remaining by far the largest of the market. The methodology held in this study is based on an exploratory research; using qualitative data which has been collected thought secondary and primary data. This research work starts with the introduction, following by chapter one which includes the problem background, problem statement, research questions and objectives, purpose and significance of the study and finally limitations. The second chapter continues with the review of related literature and studies. It explains the Light Commercial Vehicle characteristics, segmentation production and demand. Besides, it describes the company’s history, SWOT analysis, structure segments and portfolio. It also gives an overview of the trends in the automotive industry, OEMs, suppliers and BRIC opportunities. Chapter three informs about the methodology used together with the data collection and target group. Chapter four focus on developing all findings. Finally chapter five explains the discussion and recommendations of this study.