Refine
Year of publication
- 2020 (83) (remove)
Document type
- Bachelor Thesis (83) (remove)
Language
- English (83) (remove)
Is part of the Bibliography
- No (83)
Keywords
- China (3)
- Consumer behavior (3)
- Social media (3)
- Willingness to pay (3)
- Business model (2)
- Emotional intelligence (2)
- Germany (2)
- Innovation (2)
- Leadership (2)
- Marketing (2)
- Recruiting (2)
- Social media marketing (2)
- Accountability systems (1)
- Affective forecasting (1)
- Agency costs (1)
- Agility (1)
- AnaCredit (1)
- Anti-incentives (1)
- Artificial Intelligence (1)
- Audio branding (1)
- Automotive industry (1)
- Automotive industry China (1)
- Autoregressive moving average model (1)
- B2B business (1)
- Bakery shop (1)
- Bangladesh (1)
- Banking (1)
- Banking system (1)
- Basel III (1)
- Behavioral economics (1)
- Behavioral finance (1)
- Blockchain (1)
- Brand (1)
- Brand ambassador (1)
- Brand image (1)
- Brand perception (1)
- Broadcasting (1)
- Business plan (1)
- CBDC (1)
- CEO celebrity (1)
- Cannabis (1)
- Celebrity-endorsed advertisement (1)
- Central bank digital currency (1)
- Change management (1)
- Cheerleader effect (1)
- Chile GDP (1)
- Chinese tool industry (1)
- Circular business models (1)
- Circular economy (1)
- Cognitive dissonance (1)
- Collaboration software (1)
- Consumer behaviour (1)
- Consumer perception (1)
- Consumer psychology (1)
- Context effect (1)
- Corporate Valuation (1)
- Corporate vision (1)
- Cost structure (1)
- Crowdfunding (1)
- Cryptocurrency (1)
- Cultural appropriation (1)
- Cultural frameworks (1)
- Cultural intelligence (1)
- Culture (1)
- Cultured meat (1)
- Default mode network (1)
- Developmental science (1)
- Digital platform (1)
- Digital transformation (1)
- Drug advertising (1)
- ESG (1)
- Economical impact (1)
- Effective leadership (1)
- Efficient market hypothesis EMH (1)
- Electric vehicle (1)
- Emerging markets (1)
- Emotional branding (1)
- Empathy (1)
- Employee retention (1)
- Employee turnover (1)
- Employer branding (1)
- Empowerment of women (1)
- Energy industry (1)
- English Premier League (1)
- Environmental awareness (1)
- Equine-facilitated trainings (1)
- Equities (1)
- Extremeness aversion (1)
- F2F events (1)
- Facial attractiveness (1)
- Fashion industry (1)
- Feedback (1)
- Feedback context (1)
- Feedback source (1)
- Finance (1)
- Financial Markets (1)
- Financial market (1)
- Financial system (1)
- Financing (1)
- First impressions (1)
- Food packaging industry (1)
- Food wasting (1)
- Frugal innovation (1)
- Gabor-Granger pricing method (1)
- Gamification motivation (1)
- Gamification user performance (1)
- Gender differences (1)
- Gender equality (1)
- Generalist nursing education (1)
- German tool industry (1)
- Germany wealth and income (1)
- Global Mobility (1)
- Global virtual teams (1)
- Green bonds (1)
- Green marketing (1)
- Growth (1)
- HFU Business School (1)
- HR China (1)
- HR Germany (1)
- Heuristics (1)
- Hochschulmarketing (1)
- Hufschmied Zerspanungssysteme GmbH (1)
- Income (1)
- Individual fairness sensitivity (1)
- Inequity aversion (1)
- Influencer marketing (1)
- Information asymmetry (1)
- Infrastructure investments (1)
- Innovation process (1)
- Inter-rater reliability (1)
- Intercultural Management (1)
- Intercultural interactions (1)
- Intercultural relationship (1)
- Intercultural studies (1)
- Interest rate (1)
- International career (1)
- International experiences (1)
- Investing (1)
- Investor sentiment (1)
- Iraq (1)
- Irrational behavior (1)
- Job satisfaction (1)
- LSI (1)
- Labels (1)
- Leadership training (1)
- Learning styles (1)
- Legalization (1)
- LinkedIn (1)
- Lithium market (1)
- Long-distance trade (1)
- Long-term assignments (1)
- Luxury brand (1)
- Macroprudential measures (1)
- Management (1)
- Market analysis (1)
- Marketingstrategie (1)
- Meat substitutes (1)
- Medication (1)
- Mental health (1)
- Mental simulation (1)
- Microfinance (1)
- Migration (1)
- Momentum strategies (1)
- NGO trust (1)
- Neurofinance (1)
- Neuromarketing (1)
- Nonprofit organizations (1)
- Nudging (1)
- Oman energy (1)
- Onboarding (1)
- Online business (1)
- Organizational structure (1)
- Pay-to-quit incentives (1)
- Pension planning (1)
- People analytics (1)
- Performance (1)
- Performance appraisal systems (1)
- Personal branding (1)
- Personal marketing strategy (1)
- Pharmaceutical industry (1)
- Product branding (1)
- Product design (1)
- Prospect theory (1)
- Purchasing behavior (1)
- Quality tasks (1)
- Quantitative forecasting methods (1)
- Rating (1)
- Registered cooperatives (1)
- Regression forecasting (1)
- Regulatory requirements (1)
- Renewable energy (1)
- Responsibilites (1)
- Retailer format (1)
- Revenue forecasting (1)
- Robot recruiting (1)
- Roles (1)
- Sales promotion (1)
- Second screen marketing (1)
- Securities market (1)
- Self-disclosure (1)
- Self-efficacy (1)
- Self-marketing (1)
- Self-promotion (1)
- Selling price (1)
- Social cognitive theory (1)
- Social identity (1)
- Social identity theory (1)
- Social intelligence (1)
- Social media campaign (1)
- Social mobile banking (1)
- Social networks (1)
- Social perception (1)
- Social value (1)
- Socially responsible investing (1)
- Software Companies (1)
- Software implementation (1)
- Spain (1)
- Spatial choice architecture (1)
- Spending behavior (1)
- Startups (1)
- Stock exchange (1)
- Stock market (1)
- Stock return (1)
- Stress (1)
- Stress am Arbeitsplatz (1)
- Sustainability (1)
- Sustainable business models (1)
- Sustainable consumption (1)
- Sustainable development (1)
- Sustainable finance (1)
- Sustainable management (1)
- Tech industry (1)
- Thai consumers (1)
- Thai-German team (1)
- Trading volume (1)
- Trait judgements (1)
- Transparency (1)
- Transparent leadership (1)
- Unfair treatment (1)
- Value perception (1)
- Virtual congresses (1)
- Vision statements (1)
- Visionary leadership (1)
- Wealth (1)
- Working out loud (1)
- Workplace stress (1)
- Young professional (1)
- van Westendorp PSM (1)
Course of studies
Global key account management is the use of the key account management system aimed at global accounts; these global accounts can also be known as multinational companies. These types of companies are key players for business-to-business model companies as they might account for as much as 80% of all sales. At this level of importance, to lose a customer like that could be a death sentence for the business. Adopting a global key account management to keep these essential types of customers is a good strategy, knowing the tremendous value they provide. The company MinebeaMitsumi, being aware of this, brings up the case study for the initiation of a global key account management system, that will bring a best in class service to the key accounts of MinebeaMitsumi in the automotive market. To start this project, it is needed an assessment of the current situation in which MinebeaMitsumi operates to its key accounts. At the same time, it is intended to upgrade the digital infrastructure MinebeaMitsumi uses for its operations. The case study is presented as an exploration and analysis of MinebeaMitsumi and how should this new system be implemented in an early stage. This way, preparing the ground for a larger project at the time of full implementation.
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.
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.
The present thesis attempts to answer the question “What makes a bond green?” by analysing the current status of the green bond market with regards to its regulation and evaluating the need for harmonizing green bond standards.
A green bond, which is characterized by allocating its proceeds exclusively to climate-related or environmental projects, is a relatively novel sustainable financing instrument that has recorded exponential growth since the first issuance in 2007. The green bond market has developed as a privately regulated market leading to a range of different green bond standards and other market mechanisms used for verifying green bonds, of which some have developed into best practice followed by most issuers. This fragmented regulation and the lack of a globally accepted green bond standard leads to the difficulty in clearly identifying what makes a bond green.
By analysing the current best practice and comparing green bond standards this paper identifies the differences between existing standards and suggests the further harmonization of standards as an important prerequisite for the further growth of the green bond market. Consequently, the challenges related to the private nature of green bond regulation is reviewed, leading to the conclusion that the intervention of the government and establishment of public regulation for green bonds could be considered. With regards to the further expansion of the green bond market the EU Green Bond Standard that is currently under development by the European Commission is critically analysed.
The signs of global warming are everywhere, ranging from highest record temperatures in cities to mega wildfires in the amazon. Heat is melting ice glaciers, contributing to floods and rising sea levels.
Transportation is one of the largest carbon-emitting sectors and it is difficult to meet the carbon reduction goals without a significant improvement in the change from Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles to Electric Vehicles (EVs). EVs are capable of reducing transport related emissions. However, the problem is that EVs on their own haven’t convinced consumers to make the switch and there is a role for policy makers to play.
This study seeks to provide recommendations to support policy makers to come up with measures that if adopted, could increase EV uptake in Singapore. A survey questionnaire has been conducted to discover and understand the factors which affects EV buying decision in Singapore in addition to literature review from past studies.
The main concerns of Singapore car drivers of EVs are that they are too expensive, lack of availability of public charging stations and long charging duration. An experimental component in the survey found that providing information on EVs could increase willingness to purchase an EV.
Analysis from other countries shows that successful governmental policies includes first and foremost, financial incentives to make the prices of EVs as competitive as similar ICE models. Other soft incentives were also implemented which acts as a complement at a later stage of adoption.
Recommendations for policy makers includes actions under the following: National goals/legislation/infrastructure, sales support and availability and quality of information which Singapore policy makers can consider to move towards a renewable and sustainable future.
Transforming a face-to-face (F2F) medical congress into a virtual experience without losing the added value of the offline event is the challenge many associations and event organizers face in 2020.
Background: The unexpected COVID-19 outbreak has made face-to-face congresses impossible in Q2 of 2020. In order to continue medical education, virtual congresses are organized.
Objectives: The aim of this thesis is to determine the advantages of a virtual congress format and illustrate a way to effectively organize a virtual congress. Moreover, the thesis aims to analyze the performance of the digital experience platform (DXP) created by MCI the Netherlands, taking into consideration different stakeholders’ needs and its future opportunities.
Methods: This bachelor thesis is based on the available literature as well as data from the company MCI the Netherlands and quality interviews were conducted with
10 industry experts.
Results: The digital experience platform can increase registration numbers and share the content with more people worldwide like never before. With the easy accessibility, the DXP offers the possibility to increase audience reach. By offering a long-term learning opportunity the platform enhances the user experience of the delegates. Valuable data insight can be retrieved through the platform and shared with various stakeholders. Evaluating the advantages of virtual congresses, it can be said that virtual congresses will be the future of the event industry, however they will not replace face-to-face congresses but can be seen as an additional learning possibility.
Conclusion: With the digital experience platform MCI the Netherlands was able to successfully transform their internal digital capabilities into a future-proof innovative client solution. MCI is the first company in the European market who offered a virtual experience for more than 10.000 participants and strengthened their position as one of the market leaders.
Sustainable product offerings in food retailing have been increasing in the last years, making their way from specialized stores to mainstream food retail stores. It is the case of Germany in which sustainable food products are found in many retailing channels, even discounters. Many pieces of research have been focusing on the bio- and fair-trade labels effect on consumers' behavior, and increased interest has been put in the effect it has regarding WTP towards food products. These studies tend to conclude in a higher WTP towards sustainable labeled food products. However, the studies focus only on the valuation of the product qualities and leave the retailer format aside, which is the location where the product and the labels are being displayed and evaluated by the customer. This research will focus on assessing if the retailer format influences consumers WTP towards bio and fair-trade labels in the German food retail market. In total, 400 randomly selected participants answered one of four surveys regarding WTP towards food products in different retailer formats. Two retailer formats are considered discounters and supermarkets. This research analyses if the labels are performing adequately throughout all food retailing formats in order to provide valuable information for the future of sustainable consumption and regulation. In the end, we cannot conclude a statistically significant difference through the analysis of variance of the means of the label performance in both retailer formats.
This thesis deals with the determination of decision criteria for the development of a fixed-floating mix for non-financial firms and applies them to the example of Heineken.
Existing literature fails to offer a clear guidance on how to approach the fixed-floating decision. Managerial incentives, leverage, the availability of natural hedges, firm liquidity and the shape of the yield curve are frequently mentioned as factors influencing the fixed-floating mix of non-financial firms. I analyse a theoretical approach to constructing the fixed-floating mix and depict the difficulties that such a model based on historical data has in the current interest rate environment.
Conducting a peer group analysis, I study the trends in interest rate risk management in the brewery and alcoholic beverages industry. A clear tendency of the firms in the sample to maintain a high percentage of debt with fixed interest rates is visible. Furthermore, I analyse the risk-return trade-off and conclude that the importance of the fixed-floating split decision for the individual firm depends mainly on leverage and the firm’s capability to absorb volatility in interest expenses, measured by interest coverage.
Additionally, I determine leverage, the level of interest rates, the shape of the yield curve and the comparison to a core peer group as decision criteria Heineken should apply when reconsidering its fixed-floating mix in place. The analysis of these criteria leads to the conclusion that the current interest rate environment, financial metrics of Heineken and the comparison to a core peer group justify having a high percentage of debt with fixed interest rates and can even trigger Heineken to further increase the fixed portion of its debt.
Vision statements are one powerful tool in visionary leadership that have to be communicated regularly in order to create purpose for employees. In the past decades, it was underestimated to achieve a greater understanding for a collective sense of purpose that is equally understood by many employees to increase organizational performance and especially coordination of work. To examine the role of values and mental imagery within vision statements, the concepts are more closely elaborated to develop more certainty in creating the right vision. Additionally, an archival study from the medical sector is portrayed which included vision statements and other performance relevant data of 151 hospitals in the US. The researchers found evidence for a strong interaction and imagery effect when four or fewer values were used within vision statements. The interaction resulted in a higher performance and work coordination of the organization and therefore functions as evidence for a shared sense of purpose. Besides, many leaders rather provide conceptual visions and communicate several values that distort the effect of vision imagery and decrease a collective sense of purpose.
The goal of this bachelor thesis is to investigate the role of self-disclosure in a Thai-German team. In-depth interviews with Thai employees and former German interns of a German automotive supplier based in Bangkok were conducted. To link the phenomenon of self-disclosure with intercultural management, German and Thai culture standards represent the base to discuss tendencies in the behavior of Germans and Thais.
The results demonstrate that general topics predominated over private subjects at the early stage of the relationship between the interviewees and their team members. Throughout the relationship, topical depth and breadth increased although the share
of positive topics outweighed. Both the Thais and Germans displayed a great willingness to share general and personal aspects which has led to the deepening of the relationship and the building of trust. The in-group/out-group effect was recognized as the interviewees preferred an in-group recipient for specific issues to be talked about.
Communicating in English did not significantly impact the amount of information revealed. The study emphasizes the role of self-disclosure for initiating, sustaining and enhancing a relationship between Thai and German co-workers.
Over the past few decades, global economic circumstances lead to difficulties when attracting, retaining, and motivating staff. In these dynamic markets, HR departments are struggling with how to navigate among new techniques and generations. However, in recent years neuromarketing has gained popularity among managers due to resourceful insights applicable to various business areas. Drawing on an investigation, this study examines how the implications gained from neuromarketing can be used to conduct an employer branding strategy and if neuromarketing methods can be a useful tool for the HR department. Analyzing distinct advantages of neuroscience by applying techniques that allow examining essential elements of the employer branding, leads to the detection of challenges and limits within the employer branding management and suggest a new perspective. Considering the literature gap, the methodology to assess whether there are implications of neuromarketing on employer branding will be derived from product branding. This study will first investigate the comparability of product and employer branding and then examine the extent to which neuromarketing methods can complement supplant the employer branding strategies. Finally, the results show the moderate relevance of neuromarketing on employer branding.
This thesis aims to explain corporate visions from a psychological perspective to examine its effects for the individual and the organization.
Therefore, the existing literature on the topic of vision and psychological theories has been reviewed. Psychological theories from cognitive, social, and positive psychology, as well as the psychology of emotion, have been applied to the topic of corporate vision.
Derived from complexity theory, visions can function as positive emotional attractors (PEA), which trigger various psychological processes. Visions activate the default mode network and lead to mental simulations, such as the simulation of a best possible self, which contribute to perceived meaning in life and lead to an increase in positive affect. Further, the PEA leads to adapting a promotion focus. Affective forecasting of the future serves as a motivator. Anticipated emotions can lead to the impact bias and emotional contagion, which are important for the communication of the corporate vision. From the perspective of social psychology, Schwartz’s theory of values and social identity theory can explain the effects of corporate visions. Growth-oriented values can trigger a promotion focus in the individual, therefore being motivating.
Social Identity theory further states, that if an organization’s values are similar to those of the individual, the individual can experience organizational identity.
A growing population, climate change, animal welfare and health concerns are issues with increasing relevance. They draw attention to new technologies that focus on more sustainable and healthier solutions. This thesis analyses the market of meat substitutes with the aim of getting a deeper understanding of the market drivers, what contributes to consumer acceptance and a successful market positioning. The focus lies on the factors that make meat substitutes successful alternatives in Germany.
The research includes previous literature, expert interviews and a marketing mix analysis. The secondary literature is used to introduce the topic, to analyse the market drivers and to gain insights into consumer food choice behaviour, whereas the expert interviews focus on market assessment and effective company positioning. The marketing-mix analysis is conducted on the basis of purchased meat substitute products which are compared to regular meat products. The researcher included a place analysis that takes the entire German market into account, as well as a promotional analysis that highlights effective marketing strategies.
Based on the findings of the thesis, it can be concluded that animal welfare, sustainability and health trends are major drivers of meat substitutes. The market is expanding and has great future potential. However, large scale consumer acceptance is highly dependent on the preferred sensory properties such as authentic taste and texture, as well as a product variety that meets German consumer preferences. All in all, the promotion of meat replacement products should focus on a combination of benefits that include both functional and emotional aspects.
The study investigated what is the generalist education in nursing, how Keppler-Stiftung Haus Raphael, Senior Citizens’ Centre will start the implementation of this training and how people can be well informed using social media to convince them for a career path in nursing. The study examined if the use of social media will increase the turnout of people for this education. This thesis also researched, if the use of this promotional medium can help change people’s negative impression about old people’s home, especially for its funny smells and that, senior citizens are not well taken care of there as expected. From the starting theoretical background consisting generalist education in nursing and the trends of social media were discussed in details. Based on the theoretical issued examined, the empirical research is established, collecting data from staff of old people’s homes in five provinces in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Correlational analysis was used to test the sample on the two hypotheses. The positive correlation between social media campaign and the turnout for the generalist education in nursing was identified. The alternative hypothesis was supported because there was a significant relationship of independent variables to turnout of youths for generalist education in nursing
Given the increasing diversity in today’s business environment and workforce, having the right skills and abilities to manage intercultural interactions become increasingly important. Universities and business schools try to equip their students with the right capabilities by sending them abroad for a study semester or internship.
Within this thesis, the multidimensional construct of Cultural Intelligence, which is defined as being effective in intercultural interactions will be introduced and how students’ international experiences are influencing it.
Using quantitative data from a self-conducted survey which includes the widely used and validated Cultural Intelligence Scale is going to demonstrate if both a study semester and an internship abroad influence Cultural Intelligence more than just one kind of international student experience. The study also tries to find out if previous international experience and Cultural Distance have a significant impact on Cultural Intelligence.
The results indicate that both kinds of international student experiences are not enhancing Cultural Intelligence more than just one type of student experience abroad. There is also no significant influence to be found from prior international experience and Cultural Distance. Although the survey results are not going to provide significant findings, internal and external factors which are enhancing this intelligence are going to be identified theoretically, as well as the positive effects of Cultural Intelligence on the business environment.
Job contentment, interpersonal relationships at work, quality of life – for a long time, these aspects were not given importance in an organizational context. Companies were considered rational units, and emotional aspects were neglected. Where people are recognized as an increasingly important resource in a company, emotions play a significant role. In the course of this, the interest in emotional intelligence in the workplace emerged. Especially in the field of leadership, emotional intelligence is now being given more and more attention and has proven to be a cause for numerous positive effects. Due to the limited research on this relation, this thesis aims to find out if and how emotional intelligence in leadership influences employee job satisfaction, specifically in a Danish organization. After outlining the foundations of emotional intelligence in leadership, job satisfaction, and Danish business culture, the empirical research focuses on employee interviews and an evaluation of the emotional intelligence of two managers. Specific focus is put on the employees' perception of their job satisfaction and their assessment of the importance of emotionally intelligent leadership. The results show the importance of emotionally intelligent behavior, and recommendations regarding the implementation of emotional intelligence to overcome workplace challenges are given.
In the light of incremental environmental degradation, social awareness and resource depletion along with high and volatile resource prices, food packaging manufacturers in Germany increasingly perceive pressure towards the implementation of circular business models. However, there does not exist any data neither about the current deployment of circular business models nor about the active efforts dedicated by manufacturers in the German food packaging industry while in many cases there is lacking expertise of how to implement circular business models. This thesis is going to close this gap by conducting a systematic observation of 41 food packaging manufacturers’ product portfolio and company policy in order to identify the current state of deployment and active efforts dedicated to the implementation. Moreover, the most applicable measures will be analysed in order to capture the level of circularity in the focal industry, while providing a step-by-step guidance of how to implement circular business models. There was found that the German food packaging industry is characterised by an open-loop approach since manufacturers focus on circular inputs but neglect the reuse and recycling of packaging materials. Besides, there could be identified six highly applicable metrics, which measure a range of different fundamental aspects of the circular economy. Finally, there was found that the process of implementing circular business models can be structured into four phases, whereas a set of key enablers permits food packaging manufacturers to overcome certain barriers and facilitates the implementation of circular business models. The conclusion was drawn that food packaging manufacturers in Germany still show noticeable potential for enhancement in order to increase circularity, especially by launching circular product designs, the reuse of certain types of food packaging and implementing a more holistic approach of circular business models.
The impact of human trust on business performance by the example of non-governmental organizations
(2020)
How important, scalable and influenceable is the factor trust for charities? This thesis deals with this question regarding social media appearances of three NGOs. Furthermore, it aims to capture the general state of trust of millennials in non-governmental organizations.
This work is predicated on extensive literature research, an online survey, a group discussion with millennials and an application of the HuTrust Model by mext consulting.
Findings indicate that the level of trust matters in different areas such as social media engagement rate and the willingness to donate money to an NGO
Global warming threatens our climate. The planet we know today will deteriorate seriously if nothing changes. The massive consumption of textiles makes the fashion industry as the second leading global polluter after the oil industry. The rise in population increases demand and therefore, also production, which in turn leads to harmful environmental impacts. The global consumers have become increasingly concerned and aware of the importance of sustainability. Due to rising awareness of customers regarding the environment, green marketing strategies have become an important topic. Therefore, a huge number of companies are “greening” their marketing mix. Environmental concern and knowledge of consumers are growing but there is still contradicting behavior of consumers regarding environmentally friendly products. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of green marketing practices and environmental behavior factors on consumer buying behavior taking the fashion industry as an example. This thesis depends on theoretical findings of green marketing and environmental behavior factors in general and on the fashion industry. The practical part consists of a self-conducted survey were the impact of the above-mentioned determinants were examined on the example of eco-friendly fashion. Conclusions that can be drawn from the study were that even though consumers know about the negative impact of the fashion industry and they are concerned about the environment it does not translate into their behavior, since there are other factors which influence consumers decision more heavily when purchasing fashion items.
Nowadays, almost every country in the world classifies cannabis as illegal, nevertheless it is still the most consumed illicit substance in the world. Up until 2019, only two countries worldwide have legalized cannabis completely at national level. In more than 25 countries, cannabis has a partial legal and social accepted status.
While medicinal cannabis was legalized in Germany in 2017, recreational cannabis remains illegal in Germany as per today. The very conservative estimated market value for the German illegal cannabis market is approx. 2.3 billion Euros. Assuming that legalization of recreational cannabis will capitalize the entire or even a major part of the black market of cannabis, the German government would benefit from significant additional tax revenue.
From a political point of view, today there is still a vehement controversy about the legalization of cannabis in Germany. However, experts predict legalization of recreational cannabis in several European countries within the next three to ten years.
Under the assumption that cannabis will be legalized in Germany, sustainable business models were defined within the context of this assignment. As part of this exploratory study, two experts of the cannabis industry were interviewed. On the base of a qualitative content analysis as well as extensive research sustainable business models were defined and evaluated. As a result of the study, a comprehensive recommendation of action was developed.
“Without data, you're just another person with an opinion.” (W. Edwards Deming)
The main objective of this thesis is to establish whether or not a quantitative forecasting method can be utilized by WAFIOS AG for the prediction of future revenues. If so, a data foundation for the forecasting calculations will be defined.
I conducted expert interviews with selected employees in the WAFIOS sales department and performed calculations to analyze the possible methods and indicators that WAFIOS might be able to use in their forecasting process.
The result of this work shows that forecasting the WAFIOS revenue, using a multiple regression analysis and indicators suggested by the sales department of WAFIOS, is not possible. However, during my research and analysis, other potential methods were discovered that might prove useful to WAFIOS and should therefore be examined more closely at a later time.
The topic of this bachelor’s thesis is the connection between culture and social media marketing for environmental nonprofit organizations. It focuses on the question whether culture does have an impact on the performance of social media marketing for environmental nonprofit organizations. Based on this, the hypothesis is made that culture does have an influence on the intercultural performance of an environmental nonprofit organizations’ social media marketing. To provide an answer, the characteristics of environmental nonprofit organizations and social media marketing are analyzed by the use of cultural frameworks. Furthermore, a closer look towards the connection between culture and social media marketing for environmental nonprofit organizations is provided. As a result, this paper supports the hypothesis that culture does have an impact on the performance of social media marketing for environmental nonprofit organizations. The analysis shows that social media marketing and environmental nonprofit organizations both have characteristics that can be impacted by culture. This can lead to an effect on the performance of the environmental nonprofit organizations’ social media marketing caused by different cultural perceptions and aspects.
Roles and responsibilities regarding HR marketing on online business networks in mid-sized companies
(2020)
This paper discusses the roles and responsibilities in managing online business networks for human resource marketing and then applies these concepts to the case of the German company IMS Gear SE & Co. KGaA. It is important for companies to consider which departments and employees are responsible for social media, as this is the first step to ensure the success of a possible social media strategy.
For the practical part of this paper, a benchmark analysis with four companies and interviews with the employees of IMS Gear were conducted. The findings were used to develop a feasible recommendation for IMS Gear.
The literature review shows that it is not advisable for companies to only have roles and responsibilities regarding business networks and human resource marketing, but that they need a comprehensive strategy for all social media channels and a cross-departmental approach for managing social media. At the end of the paper, a possible team structure for IMS Gear is developed. However, the employees would not have the time to add the necessary roles to their daily working routine. Various ideas have been collected to suggest how the company could still build up an active social media presence and ensure the accomplishment of the tasks connected to social media.
The endowment effect shows that selling prices are higher than buying prices (Kahneman et al. 1990). This paper wants to answer the question whether the endowment effect can be reversed and the value perception for the sellers can be lower than the one of the customers. To answer the question two studies were executed where sellers and customers were asked to tell their willingness to pay or rather their willingness to accept. The product for the studies was a wedding dance course, customers were potential participants, sellers the dance schools/ teachers offering the course.
The results show that customers were willing to pay a much higher price than what sellers found was as an appropriate price. Sellers were accepting a much lower price. The endowment effect was reversed for this product. Reasons were the high involvement of the customer and the missing loss aversion on the part of the seller. However, the reasons show that it might not be possible to reverse the endowment effect for every product on the market.
This study examines the current human capital management software market with integrated people analytics module and their targeted type of human resource management. The study is guided by the research question: Does the current human capital management software with people analytics module market target their data usage towards hierarchical or agile type of human resource management? To answer the research question a content analysis of 12 websites of human capital management software providers with integrated people analytics module was conducted. The findings were evaluated based on a scale of 4 prototype approach.
The study revealed that the majority of human capital software providers aim their data usage towards hierarchical organizations. A large part of the examined companies run a mixed approach and try to aim their software towards both hierarchical and agile organizations with different tendencies. The findings of this study align with the literature and suggest to organizations seeking to implement a human capital management suite to choose the software that supports their human resource type and strategy the best.
Online Controlled Experiment at Euranka Sàrl: Improvement of a/b testing by increasing sensitivity
(2020)
Web-facing companies and online businesses generate more revenue than before, and the internet is growing exponentially. Conversion rate optimization has become a hot topic among online marketers and online businesses. Giant data-driven companies like Google, Microsoft, or Bing are pioneers in this field and use their big data to optimize their websites and services with online controlled experiments, but still, facing pitfalls. For companies with smaller user numbers, running experiments with reliable and conclusive results is even a greater challenge. As it is a critical success factor for online businesses, the thesis deals with ways to improve online experimentation for companies with smaller user numbers by increasing the sensitivity of experiments based on information provided in whitepapers and conference findings of pioneers in the field. These methods and guidelines are applied to a practical case at Euranka Sàrl, an online affiliate marketer based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
What happens in a situation in which an individual is given a quality task for no compensation while knowing that someone else receives a reward for the same effort? If a performance drop occurs, does the individual's fairness sensitivity play a dependent role? These questions are approached theoretically and experimentally within this thesis. As a foundation, the most critical insights from the psychological investigation of extrinsic rewards and its impact on intrinsic motivation and performance are reviewed. Furthermore, relevant findings regarding fairness are introduced from varying fields of research. The conducted double-blind experiment suggests with limited confidence that the higher an individual's fairness sensitivity in a situation of perceived unfair treatment, the lower the performance.
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.
In the past years, the German pension system has been experiencing severe pressure. Demographic changes and the resulting implications for the German labor market have forced various pension reforms and reduced overall pension benefits.
In recent years, researchers have developed various approaches to improve retirement schemes around the world. Apart from pension reforms, many of those approaches are based on recent findings within behavioral science – namely the nudge theory, which briefly stated holds that behavior of individuals can be influenced in a positive way without restricting freedom of choice. Within this thesis, findings and approaches have been applied to various parts of the German pension system, giving suggestions on how to overcome issues of insufficient participation and savings and unfavorable investments.
Next to the hypothetical benefit of applying nudging to the German pension system, the approaches are discussed with perspective to their controversy. In the context of cultural research, theoretical and practical approaches are assessed for applicability in Germany. Although they might provide a foundation for improvement, the approaches are critically examined regarding their acceptance and effectiveness within the German culture.
This thesis assesses whether a momentum strategy, which buys past winner and sells past loser stocks, implemented in the German stock market yields positive returns. Additionally, it provides an evaluation of potential sources and implications to stock market efficiency. The findings indicate that momentum profits are on average positive and significant in a time period between 1999 and 2018 and that these profits, in general, seem to contradict the efficient market theory. Hence, after a review of behavioral finance models, these profits seem to be due to inefficient price reactions to new firm-specific news. Despite their strong positive average returns, momentum strategies yield significant negative returns which occur in times of market reversal after panic states and crashes.
Microfinance and The Empowerment of Women "A self-sustainable approach towards gender equality"
(2020)
Women have always been a victim of injustice, inequality, and the domination of men all over the world and still today, women are being deprived of developmental, financial or educational opportunities.
The empowerment of women is one of the most challenging goals the world is trying to achieve in terms of development.
The goal of this thesis is to give an overview of the role of microfinance in the empowerment of women, discover whether microfinance is a self-sustainable approach towards gender equality and examine how microfinance institutions are able to provide financial services to people, who are defined as unbankable by commercial banks.
Therefore, the business concepts of microfinance institutions, as well as their impacts on borrowers, especially women, are analyzed by taking a qualitative secondary data approach.
The results show that MFIs can successfully substitute financially valuable collateral by issuing loans to interdependent borrowing groups.
Furthermore, microfinance shows significant positive impacts on the financial and non-financial empowerment of women, although they are facing tough challenges to get access to women in patriarchal structures, targeting the poorest of the poor and still remain self-sustainable.
Successful examples, such as the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh show the possibilities of microfinance.
However, further research has to be conducted regarding the customer base of successful MFIs, that do not have to rely on external financial aid.
Analyzing the customer base can verify that those MFIs are not just successful because their target group shifted to wealthier borrowers, demanding higher loan amounts. Though customer data is confidential and therefore challenging to access.
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.
This paper proposes to consider the influence of transparency in leadership styles on work performance and satisfaction. In an experimental setting, a pair of strangers were advised to solve a Sudoku in a digital environment under time pressure. With an induced hierarchy, the leader was able to view the task and the timer, whereas only the subordinate was enabled to actively edit the riddle. The treatment group was told to transparently communicate the intended leadership style during the preparation phase. The results indicate that transparency has a significant positive effect on the performance and the satisfaction of the teams. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that transparency may not be the direct cause of improved performance and satisfaction. Yet it might be crucial in establishing trust between the leader and subordinate, causing a positive effect on the two dependent variables. The paper is concluded by discussing limitations, practical implications and considerations for future research.
This literature review-based study reveals that there are reasons for the acceptance of the effectiveness of equine-supported leadership trainings. Results show that people are able to transfer knowledge to a situation which is different from the learning situation (Baldwin & Ford, 1988). Additionally, this research deals with the assumption that empathy can be raised through the equine-facilitated trainings. This hypothesis is proven by the results of empathy improvement in autistic people during equine-assisted activities (Malcolm, Ecks and Pickersgill, 2018).
Iraq offers the two extremes: It is extremely rich on everything from history, people, water, culture and natural resources, and it is extremely instable. Both factors offer the perfect working atmosphere for someone loving risk, challenging danger and wanting to change something on big scale. Having the comfort of living in Germany and writing my Thesis, it allowed me to analyze the following research question: “Is working in Iraq, despite the circumstances, possible?” The answer to this question cannot be black and white. It needs a 360 degree analysis including the political situation, the legal situation, the security situation and many other factors that influence “working in Iraq”.
This Bachelor Thesis therefore moves from broad to specific. First, Iraq is being split up and the specific parts are being described. This serves the intention to clarify how difficult the situation in Iraq is. Then, an outlook on the coming months is given according to my own opinion. Going from Iraq to Italy and back intensifies the view on what was done elsewhere to overcome the “postwar status” and tries to find parallels. Going from broad to specific, the example of a planned German Bakery Shop in Nasiriya allows measuring the ability to work in Iraq on a real example. Therefore, the a Business Plan was conducted. In order to understand if such Business Plan can be applied, interviews were conducted. The interviewees are Samer and Hadeel, a restaurant owner in Nasiriya and a lawyer in Baghdad and Amman (Jordan). 19 questions were asked, summing up the issues discussed in the Bachelor Thesis and giving a clear picture what someone has to deal with when working in Iraq. The result is that working in Iraq as a German graduate is possible.
Concluding, working anywhere around the world is possible as long as someone prepares sufficiently. Personally I decided against opening a German Bakery Shop in Iraq because of several reasons which have nothing to do with the possibility of working in Iraq or not.
The understanding of what lies behind actions and how our mind functions is the basic requirement for effective and successful intercultural teamwork, management and leadership.
While the literature acknowledges the importance of cultural differences in influencing teamwork and management, it ignores differences in cognitive processes, that can influence how attitudes are developed and behaviors are manifested in local environments.
With this in mind, this paper examines the different learning styles, which are the foundation of thinking patterns, problem-solving methods and working styles of Chinese and German employees at IMS Gear. To get a better understanding of how the members of each culture approach a project, a project planning observation is conducted and the findings are compared.
Based on the results, different leadership styles are suggested.
For thousands of years cash has been the only common payment method worldwide. From the markets of Ancient Rome to the itinerant tradesman of the Middle ages cash was indispensable. It was safe, easily transportable, and durable. Today, cash is considered a phase-out model. Newer, faster, more practical and, above all, more secure payment methods have long been available. Banks and governments in particular would like to abandon cash, as it is much easier to monitor electronic payment transactions than cash transactions. This results in concerns for many citizens, as they, especially the older generation, are still very attached to cash and still have difficulty using alternative payment methods.
However, the rise of electronic payment methods is unstoppable, all experts agree. This matter of fact and its input is an interesting and relevant topic for consumer research. This thesis examines the purchasing behavior of consumers using electronic payment cards. The cards do not differ in their external appearance, the difference lies in the components of the card and ensures that there are two types of cards of different weight. Cards which have the normal weight of this type of card and cards which are slightly heavier than the normal (standard) cards. The reason for the different weight of the cards is that objects of different weights are perceived differently by people. It is generally believed that heavier items are more valuable than light ones, probably due to the heaviness of metals such as gold and silver, which we humans generally consider as very valuable. The aim of this work is to find out if the weight of the cards which are intended for everyday use has an impact on the buying behavior of the consumers. This will be investigated scientifically with an empirical data analysis.
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.
During the last years, an increasing number of organisations has tended to favour the utilisation of collaboration software to support organisational processes and their employees in their daily work. Even though most of the software products are sold in a standardised manner, they offer a great variety in terms of their functionalities. Consequently, a company is likely to find a software solution which suits its distinct requirements which themselves originate from technological, market and social changes and prevailing VUCA conditions. Hence, a company is forced to regularly adapt its internal processes and structures to maintain competitive in the business as well as the labour market.
Utilising a collaboration software represents a promising opportunity for a company to introduce solutions for real time communication, social networks or shared information bases which are already used commonly in people’s private lives to the professional environment as well. Thereby they allow associates to transcend geographical and temporal distances while facilitating fast interaction, increasing productivity and providing for new opportunities for collaboration in both, regular work routines and exceptional situations.
The corporate implementation of such a software can be realised by building on formal project planning principles. This project management-driven approach tends to concentrate on preparing the steps required to ensure a successful deployment from a technical perspective. The effectiveness of the implementation, however, is mainly determined by employees’ reaction to the new software: Their level of acceptance and the incorporation of the software’s functionalities into their daily business routines finally influences to which degree an organisation can exploit and experience the desired benefits.
Aiming towards positively shaping users’ perceptions and the software’s usage, the critical success factors for software implementations are reviewed. Given that most of them are directly related to the people affected by the implementation, underlines the importance of interpreting the implementation of a collaboration software as an organisational change. By analysing the change process in theory and considering the employees’ behaviours for the subsequent conceptualisation of an implementation strategy, a user-centred approach can be further promoted.
The theoretical insights obtained from the scientific research on collaboration software implementations and the related organisational change process are then applied to a business case which deals with the implementation of the collaboration software product Office 365 at TTS Tooltechnic Systems AG & Co. KG.
After presenting the derived implementation structure, it can be concluded that so far, the identified critical success factors were verified by the case study. Moreover, the user-centred approach which focusses on guiding employees through the change process and ensuring a smooth transition in general produced positive results.
Nevertheless, it can be observed that an adequate project planning and timing remains indispensable. The final evaluation of the implementation’s success cannot be performed yet, since the implementation at the company has just recently started, but it becomes clear that it will likely be influenced much by the ongoing required cultural change within the company.
In this bachelor’s thesis, the fundamental new trends in Human Resources, due to digital transformation for instance, will be thoroughly examined. Primary research focus is placed on assessing the concrete differences between performance appraisal systems at German and Chinese multinational companies.
Underlying Human Resources tools, such as the feedback, judgment and annual performance appraisal, will be discussed and disseminated as part of employee performance reviews and evaluations. This is intended to be achieved by offering fresh perspectives on the concepts of “New Pay” and peer evaluation among others.
In the age of digital transformation, groundbreaking technologies like artificial intelligence, create a myriad of opportunities for potential applications in Human Resource Management.
However, at the core of this research work stands the comparison between traditional and modern performance appraisal systems. Furthermore, the thesis aims at establishing a better understanding of these systems in practical fields, at the example of German and Chinese businesses. It is argued that benefits and shortcomings regarding new trends, technologies and innovations will play a major role for global corporations.
Therefore, this thesis delivers a broad foundation for understanding not only general HR performance management tools but also current research and very relevant ongoing industry problems.
This Thesis is aimed at showing the extent to which the efficient functioning of a country’s financial system is important for the development of its economy. One of the main determinants of economic development is economic growth. The research focuses on the functions of the main actors of the financial system, and how these functions impact on the GDP which in turn impacts on economic growth.
Data from Books, Articles, and the Internet which show historical evidence of a positive correlation that exists between “the development and stability of a country’s financial system” and “the development of its economy” has been gathered to come up with an answer to this research question.
The German economy is used as a case study to establish this evidence. In the course of this research, data showing the development of the German financial markets and Banking sector from the period - pre and post 2008 financial crisis was gathered. As well, data showing the growth of its GDP through the same time span was gathered.
Following these data showing evidence of a positive correlation between the state of Germany’s Financial System and the state of its economy, it can be concluded that the efficient functioning of a country’s Financial System is to a greater extent, very important for the development of its Economy.
This research focuses on explaining the relevance of social media and innovation process within companies. The main scope of this paper is to explain the different types and platforms of social media, how they can be of an importance to companies & businesses and to explain in details which aspects of the Innovation process could be influenced by social media. In order to develop a deeper understanding, an interview with Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Marcell Vollmer was conducted, followed by a mini case study and market research to test the validity of the information received. Several factors can work as a barrier on the way of utilizing social media networks for business purposes as well as current and future challenges, what they are and what their possible outcomes are, are discussed in details in this paper.
The field of Global Mobility is becoming more varied and complex than in past years. More and more companies operating at an international level, are realizing that the handling of international assignments cannot remain the same as it was handled at its origin. Many corporations that have already recognized this, have implemented Global Mobility Departments or at least GM representatives within their organizational structure. However, there are also enterprises that due to different reasons for example, the absence of the required resources, are not able to do so. These companies tend to handle international assignments on a case by case basis, which can lead to a handful of obstacles, especially when dealing with long-term assignments.
In recent years the field of International Human Resource Management has been experiencing a shift, from the long-term assignments to a short-term assignment variety. Nevertheless, there are various reasons why some companies can still not completely replace this kind of assignments. For this reason, it is vital for companies that do not have either the necessary requirements or demand for introducing a GM department, to manage these more efficiently.
This thesis examines the use of checklists as a viable method for managing long-term assignments. The findings were applied to the current case of Liebherr Aerospace Lindenberg, regarding their strategy for traditional assignments. Results show that implementing a tool, like a simple checklist, can help to ease many challenges of managing traditional assignments. Companies that share similarities with Liebherr could apply this method and adjust it to its own situation, goals and resources.
Games are characterized above all by the fact that players naturally show a very high willingness to play. By using Gamification, one attempts to transfer this high motivational potential to other contexts by integrating elements of a game in a non-playing situation.
This bachelor thesis deals with the research question of how Gamification can influence the motivation and performance of users. It discusses how a gamified system must be designed in order to get the best possible benefit. Furthermore, the risks of Gamification are named and measures to reduce these risks are mentioned.
The methodology used is a literature search in which Gamification and its components are first defined, followed by a definition of motivation and performance. Furthermore, typically used game elements are presented and their effects are explained. Gamification is categorized according to two different approaches, differentiating between various types of Gamification. In order to explain the motivational effect, various psychological motivation theories are presented. The focus is on the self-determination theory according to Deci and Ryan, where the fulfilment of the needs of competence, autonomy and social relatedness are crucial for the emergence and maintenance of motivation. This theory is also used to understand performance improvements.
By presenting practical experiments in which Gamification systems have been developed, it becomes apparent that Gamification can have positive effects on the motivation and performance of users, provided that the basic psychological needs mentioned above are addressed. However, negative effects and various risks that Gamification can entail were also identified. For example, the ability to work in a team, the self confidence of the users, and the quality of the work can suffer if Gamification is implemented incorrectly.
For future research, it is essential to focus more on the interaction of different game elements, to differentiate between the quantity and quality of the achieved results, and to observe the long-term effects of a gamified system.
Emerging markets are at the core of developing frugal innovations that create value in society. This research paper's overall purpose is to showcase how the emerging market of Zimbabwe has created frugal products through the company Econet Wireless Limited; that have brought a significant turnaround in the economy and, in doing so, have positively impacted the society. Additionally, the research problems of the company’s precise frugal innovations, how they create social value, and to what extent were investigated. The case study method was utilized, and data was collected using existing and or secondary data. Of the frugal innovations by Econet Wireless Limited, Ecocash, a mobile money service, provided a financial system for the unbanked and exbanked solving the money or coin shortage problem. Econet Solar, Econet’s brand for solar products, presented an alternative source to the country's lack of electricity. However, beneficial both products were discovered to have shortcomings that can be improved upon or corrected.
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.
Prior research on choice in context demonstrated extremeness aversion to be very effective on consumers’ purchasing behaviour. However, it seems that previous studies have neglected to investigate the impact of the spatial arrangements of choice architectures on consumers purchasing behaviour. Based on indications of prior research, we pursued to demonstrate in this study that consumers who are uncertain regarding their
preferences tend to search for alternatives in the middle of a choice architecture. Therefore, we hypothesized that an alternative, positioned in the middle of a choice architecture, will present a relatively higher choice share. To research this hypothesis we conducted an online survey mainly in Central Europe, which involved a total number of
901 respondents at the age between 15 and 95. The study’s results demonstrate that the decision making of the majority of the participants is heavily influenced by a choice architecture’s spatial arrangement. It became evident that the choice share of one
alternative was higher when presented in the middle of a choice architecture than when presented in the periphery.
The literature on feedback was reviewed with respect to its effectiveness. The argument was made that the effectiveness is determined by the recipient´s feedback orientation (openness to feedback). The factors were explored by answering three questions derived from the hypothesized feedback orientation theory from Trost (2020). The research indicated two factors that contribute to employee feedback orientation. The first factor is the feedback source who should have a coach leadership style. The second factor is the feedback environment which should have the element of learning and coaching.
The presented thesis studies Artificial Intelligence-based tools which are currently used in recruiting. The guiding research questions ask which ethical implications exist when using different so-called robot recruiting tools, and how these implications apply to the German healthcare sector. The analysis is based on a comprehensive literature review. First, an overview over eight different tools is given, then they are analyzed regarding their ethical implications. Finally, the practical example of the healthcare sector in Germany is discussed. The eight tools are considered in regard to the specific need of larger hospitals. The thesis shows that when applying artificial intelligence-based tools, severe ethical concerns, mostly on the questions of non-discrimination, data security and integrity of an organization, can arise. Because of that, the thesis recommends that human resource managers should be very careful when applying Artificial Intelligence-based tools.
The sustainability consciousness of the German population has been continuously increasing throughout the past years. After the financial crisis in 2008/9 the establishment of social banks has brought a new alternative to conventional banks: While conventional banks exclusively focus on financing profit-maximizing projects, social banks set a focus on the sustainability of their projects. As the number of German households owning one or more smartphones, a prerequisite for using mobile banking options, has also increased over the past years, these developments made it possible for social mobile banks to appear in the banking sector and offer an alternative to conventional banks. This bachelor thesis intends to capture the knowledge and acceptance of social mobile banking among students enrolled in German universities. Through an online survey, relevant data was collected and offers an insight into the topic. While social mobile banking is unknown to most of the participants, the acceptance of this way of banking, nevertheless, is moderate to high, with 62.6% of the participants showing a high acceptance level for social mobile banking.
Since the introduction of the concept of Emotional intelligence (EI), there has been affective turbulence in the past decades in the scientific community. The interest in the concept has been growing since the popularization of it in 1995 by Goleman (Goleman, 1995). It has been claimed to be a new way to success, as it was being linked to performance, job satisfaction, many other work-related constructs (Wong & Law, 2002; Bozionelos & Singh 2017; Miao et al., 2018; Prentice, 2016) and even health-related benefits (Goleman, 2020).
On the other side, the concept of Social Intelligence (SI), which was first introduced and used by Thorndike in 1920, has been around in the scientific community for quite some time as well. It is known for reducing conflict, creating collaborations and mobilizing people towards a common goal (Albrecht, 2005).
There has been a perplexing use of them in the field of research. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to examine conceptual issues as the similarities and differences between the two constructs and drawing a clear line between the two. A theoretical review has been conducted for independently understanding each concept. Different conceptual models have been analyzed for differences and similarities, in terms of definition, use, skill, problem-solving area, depth of the construct and aim of reasoning. The conceptual analysis shows there are some distinct differences. In addition to that, the results indicate that both concepts are multidimensional, overlapping and interdependent.
„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.
This thesis proposes the adoption of renewable energies as a means to foster economicdiversification in oil and gas dependent rentier states. Surprisingly, oil and gas endowment does not always imply wealth and prosperity, mirroring the on-going debate whether natural resource dependent countries are blessed or cursed by their resource abundance.
This thesis seeks to bridge this gap by focussing on rentier states and the question whether rentier states are cursed or blessed. Based on the example of Oman, the proposed approach will be closely assessed. Additionally, the Sultanate’s challenges stemming from natural resource dependence and its preparedness for a post-oil era will be investigated.
Moreover, this thesis will analyze whether a paradigm shift in Oman’s energy sector can mitigate prevailing challenges and support the country’s economic diversification.
These three research questions will be answered through surveying and analyzing literature and data pertinent to the research topic. Findings indicate that rentier states tend to be more vulnerable to the resource curse and the impending fossil fuel depletion as it could cause public outcry and political and economic turmoil. Oman as a rentier state faces a grim post-oil era, fueled by many challenges, including dwindling oil and financial reserves, productivity losses driven by labor market distortions and rapid population growth.
Finally, findings suggest that the combination of economic and energy diversification can have strong positive effects on the Omani economy, such as freeing oil and gas reserves for export revenues, job creation, and private sector strengthening. However, Oman’s renewable energy industry is still in its infancy and faces various challenges, ranging from absent policies and adequate financing to heavily subsidized fossil fuels. As of now, the proposed approach is overly ambitious as the installed renewable energy capacity is too low to create significant employment opportunities or to free oil and gas for export purposes. However, heightened volatilities and economic shocks in recent years were eyeopening for the Omani government and have resulted in stronger efforts to enforce economic development plans. Similarly, the political transition after the death of Sultan Qaboos injected new impetus into Oman’s economy, which will facilitate the diversification of economic bases.
With the increasing popularity of online learning, many education providers increase their portfolio of educational courses. This analysis looks at existing literature and conducts two studies regarding the willingness to pay (WTP) for online and offline courses.
The first study consists of a van Westendorp price sensitivity meter (PSM) and a Gabor-Granger pricing method. The surveys are conducted to find differences in consumers´ WTP for online and offline courses and potential causes for the differences. The second study consist of short analogue case studies of services in the online and offline environment and factors that influence consumers´ WTP, supported by a literature review in the front of this analysis.
The results are that the WTP for offline courses slightly exceeds the WTP for online courses and that a multitude of factors, with positive, negative, neutral or ambiguous effects, play a role in consumers´ WTP for online and offline services.
The results and implications from this analysis are useful for service providers, that look to adapt their prices to the consumers´ WTP for services in online and offline environments. In particular for educational service providers and service providers that are unsure how to price online services in comparison to offline services.
Since its foundation in 1992, the English Premier League has been characterized by huge inflationary leaps in broadcasting rights fees and a steady increase in transfer expenditures of the twenty member clubs of the league.
By becoming a global brand with billions of people watching the live matches on TV, the Premier League has proven its status as the most successful sports league worldwide.
However, after analyzing the new broadcasting deal which will last until the year 2022 and the transfer fees spent during the last three seasons, the domestic TV market growth, as well as the increase in the average transfer fee spent by the Premier League clubs are very likely to reach their saturation level fairly soon.
While the new domestic TV deal results in less revenue for the clubs compared to the previous deal from 2016-2019, the value for the Premier League´s overseas broadcasting rights for 2019-2022 has risen by 35% given an increase in the number of games being sold for broadcast (Wigmore 2019).
In order words, the overseas broadcasting rights revenues will be the driving force in the future of the Premier League, as there is still a huge potential for the league to gain more money and therefore balance the loss from its saturated domestic TV market (Robinson und Clegg 2019).
Despite the good prospects of increasing international revenues, there is some criticism regarding the new business model. The new overseas-rights formula includes higher revenues for the Big Six of the Premier League, leading to an even greater injustice among the twenty member clubs.
It remains interesting to follow, if the Premier League will become an even stronger and more successful entity by the increase in international rights fees or if the increasing injustice will lead to a breakaway of the Big Six clubs from the poorer, smaller and less popular teams comparable to the situation in 1992, before the foundation of the Premier League.
This paper includes a brief summary of the theoretical background on onboarding and links the findings to modern trends. To answer the questions about expectations and needs of young employees survey results of a study conducted with over 400 participants between the ages of 18 and 27 will be evaluated. The results show that onboarding practices are highly expected by young adults and that integration is of very high importance for the age group. According to the survey results, onboarding programs can also help organizations improve their attractiveness as an employer. Furthermore, the open-ended questions of the survey provide detailed information on which specific measures should be included in an onboarding process. With the use of theoretical knowledge, the findings from the survey and results of a survey with department heads of the company, an onboarding process for Bürstner GmbH & Co.KG was developed. The plan includes specific steps from before the first working day, to the first weeks in the company until the end of the probationary period. Measures include a new employee profile, an initial training plan, a learning management system based online course and more. Through a transferability check of the process, it is concluded that many aspects can be transferred to other organizations; subject to adaptions. In the future further studies and employee feedback examining the onboarding measures, will have to be carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the developed onboarding process and provide more insight into current trends.
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.
China’s increasing importance in the pharmaceutical industry has attractedthe attention of the mechanical engineer for packaging machinery, Christ Packing Systems. Issues in entering the market have raised questions about the understanding of target customers in China and how the distribution system works. An in-depth understanding of the Chinese pharmaceutical market allows Christ Packing Systems to successfully approach the market.Based on interviews with experts in the field, industry reports and strategic analysis, this research paperwill provide insights into the pharmaceutical industry in China and its challenges and opportunities for Christ Packing Systems. Results show that pharmaceutical companies and their suppliers have to cope withgreat uncertainty. The involvement of the Chinese government stimulates the development of more and more innovative manufacturers of brand medicine. Drastically reducing prices for medicineand making them affordable for everyone in Chinais one of the governments’big goals. After supply shortages of critical medicines during the Covid-19 crisis, China has to expect that foreign groups will move some of their production closer to their customers in Europe and the United States. On the other hand, China is one of the most attractive marketsfor pharmaceutical companies. The largest population of the world which is ageingand increasingly suffers from chronic diseases, demands high quantities of medicine. Adding to that, the growing middle class and an improved healthcare system enables more and more people in China to afford and have access to pharmaceuticals. With this great market potential, Christ Packing Systems is advised to further pursue and intensify its market expansion to China. There are several alternatives to successfully enter the market while keeping the risks and costs at a reasonable level.
While corporate valuation is among the most applied tools in today's corporate finance, there are several approaches and methods to valuation, which differ regarding structure, value drivers and their need for supplementing data. In this paper, four valuation methods for public-traded companies are examined. The aim is to determine, if it is possible to achieve superior valuation results when the choice of the valuation method is based on recommendations made in literature and the analysis of the target companies characteristics, profile and fundamentals. For a selected set of six public-traded German software companies the four valuation methods are applied in order to test the assumptions. Based on the analysis, the results suggest that superior valuation outcomes can be obtained by choosing the valuation method in accordance with the recommendations made in literature and the target company's profile and financials. Furthermore, implied multiples and DCF stand out as valuation methods that worked best for the majority of the six German software companies.
The Belt and Road Initiative topic will be discussed further with the support of evidence of statistical data, qualitative information and decisions between both countries through the following chapters. Chapter 1 will present and discuss the history of the Belt and Road Initiative. Chapter 2 will speak about the influence of the new competition on the German industry. Competition can play a role through the cost and quality of the products which can be produced or manufactured by China. In addition, we will see Germany’s reaction to China’s competitive advantage and entrance to the German market. Chapter 3 includes research and discussion on the impacts on china’s port, the possibility of the expansion of the maritime roads by China and whether the expansion in the arctic will give china more authority in the Belt and Road Initiative project. Chapter 4 will argue the choices for Germany as there is now two corridors alliances who are computing over ports development for faster and reachable products through Pakistan-china or India -Iran. Chapter 5 will discuss the effect of the Hamburg port.
Stress is an omnipresent phenomenon that has been increasingly used in a daily context. The underlying concept and far-reaching consequences of prolonged stress however seem to be often underrated. Nevertheless, the digital transition and fast technological advancement have seemingly fuelled the stress experience and created new challenges such as information overload, dysfunctional detachment or far-reaching substitution potential of numerous jobs. In line with this development, there are several health insurance companies being growingly alarmed as a trend of incapacity to work stemming from mental disorders has assumed horrifying proportions. These present circumstances ought to urge employers greatly to take actions, given the fact that employees spend a considerable large percentage of their lifetime at work. Therefore, employers have to assume responsibility in protecting employee’s well-being. In this context, the present bachelor thesis aims to provide an action model for employers in how to establish a stress management model in the framework of a holistic operation health management. Furthermore, the established model shall address particularly young professionals who have recently entered the job market. This is justified by the major transitions a career starter usually undergoes which commonly constitutes a particular stressful time in an individual’s life. For this purpose, this scientific work further builds on creating a comprehension of the current state of research and literature that has been collected to date. Providing an updated literature review, this work builds on secondary analyses. The bachelor thesis emphasises the complex nature of stress depending on a wide range of influential factors that can be both internal and external (work design, technological advancement, inherent resources as well as social support). Accordingly, employers can take action in realising behavioural prevention measures (i.e. trainings in communication, time management and relaxation techniques) and environmental prevention measures (i.e. workplace improvements by reduction of noise/dirt pollution, ergonomic workplace design;work tasks improvementsby increased scope for control, flexible working and break times; supporting health-promoting behaviour, e.g. balanced and healthy canteen meals, fitness courses).
With the advent of a worldwide internationalization and globalization companies around the globe have been looking to increase their market shares abroad (K Aiginger, H Handler, 2017).
For the German automotive industry in particular and therefore the German tool industry respectively, the Chinese market has become a very lucrative and important marketplace in recent years (A Fraß, 2016).
This thesis is presenting a case study for the German family-run business Hufschmied Zerspanungssysteme GmbH. It is meant as a foundation and guideline for any future business endeavors in the Chinese market for Hufschmied Zerspanungssysteme GmbH. This thesis consequently examines the current market situation for the tool industry in China and analyses Hufschmied´s competitiveness of its current product portfolio.
The German machine tool industry is supplying different branches in China, for this case study a closer look at the aviation industry and automotive industry will be taken.
The Chinese market has been exhibiting a large growth over the last few years, but current events such as the implementation of tariffs (UN, 2020) and the recent outbreak of the Covid-19 Virus (SM Iacus et al., 2020) might mitigate the attractiveness of the market. Without a doubt there are both Challenges and Opportunities for the German machine tool industry in the Chinese market.
Accordingly, the thesis will with the combination of empirical research data and a market analysis of the Chinese market draw a conclusion to which degree the Chinese market offers challenges and opportunities for the German machine tool industry. Additionally, a PEST-Analysis of the Chinese market will provide further insights regarding the market situation in the target market.
This thesis will employ qualitative research methods, the needed data is going to be acquired from primary and secondary sources. As for primary sources, observations and interviews will be used, secondary sources will consist of articles as well as related literature.
Chapter 1 will focus on explaining the main ideas around which this dissertation centers and explain individual terms that are crucial to understanding the problem of sustainability in the aviation industry and mention some measures that have been taken so far to tackle it. It will go through the development of aviation as we know it today, how climate change redefined business towards sustainability and modern trends among younger generations who fight for the protection of the environment and guarantee economic sustainability in order to provide future generations with a healthy planet to live and thrive on.
Chapter 2 will dive into the intricacies of taxing carbon emissions and its effects on the economy, the European Trading Scheme and how it has affected aviation in Europe and the world, as well as explaining what compensation initiatives are and focusing on atmosfair’s program to help offset carbon emissions.
Chapter 3 will finally present a set of new measures which would allow the aviation industry to be taxed more fairly and help reduce the amount of carbon emitted by relocating passengers to other modes of transport, motivate manufacturers to increase their innovativeness and come up with more efficient alternatives to fossil fuels, all of this without harming the global network of aviation that keeps our world united.
It will not focus on the politics behind the implementation of a new carbon compensation tax, only its economic impact. The cases and theoretical examples applied in the text will be centered on short-haul flights within the European Union and European Economic Area, although the covered initiative could also be applied to medium- and long-haul flights inside and outside of the EU.
This thesis deals with the marketing of today and its benefits for companies and universities. The focus is on the recruitment of students at universities through the business platform LinkedIn. The tools offered by LinkedIn will be presented and the purpose for which they are beneficial will be determined. Surveys are used to clarify questions about the use of social networks for different activities. In addition, it will be worked out why students choose a university and how LinkedIn fosters this. These findings are then translated into marketing measures for the HFU Business School in Villingen-Schwenningen.
Brand ambassadors have the power to have a positive influence on how consumers feel and their relationship with the brand. Despite the popularity of brand ambassadors and their effectiveness, a company's employees as brand ambassadors have an ideal and credible impact on consumers and how the brand is perceived.
This bachelor thesis reviews the literature of theoretical and empirical nature to identify how business leaders strengthen the image of their corporate brands the objective is to examine and compare the case of Microsoft Bill Gates and Apples Steve Jobs illustrate how they strengthen their respective brand image.
The results indicate that even though the risk of having CEO’s as ambassadors may tarnish the image of the company in case of unethical behaviors, celebrity CEOs such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have a positive impact on their respective companies and strengthen the brand image.
With the increasing environmental awareness and governmental regulations aimed at reduction of CO2 emissions car manufacturers who produce vehicles powered by diesel, or petrol engines, start to develop and produce electric vehicles in order to stay competitive in the market. However, not only conventional car manufacturers who have been successfully operating in the market for many years and do not want to lose their leading position because of this trend but also other companies and start-ups are trying to enter this industry or are already operating in the electric vehicle market. This raise the question whether the business models of the conventional car manufacturers are suitable for achieving success in the electric vehicles market.
This bachelor thesis compares the business models of the BMW Group and Tesla, Inc. in order to identify the differences between the business models of a conventional vehicle manufacturer and an electric vehicle manufacturer. Moreover, it examines the cost structure of both companies and reveals the differences.
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.
New developments in decentralized ledger technologies may have a huge impact on how we perceive and use money now and in the future. Most notably, it has led to the development of cryptocurrencies and a variation thereof –stablecoins. This thesis discusses the potential impact of Proof of Work based cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin on the money market and the central bank’s ability to maintain control over the money supply. The IS-LM model is used to evaluate the effects of a private-issued digital currency. However, due to the characteristics of POW based cryptocurrencies, their impact on the money market is neglectable. In contrast, private-issued stablecoins of large international businesses with the potential of gaining enough users to overcome hindering network effects may pose a serious threat to the financial system, if there is no regulation on their usage.
As a response to this development and combined with the phenomenon of a declining cash usage in many countries, central banks have started to conduct research in their own digital currency, namely central bank digital currency (CBDC). Countries such as Sweden or The Bahamas have already started with the implementation of trial phases of their respective CBDC. However, design choices of the country’s digital currency differ due to financial, geographical, and cultural circumstances, among others. Nevertheless, many countries have utilized decentralized ledger technologies as the underlying technology for CBDC, showing its promising potential for further research and future developments.
A response to the Global Financial Crisis was the introduction of the Basel III regulatory requirements. The newly adapted Basel accord should incorporate lessons learned such as the need for counteracting the procyclicality of the previous Basel II regulation and the missing liquidity and leverage standards. Spain, however, had already implemented a countercyclical macroprudential instrument as well as granular credit register, for monitoring unfavourable credit developments before this regulation and was still not able to mitigate the double-tip recession that started in 2008.
Therefore, this thesis discusses the financial stability protection potential of macroprudential instruments like the ones implemented with Basel III and macroprudential statistic such as the new credit register AnaCredit. Spain has been taken as an empirical example for examining the instruments’ efficiency due to the pioneering steps towards macroprudential measures.
The results show that Spain had already implemented very useful measures which definitely have the potential of contributing to financial soundness. The amendment to the efficiency of these measures is the prerequisite of continuous improvement and complementary policy actions. Otherwise excessive credit growth developments, which can initiate financial instability, cannot be detected or controlled sufficiently as it was the case in Spain.
The limitation to this analysis is the need for further observation of the developments in the Euro system. This is important especially for the Liquidity and Leverage components of Basel III, as there have not been similar measures implemented in Spain. In the future it has to be monitored if the Basel III instruments and AnaCredit actually detect the vulnerabilities before a systemic collapse or whether the financial development of the countries remains similar to the Spanish development.
The well-substantiated “cheerleader effect” proposes that individuals in groups are perceived to be more attractive compared to when they are presented in isolation. With the aim of finding out whether this effect is applicable to additional dimensions of social perception, we investigated attractiveness, salary, vanity and intelligence judgements in two methodologically distinct experiments. We could not detect differences in ratings between the isolated and group presentations of individuals in a between-subjects design but found evidence supporting the existence of the cheerleader and the “banker effect” in the within-subjects design. Besides an increase in attractiveness, replicating the cheerleader effect, individuals were as well perceived to be earning higher salaries when surrounded by others, thus establishing the banker effect and further emphasising the actual impact of group context on trait judgements. The supplementary finding that both effects do not occur simultaneously within the same person creates new pathways for identifying their underlying causes and deriving possible explanations.
This thesis talks about the relation between investor sentiment, stock return and trading volume in the German stock market. Six Granger causality tests were performed in order to determine, whether one of the above mentioned factors is indicative of the others. The results imply that investor sentiment is indicative of both, stock return and trading volume in the specified time period. However, there is no further significant evidence for other relations among the variables. The results are mostly in line with the literature available on this topic and back up the importance of the concept of investor sentiment as investor sentiment delivers an attempt to explain why investors behave irrationally on the stock market. Hence, the factors influencing investor sentiment should be subject to further research in order to gain a broader understanding of the topic.
An analysis of the inter-rater reliability of ESG ratings within the consumer staples industry
(2020)
The aim of this study is to gain further insights into whether ESG ratings of the same firms from different rating agencies differ. To this end, this study examines and compares in particular the ratings of the providers Bloomberg, Sustainalytics and MSCI for companies in the consumer staples industry. The study comes to the conclusion that there are in some cases significant differences between these three providers in terms of the respective ESG ratings. Furthermore, a company-size bias is shown for Bloomberg and Sustainalytics ESG ratings. It appears that these agencies rate companies with a large market capitalization better than firms with a lower market value. These large discrepancies in ESG ratings of companies within the consumer staples industry and individual rating problems, such as the company-size bias, mean that today's ESG ratings tend to be not reliable and not valid. The study shows that ESG ratings will have to change a lot in the near future in order to contribute positively to the investment selection of socially responsible investors.
The study analyses the German immigration profile and its impact on the labour market, put into a global context. An extensive literature review and an empirical analysis provide insights into the current situation of migration in Germany and on a global level. Furthermore, profiles of a global migrant and German immigrant will be created. For the analysis of the labour market, selected research articles provide econometric results that are being used to determine the impact of immigrants on the labour market on a global level as well as in Germany.
These two main areas of immigration are then basis for the comparison of Germany and the global level. The main goal is to find out, whether Germany is in a particularly challenging situation with migration and its impact on the labour market.
The results indicate firstly, it faces the second highest number of immigration worldwide as of 2019. Secondly, the recent high inflow of asylum-seekers has to be absorbed in society and labour markets and thirdly, Germany has to compete against other countries with more attractive pull-factors for highly-skilled workers. Indeed, it can be concluded that Germany is in a challenging situation regarding migration. Nontheless, the labour market impact results show little variation comparing Germany and the global level and indicate positive effects of immigration on certain skill-levels. However, there is no ultimate consensus reached so far.
The contributions of migrants will then be further elaborated, connected to migration patterns observed and result in an outlook on migration and in recommendations for policymakers.
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.
This thesis tries to answer questions with respect to a future cultured meat industry, that is what influences consumer behavior and which consumers will be likely to buy cultured meat products. In addition I am trying to answer the question if there even will be a cultured meat industry in the future or whether the current developments can be seen more like a bubble that will disappear once enough money is burned with no profits made. Answering these research questions was quite a challenge, even though I did an extensive amount of research the lack of available data was not ideal. Therefore, I need to acknowledge that with more available data more precise conclusions could have been drawn. Nevertheless, through my research I could conclude that the cultured meat industry, which is shortly before bringing the first products to market is unlikely to disappear. The technology seems sound and the concept behind it seems to make sense. Regarding potential consumers I concluded that marketers should try to identify consumers who go through extensive problem solving when making food or rather lifestyle choices. These consumers might be best to approach when launching the first marketing campaigns for a cultured meat product.
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.
Innovative and successful food waste management solutions often happened to have either an economic, ecological, or social positive impact. There are different types of food waste that are wasted at different stages of the supply chain and sustainable management treat this issue in its entirety.
A resource-efficiency handling of food creates and saves value in the food industry, helps reduce climate change and brings food security. Quantitative evidence from financial and nonfinancial benefits from business cases of countries such as the United Kingdom, proved that avoiding food wasting build a win-win situation for companies and consumers. Processes will be exposed to accelerate the implementation of food waste reduction policies at every stage of the supply chain and at every organization level.
This paper is aimed to measure the global degree of food waste and loss with trustworthy instruments and to provide a range of the most efficient and adapted ways to prevent it.
Some focus will be made in certain parts of the world because of the data’s availability and reliability. It also interests us to know what percentage of waste occurs, at which stage of the supply chain, what are the current existing solutions to avoid food waste and
loss and how is sustainable management playing the most efficient role.
Food wasting will be distinguished into two categories: organizations of entities (as countries, governments, cities, and companies) and individuals. Providing guidelines to be able to manage a sustainable production up till consumption will be the core concern of this paper.
Successful employee retention remains one of the most critical issues in human resource management. Various retention strategies have been proposed, examined, and empirically tested for centuries to retain valued employees. This research proposes a psychological explanation on the effectiveness of so-called pay-to-quit incentives and hypothesizes that such anti-incentives might be more beneficial than traditional incentives with regards to employee retention. Cognitive Dissonance Theory, Prospect Theory, and Social Identity Theory help to illustrate the underlying psychological mechanisms of pay-to-quit incentives and their impact on choice, attitudes, cognitions, and behavior.
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 thesis explores the emerging phenomenon of second screen marketing, by providing a holistic view on this topic. The first part presents an extensive literature review, approaching second screen marketing from an advertiser’s view. Second screening and user groups are defined and common second screen measures are presented and evaluated.
The second part examines the consumer’s perception of a brand using second screen marketing, comparing two age groups (18 to 30 years and 50 to 62 years). Brand perception is measured following suggestions from Low and Lamb Jr. (2000), using a three-dimensional construct consisting of brand attitude, brand image and perceived quality. Main findings entail, that younger audiences perceive a brand using second screen marketing significantly more positive than the older generation. While perceived quality for both age groups is evaluated neutrally, brand image and brand attitude scores show more extreme values. This is relevant for advertisers, as indications about potential target groups, content creation and success of marketing campaigns can be derived: Especially younger consumers are potential target groups and perceive second screen marketing as modern and innovative, but dishonest. Concerning content, strong implications about quality, an uniform brand image and the communication of trustworthiness should be a focus to marketers.
This thesis examines the culture concerning the Celebrity-Endorsed Advertisements in Luxury Brands. Culture and its value have an impact on the effectiveness of the advertisement. Culture can also impact celebrity endorsement as a celebrity can be seen differently according to the cultural pattern. Luxury is also seen differently according to the cultural values, and brand can have an impact on the value of the luxury. Since the advertisement is a very crucial tool for marketing strategies, commercials should be made according to the values of the culture to increase its effectiveness. Culture is a group phenomenon, and it influences the behavior of an individual which impacts the brand and product. Culture creates a lifestyle and new markets; it also allows market adaptation according to the local taste. Culture helps us to understand the changing attitude of the market towards a product or service. Culture plays a role in the perception of the product and advertisement as people from a different country will perceive and interpret things differently according to their culture and experience.
This thesis addresses various diverse questions related to the culture regarding celebrity-endorsed advertisements in luxury brands. The foremost question which addressed is; the culture impact on the customer's perception of the brand image for celebrity-endorsed advertisements as to luxury brands. This thesis is based on the Qualitative research method, including descriptive case study-based research with observations, following an inductive approach to generate a theory, model, and explanation by analyzing the data to finding patterns. This thesis follows the research task based on theory and applying research models to new situations, explaining phenomena, and analyzing the relationships. The information and data for the research are taken from the online & social media platforms YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are used for TV commercials. The data is analyzed through observation by checking the advertisement like and dislike on the online platform. How often they are comment and what kinds of statements are used for an advertisement. Afterwards, the data is analyzed according to the culture models. The findings of this thesis answer and highlight the challenges along with the research questions. The study helps us to understand what culture is and how to target the market more effectively. It explains the importance of the brand and the value of the luxury associated with it. This thesis helps us to understand the impact of the celebrity in the advertainments and how to use them effectively. It also helps us to understand consumer behavior and the perception of the product value. This thesis highlights the fact that what can be seen offensive in the advertisement by a different culture and its impacts on the brand image.
Sales promotion are commonly used tool by marketers to manipulate consumer toward a certain offer or product. Attractiveness of a promotion can increase the demand of the promoted product. Monetary and non-monetary are considers the two main types of sales promotions. Monetary sales promotion, also known as price promotion, will provide immediate price discount upon purchase, for example 50% discount. Non-monetary sales promotions or premium promotion, on the other hand, usually grant consumer an extra free product or additional service for free. Previous studies also demonstrated that different sales promotion affect consumer behavior differently. Consumers’ value perception can be influenced by several factors. For instance, marketers use specific “phrase” such as “value pack” to influence consumer price perception. Rationally, consumers’ value perception should remain unchanged regardless of the phrases use to describe the promotion with same discount value. In this study, we examine the impact two sales promotion those are “50% discount” and “buy one get one free” on value perception of Thais consumers. These two deals have equal economic value but perceived differently by consumer. We aim to answer the question “does two different deals with the same value impact value perception of the same product differently?” In order to obtain logical answer, two set of questionnaires were send out to observe the maximum price which consumer willing to pay for “instant noodles” and “soy protein powder”. Unfortunately, the result from our survey were not significant enough for us to derive a concrete conclusion. We also discuss about potential cause of the unexpected result and interpret our result for better understanding. Even without a significant finding, this paper address that different sales promotions impact consumer in various ways supported by other literatures and also self-assumption.