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The interest in topics such as the environment, health and sustainability has increased dramatically in recent years, due to concerns about global warming and demographic change, giving way to the concept of “green branding”.
This bachelor thesis proposes the application of a green branding strategy in order to position Irish agri-food products in the German grocery retail market, and explores its potential effectiveness and current relevance. Firstly, this work intends to offer an overall understanding of the characteristics and implications of a green branding strategy. Secondly, it analyses the connection with Ireland as a country of origin for agri-food products, by putting forward the different arguments for its suitability for the respective products. Finally, the key learnings regarding the successful implementation of a green branding strategy are discussed, based on a real-life best-practice case.
This research employed previous academic and trade literature to develop a theoretical foundation for understanding the concept of green branding in a marketing context. Various forms of industry, consumer and retail insights were used to identify the extent of demand for green brands in Germany and to analyse strength and weaknesses of the Irish agri-food industry in this regard.
An expert interview with the Marketing Manager for Kerrygold in Germany was conducted to uncover points arising from the best-practice application of a green branding strategy.
The findings indicate that there is significant theoretical and practical evidence to suggest that the application of a green branding would be an effective positioning strategy for Irish agri-food in the German consumer market.
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.
Industry 4.0, a term coined at Hannover Messe in Germany in 2011, is believed to be the next disruptive force, driving human progress and innovation. The advent of technologies, such as the Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Big Data, and new Mobile Technologies, fuel this disruption. To enable Industry 4.0, mankind is dependent on technological infrastructure, provided by companies, operating in the semiconductor industry. Over the last years, these companies have increased their profits and their stocks are currently trading near all-time highs. Yet, uncertainty created by the disruption of Industry 4.0, the growing influence of China on the semiconductor market, economic insecurities created by political uncertainties, like the 2020 US Presidential election, and the risk and implications of a second global wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, make the equity valuation of leading and established companies in the semiconductor industry exceptionally challenging. This paper examines, how different equity valuation methods compare under said circumstances and shows sophisticated valuation methods must be used to limit valuation error. Further, this paper gives an estimation of the possible ranges of value and suggests the industry may currently be overvalued.
The impact of store atmosphere elements on the purchase behaviour and emotions of customers has an important significance in modern marketing. How to design and conceptualize a store atmosphere in such a way that it provides an unforgettable experience for the customer and entices him or her to arouse an interest in the store environment is one of the most fundamental concerns merchants and marketers must ask and think through these days – likewise, the role of culture in connection with store atmosphere is necessary to understand. The goal of this paper is to answer the question on how behavioural and emotional responses to store atmospheric elements such as visual, aural, olfactory, tactile, social, exterior design, interior design and layout & design differ across individualist and collectivist cultures. A cross-cultural analysis between Germans and non-Germans is made in respect to the posed question. A quantitative online survey was conducted, in which a total of 99 valid participants took part, of which 57 were Germans and 42 were non-Germans. This research extended the study of Barros et al. (2019) and added two more separate store atmospheric elements which are the general exterior design and the general interior design. The data was then analyzed, and the findings were ultimately presented. The findings showed that overall store atmosphere elements have similar emotional and behavioural effects on individualist and collectivist cultures with the exception of the general exterior design element, where a significant difference was found. This paper gives a comprehensive overview on the importance of store atmospheric elements in retail and the comparison between Germany which acts as a country that scored relatively high on the Individualism dimension of Hofstede’s national culture model and the countries Turkey, Russia, Portugal, Albania, Bosnia, Romania, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Iraq which serve as a union of cultures that performed high on the Collectivism dimension. Additional research on the topic needs to be done on how culture affects shopper’s emotional and behavioural responses.
Digitalization is one of the global megatrends of the 21st century. With the increase of mobile technology, constant connectivity, and data analytics, organizations are forced to become more digital to keep up with the increasingly digital world.
This research addresses the changing role of leadership due to digitalization. It examines factors which need to be considered when driving digital transformation in organizations as well as leadership competencies necessary in the digital age. Finally, the research addresses the resistance to digital transformation in organizations.
To investigate how leadership is affected by digitalization, qualitative research is carried out. The research is based on published secondary data.
The findings of this research suggest the growing importance of leadership in the digital age. Leadership needs to approach digitalization actively, thus driving digital transformation in organizations to stay competitive in the increasingly digital world. Further, the research suggests six leadership competencies which are essential in times of digital transformation and identifies two leadership roles which have arisen in recent years due to digitalization. Finally, the research proposes ways to overcome resistance to digital transformation.
A Descriptive Study on Customer Attitudes towards Green Branding in the Fashion Industry in Germany
(2021)
This paper attempts to provide an up-to-date representation and analysis of customers' attitudes towards green branding in the fashion industry and their willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainable and ethical clothing in Germany. Related literature strands are reviewed to understand how the fashion industry works, what green branding means, and how customer attitudes are shaped. After creating an attitude measurement model, an online questionnaire was designed and sent to Furtwangen University students, with 153 valid responses returned. The descriptive analysis sheds light on the three attitudinal components related to sustainability and ethics in the fashion industry. It is noted that customers do not hold a definite attitude. However, a tendency towards the positive end is ascertained. Significant gaps still exist in terms of knowledge and awareness of some commitment by fashion brands. Another huge factor influencing attitudes appears to be a lack of trust. The behavioral component showed that customers are trying to contribute through proper disposal and are willing to buy sustainable and ethical clothing more often. However, there is still some room for improvement in terms of customer education. Nevertheless, it is found that they are willing to accept an additional contribution for sustainable and ethical clothing. In general, it can be concluded that there is a foundation to improve the fashion industry towards more sustainability. However, all stakeholders, i.e., customers and fashion brands, as well as the government, need to work together to change the industry in the long run.
The real-world possibilities for blockchain applications are endless, yet few real-world use cases exist in early 2018 beyond cryptocurrency. Among the many newly initiated and emerging proposals for applications of this unique technology, the area of vehicle emissions provides an opportunity to bring the advantages of cryptography and decentralized databases to the collection and storage of scientific research data. The reporting of vehicle emissions has been a publicly acknowledged area of deceit and scandal, while the cornerstones of blockchain are transparency and consensus. There is, perhaps, a way for this newly expanding technology to provide a disruption to the automotive industry by efficiently and reliably reporting vehicle emissions.
This paper seeks to analyze: the capabilities of an emerging technology when applied to an existing older technology and its utilized environment as well as propose a system for efficiently and reliably collecting and reporting internal combustion engine based vehicle emissions data using blockchain; also, finally, theorize the impact of such a system on the automotive industry.
By combining multiple technologies which already exist in practice, as well as some which are expected to be massively implemented in the near future, it is theoretically possible to establish a blockchain based system for not only recording emissions from every participating vehicle, but also electronically executing a check against local emissions restrictions via smart contracts defined by geo-locational range and GPS referencing. The data can be processed and stored in a way that protects the identity and location history of the driver by assigning responsibility of compliance to the identity of the vehicle. The network can be protected from malicious actors by way of an emissions application specific protocol which involves unique GPS data.
While the short run effects of such a system may be met with pushback from the automotive industry because of increased regulation and impact on sales of internal combustion engine vehicle inventory, the long run effects parallel and may even supplement the future effects of the global trends which make the system possible.
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.
This study is aimed at valuing two companies in the IT services industry with different valuation approaches. Therefore, the preconditions for an accurate and meaningful business value as well as the procedure, strengths and limitations of these approaches are examined. Additionally, the accuracy of the results is determined through comparison of valuation estimates with their corresponding stock prices occurring within the three months following the business valuations.
Furthermore, it is examined if one valuation approach is superior in terms of accuracy. Finally, to verify the quality and explanatory power of the valuation results, they are compared with the outcomes of the study on the information content of equity analyst reports by Paul Asquith, Michael B. Mikhail and Andrea S. Au. The results of the business valuations show that within the three-month period, no price target was exactly achieved by the corresponding stock prices.
Furthermore, no valuation approach could be determined that is significantly more accurate than the others. It can be concluded that despite some limitations in the explanatory power of the valuations, the average percentage approximations of Mastercard’s and Visa’s stock prices to target prices were only slightly below those of the comparative study. In view of the fact that the research capacities and experience behind these business valuations are significantly lower than those of the top analysts in the comparative study, the results are considered consistent with the outcomes of the study on the information content of equity analyst reports.
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.