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This thesis investigates the persuasiveness of triathlon celebrities on consumer purchase intention, employing a quantitative research methodology grounded in the Source Credibility Model and the Match-up hypothesis. Through a survey-based approach, data was collected to analyse how consumers perceive characteristics of triathlon sports celebrities and how the match-up between triathlon celebrities and product types as well as the perceived characteristics affect consumer purchase intention. Running shoes and winter boots were selected as the two product types.
The study population consisted of a total sample size of 204 respondents. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to explore the relationships between triathlon sports celebrities' attributes, product-endorser matchup, and consumer purchase intention. Findings revealed significant positive relationships between perceived expertise and purchase intention for both running shoes and winter boots. Moreover, a positive relationship was observed between perceived physical attractiveness of triathlon celebrities and purchase intention for both products. While perceived trustworthiness did not significantly impact purchase intention, the study demonstrated a positive relationship between perceived product-endorser match-up and purchase intention for both products. Practical implications stemming from these findings emphasize the importance of strategic sport celebrity selection and product-endorser fit in endorsement campaigns. This research contributes to the academic field by focusing specifically on triathlon celebrities’ and their persuasive impact towards consumers.
This master thesis explores the divergent consumer preferences within e-commerce sales funnels in China and Germany, two of the world's leading e-commerce markets. This comparative study explores the complexities of website design preferences, the influence of cultural elements on consumer decision-making, and the drivers of consumer loyalty and repeat purchases, with China's rapid adoption of digital technology and innovative marketing strategies set against Germany's mature market and consumer trust.
A mixed-methods approach is used in the research, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis. Insights into consumer behaviors and preferences influenced by cultural, economic, and technical aspects are provided by a thorough analysis of scholarly literature, case studies, and consumer surveys from both nations. The report highlights the distinctive features of each market by examining important elements such as digital innovation, sustainability, social integration, data protection, and mobile commerce in e-commerce practices.
Remarkably, the thesis seeks to provide practical insights to German e-commerce practitioners. German businesses can learn more about properly aligning their marketing and operational goals with consumer expectations by studying the successful techniques employed in China. This research contributes to academic understanding while also having implications for marketers and e-commerce platforms looking to improve user engagement, conversion rates, and the overall online shopping experience in the dynamic global e-commerce world.
Total Hip Arthroplasty is a highly effective procedure. Precise preoperative planning is crucial for a positive patient outcome. One approach to improve patient outcomes is preoperative planning of hip implants, which could replace the currently dominant 2D planning and improve processes in dealer markets by enabling more efficient delivery. The objective of this study is to survey and measure dealers’ acceptance of a patient-specific delivery and operating room setting. The evaluation is based on the Technology Acceptance Model. A recommendation for action will be derived from the evaluation.
This study examines the acceptance of new technologies through a systematic literature review utilizing the Technology Acceptance Model. Additionally, it presents the current state of 2D and 3D planning for hip implants and analyzes the Italian and Brazilian dealer markets. The target group was surveyed quantitatively, and their acceptance was analyzed and interpreted using descriptive statistical evaluation.
The two markets share similarities in their current requirements and conditions. In Italy and Brazil, planning is done intraoperatively by surgeons, which has been identified as an obstacle on several occasions. Acceptance of the new process is therefore mixed and requires supportive measures.
The similarities between the two markets allow for uniform comparability and interpretation. However, the acceptance can be traced back to the lack of preoperative planning among surgeons. It is clear that both markets are rather critical of a switch to preoperative planning, especially 3D planning. Therefore, some measures and further research on surgeons must first be taken before a successful implementation is possible.
Influencer marketing has become one of the most popular marketing strategies in today’s ever changing digital scene. Despite being a popular technique of engaging customers, influencer marketing is still difficult for marketers and brands to understand the meaning behind of it and how to take advantage of influencer marketing. The research delves into the multifaceted landscape of influencer marketing. The research questions revolved around three key aspects of influencer marketing. Firstly, a profound exploration of influencer marketing was undertaken, delving into its evolution, benefits and underlying principles of influencer marketing was important to fully understand its dynamic role in modern marketing. Beyond this, an in-depth analysis scrutinized the impact of influencer marketing on consumer purchase behavior, peeling back layers to reveal the nuanced interplay of trust, and authenticity. To answer these questions a thorough analysis of influencer content and consumer interactions was done. To extract meaningful insights, to provide a holistic understanding of the symbiotic relationship between influencers and consumers. Trust emerged as a linchpin in the effectiveness of influencer marketing, profoundly influencing consumer perceptions and behaviors. Conclusively, the study highlights the indispensability of trust and authenticity in influencer marketing. Brands seeking success in influencer-driven consumer engagement must prioritize and harness these factors to navigate the complexities of contemporary marketing landscapes successfully.
Gamification has become an innovative marketing tool in the tourism industry. It can potentially increase engagement and brand awareness and enhance overall tourist experiences. This thesis presents the theory behind gamification and its application in travel marketing. It discusses extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors, fundamental concepts, practical examples, and the role of mobile applications in driving these strategies forward. By understanding how gamification can amplify tourist engagement, marketers could take advantage of this strategy and create campaigns that leave a long-lasting and positive impression. In addition, real-world examples demonstrate that tourism marketing can benefit from this innovative technique. Based on the literature's most critical findings, a model for implementing gamified marketing strategies to potentially increase tourist numbers during off-season traveling in less popular destinations is proposed.
This thesis explores the dynamics of digital marketing, brand positioning, and
branding strategies within the agri-food sector, and delves into the current efforts of Finca San Antonio, a Peruvian cacao farm that manufactures their own products. The rapid growth of digitalization in Peru, emphasize the changing landscape of consumer behavior and media channels. This creates a need for companies to enter the digital era and update their traditional marketing efforts, in order to cater to the new arisen needs.
The study further delves into the dimensions and strategies for brand positioning
in the agri-food industry, shedding light on the relevance of product differentiation
and market segmentation. The case of Finca San Antonio exemplifies the
incorporation of sustainability and eco-branding in building brand identity and value proposition, which is instrumental to establishing brand loyalty. Overall, this research serves as a comprehensive overview of the interplay between digital marketing and brand positioning, especially in the agri-food sector.
This thesis focuses on what factors make a food- or restaurant franchise successful in general and what factors make a food-or restaurant franchise in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, successful. A literature research was conducted to combine these factors into a framework for food- and restaurant-franchises and potential entrants in Freiburg im Breisgau. Furthermore, a PEST- and location analysis for Freiburg im Breisgau for food- and restaurant franchises was performed. Results show that success factors break down into two main topics namely the franchisor-franchisee relationship and food- and restaurant-franchise key performance indices. Belonging to the franchisor-franchisee relationship, extensive communication and cooperation lays at the core of each successful franchise. Average check, revenue per available seat per hour, and meal duration feature important key performance indices which contribute to the franchise ́s success. Menu analysis, the nine segment matrix and good quality of food and service ensure a competitive advantage if reviewed regularly and lay the foundation of a regular customer basis. Food- or restaurant-franchises in Freiburg im Breisgau include the following success factors: offering vegetarian and vegan options, operating out of the city district of Altstadt-Mitte, and orienting prices to the industry standard although respecting locally produced ingredients. This work gives a first orientation framework for the success of franchises as well as concrete success factors for Freiburg im Breisgau, which could be tested and optimized by further research.
The common occurrence of impulsive buying is present in our everyday lives, but what is behind this occurrence? Impulse buying behaviour is described as a sudden, spontaneous, and compelling phenomenon that accounts for a great part of regular shopping. However, shopping should not only be considered in physical stores but also on online websites and social commerce platforms. With the advancement of technology, the number of social media users is also increasing and with it the importance of online purchases. In order for businesses, marketers or e-retailers to capitalize on this surge, it is necessary to understand what factors drive impulse buying behaviour, and particularly what the key driving factors of online impulse purchases are. Therefore, this paper address impulse buying behaviour and its general influences as well as social media marketing and online stimuli. Moreover, it aimed to examine the relationship between online impulse buying behaviour and social media marketing. To identify the relevant insights on the topic, a systematic literature review was conducted by using databases and literature search engines such as Emerald, Google Scholar, EBSCO, and ResearchGate. After the selection process, 39 articles were further reviewed for this study. The main findings that emerge from the paper are hedonic motivation, price promotions, payment facility, website quality and content, and trust beliefs on online websites are the key driving factors of online impulse buying behaviour. Furthermore, certain literature indicates that social media marketing influences impulsive purchases through so-called influencers and adapts influencing factors of online impulse buying to their social network sites.
In this thesis, the following object was addressed: Is employee advocacy an influential component in the war for talents and customers? This thesis collaborates with the company Ambassify. Firstly, all relevant subjects and information regarding this topic were discussed in a literature review. Based on this, a research strategy was created, including all aspects necessary to answer the research question. In order to gather this data and then answer the research question a quantitative study, more precisely an online survey was conducted.
This research examines the impact of social media on consumer behavior, focusing on how consumer behavior and habits change after the use of social media by German and Chinese young consumers. A comparison of the differences between the two groups is also conducted. The study was conducted based on theoretical background and terminology, followed by six hypotheses. Then this research determined the scope, target population, and sample size before using focus groups and online questionnaires as survey methods. While analyzing the questionnaire data, the research tested the hypotheses and demonstrated the effects between the variables. The results indicated partial agreement with existing studies. Browsing time positively correlates with the purchase journey. The duration of online discounts negatively correlates with transaction speed. Young consumers' demand increases with the amount of time they spend browsing product advertisements. However, some findings ran counter to previous investigations. The impact of SMM on young consumers has no adverse effect on the time spent browsing products. Moreover, only in some cases, young consumers' purchase intentions are positively correlated with demand.
Keywords: Young consumers, Social media marketing, Consumer behavior, Purchase journey, Purchase intention, Online time-limited discounts, Demand
Greenwashing in the clothing industry and its impact on the corporate image of consumers in Germany
(2023)
With issues like climate change and the pollution of our planet, more and more clothing companies are following the trend of a sustainable marketing strategy. Greenwashing is often associated with that, as not all companies are honest about their statements. This study examines how greenwashing by a company in the clothing industry impacts the corporate image of 18 to 30-year-old adults in Germany. Studies regarding sustainability, consumer behaviour towards sustainable products, the behaviour in case of greenwashing incidents, and the identification of greenwashing are investigated. For the analysis, online survey data of 244 Hochschule Furtwangen University study participants are examined. The descriptive study provides information about the behaviour of consumers regarding sustainable clothing and their behaviour when it comes to greenwashing. It was found that consumers tend not to consider sustainability when buying clothes. Very few inform themselves about sustainability, and sustainable labels do not seem to influence their shopping decisions. The image of the consumer about the company involved in greenwashing appears to deteriorate. In addition, the willingness to keep buying from the company seems to be stopped or reduced for the majority. A weak positive correlation was found between consumer behaviour concerning the topics of sustainability and greenwashing. It can be summarised that the dishonest behaviour of clothing companies can harm their consumers' corporate image and brand loyalty.
As a leading medical technology company, KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG continuously wants to bring innovations and applications into the market and expand its existing product portfolio. As strategic initiatives, the company has set priorities and goals to ensure its sustained success. One of those strategic initiatives is to start developing new products in the field of robotic surgery and compete in this segment. To achieve these ambitions, the company decided to spin off its robotic solutions department and establish a new business called KARL STORZ VentureONE Pte. Ltd. With a smaller and more agile structure, the new venture seeks to implement new ways of working and promote innovation.
This new-born company is playing in a fast-growing market that one single competitor has traditionally dominated. However, robotic surgery still has much potential, and existing suppliers have not yet reached different market segments. One segment that has called the attention of the spin-off is the ambulatory surgery centers in the US.
These surgical institutions are growing and gaining relevance in the American surgery landscape. Hence, the company is particularly interested in developing a robotic solution for this segment. Before introducing a product, the company must understand the target customer intended to address. Management at the new venture is also convinced that new business models can be successfully implemented in this segment. Thus, this academic work aims to evaluate the ambulatory surgery center market in the US and propose a suitable business model for this target customer.
For this purpose, this thesis was divided into two main parts. The first aimed to conduct market research on the ambulatory surgery centers in the US by collecting secondary data from articles, reports, and governmental publications. The second part focused on proposing a business model for the ambulatory surgery center segment. To do so, primary data was obtained by interviewing experts in this market.
The research found that the ambulatory surgery centers segment is a growing market where robotic surgery has not yet been fully implemented due to its high cost and reduced reimbursement rates for outpatient procedures. Another barrier to robotic surgery in surgery centers is the high upfront investment needed to buy the technology. Based on these insights, different business models, such as leasing, renting, pay-per-use, and subscription, were assessed. A subscription model was selected and further developed by presenting the most advantages. Using the “Business Model Navigator” methodology, this work defined and documented the target customer, the value proposition, the value chain, and the profit mechanism.
This literature-based bachelor thesis analyzes the MoonSwatch project developed by Swatch X Omega with empirical findings. This bachelor thesis asks, "How does the MoonSwatch launch affect the watch industry, and will this impact affect Omegas luxury brand value through the cooperation with Swatch?" The goal is to determine the effects of luxury and non-luxury collaboration in the watch industry, analyzing the competitors and development in secondary markets.
The MoonSwatch is a co-branding strategy of two completely different positioned brands regarding price ranges and customer groups. The MoonSwatch currently targets the younger and price-sensitive customer group with a retail price of € 250 (~ CHF 248.24).
They created a watch collection that resembles the moon landing of Omega back in 1969. Since then, Omega has been the official watch for the NASA space program and is praised for its high quality, timeless design, accuracy and precision. The prices for Omega watches can range between € 6.000 to € 25.000 (~ CHF 5.957 – CHF 24.823).
On the other hand, Swatch was made for the mainstream customer with affordable prices between € 60 to € 200 (~ CHF 59:58 – CHF 198.59). Swatch is famous for its colorful, joyful and unique designs.
Both brands belong to the Swiss Swatch Group, which owns eighteen brands in total. Both are icons in their expressions. Omega wrote history for the first watch being on the moon. Swatch is an innovator that saved the Swiss watch industry during the economic crisis in the 1980s.
The brands created the MoonSwatch collection, consisting of eleven models inspired by the moon landing and the space planets. Each watch is designed in a specific color to the planet it represents. The project was released on the 26th of March 2022 and has caused a global sensation. The product creates a natural limitation. In contrast, demand far exceeds supply leading to exorbitant prices in the secondary markets.
This bachelor thesis uses English numerical notation.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks, one of the largest commercial vehicle manufacturers in Europe, will launch the eActros LongHaul, a zero-emission battery-electric commercial vehicle in 2024. As battery-electric commercial vehicles have not been on the market for long, manufacturers face many new challenges when launching new products. Therefore, this thesis investigates which factors influence the product introduction of the eActros LongHaul and how to address them. To this end, the following research questions were posed to evaluate which external factors influence the product introduction of the eActros LongHaul and what difficulties and challenges can be expected during the market launch of the Actros LongHaul and what measures could Daimler Truck take to circumvent these difficulties. Therefore, the external factors that have a potential influence on the market launch of the product were considered. For this purpose, current studies and legal requirements were analyzed. Furthermore, qualitative interviews were conducted with experts from Mercedes-Benz Trucks who are involved in the product launch.The factors that could hinder a successful market launch of the eActros LongHaul were analyzed and evaluated. In addition, measures were proposed to reduce the influence of
these factors.
In recent years, an increasingly technological and digital world, with new opportunities
and communication channels, has seen a power shift between brands and their consumers
in favor of the latter (Hansen et al., 2018). This bachelor's thesis examines the question
of whether there are models that can help companies and their brands to counteract the
change in the power balance while responding to changing consumer behavior.
Method: To answer this question, two models, crowdsourcing, and influencer marketing
were presented, that can also be used in the context of brand management. These were
analyzed from a brand perspective in terms of their possibilities and benefits. In addition,
both were analyzed from the consumer's point of view in terms of their correspondence
with the customers' requirements.
Results: The results show that both crowdsourcing and influencer marketing are suitable
in principle, because they address parts of the new consumer requirements, while at the
same time enabling the brand to act in a more self-determined manner. For a successful
implementation of the models, however, it is essential that there is a strong brand
community that wants to interact with the brand and its partners.
Significance of the results: The results provide some good initial insights into solving the
problem presented, but also clearly point out, that further research is required to better
address the issue of the shifted balance of power between consumers and brands.
Building and further strengthening customer relationships is of vital significance for organizations per diem, as maintaining an existing customer base is proven to be less costly than acquiring new customers. Therefore, customer loyalty programs serve as the ideal foundation to enhance customer-centric businesses in the long-run and reward continuous engaging customer behavior. The B2B automotive aftermarket industry with respect to loyalty programs is a general under-researched area. Thus, this study aims to close the gap.
The objective of this research study was to create a suitable loyalty program for the automotive aftermarket on the example of Parts Trading at Mercedes-Benz AG. In order to achieve that, literature concerning individual factors that compose a loyalty program were reviewed as well as twelve qualitative expert interviews in the German market conducted. The experts provide specific, deep-rooted practical knowledge in the automotive aftersales field and assist in gathering valuable information in terms of desired aspects, challenges and experiences regarding loyalty programs. The results were assigned to six categories which were further used to provide recommended action for a loyalty program in Parts Trading and the general automotive aftermarket.
The results of this study display that an automotive aftermarket loyalty program is associated with a great deal of effort, as various challenges have to be overcome. These include the issue of data management, specialized rewards that provide high-perceived value that need to be offered in an easy-to-understand scheme, the signif-icant topic of support and accessibility from the company that needs to be ensured before implementing a loyalty program and lastly, the subject of profitability for the organization. Consequently, it is suggested to derive further international studies where quantitative research with a greater sample size is conducted to review whether the results are in alignment along with a long-term study in which the impact on customer buying behavior and profitability of the program with the same experts is evaluated. However, these findings serve as the ideal starting point for Parts Trading with a lot of possibilities to further develop the loyalty program.
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.
This bachelor thesis deals with the topic of how companies can develop a successful marketing strategy in influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is coming under increasing criticism due to negative headlines from influencers. In the theoretical part of the paper, influencer marketing as well as marketing with opinion leaders is presented. Subsequently, the structure of an influencer marketing strategy is presented. In addition, the cooperation between the influencer Pamela Reif and the sports brand Puma is considered, as well as the cooperation between the influencer Anne Wünsche and the sports brand Oceans Apart. Due to the topicality of this subject, the work is particularly interesting for companies to develop an optimal marketing strategy and to achieve its marketing goals optimally.
The aim of this research is to explore social media platform TikTok and how it can be used as a marketing opportunity for brands but at the same time be a challenge for others. A qualitative study has been conducted due to the subjective nature of the topic, as well as a qualitative survey to get better insights of TikTok users’ behaviour. To analyse the data, a content analysis of 4 brands over the time frame of 3 months 01.06.2022 to 25.08.22 has been conducted. The findings can offer researchers and marketers better insights about if and how to implement TikTok into a marketing strategy of a company.
Concerns about mental health and the declining rate of body satisfaction have increased interest in topics such as diversity, body positivity, and inclusion in recent years. Thus, the suggestion is that companies can communicate deep meanings through advertising images and strengthen their brand identity. This bachelor thesis proposes the application of two theoretical frameworks: Esch’s "Brand Steering Wheel" for identifying the brand identity, and the framework of “Visual Grammar” for analyzing images in advertising. The aim is to find out if diversity in advertising can improve brand identity.
Firstly, this work intends to offer an overall understanding of advertising, brand identity, and multimodality. For this, previous academic literature is used to establish a theoretical basis for understanding. Secondly, certain problems that lack inclusion in traditional advertising are analyzed. Thirdly, with the help of the theoretical framework, the brand identity is analyzed using the brand steering wheel. Additionally, Kress and van Leeuwen’s framework of visual grammar is used to examine images for their meaning.
The findings indicate that there is significant theoretical and practical evidence to suggest that the application of diversity in advertising campaigns would be an effective strategy to build a strong brand identity. The identities and relationships indicated in the photos between viewers and models represent desired attributes that may be identified with the advertiser's products. The brand may be picked if the viewers see that it is correctly represented.
Generation Z born between 1995 and 2010 has a growing influence on the markets and businesses need to adapt their marketing strategies to meet the needs and expectations of said generation and therefore influence their brand perception, preferably positively. Consequently, it is essential to understand Generation Z, their values, characteristics and behavior.
The goal of this thesis is to answer how the modern marketing strategy cause-related marketing influences the brand perception of Generation Z. Thus, the following research questions are being posed: “How does cause-related marketing influence Generation Z’s brand perception in Germany?” and “How can cause-related marketing influence Generation Z’s brand perception in Germany positively?”.
To answer the research questions a quantitative study regarding brand perception was conducted. More specifically a survey was run to measure the brand perception of Generation Z regarding the practice of cause-related marketing. The respondents had to indicate how much they agree or disagree with statements about brands practicing cause-related marketing posed on a 5-level Likert scale to measure their brand perception.
The results of the study indicate that the perception of Generation Z gets influenced by the practice of cause-related marketing. Moreover, Generation Z’s brand perception gets influenced positively. This effect can be augmented if companies pay attention to the specific values, characteristics and behavior of Generation Z and choose their message, collaboration partners and causes accordingly. Additionally, Generation Z’s brand perception can be influenced positively if cause-related marketing is practiced originally, especially via suitable communication tools.
Further studies concerning cause-related marketing influencing Generation Z’s brand perception in other countries or how specific brands or industries are affected could be conducted. Additionally, studies focusing on the negative impacts of cause-related marketing could be performed.
The aim of this thesis is to answer the question of how consumers can be influenced by influencers to purchase sustainable fashion. To this end, the following research question was posed: How do social media influencers influence consumers' attitudes, awareness, and purchase intentions toward sustainable fashion? In order to answer the research question, the main terms of the work were defined and explained. Through the use of multiple examples, sustainable influencers with different reach were analyzed. The results of this work showed that followers can be influenced to buy sustainable fashion by influencers on Instagram. Companies see influencer marketing as a high opportunity to achieve their business goals such as brand awareness and increasing sales. Based on this, it is recommendable to use influencers as a corporate strategy to raise awareness of sustainable fashion brands. In this way, sustainable companies can reach different target groups.
This research paper explores consumer behaviour towards the purchase and usage of Electric Power Two Wheelers (EP2W) by German millennials, the target consumers of this paper. To evaluate the purchasing intentions of German millennials on EP2W, academic research has been conducted. Therefore, data from scientific studies have been collected with a focus on which aspects influence the target consumers’ opinions between electric P2W and fossil fuel P2W. The resulting data showed that millennials exhibit stronger purchase motives towards EP2W. It also states that the purchase price of the EP2W serves as a primary factor.
To achieve sustainable development, appropriate individual consumer behavior is required. However, the increasing statements expressing the intention to buy green products by consumers are reflected in only a fraction of actual purchases. This paper presents a literature review on the attitude-behavior gap phenomenon, focusing on the controversial role of green marketing in promoting sustainable consumption and its influence on the gap between intentions and behaviors.
The attitude-behavior gap is attributable to various situational and internal factors, with the prevailing price sensitivity and routine purchase behavior for low-involvement products playing a critical role in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. Counteracting these factors with the help of a green marketing approach that encompasses internal, strategic, and tactical marketing orientations was examined in this work. While it has been found that creating credibility and transparency through a holistic marketing orientation and targeting the origins of the attitude-behavior gap with the respective green marketing tools can positively contribute to its narrowing, divergent green marketing strategies can lead to the opposite. Greenwashing as a strategy to give companies a greener image without adapting their business activities accordingly leads to a negative impact on the attitude-behavior gap.
On the basis of this analysis, the study found that according to the way a company employs green marketing strategies, it may either widen or narrow the gap.
This research identifies positive and negative influence factors by examining the effectiveness of digital video advertising. The objective is to discover ways of leveraging
these factors successfully through an extensive literature review. As this ad format has developed into a staple in most brands' media strategy, it is valuable to drive
understanding of effective implementation forward. Three brands that utilize digital video advertising are selected for an analysis of their recently published ads. This analysis is supported by a suggested model that was developed based on advertising literature to assess ad effectiveness. Results show that the perceived intrusiveness of an ad and the consequential ad avoidance behaviours in consumers represent a hindrance to ad effectiveness. In contrast, elements used in an advertisement that increase its value facilitated ad effectiveness. Credibility, entertainment and informativeness are ad value contributors and impact ad recall, the gateway to positive marketing outcomes such as purchasing decisions. The circumstances under which consumers are exposed to digital video advertisements play a role in if the ad message can effectively be conveyed.
While negative influence factors have their detriment, they can still be counteracted and leveraged. Advertisers and ad-supported video streaming sites like YouTube can find
ways to broadcast ads without significantly impeding the user experience and, in doing so, secure the continued profitability of this promotion format that depends on users
watching ads.
Young wine consumers are becoming increasingly important for the wine industry, but also represent a challenge for wine businesses as their consumer behavior and attitude towards wine differs from other generations. This relative new group of wine consumers shows a comparatively low level of wine knowledge, while focusing wine choice criteria rather on different attributes, namely wine bottle optics, including label and bottle optic in general. Being aware of wine consumers choice criteria and its implications is crucial for wine marketers to successfully attract their potential customers. The presented thesis uses grounded theory to determine how the choice criteria of wine bottle optic influences the choice criteria of taste, in Gen Z wine consumers. For this purpose, a group of ten Gen Z wine consumers took part in a qualitative experiment, including pre- and post-test interviews, to determine attitude and behavior of participants concerning the wine choice criteria of taste and wine bottle optic. The findings of the study suggest that the choice criteria of wine bottle optic can overrule the importance of the wines actual taste in the decision process of wines. Furthermore, insights into the participants awareness of their own choice criteria, the influence of cognitive dissonance on the topic, as well as general attitude towards wine, such as the low level of knowledge and the preference for wine consumption in social context, could be generated.
When enterprises decide to expand operations to new foreign markets, they are encountered with the crucial decision of how to implement their marketing strategy in each market without losing consistency across their global brand image. This thesis will focus especially on the impact culture has on this decision and on its implementation. To do so, a qualitative analysis in form of expert interviews was performed in six multinational companies across different industries. Marketing managers from the headquarters were questioned about the implementation of their global marketing strategy in their local markets. The findings give new insights for managers in terms of future adaptations for efficient communication of marketing strategy across the multinational company.
The two strategic options standardisation and adaptation are examined in the literature to set a foundation to later discuss culture’s influence on this decision. Furthermore, a cultural framework will be given and the communication structure of the two main parties of a multinational company will be reviewed in the existing literature.
The market for foods and beverages is one of the largest worldwide. Thus, there is a lot of interest in understanding and predicting consumer behavior. Two subjects that have gained attention recently in the food sector are perceived naturalness and high-tech eco-innovations like cultured meat. This work addresses how the preference for natural products and the inference of product attributes via perceived naturalness causes problems for novel technological food products. By reviewing existing literature following questions will be answered: (1) What do most people assume about the health, taste, sustainability, and safety of food products based on perceived naturalness? (2) How is the public acceptance of high-tech food eco-innovations influenced by a lack of perceived naturalness? (3) How can these challenges be addressed by food businesses? It will first be determined what natural means for customers and how it influences food choices in general. The main findings based on the currently available market research are consumers do not desire to consume any highly unnatural foods including technological eco-innovations and it might be more efficient in terms of sustainability gains and customer needs to commit resources to developing existing products or eco-innovations that are perceived to be natural.
This research thesis examines affiliate review’s role in the relationship between direct-to-consumers (D2C) brands and consumers. Three D2C brands were selected as case companies for the multiple-case study. Seventy-five affiliate reviews were analysed, out of which fifteen were analysed in-depth. Additionally, a share of voice analysis was performed to establish the market share of each case company. The research has shown that affiliate reviews play a dual role as recommenders and sellers, which D2C brands use to achieve competitive advantage. However, the dual role is created at the expense of review quality, which is low.
Conception and development of a corporate website strategy on the example of KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG
(2022)
In recent years, digitalization has caused an increasing transformation of the entire business world towards a digitalized economy. The Covid-19 pandemic has rapidly accelerated this ongoing digital transformation. Therefore, online presence is also becoming increasingly important for companies to survive in the digital economy. KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG, a traditional medium-sized company firmly focused on face-to-face sales, was strongly affected by the limitations of the pandemic. Switching to digital alternatives, especially the corporate website, stands out as the most critical digital cross point.
This bachelor thesis uses a marketing strategy model to analyze and research the position of KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG in the market and explores the functions and characteristics that a corporate website must have to meet today’s customer, stakeholder, and employee needs.
First, this work intends to offer an overall understanding of digitalization and its impact on the medical technology industry and medium-sized companies. Secondly, the corporate website characteristics are considered. The third theoretical part includes the analysis of two digital marketing strategy models, which are compared with each other. Finally, the company KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG and its website are presented, and a strategy model for developing a website strategy for the business year 2023 and beyond is applied.
Interviews conducted with internal and external experts on websites provide valuable information and a deeper understanding of the importance of a website in the digital environment.
In the end, this paper gives recommendations for actions for website development.
In two experiments, this empirical research examines consumers’ willingness to pay and the likelihood of purchase decisions by thoroughly investigating the neural, behavioral, and psychological properties of packaging design. A general theory is tested by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a NeuroPricing online survey on consumer behavior using the example product Tassimo. Hypotheses are tested with 592 German consumers who evaluated the packaging of Tassimo coffee. A closer look at the neural data from the brain imaging experiment shows that uncertainty can arise among consumers with regard to sustainable packaging and this can have a negative impact on the purchase decision and willingness to pay. The results from both experiments show that it is not possible to make a holistic statement as to which sustainable or enjoyment-focused packaging design increases the likelihood of a purchase decision or the willingness to pay. Implications for future packaging design research and underlying complexities with sustainable packaging are discussed.
Growing environmental awareness, especially among young generations, is reflected in the willingness to accept price premiums for sustainable and recyclable products. In recent years, marketers have focused on reinforcing consumers’ attention and interest in green goods by increasing the effectiveness of various sustainability information on product packaging.
In this thesis, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) investigated the effect of visual and verbal recycling claims on product packaging upon the willingness to pay (WTP). Although findings showed no changes in WTP related to a visual claim, the presence of a verbal claim positively impacted the WTP in two of four cases. Further, significant interactions between the two factors were detected. The results suggest that students considered an imagery seal irrelevant during product evaluation, whilst communicating recycling information with a textual message or with a conjunction of both claims showed a tendency to improve price-value perception. However, results for the verbal and interaction effects showed variations across products. Therefore, one may not draw unequivocal assumptions from the findings of this study without research replication on a larger scale.
In the quickly developing industry landscape of the organic food market, keeping pace with consumer demands and market growth can be a challenge. Organizations with long histories in the organic market, such as dairy supply cooperatives are facing difficulty to maintain their competitive advantage. These cooperative organizations are unique compared to traditional firms in their committed responsibility to multi-stakeholder value creation and protection as defining measures of successful operations.
The paper investigates what factors and principles could be implemented by a cooperative to establish a consumer retail brand in the organic food market. It also examines the effects of this strategic marketing decision on the relationship between, and outcomes for, several of their stakeholder groups. To balance between narrowing the variables and context, while still providing relevant findings on a national scale, a French organic dairy coop serves as a qualitative case study. In addition, a pool of expert semi-structured interviews was conducted, obtaining real time information applicable to the current case study situation.
The findings supported the development of a consumer retail brand to enhance competitive position in the French organic food market. Beyond organizational competitiveness, these results conclude that a retail brand presence for the cooperative could return synergistic additional value to the cooperative stakeholders, including the business, members and their social and biological environments. Finally, the outcome suggests a reciprocal, reinforcing relationship between a corporate brand strategy and the mission of the organic dairy cooperative case study subject. These findings are partially transferable to other organic cooperatives and add a cooperative organizational perspective to the brand strategy and development academic work.
Frugality has become a prerequisite for success in a low-resource environment, a reality exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. When it comes to consumer needs, the priorities affordability and functionality are increasingly coming into focus. This study examines how frugal products are performing in developed markets, whether they meet consumer needs, and ultimately if there is a demand for these products.
The aim of this paper is to assess the status of Frugal Innovation (FI) in developed markets, using Germany as an example, and thus consumer behavior, in order to better evaluate the current status and related potentials based on this. The link between FI and environmental and social sustainability can be traced back to and limited to the minimal use of resources. Against the backdrop of the current economic and political situation, these factors represent one of the most significant competitive advantages of today.
This multi-method experiment helps to understand the consumer behavior towards frugal products as well as the opinions and attitude towards it. As a result, it can be said that there is interest in innovation in general as well as FI. The respective buying decisions were balanced, what means that frugal products do not necessarily outperform non-frugal ones, but they are in strong competition. It can be concluded that there will be an increasing demand for frugal products in developed markets such as Germany, especially for certain product categories.
Today, in an increasingly digitalized world, the Internet and social media allow for connection on a global scale. Companies utilize social media for their business-to consumer and business-to-business marketing activities.
This paper focuses on establishing a LinkedIn strategy development process in business to-business social media marketing for the AMOS Sport Business School in Strasbourg, which is seeking new partnerships with partners from the German sport industry, who will bring added value to the school.
To answer the research questions, interviews were conducted with six experts who either came from the business-to business marketing sector or worked at or on behalf of LinkedIn. Based on the interviews, the focus was on determining key components for a LinkedIn strategy. The results highlighted four reasons for choosing LinkedIn: the presence of a national and global target group, the seriousness of the content and users, the importance of LinkedIn presence for company marketing, and LinkedIn’s use as a recruitment tool. Seven key components of a LinkedIn strategy were identified: “definition of goals,” “target group identification,” “adaptability and agility,” “content creation approach,” “employees’ integration,” “LinkedIn monitoring,” and “LinkedIn algorithm.” Special attention must be paid to the fourth, fifth, and seventh components, which can influence each other. The research made it possible to determine how to develop the strategy successfully by paying particular attention to LinkedIn’s algorithm, which can be “artificially” influenced by employees’ LinkedIn engagement activities, thereby resulting in a more successful strategy. Such a chain reaction can be initiated at the content creation stage by observing the eight elements of “content creation approach”: “generation of a high level of engagement with published content,” “language,” “relevant and authentic message,” “up-to-date content,” “hashtags,” “time and frequency,” “selection of the appropriate type of content,” and “content distribution plan.”
An AMOS Strasbourg LinkedIn strategy was developed, along with recommendations for action for each component. Investment in the sales navigator was highlighted, as it facilitates target group identification and therefore provides a higher guarantee of success for the LinkedIn strategy when used in conjunction with the other key components. The strategy’s organization and implementation was accompanied by a content guideline and content distribution plan so that AMOS Strasbourg’s strategy can achieve positive results.
The Impact of Using Sustainability Labels in Advertisements of Fashion Brands on Social Media
(2022)
This thesis investigates the impact of sustainability labels in advertisements of fashion brands on social media. It aims to answering the following research questions: Do consumers search for more information on sustainability labels? Do sustainability labels impact credibility? Do sustainability labels impact purchase decisions? To answer the research questions an online survey with 202 participants was conducted. The empirical study revealed that consumers tend to search for less additional information when a sustainability label is displayed in an advertisement on social media. Few consumers believe that brands are fully sustainable when sustainability claims in an advertisement are not supported by a sustainability label. The display of a sustainability label may not be one of the most important factors for consumers considering purchasing fashion items. Those results suggest that brands should use sustainability labels as an important tool in advertising on social media to fill the informational need of consumers and increase credibility.
Year after year, global warming, and plastic output increase, and massive volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2) are being released into the atmosphere. Even though humans are aware of their environmental impact, they do struggle to change their behavior. But what is the reason for this?
The purpose of this thesis is to illuminate the factors that make it difficult for people to demonstrate pro-environmental behavior (PEB) and to form ideas from the field of nudging to assist in guiding humans to a better PEB. As a result, a meta-analysis was created from a multitude of papers on the issues of PEB and nudging. The proposals presented in this work serve as an impetus for future studies in the field of PEB nudging.
Due to technical advances, multisensory technologies have gained traction in the research and development of many industries. With the launch of virtual and augmented reality systems, the potential for these technologies increased even further. The senses of vision and hearing have long been integrated into current products, leading to the assumption that olfactory stimuli are likely to be included soon to stimulate the sense of smell.
With this trend, the issue of implementation into current digital products and services arises, as odors currently cannot be captured in one place and released in another on a large scale. Therefore, this thesis deals with the nature of smell from a cognitive psychological and technological viewpoint. We show why it makes sense to stimulate the sense of smell in multisensory experiences and present early and current technical standards. In addition to this, we conducted expert interviews enabling us to provide insights into the digital scent and olfaction industry. Among other aspects, our results suggest that there are fundamental challenges that developers have to overcome and that a successful implementation depends on the business application.
Prior research found extremeness aversion effects to be common and robust. Nevertheless, most research neglected the spatial arrangement's influence on a consumer's choice and placed the compromise option of a choice set simultaneously in the spatial middle. Following these findings, five bachelor theses were conducted to investigate both aspects by analyzing numerical and spatial choice architectures – their data comprised three online surveys and three field experiments. This study aimed to compare their findings and analyze their data sets to search for overarching effects. Therefore, we hypothesized that there is either information-format compatibility or a general tendency towards the spatial middle of a choice set. To research this hypothesis, we brought the data sets into a comparable format, analyzed our findings, and conducted t-tests to test for statistical significance. Even though the study could not find overarching effects across the data, it supports the notion that a choice set's spatial arrangement, like the numerical one, can influence consumer behavior. Furthermore, it led to valuable insights for future research approaches concerning expanding extremeness aversion into a spatial dimension.
This thesis paper aimed to compare the marketing of wine in Germany and France. Though Germany and France are neighboring European countries, they are culturally, politically, socially, economically, geographically, and technologically different. These differences, directly and indirectly, affect the way both countries do business.
Three research questions helped to compare wine marketing in Germany and France. These questions are the following:
Factors that go into the wine production as well as certain indicators or characteristics inform the potential customers about the quality of the wine they have in their glasses. That is why the first question in this thesis focused on how the quality of wine is defined in Germany and France.
Wine Associations at different layers: regional, national, European, and international play an important role in wine promotion. So, the second re-search question was to investigate the contribution of these different wine co-operatives in wine marketing.
To market their wine, many countries put in place different marketing strategies to increase their wine image and customer base. That is why the Last part of this paper was to compare the different marketing strategies used in the wine sector in Germany and France.
This thesis ended up with a conclusion.
The present master thesis assesses the customer attitudes towards e-food in Germany. As more shoppers are ordering their groceries online, stationary food retailers are increasingly interested in the development and acceptance of e-food.
In the secondary literature review, the determining factors of the customer attitude towards ordering groceries online were identified through the Tricomponent Attitude Model, shopper characteristics and the Technology Acceptance Model. Additionally, potential changes in the customer attitude in the next five years were assessed. The theoretical findings were tested for their relevance and underlying motivations using qualitative in-depth expert and shopper interviews. Ultimately the results were analyzed, compared, and interpreted regarding their theoretical and managerial implications. As a result, a recommendation of action was derived for the Traders’ Cooperative Göppingen.
The findings suggest that the customer attitude depends on the perceived value of e-food based on its benefits and risks, the relationship quality built on emotions, satisfaction, and trust, and the switching intentions depending on the customer loyalty. The shopper’s motivation, situation, and technological abilities are stronger predictors than socio-demographic characteristics. Even though German shoppers are curious to try e-food occasionally, they are still skeptical and need to be convinced of the utility. The results indicate a slowly improving attitude in the next five years resulting in more hybrid cross-channel shoppers. As a result of the Covid pandemic, e-food became a convenient alternative for certain products and situations. As some shoppers and market shares are expected to drift online, stationary grocery stores like Edeka Staufers must focus on their advantages in terms of social interaction and multi-sensory shopping experience.
As prerequisite to final graduation of my master in international business management MBA at Business School, Hochschule Furtwangen University, I conducted this Thesis but also as a practical business case that match with the nature of my master’s focus of international business and could be used in real life.
I put myself as a member of project’s managing team for a pharmaceutical company, this team as a part of strategic decision-making process is responsible about assessing different potential international markets and segments as a part of the company plan to expand their operations, tape and penetrate new markets.
Narrowing down the options to two geographic markets (Germany & Saudi Arabia) and two pharmaceutical segments (Diabetes& OTC), starting this assessment with macro analysis (PESTEL) of Germany and Saudi Arabia followed by micro analysis (Porter’s five forces) of the pharmaceutical industry in the two markets of concern, having more in depth review of the two potential segments in each individual market then head to head attractiveness comparative analysis of the two potential segments in the two potential countries showing the pros and cons for each of the potential available opportunities and finally reach a conclusion to solve this business scenario.
In order to satisfy both scientific research basis and business need I utilized Data from both peer reviewed articles, reports from highly trusted international institutions and organizations for their data accuracy and few theoretical books.
Limitation of this paper: taking in consideration that some relevant data i.e., regarding specific market profitability are not accessible due to either company’s confidential policies or data consolidation for example the financial statements of Bayer, the pharmaceutical company shows consolidated data combining Europe and middle east allowing no possibility(for outsider) to directly compare profitability of each specific country, here in our research Germany and Saudi Arabia, also I tried my best to use the most recent accessible data , but some of the most updated relevant data is out of my reach either due to confidentiality or it is paid data that requires funding resources not available in my case as I am doing this Thesis independently not in partnership with a company, these limitations might to some degree affect the precision of the final conclusion.
One size fits all? A multicultural marketing perspective on the U.S. market for luxury watches
(2021)
The purchase of luxury goods like mechanical watches is experiencing steady growth and it is increasingly shifting to e-commerce platforms, also due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nevertheless, there are culture-related different motivations to purchase those items. One size fits all? According to this question it was investigated if there can be several cultures detected and if they show a different purchase behavior along the customer journey that can be explained with one of the six dimensions of Geert Hofstede (2001). Therefore, several hypotheses along the customer journey are set to find out if there are still ethnical backgrounds that have an influence on the buying process of the U.S. customers. The focus for this research lies on Asian Americans and Hispanics in comparison with the 'Rest of the USA', including ethnic groups like White Caucasians, Afro Americans, and many more.
In order to answer the research question, a quantitative study was deducted with the help of Google Analytics. It provided several Key Performance Indicators like for example sessions, bounce rates, session durations, purchased brands, and many more on Chrono24’s marketplace in the USA.
The study shows that the observed cultures in fact have different characteristics along the customer journey, but not every hypothesis could be explained conformingly with one of Hofstede’s dimensions. Consequently, a one size fits all customer journey does not exist. Additionally, the work suggests how further research and cultural adaptions can lead to optimized customer journeys on a marketplace.
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 research defines the optimization possibilities of listing content for entrepreneurs on Amazon. The research aims to provide insights into the measures to the improvement of the ranking and the user experience. This thesis examines the strategies leading to Amazon's current market position. Due to Amazon's customer-focused orientation, this strategy enables cross-market development.
The theoretical background indicates the success strategy of Amazon, driven by the Content Marketing Strategy (CMS) in which the compilation of content elements is performed in a value-added manner. Amazon's Content Marketing Strategy is an unbeaten strategy that contributes to today's customer reach. This is driving all retailers to embrace the concept of CMS and integrate it as part of their business to benefit from amazon's success and effectiveness in the future.
Based on the frameworks used, the relevance factors and the performance factors, which have a direct and indirect influence on the ranking of the products are analyzed. The result of the analysis describes how keywords, authority, conversion rate, and the Click- Through-Rate are shaping ranking components. In addition, there is a need for the right approach to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
By optimizing the content components, the listing is received with better interest by the target audience, which leads to direct increases in traffic. Successfully implementing SEO measures result in a unique and excellent user experience, which in turn drives the need and buying behavior of the users.
The results prove the importance of such measures to enable successful and effective participation of entrepreneurs on Amazon. Thus, the entrepreneur is considered a relevant and trustworthy retailer who encourages users to buy.
Key words: e-commerce, search engine optimization, content marketing, content optimization, user experience
Oversupply on the market and excessive consumption by consumers are a by-product of a globalized world, causing severe societal and environmental damages. These factors have increased society's fears and have resulted in a loss of trust in corporate’s business operations, leading companies to gradually lose market share. Modern society is increasingly becoming aware of the necessity to behave sustainably, resulting in higher expectations towards sustainable practices of businesses. As a result, a growing number of consumers are demanding companies to operate in a more environmentally friendly way, with more transparency, collaboration, and consumer participation to alleviate societal fears. Consequently, responding to customer needs and desires is crucial for the company's success and future survival. In general, companies are now expected to attract and retain a loyal customer base and help make the world a better place by developing a sustainable corporate brand.
This paper studies based on a selected case study, the impact a Purpose-Driven Marketing Strategy can have on business operations, illustrating how the latter societal requirements can be addressed and fulfilled through a Purpose-Driven Marketing Strategy.
The aim of this study is to understand the concept of Ethical Branding from the perspective of Generation Z. This umbrella question was divided into three research questions: 1. What constitutes an ethical brand for Generation Z, 2. What is Generation Z´s attitude towards ethical brands, and 3. How will the future of ethical brands look like? For this, ten individual online interviews with undergraduate students were conducted. Findings reveal that young people view Ethical Branding as an important personal issue. Members of Generation Z view an ethical brand as holding values such as fairness, honesty, integrity, and consideration at its core and consistently acting according to these values. This manifests itself in the fulfillment of environmental, social, legal, and economic responsibilities. Participants depict a largely positive outlook for ethical brands as society – in particular young consumers – becomes more aware of the importance of mindful and responsible consumption, challenging existing brands in the future. Companies should therefore focus on delivering what they promise and aligning all business activities if they want to be perceived by Generation Z as a truly ethical brand.
Travel bans, lockdowns, and social distancing shape the daily pandemic rou- tine and force marketers, producers, business, and consumers to changed buying behavior and disrupted buying habits. Online sales are sky rocking and hence the comprehension of changes in consumer behavior towards online shopping play an important role for the economy. The aim of the present thesis is to investigate changes in consumer behavior due to COVID-19 and give insights whether these changes last or not. Subordinately, it is examined whether – and if, how – online and offline buying motives are linked to possible lasting changes. Therefore, a deductive quantitative method, namely an online questionnaire, was chosen to conduct, and descriptive statistics to display and analyze data. The conducted data confirms a surge in online shopping fre- quency during the pandemic, but also shows that the respondents will not re- turn to old buying frequency habits and keep buying online as much as during the pandemic. Besides that, the present work confirms the assumption that COVID-19 raised awareness to support local stores. I further conclude that the research subjects gain trust in shopping online and will repeat new online shopping experiences. Hence, adopted consumer behavior will be repeated respectively and old buying habits are being refrained.
The leisure industry experiences a shift in selling their services online. While external sales channels have been dominating the online ticket sales in the last decade, a new trend of Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) sales through individual platforms has been on the rise. This study aimed to research on the usage of external and direct sales channels in the leisure industry and tried to find reasons for the rapid increase of leisure venues shifting their sales channels on their own online platform and abandoning external sales channels. For this study, a primary research with leisure venues across Germany, Switzerland and Austria in the form of a questionnaire with 104 participants was conducted. The topic of the questionnaire was the usage of external and direct sales channels and ticket reseller as well as promotion methods of the leisure venues participating. Furthermore, an expert interview with the CEO of a wellness centre was conducted to gain first-hand knowledge on the research topic. The thesis ends with an analysis of the survey results and conclusions on what the usage of external and direct sales channels in the leisure industry are and how the DTC trend emerged from the state of the industry.
Understanding how consumers choose between alternatives and how they use the context in doing so is the aim of numerous consumer behaviour studies. The effect of extremeness aversion has been found to be a replicable phenomenon in this field. According to this context effect, alternatives with extreme numerical attributes are less likely to be chosen than the alternative with intermediate attributes in a choice set. A new research direction regarding extremeness aversion considers not only these numerical attributes of a choice set but also the implications of the spatial dimension. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that there could also be a preference for the spatial middle in a choice set. As the phenomenon of extremeness aversion corresponds with decision uncertainty, this research aimed to investigate numerical and spatial extremeness aversion in a product class of high uncertainty and complexity. Thus, consumer preferences regarding the product class of wine were analysed in different choice architectures. Interviews in a wine specialist store and an online survey were conducted with a total number of 924 participants. The study’s results are not consistent over both data collection methods. However, independently of each other, they support the notion that consumer choices may be partly influenced by a preference for the numerical middle option, as well as by a preference for the spatial middle option.
The world is constantly changing, and cosmetic companies need to adapt to these changes to survive. In particular, cosmetic companies should not underestimate changes in how customers value information from different sources because proper marketing can lead to increased sales. Therefore, this thesis aims to determine which information sources customers of Generation Y are using and how they weight the information from these different sources. A survey was conducted with people of Generation Y to answer the research question. The survey showed that the most frequently used and highest weighted sources for getting information are search engines, friends and family, and product ratings. Furthermore, the results indicate that information gathered from offline sources has a more significant impact on purchase behavior than information gathered from online sources. Potential customers using search engines are more likely to buy a product online. However, the price of a product does not influence how consumers weight the opinions of friends and family, and age does not impact the weighting of social media or the total number of sources a customer uses. To conclude, a company should not ignore the importance of offline information sources because the data shows that offline sources significantly impact buying behavior. They should also aim to have their online shop appear as one of the top search engine results because this will impact the likelihood that customers visit their websites and buy their products.
The video game industry has come a long way from its humble beginnings in a computer lab at the Brookhaven National Laboratory’s instrumentation group to a multi billion-dollar industry. Considering that the gaming industry is a relatively young industry, it has faced a substantial amount of structural changes and shifts that were intensified by mega trends (i.e. Digitalization) that influence every industry in a certain way. One of these structural changes was the emergence of smaller studios, also known as “indie studios”. Even though these studios have always been a part of the industry, they themselves and their games respectively have gained a lot of appreciation and support over the last decade. Some of these titles even managed to upset those of the big and established studios, also referred to as AAA studios. The most dominant factors that allowed for the emergence and the success of smaller studios were the drastically reduced entry barriers (i.e. free development kits, online distribution websites) and the supportive environment offered to them (e.g. university programs, incubators). Yet, some studios manage to generate better results with their games than other studios do and therefore remained capable of competing in the industry. This circumstance inspired this thesis to identify the KSFs (i.e. Key Success Factors), also referred to as CSFs (i.e. Critical Success Factors) that allow for a successful launch of the game. Generally speaking, KSFs are those business areas and activities that, if executed in a proper way, enable a company to compete successfully in a given market. Since their introduction in 1961 by D. Ronald Daniel, a consultant with McKinsey & Company, the KSFs have been the subject of many studies and academic research papers. A majority of the research tends to focus on applying the KSF methods to more established industries (i.e. healthcare, construction). In addition to that most of the research conducted within the field of KSFs tends to gravitate around identifying and forecasting the KSFs that might be of interest for a given time period instead of focusing on a dedicated event such as the launch of a product. This thesis therefore provides the first comprehensive research on the KSFs in the context of the gaming industry, with special regard to the smaller studios (i.e. indie studios) and the launch period of a game.
First and foremost, this study aims to identify the KSFs that are of great importance to the successful launch of a given game. Furthermore, it tries to research how these KSFs are identified and implemented by the studios. Additionally, it will be researched if the studios are using the traditional model outlined by Howell, M. (2010) or if they rely on other methodologies to identify and implement the relevant KSFs for a successful launch. Lastly, it will be analysed, how smaller (i.e. indie studios) determine whether or not a game was a success and what metrics they use for this evaluation.
The study relied on secondary data provided by scientific journals, books, conference papers from the fields of busines, project management, strategic management and gaming. Since the available scientific literature for this specific research topic was considerably scarce, a lot of the needed content and references used in this thesis were acquired through practical research.
The research followed a hybrid approach, indicating that quantitative as well as qualitative research methods were applied. The qualitative research was conducted in the form of interviews with six industry experts that all had contributed in their way to successful game launches in the past. They were thoroughly researched and evaluated before being contacted in order to ensure their ability to contribute to answering the research question. The data and inputs gathered from the qualitative research were used throughout the theoretical part of the thesis in order to compensate for the continous lack of academic resources and to support the claims made by the author. Furthermore, the data was used to create the survey (i.e. quantitative research) that would be distributed among 409 potential participants. Similar to the quantitative research, these participants were also thoroughly researched and evaluated in order to ensure the legitimacy of the results.
Findings suggest that smaller studios (i.e. indie studios) are not familiar with the traditional model proposed by Howell(2010), which tends to be employed larger corporations in rather established industries. Yet they are familiar with the concept of KSFs and determine as well as implement them through agile project management, which has its origins in the software development industry. This way studios are able to adjust and adapt their KSFs at a faster pace, which is essential due to dynamic environment they operate in. The results indicate that a majority of the participating studios use the Scrum development method in order to determine and implement the required KSFs for developing and launching their games. A significant number of studios rely on dedicated agile project management software programs that aid the companies throughout the project lifecycle. The most popular programs being Trello and Jira. The qualitative research identified a total of 22 potential KSFs that are deemed to be important for the successful launch of a game. The most crucial KSFs were considered to be the following:
- Team chemistry & intrinsic motivation & internal communication
- Budgeting & scheduling & scoping
- Selecting distribution channel & front-page promotion
- Presentation of game on websites & USP
- Active community on social networks & strong customer support & transparency
The results indicate that the traditional one dimensional metrics (i.e. sales level) of evaluating the success of a game launch might no longer have the highest weight in the opinion of studios. The success tends to be determined by a set of one-dimensional metrics, which are quantifiable (e.g. sales levels, positive reviews) and multi-dimensional metrics which are not quantifiable (e.g. learning experience, fulfilment).
Summing up, there might not be such a thing as a “magic formular” that will ensure the success of a game launch. Yet, the research aims to provide suggestions based on the findings from practical research that could be of usage to studios when launching their next game.
In light of the rising commoditization of products, manufacturers worldwide are adopting the strategy of offering value-added services to remain competitive. With the emergence of the new single-use technology, it is becoming increasingly difficult for traditional endoscope manufacturers to create competitive advantage by enhancing the product quality.
The aim of this paper is to investigate how value-added services can effectively differentiate the company KARL STORZ in the single-use endoscope market. In this
regard, insights into the decision-making process of customers in the medical technology industry are provided.
Qualitative exploratory research in form of in-depth expert interviews with KARL STORZ sales & marketing managers and physicians were conducted to gather new ideas and perspectives about the research topics.
COVID-19 has caused severe consequences for the tourism sector, many small- to medium sized travel agencies went bankrupt. Furthermore, the digitalization has been an important global trend, which also affects tourism. The question “how a travel agency could survive in these external circumstances?” is now under the spotlight.
With information from secondary literatures, the macroenvironments surrounding the Chinese and German travel markets are examined. This comparison results in two PEST analyses in order to find out the differences. The case of KaiYuan GmbH, a travel company with Sino-German background, represents a survivor of COVID-19. The SWOT analysis on the company´s microenvironment shows that to possess a broad portfolio and to enter new markets are crucial. The results from the macro- and microenvironment analyses lead to the creation of the new business model Intelligent Travel Agency (ITA), which combines digital developments and a diversified product portfolio. Refined marketing strategies as a German travel agency towards Chinese customers are presented, such as utilizing different Chinese media channels. With feasible components and implementation suggestions, ITAs could replace traditional travel agencies and ensure the existence of travel agencies.
Can the different framing of price promotions decrease consumer value perception and their willingness to pay? Prior research provides evidence of differences in consumer perception of economically equivalent monetary and non-monetary price promotions. In detail, many research works suggest that non-monetary promotions positively affect consumer perception and are therefore preferred over monetary ones that are associated with a drop in quality. Results suggest that this biased consumer behavior is caused by the framing of the promotion, causing difference in cognitive processing and dissimilarities in perception of benefits and product quality. We put this theoretical foundation to the test on the Turkish consumer market of non-durable goods, in order to contrast effects on consumers of the economically equivalent formats ‘50% discount’ as a monetary and ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ as a non-monetary promotion. In particular, the focus was set on analyzing attractiveness perception of the two promotion types and the development of WTP pre- and post-promotion. To achieve this, the non-durable goods rice and antibacterial soap were selected as product stimuli to stage scenarios before, during and after a promotion period. Four sets of questionnaires were shared on social media and distributed to a total of 919 participants via randomization generator. The survey results put forward empirical validation of product-related decrease in value perception as a consequence of both promotion types, namely the ‘promotional effect’. Nevertheless, our data provide no evidence for the ‘framing effect’ in neither attractiveness perception nor post-promotional WTP. This paper aims to bridge the gap on empirical research of key theoretical implications of promotional impact on consumer behavior and to benefit domestic and foreign marketing managers conducting business operations on the Turkish market.
It is generally recognized that emotions aroused in individuals through marketing communications have an influence on their buying decisions in the B2C context. However, it is often disregarded that individuals are also decision-makers in organizations. Therefore, in the B2B context, emotional stimuli in marketing communications may influence their organizational buying decisions as well. In this paper, we examine the extent to which marketers in the mechanical engineering industry can influence their customers by positive emotional stimuli. Practical recommendations are given for the marketing communication of the newly launched production line CUBE by ZAHORANSKY AG, one of the worldwide leading organizations in the industry for brushmaking machinery.
Zoom fatigue - a phenomenon that has been occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social distancing regulations forced numerous companies into home office, which shifted the internal communication to video conferencing platforms. Nevertheless, these solutions do not offer the same interactive atmosphere and social factor as face-to-face meetings. That is the reason why some people experienced a sense of distance and a lack of motivation and concentration.
Virtual reality collaboration platforms are a digital solution resembling a serious game situation that could solve the problem of impersonal teamwork. With this application users could meet in the virtual space, giving them enhanced possibilities to interact with their team members and work together on projects regardless of the distances in location.
As the platform is an innovation that is new to the market, the awareness about this product is not yet widely spread. With the help of an effective marketing mix and a market launch strategy, potential users should therefore be informed about this possibility, leading to a successful implementation of the platform in various institutions. To gain insights into the market and gather information about the target group an analysis through literature research as well as a survey has been carried out. The results showed that the market shows a general interest in virtual reality collaboration platforms. Nevertheless, several respondents expressed their lack of understanding and imagination to use the platform constructively in their professional environment. Additionally, expected high expenses and the lack of technical equipment could be an obstacle to implementing virtual reality collaboration platforms in traditional work processes. Therefore, the mission for the market launch strategy will be to develop a marketing mix that responds effectively to all questions and inspires organisations to discover their possibilities and benefits with this digital solution.
Mental health is becoming a more important topic in the workplace, and it is not anymore only addressed in employee's free time. Due to increased sick leave, costs are rising for companies, the company's reputation could be improved, and productivity could be raised.
To prevent and handle common mental disorders in the workplace better, the research paper focuses on how a corporate culture should look like.
If the corporate culture is supportive and understanding, employees will feel secure enough to disclose their common mental disorder. If there is no stigmatization and judgment, people will feel normal no matter if they are diagnosed or at risk of a mental health problem.
Also, if people are empathetic and know each other well, colleagues, managers, and bosses will recognize stress and adapt to employee's tasks and jobs, which will prevent common mental disorders at all.
As a result, the board of management should think about how the current corporate culture is and how a supportive culture looks like that shows empathy and understanding.
Small measurements and selected interventions can make a huge difference.
Prior research agrees that consumer choice is heavily influenced by the choice context.
According to the compromise effect, the middle alternative in attribute space is preferred over more extreme options. However, the role of the spatial order of alternatives seems to be neglected by most compromise effect studies. Usually, alternatives are ordered by attributes, meaning that the compromise option is placed in the spatial middle of the choice set, despite the fact that research indicates a consumer preference for the spatial middle of a choice set. To investigate this issue, we hypothesized that an alternative would be chosen more frequently when positioned in the spatial middle of a choice set versus at the edge of a choice set. We assumed that this effect would be stronger when consumers are unfamiliar with a product category. Therefore, we expected to observe a negative correlation between decision-makers’ familiarity with a product category and their tendency to choose an alternative more frequently when positioned in the spatial middle of a choice. To find out, we conducted an online survey targeting 907 university students. The results support our hypothesis and the notion that the compromise effect might be partly driven by a preference for the spatial middle position of a choice set rather than only by a preference for the compromise option.
Customer Relationship Management has focused on numerous data privacy practices in the current information and big data era. The present study focuses exclusively on the declaration of consent (DoC) in the context of the automotive industry, particularly in the sector of premium car manufacturing. A DoC is an individual's authorization to an organization for data processing; within the context of this study, a DoC is referred to as the authorization of an individual for processing its personal data in order to receive personalized marketing communications. Not much is known about the factors that influence individuals to grant such permission. Relevant literature on consumer behavior, permissions marketing, and psychology is reviewed from a marketing perspective to develop a framework based on the privacy calculus, which distinguishes individuals' costs and benefits based on assessing selected cost and benefit drivers. The influence of perceived benefits, incentives, both monetary and non-monetary, consumer control, trust, information protection, and transparency is identified as benefit-associated factors, whereas the influence of opportunity costs entitled to the providing the consent, privacy concerns, intrusiveness, and the quantity of the information supplied by the organizations during the consent collection is identified as costs-associated factors. In accordance with the literature, several hypotheses were formulated to estimate the consumers' intention to consent. This study supports Mercedes-Benz AG to improve its consent capturing management and related processes.
The topic of education and web-based training in particular in the technical domain has gained wide acceptance as an effective medium for enterprises to deliver learning and training for their employees and customers. Since learning through the web has several didactic challenges to face, companies must choose the adequate learning method to deliver training to their employees. In the case of Bosch Communications Systems, using web-based training for instruction in the field of professional audio engineering, software remains a subject of investigation and constant innovation. The present study aimed to determine which method of web-based training is better to apply for Expert Level learning on the use and configuration of the sound system software SONICUE. To achieve so, the instructional design of the two methods of study, video tutorial and simulation tutorial, were developed based on cognitive theories. Learning outcomes and levels of user experience of both methods were measured and compared. A sample of 31 participants of Bosch Communications Systems, divided into the two tutorial groups, took part in the present research. Results indicated no significant differences in learning outcome; however, the video tutorial received higher levels of preference among participants and was perceived in a more positive manner than the simulation tutorial in terms of practicality, design, features and navigation. The results of this evaluation reflect the importance of incorporating cognitive research based frameworks to improve the learning quality.
This thesis is written based on secondary research to understand the main determinants of purchase intention of Generation Y women towards Fast Fashion products and how important is sustainability among those determinants. There are many different studies dedicated to Generation X and Z, however, when it comes to Generation Y there are not many sources available. I decided to put them together in this study.
This thesis consists of secondary researches, mostly journal articles and case studies from different countries, with detailed specific information.
The gathered information is categorized into 3 small hypotheses, which include theoretical and practical approaches.
More research can be made conducting primary research in different countries using physical stores and online stores.
Recent years have shown a shift in consumer demand in favor of environmentally and consumer-friendly products. These dynamics can be observed in the market through the rapid growth of the natural cosmetics segment. To highlight the ecological products, producers increasingly use ecolabels. The objective is to facilitate vertical product differentiation and to attract the environmentally aware consumer. This research aims at analyzing whether the natural cosmetics user is aware of the implications of the different ecolabels and whether the knowledge depends on demographical factors. The overall result indicates that the consumer possesses a superficial knowledge about ecolabels, which is not correlated to the purchasing behavior or demographic factors. The profusion of ecolabels hinders consumers from taking advantage of the information provided by the ecolabels. In the future, efforts should be made to improve the knowledge of the consumer, which will boost purchasing behavior.
An Empirical Investigation of the Effect of Packaging Design on Consumers' Willingness to Pay
(2021)
This study sheds light on the extent to which high-quality aesthetic packaging can positively influence consumer choice and raise willingness to pay at the point of sale. In two separate parts, we measure purchasing decisions and willingness to pay by contrasting high- and low-quality packaging of a pullover and a vodka bottle.
Findings show that, compared to cheap and standardized designs, visually appealing packages can significantly raise willingness to pay for a product. Besides, packaging design is crucial when consumers buy the product as a gift rather than for self-consumption. This research provides evidence that beautifully designed packages can positively influence consumer choice at the point of purchase. However, packaging can only influence purchase decisions within a specific price range. If prices are too high and above the individual’s accepted price limit, packaging cannot convince consumers to buy the product. Further, our investigation shows that consumers’ age, gender, educational level, and occupational status can be related to their package choices. The late adulthood, men, and individuals with higher education and professional status are likely to spend more on attractively packaged products than other demographic groups.
The demand for sustainable products has risen noticeably throughout the last years. For this reason, credence labels have gained enhanced importance, as customers use them as indicators for product quality. A rich body of literature investigated the effect of labels on product quality perception, but findings on label effects are still rather controversial. While researching the effects of labels on the one hand, previous studies tend to neglect other important influences on quality perception on the other hand. This paper examines the role of retailer formats and the presence of quality labels on consumer willingness to pay (WTP). For this purpose, a total of 400 participants received a monetary incentive to execute a novel survey based on neuroscientific assumptions, in an attempt to identify the impacts of credence labels in supermarkets and discounters on customer WTP. The results indicate that the magnitude of prices can influence reaction times and hence show that reaction times offer researchers an effective parameter to determine customer WTP. The presence of labels on food products was found to positively influence quality perception in a significant manner. A significant difference between the retailer formats, as well as a potential interaction between the two factors related to WTP, could not be detected. In conclusion, general assumptions about the label performance within distinct retailers should not be made. The results, however, indicate that the subject offers a promising topic to conduct further research in.
Pricing is an essential element when it comes to marketing and selling goods and different price promotions are widely used tools to attract and retain consumers. However, the expected positive impacts of such price promotions on consumer perceptions have been increasingly questioned in recent years. In particular, with regard to quality perceptions and internal reference prices, a number of past research findings suggest that monetary price promotions might be more likely to result in unfavourable consumer perceptions than non-monetary promotions (Diamond & Campbell, 1989; Darke & Chung, 2005). Instead of only focusing on the short-term effects of different promotion methods, the aim of this study is to examine the long-term effects of the use as well as the choice of price promotions on consumers’ value perceptions. Using an internet-based survey, subjects’ long-term willingness to pay for three non-durable consumer goods (a pack of pasta, a toothpaste and a basic t-shirt) was investigated under the following three conditions: the post-promotional phase of a "buy one, get one free" offer, the post-promotional phase of an economically equivalent 50% discount and a situation in which no price promotion was applied at all. For the consumer non-durable pasta, the results suggested that consumers’ value perceptions would be significantly influenced by whether or not a price promotion was previously applied and if so, which one. Furthermore, for the noodles, the findings seemed to corroborate the hypothesis that consumers' willingness to pay is highest in the absence of any previous promotion. Surprisingly, no significant difference was found between the post-promotion phase of the discount offer and the post-promotion phase of the BOGOF offer for any of the three products. All in all, this research provides some meaningful insights on the potential long-term impacts of price promotions on consumers’ value perceptions and willingness to pay. Moreover, our findings could be of particular relevance for managerial decisions regarding the marketing of non-durables in the grocery sector.
The onset of COVID– 19 has accelerated digital trends facilitating the rise of social media and the financial technology industry. Especially in the private equity sector, investors are increasing their online presence and marketers need to define a tactical social media plan to improve its integrated marketing communications and facilitate lead generation.
The objective of this thesis is to develop a social media marketing proposal and action plan for the fintech company: Moonfare GmbH. The aim is to identify the most suitable content marketing, social networks and techniques to power sales growth, brand awareness and community engagement through its current social media channels.
In order to develop a deeper understanding, the literature review presents different digital marketing frameworks applied to social media marketing. Moreover, a careful study of the fintech private equity industry is developed through a Porter’s 5 forces model alongside an explanation of the case of Moonfare through a blue ocean canvas.
For the research, secondary data and internal desk research were performed including, statistical insights directly gathered from the company. The study was further designed with an internal and external situation analysis, concluding with a SWOT model and the establishment of objectives through a SMART goals framework. The final action plan is presented in an OGSM model.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 following thesis examines the role of drug advertising in the United States. It takes a theoretical approach to explore the relationship between drug sales and the corresponding advertising and their perception, effects and implications on the public by focusing on the opioid crisis in the United States. In order to assess the effectiveness of drug advertising, the theoretical hierarchical framework by Robert J. Lavidge and A Steiner was utilized as it provides a straight-forward and frequently applied model to examine the workings of advertising in general.
The thesis’s conclusions give a synopsis of the results both for drug advertising and its effects on sales, as well as the implications drug advertising can entail as demonstrated in the case of the opioid crisis.
The thesis emphasizes on the scale of production and waste of plastics, market share of single use plastics and attempts to find alternatives to one of the most problematic single use plastic marine litter items – single use plastic tableware and cutlery. The thesis is further narrowed to one of the Biodegradable tableware and cutlery BIOTREM from Poland that produces single use or disposable tableware and cutlery with the raw materials wheat bran and bioplastics PLA.
A study involved in the internationalization of BIOTREM is carried out based on the guidelines and principles of Global Marketing by Hollensen (2014). The study includes the important steps in internationalization process such as decision whether to internationalize, factors affecting internationalization, internationalization models suitable for BIOTREM.
Germany is considered as a hypothetical target market for the expansion of BIOTREM and the challenges for internationalization to Germany is analyzed with the help of Porter’s Five Force framework and SWOT Analysis. Further, various types of entry modes and factors that would influence the strategy for BIOTREM’s entry into German Market are studied and the suitable options are recommended.
A few recommendations w.r.t elements of marketing mix – product, place and promotions are suggested and also included are the general recommendations regarding company’s website contents. A recommendation is made on new form of crowd funding option – Security Token Offerings (STO’s) for BIOTREM expansion plan.
Finally, it is concluded with enlisting the answers found for the research questions and the message on taking responsibility for single use plastic pollution problem.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Life insurance penetration rate in Malaysia has been stagnant in the past few years although a few InsurTech companies set up in Malaysia recently. Prior researches on InsurTech fail to clarify the gap of the target customers’ and the insurance experts’ opinions on how to enhance the customer experience in online life insurance with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI). To address this, a model is recommended based on the literature review on similar articles and survey results conducted on both target customers and insurance experts. The recommended model has four main components: official website by InsurTech companies collaborated with traditional life insurers, customer support, customer service and customer engagement.
„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.
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.
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.
The current master thesis makes an effort to investigate relationships between perceived service quality, membership satisfaction, and membership loyalty at “Gesellschaft für technische Kommunikation – tekom Deutschland e.V.”, applying adjusted SERVQUAL model. To attain the formulated objectives in scope of the current research, the “Satisfaction – Profit Chain” model is applied, consisting of “Attribute Performance”, represented by SERVQUAL service quality dimensions supposed to serve as antecedent of the second component of the chain “Membership Satisfaction”, and “Membership Loyalty” in order to investigate relations between these three. The findings of the study are supposed to serve as a basis for altering the existing CRM Strategy in order to eliminate current issues within the association, develop strategic marketing capabilities, and create value for members’ attraction and retention.
How value is perceived has a large influence on the purchase decisions of customers. Previous studies have focused mainly on the value perception of customers, but which role does the value perception of a seller play and what impact does it have on a sales conversation? Is the value of a product or service perceived equally by the seller and the customer or is there a significant difference?
In this research we will specifically focus on the tourism industry and find out how sellers and customers perceive the value of a package holiday. A total of 50 sellers and 100 customers participated in our survey and the results show, that there is a significant difference in the perceived value of the offered package holiday between sellers and customers. The sellers tend to perceive value lower than the customers and in addition, the sellers’ value perception is characterized by a lower variability. Furthermore, when it comes to estimating how the other side perceives value, our results show the opposite of what the respondents expected.
This research has the potential to provide an insight into the mind of the sales person and lead to a better understanding of sales psychology.
Trade shows are a major marketing tool for B2B companies due to its effectiveness by reaching all key players in the industry at one place in one point of time. However, this is combined with a high cost factor making a cost justification crucial. For this purpose, an objective explanation on the results of the trade show performance is compulsively necessary. The following research focuses on a single multinational B2B company within the safety, security and communication industry. It aims to convey an understanding of how to evaluate the trade show participation of Bosch Building Technology. Hereby, theoretical deliverables will be compared to explain relevant success factors of the B2B market and the industry while identifying trade show dimensions. This research includes expert interviews to gather information from professionals in the field of trade show organization. Subsequently to an internal survey research, the example of a best practice measurement model is analysed in a case study.
The relationship between health care practitioners and the pharmaceutical industry is increasingly drawing public attention due to misguided behaviour. Practices like gift giving, holding luxurious conferences or allowences for research are under scrutiny. With all these influences, how can practicioners stay neutral and have the interest of patients in mind? And what is the level of emotions and data used by the pharma industry when marketing drugs to a physician? In order to find out, we targeted pharmaceutical industry managers and directors to participate in an eleven question online questionnaire. For example, participants were asked to rate the best approach between data and emotions to persuade physicians. The results show tendencies in the data, but fail to show significant evidence for our hypotheses. Further research is needed in order to clarify which factors influence the decision for an emotional or data driven approach.
This paper explores the different techniques used by search engine optimizers to increase a website ́s ranking, thus visibility. The author focuses on modern methods from the areas of On-Page and Off-Page SEO. Findings, gathered through a literature review, conclude that SEO has become a more complex process, as search engines algorithm have advanced; transforming from a pure technical optimization to a more user-oriented optimization. Furthermore, the paper identifies several areas that a webmaster can use to collect data to monitor a website ́s performance. In addition, insights into what the data can have for a meaning, are given. The paper finales with a brief overview of various ways to monetize a website.
The present bachelor dissertation deals with the increasing popularity and attractiveness of fitness studios in the German market, the resulting competition and the possibility to differentiate oneself by adapting various marketing measures. The classical marketing mix and its existing instruments are explained in detail, and the possibility to use them in the area of sport and explicit fitness is reviewed. The effectiveness and application of the instruments are then explained using the example of McFIT, which has become the current market leader through their successful use. A competition analysis comparing McFIT and two competitors in the German market helps to identify existing strengths and weaknesses and compare the companies.
Global warming provokes our climate and the world how we know it today to change severely. The production of food together with its consumption is responsible for 19-29% of world’s greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities and further rises are
expected. As a response to this phenomenon, the assessment of a product’s carbon footprint has awaken huge interest with the purpose of controlling food’s environmental impact during its life-cycle. In order to involve individuals in the target of reducing harmful emissions, besides governmental and business efforts, CO2 labels have been developed to communicate a product’s carbon footprint and enabling consumers to make more climate-friendly purchase decisions. However, it has been shown that a successful
implementation of CO2 labels on grocery products still confronts barriers from the consumer side.
For a better understanding of the meaning of mentioned labels, this thesis deepens the theoretical backgrounds of greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon footprint related to the food industry. In a second step, the acceptance and effectiveness of carbon labels on
groceries will be analysed critically by using contextual literature reviews and a case study on German purchase behaviour.
Online commerce is growing rapidly. With the wide accessibility of the internet, e-commerce is becoming the most important ways or medium for doing business globally. The growth of e-commerce business provides companies a great opportunity to invest online so as to position their brand.
This thesis observes the elements of online brand positioning. Furthermore, it analyses whether these elements can be applied to an online business. For this Zalando the online fashion retailer, will be taken as an example. It starts with a literature review on e-commerce definition, important factors for e-commerce business, advantages of e-commerce business, brand positioning, importance of brand positioning and online brand positioning elements. The chosen brand positioning elements are then applied to analyse the online brand positioning of Zalando. Furthermore, it observes the influence of brand positioning elements on their competitive advantages.
The brand positioning elements are benefits and feature, price and value statements, competitive advantages, information on product and services, processes, partnering and relationship, leadership claims and corporate power, corporate social responsibility and credibility. All these brand positioning elements are addressed by Zalando and these elements have played an important role for the positioning of Zalando`s brand.