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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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.