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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
The insurance industry in Germany has been dominated by a commission-based sales model for over seventy years. Intermediaries sell insurance contracts to end customers and are paid a commission depending on the value and type of insurance. This commission-based approach incentivizes salespeople to keep adding new policies to customers in order to make a living, and customers do not get the insurance solutions and advice that suit them the best. A financial services provider has now developed a novel business model that aims to disrupt the insurance industry in Germany. It replaces commission-based insurance with commission-free tariffs and instead includes a flat fee for managing the client's insurance policies. However, the business idea can only be realized profitably if the administrative expense per client is significantly reduced. Due to strict regulations in the insurance industry, many activities within the process are mandatory.
The goal of this work is to automate the business process behind the idea through the use of digital technologies and to reduce the workload in order to make the business model profitable. We used design thinking as a mental framework to carry out the digital transformation of the business model in a structured way. As part of this qualitative research, we conducted expert interviews and a document structure analysis to define hurdles for the realization and to develop detailed process maps. We carried out a process workshop, during which we analyzed the process and identified requirements for a digital prototype, which was developed using the low-code framework bubble.io.
Through workload time measurements, the impact of digital transformation on the performance of the process was confirmed. Finally, different digital options were compared with each other. The findings of this work support the thesis that design thinking has a positive influence on the success of digital transformation and in particular in the development of solutions tailored to people. This success is underlined by a reduction in workload times by 71,2% for bottleneck activities. The comparison of the various digital options implies that the development of customized digital applications is preferable for unique and complex problems.
Through an extensive review of the literature, a research gap was identified concerning the knowledge around diversity and its impact on personality types and their influence on group performance. Previous literature revealed that diversity is a popular determinant for group composition, since it encompasses many different meanings and interpretations. Researchers would rather focus on easily measurable elements such as age or gender, but few studies have been conducted on deep-level diversity, such as personality traits or values. The aim of this study is to answer the research questions proposed concerning the effectiveness of homogeneous versus heterogeneous groups as well as the impact communication has on their performance. Through an analysis of previous studies and literature the research questions and hypotheses were formulated, and a methodology designed to answer them. The methodology used in this research was a variation of the Marshmallow Challenge. The groups were faced with two challenges. The first one was to build a 50cm-tall structure as quickly as possible, with a limited amount of material, including raw spaghetti, tape, rope and a marshmallow to test the stability of the structure. The second challenge was presented about one week later and involved the same materials, but the participants had to reach 70cm. Four teams of three were chosen. The personality tests had four possible outcomes: red, green, yellow, or blue. Each colour had specific characteristics and adjectives associated with it. The data collected revealed that the heterogeneous groups performed better overall. A slightly significant correlation was found between how well the teams performed and the words spoken per minute for the first experiment, but not for the second. The biggest limitation that hindered this study was the time pressure and limited sample size.
As a decisive factor for ongoing corporate success, companies are increasingly concerned with the possibilities of increasing their innovative ability. In connection with factors that can be influenced by internal company decisions, this work deals with the question of which factors are particularly effective in this context. The underlying hypothesis deals with the statement that the innovation performance can be fundamentally influenced by internal company decisions.
From the qualitative survey and study of three medium-sized companies from the districts of Schwarzwald-Baar and Rottweil, company-internal factors for increasing the ability to innovate and their relevance and practical application are examined. These companies are MinebeaMitsumi Technology Center Europe GmbH, Wiha Werkzeuge GmbH, and Hugo Kern und Liebers GmbH & Co. KG. In this context, several employees from the development and innovation teams of the companies were interviewed personally and other employees of one company were interviewed using an online survey. The questionnaire was further expanded on the basis of the information and results obtained. The results of this survey were critically reflected on by the project manager of the company surveyed first.
The seven internal factors identified from the literature are the Generation and Implementation of Ideas, Creativity and Time Pressure, the Use of External Information, Creation of Knowledge, Behavioral Patterns, Organizational Structures and the Composition of Teams. These factors were identified with different relevance and application in the practice of the examined companies. It cannot be conclusively clarified from the study whether the ability to innovate can be positively influenced, in particular by the factors identified. In this context, further investigations are necessary. Based on the literature review and experiences of the companies, this thesis presents a recommendation for measures relating to the positive influence of factors to increase the ability to innovate.