Ever since Internet revolutionized the world, e-stores and e-commerce has grown into becoming a natural part of consumer's everyday life. Much thanks to it's facilitative and time saving characteristics. Online, consumers are provided with a huge assortment and the opportunity to shop any time they like. Yet, the absolute greatness of e-stores is the possibility to push prices below the physical store price, which seems to be most appreciated to a large extent by consumers worldwide. The fact that e-store sales in Sweden grew 14% last year verifies this.As more players step into the virtual world of e-commerce the competition gets tougher.

Aim of the thesis: The aim of this thesis is to describe and gain a deeper understanding of how companies use communication as a tool to overcome the gap between the company and the consumer. The aim is also to clarify some of the factors contributing to this gap.Method:  This thesis has been made from a qualitative approach with quantitative influences. The qualitative primary data collection was gathered through six in-depth interviews with companies in Gothenburg either selling organic and fair-trade produced clothes or marketing towards sustainable consumption. The quantitative part consists of a consumer questionnaire given to 100 women in the inner city of Gothenburg.  Frame of references: Related researches within the field of the subject are presented in the beginning of this chapter. Further theories presented are the consumer?s awareness and the consumer´s responsiveness to CSR.

First objective: To bring forward managers? perceptions of the underserved consumers in emerging markets. Second objective: To reveal what implications managers? perceptions of underserved consumers in emerging markets provide for branding in these markets. Our study indicates that managers? perceptions are still lacking consumer insights within five elements (value, loyalty, purchasing power, consumers and consumption).

Title: How does the buying decision process really function within e-commerce? - A qualitative study of consumer behavior when they consume on Internet.Institution: School of Economics, Linnaeus University, Va?xjo?.Course code: 2FE16E.Authors: Sara Hja?rne, Mathilda Perem, Ewelina Wallin.Tutor: Dan Halvarsson.Examiner: A?sa Devine.Key words: Buying decision process, purchase decision process need recognition, information search, evaluation, purchase decision, postpurchase behavior, consumer decision making, E-commerce, E- commerce channels, online shopping, online purchase, e-retail, internet shopping, electronic shopping, consumer behavior, online appereal shopping, social media, decision making, online retailing, website design, customer satisfaction, webshopping, perceived risk, convinience, price, online consumption behavior.Background: Buying decision process is a model that marketers use to get a better understanding of their customers and their behavior when purchasing a product. This process consists of five different steps; need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and evaluation. Buying decision process has for a long time been an accepted model but scientists argue that the introduction of Internet as a channel for consumption has changed this process. The Internet has also led to a change of power in which customers today have greater influence, which greatly affects the buying decision process in e-commercePurpose: The purpose is to explore how consumers perceive their behavior when they consume through e-commerce.Research questions:How do consumers perceive the buying decision process they experience when they consume through e-commerce?How do consumers perceive different factors that are important to them when they consume through e-commerce?Methodology: Qualitative study, cross-sectional design, semi-structured interviews.Conclusion: This thesis shows that the traditional model of the buying decision process is not consistent with consumers' perception of how they are undergoing the process when applied to an e-commerce context.

The main reason for this project is my interest of our environment. What are our two largest grocerychains doing to maintain our environment? The aim of the project is to show the consumer which similarities and differences there are between ICA and Coop. My questions are: What are ICA and Coop doing to satisfy the demands to preserve our environment, are they going further than they have to? What do they think is important? Environment, price, consumer friendly? Answers: ICA and Coop are working to keep up with the demands, but are they doing more than they have to? The branch is a close world; it's hard to get impartial information. They are turning towards different consumer groups. ICA and Coop has different ways to interest consumers, ICA points out the importance of the meals, while Coop points at the environment. New questions has risen during my work: How far will their own brandnames go? Will ICA, Coop and others have their own farms, producers and suppliers? How can the consumer be protected? The competition will decrease with an increase of their own brandnames..

Man spends most part of the day at work and is therefore influenced by it?s ambience. That?s why it?s important that the environment at work is health promoting and can function as a supportive environment. The purpose of this study was to describe job satisfaction among employees and to analyse a possible connection between job satisfaction and employees experiences of SOC.

World wide globalization and the rapid development of the Internet have lead to significant changes for companies around the world. The world has ?shrunk? and increased supply of goods and services has lead to a more intense competitive situation. As the market changes, so does consumer behavior. Today?s consumers do no longer wish to be treated as a group, rather they are looking for products and services that specifically fit their personal values.Recent years, the consumption of digital consumer electronics has sky-rocketed.

- ABSTRACT ?Title: Winners of the Web ( Webbens vinnare)Number of pages: 35 (including enclosures)Author: Lydia KellamTutor: Else NygrenCourse: Media and Communication Studies CPeriod: Fall Semester 2006University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information SciencePurpose: The aim of the research paper was to see Internet and the digital techniques impact on marketing communication and consuming behavior on the Web. By understanding the relationship between marketing communication and consumer behavior my intentions were to comprehend how consumer behavior on the web could be understand. The purpose of this paper is to understand how different marketing activities on the Internet are followed by consumption.Material/Method: By using focus group interviews I wanted to study how individuals act on the Internet. How different activities such as communication and participation on the web could lead to consumption on the Internet.

How effective is consumer power? Can consumers regulate corporate behavior?And if so is the case, could the mechanisms where consumers regulate corporatebehavior have any democratic value to contribute with? These are the questionsthat this master's thesis comprehends with. The purpose of this writing is toconstruct a theory of consumer power that is compatible with democratic theory,this in order to contribute to the ongoing discussion within the discipline ofpolitical science about the third democratic transformation. A discussion that hasbeen actualized due to the democratic deficit created by the growing corporatepower and the shift of power from state to private enterprises. Besides showingfor a parallel between the democratic mechanisms that exists in the relationbetween citizens and state on the one hand, and the consumers and corporationson the other hand, this paper argues that consumers do have a great potential inregulating corporate behavior towards a higher social responsibility andawareness.

The aim of this paper is to define the perceived consumer values that physical record stores create in order to compete with other distribution technologies. A qualitative method has been used, based on interviews with managers of three records stores in Stockholm. Interviews with their customers have been conducted also. The content has been analyzed with passable theories and the two sources have been compared when adequate.The conclusion of the study is that the physical record stores create many different consumer values, and that many of these are hard to transfer to other distribution technologies. One of the most important values for the consumer is that the personnel have a broad knowledge about music.

Utredningshemmet in Hässleholm, Sweden, is a special residential home for acute management and investigative evaluation of juvenile delinquents.Utredningshemmet has, since 1991, used an investigative model, which is based on systems theory. The investigative work is done in close co-operation with social workers, youths and their parents.This study takes into account the youths, who have had a commissioned placement to carry out an investigation of their needs of care and treatment, 71 juvenile delinquent cases. They are divided into three one year intervals: 17 cases in 1993, 28 cases in 1998 and 26 cases in 2003.The purpose of this evaluation is to illustrate changes in the social workers, parents and youth's level of satisfaction during the development of the special residential home's investigative model.Approximately one to three months after discharges social workers, youths and their parents completed a level of satisfaction questionnaire. The results demonstrate no significant difference in the level of satisfaction between different time periods. There are, however, differences in satisfaction levels between social workers, who have the highest level of satisfaction, parents, who have the next highest level and finally the youths level of satisfaction..

The thesis concerns itself with studying the effects private brands has on the consumer?s impulse buying in the grocery industry, as in degree of unplanned spending and the selection process between manufacturer brands and private brands when such a purchase is performed. The study?s methodology is characterised by a qualitative approach, whereby the study acknowledges the inductive approach towards the empirical setting even though the Mehrabian-Russell model along with motivational theories serve as highlighters of relevant aspects in the empirical field. The study concludes that both the utilitarian and the hedonic consumer decide what to buy before entering the store, whereby a low degree of needs arise in the store.

The thesis provides with the broad overview about the consumer awareness of the gender dimension within brand personalities. The research contributes to branding theory and gender studies and demonstrates that consumer gender influences does not influence the perceived brand personality gender. However, it also shows that consumers prefer brands with a clear gender, but not necessarily the same gendered brands..

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to a further understanding of the complexity in green consumer behaviour by examining how and why individuals priorities values, personal norms and identity in green consumer behaviour. The thesis employs a qualitative approach with an abductive strategy. The empirical data was produced through in-depth interviews with green consumers. Based upon the empirical findings and theoretical concepts, a conceptual model was introduced to illustrate how consumers prioritise between several values when assessing green products. The prioritisation is dependent on internalised values as well as the product function and the need that the consumer seeks fulfilled.

As the usage of loyalty programs increases, this study takes a new approach to examine how these programs influence consumers? attitudes toward brands. This paper is influenced by the recent findings that question the capability to create a clear picture of the effects of loyalty programs by conducting quantitative research. This is based of the differentiation between attitudes and actions, leading to the fact that quantitative research have only captured the actions of members of loyalty programs. In contrast to that, this paper uses qualitative interviews to create a more in-depth point of view.The paper immerses the reader in the theoretical viewings of what loyalty is and how it emerges from satisfaction.