Business across the Internet has increased in recent years and most companies that are selling trips have increased their sales online. Many companies that are selling trips strive for customers to receive and experience a personal service online. The meeting between the client and a webpage service system on the Internet should work. Service encounters are an essential part of the contact between customer and company and play a big part in how the first impression is perceived by the customer. To understand how a service encounter works, meeting face to face, companies need to understand how customers perceive that meeting.

Title: Culture?s Affect on the Determinants of Customer Satisfaction in Retailing: The Case of a European Retailer in the U.S. and China Date of the Seminar: 29th of May 2007 Course: BUS 809 Master thesis in International Marketing Authors: Lisa Bustamante Chesley Norman Charlotte Valind Advisors: Johan Anselmsson Cecilia Cassinger Keywords: International Retailing, Determinants of Customer Satisfaction, Culture, United States, China Thesis purpose: Our study aims to identify the determinants of customer satisfaction of two national cultures in a global retail setting, in order to clarify what role culture has, if any, in customers? satisfaction with an international retailer. Further, this will uncover if a Western perspective of determinants of satisfaction is a universal means of capturing what satisfies customers across cultures in a retail setting.

The purpose of this thesis is to try to understand, with the help of existing theories and empirical findings, the parameters which are of importance in the development of the pricing capability. We have used a qualitative and abductive methodology approach. The empirical findings have been collected via semi-structured interviews which we have conducted via personal and telephone interviews. Seeing pricing as a capability within the company our theoretical framework mainly consists of the resource-based view and an article explaining and given proof how pricing can be seen as a capability. We also describe the most used pricing strategy today within business-to-business companies, the cost plus strategy.

Earlier research has shown the difficulty of defining insulting behaviour in the workplace. It has been noted that the individual and subjective definition is connected to the specific situation in which the potentially insulting incidence occurred. In this study we designed a quantitative questionnaire in order to hopefully elucidate the comprehension of insulting behaviour and furthermore enable a more in-depth investigation on how important the contextual meaning is. This study examined 140 (n=140) working adult?s attitudes towards insulting behaviour in the workplace and the importance of the contextual variables.

Syftet med examensarbetet är att utifrån ett kundperspektiv undersöka hur kunder upplever e-tjänster i energibranschen. Examensarbetet har använt webbenkät som datainsamlingsmetod. Då all insamlad data inte användes skedde ett dataurval. Den utvalda datan har sedan analyserats med hjälp av befintlig teori för att finna upplevda problemområden och förbättringsförslag. I den teoretiska referensramen redogörs vad en e-tjänst är samt vilka faktorer som är viktiga vid skapandet av en e-tjänst.

The thesis is aiming to investigate what happens in the customer-service worker interaction when the service worker is wearing religious attributes. In order to operationalize this the Muslim head scarf, hijab, is chosen as stimuli. Reviewing previous research and theory in this field, it is clear that people have a preference for people that they perceive to be like themselves, this is referred to as homophily. Further on, the study investigates the ethnicity dimension of the service worker customer interaction. Theoretical areas of attractiveness and color are also investigated.

Gyms are populated by more and more people and there is an increased interest in wellness and health. However, there is a downside to the culture that people choose to step into. Exercise can go too far and take unhealthy directions. The purpose of this study is to examine how norms are created in the gym culture and how unhealthy behaviour is reproduced inside the walls of the gym. We have also done research about how a local gym identifies and handles deviant behaviour such as the use of doping and eating disorders.

AbstractThe banking industry has during later years gone through several technological changes (Svenska Bankföreningen 2014). These big changes have led to several advantages seen both from a customer ? and corporate point of view. Advantages in easier usage, increased availability and more competition have made the banks more cost effective at the same time as the customer is being offered better prices. Even though the advantages seem to weigh over the disadvantages there are still those who thinks that things where ?better in the past?.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to identify and analyze innovative products and services within the telecom industry, letting these findings constitute possible ways for CSPs to innovate the experience of their customers. Methodology: The research in this thesis was conducted from a qualitative approach and data were collected using primary- (expert interviews) and secondary sources (journals, articles, web sites etcetera). In addition, a research design entailing four sequential steps was created to stipulate and illustrate the logic underpinning the methodological process. Theoretical perspectives: The theories are divided in three groups. Background theories ? these intend to capture the problematic nature of the transforming telecom industry, examples of such theories are; value chain theories and ecosystem theory.

In this master thesis outage statistics covering tree years from two distribution grids are analyzed with the purpose to deduce which factors yield outages. The statistics are extensive therefore allowing in-depth analysis of both customer and system related factors. From this starting point and as a model of explanation energy not supplied is studied as the consequence and the measurement of the inconvenience caused by outages. Different methods for calculating energy not supplied are developed and studied and put in comparison to the method used in Network Performance Assessment Model, which is the Swedish frame work for regulating electricity distribution.Analysis of the outage statistics show a relation between the type category of customer and outages that can be deduced to the variance and the density associated with that customer category. Prioritization of different customer categories is elevated also in this aspect.

This thesis advances an explicit, consequent, and wholesome ethnomethodological perspective on brand community. It recognizes brand community as a social problem ? something to be continuously solved and achieved. The two main perceivably stable features of the Nikonian community are (1) practical usefulness and (2) the social link. The authors suggest that both features are constantly accomplished through three types of aggregate behaviour (1) lurking, (2) ordinary membership, and (3) community citizenship behaviour (CCB).

The association between social parameters (i.e. socio-economy and level of education) and voting behaviour has been reviewed and analysed based on data from municipal council elections in Stockholm and Gothenburg in 2002. Some social scientists argue that the class voting is in decline and that new social cleavages have emerged. However, by using regression analysis techniques, this study implies a strong dependence of voting behaviour on social parameters, such as socio-economic status (SES) and level of education. Socio-economy appears to be a dominant predictor in the analysis.

Purpose?This study has examined the information behaviour and perception of information in a group ofinformation users who have a critical approach to the media and the information supply. Some of them call themselvesor are being called conspiracy theorists. The purpose was to examine how their information behaviour is influenced by the belief that the information is biased or inaccurate and what the information behaviour looks like when the user searches for discrepancies rather than a response to a question.Method?The study is based on transcribed interviews and email responses to interview questions.

As collaboration between companies move beyond the single transaction into more long-term relationships the consequences of a company's control system become more complex. The aim of this paper is to provide an understanding of how intra- and inter-organizational control and work practices interact through examining how a company's intra-organizational control influences its customer relationships. The empirical research is performed through a qualitative case study where interviews have been conducted with management and sales staff within the case company as well as with one of the customers. The empirical findings have been analyzed using frameworks and theories regarding management control and customer relationships. The study reveals that the intra-organizational control of the case company affects its relationships with customers in a number of ways.

Abstract?Understand the customers value in use ? A multiple case study of three industrial companies? or ?Förstå kundens bruksvärde ? En multipel fallstudie av tre industriella företag? brings out the problem that it is easy to assume, what the value is for the customer.The questions asked for this thesis are:? How does the companies in focus, gather information about what effects the customers value in use?? How do the companies use this information in their business?The purpose is to examine how some industrial companies gather information about the customer?s value in use, on the bases from the five activities from Porter and how they can use this information.Three semi structured interviews were made for this investigation, with representatives from Atlas Copco Rock Drills, IL Recycling and Johnson Pump.The conclusions are that to gather information about the customers value in use, the company must work close with the customer. This information helps the company to improve their products, services and their relationships..