The main purpose of this Master?s thesis is to do a benchmarking study of the marketing activities at the public library of Valdemarsvik. The purpose is also to describe and get a deeper understanding of benchmarking as a method for improving library activity. Four major problem areas are addressed: How can one use benchmarking as a tool to achieve change? How can one learn with benchmarking? What similarities and differences are there between benchmarking and other similar methods for competence development? Is benchmarking better than other similar methods for competence development? The empirical approach was qualitative and the method chosen was action research.

Det finns många olika motiv för företag att sponsra kultur men kulturinstitutioner har dåligt utvecklade erbjudandestrategier för att framhäva hur företag gagnas av samarbetet. Mellanhänder med nisch mot kultursponsring kan etableras för att marknadsföra kulturinstitutioner mot potentiella sponsorer. En ändrad lagstiftning tycks öka intresset för företag att sponsra kultur. För att maximera nyttan av sponsringssamarbetet krävs en utvecklad sponsringsrelation som är ömsesidigt värdeskapande och där parterna uppfyller alla nivåer av kunskapsutbyte. Relationerna inom kultursponsring påverkas mer av kulturinstitutioners storlek än av företags..

There are countless methods for companies to use as marketing tools and one method that has become more and more popular is sponsoring. Reasons for companies to use sponsoring as a marketing tool is to be exposed and associated in connection with the sponsored item. Companies also use sponsorship to create relationships with the company's target audience. The use of Internet and Internet marketing has also increased during the last years and this paper examines the combination of these two areas, sponsorship and Internet marketing. A survey that examines the websites owned by companies who also are sponsors, answers the following problem:How do companies communicate their sponsorship on their own homepages?The purpose of this study is to describe how companies use their homepage to communicate their sponsorship.

Event marketing's ability to create strong communication effects is a well-known fact and a contributing factor to its popularity in the world of marketing today. But while we know that it is the interaction between consumers and the brand within the scope of live marketing that gives rise to loyalty and purchase intention, we have no knowledge in how the company's efforts affect the outcome. As the investments in event marketing are growing at a comparatively high pace, it is urgent to obtain a deeper understanding and a sense of direction of the elements infuencing its success.In this study we investigate in what way and to what extent the amount of effort that a company puts into the making of an event is used as a signal of manufactor credibility, ability (i.e., expertise) and consumer care. And in what way and to what extent the perceived effort influence purchase intent, attitude and word-of-mouth. We also analyze marketing events in terms of the theory of equitable exchange and "desperation", a subject matter thus far only touched upon.As we identify two different types of events on the market today, we include both in our study: the in-store promotion related event and the party event, which is held in an external venue.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine how two different groups use information strategies in their Facebook group activities. A qualitative study was made using interviews and a qualitative observation method. The observation groups consisted of two selected groups on Facebook and I interviewed three chosen participants of each group; a Gatekeeper, a Gateopener and a Lurker. Through the information strategies I examined the selected groups? information environments.

This candidate report describes how a group of students can develop a smartphone applicationwithout any prior knowledge in the field. To make the project more realistic there is also a clientwho has requests and wishes regarding the finished product.The document describes the methods used to produce the application and also includesexperiences that the group gained. How the interaction with the client has been performed togain a good understanding of what they wished the product to become is also accounted for.The research questions focus on how the development has proceeded and how one can learnsomething new in a relatively short timespan as a group..

Background: The hotel market has become undiversified and the competition has increased rapidly. At the same time the environment aspects has been given higher priority and the trend continues to extend. A green marketing strategi has proven profitable if the company achieve a high credibility.Problem definition: What factors are important for hotel companies to attain long term business survival trough a green marketing strategy?Purpose: The purpose with this paper is to, trough a case study of Scandic Hotels analyze and find the relationship between trustworthy environmental work and internal factors.Method: This study is based on both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The qualitative data has been gathered through interviews with five different levels of personel, both management and employee, within the company.

Denna studie syftar till att identifiera hur valet av prioriterad leverantör sker vid köp av komponentdelar hos stora företag inom den svenska tillverkningsindustrin. Rapporten är avgränsad till komponenter som är kan anses vara kritiska ur försörjningssynpunkt för inköparen. Genom att studera vilka urvalskriterier de berörda företagen använder sig av men även hur köpprocessen och köpbeslutsgruppens sammansättning ser ut i praktiken, har empirin jämförts med de akademiska modeller och teorier som finns på området. Intervjuer har genomförts hos fyra stora tillverkande företag i Sverige som alla har tusentals anställda världen över. Fallföretagen verkar inom branscher såsom ventilationsteknik, vitvaror, industriella verktyg och tillämpningar samt fordonskrockskydd.

In this study, five qualitative interviews were conducted, four of those with pupils and one with a teacher, in grade 9. Humans - a gregarious creature written in the context of status and hierarchy, aims to study how these students in grade 9 are grouped and how you look at each other in and between these groups and also in terms of status between and within the group. Using the concepts of identity, adaption, exclusion and the meaning of emotions with the chosen theoretical concepts by Goffman and, Elias and Scotson the purpose of this study has been answered. The results showed that the students were quite flexible between the groups in their class; most of them were part of a small group that consisted of their ?close? friends.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the unaccompanied children's experiences of the support offered at group homes intended for this group. The purpose is also to find out if they feel like the stay at the group home has prepared them for an independent life. The study has a qualitative approach and results collection occurred through semi-structured interviews. Seven young men aged 18-20 years were interviewed, all of them have lived for at least one year in a group home and are now living in their own apartment. The results have shown that the adolescents had both positive and negative experiences from their stay at the group home and that they have different views about whether they have received the support they need to cope independently.

This report is focused on marketing opportunities for small-scale mango farmers in the Nyanza Province in Kenya. Kenya is a large horticultural producer in the world. Horticulture is an important income for a large share of the rural population in Kenya but profitability is low due to inefficiencies in marketing systems and poor infrastructure. The conditions for growing mango in the Nyanza Province are very beneficial and there are two harvesting seasons. Mango offers good income opportunities for small-scale farmers in the Nyanza Province.The aim of this study is to identify marketing conditions that will enable prospering business for small-scale mango farmers in the Nyanza Province, Kenya.

Psychological research concerning correction of stereotypes has mainly focused on how individuals adjust their negative attitude towards the out-group due to the apprehension of appearing prejudiced in front of out-grouprepresentatives. This study though, does not deal with estimations of the qualities of the out-group; it deals with estimations of the qualities of the in-group. Does Swedes correct their estimations of their own group when the experiment leader is of another ethnicity and has a different colour of skin? The participants were students at Halmstad Högskola and they were all born and raised in Sweden. Half the participants got to meet a Swedish born, white skinned experiment leader, whereas the other group got to meet an African born, dark skinned experiment leader.

Cause-Related Marketing (CRM) is not a completely new phenomenon, yet an idea whose time has truly come. To have commercial organizations cooperate with charity organizations for mutual profit is a "win-win-win" situation. The company gets added value to its brand, the charity organization gets to collect more money that it otherwise wouldn't and the customer gains a feeling that he or she has contributed to the society.The purpose of this thesis is to study how a company, in practice, works with CRM marketing. How do they choose which charity organization to work with,what type of product is most appropriate to market with CRM and how is the CRM campaign designed? A theoretical model is then formed to answer these questions, after a thorough research of relevant theory on the subject.

Title: Interorganizational accounting in close relations ? A case study of the relation between a big purchasing company and two of their most important cooperation partners Course: Master thesis in Business and Administration within Accounting, 30 ECTS Advisor: Gun Abrahamsson Theoretical framework: This thesis uses theories of business relationships, management information systems and interorganizational accounting. Conclusions: Despite a difference in the relations the interorganizational accounting is designed and used in a similar way. The interorganizational accounting that exists in the two relations has a medium scope, fast timeline, high aggregation and high integration. The information is mainly used for attention directing and for decision making.

Företag inom handel är underrepresenterade i litteratur kring Event Marketing. Kommunikationsverktyget som erbjuder interaktion tilltalar dagens upplevelsesökande konsumenter. Event Marketing som verktyg är i sin tur underrepresenterat inom Brand Management. På grund av Event Marketings aktualitet i dagens samhälle borde det teoretiska gapet studeras. Uppsatsens syfte var således att undersöka hur företag inom handel använder Event Marketing för att framhålla och stärka sitt varumärke, detta med hjälp av följande frågeställningar: Hur motiverar företag inom handel användande av EM? Hur arbetar företag inom handel med att säkerställa att EM får en positiv inverkan på varumärket? Vilka särdrag kan identifieras, inom användandet av EM, för företag inom handel? Undersökningen genomfördes med ett arbetssätt liknande det abduktiva genom öppna kvalitativa intervjuer med tre företag inom handel samt tre eventbyråer.