Recent studies have reemphasized the importance of competition in democracy. An ideaoriginating from Weber: that demoeratic competition leads to more qualified leaders, has been resurrected. Research shows that democracies are more Iikely to elect leaders with a high leve l of education, and with in demoeratic states stronger competition correlates with elected politicians with higher education, more political experience and higher previous income. This study researehes whether the earrelation between greater competition and electedcandirlates with higher "Curriculum vitae-qualities" holds between electoral systems. Does a more competitive electoral system elect candirlates that score higher on such measures? Using education as a proxy forthese qualities the study traces different outcomes on education in a mixed electoral system, camparing the majoritarian (more competitive) part of the electoral system with the prop011ional (less competitive) part.

The management of information is one of the key aspects within a successful andefficient product development process, particularly regarding complex products.Scania CV AB is at the moment developing a new IT-system, OAS, which aims tomanage the company?s product data. With this as a background, the purpose of thismaster thesis is to identify the cross-functional user needs within Scania?s organizationconcerning product data and the management around it.To fulfill the purpose, an empirical study consisting of 40 personal interviews with 50representatives from different functions within Scania?s organization was carriedthrough. The empirical data was then analyzed focusing on identifying thecross-functional needs and issues.The study points out that there is a big potential regarding improvement among themanagement of product data.

The cellular market is today suffering from great customer dissatisfaction. Simultaneously, the services offered by the different cellular providers are very homogenous, causing strict competition where various price strategies have been the main mean of battle. From a business perspective, implementing pricing strategies, to keep up with increased network investments, is a short term solution.In a market characterized by lacking customer satisfaction and harsh competition, research has shown the importance of highlighting customer relations in marketing. This type of marketing, which one could refer to as relationship marketing, is considered an efficient, economic, and strategic method of showing the importance of customer loyalty. To get insight in the relationship between the customers and the cellular providers, as well as to show the importance of relationship marketing, this study has used qualitative interviews to find what develops strong customer loyalty.The results showed that increased customer loyalty is achieved when an emotional bond is created.

This master thesis is written at the Royal Institute of Technology during the spring and summer of 2008.The assignment was to investigate what factors on a broadband market determine how well it performsin terms of how many people have access to broadband. These are the factors that determine whetheror not a country or market will be able to achieve a high broadband penetration. The purpose of thisthesis was to establish a better understanding for what a market should look like or how a strugglingone can be complemented in order to succeed.As a foundation for this investigation, a group of benchmark countries were chosen and evaluated. Inaddition to this, a group of, developing MENA2-countries were chosen and evaluated. Finally, interviewswere performed with some of Sweden?s leading internet service providers, the regulatory agency andinfrastructure company, Skanova.Among the benchmark countries were Sweden, France, Canada, South Korea and Japan.

Abstract Semester and year: Spring, 2008Writers: Victor Andersson and Filip ForslundTutor: Thomas HelgessonProgram: Marketing program, Halmstad University - School of Business and EngineeringTitle: Differentiation from a consumer perspective - How important is differentiation from a consumer?s perspektive when choosing a residence? Presentation of problem: How important is differentiation from a consumer?s perspective when choosing a residence?Purpose: The purpose is on basis from previous theories on the subject to describe what kind of differentiating that from a consumerperspective is the most important when choosing a residence. Key words: Differentiation, brand, apartment market Methodology: This thesis is built on an qualitative method, where eight open individual interviews have been made. Our choice of respondents was based on what kind of respondents that could give us the most accurate information on the subject which we based on relevant variables. Theory: The framing of the theories is based on a marketing perspective within the area of differentiating and focuses on how companies use different tools to differentiate their offer to create competitive advantages.

Given that the end-customer has become more demanding, the retailer has to deliver products according to the market demands, which have forced manufacturing companies to constantly search for new opportunities to reduce costs and improve efficiency. It is, therefore important to choose suppliers that are able to compete with the market demands.The market demands in the textile industry have lead to shorter product life cycles, which have caused manufacturers to deliver flexibility with high technology to compete successfully on the global market. To achieve the market requirements the underlying factor is to be aware and optimally use and control time. New technology can have a major influence in the production development, if the company choose to take benefit of the advantages, by optimal allocation of the internal resources the productivity and efficiency will increase, to accomplish a competitive advantage. One way to achieve this is by investing in a Unit Production System.In our thesis we have questioned what the main driving forces for an apparel manufacturing company is when it chooses to invest in new technology.

Förstainstansrättens dom i målet Microsoft mot Kommissionen har gett upphov tillmånga konkurrensrättsliga frågor, bl.a. gällande Microsofts tying av WindowsMedia Player till sitt operativsystem Windows. Denna uppsats för framförallt ettresonemang kring frågan om huruvida de ?traditionella? EG-rättsliga metodersom idag används vid bedömningen av kopplingsförbehåll (tying) är förlegade närdessa ska appliceras på en ?ny? produkt som mjukvara. En analys av konkurrensrättsligdoktrin och rättspraxis visar att Microsoftdomen i delen vad gäller tying ärkonsekvent gentemot den praxis som etablerats på området genom målen T-30/89Hilti AG mot Kommissionen samt C-333/94 P Tetra Pak International SA motKommissionen.

In a time of fierce global competition, where an immense amount of commercial messages reaches consumers around the clock and in every conceivable context, companies constantly seek to find new ways to reach out with their product. One way to do so, that has increased in popularity in recent years, is the use of gift bags. A gift bag may contain samples, miniature products and even products in full size, as a rule from several different brands, which the recipient receives free of charge. The gift bag is typically distributed at some form of event, such as store openings, fashion shows, theme parties and the like, and the receiver of the gift bag can then evaluate the content without any obligation to purchase. The ambition of the companies that choose to participate with their products in a gift bag is, of course, that the recipient will find their products satisfactory, and ideally, that he or she will continue to consume the brand in the future.There are numerous scientific research contributions related to the use of free samples, but very few that concern the gift bag, where a collection of samples from different sources and brands appear.

Abstract Semester and year: Spring, 2008Writers: Victor Andersson and Filip ForslundTutor: Thomas HelgessonProgram: Marketing program, Halmstad University - School of Business and EngineeringTitle: Differentiation from a consumer perspective - How important is differentiation from a consumer?s perspektive when choosing a residence? Presentation of problem: How important is differentiation from a consumer?s perspective when choosing a residence?Purpose: The purpose is on basis from previous theories on the subject to describe what kind of differentiating that from a consumerperspective is the most important when choosing a residence. Key words: Differentiation, brand, apartment market Methodology: This thesis is built on an qualitative method, where eight open individual interviews have been made. Our choice of respondents was based on what kind of respondents that could give us the most accurate information on the subject which we based on relevant variables. Theory: The framing of the theories is based on a marketing perspective within the area of differentiating and focuses on how companies use different tools to differentiate their offer to create competitive advantages.

Abstract Title: A conjoint analysis of packaging attributes. How can the attributes of a product?s packaging best look like to attract the consumer? Authors: Linda Granberg & Helena Niklasson Supervisor: Jan Svanberg Department: School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology Course: Bachelor?s thesis in Business Administration, 15 credits Purpose: The purpose is to find out how visual and technical attributes on product packaging affects the consumers tendency to want to buy the product. Method: Conjoint analysis and a quantitative survey. Results: When developing a package for a food product we?ve reached the conclusion that it is most important to have clear product information on it.

The Internet has developed into a marketplace for national and international companies. With relatively small means, a company can reach out to millions of people on a daily basis by placing itself on the Internet. With this report, we wish to suggest how e-businesses can change its strategy to adapt to the new market. Focus is on the Swedish Internet market where Swedes, resident in Sweden, trades with Swedish e-companies active within the Swedish borders. To be able to make suggestions, we will first paint a picture of the Swedish e-commerce market from statistics collected from public sources.

Studies show that activity based costing (ABC) is not widespread in practice even though it has been present in the academic world since the 80's. This thesis examines the reasons for the discrepancy between theory and practice through a case study of a Swedish manufacturing company. The intension is to answer the question of what contributes to the choice of precision in product costing.We found arguments for increasing precision in product costing but not to the extent of a full-scale ABC implementation. The company's estimation of the value of increased precision. In the study three company unique factors were isolated that affected the company's estimation of value; drifting purpose of product costing, historical use of product costing and knowledge about product costing..

The project was performed in collaboration with Husqvarna, one of the world?s leading manufacturer in the market of electric outdoor products. The report is a thesis work of a bachelor mechanical engineer program, in the field product development and design.The project is a study of the development opportunities within drive belt for a gear driven gearbox to one of Husqvarnas petrol powered hedge trimmers. A big part of the project was also to find combinations of materials for all components in the gearbox, to reduce weight and maintain or improve the performance of the system. Belt drive was of interest to investigate as an alternative solution to the current design that can reduce wear on the system at a performance test performed in the company before the product is released to market.

In companies today, it is becoming more and more common for employees to work in a project based environment, as a result many companies have developed their own project models. Companies with a well developed product culture are striving to improve their existing models, and businesses relatively new in the marketplace are aiming to reach a high level of maturity as well as reach high levels of efficiency in the shortest time possible. As the number of mature and efficient companies with well developed project model increase, so does the level of competition in the market. Since a well developed project model often leads to a more efficient and accurate way of carrying out the project, which in turn leads to shorter delivery time towards the client. This is crucial as time is one of the most valuable parameters of competition in today?s business environment.

Studies have shown that user participation is a good method when improving or developing a product. The method gives a company insight in what the customer wants and needs. It has also been shown that user participation benefits all parts included. For example, it creates a greater relationship with customers than most other methods do. Webportals is one of the most interactive systems online and it gives companies a unique chance to improve and maintain their relationship with customers.