Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Business Networking'

Networking is commonly used in many business clusters such as in San Diego, California. The strongcollaborative and networking culture spurs entrepreneurial activities and is crucial forentrepreneurial success in the region. Networking is a fascinating phenomenon much discussed inliterature. Sociologists have tried to map the patterns of networks and describe its existence andfunction in society. Relationship marketing theorists have taken to the discussion from a businessperspective and explained the relationships between the individuals in the business network. Thepurpose of this research is to analyze social networking and network organizations in San Diego inorder to investigate what entrepreneurs can gain from networking which can accelerate growth insmall businesses.

The empirical study consists of a qualitative case study in San Diego. Data has been collected throughsemi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs, business service providers, investor, networkorganizations representatives, consultants and well-experienced professionals with knowledge froma variety of organizations in different industries.

The theoretical study on networks, business networking, relationship marketing andentrepreneurship has led to the construction of the Entrepreneurial Relational Capital Model. Themodel is constructed on theories embraced in the thesis and is meant to work as a tool to evaluateentrepreneurs’ relational capital; or the entrepreneurs’ network of relationships and theirconstruction. The model has been used to analyze empirical data and the results show theimportance of evaluating business relationships for the entrepreneur to become more time efficientin networking, and to find the individual with the desired expertise. The research has shown thatentrepreneurs need to establish strong relationships to key individuals in the industry of their focus.The entrepreneurs’ social networking with key individuals accelerate the start-up process becausethe high level of trust in the relationship results in valuable referrals.

Past research reveals that fewer women than men possess top management positions and statistics imply that in Sweden only 24 percent of all board members are women (European Commission, 2008). Gender differences are even more obvious in the private sector and this is the reality facing today’s graduates, regardless of the fact that the number of female and males taking a business degree in Sweden is approximately the same (SCB, 2006).

The purpose of this study is to examine if networking can influence women’s career development. Networking and social capital is argued to be a vital tool for career development (Yukl, 2006), and former studies present information that men and women take advantage of their networks rather differently (Burke, Rothstein and Bristor, 1995). However, as the researchers approached the subject, supplementary factors for advancing up the corporate ladder were identified. Theories regarding female leadership, female career progression and the glass ceiling are therefore taken into consideration as vital factors for career development. In order to carry out this study a qualitative approach was chosen, and five business women were interviewed, all considered proficient of the subject.

The main conclusion derived from the interviews demonstrates that formal networks were less important than informal networks in order to overcome career obstacles and advance professionally. The networks that were considered most beneficial for the interviewees were the ones that evolved naturally and were reciprocal. Moreover, pure female networks were not considered as valuable as mixed networks since men more often possess access to important information than women. Having a mentor was considered vital at top positions since it provides support and further enhances information sharing. However, the results led to conclude that an additional key success factor for female career development was connected to leadership style; and having a transformational leadership style with transactional characteristics was concluded as most beneficial. Furthermore, the interviewees highlighted the importance of possessing the right personal traits and also to share the responsibilities for home and family life with one’s partner.

This study is assumed to be interesting for women in their career with ambitions to reach the top of the corporate ladder. It is also assumed to be interesting for network organisations to use as a benchmark tool.

A majority of marketers plan to increase their investment in online marketing messaging to reach an expanding population of potential consumers using online social networking platforms. The problem addressed in this study was a marketer’s inability to determine the most effective video advertising in a social networking site to increase consumer attitude and engagement. A non experimental quantitative survey study was used to gather data to test a unique hypothesized structural equation model based on the theory of advertising involvement and the affect transfer theory. The purpose was to examine the relationships among the factors of consumer attitude, defined as attitude toward the advertising and attitude toward the brand, the second order construct of advertising involvement, and the consumer engagement behaviors of sharing intention and purchase intention. Participants were recruited from the student body of a community college located in a major metropolitan city in the southwest United States. Data analysis consisted of summary descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). The objective of the research was to contribute to the theoretical body of knowledge by demonstrating the generalizability of the theory of advertising involvement to video advertising. The measurement model was a good fit to the data, CFI = 1.00, RMSEA = 0.000. Findings indicated that the theory of advertising involvement, first validated in the context of static advertising, is useful in understanding the relationship of the factors in the context of video advertising.

Attitude toward the advertising played a significant mediating role between advertising involvement and the two factors, attitude toward the brand and sharing intention. Attitude toward the brand played a significant mediating role between advertising involvement and the two factors of sharing intention and purchase intention. Attitude toward the advertising had no significant influence on purchase intention. The structural model can serve as a useful tool in evaluating video advertising in a social networking site. Future research with the model should be conducted with different types of products, different types of videos, and different consumer populations.

This research develops and tests models to predict continuance intention on social networking sites. The models adds new factors which are relevant to social networking sites continuance intention. The social networking site continuance model adds five factors: personal innovativeness, habit, attitude toward alternatives, interpersonal influence, and consumer switching costs to enhance the predictive power of information systems continuance. Interpersonal influence, alternative perceptions and procedural and relational costs are theorized to have a direct effect on continuance intention. Personal innovativeness and habit are theorized to have a direct and moderating effects on continuance intention. The results have a large positive effect of the explanatory power in explaining more of the variance of continuance intention on a social networking site. The information systems (IS) continuance model explains approximately 66.8% of the variance and the social networking site continuance model with the five added factors explains 76.7% of the variance and is considered to have a large effect in the explained variance. All of the factors have statistical significance; the factors with the largest path coefficients are, in order, satisfaction & perceived usefulness (β = 0.3686), consumer switching costs (β = 0.2496), alternative perceptions (β = -0.2069), habit (β = 0.1642), personal innovativeness (β = -0.0589) and interpersonal influence (β = -0.0451). Habit and personal innovativeness, as moderators, were not statistically significant and did not substantially aid in the interpretation of the factors. The research helps explains the relevant factors for why users of social networking sites will continue to use or abandon a site.

Introduction: Each year thousands of micro firms are established in Sweden, not all firms will survive and grow; instead many will be forced out of business. Possible explanations of this phenomena could lie in the personality of the entrepreneur, the network of the micro firm as well as support from society and so on.

Problem: Prior research has showed that networks and networking are important for the establishment, development and growth of micro firms. The majority of prior research has been of a quantitative nature, which has resulted in great knowledge about structural dimensions while less is known about the interactional dimensions. It is because of the lack of qualitative knowledge that little is known about interactional dimensions in networks and networking activities.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate the role of networks and networking activities for micro firms.

Method: The research has the character of a qualitative case study. Data gathering has been done through six in-depth interviews with the founder or manager of six micro firms located in the facilities of Science Park in Jönköping. All information obtained from the interviews were transcribed and then analysed with a model developed by O’Donnell (2004).

Summary of analysis: The role of networks and networking activities for micro firms are of great importance for generating business. Our analysis show that many of the micro firms are proactive towards their customers while their relationship with suppliers and competitors varies in characteristics.

Bakgrund: Vi fick under hösten i uppdrag att hjälpa till med en marknadsföringsplan till mikroföretaget Thermo Steel. När vi gick igenom den teori som fanns på området marknadsföring märktes ett stort gap när det gällde marknadsföring för mikroföretag. Det finns ett flertal rapporter som ifrågasät­ter den traditionella marknadsföringens relevans för mikroföretag. Det motiverade oss att först undersöka hur mikroföretag marknadsför sig och om det finns några generella riktlinjer att följa när det gäller mikroföretags arbete med marknadsföring.

Syfte: Med stöd av ovanstående resonemang är syftet med föreliggande uppsats:

1. Att undersöka hur mikroföretag marknadsför sig samt om möjligt försöka fastställa några generella rekommendationer när det gäller marknadsföring i mikroföretag.

2. Att använda det som framkommer vid litteraturstudien och den empiriska undersökningen för att ge förslag på delar ur en marknadsföringsplan anpassad till mikroföretaget Thermo Steel.

Metod: Kvalitativ undersökning, aktörssynsätt, induktion, fallstudie, intervjuer.

Resultat & slutsats: De flesta mikroföretag använder inte en formell marknadsföring. Istället framgår att de ofta jobbar informellt, flexibelt och drivna av intuition. Networking är en av de vikti­gaste metoderna för mikroföretag att utbyta information, utvecklas och göra affärer. Trots kritiken mot traditionell marknadsföring för mikroföretag tycker vi oss hitta delar som kan användas vid marknadsföringen. Exempelvis den formella marknadsföringsplanen som ger ett bra verktyg för att få företagare att sätta sig in i skapandet av visioner, mål och strategier. Den måste dock anpassas till mikroföretagens unika situation. Thermo Steel har ett behov av att öka marknadsföringens roll inom företaget för att finna fler målmarknader och öka sin försäljning. Detta bör ske genom en kombination av införandet av en marknadsföringsplan och genom att mer aktivt bedriva proaktiv networking.

Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Vi anser att det saknas en definition av marknadsföring för mikroföre­tag. Området är stort och komplext och det finns inget litteratur på ämnet som specifikt går in på mikroföretags situation när det gäller marknadsföring. Vi anser därför att all forskning som hjälper till att fylla detta gap är välkommen.

Uppsatsens bidrag: Vi bidrar med kunskap genom att identifiera relevanta teorier på området mark­nadsföring för mikroföretag. Vi presenterar också förslag som är tänkta att hjälpa Thermo Steel vid arbetet med en marknadsföringsplan.