Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Online Buying Process'

This thesis looks at agent technology from a 'consumer protection' angle to examine whether EU law contains adequate safeguards against the risks associated with its use. It concentrates on four agent types that assist the consumer in finding products, making purchase decisions and concluding contracts online: notification. recommendation. shopping and negotiation agents. First. the various consumer risks associated with the use of each agent are set out: the privacy of the consumer is at risk, as is his freedom of choice regarding product purchases; his online activity may be restricted or interfered with; he may be discriminated against, being asked to pay a higher price or offered 'lower quality’ products than others: his pain and suffering may be exploited for profit and he may be persuaded 10 buy harmful products: he risks making bad purchases or being defrauded: he may also enter into erroneous contracts, thus being asked to pay an unreasonably high 'product' price and/or having to pay for products he never intended to buy, The various sources of these risks - i,e., certain unacceptable practices often employed by agent providers - are also identified. Deriving assistance from the results of this 'source identification' exercise. the thesis then formulates possible legal solutions. In the light of these solutions. it then examines whether appropriate legal safeguards against the arising risks exist al Community level. It concludes that the relevant EU legal response is not fully satisfactory: the 'raw' material of the appropriate legal solutions exists within EU Directives mainly in the privacy and 'consumer protection' field s, but often those solutions are inapplicable to agents or, at best. are only semi-adequate. Finally, it suggests legislative amendments for improving adequacy and ensuring applicability.

Recently, many studies have detailed how consumer perceptions and experiences affect attitudes and behaviours towards web service quality and e-satisfaction. Controversy arises when it comes to luxury brands. Luxury brands associate themselves with the concept of exclusivity and they position themselves in the market as such. But in online placement, how do they remain exclusive when information is accessible to everyone? Consumers of luxury products and services have varying opinions on the subject. Not all consumers are susceptible to online marketing and retailing. The perception of consumers is highly relevant when assigning the term ‘luxury’ to a brand. Therefore, a luxury brand has a certain personality and has an emotional and a creative appeal for the consumer. The aim of this research is to understand consumer attitude towards online luxury shopping websites before the purchase, during the purchase, and after the purchase. This study investigates the external factors that impact on consumer attitude toward purchasing online luxury shopping as a first step in the consumer online luxury shopping model. Further, it examines consumer attitude towards purchase life cycle, and the mediation role of consumer attitude between external factors and purchase intention. Moreover, this study investigates the relationships between different stages inside the purchase life cycle. This work is the first study focusing on the above aspects in a luxury context, the importance of which has been widely recognised in marketing literature but never explored empirically. Taking an exploratory approach, the study shows that in the case of brands in the premium luxury segment, external factors may have a positive influence on luxury perceptions, and more specifically on consumer attitude, which in turn may affect their intention to proceed to the online buying process. This study uses the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a theoretical grounding to study the adoption and evolution of a consumer online luxury shopping (COLS) model. A questionnaire was deployed online as a research instrument to collect the data from 313 online luxury consumers in the United Kingdom (UK) and United States (US). The data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with PLS software. Further analysis using multi group analysis (MGA) was conducted after the main analysis for comparison between country (UK and US), gender (Male and Female), and level of internet experience (Intermediate and Advanced). The empirical results from this study show that, among seven external factors that affect consumer attitude (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived brand value, e-WOM, e-service quality, social network site usage and social media marketing activities), e-service quality has the strongest impact on consumer attitude toward purchasing online. However, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and e-word of mouth were non-significant, while e-service quality, social network site usage, social media marketing activities, and perceived brand value were all significant, and positively impact on consumer attitude. Moreover, the rest of the relationships from the COLS findings were significantly positive. Finally, the findings of this study provide noteworthy theoretical insights in terms of development of the COLS from the theory of extended TAM, and the COLS highlights the importance of the external factors, consumer attitude, and purchase lifecycle as the key elements of online luxury shopping. Moreover, the COLS model has been tested using multi-group analysis in three sets (country, gender, and internet level of experience). Furthermore, these findings bring valuable marketing implications highlighted by this study, and covers before purchase, during purchase, and after purchase, which shows what is happening inside the entire buying process for online luxury shopping. Marketers might also note that adopting an online luxury shopping website and recognising what factors can affect buying externally or internally can improve business efficiency.

The purpose of this study was to provide a better understanding why consumers conduct research online and post online reviews. This was achieved by finding relationships between the two phenomena presented above. The study used a cross-sectional design since little was known about the relationships within the chosen research area. Results were measured by quantitative instrument through a self-administered questionnaire divided by each phenomenon. The questionnaire was directed towards Swedish consumers in the buying decision process.Consumers conduct research online with the specific goal for gaining information posted by other consumers, since it has a higher credibility. Helping other consumers and self-expression was reasons found in relation to why consumers post online reviews.Findings strengthen the fact that higher education could be found of relationship to conduct research online; however, not to post online reviews. In comparison to previous studies the study measured online shopping frequency instead of Internet experience. It was found that consumers who conducted online shopping were in relation with previous presented theories.
Syftet med denna studie var att skapa en bättre förståelse till varför konsumenter publicerar och konsumerar onlinerecensioner. Genom att applicera en tvärsnittsdesign kunde syftet uppnås då relationer identifierades. För att möjliggöra mätning av resultatet applicerades ett kvantitativt instrument genom en självadministrerad enkät vilken var uppdelad efter respektive fenomen.Onlinerecensioner används för det specifika målet att samla större mängder information innan köpbeslut. De onlinerecensioner som används främst är de skapade av andra konsumenter då de anses vara av högre trovärdighet än information skapat av företag. Att hjälpa andra konsumenter och självförbättring är vad resultatet påvisar vara anledning till att konsumenter publicerar onlinerecensioner.Vidare stärkte resultatet en relation där konsumenter med högre utbildning tenderar att konsumera onlinerecensioner men inte till att publicera dessa. Konsumenternas köpfrekvens applicerades istället för att mäta graden erfarenhet av Internet, vilket gjorts i tidigare studier.

Problem: The increasing online operations of the B2B market has led to companies being able to operate all over the world, making them exposed to various markets with different preferences of supplier relationships. For that reason, it is important for companies to consider aspects such as digitalization, culture and buyer-seller relationships when conducting business with foreign companies. One industry that has been reluctant towards this online shift is the display materials industry. However, during recent years display material suppliers operating online have become more successful. Therefore, understanding companies purchasing process when buying display material online is necessary.   Purpose: This thesis aims to explain and investigate the online organizational buying behavior of British and Swedish organizations while purchasing display materials and several factors that influence it, such as culture, digitalization and buyer-seller relationships are examined.   Method: A qualitative approach with semi-structured interview was used to conduct this research. Eight participants from British and Swedish organizations who are customers of the display material company SignMax were interviewed. The data collected has been analyzed together with literature on online organizational buying behavior and the influencing factors. Results: The findings of this research showed that the level of product involvement and national culture decides and forms the importance of the purchase, the purchasing process and the type of supplier-relationship desired. Additionally, the attitude towards digitalization and the experience of online purchases determine the level of personal contact and support. Based on the empirical analysis the findings showed that for the cases of UK and Sweden, UK was more performance-oriented in their supplier relationships and highly valued ease of use and a smooth purchasing process. Sweden on the other hand, focused more on soft-values such as personal contact and support.

The process that consumers go through while buying something is called consumer buying process and has been studied for a long time. Three stages of the Five-Stage Model (Kotler, 2006) provide a starting point for analysis in this paper and the reason of using this model is to make collected data more structured and easier for understanding. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze costumer buying process online.The method for data collection applied in this study is called “think-aloud” that means participants are verbalizing their screen activity and thoughts during the process of observation. The results of this research show that consumer buying process online is a complex process that is influenced by the amount and intensity of information received during the process as well as consumer knowledge and experience on the area of problem. The sequence of the stages proposed by the research model can vary depending on the preferences of consumer and readiness to make a decision.

In Sweden today, the consumers have the opportunity to use the different sales channels; physical store, online store and brick and click, a combination of both. For the past decade, the use of ecommerce has spread tremendously and the fashion industry is one of the top three industries in this category. This, together with the growth of technology, have created new opportunities for consumers during their online shopping. The purpose of this study is to examine the differences between consumers who use physical store, online store or both. This study aims to look into consumers' shopping habits within these sales channels and factors that are affecting them. This study uses a quantitative method with 150 respondents participating in a survey of 16 questions. The respondents consist of women in Stockholm in the age group 15-35. The survey is based on theories of sales channels and consumer buying process. The results show that respondents shop more frequently in a physical store than an electronic store. The three most important factors, for respondents that are using both channels, are the price, the fit and the quality. The latter two factors are perceived to be more easily evaluated and detailed in a physical store with physical contact. The traditional retailers, who only shop in a physical store, value service and experience the highest. This is one of the main reasons that they do not shop online because the service and experience are different in each sales channels. However, the price, the fit and the quality share the second place. Also, the brand and the width of the supply are of significance since the availability is greater in e-commerce. These two factors, can along with the price, be prime reasons for onlineshopping. Respondents who never shop online consider safety and shipping/delivery process the main reason for it. This study has therefore come to the conclusion that the ideal marketing strategy for consumers is the brick and click strategy. These two combined channels can compensate for each other's shortcomings and thereby enhance the consumer satisfaction. With a combined sales channel, consumers have also the possibility to use both channels in the buying process and adapt their approaches in the different stages according to their needs, which may differ depending on different circumstances.

E-commerce presents a new format for doing business. It creates an efficient, yet complex, system providing potential time and cost savings. The main question is then how a comprehensive strategy is developed to outline the new process. Whether an MNC can successfully develop an e-commerce strategy or not, depends on their understanding of customers within their global environment and the secure transfer of customer information. They must adjust their company operations to concentrate on identifying sources of customer relationship management, such as segmentation, needs and abilities, benefits, values, buying behaviour and trust aspects. Companies need to differentiate their ecommerce approaches from their competition, in order to enable and motivate their transition to an online system.

In the case of our methodology, a qualitative, single case study approach of Electrolux Professional Laundry Group was used. Interviews of their customers and sales offices from around Europe determined their understanding and opinions of the closure of warehouses to concentrate on e-commerce within the company. Findings indicate that there is a need to clarify the role of the system, the safety of the customer's information and how it relates to the responsibilities of the sales offices in question. In addition, customers must be carefully researched in order to make the new system congruent with their purchasing preferences and abilities. Once created, a clear model is established to determine their affects on the process of creating a successful e-commerce strategy.

Due to the increasing presence of e-commerce amongst competition in Electrolux's industry, the need to develop a detailed e-commerce strategy is crucial. Their products and services are some of the highest-rated in the industry, but their e-commerce system needs to be improved to match the standards of their well-known brand name. Therefore, careful development of their e-commerce operations will require detailed attention to every stage of the strategy process.

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, Växjö. Course code: 2FE16E. Authors: Sara Hjärne, Mathilda Perem, Ewelina Wallin. Tutor: Dan Halvarsson. Examiner: Åsa 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-commerce Purpose: 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. This process is influenced by different factors, which is influence, convenience, webpage's atmosphere, risk, price, supply, consumption occasions, expectations, delivery and return.
Titel: Hur fungerar egentligen köpbeslutsprocessen inom e-handel?- En kvalitativ studie om konsumenternas beteende vid konsumtion på Internet. Institution: Ekonomihögskolan, Linnéuniversitetet, Växjö. Kurskod: 2FE16E. Författare: Sara Hjärne, Mathilda Perem, Ewelina Wallin. Handledare: Dan Halvarsson. Examinator: Åsa Devine. Nyckelord: 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. Bakgrund: Köpbeslutsprocessen är en modell som marknadsförare använder för att få en bättre förståelse för sina kunder och deras beteende vid köp av en produkt. Denna process består av fem olika steg; behov, informationssökning, värdering av alternativ, köpbeslut och utvärdering. Köpbeslutsprocessen har länge varit en accepterad modell men forskare menar att introduktionen av Internet som en kanal för konsumtion har även förändrat denna process. Internet har även lett till ett maktskifte där kunderna idag har större inflytande, vilket i hög grad påverkar köpbeslutsprocessen inom e-handel Syfte: Syftet är att utforska hur konsumenterna uppfattar sitt beteende när de konsumerar genom e-handel. Forskningsfrågor: Hur uppfattar konsumenter den köpbeslutsprocess de går igenom när de konsumerar genom e-handel?Hur uppfattar konsumenterna olika faktorer som är betydelsefulla för dem när de konsumerar genom e-handel? Metod: Kvalitativ studie, Tvärsnittsdesign, Semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Slutsats: Studien visar att den traditionella modellen för köpbeslutsprocessen inte stämmer överens med konsumenternas uppfattning om hur de genomgår processen i en e-handel kontext. Denna process påverkas av faktorerna inflytande, bekvämlighet, webbsidans atmosfär, risk, pris, utbud, konsumtionstillfällen, förväntningar, leverans och retur.

Title: No thanks to unnecessary advertising! -A study on targeted marketing via Big Data in a consumer perspective Authors: Ricky Carlsson and Alexander Vilhelmsson Supervisor: Anders Parment Key words: Targeted marketing, Big Data, Customer segmentation, Buying process, Integrity concern, Customer relationship management, Marketing communication, Strategic management, Big Data management, Online Behavioural Targeting Introduction: In a world that is globalizing and where digital development is advancing, companies have had to adapt. In recent times with the increasingly more digital world, technology has become an increasingly more relevant factor, not least in marketing. A digital method that has emerged is Big Data, whichmakes it possible forcompanies tocollect large amounts of information about consumers. By analysing the information extracted from Big Data, it is easier to find and understand consumers' needs and what motivates their buying process. It is important that companies analyse the information correctly so that they do not run the risk of creating negative effects from targeted marketing via Big Data. Purpose: To investigate Swedish consumers' attitudestowards targeted marketing via Big Data and to find out how companies that sell goods and services to consumers can improve their use of Big Data in targeted marketing from a consumer perspective. Method: The study is a cross-sectional study of a qualitative and quantitative nature. The qualitative empirical data consists of 11 semi-structured interviews with students in Sweden. The quantitative empirical data consists of 203 survey answers collected from consumers around Sweden. The study is based on an abductive approach and has a hermeneutic approach. Conclusion: The result of the study shows that there are both opportunities and challenges for companies when using Big Data in targeted marketing. Targeted marketing with the help of Big Data that is performed correctly should only have a positive impact on the targeted marketing and something that creates value for both the consumers and the companies, but this is not the case today. The population of the study perceives that marketing often does not match their needs; this shows that companies must become better at analysing the data. If the data extracted from Big Data is analysed in a better way, the segmentation of consumers will also be better.
Titel: Nej tack till onödig reklam! - En studie om riktad marknadsföring via Big Data i ett konsumentperspektiv. Författare: Ricky Carlsson och Alexander Vilhelmsson Handledare: Anders Parment Bakgrund: I en värld som globaliseras och där den digitala utvecklingen går framåt har företag varit tvungna att anpassa sig. På senare tid i takt med den ständigt mer digitaliserade världen har teknologi blivit en alltmer relevant faktor, inte minst inom marknadsföring. En digital metod som har vuxit fram är Big Data genom vilken företag har möjlighet att samla in stora mängder information om konsumenter. Genom att analysera informationen som utvinns från Big Data går det att lättare finna och förstå konsumenters behov och vad som motiverar deras köpprocess. Det är viktigt att företag analyserar informationen på rätt sätt för att inte löpa risken att skapa negativa effekter av den riktade marknadsföringen via Big Data. Syfte: Att undersöka svenska konsumenters attityder till riktad marknadsföring via Big Data samt ta reda på hur företag som säljer varor eller tjänster till konsumenter kan förbättra användningen av Big Data inom riktad marknadsföring utifrån ett konsumentperspektiv. Metod: Studien är en tvärsnittsstudie av kvalitativ och kvantitativ karaktär. Den kvalitativa empirin består av 11 semi-strukturerade intervjuer med studenter i Sverige. Den kvantitativa empirin består av 203 insamlade enkätsvar från konsumenter runt om i Sverige. Studien grundas i en abduktiv ansats och har ett hermeneutiskt synsätt. Slutsatser: Resultatet i studien visar på att det finns möjligheter och utmaningar för företag vid användning av Big Data inom riktad marknadsföring. En riktad marknadsföring medhjälp av Big Data som utförs på rätt sätt borde enbart ha en positiv påverkan på den riktade marknadsföringen och något som skapar värde för konsumenter och företag, men så är inte fallet idag. Då studiens population uppfattar att den riktade marknadsföringen ofta inte matchar deras behov bör företag bli bättre på att analysera data. Om data som utvinns från Big Data analyseras på ett bättre sätt kommer även segmenteringen av konsumenter att bli bättre.

碩士
元智大學
資訊管理學系
104
The rapid developments of the internet nowadays and the convenient E-commerce have changed the world economy and people’s consumption behaviors with a subversion on conventional business model. It does not only make the public able to use a cheaper, more common and faster information communication, but also attribute to a new business MODEL-Business to Team (B2T). The B2T can effectively facilitate the scale of trade and lower the trade cost, in response to the revolutionary development of the internet, retailers have made the B2T an indispensable model for transactions. “Price” is prioritized first by most people when it comes to the competition between B2T companies and purchase criteria for cousumers in the old days. Nevertheless, as the gradual prevalence of mobile gadgets and the transparency of information over the internet, consumers can compare prices of items on their wishlist, making low price promotion no longer an advantage on competitive factors; instead, service quality by B2T sites will become the vital factor determining consumers’ purchases. The research builds a foundation with Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry’s SERVQUAL and Dabholkar, Thorpe & Rentz’s Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) based on the situation that identical B2T products are at a same price or in a acceptable price difference to consumers, converts the factors influencing shopping at physical stores to B2T criteria and perspectives, and calculates the overall weights of criteria and perspectives with fuzzy analytic aeirarchy process (FAHP) method.

Classificações do JEL: L81, M31
A disponibilização da tecnologia World Wide Web permitiu a uma parte significativa do tecido empresarial reequacionar as estratégias de actuação no mercado, dando origem a alterações profundas no ambiente negocial tradicional, designadamente no modo de relacionamento entre clientes e fornecedores. Estas alterações originaram uma nova forma de vender e comprar (o comércio electrónico) que se tem convertido num factor de competitividade e produtividade para a generalidade das empresas. A presente investigação centrou-se no processo de decisão de compra de consumidores que procuram adjudicar um serviço, utilizando a Internet como principal ferramenta nas fases de pesquisa de informação, avaliação das alternativas de compra e adjudicação. Mais especificamente, o presente trabalho desenvolveu uma possível metodologia de análise dos factores de conversão em clientes, de contactos provenientes do website de uma empresa do sector dos serviços. A esses contactos de potenciais clientes provenientes do website, foi atribuída a designação de leads electrónicas ou, abreviadamente, e-leads. Analisou-se em concreto o mercado de uma empresa que actua no mercado de personalização e duplicação de CDs e DVDs. As conclusões do estudo apontam para a existência de fiabilidade no questionário utilizado e para a existência de quatro factores que contribuem de forma significativa para a conversão de e-leads em clientes, no mercado da empresa analisada: a imagem que a empresa projecta nas suas e-leads, o nível de envolvimento que a e-lead coloca na procura do fornecedor, a qualidade de atendimento da empresa contactada e a flexibilidade que a empresa contactada apresenta para realizar o serviço pretendido.
The availability of the World Wide Web technology allowed a significant part of the business community to re-evaluate its market strategies, giving rise to deep changes in the traditional way of doing business, namely in the relationship between clients and suppliers. Those changes originated a new buying/selling process (the e-commerce) which is becoming a competitiveness and productivity factor for most companies. This research focuses on the process of the consumers buying decision using Internet as the main toll for searching for information, evaluating the buying alternatives and awarding the service. More specifically, the present investigation developed a possible analysis methodology of the factors allowing turning into clients the contacts originated by the website of a services company. These potential clients’ contacts on the website are called electronic leads or e-leads. This study concerns a specific case: the operational market of a company offering CDs and DVDs personalization and duplication services. The study was based on a reliable query, dully drawn and applied, allowing to conclude that, in the market and company into analysis, there are four factors that significantly contribute to convert e-leads into clients: the company image perceived by its e-leads; the level of commitment placed by the e-lead in the search for suppliers; the quality of the contacted company’s service; and the company flexibility to carry out the demanded service.

Devido à constante evolução que se tem notado nas tecnologias e na influência da internet em ambiente comercial, que reflete na dinâmica do comportamento de compra, propõe-se a abordagem da avaliação de produtos e a possível influência que canais de compra distintos (online e in-store) podem exercer nos consumidores. Para testar a existência de diferentes perceções dos produtos durante esta fase do processo de compra, foram realizadas entrevistas com profissionais da área e inquéritos com 464 portugueses sobre sua perspectiva acerca dos produtos quando comprados em ambiente online e in-store. Os resultados indicaram que o preço é um dos principais influenciadores durante a compra em ambos os canais, sendo superado apenas pelas imagens e fotografias dos produtos em compras online. Dentre as variáveis do canal in-store, a experiência sensorial destacou-se como característica diferenciadora e em ambiente eletrónico as informações e descrições técnicas aliadas às imagens mostraram-se importantes características na análise das alternativas disponíveis. Por sua vez, a participação dos vendedores foi considerada pouco relevante e produtos que possuem vídeo e demonstrações foram considerados mais relevantes durante a avaliação de alternativas em ambos os canais. Os resultados sugerem que existe receio por parte dos consumidores sobre o desempenho de produtos comprados no canal online, e que o tempo disponível para a compra in-store é escasso em comparação à compra online.
Due to the constant evolution that has been noticed in the technologies and in the influence of the Internet in a commercial environment, which reflects in the dynamics of the buying behavior, it is proposed the approach of the product evaluation and the possible influence that different purchase channels (online and in-store) can be exercised over consumers. To test the existence of different perceptions of the products during this phase of the purchase process, interviews with professionals of the area were conducted and 464 Portuguese were surveyed with about their perspective on the products when bought in an online and in-store environment. The results indicated that price is one of the main influencers during the purchase in both channels, being surpassed only by the images and photographs of the products in online purchases. Among the variables of the in-store channel, the sensorial experience was highlighted as a distinguishing characteristic and in electronic environment the information and technical descriptions associated to the images showed up as important characteristics in the analysis of the available alternatives. In turn, the participation of the sellers was considered to be of little relevance and products that have video and demonstrations were considered more relevant during the evaluation of alternatives in both channels. The results suggest that there is consumer fear about the performance of products purchased on the online channel, and that the time available for in-store shopping is scarce compared to online shopping.

Na actualidade, a internet possui um papel fundamental no dia-a-dia dos indivíduos, criando imensas pontes de contactos entre consumidor-consumidor e consumidor-empresa. Esta grande interacção cria um poder imenso para as empresas, permitindo-lhes difundir os seus produtos ou serviços através do Marketing Viral. No entanto, isto leva a que os consumidores cada vez mais estejam expostos a publicidade, ofertas e propostas de empresas, que nem sempre são verdadeiras e confiáveis. O objectivo do Marketing Viral é informar o consumidor do produto, despertar o interesse e conduzir à compra ou adopção desse produto. Sabendo que o consumidor tem cada vez mais um papel determinante na propagação das mensagens das empresas é necessário saber o impacto que as recomendações online têm nas diferentes fases do processo de decisão de compra, que são elas consciencialização, interesse e decisão final. Para tal, este projecto de investigação visa averiguar se uma mensagem de e-WOM não solicitada tem impacto sobre o consumidor nas três fases do processo de decisão de compra, quando enviada por uma fonte já conhecida e não conhecida, com o intuito de obter uma base de análise comparativa entre estas duas características.
Nowadays, the internet has a fundamental role in the daily life of people, creating immense contact bridges between consumer-consumer and consumer-company. This great interaction gives companies a great power, allowing them to diffuse their products and services through Viral Marketing. However, this contributes to an increasing exposure of consumers to advertisements, offers and company proposals that not always are truthful and reliable. The goal of the Viral Marketing is to inform the consumer of the product, increase his/her interest and lead him/her to the purchase or adoption of that product. Recognizing that the consumer has an increasingly determinant role in spreading the companies’ messages, it is necessary to know the impact that online recommendations have in different stages of the decision process of buying, namely, awareness, interest and final decision. To do so, this research project intends to verify if an unsolicited e-WOM message influences the three stages of the buying decision process, when sent by a source previously known and not known to the receiver, aiming to obtain a basis for comparative analysis between two characteristics.

Na mudança de estratégias das empresas especializadas na venda e distribuição de produtos, o comércio online demonstra ser uma ferramenta essencial para o futuro de qualquer retalhista. Este sector tem sido nos últimos anos um dos que tem registado os maiores desenvolvimentos. Não só a maioria das empresas se tem “re-inventado” como nos últimos anos temos testemunhado o aparecimento de modelos de negócio meramente digitais, que poderá trazer outro tipo de vantagens. O estudo que se segue, foi elaborado com o objetivo de criar e desenvolver um projeto de negócio inovador da empresa Quiosque do Bairro. Esta, atuará num mercado estritamente digital, com o objetivo de simplificar o processo de compra de produtos para oferta. Permite conhecer as preferências do destinatário da compra, reduzindo o risco de rejeição do produto. Os produtos disponíveis para compra através da Quiosque do Bairro são na sua totalidade fornecidos por microempresas portuguesas, com potencial de crescimento, no entanto sem recursos que permitam publicitar os seus produtos. A Quiosque do Bairro permite dar visibilidade a pequenas empresas, aumentando o seu volume de vendas. Este documento servirá de suporte ao lançamento da plataforma proposta, na medida em que estão descritos os passos para a implementação do modelo de negócio. Para suportar as decisões tomadas, foram consultados diversos artigos na área de e-commerce, assim como processos de compra, e comportamento do cliente. Foi também feita uma pesquisa de mercado com especial incidência no mercado português, de forma a apurar quais as necessidades reais dos potenciais clientes.
In changing strategies of companies specializing in the sale and distribution of products , online trading proves to be an essential tool for the future of any retailer. This sector has been in recent years, one of which has recorded the biggest developments. Not only do most companies have " re- invented" themseves as in recent years we have witnessed the emergence of purely digital business models that can bring other benefits . The study that follows has been prepared with the aim of creating and developing na inovator business project of Quiosque do Bairro. This will act in a strictly digital market, in order to simplify the process of purchasing products to offer. It allows us to know the preferences of the recipient and to reducing the risk of rejection of the product . Products available for purchase are entirely provided by Portuguese micro-enterprises with growth potential , but without resources to enable its expansion . Quiosque do Bairro can give visibility to small businesses by increasing their sales volume. This document will support the launch of the proposed platform , in that the steps are described for the implementation of the business model , as well as their associated costs. To support the decisions taken, several articles were consulted in the area of e- commerce , as well as buying processes , and customer behavior. Also market research was made with a special focus on the Portuguese market , in order to determine what are the real needs of potential customers.

As redes sociais estão a mudar os negócios e a vida social em sociedade. O número crescente de utilizadores do Facebook e o tempo que é despendido diáriamente nesta rede social tornaram o Facebook uma plataforma muito atrativa para os profissionais de marketing e empresas em geral. Quando as redes sociais surgiram foram percecionadas como ferramentas de marketing adequadas apenas a mercados de consumo (B2C). Porém, não existem investigações que indiquem que as redes sociais não permitem obter resultados em mercados Business To Business (B2B). Juntando a este pensamento a diversidade e pluralidade dos utilizadores do Facebook torna-se pertinente perceber qual a opinião dos peritos da área sobre a utilização do Facebook neste mercado. O estudo realizado e aqui apresentado analisa o papel e influência que o Facebook pode ter no processo de compra de softwares de fidelização, do ponto de vista de profissionais das áreas de Marketing e Relações Públicas das áreas de comércio a Retalho (CAE- 47) de Calçado (CAE – 4772) e Alimentar (CAE-4711), Publicidade (CAE-73), Relações Públicas (70210) e Saúde Pública (CAE-84121), a quem foram realizadas um total de 5 entrevistas standardizadas e baseadas num questionário aberto, composto por 24 perguntas, sobre os temas Facebook, Processo de Compra de Software de Fidelização e Fidelização.
Social networks are changing business and social life in society. The growing number of Facebook users and the time spent daily on this social network made Facebook to become a very attractive platform for marketing professionals and businesses in general. When social networks emerged were easily accepted as proper marketing tools for consumer markets (B2C). However, none research indicates that social networks don’t allow to get results in Business to Business markets (B2B). Adding this thought the diversity and plurality of Facebook users becomes relevant understand what the opinion of the expertise of the area on the use of Facebook in this market. The study presented here examines the role and influence that Facebook may have in the process of buying loyalty software, from the point of view of Marketing and Public Relations professionals that work in distinct area like Retail (CAE- 47) footwear (CAE - 4772) and Food (CAE-4711), Advertising (NACE 73), Public Relations (70210) and Public Health (NACE 84121). Were conducted 5 interviews to these professionals based on an open questionnaire with 24 questions about Facebook, Loyalty Software Buying Process and Loyalty topics.