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Previous studies show that although financial technologies (Fintech) bridge the financial inclusion gap, its rate of adoption is low. This study aims to develop understand of factors that influence consumers’ intentions to adopt financial technologies (Fintech) for savings, loans, and investment by testing a model that integrates the unified theory of acceptance and usage of technology (UTAUT) and task-technology fit (TTF) model. Data was collected from a cross-section of 324 respondents online. Structural equation modelling via smart PLS 3.0 was used to test the hypothesised relationship. The result showed that the TTF and UTAUT integrative model is robust and adequately explained Fintech adoption. Performance expectancy and social influence significantly affected behavioural intentions, and effort expectancy significantly predicts performance expectancy. Interestingly, TTF predicts use behaviour but not significant on adoption intention. Finally, task characteristics strongly predict effort expectancy and performance expectancy. Focusing on user perceptions of the technology and neglecting the effect of the task technology fit, as commonly done in extant literature, may be not enough. Thus, this study fills this gap and integrates both UTAUT and TTF to facilitate understanding of illuminate factors that influence consumers’ intentions to adopt financial technologies in an emerging country context.

Purpose The paper aims to illuminate the platform created by a cluster organization to facilitate its internationalization and thereby enhance its regional innovation system partners' competitiveness by providing access to global value chains and boosting innovativeness. Design/methodology/approach The study draws upon the interaction approach, focusing on the interaction process, interaction partners, relationship atmosphere, and relationship environment. A qualitative study was conducted at Future Position X, a Swedish cluster organization. A total of 58 interviews were conducted, including 48 face-to-face in-depth interviews between 2017 and 2019 with six key informants at FPX, representatives from 28 SMEs, ten members of regional innovation systems to which FPX belongs, and four process leaders of regional and local networks, in addition to online interviews with ten members of the regional innovation systems conducted via Microsoft Teams in March 2021. The time span of the study provides a longitudinal perspective. Findings The FPX cluster collaborates with actors in the quadruple helix, maintaining a mindset that has led to a number of new partner agreements in the global arena to secure the resources and expertise necessary for cluster activities, and thereby ensuring firms in FPX networks access to platforms for international expansion. Internationalization thus expands the cluster's knowledge base beyond the traditional environment of its member firms. Research limitations/implications Very few innovations arise from the isolated work of a lone genius. Instead, most innovation is achieved through complex, interactive, iterative and cumulative learning processes in which a variety of actors are involved. The FPX cluster organization's internationalization platform is therefore vital to the internationalization of its partners since cluster actors lack the time, resources, knowledge, experience, and networks required to break into international markets single

Aim: This study aims to explore the influence of innovation hubs (IHs) on innovation-based regional development. Methodology: This study applied a qualitative approach using a multiple case study method to collect data through 10 semi-structured interviews. A detailed analysis of the data collected was conducted using the content analysis method. Findings: The study shows that IHs can influence both economic and social development. An IH can attract knowledge and expertise as well as investors to the region through its activities and geographical location. The hubs support start-ups, entrepreneurs and smart specialization at the same time as they also enable sustainable development by creating social value. Regions can exchange resources through cross-collaboration via IHs. Research Implications: This study has important theoretical managerial and societal implications. It adds comprehensive knowledge to the existing theory on IHs and regional development by highlighting the influence of IHs on regional development. The study shows both economic and social influence in detail and points out a previously undiscussed concept in the context of the correlation between IHs and regional development.

The aim of this study is to understand what factors influence companies to customise products international customers and markets. A qualitative case study with semi-structured interviews was conducted at one multinational corporation to gain insights into its product customisation strategy. The findings demonstrate how internationalisation can impact product customisation and identify four factors in the customisation process: culture, internationalisation, knowledge transfer, and product strategy. Tailored marketing strategies that influenced the international product customisation strategy (IPCS) were used. This study augmented on our understanding of how product customisation impacts internationalisation and vice versa, revealing the importance of knowledge transfer in IPCS and its growing impact due to digitalisation. It also shows how both B2B marketing and a tailored marketing strategy are overarching themes in international product customisation, making it one of few studies to recognise the relevance of omnichannel strategy in the B2B market segment.

The aim of the study is to identify the resources required for the internationalization process for small and medium sized enterprises (SME) s in Sweden., HARisi

The purpose of this paper was to study the relationship between marketing mix strategies, marketing culture and sales performance of Ugandan manufacturing firms. The study used a cross-sectional and quantitative design. Data was collected at a particular point in time. We employed firm-level data collected by means of a questionnaire survey sent to a sample of 118 of a total population of 178 manufacturing firms. The primary data was collected, coded; correlations and regression analysis were done using SPSS Version 21. Findings revealed a significant positive relationship between marketing mix strategies and sales performance, marketing mix strategies and marketing culture, and marketing culture and sales performance; marketing culture explains more of the variation in sales performance. The use of cross-sectional and quantitative methodology limits the researcher’s ability to make causal inferences and to examine behavioural change over time. Nevertheless, the insight gained from the conceptual framework and ideas posited are useful for developing a future research agenda. There is need for manufacturing firms to promote and recognize marketing culture and marketing mix strategies among CEOs and sales representatives.

This study examined whether the relationship between service recovery and customer loyalty was statistically significant, and to examine the influence of firm responses on customer loyalty. Descriptive cross-sectional survey and stratified random sampling were used to produce a sample of 384 phone subscribers. Pilot study established reliability and validity of the questionnaire and testing for parametric assumptions performed. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (factor analysis, correlations, and regression tests) were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that these relationships were all positive and statistically significant. Moreover, combined impact of service recovery, firm responses, and service quality on customer loyalty was the strongest. Based on the findings, policymakers, and managers of mobile phone companies in Uganda should focus more on service quality, which showed the highest beta values and had a relatively high predictive value for customer loyalty. This study contributes to extant literature by illuminating firms’ responses to service recovery, by offering more explicit clarification of the relationship between service recovery, firm responses and customer loyalty. Mobile phone companies should improve how customer complaints are handled by considering the various dimensions of firm responses. Because of the study’s cross-sectional design, there remains a need to expand our knowledge by conducting similar but longitudinal studies.

This study aims to identify the main factors that SMEs need to consider when positioning a premium priced product in the international market. In addition, this study aims to acquire in-depth knowledge regarding the market conditions in Germany. This study follows a qualitative research method, where a Swedish SME Damasteel acts as the case company of the research. In addition to the case company, four of their German distributors were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The data were processed and presented by dividing the findings into six different categories. The empirical findings suggest that the German kitchen knife market is rather competitive, however, there is still potential for further growth and demand has been growing during the past few years. Personalisation of the products is considered one of the current trends. High quality of a product is often linked with high price, therefore, the main factors justifying premium price are the brand name, origin of the product, and customisation. This study contributes to the existing literature by adding new knowledge regarding product positioning and pricing strategies in the German market from the perspective of a Swedish SME. This study highlights the importance of premium price when positioning a high-quality product, therefore, it suggests that a premium product cannot be targeted to a mass audience. Practical recommendations offer insight to the case company Damasteel of the local market conditions in Germany, by providing an overview of the competition and customers in this segment. The focus of this study was on a niche market without offering any detailed information of the different factors influencing the market itself. Future research could supply an insight into how to better target the final customers of a specific market, and how to market a premium priced product for them. In addition, the pricing methods of the new product planned to be launched by the case company Damasteel and the i

The purpose of the study is to find out how clusters can assist small- and medium enterprises (SME) s to expand their business to the international market. A qualitative approach was used in this study where the primary data was collected from five cluster organizations in the region of Gävleborg in Sweden with ten semi structured interviews with key personals in the five cluster organizations. The analysis was done with the help of concepts identified in the literature as well as new themes that was found in the empirical investigation. The findings in this study have shown that the clusters can provide support to the SMEs to overcome obstacles related to capital, learning, innovation, networking, sales and strategy. The clusters can also help the SMEs in terms of sustainability. The weakest link is to help the SMEs to gain social capital where the clusters abilities are low. Each cluster has their niche competence so a collaboration within the clusters is required to help the SMEs in their international journey. The study extends the knowledge around the support system known as clustering as the study shows that only one cluster may not be able to help the SMEs in all the given areas required for their internationalization but a collaboration between clusters can help the SMEs to overcome most of the barriers towards internationalization. Future studies can focus on longitudinal research in this area to be able to follow the journey of the SMEs between the clusters but also to be able to capture and compare if the SMEs and cluster are experiencing the same pros and cons of the support system. We also suggest replicating this study in another region of Sweden to see if the results can be generalized or if it is a very local context regarding the help the SMEs can receive for internationalization.

As manuscript in dissertation

The technology workforce is plagued by a diversity issue caused by women leaving the field at an alarming rate. This global phenomenon afflicts developing nations in particular, since women are believed to make up only 30% of the technology workforce. However, there is little empirical data from developing nations on the phenomenon since most studies on the topic have been conducted in industrialized countries. This paper therefore explores the relationship between socio-cognitive mechanisms (self-efficacy, outcome expectation, perceived social support, academia-family role conflict) and career choice satisfaction, which is posited to be one of the key influencers in an individual’s decision to continue along a particular career path. A questionnaire was used to collect data from students pursuing technology courses, such as in bachelor programmes in informatics and telecommunications, at a private university in Kenya. The findings reveal that self-efficacy, outcome expectations and perceived social support positively influence career choice satisfaction, especially among female students, whereas academic-family role conflict negatively influences career choice satisfaction of female students only. This means that government, higher education institutions and employers need to be attentive to socio-cognitive mechanisms that influence women and use this information to reduce the exodus of women from careers in technology.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the benefits and drawbacks that strategically imposed liminality inflicts upon inter-organizational digitalization efforts within the different phases of its utilization. Design/methodology/approach: This study empirically examines digitalization in a large multinational manufacturing company, Sandvik Machining Solutions, using data that were collected through interviews and a qualitative research design. Findings: This study shows that a liminal space separated from the structures in which one is supposed to inflict changes increases the risk of developing an incompatible system that will be rejected in the incorporation phase. An inter-organizational perspective on liminality thus contributes to our understanding of the benefits and drawbacks that liminal space can pose for the organizations involved. Practical implications: The study suggests that, in the separation phase, driving change processes by creating liminal spaces could be a way to loosen up rigid resource structures and circumvent network over-embeddedness. Finding the right amount of freedom, ambiguity and community within the liminal space is, however, essential for the transition of information as well as the incorporation of the imposed changes. Originality/value: Introducing an inter-organizational perspective on liminality contributes to our understanding of the stress that liminal space can place on individuals as well as the individual organization.

The purpose of this article is to examine the establishment processes of Scania in Croatia and Statoil in Estonia applying a model developed from the network approach. The findings show that Statoil’s ability to leverage significant actors in its network to support its establishment made the process less cumbersome and less resource-consuming. Scania’s lack of home- and host country support resulted in an arduous and costly process, with Scania’s market position changing several times as different problems cropped up. We also found that relationship orientation requires adaptation by the firm and, more critically, by its managers. A lack of cross-cultural competence is also observed to be an impeding factor in the process., HAR - Hållbara Affärsrelationer: Digitaliseringens förutsättningar och kritiska faktorer

Despite the growing popularity of medical tourism (MT) in emerging markets (EMs), little is known about how healthcare providers operationalize. This article analyzes how healthcare providers meet different challenges to market MT in an EM setting. A qualitative method was used for data collection and conducting case studies on healthcare services in the Philippines. The results show that trust and network building are necessary for mitigating the unfavorable characteristics, instability and lack of legitimacy caused by institutional constraints in EM. Word-of-mouth is found to be important to attract new customers and disseminate information about MT services.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze friction and controversies with interaction processes and their effects on forming new resource interfaces, through the lens of boundary objects. Design/methodology/approach The empirical setting consists of two organizations that are trying to enhance their competitive advantage through digitalization. During the process of data collection four different boundary objects were identified. The study illustrates how these boundary objects were characterized in terms of their modularity, standardization, abstractness and tangibility. This paper provides an analysis of how respondents perceived that the development of these boundary objects affected the creation of novel resource interfaces, and the resulting friction and controversy between new and old structures. Findings The study concludes that within a producer-user setting a focal boundary object will take on tangible and standardized properties, and the interaction process will expose friction in terms of both power struggles and resource incompatibilities. On the other hand, a boundary object's modularity gives the actors central to the interaction room to maneuver and avoid resource incompatibilities and the development setting will hence be characterized by controversies. Originality/value The analysis indicates that the way individuals perceive boundary objects is central to interaction processes, answering calls for studies that investigate the role of objects within subject-to-object interaction.

This study draws on the Uppsala Internationalization Process Model with an experiential learning-commitment mechanism that focuses on business network relationships to facilitate an understanding of how the formal and informal networks of a cluster amalgamate during international establishment. In-depth interviews were conducted with key informants from a leading Swedish cluster – Geographic Information Solutions (GIS) to answer the question: what platform does the cluster organization create to enable the internationalization process in order for its partner organizations to effectively manage the challenges brought on by the cataclysmic changes in business logic of the age of globalization and digitalization? We found that GIS began by building international links with other similar clusters in the Nordic, Baltic and European countries and learned that to be in forefront of innovation it needed to mix its core competencies with complementing areas of technology from the world’s biggest hotspots in geospatial technologies. This enabled GIS to work with cross-cluster international innovation. A sustainable internationalization platform created by a cluster is of importance because digitalization is fundamentally disrupting traditional industries, labour markets and the global economy and transforming various facets of exchange. For companies, this means opportunities for new business models spanning from marketing and sales channels to logistics. This study contributes to the literature by examining how location can help firms to increase their competitiveness and thus offer support in gaining access to global value chains and new markets, by focusing solely on exogenous activities that serve to improve cooperation with global markets, which are critical to cluster dynamics.

This research examines the combination of social media and customer relationship management with the help of customer relationship performance and social customer relationship management capabilities in order to explore as if social media can be utilized as a constructive CRM instrument in business-to-business settings. Additionally, the research will disclose the positive or negative impact of the social media on customer relationship performance. During the research process, we interviewed digital marketing managers from four different small and medium sized organizations. The findings of our research shows that because of the companies’s less effective customer relationship management capabilities, the companies were not able to achieve customer relationship performance by utilizing social media. Additionally, we found that not only social media is the most effective instrument for CRM. We also found that there is no specific social media used by every company i.e. the efficiencies of social media platforms varies from company to company., HARira/DigIT

The current age of digitalisation brings several opportunities and challenges that have precipitated the need to implement digital solutions in organisations. Against this background, technological interface that enables customers to produce service outcome, independent of direct service-employee involvement, is commonly used in organisations in various sectors Extant literature is not keeping pace with the increasing speed in which the digitalisation of society and business is marching forward. In literature, more attention is devoted to personalised service encounter – the use of inter-personal buyer-seller interactions in the process of creating service outcomes. “Personalization”, using software applications/digital tools necessitates lesser inter-personal interactions. Hence, the relationship between companies and customers is increasingly being “depersonalised”. But, we ask in this study the following research question, “does depersonalization affect service provider-customer relationship positively or negatively? To answer this question, thus study aims to identify the pros and cons of depersonalization necessitated by digitalization and how it affects “customer-service provider relationship. The theoretical background rests on the discussion of personalization and depersonalization, technology-based service encounter, customer relationship strategy, opportunities and challenges of digitalization. A qualitative research approach entails both company and customer perspectives. Hence, data was collected through interviews. Findings show that depersonalisation through digitalization, despite some challenges, has positive effects on the “service provider-customer relationship”. Concludes that personalised buyer-seller interactions is considered an unalloyed good. However, adjusting and modifying the service, and making personalised recommendations, are considered a way to greater customer satisfaction. Implications for overcoming the challenges are discussed. Tec

This study aims to answer the following question: What platform does cluster organisation create to enable its internationalisation process in order for its partner´s organisations to effectively manage the challenges brought about by the cataclysmic changes in business logic in the age of globalisation and digitalisation? Theoretical lens draws on combination of the experiential learningcommitment interplay, which is the driving mechanism of Uppsala´s internationalisation process model with a similar experiential learning-commitment mechanism focusing on business network relationships. Data collection through in-depth interviews with Process Manager – R&D, Cluster Market Manager, Communication and Information, Cluster coordinator took place in the Swedish cluster Future Position X (FPX) - a leading cluster organisation in Europe within geographical information. Findings show that FPX was building international links with similar clusters in the Nordic, Baltic, and European countries. FPX later learned that for it to be in forefront of innovation, it needs to mix its own core competences with very complementing technology areas of the biggest hotspots in the world in Geo Spatial technologies. Conclusion remarks and implications: A sustainable internationalisation platform created by cluster is of utmost importance these days because digitalisation is fundamentally disrupting traditional industries, labour markets and the global economy, and transforming various facets of exchange. To companies, this means opportunities for new or changed business models, spanning from marketing and sales channels to logistics. Originality: This study contributes to the literature examining location can help firms to increase their competitiveness and thus supporting them in getting access to global value chains and new markets, by focusing solely on exogenous activities which serve to improve cooperation with global markets, that are critical to cluster dynamics., Conference proceedings: https://euromed2019.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/EuroMed-12-2019.pdfWon Best Paper Award, HARira/DigIT

This work responds to calls for more studies on customer satisfaction drivers associated with Industrial Vending Solutions (a unique form of vendor-managed inventory) implementation. It identifies key drivers of customer satisfaction and positive service quality perception as well as trust and commitment indicators for business-to-business industrial vending systems by asking: How is the customers perceived service quality impacted by the suppliers execution of the IVS dimensions and what customer satisfaction drivers can be derived? Through an explanatory approach, qualitative data on multiple cases was gathered. 14 in-depth semi-structured interviews were held with customers. We draw upon the consumer satisfaction paradigm to analyse post-usage satisfaction with application service providers services. Solution characteristics of industrial vending systems impact service quality perception through compliance with customer requirements. Customer satisfaction drivers were identified for the investigated industrial vending system, the most important being efficiency, user-friendliness and timeliness. Further, the presence of trust in customer-supplier relationships positively impacts trust and commitment intentions. A conceptual framework builds on knowledge on customer satisfaction which managers can incorporate into the value promise design, product development and marketing strategies., ISBN: 9786026427716Proceedings abstracts: https://anissh.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Abstract-proceedings.pdf, HARira/DigIT

The prevalence of mobile data services has intensified competition and structured the market for mobile telecommunication services, resulting in decreased revenue particularly from voices services and high churn rate. Mobile service providers therefore seek ways to increase revenue by attracting and retaining mobile data users. This study investigates the determinants of customers’ brand choice and continuance intentions with mobile service providers in the context of mobile data service. This study also captures the impact of past experience on behavioural outcomes. Data were collected from 304 customers of mobile data service firms and analysed using regression analyses. Results indicate that mobile service quality, pricing structure and promotion, but not brand image, affect brand choice, whereas continuance intentions are affected by the mobile service quality, brand image and price. Customers’ past experience relates significantly and negatively to brand choice but not continuance intention. The contribution and implication of the study are discussed., HAR Digitaliseringens förutsättningar och kritiska faktorer, Innovativa Strategiska Nätverk ISNET