Hydrofoiling Europe-Dinghy

The aim of this master thesis was to develop and build a prototype of separate hydrofoils compatible with a Europe-dinghy (A common, single sail, one-person dinghy), to be used as a proof of concept. This was to be done without causing any permanent changes to the dinghy’s hull. The consulting firm Essiq AB supported the project. Extensive benchmarking of existing foiling dinghies, already on the market, was carried out. Based on this, concepts of different configurations of a hydrofoiling Europe-dinghy were generated. After choosing the most promising concept, it was further refined. Simulations in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and theoretical calculations were completed to optimize the final design. A prototype of the final design was built and tested. The test proved positive, with successful foiling during shorter periods of time. Nevertheless, the prototype will need some further refinements in order to reach its full potential. The conclusion drawn was that this was a successful proof of concept, and that attaching separate hydrofoils to a Europe-dinghy is therefore a viable option

Hållbar livsstil genom kommunikationskampanjer

Idag är det en självklarhet att stadsutveckling sker i hållbarhetens tecken och det är respektive kommuns ansvarar att skapa förutsättningar för att stadens invånare ska kunna leva med en hållbar livsstil. Skulle stadens invånare tillsammans förändra sin livsstil till att leva hållbart är det möjligt att minska miljöpåverkan. Enligt Malmö stads översiktsplan, ÖP2012, ska det på 2030-talet finnas en medvetenhet hos alla stadens invånare om hur deras livsstil påverkar miljön, staden samt andra människor. Det krävs dock en beteendeförändring för att kunna uppnå en hållbar utveckling. Genom kommunikation och kommunikationskampanjer är det möjligt att få individer att uppmärksamma sin egen livsstil och reflektera över hur den överensstämmer med den hållbara utvecklingen. Detta skulle innebära att stora förändringar kan ske i staden. En utmaning som Malmö stad står inför är att stadens befolkningsmängd växer vilket även innebär att fler människor kommer resa i staden, samtidigt kan inte gaturummet bli större. Idag är bilen det vanligaste transportmedlet och används vid ca 40 % av alla resor. I Malmö är nästan hälften av bilresorna kortare än 5 km. Skulle dessa korta bilresor bytas mot cykel, gång eller kollektivtrafik skulle de innebära minskad negativ påverkan av miljön. För att få bukt med de korta bilresorna och minska miljöpåverkan startade Malmö stad år 2007 kampanjen Inga löjliga bilresor. Det övergripande syftet med masteruppsatsen var att undersöka hur kommunikationskampanjer kan påverka människor att leva med en hållbar livsstil. För att undersöka hur Malmö stad arbetar med hållbar utveckling genom kommunikationskampanjer användes kampanjen Inga löjliga bilresor som fallstudie. Rapportens diskussion och slutsats grundar sig i hur denna kampanj utformades, utfördes samt vad den har resulterade i. Resultatet av studien och den teoretiska diskussionen visar att kommunikationskampanjer som verktyg kan skapa medvetenhet kring nuvarande beteenden samt få människor att börja diskutera och reflektera. Dock krävs det att det finns fysiska förut-sättningar för att människor ska kunna omvandla information till faktiska handlingar. Kampanjer kan inte vara det enda verktyget för att skapa en beteendeförändring, men kan användas för att öka motivationen att vilja förändra. Beteendeförändring är en långsiktig process som tar tid och kräver engagemang från alla i staden.Today it is a given that urban development takes place with a sustainable character and it’s every municipality responsibility to create the conditions for the city residents to live with a sustainable lifestyle. Would the city’s residents together change their lifestyle to live sustainable, then it’s possible to reduce environmental impact. According to the City of Malmö’s master plan, ÖP2012, there will be awareness among all city residents about how their lifestyle affects the environment, the city and other people in the year 2030. However, this requires a change in behavior in order to achieve sustainable development. Through communication and communication campaigns, it is possible to get people to pay attention to their own lifestyle and reflect on how it is consistent with sustainable development. This would mean that big changes could take place in the city. A challenge that the City of Malmö face is that the city’s population is growing, which also means that more people will travel in the city while the street space can’t be any larger. Today, the car is the most common means of transport and is used in about 40% of all trips. In Malmö, almost half of the car trips are shorter than 5 km. Should these short car trips instead be exchanged by biking, walking or public transport it would mean a reduced negative impact on the environment. To overcome the short car trips and reduce environmental impact Malmö started in the year 2007 a campaign called No ridiculous car trips (Inga löjliga bilresor). The overall purpose of this master thesis was to examine how communication campaigns can influence people to live with a sustainable lifestyle. To investigate how the city of Malmö works with sustainable development through communication campaigns, I used the campaign Inga löjliga bilresor as a case study. The report’s discussion and conclusion is based on how this campaign was designed, conducted, and it’s result. The results of the study as well as the theoretical discussion shows that communication campaigns, as a tool, can create awareness of current behaviors and make people start to discuss and reflect. However, it’s required that there are physical conditions for people to be able to transform the information into actual actions. Campaigns can’t be the only tool to create a behavioral change, but it can be used to increase the motivation to want to change. A behavioral change is a long-term process that takes time and commitment from everyone in the city

Stadsläkning genom stadsgata

Befolkningsmängden i Malmö kommer år 2030 att vara uppe i cirka 400 000 invånare, vilket innebär en ökning med cirka 100 000 personer. När befolkningsmängden ökar innebär det att fler människor kommer att röra sig i staden och en utmaning är ökade trafikvolymer och trängsel. En ökad biltrafik leder med största sannolikhet till att gator som redan utgör befintliga barriärer förstärks samt skapande av nya barriärer på andra gator. Bilismens framfart har lett till att de fysiska avstånden mellan aktiviteter och funktioner har ökat och bilresandet blivit en nödvändig del av människors liv. Malmö stads vision är att förändra infartsleder och trafikleder i staden till stadshuvudgator då det finns en förhoppning att förändra bilismens roll i staden, ge plats åt cyklister och fotgängare samt binda samman staden. Vi använder oss av begreppet stadsgata i uppsatsen. Det övergripande syftet med magisterarbetet var att, med utgångspunkt i teorier om den hållbara staden, undersöka hur gestaltningen av Malmös framtida stadsgator kan påverka och skapa en sammanhängande stad. Den empiriska studien av Nobelvägen syftar till att undersöka vilka möjligheter som finns att omvandla tungt trafikerade gator till stadsgator, hur de bör utformas och vilka effekter detta kan få. Resultaten av den empiriska studien visar att Nobelvägens fysiska utformning försvårar korsandet för cyklister och fotgängare. Genom att minska utrymmet för biltrafik och istället ge fotgängare och cyklister mer plats i aturummet, går det att dämpa biltrafikens hastighet och göra gatumiljön säkrare. Stadsgatans huvuduppgift är att binda samman staden, skapa samband och göra staden till en helhet. Dock är människors vanor och beteenden svårare att påverka än den fysiska miljön samtidigt som de fysiska förutsättningarna kan hjälpa till att underlätta ett visst beteende. Är det lättare att cykla och gå, jämfört med att ta bilen kan det påverka människors trafikvanor.The population of Malmö, the year 2030 will be approximately 400 000 inhabitants, which represents an increase of approximately 100 000 people. As the population increases, it means that more people will move in the city and a challenge is increased traffic volumes and congestion. Increased traffic leads most likely to enhanced barriers on existing streets and could also create new barriers on other streets. The entry of vehicles has led to increased physical distances between activities and functions and car travel has become an essential part of people’s lives. Malmö’s vision is to change the arterial roads and thoroughfares of the city to stadshuvudgator (city main streets) there is an expectation of changing the motoring role in the city, provide space for cyclists and pedestrians, as well as linking the city together. We use term stadsgata (city street) in this paper. The overall objective of the master thesis was, through theories of the sustainable city, explore how the design of Malmo’s future stadsgata can influence and create a coherent city. The empirical study of Nobelvägen aims to explore the possibilities to convert the heavily trafficked streets to stadsgator, how they should be structured and what effects it may have. The results of the empirical study shows that the physical design of Nobelvägen makes crossing the street difficult for cyclists and pedestrians. By reducing the space for car traffic and instead give pedestrians and cyclists more space in the street, it’s possible to reduce car traffic speed and make the street environment safer. The task of stadsgata is to connect the city, create relationships and a coherent city. However, people’s habits and behaviour are more difficult to influence than the physical environment, while the physical environment can help to facilitate a particular behaviour. If it is easier to cycle and walk, as compared with taking the car, it can affect people’s transport habits

orientation and market orientation – from alternatives to synergy

This paper explores the interaction between brand orientation and market orientation. Brand orientation is an inside-out, identity-driven approach that sees brands as a hub for an organization and its strategy. Similarly, market orientation is an outside-in, image-driven approach. Initially, brand orientation and market orientation appear to be two different strategic options. Though synergistic combinations are also possible, they are not explored in previous theories, nor labeled as part of branding practice and philosophy. A new type of orientation, a hybrid between brand and marketing orientation, is among the key findings of this study. The paper articulates typical trajectories for evolving the orientation and aspires to move the discussion from the tug-of-war between the two paradigms by developing a more dynamic view. The study paves the way for better understanding, operationalization and evaluation of alternative approaches to marketing

Heritage branding orientation: The case of Ach. Brito and the dynamics between corporate and product heritage brands

The notion of heritage branding orientation is introduced and explicated. Heritage branding orientation is designated as embracing both product and corporate brands and differs from corporate heritage brand orientation which has an explicit corporate focus. Empirical insights are drawn from an in-depth and longitudinal case study of Ach. Brito, a celebrated Portuguese manufacturer of soaps and toiletries. This study shows how, by the pursuance of a strategy derived from a heritage branding orientation Ach. Brito – after a prolonged period of decline – achieved a dramatic strategic turnaround. The findings reveal how institutional heritage can be a strategic resource via its adoption and activation at both the product and corporate levels. Moreover, the study showed how the bi-lateral interplay between product and corporate brand levels can be mutually reinforcing. In instrumental terms, the study shows how heritage can be activated and articulated in different ways. For instance, it can re-position both product and/or corporate brands; it can be meaningfully informed by product brand heritage and shape corporate heritage; and can be of strategic importance to both medium-sized and small enterprises

Barriers to Brand Building in UK Universities

Branding in universities has become an increasingly topical issue with practitioners, with some institutions committing substantial financial resources to branding activities. It has, however, received only limited academic investigation, and as the particular characteristics of the sector present challenges for those seeking to build brands, it seems to be timely and appropriate to investigate potential barriers to branding. This exploratory study investigates the opinions of the ‘brand guardians’ of UK universities – Vice Chancellors, Principals and Rectors – on the barriers to successfully building brands and draws conclusions on their views of the key challenges facing successful branding activity in the sector. Implications for practitioners are also explored

Sustainability as corporate culture of a brand for superior performance

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in the Journal of World Business. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2012 Elsevier B.V.Sustainability research highlights new challenges and opportunities for businesses. This paper reviews the literature to understand the ability of sustainable green initiatives when practiced as a corporate culture to individually create new opportunities for operations, management and marketing. According to current research, business opportunities exclusively available to different functions of a firm can drive its performance. The role of marketing in the achievement of superior performance by virtue of sustainability practices is also explained by the existing literature. Branding literature, however, fails to explain the influence of a brand on sustainability-driven opportunities available to a firm for superior performance. The objective of this study is to explore if a brand can strengthen the ability of sustainability-based green initiatives of managers to drive opportunities available to a firm for superior performance. A conceptual framework grounded in the triple bottom line theory is presented based on the assumption that brand as a stimulating factor can accelerate the conversion of opportunities available to a business into superior performance. Academic and managerial perspectives have been used to draw upon the implications of the model. Both practitioners and academic researchers will benefit from future research on this topic

Exploring the effects of brand promotion and brand image perception on business outcomes of small-sized agribusiness firms

To date there is hardly any empirical evidence in academic literature that branding, particularly brand promotion and brand image perception, plays any significant role in the performance of small-sized agribusiness, especially those in the Sub-Saharan (SSA) region. This study was triggered by the need to fill this vacuum. Survey data were collected from small-sized agribusiness firms in one of the SSA economic 'powerhouses', which is Nigeria. Employing a contemporary research technique, specifically the Consistent Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (denoted as PLSc), the study found that both brand promotion and brand image perception are instrumental for enhancing the organizational performance of small agribusinesses. In sum, the findings lend empirical support to the extant literature on brand promotion and brand image perception as precursors to the performance of firms regardless of a its size and business location. The implications of study, limitation and future research directions are further highlighted in the concluding section of the paper