CLSBE - Dissertações de Mestrado / Master Dissertations
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- The luxury paradox of lab-grown diamonds : rarity, authenticity and the limits of sustainability in luxury valuePublication . Bauder, Anna Luise; Baptista, Rita TorresAs lab-grown diamonds capture nearly half of the U.S. engagement ring market, the luxury jewelry industry must confront a question it has long deferred, whether ethical superiority can substitute for symbolic legitimacy in luxury. LGDs are chemically identical to natural diamonds yet challenge the very pillars of luxury value, namely natural origin, geological rarity, and symbolic authenticity. This study examines whether the sustainability advantage of LGDs compensates for their symbolic downgrade in perceived luxury value, and how rarity, authenticity, and sustainability interact as drivers of luxury value in fine jewelry. A mixed-methods design combined a quantitative within-subjects experiment (N = 138) with three expert interviews. Hypotheses were tested through paired-samples t-tests and multiple linear regression. Regression results identify symbolic authenticity and sincerity as the strongest predictors of perceived luxury value, while perceived sustainability exerts no significant effect. LGDs are perceived as more sustainable but significantly less rare and less symbolically authentic than natural diamonds. Expert interviews confirm that sustainability functions as a legitimizing threshold rather than a generator of dream value. The ethical upgrade does not compensate for the symbolic downgrade. The luxury paradox of lab-grown diamonds is not a communication challenge but a structural feature of the luxury business model, with direct implications for brand positioning and portfolio strategy in fine jewelry.
- Direct-to-consumer : channel diversification in firms with existing distribution networksPublication . Käfer, Felix; Rajsingh, PeterDirect-to-consumer (D2C) distribution has received growing attention among FMCG manufacturers operating within established retail networks. While the broader literature has framed D2C primarily as a response to digitalization or a generic growth opportunity, the specific drivers shaping adoption in firms with indirect distribution structures remain insufficiently understood. This study asks what drivers determine D2C adoption in FMCG firms with established distribution channels. An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was applied, combining a literature review, fourteen expert interviews and a consumer survey in the DACH region, with findings triangulated across firm-side and demand-side perspectives. Three key drivers emerged: access to first-party consumer data, control over brand communication and the customer journey, and strategic learning and brand experimentation. These are constrained by three structural limitations: the capability gap between B2B and D2C operations, dependence on dominant retail partners, and routine-anchored consumer demand in concentrated retail markets. Product category and market structure shape where D2C generates value. D2C functioned not as a retail substitute but as a focused instrument of selective forward integration. Theoretically, the study extends resource-based theory and dynamic capabilities into the channel dimension, refines forward integration logic in the FMCG context, and reframes channel conflict as an endogenously managed design parameter. Practically, D2C decisions belong at the category and product level, the channel should be measured as a market intelligence and brand control instrument, and capability building remains a predominantly internal task.
- Responsible leadership and employee voice : the role of psychological safety and beyond a qualitative study in german organizationsPublication . Förtig, Julia; Cruz, Nuno Moreira daEmployee silence carries significant economic, environmental and social costs. This study examines how responsible leadership shapes psychological safety and employee voice in German organizational contexts. Addressing the limited empirical work linking these three constructs in Germany, it examines how employees experience the relationship between their leaders’ responsible behavior and their psychological safety, and which conditions beyond psychological safety shape whether they speak up. Based on eight problem-centered interviews analyzed through thematic analysis, this study explores employees’ subjective experiencesacross sectors and functions below senior management level.The results show that responsible leadership influences psychological safety through a constellation of relational behaviors, such as constructive error management, active upward advocacy, behavioral consistency, eye-level communication, and active solicitation of input. However, these inward-facing practices overlap with adjacent leadership styles and are not exclusive to responsible leadership. At the same time, the external stakeholder orientation, sustainability focus and societal transformation central to responsible leadership theory were largely absent from participants’ accounts, suggesting that its distinctive features are context-bounded by hierarchical level and organizational function.The study contributes to responsible leadership theory by examining it from a follower point of view and identifying boundaries of the model. Psychological safety emerged as a contributing rather than determining factor of voice, with individual, situational and structural conditions shaping voice behavior. This study refines psychological safety theory by specifying the conditions under which it translates into voice, and extends theories by identifying individual, situational and structural factors shaping voice beyond psychological safety in a German organizational context.
- Buy or build? : a Longitudinal analysis of CEO characteristics and capability-entry decisions in european manufacturing companiesPublication . Knoll, Friedrich; Flórido, JoãoThe strategic choice between developing manufacturing capabilities internally and acquiring them externally constitutes an important decision in corporate growth strategy. This thesis examines how Chief Executive Officer (CEO) characteristics influence firms’ strategic choice between internally developing and externally acquiring manufacturing-related capabilities. Drawing on Upper Echelons Theory (UET), the study investigates whether CEOs with a technical academic background and longer executive board tenure are more likely to favor internal capability development. The study employs a longitudinal secondary-data analysis based on a purposively selected sample of 24 publicly listed European manufacturing firms, observed between 2016 and 2025. A two-step approach combining a keyword-based analysis of annual reports with Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) transaction data from Refinitiv was used to create the dataset. The relationship between CEO characteristics and the capability entry mode is examined through logistic regression models. The hypotheses are tested using the final logistic regression specification with cluster-robust standard errors at the firm level to account for the clustered structure of capability entries within firms. The results do not provide statistically significant support for the proposed hypotheses. CEO tenure shows a small positive but insignificant association with internal capability development. CEO technical academic background shows a negative but insignificant relationship. The findings suggest that CEO demographic proxies alone provide limited explanatory power for buy-versus-build decisions in large European manufacturing firms. Rather than refuting UET, the null findings underscore the limits of demographic proxies and motivate richer behavioral and team-level operationalizations in future research on capability-entry decisions.
- More than a membership card : how loyalty program design shapes customer retention in the german fitness industryPublication . Glöckle, Nina Celine Natalie; Romeiro, PauloThe fitness industry faces persistently high churn rates, yet loyalty programs (LPs) remain largely absent from this sector despite their proven effectiveness in other industries. This study investigates how LP design influences customer loyalty among German fitness center members, with a particular focus on reward fit, rewarded behavior, and the mediating role of perceived relationship investment (PRI).A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining ten semi-structured qualitative interviews with an experimental, between-subjects online survey. A 2×2 stimuli design was developed around two LP design elements, reward fit (direct vs. indirect) and rewarded behavior (visit frequency vs. membership length), alongside a control group, yielding 261 valid responses analyzed in SPSS.The findings reveal that the presence of an LP alone does not directly increase customer loyalty; its effect depends on members perceiving it as a genuine relational investment. When that perception is present, loyalty increases through PRI. Reward fit emerged as the dominant design factor: direct, fitness-related rewards generated significantly higher PRI and customer loyalty than indirect rewards, with the effect fully mediated by both PRI and perceived reward value. The type of rewarded behavior, however, did not significantly affect either outcome. Contrary to expectations, sport involvement did not moderate LP effectiveness; rather, it functioned as a direct antecedent of both PRI and loyalty.These findings extend LP theory into subscription-based markets, challenge the assumption that involvement moderates LP responsiveness, and offer fitness center managers evidence-based guidance: prioritize meaningful, fitness-aligned rewards and communicate them as sincere relational gestures rather than transactional incentives.
- Strategic foresight in last-mile-logistics : a practitioner-level comparison of Amazon and the broader industryPublication . Busch, Julian; Ferreira, Duarte CardosoLast-mile logistics represents the most expensive and most uncertain segment of the supply chain, shaped by urbanisation, shifting consumer behaviour, regulatory pressure, and sustainability mandates. Despite growing evidence that strategic foresight generates measurable performance advantages, these two bodies of literature remain largely disconnected. This study addresses that gap through a qualitative comparative research design, drawing on 15 semi-structured expert interviews with senior practitioners across the EMEA region. Two groups are compared: Amazon's Pickup and Return Points (PARP) operations (n=6) and the broader LML industry (n=9). Interview transcripts were coded against the UN Strategic Foresight Guide (2023) and mapped onto Rohrbeck and Kum's (2018) process capability framework of perceiving, prospecting, and probing.The findings reveal that SF practices are present at maturity in both groups but are embedded in operational vocabularies rather than formal foresight terminology. None of the 15 respondents used academic foresight language spontaneously, yet all confirmed the practice when described in operational terms. Amazon's foresight practices are not systematically narrower than those of the broader industry; the distinction lies in depth versus breadth rather than presence versus absence. Probing emerges as the weakest capability across both groups.
- Environmental overstimulation and nature-oriented restoration : how activation disequilibrium shapes preferences for nature-based tourismPublication . Seubert, Laura Bianca; Braga, João NizaModern lifestyles are increasingly shaped by sensory density, information overload, digital exposure, and constant environmental stimulation. While prior research shows that nature can support psychological restoration, less is known about whether environmental overstimulation directly increases individuals’ need to reconnect with nature and affects preferences for nature-based tourism offers. This thesis examines whether high environmental stimulation triggers a stronger need to reconnect with nature and whether this translates into preferences for nature-oriented tourism experiences.To answer this research question, an online experimental survey with a randomised between-subjects design was conducted. Participants were exposed to either a high-stimulation or low-stimulation abstract video stimulus and then evaluated their need to reconnect with nature, tourism offer preferences, and trait nature connectedness as a possible moderator. Tourism preferences were assessed through AI-generated visual scenarios across accommodation, food and beverage, and cultural service contexts. The final sample consisted of 107 valid responses.The results show no significant direct effect of environmental stimulation on participants’ immediate need to reconnect with nature or on their preferences for nature-based tourism offers. Instead, trait nature connectedness was positively associated with the need to reconnect with nature, while stable travel preferences played a stronger role in explaining tourism evaluations. These findings suggest that short-term overstimulation alone may be insufficient to shift nature-oriented tourism preferences.
- A self-imposed challenge : RAG and the strategy of renewable generationPublication . Droese, Leon; Guedes, Nuno MagalhãesThis teaching Case examines RAG, a former German hard coal mining company. Since mining ended in 2018, the company has had no operating revenue and merely manages the perpetual consequences of mining, its losses absorbed by a foundation. In 2022, facing no regulatory, shareholder, or competitive pressure, it committed to climate neutrality by 2030 and to covering its full electricity demand with renewable energy generated solely on its own former mining sites, forgoing the simpler option of buying it on the market. By April 2026, slow and inconsistent permitting had caused delays and a first softening of the target, while long-term viability rests on a cost advantage that an expected decline in market prices would erode. The Head of Energy must recommend whether, at what pace, and how to proceed. A Literature Review articulates two streams: corporate sustainability as a strategic choice, and strategic decision-making under uncertainty. A Teaching Note sets out learning objectives and a structured analysis. The Case lets students examine why firms voluntarily adopt costly environmental goals, whether a firm-specific resource yields durable advantage, and when sequential investment reflects discipline rather than escalation of commitment. It suits courses in strategic management and corporate sustainability.
- Selective reconcentration : ecosystem power and competitive positioning in european financial ecosystemPublication . Schäfer, Maximilian; Leite, Gonçalo SalazarOpen Banking regulation in the European Union was designed to empower consumers, stimulate competition and foster ecosystem-based innovation. Five years after PSD2’s fullimplementation, that ambition has only partially materialized. This dissertation investigates how expanding financial data access reshapes ecosystem power structures and competitive positioning between incumbent banks and fintech firms and which organizational and regulatory conditions determine structural advantage. Drawing on eight semi-structured expert interviews across incumbent banks, fintech firms, regulators and independent consultants, supplemented by regulatory documents and industry sources, the dissertation applies an integrated analytical framework combining Ecosystem Theory, Platform Theory and Dynamic Capabilities Framework to the post-PSD2 context. The findings reveal that expanding data access has produced a selective reconcentration of structural leverage at differentiated positions rather than the diffusion of power implied by regulatory intent. A proactive minority of incumbent banks has consolidated control at the API governance and infrastructure layers. Specialist aggregators have established durable orchestrator positions at the data infrastructure layer, whose commercial viability depends on neutrality that incumbent banks cannot replicate. Consequently, the compliance majority is constrained less by resources than by a governance design gap. The absence of internal strategic ownership of Open Finance is the mechanism through which strategic failure reproduces itself. These findings challenge the prevailing bank-fintech binary framing of Open Banking competition. They suggest that the aggregation layer is the most consequential site of competitive contest and that enforcement architecture and compensation design matter more than data-sharing scope in determining whether regulatory intent translates into competitive reality.
- From expectations to behavior : how product characteristics influence consumer responses to brand activismPublication . Horst, Britta; Pestana, CatarinaBrand activism is an increasingly widespread brand strategy in which brands publicly express their views on political or social issues. These topics are often controversial and therefore brands take risks, as this can have positive and negative effects on brand outcomes and consumer behavior. A 2x2 factorial between-subjects experimental design with 219 participants explores whether product characteristics based on the Foote, Cone and Belding (FCB) grid influence consumers’ pre-existing expectations toward brand activism. Further, it is examined how these expectations predict perceived brand credibility and purchase intentions following an authentic activism message. The results show that product involvement and decision type influence pre-existing expectations toward brand activism, with high involvement and feel oriented product generating the highest expectations. A significant interaction effect shows that the combination of low involvement and think products creates the lowest expectations toward brand activism. Additionally, pre-existing expectations toward brand activism are positively associated with perceived credibility and this is further the strongest predictor for subsequent purchase intentions after controlling for political orientation and general attitudes toward brand activism. Practical implications cover understanding consumer expectations and political orientations as well as creating authenticity. Limitations include the fictional brand, the specific activism topic and the execution in the German market. The study highlights the importance of product characteristics in brand activism that shape consumer responses.