Implementing high-fidelity quantum control and suppressing the unwanted environmental noise has been one of the essential challenges in developing quantum information technologies. In the past, driving pulse sequences based on Dirac delta functions or square wave functions, such as Hahn spin echo or CPMG, have been developed to dynamically correcting the noise effects. However, implementing these ideal pulses with high fidelity is a challenging task in real experiments. In this thesis, we provide a new and simple method to explore the entire solution space of driving pulse shapes that suppress environmental noise in the evolution of the system. In this method, any single-qubit phase gate that is first-order robust against quasi-static transversal noise corresponds to a closed curve on a two-dimensional plane, and more general first-order robust single-qubit gates correspond to closed three-dimensional space curves. Second-order robust gates correspond to closed curves having the property that their projection onto any two-dimensional planes shall enclose a zero net area. The driving pulse shapes that implement the gates can be determined by the curvature, torsion, and the length of the curve. By utilizing the framework it is possible to obtain globally optimal solutions in pulse shaping in respect of experimental constraints by mapping them into geometrical optimization problems. One such problem we solved is to prove that the fastest possible single-qubit phase gates that are second-order noise-resistant shall be implemented using sign-flipping square functions. Since square waves are not experimentally feasible, we provide a method to smooth these pulses with minimal loss in gate speed while maintaining the robustness, based on the geometrical framework. This framework can also be useful in diagnosing the noise-cancellation properties of pulse shapes generated from numerical methods such as GRAPE. We show that this method for pulse shaping can significantly improve the fidelity of single-qubit gates through numerical simulation. / Doctor of Philosophy / Controlling a quantum system with high-fidelity is one of the main challenges in developing quantum information technologies, and it is an essential task to reduce the error caused by unwanted environmental noise. In this thesis, we developed a new geometrical formalism that enables us to explore all possible driving fields and provides a simple recipe to generate an infinite number of experimentally feasible driving pulse shapes for implementing quantum gates. We show that single-qubit operations that could suppress quasi-static noise to first-order correspond to closed three-dimensional space curves, and single-qubit gates that are second-order robust correspond to closed curves with zero enclosed net area. This simple geometrical framework can be utilized to obtain optimal solutions in quantum control problems, and can also be used as a method to diagnose driving pulse shapes generated from other means. We show that this method for pulse shaping can significantly improve the fidelity of single-qubit gates through numerical simulation.

Concussion and repetitive head impact exposure are significant media, clinical, and research topics. Long-term symptomatic outcomes of sub-injurious head impact exposure have become a topic of concern for professional and youth contact sport athletes alike. Vulnerable populations such as females and pediatric athletes deserve special attention but are understudied. It is known that females tend to be diagnosed with concussions more frequently and incur them at lower peak head kinematic values than their male counterparts. Sex-specific symptom presentation has been demonstrated, but little is known about the effect of athlete perception of head impact exposure or skill level on symptom reporting. Injury biomechanics research has begun to converge on using instrumented mouthguards to monitor head impact exposure in various sports. These devices offer six-degree-of-freedom head kinematic measurements and direct coupling to the measurement point of interest, the skull, by connecting to the upper dentition. However, published post-processing recommendations for these devices differ from one another and manufacturer practices. This lack of commonization makes cross-study comparison difficult. Additionally, the devices are plagued by relative motion artifacts that can leak into reported kinematic signals. The research presented in this dissertation aimed to first address a lack of common post-processing methods available for instrumented mouthguard measurements made with three linear accelerometers and three gyroscopes. We developed an optimal combination of cutoff frequencies for filters applied to these instruments by quantifying the minimal error from a transformation function. We then applied those same methods to instrumented mouthguards, minimizing error based on sport-specific impact duration. Next, mouthguard decoupling artifacts were described in a laboratory study. Decoupling increased kinematic error relative to ground truth measurements from an instrumented headform. We used these data to develop a classification algorithm that found signal features related to mouthguard decoupling while recording an acceleration event in an instrumented mouthguard. We proceeded to salvage impacts with decoupling artifacts. When decoupling was identified, the primary head acceleration signal could be salvaged by wavelet deconstruction. We removed high-frequency content that was representative of decoupling artifacts. We applied these optimized post-processing techniques to instrumented mouthguard data from a group of adolescent female ice hockey players. Their documented head impact exposure was correlated to symptom outcomes and ocular motor evaluation scores. Their sleep and menstrual cycle patterns were included as potential confounding factors. In this sample of athletes, sleep was more strongly associated with symptom presentation than head impact exposure. Ocular motor results showed a possible association with head acceleration exposure severity and menstrual cycle phase, but further study is warranted. Finally, a self-reported association between symptoms and head impact exposure appears to be individual- and skill-level specific, as we saw many variations between individuals of the same sex in what they called a "memorable" head impact. / Doctor of Philosophy / Concussion and repetitive head impact exposure are significant media, clinical, and research topics. Additionally, the long-term outcomes of sub-injurious head impact exposure have become a topic of concern for professional and youth contact sport athletes alike. Vulnerable populations such as females and pediatric athletes deserve special attention but are understudied. Sex-specific symptom presentation has been demonstrated, but little is known about the effect of athlete perception of head impact exposure or skill level on symptom reporting. Instrumented mouthguards are used to monitor head impact exposure in various sports. These devices measure linear and rotational head motion and couple directly to the measurement point of interest, the skull, by connecting to the upper dentition. However, published post-processing recommendations for these devices differ from one another and manufacturer practices. This lack of commonization makes cross-study comparison difficult. Additionally, the devices are plagued by relative motion (decoupling) artifacts that can leak into reported head motion signals. The research presented in this dissertation aimed to first address a lack of common post-processing methods available for instrumented mouthguard measurements made with three linear accelerometers and three gyroscopes. We developed an optimal combination of cutoff frequencies for filters applied to these instruments by quantifying the minimal error from a transformation function. We then applied those same methods to instrumented mouthguards, minimizing error based on sport-specific impact duration. Next, mouthguard decoupling artifacts were described in a laboratory study. Decoupling increased mouthguard error relative to ground truth measurements from an instrumented dummy headform and was direction dependent. We used these data to develop a classification algorithm that found signal features related to mouthguard decoupling while recording an acceleration event in an instrumented mouthguard. We proceeded to salvage impacts with decoupling artifacts through wavelet deconstruction. We applied these optimized post-processing techniques to instrumented mouthguard data from a group of adolescent female ice hockey players. Their documented head impact exposure was correlated to symptom outcomes and eye movement evaluation scores. In this sample of athletes, sleep was more strongly associated with symptom presentation than head impact exposure. Finally, a self-reported association between symptoms and head impact exposure appears to be individual- and skill-level specific, as we saw many variations between individuals of the same sex in what they called a "memorable" head impact.

No / The differences between family firms and nonfamily firms have gained increasing scholarly attention in the field of management, and socioemotional wealth has been argued as the main source of family firm distinctiveness. However, previous researchers have paid little attention to the heterogeneity in socioemotional wealth across family firms. Moreover, little is studied about the generational differences between founder-led family firms and descendant-led family firms. In this study, we address this gap by focusing on how these differences in family leadership are reflected in the gap between firms’ rhetorical CSR policies (CSR talk) and their substantive CSR implementation (CSR walk), which we refer to as CSR decoupling. We argue that the founders of family firms are distinct from descendants regarding three aspects: affective attachment, cognitive identification, and social concern. Our findings reveal that the relationship between socioemotional wealth and CSR decoupling is contingent on family generations. Family ownership decreases CSR decoupling only in founder-led family firms, while it increases CSR decoupling in descendant-led family firms. We discuss our contributions to research at the interaction of family business and CSR.

The thesis conveys three discrete, yet interconnected, studies embracing issues revolving around the exploration of integrated reporting adoption and embeddedness using an institutional theory lens. Integrated reporting can be described as ‘a holistic and integrated representation of the company’s performance in terms of both its finance and its sustainability’ (King III, 2009, p. 54). The first study explores the mimetic, normative and regulative institutional factors, at both an organisational field (meso) and country (macro) levels, affecting the adoption of integrated reporting. Moreover, it provides a portrayal for the adoption of the new practice among corporations. The study uses a relatively large sample driven from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) report list and tests it empirically using panel data from 2002- 2010. The second study develops a measure to capture sustainability embeddedness in corporate reports and uses the measure to explore and describe sustainability embeddedness in the integrated reports. Additionally, indicators on sustainability embeddedness in the de facto GRI guidelines are highlighted in comparison to the measure developed. Finally, the third study explores the determinants of sustainability embeddedness in integrated reports using a decoupling lens. More specifically, the study examines the effects of integrated reporting age (as a proxy for early and late adoption), the level of reporting of GRI sustainability guidelines (GRI application level), report assurance and corporate governance on sustainability embeddedness in integrated reports. The study finds that the application of integrated reporting emerged in 2001 amongst only a few corporations in Europe and South America, and was spread among all continents by 2010. While mimetic and normative factors at a meso level were significantly related to integrated reporting adoption, regulative and normative factors at a macro level were found to be of limited association with integrated reporting adoption. Interestingly, corporate size, a firm characteristic control variable, was found to be negatively associated with IR adoption. Exploring sustainability embeddedness in integrated reports in the second study reveals that on average integrated reporters covered 54.4% of the indicators on sustainability embeddedness on the constructed index. Integrated reporters were found to show that sustainability is embedded in some aspects as stakeholder dialogue, executive members’ commitment to sustainability and developing measures to report on various environmental impacts. Conversely, integrated reporters conducting business as usual and prioritised financial aspects in others aspects as remuneration, promotion and appraisal, employee sustainability engagement and investor dialogue regarding sustainability. The results also show that there are great discrepancies in the levels of sustainability embeddedness coverage between integrated reporters. Sustainability embeddedness scores were found to decline, especially in the most recent years of adoption. Regression results in the third study did not find evidence that early adopters of integrated reporting had significantly higher sustainability embeddedness than later adopters. Additionally, corporate governance mechanisms were also unable to explain sustainability embeddedness scores, with the exception of the positive association between corporate two-tier boards and sustainability embeddedness. Embedding sustainability was found to be mainly associated with GRI application level. There was limited evidence to suggest that integrated reporters providing assurance for their reports had higher sustainability embeddedness scores. The studies, taken together, contribute to the body of literature on CSR adoption in general and the adoption of integrated reporting and its practices in particular. The studies also provide contribution and implications by testing institutional theory in a new context.

Com o crescimento do comércio entre os países emergentes na última década, um aumento do fluxo de capitais entre esses países tem sido observado, o que defende a hipótese de integração financeira crescente entre esses países e seus respectivos mercados acionários. Ao mesmo tempo, essa categoria de comércio tem gerado um fator grupo que tem explicado parte da diferença significativa de desempenho econômico entre os países emergentes e os desenvolvidos, conhecida como decoupling. Esta pesquisa pretende investigar se existe um fenômeno de decoupling entre os mercados acionários dos BRICS e dos EUA e se esse fenômeno pode ser explicado pela integração entre os mercados dos BRICS de 2003 a outubro de 2012. Foram analisados modelos em que a variável dependente é a diferença absoluta de desempenho entre um portfólio com índices dos mercados acionários dos BRICS e o índice S&P500 do mercado norte-americano. A variável independente consistiu de proxies para integração entre os mercados acionários dos BRICS. Os modelos foram analisados antes e depois da crise financeira de 2008. Adicionalmente, foram gerados modelos sem a inclusão do mercado chinês para verificar seu impacto na relação entre as variáveis estudadas. Entre os resultados, foram encontradas evidências de: (i) um possível decoupling entre os desempenhos dos mercados dos BRICS e dos EUA, principalmente de 2003 a 2006; (ii) uma influência significativa da integração dos mercados acionários dos BRICS no decoupling identificado; (iii) um impacto relevante do mercado chinês nos fenômenos analisados; e (iv) mudanças importantes nos resultados antes e depois da crise financeira de 2008. Esses resultados suportam a hipótese de que a recente interação entre os mercados emergentes tem produzido um fator grupo que tem gerado desempenhos significativamente diferentes dos mercados desenvolvidos, tendo implicações importantes para a teoria da diversificação internacional de portfólios. / With the growth of the trade between emerging countries in the last decade, an increase in the capital flow between these countries has been observed, which defends the hypothesis of rising financial integration between these countries and their respective stock markets. At the same time, this category of trade has generated a group factor that has explained part of the significant difference of economic performance between emerging and developed countries, known as decoupling. This research aims to investigate if there is a decoupling phenomenon between the BRICS stock markets and the US market and if this phenomenon can be explained by the integration between the BRICS markets from 2003 to October of 2012. I analyzed models in which the dependent variables is the absolute difference of performance between a portfolio with indexes of BRICS stock markets and the S&P500 index of the north american market. The independent variable consisted of proxies to the integration of the BRICS stock markets. I analyzed the models before and after the financial crisis of 2008. Additionally, models were generated without the inclusion of the chinese market in order to verify its impact on the relation between the studied variables. Among the results, I found evidences of: (i) a possible decoupling between the performances of BRICS and US markets, mainly from 2003 to 2006; (ii) a significant influence of the integration between BRICS markets and on the identified decoupling; (iii) a relevant impact of the chinese market on the analyzed phenomena; and (iv) important changes on the results before and after the financial crisis of 2008. These results support the hypothesis that the recent interaction between the emerging markets has produced a group factor that has generated performances significantly different from the developed countries, having important implications to the theory of international diversification of portfolios.

Este estudo teve como principal objetivo analisar as medidas ambientais adotadas pelo setor canavieiro do Brasil e relacioná-las ao contexto da economia verde e do decoupling. Por economia verde entende-se a economia que objetiva a promoção do bem-estar e igualdade social, conjuntamente à redução da escassez ecológica e dos riscos ambientais. Para que as sociedades transitem de uma economia marrom, tal como a atual que se baseia no uso intensivo de recursos naturais, para uma economia verde, o Programa das Nações Unidas para o Meio Ambiente (PNUMA) propôs diversas medidas a serem adotadas e, dentre estas, o incentivo ao desenvolvimento e uso de energias renováveis. A possibilidade de dissociação entre o uso de recursos naturais e/ou geração de impactos ambientais e a promoção do crescimento econômico constitui-se numa das bases para o \"esverdeamento\" da economia. Esta dissociação foi denominada na literatura pelo termo decoupling. A escolha do setor canavieiro para a análise da ocorrência do decoupling foi motivada pelo fato de que, além de ser um setor envolvido diretamente com a produção de etanol e bioenergia, ambos energias renováveis, a produção da cana-de-açúcar no Brasil tem se expandido nos últimos anos e gerado impactos ambientais como as emissões de gases de efeito estufa. Ademais, o etanol e a geração de bioenergia a partir da cana-de-açúcar são fontes de energia que estão sendo promovidas pelo governo brasileiro, o que consequentemente implicará em maior produção da cana e maior pressão ambiental. Para avaliar os impactos ambientais gerados pelo cultivo da cana-de-açúcar no Brasil utilizou-se como metodologia o cálculo de indicadores de decoupling, até então não calculados no país. Estes indicadores permitem a verificação da ocorrência do decoupling em um determinado setor produtivo ou na atividade econômica como um todo. Para o setor canavieiro, foram calculados quatro indicadores de impacto ambiental distintos, a saber, de uso de defensivos agrícolas (2000 a 2010), de uso de herbicidas (2000 a 2010), de uso de fertilizantes (1990 a 2010) e de emissões de gases de efeito estufa provenientes da queima da palha da cana-de-açúcar na fase de pré colheita (1990 a 2006). No caso dos defensivos e herbicidas, foram calculados indicadores de decoupling tanto usando dados de vendas de produto comercial quanto de ingrediente ativo. Apesar da não ocorrência do decoupling absoluto em nenhuma das variáveis analisadas, verificou-se algum grau de decoupling relativo em todas estas, principalmente em período mais recente. O resultado mais expressivo foi observado para as emissões de gases de efeito estufa. Ou seja, o decoupling está ocorrendo principalmente no impacto ambiental mais visível da produção de cana e que recebe maior pressão para ser eliminado, as queimadas. Ressalta-se que a literatura ainda carece de parâmetros de referência para a avaliação e comparação dos indicadores. O uso do controle biológico e a adoção de certificações ambientais são alguns dos fatores que podem contribuir para o decoupling na produção canavieira de maneira a torná-la mais sustentável. / This study aimed to analyze the environmental measures adopted by the sugarcane industry in Brazil and relate them to the context of the green economy and decoupling. Green economy means the economy that aims to promote the well-being and social equity, in addition to reducing ecological scarcity and environmental risks. For societies to shift from brown economy, as the current system that relies on intensive use of natural resources, to green economy, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) proposes the adoption of several measures, namely the incentive for the development and use of renewable energy. The possibility of decoupling natural resource use and/or generation of environmental impacts and simultaneously promoting economic growth constitutes one of the bases for greening the economy. The literature names this dissociation \"decoupling\". The choice of sugarcane industry to analyze the presence of decoupling was motivated by the fact that, besides being directly involved with ethanol and bio-energy production, both renewable energy sources, this industry has expanded production in Brazil in recent years and, in turn, generated environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, the Brazilian government has promoted ethanol and bioenergy generation from sugarcane, which will eventually result in higher sugarcane production and increased environmental pressure. To assess the environmental impacts generated by sugarcane cultivation in Brazil, the methodology proposed consists on measuring decoupling indicators, hitherto not calculated in the country. These indicators allow verifying the presence of decoupling in a particular sector or industry as a whole. For the sugarcane industry, this study calculated four environmental impact indicators, namely the use of pesticides (2000 to 2010), the use of herbicides (2000 to 2010), fertilizers (1990 to 2010) and greenhouse gas emissions from the pre-harvest burning of sugar cane (1990 to 2006). In the case of pesticides and herbicides, decoupling indicators were calculated using data for both sales of commercial product and the equivalent in active ingredient. Despite the environmental pressure over sugarcane cultivation in Brazil, decoupling has been only verified for greenhouse gases emissions from burning and from pesticides and herbicides use, measured by active ingredient. That is, decoupling occurs mainly for the most visible environmental impact of sugarcane production, the crop burning, which is the most targeted activity to be eliminated. The use of biological control and the adoption of environmental certifications are some factors that can contribute to decoupling of sugarcane production in order to make it more sustainable.

Este estudo teve como principal objetivo analisar as medidas ambientais adotadas pelo setor canavieiro do Brasil e relacioná-las ao contexto da economia verde e do decoupling. Por economia verde entende-se a economia que objetiva a promoção do bem-estar e igualdade social, conjuntamente à redução da escassez ecológica e dos riscos ambientais. Para que as sociedades transitem de uma economia marrom, tal como a atual que se baseia no uso intensivo de recursos naturais, para uma economia verde, o Programa das Nações Unidas para o Meio Ambiente (PNUMA) propôs diversas medidas a serem adotadas e, dentre estas, o incentivo ao desenvolvimento e uso de energias renováveis. A possibilidade de dissociação entre o uso de recursos naturais e/ou geração de impactos ambientais e a promoção do crescimento econômico constitui-se numa das bases para o \"esverdeamento\" da economia. Esta dissociação foi denominada na literatura pelo termo decoupling. A escolha do setor canavieiro para a análise da ocorrência do decoupling foi motivada pelo fato de que, além de ser um setor envolvido diretamente com a produção de etanol e bioenergia, ambos energias renováveis, a produção da cana-de-açúcar no Brasil tem se expandido nos últimos anos e gerado impactos ambientais como as emissões de gases de efeito estufa. Ademais, o etanol e a geração de bioenergia a partir da cana-de-açúcar são fontes de energia que estão sendo promovidas pelo governo brasileiro, o que consequentemente implicará em maior produção da cana e maior pressão ambiental. Para avaliar os impactos ambientais gerados pelo cultivo da cana-de-açúcar no Brasil utilizou-se como metodologia o cálculo de indicadores de decoupling, até então não calculados no país. Estes indicadores permitem a verificação da ocorrência do decoupling em um determinado setor produtivo ou na atividade econômica como um todo. Para o setor canavieiro, foram calculados quatro indicadores de impacto ambiental distintos, a saber, de uso de defensivos agrícolas (2000 a 2010), de uso de herbicidas (2000 a 2010), de uso de fertilizantes (1990 a 2010) e de emissões de gases de efeito estufa provenientes da queima da palha da cana-de-açúcar na fase de pré colheita (1990 a 2006). No caso dos defensivos e herbicidas, foram calculados indicadores de decoupling tanto usando dados de vendas de produto comercial quanto de ingrediente ativo. Apesar da não ocorrência do decoupling absoluto em nenhuma das variáveis analisadas, verificou-se algum grau de decoupling relativo em todas estas, principalmente em período mais recente. O resultado mais expressivo foi observado para as emissões de gases de efeito estufa. Ou seja, o decoupling está ocorrendo principalmente no impacto ambiental mais visível da produção de cana e que recebe maior pressão para ser eliminado, as queimadas. Ressalta-se que a literatura ainda carece de parâmetros de referência para a avaliação e comparação dos indicadores. O uso do controle biológico e a adoção de certificações ambientais são alguns dos fatores que podem contribuir para o decoupling na produção canavieira de maneira a torná-la mais sustentável. / This study aimed to analyze the environmental measures adopted by the sugarcane industry in Brazil and relate them to the context of the green economy and decoupling. Green economy means the economy that aims to promote the well-being and social equity, in addition to reducing ecological scarcity and environmental risks. For societies to shift from brown economy, as the current system that relies on intensive use of natural resources, to green economy, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) proposes the adoption of several measures, namely the incentive for the development and use of renewable energy. The possibility of decoupling natural resource use and/or generation of environmental impacts and simultaneously promoting economic growth constitutes one of the bases for greening the economy. The literature names this dissociation \"decoupling\". The choice of sugarcane industry to analyze the presence of decoupling was motivated by the fact that, besides being directly involved with ethanol and bio-energy production, both renewable energy sources, this industry has expanded production in Brazil in recent years and, in turn, generated environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, the Brazilian government has promoted ethanol and bioenergy generation from sugarcane, which will eventually result in higher sugarcane production and increased environmental pressure. To assess the environmental impacts generated by sugarcane cultivation in Brazil, the methodology proposed consists on measuring decoupling indicators, hitherto not calculated in the country. These indicators allow verifying the presence of decoupling in a particular sector or industry as a whole. For the sugarcane industry, this study calculated four environmental impact indicators, namely the use of pesticides (2000 to 2010), the use of herbicides (2000 to 2010), fertilizers (1990 to 2010) and greenhouse gas emissions from the pre-harvest burning of sugar cane (1990 to 2006). In the case of pesticides and herbicides, decoupling indicators were calculated using data for both sales of commercial product and the equivalent in active ingredient. Despite the environmental pressure over sugarcane cultivation in Brazil, decoupling has been only verified for greenhouse gases emissions from burning and from pesticides and herbicides use, measured by active ingredient. That is, decoupling occurs mainly for the most visible environmental impact of sugarcane production, the crop burning, which is the most targeted activity to be eliminated. The use of biological control and the adoption of environmental certifications are some factors that can contribute to decoupling of sugarcane production in order to make it more sustainable.

Com o crescimento do comércio entre os países emergentes na última década, um aumento do fluxo de capitais entre esses países tem sido observado, o que defende a hipótese de integração financeira crescente entre esses países e seus respectivos mercados acionários. Ao mesmo tempo, essa categoria de comércio tem gerado um fator grupo que tem explicado parte da diferença significativa de desempenho econômico entre os países emergentes e os desenvolvidos, conhecida como decoupling. Esta pesquisa pretende investigar se existe um fenômeno de decoupling entre os mercados acionários dos BRICS e dos EUA e se esse fenômeno pode ser explicado pela integração entre os mercados dos BRICS de 2003 a outubro de 2012. Foram analisados modelos em que a variável dependente é a diferença absoluta de desempenho entre um portfólio com índices dos mercados acionários dos BRICS e o índice S&P500 do mercado norte-americano. A variável independente consistiu de proxies para integração entre os mercados acionários dos BRICS. Os modelos foram analisados antes e depois da crise financeira de 2008. Adicionalmente, foram gerados modelos sem a inclusão do mercado chinês para verificar seu impacto na relação entre as variáveis estudadas. Entre os resultados, foram encontradas evidências de: (i) um possível decoupling entre os desempenhos dos mercados dos BRICS e dos EUA, principalmente de 2003 a 2006; (ii) uma influência significativa da integração dos mercados acionários dos BRICS no decoupling identificado; (iii) um impacto relevante do mercado chinês nos fenômenos analisados; e (iv) mudanças importantes nos resultados antes e depois da crise financeira de 2008. Esses resultados suportam a hipótese de que a recente interação entre os mercados emergentes tem produzido um fator grupo que tem gerado desempenhos significativamente diferentes dos mercados desenvolvidos, tendo implicações importantes para a teoria da diversificação internacional de portfólios. / With the growth of the trade between emerging countries in the last decade, an increase in the capital flow between these countries has been observed, which defends the hypothesis of rising financial integration between these countries and their respective stock markets. At the same time, this category of trade has generated a group factor that has explained part of the significant difference of economic performance between emerging and developed countries, known as decoupling. This research aims to investigate if there is a decoupling phenomenon between the BRICS stock markets and the US market and if this phenomenon can be explained by the integration between the BRICS markets from 2003 to October of 2012. I analyzed models in which the dependent variables is the absolute difference of performance between a portfolio with indexes of BRICS stock markets and the S&P500 index of the north american market. The independent variable consisted of proxies to the integration of the BRICS stock markets. I analyzed the models before and after the financial crisis of 2008. Additionally, models were generated without the inclusion of the chinese market in order to verify its impact on the relation between the studied variables. Among the results, I found evidences of: (i) a possible decoupling between the performances of BRICS and US markets, mainly from 2003 to 2006; (ii) a significant influence of the integration between BRICS markets and on the identified decoupling; (iii) a relevant impact of the chinese market on the analyzed phenomena; and (iv) important changes on the results before and after the financial crisis of 2008. These results support the hypothesis that the recent interaction between the emerging markets has produced a group factor that has generated performances significantly different from the developed countries, having important implications to the theory of international diversification of portfolios.

Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva och analysera skogsindustriella företags decouplingstrategier, dess antecedenter och dess konsekvens. Företagen som har undersökts är BillerudKorsnäs, Holmen och Svenska Cellulosa AB (SCA) i en flerfallsstudie. Skogsindustrin var intressant eftersom den gör ekonomiska resurser av träd samtidigt som företagen hugger ner träd som binder koldioxid. Med en växande takt av nedhuggning skapar detta ett dilemma. Studien har utgått från en kvantitativ och kvalitativ innehållsanalys. I datainsamlingen användes positiva och negativa ord vilka systematiskt söktes efter i företagens hållbarhetsredovisningar i programmet Nvivo. Data kodades utifrån allmän, ekonomisk, social och miljömässig hållbarhet samt prospektiv och retrospektiv information. Huvudresultatet visade att de tre företagen uttryckte sig mest prospektivt samt att de använde mest positiva ord. Slutsatserna som kan dras av resultatet är att prospektiv och retrospektiv information är antecedenter till decouplingstrategi och legitimitet är en konsekvens av decouplingstrategi. / The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the decoupling strategies of forest industrial companies, its antecedents and its consequence. The companies that have been investigated are BillerudKorsnäs, Holmen and Svenska Cellulosa AB (SCA) in a multiple case study. The forestry industry was interesting because it makes economic resources from trees at the same time that the companies cut down trees that bind carbon dioxide. With a growing rate of felling, this creates a dilemma. The study has been based on a quantitative and qualitative content analysis. In the data collection, positive and negative words were used which were systematically searched for in the companiesʹ sustainability reports in the program Nvivo. Data were coded based on general, economic, social and environmental sustainability as well as prospective and retrospective information. The main result showed that the three companies expressed themselves most prospectively and that they used the most positive words. The conclusions that can be drawn from the results are that prospective and retrospective information are antecedents to decoupling strategy and legitimacy is a consequence of decoupling strategy.

While capitalism can be held responsible for many of the numerous social and environmental issues that haunt us today, corporations hold great power and possibilities to compensate for the damage they cause. A solution can be the implementation of Creating Shared Value (CSV), which builds on identifying societal needs and approaching these as business opportunities. By doing so, value can be created for society whilst driving business results. The purpose of this thesis is to examine what factors influence the implementation of CSV in companies operating in Sweden. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with experts who have worked with CSV. Factors that influence the implementation of CSV policies and practices, as well as factors that influence whether these lead to the desired goal of shared value creation have been extracted. The findings suggest that the public’s prevailing distrust towards companies’ engagement in solving social issues is the most noteworthy barrier for implementation of CSV, while managerial buy-in and understanding of the concept represent the strongest enabler. Getting lost in rhetoric and belief in the concept as well as focusing too strongly on measuring procedures illustrate the two greatest risks for implemented CSV policies and practice to become decoupled from the end goal of shared value creation.