Bakgrund: 97 procent av alla svenska företag har stått inför valet mellan regelverken K2 och K3. De nya regelverken, som gäller för mindre företag, ska tillämpas i alla årsredovisningar efter den 1 januari 2014. Tidigare studier i redovisningsval visar att företag inte alltid är rationella, utan att helt andra faktorer påverkar valen, därför uppkom intresset av att undersöka vad som påverkat företag i valet mellan K2 och K3. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att förklara vad som har påverkat mindre aktiebolag i deras val mellan K2 och K3. Vidare är syftet att förstå på vilket sätt dessa faktorer har påverkat mindre aktiebolags val. Metod: Studien utgår ifrån ett deduktivt angreppssätt där positiv redovisningsteori och institutionell teori används för att förklara valet mellan K2 och K3. Studien inleds med en kvantitativ undersökning genom databasinsamling och telefonenkäter som sedan kompletteras med kvalitativa intervjuer. Slutsats: Resultatet visar att variablerna Bransch, Koncern och Revisionsbyrå kan förklara mindre aktiebolags val mellan K2 och K3. Studien visar även att medvetenheten om vilket regelverk som följs, hos företag är väldigt låg. För att förklara redovisningsval behövs alltså argument från både positiv redovisningsteori och institutionell teori. / Background: 97 percent of all Swedish companies have faced the choice between the regulations K2 and K3. The new regulations, which apply to smaller companies, shall be applied in all financial statements after January 1, 2014. Previous studies in accounting choices show that companies are not always rational but completely different factors affects their choices, therefore arose the interest to investigate what has influenced companies in their choice between K2 and K3. Purpose: The aim of this study is to explain what has affected smaller companies in their choice between K2 and K3. The study further intends to create understanding on how these factors have affected smaller companies’ choices. Method: The study is based on a deductive approach, where Positive Accounting Theory and Institutional Theory are used to explain the choice between K2 and K3. The study starts with a quantitative database collection and telephone questionnaires, which is complemented by qualitative interviews. Conclusion: The study shows that variables such as Industry, Group affiliation and Auditing firm may explain smaller companies’ choice between K2 and K3. The study also shows that the companies’ awareness of what rules they follow is very low. To explain accounting choices this study needed arguments from both Positive Accounting Theory and Institutional Theory.

Syfte: K3-regelverket kom att bli tvingande för företag att tillämpa från januari i år. En nyhet med regelverket var komponentavskrivning, en avskrivningsmetod som innebär att företagens tillgångar ska delas in i olika komponenter som är av betydelse och som har en nyttjandeperiod som väsentligt skiljer sig från hela tillgången i sig. SABO var redan innan införandet kritisk till metoden och uttalade sig om att byggnader är komplexa tillgångar och menar att metoden innebär att kostnaden kommer att överstiga nyttan, speciellt för fastighetsbolagen. Med det som utgångspunkt kommer studiens syfte att behandla hur ledande befattningshavare i allmännyttiga bostadsföretag tillämpar och upplever det strikta kravet på komponentavskrivning. Vidare undersöks vilka faktorer som kan tänkas påverka det föregående. Metod: Studien utgår från en tolkande forskningstradition som ämnar att skapa en bättre förståelse kring hur ledande befattningshavare i allmännyttiga bostadsföretag upplever komponentavskrivning och hur tillämpningen av metoden kommer att ske. För att kunna genomföra studien ansågs en kvalitativ forskningsdesign och en deduktiv forskningsansats vara bäst lämpad för studiens syfte. Som tillvägagångssätt har semistrukturerade intervjuer tillämpats. En beskrivande analys har använts och grundar sig i studiens två delsyften. Resultat och slutsats: Utifrån studien har det konstaterats att företag tillämpar och upplever metoden olika. Det har även framkommit ett antal faktorer som påverkar hur metoden upplevs och tillämpas bland allmännyttiga bostadsföretag. Faktorer som anses påverka hur metoden upplevs är att det råder såväl osäkerhet som informationsasymmetri på marknaden. Innebörden av att regelverket är principbaserat har också betydelse för företagens upplevelse. Andra faktorer som kan påvisas ha påverkan för metodens tillämpning är företagens storlek. Förslag till vidare forskning: Studien är av kvalitativ art vilket gör att den ej kan ses som generaliserbar då den inte är tillräckligt omfattande. När undersökningen kring syftet påbörjades fanns tron om att de representerade företagen hade kommit längre i arbetet med implementeringen av komponentavskrivning. Förslag till vidare forskning är därför att om ett antal år studera ämnesområdet igen då det skulle vara intressant att se hur metoden har utvecklats, gällande hanteringen samt om det skett någon åtstramning i regelverket.

Titel: Den kommunalt fängslade mellanchefen: En kvalitativ beskrivning av mellanchefers utövande av ledarskap.  Inledning: Kommunal verksamhet är starkt påverkbar av sin omgivning och måste kontinuerligt anpassa sig till denna samtidigt som den strävar efter en förutsägbarhet. Denna komplexa miljö inverkar på mellanchefers möjlighet att utöva sitt personliga ledarskap, och därför ställs det krav på att man som chef är anpassningsbar och medveten om sitt personliga ledarskap. Problemformulering: Hur ser chefer i olika hierarkiska positioner på sin möjlighet att utöva sitt personliga ledarskap? Syfte: Syftet med vårt arbete är att undersöka, beskriva och skapa en förståelse för chefers möjlighet att, på olika hierarkiska nivåer, utöva sitt personliga ledarskap i ett sammanhang påverkat av inre och yttre faktorer. Metod: För att besvara vårt forskningsproblem valde vi att använda oss av en kvalitativ metod. Genom ett hermeneutiskt tolkningssätt och ett abduktivt angreppssätt så analyserade vi de sex semi-strukturerade intervjuer vi utförde. Slutsats: Den slutsats vi drog är att ledarskapsutbildningens utformning och den begränsade rörelsefrihet som ges, resulterar i en konflikt mellan organisationens mål och en chefs möjlighet att utöva sitt personliga ledarskap. / Title: The municipally captured middle manager: A qualitative description of middle managers exercises of Leadership. Background: Municipal agencies are strongly influenced by the environment and must continuously adapt while striving for predictability. This complex environment impact middle managers possibility to practice one's own Personal leadership, and therefore demands are places upon managers for adaptability and a consciousness regarding ones personal leadership. Research Question: How do middle managers at different hierarchical positions view their opportunity to practice their own personal leadership? Purpose: The purpose of our study is to investigate, describe and create an understanding for how managers, on different hierarchical levels, practice their personal leadership in a context affected by internal and external influences. Method: To answer our research question we chose to utilize a qualitative methodology. Through a hermeneutic interpretation method and an abductive approach we analysed the six semi structured interviews we conducted. Conclusions: The conclusion we derived to is that the design of the leadership education and the restriction of freedom of movement that exists create a conflict between the goals of the organisation and managers ability to practice their own personal leadership.

The purpose of this study was to analyze how the key staff concept is used in residential care for children and young people and which role the key staff concept plays in the organization. The study was based on semi-structured qualitative interviews with six key staff and two managers from two different residential care facilities for children and young people. The theoretical perspective used was the neo-institutional theory and Hasenfeld´s term Human service organizations. One of the conclusions of the study was that the key staff describe that they have a central role when it comes to the treatment of the children. Another conclusion showed the variety of tasks that the key staff have, like the administrative work that they do. They also have an educational role, similar to the one that parents normally have which means that they are responsible of parenting the children. They also described themselves as a link between the children and their social network. The people interviewed justified the use of the key staff concept as it gives structure for the work, security to the children and serves as a guide on how to create and maintain relationships. The institutional processes shown in the key staff concept are: the coercive, which can be seen by the obligation to follow the treatment plans. The mimetic, since it exists only a few ways to organize the work and the normative which shows that their education and/or the level of education can affect the approach that they have towards the children.

Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera hur Sveriges kommuner förhåller sig till hållbarhetsmått. Vi ska studera vilka hållbarhetsmått som rapporteras samt vad som påverkar användningen av dessa hållbarhetsmått. Metod: Vi har använt oss av en enkätundersökning som skickats ut per mail för att samla in vårt empiriska underlag. Vi har sedan analyserat underlaget med hjälp av programmet IBM SPSS Statistics 22 för att sedan redovisa våra resultat i form av tabeller och löpande text. Resultat & slutsats: Resultatet av vår studie visar att kommuner rapporterar hållbarhetsmått i genomsnitt i viss till måttlig utsträckning. Den visar även att kommuner med drivande kommunledning tenderar att rapportera och använda hållbarhetsmått i större utsträckning än andra kommuner. Den pekar också på att antal miljöprojekt som kommunen bedriver samt om kommunen låter sig inspireras av andra kommuner även påverkar utsträckningen av rapporteringen och användningen av hållbarhetsmåtten. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Vårt förslag till fortsatt forskning är att göra en mer ingående analys av Sveriges kommuners hållbarhetsredovisning då vi på grund av tidsbegränsning inte kunnat göra någon mer ingående analys. Vidare forskning kan granska vilka effekter den bristande hållbarhetsredovisningen i många kommuner orsakar. Uppsatsens bidrag: Vår undersökning bidrar till nya insikter om hur Sveriges kommuner hållbarhetsredovisar. Vi belyser vilka hållbarhetsmått som kommunerna rapporterar samt vad som påverkar rapporteringen och användningen av hållbarhetsmåtten.

This research comprises three interconnected studies that, when considered together, attend to the dissertation’s purpose of presenting an integrated conceptual framework for ambush marketing in the Olympic Games. This has been accomplished in two ways: (1) the use of institutional theory, supported by network theory, as a lens to view and understand evolutionary processes in Olympic sponsorship and ambush marketing and (2) the use of grounded theory to build a conceptual framework of ambush marketing from the findings. Broadly, the model suggests the evolution of ambush marketing is partially impacted by, and an outcome of, institutional forces and considerations. Study I examines the process of institutionalization in the evolution of Olympic sponsorship during its most critical period of growth. It is argued that three key periods of change for sponsorship and two for ambush marketing exist during this time. Furthermore, these periods of change, most specifically concerning anti-ambush marketing practices, suggest the institutionalization of anti-ambush marketing legislation in the Olympic Games. Study II examines how Olympic ambush marketing stakeholder power and transfer of sponsorship and ambush marketing knowledge has influenced institutional processes toward the state of anti-ambush legislation as institutionalized brand protection. Centrality measures suggest the International Olympic Committee and Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games demonstrate the greatest stakeholder influence within the Olympic ambush marketing network. It is further argued the influence resulting from the structure of Olympic ambush marketing networks impacts the institutional processes of objectification and sedimentation. Study III examines the contemporary state of Olympic sponsorship evidenced by institutionalized legislated brand protection. While direct marketing implications of anti-ambush marketing legislation are minimal, it is argued the practice represents a portion of a regime of brand protection and that public relations outcomes of legislated brand protection must be carefully managed as part of a brand management strategy. Similarly, proportionality and managing expectations are arguably important in the understanding and application of such laws. Finally it is suggested that while the Olympic Movement may be viewed as an early adopter of anti-ambush legislation in the mega-event field, the individual character of each Olympic Games will interfere with complete isomorphism.

Workforce Localisation policies in Saudi Arabia (commonly known as ‘Saudisation’) have passed their nineteenth year, aiming at replacing foreign employees in the private sector with local employees. The government’s rationale behind the localisation of the workforce includes both the high rate of unemployment amongst Saudi nationals and the massive presence of expatriates in the labour market. The government acted firmly in this issue as organisations are threatened by closure and severe financial penalties if they do not comply with the policy requirements. Although these policies apply to all private firms, the regulations have been even tougher on Multi-National Enterprises (MNEs) as one of the main objectives of Saudi’s foreign investment policy is to create employment opportunities for locals. However, many MNEs have been found to be lagging behind in implementing the policies. Despite the importance of these policies and their implications on MNEs’ performance, research in this area remains very limited. The literature available has focused on issues of rationales and barriers of WL polices. One of the main gaps in literature is the lack of multi-dimensional models that identify the factors associated with the success of such policies. In an attempt to overcome the mentioned limitations, this research identifies the determinants of localisation success through the employment of multi-dimensional model. From the model proposed, the research evaluates the impacts of Institutional determinants, HR determinants, and firm characteristics on localisation success. The study draws its conclusion from the analysis of quantitative data collected from Human Resource Directors representing 157 MNEs. Hypothetical relationships are examined using multiple regression analysis. With regard to the first group of localisation determinants, the results support the institutional determinants of cause and control whilst supporting only the consistency proposition in the content determinants. With regard to HR determinants, the roles of HR director, recruitment, and training were found to be powerful determinants of localisation success. Finally, the results have shown that determinants related to MNEs’ characteristics—namely MNE size and MNE age—have no significant impact on localisation success. We also found that MNEs operating in the petrochemical industry are more likely to succeed in their localisation polices than other industries namely high and low technology industries. The overall findings have raised a number of areas of interest. First, the drivers of these policies were specifically social perception in the form of legitimacy and extrinsic economic pressure. Secondly, it was also duly observed that legislative and regulatory influence was found to be a strongly positive determining factor. From a theoretical perspective, it is concluded that greater diffusion of policies which acknowledge the potential variations in skill sets and labour availability and capability would, in fact, result in a more transparent approach. In the long term increased trust between organisations and policy-makers could have the effect of accelerating the localisation process because MNE’s work collaboratively with policy-makers and are prepared to invest resource in improving the level of localisation as a form of strategic and competitive advantage.

A silvicultura é uma atividade que historicamente se fez presente no município de Arroio dos Ratos- RS durante a produção carbonífera. Principalmente nos primeiros anos do séc. XX, o esgotamento das reservas naturais de madeira condicionou a companhia que explorava carvão, a destinar áreas de terra para o plantio de Eucalipto para reposição da madeira utilizada na produção de dormentes e escoras das minas de carvão. O desenvolvimento dos plantios de Eucalipto e Acácia Negra em grande escala surgiram de acordo com uma demanda necessária para atender o mercado consumidor com a produção de madeira em tora para produção de celulose e papel. Inicialmente entre as décadas de 1970 e 1980 aparecem os primeiros cultivos consorciados com a produção da melancia, carro chefe na produção agrícola local. No entanto, o que se tem percebido frente à realidade local é o aumento considerável de propriedades que desenvolviam atividades tradicionais no município e que expandiram áreas dedicadas à Silvicultura. A partir da abordagem da Nova Economia Institucional de Douglas North baseado no estudo das instituições, a presente pesquisa através de um estudo de campo busca compreender quais foram as principais transformações socioeconômicas e ambientais dos cultivos de Eucalipto e Acácia Negra no município de Arroio dos Ratos-RS. O desenvolvimento da Silvicultura é resultante de uma demanda exógena estimulada pela proximidade geográfica da localidade em relação às empresas que compram a produção de madeira visando atender o mercado consumidor nacional e internacional. Sendo assim, a vantagem econômica oferecida ao pecuarista e ao produtor com a ampliação de áreas dedicadas aos plantios, tem propiciado concentração de renda, mudanças na paisagem sem visibilidade e expressão para a constituição do bem-estar social local. / Forestry is an activity that historically has been present in the municipality of Arroio dos Ratos- RS during coal production. Especially in the early years of the Century 20th, the depletion of natural resources conditioned the wood coal company that operated to allocate areas of land for planting Eucalyptus for replacement of the wood used in the production of sleepers and supports from the coal mines. The development of plantations of Eucalyptus and Wattle large scale emerged according to a necessary demand to meet the consumer market with the production of round wood for pulp and paper. Initially, between the 1970's and 1980's, appear the first intercropping with watermelon production, flagship in the local agricultural production. However, what has been seen outside the local reality is the considerable increase of properties that developed traditional activities in the city and expanded areas dedicated to forestry. From the New Institutional Economics of North Douglas approach based on the study of institutions, this research through a field study seeks to understand what were the main socio-economic and environmental transformations that crops of Eucalyptus and Wattle in the municipality of Arroio dos Ratos- RS. Development of Forestry is the result of an exogenous demand stimulated by the geographical proximity of the location in relation to companies that buy wood production in order to meet national and international consumer market. Therefore, the economic advantage offered to the farmer and producer, with the expansion of areas devoted to plantations, has allowed concentration of income, changes in the landscape and no visibility expression for the formation of local social welfare.

Talent Management (TM) is of growing interest within academia and in the strategic HRM literature in particular. Despite many attempts to study TM from different perspectives, it remains an ambiguous and elusive concept that is difficult to define and hence challenging to explore and address. Studies on TM are based within Western contexts and therefore it is questionable whether TM models and theories are transferable to other nations and contexts. This research examines the nature of TM in the Middle Eastern context of Oman, from the perspective of Institutional Theory. Through a qualitative, multiple case-study approach, data was collected from four banking and petroleum-sector organisations through semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that the different influences of institutional pressures (e.g. nationalisation, competition, organisational characteristics) have significantly shaped TM in these organisations. The findings show that TM effectiveness and sustainability depends upon a range of factors including: generational differences, employee expectations, the role of expatriates and national culture. Thus, TM and its approach has to be understood and framed within the context of institutions which interact with organisational characteristics; this shapes the way in which the organisations define their TM approach in order to seek legitimacy, business continuity and effectiveness.

The research topic for this thesis is the transfer of best practice from a MNC to a subsidiary during the pre-implementation phase of an ERP system. A lot is written about best practice transfer but there is a call for more research on how the implementation is perceived from a subsidiary perspective. This study wishes to contribute to the literature in the intersection between knowledge transfer and legitimacy within MNCs. In order to do so, this thesis was conducted through a qualitative case study and data was mainly collected through semi-structured interviews. Based on the literature review five factors were identified that can affect the best practice transfer Furthermore, the potential effect of legitimacy related to the knowledge transfer was investigated. The thesis resulted in the classification of indirect and direct factors that affect the transfer of best practices in an MNC and their impact on knowledge implementation and the increase of internal legitimacy for a subsidiary. Moreover, a relationship between knowledge and legitimacy was observed. An interesting finding that calls for more research was the facilitating effects of internal audits on the knowledge transfer.