We are trying to explore and analyze the possible relationship between digitalization and the valuation of global logistics companies. We focus on the top 70 global logistics companies listed on reputable stock exchanges around the world by market value and go through their annual reports and audited financial accounts with a view to create an insight on their level of digitalization. We observe that there is an obvious increase in attention to digitalization by the logistics service providers throughout the world over the last decade. While we are not in the position to prove a causal relationship between digitalization and valuation, we find that an increase in digitalization awareness is strongly related to growth in both financial performance and market valuation in the logistics industry, especially during the recent disrupting period caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems that investors across different major capital markets, from New York to London, Frankfurt to Tokyo, Hong Kong to Shanghai, are willing to reward digitalization efforts made by a logistics company in the form of both higher absolute value and rate of increase of market capitalization. / Business Administration/Finance

Bygg- och fastighetssektorn stod år 2019 för drygt en femtedel av Sveriges totala utsläpp av växthusgaser. I led med de globala miljömål uppsatta genom Parisavtalet bedöms ansvaret och utrymmet för förbättring som stort. För att minska miljöpåverkan inom denna sektor krävs energieffektivisering av det befintliga fastighetsbeståndet. De största förändringarna har idag skett för bostadssektorn. Därmed finns stor potential för effektivisering av kontorsfastigheter vilket idag är en sällan genomförd strategi. Orsaken utgör till stor del svaga incitament eller bristande kunskap inom förstnämnda sektorer. Således kräver området mer gedigen forskning och utredande av de potentiella incitament som kan tänkas vara avgörande i energieffektiviseringsprocessen för fastighetsägare. Syftet med detta arbete är stärka grundantaganden för dessa incitament genom att följaktligen utreda relationen mellan energieffektivisering och marknadsvärdet på befintliga kontorsfastigheter i Sverige. Förändring i marknadsvärde har möjligheten att agera som lönsamhetsmått för fastigheter. Det inkluderar kostnader för drift- och underhåll, hyresintäkter och effekterna av förändringar på marknaden. Måttet har således möjligheten att inkapsulera många av de faktorer som ekonomiskt påverkar en fastighet. Som föremål för jämförelse används marknadsvärde (kr/m2) ofta som nyckeltal för att identifiera skillnader mellan fastigheter. I Sverige används energiprestanda för att signifiera byggnadens energimässiga status. Likt marknadsvärde (kr/m2) tillåter och underlättar det standardiserade måttet jämförelse. Data inhämtat för två tidsintervall kan vidare visa på skillnader i fastigheters energiprestanda över tid. Statistiskt utredande av variablernas trend och relation över tid resulterade i ett signifikant bevisad negativt samband mellan marknadsvärde (kr/m2) och energiprestanda (kWh/m2), dvs. reducerad energianvändning resulterar i en ökning av marknadsvärdet. Resultatet visade på att energiprestanda förklarar 1,66 procent av marknadsvärdet. Vidare analys av energiprestanda tyder på att det senaste decenniet definierats av en långsiktig trend av energieffektivisering. Slutligen utreddes hur mycket kvadratmeterpriset förändras om byggnadens energiprestanda förändras över en tioårsperiod. Resultatet visade på att kontorsfastigheter som förbättrat sin energiprestanda i genomsnitt ökat sina marknadsvärden med 713 kr/m2 mer än de kontorsfastigheter som ej minskat sin energianvändning. / In 2019, the construction and real estate sector accounted for just over a fifth of Sweden's total greenhouse gas emissions. In line with the global environmental goals set by the Paris Agreement, the responsibility and scope for improvement is considered to be great. To reduce the environmental impact in this sector, energy efficiency is required of the existing property portfolio. The biggest changes have taken place today for the housing sector. Thus, there is great potential for streamlining office properties, which today is a rarely implemented strategy. The reason is largely weak incentives or lack of knowledge in the first-mentioned sectors. Thus, the area requires more solid research and investigation of the potential incentives that may be crucial in the energy efficiency process for property owners. The purpose of this study is to strengthen basic assumptions for these incentives by consequently investigating the relationship between energy efficiency and the market value of existing office properties in Sweden. Change in market value has the possibility to act as a measure of profitability for real estate. It includes costs for operation and maintenance, rental income and the effects of changes in the market. The measure thus has the possibility of encapsulating many of the factors that financially affect a property. As an object of comparison, market value (SEK/m2) is often used as a key figure to identify differences between properties. In Sweden, energy performance (kWh/m2) is used to signify the building's energy status. Similar to market value (SEK/m2), the standardized measure allows and facilitates comparison. Data obtained for two time intervals can further show differences in properties' energy performance over time. Statistical investigation of the variables' trend and correlation over time resulted in a significantly proven negative relationship between market value (SEK/m2) and energy performance (kWh/m2), ie. reduced energy use results in an increase of the market value. The result shows that energy performance explains 1.66 percent of the market value. Further analysis of energy performance indicates that the last decade has been defined by a long-term trend of energy efficiency. Finally, it was investigated how much the price per square metre will change if the building's energy performance changes over a ten-year period. Results showed that office properties that improved their energy performance on average increased their market values by 713 SEK/m2 more than the properties that did not reduce their energy use.

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Abstract  Master thesis in Business Administration, School of Business and Economics Linnaeus University 4FE17E VT2022  Authors: Eric Månsson & Marcus Nykvist  Supervisor: Magnus Willesson  Examiner: Christopher von Koch  Title: Identifying Reflexivity  Keywords: Reflexivity, EMH, AMH, fundamental value, market value, feedback loop, cognitive function, manipulative function.  Background: Current economic theory describes the risks the financial markets face as exogenous in nature. Several studies suggest the presence of an unaccounted-for risk which is not exogenous in nature but endogenous. Seemingly, the initial risk is exogenous but through the interaction between the market and its participants this risk can be either amplified or dulled. As such, current economic theory illustrates only partially the risks of financial markets as they do not account for endogenous risk. A theory is necessary which not only acknowledges the influence of exogenous risk but also considers the impact of endogenous risk after the fact. The theory of reflexivity offers a solution to this problem as it considers the interactions between the market and its participants and how these two affect each other, through the so-called cognitive- and manipulative function.  Purpose: As reflexivity entails a more complete description of the behavior of financial markets than current economic theory, the purpose of this study is to identify its occurrence.  Method: This study uses a deductive research approach along with a quantitative strategy to test its purpose. The utilized model is constructed through the theory of reflexivity and the implications this theory poses toward statistical testing. The study conducts its testing on a random sample of firms from the S&P 500 between 1992-2021 using annual data.  Results: The results of the study are invalidated due to the use of weak instruments in the market model, and due to a lack of endogeneity in the fundamental model. As such, the occurrence of reflexivity cannot be confirmed through this study. An interesting ancillary finding however is a methodological implication which suggests that different proxies for fundamental value as well as different instrumental variables may be necessary given a certain context to identify endogeneity and instrumental relevance respectively. / Sammanfattning  Examensarbete, Ekonomihögskolan vid Linnéuniversitetet, Företagsekonomi 4FE17E VT2022  Författare: Eric Månsson & Marcus Nykvist  Handledare: Magnus Willesson  Examinator: Christopher von Koch  Titel: Identifying Reflexivity  Sökord: Reflexivity, EMH, AMH, fundamental value, market value, feedback loop, cognitive function, manipulative function.  Bakgrund: Nuvarande ekonomiska teorier behandlar de risker som finns på de finansiella marknader som exogena. Hursomhelst, flertalet studier indikerar att det även finns risker som inte har tagits i beaktning och som eventuellt kan anses vara endogena. Det verkar därmed som att den ursprungliga risken är endogen, men genom samspelet mellan marknad och dess deltagare kan denna stärkas eller dämpas. Till följd av detta verkar det som att de nuvarande ekonomiska teorierna bara tar hänsyn till en del av alla de risker som existerar på de finansiella marknaderna. Med andra ord, det behövs en teori som inte bara tar hänsyn till de exogena riskerna, men som också uppmärksammar de endogena riskerna. Reflexivity erbjuder en sådan lösning i och med dess hänseende till interaktionen mellan marknad och marknadsdeltagare och dessas påverkan på varandra genom de så kallade kognitiva och manipulativa funktioner.  Syfte: Syftet med detta arbete är att identifiera reflexivity på marknaderna, eftersom att denna teori erbjuder en mer heltäckande beskrivning av marknadsbeteendet.  Metod: Tillvägagångssättet i denna studie är i form av en deduktiv forskning med en kvantitativ strategi för att testa syftet. Modellen som används är uppbyggd genom reflexivity-teorin och dess innebörd som denna teori har för statistisk testning. Testningen utgår från ett slumpmässigt urval av företag från S&P 500 mellan 1992 och 2021 på en årlig basis.  Resultat: Resultaten från denna studie ogiltigförklarades på grund av svaga instrumentala variabler i testningen och till följd av bristande endogenitet i den fundamentala modellen. Det gick därmed inte att bekräfta förekomsten av reflexivity genom denna studie.

Vid fastighetstaxering av lokalhyreshus tar inte värderingsmodellen för mark hänsyn till att det finns utrymmen under mark som generar hyresintäkter. Det innebär att taxeringsvärdet för markvärdet möjligtvis inte avspeglar marknadsvärdet.  Syftet med arbetet är att göra en kartläggning av två svenska städer för att tillhandahålla underlag som hjälper Lantmäteriet i sitt arbete att förbättra kvaliteten på taxeringsvärdet. Målet är att identifiera möjliga samband mellan marknadsvärdet i jämförelse med taxeringsvärdet för fastigheter med och utan utrymme under mark.  Metoderna som tillämpas är en kvalitativ analys av köpesummor i förhållande till taxeringsvärden och kvalitativa intervjuer. Analysen av köpesummor utfördes för att besvara om utrymme under mark påverkar marknadsvärdet jämfört med taxeringsvärdet. Intervjuerna syftar till att ge djupare kunskap om värdet för utrymme under mark. Resultatet från analysen av köpesummor visade att marknadsvärdet inte påverkades av utrymme under mark. Däremot framgick det i intervjuerna att markvärdet för utrymme under mark bör behandlas annorlunda vid taxering eftersom det har ett beaktansvärt värde. Slutsatsen blev därför att utrymme under mark som genererar intäkter borde tas med i fastighetstaxeringen under säregna förhållanden. / At a property tax assesment of a non-residential rental housing unit the valuation model of land does not take in to consideration the space beneath it that generate revenue from rent. This means that the tax assessment value of the land does not necessarily reflect the market value.   The purpose of this paper is to make a survey, of two Swedish cities, that can provide the National Land Survey with information that can help them improve the quality of the tax assessment value. The aim is to identify possible connections between the market value in comparison to the tax assessment value of properties with and without space beneath ground.  The methods used are a qualitative analysis of the purchase price in relation to tax assessment values and qualitative interviews. The analysis of the purchase price was done to answer if space beneath ground affects the market value compared to the tax assessment value. The interviews aim to create a deeper knowledge of the value of space beneath ground.  The results from the analysis of the purchase price showed that the market value was not affected by space beneath ground. However, it emerged in the interviews that the land value for space beneath ground should be handled differently during assassment, because it has a noteworthy value. The conclusion was that space beneath ground that generates revenue, should be included in the property tax assessment under special conditions.

Syfte: Under de senaste åren har det skett ett fokusskifte i redovisningslitteraturen, från utgångspunkten att CSR-rapportering bedrivs för att vinna legitimitet och anseende, till att rapporteringen i huvudsak sker för att informera investerarna. Studiens syfte är att undersöka om motivet till CSR-rapportering på samma sätt som för litteraturen har förändrats i praktiken för företag mellan årtalen 2004-2014. Metod: Med grund i den positivistiska forskningsfilosofin har vår studie en hypotetiskt-deduktiv ansats med en deskriptiv-förklarande forskningsdesign och en longitudinell tidshorisont. I studien har vi använt oss av kvantitativ sekundärdata, insamlad från databasen Datastream. Studiens två urval har varit stora företag från å ena sidan USA och Kanada, å andra sidan 17 europeiska länder. Alla statistiska analyser - parade t-test och multipla regressioner - har utförts i statistikprogrammet SPSS. Resultat och slutsats: I vår första analys fann vi att det skett en signifikant ökning av CSR-rapporteringen mellan 2004 och 2014 för båda urvalsgrupperna. Våra två andra analyser visade på att legitimitetsmotivet hos företagen är oförändrat, medan styrkan på sambandet mellan CSR-rapportering och marknadsvärde är oförändrat eller har minskat i styrka, beroende på urvalskategori. Att en ökad rapportering inte nödvändigtvis leder till en ökad finansiell nytta, visar även det på att företag i praktiken inte följt samma motivskifte som litteraturen. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Det område som tidigare studiers resultat skiljer sig mest kring är huruvida CSR-rapportering lönar sig ekonomiskt för företagen. Vår studie lämnar bidrag gällande detta, men mer studier behövs göras på området. Uppsatsens bidrag: Våra resultat visade att det fokusskifte som litteraturen genomgått inte motsvaras av ett skifte även i praktiken. Det är därmed lika viktigt för företagen med legitimitet 2014 som 2004. Vår första analys bidrar även med en kartläggning av rapporteringsomfattningen med över 630 observationer för två kontinenter. Slutligen bidrar vi med empiriska resultat som visar att CSR-rapportering korrelerar positivt med företagens marknadsvärde. / Title: CSR-reporting - from legitimacy towards market information? A comparison of the motives for sustainable reporting between accounting research and large corporations Aim: During recent years, there has been a shift in focus among accounting researchers, from the premise that CSR-reporting is primarily used for gaining legitimacy and a better reputation, towards the view that reporting is mainly used to inform investors. The aim of this study was to examine whether the motives for CSR-reporting for large corporations between the years 2004-2014, has shifted in the same way. Method: Our study has its basis in the philosophy of positivism, with a hypothetical-deductive approach and a descripto-explanatory purpose and a longitudinal time horizon. We have used quantitative secondary data from the database Datastream, from large companies in the US and Canada in one sample, and 17 European countries in the other sample. All our analyses - paired t-tests and multiple regressions - have been made using the statistical program SPSS. Result and conclusions: In our first analysis, we found that the CSR-reporting of the companies had increased significantly between the years 2004 and 2014. Our other two analyses showed that the companies’ motive for legitimacy was unchanged, while the strength of the correlation of the CSR-reporting and market value was unchanged or weakened, depending on the sample. Since an increase in reporting did not necessarily equal financial gain, these results also supported that the companies’ motive for reporting was not primarily about informing the market. Suggestions for future research: The area where the results of most previous studies differ most is whether CSR-reporting has any financial benefit for the company. Therefore, that area is still the one most in need of further studies. Contribution of the thesis: Our results showed that the accounting researcher’s shift in focus concerning the motives for CSR-reporting, did not correspond with a similar shift in the companies’ motives for reporting. Our first analysis also contributes with over 630 observations showing the extent of CSR-reporting in North America and Europe. Lastly, our study contributes with empirical data showing a positive correlation between CSR-reporting and market value.

Researchers in various business disciplines use the event study methodology to assess the market value of firms through capital market reaction to news in the public media about the firm's activities. Capital market reaction is assessed based on cumulative abnormal return (sum of abnormal returns over the event window). In this study, the event study methodology is used to assess the impact that two important information technology activities, Internet security breach and ecommerce initiative, have on the market value of firms. While prior research on the relationship between these business activities and cumulative abnormal return involved the use of regression analysis, in this study, we use decision tree induction and regression.For the Internet security breach study, we use negative cumulative abnormal return as a surrogate for damage to the breached firm. In contrast to what has been reported in the research literature, our results suggest that the relationship between cumulative abnormal return and the independent variables for both the Internet security breach and ecommerce initiative studies is complex, often involving conditional interactions between the independent variables. We report that the incomplete contract theory is unable to effectively explain the relationship between cumulative abnormal return and the organizational variables. Other ecommerce theories provide support to the findings from our analysis. We show that both attack and firm characteristics are determinants of damage to breached firms.Our results revealed that the use of decision tree induction presents additional insight to that provided by regression models. We illustrate that there is value in using data mining techniques to study the market value of e-commerce initiative and Internet security breach and that this approach has applicability in other domains and that Decision Tree can enhance the event study methodology.We demonstrate that Decision Tree induction can be used for both theory building and theory testing. We specifically employ Decision Tree induction to test and enhance ecommerce theories and develop a theoretical model for cumulative abnormal return and ecommerce. We also present theoretical models for Internet security breach and damage to the breached firm. These models can be used by decision makers in Internet security and ecommerce investments strategic formulations and implementations.

The aim of this paper is to determine the market value of company Rubena, a.s. as of April 30, 2011 based on publicly available information. The paper begins with the theoretical part which explains basic relations and different pricing models. Such information is then applied in the practical part which begins with the introduction of the company. The market appraisal is based on the theoretical recommendations. A crutial part is therefore the strategic analysis, which is followed by the analysis of financial health. The deduction of the paper features a statement about the company value.

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Os três artigos desta tese tratam especificamente de grupos empresariais e sua interação com valor, fatores institucionais e planejamento tributário. O primeiro trata do efeito da formação de grupos empresariais no valor de mercado das empresas, que, apesar do avanço na literatura sobre o tema, a falta de consenso quanto ao seu efeito o torna contemporâneo e sua resposta necessária. Os autores assumem que as estratégias empresariais variam entre setores e são influenciadas por fatores do ambiente institucional em que elas estão inseridas, para então avançar as estratégias metodológicas adotadas até então pela literatura; os resultados obtidos através do Propensity Score Matching (PSM), ferramenta capaz de avaliar a relação causal entre a formação de grupos empresariais e valor de mercado, sugerem que o efeito da formação de grupos empresariais no valor de mercado das empresas, em linha com o entendimento prévio de diferentes em estratégias para diferentes setores, varia entre os setores, e as empresas do setor de serviços apresentam valores mercado menores quando decidem pela constituição de grupos empresariais. Sob a influência desta descoberta, o segundo artigo buscou os motivos que levariam essas empresas a se organizar em grupos empresariais, visto que esta obviamente não é uma decisão econômica de maximização de valor. Utilizando-se da teoria institucional, o segundo artigo se propôs a avaliar se essa é uma decisão influenciada por fatores institucionais, visto que a teoria institucional afirma que o ambiente institucional ao qual as empresas estão submetidas pode influenciar no desenvolvimento de estrutura formais em uma organização, em alguns casos mais profundamente que as pressões de mercado ou econômicas. Os resultados suportam a hipótese de que fatores institucionais presentes no ambiente empresarial, quando combinados, direcionam as decisões das empresas em se organizarem em grupos empresariais, mesmo que essa decisão resulte em menor valor de mercado. Os resultados anteriores foram decisivos para o desenvolvimento do terceiro artigo. Neste artigo, a formação de grupos empresariais foi considerada como uma estratégia de planejamento tributário capaz de reduzir custos tributários, mas não de agregar valor ao acionista. Os resultados apresentados neste artigo indicam que: i) em conformidade com pesquisas anteriores, as empresas se organizam em grupos empresariais em resposta a incentivos fiscais; e ii) essa decisão, por ser uma prática institucionalizada, não é capaz de gerar valor superior às que optaram por outra forma de organização. A estratégia metodológica adotada neste artigo abre uma infinidade de oportunidades para novas pesquisas de causa e efeito na área contábil, como o gerenciamento de resultados e problemas de agência. A combinação dos três artigos nos permite concluir que o planejamento tributário deve ser entendido como parte do processo de decisão e não um ato isolado, cujo único objetivo é o de minimizar o custo tributário das empresas; desta forma, seus resultados devem ser avaliados além das guias de recolhimento dos tributos. Os resultados apresentados nos três artigos são estatisticamente significativos, e os testes de robustez aplicados confirmam que as estratégias adotadas nos artigos foram adequadas. / The three papers in this thesis deal specifically with business groups and their interaction with value, institutional factors and tax planning. The first one deals with the effect of the decision on the formation of business groups in the market value of companies; despite the advances in the literature on the subject, the lack of consensus as to its effect makes it contemporary and its response necessary. The authors assume that business strategies vary between sectors and are influenced by factors of the institutional environment in which they are inserted to advance the methodological strategies that have been adopted in the literature; the results obtained through Propensity Score Matching (PSM), a tool capable of evaluating the causal relationship between the decision to form business groups and market value, suggest that the effect of forming business groups on the value of companies, in line with the previous understanding of different strategies in different sectors, varies between sectors and companies in the service sector have lower market values when deciding to set up business groups. Under the influence of this finding, the second paper sought the reasons that would lead these companies to be organized into business groups, since it obviously was not an economic decision to maximize value. Using the institutional theory, the second article proposed to evaluate if this is a decision influenced by institutional factors, since the theory affirms that the institutional environment to which the companies are submitted can influence the development of the formal structure in an organization, in some cases more deeply than market or economic pressures. The results confirm the hypothesis that institutional factors present in the business environment, when combined, direct the decisions of companies to organize themselves into business groups even if this decision results in lower market value. The previous results were decisive for the development of the third paper. In this paper, the formation of business groups was considered as a tax planning strategy capable of reducing tax costs, but not of adding value to the shareholder. The results presented in this article indicate that: i) according to previous research, companies organize themselves into business groups in response to fiscal incentives; and ii) this decision, being an institutionalized practice, is not capable of generating value higher than opted for another form of organization. The methodological strategy adopted in this article opens up a plethora of opportunities for new cause and effect research in accounting, such as results management and agency problems. The combination of the three papers allows us to conclude that tax planning should be understood as part of the decision process and not an isolated act, whose only objective is to minimize the tax cost of the companies; in this way, their results must be evaluated in addition to the guides of collection of taxes. The results presented in the three papers are statistically significant and the robustness tests applied confirm that the strategies adopted in the papers were adequate.