Coronapandemins bidrag till en kraftigt ökad e-handel lyfter problemet med de ökade returerna och dess negativa miljöpåverkan. Hållbarhet har blivit en viktig aspekt i dagens samhälle som ökar i popularitet parallellt med e-handelns tillväxt, vilket utifrån ett konsumentperspektiv blir motstridigt. Ytterligare en aspekt som är viktig att ta hänsyn till är företags skonsamma returpolicys, som påverkar konsumentbeteendet vid returer. Syftet med studien är att förklara hur konsumenters hållbarhetsattityder påverkar genomförandet av planerade respektive oplanerade returer, samt hur företags returpolicys kan ha en inverkan på konsumenters returbeteende. För att kunna besvara syftet har studien genomförts med hjälp av en kvantitativ metod genom en enkätstudie på studenter från Högskolan i Borås. Studien utgår från teorier om kategorier av online returbeteenden, Theory of planned behaviour och returpolicys som ligger till grund för det resultat som studien genererat. Slutsatser från studiens resultat är att hållbarhetsattityder inte har någon större betydelse för returbeteende, samt att skonsamma returpolicys är att föredra, oavsett om avsikten är att genomföra en retur eller inte. / The Corona pandemic's contribution to a sharp increase in e-commerce raises the problem of increased returns and its negative environmental impact. Sustainability has become an important aspect of today's society that is increasing in popularity in parallel with the growing e-commerce, which from a consumer perspective becomes contradictory. Another aspect that is important to take into account is companies' generous return policies, which affect consumer behavior when returning. The purpose of the study is to explain how consumers' sustainability attitudes affect the execution of planned and unplanned returns, as well as how companies' return policies can have an impact on consumers' return behavior. In order to be able to answer the purpose, the study was carried out using a quantitative method through a questionnaire study of students from the University of Borås. The study is based on theories about categories of online return behaviors, The theory of planned behavior and return policies which together form the basis for results generated by the study. Conclusions from the study results are that sustainability attitudes have no major significance for the return behavior, and that lenient return policies are preferred, regardless of whether the intention is to carry out a return or not. This thesis is written in Swedish.

Returer är ett problem i den växande e-handelskonsumtionen av mode och shopping online har gjort det mycket lättare för konsumenter att konsumera. Ändå glöms returprocessen ofta bort på grund av bekvämligheten som är online shopping. Modejättarna som tidigare erbjöd liberala returpolicyer för e-handelsköp börjar nu skärpa sina returpolicyer. Denna studie undersöker hur strikta returpolicyer påverkar konsumenternas köpvilja. Genom att analysera data från en enkätundersökning och testa sambandet mellan variabler visar resultaten att konsumenter på kort sikt är mindre benägna att köpa från företag med strikta returpolicyer. Dessutom påverkar strikta returpolicyer konsumentens köpvilja negativt då det ökar konsumentens risktagande, ansvarstagande och osäkerheter. Dessa resultat visar vikten av att ha en mild och flexibel returpolicy. E-handelsföretag föreslås ändra sin strikta returpolicy för att få lojala och nöjda kunder samt ökad försäljning / Returns are a problem in the growing e-commerce consumption of fashion and shopping online has made it a lot easier for consumers to consume. Yet, the return process is often forgotten in the convenience that is online shopping. The fashion giants that previously offered liberal return policies on e-commerce purchases are now starting to tighten their return policies. This study investigates how strict return policies affect consumers' willingness to buy. By analyzing data from a survey and testing the correlation between bivariate the results show that consumers are less likely to buy from companies with strict return policies. In addition, strict return policies negatively affect the consumer's willingness to buy as it increases the consumer's risk-taking, responsibility-taking and uncertainties. These results show the importance of having a lenient and flexible return policy. E-commerce companies are suggested to change their strict return policy to gain loyal and content customers as well as increased sales.

Returer är ett ämne som fått stor uppmärksamhet i dagens modeindustri på grund av ökad medvetenhet om hållbarhet och för att returer utgör en risk för företags lönsamhet. I takt med att e-handeln växt har antalet returer ökat och det blir därför viktigt för företag att rikta resurser mot att förebygga returer. Ett problem företag stöter på är den ökade kostnaden när det kommer till returer då det är svårt att förutse hur stor volym som kommer att returneras. När det kommer till tidigare studier angående returer har dessa fokuserat på returpolicys, returhantering samt hur konsumenters returbeteende ser ut. Däremot finns det inte tillräckligt med forskning om hur företag kan styra konsumenter i returprocessen och hur kommunikationen om returhanteringsprocessen ser ut. Syftet är därför att undersöka hur modeföretag styr konsumenten i returprocessen för att få fler insikter om hur företag kan påverka sina konsumenter att göra färre returer. Det teoretiska perspektivet som undersökningen utgår ifrån är institutionell teori, där begreppen legitimitet, isomorfism och frikoppling har använts som analysverktyg. Studien har en kvalitativ forskningsmetod där materialinsamlingen bestod av semistrukturerade intervjuer och observationer på fyra e-handelsföretag inom modehandeln och sportvarubranschen. Resultatet identifierade tre områden; förebyggande åtgärder, två olika returprocesser samt att returprocessen ger information till köpprocessen som underlättar för konsumenten att ta olika beslut. Vi har i resultatet även analyserat detta i ett fjärde område, vilket är utifrån institutionell teori. De olika förebyggande åtgärder som företag ägnar sig åt är storleksguider, tydlig kommunikation om produkterna, kundrecensioner och returkostnader. De två olika returprocesserna som identifierats är en pappersbaserad returprocess och en digital returprocess, där resultatet visar att företag går mot en mer digitaliserad process. Vi kan även se att returprocessen är ett verktyg många företag använder för att samla in information om sina konsumenter genom olika aktiviteter för att utveckla och underlätta köpprocessen. I diskussionen förklarar vi hur vår forskning är unik i relation till tidigare forskning inom returprocessen. Detta diskuteras utifrån tre olika områden som baseras på resultatet av studien. De tre områdena är; pappersbaserade returprocesser blir digitala, returprocessen underlättar köpprocessen och att förenklade returprocesser leder till fler returer. Slutsatsen med studien är att returprocessen och köpprocessen hänger ihop och kan beskrivas som ett cirkulärt flöde. Detta kan bidra till att företag kan få ökad förståelse av hur viktig returprocessen är för att samla information och lära känna sina konsumenter, vilket ökar lönsamheten för företagen. / Ecommerce returns is a subject that has gained a lot of attention in the modern fashion industry due to the increasing awareness of sustainability and to the fact that returns are a tangible risk to a company's profitability. As the ecommerce is growing, the return margins increase accordingly, and therefore it is important for companies to direct their resources in order to prevent additional returns. A common problem companies encounter is the increased costs when it comes to returns, since it is hard to predict the volume of the returns. When it comes to former studies regarding returns, the focus has been on companies' return policies, the managing of returns and the general behavior of customers when making returns. However, there is not enough research material regarding how companies can guide their customers into making fewer returns, and what the communication about the return process looks like. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine how companies guide their customers throughout the return process to get a better insight into how companies can influence their customers into making fewer returns. The theoretical perspective in this study is based on institutional theory, where the concepts of legitimacy, isomorphism and decoupling were used as analytical tools. The study uses a qualitative research method where the data collection consisted of semi structured interviews and observations from four different ecommerce companies within the fashion industry and sports retail industry. The result of the study identifies three areas of importance; preventive actions, two different types of return processes and finally that the return process gives the companies information about the consumer that is useful to develop the buying process which will, in turn, help the customers decision making. The result also includes an analysis on the three themes with the perspective of institutional theory. Preventive measures that companies use are size guides, communication about the products, customer reviews and return fees. The two different types of return processes that are identified are a paper based return process and a completely digital return process, where the result shows that most companies strive for a digital return process. We can also determine that the return process is a valuable tool for companies regarding collecting data about their customers through different activities for developing and facilitating the buying process. The discussion explains how this study is unique compared to former studies regarding the return process. This is discussed based on three areas regarding the result of the study; paper based returns are becoming digital, that the return process aids the purchase process and that simplified return processes lead to more returns. Our conclusion is that the return process and the purchase process are interrelated and can be described as a circular process. This may contribute to companies' increased knowledge regarding how important the return process is for gathering information about their customers, and getting to know them better, which in all may increase profitability for the companies.

Studien syftar till att undersöka risker som fastighetsföretag exponeras mot vid ett fastighetsförvärv. Arbetet undersöker även om deras riskexponering ökar i samband med olika marknadsfinansieringar. Tidigare studier har behandlat förhållandet mellan risk och avkastning vid fastighetsinvesteringar, strategier vid fastighetsinvesteringar, den geografisk inverkan på fastighetsinvesteringar samt risk och osäkerhet på fastighetsmarknaden. Syftet med arbetet är att kombinera tidigare forskning för att bygga nya dimensioner genom att sammanfoga marknadsfinansieringar och risker på den svenska fastighetsmarknaden, för att vidare analysera dem. Studien är uppbyggd utifrån en kvalitativ metodinsamling. Resultatet av rapporten påvisar hur risken hos bolagen har ökat i första kvartalet 2022, främst på grund av ränteökningen, vilket kommer leda till ökade finansieringskostnader, tajta marginaler, samt svårighet att få tag på finansiering. Eftersom marknadsfinansieringen i Sverige är så pass ung är det oklart hur den kommer påverkas av en lågkonjunktur. Större bolag med goda relationer med bank och finansiärer, samt stabila kassaflöden kommer ha fortsatt god tillgång till finansiering, men mindre bolag kommer ha det svårare att hitta finansiering. / This thesis aims to analyze and investigate risks to which real estate companies are exposed to in a property acquisition. Furthermore, to investigate whether their risk exposure increases in connection with various capital market financing. Previous studies have examined the relationship between risk and return on real estate investments, strategies for real estate investments, geographical impact on real estate investments and risk and uncertainty in real estate markets. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to combine these dimensions in order to investigate and analyze them further. This study uses qualitative data collection. Results show that the risk that companies face have increased in the first quarter of 2022, the increase in interest rates will lead to increased financing costs, smaller margins, and an increased difficulty of finding financing. Since capital market financing is relatively young in Sweden, it is unclear how it will fare during a recession. Larger companies with a good relationship to the banks and other financiers, with good cash flow will have continued good access to financing, but smaller companies will have a harder time finding financing.

An escalating concern about the environment amongst the general population, businesses trying to make their way forward on the hunt for market shares and profitability, and customers that nowadays are used to extreme flexibility in their purchase and return process due to the immense growth of e-commerce. These observations can all be considered facts, but do they correlate with each other when a customer tries on a pair of pants and decides to return them to the retailer? The purpose and reason for why this thesis was conducted was to gain an understanding of how fashion e-tailers in Sweden balance the needs of consumers, company finances and environmental concerns when designing their return policy. The thesis was conducted as a multiple case study, using a qualitative research method where the primary data was collected from six in-depth semi-structured interviews with practitioners within the field, representing e-tailers in the fashion industry. The findings obtained from the interviews were put in context, analysed, discussed and compared with literature from previous research using a thematic analysis approach. The authors can conclude that balance in the return policy is difficult to achieve. Various avoidance techniques are being used in order to maintain balance, and customer satisfaction is seen as a vital part of the return process. Sustainability is difficult to define and the participants interpreted the phrase in various ways. It was therefore complicated to analyse the environmental impact from product returns. Basically, it is difficult to know what the most sustainable initiatives are, and even though our participants take some environmental initiatives, there is room for improvement. The research provides valuable managerial implications from a new perspective that the researchers believe is more comprehensive, and gives suggestions for future research within the field of study.

This study is intended to identify which factors that influence the success of initiatives in Customer Relationship Management, usually abbreviated as CRM. In the course of this study we have been in contact with forty-two companies operating in Sweden within eleven different sectors in order to find out how they operate regarding CRM initiatives, particularly initiatives within marketing and promotions.  Against the data collected during the study it was concluded that the companies working with CRM believed that the CRM initiatives resulted in higher profitability and created more loyal customers. At the same time it was evident that the companies had different views on CRM as a method and its benefits. The majority of the companies could not present any tangible results from CRM-initiatives. It was also revealed that decisions regarding CRM initiatives were based on subjective assessments and without theoretical foundation. Based on the data collected nine factors were identified to affect the success of CRM initiatives. By placing the identified factors in a theoretical context a model could be developed which demonstrates the complexity that needs to be considered when applying CRM. Our hope is that the developed model can be used by companies before deciding on new investments in CRM initiatives or when evaluating existing initiatives. Future studies will have to show if this work contributed to a better understanding of CRM initiatives potential and impact. / Detta arbete söker identifiera vilka faktorer som påverkar framgången i ett företags satsning på Customer Relationship Management, vanligtvis förkortat som CRM. I samband med arbetet har vi varit i kontakt med fyrtiotvå företag verksamma i Sverige inom elva branscher för att ta reda hur de arbetar med CRM inom marknadsföring och utformning av kampanjer till kunder. Mot bakgrund av datainsamlingen kunde det konstateras att tron på CRM som verktyg för att nå en högre lönsamhet och skapa lojalare kunder var stor hos företagen. Samtidigt framkom en bild av att företagen hade väldigt olika syn på hur CRM ska användas och dess fördelar. Majoriteten av företagen kunde inte visa vilka konkreta resultat CRM-satsningar gett. Beslut fattades utifrån subjektiva värderingar och utan teoretisk förankring. Utifrån resultaten av datainsamlingen kunde nio olika faktorer identifieras vilka påverkar CRM-satsningars framgång. Genom att placera de identifierade faktorerna i en teoretisk kontext kunde en modell utarbetas vilken påvisar komplexiteten som måste beaktas vid användning av CRM. Vår förhoppning är att den framtagna modellen kan användas inför beslut om nya investeringar i CRM-lösningar eller för att utvärdera befintliga investeringar. Framtida studier får visa om detta arbete bidragit till en ökad förståelse om CRM:s potential och genomslagskraft.

This dissertation is about policies and attitudes toward emigration and return migration. It explores these topics in two parts. First, it asks what policies states employ to regulate emigration and what might explain the adoption of these policies and what form they take. It presents a variety of emigration-encouraging and -discouraging policies along with a rich set of examples of countries that have adopted them across the world. Using the UN World Population Policies database, it then shows how policies vary by region, with emigration-encouraging policies being more common in Asia and emigration-discouraging policies more present in Latin America. Moreover, it finds that having larger populations, receiving more remittances, being less democratic and having less state capacity are attributes of states that correlate positively with the adoption of emigration policies. Likewise, being more populous, receiving more remittances and having a lower share of the population that intends to migrate are characteristics of states that positively correlate with the adoption of policies that are more emigration-encouraging. The second part asks how social identity and economic concerns affect people’s attitudes toward emigration and return migration policies, respectively. By analyzing multiple survey experiments that were embedded in an original large-scale phone survey in The Gambia, it finds some support for the centrality of economic as well as ethnic concerns in the formation of attitudes toward emigration and return migration. These findings are in line with the main arguments developed in the dissertation. On the one hand, it argues that individuals hold other-regarding preferences, are concerned with the political demography of their country and receiving remittances when it comes to ethnicity. Which of these mechanisms is the strongest depends on the context of migration. On the other hand, people are concerned with the labor market effects of emigration in their country and therefore support policies encouraging the emigration of people with the same occupation as themselves and oppose policies encouraging their return. Regarding interaction effects, it finds some suggestive evidence that low-skilled people are more concerned with the economic dimension of migration policy than high-skilled people are. This dissertation makes essential contributions to the existing literature and policy debates as it advances our understanding of policies and attitudes toward less frequently studied areas of migration, including emigration, return migration and migration in the Global South.

Free cash flow and capital structure is a widely covered topic, with several studies conducted in previous years and markets. We set out to examine the possible effects of free cash flow and capital structure on the Stockholm Nasdaq OMX between the years 2018 and 2022. Regarding this period, no previous studies had been conducted that consisted of a population encompassing an entire market. We decided to employ a deductive approach to perform our quantitative research. Using the ORBIS database, we gathered data regarding variables free cash flow, debt ratio, debt-equity ratio, asset turnover ratio, return on equity and return on assets. Return on equity and return on assets worked as our dependent variables, with free cash flow, debt ratio, debt-equity ratio and asset turnover ratio as independent variables. After testing the data for heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation, a fixed effects regression model was both constructed and examined along with a Pearson’s correlation test.  Our results indicated a significant negative relationship between free cash flow and return on equity, as well as a significant positive relationship between asset turnover ratio and return on equity. From these results, we gathered we had detected evidence to support the financial slack theory, which is a theory that highlights the importance of keeping an excess of resources to use when needed. The theory advocates using additional resources and not allowing an overflow of assets to gather dust in inventory.

No description available.

This thesis investigates the impact of capital structure on the profitability of 58 Savings Banks in Sweden from 2014 to 2020, focusing on the balance between debt and equity. Utilizing panel data regression, the study examines how debt-to-asset ratios and equity ratios affect key profitability metrics such as net interest margin, return on equity, and return on assets. Key findings indicate a negative correlation between debt ratios and both return on assets and equity, suggesting that higher debt levels may impede profitability. Conversely, apositive relationship is observed between equity ratios and return on assets, while return on equity decreases as equity ratios increase. The study also explores the influence of bank size, finding a negative relationship with profitability, which highlights the efficiency of smaller, more regionally-focused banks. Additionally, macroeconomic factors such as GDP growth show a positive correlation with profitability, whereas higher unemployment rates tend to reduce profitability. The study and the results provide valuable insights into the financial strategies that can enhance the performance of Savings Banks, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach to capital structuring within the context of prevailing economic conditions.