<p>Sweden has a long tradition of strict alcohol policies and market regulations have been used in order to keep down the consumption among the population. The state has controlled the market through monopolies and high alcohol taxes. When Sweden entered the European Union four of the five monopolies were abandoned. At the same time entrepreneurial micro-breweries started to enter the market. The market is regulated by a retail monopoly (Systembolaget) and regulation considering marketing and production of alcohol products. The aim of the study was to investigate how the regulations have affected the entrepreneurs in the industry and which strategies they are using in order to compete with the big breweries which are dominating the market. Further, because it is an industry still under development, the issue of legitimacy for new industries is also included in the study.</p><p>In order to develop the understanding of how the entrepreneurial process might look like and which strategies that are available at an early stage in the process a theoretical framework was constructed. This includes theories about opportunity discovery and creation, market driven or market driving entrepreneurship, branding, and industry legitimacy.</p><p>The study has been done through a qualitative method based on interviews with three entrepreneurs who are founders of micro-breweries. The results of this study shows that the market regulations act both as a support and as a hinder for the entrepreneurial activity in the industry. Due to Systembolaget's formal procedures for selecting products to their assortment, the small companies are able to compete at same condition as the bigger players in the process. However, there are regulations which hinder an effective marketing of the companies, especially when potential customers are visiting the breweries and do not have the possibility to buy the product on site.</p><p>The lack of understanding among politicians for the values which guide the micro-breweries work is one reason to why the industry still struggles to gain legitimacy. A micro-brewers association has recently been founded in order to organize the entrepreneurs in a better way. This might lead to increased knowledge about their work in the future.</p>

Sweden has a long tradition of strict alcohol policies and market regulations have been used in order to keep down the consumption among the population. The state has controlled the market through monopolies and high alcohol taxes. When Sweden entered the European Union four of the five monopolies were abandoned. At the same time entrepreneurial micro-breweries started to enter the market. The market is regulated by a retail monopoly (Systembolaget) and regulation considering marketing and production of alcohol products. The aim of the study was to investigate how the regulations have affected the entrepreneurs in the industry and which strategies they are using in order to compete with the big breweries which are dominating the market. Further, because it is an industry still under development, the issue of legitimacy for new industries is also included in the study. In order to develop the understanding of how the entrepreneurial process might look like and which strategies that are available at an early stage in the process a theoretical framework was constructed. This includes theories about opportunity discovery and creation, market driven or market driving entrepreneurship, branding, and industry legitimacy. The study has been done through a qualitative method based on interviews with three entrepreneurs who are founders of micro-breweries. The results of this study shows that the market regulations act both as a support and as a hinder for the entrepreneurial activity in the industry. Due to Systembolaget's formal procedures for selecting products to their assortment, the small companies are able to compete at same condition as the bigger players in the process. However, there are regulations which hinder an effective marketing of the companies, especially when potential customers are visiting the breweries and do not have the possibility to buy the product on site. The lack of understanding among politicians for the values which guide the micro-breweries work is one reason to why the industry still struggles to gain legitimacy. A micro-brewers association has recently been founded in order to organize the entrepreneurs in a better way. This might lead to increased knowledge about their work in the future.

M.Tech. (Microbiology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Please read the abstract (Synopsis) in the section, 00front of this document / Dissertation (MEng (Environmental Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Chemical Engineering / MEng / unrestricted

Bakgrund: Sociala medier ses ha en kraftfull effekt vad det gäller spridning av budskap. Det digitala landskapet skapar nya förutsättningar för företag att interagera med sina intressenter. På senare år har socialt ansvar inom näringslivet kommit att ligga i hetluften och ses alltmer som en skyldighet. För företag i alkoholindustrin ses en motsättning mellan att ta ett socialt ansvar med fokus på ansvarsfull konsumtion och att sända ut budskap för att sälja och ha ett vinstdrivande syfte. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att pröva följande tes; Som företag, inom en bransch som säljer produkter som kan vara skadlig för hälsan och skapa ett beroende går det att använda sociala medier som verktyg för att hantera paradoxen; marknadsföring för försäljning och att ta ett aktivt socialt ansvar, avgränsat till ansvarsfull konsumtion. Genomförande: Genom personliga intervjuer kartläggs ölproducenterna Carlsberg Sverige samt Spendrups generella syn på socialt ansvar och sociala medier samt hur de arbetar med dessa idag och ser på framtiden och de möjligheter som ges där. Teori: Med empiriskt material som grund argumenteras det för och emot tesen med hjälp av teorier inom socialt ansvar, paradoxhantering samt kommunikationsteorier för spridning av budskap för att avgöra huruvida den är att anses som styrkt eller ej. Slutsats: Tesen anses som styrkt givet att företaget hanterar paradoxen genom att separera motsättningarna på olika nivåer, ser till det delade värdet mellan företaget och samhället, tillämpar en proaktiv strategi och utnyttjar sin kompetens inom kommersiell marknadsföring. / Background: The diffusion of messages through social media is considered effect full. Today’s digital landscape creates new prerequisites for companies to interact with their stake holders. Social responsibility has come to be a hot topic and is looked upon as mandatory for companies. A contradiction can be seen in the alcohol industry when companies are initiating actions to be socially responsible, but at the same time communicate marketing messages for increased sales. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to test the following thesis; as a company, in an industry that offers products that may negatively affect health and cause addiction, it is possible to use social media as a tool to manage the paradox; active social responsibility and marketing for increased sales, limited to the area of responsible drinking. Method: Through personal interviews, this study maps out the brewery companies Carlsberg Sweden and Spendrup’s general view of social responsibility and social media, how they work with the concepts today as well as their view of future possibilities. Theory: With empirical materials at hand, and a theoretical framework consisting of social responsibility theories, paradox management and theories of diffusion of communication, this study will argue for both sides of our thesis strength. Conclusions: Our thesis is strengthened given that the companies manage the contradiction by separating each pole at different levels, acknowledge the shared value between the company and the society, apply a proactive strategy and use its competences in commercial marketing.

Este trabalho aborda o problema multiestágio de planejamento e programação da produção em indústrias cervejeiras. O processo de fabricação de cerveja pode ser dividido em duas etapas principais: preparação do líquido e envase. A primeira etapa ocorre, na maior parte do tempo, dentro de tanques de fermentação e maturação. A segunda ocorre nas linhas de envase, podendo ter início assim que o líquido estiver pronto nos tanques. O tempo de preparação do líquido demora vários dias, enquanto que na maioria das indústrias de bebidas carbonatadas este tempo é de no máximo algumas horas. O objetivo deste estudo é obter planos de produção viáveis que visam otimizar as decisões de programação envolvidas nestes processos. Visitas a cervejarias no Brasil e em Portugal foram realizadas para uma maior familiaridade do processo de produção e dados foram coletados. Modelos de programação inteira mista para representar o problema foram desenvolvidos, baseados em abordagens CSLP (The Continuous Setup Lot-Sizing Problem), GLSP (General Lot Sizing and Scheduling Problem), SPL (Simple Plant Location Problem) e ATSP (Asymmetric Travelling Salesman Problem). Os resultados mostram que os modelos são coerentes e representam adequadamente o problema, entretanto, mostram-se difíceis de serem resolvidos na otimalidade. Esta dificuldade de resolução dos modelos motivou o desenvolvimento de procedimentos MIP-heurísticos, como também de uma metaheurística GRASP (Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure). As soluções obtidas pelos procedimentos heurísticos são de boa qualidade, quando comparadas ao melhor limitante inferior encontrado por meio da resolução dos modelos matemáticos. Os testes computacionais foram realizados utilizando instâncias geradas com base em dados reais. / This study deals with the multistage lot-sizing and scheduling problem in breweries. The brewing process can be divided into two main stages: preparation and filling of the liquid. The first stage occurs most of the time in fermentation and maturation tanks. The second stage occurs in the filling lines and it can start as soon as the liquid gets ready. The preparation time of the liquid takes several days, while in the carbonated beverage industries this time is at most a few hours. The purpose of this study is to obtain feasible production plans aimed at optimizing the decisions involved in these processes. Visits to brewery industries in Brazil and Portugal were held to a greater familiarity of the production process and data were collected. Mixed integer programming models have been developed to represent the problem, based on approaches for the CSLP (The Continuous Setup Lot-Sizing Problem), GLSP (General Lot Sizing and Scheduling Problem), SPL (Simple Plant Location Problem) and ATSP (Asymmetric Travelling Salesman Problem). The results show that the models are consistent and adequately represent the problem; however, they are difficult to be solved at optimality. This motivated the development of MIP-heuristic procedures, as well as a meta-heuristic GRASP (Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure). The obtained solutions by the heuristics are of good quality, when compared to the best lower bound found by solving the mathematical models. The tests were conducted using generated instances based on real data.

Este trabalho aborda o problema multiestágio de planejamento e programação da produção em indústrias cervejeiras. O processo de fabricação de cerveja pode ser dividido em duas etapas principais: preparação do líquido e envase. A primeira etapa ocorre, na maior parte do tempo, dentro de tanques de fermentação e maturação. A segunda ocorre nas linhas de envase, podendo ter início assim que o líquido estiver pronto nos tanques. O tempo de preparação do líquido demora vários dias, enquanto que na maioria das indústrias de bebidas carbonatadas este tempo é de no máximo algumas horas. O objetivo deste estudo é obter planos de produção viáveis que visam otimizar as decisões de programação envolvidas nestes processos. Visitas a cervejarias no Brasil e em Portugal foram realizadas para uma maior familiaridade do processo de produção e dados foram coletados. Modelos de programação inteira mista para representar o problema foram desenvolvidos, baseados em abordagens CSLP (The Continuous Setup Lot-Sizing Problem), GLSP (General Lot Sizing and Scheduling Problem), SPL (Simple Plant Location Problem) e ATSP (Asymmetric Travelling Salesman Problem). Os resultados mostram que os modelos são coerentes e representam adequadamente o problema, entretanto, mostram-se difíceis de serem resolvidos na otimalidade. Esta dificuldade de resolução dos modelos motivou o desenvolvimento de procedimentos MIP-heurísticos, como também de uma metaheurística GRASP (Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure). As soluções obtidas pelos procedimentos heurísticos são de boa qualidade, quando comparadas ao melhor limitante inferior encontrado por meio da resolução dos modelos matemáticos. Os testes computacionais foram realizados utilizando instâncias geradas com base em dados reais. / This study deals with the multistage lot-sizing and scheduling problem in breweries. The brewing process can be divided into two main stages: preparation and filling of the liquid. The first stage occurs most of the time in fermentation and maturation tanks. The second stage occurs in the filling lines and it can start as soon as the liquid gets ready. The preparation time of the liquid takes several days, while in the carbonated beverage industries this time is at most a few hours. The purpose of this study is to obtain feasible production plans aimed at optimizing the decisions involved in these processes. Visits to brewery industries in Brazil and Portugal were held to a greater familiarity of the production process and data were collected. Mixed integer programming models have been developed to represent the problem, based on approaches for the CSLP (The Continuous Setup Lot-Sizing Problem), GLSP (General Lot Sizing and Scheduling Problem), SPL (Simple Plant Location Problem) and ATSP (Asymmetric Travelling Salesman Problem). The results show that the models are consistent and adequately represent the problem; however, they are difficult to be solved at optimality. This motivated the development of MIP-heuristic procedures, as well as a meta-heuristic GRASP (Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure). The obtained solutions by the heuristics are of good quality, when compared to the best lower bound found by solving the mathematical models. The tests were conducted using generated instances based on real data.