Over the last few decades trends such as globalization have sharpened up competition on the worldwide open market and in order to meet customers demand high level of technological and competitive uncertainties have increased the pressure of reducing R&D budgets, reduce innovation cycles and shorter time to market as a consequence of the rising competition and as a result, forced companies to source external knowledge. One way of doing this is by tapping external information and knowledge from universities.China is a country with a steady rapid growth on science and technology, but also with a progressively increasing R&D. Today they have the highest input level in the history and this is an opportunity for Western MNCs to establish collaborations in order to gain competitive advantages and create new technology. This study focuses on Industry-University collaborations in China for high technological companies and the process of finding knowledge and establishes networks at Chinese universities with the aim of establish Industry-University collaboration. Based on literature review and a qualitative study of Chinese universities, this thesis explores how a MNC can build a network of local universities connection in a fast growing market and use this network as a source of technology scouting.Over the last few decades trends such as globalization have sharpened up competition on the worldwide open market and in order to meet customers demand high level of technological and competitive uncertainties have increased the pressure of reducing R&D budgets, reduce innovation cycles and shorter time to market as a consequence of the rising competition and as a result, forced companies to source external knowledge. One way of doing this is by tapping external information and knowledge from universities.China is a country with a steady rapid growth on science and technology, but also with a progressively increasing R&D. Today they have the highest input level in the history and this is an opportunity for Western MNCs to establish collaborations in order to gain competitive advantages and create new technology. This study focuses on Industry-University collaborations in China for high technological companies and the process of finding knowledge and establishes networks at Chinese universities with the aim of establish Industry-University collaboration. Based on literature review and a qualitative study of Chinese universities, this thesis explores how a MNC can build a network of local universities connection in a fast growing market and use this network as a source of technology scouting.

Business culture is represented by ordinary staff, their relationship to each other and their relationship to their bosses and it is also represented by the amount of company{\crq}s goals they identify themselves with. This thesis aims to analyze the business culture of a particular company and to make suggestions to improve the existing state-of-the-art. The partial aim of the thesis is to compare the level of business culture of a chosen company with another competing company{\crq}s level of business culture and to define the key domains that enable us to implement higher level of business culture in the company more effectively. The company to get analyzed is a building company that specializes in power industry devices building-up. The deep staff and business culture survey that took place among the staff and was evaluated afterwards was the basis of information for making matter-of-fact conclusions which was the final objective of the thesis.

Svenska varumärken i allmänhet och svenska modevarumärken i synnerhet har en god ställning på den globala marknaden. Som en konsekvens av detta väljer flera svenska modeföretag att marknadsföra sina varumärken genom att betona sitt svenska ursprung. Detta är vad som inom marknadsföring benämns som Country-of-Origin. Utlandsarbete har tidigare associerats med negativa aspekter så som kulturella konflikter och anpassningsproblem, men även positivt betonade aspekter som ökad produktivitet och ökad nivå av kreativitet. Denna studie har som syfte att undersöka hur svenska modedesigners som arbetar utomlands påverkas i sitt arbete av att ha Sverige som ursprungsland. Studien undersöker om svenska modedesigners likt svenska modeföretag nyttjar sin ursprungslandsidentitet för att skapa framgångar, hur de påverkas av sitt ursprungsland i form av fördelar, nackdelar, förväntningar och fördomar, samt vilken uppfattning de har av innebörden av att lyckas med sitt arbete inom modedesignbranschen i utlandet. De teorier som studien utgår ifrån är Country-of-Origin, Kulturkapitalsteori samt Psychological Contract Theory. Studien utgår från kvalitativa intervjustudier där fem svenska modedesigners verksamma i fem olika länder besvarat intervjufrågor i både strukturerat och semi-strukturerat format. Efter analys av resultaten i förhållande till relevanta teorier och tidigare forskning kommer studien till slutsatsen att det inte finns någon delad tydlig syn mellan svenska modedesigners i utlandet gällande innebörden med att lyckas med sitt arbete, då en mängd olika faktorer både inom den direkta arbetsplatsen och utanför benämns som orsaker bakom ett lyckat arbete. Utöver detta nås slutsatsen att svenska modedesigners i utlandet inte aktivt anser sig använda sin ursprungslandsidentitet för att lyckas i sitt arbete, men att de upplever särskilda förväntningar samt vissa fördelar med att ha Sverige som ursprungsland. / Swedish brands in general and Swedish fashion brands in particular hold a strong position on the global market. As a result of this many Swedish fashion companies choose to market their brands by emphasizing their Swedish origin. This is commonly known as Country-of-Origin within the field of marketing. Working abroad has often been associated with negative aspects such as cultural conflicts and integration issues, but also positive aspects such as increased productivity and increased levels of creativity. The purpose of this study is to examine how Swedish fashion designers working abroad are impacted in their work by having Sweden as their country of origin. The study examines if Swedish fashion designers utilize their country of origin in a way alike Swedish fashion companies in order to establish success, how they are impacted by their country of origin in terms of benefits, disadvantages, expectations and stereotypes, and also how they perceive the meaning of the term success in terms of working abroad as a Swedish fashion designer. The study utilizes Country-of-Origin, Cultural Capital Theory as well as Psychological Contract Theory to construct its theoretical base. The study is based on qualitative interviews where five Swedish fashion designers working in five different countries answer questions in both a structured and a semi-structured format. After analyzing the results using relevant theories and previous research the conclusion that there is no unified and commonly agreed opinion of what constitutes success while working abroad as a Swedish fashion designer is reached. This is due to the fashion designers expressing a variety of different factors both within and outside of the direct workplace when defining success. In addition to this the conclusion that Swedish fashion designers abroad do not claim to actively utilize their country of origin in order to be successful in their work, and that they experience certain expectations and some benefits because of their country of origin is reached.

Bakgrund: Samarbetet mellan svenska och kinesiska företag har ökat avsevärt i takt med att allt fler svenska företag etablerat sig på den kinesiska marknaden. Detta har lett till ett ökat affärssamarbete mellan de två parterna där nya relationer byggs upp och utvecklas för att få större marknadsandelar.   Problematiskt är dock att det finns tydliga kulturella skillnader mellan Kina och Sverige som medför att det finns många utmaningar som kan påverka affärsrelationen.   Syfte: Syftet är att utreda vilka utmaningar som kan förekomma i affärsrelationer mellan svenska och kinesiska företag samt vilka kulturella drag dessa grundar sig i.   Teori: Den teoretiska grunden utgår från teorier som redogör för kulturella skillnader mellan Sverige i Kina. Fokus ligger vid att få förståelse för de mest betydande kulturdragen inom ländernas affärskulturer för att på så sätt urskilja vilka utmaningar som kan förekomma. Vidare förklaras vilka egenskaper som är viktiga för affärsrelationer samt hur relationerna har förändrats över tid.   Metod: Det tillvägagångssätt som använts bygger en kvalitativ undersökning i form av djupgående semistrukturerade intervjuer. Dessa har genomförts med tre svenska affärsmän som har lång erfarenhet av att leva och arbeta i Kina. Materialet från intervjuerna har kompletterats med rapporter från Sveriges Exportrådet, vilket har bidragit med värdefull information om hur den ekonomiska situationen för svenska företag i Kina ser ut idag.   Resultat och slutsatser: Enligt studien har vi kunnat identifiera sju utmaningar vilka grundar sig i kulturella skillnader mellan Sverige och Kina. Dessa tyder på utmaningar gällande beslutsfattande, chefens roll samt en grundläggande skillnad i synen på pris och kvalitet. Vi har även sett att synen på begreppet relation skiljer sig mellan länderna vilket vi ser har stor påverkan på relationen. / Background: The collaboration between Swedish and Chinese companies has significantly grown as the number of Swedish companies establishing in China has increased. This has resulted in collaborations between companies where new relationships develop in aim to gain bigger market share. One obstacle is the difference in culture between Sweden and China that creates challenges in developing the relationship between the two parties.     Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges that may occur in the business relationship between Swedish and Chinese companies as well as the cultural characteristics that they are based on.   Theory: The theoretical framework proceeds from theories that describe the cultural differences between Sweden and China. The priority is to understand the most significant cultural characteristics within each country’s business culture to be able to distinguish the challenges that can occur. We will further explain the characteristics that are important to business relationships as well as how the relationships have changed over time.   Method: The empirical study is based on a qualitative method in the form of semi-structured interviews from three individuals with long experience of living and working in China. The material from these interviews has been complemented by reports from the Swedish Trade Council, which has provided valuable information about what the economic situation for Swedish companies in China looks like today.   Result and conclusion: According to this study we have identified seven challenges that are based on cultural differences between Sweden and China. These results refer to challenges in decision-making, the role of the manager and fundamental difference when it comes to price and quality. We have also noticed that the concept of relationships differs between the countries, which we believe have a big impact on the business relationship.

Purpose: To critically investigate the effect/impact the implementation of both team and individual based pay has when responses are measured in terms of teamworking, job satisfaction, culture and commitment in 2 Nigerian financial institutions. Design/methodology/approach: The study presents the first empirical case-study research carried out in Nigeria. The data are based on 2 Nigerian financial institutions surveys from 2002 to 2006. The analysis addresses the impact of the introduction of PRP within these institutions. Questionnaires were sent out to the 226 employees. Interviews and focus groups were also carried out with both managers and employees across both organisations. Findings: The findings indicate the importance of valence for monetary incentives, the instrumentality of performance for the monetary incentives and clear individual and group objectives for improving performance. On the basis of the analysis of the data from employees covered by the scheme, the results suggests that there are clear indications that it has raised motivational levels, though employees prefer working with individual performance related pay than in teams, but would not mind working in teams if it is linked to a reward, but the responses indicate that individual performance related pay has damaged the concept of team working. The results indicated a positive link of PRP having a positive effect with employees on higher grade levels; this result support other results from a number of earlier UK studies. The results also indicate that the introduction of PRP can enhance culture change and enhanced performance but may not ultimately lead to commitment from employees. The findings also indicate a positive link between PRP, improved individual and organisational performance, change in culture and job satisfaction. Though the research indicates positive outcomes from one organisation it also indicates negative outcomes from the other organisation. Why would that occur, as both organisations operate the same form of individual PRP? It leads the researcher to conclude that PRP must be modified to take into account the cultural (national & organisational) implications of the transference western management practices into non-western organisations. The research finishes by listing out implications for management and recommendations. Research limitations: As this study utilises data from Nigerian financial institutions only, its results cannot be generalised to other sectors and countries characterised by different cultures and contexts. However, what is critical though is that the approach used to finding these results can be applied in a wide variety of situations, thus enabling the examination of external validity. ORIGINALITY/VALUE – This study is one of the first to explore the effect/impact of the introduction of performance related pay in Nigerian financial institutions and reflecting on the historic cultural context of gift giving and culture within organisations and the impact this has on the success or failure of PRP schemes. It also provides a new empirical evidence on the use of performance related pay. The results also show a link between the introduction of performance related pay and a change in the psychological contract from a relational contract to a transactional psychological contract, where commitment (bought) and loyalty is based on the monetary aspects of the relationship. The results supports an interpretation of incentive pay as motivated by expectancy theory and provides new evidence on the relationship between the success of performance related and its use by employees as a bargaining tool for salary increases and new job roles. Its implications should be of interest to human resource managers when designing reward strategies for their organisations.

Syfte: Tidigare studier har visat att objektiviteten hos revisorer tenderar att brista i större utsträckning i små revisionsfirmor än i större revisionsfirmor. Det finns samtidigt forskning som fastställer att den etiska kulturen i en organisation har en stor inverkan på de enskilda individernas etiska handlande. Studier visar även att organisationskulturen kan skilja sig mellan stora och små organisationer. Vi har utifrån tidigare forskning valt att undersöka om den etiska affärskulturen skiljer sig åt i små och stora revisionsfirmor och om en starkare etisk affärskultur är relaterad till en starkare objektivitet hos revisorer. Metod: Vi har valt att använda oss av en kvantitativ enkätundersökning i vår studie, eftersom vi önskat identifiera ett samband mellan revisionsfirmors storlek och dess etiska affärskultur och om den i sin tur har en påverkan på revisorers objektivitet. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av Ardichvili, Jondle och Mitchells (2013) enkät för att mäta den etiska affärskulturen samt ett etablerat test för att mäta objektiviteten hos revisorer som bland andra Bamber och Iyer (2007) har använt sig av. Enkäten har skickats ut till godkända och auktoriserade revisorer i Sverige. Insamlad data har analyserats och redovisas med hjälp av statistiska metoder. Resultat: Studien visar på en något starkare etisk affärskultur i de revisionsfirmor som inte är en av de fyra största i Sverige. Resultatet kan dock inte generaliseras till den större populationen på grund av en låg svarsfrekvens. Inget signifikant samband hittades mellan graden av den etiska affärskulturen och revisorernas objektivitet. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: En kvalitativ studie med djupgående intervjuer eller observationer skulle kunna ge en mer nyanserad bild av skillnaderna i den etiska affärskulturen hos revisionsfirmorna. Uppsatsens bidrag: Studier av den etiska affärskulturen i stora och små revisionsfirmor och dess påverkan på revisorers objektivitet har oss veterligen inte behandlats tidigare. En validering av den etiska affärskulturen i små och stora revisionsfirmor kan ge uppmärksamhet till svagheter i kulturen och därmed indikatorer på vad som kan förbättras ur ett etiskt perspektiv. / Aim: Previous studies have shown that the objectivity of the auditors tend to be weaker in small audit firms than in larger audit firms. Research indicates that the ethical culture of an organization has a large impact on individuals' ethical conduct. Studies also show that organizational culture may differ to some extent between large and small organizations. Based on the previous research we have chosen to examine if the ethical business culture differ in large and small audit firms and if a stronger ethical business culture is related to a higher objectivity of the auditors. Method: We have chosen to use a quantitative questionnaire survey method in the study. We wanted to investigate if there is a correlation between the size of audit firms and their ethical business culture and the degree of objectivity of the auditors. The study was conducted using Ardichvili, Jondle and Mitchell’s (2013) questionnaire to measure the ethical business culture and an established test earlier used by Bamber and Iyer (2007) to measure the objectivity of the auditors’. The questionnaire was sent to approved and certified public auditors in Sweden. The collected data were analyzed and reported using statistical methods. Result: The study shows a slightly stronger ethical business culture in the non Big 4-firms than the Big 4-firms in Sweden. The result can not be generalized to the larger population due to a low response rate. No significant associations were found between the degree of ethical business culture and auditor objectivity. Suggestions for future research: A qualitative study using interviews or observations could provide a more nuanced picture of the differences in business culture of auditing firms. Contribution of the thesis: Studies of ethical business culture in large and small audit firms and it’s impact on auditors’ objectivity has to our knowledge not been researched before. A validation of the ethical business culture in small and large audit firms can give attention to weaknesses in culture and thus indicators of what can be improved from an ethical perspective.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-02T21:42:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jose Antonio Massaroppe.pdf: 1690773 bytes, checksum: 7ef4605f233683514e32687fd57c76ea (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-13 / Brazil, lies at the start of decade 2010, within an worldwide economic environment that shows characteristics of broad market globalization and high competitiveness of the organizations comprising this system and indicating the need for professionals acting like transformation agents, in these dynamic contexts load of challenges. In most countries the maturity of the innovation system is linked to investment in Research and Development (R & D) and the volume of generating Intellectual Property (IP). Brazil, despite having a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) concentrated in the sectors of agriculture and services, reveals a very low level of innovation, generated by the productive sector and its consequent investment in R & D, when compared to the evolution of that same GDP, denoting, thereby, that companies tend to look in their home countries, for solutions already developed and patented for its development work, or seek to shift the burden of producing records of innovations and patents to the Academy. The interaction between academic and business cultures is able to generate mutual benefits, improving the country s competitiveness; in other words, is the way to transform knowledge into social wealth. This paper relating the education-research and business practices concepts, intends to study, from the standpoint of the reality presented by the Greater ABC Region s Strategic Regional Plan and the guidelines of the National Postgraduate Program 2011-2020 (PNPG 2011-2020), the integration of the scientific knowledge processes, between the Business Entities (BE) and Universities in this specific region. Through the research methodology of case study, will be analyzed the strategies proposed by universities and the industry business practices, in order to understand the possible barriers identified as restrictions, on interactions between them. Our study focused on the analysis of the relationship between these two actors, pointed out the main barriers to the optimization of the partnership, such as access to resources, increase competitiveness via increased credibility in University Business relationship, the recognition of the realities regional and the latent gap between academic thinking and business realities. Moreover, our study showed the need for a wider dissemination, discussion and implementation of the sectorial, regional and national government documents, which clarify and provide strategic foundations for the development of health relations, between universities and businesses, as a way to optimize the process of transforming knowledge into social wealth. / O Brasil situa-se, no início da década de 2010, dentro de um sistema econômico mundial que apresenta características de ampla globalização dos mercados e alta competitividade das organizações que compõe esse sistema, e que sinalizam a necessidade de profissionais que sejam agentes de mudança nesses contextos dinâmicos e repletos de desafios. Na maioria dos países, a maturidade do sistema de inovação está ligada ao investimento em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (P&D) e ao volume de geração de Propriedade Intelectual (PI). O Brasil, apesar de apresentar um Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) concentrado nos setores de agropecuária e de serviços, revela um nível de inovação gerado pelo setor produtivo e o seu consequente investimento em P&D muito baixos em comparação com a evolução desse mesmo PIB, denotando com isso que as empresas buscam, em seus países de origem, soluções já desenvolvidas e patenteadas para seu desenvolvimento ou procuram transferir a responsabilidade de produzir registros e patentes de inovações à academia. A integração da cultura acadêmica com a cultura empresarial é capaz de gerar benefícios mútuos, melhorando a competitividade do país; em outras palavras, é uma maneira de transformar o conhecimento em riqueza. Este trabalho relacionando os conceitos ensino-pesquisa e prática empresarial pretende estudar, sob o enfoque da realidade apresentada pelos Planos Estratégicos Regionais (PER) da Região do Grande ABC Paulista e das diretrizes do Plano Nacional de Pós-Graduação 2011-2020 (PNPG 2011-2020), o processo de integração do conhecimento científico existente entre as Entidades Empresariais (E-E) e as Universidades dessa mesma região. Através da metodologia de pesquisa de estudo de caso, analisaram-se as estratégias propostas pelas universidades e a prática do setor empresarial e as possíveis barreiras apontadas como restrições às interações entre eles. Nosso estudo enfocou a análise da relação entre esses dois atores e apontou as principais barreiras para a otimização dessa parceria, tais como o acesso a recursos, o aumento da competitividade via aumento da credibilidade na relação Universidade Empresa (U-E), o reconhecimento das realidades regionais e o latente descompasso entre o pensamento acadêmico e a realidade empresarial. Além disso, constatou-se a necessidade de uma mais ampla discussão, disseminação e implementação dos documentos setoriais, regionais e nacionais que regulam, esclarecem e fornecem bases estratégicas para o desenvolvimento da relação U-E, como forma de otimização do processo de transformação do conhecimento em riqueza social.

Purpose – The purpose of this research paper is to explore the challenges faced by Pakistani entrepreneurs in different cultural context of Sweden and Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach – In order to collect primary data, authors has conducted six interviews of Pakistani entrepreneurs. Three entrepreneurs were taken from Pakistan and three were taken from Sweden. For this research paper, authors has used Inductive approach as Research approach, Case study as research design, Qualitative data as research strategy, primary and secondary data as data sources and in-depth semi-structured interviews as data collection method, purposive and snowball method were used to select sample size. For the sake of collecting secondary data, two search engines were used; One Search and Google Scholar. Different published articles and journals were utilized in order to critically analyze Literature on similar topic. Conclusion – Challenges faced by Pakistani entrepreneurs in Pakistan are brand registration problem, corruption, Lack of support, Labour problem, Law and order, High taxes, Loan problem, Load shedding problem, high approach and high rental expenses. Explored challenges in Sweden are; Language barrier, Employees problem, Loan problem, High taxes, Saturation, less availability of shops, Racism, requirements for Swedish licences. Research limitations/implications – This research paper is only limited to Pakistani entrepreneurs who have start-ups in Pakistan and in Sweden.

This research explores the peculiarity of doing business in modern China. The author focuses on the country's cultural characteristics, specifics of Chinese communication and management styles, subtleties of business etiquette and negotiations as well as development of online commerce and other aspects of business dealings in China in the context of cross-cultural interaction. / В работе рассматриваются особенности ведения бизнеса в современном Китае. Автор акцентирует внимание на характерных чертах культуры страны, специфике китайского стиля делового общения и менеджмента, тонкостях бизнес-этики и деловых переговоров, а также на развитии интернет-торговли и других аспектах деловой культуры Китая в контексте межкультурного взаимодействия.

Bakgrund och problemformulering: I den globala ekonomin blir servicekvalitet allt viktigare och företagen på den internationella konkurrensutsatta marknaden behöver erbjuda överlägsen service för att överleva. Kvaliteten på service är det som mäter prestationens utfall. TQM-styrda företag strävar efter att nå kundtillfredsställelse genom att leverera den service kunderna förväntar sig. En viktig parameter för ett företags prestation handlar om de mjuka TQM-faktorerna, dvs kulturella faktorer. För att styra, motivera och engagera anställda att agera på ett önskvärt sätt för att uppfylla organisationsmål, använder företag belöningssystem. Genom belöningssystemet bör företaget sträva efter att skapa en organisationskultur som är förenlig med företagets strategiska mål. I den globala affärsvärlden sker interaktionen mellan företag och över landsgränser vilket leder till att mångkulturella arbetsgrupper blir allt vanligare. Detta är en källa till missförstånd och kulturkrockar till följd av skilda värderingar. För att skapa hållbara och effektiva belöningssystem är det viktigt att förstå de underliggande mekanismer som påverkar individers, gruppers och företags beteenden. Det är följaktligen intressant att studera hur kultur påverkar belöningssystemets design och hur detta motiverar ett önskat beteende. Syfte: Denna studie ämnar förstå hur kulturella värderingar inom TQM-styrda organisationer påverkar designen av belöningssystem, och därmed indirekt medarbetarnas motivation. Sekundärt kommer undersökningen skildra en tolkning av människors underliggande värderingar inom olika kulturer och hur dessa kan förstås.  Metod: Studien bygger på en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi. En komparativ flerfallsstudie har utförts med ett interkulturellt angreppssätt. Empirin utgjordes av semistrukturerade intervjuer som utmynnade i en tvärfallsanalys.  Resultat och slutsatser: Studien visade att det fanns en tydlig koppling mellan organisationskultur och medarbetarnas motivation och prestation. Därför ansåg respondenterna att belöningssystemet behöver designas för att motivera de anställda att agera i enlighet med den organisationskultur de ville skapa. Designen behöver ta hänsyn till företagets strategi och kärnvärden. Nationalkulturella skillnader gällande ledarskap påverkade förutsättningarna för designen. / Background and problem: In the global economy the service quality grows more important and companies on the international competitive market must offer superior service to survive.  Service quality is the measurement for performance. TQM-managed companies strive to reach customer satisfaction by offering the service customers expect. One important factor for a company's performance is the soft TQM-factors, ie cultural factors. The company use remuneration systems to manage, motivate and engage employees to act in a desirable manner to reach the organisational goals. The remuneration system should strive to create an organisational culture that is compatible with the company's strategic goals. In the global business world interactions occur between companies and over national borders which results in more multicultural work groups. This is a source for misunderstanding and cultural shock due to different values. To create sustainable and effective remuneration systems it is important to understand the underlying mechanisms that affect individuals, groups and companies behaviour. För att skapa hållbara och effektiva belöningssystem är det viktigt att förstå de underliggande mekanismer som påverkar individers, gruppers och företags beteenden. Consequently, it is interesting to study how culture affects remuneration systems and how this motivates desirable behaviour.  Purpose: This study aims to understand how cultural values within TQM-managed organisations are affecting the design of remuneration systems, and indirect employees motivation. Secondly the study will depict an interpretation of people's underlying values in different cultures and how these can be understood.   Method: The study is based on a qualitative research strategy. A comparative multi-case study has been carried out with an intercultural approach. The empirical data consists of semi-structured interviews that resulted in a cross-case analysis.  Result and conclusion: The study showed a clear link between organizational culture and employee motivation and performance. The respondents made it clear that the remuneration system needed to be designed to motivate employees to act in accordance with the organizational culture they aimed to create. The design needs to consider the company's strategy and core values. Differences in national cultural preferences regarding leadership affects the terms for the design.