Brexit is the source of changes in the business environment in Europe. The situation generates uncertainty in which direction the United Kingdom wants to take on the decision of leaving the European Union. The situation is unique, the outcome and impact are unknown. The aim of the thesis is to gain profound knowledge and analyze how Swedish forestry industry firms perceive and respond to the uncertainty of Brexit. The reviewed literature present how uncertain business environments affect firms, the perception of uncertainty and strategy that generates a response to uncertainty. The conceptual framework illustrates the process and the connection between the elements. In order to gain profound knowledge on the subject, a qualitative study with an abductive approach was conducted. The applied research design was a multiple-case study that consisted of six cases. The analysis discusses the empirical data with a cross-case examination and pattern matching to the literature in order to identify similarities and differences between the cases. The perceived uncertainty is dependent on several elements and the findings display how changes in the business environment impact firms differently depending on the risk management of the firm, market commitment, information, experience and how the market is valued. These factors influence the process behind the response and the resources that are allocated to the process. The thesis contributes both to the theoretical and practical understanding of uncertainty and how to respond to uncertainty.

The final thesis deals with the topic "Czech business environment from the perspective of Italian entrepreneurs." It is divided into three chapters. The first chapter covers the business environment in general and evaluates the position of the Czech Republic in various competitiveness rankings or reports. The second chapter describes the Czech business environment -- its state and development from 1989 to the present and evaluates the Czech business environment using the PEST analysis. The last chapter is purely practical and outlines the view of Italian entrepreneurs on the Czech business environment, their opinions and experience gained during doing business in the Czech Republic. The whole thesis is summarized at the end in the SWOT analysis of the Czech business environment.

The aim of this study is to broaden existing theories on self-leadership in response to unprecedented challenges and job demands in the emerging economy of the 21st century. The Austrian marketing sector is used as an illustrative example for gaining a more nuanced conception of leaders’ understanding and enactment of self-leadership within a creative environment. The approximation with grounded theory allowed gauging the gap in scientific research with respect to studying self-leadership within organisational settings, as suggested by other scholars. Perceptions on the current work environment and implications for business dealings and leadership at a broader level are disclosed firstly. The study then approximates the concept of self-leadership, underlining some of the dominant notions thereto, as may also be found in prominent research and proposing a conceptualized model for the multiplex relationship of viewing oneself as a starting point in leading others. Possible elements thereto are subsumed into the rubrics of behavioural, emotional and cognitive strategies, continuous learning, authentic role modelling and critical reflection, all of which allow leaders to transcend to an external meaning and ultimately inspire self-leadership among their followers. In the near aftermath, selfleadership shows a positive influence on work performance of both leader and followers, on developing creative potential and deriving meaning for oneself. The findings shall serve as a source of inspiration for leaders within their intuitive learning journey of selfleadership and encouraging the same among their followers. Furthermore, this research constitutes the base for future studies that attempt to shed more light onto the practical applicability of self-leadership within a business context.

This research study investigated the influence of maintaining a partnership form of relationship between a Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) multinational company and its core suppliers, on their abilities to achieve supply chain agility. It took place within the Middle East region, where the in-depth case study used for data collection was Unilever (North Africa Middle East). The research also focused on the role played by information technology within Unilever’s (North Africa Middle East) partnership with its core suppliers and the achievement of a high level of agility within their supply chain. In addition to these two main aims, the research also focused on exploring the required attributes of supply chain agility within FMCG industry and also to explore the attributes of buyer-supplier partnership required to help the companies working within this type of industry to achieve agility within their supply chain. To achieve the aims and objectives of this research, this study used qualitative methods for collecting rich and valuable data. Several data collection methods under the umbrella of the in-depth case study approach were used. The methodological approach used by the research was the Grounded Theory approach (Strauss and Corbin, 1990-1998). Data was collected from the case study managerial level in Unilever’s (North Africa Middle East) main clusters within the Middle East in three different rounds, using semi-structured interviews. Data was also collected from five core suppliers for Unilever (North Africa Middle East). The research also used other data collection means, such as documents collected during the researcher’s visits to the case studies and observation. Data was analysed using the steps and procedures of the Grounded Theory approach (Strauss and Corbin, 1990-1998). Data analysis took place in three interrelated iterative steps: open coding process, axial coding process followed by the selective coding process, leading to the generated theory of the research. The findings of the study, as presented in the research’s generated theory, showed that the partnership, with its attributes explored during the research, between Unilever (North Africa Middle East) and its core suppliers can be considered as the starting driver helping the companies working within this type of industry to achieve a higher level of supply chain agility, through the attributes explored during the research. The generated theory also showed that the role played by information technology can be considered as the catalyst in this equation. It played the role of channelling the relationship between the two concepts: buyer-supplier partnership and supply chain agility. Information technology can be considered as the catalyst because the evidence indicates that without it the relationship between Unilever (North Africa Middle East) supplier partnership and supply chain agility would struggle to be achieved. In more detailed, 43 open codes had been derived from the first analysis coding process, and which were derived under the main pre-determined themes: FMCGs industry-based features, Buyer-supplier relationships, Information sharing and information technology, and Agility. These 43 open codes provided the basis for stages 2 and 3 of the analysis. In the axial coding process (the second data analysis), the axial sub categories and the axial categories were determined and the axial paradigm model was used in the analysis. In the final coding process: the selective analysis, the core category of the research was determined to be ‘Partnership existence with core suppliers’. The relationship of this core category with the other elements in the paradigm model namely: casual conditions, context, intervening conditions, action/interactional strategies, and consequences. The research has its own Theoretical, Methodological, and Managerial contributions. Among these contributions is that it can be considered a novel research, using a grounded theory approach to generate a theory, showing the relationship between buyer-supplier partnership and supply chain agility in this dimensional manner.

The aim of this thesis is to introduce the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as an important potential partner for the Czech business entities based on a comprehensive and objective analysis of factors that could affect the cooperation between these two countries. The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first one deals with the general characteristics of Saudi Arabia, particularly with demographic and geographic data, administrative structure, history and political-legal environment. The second chapter is about the economic characteristics of the country and it concentrates on the development of macroeconomic indicators, the various sectors of economy, finance, foreign trade and investment climate. The third section focuses on business cooperation between the Czech Republic and Saudi Arabia, with an emphasis on the development of mutual relations, trade balance and the specifics of the entry of Czech subjects on the Saudi market, including SWOT and PESTLE analysis and information about companies that have been already successful on the Saudi market. The last chapter is about cultural differences and I mention Hofstede's cultural dimensions, gender issues, values in society and the impact of cultural differences on the business negotiations.

This thesis aims to analyze current business environment and its development in three countries of euro area (Greece, Spain and Portugal) during the last five years and reflecting the current financial crisis. The first section analyses the conditions for development and the ways the financial crisis spread to euro area. It also demonstrates its effects on macroeconomic indicators. The next part defines the business environment from the point of view of the World Bank, The Heritage Foundation, IMD and The World Economic Forum. It also reflects the opinion of European Commission on the rate of incorporating the European directives regarding the internal market. The third part analyzes the current business environment and its development according to each definition.

Strategic analysis of company and its practical application, external and internal analyses and strategy of the company.

This work is aimed to give complete information about Russian market to Czech enterprising subject, which think over entering this market. The interest about entering to the market of Russian Federation is growing up, but there is shortage of information. In my work I tried to show Russian business environment from different points of view.

Since 1994, South Africa has undergone comprehensive political and economic changes in a positive direction, however, the country’s business environment still constitutes of corruption and inequity. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how South Africa’s business environment affects Swedish SMEs establishment in the country. The methodology chosen for this research was a qualitative multiple case study with an abductive approach. The theoretical framework was established based on various theories related to business environment, internationalization and risk management, these theories was interlinked into a conceptual framework. In the empirical chapter, the primary data gathered from four cases was presented and thereafter analyzed together with the conceptual framework. The research concludes that the South African business environment affects the Swedish SMEs business activities in the country differently, depending on the firm’s size. The last decade’s political changes have generated in a more cautious approach among Swedish SME and their establishment in the country. Lastly, limitations of the research and recommendations for further research is outlined.

O investimento estrangeiro direto - IED é um dos principais fluxos de capitais internacionais, sendo um fator importante para o balanço de pagamentos, além de ser considerado também um condutor de transferências tecnológicas entre países e indutor de desenvolvimento econômico. O estudo dos determinantes deste tipo de investimento transnacional, apesar de relativamente recente, tem ganhado relevância no debate econômico. Através da abordagem do modelo gravitacional, este trabalho explora diversas metodologias econométricas para a estimação desse modelo. O método Poisson Pseudo-Maximum-Likelihood - PPML mostrou estatísticas mais robustas para as estimações, indo de encontro com a literatura econômica que o elege como o método mais adequado para as características dos dados utilizados na investigação do problema em questão. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que, além das variáveis usualmente utilizados na abordagem clássica do modelo gravitacional, como tamanho do PIB e distância, os fatores ligados ao ambiente de negócios também são significantes em explicar a determinação do IED bilateral. Desta maneira, a aplicação de reformas e medidas com o objetivo de melhorar o ambiente de negócios é desejável para a aumentar a atratividade de recursos nesta modalidade de investimento. / The foreign direct investment - FDI is one of the main international capital flows, being considered an important component of the balance of payments and also a driver of technological transfers between countries and promoter of economic development. The study of that kind of transnational investment, although relatively recent, has gained importance in the economic debate. This work explores many econometric methodologies in a gravity model approach. The Poisson Pseudo-Maximum-Likelihood method - PPML showed more robust results to the estimations, as appointed by the economic literature. The results obtained showed that, beyond the usual variables used in the gravity models, such as GDP size and distance, variables connected to the business environment are significant to explain the determination of bilateral FDI. Therefore, reforms and measures aimed to improve the business environment are desirable for increasing the attractiveness of that kind of international investment.