Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to develop a better understanding on how businesses should communicate their sustainability strategy to their stakeholders. Businesses are facing the challenge of designing sustainability communications strategies that appeal to stakeholders of various interest and knowledge on the topic, and stakeholders whose objectives might even be contradictory to that of the company. In order to facilitate the communications process to encourage a better uptake of sustainability initiatives by corporations and the public, it is essential to find solutions to these communications challenges. Methodology: The study focuses on the food and drink value chain in Western Europe and is based on empirical evidence from a multiple case study methodology involving in-depth interviews with 25 senior managers and directors from food and drink manufacturing companies, retailers, and some of their stakeholders. Findings: A framework for corporate sustainability communications is developed, depicting five communications strategies. The framework also offers an insight how stakeholders can be categorised into the most appropriate communications strategy through the application of certain segmentation attributes. It is further illustrated how the application of strategic ambiguity can add value to the communications process in order to stimulate interest, initiatives and innovation from stakeholders. Theoretical and practical implications/originality: Previous research on corporate communications strategies, has seen limited empirical validation, is primarily focussed on consumers, and more importantly is lacking in advice regarding how to craft communications that not only appeal to a multitude of stakeholders, but that also encourage collaboration. The findings therefore add confirmation and extension to the previous research and, importantly, it provides a link between theories of strategic ambiguity and the corporate communications literature. The framework also offers practical value as it provides managers with a clear guidance on how to design effective corporate sustainability communications, ensuring diverse appeal and/or engagement for collaboration. Thus it provides a tool that has the potential of facilitating holistic sustainability progress in a value chain.

Arbetslösheten i Sverige uppgick under 2017 års första månad till 7,3 procent. En aktuell faktor för att minska arbetslösheten är entreprenörskap. Entreprenörskap är en viktig del i utvecklingen för att driva småföretag. Småföretagen svarar för en betydande del av Sveriges sysselsättning, men lider av låg överlevnadsgrad. För att öka sannolikheten för överlevnad använder många småföretag olika bootstrappingmetoder. Syftet med bootstrapping är att finna lösningar på resursbehov och kan därför ses som ett alternativ till externa finansieringsmedel. Förutsättningarna för användning av finansiella bootstrappingmetoder varierar utefter vart i företagslivscykeln företagen befinner sig. Syftet med denna kandidatuppsats är således att förklara vilka bootstrappingmetoder svenska småföretag använder utifrån företagens livscykel. För att kunna uppnå studiens syfte och skapa en generell bild över forskningsområdet har studien genomförts med en kvantitativ forskningsansats genom ett positivistiskt forskningssynsätt. Studien har undersökt 115 småföretag i Sverige genom en enkätundersökning. Genom att studera teorier kring småföretagens kapitalstruktur samt resursanskaffning skapades en grund för att utforma studiens huvud- samt underhypoteser kring finansiell bootstrapping och företagslivscykeln. Det huvudsakliga resultatet från studien är att användningen av finansiella bootstrappingmetoder förändras genom företagslivscykeln. Studien kan även påvisa att vissa bootstrappingmetoder används mer relativt andra i respektive livscykelstadier. / During the first month of 2017 the unemployment in Sweden amounted to 7,3 percent. An important factor for reducing unemployment is entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is an important part of the development of small businesses. Small businesses account for a significant part of Sweden's employment, but suffer from low survival rates. To increase the likelihood of survival, many small businesses use different type of bootstrapping methods. The aim of Financial bootstrapping is to find solutions for resource needs and can therefore be seen as an alternative to external funding. The conditions for using Financial bootstrapping methods vary according to the business lifecycle. The purpose of this essay is to explain witch bootstrapping methods Swedish small businesses are using based on the business lifecycle. In order to achieve the purpose of the study and to create a general view of the research area, the study has been conducted which a quantitative research approach through a positivist research philosophy. The study examined 115 small businesses in Sweden by a survey. By examining theories about small business capital structure and resource needs, a foundation was created for designing the studies main and under hypothesis regarding financial bootstrapping and the business lifecycle. The main result of the study is that the use of financial bootstrapping methods is changing throughout the business lifecycle. The study can also demonstrate that some bootstrapping methods are used more relative to others in their respective lifecycle stages.