Ce travail montre que l'introduction de contraintes dans un modèle de connaissances à objets permet d'en accroître à la fois l'expressivité (les contraintes sont des énoncés déclaratifs de relations entre attributs) et les capacités d'inférence (la maintenance et la résolution des contraintes sont chargées de la cohérence et de la complétion des bases de connaissances). Les répercussions de la présence de contraintes au sein d'un tel système sont également étudiées. Les attributs contraints sont désignés à l'aide de la notion d'accès, qui étend la notion classique de chemin au traitement des attributs multivalués (dont la valeur est un ensemble ou une liste de valeurs). Les niveaux de représentation considérés (concept, classe, instance) définissent la portée d'une contrainte comme l'ensemble des objets sur lesquels elle doit être posée, et induisent alors entre eux un héritage de ce trait descriptif. De même, le maintien d'un certain degré de consistance locale sur les domaines des attributs exige une gestion interne de leurs types. Vis-a-vis des mécanismes d'inférence du modèle (instanciation, classification, procédures, etc.), un comportement adapté des contraintes est établi, qui ne remet pas en cause la sémantique de ces mécanismes. Ces principes d'intégration ont été validés dans le modèle de connaissances à objets Tropes. Nous avons réalisé un module de programmation par contraintes, appelé Micro, qui est semi-faiblement couplé à Tropes. Micro répond à de nombreuses exigences de la représentation de connaissances par objets, en gérant la maintenance et la résolution de Problèmes de Satisfaction de Contraintes (CSP) dynamiques, définis sur des variables numériques, booléennes, ou multivaluées, dont les domaines sont finis ou infinis. L'intégration qui a été réalisée autorise, en outre, l'utilisation de la puissance expressive et calculatoire des contraintes par le système de représentation de connaissances lui-même. Ainsi, la présence des contraintes permet d'étendre et de contrôler la sémantique de notions diverses et évoluées comme celles d'objet composite, de tâche, de relation, ou encore de filtre.

A adoção em larga escala de redes de computadores e gerenciadores de banco de dados contribuiu para o surgimento de sistemas de informação complexos. Atualmente, estes sistemas tornaram-se elementos essenciais na vida das pessoas, dando suporte a processos de negócio e serviços corporativos indispensáveis à sociedade, como automação bancária e telefonia. A utilização de componentes na estruturação destes sistemas promove maior qualidade e flexibilidade ao produto e agiliza o processo de desenvolvimento. Entretanto, para que estes benefícios sejam totalmente observados, é fundamental que os provedores de componentes de prateleira projetem especificações precisas, completas e consistentes. Geralmente, as especificações omitem ou negligenciam o comportamento dos componentes nas situações de falha. Desta forma, a utilização de componentes não confiáveis, cujos comportamentos não podem ser inteiramente previstos, compromete seriamente o projeto de sistemas tolerantes a falhas. Uma estratégia para a especificação de componentes tolerantes a falhas é informar a ocorrência de erros através de exceções e realizar a recuperação dos mesmos por rotinas de tratamento correspondentes. A especificação deve separar claramente o comportamento normal do excepcional, destinado à recuperação do erro. Entretanto, em sistemas concorrentes e distribuídos, a especificação apenas deste tratamento local não é suficiente. Uma exceção pode ser lançada em decorrência de erros sistêmicos (i.e. problemas de rede) que afetam todo o sistema. Assim, determinadas exceções devem ser tratadas em nível arquitetural, envolvendo os demais componentes no tratamento. O modelo conceitual de ações Atômicas Coordenadas (ações CA - Coordinated Atomic actions), bastante aplicado na estruturação de sistemas tolerantes a falhas, define um mecanismo geral para a coordenação do tratamento excepcional dos componentes, que cooperam na execução das atividades e competem por recursos compartilhados. Portanto, o modelo de ações CA oferece uma solução potencialmente viável para a especificação do tratamento de exceções em nível arquitetural. Este trabalho propõe um framework para a especificação do tratamento de exceções em nível arquitetural, baseando-se no modelo de aninhamento de ações CA e utilizando a linguagem orientada a eventos CSP (Communicating Sequential Processes). Sua principal característica é prover um protocolo padronizado para a coordenação do tratamento de exceções, que envolve a cooperação dos componentes do sistema. Além disso, é apresentada uma estratégia para a verificação formal dos sistemas na ferramenta FDR (Failure Divergence Refinement), com base no modelo de refinamento por rastros. / The widespread scale adoption of computer networks and database management systems has contributed to the arising of complex information systems. Nowadays, these systems have become essential aspects in the everyday life, supporting business processes and indispensable enterprise services to society such as banking automation and telephony. The usage of components in structuring of these systems promotes higher quality and flexibility to the product and accelerates the software development process. However, in order to fully observe the benefits it is essential that the suppliers of these COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) design precise, complete and consistent specifications. Generally, the specifications omit or neglect the behavior of these components in exceptional situations. Therefore, the usage of untrustworthy components whose behavior cannot be entirely foreseen seriously compromise the design of fault-tolerant systems. One of the strategies used for the specification of fault-tolerant components is to inform the occurrence of errors through exceptions and make its recovering by the correspondent exception handling routines. The specification should separate clearly the normal behavior from the exceptional one, specially designed for error recovery. However, in concurrent and distributed systems, specification of local exception handling is not enough. An exception could be raised as a result of systemic errors (i.e. network errors) which affect the entire system, thus specific types of exceptions should be treated at an architectural level involving all the other components in this handling activity. The conceptual model of Coordinated Atomic (CA) actions, often applied in the structuring of fault-tolerant systems, defines a general mechanism for coordination of exception handling with components that cooperate while executing activities and compete for shared resources. Therefore, the model of CA actions offers a perfectly viable solution for the specification of exception handling at an architectural level. This work proposes a framework for the specification of exception handling at an architectural level, based on the nesting model of CA actions and using the event-oriented language CSP (Communicating Sequential Processes). Its main characteristic is to provide a standardized protocol for coordination of exception handling that involves the cooperation of system components. Moreover, it is presented a formal strategy for system verification using the FDR (Failure Divergence Refinement) tool, based on the traces refinement model.

Concurrency is generally considered to be difficult due to a lack of appropriate abstraction, rather than inherent complexity. Lock-based approaches to mutual exclusion are pervasive, despite the presence of models that are easier to understand, such as the message-passing model present in CSP (Communicating Sequential Processes). CSP provides a rich framework for building and reasoning about concurrent systems, but has historically required a change of programming language or paradigm in order to work with it. The Go programming language is a modern, imperative programming language that includes native support for processes and channels. The popularity of this language has grown and more and more people are being exposed to the fundamental ideas of CSP. There is a gap in the understanding of how a restrictive formal model can interact with and support the development of concurrent programs in a language such as Go. Through a series of case studies and analysis, we show how the CSP concurrency model can be used as the basis for the design of a concurrent system architecture without requiring the program to be written entirely as the composition of processes. It is also possible to use the CSP process algebra to build abstract models and use model-checking tools to verify properties of a concurrent system. These models can then be used to guide the decomposition of a system into a more fine-grained concurrent system. This thesis bridges the gap between the development of CSP-style concurrent software and the formal model of CSP. In particular, it shows how it is not necessary for a program or programming language to conform to rigid structure in order for CSP to be a useful tool for the development of reliable and easy to understand concurrent systems.

L’intérêt des différents langages de la famille des diagrammes de décisionvalués (VDD) est qu’ils admettent des algorithmes en temps polynomialpour des traitements (comme l’optimisation, la cohérence inverse globale,l’inférence) qui ne sont pas polynomiaux (sous l’hypothèse P 6= NP), si ilssont effectués sur le problème dans sa forme originale tel que les réseaux decontraintes ou les réseaux bayésiens.Dans cette thèse, nous nous intéressons au problème de configuration deproduit, et plus spécifiquement, la configuration en ligne avec fonction de valuationassociée (typiquement, un prix). Ici, la présence d’un utilisateur enligne nous impose une réponse rapide à ses requêtes, rapidité rendant impossiblel’utilisation de langages n’admettant pas d’algorithmes en temps polynomialpour ces requêtes. La solution proposée est de compiler hors-ligneces problèmes vers des langages satisfaisant ces requêtes, afin de diminuer letemps de réponse pour l’utilisateur.Une première partie de cette thèse est consacrée à l’étude théorique desVDD, et plus particulièrement les trois langages Algebraic Decision Diagrams,Semi ring Labelled Decision Diagrams et Affine Algebraic Decision Diagrams(ADD, SLDD et AADD). Nous y remanions le cadre de définition des SLDD,proposons des procédures de traductions entre ces langages, et étudions la compacitéthéorique de ces langages. Nous établissons dans une deuxième partie lacarte de compilation de ces langages, dans laquelle nous déterminons la complexitéalgorithmique d’un ensemble de requêtes et transformations correspondantà nos besoins. Nous proposons également un algorithme de compilationà approche ascendante, ainsi que plusieurs heuristiques d’ordonnancement devariables et contraintes visant à minimiser la taille de la représentation aprèscompilation ainsi que le temps de compilation. Enfin la dernière partie estconsacrée à l’étude expérimentale de la compilation et de l’utilisation de formescompilées pour la configuration de produit. Ces expérimentations confirmentl’intérêt de notre approche pour la configuration en ligne de produit.Nous avons implémenté au cours de cette thèse un compilateur (le compilateurSALADD) pleinement fonctionnel, réalisant la compilation de réseauxde contraintes et de réseaux bayésiens, et avons développés un ensemble defonctions adaptées à la configuration de produit. Le bon fonctionnement etles bonnes performances de ce compilateur ont été validés via un protocole devalidation commun à plusieurs solveurs. / The different languages from the valued decision diagrams (VDD) family benefitfrom polynomial-time algorithms for some tasks of interest (such as optimization,global inverse consistency, inference) for which no polynomial-timealgorithm exists (unless P = NP) when the input is a constraint network ora Bayesian network considered at start.In this thesis, we focus on configuration product problems, and more specificallyon-line configuration with an associated valuation function (typically, aprice). In this case, the existence of an on-line user forces us to quickly answerto his requests, making impossible the use of languages that does not admitpolynomial-time algorithm for this requests. Therefore, our solution consistsin an off-line compilation of these problems into languages that admit suchpolynomial-time algorithms, and thus decreasing the latency for the user.The first part of this thesis is dedicated to the theoretical study of VDDs,an more specifically Algebraic Decision Diagrams (ADDs), Semi ring LabelledDecision Diagrams (SLDDs) and Affine Algebraic Decision Diagrams(AADDs). We revisit the SLDD framework, propose translation proceduresbetween these languages and study the succinctness of these languages. In asecond part, we establish a knowledge compilation map of these languages,in which we determine the complexity of requests and transformations correspondingto our needs. We also propose a bottom-up compilation algorithmand several variables and constraints ordering heuristics whose aim is to reducethe size of the compiled form, and the compilation time. The last partis an experimental study of the compilation and the use of the compiled formin product configuration. These experimentations confirm the interest of ourapproach for on-line product configuration.We also implemented a fully functional bottom-up compiler (the SALADDcompiler), which is capable of compiling constraints network and Bayesian networkinto SLDDs. We also developed a set of functions dedicated to productconfiguration. The proper functioning and good performances of this programwas validated by a validation protocol common to several solvers.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka om autentisk CSR leder till större lönsamhet än opportunistisk CSR. Metod: I föreliggande studie antas en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi med en hypotetisk-deduktiv ansats. Studien är kvantitativ och sekundärdata har samlats in från databasen Thomson Reuters Datastream. En longitudinell design har använts där data som sträcker sig över tio år har inhämtats för studiens urval om 525 publika bolag, inhämtad data har analyserats statistiskt. Resultat & slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att en positiv relation mellan CSR och finansiell prestation föreligger. Av studien framgår även att autentisk CSR kan ha större påverkan på det finansiella resultatet än opportunistiskt beroende på vilka variabler för autenticitet som används. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Föreliggande studie är av longitudinell design och sträcker sig över tio år. En studie som undersöker en kortare period kan vara intressant för vidare forskning då detta kan innebära ett större urval av bolag. Forskning som vidareutvecklar begreppet autenticitet och autentisk CSR konceptuellt och hur detta kan mätas är även något som vidare forskning kan fokusera på. Uppsatsens bidrag: Ur ett teoretiskt perspektiv bidrar studien till redovisningslitteraturen genom att diskutera om autentisk CSR leder till bättre finansiell prestation, via genomförda mätningar avseende autenticitet i relation till CSR och utvecklingen av hur detta kan operationaliseras. Ur ett praktiskt perspektiv bidrar föreliggande studie till ökad förståelse för företag om vikten av att verka autentiskt i sitt CSR-arbete. / Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate whether authentic CSR leads to greater profitability than opportunistic CSR. Method: In this study, a positivistic researchphilosophy is assumed with a hypothetical deductive approach. The study is quantitative and secondary data has beencollected from the Thomson Reuters Datastream. A longitudinal design has been used where data covering ten years has been obtained for the study's selection of 525 public companies, collected data has been statistically analyzed. Result & Conclusions: The results show that when a company pursues authentic CSR the positive effect of its CSR initiatives on company performance is stronger than for those who pursues opportunistic CSR, however the result depends on the variables used to measure authenticity. Suggestions for future research: The present study is of longitudinal design and extends over ten years. A study that examines a shorter period may be interesting for further research as this may obtain a larger selection of companies. Research that further develops the concept of authenticity and authentic CSR conceptually and how this can be measured is also something that further research can focus on. Contribution of the thesis: From a theoretical perspective this study contributes to the accounting literature by discussing whether authentic CSR leads to better financial performance, as well as through completed measurements regarding authenticity in relation to CSR and the development of how this can be operationalized. From a practical perspective, the present study contributes to increased understanding for companies about the importance of acting authentically in their CSR work.

As reações químicas que resultam da expressão de genes são complexas e ainda não são total- mente compreendidas. Sabe-se que os genes enviam, recebem, e processam informações formando uma complexa rede de comunicação, mas a arquitetura e dinâmica destas redes não são totalmente conhecidas. Dessa forma, um problema importante é determinar como os genes se relacionam dentro da célula. Esse processo de determinar o relacionamento entre os genes é conhecido como inferência de redes gênicas. Uma das formas para representar o relacionamento entre os genes é usar modelos matemáticos e computacionais de Redes Gênicas. Em especial, um dos modelos de grande interesse é o de Redes Booleanas (BN - do inglês Boolean Networks), no qual os genes podem assumir dois estados, ativo ou inativo, se estão, respectivamente, expressos ou não. Estes estados podem variar ao longo do tempo, dependendo de como os genes se relacionam. Nosso interesse está em estudar um caso particular deste modelo, conhecido como Redes Booleanas Limiarizadas, onde apenas uma classe de funções booleanas é utilizada para construir as BNs. Para inferir as Redes Booleanas Limiarizadas, usamos um algoritmo constituído de dois passos. Primeiro, usamos o arcabouço do Problema de Satisfação de Restrições (CSP - do inglês Constraint Satisfaction Problem) para inferir conjuntos de soluções consistentes com uma dada série temporal de um conjunto de genes. Em seguida analisamos o comportamento dinâmico das soluções encon- tradas , filtrando conjuntos de soluções de maior interesse para testes práticos em laboratório. Usando o arcabouço do CSP, construímos um solver, usando a biblioteca Gecode,1 para inferência de redes consistentes, usando como entrada uma série temporal oriunda de dados de microarrays. Em seguida, através da simulação da dinâmica de uma amostra das redes encontradas no passo anterior, fomos capazes de determinar algumas restrições interessantes para filtrar o conjunto de redes. Aplicamos o nosso método para três conjuntos de dados: dois artificiais, e para validação, usamos uma série temporal de uma rede artificial conhecida na literatura. Com isso fomos capazes de inferir conjuntos de redes gênicas de possível interesse para testes em laboratório. / The chemical reactions that result in gene expression are complex and not yet fully understood. It is known that genes send, receive and process information to form a complex network of com- munication, but the architecture and dynamics of these networks are not fully known. Thus, one major problem is to determine how genes are linked within the cell. This process of determining the relationship between genes is known as inference of genetic networks. One way to represent the relationship between genes is to use mathematical and computer models of genetic networks. In particular, one of the models of great interest are Boolean Networks (BN), in which genes can take two states, active or inactive, if they are, respectively, expressed or not. These states may vary over time, depending on how genes are related. Our interest is in studying a case of this particular model, known as thresholded Boolean networks, where only one class of Boolean functions is used to build the GNs. To infer the thresholded Boolean networks, we use an algorithm that consists of two steps. First, we use the framework of Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) to infer sets of solutions consistent with a time series of a given set of genes. Then analyze the dynamic behavior of the solutions, filtering sets of solutions with interest for practical tests in the laboratory. Using the framework of the CSP, we constructed a solver, using the library Gecode, 2 for in- ference of consistent networks, using as input a time series arising from microarrays data. Then, by simulating the dynamics of a sample of networks found in the previous step, we were able to determine some interesting constraints to filter the set of networks. We apply our method to three datasets: two artificial, and for validation, we use a time series of an artificial network known from literature. Thus we were able to infer genetic networks sets of possible interest for laboratory tests.

With increasing awareness of environmental issues and worldwide requirements for sustainable development, renewable energy technologies with lower environmental impact, especially those having abundant resources like wind and solar energy, attract more attention. Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) is one of the most promising solar energy technologies. Indeed, thermal energy storage (TES) units could be integrated into CSP plants, enhancing their flexibility and capacity factor. However, tower based CSP plants still remain cost intensive. This study evaluates the performance of a 55MWe combined-cycle CSP plant with rock-bed TES located in Sevilla, Spain. Sensitivity analysis has been performed to assess the influence of critical parameters. Furthermore, in order to decrease the costs with increasing efficiency, improved CSP plant schemes have been proposed. In the study, EES, SAM and TRNSYS are used to design and simulate the model from technological perspective, then the capital and operational costs are calculated in MATLAB. For one-year simulation of the designed case, the performance of the plant is determined by the trade-off among several conflicting factors. The study focuses on three key indicators to measure the performance- levelized costs of electricity (LCoE), capital expenditure (CAPEX) and efficiency factor (UF). As long as CAPEX is within the acceptable range, LCoE would be the most concerned one-as low as possible, then followed by UF. Compared to conventional CCGT plant, the proposed combined-cycle tower-based CSP plant, with efficiency of 0.49 and LCoE of 196USD/MWe, enables efficiency improvements, while both CAPEX and LCoE are higher. On the other hand, it has to be noticed that CCGT relies on fuel (natural gas) price, which means higher risks and operational expenditure (OPEX). A sensitivity study is involved varying gas turbine expansion ratio (to vary its outlet temperature and therefore supply power for the bottoming Rankine cycle), size of TES and solar multiple (SM). It can be found that same LCoE and UF could be achieved with lower CAPEX by setting appropriate parameters. The study also introduces two improved CSP plant schemes with sensitivity study. To some extent, the LCoE decreases due to increasing power output and the efficiency of the system simultaneously increases. / Med ökad medvetenhet om miljöfrågor och globala krav på hållbar utveckling lockar förnybar energi teknologi med lägre miljöpåverkan, särskilt de som har stora resurser som vind och solenergi, mer uppmärksamhet. Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) är en av de mest lovande solenergi teknologierna. Faktiskt kan värmeenergi lagringsenheter integreras i CSP-anläggningar, vilket förbättrar deras flexibilitet och kapacitetsfaktor. Träbaserade CSP-anläggningar är dock fortfarande kostnads intensiva. Denna studie utvärderar prestandan för en 55MWe CSP-anläggning med kombinerad cykel med TESsandbädd i Sevilla, Spanien. Känslighetsanalys har utförts för att bedöma påverkan av kritiska parametrar. För att minska kostnaderna med ökad effektivitet har dessutom förbättrade CSP-anläggningsprogram föreslagits. I studien används EES, SAM och TRNSYS för att designa och simulera modellen ur teknologiskt perspektiv, sedan beräknas kapital och driftskostnader i MATLAB. För ett års simulering av det planerade fallet bestäms anläggningens prestanda av bytet mellan flera motstridiga faktorer. Studien fokuserar på tre nyckelindikatorer för att mäta prestandanivå kostnaderna för el (LCoE), investeringar (CAPEX) och effektivitetsfaktor (UF). Så länge CAPEX ligger inom det acceptabla intervallet, skulle LCoE vara den mest bekymrade en så låg som möjligt, följt av UF. Jämfört med konventionell CCGT-anläggning möjliggör den föreslagna träbaserade CSP-anläggningen med kombinerad cykel med effektivitet 0,49 och LCoE på 196USD / MWe effektivitetsförbättringar, medan både CAPEX och LCoE är högre. Å andra sidan måste man notera att CCGT förlitar sig på bränslepriset (naturgas), vilket innebär högre risker och driftsutgifter (OPEX). En känslighetsstudie är involverad med varierande utvidgning förhållande för gasturbin (för att variera dess utloppstemperatur och därmed leverera ström för botten Rankine-cykeln), storlek på TES och sol multipel (SM). Det kan konstateras att samma LCoE och UF skulle kunna uppnås med lägre CAPEX genom att ställa in lämpliga parametrar. Studien introducerar också två förbättrade CSP-anläggningar med känslighetsstudie. I viss utsträckning minskar LCoE på grund av ökad effekt och systemets effektivitet ökar samtidigt.

The Parameterised Model Checking Problem asks whether an implementation Impl(t) satisfies a specification Spec(t) for all instantiations of parameter t. In general, t can determine numerous entities: the number of processes used in a network, the type of data, the capacities of buffers, etc. The main theme of this thesis is automation of uniform verification of a subclass of PMCP with the parameter of the first kind, using techniques based on counter abstraction. Counter abstraction works by counting how many, rather than which, node processes are in a given state: for nodes with k local states, an abstract state (c(1), ..., c(k)) models a global state where c(i) processes are in the i-th state. We then use a threshold function z to cap the values of each counter. If for some i, counter c(i) reaches its threshold, z(i) , then this is interpreted as there being z(i) or more nodes in the i-th state. The addition of thresholds makes abstract models independent of the instantiation of the parameter. We adapt standard counter abstraction techniques to concurrent reactive systems modelled using the CSP process algebra. We demonstrate how to produce abstract models of systems that do not use node identifiers (i.e. where all nodes are indistinguishable). Every such abstraction is, by construction, refined by all instantiations of the implementation. If the abstract model satisfies the specification, then a positive answer to the particular uniform verification problem can be deduced. We show that by adding node identifiers we make the uniform verification problem undecidable. We demonstrate a sound abstraction method that extends standard counter abstraction techniques to systems that make full use of node identifiers (in specifications and implementations). However, on its own, the method is not enough to give the answer to verification problems for all parameter instantiations. This issue has led us to the development of a type reduction theory, which, for a given verification problem, establishes a function phi that maps all (sufficiently large) instantiations T of the parameter to some fixed type T and allows us to deduce that if Spec(T) is refined by phi(Impl(T)), then Spec(T) is refined by Impl(T). We can then combine this with our extended counter abstraction techniques and conclude that if the abstract model satisfies Spec(T), then the answer to the uniform verification problem is positive. We develop a symbolic operational semantics for CSP processes that satisfy certain normality requirements and we provide a set of translation rules that allow us to concretise symbolic transition graphs. The type reduction theory relies heavily on these results. One of the main advantages of our symbolic operational semantics and the type reduction theory is their generality, which makes them applicable in other settings and allows the theory to be combined with abstraction methods other than those used in this thesis. Finally, we present TomCAT, a tool that automates the construction of counter abstraction models and we demonstrate how our results apply in practice.

Syfte: Då tidigare forskning har visat varierande och motsägelsefulla resultat vad gäller relationen mellan CSP och finansiell prestation, skapar det en förståelse för att andra variabler påverkar relationen. Syftet med följande studie är att undersöka om och hur graden av internt ägande påverkar relationen mellan socialt ansvar och finansiell prestation.   Metod: Denna studie har utifrån en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi, med en deduktiv ansats, antagit en kvantitativ forskningsstrategi. En tvärsnittsdesign har utförts där enbart sekundärdata har tillämpats som hämtats från Thomson Reuters Datastream. Analysering av sekundärdata har utförts genom deskriptiv statistik och multipla regressionsanalyser i statistikprogrammet SPSS.   Resultat & slutsats: Resultatet indikerar att det inte är möjligt att visa hur graden av internt ägande påverkar relationen mellan socialt ansvar och finansiell prestation. Studien visar däremot att det föreligger en negativ relation mellan företags arbete med socialt ansvar och finansiell prestation (ROA och Tobin’s Q), samt mellan socialt ansvar och internt ägande.   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Förslag till framtida forskning är framförallt att fortsätta på den nya unika forskningsinriktningen som följande studie belyst, genom att studera hur graden av internt ägande påverkar relationen mellan CSR och finansiell prestation (läs fler förslag under avsnitt 6.5 Förslag till vidare forskning).   Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien bidrar med mer empiriskt material till variationerna som tidigare forskning framställt gällande relationen mellan CSP och finansiell prestation, samt relationen mellan internt ägande och CSP. Studien har även bidragit till en ny forskningsinriktning gällande de interna ägarnas påverkan på relationen mellan socialt ansvar och finansiell prestation. / Purpose: Since previous research has shown diverse and contradictory results regarding the relationship between CSP and financial performance, it creates an understanding that other variables may affect the relationship. The purpose of the study is to examine whether and how the level of insider ownership affects the relationship between social responsibility and financial performance.   Method: This study was based on a positivistic research philosophy, with a deductive approach and adopted a quantitative research strategy. A cross-sectional design has been carried out using only secondary data that was collected from Thomson Reuters Datastream. The secondary data was analyzed by descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis in SPSS.   Results & Conclusions: The result wasn’t able to show how the level of insider ownership affects the relationship between social responsibility and financial performance. However, the study showed that there is a negative relationship between the social responsibility and financial performance (ROA and Tobin’s Q), as well as between social responsibility and insider ownership.   Suggestions for further research: Suggestions submitted to future research is to continue on the new unique research approach that this study has shed light on, by studying how the level of insider ownership affects the relationship between CSR and financial performance (read more suggestions under section 6.5 Suggestions for further research).   Contributions of the thesis: The study provides more empirical data to the varying results that previous researchers has shown in attempt to examine the relationship between CSP and financial performance, and the relationship between insider ownership and CSP. The study has also contributed to a new research area regarding the insider ownership and how they influence the relationship between social responsibility and financial performance.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att utreda om det finns något samband mellan företags finansiella prestation och hur företagen betygsätts utifrån deras engagemang i aktiviteter som rör företagens sociala ansvarstaganden. Metod: Denna studie har utifrån en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi antagit en deduktiv ansats med hypoteser samt en kvantitativ forskningsdesign med en paneldatametod i form av tvärsnittsdesign. Denna typ av forskningsdesign användes för att samla in sekundärdata från flera år. Studiens population uppgår till 171 företag och urvalet till 130 börsnoterade företag på Stockholmsbörsen. Sekundärdata för CSP för år 2009 till 2013 hämtades från Folksam Index för ansvarsfullt företagande. Sekundärdata för finansiell prestation hämtades från årsredovisningar från Retriever och Datastream. Analysering av all sekundärdata gjordes utifrån deskriptiv statistik och multipla regressionsanalyser i statistikprogrammet SPSS. Resultat och slutsats: Studiens resultat indikerar på att sambandet mellan CSP och CFP är signifikant negativt när Tobin´s Q avser CFP. Detta innebär att företagens marknadsvärde tenderar till att minska när deras sociala prestation ökar. Vidare gällande ROA finner studien inget signifikant samband mellan CSP och CFP. En antydan på ett svagt positivt samband ges dock, om än utan någon signifikans. Resultaten kan förklaras med hjälp av teorier såsom intressentteorin samt den institutionella teorin. Förslag till vidare forskning: Efter det nya EU-direktivet trätt i kraft och applicerats under en period är ett förslag att undersöka effekterna av detta direktiv. Vidare vore det intressant att utföra en undersökning som analyserar och jämför förändringar över de enskilda åren då denna studie endast använt sig av ett genomsnittsvärde för alla variabler under åren 2009 till 2013. Det vore även intressant att undersöka om de branscher som enligt Folksam (2013) löper de största verksamhetsriskerna angående hållbarheten också ökar sin sociala prestation över åren. Vidare bör dessa branscher även undersökas för att se varför vissa branscher uppvisar ett signifikant samband där andra branscher saknar detta samband. Uppsatsens bidrag: Utifrån denna studie får berörda parter ett teoretiskt bidrag som visar en ny mätmetod och ett annat perspektiv på sambandet mellan social- och finansiell prestation, jämfört med tidigare forskning. Studien öppnar även upp ett forskningsområde för undersökning av branscher och varför vissa branscher uppvisar ett signifikant samband där andra branscher saknar detta samband. Det praktiska bidraget i denna studie ger en fingervisning om hur det finansiella resultatet kan komma att påverkas med en högre grad av hållbarhetsarbete för att möta det nya EU-direktivet. / Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between companies’ financial performance and how the companies are rated on their involvement in Corporate Social Responsibility-activities. Method: This study, based on a positivist research philosophy, adopted a deductive approach with hypothesis testing and a quantitative research design with a panel-data method in the form of a cross-sectional design. This type of research design was used to collect secondary data from several years. The study population amounts to 171 companies while the sample amounts up to 130 listed companies on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Secondary data for CSP for the year 2009 until 2013 was retrieved from Folksam Corporate responsibility index for each year. Secondary data for the financial performance was retrieved from Retriever and Datastream databases. In addition, analysis of all the collected secondary data was based on descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis in SPSS. Results and Conclusions: The study’s results indicate that the relationship between CSP and CFP are significantly negative when Tobin’s Q refers to CFP. This means that the companies’ market value tends to decrease as their social performance increases. Furthermore, this study doesn’t find any significant relationship between CSP and ROA as CFP. An indication of a weak positive relationship is provided, however, albeit with no significance. The result can be explained by theories as stakeholder theory and institutional theory. Suggestions for further research: A suggestion is to examine the effects of the relationship of CSP and CFP after the EU directive comes into force. Furthermore, it would be interesting to conduct a study which analyzes and compares the changes over the individual years since this study only adopted an average value for all the variables during the years 2009 until 2013. It would also be interesting to investigate whether the industries according to Folksam (2013) runs the biggest business risks relating to sustainability is also increasing its social performance over the years. Furthermore, these industries should also be examined to see why some industries show a significant correlation where other industries lack this connection. Contributions of the thesis: Based on this study, concerned parties receives a theoretical contribution that shows a new measuring method and another perspective on the relationship of social- and financial performance, compared to previous research. This study also opens a field of research for the study of industries and why some industries show a significant correlation where other industries lack this correlation. The practical contribution in this study gives an indication of how the financial result may be affected by a higher degree of sustainability efforts to meet the new EU directive.