Le matériau principal de cette étude est l’acier inoxydable austénitique 316L(N) (X2CrNiMo17-12-2 à teneur en azote contrôlée) envisagé dans la conception de la cuve et des structures du circuit primaire des futurs réacteurs de quatrième génération refroidis au sodium. Pour assembler des composants de forte épaisseur, il faut réaliser des soudages multipasses avec métal d'apport. Lors du soudage, il a parfois été constaté des défauts de fissuration à chaud de solidification au refroidissement dans la zone pâteuse, près du bain de fusion. Ces fissures sont des décohésions du matériau apparaissant à haut température le long des joints de grains lorsque la déformation dépasse un seuil critique. Il est donc nécessaire de prévenir ce risque en utilisant un critère de fissuration à chaud. L'approche utilisée dans cette étude est double : développer un essai de fissuration à chaud à chargement extérieur, puis simuler numériquement ces expériences pour déterminer un seuil critique en déformation en utilisant un critère proposé par Kerrouault. Une version améliorée d’un essai de fissuration à chaud (Controlled Restraint Weldability (CRW) test) a été proposé dans cette étude afin d'analyser la susceptibilité à la fissuration de solidification du matériau 316L(N) et d’un métal d'apport de nuance Thermanit 19-15H. L'objectif de ce test est, en fonction de l'intensité du chargement extérieur, d'amorcer une fissure dans un régime thermique établi, puis d’arrêter la propagation de cette fissure si les conditions thermomécaniques locales sont remplies. Le modèle de comportement du matériau choisi est une loi élasto-visco-plastique à écrouissage mixte. Des essais thermomécaniques sur un simulateur Gleeble ont été réalisés à haute température afin d'identifier et d’améliorer la loi de comportement du matériau 316L(N). Le grossissement des grains dans la zone affectée thermiquement a été modélisé et intégré dans ce modèle. Les intervalles de fusion et de solidification du matériau 316L(N) ont été déterminés par des essais ATD (Analyse Thermique Différentielle). Des analyses des microstructures de solidification ont été également menées afin de mieux comprendre le phénomène de fissuration à chaud. Certains essais CRW ont ensuite été modélisés et simulés par éléments finis en utilisant les logiciels Cast3M et Abaqus afin valider le critère de fissuration à chaud et de déterminer un seuil critique de fissuration pour l'acier 316L(N). / The austenitic stainless steel AISI 316L(N) (X2CrNiMo17-12-2) with controlled nitrogen content is widely used for manufacture of vessel and primary circuit structures of the 4th Generation sodium- cooled fast reactors. Multi-pass welds with an appropriate filler metal is used to assemble thick components. Solidification cracks may occur in the mushy zone near the melting weld poor during solidification when a liquid film is distributed along grains boundaries and interdendritic regions and the shrinkage strains across the boundaries cannot be accommodated. It is therefore necessary to prevent this defect using a hot cracking criterion. The approach used in this study is to initiate experimentally a hot crack by a weldability test, and then to simulate these tests to identify a critical strain using a hot crack criterion for the prediction of solidification cracking. Therefore, a hot cracking test (Controlled Restraint Weldability (CRW) test) is proposed in the present study to analyze the susceptibility to hot cracking for base metal 316L(N) and its filler metal 19-15H Thermanit grade. This test is designed to initiate a hot crack in thermal steady state, and then to stop the crack once the local thermomechanical conditions are met. The initiation and stop of the crack depend on external mechanical preload. The material constitutive equations chosen for the material is a visco-plastic model with isotropic and kinematic hardening. The Gleeble thermomechanical tests have been performed at high temperature in order to identify material parameters. The increase of the grain size in the thermally affected zone was modeled and integrated into constitutive equations. The temperature range of melting and solidification of 316L(N) were determine by using the Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA). The analysis of the solidification microstructures were also carried out in order to better understand the phenomenon of hot cracking. Some CRW tests were then simulated by finite element method using the Cast3M and Abaqus software in order to valid the hot cracking criterion and to determine a thermomechanical criterion of hot cracking for 316L(N).

This study investigates the integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) priorities into Employer Value Propositions (EVPs) within the context of higher education institutions, specifically focusing on Swedish universities. The research aims to explore how ESG priorities are perceived and experienced by faculty and staff, and how these priorities align with employees' personal values and expectations. By addressing this gap, the study seeks to understand the impact of ESG integration on employee perceptions and the overall attractiveness of the university as an employer.The study employs a qualitative methodology, utilizing in-depth semi-structured interviews with faculty and staff members across multiple campuses of Luleå University of Technology (LTU). The interviews provide rich, contextual insights into the participants' views on the university’s ESG initiatives, including comprehensive environmental programs, strong social responsibility efforts, and ethical governance practices, along with the effectiveness of communication strategies in conveying these priorities.The findings reveal that these ESG initiatives significantly influence employees' perceptions of their university’s commitment to sustainable and ethical practices. Specifically, the integration of ESG priorities not only enhances employees' sense of pride and commitment but also fosters a positive work culture when these initiatives align with their personal values and expectations. The study identifies key areas where ESG efforts can be strengthened to further align with employee values, thereby shaping a compelling EVP that attracts and retains environmentally, socially, and ethically conscious talent.Theoretical implications include enhanced stakeholder alignment, while practical implications highlight improved employee engagement and satisfaction through ESG initiatives. The research contributes to the existing literature by filling the gap regarding the qualitative exploration of ESG integration in EVPs within the higher education sector from an employee perspective. Furthermore, it offers practical recommendations for university administrators to effectively communicate and implement ESG priorities, ensuring alignment with employee expectations and enhancing overall organizational attractiveness.

In the face of intensifying competition for skilled talent across industries, organizations are increasingly recognizing the strategic imperative of employer branding to attract, engage, and retain top talent. This study aimed to elucidate optimal employer branding strategies and processes that enhance talent outcomes throughout the employee lifecycle. Through an exploratory comparative case study approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with talent management professionals from renowned organizations in the automobile and consulting industries. The findings revealed that organizations employ diverse approaches to designing and implementing employer branding strategies, ranging from centralized and data-driven models to decentralized and business unit-driven approaches. However, a common theme emerged regarding the criticality of aligning the employer brand with the organization's culture, reputation, and employee value proposition (EVP) to resonate with target talent segments. Additionally, the study underscored the significance of ensuring alignment between employer branding promises and the actual employment experiences through strategies such as fostering an engaging organizational culture, crafting a compelling EVP, managing psychological contracts, and implementing continuous monitoring and feedback mechanisms. Furthermore, the research highlighted the importance of employing a multi-faceted approach to measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of employer branding initiatives, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods, while acknowledging the challenges associated with comprehensive tracking systems and infrequent external perception surveys. The influence of cross-cultural factors on the design, implementation, and perception of effective employer branding strategies was also explored, emphasizing the need for tailored approaches while maintaining brand coherence. The study confirmed the significant impact of employer branding on talent attraction and retention across both industries, including attracting competent talent, fostering brand awareness, and enhancing retention. Overall, this research contributes to advancing the theoretical and practical understanding of employer branding strategies and their implications for talent management outcomes, while acknowledging limitations and providing recommendations for organizations, practitioners, and future research endeavors.   Keywords: employer branding, talent attraction, retention, employee value proposition (EVP), organizational culture, cross-cultural factors, talent management.

Organisations strive to gain competitive advantages and there is an increasing demand for more advanced technology in today's dynamic and complex environment. The importance of engineering is increasing in the global world, which leads to a higher demand of professional engineers. They represent among the hardest roles to fill. The short supply of engineers, the high employment rate and low unemployment rate among engineers in Sweden makes it difficult for companies to attract them. This issue is often described as ‘The War for Talent’. The War for Talent is a greater issue for organisations within the public sector because of negative prejudices, reputations and stereotypes. This and the fact that there are limited resources for marketing within the public sector when they are funded by the government, make it difficult to compete with organisations within the private sector. The public sector in Sweden is relatively large, and The Swedish Transport Administration is a large company within the public sector that need to prepare for the war for talents among companies within the private sector. The purpose of this research is to investigate work value preferences of professional engineers and important recruitment aspects to consider, when choosing an employer. To deal with the war of talents effectively, the concept of employer branding has been developed as an effective organisational strategy for employment. In the report, we will study the concept of employer branding and the employer branding process, work value preferences and important recruitment aspects to enhance understanding of how companies can attract professional engineers in Sweden, to initiate a career within the public sector. Our data collection was through qualitative interviews with eight professional engineers, both from the private and the public sector. Our study developed an adapted framework with work values preferred by Swedish professional engineers that can be used as a guide to help and enable to attract and recruit engineers towards the public sector. We found differences between the public sector and the private, and six core values preferred by Swedish professional engineers, where organisations in the public sector should put a certain emphasis on two of them. There were some certain preferences among recruitment channels, and we found that recruitment strategies could enhance, improve or damage the brand and that the corporate reputation affects the opinion of the company. We also have some specific recommendations towards the case company.

With teleworking becoming an increasingly normalized work arrangement after the Covid-19 pandemic, it opens up possibilities for workers to be located elsewhere than their workplace. This indicates that work-related relocation may not be a necessity anymore for parts of the workforce, because they can choose to work remotely instead of relocating. The overall purpose of the thesis has been to investigate whether the normalization of telework as a part of the employee value proposition’s benefits will make people in the workforce less likely to relocate for work. The employee value proposition theory was used to understand the current role telework has as a part of the benefit component, and how telework may affect the employees' likelihood to relocate for work. Two research questions were used to answer the overall purpose:  Has telework resulted in the benefit component having a greater influence than other components for the workforce? Has telework offered as a benefit made people in the workforce less likely to relocate for work? The research purpose for the study was exploratory and the research approach was a deductive, qualitative study approach. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data and the sampling were selected by both the purposive and snowball sampling method. The sample for the interviews were employees who have a job where it is possible to do teleworking and were between 25-35 years old. After the interviews were conducted, the data was analyzed by using thematic analysis. The finding of the study indicates that the influence of the benefit component did not change compared to previous research and still had a mid-level of importance. It is not likely that telework has made the benefit component to have an overall greater influence compared to other components, but there were components such as affiliation that were very influential when making relocation decisions. It was also found that family members, especially partners and children, were a big influence on relocation decisions. The participants were more likely to consider teleworking instead of relocating when they had partners and children. Several of them could not see themselves only doing teleworking long-term though, because the connection with the colleagues and team at their workplace were also important. The findings of the study indicate that human connection and relationships have become increasingly important for the employees, and this affects both their teleworking and relocation decisions.