Master of Science / Communications and Agricultural Education / Lauri M. Baker / The purpose of this study was to identify how K-State Research and Extension (KSRE) has established and maintained its brand through external communication with target audiences. The three research objectives were to determine the extent to which, 1) branding guidelines were followed, 2) calls to action were provided, and 3) key audiences were targeted. A quantitative content analysis was conducted to assess a representative sample of all communication KSRE state employees published within one year, November 1, 2012 to October 31, 2013. The Social Exchange Theory (SET) served as the framework and research objectives were based on the concept of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC). The study found the correct name of the organization appeared in only 56.6 % (n= 611) of units; appearances of images, graphics, and the official slogan were also minimal. Primarily, the study identified a need for increased specification and clarity in the guidelines in order to promote increased consistency. This study serves as a benchmark for future measurement, a basis for recommended changes, and a call for other state extension agencies to examine communication in similar studies. The researcher recommends the organization makes substantial edits and additions to the branding guidelines, provides employees with training, and implements a regular evaluation of communication efforts to monitor brand representation and communication effectiveness. Additionally, the researcher addresses the need for an IMC model specific to extension, to help communicators implement more strategic and measurable efforts.

<p><strong>Purpose/Aim: </strong>The purpose of this paper is to describe how a number of strategically selected employees at the Swedish Institute, with the purpose to promote Sweden in the world, look at the challenges facing Sweden concerning nation branding in the new era of cooperation within the European Union. I examine how these people look upon the work of public diplomacy and nation branding in order to actively participate and influence the EU's common communications platform.</p><p><strong>Material/Method: </strong>The method used in this thesis is qualitative interviews. The reason why I chose this method is because I consider it to be the most appropriate in order to collect information about how these selected employees at the Swedish institute regard the challenges that lay ahead in terms of nation branding within the European Union.</p><p><strong>Main results: </strong>On the basis of the results I have gained by dint of the analysis, it can be concluded that it is of utmost importance to take the societal changes, which are a result both of the worldwide globalization and the EU cooperation, into consideration when designing a future communication strategy for the Swedish Institute. The nation-state continues to play an important role in Sweden, but its importance is declining as the EU cooperation is progressing. The citizens’ identity plays a crucial role in designing a nation’s communications strategy, and from the analysis I conclude that we move not from a Swedish to a European identity, but towards a pluralistic union where multiple identities meet under one umbrella; the EU.</p>

This thesis will explore how swedish Talang 2010 used their strategic communication in Kalmar and Stockholm and how the effect of this work was shown in the two cities. With a focus on how the sender was working with the external communication in the two cities, the heart of the research was studying Talang 2010’s communication strategy in these two contexts. The research was made with surveys during two audition days in Kalmar and two days in Stockholm. The competitors, the audience and the general public were answering different surveys but with the same base to study the effect. For studying the strategic communication interviews was held with the Marketing Director of Talang 2010, a person in the marketing workgroup in Kalmar and an expert in management and communication strategies. This showed that the Marketing Director of Talang 2010 and the person in the workgroup in Kalmar had another view of the result than the receivers. They felt that they had accomplished their goals by reaching out to more people than before and having more people in the audience than last year, but the survey shows that the public wanted more information about the event. By using contextually different strategies Talang 2010 reached the same result in Kalmar as in Stockholm with a full crowd during all the audition days. With the budget that was available for this year Talang 2010 could have a good use of cheaper options like internet or word of mouth to reach out to even more people.

Purpose/Aim: The purpose of this paper is to describe how a number of strategically selected employees at the Swedish Institute, with the purpose to promote Sweden in the world, look at the challenges facing Sweden concerning nation branding in the new era of cooperation within the European Union. I examine how these people look upon the work of public diplomacy and nation branding in order to actively participate and influence the EU's common communications platform. Material/Method: The method used in this thesis is qualitative interviews. The reason why I chose this method is because I consider it to be the most appropriate in order to collect information about how these selected employees at the Swedish institute regard the challenges that lay ahead in terms of nation branding within the European Union. Main results: On the basis of the results I have gained by dint of the analysis, it can be concluded that it is of utmost importance to take the societal changes, which are a result both of the worldwide globalization and the EU cooperation, into consideration when designing a future communication strategy for the Swedish Institute. The nation-state continues to play an important role in Sweden, but its importance is declining as the EU cooperation is progressing. The citizens’ identity plays a crucial role in designing a nation’s communications strategy, and from the analysis I conclude that we move not from a Swedish to a European identity, but towards a pluralistic union where multiple identities meet under one umbrella; the EU. / <p>Författaren heter numera Michelle Bornestad. 131003</p>

Bakgrund: I dagens samhälle blir hållbarhet allt viktigare, vilket innebär att företag måste ta ett större ansvar när det kommer till hållbarhet. Det har i tidigare forskning inte framkommit hur e-handelsföretag i Sverige kan kommunicera hållbarhet med kund och stat. Genom intern och extern kommunikation vill vi undersöka hur den kommunikationen kan bidra till företags strategiska hållbarhetsarbete. Forskningsfrågor: Hur kommunicerar företagen sitt hållbarhetsarbete internt? Hur kommunicerar företagen och staten med varandra vid olika förändringar? Hur sker kommunikationen av hållbarhet mellan företagen och kund? Hur reagerar företagen strategiskt på den externa kommunikationen? Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att förstå och analysera hur intern och extern kommunikation kan bidra till e-handelsföretags strategiska hållbarhetsarbete genom att jämföra två företag. Slutsats: Resultatet av studien visar att intern och extern kommunikation bidrar till företags strategiska hållbarhetsarbete. Det är viktigt för företag att ha en tvåvägskommunikation med staten, för att på så sätt hålla sig uppdaterad om nya lagar eller förordningar införs. Att använda kommunikationskanaler för att kommunicera företags hållbarhet till kund samt att lyssna på kunders efterfrågan är ytterligare en slutsats om företags externa kommunikation. Vidare bidrar den interna kommunikationen till företags strategiska arbete, genom att ha bra hållbarhetsrutiner och processer så kan företag snabbt reagera på det som kommuniceras externt. Kunskapsbidrag: Genom att belysa vilken roll den interna och externa kommunikationen har och hur viktigt det är att kommunicera med sina externa intressenter bidrar studien till en ökad förståelse hur intern och extern kommunikation kan bidra till företags strategiska hållbarhetsarbete. / Background: Today, sustainability is of more importance, which means that companies must take a bigger responsibility when it comes to sustainability. In previous research, no one has studied how Swedish e-commerce can communicate sustainability to customers and government. Through internal and external communication, we want to examine how this type of communication, can contribute to a corporate strategic sustainability work. Research questions: How do the company communicate sustainability internally? How do the company communicate with the government when it comes to changes? How do the company communicate sustainability with customer? How does the company react strategically on external communication? Aim: The aim of this study is to understand and analyze how internal and external communication can contribute to corporation´s strategic sustainability work by comparing two companies. Conclusion: The result of the research shows that internal and external communication contributes to corporate strategic sustainability work. It is important for companies to have a two-way communication with the government, in order to be updated if new laws or regulations are introduced. Using communication channels to communicate corporate sustainability work to customers as well as listening to customer demand, is another conclusion regarding corporate external communication. Furthermore, internal communication contributes to corporate strategic sustainable work, by having good sustainability routines and processes, can companies quickly respond to what is communicated externally. Research contributions: By highlighting the role of internal and external communication and the importance of communicating with its external stakeholders, the study contributes to an increased understanding of how internal and external communication can contribute to a corporation´s strategic sustainability work.

Den här studien fokuserar på att studera hur organisationskultur kommuniceras externt i en mansdominerad bransch. Studieobjektet Skanska har sedan 2009 genomgått en förändring mot en allt mer jämställd organisation, men än är arbetet trögrörligt. Hur kulturen kommuniceras externt, hur den manliga dominansen och den kvinnliga minoriteten synliggörs samt hur organisationen kommunicerar för att nå en bredare kompetens är frågor som studien vill besvara. Materialet som analyseras kommer från organisationens hemsida.Mer specifikt behandlar materialet Skanskas värderingar, deras syn på mångfald och inkludering samt intervjuer med medarbetare. Syftet med studien är att synliggöra hur organisationskultur som främjar jämställdhet kommuniceras i en mansdominerad bransch. För att göra detta har både en kvalitativ och en kvantitativ analys genomförts. Den kvalitativa analysen omfattar en diskursanalys samt en ideologikritisk analys. Vidare kompletteras analysen av en kvantitativ analys för att kunna jämföra det som kommuniceras i materialet med den faktiska verkligheten i organisationen. Studiens ramverk utgår ifrån organisationskultur och genusperspektiv.Resultatet visar att Skanskas externa kommunikation följer fyra huvudämnen: normbrytning, lagarbete, hierarki och den önskade bilden av organisationen. Organisationskulturen framställs som den önskade bilden av Skanska, snarare än den faktiska verkligheten. Skildringen av den manligt dominerande kulturen och den rådande minoriteten av kvinnor görs på ett problematiskt sätt och maktförhållandet i materialet är till fördel för Skanska. / The purpose of this study is to identify how organizational culture is communicated externally in a male dominated industry. Since 2009, the study object Skanska has undergone a change towards a more equal organization, but the work is still moving at a slow pace. The study poses the question of how the culture is communicated externally, what is known as the male dominance and the female minority and how they target a broader competence. The organizational website constitutes the material basis of the study.More specifically, the material deals with Skanska’s values, their views on diversity and inclusion and interviews with employees. The purpose of the study is to visualize how organizational culture that promotes gender equality is communicated in a male dominated industry. To do this, both qualitative and quantitative analysis have been carried out. The qualitative analysis includes a discourse analyses as well as an ideological critical analysis. In addition, the analysis of a quantitative analysis is used to compare what is communicated in the material with the actual reality of the organization. The study's framework is based on organizational culture and gender perspective.The result of the study shows that Skanska’s external communication follows four main topics: breaking norms, teamwork, hierarchy and the desired image of the organization. The organizational culture is described as Skanska’s desired image of the organization rather than the reality. The description of the male dominance and the female minority is problematic and the power configuration in the material benefits Skanska.

Den teknologiska utvecklingen har skapat nya möjligheter för organisationer i deras externa kommunikation. Med framkomsten av sociala medier har organisationer fått en möjlighet att befinna sig på sina intressenters kanaler. Här finns utrymme för en kommunikationsprocess som tidigare inte varit möjlig och organisationer talar om den tvåvägskommunikation och den personliga relation man kan bygga upp på sociala medier. Organisationers kommunikationsarbete präglas ofta av tydliga strategier och styrdokument och policys. Styrdokument kring deras externa kommunikation är i regel väl utvecklade på flera plan. Ändå visar tidigare studier att organisationers arbete med sociala medier sker på ett mer experimentellt sätt. “Den sociala organisationen” syftar till att undersöka hur svenska organisationer på nationell nivå arbetar med sociala medier ur ett strategiskt perspektiv. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ intervjumetod studeras åtta stora svenska organisationer. Studien undersöker hur dessa åtta organisationer arbetar strategiskt med sociala medier. Vidare undersöks hur organisationerna arbetar för att utveckla sin kunskap om sociala medier samt till vilken grad organisationernas arbete på sociala medier styrs av styrdokument och policys. Huvudfrågan som denna studie ställer sig är: “Hur utmärker sig det strategiska kommunikationsarbetet via sociala medier i svenska organisationer?”. Denna huvudfråga söker författarna svara på med hjälp av ett antal arbetsfrågor som ska hjälpa dem att nå sitt syfte. De teorier som studien lutar sig emot är medialiseringsteori, med utgångspunkt framförallt ur Hjarvard’s och Schultz arbete inom området, samt tidigare forskning inom området gällande organisationers arbete med sociala medier. Dessa teorier och tidigare forskning bidrar till att studien kan koppla de teman som visar sig vid analysen av materialet. Resultaten visar att stora svenska organisationer fortfarande arbetar på ett relativt experimentellt sätt med sociala medier. Styrdokument finns i vissa fall, men de är i jämförelse med andra styrdokument mindre uppstyrda. Inom sociala medie-strategierna finns det också större utrymme för ändringar. Anledningen till detta är den ständiga förändring som sker i sociala medier vilket gör det svårt för organisationerna att skapa tydliga styrdokument som ska gälla över en längre tid. / Technological development has created new opportunities for organizations in their external communication. With the arrival of social media, organizations have been given an opportunity to be on their stakeholders' channels. This has created a possibility of a communication process that has not previously been possible and organizations talk about the possibilities with a two-way communication and the personal relationship you can build on social media. Organizations' communicational work is often characterized by clear strategies with documents and policies. Documents regarding their external communication are generally well developed on several levels. Nevertheless, previous studies show that organizations' work with social media takes place in a more experimental way. The social organization aims to investigate how Swedish organizations at the national level work with social media from a strategic perspective. Using a qualitative interview method, eight large Swedish organizations are studied. The study examines how these eight organizations work strategically with social media. Furthermore, it is examined how the organizations work to develop their knowledge of social media and to what extent the organizations' work on social media is based upon documents and policies. The main question that this study raises is: "How does the strategic communication work via social media in Swedish organizations' stand out? The authors seek to answer this main question with the help of a number of sub-questions that will help them achieve their purpose. The theories from which this study is based on are mediatization theory, based primarily on Hjarvard's and Schultz's work in the field, as well as previous research in the field of organizations' work with social media. These theories and previous research contribute to the study by linking the themes that emerge in the analysis of the material. The results show that large Swedish organizations are still working in a relatively experimental way with social media. Documents are present in some cases, but they are less strategic in comparison with other organizational documents. Within social media strategies, there is also more room for changes. The reason for this is the constant change that takes place in social media, which makes it difficult for organizations to create clear documents that will apply over a longer period of time.

Datum: 2020-06-08 Nivå: Kandidatuppsats i företagsekonomi, 15 hp Institution: Akademin för Ekonomi, Samhälle och Teknik, Mälardalens högskola Författare: Allerborg Elin (96/04/03), Holmlund Felicia (96/12/18), Weber Pedersen Stephanie (95/02/11). Titel: Gendertelling Handledare: Andreas Pajuvirta Nyckelord: Employer Branding, Könsnormer, Könssegregering, Attityder, Extern kommunikation Frågeställning: Vad influerar arbetsföras attityder mot könsdominerade företags externa employer branding? Syfte: Syfte med studien är att könsdominerade företag ska kunna anpassa sin externa employer branding för att öka möjligheten att attrahera det motsatta könet. Detta genom bidragande förståelse kring vad som influerar arbetsföras attityder mot könsdominerade företags externa employers branding. Metod: Studiens undersökning tillämpade en kvalitativ studie. Empiri samlades in genom fokusgrupper som genomfördes utifrån en semistrukturerad                          intervjuguide. Slutsats: Arbetsföra har en positiv attityd till en jämnt könsfördelad arbetsplats. Undersökningen tyder på att könsdominerade företag kan influera arbetsföras attityder positivt genom att anpassa sin externa kommunikation. Detta kan göras genom att anpassa tillämpningen av bild och text då det anses vara viktigt att inkludera både män och kvinnor i den externa kommunikationen, men även vara mer könsneutral i texterna. / Date: 2020-06-08 Level: Bachelor thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Allerborg Elin (96/04/03), Holmlund Felicia (96/12/18), Weber Pedersen Stephanie (95/02/11). Title: Gendertelling Tutor:                       Andreas Pajuvirta Keywords: Employer Branding, Gender norms, Gender segregation, Attitudes, External communication Research question: What influences the attitudes of potential employees towards gender-dominated corporations external employer branding? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of how gender-dominated corporations can adapt their external employer branding to increase the possibility of attracting the opposite gender. This can be done by a contributing understanding regarding what influences the attitudes of potential employees towards gender-dominated corporations externa employer branding. Method: The study applied a qualitative research approach. The empirical data were collected via focus groups based on a semistructured interview guide. Conclusion: Potential employees have a positive attitude toward an equal gender distribution in the workplace. The research suggests that gender dominated corporations can positively influence potential employees by adjusting their external communication. This can be done by the application of pictures and text to include both men and women in the external communication, and also aim for gender neutrality in the written communication.

The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of how the Swedish fast fashion company NA-KD expressed its profile and how it could be linked to sustainability. The fashion industry is known for having big sustainability problems, and that is why the main focus of this study was the paradox between fast fashion and sustainability due to its conflict nature. To concretise the aim of the study, we formulated two questions: “What discourses can be found in NA-KD’s external communication?” and “What profile does the company express through their website?”. To analyse the company’s website we included relevant theories about the individualised consumer society, sustainable consumption and marketing communication. The used method for this study was Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis, which was a useful method to enable a critical perspective. Fairclough’s approach made it possible to examine how, and in what way, NA-KD expressed their external communication. The material consisted of ten texts found on the company’s website that were analysed closely and resulted in a number of findings. We found three discourses: the business discourse, the consumer discourse and the sustainability discourse. Those helped us to increase the understanding of the company’s profile, since we discovered a range of different tendencies. The main ones were that NA-KD constructed truth, encouraged more consumption, built relations with the consumer and expressed values and responsibility about sustainability. With those in mind, we concluded that it is doubtful that NA-KD’s sustainability communication is completely honest. They encouraged the consumer to buy more fast fashion clothing, which affects the environment negatively, at the same time as they communicated consciousness about the fashion industry’s impact on the environment. We also found that the communication was contradictory and misleading, hence that some information about their sustainability work does not comply with what is presented. Our main conclusion is therefore that NA-KD’s profile is ambiguous and difficult to establish.

Climate alliances like the Climate Council Jönköping have a big impact on combating environmental issues on a local level. Research shows that communication plays a crucial role in such cross-sector partnerships to enhance the collaboration between its members. This thesis wants to explore the impact of climate alliances on their members’ sustainable communication and CSR initiatives, using the example of the Climate Council Jönköping. Based on different theories, namely Communication Constitutes Organization Theorizing, the Model of CSR Implementation, and the Value Belief Norm Theory of Environmentalism, the aim was to contribute knowledge to the research fields of sustainable communication, CSR, and collaboration. To explore the existing research gap, twelve semi-structured interviews with experts from different member organizations of the Climate Council were conducted. By applying qualitative content analysis, it became visible that the Climate Council’s impact on communication and CSR efforts differs among the members. On the one hand, it can be difficult to include the campaigns of the council into one’s own communication. On the other hand, the membership raises awareness about sustainability and environmental topics and enables collaboration and knowledge exchange through cross-sector partnerships. Based on the findings, it can be recommended to the Climate Council to provide more communication material for the members for easy integration. Additionally, more events can increase the visibility of the council and raise awareness for local cross-sector collaborations to tackle environmental problems, enable new networking options, and establish innovative partnerships.