Background: The development of the Swedish demography is one of the most important social and economic changes ever in Swedish history. Society as well as business is facing an age chock since almost every other company owner is over 50 years old. The complexity of managing a successful succession is pointed out as a major threat to the Swedish economy by the organization Svenskt Näringsliv. Purpose: The purpose with this master thesis is to identify and analyze critical success factors for a successful succession from a going concern perspective. Research method: By using the strong aspects from the quantitative as well as the qualitative method, high level of order and systematic could be reached, without loosing too much details and depth in this particular research. The empirical data was gathered by a digital survey sent to 3000 companies. The quantitative research was complemented by 6 qualitative interviews to increase depth and reliability. Results: The study shows that there is a great incongruence between the expected problems associated to the succession and the actual outcome. Furthermore, there are great differences between the problems prioritized by the companies compared to the ones that their advisers and consultants recommend should be prioritized. The analyses and results lead to a new model for successful succession, The 4-Ps of Successful Succession.

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Abstract Background: Goals and goal-setting are two aspects that occur everyday in business life however little is known about the effect of strategic goal-setting. To a cer-tain extent, this affects all of us either directly or indirectly, everyday through strategic decisions that are made by business managers all around the world. A company’s performance of a company can be measured in many ways. A firm’s performance can be financially successful if the com-pany’s strategy is well planned. Strategic planning consists of developing goal-strategies, which aim at contributing to the firm’s performance. Problem: A small business manager’s view on the goals-setting strategies is important since the manager in a small company can influence the business more than compared to a manager in a larger firm. As the personality differs among managers, the level of planning and proactiveness would differ as well. Sev-eral studies have focused on the relationship between goal-setting and per-formance but the level of proactiveness has not been has not been consid-ered to a larger extent. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate managers’ goal-setting strategies, focusing on goal-specificy, planning, proactiveness, and financial perform-ance in small businesses in the Jönköping region, Sweden. Method: To fulfill the purpose of this thesis both qualitative and quantitative re-search approaches have been used. As 173 interviews were already carried out in an earlier study, we created a strategy on how to use the collected in-terview data. Theories from different research areas were combined with hypotheses to create a framework for this paper. The theories and the hy-potheses were analyzed in light of the empirical evidence, the interview and we used the SPSS to test our hypotheses. Result: The results from the first three hypotheses were not found to be too unex-pected as we assumed that planning, the level of goal-specificy and proac-tiveness to a large extent, depend on a managers’ strategies and ambitions. The final two hypotheses have helped us discover new patterns and add to previous theories. We have made two main contributions by conducting this master thesis. The first one is that a high degree of planning does not imply a higher level of financial performance. The second one is that family businesses do not show a lesser degree of planning compared to non-family businesses.

Introduction: Research has shown that family firms play an important role in modern economies and that they maintain special characteristics and features in comparison to non-family businesses. Furthermore, it is evident in literature and practice that internationalization is a crucial process and strategy in the present global business environment. Problem: These findings however, have not led to a family business internationalization strategy. Only some studies have been conducted concerning the influence of the special features of family firms on the process of internationalization. This means that there is a gap between theory and practice. Purpose: To increase the academic understanding of the phenomenon internationalization of family businesses, through the use of both theoretical and empirical findings. Research questions: This study attempted to fulfill the purpose by providing answers to several research questions. The main research questions are: What is the current state of knowledge about internationalization, family business features and previous research in internationalization of family firms? How do the family business features theoretically influence the internationalization process? How do the family business features empirically influence the internationalization process? What are the theoretical contributions and practical managerial implications of these findings? Method: A solid literature research has been conducted in order to determine the theoretical influences of family business features on internationalization. The empirical testing of the expectations was conducted through a qualitative approach by taking personal interviews at eight companies, four in The Netherlands and four in Sweden, and studying secondary documentation. Findings: The study shows that it is difficult to decisively determine the either facilitating or constraining influence of family business features on internationalization. The results show that the 23 features which have been studied in the sample are facilitating or constraining under certain conditions (see table 5, p. 108). This implies that managers, researchers and consultants will be required to study these conditions first in order to determine the facilitating or constraining effects in a company. In addition, a model has been constructed illustrating the empirical findings concerning the internationalization process (see figure 8, p.112). Finally, concerning internationalization theories, it is determined that family businesses tend to use the Network approach in starting their internationalization process, the Stage approaches in further developing the international operations and support their process through the Resource-based view and the Knowledge-based view.

Problem: There is a significant lack of research within the family business area which focuses on the micro-processes of strategy. Johnson, Melin and Whittington (2003) stated that while the field of strategy has traditionally concentrated on the macro-level of organizations, it needs now to attend to much more micro-level phenomenon. Furthermore, there is a general lack of research within the family business area in regards to strategy processes due to "the family business definition dilemma" (Lumpkin, Martin & Vaughn, 2008, p. 127). This dilemma is suggested to be lessened by a better understanding of the impact of the individuals on the strategic process. Purpose: This thesis examines influences on the micro-processes of strategy formation in the family firm in order to contribute to the family business research area. The specific influences that are in focus we labeled as 'components of identity'. These components of identity focus on the 'who' of the micro-process. Components of identity include identity, psychological ownership and attachment. Main research question: How and why do the components of identity influence the micro-process of strategy in a family firm? Method: This is an exploratory study which is based on a qualitative study of 14 individuals in six family-owned companies in the Småland area of Sweden. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with both family members and non-family members in an attempt to create case studies and contribute inductively. The case studies are presented in a storytelling format and were then used as a starting point for our analysis. Each case was analyzed from the perspective of the different components of identity as well as studying the influence that the dyadic relationship has on the family members. The names of the companies and the people involved have been changed in order to protect their privacy since this topic is personal in nature. Main findings: Gaining a better understanding within our area of study has allowed us to make some conclusions about the "how and why" of micro-processes of strategy in the family firm. One of the main findings, which makes a vast difference in this area of research, is the fact that the power-base within each company must be identified in order to enable a correct understanding of the micro-processes within the firm. Further, our results show that history, both in terms of historical decisions regarding the family business as well as the individual's past, play a significant role on strategy formation today. Moreover, the circumstances and emotions surrounding the individuals' entry into the family business impacts not only on succession process but also the direction of the firm, risk taking behaviour and asset retention. We were also able to make some conclusions with regards to family business strategy process. As well as provide a starting point for further research into the micro-process and the family business definition, we provide a basis for a possible new direction of governance research.

Background: Family Businesses’ way of doing marketing has similarities with B2B marketing. Usuallyfamily firms focus on what they have traditionally done well and diversify in related areas using their knowledge of how to perform in certain markets with certain customers and by offering certain productsand services. In order to do this, it is important for family firms, as for firms operating in B2Bmarkets, to create and keep good relationships with their stakeholders, so that at the end their customersare satisfied in the best possible manner. The process towards establishing long-term relationships between stakeholders and businesses requires certain characteristics and acts aimed at developingcommitment and trust. Since many of the most successful firms that have survived the longest arefamily businesses as well as B2B marketing is mainly about building and maintaining business relationships,we have decided to focus our study on the similarities between family firms’ marketing and B2Bmarketing within a specific context. B2B firms and Family firms make use of trade shows as an importantmarketing tool for improving relationships in networks. Trade shows are considered as the primary marketing tool to gain and sustain relationships with key stakeholders. Therefore, we chose the tradeshow context to execute our empirical survey. Purpose: The overall purpose of this thesis consists in testing and comparing practices and principleswithin two apparently separate fields of study - B2B marketing and Family Business Development -with the aim of finding and developing associations that can complement and contribute to both fields of study on a marketing level. Method: A quantitative method study has been conducted testing 50 companies participating at theBilsport Performance & Custom Motor show 2009 at Elmia – Jonkoping, Sweden. The primary data was gathered through a survey and a semi-structured interview, which constitutes our case study. The sample was chosen out of a population of 223 firms exhibing at the trade show, using a disproportionate stratified random method. Most secondary data involves research articles, books, reports, bachelorand master theses, and journals in order to determine marketing practices similarities between business-to-business firms and family business. Conclusions: Our empirical findings confirmed most of the hypotheses derived from theory. Hence,we found that most exhibiting firms at the trade show are family-controlled and operate in B2C markets;B2B firms in our sample have a tendency to use more relationship marketing than transactional marketing; family firms in our sample are more likely to use long-term oriented than short-termoriented marketing; and the overlap between B2B marketing and Family firms’ marketing in the tradeshow context is characterized by the common marketing principles and practices of family and B2Bfirms that aim at gaining and sustaining long-term business relationships.

Dagens ekonomiska klimat är kantat av möjligheterna och hoten från globalisering, ökad konkurrens och en alltjämt ökande takt, och ända sedan 1800-talet så har sammanslagningar och förvärv varit ett viktigt sätt för företag att konkurrera. Sammanslagningar och förvärv är aktiviteter som oftast styrs av begäret att uppnå synergi effekter, marknadsandelar, konkurrensfördelar och skalfördelar. I dag ligger mycket av medias och den akademiska fokusen på börsbolag, men Sveriges många små till medelstora privatägda företag, till exempel familjeföretag, bör inte falla i glömska. Dessa familjeföretag är olika jämfört med andra företag, inte bara när de kommer till ägarstruktur, men även på de organisatoriska och strategiska planen. Med detta i åtanke så verkar det finnas en lucka i den akademiska litteraturen när det kommer till just den här sortens frågeställning kring familjeföretag. Syfte Denna uppsats kommer undersöka förvärv inom familjeföretag med anledning av att öka kunskapen kring deras förvärvsstrategier och motiv. Författarna kommer även att studera till vilken grad kulturen influerar dessa strategier. Metod En fallstudieteknik valdes för att uppfylla syftet. Fallet behandlar förvärvsstrategin inom två medelstora familjeföretag, ROL AB och Bröderna Brandt Bil AB. Båda företagen har använt förvärv som tillväxtstrategi, och intervjuer genomfördes med strateger inom företagen för att samla in empirin. Slutsats Förvärvsstrategin verkar huvudsakligen styras av kulturen i de förvärvande och förvärvade företagen. Motiven påverkar också den valda förvärvsstrategin, och författarna identifierade också att förvärvets utfall till stor del beror på tidshorisonten som tillåts. I familjeföretag verkar det också som om ett lyckat förvärv fastställs av fler aspekter än i t.ex. börsföretag, där de finansiella avkastningen är viktigast. Värt att nämna är också att företag som internationaliserar måste vara beredda på att acceptera högre risk. / The context within which firms exist today is lined by the opportunities and threats of globalization, increased competition and a constantly intensifying pace. Ever since the 19th century mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have been an important way for firms to compete. Mergers and acquisitions are largely fuelled by the desire to attain synergies, market power, competitiveness and economics of scale and scope. Today, much focus in media and theory is directed towards publicly traded corporations, however, the importance of smaller to medium sized, privately owned companies, e.g. family businesses, should not be overlooked. Family businesses differ from other corporations, not only on the ownership structure but also on other organisational and strategic characteristics. Further, research within acquisitions and family businesses is very limited and there seems to be gap in literature regarding this constellations. Purpose This thesis will investigate acquisitions in family businesses in order to enhance the understanding of their acquisition strategy and motives. Further, the authors will study to what extent culture influences the acquisition strategy. Method A case study approach was chosen to achieve the purpose. The case concerned the acquisition strategy within two medium-sized family businesses, ROL AB and Bröderna Brandt Bil AB. Both companies has used acquisitions as tools for growth. The data was collected through interviews with strategists at the two companies. Conclusion The acquisition strategy seems to be mostly influenced by the culture in the acquiring and acquired company. Further, the acquisition motive also affects the chosen acquisition strategy. The authors also identified that whether a acquisition is successful or not depends on the time-frame. In family business, success also seems to be determined by more aspects than in e.g. public companies where success is driven by financial returns. In order to act in an international environment, one also needs to be prepared to accept higher risks.

The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the differences between family and non-family businesses that are listed on the stock exchange, more specifically which factors that is being used in the valuation process and why family businesses as a rule seem to be undervalued. We also look at if family ownership is a factor in this process. By conducting interviews with analysts and journalists working with valuation we hope to be able to not only find out what factors differ but also why family busi-nesses are undervalued. Our conclusion is that while the two forms of ownership has several negative factors that differ between them that are more common among family businesses, such as conservative dividend policy, this is not connected to the family business as a form but is rather an individual factor differing from company to company. Family ownership as such was however not in any way a factor in the valuation since the valuations instead looks at the individual company and does not generalize.

Bakgrund:                       I takt med att företagen mer och mer har börjat fokusera på aktieägarvärde och ägarstyrning har nya normativa ekonomistyrningsfunktioner som värdebaserad styrning vuxit fram. Därmed är det intressant att undersöka hur svenska familjeföretag av olika karaktärer upplever denna trend och huruvida det överensstämmer med ett aktieägarorienterat synsätt.  Syfte:                                  Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka och kartlägga vilken uppfattning svenska noterade och onoterade familjeföretag har på värdebaserad styrning och dess överensstämmelse med ett aktieägarorienterat synsätt. Vidare syftar uppsatsen att beskriva och förklara huruvida sådana verksamheter upplever att värdebaserad styrning kan användas som ett styrningsverktyg för att definiera och säkerställa aktieägarvärde. Metod: Jag har genomfört sex stycken intervjustudier med en abduktiv forskningsansats. Det empiriska materialet grundar sig huvudsakligen på data från både personliga intervjuer och telefonintervjuer men även sekundär data från hemsidor, årsredovisningar och bekräftade teorier. Slutsatser:                         Studiens noterade och onoterade familjeföretag upplever att deras värdeskapande processer stämmer väl överens med ett aktieägarorienterat synsätt. De påvisar alla att både finansiella och icke-finansiella målsättningar symboliserar verksamheternas aktieägarvärde vilket överensstämmer med varje familjs grundläggande värderingar och intressen för respektive verksamhet. Studiens fallföretag har vidare ingen konkret definition utav aktieägarvärde, verksamheterna är medvetna om värdet men använder inte begreppet i den dagliga verksamheten. Aktieägarvärde uppfattas vidare vara en integrerad målsättning i varje familjeföretag värdeskapande process. / Background:   As more and more companies have begun to focus on shareholder value and corporate governance, new normative financial functions as value-based management have emerged. Thus, it is interesting to investigate how Swedish family businesses of different characters experiencing this trend and whether it is consistent with a shareholder-oriented approach. Purpose:                             The purpose of this paper is to examine and identify the perception of Swedish listed and unlisted family business, on value-based management and its consistency with a shareholder-oriented approach. Furthermore, the study aims to describe and explain whether such business perceives that value-based management can be used as a management tool to define and ensure shareholder value. Method:                             I have completed six interview studies with an abductive research approach. The empirical material is mainly based on data from both personal interviews and telephone interviews but also secondary data from websites, annual reports and confirmed theories. Conclusions:                     The listed and unlisted family firms in this study perceive that their value creation processes is consistent with a shareholder-oriented approach. All the family firms demonstrate that both financial and non-financial objectives symbolize activities which are shareholder value consistent with the family’s basic values ​​and interests. Furthermore has each and every firm no concrete definition of shareholder value, businesses are aware of the value but they are not using the concept in their daily operations. Shareholder value is further perceived as an integrated goal in the firm’s value creation process.

Geographically dispersed organizations are becoming increasingly common, however, the organizational culture is often weaker in this type of organization due to geographical distances. One important aspect of the organizational culture is the organizational values, and if shared by all organizational members they can benefit the company on many levels, for example by increasing motivation and communication. If employees, on the other hand, fail to interpret the organizational values it may lead to decreased working moral and overall dissatisfaction. In family businesses it is the values of the family that constitute the organizational values, and these may be difficult to communicate to non-family employees, because family businesses often rely on informal communication.   The purpose of this thesis is to describe how non-family employees interpret the organizational values of a family business, as well as to increase the understanding of whether geographical distance affects their interpretation. In this thesis we have conducted a qualitative case study, in which ten semi-structured interviews were made in a geographically dispersed family business. We have assumed an employee perspective and have, thus, interviewed non-family employees on the different geographical locations of this family business.   The findings from the empirical data showed that the case studied organization does not have any formally written organizational values and the non-family employees have as a result interpreted the values slightly differently. The employees state the organizational values in general terms, which would make them applicable to any organization, or even society at large.   In the analysis we compare the theoretical framework and the empirical findings in order to present conclusions for the organization being studied. The analysis will be divided into themes; organizational structure, organizational culture and values as well as the relation between the non-family employees and the family business.   We were able to conclude that informal communication is not sufficient in order to efficiently communicate the organizational values in a geographically dispersed organization. Nevertheless, the geographical distance for each workplace respectively could not be identified as the only influencing factor that affects the employees’ interpretation of the organizational values. The organizational structure emerged as a contributing factor. The non-family employees’ interpretations were broad and general in terms of the organizational values. One of our recommendations is for the organization to write down the organizational values and distribute them throughout the organization, which will enable the organizational values to be correctly interpreted by all organizational members.