While a significant amount of research has examined the more traditional budgetary and procedural controls used by governments to maintain control over social security expenditure, very little research has examined the more obscure formal social controls used to achieve the same purpose. The primary aim of this study was to fill this research vacuum by examining both the formal and informal mechanisms used by governments to maintain control over social security expenditure and to achieve longer-term public policy appropriation. In particular the study focused on the payment of Job Newstart and Youth Allowances and how the social control discourse of marginalisation was used to achieve such control. The study was undertaken in two stages. In stage one, an e-mail questionnaire was distributed to Job Network consultants (n = 739) employed at 66 not-for-profit Job Network Providers throughout Australia. In stage two, focus group interviews were conducted to expand on the responses previously obtained from the e-mail questionnaire survey. The study produced several significant findings from the views of Job Network consultants. Most significantly the results support Foucault's discourse on marginalisation. That is the results help to explain how consultants identify and single out people who do not fit the norm and therefore represent a case for special treatment. The effect of this marginalisation process is that governments are able to assert power and authority over welfare claimants and that the process is justified from the government's viewpoint. It would also seem that society and the individual accept such institutional arrangements. The techniques of marginalisation are disciplinary in their nature and relate to the multiplication of social security rules and procedures and a correlative division of the claimant population in accordance with constitutive criteria of status and entitlement. The study also concluded that Job Network consultants recognised that the breaching regime should be modified longer-term to take account of the i nformal ethical and moral criteria of fairness, justice and the rights of individuals. Having said this however, the same group of consultant's indicated in very strong terms that recipients' of Newstart and Youth Allowances should comply with their mutual obligation requirements and that they should be penalised in those instances where they do not comply with these requirements.

While a significant amount of research has examined the more traditional budgetary and procedural controls used by governments to maintain control over social security expenditure, very little research has examined the more obscure formal social controls used to achieve the same purpose. The primary aim of this study was to fill this research vacuum by examining both the formal and informal mechanisms used by governments to maintain control over social security expenditure and to achieve longer-term public policy appropriation. In particular the study focused on the payment of Job Newstart and Youth Allowances and how the social control discourse of marginalisation was used to achieve such control. The study was undertaken in two stages. In stage one, an e-mail questionnaire was distributed to Job Network consultants (n = 739) employed at 66 not-for-profit Job Network Providers throughout Australia. In stage two, focus group interviews were conducted to expand on the responses previously obtained from the e-mail questionnaire survey. The study produced several significant findings from the views of Job Network consultants. Most significantly the results support Foucault's discourse on marginalisation. That is the results help to explain how consultants identify and single out people who do not fit the norm and therefore represent a case for special treatment. The effect of this marginalisation process is that governments are able to assert power and authority over welfare claimants and that the process is justified from the government's viewpoint. It would also seem that society and the individual accept such institutional arrangements. The techniques of marginalisation are disciplinary in their nature and relate to the multiplication of social security rules and procedures and a correlative division of the claimant population in accordance with constitutive criteria of status and entitlement. The study also concluded that Job Network consultants recognised that the breaching regime should be modified longer-term to take account of the i nformal ethical and moral criteria of fairness, justice and the rights of individuals. Having said this however, the same group of consultant's indicated in very strong terms that recipients' of Newstart and Youth Allowances should comply with their mutual obligation requirements and that they should be penalised in those instances where they do not comply with these requirements.

I experimentally examine whether disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) investment facilitates cooperation in business collaborations. Business collaborations are essential for firms to maintain their competitive advantage. However, half of all ventures fail. A major reason for this high failure rate is a lack of cooperation among business collaboration partners, known as relational risk. Findings suggest that CSR disclosure leads to greater CSR investment, but does not result in an overall higher level of cooperation. However, CSR disclosure moderates the link between CSR investment and cooperation. When CSR investment is disclosed, cooperation is highest when both managers invest in CSR. Further, managers who invest in CSR are more sensitive to CSR disclosure information than managers who do not invest in CSR. Managers who invest in CSR are more cooperative when they receive a signal their partner also invested in CSR. Managers who do not invest in CSR do not attend to CSR disclosure information and are equally cooperative when partnered with a CSR investor or a non-CSR investor. Finally, when CSR investment is not disclosed, managers who invest in CSR are no more likely to cooperate than managers who do not invest in CSR. Although CSR is widespread, little is known about why managers invest in CSR or disclose CSR information. This study has implications for practitioners and academics on CSR by demonstrating a potential benefit of CSR investment and disclosure, mitigating relational risk in business collaborations.

The research adds to current management control system and textile and fashion management literature by developing a MCS framework which is specially targeting startups within the textile and fashion industry in order to implement and scale sustainability initiatives. The framework provides potential to impact and facilitate managers to foster sustainable development. Given the lack of research and the resulting lack of knowledge and understanding of sustainable development from a managerial perspective in the textile and fashion context, this research adds knowledge by examining fashion startups which find themselves at the development phase of MCSs.

Sammanfattning  Examensarbete, Civilekonomprogrammet - Controller, Ekonomihögskolan vid Linnéuniversitetet i Växjö, vårterminen 2023.  Titel: Blir ett plus ett verkligen två?  En kvalitativ fallstudie om hur en privat organisation hanterar spänningar i styrningen efter företagsförvärv   Bakgrund & problem Företagsförvärv har blivit ett populärt tillvägagångssätt för att uppnå snabb och hög tillväxt. Trots detta har det visat sig att merparten av företagsförvärv leder till misslyckanden på grund av svårigheten med att integrera företagens strukturella samt kulturella och strategiska skillnader. För att kunna hantera dessa skillnader är det avgörande att utforma ett styrsystem som tar hänsyn till det förvärvande och förvärvade företagens styrning. Den befintliga forskningen har däremot inte belyst hur företag bör konstruera sin styrning efter ett genomfört företagsförvärv. Bristen på samverkan mellan de två företagen leder så småningom till interna konflikter, även benämnt styrspänningar.  Syftet Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka en organisations styrning både under och efter ett företagsförvärv. Särskilt uppmärksamhet har lagts på att identifiera och illustrera vilka styrspänningar som uppstår efter företagsförvärv samt att undersöka de underliggande orsakerna till deras uppkomst. Slutligen siktar undersökningen även på att finna och förklara hur dessa styrspänningar hanteras inom en privat organisation.  Metod Studien har undersökt en privat organisation som genomför företagsförvärv. Utgångspunkten för denna undersökning har varit genom en kvalitativ forskningsansats med semistrukturerade intervjuer, där en fallstudie med förklarande karaktär har tillämpats. Den empiriska insamlingen har inhämtats från både det förvärvande och förvärvade företagens anställda. Dessutom har interna dokument samt årsredovisningar använts för att komplettera studiens empiriska underlag. Slutsats Studien har identifierat fem styrspänningar som har uppstått efter genomförda företagsförvärv;“Makt till de anställda vs Formella strukturer”, “Gamla system vs Nya system”,“Gamla uppföljningsrutiner vs Nya uppföljningsrutiner”,“Gamla förmåner vs Nya förmåner”, “Gammal identitet vs Ny identitet”. Uppkomsten av dessa styrspänningar förklaras utifrån att det finns kontraster i det förvärvande och förvärvade företagets styrning. Dessutom beror det på att de förvärvade anställda hade förväntningar som inte uppfylldes efter förvärvet. Utöver det har institutionella logiker varit en annan bidragande faktor, där den ena logiken försvagar den andra. Hur dessa fem styrspänningar har hanterats beror på omständigheterna och är därmed situationsanpassade.   Nyckelord: Företagsförvärv, integrationsprocessen, formell styrning, informell styrning, institutionella logiker, styrspänningar / Abstract  Master's thesis, Master of Science in Business and Economics - Controller, Linnaeus University School of Business, Växjö, spring semester 2023.  Title: Does one plus one really equals two?  A qualitative case study on how a private organization handles management control tensions after an acquisition.  Background & problem Acquisitions have become a popular approach to achieve fast and high growth. Nevertheless, it has been shown that the majority of acquisitions fail due to the difficulty of integrating the structural, cultural and strategic differences of the companies. To address these differences, it is crucial to design a management control system that considers the systems of the acquiring and acquired firms. However, existing research has not shed light on how firms should construct their control systems following a completed acquisition. The lack of interaction between the two firms eventually led to internal conflicts, also known as management control tensions.  Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine an organization's management control system both during and after a business acquisition. Particular attention has been given to identify and illustrate the tensions that have arisen in management control and to investigate the underlying reasons for their emergence. Finally, the investigation also aims to find and explain how these tensions in management control are handled within a private organization.  Method The research has investigated a private organization that carries out corporate acquisitions. The starting point for this investigation has been through a qualitative research approach with semi-structured interviews, where a case study with an explanatory character has been applied. The empirical collection has been obtained from both the acquiring and acquired companies' employees. In addition, internal documents and annual reports have been used to complement the empirical material of the study.  Conclusion The study identified five management tensions that have arisen after acquisitions; "Power to employees vs Formal structures", "Old systems vs New systems", "Old monitoring procedures vs New monitoring procedures," "Old benefits vs New benefits", "Old identity vs New identity". The emergence of these management control tensions is explained on the basis that there are contrasts in the management control systems of the acquiring and acquired company. Moreover, it is because the acquired employees had expectations that were not met after the acquisition. In addition, institutional logics have been another contributing factor, with one logic weakening the other. How these five management control tensions have been tackled depends on the circumstances and is thus context dependent.  Keywords: Mergers and acquisitions, integration process, formal controls, informal controls, institutional logics, management control tensions

Bakgrund och problem: Hållbarhet är ett begrepp som har fått mer uppmärksamhet under de senaste åren på grund av klimatförändringar och förbrukning av naturresurser. Miljömässiga trender gör att miljökrav och förväntningar från intressenter och samhället ökar. För att styra en verksamhet i rätt riktning krävs både formella och informella styrsystem. I syfte att följa med i utvecklingen och vara konkurrenskraftig krävs förståelse för hur formella och informella styrsystem kan användas för att integrera miljömässig hållbarhet i verksamhetsstyrning.  Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur medelstora företag integrerar miljömässig hållbarhet i sin verksamhetsstyrning. Detta genom att skapa en förståelse för vilka styrverktyg som används. Forskningsfrågan baseras på respondenternas individuella syn på miljömässig hållbarhet.  Metod: Denna studie baseras på en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och tillämpar en abduktiv forskningsansats och en komparativ design. Datainsamlingen från tio medelstora företag har utförts genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med respondenter med kunskap om miljömässig hållbarhet. Den teoretiska referensramen har formulerats med hjälp av vetenskapliga artiklar, böcker och relevanta hemsidor.  Slutsatser: Studiens resultat visar att hälften av de medelstora företagen i urvalet har en enkelt utvecklad verksamhetsstyrning för att integrera miljömässig hållbarhet, det vill säga både svagt utvecklade formella och informella styrsystem. Urvalets andra hälft har en kulturbaserad verksamhetsstyrning, där informella styrsystem för miljömässig hållbarhet är starkt utvecklade, medan formella styrsystem är mindre utvecklade. Troligtvis kommer medelstora företag på lång sikt gå mot att tillämpa både starka formella och informella styrsystem för att integrera miljömässig hållbarhet. / Background and problem: The concept of sustainability has gained increased attention over the recent years due to climate change and consumption of natural resources. The rising trend of sustainability results in more strict requirements and expectations from stakeholders and society. In order to lead an organization in the right direction both formal and informal controls are required. With a view to follow the development and be competitive, an understanding of the integration of environmental sustainability into the management control is beneficial. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify how medium-sized enterprises integrate environmental sustainability into their management control. The study aims to create an understanding of what controls are frequently used and the research question is based on the individual views on environmental sustainability of the respondents.  Method: This study is based on qualitative research and it applies a abductive approach and a comparative design. Data was collected from ten medium-sized enterprises through semi-structured interviews with knowledgeable persons within the area of environmental sustainability. The theoretical frame of reference has been written with the support of scientific articles, course literature and relevant web pages. Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that half of the medium-sized enterprises in the sample have a simply developed management control system regarding the integration of environmental sustainability, which implies that both the formal and informal controls are developed in a basic manner. The remaining half of the sample consists of companies with culture-based management control, meaning that the informal controls are strongly developed, while the formal controls are less advanced. In the long term, medium-sized enterprises are likely to move towards applying both strong formal and informal controls to integrate environmental sustainability.