Given the increasing complexity of global ecological and social problems, innovation plays a key role in solutions for sustainable development. Within innovation ecosystems, intermediaries such as innovation hubs play an important part in influencing other actors like startups, investors and policymakers to create solutions for change. Therefore, it is essential that innovation hubs incorporate sustainability into their practices, if they are to contribute to addressing the Global Sustainability Challenge (GSC).   To see how this could be done, this study examines the case of the Venture Café Global Network (VCGN) a type of sector agnostic innovation hub. The study used a multi-method qualitative approach. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with different players in the innovation ecosystem, as well as with actors from within VCGN, and through a documentary analysis.   The results and discussion are presented according to certain overarching themes that emerged from the interviews and answer the research questions. Along with a longer list of recommendations, this study concludes that the adoption of a shared organisational definition of sustainability is the bedrock for any sustainability integration and vital for innovation hubs to impact other actors in their innovation ecosystems, to address the GSC.

The acquisition of the Indian land by the Cherokee Commission between 1890 to 1892 was a series of events that changed the future of many indian nations and parts of american history. In the midst of these great changes, Kiowa interpreter for the Cherokee commission: Joshua H Given, ended up in a controversial position. He was accused of having deliberately cheated and mislead the Indians to get them to sign the agreements to allot their land to the goverment. This led to several attempts by the Indian tribes to annul the agreements with the commission and the condemnation of Joshua Given by many Kiowas. This essay is an attempt to clarify parts of Joshua H Givens life, actions and death through a source-critical analysis of the sources used in the research of Joshua Given. The views of two historians, C. Blue Clark and William T. Hagan, is used to contrast and compare the actions and life of Given to get a fuller view of the complicity of this individual. Hagans views is more focused on the image of a trying mediator, while Clark focuses on the images of a deceiving interpreter, By the work and theories of Nancy L. Hagedorn and Margaret Connell Szasz on the cultural broker as an cultural intermediate, Givens complexe relation to the clashing cultures and tradition of his own Kiowa nation and his newly learned western and Christian culture can be undersood as a failiure to gain the extremely important trust required for such mediation between the parties.

Due to the high competitive nature of the fashion industry, it is essential for businesses to have precise and update information regarding its orders from every part of the supply chain. However, in nowadays conditions, when manufacturing process is outsourced worldwide, but lead times tend always to become shorter complexity of the supply chain has increased significantly that makes very complicated to ensure good visibility, communication, and coordination through the chain. The aim of this thesis is to find the way of managing complexity within Gefa International AB, located in Sweden, by improving its documentation and reorganizing the supply chain. By analyzing the company’s organization three main problems have been identified as: lack of the technical department, presence of intermediaries between the focal firm Gefa and manufacturers, and finally the current modification of the computer system Pisa that does not allow using developed set of documentation in the appropriate way. Two suggested solution should solve these problems and improve performance of the company. First, it is proposed to exclude intermediaries from the supply chain and to add one more work place in the company for the technical assistance. Second, it is necessary to adapt current computer system to the developed set of documentation. These solutions require additional expenses. However, preliminary calculations show that it could be covered by the economies on the middlemen’s interest. / Program: Applied Textile Management

Due to the high competitive nature of the fashion industry, it is essential for businesses to have precise and update information regarding its orders from every part of the supply chain. However, in nowadays conditions, when manufacturing process is outsourced worldwide, but lead times tend always to become shorter complexity of the supply chain has increased significantly that makes very complicated to ensure good visibility, communication, and coordination through the chain. The aim of this thesis is to find the way of managing complexity within Gefa International AB, located in Sweden, by improving its documentation and reorganizing the supply chain. By analyzing the company’s organization three main problems have been identified as: lack of the technical department, presence of intermediaries between the focal firm Gefa and manufacturers, and finally the current modification of the computer system Pisa that does not allow using developed set of documentation in the appropriate way. Two suggested solution should solve these problems and improve performance of the company. First, it is proposed to exclude intermediaries from the supply chain and to add one more work place in the company for the technical assistance. Second, it is necessary to adapt current computer system to the developed set of documentation. These solutions require additional expenses. However, preliminary calculations show that it could be covered by the economies on the middlemen’s interest. / Program: Applied Textile Management

This thesis presents a Constructivist Grounded Theory study that explores the impact that life science specific intermediaries have on knowledge exchange and commercialisation. Many of the life science intermediaries (LSIs) that operate to bridge the divide between industry and academia receive public funding, and many have come and gone. It is important for us to better understand the reasons behind this turnover and how we can develop LSIs that have staying power. The research explores what LSIs are and the different ways they can impact on knowledge exchange and commercialisation. The study engaged 22 different LSIs sites from the UK, Holland and France. These 22 different LSIs have been placed into five different Case intermediary models, moreover, 30 interviews were conducted, informal observations were collected and field notes also known as memos were taken throughout the research process. Through the use of Constructivist Grounded Theory five theoretical concepts emerged, these included the following: that a LSI needed to have commercialisation targets, those with KEC objectives embedded had more chance of gaining further funding, and they require sufficient time and that funding resources are adequate and they should employ staff from both academia and industry within the LSI. A theoretical framework model that can be used to help design and develop a high functioning LSI is presented. Discussions with policy decision makers and the expectations from a range of stakeholders feed into this framework model. The theory development adds to the knowledge on innovation intermediaries and in particular the sectoral systems of innovation (SSI) which allows for a more focused approach on innovation intermediaries from a single sector viewpoint. Furthermore, the study feeds into more recent research on the reason why intermediaries fail.

This thesis focuses on energy governance in the EU. It examines the role of intermediaries in governing conflicts that emerge from changes in material energy landscapes (infrastructures, technologies, resources) and the policy landscapes associated with decarbonisation. The thesis assesses the impact that intermediaries have on the goals of low-carbon transition through case studies of energy governance in Bulgaria and the UK. Intermediaries here refer to organizations, individuals, networks or institutions operating in-between other actor groups. The argument made by this thesis is that their strategic position allows intermediaries to play a key role in shaping energy infrastructure and the context of low-carbon transitions in the EU to their advantage. By using a conceptual framework which brings together 5 bodies of literature - on governance, infrastructure networks, low-carbon transitions, power and intermediaries - the thesis examines several strategic energy sectors in Bulgaria (wind and solar power, natural gas and energy efficiency) and the United Kingdom (offshore wind). The research methods include extensive analysis of energy regulation and a range of official and unofficial secondary literature; 49 semi-structured interviews with energy elites and participant observation at 6 different events. The collected data were used to analyse the material landscapes of energy and a range of strategic institutions involved in regulating, producing, transmitting and distributing energy in Bulgaria and the UK. The key findings of the thesis are that intermediaries can translate, block or accelerate socio-technical change. Intermediaries can be tenacious barriers to change because of their physical integration within energy infrastructure networks. The thesis distinguishes between two types of intermediaries: those disabling and enabling to low-carbon energy objectives. Whether enabling or disabling, intermediaries have the ability to translate knowledge and interests between stakeholders by reordering and prioritising certain interests over others. By translating between stakeholders intermediaries amplify the impact of their own specific context, creating more local, regional and national differences in approaches within the EU. Through their integration within energy infrastructure and/or policy networks, intermediaries are capable of complementing hierarchical government, as well as competing with it in pursuing their own interests. However only intermediaries integrated within material energy infrastructure are able to reorder and change the priorities of the state, while intermediaries integrated within policy networks are limited in what they can translate and between whom.

The commercial field of sustainability communications encompasses ground previously demarcated between the fields of Corporate Social Responsibility on the one hand, and marketing, advertising and public relations on the other. This thesis examines the formation and development of this novel field of cultural production and its significance for sustainable consumption and corporate sustainability. The research is orientated by practice theory and draws on participant observation within a sustainability communications agency, interviews and documentary analysis. The heuristic value of practice theory for the study of sustainable consumption is now well established in the context of end-use consumption but is unexplored in the context of commercial sustainability communications. Equally, sustainability communications has been neglected by the field of cultural economy. The key concern is with cultural intermediaries and their capacity or otherwise to instantiate their own mores, understandings and practices in the social world. I address this in terms of sustainability and draw on the idea of performativity to approach commercial sustainability communications as a performative complex of practices. Furthermore, the research aims to problematise the place of 'the consumer' in discourses of sustainable consumption. I produce a genealogy of sustainability communications and an account of the development and contemporary constitution of the associated agency market. I suggest that a defining role that the market plays is the management of the 'strategic ambiguity' of sustainability. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews I identify elements that integrate practices into the complex of sustainability communications and examine its normative orientations. Cultural intermediation is shown to take place through, firstly, the diffusion of practices and practice elements. Secondly, it occurs through attempts to instantiate 'the sustainable consumer'. Models of the consumer at work in sustainability communications are analysed and different modes of instantiation of 'the sustainable consumer' identified. Thirdly, it takes place through articulating sustainability with brands. I explore three arenas in which sustainability communications articulates brand and sustainability: what I identify as the discourse of corporate-sponsored sustainable consumption; the cultural politics of work; and lastly, the public sphere.

As the international community takes increasing action to mitigate the effects of climate change, increased focus has been placed on the topic of energy transitions in developing countries. This paper uses the multi-level perspective (MLP) framework to analyze the ongoing energy transition in Mongolia, specifically the integration of large-scale wind and solar energy systems. Attention is paid to the presence of transnational linkages and intermediaries that have substantially contributed to Mongolia’s success in diffusing renewable energy technology, as well as challenges Mongolia has faced as a result of limited technological and institutional capacity. The paper concludes that Mongolia’s transition shares many similarities with other developing countries’ transitions, in that transition dynamics are highly influenced by exogenous actors and interests, rather than traditional factors as described by the MLP.

Background International trade has dramatically increased during the last half of the 20th century and it is now of significant importance to most eco-nomies. International trade is especially crucial to countries such as Sweden, with a small domestic market. It has been said that a com-pany needs to have a committed management, as well as a strategy for it’s export and it’s marketing to reach long-term success. Never-theless, companies sometimes use a “strategy of least involvement”, leaving the international marketing strategy decisions in the hands of foreign agents and distributors. Purpose The purpose with this thesis is to investigate how the export and marketing strategies have been developed and implemented by suc-cessful Swedish export companies. Method Winners of the Export-Hermes Prize and Stora Exportpriset have been used as a sample of successful export companies. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with four of them were conducted to col-lect the empirical data. Conclusion The export companies in this study showed great differences con-cerning their original export ambitions, the methods they used to se-lect foreign markets, the modes that they used to enter new markets and the pace in which the international expansions were carried out. There were however strong similarities between the successful ex-port companies in other areas. All four companies had owners and top management who had been, and in most cases still were, highly involved and driving forces in the export activities. The companies also shared a belief in working with clear goals and having a strict control over subsidiaries and intermediaries. The authors are of the opinion that this control and monitoring are crucial for the success of the implementation of the export and marketing strategies.

<p>The issue of libation poses an important challenge to Christianity in Africa and, more specifically, among the Akan people in Ghana. Libation is traditionally a key ritual for the Akan as an ethnic group. However, the European missionaries who operated in West Africa condemned this ritual as idolatrous. Following the emergence of African Christian theology, especially within the Ghanaian context, various African theologians have contributed to a more systematic discussion of such libation practices. This thesis entails a critical comparison of the views of four Akan (in Ghana) theologians on Christian participation in libation practices. On this basis, the research problem in this thesis is stated in the following way: ―What are the points of divergence that lie beneath the different positions of Kwesi Sarpong, Kwesi Dickson, John Pobee and Kwame Bediako on the question of whether and in what forms Christian participation in libation practices in an Akan context in Ghana may be regarded as compatible with the Christian faith? This thesis describes analyses, compares and assesses the cultural and theological presuppositions of the views of these four Akan Ghanaian theologians on Christian participation in libation rituals. It shows how the views of these four theologians on libation are influenced by their views on the tatus which is attributed, both in Akan culture and in contemporary Christianity in Ghana, to abosom (lesser divinities) and nsamamfo (ancestors) in relation to Onyame (Supreme Being). The purpose of this thesis is therefore to clarify the cultural and theological assumptions underlying current debates on the observance of libation rituals by Christians in Ghana. The task is a description of the views of Sarpong, Dickson, Pobee and Bediako on the compatibility of Christian participation in libation practices in an Akan context with the Christian faith - just as they themselves understand its content and significance. In this thesis I approached the debate on libation in African Christian theology in two ways, namely following a direct and a thematic approach. In the direct approach the focus is explicitly on libation as a topic either in the context of African traditional religion and culture by itself or in its encounter with Christianity. In the thematic approach the focus is on libation within the context of its wider religious (with reference to God, the lesser divinities and ancestors) and cultural (the relationship between Christianity and African culture) contexts. The research indicates that the point of divergence amongst the four theologians mentioned above is almost always related to the invocation and petition of the lesser divinities and the ancestors. In addition to these major theological issues, ―ecclesiastical sanctions‖ also forms a major determining factor that influences the positions of these&nbsp / theologians. On their respective views, Sarpong asserts that libation in its present form is not incompatible with the Christian faith. By contrast, Bediako maintains that libation as is presently practiced among the Akan is not compatible with the Christian faith neither can it be adapted into the Christian faith. On the other hand, Dickson and Pobee maintain that libation rituals are not compatible with the Christian faith, but that it can be adopted and adapted into the Christian faith if the content of the accompanying prayer is made in consonance with Christian theology. The thesis is comprised of eight chapters and a postscript. In the postscript, I offer some personal views and argue that libation has to be adapted before it can be compatible with the Christian faith. I suggest that libation should be made only to God and to the ancestors. Petitions during libation rituals should be made only to God, while the presence of the ancestors should be recognized in a ―symbolic manner‖ by an invitation to join the living human beings to make such petitions.</p>