This paper analyses the factors associated with the competitive success of MSMEs in Peru. A qualitative research was carried out with a sample of 94 companies with more than 5 employees. Factors for competitive success are studied from the perspective of the resource-based theory. Results show that MSMEs that develop a more complete management control system and have more efficient human resources practices have a better chance to succeed in a competitive market. These results are especially useful for MSMEs managers and governmental directors in order to promote and design strategies and policies that promote the growth and competitiveness of MSMEs. / En este artículo, se analizan los factores asociados al éxito competitivo de las mipymes peruanas, con una muestra de 94 empresas, con más de cinco trabajadores. Los factores de éxito competitivo se estudian desde la perspectiva de la teoría de los recursos y capacidades de las empresas. Los resultados muestran que, conforme las mipymes tengan implantados sistemas de control de gestión más desarrollados y que apliquen prácticas de gestión de sus recursos humanos más eficientes, mayor será la probabilidad de tener éxito en el mercado. Los resultados son especialmente útiles para los gerentes de las mipymes y los organismos de fomento de dichas instituciones para que puedan diseñar y promover estrategias y políticas que favorezcan el crecimiento y competitividad de la mipyme. / Este artigo analisa os fatores associados ao sucesso competitivo das MPMEs peruanas Uma pesquisa qualitativa foi realizada com uma amostra de 94 empresas com mais de cinco funcionários. Os fatores de sucesso competitivos são estudados a partir da perspectiva da teoria de recursos e capacidades da empresa. Os resultados mostram que as MPMEs que desenvolvem um sistema de controle de gestão completo e têm práticas de recursos humanos mais eficientes têm mais chances de ter sucesso em um mercado competitivo. Os resultados são especialmente úteis para os gestores das MPMEs e das agências de promoção de tais instituições, para que possam conceber e promover estratégias e políticas que promovam o crescimento e a competitividade das MPMEs.

Begreppet gaseller har fått en allt större betydelse sedan det introducerades av Birch år 1979. Gasellföretags utmaning är att de arbetar under en hög tillväxt. Att ständigt bibehålla en snabb tillväxt och hög prestanda blir allt svårare när det sker i en oförutsebar miljö. Beslut angående organisatoriska förändringar måste tas i en snabbare takt än i andra företag. Eftersom gasellföretag skiljer sig från andra företag innebär det även att organisationens hantering av styrsystem kan vara annorlunda. Syftet med uppsatsen är att studera gasellföretags användning av formella styrsystem. Med vår studie vill vi undersöka om gasellföretags styrsystem har en mer organisk eller mekanisk karaktär. Vi vill även belysa vilken typ av tillväxt som gasellföretag har.Vi har använt en kvalitativ forskningsmetod med en abduktiv forskningsansats. Specifika urval gjordes angående teori, företag samt intervjudeltagare. Primärdatan som användes var besöksintervjuer samt skypeintervjuer med gasellföretag, forskningsfrågorna operationaliserades. Uppsatsen är utformad så att kvalitetsmåttens validitet och reliabilitet är goda. Hänsyn till forskningsetik togs för att uppfylla etikkraven. Vårt utfall blev att majoriteten av studerade gasellföretag planerade sina strategier, vilket går emot en teori att företag i oförutsebara miljöer inte använder planerade strategier. Vi anser att det inte är företags handlingsplan som skapar tillväxt utan företags platta struktur med horisontell kommunikation och god företagskultur. Fem av sex gasellföretag använder budget samt alla använder rullande prognoser, vilket innebär att gasellföretag utformar formella styrsystem trots en hög tillväxt och oförutsebara miljöer. Karaktären av budgeten var skiljaktig, både organisk och mekanisk. Gasellföretag växer främst genom organisk tillväxt och inte genom en förvärvad tillväxt. Någon exakt slutsats angående var gasellföretag befinner sig i tillväxtens fem faser kan inte fastslås. Det vi fann var att ingen av de studerade gasellföretagen befann sig högre än tredje fasen. / The concept of gazelle has become increasingly important since it was introduced by Birch in 1979. The largest challenge for a gazelle company is that they are working under high growth. Constantly maintaining a rapid growth and high performance becomes increasingly difficult when it happens in an unforeseeable environment. Decisions regarding organizational changes must be taken at a faster pace than within other companies. Because gazelle-companies often varies from other companies, their organizational control systems may also differ. The purpose of the essay is to study the use of formal control systems by gazelle-companies. We want to investigate whether the gazelle-companies control systems have a more organic or mechanical character. We also want to highlight what kind of growth a gazelle-company has. We have used a qualitative research method with an abductive research approach. Specific selection was made regarding theory, company and interviewee. The primary data used was physical interviews and skype interviews with gazelle-companies, the research questions were operationalized. The essay is designed so that the quality measurements validity and reliability are correct. Consideration of research ethics was taken to fulfil the ethics requirement. The majority of our researched gazelle-companies plan their strategies, which is the opposite to the theory that companies in unforeseeable environments don’t use planned strategies. We believe that it’s not the companies action plan that creates growth, instead it is because these companies have a flat structure with horizontal communication and a good corporate culture. Five out of six gazelle-companies use a budget and all companies use rolling forecasts, which means that gazelle-companies design formal control systems despite high growth and unforeseeable environments. The character of the budget was both organic and mechanical. Gazelle-companies grow mainly through organic growth and not through acquired growth. The exact conclusion about where a gazellecompany is in the five phases of growth can’t be determined. We found that none of the gazelles where higher than the third phase.

Submitted by Flavio Souza (flavio.nuness@gmail.com) on 2013-12-10T22:49:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_flaviosouza.pdf: 2027188 bytes, checksum: 2bb92e89d28bf05c3f586b1b33243c67 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by ÁUREA CORRÊA DA FONSECA CORRÊA DA FONSECA (aurea.fonseca@fgv.br) on 2013-12-16T12:33:55Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_flaviosouza.pdf: 2027188 bytes, checksum: 2bb92e89d28bf05c3f586b1b33243c67 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2013-12-19T16:38:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_flaviosouza.pdf: 2027188 bytes, checksum: 2bb92e89d28bf05c3f586b1b33243c67 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-12-19T16:38:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_flaviosouza.pdf: 2027188 bytes, checksum: 2bb92e89d28bf05c3f586b1b33243c67 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-11-29 / Para possibilitar o atendimento de demandas crescentes, e a cada dia mais complexas da sociedade, as organizações públicas necessitam utilizar ferramentas que permitam a condução de suas instituições a determinadas direções, buscando-se a melhoria dos serviços públicos e a redução do desperdício. Nesse cenário, o planejamento estratégico se mostra imprescindível, no entanto, não basta a sua formulação, esse tem que ser efetivamente implementado, permeando os demais processos da organização. Assim, este trabalho investigou a integração entre o planejamento estratégico e os sistemas gerenciais das organizações, em especial o orçamentário, que possui elevada relevância no setor público. O objetivo dessa pesquisa é identificar quais os fatores que influenciam a relação entre o planejamento estratégico e o processo de elaboração orçamentária nas organizações. Para tal, foi utilizada metodologia qualitativa, por meio de um estudo de caso múltiplo, que analisou quatro organizações da Marinha do Brasil. Os resultados da pesquisa permitiram o levantamento de diversos fatores, assim como os impactos causados por esses na relação estudada. No entanto, poucos fatores se apresentam da mesma forma nas organizações militares, havendo grande heterogeneidade não só entre as organizações, como também entre os setores de cada organização. Além disso, verifica-se que a implementação do planejamento estratégico, assim como de outras ferramentas administrativas que o fortalecem, encontra-se em plena evolução na Marinha, havendo tendência de fortalecimento do pensamento estratégico nessa Força nos próximos anos. / To enable meeting growing demands of a increasingly complex society, public organizations need to use tools that allow their institutions to conduct certain directions, which seek to improve public services and reduce waste. In this scenario, strategic planning is indispensable. However, formulating the strategic planning is not enough. The strategic planning must be effectively implemented, with a view to permeating the other processes of the organization. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between strategic planning and the management systems of organizations, especially the budgetary system, which is highly relevant to the public sector. Then, the aim of this study is to identify which factors affects the relationship between strategic planning and the preparation of budget proposals in organizations. To this end, a multiple case study qualitative methodology was used in the analysis of four organizations of the Brazilian Navy. The research unveils several factors that influence the relationship between strategic planning and budgeting. However, few such factors exist in the same manner in the military organizations investigated. Heterogeneity is considerable both between organizations and across sectors of each organization. Furthermore, it appears that the implementation of strategic planning and the administrative tools that support it are evolving in the Navy, with a tendency towards strengthened strategic thinking in the coming years.

This diploma thesis focuses on Managerial Accounting and its tools and techniques. The main part of it would serve to review whether theoretical principles of Managerial Accounting are efficiently implemented and whether Key Performance Indicators are properly set to fulfil their essential functions to measure, motivate and manage achievement of performance goals. It further investigates Responsibility Accounting, Performance Management and how they influence and impact the reward system and the motivation of employees. This thesis would provide a general overview related to modern techniques such as Management Control Systems, which are nowadays popularly used to coordinate development of human resources, their motivation, assessment and other factors influencing performance. The practical part of this thesis includes analysis of the remuneration system in concrete company, namely Philip Morris ČR a.s. The last chapter also summarizes strengths and weaknesses of the current system and suggests improvements to influence performance and employees motivation more positively and how to prosper from the application of Managerial Accounting tools.

Knowledge management has become increasingly important in organizations and how knowledge can be developed, shared and maintained has been researched more in recent years. The question of whether knowledge is seen as a competitive advantage has gained a great deal of focus in organizations instead of reviewing knowledge management. There are earlier studies that investigate the structure and organizational culture's impact on knowledge sharing in an organization but do not say how the factors affect knowledge sharing. The report examines how organizational structure and culture, as well as other management control parameters in a corporate group can affect the work with knowledge sharing, in which the observational data focus on interviews with employees of the company our case study focuses on. There is an ongoing implementation of a new knowledge sharing group at the company, which is used as a basis for this survey. A method is developed from Klein and Myers seven principles for interpretivism in case studies and Eisenhardt’s principles for theory building. A literature study based on Malmi and Brown's MCS factors investigates which parameters that could affect knowledge sharing in our case. The categories culture management, planning, cybernetic management, reward and compensation, and administrative management were factors considered relevant for our question formulation and are used as the basis for our interview formulation, as well as the literature used in our analysis. Our investigation model is used as a basis for a total of 22 interviews with employees within three different affiliate companies within the case company in which the knowledge sharing group covers. The study has four different questionnaires depending on the interviewee's position on the company and if they were involved in the new knowledge sharing group. The interviews include questions about the attitude and possibility of knowledge sharing at the case company and how the case company manages knowledge sharing. The answers where then analyzed based on the literature study and compared to what the staff of the different affiliate companies said and to what their position on the companies where. Based on this, a result is made. The study results show that an organization where members are at different geographical locations means that the natural contact between members is missing and that makes the exchange of knowledge more difficult. Communication within organizations is also affected by the geographical spread and can affect the amount of collaborations, where lack of communication within the organization leads to fewer collaborations, and thus lesser knowledge exchange. In addition to this, the organizational structure is affected by the degree of decentralization within organizations by influencing how decision-making is taken in the organization and who are able to influence decisions. The results also show that in a culture of cooperation, where culture is open and organizers help each other, it is easier to encourage knowledge sharing. Furthermore, it shows that cultural management in the form of clans and symbols can affect knowledge sharing by creating an open and familiar culture that encourages knowledge sharing. In order to encourage knowledge sharing in an organization with rewards or compensations, they need to be based on a measurement system that in some way is linked to the knowledge sharing. We see that personal motivation, which is not linked to measurement systems or rewards and compensation, can also affect how willing members of the organization are to share knowledge. Finally, knowledge sharing within groups can be locked in the existing patterns if there are strict rules on how to organize knowledge sharing groups, while no rules can make them unfocused and ineffective. We believe our results of the study coincides with the literature used. / Kunskapshantering har blivit allt viktigare i organisationer och hur kunskap kan utvecklas, delas och bibehållas har blivit en fråga som forskats mer på de senaste åren. Frågan huruvida kunskap ses som en konkurrenskraft har fått ett stort fokus i organisationer istället för att se över kunskapshanteringen. Det finns tidigare studier som undersöker strukturen och organisationskulturens påverkan på kunskapsdelningen i en organisation men säger inte hur faktorerna påverkar kunskapsdelning. Rapporten undersöker hur struktur, organisationskultur, samt andra parametrar i en koncern kan påverka arbetet med kunskapsdelning, där empirin fokuserar på intervjuer med anställda på ett fallföretag. På fallföretaget pågår det en implementation utav ett nytt kompetenscenter med fokus på kunskapsdelning som används som grund för undersökningen. En metod togs fram som bygger på Klein och Myers sju principer för interpretivism i fallstudier, Eisenhardts principer för problemformulering. En litteraturstudie vars grund bygger på Malmi och Browns MCS-faktorer undersöker hur olika styrparametrar kan påverka kunskapsdelningen. Kategorierna kulturstyrning, planering, cybernetisk styrning, belöning och kompensation, samt administrativ styrning var faktorer som ansågs relevanta för vår frågeställning och användes som grund för utformandet av frågorna till vår empiri insamling, samt för litteraturinsamlingen som används i vår analys. Vår undersökningsmodell används som underlag till totalt 22 intervjuer på anställda inom tre olika dotterbolag inom fallföretaget som kunskapsdelningsprojektet omfattar. Studien har fyra olika frågeformulär beroende på den intervjuades ställning på företaget och ifall de var involverade i det nya kompetenscentret. Intervjuerna innefattar frågor om inställning och möjlighet till kunskapsdelning på fallföretaget och hur fallföretaget styr kunskapsdelning. Svaren analyseras sedan utifrån litteraturstudien och jämförs mellan vad personal på de olika bolagen sa och vilken ställning de har på företagen. Utifrån detta tas ett resultat och en slutsats fram. Studiens resultat visar att en organisation där medlemmarna är geografiskt utsprida gör att den naturliga kontakten mellan medlemmar saknas och gör kunskapsutbyte svårare. Kommunikationen inom organisationer påverkas även av den av geografiska spridningen och kan påverka mängden samarbeten, där en bristande kommunikation inom organisationen leder till färre samarbeten och på så sätt mindre kunskapsutbyte. Utöver det så påverkas organisationsstrukturen av decentraliseringsgraden inom organisationer genom att påverka hur beslutsfattande tas i organisationen och vilka som har möjlighet att påverka besluten. Resultaten visar även att i en samarbetskultur, där kulturen är öppen och organisationsmedlemmarna hjälper varandra, är det lättare att uppmuntra till kunskapsdelning. Vidare visar det att kulturstyrning i form av klaner och symboler kan påverka kunskapsdelning genom att skapa en öppen och familjär kultur som uppmuntrar till kunskapsdelning. För att belöningar eller kompensationer ska kunna uppmuntra till kunskapsdelning i en organisation behöver belöningen eller kompensationen vara grundad i ett mätsystem som på något sätt är kopplat till kunskapsdelningen. Även personlig motivation, som inte är kopplad till mätsystem eller belöningar och kompensation kan påverka hur villiga organisationsmedlemmarna är att dela med sig av kunskap. Slutligen kan kunskapsdelningen inom kompetensgrupper bli låsta i de mönster som redan finns ifall det finns strikta regler på hur kompetensgrupperna ska organiseras, samtidigt som inga regler kan gör dem ofokuserade och ineffektiva. Vi anser resultatet av vår studie överensstämmer med den litteraturbas vi använt oss av.

The main concern of this master thesis is in the relation between management control systems and management style. In particular it is the management style called liberating leadership, which is characteristic for so called democratic companies, that is subject of the research. The main goal of this thesis is to examine whether it is possible to establish management control systems in such companies given the principles they are built on. Further question is whether and eventually how this management style should be reflected in management control system. The answer to the latter question is introduced using also the outcomes of survey conducted among the executives of companies that endorse the principles of democratic workplace.

International manufacturing companies are shipping goods worldwide, resulting in interorganizational freight transportation where customers, suppliers, and logistics partners are involved in the transportation processes. This interorganizational nature of freight transport emissions has made them difficult to address, as they can be seen as not being connected to only one single company’s decisions. With the relevancy, consciousness, and interest of going greener being on the rise on a global level, many studies have made a call for a wider perspective on how manufacturing companies can work with reducing Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions from transport related to their business. This thesis addresses that call, and the research purpose of this thesis is to explore how a manufacturing company can achieve continuous and controlled reduction of CO2 emissions from freight transport. This study develops a framework in support of decarbonizing freight transport at a manufacturing company, through the adapting of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) activities, enabled by Strategy and Management Control Systems (MCSs). In sum, it is explored how a manufacturing company can adapt GSCM activities for decarbonization of freight transport as part of a decarbonization strategy, that is implemented and sustained within the company through MCSs. This master thesis studies the case company Rosemount Tank Radar AB, a Sweden-based manufacturer of measurement instrumentation with high levels of export. To find the relevant strategy and management control concepts and theories, a literature study was first conducted. Based on this literature study, a case study of the company was then performed. Following the case study, case findings were analyzed and related to the concepts and theories found in the literature study, leading to the final framework. The framework constitutes the overall conclusion, and a mapping of the analysis on how manufacturing companies can reduce their CO2 emissions from freight transport through the approach based on GSCM, decarbonization strategy, and MCSs. The framework gathers identified decarbonization strategy scopes for greener transports found within the research field of GSCM and the case study. These decarbonization strategy scopes are then set in relation to the identified strategy and control management concepts and tools, that support efficient and tangible implementation of the decarbonization strategy. On a practical level, the framework developed in this thesis is suggested to bring a foundation for discussions among supply chain managers at manufacturing companies that are looking to define or redefine their decarbonization strategy in order make their freight transport greener. As the case study findings of this master thesis also proposes, greener supply chain transport practices can lead to cost savings and better customer experiences, in addition to reducing CO2 emissions.

Bakgrund och problem: Vikten av de snabbväxande företagens påverkan på marknaden är något som på senare tid fått extra uppmärksamhet. Andelen snabbväxande företag i Sverige är hög jämfört med andra länder, men bara en liten del lyckas fortsätta överleva på lång sikt. Detta sker på grund av att företagen befinner sig i föränderliga miljöer som många av dessa snabbväxande företagen inte lyckas anpassa sig till samt klara av utmaningarna som uppstår vid tillväxt.   Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att få en djupare förståelse för hur omgivningen påverkar styrningen i snabbväxande företag som befinner sig i föränderliga miljöer. Vidare sökes en förståelse kring hur företagen agerar för att växa och hur tillväxten påverkar utvecklingen av styrningen i företagen.   Metod: Baserat på syftet och de valda forskningsfrågorna valdes en flerfallstudie som forskningsdesign. De tre fallen som valdes består av svenska företag som under en kort period upplevt en mycket hög tillväxt. Semistrukturerade intervjuer valdes för insamling av empirin.   Slutsats: Studiens resultat tyder på att externa faktorer såsom digitalisering, konjunkturförändringar, politik och media har tvingat företagen att utvecklas från tidigare arbetssätt till en tydligare planering av verksamheten. De valda strategierna för snabb tillväxt är att antingen öka försäljningen eller expandera geografiskt. Det konstaterades att externa faktorer som politiska beslut kan möjliggöra tillväxten samt interna faktorer som viljan för tillväxt och kompetens driver tillväxten framåt. Dessutom konstaterades legitimitet vara en intern faktor som möjliggör tillväxt. / Background and problem: The importance of the influence of fast-growing companies in the market is something that has recently received extra attention. The proportion of fast-growing companies in Sweden is high compared to other countries, but only a small number manage to survive in the long term. This is due to the fact that companies are in turbulent environments that many of these fast-growing companies are unable to adapt to and meet the challenges posed by growth.   Purpose: The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how the environment affects the governance of fast-growing companies that are in changing environments. Furthermore, an understanding is sought of how companies act to grow and how growth affects the development of corporate governance.   Method: A multiple case study was selected as a research design based on the purpose and the selected research questions. The three cases selected consist of Swedish companies that experienced very high growth in a short period. Semi-structured interviews were selected for the collection of the empirical data.   Conclusion: The study's findings indicate that external factors such as digitalization, business cycles, politics and the media have forced companies to evolve from previous work methods to a formal planning of the business. The chosen strategies for rapid growth are to either increase sales or expand geographically. It was found that external factors such as political decisions may enable growth as well as internal factors such as the will for growth and competence to drive growth. In addition, legitimacy was found to be an internal factor enabling growth.

Bakgrund och problem: Ekonomistyrning måste anpassas till respektive företags förutsättningar. Företag kan tillämpas olika strategier i syfte att uppnå deras vision varav en strategi är outsourcing. Outsourcing innebär att en extern part kontrakteras att utföra en viss aktivitet för en annan organisations räkning. Denna form av struktur får dock inverkan på verksamhetens förmåga att skapa målkongruens eftersom det innebär att även den externa partens målsättningar måste stämma överens med organisationens målsättningar. Ytterligare problematik uppstår när outsourcing tillämpas till flertalet externa organisationer i form av agenter. Problematik i förhållandet mellan agenten och den styrande verksamheten beskrivs i teorin av fenomenet agency theory och dess underliggande antagande om att respektive part kommer att agera utefter sina egna intressen och målsättningar. Att styra en verksamhet till målkongruens under dessa förutsättningar blir därmed komplext. Syfte: Studien ämnar förklara komplexiteten i styrning när outsourcing tillämpas på en avdelning som består av agenter. Utöver detta ska studien också beskriva hur styrning implementeras och vilka styrmedel som appliceras för de olika avdelningarna inom fallföretaget i jämförelse med den outsourcade avdelningen. Studien syftar därmed till att undersöka hur styrning kan utformas för att uppnå målkongruens i en verksamhet inom husbyggnadsbranschen som har valt att tillämpa outsourcing på försäljningsavdelningen.  Metod: Studien har tagit ansats i en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och tillämpat en enfallsstudie som forskningsdesign. Vidare har insamlingen av det empiriska materialet utgått från semistrukturerade intervjuer. Slutsats: Styrning mot målkongruens när outsourcing tillämpas uppnås genom att respektive avdelnings samt individers målsättningar sammanlänkas med organisationens målsättningar, vilket också överensstämmer med vad teorin definierar som tillvägagångssätt för att uppnå målkongruens. I syfte att den externa organisationen ska tillta ett målkongruent beteende bör vinstmaximering ligga till grund för utformningen av eventuell budget och målsättning i den outsourcade verksamheten. / Background and problem: Management control must be adapted to the circumstances of each company. Companies can apply different strategies to achieve their vision, one being outsourcing. Outsourcing means that an external party is contracted to perform a certain activity on behalf of another organization. However, this form of structure has an impact on the business's ability to create target congruence because it means that the external party's objectives must be in line with the organisation's objectives. Further problems arise when outsourcing is applied to multiple external organizations in the form of agents. Problems within the relationship between the agent and the business that controls are described as the phenomenon of agency theory and its underlying assumption that each party will act according to its own interests and objectives. Controlling a business to target congruence under these conditions is thereby complex. Purpose: The study aims to explain the complexity of control when outsourcing is applied to a department that consists of agents. In addition to this, the study will also describe how control is implemented and how control mechanisms are applied to the various departments within the case company in comparison to the outsourced department. The aim of this study is thereby to investigate how control can be designed to achieve target congruence in an activity in the house construction industry that has chosen to apply outsourcing to the sales department. Method: The study has taken a qualitative research and applied a case study as a research design. Furthermore, the collection of the empirical material has been based on semi- structured interviews. Conclusion: Control towards goal congruence when outsourcing is applied is achieved by linking the objectives of each department and individuals with the goals of the organization. This is also in line with what the theory defines as the approach to achieving goal congruence. In order to achieve a goal-congruent behaviour, the external organization should use of profit maximization in every budget and objectives in the outsourced activity.

Bakgrund och problem: I och med en ökad oro för miljöfrågor tvingas företag anpassa sig genom att försöka sänka sin negativa miljöpåverkan. Detta kan åstadkommas med hjälp av att företag tar fram och implementerar lämpliga hållbarhetsstrategier. Hållbarhetsarbetet har blivit ett allt viktigare strategiskt verktyg som kan resultera i en konkurrensfördel. Tidigare forskning belyser varför företag arbetar med hållbarhet, däremot finns det få genomförda studier som praktiskt undersöker hur företag tillämpar styrning av det miljömässiga hållbarhetsarbetet. Syfte: Studiens övergripande syfte är att bidra med en ökad förståelse för hur styrning av miljömässigt hållbarhetsarbete utformas och implementeras i praktiken. Detta görs med hjälp av att undersöka hur företag arbetar med miljömässiga hållbarhetsstrategier, mål och prestationsmått genom att fokusera på planering och uppföljning. Vidare ämnar studien analysera hur strategierna, målen och måtten kommuniceras inom företag för att undersöka hur väl dessa genomsyrar samtliga delar i verksamheten. Metod: Studien har tagit ansats i en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och applicerat en mini-flerfallstudie bestående av sex olika företag där den empiriska datainsamlingen utgjorts av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Forskningsansatsen är deduktiv med induktiva inslag. Vidare har intervjuerna genomförts i syfte att skapa en förståelse om hur företag styr sitt miljömässiga hållbarhetsarbete. Slutsats: Det kan konstateras att det inte finns någon tydlig lösning på hur företag ska arbeta med hållbarhetsfrågor. Vidare ses hållbarheten som en långsiktig process vilken blir alltmer integrerad i företagens mer traditionella ekonomistyrsystem snarare än att ses som ett enskilt styrsystem. Ledningens engagemang avgör huruvida de anställda inspireras samt involveras i hållbarhetsarbetet. Den högsta ledningens engagemang avspeglar således hur hållbarhetsarbetet implementeras och spelar därmed en betydande roll i styrningen mot miljömässig hållbarhet. / Background and problem: With an increased concern for environmental issues, companies are forced to adapt by trying to reduce their negative environmental impact. This can be achieved by developing and implementing appropriate sustainability strategies. Sustainability work has become an increasingly important strategic tool that can result in a competitive advantage. Previous research has examined why companies work with sustainability. However, there are few completed studies that practically consider how companies manage their environmental sustainability work. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to contribute with an understanding of how the management of environmental sustainability work is designed and implemented in practice. This is done by examining how companies work with environmental sustainability strategies, objectives and performance measures by focusing on planning and control. The study intends to analyze how the strategies, objectives and measures are communicated within all parts of the organization. Method: The qualitative study has been made by a smaller multiple case study represented by six different companies using semi-structured interviews. The research approach is deductive with inductive elements. Furthermore, the interviews were conducted in order to create an understanding of how companies manage their environmental sustainability work. Conclusion: It can be stated that there is no clear solution on how companies should work with sustainability issues. Furthermore, sustainability is seen as a long-term process which is becoming more integrated into companies' traditional financial management systems rather than being seen as an individual management system. The management's commitment determines whether the employees are inspired and involved in the sustainability work. The top management's commitment reflects how the sustainability work is implemented and plays a significant role in the management towards environmental sustainability.