These theses are focused on the analyses of a particular business center located in the boarder area supporting not only the business cooperation but the cross-boarder cooperation at all.

Bakgrund och problem: Tidigare forskning kring CSR-implementering har i större utsträckning fokuserat på stora företag. Dock tyder tidigare forskning på att CSR är ett koncept som även förekommer inom små och medelstora företag. Det finns emellertid bristande forskning om hur små och medelstora företags tillämpning av strategi påverkar graden av CSR-implementering. Vidare är informell kontroll en aspekt som, enligt tidigare forskning, är väsentlig inom små och medelstora företag. Syfte: Studien syftar till att undersöka till vilken grad små och medelstora företag implementerar CSR och hur implementeringen påverkas av vilken strategi företaget tillämpar. Varför ett företag implementerar CSR kan förklaras med hjälp av intressentteorin samt legitimitetsteorin. Vidare är syftet att testa och förklara hur relationen mellan graden av CSR-implementering och den strategi som tillämpas, påverkas av graden av användning av informell kontroll. I enlighet med contingency teorin påverkas variablers samband av andra faktorer. Metod: Studien är genomförd med en kvantitativ forskningsstrategi med en deduktiv ansats. Hypoteser har formulerats utifrån vedertagna teorier och data har samlats in genom en tvärsnittsstudie. 108 svenska små och medelstora företag utgör studiens urval. Resultat och slutsats: Resultaten visar på att strategin prospector för SME har ett positivt samband med graden av CSR-implementering. Vidare visar studien på informell kontroll har en stark positiv relation till graden av CSR-implementering oberoende av vilken strategi små och medelstora företag tillämpar. Studien tyder även på att företag som tillämpar strategierna prospector för SME och reactor för SME i hög grad implementerar CSR. Det finns däremot inget samband mellan att tillämpa strategierna defender för SME samt analyzer för SME och graden av CSR-implementering i förhållande till användning av informell kontroll. Slutligen visar studien på att små och medelstora företag i hög grad implementerar CSR i sina verksamheter. / Background and problem: Previous studies on CSR to a large extend have so far focused on its implementation on large firms. However, other research also states that CSR is a concept that is provided in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well. There is, however, lack of research among SME companies and how their strategy affects the degree of the CSR-implementation. Furthermore, informal control is an aspect that according to earlier studies is essential within small and midsized companies. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate in what extent SMEs implements CSR and how this implementation is affected by the strategy these companies applies. The reason why a company implements CSR can be explained by using the stakeholder and legitimacy theories. Furthermore, the purpose is also to try to test and explain the correlation between the strategy applied and if this is affected when using informal control. In accordance to the contingency theory, variables in this equation are affected by other factors. Method: The study is conducted with a quantitative research strategy with a deductive approach. Hypotheses are based on established theories, and data has been added from a cross-sectional study. 108 Swedish SMEs constitutes the study´s collection. Results and conclusions: The result of the study shows that the strategy prospector for SMEs has a positive connection with the extent of CSR-implementation. Furthermore, the study shows that informal control has a strong positive correlation to the degree of CSR-implementation independently of what strategy the SMEs are applying. The study also shows that companies who apply the strategies prospector for SMEs and reactor for SMEs is very prone to implement CSR. However, there is no correlation between the defender for SMEs and analyzer for SMEs strategies, and the extent of CSRimplementation for the use of informal control. As final, the study also shows that SMEs implement CSR to a large degree in their businesses.

Online-Kommunikation ist ein allgegenwärtiges Phänomen unseres digitalen Zeitalters. Soziale Netzwerke, Messenger-Programme und ähnliche Dienstleistungen begleiten uns alle im Alltag und werden von jungen Generationen als selbstverständlich hin- und in Anspruch genommen. Der Einzug der Moderne in kommunikative Abläufe sollte auch vor inner- und außerbetrieblichen Abläufen in Unternehmen nicht haltmachen. 2006 entwickelte McAfee sein Konzept ‚Enterprise 2.0‘. Darin beschreibt er den Einsatz von Web 2.0-Technologien in Betrieben. Seitdem versuchen Firmen sich diesem Idealbild anzunähern. Zur menschlichen Kommunikation gesellt sich zwischenzeitlich, neben Mensch-Maschine-Kommunikation, auch der intermaschinelle Informationsaustausch. ‚Internet der Dinge‘ und ‚Industrie 4.0‘ dominieren in Deutschland den Sprachgebrauch, wenn es um wirtschaftliche Belange geht. Besonders die produzierende deutsche Unternehmenslandschaft setzt große Hoffnung in den Einsatz und die Integration modernster Web-Technologien in ihre Logistik- und Produktionsprozesse. Das um den Menschen zentrierte Konzept von ‚Enterprise 2.0‘ scheint in den Hintergrund zu treten. Etwa Mitte 2014 tauchte ein neuer Begriff in den Suchmaschinenanfragen im Internet auf: ‚Digitale Transformation‘. Er scheint als Klammer zwischen allen oder zumindest vielen Konzepten rund um Web 2.0-Technologien und Sozialen Medien und deren Einsatz im Wirtschaftsleben zu fungieren. Darin eingebunden ist neben der technologischen, auch die kulturelle Komponente, die mit dem Einsatz solcher Werkzeuge einhergeht: Generationenwandel, Führungskonzepte, Technologien, Geschäftsmodellveränderungen. Diese als ‚disruptive Veränderungen‘ wahrgenommenen Ereignisse scheinen in nicht unerheblichem Maße unsere Diskussionen, privat und beruflich, stark zu beeinflussen. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit den Fragestellungen wie sich die Kommunikation und das Informationsmanagement in Unternehmen verändert sowie mit den digitalen Kenntnissen von Mitarbeitern im Umgang mit Online-Medien. Erst in den letzten beiden Jahren (2015 und 2016) werden vermehrt Studien und Veröffentlichungen publiziert, die sich mit diesen Themen beschäftigen. Wenn man einen genaueren Blick darauf wirft, dann muss aber festgestellt werden, dass es sich oftmals um Großunternehmen und Konzerne handelt, die als Beispiele genannt werden, z. B. Robert Bosch GmbH, Siemens AG, Axel Springer SE, Continental AG. Der für Deutschland wichtige Unter- und Mittelbau aus kleinen und mittelständischen (KMU) sowie Familienunternehmen scheint zu fehlen. Das ist der Grund, weshalb der Fokus dieser Dissertation auf der Beschäftigung mit den vorgenannten Veränderungen in Unternehmen aus diesen Bereichen liegt. Um ein schärferes Bild der Veränderungen hinsichtlich Kommunikation und Informationsmanagement in Unternehmen zu bekommen, wurde das Thema vom Autor mit einer explorativen Herangehensweise bearbeitet. Er führte eine quantitative Studie mit Auszubildenden und Studenten der Duale Hochschule (n = 438) durch, um deren Kommunikationsverhalten sowohl im privaten als auch im beruflichen Umfeld zu ermitteln. In einem zweiten Forschungsschritt fand eine ethnographische Feldbeobachtung in einem Familienunternehmen statt. Diese wurde mittels des Mixed-Methods-Ansatzes durchgeführt. Neben der Beobachtung erfolgte hier ebenfalls eine quantitative Studie mittels Fragebogenerhebung (n = 189). Die Dissertation liefert als Ergebnis einen Einblick in die ‚digitale Reife‘ von Unternehmen, die weder in ihrer Struktur, noch der Größe oder der Kapitalausstattung an oben genannte, medienpräsente Unternehmen heranreichen, aber zu denen gehören, die über 99 % der Unternehmen stellen und 60 % der Menschen in Deutschland beschäftigen. / Online communication is a ubiquitous phenomenon of our digital age. Often used by young generations as a matter of course, Social Networks, Messenger Programs and similar services accompany us all in everyday life. The advent of modernity in communicative processes should also not preclude the internal and external procedures in companies. In 2006, McAfee developed his concept ‘Enterprise 2.0’. He describes the use of Web 2.0 technologies within companies. Since then, many of them have been trying to approach this ideal. In addition to human communication, we see humanmachine communication and intermachine information exchange. When it comes to economic concerns, 'Internet of Things' and 'Industry 4.0’ dominate the language usage in Germany. The German business landscape in particular places great hopes on the usage and integration of state-of-the-art web technologies in their logistics and production processes. The concept of 'Enterprise 2.0', which is centered on the human being, seems to be set into the background. Around mid-2014, a new term emerged in the web search engines: 'digital transformation'. It seems to be a link between all or at least many concepts about Web 2.0 technologies and social media and their use in business life. In addition to the technological and cultural component involved in the use of such tools, this includes change of generations, management concepts, technologies, business model changes. These events, perceived as 'disruptive changes', seem to have a considerable influence on our discussions, both private and professional. This thesis deals with the questions on how communication and information management in companies are changing as well as with the digital knowledge of employees working with online media. It is only in the last two years (2015 and 2016) that more and more studies and publications regarding these topics have been published. If you take a closer look, these are often done with and about large companies and corporations, e.g. Robert Bosch GmbH, Siemens AG, Axel Springer SE, Continental AG. The smaller and midsized companies, the so-called ‘German Mittelstand’, which are important for Germany, seems to be missing. Because of this, the focus of this dissertation is on the abovementioned changes in companies out of this spectrum. In order to get a clearer picture of the changes in communication and information management in enterprises, the author has dealt with an exploratory approach. He conducted a quantitative study with trainees and dual university students (n = 438) to determine their communication behavior both in their private and their professional environment. In a second research step, an ethnographic field observation took place in a family enterprise. He has done this using the mixed-method approach. In addition to the observation, a quantitative study was carried out using a questionnaire survey (n = 189). The result of the dissertation provides an insight into the 'digital maturity' of companies that do not reach the above-mentioned companies represented in the media, neither in their structure nor their size or capital but which belong to more than 99 % of all the German companies that employ approximately 60 % of all working people.

As operações de usinagem viabilizam a construção de máquinas e equipamentos que proporcionam a manutenção do bem estar da sociedade e a sua evolução. Com o estudo das tecnologias e a adequação dos sistemas de produção ao paradigma desenvolvimento sustentável, é possível discutir as operações de corte com ferramentas de geometria definida e oferecer suporte ao desenvolvimento destes processos nas pequenas e médias empresas (PME). Estas unidades do sistema produtivo estão sujeitas ao rigor do mercado e suas transformações, devendo ter condições de oferecer respostas à altura de sua função. O acesso ao conhecimento e à tecnologia leva ao fortalecimento da empresa através dos ganhos de competência e competitividade. A tecnologia proporciona condições de maior produtividade, qualidade e controle dos processos e o novo paradigma de produção conduz à eliminação dos impactos ambientais, racionalização e redução do consumo de recursos não renováveis, para a preservação e manutenção do planeta e seus sistemas naturais. No trabalho desenvolvido na presente pesquisa foi possível conhecer e avaliar as instalações e corpo técnico de onze empresas (PME), com processos de usinagem, no município de São Carlos, São Paulo. A organização dos dados permite a construção de um cenário onde são evidenciados potenciais e carências. Na etapa seguinte foi eleito um processo, em uma das empresas, que recebeu intervenções para melhor desempenho nos aspectos econômico, social e ambiental. Os resultados alcançados permitem que se faça projeções de ganhos para todo o parque industrial estudado. O mecanismo de apoio às pequenas e médias empresas em uma avaliação final sugere um salto de qualidade, referendando o modelo que pode ser facilmente reproduzido. / Machining operations make possible the construction of machines and equipment which provide the maintenance of society welfare and its evolution. Studying the technology directions and the production systems adequacy to the sustainable development paradigm enables the discussion of machining and the fostering of the processes at the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). Because of the vulnerability to the market and its transformations these companies should have conditions to respond to the demands at the importance level of their function. The access to the knowledge and technology brings a gain in competence and competitiveness. Technology provides conditions for higher productivity, quality and processes control, as well as the new production paradigm leads to the elimination of the environmental impacts, rationalization and reduction in the use of non renewable materials preserving and maintaining the planet’s natural systems. In this research it was possible to know the facilities and the technical staff of eleven metalworking companies (SME), in São Carlos city, São Paulo state. The gathered data allows to draw a portrait that puts in evidence the potentials and deficiencies. On a next stage a specific machining operation was chosen to be improved in the economic, social and environmental aspects. The achieved results allow projections of gains in the industrial park. In a final evaluation of the small and medium-sized enterprises support mechanism it suggests a quality improvement assuring the availability of the model that is easily reproducible.

A globalização dos mercados e a crescente competitividade internacional nas duas últimas décadas proporcionaram a entrada de empresas no mercado, dentre as quais estão as pequenas empresas. Notadamente reconhecidas por sua importância social e econômica, as pequenas empresas dos setores da indústria, do comércio e de serviços são, em termos numéricos, a grande maioria das empresas no Brasil. Dada a importância deste objeto de estudo, a presente pesquisa possui como objetivo geral explorar a relação entre a orientação para a inovação e os padrões de internacionalização de pequenas e médias empresas (PMEs). Para a concretização deste objetivo principal, três objetivos específicos são traçados, sendo estes o estudo das capacidades dinâmicas para a inovação de PMEs de base tecnológica brasileiras, o estudo do processo e dos padrões de internacionalização deste grupo de empresas e o estudo da relação entre estes dois objetivos específicos. As capacidades dinâmicas para a inovação direcionam o desenvolvimento de inovações tecnológicas, quais sejam, inovações em produtos, processos e serviços, e também sustentam o desenvolvimento de inovações não-tecnológicas, em outras palavras, as inovações de Marketing e organizacionais. As capacidades dinâmicas também impactam positivamente na competitividade das pequenas empresas nos mercados domésticos e internacionais. A fundamentação teórica desta pesquisa reside nas Teorias de Internacionalização, fundamentando-se nos Modelos de Internacionalização, e nas Teorias de Inovação, referindo-se às Capacidades Dinâmicas para a Inovação. Com o intuito de melhor compreender o objeto de pesquisa, para cada um dos temas existem tópicos que apresentam as PMEs. A diversidade setorial das empresas participantes da pesquisa contribuiu para a magnitude de resultados sobre as capacidades dinâmicas para a inovação de PMEs brasileiras, assim como para a identificação de seus padrões de internacionalização. A partir de um estudo qualitativo, as análises mostram que as PMEs brasileiras buscam se diferenciar através da inovação em seus mercados de atuação internacionais. Com relação aos padrões de internacionalização das PMEs brasileiras, estes se diferem, em alguns parâmetros, ao apresentado na literatura. Portanto, a análise das capacidades dinâmicas para a inovação mostra que as pequenas empresas brasileiras possuem elevado potencial para o desenvolvimento da inovação. Sobre a internacionalização, as PMEs do estudo apresentam padrões específicos de internacionalização, necessitando, assim, de aproximações em relação aos parâmetros apresentados na literatura. Como contribuições acadêmicas, a pesquisa apresenta a análise das capacidades dinâmicas para a inovação relacionadas ao padrão de internacionalização das PMEs brasileiras, apresentando variáveis emergentes aos temas de pesquisa. Por fim, como contribuições gerenciais, a análise dos casos permite verificar como as PMEs buscam se posicionar competitivamente nos mercados internacionais. / The globalization of markets and the growing international competitiveness in the last two decades have provided the entry of firms in the market, among which are small businesses. Notably recognized for their social and economic importance, small businesses from the industry, the commerce and the services sectors are, in numerical terms, the vast majority of companies in Brazil. Given the importance of this object of study, this research has as general objective to explore the relationship between the innovation orientation and the internationalization patterns of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To achieve this general objective, three specific objectives are set, which are the study of dynamic capabilities for innovation of Brazilian technology-based SMEs, the study of the internationalization process and the internationalization patterns of this group of firms, and the relationship between these two specific objectives. The dynamic capabilities for innovation drive the development of technological innovations, namely, innovation in products, processes and services, and support the development of non-technological innovation, in other words, Marketing and organizational innovations. Dynamic capabilities also impact positively on the competitiveness of small businesses both in domestic and international markets. The theoretical basis of this research lies in the Internationalization Theories, based on the Internationalization Models, and in the Innovation Theories, referring to the Dynamic Capabilities for Innovation. In order to understand better the object of research, for each of the themes there are topics presenting the SMEs. The sectoral diversity of the survey participants companies contributed to the magnitude of results on the dynamic capabilities for innovation of Brazilian SMEs, thus as the identification of their international patterns. From a qualitative study, the analysis show that Brazilian SMEs seek to differentiate through innovation in their international operating markets. Regarding the patterns of internationalization of Brazilian SMEs, these differ in some parameters, as presented in the literature. Therefore, the analysis of dynamic capabilities for innovation presents that Brazilian SMEs have high potential for the development of innovation. About the internationalization, the SMEs of this study present specific international patterns, thus requiring approaches in relation to the parameters presented in the literature. As academic contributions, the research presents the analysis of dynamic capabilities for innovation related to the patterns of internationalization of Brazilian SMEs, with emerging variables to the research topics. Finally, as managerial contributions, the analysis of cases allows verifying SMEs seeking to position themselves competitively in international markets.

No atual ambiente competitivo das empresas, é necessário que elas utilizem artefatos para manter a sua continuidade. A Gestão Estratégica de Custos é um desses artefatos e, portanto, é necessário que haja um sistema de custeio que oriente as decisões dos gestores dentro de uma organização, que passam a demandar informações cada vez mais elaboradas e com maior agilidade. A implantação desses sistemas, que são cada vez mais complexos, é comum a grandes empresas e, somando-se à importância do mesmo, entende-se o motivo de ter sido muito estudado no decorrer do tempo. Com as mudanças decorrentes da evolução tecnológica, sua diminuição nos custos, e o aumento de competitividade, as pequenas e médias empresas também perceberam a necessidade de se ter um sistema de custeio para suportar suas decisões. Porém, as características dessas empresas são distintas das demais, podendo supor que suas necessidades de informação, assim como as dificuldades de implantação desse tipo de sistema também sejam diferentes. Este estudo tem como objetivo principal identificar as dificuldades de implantação do sistema de custos em uma empresa de médio porte analisada através de estudo de caso. Como objetivos secundários estão: a categorização em grupos do material encontrado na revisão bibliográfica; verificar se as dificuldades encontradas no estudo de caso estão de acordo com a literatura. As dificuldades encontradas pelos diversos autores foram inicialmente segregados em dificuldades e fatores críticos para a implementação de sistemas. Posteriormente foram categorizados em comportamentais, administrativos e de escassez de recursos, sendo que os dois últimos foram novamente classificados em subgrupos. A empresa analisada no estudo de caso é uma indústria de médio porte do ramo de embalagens plásticas. O estudo mostra que as principais dificuldades encontradas pela empresa estavam relacionadas com insuficiência de treinamentos, limitações de linguagem e critérios contábeis, uma vez que o modelo implantado foi determinado pela matriz situada em outro país. Além destas, a maioria das dificuldades constantes da literatura também foram identificadas pela empresa em sua implantação, em menor ou maior escala. Considerando as categorias utilizadas, a maioria está relacionada com o grupo de dificuldades administrativas e com o de escassez de recursos. As soluções utilizadas pela empresa não tiveram um projeto específico para suas realização, sendo aplicadas de acordo com as possibilidades que o contexto da época permitia. / In the current companies competitive environment, it is necessary that they use tools to keep their continuity. The Strategic Cost Management is one of these devices and, therefore, a cost system is necessary to guide the managers decision of an organization, which starts to demand faster more elaborated information. These systems implementation, which are more and more complex, are usual in big companies and, also considering its importance, it is understandable the motive of why it has been studied along the time. With the changes from technology evolution, the lower costs, and the higher competitiveness, the small and medium companies also seemed the necessity of having a cost system to support their decision. But these companies characteristics are different of the others, supposing that their needs of information, as their system implementation difficulties are also different. This studys main objective is to identify the difficulties of cost system implementation in one medium size company through a case study. As secondary objectives are: the categorization of the material found in the bibliographical revision in groups; verify if the difficulties founded in the case study are similar with the literature. First, the founded difficulties by the many authors were separated between difficulties and critical factors for the implementation of systems. They were after categorized in behavior, management and insufficiency of resources, and the last two were reclassified in other subgroups. The analyzed company is a medium size industry in the branch of plastic packings. The study shows that the mainly difficulties of the company were related with lack of training, language limitations and accounting standards, once the implanted model was ordered by the headquarter located abroad. Beyond these, the most of difficulties in the literature were also identified by the company in its implementation, in different levels. Considering the used categories, most of them are related with the management difficulties group and with the insufficiency of resources group. The solutions utilized by the company hadnt a specific project for its realization, been applied in agreement with the possibility that the context allowed in that time.

Submitted by Eliene Soares da Silva (eliene.silva@fgv.br) on 2013-04-17T16:22:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO ZHEN ZHANG.pdf: 1129033 bytes, checksum: 709ff2e366ed9724f354a04a3f3835cc (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Eliene Soares da Silva (eliene.silva@fgv.br) on 2013-04-17T16:22:51Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO ZHEN ZHANG.pdf: 1129033 bytes, checksum: 709ff2e366ed9724f354a04a3f3835cc (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-04-17T16:29:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO ZHEN ZHANG.pdf: 1129033 bytes, checksum: 709ff2e366ed9724f354a04a3f3835cc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-27 / Brasil e a República Popular da China iniciaram a sua relação diplomática em 1974, na época, o comércio entre Brasil e China foi de apenas 17,42 milhões de dólares, 5 anos depois, em 1979, a escala deste comércio bilateral aumentou 12 pastas. Hoje em dia, o comércio bilateral entre a China e o Brasil já contava mais de 57,000 milhões de dólares USD. China tornou-se já o primeiro parceiro comercial do Brasil, e do Brasil em troca torna-se o primeiro parceiro comercial na América Latina. Esta dissertação teve como objetivo compreender os obstáculos para as PME brasileiras e chinesas no comércio entre os dois países e dar recomendações às autoridades públicas e empresas privadas sobre como superá-los. Com uma análise qualitativa, baseada em entrevistas com as empresas chinesas e brasileiras para identificar quais são os obstáculos mais graves para as empresas brasileiras e chinesas para beneficiar mais o comércio bilateral. O estudo feito pela OCDE-APEC em barreiras de internacionalização das PME é usado como um quadro para melhor identificar quais são os obstáculos mais graves no caso das PME brasileiras e chinesas.

This master thesis has been written at the School of Mathematics and System Engineering (MSI) at Växjö University in the field of computer science. IT security has become one of the main topics of every enterprise since they all use information technology in their business. Investments have to be done in order to achieve a high protection status of the IT environments. Specially small and medium-sized enterprises need more knowledge and advisory how to handle their IT security. This thesis analyses management tools that have the goal to improve the IT security. The second and main part of the thesis is the design of a tool that should helps to solve the described problems.

The overall economic development during the nineteenth and twentieth century has left us with an interconnected global society. However, the pollution does not adhere to the boundaries of nation-states. Therefore, the sustainability issue calls for holistic solutions on all levels of society, from individuals to states, large NGOs, and in particular the companies that produce the goods we consume. Corporate initiatives on this matter are usually referred to as Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR. Many large corporations have been under scrutiny from different stakeholders ever since the early 1990’s and it is no longer possible for them to neglect their responsibility for i.e. pollution or human rights. However, smaller actors do not receive as much attention as their larger competitors, due to lower stakeholder awareness. With this background, this master thesis aims at investigating how small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the apparel industry in Sweden perceive their opportunities and challenges when working with CSR in their global supply chain. Thus, the thesis hopes to help bridge a scientific gap, and also connects to Supply Chain Management, SCM. This was accomplished through a literature review that identified and categorized different aspects of the problem. Following this, a multiple-case study with eight different brands was carried out, interviewing representatives from the organizations. The results show, among other things, that for SMEs, top management and/or owner values and commitment are of significant importance. This is in line with the literature. On the other hand, aspects like difficulties with language and cultural barriers were not an issue, contrary to the current academic research on SMEs. This was said to be due to the organizations extensive implementation or use of social capital through long-lasting business relations, which is another characteristic of the SME sector identified by the literature. Existing industry initiatives and cooperation between brands can work, but external help to manage these projects is essential for their success. Available Environmental Management Systems (EMS) on the other hand are often considered too expensive, time-consuming or unknown to end-consumers to be implemented. On the contrary, harsher government regulation and enforcement, both in Sweden as well as in the production countries are advocated. This is particularly noticeable, since generally, private sector representatives tend to be against government regulations. / Mistra Future Fashion

Abstract This study examines the phenomenon of corporate brand co-creation in the context of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in business-to-business (B2B) markets. The aim of this study is to better understand how external stakeholders co-create a corporate brand—brand image and identity—and what characterises these brand co-creative stakeholder relationships. Branding is regarded as a social and interactive process in which the company and its stakeholders are both considered active participants. In addition to the corporate branding literature, this study builds on industrial network theory, service-dominant logic and organisational identity theory. The empirical contribution of the study is conducted using qualitative interview and case study methods to analyse the phenomenon longitudinally and from a multi-stakeholder perspective. The primary empirical data are generated through interviews of B2B SME experts and the case company’s management, employees and key partners during the period 2010–2013. Narrative approach is employed in the data generation and analysis. The study shows that corporate branding is a holistic process that is influenced by various stakeholders. In particular, the key partners can be actively involved in co-creating a company’s corporate brand. External stakeholders are involved in corporate branding through interactions with the company and other stakeholders. The study identifies a number of co-creative actions performed by external stakeholders that influence the corporate brand image, either directly or indirectly. The study also shows that stakeholder cooperation, interaction and dialogue are central in corporate brand identity development, as they help companies to understand and adapt to the competitive environment and to define the corporate brand’s unique and central features in relation to it. At the relationship level, corporate brand co-creative stakeholder relationships are characterised by dependency and mutuality. The significance of various stakeholder relationships in branding, however, varies across situations, at different stages of the company’s lifecycle and at the relationship portfolio level; they can be understood as context-dependent, evolving and dynamic. Managers can use the findings of this study to identify the key stakeholders that are central in co-creating corporate brands and to employ their resources and integrate their activities to strengthen the corporate brand. / Tiivistelmä Tämä väitöskirja tutkii yritysbrändin yhteisluomista yritystenvälisillä markkinoilla (B2B) toimivien pk-yritysten kontekstissa. Tutkimus pyrkii ymmärtämään miten yrityksen ulkoiset sidosryhmät osallistuvat yritysbrändin – brändi-imagon ja -identiteetin – luomiseen ja mikä on luonteenomaista yritysbrändiä yhteisluoville sidosryhmäsuhteille. Brändäystä tarkastellaan sosiaalisena ja vuorovaikutteisena prosessina jossa yritys ja sen eri sidosryhmät nähdään aktiivisina toimijoina. Tutkimus nojaa brändikirjallisuuden lisäksi verkostoteoriaan, palvelulähtöiseen ajatteluun sekä organisaatioidentiteetti-teoriaan. Tutkimuksen empiirinen osuus toteutettiin laadullisena haastattelu- ja tapaustutkimuksena jossa ilmiötä tarkasteltiin eri sidosryhmien näkökulmasta sekä pitkittäisesti. Tutkimuksen ensisijainen empiirinen aineisto kerättiin haastattelemalla B2B pk-yritystoiminnan asiantuntijoita sekä tapausyrityksen johtoa, henkilöstöä ja avainyhteistyökumppaneita vuosina 2010–2013. Aineiston keruussa ja analyysissa on käytetty narratiivista lähestymistapaa. Tutkimus osoittaa että yritysbrändäys on kokonaisvaltainen prosessi johon vaikuttaa yrityksen lisäksi myös sen eri sidosryhmät. Erityisesti avainyhteistyökumppanit voivat olla aktiivisesti mukana luomassa yrityksen brändiä. Yrityksen ulkoiset sidosryhmät osallistuvat yritysbrändin luomiseen vuorovaikutuksessa yrityksen sekä muiden sidosryhmien kanssa. Tutkimuksessa tunnistetaan useita ulkoisten sidosryhmien brändiä yhteisluovia toimintoja, jotka vaikuttavat yritysbrändi-imagoon joko suoraan tai epäsuorasti. Tutkimus osoittaa lisäksi, että yhteistyö, vuorovaikutus ja dialogi sidosryhmien kanssa ovat keskeisessä roolissa yritysbrändi-identiteetin kehittymisessä, sillä ne auttavat yritystä ymmärtämään sen kilpailuympäristöä, sopeutumaan sen vaatimuksiin sekä määrittelemään brändin keskeiset erottuvuustekijät suhteessa siihen. Tutkimuksen perusteella yritysbrändiä yhteisluoville sidosryhmäsuhteille on suhdetasolla ominaista riippuvuus ja vastavuoroisuus. Eri sidosryhmäsuhteiden merkitys yritysbrändin kannalta vaihtelee eri tilanteissa sekä yrityksen eri elämänvaiheissa. Suhdeportfoliotasolla brändiä yhteisluovia sidosryhmäsuhteita voidaankin luonnehtia kontekstisidonnaisiksi, muuttuviksi ja dynaamisiksi. Tuloksia voidaan hyödyntää yritysbrändäyksen kannalta keskeisten sidosryhmien tunnistamisessa sekä niiden resurssien hyödyntämisessä ja toimintojen integroimisessa brändäyksessä.