Title: IFRS 15- The new revenue recognition standard from contracts with customers.   Level: Student thesis, final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration    Author: Piran Batte and Zagros Isik   Supervisor: Jean-Claude Mutiganda and Pär Vilhelmson   Date: 2021 – June    Aim: The study aims to examine how listed companies in Sweden are affected by institutional pressures in the implementation of IFRS 15 and what organizational changes the revenue standard entails.    Method: The study examines listed companies in the construction and real estate industry in the Swedish market that have implemented IFRS 15 in their revenue recognition. The study is characterized by a qualitative research approach that produced data through semi-structured interviews and literary sources which were then analyzed via coding and thematic analyzes presented in tabular form.   Result & Conclusions: The results presented in the study show that the examined companies are affected by the isomorphic factors arising from the new institutional theory in the adoption and transition to IFRS 15. The companies are strongly influenced by a mandatory isomorphism as they are listed and are thus legally obliged to comply with IFRS standards. The companies are also characterized by an imitating isomorphism in the form of cooperation with competing companies because of uncertainty regarding the handling of the new standard. A normative isomorphism has been of a lesser degree. The results show no significant changes in the company's internal operations around their internal controls, IT systems and contract design, however, these have been permeated by high workload in the early phase of the implementation process of the standard. All companies felt an overestimated effect of the standard on its internal operations.    Contribution of the thesis: The study fills the existing gap around research on IFRS 15 and its impact on listed companies that are in the Swedish market. The study contributes to the new institutional theory by showing how companies experience pressure from society and norm-setting bodies. The theoretical contribution shows that mandatory and mimicking isomorphism has affected companies in the implementation of IFRS 15. Compliance with laws and advice as well as taking inspiration and collaborating with other companies have been demonstrated. The practical contribution is that companies tend to act under pressure from the environment in the goal of achieving legitimacy.   Suggestions for future research: As the companies examined in this study have been in the construction and real estate industry, a proposal for future research may be to study other listed companies that have adopted IFRS 15 as a revenue standard.    Key words: IFRS 15, Organizational Change, Implementation, New Institutional Theory, IASB, Internal Controls, IT Systems, Contract Design and Work Tasks. / Titel: IFRS 15 – Den nya intäktsstandarden för avtal med kunder   Nivå: Examensarbete på Grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi    Författare: Piran Batte och Zagros Isik   Handledare: Jean-Claude Mutiganda och Pär Vilhelmson    Datum: 2021 – Juni    Syfte: Studien syftar till att undersöka hur börsnoterade företag i Sverige påverkas av institutionella påtryckningar vid implementeringen av IFRS 15 samt vilka organisationsförändringar intäktsstandarden medför.   Metod: Studien undersöker börsnoterade företag inom bygg -och fastighetsbranschen på den svenska marknaden som implementerat IFRS 15 i sin intäktsredovisning. Studien präglas av en kvalitativ forskningsansats som samlat in data genom semistrukturerade intervjuer och litterära källor som sedan analyserats via kodningar och tematiska analyser som presenterats i tabellform. Urvalet består av tio respondenter    Resultat & slutsats: Resultaten som framställs i studien visar att de undersökta företagen påverkas av de isomorfa faktorerna som härrör den ny institutionella teorin vid antagandet och övergången till IFRS 15. Företagen påverkas starkt av en tvingande isomorfism då dessa är börsnoterade och är således lagenligt skyldiga att följa IFRS-regelverken. Företagen präglas även av en härmande isomorfism i form av samarbete med konkurrerande företag till följd av ovisshet kring hanteringen av den nya standarden. En normativ isomorfism har varit av mindre grad. Resultatet visar inga påtagliga förändringar på företagens interna verksamhet kring dess interna kontroller, IT-system och kontraktsutformning dock har dessa genomsyrats av en hög arbetsbörda vid en tidig fas av implementeringsprocessen av standarden. Samtliga företag kände en överskattad effekt av standarden på dess interna verksamheter.    Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien fyller det existerande gapet kring forskning om IFRS 15 och dess påverkan på börsnoterade företag som befinner sig på den svenska marknaden. Studien bidrar till den ny institutionella teorin genom att visa hur företag påverkas av påtryckningar från samhället och normgivningsorgan. Det teoretiska bidraget visar att tvingande och härmande isomorfism har påverkat företag i implementeringen av IFRS 15. Att följa lagar och rådgivning samt att ta inspiration och samarbeta med andra företag har påvisats. Det praktiska bidraget är att företagen tenderar att agera under press från omgivningen i mål om att uppnå legitimitet.    Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Då företagen som undersökts i denna studie befunnit sig inom bygg -och fastighetsbranschen kan ett förslag till framtida forskning vara att studera andra branscher ute på börsen som antagit IFRS 15 som intäktsstandard.    Nyckelord: IFRS 15, Organisationsförändring, Implementering, New institutional theory, IASB, Interna kontroller, IT-system, Kontraktsutformning och Arbetsuppgifter

Changes in the workplace have led to new ways of organizing and structuring organizations. Organizations’ desire to increase competitiveness, efficiency and flexibility has resulted in new conditions in the field of human resources. The new conditions have also created new roles and changing responsibilities for those working within human resources. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the implementation of Ulrich's model for HR transformation can impact on the human resource departments managerial support to first-line managers in the municipality of Uppsala. Today the municipality of Uppsala organizes its human resources based on the Ulrich's model, which divides the work into the units service center, the expert unit and business partners. The study is based on eight interviews with employees in the department of human resources, first-line managers and human resource managers within the organization. Their experiences of the new organizational model were examined. The study indicates that the managerial support generally is perceived as functioning adequately. The implementation of Ulrich's model, however, appears to have led to decreased knowledge about the activities in the sub-units of the overall organization when the human resource department is centralized. The reorganization also seems to have led to a lack of clarity regarding who is responsible for human resource issues. Raised uncertainties seem to have created subjective interpretations regarding who is responsible for what. The study illustrates, firstly, experiences of the employees of the human resource department of providing management support, and secondly first-line managers' experiences of the support.

The aim of this study was to examine how youths who have a residence permit under the law SFS 2018:756 are handled within the social services in different municipalities in order to contribute with the knowledge about how welfare organizations categorize and organize themselves around this group. The study is based on qualitative interviews with seven social workers divided in a total of six municipalities. Who either possessed knowledge of or meet our target group in their work. We have examined how they handle the needs of housing and financial aid for our target group. In our analysis of the interviews, we have applied a theoretical perspective by using the regulatory, the normative and the culture-cognitive elements of the new institutional theory and legitimacy as a concept as well as Tilly’s (2000) theory of durable inequality where key concepts are categorization and regulatory. Our understanding is that the categorization of our target group within the social services relates to stereotypical beliefs in which the youths do not receive support based on their individual needs, but are handled on the bases of their group affiliation. In the six municipalities we examined, two have been shown to stand out because they handle the youths in the same way as other unaccompanied young people. The results of our study show that there are different risks for the target group, primarily in the municipalities where they receive little support. The risks that arise are further on connected to what the conditions stipulates in the law SFS 2018:756 and partly the consequence of being unaccompanied without social support.

Arbetet med att stärka ett arbetsgivarvarumärkes attraktivitet, både internt och externt, det alltmer välbekanta begreppet “Employer branding”, är ett vanligt förekommande koncept i dagens organisationer. Syftet med studien är att försöka ta reda på vad fenomenet “Employer branding” är och hur organisationer kan bedriva arbetet med att göra sitt arbetsgivarvarumärket attraktiv på den svenska arbetsmarknaden. Tieto, COWI och Klarna AB är de företag som deltar i studien. Begreppen legitimitet och löskoppling från den institutionella- och nyinstitutionella teorin kommer att ligga som teoretisk utgångspunkt för att besvara studiens frågeställningar och syfte. Den metod som har använts är en kvalitativ intervjustudie, där totalt åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer utifrån ett strategiskt urval har genomförts med de tre företagen. För att bearbeta materialet har transkriberingsmetoden använts där vi utgår från en deduktiv ansats och har kodat materialet efter på förhand formulerade begrepp som var ställda i relation till den teoretiska utgångspunkten. Det empiriska materialet visar att alla tre företagen är medvetna om både den interna och framförallt den externa sidan av Employer branding och påstår att de är aktiva i arbetet med att öka attraktiviteten internt inom organisationen såväl som externt. / The work with Employer branding, both external and internal, is a frequent used concept in organizations today. The purpose of our study is to try to find out what the phenomenon of “Employer branding” is and how organizations can pursue efforts to make its employer brand attractive on the Swedish labor market. Tieto, COWI and Klarna AB are the companies participating in our study. The terms legitimacy and loose coupling from the institutional- and new institutional theory is going to be our theoretical base to enable us to answer our questions and purpose of our study. The used method is a qualitative study, where a total of eight semi-structured interviews based on a strategic selection were carried out with the three companies. In order to process the material have transcription-method been used that is based on a deductive approach and the material has been coded after pre-formulated concepts that were made out in relation to the theoretical starting point. The empirical material indicates that all three companies are aware of both the internal and especially the external side of Employer branding and states that they are active in the work to increase attractiveness internally within the organization as well as the extern.

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka digitaliseringens institutionalisering i små redovisningsbyråer samt dess påverkan på redovisningsprocessen.  Metod: Vi har genomfört en kvalitativ studie och en deduktiv forskningsansats har använts. Data samlades in genom semistrukturerade telefonintervjuer och analyserades med hjälp av tematiska analys. Totalt intervjuades tio små redovisningsbyråer.  Resultat & slutsats: Digitaliseringens institutionalisering i små redovisningsbyråer kan delvis förklaras av den nyinstitutionella teorins isomorfismer. Dessa institutionella krafter har institutionaliserat digitaliseringen i byråerna i varierande utsträckning. Vi kan konstatera att den tvingande och härmande isomorfismen haft störst påverkan och att den normativa isomorfismen inte påverkat byråerna i lika hög utsträckning. Studien visar att digitaliseringen har påverkat redovisningsprocessens samtliga steg. Processen ser dock fortfarande likadan ut. Digitaliseringen har bara underlättat arbetet.  Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien lämnar ett teoretiskt bidrag till den befintliga litteraturen genom att visa att den nyinstitutionella teorins isomorfismer kan förklara hur digitaliseringen har institutionaliserats i små redovisningsbyråer. Studien lämnar ytterligare ett teoretiskt bidrag till den befintliga litteraturen genom att visa att redovisningsprocessens samtliga steg i små redovisningsbyråer har påverkats av digitaliseringen men att processen fortfarande är densamma, det vill säga att konsulten fortfarande utför samma tjänst men att arbetet underlättats. Studiens praktiska bidrag är att små redovisningsbyråer som inte har digitaliserat sin verksamhet bör göra det samt att studenter och nyexaminerade ekonomer bör ha en inblick i hur redovisningsarbetet har påverkats av digitaliseringen.  Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Vidare studier kan undersöka digitaliseringens institutionalisering i små företag som upprättar sin redovisning internt samt dess påverkan på redovisningsprocessen i dessa företag. / Aim: The purpose of this study is to investigate the institutionalisation of digitalisation in small accounting firms and the impact it has on the accounting process. Method: We have conducted a qualitative study and a deductive research approach has been used. Data were collected through semi-structured telephone interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. A total of ten small accounting firms were interviewed. Result & Conclusions: The institutionalisation of digitalisation in small accounting firms can partly be explained by the isomorphisms of the new institutional theory. These institutional forces have institutionalized the digitalisation in the small accounting firms to varying extent. We can state that the coercive and mimetic isomorphism has had the greatest impact and that the normative isomorphism does not affect the small accounting firms to the same extent. The study shows that digitalisation has affected all the steps of the accounting process. However, the process still looks the same. Digitalisation has only facilitated the work. Contribution of the thesis: The study makes a theoretical contribution to the existing literature by showing that the isomorphisms of the new institutional theory can explain how digitalisation has been institutionalized in small accounting firms. The study makes another theoretical contribution to the existing literature by showing that all the steps in the accounting process in small accounting firms have been affected by the digitalisation but that the process continues to be the same, the accountant continues to provide the same service, but the work has been facilitated. The practical contribution of the study is that small accounting firms that have not digitized their business should do so, and that students and newly graduated economists should have an insight into how the accounting work has been affected by digitalisation. Suggestions for future research: Further studies can investigate the institutionalisation of digitalisation in small companies that employs in-house accountants and the impact it has on the accounting process in these companies.

This thesis uses a case study approach and investigates how the institutional environment has an impact on decision making regarding sales within three departments at WSP Management in Sweden. With the application of neo-institutional frameworks, the study explains how decision making is constrained by the institution and the actors that make up the institutional environment, as well as how a pursuit for stability and legitimacy isolate engineering consultant companies from other sectors within the market.   The study concludes that the institutional environments inducements have created a sales structure within the departments that is solely focused on the public sector and acquiring contracts through public procurement. This sales structure is heavily imprinted within the departments and has created a culture where employees rely in department management to solely sell their services to potential customers. The success and efficiency within this institutional environment has made it that the departments key performance indicator-demands from upper the upper management are based on a sales structure that requires little or no proactive sales. The inducements within the regulative institutional environment thus has a big impact on their decision making when they are trying to maintain a financial stability in relation to the company’s upper management. With the current structure they have been placed in an institutional comfort zone in which they will be stuck within if no change is made.

Vi har gjort en fallstudie som utforskar hur ledarskapet påverkar och påverkas vid entillämpning av ISO 14001, samt hur tillämpningen av standarden är utformad påstudiens företag. Analysen har genomförts med hjälp av institutionell teori somteoretisk referensram. Vi kom fram till att ISO 14001 inte leder till eninterorganisatorisk homogenisering mellan olika företag, inomsamhällsplaneringsbranschen som vårt fallföretag agerar i. Vidare fastslog vi även enparadox i utformningen av ISO 14001-systemet hos företaget; otydliga istället förtydliga krav ökar chansen för att behålla certifieringen. Till sists kom vi också framtill att ledarskapets svårighet att kommunicera aktörernas rätt att översätta ISO 14001i sin praktik, beror på att ISO 9001 och ISO 14001 hos vårt fallföretag är utformatsom ett gemensamt system. Där ISO 9001 ligger i fokus. Uppsatsen syfte är att bidratill existerande institutionell teori. / Program: Civilekonomprogrammet

A quebra das barreiras comerciais, o desenvolvimento do mercado de capitais e o aumento constante de capital externo no país impuseram às empresas elaborarem seus demonstrativos à luz de uma linguagem única, capaz de facilitar a comunicação entre os mercados mundiais e, nesse contexto, a convergência contábil, foi a resposta a essa necessidade. No Brasil esse processo iniciou-se, efetivamente, pela promulgação da Lei nº 11.638/2007. A promessa de desvinculação entre as normas contábeis e fiscais, dada pelo artigo 177, § 2º, da referida Lei, demonstra a preocupação em relação à interferência da legislação fiscal sobre as normas e práticas contábeis. Essa preocupação não é apenas uma prerrogativa do Brasil, mas segundo estudos internacionais, a relação entre essas normas é uma característica importante das diferenças contábeis no cenário internacional. Este trabalho busca, além de analise do processo de convergência contábil sob o enfoque da Teoria Institucional, avaliar o grau de conexão entre as normas e práticas contábeis e fiscais através do modelo proposto por Lamb et al. (1998), modificado por Nobes e Schwencke (2006). Inicialmente o estudo analisa o processo de institucionalização das normas internacionais no Brasil, posteriormente avalia a mudança no grau de conexão entre as normas contábeis e fiscais em dois períodos: antes e depois da promulgação da Lei nº 11.638/2007. Pode-se afirmar que a mesma foi reduzida e que, apesar de ainda manter conexões, o esforço para a desvinculação está surtindo efeito. Posteriormente, o modelo foi aplicado nos demonstrativos contábeis da empresa Gerdau S. A.. Essa aplicação possibilitou identificar se as normas a existência de uma situação até então não identificada, a adoção de normas fiscais em detrimento a uma norma específica contábil. Identificamos também que, exceto a situação relatada anteriormente, as normas fiscais afetam no mesmo grau tanto as normas quanto as práticas contábeis. / The fall of trade barriers, the development of capital market and the steady increase of foreign capital in the country imposed businesses develop their statements in a universal language that facilitates communication between global markets and in this context, accounting convergence was a result to this necessity. In Brazil this process began, indeed, by the promulgation of Law 11.638/07. The promise of separation between the accounting and tax rules, amended in 177 Article, Paragraph 2 of that Act, demonstrates the concern about the interference of tax legislations on the rules and accounting practices. This concern is not only a prerogative of Brazil, but according to international studies, the relationship between these standards is an important characteristic of accounting differences on the international scene. This paper identifies which is the level of connection between the accounting rules and practices and tax rules through a model proposed by Lamb et al. (1998), and modified by Nobes and Schwencke (2006). Initially, the study identifies the changes in the degree of connection between the accounting and tax rules in two periods: before and after the promulgation of Law 11.638/07. We can say that the same was reduced and although still maintaining connections, the effort to untie is getting some effects. Subsequently, the model was applied to the financial statements of the Company Gerdau S. A. This test identified the existence of a situations not previously identified, the adoption of tax rules over a specific accounting standard. We also identified that, except the situation reported before, the tax rules affect both in the same degree as the accounting standard.

This research is about local actors' response to problems of uneven development and unemployment. Policies to combat these problems are usually connected to socio-economic regeneration in England and economic and employment promotion (Wirtschafts- und Beschäftigungsförderung) in Germany. The main result of this project is a description of those factors which support the emergence of local socio-economic initiatives aimed at job creation. Eight social and formal economy initiatives have been examined and the ways in which their emergence has been influenced by institutional factors has been analysed. The role of local actors and forms of governance as well as wider regional and national policy frameworks has been taken into account. Socio-economic initiatives have been defined as non-routine local projects or schemes with the objective of direct job creation. Such initiatives often focus on specific local assets for the formal or the social economy. Socio-economic initiatives are grounded on ideas of local economic development, and the creation of local jobs for local people. The adopted understanding of governance focuses on the processes of decision taking. Thus, this understanding of governance is broadly construed to include the ways in which actors in addition to traditional government manage urban development. The applied understanding of governance lays a focus on 'strategic' forms of decision taking about both long term objectives and short term action linked to socio-economic regeneration. Four old industrial towns in North England and East Germany have been selected for case studies due to their particular socio-economic background. These towns, with between 10.000 and 70.000 inhabitants, are located outside of the main agglomerations and bear central functions for their hinterland. The approach has been comparative, with a focus on examining common themes rather than gaining in-depth knowledge of a single case. Until now, most urban governance studies have analysed the impacts of particular forms of governance such as regeneration partnerships. This project looks at particular initiatives and poses the question to what extent their emergence can be understood as a result of particular forms of governance, local institutional factors or regional and national contexts. / Viele Klein- und Mittelstädte in Ostdeutschland und Nordengland stehen derzeit vor großen Herausforderungen, die durch demographische und ökonomische Umbrüche hervorgerufen worden sind. Insbesondere die altindustriell geprägten Städte außerhalb der großen Agglomerationsräume sind unter Zugzwang, weil ihre ökonomische Basis in Zeiten verschärfter Globalisierungsprozesse nicht mehr wettbewerbsfähig ist. Gleichzeitig können diese Städte nicht von den Standortvorteilen der Agglomerationsräume profitieren und müssen daher eigene Qualitäten entwickeln. Welche Chancen haben diese Städte vor dem Hintergrund anhaltend hoher Arbeitslosenzahlen und stetiger Rationalisierungsprozesse in der lokalen Industrie? Mit welchen Strategien können neue Potenziale erschlossen werden, die die Stadtentwicklung insgesamt voranbringen? Wie gehen Entscheidungsträger mit den Problemen um und inwiefern passen sie aktuelle Entwicklungsstrategien an neue Rahmenbedingungen an? Wie kann die soziale und ökonomische Entwicklung langfristig stabilisiert werden? Welchen Beitrag können dabei lokale Initiativen der Wirtschafts- und Beschäftigungsförderung leisten, und wie können solche Initiativen verstärkt gefördert werden? Diese Fragen stehen im Zentrum der empirischen Arbeit "Institutional perspectives of local development in Germany and England", die anhand von vier altindustriell geprägten Beispielstädten in Nordengland und Ostdeutschland Entstehungsfaktoren dieser Initiativen untersucht. In allen vier Städten gibt es eine Vielzahl lokaler Initiativen der Wirtschafts- und Beschäftigungsförderung (insgesamt über 40). Durch diese Initiativen verändert sich die lokale Wirtschaftsstruktur und wird dadurch weniger anfällig für negative Begleiterscheinungen der Globalisierung. Neben einer direkten Förderung solcher Initiativen liegen entscheidende Unterstützungsfaktoren vor allem im informellen Bereich. So tragen Netzwerke, die auf gemeinsamen Zielen und Wertvorstellungen basieren, maßgeblich zum Erfolg lokaler Initiativen bei. Die Arbeit zeigt dabei, dass für die Entstehung lokaler Initiativen vor allem auch lokale Faktoren ausschlaggebend sind und der Einfluss nationaler Politik letztlich weniger entscheidend ist. Allerdings kann die nationale Ebene wichtige Debatten anstoßen, die dann auch auf die lokale Ebene einwirken. Dies zeigt sich beispielsweise im Bereich der sozialen Ökonomie, wo die größere Zahl an Initiativen in Großbritannien mit einer verstärkten Förderung auf nationaler Ebene einhergeht, wohingegen die geringe Relevanz solcher Initiativen in Deutschland auf eine fehlende nationale Förderung der sozialen Ökonomie zurückgeführt werden kann.

Sandstedt, Thomas (2013) – On Recruitment in Academia in the Cases of Department Heads and Research Students   This thesis study how academic and scientific culture act and handle the balance between different interests, demands and preferences and what is considered central and valuable in the leading and managing within universities in Sweden. These are set against each other whenever department heads and research students are to be recruited.  Questions are asked whether procedures come into play when recruiting heads of department, and whether the final choice is determined by regulations and/or academic norms. There has only been marginal research in the field. The recruitment of department heads has not been statutory since 1993, while admission to research studies is regulated in detail.  The study was implemented before the autonomy reform of 2011. Central and local regulatory systems between 1993 and 2011 form the juridical framework of the study.       My frame of reference is a New Institutional Theory approach together with studies of the environment, history and traditions of academia.  The basis of the studied context is the scholarly community of academics.  Demands from government and parliament as expressed in regulatory systems, general guidelines, funding, policies and letters of regulation have also been taken into account within the reference frame.  The empirical material consists of interviews with professors including associate professors conducted in seven universities and eight departments between 2007 and 2009. The results show that there are certain rules of the game that are applied when department heads and research students are being recruited, which give an indication of what is considered valuable for internal management within Swedish universities. The recruitment processes are informal, collegial and institutionalized. When department heads are recruited all colleagues have the possibility to participate, whereas when research students are recruited the group involved is more limited.  In the latter case it is financing as well as the role of the supervisor that seem to play the crucial role in finding the most suitable doctoral student. Internal criteria are reformulated into rules of the game by colleagues and the process is situation-bound. These rules are based on collegial and scholarly interests, demands, norms, traditions and values. Informal criteria offer the opportunity for flexibility and situational adaptation when departments choose their head. These criteria contribute to limiting the number of candidates, which may make it difficult to find the right person. The students admitted to research education are expected to be able to profit by such education and to possess a scientific attitude. These requirements may vary from one admission to another, and the impression is that the circle of potential research students is limited.