There has been a continuous interest in academia with regard to the venture capital (VC) as themain flourishing aid to new business. Nowadays, academia and the public consider it ‘hot‘ to argue and invest in business that define their activities with sustainable goals, and callthemselves ‘green’, ‘clean’ or ‘eco’. Furthermore, circles of discussions about sustainability, triple bottom line, green, clean, eco, and other terms related with positive impact towards society environment alongside financial returns have created uncertainty with respect to what defines an entity as green and how this can be used as a competitive advantage in the attractiveness of the business in the very first steps of its existence. However, green startups are considered a strong tool for the emergence of the environmentally friendly solutions needed in order to avoid dangerous and irreversible climate change. Furthermore, venture capitalists (VCs) are a key provider of financial capital for emerging firms. Therefore, given the complex nature of the VC investment decision, it is paramount to understand the VCs perspective on what are the factors andcharacteristics that attract and repel investors toward green startups. By undertaking this investigation, we seek to create an understanding of the evaluation criteria, as well as, characteristics and challenges related to VC investments in green startups. Therefore, contributing to the fields of environmental entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial finance, by identifying what VCs take in consideration when evaluating green startups. To develop this understanding of the VCs perspective on green startups we first developed an in-depth literature review of the extant research, then we conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with practitioners from the mainstream and the greenVC industry operating in Sweden. Furthermore, we implemented an interpretative approach which enabled us to analyze the individual perspectives of VC depending on the context in which they operate. This study provided interesting results that complement the existing literature and provide useful insights on the current state of green VC. Combining the findings of our study with the theories discussed in our comprehensive literature review on green entrepreneurs, green startups and venture capital, we provide an understanding of the evaluation criteria and investment thesis relevant to green startups as well as, insight on characteristics, challenges and opportunities related to investments in green startups. Therefore, this study generates new knowledge in this scarcely studied area of research and provide interesting insights for future research. To the end of this continuum, both actors involved - VCs and green entrepreneurs - will benefit from the findings which provide: green entrepreneurs with the tools to develop green startups with more potential to attract investors; and VCs with an understanding of the nature, challenges and opportunities of green startups´ investments.

<p>Background: The inflow of immigrants in Sweden is not a new phenomenon. Over the years this country has harbored hundreds and thousands of immigrants/refugees/asylum seekers on its soil. However, due to economical problems faced by Sweden during the last decade, the labor market is not unable to produce adequate jobs. Due to this amongst other consequences, immigrants in Sweden have started establishing their own small businesses which they are handling quite successfully till date.</p><p>Problem discussion: In this thesis we are trying to unveil some of the situations and obstacles of immigrants’ businesses particularly in Sweden. We felt that there are not many studies done today in connection to immigrant business in Sweden though it could be one of the most burning topics in the research field. There is plenty of literature covering the international situation of immigrant business but it is difficult to find in Swedish contexts. The objectives are to know why they perform, how they perform and what they perform, and also to find out if there is sufficient support available to them from local to central level and from ethnic to private institutions.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore and explain why immigrants start their own small business in Sweden. </p><p>Method: To perform this study and to gather appropriate information pertaining to immigrant small business, we have conducted 14 interviews, out of which 8 were immigrants (4 new and 4 old immigrants business houses) and 6 were from different organizations (both represented by government and private organizations). They help immigrants to start their business in Sweden. Finally, we have prepared a model based on immigrants’ business network and the situation.</p><p>Results: The results of our findings show that the main reason for immigrants starting their own business is because of scarcity of specific jobs (matching their qualification and experiences) in the Swedish labor market and immigrants being ambitious to making money and wanting to be self sufficient and not to stay un-employed for longer period of time. The network connected to the immigrants is very important in order to start their own business, both for success and establishment. Again, support from friends, family and relatives are the critical point of departure for their business establishment.</p>

<p>In the discussions today about Africa’s way out of poverty the main focus has been on SME’s, and there potential to increase the economy. In my thesis I research a network of small scale producers in Zanzibar called UWAZI. The thesis compares the theory of Robertson and Lussier, with UWAZI’s situation in Zanzibar. The two most important factors for success are identified as networks and financing which this thesis is focusing on. The conclusion is that UWAZI needs a better financing programme in order to be successful in the future and if this is implemented there is no reason for them to fail. They have a strong network and cooperation and a good mentor programme linked to the business. This thesis proves that it is possible for a women network to reach a successful enterprise in Africa.</p>

Background: The importance of creativity and innovation is frequently stressed in modern literature on management. The significance of innovation gives entrepreneurs the reason to prior to the commencement of a relationship with a venture capitalist, obtain necessary insights regarding the influences such a relationship may have, in terms of innovation. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to scrutinise the influence of venture capital firms on their portfolio companies regarding their ability to be innovative. Delimitations: The intent is to study the impact of a venture capitalist from the viewpoint of its portfolio companies. In other words, what the portfolio companies have perceived as changes is our main area of concern, rather than what the venture capitalist has perceived as change. Realisation: LinkTech, a venture capitalist located and active in the town of Linköping, has together with three of its portfolio companies constituted as an example for the empirical research. An interview with the CEO at LinkTech was carried out as well as interviews with managers at the three portfolio companies. Additionally, a survey aimed towards the employees atthe portfolio companies was conducted. Results: It has been found that a venture capitalist does influence its portfolio companies in terms of innovation. This is mainly done through changes in the existing strategy, but also through the building of networks, changes in the organisational structure of the firms, and through the establishment of reward systems. Empowerment, corporate culture, decision- making, and teamwork have also been examined but been shown to be less influenced.

Background: The inflow of immigrants in Sweden is not a new phenomenon. Over the years this country has harbored hundreds and thousands of immigrants/refugees/asylum seekers on its soil. However, due to economical problems faced by Sweden during the last decade, the labor market is not unable to produce adequate jobs. Due to this amongst other consequences, immigrants in Sweden have started establishing their own small businesses which they are handling quite successfully till date. Problem discussion: In this thesis we are trying to unveil some of the situations and obstacles of immigrants’ businesses particularly in Sweden. We felt that there are not many studies done today in connection to immigrant business in Sweden though it could be one of the most burning topics in the research field. There is plenty of literature covering the international situation of immigrant business but it is difficult to find in Swedish contexts. The objectives are to know why they perform, how they perform and what they perform, and also to find out if there is sufficient support available to them from local to central level and from ethnic to private institutions. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore and explain why immigrants start their own small business in Sweden. Method: To perform this study and to gather appropriate information pertaining to immigrant small business, we have conducted 14 interviews, out of which 8 were immigrants (4 new and 4 old immigrants business houses) and 6 were from different organizations (both represented by government and private organizations). They help immigrants to start their business in Sweden. Finally, we have prepared a model based on immigrants’ business network and the situation. Results: The results of our findings show that the main reason for immigrants starting their own business is because of scarcity of specific jobs (matching their qualification and experiences) in the Swedish labor market and immigrants being ambitious to making money and wanting to be self sufficient and not to stay un-employed for longer period of time. The network connected to the immigrants is very important in order to start their own business, both for success and establishment. Again, support from friends, family and relatives are the critical point of departure for their business establishment.

How does the idea of entrepreneurship for young people relate to media discourses? We have analysed magazines on entrepreneurship from the perspective of Faircloghs critical discourse analysis method to see how the magazines, by there own position in the entrepreneurships discourse, relate the idea of young entrepreneurship. The society wants more people to start their own business, why? The issues of the shift from youth as social problems to youth as entrepreneurs is discussed in the thesis as well as the scope and content of this discourse as a possible new ideal for youth in Swedish society. / Hur framställer man idé om företagande för unga? Vi har med hjälp av den kritiska diskusanalysen analyserat tidningar om företagande för att se hur de, via sin egen positionering i företagsdiskursen, framställer idén om företagande för unga. Varför är samhället intresserat av att så många ska starta företag idag? I uppsatsen analyseras en möjlig förändring när det gäller synen på ungdomar: från problem till ett nytt ideal som betonar entreprenörskap och företagande. Uppsatsen undersöker bredden och innehållet i denna diskurs.

How do international norms travel, via statebuilding efforts, into post-conflict settings, and how do international and national actors interact in this process? These are the main questions addressed in this thesis. The empirical focus is the spreading and rooting of the norm of women’s political rights in Cambodia and Timor-Leste, two countries in which international actors have played a significant role in statebuilding efforts. Although statebuilding has increasingly become a part of UN peacebuilding missions, we still lack a thorough understanding of how much, and in what ways, the international community can successfully promote change. This is important in view of the fact that the key to success ultimately depends on how the receiving community responds to the presence and efforts of international actors to promote new social norms.  This study analyzes the interaction between international and national actors engaged in the promotion of women’s political rights as part of the effort to advance democracy. Three institutional developments are examined in detail – electoral rules and regulations, the establishment of a national gender equality/women’s machinery and the strengthening of the local government structure. The study uses a modified norm diffusion approach and makes two theoretical contributions to the literature. First, I place the norm diffusion process in a post-conflict context. Second, I add the concept of capability to function in order to conceptualize and study the internalization of the norm. The thesis is based on both an analysis of written material and semi-structured interviews. A total of 65 interviews were conducted during three research trips to each of the countries between 2007 and 2009. In general, the four empirical chapters reveal that the interaction between international and national actors has predominantly been characterized by international actors setting the agenda, with varying degrees of consultation and collaboration with national actors. While norm institutionalization has been rather high in both countries, norm inter­nalization lags behind. This is explained by discriminating ways of life and attitudes, lack of resources and time. Norm internalization is higher in Timor-Leste, in part because national actors have adapted the norm of women’s political rights to fit the local setting, but also due to their openness to international influences. The empirical study underscores that international actors can push for change and norm adherence, but their efforts are not enough. In the end, national actors have to buy into the message that international actors try to convey. The strengths and weaknesses that have been uncovered in the Cambodian and Timorese case studies presented here should be carefully considered as international actors, led by the UN, embark upon future statebuilding missions around the globe.

My dissertation focuses on foreign entrepreneurs—individuals who establish firms outside of their native countries. Despite the prevalence of foreign entrepreneurs, their strategic choices have received little attention in the research literature. For example, when starting a firm, an entrepreneur must decide whether to manage the business personally or hire a local manager, yet we know little about how this choice affects firm performance. To examine this issue, in the first study I use a novel dataset of foreign entrepreneurial firms in Russia and a visa policy change as an instrument for the owner-manager choice. Contrary to the expectation that foreign entrepreneurs would underperform local managers due to the liability of foreignness, I find that foreign owner-managers can benefit their firms: Exogenous assignment of a local manager in place of a foreign owner-manager reduces profits. Foreign owner-managers benefit their firms by hiring cheap native-country labor as well as through reduced agency costs. The second study examines how private benefits of occupying a managerial position affect an entrepreneur’s choice between owner-management and hiring an agent. I show that foreign entrepreneurs with a strong desire to reside in a host country are more likely to become owner-managers. These results are consistent with the idea that entrepreneurs expecting to gain private benefits from managing their firms are more likely to become owner-managers. Moreover, I demonstrate that entrepreneurs are willing to substitute the non-pecuniary benefits associated with relocation for firm profit. These findings add to a growing literature exploring the role of personal preferences in entrepreneurs’ strategic decisions, such as location choice and ownership structure. The third study examines the impact of media coverage on the location choices of foreign firms. Publicly available media information has largely been ignored by the location literature, perhaps because its impact on location choice is expected to be trivial. This study challenges this assumption: Using a new instrument for media coverage (a major anniversary of a city’s establishment date), I show that extensive foreign media coverage of a city increases the number of foreign entrants. Moreover, this effect is strongest for socially and geographically distant firms and entrepreneurs.

International migration is an important issue that has become even more important with the recent globalization process and economic restructuring. Economic activities that stem from this process have provided new opportunities for labor exporting countries. In the past, the focus was on remittances but today the entrepreneurial activities of transnational entrepreneurs have become more important. Many developing countries have recently concentrated their policies upon this group of entrepreneurs and they try to increase the economic benefits from their activities. Turkey is also one of the major labor exporting countries. New economic opportunities that concern the activities of transnational entrepreneurs have emerged for Turkey recently. These entrepreneurs are very important especially at the regional level. In &Ccedil / orum, several transnational entrepreneurs founded their firms. They contribute to employment, exports and income considerably. These entrepreneurs succeed by making use of their social capital and network. They also create positive externalities by encouraging other local entrepreneurs to export. Our findings show that these entrepreneurs need consulting and information / therefore, the state should get involved in this process more actively. Only then can one expect greater benefits from the ongoing process.

Både entreprenörskap och invandring har ökat kraftigt i Sverige, såväl som globalt. Idag finns det över en miljon bolag i Sverige där enmansföretag (74,8%) och mikroföretag (21,7%) utgör den största delen. Detta ger en klar syn över att det svenska näringslivet domineras främst av mindre företag. Bakom många av dessa mindre företag står individer med utländsk bakgrund. Under 2010 talades det om att var sjunde företag som startas i Sverige, drivs av en individ med rötter från en annan del av världen.En av de viktigaste drivkrafterna för ett lands ekonomiska tillväxt är företag, vilket är en stor anledning till att fokus ligger på hur dessa väljer att finansiera sin verksamhet. Problemet för många invandrarföretagare är svårigheten med att erhålla extern finansiering under företagets livscykel, vilket leder till att alternativa finansieringsmetoder används som bootstrapping. Bootstrapping betyder att ”ta sig själv i kragen” samt att se till att bli ”självförsörjande”. Forskare menar på att företagarens egenskaper också spelar en väsentlig roll vid val av finansiering.Syftet med denna uppsats är att utforska huruvida invandrarföretagarens användning av bootstrapping påverkas av företagarens egenskaper och företagets livscykel. En hermeneutisk forskningsfilosofi har använts tillsammans med en deduktiv ansats och en kvalitativ metod. Detta för att skapa en djupare förståelse för ett okänt område. Den kvalitativa undersökningen har genomförts med hjälp av åtta respondenter för att ge svar på studiens problemformulering och syfte.Uppsatsen indikerar på att invandrarföretagare främst använder sig av ägarfinansierad under introduktions- samt tillväxtfasen. Studien påvisar att fördröjande bootstrapping även är en vanlig metod som invandrarföretagare använder sig utav under tillväxtfasen. En annan metod som också är användbar men inte i lika stor utsträckning är relationsorienterad bootstrapping. De mest påverkande egenskaperna vid användning av bootstrapping är företagarens kontrollbehov över verksamheten samt riskbenägenhet mot externa finansiärer. / Both entrepreneurship and immigration has increased dramatically in Sweden, as well as globally. Today there are over a million companies in Sweden where one-person (74.8%) and micro enterprises (21.7%) represent the largest portion. This gives a clear view that the Swedish economy is dominated by small firms. Behind many of these smaller companies are individuals with a foreign background. In 2010 it was shown that every seventh company that was started in Sweden, operated by a person with roots from another part of the world.One of the main forces of a country's economic growth is the companies, which is a major reason that focus lies on how they choose to finance their business. The problem for many immigrant entrepreneurs is difficulty in obtaining external financing during its life-cycle, which leads to alternative financing methods used, named bootstrapping. Bootstrapping means to “lift oneself up” and make sure to become “self-sufficient”. Scientists believe that the entrepreneur's characteristics also play a significant role in the choice of financing.The purpose of this paper is to explore whether immigrant entrepreneur's use of bootstrapping is affected by the entrepreneur's characteristics and the company’s life cycle. A hermeneutic research philosophy has been used in conjunction with a deductive and a qualitative approach. The reason for using a qualitative approach is to create a deeper understanding of an unfamiliar area. The qualitative study has been performed with the help of eight respondents to answer the study's problem and purpose.The paper indicates that immigrant entrepreneurs mainly uses owner-financed in the introduction and growth phase. The study demonstrates that delaying bootstrapping is also a common method that immigrant entrepreneurs use during the growth phase. Another method that is also used but not as much as the other two methods is relationship oriented bootstrapping. The most influencing characteristics when using bootstrapping is the need of control over the business and risk aversion against external financiers.