Abstract  Background:                     In an equity crowdfunding campaign, the investor receives shares in the company in return for the investment, which makes equity crowdfunding similar to traditional sources of equity funding. Nevertheless, skeptics have referred to equity crowdfunding as “dumb money”, since it might not provide similar non-financial value added as realized from professional investors. The main literature used for the frame of reference were Boué (2007), Macht and Robinson (2008) and Macht and Weatherston (2014). The literature worked as a basis for deriving a table, outlining the non-financial value added received by venture capitalists and business angels, as well as showing where literature is lacking regarding non-financial value added by equity crowdfunding investors. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to explore the non-financial value added by equity crowdfunding investors to the entrepreneur. This purpose was answered by two research questions: (1) Do equity crowdfunding investors provide similar non-financial value added to the entrepreneur as traditional equity funding investors do? (2) Are there any additional non-financial value added realized from equity crowdfunding? Method: This thesis follows the interpretivist research paradigm and undertakes an abductive research approach in order to explore the purpose. Primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews with seven entrepreneurs who had successfully conducted an equity crowdfunding campaign in Sweden. Secondary data was collected from peer-reviewed articles containing relevant theories and models. Conclusion: This research suggests that there are similarities between professional investors and equity crowdfunding investors in terms of non-financial value added. The contribution from equity crowdfunding investors seems to be dependent on the effort that the entrepreneur puts into the relationship with the investors. Furthermore, equity crowdfunding also allows the entrepreneur to maintain ownership and control over the company. However, each equity crowdfunding case is different and there are no guarantees of receiving certain types of investors.

Les alliances stratégiques et les fusions-acquisitions sont théoriquement considérées aujourd’hui comme de véritables leviers de création de valeur. Cette création de valeur prend différentes formes, à savoir essentiellement une valeur stratégique, une valeur substantielle, une valeur institutionnelle et une valeur financière (notamment actionnariale). C’est cette dernière qui retient spécifiquement notre attention. L’objectif de ce travail de recherche, après avoir analysé les résultats des travaux empiriques réalisés sur l’impact des annonces d’acquisitions portant sur la performance boursière, est de répondre à deux questions fondamentales. La première question est de savoir si à un horizon plus ou moins lointain, la performance boursière des acquisitions coïncide avec la performance réelle, et si par conséquent cette forme de croissance externe peut se justifier par la motivation financière des dirigeants ou actionnaires. La deuxième question est de savoir si cette hypothèse formulée se vérifie également pour le cas des alliances, établissant par la même une comparaison avantageuse en faveur de l’une ou l’autre des options de croissance externe. Nos résultats montrent en définitive que sur le court terme l’annonce d’une alliance a un impact négatif sur la performance contrairement à l’annonce d’une fusion ou d’acquisition, tandis que d’autre part sur le long terme, il n’y a aucun impact positif (impact neutre) sur la performance financière qu’il s’agisse de l’alliance stratégique ou de la fusion-acquisition. Nous expliquons ce résultat par un phénomène de « création de valeur compensatoire » dans le cadre d’une intention stratégico-financière. / Strategic alliances and mergers & acquisitions are theoretically now considered as real levers of value creation. This value creation takes different forms, essentially strategic value, substantial value, institutional value and financial value (including shareholders). This latter holds our attention specifically. The objective of our research, after analyzing the results of empirical works focused on the acquisition announcements impact on the stock market performance, is to answer two fundamental questions. The first question is to know that if, on a more or less distant horizon, the stock market performance of acquisitions coincides with the actual performance and so if this form of acquisitions can be justified by the financial motivation of CEOs or shareholders. The second question is to know that if this hypothesis is also true in the case of alliances, establishing by the way an advantageous comparison in favor of one or other of the external growth options. Our final results show that in the short term the announcement of an alliance has a negative impact on performance as opposed to the announcement of a merger & acquisition, while other hand on the long-term, there is no positive impact (neutral impact) on financial performance whether it be the strategic alliance or merger & acquisition. We explain this result by the phenomenon of "creation of compensatory value" in the context of a strategic and financial plan.

More stress is put on political brand significance as the evolution of political parties (or institutions) continues. Political parties no longer use their ideology as a main tool to attract potential voters. Voters have adapted at least in part the consumer-like behavior, when choosing political brand. The importance of political brands grows along with the strengthening effort of political parties to gain as many median voters as possible. Diploma thesis deals with the valuation of political brands in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, United Kingdom and United States. One of the key goals is to propose a sophisticated valuation model based on evaluation of future cash flows discounted to present day.

Global society is threatened by many social and ecological challenges, together they form a complex environment defined in this thesis as the sustainability challenge. Organizations have a major impact on this challenge, with business strategy being the leverage point. This thesis identifies the gaps and recommendations to address those gaps to strategically move organizations towards reaching a sustainable society. The <IR> Framework by the IIRC is a reporting structure and method that includes sustainability elements within a business orientated context. Through 20 interviews, report comparison and system analysis we have generated the results. These highlight gaps with regards to planetary limits and lack of directing organizations towards sustainability. Based on the findings we conclude that <IR>can be a steppingstone by introducing organizations to sustainability elements within business language. However, <IR> cannot be used as a standalone tool to reach a sustainable society. <IR> does assist and succeed in making organizations more strategic, which prepares them to move to sustainability. Overall, organizations acquire a broader perception and understanding regarding non-financials. Recommendations include integrating systems thinking, formulating ‘success’ and back casting from it to strategically prioritize actions; also referring to other tools and concepts that can assist in niche areas within <IR>.

Purpose – The purpose of this thesis was to increase the understanding of how formal and informal intellectual property may affect value generation of strategic and financial values within the nanotechnology start-up sector. Method – This study had an inductive approach through a qualitative multi-case study. The data collection was carried out through 23 interviews, including four exploratory interviews and 19 semi-structured interviews. The collected data was continuously analyzed in order to identify concepts, themes and aggregated dimensions. The collected data was analyzed through two categories, namely type of intellectual property and prioritized type of value desired. Findings – Through protecting innovations nanotechnology start-ups seek both strategic and financial values. The findings show nanotechnology start-ups seek strategic values in the form of trustworthiness through qualified recognition, ability to increase in market share, and having a competitive presence on the market. The findings further show nanotechnology start-ups seek financial values in the form of effective resource allocation, direct income from market transactions, and ability to attain investors. Furthermore, the findings suggest that for nanotechnology start-ups to effectively generate strategic and financial values it can be beneficial to combine formal and informal IP where a combination of trade secrets and patents can be valuable. Theoretical contributions – The analysis resulted in a grounded theory articulation in the form of a conceptual framework describing the relationships between the type of IP and how it may affect value generation for nanotechnology start-ups. This study adds to previous research that aspects fulfilling market demands can be effectively protected by patents, and aspects difficult to reverse engineer can be effectively protected by trade secrets in order to generate strategic and financial value. This study also adds to theory by identifying enablers describing how nanotechnology start-ups can generate strategic and financial values, and which type of IP is associated with each enabler. Practical implications – This study provide managers within the nanotechnology start-up sector with a framework suggesting how to generate different values from protecting innovations. The study further concludes that there are six important aspects to consider in creating effective IP strategies within the nanotechnology start-up sector. These aspects include; mapping the technological environment and the commercial market, determining which actual strategic and financial values are important for the start-up, protecting different aspects of an innovation with different types of IP, having trade secrets on aspects of an innovation that are hard to reverse engineer, to formally protect aspects of an innovation that fulfills market demand, and making a plan for how the rights attained can generate value.

This thesis is focused on possibilities of raising competitivness in the area of car sales using operational leasing with Škoda Auto, a.s as an example. This automotive company together with Škofin, s.r.o. provides its customers with a service „Škoda without worry“. The company positioning on the market was evaluated based on quantitative and qualitative analysis of the product, market and competition. Suggestions presented in this thesis bring up a conceptual change of the service „Škoda without worry“ with a goal to increase the value for customers and competitivness of the company. Introducing a loyalty program Škoda is mentioned as an alternative solution. Benefits and risks associated with implementation of the suggested measures are listed in conclusion.

This study aims to explore the possibilities and potential value creation of a large-scale implementation of shift work within the construction sector, allowing production ongoing more than 40 hours per week. This is not a novel concept in construction, however it is not a standardised way of working and today often brings many obstacles. Previous research within construction management has focused on the traditional approaches in measuring success from metrics like time, cost and quality. A general research statement is that the construction industry is stagnant and calls for development. As there is an increased recognition in the need of looking beyond these traditional measures, this thesis has therefore delved into both the intangible and direct values, regarding social and financial aspects of implementing shift work in the production phase. The work is done through a qualitative method, including semistructured interviews with respondents holding experience in the field and that previously have worked in shift work projects. The interviews are conducted with personnel of the contractor, as well as with three different client organisations in order to gather a diverse picture and opinions. The empirical data suggests that implementing shift work as a standardised way to schedule would not be appropriate as of today. Firstly, the management knowledge is not existent at the time and needs to be developed in order to implement shift work in a more extensive way. However, this managerial progress would be well received as it would be beneficial in all types of projects. It is seen that today, there are potential social and financial values that are unutilised regarding personal flexibility, cost savings and competitive development. Nevertheless, there are still obstacles that need to be considered. Resistance to change within the construction industry is holding back potential innovation and development, health aspects need to be further treated and finding motivated employees. The recommended way of designing shift work is eight hour days and 40 hour week, per person, as this is a physically demanding labour and to ensure long term health and work environment safety. A well functioning and the most appreciated shift schedule has seen to be designed with two rotational shifts, with overlapping handovers and management teams. From a competitive approach, decreasing project duration would be considered as valuable to the clients which would decrease their risks by generating their project and revenues earlier. This is more important now with higher interest rates compared to the last decade and as the recent years have proved uncertain and shown how it is difficult to foresee organisational needs several years ahead of time. The analysis shows that the main driving force of the industry’s development is the clients that have to demand more from the contractors regarding shorter project durations, and could request alternative timelines as this is what is desired today. The contractors should focus their resources to develop innovative ways of working to ensure a remaining competitive market position, before they are bypassed by smaller, more innovative organisations that drive industry change. / Denna studie syftar till att undersöka möjligheterna och det potentiella värdeskapandet av att införa skiftarbete inom byggsektorn, vilket möjliggör produktion som pågår mer än 40 timmar per vecka. Detta är inte ett nytt koncept inom byggbranschen men det är inte heller ett standardiserat arbetssätt och som idag ofta medför många hinder. Tidigare forskning inom byggbranschen har fokuserat på de traditionella metoderna för att mäta framgång med hjälp av aspekterna: tid, kostnad och kvalitet. Ett generellt forskningssynpunkt är att byggbranschen är stagnerad och kräver utveckling. Eftersom det finns ett ökat erkännande av behovet av att se bortom dessa traditionella mått har denna uppsats därför fördjupat sig i både de indirekta och direkta värdena, med avseende på sociala och ekonomiska aspekter av att implementera skiftarbete i produktionsfasen.  Arbetet genomförs med en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer med respondenter som har erfarenhet inom området och som arbetat i projekt med skiftarbete. Intervjuerna görs med anställda från entreprenören samt med tre olika kunder för att få ett flersidigt perspektiv. Den empiriska datan tyder på att det i dagsläget inte är lämpligt att införa skiftarbete som ett standardiserat sätt att schemalägga byggprojekt. För det första finns inte tillräcklig kunskap som krävs för att genomföra detta och som måste utvecklas för att införa skiftarbete på ett storskaligt sätt. Denna utveckling av projektledning skulle dock vara fördelaktig eftersom den skulle vara till nytta i alla typer av framtida byggprojekt. Vi har sett att det idag finns potentiella sociala och ekonomiska värden som inte utnyttjas inom industrin och att det finns vissa hinder som måste tas i beaktning. Motstånd till förändring inom byggbranschen hindrar idag potentiell innovation och utveckling, vidare behöver hälsoaspekterna noggrannare beaktas och det är idag svårt att hitta motiverade medarbetare. Det rekommenderade sättet att arbeta är åtta timmars arbetsdag och 40 timmars arbetsvecka per person, eftersom det är ett fysiskt krävande arbete och för att säkerställa hälsa och arbetsmiljö på lång sikt. Schemat kan därefter utformas med två roterande skift, med överlappande överlämningar och ledningsgrupper som har visat sig fungera bra och vara mest uppskattat. Ur ett konkurrensperspektiv skulle en kortare projekttid betraktas som värdefull för kunderna, eftersom det skulle minska deras risker genom att projektet överlämnas och intäkterna genereras tidigare. Detta är ännu viktigare idag i och med högre räntor jämfört med det senaste årtiondet och då de föregående åren har visat sig vara osäkra och belyst hur svårt det kan vara att förutse organisatoriska behov och position flera år i förväg. Analysen pekar på att den främsta drivkraften för branschens utveckling är beställarna som måste kräva mer av entreprenörerna gällande projektens varaktighet och bör begära alternativa tidsplaner eftersom det är vad som efterfrågas idag. Entreprenörerna bör vidare fokusera sina resurser på att utveckla innovativa arbetssätt för att säkerställa en fortsatt konkurrenskraftig marknadsposition, innan de blir passerade av mindre och mer innovativa företag som driver utvecklingen i branschen.

O objetivo dessa pesquisa é apresentar uma ferramenta alternativa ao valor econômico adicionado na mensuração da performance empresarial correlacionada com o valor de mercado. Na revisão da literatura apresenta-se o conceito de estrutura e custo de capital, utilizando a metodologia do CAPM e do APT. São igualmente apresentadas as principais medidas financeiras de desempenho tais como: retorno operacional sobre o investimento, retorno sobre o patrimônio liquido, retorno sobre os ativos, além de outras formas para cálculo do retorno. Na sequência introduzimos o conceito de lucro residual e o valor econômico adicionado, discutindo suas vantagens, desvantagens, dificuldades e limitações dessa ferramenta. Através do EVA podemos calcular o valor de mercado adicionado, fundamental para o cálculo do valor patrimonial ajustado. Também é apresentado nessa obra a interpretação do EVA pela ótica do modelo Fleuriet de planejamento financeiro. Após essa explanação teórica é apresentado o Financial Value Added proposto por esse trabalho, como alternativa ao Valor Econômico Adicionado na mensuração do desempenho empresarial. Essa ferramenta exclui da base de cálculo as receitas e despesas econômicas, uma vez que as mesmas em alguns casos distorcem o resultado como é constatado no teste com as empresas: Sadia S.A. e Perdigão S.A. onde os resultados foram 54% na Sadia e 13% na Perdigão superiores ao EVA. Em nenhum momento argumenta-se a substituição do EVA, apenas a introdução do FVA como alternativa nos casos em que o EVA não funcione adequadamente.

An understanding of opportunities and challenges in cloud computing is needed to better manage technology costs and create financial value. The purposes of this transcendental phenomenological study were to understand the lived experiences of minority business owners who operated business applications in the cloud and to explore how these experiences created financial value for businesses despite security challenges. Historically, minority business owners have experienced high rates of business failures and could benefit from information to help them manage business costs in order to position their businesses to grow and succeed. Modigliani-Miller's theorem on capital structure and Brealey and Young's concept of financial leverage were the conceptual frameworks that grounded this study. Data consisted of observational field notes and 15 individual semistructured interviews with open-ended questions. I used the in vivo and pattern coding approaches to analyze the data for emerging themes that addressed the research questions. The findings were that drivers of positive cloud-based experiences, such as easy access, ease of use, flexibility, and timesavings, created financial value for small business owners. In addition, the findings confirmed that opportunities in the cloud such as cost savings, efficiency, and ease of collaboration outweighed security challenges. Finally, the results indicated that cost-effective approaches such as the subscription model for acquiring technology created financial value for businesses. The findings of this study can be used by business owners, especially minority small business owners, to decide whether to move operations to the cloud to create financial value for their businesses.

O objetivo dessa pesquisa é apresentar uma ferramenta alternativa ao valor econômico adicionado na mensuração da performance empresarial correlacionada com o valor de mercado. Na revisão da literatura apresenta-se o conceito de estrutura e custo de capital, utilizando a metodologia do CAPM e do APT. São igualmente apresentadas as principais medidas financeiras de desempenho tais como: retorno operacional sobre o investimento, retorno sobre o patrimônio liquido, retorno sobre os ativos, além de outras formas para cálculo do retorno. Na sequência introduzimos o conceito de lucro residual e o valor econômico adicionado, discutindo suas vantagens, desvantagens, dificuldades e limitações dessa ferramenta. Através do EVA podemos calcular o valor de mercado adicionado, fundamental para o cálculo do valor patrimonial ajustado. Também é apresentado nessa obra a interpretação do EVA pela ótica do modelo Fleuriet de planejamento financeiro. Após essa explanação teórica é apresentado o Financial Value Added proposto por esse trabalho, como alternativa ao Valor Econômico Adicionado na mensuração do desempenho empresarial. Essa ferramenta exclui da base de cálculo as receitas e despesas econômicas, uma vez que as mesmas em alguns casos distorcem o resultado como é constatado no teste com as empresas: Sadia S.A. e Perdigão S.A. onde os resultados foram 54% na Sadia e 13% na Perdigão superiores ao EVA. Em nenhum momento argumenta-se a substituição do EVA, apenas a introdução do FVA como alternativa nos casos em que o EVA não funcione adequadamente.