The aim of the thesis is to determine the relation between subjectively perceived and financially measured performance of a firm. The introduction of the thesis is focused on performance characteristics and measurement. Further, based on foreign and domestic researches, subjectively perceived performance is defined and comparison with objectively (financially) measured one is made. Results of the researches prove that between subjectively perceived and financially measured performance, there exists substantial to very strong statistical association. Following on an own research was carried out. As the tool for data collection serves a questionnaire sent to firms from the Czech and Slovak Republic. The data collected are compared with values of select financial measures: with ROA, ROE, ROS and Gross Sales. Said own research also confirmed a positive correlation between subjectively perceived and financially measured performance of the firm, albeit weaker than in foreign researches.

A production strategy enables companies to effectively manage the different challenges that the production function face in a competitive environment. A production strategy helps a company to make operational and strategic decisions that follow a logical pattern and supports the corporate strategy and the competitive priorities of the company. When no strategy exists the decisions may be arbitrary and unpredictable leading to an under-achieving production system. Production strategy involves decisions that shape the long term capabilities of a producing company. For the traditional production industry there are a number of production strategy frameworks that facilitates the process of designing production systems. However, these frameworks typically leave project based production out of the scope or treat project based production as one type of production system, when in fact project based production systems can be multifaceted depending on product design and market requirements. This thesis focus on project based manufacturing in a house-building context. Houses can be produced by different types of production systems, and depending on how the production systems are designed they have strengths and weaknesses in different areas of competition. To be able to meet the increasing demand for residential houses, and improve performance in the house-building industry, the way houses are produced have to match different market requirements in a more effective and efficient way. To do this a production strategy has to exist. Typically there is a trade-off between productivity and flexibility, hence a production system designed to meet customer requirements concerning product design is probably not the best process choice if the customer thinks price and delivery time are the most important. A production strategy helps a company to make decisions so that the output of the production system meets customer requirements in the best possible way. Due to the fact that project based production is typically left out of the scope in traditional production strategy literature and that there is a lack of research concerning production strategy in a house-building context, the purpose of this research is: … to extend the production strategy body of knowledge concerning project based production in a house-building context. To fulfil the purpose the following four research questions are studied and answered: RQ1: What aspects can be useful in a classification matrix contrasting different production systems for house-building? RQ2: Which competitive priorities are important to measure when evaluating different production systems on a production strategy level in a house-building context, and how can they quantitatively be measured? RQ3: How does the characteristics of the production system, i.e. the process choice, affect information exchange in a house-building context? RQ4: How can a new production strategy be formulated and implemented in an industrialised house-building context and what challenges are important to consider in that process? To answer RQ1 a classification matrix was developed that classify production systems along two dimensions: a product dimension (degree of product standardisation) and a process dimension (degree of off-site assembly). The two dimensions are related, for example a high degree of standardisation should be matched with a high degree of off-site assembly and consequently a low degree of product standardisation should be matched with a low degree of off-suite assembly. A mismatch, e.g. high degree of off-site assembly and low degree of standardisation, typically leads to poor performance and should hence be avoided. To be able to see how different types of production systems perform in different areas of competition key performance indicators (KPIs) were developed. The KPIs presented in this research can be used to measure quality, delivery (speed and dependability), cost (level and dependability), and flexibility (volume and mix) at a production strategic level (RQ2). Furthermore, to answer RQ3, a production strategy perspective was taken on information exchange by relating information exchange to the design of the production system. The results indicate that employing different types of production systems leads to different approaches to information exchange. Employing a production systems using traditional production methods on-site and a low degree of product standardisation lead to a traditional approach to information exchange, e.g. project meetings, telephone and mail. Production systems employing some degree of off-site assembly have less complex and more stable supply chains and use ICT-solutions to a higher extent, which facilitates information exchange. The findings also indicate that a high degree of product standardisation facilitates the use of ICT-solutions such as ERP and BIM. RQ4 concerns the production strategy process, i.e. formulation and implementation. Failure in this processes can jeopardise the whole business. Based on a longitudinal case study of an industrialised house-builder a suggested production strategy process was developed, including both production strategy formulation and implementation. The study also identified context specific challenges that have to be considered in an industrialised house-building context, e.g. the complexity that comes with using two different production processes (off-site and on-site) in the same production system. The research is case based and a total number of eight different production systems have been studied. Data has been collected through interviews, observations, and review of company documents.

Since the dawn of globalization, manufacturing companies around the world have been expanding their global footprint to stay competitive. International manufacturing network of a company consists of plants with different roles and responsibilities spread across different locations around the world. Due to this increasing geographical dispersion and competitiveness, effective co-ordination of these  plants has become a priority along with achieving effective and efficient operations. This led to the development of the Core plant role. Core plants are the manufacturing plants that aims to achieve competitive and effective production, generate and transfer knowledge, while leading and coordinating the other plants within the network.     However,  the core plant role varies significantly across companies and academia  due to a lack of a common understanding regarding  its responsibilities and objectives. Furthermore, the performance of core plants are being measured with the same generic KPIs  as the other plants, even though their roles and responsibilities varies significantly. As a result, it has become difficult to measure their true performance and contribution of value to the network. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the development of comprehensive performance  measurement system that collectively measures the true performance and value of the core plant role to its international manufacturing network. Initially, the thesis investigates and bridges the mentioned knowledge gap with a two-tier literature review, before establishing their validity and relative importance in empirical context through survey.  The survey approach is also utilized to assess the current situation of performance measurement among core plants of different manufacturing companies.   The  findings suggest that ‘attaining operational excellence’ has the highest strategic importance but  this responsibility  only extends to  individual plant level not the network level. The core plant, network level responsibility ‘knowledge generation’ has the highest relative strategic importance and ‘Capability development’ has the lowest relative  strategic importance. The findings also reveal that the performance measurement systems of network level  core plant responsibilities are either poorly developed or non-existent.  The thesis concludes with a suggestion of a conceptual framework that provides the guidelines to develop a comprehensive performance measurement system for core plants. The findings and suggestions are of practical relevance to the top management of international manufacturing companies and academia for conducting future research.

Abstract Working life has entered a new era characterised by turbulence and continuous change. Employees are experiencing feelings of incompleteness, uncertainty over their future, and rapid changes in the direction and rhythm of work as companies are executing simultaneous change processes. On the other hand, as a result of an ageing population, there is an increasing need to motivate employees into postponing their retirement. The current developments emphasise the significance of well-being at work. Well-being at work includes health and safety, risk management in the work environment, the usability of tools, the psycho-social aspects influencing work community, change management, and any other factors that can have an effect on the well-being experienced by employees. This doctoral dissertation analyses well-being at work through four viewpoints, published in separate scientific articles. Three of the viewpoints sought answers via processes in which employees and end-users participated significantly. The fourth viewpoint was approached by interviewing experts in the field of well-being. In this research, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in the analyses of the data. According to this research, the main factors influencing well-being at work include the employee, the working community, the work itself, leadership and management, and external factors. The management should strive towards balancing these factors via active and open communication. The results show how personnel participation in the development of performance indicators promotes the integration of safety aspects into a natural part of industrial production activities. Employee participation facilitates the acceptance of performance indicators, acts as training, and improves information flow within a company. The results of this doctoral dissertation can be beneficial for both public and private sectors, especially for small and medium sized companies. Managers should be able to identify all relevant external and internal change processes, contemplate their impact on well-being at work, and change their management styles accordingly. / Tiivistelmä Käynnissä oleva työelämän murros merkitsee jatkuvaa muutosta, asioiden keskeneräisyyttä, epävarmuutta tulevasta, toiminnan suunnan ja rytmin nopeita vaihteluja, erilaisten muutosprosessien samanaikaisuutta ja työyhteisöjen perustehtävien muuttumista. Toisaalta väestön ikääntyessä työvoiman haluun ja kykyyn jatkaa työelämässä nykyistä pitempään kiinnitetään yhä enenevässä määrin huomiota. Molemmat kehityskulut korostavat työhyvinvoinnin merkitystä. Työhyvinvointi sisältää työterveyden ja -turvallisuuden, työympäristön riskienhallinnan ja työvälineiden käytettävyyden, työyhteisön psykososiaaliset tekijät, muutoksen hallinnan ja muut tekijät, jotka voivat vaikuttaa työntekijöiden kokemaan hyvinvointiin tai pahoinvointiin työssä. Tämän väitöstutkimuksen tavoitteena on neljän esimerkin avulla tutkia työhyvinvointia. Kolmeen näkökulmaan haettiin vastauksia prosessilla, johon työpaikkojen henkilöstö ja/tai loppukäyttäjät osallistuivat merkittävästi. Neljättä näkökulmaa lähestyttiin asiantuntijahaastatteluiden avulla. Tutkimusaineiston analyysissä on käytetty sekä kvalitatiivisia että kvantitatiivisia menetelmiä. Tämän tutkimuksen mukaan työhyvinvoinnin keskeiset osatekijät ovat työntekijä, lähityöyhteisö, työ, johtaminen ja työyhteisön ulkopuoliset tekijät. Johdon tulisi osata tasapainottaa nämä työhyvinvointiin liittyvät tekijät. Väitöskirjan tulosten mukaan suorituskykymittareiden rakentaminen henkilöstön yhdessä toteuttamana hankkeena auttaa liittämään työturvallisuusasiat luontevaksi osaksi teollisuuden tuotantotoimintaa. Henkilöstön osallistuminen suorituskykymittareiden rakentamiseen helpottaa käyttöönottoa, toimii koulutuksena ja parantaa tiedonkulkua yrityksen sisällä. Tämän tutkimuksen tulokset ovat hyödynnettävissä sekä yksityisellä että julkisella sektorilla, erityisesti pienillä ja keskisuurilla työpaikoilla. Johdon tulisi hahmottaa työyhteisössä käynnissä olevat sisäiset ja ulkoiset muutosprosessit, pohtia niiden vaikutusta työhyvinvointiin ja tarpeen mukaan muuttaa johtamiskäytäntöjä.

In ICT industry, firms’ financial prosperity and growth are highly depended on innovation. The innovation provides competitive advantage and high performance for the ICT companies. The purpose of the paper is to study effect that the companies’ internal resources, experience on the market, investments in innovation and business environment have on their performance. The sample includes 22 ICT companies from North America, EU and Asia region. The examined data cover period from 2011 to 2015. The companies’ annual reports and USPTO were used as the sources of the data. The mixed research method is chosen to reach the study’s objectives. The study is analysed with help of DEA and Balanced scorecard performance measurement methods. Organizational learning theory and Resource based theory are applied to answer the research questions in the study. The outputs of performance are categories such as assets and competencies, innovative activities, suppliers and customer relations, and employees and management. These categories are presented by a variety of indicators such as assets turnover, labour productivity ratio, debt ratio, SG&A costs ratio and number of published patents. The factors such as companies’ size, age, investments in R&D and business environment have significant impact on the performance of innovative activities. The results suggest that the large established ICT companies are less efficient in studied categories than the smaller and younger ICT firms. Moreover, the younger smaller companies show higher efficiency even in terms of such outcomes as R&D intensity and number of published patents. The results are consistent with the findings attained in previous studies from the same scientific field.

Titel: Benchmarking - Den nya budgeten Bakgrund: Budget är ett mycket utbrett styrverktyg som under senare år kommit att kritiseras. Kritiken menar på att en budget är för stelbent i en värld som snabbt förändras och att styrverktyg krävs som passar in i dagen förutsättningar. Flera företag har med detta valt att tillämpa en budgetlös styrmodell då de anser att budgeten inte kan möta den osäkerhet som marknaden idag besitter. Ett populärt verktyg som bättre kan möta de krav som företag ställs inför idag är benchmarking. Genom att jämföra och lära inom organisationen såväl som att utbyta kunskaper externt med andra företag strävar företagen efter att nå ”best practice”. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att ta fram ett teoretiskt ramverk för hur benchmarking kan ersätta budgetens syften. I nästa steg beskrivs och jämförs hur tvåbudgetlösa företag arbetar med intern benchmarking på huvudkontorsnivå och kontor/butiksnivå. Studien bidrar med material till hur benchmarking används som substitut till budget i företag och syftar till att belysa hur olika nivåer uppfattar begreppet inom företaget. Teoretisk referensram: Den teoretiska referensramen i vår studie utgör en presentation av budgetering, budgetlös styrning samt olika styrsätt för att ersätta budgetens syften. Ett stort fokus har lagts på benchmarking där delar som syfte, processen, benchlearning, intern och extern benchmarking samt för- och nackdelar belyses för att få en tydlig bild över begreppet som en del i ett styrsystem. Benchmarking tillsammans med olika styrsätt beskrivs för att jämföra dessa med budgetens syften. Metod: Vi har utfört en jämförelsestudie på två budgetlösa företag. Företagen är Handelsbanken AB och Ahlsell AB. I vår studie har ett kvalitativt angreppssätt tillämpats för att samla in och analysera det empiriska materialet. Resultat: Studien visade att enligt teorin kan benchmarking ersätta alla budgetenssyften utom två. Dessa två syften, planering och resursallokering, kan ersättas genom att använda komplementet rullande prognoser. Benchmarking kan av denna anledning inte ersätta budget helt utan är i behov av komplement för att utgöra ett komplett substitut. Detta är också något som bekräftas av det empiriska materialet som samlats in om företagen Ahlsell och Handelsbanken. I jämförelse mellan olika nivåer på de två fallföretagen konstateras i studien att i kontrast till forskning som menar på att benchmarking ofta görs för generellt eller på en för central nivå i företagen, har det av denna studie visats att så inte är fallet. Benchmarking används på olika nivåer av fallföretagen och liknar till stor del ledningens syn på styrverktyget. / Titel: Benchmarking - The new budget Background: Budget is a widely used management tool which has been criticized during recent years. The critique implies that a budget is too rigid in a world with swift changes and that management tools are needed which meet the playing conditions of today. Several companies have chosen to implement a model that goes beyond budgeting. This is a consequence of the fact that they believe a budget cannot face the uncertainty that the market possesses. A popular tool which is able to meet the struggles that companies face is benchmarking. By comparing and learning within the organization as well as exchanging knowledge with other companies, these actors are trying to reach best practice. Purpose: The purpose with our study is to create a theoretical framework of how benchmarking can substitute the purpose of budgeting. The next step is to use the framework to compare internal benchmarking within different levels in two companies. Our study has the aim to contribute with knowledge of how benchmarking can substitute budgeting. This study also aims to address how different levels, top and ground level, interpret benchmarking within the company. Theoretical framework: This study’s theoretical framework consists of budgeting, beyond budgeting and management tools with the aim of finding a substitute for budget.The focus is on benchmarking and consists of the purpose, the process, benchlearning, internal and external benchmarking as well as advantages and disadvantages to create a broad understanding of the concept. Method: We conduct a comparison study of two companies practicing beyond budgeting. The companies are, Handelsbanken AB and Ahlsell AB. In our study, we have applied a qualitative approach to collect and analyse the empirical material. Findings: The study shows that according to theory, benchmarking is able to substitute all the purposes of budget except for two. These two purposes, planning and resource allocation, could be substituted by the complement rolling forecasts. Benchmarking could, for this reason, not on its own substitute the budget, but needs to be complemented in order to form a complete substitute for budget. This theory is confirmed by the empirical material gathered from two companies, Ahlsell and Handelsbanken. In comparison between the different levels within the companies, a conclusion is made that in contrast to earlier suggestions, benchmarking is not implemented too generally or only on a centralized basis. It is used on different levels within the companies and the view of benchmarking is more or less uniform between these levels.

Prestationsmätning har länge utgjort en central del i organisationsledning. Användningen av mätetal för att följa hur organisationen presterar fyller många kritiska funktioner för företagsledningen, däribland att signalera om dagens position, bedöma måluppfyllnad och skapa motivation hos medarbetarna. Samtidigt utgör prestationsmätningen bara en liten delmängd av de olika typer av styrverktyg som företagsledningen har till sitt förfogande. Inom managementlitteraturen lyfts exempelvis planering, organisationskultur, organisationsstruktur och belöningar som andra viktiga styrverktyg, som alla bör arbeta gemensamt för att leda organisationen mot uppfyllandet av dess strategier. Verksamheter för forskning och utveckling, FoU, har i forskningen på prestationsmätning varit särskilt framträdande. De unika utmaningar som präglar branschen gör implementeringen av ett prestationsmätningssystem svårt, ett problem som också framgått på det fallföretag som denna studie utförts vid. Företaget är en framgångsrik tillverkare inom fordonsindustrin, men det finns på den studerade FoU-avdelningen en uppfattning om att de mätetal som används inte till tillräcklig grad bidrar till strategiuppfyllnaden. En fallstudie av kvalitativ karaktär har genomförts på avdelningen, där empiriskt material insamlats genom observationer, intervjuer och företagsdokument. Genom att betrakta anställda på olika nivåer i organisationen har en bild kunnat erhållas om hur de olika styrverktygen används i organisationen och den inverkan de har på de olika organisatoriska nivåerna. Genom studien avser författarna bidra till forskningen på prestationsmätning inom FoU med insikter från den aktuella branschen, och genom att styrningen betraktas i ett bredare perspektiv kan vidare en identifierad lucka i litteraturen gällande styrning i FoU-organisationer fyllas. Dessutom betraktas ämnet innovationsledning, för att bidra med insikter gällande styrningens inverkan på organisationens innovativa förmåga. Studien har visat att organisationskultur, aktivitetsplanering, icke-finansiella mätsystem och organisationsstruktur spelar en särskilt framträdande roll i fallföretagets styrning. Det finns också en tydlig användning av långsiktig planering och etablerade tillvägagångssätt för att bidra med riktning, men den svaga förankring som de långsiktiga strategierna uppvisar och de otydligheter som framträder gällande tillvägagångssätten gör de båda mindre effektiva som styrmedel. Vidare framkom budget och belöningar inte alls ha en styrande effekt. Prestationsmätningen visade sig ha ett starkt fokus mot leveranser och interna processer, där ett syfte om att använda dem för uppföljning dominerade starkt. Detta är en tydlig kontrast mot tidigare studier där mätningen i större utsträckning följt kundvärde och intern utveckling. En nedbrytning av organisationens strategier visade istället att andra styrmedel, så som kultur och struktur, spelade en särskilt viktig roll i att styra mot strategier som var av denna mer långsiktiga karaktär. Genom de svagheter som framkommit i organisationens styrning kan studien hjälpa fallföretaget med att identifiera potentiella områden för vidare förbättring. Studien utgör också en första applicering av att brett använt styrsystem inom FoU, vilket med hänsyn till fallföretagets framgång kan vara av intresse för företag med liknande verksamhet som är intresserade av att implementera ett styrsystem i sin egen organisation. / Performance Measurement has for a long time had a central position in the management of organizations. The use of measurements for tracking business performance fulfills several critical functions for the management, which includes signaling about the current position, judging performance, and creating motivation among the employees. However, performance measurement is only one of the several kinds of control systems that managers may use. In the management literature, types of control such as planning, cultural controls, organizational structure and rewards are mentioned, and they must all function together to guide the organization towards the fulfillment of its strategies. Research and Development (R&D) organizations have had a special prominence in the performance measurement literature. The unique challenges that distinguish the function make the implementation of a performance measurement system difficult, a problem that has been experienced at the case company where this study has been carried out. The company is a successful manufacturer in the automotive industry, but at the studied R&D-department there is a belief that the measurements in use does not contribute to the fulfillment of the strategies to a satisfactory degree. A case study of qualitative character has been carried out at the department, where empirics have been gathered through observations, interviews, and corporate documents. By considering employees on different levels in the organization, a picture has emerged regarding the various control systems in use in the organization and the impact they have on different organizational levels. Through this study, the authors contribute to the performance measurement literature in the field of R&D with insights from the industry in question, and by treating management control from a wider perspective a field previously untouched in the literature has been filled regarding management control in R&D- organizations. Furthermore, the concept of innovation management is touched upon, to contribute with valuable insights regarding the impact of the management control on the innovative capabilities of the company. This study has shown that the organisation structure, cultural controls, action planning and non- financial measurement systems are the most prominent types of control in the studied organisation. There are also long range planning and established procedures present to serve as guidance, but weak awareness of long-term strategies and uncertainties in standardised procedures make these types control less effective. Furthermore, budgets and monetary compensations seemed to have no controlling effects. The performance measurement system in place has a strong focus towards project deliveries and internal processes, and its purpose is mainly diagnostic. The result contrasts with previous studies, which have shown that the performance measurement systems more often monitor customer value and internal development. A decomposition of the strategies within the studied organisation and a matching with the identified control systems showed that other types of control, such as organisation structure and culture, served a more significant part in fulfilling the long-term strategies. By highlighting weaknesses regarding the control system within the studied organisation, this study could help the case company to identify potential areas for improvement. The study also presents a broader perspective of management control systems within R&D, and since the case company has been very successful throughout the years this could serve as inspiration for other companies looking to implement a control system.

[pt] Os sistemas de medição de desempenho vêm sido objeto de pesquisas acadêmicas e implementados com sucesso em problemas logísticos complexos. Com a exploração do pré-sal, o planejamento e acompanhamento das atividades logísticas de exploração e produção (E e P) de petróleo passaram a ter grande relevância. Face a estas necessidades, a medição adequada do desempenho é um dos pontos capitais para aprimorar a logística das atividades de E e P. Esta dissertação tem como objetivo revisar o sistema de medição de desempenho existente com o intuito de aperfeiçoar o acompanhamento logístico dos atendimentos às necessidades das unidades marítimas. Para isto, foi realizado um mapeamento dos processos de atendimento e dos sistemas e ferramentas de tecnologia da informação, bem como entrevistas com os envolvidos nas operações logísticas, para avaliação do método de medição de desempenho utilizado. Como resultado, a única medida de desempenho utilizada foi revista e foram elaboradas nove novas medidas de desempenho adequadas ao acompanhamento logístico do atendimento às unidades marítimas da Petrobras. Foi desenvolvido um sistema de medição de desempenho, que implementa as medidas propostas. O sistema foi testado com dados históricos da programação logística e apresentado aos especialistas. / [en] Performance measurement systems have been the subject of academic research and have been successfully implemented within complex logistical problems. With the pre-salt exploration, planning and monitoring of oil exploration and production (E and P) logistics activities have gained great importance. Given these needs, a proper supply chain performance measurement is one of the key points to improve the E and P activities logistics. Therefore, this thesis has the objective of reviewing the existing performance measurement system with the intention of improving the E and P activities logistics monitoring. To evaluate the performance measurement method used, the mapping of the processes and of the information technology systems and tools was conducted, as well as interviews with those involved with the logistics operations. As a result, the only measure of performance used was revised and eight new performance measures, appropriated with the E and P activities logistics monitoring, have been elaborated. A performance measurement system was developed with the proposed measures. The system was tested with historical data and presented to the specialists.

Earnings Management är ett begrepp som syftar till diskretionär redovisning som innebär manipulering av ett företags resultat. Resultatmanipulering kan ske både uppåt och nedåt. När manipulering sker uppåt syftar det till att höja det redovisade resultatet medan manipulering nedåt syftar till att sänka resultatet vilket benämns Big Bath Accounting. Det finns flera forskare som har studerat detta område över tid och som har kommit fram till motstridiga resultat. Vissa forskare menar att Earnings Management och Big Bath Accounting förekommer i stor utsträckning då företag erbjuder bonusprogram som baseras på företagets resultat samt om VD-byte har skett. Andra forskare är av en annan uppfattning. De finner inga statistiska bevis för att Earnings Management och Big Bath Accounting förekommer vid bonusprogram och VD-byten. Vissa av dessa forskare menar även att Earnings Management har avtagit avsevärt eller till och med försvunnit under de senaste åren. Tidigare forskning visar även motstridiga bevis kring användningen av Earnings Management under finanskriser samt bonusprogram. Studiens syfte var således att undersöka faktorer som ligger till grund för Earnings Management och Big Bath Accounting samt incitament som kan påverka ledningen till resultatmanipulering. Resultat från tidigare forskning ligger till grund för studiens teoretiska referensram som mynnade ut i tre hypoteser. Dessa hypoteser testades via multipel regressionsanalys samt en tidsserieanalys. Studiens urval omfattade företag på den svenska marknaden på OMX Stockholmsbörsen Large Cap under åren 2007-2015. Det ursprungliga urvalet omfattades av 747 observationer men då ett visst bortfall ägde rum kvarstod 547 observationer för hypotesprövning ett och två samt 567 observationer för hypotesprövning 3. Resultatet visade på ett statistiskt samband mellan resultatmanipulering och bonusprogram, dock fann vi inget säkerställt samband mellan resultatsänkande periodiseringar och VD-byten. Däremot fann vi stöd för vår tredje alternativhypotes att finanskrisen påverkade Earnings Management under åren 2008-2009. Vår slutsats blev således att de faktorer som ligger till grund för Earnings Management och Big Bath Accounting samt incitament som kan påverka ledningen till resultatmanipulering är bonusprogram och finanskrisen. / Earnings Management is a term aimed at discretionary accounting which involves manipulation of a company's results. Earnings Management can be done either upwards or downwards. When manipulation occurs downwards with the aim of lowering the result, it´s called Big Bath Accounting. There are several researchers who have studied this area over time and have come up with conflicting results. Some researchers believe that Earnings Management and Big Bath Accounting occur to a large extent when companies offer bonus programs based on company performance and whether CEO turnovers has occurred. Other researchers have a different opinion. They do not find any statistical evidence that Earnings Management and Big Bath Accounting occurs when the CEO has changed and companies have bonus programs. Some of these researchers also believe that Earnings Management has diminished significantly or even disappeared in recent years. Previous research also shows conflicting evidence about the use of Earnings Management during financial crises and bonus programs. The purpose of the study was thus to investigate factors that underlie Earnings Management and Big Bath Accounting as well as incentives that may affect the management of a company to apply the theory. Results from previous research form the basis of the theoretical framework of the study, which emerged in three hypotheses. These hypotheses were tested by multiple regression analysis as well as a time series analysis. The study's selection was limited to companies in the Swedish market on the OMX Stockholm Stock Exchange's Large Cap in 20072015. The original sample was comprised of 747 observations, but when a certain loss occurred, 547 observations remained while testing hypothesis one and two and 567 observations remained while testing hypothesis three. The result showed a statistical correlation between performance manipulation and bonus programs, but we found no statistical correlation between profit-decreasing accruals and CEO turnover. On the other hand, we found support for our third alternative hypothesis that the financial crisis affected Earnings Management during 2008-2009. Our conclusion thus became that the factors underlying Earnings Management and Big Bath Accounting as well as incentives that could affect the management of a company to apply the theory are bonus programs and the financial crisis.

Technology is accepted as one of the key aspects that influence society and business in an unmistakable manner. Current literature is however not singular in its views and methods of technology strategy, its interface with business strategy, and how technology strategy is executed and assessed internally. The text adopts a 3-tiered domain approach at the outset, focusing on the integration of (i) strategy, (ii) measurement and (iii) architecture. The literature assessment was carried out on the hand of the three domains and ultimately resulted in the proposed internal technology strategy assessment framework for the services sector. At the heart of the framework is the merging of the disciplines and current models of (i) technology management (MOT), (ii) business architecture, (iii) strategic performance measurement and (iv) total quality management. The model aims to indicate that specific modelling techniques coupled with an excellence scorecard, can facilitate the mathematical assessment of strategic contribution of individual technology artefacts to a specific business strategy. The proposed model is represented in the text in flowchart form and is supplemented by the derivation of the required research approach, namely case study protocol. Three case studies were conducted, each of which is resident in the services sector, and the tabulated results are presented in the text and its appendixes. The results obtained indicate that strategic artefact differentiation on a procedural level can indeed be obtained. These results are consistent throughout the three case studies and valuable future benefit could be extrapolated for (i) continuing investigation on the hand of the model, as well as (ii) cross-pollination to the disciplines of (a) enterprise modelling and design and (b) project management. / Dissertation (MEng (Technology Management))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM) / unrestricted