The participation of businesses and major corporate companies in poverty stricken lower income markets has been met with opposing, and at times controversial views. The Bottom of the Pyramid proposition is one such idea that encourages business people to get involved in the market. However, the commercial viability of the BOP proposition has yet to be proven. The literature review from this study focuses on the ideas surrounding the appropriate business models that have been put forward through academic literature in order for companies to operate successfully in the lower income market segment. Consequently, the literature also focuses on the developments of the BOP proposition as it relates to the business proposed models. Specific attention is paid to the areas of innovation and replication as strategic focus areas within the BOP business models. The research seeks to highlight the fact that the BOP market segment is a commercially viable market for companies to pursue, and that the business model focus for companies should be centred around the dual application of innovation and replication principles as part of the company’s business model. The research study made use of interviews with expert executives and supporting documentary evidence from two case study organisations from within the FMCG industry in South Africa. The results of the research were documented and used to address the primary and secondary research objectives. The research findings ultimately enabled the author to construct a model, which companies interested in pursuing the BOP market could implement in order to operate profitably within the BOP market segment. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This thesis studies the effects of differences in the international tax system on the location of target companies and potential tax savings leading from international transactions. Using a large sample of M&A transaction data, we develop a target location choice model and estimate it by a multinomial logistic regression. The results show that differences in taxation of target and acquirer country provide opportunities for tax optimization practices that increase the probability of choosing a target location with higher tax difference. We further evaluate these effect using regression on takeover premium which shows that 1 percentage point increase in difference of effective average tax rate may cause up to 0.5 percentage point increase in takeover premium. The found effects are heterogenous for individual companies and correspond to characteristics of tax-inversions and profit shifting practices. i

The great recession of the late 2000’s amplified a decline in mainline Protestant church revenue impacting ministry roles, programming, and missional capability. Trends towards socially conscious corporate business and historical monastic for-profit business in Western Europe serve as practical and theological entry points for how mainline Protestant churches might experiment with alternative revenue sources to withstand market swings and declining giving. The thesis argues that establishing ecclesial for-profit businesses, such as a BBQ restaurant in partnership with the First Baptist Church of Raleigh, North Carolina, is one solution to the emerging problem of declining church revenue.

This dissertation investigates the interrelationships between a client's non-GAAP earnings disclosures, financial health (profit and loss status), and the external auditor's assessment of the client's going concern status. This dissertation comprises two essays. Essay 1 examines the informativeness and the quality of non-GAAP earnings disclosures in profit and loss firms separately. Using a large sample of non-GAAP earnings voluntarily disclosed by managers, I find that the informativeness and the quality of non-GAAP earnings vary in firms cross-classified by GAAP loss status and non-GAAP loss status. I also find that loss firms have higher quality non-GAAP exclusions relative to profit firms, although the expenses excluded by both profit and loss firms are associated with firms' future performance. Further, I posit and find that profit firms which voluntarily disclose non-GAAP losses have high-quality exclusions, while other non-GAAP reporting profit firms have low-quality exclusions. Having found that non-GAAP earnings in loss firms is opportunistic to some extent, I next study, in Essay 2, whether auditors understand the implications of low-quality non-GAAP reporting in these firms. Specifically, I examine 1) whether non-GAAP earnings disclosures are associated with the propensity of the auditor's going concern issuance to loss firms, and 2) whether non-GAAP earnings disclosures affect the accuracy of the auditor's going concern assessment. This is important because auditors often conduct audits of loss firms that disclose non-GAAP earnings, and the consequences of issuing wrong audit opinions can be severe. I find that the propensity of the auditor's going concern issuance is negatively associated with the magnitude of expense exclusions in loss firms, after controlling for determinants of going concern opinions that are derived from GAAP earnings. This finding suggests that auditors take into account information embedded in non-GAAP earnings when assessing clients' going concern status. Using bankruptcy outcome as a benchmark, I find that non-GAAP earnings disclosures could increase type II errors in auditors' going concern reporting. I further find that small size auditors and non-specialist auditors are more likely to be misled by non-GAAP reporting when making going concern decisions. In sum, my dissertation furthers our understanding of non-GAAP reporting and its implication for auditors' decision making for issuing going concern opinions.

1 Abstract Since the 1990s, two parallel international phenomena have occurred: the growth of digital communications and the growth of the non-profit sector. The latter growth has taken place globally, but is acutely visible in the Czech Republic. In the Czech Republic, the 1990s posed an interesting challenge for the growth of non-profit organisations after the fall of Communism. One communications practice which has been utilised in business, journalism and the media is transmedia storytelling, though its application has been lacking in the non- profit sector. Through the utilisation of SWOT analysis methodology, this master's thesis will see this practice extrapolated to the non-profit sector in an exploratory case study of Amnesty International groups at various levels in both the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. From this, the work hopes to achieve a better understanding of how transmedia storytelling practices could aid an international non-profit organisation, such as Amnesty International, in the effectivity of its agenda setting and resource mobilisation - thus eliminating discrepancies between regions in campaigning and fundraising. Keywords: Agenda Setting, Amnesty International, Non-Profit Organisation, Resource Mobilisation, Transmedia Storytelling

South Africa has become, after deregulation, part of the global village. This brought about many business opportunities, but with it came many challenges with respect to grain marketing. It is well-known facts that the marketing of grain has become quite a challenge in S.A. South African producers do not receive support from government as far as input subsidies and significant import tariffs are concerned and have to make sure that they stay ahead of rising input costs in order to produce maize on a profitable basis. It is therefore extremely important for any maize farmer in South Africa to make use of the best grain marketing strategies at his or her disposal. Choosing the best grain marketing strategy will not only assist the producers to receive the best price for their produce, but will also serve as a very effective risk mitigation strategy. The general objective of the study is to examine different marketing strategies and to determine the optimal maize marketing strategy for a representative farm located in the Mpumalanga Highveld for a specific season under volatile marketing and environmental conditions. A representative farm for the Mpumalanga Highveld is constructed, based on production data, budgeted financial statements, general financial management and the complete farm setup as obtained from a farmer study group located in the district of Middelburg, Mpumalanga Highveld, The most general maize marketing strategies available for the representative farm is identified and discussed as far as each of their advantages and disadvantages are concerned. The complete farm setup for the representative farm is used to develop a budgeting and maize marketing model. This is done in conjunction with three different scenarios, which cover the most frequent circumstances in which producers can find themselves. With the help of this model, the optimal marketing strategies are determined which yields the optimal profit and minimize price risk for the representative farm. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of why companies choose to sponsor non-profit football clubs in Sweden. The goal is that the increased understanding leads to non-profit football clubs being able to make themselves more attractive to sponsors. Research question: What are the main motives for companies choosing to sponsor non-profit football clubs in Sweden? Method: Qualitative method and quantitative method with a case study of Sundbybergs IK football. Qualitative approach in the form of semi-structured interviews with 3 sponsors of Sundbyberg IK football and a survey of the remaining sponsors of Sundbybergs IK football. Theories: Marketing theories have been applied in the study to deepen the knowledge about the sponsorship of non-profit associations. The theories used are Corporate social responsibility, word of mouth, legitimacy theory and Return on investment. Empirics: Empirics are presented in our study by presenting themes that have been consistent in the interviews in text. The results from the survey are presented in diagrams. Conclusion: The conclusion of this study is that the main reason why companies choose to sponsor Sundbybergs IK football is that they want to achieve increased Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and to be perceived as a responsible company in society. Also the companies want to achieve legitimacy in their place of business as well as in existing and new markets by sponsoring non-profit football clubs. Studies have also shown that the respondents do not have a financial gain as a main reason for the sponsorship of Sundbybergs IK football.

Research about leadership is often common within the private- and the public sector, which has presented a large range of different leadership theories, concepts, styles and distinguished characteristics. We consider that far too little attention has been given to leadership within the third sector, which is why we consider that our study stands out, as well as making it interesting and relevant in today’s society. In our case study, we have examined what distinguishes leadership in the third sector. To answer this, we have conducted six semi-structured interviews with six different leaders within the Red Cross in Sweden. Our case study is based on a deductive approach through a qualitative method, the empirical material has been gathered and analysed through the use of five different leadership theories. Based on our result, we are able to ascertain that leadership within the third sector is characterised by the leader´s will and ability to serve its fellowship. Furthermore, we also came to the conclusion that leaders within the third sector are strongly influenced by organisational values, and that these values are considered a central part of the third sector.

Let G=(V,E) be an arbitrary graph, and consider the following game. You are allowed to buy as many tokens from a bank as you like, at a cost of $1 each. For example, suppose you buy k tokens. You then place the tokens on some subset of k vertices of V. For each vertex of G which has no token on it, but is adjacent to a vertex with a token on it, you receive $1 from the bank. Your objective is to maximize your profit, that is, the total value received from the bank minus the cost of the tokens bought. Let bd(X) be the set of vertices in V-X that have a neighbor in a set X. From this game, we define the differential of a set X to be ∂(X) = |bd(X)|-|X|, and the differential of a graph to be equal to max{∂(X)} for any subset X of V. In this paper, we introduce several different variations of the differential of a graph and study bounds on and properties of these novel parameters.

Introduction: The rapid growth of social media provides new opportunities for non-profit organizations to network and influence the public. Rural non-profit organizations can expand organizational capacity and reach, engage more stakeholders, and acquire new donors at a relatively low cost by using social media effectively. Despite the obvious benefits of social media, many rural non-profits underutilize this technology due to social drivers in the community and lack of organizational capacity. This is particularly salient in rural Appalachia where inequities persist in access to broadband and wireless mobile services. Eliciting insights from the experts - rural nonprofit leaders – is critical in identifying strategies to help nonprofit organizations level up social media use. There is a paucity of research on social media use among nonprofit organizations in rural Appalachia. The present study fills this important knowledge gap in the literature. Methodology: This qualitative study used purposive sampling techniques to recruit representatives from nonprofit organizations located in an 8-county region of Appalachian Tennessee. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted in 2018 with nonprofit representatives (n=21). Nonprofit representatives were asked questions pertaining to social media use, effective communication strategies, and best practices. Probing questions were used to explore topics further. The audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim. Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis procedures were used to conduct an in-depth descriptive analysis of participants’ responses and develop themes. Result: Four best practice strategies were identified: 1) “Know your people”—relationships matter: It is important to develop strong ties within the community; 2) “We had to come up with something fast”—resourcefulness matters: Nonprofit organizations should practice resourcefulness and adaptability in program development and outreach, 3) “Catch their attention”—the message matters: Messaging should be brief and positive in nature, and 4) “A lot of nonprofits come and go…”—the nonprofit matters: Nonprofit organizations should implement sound business practices. These themes highlight practical steps nonprofit organizations can take to enhance their social media communication strategies. Conclusion: With the emergence of sophisticated, easily accessible social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, there is an urgent need to identify simple strategies rural nonprofits can employ to use social media more effectively. Our research addresses this need by summarizing the best practices in social media practices for nonprofit organizations in rural Appalachia. Nonprofit organizations in rural Appalachia can use these best practices to enhance communication strategies, expand their reach, and strengthen relationships within the communities they serve.