In the United States, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) face a precarious future because of their heavy reliance on the financial support of government funding, other donor agencies, and philanthropic foundation resources. The purpose of this study is to understand how and to what extent leadership of NPOs can benefit from using funder-required performance data to improve organizational sustainability. Using Pfeffer and Salincik's resource dependency theory to explain organizational sustainability, this qualitative multiple case study of 10 NPOs in a northeastern U.S. state includes 14 interviews with NPO leadership, a document review of NPO 990 tax filings, annual performance reports, and board meeting minutes. All data were inductively coded and then subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. Key findings indicated 6 overarching themes associated with NPO sustainability and funder-required performance measures that impact program sustainability but are mainly used for compliance: (a) NPO adoption and use of performance measures; (b) data collection and evaluation for external compliance; (c) information pertaining to financial, operational, and administrative decision making; (d) NPO leadership decisions regarding internal constructs, operations, and management; (e) resource dependency; and (f) sustainability practices. The implications for positive social change include strategies for NPO leaders to use to ensure survival, continuous community impact, and awareness for policymakers regarding legislative and regulatory developments that may inadvertently harm NPOs.

Firms use former government officials (FGOs) on the board of directors to create external linkage with the government. I examine investors’ perception of FGOs on the board of directors and how institutional environments affect it. Using a large sample of 23,444 hand-collected observations from 31 non-U.S. countries, I show that political directors (PDs) are associated with improved investors’ perception. Drawing from political science literature, I theorize and show that former senior bureaucrats (SBDs), but not former ministers (MDs) or government advisors (ADs), drive the improved investors’ perception. Furthermore, I show that stronger institutional environments, measured by economic freedom, lead to less improved investors’ perception of PDs. Here too SBDs drives my results associated with and economic freedom, but not MDs or ADs, lending support to my initial findings.

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to find out when Research and Development (R&D) becomes a suitable attribute for a production company to outsource. In an environment where innovations are following up quickly up and uncertainty about the type of innovation and customer is a fact, external sourcing can bring a competitive advantage. The empirical evidence shows that when R&D is outsourced the total cost does not increase at a due cause of outsourcing in this given study.</p><p>Although a lot of theory explains outsourcing as a cost increasing factor, the internal experience and frequent relation between the technical production company Beta and its R&D vendor company Alfa can decrease costs considerably due to lower communication and governance costs. This was not explicitly expressed in related theory and is therefore a contribution to the academia as well as for managers who seek to find an answer to the question of when to outsource and when not to outsource.</p>

The purpose of this thesis is to find out when Research and Development (R&amp;D) becomes a suitable attribute for a production company to outsource. In an environment where innovations are following up quickly up and uncertainty about the type of innovation and customer is a fact, external sourcing can bring a competitive advantage. The empirical evidence shows that when R&amp;D is outsourced the total cost does not increase at a due cause of outsourcing in this given study. Although a lot of theory explains outsourcing as a cost increasing factor, the internal experience and frequent relation between the technical production company Beta and its R&amp;D vendor company Alfa can decrease costs considerably due to lower communication and governance costs. This was not explicitly expressed in related theory and is therefore a contribution to the academia as well as for managers who seek to find an answer to the question of when to outsource and when not to outsource.

Purpose: Understand different needs for accountability and governance among financial firms,based on environmental and structural factors. Design/methodology/approach: By using disciplinary reports published by SFSA the interpretation of corporate governance regulation will be studied. Findings: The study identified important corporate governance factors which can be explained and understood by analyzing through the multiple-theory. Complex environmental aspects, such as regulations and multiple stakeholders, demands for extensive internal and external controls. However, the aspect of knowledge does not seem to be fully explained by previous studies. Originality/value: The result could be a contribution to further discussions on how regulations can develop. Moreover, the result can add empirical data to further develop the multiple-theory.

Background: Females are underrepresented in Swedish boards, and in 2016 females represented 29 % of all board members. Many researchers have studied the relationship between the gender composition of company boards and company performance, but they have not managed to reach consensus in explaining the relationship. Pure shareholder theory suggests that the company philosophy is to focus on profitability and shareholder maximization. If the gender distribution in the board affects the performance of the company, some companies may underperform because of their board composition. If so, this is an issue that should be solved according to the shareholder theory and some adjustments to the composition should be done.   Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether or not companies with female directors on their boards perform better than companies without female directors on their boards. The target group of the study is Swedish listed companies with a statutory domicile in Sweden.   Method: For conducting this research, data for a period of three years (2013-2015) are collected from a sample of 94 Swedish listed companies. The performance measurements investigated are the ratios; ROE, profit margin, ROCE, EBIT margin and EPS. As for control variables, the board size and company size are used. An independent samples t-test is conducted, as well as a correlation matrix analysis and a regression analysis, to fulfil the purpose of this study.   Conclusion: The results show that there is a significant positive correlation between female representation in the boardroom and the ratio EBIT margin. However, the correlation strength is so weak that it is not fair to draw the conclusion that female representation has a positive effect on the financial performance of the companies. Also, the regression analysis shows no relationship between the two variables. However, this study contributes by showing that there is no negative correlation between the presence of females on boards and the financial performance of the companies.

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Familjeföretag står inför nya utmaningar i en föränderlig värld, vilket ökar kompetensbehovet inom  styrelsen. Tidigare forskning visar att tillsättandet av externa ledamöter kan tillgodose detta behov, men det råder oklarhet kring vilka specifika kompetenser som prioriteras. Studien syftar till att undersöka hur familjeföretag värderar och rekryterar externa styrelseledamöter, med fokus på professionella och personliga egenskaper. Studien utgår främst från resursberoendeteorin och baseras på sex kvalitativa intervjuer med ägare i familjeföretag samt experter inom området. Resultatet indikerar att familjeföretagen värdesätter integritet, engagemang och mjuka värden, vilket bidrar till att nya perspektiv tas upp i styrelserummet. Därtill diskuteras vikten av tydliga kravspecifikationer samt valet av rekryteringsmetod. Studien fastslår att åldersmångfald, generell kompetens och erfarenhet i kombination med integritet och engagemang prioriteras, vilket betonar vikten av ett tydligt samspel mellan de professionella och personliga egenskaperna. / Family businesses face new challenges in a dynamic environment, which increases the need for skills on the board. Previous research shows that the appointment of outside directors can meet this need, but it is unclear which specific competencies are prioritized. This study aims to investigate how family firms value and recruit outside directors, focusing on professional and personal characteristics. The study is mainly based on the Resource Dependency Theory and has involved six qualitative interviews with family business owners and experts in the field. The results indicate that family businesses value integrity, commitment and soft values, which contribute to new perspectives being brought into the boardroom. The importance of clear specifications and the choice of recruitment method are also discussed. The study states that age diversity, general competence and experience combined with integrity and commitment are prioritized, which emphasizes the importance of a clear interplay between the professional and personal characteristics.

Master of Technology: Public Relations Management in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / The aim of this study was to explore the benefits and potential of improved inter-organisational collaboration as compared to non-collaboration between the identified stakeholders in this research. This research established the level of current inter-organisational collaboration and satisfaction between the identified Western Cape Province stakeholders and verified whether this collaboration could be seen as contributing to tourism growth in the region. It also determined how improved inter-organisational collaboration and communication can be achieved to ensure tourism marketing effectiveness. In the lead-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, regional stakeholders formed strategic partnerships to ensure a successful soccer event. The researcher sees such a collaborative approach as limited to major events or projects such as the 2011 bid for the Design Capital 2014. Inter-organisational collaboration is not clearly visible in the destination and tourism marketing of the region and this lack of collaboration has been highlighted. For the purpose of this study, the Resource Dependency Theory of Collaboration was utilised to highlight the inter-dependency between the identified regional stakeholders with vested interest in the Western Cape Province and Cape Town's tourism industry. The researcher conducted qualitative research which is situated in an interpretivist paradigm with its emphasis on experience and interpretation. The qualitative research is seen as being suitable for this research as detailed information has to be sourced through interviews. A qualitative exploratory approach, comprising face-to-face interviews with key informants in the industry was undertaken. The key informants engaged were drawn from a range of organisations engaged or who have a vested interest in the tourism industry which is a key economic driver in the Western Cape Province and Cape Town. The outcome of this study firstly was to establish the current levels of inter-organisational collaboration between the identified stakeholders and how this affects tourism growth. A closer look was taken to look at the current overlapping in the marketing initiatives embarked upon by the destination and tourism marketing organisations in the Western Cape Province, namely Wesgro and Cape Town Tourism and how these can be avoided. Secondly, the study explored how higher inter-organisational collaboration can ensure the achievement of effective tourism marketing of the region. As per the research findings, the researcher compiled recommendations on optimising inter-organisational collaboration among key regional stakeholders. These recommendations should contribute towards streamlining resources and redirecting some of the allocated funds from tourism marketing to other socioeconomic activities that can benefit the citizens of the region, such as developing emerging small to medium tourism enterprises and entrepreneurs.