The purpose of this study was to investigate, through a qualitative survey, the need of knowledge and strategy in organisations today and tomorrow. The empirical investigation is built on a semi structured interview that was conducted on nine different companies in Gislaveds community. The companies were from three different branches namely: tree, metal and polymer. Three interviews were conducted in each branch. The result from the interviews showed that the globalisation had put the companies under hard competition which had made the need for rationalisation and effectivness more apparent. Having said this, the demands on the organisation and the individuals within it will constantly increase. In order to enhance the individuals and the organisation there are an increased need for flexibility and openness and the responsibility and authority must be with in the individuals in the organisation. Our work show that the individuals with in the organisation shall be some kind of “superhuman” that can perform most of the tasks in the organisation, he or she should be flexible and open minded. Our findings shows the way an organisation can create this “superhuman” and what an organisation needs to do to become a learning organisation.

A significant problem in the construction industry is the losses sustained as a result of the theft of tools and equipment from construction sites. The case study company, referred to as PSS, have successfully developed and commercialized a technological solution to prevent such theft within Sweden. The next step in the commercialization of PSS is to seek growth and leverage their investment and innovation. Our purpose is to undertake a UK market analysis, in order to investigate if PSS's business model has opportunities in the UK, and recommend how PSS might approach internationalization, using a resource based perspective. PSS’s existing business model has been developed to fit the Swedish market conditions, and has been demonstrated to perform. We find market conditions in the UK are similar, albeit in greater proportions. The nature of the problem, the industry structures, and the competitive environment is similar to the domestic conditions, and the competitive position of PSS is replicable, with a high level of strategic fit. We recommend PSS pursue its desire to internationalize to the UK based on similarity of the fit with the local market (which has been demonstrated to result in acceptable performance). We would recommend entry through a sales subsidiary to facilitate the establishment of customer relationships. In addition a possible license agreement with a partner may help to facilitate speedy access to UK distribution industry networks.

The authors have noticed that during the last couple of years the interest about China has grown not only as an attractive market for production but also as a consumer market. A limited amount of books and articles have been written about SMEs entering the Chinese consumer market and even fewer articles have been written about Swedish SMEs entering China to sell their products. This is what caught the author’s attention of writing this thesis. Sweden has for a long time been good at exporting to other countries. Now when the Chi-nese market has opened up to western companies there are a lot of potential on this market that is estimated to be one of the largest in the world. There are still differences between China and other market not at least the culture. But as time and globalisation goes on the Chinese people learn how to react to the new world of companies from the west that tries to get its share of the highly attractive Chinese market. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how previous experience and knowledge af-fected the long-term establishment on the Chinese market for the selected Swedish SMEs. Also the knowledge that was obtained when entered China that made the establishment possible was investigated. By interviewing four Swedish small and medium sized companies that have managed to export their products to China and also managed to stay there the authors have gotten to a better understanding of the process of export and the different knowledge's that the com-panies gets in this process of internationalisation. By also interviewing a consultant with a long experience of Chinese-Swedish relations and doing business with China the authors have got a good picture of the issues of today’s SMEs trying to export to China. The analysis revealed that the single most important aspect of making a successful long-term establishment on the Chinese market is the commitment the company can give. It is crucial in order to gain crucial connections and to provide the necessary service that is de-manded by the Chinese customers. / Det ökade intresset för Kina de senaste åren har inte undgått författarna av denna uppsats, på senare tid har inte bara Kina varit målet för strategiska produktionsetableringar men man börjar även få upp ögonen för den växande köpkraften i landet. En begränsad mängd böcker och artiklar tar upp ämnet om SME som gör entré på den kinesiska marknaden. Än mindre forskning finns om svenska SME som går in i Kina med målet att sälja sina produk-ter. Detta fångade författarnas intresse. Sverige har under lång tid varit ett exporterande land. Nu när det kinesiska marknaden har öppnats för västerländska företag finns det stora möjligheter på en av de största markna-derna i världen. Kina är en unik marknad och skillnaden mot andra marknader är avsevärd, inte minst kulturskillnaderna. Men under globaliseringens gång lär sig det kinesiska folket att hantera den nya världen och västerländska företag som ger sig in på den attraktiva kine-siska marknaden. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur tidigare erfarenhet och kunskap påverkat de utvalda företagens långsiktiga utveckling på den kinesiska marknaden. Den kunskap som tillvaratogs under tiden i Kina som underlättade vidare utveckling kommer att undersökas. Genom att intervjua fyra svenska företag som har lyckats slå sig in på den kinesiska mark-naden har författarna lyckats få en djupare förståelse om exportprocessen och de olika sor-ters kunskap som företagen erhåller under internationaliseringsprocessen. Genom att också intervjua en konsult med lång erfarenhet av relationer med Kina och det ekonomiska kli-matet i Kina har författarna fått en god bild av vilka svårigheter som SMEs stöter på vid export till Kina. Analysen avslöjade att den enskilt viktigaste aspekten i att en etablering lyckas långsiktigt på den kinesiska marknaden är det engagemang företaget kan leverera. På det viset kan företa-get få tag på de nödvändiga kontakter som krävs och leverera den typ av service som krävs av de kinesiska kunderna.

This thesis reports findings and results from studies of development work and change processes in the secondary woodworking industry. The purpose with the research is to increase the knowledge on how companies can initiate change and to increase their ability to change. The dual aim of improving both business and working conditions served as a guiding condition for the research. Case studies and action research were performed in small companies, mainly with less than 100 employees and in some cases less than 20 employees. The thesis encompasses six papers addressing different topics within the framework of development work and change processes. Topics elaborated are how performance concerning the ergonomic situation in a company can be measured and how the content and process of ISO 9000 implementation as well as standardisation influence system performance and working conditions. Furthermore, a framework for how change is enacted in SMEs and its effects on ergonomic considerations is suggested. A methodology for initiating change efforts in complex and ambiguous problem situations is presented. Finally the different expert and participant roles in an organisational change effort are elaborated and analysed with reference to experiences from previous case studies and theory. Together, the papers and the thesis emphasize the importance of action and work activities as a base for change. It is in the conflicting work activities or work conduct of differing perspectives where many of the drivers of change can be found. I also argue that this is a main reason to give good working conditions utmost importance for organisation performance. Further, I conclude that the six papers together contribute to a theoretical basis for developing small firms and attractive workplaces. It is indicated that the results are relevant to small manufacturing firms, while neither organisational structure nor resources available are the same as in larger companies. Moreover, the organisational size has a number of implications on aspects like visibility, available theoretical knowledge, vulnerability, formalisation, institutionalised organisational inertia etc. that will alter the demands on the change process. Many of the results are not limited to woodworking industry; the technical content of the ergonomics problems will however be different in other firms.

Background: For Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME), international expansion is important strategy for growth. However, considering the facts that SMEs often are characterized by limited personal and financial resources, and that new international markets pose challenges in terms of differences in for instance culture, language and political systems, international expansion is a risky business. We argue that there might be an easier way for SMEs to enter challenging markets and regions through establishing in a springboard country. Such a country is characterized by a possibility to in a westernized context accumulate learning about countries in the rest of the region and also to develop and utilize networks. At the moment, Asia is a rapid developing region and is expected to contribute with two thirds of the world’s GDP in 2050. Hence, the Asian region provides immense opportunities for companies, however particularly for SMEs, also severe challenges. We argue that Swedish SMEs could learn how to overcome these challenges establishing in the westernized Singapore, hence finding an easier way when entering more difficult Asian countries. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore the phenomenon of SMEs expanding their international activities via a springboard country. This will be done by studying how Swedish SMEs perceive that their establishment in Singapore has affected (1) the development of their networks with other actors in the Asian region, and (2) their accumulation of knowledge and experience regarding doing business in Asia. Method: In order to fulfil the purpose, we have conducted a qualitative multiple case study including seven Swedish SMEs that are established in Singapore. We have primarily used semistructured telephone interviews for our data collection. Conclusion: We found that there is support for the existence of the Springboarding phenomena. We can conclude that Swedish SMEs, by being established in Singapore, can develop and utilize their networks as well as gaining general market knowledge of other countries in the Asian region. We can also see tendencies regarding how these benefits associated with the Singapore establishment can decrease the perceived uncertainties of doing business in other more difficult Asian counties.

Malaysia is one of the developing countries in the world that is on the verge to become de-veloped (Internationella Programkontoret, 2003). In 2004, Malaysia had a growth rate around 7% (United Nation Statistic Division, 2005) and it is implied that the Malaysian market is continuously growing. One factor that can increase the growth rate in Malaysia is foreign direct investments (FDI), which is, according to Chino (2004), one factor of sus-tainable growth. It has been noticed that the world is getting smaller and more companies are looking for opportunities outside the country boarders and in this situation Malaysia is an attractive alternative for establishment. The purpose of this study is to investigate and deepen the understanding of cultural factors affecting the establishing process for Swedish companies in Malaysia, and through that cre-ate an awareness that can simplify the establishing process. To answer the purpose of this study, a qualitative research has been used. Interviews with Swedish companies newly established in Malaysia have been performed. The respondents have been asked about the establishing process in Malaysia and the Malaysian culture. Ad-ditional interviews with the Swedish Trade Council and the Swedish Embassy have also been performed. The interview guides have been based on theories about FDI, the estab-lishment process and culture. Hollensen’s market entry strategies, Hollensen’s network model and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are the main theories used throughout this study. The authors have found through this study that the different ethnic groups in Malaysia are highly influential on the business environment and that foreign companies establishing in Malaysia have to be aware of this situation. The multicultural society is an advantage for Malaysia, through the locals’ ability to adapt to different cultures and the many different languages in the country. However, foreigners moving to Malaysia need to be aware of the special treatment of the Malays and how that affects the business environment. Two main problems have been found by the authors; the Malaysian bureaucracy and the locals unwill-ingness to let foreigners into their networks. This can be problematic for foreign compa-nies, but can be handled through the help of governmental functions such as MIDA or MSC, or through a company secretary or auditor. Through this visualization of the cultural factors that affect the establishing process of Swedish companies in Malaysia, the authors hope to minimize the risk of them running into the same problems and obstacles.

Unibrands is a small company that has implemented a postponement strategy without knowing it. However, they have not implemented completely because they do not know the theories behind it. This report is an attempt to understand and analyze the problems of the implementation of postponement in the supply chain of Unibrands, in terms of examining the theoretical succeeds factors of postponement implementation in the case of Unibrands.The purpose is to determine what type of postponement strategy the supply chain use and what factors can hinder the use of postponement strategy in a SME fashion supply chain by applying an qualitative research approach. The collection of empirical data was through the interview guide approach in which we used meetings and telephone interviews with people representing Unibrands and their contact trading company. The results of this research can be concluded in few perspectives. Unibrands is imple-menting postponement in an improper format, with the results of several gaps in the supply chain related to the success factor in postponement. The request for the fully customization in colors and materials, the bottleneck of relationship developing which is caused by factory manager,  complicated procedures for sample testing, and lack of knowledge of different relationships in the supply chain. Postponement is never perfect, but for Unibrands some problems could very well hinder the efficiency in the supply chain. Solutions are proposed to solve the problems in chain. The proposals suggest re-lationship improvement and information sharing. In addition, culture adaptation by in-volving the right people in the right process.

The increasing competition on today’s globalized markets creates drivers for new business models in order to create competitive advantage. By integrating services with the physical product, unique offers that aim at fulfilling customer needs rather than just providing physical goods can be created. This type of offers, in the literature often referred to as Product-Service Systems (PSS), are more difficult to imitate than pure products. Furthermore, the focus on fulfilling customer needs rather than just providing physical goods can reduce the use of resources, decreasing both costs and the environmental impact of the offer. From the customers’ point of view, PSS offers can bring increased flexibility and reduced risk. The development of successful PSS offers requires structured methods. Much of the research within the area, and consequently models and guidelines, has focused on large companies. However, since small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute the foundation of economic growth in all developed countries, there is an important gap in the existing research within this area. One research initiative to fill this gap is the ongoing IPSE project (Integrated Product and Service Engineering), which aims at developing a methodology for efficient development of PSS offers in manufacturing SMEs. The methodology developed in the IPSE project is however at a conceptual level that is not applicable for the management in smaller companies. This thesis hence aims at developing a concrete and useful business development method applicable for the management in manufacturing SMEs, with the focus on generation of PSS offer concepts. Based on earlier research within the PSS area, with the emphasis on the IPSE methodology, a concrete business development method for the generation of PSS concepts was created, which was then tested on three SMEs in order to verify and improve the method. The method consists of the three steps internal analysis, external analysis and planning of the new PSS offer. Each step contains a number of tools to be used in order to analyze different aspects of the business context. After analyzing the studies of the three case studies a revised method was developed, which was then summarized in managerial guidelines to be used by managers in manufacturing SMEs. The revision of the method mainly regarded simplifications of some of the tools in order to ease the use and increase the applicability. The method proved to be useful and concepts could be generated for all the case companies. The method thoroughly examined the possibilities of creating PSS offers, even though it was found that it was also useful for the development of conventional business offers. Since the drivers for the case companies were specific threats or opportunities that would require changes in the offer, rather than a purpose in itself to integrate more services in the offer, this implies that the method can be useful as general business development method for manufacturing SMEs. An important learning from our studies is that the day-to-day business is strongly focused by the managers in manufacturing SMEs, leaving little time for long-term business development. As stated by a manager in the case companies: “It is like running beside the bicycle, but we do not have the time to get on it.” The developed method can work as a tool for structuring the information needed in the business development process and hence reducing the time needed. However, if the reduction in time needed for long-term business development is enough to get the managers on their bikes is a question assigned to further studies.

Sammanfattning I dagsläget är Sverige tillsammans med Malta det enda landet inom EU som tillämpar lagstadgad revision för alla aktiebolag oavsett storlek. I syfte att tillämpa undantaget enligt EG-rättens fjärde bolagsdirektiv tillsattes en utredning av den svenska regeringen. Denna utredning syftade till att utreda vilka åtgärder som krävs för ett avskaffande av revisionsplikten för de små aktiebolagen. Det före detta justitierådet Bo Svensson bland andra genomförde och presenterade denna utredning i mars 2008, vilken stödjer ett avskaffande av revisionsplikten. Majoriteten av de små och medelstora företagens finansiering sker idag genom banklån. Då de fyra storbankerna, Nordea, Swedbank, Handelsbanken och SEB, står för majoriteten av utlåningen till allmänheten innebär detta indirekt att dessa även står för majoriteten av utlåningen till de svenska företagen. Det viktigaste vid kreditgivningen är att fastställa den återbetalningsförmåga företaget har. För att kunna fastställa denna begär kreditgivarna in olika beslutsunderlag såsom årsredovisningar vilka ligger till grund för beräkningar av bland annat olika typer av finansiella nyckeltal. Dessa årsredovisningar måste, för aktiebolagen, ha granskats av en kvalificerad revisor enligt aktiebolagslagen. Detta innebär att bankerna kan sätta en stor tillit till dessa siffror vid en kreditansökan. Vår problemformulering lyder som följande; hur påverkar revisionen och revisionsberättelsen kreditbeslutet till små och medelstora företag? Syftet med studien är att undersöka värdet av reviderade räkenskaper vid kreditbeslutet till små och medelstora företag. Uppsatsen är av kvalitativ undersökningsdesign och intervjuer har därför genomförts med alla fyra storbanker utifrån den hermeneutiska kunskapssynen. De empiriska resultaten visar att bankerna använder sig av olika modeller vid kreditbedömningen. Alla syftar dock till att i slutändan kunna bedöma företagets återbetalningsförmåga för att på så sätt minska respektive banks risk vid utlåning. De beslutsunderlag som bankerna begär in är liknande. Alla kräver årsredovisning/bokslut som är granskad av en revisor. Ett par av bankerna ser även att ägaren/-arna lämnar in någon typ av likviditetsbudget över lånets syfte. En revisionsberättelse som inte är utformad enligt standardutformningen gör att bankerna genast blir vaksamma. De tar dock oftast kontakt med företaget för att utreda skälen till de anmärkningar revisorn har haft. De slutsatser vi drar från studien är att det råder oenighet kring vilken information bankerna kommer att begära vid en kreditansökan då revisionsplikten kan komma att avskaffas. En bank kommer självfallet att bevilja lån utan reviderad information eftersom detta redan görs idag medan två andra banker kommer att kräva reviderade årsredovisningar. Hur dessa kommer att se ut är däremot oklart. Det som kan konstateras är att ingen av bankerna har kommit ut med några klara direktiv som kommer gälla då revisionsplikten eventuellt avskaffas.

The widespread and rapid internationalization of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the healthcare sector is outpacing our efforts to understand the motives behind this phenomenon and the processes that propel it. This paper investigates the internationalization processes of Swedish SMEs that operate in the international healthcare markets. Based on interviews from five SMEs, the study seeks to understand why these SMEs internationalize, and how and in what way this internationalization process unfolds. By developing a conceptual model based on previous literature for SME internationalization, knowledge and networks, and the regulatory environment in which the SMEs operate, the findings are analyzed in the context of the healthcare industry. The research concludes that product approval regulations have a small influence on the internationalization process; instead establishing relationships with local key opinion leaders to create awareness and legitimacy was essential to successfully enter a new foreign market. A further key finding identified was that each market is characterized by different national praxis and contrasting views on patient treatment methods, which was recognized as a challenge among the case firms.