Gegenstand der publikationsbasierten Dissertation ist eine regulations- und stakeholderorientierte Untersuchung zur 50+1-Regel und deren Zukunft. Die primäre Zielstellung der im Jahr 1998 eingeführten Regel ist die Begrenzung des Einflusses von Investoren im deutschen Profifußball. Der jüngste mediale und wissenschaftliche Diskurs verdeutlicht, dass es sich bei der 50+1-Regel um ein kontrovers und aktuell diskutiertes Thema handelt. Eine Entscheidung hinsichtlich der Zukunft der Regel wurde bislang nicht getroffen. Vor diesem Hintergrund besteht das übergeordnete Ziel der Dissertation darin, regulations- und stakeholderorientierte Hilfestellungen bei der Erarbeitung einer zukünftigen Regulation von beherrschendem Einfluss zu liefern. Hierzu wurden jeweils drei qualitative und quantitative Untersuchungen durchgeführt, aus denen sich sechs Publikationen ergeben. Zwei Paper adressieren den regulatorischen Ist-Zustand. Es wurde in diesem Zusammenhang eine mangelnde Effektivität der 50+1-Regel identifiziert, wobei anschließend Maßnahmen zur Verbesserung des regulatorischen Ist-Zustandes erarbeitet wurden. Vier weitere Paper adressieren die Interessen zentraler Stakeholder-Gruppen. Mit Hilfe von vier Befragungen wurden eine stakeholderorientierte Grundlage für die weitere Diskussion um die 50+1-Regel generiert und Interessendivergenzen aufgedeckt. Insbesondere im Hinblick auf die Stakeholder-Forschung zur 50+1-Regel stellt die Dissertation den bislang facettenreichsten Beitrag in der aktuellen Forschungsdiskussion dar. Dadurch erfolgt die Schließung einer zentralen Forschungslücke.:II. TABELLENVERZEICHNIS III. ABBILDUNGSVERZEICHNIS IV. ABKÜRZUNGSVERZEICHNIS 1. EINLEITUNG 2. FORSCHUNGSSTAND 3. THEORETISCHER RAHMEN 3.1 Partizipation der Stakeholder 3.2 Ökonomische Besonderheiten des sportlichen Wettbewerbs 3.3 Kommerzialisierung und deren Folgen 4. FORSCHUNGSMETHODIK 4.1 Qualitative Forschung 4.2 Quantitative Forschung 4.3 Übersicht der Paper 5. ERGEBNISSE DER PAPER UND DISKUSSION 5.1 Regulatorischer Ist-Zustand (Paper 1 und 2) 5.2 Stakeholder-Perspektiven (Paper 3–6) 5.3 Regulatorische Gestaltungsansätze 6. FAZIT UND AUSBLICK LITERATURVERZEICHNIS

Examples of state and non-state actors collaborating on issues of global politics abound. Non-state actors are increasingly involved in policy formulation processes, in peace-keeping processes, in human rights and environmental issues by advising governments or inter-governmental organisations. This type of collaboration mostly takes place at the discretion of states. However, non-state actors sometimes appear to initiate diplomatic processes. The Kimberley Process is an example of such a case. States and another non-state actor, namely business, were forced to the negotiating table by NGOs who were effectively raising consumer awareness about the role of diamonds in fuelling conflict and who held the power over launching a possible consumer boycott. Polylateralism is a term that was coined to represent the participation of non-state actors in the conduct of international relations. The study uses the Kimberley Process negotiations from 2000 to 2002 as a case study to analyse the dynamics of polylateral diplomacy by examining the nature and form of interaction between the three sets of actors, namely states, civil society and business in order to understand the role played by each group in both agenda setting and rule making, and the extent to which their interactions conform to the central ideas of polylateralism as advanced by international scholars. In so doing the study examines the evolving mode of interaction between states and non-state actors in the Kimberley Process, the ability of non-state actors to influence diplomatic processes, the extent to which states determined the boundaries of non-state diplomatic involvement and, finally, the limitations of polylateral diplomacy. The study concludes that the apparent increase in collaboration between state and non-state actors in diplomatic processes does not constitute a new method of diplomacy and that this will not change until non-state actors have become recognised polities. It also finds that the involvement of non-state actors in diplomacy, particularly as consumers of diplomatic outcomes is likely to become more-and-more prevalent and that professional diplomats, especially those in developing countries, may have to adapt their working methods in order to benefit from this phenomenon by allowing for a more systematic engagement with non-state actors. Finally, it finds that while the Kimberley Process is a good example of the involvement of non-state actors as producers of diplomatic outcomes, this phenomenon is less likely to reoccur and may well be the exception rather than the rule for the foreseeable future. / Dissertation (MDiplomatic Studies)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

Background: Corporate Social Responsibility has been studied since the 1970s, but was originally controversial and met opposition from e.g. Milton Friedman who viewed a company’s responsibility as being strictly economic. Since then, CSR has grown in scope and importance, especially within the fast fashion industry, and is now a central part of academia and business operations. However, the debate whether companies’ responsibilities are only economic or also include responsibilities such as social, environmental, and transparency- related is still ongoing, and it is therefore interesting to study how companies view their own responsibilities. Purpose: Our research aims to fill the existing research gap regarding how companies view their responsibilities by providing an overview of how the CSR work has changed over time in fast fashion companies. Research Question: How has the focus of the CSR work changed over time in large, international, fast-fashion companies? Methods: A qualitative content analysis inspired by grounded theory was used to answer the research question. The data material consisted of H&M’s sustainability reports from 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2019. The material was categorized into social, environmental or transparency dimensions, along with several under-categories. A simpler analysis of news articles regarding sustainability during the period 2002-2019 was also performed. Results: The results suggest that the fast fashion industry has increased their sense of responsibility as the expectations of stakeholders in the area has grown, and that CSR work increasingly is seen as a possible competitive advantage. The results also show that the most difficult parts to fulfill is the ethical level of the CSR pyramid, due to the difficulty of comprehending and fulfilling the stakeholders’ different expectations and demands, and the social dimension, because of its profound complexity, especially within fast-fashion.

Intressenter är allt mer engagerade kring miljön vilket har bidragit till att det har blivit viktigare för intressenter att göra hållbara beslut. Att företag tar hänsyn till sina intressenter och redovisar sitt arbete gällande hållbara frågor i en hållbarhetsrapport kan bidra till att företaget uppnår legitimitet, vilket kan vara avgörande för deras överlevnad. För att intressenter skall kunna ta beslut eller investera i företag vill de kunna jämföra företag emellan, detta för att kunna fatta dem rätta besluten oavsett vad det gäller. Men då riktlinjerna för hur företag skall eller bör rapportera är många kan det betyda att resultatet kan variera stort och påverka jämförbarheten. Global Reporting Initiative är det mest använda ramverket inom hållbarhetsrapportering, men är endast ett hjälpmedel med riktlinjer för hur rapporteringen bör gå till. Syftet med denna studie var därför att undersöka om hållbarhetsrapporter, med ramverket GRI, påverkar intressenters tolkning och jämförelse mellan företag.    För att uppnå syftet med studien och kunna besvara frågan genomfördes sju semistrukturerade intervjuer. Genom att studera två anonyma företags hållbarhetsrapporter fick respondenterna besvara frågor angående jämförbarhet, tolkning och legitimitet. Genom att analysera respondenternas svar utifrån legitimitetsteorin, intressentteorin och jämförbarhet resulterade studien i att sex av sju respondenter ansåg att rapporterna avvek väldigt mycket från varandra, varav den ena var bristfällig gällande många aspekter. De hade svårt att tolka och förstå den ena rapporten vilket också bidrog till att det i princip var omöjligt att uppnå legitimitet och jämförbarhet för dessa företag. Respondenterna hade önskat att det fanns en standard och standardiserade nyckeltal för att lättare uppnå jämförbarhet. Detta tyder på att behovet av ett tydligt och mer följdriktigt ramverk kan vara betydande för att öka legitimiteten, trovärdigheten och jämförbarheten i rapporterna. / The topic of sustainability is a topic that most people are familiar with. But something that is relatively new and foreign to most is sustainability reporting.  companies report how they work on issues related to the environment, social conditions, staff, respect for human rights and countering corruption. Reporting this to its stakeholders can be significant as it displays and create legitimacy and be crucial to the company's existence. Stakeholders also want to be able to compare companies in order to make the right decisions, but this can be problematic as there are several ways to report the same matter. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to investigate how comparability and legitimacy are affected based on how companies prepare their sustainability report. What the study finds is that legitimacy and comparability are negatively affected by the few guidelines that currently prevail.

Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to examine the link between CSR and EM in the EU manufacturing sector. The former is measured by ESG scores whereas the latter is approximated by discretionary accruals. Moreover, the corporate governance theories of stakeholder and agency are used as starting points. Method: Accruals are calculated using the so-called Modified Jones model. A linear regression equation with five variables is used to calculate the effect of CSR scores on the levels EM. In order to capture the difference, if any, regarding the link between CSR and EM between companies with high CSR scores and those with lower scores, three models are developed – the top 30 percent (model 1), the bottom 70 percent (model 2) and all companies (model 3). Findings: The results indicate CSR scores negatively affect the levels of EM. The causation is statistically significant. Implication: The findings of this study imply CSR practices are not used to hide weaker earnings in the manufacturing sector of the EU. Value: The study contributes to the literature on the link between CSR and EM by focusing on a specific sector that is often scrutinized for its negative environmental footprint. The choice of using three models is also seen to be of additional value.

Denna studie presenterar krishanteringen i ett flertal fotbollsklubbar och hur de agerat under pandemin i förhållande till intressenter. Studiens frågeställningar bygger på syftet att undersöka hur allsvenska fotbollsklubbar hanterat pandemin och hur intressenter bidragit till deras överlevnad. Vi valde att intervjua ekonomiansvariga för respektive fotbollsklubb för att få så bra information som möjligt. Studiens empiri är kvalitativt och kvantitativt insamlat i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer och statistik från SCB. Genom att undersöka fotbollsklubbarnas krishantering från ett ekonomiskt perspektiv har studien belyst intressenternas påverkan i fotbollsklubbarna. Tillämpade teorier i studien är intressentmodellen och Mitroffs modell för krishantering som vi använt som verktyg i vår analys. Det visade sig att klubbarna agerat olika i deras organisationer utifrån teorierna. Krishantering och samarbetet med intressenter har sett olika ut för olika fotbollsklubbar.  Studien kommer fram till att fotbollsklubbarna hanterat ekonomiska påfrestningar i organisationen på olika sätt baserat på förhållandet mellan deras ekonomiska stabilitet och relationen till intressenter. / This study presents the crisis management of several football clubs and how they acted during the pandemic in relation to stakeholders. The study’s questions are based on the purpose of investigating how football clubs in Sweden's highest division have handled the pandemic and how stakeholders have contributed to their survival. We chose to interview the finance managers for each football club to get as good information as possible. The empirical study is collected qualitatively and quantitatively in the form of semi-structured interviews and statistics from SCB. By examining the football club’s crisis management from an economic perspective, the study has highlighted the stakeholder’s impact in the football clubs. Applied theories in the study are the Stakeholder theory and Mitroff’s model for crisis management, which we used as tools in our analysis. It turned out that the clubs all acted differently in their organizations based on the theories. The crisis management and cooperation with stakeholders have looked different for different football clubs. The conclusion of this study is that the football clubs have handled financial strains in the organization in different ways based on the relationship between their financial stability and the relationship with stakeholders.

Background: As corporate social responsibility (CSR) has increasingly received more awarenessdue to a growing expectation of corporations to actively engage in social and environmental issues,understanding the factors influencing CSR is of great importance. Prior literature has shown theownership structure to be contributing factors for variances in CSR performance found amongstfirms. Thus, making this a relevant subject for a deeper understanding for the driving forces behindCSR performance. Purpose: The aim of this study is to explain how the ownership structure, more specifically theidentity and concentration of the owner, make firms engage in CSR activities. Additionally, thisthesis aims to contribute to the literature explaining the relationship between ownership structureand CSR performance in the Swedish context. Method: This study uses a positivistic view of research where a deductive approach is appliedusing a quantitative method to investigate the relationship between ownership structure and CSRperformance. The data were collected through databases, financial reports, and academic articlesand analyzed using Spearman correlation matrix and Tobit regression model. Findings: The findings show that a higher level of concentrated ownership is related to a lower CSR performance. Further, firms with a long-time horizon are more prone to CSR engagementthan firms with a short time horizon. Lastly, the institutionally entrenched ownership structure inSweden shows no relationship to CSR performance.

Purpose The purpose of the thesis is to contribute toward establishing the relationship between the concepts of sustainability reporting, sustainability performance, and sustainability reputation.This will be done by investigating the causal relationships between these concepts and whether those relationships are negative or positive. Methodology The study is based on a positivistic philosophy with a deductive approach. By using a quantitative method and a longitudinal design, the causal influences from the independent variables in 2019 to the dependent variables in 2020 could be investigated in a sample of 99 companies. This was done by 297 firm-year observations for measuring sustainability performance, and by 198 firm-year observations for measuring sustainability reputation and sustainability reporting respectively. Secondary data from the agency SB Insight together with primary data from companies’ sustainability reports and annual reports were mainly tested by a multiple linear regression model. Findings The findings show that sustainability reporting is negatively affected by sustainability performance and indicate that the causality is unilateral from sustainability performance tosustainability reporting. Sustainability reputation is positively affected by sustainability reporting, but sustainability reporting is in addition positively affected by sustainability reputation, indicating a bidirectional relationship where the causality remains unsolved. The findings show no significant association between sustainability performance and sustainability reputation. Furthermore, the thesis suggests a new concept to the research field, namely the reporting-reputation-spiral. Theoretical Perspectives The study analyzed the results through the legitimacy theory, the stakeholder theory, the voluntary disclosure theory, and the signal theory

Stakeholders play an important role for firm’s performance and survival. Being able to balance multiple stakeholder’s needs an interest simultaneously and at the same time achieve best value for provided services/products is often referred to "acting as an informed client". Real estate firms should be more involved with core stakeholders (their tenants) in order to improve their corporate social performance and productivity. Cluster theory distinguish how certain industries and firms can be interconnected, developing collaborations through geographical proximity. The effects are asymmetrical, dependent on the type cluster, the type of product/services and the firm’s included in the cluster. By combining stakeholder management and cluster theory, real estate firms are able to improve their knowledge regarding tenant’s interconnection and contribute to the development of already identified clusters within the Stockholm County. The aim of this thesis is to contribute to the ongoing research regarding stakeholder management, with the usage of cluster theory. A quantitative- and qualitative analysis is conducted, using a self-administered questionnaire. A total amount of 64 retail tenants (around 80% response rate) and 28 office tenants (around 12% response rate) participated in the study. Results from the quantitative- and qualitative analysis is triangulated with secondary data, aimed to improve the reliability of the results. Both retail- and office tenants were invited to the study and the correlation between the two targets groups was determined, aimed to measure office tenant’s perception regarding cluster externalities. Results from the analysis shows that industries like information and communication, business services and credit and insurance are considered to be clustered. The highest level of science base diversity is achieved by those industries, implying a strong presence of activities sharing a common knowledge base. Retail tenant’s value suitable products (question 3) and proximity to their costumer (question 6), while office tenants value personal contacts (question 24) and proximity to major transportation routes (question 10). In addition, retail tenants have a positive attitude towards cluster externalities, while office tenants have dived perceptions or simply ignores cluster externalities, explained by the insignificant correlation between their answers. The conclusion of the study is that further research is needed, using a more extensive qualitative analysis. A larger share of participants active within industries that are considered to be clustered will provide real estate firms with the knowledge of how to proceed with their stakeholder management. It is therefore considered that certain office tenants are dependent on cluster externalities and that real estate firms should actively engage in their business, acting as a "business in society". / Intressenter har en stor påverkan på ett företags utveckling och överlevnad. Att hitta en balans mellan att tillgodose olika intressenters intressen och behov, samtidigt som man utvinner högsta avkastning för genomförda produkter/tjänster, kallas "acting as an informed client". Fastighetsföretag bör vara mer involverade med sina nyckelintressenter, allt för att kunna förbättra sin produktivitet och sitt samhällsansvar. Klusterteori identifierar hur olika sektorer kan vara sammankopplade i form av samarbeten, något som uppkommit genom en geografisk koncentrering av olika företag. Effekterna från klustring är åtskilda och beror oftast på karaktären av klustret, vilken typ av produkter/tjänster som klustret erbjuder, samt vilka typer av företag som är inkluderade i klustret. Genom att kombinera klusterteori med intressenthantering, ges fastighetsföretag möjlighet att utveckla sin kunskap gällande intressenters sammankopplingar, något som kan komma att stärka den pågående utvecklingen av Stockholms olika kluster. Syftet med examensarbetet är att bidra till pågående forskning inom området för intressenthantering, med hjälp av klusterteori. En kvantitativ och kvalitativ studie har genomförts, den kvalitativa studien baseras på en enkät. Totalt deltog 64 butikshyresgäster (80% svarsfrekvens) och 28 kontorshyresgäster (12% svarsfrekvens) i studien. Resultatet från den kvantitativa och kvalitativa studien har triangulerats, med avsikt att öka reliabiliteten av studien. Både butiks-och kontorshyresgäster var inbjudna till att delta i studien och korrelationen mellan de två fokusgrupperna fastställdes, allt för att kunna mäta kontorshyresgästers förhållningssätt gentemot klustringseffekter. Resultatet från studien visar att sektorer så som information- och kommunikation, företagstjänster, kredit- och försäkringar anses vara klustrade. Det högsta värdet gällande grunden för kunskapsdiversifiering uppmättes av dessa sektorer, vilket i sin tur symboliserar att företag inom klusterna delar gemensamma kunskapsområden. Butikshyresgäster värderar faktorer så som, anpassade produkter (fråga 3) och närheten till sina kunder (fråga 6), medan kontorshyresgästerna värderar personliga kontakter (fråga 24) och närheten till snabba transportmöjligheter (fråga 10). Ytterligare så uppvisar butikshyresgäster ett intresse för klustringseffekter, medan kontorshyresgäster uppvisar ringa intresse eller olika intresse gällande klustringseffekter, vilket kan förklaras med den insignifikanta korrelationen mellan de två grupperna. Slutsatsen från examensarbetet är att mer kvalitativ forsning inom området är nödvändigt, för att kunna säkerställa huruvida kontorshyresgäster värderar klustringseffekter. Vidare ska ytterligare forskning fokusera på sektorer som anses vara klustrade inom Stockholmsområdet, allt för att kunna urskilja hur fastighetsföretagen ska kunna utveckla sin intressenthantering. Studien påvisar att det finns företag på Stockholmsmarknaden som använder sig av klustringseffekter och att fastighetsföretagen bör aktivt föra en dialog med dessa företag, för att kunna agera som ett "företag i samhället".

RQ1: What diversity management practices facilitate gender representation in the workplace? RQ2: Which challenges arise when implementing gender quotas into the work environment?  Purpose: The impact of this research is twofold: it will address a knowledge gap in the academic literature on gender challenges, gender quota application and follow-up in business, as well as contribute to research on practice-based diversity and quotaring. Additionally, this study will have an impact on how issues like this are handled in practice.  Method: Five semi-structured interviews with managers in various positions in a multinational organization, as well as three focus group discussions, were conducted as part of this qualitative study to allow interactions between theories and empirical findings. In addition to the interviews, the theoretical framework allowed for a thematic analysis. Conclusion: The empirical data gathered for this study has provided sufficient evidence to conclude that a firm's acceptance of diversity and diversity management policies and practices, such as gender quotas, is highly valued by stakeholders, but often difficult to admit. When it comes to incorporating efforts like inclusion and diversity into a firm’s plans, diversity has proven to be quite beneficial, however using gender quotas as part of diversity management techniques is frowned upon. We can also conclude that women still face significant challenges solely based on gender in the business world, such as salary differences, pregnancy, attitudes and males’ perceptions, to name a few. Thus, gender equality still has a long way to go.