The applicant decision making process is a complex one. During the recruitment process, signals from the organization provide information to the candidates and affect important recruitment outcomes. Ethics is one area the organization can utilize to communicate information regarding the organizational culture and environment. Drawing on signaling theory, this research suggests that ethical signals during the recruitment process affect recruitment outcomes through the mediating effect of the perception of the organization as ethical. Additionally, two important moderators, self-importance of moral identity and cognitive moral development, were examined. Using a study in the field as well as a rigorous laboratory study, this research found results generally consistent with the hypothesized relationships. Specifically, ethical organizational practices were related to attraction in both studies. Ethical recruitment practices were related to attraction in the laboratory study. Furthermore, the organizational practices/attraction relationship was partially mediated by the perception of the organization as ethical. Finally, some support was found for the cognitive moral development, self-importance of moral identity, and performance moderators. Practical implications and areas for future research are discussed.

Firms form marketing and technology alliances to access other firms’ resources, and these alliances act as signals to investors. Investors use these signals to adjust expectations about new venture performance prospects, but our understanding of investor responses is incomplete because limited research examines them as a function of factors other than the alliance announcements. To better understand alliances as signals, we must incorporate factors influencing the resources alliances make available. Thus, my research question is as follows: To what extent do partner firm, focal firm, and alliance characteristics provide signals to investors about the resources alliances make accessible? My theory integrates signaling theory and resource-based theory on strategic alliances, and an event study is used to analyze investor responses to alliances formed by high technology new ventures recently having undergone initial public offerings. The findings provide evidence both in support and in contradiction to signaling theory and resource-based theory on strategic alliances. For example, signaling theory logic suggests both that the visibility and prestige of large partners and that the uncertainty associated with small and young firms enhance the strength of signals associated with alliance announcements. In this study, there is no support for the former hypotheses and limited support for the latter. Moreover, although both perspectives suggest that the new venture’s alliance experience increases investor responses, such effects were not found. There was some evidence to support the signaling theory argument that signal consistency strengthens responses. Specifically, investors respond favorably to marketing alliances when the new ventures’ alliance partners have strong commercial resources (many new products per year). There is also evidence that investors respond to the possibility of resource complementarity, contingent on which firm has the resources that complement the alliance. For instance, investors value marketing alliances when new ventures have strong R&D resources. In technology alliances, investors may respond more favorably when new ventures have strong commercial resources (high advertising intensity), but may respond negatively when partners have such resources. In sum, this study provides some support for signaling theory and resource-based theory on strategic alliances, but also provides null results that are inconsistent with either.

By integrating signaling research with an institutional perspective we examine how country of origin, corporate governance, and host market effects impact foreign IPO performance. Using a sample of 202 foreign IPOs listed in the U.S. or U.K in 2002-2007 results indicate both the legal environment surrounding these organizations in their countries of origin and board independence impact the success of foreign firms at IPO. However, the institutional environment of the chosen IPO market impacts the salience of country and corporate governance signals for foreign IPO firms suggesting a more contextualized framework of IPO valuation is necessary.

Utdelning har sedan tidigt 1600-tal använts av företag som ett verktyg att ge dessinvesterare avkastning för deras investering, vilket än idag är utdelningens huvudsakligafunktion. Vedertagna teorier har dock ifrågasatt företagsledningars motiv till att betalautdelningar, och menar att de kan användas som ett verktyg att signalera om företagetsframtid, något som till viss del fått stöd i tidigare forskning. Däremot har tidigare studierej varit eniga gällande de slutsatser som framtagits, trots att deras undersökningsmetodvarit densamma. Somliga studier har alltså kommit fram till att utdelningar skickarsignaler om ett företags kortsiktigt framtida lönsamhet, upp till ett års tid, medan andrastudier ej funnit något samband alls. De tidigare studier som presenterats är utfördamestadels utfört på de geografiska marknaderna Nordamerika och Östra delar av Asien,i länder som USA, Japan och Sydkorea. Problemområdet har däremot ej tidigare studeratsi det svenska eller nordiska förhållanden, där ägarkoncentration och utdelningsfrekvenstenderar att vara annorlunda. Från denna bakgrund har följande problemformuleringtagits fram: Finns det ett samband mellan en förändring av utdelning per aktie och framtidalönsamhet, bland företag listade på svenska aktiemarknaden? Den här studien är baserad på en regressionsanalys av ett datamaterial inhämtat från OMXStockholm. För att undersöka sambandet mellan förändrad utdelningsnivå och framtidalönsamhet på den svenska marknaden. Om utdelningsförändringar har ettinformationsvärde gällande lönsamhet är detta i högsta grad intressant ur investeraressynvinkel. Detta medför att utdelning kan ha en betydande roll i beslutsfattandet kringpotentiella investeringar. Vidare har författarna antagit en deduktiv forskningsansatsbaserat på en kvantitativ studie där 183 företag undersökts i upp till femton år, vilketbildat grunden studiens datamaterial som behandlades vidare i Microsoft Excel, där ävenberäkningar av studiens deskriptiva statistik utfördes. Därefter genomfördes statistiskatester i programmet Stata. Resultatet i denna studien visade att en ökad utdelning, på kort sikt tenderar att följas aven ökad lönsamhet, för att två år efter utdelningsförändringen övergå till en negativlönsamhetsförändring. De negativa utdelningsförändringarna var däremot barasignifikanta på ett års sikt, där de följs av en minskad lönsamhet. Att ett företag initieraren utdelning, har dock inget signifikant samband med framtida lönsamheten. När dedäremot upphör att ge utdelning, så finns ett svagt samband på ett års sikt med enminskande lönsamhet. Detta innebär att studien funnit stöd för signalteorin sompresenteras i studien, och att utdelningsförändringar skickar signaler som kan minskainformationsasymmetrin mellan investerare och företagsledning.

The study of archaeology within an ecological and evolutionary framework began with the study of changes in human subsistence through time. Within the last few decades archaeologists have expanded applications of evolutionary ecology (EE) beyond the dietary emphasis of the prey choice model toward increasingly complex and novel applications. The chapters in this dissertation provide several examples of this expansion, through novel examinations of the complex relationships between humans and their environment, as well as thoughtful examinations of social systems and non-subsistence related behavior through the prism of EE. Appendix A asks at what transport distance from a central place does big game become costly to procure relative to smaller local game? Results from this study show that big game is an economical choice at a one-way transport distance of over 100 km. These results are then used in Appendix B where isotope geochemistry is used to show both large and small game from Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon were transported over 70 km to the Canyon. Without the results from Appendix A, one would be inclined to describe the long-distance transport of large game as a costly signal, when in fact it is an economical choice, particularly in a depressed or low productivity habitat. Appendix C, demonstrates the applicability of costly signaling theory to non-dietary artifacts, by showing how geochemically sourced non-local goods contain a variety of social meaning.

Today, in a world after COVID-19 the office needs to have a different meaning for employees, the office has to compete with the comfort and flexibility of working from home. Therefore this thesis paper researched the topic of how the interior of an office can be used to signal different things to employees. Signals are something that we humans both use and receive all day to communicate something without using words to do this. They are also used by companies to attract and share different things with both existing and potential employees. The theory that explains how signals are used is called the signaling theory and the signaling timeline model is the specific framework used. When a person goes on a job interview they will show (signal) how right they are for this job, this in regards to the way they dress, act, and how the resume looks. In regards to the timeline model, it is a way to explain how a signal ”travels” from the signaler to the receiver and then feedback returns to the signaler. For this thesis, and the signing timeline, the concept of design has been used as the signal and employer brand and brand credibility in the form of the feedback. The signaler has been the company and the receiver the employees. With this in mind two research questions were developed, how do companies work with signals when designing their offices? and are the signals sent by a company as those received by employees? To answer the questions, semi-structured interviews and observations were conducted with two different companies in different countries. In order to cover both questions interviews were held with both facility managers (or equivalent) and employees. The interviews and observations gave us a result proving that there are many signals that a company sends out to employees, some intentional and some unintentional. Companies signal more with a holistic view while an employee sees more in the details. There were five signals found, team, calm and environmentally friendly that the company tried to send. Employees did not perceive the environmentally friendly but found considerate to private matters and utility to be two other important ones. Another interesting finding was that one of the companies interviewed had decided to have their new office small in order to come back to their roots and to work with their brand image. / Idag, i en värld efter COVID-19, måste kontoret ha en annan betydelse för de anställda, kontoret måste konkurrera med bekvämligheten och flexibiliteten med att arbeta hemifrån. Därför har detta examensarbete undersökt hur interiören på ett kontor kan användas för att signalera olika saker till anställda. Signaler är något som vi människor både skickar och tar emot hela dagarna för att kommunicera något utan att använda ord. De används också av företag för att attrahera och kommunicera olika saker med både befintliga och potentiella medarbetare. Den teori som förklarar hur signaler används kallas för ”signaling theory” och “signaling timeline model” är det specifika ramverk som används. När en person går på en anställningsintervju kommer de att visa (signalera) hur rätt de är för det här jobbet, detta med avseende på hur de klär sig, agerar och hur CV:t ser ut. När det gäller “timeline model” är det ett sätt att förklara hur en signal "färdas" från signalisten till mottagaren och sedan återkopplas till signalisten. I den här uppsatsen, och i ”signaling timeline”, har begreppet ”design” använts som signal och ”employer branding” och “brand credibility” i form av feedback. Aktören som har skickat signalerna har varit företaget och mottagarna till dessa är anställda. Med detta i åtanke utvecklades två forskningsfrågor, hur arbetar företag med signaler när de utformar sina kontor? och är det samma signaler som skickas av ett företag som tas emot av de anställda? För att besvara frågorna genomfördes semistrukturerade intervjuer och observationer med två olika företag i olika länder. För att få svar på båda frågorna hölls intervjuer med både ”facility manager” (eller motsvarande) och anställda. Intervjuerna och observationerna gav oss resultatet att det finns många signaler som ett företag sänder till sina anställda, vissa avsiktliga och andra oavsiktliga. Företag signalerar med en mer holistisk syn medan en anställd ser mer i detaljerna, vilket påvisades i de fem signalerna som hittades. Företagen försökte skicka tre signaler: ”team”, ”calm” and ”environmentally friendly” samtidigt som de anställda inte uppfattade ”environmentally friendly” men istället tyckte att ”considerate to private matters” och ”utility” var två signaler som skickas. En annan intressant upptäckt var att ett av de intervjuade företagen hade bestämt sig för att ha sitt nya kontor litet för att komma tillbaka till sina rötter och arbeta med sin varumärkesimage.

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Denna studie undersöker förekomsten av informationsinnehåll i utdelningsförändringar i börsnoterade svenska företag under åren 2006-2015. För att besvara forskningsfrågan undersöks sambandet mellan utdelningsförändringar och framtida vinstnivåer. Vi använder variabeln familjeägande som kontrollvariabel och undersöker om familjeägande påverkar förekomsten av ett informationsinnehåll negativt. Familjeägande bedöms i denna studie som företag med minst 20 procent av rösträtterna tillhörande en familj samt minst en familjemedlem närvarande i styrelse eller ledning. Vi finner att utdelningsförändringar ger information om vinstnivåer innevarande år då förändringen genomförs men ej de två efterföljande åren. Inga belägg hittas för att familjeägande negativt skulle påverka förekomsten av informationsinnehåll. Vidare finner vi stöd för att avvikelse från historisk avkastning på eget kapital signifikant påverkar vinstnivåer. Vi finner därmed stöd för att vinst är mean reverting. / This paper examines the presence of information contents in dividend changes in Swedish listed companies between the years 2006-2015. To answer the research question the connection between dividend changes and future profit levels is examined. We include the variable family ownership as a control variable and examine whether family ownership negatively affects the occurance of information contents. In the study, family ownership is defined as companies controlled by 20 percent by a family and having at least one family member on the board or in an executive position. We find evidence that changes in dividend provide information about profits the actual year of the change, but not the two following years. No proof is found that family ownership negatively affects this information content. Moreover, we find evidence that deviation from the historical return on equity significantly affects the profit levels. We therefore give support to the existence of a mean reversion in earnings.

This study investigates the relationship between corporate sustainability and dividend policy in the Nordic countries. In the field of finance, the importance of corporate sustainability is growing, particularly in the Nordic countries, which excel in global sustainability rankings. In response to this occurrence many firms are increasingly incorporating sustainability into their operations, which in turn might affect the strategic decisions of these firms. One of these is the dividend policy decision. Dividend policy in the form of cash dividends is a central concept in finance and is affected by conservation of capital and time value of money. The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between sustainability and dividend policy, which the authors have done by including different theoretical arguments. These are grounded in the agency theory, the signaling theory and the stakeholder theory. Previous research such as Benlemlih (2019) has examined the relationship between sustainability and dividends, but not in the same regional setting. ESG is used as a proxy for sustainability, while two proxies are used for dividend policy; dividend payout ratio and dividend yield. Through a quantitative approach information is collected on the ESG score and dividend data using the Thomson Reuters Eikon database and then analyzed using regression analysis. The data spans over 10 years (2008-2018) and covers 117 firms with available ESG and dividend payout data.  The findings indicate that there is a significant relationship between the ESG score and the dividend payout ratio of Nordic firms, while the dividend yield has no relationship with the ESG score. As both measurements had positive coefficients, the authors determined that there is a positive relationship between sustainability and dividend policy. Based on the findings, the excess liquidity hypothesis was dismissed, while the authors concluded that there was support for and against the overinvesting hypothesis and the signaling hypothesis. The authors believe one possible explanation for these mixed results could be due to the regional setting, as it differs from the settings of previous studies. By illustrating the relationship between corporate sustainability and dividend policy, this study could be of interest to large and medium sized firms in the Nordic countries that use business strategies involving ESG practices or consider implementing such strategies. Similarly, it could be used by investors that use ESG-screening as a decision criterion when investing.

abstract: This dissertation explores the determinants of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) perquisites, i.e., nonmonetary compensation offered to particular employees and not essential to the accomplishment of a CEO’s duties. While the current CEO perquisite literature has focused on understanding the economic determinants of CEO perquisites, I study the social-psychological determinants of perquisites. Specifically, I propose that organizational status is positively associated with CEO perquisites. The status literature suggests that high-status organizations derive benefits from status and status signals, while agency theory proposes that perquisites are a way for CEOs to extract private rents. Therefore, I posit that for high-status organizations, the benefits derived from certain CEO perquisites may negate the costs associated with those perquisites. I examine a specific CEO perquisite: the mandatory use of corporate aircraft for personal travel. Prior research and the popular press suggest that this perquisite is often seen not only as a status signal but also as an agency cost. Accordingly, I hypothesize that higher status organizations and organizations with higher status directors are more likely than lower status organizations or organizations with lower status directors to mandate their CEOs to use corporate aircraft for personal travel. I also propose that the effect is stronger for low- or high-status organizations than for middle-status organizations. In addition, I hypothesize five contingencies moderating the above relationships. I examine hypothesized relationships using a sample of S&P 500 organizations, and I find support for many of my hypotheses. This dissertation contributes to both status and executive compensation literature. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2019