Purpose – This study aims to look into how foreignness and outsidership affect the market entry of a SME and the individual firm's ability to access the correct network as well as look at which support structures are available for the individual firms entering into a new market. Theory/Design & Research Questions – By looking through the lens of Social Network theory, aspects of trust, legitimacy, nodes, foreignness and outsidership, this study has looked into the journey of a large hamburger chain in Sweden that has successfully entered into different markets outside of Sweden. The research questions explored were (i) how SMEs can overcometheir liabilities and leverage network connections to form strategic partnerships with other firms or organizations, and (ii) how centrality of nodes can be utilized by SMEs to gain access to valuable information and resources, and (iii) how intermediary networks can support SMEs in their efforts to enter new markets, and what policies and programs have proven effective in this regard. Methodology – The data was gathered using a non-probability sampling by conducting a semi-structured qualitative interview and was complemented with secondary sources from the company profile. Findings – Depending on the size of the firm the level of ability to access networks can differ. Smaller firms are more inclined to seek help from intermediaries compared to larger firms. Furthermore actors that are more central have been found to have a key role for firms entering foreign markets.

The influence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) particularly internet technology has had a fundamental impact on the way government is administered, provides services and interacts with citizens. Currently, the use of social media is no longer limited to informal environments but is an increasingly important medium of communication between citizens and governments. The extensive and increasing use of social media will continue to generate huge amounts of user-generated content known as Big Social Data (BSD). The growing body of BSD presents innumerable opportunities as well as challenges for local government planning, management and delivery of public services to citizens. However, the governments have not yet utilised the potential of BSD for better understanding the public and gaining new insights from this new way of interactions. Some of the reasons are lacking in the mechanism and guidance to analyse this new format of data. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate how the body of BSD can be mined, analysed and applied in the context of local government in the UK. The objective is to develop a Big Social Data Analytics (BSDA) model that can be applied in the case of local government. Data generated from social media over a year were collected, collated and analysed using a range of social media analytics and network analysis tools and techniques. The final BSDA model was applied to a local council case to evaluate its impact in real practice. This study allows to better understand the methods of analysing the BSD in the public sector and extend the literature related to e-government, social media, and social network theory / Universiti Utara Malaysia

This study explores the barriers to cross-sector collaboration among NGOs, for-profit organizations, PBCs, social enterprise and public entities within the plastic industry, aiming to identify the challenges hindering the transition towards a holistic circular economy. The research investigates the complex dynamics and interconnected factors that impede collaborative efforts in addressing the global plastic pollution crisis. Employing a qualitative approach, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with actors representing various sectors and roles within the plastic value chain. The research design involved a thematic analysis of the interview data, guided by the theoretical frameworks of Social Network Theory, Systems Thinking, and Innovation. This approach allowed for a comprehensive examination of the barriers to cross-sector collaboration, considering the interplay of power dynamics, economic priorities, and the lack of feasible, scalable solutions. The findings reveal three major barriers: power imbalances and disconnect among actors within the plastic industry network, the prioritization of profit over sustainability in the current economic system, and the absence of realistic, feasible solutions that can be implemented on a large scale across the entire value chain. The study highlights the necessity of fostering an inclusive environment, shifting mindsets, and developing innovative, scalable solutions to overcome these barriers. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex challenges in achieving cross-sector collaboration and provide valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers working towards a sustainable future in the plastic industry.

The rise of the social medias has changed the way organizations must think when itcomes to communicating with the public. No one really knows how to utilize the social medias in the best way, but many argue that organizations should focus on building relationships and being personal in their communication. Many also argue that the use of emotions in your communication should be beneficial. To test these thoughts, we formulated our research question based on previous research (Bruning & Ledingham,1999; Lovejoy & Saxton, 2012; Wang & Zhou, 2015) that categorized organizational communication on Twitter into three different dimensions. In this paper, we study what dimension the Swedish football clubs in Allsvenskan primarily use for building relationships on Twitter and which dimension that generates the most response from their followers. A quantitative content analysis was conducted on 2461 tweets from the 16 teams in Allsvenskan. We used crosstabs, One-Way ANOVA and bivariate correlation analysis in SPSS. Findings suggest that the use of the dimension personal relationship in combination with pathos should generate the most response from Twitter followers. Further research is needed to either verify or reject the statement.

The present work explores improvements in group decision-making. It begins with a practical example using state-of-the-art techniques for a complex, high-risk decision. We show how these techniques can reveal a better alternative. Although we created an improved decision process, decision-makers were apt to protect their own organizations instead of the project. This tendency was reduced over the course of the decision-making process but inspired the first conceptual component of this work. The first concept describes the “Cost of Conflict” that can arise in a group decision, using game theory to represent the non-cooperative approach and comparing the outcome to the cooperative approach. We demonstrate that it is possible for the group to settle on a non-Paretto Nash equilibrium. The sensitivity of the decision-maker weights is revealed which led to the second conceptual portion of this work. The second concept applies social network theory to study the influence between decision-makers in a group decision. By examining the number and strength of connections between decision-makers, we build from intrinsically derived weights to extrinsically derived weights by adding the network influences from other decision-makers. The two conceptual approaches provide a descriptive view of non-cooperative decisions where decision-makers still influence each other. These concepts suggest a prescriptive approach to achieving a higher group utility.

The major global concern of preventing the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) requires that millions of people be tested in order to identify those individuals who need treatment and care. This study’s purpose was to examine the role of social networks in an individual’s decision to test for HIV. The study sample included 62 participants of African and Caribbean origin in Toronto, Canada. Thirty-three females and 29 males, aged 16 to 49 years who had previously tested positive or negative for HIV, participated in interviews that lasted approximately 60 minutes. Measurement instruments adapted from Silverman, Hecht, McMillin, and Chang (2008) were used to identify and delimit the social networks of the participants. The instrument identified four social network types: immediate family, extended family, friends, and acquaintances. The study examined the role of these network types on the individuals’ decisions to get HIV testing. A mixed method approach (Creswell, 2008) was applied, and both qualitative and quantitative data were collected simultaneously. Participants listed their social networks and retrospectively described the role of their network members in influencing their decision to test for HIV. The participants’ narratives of the influence of social networks in HIV testing were coded. A thematic analysis of the qualitative descriptions of the network members’ influence was performed. The quantitative and the qualitative analysis results were then tallied. The results of the study demonstrated that the influence of social networks was evident in the individuals’ decisions to test for HIV. The most influential group was friends, followed in descending order of influence by immediate family, acquaintances, and extended family. These social network ties provided informational, material, and emotional support to individuals deciding to seek HIV testing. For policy makers and health professionals, coming to a more complete understanding of these dynamics will enable them to make institutional decisions and allocate resources to improve and enhance the support available from within these social networks, thus encouraging, promoting, and leading to increased testing for HIV.

The major global concern of preventing the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) requires that millions of people be tested in order to identify those individuals who need treatment and care. This study’s purpose was to examine the role of social networks in an individual’s decision to test for HIV. The study sample included 62 participants of African and Caribbean origin in Toronto, Canada. Thirty-three females and 29 males, aged 16 to 49 years who had previously tested positive or negative for HIV, participated in interviews that lasted approximately 60 minutes. Measurement instruments adapted from Silverman, Hecht, McMillin, and Chang (2008) were used to identify and delimit the social networks of the participants. The instrument identified four social network types: immediate family, extended family, friends, and acquaintances. The study examined the role of these network types on the individuals’ decisions to get HIV testing. A mixed method approach (Creswell, 2008) was applied, and both qualitative and quantitative data were collected simultaneously. Participants listed their social networks and retrospectively described the role of their network members in influencing their decision to test for HIV. The participants’ narratives of the influence of social networks in HIV testing were coded. A thematic analysis of the qualitative descriptions of the network members’ influence was performed. The quantitative and the qualitative analysis results were then tallied. The results of the study demonstrated that the influence of social networks was evident in the individuals’ decisions to test for HIV. The most influential group was friends, followed in descending order of influence by immediate family, acquaintances, and extended family. These social network ties provided informational, material, and emotional support to individuals deciding to seek HIV testing. For policy makers and health professionals, coming to a more complete understanding of these dynamics will enable them to make institutional decisions and allocate resources to improve and enhance the support available from within these social networks, thus encouraging, promoting, and leading to increased testing for HIV.

Bakgrund: 2010 presenterade SCB en undersökning om hur 403 000 jobb tillsattes (GP 2010). 79 000 av dessa tjänster tillsattes via personliga kontakter och ytterligare 100 000 där arbetsgivaren själv kontaktade den arbetssökande. Denna trend i användandet av det sociala kontaktnätet får stöd av Lena Hensvik, doktorand i nationalekonomi, i tidskriften Framtider (2012). Hon skriver att den sociala omgivningen såsom grannar, skolkamrater, tidigare kollegor och föräldrar har stor betydelse för hur vi får anställning eller inte. Hon menar att kontaktnätet är en viktig självinvestering då vårdandet av ens nätverk uppenbarligen kan underlätta jobbsökandet. Hensvik (2012) fortsätter skriva att det i dagens samhälle inte bara handlar om vem du är utan även vem du känner. Syfte: Tidigare forskning berättar att personliga kontakter är en av de faktorer som ökar anställningsbarheten. Vi vill därför ta vid där tidigare forskning slutar och göra en mer inriktad studie där vi fokuserar på personliga kontakter och kartlägger dess effekt i praktiken. Vi ämnar därför förklara personliga kontakters betydelse i samband med nyanställning av civilekonomer med examen från 2007-2012. Metod: Vi har valt att genomföra vår studie med en kvantitativ undersökningsdesign och ett deduktivt synsätt på relationen teori och forskning. Empiriska data har insamlats genom enkätundersökning. Slutsats: Vår slutsats är att personliga kontakter är användbara för civilekonomer i anställningsprocessen, att kontakterna till 90,4% leder dem till minst intervju och att kontakterna inte nödvändigtvis är de som är definierade som svaga, se Granovetters (1973, 1975) teorier om The Strength of Weak Ties. / Background: In 2010 SCB presented a survey of how 403 000 jobs were added (GP 2010). 79 000 of these were added through social contacts and another 100 000 by the employer himself who contacted the unemployed. This trend of using social contacts in the job-seeking process gets support by Hensvik, doctor in economics. In the magazine Framtider (2012) she writes that the social environment such as neighbours, class mates, former colleagues and parents have a big impact if we get an employment or not. Hensvik (2012) says that the caring of ones contacts is an important self-investment that improves your probabilities of getting an employment. She continues writing that in today’s society it’s not only important who you are but also who you know. Purpose: Previous research tells that social contacts are one of the factors that will improve your probabilities of getting employed. We will continue where previous research tends to end and aim for a more focused study where we measure the effects of using contacts in reality. The purpose of this thesis is to explain the contacts’ importance when employing former students with a Degree of Master of Science in Business and Economics. Method: We have conducted a questionnaire survey that was sent out to eight Swedish universities resulting in 100 responses. Conclusion: We have come to the conclusion that social contacts contribute in the recruitment process of former business students, that the use of contacts in 90,4% will get you far in the job-seeking process and that the helpful contacts are not necessarily the ones defined as weak ties, of which Granovetter (1973, 1975) would have argued.

abstract: This study employed Participatory Action Research (PAR) which applied critical pedagogy, actor-network theory, and social network theory to create and implement an Application Framework for Critical Pedagogy (AFCP) with the goal of making critical pedagogy more broadly accessible to a wider range of faculty in higher education. Participants in the study included faculty, staff, and students from Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions of Arizona State University, and data was collected in the form of surveys, interviews, written interactions, and video observations of multidisciplinary committee meetings to build the framework. The study concluded with a functional framework from which faculty and instructional designers alike can work to create better, more effective courses. Including participants of diverse backgrounds, varying power levels, and sometimes opposing perspectives in the study created a diversity of thought and experience which offered the opportunity to refine the purpose, expectations, and specific language of the tool. While the framework is not intended to be a definitive source of critical pedagogy application, this refinement allows the possibility that more faculty, instructional designers, and other higher education stakeholders may find utility in the revised framework as a tool for self-advocating and for professional pedagogical growth. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Leadership and Innovation 2020

This research aims to gain a detailed understanding of the push and pull factors that lead many Syrians in Turkey to migrate to Europe. Syrians are pushed to migrate for various reasons, including socio-economic difficulties in Turkey. It explores the Syrians’ experiences in Turkey and the elements that have deterred them from gaining the fundamental rights of accommodation, access to the labor market, and refugee status. The pull factors refer to the gains that the Syrians might achieve when migrating to Europe. These gains are socio-economic gains that assure a better future for them in Europe in comparison to their presence in Turkey. In this case, this research also explores how the Syrians plan to migrate to Europe by employing the influence of their social networks to conduct their secondary migration. This qualitative study uses seven semi-structured interviews and analyzes the experiences of the interviewees in order to reach concrete conclusions. The results of this study, according to the interviewees’ experiences, show that restrictive Turkish policies and procedures have pushed many Syrians to migrate. At the same time, the Syrians are attracted to migrating to Europe for better protection for them and their children. The findings also demonstrate that social ties influenced Syrians in their decision to migrate to Europe and avoid being deported to Syria.