There is no reason to refuse the fact that, in the coming years, Europe is going to face a new wave of immigration. The birth rate is in decline and life expectancy in the European continent is higher than before. As a consequence, there are two major problems: a shortage of labour and the financing of the pensions (Kohler, Billari & Ortega, 2002). World Bank warns European Union that for stabilizing the amount of working age population in 2050 like in 1995, would involve a net migration of 79 million within the EU25. There should be new flow of immigration. As a consequence, the phenomenon combines immigration and entrepreneurship will be vital for countries’ future growth within Europe. However, consider Sweden as the area of study by combining the immigration entrepreneurship study and business start-up abroad. Therefore, the questions of why the entrepreneurs choose to go to other countries for business venture and why they choose Sweden as the host country become a topic to study in this research paper. The purpose of the research is going to find out the motivations for the initiative of entrepreneurial immigrants’ choice of Sweden as a host country. In order to find the result for the purpose, the research chose to use an inductive and exploratory approach to find out why those entrepreneurial immigrants indented to come to establish business in Sweden. Those reasons were investigated from previous research; experts working with foreigners who arrived in Sweden for business purpose, and the entrepreneurial immigrants who arrived in Sweden for new ventures. The data collection based on a qualitative method. According to the research purpose, the theories were chosen in the field of migration and entrepreneurship. Determinants of immigration and entrepreneurship were listed and explained. Based on the interview, information was categorized with the determinants listed in the theoretical frame work. Based on the analysis, the empirical information shows that entrepreneurs came to Sweden not only for business reasons. All of the Local Development Managers and entrepreneurs interviewed considered that entrepreneurial immigrants chose to create business in Sweden with immigration purpose. However, if we want to apply this result to all entrepreneurial immigrants, further quantitative study would be required.

Problem: How do the born global firms overcome challenges and sustain performance in international markets through their competences, routines, and corporate governance structure? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore the competences, routines, and corporate governance structure of born global companies, and understand their role in overcoming challenges of early internationalization and sustaining performance in international markets from early days. Method: This research is conducted as multi-disciplinary, consisting of literature from International Business and Strategic Management. Relevant data is collected through six in-depth interviews with executives of born global companies from Sweden and Norway. Qualitative analysis has been used at data analysis stage. Originality: This study contributes to literature by examining relatively neglected areas of born global companies; competences, routines, and corporate governance structure. It is also original in distilling a wide literature to explore challenges of born globals. Conclusion: Our research reveals that despite their small size and limited resources, born global companies engage in competence building and leveraging activities, establish early international routines, and construct flexible governance structures to overcome challenges and achieve performance in the global arena.

Introduction: Venture capital investment process is complex and different firms vary greatly in their investment practices. This has resulted in authors given several different factors that could be imperative for venture firms investment decisions. There is thus no consensus in the field of venture investing. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to list which factors are important for venture capital firms investment decisions in start-up firms. Method: The authors conducted structured phone interviews with seven venture capital firms in Sweden. Conclusion: The authors found the following factors to be important for venture firms investment decisions in start-up firms; Busienss plans that demonstrated the thinkings of the entrepreneur, communicate ideas, visions, product, market, competition, growth potential as well as the planned intentions with the recived funds. They also desired realistic, concreate, simple plans that explained the implementation process of the start-up firm. The second factor that was important was markets where large markets, market growth, market share, market entry and global markets were mentioned. The third factor of importance was product, in which uniqueness, simplicity, patents and time-to-market were listed. Management was the fourth factor of importance, in which sensibility, competence, technical skills, entrepreurial spirit, attitude, humbelness, determination, openness, drive, chemistry and confidence were included. The fifth factor of importamce financial embraced ROI, economioes of scale, valuation and the size of the investment. The last two important factors that the authors found to be important for the venture firms in the study were location and industry.

Molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs) have become an attractive emerging technology for stationary co-generation of heat and power. From a technical perspective, dynamic operation has a significant effect on the fuel cell life cycle and, hence, economic viability of the device. The scope of this thesis is to present an improved understanding of the system behaviour at transient operation that can be used to design a more robust control system in order to overcome the cost and the operating lifetime issues. Hence, a comprehensive multi-component multidimensional transient mathematical model is developed based on the conservation laws of mass, momentum, species, energy and electric charges coupled through the reaction kinetics. In essence, this model is a set of partial differential equations that are discretized and solved using the finite-volume based commercial software, ANSYS FLUENT 12.0.1. The model is validated with two sets of experimental results, available in open literature, and good agreements are obtained. The validated model is further engaged in an extensive study. First, the MCFC behaviour at high current densities or oxidant utilization, when the mass transfer becomes dominant, is investigated using peroxide and superoxide reaction mechanisms. In brief, both mechanisms predicted the linear region of the polarization curve accurately. However, none of these mechanisms showed a downward bent in the polarization curve. A positive exponent for the carbon-dioxide mole fraction is probably essential in obtaining the downward bent (“knee”) at high current densities which is in contrast to what has been reported in the literature to date. Next, a sinusoidal impedance approach is used to examine the dynamic response of the unit cell to inlet perturbations at various impedance frequencies. This analysis is further used to determine the phase shifts and time scales of the major dynamic processes within the fuel cell. Furthermore, numerical simulation is utilized in order to investigate the underlying electrochemical and transport phenomena without performing costly experiments. Results showed that the electrochemical reactions and the charge transport process occur under a millisecond. The mass transport process showed a comparatively larger time scale. The energy transport process is the slowest process in the cell and takes about an hour to reach its steady state condition. Furthermore, the developed mathematical model is utilized as a predictive tool to provide a three-dimensional demonstration of the transient physical and chemical processes at system startiv up. The local distribution of field variables and quantities are presented. The results show that increasing the electrode thickness provides a higher reaction rate, but may lead to larger ohmic loss which is not desirable. The reversible heat generation and consumption mechanisms of the cathode and anode are dominant in the first 10 s while the heat conduction from the solid materials to the gas phase is not considerable. The activation and ohmic heating have the same impact within the anode and cathode because of their similar electric conductivity and voltage loss. Increasing the thermal conductivity of the cathode material will facilitate the process of heat transport throughout the cell. This can also be accomplished by lowering the effects of heat conduction by means of a cathode material with a smaller thickness. In addition, a thermodynamic model is utilized to examine energy efficiency, exergy efficiency and entropy generation of a MCFC. By changing the operating temperature from 883 K to 963 K, the energy efficiency of the unit cell varies from 42.8 % to 50.5 % while the exergy efficiency remains in the range of 26.8% to 36.3%. Both efficiencies initially rise at lower current densities up to the point that they attain their maximum values and ultimately decrease with the increase of current density. With the increase of pressure, both energy and exergy efficiencies of the cell increase. An increase in this anode/cathode flow ratio lessens the energy and exergy efficiencies of the unit cell. Higher operating pressure and temperature decrease the unit cell entropy generation. / UOIT

This thesis has been carried out within the framework of the Master of ScienceProgramme in Sociotechnical Systems Engineering and performed for the SwedishTrade Council in London. The author investigates how the Swedish Trade Councilcan facilitate and bridge the contacts between venture capitalists in the UK andhigh-tech start-ups in Sweden. High-tech ventures in the start-up phases often face a challenge in accumulatingsufficient financial resources and skills to successfully move from concept stage tobusiness, particularly within the life sciences’. High costs associated to time consumingand demanding product development cycles may require external investors whichprovide venture capital and expertise. However, many face difficulties in attractingventure capital partly due to the so-called equity gap, which relates to financiersunwillingness for taking on risk and investing in the early-stages. The study shows that venture capital largely rely on local networks and are limited intheir investments’ geographical distribution. The interviewed market players alsoemphasise the importance of local networks in the investment processes. Given thesecharacteristics, it may be difficult for a Swedish company seeking venture capitalabroad without help from intermediaries. Although there is a role to fill forintermediaries in assisting in the investment discovery process, it is likely to provedifficult over time as tasks become increasingly cumbersome.

Detta examensarbete behandlar ämnena molnteknik och IT-stöd för kundarbetet i nystartade företag och har främst utförts åt en extern beställare, företaget Approdites AB. Företaget önskade information och rekommendationer gällande potentiella tjänster för IT-stöd som de skulle kunna använda sig av i sitt arbeta med kunderna. Examensarbetet resulterar i dels en akademisk rapport bestående av bland annat teori, metod och tidigare forskning, dels en rapport/förundersökning innehållande rekommendationer om tjänster, samt riktlinjer åt företaget gällande de aktuella områdena. De båda rapporterna syftar till att förse företaget Approdites med relevant information om områdena i stort, samt ge förslag på tjänster som kan passa deras verksamhet. I den akademiska rapporten redogörs för hur grunden till rapporten med teori, metoder och andra viktiga områden lades.

The contemporary globalisation of economic activities has enormously accelerated the pace of innovation and technology development throughout the world. Continuous transformation of the marketplace and tremendous growth of demand on knowledge-intensive products and services has led to further evolution of knowledge management and project management studies. Increasing number of research done on knowledge management aspects within project environment evidences the expanding interest on the two areas of study. Incubators, representing the accumulators of knowledge management practices which facilitate the innovation and entrepreneurship through start-up projects, encompass vast number of issues for investigation related to the mentioned study areas. Past researches done in incubator field mainly concerned with the knowledge management aspects, neglecting the project management perspectives on it. Only few articles were found which refers to both fields of study within the incubators, although with an emphasis on project management models as catalysts of innovation. Our research basically aims to explore, examine and illustrate both knowledge management and project management interrelationship, in the context of incubators. It provides with a conceptual model, which depicts the contribution and correlation of project management, organisational knowledge management and project specific knowledge management. Based on the observation and analysis of the empirical data collected using the IT knowledge-based risks model as our methodological framework, it was found that incubators do not share the same knowledge management challenges as IT companies. Combining the conceptual model derived from the findings of literature review, and the methodological framework, we developed a new model representing knowledge management challenges in the management of start-up projects within incubators. Out of ten challenges observed in the IT sector, our research finds eight main challenges in incubators that are related to knowledge management. According to the perceptions of the interviewees chosen from a sample of three incubators in Sweden, the main challenges are (i) handling business coach exit, (ii) communicating lessons learned, (iii) creating knowledge map, (iv) establishing knowledge network, (v) selecting appropriate team, (vi) storing knowledge from previous projects, (vii) integrating different expertise and (viii) transferring complete knowledge. Each of the mentioned challenges was placed in each of the three domains defined in the conceptual model, in order to accentuate the domain it directly affects or is mostly affected by.

The last century has witnessed blooming achievements of females as rising workforce in modern society. With their active participation in business world recently, female entrepreneurship research has caught extensive attention globally, not only from academic field, but also from market entities, policy makers, social activists, as well as broad masses, concerning the social and economic contribution of female-started entreprises. Current studies within this topic concentrate on two issues: the difference between male and female entrepreneurs; demographic research for certain countries, regions, or industries. Following a qualitative research approach, this thesis applies implementations of actors view and grounded theory. With the purpose to create in-depth business knowledge, a well-structured empirical exploration is conducted mainly through theoretical sensibility acquisition, secondary data collection and face-to-face dialogues focusing on the issue of conditions for female entrepreneurs to start up and to develop a business.The researchers share their comprehensive (from both micro and macro perspective) understanding about this subject: There is no such a formula of necessary conditions existing. Female entrepreneurs need to define them according to the type of the ventures they establish and the demand for their projected growth, pursue them by taking actions instead of waiting for all conditions to be ready. The forthcoming female economy brings millions of opportunities that favor female entrepreneurs to start up enterprises, despite the current situation where they have not received effective supports that they deserve. In the end, the researchers create a new term „femesh‟ to conclude their findings and their anticipation for the future blossom of female entrepreneurs. Especially, the academic research process is described as an exploration adventure for searching orchids in the forest, together with the romantic writing style of the authors, bringing enjoyable readability without losing its preciseness, accuracy and logic as an academic research.

Aim: The first customer is important because that it’s in many cases the only objective evidence that your product or service works in real life and that someone is willing to pay for it. The first customer is your first reference.   The aim of this study is to: Investigate how 7 start-up companies in the ICT-business developed reference. Establishing recommendations on what to focus on when creating reference customers. Present complementary recommendations for start-up companies regarding important factors, besides those investigated against the theory, which have been discovered to be important when building a successful company.   Method: The method in this study is a combination of a case study and cross-sectional study with qualitative data. The questions in the interviews were predefined and complemented with open ended questions according to the answers on the pre-defined questions. The data collected, the answers, were written down, summarized and analyzed regarding whether they did or did not support the theoretical statements investigated. A theoretical statement could be supported or not supported, partially or strongly   Result & Conclusions: The access to a professional network and good social skills are most important when establishing the first reference. Business skills can be developed during the process but the recommendation is to acquire or secure them as soon as possible. How to achieve the desired states has also been concluded.   Suggestions for future research: The largest limitation is the sample size of the data. Less than 10 companies were interviewed and some of the suggested statements can’t be significantly either confirmed or deferred. The study was also limited to one round of interviews. A study, with two rounds of interviews and a larger set of companies interviewed is suggested for further research. An extended study could also cover companies that didn’t survive the IT crash of 2000 and investigate if the suggested parameters and strategies were present and deployed or implemented.       Contribution of the thesis: The investigation has verified the importance of networks, customer type (brand name) and social capital when establishing a reference. It has also showed that the skills needed to develop a business doesn’t need to be present when company is established since it can be acquired and secured during the development of the first reference. It has also contributed with a set of recommendation for entrepreneurs in general not only regarding the establishment of reference customers where the most important recommendation is to build and maintain the personal and professional networks.

Many authors (refer: Swayne and Tucker, 1973; Kahneman and Lovallo, 1994; Baron, 1998; Stewart et al., 1998; Simon et al., 1999; Simon and Houghton, 2003; Baum and Lock, 2004; Mathews, 2008) have examined the traits and skills of the entrepreneur. Others have been more interested in their behaviors (refer: Bhave, 1994; Byers et al., 1997; Sarasvathy, 2001; Shook et al., 2003; Baron, 2007; Davidsson, 2008), trying to describe the entrepreneurial processes on the initial stages of venture development. However, studies that try to define how an entrepreneur reacts when facing changes have not been found in the literature. The focus of this research is thus, to explore the attitude of the entrepreneur towards changes throughout the development of the start-up project. The theoretical background is divided into three main parts: the entrepreneurial attitude, the attitude towards change, and the relation between perceptions of organizational climate and attitudes. The first section reviews the literature about the traits and behaviors that define an entrepreneur. The second section concentrates on research papers concerning the attitude towards change for middle managers in well-established firms. Finally, the third section, through a review of the relevant literature, emphasizes the importance of the impact of the working environment perception on people’s attitude towards work. The approach of this qualitative study is inductive at first, but also incorporates a deductive approach during the data analysis using a grounded theory method. The data were gathered through seven semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs from Cyprus, India, Mexico, United Kingdom, and Sweden. The outcome of the present study is a model emphasizing the main results of the research. It presents three main reasons (interest/work experience in the business area, definition of the gap in the market, and desire to create) that lead to the decision to initiate the project. The market and future perception, as they have an impact on the actual start of the process, are presented and discussed as well. Concerning the attitude towards changes occurring during the process, four different reactions have been found to be relevant (adaptation, search for assistance, determination/commitment, and passion/persistence). Furthermore, the help provided by the learning experience, the social networking, and the future planning to overcome changes were also identified. Finally, the perception by the entrepreneur of the change and the overall process are explained.