<p>Background</p><p>International trade has dramatically increased during the last half of the 20th century and it is now of significant importance to most eco-nomies. International trade is especially crucial to countries such as Sweden, with a small domestic market. It has been said that a com-pany needs to have a committed management, as well as a strategy for it’s export and it’s marketing to reach long-term success. Never-theless, companies sometimes use a “strategy of least involvement”, leaving the international marketing strategy decisions in the hands of foreign agents and distributors.</p><p>Purpose</p><p>The purpose with this thesis is to investigate how the export and marketing strategies have been developed and implemented by suc-cessful Swedish export companies.</p><p>Method</p><p>Winners of the Export-Hermes Prize and Stora Exportpriset have been used as a sample of successful export companies. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with four of them were conducted to col-lect the empirical data.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>The export companies in this study showed great differences con-cerning their original export ambitions, the methods they used to se-lect foreign markets, the modes that they used to enter new markets and the pace in which the international expansions were carried out. There were however strong similarities between the successful ex-port companies in other areas. All four companies had owners and top management who had been, and in most cases still were, highly involved and driving forces in the export activities. The companies also shared a belief in working with clear goals and having a strict control over subsidiaries and intermediaries. The authors are of the opinion that this control and monitoring are crucial for the success of the implementation of the export and marketing strategies.</p>

As a result of the continuous development of the business environment, many traditional organizations decide to implement electronic commerce (ecommerce). Implementing ecommerce successfully may generate highly rewarding results, while an inefficient implementation may lead to endan- germent of the organization's survival. The critical question is therefore what factors that are critical for an ecommerce strategy implementation to succeed. The purpose of this is to investigate what factors that are critical to achieve a successful implementation of an ecommerce strategy in retail businesses. According to this purpose, three research questions have been formulated to arrive at valuable findings within this field. In order to fulfill the purpose of this thesis a qualitative research method with an exploratory approach is being applied, data are collected through case study interviews. The cases are being arrived at by nonprobability sam- pling in form purposive sampling. When comparing critical success factors identified in theory and practice, the result suggests that integrated management teams, culture management, realistic expectation and compensation systems are not critical for success- ful ecommerce implementation. Factors that are critical for success are fi- nancial and time investments, sufficient knowledge and technological skills, committed leadership, communication, SEO, omni-channel, external part- ners and the pre phase.

This study focused on identification of success factors of strategy implementation in retail branches of a bank. The objective of this study was to identify and investigate the possible factors which influence successful implementation of strategic plans in a retail banking environment. In doing so, establish various factors that inhibit successful strategy implementation and explore approaches or best practices that could be adopted to facilitate effective implementation of strategic decisions. The data was collected through questionnaires distributed to the branch managers of the institution. 153 respondents out of a population of 615 participated in the study. The results showed that understanding one’s local market, knowing your customer, communication, leadership, culture-strategy alignment, resources-strategy alignment, rewards and tactical plan are the top success factors of strategy implementation within branches of this bank. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

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The thesis explores middle managers sensemaking processes of a University’s social responsibility and sustainability (SRS) strategy during a period of change. Overall the thesis establishes links between middle managers simultaneous sensemaking processes, dynamics of loosely coupled organizational contexts and organizational responses to unexpected outcomes as they impact strategy creation processes in organisations. Three main issues evolve. Firstly, middle managers in loosely coupled organisations consist of two different sets (administrators and academics). Based on their nature of work in particular, administrators and academics select different sets of dominant and subtle sensemaking frames to make sense of organizational strategies. Generally, while administrators select sensemaking frames which emanate from existing strategic processes, academics select autonomous cues which exist outside strategic processes. Administrators and academics sensemaking processes are therefore not a single level or consecutive processes as typically researched, but rather occur as simultaneous sensemaking processes. Six dominant simultaneous sensemaking frames are identified and described. Secondly, the thesis examines less explored aspects of debates on loosely coupled systems. It investigates specific patterns of coupledness in middle managers strategic work and relationships. It identified and described patterns of administrative work which are tightly coupled and patterns in academic work which are loosely coupled. Thirdly, distinct links are identified between middle managers simultaneous sensemaking processes and unexpected strategy outcomes. This further led to exploring how organizations respond to unexpected sustainability initiatives, especially in light of integrating them into already existing strategy outcomes. Three integration strategies are identified and described.

Abstract Bachelor Thesis 15hp, Business Program, School of Business and Economics at Linnaeus University, Controller, 2FE20E, VT 2018 Title: Implementing a Strategic Change - A Case Study on Visma Spcs Authors: Philip Bergsteinsson, Christoffer Walfridson, Filip Öggesjö Examiner: Elin Funck Tutor: Anders Jerreling Background and problem: Strategy work is a process consisting of two parts, formulation and execution. Companies that execute a strategy change are facing major challenges. Business strategy studies have shown that companies do not achieve their full potential and that there are a number of difficulties in strategy execution. Purpose: The purpose of the essay is to test the model of strategy execution that Kaplan and Norton have created and how it’s followed in an active strategy change. The essay will provide insight into the pitfalls and obstacles of the strategy implementation. Method: The study that has been conducted is a case study of a qualitative nature. The empirical material has been collected by means of semi-structured interviews. Conclusion: Visma Spcs is in the middle of the Vision 2020 process, a strategy change started in 2016. During these years, they have been working hard to formulate, implement, communicate, and get employees to understand Vision 2020 in order for the entire organization to work towards the common goals. The study highlights a number of problems Visma Spcs has with the strategy change, some are part of communication and knowledge about the strategy others are how to work with the process. Kaplan and Norton have created a process in six steps for strategy implementation, a process that, according to the purpose of the paper, is tested in this study. There have been identified some similarities with Visma Spcs strategy implementation and the theory, but also a number of deviations. The main points of the paper's conclusion are that Visma Spcs needs to work more with communication and feedback around Vision 2020. / Sammanfattning Kandidatuppsats 15 HP, Civilekonomprogrammet, Ekonomihögskolan vid Linnéuniversitetet, Controller, 2FE24E, VT 2018 Titel: Att genomföra en strategiförändring - En fallstudie på Visma Spcs Författare: Philip Bergsteinsson, Christoffer Walfridson, Filip Öggesjö Examinator: Elin Funck Handledare: Anders Jerreling Bakgrund och problem: Strategiarbete är en process som består av två delar, formulering och genomförande. Företag som genomför en strategiförändring står inför stora utmaningar. Studier inom företagsstrategi har visat att företag inte uppnår sin fulla potential och att det finns en rad hinder och svårigheter vid strategigenomförande. Syfte: Uppsatsens syfte är att testa den modell för strategigenomförande som Kaplan och Norton har skapat samt hur den efterföljs i en aktiv strategiförändring. Uppsatsen ska vidare bidra med insikt i strategigenomförandets fallgropar och hinder. Metod: Studien som genomförts är en fallstudie av kvalitativ karaktär. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Slutsats: Visma Spcs är mitt uppe i processen Vision 2020, en strategiförändring som tog fart 2016. De har under dessa åren arbetat flitigt med att formulera, implementera, kommunicera och få medarbetare att förstå Vision 2020 för att hela organisationen ska arbeta mot de gemensamma målen. Studien visar och belyser ett antal problem Visma Spcs har med strategiförändringen, några är en del av kommunikation och kännedom kring strategin andra är hur man arbetat med processen. Kaplan och Norton har skapat en process i sex steg för strategigenomförande, en process som enligt uppsatsens syfte testas i den här studien. Det har identifierats en del likheter med Visma Spcs strategigenomförande och teorin men även en hel del avvikelser. De viktigaste punkterna i uppsatsens slutsats är att Visma Spcs behöver arbeta mer med kommunikation och återkoppling kring Vision 2020.

Background: The notion of IT strategies has changed during recent years, because our perspectives towards IT in the organizations have changed. We expect IT to be fulfilling business goals and lever-age business opportunities and we have strengthened the role of IT in the supply chain. Our individual view on IT, whether it is strategic or supportive, whether the infrastructure should be standard-ized or individualized etc., most likely affects how IT strategies are interpreted and conducted in the organization. This is critical in companies who have their subsidiaries on foreign land. It is not obvi-ous that managers in different countries interpret the IT strategy the same way, just because it happens to be the same company. In most large global coalitions, a common central strategy for IT is the standard. I have chosen to examine Argentinean subsidiaries to Swedish companies as an example. Eight research questions were formulated, with the purpose of finding what is included in a generic IS/IT strategy, if the perspectives of managers are in line with the theory, whether views are consistent throughout the concern, and determine the challenges of global IS/IT management. Purpose: This paper aims at finding the generic parts in a IS/IT strategy formulation and explain how business management and IT specialists of global coalitions interpret the concept IS/IT strat-egy. A sub-purpose is to define the priorities in global IS/IT management. The analysis of the paper culminates in a model - “the interpretation of IS/IT strategies”, with the ambition to give guidelines for managers and strategy formulators in a global environment. Method: The study is of qualitative, exploratory and explanatory type, it has a descriptive part and a theory enhancing rational. By a thorough literature study and a pre- study I wished to explore and shed light on the perplexities in IS/IT management, nationally and globally. The broad research spectrum was a conscious choice to cover the complex area of IS/IT strategy and the various people affected. By conducting interviews; through questions and observations I also aimed at describing and explaining how IS/IT strategies are interpreted in practice. As a result of my hermeneutic research approach I am drawing conclusions from the similarities and dissimilarities I found in the different perceptions and relate it to the result of previous studies. The idea is thus to combine these insights in order to enhance theory in the area. Analysis and result: what could be determined from the analysis is: • IS/IT strategy composed of strategic planning, alignment between business- and IT, competitive advantage, knowledge management, responsibilities, system architecture, interaction and security. • No “generic” strategy exists. A good strategy for a global coalition is forward-looking and flexible and frequently evaluated. The strategy gives competitive advantage if leveraged; the results are related to IS paradigm view. • IT people proves short sighted while business/strategy management have long term perspective, which contradicts Earl, (1999). The difference could be due to culture in this case. The organiza-tional structure does not determine IT architecture, which contradicts King Sethi (1999). • Managers and IT people are generally not in agreement. Interpretations of strategy are not consistent in global firms. Managers and not IT people need to take responsibility for the formulation and realization of the strategy. This is in accordance with Axelsson, (1995). The implications to managers are: The organizational structure chosen should not be steering the politics for architecture, moreover that IT specialists with a technical view can not be responsible for strategy work or global standards. Managers are encouraged to develop knowledge management, to include intellectual assets in the IS/IT strategy and work with culture enhancement programs.

This thesis is aimed on analysis of external and internal environment of the monitored company. The aim is to find out the competitive position in the market, the financial situation and assessment of ability and resources to draw. The results of analysis can help to appoint the current position of the company, the opportunity to make a strategy and suggestion for a future expansion.

The main goal of this thesis is to propose partial strategy of company named Centrum financni gramotnosti. The strategy must respect keeping or generating of competitive advantage. It is formed on basis of internal and external analysis. External analysis is divided into analysing environment and competition. PEST analysis and Porter's 5F analysis were used. Internal analysis covers the company's resources and products offered. For those, BCG analysis was performed. To decide which factors are critical, SWOT analysis is used. TOWS analysis helped to set the final strategy. All those methods were applied on real data. Outcome of the research is a proposal for new pricing strategy of the organisation.

This report analyzes the effects that social media marketing has on companies who choose to invest in a social media strategy. Previous research has looked at separate parts of a social media strategy, but no holistic view of the entire life cycle of a social media strategy has been created. Further, this report looks at what companies who choose to invest in a strategy gain from it in terms of different sources of business value. Advertising over digital media has increasingly taken market shares from more traditional advertising such as print, radio and TV. A large portion of this digital advertising is done through social media in the form of directing content at a specific target audience using the various social media platforms marketing algorithms. This increase in digital advertising is coupled by more companies choosing to create a social media presence. However, often have these social media presences failed to net any results due to a lack of understanding of the social media environment and how the consumers use the platforms. A case study was conducted on Marvelous, a Nordic digital agency specializing in social media. The case study also analyzed one of Marvelous’ clients who has invested in a social media strategy through them. The reason for this case study was to see how social media marketing is done in practice by a leading company within the industry. To complement the case study and get a less nuanced view of the development of a strategy and the results of it, qualitative interviews were held with other industry professionals who have worked with social media for several years. The results show that the life cycle of a social media strategy is made up of six stages: the pre-assessment stage, the strategy creation stage, the basics &amp; hypotheses stage, the maturation &amp; capitalization stage, the short-term evaluation stage and lastly the long-term evaluation stage. These different stages help companies in creating a strategy to guide social media efforts sustainably over a long period, leading to economical sustainability of the companies through granting advantages such as increased brand strength, increased sales and reaching a new consumer basis amongst other advantages. These advantages are gained while simultaneously strengthening the bond between consumer and company through the two-way communication that social media has enabled. / Denna rapport analyserar effekten som marknadsföring via sociala medier har på företag som bestämt sig för att investera i en social mediestrategi. Tidigare forskning har utforskat olika delar i en social mediestrategi, men ingen holistisk vy av hela livscykeln har skapats. Vidare så tittar denna rapport på vad företag som har investerat i en strategi får ut av det i form av olika källor av affärsvärde. Marknadsföring över digitala medier har ökat och fortsatt tagit marknadsandelar från mer traditionella källor såsom print, radio och TV. En stor del av denna digitala marknadsföring görs via sociala medier genom att rikta ett budskap mot en specifik målgrupp med hjälp av de olika sociala plattformarnas marknadsföringsalgoritmer. Denna ökning av reklam via digitala medier syns även i form av att fler företag väljer att skapa en närvaro på sociala medier. Däremot så misslyckas ofta denna sociala närvaro att gynna företag på grund utav en brist på kunskap om det sociala medielandskapet och hur kunder använder dessa plattformar. En fallstudie gjordes på Marvelous, en nordisk digitalbyrå som specialiserar sig inom sociala medier. I denna fallstudie undersöktes även en av Marvelous kunder som har investerat i en social mediestrategi via dem. Anledningen till denna fallstudie var att se hur denna marknadsföring görs i praktiken av ett ledande företag inom industrin. För att komplettera fallstudien och få en mindre nyanserad bild av utveckling av en strategi och dess resultat så utfördes även intervjuer med andra experter inom industrin som har arbetat med sociala medier i ett flertal år. Resultaten visar att en livscykel för en social mediestrategi är uppgjord av sex skeden: förhandsbedömning, strategiskapande, etablering och hypotesprovning, mognads- och kapitalisering, kortsiktiga utvärderingar och slutligen långsiktiga utvärderingar. Dessa skeden hjälper företag att skapa en strategi för att vägvisa deras insatser på sociala medier hållbart över en lång period vilket kan leda till ekonomisk hållbarhet för företagen. Detta genom fördelar såsom ökad varumärkesstyrka, högre försäljningsgrad, att nå ut till en ny kundbas och andra fördelar därtill. Dessa fördelar fås medan företagen samtidigt stärker bandet mellan kund och företag genom den tvåvägskommunikation som sociala medier har möjliggjort.