Problem – The construction industry builds the engine of a nation’s economy. In unstable times like these, knowledge of how to keep this sector healthy is vital. One way of doing so is to use the main driver of the 21st century economy – leadership. Yet, there is little research to be found regarding the connection between leadership and growth in a construction sector context. Though, it is important for companies to know and execute this tool to use it as an advantage in this highly competitive market. The government is one important driver for growth, though its linkage on how to support the construction sector is weak. Research question - How is leadership connected to sustainable growth in the construction industry, using two different approaches – seen from a company’s and governmental perspective? Purpose – The purpose of this study is to find patterns, differences and similarities of how leadership affects sustainable growth among Swedish and Austrian construction companies. Further, the thesis should contribute to the research field, which has to be expanded to cover the construction industry. Method – An abductive approach was chosen to collect secondary data about leadership in relation to growth in the construction industry to gain a broader but also deeper understanding of the topic and comply with the purpose of this study. The empirical data was built as a case study, consisting of four companies and governmental institutions. The information was collected by using a qualitative approach in the form of almost exclusively interviews and one focus group. Conclusions – This study shows that all companies and governmental institutions accept leadership as an important driver for growth. The concepts of leadership and growth are interlocked with many factors. The chosen drivers of growth showed that the company, which actively wanted to grow, used leadership to enforce those drivers in particular. Innovation was one growth driver, which set Beta, the growing aspirant, apart from the other companies, which do not want to grow anymore. Leadership was executed by offering support, understanding and commitment. Both Swedish and Austrian governmental institutions provided a growing region for the companies and aspire continuous growth for the region. Yet, they had no direct influence on the companies’ growth performance.

Inadequate use of international knowledge by SME (small- and medium-sized enterprises) leaders is a prime contributing factor to failed internationalization efforts in the U.K. affecting firms' growth and survivability. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies U.K. SME leaders use to expand business internationally for sustainable growth. The Uppsala internationalization process model (UIPM) served as the conceptual framework for this study. Participants consisted of 4 senior leaders and 3 international operations employees who demonstrated effective use of strategies in the operation of the SME internationalization activities. Data collection occurred through semistructured interviews and review of an archival document, complemented by member checking to strengthen the credibility and trustworthiness of the findings. Four themes emerged through thematic data analysis: applying home and foreign market knowledge, capitalization of firm characteristics, selecting psychically close markets, and conducting sequential internationalizing activities for successful and sustainable SME internationalization efforts. The conclusion is that to achieve sustainable growth, SME leaders need to understand all factors pertaining to the internationalization initiatives of the firm, inclusive of market research and data collection, using experiential knowledge, assessing firm-specific advantages, capitalizing on limited resources, and leveraging networks in international markets. Subsequent positive social change may include an increase in sustainable SME in the United Kingdom offering innovative and competitive products and services, increasing employment opportunities, contributing to the citizens' financial stability, and contributing to the community's economic prosperity.

This thesis deals with the issue of increasing competitiveness in the context of sustainable growth in the European Union and the Slovak Republic. The method used in the thesis is a multivariate statistical method called factor analysis. This method enabled to narrow dimension of the input data with the least possible loss of information and consequently we obtained new variables called factors. According to the obtained factors the competitiveness of Slovak regions at NUTS II level was evaluated. Based on these results, it is possible to identify the most competitive region of the Slovak Republic which supports its growth in a sustainable way.

The recorded music industry experienced declining revenue from 1998 to 2014, but it saw a return to growth in 2015. This thesis uses a sample of 17 countries to explore the determinants behind this revenue expansion, and to assess whether this sales growth can be sustained. I examine the impact of eight factors on the overall, physical, digital, and streaming music revenue and revenue per capita, as well as the digital and streaming revenue share. The eight independent variables include the GNI per capita, the total population, the percentage of the young people, the percentage of the young females, the gross enrollment rate in secondary education, the percentage of Internet users, the percentage of mobile cellular subscriptions, and the percentage of fixed broadband subscriptions. Based on my study, the fixed broadband subscription rate has an impact that is both statistically significant and economically important on the streaming revenue share, which makes it the most important indicator for the industry’s potential sustainable development. The percentage of the young population also shows statistical significance and economic importance for explaining the overall and physical revenue per capita, but it has no effect on the digital and streaming revenue share. Also, although the Internet penetration rate and the mobile cellular subscription rate are statistically insignificant for the digital or streaming revenue share, point estimates suggest that these factors have important economic impacts.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional & Community Planning / Blake Belanger / Investigating historical trends of public transportation, two distinct groups of riders are targeted. First, individuals living and working in large metropolitan centers, and second, people who are dependent upon public transit; referring to people who cannot afford personal automobile transportation, possess no driver’s license, or are physically unable to drive (Garrett and Taylor, 1999). Analyzing the national demographics related to age and poverty levels, transit dependents make up only approximately 25% of the United States population. Expanding transit ridership will make our nation’s transportation sector more sustainable. Public transportation systems yield exceptional benefits including economic and community vitality, gasoline consumption reduction, air quality improvement and diverse cultural interactions promoting social cohesion (Metro Transit- St. Louis, 2010). This report focuses on ridership potential in the Rock Island Corridor, an unused rail thoroughfare in Kansas City. Local governing organizations are analyzing the corridor for future commuter rail implementation. In order to attain higher ridership and ensure long-term viability, the commuter rail must attract residents that are not dependent upon public transportation. This project maps transit dependencies along the Rock Island Corridor looking at income levels, home values, and commuting distance. The findings illustrate that Lee’s Summit is not dependent upon public transit and has tremendous potential to impact the ridership and development direction along the corridor. Looking into the future of the corridor the time to plan is now. Lee’s Summit is expected to see a population increase of 40,636 people (a 50% increase) by the year 2040 (Mid-America Regional Council, 2010). The strategies applied to Lee’s Summit are applicable to other similar suburbs of Kansas City, ultimately making Lee’s Summit a catalyst for the region. The organization of the project is focused around three major sections. The first section explores and analyzes current public transit practice in terms of ridership and aesthetics. The second section explains a three-part strategy focused around a park-n-ride and a transit-oriented development, both supported by a municipal feeder bus system. The third section demonstrates design and program ideas for the park-n-ride station that provide the community with visions to promote smart growth and a sustainable future.

This thesis deals with the business strategy in the Chinese market, which is introduced a concrete example of the business strategy of Coca-Cola. According the breadth of the topic there is not included the overall business strategy of mentioned company, but corporate social responsibility, which is the third pillar of the strategy. The aim is to compare by values of social responsibility and setting the Coca-Cola's current situation on the Chinese market and local governments attitude to the main problems of this area. The first chapter is describe the economic growth and current economic development of China, which is marked by the global financial crisis. In the context of sustainable development of Coca-Cola is worth mentioning the Convention and the obligations arising from the country for membership in the ILO. This issue is devoted to the second chapter. The last chapter describes the business strategy (including the basic pillars of the strategy "4A"), with a focus on ensuring sustainable growth. This information is used not only to approach the business strategy, but also for possible access to government compared with the real situation in the country.

Companies operating in emerging markets face highly turbulent and complex environments. Russia is no exception; the firms acting on the Russian market perform in the conditions of economic instability, energy export dependence, state bureaucratic constraints and unfair competition from the part of oligarchic groups. However, despite all these challenges, more and more private owned companies manage to enjoy high growth and margins. A critical group of firms are the so-called high-growth private companies. These firms arouse special interest since they are believed to be main growth generators and, particularly in Russia, could become a key to new economic growth model. Operating in a highly turbulent Russian market requires companies to adopt and continually develop their strategies to quickly changing conditions in order to sustain growth and stay competitive in the long term. This can be achieved with the help of dynamic capabilities which serve as one of the sources of sustainable competitive advantage. However, there is a lack of research on Russian high-growth private companies and their growth strategies, even in Russian academic circles. The purpose of this study is to explain the sustainability of growth strategy by describing the linkages between Russian high-growth private companies’ dynamic capabilities, choice of growth strategy and sustainability of this growth strategy. This was studied through a qualitative multiple-case study of five Russian high-growth private companies within the IT-industry, which is one of the most rapidly developing industries in Russia. Interviews with CEOs and managers of the companies together with secondary data represent the gathered empirical data. Key issues such as companies’ dynamic capabilities, growth strategies, competitive advantages as well as the sustainability of companies’ strategies were analysed based on the empirical data. The results of the study indicate that the sustainability of company’s growth strategy depends on (1) combination of different strategic scopes (2) growth strategy foundation on company’s dynamic capabilities (3) sustainability of competitive advantage it provides (4) successful management of all the interconnected dimensions of growth. All five case companies possess sustainable competitive advantages and pursue sustainable growth strategies with a number of potential weaknesses. The study contributes to the knowledge of Russian high-growth private companies and their growth strategies as well as sustainability of growth strategies. Finally, we make recommendations for the case companies based on the results. Companies can sustain growth by building new competences and making certain changes to the existing strategies.

O uso inadequado dos recursos naturais vem causando grandes impactos ambientais, em especial a partir do século XVII, quando a natureza passa a ser vista como um bem de mercado. Instaura-se, a partir deste momento, a crise ambiental, tendo em vista a escassez dos recursos ecossistêmicos e o crescente aumento da população mundial. A não renovação dos recursos naturais, ou a sua limitação, acabam causando grandes impactos, gerando desigualdades econômicas, culturais, sociais e ambientais entre os povos. Surge a necessidade de harmonizar o desenvolvimento sustentável e o crescimento econômico, como forma de garantir o direito fundamental ao meio ambiente digno e saudável, tanto às gerações presentes como para as futuras. Nesta seara, o presente estudo aborda os serviços ambientais como estratégia na busca de uma nova civilização, de forma onde natureza e homem consigam sobreviver em simetria. A valorização dos serviços ambientais que ocorre por meio do pagamento por serviços ambientais, que é mote do estudo, sendo que a sua efetivação jurídica somente é possível por meio de implementação de políticas ambientais, não só de comando e controle, como também de motivação. O Pagamento por Serviços Ambientais surge como fator de crescimento na questão da preservação ambiental, apaziguando a dicotomia crescimento econômico e desenvolvimento sustentável e apresentando-se como nova saída para a preservação dos recursos naturais, visando o comprometimento da população de forma participativa e retributiva. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-06-06T13:51:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Carolina Beck.pdf: 1148034 bytes, checksum: afbac13744c7cbb8886c7cc6d5e65ff9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-06T13:51:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Carolina Beck.pdf: 1148034 bytes, checksum: afbac13744c7cbb8886c7cc6d5e65ff9 (MD5) / The inappropriate use of natural resources has been causing considerable environmental impacts, in particular since the seventeenth century, when nature has turned out to been seen as a market commodity. It has been established from that time on, the environmental crisis, in view of the scarcity of ecosystem resources and the increasing of the world population. The non-renewal of natural resources, or its limitation, ends up causing major impacts, generating economic, cultural, social and environmental inequalities among the peoples. It has arisen the necessity to harmonize the sustainable development and the economic growth as a way of ensuring the fundamental right to a dignified and healthy environment for both current and future generations. In this area, the present study addresses environmental services as a strategy in search of a new civilization, so where nature and man can survive in symmetry. The appreciation of environmental services which occurs through the payment for environmental services, that is a topic of the study, and its legal effectiveness, is only possible through the implementation of environmental policies not only command and control, but also as motivation. The Payment for Environmental Services comes as an element of growth in the issue of environmental preservation, appeasing the dichotomy between economic growth and sustainable development, presenting itself as a new way out for the preservation of natural resources, aiming the commitment of the population in a participatory and retributive way.

The aim of thesis is to examine the impact of fisheries policy on sustainable growth of sources of fish stocks and the economic growth of three selected countries: New Zealand, Peru and Japan in time period since 1990 to 2013. The theoretical part defines basic concepts, strategies and policies. This section explains the right, wealth or culture based management models of fisheries. The practical part is focused on analysing influence of fisheries on economic growth and its indicators in the period of 1990 to 2013 for selected countries. This thesis analyses the situation of fisheries, including historical development, current situation and the importance of fishing in the selected economies. In this part the thesis presents investigation of the effectiveness of various policies and subsequently comments recommendations for improving the situation of fisheries in the future. The work is performed by using descriptive, comparative and factorial analysis and using data published by statistical offices, ministries of selected areas and international organizations such as FAO, UN and OECD.

Bakgrund: På global nivå har det vuxit fram en debatt avseende hållbar utveckling. Företag började aktivt arbeta för att främja denna utveckling, vilket gjorde att hållbarhetsredovisning som frivillig rapportering kom att utvecklas Syfte: Studien syftar till att undersöka varför noterade fastighetsbolag hållbarhetsredovisar, hur innehållet i deras hållbarhetsredovisningar ser ut samt vilka incitament de har för att upprätta hållbarhetsredovisningar. Vidare syftar den till att jämföra dessa incitament med dem för bolag i andra branscher som studerats. Den syftar även till att utröna hur bolagen ställer sig till lagstiftning om hållbarhetsredovisning fr.o.m. 2017. Slutligen syftar den till att utröna huruvida bolagen idag använder sig av frivilliga redovisningsnormer, särskilt GRI:s riktlinjer för hållbarhetsredovisning. Metod: Uppsatsen bygger på kvalitativ metod och baseras dels på studier av bolagens hållbarhetsredovisningar för 2015, dels en enkät till elva fastighetsbolag, noterade på Nasdaq Stockholm OMX. Enkäten besvarades av sju av bolagen och innefattade huvudsakligen frågor om vilka incitament bolagen har för att avge hållbarhetsredovisningar, samt deras inställning till den kommande lagstiftningen. Resultat: Sex av sju respondenter har angivit att efterfrågan från ägare, samt bidrag till långsiktig lönsamhet utgör viktiga incitament för hållbarhetsredovisning. Dessa incitament angavs också i studierna av livsmedelsbranschen, telekombranschen samt klädbranschen. Fastighetsbranschen särskiljer sig dock från de tre andra branscherna genom att fyra av sju bolag uppger ansvarstagande för samhälle och miljö som incitament, vilket också återspeglades i hållbarhetsredovisningarna. Nio av elva bolag hållbarhetsredovisar enligt GRI:s riktlinjer, då de är de mest vedertagna inom branschen. Synen på den kommande lagstiftningen avseende hållbarhetsredovisningen, som fyra bolag gav är att den ligger i tiden samt sätter fokus på hållbarhetsfrågan ur ett affärsmässigt perspektiv. / Background: At the global level, a debate on sustainable development has emerged. Companies started to actively promote this trend, which enabled the development of voluntary sustainability reporting. Aim: The study aims to examine why listed real estate companies publish sustainability reports, what information is included in these reports and what incentives the companies have to issue sustainability reports. Furthermore, it aims to compare these incentives with those of companies in certain other industries. It also aims to determine the companies´ positions on the legislation concerning sustainability reports, coming into effect in 2017. Finally, it aims to establish whether the companies currently use voluntary reporting standards, particularly the GRI guidelines for sustainability reporting. Method: The thesis uses a qualitative method and is based on studies of each company's sustainability report for 2015 and a questionnaire sent to eleven real estate companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. The questionnaire was answered by seven of the eleven companies and included questions concerning what incentives companies have to issue sustainability reports, as well as their attitude towards the future legislation. Results: The two incentives for establishing sustainability reports that were stated by most, six of the seven, of the respondents, were the demand from owners and the contribution to long-term profitability. These incentives were also reported regarding companies in the food industry, the telecommunications industry and the clothing industry. The real estate companies are distinguished from the other three industries due to the fact that four of the seven respondents named society and the environment as incentives. Ten of the eleven companies published sustainability reports that declared what actions the company had taken in order to build a sustainable society. All eleven companies published sustainability reports that declared what actions that had been taken in order to decrease the companies’ environmental effects. Nine of the eleven companies publish sustainability reports following the directions outlined in GRI guidelines. The companies use these guidelines, as they are the most recognized in the industry. Four of the eleven companies gave their views on the upcoming Swedish act regarding sustainability reports. Their view is that the act reflects the global discussions and that it shows that sustainability issues are important from a business perspective.