Titel: Humankapital i kunskapsintensiva konsultföretag - En kvalitativ studie om hur humankapital värderas och redovisas i kunskapsintensiva konsultföretag Bakgrund: Humankapital är en del av företagets intellektuella kapital som kan definieras som färdigheter, kompetenser och utbildning som de anställda besitter. Trots vikten av humankapital i företag och specifikt inom kunskapsintensiva företag, har värderingen och redovisningen av det som en tillgång i företagets balansräkning varit en komplex och kontroversiell fråga i decennier. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att få en bättre insikt i hur svenska kunskapsintensiva konsultföretag värderar och redovisar sitt humankapital, vi vill även undersöka hur likheterna ser ut mellan företagen. Vi vill till sist också få en insikt i vilka intressenter som kunskapsintensiva konsultföretag redovisar humankapital till och varför. Metod: En kvalitativ studie har utförts med en abduktiv ansats. Data var baserat på åtta intervjuer med antingen VD eller ekonomiansvarig i kunskapsintensiva konsultföretag. Insamlade data analyserades med en tematisk analys där vi identifierade och analyserade teman. Resultat och slutsats: Företagen värderar humankapital baserat på hur mycket personalen genererar genom branschspecifika nyckeltal. De värderar också humankapitalet kvalitativt och narrativt. Detta redovisas främst till interna intressenter så som företagsledningen, styrelsen och ägare. Den enda externa kommunikationen av humankapital sker till kunder för att del av konsulternas kompetens, erfarenhet etcetera. Två konsultföretag berättar också att deras kunder har krav på humankapitalredovisning genom CV vid uppdrag. / Title: Human capital in knowledge-intensive consulting firms – A qualitative study about how human capital is measured and reported in knowledge-intensive consulting firms Background: Human capital is a part of a firm’s intellectual capital which can be defined as the skill, competence and education of its employees. Despite the importance of human capital in firms and particularly within knowledge-intensive firms, the measuring and accounting of it as an asset in the firm’s balance sheet has been a complex and controversial topic for decades. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to gain a better insight into how Swedish knowledge-intensive consulting firms measure and report their human capital. Furthermore, we also want to investigate how the similarities is shown between the firms. Finally, we want to gain insight into which stakeholders that knowledgeintensive consulting firms report human capital to and why. Methodology: A qualitative study has been conducted with an abductive approach. The data was based on eight interviews with the CEO or the CFO in knowledgeintensive consulting firms. The collected data was analyzed with a thematic analysis where we identified and analyzed themes. Results and conclusions: The firms measure human capital based on how much the employees generate through industry-specific performance indicators. They also measure human capital qualitatively and narratively. This is mainly reported to internal stakeholders such as management, board and owners. The only external communication of human capital is to clients in order to share the consultants’ expertise, experience etcetera. Two consulting firms also say that their clients have requirements for human capital accounting through CV’s.

This study explores student-consulting firms and how a strong organizational culture can be a key to mitigate their particular challenge of high employee turnover and how their management can work with different dimensions of organizational culture as tools to embed a strong organizational culture. A student-consulting firm is a consulting firm operated by students still engaged in regular educational programs that can be considered a form of knowledge-intensive firm (KIF). This study investigates how management in these firms work with organizational cul- ture through four dimensions, symbols, heroes, rituals and ceremonies, and values. These dimensions are based on Schein [1990] and extended by input from Hofstede et al. [1990] and Bolman and Deal [2003]. The findings of this study are based on three detailed case studies conducted at the three largest student-consulting firms in Sweden where semi-structured interviews were performed to investigate how manage- ment work with different managerial tools in these four dimensions. This study concludes that there are at least eleven discreet management tools that are used in these firms to mitigate the challenges that their high employee turnover implies. The findings provide in-depth insight into these tools and their usage and effect, thereby enhancing the understanding of the role of organizational culture and providing a framework for management.

As the risk society has evolved, crisis management has become significant in order to survive a crisis. Crisis consultants have an important role in the risk society and organizations expects a whole lot from the profession. There is a gap in the research about the perceptions of crisis consultant’s role and expectancies in the risk society. Additionally, there is no research connected to the impact of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic on the profession of crisis consulting. The study aims to explore the crisis consultants view of and their role in the risk society. It also seeks to investigate how the crisis consultants have adapted to the Covid-19 pandemic. The study has been conducted through a qualitative case study consisting of various crisis consultants from diverse consultancies. The primary data consisted of eight semi-structured in- depth interviews. Crises in the risk society has become more complex due to the developing technology which has had an effect on the dispersion of information and personal exposures. Crisis consultants are expected to act as change agents who provides an outside perspective and pushes the client forward during crises. The Covid-19 pandemic has had no effect on the types of crisis and neither on the processes used by the crisis consultants. The shift lies within tools and certain procedures where social distancing and digitalization has become the new standard. Although the alterations have been challenging in some situations, the crisis consultants have still managed to fulfill their tasks and increase their workload.

Pomahač, Matěj. 2011. Headhunting: etnografie utváření osoby jako zboží. Nepublikovaná diplomová práce. Praha: FHS UK. Key Words ethnography; human resources consulting; headhunting; economic anthropology; economization; commodification; structural holes Summary This thesis is based on more than a year-long research which took place in a private human resources consulting company focused on the search for highly skilled workers (known as headhunting). The research focus was based primarily on the fact, that the author worked in the reference field as human resources consultant. This perspective enabled to focus on description and perception of everyday activities ongoing in the company in relation to its clients and candidates, from the headhunter's point of view. The data collected during the course of participant observation have been analysing with the use of Michel Callon's studies of economization and commodification in major part, and through the Ronald S. Burt's theory of structural holes in minor part. The analysis reveals the economic and political factors determining the field of headhunting practices and procedures, which headhunters use in order to face up their position of intermediary party between clients and candidates. The study also focuses on processes and technologies, by means of the...

According to scholars and organizations that focus on the performance of organizations in the nonprofit sector, retaining loyal and engaged donors has been a critical component of sustainability. Through the conceptual lens of single- and double-loop learning and organizational communications theory, this single-case study explored donor communication strategies used by 3 executive-level leaders of a nonprofit organization in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Data collected from semistructured interviews, organizational documents, and Guidestar, an online information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies, were manually coded and thematically analyzed. Two key themes emerged: effective processes for donor communication strategy development and organizational learning strategy development. Strategy development may assist this Minneapolis company’s organizational leaders with improving retention of donors and participants in the company’s programs and services, increasing action plan completion rates, and integrating the lessons learned process during the development and implementation of communication strategies to increase donor retention. By bridging the gap between performance arts and social responsibility, this company’s leaders may engage both donors and participants, resulting in favorable retention rates. These findings have implications for positive social change. Nonprofit leaders’ models of effective communications strategies and processes to improve participant and donor engagement may ensure leaders’ ability to serve and improve their communities by engaging at-risk youth in programs designed to develop performance arts and leadership skills.

This study is an attempt to develop, design, and implement procedures for better data collection in the future and for an evaluation of the services provided in the past. Conciliation Courts have developed across the country on the notion that case work services can, at best, save a marriage from divorce and, at least, can do no harm. Evaluation of the effectiveness of conciliation services is limited and contradictory. This practicum is an attempt to develop a research design which can measure the effectiveness of conciliation service. We consider the first priority to develop a work­able design which will insure response. A second priority, which will hopefully be developed next, is a value system which will give us data concerning what is effectiveness and which kinds of things need to be and can be measured by a client feedback system .

This investigative case study of how barriers to knowledge sharing manifest at the Swedish subsidiary of the global consulting firm WSP, seeks to bridge the theory-practice gap in the knowledge management literature. The investigation focused on Practice Area Networks, or PANs, which are global information and communication networks at WSP, and the extent to which these are utilized by junior and senior consultants. The method mainly relies on semi-structured interviews, where 20 interviews were held with different consultants from all business areas. Additionally, a survey with 375 respondents from across all Swedish WSP offices was conducted as well as an on-site investigation at the Stockholm office which included several discussions with different managers. The results from the investigation reveal that despite a prolific enthusiasm for knowledge sharing across WSP Sweden, barriers nevertheless manifest in both a preference for the status quo and through employees’ internal communication problems. Consequently, PANs are not readily adopted but instead an approximate quarter of consultants are both aware of PAN and active users. Since employee knowledge is amongst the most valuable assets of a consulting firm, three propositions for future research were formulated concerning the barriers to knowledge sharing.

I takt med ökade samhällsmässiga och juridiska påtryckningar på företag ökar kraven på företag att agera etiskt och i enlighet med intressenters förväntningar. En förväntning som blivit allt större är att företag ska förespråka mångfald, jämlikhet, och inkludering. Inom Europa kommer det frånoch med 2024 bli av ännu större vikt för företag att ha ett konkret mångfaldsarbete med hänsyn till nya lagar kring rapportering av mångfald på arbetsplatsen. Konsultbranschen har historiskt brottats med stora utmaningar gällande mångfald och siffror från 2018 pekar på att konsultbolag i Sverige generellt består av mer än dubbelt så många män som kvinnor. Tidigare forskning inom mångfald visar på både positiva och negativa effekter som uppstått på grund av heterogena arbetsstyrkor. Det optimistiska perspektivet argumentererar för att mångfald bidrar till fördelar som förbättrade jobbprestationer, ökad innovationsgrad, och förbättrade jobbattiyder som leder till förbättrad lönsamhet för företagen. Den pessimistiska forskningen, å andra sidan, antyder att mångfald kan innebära kostnader i form av kommunikationsproblem, fler konflikter, försämrad arbetstillfredsställelse, och lägre produktivitet. Forskare är eniga om att mångfaldshantering krävs för att mångfalden ska ge maximal nytta och för att eventuella negativa effekter ska motverkas eller minimeras.  Denna studie utfördes för att tydliggöra hur mångfaldsarbetet bedrivs på konsultbolag i Sverige och studien ämnade att besvara vilka faktorer som kan underlätta eller hindra mångfaldsarbetet, hur mångfalden bör hanteras, och slutligen, vilka effekter som kan uppstå till följd av mångfaldiga arbetsstyrkor. Studien utfördes genom kvalitativa intervjuer med respondenter från tre stora konsultbolag med verksamhet i Sverige och konsulttjänster inom digitalisering och IT. Totalt intervjuades åtta respondenter, en pilotintervju inkluderad.  Empirin är mer i linje med det optimistiska synsättet inom litteraturen då samtliga respondenter upplevde att mångfald medför stora positiva effekter. Respondenterna var dock av uppfattningen att det fanns potentiella negativa effekter, men genom korrekt mångfaldshantering ansågs dessa effekter kunna motverkas eller minimeras. Empirin pekar på att konsultbolagen i Sverige arbetar med mångfald på olika sätt, dock med jämställdhetsfrågan som en gemensam nämnare. Övriga mångfaldsdimensioner har mindre prioritet, trots att diskussioner kring dimensioner som etnicitet, LGBT, och funktionsvariationer har börjat bli mer förekommande. Med heterogena arbetsstyrkor och korrekt mångfaldshantering beskrevs det att företag kan erhålla effekter som förbättrad lönsamhet, ökad produktivitet samt förbättrade jobbattityder och prestationer. Medarbetare finner lättare trygghet och förbättrade personliga relationer på arbetsplatsen, och kunskapsspridningen ökar då medarbetarnas olika perspektiv leder till bättre problemlösningsförmåga, idégenerering, och bredare kunskapsbas. Företag med mångfald på arbetsplatsen uppfattas som mer attraktiva för både arbetstagare och kunder, och företagets konkurrensförmåga förbättras.  Mångfaldshantering krävs för att främja de positiva effekterna och motverka potentiella negativa effekter. I detta ingår högsta ledningens genuina engagemang, anpassning efter den lokala kontexten, en öppen och tillåtande organisationskultur, inkludering, utbildningar, seminarier, och work-life balance. Faktorer som kan underlätta eller hindra mångfaldsarbetet inkluderar data, resurser, fördomar, och stereotyper. / As societal and legal pressures on companies increase, so do the demands on companies to act ethically and in line with stakeholder expectations. A growing expectation is that companies should advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. In Europe, from 2024 onwards, it will be even more important for companies to have a meaningful diversity management in view of new laws on diversity reporting in the workplace. The consulting industry has historically struggled with major challenges regarding diversity and numbers from 2018 indicate that consulting firms in Sweden generally comprise more than twice as many men as women. Previous research on diversity shows both positive and negative effects arising from heterogeneous workforces. The optimistic perspective argues that diversity contributes to benefits such as improved job performance, increased innovation, and improved job attitudes leading to improved profitability for companies. The pessimistic research, on the other hand, suggests that diversity can impose costs in the form of communication problems, increased conflict, reduced job satisfaction, and lower productivity. Researchers agree that diversity management is required to maximize the benefits of diversity and to counteract or minimize any negative effects.  This study was conducted to clarify how diversity management is carried out at consulting firmsin Sweden and the study aimed to answer what factors can facilitate or hinder diversity management, how diversity should be managed, and lastly, what effects can occur as a result of diverse workforces. The study was conducted through qualitative interviews with intervieweesfrom three large consulting firms with operations in Sweden and consulting services in digitalization and IT. A total of eight interviewees were interviewed, including one pilot interview.  The empirical data is more in line with the optimistic view in the literature, as all intervieweesconsidered diversity to bring major positive effects. However, the interviewees were of the opinion that there were potential negative effects, but through proper diversity management these effects were considered to be counteracted or minimized. The empirical data indicates that the consulting firms in Sweden work with diversity in different ways, aside from gender equality which was a common denominator. Other diversity dimensions have less priority, although discussions about dimensions such as ethnicity, LGBT, and disabilities have begun to become more prevalent. With heterogeneous workforces and proper diversity management, it was described that companies can obtain positive effects such as improved profitability, increased productivity and improved job attitudes and performance. Employees are more likely to find security and improved personal relationships in the workplace, and knowledge sharing increases as the different perspectives of the diverse employees lead to better problem solving, idea generation, and a broader knowledge base. Companies with a diverse workforce are perceived as more attractive to both employees and customers, and are perceived as more competitive.  Diversity management is required to promote the positive effects and counteract potential negative effects. According to the empirical data, proper diversity management include the genuine commitment of top management, adaptation to the local context, an open and permissive organisational culture, inclusion, training, seminars, and work-life balance. Factors that can facilitate or hinder diversity efforts include data, resources, prejudices, and stereotypes.

Infrastruktursektorn har ofta varit kritiserad för brist på effektivitet och innovation i projekten. Samtidigt står infrastruktursektorn för en stor andel av koldioxidutsläppen i Sverige. De flesta länder har infört strategier och policys för att uppnå de uppsatta klimatmålen. Incitament har identifierats kunna påverka motivationen hos leverantörerna i att utveckla hållbara lösningar. Det finns en generell avsaknad av incitament kopplat till prestationer i tidiga skeden där konsulter är aktiva. Tidigare studier rekommenderar att utveckla modeller för att bistå beställaren i att agera för ökad samverkan och innovation i projekteringsprocessen. Detta examensarbete har därför till syfte att undersöka hur incitament för konsulter upplevs påverka klimatåtgärder samt vilka möjligheter, hinder och risker som finns med incitament kopplat till klimatåtgärder i tidiga skeden. Detta för att slutligen kunna nå en slutsats i vad som saknas för att kunna formulera incitament i konsultkontrakt. För att studera detta används tre incitamentsroller från tidigare forskning som teoretiskt perspektiv. Studien visar att incitament kan skapa utrymme för individer att arbeta med utvecklingsfrämjande åtgärder inom klimat förutsatt att de övergripande målen är nedbrutna på projektnivå. Incitament kan stimulera och motivera till en ökad prestation i organisationer i projekt med stark fokus på tid och kostnad. För att det ska fungera, behöver det finnas en mätbarhet i incitamentet för att konsulten ska kunna utföra arbetet och beställaren ska kunna utvärdera. Det finns en risk att andra områden blir nedprioriterat till följd av att incitament kopplas till ett specifikt område. I tidiga skeden finns det en högre påverkansgrad att optimera lösningar som kan leda till minskad klimatbelastning. Studien visar att det finns en avsaknad av vad klimatpåverkan är i ett projekt i normalfall, och detta behöver definieras i syfte att kunna mäta klimatreducerande åtgärder mot normalfallet eftersom mätbarheten anses viktig. Vidare har projektledarens engagemang och målstyrning i frågan en avgörande roll i hur framgångsrikt ett incitament blir. Det anses viktigt att tydliggöra målet för att skapa fokus inom organisationen, på så vis att incitament ska få önskad effekt. / The infrastructure sector has often been criticized for lack of efficiency and innovation in projects. At the same time, the infrastructure stands for a major amount of the carbon dioxide emissions in Sweden. Most countries have introduced strategies and policies in order to achieve the set climate goals. Incentives have been identified to have an impact on supplier’s motivation to deliver sustainable solutions. There is an overall lack in incentives linked to performance in early stages when the consultant is involved. Previous research shows that models should be developed to assist the client in including more cooperation and innovation in the design process. Therefore, this thesis intends to investigate in how incentives for the consultant are perceived to impact climate actions. Also, what possibilities, obstacles and risks are there in including incentives linked to climate action in early stages. This is in order to reach the conclusion of what is missing in the process of forming incentives in consulting contracts. To examine these questions, three roles of incentives from previous research was used as a theoretical perspective. This study shows that incentives can create room for individuals to work with actions that aims to develop the work within climate, given that the overalls climate goals are broken down and customized for the specific project. Incentives can stimulate and motivate to enhanced performance in organisations, in projects with otherwise strong focus on time and budget. For this to work, there needs to be measurability in incentives for the consultant to be able to perform and the client to evaluate the work. However, there is a risk for other areas within the project to be down prioritized following an incentive linked to a specific area. In early stages there is a higher possibility to impact the solutions in the project, which can result in reduction of negative climate impact. The study shows that there is a lack of knowledge in matter of what the climate impact is in a project normally, and this needs to be defined in order to measure climate actions against the normal case because the measurability is considered to be important. Moreover, the project manager´s commitment and objectives management in the area plays a big role in how successful the incentives will be. It is also important to clarify the goals for the organisation to focus on, by doing this the incentive can reach the desired effect.

Infrastruktursektorn har ofta varit kritiserad för brist på effektivitet och innovation i projekten. Samtidigt står infrastruktursektorn för en stor andel av koldioxidutsläppen i Sverige. De flesta länder har infört strategier och policys för att uppnå de uppsatta klimatmålen. Incitament har identifierats kunna påverka motivationen hos leverantörerna i att utveckla hållbara lösningar. Det finns en generell avsaknad av incitament kopplat till prestationer i tidiga skeden där konsulter är aktiva. Tidigare studier rekommenderar att utveckla modeller för att bistå beställaren i att agera för ökad samverkan och innovation i projekteringsprocessen. Detta examensarbete har därför till syfte att undersöka hur incitament för konsulter upplevs påverka klimatåtgärder samt vilka möjligheter, hinder och risker som finns med incitament kopplat till klimatåtgärder i tidiga skeden. Detta för att slutligen kunna nå en slutsats i vad som saknas för att kunna formulera incitament i konsultkontrakt. För att studera detta används tre incitamentsroller från tidigare forskning som teoretiskt perspektiv. Studien visar att incitament kan skapa utrymme för individer att arbeta med utvecklingsfrämjande åtgärder inom klimat förutsatt att de övergripande målen är nedbrutna på projektnivå. Incitament kan stimulera och motivera till en ökad prestation i organisationer i projekt med stark fokus på tid och kostnad. För att det ska fungera, behöver det finnas en mätbarhet i incitamentet för att konsulten ska kunna utföra arbetet och beställaren ska kunna utvärdera. Det finns en risk att andra områden blir nedprioriterat till följd av att incitament kopplas till ett specifikt område. I tidiga skeden finns det en högre påverkansgrad att optimera lösningar som kan leda till minskad klimatbelastning. Studien visar att det finns en avsaknad av vad klimatpåverkan är i ett projekt i normalfall, och detta behöver definieras i syfte att kunna mäta klimatreducerande åtgärder mot normalfallet eftersom mätbarheten anses viktig. Vidare har projektledarens engagemang och målstyrning i frågan en avgörande roll i hur framgångsrikt ett incitament blir. Det anses viktigt att tydliggöra målet för att skapa fokus inom organisationen, på så vis att incitament ska få önskad effekt. / The infrastructure sector has often been criticized for lack of efficiency and innovation in projects. At the same time, the infrastructure stands for a major amount of the carbon dioxide emissions in Sweden. Most countries have introduced strategies and policies in order to achieve the set climate goals. Incentives have been identified to have an impact on supplier’s motivation to deliver sustainable solutions. There is an overall lack in incentives linked to performance in early stages when the consultant is involved. Previous research shows that models should be developed to assist the client in including more cooperation and innovation in the design process. Therefore, this thesis intends to investigate in how incentives for the consultant are perceived to impact climate actions. Also, what possibilities, obstacles and risks are there in including incentives linked to climate action in early stages. This is in order to reach the conclusion of what is missing in the process of forming incentives in consulting contracts. To examine these questions, three roles of incentives from previous research was used as a theoretical perspective. This study shows that incentives can create room for individuals to work with actions that aims to develop the work within climate, given that the overalls climate goals are broken down and customized for the specific project. Incentives can stimulate and motivate to enhanced performance in organisations, in projects with otherwise strong focus on time and budget. For this to work, there needs to be measurability in incentives for the consultant to be able to perform and the client to evaluate the work. However, there is a risk for other areas within the project to be down prioritized following an incentive linked to a specific area. In early stages there is a higher possibility to impact the solutions in the project, which can result in reduction of negative climate impact. The study shows that there is a lack of knowledge in matter of what the climate impact is in a project normally, and this needs to be defined in order to measure climate actions against the normal case because the measurability is considered to be important. Moreover, the project manager´s commitment and objectives management in the area plays a big role in how successful the incentives will be. It is also important to clarify the goals for the organisation to focus on, by doing this the incentive can reach the desired effect.