CSR approach is getting noticed by more and more scholars and practitioners to assist MNC subsidiaries¡¦ performance and survival. Prahalad (2004) argued MNCs need to be able to explore and exploit opportunities from undeveloped or developing countries in pursuit of their continuous profitability and sustainability. However, how MNC subsidiaries can be organized to approach and discover the local people and social needs from emerging economies is still a question to be answered. Porter & Kramer (2002) proposed strategic CSR approach for firms to getting into sustainability. By all means of strategic CSR, firms truly realize sustainability that simultaneously obtaining economic, social and environmental performance when the CSR activities are practiced from inside out that involves the whole organization, structure, and system, and meanwhile links with firm strategies. This research adopted system perspective incorporating RBV and stakeholder perspective to systematically examine how internal CSR-related processes interact to influence MNC subsidiaries¡¦ sustainability in host country. We accordingly looked into the CSR practices and the related management processes implemented by XI MNC subsidiaries in China and Taiwan through case interviews. We identified that CSR international coordination mechanism, HRM, and TMT leadership are all important processes through which MNC subsidiaries reach sustainability in host countries by CSR practices. Besides, we found that a strong corporate social culture within subsidiaries built up through the abovementioned processes is an important factor that leads to subsidiaries¡¦ sustainability. In addition, we identified stakeholder relational capital derived from these CSR-related processes is another critical, firm-specific resource to facilitate MNC subsidiaries¡¦ sustainable performance. On the whole, the findings upon the case studies of our research proposed a systematic MNC subsidiaries CSR framework that explains how, why, and under which influential factors CSR practices are implemented. This research therefore can contribute to the theoretical developments in CSR theories, RBV, and international management theories as well as firms¡¦ management practices in conducting CSR for sustainability.

This dissertation investigates how executives engage in information technology projects and how organizational control of IT projects forms and evolves over time. It contains an in-depth account of a large, multi-year IT project in a financial company. The story of the “New Deposit System” project provides insights into the dynamics of IT projects in organizations and the challenges facing executives engaging in the governance of these complex undertakings. Several characteristics of IT projects, such as their abstract nature, technological complexity and non-repetitiveness, render several of the manager’s trusted forms of control impracticable. Even the ideal of “strong top management support” is found to be problematic: it is an extraordinary measure unlikely to translate well into regular organizational practice. What we find instead are actors in search of means and ways to exercise influence. We find control to be reciprocal and dynamic, influenced by the organization and its history, by the principles and practices of corporate IT management and by the values and norms of the IT profession. In this environment, selection of key people, evolving trust, other people’s assessments and the construction and reshaping of a project image become important parts of the managerial repertoire for IT project governance. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2002

Problematisering: Företag står inför utmaningar som handlar om att inkludera hållbarhetsbegreppets tre dimensioner: det ekonomiska, sociala och miljömässiga ansvaret. Påtryckningar ökar från samhällets olika intressenter, som sätter press på att företag och företagsledare agerar ansvarsfullt. Hållbarhet är idag en aktuell och relevant fråga som företag, styrelser och ledare på något sätt får ta i beaktning på grund av dessa påtryckningar från samhället. Relationen mellan ledarskap och hållbarhet är, enligt oss, en samhällsaktuell fråga för företag. Det finns idag omfattande forskning kring ledarskap och en hel del forskning om hållbarhet. Forskningen däremellan är däremot relativt outforskad. Det behövs därför en förståelse för hur denna relation ser ut. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att bidra till förståelse av hur relationen mellan ledarskap och hållbarhet ser ut i ett svenskt företag, samt identifiera de aspekter i ledarskapet som kan vara av betydelse för hållbarhet. Metod: För att besvara syftet är denna studie uppbyggd av en pilotstudie och en enfallsstudie av kvalitativ karaktär, där vi har genomfört semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem ledare i ledningsgruppen på Transdev Sverige AB. Studien har en induktiv ansats. Slutsats: Resultatet från denna studie har visat att relationen mellan ledarskap och hållbarhet ser olika ut. Ledningsgruppens kontext och ledarnas ansvarsområden har varit avgörande i beskrivningen av hur relationen ser ut. Kontexten och ansvarsområdena har dessutom varit avgörande för var i hållbarhetsbegreppet ledarna lägger sin tyngdpunkt. Relationen beskrivs vidare utifrån tre identifierade “relationsbyggare”: mål, moral och kunskap. Dessa tre är aspekter som vi anser vara av betydelse för hur relationen ser ut i denna studies specifika kontext. / Background: Due to increasing expectations and demands from different stakeholders, companies are being called upon to take actions to integrate the three dimensions of sustainability; economic, social and environmental. Corporate sustainability is therefore an inevitable topic of discussion among business organisations and top executives. Separately, there is extensive research on the two topics leadership and sustainability. However, the amount of research of the intersection of these two research fields is scarce and fairly unexplored, which makes this an interesting field of study. As a result of the actuality evolving around leadership and sustainability for corporations and the above stated lack of research, there is a need of a deeper understanding of the relationship between leadership and sustainability. Aim: The aim of this study is to understand the relationship between leadership and sustainability, as well as identifying aspects in the leadership that could be of importance regarding sustainability leadership. Methodology: This is a qualitative case study using a hermeneutics perspective of interpretation. The empirical data consist of a pilot study and five semi-structured interviews with top executives at Transdev Sverige AB. The study revolves around the empirical data and is therefore to be considered to have an inductive approach. Conclusion: The findings of the study has shown that the relationship between leadership and sustainability differ. The context of the top management team and the responsibility of the leaders have been vital in the explanation of their relationship. The context and the area of responsibility have additionally been vital in order to identify where in the sustainability spectrum the leader position himself. The relationship is further explained by three identified “relationship builders”; goal, morale and knowledge. We consider that these three aspects are of relevance to understand the relationship between leadership and sustainability within the specific context of this study.

Cette thèse de doctorat examine la carrière des managers dans un contexteinternational. Plus précisément, elle s’intéresse aux parcours et modèles de carrièredans un contexte en évolution en prenant comme exemple le cas des managersinternationaux. Nous nous focalisons sur la nature évolutive des carrièresmanagériales, les environnements organisationnels et globaux dans lesquels lescarrières se développent, et la relation réciproque qui existe entre des carrières etdes environnements en évolution. Tous ces aspects sont explorés à travers troisarticles qui reposent sur trois terrains empiriques distincts.Le premier article analyse les profils de carrière des top managers européens dansun contexte d’internationalisation accrue. Des données sur le profil et la carrière deplus de 900 top managers dans quatre pays ont été collectées et analysées. Le butest de vérifier l’hypothèse d’une stabilité des modèles nationaux de carrière etd’identifier les éléments nouveaux liés à l’internationalisation.Le deuxième article se focalise sur les profils des dirigeants des plus grandesentreprises suisses. Nous nous sommes intéressés à l’évolution historique sur 30ans (1980–2010) des profils et des carrières d’environ 600 top managers. Cet articlemet en évidence le développement en Suisse d'une communauté internationale detop managers étrangers et analyse les changements dans leurs profils et dans leurscarrières.Le troisième article s’intéresse à l'adaptation interculturelle d'une population de 152employés étrangers (expatriés traditionnels, expatriés volontaires, migrants qualifiés)et 126 conjoints. Cet article étudie différents aspects de l'adaptation, en seconcentrant sur la maîtrise de la langue locale et les pratiques organisationnelles desoutien à l’expatriation. / This doctoral dissertation examines the career of managers in an international context. Specifically, this research focuses on careers patterns in a changing environment using the case of international managers (i.e. managers with a career that develops globally). More broadly, the research looks at the evolving nature of managerial careers, the organizational and global environments in which careers develop, and the reciprocal relationship between changing careers and changing environments, specifically in the context of those with global careers. All these aspects are explored in this doctoral dissertation with three research articles that use three different sets of empirical data.The first article analyzes the career profiles of top European managers in the context of increased internationalization. Data on profiles and careers of more than 900 top managers in four countries has been collected and analyzed. The purpose is to verify the hypothesis of stability in national career models and identify new elements related to internationalization. The second article focuses on the profiles of top managers at the biggest Swisscompanies. We focused on the evolution of profiles and careers of about 600 topmanagers over a 30-years period (1980–2010). This article highlights the development of an international community of foreign top managers in Switzerland and analyzes the changes in their profiles and careers.The third article focuses on the cross-cultural adjustment of a population of 152foreign employees (traditionally-assigned expatriates, self-initiated expatriates, skilled migrants) and 126 spouses. This article studies different aspects of adjustment, focusing on local language proficiency and relocation support practices.

This study develops an original theoretical model of critical managerially controllable factors that have high potential for achieving significant improvements in the (intermediate and ultimate) outcome(s) of product innovation efforts. To this end, the author draws on the relevant empirical literature and integrates four complementary theoretical perspectives, namely; the critical success factors (CSFs) approach, the resource-based view (RBV), the input-process-output (IPO) model, and the system(s) approach. The model (hereafter CFEMOs) aims to explicate the simultaneous direct and indirect/mediated interrelationships among the product innovation’s critical firm-based enablers (new-product fit-to-firm’s skills and resources, internal cross-functional integration, and top-management support), process execution proficiency, and performance outcomes (operation-level performance, product-level performance, and firm-level performance). Additionally, it aims to predict the variations of the process execution proficiency and the performance outcomes. The CFEMOs model was empirically tested using an online survey that was completed by 386 U.S. restaurants owners/senior executives on their recently innovated new menu-items. By utilising a partial least squares structural equation modelling, the statistical analysis substantiated that, compared to the models of the extant relevant empirical studies, the CFEMOs model has a broader scope and a superior predictive power. It simultaneously explains 72% of the process execution proficiency, 67% of the new menu-item superiority (quality, speed-to-market, and cost-efficiency), 76% of new menu-item performance (customer satisfaction, sales, and profits), and 75% of the new menu-item contribution to the overall restaurant performance (sales, profits, and market share). Furthermore, this study established that those restaurateurs who concurrently succeed in enhancing their internal cross-functional integration, top-management support, and new-product fit-to-firm’s skills and resources, descendingly ranked, would achieve high process execution proficiency, which subsequently would grant them superior operation-level performance, product-level performance, and firm-level performance. This thesis concludes by providing several key original contributions and crucial implications to product innovation research and practice, as well as offering several promising avenues for future research.

The dissertation examines the impact of Organizational Life Cycle (OLC) and the Country Socio Economic Characteristics (CSEC) on Top Management Team (TMT) Characteristics. The dissertation first elaborates and establishes the theoretical link between Organization Life Cycle, Country Socio-Economic Characteristics and characteristics of TMT. Second, a quantitative empirical study is conducted to test the OLC phases and CSEC impact on the TMT characteristics through characteristics. The dissertation outlines a detailed research methodology based on the state-of-art in the area of OLC, TMT and CSEC that will be implemented to answer the key research questions in regards to the scope of the doctoral thesis. Data set is collected from the 300 largest Swiss, German and Czech companies at year-end 2011, including detailed data on the country socio economic characteristics and career backgrounds of all TMT members (executive boards) at these companies at the end of 2011. A detailed procedure is developed to accurately classify organizations at different lifecycle phases, drawing extensively on existing literature and scales. Multilevel data analysis techniques are employed to understand how the different organization lifecycle phases influence both the level of TMT characteristics as well as changes in TMT composition and diversity due to inbound and outbound mobility of top managers over time. Substantial research synergies and knowledge transfer effects expected to emanate from this dissertation. In the dissertation regression and correlation analysis are applied for each phase of the companies' OLC in Switzerland, Germany and the Czech Republic. The dissertation states that more mature the company is more diversified the TMT are regardless the country. Also, the country impact has its own role in the relationship between the OLC and TMT characteristics which is expressed by the findings that Switzerland and Germany are more diversified than the Czech Republic in terms of TMT characteristics as gender diversity, age diversity, nationality diversity, education background of the TMTs, TMT dominant functions and TMT career length. The doctoral thesis contributes to the research by revealing relationships between TMT, CSEC and OLC theories. Also it develops methods and techniques for finding the interconnections between the OLC phases, CSEC with the TMT characteristics and the dissertation outlines the future research gaps in the area of TMT.

This cumulative dissertation investigates the role and implications of top managers in firms. By building on two influential contemporary phenomena – internationalization and digitalization – and by examining top managers from a multitude of conceptional and methodological angles, the dissertation provides novel insights to upper echelons research. The first study examines the association between top management team (TMT) internationalization and firm innovativeness and argues that the accumulation of international knowledge and resources in the TMT benefits firm innovativeness. The second study analyzes the association between CEO internationalization and firms’ strategic risk-taking, paying particular attention to various governance mechanisms that may influence this relationship. The third study explores the role and facilitating actions of top managers in response to the digital transformation. Overall, this dissertation contributes toward a more fine-grained understanding of top managers and their individual characteristics. Given the contemporary relevance of the topics under consideration, the presented findings are of significant value for both theorists and practitioners.:Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Scope of the dissertation and research gaps 1.2 Theoretical foundation 1.3 Empirical foundation 1.4 Research purpose and scientific contribution Chapter 2: Research article 1 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Theory and hypotheses 2.3 Methodology 2.4 Results 2.5 Discussion and conclusions 2.6 Limitations and future research Chapter 3: Research article 2 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Theory and hypotheses 3.3 Methodology 3.4 Results 3.5 Discussion and conclusion 3.6 Limitations and future research Chapter 4: Research article 3 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Theoretical background 4.3 Data and method 4.4 Findings 4.5 Discussion References

Background - Women are underrepresented in top management positions all over the globe. This also applies to Sweden, despite the country's long progressive and high material prosperity. This situation is particularly evident in the banking sector, where women represent approximately half of the workforce. However, in the four largest banks in Sweden, women only occupy 33,25 percent in the highest management teams and 34,5 percent on the boards. This phenomenon is often referred to as “the glass ceiling,” a set of barriers that hinder women’s accessibility to top management positions. This underrepresentation is, in turn, likely to result in a loss of potential human resources due to organizations not searching for competent candidates in approximately half of the population. Further, banks are associated with a lot of power in the society, where they have a significant impact, with a critical role in the economy, contributing to financial growth. Initiatives by for instance the EU Commission to increase gender diversity are on the high agenda. Consequently, the subject of understanding and overcoming these barriers stands high on the agenda of both politicians and researchers. Purpose - The purpose of this study is to identify barriers among women toward reaching top management positions in the commercial banking sector, as well as how women in top management positions have overcome them. By investigating the barriers and how women overcome them, we will contribute with a deeper understanding and meaningful insights to political and managerial practitioners on how they can identify and help women overcome the barriers. The foundation of the theoretical framework in this study will be based on Becker’s (1957) theory of discrimination, Social role theory, and System justification theory will lay the foundation of the theoretical framework in this study. Method - This study is based on qualitative research with a multiple case study in the banking sector in Sweden. Conclusion - We conclude that the most common barriers are based on stereotypical beliefs, the balance between private life and work, biases and discrimination, and organizational culture and structure. How to overcome these barriers is built on supporting organizations, an equal private life situation, and specifically identified personality traits.

With the ongoing globalization and changes in the economic environment, organizations need to be flexible and adaptable towards new situations and opportunities. In a context where firms strategically reach across national borders, firms are encountering differing cultural backgrounds. Multinational corporations (MNCs) are confronted with the question of how to fill executive positions. The need for employees with international expertise arises to reap the advantage of nationality diversity by matching the complexity of the global environment with the right level of board capital. Such firm managers must work in increasingly international contexts and cross-cultural environments. Scholars have regarded diversity as an essential element that helps organizations and their executives to deal with uncertainties arising from globalization. (Koles 2014). The top executives of an organization are regarded as an essential criterion for firm´s success. Top managers have considerable influence over the fate of the organizations they lead. These trends have led to increasing instability in classic employment relationships and show greater diversity and mobility within organizational and occupational boundaries (Dokko/Wilk/Rothbard 2009; Greenhaus/Callanan 2012; Biemann/Zacher/Feldman 2012; Koch et al. 2017). This dissertation further aims at advancing our empirical understanding of top managers diversity, internationalisation and their careers. The three research manuscripts that form the core of this thesis advance research on top managers in several ways and extend knowledge in the area of executive characteristics. All three manuscripts are anchored in the European context and address topics that are relevant yet underexplored in extant, mostly centred in the US and Western economies top management literature (Tosi/Greckhamer 2004; Carter et al. 2009; Boyd et al. 2012; Dauth 2012).

Background: Innovation is widely recognized to be instrumental for the sustained competitiveness of businesses, including family businesses. However, many family firms are unable to achieve innovation on their own, necessitating the shift towards collaborative innovation. Yet, due to the overlap of family and business, innovation in family firms is characterized by the so-called“innovation paradox” where family firms usually possess a greater ability to innovate but lack the willingness to do so. Accordingly, considerable attention has been given to the factors that affect the willingness of family firms in an attempt to understand and possibly resolve the innovation paradox. Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to explore how the degree of family involvement in the top management team (TMT) influences the family firm’s willingness to engage in collaborative innovation and how that influences the preferred type of collaborative innovation. By exploring the link between the degree of family involvement in TMT and the willingness in the context of collaborative innovation, our study aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the innovation paradox associated with family businesses, and thereby offer important insights to practitioners, both from the family and non-family perspective. Method: Our methods were based on qualitative research with an exploratory research design and multiple case-study methods of eleven family firms. Through semi-structured interviews with both family and non-family TMT members, we gained insights into the role of family influence on family firms. We also used a cross-case analysis to compare the cases and indicate similarities and differences in order to draw our conclusions. Conclusion: The results of the study show that the degree of family involvement in the top management teams influences the family firms’ willingness to engage in collaborative innovation. Depending on the degree of family involvement as represented by the respective configurations, five patterns of influence manifestations (IM) are identified.