The  emergence of the internet and  digitisation  has  led to  the disruption/transformation of  therecorded music industry sector. This has resulted in a shift  from  physical  to  digital  sales, which has also led to a decline in the global recorded music sector revenue. Although largely attributed to piracy and illegal music downloads, some have argued that this was as a result of  the reduction in the perceived value of commercially distributed recorded music. The audio quality of music and user experience has specifically been highlighted to have suffered due to digitisation. Experience from the case of the introduction of HDTV gives an example of a similar industry sector that was able to revive itself by implementing high-definition (HD) quality standards. This thesis set out to  investigate if such an approach could be applicable to  the recording music sector in order to create a similar HD music quality standard. The methodology adopted, involved performing a comparative case study to analyse what  lessons can be taken from the HDTV standardisation approach and how applicable it would be within  the recorded music sector. This was coupled  with interviews of industry actors that represent  the value creation network/chain of the recorded music sector. The result suggests that such a standardisation approach could be applicable and benefit the recorded music sector; however, this is conditional on overcoming a number of challenges that were   identified.

The literature indicates that private equity backed companies generate attractive returns on capital fortheir investors. These insights are intriguing and raise the question of what private equity firms do toachieve such performance as the majority owners of these companies. Through a qualitative multiple casestudy conducted through interviews with significant actors of two Swedish private equity firms, we ask;how can Swedish private equity firms conducting buyouts improve the operating performance for theirportfolio holdings through active ownership? By investigating chosen private equity actors we recognizedifferent value driving functions that align with the theoretical framing of the phenomenon. The findings ofthis paper highlight that the concepts’ structure, networking, and capital management can be used tocaptivate the active ownership role in driving portfolio company performance.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze the customer's perception of value through each stage of the service consumption process in connection with e-commerce. The aim is to see where in the different stages customers experience value. Method For this research a qualitative method was used in the form of semi structured interviews. Twelve interviews were conducted with women of different ages. The research has an explorative purpose, since there is little knowledge about this subject. Findings The two most clear findings from this research was that a company needs to have an easy and fast way of purchasing on the website. The other finding was that it is important to make the person feel secure and have control over the purchasing phase. If it is not easy to pay and they do not feel secure, they would consider purchasing from another website. Theoretical and practical contributions The aim with this research is to define where in the service consumption process the customer perceives the most value, in connection with e-commerce. Therefore the main theories have been the service consumption process and value creation. The findings and conclusions of this thesis could help companies with what they should develop on their websites, to make their customers perceive the most possible value.

Open Government Data, an initiative of the open government movement, is believed to have the potential to increase government transparency, accountability, and citizens' participation in government affairs. It is also posited that they will contribute to economic growth and value creation. The Canadian federal, provincial, and local governments have been actively opening and releasing open datasets about multiple subjects of interest to the public. However, evidence of the benefits of using open datasets is scant, with no empirical research undertaken to understand how the data are used and what value is being created. This study, based on a qualitative, grounded theory method, focuses on the works and experiences of 17 Canadian open data intermediary firms to discover patterns and themes that explain how the data were used, what resources were needed, the value created, and the challenges faced. The data collection is based on semi-structured interviews conducted virtually with the founder or company's executives. The data analysis provided insights into how open government data were used, the organizational challenges the open data intermediaries faced, the state of open government data, and the economic value created. The findings highlighted the key similarities and differences in the activities the open data intermediaries performed and the importance of resources and capabilities in developing products/services that contribute to economic value creation. The study concluded by listing five challenges impacting the use of open government data: (a) awareness, (b) quality of open government data, (c) competencies of users, (d) data standards, and (e) value creation.

Effective investment strategies help companies form dynamic core organizational capabilities allowing them to adapt and survive in today's rapidly changing knowledge-based economy. This dissertation investigates three valuation issues that challenge managers with respect to developing business-critical investment strategies that can have significant impacts on firm performance and growth in the competitive, information-orientated business environment. Using firm-level data collected from Taiwan, this dissertation examines specific valuation issues that are vital in shaping not only firm performance but also competitive advantages in current knowledge-based economy: (1) investments in information technology (IT), (2) human capital, and (3) corporate governance. To address these three major managerial challenges relating to firm investment strategies, this dissertation focuses on investigating the impact of three sources of business value creation, including IT investment, workforce education, and Chief Audit Executive (CAE) turnover. The results of investigating service infrastructure in the banking industry support the idea that in today's complex, fast moving multichannel business environment, evaluation of the strategic value of IT must consider both the direct impact of individual channels and the complementary relationships between IT-based channels and the traditional branch channel while constructing an effective business strategy to align IT use with firm strategic objectives. The interdependence between channels found in this study has a significant effect on firms' short term profitability and long term market competition capability, suggesting that the true value of IT will be fully realized only when coupled with complementary investments in organizational resources. Second, results of examining investments in workforce and research and development (R&D) activities in IT industries indicate that firms with more highly educated workforces have, on average, better performance. Investment in R&D for improving innovation capability is positively associated with firm performance. More importantly, higher levels of workforce education moderate the impact of R&D investment on firm performance, confirming the hypothesized interdependency between workforce education and firm innovation capabilities. In other words, firms benefit more from investment in R&D activities when they have a higher level of educated workforce. An important strategic implication from the DuPont Analysis is that the complementarity between workforce education and R&D capital reinforces a firm's differentiation strategy. Finally, the results of analyzing CAE turnover in Taiwan public companies show that CAE turnover is positively correlated with executive turnover (Chief Executive Officer [CEO] and Chief Financial Officer [CFO]) and financial restatements, which are commonly viewed as a signal of a troubled business or failure. The study also shows that CAE turnover has a negative impact on contemporaneous and future firm performance, suggesting that, to some extent, changing the head of the internal audit function conveys a negative signal to the market regarding a firm's performance. Given that the CAE monitors and assesses enterprise risk practices, the findings of this study suggest that CAE turnover could be used as an indicator of business volatility and potential business risk. The passage of the governance law which improves the quality of a firm's internal control system is found to reinforce the signaling role of CAE turnover and improve firm performance. The results of this dissertation provide important strategic insights regarding the factors managers should consider when making investment choices that are expected to align with a firm's long term development and performance. This dissertation complements literature in managerial accounting and information systems, particularly contributing to business value of IT investment, human capital, and internal audit research streams. It also addresses regulatory implications for policy makers such as regulating relevant disclosures of company information for interested parties and developing a regulatory environment that minimizes regulatory barriers which can suppress businesses and economy growth. / Business Administration/Interdisciplinary

Previous research has demonstrated that a network model of destination value creation (i.e. the Destination Value System model) based on the flows of travelers within a destination can be used to estimate and predict individual attractions’ marginal contributions to total visitor expenditures. While development to date of the Destination Value System (DVS) has focused on the value created from dyadic relationships within the destination network, previous research supports the proposition that system-level network structures significantly influence the total value created within a destination. This study, therefore, builds upon previous DVS research in order to determine the relationships between system-level network structures and total value creation within a destination. To answer this question econometric analysis of panel data covering 43 Florida destinations over the period from 2007 to 2015 was conducted. The panel data was created utilizing volunteered geographic information (VGI) obtained from 4.6 million photographs shared on Flickr. Results of econometric analysis indicate that both seasonal effects and DVS network structures have statistically significant relationships with total tourism-related sales within a destination. Specifically, network density, network out-degree centralization, and network global clustering coefficient are found to have negative and statistically significant effects on destination value creation, while network in-degree centralization, network betweenness centralization, and network subcommunity count are found to have positive and statistically significant effects. Quarterly seasonality is also found to have dynamic and statistically significant effects on total tourism-related sales within a destination. Based on the network structures of destinations and total tourism related sales within destinations, this study also uses k-means cluster analysis to classify tourism destinations into a taxonomy of six different system types (Exploration, Involvement, Development I, Development II, Consolidation, and Stars). This taxonomy of DVS types is found to correspond to Butler’s (1980) conceptualization of the destination life cycle, and additional data visualization and exploration based on the DVS taxonomy finds distinct characteristics in destination structure, dynamics, evolution, and performance that may be useful for benchmarking. Additionally, this study assesses the quality of VGI data for tourism related research by comparing DVS network structures based on Flickr data and visitor intercept survey data. Support for the use of VGI data is found, provided that thousands of observations are available for analysis. When fewer observations are available, aggregation techniques are recommended in order to improve the quality of overall destination network system quantification. This research makes important contributions to both the academic literature and the practical management of destinations by demonstrating that DVS network structures significantly influence the economic value created within the destination, and thus suggests that a strategic network management approach is needed for the governance of competitive destinations. As a result, this study provides a strong foundation for the DVS model and future research in the areas of destination resiliency, “smarter” destination management, and tourism experience design. / Tourism and Sport

This research will examine how open data may be used and accessed as well as what role it plays in promoting transparency. Through this thesis, I aim to investigate how open data may be utilized to foster accountability and transparency, which would improve productivity and bring about social change. Transparency needs to be integrated not just into the systems of the ‘supply side’ or the party that is providing the information, but also into those of the users or ‘the demand side’ in order to be effective. Initiatives for transparency and accountability have emerged in the development context over the past ten years as a means of addressing democratic and developmental shortcomings.  The analysis is drawn from the existing literature around transparency and accountability initiatives and what is needed for it to be impactful. The author of this study has further examined this concept through interviews with professionals in the area of this data value chain in Zambia which has allowed for further analysis of this concept. The right data must first be disclosed for open data and transparency initiatives to result in accountability, this necessitates an awareness of the politics of data publication. Next it is important to have this data published with a ‘user centric’ frame. Further it is crucial for intermediaries to gather, analyze and make use of the data in order to create a system for accountability where by the institutions are enabled to provide better services and citizens are able to demand those services to enable value creation.

Yes / The role of closed loop supply chains (CLSC) for creating and recovering value is widely acknowledged in supply chain management and there are many examples, mainly in the business-to-business sector, of successful OEM remanufacturing. The integration of value creation and recovery activities into retail customer value propositions is, however, under researched and raises many challenges, especially in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) retail where few real world examples have been published. The recent emergence of the term ‘circular economy’ has initiated further debate about closed loop value propositions and closed loop supply chain implications. This paper selects four circular economy-led closed loop product case examples from a major European FMCG company, and assesses, at a high level, how these cases created value, for whom value was created, and key challenges in their implementation. The findings highlight that each case is different. Closing loops and creating successful value propositions is complex and requires simultaneous reconfiguration of key building blocks to ensure customer acceptance and business viability. The paper proposes the term ‘circular supply chain’ for cases where circular economy principles are explicitly incorporated in CLSC for value creation.

Yes / The circular economy is gaining momentum in corporate circles and European economic policies. However, its relevance and applicability to service dominated industries, such as tourism and hospitality, is poorly researched. This study investigates Scandinavian hotel operators’ understanding of the circular economy, its drivers, enablers, barriers, and value creation potential. This exploratory study gathers feedback from ten Scandinavian hotel chains managers and proposes a circular economy applicability framework to test the concept’s relevance to hotel operators. The research findings highlight respondents’ interest and expose introductory to intermediate level of understanding of the circular economy. Conditional to specific enabling levers, the research confirms the applicability and value creation potential of the circular economy to hotel operators. The research provides hotel operators with recommendations on circular economy value creation opportunities, deployment pathways and suggests future research directions.

Background: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a strategic tool for Swedish companies that promotes long-term success and competitiveness via transparency and ethical behaviour. While the EU emphasises on human rights across the world, ISO 26000:2010 provides non-certified guidance for organisations seeking sustainability. Despite substantial CSR research, there is a lack of knowledge of its role in building trust and generating effective social contributions. Purpose: This research intends to investigate the complex interaction between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, trust-building, and effective social contribution in the context of contemporary corporate practices. This study seeks to evaluate how CSR efforts might create stakeholder trust while addressing the growing societal concerns caused by fast development. This study examines how Swedish companies integrate CSR into their operations to achieve both social and financial value. Method: A qualitative study was conducted utilising a constructivist approach and an interpretivist philosophy. Furthermore, the methodology used a purposive sampling technique followed by snowballing to provide a wide range of sustainability experts.  Secondary data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and analysed using the Gioia method, which classified the data as first-order and second-order themes, and third-order aggregate dimensions. Conclusion: The study created a seven-step framework for effective social contribution and highlighted the significance of an integrated framework for analysing CSR benefits. Finally, the study shows how CSR builds trust by making effective social contributions and defines it by saying that a social contribution is effective when it aligns with the company's objectives, management, and skill set.