Abstract Nowadays, construction projects are implemented in highly demanding and complex built environments that require multisectoral and multidisciplinary efforts and collaboration between the project stakeholders with divergent interests, objectives, and backgrounds. Successful collaboration is one of the most efficient ways to enhance project value creation and gain better results, especially when it integrates stakeholders with different kinds of expertise and contributions. However, stakeholder management, involvement, and integration have been seen as a difficult issue, particularly in the early project phases, and have frequently resulted in conflicts and partial failures due to the lack of practical tools for managing the stakeholders and understanding their roles. The purpose of this dissertation is to enhance the understanding of how value creation can be enhanced through early stakeholder involvement and integration in the context of construction. The research applies a qualitative research approach and utilizes the case study methodology. The data for this research was collected through a survey and semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that project value creation can be increased by early stakeholder involvement and integration. However, it demands systematic stakeholder management practices in order to identify the different project-specific stakeholders and their requirements for the project. The results also show that the salience of the stakeholders varies within a project and from project to project, and some of the stakeholders are always more important than others. Nevertheless, all the stakeholders usually have the change to impact on and contribute to the project, positively or negatively. To exploit the expertise of a project stakeholder or to avoid the problems caused by the stakeholders, the framework for stakeholder identification and classification was created in this dissertation. / Tiivistelmä Rakennusteollisuuden projektien sekä rakennetun ympäristön muuttuminen yhä dynaamisemmaksi ja monimutkaisemmaksi edellyttää projektin sidosryhmien yhä aktiivisempaa ja syvällisempää osallistamista, yhteistyötä sekä vaatimusten huomioimista projektien määrittelyvaiheesta alkaen. Muilla teollisuuden aloilla sidosryhmien aikaisella osallistamisella projektin alusta alkaen on huomattu olevan positiivinen vaikutus projektien parempaan arvontuottoon ja tavoitteiden saavuttamiseen. Osoitetuista hyödyistä ja joistain hyvistä kokemuksista huolimatta, sidosryhmien osallistaminen ja integroiminen on osoittautunut yleisesti ottaen erittäin vaikeaksi ja haasteelliseksi, erityisesti vaativien ja kompleksisien projektien osalta. Pääsääntöisesti ongelmat johtuvat puutteellisesta toimintavavoista sekä tottumattomuudesta sidosryhmien kokonaisvaltaiseen osallistamiseen ja johtamiseen, mikä on usein johtanut sidosryhmien välisiin ristiriitoihin ja hankkeiden, ainakin osittaiseen, epäonnistumiseen. Tämän väitöstutkimuksen tavoite on tutkia, että miten rakennusprojektien arvontuottoa voidaan parantaa sidosryhmien aikaisella osallistamisella ja integroinnilla. Tutkimus on laadullinen tapaustutkimus, jonka empiirinen aineisto on hankittu kyselyllä sekä haastatteluilla eri rakennusteollisuuden projekteista. Tulokset vahvistavat käsityksen, että sidosryhmien aikainen osallistaminen ja integroinnilla projektin arvontuottoa kaikille sidosryhmille voidaan tehostaa. Tämä kuitenkin vaati systemaattisia toimintatapoja ja prosesseja, jotta projektin kannalta keskeisimmät sidosryhmät ja heidän vaateensa kyetään tunnistamaan sekä osaaminen voidaan hyödyntää. Tulokset myös osoittavat, että projektin sidosryhmät eivät ole tasavertaisia keskenään ja heidän keskeisyytensä vaihtelee sekä projektin aikana että projektikohtaisesti. Tästä huolimatta, yleensä kaikki sidosryhmät voivat vaikuttaa, tavalla tai toisella, projektiin joko positiivisesti tai negatiivisesti. Jotta sidosryhmät voitaisiin osallistaa mahdollisimman tehokkaasti, ja näin ollen hyödyntää heidän osaaminen ja välttää ongelmat, luotiin tässä tutkimuksessa viitekehys sidosryhmien tunnistamiseksi, arvioimiseksi ja luokittelemiseksi.

Bien que le thème des liens interconseils fasse régulièrement l’objet de discussions supposant un effet disciplinaire négatif du cumul de mandats, l’inventaire de la littérature empirique ne permet pas d’obtenir une image claire concernant l’impact des réseaux d’administrateurs sur la performance des entreprises liées. La divergence des résultats s’explique tant par la mobilisation de grilles théoriques négligeant des éléments importants des liens personnels, que des divers critères utilisés pour mesurer la création de valeur. Dans l’objectif d’obtenir des réponses plus concluantes concernant l’impact du partage d’administrateurs communs sur la création de valeur de la firme, nous avons modélisé, à l’aide d’une structure théorique « bi-céphale », les contributions potentielles des liens interconseils à la performance. Notre modèle repose sur la théorie synthétique de la gouvernance. Il mobilise deux voies d’intervention disciplinaire (la surcharge temporelle des « cumulards » et l’effet de réputation exercé par le marché du travail des administrateurs externe) et trois leviers cognitifs (l’apport d’informations et de connaissances, l’apport de compétences généralistes et spécifiques, ainsi que leur combinaison et l’exploitation). À ces facteurs s’ajoutent différentes variables médiatrices et de contrôle. Pour tester la validité de notre modèle, nous avons mené une étude empirico-comparative des liens interconseils existant entre les plus grandes entreprises françaises et allemandes, observés sur la période 2001-2005. Dans la partie descriptive, nous avons examiné, tant pour un échantillon bi-national que pour des sous-échantillons, les caractéristiques des réseaux d’administrateurs contemporains de part et d’autre du Rhin. La partie empirique teste, à l’aide de régressions en données de panel, l’influence des liens sur deux mesures de performance (un critère ex ante et un indicateur ex post). Les tests montrent que les effets de liens interconseils varient selon le type de mandats cumulés. De surcroît, le modèle confirme les contributions supposées importantes des administrateurs multimandats en termes cognitifs et leur impact majoritairement favorable sur la création de valeur. L’anticipation des effets des liens interconseils par les marchés s’avère plus forte que ce que montre l’analyse de leur influence sur la mesure de performance ex post. / Although interlocking directorates are regularly associated with a negative connotation, empirical evidence is far away from offering convincing answers about the performance effects of directorship interlocks. The huge variety of contradicting results can be explained both by the use of different theoretical frameworks and different value creation measures. In order to shed more light on the question of the role of busy directors, we develop a two-pillar model explaining the potential contributions of directorship interlocks to shareholder value creation. Based on a synthetic view of corporate governance, the model uses two disciplinary (work overload of busy directors and incentive effects coming from the external labor market of corporate directors) as well as three cognitive intervention levers (provision of information and knowledge, provision of general and specific competences, combination and exploitation of those elements). Moderating and controlling variables are added. The appropriateness of the model is tested through a 5-year comparison (2001-2005) of director networks within the largest French and German companies. We first present, both for a bi-national sample and national sub-samples, the major characteristics of the identified interlocks. In the empirical part, we conduct a panel data analysis checking for the influence of busy directors on corporate performance. We use two performance measures: one ex ante, the other ex post. Empirical tests indicate that the performance effect of interlocks depend on the type of board seats accumulated. Moreover, statistical modeling confirms the existence of cognitive contributions of director networks and shows mostly positive effects on value creation. Also, markets seem to anticipate director effects – both negative and positive – in a stronger way than an ex post performance analysis shows. / Obgleich das Thema „personelle Unternehmensverflechtungen über den Aufsichtsrat“ re-gelmäßig im Fokus öffentlicher Diskussionen steht – wobei in der Regel eine negative Wirkung der Mandatekumulation auf die Kontrolleffizienz des Überwachungsgremiums und damit letztlich auf die Unternehmensperformance unterstellt wird –, zeigt eine Analyse der empirischen Litera-tur, dass insbesondere in Kontinentaleuropa eine klare Schlussfolgerung hinsichtlich der Wirkung von Mehrfachmandaten auf die Wertschöpfung für die Aktionäre nicht möglich ist. Ursache für die starke Divergenz der Ergebnisse scheint sowohl die Verwendung verschiedener theoretischer Erklärungsmodelle als auch die Mobilisierung unterschiedlicher Messgrößen der Unternehmens-performance zu sein. Mit dem Ziel aussagekräftigere Ergebnisse zur Rolle der Mehrfachmandate und ihres Einflusses auf die Wertschöpfung zu erhalten, untersucht die nachfolgende Studie unter Zuhilfenahme eines 2-Säulen-Modells die verschiedenen potenziellen Wirkungen von Aufsichts-ratsverbindungen auf den Shareholder Value. Das erklärende Modell basiert auf einer erweiterten Governance-Theorie. Hierbei werden neben zwei traditionellen, die Disziplin im Kontrollorgan beeinflussenden Aspekte (zeitliche Überlastung der Mehrfachmandatsträger, Reputationseffekt des externen Arbeitsmarktes für Aufsichtsräte), drei kognitiv-strategische Einflüsse (Zugang zu Informationen und Kenntnissen, Einbringung genereller und spezifischer Kompetenzen, Zusam-menführung und Nutzbarmachung dieser Faktoren) modelliert. Außerdem werden diverse Media-tor- und Kontrollvariablen hinzugefügt. Die Gültigkeit des entwickelten Modelles wurde in einer vergleichen empirischen Analyse der Aufsichtsratsverflechtungen der größten deutschen und französischen Aktiengesellschaften für den Zeitraum 2001-2005 überprüft. Im deskriptiven Teil werden sowohl für eine 2-Länder-Stichprobe als auch für die nationalen Stichproben die Haupt-merkmale der Aufsichtsratsnetzwerke auf beiden Seiten des Rheins dargestellt. Im empirischen Teil wird mittels Panel-Regressionen der Einfluss der Verflechtungen auf zwei Performancemaβe untersucht (ein ex ante- und ein ex post-Indikator). Die Analysen zeigen, dass die Wirkung der Verflechtungen von der Art der zugrunde liegenden Mandatekumulation abhängen. Auf kogniti-ver Ebene können die unterstellten positiven Einflüsse von Mehrfachmandaten auf die Perfor-mance mehrheitlich bestätigt werden. Zudem kann festgestellt werden, dass die Kapitalmärkte deutlich stärker auf personelle Verflechtungsaspekte reagieren als es eine ex post-Analyse der Wertschöpfung vermuten lässt.

L’objectif de ce travail de recherche a été de contribuer à répondre à la question suivante : dans quelle mesure les médias constituent-ils un mécanisme de gouvernance d’entreprise ? Après avoir réalisé une revue de littérature, trois questions de recherche ont été formulées. Tout d’abord, la question du rôle de la presse en tant que mécanisme de gouvernance d’entreprise disciplinaire a été posée, puis, plus précisément, celle de son rôle en tant que mécanisme de gouvernance disciplinaire partenariale, et enfin celle de mécanisme de gouvernance normative au sens néo-institutionnel. Chaque question a fait l’objet d’un essai. Tout d’abord, l’efficacité de la presse dans la révélation des fraudes commises par les entreprises, avant qu’une autorité officielle ne la sanctionne, a été examinée au moyen de régressions logistiques et d’analyse d’articles de presse. Ensuite, l’influence de la presse sur les dirigeants du groupe Danone a été analysée, par une étude de cas, de 1996 à 2008. Enfin, une étude de cas portant sur les liens entre divers types de presse a permis d’étudier leur rôle et leur influence dans la normalisation et la diffusion d’idées et de pratiques en matière de gouvernance d’entreprise. Premièrement, l’efficacité de la presse en tant que mécanisme de gouvernance disciplinaire doit être relativisée. Sous l’hypothèse de maximisation de ses profits, la presse française choisit les entreprises qu’elle couvre et les fraudes qu’elle révèle. Elle est plutôt une presse informative qu’une presse investigatrice. La complémentarité des mécanismes de gouvernance est confortée comme facteur d’efficacité du système de gouvernance. Deuxièmement, la presse est un mécanisme efficient de gouvernance partenariale : elle parvient à inciter les dirigeants d’entreprise à chercher à créer de la valeur partenariale plutôt qu’actionnariale. Troisièmement, l’homogénéisation actuelle de formes organisationnelles concernant la gouvernance d’entreprise semble s’expliquer par le rôle de la presse en tant que mécanisme de gouvernance d’entreprise normative au sens néo-institutionnel. / The objective of this research had to contribute to the question: are media a corporate governance mechanism ? After doing a literature review, three research questions were asked. First, the question about the role of press as a corporate governance disciplinary mechanism was asked, then as a corporate governance mechanism with a view to creating stakeholder value, lastly, as a corporate normative governance mechanism in a neo-institutional view. Each question was the subject of one essay. First, the efficiency of press to reveal frauds of firms before an official authority was analyzed. In this purpose, logistic regression and an examination of articles of press was done. Second, the influence of press on the Danone Group’s direction was studied with a case study between 1996 and 2008. Third, to understand the influence between several kinds of press and their role in the normalization and the circulation of ideas and practical experiences about corporate governance, a case study was done also. First, the efficiency of press as a corporate disciplinary mechanism is not always perfect. By assuming that press maximizes its profits, the French press chooses the firms to cover and the frauds to disclose. It’s more a press which informs as a press which investigates. The complementarity of corporate governance mechanisms is confirmed in the efficiency of the governance system. Second, press is an efficient mechanism in a stakeholder value creation perspective. It manages to influence CEOs to search to create stakeholder value rather than shareholder value. Third, currently we notice an homogenization of organizational forms about corporate governance. It could be explained by the role of press as a corporate governance normative mechanism in a neo-institutional perspective.

Business Process Improvement (BPI) is a challenge for most companies facing challenges in finding temporary solutions to immediate problems. An increased intertwining between the digital and the physical world leads to new ways of customer interaction. Today's digitalized society placing high demands on the digitalization of companies and insurance companies is no exception. The insurance industry is considered behind for what is required for digitization leading to unnecessarily long processing times and arbitrary assessments. A digital solution for insurance management is expected to reduce processing times and be more in line with customers' expectations. The purpose of the work is to evaluate how process improvements in claims management can be achieved via a digital customer portal. The research includes a case study at a well-established insurance company where a current situation of a claims process is mapped and evaluated through interviews and workshops. A prototype of a digital customer portal is developed and evaluated in a theoretical applicability test. Important factors for BPI are developed with the help of previous research and the study's result analyzes based on these factors. The primary result showed that BPI were generated via the digital customer portal through the factors lead times, automation, bottlenecks, quality assurance of information and value creation. Thus, the customer portal proved to be a theoretical way of being able to live up to customers' expectations of digitalization, contribute with competitiveness, customer loyalty and improved customer experience and customer service. Finally, companies can acquire knowledge about the importance of customer centering and the development of digital customer portals for BPI and which factors to consider for BPI. / Förbättring av affärsprocesser (eng. Business Process Improvement, BPI) är en utmaning för de flesta företag som ständigt står inför utmaningen att hitta tillfälliga lösningar på omedelbara problem. En ökad sammanflätning mellan den digitala och den fysiska världen leder till nya sätt för kundinteraktion. Dagens digitaliserade samhälle ställer höga krav på digitaliseringen hos företag och försäkringsbolagen är inget undantag. Försäkringsbranschen anses ligga efter vad gäller digitalisering vilket kan leda till onödigt långa handläggningstider och godtyckliga bedömningar. En digital lösning för försäkringshandläggning förväntas kunna effektivisera handläggningstider och leva upp till kundernas förväntningar. Syftet med arbetet är att utvärdera hur processförbättringar inom försäkringshandläggning kan uppnås via en digital kundportal. Arbetet omfattar en fallstudie på ett väletablerat försäkringsbolag där ett nuläge av en skadeprocess kartläggs för att sedan utvärderas genom intervjuer och workshops. En prototyp av en digital kundportal utvecklas och utvärderas i ett teoretiskt applicerbarhetstest. Viktiga faktorer för BPI tas fram med hjälp av tidigare forskning och studiens resultat analyseras utifrån dessa faktorer. Det primära resultatet var att BPI förväntades kunna uppnås via den digitala kundportalen med hänsyn till faktorerna ledtider, automatisering, flaskhalsar, kvalitetssäkring av information samt värdeskapande. Kundportalen visade sig också teoretiskt sätt kunna leva upp till kundernas förväntan av digitalisering, bidra med konkurrenskraft, kundlojalitet samt förbättrad kundupplevelse och kundservice. Avslutningsvis kan företag utifrån arbetet inhämta kunskap om kundcentreringens och utvecklingen av digitala kundportalers betydelse för BPI samt vilka faktorer att ta hänsyn till vid BPI.

There is a current rising trend of using voice assistants (VAs) to perform tasks in new ways, and various companies are considering introducing them as part of their service propositions. One such company is the railway service provider SJ AB that is interested in understanding how a VA may benefit their passengers. To better understand the utility of a VA in the railway service context, this thesis aims to explore the value creation opportunities that the introduction of such a technology presents. This exploration is done through identifying the potential functionality of such a VA, what value that functionality can create for passengers, and what barriers exist for creating that value. This identification is done through a user-centred research process, during which design probes and experience prototyping were carried out with railway passengers and analysed through qualitative content analysis. The results show that a VA presents fast, convenient, and intuitive access to a wide set of functions but is hindered by its invisible affordances and the user’s preconceptions. It shares several functions with existing channels, presented in a new way, that span the entire course of the train journey. The functionality and the identified functions primarily create utilitarian values, which connects to the passenger’s pragmatic view of the service. Furthermore, the passengers perceived the VA as an agent able to take over responsibilities and tasks from the passenger, resulting in a peace of mind but also a diminished sense of control. Finally, the railway service context affected what functionality is suitable, what values can be created and what barriers need to be considered. Some of the value creation possibilities and barriers are also contemporary and might change with shifting social norms and further technological development.

La question du niveau optimal de transparence sur les marchés financiers a trouvé un terrain de débat exemplaire : celui de la propriété économique des sociétés cotées. La conception de nouveaux produits financiers et le développement de stratégies activistes ont provoqué une remise en question des règles de déclaration de franchissements de seuils de contrôle. Cette thèse analyse les conséquences économiques des évolutions réglementaires, évalue la pertinence des déclarations de l’acquéreur, et propose un nouveau cadre conceptuel intégrant la possibilité de comportements stratégiques des acteurs concernés. Selon nos résultats empiriques, les informations contenues dans les annonces sont pertinentes, même lorsque le blockholder s’engage à rester passif. Notre modèle théorique suggère que les blockholders utilisent le délai de déclaration de manière stratégique, et qu’un raccourcissement de ce délai serait favorable aux actionnaires minoritaires. / The debate on the optimum level of transparency in financial markets found a major point of controversy: the ownership of public companies. The design of new financial products and the development of shareholder activism called the blockholding disclosure rules into question. This thesis analyzes the economic impact of changes in regulation, measures the value relevance of the content of blockholding announcements, and introduces a new conceptual framework allowing strategic behavior of the involved economic agents. According to our empirical results, the information disclosed by blockholders are value relevant, even when the blockholder commits to remain passive. Our theoretical model suggests that blockholders make a strategic use of the reporting window, and predicts that a shortening of the legal time period would be favorable to minority shareholders.

Studien syftar till att undersöka hur utbildning av de anställda påverkar deras arbetssätt med Self-Service Business Intelligence (SSBI). SSBI kan sammanfattas som en arbetsmetod baserad på dataunderlag som ger beslutstöd för anställda inom verksamheten. Vid tidigare beslutstöd som Business intelligence (BI) fanns det specifika roller som använde sig av dataunderlag och skapade rapporter. Dessa roller befann sig i IT-avdelningen och fick förfrågningar av anställda som var i behov av rapporter för att ta beslut. Syftet med SSBI är att möjliggöra för anställda att vara oberoende av IT-avdelningen och självständigt kunna analysera och tolka data för att sedan skapa rapporter. Detta är något som effektiviserar arbetet hos företag och skapar mer värde genom att underlätta för IT-avdelningen. Även om SSBI tillåter anställda till att bli mer självständiga inom sitt arbete, finns det utmaningar vid införandet. Den väsentliga utmaningen som denna uppsats fokuserar på är hur utbildning påverkar BI-användarna i sitt arbete med SSBI. Studien baseras på kvalitativa intervjuer med totalt fyra företag och fem respondenter. Frågorna som ställts har utgått från det teoretiska ramverket med teorier och modeller om självständighet, kunskap, utbildning och värdeskapande. Detta har varit en substantiell aspekt för att kunna generera kunskap om huruvida utbildning påverkar anställdas arbetssätt med SSBI.   Resultatet av uppsatsen presenterade att utbildning har en tydlig påverkan och en stor roll vid användningen av SSBI. Införandet av SSBI har lett till att anställda känner sig mer självständiga med en större frihet, däremot klarar de med formell utbildning mer avancerade arbetsuppgifter med SSBI. Arbetet inom organisationen har förenklats med SSBIeftersom navigering, definitioner och tolkning av data kan ske självständigt. Uppsatsen visar en tydlig indikation att deltagarna blivit påverkade av införandet av SSBI på olika nivåer framför allt beroende på utbildning men även tidigare kunskap och hur engagerade företag är med att kontinuerligt utveckla SSBI inom verksamheten. / The purpose of this study is to investigate how the education of employees affect their way of working with Self-Service Business intelligence (SSBI) as a working method. SSBI can be summarized as a working method based on data that provides decision support for employees within the business. In previous decision support such as Business intelligence (BI), there were specific roles that were used for data and creating of reports. These roles were in the IT department and received inquiries from employees who needed reports to make decisions. The purpose of SSBI is to enable employees to be independent of the IT department and to be able to independently analyze and interpret data so that reports can be created. With this method implemented in companies, it will create more value by creating more relief for the IT department. Although SSBI applies to employees to become more independent in their work, there are challenges with the implementation. The significant challenges that this study focuses on are how education affects BI users in their work with SSBI. The study has been conducted with qualitative interviews with a total of four companies and five respondents. The questions are based on the theories and models of independence, education, knowledge and value creation to generate knowledge whether training affects employees' working methods.  The results of the study showed a clear impact on how education plays a major role in the use of SSBI. The implementation of SSBI has made employees feel more independent with greater freedom, but with a formal education they can handle more advanced tasks with SSBI. The work within the organization has been simplified with SSBI because navigation, definitions and interpretation of data independently. The study shows a clear indication that the participants have been affected by the introduction of SSBI at different levels, primarily due to training but also previous knowledge and how committed companies are to continuously developing SSBI within the business.

This study originally emanated from the debate on value creation through projects, which has become more prevalent in project management literature in recent times. Earned value analysis, which is widely used to measure and report the performance of project value, does not include the occurrence of value leaks in its calculations and reporting. Although there is a scarcity of literature on the issue of value leaks during project deployment, it is considered to be a big issue which can make or break a project’s value success. This lack of research is more pronounced in network expansion projects in the Ghanaian telecommunication industry, however, considering the level of investment by these network operators, and their contribution to economic growth, the occurrence of value leaks can be suspected. Therefore, the overall aim of the study was to develop a diagnostic model that aids in the easy identification of value leaks, so that they can be controlled, and remedied to minimise the forgone unrealised project value. In view of this, the study adopted an exploratory sequential mixed research design. The qualitative phase employed a multiple-case study approach to explore the concept of value leaks and the extent to which it becomes problematic in delivering overall project value. The quantitative phase, through a survey study, adopted factor analysis to test and validate the findings from the case study, and analyses were also performed to test the conceptual model fit to the retained dataset. The findings culminated in the development of the “Value Leaks-Flashlight”, with an add-on called the “Tolerable Nut” to theorise the concept of value leaks. This practical establishment of the value leak concept cemented the development of the value leaks diagnostic model through the application of the “CIIR” acronym, which fulfils the overall aim of the study. The study contributes to the contemporary literature in the field of project management, as the concept of project value leaks is still gaining prominence, and only a few empirical studies have thus far been conducted. The concept of value leaks enlightens the perspective of project management practitioners in their quest to achieve value through projects. / Business Management / D. Phil. (Management Studies)

This dissertation is an inquiry into the concept of value creation, motivated by a need for orientation in our demanding times. Based on the idea that true value only arises out of human (inter)subjective evaluations, we apply a psychological perspective on individual and collective value creation, thereby investigating a micro-foundation of value, as well as its application and operationalization. The dissertation is a cumulative dissertation that begins with an introductory chapter followed by four independent, yet connected studies. In Study 1, we develop a conceptual foundation for all other studies that involves a micro-foundation of value and value awareness as the competency to recognize fundamental evaluation categories as relevant. In Study 2, we conceptually delineate organizational public value and organizational reputation, two concepts of strategic relevance to organizations, that share similarities, but differ in fundamental dimensions. In Study 3 we operationalize value awareness through a practice-oriented instrument that helps individuals reflect, understand and develop their value awareness. In Study 4, we empirically investigate the link of an organization’s corporate social responsibility and work addiction via work meaningfulness and organizational identification, as well as value awareness. The studies are diverse and have multiple implications for research and practice. Overall, we suggest that individuals and collective entities should develop and operationalize their consideration of value creation on the level of (inter)subjective human experience. To realize actual value creation, many additional factors are important, but more value awareness could play a central role in increasing the chances of finding and creating more value for ourselves, others, and society as a whole.:INTRODUCTION Abstract Motivation and Purpose Theoretical Basis Research Objectives and Studies Excursion: The Leipzig Leadership Model Discussion of Findings Implications for Research Implications for Practice Conclusion References STUDY 1: MORE VALUE AWARENESS FOR MORE (PUBLIC) VALUE: RECOGNIZING HOW AND FOR WHOM VALUE IS TRULY CREATED 68 Abstract STUDY 2: SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL REPUTATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL PUBLIC VALUE Abstract Introduction Organizational Public Value and Organizational Reputation Comparing Public Value and Reputation Implications Conclusion References STUDY 3: THE VALUE AWARENESS PROFILE AS A NEW INSTRUMENT FOR INCREASING INDIVIDUAL VALUE AWARENESS: FOUNDATIONS AND FIRST EXPERIENCES Zusammenfassung Einleitung Theoretische Grundlagen: Wertschöpfung und Wertbewusstsein Wertbewusstsein messen und schaffen: Das Value Awareness Profile Evaluierung des Instruments auf Basis erster Anwendungserfahrungen Ergebnisdarstellung, Typifikation und Hypothesen Diskussion Fazit Literaturverzeichnis STUDY 4: TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING? ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CSR AND EMPLOYEE WORK ADDICTION Abstract Introduction The Positive Outcomes and Potential Risks of CSR for Employees Work Addiction: The Best-Dressed Mental Health Problem in Business Development of Hypotheses Method Results Discussion and Conclusion References

Today's retail consumer market is characterized by global, intense competition. In times of intense competition, long-term customer relationships are described as the key to both profitability and survival, which is achieved by creating value together with customers through mutual dialogue. For e-commerce companies, the opportunities for human contacts and dialogue with customers are very few and are about to be completely absent due to the prevailing trend to implement technical elements in customer service. At the same time, a lot of research points to the fact that there are great values in offering human resources in customer service, but we know quite little about these values in an online context. We also do not know if these values are so important that companies should take them into account in their strategic decisions. Therefore, our study aims to investigate the importance of interpersonal encounters online. The purpose is fulfilled by studying and analyzing interactions in customer service to create an understanding of what values arise and what impact these have on customer relationships. This is done through a qualitative research design, with an exploratory case study of 92 email conversations between customer and customer service online, which have been processed through text analysis and coding according to social resource theory. The results show that customer service encourages different social exchanges with customers, depending on the goal of the interaction. Social exchanges of concrete resources such as money, goods and information are actions that give customers increased convenience and financial value, which strengthens the relationships if the customer is satisfied. Social exchanges of particular resources such as love, status and service form actions that give customers personal experiences and social and emotional value, which provides increased customer satisfaction but also strengthens relationships with customers even more. The exchange that takes place in interpersonal meetings online can be understood as important for developing customer relationships and competitive advantages. This study can be used to guide research in the field of research regarding service encounters and help retailers create sustainable business models and strategies. / Dagens konsumentmarknad och detaljhandel kännetecknas idag av en global, intensiv konkurrens. I tider med intensiv konkurrens beskrivs långsiktiga kundrelationer vara nyckeln till både lönsamhet och överlevnad, vilket uppnås genom att skapa värde tillsammans med kunderna genom ömsesidig dialog. För e-handelsföretag är möjligheterna till mänskliga kontakter och dialog med kunder idag väldigt få och på väg att utebli helt på grund av en rådande trend att implementera tekniska inslag i kundtjänst. Samtidigt pekar mycket forskning mot att det finns stora värden i att erbjuda mänskliga resurser i sin kundtjänst, men vi vet ganska lite om dessa värden i en online-kontext. Vi vet heller inte om dessa värden är så viktiga så att företag borde ta hänsyn till dem i sina strategiska beslut. Därför syftar vår studie till att undersöka betydelsen av mellanmänskliga möten online. Syftet uppfylls genom att studera och analysera interaktioner i kundtjänst för att skapa en förståelse för vilka värden som uppkommer och vilken påverkan dessa kan ha på kundrelationerna. Detta har gjorts genom en kvalitativ forskningsdesign, med en explorativ fallstudie av 92 mejlkonversationer mellan kund och kundtjänst online, vilka behandlats genom textanalys och kodning utefter social resursteori. Resultaten visar att kundtjänst uppmuntrar olika sociala utbyten med kunderna, beroende på typ av ärende. Sociala utbyten av konkreta resurser såsom pengar, varor och information utgör handlingar som ger kunderna ökad bekvämlighet och ekonomiskt värde, vilket stärker relationerna med dem om kunden är nöjd. Sociala utbyten av partikulära resurser såsom kärlek, status och service bildar handlingar som ger kunderna personliga upplevelser och socialt- och emotionellt värde, vilket ger en ökad kundtillfredsställelse men också stärker relationerna med kunderna ännu mer. Utbytet som sker i mellanmänskliga möten online kan förstås som betydelsefullt för att utveckla kundrelationer och konkurrensfördelar. Denna studie kan användas för att vägleda forskning inom forskningsfältet beträffande servicemöten och hjälpa detaljhandlare att skapa hållbara affärsmodeller och strategier.