Bakgrund: Hållbarhetsredovisning har fått stor betydelse och mer uppmärksamhet de senaste åren. Det ökande trycket på hållbarhet har gett upphov till nya lagkrav och regler för företag som redovisar hållbarhet i sina årsredovisningar. Det har bland annat vuxit fram regelverk och organisationer för att stödja företag att vara transparenta och skapa en tydlig gemensam struktur för företagens hållbarhetsredovisning som till exempel GRI. Tidigare forskning menar att hållbarhetsredovisningen skiljer sig  beroende på i vilken bransch företaget verkar. Dessa skillnader gör det i sin tur svårt att jämföra hållbarhetsredovisningar. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur tillämpningen av GRI-standards påverkar innehållet i hållbarhetsrapporter och huruvida innehållet skiljer sig mellan olika branscher inom den svenska marknaden. Vidare är syftet att bidra med en djupare förståelse kring hur branschtillhörighet påverkar skillnaden i prioritering av ämnesspecifika upplysningar i svenska företags hållbarhetsrapporter som är upprättade enligt GRI-standards. Metod: Studien använder sig av en kvantitativ innehållsanalys med en deduktiv forskningsansats för att jämföra 40 företags hållbarhetsrapporter som är upprättade enligt GRI-standards. Företagen i studien valdes ut från fyra olika branscher totalt 10 företag från varje bransch. I studien används  statistiska tester i form av One Way Anova och Post Hoc Tukey test. Slutsats: Studien visar att branschtillhörighet påverkar skillnaden i prioritering av ämnesspecifika upplysningar inom GRI-standards. Det empiriska resultat visar att det finns skillnader mellan företagens hållbarhetsredovisningar. Jämförelsen av ekonomikategorin visade att det inte finns någon signifikant skillnad mellan branscherna. Redovisning av socialkategori och miljökategori visade att det finns en signifikant skillnad i redovisning av de ämnesspecifika aspekterna mellan de undersökta branscherna. / Background: Sustainability reporting has gained great importance and more attention in recent years. Increasing pressure on sustainability has led to new legal requirements and rules for companies reporting on sustainability in their annual reports. Among others, regulations and organisations have emerged to help companies be transparent and provide a clear common structure for corporate sustainability reporting, such as the GRI. Previous research has found that sustainability reporting varies by the industry in which the company operates. These differences in turn make it difficult to compare sustainability reports. Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate how the application of the GRI standards affects the content of sustainability reports and whether the content differs between different industries within the Swedish market. It also aims to gain a deeper understanding of how industry affiliation influences the different prioritisation of topic-specific information in Swedish companies sustainability reports that have been prepared in accordance with GRI standards.   Method: The study used a quantitative content analysis with a deductive research approach to compare the sustainability reports of 40 companies prepared according to the GRI standards. The companies studied were selected from four different industries, totaling 10 companies from each industry. The study uses statistical tests in the form of One Way Anova and Post Hoc Tukey tests. Conclusion: The study shows that industry affiliation has an impact on the different prioritisation of subject-specific information within the GRI standards. The empirical results show that there are differences between companies' sustainability reports. The comparison of the business category shows that there is no significant difference between the industries. Reporting in the social and environmental categories shows a significant difference in reporting on the subject-specific aspects between the industries studied.

Finland and Sweden share a common history that dates back to the 12thcentury, when the two countries were one. Sweden has throughout time, for numerous reasons, been a more well-developed country and has had a larger economy than Finland, which has made moving and travelling to Sweden amongst Finns a rather common demographic feature. The effects of this historical relationship, and of these events, still to this day influencethe travel patterns between the two countries; More Finns visit Sweden than Swedes visit Finland.Throughout this thesis I analyse and describe the uneven passenger transportation patterns between the Swedish city of Umeå and the Finnish city Vaasa. By analysing inhabitants personal background together with the motives for travelling to-, the knowledge about-, and the perceived mental distance between Umeå and Vaasa of inhabitants in both cities, I strive to find answers to the Bothnian disparity routes. The results of the study points towards social bonds, various cultural factors, possession of knowledge, and perceived mental distance playing asignificant role in shaping the travel patterns between the two cities. Furthermore, the result of the study also provides a perspective on how geography is not just a physical structure but also a significant factor in understanding human mobility and interaction in cross-border contexts.

This research investigated the relationships among four personality traits (affiliation, achievement, aggression, and dominance), actual influence, perceived influence, and individual consensus. My hypotheses consisted of a path model showing the relationships among these variables. The purpose of this research is to increase our understanding of group dynamics. By understanding group dynamics, managers can design meetings to optimize the commitment to and quality of the group’s decision. The methodology for my research was relational. In relational studies, variables aren’t manipulated. To test my hypotheses, I measured several variables that weren’t manipulated but were obtained in an experimental situation. Subjects (308) were randomly placed in 77 four-person groups. Each group consisted of three subjects and a confederate. The confederates weren’t part of my study and I didn’t collect data on them. All group members completed the Lost on the Moon exercise three times: an initial individual rank, a group rank, and a final individual rank. For each subject, I collected data on seven variables: affiliation, achievement, aggression, dominance, actual influence, perceived influence, and individual consensus. I measured affiliation, achievement, aggression, and dominance with Jackson’s Personality Research Form. Actual influence was measured by the absolute difference between the group member’s individual ranking and the final group ranking. A low score indicated high influence. Perceived influence and individual consensus were measured with a questionnaire. Both scales were derived from a factor analytic study. I found the following significant relationships: - affiliation was negatively related to actual influence, - affiliation was positively related to individual consensus, - achievement was positively related to perceived influence, - achievement was positively related to individual consensus, - actual influence was positively related to perceived influence, and - perceived influence was positively related to individual consensus. The first five relationships were found to be significant at the .05 level. The relationship between perceived influence and individual consensus was found to be significant at the .01 level. In interpreting the results, this relationship is suspicious. Since both scales were derived from a factor analysis of the same questionnaire, this significant relationship may result partially from measurement bias. In my exploratory analysis, I found gender to affect group dynamics more than personality. Therefore, further studies which manipulate gender need to be performed before the relationships among gender, personality traits, and group dynamics are fully understood. / Master of Science

Studiens syfte var att undersöka utländska akademikers upplevelser av mötet med, och inträdet på, den svenska arbetsmarknaden. Studiens frågeställningar: Vilka hinder kan försvåra etableringen på arbetsmarknaden för utländska akademiker? Vilka faktorer kan främja etableringen på arbetsmarknaden för utländska akademiker? Den teoretiska utgångspunkten för studien är hämtad utifrån socialkonstruktivism samt begreppet etnicitet som social konstruktion. Studien är genomförd med kvalitativ forskningsmetod, vilken utfördes med hjälp av semistrukturerade livsvärldsintervjuer. Analysmetoden för studien var IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis), där gemensamma teman lyftes fram och diskuterades utifrån de teoretiska utgångspunkterna. I resultatavsnittet har studiens frågeställningar besvarats enligt följande: Hinder som kan försvåra etableringen av utländska akademiker på arbetsmarknaden är samhällets föreställningar, sociala kategoriseringar, etnisk diskriminering, strukturella förändringar på arbetsmarknaden samt arbetsgivarnas inflytande. Sammanfattningsvis skildrade studiens resultat hur viktigt det är att belysa att de föreställningar som finns i samhället gällande personer med utländsk bakgrund påverkar synen på individen. Dessa faktorer var de mest centrala elementen och kärnan i det empiriska materialet kopplat till denna frågeställning. De främjande faktorerna till etableringen av utländska akademiker enligt studiens resultat är: Delaktighet, personligt ansvarstagande och betydelsen av utbildning. I enhet med respondenternas upplevelser framgår vikten av att samma anställningskriterier ska gälla för alla oberoende av ens bakgrund eller tillhörighet. Även personligt ansvarstagande visade sig vara betydelsefullt, exempelvis individens egen motivation, styrka och inre resurser. Vidare betonas att det finns tendenser till att samhällets syn på utländska personers resurser är i förändring. Detta på grund av det växande behovet av mångkulturell arbetskraft med flerspråkighet, kulturell kompetens samt akademisk utbildning, med anledning av den stora flyktinginvandring som pågår just nu. Studiens resultat har både gått i linje med tidigare forskning samt gått emot eller visat nya infallsvinklar på tidigare forskningsresultat. / The purpose of this study was to investigate foreign academics' experiences of meeting with, and entry to the Swedish labor market. Study questions: What obstacles could hamper the establishment of the labour market for foreign graduates? What factors can promote the formation of the labour market for foreign graduates? The theoretical starting point for the study is taken on the basis of social constructivism and the concept of race as a social construction. The study was conducted with qualitative research, which was conducted using semi-structured interviews, life-world. The analytical method for the study was the IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis), where common themes were highlighted and discussed from the theoretical points. In the results section, the study questions were answered as follows: Obstacles that can hinder the establishment of foreign graduates in the labour market is society's beliefs, social categorizations, ethnic discrimination, structural changes in the labour market and employers' influence. In summary, the study's results depicted how important it is to highlight that the perceptions that exist in society concerning people with foreign backgrounds affect the perception of the individual. These factors were the key elements and the core of the empirical material related to this issue. The promotion factors to the establishment of foreign graduates according to the study's results are: Involvement, personal responsibility and the importance of education. The unit with the respondents' experience illustrates the importance of the recruitment criteria should apply to all, regardless of one's background or affiliation. Although personal responsibility proved to be important, such as the individual's own motivation, strength and inner resources. They also stress that there are tendencies that society's view of foreigner's resources is changing. This is because of the growing need for multicultural workforce with multilingualism, cultural competence and academic training, due to the large influx of refugees that is going on right now. The study results have both been in line with previous research, and gone against or demonstrated new angles on previous research.

Bakgrund: År 2010 avskaffades revisionsplikten för småbolag i Sverige. Detta medförde att mindre bolag frivilligt kunde välja att anlita revision eller inte. I dagsläget väljer 25 % av bolagen att anlita revisor. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka varför småföretag väljer att anlita en revisor trots avskaffandet av revisionsplikten. Studien kommer att undersöka faktorerna som bidrar till att revision efterfrågas. Metod: Primärdata har samlats in genom kvalitativa och kvantitativa forskningsmetoder. Den kvalitativa ansatsen består av intervjuer med småföretagare inom tjänstesektorn och handelsbranschen. För att få mer djupgående information om huvudämnet har intervjuer även skett med en auktoriserad revisor och en jurist som suttit med som representant för Företagarna i den statliga utredningen som föreslog avskaffandet av revisionsplikten. Den kvantitativa metoden utgörsav en enkätundersökning som besvarats av 130 småföretag. Slutsats: Vår slutsats är att efterfrågan på revision beror på flera faktorer och de faktorerna som har konstaterats ha en inverkan på att mindre bolag efterfrågar revision är intressenter, internnytta, rådgivning, företagsstorlek, outsourcing och branschtillhörighet. / Background: The abolishment of mandatory auditin Sweden was in 2010. This caused that smaller companies could voluntarly choose between to beaudited or not. Today,25 % of the smaller companies voluntarly choose to be audited. Purpose:The pupose with this study is to examine why smaller companies choose to hire an accountant although the abolishment of mandatory audit. The study will investigate which factors that causes demand of audit. Method: Primary data has been collected through a qualitative and a quantitative research method. The qualitative method has been collected through interviews with small companies in the service and tradesector. To get more detailed information about the main subject, interviewshasconductedwithacertifiedaccountantandwithalawyerwhoas adelegateon thebehalfofthe business association(Företagarna)in the stateinvestigation thatsuggested abolitionofmandatoryauditonsmallercompanies.The quantitative method consists of a survey answered by 130 small businesses. Conclusion: The conclusion is that the demand on auditing depends on several factors and the factors that have been identified as having an impact on smaller companies requesting the auditis stakeholders, internal benefits, consulting, companysize outsourcing and industryaffiliation.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how eight private and state-owned Swedish companies report their CSR-work, to then compare and analyze how the form of ownership can affect the shape of the annual sustainability reports.  Method:  This study uses a qualitative method based on a deductive research approach. The study implements a comparative research design and applies a text analysis to analyze and identify specific differences among the company’s sustainability reports.   Empiricism and Analysis: The empirical part presents a brief description of the selected companies and a description of the identifying themes that are repeated in all of the company’s sustainability reports. Then, a deeper analysis is carried out that combines the study's reference frameworks with help of the study’s analysis model that is based on the selected theories.  Conclusions: The conclusion that can be drawn is that the form of ownership is not the deciding factor in the shape of the sustainability reports. What has mainly affected the outcome is the companies branch of industry, which has affected both the reporting of the environmental activities and financial incentives in the form of investment. For the remaining aspects, no specific differences have existed from the ownership perspective. The form of ownership has affected the company’s insight of CSR and sustainability work with influence from the stakeholders. The study's results also show that the government for the state-owned companies was the most important player while customers and suppliers were more central to the privately-owned companies. / Syfte: Syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka hur åtta privat- och statligt ägda svenska företag redovisar för sitt CSR-arbete, jämföra samt analysera hur ägandeformen kan påverka utformningen av hållbarhetsredovisning. Metod: Studien använder sig utav en kvalitativ metod som bygger på en deduktiv forskningsansats. Studien implementerar en komparativ forskningsdesign och tillämpar en textanalys för att analysera och identifiera specifika skillnader bland de olika företagens hållbarhetsredovisningar. Empiri och analys: I den empiriska delen presenteras en kort beskrivning av valda företag samt en redovisning av de återkommande identifierande teman som upprepas i de valda hållbarhetsrapporteringarna. Sedan genomförs en djupare analys som sammanfogar studiens referensramar med hjälp av en analysmodell som utgår från de tillämpande teorierna. Slutsatser: Slutsatsen som kan dras är att ägandeformen inte är den avgörande faktorn i utformningen av hållbarhetsrapporterna. Det som har påverkat utfallet främst är företagens branschtillhörighet som har inverkar både rapportering av de miljömässiga aktiviteterna samt ekonomiska incitament i form av investering. För de resterande aspekterna har inga specifika skillnader funnits utifrån ägarperspektivet. Ägandeformen har påverkat företagens uppfattning av CSR och hållbarhetsarbete med inflytande från intressenterna sida. Studiens resultat visar även att staten för de statligt ägda företagen är mest betydelsefull aktör medan kunder och leverantörer är mer centrala för de privatägda företagen.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur olika generationer agerar på eWOM-kommunikation via online recensioner. Metod: Studien använder en kvantitativ forskningsmetod med en enkätundersökning som underlag för framarbetat resultat. Enkätundersökningen baserades på 8 frågor och 148 svar samlades in från respondenter från tre olika generationer. Svaren analyserades med deskriptiv statistik och univariat analys. Resultat och slutsats: Studiens resultat visar hur generationstillhörigheterna Baby Boomers, Generation X och Generation Y agerar när de läser online recensioner. De tre generationernas köpintentioner baseras på centrala faktorer som riskbenägenhet, förtroende och internetkompetens. Alla tre generationerna hävdar att eWOM och i synnerhet online recensioner påverkar dem. Förslag till vidare forskning: Ytterligare forskning kan undersöka varför konsumenter av en produkt inte är benägna att själva skriva recension men vill ta del av recensioner av produkter som andra konsumenter skrivit. Trots att det tydligt framgår att recensioner är en viktig del av köpbeslutsprocessen. Denna ovilja finns representerade hos samtliga undersökta generationer vilket framtida forskning bör undersöka.    Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien bidrar med ett antal förtydliganden för konsumentbeteenden i eWOM-kommunikationen. Studien kommer fram till flertalet slutsatser om hur generationerna påverkas och agerar för online recensioner. / Aim: The purpose of the study is to explain how different generational affiliation react on eWOM-communication via online reviews. Method: The study uses a quantitative research method to conduct survey. The survey was based on 8 questions and 148 responses were collected from respondents from three different generations. The responses were analyzed by descriptive statistics and univariate analysis. Result and conclusion: The study shows how generational affiliations of Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y act on the online reviews. The three generations` buying intentions are based on key factors such as risk aversion, trust and internet knowledge. All three generations claims that eWOM and, in particular, online reviews affect them. Further research: A future study can deal with why consumers of a product are not inclined to write online reviews of the product but want to read online reviews on products from other consumers. Although it is obvious that reviews are an important part of the purchasing decision. All three generations investigated tend to not willing to write online reviews Contribution of the thesis: The contribution of the study is several clarifications for consumer behavior in general especially generation marketing. The study concludes how the generations are affected and act for online reviews.

Este trabalho se volta à evolução do Partido dos Trabalhadores no estado de São Paulo. No contexto mais amplo do debate sobre partidos políticos, o PT sempre se apresentou como um contraponto nas abordagens sobre o sistema político brasileiro que, partindo de diferentes paradigmas teóricos, chegou sempre ao diagnóstico de que estas instituições estariam fadadas a serem organizações frágeis. Daí a análise do partido sob o ponto de vista da organização ser particularmente interessante. Serão observados os movimentos de expansão e retração da estrutura do partido para além do seu núcleo de origem a partir da base de filiados, do comportamento nas disputas no nível local e do desempenho nas eleições proporcionais. Todos esses aspectos se mostram relacionados no desenvolvimento da organização no estado onde nasceu. / This dissertation seeks to understand the evolution of the Workers Party (PT) in the state of São Paulo. In the broader context of the debate on political parties, the PT was always presented as a counterpoint in the approaches of the Brazilian political system that, starting from different theoretical paradigms, the researchers always concluded that these institutions were bound to be fragile organizations. Therefore, the analysis of the party from the point of view of its organization becomes particularly interesting. The movements of expansion and contraction of the partys structure will be observed considering not only the core founder who leads the party, but also based on its membership roster, its behavior in disputes at the local level and its performance in proportional elections. All these aspects are related to the development of the organization in the state that the party was born.

This thesis is a collection of three independent essays in empirical political economics. The first chapter investigates if the presence of appointed mayors in a subset of municipalities during the Brazilian dictatorship led to elite capture. This is done comparing measures of inequality after redemocratization between municipalities that had appointed mayors with municipalities where mayors were elected directly. The main results are consistent with the hypothesis of elite capture and indicate income inequality increased more in municipalities that had mayors appointed by the regime. The second chapter investigates the extent to which media vehicles are prone to political capture in the context of the Brazilian dictatorship. This is done by investigating the effects of Rede Globo, the main Brazilian television station, on electoral outcomes of mayoral elections during the Brazilian dictatorship, mainly on the share of votes obtained by ARENA, the ruling party during the dictatorship. The main effects documented in this chapter show that during the first years of the military dictatorship, Globo has a positive effect on ARENA\'s vote-share. In the latter years, however, the effect becomes negative and, on average, overlaps the positive result. It is provided evidence that this break in the effect of Globo is associated with a change in the company\'s position towards the regime and in the content of the shows broadcast by Globo. The third chapter investigates if teachers with strong partisan stances are capable of influencing electoral outcomes through shaping their students\' voting behavior. This is done by exploiting unique datasets on party-affiliated voters, on public high school teachers and on election results and voter characteristics in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The main findings of this chapter are suggestive of a positive and significant effect of the presence of affiliated teachers on the electoral performance of the corresponding party, especially in elections based on plurality voting systems. / Esta tese é composta por três ensaios empíricos em economia política. O primeiro capítulo investiga se a presença de prefeitos nomeados em um subconjunto de municípios durante a ditadura brasileira levou à captura por parte da elite. Isso é feito comparando medidas de desigualdade após a redemocratização entre municípios que tiveram prefeitos nomeados e municípios onde os prefeitos foram eleitos democraticamente. Os principais resultados deste capítulo são consistentes com a hipótese de captura e indicam que a desigualdade de renda aumentou mais em municípios que tiveram prefeitos nomeados pelo regime e que isso se deve principalmente a um aumento na parcela de rendimentos auferidos pelos mais ricos. O segundo capítulo investiga em que medida os veículos de comunicação são propensos a captura política no contexto da ditadura brasileira. Isso é feito investigando os efeitos da Rede Globo, a principal emissora de televisão brasileira, sobre os resultados eleitorais das eleições para prefeito durante a ditadura brasileira, especialmente sobre o percentual de votos obtido pela ARENA, o partido de situação durante a ditadura militar. Os principais efeitos mostram que durante os primeiros anos da ditadura, a Globo tem um efeito positivo sobre o percentual de votos obtidos pela ARENA. Nos últimos anos, no entanto, o efeito torna-se negativo e, em média, sobrepõe-se o resultado positivo dos primeiros anos. São fornecidas evidências de que esta quebra no efeito da Globo está associado a uma mudança na posição da empresa em relação ao regime e no conteúdo dos programas transmitidos por ela. O terceiro capítulo investiga se professores com fortes posições partidárias são capazes de interferir nos resultados eleitorais a partir de influência exercida sobre o voto dos seus alunos. Para isso são utilizados dados sobre filiação partidária de eleitores, sobre professores das escolas públicas e sobre resultados eleitorais e características dos eleitores no Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. As principais conclusões deste capítulo sugerem um efeito positivo e significativo da presença de professores filiados sobre o desempenho eleitoral do partido correspondente, especialmente em eleições majoritárias.