After the success of shale gas development in the United States, countries around the world are looking within their own territories for the possibility of replicating the U.S successes in order to achieve financial and/or energy security objectives. Such enterprise has shown to be not as easy as it might have been perceived to be. Some countries like Argentina, China and Poland, where large reserves of shale resources have been identified, have struggled to obtain beneficial results from their shale operations, with the result that even the more optimistic operators are now showing more caution and are reviewing everything before making any commitments to operate in countries with identified shale resources. Colombia, a country with strong oil and gas roots in its economic history, is actively attempting to attract operators to explore and produce their shale resources. If successful, these efforts have the potential to bring increased foreign investment to the country, while also improving Colombia’s oil and gas reserves, which have been declining over the last five years. This thesis, will address the challenges and opportunities of the development of shale resources in Colombia that operators will face by reviewing several critical aspects of the process. This thesis begins with a discussion of the geology of shale resources in Colombia, followed, first, by a review and analysis of the fiscal and contractual regime established in Colombia for the oil and gas industry, then, second, a risk analysis of possible Colombian shale operations, then third, a financial analysis of a possible shale project and, finally, ends with a summary of the challenges and opportunities an operator could face based on the analysis of the previous topics. / text

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Foreign graduates have been part of the success stories of many developed countries. This is as a result of their immeasurable deposit of ideas, knowledge, and innovation in the host country. Though the process of these foreign graduates penetrating and integrating into the labour market of the host country could be slow and rough as they encounter some obstacles on the way; they still strive to break through and be part of the country’s workforce because they foresee some opportunities therein. This research study is about the obstacles and opportunities foreign graduates meet in Dalarna labour market. The study investigated and identified the obstacles and opportunities foreign graduates meet in Dalarna labour market. For a thorough execution of this research, we collected primary data by handing questionnaires to 65 foreign graduates searching for jobs in Dalarna region and interviewed eight people, among which seven were foreign graduates and one of them was a staff at Arbestförmedlingen (Employment Agency) to give us a general view of the Dalarna labour market. We read previous research works and related articles to understand the topic in order to get an overview of the terminologies and concept to apply. This study concluded that language is a major obstacle foreign graduates meet in the Dalarna labour market. Other possible obstacles include culture, poor integration policies, lack of a placement bureau, lack of trust, limited opportunities, favoritism, lack of jobs, lack of references and experience. On the other hand factors like job availability, outgoing labour force and unskilled labour are possible opportunities foreign graduates meet in the Dalarna labour market. Furthermore flexible work time, good working atmosphere, experience, social security/welfare, good standard of living, family friendly region, higher wages, job security and cheap cost of living are also possible benefits that foreign graduates get in Dalarna.

Inspired by the way nature cycles waste in an ecosystem, the circular economy was developed as an alternative to the linear take-make-dispose model and designed to decouple economic growth from resource use. After developing a framework for what it means to be a business pursuing circularity, this thesis examines six different companies to explore the tension between the strategies and business models in theory and what business are implementing in practice today. This exploration continues with an in-depth analysis of the circular success of IKEA, finding that the gains from the circular economy for a large corporation are found within their own operations. With the company’s scale, IKEA is able to act as a transfer hub of technology and best practices, ultimately allowing the company to make a global impact.

During the last decades, the circular economy has enabled a new kind of business model that is challenging the traditional linear way of doing business. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how an international social enterprise work towards a circular business model, as well as the challenges and opportunities that comes with operating in an emerging market. Previous research on the subject is limited which leaves a research gap in existing literature. Indonesia is an emerging country that is struggling with a weak recycling infrastructure and   lack of waste management, which has resulted in an ocean plastic pollution problem.   In the theoretical framework, relevant aspects of the circular economy, social enterprises and opportunities and challenges with operating in an emerging market are presented. A conceptual framework concludes the literature review by illustrating how the concepts ties together. In order to answer the research questions, a qualitative research method has been followed throughout this single case study, combined with an abductive approach. The data has been collected through semi-structured interviews presented together with secondary data, in order to get a deeper understanding of the case. By examining an international social enterprise with operations in an emerging market, findings on what opportunities and challenges this social enterprise encounter in Indonesia are presented together with how they work towards a circular business model. This study indicates that the international social enterprise challenges the linear way of doing business and can be set as an example for other companies that has a social mission and wants to do business in a sustainable way.   The analysis discusses the relation between the theoretical concepts and the empirical findings, together with observations from the authors. The analysis is followed by the concluding chapter where the contributions are stated, and the research questions are answered, followed by implications, limitations and suggestions for future research. The findings showed that international social enterprises can find opportunities in infrastructure- and institutional gaps in emerging markets. In addition, the findings indicate that a strong social mission can reduce the challenges of operating in an emerging market. The findings have contributed to introducing the social enterprise phenomenon into the international business research field, as well as international social enterprises operating in emerging markets. The authors also provide their definition of the concept ‘social enterprise’.

The growth of business-to-business auctions presents the quality-focused business organization with many opportunities and some serious challenges. In this context, the absence of a well-designed organizational e-business auction-based strategy has the potential to promote business practices which may erode organizational quality gains. This article presents a conceptual open system approach designed to improve the quality focus of business-to-business auctions practices. The open system approach advocated in this article is quality focused and supply-chain sensitive.

The food industry faces many challenges in its sustainability work, and consumers demand that companies in the food industry should increase their transparency. For the food industry to be more transparent, it must improve its traceability throughout the supply chain. Previous research let us know that traceability is not a new thing, but the way that new technologies such as blockchain revolutionize the way data can be communicated. Many companies have just started to use this to trace the supplies along their supply chain and are not using the data collected in the most efficient way. Therefore, this thesis presents data from two illustrative case studies to show the opportunities and challenges of using blockchain traceability technology. The opportunities show the benefits of being the first mover in the market to create new boosts for the products together with increasing consumer loyalty through more transparency. This paper also concludes that it's expensive to implement new technology in the supply chain and challenging to encourage consumers to make a local, organic, or sustainable choice despite the higher cost of the products.

This study builds on a small but growing body of research concerning socio-economic, cultural, political, and personal challenges influencing Saudi women’s professional development. Although Saudi women have more advantages and opportunities in 2020 compared to previous historical periods, women still face challenges related to employment and professional status. This research provides an in-depth analysis of the insider experience connected to challenges Saudi women face in work and life that hinder their professional development. Specifically, this research explored the role of social media in providing new opportunities to help Saudi women overcome challenges they face in work and life. Guided by a qualitative approach, this interpretive study is conducted through interviews, supporting documents analysis, and personal experiences. This study draws on Technofeminism, Intersectional Feminism, and Social Role Theory in order to provide a broad theoretical lens to help interpret findings. Using thematic analysis, six main themes were uncovered: (1) socio-cultural challenges, (2) personal challenges, (3) ethical challenges, (4) institutional challenges, (5) civic and professional engagement, and (6) socialization and privacy issues. General findings indicated that despite efforts from the Saudi Arabian government to enhance women’s rights in society, women continue to face socio-cultural, personal, and ethical challenges in work and life. The advanced analysis revealed that social media does have a positive role in providing Saudi women with new opportunities to overcome challenges they face but that cultural norms and traditional practices continue to create challenges that hinder Saudi women’s professional development.

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The offshore wind energy industry is a rapidly growing industry as solutions are becoming cost-competitive and there is an increasing need to limit greenhouse gas emissions. New floating offshore wind turbine designs now enable the access to previously inaccessible offshore wind resources. In this research, a comprehensive analysis is made of the different factors influencing the macro environment for a potential floating offshore wind energy market in California. The analysis assesses the relevant political, economic,social, technological, environmental, and legal aspects in California. The outcome of this research shows the opportunities and challenges for a floating wind turbine market in California. It is found that there are many opportunities present due to California's political and economic climate. There is considerable support for offshore wind projects on the state level, demonstrated by the active engagement of the governor and the creation of the California Task Force. The large economy and high electricity prices are promising for future projects. Furthermore, wind resources are vast and the technical infrastructure is present, especially Southern California is well suited. There are technological threats present, but these are common for all renewable energy sources and seem unavoidable with the Renewable Portfolio Standards California has set. The main threats are posed by the complex regulatory environment and the financial uncertainty as a result of the lackof federal support. The Jones Act, for example, can be troublesome as it will likely increase costs and delay projects. Furthermore, the social environment and local willingness for such projects was shown to be very important for their success. The state of California has already been working pro-actively on involving the local members of thepublic in potential upcoming offshore wind energy projects. The research concludes that California offers many opportunities with surmountable threats.