<p>The purpose of this study was to investigate, through a qualitative survey, the need of knowledge and strategy in organisations today and tomorrow. The empirical investigation is built on a semi structured interview that was conducted on nine different companies in Gislaveds community. The companies were from three different branches namely: tree, metal and polymer. Three interviews were conducted in each branch.</p><p>The result from the interviews showed that the globalisation had put the companies under hard competition which had made the need for rationalisation and effectivness more apparent. Having said this, the demands on the organisation and the individuals within it will constantly increase. In order to enhance the individuals and the organisation there are an increased need for flexibility and openness and the responsibility and authority must be with in the individuals in the organisation. Our work show that the individuals with in the organisation shall be some kind of “superhuman” that can perform most of the tasks in the organisation, he or she should be flexible and open minded.</p><p>Our findings shows the way an organisation can create this “superhuman” and what an organisation needs to do to become a learning organisation.</p>

<p>Purpose:</p><p>Only 60 percent of the newly started companies survive their three first years. The purpose of this report is to obtain a deeper understanding regarding how newly started companies work with their positioning and if there are some kind of a relationship between positioning and the survival rate of newly started companies.</p><p>Research questions:</p><p>Do newly started companies know what position is? Do they incorporate positioning in their day to day marketing?</p><p>Approach:</p><p>We have used a hypothetical-deductive way of reasoning and a qualitative study to gather the information needed. We have through interviews asked our questions to six newly started companies in three different cities.</p><p>Findings:</p><p>In our essay, we reached the conclusion that newly started companies do not spend sufficient time or energy on positioning their products. The companies interviewed only market their product as a good product. They did not highlight or position the product as having additional benefits in comparison to similar products and the companies included in our study did not have a positioning strategy.</p><p>Conclusions:</p><p>We would like to advice all newly started companies to look into the competitive advantages they can gain through their positioning. We would also advice them to develop a positioning strategy giving them a clearer understanding of how to communicate their uniqueness to their customers.</p><p>Value of research:</p><p>Only 60 percent of the newly started companies survive their three first years. In our study we researched newly started companies work with positioning and we looked at the relationship between positioning and the survival rate among newly started companies. Our conclusion in this study is that the companies did not have a positioning strategy. This can be one reason why the survival rate among newly started companies is so low and we find this interesting issue for further research.</p><p>Key words:</p><p>positioning, marketing, newly started companies</p>

<p>Aim: As a result of growing globalization and competition the issue of internationalization is becoming more and more important and relevant for companies all over the world. With fading barriers to trade, investment opportunities and technological innovation, more and more companies see new openings for increased profit and growth by going international. During the last number of years new Swedish fashion brands and clothing companies have entered the international market, and Swedish clothing in general is gaining wider interests outside Swedish borders. Due to this I found it interesting to look at how Swedish small and medium-sized clothing companies start their international expansion, particularly in terms of market selection and choice of entry mode. Polarn O. Pyret (PO.P) is a Swedish clothing company and one of the leading concepts for children wear in Sweden. PO.P has successively expanded internationally and is becoming bigger and bigger. The company was therefore a good source to gain a deeper understanding of the internationalization for Swedish clothing companies.</p><p>Method: This thesis has a descriptive and exploratory purpose and a qualitative approach. Furthermore, a single case study strategy has been used. The data is collected both from primary resources such as interviews by mail, face to face and phone, while secondary data is collected from homepages and annual reports. For the analysis a within-case data analysis has been made.</p><p>Result & Conclusions: The main finding for this thesis is that PO.P does not follow the traditional Uppsala model for internationalization. PO.P seems to penetrate new and more distant market stepwise while gaining more knowledge and experience about internationalization, but only by the use of franchising. The motivators to go international for PO.P can be described as proactive as growth and profit are the main motivators, instead of reactive such as demand from someone else. The result also implies that market condition in terms of competition and growth potential, in addition to socio-cultural factors play an important role in the internationalization process for PO.P.</p><p>It seems that it is important for PO.P when selecting the right market for internationalization, that the market is close in geographical distance, in addition to low psychical distance, as the customers in these markets can more easily understands the brand and the concept, due to similarities in culture, climate and development.</p><p>PO.P is using a combination of wholly owned concept stores and franchise stores in Sweden and master franchise agreements internationally. By using franchise agreements PO.P does not have to be responsible of all the risk and they can easily gain experience by the franchisee. Using master franchising can on the other hand also give them less control over the activities in the markets abroad.</p>

<p>The paper studies share repurchases done by 50 randomly chosen U.S. publicly traded companies between 1996 and 2007 and checks if they could have been done at more advantageous prices for long-term shareholders in the two years following repurchases. The paper argues that the lower the price at which a repurchase is done the better it is for long-term shareholders.</p><p> </p><p>The results indicate that on average for 37 % of the years in which a company repurchased shares, it could have done it at a price at least 25 % lower in the next two years. When the results are weighted to take into account the dollar amounts spent on repurchases each year, the figure increases to 56 %. The paper looks also at if the repurchases could have been done at a price at least 50 % lower in the next two years. The unweighted results show that on average it would have been possible for 17 % of the years in which a company repurchased shares. When the result is weighted for the dollars spent on repurchases each year the proportion increases to 32 %.</p><p> </p><p>The results show also that the companies increased massively their repurchases just before the stock market crash that started in the late 2007.</p>

<p>Aim: The aim for this study of Swedish daily press is to see how the musical reporting is structured for the newspapers I have chosen to analyse. My main purpose is to investigate how the newspapers reporting are distributed between artists who belong to either a major record company or an independent record company. With this research I want to find out if there are any economic backgrounds to the content and if the reporting is equal to the market production.</p><p>Method/Material: For this study I have studied, by quantitative research, every piece of musical reporting in seven daily newspapers for two weeks. Through thorough research I have determined the belonging of every article’s record company. I have compared the newspapers with each other to see how the reporting differs. I have also collected information concerning the economic aspects of the music business to investigate if the reporting is equal to the market production.</p><p>Main results:</p><p>- The representation of major and independent record companies in Swedish press is distributed as the following: 60 % Major and 40 % Independent.</p><p>- The national press and regional press both show a distorted picture of the record company representation while the evening press and free press show a more truthful representation according to the market share holdings.</p><p>- There are signs of a scope economic structure in Bonnier which cannot be fully verified.</p>

Betydelsen av ägarkontroll i företag är, trots stor uppmärksamhet i samhällsdebatten, omtvistad och oklar. En förklaring är att maktaspekter tidigare dominerat ägarforskningens fokus. En annan gemensam nämnare för rådande forskningsinriktning har varit teorins uppmärksamhet mot ägares externa, ofta kvantifierade, företagsrelation. Hur ägarkontroll internt kan omformas i stora företag har emellertid behandlats mer sparsamt. I föreliggande studie kombineras därför, såväl empiriskt som teoretiskt, ägarkontrollens externa aktivering med dess interna utformning. När frågor om ägarkontroll i svenska koncerner vanligen behandlas sker detta utifrån en relativt homogen uppfattning om ägarkontroll. Den föreställningsram, som vuxit fram under det senaste årtiondet, sammanfattas i studien med hjälp av följande teser: Effektivitet i ägandet skall säkerställas genom den "konkurrens" om kontroll som indirekt erbjuds alla aktieägare i börsbolag. När kampen om kontroll väl avslutas och en aktör "uppnått" dominerande kontroll, bör ett "aktivt" ägande utövas. Ägandet bör vidare vara "personligt" och därmed särskilt från centrala och anonyma ägarinstitutioner och samtidigt "långsiktigt". I studien presenteras alternativ av dessa antaganden. Tesen om ägarkonkurrens ställs mot möjligheten för ägare att samarbeta om kontrollen. Tesen om ägarkontroll sett som ett statiskt tillstånd i företaget ställs mot dynamiken i ett koncernföretags interna kontrollmekanismer. Normen om det personliga ägandets effektivitet bör i sin tur ställas mot koncernens möjlighet till intern ägarspecialisering. Teserna om det aktiva och långsiktiga ägandet granskas slutligen i studien med avseende på varierad aktivitetsnivå liksom behovet av differentierad utvärderingstid för olika typer av resurser i företag. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.

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Aim: The aim for this study of Swedish daily press is to see how the musical reporting is structured for the newspapers I have chosen to analyse. My main purpose is to investigate how the newspapers reporting are distributed between artists who belong to either a major record company or an independent record company. With this research I want to find out if there are any economic backgrounds to the content and if the reporting is equal to the market production. Method/Material: For this study I have studied, by quantitative research, every piece of musical reporting in seven daily newspapers for two weeks. Through thorough research I have determined the belonging of every article’s record company. I have compared the newspapers with each other to see how the reporting differs. I have also collected information concerning the economic aspects of the music business to investigate if the reporting is equal to the market production. Main results: - The representation of major and independent record companies in Swedish press is distributed as the following: 60 % Major and 40 % Independent. - The national press and regional press both show a distorted picture of the record company representation while the evening press and free press show a more truthful representation according to the market share holdings. - There are signs of a scope economic structure in Bonnier which cannot be fully verified.

Purpose- Previous literatures focus on  the  technology spillover from multinational companies to local companies. However, the great threats generated from spillover to subsidiaries were omitted. The purpose of this paper is to explore the variables which can help subsidiaries control the technology spillover. Methodology-  First a conceptual model is developed, which will then be used to map out how subsidiaries can control their technology spillover. An Adidas' local representative in China is used during the case study. Findings-  Findings indicate  that there is a possibility to  control  the technology spillover by adopting certain variables. There  are  however,  no omnipotent variables to  stop  the technology spillover. Thus the selection of variables employed needs to consider that products have different attributes. Value- This paper stresses the importance and the very necessity of controlling technology spillovers. Furthermore, it maps influencing variables and tests, whether these variables work in real case.

The paper studies share repurchases done by 50 randomly chosen U.S. publicly traded companies between 1996 and 2007 and checks if they could have been done at more advantageous prices for long-term shareholders in the two years following repurchases. The paper argues that the lower the price at which a repurchase is done the better it is for long-term shareholders.   The results indicate that on average for 37 % of the years in which a company repurchased shares, it could have done it at a price at least 25 % lower in the next two years. When the results are weighted to take into account the dollar amounts spent on repurchases each year, the figure increases to 56 %. The paper looks also at if the repurchases could have been done at a price at least 50 % lower in the next two years. The unweighted results show that on average it would have been possible for 17 % of the years in which a company repurchased shares. When the result is weighted for the dollars spent on repurchases each year the proportion increases to 32 %.   The results show also that the companies increased massively their repurchases just before the stock market crash that started in the late 2007.