Mature industries have played and still play a crucial role in national and world economies. To survive and retain competitiveness, they need to innovate, as innovation is the driver of economics growth and industrial transformation. However, existing research does not provide sufficient explanation of how innovation in mature industries can be enabled based on resources and internal development logic of those industries, i.e. endogenously. Some previous studies focused on incremental innovation patterns, which led to an underestimation of innovation potential of mature industries. Other studies acknowledged a high innovation potential of mature industries, but failed to explain how, through what mechanisms, industry-endogenous logic can bring about major innovations. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to systematically address, explain and conceptualize endogenous industry- innovation and its driving mechanisms in mature industries. To achieve this purpose, three main issues are addressed. First, the thesis investigates and conceptualizes the notion of industry endogenous innovation mechanisms based on the path dependency theory. Second, the thesis addresses strategic choices and actions by established companies that are rooted in the industry endogenous mechanisms and result in highly innovative outcomes. Third, the thesis systematically analyses different aspects of radicalness of innovations resulting from industry endogenous mechanisms. The thesis represents a qualitative, embedded case study with two main industry cases, i.e. the global lighting industry and the Swedish pulp and paper industry. The lighting industry and its sub-cases in the form of specific lighting technologies have been studied via the analysis of patents of leading lighting manufacturers, archival and secondary data sources as well as interviews with different types of actors in the industry. The pulp and paper industry and its sub-cases in the form of innovation initiatives have been studied with the help of interviews with leading manufacturers and research institutes, as well the analysis of annual reports and secondary data sources. The outcomes of the study are presented in the form of the thesis cover paper and five appended papers. The results show that innovations of any magnitude can be endogenously developed in mature industries. At the industry level, endogenous innovation is driven by innovation mechanisms that can be conceptualized as reactive sequences and self-reinforcing mechanisms. At the level of individual companies, the exploitation strategy corresponds to the logic of endogenous innovation mechanisms by enabling highly innovative outcomes and building on a wide range of resources available in the industry. The endogenous character of innovation mechanisms imposes certain limitations on the radicalness of the outcomes in the form of trade-offs in terms of how many and what particular aspects can be radically new at once. With these results, the thesis contributes to a more balanced overall understanding of innovation potential of mature industries and allows shifting the focus of discussion from whether mature industries can develop radical innovation to when and under what conditions they can succeed in this process. The results of the thesis also suggest several recommendations for managers in established companies with regard to how they can they can take advantage of industry endogenous innovation mechanisms. / Mogna branscher har traditionellt sett spelat och spelar fortfarande en viktig roll för såväl nationella ekonomier som för världsekonomin. För att överleva och behålla sin konkurrenskraft behöver mogna branscher fortsätta vara innovativa, eftersom innovation driver ekonomisk tillväxt. Även för enskilda, etablerade företag i sådana branscher är innovation centralt – de företag som inte lyckas med innovation riskerar att förlora i konkurrensen och bli ersatta av andra. Det finns emellertid än så länge inte någon bra förklaring till hur innovation i mogna branscher kan möjliggöras endogent, d v s baserat på befintliga resurser och branschens interna utvecklingslogik. Tidigare studier har antingen tenderat att underskatta innovationspotentialen i mogna branscher eller misslyckats med att visa hur – d v s genom vilka mekanismer – branschens egen logik kan möjliggöra radikala innovationer. Syftet med denna avhandling är att förklara och konceptualisera endogena innovation och dess drivmekanismer i mogna branscher. För att uppnå detta syfte undersöker avhandlingen endogena innovationsprocesser på såväl bransch- som företagsnivå samt analyserar i vilken utsträckning olika aspekter av radikala innovationer möjliggörs av endogena mekanismer. Avhandlingen är baserad på kvalitativa fallstudier av två branscher. Den första branschen är den globala belysningsindustrin, där olika belysningstekniker har studerats via analyser av patent, sekundära datakällor samt intervjuer med olika typer av aktörer i branschen. Den andra branschen är svensk pappersmassaindustri, där ett antal olika innovationsinitiativ har studerats framförallt med hjälp av intervjuer med ledande företag och forskningsinstitut. Avhandlingen består av en kappa och fem bifogade artiklar. Resultaten visar att alla typer av innovationer, inklusive radikala innovationer, kan utvecklas endogent i mogna branscher. På industrinivån drivs denna utveckling av innovationsmekanismer i form av reaktiva sekvenser och självförstärkande mekanismer. På företagsnivån kan processen drivas av en innovationsstrategi som bygger på exploatering av befintliga resurser. Trots att alla aspekter av radikala innovationer kan utvecklas endogent, medför endogena mekanismer emellertid vissa begränsningar i form av kritiska avvägningar när det gäller hur många och vilka aspekter som kan hållas radikala samtidigt. Med dessa resultat bidrar avhandlingen till en mer balanserad, övergripande förståelse för innovationspotentialen i mogna branscher och medger ett skifte av fokus i vetenskapliga diskussioner från frågan om mogna branscher kan utveckla radikala innovationer till när och under vilka villkor de kan lyckas med denna process. I avhandlingen ges även rekommendationer för ledare i etablerade företag med avseende på hur de kan dra nytta av branschens endogena innovationsmekanismer.

There is a series of different types of risk on the housing market and related industries.  The six papers in this doctoral dissertation are about a number of the many dimensions of risk management on the housing market. The main message of this thesis is that it should be possible for different actors in the housing market to improve risk management. Indeed, the last years’ financial turmoil has revealed that it should not only be possible, but also necessary, to improve risk management at all levels of the economy: at household, corporate, regional, national and international level. Although the complexity of the environment in which we live and act makes it very difficult to predict and quantify risk, the development of risk management techniques should make it possible to better indentify, and reduce risk. The first paper provides a systematic overview of a wide selection of methods or strategies used in different countries to expand but also to maintain home ownership among low income households. The second paper further discusses mortgage and home equity insurance instruments discussed in the first paper. This paper also discusses how a rental insurance policy, as an alternative to traditional rent regulation, may be constructed. Paper 3 develops a formula that might be used in order to value the rental insurance option discussed in paper 2. The fourth paper focuses on the housing building sector by discussing potential benefits of strategic alliances that the different actors in the housing construction market may establish in order to pool resources and manage development risks. The challenge of constructing reliable home price indexes has attracted scholars for many years. Paper 5 develops monthly quality-adjusted price indexes for condominiums (housing cooperative apartments) based on a unique dataset covering sales in the whole of Stockholm municipality from January 2005 to June 2009. Finally paper 6 pays attention to the large increase in housing cooperative conversions sine the 1990s, by deriving a closed-form valuation formula that might be used to value the embedded option an owner of a multi-family rental property has to sell it to a housing cooperative. / QC 20100810

This study is the first to focus primarily on the Swedish parish magasins, the country’s most widespread credit institution in the last half of the 18th, and the first part of the 19th, century. During the Early Modern Period, grain price volatility was a matter of great concern. The parish magasins were conceived as a substitute for government action intended to stabilize grain prices and offer relief in case of crop failure. The thesis analyzes the problems of harvest variability and grain price fluctuations utilizing both   theory and empirical evidence. It is concluded that market integration, especially by permitting imports, was more effective than inter-harvest storage in reducing the likelihood of high prices. Initially the peasants were sceptical of the new institution. Although the establishment of the magasins was strictly speaking voluntary, substantial hierarchical pressure was applied.  Once they had come into existence, however, the magasins evolved into a type of grain bank. The parishioners found them useful as a source of communal revenue at a time of rising need for local public expenditure for education and poor relief. In addition, the failure of the grain market to meet the needs of the peasantry created a demand for loans in kind. Although by no means ideal, in the absence of any superior institutions, the magasins provided valuable services. When improvements in both municipal finance and the functioning of the grain markets occurred in the second half of the 19th century, the magasins became obsolete. Both history and geography impact the formation of institutions. This study describes one such case of institutional development and attempts to explain why the outcome deviated from the original intention. / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, 2007</p>

This study focuses on the reformation of the cross-border political coalition in the Scandinavian region of Öresund, specifically the re-organization of Öresundskommitteen to Greater Copenhagen &amp; Skåne Committee. Through the lens of Critical Discourse Analysis, the study critically examines the newly advocated regional strategy focusing on international place marketing of the collective brand Greater Copenhagen, underlying power structures and incentives of the reformation as well as the subsequent consequences for the regional development. The result highlights a political shift of focus, from the region in general to Copenhagen in particular, justified by the conviction of growing international competition and the regional core as undisputable ‘growth-machine’ for the whole region. Consequently, local projects can be legitimized as regional concerns, potentially supporting misallocation of regional funds, political and core-periphery polarization.

Gas obtained from previously unexploited shale rock strata has emerged as an economically viable way of sourcing additional fossil fuel energy resources after the so-called ‘shale gas revolution’ in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the incumbent government has committed to the development of its own shale gas resources. A highly polarised public debate has erupted on the risks and rewards of extracting the shale gas deposits that presently lie underneath large swathes of the country using the controversial method of hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’. This thesis examines how different groups in North West England – the major frontier of fracking in the UK – are contesting, resisting and negotiating the current government’s decision to sanction and push ahead towards the development a domestic shale gas industry. Employing a theoretical framework drawn from political ecology as its core mode of examination, this thesis utilises qualitative methods including in-depth interviews and participant observation techniques. It documents a range of social groupings that are contesting shale gas in the UK in a number of ways, and argues that landscapes and risk are fundamental hinges in this ongoing environmental conflict.

Due to climate change and natural variations in the hydrological cycle, global mean sea levels are increasing, causing the mean sea levels in different regions of the world to increase. In Sweden, coastal cities are facing rising water levels which is increasing flooding. The coastal community of Gothenburg, Sweden was identified the 18th most vulnerable city in the country both to flooding induced by water level rise and other climate change related impacts. Its location, in proximity of Lake Vänern, and in the mouth of the Göta River and its tributaries: Säveån, Mölndalsån and Lärjeån is heightening flood risk and vulnerability in the area. This thesis aims to contribute in comprehending the integration process of natural hazard and climate change adaptation for flood management in Älvstaden- central Gothenburg between 1999 and 2015. With the main objectives being” how the municipality of Gothenburg has applied the urban land use planning theory for the integration of natural hazard and climate change adaptation, with regards to adaptation for flood management in Älvstaden between 1999 and 2015? “What climate change adaptation policies for flood management have been implemented in Gothenburg within this time frame, and how the policies have been revised to match the reality of flood issues?” And “What improvements would be made in the integration process to better address adaptation for flood management?” A desk-based research and one case study approach was adopted for this study. The findings indicate that although the city has systematically used the steps involved in the integration process of natural hazard and climate change adaptation for flood management, it does not link the policies and the measures applied to adaptation for flood management. Which is an issue as it has led to the exclusion of vital functions of the integration process. Suggestions on how the integration process could be improved are provided.

The aim of this thesis is to fill the research gap between marketing and community-based tourism, with using the Stakeholder Theory as intermediary. For this purpose, it is analyzed how the Stakeholder Theory can contribute to improve the marketing of community-based tourism. The online marketing approaches of destinations, community- based tourism providers, associations and Tour Operators in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan towards the international market are investigated. The platforms were analyzed in May and August 2021. A qualitative thematic content analysis of the used distribution channels (websites and social media) is conducted. Based on the results of each country, a cross-national analysis is performed. The outcomes of the study indicate that all countries have potential to improve their marketing concepts, as well as their approaches towards sustainability and collaboration. A few actors were identified, which can serve as example. The overall result shows that a well-implemented Stakeholder Theory, which is comprised of networks at different levels, can empower individual service providers, and therefore contribute to strengthen the online appearance of different actors, including those offering community-based tourism products.

Title: Impact of covid 19 Pandemic situation on customers purchasing Behavior: Adoption of online services platforms. Level: Final assignment for Master degree in Business Administration (MBA) Authors: Sheratun Jannat and Sajjad Aslam Toor Supervisor: Dr. Olivia Kang Examiner: Professor Akmal Hyder Date: 2021- January  Aim: The study aims to find the factors that impact consumer purchasing behavior on the Covid-19 pandemic and adaptation of online services platform. Methodology: A qualitative study was applied with the semi-structured online interview conducted with nine respondents from Stockholm and Gävle of Sweden. The collected primary data were transcribed, compared, and thematically analyzed with the literature reviews.  Findings and Conclusion: We conclude that Covid-19 impacts consumer purchase behavior. Besides, consumers adopted online services to purchase different items as per their needs. We have also found that various factors impact consumer online purchase behavior. Furthermore, trustworthiness and transparency is the essential factor that has implications on consumer online purchase behavior.  Contributions of the Thesis: This study suggests that online purchase behavior during Covid-19 significantly impacts the consumer. Besides, consumers face various impacts on online purchase such as product, price and quality, personality and characteristics, psychological, cultural and social, and trustworthiness and transparency. It is recommended for the managers to determine the impacts and develop strategies to maintain online business effectively.  Suggestion for future research: We suggest future research on a similar topic using a larger sample size. We also recommend a comparative study with two or more countries on a similar case to determine the differences and results. Focusing on different issues or services with a larger audience might be done for future research. Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic, Consumer purchase behavior, Online purchase behavior, Adoption of online service platform, and Factors impacting online purchase behavior.

Denna studie handlar primärt om social hållbarhet som är ett stort och omfattande begrepp. I dagens stadsplanering används begreppet i ett bredare perspektiv. Studien har som syfte att fokusera mer ingripande på social hållbarhet för enskilda multifunktionella byggnader, genom att samla in kunskap om ämnet och belysa innebörden. De valda multifunktionella byggnaderna är Icon i Växjö och Spektrum i Göteborg. Syftet med denna studie är att genom forskning och utvärdering konkretisera människans dagliga behov och hur de kan tillgodoses i en multifunktionell byggnad samt dess bidragande roll för ett socialt hållbart kvarter. Målet är att få en tydligare uppfattning om vilken påverkan den multifunktionella byggnaden har på ett kvarter. Genom utformning och tillämpning av ett verktyg som tagits fram inom ramen för den aktuella studien skall byggnadens sociala hållbarhet kunna utvärderas utifrån människans vardagliga liv, behov och intressen.  Intervjuer med ansvariga projektledare, arkitekter, handledare och sakkunniga har tillsammans med insamling av vetenskapliga rapporter, studiebesök, enkät och observationer varit centrala tillvägagångssätt för studien. Att arbeta mot en mer blandad bebyggelsemiljö och byggnader som har olika verksamheter som samsas är idag alltmer förekommande för att uppnå ett livligare och trevligare stadsrum. Utifrån studiens utformade verktyg har respektive multifunktionell byggnad fått olika sociala poäng som baseras på storlek, verksamheter, tillgänglighet och multifunktionalitet. Studien visar att respektive multifunktionell byggnad har givit mervärde till sitt område. / This study focuses primarily on social sustainability, which is a large and comprehensive concept. In today's urban planning, social sustainability is used on a broader perspective. The study aims to focus more on the concept for individual multifunctional buildings by gathering knowledge about the subject and highlight the meaning. The chosen multifunctional buildings are Icon in Växjö and Spektrum in Gothenburg. The purpose of this study is, through research and evaluation, to concretize people's daily needs and how they can be met in a multifunctional building and its contribution to a socially sustainable neighbourhood. The goal is to get a better understanding of which impact the multifunctional building has on its block. The goal is also designing and application of a tool developed in the context of the current study and to use this tool to evaluate the building's social sustainability based on people's everyday lives, needs and interests. Interviews with responsible project managers, architects, supervisors and other experts, together with the gathering of scientific reports, study visits, questionnaires and observations, has been the studies central approach. Working towards a more mixed urban environment and buildings that have different operation that are combined is nowadays increasingly common for a livelier and more enjoyable urban space. Based on the study´s designed tool, each multifunctional building has received different social points that depends on size, operations, availability and multifunctionality. The study shows that each multifunctional building has added value to its area.

This thesis investigates the relationship of regional food products in the tourist home country with destination marketing and management at the example of South Tyrol. South Tyrol was chosen as research area, because the 2 sectors have, on their own, a big standing in the region as well as a cooperate in many different ways. This has led to a symbiosis inside and outside the destination, making it an interesting area to research. While the interplay of the culinary assets of a destination with tourism within the destination is increasingly recognized, developed and used by researchers, planners, companies and authorities, the possible relationship of these sectors outside the destination remains an under-researched area. As Alderighi et al. (2016) found out in a study, an (empirical) connection between availability of local specialities in the tourist home (markets) and the intention of (re-)visit the place is evident. Therefore, this thesis uncovers different tools and mechanisms in (destination) marketing and management for the incorporation of regional food products in the tourist home country. Additionally, experts from the sectors of food and tourism, DMO, will share their considerations and limitations. Theory and practice will be opposed, where as the concepts of “region branding” and “sensory destination marketing” will be elaborated.