Background Based on the Global Trends report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee, in high-income countries, there are 2.7 refuges per 1,000 national population, girls and women account for nearly 50 percent of this refuge population. In these high-income countries, compared with the general population refuge women have higher prevalence of mental illness. To our knowledge this is the first systematic review that addresses access to mental health services for refugee women in high-income countries. Thus, this review was conducted to examine the barriers to and facilitators of access to mental health services for refugee women in high-income countries for refugee resettlement. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases were searched for research articles with qualitative component (including mixed-method or multi-method with qualitative component), in order to examine barriers and facilitators related to accessing mental health services. Relevant studies were collected on March 14, 2020 and were extracted and critically appraised by multiple authors. A narrative synthesis was conducted with the included studies to gather key synthesis evidence. Results Of the four databases searched, 1258 studies were identified with 12 meeting the inclusion criteria. The major barriers identified were language barriers, stigmatization, and the need for culturally sensitive practices to encourage accessing mental health care within a religious and cultural context. There were several studies that indicated how gender roles and biological factors played a role in challenges to accessing mental health services. The major facilitators identified were service availability and awareness in resettlement countries, social support and the resilience of refugee women to ease access of mental health services. Conclusion This review revealed socio-economic factors contributed to barriers and facilitators to accessing mental health among women refugees and asylum seekers. Addressing those social determinants of health can reduce barriers and enhance facilitators of access to mental health care for vulnerable populations like refugee women. Although there is a difference in health access policy among the top resettlement courtiers, the review found that there are no significant differences in accessing mental health for refugee and asylum seeker women among leading resettlement countries. The review findings suggest the need for further research on this topic given the potential significance of the findings on refugee and asylum seeker women mental health.

There has been a rapid shift regarding the gender distribution of management positions within HR. Although the profession is female dominated, most management positions have belonged to men up until a few years back. Today the managerial positions are more equally distributed between the genders. The aim of this study is to get a better understanding of the barriers and enablers that men and women experience in their career development within the HR-branch. Previous research shows that the HR-profession has become more equal, but women and men are still working in different areas within the profession. The study is based on a qualitative research method. Semi structured interviews were held with seven HR-managers from different parts of Sweden. The results show that men encounter more enablers and less barriers in their careers than women. Networking and support from managers are two enablers that both genders experience. Men encounter more enablers because of the way they are socialized to society and women's careers are facilitated by the support from other women within the profession. Barriers that affect both genders are the low status of the HR-profession and the struggle to combine the managerial position with family-life. Men only encounter one barrier in their career development which is that managerial positions in female dominated professions often are reserved for women. Women encounter more barriers, for example they are socialized to a society in which they are supposed to be reserved and therefore they are more reluctant when it comes to applying for higher positions. / Det har skett en snabb förändring gällande könsfördelningen på chefspositioner inom HR. Trots att yrket är kvinnodominerat har männen suttit på majoriteten av chefspositionerna ända fram till för några år sedan. Idag är dock positionerna mer jämnt fördelade mellan könen. Syftet med studien är att få ökad förståelse för vilka hinder och möjligheter som män och kvinnor upplever i sin karriärutveckling inom HR-branschen. Tidigare forskning visar att yrket har genomgått en jämställdhets förändring men att kvinnor och män fortfarande söker sig till olika delar av HR-yrket. Studien är kvalitativ och baseras på sju semistrukturerade intervjuer med olika HR-chefer runt om i Sverige. Resultatet visar att män möter fler möjligheter och färre hinder i sin karriärutveckling än vad kvinnor gör. Nätverk och chefsstöd är de två faktorer som möjliggör båda könens karriärutveckling. Män möter fler möjligheter på grund av hur de socialiseras in i dagens samhälle och kvinnors karriärer underlättas genom stöd från andra kvinnor inom yrket. Hinder som påverkar båda könen är HR-yrkets låga status och svårigheter med att kombinera chefskapet och familjelivet. Män möter endast ett hinder i sin karriärutveckling i form av att ledarpositioner i kvinnodominerade yrken reserveras för kvinnor. Kvinnor möter fler hinder som exempelvis att de socialiserats in i ett samhälle där de ska vara tillbakadragna och inte ta för sig, vilket gör att de mer sällan söker sig frivilligt till högre chefspositioner.

This research paper examines the enablers of technology diffusion in the field of cell and gene therapy. Recent scientific advancements for cell and gene therapies have provided personalized and potentially curative treatments to patients who otherwise would have suboptimal or no options for their disease. This innovative science has taken more than 60 years to reach patients, and even with FDA approvals in 2017, global diffusion has encountered many rate limiting aspects. To better understand why diffusion of transformative treatments is stunted, this research examines knowledge transfer as an enabler of technology diffusion in the healthcare sector. Two qualitative and inductive studies were conducted to identify the enablers of diffusion. Study 1, an exploratory, archival analysis, compares historically innovative technologies and documents the representative knowledge transfer archetypes that enable diffusion. The findings resulted in a new archetype of knowledge transfer, referred to as the Cross Sector Collaboration (CSC) Pathway. Study 2 is an industry-level case study which asks how the transfer of knowledge is enacted in the cell and gene sector, examines the relevance of the CSC Pathway, and explores differences in the knowledge transfer process among the various types of organizations (public, for-profit, non-profit) that support the sector. There were three key findings from the research. First, the research expands on the interconnectedness between the theories of Diffusion of Innovations, Absorptive Capacity and Knowledge Creation. Second, the research finds evidence to support the critical role of knowledge transfer in the diffusion of technologies involved in cell and gene therapies. Third, the findings produce a new framework for knowledge transfer, termed the Cross Sector Collaboration Pathway. The dissertation findings contribute to the literature as they provide a framework for collaborative knowledge transfer mechanisms that cell and gene therapy firms, together with industry stakeholders, can employ to enable efficient diffusion of technology in this rapidly growing field. / Business Administration/Strategic Management

Yes / Due to rapid agricultural industrialization, increased global food demand, and, increasing concerns related to food quality and safety, the concepts of sustainability and supply chain transparency are becoming critically important to the agriculture and agri-food sector. The new focus on sustainability performance objectives emphasizes the effective utilization and consumption of natural resources to balance ecological, economic and societal aspects of agri-food businesses. The management of sustainability adds a new demand on business managers who often have small profits and receive stringent requirements from large powerful customers and retailers. In this paper, we recognize and analyze the key enablers in implementing sustainable initiatives for Agri-Food Supply Chains (A-FSCs). Ten important sustainability driven enablers were considered from a rigorous literature review and phase of expert consultation. The identified enablers were then analyzed using a combined Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) - fuzzy Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) based framework. The ISM approach enabled an appreciation of the contextual relationships among the enablers and to classify the enablers based on their driving and dependence potential. The fuzzy DEMATEL technique supported the determination of the influential and influenced enablers and also to categorize them into cause and effect groups. An empirical case study, drawn from a vegetable and fruit retail supply chain in India, is used to focus and test the applicability of the proposed research framework. The paper facilitates professional management practice and researchers to uncover and explore the enablers for the real execution of sustainability oriented initiatives in the agri-food business sector.

Background. In today’s business environment firms are highly supplier dependent, and with a changing landscape of legislations affecting product requirements it is challenging for firms to keep a compliant and competitive supplier base. The post-COVID effects of supply shortages affect demand and with geopolitical uncertainties apparent, it becomes imperative that firms manage and develop suppliers to ensure competitiveness. To combat this, the concept Supplier development has been proven to enhance buying firm-competitive advantage, supplier performance and buyer-supplier relationship. It refers to any efforts by the buying firm, together with the supplier, to enhance the capabilities of the supplier to meet the firm’s short- and long-term needs. It is imperative for firms in today’s markets, due to the volatile factors mentioned, to develop a stable supplier base effectively and successfully. Purpose. Explore and identify the activities and factors that lead to successful supplier development in the context of an electronics manufacturing company in the video and surveillance industry. Methods. A qualitative case study was chosen as it allows for a deep and context specific understanding as to why activities and factors lead to success in supplier development. It further helps in finding relationships and uncovering complexities that exist. Semi-structured interviews were with professionals from Sourcing, Quality and Sustainability departments were conducted to understand the factors and activities profoundly while gaining different perspectives on the matters to enhance validity. Results. It is found that for a buying firm to initiate supplier development there are some essential factors that must be present in the relationship with a supplier. These are called enablers and consist of the following: Trust, Commitment, Information sharing, Communication, and Top management support. The factors that enhance the performance of supplier development initiatives are called success factors, the findings are: Having the right competence, Local resources, Alignment of management level to the supplier’s, Good margins and Tools for supplier development. Lastly, the activities found to effectively develop the supplier are divided into direct and indirect activities, where the latter indicates less resource commitment by the buying firm: Training and Education, Knowledge transfer and Supplier visits, Encourage visits to buying firm’s headquarters, Supplier conference, Supplier certification and Supplier assessment. Conclusions. The following enablers build up the foundation which is essential for initiating supplier development initiatives; Trust, Commitment, Information sharing, and Top management support. The supplier development activities that have shown to result in successfully improving buyer competitive advantage and/or supplier performance and/or buyer-supplier relationship performance are the following: Training and education, Knowledge transfer, Supplier visits, Encourage visits to buying firm’s headquarters, Create incentives at supplier conference, Supplier certification and Supplier assessment. Lastly, the thesis identified several success factors from the findings by conducting this case study that enhance the implementation and execution of supplier development initiatives: Having the right competence, Local resources, Aligning management level to the supplier interface, Good margins and Tools for supplier development. The study contributes to supplier development research by providing an in-depth qualitative study about success factors and key activities in supplier development. It sought to provide managers with insights on how to successfully develop their supplier base to enhance firm competitiveness and keep compliant supplier bases. / Bakgrund. I dagens affärsmiljö är företag starkt beroende av leverantörer, och med ett föränderligt landskap av lagstiftningar som påverkar produktkrav är det utmanande för företag att upprätthålla en efterlevande och konkurrenskraftig leverantörsbas. Efter-covid-effekterna av leveransbrist påverkar efterfrågan och med geopolitiska osäkerheter är det nödvändigt att företag hanterar och utvecklar leverantörer för att säkerställa konkurrenskraft. För att bekämpa detta har konceptet Leverantörsutveckling visat sig förbättra köpande företags konkurrensfördel, leverantörsprestanda och relationen mellan köpare och leverantör. Det syftar på alla insatser från det köpande företaget, tillsammans med leverantören, för att förbättra leverantörens kapacitet att möta företagets kort- och långsiktiga behov. Det är nödvändigt för företag i dagens marknader, på grund av de nämnda volatila faktorerna, att utveckla en stabil leverantörsbas effektivt och framgångsrikt. Syfte. Syftet med studien är att utforska och identifiera faktorer och aktiviteter som leder till framgångsrik leverantörsutveckling i kontexten av ett elektronikföretag inom video- och övervakningsindustrin. Metod. En kvalitativ fallstudie valdes eftersom den tillåter en djup och kontextspecifik förståelse för varför de identifierade aktiviteterna och faktorerna leder till framgång inom leverantörsutveckling. Den hjälper även att finna relationer och undersöka komplexitet bland faktorer. Ett elektronikföretag i video- och övervakningsindustrin användes som ett fall-företag. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer gjordes med representanter från avdelningar inom inköp, kvalitet, och hållbarhet, för att förstå faktorer och aktiviteter på djupet samtidigt som olika perspektiv på ämnena kunde fångas upp. Resultat. För att ett inköpsföretag ska påbörja utvecklingen av en leverantör krävs det vissa avgörande faktorer som måste finnas närvarande i relationen. Dessa benämns, "möjliggörare" och inkluderar förtroende, engagemang, informationsdelning, kommunikation och stöd från högsta ledningen. Faktorer som är fördelaktiga för ett inköpsföretag för att förbättra prestandan av leverantörsutvecklingsinitiativ betecknas som framgångsfaktorer. Dessa omfattar att ha rätt kompetens, tillgång till lokala resurser, anpassning av ledningsnivån till leverantörens, upprätthållande av goda marginaler samt tillhandahållande av verktyg för leverantörsutveckling. Slutligen, de aktiviteter som identifierats som effektiva för att utveckla leverantörer delas upp i direkta och indirekta aktiviteter, där de senare nämnda kräver mindre resurser från inköpsföretaget. Direkta nyckelaktiviteter inkluderar utbildning och träning, överföring av kunskap. De indirekta nyckelaktiviteterna inkluderar leverantörsbesök, uppmuntran av besök till inköpsföretagets huvudkontor, leverantörskonferenser, leverantörs certifiering och bedömning. Slutsatser. Möjliggörarna som utgör grunden för att kunna initiera leverantörsutveckling är följande:  förtroende, engagemang, delning av information och stöd från högsta ledningen. De leverantörsutvecklingsaktiviteter som har visat sig framgångsrikt förbättra köparens konkurrensfördel och/eller leverantörens prestanda och/eller köparens-leverantörsrelationens prestanda inkluderar: Utbildning och träning, kunskapsöverföring, leverantörsbesök, uppmuntra besök till köpande företagets huvudkontor, skapa incitament vid leverantörskonferenser, leverantörs certifiering och leverantörsbedömning. Slutligen identifierade avhandlingen flera framgångsfaktorer som förbättrar genomförandet av leverantörsutvecklingsinitiativ: att ha rätt kompetens, tillgång till lokala resurser, anpassning av ledningsnivån till leverantörens, upprätthållande av goda marginaler samt tillhandahållande av verktyg för leverantörsutveckling. Studien bidrar till forskning om leverantörsutveckling genom att tillhandahålla en djupgående kvalitativ studie om framgångsfaktorer och nyckelaktiviteter inom leverantörsutveckling. Den syftade till att ge chefer insikter om hur de framgångsrikt kan utveckla sin leverantörsbas för att förbättra företagets konkurrenskraft och upprätthålla efterlevande leverantörsbaser.

In a growing digital economy, the possibilities for newly established companies are immense, and the market for innovative, disruptive products has grown exponentially. In this environment, single-person start-ups exist alongside billion-dollar organizations with thousands of employees. Somewhere in the middle, scale-ups have become an increasingly interesting topic of study as they can be seen as the "successful" start-ups that are experiencing the transitional challenges of establishing themselves in an increasingly competitive market. As fast-growing scale-ups juggle customer's demand for new, innovative products/services alongside investor's demand for a viable business model, a need for a fast and adaptive product/service development environment arises. Here the concept of cross-functional teams becomes increasingly interesting as a tool for facing the challenges that such scale-ups face. This paper is an exploratory case-study following a cross-functional team at a tech scale-up in the Stockholm region. The company currently inhabits the gaming market and offers B2C products/services to thousands of customers. This case study follows the cross-functional team from its early inception to the later stages of its progress. This paper draws conclusions for optimal conditions and success factors that allow for cross-functional teams to reach their full potential. Being a case study, this paper is also able to analyze how different contextual factors have implications on how crossfunctional teams operate. In the end, success factors are laid out, both generally and contextually, giving readers insights into the benefits and challenges that go hand-inhand with cross-functional teams at high growth scale-ups. / I en snabbväxande digital ekonomi är möjligheterna för nyetablerade bolag enorma. Efterfrågan efter innovativa och disruptiva produkter har vuxit exponentiellt. I denna miljö existerar det både små start-ups och miljardbolag med tusentals anställda. Någonstans i mitten mellan start-ups och miljardbolag finns det ett bolagsstadie som benämns scale-up. Scale-up kan ses som framgångsrika start-ups som handskas med de utmaningar som kommer med att snabbt växa och samtidigt konkurrera i en tuff marknad. Snabbväxande scale-ups behöver balansera kundernas efterfrågan för innovativa produkter/tjänster samtidigt som eventuella investerare kräver bevis på att företaget har en lönsam affärsmodell. För att uppfylla allt detta krävs det en snabb, innovativ och adaptiv utvecklingsmiljö för företagets produkter och tjänster. Crossfunctional teams är en intressant modell för att hantera några av de utmaningar som scale-ups står inför. Denna studie är en explorativ fall-studie som följer ett cross-functional team på en svensk scale-up i baserad i Stockholmsregionen. Företaget är en leverantör till gamingindustrin och erbjuder B2C produkter och tjänster till tusentals kunder. Dennastudie följer ett cross-functional team från initierandet av teamet och under flera veckors tid. Studien bidrar med slutsatser gällande vilka förutsättningar och framgångsfaktorer som bidrar till att ett cross-functional team kan uppnå sin fulla potential. Denna fall-studie bidrar också med insikter kring hur olika kontextuella faktorer påverkar arbetet för crossfunctional team. Slutligen, presenterar studien olika framgångsfaktorer, både generella och kontextuella för cross-functional teams. Studien bidrar även med insikter gällande de olika fördelarna och utmaningarna som uppkommer om man arbetar med crossfunctional teams.

There is a paradoxical realism as the number of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) increases on a global scale, despite the fact that organizations’ failure rate to generate the expected value from these cross-border M&As remains high. Researchers have argued that these failures have been connected to the post-merger integration (PMI) process in which multiple challenges are imposed. However, the findings within the area are both limited and scattered, and researchers have emphasized the need to enhance the understanding of how different sociocultural factors impact the integration process of merging organizations in an international context.   Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate how sociocultural factors impact the PMI process in cross-border M&As. The empirical data was collected through a qualitative multiple case study from a Swedish company that has conducted numerous cross-border M&As. Four acquisitions in different international settings were examined, and 16 interviews were carried out with employees from both the case company and the acquired firms.   The findings demonstrate that sociocultural factors on four different levels need to be considered; national, company, team and individual. Interestingly, the findings highlight that there is no apparent connection concerning the level of psychic distance between national cultures and the challenges imposed in the PMI process, as previously suggested by research. However, national culture still matters, but this study suggests that the most substantial impact on the PMI process derives from sociocultural factors on a company cultural level. This is surprising as most research on culture has been focusing on the national level, and this suggests that future research should shift focus to incorporate and investigate additional levels of culture as well.

There is a paradox in the literature where the amount of cross-border M&As are increasing, even though there is a high volume of unsuccessful cross-border M&As. According to researchers, it can be due to lack of knowledge regarding the knowledge transfer process. Therefore, this study aims to grasp the technological knowledge transfer process and how enablers and constraints influence it during the post-acquisition phase. To fulfil the aim, data was collected through a qualitative case study where eight interviews were held with managersand non-managerial employees that had an important role in the studied technological knowledge transfer process. In addition, case documents were provided by the case company and a site visit was conducted. The results indicate that the technological knowledge transfer process is complex and dynamic, making it difficult to distinguish different phases as they overlap. The results also show that the technological knowledge transfer process is influencedby certain enablers and constraints, which in turn either facilitate or challenge the process. However, the enablers and constraints can vary depending on if the perspective of the senderor receiver of knowledge is applied.

<p>This master thesis explores the transfer of R&D activities from Western MNC’s to their Chinese subsidiaries and how companies can leverage key enablers to address main barriers in this process. The research project is conducted as a multiple-case study consisting of three case companies: the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, the Swiss/Swedish power and automation company ABB and the global food and beverage company Nestlé. The main rationale for conducting this study is that a significantly increasing level of foreign invested R&D is conducted in the Chinese environment with its increasingly important market. In order to preserve competitive advantages and secure global market penetration it could be necessary for other companies as well to undertake a similar process of transferring R&D.</p><p>The main barriers identified are the difficulty to find qualified employees in China, to train and retain the recruited employees and the language gaps that are present between the Western and the Chinese units. One key enabler applied to address these barriers is to organize activities at selected Chinese universities in order to attract skilled graduates. Utilizing expatriates and short-term traveling increases personal interaction between otherwise geographically distant employees together with providing training of increasing complexity are key enablers addressed to develop the Chinese employee’s knowledge. Language courses is the key enabler applied in order to decrease the language gaps, both Chinese courses for Westerners and English courses for Chinese.</p><p>In addition to identifying barriers and enablers and investigating their interrelatedness we propose a conceptual model for R&D transfer consisting of four elements to transfer together with implementation of the transferred knowledge at the receiving unit. In our view, the elements to transfer are physical objects, individual explicit knowledge, individual tacit knowledge and collective knowledge.</p> / This thesis won Sparbanksstiftelsen Kronan's award of 50000 SEK.

The purpose of this study is to examine and describe student and instructor experiences and perceptions of course design, and identify the critical issues regarding the use of a blended learning environment. A design based research (DBR) framework with qualitative approaches was carried out by collecting data from an undergraduate course offered to sophomores. The primary approach was phenomenology using the lens of heuristic inquiry. Interviews, questionnaires, documents, observation notes, instructor diary, and weekly reflection reports were the main data sources. Data were collected in three periods: preliminary study, pilot study, and actual implementation. The results of instructor experiences revealed that instructor considerations for the analysis period centered on needs and context. The design and development considerations centered v on pedagogical approach, course materials and documents, course organization, interaction, and instructor-student roles. The enablers (benefits and opportunities) of the implementation period included arousing student interest and participation potentially more, having flexibility, saving time, tracking student progress more easily, and increased interaction, collaboration, and communication opportunities. The barriers (challenges and limitations) were increased workload, difficulties related to the course and time management, overlaps, and creating harmony among F2F and online environments. The students mentioned interaction and communication opportunities, increased motivation, opportunity to voice opinions, and reinforcement of learning as enablers of the blended learning environment. The barriers were increased workload, cultural and technical barriers and dependability of environments. The critical issues were found to be context, pedagogical framework, instructor competency, and technical issues. It can be concluded that use of blended learning environments can be regarded as a paramount initiative for the higher education institutions by maximizing the enablers of both environments but also has its unique barriers to consider. The results also implied that it is the decisions on the instructional design approaches for creating balance in the course activities that is critical to blended learning environment designs.