In the current digital era, social media has become an important element in the business world. Several theoretical studies have addressed the use of social media platforms in business operations. In this study, we tried to understand LinkedIn’s role in entrepreneurs’ effectuation processes by conducting 11 semi-structured interviews with (co-) founders in early stage startups across different industries in Sweden. Our research found that entrepreneurs utilized LinkedIn as one of their available means and used it extensively in their day-to-day business activities. LinkedIn helps entrepreneurs expand their networks and start partnership with people across border. LinkedIn also acts as an important source of information for early stage startups’ founders to be aware of what is happening in the industry and to be in control towards the shifting market. This thesis opens the door for future research to address the connection between social media platforms and entrepreneurs’ effectuation processes. This study can also trigger more entrepreneurs to adopt LinkedIn in their business operations.

This thesis sets out to study how entrepreneurial failure takes form and how entrepreneurs are affected by entrepreneurial failure. This study aims to contribute another perspective of the mindset of entrepreneurial failure to academic research. Through a qualitative method and a quantitate analysis, this study explores how failure takes form and how entrepreneurs respond to failure. This study present empirical material of failure present itself and how a larger personal investment in an entrepreneurial career affect entrepreneurs self-image. Entrepreneurs learn by direct interactions and failures are is part of an entrepreneurs learning process. The findings of this study present that entrepreneurial failure takes multiple different forms and failure within entrepreneurship presents itself when an entrepreneur has lost financial capital, clients, a larger amount of time invested in something who didn’t benefit the venture or energy. The findings in this study show how the idea of practising entrepreneurship as a lifestyle can have negative effects on entrepreneurs health and self-esteem. The analysis explains how entrepreneurs who differentiate themselves from their failures can learn from experience because they view their actions objectively.

I denna induktiva studie undersöker vi vad som styr valet mellan att bli egenanställd eller starta ett eget företag. Personer kan välja att verka som egenanställd baserat på sin hobby eller passion utan att starta ett eget företag. Detta genom att driva en verksamhet samtidigt som man överlåter de administrativa delarna till ett annat företag, ett så kallat egenanställningsföretag. När man använder sig av en sådan tjänst kan man definieras som egenanställd, vilket innebär att man inte är egenföretagare men ändå driver en egen verksamhet. Syftet med denna studie är att förstå varför och vilka faktorer som påverkar valet hos individer att verka som egenanställd eller att starta ett eget företag. Vi avser att studera likheter och skillnader mellan egenanställda och företagare i deras entreprenörskap. Vägen till entreprenörskap kan se väldigt olika ut för olika personer och vilka faktorer som påverkar valet vill vi undersöka genom teorier om entreprenörskap, entreprenörskapsprocessen, affärsmöjligheter, push- och pull-motivationer samt administrativt arbete. Genom teorierna får vi insyn i vad en entreprenör är och hur vägen till att bli en entreprenör ser ut. Vi har använt oss av ändamålsenligt urval, som baserar sig på att hitta respondenter som kan bidra med relevant information. Vi har intervjuat tio personer, varav fem är egenanställda och fem är företagare genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Via intervjuerna fick vi en djupare förståelse till varför respondenterna väljer företagande eller egenanställning. Resultatet visar att det ligger olika orsaker bakom dessa val som exempelvis kan vara framtidsplaner, om man vill att företaget ska växa samt om man vill anlita personal i framtiden. Andra faktorer som kan påverka är personens livssituation och om man först vill testa sin affärsidé genom egenanställning. De lärdomar som olika grupper kan ta från vår studie är att nya företagare kan överväga sitt val hur man väljer att starta företag, vilken form passar egentligen bäst och likadant för potentiella egenanställda som kan överväga sina val. Samtidigt som den egenanställda kanske inser att den vill satsa på sitt företag och övergå till att starta ett eget företag. Egenanställningsföretag kan ta hjälp av denna studie för att kunna få en bättre förståelse för vilka deras kunder är. Detta med grund i resultaten av varför företagare väljer att starta ett eget företag istället för att verka som egenanställd. / The purpose of the study is to find out the reasons behind the choice between using an umbrella contractor or running your own business. An umbrella company is a back company for contractors that takes care of most parts of their administrative work. This is achieved by using theories such as entrepreneurship, the entrepreneur process, business opportunities, push and pull motivations and administrative work. The study is based on an inductive interview study that included ten respondents, five of whom are using an umbrella contractor and five business owners, to gain insight in different sorts of entrepreneurship. Respondents were found based on purpose sampling, which is based on finding respondents who can contribute with relevant information to our study. We conclude that there are various reasonings behind these choices, such as future plans. Some of the plans depends on if you want the company to be able to grow and hire staff in the future. These choices can also depend on the life situation; if you have a full-time job or if you want to try your concept before starting your own business.

Nowadays, businesses are considering implementing sustainability and using it as a strategy. Many corporate are focusing on the sustainability of their business, hence how do small businesses or entrepreneurs approaching sustainability? Is sustainability essentialfor them as well? This study focuses on young entrepreneurs' perspectives towards sustainability implementation and theirmotivation on opening a business in the F&B industry. The youngentrepreneurs' backgrounds, beliefs, and characteristics willinfluence their perspectives on sustainability implementation. The aim of this study is to know young entrepreneurs’ perspectives on implementing sustainability in the F&B business. This study uses a qualitative research method and focuses on five young entrepreneurs from Indonesia and Malaysia. The theoretical framework is targeting the F&B industry, entrepreneurs' actions in the business,sustainability as strategy, last but not least sustainability, andbusiness. The data collection uses structured interviews andqualitative interviews. The result of the study is shown as thecombination of theoretical frameworks and interviews; thus, it wasdivided into young entrepreneurs' actions in the business andperspectives of sustainability implementation.

Idag är applikationer, program och system såväl i datorer som i mobiler ständigt närvarande i våra liv. Digitala system används av flertalet olika branscher, bland annat skolan, fastighetsbranschen och inom skogsbranschen. Flera skogliga företag och föreningar har idag utvecklat egna digitala system för att sköta deras administration. Bland dessa skogliga företag finns ATA Timber AB som har utvecklat det digitala administrativa systemet Objekthanteraren (OH) för deras entreprenörer och inköpare. Syftet med studien var att beskriva och utvärdera ett digitalt, administrativt system för entreprenörer, samt att analysera om det finns ett samband mellan entreprenörernas användning av systemet och faktorer som IT-kunskaper, att de kör för flera olika företag och liknande. 92% av maskinförarna ansåg att systemet var lätt att hitta i. Några samband mellan användningen av systemet och faktorer som exempelvis IT-kunskaper och erfarenhet av liknande system kunde påvisas. En genomgång av systemet och en användarguide var önskvärt bland maskinförarna.

Entreprenörer har egenskaper och förmågor som är attraktiva för många företag, bland annat har de ofta en kreativ sida som kan utveckla mycket innovativa produkter och tjänster. Samtidigt är entreprenörer drivstarka, kundorienterade, har ett uttalat affärssinne och ser oftast möjligheter istället för problem. Detta arbete gjordes för att undersöka hur entreprenörer skulle kunna påverka företag och om de skulle vara intresserade av att anlita en entreprenörkonsult. Man skulle alltså kunna placera en entreprenör i en konsultroll, för att sedan hjälpa företag att utveckla nya, innovativa produkter och tjänster. Undersökningen har gjorts genom en blandning av litteraturstudier och intervjuer, där personer från företag som Atlas Copco, Electrolux, Ericsson och Oracle har fått ge sin syn på området. Arbetet har utförts med hjälp av Semcon AB, där även intervjuer har gjorts med konsulter för att undersöka problemet från olika vinklar. Resultatet definierar hur en entreprenör kan användas som konsult och vilka egenskaper som är attraktiva för företag att ta till vara på. Dessutom berörs begrepp som intraprenörskap och innovation, där kopplingar görs till hur dessa förstärker företagens konkurrenskraft samtidigt som det underbygger entreprenörkonsultens möjligheter. / Entrepreneurs have characteristics that are extremely attractive for many companies, amongother things; they often have a very creative side which can produce innovative products and services. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs are driven to succeed, customer-oriented and do usually see possibilities instead of problems. This study was done to investigate how entrepreneurs could affect companies and if they would be interested in hiring an entrepreneur-consultant. The study was conducted through a combination of literature studies and interviews, where people from companies such as AtlasCopco, Electrolux, Ericsson, and Oracle have given their view of the subject. The study  has been performed with help from Semcon AB, where interviews were conducted with consultants to examine the problem from different angles. The results define how an entrepreneur can be used as a consultant and the skills that are attractive for companies to take advantage of. In addition, terms like intrapreneurship and innovation are analyzed. Connections are made between these two and how they enhance  he competitiveness of firms at the same time as it enhance the possibilities of the  entrepreneurconsultant

No description available.

No description available.

Over the past 15 years, privately held small businesses generated nearly two-thirds of the net job growth in the United States, yet much of what scholars know regarding the capitalization challenges faced by small businesses is limited to data from large corporations. In 2013 alone, business bankruptcies numbered 33,212, and each year approximately 10% to 12% of U.S. small businesses close. Ineffective capitalization strategies coupled with a limited understanding of funding options frequently results in unsustainable business practices. In this multiple case study, the capital budgeting theory was utilized to explore the capitalization strategies small business owners in the greater Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area employed to achieve sustainability beyond 5 years of business inception. Participants were purposefully selected based on their tenure in business, number of employees, and geographic location. Data were collected via in-person semistructured interviews with 4 small business owners, coupled with a review of financial archival documents. Data were analyzed using theme interpretation, data grouping, and word frequency tabulation. Three themes emerged: a preference for self-funded, personal capitalization; the leveraging of personal relationships as a primary educational strategy; and a general aversion to debt and high interest rates. Implementing sound capitalization strategies contributes to social change by improving the likelihood of long-term sustainability. Sustainable small businesses increase employment opportunities, wage growth, and community-based services while enhancing the overall quality of life for local families and the community.

During the 2009 economic recession, United States business leaders cut marketing expenditures between 33% and 50% more than they did for any other business expenditure to mitigate financial loss because business leaders often regard marketing as an expense and not an investment. Since there is not a widely applied marketing measurement standard, this multiple-case study focused on finding key performance indicators that healthcare and sales small business leaders in eastern United States with less than 500 employees, and marketing evaluation practices in place, used to evaluate the effectiveness of their marketing. Institutional theory was used as the conceptual framework to explore the key drivers behind marketing measurement practices. The focus of this study was on the experiences of 4 small business leaders in Atlanta, Georgia, and Baltimore, Maryland, who have developed financial and nonfinancial strategies to measure their marketing performance. Data collected for this study included 20-minute interviews with each participant, strategic plans, and field notes. A modified van Kaam and triangulation approach was used for data analysis to identify themes, which included the need to tie marketing measurement to the product or service offering and drive revenue or traffic to their business. The results of the study may benefit practitioners who work on social change strategies because the conclusions clarify effective marketing practices and increase well-being of customers. Further, this study provides recommendations for successful marketing measurement strategies that may help businesses meet the needs of community members.