Under the shadow of the climate change dilemma and its consequence for the human’s future, the need for secured and stable energy sources is vital. Academia, political leaders, and influential business actors play a key role to introduce schemes to facilitate the adaptation of new technologies and energy systems improvement. Hydrogen as an energy carrier is one of the solutions to tackle environmental concerns in recent decades. However, hydrogen technology needs constant development to reduce its cost and to find production methods by which fossil fuels can be replaced by clean hydrogen. In this study, five different countries in terms of hydrogen technology introduction, their National Strategy on Hydrogen, influential variables on hydrogen application have been investigated. Along with a comparison between five countries, the differences in policies and political incentives and their effect on hydrogen applications have been studied. Policy incentives work differently according to the various cultural norms. In some countries such as Japan financial incentives work better but in some such as Sweden non-financial incentives work well. Along with policy introduction, collaboration between policy, industry, and academia contribute to the successful introduction, diffusion, and application of new technologies. Regarding hydrogen technology in Sweden, introduction of National Strategy on Hydrogen, a shift from hydrogen application in industry to transport section, and giving less priority to biogas and more to hydrogen fuel, applying suitable policy incentives can be helpful for Sweden to act faster and benefit more from hydrogen.

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In this dissertation, we leverage predictive and prescriptive analytics to develop decision support systems to promote the use of renewable energy in society. Since electricity from renewable energy sources is still relatively expensive, there are variety of financial incentive programs available in different regions. Our research focuses on financial incentive programs and tackles two main problem: 1) how to optimally design and control hybrid renewable energy systems for residential and commercial buildings given the capacity based and performance based incentives, and 2) how to develop a model-based system for policy makers for designing optimal financial incentive programs to promote investment in net zero energy (NZE) buildings. In order to customize optimal investment and operational plans for buildings, we developed a mixed integer program (MIP). The optimization model considers the load profile and specifications of the buildings, local weather data, technology specifications and pricing, electricity tariff, and most importantly, the available financial incentives to assess the financial viability of investment in renewable energy. It is shown how the MIP model can be used in developing customized incentive policy designs and controls for renewable energy system.

In my first chapter, I use a novel dataset of customer reviews from Amazon.com to study the impact of managerial myopia on product market reputation. Using exogenous variation due to the timing of CEO equity vesting events, I show that short-term incentive shocks predict declines in reputation. A changing product market lineup and a deterioration of existing products are two mechanisms through which reputation is affected. The effect is larger when the CEO has other short-term concerns and when the firm has a low reputation in the product market. However, higher advertising expenses mitigate the negative reputational effect among consumers. Using an alternative empirical methodology, I find that higher short-term ownership in the firm is also associated with declining product market reputation, while higher long-term ownership is associated with increasing reputation. My second chapter uses a different setting to examine the consequences of personal wealth incentives. We test whether household wealth shocks affect professional misconduct by financial advisors. We use a panel of advisors' home addresses and examine within-advisor variation relative to other advisors who work at the same firm and live in the same ZIP code. We show that advisors increase misconduct following declines in their homes' values. The increased misconduct is due, in part, to willful actions, such as churning. We show that advisors' housing returns explain misconduct targeting out-of-state customers, breaking the link between customer and advisor housing shocks. Further, the results are stronger for advisors with lower career risk from committing misconduct.

In this study, employees are given autonomy in effort allocation across two tasks - complex and simple tasks, where the return to the organization is significantly higher for the complex task requiring high skill than for the simple task requiring low skill. An unavoidable feature of multi-task settings is that effort expended on one task detracts from effort that can be expended on another task. This effort trade-off among tasks becomes problematic when the returns from different tasks are unequal, with important consequences for a firm's overall performance. The design of management accounting control systems in such multi-task setting is difficult because organizations have to achieve multiple objectives: to improve productivity on both simple and complex tasks (i.e., performance) and to direct employee effort to more complex tasks given that the complex tasks are more valuable to firms (i.e., effort allocation). In a laboratory experiment, I examine the effects of two motivational mechanisms, financial compensation and relative performance information (RPI), on employee performance and effort allocation between simple and complex tasks. I find that the effects of RPI and financial compensation are independent such that each motivational mechanism affects performance and effort allocation separately. In addition, I find that the effects of RPI or financial compensation depend on whether a worker is a top performer or a bottom performer. Also, findings demonstrate that the effects of these motivational mechanisms on employee effort allocation and performance depend on the complexity of the task. Future research studies and managers who design incentive systems should consider the implementation of different types of incentives for different performer levels. Organizations should consider the degree of complexity of the tasks that workers must perform in multi-task settings.

The digital reality is within this current moment debated and something that affects people. Upcoming years in real estate in general, it will be crucial of developments within the industry concerning digital solutions. The processes, business and approaches that have affected an industry for a very long time are changing in its foundations. Owning a property or managing an object in the coming years in an increasingly digitized world will bring new types of demands on organizations that intend to participate in the development. For a long time, digitization has existed as a concept seeming exciting and interesting. Smart devices have taken a larger part of time through telephones, televisions and likewise. Banking processes have evolved through phones and other digital tools to provide new variations of banking services. Airports have developed digital check-in services, which mean that you are actually virtually on the plane before you arrive at the airport. The development of these banking and tourism services changes the market and companies have been able to take part of the market by providing new solutions.  In development and innovation, there is a term used repeatedly, the idea of a “disruptive innovation”. More explicitly, a new innovation that destroys the previously functioning market. As a concrete example, the previously well-functioning camera - today largely exchanged for the digital camera. Or the previously mentioned development of banks and flight processes. It has previously been functioning markets, however, these new processes and innovations have eliminated earlier working solutions by performing better.   The study investigates possibilities closer if there are potential "disruptive innovations" in facility management and digital key control. The thesis has been focusing on the consequences of digital keys by using a model to analyse the impact on work in a future process. The physical key is one of the most ancient innovations that have been refined and developed over the centuries. With the new digital reality, it may be possible to find a new process that create better functions. / Kommande år i fastighetsförvaltning i allmänhet kommer det att vara avgörande för utvecklingen inom industrin med digitala lösningar. De processer, affärer och tillvägagångssätt som har påverkat en bransch under en mycket lång tid är på väg att förändras i grunden. Äga en fastighet eller förvalta ett objekt de närmaste åren i en alltmer digitaliserad värld kommer att medföra nya typer av krav på organisationer som avser att delta i utvecklingen och vara aktuell på marknaden. Under lång tid har digitalisering funnits som ett koncept som synes spännande och intressant. Smarta enheter har tagit en större del av tiden via telefoner, tv-apparater och liknande. Bankprocesser har utvecklats genom telefoner och andra digitala verktyg för att ge nya variationer av banktjänster. Flygplatser har utvecklat digitala incheckningstjänster, vilket innebär att du faktiskt är på planet innan du kommer till flygplatsen. Utvecklingen av dessa bank- och turismtjänster förändrar marknaden och företagen har kunnat ta del av marknaden genom att erbjuda nya lösningar. Inom utveckling och innovation finns det ett begrepp vilket används återkommande, en idé om en ”disruptive innovation”. Mer explicit, att en ny innovation förstör den tidigare fungerande marknaden, där det konkreta exemplet är den tidigare väl fungerande kameran vilken idag i stor omfattning är utbytt till den digitala kameran. Eller den tidigare nämnda utvecklingen av bank och flygprocesser. Det har tidigare varit fungerande marknader, dock har nya processer och innovationer slagit ut tidigare fungerande lösningar.  I det här arbetet har möjligheterna undersökts närmre ifall det går att finna potentiella ”disruptive innovations” inom fastighetsförvaltning. Den fysiska nyckeln är en utav de mest antika innovationerna som genom årtusenden och århundranden har förfinats och utvecklats. Med den nya digitala verkligheten kan det vara möjligt att finna en ny process vilken fungerar på ett bättre sätt.

Šiame darbe siekiama ištirti paskatų tiesioginėms užsienio investicijoms taikymo ypatumus naujose Europos Sąjungos šalyse – Lietuvoje, Latvijoje, Estijoje, Lenkijoje, Vengrijoje, Slovakijoje, Čekijoje ir Rumunijoje. Darbe atskleidžiami paskatų tiesioginėms užsienio investicijoms (TUI) teoriniai aspektai, analizuojamos šiuolaikinės TUI tendencijos, keliamos hipotezės apie atskirų šalių teikiamas paskatas tiesioginėms užsienio investicijoms ir jų patrauklumą. Šioms hipotezėms patvirtinti ar paneigti vykdomas dviejų etapų tyrimas, kuriuo parodoma, kiek apskritai ir kokias paskatas teikia pasirinktos šalys, taip pat nustatomi paskatų tiesioginėms užsienio investicijoms reitingai, kuriais parodomas skirtingas kiekvienos šalies teikiamų paskatų patrauklumas. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, jog visos nagrinėjamos šalys teikia skirtingas paskatas tiesioginėms užsienio investicijoms. Įvertinus šalis pagal suminį paskatų investicijoms reitingą, patraukliausios šalys investuotojams yra Vengrija, Rumunija, Latvija. Galiausiai pateikti atlikto tyrimo ribotumai bei rekomendacijos tolesniems šios srities tyrimams. / This paper deals with analyzing investment incentives for foreign direct investment (FDI) concentrating on new European Union countries’ practices (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Romania). Firstly, the theoretical aspects of FDI incentives are described, then modern trends of FDI are examined and hypotheses about the range and attractiveness of investment incentives in selected countries are formulated. In order to confirm these hypotheses, the carried out research is divided into two stages, where quantity and variety of investment incentives is estimated and summary score of FDI incentives’ attractiveness is attributed to each country, showing how much the incentives’ system is well-favoured by investors. The results of the research identifies a wide range of investment incentives that are currently offered in new EU countries. Also, in conformity with the attributed summary score of FDI incentives, the most attractive countries are Hungary, Romania and Latvia. Finally, the limitations of this research and recommendations for further studies are presented.

x, 59 p. / Governments around the world provide financial incentives to encourage renewable energy generation and energy conservation. The primary goals of these efforts are to mitigate climate change and improve long-term energy independence by reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The consensus in the energy incentive literature is that performance-based incentives, which fund energy output, are more cost efficient than investment-based incentives, which fund capital input. This thesis uses a 30-year case study of Oregon's Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) program to argue that investment-based energy incentives are moderately cost efficient relative to other state performance-based incentives and can be an effective driver of clean energy deployment. However, this analysis also finds that there are significant opportunities to improve the cost efficiency of investment-based energy incentive programs by targeting least cost projects. Namely, 50% of the first year kilowatt-hour electricity returns of the BETC program could have been achieved at 10% of the cost. These lessons from historical BETC spending should guide policymakers, NGO.s, and businesses who aim to make targeted use of fiscally-constrained energy incentive programs. / Committee in charge: Laura Leete, Chair; Ron Mitchell, Member; Grant Jacobsen, Member

Inom ramen för denna kandidatuppsats görs en analys av fastighetsmäklarens rätt till ersättning vid bostadsköp mellan privatpersoner. Vilka ersättningsformer påverkar fastighetsmäklarens incitament i form av prestation i förhållande till att denne förväntas agera oberoende parterna emellan. Fastighetsköp i form av bostadsköp mellan privatpersoner är ofta stora ekonomiska affärer. Det gör det extra viktigt att allt sker på rätt sätt samt att både säljare och köpare blir nöjda. Bostadsaffärer kan vara komplexa och det kan uppståen del oklarheter och osäkerheter kring inte sällan oviktiga detaljer vilket gör att de flesta väljer att ta hjälp av en fastighetsmäklare. Mäklaren ansvarar för att sköta allade praktiska moment som uppkommer genom hela processen. I gengäld förväntar sigmäklaren ersättning i form av provision när affären är klar. För att mäklaren ska ha rätt till sin ersättning krävs att rekvisiten i 23 § 1 st. FML är uppfyllda. När så är fallet blir även uppdragsgivaren, som i de flesta fall är säljaren, skyldig att betala dennes ersättning. Inom ramen för fastighetsmäklarens uppdrag har denne en del skyldigheter och regler att förhålla sig till. Bland annat ska denne agera utifrån god fastighetsmäklarsed (8 § FML) och därmed utföra sitt arbete med stor omsorg. Detta gäller hela tiden, oavsett situation, när mäklaren är iklädd sin yrkesmässiga roll. Under arbetets gång har jag främst använt mig av kommenterad lagtext, artiklar, debattartiklar, tidigare rättsfall i form av NJA och beslut från Fastighetsmarknadens Reklamationsnämnd. Jag har även genomfört ett antal intervjuer men aktiva fastighetsmäklare. Jag utgår ifrån individen som nyttomaximerande och att säljaren i detta fall är den som är uppdragsgivare. För att undersöka de ekonomiska incitament som mäklare har utgår jag ifrån tre olika ersättningsformer; fast arvode, rak provision samt provisionsstege. Jag har kommit fram till att förhållandet mellan ersättning till mäklaren som ofta bestäms utifrån slutpris samt det ekonomiska incitament som mäklaren har i förhållande till att denne förväntas agera oberoende säljare och köpare emellan inte allt för sällan kan komma att bli en svår balansgång. Det finns också anledning att tro att det råder en viss informations asymmetri mäklare oc huppdragsgivare emellan. / In this bachelor of science thesis an analys is made of real estate brokers and their right of financial compensation, in the case of property purchases between private idividuals. What different forms of financial compensation can affect real estate brokersand what financial incentives exists when they have to act impartial between sellers and byers. Property purchases between private individuals are often major financial deals.That makes it extra important that everything is done in the right way and that both seller and byer are satisfied. Property transactions can be very complex and there maybe some uncertainties about important details. Therefore most people take help from a real estate broker. The real estate broker is responsible for taking care of all the practical things that comes with the process. In return, he or she expetct financial compensation. In order for the real estate broker to be entitled to the compensation, the conditions in 23 § 1 act FML must be required. The seller of the property is most often the client who has to pay the broker. The broker has a lot of obligations and rules to follow. Among other things, he or she must act on the basis of sound estate agent practice. This applies at all times when the broker is dressed in his professional role. During the course of my work I have mainly used annotated legal texts, articles,debate articles, previous court cases and decisions of Fastighetsmarknadens Reklamationsnämnd (FRN). I have also interviewed a few real estate brokers who are working on the swedish real estate market. I assume that the individual is maximized in use and that the seller always is the client of the broker. I want to investigate financial incentives of real estate brokers and will use three different forms of financial compensation; fixed commission, straight commission and commission bast on steps. I have realized that the financial incentives of the broker may vary depending on the type of financial compensation and that it sometimes can be hard to act impartial between seller and byer. There is also reason to believe that there is a certain information asymmetry between clients and real estate brokers.

In Sweden, the retail sector is responsible for 8% of the total supply chain waste. Although the number is relatively small, the retail sector is of key importance for food waste minimization since retail stores collect large amounts of food and connect with consumers and producers in a limited, clearly defined number of places. Therefore, initiatives or policies implemented in retail may have major implications. The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) concludes that prevention of food waste and redistribution to humans are the only actions that contribute to Target 12.3, aiming to halve food waste per capita from both retail and consumer levels as well as reduce food losses in the production and supply sectors by 2030. Also, research concludes that the median benefit-cost ratio for reducing waste in the supply chain is 14:1, and that unawareness of this business case is a reason for insufficient implementation of food waste reduction. In the latest years, authorities and researchers have increased focus and emphasized importance of industry collaboration to reduce supply chain food waste; however, there are more scarce findings in literature on incentives for food waste reduction from a retailer perspective. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to understand barriers and incentives for prevention of food waste and price reduction, conversion and donation of surplus food from a retailer perspective, and thereby identify opportunities to increase incentives. A multiple case study of nine retailers from the three major Swedish retail corporations was chosen as methodology, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers working in each store. The results show internal and external barriers for reduction, the major ones being the business objective to always ensure consumer satisfaction and variability in demand (prevention); inefficient label creation due to health and safety regulations (conversion) and lack of available partnerships (donation). In terms of initiative prioritization, financial benefits are found to be the major driving force for waste reduction, why food waste prevention is the most favourable option and reduction initiatives prioritize expensive products. Also, the incentive for food waste reduction depends strongly on business case awareness and integration efficiency, where the study identifies opportunities to increase incentives when: i) retailers are aware of the business case of reducing food waste, but discouraged by certain constraints; ii) retailers are unaware of the business case; and iii) there is no existing business case / 8% av Sveriges totala matavfall uppkommer i livsmedelsbutiker. Trots denna relativt låga siffra är butikerna avgörande för minimering av matavfall: de samlar stora mängder mat på ett begränsat antal platser och implementerade initiativ och policy får därmed stor verkan. Kungl. vetenskapsakademin (IVA) har konstaterat att förebyggande av matavfall och omfördelning av överskott till människor är de enda initiativ som signifikant bidrar till att nå Förenta Nationernas hållbarhetsmål 12.3, att halvera matsvinnet per person i butik- och konsumentled, och minska matsvinnet längs hela livsmedelskedjan. Studier visar att det finns ett tydligt business case för reducering av matsvinn, att initiativ i genomsnitt genererar 14 gånger så stor finansiell vinning som kostnad för aktörer i livsmedelskedjan, men att många aktörer saknar vetskap om detta. Myndigheter och forskare har de senaste åren i en allt större utsträckning ägnat fokus åt, och betonat vikten av, samarbete i livsmedelskedjan för att reducera matavfallet. Mindre fokus har ägnat åts livsmedelsbutikernas incitament att genomföra de initiativ som anses nödvändiga för att matavfallet i Sverige ska reduceras. Syftet med studien var därför att, från ett butiksperspektiv, förstå rådande hinder och incitament för förebyggande matavfall samt prisreduktion, förädling och donering av överskottsmat, och därigenom identifiera möjligheter att öka dessa incitament. Studien genomfördes i form av en fallstudie av nio livsmedelsbutiker från de tre största livsmedelskedjorna i Sverige, där semistrukturerade intervjuer hölls med ansvariga från varje butik. Resultaten visar interna och externa barriärer för reduktion av matavfall, av vilka de signifikanta är att ständigt tillfredsställande av konsumenters önskemål och variation i efterfrågan (förebyggande av matavfall), ineffektivitet i tillverkning av innehållsförteckningar (förädling), samt avsaknad av fungerande partnerskap (donering). Finansiell vinning är den största drivkraften för reduktion av matavfall, varför matavfall helst förebyggs och dyra produkter prioriteras. Det råder en generell osäkerhet kring den optimala strategin för att reducera matavfall, samt bristande tid att ägna initiativ. Incitament för reduktion av matavfall beror därför i stor utsträckning på vetskap om ett initiativs business case, samt hur effektivt det kan integreras i butikens verksamhet. Möjlighet att öka incitament finns därmed där: i) livsmedelsbutiker har vetskap om ett business case, men förhinder att agera; ii) livsmedelsbutiker saknar vetskap om ett business case); och iii) det saknas ett business case.