Many of the Swedish gazelles never leave the domestic market and often have a problem with leaving the start-up phase. One problem for the gazelles is that many are stagnating within a couple of years and few ever reach more than 50 employees. The purpose of this research is to extend the knowledge on how Swedish gazelle companies can continue to grow through internationalization. The thesis has used a qualitative method with an abductive approach. The research is based on a multiple case study of three gazelle companies where the data was collected through in-depth interviews.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are big contributors to today’s business environment and the society as a whole, and their contributions are highly valued. Gazelle companies can be seen as the most successful SMEs and hence the interest to analyze them. Far from all companies succeed to maintain a profitable growth and recieve the Gazelle title sequential times. Due to this, this research aims to answer the question what differentiates sequential Gazelle companies from one time Gazelle companies. In Sweden, the Gazelle title is announced to companies who fulfill certain criteria, meaning that they are homogenous in many ways. However, there must be some differences since some succeed to maintain the title whereas others do not. By the following research question, this research intends to identify some of these differentiating attributes. Is there a difference between sequential Gazelle companies and one time Gazelle companies regarding the chosen firm attributes? Existing research show that one common factor behind maintained profitable growth is the ability to ask for help in fields where management competence is lacking. It is argued that this help can be in form of external professional business services and hence this research intends to answer this second research question: Do usage of external professional business services contribute to sequential Gazelle title? Since the ability to maintain profitable growth is discussed to depend on internal competence and knowledge, or lack thereof, Resource-Based Theory is found to be an appropriate explanation tool. This theory is supported by the Stages of Growth model to further explain the development of the firms. This research had a quantitative method where a survey was used to collect data. In order to accept/reject the formed hypotheses, the data was imported to SPSS where it was statistically tested in two separate logistic regressions. The results of this research statistically show that the mixture of the included firm attributes do differ between sequential Gazelle companies and one time Gazelle companies. However, the test proved nonsignificant when examining the usage of external professional services. This means that even though there were indications of high importance, one cannot statistically argue that usage of external professional business services leads to sequential Gazelle title.

The study aims to create a deeper understanding and gain more knowledge about the complex and dynamic management processes in gazelle companies, in relation to both social- and financial aspects. We argue that financial challenges, such as funding and cash flow controls, are closely connected to social dimensions as human resources and company-specific strategies. Thus, it is not sufficient to handle them separately, since both social- and financial processes are closely connected and influenced by different stakeholders. The research displayed that human resources management practices and finance practices were more important than the other three dimensions. The companies that participated in our study also seem to have different attitudes towards external investors/stakeholders, depending on if they were founded before or after the financial crisis in 2008.

Bakgrund: Corporate Social Responsibility har haft stor genomslagskraft de senaste decennierna. Inom fältet har tidigare studier primärt fokuserat på den miljömässiga och ekonomiska aspekten samtidigt som social hållbarhet givits mindre utrymme. Tidigare forskning visar att verksamhetsstyrning spelar en central roll vid implementering av CSR-relaterade aktiviteter, vilket gör det intressant att undersöka företags arbete med social hållbarhet utifrån ett styrningsperspektiv. Social hållbarhet anses vara en viktig faktor för tillväxt vilket gör Gasellföretag, små snabbt växande företag, till intressanta subjekt för en studie inom detta område. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att bidra till ökad förståelse om och hur Gasellföretag säkerställer intern social hållbarhet genom sin verksamhetsstyrning Metod: Studien är en flerfallstudie och antar en kvalitativ metod med en induktiv ansats. Då tolkning varit av central betydelse vid studiens genomförande har hermeneutiken utgjort den filosofiska utgångspunkten. Empirin utgörs av semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju Gasellföretag, vilket kompletteras med dokumentstudier samt observationer. Slutsats: Gasellföretag arbetar aktivt med intern social hållbarhet. Primärt sker arbetet genom aktiviteter som främjar anställdas välmående och kompetensutveckling. Arbete med intern social hållbarhet har även en positiv inverkan på nyrekrytering och bibehållande av personal. En av de viktigaste styrverktygen för främjande av intern social hållbarhet är kommunikationsverktyg. Belöningssystem är också en form av verksamhetsstyrningsverktyg som anses vara betydande för intern social hållbarhet. Kunskapsbidrag: Denna studie bidrar med ökad förståelse för hur Gasellföretag arbetar med intern social hållbarhet samt vilka verksamhetsstyrningsverktyg som används för att göra detta. / Background: Corporate Social Responsibility has had a great impact in recent decades. Within this field of research, previous studies have primarily focused on the environmental and economic aspect, while less space has been given to the aspect of social sustainability. Previous research shows that operations management plays an important role in implementing CSR-related activities, which makes it interesting to examine companies’ work with social sustainability from a governance perspective. Social sustainability is considered an important factor for growth, which makes Gazelle companies, small and fast-growing companies, interesting subjects to study within this field of research. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to contribute to an increased understanding of and how Gazelle companies ensure internal social sustainability through their operations management. Method: A multiple case study has been carried out using a qualitative method with an inductive approach. Interpretation has been important when executing this study, hence hermeneutics has been the philosophical starting point. The empirical work consists of semi-structured interviews conducted on seven Gazelle companies, accompanied by document studies and observations. Conclusion: Gazelle companies work actively with internal social sustainability. Primarily, the work is performed through activities that promote the well-being and professional development of employees. Work that is related to internal social sustainability also has a positive impact on recruitment and maintaining staff within the company. One of the most important tools for promoting internal social sustainability is communication tools. Reward systems are also considered to be tools with great significance for internal social sustainability. Science contributions: This study contributes with an increased understanding of how Gazelle companies work with internal social sustainability and which operations management tools that are used to perform this work.

Background: In Sweden, only 652 companies have managed to reach the criterions stated by Dagens Industri in their ranking of the Swedish gazelle compa-nies. Rapidly growing companies are very important for the creation of job opportunities and economic wealth. Growth is associated with significant costs, especially for a manufacturing company, and capital is therefore vital for a company’s prosperity. Capital can be either internally generated or externally provided. Previous research has shown that companies firstly prefer internally generated funds, then debt and last new equity. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to describe, analyze and provide examples on how Swedish gazelle companies have financed their growth, what financing options they have and for what purposes they needed finance. The thesis will also examine the importance of external financer’s contribution with financial and human capital for the growth of the gazelles. Method: A qualitative approach has been used to meet the purpose of the thesis. 12 in-depth, unstructured phone interviews have been conducted with some of the fastest growing gazelle companies in Sweden. Conclusions: A company can finance its growth using owner’s equity, retained earnings, leasing, factoring, public subsidies and loans, bank loans, venture capital and business angels. All these sources of finance are represented in the empirical findings except for factoring. Internally generated capital has mainly been used to cover working capital and to some extent smaller in-vestments. The externally provided capital has mainly been invested in larger investments like machines, property and product development. The financial capital has been the main contribution by external financers except for business angels, where the human capital was most important.

<p>Background: In Sweden, only 652 companies have managed to reach the criterions stated by Dagens Industri in their ranking of the Swedish gazelle compa-nies. Rapidly growing companies are very important for the creation of job opportunities and economic wealth. Growth is associated with significant costs, especially for a manufacturing company, and capital is therefore vital for a company’s prosperity. Capital can be either internally generated or externally provided. Previous research has shown that companies firstly prefer internally generated funds, then debt and last new equity.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to describe, analyze and provide examples on how Swedish gazelle companies have financed their growth, what financing options they have and for what purposes they needed finance. The thesis will also examine the importance of external financer’s contribution with financial and human capital for the growth of the gazelles.</p><p>Method: A qualitative approach has been used to meet the purpose of the thesis. 12 in-depth, unstructured phone interviews have been conducted with some of the fastest growing gazelle companies in Sweden.</p><p>Conclusions: A company can finance its growth using owner’s equity, retained earnings, leasing, factoring, public subsidies and loans, bank loans, venture capital and business angels. All these sources of finance are represented in the empirical findings except for factoring. Internally generated capital has mainly been used to cover working capital and to some extent smaller in-vestments. The externally provided capital has mainly been invested in larger investments like machines, property and product development. The financial capital has been the main contribution by external financers except for business angels, where the human capital was most important.</p>

<p>In Sweden, only 652 companies have managed to reach the criterions stated by Dagens Industri in their ranking of the Swedish gazelle companies. Rapidly growing companies are very important for the creation of job opportunities and economic wealth. Growth is associated with significant costs, especially for a manufacturing company, and capital is therefore vital for a company’s prosperity. Capital can be either internally generated or externally provided. Previous research has shown that companies firstly prefer internally generated funds, then debt and last new equity.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to describe, analyze and provide examples on how Swedish gazelle companies have financed their growth, what financing options they have and for what purposes they needed finance. The thesis will also examine the importance of external financer’s contribution with financial and human capital for the growth of the gazelles.</p><p>A qualitative approach has been used to meet the purpose of the thesis. 12 in-depth, unstructured phone interviews have been conducted with some of the fastest growing gazelle companies in Sweden.</p><p>A company can finance its growth using owner’s equity, retained earnings, leasing, factoring, public subsidies and loans, bank loans, venture capital and business angels. All these sources of finance are represented in the empirical findings except for factoring. Internally generated capital has mainly been used to cover working capital and to some extent smaller investments. The externally provided capital has mainly been invested in larger investments like machines, property and product development. The financial capital has been the main contribution by external financers except for business angels, where the human capital was most important.</p>

Bakgrund och problem: Gasellföretag kännetecknas av att vara unga och snabbväxande verksamheter. I takt med dess tillväxt kan interna såväl som externa utmaningar uppkomma, vilket skapar ett behov av att kontrollera den snabbväxande organisationen. Som en konsekvens av detta ökar även behovet av en adekvat ekonomistyrning, vilken kan bistå med stöd för att hantera en stigande komplexitet. Med utgångspunkt i tidigare forskning problematiseras området, vilket berör frågor som hur användningen av ekonomistyrningen ser ut i gasellföretag samt hur och varför tillämpningen förändras i takt med tillväxt.  Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att redogöra för hur ekonomistyrningen ser ut i gasellföretag samt hur och varför användningen förändras under dess tillväxt.Metod: Med hänsyn till studiens syfte och forskningsfrågor har en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi tillämpats med ett abduktivt angreppssätt. En flerfallsstudie har genomförts där semistrukturerade intervjuer tillsammans med dokumentgranskning utgjort underlag för empirisk insamling.  Slutsats: Resultatet indikerar att ekonomistyrning i gasellföretag är informell, men där formella inslag genomsyras. Trots att tillämpning av ekonomistyrning kan åtskiljas inom gasellföretag har verktyg likt budget, prestationsmått, belöningssystem samt strategisk planering synliggjorts där anpassning sker utefter behov. Hur ekonomistyrningen förändras kan förklaras med utgångspunkt i tre centrala trender vilka benämns som formalisering, ekonomifiering och specialisering. Dessa trender utgör processer och präglar ett gasellföretags tillämpning och utveckling av ekonomistyrning under dess tillväxt. Orsaken bakom varför ekonomistyrningen kräver förändring kan synliggöras utifrån en ökad intern komplexitet vilken skapar ett behov av en tydligare styrning samt adekvata kontrollverktyg. / Background and problem: Gazelle companies are characterized by being young and fast- growing businesses. As they grow, internal as well as external challenges can arise which increases the need for control. As a consequence, the necessity for adequate management accounting increases which can help to deal with an arising complexity. Based on previous research, this issue is problematized with concern to how the use of management accounting is designed in gazelle companies but also how and why the application changes during growth. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge with regards to how management accounting is designed in gazelle companies but also how and why it changes during growth.  Method: With regard to the study’s purpose and research questions, a qualitative research strategy has been applied with an abductive approach. A multiple-case study has been conducted where semi-structured interviews together with document review formed the basis of the empirical data.  Conclusion: The results implicate that management accounting in gazelle companies is informal, but where formal elements are permeated. Although the application can differ, tools such as budget, performance measures, reward systems and strategic planning are usually applied, where adaptation occurs according to the needs of the company. How the management accounting is changing can be explained on the basis of three central trends which are referred to as formalization, economization and specialization. These trends constitute processes that characterize application and development of management accounting during growth. The reason behind required change can be due to an increased internal complexity, which creates the need for distinct management and adequate control tools.

Bakgrund: Varje år utses, av Dagens Industri, cirka 1000 företag till gasellföretag vilket motsvarar färre än 0,5 % av alla svenska aktiebolag.  Dessa företag uppfyller vissa kriterier där tillväxt är den viktigaste. Gasellföretagens tillväxt är viktig för Sverige då de både bidrar ekonomiskt och står för många nya arbetstillfällen. Dock är det få företag i Sverige som har kunskapen att växa. För att ett företag ska kunna uppnå tillväxt ligger det i grunden en tillväxtstrategi som måste implementeras inom organisationen på bästa sätt. Vilka tillväxtstrategier använder gasellföretag och hur implementerar de dem? Syfte: Beskriva gasellföretagens utformning och implementering av strategier samt förklara deras tillväxt genom att identifiera tillväxtfaktorer. Genomförande: Studien är av kvalitativ art och baserad på intervjuer med fyra fallföretag. Slutsats: Vi har utifrån vår fallstudie identifierat vilka tillväxtstrategier och ekonomiska styrsystem som gasellföretag använder. Vi har även identifierat och sammanställt sju faktorer, varav sex interna och den sjunde är den externa situationen företaget befinner sig i. Tillsammans är faktorerna av högsta vikt för ett företags tillväxt. Slutsatsen presenteras i en modell framtagen av oss. / Background: Every year an average of 1000 companies, which stands for less than 0,5 % of all Swedish incorporated companies, are appointed the Gazelle reward from Dagens Industri. These companies live up to certain criteria’s where growth is the most important one and they are of great importance to Sweden since they contribute both economically and work opportunity wise. There are few businesses that possess the competence to grow. To be able to reach positive growth a company needs a strategy, which is implemented throughout the organization in a good manner. What strategies do gazelle companies use and how do they implement them? Purpose: Describe gazelle companies’ strategies and the implementation of those. Also explain their growth by identifying growth factors. Completion: This a qualitative case study based upon interviews with fourcompanies. Results: We have from our case study identified what growth strategies and management control systems gazelle companies’ use. We have also identified seven factors, of which six are internal and the seventh represent the external situation the company experiences. Together they are of great importance for a company’s growth. The results are presented in a model developed by us.

Innovació, emprenedoria i subcontractació són els pilars temàtics de la present tesi doctoral. L'ús del coneixement per part de les empreses representa l'element comú d'aquestes temàtiques. Les evidències empíriques provenen principalment del món empresarial, però es complementen amb les del món acadèmic com a principal proveïdor de coneixement a la societat actual, la finalitat de la qual és crear riquesa i benestar socioeconòmic. L'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi doctoral és contribuir a les diferents àrees de recerca. La primera, gestió de la innovació, més concretament innovació organitzativa, reflexionant sobre la seva importància i monitorització a través d'enquestes. Tot seguit, un exemple d'innovació organitzativa -treball en equip- s'analitza en profunditat, així com també els seus determinants. La segona, analitza el procés de transició d'una universitat tradicional cap a una universitat emprenedora, començant per la fase de disseny fins a l'actualitat contemplant la seva funcionalitat i eficiència en el marc de les institucions públiques de recerca d'Europa. I la tercera, descriu les barreres que les empreses han de fer front a l'hora de cooperar, en general, i amb universitats, en particular. La mateixa mostra d'empreses gasela també serveix per analitzar la decisió de fer-o-comprar. El resum d'aquests resultats, les conclusions, així com les futures línies de recerca finalitzen el treball. / Innovation, entrepreneurship and outsourcing represent the backbone of the present dissertation. The use of knowledge in business environments symbolizes the overlapping area of these concepts. Empirical evidences come mainly from business world, but they are complemented with academia as one of the main scientific knowledge provider in current society whose final objective is wealth creation and socioeconomic welfare. The main objective of the present work is contributing to different areas of research. First, innovation management in terms of organizational innovation, contemplating its importance and challenges for its measurement on large scale surveys. Then, a particular example of organizational concept - teamwork - in production is analyzed and the matter of its determinants is tackled. Second, the entrepreneurial transformation of a non-elite university is followed up, since its beginnings including the design phase up to present contemplating its functionality and efficiency, compared to other European public research institutions. Third, the difficulties and barriers in terms of R&D outsourcing, in general, and with universities, in particular are analyzed on a sample of gazelle companies, as well as their decision to make-or-buy. Finally, a summary of the results, conclusions and particular implications end this work.