The shift from an industrial-based to a knowledge-based economy has impacted market conditions and created a demand for a talented and skilled workforce in knowledge-intensive industries. This paper investigates what the role of talent is, when firms decide for a location by carrying out two studies. Firstly, an extensive literature review was conducted where three factors of firm location decision were identified as: clustering, soft and hard factors, and personal networks. The role of talent continuously emerged in the literature in regards to the three firm location decision factors and appeared to be intertwined in these. Consequently, these factors and the role of talent were conceptualized in an analytical framework. Thereafter, the analytical framework was applied to the second study when conducting a multiple-case study of three clean-tech firms in Uppsala, Sweden. This was done in order to investigate the role of talent in the firms’ location decision. The findings of the multiple-case study revealed that the role of talent was important during the location decision of all three firms where talent was intertwined with the identified location factors. Thus, the multiple-case study confirms that the role of talent impacts firm location decision through being intertwined in the identified firm location decision factors.

Under drygt två månader har produktionen vid JM Entreprenads projekt Kv. Solägget följts för att med utgångspunkt i projektets produktionstidplan, aktuell verklig position, diverse dokument samt i intervjuer avgöra varför fortskridandet eventuellt avviker från det planerade, där främst förseningar var intressanta. Kv. Solägget genomförs på generalentreprenad åt JM AB och följer således de arbetsmetoder som används inom JM AB. En väsentlig skillnad mellan JM AB och JM Entreprenad är att JM Entreprenad inte är lika väl inkörda på gällande enhetstider och rutiner som JM AB:s hantverkare är. Genom att i tidigt skede sätta in ytterligare resurser än vad som var planerat i kalkylen undvek man att under tiden för min fältstudie uppnå en avvikelse som motsvarar en försening och snarare lyckades arbeta in ett försprång på upp till två veckor. För att möjliggöra en produktion utan förseningar behandlar rapporten hårda, mjuka och yttre faktorer med en betydelsefull utgångspunkt i vikten av att åstadkomma en väl utarbetad planering inför produktionsstart och på så sätt i ett tidigt skede ta ställning till möjliga faktorer som kan komma att påverka avstämningarna mot produktionstidplanen på ett negativt sätt. / During around two months the production of the project of JM Entreprenad named the block Solägget has been followed contraining to the basis of the production schedule, the current actual position, documents of the project and also interviews to determine why the progression may be different from the planned, why the mainly interesting were to analyze the delays. The block Solägget is implemented on a general contractor for JM AB and therefore the project follows the practices of JM AB. One significant difference between JM AB and JM Entreprenad is that JM Entreprenad isn´t as used to the current unit times and routines as JM AB are. By the early deployment of additional resources than what were planned in advance the delays were avoided during the period of my field study and instead JM Entreprenad managed to work up a lead of up to two weeks. To enable a production without any delays this report treats hard, soft and external factors with an important basis of the importance of achieving a well-established planning before starting any production and in that way consider possible factors that may affect the reconciliation of the production schedule in a negative way. / 2010:12