This thesis is concerned with the work of business leaders. The interest lies in the holders of positions as Chairpersons, Boardmembers and Managing Directors. This study, however, goes beyond the position holder to consider the actions of actors, as they operate within networks with concurrent multiple business activities. The purpose is to generate knowledge and understanding of the activities and relations of multibusiness leaders involved in managing small and medium-sized companies. Major schools of thought on the manager's job are described. The review relates the scientific debate about different schools and emphasises the need for more inductive research. The call for processual and contextual analysis leads to an epistemological position grounded in understanding through interpretation. The method used in this study adopts such an approach, and thus aims to discover qualities of the studied phenomenon based on social constructivism. Empirical reality is approached by means of intensive studies of a few cases. Case descriptions of the work of multibusiness leaders in the National, Regional, Intermediary, Independent, and Developing Networks are undertaken, where the inter­action processes of the different actors are described according to the working life his­tory of the actor, and to the networking and work activities carried out. The analysis is based upon four themes (the actor's 'task legitimacy', 'economic legi­timacy', 'idea development' and 'network'). The first two themes have been given the generic term 'legitimacy concept', not only to reflect the interactive and changeable aspects of work, but also to illustrate how work in itself is intimately interwoven in an institutional context. The creation of 'task legitimacy' and 'economic legitimacy' of the leaders is analysed. The analysis of the actors' idea development results in a description of differing visions in the individual networks. This description takes up visions covering long-term industrial leadership, regional co-operative leadership, restructuring leadership, flexible market-adaptive leadership and network-based leadership. In a survey of the existing literature, the role of a leader is seen as one of many managerial roles, a view that is based upon the work of Mintzberg (1973). This study contrasts with the above picture, by discussing a reciprocal dependency between the leader's leadership role and his/her other roles. This reciprocity and concurrency is dealt with by introducing the concept of identity as a theoretical aid, thus reflecting in a more appropriate way the complex and interactive actor. The social identity concept (Tajfel, 1982) is used, in order to answer more profoundly the research questions. As leaders are reciprocally dependent on a network for their own existence, we must both look inward in order to be able to understand at a deeper level the actors' motives, and look outward to be able to look at identity creation in a wider industry context. What I have termed näringslivsledaridentitet (the Identity of Multibusiness Leaders), is a substantial part of this study's findings. The concept is used in order to be able to describe how the actors' inner and outer motives merge in identity creating processes. The actors' different patterns of interaction are absorbed into a composite whole. / digitalisering@umu

The purpose of this essay is to show how ESN, IKEA and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (UD) mediated swedishness. This will be done by illustrate and analyse the methods the research fields use to create and spread pictures and message about Sweden, Swedes and Swedish cultures. The essay use the method of represented informants and show three field where the meeting between people and cultures is conspicuously. Hopefully, this essay can be seen as a contribution to the research of identity (identity research). I have chosen to focus on three fields of research, which do not belong to the classic field of research to show how swedishness is mediated. / Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att visa hur ESN, IKEA och UD förmedlar svenskhet. Detta sker genom att metoderna som de tre undersökningsfälten använder sig av för att skapa och sprida bilder och budskap om Sverige, svenskar och den svenska kulturen dvs. den svenska särarten åskådliggörs och analyseras i uppsatsen. Uppsatsen bygger på en metod med representativa informanter och behandlar tre undersökningsfält där mötet mellan människor och kulturer är påtagligt. Förhoppningsvis kan uppsatsen ses som ett bidrag till identitetsforskningen, då jag valt att behandla tre fält som inte utgör klassiska undersökningsfält för att visa hur svenskhet förmedlas.

<p>The purpose of this essay is to show how ESN, IKEA and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (UD) mediated swedishness. This will be done by illustrate and analyse the methods the research fields use to create and spread pictures and message about Sweden, Swedes and Swedish cultures. The essay use the method of represented informants and show three field where the meeting between people and cultures is conspicuously. Hopefully, this essay can be seen as a contribution to the research of identity (identity research). I have chosen to focus on three fields of research, which do not belong to the classic field of research to show how swedishness is mediated.</p> / <p>Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att visa hur ESN, IKEA och UD förmedlar svenskhet. Detta sker genom att metoderna som de tre undersökningsfälten använder sig av för att skapa och sprida bilder och budskap om Sverige, svenskar och den svenska kulturen dvs. den svenska särarten åskådliggörs och analyseras i uppsatsen. Uppsatsen bygger på en metod med representativa informanter och behandlar tre undersökningsfält där mötet mellan människor och kulturer är påtagligt. Förhoppningsvis kan uppsatsen ses som ett bidrag till identitetsforskningen, då jag valt att behandla tre fält som inte utgör klassiska undersökningsfält för att visa hur svenskhet förmedlas.</p>

The purpose of the study is to create an understanding of the continued stratification within the school in relation to the school choice. Through understanding parents' motives behind choice and non-choice of a segregated school and differences between those motives. The study is qualitative interview study based on eight interviews with parents that live in a segregated area and have children that go to elementary school. This segregated area is in a medium sized city in Sweden. Theories that have been used are Jenkins social identity, Skegss disidentification and respectability and Marinis social values and norms. The results of study show that parents justify both choice and non-choice of school with what they consider to be the right social context for their children. It is important what student composition the school has for their children to feel group affiliation, but also because there is a fear of exclusion. As for differences in motives, parents choose to not choose the nearby segregated school because they do not want to be associated with the notion that exists about the area´s parents. This shows that the free choice of school can also be understood based on the parents´ identity- creating practices.

On May 7, 1581, Elisabet Vasa, Princess of Sweden, married Duke Kristoffer of Mecklenburg. The Princess was equipped with a large dowry and, by Swedish standards, an extensive collection of objects, including jewellery. The essay's thesis is that the official jewellery that Elisabet brought with her to her new court were identity-creating symbols of a performative nature that would consciously strengthen the legitimacy of the new Vasa dynasty on the international stage. The essay is based on a comparative analysis of inventories from 1581, 1593 and 1597. The essay examines and discusses the donors' and recipient's agency, or "touch", and intentions with the jewellery. The essay's result shows that parts of the thesis - that the official jewellery that Elisabet brought with her among the gifts in 1581 were identity-creating symbols of a performative nature - appear to be highly probable based on the few but significant art acts that have been possible to trace in sources and archives. According to the material of the existing study, however, the jewellery did not fulfil its intended function of strengthening the Vasa dynasty and its legitimacy on the international stage as Elisabet herself had different intentions and apparently actively worked to assimilate to her new environment as Duchess of Mecklenburg.