The thesis aims to contribute to the research on the management and use of information in organisations by providing a holistic understanding of the various information practices and needs as well as attitudes towards information at different levels in the broader socio-historical context of a specific organisation. To this end, findings and approaches from research traditions in library and information science, management studies and organisational theory are combined in an activity-theoretical approach with some neo-institutional aspects. An empirical study using this theoretical framework investigates information activities in a Swedish youth organisation with the aim of contributing to peace and democracy. This study aims to answer research questions concerning how the individual and collective information practices of its Board members and the development of organisational strategies and routines for information activities are related to each other and to the socio-historical context of such organisations. The empirical data was gathered, firstly, through a qualitative case study of one youth/peace organisation, in which 14 members from two Boards were interviewed, 6 meetings were observed and e-mail communication and organisational documents were studied. The results were used in two questionnaires to Board members in a total sample of 9 similar youth/peace organisations to explore the assumption that a common socio-historical context would result in similar activities and constraints. Environmental scanning, seeking information, storing and retrieving information, creating information products, disseminating information to the environment and sharing information within the organisation are identified as distinct information activity systems in the case organisation that could be combined in a broader information management activity system. The outcome of Board members' individual, collective and organisational actions within these activities is mediated by a combination of how they perceive the objects, the available tools and resources, the chosen or emerging division of labour, organisational and collective aims and individual goals, and the explicit rules and implicit values that could be applied to the action in an organisational context. Most strategies are emergent in nature and start in a bottom-up process. A basic contradiction stemming from the socio-historical context of youth/peace organisations underlies the tensions in information activities. Board members have to make sense of contrasting identities in which empowerment is contrasted with professionalism as a basis for the organisations' legitimacy. The theoretical contribution of this study is the creation of two activity theoretical models for the analysis of information activities in organisations. The models provide a way to discuss the links between individual and collective information behaviour and organisational information management in a holistic perspective. They raise questions about the nature of these relationships and encompass the contextual aspects of information practices thus leading to a greater understanding of the ways in which information management develops in specific organisational contexts.

Purpose The goal of this research is to define top-down and bottom-up approaches as well as the communication processes and the information flow to see how it is used and matched with day-to-day activities in several retail stores. To meet this goal, the following research questions have been formulated: ● How do organizations use information strategies such as top-down and bottom-up management? ● What are the means to be used in information strategies so that the envisaged objectives can be achieved?  Method To meet that objective, a study has been performed on seven store managers from seven different retail shops through interviews from which the empirical data has been gathered. The latter has been combined with a theoretical framework to achieve the purpose. Findings Based on the empirical results taken from the seven store managers, the authors were able to see and understand how each of them was using information strategies and what were the challenges and improvements related to it. Limitations The authors chose to limit their research to the retail industry in Sweden, therefore the outcome of this study cannot be applied to other industries or countries. Moreover, the interviews have been only given to store managers, which implies that the employees’ perspective on the subject is not analyzed here.

Public affairs professionals are responsible for monitoring the sociopolitical environment and using information strategies to respond to public policy proposals on behalf of firms and organizations. To develop, implement, and legitimize public policy, lawmakers and public administrators rely on the input from external experts and stakeholders. The purpose of this research was to explore how public affairs engage with healthcare intraorganizational stakeholders to leverage their knowledge for information strategies. Knowledge transfer served as a theoretical framework through a qualitative multiple case study of 3 healthcare delivery organizations in the upper Midwest of the United States. Primary data were collected using semistructured interviews from public affairs (n = 11) and healthcare professionals (n = 18). Organizational documents and public records were reviewed to understand the internal interaction of public affairs and the development of information strategies. Patterns and themes emerged through cross case synthesis, presented as a process-based model and theory. Public affairs functions were structured inconsistently in all case sites. Decision-making processes primarily involved nonpublic affairs stakeholders approving information products. Intraorganizational engagement and knowledge transfer was found as ad-hoc and consistent, through a blending of informal and formal methods. Practitioner strategies, tactics, and challenges were identified to facilitate internal interaction. This study provides insight to improving public affairs practice and supports linking the expertise of healthcare stakeholders to policymaking. Improving the healthcare delivery system through public policymaking is fostered through aligning policy with the knowledge of healthcare professional practice.

The aim of this research is to examine the relation between an organisation´s information strategy and their marketing strategies. It also brings to surface what effects an effective working information strategy might have on an organisation´s marketing strategy. The research aim is to further also understand the concepts behind an organisation´s information strategy with regards to definitions and how they all relate to each other. An area this research aims to answer is the connection between communication and information sharing and marketing strategies. It will also go through how information sharing, knowledge sharing and internal communication can affect marketing strategies within the logistics industry. Furthermore, this research will look at internal and external communication as well as knowledge sharing and its effects on marketing in three different logistics companies. The result will be presented in a comparative study and interviews have been executed using a semi structured qualitative method. Conclusions made during the analysis suggest that information strategies and marketing strategies are very closely related and might be considered co-dependent. However, for an organisations information strategy to have a positive impact on an organisations marketing strategy, an information strategy has to be updated frequently and conceptualized with the organisations information policy. In addition, all co-workers ought to be involved in the information strategy and its information policy because by being so, it could generate a more effective workplace.