Inter-organizational network initiatives such as regional strategic networks (RSNs) are often used by firms and public agencies to support regional development and competitiveness. RSNs are designed networks managed by a hub and financed by public or private means. RSN management is complex as members are autonomous and initially often loosely connected. The effects of RSNs on regional development are disputed as engineered relationship development may interfere with ongoing business relationships.  Despite this, vast public funds are being invested in collaborative initiatives. Identifying factors affecting RSN performance will provide a better basis for evaluating and managing such initiatives. Based on concepts such as actors, resources, and activities findings are reported from longitudinal case-studies built on interviews with 68 members and hubs in four RSNs. Data were also collected through participant observation, conversations, archival data and emails. Findings indicate that factors such as evaluation criteria, member composition, relationships, location, goals, the hub, physical and human resources, knowledge sharing and development, resources, policies and norms, social activities, and communication exert an impact on entrepreneurship and cooperation. The first paper focuses on factors such as actor composition, actor goals, number of actors, and activities facilitating relationship development and commitment. The second paper identifies a framework of seven tasks to be performed by the hub. The effects on development of preferences and atmosphere are dealt with in the third paper. Effects of cooperation between public/private sector and universities are addressed in the fourth paper, and entrepreneurial processes in network contexts are analyzed in the fifth one. The important management role of the hub is emphasized as is carefully considered member composition. Relationships and commitment are found to be crucial. These factors are not covered by national and regional performance criteria. They merit a place of their own.

The aim of this study is to examine which communication channels and communication strategies Umeå municipality could use for information concerning outdoor recreation. To achieve this aim the following theories and views have been applied: social communication, communication strategies, two-way symmetrical communication, social media and uses and gratifications. The study was conducted through four focus group interviews and one informant interview. The focus groups consisted of four groups of outdoor enthusiasts in Umeå municipality: outdoor interested students, organized outdoor enthusiasts, active families and active seniors. The informant were the person that is centrally positioned within the business. The material was collected during the 6th and 19th of February 2014. The results and analysis of the study showed that outdoor enthusiasts have acquired new communication habits and that the municipality partially requires changes in their communication strategy. The new media habits has meant that outdoor enthusiasts would like to receive personalized information rather than information that is targeted towards the crowd. Thus, there is a clash between how the municipality communicates and outdoor interested’s approach to dialogue. Outdoor enthusiasts also want to communicate with each other to a greater extent than with the municipality. The result also showed a lack of communication channels that enable outdoor enthusiasts to communicate with each other. Finally, there were also a digital divide that shows that active seniors are distinguished because they have not embraced the new media consumption in the same extent as other groups. This has the consequence that Umeå municipality must use a mixture of communication channels to adapt to the public. / Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka kommunikationskanaler samt kommunikationsstrategier Umeå kommun kan använda för information som rör friluftsliv. För att uppnå syftet har teorier och fakta om samhällskommunikation, kommunikationsstrategier, tvåvägs-symmetrisk kommunikation, sociala medier samt uses and gratifications använts. Studien har genomförts genom fyra fokusgruppsintervjuer och en informantintervju. Fokusgrupperna bestod av fyra grupper av friluftsintresserade i Umeå kommun: friluftsintresserade studenter, organiserade friluftsmänniskor, aktiva barnfamiljer samt aktiva seniorer. Informanten som intervjuades var den person som är centralt placerad inom verksamheten. Materialet samlades in under tidsperioden 6-19 februari 2014. Resultatet och analysen av studien visade att friluftsintresserade har skaffat sig nya medievanor och att kommunen delvis måste ändra sin kommunikationsstrategi. De nya medievanorna har medfört att friluftsintresserade vill få individanpassad information istället för information som är riktat mot den breda massan. Därmed har det uppstått en krock mellan hur kommunen kommunicerar och friluftsintresserades syn på dialog. Friluftsintresserade vill även kommunicera med varandra i större utsträckning än med kommunen i fråga. Resultatet visade också att det saknas kommunikationskanaler som möjliggör att friluftsintresserade kan kommunicera med varandra. Slutligen återfanns även en digital klyfta som visar att aktiva seniorer särskiljer sig då de inte har anammat den nya mediekonsumtionen i lika utsträckning som övriga grupper. Det betyder att Umeå kommun måste använda en blandning av kommunikationskanaler för att anpassa sig efter medborgarna.

I denna studie presenteras forskning om varumärkesbyggande genom reklamfilm. Syftet är att undersöka hur Försvarsmakten genom sina reklamfilmer arbetar med varumärkesbyggande för att rekrytera medarbetare. Efter återinförandet av värnplikten år 2017 lanserade Försvarsmakten ett flertal reklamkampanjer. För att behandla syftet har en forskningsfråga utformats och med hjälp av ett kvalitativt angreppssätt har det insamlade empiriska materialet analyserats. Detta i form av en innehållsanalys på tre reklamfilmer från kampanjerna. Analysen grundar sig i teorier gällande kommunikation och varumärkesbyggande. Reklamfilmerna tolkas utifrån semiotik och retorik för att sedan kopplas till hur Försvarsmakten bygger sitt varumärke. Resultatet i denna studie visar att Försvarsmaktens reklamfilmer primärt fokuserar på att skapa en positiv helhetsbild av varumärket istället för att endast rekrytera personal. Utifrån analysen framställs organisationen som jämställd, modern och inkluderande vilket är associationer som är nya för Försvarsmakten. Positiva associationer bidrar till ett attraktivt varumärke som kan leda till att målgruppen söker sig till organisationen. För att effektivisera organisationens rekryteringsprocess bör de trycka hårdare på de fördelar som arbetet innefattar. Denna studie bidrar med en viss förståelse för betydelsen av ett starkt varumärke oavsett vad syftet med marknadsföringen är. För att få mer kunskap om varumärkesbyggande i Försvarsmaktens reklamfilmer rekommenderas framtida forskning gällande vad som lockar rekryter att söka sig till Försvarsmakten. / This study presents research on branding through commercials. The purpose is to investigate how the Swedish Armed Forces work with branding in their commercials to recruit employees. Following the reintroduction of military service in 2017, the Swedish Armed Forces launched a number of advertising campaigns. In order to address the purpose of the study, a research question has been designed and, using a qualitative approach, the collected empirical material has been analyzed. This has been done in form of a content analysis of three commercials from the campaigns. The analysis is based on theories of Branding and communication. The commercials are analyzed on the basis of semiotic and rhetoric theories and thereafter to how the Swedish Armed Forces build their brand. The results of the study shows that the Swedish Armed Forces’ commercials primarily focuses on creating a positive image of the brand rather than just recruiting. Based on the analysis the organization is presented as equal, modern and inclusive, which are associations that are new to the Armed Forces’. Positive associations contribute to an attractive brand image that can lead to the target group applying to the organization. In order to make the recruitment process in the organization more efficient, they should focus more on highlighting the benefits of working there. This study contributes to an understanding of the importance of a strong brand regardless the purpose of the marketing. In order to gain more knowledge about brand building in the Armed Forces commercials, it is recommended to do future research on what actually attracts recruits to apply to join the Armed Forces. The study is written in Swedish.

Since the introduction of social media, the corporate communication landscape has changed significantly, and thus organisations need to find new innovative ways to communicate. One emerging strategy is digital employee advocacy, which ultimately means that employees voluntarily endorse their employers on social media platforms. As of now however, research on how organisations should operate in order to encourage such behaviour is rather unexplored and inadequate, and a stronger understanding of the motivation and underlying mechanisms is needed. One concept that is conceptually identified as a driver for employee advocacy is employer branding, both directly and indirectly through organisational commitment. Therefore, this thesis aims at investigating and analysing the relationship between employer branding and digital employee advocacy as well as the dimensions of employer branding. Ultimately, the purpose of this thesis is to generate insights on which industrial organisations can build strategies for digital employee advocacy programs. This was done by collecting quantitative data through a questionnaire distributed among employees in a Swedish industrial organisation. Based on the data, a PLS-SEM analysis was conducted that both evaluated a newly developed employer branding scale and the relationships between employer branding and digital employee advocacy. The results from the analysis show that employer branding consists of five dimensions: training and development, healthy work atmosphere, ethics and CSR, work life balance as well as compensation and benefits. Furthermore, it can be concluded that employer branding does not lead to digital employee advocacy directly. It can however be shown that the relationships from employer branding to organisational commitment and from organisational commitment to digital employee advocacy are significant and that organisational commitment has a full mediating effect on the direct relationship between employer branding and digital employee advocacy. Thus, organisations need to recognise organisational commitment as a necessity, and employer branding as an instrument, for achieving digital employee advocacy. / I takt med tillväxten av sociala medier så har kommunikationslandskapet förändrats drastiskt och organisationer behöver därför hitta nya innovativa kommunikationsstrategier. En allt mer framstående strategi är digital employee advocacy, vilket innebär att få anställda att frivilligt förespråka sina arbetsgivare på sociala medier. Forskning gällande hur organisationer ska verka för att främja sådant beteende är dock bristfällig i nuläget och en större förståelse för incitament och drivande faktorer är därför nödvändig. En faktor som är identifierad som en potentiell drivkraft för digital employee advocacy är employer branding, både direkt och indirekt genom ett koncept känt som organisational commitment (sv. organisationsengagemang). Baserat på detta är målet för denna rapport att undersöka och analysera relationen mellan employer branding och digital employee advocacy samt de potentiella dimensionerna av employer branding. Vidare är rapportens syfte att generera insikter på vilka industriella organisationer kan bygga strategier för digital employee advocacy program. Detta kunde uppfyllas genom att distribuera en enkät till anställda i en svensk industriorganisation. Baserat på kvantitativ data från denna enkät kunde en PLS-SEM analys genomföras vilken både utvärderade en nyutvecklad skala för employer branding samt relationerna mellan employer branding och digital employee advocacy. Resultaten från denna analys indikerar att employer branding består av fem dimensioner: training and development, healthy work atmosphere, ethics and CSR, work life balance samt compensation and benefits. Vidare så visar resultaten att employer branding i dessa förhållanden inte har en direkt påverkan på digital employee advocacy. Dock visar resultaten att employer branding leder till organisational commitment, som i sin tur leder till digital employee advocacy. Dessutom visar resultaten att det direkta förhållandet mellan employer branding och digital employee advocacy till fullo medieras av organisational commitment. Organisationer som vill uppnå digital employee advocacy bör därför se organisational commitment som en nödvändighet och employer branding som ett hjälpmedel.

Syftet med studien har varit att kartlägga Norrvattens kommunikation kring hållbar vattenanvändning med sina medlemskommuner och medlemskommunernas kommunikation med kommuninvånarna. Ytterligare ett syfte med studien har varit att kartlägga hur andra VA-organisationer har kommunicerat kring hållbar vattenanvändning. Kartläggningarna har gjorts utifrån perspektiven hur kommunikationen genomförts, vad som kommunicerats och med vilket syfte. För att synliggöra kommunikationen har en didaktisk analys gjorts utifrån de didaktiska frågorna vem, vad, varför, när och hur. Slutligen har studien syftat till att utveckla ett underlag för en kommunikationsstrategi för Norrvattens kommunikation med medlemskommuner och kommuninvånare. Grunden i resultatet av kartläggningen av kommunikationen och enligt tidigare forskning ska kommunikationen syfta till att stärka möjligheter att hantera dricksvattenefterfrågan för hållbar vattenanvändning. I studien framkom att kommunikationen kring hållbar användning av vatten syftar till att förändra individers beteenden, för att minska den onödiga användningen av vatten. Respondenterna lyfter också fram att kommunikationen bör syfta till att öka vattnets värde samt öka kunskapen kring produktionen och produktionskapaciteten. Innehållsmässigt visar resultaten att kommunikationen ska beröra konkreta och praktiska handlingar, teknisk fakta och vattnets kretslopp i det större perspektivet. Olika kommunikationskanaler passar för olika typer av kommunikation, där resultatet visar att navet för kommunikationen med kommuninvånare är webben och sociala medier. Tonalitet, timing och sociala aspekter av kommunikationen framställdes i resultatet också som viktiga delar. Dessa har på olika sätt inkluderats i kommunikationsstrategin. Kommunikationsstrategin har utvecklats baserat på en modell framställd utifrån den teoretiska grund som använts i studien. Modellen har framställts som ett fundament medan resultatet från kartläggningarna av Norrvatten, medlemskommunerna och VA-organisationernas kommunikation tillsammans med tidigare forskning har utgjort innehållet. / The aim of this study was to map Norrvatten’s communication regarding sustainable water usage with Norrvatten’s municipalities and the municipalities’ communication with the municipal residents. Furthermore, the aim has also been to map how other water and sewerage organizations have communicated about sustainable water use. Focus of the systematic mapping of the communication was on how the communication was carried out, what was communicated and for what purpose. To understand the communication, a didactic analysis was carried out based on the didactic questions of who, what, why, when, and how. The last purpose of the study aimed to develop basis for a communication strategy for Norrvatten's communication with member municipalities and municipal residents. This was done based on the results of the communication mapping and previous research. The communication intends to strengthen opportunities to handle potable water demand relative to sustainable use of water. The result showed that communication about sustainable use of water aim to change individuals' behaviors, to reduce the unnecessary use of water. The respondents also emphasize that communication should aim to increase the value of water and increase knowledge of the production and production capacity. In terms of content, the results show that the communication touches on concrete and practical actions, technical facts, and the water cycle in the larger perspective. Communication channels are suitable for different types of communication, where the results show that the hub of communication with municipal residents is the website and social media. Tonality, timing, and social aspects of the communication were also presented in the result as important parts. These have been included in the communication strategy. The communication strategy was developed on a model produced on the theoretical basis used in the study. The model has been presented as a foundation, while the results from the communication mapping of Norrvatten, the member municipalities and the VA organizations' communication together with previous research have constituted the content.

Internet är idag en ny arena där alla delar med sig av information till alla. Det nya Internet, Webb 2.0, handlar om interaktivitet, kommunikation och dialog. Medborgare och intressenter vill ha större insikt och bättre möjligheter att påverka. De som bidrar med kunskap och synpunkter vill veta hur bidragen påverkar verksamheten, annars slutar de föra dialog. Regering och riksdag vill även att effektiviteten och tillgängligheten till myndigheternas tjänster ska öka. Tidigare forskning visar att det finns en trend mot ämnesarenor och att det kan föreligga ett paradigmskifte från fokus på tjänsteleverans till nätverkade myndigheter som involverar medborgare och intressenter i sin verksamhet. Detta ställer nya krav på riktlinjer och strategier. För att explorativt undersöka dessa trender och fenomen har representanter för tre svenska myndigheter intervjuats. De empiriska resultaten har sedan belysts med nyinstitutionell teori och analyserats med hjälp av lednings- och kommunikationsstrategiska teorier och koncept. Studien konstaterar att de tre undersökta myndigheterna har tagit små steg för att närma sig de virtuella ämnesarenorna. Vissa medarbetare deltar i sociala medier, men deltagandet är inte formaliserat och insikter och lärdomar aggregeras inte inom organisationerna. Samtidigt som kunskapen om sociala medier är relativt låg verkar det finnas institutionaliserade myter som påverkar beslutssituationen. Myndigheternas ledningsgrupper är åldersmässigt relativt homogena. De träffar varandra inom sektorn regelbundet och avvaktar och följer de andra myndigheternas exempel. Den nya e-logiken utmanar de befintliga maktstrukturerna och myten om expertis genom att externa aktörer får mer makt över verksamhetsutvecklingen än tidigare. För att börja delta fullt ut i dialogen på de virtuella ämnesarenorna krävs sannolikt en förändring i verksamhetskulturen och eventuellt behövs ett generationsskifte. Genom deltagande i några väl utvalda e-projekt kommer lärdomar och insikter som kan ge beslutsunderlag för att gå vidare. Erfarenheterna kan leda till att de institutionaliserade myterna kommer att börja förändras så att det förutspådda paradigmskiftet tar plats. / Internet has been transformed. The new Internet, Web 2.0, is all about interactivity, communication and conversations. Citizens and stakeholders demand transparency and influence. The individuals that contribute their knowledge and views demand insight into how their contribution is used to develop the organization, or they leave the conversation. At the same time the Swedish parliament requires improved efficiency, availability and access to government services. Previous research shows there is a trend towards issue arenas where issues and topics, not organizations, are at the center of communication. The emergence of e-government represents a paradigm shift, from emphasizing standardization and cost-efficiency, to an emphasis on coordinated network building, external collaboration, and customer services. This transformation from bureaucracy to networked governance requires new strategies. To explore these trends and phenomena research interviews have been conducted with representatives for three Swedish government agencies. The empirical findings have then been illuminated with neo-institutional theory and analyzed with governance and communication strategy concepts and theories. The findings show that the three agencies have taken some small steps toward the virtual issue arenas. Some employees participate in social media, but the participation isn’t formalized and knowledge isn’t aggregated within the organizations. The general knowledge of social media is low and there seems to be institutionalized myths affecting the decision environment. Management consists of members of similar age. Top management from different agencies in the sector frequently meets, and the agencies await and follow the other agencies examples. The new e-logic challenges existing power structures, as well as the myth of authority, since external actors gain power over business development. In order to fully participate in the conversation in virtual issue arenas, a change in organizational culture is likely needed, and potentially generational change might be necessary to facilitate the change in culture. Engaging in a few, carefully selected e-projects will enable the agencies to learn and expand the engagement gradually. The accumulated experience may lead to a change in the institutionalized myths, thus enabling the predicted paradigm shift.

Populism as a phenomenon is increasing in Europe. This study is therefore centred on howpopulist parties affect mainstream parties when entering the parliament. Moreover this studyresearches how party behaviour theories such as the median voter theorem and cartel partytheory explains mainstream parties' transition on the political and ideological scale when apopulist party is included in the parliament. This study aims to identify populistic discourse in Swedish parties election manifestos. Additionally, examine if the degree of populisticdiscourse differs from the year 2010 when the populist party entered the parliament, the yearof 2018 and the year of 2022 when the populist party entered an alliance with the government.The methodical approach for this research has been a qualitative content analysis. The categories for populist communication strategy attempts to contribute with an operationalization, a measuring instrument of populism in the empirical material. Moreoverthe categories is based on Jan Jagers and Steffan Walgraves theory surrounding populism as a political communication-style. The eight units of analysis are the election manifestos of the Swedish parties: The christ democratic party, the moderate party and the sweden democrats. The empirical research shows that populism as a communication style appears within the election manifestos and that the degree of populist rhetoric differs within the mainstream parties from when the populist party entered the parliament in 2010 and government alliancein 2022.

Title: Recycling, society and social media: a qualitative case study of a municipally-owned company’s Facebook communication. The aim of the study has been to, through a case study of a company’s Facebook communication create understanding for how the medium may be used as communication channel in order to achieve effective, engaging communication with the company’s Facebook followers. The company Stormossen is a municipally-owned waste disposal company located in Kvevlax, Finland. The study uses a mix of the theoretical perspectives intentionalism and hermeneutics, in that its aim is to look at both sides of the communication process - the sender and the receiver - thus gaining a comprehensive picture of the research problem. The theoretical frame is made up of theories on new media logic and social media, participation, communication strategies and social communication. Two methods are applied in the case study, an informant interview with a key person at the company and a qualitative content analysis of the company’s official Facebook page. A total of 133 status updates were selected for analysis, mainly focusing on examining the content, mode of communication and the followers’ interaction and communication on the page. The main results of the study have shown that the company has not fully adapted to the new media logic in their Facebook communication. The communication strategy used is mainly an inside-strategy with emphasis being placed on organizational targets and the one-way distribution of information about the company and its services, with limited attempts to involve and initiate dialogue with the followers. These findings are in line with earlier research on how companies use social media. The company also has an unclear picture of who their followers are and why they would be interested in interacting with the company on Facebook. The followers on the other hand are mainly passive, and their motive for communication can be explained with the need for self-presentation. In order to create content and communication that the followers find relevant and want to interact with and share, the company has to actively work to adapt more to the new media logic. Facebook should be used both as a way of making information available but also for networking with and inviting followers to participation and dialogue, thus making themselves useful to the followers in order to build a good reputation and effective communication. Key words: Social media, Facebook, web 2.0, social communication/social marketing, civic information, communication strategy, social media-strategy, new media logic, participation, communication model, case study, qualitative study, Stormossen, municipally-owned company

This surveys hypothesis is based on the notion that all citizens have the right to access information of the municipality they live in. The aim of the study is to examine how residents of Vilhelmina municipality take note of the current information, and also how they would proceed to access information in the future. In order to conceptualise the results these following theories were used: digital divide, digital immigrants, digital native, uses and gratification theory, social capital, communications strategies and two-way communication. The survey is conducted with four focus group interviews and one separate interview with a person working at the municipal office. The focus groups were divided into age categories in order to see the similarities and differences between the groups' media habits and preferences of future communications. The study material consists of the transcribed texts from the abovementioned interviews. The results of this research demonstrate that there is significant difference between age groups. According to the early theory of digital divide the gap in information between groups exists only due to the individual’s ability to access the Internet, which not match this study’s results. More current updates of the theory of digital divide declare that motivation may be a cause to the gap.  During the course of this research the issue of motivation emerged and a few of the interview participants stated motivation to find information as a key point. With the help of the participants requests communications strategies were presented for future communication based on the target groups' media choices. / Undersökningens utgångspunkt är att alla medborgare har rätt att ta del av information av kommunen de bor i. Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur invånare i Vilhelmina kommun tar del av information nu och hur de skulle vilja gå tillväga i framtiden. För att synliggöra och begripliggöra resultatet användes teorierna digital divide, digital immigrant, digital natives, uses and gratification theory, socialt kapital, inifrån- och utifrånstrategier samt tvåvägskommunikation. Undersökningen genomfördes med fyra fokusgruppsintervjuer samt en informantintervju med en insatt person från Vilhelmina kommuns kommunkontor. Fokusgrupperna var indelade i ålderskategorier för att kunna se likheter och skillnader mellan gruppernas medievanor och önskemål på framtida kommunikation. Studiens material bestod av de transkriberade texterna från de tidigare nämnda intervjuerna. Resultatet påvisade att det finns stora skillnader mellan åldersgrupperna, dock inte så stora gap som den tidiga teorin om digital divide, utan att skillnaderna mellan åldersgrupperna låg i vilka medier de använde som huvudkälla. Samt var skillnaderna mellan grupperna hur motiverade de var att sätta sig in i kommunal information. Med hjälp av deltagarnas önskemål samt kommunikationsstrategier gavs förslag på framtida kommunikation baserat på målgruppernas medieval.

The aim of this study is to investigate which communication strategies and channels the mu- nicipal company Falu Energi & Vatten should use in order to become more efficient in com- municating with citizens between 18 to 29 years old. The company is owned by the munici- pality of Falun and manages community services in electricity, district heating, fresh water, sewerage, metropolitan area network and waste disposal. The following theories have been used in the study: convergence culture, digital natives, information overload, communication strategies and uses & gratifications theory. The methods used in the study are 4 focus group interviews and one informant interview. The members of the focus groups where within the age range 18-29 years and lived in the city of Falun. Each focus group included four partici- pants and the groups were divided based on four different forms of housing; student homes, rental apartments, owned apartments and own villas. The informant interview was conducted with the director of communication at Falu Energi & Vatten. The empirical material was col- lected during the 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th of November 2014. The results of the study shows that media habits among young adults have changed which has led to a non-correspondence in relation to how Falu Energi & Vatten communicates. Due to this Falu Energi & Vatten needs to make changes in their communication strategy, add new channels to their media mix and in some cases reduce the use of others. Falu Energi & Vatten must actively work to both dis- seminate information and make information available in order to reach this age group. The result also shows that the significantly increased media output has led to a desire for personal- ized communication, which means that Falu Energi & Vatten should review the possibility to offer more targeted information. Last but not least, a clear result is that the company should use Facebook for communication with young adults as the majority of the participants wish to communicate with the company through this particular channel. Facebook can be used both to disseminate information but also to facilitate information retrieval and dialogue.