<p><strong>Executive Summary</strong></p><p>This final thesis has examined the effects of an increased centralization and better coord­in­ation of the distribution logistics at ABB in Västerås. The company is today strongly decent­ralized and there is a minimum of collaboration between the 20 business units. This is why the questions were raised; how could the business units coordinate outbound logistic activities and what effects would that provide. The obj­ect­ive of this final thesis is to provide basic data for a future decision-making which desc­r­ibe these effects.</p><p>The report has mapped out the factors that are important to ABB in an evaluation of their logistic activities and how the outbound logistics work today. The four factors are cost efficiency, delivery service, environmental impact and logistics capability. It was noticed that the degree of collaboration was very low and the business units send their goods in three main directions: Gothenburg, Arlanda and Europe (except for deliveries within the Nordic countries). Today it is only the goods towards Arlanda which are joint­ly transported. In the other directions there are only a few business units who collaborate.</p><p>Beside the primal task to negotiate general transport­ation agreements, the central logistic function (GFSM) at ABB has only a supporting roll in the work concerning logistics. The reason is not just that the business units have the real mandate over the logistics but also that the logistic focus in general is low. Furthermore is it hard for the freight managers (FM) at each business unit to change and improve the logistics, because they have other tasks to manage but also since their logistics skills in many cases are poor. The demands on the freight man­agers are also not expressed clearly enough and therefore they don’t know what is expected of them in their rolls as freight managers.</p><p>Three development directions were identified and expressed as scenarios, see table 1. <em>Scenario 1</em> represents an increased focus on the logistics and more distinct rolls for the GFSM and the FMs. <em>Scenario 2</em> addresses an increased coordination of the physical flow of goods (exemplified as a consolidation of all truck transportations toward Gothenburg) where the freight managers are in charge of this coordination. <em>Scen­ario 3</em> is a combi­nation of the first and second scenario and represents a centralization of the outbound logistics (exemplified as train with containers to Gothenburg).</p><p>The conclusion was that:</p><p>-   <em>Scenario 1</em> entails an increased transparency, communication and central management with positive effects on costs, delivery service and on the environment in the long run. The scenario becomes a prerequisite for the execution of the two others. Therefore is it the first step for ABB if they wish to increase their coordination of physical goods or centralize their logistics operations.</p><p>-   <em>Scenario 2</em> envolves cost savings by a good 50 % because the collecting of the goods takes place at each business unit (unchanged amount of handling). These changes are something to attain since it, in addition to the cost savings, can imply an improved delivery service and doesn’t increase the emissions of CO₂ compared with today!</p><p>-   <em>Scenario 3</em> results in a cost impairment since the cost reductions are too small for the distance Västerås-Gothenburg and are eliminated by the increased costs for handling of goods, warehousing and internal transportation. Nevertheless is train transportation within Sw­eden preferable out of an environmental perspective. All aspects considered, this scen­ario must consolidate more flows of goods and secure already existing knowledge before it becomes interesting to realize.</p>

Executive Summary This final thesis has examined the effects of an increased centralization and better coord­in­ation of the distribution logistics at ABB in Västerås. The company is today strongly decent­ralized and there is a minimum of collaboration between the 20 business units. This is why the questions were raised; how could the business units coordinate outbound logistic activities and what effects would that provide. The obj­ect­ive of this final thesis is to provide basic data for a future decision-making which desc­r­ibe these effects. The report has mapped out the factors that are important to ABB in an evaluation of their logistic activities and how the outbound logistics work today. The four factors are cost efficiency, delivery service, environmental impact and logistics capability. It was noticed that the degree of collaboration was very low and the business units send their goods in three main directions: Gothenburg, Arlanda and Europe (except for deliveries within the Nordic countries). Today it is only the goods towards Arlanda which are joint­ly transported. In the other directions there are only a few business units who collaborate. Beside the primal task to negotiate general transport­ation agreements, the central logistic function (GFSM) at ABB has only a supporting roll in the work concerning logistics. The reason is not just that the business units have the real mandate over the logistics but also that the logistic focus in general is low. Furthermore is it hard for the freight managers (FM) at each business unit to change and improve the logistics, because they have other tasks to manage but also since their logistics skills in many cases are poor. The demands on the freight man­agers are also not expressed clearly enough and therefore they don’t know what is expected of them in their rolls as freight managers. Three development directions were identified and expressed as scenarios, see table 1. Scenario 1 represents an increased focus on the logistics and more distinct rolls for the GFSM and the FMs. Scenario 2 addresses an increased coordination of the physical flow of goods (exemplified as a consolidation of all truck transportations toward Gothenburg) where the freight managers are in charge of this coordination. Scen­ario 3 is a combi­nation of the first and second scenario and represents a centralization of the outbound logistics (exemplified as train with containers to Gothenburg). The conclusion was that: -   Scenario 1 entails an increased transparency, communication and central management with positive effects on costs, delivery service and on the environment in the long run. The scenario becomes a prerequisite for the execution of the two others. Therefore is it the first step for ABB if they wish to increase their coordination of physical goods or centralize their logistics operations. -   Scenario 2 envolves cost savings by a good 50 % because the collecting of the goods takes place at each business unit (unchanged amount of handling). These changes are something to attain since it, in addition to the cost savings, can imply an improved delivery service and doesn’t increase the emissions of CO2 compared with today! -   Scenario 3 results in a cost impairment since the cost reductions are too small for the distance Västerås-Gothenburg and are eliminated by the increased costs for handling of goods, warehousing and internal transportation. Nevertheless is train transportation within Sw­eden preferable out of an environmental perspective. All aspects considered, this scen­ario must consolidate more flows of goods and secure already existing knowledge before it becomes interesting to realize.

Aim: The purpose of the study is to understand how SME companies uses market orientation to target customers through Google AdWords.  Method: This study uses a qualitative method approach as the purpose of the study is to increase understanding. Furthermore, the empirical data used has been collected through eight semi-structured interviews. These interviews were conducted at eight SME companies in Stockholm, Gävle and Uppsala. The keywords identified in the analysis were created by setting theory and empirical elements against each other and thus creating a pattern. Result and Conclusion: The result shows that all companies use market orientation and Google AdWords to gather and disseminate information. However, the work of market orientation and Google AdWords varies in relation to the theory. All companies in the study find Google AdWords to be a profitable marketing tool. Suggestions for future research: Future studies can use the empirical model found in the study to see how companies work with market orientation and Google AdWords in a specific market where competing companies are investigated to try to find the best approach. Inter-functional coordination is also a topic that should be further studied since this study did not find a clear work on the design. Future research should have the new Data Protection Act (GDPR) in mind as the law changes a lot about how personal information can be saved and spread by companies, especially by Google. As well as a change of a Swedish game license that will be introduced. Contribution of the thesis:  The study has contributed in an increased understanding of how SMEs work with SEM tools, such as Google AdWords, to be market oriented from a practical and theoretical perspective. The contribution of the study has found that all companies use some form of market orientation when using Google AdWords. / Syfte:  Syftet med studien är att förstå hur SME:s marknadsorienterar sig mot kunder genom Google AdWords.   Metod: Studien använder en kvalitativ metod. Syftet med studien är att öka förståelse för fenomenet Google AdWords. Vidare har den empiriska data som används samlats in via åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer, dessa intervjuer utfördes på åtta SME:s i Stockholm, Gävle och Uppsala. De nyckelord som identifierats i analysen har skapats genom att teori och empiridel ställts mot varandra och skapat nyckelord för de iakttagelser som gjorts.   Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet visar att samtliga företag använder sig av marknadsorientering och Google AdWords. Dock varierar arbetet med marknadsorientering och Google AdWords i förhållande till teorin. Samtliga företag i studien finner Google AdWords att vara ett upplevt lönsamt marknadsföringsverktyg.   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Framtida studier kan använda den empiriska modell som finns i studien för att se hur företag arbetar med marknadsorientering och Google AdWords inom en specifik marknad. Interfunktionell koordinering är också ett tema som bör studeras vidare eftersom studien inte fann ett uttalat arbete med konstruktionen. Framtida forskning bör ha nya personuppgiftslagen GDPR i åtanke eftersom lagen förändrar hur personuppgifter får sparas och spridas av företag. Samt att en förändring av svensk spellicens som kommer att införas.   Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien har bidragit med en ökad förståelse för hur SME:s arbetar med SEM-verktyget Google AdWords för att marknadsorientera sig ur ett praktiskt och teoretiskt perspektiv. Bidraget studien har kommit fram till är att samtliga företag använder någon form av marknadsorientering när de använder Google AdWords.

Bakgrund: En organisatorisk utmaning för globala organisationer är arbetet med deras arbetsgivarvarumärke när de är globalt utbredda och behöver anpassa sig till olika geografiskt spridda marknader. Utmaningen faller inom området företagsekonomi och det är vanligtvis organisationens HR som axlar ansvaret med utmaningen. På grund av den snabbt föränderliga omvärlden vi lever i, och på grund av hur de åtskilda marknaderna skiljer sig beträffande kulturer, lagstiftningar eller digitaliserade samhällen möter globala organisationer utmaningar med att behålla sitt arbetsgivarvarumärke på samtliga marknader.  Syfte: Att förklara hur en global organisation kan arbeta med att behålla sitt arbetsgivarvarumärke trots olika geografiska marknader.  Metod: Studien har ett hermeneutiskt synsätt och en induktiv ansats, vilket innebär att studien inte utgått från tidigare teorier. För att förklara hur en global organisation kan arbeta med att behålla sitt arbetsgivarvarumärke trots olika geografiska marknader, har en kvalitativ fallstudie genomförts, uppbyggd med tio informanter som arbetar med en global organisations arbetsgivarvarumärke. Studien har implementerat kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med informanterna för att samla in empiri om den studerade organisationen. En tematisk kartläggning sattes i verk för att kartlägga den insamlade empirin kring organisationens arbete med sitt arbetsgivarvarumärke.  Slutsatser: I studiens slutsatser beskrivs vilka initiativ en global organisation kan ta för att behålla sitt arbetsgivarvarumärke. Dessa initiativ ligger till grund för studiens teoretiska bidrag som illustrerar byggstenar för att en global organisation ska kunna behålla sitt arbetsgivarvarumärke. Studien drar slutsatser som presenterar nya perspektiv på hur en global organisation kan bemöta utmaningen av en föränderlig och geografiskt spridd omvärld. / Background: An organizational challenge for global organizations is the work with their employer brand when they are globally widespread and need to adapt to different geographically dispersed markets. The challenge falls within the area of business administration and it is usually the organization's HR that bears the responsibility for the challenge. Due to the rapidly changing world that we live in, and due to how the separate markets differ in terms of cultures, laws or digitalized societies, global organizations face challenges in maintaining their employer brand in all its markets simultaneously.  Purpose: To explain how a global organization can work to maintain its employer brand despite its different geographical markets.  Method: The study has a hermeneutic perspective and an inductive approach, which means that the study was not based on existing theories. To explain how a global organization can work to maintain its employer brand despite different geographical markets, a qualitative case study has been conducted, built with ten informants that are working with a global organization's employer brand. The study has implemented qualitative semi-structured interviews with the informants to gather empirical data about the chosen organization. A thematic survey was launched to map the collected empirical data on the organization's work with its employer brand.  Conclusions: The study's conclusions describe what initiatives a global organization can take to maintain its employer brand. These initiatives form the basis of the study's theoretical contribution, which illustrates building blocks for a global organization to be able to maintain its employer brand. The study draws conclusions that presents new perspectives on how a global organization can cope with the challenge of a volatile and geographically dispersed world.

Dhaka city and Bangladesh is unique in many ways. The country profile is most definitely an interesting case to study through the lenses of disaster management. In this thesis a framework or theories encompassing collaborative governance and coordination crisis- management networks is applied to the challenging context of Bangladesh. The study looks at themes such as ‘history of conflicts’, ‘trust building’, ‘power imbalances’, ‘comprehensive overview’ and crisis network variables like ‘complexity’ and ‘familiarity‘. The theory block is foremost gathered from Michael Hillyard, Naim Kapucu and Alison Gash and Chris Ansell. The study is based on interviews from individuals representing different types of organizations that have connections to coordination avenues. A thematic analysis approach is used to apply the theories on the empirics. Three research questions encapsulates the core of the study; what components stimulate collaborative governance theoretically and how does part- takers of disaster management in Dhaka perceive collaborative governance and coordination under disaster preparedness? Finally, how does the presented theories conform to the practises focused on coordination and collaborative governance when preparing for disasters in Dhaka, Bangladesh?    The study finds that the establishment of coordination avenues are evident in Dhaka and that the development of various parts of coordination activities is moving rather strong. The study show that many organizations are project- based in Dhaka and that competition over intellectual property and funding can work in both directions for coordination and collaborative governance. Either lowering the ambition for collaborations or increasing it. The study also confirms findings of previous coordination studies in Bangladesh that suggest that the institutional approach is very much individualistic which can, to some degree, hamper coordination activities. The study suggest that the system for coordination and its reach appears to be more established horizontally on a strategic level than on the vertical level. Coordination activities and collaborative governance also operates simultaneously in Dhaka, both vertically and horizontally. In closure the experiences of DM- employees in Dhaka suggest that earthquakes and droughts, or combinations of quakes and flooding may pose a serious challenge to the disaster management relief resources of Dhaka city.

In the summer of 2018, Sweden was taken by surprise and engulfed by forest fires on an unprecedented scale. Various forms of crisis volunteerism (CV) proved essential in the large scale response that ensued. Previous information systems (IS) research gives insights, both theoretically and practically, on the potential of IS and digitalisation to enhance and support crisis response. However, the forest fires demonstrated that CV practices and practitioners in Sweden have practically no such support. CV is, in other words, an essential part of the crisis response system, but unsupported by dedicated digitalisation. The aim of this thesis is therefore to understand what is required to enable a digital transformation (DT) that will significantly improve CV practice and the overall crisis response system. Sweden is not unique in this respect. From an international perspective, IS research devotes much attention to the area of crisis response. However, this is most commonly done using the perspective and needs of crisis management stakeholders as a departing point. Also, despite research on and the availability of IS solutions, the degree of practical implementation would appear to be low. This thesis is therefore also based on the perceived knowledge gap that the lack of IS and digitalisation supporting CV is, in part, a result of the lack of research focus on volunteer stakeholders and the CV practice itself. Another gap noted is the lack of knowledge regarding the real-world practice of CV which contributes to undermining the development and use of IS solutions for CV. This thesis, therefore, provides a much needed holistic understanding of real-world CV. This understanding moves the perspective of volunteer stakeholders to the forefront without losing the perspective of crisis management. This has been done via an empirical study in the aftermath of the Swedish forest fires crisis as well as via studies of international IS literature on crisis response and CV. This has resulted in a unique holistic and comprehensive model that relates to the complexity, dynamics and emergence involved in CV practice. Via this model it is possible to relate specific parts or aspects of CV practice, to the whole practice area and continue modelling attributes in greater detail, as required, depending on DT or IS design needs. Underlying the focus in this thesis lies a mild critique of previous IS research with more reductionist approaches, whereby the relevance of broader contextual understandings has been downplayed. The thesis aligns with perspectives on digitalisation and IS design, proposing the relevance of developing broader holistic understandings of research topics. That is, understandings that have greater potential to reveal how phenomena come into being and are adapted in environmental contexts. DT is understood in terms of a process whereby broader understandings of phenomena are used to identify needs (triggers), strategies and capabilities that will inform IS design initiatives. An analytical framework depicting this process and its main components and relationships has been designed in this thesis to contribute to an understanding of what is required to digitally transform CV practice. In summary, the thesis provides a new holistic approach and understanding for the CV practice area and how it may be digitally transformed. The thesis also contributes to a new perspective on DT, applied to a complex and non-organisation based setting. This knowledge is of relevance to both practitioners and IS researchers in crisis response and CV. The CV practice meta-model and the analytical framework for digital transformation can be used to enable and inform future digital transformation strategies and policy in Sweden and internationally. They can also contribute to guiding the initiation of practical IS design initiatives, with greater potential to enhance and improve both CV and overall crisis response. The research was performed within the information systems (IS) discipline.