The study investigated the role of innovation management modes on organisationorganisational financial performance in South Africa. to examine what the relationship is with organisational financial performance. Although research has been conducted on the innovative strategy in South Africa none has been identified that seeks to establish the link to organisational financial performance. Innovativeness and an adapted innovation management mode questionnaire taken from Bisbe and Malagueno’s (2009), was administered to 73 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. These 73 companies were selected because they were registered and they confirmed to be innovating companies. A poor response rate of 18% was obtained due to changes in the willingness of respondents from when the database was compiled to the date of the actual research. The Cronbach alpha coefficient analysis was conducted to ascertain the reliability of the measurement tool in relation to the small sample size obtained. The innovativeness tool proved to be reliable with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.845. Some of the innovation management mode tool items were coded and reversed and upon applying the Cronbach alpha coefficient, the tool was found not to be reliable when all 25 items were analysed. Reliability was obtained for three out of the six subsections when analysed separately. These subsections were used for Spearman rho correlation analyses, together with descriptive statistics for all items in the tool, in order to test innovativeness in organisations; relationship of innovativeness and IMM; and lastly the relationship between IMM and organisational financial performance; for the sample being observed. Shareholder wealth creation (SWC) was used as a tool for organisational financial performance measurement, together with other more common measures for profitability, leverage, growth and survival. A positive relationship between financial performance and innovativeness in the sample confirmed that innovation is a source of increased financial performance in organisations. No conclusive relationship could be ascertained between organisational financial performance using SWC, leverage, return on assets and survival. However the positive relationship found between growth and IMM in the sample, suggests that IMM may have a role to play in a growing organisation. The prevalence of systematic IMM in the sample and the high organisational financial performance of some of the companies using this mode could be due to the use of the contingency innovation management. Limitations were identified in the study, which included the small sample size obtained and suggestions to improve on the implementation of the empirical research. Areas of further study include improving implementation and opening it up to a wider population group to ascertain whether the results found in this research are representative for South African companies. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The study investigated the role of innovation management modes on organisationorganisational financial performance in South Africa. to examine what the relationship is with organisational financial performance. Although research has been conducted on the innovative strategy in South Africa none has been identified that seeks to establish the link to organisational financial performance. Innovativeness and an adapted innovation management mode questionnaire taken from Bisbe and Malagueno’s (2009), was administered to 73 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. These 73 companies were selected because they were registered and they confirmed to be innovating companies. A poor response rate of 18% was obtained due to changes in the willingness of respondents from when the database was compiled to the date of the actual research. The Cronbach alpha coefficient analysis was conducted to ascertain the reliability of the measurement tool in relation to the small sample size obtained. The innovativeness tool proved to be reliable with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.845. Some of the innovation management mode tool items were coded and reversed and upon applying the Cronbach alpha coefficient, the tool was found not to be reliable when all 25 items were analysed. Reliability was obtained for three out of the six subsections when analysed separately. These subsections were used for Spearman rho correlation analyses, together with descriptive statistics for all items in the tool, in order to test innovativeness in organisations; relationship of innovativeness and IMM; and lastly the relationship between IMM and organisational financial performance; for the sample being observed. Shareholder wealth creation (SWC) was used as a tool for organisational financial performance measurement, together with other more common measures for profitability, leverage, growth and survival. A positive relationship between financial performance and innovativeness in the sample confirmed that innovation is a source of increased financial performance in organisations. No conclusive relationship could be ascertained between organisational financial performance using SWC, leverage, return on assets and survival. However the positive relationship found between growth and IMM in the sample, suggests that IMM may have a role to play in a growing organisation. The prevalence of systematic IMM in the sample and the high organisational financial performance of some of the companies using this mode could be due to the use of the contingency innovation management. Limitations were identified in the study, which included the small sample size obtained and suggestions to improve on the implementation of the empirical research. Areas of further study include improving implementation and opening it up to a wider population group to ascertain whether the results found in this research are representative for South African companies. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Syfte: Det föreligger ett lagförslag som kan komma att ställa krav på omkring 2000 svenska företag vad det gäller redovisning inom Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), en redovisning som idag ännu är frivillig. Denna studies huvudsakliga syfte är att undersöka om det finns någon relation mellan sådan redovisning och fööetags finansiella prestation. I forskningen kring denna relation har begreppet Corporate Social Performance (CSP) använts för att kvantifiera redovisad CSR. Relationen studeras dels utifrån ett samlat mått på CSP, dels separat utifrån de två dimensionerna miljö och mänskliga rättigheter. Metod: Föreliggande studie har utgått ifrån den positivistiska forskningsfilosofin och antagit en hypotetiskt-deduktiv ansats. Vidare har den strategi som antagits varit kvantitativ, där en tvärsnittsdesign använts och där data som samlats in uteslutande varit av sekundär art. Studiens urval uppgår till 211 företag noterade på Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. Den data som använts som måttåå CSP har hämtats från Folksams index för ansvarsfullt företagande för år 2013. Måtten på finansiell prestation har hämtats från årsredovisningar för räkenskapsåret 2013, vilka erhållits genom databasen Retriever och företagens egna hemsidor. Vidare har all data behandlats i statistikprogrammet SPSS där den analyserats med hjälp av multipla regressionsanalyser. Resultat & slutsats: Studien visade att det fanns en positiv relation mellan CSP och företags finansiella prestation. Studien gav vidare stöd åt en relation både utifrån det totala måttet av CSP samt dimensionen miljö. CSR-arbete kan följaktligen anses vara en värdeskapande strategi om man ser till företags finansiella prestation, i synnerhet vad det gäller miljörelaterat arbete. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Föreliggande studie är av tvärsnittsdesign vilket ibland kritiserats för att vara otillräcklig när relationen som är central i detta arbete studeras. Ett förslag vi lämnar till fortsatta studier är därför att göra en liknande studie över tid för att kunna kartlägga förändringar. Vidare anser vissa forskare att det inte är tillräckligt att mäta företags finansiella prestation endast genom redovisningsmässiga mått, varpå ett förslag är att undersöka samma relation och då även inkludera marknadsmässiga mått. Vi tar i kapitel 5.4 upp fler förslag till vidare forskning. Uppsatsens bidrag: Denna studie bidrar med ytterligare kunskap kring de varierande resultaten av relationen mellan företags CSP och finansiella prestation. Vidare bidrar studien praktiskt till en ökad förståelse för hur CSP påverkar företags finansiella prestation i en svensk kontext. / Aim: The Swedish ministry of justice has submitted a legislative proposal that could require about 2000 Swedish companies to report Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), something that today is voluntary. The main purpose of the study is to investigate whether there is any relationship between reported CSR and corporate financial performance. In this area of research, Corporate Social Performance (CSP) has been used to quantify reported CSR. The relationship is studied partly based on an aggregate measure of CSP, but also from the two dimensions environment and human rights. Method: The study is based in positivist research philosophy and adopts a hypothetical-deductive approach. The strategy adopted is quantitative, using a cross-sectional design and secondary data only. The study's sample amounts to 211 companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. The data used as a measure of CSP is taken from Folksam’s index for corporate responsibility for 2013. The measures of financial performance is taken from the annual reports for the financial year of 2013, obtained through the database Retriever and the companies' own websites. Furthermore, all data is processed in SPSS where it was analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results & conclusions: The study showed that there was a positive relationship between CSP and corporate financial performance. The study provided further support for a relationship both from the overall dimension of CSP and the environmental dimension. CSR-related work can therefore be regarded as a value-creating strategy in terms of the company's financial performance, particularly in terms of environment-related work. Suggestions for further research: This study has a cross-sectional design, which is sometimes criticized for being insufficient when the relationship between CSP and financial performance is studied. One suggestion we leave for further studies is to do a similar study over time to identify changes. Furthermore, some researchers believe that it’s not enough to measure the company's financial performance only through accounting-based measures. Therefore, another suggestion is to investigate the relationship including market-based measures. In chapter 5.4 more suggestions for further research are presented. Contributions of the thesis: This study contributes more knowledge to the varying results of the relationship between companies CSP and financial performance. Furthermore, the study's practical contribution is to give a better understanding of how CSP affects financial performance of companies in a Swedish context.

無形資產一向是企業提昇競爭力的重要資產。當企業自行研發無形資產具一定之障礙與風險時，取得無形資產即成為企業併購的主要原因之ㄧ。本研究主要探討併購取得之無形資產與併購公司財務績效之關聯性，選取74家於2001年至2005年發生併購之美國公司為樣本，將股東權益報酬率、資產報酬率和營運現金流量報酬率作為併購公司績效之衡量變數。本研究運用敘述性統計、Pearson相關係數和複迴歸分析來達到本研究之目的。 實證結果顯示，在不包含2005年併購案件的樣本中，併購取得之無形資產與資產報酬率呈現正相關。高科技產業經由併購取得之無形資產與其績效亦呈現正相關；然而對傳統產業而言，併購取得之無形資產與績效並無正向相關。在各類別無形資產方面，併購取得之行銷相關的無形資產與資產報酬率呈現正相關，但是契約基礎的無形資產則與股東權益報酬率呈現負相關。 / Intangible assets are important to companies in improving their competitiveness. As it may be risky to internally develop intangible assets, companies engage in merger activities to acquire intangible assets from outside. This research aims to explore whether intangible assets acquired in mergers and acquisitions are associated with acquirers’ post-acquisition financial performances. The sample consisted of 74 American merger and acquisition cases that took place during the period of 2001 to 2005. The empirical results are as follows. The acquired intangible assets are positively associated with the return on assets for the sample excluding the cases of year 2005. The acquired intangible assets are positively associated with acquirers’ financial performance in the high-tech industry, but not so for the traditional industry. As to different types of intangible assets, the acquired marketing-related intangible assets are also positively associated with the return on assets. On the other hand, the acquired contract-based intangible assets are negatively associated with the return of equity.

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur den ekonomiska prestationen skiljer sig mellan de ideella föreningarna och IdrottsAB som styrs av elitlicensens krav inom fotbollen och ishockeyn. Metod: Vi har i denna jämförande studie använt oss av en kvantitativ metod med en longitudinell design där vi med hjälp av sekundärdataanalys undersökt ideella föreningar och IdrottsAB:s ekonomiska prestationer i utvalda nyckeltal under en femårsperiod. Resultat & slutsats: I denna studie har empirin samlats in genom att beräkna de ideella föreningarnas och IdrottsAB medelvärde på de utvalda nyckeltalen och sedan jämfört dessa resultat mot varandra. Hypotestester har även använts för att se om det fanns någon signifikant skillnad mellan vad de ideella föreningarna och IdrottsAB presterat i de olika nyckeltalen. Vår slutsats var att det inte fanns någon större skillnad mellan de ideella föreningarna och IdrottsAB:s finansiella prestationer men att de ideella föreningarna presterade lite bättre sammantaget.

Problem:      Companies need to maintain a competitive position in the market to financially perform, and in order to do so, the companies need to have a good corporate governance structure. In the latter years, the ethical discussion about gender diversity has gained a lot of attention in society, which influence norms, standards and legislations, and also the business. Today, Swedish and Danish firms are obligated to strive for gender diversity in their corporate boards according to the corporate governance codes in the respective countries. However, the financial aspects should be taken into concern, since a company needs to financially perform to keep its operations. It is not established whether an increased gender diversity is related to financial performance, since studies on the field are contradictive. Due to the different results, it is interesting to see what the relationship looks like in the Nordic countries, especially in Sweden and Denmark where quota-based legislation has not yet been established. This thesis investigates the issue to provide evidence for the companies in similar countries if an increased gender diversity is financially supportable.   Purpose:      The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the gender diversity in the board of directors and its relationship with the financial performance of a corporation. Further, the study will investigate the financial performance dependency on the gender diversity in the board of directors.   Method:       A sample of 104 Swedish and Danish companies was chosen as observation objects. To investigate the relationship between the gender diversity and the financial performance, a Pearson correlation analysis was made. To identify the financial performance dependency on the gender diversity regression analyses were performed. Hypotheses that were built on agency theory, resource dependency theory, upper echelons theory and previous research were tested in the statistical analyses.   Results:        The statistical analyses show that there is no statistically significant relationship between gender diversity and financial performance, neither that the financial performance is dependent on the gender diversity. This evidence implies that increased gender diversity in board rooms should be motivated for other reasons than strictly financial success. Companies should consider these findings in the attaining process of directors and focus on other factors than financial progress in the proceeding involvement of women in the board. Thus, a company cannot increase its financial performance only by attaining more women to the board room. / Problem:      För att prestera finansiellt behöver företag bibehålla konkurrenskraft, och för att göra det är företagsledningen viktig. På senare tid, har den etiska diskussionen kring könsdiversitet fått stor uppmärksamhet i samhället, vilket påverkar normer, standarder och lagstiftning. Svenska och danska företag är förpliktigade att sträva efter könsdiversitet enligt den svenska och danska koden för bolagsstyrning, men även de finansiella aspekterna av könsmångfald bör tas i beaktning eftersom ett företag behöver prestera finansiellt för att kunna fortsätta sin verksamhet. Ännu är det inte fastslaget att en ökad könsdiversitet är relaterat till finansiella framsteg, då studier på området säger emot varandra. Därför är det intressant att se hur denna relation ser ut i de nordiska länderna, speciellt i Sverige och Danmark där kvoteringslagar ännu inte har införts. Denna uppsats undersöker frågan för att skapa bevis för företagen i länderna om en ökad könsdiversitet är finansiellt försvarbar.   Syfte:            Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka könsdiversitet i bolagsstyrelser och relationen till finansiella prestationer av företaget i fråga. Dessutom ämnar studien undersöka de finansiella prestationernas beroendeförhållande till könsdiversiteten i bolagsstyrelserna.     Metod:         Ett urval av 104 svenska och danska företag valdes som observationsobjekt. För att undersöka relationen mellan könsdiversitet och finansiella prestationer görs en Pearson korrelationsanalys. För att upptäcka om finansiella prestationer är har ett beroendeförhållande till könsdiversiteten i bolagsstyrelserna gjordes regressionsanalyser. Hypoteserna som testades baserades på agentteori, resursberoendeteori, och övernivåteori och tidigare empirisk forskning.   Resultat:      De statistiska analyserna visar att det inte finns något signifikant samband mellan könsdiversitet och finansiella prestationer, och inte heller att finansiell prestation har ett beroendeförhållande till könsdiversitet i bolagsstyrelsen. Dessa resultat indikerar att en ökad könsdiversitet i styrelserummen bör motiveras av andra faktorer än strikt finansiell framgång. Företag bör ta ställning till resultaten från denna forskning i tillsättandet av styrelseledamöter och inte förvänta sig en förbättrad finansiell ställning enbart genom att tillsätta fler kvinnor till styrelsen.

This thesis examines the effect of corporatization, i.e. pure legal form conversion of contributory organizations into joint-stock companies, on financial performance of 77 Czech non-privatized general hospitals during 2001-2011. Using differences-in-differences estimation the effect on overall financial performance was not confirmed. Regarding individual performance components different changes in revenues and costs per inpatient day (relative to non-corporatized hospitals) were recognized after different corporatizations periods. Both revenues and costs measures either increased or decreased after 2003 & 2004 and 2005 corporatization respectively; and were maintained after 2006 & 2007 period. Ambiguous effect of corporatization on financial performance is consistent with the principal-agent theory developed in this thesis. JEL Classification C51, G32, I11, I18, L20, L32 Keywords financial performance, hospitals, panel data analy- sis, Czech Republic Author's e-mail adam.jankura@gmail.com Supervisor's e-mail jana.votapkova@gmail.com 1

The aim of the study is to investigate how the quality of sustainability reports affects financial performance and firm value in the Swedish manufacturing industry.

Notre étude essaye de décrire comment les interactions entre la RSE et la performance financière sont influencées en se basant sur la théorie du management par les ressources et la vision instrumentale de la théorie des parties prenantes tout en considérant la RSE comme un bien public qui s’inscrit dans le prolongement des logiques d’intérêt général et qui contribue à la maximisation du bien-être collectif. Nous testons le rôle de la réputation de l’entreprise dans la relation de la performance sociétale vers la performance financière. Empiriquement, nous utilisons des données de panel de 7 ans (2006-2012) pour 324 entreprises états-uniennes. La performance sociétale est mesurée selon des critères de performance ESG (environnementale, sociale et de gouvernance) par l’agence de notation extra-financière MSCI. En ce qui concerne la performance financière, nous utilisons une mesure boursière (le Q de Tobin) et une mesure comptable (ROE). Les résultats montrent l’existence d’une relation qui a la forme d’un cercle vertueux entre la performance sociétale et la performance financière avec la mesure boursière de la performance financière. Quant à la réputation, l’étude montre qu’elle a un impact significatif sur la relation de la performance sociétale vers la performance financière. Les résultats soulignent aussi que la relation positive significative de la performance sociétale vers la performance financière se retrouve notamment au niveau de la performance sociale et de la performance de gouvernance de la performance sociétale de l’entreprise. Notre étude désigne la performance de gouvernance et la performance environnementale comme des performances qui peuvent influencer la réputation de l’entreprise. / Our study seeks to describe how the interactions between CSR and financial performance are affected based on the theory of resource-based view (RBV) and the instrumental view of stakeholder theory while considering CSR as a public good which constitutes a coherent extension of the general interest and which contributes to the maximization of social well-being. We are testing the role of corporate reputation concerning the relationship of CSR to financial performance. Empirically, we use panel data of 7 years (2006-2012) for 324 US companies. CSR is measured according to ESG performance criteria (environmental, social and governance) by the MSCI Extra-Financial Rating Agency. Regarding the financial performance, we use a market measure (Tobin's Q) and an accounting measure (ROE). The results emphasize the existence of a relation that has the shape of a virtuous circle between CSR and financial performance with the market measure of financial performance. As for reputation, the present study shows that it has a significant impact on the relation of CSR to financial performance. The results also emphasize that the significant positive relationship of CSR to financial performance can be found particularly in social performance and governance performance. Our study indicates the governance and environmental performances likewise the performance which can influence the reputation of the company.

En financiarisant des populations exclues de la finance traditionnelle (banque, marchés financiers), la Microfinance s'est vu assigner une mission de lutte contre la pauvreté : elle permettrait ainsi aux individus de financer leurs propres activités économiques génératrices de richesse. Mais la financiarisation de ces populations induit certains effets, non anticipés, et dont les conséquences sur leur comportement ne sont pas négligeables : pour pouvoir les servir, les Institutions de Microfinance ont transféré sur ces populations le risque de crédit et le coût de sélection. Cette thèse se propose d'analyser, à travers la théorie de l'entrepreneur, les conséquences d'un tel transfert sur les aptitudes entrepreneuriales des individus. D'après notre analyse, au-delà d'une certaine dose de risque, il est vain de penser qu'un individu endossera davantage de risques économiques en se lançant dans une activité innovante porteuse de richesse. Dans le contexte particulièrement risqué dans lequel vivent les populations bénéficiaires de services de Microfinance, il faut réfléchir à des solutions qui permettent de réduire le risque supporté par l'entrepreneur et non à des solutions qui ont pour conséquence l'augmentation du niveau de risque supporté par celui-ci. Notre travail participe à cette réflexion et à la recherche de solutions viables. / By financing people excluded from traditional finance (banking, financial markets), microfinance has been assigned a mission to fight against poverty by enabling individuals to finance their own activities generating economic wealth. But financialization of these populations involves some effects yet to unanticipated consequences on the behavior of beneficiaries: to be able to serve them, microfinance institutions have transferred credit risk and the cost of selection. Through the theory of the entrepreneur, this thesis will analyze the consequences of such a transfer on the individual's entrepreneurial skills. According to our analysis, beyond a certain amount of risk, it is pointless to consider an individual endorse more economic risks by engaging in innovative activity. In a particularly risky environment in which beneficiaries of microfinance services live, it is necessary to consider solutions that reduce the risk borne by the contractor and not solutions which result in increased levels risk supported by the individual. Our work launch this debate and search a viable solution.