In this paper I offer an analysis of the Adam Smith Problem. This Problem arises from perceived inconsistencies between Smith's economic work, The Wealth of Nations, and his moral theory, the Theory of Moral Sentiments. I argue that far from being inconsistent with Smith's economic theory, his moral theory serves as a necessary foundation. I suggest that, because he takes humans to be moral by nature, Smith defends social capitalism which requires moral economic agents rather than homo economicus. I then sketch some specific implications for the moral limits of Smithian social systems. / Master of Arts

No / This paper analyses whether and how organizational learning from diversification experience affects diversification value. Three main findings are reported. First, we find a U-shaped relationship between diversification value and diversification experience. Second, higher similarity in industries of diversifications results in higher diversification value. Finally, value of diversification and temporal interval between diversifications is related an inverted U-shaped curve. In the extension analysis, the paper demonstrates that external learning from others’ experience also affects value of diversification in a cubic pattern. Taken together, the study illustrates the effects learning from both own and population experience on the cross-sectional variance of diversification value.

Yes / Purpose This paper aims to explore the drivers of employee motivation to facilitate value co-creation. Specifically, it enhances the understanding of social and contextual elements that contribute towards the co-creation of value. Design/methodology/approach Embracing an interpretive paradigm, the study draws on 57 in-depth interviews together with participant observation field notes. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings The findings identify six key drivers that motivate employees to facilitate value co-creation: rewards and recognition, opportunities for life-long learning, interpersonal engagement, role responsibility and accountability, organisational vision and social purpose. Research limitations/implications This study is undertaken within a traditional organisation setting. Other organisational contexts such as working from home should also be considered. Second, this study focused on the individual relational orientations of employees. Also, there is an opportunity to explore the collective orientation of employees. Originality/value Drawing on service-dominant logic (S-D logic) as a theoretical lens, this study adopts and adapts Lindenberg and Steg’s (2013) goal-framing theory to conceptualise six drivers of employee motivation to facilitate value co-creation within three-goal frames that leads to in-role and extra-role job performance.

In an increasingly digitalized society, including raising concerns about the emerging climate crisis, the awareness of sustainable business models has increased. Businesses play a dual role in the context of climate change. While they can contribute to environmental challenges, they also have the potential to drive sustainability forward. Additionally, there is an increasing expectation for companies to adopt sustainable practices. This study investigates the integration of sustainability into the business model of software companies, focusing on the case of Org X, a leading Swedish provider of digital solutions for municipalities and private sector. The research explores the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing sustainability initiatives within the IT sector, highlighting the potential for digital solutions to contribute to sustainable development. Utilizing a combination of interviews, workshops and secondary data analysis, the study employs the framework value mapping to assess the impact of sustainability on Org Xs value proposition, creation and capture. The findings indicate that while digital solutions offer significant opportunities on sustainable development, challenges such as measuring indirect benefits, addressing customer demand, stakeholder engagement and managing cyber security risks must be navigated. The study concludes that a proactive and integrated approach to sustainability is necessary, comprehensive stakeholder engagement and robust measurement frameworks are crucial for realizing the full potential of sustainable digital transformation. / I ett alltmer digitaliserat samhälle, och en ökad oro över den framväxande klimatkrisen, har medvetenheten om hållbara affärsmodeller ökat. Företag spelar en dubbel roll i sammanhanget för hållbarhet. Medan de kan bidra till miljöutmaningar, har de också potential att driva hållbarhet framåt. Dessutom finns det en ökad förväntan på företag att anta mer hållbara metoder. Denna studie undersöker integrationen av hållbarhet i affärsmodellen för mjukvaruföretag, med fokus på fallet Org X, en ledande svensk leverantör av digitala lösningar för kommuner och privat sektor. Studien undersöker utmaningarna och möjligheterna med att implementera hållbarhetsinitiativ inom IT-sektorn och lyfter fram potentialen för digitala lösningar att bidra till hållbar utveckling. Genom att använda en kombination av intervjuer, workshops och sekundärdataanalys tillämpar studien ramverket Value mapping för att bedöma hållbarhetens påverkan på Org X:s värdeerbjudande, värdeskapande och värdefångst. Resultaten visar att även om digitala lösningar erbjuder betydande möjligheter för hållbar utveckling, måste utmaningar som att mäta indirekta fördelar, hantera kundernas efterfrågan, engagera alla intressenter och hantera cybersäkerhetsrisker navigeras. Studien drar slutsatsen att en proaktiv och integrerad hållbarhetsansats är nödvändig, och att omfattande intressentengagemang och robusta mätramar är avgörande för att realisera den fulla potentialen av hållbar digital omvandling.

While the increase of IT solutions within the public sector is well established, the actual value of IT is still a question of debate. This thesis consists of an interpretive case study focused on how IT is perceived to influence public value creation in a local government. The study was conducted in a strategic IT project department at a local government in Sweden. Our findings show that the IT solution is ignored when assessing the created public value. The created values importance is instead based on subjective opinion and the targeted citizen group despite the acknowledgement that IT resources directly used by the citizen created higher public value. In addition the prioritisation of public value was perceived as more difficult than determining the IT value in itself. Our research show the need of understanding how IT values compare to each other in order to use public resources more efficiently.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value differentiation in the polymer industry in South Africa by rating the polymer customers’ experience in this regard. This study is important in the light of increasing polymer competition worldwide. No records of similar studies in this industry in South Africa have been found. As such this study could make a contribution that could spur polymer manufacturers and suppliers in improving their competitive advantage by offering value-added services to enhance the customer experience and, as a result increase customer satisfaction levels. The type of research conducted was a descriptive research applying the quantitative research methodology. The non-probability quota sampling method was employed. The study population consisted of a select group of customers from a South African polymer manufacturer and supplier. A questionnaire was e-mailed to the select group of polymer customers, many of whom purchase polymer locally and abroad. A response rate of 74% was obtained from a sample of 68 customers approached. The survey results show statistically that a positive satisfaction level was attained, but also highlighted some areas where certain value drivers such as company image, supply and distribution, and information lack attention. Polymer suppliers could gain the competitive advantage by focusing on the drivers that many customers value to ensure that customer satisfaction levels are sustained or improved on. More importantly, polymer suppliers should focus on the low scoring satisfaction levels recorded from the survey, from which they could build by enhancing the total value proposition. Limitations of the study were identified. Recommendations for future research were made. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value differentiation in the polymer industry in South Africa by rating the polymer customers’ experience in this regard. This study is important in the light of increasing polymer competition worldwide. No records of similar studies in this industry in South Africa have been found. As such this study could make a contribution that could spur polymer manufacturers and suppliers in improving their competitive advantage by offering value-added services to enhance the customer experience and, as a result increase customer satisfaction levels. The type of research conducted was a descriptive research applying the quantitative research methodology. The non-probability quota sampling method was employed. The study population consisted of a select group of customers from a South African polymer manufacturer and supplier. A questionnaire was e-mailed to the select group of polymer customers, many of whom purchase polymer locally and abroad. A response rate of 74% was obtained from a sample of 68 customers approached. The survey results show statistically that a positive satisfaction level was attained, but also highlighted some areas where certain value drivers such as company image, supply and distribution, and information lack attention. Polymer suppliers could gain the competitive advantage by focusing on the drivers that many customers value to ensure that customer satisfaction levels are sustained or improved on. More importantly, polymer suppliers should focus on the low scoring satisfaction levels recorded from the survey, from which they could build by enhancing the total value proposition. Limitations of the study were identified. Recommendations for future research were made. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

I en konkurrenskraftig marknad som konsultbranschen är det viktigt att konsultföretagen lever i ständig utveckling och ligger i framkant gällande ny kunskap. Detta eftersom företaget som erbjuder mest kompetens och kvalité till minst kostnad är det företag som anlitas till uppdragen som erbjuds (Kaario, et al. 2003). Ett kunskapsområde som intresserar företagen är värdebaserad försäljning, vilket som forskningsområde är ett relativt outforskat ämne att sälja en lösning istället för att sälja en produkt blir en mer komplex process för företaget (Terho, H. et al. 2012). Kunden behöver nämligen förstå hur företagets lösning kommer vara användbart och värdeskapande för deras organisation (Kaario, et al. 2003). I det här uppdraget för Semcon undersöks möjligheter och utmaningar med att utveckla deras verksamhet genom att öka försäljningen av arbetspaket i sin organisation. För att kunna skapa ett sådant erbjudande till kund krävs en grundlig förförståelse för kundens nyckelverksamhet, när lösningen behöver vara helt anpassad efter kundens företag för att vara av värde (Töytäri, P. et al. 2011). Denna rapport behandlar och redogör kring Semcons arbetspaket, en kartläggning av behoven och hindren hos kund. Innovationsbidraget ligger i att koppla ihop den tekniska världen med den akademiska med ett ganska outforskat område. Rapporten ämnar bidra till Semcons innovationsprocess mot lösnings-baserad försäljning, genom att komma med kunskap utifrån kundens perspektiv. Forskningsfrågorna denna rapport kommer att besvara är: vilka utmaningar ser Semcons befintliga koncept arbetspaket? Vad är värdeskapande hos företagen som Semcon står i kontakt med? Hur kan Semcons arbetspaket utvecklas på bästa sett utifrån denna information?

The crude oil, natural gas, and electricity markets are among the most widely traded and talked about commodity markets across the world. Over the past two decades each commodity has seen price volatility due to political, economic, social, and technological reasons. With that comes a significant amount of risk that both corporations and governments must account for to ensure expected cash flows and to minimize losses. This thesis analyzes the portfolio risk of the major US commodity hubs for crude oil, natural gas and electricity by applying Extreme Value Theory to historical daily price returns between 2003 and 2013. The risk measures used to analyze risk are Value-at-Risk and Expected Shortfall, with these estimated by fitting the Generalized Pareto Distribution to the data using the peak-over-threshold method. We consider both the univariate and bivariate cases in order to determine the effects that price shocks within and across commodities will have in a mixed portfolio. The results show that electricity is the most volatile, and therefore most risky, commodity of the three markets considered for both positive and negative returns. In addition, we find that the univariate and bivariate results are statistically indistinguishable, leading to the conclusion that for the three markets analyzed during this period, price shocks in one commodity does not directly impact the volatility of another commodity’s price. / Graduate

Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to develop a holistic understanding of customers’ value perceptions and experiences within the online apparel industry. In doing so, the authors’ hope to develop managerial guidelines for companies to utilize. This will be done with a customerdominant logic approach. Design/Methodology/Approach As the study aims to understand behavior and perceptions, the authors have used an inductive, qualitative method to gain the deepest possible customer insight. By using a case study, the authors have been able to further understand the given context. Using focus group interviews resonated in the authors aim to understand why the participants reasoned as they did, as they would in a focus group session argue for their standpoint. The interview template was influenced by the theories on value formation within customer-dominant logic. Findings This study strengthens the relevance of CD logic empirically and provides a deeper understanding of customers’ value perceptions and the reasons behind them. Functional elements of value were proven to be important, yet it was the values derived of emotional and life-changing elements that created true value. Based on the findings of this study, the authors have proposed a new term, true value, which refers to a state-of-mind in which a person finds in psychological well-being through the experiences derived from a product or service. Furthermore this study highlights social media’s importance within the given context. Originality/Value Previous research on customer-dominant logic has mainly been on a theoretical level. This research contributes to service research by studying the phenomena through empirical research within the online apparel industry. Furthermore, this research develops managerial guidelines for companies applying customer-dominant logic within the given context. Research Implications/Limitations Awareness of the importance of social media within the online apparel industry can provide insight and assist businesses in shaping marketing strategies. This research was limited by time, demographical group and geographical location. Furthermore, the generalizability of the results is limited to the given context.