Dagens konkurrensutsatta marknad ställer stora krav på organisationer och deras användning av hjälpmedel för att överleva och skapa konkurrensfördelar. Business intelligence är en samlingsteknik som för varje dag får allt större uppmärksamhet och som för många organisationer blivit ett måste för överleva. Tyvärr är implementationen av BI-tekniker problematisk och över 50 % av alla BI-initiativ misslyckas. Därför har en del studier forskat kring de kritiska framgångsfaktorerna för implementation av BI, som anses som en nyckel för att lyckas med implementationen. I den stora majoriteten av studierna utgår de kritiska framgångsfaktorerna dock från stora företag. De har andra förutsättningar än små och medelstora företag (SMF) som 99.9% av alla företag i Sverige består av. Studien har därför skapat en ram med kritiska faktorer speciellt uttagna för SMF med frågeställningen: Vilka är de kritiska framgångsfaktorerna för implementation av ett business intelligence system i SMF? Ramen skapades med litteraturstudie i kombination med expertintervjuer. Studiens ram visar att faktorerna inte skiljer sig nämnvärt efter företagsstorleken, utan efter projektets storlek. Nyckelord: Business intelligence, Kritiska framgångsfaktorer, Implementation, Små och medelstora företag / Today’s competitive market places great demands on organisations and their use of means to survive and gain competitive advantages. Business intelligence (BI) is an umbrella term of technologies that has become necessary for many organisations to survive the competitive market, and it gets more attention for every passing day. Unfortunately, the implementation of BI technologies is problematic and statistics show that more than 50% of all BI-initiatives fail. Therefore, some studies have identified critical success factors (CSFs), crucial for the implementation of BI, which is considered as a key for the success of a BI-project. However, the majority of the CSFs are based on large, international enterprises. Which differ from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which 99.9% of all Swedish companies consist of. Thus are the identification of relevant CSFs for SMEs crucial. The study has therefore with the research question: Which are the CSFs for implementation of BI-systems in SMEs created a framework with CSFs specially designed for SMEs, based on a literature review combined with expert interviews. The analysis and result of the study shows that the CSFs do not differ in terms of the organisation size, rather it differs depending on the size of the project. However, the study has also identified previously unidentified critical success factors crucial for the implementation of BI-systems. Keywords: Business intelligence, Critical Success factors, Implementation, Small and medium-sized enterprises

<p>E-commerce is far more common in large firms than in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As a result SMEs risk competitive disadvantages. A growing body of research has attended to this problem but few studies examine the adoption of e-commerce from a broader contextual perspective. To be able to understand SMEs’ adoption of e-commerce it is desirable to study their contextual preconditions, approaches and effects.</p><p>The purpose of this study is to contribute to the theory building in the e-commerce area by forming a conceptual framework over SMEs’ adoption of e-commerce: the ECA (Electronic Commerce Adoption) framework. A central starting point for the study is Pettigrew’s (1985) contextual framework for strategic changes. The analysis dimensions in Pettigrew’s framework − content, context and process − are adapted to adoption of e-commerce. Thus, the ECA framework consists of analysis models that focus on a) the content, b) the context and c) the process of e-commerce adoption in SMEs. Further, the ECA framework includes an analysis model over the interplay between content, context and process and a typology over adoption situations. The SME in its role as a supplier is the unit of analysis. The study uses an abductive approach where results from previous studies in areas such as e-commerce, information systems and decision making are used as sources for forming the ECA framework. The ECA framework is then applied to the collection, interpretation and analyze of empirical data from the case studies of two small and one medium-sized enterprise. The case studies lead to the identification of additional elements that are added to the analysis models.</p><p>One contribution from the study is the typology over adoption situations. The typology, which builds on studies of Junghagen (1998) and Engsbo et al. (2001), divides the adoption of e-commerce in SMEs into five categories of adoption situations: proactive adoption situations, adaptive adoption situations, pragmatic adoption situations, forced adoption situations and enabled adoption situations. An adoption situation describes what is being adopted (content), why (context) and how (process).</p><p>Another contribution is the so called adoption guides. These are contextual conditions whose states indicate if a SME will adopt e-commerce or not and if so, which adoption situation they are likely to find themselves in. The adoption guides are: the relative dependence on individual customers, the degree of customer pressure, the strategic needs of e-commerce, the information complexity and, the CEO’s extent of aversion towards risk-taking. Consequently two major conclusions from this study are that SMEs’ e-commerce adoption can be divided into five different adoption situations and a small number of contextual conditions – here called adoption guides – determine which of them a SME tend to go through. The typology enables organizations that educate SMEs or support their development of e-commerce to design their efforts more efficiently and researchers to diversify the studied population. As the study is theory building the contributions and conclusions are propositions that need to be tested empirically in future studies.</p>

Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att beskriva och analysera hur kommunala energibolag resonerar vid val av avskrivningsmetod samt hur kommunala energibolag har förberett sig inför införandet och hur de förhåller sig till implementeringen av komponentavskrivningar. Teorier: De teorier som använts i uppsatsen finner vi vara relevanta och applicerbara utifrån studiens syfte och frågeställningar. Vi har bl.a. använt oss av Burns &amp; Scapens ramverk som ingår i den institutionella teorin, vilket är den teori som studien utgått ifrån. Metod: Studien utgår ifrån den kvalitativa ansatsen med hjälp av semi-strukturerade intervjuer och dokumentgranskning. Empiri: Empirin innefattar intervjuer med 5 kommunala energibolag inkluderande granskning av relevant dokumentation. Slutsatser: Studien har visat att de kommunala energibolagen upplever avskrivningsval som en svårbedömd process som präglas av en inre tröghet på grund av påverkande faktorer och inrotade regler och rutiner. I och med tolkningen och införandet av BFNs regelverk avseende komponentavskrivningar har ett internt motstånd byggts upp på grund av svåra och godtyckliga bedömningar. Detta har bidragit till en spretighet, vilket har påkallat behovet av tydligare rekommendationer och direktiv. Trots det något haltande implementeringsarbetet, ställer sig alla respondenterna positiva till införandet och kan se ett värde i det även om det initialt innebär ett merarbete. / Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how municipal energy companies reason in the choice of depreciation method and how municipal energy companies has prepared for the introduction and implementation of component depreciation. Theory: The theories used in this study, we find to be relevant and applicable to the specific research purpose and research questions. We have among other things, used the Burns &amp; Scapens Framework that is part of the institutional theory, which is the theory that the study assumed. Method: The study is based on the qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews and document review. Empirics: The empirical data includes interviews with five municipal energy companies including review of relevant documentation. Conclusions: The study has shown that municipal energy companies are experiencing depreciation choice as a process that is difficult to estimate, and is characterized by inertia due to influencing factors and ingrained rules and routines. With the interpretation and implementation of BFNs regulation relating to component depreciation has an internal resistance due to difficult and arbitrary assessments, been built up. That has contributed to a wide range of estimations, which has demand the need for clearer recommendations and directives. Despite the halting implementation work, all respondents welcomed the introduction and can see a value in it even if it initially involves extra work.

Course: Degree project in logistics, the Business Administration and Economics Programme Authors: Anna Jarenfors and Sissela Järsö Supervisor: Hana Hulthén Examiner: Helena Forslund Title: IPREP: Framework for elimination of an internal return process – A case study at Thule Sweden AB Background: Logistics coordination plays an important role regarding the competitive success of an organization. A company has to eliminate unnecessary processes involved in the supply chain in order to decrease cost and to improve the business. This study focuses on the problems with the internal return process at Thule Sweden AB. Thule Sweden AB has in the last decade had an increased production which have had led to a larger material flow which have impacted the internal return process negatively. The internal return process is, in this study, defined as the process where unused material in production is sent back to the warehouse. Purpose: The purposes of this study is to present suggestions of how the internal return process at Thule can be eliminated and construct a framework of how manufacturing companies can eliminate unnecessary internal return processes. Methodology: The study is a qualitative case study with an abductive approach of the internal return process at Thule Sweden AB. The theories used in the study are found from literature and scientific articles while empirical data has been collected mainly through semi-structured interviews and observations. The selection of interviewees has been based on what knowledge they carry and what responsibility they have in the company. Findings: A process map over the internal return process illustrated three general causes creating an internal return. These were incorrect material delivered to production, incorrect stock balance and leftover material after production. The three general causes found formed the basis of a fishbone diagram which identified seven root causes. The seven root causes presented were, not able to scan the barcode on the pallets, pallet put at incorrect production line, incorrect previous internal return, lack of stock counting at internal return, insufficiency in the material- and production planning, suppliers not able to produce in batch size and no kitting station. Suggestions of how to eliminate an internal return process were presented and the fundamental categories of the framework presented were integration, personnel, routines, environment and planning.   Key words: Internal return process, process elimination, general cause, root cause, framework, manufacturing company / Kurs: Examensarbete i logistik för Civilekonomprogrammet Författare: Anna Jarenfors and Sissela Järsö Handledare: Hana Hulthén Examinator: Helena Forslund Titel: IPREP: Framework for elimination of an internal return process – A case study at Thule Sweden AB Bakgrund: Logistikkoordinering spelar en viktig roll för ett företags konkurrenskraft. Ett företag måste eliminera onödiga processer i en försörjningskedja för att minska kostnader och förbättra verksamheten. Denna studie fokuserar på den interna returprocessen på Thule Sweden AB. Thule Sweden AB har under det senaste decenniet haft en ökad produktion vilket lett till ett större materialflöde som påverkat den interna returprocessen negativt. Den interna returprocesses är i denna studie definierad som den process där oanvänt material i produktion returneras till lagret. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att presentera förslag till hur den interna returprocessen kan elimineras samt att presentera ett ramverk över hur tillverkande företag kan eliminera onödiga interna returprocesser. Metod: Studien är en kvalitativ fallstudie, med ett abduktivt synsätt, över den interna returprocessen på Thule Sweden AB Teorierna använda i studien utgår från litterära källor samt vetenskapliga artiklar medan empirisk data samlats in mestadels från semi-strukturerade intervjuer och observationer. Urvalet av intervjurespondenter har baserats på vilket kunskap de erhåller samt vilka ansvarsområden de har i företaget. Resultat: En processkarta över den interna returprocessen illustrerade tre generella orsaker till det processen. Dessa var fel material levererat till produktion, felaktigt lagersaldo och överblivet material efter produktion. De tre generella orsakerna utgjorde grunden till ett fiskbensdiagram vilket identifierade sju rotorsaker till den interna returprocessen. De sju rotorsakerna var: omöjlighet att skanna streckkoden på pallen, pall transporterad till fel produktionslinje, felaktig tidigare intern returprocess, brist på inventeringsrutiner vid intern returprocess, ineffektivitet i material- och produktionsplaneringen, att leverantörer inte kan producera i batch-storlek samt brist på kittingstation. Förslag på hur den interna returprocessen kan elimineras presenterade och grundstenarna i det ramverk som presenterade var integration, personal, rutiner, omgivning och planering. Nyckelord: Intern returprocess, processeliminering, generell orsak, rotorsak, ramverk, tillverkande företag

Today, companies need to constantly improve in order to be competitive and achieve good results. Gamification is a concept that is being implemented by more and more companies to increase motivation for employees as well as to engage them to work in a way that can help fulfil the goals of the company, which in the long run can lead to improved results. This study is based on a case with an international IT consulting company and their customer who works in the forest industry. The consulting company has developed an IT system for the customer, where timber car drivers are the system users among others. The purpose of the study has been to explore the possibilities to gamify the existing IT system in order to increase the system usage and encourage certain behaviors of the drivers that are aligned with the customer’s goals. Furthermore, the goal of the study has been to follow a gamification framework to develop suggestions on features in the system that can support these behaviors of the drivers. The framework has been used in combination with different methods for data collection such as interviews and open questionnaires. The use of the framework has resulted in four features that can be implemented in the system to support certain behaviors of the drivers. All features provide feedback to the user in different ways, following an action taken, to motivate continued use. Prior to implementation however, it is recommended that measures be taken to ensure that the gamification project is able to succeed. / Idag behöver företag ständigt förbättra sig för att vara konkurrenskraftiga och uppnå goda resultat. Gamification är ett koncept som implementeras av allt fler företag för att öka motivationen hos anställda samt för att engagera dem så att de arbetar efter verksamhetens mål, något som långsiktigt kan leda till ett förbättrat resultat. Denna studie är baserad på ett fall hos ett internationellt IT-konsultbolag och deras kund som verkar inom skogsindustribranschen. Konsultbolaget har utvecklat ett IT-system för kunden där några av systemanvändarna är timmerbilschaufförer. Syftet med studien har varit att undersöka möjligheter till att gamifiera det befintliga IT-systemet för att öka systemanvändningen och uppmuntra till beteenden hos chaufförerna som går i linje med kundföretagets mål. Vidare har målet med studien varit att följa ett gamification-ramverk för att ta fram förslag på funktioner i systemet som kan stödja dessa beteenden. Ramverket har använts i kombination med olika metoder för datainsamling som exempelvis intervjuer och öppna enkätfrågor. Användningen av ramverket har resulterat i fyra funktioner som kan implementeras i systemet för att stödja vissa beteenden hos chaufförerna. Samtliga funktioner ger på olika sätt återkoppling till användaren efter en utförd handling, för att motivera till fortsatt användning. Innan implementering rekommenderas dock vidtagande av åtgärder för att gamification-projektet ska ha möjlighet att lyckas.

Användningen av artificiell intelligens (AI) har tredubblats på ett år och och anses av vissa vara det viktigaste paradigmskiftet i teknikhistorien. Den rådande AI-kapplöpningen riskerar att underminera frågor om etik och hållbarhet, vilket kan ge förödande konsekvenser. Artificiell intelligens har i flera fall visat sig avbilda, och till och med förstärka, befintliga snedvridningar i samhället i form av fördomar och värderingar. Detta fenomen kallas algoritmisk snedvridning (algorithmic bias). Denna studie syftar till att formulera ett ramverk för att minimera risken att algoritmisk snedvridning uppstår i AI-projekt och att anpassa det efter ett medelstort konsultbolag. Studiens första del är en litteraturstudie på snedvridningar - både ur ett kognitivt och ur ett algoritmiskt perspektiv. Den andra delen är en undersökning av existerande rekommendationer från EU, AI Sustainability Center, Google och Facebook. Den tredje och sista delen består av ett empiriskt bidrag i form av en kvalitativ intervjustudie, som har använts för att justera ett initialt ramverk i en iterativ process. / In the use of the third generation Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the development of products and services, there are many hidden risks that may be difficult to detect at an early stage. One of the risks with the use of machine learning algorithms is algorithmic bias which, in simplified terms, means that implicit prejudices and values are comprised in the implementation of AI. A well-known case is Google’s image recognition algorithm, which identified black people as gorillas. The purpose of this master thesis is to create a framework with the aim to minimise the risk of algorithmic bias in AI development projects. To succeed with this task, the project has been divided into three parts. The first part is a literature study of the phenomenon bias, both from a human perspective as well as from an algorithmic bias perspective. The second part is an investigation of existing frameworks and recommendations published by Facebook, Google, AI Sustainability Center and the EU. The third part consists in an empirical contribution in the form of a qualitative interview study which has been used to create and adapt an initial general framework. The framework was created using an iterative methodology where two whole iterations were performed. The first version of the framework was created using insights from the literature studies as well as from existing recommendations. To validate the first version, the framework was presented for one of Cybercom’s customers in the private sector, who also got the possibility to ask questions and give feedback regarding the framework. The second version of the framework was created using results from the qualitative interview studies with machine learning experts at Cybercom. As a validation of the applicability of the framework on real projects and customers, a second qualitative interview study was performed together with Sida - one of Cybercom’s customers in the public sector. Since the framework was formed in a circular process, the second version of the framework should not be treated as constant or complete. The interview study at Sida is considered the beginning of a third iteration, which in future studies could be further developed.

<p>This thesis has its point of departure in the identified knowledge gap, which includes the importance of the information systems (IS) outsourcing relationship for studying the success of IS outsourcing. This research study, therefore, is structured with the belief that the disregard of the client-IS supplier relationship when studying IS outsourcing is paradoxical. Paradoxical since the impact of the relationship on the overall IS outsourcing can make the difference between success, less success and even failure. In contrast to the majority of prior research, which has focused IS outsourcing in its entirety, this research study percieves IS outsourcing as a process. Because prior research shows that the success or failure of IS outsourcing is connected to its implementation, this thesis focuses the post-contract stage of the IS outsourcing.</p><p>The purpose chosen and addressed is to develop a conceptual framework for describing and explaining the degree of successful outcome of the IS outsourcing process using a relationship perspective. To approach this purpose, a literature review study is conducted. The literature review study includes the integration of three theoretical fields: IS, interorganisational business relationships and IS outsourcing. The knowledge domains of particular interest are 'strategies, approaches and frameworks for the IS life cycle', 'the interaction approach' and 'IS outsourcing success'.</p><p>The purpose is focused through the identification of key conditions, dimensions and interrelations among dimensions. These identified elements, constituting the core elements of the conceptual framework, are a result of the conducted literature review study. The key conditions are identified according to their influence on the degree of successful outcome of the IS outsourcing process from a relationship perspective. Due to the large amount of key conditions identified, they are categorised into nine dimensions: Atmosphere, Behaviour, Contract, Environment, Interatction, IS, Management, Organisation and Outcome. The identified interrelations among these dimensions are fruitful since they provide insights and a favourable point of departure for studying the degree of successful outcome of IS outsourcing processes.</p><p>The main contribution of this thesis is the conceptual framework for the IS outsourcing process. The key conditions, dimensions and interrelations constitute the conceptual framework as a result of their potential for describing and explaining the degree of successful outcome of the IS outsourcing process from a relationship perspective. The application of the conceptual framework provides managers with core elements to be considered during IS outsourcing decision-making and subsequent design of IS outsourcing. Its usage, moreover, is believed to support managers during the operationalisation of the post-contract stage of IS outsourcing processes. Finally, the conceptual framework is a fruitful 'tool' for future empirical research. Fruitful in the sense that it can provide useful and important insights into how different key conditions infuence the degree of successful outcome of IS outsourcing processes and how these key conditions are interrelated.</p>

E-commerce is far more common in large firms than in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As a result SMEs risk competitive disadvantages. A growing body of research has attended to this problem but few studies examine the adoption of e-commerce from a broader contextual perspective. To be able to understand SMEs’ adoption of e-commerce it is desirable to study their contextual preconditions, approaches and effects. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the theory building in the e-commerce area by forming a conceptual framework over SMEs’ adoption of e-commerce: the ECA (Electronic Commerce Adoption) framework. A central starting point for the study is Pettigrew’s (1985) contextual framework for strategic changes. The analysis dimensions in Pettigrew’s framework − content, context and process − are adapted to adoption of e-commerce. Thus, the ECA framework consists of analysis models that focus on a) the content, b) the context and c) the process of e-commerce adoption in SMEs. Further, the ECA framework includes an analysis model over the interplay between content, context and process and a typology over adoption situations. The SME in its role as a supplier is the unit of analysis. The study uses an abductive approach where results from previous studies in areas such as e-commerce, information systems and decision making are used as sources for forming the ECA framework. The ECA framework is then applied to the collection, interpretation and analyze of empirical data from the case studies of two small and one medium-sized enterprise. The case studies lead to the identification of additional elements that are added to the analysis models. One contribution from the study is the typology over adoption situations. The typology, which builds on studies of Junghagen (1998) and Engsbo et al. (2001), divides the adoption of e-commerce in SMEs into five categories of adoption situations: proactive adoption situations, adaptive adoption situations, pragmatic adoption situations, forced adoption situations and enabled adoption situations. An adoption situation describes what is being adopted (content), why (context) and how (process). Another contribution is the so called adoption guides. These are contextual conditions whose states indicate if a SME will adopt e-commerce or not and if so, which adoption situation they are likely to find themselves in. The adoption guides are: the relative dependence on individual customers, the degree of customer pressure, the strategic needs of e-commerce, the information complexity and, the CEO’s extent of aversion towards risk-taking. Consequently two major conclusions from this study are that SMEs’ e-commerce adoption can be divided into five different adoption situations and a small number of contextual conditions – here called adoption guides – determine which of them a SME tend to go through. The typology enables organizations that educate SMEs or support their development of e-commerce to design their efforts more efficiently and researchers to diversify the studied population. As the study is theory building the contributions and conclusions are propositions that need to be tested empirically in future studies.

<p>Genetic algorithms is a method of optimization that can be used tosolve many different kinds of problems. This thesis focuses ondeveloping a framework for genetic algorithms that is capable ofsolving at least the two problems explored in the work. Otherproblems are supported by allowing user-made extensions.The purpose of this thesis is to explore the possibilities of geneticalgorithms for optimization problems and artificial intelligenceapplications.To test the framework two applications are developed that look attwo distinct problems, both of which aim at demonstrating differentparts. The first problem is the so called Travelling SalesmanProblem. The second problem is a kind of artificial life simulator,where two groups of creatures, designated predator and prey, aretrying to survive.The application for the Travelling Salesman Problem measures theperformance of the framework by solving such problems usingdifferent settings. The creature simulator on the other hand is apractical application of a different aspect of the framework, wherethe results are compared against predefined data. The purpose is tosee whether the framework can be used to create useful data forthe creatures.The work showed how important a detailed design is. When thework began on the demonstration applications, things were noticedthat needed changing inside the framework. This led to redesigningparts of the framework to support the missing details. A conclusionfrom this is that being more thorough in the planning, andconsidering the possible use cases could have helped avoid thissituation.The results from the simulations showed that the framework iscapable of solving the specified problems, but the performance isnot the best. The framework can be used to solve arbitrary problemsby user-created extensions quite easily.</p>

The use of machine learning and specifically neural networks is a growing trend in software development, and has grown immensely in the last couple of years in the light of an increasing need to handle big data and large information flows. Machine learning has a broad area of application, such as human-computer interaction, predicting stock prices, real-time translation, and self driving vehicles. Large companies such as Microsoft and Google have already implemented machine learning in some of their commercial products such as their search engines, and their intelligent personal assistants Cortana and Google Assistant. The main goal of this project was to evaluate the two deep learning frameworks Google TensorFlow and Microsoft CNTK, primarily based on their performance in the training time of neural networks. We chose to use the third-party API Keras instead of TensorFlow's own API when working with TensorFlow. CNTK was found to perform better in regards of training time compared to TensorFlow with Keras as frontend. Even though CNTK performed better on the benchmarking tests, we found Keras with TensorFlow as backend to be much easier and more intuitive to work with. In addition, CNTKs underlying implementation of the machine learning algorithms and functions differ from that of the literature and of other frameworks. Therefore, if we had to choose a framework to continue working in, we would choose Keras with TensorFlow as backend, even though the performance is less compared to CNTK.