Yes / Purpose – Previous scholars have assumed that multinational enterprises (MNEs) can reduce the liability of foreignness and increase profitability by investing in corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, empirical validation of this assumption has rarely been attempted. This study provides empirical evidence that the adoption of multi-stakeholder initiatives, which are globally recognized as signals of CSR, helps MNEs increase profits from internationalization. Design/methodology/approach – Fixed effect models, which address model misspecification problems, and instrumental variable estimation, which controls for the endogeneity in firms’ choice of internationalization, offer empirical evidence supporting the moderating effects of global multi-stakeholder initiatives on the relationship between internationalization and firm performance. Findings – This study examines the moderating role of multi-stakeholder initiatives in the relationship between internationalization and firm performance, drawing on signaling and stakeholder theories. The results suggest that the signaling effect of multi-stakeholder initiatives can help MNEs overcome the liability of foreignness and, therefore, profit from overseas markets. Originality/value – Although the internationalization–firm performance relationship has been a subject of debate in the field of international business, the role of firms’ stakeholder engagement in this relationship has been largely overlooked in previous studies. In this study, we explore the impact of multi-stakeholder initiatives on the internationalization–firm performance relationship. Our primary contention is that multi-stakeholder initiatives have moderating effects on this relationship by reducing the liability of foreignness experienced by MNEs in host countries. Furthermore, our findings suggest that active engagement in multi-stakeholder initiatives significantly contributes to the financial success of MNEs as they internationalize.

Forskningsproblem          Under 2006 infördes en lagändring kring att ersättning till VD måste specificeras i tilläggsupplysningar i årsredovisningen. Reglerna infördes från politikernas håll för att se en mer återhållsam ersättning till VD och återupprätta de senaste årens minskade förtroende för näringslivet. Dock har åsikter riktats mot lagändringen som menar att den har motverkat sitt syfte och istället trissat upp ersättningen till VD. Syfte                                   Syftet med studien är att förklara om det finns ett samband mellan utvecklingen av ersättningen till VD och kravet på tilläggsupplysningar. Metod                                Studien har en kvantitativ utgångspunkt och en poolad ansats. Två hypoteser har härletts ifrån befintlig teori och tidigare forskning. Hypoteserna testades gentemot data inhämtad ifrån 573 årsredovisningar utspritt över tre år. Slutsats                              Ett signifikant samband har identifierats som säger att ersättningen till VD har ökat sedan 2006. Resultatet styrks av tidigare forskning och de teorier som studien bygger på. Målet med lagändringen har således misslyckats. / Problem                             In 2006, a change in the law was introduced regarding disclosure about CEO compensation. The CEO compensation now had to be specified in the disclosure. The law was introduced by politicians who wanted to restrain the CEO compensation, which had affected the business community negative. However, opinions made against the change in the law claim that it is counterproductive and instead of decreasing the compensation, the law has increased the CEO compensation. Purpose                              The purpose of the study is to explain if there is a connection between the development of the CEO compensation and the requirement of disclosures. Method                              The study is based on a quantitative method and a pooled approach. Two hypotheses were derived from existing theory and previous research. The hypotheses were tested against data collected from 573 annual reports, spread over three years. Conclusion                         A significant connection was found and it says that the CEO compensation has increased since 2006. The result is supported by previous research and theories that the study is based on. The aim of the legislative change has therefore failed.

The dividend policy and the distribution of cash dividend can be of interest to the investors from many angles. Consequently, many theories have been built on the relevance of dividend policy and there are several theories proposing that dividends increase shareholder value. However, the most famous theory on dividend policy might be Miller and Modigliani's dividend irrelevance theory which implies that the dividend policy does not affect shareholder value. Although investors are concerned with shareholder value they are also concerned with achieving the highest possible return with the lowest volatility (risk). As many studies have focused on the dividend policy, especially dividend yield or the dividend payout ratio, and its relation with stock price movement we felt that there was a lack of information regarding the relation between return volatility and cash dividends. This resulted in the following research question: Does a change in cash dividend affect stock return volatility on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm? Answering this research question is the main purpose of the research. Additionally, the relationship between changes in cash dividend and return volatility will be compared in the different size segments that are to be found on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm. The study is quantitative with a deductive approach where historical data ranging from 2006-2012 has been gathered. Two measures of return volatility has been used, beta and standard deviation of return. Statistical tests have been conducted in an approach to answer the research question, mainly correlation tests and logistic regression analysis. No correlation between changes in cash dividend and changes in beta, nor changes in standard deviation were found. The same results were found when examining small, mid and large cap individually. In the logistic regression analysis no evidence was found that changes in dividend could explain changes in return volatility. Contrary to changes in dividend, the results indicate that the size of the company can explain changes in return volatility. Specifically, large cap companies explain increases in return volatility better than companies in the small cap segment. Therefore, the research question is concluded with no, a change in cash dividend does not affect stock return volatility. The findings could also be argued to be in support of the dividend irrelevance theory. Furthermore, the conclusion implies that investors need not regard the dividend policy when diversifying their portfolios. Additionally, managers need not be worried that a change in dividend policy should affect return volatility.

The dividend payout policy is one of the most debated topics within corporate finance and some academics have called the company’s dividend payout policy an unsolved puzzle. Even though an extensive amount of research regarding dividends has been conducted, there is no uniform answer to the question: what are the determinants of the companies’ dividend payout ratios? We therefore decided to conduct a study regarding the determinants of the companies’ dividend payout ratios on large and medium cap on Stockholm stock exchange. The purpose of the study is to determine if there is a relationship between a number of company selected factors and the companies’ dividend payout ratios. A second purpose is to determine whether there are any differences between large and medium caps regarding the impact of the company selected factors. We therefore reviewed previous studies and dividend theories in order to conclude which factors that potentially could have an impact on the companies’ dividend payout ratios. Based on the literature, we decided to test the relationship between the dividend payout ratio and six company selected factors: free cash flow, growth, leverage, profit, risk and size. The data used in the research are secondary data collected during a time period of five years, between 2006 and 2010. The study follows a quantitative research method with a deductive approach and we have based the study on four dividend theories: the dividend irrelevance theory, the bird in hand theory, the signaling theory and the agency theory. In order to determine whether there is a relationship between the companies selected factors and the dividend payout ratio we conducted both an Ordinary least square (OLS) and a Tobit regression. Multicollinearity tests were also conducted in order to ascertain that no multicollinearity affected the results of the study. The results indicate that some of the company selected factors have an impact on the companies’ dividend payout ratios and there are some differences between large and medium caps. The dividend payout ratios of large caps have a significant relationship to free cash flow, growth and risk. While the dividend payout ratios of medium caps have a significant relationship to free cash flow, leverage, risk and size.

Inledning: Inom finansmarknaden där en handelsplats för värdepapper finns är IPO ett omtalat ämne. Fascinationen ligger vid introduktionen av ett företag på börsen som tidigare varit privatägd och dess avkastning på aktien. Vidare är prissättningen på aktierna och timingen för en notering intressanta aspekter som har studerats sedan många år tillbaka. I denna uppsats ska det undersökas hur aktiepriserna för de noterade bolag har utvecklats vid olika ekonomiska tillväxter. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka om det ekonomiska läget påverkar aktiekursernas utfall vid en notering samt hur dessa utvecklas på noteringsdagen och 30 dagar efter noteringen. Metod: Genom beräkningar av introduktionspriserna i jämförelse med stängningskurserna på noteringsdagen och 30 dagar efter noteringen får man fram aktiekursernas utveckling. Teoretisk referensram: Den effektiva marknadshypotesen och signalteorin Resultat: Undersökningens resultat visade på att skillnaden i aktiernas avkastning mellan företag som noterat sig under en hög respektive låg ekonomisk tillväxt var mycket liten. Företagen som hade noterat sig under en hög ekonomisk tillväxt hade endast 0,1 % högre avkastning än de företag som noterade sig under en låg ekonomisk tillväxt. Detta tyder på att det ekonomiska läget inte påverkar noteringar avsevärt. / Introduction: Within the financial market where there is a trading place for securities, IPO is a well discussed topic. The fascination lies on the introduction of a company on the stock market that was earlier privately-owned and its return on the share. Furthermore the pricing of the shares and the timing for listings are interesting aspects that have been studied many years back. Hence, this essay will examine how the share prices for the listing companies have developed through different economic growth. Purpose: The purpose is to examine if the economic situation affects the share prices outcome during a listing and moreover, to see how they have developed on the listing day and 30 days after the listing. Method: By comparing the calculations of the introduction prices to the closing prices on the listing day and 30 days after the listing, this essay will examine the share prices development that occurs. Theoretical framework: The efficient market hypothesis and the signaling theory. Results: The results of the examination showed that the difference between companies is very small, regardless of the economic growth at the time they got listed. Companies that got listed during a higher economic growth had only a 0.1 % higher return than companies that got listed during a lower economic growth, which suggests that the economic situation does not affect the listings significantly.

過去關於初次公開發行股票折價(IPO under pricing)現象的研究，多著重於探討財務資訊和承銷方式的影響，各國股票市場雖普遍存在折價現象，但中外學者對於引起IPO折價的原因仍無一定論。本研究嘗試應用信號理論(signaling theory)，認為折價主要是由於投資人和承銷商及發行公司之間資訊不對稱所致，並假設高階經理團隊的某些特質可作為示訊信號，藉此降低資訊不對稱情形。 實證上以台灣股票發行市場為對象，選取民國94年至97年中為研究期間，蒐集於該段時間公開上市(櫃)之股票；並根據相關文獻，選擇三種高階經理團隊特質─教育程度、相關產業經歷及對外關係連結(personal ties)對IPO折價幅度進行假設驗證。結果顯示高階經理團隊的「相關產業經歷」及「與同產業公司的關係連結」對IPO折價具有顯著的影響能力；「教育程度」及「與不同產業公司的關係連結」影響方向雖與假設相符，但影響效果並不顯著。

The equity crowdfunding market has since the financial crisis in 2008 become an important source of alternative financing in Sweden. The equity crowdfunding platforms constitute the market and are responsible for governing the investment relationships. However, the market is not regulated, and in the spring of 2018 the Swedish government proposed regulatory changes for the platforms to impact the problem of information asymmetry. There are different approaches on how to impact the problem, and therefore the thesis sets out to understand how the equity crowdfunding platforms within the Swedish market work to impact information asymmetry.  Empirical data has been collected from five different Swedish equity crowdfunding platforms. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals whose work is connected to governing and impacting information asymmetry. The analysis of the empirical findings identifies five main reasons for the arise of information asymmetry and the platforms work to control and reduce information asymmetry by mitigation strategies, investor communication and effective signaling. The findings indicate that there is a trade-off between controlling information asymmetry and making the financing method accessible within the market. This study contributes to the understanding of how equity crowdfunding platforms work to impact information asymmetry within the Swedish market.

Influencer marketing is an important tool to change and reinforce consumers brand associations. Influencers post content that is trying to create intended brand associations. The consumers’ reactions then decide what the realized brand associations are. The purpose of this study is to explore through semiotic and netnographic Instagram analysis how influencer marketing affects brand associations in the sports fashion industry. This research has a qualitative methodology and has used semiotic and netnographic analysis to explore the case of Gymshark. The research consists of 100 analyzed posts from Instagram influencers related to Gymshark. It was found that influencers’ personal brands affect the realized brand associations. Also, gender has an affecting role on both, intended and realized brand associations.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Os danos causados ao meio ambiente atingem diretamente a qualidade de vida das pessoas e elas passam a exigir das organizaÃÃes atividades que incluam a preservaÃÃo, a prevenÃÃo e a recuperaÃÃo do meio em que vivem. As empresas que sinalizam um comportamento ambientalmente correto sÃo recompensadas com benefÃcios econÃmicos e podem permanecer no mercado porque sÃo legitimadas, ou seja, possuem o aval da sociedade para funcionar. Para obter a legitimidade, a empresa que adota e sinaliza boas prÃticas ambientais, tem que efetuar investimentos, que podem variar de empresa para empresa. Com base na Teoria da SinalizaÃÃo e na Teoria da Legitimidade, o presente estudo tem como foco as empresas do Brasil e da Espanha, considerados paÃses que mais publicam relatÃrios ambientais de sustentabilidade. Este trabalho tem o objetivo de investigar a relaÃÃo entre o desempenho econÃmico e o desempenho ambiental das empresas no Brasil e na Espanha. Verifica-se tambÃm a correspondÃncia entre o desempenho ambiental e o nÃvel de impacto ambiental das empresas brasileiras e espanholas do setor secundÃrio. Para este mister, realizou-se uma pesquisa descritiva, de natureza quantitativa, utilizando-se os procedimentos bibliogrÃfico e documental. A amostra foi composta de 25 empresas espanholas de capital aberto e de 41 empresas brasileiras de capital aberto no ano de 2010 e 39 empresas brasileiras de capital aberto no ano de 2009, listadas no rol de empresas que publicaram relatÃrios de sustentabilidade de acordo com o modelo G3 da GRI do ano de 2010. As informaÃÃes do desempenho ambiental foram coletadas nos relatÃrios GRI das empresas de 2009 e 2010, atravÃs do indicador do total de investimentos ambientais (EN 30), enquanto as informaÃÃes referentes ao desempenho econÃmico foram extraÃdas das demonstraÃÃes contÃbeis das empresas dos anos de 2009 e 2010, elaboradas segundo o padrÃo das normas internacionais de contabilidade (IFRS). Os testes estatÃsticos elaborados envolveram o teste de CorrelaÃÃo de Spearman e a AnÃlise de correspondÃncia (ANACOR). Os resultados sugerem que hà uma correlaÃÃo moderada positiva entre o ROA e o indicador de investimento ambiental (EN30/ativo) nas empresas do Brasil. Na Espanha, a correlaÃÃo apresentou-se forte negativa entre o ROA e o indicador ambiental. Levando em conta o atributo da defasagem temporal, a relaÃÃo positiva entre o ROA e o investimento ambiental foi confirmada no Brasil, enquanto na Espanha a relaÃÃo se mostrou nula com os indicadores econÃmicos, mas mostrou-se forte negativa com as variÃveis primÃrias.. Os resultados encontrados na anÃlise de correspondÃncia entre o nÃvel de impacto ambiental das atividades das empresas e o nÃvel de desempenho ambiental, sugerem que as empresas com alto impacto ambiental possuem um mÃdio desempenho ambiental nos dois paÃses em conjunto. / The damage caused to the environment affect directly the quality of life of people and this will demand of organizations, activities that include the preservation, prevention and recovery of the environment in which they live. Companies that signal an environmentally correct behavior is rewarded with economic benefits and can remain on the market because they are legitimate, or have the endorsement of society to function. For the legitimacy, the company that adopts and signals good environmental practices, have to make investments, which may vary from company to company. Based on the Signaling Theory and the Theory of Legitimacy, this study focuses on companies in Spain and Brazil, considered countries that are published reports of environmental sustainability. This work aims to investigate the relationship between economic performance and environmental performance of companies in Brazil and Spain. And also, the correspondence between the level of environmental performance and environmental impact of the Brazilian and Spanish in the secondary sector. For this task, we carried out a descriptive, quantitative, utilizing the bibliographic and documentary procedures. The sample consisted of 25 Spanish publicly traded companies and 41 publicly traded Brazilian companies in the year of 2010 and 39 publicly traded Brazilian companies in the year of 2009, listed in the list of companies that publish sustainability reports in accordance with the GRI G3 standard model in the year of 2010. The information was collected from the environmental performance of companies in GRI reports 2009 and 2010, by the total environmental investments (EN 30), while the information on the economic performance were extract by financial statements of companies in the years 2009 and 2010 , prepared according to the pattern of international accounting standards (IFRS). Statistical tests involving elaborate Spearman correlation tests and the analysis of correspondence (ANACOR). The results suggest that there is a moderate positive correlation between ROA and environmental investment indicator (EN30/assets) in companies in Brazil. In Spain, there is a strong negative correlation between ROA and environmental investment indicator. Taking into account the attribute of the lag, the positive relationship between the performance was confirmed in Brazil, while in Spain show a null correlation between economic indicators, and a negative correlation with primaries variables. The results of the correspondence analysis between the level of environmental impact of corporate activities and level of environmental performance, suggest that companies with high environmental impact have an average environmental performance analyzing the two countries together.

This dissertation studied the determinants and consequences of corporate reputation. It explored how firm-, industry-, and country-level factors influence the general public’s assessment of a firm’s reputation and how this reputation assessment impacted the firm’s strategic actions and organizational outcomes. The three empirical essays are grounded on separate theoretical paradigms in strategy, organizational theory, and corporate governance. The first essay used signaling theory to investigate firm-, industry-, and country-level determinants of individual-level corporate reputation assessments. Using a hierarchical linear model, it tested the theory based on individual evaluations of the largest companies across countries. Results indicated that variables at multiple analysis levels simultaneously impact individual level reputation assessments. Interactions were also found between industry- and country-level factors. Results confirmed the multi-level nature of signaling influences on reputation assessments. Building on a stakeholder-power approach to corporate governance, the second essay studied how differences in the power and preferences of three stakeholder groups – shareholders, creditors, and workers – across countries influence the general public’s reputation assessments of corporations. Examining the largest companies across countries, the study found that while the influence of stock market return is stronger in societies where shareholders have more power, social performance has a more significant role in shaping reputation evaluations in societies with stronger labor rights. Unexpectedly, when creditors have greater power, the influence of financial stability on reputation assessment becomes weaker. Exploring the consequences of reputation, the third essay investigated the specific effects of intangible assets on strategic actions and organizational outcomes. Particularly, it individually studied the impacts of acquirer acquisition experience, corporate reputation, and approach toward social responsibilities as well as their combined effect on market reactions to acquisition announcements. Using an event study of acquisition announcements, it confirmed the significant impacts of both action-specific (acquisition experience) and general (reputation and social performance) intangible assets on market expectations of acquisition outcomes. Moreover, the analysis demonstrated that reputation magnifies the impact of acquisition experience on market response to acquisition announcements. In conclusion, this dissertation tried to advance and extend the application of management and organizational theories by explaining the mechanisms underlying antecedents and consequences of corporate reputation.