Inom revisionsbranschen har attraktionskraften till yrket minskat och antalet revisorer har gradvis blivit färre den senaste tiden. Revisorer har dock en lika viktig funktion i samhället idag och förväntas även ha det i framtiden. Enligt forskning är personalomsättningen inom revisionsbranschen hög, men den har främst fokuserat på de större revisionsföretagen. Det finns fyra stora revisionsföretag som idag har marknadskoncentration, men det finns även många andra revisionsföretag utöver det som också fyller en viktig funktion på marknaden. Denna studie fokuserar på medelstora revisionsföretag och ämnar att addera kunskap till tidigare forskning samt lyfta hur dessa problem hanteras i medelstora revisionsföretag. Syftet med studien är att skapa kunskap kring hur medelstora revisionsföretag arbetar med attraktionskraft och personalomsättning. Därav genomfördes en kvalitativ studie baserad på fem semistrukturerade intervjuer med personer som har högre befattningar på medelstora revisionsföretag i Sverige. Det insamlade datamaterialet analyserades därefter genom en tematisk analys. Ur studien framgår det att de medelstora revisionsföretagen inte upplever lika hög personalomsättning som den övriga branschen, men att attraktionskraften är ett större problem. Det har skett ett skifte och den yngre generationen attraheras inte av traditionella karriärvägen inom revision, utan prioriterar annorlunda och värderar privatlivet högre än förut. Den höga arbetsbelastningen under högsäsong är ett gemensamt problem inom revisionsbranschen där de medelstora revisionsföretagen i studien ständigt uppfattas arbeta med att hitta hållbara lösningar på detta. Studien indikerar även att de traditionella byråkratiska och hierarkiska organisationsstrukturerna inte är lika framträdande i medelstora revisionsföretag. Det framgår i studien att desto mer hierarkiskt ett företag verkar desto högre personalomsättning. Av studien uppfattas de medelstora revisionsföretagen ha hittat sitt eget sätt att organisera företagen samt agera på  personalomsättningen och därmed bibehålla en lägre personalomsättning än revisionsbranschen i stort. / Abstract Title: The attractiveness of audit firms: Are medium-sized audit firms going their own way? In the audit industry, the attractiveness of the profession has declined and the number of auditors has gradually decreased recently. However, auditors play an equally important role in society today and are expected to do so in the future. According to research, staff turnover in the audit industry is high, but it has mainly focused on the larger audit firms. There are four large audit firms that currently have market concentration, but there are also many other audit firms in addition to them that also fulfill an important function in the market. This study focuses on medium-sized audit firms and aims to add knowledge to previous research and highlight how these problems are handled in medium-sized audit firms. The purpose of the study is to create knowledge about how medium-sized audit firms work with attractiveness and staff turnover. Therefore, a qualitative study was conducted based on five semi-structured interviews with people who had senior positions in medium-sized audit firms in Sweden. The collected data material was then analyzed through a thematic analysis. The study shows that medium-sized audit firms do not experience as high staff turnover as the rest of the industry, but that attractiveness is a bigger problem. There has been a shift and the younger generation is not attracted to the traditional career path in audit, but prioritizes differently and values personal life more than before. The high workload during peak season is a common problem in the audit industry, and the medium-sized audit firms in the study are perceived to be constantly working to find sustainable solutions to this. The study also indicates that the traditional bureaucratic and hierarchical organizational structures are not as prominent in medium-sized audit firms. The study shows that the more hierarchical a firm appears to be, the higher the staff turnover. The study suggests that medium-sized audit firms have found their own way of organizing their firms and responding to staff turnover, thus maintaining a lower staff turnover than the audit industry as a whole.

Research from the international business field have demonstrated that firms operating both in domestic and foreign markets have a greater exposition to market turbulences and disturbances. The literature has established that dynamism, flexibility and agility are crucial capabilities. In fact, firms displaying the previously listed capabilities have a greater chance to survive to turbulent and disturbing market events. Given the current Covid-19 crisis impacting the global market, this paper is further justified by the need for diverse and deeper research on how firms develop so-called “resilience” to survive to disruptive events such as the current pandemic. Furthermore, Business Model Innovation is proposed by the literature as a way to build that organizational resilience. Especially, the adaptation of the Business Model to a more Digital Business Model. The literature presented Digital Business Model as a way for firms to build flexibility and agility capabilities. More specifically, the study aims to analyze how Swedish international manufacturing SMEs develop organizational resilience. Thanks to the four semistructured interviews carried out with four top manager part of Swedish international manufacturing SMEs, this qualitative study has been able to answer the given research question: “How can international manufacturing SMEs develop resilience through adapting a digital business model in order to survive during disruptive market changes?” The primary and secondary data were collected and analyzed according to the constructed conceptual framework. In conclusion, it can be noticed that the findings, based on empirical data, are aligned with the literature and demonstrate that in order to navigate in those turbulent international market environments firms need have a flexible and agile organizational structure. Furthermore, those findings highlight that the implementation of a Digital Business Model enables firms to develop that flexibility and agility, therefore leading to organizational resilience. However, surprisingly, the data shows that if most of the firms did implement Digital Business Model, those Business Model Innovation are not permanent but rather temporary.

This thesis aims to examine how the usage of different-sized models can improve consumer loyalty to a brand of female customers in Sweden. Previous research has examined how using non-skinny models appeals to female customers and what feelings are evoked, but there is little research on how this approach can increase consumer loyalty as a whole. The authors of this thesis hypothesize that brands using different-sized models will lead to female customers feeling higher levels of the concepts of Awareness and Safety concerning the brand. In turn, the authors hypothesize that a brand achieving high levels of Awareness and Safety within the context of using different-sized models will improve consumer loyalty toward their female customers in Sweden. To examine whether different-sized models have an impact on consumer loyalty, a deductive approach has been used where this thesis relies on existing theories to answer the research question. Data was collected through a survey consisting of multi-choice questions with closed answers in order to conduct a quantitative analysis of the data. The questions were operalized, and the internal validity of each concept was tested through Cronbach’s Alpha to ensure that the questions measured what they were supposed to measure. The data was analyzed through Spearman’s Rank Correlation test, where the dependence between the concepts was measured. In conclusion, the authors found that usage of different-sized models had a positive correlation with consumer loyalty through both aspects of Awareness and Safety. Based on the results and the collected literature, the authors believe that usage of different-sized models in a company’s online business activities can help build a stronger relationship with their customers.

The emergence of digitalization and its prevalence is constantly changing the environment inwhich business operates, and consequently the firm’s way of conducting business. Having theability to work with digital maturity is thus a prerequisite for a firm that wants to survive thecompetitive market that prevails today. Despite Sweden's strong infrastructure and greataccess to digitalization skills, Swedish manufacturing SMEs demonstrate an alarmingly lowdegree of digital maturity in their international work. Through a qualitative interview studywith an abductive research approach, this research has explored and unpacked existingtheories on digital maturity, to recommend a proposal for further development of existingframeworks and how Swedish SMEs can work with digital maturity to utilize digitalization intheir internationalization process through export. Furthermore, this study has throughsemi-structured interviews from eight companies, explored Swedish manufacturing SMEs’digital maturity to understand how they use digitalization in their export process.The findings of this study indicates that Swedish SMEs need to stay up to date with the latestdigitalization strategies for internationalizing through export and that the most critical keyfactor is to have human resources with the right competence and capabilities to managedigital change management and work with digital maturity. Hence, to enable Swedishmanufacturing SMEs to utilize digitalization in its export processes and consequently, gaincompetitive advantages necessary to survive in the fast-changing digitalized internationalenvironment.

Lamina emergent mechanisms (LEMs) are a maturing technology that is prepared for commercial implementation into new products. LEMs are defined by three functional characteristics; they (1) are compliant, (2) are fabricated from planar materials, and (3) emerge from a flat initial state. Advantages, design challenges, and design tools are described for each of the functional characteristics. Opportunities for LEMs are discussed, namely disposable LEMs, novel arrays of LEMs, scaled LEMs, LEMs with surprising motion, shock absorbing LEMs, and deployable LEMs. Technology push product development processes were employed to select applications for LEMs. LEM technology was characterized. In a LEM workshop, eighteen industry professionals then helped identify over 200 potential applications for the technology. The applications were evaluated, and the most promising ideas that were identified for each LEM opportunity are described with graphics of possible product embodiments. Of the various product opportunities enabled by LEMs, deployable mechanisms – particularly in the credit card size – are among the most viable. The compactness and portability of credit-card-sized products create a strong motivation for their development. Expanding the capabilities of credit-card-sized mechanisms to include more sophisticated motions and a broader range of tasks may dramatically increase their market potential. A review of the current state-of-the-art in credit-card-sized mechanisms reveals two primary classes of mechanisms most commonly used in this form factor: rigid-body mechanisms and in-plane compliant mechanisms. The limitations of each and corresponding LEM advantages are described. Criteria for determining whether a product is a suitable candidate for using LEM technology to create or improve a credit-card-sized product are established. The advantages of LEMs in credit-card-sized products are illustrated through an example product: a compact lancing device that could be used as a main component for a highly portable epinephrine syringe.

Background: CSR has become an integral part of most businesses during the years, however, it has not necessarily happened by choice for every company. Stakeholders have become aware of the negative impact ofcorporations’ operations and actions on the planet and on society, consequently, they started to pressure companies to be more responsible when conducting business. However, facing financial shortages might interfere with the accomplishment of these practices and corresponding activities. Furthermore, as differently sized and differently located companies might practice CSR in a different way, size and geographical location might also have an influence on these CSR practices and activities. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the influence of size and geography on CSR practices and activities adopted by SMEs and large corporations in Sweden and in Hungary when facing shortage in their financial resources. Method: In order to achieve the purpose, a qualitative research method has been used. Multiple case studies were conducted with two Hungarian SMEs, a Hungarian large enterprise, a Swedish SME and a Swedish large firm. The empirical data was collected with the help of semi-structured interviews as well as data from corporate websites, annual reports, sustainability reports and social media. Conclusion: The results of this thesis show that the approach each company takes to practicing CSR seems to influence all of their activities. The size of the company appears to influence fewer practices, while geography comes across as having the least influence among these factors.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is established among a majority of small and medium sized companies in Kista Science City and seems to have a positive effect on organizational effectiveness. Kista Science City is Sweden’s largest corporate centre, with more companies and employees in a limited area than anywhere else in Europe. This study looks at the level of adoption of ERP functions, perceived organizational effectiveness and critical success factors. The most common use of ERP is for financial control and reporting, followed by order entry and purchasing. A significant relationship between the level of adoption and organizational effectiveness was found. Although Enterprise Resource Planning has become an established phenomenon the investments in ERP software are far from fully utilized. Most companies have started to use ERP to integrate functional areas but few companies have moved to extended ERP (ERPII). The adoption of functionality for customer relationship management seems to have started, but the use of e-commerce, business intelligence and supply chain management is very low. Different reasons for the low level of adoption are discussed and it is suggested that the interrelationship between SMEs and ERP-consultants be investigated further. ERP-consultants are important change agents and knowledge transfers for ERP and one way to interpret the data is that ERP-consultants are caught in a negative spiral where they focus on installations and technical maintenance of core ERP, which prevents them from developing new, extended ERP competence. An analysis of critical success factors showed that although technical competence was important socially oriented factors such as project teamwork and composition as well as communication had a greater effect on organizational effectiveness. Surprisingly enough, project management did not have any effect on organizational effectiveness. Common implementation methods for ERP focus on project management. It is suggested to further analyse if these methods could be improved by an increased adaptability to differences in company settings and requirements as well as through a better use of critical success factors. Organizational effectiveness can be measured in many ways and it was found that the success factors varied in terms of how they correlated with different measures. In the next step, the doctorial thesis, it is suggested that a prototype environment is developed to stimulate an increased use of extended ERP among small and medium sized companies. Several actors, such as SMEs, consultants, vendors and students would be involved. The prototype environment could facilitate enhancements of implementation methods and reduction of implementation costs through the development of reusable objects such as add-on solutions, process maps and system configurations. It could also help small and medium sized companies to investigate the business benefits of ERP by increasing involvement and familiarity while on the same time decrease costs and risks. / QC 20100713

Viele Großstädte und Metropolen in Deutschland sind Zielgebiete nationaler und internationaler Migration. Die zunehmenden Bevölkerungszahlen in diesen Städten führen häufig zu Überlastungserscheinungen, wie steigenden Preisen auf den Wohnungsmärkten, Segregationstendenzen innerhalb der Stadtgebiete, einer sich verschlechternden Umweltqualität und einer Überlastung von Einrichtungen der sozialen Infrastruktur. Dem gegenüber stehen zumeist kleinere Städte in peripheren Lagen vor der Herausforderung stagnierender oder schrumpfender Bevölkerungszahlen. Langanhaltende Bevölkerungsverluste über die letzten Jahrzehnte führen häufig zu hohen Leerstandsquoten, einem Verfall von Bausubstanz, einer geringen Auslastung von Versorgungsstrukturen, einer wirtschaftlichen Abkoppelung und dem Gefühl von Vernachlässigung und Stigmatisierung. In Zukunft stehen die verschiedenen Städte somit vor unterschiedlichen aber vergleichsweise großen Herausforderungen. Das Promotionsvorhaben konzentriert sich auf geschrumpfte Mittelstädte (20.000 - 100.000 Menschen) in peripheren Lagen. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, Faktoren herauszustellen, die eine Standortwahl in eben diesen Stadttyp begünstigen können sowie Stärken und zu fördernde Potenziale dieser Städte darzustellen, die dazu beitragen, dass sich geschrumpfte Mittelstädte als Alternativstandorte zu überlasteten Ballungsräumen erweisen. Diese Herangehensweise an aktuelle Herausforderungen von Schrumpfung betroffener Mittelstädte kommt ab von der häufig in der Forschung thematisierten generellen Abwärtsspirale dieser Städte und zeigt neue Entwicklungsperspektiven auf, ohne ein erneutes Wachstum dieser Städte als prioritäres Ziel zu verfolgen. Ein angestrebter Ausgleich der Bevölkerungsverteilung innerhalb Deutschlands kann den Druck auf Großstädte und Ballungsräume entschärfen, ohne ihn gänzlich zu beseitigen. Darüber hinaus hätte eine Ausgleichswirkung, insbesondere wenn sie einhergeht mit der Nutzung vorhandener Ressourcen wie leerstehender Gebäude und bestehender Infrastrukturen, positive Effekte für eine nachhaltige Stadtentwicklung. Die inhaltliche Konzentration auf Mittelstädte erfolgt aufgrund des Vorhandenseins eines gewissen Versorgungsangebotes in diesen Städten, ohne jedoch die oft negativ empfundenen Überlastungserscheinungen vieler Großstädte und Ballungsräume aufzuweisen. Studien belegen, dass ein Leben in einer städtischen Umgebung von vielen Personengruppen nach wie vor bevorzugt wird. In der bisherigen Stadtforschung wird dem Stadttyp Mittelstadt dabei jedoch noch zu wenig Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt und er wird häufig im Zusammenschluss mit Kleinstädten betrachtet. Die Fokussierung auf Mittelstädte in dieser Arbeit ist damit eine deutliche Abgrenzung zu bisherigen Studien und stellt charakteristische Merkmale dieser Städte heraus. Darüber hinaus thematisieren bisherige Studien zur Wohnstandortwahl häufig das Wanderungsgeschehen in das suburbane Umland von Ballungsräumen und weniger in peripher gelegene Städte. Auch erfolgt meist eine Betrachtung von Personen, die eine Entscheidung zur Wanderung getroffen haben und analysiert deren Beweggründe und Motivationen. Gründe und Faktoren, die Personen von einer Umzugsentscheidung abgehalten haben, werden nicht erhoben. In dem Promotionsvorhaben wird ein neuer Ansatz zur Erkenntnisgewinnung verfolgt, indem sich gezielt mit der Standortentscheidung in eine geschrumpfte Mittelstadt auseinander gesetzt wird. Die Besonderheit besteht darin, dass die Relevanz einzelner Standortfaktoren abgefragt wird und darauf aufbauend Personen durch ihre Teilnahme am Projekt „Stadt auf Probe“ einen neuen Standort in einer geschrumpften Mittelstadt vorübergehend auch ausprobieren können. Am Ende des Aufenthaltes reflektieren sie die zuvor angenommene Bedeutung einzelner Faktoren anhand der persönlichen Erfahrung vor Ort. Dadurch kann eine Standortentscheidung auf Basis deutlich detaillierterer Informationen gefällt werden, als es bei interregionalen Wanderungen meist der Fall ist. Dieser experimentelle Projektansatz trägt dazu bei, dass neue Erkenntnisse für die Stadtentwicklung gewonnen werden können. Außerdem werden in die empirische Analyse der vorliegenden Arbeit somit sowohl Personen einbezogen, die eine Entscheidung für eine geschrumpfte Mittelstadt in peripheren Lagen getroffen haben als auch solche, die sich dagegen entschieden.

Purpose: Due to the current climate crisis and the fact that the food industry accounts for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions, it is more important than ever that green initiatives in the food industry flourish. In recent years new food sources (NFS) have emerged as a consequence of trying to shift the world's consumption behaviours and making the food industry more sustainable. However, NFS companies are generally small companies with scarce resources and difficulties in expanding. Thus, the purpose of this report is to investigate which capabilities are necessary in order to succeed with a sustainable expansion within the New Food Sources industry, and to develop a framework that puts the capabilities in relation to different stages of sustainable expansion.  Method: In order to investigate these main areas, a multiple case study in the NFS sector has been conducted where several companies have been interviewed to enable the identification of success factors that enable a sustainable expansion. A total of 21 interviews were held with the case companies, people from the traditional source companies (e.g., traditional dairy corporations), and people with expertise within the field of NFS were interviewed. The interviews were later on analyzed through a thematic method.  Findings: The study resulted in identifying five stages of sustainability work that acts as drivers for sustainable expansion. Further, eight categories of capabilities were identified in order to reach the driver for sustainable expansion. The capabilities were then ranked in a gradual manner, from fundamental to gaining competitive advantage. Lastly, the five stages of sustainable expansion were linked to the capabilities, providing a roadmap for what capabilities that are necessary in each stage in order to proceed with a sustainable expansion.  Theoretical and managerial contributions: This study provides a sustainable perspective on expansions within NFS companies, meaning that the focus is not only economic growth but also how the company contributes to the society as a whole and how it affects the world. Furthermore, these insights have resulted in a roadmap that can be applied by managers in NFS- producing companies to get a better understanding of what capabilities that are essential in each stage of sustainability work. This will help managers in NFS companies to navigate through expansions and will help them understand what to focus on.

Bakgrund: Vi befinner oss i nya tider där mycket grundas på teknologisk innovation. Organisationer har sedan långt tillbaka siktat mot att tilldela fler uppgifter till maskiner för att minska kostnader och förbättra effektiviteten. Det är även viktigt för att alltid kunna vara konkurrenskraftiga, skapa ett affärsmässigt mervärde och utveckla prestanda. Digitalisering är något som tar över marknaden och organisationer påverkas stort av detta. Arbete som utförs av humanitär kraft bidrar till höga kostnader för organisationen. Därmed har AI-styrda arbeten vuxit radikalt. Artificiell Intelligens (AI) möjliggör snabb datahantering och automatiserar repetitiva uppgifter som till exempel bankavstämningar och fakturahantering. Forskare är ense om att AI har stor potential och att rollen för AI inom ämnet redovisning kommer att öka mer och mer. Däremot visar tidigare forskning inte lika mycket på den praktiska tillämpningen av AI inom redovisningsprocessen hos företag. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att skapa förståelse om hur och varför/varför inte företag implementerar AI i redovisningsprocessen. Detta genom att ta reda på hur långt företag har kommit idag samt vilka delar av redovisningsprocessen som implementerar AI och motiven till implementeringen. Metod: Studien har genomförts med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod. Studien har vänt sig till redovisningsekonomer och ekonomiansvariga från medelstora företag. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultat och slutsats: Studien visar att företag inte arbetar mycket med AI inom redovisningsprocessen. Den enda delen är i bokföringsdelen, där leverantörsfakturahanteringen använder AI. Det främsta motivet till varför/varför inte AI implementeras mer är på grund av att det inte finns några bra AI-lösningar i redovisningssystemen. Ytterligare motiv som nämnts är kunskapsbrist, kostnad och låg prioritering. / Background: We are in new times where much is based on technological innovation. Organizations since a long time aimed to assign more tasks to machines to reduce costs and improve efficiency. This is in order to always be competitively advantageous, create added business value and develop performance. Digitalisation is something that is taking over the market and organizations are greatly affected by this. Human resources contribute to high costs for organisations. Thus, AI-controlled work has grown radically. AI enables fast data handling and automates repetitive tasks such as bank reconciliations and invoice processing. Researchers agree that AI has great potential and that the role of AI in the subject of accounting will increase more and more. However, research does not show as much on the practical application of AI within the accounting process of companies today. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand and investigate how and why companies implement Artificial Intelligence in the accounting process. Thus, the study aims to create an understanding of how far companies have come today as well as which parts of the accounting process implement AI and the motives for the implementation. Method: The study has been carried out using a qualitative method. The study is based on accounting economists and finance managers from medium-sized companies. The empirical material has been collected through semi-structured interviews. Results and conclusion: The study shows that companies do not work much with AI in the accounting process. The only part is in the accounting part, where the supplier invoice management uses AI. The main reason why it is not implemented or implemented more is because there are no good AI solutions in their accounting system. Additional motives mentioned are; lack of knowledge, costly, low priority.