Growing number of SME restaurant and unsustainable food consumption creates a paradoxicaltension in the society from “Environmental sustainability” perspective. This paradoxicaltension requires every organizations to reduce their ecological footprint through minimizingits environmental effects. In Sweden, KRAV, a non-profit organization that sets organicagriculture standards, oversees certification for a variety of industry members, includingrestaurants. Previous research has focused on only CSR issues and only large multinationalfood chains rather than SMEs. While SME restaurants are less powerful on their own but theircollective impact on the environment and society is tremendous. Guided by qualitative data inthe form of semi-structured interviews were collected from SME sushi restaurant owners inUmea, Sweden. Firstly author has identified the motives of owners toward “environmentalsustainability” such as packaging, waste management, procurement, and environmentalcertification. Environmental certification has further classified into two motives one is basedon morality and another one is based on profitability & morality. Secondly, author furtherdiscussed the environmental certification that is based on both morality & profitability into twodimension such as “profitability” & “Legitimacy”. Thirdly, author represent the role of greenmarketing to achieve these two dimensions along with its benefits and challenges. Benefits andchallenges were discussed based on both “environmental certification (KRAV) and “Greenmarketing” perspective. Benefits such as “New customer segment”, “Brand loyalty”,“Competitive advantage” and “higher profitability” in the long run have been identified.Moreover, “Lack of awareness”, “attitude- behavior gap”, “inadequate use of technology”,“costly”, “SME restaurant type”, “unavailability”, “strict rules and restriction” and“insufficient financial investment” have been found as a major barriers or challenges to achieveKRAV certificate (environmental certification) and overall “Environmental sustainability”.With the help of a comprehensive literature review, the motivations and challenges of theseparticipants were identified and explored using a conceptual framework based on“Environmental sustainability” and “Green marketing”.

Laut dem Weltklimarat ist es zweifelsfrei, dass sich das Klima global ändert. Ein sich veränderndes Klima wirkt sich jedoch nicht nur auf die Umwelt, sondern auch auf Unternehmen aus. Diese Auswirkungen können sowohl positiver als auch negativer Art sein. Um auf diese Auswirkungen adäquat zu reagieren, ist es zunächst von Bedeutung, die positiven als auch negativen Effekte zu identifizieren und diese entsprechend zu interpretieren. Ziel der Befragung ist es daher, zu erfassen, wie sich Unternehmen vom Klimawandel betroffen fühlen und wie diese darauf reagieren. Des Weiteren wird untersucht, welche Faktoren einen Einfluss auf den Anpassungsprozess haben. Für die Befragung wurden im Juni 2012 über 2.000 Handwerksbetriebe angeschrieben, wovon insgesamt 207 Unternehmen antworteten. Zwei Drittel dieser Unternehmen nimmt den Klimawandel wahr. Allerdings fühlte sich in der Vergangenheit die Mehrheit der Unternehmen von Extremwetterereignissen nicht betroffen. Die größten negativen Einflüsse werden gegenwärtig als auch in der Zukunft bei den Kältewellen gesehen. Innerhalb des Unternehmens sind insbesondere die Logistik und der Einkauf in Zukunft negativ betroffen; positive Wirkungen werden sich hingegen beim Absatz erhofft. Insgesamt erwarten die Unternehmen eher negative als positive Effekte aus dem Klimawandel, wobei insbesondere das Nahrungsmittelgewerbe und das KFZ-Gewerbe mit negativen Auswirkungen auf ihren Betrieb rechnen. Da sich nur wenige Unternehmen von Extremwetterereignissen bzw. dem Klimawandel betroffen fühlen, verwundert es nicht, dass fast drei Viertel der Unternehmen keine Anpassungsmaßnahmen planen und der Teil, der Anpassungsmaßnahmen umsetzt(e) bzw. beabsichtigt umzusetzen, eher einen geringen Anteil ausmacht. Dies könnte darauf zurückgeführt werden, dass in etwa jedes zweite Unternehmen die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels gegenwärtig nicht finanziell spürt. Darüber hinaus fehlen finanzielle Eigenmittel, private Finanzierungsmöglichkeiten und öffentliche Fördermöglichkeiten. Des Weiteren besteht eine hohe Unsicherheit, ob Extremwettereignisse überhaupt auftreten, und welche Anpassungsmaßnahmen möglich wären. Basierend auf den Befragungsergebnissen ist zu empfehlen, Unternehmen mit Informationen zur Thematik Klimawandelfolgen und Anpassungsoptionen zu versorgen, Unternehmen zu Risikoanalysen zu motivieren und mögliche finanzielle Unterstützung im Rahmen der Anpassung an die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels anzubieten.

There’s increasing evidence that activities from humans are affecting the earth system to a degree that is crossing the planetary boundaries. During the last decade, Circular Economy has gained attention from both academia, companies, and policymakers and is seen as one way to address economical and sustainability issues. A circular transition requires the implementation of innovative business models, but the uptake of circular business models is still slow. In Sweden, 99,9% of all companies are classified as small and medium-sized enterprises. Those companies play an important role in the circular transition, but the process is however slow due to internal factors like lack of resources and competencies alongside other barriers like regulations, market, and lack of support. Despite a lot happening in the field of circular transition for small and medium-sized enterprises, there's still little research focused on the ongoing state of circular economy in practice. In this exploratory study, semi-structured interviews have been used to explore the ongoing state in Sweden. The aim of the study is to explore how intermediaries are supporting small and medium-sized enterprises with adopting circular economy in Sweden and what kind of challenges and opportunities the intermediaries have experienced along the circular transition process. The results show that we should go beyond the general drivers and barriers for adopting a circular economy. The challenging barriers might not be a lack of resources and regulations, it might be the lack of awareness and interest from companies themselves. What became clear during the interview study was that the environmental benefits of adopting circular economy is not the driving force but rather a result of adopting circular economy. The motivation in the first place for adopting circular economy is that it can create a better and a smarter business. There was a consensus among the intermediaries that when one is workings with companies, one must highlight the business values of a circular economy: profitability, resource efficiency, loyal customers, etc. If companies don’t see the opportunities and benefits of adopting circular economy, they won’t prioritize and allocate resources for it. The complexity of a circular transition also requires collaboration on different levels: between companies, regions, business developers, municipalities, research institutes, policy developers, etc. To enable the overall collaboration, there’s a need for a comprehensive facilitator or coordinator on different levels (national, regional, and local) that can unify the national transition.

Access to credit in the changing environment is the primary challenge to survival for many small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners. The purpose of this multicase study was to understand how seasoned small business leaders in wholesaling and manufacturing in Northwest Arkansas strategically adapted to obtaining access to credit in an environment of bank mergers and acquisitions, disruptive information technology, federal and state regulations, and globalization. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was adaptive leadership and change management. Although, small business leaders prefer to obtain credit from community banks through relationship financing, leaders of SMEs can adapt to the challenges of the changing environment. The data collection process involved face-to-face, onsite, semistructured interviews of 5 participant SME owners selected via purposive sampling throughout the Northwest Arkansas region. Analysis of the transcripts involved coding data into groups using keyword identification and regrouping the data into themes. Themes that emerged from the study included the importance of formalizing a capital strategy, utilizing alternative forms of financing, and responding and adapting to change. Also, small business owners use financial software to provide technical, financial reports, and pro forma statements with variance analysis. Positive social change from the findings of this study may develop through SMEs' potential to increase job provision thereby benefiting workers' families with better employment opportunities, enhancing public infrastructure through greater tax revenues, and generating a long-term, viable, sustainable future to the region's public education through an increased tax base.

Tato disertacni prace je venovana tematu malych a strednich podniku v Syrii: Analyza - Management - Dovoz a Vyvoz. Syrsky trh je mezinarodnimu obchodovani pomerne otevreny. Obchodni smlouvy byly podepsany jiz s nekolika zememi. V rijnu 2004 Syrie podepsala take smlouvu o spolupraci s evropskou unii. Tato prace popisuje a analyzuje male a stredni podniky v Syrii pro pot.eby mezinarodniho obchodu i Syrskeho trhu. Ziskane vysledky jsou zpracovany a na jejich zaklade jsou stanovena doporuceni pro firmy hodlajici dovazet ci vyvazet do /ze Syrie.

An entrepreneurial exit achieved through sale is the goal for many entrepreneurs and is often portrayed as a finish line. In reality, however, it marks the starting point of a business transfer process that can span several years. This study examines business transfers from a process perspective within the context of entrepreneurial small and medium-sized enterprises and from the entrepreneur's point of view. This is an area that is still considered unexplored and is referred to as entrepreneurial transfer in this study. The aim of the study is to contribute valuable empirical evidence to develop the subject, shed light on the area within the context of entrepreneurial small and medium-sized enterprises, and encourage further research. Six entrepreneurs have been interviewed in a semi-structured interview study, and the empirical data has been analyzed phenomenographically. The study identifies several patterns in how the process of entrepreneurial transfers occurs according to the entrepreneur, as well as how the entrepreneur perceives the process to be influenced by factors related to business transfers and small and medium-sized enterprises. The study provides valuable knowledge for both researchers and entrepreneurs by highlighting deficiencies and identifying gaps in existing research, serving as a basis for entrepreneurs to make informed decisions regarding an entrepreneurial transfer. / En entreprenöriell exit via försäljning är en målsättning för många entreprenörer och framställs ofta som ett målsnöre. I verkligheten är detta dock startskottet för en företagsöverlåtelse som kan vara i flera år. Denna studie undersöker företagsöverlåtelser ur ett processperspektiv i kontexten för entreprenöriella små och medelstora företag och ur entreprenörens perspektiv. Detta är ett område som ännu är att anses outforskat och i denna studie benämns som entreprenöriell överlåtelse.  Studien syftar till att bidra med värdefull empiri för att utveckla ämnet, belysa området i kontexten för entreprenöriella små och medelstora företag och uppmana till vidare forskning. Sex entreprenörer har intervjuats i en semistrukturerad intervjustudie och det empiriska underlaget har analyserats fenomenografiskt. Studien identifierar ett antal mönster för hur processen för entreprenöriella överlåtelser sker enligt entreprenören samt hur entreprenören anser processen påverkas av faktorer kopplade till företagsöverlåtelser och små och medelstora företag. Därtill bidrar den med värdefull kunskap för både forskare och entreprenörer genom att belysa brister och identifiera hål i befintlig forskning samt agera underlag för entreprenörer att ta informerade beslut inför en entreprenöriell överlåtelse.

The rapid changes in the global economy have imposed high pressure on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their operations. Many SMEs have realized how important it is to integrate all units in the business by introducing Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP systems).    The adoption decision phase in ERP systems is an early phase and is often confused with implementation, which is a major cause of failure. This confusion can especially hit hard on small and medium-sized companies that may lack sufficient resources. The adoption decision phase can be particularly crucial in such case. The purpose of this study is to investigate which driving forces that influence the adoption decision phase of ERP systems within SMEs. The Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) theoretical framework was used to create a theoretical foundation for finding drivers from previous research.   Semi-structured interviews were then conducted with six ERP consultants. Respondents' responses were analyzed thematically, and 12 themes were identified as driving forces. These could then be compared with previous research. The driving forces identified were management and decision makers, benefits and efficiency, functionality, regulations and security, competition and the future, industry type and complexity, education and competence, finance and resources, supplier and solutions, integration with existing systems, maintenance and support, and challenges and uncertainty. The driving forces that were identified but could not be linked to previous research were functionality, and challenges and uncertainty.   Keywords: Adoption decision, driving forces, Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP system), small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE).

Den Europeiska Unionen vill med Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) standardisera hållbarhetsredovisning för företag som är verksamma inom unionen. Återigen kommer fler och fler företag omfattas av reglerna att behöva upprätta en obligatorisk hållbarhetsredovisning – vilket kan utgöra en utmaning för mindre erfarna små och medelstora företag. Denna studie undersökte små och medelstora företags syn på hållbarhetsredovisning samt deras uppfattning för dess kärnbegrepp; närmare bestämt ESG och materialitet. Studien utfördes genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex företag och med hjälp av sju respondenter. Studien visade att det finns en överväldigande positiv inställning till hållbarhetsredovisning bland de studerade företagen. Hursomhelst framgick det tecken på att företagen var bristfällig i vissa aspekter. Till exempel upplevde samtliga företag svårigheter med att koppla delar av sin verksamhet till hållbarhet på en bolagsstyrningsnivå (eng. governance). Liknande resultat upptäcktes för materialitet. Alla företag upplevdes ha svårigheter att begripa innebörden av begreppet ’materialitet’. Studien visade, trots svårigheten att begripa innebörden av materialitet, att de studerade företagen visade tecken på att vara effektiva i identifieringen av materiella hållbarhetsaspekter. / The European Union wants to standardize sustainability reporting with the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Once again, more and more enterprises will be subject to the mandatory requirements to disclose sustainability information – which may pose a challenge for less experienced small and medium sized enterprises. This study examines the perception of small and medium sized enterprises on sustainability reporting and its foundational concepts; namely environmental, social and governance (ESG) and materiality. The study was conducted on six individual companies and seven interviewees in total. The study concludes that there exists an overwhelmingly positive perception of sustainability reporting amongst the studied enterprises. However, there were signs that the studied companies were deficient in certain aspects. For example, all enterprises experienced difficulties in identifying aspects of their business that could be linked with governance sustainability. Similar results were discovered on the materiality topic. All enterprises had difficulties in understanding the term ‘materiality’. The study concludes that, despite the difficulty understanding materiality, the studied enterprises showed signs of being efficient in identifying material sustainability topics.

Titel: Kapitalstruktur i en lågkonjunktur – En kvalitativ studie av medelstora tillverkande företags kapitalstruktur. Forskningsfråga: Hur påverkas kapitalstrukturen i medelstora tillverkande företag av en lågkonjunktur? Syfte: Uppsatsens syfte är att få en förståelse för hur medelstora tillverkande företag resonerar gällande att finansiera sig med eget kapital kontra med skuldfinansiering i en lågkonjunktur. Metod: Studien har genomförts genom en kvalitativ metod med en abduktiv ansats, en kombination av deduktiv och induktiv ansats. Genom denna kombination av metoder har vi tagit del av vetenskapliga artiklar och analyserat vår insamlade empiriska data för att undersöka hur verkligheten stämmer överens med teorin. Slutsats: Studien visade på tre resultat. Det första resultatet visade på att det finns en tydlig koppling mellan ägarstruktur och kapitalstruktur i tillverkande medelstora företag. Privatägda företag tenderar att vara mer flexibla i sina finansieringsval medan koncernägda företag föredrar intern finansiering eller lån under gynnsamma marknadsförhållanden. Det andra resultatet visade på att en gemensam nämnare för alla företagen var betydelsen av en god relation med banken, särskilt i tider av lågkonjunktur eftersom bankens tillgång till likviditet och flexibla avbetalningsplaner kunde bli avgörande. Det tredje resultatet visade på att trots företagens medvetenhet om riskhantering så tolkades begreppet finansiell stress på olika sätt, vilket visar att begreppet är subjektivt. Däremot visade de sig att företagen är flexibla i sina finansieringsval och anpassar sig efter marknadsförhållanden i pressade ekonomiska tider. / Title: Capital structure in a recession – A qualitative study of medium-sized manufacturing companies' capital structure Problem statement: How is the capital structure of medium-sized manufacturing companies impacted by a recession? Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to gain an understanding of how medium- sized manufacturing companies’ reason regarding financing the firm with equity versus debt during a recession. Method: The study has been conducted through a qualitative method with an abductive approach, combining deductive and inductive approaches. With this combination of methods, we have reviewed scientific articles and analyzed our collected empirical data to gain an overview of how reality aligns with theory. Conclusion: The study showed three main findings. The first finding showed a clear link between ownership structure and capital structure in medium- sized manufacturing companies. Private-owned firms tend to be more flexible in their financing choices, whereas group-owned firms prefer internal financing or loans under favorable market conditions. The second finding highlighted a common denominator among all companies, emphasizing the importance of a strong relationship with the bank, particularly during economic downturns, as the bank's access to liquidity and flexible payment plans became crucial. The third finding demonstrated that despite companies' awareness of risk management, the concept of financial stress was interpreted differently among them, indicating its subjective nature. However, it was observed that companies are flexible in their financing choices and adapt to market conditions during economically challenging times.

Idag finns hög konkurrens på marknaden och detta gör att det är svårt för varumärken att bli sedda av sin kund. Dagens konsument rör sig mellan olika kanaler och kommunikationen från företag måste uppdateras och anpassas efter konsumentens beteende. Det är avgörande för företag att engagera sina kunder för att bli uppmärksammade. Konsumenter kommunicerar åsikter sinsemellan i form av electronic word of mouth (eWOM) som påverkar företaget. Komplexitet kan ligga i att veta vilka kanaler som är bäst utifrån sina förutsättningar. Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie är att undersöka vad små och medelstora e-handelsföretag (SMeF) har för förutsättningar till kommunikation digitalt och fysiskt. Vidare ämnar studien att undersöka hur en kombination av olika kanaler kan användas för att göra företaget synligt genom bruset på marknaden. Insamlad empiri består av åtta semi-strukturerade intervjuer med specifikt utvalda respondenter genom ett målstyrt urval och, till viss del, kedjeurval. Respondenterna valdes ut för att representera flera erfarenheter ur ett företagsperspektiv. Shannon och Weavers (1949) kommunikationsmodell med sändare, verktyg, brus och mottagare utvecklas till en analysmodell för ämnet. SMeF förutsättningar undersöks samt att fysisk närvaro kan skapa en interaktiv miljö för företaget och kunden att mötas i. Digitala verktyg kan vara ett kostnadseffektivt sätt nå ut till konsumenten. Dessa kan bilda en enad kundupplevelse genom omnikanaler. Slutsatsen av studien är att SMeF kan nå nu ut genom bruset genom att använda verktyg utefter en fokuserad omnikanalmodell. Strategiskt utvalda kanaler kan ge SMeF effektiv kommunikation som når genom bruset till kunden. Denna studie är skriven på svenska. / The high market competition today makes it difficult for brands to be seen by their customers. The consumer is drifting between channels and the way companies communicate has to be updated and adapted to this behaviour. It is crucial for companies to engage their customers in order to get noticed. Consumers also communicate opinions among themselves in the form of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) affecting the company. There is a complexity into which channels are best amended to face these circumstances. The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate small and medium-sized e-commerce enterprises (SMeE) potential to communicate through digital and physical platforms. Furthermore, the study aims to examine how a combination of different channels can be used to make the company visible through the noise of competitors. Collected empirical data consists of eight semi-structured interviews with respondents specifically selected through purposive sampling and, to some extent, snowball sampling. The respondents were selected to represent several practises from a business perspective. Shannon and Weaver's (1949) model of communication consist of transmitter, tools, noise and receiver and is used as an analysing tool. The SMeE opportunities are explored as well as if a physical presence can create an interactive environment for the company and the customer. Digital tools can be a cost-effective way for SMeE to reach out to the consumer. These can in turn form a unified customer experience in creating an omnichannel. The conclusion of the study is that SMeE can reach through the noise by focusing the tools across an omnichannel model. Strategically selected channels can provide SMeE effective communication that penetrates the noise and reach the customer. This study is written in swedish.