Title: Social Media – And customer interaction in smaller firms Seminar date: 2011-06-10 Course: Information Logistics, D-level. Authors: Marie Stenhammar and Ulrika Carlsson Advisor: Jaime Campos Key words: Social Media, Web 2.0, Co-creation, Viral marketing, Word of Mouth, smaller firms Purpose: This paper aims to describe the relevance of social media to smaller firms, the challenges and opportunities they face and what strategies they use, in the interaction with their customers. Methodology: The study is qualitative in nature and has an abductive approach. The empirical material consists of in-depth interviews with chosen companies and Internet observations. Theoretical perspectives: Social Media, Web 2.0, Co-creation, Viral marketing, Word of Mouth Empirical foundation: The study takes its empirical base from in-depth interviews with representatives from the small companies and internet observations connected to these. Conclusions: Smaller companies have great interest in social media. They preferably use Facebook, blogs, YouTube and Twitter. Their strategy is mainly to be very active and update their social media regularly. The opinion of the companies is that social media offer several possibilities such as stronger relationships with customers and the ability to collect information about the market.

Bakgrund När revisionsplikten avskaffades för mindre bolag under år 2010 gjordes detta med argument om att revisionen var en stor kostnad för de mindre bolagen, som ofta har mindre resurser. Efter avskaffandet gavs mindre bolag möjligheten att själva bestämma vilka ekonomiska tjänster som skulle köpas in. Något som beskrevs som en strukturell förändring inom branschen och som medförde ett ökat ansvar och ökade karriärmöjligheter inom professionen redovisningskonsulter. Men vad är anledningen till att redovisningskonsulter idag anlitas vid mindre bolag, som idag har valt bort revisorn? Syfte Syftet med studien är att utforska varför icke revisionspliktiga mindre bolag väljer att anlita en redovisningskonsult samt hur dessa mindre bolag upplever att redovisningskonsulten genererar värde till organisationen. Metod Studien har utförts genom en kvalitativ metod med ett deduktivt synsätt. Samtliga empiriska data utgörs av primärdata och har inhämtats genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Slutsats Mindre bolag saknar ofta den kunskap och tid som krävs för att internt sköta bolagets ekonomi. Genom redovisningskonsulten sparas även tid och indirekt pengar, vilket gör att kärnverksamheten kan prioriteras. Vidare framkommer att det upplevda värdet är: förmedlad seriositet, trovärdighet och upplevd trygghet, vilka alla genereras av bolagets redovisningskonsult. / Introduction In 2010 the mandatory audit was abolished for smaller firms in Sweden with arguments that audit was a big expense for smaller firms, which often have less resources. After the abolition, smaller firms were given the opportunity to decide which financial services to hire. Something that was described as a structural change, which led to increased responsibility and career opportunities within the accountant consultants’ profession. But what is the reason why accounting consultants are hired by smaller firms who are exempt from mandatory audit? Purpose The purpose with this thesis is to explore why smaller firms, exempted from mandatory audit, choose to hire an accountant consultant and what value these smaller firms perceive that the accountant consultant brings to the organization. Method The study has been conducted through a qualitative method with a deductive approach. All empirical data consist of primary data obtained through semi-structured interviews. Conclusion Smaller firms often lack the knowledge and time required to internally manage the company´s finances. The accountant consultants also save time and indirect money for the smaller firms, which means that their core business can be prioritized. Furthermore, the following keyword appears: mediated seriousness, credibility and perceived safeness, all of which are generated by the company´s accountant consultant.