The purpose of this research study is to explore how decision-makers at Born Global enterprises form their strategies during the pre-internationalisation phase. In this study the researcher has combined theories from two academic fields, namely the strategic management field and the international entrepreneurship field. The main theories inherent in the study are: the strategic lenses and the strategic schools of thought (theories that belong to the strategic management field) and Born Global (theory that belongs to the international entrepreneurship field). These recently mentioned theories has been combined, leading to a depiction of a general theoretical framework, illustrating for how the researcher has made use of the chosen theories in the study. In order to fulfil the study’s aim, the researcher has conducted a qualitative and multiple-case study, where seven different case companies (Algoryx Simulation AB, CodeMill AB, COS Systems AB, North Kingdom Design & Communication AB, Oryx Simulations AB, Prediktera AB and Xore AB) from a peripheral area of northern Sweden (Umeå and Skellefteå) have been investigated through semistructured interviews. After performing the seven interviews, the obtained empirical data has been analysed by using the analysis strategy theoretical propositions and the analytical technique of cross-case analysis. From this study, the researcher has found out that in the pre-internationalisation phase decision-makers at Born Global enterprises form their strategies in accordance with the configuration school, where these individuals alternates by different strategic making procedures along the process. This in turn implies that these individuals make use of a mixture of proactive and reactive strategy making procedures along the process, where the character of the strategy is determined by their respective applied procedures. Moreover, the research findings have showed that the selection of strategy making procedures is highly dependent on the company’s context. Additionally, the research findings indicated that legitimate key individuals such as the company’s founder/-s or entrepreneur/-s are highly involved and influential in the companies’ strategy-making process during the pre-internationalisation phase.

The master's thesis deals with the issue of the strategy-making process and the development of the strategic planning cycle in sports organizations. The purpose of this thesis is to provide a qualitative study of how managers of the hockeyball club SK Suchdol nad Lužnicí are working with the strategy within the whole strategic planning cycle. The aim of this thesis is to point out the differences between theory and practice and to offer some recommendations for the improvement of the efficiency of the strategy-making process in the above mentioned club. The theoretical part of this thesis is concerned with the research and the synthesis of the contemporary Czech and foreign literature related to the strategy, strategic planning cycle and its perception in the sports environment. The practical part of this thesis deals with the analysis of the strategy-making process in the hockeyball club SK Suchdol nad Lužnicí. This analysis is executed by the qualitative method, i. e. by personal interviews with the individual members of the club, who are participating in the strategy-making process and working within the strategic planning cycle. To conclude this thesis, specific outputs are generated, which are based on a comparison of the obtained information with the theory. These outputs can serve as recommendations for the improvement of the efficiency of the strategy-making process, both for managers of the analysed sports club, as well as for other executives and managers of similar sports organizations.

Understanding managerial behavior and its underlying motivations is of key interest in times where the role of business in society is generally viewed critically. While CEO influence on strategy making processes is almost undisputed, little attention has explicitly been paid to how CEO values and the characteristics of the top management team (TMT) interact in shaping corporate strategy making. This is surprising if one follows the assumption that top managers who work closely together will by necessity influence each other's actions. Hence, we would expect the CEO-TMT interface to be vital in understanding how leadership influences strategy making. To address this, we propose a model in which the personal values of the CEO have a direct effect on the characteristics of corporate strategy making processes yet where this association is moderated by TMT diversity. We test the model with data from Austria and Germany obtained through a large-scale survey conducted in spring 2015 and a follow-up survey conducted in fall 2015 and find general support for our model. CEO values geared towards self-transcendence (as opposed to selfinterest) seem to be associated with more formal strategy making processes, while values geared towards openness to change (as opposed to conservation) are found to be associated with more flexible and less externally open ones. TMT diversity moderates all of these relationships. Our results add to upper echelon theory as well as to strategy process research and highlight promising avenues for future research.