Purpose: The purpose of this essay to describe why such a low proportion of women is working in the IT-industry.  Method: The essay processes why such a low proportion of women is in the IT-industry with a deductive approach. The data collection has taken place through qualitative semi-structured interviews.  Conclusion: The study has shown that the women in the IT-industry are treated differently compared to the men. The culture in the industry is characterized by the man as the norm, which leads to difficulties and challenges for the women. It also leads to that woman do not consider a career in the IT-industry Key words: IT-industry, tech-industry, women, male-dominated industries, work culture.

Purpose - The aim of this study is to bridge the gap regarding digital transformation challenges and common pitfalls for low-tech SMEs. In doing so, we provide a framework presenting common pitfalls in digital transformations for low-tech SMEs and five mitigation strategies to aid in avoiding them and thus, enabling a higher success rate of digital transformations. Method - To answer the research questions, a thematic analysis was conducted based on data collected through three waves of semi-structured interviews. In total, 17 interviews were held with informants such as industry experts, the case company, and low-tech SMEs that had already successfully performed a digital transformation. Findings - The analysis resulted in 22 common pitfalls within four areas: Strategy, digital maturity, resources, and resistance to change. These built the foundation of the five mitigating strategies: Create mutual goals, break down changes into steps, spread the competence, change to improvement, and prioritize business development. Theoretical contribution - This study adds to existing literature by identifying the low-tech perspective of a digital transformation and presenting that SMEs’ difficulties are closely related to their size, lacking digital maturity, and an absence of transformational strategies. Furthermore, our findings enhance previous studies in suggesting a shift in perspective where digital transformation should be viewed as a business development method rather than only a change of the daily processes. Practical implications - This study maps out key risks and common pitfalls for managers in low-tech SMEs about to perform a digital transformation. Moreover, five mitigation strategies are presented aiming to aid organizations in their strategic work. Limitations of the study - The research has focused on one low-tech SME in the automotive industry. Data collection focused on gathering depth rather than quantifying findings, and thus, the generalizability might be limited. Future studies could benefit from validating the findings in another industrial context. / Syfte - Målsättningen med denna studie är att minska gapet gällande utmaningar vid digitala transformationer och addressera vanliga fallgropar för lågteknologiska SMEs. Därigenom presenterar vi ett ramverk som kartlägger vanliga fallgropar vid digitala transformation för lågteknologiska SMEs samt fem förebyggande strategier för att undvika fallgropar. Därmed bidrar studien till att bolag ökar sina chanser att lyckas med sin digitala transformation. Metod - För att besvara forskningsfrågan har en tematisk analys används på data från tre vågor av intervjuer. Totalt genomfördes 17 intervjuer med informanter som exempelvis industriexperter, case-företaget och lågteknologiska SMEs som redan lyckats med sin digitala transformation. Upptäckter - Analysen resulterade i 22 vanliga fallgropar inom fyra områden: Strategi, digital mognad, resurser samt förändringsmotstånd. Dessa utgjorde grunden för de fem förebyggande strategierna: Skapa en gemensam målbild, genomför förändring stegvis, sprid kunskap, gå från förändring till förbättring samt prioritera affärsutveckling. Teoretiskt bidrag - Denna studie bygger vidare på existerande litteratur genom att identifiera ett lågteknologiskt perspektiv för digitala transformationer och presenterar att SMEs problem är nära besläktade med deras storlek, bristande digital mognad samt avsaknad av strategi för digitala transformationer. Vidare har resultatet byggt på tidigare studiers bidrag om att föreslå ett perspektivskifte där digitala transformationer bör ses som affärsutveckling snarare än bara en förändring i de dagliga processerna. Praktiskt bidrag - Studien kartlägger kritiska risker och vanliga fallgropar för ledare i lågteknologiska SMEs inför genomförandet av en digital transformation. Vidare har fem förebyggande strategier presenterats med målet att hjälpa organisationer i deras strategiska arbete. Studiens begränsningar - Studien har fokuserat på ett lågteknologiskt SME i bilindustrin. Datainsamlingen fokuserade på att nå djup snarare än kvantifiering av fynd och därför kan generaliserbarheten vara begränsad. Framtida studier skulle med fördel kunna validera resultatet i en annan industriell kontext.

Technology is trying to make life easier for students today. Digitized study materi-als or online courses are just a small example of what modern era enable students. This thesis deals with technological impact on academic dishonesty. It points to the hi-tech sector of the Czech Republic, to the technology market that allows unethical behavior and to the use of these technologies by students. This thesis answers questions about who is a cheating student, how he cheats and what motivates him to do so. These are predominantly students aged 21-23, in the second year full-time study, with good financial situation. Gender or field of studies does not influ-ence the unethical behavior of the student. The thesis outlines recommendations that schools could take to prevent students from academic dishonesty. As unethical behavior begins in schools but should continue in the working environment, the thesis also points to possible solutions for employers who are not interested in unethically acting employees.

Walden University College of Management and Technology This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by Anthony Okafor has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Mohammad Sharifzadeh, Committee Chairperson, Management Faculty Dr. Javier Fadul, Committee Member, Management Faculty Dr. Craig Barton, University Reviewer, Management Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.D. Walden University 2018 Valuing high-tech startups using traditional valuation models has continued to pose valuation challenges to entrepreneurs, investors as well as financial analysts. The complications in valuing startups are heightened by the variations in valuation methodologies and the absence of operational data. Identifying the appropriate methodology for valuing startups is crucial to establishing value and a prerequisite for accessing funding through mergers or acquisitions. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of valuation methods on the likelihood of mergers and acquisitions of high-tech startup organizations in the Nigerian capital market. The theoretical underpinning of this study is rooted in valuation theory and mergers and acquisitions theories. The extent to which valuation methods impact the likelihood of securing funds through mergers and acquisitions was the overarching research question. Random sampling was used to obtain records of valuation methods and mergers and acquisitions that occurred between 2006 and 2016 from companies in the high-tech sector. A binary logistic regression model was used to test the impact of valuation methods on the likelihood of mergers and acquisitions of high-tech startups. The impact of valuation methods on the likelihood of mergers and acquisitions was found to be not statistically significant. The participants indicated a preference for specific valuation methods during negotiations for mergers and acquisitions. The findings have implications for positive social change via a reduction in the unemployment rate by encouraging startups with their innovation and entrepreneurship. This should help to facilitate the emergence of sound valuation methods for valuing high-tech startups in the Nigerian capital market.

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This paper investigates the strategic framing approaches implemented by tech entrepreneurs in developing economies to attract financing from venture capital (VC) firms in developed economies. The study addresses the limited research in the field of entrepreneurship, specifically focusing on entrepreneurs’ subjective perspectives on strategically framing their startups to secure VC investment from developed economies. Additionally, it aims to make an initial contribution by exploring how these tech entrepreneurs in developing economies strategically frame their start-ups to attract VC funding from developed economies. The research methodology involves conducting semi-structured interviews with tech entrepreneurs who have successfully attracted VC financing through strategic framing.By analysing the interview data, we dive into the strategic framing approaches utilized by these tech entrepreneurs, with a particular emphasis on entrepreneurs in Kenya as the sample case, to secure financing from VC firms in developed economies. The insights shared by the interviewed tech founders highlight the crucial factors they strategically consider when framing their startups to attract VC financing. This strategic framing process involves extensive research, multiple iterations of pitch decks, metrics, and legal frameworks for a startup to raise VC financing. This study provides valuable insights into how entrepreneurs strive to understand venture capitalists’ perceptions of the Kenyan tech startup landscape and the criteria VC firms seek prior to making investments. Such knowledge empowers startup founders to position themselves strongly in terms of financial opportunities during the scaling and shaping phases of their tech startups. It is important to note that this study focuses on a small group of tech entrepreneurs in Kenya and may not capture potential industry, cultural, geographical, and personal variations. Nevertheless, it represents an initial attempt to explore the framing strategies of these startups when raising VC investments.

Purpose - This study provides an updated understanding of effectuation in the new tech start up era of social commerce; specifically, it answered two questions: (1) How does a social commerce startup entrepreneur make decisions? (2) Why is it successful so far? Importance - It aims to contribute to the academic research on social commerce startup education. Methodology - Using a single case in-depth study, followed closely by the theory of effectuation in comparison with causation, to determine the behaviors of the observed. Limitation - The analysis provides detailed insight into these perspectives and suggestions for future research. Further studies on startup companies backed up with different sources and examinations on several startups together over a longer period of time are recommended to draw comparisons. Keywords - Effectuation in Entrepreneurship, tech startups, social media, social commerce, Berlin

Leader self-development is promoted as an alternative approach to leadership development within organizations. Fast-growing organizations especially benefit from the self- development activities of leaders. The tech industry is a sector that grows rapidly and thus offers an interesting context for this study. Moreover, practical perspectives on leader self- development are lacking in the current literature. Therefore, the objective of this thesis was to include a perspective on self-development activities from the leader’s standpoint and examine how the organizational setting related to these activities. The related theories were deduced from the literature and empirically examined by 11 semi-structured interviews. These interviews were conducted with managerial leaders in hierarchical organizations from the tech industry in Germany and the Netherlands. The findings showed that the “self” is limited in self-development activities. Leaders cannot practice self-development in complete isolation from the organizational setting. Instead, leaders are reliant on external factors and are intricately interconnected with their environment whereas the organization drives the intentional self-development activities of the leaders. A dynamic between the individual and the organization was revealed, as leaders are not only influenced by the supportive or hindering factors in their surroundings but also actively contribute to shaping the context. Furthermore, a distinction can be observed within the practice between experienced and less experienced leaders, with the former assuming the organizational responsibility of developing the latter. This thesis, therefore, provides a new perspective on intentional self-development activities and encourages to start a new discussion regarding self-development.

Secure email systems that use end-to-end encryption are the best method we have for ensuring user privacy and security in email communication. However, the adoption of secure email remains low, with previous studies suggesting mainly that secure email is too complex or inconvenient to use. However, the perspectives of those who have, in fact, chosen to use an encrypted email system are largely overlooked. To understand these perspectives, we conducted a semi-structured interview study that aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the mindsets underlying adoption and use of secure email services. Our participants come from a variety of countries and vary in the amount of time they have been using secure email, how often they use it, and whether they use it as their primary account. Our results uncover that a defining reason for adopting a secure email system is to avoid surveillance from big tech companies. However, regardless of the complexity and accuracy of a person's mental model, our participants rarely send and receive encrypted emails, thus not making full use of the privacy they could obtain. These findings indicate that secure email systems could potentially find greater adoption by appealing to their privacy advantages, but privacy gains will be limited until a critical mass are able to join these systems and easily send encrypted emails to each other.