Syfte: Avsikten med studien är att undersöka relationen mellan CSR och corporate governance, från teori och praktik.     Metod: Med bakgrund av forskningsfrågorna tillämpas den induktiva vägen eftersom vi ser på praktiken, men tolkar teorin utifrån den teorietiska referensramen tillsammans med empirisk data från två företag som undersökningsobjekt, vilket även leder till abduktion. En kvalitativ datainsamling bestående av främst sekundär-, men även primärdata har även genomförts.   Teori: Utgångspunkten ligger i teorierna CSR och corporate governance. För att öka förståelsen för dessa begrepp har teoriavsnittet utökats med angränsande teorier, som till exempel intressentteorin, legitimitetsteorin och triple bottom line.   Empiri: I empirin presenteras Swedbanks och Sveaskogs perspektiv och arbetssätt med CSR tillsammans med en djupintervju med en respondent från Sveaskog, vilket visar på ett välutvecklat engagemang med CSR där etik och miljö är framstående områden.      Slutsatser: Vår studie visar att det föreligger samband mellan CSR och corporate governance, vilket kan tolkas ur flera olika perspektiv. En av dessa kopplingar återfinns i de två fenomens etiska ansvarstagande, när det gäller integritet i affärer och styrelsers implementering av etiska standards. Sambandet mellan CSR och den svenska koden ligger inte i Kodens riktlinjer, utan i dess syfte och mål.  Andra relationer återfinns i förtroendet och det är inom de båda ägarstrukturerna viktigt att visa upp ett starkt CSR-engagemang, eftersom detta bidrar till att skapa en positiv bild av företaget, stärka varumärket samt ge företaget legitimitet inför sina intressenter. Ett vidare intressentperspektiv är tydligt i statligt ägda bolag på grund av statens ägarpolicy, där CSR är en central del för ett föredömligt agerande. När det gäller börsnoterade bolag kan CSR istället användas som ett medel för att övertyga samhället och kapitalmarknaden om det tagna ansvaret för ökad tilltro. / Purpose: The thesis aspires to explore the relationship between CSR and corporate governance from a theoretical towards an experiential approach.   Methodology: With background of the research questions we applied the inductive approach when it comes to the experiential approach, but since we interpreters the theory on the basis of the theoretical perspectives along with two companies, we also used abduction. We have implemented a qualitative survey which is based on both reports and an interview.   Theoretical perspectives: The theoretical perspectives uses CSR and corporate governance as a starting point and is complemented with other related theories such as the stakeholder theory, the legitimacy theory and triple bottom line.    Empirical foundation: Swedbanks and Sveaskogs perspectives and approaches on their CSR-implementation are presented in the empirical foundation along with an interview with one respondent from Sveaskog.    Conclusions: Our study shows that it exist connections between CSR and corporate governance, which can be interpreted from several different perspectives and a number of conclusions can be made. One of these relationships is found in the ethical responsibility, when concerning the integrity in business and implementation of ethical standards. Other relationships are found in the issue of trust and it is, within both ownership structures, important to present an involvement in CSR. This is because it provides stakeholders with a positive image of the company and its trademark, which leads to legitimacy.  A wider stakeholder perspective is found in State owned companies because of the State's ownership policy where CSR is a central part. When it comes to the listed companies CSR can instead be used as a means in order to convince the society and the capital market about the taken responsibility for increased trust. A final conclusion is that the connection between CSR and the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance can not found within its regulations, but rather in its purpose and aspiration.

Bakgrund: Världsekonomin har länge präglats av en linjär ekonomi, ett system som inte är hållbart och ett hot mot en framtida stabil ekonomi. Cirkulär ekonomi har lyfts fram som ett mer hållbart alternativ. Företagen är de som behöver vara drivande för att en omställning från linjär ekonomi till cirkulär ekonomi ska vara möjlig och en del företag har redan idag påbörjat detta arbete genom att implementera en cirkulär affärsmodell i sin verksamhet. En del tidigare forskning visar på ekonomiska fördelar för företag som arbetar med cirkulära affärsmodeller, en del visar på ekonomiska nackdelar. Denna studie vill bidra både teoretiskt och praktiskt genom att studera företags drivkrafter till att styra till en cirkulär affärsmodell och därmed undersöka om det finns andra drivkrafter än ekonomisk lönsamhet.  Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka drivkrafter som motiverat företag till att börja arbeta med cirkulär ekonomi. Genom att studera företagens syn på intäkter och kostnader i samband med att ställa om till en cirkulär ekonomi ämnar studien bidra med bättre förståelse för vilken påverkan ekonomisk lönsamhet har på företags beslut om hur verksamheten ska styras. Syftet är även att undersöka om det finns andra drivkrafter än ekonomisk lönsamhet som påverkar motivationen till att styra till en cirkulär affärsmodell. Då studien ämnar bidra med förståelse för vilka drivkrafter företag har haft till att börja arbeta på detta sätt bör studien vara av intresse för de beslutsfattare som verkar för att företag ska styra sin verksamhet till en cirkulär ekonomi. Metod: För att svara på studiens frågeställning och uppfylla syftet har kvalitativ metod använts i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer med företag som påbörjat sitt arbete med en cirkulär affärsmodell. De teorier som används i studien för att analysera den empiri som samlas in är aktieägarteorin, intressentteorin och självbestämmandeteorin. Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet från de företag som deltagit i studien visar att möjlighet till positiv påverkan på intäkter och kostnader på kort sikt inte haft särskilt stor inverkan på beslutet att styra till en cirkulär affärsmodell. En del arbetar med cirkulär ekonomi trots att de i dagsläget ser negativ ekonomisk påverkan av det, att kortsiktigt öka vinsten tycks inte varit vad som motiverat till att styra mot en cirkulär affärsmodell. Det som snarare tycks motivera företagen är att en cirkulär affärsmodell hjälper dem leva upp till svensk lagstiftning och ökade miljökrav, samt att det finns en vilja att minska sin klimatpåverkan. Förutom detta framkommer det att kundernas och marknadens efterfrågan på miljövänliga alternativ är något som i stor utsträckning motiverat företagen att arbeta för en cirkulär ekonomi. Resultatet går till viss del i linje med tidigare forskning. Det som skiljer sig är att lagar och miljökrav samt miljöintresse är mer framträdande än tidigare forskning visat. Det vore därför intressant att i vidare studier undersöka drivkrafter till cirkulära affärsmodeller utifrån institutionell teori. Det vore även intressant att studera skillnader vid en jämförelse mellan små, medelstora och stora företag eller börsnoterade och onoterade företag. / Background: For a long time, the world economy has been built on a linear economy, a system that is not sustainable and a threat to a sustainable future economy. A circular economy has been raised as a more sustainable alternative. It has been brought forward that the firms will have to lead the work towards a circular economy for the transition from a linear economy to a circular economy to be possible, and some firms have already started this work by implementing a circular business model. Some previous studies have shown that a circular business model generates economic benefits, some have shown economic disadvantages. This study aims to give theoretical and practical contributions by studying the drivers that has determined companies to implement a circular business model, and thereby examine if there are other drivers than economic profitability. Purpose: The aim of the study is to explore which drivers have motivated firms to start working towards a circular economy. By studying the firm’s view on revenues and costs in conjunction with their work for a circular economy the study aims to contribute with knowledge regarding to which extent economic profitability has an impact on the decision to change the business model. An additional aim with the study is to explore if there are other drivers that has had an impact on the motivation to direct the business towards a circular business model. Since the study aims to contribute with understanding regarding which drivers that have motivated firms to work this way, the study should be of interest for decision makers who want firms to start working towards a circular economy. Method: To answer the research question, and to achieve the purpose of the study, a qualitative method has been used by conducting semi-structured interviews with firms which are working with a circular business model. The theories that have been used to analyse the empirical data are the shareholder theory, the stakeholder theory and the self-determination theory. Result and conclusion: The result shows that the opportunity to have a positive impact on revenues and costs in the short term has not had an impact on the decision to direct the business towards a circular business model for most of the companies that have been a part of this study. Some of them work toward a circular economy even though it currently has a negative impact on their profit. Economic profitability in the short term does not seem to have been what has motivated them into directing the business towards a circular business model. It seems that they would rather have been motivated to work with a circular business model because they need to follow environmental regulations and live up to certain environmental requirements in procurement, together with a will to lower their impact on the environment. Besides this it appears that the demand for environmentally friendly products from the company's customers and the market in general is something that has motivated the companies to work towards a circular economy. The results comply with earlier studies to some extent. Differences are that drivers in terms of laws and environmental requirement in procurement are mentioned more in this study than in earlier studies. For further studies it would therefore be interesting to study drivers for a circular economy using institutional theory. It would also be interesting to study differences between drivers for small, medium and large companies, or differences between listed and unlisted firms.

<p>Syfte: Avsikten med studien är att undersöka relationen mellan CSR och corporate governance, från teori och praktik.  </p><p> </p><p>Metod: Med bakgrund av forskningsfrågorna tillämpas den induktiva vägen eftersom vi ser på praktiken, men tolkar teorin utifrån den teorietiska referensramen tillsammans med empirisk data från två företag som undersökningsobjekt, vilket även leder till abduktion. En kvalitativ datainsamling bestående av främst sekundär-, men även primärdata har även genomförts.</p><p> </p><p>Teori: Utgångspunkten ligger i teorierna CSR och corporate governance. För att öka förståelsen för dessa begrepp har teoriavsnittet utökats med angränsande teorier, som till exempel intressentteorin, legitimitetsteorin och triple bottom line.</p><p> </p><p>Empiri: I empirin presenteras Swedbanks och Sveaskogs perspektiv och arbetssätt med CSR tillsammans med en djupintervju med en respondent från Sveaskog, vilket visar på ett välutvecklat engagemang med CSR där etik och miljö är framstående områden.   </p><p> </p><p>Slutsatser: Vår studie visar att det föreligger samband mellan CSR och corporate governance, vilket kan tolkas ur flera olika perspektiv. En av dessa kopplingar återfinns i de två fenomens etiska ansvarstagande, när det gäller integritet i affärer och styrelsers implementering av etiska standards. Sambandet mellan CSR och den svenska koden ligger inte i Kodens riktlinjer, utan i dess syfte och mål.  Andra relationer återfinns i förtroendet och det är inom de båda ägarstrukturerna viktigt att visa upp ett starkt CSR-engagemang, eftersom detta bidrar till att skapa en positiv bild av företaget, stärka varumärket samt ge företaget legitimitet inför sina intressenter. Ett vidare intressentperspektiv är tydligt i statligt ägda bolag på grund av statens ägarpolicy, där CSR är en central del för ett föredömligt agerande. När det gäller börsnoterade bolag kan CSR istället användas som ett medel för att övertyga samhället och kapitalmarknaden om det tagna ansvaret för ökad tilltro. </p><p> </p> / <p>Purpose: The thesis aspires to explore the relationship between CSR and corporate governance from a theoretical towards an experiential approach.</p><p> </p><p>Methodology: With background of the research questions we applied the inductive approach when it comes to the experiential approach, but since we interpreters the theory on the basis of the theoretical perspectives along with two companies, we also used abduction. We have implemented a qualitative survey which is based on both reports and an interview.</p><p> </p><p>Theoretical perspectives: The theoretical perspectives uses CSR and corporate governance as a starting point and is complemented with other related theories such as the stakeholder theory, the legitimacy theory and triple bottom line. </p><p> </p><p>Empirical foundation: Swedbanks and Sveaskogs perspectives and approaches on their CSR-implementation are presented in the empirical foundation along with an interview with one respondent from Sveaskog. </p><p> </p><p>Conclusions: Our study shows that it exist connections between CSR and corporate governance, which can be interpreted from several different perspectives and a number of conclusions can be made. One of these relationships is found in the ethical responsibility, when concerning the integrity in business and implementation of ethical standards. Other relationships are found in the issue of trust and it is, within both ownership structures, important to present an involvement in CSR. This is because it provides stakeholders with a positive image of the company and its trademark, which leads to legitimacy.  A wider stakeholder perspective is found in State owned companies because of the State's ownership policy where CSR is a central part. When it comes to the listed companies CSR can instead be used as a means in order to convince the society and the capital market about the taken responsibility for increased trust. A final conclusion is that the connection between CSR and the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance can not found within its regulations, but rather in its purpose and aspiration.</p>

Companies are expected to be good corporate citizens and fulfil expectations of both shareholders and stakeholders. Depending on their corporate objectives, companies undertake different CSR activities using their preferred financial resources. The relationship between these two notions is interesting to investigate in the Nordic context since companies in this geographical area are the global leaders in sustainability. We formulate the following research question as: What is the relationship between financial slack and the CSR performance in Nordic countries? As such, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate the underpinnings of whether companies choose to allocate their financial slack resources towards improving performance of CSR, or so called value creation. Doing so, we investigate the relationship between financial slack resources and CSR score. In adopting a regulatory position on the development of society, we conduct our research in accordance with the functionalist research paradigm, namely through commitment to the objectivist ontic and positivist epistemic research philosophies. We answer the research question using the deductive approach. Our research design is framed with an explanatory purpose relying on archival strategy to perform a quantitative study. The theoretical underpinnings for analysis comes in the form of legitimacy theory, the institutional differences hypothesis, Resource-based theory, slack resources theory, stakeholder and shareholder theory. We use multiple linear regressions to analyse cross-sectional data for the period between 2005 and 2015 collected from Thomson Reuters DataStream. Our result indicates that the relationship between financial slack and CSR performance in the following year is mixed with both positive and negative relationships being present. Our most important finding is a pattern indicating that during the year 2008 the relationship changed from being positive to negative. This implies that the more funds a company has at its discretion, the less likely it is for them to invest it in developing their CSR performance the following year. This could have severe negative implications on shareholders, stakeholders and society.

Multi-club ownership [MCO] is a concept within the football industry which entails that an owner holds significant stakes in multiple teams. This ownership strategy is not new, however, what are the driving forces of this type of ownership structure and what are the outcomes? The purpose of this study was to explore potential drivers of MCO, to irradiate the concept and determine whether traditional business administration theories can be applied to explain its existence. The main theoretical framework is based upon the shareholder theory and resource-based view of the firm with supplementary reasoning collected from other relevant theories. The study encompasses five seasons and consisted of the teams competing in the top two divisions in the English Football League system. The quantitative study covered six hypotheses and deployed both Two sample t-tests and regression models which sought to measure international player trading activity, sporting performance and financial performance. The results of the study show that multi-club portfolio members [MCPMs] tend to trade a larger share of players internationally compared to Non-MCPMs. However, the other models yielded no significant results in regard to MCPMs, although, value creation through the strategy cannot be disregarded as it may be present through other channels. The wider footballing industry has been studied extensively in previous literature. However, this study is focused on MCO, a topic that lacks a previous body of research. By filling this research gap the authors hope to illuminate the concept and increase transparency for both decision makers (owners of clubs) and supporters of clubs. In addition, a survey which is not empirically tested was conducted in order to help guide the proceedings of the research.

Hållbarhetsarbete har erhållit ett ökat intresse de senaste åren och har blivit en allt mer viktig del i företagens arbete. För att mäta hur väl ett företag arbetar hållbart så har ESG-betyget utvecklats vilket konkretiserar och kvantifierar företagens hållbarhetsarbete utifrån tre faktorer, miljömässig hållbarhet, socialt ansvarstagande och bolagsstyrning. Genom den ökade exponeringen av hållbarhet har även investerare börjat ta ställning till hållbarhetsfrågor i sina investeringsbeslut. Denna studentuppsats ämnar undersöka sambandet mellan svenska företags ESG-betyg och dess marknadsvärdering för att kartlägga om investerare anser hållbarhetsarbete som något värdeskapande eller värdesänkande. Sekundärt kommer de tre delarna av ESG-betyget, nämligen miljö, socialt ansvarstagande och bolagsstyrning, att individuellt studeras för att finna ut om någon del av betyget har ett starkare samband med marknadsvärdering än de andra. Företagen som undersöks i studien  är svenska börsnoterade aktiebolag som kvalificerat sig in på Large Cap-listan på Nasdaq Stockholm. Vidare behöver bolagen även ha betygsatts genom ESG-betyg från Thomson Reuters Eikon. Tidsperioden som studeras är 2016-2020. För att studera det eventuella sambandet mellan företagens marknadsvärdering och dess ESG-betyg tar studien avstamp i tidigare studier inom området. Baserat på dessa formuleras en första regressionsmodell och statistiska hypoteser som kommer testas genom regressionsanalys. Resultatet som erhålls genom den slutgiltiga regressionsanalysen är att ESG-betyg och marknadsvärdering har ett svagt positivt samband samt att bolagsstyrning har ett starkt positivt samband med värderingen. Gällande betyg för miljö och socialt ansvarstagande kunde inte något signifikant samband till marknadsvärderingen påvisas. De redovisade resultaten kommer slutligen att diskuteras utifrån ett teoretiskt perspektiv där kopplingar görs till tidigare forskning inom ämnet. Vidare kommer aktieägarteorin, intressentmodellen och effektiva marknadshypotesen ligga till grund för analys av studiens resultat, såväl som diskussionen. För att kunna använda resultatet bortom teorin kommer även praktiska implikationer av uppsatsen att diskuteras.

Previous literature often argues that acquisitions are used as a tool for growth, and the value creation derives from the combination of businesses through synergy effects and the economies of scale. In the same academical and theoretical context, there is often a discussion on growth with a more organically approach, where the value comes throughresource utilization and internal efficiency. There is a broad range of research in the area,focusing on the impact of different types of growth strategies. More emphasis has been on inorganic growth. Hence, is there a superior combination of both, and how will each strategy impact the value creation for different types of stakeholders through internal and external efficiency. Previous results are not always harmonious regarding the relationship between the two growth strategies and the efficiency of a company. This study has focused on examining the relationship with a broad range of industries using accounting measures to answer the research question: What are the effects of organic and inorganic growth on operating efficiency and bargaining power? For the thesis, panel data analysis has been used which includes 8675 specific firm-year observed values from companies that is publicly listed in Sweden. The collected archival data has been tested through OLS regressions with fixed effects. Throughout the thesis and conducted research, a positivist paradigm has been used under a deductive approach. Emphasis is placed on previous literature and studies for more accurate statistical results. Further contributions to theoretical literature and the scientific research community have been added. This thesis has been analyzing empirical results using Resource-based view along with the Stakeholder- and Shareholder theory. With the conclusion that there is a significant relationship between organic growth and operating efficiency. On the other hand, it cannot be concluded that there is a relationship between inorganic growth and bargaining power. In addition, the relationship between growth strategy and efficiency measures will depend on which industry the company operates in.

Previous scholars have viewed expenditures on ESG (environmental, social, governance) in two distinct ways. In one way, it has been viewed as wasteful if it does not directly contribute to the business. The other perspective being that by addressing ESG-issues, one can improve businesses by improving society. In recent times, ESG has become an increasingly common topic due to the increased awareness and debates regarding the environment and sustainability. The increased attention toward ESG issues has resulted in increased ESG reporting by firms. As a result, shareholders and stakeholders can address more of their concerns by knowing how ESG-friendly a firm is. With the increased attention given to ESG in recent years, its actual effects on a firm becomes increasingly interesting. The relationship between ESG and firm performance and the relationship between ESG and stock return has been studied by several researchers over the years. The different studies have come to different conclusions regarding these relationships and the relationships are still inconsistent. In this paper, the relationship between ESG-scores and firm performance, as well as ESG-scores and stock returns in Swedish large-cap firms is examined. This study aims to investigate the relationship between ESG-scores and firm performance and the relationship between ESG-scores and stock returns. Furthermore, the study measures firm performance by measuring total asset turnover, net profit margin, and operating profit margin. Stock returns are measured with the use of historical yearly stock returns. The relationships are investigated with regression analysis. This study has a quantitative approach, where secondary data between the years 2016-2020 has been extracted from the database Refinitiv Eikon. The study finds that the relationship between ESG-scores and total asset turnover is negative, meaning that increased ESG-scores result in less efficient use of assets. The relationship between ESG-score and net profit margin is insignificant, and no conclusion can be drawn from that relationship. The relationship between ESG-scores and operating profit margin is positive, meaning that customers are willing to pay more for a firm's sustainable practices. The relationship between ESG-scores and stock returns is insignificantly negative; thus, we cannot draw any conclusions regarding the relationship, but it could indicate that ESG-scores are accounted for in the stock price.

The increased interest in sustainability issues in recent years due to climate change has led to an increased interest among capital investors to invest more sustainably. In addition, there has been an increased interest among stakeholders, regulators and citizens to know more about the positive impact of sustainability reporting on business results. Sustainable investments are often followed by high costs, which makes it interesting from an investor perspective to investigate whether this investment can have a positive impact on a firm's financial result. Among the sectors that play a major role in sustainability investment is the real estate sector, as buildings currently account for 36 percent of CO2 emissions and 40 percent of energy consumption in the EU. Therefore, it is interesting to investigate how sustainability performance affects real estate firm performance. In this study, sustainability performance is measured using ESG scores while company performance is represented by ROA, ROE and Tobin's Q. Several regression analyses have been conducted using data from Eikon on real estate companies from 15 European countries. In addition to the overall ESG scores, the various ESG pillars were examined separately. The data analysis provides evidence of a positive significant impact of the overall ESG result on all three performance measures. Furthermore, we find that environmental disclosure has a positive impact on ROE and Tobin's Q, social disclosure has a positive effect on ROA and ROE and Governance disclosure has a positive effect on Tobin's Q. By applying these results to the shareholder- and the stakeholder theory, we can conclude that our study provides limited support for the stakeholder theory as most of our hypotheses are supported. This implies that the positive impact of sustainability investments on firm performance can lead to value creation for all stakeholders, not just the shareholders. / De senaste åren har vi sett ett ökat intresse för hållbarhetsfrågor vilket kan kopplas till klimatförändringarna. Detta har i sin tur drivit på intresset bland kapitalplacerare att investera mer hållbart. Parallellt med detta har intressenter, tillsynsmyndigheter och medborgare ökat sitt intresse för kopplingen mellan hållbarhet och finansiella resultat. Investeringar i hållbarhet medför ofta högre kostnader vilket gör det intressant ur ett investerarperspektiv att undersöka om det kan ha en positiv inverkan på ett det ekonomiska resultatet. Fastighetssektorn innehar en nyckelroll i omställningen till ett mer hållbart samhälle då byggnader ansvarar för 36 procent av CO2-utsläppen och 40 procent av energiförbrukningen inom EU. Givet denna nyckelroll och det kostsamma arbete som ligger framför fastighetssektorn är det således intressant att undersöka hur hållbarhetsarbete påverkar fastighetsbolagens finansiella resultat. I denna studie mäts fastighetsbolagens prestationer inom hållbarhet med hjälp av ESG-poängmedan det finansiella resultatet representeras av ROA, ROE och Tobins Q. Flertalet regressionsanalyser har utförts på data hämtad från databasen Eikon. Urvalet består av 111 fastighetsbolag från 15 olika länder inom Europa. Utöver den övergripande ESG-poängen undersöktes även de olika ESG-pelarna separat. Dataanalysen visar på en positiv signifikant inverkan av det övergripande ESG-resultatet på alla tre prestationsmätningar ROA, ROE och Tobin’s Q. Vidare finner vi att miljöpelaren (E) har en positiv inverkan på ROE och Tobins Q, den sociala pelaren (S) har en positiv effekt på ROA och ROE och ägarstyrning (G) har en positiv effekt på Tobins Q. Genom att analysera dessa resultat med hjälp av aktieägar- och intressentteorin kan vi dra slutsatsen att vår studie ger begränsat stöd för intressentteorin då en majoritet av våra hypoteser stöds. Detta betyder att investeringar i hållbarhet kan resultera i värdeskapande för fler intressenter än enbart aktieägarna.

During the period of 2013-2022, there have been many interesting developments in the football industry in Europe. From accumulation of debt to disregarding the regulatory framework put in place by UEFA, football clubs have changed their capital structures to accommodate their financing needs. There has been previous research that has found a relationship between ownership structure and financial performance, but none that has explored how ownership structure affects debt and liquidity given current circumstances. The scope of this study was to ultimately determine how the capital structure and the liquidity is affected. This is a broad topic and the authors have covered several aspects within the field. However, there have been suggestions on further research regarding how one could go about valuating a football club as most of the football clubs in Europe have private ownership structures. In the end, the sample consists of 8,588 firm-year observations and adapts a longitudinal methodology. The tests carried out consist of OLS regressions as well as a multivariate regression. To be able to compare the different ownership structures, several regressions were made to put each ownership structure as the reference group. The authors of this thesis found that ownership affects debt and liquidity both individually and collectively. Therefore, answering the research question “What is the effect of ownership structure of football clubs in Europe on debt and liquidity?”. Football clubs in Europe have experienced low profitability, but rather high liquidity. The capital structures of said football clubs contain more debt than equity, where equity is negative in some cases. By comparing ownership structures, their effects on both debt and liquidity differentiate. This thesis contributes to already existing literature by contradicting Modigliani and Millers' assumption regarding bankruptcy costs. It also contributes practically to managers, investors, stakeholders, and regulators by providing context to different key financial metrics.