Inland waters are important systems for transforming, storing and transporting carbon along the aquatic continuum, but also by emitting carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) to the atmosphere. In light of the last decades observed increase in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in many inland waters across the northern hemisphere, a logical question arise whether other aquatic carbon species display similar trends. This study examined the measured concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in a boreal catchment over a 14-year period. The objectives were to determine changes in DIC concentration over time and try to explain the causes for the observed changes. Data from 15 mostly forested sub-catchments were analyzed, both over the full time period, and grouped by season. Over the full 14-year period, only two of the sites exhibited significant trends in DIC concentration, both being negative. However, by seasonally grouping the data distinct patterns for the different seasons emerged. The autumn and winter data displayed no significant trends, whereas the spring flood data showed significant negative trends for almost all sites (14 out of 15). The summer data showed significant negative trends for seven sites, and positive for one site. The DIC concentration data were expectedly positively correlated with pH across most sites (13 out of 15). The correlation with DOC was negative for most sites (11 out of 15), possibly indicating different origins of the different carbon species. The DIC concentration was also negatively correlated with discharge for most sites (13 out of 15), suggesting a diluting effect with increased discharge. In conclusion, significant negative trends were observed during the spring flood and summer periods. Although the cause of these trends will require further investigation, the correlation analysis showed that the DIC concentration was closely related to the catchment hydrology. This suggests changes in terrestrial source areas where DIC is mobilized during spring and summer, and that these changes might continue during altered hydrometeorological conditions. The differences in DIC trends between sub-catchments further show the variability of the boreal landscape and highlight the need for local-scale process understanding when scaling to larger landscape units. We further conclude that trends in DIC concentration do not follow observed DOC changes over time, suggesting that DIC and DOC exports are mechanistically decoupled.

Athletes who merit the title ‘elite’ are rare and differ both quantitatively and qualitatively from athletes of lower qualifications. Serving and studying elite athletes may demand non-traditional approaches. Research involving elite athletes suffers because of the typical nomothetic requirements for large sample sizes and other statistical assumptions that do not apply to this population. Ideographic research uses single-athlete study designs, trend analyses, and statistical process control. Single-athlete designs seek to measure differences in repeated measurements under prescribed conditions, and trend analyses may permit systematic monitoring and prediction of future outcomes. Statistical process control uses control charting and other methods from management systems to assess and modify training processes in near real-time. These methods bring assessment and process control into the real world of elite athletics.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering / Stacy L. Hutchinson / Precipitation impacts hydrologic structures, agricultural production, water resources management, and recreational activities, all of which significantly affect a state’s economy. Water control structure design is based on the maximum runoff rate resulting from storms with a specific return period and duration. The Rainfall Frequency Atlas (National Weather Service Technical Paper 40, 1961) (TP-40) provided statistical rainfall analysis as the basis for hydrologic structure design until the information was updated for Kansas in February 2013 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Atlas 14, volume 8) (Atlas-14). With growing concern about the effects of global climate change and predictions of more precipitation and extreme weather events, it is necessary to explore rainfall distribution patterns using the most current and complete data available. In this work, the changes in rainfall patterns were studied using the daily rainfall data from 23 stations in Kansas and 15 stations from adjacent states with daily rainfall data of 1890 through 2012. Analysis showed an increase in extreme precipitation events in Kansas with increase in magnitude from the northwest to southeast part of the state. A comparison of results of the TP-40 analysis to period 1980–2009, showed that approximately 84% of the state had an increase in short-term rainfall event magnitudes. In addition, trend analyzes on the total annual rainfall indicated a gradual increase at 21 out of 23 stations, including eight statistically significant trends. A change-point analysis detected a significant sudden change at twelve stations as early as 1940 and as recently as 1980. The increasing trend, particularly after the significant change-points, is useful in updating water management plans and can assist with agricultural production decisions such as crop selection and new plant variety development. A comparison between 10-yr, 24-hr storms from TP-40 and Atlas-14 indicated a change of -12% to 5% in Kansas. However, the number of exceedances from the 10-yr, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 7-, and 10-day storms demonstrated a tendency towards more exceedances, particularly in the last five decades. Results of this study are useful for hydrologic structure design and water resources management in order to prevent accepting additional risk of failure because of the current changing climate.

The supply of non-physician clinicians (NPCs), such as physician assistant (PAs), could significantly influence demand requirements in medical workforce projections. This study predicts supply of and demand for PAs from 2006 to 2020. The PA supply model utilized the number of certified PAs, the educational capacity (at 10% and 25% expansion) with assumed attrition rates, and retirement assumptions. Gross domestic product (GDP) chained in 2000 dollar and US population were utilized in a transfer function trend analyses with the number of PAs as the dependent variable for the PA demand model. Historical analyses revealed strong correlations between GDP and US population with the number of PAs. The number of currently certified PAs represents approximately 75% of the projected demand. At 10% growth, the supply and demand equilibrium for PAs will be reached in 2012. A 25% increase in new entrants causes equilibrium to be met one year earlier. Robust application trends in PA education enrollment (2.2 applicants per seat for PAs is the same as for allopathic medical school applicants) support predicted increases. However, other implications for the PA educational institutions include recruitment and retention of qualified faculty, clinical site maintenance and diversity of matriculates. Further research on factors affecting the supply and demand for PAs is needed in the areas of retirement age rates, gender, and lifestyle influences. Specialization trends and visit intensity levels are potential variables.

Intresset för elkvalitet har ökat då elektrisk utrustning, såsom omriktare, numera ger upphov till mer störningar. Elektrisk utrustning har också blivit mer känslig mot störningar samtidigt som industrier har blivit mindre toleranta mot produktionsstörningar. Traditionellt har felhantering i elnät skett när problemet redan uppstått och utgått från historiska data. Metrum har dock genom sin applikation PQ4Cast introducerat mönsterigenkänning för att prognosticera elkvalitetsparametrar samt aktiv effekt och i och med det bidra till ett proaktivt underhåll. Applikationen skapar en prognos för kommande vecka utifrån data för de senaste veckorna, under utveckling är även en funktion för trendanalys av bland annat effektförbrukning och spänningsnivå. Syftet med implementeringen av PQ4Cast är att få en högre tillgänglighet och minimera kostnader för underhåll och oplanerade avbrott. Ett andra syfte är att skapa ökad kontroll över variationer i effektuttag. Målet med detta examensarbete är att avgöra vilka avvikelser som är viktiga för Sandvik att ha kontroll över, ta fram metoder för att utvärdera applikationens funktionalitet samt ge underlag till hur prognoser från applikationen bör hanteras. Utöver det ska även nyttan med funktionen för trendanalys avgöras. Sandvik ser störst nytta med att få kontroll över framtida värden för aktiv effekt, reaktiv effekt samt variationer i spänningens effektivvärde. Av dessa borde variationer i aktiv samt reaktiv effekt vara mest lämpad för PQ4Cast att identifiera. För undersökning av överensstämmelse mellan prognos och verkligt utfall rekommenderas användning av korrelationskoefficient, determinationskoefficient samt signifikansnivå på fem procent. Användning av MAPE, Mean Absolute Percentage Error, rekommenderas också att användas för att kvantifiera prognosfelet. Vid god överensstämmelse rekommenderas prognoserna för aktiv effekt från PQ4Cast användas för veckoprognos till elhandelsbolaget Statkraft i kombination med temperaturprognos samt prognos över produktion kommande veckan. Trendanalysfunktionen visar ett medelfel med några procent för den aktiva effekten. Ytterligare undersökningar av funktionen rekommenderas och vid god överensstämmelse rekommenderas denna användas som grund för prognoser som ges till Statkraft samt används som grund för nytt effektavtal med Vattenfall i kombination med produktionsprognos. För analys av trend för spänningens effektivvärde är avvikelsen från prognosvärdet endast några tiondels procent och här rekommenderas fortsatta undersökningar och då specifikt vid del i nätet där installation av solcellsanläggning planeras. Applikationen PQ4Cast samt trendanalysfunktionen förväntas kunna leda till ekonomiska fördelar i form av minskade kostnader för inköp av el samt minskade elnätsavgifter och även betydande besparingar om störningar som kan leda till avbrott kan upptäckas i tid och avstyras. Kortvariga störningar, såsom spänningsdippar, är dock svåra för PQ4Cast att upptäcka i dagsläget. / Interest in power quality has increased as electrical equipment, such as inverters, nowadays emits more disturbances. Electrical equipment has also become less tolerant to disturbances, while industries have become less tolerant to disturbances in the production. Traditionally, fault diagnosis and handling have been performed when the fault has already arisen and has been based on historical data. Through its application PQ4Cast, Metrum have introduced pattern recognition to forecast power quality parameters and active power, and thereby contribute to proactive maintenance. The application creates a forecast for the coming week based on data for the last few weeks. Under development is also a function for trend analysis of, among other things, power consumption and voltage level. The objective with the implementation of PQ4Cast is to achieve higher availability and minimize costs for maintenance and unplanned interruptions. A second objective is to increase the control over variations in power consumption. The aim of this thesis is to determine which deviations are important for Sandvik, develop methods for evaluating the application’s functionality and provide a basis for how forecasts from the application should be managed. The aim is also to determine the usefulness of the trend analysis function. For Sandvik, the greatest benefit is seen in gaining control over future values for active power, reactive power and variations in the RMS value of the voltage. Of these, variations in active and reactive power should be most suitable for PQ4Cast to identify. For examination of the conformity between prognosis and actual outcome, the use of correlation coefficient, determination coefficient and significance level of five percent is recommended. Use of MAPE, Mean Absolute Percentage Error, is also recommended to quantify the forecast error. In the event of good conformity, the forecasts for active power from PQ4Cast are recommended for weekly forecasts to the electricity trading company, Statkraft, in combination with temperature forecasts and forecasts of production following week. The trend analysis function shows MAPE at a few percent for the active effect. Further investigations of the function are recommended and in case of good conformity, the prognosis is recommended as the basis for forecasts given to Statkraft and as the basis for new power agreements with Vattenfall in combination with production forecast. For analysis of the trend for the voltage's RMS value, the deviation from the forecasted value is only a few tenths of a percentage. Here further studies are recommended and then specifically at area in the grid where installation of solar power is planned. The application PQ4Cast and the trend analysis function are expected to lead to economic benefits, such as reduced costs for purchase of electricity, reduced electricity grid charges and significant savings if disturbances that may lead to interruptions can be detected and prevented. Disturbances of short duration, such as voltage dips, are however hard to detect with the current setup of the application.

Problem: Interim and annual reports are some of the most crucial sources of information regarding companies’ performances. Interested parties such as analysts and investors assess this information and compare it with expectations. Analysts’ expectations of companies’ interim reports are of great importance when analysing the future development of share movement. Possible deviations between analysts’ expectations and actual presented results from the individual companies might change the perceptions of specific future stock prices. Furthermore business sectors have different characteristics and might respond differently to unexpected earnings news. Over- and underperformance of the presented results in relation to analysts’ expectations could create specific stock price movements over a forthcoming period depending on the nature of the report. The authors label this phenomenon as persistent trends. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to establish whether persistency and trends could be observed in the future development of companies’ stock prices with regard to analysts’ expectations and the true result presented by the companies. Method: With a quantitative approach the authors conducted an event study aiming to fulfill the purpose of this thesis. The study consisted of all fourth quarter reports presented 2001 throughout 2004 by the companies presently listed on the Most traded section of the Stockholm stock exchange A-list. The authors defined the nature of the studied reports as positive or negative depending on whether the pre-tax earning exceeded or were lower than the analysts’ expectations. Furthermore the authors constructed a mathematical formula which distinguished if the possible deviation of actual results compared to expectations was significant. The share price performance for two months subsequent to the earnings announcement was recorded and compared with the OMXS30 development for the equivalent time, thereby the authors gathered empirical evidence to fulfill the purpose. Furthermore the data was also divided into business subcategories to provide answers to whether there was uniform response to unexpected earnings information among business sectors. Results: The authors presented empirically founded evidence for the existence of persistent trends following the presentation of both positive and negative reports. The authors also rejected the presence of a uniform response to deviating earnings information in the business sectors.

<p>The Table Mountain Group (TMG) Formation is the lowest member of the Cape Supergroup which consists of sediments deposited from early Ordovician to early Carboniferous times, approximately between 500 and 340 million years ago. The Table Mountain Group (TMG) aquifer system is&nbsp / exposed along the west and south coasts of South Africa. It is a regional fractured rock aquifer that has become a major source of bulk water supply to&nbsp / meet the agricultural and urban water requirements of the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa. The TMG aquifer system comprises of an approximately 4000 m thick sequence of quartz arenite and minor shale layers deposited in a shallow, but extensive, predominantly eastwest striking&nbsp / asin, changing to a northwest orientation at the west coast. The medium to coarse grain size and relative purity of some of the quartz arenites,&nbsp / together with their well indurated nature and fracturing due to folding and faulting in the fold belt, enhance both the quality of the groundwater and its&nbsp / exploitation potential for agricultural and domestic water supply purposes and its hot springs for recreation. The region is also home to some unique&nbsp / and indigenous floral species (fynbos) of worldwide importance. These and other groundwater dependent vegetation are found on the series of&nbsp / mountains, mountain slopes and valleys in the Cape Peninsula. The hydrogeology of the TMG consists of intermontane and coastal domains which&nbsp / have different properties but are interconnected. The former is characterized by direct recharge from rain and snow melt, deep groundwater circulation with hot springs and low conductivity groundwater. The coastal domain is characterized by shallow groundwater occurrence usually with moderate to&nbsp / poor quality, indirect recharge from rainfall of shallow circulation and where springs occur they are usually cold. The sustainable utilization of the TMG&nbsp / aquifer addressed the issues of the groundwater flow dynamics, recharge and discharge to and from the aquifer / challenges of climate change and climate variability and their potential impact on the aquifer system. The concept of safe yield, recharge and the capture principle and the integration of&nbsp / sustainable yield provided the basis for sustainable utilization with the adaptive management approach. Methodology used included the evaluation of&nbsp / recharge methods and estimates in the TMG aquifer and a GIS based water balance recharge estimation. The evaluation of natural discharges and&nbsp / artificial abstractions from the TMG aquifer system as well as its potential for future development. The Mann-Kendal trend analysis was used to test historical and present records of temperature and rainfall for significant trends as indication for climate variability and change. The determination of&nbsp / variability index of rainfall and standard precipitation index were additional analyses to investigate variability. The use of a case study from the Klein&nbsp / (Little) Karoo Rural Water Supply Scheme (KKRWSS) within the TMG study area was a test case to assess the sustainable utilization of TMG aquifers.&nbsp / Results show that recharge varies in time and space between 1% and 55% of MAP as a result of different hydrostratigraphic units of the TMG based on&nbsp / geology, hydrology, climate, soil, vegetation and landuse patterns however, the average recharge is from 1% to 5% of MAP. The TMG receives recharge&nbsp / mainly through its 37,000 km2 of outcrop largely exposed on mountainous terrain. Natural discharges from the TMG include 11 thermal and numerous&nbsp / cold spring discharges, baseflow to streams and reservoirs, and seepage to the ocean. Results from this study also show increasing temperature&nbsp / trend over the years while rainfall trend generally&nbsp / remain unchanged in the study area. Rainfall variability persists hence the potential for floodsand droughts in the region remain. Global and Regional Models predict about 10% to 25% reduction in rainfall and increase in variability in future. Impacts of&nbsp / his change in climate will affect the different types of aquifers in various ways. Increase in temperature and reduction in rainfall will increase&nbsp / evapotranspiration, reduce surface flows and eventually reduce shallow aquifer resources. Coastal aquifers risk upsurge in salinisation from sea level&nbsp / rise and increase in abstractions from dwindling surface water resources. While floods increase the risk of contamination to shallow aquifers droughts&nbsp / put pressure on all aquifers especially deep aquifers which are considered to be more reliable due to the fact that they are far removed from surface conditions. Future population growth and increase in freshwater demand will put more pressure on groundwater. Recharge to groundwater have been&nbsp / over-estimated in certain areas in the past leading to high abstraction rates from boreholes causing extensive groundwater storage depletion evident by high decline in groundwater levels in these areas and hampering sustainable management of the aquifer resources. Over-abstraction have resulted in&nbsp / loss of stream flow and baseflow reduction to streams during summer, complete loss of springs and reduction of flow to others. Flow to wetlands,&nbsp / riparian vegetation, and sometimes loss and shifts in dependent ecosystems have also resulted from over-abstraction. Sustainability has spatial and&nbsp / temporal implications due to changing climate and demand. The study recommends adaptive management practices in which several factors are&nbsp / considered in managing groundwater together with surface water resources in order to maintain ecological and environmental integrity. The KKRWSS&nbsp / and other groundwater supply schemes in the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces demonstrate the huge potential of the TMG to provide freshwatersupply for domestic and irrigation water needs however, the huge decline in groundwater levels due to over-abstraction in the KKRWSS and&nbsp / other groundwater schemes underscores the need for sustainable utilization of the TMG groundwater resources for present and future generations with&nbsp / minimal impacts on the quality, dependent hydrological and ecosystems as well as the environment.</p>

<p>Problem: Interim and annual reports are some of the most crucial sources of information regarding companies’ performances. Interested parties such as analysts and investors assess this information and compare it with expectations. Analysts’ expectations of companies’ interim reports are of great importance when analysing the future development of share movement. Possible deviations between analysts’ expectations and actual presented results from the individual companies might change the perceptions of specific future stock prices. Furthermore business sectors have different characteristics and might respond differently to unexpected earnings news. Over- and underperformance of the presented results in relation to analysts’ expectations could create specific stock price movements over a forthcoming period depending on the nature of the report. The authors label this phenomenon as persistent trends.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to establish whether persistency and trends could be observed in the future development of companies’ stock prices with regard to analysts’ expectations and the true result presented by the companies.</p><p>Method: With a quantitative approach the authors conducted an event study aiming to fulfill the purpose of this thesis. The study consisted of all fourth quarter reports presented 2001 throughout 2004 by the companies presently listed on the Most traded section of the Stockholm stock exchange A-list. The authors defined the nature of the studied reports as positive or negative depending on whether the pre-tax earning exceeded or were lower than the analysts’ expectations. Furthermore the authors constructed a mathematical formula which distinguished if the possible deviation of actual results compared to expectations was significant. The share price performance for two months subsequent to the earnings announcement was recorded and compared with the OMXS30 development for the equivalent time, thereby the authors gathered empirical evidence to fulfill the purpose. Furthermore the data was also divided into business subcategories to provide answers to whether there was uniform response to unexpected earnings information among business sectors.</p><p>Results: The authors presented empirically founded evidence for the existence of persistent trends following the presentation of both positive and negative reports. The authors also rejected the presence of a uniform response to deviating earnings information in the business sectors.</p>

Sedan millenniumskiftet förändrades modevärlden radikalt av fler säsonger, ökad mångfald av trender samtidigt som trendernas livslängds blev allt kortare. Hos inköparna på de stora klädbolagen ställs det idag ett allt större krav att veta vad som kommer att sälja i framtiden. Idag måste besluten tas snabbt så att kläderna hinner producera och levereras i tid innan modet hinner ändra sig. Som ett hjälpmedel för inköpare och designers om i vilken riktning modet kommer att gå finns trender som fungerar som ett avgränsat modeuttryck för att förmedla och tolka en viss stil och därmed ge en tydlig bild om vad som bör produceras och efterfrågas. Men eftersom internet har medfört en ökad acceleration av trender kan det upplevas svårt att veta vad som kommer sälja i framtiden och det är här ser vi trendbyråernas roll. Trendbyråer har en koordinerande roll på marknaden där de ger företag vägledning om förändringar i modet. Genom trendanalyser får företag en överblick hur riktningen i modet kommer att gå, förstå vilka globala influenser som påverkar modet och en reflektion kring hur allt återspeglas till modet. Vad gäller tidigare forskning av begreppen trender och trendbyråer vid beslutsfattande, har ingen omfattande undersökning tidigare gjorts vilket har medfört att vår uppsats känns värdefull för en mer förståelse kring ämnet. Avsikten med vår uppsats är att undersöka och analysera hur trender och trendanalyser har för betydelse vid beslutsfattande inom inköpsprocessens tidiga stadium hos svenska modeföretag. Studien har efter insamling av teori inom områdena beslut, trender och trendanalyser genomförts med en kvalitativ grund där insamling av det empiriska materialet har utgått från semistrukturerade intervjuer. Intervjuer har främst genomförts med respondenter som innehar en roll inom inköp på svenska modeföretag som ingår i beteckningen SME (Small medium Enterprises). Dessa företag är Ellos, Lindex, Gina Tricot och MQ. För att öka förståelsen kring trender och trendanalyser har intervjuer även genomförts med en trendanalytiker från Svenska Moderådet och en författare bakom boken Trendmakarna. Insamlad data har därefter analyserats och ställts mot teorier angående beslut, trender och trendanalyser i syfte att kunna uttala oss om hur inköpare ser på trender och trendbyråers betydelse vid beslutsfattande av inköp. De resultat som empirin bestått av ger indikationer på att trender har en betydande roll men att det både kan öka och minska på osäkerheter samt risker. Inköparna anser att det finns många risker med trendbaserade produkter men att trendanalyser vid beslutsfattande kan användas för att förstå riktningen modet går i för att därefter kunna anpassa inköpen genom volym, budget, material och leverantörer. Därmed kan de vara ett hjälpmedel för att minska på både ett besluts risk och osäkerhet, vilket bekräftar de teorier som tagits upp. Dock kan vi uttala oss om att beslutsfattande inom inköp inte bara baseras på trendanalyser utan andra faktorer och variabler spelar också in.

The goal of this dissertation was to contribute to our understanding of the relationship between supply chain structure and the pursuit of a sustainability-driven corporate strategy. The literature indicates that in order to pursue a sustainability-focused strategy, an increased level of integration across the supply chain is required. However, there are also industry-level dynamics that impact observed levels of vertical integration. That is, some industries are naturally more integrated than others based on the maturity level of the industry. Thus, some firms may experience opposing forces regarding their sourcing strategies once they choose to pursue a sustainability-focused strategy. To explore this potential tension, it is first necessary to objectively measure vertical integration. Several methods for measuring vertical integration exist; however, all of these methods rely exclusively on economic data. These measures might overlook other forms of integration that might be enacted, such as the development of stronger social ties. Thus, this research will seek to utilize a novel method that makes use of social network analysis to assess integration among firms in a supply chain along social dimensions. This dissertation 1) determined the correlation between having a vertically-integrated organizational structure and pursuing a sustainable supply chain strategy by identifying if sustainability-focused companies (SFCs) have a more vertically-integrated organizational structure than their counterparts that are not pursuing such strategies, 2) examined the evolution of supply chain structure as a company becomes more environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable over time, and 3) defined the social ties between SFCs and their first- and second-tier suppliers to understand if they develop stronger social ties as a potential substitute for pure vertical integration. This dissertation is comprised of four main parts. In the first part of the dissertation, I compared three recently developed vertical integration indices based on consistency and ease of measurement. The three vertical integration indices studied were empirically tested on companies in the U.S. Medical Devices Industry and the limitations of each are discussed. Our analysis suggested adoption of the Fan and Lang's method. In the second part, I examined the vertical integration level of environmentally sustainable and non-sustainable companies. I empirically examined the vertical integration level of 144 sustainability-focused companies in 9 different industries. The results demonstrate that sustainability-focused companies in the Medical Devices Industry and the Industrials Industry tend to have more vertically integrated organizational structures than their industry competitors that are not pursuing such a strategy since these two industries are production oriented and they have closer relationships with their suppliers. In the third part, the objective was to understand how the organizational structure of sustainability-focused companies changes over time as the companies become more environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable. I applied trend analysis to the sustainability and vertical integration level of the companies. Our sample consisted of 10 sustainability-focused companies from the industrials industry. I used the content analysis of annual reports to calculate sustainability development scores, and applied the Fan and Lang's method to determine the vertical integration level of the companies. The study results demonstrated an increasing trend in both vertical integration and sustainability development of industrial industry companies over a 15-year of period. Furthermore, the companies became more vertically integrated as their environmental, economical, and social sustainability increased. Finally, in the fourth part, I developed and empirically tested a theoretical model that examines the supplier relationships of sustainability-focused companies (SFCs) to understand if these relationships are substitute to a vertically integrated organizational structure. Furthermore, I tested if SFCs are more socially connected to their suppliers compared to non-sustainable companies (non-SFCs). An online survey instrument was utilized for data collection. The empirical findings of path analysis demonstrated that SFCs establish long term relationships, collaborate, transfer know-how and experience, and create strong-ties with their first and second-tier suppliers to have an organizational structure that is substitute to a pure vertical integration. Findings further revealed that SFCs are connected to their first and second tier suppliers with stronger social ties compared to non-SFCs. Results support the natural transaction cost economics and natural resource based perspectives. Our study results should be useful to researchers and managers who are interested in corporate sustainability behavior.