I en allt mer konkurrenskraftig vardag måste dagens arbetsgivare lägga större fokus på̊ att sticka ut. Endel gör det genom innovativa produkter och samarbeten, andra genom en aggressiv marknadsföringsstrategi. Humankapitalet har därför blivit ett betydelsefullt konkurrensmedel där efterfrågan på rätt kompetens har ökat. Därför har Employer Branding idag blivit ett av de hetaste ämnena inom organisatoriska kompetensförsörjning. Men hur tillämpar man Employer Branding mest effektivt enligt praktiker och teoretiker? Syftet med studien är därför att undersöka med hjälp av en diskursanalys hur Employer Branding-praktikers idealbilder ser ut. Genom denna frågeställning har jag satt praktiken i relation till de teoretiska grundpelarna inom Employer Branding. Vilket har resulterat i nyckeltal och tydliga framgångsfaktorer inom ämnet. Studien ger även en bredare insyn av självbegreppet och hur du kan tillämpa strategin för bästa möjliga effekt.

The development and complexity of the e-commerce sector has increased the demand forcompanies to grasp and develop their business models, as well their credit risk managementfunctions, in order be profitable and create value. This thesis examines how credit riskmanagement can be integrated in a business model, in terms of a customer value proposition,profit formula, key processes and key resources. Theories about business models state that abusiness model should give a holistic view of the company and how it operates. Features for asuccessful model should include functions that create value and increase competitiveness, as wellas generating valuable cost and risk structures to ensure the company’s profitability. The empiricaldata was collected through interviews and secondary data at Klarna, a company that operates withpayment solutions in the e-commerce, a market where the risk of credit losses is high and to haveproper credit risk functions is a necessity. The result revealed that credit risk management is afundamental part of a business model in the e-commerce, since effective credit risk managementfunctions ensure that the elements of a business model are functional and complement each other.The study further found that there are certain prominent functions in each one of the four elementsthat enable the integration of credit risk management in the business model.

The premise of this thesis is to conduct a research regarding the connection of brand image, brand identity, brand positioning with brand adapting management. The significant purpose of this thesis is for better understanding how a Chinese auto corporation can effectively manage and adapt an acquired foreign brand in Chinese market. In order to reach this purpose, a case study of Geely/Volvo’s acquisition has been carried out which entailed company visit (Volvo Brand Experience Center), interviews with Volvo brand specialists, Volvo dealer and Chinese market expert. The Theoretical Framework describes the general concepts of brand, brand management, company acquisition and three brand adapting concepts of brand image, brand identity and brand positioning. The Empirical Data Collection deals with the Volvo’s brand identity and value proposition, Chinese customers’ perceptions on Volvo brand image and Geely’s brand positioning strategy on Volvo. The Analysis related the theory framework with the empirical results. It discussed and analyzed how Geely can adapt Volvo in Chinese automotive market through dealing with Volvo’s core values, brand image and brand positioning. The Conclusion summarized the Chinese auto corporation needs to concern on three factors for adapting an acquired brand: value proposition of acquired brand, Chinese customers’ perceptions on acquired brand image and brand positioning strategy. Finally our recommendation presents the limitations of this study, suggestions for future research in this field, and managerial implications for the case company.

In the field of product development, many organizations struggle to create a value proposition that can overcome the headwinds of technology change, regulatory requirements, and intense competition, in an effort to satisfy the long-term goals of sustainability. Today, organizations are realizing that they have lost portfolio value due to poor reliability, early product retirement, and abandoned design platforms. Beyond Lean and Green Manufacturing, shareholder value can be enhanced by taking a broader perspective, and integrating sustainability innovation elements into product designs in order to improve the delivery process and extend the life of product platforms. This research is divided into two parts that lead to closing the loop towards Sustainable Value Creation in product development. The first section presents a framework for achieving Sustainable Lifetime Value through a toolset that bridges the gap between financial success and sustainable product design. Focus is placed on the analysis of the sustainable value proposition between producers, consumers, society, and the environment and the half-life of product platforms. The Half-Life Return Model is presented, designed to provide feedback to producers in the pursuit of improving the return on investment for the primary stakeholders. The second part applies the driving aspects of the framework with the development of an Adaptive Genetic Search Algorithm. The algorithm is designed to improve fault detection and mitigation during the product delivery process. A computer simulation is used to study the effectiveness of primary aspects introduced in the search algorithm, in order to attempt to improve the reliability growth of the system during the development life-cycle. The results of the analysis draw attention to the sensitivity of the driving aspects identified in the product development lifecycle, which affect the long term goals of sustainable product development. With the use of the techniques identified in this research, cost effective test case generation can be improved without a major degradation in the diversity of the search patterns required to insure a high level of fault detection. This in turn can lead to improvements in the driving aspects of the Half-Life Return Model, and ultimately the goal of designing sustainable products and processes.

Employees with the right skills give competitive advantages. It is therefore important to retain existing staff with the right skills but also to attract new talent. In the IT industry, there is currently lack of competence and the need will increase in the future. Companies that create a strong employer brand will perform better when it comes to the war of the talents. With the lack of competence in the labor market, the younger, more technologically skilled generation has developed an unfair attitude towards employers who desperately try to persuade competent people to choose their company through generous job offers. The employers must work on their employer brand to seem more attractive to employees and potential employees in order to attract, retain, develop and motivate them to choose or stay at the company. The purpose of this paper is to create an understanding of motivation, talent acquisition and employee retention in markets where there is a lack of specialized personnel. Motivation is achieved through internal and external attributes, where internal motivation is created by work satisfaction while external motivation is fulfilled by monetary and material motivational factors. Talent acquisition involves a clear recruitment strategy where the company's brand is used as an attraction channel of a certain skill and personality. It also applies to retaining talent within the company through employee retention where a stimulating and evolving employment experience is maintained by the company. The essay shows that young people in the IT industry are well aware of the lack of competence and make their demands accordingly. They want a high level of workplace flexibility to balance jobs and private life, as well as independence in the way they solve tasks. Furthermore, they want the freedom to choose work equipment as this is central to their daily work. Development opportunities such as attending conferences are valued as one of the crucial factors in choosing employers. If the younger generation's personal values as well as sustainability and ethical views do not match the company's actions, it will most likely lead them to leave the company in the long term. / Anställda med rätt kompetens ger konkurrensfördelar. Det är därför viktigt att behålla befintlig personal med hög kompetens men också att attrahera nya talanger. Inom IT-branschen råder det i dagsläget brist på kompetens och behovet kommer öka i framtiden. Företag som skapar starka arbetsgivarvarumärken kommer klara sig bättre än företag med ett svagt när det kommer till kriget om talangerna. Den yngre mer teknologiskt skickliga generationen har i och med kompetensbristen utvecklat en mer illojal attityd mot arbetsgivare som desperat försöker övertala kompetenta personer att välja deras företag genom generösa anställningserbjudanden. Arbetsgivaren måste marknadsföra sig till medarbetare och potentiella anställda för att attrahera, behålla, utveckla och motivera dem att välja eller stanna kvar på företaget. Syftet med uppsatsen är att skapa förståelse för motivation, talent acquisition och employee retention på marknader där det råder brist på specialiserad personal. Motivation uppnås genom inre och yttre attribut, där inre attribut är det som skapas av en personlig arbetsglädje medan yttre attribut innebär monetära och materiella motivationsfaktorer. Talent acquisition innebär en tydlig rekryteringsstrategi där företagets varumärke utnyttjas som attraktionskanal av en viss kompetens och personlighet. Det gäller även att behålla talang inom företaget genom employee retention där en stimulerande och utvecklande anställningsupplevelse ska upprätthållas av företaget. Uppsatsen visar att unga inom IT-branschen är väl medvetna om kompetensbristen och ställer sina krav utefter detta. De vill ha en hög flexibilitet i sitt arbetsschema för att kunna balansera jobb och privatliv, samt självständighet i sättet de löser arbetsuppgifter. Vidare vill de ha friheten att välja arbetsutrustning då detta är centralt för deras dagliga arbete. Utvecklingsmöjligheter som exempelvis att få delta vid konferenser värderas som en av de avgörande faktorerna vid val av arbetsgivare. Om den yngre generationens personliga värderingar samt hållbarhets- och etiska synpunkter inte stämmer överens med företagets agerande kommer det med stor sannolikhet leda till att de lämnar företaget på sikt.

This research thesis has researched about how employer branding and its relationship to person - organization fit. It focuses on personality traits of applicants and how it can impact their attractiveness of the organization advertised in job adverts. The purpose of this research thesis is to explain what relationship employer branding via job advertisements has when it comes to establishing P - O fit. In this case between future business students and organizations. The thesis had a deductive approach a cross - sectional research design was applied. A quantitative research method (logistic regression) was used and came from primary data. The research findings show that employer branding has a positive relationship to creating attractiveness of firms and also has an impact upon person-organization fit. Our findings also indicated that personality characteristics is hard to categorize in order to see what specifically in employer value proposition can attract a specific employee preference. The limitations were the number of respondents, a larger sample unit could have impacted the results more. Also, using a qualitative method in terms of semiotics could give a more detailed output on respondents’ personality traits. The original value of the research thesis is that it focused specifically on business students and to what degree employer value proposition is related to person-organization fit.

Background - In pace with increased work-related stress and the difficulty in attracting and retaining skilled staff, companies find new ways to rationalize the organization. Working-time reduction is one of these strategies in connection to an effective employer branding attribute. Purpose - The aim is to examine the rationale behind the six-hour workday and how it is used as an employer branding strategy. Additionally, the aim is to examine the advantages and disadvantages of the six-hour workday as an employer branding strategy as well as the future prospects. Method - This study has applied a qualitative method with an inductive approach and a multiple case study. Six semi-structured interviews were performed with five case companies and an additional interview was conducted with a consultancy firm. Conclusion - Organizations choose the six-hour workday because of work-life balance and well-being for employees. Also, the findings show that employers adopt the six-hour for the purpose of attracting and retaining staff. Advantages include happier staff, increased productivity and efficiency. A major disadvantage is the lost hours because of working-time reduction. The empirical findings indicate that the six-hour workday is suited in every organization, however, adjustments might be necessary.

El posicionamiento de un producto es un factor fundamental en el éxito de un nuevo producto, por lo cual su estrategia tiene que estar basada en el conocimiento del consumidor al que se dirige. Es por ello que la presente investigación está dirigida a conocer la principal estrategia de posicionamiento en relación al conocimiento de marca de la comida Barf en Strongly attached pet owner. Se planteó la aplicación de una investigación mixta, aplicando tanto un método cuantitativo como cualitativo con alcances exploratorios y correlacionales al público objetivo identificado, los cuales se fueron segmentados en un rango 25 a 35 años de edad en los distritos del sector 7 de Lima Metropolitana. En la fase cualitativa, se realizaron entrevistas a profundidad a expertos en posicionamiento de marcas y gerentes de productos Barf, asimismo se aplicó focus group. Finalmente, por el lado cualitativo se realizó una encuesta virtual a 160 personas con interés en la alimentación de su mascota y la comida Barf. El resultado de la investigación arrojó la relación de los tipos de posicionamiento de productos con el conocimiento de marca de los productos Barf, donde se evidencia que la estrategia de posicionamiento en base al beneficio es la efectiva para poder captar el conocimiento de marca para este nuevo alimento de mascotas. / The positioning of a product is a fundamental factor in the success of a new product, which is why its strategy must be based on the knowledge of the target consumer. That is why the present investigation is aimed at knowing the main strategy of positioning in relation to the brand knowledge of the Barf food in Strongly attached pet owner. The application of a mixed investigation was proposed, applying both a quantitative and qualitative method with exploratory and correlational scopes to the identified target public, which were segmented in a range of 25 to 35 years of age in the districts of sector 7 of Metropolitan Lima. In the qualitative phase, in-depth interviews were conducted with experts in brand positioning and Barf product managers, as well as focus group. Finally, on the qualitative side, a virtual survey was carried out on 160 people interested in feeding their pet and the Barf food. The application of a mixed investigation was proposed, applying both a quantitative and qualitative method with exploratory and correlational scopes to the identified target public, which were segmented in a range of 25 to 35 years of age in the districts of sector 7 of Metropolitan Lima. In the qualitative phase, in-depth interviews were conducted with experts in brand positioning and Barf product managers, as well as focus group. Finally, on the qualitative side, a virtual survey was conducted of 160 people with an interest in feeding their pet and the Barf food. The result of the investigation showed the relationship of the types of product positioning with the brand knowledge of the Barf products, where it is evident that the strategy of positioning based on the profit is the effective one to be able to capture the brand knowledge for this new pet food. / Trabajo de investigación

The diploma thesis deals with the evaluation of factors of the selected company influencing its value offer in the current market environment. The first theoretical part describes the bases defining the relevant company factors, the process of strategic management, value offer and innovation including a description of selected analytical-research methods suitable for the analysis of the problematics. The second analytical part explores and analyzes the environment and factors of the company from which, based on the COP analysis, are selected company factors suitable for subsequent strengthening. The design part of the thesis already elaborates process for strengthening factors including concrete steps that will lead to the future development of the company.

Increased competition and lower margins on products cause many traditional manufacturing companies to resort to services to increase revenues and differentiate themselves from competitors. A challenge manufacturing companies and their sellers face within this change lie within understanding what their customers value in the contexts of service and how to convey these values into superior value propositions. This research intends to increase understanding in what the difference is in the perception of value between sellers and their customers and what the implications for these differences are. This is done by the means of a case study with a setting in the maritime industry. Empirical data was collected through eight interviews, of which four was with the case company’s sellers, three was with customers to the case company and one was with an external industrial service manager. From the interviews the following conclusions could be drawn. Firstly, the findings indicate that the sellers and the customers had similar perception of what value is, where both sides emphasized on the importance of economical and functional values. Secondly, the findings indicate that the implication of the differences on the perception of value lies in that the sellers mostly focuses on the value that the services could provide to the customers while the customers regarded the value in relation to sacrifices. An implication of this is that the sellers might believe that the customers gain more value from their services than the customers believes they do. This misperception of customer perceived value could lead to challenges in selling services and the loss of customers to competitors that offers a better trade-off between benefits and sacrifices. / Ökad konkurrens och minskade marginaler på produkter får många traditionella tillverkningsföretag att söka sig till tjänster för att på så sätt öka sina intäkter och särskilja sig ifrån sina konkurrenter. En utmaning som tillverkningsföretag möter inom denna förändring ligger i att förstå vad deras kunder värderar i tjänstesammanhang och hur de kan förmedla dessa värden i överlägset värdeförslag. Denna forskning har för avsikt att öka förståelsen för vad skillnaden är i uppfattningen av värde mellan säljpersonal och dess kunder och hur skillnaderna kan påverka genomförandet av förslag till servicevärden. Detta undersöktes i en fallstudie på ett företag inom den maritima industrin. Empiriskt data samlades in via åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer var av fyra med säljare på samarbetsföretaget, tre med kunder till samarbetsföretag och en med en utomstående industriell servicechef. Från intervjuerna kunde följande slutsatser dras. För det första indikerar resultaten att skillnaden i uppfattning av värde mellan säljarna och kunderna är likartad och att det största fokuset ligger på den funktionella och ekonomiska dimensionen. För det andra indikerar resultaten att implikationerna av skillnaderna på uppfattningen av värde ligger i att säljarna mestadels fokuserar på det värde som tjänsterna kan erbjuda kunderna medan kunderna betraktade värdet i förhållande till de uppoffringar eller kostnader som medföljer. En implikation av detta är att säljarna leds till att tro att kunderna får mer värde av tjänsterna än kunderna uppfattar att de får. Denna missuppfattning av kundupplevt värde kan leda till utmaningar när det gäller att sälja tjänster och bortfall av kunder till konkurrenter som ger bättre avvägning mellan fördelar och uppoffringar.