Titel: Internationalisering med entry mode i fokus – en fallstudie av Zero Belysningar Kurs: 2FE03E ‐ 15 hp. Kandidatuppsats Författare: David Gustafsson 870926, Emmie Thurn 880909, Jasenko Arsenovic 890119 Bakgrund: Globalisering och inträde på internationella marknader har för SME blivit en trend. Åtskilliga företag väljer att konkurrera på en internationell nivå och internationaliseringen sker snabbare och på flera olika sätt än någonsin tidigare. Att välja rätt entry mode har en stor påverkan på om företaget kommer att nå framgång eller ej på den nya marknaden. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka olika faktorer som påverkar småföretag val av entry mode vid expansion. För att kunna svara på problemformuleringen har författarna valt att använda ett fallföretag, där deras situation kommer att användas för att undersöka ett svenskt småföretags val av entry mode vid expansion till Norge. Metod: Denna kvalitativa studie har utgått ifrån hermeneutiska antaganden och utförts ut efter en induktiv forskningsansats. En har applicerats där olika intervjuer och granskningar av dokument har agerat datainsamlingsmetoder. Slutsats: Undersökningen visade att ett flertal faktorer påverkar beslutet. Författarna har funnit att faktorerna attraktionskraft, externa påtryckningar och kulturella skillnader, politik och lagar, tidigare erfarenheter, målmarknad och målgrupp, konkurrens och nya aktörer, substitut, kundernas och leverantörernas kraft, företagets storlek och kompetens och resurser har en inverkan på svenska småföretags val av entry mode. Vilket entry mode ett svenskt småföretag bör välja vid expansion beror till stor del på vilka resurser och kompetenser företaget innehar och hur värdlandets struktur ser ut. Författarna finner därför att det inte finns något generellt entry mode för samtliga småföretag. Undersökningen visar på att betydande styrkor för ett småföretag är hög servicekvalitet, differentierade kvalitetsprodukter, unik internkompetens och flexibilitet. Dess betydande svagheter är att de ej utvecklats inom LED‐teknik, skev bild av marknaden, hög prisnivå och långa leveranstider. Eventuella möligheter är delmarknaders tillvätpotential, småkulturella skillnader och lagliga restriktioner och utveckling inom LED‐teknik. Det finns hot i form av nya aktöer, liten aktö, priskäslig marknad och differens i språ och konsumentbeteende. Nyckelord: Entry mode, SME, Porters Five Forces, Resource Based View, SWOT‐analys / Title: Internationalization with entry mode in focus ‐ a case study of Zero Belysningar Course/course code: 2FE03E ‐15 hp. Bachelor thesis Authors: David Gustafsson 870926, Emmie Thurn 880909, Jasenko Arsenovic 890119 Purpose: The purpose with this study is to examine various factors that affect small businesses in the choice of entry mode. In order to answer the problem formulation, the authors have chosen to use an case company, where its situation will be used to investigate a Swedish small firms' choice of entry mode for expansion into Norway. Method: This qualitative study was based upon hermeneutical assumptions and carried out by an inductive research approach. Various interviews and reviews of documents have been used to collect data. Conclusion: The investigation revealed that several factors influence the choice of entry mode. The authors have found that factors of attractiveness, external pressures and cultural differences, politics and laws, past experience, target market and target audience, competition and new entrants, substitutes, customers' and suppliers' power, its size and expertise and resources have an impact on Swedish small firms' choice of entry mode. Which entry mode a Swedish small business should choose depends largely on the resources and competences it holds and how the host‐country’ structure looks like. The authors find that there is no general entry mode for all small businesses. The survey also reveals that significant strengths for a small business is high service quality, differentiated quality products, unique internal competence and flexibility. Its major weakness is that they are not developed in LED technology, distorted picture of the market, high prices and long delivery times. Possible opportunities are submarkets growth potential, small cultural differences and legal restrictions and development in LED technology. There are threats from new entrants, small player, price sensitive market and the difference in language and consumer behavior. Keywords: Entry mode, SME, Porters Five Forces, Resource Based View, SWOT‐analysis.

The purpose of this study is to identify the points-of-difference that should form the basis for Bryggarsalen’s future marketing efforts. Bryggarsalen is a newly established conference business in Stockholm. To be able to identify these points-of-difference, Bryggarsalen’s marketing problems have been studied from the resource-based view, claiming that the source of sustained competitive advantage derive from a firm’s unique bundle of resources. The study proceeded from the assumption that organizational embedded knowledge is a strategic resource that automatically is a source of sustained competitive advantage. In marketing terms we claim that this resource can be considered as a source for finding points-of-difference. However to be considered as points-of-difference, the organizational embedded knowledge must also be seen as valuable to target customer group. Therefore, this study starts by mapping Bryggarsalen’s and its parent company Studiefrämjandet’s organizational embedded knowledge. After that, the identified organizational embedded knowledge is matched with target customer needs. The method used to identify the organizational embedded knowledge is inspired by the technique for causal mapping. To identify target customer needs we have made a trend analysis of the Swedish conference market. Based on our findings following elements in Bryggarsalen’s access to organizational embedded knowledge can be considered as points-of-difference: Studiefrämjandet’s embedded knowledge regarding effective and interactive learning (folkbildningen); Studiefrämjandet’s embedded knowledge regarding keeping courses attractive; Martin Orchidéen’s embedded knowledge regarding cooking and UIf Cronheim’s embedded knowledge regarding event logistics.

Database systems employ physical structures such as indexes and materialized views to improve query performance, potentially by orders of magnitude. It is therefore important for a database administrator to choose the appropriate configuration of these physical structures (i.e., the appropriate physical design) for a given database. Deciding on the physical design of a database is not an easy task, and a considerable amount of research exists on automatic physical design tools for relational databases. Recently, XML database systems are increasingly being used for managing highly structured XML data, and support for XML data is being added to commercial relational database systems. This raises the important question of how to choose the appropriate physical design (i.e., the appropriate set of physical structures) for an XML database. Relational automatic physical design tools are not adequate, so new research is needed in this area. In this thesis, we address the problem of automatic physical design for XML databases, which is the process of automatically selecting the best set of physical structures for a given database and a given query workload representing the client application's usage patterns of this data. We focus on recommending two types of physical structures: XML indexes and relational materialized views of XML data. For each of these structures, we study the recommendation process and present a design advisor that automatically recommends a configuration of physical structures given an XML database and a workload of XML queries. The recommendation process is divided into four main phases: (1) enumerating candidate physical structures, (2) generalizing candidate structures in order to generate more candidates that are useful to queries that are not seen in the given workload but similar to the workload queries, (3) estimating the benefit of various candidate structures, and (4) selecting the best set of candidate structures for the given database and workload. We present a design advisor for recommending XML indexes, one for recommending materialized views, and an integrated design advisor that recommends both indexes and materialized views. A key characteristic of our advisors is that they are tightly coupled with the query optimizer of the database system, and rely on the optimizer for enumerating and evaluating physical designs whenever possible. This characteristic makes our techniques suitable for any database system that complies with a set of minimum requirements listed within the thesis. We have implemented the index, materialized view, and integrated advisors in a prototype version of IBM DB2 V9, which supports both relational and XML data, and we experimentally demonstrate the effectiveness of their recommendations using this implementation.

Guanxi plays an important role in Chinese entrepreneurial networking activities, especially for micro entrepreneurial firms in China. Due to limited information and resources available to micro firms, micro firms are more dependent on entrepreneurs’ guanxi networks to get access to the necessary resources. Previous literatures have particularly discussed the impacts of guanxi networks for foreigners successfully doing business in China. Nevertheless, there are scant literatures that study on the role of the guanxi in Chinese entrepreneurship. The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding of the role of guanxi in Chinese entrepreneurship. This study employs the relevant guanxi concepts, Western social capital theory, and network-based entrepreneurship as the main conceptual framework to examine how Chinese entrepreneurs utilize their guanxi networks during the development of micro firms. Furthermore, this study is based on ten case studies in China. Empirical Data are collected from semi-structured interviews with ten Chinese entrepreneurs in micro firms. The results show that guanxi networks are highly important for Chinese entrepreneurs to develop their business. Firstly, Chinese entrepreneurs make use of different guanxi governance mechanisms--qinqing, renqing and jiaoqing to acquire different information and resources for the development of their firms. The obtained information and resources constitute the social capital, which can be used to complement insufficient capital within the firms. Secondly, Chinese entrepreneurs intentionally enlarge their guanxi network size to obtain more resources. Moreover, Chinese entrepreneurs benefit from strong guanxi ties and closure network structures to obtain the cohesive social capital. While Chinese entrepreneurs gain greater benefits from weak guanxi ties and spare network structures for acquiring additional information, resources and business opportunities. Thirdly, guanxi-networking activities are different from Western social networking activities, as guanxi-networking activities put more emphasize on keeping harmony and mutual reciprocity. Furthermore, Chinese entrepreneurs are proactive to build and maintain guanxi networks through various approaches for their business development. Lastly, even though guanxi networks play important roles in the development of micro entrepreneurial firms, they cannot be sustainable competitive advantage in the long term. Indeed, the core competences such as high quality of products and services, advanced technologies and marketing channels could be sustainable competitive advantages for the entrepreneurial firms in today’s increasingly fierce competitive market.

Syfte: Undersöka sjuksköterskors och undersköterskors erfarenheter, upplevelser och syn påanhörigas närvaro i akutrummet i samband med omhändertagandet av en kritiskt sjuk ellerskadad patient. Metod: Empirisk studie med kvalitativ ansats. 16 semi-struktureradeintervjuer genomfördes. Resultat: Vårdpersonalen har delade meningar om anhörigas närvaropå akutrummet. Generellt tycks anhörigas närvaro upplevas som positivt så länge det handlarom en kritiskt sjuk eller skadad patient. När patientens tillstånd inte är lika kritiskt kananhörigas närvaro leda till en försämrad sekretess, till viss del också beroende på det aktuellaakutrummets planlösning. Patientsäkerhet och arbetsmiljö kan också påverkas av anhörigasnärvaro. Slutsats: Bland vårdpersonal finns en önskan om tydligare riktlinjer i gällandepolicy om anhörigas närvaro på akutrummet för att förbättra sekretess, arbetsmiljö ochpatientsäkerhet. / Objective: To examine the experiences and views of nurses and assistant nurses regardingrelatives being present in the emergency room during the care of a critically ill or woundedpatient. Method: Empirical study with a qualitative approach. Sixteen semi-structuredinterviews were performed. Results: The nursing staff had different views on relatives beingpresent in the emergency room. Generally, the presence of relatives was regarded assomething positive, if the patient was critically ill or badly wounded. If the patient’s conditionisn’t critical, the presence of relatives can impair the patient’s confidentiality, partly based onhow the emergency room is built. Patient’s safety and the working environment can also beaffected by the presence of relatives. Conclusion: There is a wish among nursing staff formore distinct guidelines in the current policy about the presence of relatives in the emergencyroom, in order to improve the patient confidentiality, working environment and the patients’safety.

This Thesis examines the impact of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on the subsequent technological performance of the related firms. The investigated firms are selected according to their strategic choice which consists in seeing M&As as a shortcut for acquiring technological assets and capabilities and therefore the subsequent technological performance. The relatedness issue as well as the resource-based view of the firm are theoretical hints, which effectiveness on technological performance is discussed. A more managerial approach using case studies is also used in order to demonstrate a new organisational form of cooperation, derived from strategic alliances and M&As. With the help of the Renault-Nissan Alliance it is argued that this hybrid form presents many capacities for developing a successful integration process, and subsequently enhancing technological performance.

In today’s modern society with high-speed connections covering the globe people are more than ever finding themselves gazing into the cold lights of the computer screen. On the other side a strange and exciting world yet to be explored awaits. Many are those who spend hour after hour running over green hills swimming in vast blue oceans in the lands of Azeroth, the playfield in the MMORPG game World of Warcraft. In media we often read and hear alarming reports on players stuck in this virtual world, ceasing to play a part in the real world. This thesis will make an attempt as to hear what those who play the game has to say in the matter. Through interviews we’ll try to separate or combine media’s view of the game from that of those who play it.

In this essay, I have interviewed four pedagogues from three preschools whit different pedagogical purposes. The purpose was to find out how they work with mathematics outdoor. In addition to interviews, I have conducted observations at each preschool. The different preschools are one traditional, one Reggio Emilia and one “all weather” (Friluftsfrämjandet) preschool. All the preschools were often out and then they used the natural materials like stones, sticks, leaves and fir cones when they were in the forest or in the play yard. During wintertime they used the snow too stamp and looked at the pattern that showed under the shoes. Did the pattern vary depending on shoe type? It is important that the pedagogues work on the supposition of the child and their interests and curiosity. When they are using different things that the children recognizes it is easier for them to go from the concrete to the abstract. The children’s learning and development occur in interaction with the pedagogue and the other children. All of these take place in the everyday consistency that the children can relate too. This is supposed to lead to lifetime learning (Lpfö 98). One of my conclusions is that it is a difference between the preschools in what they consider the important mathematical activities. There is a difference in whether they focus on counting, geometry, or pattern.

The purpose of my study was to find out about the newly arrived students’ views and perceptions of the Swedish high school, how this vision and perception looked like before they moved here, and if it has changed. I also wanted to find out how they perceived the meeting with the Swedish school, and if they believed that this meeting should or could be improved. In this study, I used a qualitative research method, the phenomenological method, in which I have used qualitative research interviews to collect the empirical data and detect patterns in my research. The theory I used is cultural encounters, and with it, I try to understand how people with different cultural backgrounds create interactions to work together in communities. I also wanted to understand how the students thought and acted, based on their cultural backgrounds. What I concluded was that in all, the newly arrived students’ views and perceptions of the Swedish school before they moved here was relatively positive. The views and perceptions of most of the students consist quite well with the ones they have today. But for those that it doesn’t, the explanations could be many. One of the reasons was how they hade been treated by the school, another was the lack of existence of Swedish speaking students, that forced the newly arrived ones to associate with the ones that spoke the same mother tongue. Also, the educational level seemed to be too low for some students. The treatment they all received looked similar, but some of the students mentioned that the Swedish school needed to develop the introduction classes so that the students with similar expertise could develop in the same rate. It is to be mentioned that the title of my research is a quote from one of the students I interviewed.

A common metaphor for visual attention is the spotlight (Posner, 1980). It follows from the spotlight metaphor and other similar models (e.g., zoom-lens model; Eriksen and Yeh, 1985) that attention can, according to task-demands, be constricted into a focused beam (i.e., analogous to selective attention) or dilated to encompass a larger breadth (i.e., analogous to divided attention). It is currently unclear how variations in perceptual load of a display affect the FFOV. Lavie (1995; Lavie et al., 2004) proposed that the critical determinant of selective attention (i.e., a constriction of the FFOV) was the perceptual load imposed by the taskselective attention is a necessary outcome of limited perceptual processing capacity. Age-related differences in perceptual processing capacity (e.g., Maylor and Lavie, 1998) may then explain observed age-related differences in FFOV size (e.g., Ball, Beard, Roenker, Miller, and Griggs, 1988). The current study examined how perceptual load and aging affected the FFOV. Younger and older participants viewed brief displays in which they engaged in two tasks: the first task was a perceptual load manipulation, while the second task was a measure of the FFOV. Multiple measures of peripheral task performance suggest that the size of the FFOV for older adults was significantly reduced by increasing perceptual load and this effect of load was greater with increasing distance from fixation. As predicted from the perceptual load model, when perceptual load of the task increased, perceptual sensitivity for the distant peripheral task decreased for older adults. This decrease was greater when the task was farther from fixationindicative of a shrinking spotlight. However, for younger adults, increasing load did not affect peripheral task performance. This age-related difference may be attributable to older adults reduced perceptual processing capacity. The current results support the notion that older adults reduced perceptual processing capacity may be one cause of their reduced FFOV. Limitations of the current study as well as future research are discussed.