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Research on Voluntary Information Disclosure (VID) has been of interest in several disciplines including, but not limited to, entrepreneurship, accounting, finance, law, and marketing. Although there has been extensive research on VID aimed at financial market investors, scant research in marketing exists on VID targeted at prospective business partners that can influence firm future performance significantly. Financial and marketing disclosures have been advocated for by investors and public policymakers as they mitigate the adverse selection problems between the firm and its stakeholders (e.g., investors, customers, and prospective channel partners). Managers are, however somewhat skeptical about its outcomes because of the cost of disclosures (i.e., ex-ante costs of collecting, processing and disseminating the information, ex-post costs of conflicts and litigations, competitive position and proprietary costs). My dissertation consists of three essays on voluntary disclosure of performance metrics in marketing channels and aims to enhance our understanding of the antecedents and consequences of such VIDs. The first essay examines the antecedents of ex-ante VID for standardized contracts in marketing channels. Prior literature in accounting, entrepreneurship, and marketing has investigated drivers of information disclosures to analysts, investors, and customers. Nonetheless, this study bridges the gap in examining why some firms disclose information to prospective channel partners when it cost them to do so and makes the firms vulnerable to competitors. If the disclosure is a signal of quality, we are also interested in knowing whether it is a substitute for other signals of quality or a complement. I draw on signaling and institutional theories to develop a theoretical framework and empirically test it through econometric analyses of multi-sector panel data for the U.S. franchising industry. The results suggest that firms (e.g., franchisors) make such disclosures to prospective business partners (e.g., franchisees) in order to signal profitability of partnering, to attract financial and managerial resources, and develop their entrepreneurial networks. This study contributes to signaling theory literature by investigating organizational quality signaling, providing empirical evidence for drivers of multiple signaling and shedding light on the conflicting views on substitutability or complementarity of multiple quality signals. The study has implications for managers who wish to attract potential business partners through signaling profitability of their business. Furthermore, there are some insights for regulators on the debate on making voluntary disclosures mandatory. The second essay examines the performance consequences of i) signaling through ex-ante voluntary disclosure of performance metrics and ii) screening through selection standards, in the formation stage of new partnerships in marketing channels. It is essential for many entrepreneurial business networks to expand their channel by attracting business partners while still preventing low-quality partners from joining the network. However, information asymmetry between the two parties introduces a double-sided adverse selection problem to the relationship. In other words, the heterogeneous quality - the ability to perform the job - of each party (i.e., the focal firm or the prospective partner) is unknown to the other party. To date, most of the empirical studies have addressed the issue from only one side, either from the perspective of the buyer or the supplier, and have assumed that the other side is open to the relationship. However, in a selective inter-firm relationship that both parties have the option to select the other party, adverse selection problems should be resolved for both of them to enhance the performance of the partnership. To bridge this gap in the literature (i.e., to mitigate double-sided adverse selection problems), I propose a novel framework based on signaling and transaction cost theories. This study suggests and empirically examines a complementary effect of the simultaneous use of signaling and screening on the firm performance. I integrate secondary data from various sources to shape a unique multi-sector panel data set that allows for assessment of the effects of these predictors on firm performance over time through a rigorous econometric model. Contrary to some claims in the extant literature, the results demonstrate that rigorous screening process hurts the firm performance unless it is combined with a proper quality signaling mechanism. This study contributes to the B2B marketing literature and provides implications for practitioners by shedding light on the performance implications of channel governance mechanisms such as signaling and screening. Further, it provides empirical support for the effects of B2B marketing strategies on firm sales revenue growth. The third essay looks closely into the voluntary disclosure of performance metrics. In the previous studies, the decision to disclose is operationalized as a binary variable of whether a firm discloses or not. In the absence of comprehensive regulation, disclosure strategies are subject to significant variation amongst firms, but can also vary over time within an individual firm. Through a content analysis of disclosure documents and scrutiny of the different components that comprise them, I explore the impact of disclosure content on firm performance. This study attempts to reconcile conflicting views of managers, investors, analysts, and regulators. On the one hand, VID should positively impact firm performance through mitigating information asymmetry. On the other hand, skeptical managers make the argument that VID negatively impacts a firm’s performance through costs of preparation, dissemination, potential litigation, and competition. Using a sample of publicly traded restaurant chains in the U.S., I empirically assess firm performance as a function of the disclosure strategy and its interactions with the firm’s characteristics and governance mechanisms. I collect independent variables from the firms’ disclosures through content analysis of public documents and obtain performance metrics of the firms in the stock market from Compustat. This study provides a novel context within which to investigate whether and how financial markets look at the firm’s disclosure behavior in dealing with its prospective channel partners, and it contributes to marketing-finance interface literature. My dissertation is positioned in the marketing strategy-entrepreneurship interface domain and is a multi-faceted study that looks at the phenomenon of VID from different angles and provides implications for several stakeholders. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Distribution channel strategy has a long-term effect on firm performance, is associated with considerable irreversible costs, and can constitute a sustainable asset and competitive advantage for firms. Information asymmetry among the distribution channel members has been known as the basis of opportunistic actions in such exchange relationships. My dissertation research investigates drivers and consequences of information disclosure strategies and is focused on the firms’ voluntary disclosure of performance metrics at the inter-firm relationship formation stage of developing marketing channels. This dissertation consists of three inter-related essays. In the first one, I study drivers of voluntary information disclosures to prospective channel partners. Then, I investigate the performance consequences of such disclosures and their interactions with channel governance mechanisms such as screening, in the second study. Since firms are heterogeneous in the content of their disclosures, in the third study, I conduct a content analysis of the firm’s disclosures to understand its influence on firm performance. Based on Organizational Economics theories and Institutional Theory, I develop my theoretical frameworks and test them empirically using archival data. The empirical context for my work is the franchising industry because it is the most common type of partner-based retail system and is a significant component of the US economy as well as other developed countries and emerging economies. The research findings offer both theoretical and practical implications for researchers and practitioners and contribute to the literatures on signaling and transaction cost theories as well as information disclosure and franchising.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur individer upplever den frivilliga omställningsprocessen. För att besvara syftet genomförs kvalitativa intervjuer med åtta respondenter. Respondenterna upplever sin omställningsprocess som tillfälligheter och möjligheter, begränsningar och hinder samt framtidstro. Skälen som anges tematiseras utifrån livspusslet, flykt och självförverkligande. Respondenterna beskriver och reflekterar vidare om det stöd de haft och behövt under omställningsprocessen. Resultatet analyseras mot teorierna, planned happenstance, life-span och sociodynamisk vägledning, för att öka vår förståelse kring hur respondenterna påverkas och hanterar den frivilliga omställningen. I och med den föränderliga arbetsmarknaden ökar omställningsprocesser i samhället vilket innebär att behovet av vägledning ökar. Resultatet i vår studie visar dock att det finns stor okunskap kring vad studie- och yrkesvägledning innebär. Vi avslutar studien med att ställa oss frågan; vart vänder man sig om man varken är arbetslös eller student? / The purpose of the study is to examine how individuals experience the voluntary career changeprocess. To answer the purpose, qualitative interviews are conducted with eight respondents. The respondents experience their voluntary career change process as happenstances and opportunities, limitations and obstacles, and faith in the future. The reasons given are thematicized based on the life challenges, flight and self-realisation. The respondents describe and reflect further on the support they had and needed during the career change process. The results are analysed against the theories of planned happenstance, life-span and sociodynamic counselling to increase our understanding of how the respondents are affected and manage the voluntary career change. With the changing labour market, career change processes in society increase, which means that the need for guidance increases. However, the results of our study show that there is great ignorance about the means of guidance counsellors. We conclude the study by asking the question, where do you turn if you are neither unemployed nor a student?

Localized muscle fatigue (LMF) has been proposed as a surrogate measure to injury, since the onset of fatigue is rapid rather than months or years required to the onset of work related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). The objectives of this study were to estimate LMF and quantify muscle activity of select forearm muscles during simulations of high pressure cleaning lance tasks common in the chemical production industry. Twenty participants, twelve males and eight females, with no musculoskeletal injuries and meeting criteria for upper extremity fitness, performed the simulated task. Independent variables studied include work height (shoulder, waist, and knuckle), lance orientation (parallel to the operator and parallel to the ground), and duty cycle (33, 50, and 67%) based on task analyses of actual work tasks. Dependent variables included mean RMS and rates of change in mean RMS, mean and median power frequency, MVE, and subjective ratings of fatigue. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to test the main effects of the independent variables and appropriate interactions. In general it was found that working at waist height, at higher duty cycles, and with the lance oriented parallel to the operator resulted in higher fatigue measures. Subjective ratings of fatigue were not well correlated with objective measures, similar to findings in previous studies. The simulated task was found to be extremely fatiguing and modifications to task design or job rotation schedules are required to reduce risk associated with injury development. / Master of Science

De-worming is an important and well-researched part of equine husbandry. However, the de-worming process has been problematic as horses often display avoidance behavior toward the oral administration of the paste. The current study was designed to investigate a force-free method to teach equines to voluntary ingest five novel target stimuli including de-wormer. This method was based on a fading procedure. Participants were initially presented with a highly preferred food stimulus. Over the course of the study, the target stimuli were blended into the highly preferred food stimulus at increasingly higher ratios. By the end of the procedure, only the target stimuli were presented. Four horses participated in the study. After treatment, three of the four horses voluntarily ingested all five target stimuli. The fourth horse voluntarily ingested two novel stimuli and the other three novel stimuli if blended with three quarters of an ounce of pellets. Overall, the procedure was successful and provides a non-aversive alternative to existing de-worming strategies.

Samhällsproblemet kring den ekonomiska brottsligheten är ett faktum, och härtill debatteras huruvida det finns ett samband mellan avsaknaden av revision och ekobrott. Frånvaron av revision aktualiserades i samband med avskaffandet av revisionsplikten år 2010, således blev det frivilligt för små svenska företag att anlita en revisor. Reformen hade i huvudsak som ändamål att minska företags kostnader och administrativa bördor. Emellertid har det riktats uppmärksamhet på flertalet konsekvenser efter avskaffandet av revisionsplikten, som minskad efterlevnad av redovisnings- och skattelagstiftning, ökad möjlighet till ekonomisk brottslighet samt utmaningar med att upptäcka och avslöja sådan brottslighet. Mot bakgrund av de bekymmer och ståndpunkter som uttryckts är det av intresse att reflektera över motiven bakom regelförenkling kring revision för små svenska företag, särskilt med tanke på att diskussionen återigen tagits upp till debatt. Syftet med studien är att beskriva och analysera vilka faktorer och argument som ligger till grund för Sveriges regelförenkling kring revision för små aktiebolag som trädde i kraft 2010, samt reflektera kring orsaker och konsekvenser av regelförenklingen. Med utgångspunkt i en kvalitativ forskningsansats, har en dokumentstudie genomförts för att besvara studiens syfte.  Studiens empiriska resultat framställer att flera olika teman har beaktats och diskuterats under processen för avskaffandet av revisionsplikten för små svenska aktiebolag, där vissa teman var förutsebara och andra oväntade. Ekonomisk brottslighet var ett tema som förväntades diskuteras, en förväntan som baserades på efterföljande diskussioner kring reformen. Studiens resultat visar att ekonomisk brottslighet uppmärksammades, däremot inte i den omfattning som väntades. En stor del av de identifierade temana behandlade även revisorns roll och ansvar, där det observerades en oenighet kring dess funktion och skyldigheter. Resultatet visar att det inte fanns en enhetlig syn på revisorns roll och dess uppgifter. Med utgångspunkt i det empiriska resultat och slutsatser bidrar studien med kunskap och insikter om vilka övervägande som kan ligga bakom en förändring av revisionsreglering. / The social problem surrounding financial crime is a fact, and the debate revolves around whether there is a connection between the lack of auditing and financial crime. The absence of an audit was actualized in connection with the abolition of the mandatory audit in 2010, making it optional for small Swedish companies to hire an auditor. The reform was mainly aimed at reducing companies’ costs and administrative burdens. However, attention has been drawn to several post-decommissioning consequences, such as reduced compliance with accounting and tax laws, increased opportunity for financial crime, and challenges in detecting and exposing such crime. Against the background of the concerns and positions that have been expressed, it is of interest to reflect on the motives behind the simplification of rules regarding auditing for small Swedish companies, especially considering that the discussion has once again been brought up for debate. The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze which factors and arguments that lie as the basis for Sweden’s regulatory simplification regarding auditing for small companies that came into effect in 2010, and to reflect on the causes and consequences of the simplification. Based on a qualitative research approach, a document study has been carried out in order to answer the purpose of the study.  The study’s empirical results reveal that several different themes have been considered and discussed during the process of abolishing the mandatory audit for small Swedish companies, where some themes were predictable and others unexpected. Financial crime was a theme that was expected to be discussed, an expectation that was based on the subsequent discussions around the reform. The study’s results show that financial crime was acknowledged, although not to the extent that was expected. A large part of the identified themes also addressed the auditor’s role and responsibilities, where a disagreement about its function and duties can be observed. The result shows that there was not a unified view of the auditor’s role and its tasks. Based on the empirical results and conclusions, the study contributes knowledge and insights into which considerations may lie behind a change in audit regulation.

Yes / Asylum-seeking and refugee (AS&R) women living in the UK often have complex health and social care needs, with poor underlying mental and physical health and an increased risk of negative pregnancy outcomes. Despite this, AS&R women are less likely to attend for timely maternity care and when they do, care may be poor, with staff not understanding their specific needs and displaying poor attitudes. This article discusses the Maternity Stream of the City of Sanctuary and how this charity aims to work with statutory and voluntary sector maternity-related services and groups to develop services that are inclusive for AS&R women and meet their specific needs. Volunteer AS&R women are central to the activities of the Maternity Stream and this article discusses how they engage with midwives and other maternity workers to facilitate the development of services that may ultimately improve pregnancy outcomes for AS&R women.

Boij, A. 2002: Jorden är mörk och svart. Vad som rör pastorer i Svenska Missionsförbundet när de ska predika om samhället. (The world is black and dark. What concerns pastors in the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden when they preach about society). Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Psychologia et Sociologia Religionum 16. 239 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 91-554-5488-7. The dissertation reflects a study of what pastors in the Mission Covenant Church in Sweden say in their sermons about society and social responsibility and represents an attempt at finding factors such as gender, education, age, values, and faith behind what has been said in the sermons. The results show that in general pastors have a negative picture of society irrespective of which of its aspects they are addressing. The pastors’ view of Christian responsibility for society is that it is primarily something for the individual to take, not for the congregation. Above all, Christian responsibility for society is about individual Christians' taking responsibility for her fellow human beings. For theoretical clarification the findings are discussed within the framework of the concept of secularisation, following Casanova (1994) sub-divided into differentiation, decline of religion and privatisation. In the study differentiation is identified when pastors do not relate theological reflection to their description and analysis of society. Thus they do not provide an integrated system of meaning for everyday life. As for privatisation, even when pastors are mainly speaking about public events, they are unable to place those events in a religiously interpreted context. According to the pastors social problems are to be met with private and individual solutions through Christians' actions to the benefit of their fellow men. The MCC is a part of what in Swedish can be called a popular movement, a kind of "social movement" or "voluntary organisation." The analysis shows that its pastors in their sermons do not embrace some of the central parts of the ideology that generally pertain to popular movements, namely concern with reforming society.