Detta arbete har genomförts vid Volvo Construction Equipment i Braås. I nuläget används konventionell spraybågssvetsning med metallpulverfylld rörtråd i produktionen. Ett alternativ som övervägs är att byta till solidtråd. Huvudsyftet med detta arbete har varit att utreda huruvida några utvalda processer med 1.2 mm solidtråd är kapabla att producera ensträngs kälsvetsar som uppfyller av Volvo CE ställda krav: - Minst 3 mm i-mått. - Teoretiskt a-mått mellan 4 och 5.5 mm. - Svetsklass VD enligt Volvo standard STD 181-0004. - Kompatibel med fogföljning via ljusbåge. - Ingen spalt mellan plåtarna tillåten. Arbetet inleddes med en litteraturstudie för att framförallt beskriva svetsparametrars inverkan på svetsens inträngningsprofil och geometri.  Ett stort antal svetsförsök utfördes med konventionell spraybåge samt de vågformsstyrda processerna Fronius PMC och Lincoln Electrics RapidArc. Försöken genomfördes i PA och i PB läge. I PB läget orienterades förbandet dels med gränsytan mellan plåtarna horisontellt och dels vertikalt. Flertalet av försöken genomfördes med svetstraktor. Kompletterande försök genomfördes med svetsrobot. Inträngning och kvalité bedömdes framförallt genom makroprov och syning, men också genom lasermätning. Vid inledande faktorförsök med RapidArc, PMC och konventionell spraybågsprocess användes trådmatningshastighet 13 och 15 m/min i kombination med svetshastighet 55 och 65 cm/min. Försöken visade att i PB läge med horisontell gränsyta kan 3 mm i-mått uppnås med trådmatningshastigheten 13 m/min och svetshastigheten 55 cm/min. Under avslutande svetsförsök med PMC i PB läge med gränsytan vertikalt vid 60 cm/min svetshastighet, pendling och 14.5-15.5 m/min trådmatningshastighet erhölls i-mått avsevärt överstigande 3 mm. Vid svetsförsök i PB läge med solidtråd uppnåddes kraven på 3 mm i-mått och mjuka fattningskanter med ökad svetshastighet jämfört med ett typiskt produktionsfall. I PA läge erhölls mindre skillnad gentemot ett produktionsfall. Genom ytterligare optimering av svetsprocesserna är det dock inte orimligt att svetshastigheterna kan ökas utan försämrade i-mått och fattningskanter. Möjlig kostnadsreducering för tillsatsmaterialet vid övergång till solidtråd är 30-50% beroende på att solidtråden är billigare än metallpulverfylld rörtråd. Ytterligare kostnadsreducering kan erhållas genom förbrukning av mindre mängd tillsatsmaterial. Vid genomförde svetsförsök har mindre mängd tillsatsmaterial tillförts jämfört med typiska produktionsfall.  Både den konventionella spraybågsprocessen och de vågformsstyrda processerna är kapabla att producera de eftersträvade svetsarna med solidtråd. Här måste dock ett ”varnade finger” höjas; vid svetsningen krävs god kontroll av elektrodvinklarna och elektrodens position relativt fogens rot, annars erhålls betydligt sämre resultat. / This thesis has been performed at Volvo Construction Equipment in Braås. Currently, conventional MAG spray transfer with metal cored wire is used in the production. The company is now considering switching from metal cored wire to solid wire. The main purpose of this thesis has been to investigate whether a few selected processes used with 1.2 mm solid wire are capable of producing single pass fillet welds that conform to the following requirements set by Volvo CE: - Minimum i-dimension 3 mm. - Theoretical throat thickness between 4 and 5.5 mm. - Weld class VD according to Volvo standard STD 181-0004. - Compatible with Through Arc Seam Tracking. - No gap between the plates is allowed. A literature study was performed primarily in order to describe the influence of weld parameters on the weld and penetration profile. A large number of weld trials were performed with conventional spray transfer and the two waveform controlled processes Fronius PMC and Lincoln Electrics RapidArc. The weld trials were performed in the weld positions PA and PB. For PB the joint root was orientated both horizontally and vertically. For the majority of trials a weld tractor was used. Complementary trials were performed by a robot. Weld testing consisted primarily of macro etch testing and visual inspection but also laser scanning. The initial trials with RapidArc, PMC and conventional spray transfer were performed with the wire feed speeds 13 and 15 m/min in combination with the travel speeds 55 and 65 cm/min. The trials showed that when using weld position PB with a horizontal joint root, 3 mm i-dimension can be achieved by using wire feed speed 13 m/min and travel speed 55 cm/min. Final trials with PMC were performed in weld position PB with a vertical joint root using wire feed speeds 14.5-15.5 m/min, a travel speed of 60 cm/min and weaving resulting in i-dimensions much greater than 3 mm being achieved. Using solid wire in weld position PB, welds with 3 mm i-dimension and good wetting of the toes were produced with increased travel speed compared to a typical production case. However, in weld position PA less difference was obtained compared to a typical production case. By further optimizing the weld processes it is not unlikely that the travel speeds can be increased while maintaining the i-dimension and good wetting of the toes. A possible cost reduction for the filler material is 30-50% because solid wire is cheaper than metal cored wire. Using less filler material will result in additional cost reductions. During performed weld trials less filler material was used compared to current production scenarios. Both the conventional spray transfer process and the waveform controlled processes are capable of producing the desired welds with solid wire. However, a cautionary tale must be told: when welding, good control of the electrode angles and position relative to the joint root is needed otherwise much worse results will be obtained.

The automotive industry has given over the last seven decades to the industrial world a sustained demand for vehicles. It is classed as one of the largest industries in the world and an industry that most use and develop new technologies with the goal to reduce their costs and increase their productivity.The Japanese philosophy that calls from the west-world for Lean Management is based on, among other things, the elimination of the "muda" which translates as waste through continuous efforts aimed at achieving a robust manufacturing. To achieve this, uses several methods and tools and among others is the Just-In-Time approach the most abundant. JIT means the right material will be in the right place at a specific time. This study will most be focused on a strategy that is considered the most extreme application of the concept, namely the Just-In-Sequence strategy in which the components are delivered in the right time and in the right sequence in a pull system manufacturing there the goal is to see if the lead times and resource need can be minimized.To test the appropriate theory takes the study place at Volvo Cars in Torslanda, Sweden. Volvo Cars manufactures some of the most popular cars in the world, with production in Europe, Asia, and from 2018 also in the United States. The company implements the Lean methods and especially JIT but also JIS in some parts of the assembly.This study was done on the engine department there the engines arrive from the supplier in a rack that runs further to the different buffers and from there to the production line for final assembly.The purpose was to investigate and report on how the company could through using of the JIS strategy affect the material flow as well as which economic benefits had this implementation resulted.The study took into account both sequencing at the supplier and sequencing in the plant after the arrival. Both methods resulted a more efficient flow of materials in which a reduction in the need of resources was noted. The sequencing at the supplier proved to be even more advantageous, as in most of the cases, production costs less at suppliers but also the reduction in capital was radically.IITo achieve a perfect sequence requires close cooperation with the suppliers and a quite big investment to create robust processes that eliminates the error probability.The main recommendation to Volvo Cars is to mostly focus on the big picture than on each plant individually. To achieve a more efficient flow and a better result for the entire organization is something that should be given priority even if a facility would then get a worse result. Finally, it is recommended to Volvo Cars to invest in a Just-In-Sequence strategy which bring benefits such as freeing up operative area in the factory, but most important of all, it reduces the lead times and the resource-costs. / Fordonsindustrin har under de senaste sju decennierna gett till industriella världen en oförminskad efterfrågan på fordon. Den klassas som en utav de största industrierna i världen samt en industri som mest använder och utvecklar ny teknik med mål att sänka sina kostnader och öka sin produktivitet.Den japanska filosofin som västervärlden kallar för Lean management grundar på bland annat eliminering av ”muda” som översätts som slöseri genom ett kontinuerligt arbete som siktar till att uppnå ett robust tillverkningssystem. För att uppnå detta används flera metoder och verktyg och bland andra är Just-In-Time metoden den mest förekommande. JIT innebär att rätt material ska vara på rätt plats på en specifik tid. I denna studie kommer mest läggas fokus på en strategi som anses av de flesta företag vara den mest extrema tillämpningen av konceptet, nämligen Just-In-Sequence strategin där komponenterna levereras helt enkelt i rätt tid och i rätt sekvens i ett dragande system och målet är att se om ledtiderna och resursbehovet kan minimeras.För att prova den lämpliga teorin äger studien rum på Volvo Cars i Torslanda. Volvo Cars tillverkar några utav de mest efterfrågade bilarna i världen med produktion i Europa, Asien och från och med 2018 i USA. Företaget använder sig av de ovannämnda Lean metoderna som JIT men även JIS på vissa delar av monteringen.Denna studie skedde specifikt på motoravdelningen där motorer ankommer ifrån leverantören i rack som vidare körs till olika buffertar och därifrån till produktionsbandet för slutmonteringen.Syftet var att undersöka och redogöra för hur företaget kan med hjälp av JIS-strategin påverka företagets materialflöde samt vilka ekonomiska fördelar hade denna implementering medfört.Studien tog hänsyn till både försekvensering hos leverantören och sekvensering efter ankomsten till fabriken. Båda två metoderna resulterade i ett effektivare materialflöde där en minskning av behövande resurser märktes. Sekvenseringen hos leverantören visade sig vara ännu fördelaktig då i de flesta av fallen är tillverkningskostnaderna mindre hos leverantörer men även minskning av bundet kapital var radikalt. Att nå en perfekt sekvens kräver nära samarbete med leverantören och en ganska stor investering för att skapa robusta processer som eliminerar felsannolikheten.Den huvudsakliga rekommendationen till Volvo Cars är att fokusera mest på helheten än på varje fabrik individuellt. Att nå ett effektivare flöde och ett bättre resultat för hela koncernen är något som borde prioriteras även om en anläggning skulle i så fall få ett mindre bra resultat. Slutligen rekommenderas till Volvo Cars att investera i en Just-In-Sequence strategi något som medför fördelar genom att frigöra viktig yta i fabriken men viktigaste av allt, genom att minska sina ledtider och sina resurskostnader.

<p>Bakgrund: De svenska börsbolagen gör större vinster än någonsin tidigare, men har fått stor kritik för att vara för långsamma i sin vinstallokering. Företag med överkapitaliserade balansräkningar utan investeringsbehov är potentiella måltavlor för riskkapitalisternas affärsidé om finansiell effektivisering och en aggressivare kapitalstruktur. Debatten i media har skapat kritik kring dessa så kallade kortsiktiga och giriga bolagsplundrare som påstås förstöra finansiella värden och kreditvärdigheten i företagen. I tidigare fall har marknaden svarat positivt på riskkapitalisternas investeringar, något som har reflekterats i ett kraftigt ökande aktiepris. Skeptiker hävdar dock att spekulationer är anledningen till att marknadsvärdet drivs upp, inte fundamentala aspekter.</p><p>Syfte: Syftet med denna magisteruppsats är att fastställa en bild av fenomenet riskkapital och hur dess aktiva ägande inverkar på svenska börsbolags kreditbetyg, kapitalstruktur och värdering.</p><p>Metod: För att uppnå syftet med vår magisteruppsats har en kvalitativ ansats till-lämpats baserad på tre börsbolag där riskkapitalisters aktiva ägande spelat en betydande roll. Det empiriska materialet har insamlats genom personliga intervjuer med aktie- och kreditanalytiker, och studien förlitar sig även på markandsdata, artiklar och nyhetssändningar i media, samt respektive bolags kvartals- och årsrapporter.</p><p>Slutsats: Studien har gjorts over den tidsperiod som varit riskkapitalisternas inve-steringshorisont – explicit och implicit. Genom att analysera det aktiva ägarskapet i tre svenska börsbolag kan slutsatsen dras att det inverkat positivt i form av högre prestanda och marknadsvärdering. De finansiella förändringarna har, till skillnad från kritiken, styrkt kreditbetyget i fallen Lindex och Volvo. En analys av Skandia/Old Mutual visade dock en marginellt ökad kreditrisk. Slutsatsen visar härmed att riskkapitalisternas inverkan på svenska börsbolag är värdeförädlande utan att äventyra den finansiella statusen.</p> / <p>Background: The Swedish blue chip companies are performing better than ever, but have been strongly criticised for being too slow in their excess fund allocation. Companies with overcapitalised balance sheets and no investment needs are potential targets for activist funds’ business idea of more aggressive capital structures and financial restructuring. In media, this debate has raised criticism against these so called short-sighted, greedy asset-strippers that destroy company values and increase the companies’ risk of default. In prior cases where activist funds have taken actions, the market has responded positively through increasing the share price. However, sceptics argue that the higher share price is merely a response to a speculative reaction with no fundamental argument supporting the upgrade in market capitalisation.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to establish a view of the phenomenon of activist funds and their impact on blue chip companies’, listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, credit rating, capital structure and valuation.</p><p>Method: To fulfil the purpose of our master thesis, a qualitative approach has been applied based on three cases involving the activities of activist funds. The empirical findings have been retrieved via personal communications with stock- and credit analysts, and the study also relies on articles and news coverage from media, stock market data and annual reports from each of the chosen companies respectively.</p><p>Conclusion: The study has regarded the period of time which has been the investment horizon of the activist funds – explicitly and implicitly. Analysing their active ownership, the conclusion can be drawn that these activist funds have clearly had a positive impact on each of the blue chip companies’ performance and intrinsic value respectively. The financial restructuring has - contrarily to the criticism – strengthened the credit ratings in the cases of Lindex and Volvo. In the Skandia/Old Mutual-case, a marginally higher default risk was detected. Thus, the study has concluded that activist funds indeed add significant shareholder value without jeopardising the companies’ financial statuses.</p>

<p><strong>Title:</strong> Volvo Trucks' Customer Value Proposition</p><p><strong>Authors:</strong> Ekaterina Storubleva, Gregor Milosch, Christian Neumann</p><p><strong>Tutor:</strong> Erik Hunter</p><p><strong>Date:</strong> May 2009</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong></p><p><strong></strong>Volvo Truck Corporation, truck industry, customer value, value drivers, retail strategy, communication, relationship marketing</p><p><strong>Purpose:</strong></p><p><strong></strong>The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the general composition of Volvo Trucks' customer value proposition in Europe and to examine possible ways of enhancing it using Volvo's retailing strategy as a tool.</p><p><strong>Background:</strong></p><p><strong></strong>The concept of customer value gains more and more importance in modern companies. Firms have to truly understand what their customers expect in order to provide the right products for them.Truck manufacturing is a very cyclical industry, which is why in times of crisis, when trade volumes go down, they need to excel even more in order to maintain good business relations with their customers. Volvo Trucks, one of the world's leading truck producers, has adopted a special retailing strategy, in which it owns strategically important dealerships, in order to improve customer understanding and consequently customer value. This paper discusses in how far they succeed at this.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong></p><p><strong></strong>The authors followed a triangular approach, combining quantitative and qualitative research. The quantitative part was covered by a communication chain study and a value driver study, both developed by the authors. In the qualitative part, each participant answered ten open questions, which were then used for internal consistency checks and contributed additional thoughts.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong></p><p><strong></strong>The Volvo Truck Corporation (VTC), by adapting its retail strategy, realized the importance of establishing long-term customer relationships and generating adequate intelligence about customer needs. The company not only incorporated influential elements of relationship marketing but also strives for sustainable improvements in customer-perceived value. However, some conflicts between the stakeholder groups involved have been discovered. The corporation's core values were found to be in line with customer preferences.</p><p>In essence, it is crucial for Volvo Trucks to implement the ideas of relationship marketing, establish superior communication channels, and to promote a common understanding of customer value.</p>

<p>The claims that we have entered a new society, with a new typeof business logic and view on business relationships, are becoming more and more commonplace. In this context it seems appropriate to try and detect signals of change in societal behavior, possibly indicating a transition from one society to another. This essay deals with this very issue. By means of an analysis of the public discourses in 1993 and 1999 respectively, the authors try to establish evidence for or against such a societal shift. The analysis is focused on the discourse, as it was conveyed in the business press, surrounding two separate merger propositions, both including Volvo as one of the parties involved. The results indicate a societal change, albeit a moderate one. Also, no fundamental change in business logic could be detected. This would suggest that the hype around the New Economy might be just that, a hype.</p>

<p>Project Safe Sleeping Position (SSP) contains all parts in a product development phase. The project comprises the whole cycle from idea to a complete product where all aspects are included. The scope is to develop an innovative solution for a common known problem and work with all parts within the man-machine-way. The result is an inflatable product which secures a child in the correct way for the seatbelt to work properly in the rearseat of a car. Ergonomics, technical extent, usability, design, construction, product solutions and market potential are some of all parts witch the project includes. The targetgroup for the project is children 4 to 12 years old, but there is a great potential for a further development to provide a solution for adults. </p><p>Signed project managers are commissioned by Volvo Car Corporation (VCC), a large car manufacturer with the whole world as the market. This sets requirements to the product to be adaptable to all markets without cutting down on usability. Except the assigner, the project comprises several partners, both companies, independent organizations and students at Halmstad University.</p>

<p>Detta examensarbete har utförts av Johan Arvidsson, Marcus Leidefeldt och Tobias Unosson, studenter vid Innovations- och designingenjörsprogrammet vid Karlstads universitet. Arbetet omfattar 20 högskolepoäng varav 5 poäng är en fördjupning i ergonomi, semantik samt retorik och presentationsteknik. Projektet genomfördes under vårterminen 2006 och motsvarar 20 veckors heltidsstudier.</p><p>Uppdragsgivare för examensarbetet var HAVD AB (Hedenberg Advanced Vehicle Design) som är ett produktutvecklingsföretag inom fordonsindustrin. Handledare var Ingemar Carlson från HAVD och Lennart Wihk från Karlstads universitet. Projektet utfördes även i samarbete med Volvo Lastvagnar AB. Uppdraget som studenterna erhöll gick ut på att förbättra och utveckla in- och ursteget på en Volvolastbil av modell FH. Målet med projektet var att bygga en fungerande prototyp av lösningen på en befintlig lastbil som kunde visas upp på examensutställningen i Karlstad den 30 Maj 2006.</p><p>Studenterna fick inledningsvis en kort utbildning i projektledning som företaget anordnade i sina lokaler i Mölndal. I samband med detta fick gruppen ta del av en ny utvecklingsmetod som hade sina rötter i fordonsindustrin. Denna metod användes sedan under projektets gång som delades in i tre faser: idéfas, förstudiefas och genomförandefas. Mellan varje fas fanns en viktig punkt kallad grind då viktiga beslut fattades i samråd med företaget.</p><p>Projektet resulterade i ett mekaniskt eldrivet steg på sidan av lastbilen som transporterar chauffören upp till sin hytt på ett snabbt och säkert sätt. Lösningen döptes till ECA, Ergonomic Cabin Accesss. Slutresultatet är framtaget med fokus på förarens ergonomi och har hög realiserbarhet då det består av befintliga komponenter. Kärnan i konstruktionen är en linjärenhet som omvandlar en roterande kraft till en linjär rörelse. Konstruktionen anpassades till Volvos FH-modell genom att placeras vid dagens befintliga tre steg, vid den så kallade instegslådan. Projektgruppen arbetade fram ritningar med förslag på konstruktion och infästning för detta koncept. En lista på tänkta komponenter med en ekonomisk kalkyl togs också fram.</p><p>Slutresultatet presenterades hos HAVD i Mölndal och på Karlstad universitet i samband med examensutställningen den 30 maj 2006. Gruppen kunde dessvärre inte genomföra ett prototypbygge av ekonomiska skäl då uppdragsgivaren inte hade de resurser som krävdes. Examensarbetet ECA resulterade istället i ritningar, renderingar, animeringar och denna akademiska rapport.</p> / <p>This degree project was performed by students of the Innovation and design engineering programme on Karlstad University, Sweden. Group members have been Johan Arvidsson, Marcus Leidefeldt and Tobias Unosson. The degree project consisted of 20 weeks of work of which 5 was an individual study in literature. The project carried out during the spring of 2006.</p><p>Assigner for the project was Hedenberg Advanced Vehicle Design, HAVD, who is a development company serving the vehicle industry and specializing in interior parts and trim. Contacts were Björn Hedenberg and Ingemar Carlson, HAVD. Examiner at Karlstad University was Lennart Wihk. The project was also collaboration together with VOLVO Truck Car Corp in Gothenburg.</p><p>The task the students were given was to improve and develop a new solution for truck drivers, getting in and out of high trucks. A goal with the project was to build a functioning prototype on a VOLVO truck to be shown at the exhibit for degree projects in Karlstad, May 2006.</p><p>In this project the students participated in a project management course given by HAVD in their facilities. The group toke part of a new development method originated from the vehicle industry. This method was used as a frame for the entire project and consisted of three phases, the idea phase, research phase and the realization phase. Between each phase of the project there was a point called a gate, in which important decisions were maid in the group together with HAVD.</p><p>The project resulted in a mechanical lift, mounted onto the side of the truck transporting the driver safely up and down. The solution was named ECA, Ergonomic Cabin Access. Drawings for the concept and its mounting were completed along with an economic calculation. The final result is developed with focus on the driver ergonomics with a sensible construction using available components. The core in the construction is the so called linear motion drive. This device transforms a rotating force into a linear motion. The concept was adapted to fit a VOLVO truck by replacing the trucks previous three footsteps.</p><p>The final concept was presented at HAVD and Karlstad University at the exhibit for degree projects, 30 May 2006. The concept could not however be built into a prototype due to financial reasons. The degree project ECA resulted in drawings, renderings, animations and this academic report.</p>

The claims that we have entered a new society, with a new typeof business logic and view on business relationships, are becoming more and more commonplace. In this context it seems appropriate to try and detect signals of change in societal behavior, possibly indicating a transition from one society to another. This essay deals with this very issue. By means of an analysis of the public discourses in 1993 and 1999 respectively, the authors try to establish evidence for or against such a societal shift. The analysis is focused on the discourse, as it was conveyed in the business press, surrounding two separate merger propositions, both including Volvo as one of the parties involved. The results indicate a societal change, albeit a moderate one. Also, no fundamental change in business logic could be detected. This would suggest that the hype around the New Economy might be just that, a hype.

Bakgrund: De svenska börsbolagen gör större vinster än någonsin tidigare, men har fått stor kritik för att vara för långsamma i sin vinstallokering. Företag med överkapitaliserade balansräkningar utan investeringsbehov är potentiella måltavlor för riskkapitalisternas affärsidé om finansiell effektivisering och en aggressivare kapitalstruktur. Debatten i media har skapat kritik kring dessa så kallade kortsiktiga och giriga bolagsplundrare som påstås förstöra finansiella värden och kreditvärdigheten i företagen. I tidigare fall har marknaden svarat positivt på riskkapitalisternas investeringar, något som har reflekterats i ett kraftigt ökande aktiepris. Skeptiker hävdar dock att spekulationer är anledningen till att marknadsvärdet drivs upp, inte fundamentala aspekter. Syfte: Syftet med denna magisteruppsats är att fastställa en bild av fenomenet riskkapital och hur dess aktiva ägande inverkar på svenska börsbolags kreditbetyg, kapitalstruktur och värdering. Metod: För att uppnå syftet med vår magisteruppsats har en kvalitativ ansats till-lämpats baserad på tre börsbolag där riskkapitalisters aktiva ägande spelat en betydande roll. Det empiriska materialet har insamlats genom personliga intervjuer med aktie- och kreditanalytiker, och studien förlitar sig även på markandsdata, artiklar och nyhetssändningar i media, samt respektive bolags kvartals- och årsrapporter. Slutsats: Studien har gjorts over den tidsperiod som varit riskkapitalisternas inve-steringshorisont – explicit och implicit. Genom att analysera det aktiva ägarskapet i tre svenska börsbolag kan slutsatsen dras att det inverkat positivt i form av högre prestanda och marknadsvärdering. De finansiella förändringarna har, till skillnad från kritiken, styrkt kreditbetyget i fallen Lindex och Volvo. En analys av Skandia/Old Mutual visade dock en marginellt ökad kreditrisk. Slutsatsen visar härmed att riskkapitalisternas inverkan på svenska börsbolag är värdeförädlande utan att äventyra den finansiella statusen. / Background: The Swedish blue chip companies are performing better than ever, but have been strongly criticised for being too slow in their excess fund allocation. Companies with overcapitalised balance sheets and no investment needs are potential targets for activist funds’ business idea of more aggressive capital structures and financial restructuring. In media, this debate has raised criticism against these so called short-sighted, greedy asset-strippers that destroy company values and increase the companies’ risk of default. In prior cases where activist funds have taken actions, the market has responded positively through increasing the share price. However, sceptics argue that the higher share price is merely a response to a speculative reaction with no fundamental argument supporting the upgrade in market capitalisation. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to establish a view of the phenomenon of activist funds and their impact on blue chip companies’, listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, credit rating, capital structure and valuation. Method: To fulfil the purpose of our master thesis, a qualitative approach has been applied based on three cases involving the activities of activist funds. The empirical findings have been retrieved via personal communications with stock- and credit analysts, and the study also relies on articles and news coverage from media, stock market data and annual reports from each of the chosen companies respectively. Conclusion: The study has regarded the period of time which has been the investment horizon of the activist funds – explicitly and implicitly. Analysing their active ownership, the conclusion can be drawn that these activist funds have clearly had a positive impact on each of the blue chip companies’ performance and intrinsic value respectively. The financial restructuring has - contrarily to the criticism – strengthened the credit ratings in the cases of Lindex and Volvo. In the Skandia/Old Mutual-case, a marginally higher default risk was detected. Thus, the study has concluded that activist funds indeed add significant shareholder value without jeopardising the companies’ financial statuses.

Title: Volvo Trucks' Customer Value Proposition Authors: Ekaterina Storubleva, Gregor Milosch, Christian Neumann Tutor: Erik Hunter Date: May 2009 Keywords: Volvo Truck Corporation, truck industry, customer value, value drivers, retail strategy, communication, relationship marketing Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the general composition of Volvo Trucks' customer value proposition in Europe and to examine possible ways of enhancing it using Volvo's retailing strategy as a tool. Background: The concept of customer value gains more and more importance in modern companies. Firms have to truly understand what their customers expect in order to provide the right products for them.Truck manufacturing is a very cyclical industry, which is why in times of crisis, when trade volumes go down, they need to excel even more in order to maintain good business relations with their customers. Volvo Trucks, one of the world's leading truck producers, has adopted a special retailing strategy, in which it owns strategically important dealerships, in order to improve customer understanding and consequently customer value. This paper discusses in how far they succeed at this. Method: The authors followed a triangular approach, combining quantitative and qualitative research. The quantitative part was covered by a communication chain study and a value driver study, both developed by the authors. In the qualitative part, each participant answered ten open questions, which were then used for internal consistency checks and contributed additional thoughts. Conclusion: The Volvo Truck Corporation (VTC), by adapting its retail strategy, realized the importance of establishing long-term customer relationships and generating adequate intelligence about customer needs. The company not only incorporated influential elements of relationship marketing but also strives for sustainable improvements in customer-perceived value. However, some conflicts between the stakeholder groups involved have been discovered. The corporation's core values were found to be in line with customer preferences. In essence, it is crucial for Volvo Trucks to implement the ideas of relationship marketing, establish superior communication channels, and to promote a common understanding of customer value.