Background: The global capital markets have enlarged investment opportunities and thus also the sources of funds for companies which increasingly face global markets for their services and products. Huge capital movements show that investors are constantly searching ways to minimise risk and maximise returns. In the light of the substantial growth of assets in institutional funds, an important question for international finance is the degree to which institutional investors have diversified their portfolios internationally. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the international diversification of portfolio investments of institutional investors in Japan, the US and the UK and deepen into international diversification in portfolios of Japanese institutional investors. Demarcations: Institutional investors can use their power directly in companies or indirectly through capital markets.

Academic research concerning how to determine the power situation in a supply chain where an investment product supplier is involved did not exist. Therefore new models has been developed that analyses the power relations and maps out the power situation in a supply chain. In the future these models can be applied on similar cases by modifying the included parameters. The new models show that case company FAS should focus on the big producers of garbage bag which are Trioplast, Rullpack and Miljösäck. By strengthen the brand FAS can make more money in these relations.

The focus of the thesis is to examine the regional branding ofpublic libraries in Norrbotten, with the main focus on Piteå public library, in order to find trends that indicate a successful branding based on Hariff & Rowley?s (2011) identified key factors.The empirical data has been collected through a triangulation of interviews and documents. The findings show that they have done a proficient preparatory work prior to the regional branding of the public libraries, and that the libraries have worked together with a communication bureau in their marketing strategies since the beginning of the public library cooperation. The results also show that Piteå public library, through branding efforts, received another relationship with the media where the media now occasionally contact the library.The conclusion of the thesis is that Piteå public library promoted the library through campaigns that provide the opportunity for activities and experiences, and that they want to convey the image of itself as a venue for social interaction. The marketing of the libraries fulfill the most of the criteria, but there are still areas of branding that needs to be further explored..

Vilken finansieringsstrategi fo?retag bo?r anva?nda sig av fo?r att uppna? sa? ho?g lo?nsamhet som mo?jligt, har varit a?mne fo?r intensiv forskning alltsedan Modigliani & Millers identifierade samband mellan skuldsa?ttningsgrad och lo?nsamhet 1958. Da? europeiska banker a?r a?lagda med regleringar sta?r de info?r en problematisk situation da?r de beho?ver skapa ho?gre avkastning fo?r investerare, och samtidigt leva upp till de riskbegra?nsningar regelverken fo?reskriver. De ledande teorierna inom omra?det sta?r i konflikt med varandra da?r ba?de finansiering genom skulder respektive eget kapital fo?respra?kas fo?r att uppna? optimal kapitalstruktur.

Internet has opened a whole new world when it comes to marketing. Because of this companies can reach out to a broader consumer audience. The idea to write this essay came to mind, when we were asked to design the website of a new registered company named Artoteket. The company?s purpose is to hire out and market art on the Internet to bigger companies such as banks, law firms and industrial company?s etc.

Detta arbete Fokuserar på att belysa och öka förståelsen kring fördelarna för värdföretag utsatta för olaga kopierings- och plagieringsverksamhet. Globaliseringen tillsammans med den hastiga teknologiska utvecklingen har skapat möjligheter för utomstående företag att basera sin produktion och försäljning på kopiering av andras innovationer, varumärken och produkter. Eftersom plagiering och produktkopiering har på senaste år intensifierats i både tillverkning och handel, räcker inte de gällande rättsreglarna till för motarbetning av problemet. Tidigare undersökningar och teorier har mestadels inriktat sig på de negativa aspekterna produktkopiering bringar samt hur man bekämpar dessa. Därför försöker denna studie inta ett annat perspektiv och belysa positiva aspekter av produktplagiering för värdföretag.

The Swedish real estate market has experienced an intense increase of demand during the last ten years. Thus, people regularly visit real estate websites, as well as home improvement and interior design have become extremely popular. However, the Swedish real estate agencies still have not developed a theoretical framework on how to most effectively market the properties. The main purpose of this study was to investigate how interior in apartment advertising affects the buyer's interest in the apartment, and furthermore to start building a framework for how to effectively use interior as a marketing tool. The study connects theory regarding social identity, advertising effectiveness and product personality in order to investigate consumer behaviour in the real estate market.

Theability to beat the market is one of the most discussed topics in finance. Thereare very few investors that manage to accomplish this over longer periods oftime. Most of the financial research claims that this is impossible unless theinvestor increase the risk in the portfolio. However numerous of researchershave shown that it exist anomalies on the stock market which either indicatesthat the Capital Asset Pricing Modell (CAPM) or Fama and French three-factormodel fails to explain stock returns or that the market is not fully efficient.One investor that has claimed that the stock market is not fully efficient andthat it is possible to generate abnormal return is Benjamin Graham. Graham isone of the legends on Wall Street and he has shown that by using few variablesbased on public information, one can manage to beat the market over longer timeperiods.There arejust a few studies that have tested Graham?s criteria?s, however all of themindicates that they work but that the standard deviation might be higher forthe portfolios.

AbstractTitle: Level/Degree/Grade:Authors:Supervisor:Research question:Purpose:How the bank may improve its financial counselling ? A qualitative case study.Bachelor Thesis; Business administration; Corporate finance.Andreas A?strand, Anton Persson, Kristoffer Wedebrand.Hans Mo?rner.How may the bank improve its financial counselling to private investors using portfolio theory?Our purpose is to examine the advice, with basis in portfolio theory, the bank?s financial advisors provide to their clients, the investors, and how they can improve. If we can identify and point out areas of improvement in the financial counselling, we hope to raise the question and contribute with an improved financial counselling. Another positive effect we are hoping for is to improve the situation for the investors whereas all parties benefit from an improved portfolio selection.This study is conducted through a qualitative case study, where we used a deductive approach and collected our data through personal interviews.The conclusion that emerges is that the financial counselling could potentially be improved if financial advisors improve their knowledge in portfolio theory.The originality shapes through the opportunity to investigate a specific bank and because of that an opportunity to examine a specific case more thoroughly was created. Our thesis contributes with opening La?nsfo?rsa?kringar?s and other banks? eyes to how their financial counselling could be improved through new knowledge in portfolio theory.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka individens olika dimensioner av jaget/Self-concept och dess betydelse för relationer mellan konsumenter och varumärken. Vi har valt att forma studien efter det existentiell-fenomenologiska paradigmet. Metoden är passande för att undersöka konsumenters erfarenheter av olika slag. Metoden innefattar djupintervjuer där respondenterna styr dialogen under intervjun. De teorier vi har valt att använda oss av är teorier kring relationen mellan individ och varumärke, Self-concept, referensgruppsteori, Conspicuous och Status Consumption samt varumärkesteori.

This is a thesis report from SLU in Skinnskatteberg, the Swedish university of agricultural sciences. This study is an evaluation of a course in attitudes and behavior for participants of the ETT- project led by Skogforsk, the forestry research institute of Sweden. They do research for the benefit of Swedish forestry. The ETT-project is a project where there are both 74 tons ST-trucks and 90 tons ETT-trucks in test on the public roads. This study is concentrated on the ST-trucks and their drivers, company owners and logistics managers. The evaluation is done by interviews with the various participants.

Hur kan sponsring stärka ett företags varumärke och vilka skillnaderoch likheter finns det mellan hur tjänsteföretag och producerandeföretag använder sig av sponsring i syfte att stärka varumärket?Syftet är att studera hur företag använder sig av sponsring i avsikt att stärkavarumärket samt identifiera skillnader och likheter mellantjänsteföretags och producerande företags sponsringsverksamheter.En tvärsnittsstudie har genomförts på fyra fallföretag. Primärdatansamlades in genom semistrukturerade personliga intervjuer.Den teoretiska referensramen baseras på vår modifieradeundersökningsmodell, AEGM-modellen, som är utformad utifrånbefintliga teorier inom ämnesområdena varumärke och sponsring.Empiri i form av presentation av de undersökta företagens sponsringsverksamhet ochintervjupersonernas syn på hur företagen använder sponsring i syfteatt stärka varumärket.Slutsats: Det förefaller skillnader, men även många likheter, mellan hurtjänsteföretag och producerande företag använder sig av sponsring.Ett varumärke kan stärkas med hjälp av sponsring, exempelvis genomatt kunden involveras i arrangemanget och att sponsringenkombineras med andra marknadsföringsaktiviteter..

Bakgrund och problem: I takt med de utvecklade ekonomiernas framskridande och enalltmer långtgående automatisering har mycket av ekonomins fokus flyttats från de renodladetillverkningsindustrierna till service- och tjänstenäringarna, i vilka det intellektuella kapitaletofta är en viktig hörnsten. Med denna förändring har kritiska röster höjts angående attteorierna kring strategiformulering och strategiuppföljning inte täcker in de villkor somkunskapsintensiva företag arbetar under.Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att utreda hur svenska arkitektbyråers strategier återspeglardet i branschen stora beroendet av intellektuellt kapital samt att undersöka hur byråernaarbetar med ekonomistyrningsmässig strategiuppföljning. Studien syftar även till att klarläggahuruvida, och i sådana fall på vilket sätt, denna ekonomistyrningsmässiga uppföljning skullekunna utvecklas.Metod: En deskriptiv forskningsansats har använts för att tillgodose studiens forskningssyfte.Resultatet understöds av kvalitativ data av såväl primär som sekundär karaktär. Primärdatanhar i första hand inhämtats genom intervjuer med företrädare för svenska arkitektbyråermedan sekundärdatan till stor del härstammar från forskningsartiklar.Teori: Det teoretiska avsnittet grundar sig på teorier rörande strategiformulering, intellektuelltkapital, kunskapsspridning samt prestationsmått som ekonomistyrningsverktyg.Resultat: De undersökta arkitektbyråerna har inga genomarbetade strategidokument ellertydligt formulerade strategier. Istället arbetar de utifrån olika kärnvärden.

Strömstad is a small city located on the Swedish west coast. Urbanization and development is acurrent issue for the municipally, as for many other in the current situation. The municipal housingcompany Strömstadsbyggen is one of the parties involved in the extensive development that mustbe implemented to meet the changes and developments which the issue holds.One area that is of interest in the discussion is Rådhusberget - this due to the existing infrastructureand unique qualities that the area holds. In order to achieve the best solutions possible for the area,Strömstadsbyggen wishes to listen to what the existing tenants at Rådhusberget thinks and feelsregarding the area and its future potential.This thesis has therefore been carried out in collaboration with Strömstadsbyggen and has beenaimed at identifying the current tenants' thoughts and opinions in the existing area of developmentand infill potential. The aim of this work was also to investigate how the tenants value their homeand local environment in its current state, and what their wishes are for the possible futuredevelopment of Rådhusberget.To achieve analyzable results concerning how the tenants perceive these aspects, an extensivesurvey have been carried out which were sent out to all tenants in the area.

Abstract Apple Computers Inc. is known for their loyal and passionate followers. This study focuses on the brand communities and brand loyalty that is frequently seen among Apple customers. It focuses on the factors that create an apparent deep-set loyalty and passion towards their computers among Mac-users. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of why some consumers feel such a strong attraction to a company, its brand and its products.