A wish for a higher standard of living has driven the rate of consumption in Sweden. Mainfocus in business is on a higher growth and profitability where some companies use a lowprice strategy to win competitive advantage. The positive consumption pattern spiral is oftendiscussed in media, while criticism is limited and often refers to the environment. In order toreduce our ecological footprint we should consume more sustainably. More and morecompanies implement CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) in their business strategy tobecome more sustainable.

Partnering is a new and exciting way of cooperation in the Swedish construction industry. In countries like Denmark and the United Kingdom the concept has been developed during a number of years while the Swedish construction industry has been more reluctant.Partnering is seen by many as the solution to the problems that often occur in design and build contracts. Many others believe that it is a way for the big entrepreneurs to gain unfair advantage. Never the less the concept is fast getting more and more appreciation, especially in the region of Karlstad where many new buildings are built that way.We have focused on the new development of Carlstad Conference Center (CCC) which is currently built with a partnering concept. The main method that have been used in this thesis are interviews with personnel on different positions in the project.

Today it is mainly small and medium sized companies that choose to outsource parts of their ITdepartment in order to increase and become great. It is becoming increasingly common forcompanies to take the help of competent suppliers so that they then can focus on their own corebusiness. These companies are taking advantage of modern methods to support systemdevelopment by outsourcing to other countries such as India. Choosing to outsource to othercountries poses new challenges for companies when they meet both cultural and organizationaldifferences. It requires a lot of time and planning and clear communication in order to developand reach the goal.

Background and problem discussion: Sustainability reporting has recently risen in importance and a rising number of companies choose to issue voluntary stand-alone sustainability reports. Their non-regulated nature increases the opportunity for management to angle the information in these disclosures to their own advantage. Lately the focus has shifted from examining what kind of information is provided in environmental disclosures, to analyzing how the information is presented.Purpose: The purpose is to examine if managers in the energy sector use optimistic tone when issuing sustainability reports. The aim is to find out if the tone applied in environmental disclosures is in congruence with either the environmental or economic performance or if an excessively positive tone is being used to mislead readers.Limitations: This study is limited to information found in environmental disclosures from private companies in the energy sector, issued in 2012 or 2013. Environmental performance is defined as the amount of CO2e emissions and economic performance refers to annual company revenues.Methodology: The quantification of optimistic tone is conducted using a content analysis, relying on a pre-specified wordlist and a pilot study.

A growing need to strengthen ones position on the market, even as a city in competition with other cities, has resulted in an increasing number of municipalities developing brand platforms. When the city of Umeå developed their platform, they identified decision makers and investors as one of four important target groups.The aim of this study is to explore the portrayed image of the city of Umeå in two Swedish trade journals which addresses the specific target group decition makers and investors in both public and private sector. The aim is also to compare the image of Umeå in the two papers, to the ambition of the municipality, expressed in the brand platform.In order to make the observations as firmly established as possible, the method of the study is a combination of a quantitative content analysis and a qualitative text analysis. The study draws on the theories of Eli Avraham and Philip Kotler, concerning how to improve city images and how to market a specific city among others. The study shows that the city of Umeå in large extent is portrayed in accordance to the ambition which the municipality expressed in the brand platform.Umeå is displayed as an expanding city.

This thesis is divided into two parts. Part one contains a general description of the flexographic printingtechnique. Part two contains a more detailed investigation in the areas substrate, inktransfer and trends, which are only briefly commented in part one, and conclusions and comments.The major problem concerning substrate is washboard. This phenomena can be limited if one can control and minimize the amount of glue applied in the single- and double facer, use high surface weight on liner, use low surfaceweight on fluting and control the humidity during the conditioning of the corrugated board. Corrugated board with a smooth surface radically increases the quality in print.

This thesis is divided into two parts. Part one contains a general description of the flexographic printingtechnique. Part two contains a more detailed investigation in the areas substrate, inktransfer and trends, which are only briefly commented in part one, and conclusions and comments.The major problem concerning substrate is washboard. This phenomena can be limited if one can control and minimize the amount of glue applied in the single- and double facer, use high surface weight on liner, use low surfaceweight on fluting and control the humidity during the conditioning of the corrugated board. Corrugated board with a smooth surface radically increases the quality in print.

A growing need to strengthen ones position on the market, even as a city in competition with other cities, has resulted in an increasing number of municipalities developing brand platforms. When the city of Umeå developed their platform, they identified decision makers and investors as one of four important target groups.The aim of this study is to explore the portrayed image of the city of Umeå in two Swedish trade journals which addresses the specific target group decition makers and investors in both public and private sector. The aim is also to compare the image of Umeå in the two papers, to the ambition of the municipality, expressed in the brand platform.In order to make the observations as firmly established as possible, the method of the study is a combination of a quantitative content analysis and a qualitative text analysis. The study draws on the theories of Eli Avraham and Philip Kotler, concerning how to improve city images and how to market a specific city among others. The study shows that the city of Umeå in large extent is portrayed in accordance to the ambition which the municipality expressed in the brand platform.Umeå is displayed as an expanding city.

The aim of this study was to investigate how the process of implementing a quality management system for food safety was handled in four different food producing companies in Sweden. The aim was also to analyze what difficulties the companies face and the possibilities that arise when certified. Furthermore, the reason for implementation was discussed as well as the main expectations on the certificate. Implementing a quality management system is a good way of ensuring the quality and hygiene of the food production and it also increases the traceability of food products through the whole food chain. A food safety standard provides a method of preventing problems and crisis and it can also help to handle requirements from authorities, the market and others.

This thesis is divided into two parts. Part one contains a general description of the flexographic printingtechnique. Part two contains a more detailed investigation in the areas substrate, inktransfer and trends, which are only briefly commented in part one, and conclusions and comments.The major problem concerning substrate is washboard. This phenomena can be limited if one can control and minimize the amount of glue applied in the single- and double facer, use high surface weight on liner, use low surfaceweight on fluting and control the humidity during the conditioning of the corrugated board. Corrugated board with a smooth surface radically increases the quality in print.

AbstractBachelor Thesis, School of Economics at Vaxjo universityProgram: Enterprising and Business Development, EBD 362, Spring 2006Authors: Jens Asp, Vivianne Holmer, Carl-Marcus WahlstromExaminer: Stig G JohanssonKeywords: Services, cooperation, collaboration, customer offer, knowledgeTitle: Service firms in collaboration ? A study of the development of small service firms in collaborationNutek presented numbers during year 2005 witched show that the Swedish service sector, for the first time ever, was greater than the industrial sector. The kind of firms that develop most is small service firms without employees. The topic of interest in this bachelor thesis is to study how this kind of firms can develop. There is a great number of strategic options for firms to choose.

An increasing number of automotive supplier companies are investing in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in order to gain cost advantages. This has happened in a rapid pace since many of these countries did not have any foreign direct investments (FDI) at the turn of the century. The problem now is for how long these countries will be able to maintain the low costs. One purpose was to create a model of country advantages for automotive supplier companies when relocating further production to CEE. This dissertation was written in cooperation with the Trelleborg Group.

Jällaskolans upper secondary School is situated on a big farm just outside Uppsala. The School is focused on agriculture, forestry, gardening, animal care and science. Jällaskolans staff has whished for a school garden for educational purpose where students can practice their gardening skills and learn more about plants. But most important, a specially adapted outside environment such as a garden, would be a great advantage for the students with special needs. This garden could even be an asset for other visiting school classes in the region.

In this paper the effect of capital structure on profitability has been investigated among Swedish companies. The essay intends to examine how the relationship between debt and profitability appear among Swedish companies and if the relationship differs between industries. The purpose is to find out how debt affects the profitability of Swedish companies.A quantitative approach has been applied. The selection was made among companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm, which resulted in a sample of 207 companies. Several regression analyzes has been formed, based on the independent variable debt-ratio and the dependent variables profit margin, pre-tax profit margin, operating margin, return on assets and return on equity.

The purpose of the thesis has been to explore the use of hedge fund styles when constructing portfolios of hedge funds (i.e. funds of hedge funds). The central question is if the use of hedge fund styles can significantly explain and improve risk adjusted returns (characterized by Sharpe ratios). The study has been done in collaboration with Optimized Portfolio Management AB who desire further knowledge and evaluation of hedge fund styles for their fund of hedge funds.To be able to create successful ex ante portfolios we have explored various prediction models for both risk and return. Our findings indicate that return prediction is problematic using simple models such as regression since the risk exposure of the indices appear to change significantly over time.