Background: Society of today is characterised by greater dynamics and a constant demand for innovation and fresh ideas. This development is often named "the new economy" or "the knowledge society". Independent of how one chooses to name this society, most individuals seem to agree upon the fact that knowledge grows more and more important. New competencies, such as new knowledge and new forms of organising, will be demanded for corporations to be successful in the future. In recent years it has become more common with corporations based on projects.

The composition of the board of directors and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are two widely researched subject and discussed by the media. This study aims to examine the impact of the board of directors' composition on CSR performance among the largest companies listed on Nasdaq OMX stock exchange 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden. A linear regression analysis is applied to investigate the relationship and evidence is found that board attributes have an effect on CSR performance. Among these; the size of the board, outside directors and employee representatives all have a positive impact on environmental performance. Furthermore; female, outside directors and employee representatives have a positive impact on social performance.

Uppsatsens syfte är att söka klarlägga om olika styrelseutformning, med avseende på sex bestämda faktorer, påverkar företagets prestation och om det går att genom statistisk analys fastslå om dessa faktorer utgör en mätbar påverkan på prestationen. Faktorererna utgörs av styrelsemedlemmarnas kön, genomsnittålder, andel utländska ledamöter i styrelsen som på ett direkt sett utgör oilka kategorier av styrelsemedlemmar. Dessutom har uppsatsen sett på effekten av styrelsens storlek och ledamöternas eventuella beroende. Dessa faktorer har jämförts med ett prestationsmått som utgjorts av företagets värdeförändring på börsen, korrigerat med respektive branschindex. Jämförelsen har gjorts över fem år, med hjälp av regressionsanalys.

AbstractThe development of Corporate Social Responsibility has been increasing for the last decade.Not only is Corporate Social Responsibility an important thing for big rich companies, todayit includes all different kinds of companies? regardless size, profit or industry. An industrywhich affects the majority of the society is the grocery industry. People have on a daily basissome kind of relationship to the grocery industry, which means that we have high presure onthe companies to not take an over price on the goods, to have a good assortment and that thecompanies take responsibility for the society. With high pressure from different groups of thesociety it is hard for the companies to know how to please all groups at their highest level.In this essay a qualitative examination will be done of how grocery companies mange theproblems of having many stakeholders to please.

The purpose of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of Swedish companies? use of corporate sponsorships as a tool for communication. The research describes motives and goals of corporate sponsorships, the selecting process and methods used in evaluating its effects. The empirical data has been colleted through interviews with two companies sponsoring athletics at a top level in Sweden. The study shows that the principal objectives and motives companies have with sponsorships are related to brand exposure, image improvement and relationships.

This essay focuses on the implementation of the strategy gender mainstreaming in the European Union and the member states. It starts to identify problems connected to the implementation process and recognizes significant prerequisites for an efficient implementation of the strategy. The main problems and prerequisites are: political will, governance and structure and knowledge about gender equality. The empirical material consists of reports from the EU that touches upon gender mainstreaming and gender equality. The problems and prerequisites will be analysed in relation to the governance perspectives top-down and bottom-up and expert bureaucratic and participative democratic and gender and feminism.

Vi kommer att undersöka om andelen utländska ägare i svenska börsföretag påverkar företagens nyckeltal. Nyckeltalen vi valt att undersöka är vinst, utdelning, vinst dividerat med kurs, direktavkastning och andel utdelad vinst. Vi har definierat utländskt ägande som: Den procentuella andel ägare registrerade utanför Sverige. Tidsspannet vi undersöker är 2002-2005.Vi ska i uppsatsen testa en hypotes. Hypotesen är att andelen utländskt ägande och företagens nyckeltal är korrelerade.

Denna uppsats handlar om hur Världsbutiken Globalen kan gå till väga för att skapa ett starkt corporate brand, det vill säga ett organisatoriskt varumärke, vid etableringen av en klädbutik. Syftet är att undersöka hur en organisation kan gå till väga för att bygga ett corporate brand med begränsade resurser. Information om Världsbutiken som organisation och deras arbete kring rättvis handel har vi erhållit genom en intervju med Fredrik Pettersson på Globalen. För att finna framgångsfaktorer inom varumärkesbyggande har nyckelpersoner på mindre företag intervjuats. De empiriska resultaten har sedan analyserats utifrån marknadsföringsteorier om varumärkesbyggande.

The purpose of this paper is to perform an in-depth analysis on how the events that took place in Skandia AB during the end of the 1990s have been portrayed in media, and how this has affected the general debate concerning bonuses and incentive plans. The paper studies relevant newspaper articles published in Sweden?s largest business newspaper, Dagens Industri (DI), over a period ranging from 2002 to 2008. The major findings of this paper include that bonuses are widely used as incentives in Swedish companies and that the issue of bonuses as an incentive form has lead to a prevalent debate. Furthermore, the questionable events that took place in Skandia AB during the end of 1990s have affected the general debate concerning bonuses.

Problem: How should a company act to sustain a strong identity and thereby a strong brand image when operating in a changeable world?Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze whether the corporate identity of Academic Work is strong or fragmented. Further more this thesis aims to give recommendations on how the company could continue working to maintain a strong brand image. Methodology: The thesis is a case study of Academic Work. The study is based on data collected from interviews, a poll as well as data from the company website.

Studien undersöker potentiella fördelar för företag att arbeta med och redovisa om CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility, i termer av minskade avkastningskrav från investerare. Med utgångspunkt i teorier om informationsasymmetri och stakeholderteori testar vi om svenska börsnoterade företag som arbetar med och redovisar om CSR är förknippade med lägre risk och således också lägre avkastningskrav från investerare. Våra resultat visar att en separat publicerad CSR-redovisning eller hur företagen betygssätts för sitt CSR-arbete inte har någon påverkan på investerares avkastningskrav. Dock finner vi att avkastningskrav på företag som redovisar om och/eller vars arbete med CSR-frågor värderas högt blir lägre ju fler sidor de publicerar om CSR i en separat rapport..

The European Union's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) aims toenhance and standardize sustainability reporting to support the green transition. While the public sector is expected to lead in sustainability, the application of CSRD within Swedish municipalities is fragmented. Many municipally owned companies fall below reporting thresholds individually, creating a transparency gap despite the municipal group often exceeding these thresholds collectively. This discrepancy raises moral and strategic questions regarding public accountability and the effective utilization of the framework. This thesis investigates the rationale for the proactive adoption of CSRD principles bySwedish municipalities, irrespective of formal legal requirements.

This study examines whether the ownership structure of Swedish firms contributes to explain the variations in executive pay. A regression analysis was performed on 102 companies listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The analysis suggests a negative relationship between ownership structure and executive pay after taking company profitability and size into account. The result is in line with previous studies and the agency theory. This indicates that large shareholders have a stronger position in Swedish companies or that large shareholders monitor the management to a larger extent, rather than providing incentives.

Background: Around the world, markets deregulates, which leads to increased competition. Meetings between the consumer and the employees of a company determine how the customer perceives the company and / or its brand. This has result in that many companies have realized the importance of internal using the same marketing skills that are used externally. In 2009, pharmacy market went from being a monopoly market to be a regulated competitive market.Problem: Is there any internal conditions for a private company, whose culture and structure was formed under a state monopoly, to create a strong corporate brand?Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to, through a case study, analyze and evaluate the internal marketing in a company which has undergone a change of ownership and retained the same staff.Method: Through interviews with key personnel and staff , data was gathered for the case study, which means that the method is qualitative.

Background: Increasingly, companies choose to finance their business with corporate bonds which has resulted in an increased demand on credit ratings. As such the rating agencies have a very important role in the financial markets. Examining the value of a credit-rating can be very interesting for both issuer and investor. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to identify and define the value of rating. Execution: The study is built upon nine interviews with rated and non-rated firms and investors.