Background: An evaluation of analysts´ forecasting ability is interesting since their estimates constitute an important part in stock valuation and investment decisions. The recent years´ development in the stock market has lead to criticism of analysts? deficient forecasts. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate analysts´ forecasting ability concerning companies quoted at Stockholmsbörsen between 1987 and 2002. We also intend to discuss possible explanations for analysts? behavior in case of deficient accuracy.

This study examines whether it would be profitable for travel distributors in the charter to expand its offerings to other travel related products, and also the products that are in demand. We are also studying the role that brand has for customers' choice of travel.According to Hellman, e-commerce is to be preferred since it is competitive because it gives the travel distributors the opportunity to lower down prices. Therefore, we also investigated the proportion of respondents who would consider buying these travel-related goods through the travel distributors? websiteIn support of this study, is a survey with a population of 100 charter travellers. Respondents are divided into two groups where the first group consists of people who have booked their trip in stores, and the other via the Internet.

As revenues from newspaper advertising plummet and their readers loyalty erode, the need to understand newspapers' changing environment and the actors involved in this change is growing in importance. Evidence is the entire industry is entering into a restructuring phase and that this restructuring is driven by the rapid consumer adaption of internet media.In this thesis I elaborate on "how the Internet is affecting the conditions for value creation in printed newspapers" and "how the Internet is affecting the conditions for other actors involved in the printed newspaper's value creation". These two questions land us in the bigger question of "Does the Internet act as a compliment or a substitute to the printed newspaper ".To answer these questions the printed newspaper is represented as the actor in the middle of content producers, advertisers and consumers. It is in its role as a means of distribution and as a co-ordinating force that we study the value creation of the printed newspaper. The empirical base of this thesis is a qualitative participant observation where the author during a period of time interacted and collected data from the open discussion in blogs by several of the industry's top influentials combined with material from seminars and reports on the current state of media.

The industrial sector accounts for a large share of greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce its negative impact on the environment is crucial in the quest for a sustainable future. In discussions of the industrial sector's impact on the environment guidelines have been highlighted as a tool to assist the industries in their efforts to change the relationship between the consumption of energy and production. This by improving energy efficiency and a shift to the best available technology. During the past 30 years the steel industry has reduced its energy consumption per ton of steel produced by 50 percent.

This paper examines the relationship between the experienced quality in the offering of a brand, emotional attachment and consumer commitment. The study aim to explore several dimensions of the experienced quality in the offering of a brand. Further we examine two conceptualizations of emotional attachment - Brand Attachment and Brand Love - and intend to declare the two of being two separate phenomena. We then conduct a relationship-based analysis wherein the mediating ability of Brand Attachment and Brand Love, between the experienced quality in the offering of a brand and consumer commitment, is examined. Therefore we conduct a focused quantitative study, wherein 171 customers of the fashion retailer H&M have responded to a comprehensive survey both online and in-store, to examine this fun-damental relationship and its components.

Svenskarna handlar allt mer kläder och intresset för mode och kläder är större än någonsin.Bara produkten räcker dock inte för dagens konsument, utan platsen där den inhandlas har fåttallt större betydelse för kundens shoppingupplevelse. De olika faktorer som påverkar kunden ibutik brukar samlas under konceptet butiksatmosfären. Atmosfären ska, för att på bästa sättstimulera kunden, byggas utefter människans fem sinnen, syn, känsel, doft, smak och hörsel.Tidigare forskning har fokuserat på hur aktiviteter i butiksmiljön fungerar inom vanligdetaljhandel. Vi har i vår uppsats valt att undersöka hur dessa tidigare rön skulle gå atttillämpa på secondhandbutiker, som skiljer sig från detaljhandeln bland annat genomproduktutbud. Secondhand har på senare tid fått mycket uppmärksamhet och det finns idag ettökat intresse för återanvändning av kläder.Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera möjligheterna för secondhandverksamheter att arbetamed butiksatmosfären för att skapa en mer tilltalande butik.

Today's young people find themselves in an intense media traffic where many messages have a commercial nature. Some such messages are for example different types of advertising in various media and advertising often plays on the uncertainty that may be common in adoles-cence. New interactive media like blogs on the Internet has been established in recent years. Mixed types of media content, advertising with different messages, appear in blogs. Therefore, I am interested in how blogs on the Internet can influence young people's creation of their identity.

Detta examensarbete är utfört vid institutionen för ekonomisk och industriell utveckling, IEI, vid Linköpings tekniska högskola, för CH Industry i Eskilstuna. Syftet med arbetet är att kartlägga de för företaget viktigaste artiklarna genom identifiering av tillverkningsflöden samt fastställa beläggningsgraden för respektive maskinresurs. Arbetet avgränsas till att endast identifiera tillverkningsflöden för totalt 40 artiklar. Den mest betydande artikeln för CH Industry analyseras med hjälp av en värdeflödeskarta för identifiering av produktionsförloppet, informationsflöden samt av tider i mellanlager. Arbetet är uppdelat i sex delar. Första hälften beskriver verksamheten för företaget samt teorin bakom begrepp och termer som används i arbetet.

?Death in the pot.? The Fruit and Vegetable Preserving industry in East Scania during the 20th centuryA Company History.At the end of the twentieth century, only one of the six companies previously active in the Fruit and Vegetable Preserving Industry in East Scania survived as an independent company: Kiviks Musterier AB. Actual production remains at two sites only. The aim of this study is to determine the reasons for this development. The companies included in the investigation are AB Bjäre industrier, Gustaf Bong AB, Kiviks Musterier AB, AB Ruuthsbo konservindustrier, Th.

Term: Spring term 2007Study objects: Reitan Servicehandel AB, Vi-butikerna, ICA Sverige ABPurpose: The purpose of this study is to analyse how procurement is used as a strategy to achieve better competitive strength, within the retail food industry.Theoretical: The theoretical chapter illustrates different procurement organisations, multiple and single sourcing, brand equity, consumer behaviour and involvement, Efficient Consumer Response including supply chain and category management and finally Demand Chain Management.Method: For the case studies, three food retail companies have been interviewed: Reitan Servicehandel AB, Vi-butikerna and ICA AB. To illustrate how consumer behaviour influences retail food market, several secondary consumer research studies have been analysed.Conclusions: The results indicate that the procurement organisation can achieve a better competitive strength by a centralised organisation, which make it possible to improve conditions of terms when ordering higher purchase volumes. The sourcing strategies can improve a company?s power within the supply chain. All companies within the study had a very good knowledge about consumer behaviour.

Despite ongoing efforts toward equality, persistent wage gaps between men and women in Sweden still remain, particularly within male dominated industries, such as finance. Gender equality is a prominent topic in public discourse, yet progress towards achieving equal pay between men and women continues to be slow. This study aims to contribute to the research area and offers a unique perspective by examining gender related expectations from both men and women, managers and employees. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether, and if so how, gender related expectations influence salary setting processes in the financial industry. Through a qualitative study based on semistructured interviews, the study explores how both employee?s and manager?s gender related expectations affect attitudes, salary negotiations and potential outcomes of salary setting.

Abstract in EnglishSeventeen students in Creative Writing at the Växjö University who terminated in January 2005 published chosen texts in an anthology by the name Förflyttningar (Movements). The aim of my study is to analyse how they explore and describe our time in the western world. The question is; what is being written now and here?I have chosen as theoretical background the Italian philosopher, Umberto Galimberti, who has made a study of the West from moral and ethical perspective. His conclusion is that we live in a world with seven new sins.

In recent years, awareness of the climate change has increased around the world. Environmental issues have been taking into consideration, both by individuals and companies. Therefore the demands for new environmental friendly technology have increased, also known as cleantech. To further establish and develop cleantech it requires capital. Venture capitalists have as well seen the potential.To increase the number of Venture capital investments in cleantech, it is important the investments generate good returns.

This thesis is an investigation of Iranian immigrants and their use of libraries in Sweden. It isbased on a combination of a qualitative and a·quantitative method.Using a qualitative method, I give an outline of the history of lran from ancient times up to the present, as well as the different ethnological groups in Iran and their cultures. The main objective of this part is to clarify the contrasts between Iranian and Swedish cultural, social, linguistic and family structures, and also the characteristics of the crisis that most immigrants go through on their arrival in the new country. The qualitative method also involves structured telephone interviews with eight highly educated Iranians.This method was supplemented by a quantitative study through questionnaires of the attitudes· of lranian immigrants to libraries and reading. Iranians in Sweden turned out to be frequent Iibrary users.

Background: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a term that has become increasingly prominent in the corporate world. As the awareness of responsibly produced products is growing among both companies and consumers, it has become increasingly important for companies to get involved in sustainability issues. There may be several reasons why companies choose to integrate CSR in their business, where one reason may be related to company size. In the business category of micro, there is currently no widespread research, which makes this company size interesting to study. The choice of industry was made because coffee is one of the world's most important merchandise, and the coffee industry has come a long way with integrating CSR in comparision to many other industries.Purpose and research question: The purpose of this study is to create a deeper understanding of why coffee roasters in the business category of micro enterprises choose to incorporate CSR in their businesses.