This thesis examines the established theories on the phenomena of merger of equals. In contrast to an acquisition, a merger of equals is complex since the very nature of it entails that none of the involved parties are in control. Merger of equals are therefore viewed as one of the most difficult types of partnership and data show that over fourty percent of all mergers fail to achieve their targets. Still, research on the phenomena is limited. The main purpose of this thesis is to analyse the implicit factors to why a merger of equals fail.

Background: Mergers have been increasing during the latter part of the 1990s. In the Nordic region many previously national companies have joined their forces to create a new Nordic company. This will lead to many challenges when the companies are integrated.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the integration phase. Our goal is to study the integration of Cloetta Fazer and learn how the company can handle the two types of integration. Procedure: To be able to prove our assumptions, that were made on the basis of literature, we have collected empirical material by interviewing eight managers at Cloetta Fazer.

People are constantly using there friends in order to ask for a favor or to get hold of some information. This is usually done unconsciously and it is just viewed as everyday life behavior. The function and the use of these links definitely have a value, which means that it can be viewed as a form of capital. But this capital is not caught in the traditional theories of physical capital or human capital; it demands it?s on theorization.

On November 1st 2010 the obligatory audit was removed in Sweden for small companies. What factors influence such companies to have their financial reports audited, and what factors exert the strongest influence. Purpose: The authors would like to investigate factors that affect companies with voluntary audits in Skåne län to continue with the audit. The authors also wish to examine the factors that have the strongest impact on the choice to adopt auditing. Method: A quantitative study has been conducted in which aquestionnaire was sent to companies in Skåne Län Conclusion: The factors that affect smaller companies to continue with audit are as follows: Accounting quality, cost, creditors (loans), suppliers / customers, the tax office and distort competition.

This study explores whether environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues affect the monetary value of a company.The samples used in this study have been taken from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in South Africa. Since 2010, JSE have been categorizing companies using the King Code III criteria to establish a Socially Responsible Investment index (SRI index). Companies that fulfill the required number of criteria are classified as 'best performers' using the SRI index.  In this study the monetary value of a random sample of 'best performers' has been compared to the monetary value of a random sample of companies without an SRI index evaluation.This study found that companies without a SRI index have a higher unique risk, which means a lower stock price with a higher dividend yield. Companies with an SRI index evaluation have a lower unique risk, which means a higher stock price and lower dividend yield. In conclusion, this study shows that SRI adjusted companies have an enhanced monetary value in comparison to non- SRI adjusted companies..

From a historical perspective, Sweden is a classic example of a social democratic state in view ofits early development of labor movements, democracy and focus on the welfare state. Today, as amember state of the EU, Sweden has however come to be influenced by America?s neoliberalpolities, where companies need to deliver more and better products/services while the consumerawareness and sensitivity has increased about company?s way to invest. Research shows thatScandinavian companies, primarily in Denmark and Sweden, has a leading position when it comesto responsible corporate behavior which has been the reason to our choice of studying howSwedish companies do to achieve success in CSR. To carry out this study, we have usedqualitative analysis, using semi-structures to interview companies in different industry sectors.

This essay answers the question: How can a manufacturing business fulfill the information demand in the processes; purchasing, production, warehousing, order and delivery?The question has been answered through different kind of studies, such as literature, documents, Internet search, interviews and observations. The essay is written from a hermeneutic point of view and by using qualitative research. The result has been validated by two different manufacturing businesses.A simple information logistic model is the result of a comparison made between theory and empery. The aim of the model is to describe how a manufacturing business can fulfill the information demand by using different methods.

This study examines differences between private and state-owned companies' sustainability reports for the year 2010. Three state-owned companies and three private companies in three different industries have been examined. An effort has been put to explaining if differences are related to the owner or to the industry. The basis for this is that the state owned companies are required to present a sustainability report according to shareholder demands, while the private owned aren?t obligated to present their sustainability efforts.The study has a qualitative basis, and empirical data have been collected by the authors.

Computers together with Internet have been growing enormously, during the last decade and the area of information technology has been growing in the same speed. As long as the surrounding environment evolves, the business models must within the IT-area, keep the same pace. So, how do business corporations handle this change to attract customers? How do the dominant business models look like? In many cases, they are apparently much the same. But what differences can we see and what areas can be improved? We have showed that the IT area isn?t just one, it consist of several segments.

Title: Social Media ? And customer interaction in smaller firmsSeminar date: 2011-06-10Course: Information Logistics, D-level.Authors: Marie Stenhammar and Ulrika CarlssonAdvisor: Jaime CamposKey words: Social Media, Web 2.0, Co-creation, Viral marketing, Word of Mouth, smaller firmsPurpose: This paper aims to describe the relevance of social media to smaller firms, the challenges and opportunities they face and what strategies they use, in the interaction with their customers.Methodology: The study is qualitative in nature and has an abductive approach. The empirical material consists of in-depth interviews with chosen companies and Internet observations.Theoretical perspectives: Social Media, Web 2.0, Co-creation, Viral marketing, Word of MouthEmpirical foundation: The study takes its empirical base from in-depth interviews with representatives from the small companies and internet observations connected to these.Conclusions: Smaller companies have great interest in social media. They preferably use Facebook, blogs, YouTube and Twitter. Their strategy is mainly to be very active and update their social media regularly.

This study deals with sustainability reporting in three governmental and three non-governmental Swedish companies in different industries. With increasing demands from the society regarding company?s CSR - Corporate social responsibility, the perspective of accounting gets broader and covers even non-financial information to meet not only the owners? demands but also others stakeholders' requirements. Sustainability has become an important tool for creating company?s business value and a positive sustainable external image.

This essay deals with the topic options costs and whether such costs would arise for smaller companies now when they have the opportunity to choose not to have an auditor. Small companies are defined as companies that fulfill at least two of the following three criteria?s: less than 1,5 million SEK in balance sheet, less than three employees and turnover less than 3 million SEK. The decision regarding internal revision does not only affect the company itself but also other parties such as the taxation authority, banks and others that can be influenced by the decision. This essays main focus is on the influenced parties, especially the taxation authority and the banks as these have been highlighted in debates in media and because the small companies themselves may have difficulties to foresee the consequences of the new changes. The opinions from accounting companies will be considered in the essay as they can be considered as experts regarding the different aspect within this area.

Study objects: Three different productions companies which the authors have chosen to be anonymous. Purpose: The purpose with this study is to examine why production companies choose to use 3D-animations in television commercials, and what different kind of aspects affects their decisions. Theoretical: The theoretical chapter reviews the history of 3D-animation andtelevision commercials and other fields that will be relevant laterin the analysis and discussion. Method: A case study has been made on three different companies, two of the companies are active in post-production and the other one is active in the consulting area. Data was collected through semistructured interviews with two of the companies.

The free choice of upper secondary school?A study of the meaning of the information channels for the choice of upper secondary schoolAuthors: David Fridner & Rikard ZeilonMentor: Ingela WadbringQuestionnaire studyDate: 2008-08-11AbstractThe choice of upper secondary school is a very important choice, both for the school and for the ninth grader. In Göteborg, the free choice of upper secondary school has generated several new information channels apart from the traditional counselor, daily news and the acquaintance. Today it is harder than ever to reach the pupil through the constant media noise and new forms of communication such as events appear. The fight for each pupil gets more and more important every term and it has now become real big business.Today?s youth is imprinted by a growing individuality and everyone knows that equableness is something very important.

A sequence of actions in the world have influenced the information science, one of these actions is the lateral movement in how companies use their IT-systems. IT-systems today, in comparison to before, are used by companies to improve their relationship with their customers. Every year a big amount of money is spent on developing and improving IT-systems. That is why it is important to develop and create IT-systems that are clear, and which encourage, enable and simplify a user?s action.