The amount of cargo has since the 1970s increased in Sweden and the road traffic accounts for a large part of the transported volume. In Stockholm County the amount of cargo is calculated to be doubled in size from year 2001 to 2020 which means a greater need for transport is required. Much of these transports are being carried out by haulage companies of varying sizes which acts externally as carriers for their customers. All of this despite a greater awareness, laws and demands regarding environmental performance.The trend shows that the haulage industry in Sweden are moving towards fewer but larger haulage companies, which means that the competition is getting tougher for the smaller haulage companies. Smaller haulage companies and research about their competitive strategies is a neglected part of this industry.

The purpose with this disertation is to find if there are selected factors which can force companies to grow. We have chosen five factors which we think can force the companies; market, strategy, profitability, demographic and institutional factors. We want to examine if there are differences between small and larger companies, and if there are differences between the lines of business.The intention to growth is also influenced by different factors. The organization and the board have an effect on the development. There are also factors that can obstruct the growth, for example control.

Since January 1st 2008, companies have the opportunity to become certified by the new common customs system Authorized Economic Operator (AEO). This opportunity is presented so that authorities together with operators are trusted to ensure that it is the correct cargo that gets transported. Attends Healthcare AB (Attends) has decided to implement this certification. To qualify there are a number of criteria that needs to be met. The aim of this thesis is to verify if Attends can meet the required criteria.

This report is focused on marketing opportunities for small-scale mango farmers in the Nyanza Province in Kenya. Kenya is a large horticultural producer in the world. Horticulture is an important income for a large share of the rural population in Kenya but profitability is low due to inefficiencies in marketing systems and poor infrastructure. The conditions for growing mango in the Nyanza Province are very beneficial and there are two harvesting seasons. Mango offers good income opportunities for small-scale farmers in the Nyanza Province.The aim of this study is to identify marketing conditions that will enable prospering business for small-scale mango farmers in the Nyanza Province, Kenya.

All inclusive travel has become a popular way to travel abroad. When tourists pay for everything in advance their need for contact with the local people will be reduced. The consequences of this can be dissatisfaction from the local people as they are left out and do not share the financial benefits created by tourism. During the purchasing cycle of an all inclusive travel, it is possible that the tour operator can influence a sustainable development.The aim of this paper is to compare how a large and a small tour operator in their purchase of all inclusive holidays interacts with local players to create sustainable development, thereby creating a surplus value to the customer. The hypothesis is that the amount of knowledge and application of this knowledge regarding sustainable development differs in the purchase process between large and small tour operators.This paper was carried out as a case study.

AbstractProblem: This thesis was made by a commission from Svensk Logistikanalys AB (SLA). SLA is a relatively new firm who is working as a freight broker for firms that wants to lower their freight costs. SLA contacted Jönköpings international business school because they experienced a problem with too many firms, that had SLA?s concept introduced to them, but turned down their services. On the basis of this, following purpose of the report has been stated.Purpose: In this thesis we will study companies that have said no to the services of SLA.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att utreda om förvaltningsrevision tillför något värde eller om det bara är en historisk kvarleva som innebär en extra kostnad för företagen.För att uppfylla uppsatsens syfte skapade vi en egen teori om förvaltningsrevisionens värde. Denna teori kretsar kring relationerna VD ? Styrelse, VD/Styrelse ? Ägare, VD/Styrelse ? Bank och VD/Styrelse ? Staten. För att undersöka riktigheten i vår teori gjordes dels en intervjuundersökning och dels en enkätundersökning på Internet.Vår undersökning visar på att förvaltningsrevisionen främst riktas till externa aktieägare. Även leverantörer, banker och staten framhålls som intressenter till förvaltningsrevisionen.

This paper intends to show how micro- and small businesses in the tourism and experience industry makes use of social media as a marketing tool. The study also shows the possibilities for businesses to market themselves to customers through social media. Small businesses usually don?t have the same conditions or the same marketing resources that larger companies have. For small businesses that lack marketing resources, social media is a great addition to marketing since the technology around social media is relatively simple.

Purpose: To investigate if Altman´s Z´-score model, which calculates financial distress, can be applied on companies established in Sweden and if the financial crisis in 2008 made previously healthy companies go bankrupt.Methodology: Quantitative studies with a positivistic foundation. Empirical data will be collected in order to examine if there is generalizability among the studied objects. Conclusions will be made by comparing the empirical data with the theoretical foundation. Financial distress in firms will be measured.Theoretical perspectives: Altman´s Z´-score model, designed to predict financial distress in private firms.Empirical foundation: A selection of 93 private firms that have gone bankrupt in the years 2008, 2009 or 2010. The firms selected all have a turnover that exceeds 20 million SEK.

This paper examines the reasons behind firms considering backsourcing. While firms experience problems with their outsourcing activities, backsourcing emerges as an alternative solution. Firms primarily take cost considerations into account when reconsidering their outsourcing practices, but this only scratches the surface. A deeper analysis is needed, since cost increases arise from issues such as quality defects and cooperation problems. Even though production costs are low, outsourcing always implies transaction costs.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate which the main determinants of capital structure in Swedish listed firms are and to identify which incentives lies behind managers choice of capital structure determinants. Further, the study investigates whether the Post Keynesian theory and theories which incorporate behavioral aspects can be used to explain the capital structure decisions or if the traditional Neoclassical theory give an better explanation. We have used a qualitative method to analyze the determinants of capital structure and the managers incentives behind capital structure decision. We conducted a survey which was sent to 83 Chief Financial Managers and financial executives in Swedish firms listed on Mid Cap or Large Cap. The questionnaire was on-line which enabled for the respondents to quickly and convenient respond.

Tången 2 is a building situated in Stockholm, Sweden. It´s built in the 1930s and contains both residences and businesses. The property owner, Diligentia AB, wants to lower the energy use in Tången 2. This report consists of an energy audit which clarifies the specific circumstances linked to Tången 2. Collected knowledge is then used, together with the results from the literature study, to decide energy measures to proceed with.

Title: Selection of audit firm - Which factors affects the choice of audit firm in Swedish limited companies?Subject: 4FE03E ? Master thesisAuthors: Alexander Rosén & Martin KarlssonSupervisor: Magnus WillessonExaminer: Sven-Olof Yrjö CollinKey words: Audit firm, audit firm characteristics, client characteristics, limited companyBackground: In Sweden, the auditor is selected when the company has their annual general meeting. Following, the auditor?s task is to secure the quality of the financial information so the owners and other stakeholders can trust the information, which regards to the financial situation for the company and the CEO´s and board of director´s management. Since November 2010, private limited companies are free to use and have an auditor, but only if they fulfils the requirements that are regulated in ABL 2005:551.

This master thesis concerns whether Swedish non-financial listed firms act in accordance with the optimal capital structure theory and/or pecking order theory. The examined period is 1998-2004 and we discover that Swedish companies neither follow optimal capital structure theory nor pecking order theory. From our results we conclude that there exists no single point of the capital structure which is optimal. Rather it seems as if the optimal point lies in-between an interval from 0 to the industry average, where firms tend to be indifferent to their debt-ratios. Our results show that Swedish companies prefer internal financing followed by equity and as last choice debt issuance..

The aim of this small thesis is to investigate if the probability of business failure is higher at the time of divestment than at the time of acquisition for portfolio companies that have been subject to private equity ownership. The background for this thesis is the widespread critique aimed at private equity firms, claiming that they increase the risk in their portfolio companies. We have performed a study of 53 buyout transactions, involving Swedish manufacturing companies, covering a time span of 13 years, from 1995 to 2007. We find evidence of an increased risk of business failure for the portfolio companies with a short forecasting horizon (within one year). The absolute increase in the sample is however small.