The furniture retail industry in Sweden has gone trough large changes during the last decades. Today the industry is tough and in the maturity stage where few new companies enter, especially if they do not have a unique offer. The furniture companies have become larger and fewer, the changes have lead to difficulties for smaller and medium sized companies to grow and be profitable.Our purpose is to analyse, evaluate and compare three smaller companies in Stockholm with the intention to find what kind of marketing strategies they are using to survive on the Swedish market. First we interviewed the three companies to see what they do to survive on the market, then we asked 100 persons to fill in a questionnaire to see if they had the same opinion as the companies described.With help from theories we prepared questions which laid the foundation to the empirical part of the essay.The result from this study shows that the three companies differ from each other when it comes to using relationship marketing and placing the customer in the centre. All of them are aware of the importance of doing so, but because of different limits and possibilities they can not fully adjust everything to the customer.

The main purpose of this Master?s thesis is to do a benchmarking study of the marketing activities at the public library of Valdemarsvik. The purpose is also to describe and get a deeper understanding of benchmarking as a method for improving library activity. Four major problem areas are addressed: How can one use benchmarking as a tool to achieve change? How can one learn with benchmarking? What similarities and differences are there between benchmarking and other similar methods for competence development? Is benchmarking better than other similar methods for competence development? The empirical approach was qualitative and the method chosen was action research.

Increased trade and eased policy restrictions have brought markets closer together. Prices at different locations are much likely to affect each other to a certain extent. Since the adaption of Common Agricultural Policy in 1995 the Swedish wheat market has been exposed to the world market and Swedish farmers are facing new challenges. A broader knowledge about market integration and price transmission will facilitate Swedish farmers, banks and politicians in making rational decisions. Therefore the aim of this research is to explain how global wheat prices are transmitted on Swedish wheat prices.

With a shifting world market and periodically profitability issues, Swedish farmers seekalternative ways to enhance their profitability. One interesting alternative to get a highervalue and enhance products is biodiesel, a way to improve the profitability on a farmscale.The diesel that is produced and sold, already have a mixture of 5% biodiesel, andthere is a possibility to add more biodiesel to it. By developing new engines severalengine-manufacturers now allow a mixture up to 100% biodiesel in their engines. Hencethere is a market for an increased production of biodiesel. The aim of this study were toinvestigate the possibilities and the problems related to farm-scale production ofbiodiesel, and to study the profit margin in the production.

Title: Globalization ? Meeting a new market Author: Anna Nubäck Supervisor: Anders Nilsson Institution: School of Management, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola Course: Master in business administration, 15 credits (FED006) Purpose: The purpose of this essay is partly to create an understanding of the decision to establish a branch in Japan and especially to look at if and how the Swedish company in this study has adjusted its corporate culture to suit the Japanese market. Method: Data is collected thru a number of semi constructed interviews. A first telephone interview was followed by an interview made face to face that was also followed up by interviews performed over telephone. E-mails have been used to clear and correct collected data. I have also studied company reports, closely related literature, articles and papers on the Internet. Conclusion: My conclusion is that the company in this study based the decision to open a branch in Japan on the demand from one big customer and the potential to grow globally.

Internet has opened a whole new world when it comes to marketing. Because of this companies can reach out to a broader consumer audience. The idea to write this essay came to mind, when we were asked to design the website of a new registered company named Artoteket. The company?s purpose is to hire out and market art on the Internet to bigger companies such as banks, law firms and industrial company?s etc.

This essay which is an event study aims to examine if an announcement of a CEO exchange actually is course-affecting information. The essay study?s if a variation can be detected in the share price in relation to an announcement of a CEO exchange. The study also aims to examine if the characteristics; age, number of years at the post, and compensation to the CEO effects the share price progress. The study embraces 46 companies from eight different line of business.

The market of electronic commerce is under constant growth and change. New technology makes it possible for the consumer to obtain digital products in a quick and easy manner. Record companies adjust more and more to this ever changing environment. The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate how Swedish retailers of MP3 work with bundling strategies. A case study was conducted on two Swedish retailers, CDON and Homedownloads.

This thesis focuses on employers? use of non-­?solicitation of employees in commercial contracts within the union?s internal market and how this can result in restrictive practices in violation of European law. Using legal method, legal economic considerations, and guidance from modern American legal development in antitrust law, this thesis is aiming to investigate how this kind of anticompetitive cooperation in the European labor market should be assessed. The result seems to be that despite a distinct and pronounced restrictive approach to the application of EU competition rules in the labor market, there are strong incentives and not any legal impediment to apply Article 101 TFEU on no cold call agreements between employers. .

The aim of this study was to examine the possibilities to enter the regular labour market for pupils and young adults with intellectual disabilities. The method used is tape-recorded qualitative interviews with; Two pupils with intellectual disabilities, studying the last year at a special school. Two young adults with intellectual disabilities, former pupils at a special school and at the moment in search of work at a Public Employment Service office for young adults with disabilities. Furthermore were interviews made with two professionals, one student counsellor at a special school and one representative at a Public Employment Service office for young adults with disabilities. For analysing the empirical data, Iris Marion Young's theory about Five Faces of Oppression, Crip theory and Dalrymple and Burkes theory about empowerment was used.

The bank market for farmers in Sweden is dominated by Swedbank and Landshypotek. One of the most aggressive challengers is Länsförsäkringar Bank, which in 2009 had seven per cent of the Swedish bank market for farmers, but 57 per cent of all new lending. This paper deals with the problem of new banks to break into the bank market where farmers are slow in terms of change in their attitudes and loyal to their banks. The study has been carried out in cooperation with Länsförsäkringar Gävleborg which is a new actor in the banking market and thus eager to take part in the outcome of the study. This essay thus seeks to examine the attitudes farmers have against bank switching and the factors that influence their choice of bank.

Background: Today many companies are competing to get space in our minds. Companies spend a tremendous amount of money on building strong brands. It is not just about making us aware of their logo, today it?s more about giving the brand a ?soul? and to load it with different values. Due to today?s globalization there is also interesting to look at it from a cultural perspective.

Problem: Is the free cash flow a value relevant accounting measure in relation to the Swedish stock market?Objective: The aim is that by using an investment strategy to examine whether the free cash flow is an accounting measure that could be perceived as value relevant in relation to the Swedish stock market.Method: The paper is based on a quantitative survey of empirical evidence that has been collected from companies listed on the Large and Mid-Cap lists of the Swedish stock market.Theoretical Frame of reference: value relevance, cash flow, portfolio theory, drive theoryResults: It was concluded that the study results conform to the Finnish survey results. The portfolio shows higher returns than the OMX index..

The market of fruit and vegetables develops continuously to become tougher and more complex. The fast development makes it difficult to keep up with all the changes. This is the case for apples and tomatoes. The purpose of this work is to explain what the trade routes are like for Swedish imports as well as the Swedish production of tomatoes and apples, both in the present and the past times. There is also an ambition to create comprehension of the trade routes.

Objective: The papers objective is to create a deeper understanding for whether or not cultural and psychic distance affects corporate establishments in the EU.Method: The results have been gathered through intense data collection through interviews with ScaniaAB and Business Sweden. There has also been extensive research of 36 different companies and their first establishments in different countries. We have then analyzed the results through cultural and psychic distance and through Uppsala University's internationalization process model.Conclusion: The conclusions of this paper are:Corporate establishment often occurs in neighboring countries because of the similarity to the domestic markets which contribute with a greater security.Since the introduction of the EU single market, corporate establishments have become easier within the single market.The cultural and psychic distance does exist within the EU, however the internal market decreases these distances and the impact on corporate establishments.The market commitment is essential to the corporates survival within the new market.Cultural and psychic distance affects small firms more often since their lack of network and experience.Cultural and psychic distances are two different but related phenomena..