The purpose of this study is using McDonald?s in China and Sweden as a case to find out how fast food restaurant retailers combine adaptation and standardization with symbolic attributes of store atmospherics under different cultural background, and find out possible reasons. The study used McDonald?s in a case format to study in-store atmospheres. Further, the research has an investigating and explanatory qualitative approach, collecting the empirical data through observation with photos.

The financial sector includes insurance business, which is a crucial part of the infrastructure in a modern economy. There are different parts to protect within the financial sector which is the reason for a comprehensive inspection. History shows several examples of disasters a mismanaged financial sector can bring. This also affects the society and stability over all. The inspection is conducted by the Swedish inspection of finance, which ensures that the insurance companies follow the law for its practice.

Bakgrund       Tillväxtviljan bland de svenska småföretagen är stor, men avsaknad av kapital begränsar många entreprenörer och småföretag. Den höga risknivån minskar möjligheterna att erhålla exempelvis bankfinansiering, och för många tillväxtbolag i tidiga faser kan Venture Capital därför vara det enda finansieringsalternativet.Syfte               Syftet med studien är att skapa förståelse för de investeringskriterier som svenska Venture Capital-bolag använder vid sin utvärdering av potentiella investeringsobjekt samt jämföra dessa med vad entreprenörer anser påverkar utvecklingen av ett företag.Metod             Studien är av kvalitativ karaktär och empirin består av data från 20 genomförda intervjuer samt skriftliga frågeformulär, där respondenterna utgörs av venture-kapitalister samt entreprenörer som har erhållit Venture Capital-finansiering.Resultat         De kriterier som är centrala vid Venture Capital-bolags utvärdering av potentiella investeringsobjekt är entreprenörsteamet, marknads-förutsättningar samt produkterbjudande. Av dessa kriterier anser både venture-kapitalister och entreprenörer att det är entreprenörsteamet som i störst utsträckning påverkar ett företags utveckling. Att entreprenörsteamet tillskrivs så stor betydelse förklaras av att förutsättningarna för företagets fortsatta utveckling ständigt förändras, vilket ställer krav på att entreprenörsteamet har förmåga att hantera denna dynamiska process och anpassa företagets utveckling efter oförutsedda förändringar..

Denna studie handlar om den fartförlust och därmed den ökade energiförbrukningen som drabbar fartyg på grunt vatten. Syftet var att ta reda på hur mycket kortare en grund passage behöver vara för att den ska vara ett bättre alternativ än en lång och djup rutt med hänsyn till bränsleförbrukning och tidsåtgång. Resultatet av detta blev att det inte går att dra några generella slutsatser som gäller för alla fartygstyper men att det går att se tydliga tendenser. Studien hade även som målsättning att skapa ett underlag som skulle kunna användas av nautiker vid planering av resor, detta presenterades i form av en sammanställning av de resultat som erhållits vid beräkning av fartförlust i öppet vatten. Någon sammanställning gjordes inte för begränsat vatten eftersom exempelfartygen där fick likadana resultat vilket skulle ha gjort en sådan överflödig.

Problem formulation: This paper will examine how the capital structure of firms affects their market valuation by applying the Modigliani-Miller theory on Swedish listed companies in a boom and a recession. The study will examine whether it is possible to draw any conclusions as to whether companies with high debt to equity ratios are valued lower in a recession, in comparison to companies with low debt to equity ratios.Purpose: To empirically test the Modigliani-Miller theory of capital structure in a boom and a recession in order to see if the companies? market value is affected differently depending on whether they have a high or a low debt to equity ratios.Methodology: The essay has a deductive and a quantitative methodological approach. Data analysis was done through a correlation analysis, a regression analysis and a hypothesis testing.Theory: The Modigliani-Miller theory of capital structure with taxes states that companies with a high debt to equity ratios has a higher value. One of the risks with a high level of debt could be that during a financial downturn companies have more difficulty realizing capital and are thus more likely to go bankrupt.Conclusions: The study shows results that are contrary to the Modigliani-Miller's theory; all the correlation analyses between debt to equity ratios and market value are negative.

This bachelor thesis examines the relation between countries? degree of economic freedom and their economic performance. Economic freedom as a concept is defined as the degree of market economy within a nation.The variable of measure that is used is the Frasier institute Economic freedom of the world index (EFI). The paper is built upon the Solow growth model and is extended by incorporation of additional variables; among which of course economic freedom. The study is performed through regression analysis, based on the neoclassical model both on rich countries, poor countries and on all investigated countries.Two investigations are performed: i) the impact from economic freedom on countries level of GDP per capita and ii) the impact from economic freedom on the growth rate in GDP per capita.The finding is that economic freedom can be seen as a relevant determinant of differences in GDP per capita growth rates between nations.

Title: Festivalernas Intåg ? Korröfestivalen- en bordunstämmas resa genom festivaliseringenThe Korrö festival- The establishment of a Swedish Folk Music Festival.This thesis describes how folk music festivals have been escalating during the past few and how they have influenced Swedish folk music. To reach my results I have been studying one festival in particular which is the Korrö Folk Music Festival. This event started in the mid-eighties as a small happening that attracted almost exclusively musicians that were a part of the bordooon movement. The bordoon movement gathered a couple of days in the summer at what they called the ?Korrö bordunstämma? to build instruments and play folk music.

The aim of this study is to investigate differences that exist in Estonia and Russia with regard to civil society, democracy and corruption and try to find out what can be possible causes to the vast differences in these two countries. Many political scientists claim that civil society plays a key role in democratic transitions. This paper takes its point of departure in 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed and Estonia and Russia became independent. Since then Estonia has had a flourishing economy which attract many foreign investments, with Sweden as the greatest investor. The country has also managed well to adjust quickly from totalitarianism to democracy.

Officially, the EU gender policy since 2000 has been guided by the strategy of Gender Mainstreaming. This strategy aims to promote gender equality and is informed by a feminist ontology which stipulates that women are structurally subordinated.In this essay, I examine whether the European Commission has adequately adhered to this gender policy in its free trade negotiations with the ACP (African, Caribbean, and Pacific) countries as part of the Cotonou Agreement. As a result of my text analysis of documents related to the negotiations, opinion pieces by interested actors and policy papers of the EU, I find that the Commission does not act in accordance to its stated gender policy.To explain this discrepancy between policy intent and actions, I employ postliberal feminist theory and Robert Putnam's Two-Level Game Theory Model. By analyzing statistics and published research, I explore how gender issues are being represented politically on a domestic and international level.My findings show that a key cause of this discrepancy lies in the low levels of female participation in the political institutions of the EU and ACP; a lack of participation that is especially pronounced in the area of international economics. In explaining the constraints on female participation and the prospects of full implementation of the EU's gender policy in the international political economy, I emphasize the role of culturally and historically gendered institutions..

The purpose of this paper is to examine how LKAB are portrayed in the newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN). The methods that were used were: Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) combined with Critical Linguistic Analysis. These were used since they help to reveal the structures and unconscious meaning and power of word. It gives the tools to see how authority, power and meaning of words are constructed during social practice of the way they are used. To complement the method the theories that?s used are discourse analysis since CDA is both a method and a theory.

Background and Problem: The lack of auditor independence is discussed being oneof the reasons to scandals such as Enron and HQ. A pricing strategy that has beendebated impairing auditor independence is low balling. To win a new client in atender process, audit firms supposedly offer an audit fee below cost and then increasethe fee the following years to recover the initial loss. The auditors? future financialinterest in the company due to the initial loss is by some believed to impair auditorindependence, which makes low balling in Sweden a relevant phenomenon to study.Aim of study: This thesis aims to explain if low balling exists on the Swedish auditmarket and if the size of companies affects the results of low balling.Methodology: To achieve the purpose of this thesis, a statistical study wasconducted.

Abstract -                     Much better sauce! - A study of brand loyalty for Lohmanders Date:                             5th June 2013Level:                           Bachelor thesis in marketing, 15 ECTSInstitution:                   School of Economy, Society and Technology, EST                                      Mälardalen University Authors:                       Sara Meijer                               Julia Åberg                                      20th February 1990                   26th April 1990Title:                             Much better sauce! ? A study of brand loyalty for LohmandersTutor:                           Finn Wiedersheim-PaulKeywords:                   Brand, loyalty, consumer behaviorResearch questions:    Which significance has the brand for the consumer when buying fresh sauce?                                       How loyal are the consumers to the brand Lohmanders?                                      How does brand loyalty arise among Lohmanders customers?Purpose:                            The purpose with this thesis is to research consumer?s brand loyalty to fresh sauce and to analyze how brand loyalty arises regarding the brand Lohmanders.Method:                       The theoretical framework used in the study is based on theories of consumer behavior, brands and loyalty. The quantitative study consists of a poll. To complement the study a focus group interview and a company interview have been held.  Conclusion:                        The study showed that the brand has significance for the consumer to a certain extent. The brand can though have an unconscious effect on the consumers since most of the purchases are made by habit.

AbstractMotor sports have been around as long as motor vehicles have been. Sports are often seen as costly polluter but in the same time the motor sports have encourages a large part of development, both for vehicles and other industries. Inventions like rear mirror and ABS brakes come from motor sports. One way to once again drive development forward while making motor sports carbon-neutral is to run the race cars on hydrogen. In this thesis, the goal is to convert a spark ignition engine for hydrogen operation.

The EU has for a long time had a special relationship with its former colonies in Africa Caribbean and the Pacific, called the ACP?countries. This relationship is about to change radically with the new partnership agreement signed in June 2000 in Cotonou. This essay aims to study the EU ?ACP Partnership Agreement from the perspectives of two different theories: The liberalist, free-trade policy theory and the nationalist/regionalist, protectionist theory.

Medieföretaget AB is a Swedish Media Company that covers several different business areas.The company daily produces one of the biggest newspapers in Sweden and publishes editorialnews on one of the country?s most visited news homepage. The company also has smallerfirms that produce new business models. Due to big changes in the media climate over theworld and a new company management team the company in November 2008 started adepartment for innovation. The main purpose of the department was to create a structuredway for managing ideas and to promote innovation.