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..

A trading halt is a measure conducted by a securities exchange in order to reduce information imbalances between market participants, thus enabling a higher level of market efficiency. A market is said to be efficient when new information concerning a company is instantly reflected in its stock price, implying that abnormal stock returns cannot be systematically achieved in an efficient market. The purpose of this study is to examine the occurrence of abnormal stock returns following trading halts on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The study is based on a sample of 64 trading halts executed between January 2003 and February 2008. Historical daily prices for stocks subject to trading halts during the period have been gathered from the Datastream Advance database, while information on date and time of trading halts have been collected from the Stockholm Stock Exchange website.

The purpose of this study was to examine how local producers in the food and confectionery segment in Västernorrland, Sweden, working to communicate that the product is locally produced through its packaging design. We have chosen to look at how they work with the right packaging design because it is such an important part of the product marketing. A further aim was to examine how consumers perceive the packaging design of the locally produced products and how they consider that the packaging design communicates the product as locally produced. We have also analyzed the graphical elements contained in the locally produced product packaging through a semiotic analysis.The theoretical framework is based on theories in brand communication and Visual Communication, specializing in packaging design?s visual elements.The method used in this study is a qualitative method.

China has the world?s largest population and during the last thirty years the country has implemented political and economical changes that have affected China to move towards a more western market economic direction. At first this development was going slow but during the last five years it has increased which today has made China the world?s greatest growing economy. China?s improved cooperation with the world is one reason for this growth which has led to a cumulative of the consumer market.

Smartphone applications, or apps, are an increasingly important part of omnichannel retailing. While the adoption and usage of apps for communicating with consumers has grown exponentially over the past few years, there is little academic research in this area. The primary purpose of this thesis is to describe how the involvement in a product category affects consumers' intention to use a retailer-branded smartphone application during their shopping trip. Drawing upon recent IS-literature with models TAM and UTAUT, our results indicate that product category involvement constitutes an important factor on the intention to use a retailer-branded smartphone application. By viewing involvement as a multidimensional construct, our study shows that the degree of hedonic and expressive value a product cateogry provides consumers with has important effects on intention, and these relationships are not moderated by consumers' age.

The purpose of this study was to examine how local producers in the food and confectionery segment in Västernorrland, Sweden, working to communicate that the product is locally produced through its packaging design. We have chosen to look at how they work with the right packaging design because it is such an important part of the product marketing. A further aim was to examine how consumers perceive the packaging design of the locally produced products and how they consider that the packaging design communicates the product as locally produced. We have also analyzed the graphical elements contained in the locally produced product packaging through a semiotic analysis.The theoretical framework is based on theories in brand communication and Visual Communication, specializing in packaging design?s visual elements.The method used in this study is a qualitative method.

This diploma work project is a product development project which purpose is to redesign a braking system for a walking frame. The system that was developed diverges the force from the user to braking power, and includes a service brake as well as a parking brake. The most important components of the system are a grip handle on where the user holds on to and a braking handle on which the user operates the brake from. The system also includes a power transmission component, braking package and other mechanical components. All of the components wasn?t developed in this project, several off them has been reused from the existing system.This product has been developed to meet the requirements and standards presented from the principal, Ahlberg Leber.

In today's producing companies, there is a high demand on early integrated productdevelopment. One way to facilitate communication between departments and collaborationbetween people and thereby enable early sharing of product information within the companyis to use PLM, Product Lifecycle Management.The CAD environment at Scania is at the moment being upgraded from Catia v4 to Catiav5. In this stage it is important that also the interacting computer systems in Scania?s PLMenvironment are adjusted and in the future join the development. Scania has an idea of howthese systems will be developed as the transition from Catia v4 to Catia v5 is being carriedout.

This bachelor thesis argues for consumers' views on origin labeling effect and their willingness to pay for goods with this kind of label. The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that influence and to measure willingness to pay for a national origin labeled product previously only competeing with a less expensive conventional product, when a further regional product is introduced in the purchasing decisions of consumers. This is achieved by testing whether Simonson's (1989) theory of the compromise effect is applicable to increase consumers' willingness to pay for eco-labeled food products. The factors affecting the willingness to pay; trust in eco- label, opinions about the products of their own nation and the surrounding region. Furthermore presents theory about what underlying the consumer consumption choices.In order to achieve credible results 240 respondents have participated in a questionnaire survey.

The change in the information society has affected the development of the labour market for information specialists and informants as well as their roles. Companies are now aware of the fact that information specialists have a variety of important skills and competence that is important for them. The goal of this thesis is to see what defines an information specialist and an informant and also to find out their situation on the labour market. The similarities and differences between the two professions will also be discussed in the thesis. The main method used is the investigation of the job advertisements in the journal DIK-forum from the year 2000 and year 2004.

The construction market has, as a result of the crisis in Europe been uncertain in recent years. During the year 2013, the construction will be stabilized, in particular Finland. The geographical proximity between Sweden and Finland and similarities in cultures and climates makes Finland a coveted market for many Swedish companies.Differences in national regulations and guidelines, which are produced by the authorities in different countries, are examples of barriers that may hamper the process, including for Swedish villa suppliers, to establish themselves on the Finnish market. It may be useful when facing a new export drive, to look up what similarities and differences there are between the countries building codes, to prevent mistakes and unnecessary costs to the project work..

Background: It has been shown that companies that lived under protected conditions for a long time have had difficulties to adapt to major changes. With that in mind an even more extensive low-cost competition in the Swedish grocery market will make a threat for the traditional grocery stores' long-term survival. The question then becomes, which strategies will be successful and lead to higher customer loyalty.Problem: Are the traditional grocery stores using strategies that can compete in addition to pricing and will those strategies lead to long-term survival?Objective: Is to analyse and evaluate two traditional grocery stores' strategies and to examine whether these are consistent with customer demand.Approach: First we have created a more fundamental understanding of the situation in the Swedish grocery market. Then we have implemented two interviews in each grocery store.

Abstract This master thesis is a result of the work thas was done for my entry in the international architectural competition Urban spaces and urban life in Ørestad South, that was announced by Ørestadselskabet on the 31st of October 2006. The project work lasted from early November until the deadline on 14th of February. In addition to the proposal that was handed in, the master thesis consists of a number of reflections about the work that was done and design work in general. The proposal is an answer to a not that evident task. One would expect that the assigment was clearly defined in the brief of the competition like this. And so it seems to do but to define the real assignment and join your own aims to it from such an extensive brief can be quite time consuming. Why do architects participate and what is an architectural competition? How does the brief affect the choices and statements made by the entrants? What is a square? What is the strategy that leads to a convincing concept? The role and use of a concept in the design process.

This report describes my degree project. For my degree project I made a demo for a game idea that I've developed, and implemented for use with Xbox 360. The idea was about converting the feeling and gameplay of old 2D side-scrolling platform games into 3D, viewed from a first-person perspective. The Xbox 360 version of the demo was also submitted for the game competition Swedish Game Awards. In the report, I explain this idea more extensive, what software I used to implement it, and how I implemented it. Finally, at the end I clarify the results and discuss fulfilled tasks and future improvements.

This report covers the product development of a new type of extendable table for the company Karl Andersson och Söner. The company wants to expand their product collection with a new product. Karl Andersson och Söner is a well-known family company that has been located in Huskvarna since 1898, and they are producing furniture for private- and the public environment.The aim with this project is that the product should lead to increased sales, as well as expand their collection to appeal a wider audience. The work is permeated by two issues, to achieve as good results as possible. The issues will bring up how to make a table better, in terms of the competitor?s options, and how to apply a design process to develop a table that meets the markets needs and requirements.The design process of the work consists of strategically picked parts from three separate design processes.