The transformed municipality ? Economic and social growth in Örnsköldsvik 1997-2007Author: Kristina HanssonThis thesis focuses on the economic and social growth in the municipality of Örnsköldsvik. It is a single case study and the municipality is studied through economic theories concerning regional growth in the period of 1997-2007. The aim is to analyse whether these theories, such as Åke E. Anderssons and Ulf Strömquists K-society, and other more or less microeconomic assumptions, also are applicable in smaller local contexts.

This thesis is about university spin-offs and the competition in high technology industries. In the light of efforts to increase the competitiveness of the European Union, an effective transfer of cutting edge technology from universities to the industry plays an important role. University spin-offs, start-ups founded to exploit academic inventions, are likely to face considerable market entry barriers. This is among other reasons due to high capital requirements for further technology development and lack of complementary resources. With a combination of relevant literature and empirical investigation, commercialisation of technologies within spin-offs is investigated and analysed.

Införandet av redovisningsstandarderna IAS/IFRS år 2005 innebar förändringar för företagen, och en av de större förändringarna var redovisningen till tillgångars verkliga värde. I IAS 36 anges hur prövningar av eventuella nedskrivningsbehov ska genomföras, och det sker genom en jämförelse mellan tillgångens redovisade värde och återvinningsvärdet, vilket är det högre av tillgångens verkliga värde minus försäljningskostnader och nyttjandevärdet. Beräkningen av verkligt värde minus försäljningskostnader vållar sällan problem för företagen, medan beräkningen av nyttjandevärdet är mer komplicerat; framtida kassaflöden från tillgången ska uppskattas och diskonteras med en diskonteringsränta vilken återspeglar företagets kapitalkostnad. Då valet av diskonteringsränta kan vara komplicerat då IAS 36 Bilaga A anger allmänna riktlinjer har två branscher, verkstadsindustrin och dagligvaruindustrin, undersökts för att avgöra hur företag i praktiken väljer sin diskonteringsränta. Undersökningen visade att majoriteten av företagen i undersökningen använt Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) före skatt som sin diskonteringsränta, vilket är i enlighet med IAS 36.

In this thesis an explorative study was undertaken with the aim to study how a number of private care providers, as well as politicians and officials from councils in and around the Stockholm and Uppsala counties, think about the future of the Swedish elderly care from a property perspective, i.e. homes for the elderly. The analysis shows that there is a demand for capacity in 6 out of 16 municipalities, and that the property is an important part of this capacity, and the fulfillment of it. This was mainly due to the cost of capital, but also because of several other factors such as lack of land, a wish to guide the design, ideology, and in many cases a wish to use the property as an instrument of domination to control private health care providers.Also, the property was show to be connected to economic competition, to freedom of choice, and to quality. The problems related to the property in the market for elderly care still remains to be solved.

In 1993 the internal market within the European Union was formed and ensured free movement of goods, services, capital and people. This led to the removal of trade barriers between members of the European Union. When opening up for competition, price differences between countries decreased and more jobs were created. A single currency was introduced by eleven countries in 1999 with the goal of reducing transaction costs, eliminating exchange rate risk and to further simplify trade. In 2001 Greece joined the collaboration and introduced the euro.

Background: Traditionally defined boundaries and borders between organizations are at present being re-evaluated because of new and tougher demands. Today we can see a trend where these boundaries are being lowered or even eliminated when organizations choose to co-operate instead of compete. Purpose: In order to create an understanding for the partner selection process in the newly founded joint ventures between the companies which are building the Swedish 3G Network, the determining factors are being studied. Delimitation: The studies companies are co-operating as network operators but are at the same time competing as mobile operators. This relationship is in the literature described as co-opetition, which will not be investigated in this paper.

I och med framväxten av samhällsentreprenörer har ett nytt begrepp introducerats påden svenska marknaden. Det handlar om den nya generationen företagare som sermöjligheten i att tjäna pengar samtidigt som de driver verksamheter som skapar ettmervärde för samhället. Samhällsentreprenörerna i Sverige står dock framför ett problem,att på ett hållbart sätt finansiera sin verksamhet.Denna studie syftar till att kartlägga hur finansieringen av svenska samhällsentreprenörerser ut. Undersökningen bygger på en kvalitativ studie där vi har undersökt tresvenska verksamheter, som faller under definitionen ?samhällsentreprenör?.

In subsequent to Post-colonialism the African nations have dilated into different political directions. While some nations have established well-functioning democracies, others are still under authoritarian regimes. The aim of this thesis is to examine if civil society has an impact on democratic development in West Africa. Therefore the theoretical starting point is Putnam?s theory of social capital, but this study will also examine other possible causal explanations for democratic transition.This study will be based on a comparative analysis of Ghana and Guinea.

In light of the coming workforce shortage in Sweden the competition for human capital will be intensified on the market where employers compete in order to attract skilled labor. The competition will be most noticeable in the knowledge-intense industries, where the employees are seen as the companies? most valuable asset. The purpose of this paper is to examine how small knowledge-intensive companies can improve their position in the labor market by using the HR-model People Capability Maturity Model in order to affect their companies' Employer Brand. We take the basis of the theoretical framework in which we examine and identify the key dimensions of the Employer Brand concept and present the People Capability Maturity Model more closely.

Svenska börsnoterade företag anpassade år 2005 sin redovisning enligt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Detta medförde att företagens goodwilltillgångar skulle nedskrivningsprövas. Nedskrivningsprövningen kan göras genom att diskontera framtida kassaflöden med en diskonteringsränta. Denna studie undersöker om företag opportunistiskt justerar diskonteringsräntan vid nedskrivningsprövning av goodwill. Om detta varierar ökar över tid, om företagens börsvärde påverkar och om de tillfällena då företag sänker sin diskonteringsränta jämfört med föregående år ökar det opportunistiska beteendet.

The real estate industry is a sector where the companies generally have a capital structure which is high leveraged. The financing? with the related terms ? is therefore specifically of high importance for the companies in the sector. Traditionally, the way of obtain financing is by borrowing from the bank. Lately, due to new bank regulations, the banks have become more restrictive in their lending which have lead to a growth of other financing alternatives.

Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera om förändringar i arbetet med rörelsekapital hade ett samband med lönsamheten i företag. Som mått på rörelsekapital används Cash Conversion Cycle och som mått på lönsamhet används ROA.Teoretiskt perspektiv: Den teoretiska referensramen består av teorier om Working Capital Management, Cash Conversion Cycle, Lean, Supply Chain Management och Supply Chain Finance.Metod: I denna uppsats används en kvantitativ metod där sekundärdata samlas in från årsredovisningar för 2005 och 2013. Denna data ligger till grund för fyra korrelationsanalyser. Den beroende variabeln i korrelationsanalyserna är ROA och defyra oberoende variablerna är Cash Conversion Cycle, dagar i lager, dagar som kundfordring och dagar som leverantörsskuld. Urvalet i denna studie består av svenska aktiebolag inom branschen tillverkning och industri med fler än 50 anställda.Empiri: Empirin består av fyra tabeller som presenterar de beräkningar som gjorts.Slutsats: Sambandet mellan förändring i Cash Conversion Cycle och förändring i ROA blev väldigt svagt positivt men inte signifikant.

The purpose of this paper is to view Karlstad Municipality and their financial support to non-profit organizations within equestrian sports. Despite the varying representatives of various equestrian sports in Karlstad, there seems to be a single beneficiary within the sport when it comes to financial support from the municipality. The policies and plans concerning cultural development are directly compared to the Karlstad Municipality and its contribution to these organizations within equestrian sports. Through interviews and reports I have studied the process of financial support from the Karlstad municipality using an intersectionality theory based on Nina Lykkes guide on gender studies and feminist theory. Pierre Bourdieu?s theories on field, habitus and capital are also used as a method to enhance the understanding of equestrian sports and its role in modern Swedish society. The conclusion is that the Karlstad Municipality is, for a several of reasons, promoting non-profit organizations within equestrian sports, which are operating as riding schools.

The increased interest in relationship marketing and the potential of the Internet as a platform for relationship building activities have given rise to new ways for companies to interact with their customers, such as services based on a freemium pricing model. Based on the premise that relationships are processes consisting of interactive moments of value-creating activities, value is considered subjective, relative and dependent on the context in which the activity takes place. Value is therefore variable given its context and cannot be pre-defined without nuances being lost. Despite the Internet's given role in societal development, our understanding of what contributes to customers' intentions to build relationships with online services is yet to mature.As the music industry is well established on the Internet, alongside the change in how music is consumed, it is thus appropriate to examine activities in accordance with a freemium based service that distributes music online, since it still lacks in academic understanding.This study aims to provide insights about virtual relations and how online services that provide cultural content should relate to there users as well as contributing to the ongoing academic discussion regarding value and how it is manifested by highlighting contextual impact on relational activities. For a rapprochement of relations to online services in cultural industries, this study assumed a practice perspective.

Elever i Eskilstuna kommuns förmåga att prestera i grundskolan är påverkad av vilket symboliskt kapital elever innehar. En uppväxt i en miljö som hedrar samma värden som skolan ger eleven ett habitus som i högre grad samstämmer med skolans och ökar därför elevens möjligheter. Ett motsatt förhållande kan ses hos elevgrupper med ett lågt symboliskt kapital. Elevers förmåga att prestera är även påverkad av hur elevsammansättningen ser ut. Denna effekt kan verka både i positiv och i negativ riktning.