The aim of this thesis is to describe the development of profitability and capital structure in Swedish quoted companies during the period of 1990 to 2004. Further, the aim is to determine the relationship between profitability and leverage in order to conclude whether the choice of capital structure supports the pecking order theory or the trade-off theory of capital structure. The findings show that return on assets fluctuates between 3 and 11 percent and that return on equity fluctuates between 3 and 22 percent during the period. Further, the leverage and the cost of debt have decreased. This indicates lowered financial risk in Swedish quoted companies in the period between 1990 and 2004.

This study aims to measure the effect of accounting conservatism and to identify thebusiness activities causing firms to undervalue owners? equity. To estimateaccounting conservatism, we have followed the hypothesis that no firm over time cangenerate a return greater than its cost of equity, i.e. CAPM. Thus, if a firm in factgenerates an excess return over time, we assume that the excess return is an estimateof accounting conservatism within that firm.The hypothesis originates from the corporate valuation model ?Economic ValueAdded®? which tries to adjust for accounting bias.

Abstract: The fashion industry is perhaps the most unpredictable one where change occurs very rapidly. In order to be attractive and interesting in this competitive industry, a brand must constantly be up to date and differentiated from other brands to attract the consumers. This has given rise to an increasing growth of brands that cooperate for marketing reasons and more specifically, clothing retailers that perform designer collaborations with exclusive designers to create limited collections.Studies describing the effects of those collaborations on the retailers brands are rare and especially from a consumer perspective. Since H&M has been a pioneer in designer collaborations and has done it more times and for more years than any other retailer we have conducted our study on their case. Our intention was to investigate how the designer collaborations have affected the brand equity and image of H&M, if the collaborations have increased the willingness to pay for H&M's other ranges and if they have affected H&M's ability to extend its brand to higher price segments, through an experimental study.

Studien handlar om reciprocitet i parförhållanden. Den teoretiska grunden hämtas från anknytningsteorin, equity-teorin och sociala utbytesteorin. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur reciprocitet hänger samman med ovillkorlig självacceptans och relationsrelaterad ångest samt hur ovillkorlig självacceptans och relationsrelaterad ångest korrelerar sinsemellan. Deltagarna (n = 97), 15 män och 82 kvinnor, rekryterades via Internet, där de fick besvara en enkät, sammansatt av tre skalor som mätte konstrukten: reciprocitet, relationsrelaterad ångest samt ovillkorlig självacceptans. Korrelationsanalyser visar en positiv korrelation mellan relationsrelaterad ångest och underläge i utbytet i parförhållanden samt en negativ korrelation mellan relationsrelaterad ångest och ovillkorlig självacceptans.

SammanfattningDetta examensarbete undersöker hur ett globalt industriföretag arbetar med kunskapshantering utifrån ettKnowledge management-perspektiv. Målföretaget undersöks genom Talent management-konceptet People Equity. Vi baserar vår uppsats på empiri bestående av tolv kvalitativa intervjuer med medarbetare från företaget. Våra teoretiska utgångspunkter grundas primärt på Alvesson och Kärremans deskriptiva modell om hur företag arbetar med kunskapsstyrning, Model of managerial intervention. Utifrån analys av insamlad empiri placerar vi ut målföretaget på ovan nämnda matris.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate why Linas Matkasse has greater success in terms of market share than Middagsfrid despite the similarities of their concepts. The study will also examine potential and existing customers' image of the brands and corporate brand awareness.Method: This study is based on a triangulation in which both quantitative and qualitative methods are treated in the form of personal interviews and a questionnaire survey.Theoretical perspectives: Four theories are addressed in this study and they treat the brand from different aspects. The theories process how to create value, personality dimensions, how companies should act and strategies around brand.Empiricism: The empirical material consists of five interviews, one of which was with the brand manager at Middagsfrid. Then two interviews were conducted with consumers of Linas Matkasse and two interviews with consumers of Middagsfrid. A questionnaire survey has also been conducted.

Research issue: The transition from Basel II to Basel III becomes consuming for banks, financially. But Basel III should be profitably for financial market economy. Risks in the financial world is very complex. Is Basel III is sufficient to manage risk and future crisesPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the application of Basel II and the transition to Basel III in Sweden with the banking system in focus.Method: The study has a qualitative research methodology for the collection of empirical data. The study is based on interviews with four large banks of Sweden (Swedbank, SEB, Nordea, Handelsbanken) and with Finansinspektionen.

Frågeställning: Hur profileras ett företags corporate branding identity i reklamkampanjer till utlandet och hur stort utrymme får nationstillhörigheten i denna kontext? Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur, varför och i vilken utsträckning företag använder sig av corporate branding i sin marknadsföring till utlandet, samt värdet av och i vilken utsträckning nationstillhörigheten används i det avseendet. Genomförande: Uppsatsen utgår ifrån teori omfattande traditionell marknadsföring, varumärken och reklam, nationsvarumärken och nationers image vilket relateras till corporate branding och modellen the corporate branding toolkit. Med hjälp av en semiotisk näranalys, av en av respektive företags kampanjer, försöker författarna skönja hur företagens corporate branding identity och nationstillhörighet speglas i marknadsföringen. Summering: Även om det bör råda balans mellan komponenterna i ett företags corporate branding identity kan tyngdpunkten variera beroende på företag.

SummaryThe purpose of this thesis is to examine what effect the IFRS 2 has on earnings, equity, financial strength and return on equity for listed Swedish companies with active stock option plans. The purpose is further to investigate the companies? attitudes towards IFRS 2 and to find out if companies tend to deviate from stock option plans due to the changed accounting rules. We also want to examine the view of IFRS 2 from an auditor?s perspective.We have used a deductive approach and a mix of quantitative and qualitative research methods with a view to get a completely clear picture within the field of study.

 Problem: For what type of investors are index funds versus exchange-traded index funds best suited?Objective: The purpose of the paper is to determine how an index fund or an exchange-traded index fund (ETF) suits different types of investors with different requirements in terms of time frame, investment size and purpose of investment. The comparison is based on fees and trade practicality. This is going to describe the advantages and disadvantages with the two different financial instruments.Method: The study is a comparative study using two methods; one of which is a case study, the other is a qualitative interview. The case study focuses on fees and is made on an exchange traded fund (XACT OMXS30) and a simple equity index fund (Erik Pensér equity enhanced index).

AbstractTitle: Cheap Monday ? A qualitative study of the consumers? opinions of the brand (Cheap Monday ? En kvalitativ studie av konsumenternas åsikter om märket)Number of pages: 38 (40 including enclosures)Author: Oskar NorlanderTutor: Göran SvenssonCourse: Media and Communication Studies CPeriod: Autumn 2007University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala UniversityPurpose/Aim: The purpose of this essay is to examine from the customers? perspective how the Swedish jeans-brand Cheap Monday in just three years time could become such a prominent brand on the Swedish market. An additional purpose is to examine whether there is some kind of brand community connected to the brand or not.Material/Method: The main method used in this essay has been qualitative interviews with ten consumers of the brand. The answers from these interviews has then been analysed using two different theories, Keller?s Customer Based Brand Equity and Muniz and O?Guinnn?s Brand Community.Main results: The main results of this essay is that Cheap Monday is a brand that has become successful due to people?s perception of who the users of the brand are.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to do a brand survey of Metro in Karlstad. The study will originate from the terms ?brand identity? and ?brand associations?, where the brand identity is the organization?s desired view of the brand, and the brand associations define the associations held by the consumers.Issues: What is Metro?s brand identity? What are the brand associsations of Metro in Karlstad? How well do the brand identity and the brand associations correspond?Theoretical framework: The study is done from the perspective of media and communication studies, where the theoretical terms are defined from literature regarding brands.Method: The study is carried out using a qualitative document analysis, interviews, and a quantitative survey. The document analysis was made on Metro?s own documents regarding values and target audience.

In this paper the effect of capital structure on profitability has been investigated among Swedish companies. The essay intends to examine how the relationship between debt and profitability appear among Swedish companies and if the relationship differs between industries. The purpose is to find out how debt affects the profitability of Swedish companies.A quantitative approach has been applied. The selection was made among companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm, which resulted in a sample of 207 companies. Several regression analyzes has been formed, based on the independent variable debt-ratio and the dependent variables profit margin, pre-tax profit margin, operating margin, return on assets and return on equity.

The essay deals with the subject about branding and the communicative process that entails between businesses and consumers. The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the opportunities and risks of brand building through sponsorship and Co-Branding. This descriptive analysis is made by highlighting the partnership between two strong brands in the Swedish market, Åbro & AIK, and how internal and external associations related to their impact on brand equity. The study has led to the conclusion that the sponsorship should be seen as synonymous with Co-branding, ie. a synergy between two or more brands.

During the last decades, brand equity has been a priority topic for both practitioners and academics. In accordance with the structural changes in the economic settings caused by the so-called "new economy", corporations being confronted with a shift on perceived business value structure from tangible assets to intangibles. On the other hand firms increasingly are adopting more responsible behaviour towards their societies. In this context, one critical question is to understand how corporate conduct may affect brand equity. The purpose of this study was to find how brand equity (BE) measurement methods embrace corporate responsibility (CR), based on a literature review.