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.

This thesis concerns waste management on construction sites and was conducted on behalf of ICA Fastigheter.Areas of concern:How can an environmentally-efficient waste management system on construction sites be defined? What potential exists for exploiting the waste resources that are generated?How can the waste management be optimised by reducing the quantity of waste and by optimal sorting?How can the client of a project influence the waste management?The purpose of the work was to investigate sustainable waste management in the building and construction sector and to highlight waste as a resource from an environmental and economic perspective.The aim of the work was to define an environmentally-efficient waste management system, to analyse the potential that exists in waste management and to draw up guidelines for optimal waste management.The method consisted of a literature study, two visits to construction sites and four interviews.An environmentally-efficient waste management system means that the waste is managed in the following order of priority:Prevention     Reuse  Recycling     Energy recoveryLandfill     The prevention of waste is an important area that has not been adequately explored by the building and construction industry. The quantities of waste could decrease with the implementation of measures such as ordering materials in the dimensions required, prefabricated components, logistics centres with Just-In-Time deliveries, less and improved packaging and less wrapping. The reuse of waste materials and temporary apparatus as well as the use of a return pallet system are examples of reuse that reduces the quantities of waste.In most cases the source sorting work is a matter of course and the proportion going to landfill is down at a low level. The source sorting can be optimised by sorting all materials that can be reused and recycled to use them as a resource.

The aim of this study is to investigate how it is possible that tourists who are not actively seeking child prostitutes still account for the majority of child sex tourists. The study includes tourists, locals, people working in the sex industry and staff from Swedish embassy and ECPAT international in Bangkok. The study was conducted with a qualitative approach and an ethnographic method, using field observations and interviews to collect the empirical data. The data has then been categorized in to different themes and analyzed using previous research on the subject. Hirschis theory of social bonds was then used to further interpret the results.The results of this study show that the tourists in Thailand, who are not seeking out child prostitutes, will most likely come in contact with them anyway.

AbstractIn the past decades the newspaper industry went through many changes but it has never had a problem of this kind. With the freedom the Internet brings us today and the wide range of information channels, the newspaper is for the first time seriously challenged.When the newspapers began to establish themselves on the internet they thought it was only to copy the content of the newspaper on to their webpage and the advertisers would come along. This move was not planed and had no vision. When the advertisers discovered Internets wide range of advertisement platforms they started to look for other places they could put their ads. This thesis is about the local newspapers ability to address the problem that the internet has created. I based my study on the following issues:Why has internet caused this problem for the newspapers?What are the prerequisites for local newspapers when they face challenges from the internet?How have the advertisers acted after the emergence of this challenge?To answer these questions I did qualitative interviews with different personalities within the newspaper industry, two local newspaper executives and two professors in media economics. In conclusion the result shows that there are different opinions regarding these questions and different views of how to solve them.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how the ongoing controversy surrounding the Internet, the phenomena of digitalization and file sharing will affect the music industry in the form of the ?big five? labels. Furthermore the thesis aims to present a recipe of strategies for the companies? survival by studying their situation through a theoretical perspective in conjunction with a comparative analysis with industries facing the digitalization challenge. The theoretical contribution lies in the strategic perspective at an industry level.

The purpose with this essay is to study the public support givers view of the concept innovation and to study how the public support givers discuss and act around the division of public support to entrepreneurs innovations. The purpose is further to describe if the division of public support favour or not favour environmental innovations and to examine if the public support givers consider the industry for environmental innovations is profitable for the society?s economy.We have done several case studies where we have interviewed eight public support. Support givers in this essay are defined as public authorities and other organisations on local, national and/or international level that gives public support to innovations. The public support givers that take part of the essay is VINNOVA, ALMI Stockholm, Innovationsbron, Energimyndigheten, SU Holding AB, KTH Holding, Västra Götalandsregionen and MISTRA.Our theoretical starting point is Silverman and Baums theory ?Picking Winners or Building Them?.

The purpose of this final thesis is to investigate the effects of seasonal changes in the horticulture industry. In this study this includes mainly garden designers, constructors of gardens and parks and horticultural businesses at Österlen. Today the most important issue,both in private and in public environment, is that the winter occupation in this area is not big enough. The consequence of this issue can result in the loss of competence to other industries if educated personnel has to stay employed only over season. The study is trying to identify and rank factors that are contributing to the problem, and propose solutions that means work opportunities for companies in the horticulture industry as well as for their employees, during twelve months of the year..

From an early age kids learn that their good performance and efforts will be rewarded. Unfortunately, not all leaders in the media industry are rewarded or given the same opportunities to exercise their communicative leadership, according to studies in media research. The aim of our study is to highlight female managers' experiences of their communicative leadership in the Swe-dish media industry. This study was based on qualitative interviews with four female respondents in management positions. The core of the study concerns female communicative leadership and interpersonal communication.

Background: Currently Sweden has the possibility to like other EU countries raise the limits of statutory audit, but have chosen significantly lower limits. The reform was adopted in 2010 and only applies to smaller companies and there is great pressure for the limits to rise in future. This would enable Swedish companies to compete on equal terms in Europe. Aim: The aim of our study is to investigate the impact of the removal of the statutory audit for smaller companies from audit and accounting bureaus perspective and also the possible impact if the limits were to rise. Furthermore we want to explore how the supplies of other financial services have developed as a result of this.

This paper is about the extent to which simplified penetration calculations ofsmall-caliber projectiles is a useful tool for assessing the physical protectioncapability. The work should be seen as an attempt to create an accessible tool inthe form of a simplified equation that allows for a better and safer use of thenaval vessels. The tool will also be used at different levels so that decisions andinstructions could be clearer.Performed calculations show a very limited capacity of a ship's basic design interms of physical protection against the use of small-caliber projectiles.How do we know that the calculations correct? By verifying the calculations withpractical shooting tests, a substantial condition to answer the question will becreated. To shoot against a material with two different thicknesses estimated toproduce perforation and non-perforation is a good approximation of the equationusability in the context..

The Private Equity industry has over the past years been booming and major external environmental changes have made the industry transform rapidly. Increased competition between Private Equity firms is one of the reasons why the industry has been and is being forced to focus more on addition of value through increased operational management. Consequently, the focus of value addition is by some said to be transferred away from deal making and financial skills, and into active operative management. This case study investigates how the portfolio management, and more specifically the measuring and management of performance, is carried out in a number of leading Swedish Private Equity funds with investments in the biotech sector. The biotech sector is characterized by extensive research and development, and many biotech companies often lack income and other measurable financial parameters in the initial phase.

Our purpose in this paper is to examine if there is any profitability for a company with a factory in the timber industry to invest in a combined heat and power, CHP. Based on analysis and the results that the paper generates, we will give Derome AB a suggestion on how it is a profitable investment or not to installing in a CHP.By investing in a CHP plant, you can get a high efficiency, which means that companies can use their resources more effectively. The Swedish wood industry has by-products of production that can be used for combustion in their boiler which is an advantage.The essay is a qualitative study where we have a case company, Derome AB. In this company, we interviewed two employees who have knowledge in the study. They have helped us to provide information and data about their business.We chose to use the pay-off- and the net present value method, NPV, to see if there are profitable advantages for the investment.

There are around 855 000 on-site sewage systems in Sweden and some 1 800 of these are located in the municipality of Sigtuna. The Sigtuna local authority has set the goal that all sewage systems with insufficient function should be improved before the end of year 2010. A malfunctioning on-site sewage system may cause three main problems: spreading of diseases, discharge of eutrophicating compounds and wastage of resources. The municipality strives to reduce these problems already at the stage of granting permits for installation of on site sanitation systems. The municipality has recently adopted new guidelines, which demands certain minimum reductions for different compounds. The guidelines also state that it is preferred that neighboring house-owners cooperate in jointly built and operated sewage systems and that the system should be able to recycle plant nutrients.

The purpose of this study is to describe the traceability of products that protect against counterfeiting and examine how protection against counterfeit products have been developed to date, and to display the opportunity to streamline the protection of products and brands.Nowadays, in the global world, it is getting increasingly more difficult to track the products. Especially for the last link in the chain, which in most cases is the customer and who is constantly exposed to risks. This report deals with the possibilities of preventing and detecting counterfeit products. Fake products are not unusual in an historical perspective. It has been common with counterfeits ever since the Middle Ages continuously until today. Forgers have become more skillful and they are successful in most industries. Many of the fake products are of poor quality and can be downright dangerous to the customer.To answer the question, the author used a qualitative collection method.

Nowadays, the world around us is changing faster and faster, the globalization is increasing and harder competition puts extra pressure on companies to be more innovative than ever before. One of the fastest changing industries is the IT industry where the actors always have to be up to date to keep their competitive advantage. The authors want to find out what makes some companies in this industry more innovative than others by examining what internal elements that are necessary for innovation. Much research has already been carried out within the field of innovation and especially about innovation management, although less research exists about smaller, non high tech service companies. Therefore the authors also tries to find out how applicable today?s theories are on this special field and thereby fill a smaller gap in today?s research.