Browsing by Author "Brundin, Knut"

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A management perspective on how to encourage sustainability through incentives and employee motivation - A qualitative study of five companies within the Swedish energy industry
(2020-07-01) Brundin, Knut; Sjöholm, Karin; University of Gothenburg/Department of Business Administration; Göteborgs universitet/Företagsekonomiska institutionen
Previous research shows that there is a leap between executives’ and employees’ view on sustainability issues. However, for a company to succeed in today’s economy, sustainability commitment is a prerequisite. Therefore, it is vital for a manager to successfully communicate their sustainability agenda throughout the company. This thesis will examine how managers at five large companies within the energy industry use incentives to motivate employees. The aim is to create a better understanding of how internal and external incentives can be used to improve sustainability within a company. The study is based on interviews with five managers. The empirical findings are then analysed through the theoretical framework. Internal motivation is most frequently used and perceived as the most effective. Dialogues and lectures are used to form a sense of meaningfulness. The view on external motivation, on the other hand, differs in some aspects. External motivation can be of both financial and non-financial character. One company thought that individual financial incentives was detrimental, while another company said that it encourage employees to some extent. Non-financial incentives such as praises was used by all the companies. Furthermore, the importance of positive reinforcement is pervading in all companies and outweighs the usage of punishments and discouragements.
Competitor interactions A qualitative study on how Swedish football clubs engage in multiple boundary work
(2022-06-28) Brundin, Knut; Berggren, Carl; University of Gothenburg/Graduate School; Göteborgs universitet/Graduate School
Historically, rivals have interacted to achieve common goals, whereas previous research shows examples of several types of competitor interactions. However, in the modern corporate world, the perception of fierce competition has been more normalized, and interactions between rivals pose a sensitivity to them. Thus, this paper examines how rival organizations interact with each other and how different relationships can unfold in the process, with the purpose of creating further understanding and knowledge on competitive relations between organizations. The research uses boundary work as a theoretical framework to investigate the phenomenon and applies the case of the Swedish football league, Allsvenskan. The empirical data is based on both primary and secondary data connected to the Swedish football league, Allsvenskan, gathered through interviews and documentary analysis. The most common interactions between the football clubs were informal collaboration and collaboration through a third-party organization. Competition-oriented interactions were also found when the different football clubs actively tried to frame their identity and highlight the differences between one another. Purely collaborative interactions aligned with the framework were the rarest, with only two matching findings: collaboration during crises. These results have two main contributions. Firstly, it shows the possibility for organizations to simultaneously exercise multiple types of boundary work, which has not been discussed previously. Secondly, it proves that boundary work is adequate as an analytic lens of interactions since it explains how different interactions lead to different relationships.
Competitor interactions A qualitative study on how Swedish football clubs engage in multiple boundary work
(2022-06-23) Brundin, Knut; Berggren, Carl; University of Gothenburg/Graduate School; Göteborgs universitet/Graduate School
Historically, rivals have interacted to achieve common goals, whereas previous research shows examples of several types of competitor interactions. However, in the modern corporate world, the perception of fierce competition has been more normalized, and interactions between rivals pose a sensitivity to them. Thus, this paper examines how rival organizations interact with each other and how different relationships can unfold in the process, with the purpose of creating further understanding and knowledge on competitive relations between organizations. The research uses boundary work as a theoretical framework to investigate the phenomenon and applies the case of the Swedish football league, Allsvenskan. The empirical data is based on both primary and secondary data connected to the Swedish football league, Allsvenskan, gathered through interviews and documentary analysis. The most common interactions between the football clubs were informal collaboration and collaboration through a third-party organization. Competition-oriented interactions were also found when the different football clubs actively tried to frame their identity and highlight the differences between one another. Purely collaborative interactions aligned with the framework were the rarest, with only two matching findings: collaboration during crises. These results have two main contributions. Firstly, it shows the possibility for organizations to simultaneously exercise multiple types of boundary work, which has not been discussed previously. Secondly, it proves that boundary work is adequate as an analytic lens of interactions since it explains how different interactions lead to different relationships.