Browsing by Author "Karlsson, Sofie"

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Buyer-Supplier Relationships: Factors Characterising Successful Collaborations
(2014-12-12) Axelsson, Sara; Karlsson, Sofie; University of Gothenburg/Graduate School; Göteborgs universitet/Graduate School
With global competition intensifying, firms are increasingly recognising that internal efficiency improvements are insufficient, and that larger gains can be achieved by enhancing the performance of the entire supply chain. This realisation, together with the potential of leveraging supplier capabilities, has resulted in a trend where customers increasingly are entering into closer collaborations with suppliers. Previous research on the antecedents of successful buyer-supplier relationships has primarily adopted a buyer’s perspective, while limited research has taken a supplier’s perspective. To breach this gap in literature this study adopts a dyadic perspective, where both the viewpoint of the buyer and the supplier is considered. Hence, the aim of the thesis is to identify the factors that characterise mutually beneficial buyer-supplier relationships, as well as to investigate whether the factors are interdependent, and whether a particular factor triggers a closer collaboration. To study these issues a case study has been conducted where a Swedish manufacturing company and its relationships to five strategically important suppliers have been analysed through interviews, surveys, as well as observations. The findings are that factors within the dimensions of economic performance, interaction, and emotion and feeling, are important characteristics of successful buyer-supplier relationships. Moreover, we find that the factors are highly interdependent, and that it is interaction, mainly in the form of increased communication, that triggers the establishment of a closer collaboration. For managers, the implications of these findings are that collaborative relationships are resource intensive, and thus firms must carefully select with which suppliers such relationships are most beneficial.
Human Capital -Explanations for voluntary disclosure of human capital in annual reports
(2012-06-13) Johansson, Hanna; Karlsson, Sofie; University of Gothenburg/Department of Business Administration; Göteborgs universitet/Företagsekonomiska institutionen
Background: Nowadays, many corporations claim that their employees are the company’s most valuable resource. Therefore, it may seem odd that most companies choose not to disclose much voluntary information concerning human capital in their annual reports, even though most agree that their employees contribute to the company’s competitive advantage. Especially knowledgebased companies, whose core assets are not shown on the balance sheet, are expected to have incentives for wanting to disclose information concerning human capital in their annual reports. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify and discuss the explanations behind why knowledge-based companies, with focus on three well-known Swedish auditing firms, choose to disclose voluntary information on human capital in their annual reports of 2010/2011, and to see if the explanations vary with company size. Methodology: This bachelor thesis has been conducted as a comparative case study of one relatively smaller and two relatively larger companies in the auditing industry. The case study has been qualitative and the empirical findings have been collected through semi-structured interviews with the participating companies. Findings: We find that auditing firms provide several explanations for their human capital disclosure. All of the companies claim that one explanation for this disclosure is that it enables them to show that their employees are such an important resource for the business and for the company’s survival. They also explain that human capital disclosure enables them to show their employees that the company cares about them. Further, they explain that human capital disclosure increases their trustworthiness. From these explanations, we can see that all of the companies address their human capital information to different stakeholders. Moreover, we find that the companies’ explanations do not vary with company size. Suggestions to future studies: Future studies could choose to repeat this study but focus on another knowledge-intensive industry, and the results could then be compared to those of this bachelor thesis. It could also be interesting to do a comparative study between auditing firms in different countries on why they disclose voluntary information on human capital.
”I slutändan handlar det om avkastning” - En intervjustudie om hur EU-taxonomin påverkar fondförvaltares investeringsbeslut
(2021-06-23) Karlsson, Sofie; Utbult, Julia; University of Gothenburg/Department of Economics; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för nationalekonomi med statistik; University of Gothenburg/Department of Business Administration; Göteborgs universitet/Företagsekonomiska institutionen
The EU taxonomy is gradually being implemented by companies and fund managers. The taxonomy aims to provide a clear description of the concept of "sustainability" and thus counteract false sustainability marketing, otherwise known as greenwashing. This study has been established for the purpose of presenting how fund managers' decisions are affected by the introduction of the EU-taxonomy. This study responds to the question: How is the investment process of fund managers affected by the introduction of the EU Taxonomy? This study has been carried out on a qualitative basis since the taxonomy has not yet been fully introduced. Semi-structured interviews have been designed and conducted with 17 respondents that have a prime role in fund management. The interviews have been transcribed in order to execute a complete analysis. The interpretation of the result has been made through a thematic method. A majority of the respondents have stated that the taxonomy is unclear. Concluded, the taxonomy regulation today is too immature for fund managers to choose to structure their investments according to its framework. When comparing generally sustainable investments and investments that are considered to be EU taxonomy aligned, respondents state to the greatest extent that return is the most central factor according to the collective of investors. Therefore, investment decisions will be adapted to the customers' desire according to the idea of legitimacy.
Structural Hybridization and Dual Roles: A Case Study of Coexisting Logics in a Government Agency
(2023-06-29) Axelsson, Johanna; Karlsson, Sofie; University of Gothenburg/Graduate School; Göteborgs universitet/Graduate School
The area of coexisting institutional logics has been extensively discussed at the field and organizational level. However, there is currently a lack of research on the role of individual actors in creating and sustaining organizational hybrids, e.g. organizations operating under contradicting logics. In this study, how coexisting logics are sustained by individuals is investigated through the case of a Swedish government agency. Where the implementation of an agile work approach within the IT and Service development departments has allowed for the emergence and establishment of a second logic. Through data collection, it is evident that the introduction of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) has contributed to a minority logic, the professional logic, now existing alongside the established dominant state logic in a compartment of the government agency. Moreover, the role of individual middle managers who possess dual roles in the compartment are identified as key facilitators as they are determined to both protect and mediate the two logics through individual separation. This being the managers ability to enact the appropriate logic depending on the situation and context. This study contributes to the existing literature on institutional logics and structural hybrids by presenting an example where a compartment containing more than one logic is sustained by individual actors' capability to shield and segment logics on a daily basis through their possession of dual organizational roles.
The Debate on Whether the Repo Rate Should Be Affected by the Household Debt
(2014-03-20) Karlsson, Sofie; Nyqvist, Niclas; University of Gothenburg/Department of Economics; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för nationalekonomi med statistik
According to the Sveriges Riksbank Act, the Riksbank should aim for an inflation target of 2 per cent, but at the same time foster a stable payment system. The low inflation in Sweden in the last few years has led to a situation with a tradeoff between a growing economy and the importance of financial stability. A lower repo rate would not only increase the inflation but also the household debt. Even though the effect of the household debt is predicted to by small, it cannot be neglected, especially not when house price bubbles have burst in other countries with economies close to Sweden’s. However, if the long run Philips curve is not vertical, low inflation will be costly in terms of unemployment. Other tools than the repo rate are used and new tools will be implemented to handle high household debt. For example, new regulations will be set for banks, where they have to promote a sustainable amortization even though this is not in their interests. Risk weight floors and mortgage cap are other tools that are effectively affecting the new loan takers. The macroprudental policy is about to be set up and is one step towards better understanding and analyzing of financial stability. The council will include expertise from different institutions, cooperating for the common stability goal.