Doctoral Theses / Doktorsavhandlingar Företagsekonomiska institutionen

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Financial and Environmental Narratives in Earnings Calls: Investor Processing Costs and Market Reactions
(2024-12-05) Taraj, Imelda
This dissertation examines the role of soft information in earnings conference calls (ECCs) and its impact on capital market dynamics. By leveraging machine learning, natural language processing, and large language models, it explores three areas: (1) how narrative disclosures contextualize accounting numbers and influence market reactions, (2) the impact of analyst heterogeneity during Q&A sessions on investor disagreement, and (3) the role of environmental transparency in reducing a firm’s cost of capital (CoC). Analysis of ECC transcripts over a decade reveals that narrative attributes enhance the interpretability of financial data, with complex textual elements taking longer to influence market prices. Heterogeneous analyst views further complicate information processing for investors, increasing disagreement. Environmental disclosures, especially those addressing societal externalities, are shown to most effectively lower CoC. This research advances understanding of how narrative elements interact with financial disclosures, highlights the costs investors face when presented with mixed signals, and demonstrates the value of ML tools for analyzing complex market dynamics. It also supports integrating ESG considerations into corporate strategy, offering actionable insights for improving transparency and efficiency in financial markets.
Essays on lnsider lnvestment Horizon and lts Role in Information Asymmetry
(2024-09-16) Sarwar, M Shahin
In the presence of information asymmetry between insiders and outside investors, outside investors use the insider investment horizon (HOR). This is a crucial trade characteristic to understand the insiders’ trade motives. However, the application of the HOR to analyze the insiders’ trading activities and their impact on the market participants is relatively unexplored. This thesis employs the HOR to examine the insiders’ profitability and the impact of insiders’ trading activities on the market participants. The four studies in this thesis analyze Swedish insiders’ trading data from January 2000 to April 2021. To examine the outside investors’ response to insiders’ trading activities, the thesis uses the Euroclear Sweden database, which contains stock-holding records for all investors trading in Sweden. The findings reveal that the trading activities of short-horizon insiders, whose trades are more aligned with round-trip transactions, are informative and influence the perceptions of market participants. In terms of abnormal returns, the trades of short-horizon insiders consistently outperform the trades of their long-horizon counterparts in their own firm stocks. As a result, outside investors, the informationally disadvantaged group, do not prefer short-horizon insiders’ presence in the firm. Hence, they reduce investment in their personal portfolios in the stocks of firms dominated by short-horizon insiders. This thesis also finds that the Market Abuse Regulation adopted in Sweden reduces the long-horizon insiders’ profitability more than that of the short-horizon insiders. These findings imply that trades by short-horizon insiders encourage market participants to demand higher premiums or reduce the supply of funds, potentially leading to liquidity problems in the market. Such liquidity problems can adversely affect individual market participants, particularly liquidity traders, while also increasing the cost of financing, ultimately diminishing the value of the firms dominated by short-horizon insiders. The thesis recommends that regulatory authorities consider HOR when formulating regulations to ensure that they equally address the trading behavior of all insiders.
Exploring fan engagement and commercialisation in Swedish elite football
(2024-09-02) Winell, Erik
This dissertation builds on theory of customer and fan engagement and explores the nature of fan engagement in the Swedish elite football ecosystem. In light of the increasingly interconnected service ecosystem of elite football and the intensified commercialisation of the game, the aims of this thesis are to (1) examine and analyse the antecedents to and consequences of fan engagement in Swedish elite football, focusing specifically on the influence of engagement with multiple actors and on different engagement platforms, and (2) analyse the consequences of elite football commercialisation on fans and their engagement. To fulfil these aims, this dissertation builds on survey responses from 4331 fans of Swedish elite football and a systematic literature review focusing on the effects of elite sport commercialisation on fans. Based on the results of three survey-based studies, this dissertation sheds light on the influence of engagement that occurs beyond the customer-firm dyad (fan-team), on the platforms where this engagement takes place, as well as on the antecedents to and consequences of fan engagement. The results indicate that the engagement that occurs between fans, independent of involvement from the club, is extremely important for outcomes of engagement, such as value co-creation and brand loyalty. The survey results also indicate that engagement on virtual engagement platforms, such as social media, is positively related to team loyalty and value co-creation between actors. This finding indicates that virtual engagement platforms, which allow for ongoing and intense engagement between actors, are as important to fans and fan engagement as physical engagement platforms. This thesis also highlights the scarcity of studies focusing on the effects of commercialisation on fans beyond the top European football leagues and finds that almost no studies have surveyed fans of women’s elite football on this topic. As such, by surveying women’s football fans, this dissertation shows that in contrast to the many critical studies on commercialisation, perceptions of increased commercialisation among women’s football fans may, in fact, lead to more engagement and a more credible league. The results of this thesis are important to the research on customer and fan engagement. For practitioners in this sector, this dissertation shows the importance of fostering fan-to-fan interactions and ensuring that virtual engagement platforms are facilitated accordingly.
The Resonance of Past-themed Consumption and Marketing
(2024-05-06) Dam, Christian
In this thesis, I explore and conceptualise how resonance can be market-mediated. To do this, I unravel the theoretical context of past-themed consumption and marketing. My exploration is based on five standalone papers that all investigate past-themed consumption and marketing. Two of these papers are empirical and employ the context of the Danish vintage cycling community. Three papers are conceptual. The findings drawn from all these papers reveal how market-mediated resonance is created through play. Specifically, I identify four types of play: communal play, ideological play, material play, and temporal play. These serve as gateways for consumers to experience resonance. The contribution of this thesis is threefold. First, it introduces resonance theory to consumption and marketing theory by identifying play as the gateway between consumption and resonance. Second, it refines resonance theory by offering a more nuanced understanding of how resonance can be market-mediated. Third, it contributes by showing that consumers turn to the past during societal turmoil because the past is a resource for experiencing resonance.
Oxymoron Organizing: TraveIs of the Idea of Energy Efficient Oil Tankers
(2024-04-29) Varvne, Hanna
This study explores how the idea of energy-efficient travels is translated among organizations engaged in the shipping of oil, including shipowners, fuel companies, ports, and so forth. Contextualized in a Swedish setting, the study applies the translation model of organizational change, focusing on organizations engaged in the oxymoronic endeavor to operate energy efficient oil tankers. The findings from five appended papers are based on ethnographic materials, including interviews, observations, diaries, and documents that has been analyzed through an Actor-Network Theory lens, to provide insights into this dynamic process. Together with the compilation, the appended papers contribute to the outcome of the study, answering the question: How does the idea of energy efficiency travel and translate among organizations engaged in the shipping of oil? The results demonstrate how energy efficiency has been linked from the outset to the theme of environmental sustainability. The study illustrates how this linkage – to sustainability as well as other concepts such as market dynamics – operates in practice. These ideas are translated and materialized – into regulations, contracts, technologies, and linguistic artifacts. When these objects and quasi-objects are further translated into organizational actions and attempts at actions, it becomes obvious that technological developments are more easily achieved than changes in daily practices, although these two are often closely linked. The study provides new perspectives to energy management research through its discussion on energy-related terminology, such as efficiency and effectiveness, particularly within the context of ISO 50001 standards. Furthermore, it contributes to the translation model of organizational change by elaborating on the organizational field construct and highlighting the importance of technology. This view of technology's role in organizational change also provides insights to the gap between technological and organizational factors in energy efficiency efforts.
Cost and financing of the sustainability transition of the Swedish road freight transport sector
(2023-12-08) Parviziomran, Elmira
The cost and financing of the road freight sector’s sustainability transition, driven by significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and cost considerations, represent an urgent yet underexplored research focus. This study investigates the costs of fleet replacement with zero-emission powertrains, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), emphasizing cost variables that have been overlooked in transition research. It explores the financing dynamics of the transition for this sector at both the strategic and tactical levels, and it investigates circular economy (CE) transition barriers specific to BEV batteries. Six studies are developed, involving multiple sources of data and methodological approaches: systematic literature review, numerical modeling and scenario testing, data-driven agent-based simulation, network analysis, and interviews. The findings reveal that charging strategies have a substantial impact on BEV costs, especially in scenarios with higher adoption rates. This is attributed to electricity price fluctuations based on charging location, timing, power, and source. High hydrogen prices in scenarios with a high number of FCVs lead to increased fuel costs. Interestingly, the impact on loading capacity for larger powertrains in both BEVs and FCVs is relatively minor compared to other costs. The capacity of batteries depends on charging ranges and temperatures, but their impact would not significantly affect cost savings through increased BEV salvage values where a CE initiative is in place. A set of regulatory, market, structural, technological, actor-related, and task-related barriers and their complex interactions are identified that hinder BEV transition from a linear to a circular system. The availability of financing is crucial for facilitating the transition and is highly contingent on the financial strength and creditworthiness of companies, particularly given the prevalence in the sector of micro and SMEs, which often encounter challenges in accessing financing.
Geographies of Management Ideas
(2023-11-07) Kristiansen, Alexander
This dissertation concerns management ideas – ideas on optimal utilisation of organisational resources – that are antecedents to organisational change. In the context of a globalised economy, the dissemination of management ideas has intensified through multinational corporations and global production networks. Despite the growing consensus among economic geographers on the importance of firm practices, limited scholarly attention has been paid to the role of management ideas in shaping firm practices and, ultimately, economic geographies. Drawing on evidence-rich qualitative data from interviews and ethnographic observations of software development teams in both China and Sweden, the dissertation provides insights into the dynamics and impact of management ideas in shaping firm practices. Adopting a relational approach, the research examines management ideas as epistemic movements and highlights the central role of embeddedness and epistemic communities in their dissemination.
Corporate whistleblowing systems in the digital era: Determinants, effects, and disclosure
(2023-10-05) Rahmatdi, Rahmatdi
Whistleblowing is a practice of communication between two parties that involves negative or sensitive information regarding potential misconduct in an organization. Due to the nature of the information involved in whistleblowing, whistleblowers can experience high levels of personal risk. They are often prevented from reporting or facing retaliation after communicating sensitive information. To minimize risk, companies may need to take the initiative to establish confidential and secure reporting channels. In practice, to deal with the challenges of providing better channels for whistleblowing, communication technology has been developed. One of the technological advancements in whistleblowing is web-based channels developed and administered by third parties. Additionally, the existence of social media can also contribute to whistleblowing practices. This thesis is based on four essays studying the topic of corporate whistleblowing channels. It discusses the issues of internal whistleblowing system adoption and disclosure, in which the determinants and effects are examined by considering technological advancements in whistleblowing. Using a sample of companies from the European Economic Area (EEA), this dissertation highlights the role of country peers as one of the determinants for companies to decide whether or not to adopt third-party web-based whistleblowing platforms. It also provides evidence suggesting that the introduction of whistleblowing systems—especially web-based platforms—potentially affects external auditors’ perceptions, as reflected by their audit pricing decisions. Moreover, the implementation of the platforms may also lead to corporate disclosure regarding the occurrence of internal whistleblowing reports, which further results in the use of a substantive approach to legitimize the incidents. Lastly, regarding the use of social media, it is found that when employees post more negative information about their employers online, the companies tend to legitimize their internal communication channels through non-financial disclosure.
Spänning i offentlig upphandling - Om användande av ett strategiverktyg
(2022-05-17) Johansson, Tore
Tension in Public Procurement - The usage of a strategy tool: Public procurement is about public purchases, but also about sale of goods and services to the public sector. In research, public procurement is usually analyzed from a market or a transactional perspective. In contrast, this study uses a strategy-as-practice lens that focuses on the micro activities when public procurement is used as a strategy tool. Both buyers and sellers use public procurement, why public procurement as a strategy tool has potential to assist in their shared strategy work. However, if and how buyers and sellers participate in each other’s strategy work when using public procurement is unclear. The purpose of this thesis is to explore public procurement as a strategy tool and its use when buyers and sellers construct strategies. This is done by focusing on strategic work when buyers and sellers participate in public procurement. A qualitative and case-orientated approach were used to generate the empirical material, which included interviews, shadowing and documents. This study shows how public procurement as a strategy tool helps its users in their strategy work. When the tool was used, its content and the characteristics of the actor, but also practice, guided the strategy work. Three different hierarchal levels of practice were identified, why the ability to guide was determined by the level of detail and the scope of the practice. When constructing strategies, public procurement as a strategy tool emphasized managing information and strategy production. As a result, collecting information, identifying and sorting factors, were the core activities of strategic work. Strategy production was about managing positions and strategic factors. Three categories of factors were identified. Buyers and sellers did participate in each other's activities when constructing strategies, if they were given the opportunity and if they had something to gain from it. The parties' motives and characteristics, but also their perceived relational closeness, determined the design of the interaction and work. For practitioners, the use of public procurement as a strategy tool can contribute to align and make strategic work visible in relation to what is of strategic value.
Myth Aestheticization
(2022-04-22) Dagalp, Ileyha
This thesis theorizes the process of myth aestheticization for marketing and consumption. A concept of myth aestheticization springs from a simple yet complex idea: What if something is not “aesthetic” in and by itself, but it is made “aesthetic”? This thesis would like to refine the argument that aestheticization entails a process that typically translates myths into beautiful, sublime ideals and (re-)produces as something beautiful and/or sublime by brands and consumers, is a way through which consumer culture operates. In that aestheticization, there is a symbiosis between myth and consumption/brand activity. Following Böhme (1993; 2003; 2013) and Holt (2003; 2004; 2006), this thesis expands aesthetic work by investigating the different domains of it and contributes to the refined understanding of mythmaking. To explore myth aestheticization, this thesis brings together a variety of empirical contexts – brand experience design executives, amateur hobbyists of historical re- enactments, and retro appreciators – to illustrate how these producers and consumers incorporate myth aestheticization, thereby (re-)producing myths in consumer society. Considered alongside one another, these empirical contexts offer a vital complement to discussions of myth-making emergent in these aesthetic-related market activities. The findings show the ways through which myths are (re- )produced as being beautiful and/or sublime ideals through three major processes: cultivation, staging, and circulation. The myth aestheticization process helps to explain how discourses are promulgated through material and bodily actions through which enchantment can be produced by means of aesthetic work. Taken together, the studies illustrate how consumer cultural actors aestheticize myths in ways that reflect cultural tensions and enable economic profitability. The ideological aim of myth aestheticization is to make both the myth and the brand/product/place that carries the aestheticized myth enchanting. This understanding of myth aestheticization holds important implications for understanding key processes in consumer culture on the level of brands as well as consumers, for marketing practitioners, and for future research.
The changing geography of innovation
(2022-04-13) Franz, Sarah-Maria
The Asian century is at our doorstep. Emerging economies like China and India present a major source of not only supply-, but also demand for Western MNCs. Recent evidence suggests that subsidiaries located in emerging economies in Asia increasingly engage in the development of affordable innovation for the large, diverse and highly competitive lower income segments in these countries. To expand to these new market segments, it is argued that Western MNCs should localise R&D, and innovate not only on the product side, but create new business models. Yet, why, when and how changes in the external environment influence the development of affordable innovations by Western MNCs in and for emerging economies, and how MNCs reconfigure their entire corporate value chain to design a low-cost offering for the mass-market in the middle, remains little understood. Therefore, this thesis combines ideas from evolutionary economic geography and international business to explain why and how MNCs adapt their value chains in response to dynamic changes in the external environment. The results highlight the role of large domestic demand as a core factor shaping the changing geography of innovation. Western MNCs respond by operating multiple value chain configurations that target different market segments within emerging economies, leading to more localisation and demand-side diversification. The results suggest that subsidiaries of Western MNCs take on a new role in the MNC’s innovation network in which they serve as a ‘strategic leader for the domestic market’. This thesis builds on in-depth interviews conducted in China, India and Vietnam with managers of three Western MNCs, and presents a compilation of three empirical studies and one systematic literature review. The overarching framework, methods, and findings are discussed in the introductory chapter, the so-called ‘Kappa’.
Essays on ESG disclosure, performance and assurance
(2022-03-31) Abay, Zelalem
In this dissertation, economic implications of ESG disclosure, performance and assurance are examined in three essays. It is evident in the recent developments that the need for a sustainable and responsible investments is beyond discussion and becoming inevitable. An integral element required to make such investments is ESG information. The role and importance of ESG, especially to investment decisions, is attracting regulators’ interest in approaching the provision of ESG information through mandatory disclosure. Moreover, credit rating agencies are showing interest into the implications of ESG to credit risks. The purpose of this thesis is, therefore, to examine the reception of the mandatory EU ESG disclosure, and to examine the potential monitoring and signaling roles of third-party ESG assurance. The overall results of the thesis are three-fold. First, in examining the perception of investors towards EU directive on mandatory ESG disclosure, essay one shows a negative stock market reaction which indicates investors’ assessment of the directive as costly. The costs may include administrative and reporting costs of complying the mandate and potential proprietary and political costs following the reporting. Second, using sample firms from EU, essay two shows a higher ESG performance for firms that assure their ESG reports than firms that do not assure ESG reports. The results confirm the signaling role of an independent third-party assurance to differentiate between ESG performances. Firms with higher ESG performance has the incentive to use third-party ESG assurance to differentiate themselves from counterparts with an inferior ESG performance, otherwise both types of firms could be pooled together. Third, in line with monitoring theory of assurance and risk mitigation role of ESG to credit risks, essay three shows a mediated role of third-party ESG assurance on credit ratings. The results shows that the third-party ESG assurance indirectly leads to a reduced credit risk transferred through an enhanced ESG performance.
The role of influencing organisations in promoting sustainability of urban freight transport
(2021-11-12) Brettmo, Alena
The research in this thesis focused on organisations that can contribute to increased sustainability development in urban freight transport activities. In this study, these organisations were identified, studied, grouped together and labelled as influencing organisations. Four types of influencing organisations in urban freight transport were identified: Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), facility management companies, property owners and public procurement organisations. The results indicated that influencing organisations use a variety of measures and engage in a wide range of urban freight transport initiatives. The way that they engage depends on the types of organisations involved and the relationships the influencers had with said organisations. The findings suggest that influencing organisations have certain characteristics, including: i) the ability to unite other actors, notably goods receivers (such as shops, offices, hotels, restaurants), ii) high motivation to engage in urban freight transport-related questions and sustainability, iii) possessing effective tools to promote sustainable measures, such as the capability to orchestrate and consolidate physical flows, leverage based on contractual relationships, administrative power, outreach power and serving as a common voice for establishments. This places them in a strong position to support the upscaling of sustainable urban freight transport initiatives and broaden the level of implementation. This study paid attention to actors beyond those that are directly associated with urban freight supply chains (carriers, shippers, goods receivers and regulators) to increase the understanding of the role of these organisations in promoting sustainability improvements in urban freight transport activities. The in-depth analysis of the activities carried out by influencing organisations shows why it is important to include them within the scope of urban freight measures and policies: i) they help to overcome the inertia inhibiting the implementation of sustainable urban freight transport initiatives, and ii) they have a connection to many goods receivers as well as the leverage to influence and possibly unite them. Moreover, influencers often have available resources to invest in new infrastructural solutions or processes and the motivation and incentives to carry out these initiatives, thus allowing this engagement to be beneficial both for them and the sustainable development of cities. The results of this thesis provide insights for policymakers about forming policies and regulations to stimulate the engagement of influencers in urban freight transport. This research illustrates to the influencing organisations themselves that they can play a valuable role in the future trajectory of urban freight transport development, as well as examples of ways to change urban freight transport to be more sustainable.
Responsibilisering - En studie av assistanssektorns kvasimarknad
(2021-09-21) Bankel, Robin
De senaste decenniernas valfrihetsreformer i välfärden har föregåtts av argument om att valfrihet frigör brukare genom att kontrollen över välfärdstjänster överlåts åt de som utnyttjar dem. Denna avhandling behandlar en relaterad fråga som ofta har förbisetts i såväl forskning som den allmänna debatten, nämligen vilket ansvarsförhållande som har åtföljt dessa reformer. Under termen ”responsibilisering” har utvecklingen mot en alltmer marknadsanpassad välfärd tidigare konceptualiserats som en process där ansvar överförs från staten till individen. I litteraturen är denna form av responsibilisering intimt förknippad med idén om regerandekomplex (governmentality). Avhandlingen gör gällande att detta har begränsat förståelsen för hur brukare förmås att ta ansvar genom en marknadsanpassad välfärd. Som ett alternativ till responsibilisering som regerandekomplex introduceras konceptet inbäddad responsibilisering. Detta bidrag till responsibiliseringsteori betonar å ena sidan att institutionella (marknads)förhållanden ställer konsumenter inför såväl upplevda som faktiska krav som stimulerar självansvar. Å andra sidan betonas de begränsningar som individuella handlingars kognitiva, sociala och institutionella inbäddning innebär för möjligheten till sådant ansvarstagande. Utifrån vad som sannolikt är en av världens mest marknadsanpassade välfärdssektorer––den svenska kvasimarknaden för personlig assistans––undersöker avhandlingen frågan om hur marknadsanpassning av välfärden kan förstås som en process av inbäddad responsibilisering. 29 informanter på brukarsidan deltog i semi-strukturerade intervjuer med uppföljande korrespondens. Grundad teorimetod (GTM) tillämpades med Strauss och Corbins axiala och selektiva kodning, huvudsakligen i kodningsprogrammet NVivo. Resultatet av intervjustudien visade att brukare och deras proxys i assistanssektorn ofta ställs inför överväldigande, om inte oöverstigliga, krav för att uppfylla en assistans av god kvalitet. Baserat på kravbilden identifierades tre övergripande ansvarstyper som brukarna måste förhålla sig till på olika sätt: kvalifikationsansvar, valansvar och utföraransvar. Informanternas hantering av de tre ansvarstyperna belyser bristande institutionella möjligheter att leva upp till de förväntningar som valfrihetssystemet ställer på konsumenter, framför allt att uppfylla sina behov genom att internalisera en valfrihetslogik och välja rätt anordnare. Avhandlingen visar hur detta tillkortakommande, som leder välfärdskonsumenter inom sektorn mot att ta ansvar genom att själva arbeta och vi investera kraft, tid och pengar, kan förklaras av responsibiliseringens institutionella, sociala och kognitiva inbäddning. Implikationer för responsibiliseringsteori och konceptet ”arbetande konsumenter” i marknadsföringsteori diskuteras. Likaså tentativa policyimplikationer för assistanssektorn och andra valfrihetssystem.
Why are firms conducting entrepreneurial actions?
(2020-09-01) Pehrsson, Tobias
This dissertation is concerned with the concept of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and, more specifically, the question ‘Why are firms conducting entrepreneurial actions?’ This question rests upon two premises. First, entrepreneurial actions represent an important domain of scientific inquiry. Essentially, this makes the concept of EO, wherein entrepreneurial actions are treated as equivalent to that of the concept of EO (i.e., engaging in innovation, proactively entering new markets, and engaging in risky ventures), relevant for investigation. Second, to adequately answer the question, the concept of EO needs to be reconceptualized. More precisely, I argue that (1) EO represents a form of being; that is, a firm either is or is not ‘entrepreneurially oriented’, a necessary condition for conducting entrepreneurial actions; however, (2) EO is not the same as entrepreneurial actions; that is, being entrepreneurially oriented is not the same as the actions that are to be explained. This dissertation consists of four appended papers that, together with seven chapters, serve to provide an answer to the question raised above. What the joint retroductive analysis clarifies has to do with the nature of being entrepreneurially oriented. In particular, the nature of EO concerns a practitioner’s (a) belief in the existence of an opportunity to actualize profits; (b) belief that there are ways of combining resources in a profitable manner; and (c) social identity embracing such beliefs. As such, the dissertation reconceptualizes EO. Specifically, it constructs the ‘actualization approach to entrepreneurial orientation’. It allows scholars to explain (1) why entrepreneurial actions exists, (2) that EO is not what EO does (i.e., innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking) but what it is capable of doing, and (3) that EO is an individual-level (not firm- or unit-level) concept that matters for entrepreneurial actions at various levels. Implications for practitioners and policy makers are discussed.
Contested legitimacy: The shrimp sustainability case in Sweden
(2020-09-01) Wainwright, Laurence
The world faces a plethora of serious challenges. The current SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic, Australian bushfires of 2019−2020 and rapid decline in global fish stocks are just a few of numerous recent events which highlight the necessity and urgency of a reconceptualization of the relationship between economic systems, society and the natural world – and the norms that underpin these relationships. While supranational frameworks such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals offer a viable ‘to do list’ in the direction of this reconceptualization, the willingness of various actors to work towards this end is mixed. Central to motivating diverse actors with oft-conflicting interests towards a future which is realistic about the carrying capacity of the planet seems to be understanding the role of business and markets as both the cause of − but also solution to − many of these interconnected wicked problems. Pivotal to this is understanding is gaining clearer insights into how and why organizations change their behaviour. This study considers one such mechanism: challenges to legitimacy. The aim of this study was to describe how organizational legitimacy is contested. This was done by exploring actor relations in the Swedish shrimp industry and analysing how debates around sustainability manifested through to one actor contesting the legitimacy of another. Thirty-five hours of interviews were conducted with senior managers from key actors in the Swedish shrimp and broader seafood industry between 2016 and 2019, including retailers, fishing companies, eco-label and certification schemes, environmental NGOs and seafood consumers. This study found that contests to legitimacy happen when actors (in this instance, NGOs) adopt the role of norm entrepreneur and use a strategy (in this case, shame-based campaigns) to uproot old norms and stabilize new ones by contesting the social license to operate (SLO) of corporations, and re-establish new ideas of what should constitute legitimacy. This study makes four specific contributions to existing literature and practice surrounding sustainability, legitimacy and SLO. Firstly, it presents a well-documented case of NGOs launching a successful legitimacy challenge and achieving new operating norms within corporations, a specific industry and the broader society of a country; norms which have remained in place for almost a decade. This is a rather rare and infrequent occurrence in a literature full of examples of NGOs lobbying corporations but often with very limited and slowly-progressing success, or success which is short-lived. Secondly, it considers the capture, exploration and extrapolation of the ramifications of the unusual and relatively under-documented phenomenon of a peculiar response to a legitimacy challenge: corporations ‘hedging’ their own internal strategy decisions on the artefacts produced by secondary actors – or in some cases outsourcing the strategy decision completely. The third contribution of this study is in showing that impacts of shaming against corporations exist on two distinct levels: the immediate impacts, and the long-term impacts. This is explored through a detailed and longitudinal example of a shame-based campaign in practice – one that was able to, in an efficient and effective manner, uproot an existing social norm and replace it with a new one, and translate this through to permanent changes to the SLO required for corporations to be considered legitimate. Finally, this study contributes by showing the important and presently under-appreciated role played by artefacts such as lists, guides and rankings in the establishment of legitimacy and subsequent contests to this legitimacy.
Skinny white bitches: Female sexual agency in contemporary advertising
(2020-06-05) Balog, Irina
ABSTRACT This is a story about female representations in contemporary advertising. Following up on Rosalind Gill’s (2003; 2007; 2008) critical discussions on the shift in contemporary advertising from the sexual object to the sexual subject, this endeavour is about examining female sexual agency through updated versions of the midriff by including feminist consumer responses. The aim is to add to the existing literature as well as to expand our current understanding of the notion female sexual agency, and the perspective that has been employed is based on a Poststructuralist Feminist framework. This perspective draws on the ideas of discourse, language and subjectivity in order to understand the power structures that dominate and hinder women in order to pinpoint different prospects and strategies for changing the status quo. The empirical material, consisting of 20 interviews with a total of 38 women divided into 9 focus groups and 11 individual interviews, was analysed using a discourse analysis as put forth by Carla Willig (2013). The critical questions were: how do feminist consumers understand and discuss female sexual agency portrayed in contemporary adverts? Do they experience the midriff as having any agency, power, choice and/or other such notions that are enfolded within the female sexual agency discourse? And lastly, what are the discourses that may be derived from the consumers’ interpretations? The analysis was divided into four chapters that all focus on one specific theme which arose during the interviews; Normativity, Freedom & Choice, Gaze and Claiming Space, all of which deal with different notions surrounding female sexual agency in ads. In short, the answers to the research questions are that feminist consumers interpret and understand female sexual agency portrayed in contemporary adverts by considering the normativity, the perceived freedom and choice, the gaze of the model as well as the ability to claim space within the image. The midriff figure, her agency and power, is then based on these four themes and how each viewer interprets their existence in any given image. When it comes to the wider discourses, the participants drew from various feminist discourses including notions of empowerment, postfeminism and second and third wave feminism, as well as from fairy tale discourses, and masculine discourses of violence and physical strength; exposing that power is still viewed as gendered. Lastly, a model called the Female Sexual Agency Spiral, was developed based on the results, which, in a poststructuralist spirit, showcases that meanings are perpetually shifting and never static, that there always exists both ambiguity and tension, that dichotomies such as feminine vs. masculine need to be re-thought, and that there indeed is no general truth regarding female sexual agency. Keywords: Female sexual agency, Advertising, Feminist theory, Empowerment, Midriff, Sexual Subjectification, Normativity, Claiming space, Male gaze, Discourse
A Hybrid Operating Room in the Making - Coordinating the lntroduction and Use of New Technology
(2020-05-11) Tyskbo, Daniel
New technologies are often introduced hoping to achieve cost reductions, efficiency improvements, and product/service quality increases. Early researchers have often focused on these hopes and how existing organizational design and function are shaped. However, recent researchers have started to explore why it is that when many of the currently emerging technologies are employed in practice, they can also bring unintended consequences to the workplace, even having the potential to fundamentally change how work is organized and coordinated. Making these new technologies work in practice thus presents a major challenge. These dynamics are especially prevalent, and important to study, in the healthcare context, traditionally organized functionally, i.e. around discipline-based specialization, but which is now largely being reorganized around multidisciplinary departments and teams. One important part of this reorganization is technological advancements, which have often been treated as if fulfilling promises to achieve increased and improved healthcare delivery, as long as these technologies are better and more expensive. However, as technologies are frequently not just integrated into existing and traditional practices or ways of working, but can also potentially challenge or disrupt work practices and coordination, more is required than simply having excellent properties built into these technologies, or individual brilliance or heroism, to make them doable in practice. This study further builds on and explores these insights and dynamics by adopting a longitudinal field-study, between 2015 and 2019, of both the introduction and use of an iMRI Hybrid OR, a novel technology used in neurosurgery and enabling the combining of intraoperative high-resolution MRI images taken during surgical procedures, which was impossible before. As this new technology accommodates the traditionally-separated healthcare practices of neurosurgery and MRI, new configurations of technological tools and healthcare professionals need to be aligned and integrated. Thus, the following question was asked: How is the introduction and use of technology coordinated during conditions of merging two previously-separated healthcare practices? This study found that making the new technology doable was not about greater skills, superior resources, or top-management support, but about the copious amounts of time and energy that the healthcare professionals involved spent on aligning various interdependencies, i.e. coordinating. The study shows how the introduction and use of technology was coordinated through the reconfiguration of the social setting and the physical space, which brought and required a new kind of coordinating, i.e. coordinating as an overlapping professional domain, where an in-depth common understanding and a spatial awareness proved important. In demonstrating this, the study makes a number of contributions; to the literature on coordination, to the literature on professional work and the introduction of technology, and to practice.
The Sustainability and Competitiveness of European Short-Sea Shipping
(2020-03-27) Raza, Zeeshan
Several factors could improve the environmental performance of European short-sea shipping (SSS) and enhance its competitiveness, and in this thesis, some of those factors are explored. The purpose of this thesis is to both explore factors with the potential to improve the environmental sustainability of European SSS and analyse the industry’s competitiveness. Its findings are drawn from four studies that involved accessing multiple sources of data that includes a systematic literature review, interviews and a survey of SSS companies operating in Europe. As a whole, the thesis provides an overview on the various types of factors, especially slow steaming, collaboration and green innovations that can impact the environmental sustainability and competitiveness of SSS in Europe. The findings indicate that for the roll on, roll off (RoRo) and roll on, roll off cargo and passenger transport (RoPax) sectors of SSS, bunker prices, rigorous competition and, above all, different service quality requirements in terms of total transit time, frequency, reliability and the convenience of departure and arrival times significantly restrict slow steaming’s potential implementation. Beyond that, a 0.1% sulphur regulation enacted in 2015 has not triggered slow steaming in the RoRo and RoPax sectors to a great degree. One reason is that during the implementation of measures to meet the 0.1% regulation, a drop in bunker prices caused by lower crude oil prices made slow steaming economically unattractive in those sectors. Another reason is that the increased costs of using marine gas oil are partially transferred to customers and partly borne by the shipowners. The findings additionally suggest that collaboration between shippers and SSS operators significantly improves the environmental and economic performance of SSS. SSS operators and large shippers in Europe should thus seek opportunities for strategic collaboration and shared planning with other agents in their transport chains. Strategic collaboration among cargo owners, ship operators and forwarding agents can especially enhance the efficiency of systems, shorten lead times, reduce emissions, lower costs per unit of output and, in turn, generate mutual benefits for all stakeholders involved. Last, the findings also reveal that green innovations, including ones related to energy-efficiency, have a substantial impact on the economic and environmental performance of European SSS firms. Accordingly, managers at SSS firms can enhance the environmental and economic performance of their companies by dedicating resources to developing green and energy-efficient technological solutions. At the same time, they should not wait for regulations to begin developing green innovations but take a proactive approach to pursuing such innovations, which can benefit the performance of their companies.
Audit regulation and auditor disclosures: Essays on the consequences of ISA 701
(2020-03-19) S. Mahmoud, Hosseinniakani
Auditing regulations have changed over time, with the aim of increasing the quality of the audit process and audit report that assist stakeholders in decision-making. Such changes include the recent revisions and introduction of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), which aim to enhance transparency and the value of information presented in the audit report. The recent ISA 701 standard should meet the aims by requiring auditors to provide additional disclosures in their audit reports since 2016. The additional disclosures contain information regarding Key Audit Matters (KAM) that auditors face during their audit of financial statements, and include risk-related information. This thesis examines several possible consequences of the ISA 701 requirement in four essays, which primarily focus on the European Union (EU). The first essay’s results reveal a significant increase in audit quality of EU-listed companies, as measured by abnormal accruals—or specifically, in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands, where auditors have some experience in disclosing KAM before 2016. Consequently, these auditors charged higher audit fees after the ISA 701 introduction. Further, Essay 2 reveals that requiring the auditor to disclose KAM is associated with decreased liquidity in the capital markets of early adopters’ countries, as measured using a liquidity factor and the bid-ask spread, but not in other EU countries. Moreover, Essay 3 provides detailed evidence of the potential treatment effects on management disclosures of significant accounting estimates using data from Swedish-listed companies. The results demonstrate that per se, both the ISA 701 requirement and KAM disclosure affect management disclosures. Further, these effects are contingent upon characteristics of the board of directors, such as the existence of an independent audit committee on the board. Finally, the results from examining 16 EU countries (in Essay 4) reveal a significant shift towards real earnings management, and specifically for companies with accrual-based earnings management constrained after the ISA 701 introduction. These findings contribute to recent research investigating these new audit standards’ consequences.

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