Hur finansieras kommunala bolag? En fallstudie om kapitalstruktur i Borås Stads kommunala bolag

Abstract

Problem: The purpose of this study is to examine how Borås municipality finances their municipality owned companies and to explore the relationships between the involved parties. There are a number of different parties involved in and around the process including politicians, board of directors, company management and officials from the municipality. Methodology: The purpose of this study is achieved by using a case study methodology. The data is collected by conducting interviews with the involved parties as well as complementary secondary data gathered from official documents. The interviews were designed to be semi structured. The interview guide was written with the theoretical framework as a guide. Theoretical Framework: This study uses three primary theories as the theoretical framework. The three theories are agency theory, stewardship theory and the rubber stamp theory. These three theories examine different aspects of relationships in an organisation. For the discussion about optimal level of external financing the trade-off theory is used as a complementary theory. Empirical Foundation: Three officials from the municipality with leading roles in the financing and management of the municipality owned companies have been interviewed as well as three politicians from the voting council with board positions in different municipal companies. Lastly a chief executive officer from one of the largest companies in the municipality has been interviewed. Conclusion: This study finds that there are conflicting views inside the municipality regarding the financing of the municipality owned companies. The politicians don’t think of external funding as a risk and think of solidity as a non existent problem. The officials and managerial staff think there is a risk with external funding and low solidity. The owners use a few different methods to control the companies including a low level of equity. The boards tend to be weak compared to the managers in the companies. Lastly the officials have much responsibility over the process.