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Things were better when Steve Daines was just trying to convince us he was a super-normal-human-person-and-dogs. Now we are being treated to hardcore McCarthyism on an almost hourly basis as he bounces from talk show to talk show, sends fear-mongering emails, and assails social media with a ton of (thankfully ratioed) SOCIALISM SCOURGE posts.
And this morning was no different – my Inbox received this delightful piece from Daines' official U.S. Congressional Contact email list:
In his hurry to send this out as official communication, maybe Daines should have proofread a tad. Repeating those two garbage sentences doesn't make them any truer.
Can someone please forcefully sit Daines down and explain to him the difference between Communism, Socialism, Capitalism, and Fascism? Because he continues to demonstrate over and over that he has NO FREAKIN' CLUE about any of these political and policy ideologies.
We as Montanans have a choice to make. One path leads to complete government control, undermining our Constitution and our American way of life. The other path, is the path of Freedom.
That's a lot to unpack here, which this blog has covered extensively in the past. The Socialism that Daines is squawking about is The Squad's call for universal health care and other vital social services that are bleeding working-class Americans dry with high out of pocket costs. It's the call for protection of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and the vital services that our tax dollars are supposed to fund. It's the demand to take the profit out of "for profit" healthcare because Americans shouldn't have to price compare in an emergency or be worried that a single trip to the doctor's office will bankrupt them. If Steve Daines was an average Montanan, he would know that half of this state lives paycheck-to-paycheck, and that medical debt is still the number one cause of bankruptcy. America is the ONLY highly developed nation to not have figured out a way to bring universal health care to its people.
The Squad's calls for programs and services that maximize our tax dollar investment in America and her people is patriotic to the core. Steve Daines wants to talk about Freedom? Fine. Freedom from a surgery sending a family into tens of thousands of dollars of debt. Freedom from predatory lenders. Freedom from for-profit corporations that will extract every nickel they can out of the American people because it isn't about citizens, but about the bottom line.
It's time to invest in our fellow citizens.
Invest in our neighbors.
Invest in our health and future.
… and Steve Daines is already trying to invest even more into the wealthy; into himself.
It's become readily apparent that Steve Daines realized his plan to identify with Montanans by playing with dogs and visiting McDonald's wasn't working. Instead, he found fertile ground in the McCarthy Red Scare and spews multiple false statements and misinformation every time there's a camera in front of him. Our duty is to educate our fellow voters about what Daines is trying to do and point out his lies and misinformation.


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Part of the IAF editorial panel, Dom has a PhD in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Guelph, Canada.
Today he teaches various undergraduate and graduate courses on animal nutrition and agriculture at the University of Guelph. Between 2007 and 2009, he coordinated the "Paris Semester", a study abroad program for undergraduate students at the University of Guelph.
He serves on a number of international committees, including the US National Research Council Committee on Nutrient Requirements of Fish and Shrimp.
See all of the Aquaculture view columns here.
September - October 2012
Commercial aquaculture nutrition and commercial feed formulationMy favorite parts of scientific meetings or industry workshops are the coffee breaks! They are a great opportunity to interact with industry professionals and colleagues to discuss the different talks, exchange perspectives and gather information about emerging challenges. As an academic, I love getting honest feedback from professionals working in the real world to help shape my research programme and keep it in tune with the needs of the industry.
I am very glad to have been approached by the editorial team of International Aquafeed to develop a column on 'Commercial aquaculture nutrition and feed formulation' for each issue of the magazine. The main goal of this column will be to briefly discuss nutritional and feed formulation issues of importance to aquaculture feed manufacturers and aquaculture producers and hopefully initiate an informal dialogue between academic researchers and industry professionals.
I will attempt to bring insights acquired through working at the interface of academic and commercial aquaculture nutrition and feed formulation for several years. There will be no promotion of products (isn't there enough of that already?). Instead, this column will focus on concepts, recent progress, potential solutions, and the gaps in our knowledge and R&D needs.
Please don't hesitate to send me ideas, suggestions, and questions that may help keep this column factual, informative and relevant to the needs of the aquaculture and feed industries.
Dom Bureau
Rethinking fishmeal and fish oil replacement terminology and R&D efforts
High and rising fishmeal and fish oil prices represent significant challenges for aquaculture feed manufacturers and have a sizeable impact on the production costs of many aquaculture products. Larger and highly specialised aquaculture feed manufacturers may have the R&D capabilities to address this challenge but smaller ones or those working on a variety of species and production environments mainly rely on scientific and technical literature and focused R&D efforts.
Fishmeal and fish oil replacement in aquaculture feeds has been the focus of thousands of scientific studies and hundreds of papers have been published on this issue over the past four decades. Despite these decades of intensive research effort, both fishmeal and fish oil remain very important, quasi essential, components of most commercial aquaculture feeds. It is my belief that the state-of-the-art is less advanced than it should be and than what required by the aquaculture feed industry.
It is unfortunate that the results of a large proportion of the studies are very difficult to translate into practical solutions in the field. How meaningful is knowing that 'a protein source can replace 50 percent of the fish meal of the diet' if the experimental feeds contained at least 25 percent fishmeal whereas most commercial feeds now contain lower levels that this? A certain degree of fishmeal replacement (50 or 75% fish meal replacement) is absolutely meaningless without knowing the level of fishmeal in the control diet, the quality of the fish meal being replaced and careful characterisation of the nutritional composition and digestibility of nutrients in the 'alternative' ingredient studied. Moreover, feed formulation relies on a combination of numerous complementary ingredients (nutrient sources) and as such, the fishmeal replacement of a given protein source alone is largely irrelevant.
Aquaculture nutrition researchers often tend to forget that 'fishmeal (and fish oil) replacement' is not a true 'parameter' in itself. Ideally, this type of antiquated terminology should be abandoned. R&D efforts should ideally be a lot more pragmatic and focus on 'what the animal requires' and 'how can we cost-effectively and safely meet the requirements of the animals'. Progress is therefore highly dependent on a 'balanced' understanding of the nutritional requirements of the animals and nutritive value and limitations of different feed ingredients and feed additives available on the market.
Increasing collaboration between feed manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, fish producers, and research organisations has been instrumental in improving the quality and relevance of fish nutrition research in the past few decades.
Many aquaculture feed manufacturers are investing heavily in R&D activities and have established their own research facilities to test their commercial feed formulations, determine the effect of feed composition/nutritional specifications and feed ingredients on growth and feed efficiency of animals grown under commercial-like conditions. This has probably resulted in improvement of the cost-effectiveness of the feeds available to aquaculture producers. However, limited amount of information from these efforts trickles down to the global aquaculture nutrition community since the information generated is generally proprietary and is closely guarded from public disclosure for competitive advantage.
Nonetheless, a healthy, arm-length, relationship with different industry stakeholders can truly help commercial relevance of academic research efforts in aquaculture nutrition and help this field meaningfully progress to address current and future challenges, including those related to fishmeal and fish oil replacement.

subset: commoncrawl


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Dear Stoner: If I go into a dispensary to purchase weed with my wife when we're in town, can we only buy an ounce between the two of us? And do CBD products count toward the limit?
Dear George: Colorado law allows anyone 21 or older to purchase one ounce of cannabis flower per day, and that can all be in one transaction. While dispensaries allow parties of people to approach the purchase counter together and discuss their options, they're not confined to a single one-ounce purchase; individually, they can each purchase up to an ounce of cannabis/cannabis products. If it's a group outing, be sure that you each hold on to or claim possession of your cannabis separately, as possessing more than an ounce of pot is still illegal in Colorado.
Any CBD products sold in Colorado dispensaries have to contain some THC, even if in small amounts. High-CBD flower and concentrates would contribute to your one-ounce limit like any other strains and waxes (you're only allowed to purchase 8 grams of hash at a time but can still possess an ounce), but infused products such as topicals and edibles are measured in milligrams. You're allowed to buy up to 800 milligrams of infused products, but CBD doesn't apply to that, just THC.
Send questions to email@example.com.
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Held in Sao Paulo, FIMAI, the International Industrial Environment and Sustainability Fair represents an updated display of options in the environmental area and allows contact with key experts and entrepreneurs operating in Brazil.
If you're part of this industry, don't let this event pass you by! In order to participate, you just need to book a stand and start preparing your trip to Brazil! If you want to catch everyone's attention, it is always a good idea to invest in an attractive exhibition stand. Contact our team of experts in trade shows and they'll introduce you to the best Stand Design Companies in São Paulo!
The companies will be displaying products/services related to:
- Cleaner Production and Eco-Efficiency
- Water and sewage;
- Risk analysis;
- Consulting and provision of environmental services;
- Environmental education;
- Atmospheric emissions;
- Equipment and technologies;
- Investment Funds;
- Waste management;
- Environmental laboratories;
- Market of carbon credits;
- Recycling;
- Social responsibility;
- Occupational Safety and Health;
- Integrated Management Systems;
- Sustainability;
- Wastewater treatment
- Etc...
Reasons to exhibit
- Identify trends and get inspiration for your product innovations
- Reach your entire target group at a single location
- Interact face to face with skilled professionals and decision makers from all around the world
- Explore business opportunities and meet new potential partners
- Boost your company's visibility on a global scale
- Take advantage of many sponsorship opportunities


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The artwork is created by request. Please be aware that an order takes at least 1 month to implement. The created artwork will resemble the one in the pictures but will not look exactly the same (please have in mind that color and patterns can be slightly different). To order an artwork, put it in your shopping cart or send a request to art-cart management.
Numerous prizes at international exhibitions have been awarded to L. Švaikauskienė for her unique textile technique, which allows the artist to create visually expressive three-dimensional pieces. Her objects become more effective by applying unique artistic materials – the deception of textile. Looking at L. Švaikauskienė's textile objects it is easy to be deceived: the fine details of the artwork are made from synthetic fabric, giving the impression of metal or porcelain. Old Egyptian, Renaissance, Baroque or Romanticism epoch ornaments in textile panels or stylised mirror frames, which have been created for interior spaces, give them the status of an artwork. L. Švaikauskienė's works are contextual and multi-layered. The skilled eye of the viewer will find accents from different eras in her pieces – mythological elements rising from fairy tales and legends. Her created interiors make you feel like you are present in the old Egyptian banqueting halls and the gold mirror exhibitions-installations transferring you to the supressed "reflections" of the subconscious, where the self-identification processes take place.


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I went a little nuts on this, but I think that's the point of these exercises. To really open your creative juices up and put words to paper.
Creative Writing Exercise – After completing a solo camping trip, a woman gets her film developed and discovers that several photos are of her … sleeping.
The door swung open and jingled as Samantha entered the small shop. The air outside was cold, but inside it was warm and dank and smelt of old wood and dust.
"Hello, Sam. Didn't expect you here so fast." The small woman behind the counter peered at Sam over her crescent spectacles. "You must be really excited to get those pictures back?"
Sam laughed. "You know I am, Gina. It's not everyday you can get real film developed, now that everyone has switched to digital."
Gina smiled and stood up straighter. It added negative inches to her small frame. "Why haven't you switched, yet?"
"Oh I don't know. Call me a purist. I love the way the colors are and the way the slick photos feel in my hands. I like the smell of the chemicals as they waft up from those tiny pieces of plastic paper."
Gina continued to stare at Sam with a look of awe and bewilderment. "Well, whatever the reason, I can't be too upset. You're almost single handedly keeping me in business." She smiled at Sam as she reached underneath the counter and handed her an overly large off white envelope.
"Thanks Gina. Did you see anything good?"
"You know I don't go snooping through other peoples belongings." Gina sounded off.
"You know we both know that's a lie." Sam's eyebrow raised and she gave a half grin to the attendant.
Gina laughed a small giggle and patted the counter. "You got me there. I saw a few of the pictures. It looks like you and your boyfriend had a wonderful time camping. I just wish I had gotten to see a picture or two of him." She wiggled her eyebrows up and down in a manner that would make a cartoon wolf shamed.
Samantha laughed and started walking out of the store before stopping abruptly. "Gina. I didn't bring anyone with me. I was the only one up there."
Gina got a look of confusion on her face. "Well, that's weird, why are there so many pictures of you sleeping, then?"
Sam rushed out of the store, barely hearing the jingle of the bell. She hopped into her jeep and slammed the door behind her, frantically flipping through the pictures as she leaned on the steering wheel. About ten pictures in she saw it. She was lying in her sleeping bag. Eyes closed. Her long dirty blonde hair tussled about her thin face. She looked content, happy, and very much asleep. Panic gripped her as she kept going through the pictures and kept running across the same things. Her asleep in her camping chair, sunglass on, mouth slightly agape, her head tilted to the side. Her taking a nap in her jeep, a hat precariously perched over her face. Samantha felt terror grip the bottom of her stomach. Someone had been following her and she wasn't safe. She turned the ignition of the jeep and sped out of the parking lot to the only place she knew she would be secure. The sheriff's station.
She skidded the vehicle to a stop outside of the station and tried to collect her composure. Samantha had begun to shake on the way over and she laughed at herself. "Get it together, Sam." She looked in the rearview mirror to make sure her makeup was still in place. She grabbed the stack of photos of her sleeping and got out of the jeep and marched into the station, looking all around her as she went.
"Yes ma'am, can I help you?" The gentleman behind the counter was obviously a deputy. His balding light brown hair, thick matching mustache and rather large mid section gave it away, but the badge that said 'deputy' on his shirt confirmed it.
"Hi, I do need some help. I think I'm being followed." Samantha was still visibly shaking.
"Ok, ma'am, just calm down, now what makes you think that?"
"Well, I went on a solo camping trip this past weekend. You know, by myself." The deputy nodded even though he looked slightly annoyed. "I turned in some film to get developed and I just got them back and, well, you take a look."
Samantha plopped the pictures in front of the man and started spreading them out so he could get a glance at all of them. The silence lingered as the deputy looked over the photos. He pulled a few to the side and his face scrunched up in confusion a few times. Finally after what seemed like years he spoke.
"Ma'am. Is this some sort of joke?" He looked at Samantha with a serious expression.
"What are you talking about? This is very serious. Someone has been following me and taking pictures of me while I'm sleeping!" Panic crept into her voice and it cracked.
"Ma'am. It looks like you took these pictures yourself. I think it's what the kids are calling selfies. Look." He turned the pictures so Samantha could see them right side up. "You can see your arm here holding the camera." He pointed to the reflection in her glasses. "And here." He pointed again to the reflection of the arm in the jeep's side mirror. "I'm no expert, but I think the person following you is you." He got a big smile on his face as if he had made the best joke known to man. Samantha glared, wide eyed at the reflections in the photos and started picking them all up as fast as she could.
"No, no. This isn't possible. I would have remembered doing something like this." She muttered to herself.
"Are you sure you're okay, ma'am?" The deputy brought her out of her stupor.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Ha-ha. It was a joke. Just making sure the PD is on their feet." She smiled as best she could and scooped the rest of the photos in her arm and walked as fast as she could out of the station, leaving the deputy there by himself.
Sam drove home erratically, not even paying attention to street signs or other drivers. Her mind was in a fog. There was no way she could have taken those pictures herself. It just didn't make sense. There had to be someone there with her. The deputy just didn't care. He was making fun of her. She would get to the bottom of this herself. She pulled into her driveway without realizing she had gotten home. On pure instinct alone she had gotten herself there and it startled her a little bit.
She got out of her jeep and half jogged up to the door to her little house. She jingled the keys in her hand, looking for the one for the door. As she put the keys into the lock, the door swung open and a tall man with dirty blonde hair was staring back at her. Sam screamed.
"Woah, woah. It's ok Sam." The man put his arms around her in a simple embrace. "Are you ok?"
Samantha stopped shaking for a few seconds and began breathing normally. "Jeff. What are you doing here?"
He pushed her back and let her walk into the house. "Gina called mom and said you were acting weird, so I came over to check on you."
Sam nodded and threw the contents in her hands on the table by the door. "That's sweet, but I'm fine. Really. Go home and take care of that pregnant wife of yours so I can have a healthy niece." Sam smiled at her brother and immediately he knew that she wasn't ok.
"Sam. Have you been taking your medicine?"
"What? Yes. Of course I have."
"I mean, I think so." She looked down at her feet. "I don't know. I don't remember."
"Sis, you can't forget to take your meds. It helps with your memory. With your 'youknowwhat'."
Sam looked at her hands and then covered her face. The schizophrenia. It had gotten bad, but the medication helped. She had forgotten to take it on her trip and now it explained everything. She looked up at her brother with tears flowing down her face. "I just don't know who I am anymore."


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Sermon - Are You One of Us?
Aug 11th, 2018 by forgingploughshares
Paul Axton preaches: Our tendency is to fly free from the mortal condition but in doing so we isolate ourselves from human relationships. The question we are asked each Sunday, "Are you one of Us?" grounds us in the fellowship of the crucified.
If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work.
Music: Bensound


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Veterans and Heritage Victoria have produced a series of fact sheets for volunteers in RSLs, ex-service organisations, community museums and historical societies.
They contain practical and easy-to-understand information about preserving many different types of heritage commonly found in local communities across Victoria.
Covering almost every type of objects from paper to metal and wooden, much of the information will also provide a useful guide for best practice for general collections.
Page last updated: 21/08/19


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15 E Blackwell St, Dover Town
Beautiful and Spacious 1 bedroom unit completely renovated 2019, Access elevator, central air and free laundry facility. Near all major transportation, only one block from the train station and walking distance to downtown well known Restaurants and shopping center.
The data relating to real estate for sale on this website comes in part from the IDX Program of Garden State Multiple Listing Service, L.L.C. Real estate listings held by other brokerage firms are marked as IDX Listing.
Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Copyright © 2020 Garden State Multiple Listing Service, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Notice: The dissemination of listings on this website does not constitute the consent required by N.J.A.C. 11:5.6.1 (n) for the advertisement of listings exclusively for sale by another broker. Any such consent must be obtained in writing from the listing broker.
This information is being provided for Consumers' personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties Consumers may be interested in purchasing.
Listing information last updated on June 5th, 2020 at 3:48pm EDT.


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Paring Back Leviathan, One Case at a Time
In an email this morning, Institute for Justice President William "Chip" Mellor was crowing, and rightly so, about IJ's latest win for economic liberty – a decision by Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Jane Carroll striking down the city's 20‐year‐old taxicab law prohibiting competition in the taxi market. That adds one more city to the string: IJ's attorneys have brought an end to similar taxi monopoly statutes in Denver, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Minneapolis.
What caught my eye here, however, was the attorney who won the case, Anthony Sanders, working out of IJ's Minneapolis office. Back in the summer of 2002, after his first year of law school, Anthony did a bang‐up job at Cato helping us put together the very first volume of the Cato Supreme Court Review.
But that's hardly the only IJ/Cato connection. The one I'm most proud of goes back to 1989 and my very first summer intern, Scott Bullock, now an IJ senior attorney. Just last January Scott won an important civil asset forfeiture case up in Boston – that's an obscure issue we've worked for years to bring to the fore. And in March, Scott won a crucial Fifth Circuit economic liberty case, resulting in a circuit split on the issue and hence a good chance that the Supreme Court will at last revisit its jurisprudence concerning this "second‐class" right.
We train 'em, Chip sends 'em out to do battle in the courts, and little by little we pare back Leviathan.


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There is this stream everyone is following. But not you.
You only go where you want. Not where anyone tells you to. Sometimes even if the others are right. But you will not let them get you. You find your own stream, any stream, but not theirs. In your stream, music is indie, movies are indie, books are… well, you read books people have never heard of, so that must count for something. Your clothes are your clothes not some brand that wants to acquire you. This is your style, your lifestyle, your life. Fuck them. Fuck them. They don't know shit. You know, oh yes, you know. You will change the world, no matter what. You will show them. You are special. You are different. You are you. You don't follow some capital-G-god. You don't eat meat. You speak up, you ask, you answer. You are not another stupid cliché.
Or, are you?
You see, questioning so much comes with a price. What if no one cares? What if no one cares? What if no one cares? What if you are in over your head? What if you want too much? What if everyone else feels better carrying on the way they do? Are you doing enough? Are you trying too hard? What if you're arrogant in believing you know how things work? What if it's pointless and the world goes to hell, no matter what you do? What if you change nothing? What if you are wrong? Do you really have the guts to go through with this, to ignore what others say about you? Do you even know what you are doing? Are you just trying to be different? If you hate people in suits and Hollister wear, aren't you intolerant yourself? Is the world really the way you see it? If there are no easy answers, well, then aren't you just asking and not answering? Do you just want people to notice you? What, it's an easy question, isn't it?
There is comfort in being different. In trying to be different. In trying to stand out of the crowd. But doesn't everyone want that? Do you really have something to say? Do you actually have anything to say?
Come on, speak up, we can't hear you.


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This paper identifies that guest selection at exclusive nightclubs is a brand building process, and that the guests' primary value to the clubs therefore is the image they bestow on the brand. The paper contributes to theory by providing empirical support for several mechanisms that have previously been stipulated in literature. It validates that companies build brand personality by controlling typical user imagery, and that for self-expressive product categories, negative user stereotypes are particularly powerful. It supports the theory of symbolic brand avoidance, as well as the notion that social rejection encourages people to elevate their perceptions of their rejecters and strengthens their predilection to affiliate with them. For practitioners, the paper shows managers in the hospitality industry that it is possible to build brands by controlling who is allowed to become a brand-user, and under which conditions this applies. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate if intermediate luxury fashion brands discriminate overweight and obese consumers.
Design/methodology/approach: 1,454 intermediate luxury garments were tallied and measured in-store in London. The physical sizes of the garments were matched to the body sizes of the population, and a gap analysis was carried out in order to determine whether the supply of clothes match the relative importance of each market segment.
Findings: While previous research shows that mass-market fashion companies do not discriminate overweight and obese consumers, intermediate luxury garments come in very small sizes compared to the individuals that make up the population.
Research limitations/implications: The findings show that purveyors of intermediate luxury fashion limit assortments of garments so they avoid fat typical user imagery.
Practical implications: Companies that market products that are sensitive to the typical user imagery can optimize their brands by limiting undesirable customer types access to their brands, provided that 1) they have the financial strength to reject customers whose image would be detrimental to the brand, 2) the companies are active in an industry in which people would tolerate customer rejection, and 3) they sell a product that actually can be denied undesirable customers.
Social implications: The study shows that fat consumers are relegated to mass-market fashion but are excluded from intermediate luxury fashion. This constitutes a social inequality.
Originality/value: The result of this study provides quantitative evidence that companies control assortments to exclude undesirable typical user imagery. It also delineates under which conditions they do it. This adds to the theory of user imagery.
Purpose: To investigate the effect of obese models vs. normal weight models on fashion brands' attractiveness.
Design/methodology/approach: An experiment was carried out in which 1,225 university students in Sweden and Brazil rated the attractiveness of a fashion brand worn by a normal weight model and an obese model.
Findings: The overall effect of obese models' effect on fashion brand attractiveness was insignificant. Further, neither culture, nor the consumer's own weight had a significant effect. There was, however, a significant effect of the participant's own gender; women rate fashion brands worn by obese models significantly higher on attractiveness than they did fashion brands worn by normal weight models. Men displayed the inverse response.
Research limitations/implications: The effect of the model's ethnicity was beyond the scope of the experiment, and the brand attractiveness scale captured only one aspect of brand character, leaving other potential brand effects for future studies.
Practical implications: Companies can use obese models with no overall brand attractiveness penalty across markets and for marketing to women of all sizes. Given men's negative reactions, such models might however be unsuitable for the male-to-female gift market.
Social implications: The results support the use of obese models, which can lead to greater representation of larger women in the media, and consequently, reduced fat stigma.
Originality/value: The study validates the theory of user imagery, and it extends the theory by examining how different target consumers react to user imagery traits and thus provides evidence for gender bias towards obese models. © Emerald Publishing Limited 2018
Overweight people claim to be mistreated by the fashion industry. If they were, it would be in line with branding theory supporting the idea of rejecting fat consumers to improve user imagery for fashion brands. However, fashion companies do not confess to such practices.
To shed some light on the subject, I have conducted two studies.
The first attempts to illustrate what effect, if any, user imagery has on fashion brands. It is an experiment designed to show how the weight of users affects consumers' perceptions of mass market fashion brands. The findings show that consumers' impressions of mass market fashion brands are significantly affected by the weight of its users. The effect of male user imagery is ambiguous. For women's fashion on the other hand, slender users are to be preferred.
In the second study I examine what effects these effects have on assortments. I compare the sizes of mass market clothes to the body sizes of the population. No evidence of discrimination of overweight or obese consumers was found -quite the contrary.
The reasons for these unexpected findings may be explained by the requirements a brand must fulfil to make management of the customer base for user imagery purposes viable. The brand must be sensitive to user imagery; a requirement that mass market fashion fulfils. However, it must also be feasible for a company to exclude customers, and while garment sizes can be restricted to achieve this, the high volume sales strategy of mass market fashion apparently cannot.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the weight of ideal users affects the perception of mass market fashion brands. Design/methodology/approach: An experiment was carried out in which 640 university students replied to a web survey, rating the brand personality of jeans and shirts according to Aaker's Big Five construct. The garments were worn by thin, overweight, and obese models. Findings: The findings show that consumers' impressions of mass market fashion brands are significantly affected by the weight of ideal users. Slender models lead to the most positive brand perception followed by obese models. Overweight user imagery is for pure fashion brand building the least attractive kind. Research limitations/implications: A limitation of this study is the use of convenient student samples. Consequently, the generalization of the results beyond this convenience sample may be limited. It is further possible, even probable, that high fashion would suffer more from the negative imagery of overweight and obese users than mass market fashion. It would therefore be interesting to replicate this experiment using clothes of higher fashion grade and price. Practical implications: The demonstrated effects of user imagery support the industry practice of slim ideal female imagery. Social implications: The results inform the debate over skinny models vs real women in advertising. Originality/value: Previous research regarding the effectiveness of real women in advertising has been inconclusive. This paper demonstrates not only that model weight affects consumers' brand perception, but also how. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Overweight people claim to be mistreated by the fashion industry. Fashion companies disagree. Despite the controversy, actual research has been scarce. This study compares the sizes of clothes the four leading mass marketing fashion retailers in Sweden offer to the body sizes of the population. Although branding theory would support the idea of rejecting fat consumers to improve user imagery for fashion brands, such practices were not evident. The main contribution of this paper is that it provides the first quantified empirical evidence on the theory of typical user imagery.
In the discussion, it is posited that although mass market fashion brands should be susceptible to negative user imagery related to overweight and obese users, the companies avoid such problems by making garments that are not directly attributable to a specific brand, thus mitigating the negative effect of overweight and obese user imagery.
Overweight people claim to be mistreated by the fashion industry. Fashion companies disagree. Despite the controversy, actual research has been scarce. This study compares the sizes of clothes that the four leading mass-marketing fashion retailers in Sweden offer to the body sizes of the population. Although branding theory would support the idea of rejecting fat consumers to improve user imagery for fashion brands, such practices were not evident. The main contribution of this article is that it provides the first quantified empirical evidence on the theory of typical user imagery. In the discussion, it is posited that, although mass-market fashion brands should be susceptible to negative user imagery related to overweight and obese users, the companies avoid such problems by making garments that are not directly attributable to a specific brand, thus mitigating the negative effect of overweight and obese user imagery. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the weight of users affects the perception of mass market fashion brands.
Design/methodology/approach: This study attempts to show effects of typical - as well as ideal user imagery on fashion brands. An experiment was carried out in which 1848 university students replied to a web survey, rating the brand personality of jeans and shirts according to Aaker's Big Five construct. The garments were worn by digitally manipulated versions of one person as thin, overweight, and obese.
Findings: The findings show that consumers' impressions of mass market fashion brands are significantly affected by the weight of its users. The effect of male user imagery is ambiguous. For women's fashion on the other hand, slender users are to be preferred.
Research limitations/implications: It is possible, even probable, that high fashion would suffer more from negative typical user imagery than would mass market fashion. It would therefore be interesting to replicate this experiment using clothes of higher fashion grade and price.
Practical implications: The demonstrated effects of user imagery support the industry practice of slim ideal female imagery. However, excluding customers to boost brand perception should not be an option for these brands.
Social implications: The results inform the debate over skinny models vs. "real women" in advertising as well as the debate over discrimination of overweight consumers through assortment decisions.
Originality/value: This is the first time typical user imagery effects are included in a study of this type, and it is the first study to test user imagery effects on fashion.
Purpose: This paper aims to expand the emerging field of symbolic green consumer behavior (GCB) by investigating the impact of anticipated conspicuousness of the consumption situation on consumers' choice of organic products. In addition, the paper also explores whether self-monitoring ability and attention to social comparison information (ATSCI) influence GCB in situations of anticipated high conspicuousness.
Design/methodology/approach: Two experiments test the study's hypotheses.
Findings: The results of both experiments show that the anticipation of conspicuousness has a significant effect on GCB. Moreover, in Experiment 2, this effect is moderated by consumers' level of ATSCI but not by their self-monitoring ability.
Research limitations/implications: Because ATSCI significantly interacts with green consumption because of the anticipation of a conspicuous setting, although self-monitoring ability does not, we conclude that social identification is an important determinant of green consumption.
Practical implications: Marketers who focus on building green brands could consider designing conspicuous consumption situations to increase GCB.
Social implications: Policymakers could enact change by making the environmental unfriendliness of non-eco-friendly products visible to the public and thus increase the potential for GCB.
Originality/value: The results validate the emerging understanding that green products are consumed for self-enhancement, but also expand the literature by highlighting that a key motivating factor of GCB is the desire to fit in.
Title: Using Brand management to establish network relations: How SMEs can work with brand management in order to establish and develop corporate reputation and legitimacy in network relations in a B2B context
Authors: Aasberg Pipirs Julius & Carlsson Christoffer
Level: Master thesis, 30hp
Keywords: Brand management, SME, Legitimacy, Corporate reputation, Network relations
Background: Given the crucial role SMEs play in the modern society it is vital that knowledge is evolved that can be used to support and grow these businesses. Using brand management practices SMEs could establish and develop corporate reputation and legitimacy in network relations, which could result in higher chances of long-term survival in a B2B context.
Research Question: How does working with brand management among SMEs establish, and develop, corporate reputation and legitimacy, and how do these three concepts affect the process of establishing network relations in a B2B context?
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to first investigate how SMEs, in a B2B context, work with brand management and how this can establish and develop corporate reputation and legitimacy. Finally the authors wants to see how these three concepts affect the process of establishing network relations.
Method: Based on an abductive research approach, a qualitative research method will be used to study six Swedish SMEs that operate in a B2B context. Primary data will be based on semi-structured interviews with managers at each company.
Theoretical Framework: The current literature concerning SME brand management is presented followed by its linkages towards establishing and developing corporate reputation and legitimacy. Finally previous research concerning, the process of establishing network relations among SMEs, its relevance for SMEs, and how brand management, corporate reputation, and legitimacy could affect this process, is presented.
Findings & Conclusions: Brand management offers SMEs the tools to communicate and interact with various types of stakeholders, which connects the organization to its external and internal environment. By combining this tool with a dedication of always performing above expectations, SMEs stands to efficiently establish and develop corporate reputation and legitimacy. These two constructs essentially acts as the foundation of that which network relations are built upon.
Purpose: This thesis paper aims to understand how companies in the industrial automation sector can create value for the emerging technology ecosystem.
Design/methodology/approach: A single case study approach was taken to write this thesis, the case study was based on HMS Industrial Networks AB. Primary data were collected through in-depth interviews, various personnel from HMS were interviewed which facilitated to create the case study. Secondary data were also collected mainly from industry reports and other publicly available reports. To perform the analysis relevant literature were discussed in the literature review section.
Results: The study revealed that to create value in industrial automation sector companies need to evaluate their existing role in the ecosystem and adjust the role based on their industry competence and partnership capability with other platform participants. Through collaboration with the right partners, companies can create value for different stakeholders in the ecosystem. For HMS, we have suggested the role of ecosystem orchestrator, the conclusion was made based on their existing ecosystem role, extensive industry competencies, and high partnership capability.
Originality/value: Previously academic research has not been done on this topic as per the knowledge of the authors. This thesis paper can be useful for academics to do further research on different industries facing issues related to value creation and professionals can apply the suggested practical implications in their industry.
I dagens samhälle blir människan utsatt för mer information än någonsin tidigare. Företagen konkurrerar om att just deras budskap ska nå fram till konsumenten för att skapa den påverkan som i slutändan resulterar i konsumtion och som företagen tjänar sina pengar genom.
Företagen har inte bara problem att sticka ut bland all övrig marknadskommunikation, människor blir även allt bättre på att sålla ut den information de själva är intresserade av. En av de största svårigheterna i sin kommunikation har företagen fått med den generation som precis ska kliva in i vuxenvärlden, de som är födda mellan 1977 och 1994 vilka varit uppvuxna med en ständig ström av information. Denna generation kallas för generation Y och är individer som utvecklat ett kritiskt sätt att sålla bland information och i synnerhet traditionell reklam. Detta tvingar företagen att finna nya vägar för att kunna påverka denna kräsna generation som ses som en viktig framtida konsument.
Denna uppsats hade därför som syfte att undersöka en ny möjlig väg för företagen att komma åt generation Y på varpå en frågeställning har upprättats som lyder: Hur kan generation Y påverkas av produktplacering i bloggar?
Produktplacering i bloggar var av stort intresse att utforska då generationen består av de människor som är mest aktiv på sociala medier och som läser flest bloggar. Då det fanns begränsad forskning på hur generation Y påverkas av bloggar och forskning inom produktplacering främst var gjord på medier så som film och TV fann vi ett kunskapshål att försöka fylla.
För att fylla kunskapshålet har framförallt teori om kommunikation, påverkan, och generation Y samlats in för att kunna analyseras med det resultat som vi erhöll via en kvalitativ undersökning med två fokusgrupper som innehöll deltagare från generation Y.
Resultatet av denna studie påvisade att produktplacering i bloggen kan påverka generation Y:s köpbeteende och hur produktplacering bör utformas samt vad som bör tas i beaktning för att påverkan på generation Y. Denna studie har därför bidragit med relevant kunskap till ett delvis outforskat område. Slutsatserna användas som en vägledning och riktlinjer för flera företag och marknadsförare som funderar på eller har bestämt sig för att produktplacera i bloggar.
The growth of the Internet and social media has led to companies considering the use of influencers in sponsorships and collaborations on Instagram. The subject has been problematized and the gap found is a need for a framework combining different factors when identifying influencers, which resulted in the following research question; From both a company- and consumer perspective, which factors are important to take into account when identifying an influencer for sponsorships and collaborations on Instagram?
The purpose is first to identify and incorporate important factors discussed in previous research into a proposed framework, which aims to be used when identifying influencers to sponsor on Instagram. Second, after conducting the empirical research, the framework is extended depending on the new collected information. Background theories and concepts that lay the foundation to influencer marketing are presented. Also, previous frameworks regarding identification of influencers are introduced. The theoretical framework chapter is concluded with a proposed framework alongside introducing the factors.
Abductive research strategy is used as well as a method triangulation, using both a qualitative and a quantitative approach. The study is an explorative research due to conducting both a documentary analysis and a questionnaire. The factors studied have shown to be of different importance for companies and consumers.
The findings indicate that there are multiple types of influencers. The Updated influencer identification model consists of seven important factors; ideal, trust, popularity, productivity, managing sponsorships and collaborations, information content and visual aspect.
From the fiscal year of 2017 and onwards, large companies in Sweden will be obligated by
law to publish a sustainability report. Amendment (2016:947) to the Annual Account Act
(1995:1554) is based upon an EU directive, which aims to create transparency and openness
among companies. The amendment will affect about 1600 Swedish companies and aims to
make companies more transparent and thus consider how their businesses affect the world.
Scandals and crises from all over the world are contributing to the increasing demands and
expectations on companies taking responsibilities for their actions. The sustainability reports
aims not only to help companies operate a more sustainable business, but also to
communicate their sustainable progress to stakeholders. Sustainability is a current issue and
poses major challenges for companies, at which the amendment aims to respond. Hence the
research question is: how does the amendment (2016:947) to the Annual Account Act
(1995:1554) affect the sustainability reporting of large companies? To answer the research
question we have assumed a qualitative method with inductive approach. An empirical study
has been conducted with both visit and telephone interviews with six respondents responsible
for the sustainability reporting on six different companies affected by the amendment. An
additional three interviews have been conducted with auditors working with advisory and
review of sustainability reports. The study shows that the largest companies are unlikely to be
affected by the amendment due to the fact that they are already producing a detailed
sustainability report. The smaller of the companies concerned and the companies that are
unlisted will probably need to either develop the existing report or start up a sustainability
report from scratch. When establishing a sustainability report, companies experience
problems regarding validation and assurance of the published information. The study shows
that auditing would be effective in response to this challenge, but auditing is not statutory for
the sustainability report. As external demands and expectations are increasing, the
implementation of sustainability in the businesses of companies is growing in importance.
The study shows that since more companies are obligated to produce a sustainability report,
the sustainable activities of the company will evolve, which ultimately leads to a more
sustainable development.
E-Cars challenge prevailing business practices, especially in industrial sectors that heavily depend on the use of fossil fuels such as the automobile industry. The sustainable powertrain has to fight against prejudices towards a lack of performance, long charging times, the fear of too short driving ranges and a long list of other concerns. However, hazardous environmental pollution in Chinese megacities as well as changes among the consumers' mindsets and purchasing behavior claim for a change in the product portfolios of today´s car manufacturers. In the western world we can see a successive (although hesitant) penetration of the markets by E-Cars. However, the Chinese market is still almost untouched and car manufacturers have just started to show the first signs of action. This phenomenon is mainly based on differences among the markets, especially the customer segment, partnerships and the proposition of value in China differ compared to the western markets. Furthermore, there are dissimilarities between China and the western car markets when it comes to political, legal and social aspects. To successfully introduce E-Cars to China, car manufacturers have to develop business models that transform the specific characteristics of E-mobility to create economic value and overcome the barriers that preclude them from penetrating the market. Of course, not an entirely new Business Model is needed. However, car manufacturers have to consider various aspects to innovate among their existing ones. A key prerequisite to enter a market with new products or services is to understand it. Based on a qualitative analysis about the introduction of E-Cars to China we therefore conducted an in-depth PESTEL-Analysis by hand of secondary data as well as an interview with a Shanghainese Business Manager of the Auto Components Working Group from the European Chamber of Commerce in China. After this market description we analyzed the Business Models of two German car manufacturers from the premium segment, which on the one hand operate successfully in the Chinese market and on the other hand, already show some movement in terms of E-Cars – the BMW AG and the Daimler AG. In our analysis we give valuable information about the two companies' current Business Models, according the nine building blocks of the business model canvas and in regard to the data emerging from the PESTEL-Analysis. The conclusion chapter gives an overall discussion of the most important findings emerging from the analysis with regard to the business operations and the existing business models of the two car manufacturers. Findings have been evaluated on a global level and substantially transferred to a national level on the Chinese market by hand of the information from the PESTEL-Analysis. Furthermore, we offer important implications for the adaption and adjustment of high consideration areas of a car manufacturer Business Model as well as the future of the Business Models of a car manufacturer to successfully introduce E-Cars to China.
The objective of this article is to describe the risk identification within a supply chain of an infrastructure construction project. This research is based on a case study of risk management within a supply chain in the infrastructure construction industry. Data have been collected from an international company emphasising the stage of risk identification. A particular view of risk management has been adopted. More specifically, a way to identify risk within the construction industry has been given. Technical and operational evidences have been revised and organised in order to take a first step in the direction of a systematic treatment. It has highlighted some crucial issues dealing with risk identification, while risk assessment and risk response provide an opportunity for further research. The article has underlined how risk management can be seen as the way to discover existing risks that are preventing firms from advancing their strategy. Main insights that emerged dealt with five categories: strategic objectives; critical success factors; environment and stakeholder influences; key performance indicators and principal risks; principal risk response strategies.
Although researchers during the last 5 years have been doing a lot of study onemerging market innovations, and of which Frugal Innovation had its special place. They haveparticularly concentrated on this innovation type on how it re-emerged in the emergingcountries especially India and China and gave it new theoretical definition and a framework.Although this frugal innovation usage is constrained only to the firms located in those emergingmarkets and this innovation has not seen much application in the western smaller firms. In thisresearch our main idea is to develop a theoretical model on frugal innovation for the westernsmaller firms, where currently not much emphasis is given by the previous researchers in thiscontext. To achieve this we have been involved in an action research with a company lookingto enter an emerging market by using frugal innovation strategy for their product development.The output of this research is a theoretical framework model which is sequential and includesall the stages that a firm has to follow as part of a frugal innovation strategy having not muchknowledge of the emerging markets or its customers and who had to rely on external partnersin developing countries to successfully develop frugal innovations. We have also identifiedchallenges firms face in this context and listed out alternatives at each level of the strategy,finally concluded by listing out the future scope of research on frugal innovation in thisparticular area.
Self-leadership is described as a process where individuals, based on their own ability influences themselves to handle different situations they are exposed to. Previous research indicates that self-leadership strategies have an impact on intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. The research also shows that job satisfaction has an impact on employee turnover. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding if employees' self-leadership affects the employee turnover in the restaurant industry by analyzing job satisfaction as a link between self-leadership and employee turnover. The restaurant industry is an industry with high employee turnover, which is facing the challenge of high growth in the future. One of the reasons for the high employee turnover is because the employees have not reached the desired job satisfaction. An individual who deals with its own self-leadership leads to an improvement of job performance and attitude towards its work. A quantitative method in the form of a questionnaire study was conducted to investigate the problem. A total of 302 questionnaires were sent out with 102 completed questionnaires, the response rate was 34 %. The results did not show any direct impact between self-leadership and employee turnover. However, the result agreed with the theories that there is a relationship between self-leadership and job satisfaction and between job satisfaction and employee turnover. This indicates that there is an indirect impact between self-leadership and employee turnover.
Due to the fast development of new technologies, the Business Intelligence market is changing rapidly, forcing vendors to adapt their offerings to the customers' needs. As the amount of data available to companies has been substantially increasing in the past years, the need of suitable software tools that perform the right analyses became essential, even in the small and medium sized business' environment. The previous literature,focused on big firms and traditional implementation of Business Intelligence solutions, highlighted the importance of understanding the key factors in successful projects. In the past few years, a new delivery model for Business Intelligence software is taking place: the cloud computing. To date, key factors for adopting cloud Business Intelligence in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have not been systematically investigated. Existing studies have rarely considered these arguments and we lack of a proven framework. This paper is aimed to fill this gap and the structure of the article is subordinated to this objective.
Firstly, the thesis offers an overview of the subject and the terminology used in it with the purpose of facilitating the understanding of a rather complex argument. Therefore, it starts with a short historical overview of the Business Intelligence sector, it defines the term Business Intelligence, and it explains both the characteristics of the Business Intelligence systems (cloud vs on-premise) and the importance of having a business intelligence solution for SME.
Subsequently, the theoretical framework of this study is defined, combining the prior theories and empirical data collected through the interviews with four Business Intelligence vendors and customers. Initially, the existing Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of IT and BI projects proposed by different authors in the literature are reviewed. Afterwards, the evaluation criteria for the cloud software are taken into consideration. By integrating insights drawn from these studies, as well as adding new factors coming from the interviews, a framework has been created and utilized as a basis for the further questionnaire development.
The choice of pursuing both the quantitative and qualitative approaches is aimed at improving the study's reliability. Empirical data are mainly primary data, collected during a survey and four interviews, supported by secondary data such as general companies' reports, market and trends analysis from trustworthy sources.
Based on the findings, the author of this thesis has ranked the key aspects of a cloud BI adoption in SMEs. It is revealed the most important key adoption factors that SMEs evaluate when purchasing a cloud BI solution are the level of software functionalities, the ubiquitous access to data, the responsive answers to customer support requests, the ability to handle big amount of data and the implementation cost.
Regarding the managerial implications, the study's practical relevance consists in offering to BI suppliers' managers, executives and decision-makers interesting areas of discussion for improving the knowledge of SMEs' needs. Moreover, the results of this investigation can be used by Business Intelligence newcomers as a guidance for evaluating solutions available in the market.
The aim of this study was to identify key success factor for SME customers of cloud based Business Intelligence products. A deep interview was made with four producers and a questionnaire was carried out among 36 SMEs. The findings suggest that the most important CSFs were the level of software functionalities, the ubiquitous access to data, responsive answers to customer support requests, handling large amounts of data and implementation cost. Each of these factors addresses a specific area that customers pay close attention to during the adoption process of a cloud BI solution. Offering ubiquitous access to date and respsonsive answers to customer requests are particularly emphasized for SMEs. We also found that industry tailored software is preferred, monthly or quarterly billings, and contact by email or phone for service. The paper shows recommendations, implications of research and suggests further research on the topic.
Background: Value-based leadership is needed and demanded in today's complex and changing business environment. Values facilitate upcoming obstacles and difficult situations that everyone in an organization encounters. Hence, a manager should be able to lead and influence the entire organization towards these values, which make the role of the manager essential. Research argue for the effectiveness of implementing value-based leadership in organizations. Yet, less is known about how today's companies and managers work with it, and what the factors are related to it.
Research QuestionHow are managers working with value-based leadership and how can certain factors be related to it?
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe how managers both view and work with value-based leadership in terms of social transformation, organizational culture and leadership behavior. Further, to explain how certain factors are related to value-based leadership in the company. The study also aims to develop and broaden the academical field with a framework of value-based leadership in order to create a deeper understanding of value-based leadership in practice and its possible outcomes.
Method: A qualitative approach was used during this study, where ten managers from four Swedish companies from the private sector were interviewed. These companies were chosen due to their awareness of value-based leadership and clarification of values.
Theoretical framework: The framework consists of three theoretical blocks: value-based leadership, leadership behavior, and organizational culture. Based on this, an analyze model was created to facilitate the analysis of the empirical data.
Findings: All managers and their companies are working in accordance with value-based leadership, but to different extents, which is partly due to social transformation in terms of a shift in generations and social sustainability. The factors trust and values are most emphasized and related to value-based leadership, while the factors organizational culture and self-leadership are less emphasized. Still, the authors claim that these factors are crucial in value-based leadership.
Problembakgrund: Ekonomiska kriser och hållbarhetskriser har lett till förändringar i sociala, ekonomiska och ekologiska förhållanden världen över. Företag börjar ta större ansvar för hållbarhet men kan uppleva stora svårigheter att uppnå sina hållbarhetsmål. Detta beror på att det saknas förståelse för hur processen ser ut. Beslutsfattare har svårigheter med att skapa en plan som går ända från hållbarhetsvision till hållbarhetsredovisning via strategi, implementation och prestationsmätning. Textilindustrin spelar en stor roll i den globala ekonomin, och har stor påverkan på sociala och miljömässiga frågor. Studien undersöker hur arbetsförloppet med hållbarhetsfrågor ser ut hos sex stora textilföretag: KappAhl, Hemtex, Åhléns, Haglöfs, Indiska samt Gudrun Sjödén.
Frågeställning: Hur ser arbetsförloppet ut i svenska textilföretags verksamhet från att hållbarhetsmål utformas till att resultat redovisas?
Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att beskriva och analysera arbetsförloppet i stora svenska textilföretag från att hållbarhetsmål utformas till att resultat redovisas, och generera en ökad förståelse för detta.
Metod: För att få fram relevant data med utgångspunkt i frågeställningen utfördes en kvalitativ studie. Eftersom det saknas kunskap kring frågeställningen har studien ett induktivt angreppssätt där ökad förståelse inom området försöktes skapas. Detta gjordes med hjälp av intervjuer med personer som aktivt arbetar med hållbarhetsarbete i respektive företag.
Resultat:Studien har identifierat ett arbetsförlopp över hållbarhetsarbetet i de undersökta företagen bestående av vision, mål, strategi/plan,genomförande och redovisning. Studien har även funnit faktorersom påverkar hållbarhetsarbetet. Dessa är lönsamhet, mål, strategi, budget, struktur, kultur, lärande, samarbete, integration samt redovisning. Studien har även ökat förståelsen för vikten av att integrera hållbarhet i hela verksamheten.
Familjeföretagen dominerar många av världens ekonomier, och är speciella eftersom familjen ofta finns med i företagets ledning och styrelse. Just på grund av släktrelationerna kan styrelseledamöter som är familjemedlemmar tänkas ge en speciell karaktär till styrelsen, som i sin tur kan tänkas påverka betoningen på styrelsens funktioner, det vill säga de uppgifter styrelsen ägnar sig åt. Uppsatsens syfte är med detta som bakgrund att förklara släktbandens betydelse för styrelsens funktioner i familjeföretag.
I uppsatsens teori behandlas familjen utifrån tre delar, vilka är om styrelseledamöterna är familjemedlemmar eller inte, hur nära släkt de är, samt om flera generationer inom samma familj finns representerade i styrelsen. De två senare delarna kombineras till något som kallas släktkoefficient, som anger ett medeltal för hur nära släkt styrelseledamöterna är. De olika styrelsefunktioner som teorin utgår från är kontroll, hantering av resursberoende samt konfliktlösning.
Undersökningen genomfördes genom två enkäter samt genom insamling av kompletterande information från Affärsdata. Resultatet blev fullständiga svar från 94 familjeföretag. I analysen visade det sig att fyra styrelsefunktioner kunde identifieras, närmare bestämt kontroll, hantering av resursberoende, konfliktlösning och beslut, där den senare behandlats som en del av konfliktlösning i teorin.
I analysen undersöktes samband mellan de tre delarna i familjedimensionen samt de fyra styrelsefunktionerna. Det visade sig finnas samband mellan släktkoefficienten och betoningen på funktionerna kontroll, hantering av resursberoende samt beslut, vilket kan tolkas som att släktrelationerna i styrelsen har betydelse för betoningen på dessa funktioner. Det fanns också samband mellan antalet generationer i styrelsen och betoningen på konfliktlösningsfunktionen. Uppsatsens bidrag är att ha påvisat betydelsen av hur nära släkt styrelseledamöterna är för styrelsens funktioner.
Background: Non-profit organizations have a large and significant role in Swedish society and Thunberg (2006) choose to express it like Sweden stops without nonprofit effort. But in several non-profit organizations, and then perhaps especially in sports, there exist problems with the economy. Tate (in Vermeer, Raghunandan & Dana, 2009) explains that the audit of non-profit organizations differs from the audit of for-profit companies as they often have differences in culture, organizational structure, financial requirements, accounting standards, financial reporting, financial statements and the auditor's risk environment. While the audit is different, it should also be noted that in the vast majority of non-profit organizations, there are no statutory requirements for audit, but despite this, 99% of all non-profit organizations have some form of audit regulated by their statute (Lundén & Lindblad, 2011). Meanwhile, several Swedish sport federations began using more and more of the elite licenses for clubs which play in the highest and higher series.
Purpose of the study: With this study, we want to describe and analyze the auditor and the audit's role and influence in sports. The aim is also to develop a study to understand whether the auditor is of importance for survival and sports club building and the fulfillment of their goals. This has been a contributing factor to our research question: What is the auditor and the audit's role and influense in Swedish non-profit sports clubs and what is their significance in the sports association's work with economic goals versus goals of achievements?
Method: We chose to conduct a qualitative study and has worked with an inductive approach. In this study, we have chosen to focus on two groups of respondents in our empirical data collection: sports and auditors in sports. We interviewed three sports clubs and four auditors.
Results and conclusions: We believe this completed study say that the auditor is an important part of sports associations in Sweden. By being able to be of assistance to them as there always exists knowledge that is needed to make important decisions for the association. We also find that although the purpose and aim of the activities of sports associations and the companies are different, this do not change the auditor's role in any substantial way, but work on the same basic principles of business. However, independence is something that can be questioned in several clubs as it seems, without that auditors put any more emphasis on it.
Studien visar att strategiskt arbete med musik för att bygga varumärkeskapital kan användas på många olika sätt för att stärka varumärket. Alla organisationer är olika och musik kan hjälpa varumärken att differentiera sig mot konkurrenterna. Att koppla varumärket till musik genererar ett starkare varumärkeskapital oberoende av hur stark kopplingen är till musiken, förutsatt att organisationen är medveten om att musik påverkar hur varumärket uppfattas. Att stegvis förbättra och utveckla användningen av musik i kommunikationen anser vi är av vikt då både den egna marknaden och musikindustrin kontinuerligt utvecklas. Att varumärket innehar en egen strategisk musikplattform som uppfattas trovärdig av marknaden, anser vi är det mest effektiva.
Research question: To examine what aspects affect some consumers to avoid e-bikes and others to desire them.
Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to see if e-bikes have a symbolic value. We aim to see if e-bikes is associated as an environmentally friendly product. We will examine stereotypes and brand avoidance. Further we will see what attributes consumers associate with typical users of e-bikes.
Theory: To test our research question we chose our main theory of the matching process between self-image and typical user. Prior studies on e-bikes in areas as typical users and environment were analyzed. Previous studies on e-bikes were analyzed in areas such as environment and typical users.
Methodology: A survey was made on two groups who are underrepresented in sales of ebikes. Students aged 21-30 and cycling enthusiasts.
Results and conclusions:
• We found that e-bikes have symbolic value.
• Many respondents perceive e-bike users as environmentally friendly, comfortable and lazy.
• E-bikes being perceived as environmentally friendly can be a pre-purchase indicator for students, but not for cycling enthusiasts
• Different groups of students have conflicting user imagery, one group describe e-bikers as lazy, and another group describe e-bike users as healthy
• The stereotype that e-bike users are old is not very frequent
• Viewing e-bike users as lazy influences impacts the perceived value and are likely to lead to brand avoidance
Background: It has become increasingly common to divide the intangible assets into different categories. One of these categories is the value of the brand itself, which can become useful when a brand is being bought, sold and exposed to other legal situations. In order to distinguish the brand, it is necessary to make a valuation of the brand. However, there has been no consensus on how this will happen, which led to the emergence of a new standard, ISO 10668.
Problem: The reliability of brand valuation has been low, as there have been several different ways of valuing a brand and thus resulted in the fact that the valuations are severely divided. In 2010, the standard ISO 10668 was developed to increase the reliability and transparency of brand valuations. But what valuation methods are used to achieve ISO 10668 and a reliable brand valuation?
Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate whether the new ISO standard has been accepted and applied in practice. We also want to investigate whether there has been a reduction in the problems that have arisen around brand weather and the methods used to achieve the ISO 10668 standard and a reliable brand valuation.
Method: We have conducted a qualitative study where we interviewed people with good experience in brand valuation. The theoretical frame of reference has been designed for literature, scientific articles and other internet sources.
Conclusion: To valuing a brand can be a costly process and therefore only when there is a specific purpose, for example, for legal, economic or market reasons. In order to make the valuation as credible as possible, experts recommend to comply with the ISO 10668 standard. This is often done at higher valuations or for example acquisitions or litigation. In order to achieve the standard, it is not merely a method used, but is determined by the purpose of valuation.
The success of the new product development (NPD) process is vital for the survival of projects. Especially for small entrepreneurial projects that try to survive in a very competitive environment, affected by constant market and technical changes. Previous literature emphasize the importance of the generation of new ideas, to improve the product concept during the pre-development stage, but it did not pay a lot of attention to the sources of ideas. For this reason, this study aims to develop the knowledge concerning the sources of ideas of small entrepreneurial projects, during the fuzzy front-end (FFE).
The literature review of this study presents the previous researches that relate to the sources of ideas, during the idea generation stage of the FFE. The structure of the existing model, integrating the sources of ideas, is based on three categories: environmental scanning, innovative organizational culture and joint research.
An inductive study and a research, based on the analysis of one small high-tech entrepreneurial project, were conducted to cover the literature gap. This choice of methodology reflects the experimental purpose of this research. The empirical data are only primary data, collected by analyzing the diaries of the two entrepreneurs involved in the project.
Our findings reveal that contact with lead user, entrepreneur experience, customer involvement, brainstorming sessions, competitor analysis, resource constraints and prototype conception represent the main sources of ideas of small entrepreneurial projects in the FFE.
The practical purpose of this study is to offer some advices to entrepreneurs of small entrepreneurial projects for accessing to sources of ideas, during the idea generation stage of the FFE, and manage their impact on the development of the product concept. The theoretical implications contribute to the identification of new sources of ideas and a proposition of framework of their impact.
It is well known that small businesses and entrepreneurs in the initial phase has difficult to gain access to external capital and bank loans. With the background of the problems that entrepreneurs face when they ask for capital has since the financial crisis the phenomenon of crowdfunding developed and evolved. Crowdfunding is an alternative source of funding for entrepreneurs to fund their ideas through small or medium-sized capital contribution from a larger amount of investors, often investors who have any kind of relationship with the entrepreneur or to the very idea. This study examined the factors that motivate and guide an investor's decisions when they select their projects. The results of the study show that the motives of the various existing forms of crowdfunding is big. To answer the question of what can affect an investor's motives, the form of crowdfunding must be mentioned. The motivational factors in the study turns out to be local projects, social benefits in the form of altruism, affiliation, shared values as well as the monetary returns and material rewards.
Titel: Franchisetagarens ledarskap - betydelsen av det transformativa ledarskapet för effektivitet för franchisetagare inom fastighetsmäklarbranschen
Författare: Marc Albrecht och Sandra Lindh
Handledare: Pia Ulvenblad
Bakgrund: Det är en vanlig karriärsutveckling för fastighetsmäklare i Sverige att starta eget. De flesta mäklare ansluter sig till en kedja och i princip alla stora kedjor i Sverige arbetar med franchise som affärsmodell. Rollen som franchisetagare innebär ofta ett ledarskapsansvar. Målsättningen är att driva en effektiv verksamhet som skapar positiva resultat. Vad effektivitet är, kan definieras på olika sätt.
Transformativt ledarskap kan bidra till positiva och önskvärda utfall genom att motivera underställda till att vilja prestera. Det kan även bidra med ökad motivation och självförtroende, vilket i sin tur bidrar till bättre prestationer. Tidigare studier bekräftar att franchise är det mest effektiva och vanligaste sättet att bedriva ett mäklarkontor på. Det är därmed intressant att studera hur ett kontor kan vara mer effektivt och hur effektivitet kan uppnås med hjälp av franchisetagarens ledarskap. Eftersom det finns riktlinjer och begräsningar från franchisegivaren som utmanar franchisetagarens ledarskap är det intressant att studera hur transformativt ledarskap kan leda till effektivitet inom franchise samt hur effektivitet kan definieras.
Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva hur transformativt ledarskap kan bidra till effektivitet i ett franchisebolag. Effektivitet kan definieras på flera olika sätt och därför vill vi skapa förståelse för vad effektivitet är inom franchisebolag i mäklarbranschen. Genom ökad förståelse kring effektivitet och transformativt ledarskap vill vi utveckla ett ramverk som ger en ökad kunskap för dess betydelse inom franchise.
Problem –
formulering: Vilken roll har transformativt ledarskap för en franchisetagares möjligheter till att uppnå effektivitet i fastighetsmäklarbranschen, samt hur definierar franchisetagare effektivitet?
Metod: En kvalitativ forskningsansats har använts i denna studie, där studiens empiriska material har samlats in från åtta stycken besöksintervjuer med franchisetagare i fastighetsmäklarföretag.
Resultat: Av studiens resultat framgår det att de fyra komponenterna i transformativt ledarskap kan användas för att åstadkomma olika definitioner av effektivitet. Vidare visar studien att effektivitet definieras som struktur genom alla arbetsmoment i den studerade branschen.
Syfte: Syftet med studien är att skapa förståelse för hur företag använder sig av sponsring för att skapa associationer till sina varumärken. Vidare undersöks huruvida associationerna når fram till företags målgrupp.
Metod: Studien är kvalitativ och har ett abduktivt angreppssätt. I studien intervjuades tre stycken bilföretag individuellt. Det genomfördes även en gruppintervju med företagens målgrupp.
Teoretisk referensram: Den teoretiska referensramen behandlar varumärke, målgrupp, sponsring och dess associationsförmåga, faktorer som avgör ett effektivt sponsorskap samt nackdelar och risker. Kapitlet avslutas med en egenmodifierad modell som beskriver sambandet mellan de olika teorierna.
Empirisk studie: Empirisk data samlades in genom intervjuer med sponsoransvariga för Mercedes Benz, Audi och Volvo samt ifrån varumärkenas målgrupp.
Slutsats: De slutsatser som presenteras är att det är av vikt att företag arbetar med sponsringens associationsförmåga utifrån väldefinierade mål med grund i varumärkets identitet. Företaget ska identifiera sin målgrupp för att budskapet ska nå fram och för att associationerna som skapas ska överensstämma med vad företaget vill förmedla. Både befintliga och nya målgrupper kan bearbetas genom val av evenemang och detta val ska kännas naturligt sammankopplat till sponsorns varumärke. Företag samarbetar över gränser med andra sponsorer för att nå nya målgrupper och för att förstärka befintliga eller skapa nya varumärkesassociationer. När företagets budskap överensstämmer med vad som har nått fram till målgruppen har önskvärda associationer skapats vilket tyder på ett starkt varumärke.
Titel: Talent Management inom den svenska banksektorn.
Författare: Martin Eriksson och Oscar Alfelt
Handledare: Timurs Umans
Nivå: Kandidatuppsats 15 hp, Ledarskap, VT 2012
Frågeställning: Hur använder svenska banker talent management processen som en del av sitt HR-arbete?
Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur banker använder talent management processen som en del av sitt HR-arbete och på så sätt öka sin konkurrenskraft och effektivisera sitt arbete. Vi ämnar undersöka hur processen kan anpassas till en specifik sektor vilket i vårt fall är den svenska banksektorn.
Metod: Studien gjordes med ett beskrivande angreppssätt. Vi använde en kvalitativ ansatts med individuella öppna intervjuer. Intervjuerna gjordes över telefon med fem stycken respondenter från svenska banker.
Teoretisk referensram: Den teoretiska referensramen består av tre delar där första delen handlar om att förklara vad talent management är för att sedan presentera två talent management processer samt att beskriva HR inom banksektorn. Detta ligger som grund för vår talent management modell som presenteras i slutet.
Resultat: Här återges vad respondenterna uppgav under intervjuerna.
Analys: I analysen jämförs respondenternas empiri och analyseras efter den teori som vi har använt.
Slutsatser: Här presenteras de ändringar som gjorts i modellen sedan den först presenterades i den teoretiska referensramen. Med hjälp av teorin och informationen från respondenterna har vi kunnat skapa en relevant och giltig talent management modell för den svenska banksektorn.
Nyckelord: Talent Management, Human Resource Management, banksektorn, personalarbete.
Centrala begrepp: HRM (Human Resource Management): Handlar om arbetet med personal och humana resurser.
Talent Management: Ett verktyg inom HRM med fokus på arbetet med att attrahera, bibehålla och utveckla nyckelpersoner inom företaget.
Title: To follow sustainability - through a longitudinal study of the sustainability reports of SJ.
Introduction: Sustainability Reporting is a way for companies to show how they work with sustainability, where the companies ambitions, strategies and visions of sustainability are also presented. GRI (Global reporting initiative) is the largest framework in the world that companies use when designing the sustainability report. One way of looking at the sustainability report is that it is for communicating with stakeholders, society and within the management team. In this way, the sustainability report is a way of making sustainability challenges more visible and by creating perspectives and achievements that make changes.
Problem: One of the main purposes of the sustainability reporting framework GRI is to provide greater transparency for stakeholders, thus providing the opportunity for comparison over time. When there is a lack of clear national provisions for the preparation of sustainability work, evaluations and comparisons are difficult for the rest of the world. The lack of accounting principles and common practice means that it is often not clear what has been measured, how it has been measured and what tasks are covered. Therefore, it is interesting to study what can complicate a comparison over several years, by studying the sustainability work over time in the company SJ, which has been actively working with the framework of GRI since 2007.
Purpose: Analyze what in sustainability reports that can complicate the comparability of the results.
Method: It is important that companies sustainability issues are linked to performance measures, just to measure sustainability performance. Therefore, we have chosen to look at the sustainability areas of SJ and the indicators that are linked to these areas. We wanted to see how well it was possible to compare the results of the sustainability areas of SJ over time? This is carried out through a longitudinal case study with inductive approach to the sustainability reports of SJ.
Results: In this study, it has been found that there is a lack of information about several parts, where the reader of the report does not get enough insight. Information deficiency in definitions and measurement methods leads to a comparison being uncertain and less credible. In the examination of deviating outcomes, the complexity was shown to interpret what influenced an outcome and strongly suggested that there was a lack of transparency. It also emerged that there is a big room for companies to choose which performance indicators and measurement methods they want.
Sweden is moving from the fossil-atomic age, making ready for photovoltaics (PV) to assume a noteworthy part in a future formed by renewable power production. Sweden is a global leader in renewable energy, environment technology, and Clean-tech. The country fully embraces green technologies and this area has a major business potential. The goal is to reach a 50 percent share of renewable energy by 2020. Photovoltaic (PV) system is one of the main sources of renewable energy sources, the rate of installed PV increased in Sweden. During 2014 36.2 MWp installed, which is almost double installed power 19.1 MWp during 2013. During 2013 and 2014 1.1 MWp sold to the electrical grid and 9.5 MWp of the off-grid system been sold. It was and will be always a problem to start a business or to enter a new market or technology, struggle to understand the market, solve the problems, and increase the sales to achieve the success. Since many companies face difficulties, selling products and getting more projects, for that a research document made to investigate more and find solutions. The purpose of this research to identify solar market entrance obstacles and barriers, and how can new entrants makes solar market entrance. Investigate the statues que of today market and the predict future for solar market in Sweden. Data collection sequence started with identifying customer needs, then review the literature, and finally interview Swedish solar firms. The interviewed firms were five firms operating in Southern of Sweden. The information outcome from the process identifies market obstacles and barriers, providing ideas about the today market situation, predicting the market future, and setting a plan for market entrance for a new entrant. The research neglected the firm size, concentrating on market obstacles and barriers.
When it comes to the priority of a project proposal, a variety of factors is affecting theoutcome. In the municipal sector, factors of non- economic nature appears to be particularlyimportant when the organization is not intended to be profit-making.This study's research question is What problems can occur around an energy-efficiencyproject proposal in a municipal organization? The purpose of this study is to gainunderstanding of what possible problems an energy efficiency project proposal mayencounter, in the municipal implementation process as well as the problems of a changingownership can bring.To conduct this study, the method was qualitative in nature. We have cooperated withVarberg Energi AB and Varberg kommun, which has stood as respondents for the empiricalbasis of the study. In this study, we have conducted four personal interviews.In this study, we have found that there may be several problematic factors associated with anenergy-efficiency project proposal in a municipal organization. In conjunction with theimplementation of an energy efficiency project proposal in a municipal organization, we seethat the problem is that the decision process is preceded by a complexity that includesinadequate decision support, the fear of losing the "public space" and that the street lightsisn´t included in the energy efficiency strategy. In connection with a change in ownership, wesee the increased decentralization leads to a larger distance between the municipality and themunicipal company. Distance can create an agent-principal relationship in which themunicipality has the role of principal while the municipal company becomes the agent. Thedistance may lead to information about future decisions made by the municipal company (theagent), never reaches the municipality (the principal). If information about a future decisiondoes not reach the municipality (the principal), it may be perceived as having lost control ofstreet lighting.
The gender portrayals study aims to understanding how the roles of men and women are portrayed in magazine advertisements. This has been an issue investigated over the past decades as companies try to achieve a higher level of sales of their products and services and the gender issue influences in how this companies plan one advertising program or another. However, there is a debate among authors: some of them believe that advertising reflects what is already on society and others express that advertisers use the most convenient reality to sell their products. Thus, it makes us wonder what is the actual truth behind this debate. This thesis tries to answer the question of how men and women are portrayed in advertising campaigns. There are several studies on gender portrayals across countries but none that compares France, Spain and Sweden. This thesis tries to fill this gap.
The study is conducted following Hofstede framework that classifies countries whether masculine or feminine, and is completed by analyzing the data gathered from four magazines of these three countries. We classified this data following Courtney and Lockeretz classification scheme and analyzed the data obtained with theories of some other authors.
The results of this thesis show that males were dominant among working roles while females were in non-working roles. The findings might not add a huge contribution to this field of study but may be used as guiding tool for further research.
Western firms are generally advised to rely on emerging market partners when attempting to develop frugal innovations for these developing markets. Underlying such advice is the idea that the requirements of emerging market consumers may not be familiar to Western firms and local developers will better understand local needs. We propose an alternative approach for high-tech firms—one that relies on home-based breakthrough R&D focused on emerging market needs. Three frugal innovation projects at a Swedish medical devices manufacturer serve to illustrate both how home-based breakthrough R&D can help managers reconceptualize their core products and the contextual factors favoring such an approach. © 2016, Industrial Research Institute.
High technology innovation performance relies on a skilful utilization of human resources. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of interpreted outcome and process uncertainties on the effective management of human resources for technology innovation. This is achieved through an insider-outsider based case study approach of three medical device innovations with varying degrees of radicalness. Findings suggest that uncertainties in process and outcome strongly influence what constitutes effective management of human resources for technology innovation. Findings also offer insights into when certain innovation theories hold, and suggestions on how to manage human resources and technology innovation under various conditions of uncertainty.
Proponents of Open Innovation argue in support of its novel additions, critics however question its novelty and argue that the roots of Open Innovation predate Chesbrough. We investigate what is novel about Open Innovation by comparing predating theories and concept swith the main themes we found using a literature review. Our results indicate that the novelty of Open Innovation lies in its holistic approach. These findings were synthesized into a star model that could help both scholars and managers in their work with Open Innovation.
Innovation is paramount to success. Over time firms must maintain their ability to innovate in order to maintain their competitive edge. In this paper we explore the role human resource management has in nurturing and enhancing the innovative capability of the firm. To explore HRM activities, functions and processes that enhance or impede innovativeness we conducted a literature review. Following this review, 10 propositions have been made that link HRM to both incremental and radical innovativeness respectively. Our results include suggestions for empirical studies to validate our propositions as well as some managerial implications.
Purpose: This paper aims, by a direct comparison, to address the differences and similarities of the internationalization processes of multinational companies both from developed and emerging countries.
Design/methodology/approach: This study employed qualitative approach, using an integrated model of internationalization process. Multiple case studies, with two companies with significant involvement in foreign markets and originating in countries with different levels of development, were carried out.
Findings: The results reveal that the case companies show some differences with regards to their use of ownership advantages to facilitate their internationalization. On the other hand, learning and experience of internationalization, coupled with the use of networks, have been factors that have influenced the pace and the pattern of the case companies' internationalization. An integrated model, which includes variables related to networks and learning/experience, may contribute to the understanding of the case of multinational companies from emerging economies.
Originality/value: Although the research field of emerging multinationals has been growing lately, very few attempts have been made in the sense of directly comparing the internationalization process of firms from both developed and emerging countries. The authors proposed an integrated analytical model that draws on insights from the eclectic paradigm and the Uppsala internationalization model. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Choosing the right Business Intelligence (BI) software is critical to increasing productivity and effectiveness in organizations today. At the same time it is a very elaborating and complex process to choose the right software due to the fact that a large number of BI products exist on the market, which are quite different and updated frequently. The objective of this study is to develop and test a model for the evaluation of BI Software. The findings of the study revealed that it is difficult to declare what is the most competitive BI software as what is good for one user might not be good for another depending on their different business needs. Having said that the study initiated a new classification of BI Software vendors depending on the degree to which they comply with the functions in the Competitive Intelligence (CI) cycle. The software tested was divided into five categories: Fully complete, Complete, Semi Complete, Incomplete and Insubstantial. We conclude that the SSAV (Solberg Soilen, Amara, Vriens) Model Together with some proposed non technological variables and a classification developed can be used as a user's selection tool for deciding which BI Software to purchase.
The purpose of this paper is to explore how and what drives corporate social responsibility (CSR) in host communities of mining companies in developing countries.
To address this knowledge gap, this paper used Ghana as a test case and conducted 24 in-depth interviews with participants drawn from mining host communities.
The paper discovered that while CSR is broadly understood and encompasses six thematic categories in the mining host communities, there are emphases on philanthropic and environmental responsibilities. Contrary to the evidence found in other studies, this paper discovered that CSR rhetoric plays a more positive/significant role than so far explored in CSR research, as it incentivizes the host communities to push for the fulfilment of their CSR expectations and/or CSR initiatives proposed by mining companies.
Research limitations/implications
Quantitative studies are needed to strengthen the findings from the present paper.
Practical implications
Because developing countries share similar socio-economic and geo-political realities, the findings of this paper may be applicable not only for CSR advocates, but also for policy-makers in developing countries.
The paper provides new inputs from a developing country perspective to the current debate about the CSR performance of the extractive industry. © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Purpose – The objective of this study is to provide insights into the role of leadership in promoting creativity and innovation at the level of the firm, and how these may translate into improving firms' own context of competitiveness in their respective markets through CSR initiatives.
Method/approach – This paper employs literature study, which is descriptive in nature, to explore the relationships between leadership, creativity/innovation, and CSR. We sought to describe the relationships between the three concepts: leadership, creativity/innovation, and CSR, as practically as possible. In employing exploratory research strategy, we draw insights from extant literature, drawn from the management sciences to describe leadership, creativity/innovation and CSR in organizations. In doing so, we explore, by arguing, how leadership can stimulate creativity/innovation in employees and how firm-level innovation-directed activities can connect to CSR activities.
Findings - The model suggests that leaders can stimulate employees' creativity/innovative behaviour and this in turn may influence the rate at which innovation manifest in the products and processes of the organization. These, in turn, may be closely related to the CSR initiatives that the organization pursues. The study has argued that for creativity/innovation to be embedded in the organization's product and processes, leadership of organization remains a key factor in terms of either enabling or inhibiting individual employees' innovative behaviour. Leadership of organizations and individual employees' innovative behaviour appear to influence the nature of CSR initiatives that is undertaken and may contribute in defining organization's own competitiveness. Organization's CSR initiatives can connect with efforts at improving its own competitiveness through, leadership of organization and stakeholder partnerships.
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