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As Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools become increasingly integrated into retail organisations, it is essential to examine their impact on leadership practices and stakeholder engagement. This thesis investigates how leaders within Sweden’s physical retail industry perceive the impact of AI tools on leadership practices and stakeholder engagement, especially in relation to employees and customers. The study is based on a qualitative research method, employing semi-structured interviews with key representatives from Svensk Handel and leaders from retail organisations at the forefront of AI implementation. The findings show that retail leaders highly value AI tools to gain a competitive advantage, however, human decision-making and relationships are still valued. In addition, retail leaders need to adapt their leadership practices by fostering trust, effective communication, collaboration, and transparency, while also involving stakeholders in the adaptation to sustain and strengthen their engagement.

Previous research on the impact of cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) announcements has yielded inconclusive results regarding wealth creation for bidding firms. This thesis examines the Swedish stock market reactions by conducting an event study analyzing the short-term market response to cross-border M&A announcements. Using a sample of 591 bid announcements by publicly listed acquirers between 2014 and 2023, the event study evaluates abnormal stock returns around the announcement date to assess the difference between domestic and cross-border acquisitions. The analysis indicates statistically significant returns for both domestic and cross-border bid announcements. However, there is no statistical evidence that cross-border acquisitions outperform domestic acquisitions, possibly indicating that Sweden has a high degree of integrated capital markets. Additionally, the thesis examines the impact of bid and firm characteristics on cross-border announcement returns through an OLS regression. The deal atmosphere and relative firm size are statistically significant. The market reacts positively to friendly acquisitions, possibly due to better post-integration performance and long-term profitability. A positive association between relative firm size and bid announcement returns suggests that larger targets relative to the acquirer are associated with higher bid announcement returns, reflecting synergistic potential.

The aim of this thesis is to fine-tune BGE M3-Embedding for retrieval in historical Swedish court documents. Historical language differs from contemporary language, and therefore requires specially adapted NLP tools. Multi-lingual embedding models have proven efficient for low resource languages, and can be fine-tuned for new languages and domains through question-answer datasets. BGE M3-Embedding combines dense, lexical and multi-vector retrieval techniques. We create question-answer training data by letting GPT-4o mini generate questions to archival texts. Results show that BGE M3-Embedding was worsened by the fine-tuning – it performs on a level similar to BM25 and below Swedish and multi-lingual dense retrieval models. The original M3-Embedding model outperforms other sparse and dense retrieval methods on the historical court data over different document lengths. Some possible reasons for the worsening are un-ideal fine-tuning methods, a large amount of uncontrolled, synthetic data and inability of large language models to interpret historical legal text.

This study explored the potential of Augmented Reality (AR) as a mediating tool in children’s knowledge acquisition, grounded in embodied interaction and Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) within a sociocultural framework. Conducted with Swedish 4th graders (ages 10–11), the research involved an initial focus group, hands-on testing of an early-stage AR prototype, and a follow-up discussion. Findings showed that while children could assess adult competence, they placed greater value on helpfulness, friendliness, and fun, often preferring peer support. This suggests that mediation was shaped not only by technology but also by the social environment, extending the concept of appropriation beyond the AR tool itself. While AR presents promises for collaborative learning, current technical limitations (e.g., difficulty scanning reflective surfaces) remain barriers. The results invite a re-examination of ZPD due to the divided opinion of peers as the more knowledgeable others.

The European Union (EU) has set the target of net-zero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Meeting this target is estimated to require a 55% and 90% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 and 2040 (compared to 1990 levels), respectively. Developing low carbon District Heating Systems (DHSs) plays a crucial role in meeting this target especially in countries with cold climate such as Finland. Waste heat produced during specific processes such as data processing in Data Centers (DCs) and Green Hydrogen (GH2) production process by electrolyzers, provides significant potential for developing low carbon DHSs due to their expected growth. However, beyond the environmental benefits that capturing and redirecting waste heat from these sources into DHSs can offer, it is crucial to consider the possible economic advantages and disadvantages these strategies may bring for both utilities and end-users especially regarding affordability and reliability. While waste heat recovery reduces the overall fuel consumption, the need for additional thermal technologies and equipment increasing waste heat temperature causes additional costs. This thesis aims to present new insights into how waste heat from these new low-temperature sources can be effectively integrated with DHSs to reduce GHG emissions, while keeping them economically competitive with conventional systems. The environmental and economic potential of waste heat from DCs is evaluated in comparison to DHSs based on biomass combustion. Also, the integration of GH2 production process with DHSs is studied from technical, economic and environmental viewpoints both at process and at national levels. The results indicate that integrating DHSs with waste heat from DCs offers competitive advantages over biomass combustion-based DHSs in most of the investigated scenarios. Energy renovations in buildings further enhance the competitiveness of waste heat-based DHSs. Therefore, waste heat recovery from DCs will become increasingly popular when energy renovation in buildings becomes more appealing to end-users and reducing emissions is prioritized by policymakers. While the economic competitiveness of GH2 production in Finland relies on stricter policies, subsidies, or advancements in hydrogen production technologies, integrating waste heat from it into DHSs enhances energy efficiency, reducing biomass dependency by up to 7% and potentially saving Finland’s energy system €100M annually. However, it requires careful planning and significant capital cost of about 3.5 B€ to develop the hydrogen network, as assumed in this work. It is also concluded that supplying heat directly to the DHS return side, without an additional Heat Pump (HP), would be financially the most viable option.

This thesis explores how Swedish football supporters contribute to the maintenance of member democracy as an institutional logic within governance structures in the light of increasing commercialization and corporate influence within European football. Drawing on institutional theory, particularly the concepts of institutional work, institutional logics and identity, the study explores how organized supporter groups defend the 51-percent-rule, which mandates member control of football clubs in Sweden. Based on semi-structured interviews with representatives from eleven supporter associations affiliated with clubs in Sweden’s top league, Allsvenskan, the findings show that supporters engage in both formal and informal practices of institutional maintenance work. These range from participation in governance and formal dialogue to cultural reproduction through community-strengthening activities. Supporters view themselves not as passive consumers but as essential actors safeguarding the democratic and cultural integrity of Swedish football. While the 51-percent-rule is broadly celebrated, the study also highlights internal tensions such as uneven participation and concerns about external financial pressures. The findings contribute to the understanding of bottom-up institutional maintenance as well as illustrating how identity and community serve as drivers for preserving core institutional values in an increasingly market-driven environment.

Finland has approximately 50 500 Civil Defence (CD) shelters with 4.8 million shelter places for a population of 5.6 million residents. CD shelter building is mandatory by legislation, and Acts, Decrees, and Technical regulations regulate it. This study examines the evolution of the Finnish CD shelter regulation from 1954 to 2011. The development of shelter regulation is affected by military threat assessments and the commitment to protect the population cost-effectively from the effects of weapons during a potential wartime. This includes the objective of providing a relatively safe and healthy, but uncomfortable environment for sheltering periods. The method draws on comparative historical analysis, comparing the Finnish shelter design baseline with the Swedish, Swiss, US, and German baselines, incorporating respective analyses of changes along the study timeline. Change analysis includes iteration and backtracking along the timeline. The ventilation and thermal control baselines are evaluated using established technical methods. This study defines the Finnish CD shelter systems as a socio-technical system that includes diverse actors, interest groups, organisations, regulations, and the complete nationwide materiality of the CD shelters. The Large Technical Systems (LTS) theory is used as an analytical framework. With the help of socio-technical analysis, this study focuses on two research questions: What significant changes are evident in the shelter regulation timeline, and what is the root cause or impact of these changes? Are there any significant gaps in the Finnish shelter studies or regulations, and what is the effect of these gaps? This study's contribution to LTS research is proving that a mature system exhibits different change dynamics as regulation justification is contested. On the other hand, a mature system may detach from regulation or the prevailing context. The evolution of regulation is studied with three case studies focusing on weapons effects mitigation, shelter occupant life support, and combining both focal points. This study establishes how the Finnish CD shelter system reached its technical style. The noteworthy Finnish attribute, in reflection of most other CD shelter-building nations, is the cost-effective funding model. The building owner bears the cost of the shelter construction, not the taxpayers. The Finnish full-scale shelter habitation tests with occupants, together with the analysis of this study, have proven that the Finnish shelter design baseline is sound. The shelter’s thermal control and air conditioning during the hot and humid summer months advocate further studies. The Finnish CD shelter system is a success story. With an average of three years spent on military defence, a shelter system has been built cost-effectively in six decades to protect the whole population. The estimated aggregated cost of the Finnish CD shelter system is approximately 4.4 milliard euros.

Sweden’s NATO application in 2022 marked a historic shift in the country’s foreign- and security policy. During the application process, Sweden was compelled to make extensive concessions to Turkey, concessions which challenged Sweden’s role conception in several aspects. The thesis applies a theoretical framework that synthesizes Role Theory and Two-Level Game Theory to examine how the Swedish government managed the role conflicts, role contestations, and role change in response to Turkey’s demands. The findings show that the Swedish government applied a wide range of action strategies to manage role conflicts, role contradictions, and to some extent role change. Moreover, the negotiations were used as a strategic window to both strengthen Sweden’s national and international legitimacy and consolidate its new role as an active NATO member, while at the same time partially maintaining the national role conception. The analysis reveals how Sweden’s strategic decisions reflected a fine balance between national identity and security interests. Thereby the thesis contributes to a deeper understanding of how small states respond to and act in times of international insecurity.

Recent developments in entrepreneurship research have increasingly emphasized the importance of contextualization and the interdependence between entrepreneurial action and the external environment. This dissertation contributes to this ongoing shift by offering four distinct yet interconnected perspectives on the dynamics between ventures and their environments, grounded in the context of small Finnish food and beverage (F&B) ventures. This sector offers a vibrant setting, characterized by rapidly shifting consumer trends, technological advancements, global disruptions, and gradually evolving regulatory and cultural landscapes. Drawing on a qualitative study of 54 heterogeneous ventures engaged in forms of ‘everyday’ entrepreneurship—often overlooked in research that prioritizes high-growth, tech-driven startups—this dissertation reveals the coexistence of ‘standard model’ features such as innovation and growth orientation, alongside more relational, artisanal, and collaborative approaches to entrepreneurship. These ventures employ entrepreneurial actions that resemble a versatile toolkit used to address challenges, explore opportunities, and co-create with stakeholders in a complex and evolving landscape. The four articles comprising this dissertation each explore a specific dimension of the context–venture relationship. Article 1 examines experimentation and business model innovation during the COVID-19 crisis, highlighting its effects on both individual ventures and their communities. Article 2 examines how crisis-induced external enablers facilitated the development of opportunities among small businesses in Finland and California, highlighting the recursive creation of enabling conditions. Article 3 extends the dominant rational view of experimentation by identifying rational, social, and emergent forms driven by both external and internal factors. Finally, Article 4 combines stakeholder theory and the resource-based view to examine strategic stakeholder interactions, revealing a reliance on informal contracting and a relationally embedded F&B ecosystem. Overall, the thesis emphasizes the importance of ongoing research in the field of entrepreneurship, encompassing a broader range of venture types and a deeper consideration of the complex dynamics of context. The findings suggest opportunities for entrepreneurs, policymakers, and educators to broaden their perspectives and better include more diverse ventures and entrepreneurs.

Professional service firms depend on attracting and keeping skilled talent, but most studies analyze either the external employer brand or the internal culture, rarely both. This thesis addresses that gap by studying Sweden’s Big 4 firms, including and comparing both perspectives, extending on previous research. Guided by a theoretical foundation of Schein’s model of culture, Schneider’s ASA framework, and Rousseau’s Psychological Contract Theory, the authors used a mixed-methods design, surveying 68 final‑year master’s students and interviewing 13 early‑career employees at the Big 4. Results show that both groups value the chance for professional development and the collaborative, school‑class-like community, however, poor work‑life balance, rigid hierarchies, and slow, unfulfilled moves between roles contrast with the employer brand, breaching the psychological contract, weakening trust, and leading employees to attrite from the firms. To reconcile these differences between external and internal sides, transparency about workload, clearer career paths, and stronger, firm‑wide community practices should be central. In reconciling the gap, Big 4 firms can make use of their strengths and own their weaknesses, leveraging their brand into a more authentic, believable reason both to join and to stay, mitigating the risk of unnecessary turnover and helping them in the contest for knowledge‑based talent.