15 research outputs found

    Bridging and bonding social capital and their effects on internationalisation: an empirical study of international ‘take-off’ in Chinese SMEs

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    This paper is concerned with the role of social capital in effecting international take-off in Chinese SMEs. Social capital is posited as having different forms; a local bonding dimension and an international bridging dimension which spans structural holes between local networks and international opportunities. However, each of these forms is explored as having further constraining and enabling effects. This paper reports the results of a first phase investigation into 16 Chinese SMEs that have gone through the international take-off process. Interim findings suggest two stages in take-off, opportunity search and value proposition development. Initial findings report some previously under discussed constraining effects of international bridging social capital which include the constraint of non-exclusive international bridges, and the local peer pressure to continue to seek further international bridges, rather than focus on strengthening an initial bridge. Findings contribute to the strand of internationalisation literature positing the importance of network insidership in internationalisation and internationalisation as a by-product of entrepreneurial networking activities

    The interplay between social capital and international opportunities: a processual study of international ‘take-off’ episodes in Chinese SMEs

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    The paper presents a processual analysis of international take-off episodes in Chinese SMEs. In considering the dynamics of pre-internationalization, the paper posits four temporally finer-grained, phases based on an actor’s orientation towards international opportunities. Based on a sample of twenty Chinese SMEs, the paper theorizes 12 temporally fine-grained take-off episodes, or which appear in practice as a series of tactical moves through which Chinese SMEs advance through the four phases in the longer pre-internationalisation of the process. By considering the multi-dimensional nature of social capital in international take-off, the findings contribute to a greater understanding of how forming international relationships work in the context of pre-internationalization in SMEs, also adding insights into the dynamics of internationalisation as an entrepreneurial and networked endeavour

    Sowing seeds for innovation : The impact of social capital in regional strategic networks

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    In order to promote regional innovation and stronger social coherence the European Union has set goals to become the world’s most competitive, dynamic, and knowledge-based economy. These ambitious goals are supported by funds allocated to regional strategic networks (also called cluster initiatives). Usually, the management of regional strategic networks is left to the discretion of the project leaders. However, the industry agglomeration model which constitutes the foundation for regional development policies fails to consider the social context. It also overemphasizes the relevance of a linear approach towards innovation which is problematic, as this fails to consider the conditions for implementation in different contexts. This thesis builds upon data from two case studies of regional strategic networks (Firsam at Söderhamn and FPX at GĂ€vle) and serves to describe (1) how the management group of an RSN creates the prerequisite for an innovative milieu by analyzing the effects that social capital imposes on social interaction, and (2) how a policy initiated innovation process is supported by an RSN management group by analyzing resource interaction between the developing, producing and using settings. As a conclusion it is stated that a manager of a regional strategic network should balance the bridging and bonding forces that social capital produces. Under some circumstances it might be advantageous to form tightly knit groups that can foster trust and cultural proximity. In other cases loosely knit groups might be preferable where novel information is exchanged between previously unconnected actors. Also, the innovation construct is applied in the thesis to denote the process where resources are combined in new ways within existing structures to offer new solutions in the market. The manager of a regional strategic network must consider not only the setting in which an invention is developed but also the settings where new solutions are converted into products and those where they are brought to use. The performance of the investigated development initiatives indicates that merely funding regional strategic networks is insufficient to spur regional growth. It is not as easy as merely sowing seed for innovation; it must also fall on good soil.

    Fonogramsavtalet : Hur fonogramsavtalets standard har bildats och spridigts inom musikbranschen

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    Fonogramsavtalet Ă€r ett avtal som sluts mellan en artist och ett skivbolag dĂ€r artisten överlĂ„ter exploateringsrĂ€tten till sitt framförande till skivbolaget för en ersĂ€ttning. Detta avtal grundar sig pĂ„ de rĂ€ttigheter som upphovsrĂ€ttslagen ger en artist och pĂ„ avtalsrĂ€tt, men hur dessa avtal bör utformas i praktiken Ă€r till stor del upp till de bĂ„da parterna (Stannow, Åkerberg, Hillerström 2002). Friheten kring utformandet Ă€r med andra ord stor vilket borde resultera i mĂ„nga kreativa sĂ€tt att lösa denna frĂ„ga. Varje artist Ă€r unik i frĂ„ga om musikalisk genre vilket pĂ„verkar det sĂ€tt som denna artist bör presenteras pĂ„ marknaden. Dessutom Ă€r varje skivbolag unikt i sitt sĂ€tt att arbeta samt i frĂ„ga om resurser och kompetens. Detta borde leda till en myriad av lösningar pĂ„ hur dessa parter skall samarbeta och detta borde dĂ€rmed likasĂ„ resultera i lika mĂ„nga olika avtalsutformningar. Det har dock utvecklats en standard gĂ€llande fonogramsavtalets utformning som gör att slĂ„ende mĂ„nga avtal inom branschen Ă€r nĂ€rmast identiska. Jag anser dĂ€rmed att det Ă€r av vikt att undersöka denna standard samt hur den sprids inom musikbranschen. Detta dĂ€rför att det Ă€r viktigt att inse de förutfattade meningar och de rationaliserade myter som ligger till grund för ens handlande. Aktörerna inom musikbranschen har enligt mig en tendens att fokusera pĂ„ detaljnivĂ„ nĂ€r de utformar ett fonogramsavtal och överser att ifrĂ„gasĂ€tta varifrĂ„n de fĂ„r den mall de utgĂ„r ifrĂ„n. Mycket av de viktigaste punkterna inom avtalet ifrĂ„gasĂ€tts aldrig och rĂ€ttfĂ€rdigas med uttryck likt ”sĂ„ har vi alltid gjort” och ”sĂ„ funkar det i branschen”. Detta Ă€r en grogrund för ett institutionaliserande av rationella myter och mĂ„ste dĂ€rför ifrĂ„gasĂ€ttas sĂ„ att aktörerna inom branschen kan frigöra sig frĂ„n dessa myter och införa en vilja till nytĂ€nkande. Powell och DiMaggios isomorfismbegrepp ligger till grund för hur jag Ă€mnar beskriva fonogramsavtalsstandardens spridning inom musikbranschen (DiMaggio, Powell 1983/1997). Kortfattat kan man sĂ€ga att fonogramsavtalsstandarden sprids genom att musikbranschen Ă€r en relativt liten och homogen bransch. Interaktion mellan de olika aktörerna möjliggör att nya recept pĂ„ tillvĂ€gagĂ„ngssĂ€tt inom denna avtalsfrĂ„ga sprids och befĂ€sts tĂ€mligen snabbt. Musikbranschen Ă€r dessutom en bransch som Ă€r mycket trendkĂ€nslig pĂ„ grund av att man arbetar med en produkt vars kommersiella gĂ„ngbarhet Ă€r jĂ€mförelsevis kort. Detta leder enligt mig till att aktörerna inom musikbranschen Ă€r vana vid att följa och imitera varandra vilket leder till ett likstĂ€mmigt beteende. De olika intresseorganisationerna inom branschen arbetar alla med att hjĂ€lpa sina medlemmar att lösa frĂ„gor angĂ„ende fonogramsavtal. Dessa organisationer jobbar dessutom aktivt med olika utbildningsprojekt för att höja deras medlemmars kunskap om branschen. Jag anser dĂ€rmed att deras agerande leder till att en standard kring upprĂ€ttandet av fonogramsavtal sprids bland deras medlemmar. Skivbolag med större ekonomiska resurser anlitar ocksĂ„ ofta juridisk expertis vid upprĂ€ttandet av deras fonogramsavtal. Dessa experter mĂ„ste förutom det juridiska kunnandet Ă€ven besitta kunskaper om musikbranschen. Jag vill hĂ€vda att eftersom det finns relativt fĂ„ konsulter som besitter denna expertis sĂ„ tenderar ett fĂ„tal individer sitta vid flertalet betydande förhandlingar inom musikbranschen. Detta leder till att dessa personer sprider sitt tillvĂ€gagĂ„ngssĂ€tt inom branschen vilket i sin tur sprider och befĂ€ster fonogramavtalets standard ytterligare. Eftersom fonogramsavtalet Ă€r en produkt av förhandlingar sĂ„ Ă€r avtalet likasĂ„ en produkt av de bĂ„da parternas maktposition jĂ€mte varandra. Denna inbördes maktkamp mellan de bĂ„da parterna Ă€r dessutom en produkt av de maktelement som reglerar musikbranschen som helhet. DĂ€rför sĂ„ Ă€mnar jag beskriva dessa maktelement med hjĂ€lp av Michael Porters strukturella analysmodell samt redogöra för hur förĂ€ndringar inom dessa element pĂ„verkar fonogramsavtalsstandarden (Porter 1985). Jag hĂ€vdar att skivbolagens maktposition hĂ„ller pĂ„ att urholkas nĂ„got i takt med den digitala revolutionen vilken pĂ„ sikt sĂ€kerligen kommer att göra Internet till den dominerande distributionskanalen för musik. Denna revolution har gjort att intrĂ€desbarriĂ€rerna inom branschen har krympt pĂ„ grund av att distributionen har förenklats. Jag anser att detta kommer leda till att de stora dominerande skivbolagen tappar kontrollen över distributionen och dĂ€rmed Ă€ven tappar sin makt över branschen. Artisten kommer följaktligen att fĂ„ mer att sĂ€ga till om vid en fonogramsavtalsförhandling, frĂ„gan Ă€r bara om detta ocksĂ„ kommer att förĂ€ndra fonogramsavtalsstandarden.The Phonorecord contract is a contract that lets an artist sign away his right to exploit his performance to a record company for the sake of both parties financial benefit. This contract is based upon the copyright act, but how this contract should be formed is very much left to the discretion of the involved parties. This freedom to individually construct the design of the contract should therefore produce an array of different formats, each constructed to fit the artist and the record company’s individual situation. Artists are an individual and therefore unique when it comes to their musical heritage and commerciality. Record companies are also a product of their unique circumstance of economical clout and competence, which should result in many creative ways of designing a phonorecord contract. Still, the music industry has developed a standard when it comes to designing this agreement which has conformed the industries contracts to be very similar in content and design. Therefore I feel it is important to analyze this standard and how this standard is traveling within the industry. This because I see a need to shed some light upon the preconceived notions and rationalized myths, that form the actions of the actors within the music business. These actors tend to focus their attention on details instead of seeing the overall picture and the rationalized myths that constitute their actions. A bulk of the content in the phonorecord contract never even gets questioned and gets rationalized by expressions like “this is the way in which we always operated” and “this is boiler-plate”. This is a telling sign of an industry that rely heavily on institutionalized rational myths. These myths should be questioned to free the industry actors of their narrow minded thought processes and to open up for the possibility of creative thinking. I have based my analysis on Powell and DiMaggios isomorphis concept and used their three kinds of isomorphesis to depict the traveling of the standard in regards to the phonorecord contract (DiMaggio, Powell 1983/1997). To put it briefly, you can narrow down my results by stating that the music business is a very homogenized and small business sector. The daily interaction between the actors within the industry facilitates a fast and easy spread of ideas that quickly becomes standardized. I would also like to claim that the music industry is a very trend sensitive industry since their main product enjoys a very brief commercial lifespan. This makes the actors in the industry accustomed to interact and to keep a close eye on each other, a behavior that leads to the actors copying each other to a vast extent. The different trade groups within the industry work extensively to help their members in resolving different issues revolving the phonorecord contract. These trade groups also undertake different educational projects to educate their members. I think that their willingness to take this active role within the industry helps to spread the perceived standard within the phonorecord contract to their members. Record labels with large economical clout tend to hire legal experts to design their phonorecord contracts. Since there are few legal experts that work on a contractual basis and that also possesses a deep knowledge of the music industry the same consultants tends to be hired on a regular basis. Not only do they get hired by the same companies again and again, but also to a large extent by different companies. Making these consultants take part in several different phonorecord contract negotiations within the industry. These actors therefore help in spreading the standard regarding this issue. Since a phonorecord contract is a product of negotiations, the contract will also be a product of the power relations between the invested parties. This power relationship between the parties also reflects the power relations within the industry as a whole. Therefore I tend to describe these power relations using Michael Porters Structural Analysis model, and by doing so shedding some light upon how this power struggle effects the negotiations between artist and record company. I claim that the record companies’ advantage when it comes to their power position is slowly eroding as a result of the digital revolution within the industry. A digital revolution brought on by that the main way of distribution a phonorecord in the future probably will be through the internet and not through a record store. This revolution has made the entry barriers into the industry smaller because the distribution process has been made easier. The major record companies therefore loose the control of the distribution channels witch in turn erodes their power position. The artist might therefore get a much better position when negotiating with a record company; the question is if this also will lead to a change in the standard in regards to the phonorecord contract

    Building Bridges and Breaking Bonds : Aspects of social capital in a regional strategic network

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    Investing in cluster formation or encouraging companies to network in regional strategic networks is a common strategy used by municipalities to promote regional growth in peripheral regions. Previous research has investigated the significance of creating regional advantages by building clusters and regional networks, but researchers have not provided much insight into the problems facing the project management trying to implement such collaboration. In my thesis I describe and analyze a network project in order to shed light upon some of the complications that such a collaboration project might entail. My theoretical framework of analysis rests upon the concept of social capital, a concept that investigates the value that social contacts might incur. I have studied a designed network situated in the Swedish municipality of Söderhamn called Firsam. After the closure of the telecommunications factory of Ericsson/Emerson and the military airbase F15 Söderhamn lost 10 % of its local employment in 2004.The need for regional growth programmes therefore became dire. The companies that prior to the closure worked in close collaboration with the Ericsson/Emerson factory were also looking for new revenue streams to compensate for their loss of business. Collaboration with the local manufacturing companies to create innovative projects and to take on joint tenders seemed to be a perfect solution to the problems facing them and the municipality. In this spirit a regional strategic network called Firsam (Företag i regional samverkan) was initiated. I analyze the Firsam project using two different aspects of the concept social capital:”bonding” and”bridging”. The bonding form of social capital is associated with small and homogeneous groups that build prerequisites for long-term collaboration by forming close contacts and building trust. The bridging form of social capital creates an open stance towards social relations that enables new contacts to be formed outside one’s own socially established context. The bonding form of social capital provides prerequisites for close collaboration but can also result in close-mindedness and over-embeddedness in one’s own social context. Building bridging connections outside one’s own social context might encourage innovative thinking and spur entrepreneurship. The somewhat fleeting connections that are associated with the bridging form of social capital might on the other hand make it difficult to cultivate a common sense of trust within an existing group. These different manifestations of social capital create a paradox that might be hard to handle in the design of a regional strategic network. Is it best to support already existing network structures and impose the risk of creating a less innovative environment, or should members from outside the established social context be included in the network design to encourage innovative thinking? There are both positive and negative effects associated with either strategy. I shed light upon this paradox by analyzing the regional strategic network of Firsam

    Fonogramsavtalet : Hur fonogramsavtalets standard har bildats och spridigts inom musikbranschen

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    Fonogramsavtalet Ă€r ett avtal som sluts mellan en artist och ett skivbolag dĂ€r artisten överlĂ„ter exploateringsrĂ€tten till sitt framförande till skivbolaget för en ersĂ€ttning. Detta avtal grundar sig pĂ„ de rĂ€ttigheter som upphovsrĂ€ttslagen ger en artist och pĂ„ avtalsrĂ€tt, men hur dessa avtal bör utformas i praktiken Ă€r till stor del upp till de bĂ„da parterna (Stannow, Åkerberg, Hillerström 2002). Friheten kring utformandet Ă€r med andra ord stor vilket borde resultera i mĂ„nga kreativa sĂ€tt att lösa denna frĂ„ga. Varje artist Ă€r unik i frĂ„ga om musikalisk genre vilket pĂ„verkar det sĂ€tt som denna artist bör presenteras pĂ„ marknaden. Dessutom Ă€r varje skivbolag unikt i sitt sĂ€tt att arbeta samt i frĂ„ga om resurser och kompetens. Detta borde leda till en myriad av lösningar pĂ„ hur dessa parter skall samarbeta och detta borde dĂ€rmed likasĂ„ resultera i lika mĂ„nga olika avtalsutformningar. Det har dock utvecklats en standard gĂ€llande fonogramsavtalets utformning som gör att slĂ„ende mĂ„nga avtal inom branschen Ă€r nĂ€rmast identiska. Jag anser dĂ€rmed att det Ă€r av vikt att undersöka denna standard samt hur den sprids inom musikbranschen. Detta dĂ€rför att det Ă€r viktigt att inse de förutfattade meningar och de rationaliserade myter som ligger till grund för ens handlande. Aktörerna inom musikbranschen har enligt mig en tendens att fokusera pĂ„ detaljnivĂ„ nĂ€r de utformar ett fonogramsavtal och överser att ifrĂ„gasĂ€tta varifrĂ„n de fĂ„r den mall de utgĂ„r ifrĂ„n. Mycket av de viktigaste punkterna inom avtalet ifrĂ„gasĂ€tts aldrig och rĂ€ttfĂ€rdigas med uttryck likt ”sĂ„ har vi alltid gjort” och ”sĂ„ funkar det i branschen”. Detta Ă€r en grogrund för ett institutionaliserande av rationella myter och mĂ„ste dĂ€rför ifrĂ„gasĂ€ttas sĂ„ att aktörerna inom branschen kan frigöra sig frĂ„n dessa myter och införa en vilja till nytĂ€nkande. Powell och DiMaggios isomorfismbegrepp ligger till grund för hur jag Ă€mnar beskriva fonogramsavtalsstandardens spridning inom musikbranschen (DiMaggio, Powell 1983/1997). Kortfattat kan man sĂ€ga att fonogramsavtalsstandarden sprids genom att musikbranschen Ă€r en relativt liten och homogen bransch. Interaktion mellan de olika aktörerna möjliggör att nya recept pĂ„ tillvĂ€gagĂ„ngssĂ€tt inom denna avtalsfrĂ„ga sprids och befĂ€sts tĂ€mligen snabbt. Musikbranschen Ă€r dessutom en bransch som Ă€r mycket trendkĂ€nslig pĂ„ grund av att man arbetar med en produkt vars kommersiella gĂ„ngbarhet Ă€r jĂ€mförelsevis kort. Detta leder enligt mig till att aktörerna inom musikbranschen Ă€r vana vid att följa och imitera varandra vilket leder till ett likstĂ€mmigt beteende. De olika intresseorganisationerna inom branschen arbetar alla med att hjĂ€lpa sina medlemmar att lösa frĂ„gor angĂ„ende fonogramsavtal. Dessa organisationer jobbar dessutom aktivt med olika utbildningsprojekt för att höja deras medlemmars kunskap om branschen. Jag anser dĂ€rmed att deras agerande leder till att en standard kring upprĂ€ttandet av fonogramsavtal sprids bland deras medlemmar. Skivbolag med större ekonomiska resurser anlitar ocksĂ„ ofta juridisk expertis vid upprĂ€ttandet av deras fonogramsavtal. Dessa experter mĂ„ste förutom det juridiska kunnandet Ă€ven besitta kunskaper om musikbranschen. Jag vill hĂ€vda att eftersom det finns relativt fĂ„ konsulter som besitter denna expertis sĂ„ tenderar ett fĂ„tal individer sitta vid flertalet betydande förhandlingar inom musikbranschen. Detta leder till att dessa personer sprider sitt tillvĂ€gagĂ„ngssĂ€tt inom branschen vilket i sin tur sprider och befĂ€ster fonogramavtalets standard ytterligare. Eftersom fonogramsavtalet Ă€r en produkt av förhandlingar sĂ„ Ă€r avtalet likasĂ„ en produkt av de bĂ„da parternas maktposition jĂ€mte varandra. Denna inbördes maktkamp mellan de bĂ„da parterna Ă€r dessutom en produkt av de maktelement som reglerar musikbranschen som helhet. DĂ€rför sĂ„ Ă€mnar jag beskriva dessa maktelement med hjĂ€lp av Michael Porters strukturella analysmodell samt redogöra för hur förĂ€ndringar inom dessa element pĂ„verkar fonogramsavtalsstandarden (Porter 1985). Jag hĂ€vdar att skivbolagens maktposition hĂ„ller pĂ„ att urholkas nĂ„got i takt med den digitala revolutionen vilken pĂ„ sikt sĂ€kerligen kommer att göra Internet till den dominerande distributionskanalen för musik. Denna revolution har gjort att intrĂ€desbarriĂ€rerna inom branschen har krympt pĂ„ grund av att distributionen har förenklats. Jag anser att detta kommer leda till att de stora dominerande skivbolagen tappar kontrollen över distributionen och dĂ€rmed Ă€ven tappar sin makt över branschen. Artisten kommer följaktligen att fĂ„ mer att sĂ€ga till om vid en fonogramsavtalsförhandling, frĂ„gan Ă€r bara om detta ocksĂ„ kommer att förĂ€ndra fonogramsavtalsstandarden.The Phonorecord contract is a contract that lets an artist sign away his right to exploit his performance to a record company for the sake of both parties financial benefit. This contract is based upon the copyright act, but how this contract should be formed is very much left to the discretion of the involved parties. This freedom to individually construct the design of the contract should therefore produce an array of different formats, each constructed to fit the artist and the record company’s individual situation. Artists are an individual and therefore unique when it comes to their musical heritage and commerciality. Record companies are also a product of their unique circumstance of economical clout and competence, which should result in many creative ways of designing a phonorecord contract. Still, the music industry has developed a standard when it comes to designing this agreement which has conformed the industries contracts to be very similar in content and design. Therefore I feel it is important to analyze this standard and how this standard is traveling within the industry. This because I see a need to shed some light upon the preconceived notions and rationalized myths, that form the actions of the actors within the music business. These actors tend to focus their attention on details instead of seeing the overall picture and the rationalized myths that constitute their actions. A bulk of the content in the phonorecord contract never even gets questioned and gets rationalized by expressions like “this is the way in which we always operated” and “this is boiler-plate”. This is a telling sign of an industry that rely heavily on institutionalized rational myths. These myths should be questioned to free the industry actors of their narrow minded thought processes and to open up for the possibility of creative thinking. I have based my analysis on Powell and DiMaggios isomorphis concept and used their three kinds of isomorphesis to depict the traveling of the standard in regards to the phonorecord contract (DiMaggio, Powell 1983/1997). To put it briefly, you can narrow down my results by stating that the music business is a very homogenized and small business sector. The daily interaction between the actors within the industry facilitates a fast and easy spread of ideas that quickly becomes standardized. I would also like to claim that the music industry is a very trend sensitive industry since their main product enjoys a very brief commercial lifespan. This makes the actors in the industry accustomed to interact and to keep a close eye on each other, a behavior that leads to the actors copying each other to a vast extent. The different trade groups within the industry work extensively to help their members in resolving different issues revolving the phonorecord contract. These trade groups also undertake different educational projects to educate their members. I think that their willingness to take this active role within the industry helps to spread the perceived standard within the phonorecord contract to their members. Record labels with large economical clout tend to hire legal experts to design their phonorecord contracts. Since there are few legal experts that work on a contractual basis and that also possesses a deep knowledge of the music industry the same consultants tends to be hired on a regular basis. Not only do they get hired by the same companies again and again, but also to a large extent by different companies. Making these consultants take part in several different phonorecord contract negotiations within the industry. These actors therefore help in spreading the standard regarding this issue. Since a phonorecord contract is a product of negotiations, the contract will also be a product of the power relations between the invested parties. This power relationship between the parties also reflects the power relations within the industry as a whole. Therefore I tend to describe these power relations using Michael Porters Structural Analysis model, and by doing so shedding some light upon how this power struggle effects the negotiations between artist and record company. I claim that the record companies’ advantage when it comes to their power position is slowly eroding as a result of the digital revolution within the industry. A digital revolution brought on by that the main way of distribution a phonorecord in the future probably will be through the internet and not through a record store. This revolution has made the entry barriers into the industry smaller because the distribution process has been made easier. The major record companies therefore loose the control of the distribution channels witch in turn erodes their power position. The artist might therefore get a much better position when negotiating with a record company; the question is if this also will lead to a change in the standard in regards to the phonorecord contract

    Hem till gÄrden : att samordna och marknadsföra en lantgÄrdsdestination

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    PĂ„ grund av dĂ„lig lönsamhet har mĂ„nga lantbruk tvingats diversifiera sin verksamhet till att inkludera andra verksamhetsomrĂ„den Ă€n det traditionella lantbruket. Det absolut vanligaste omrĂ„det Ă€r agrikulturell turism eller Ă€ven kallad lantgĂ„rdsturism som innebĂ€r att lantgĂ„rdsfamiljen öppnar upp sitt hem för turister. Turism Ă€r som verksamhet vĂ€ldigt skilt frĂ„n att driva lantbruksverksamhet vilket leder till att mĂ„nga aktörer kan finna denna övergĂ„ng problematisk. VĂ„ra teoretiska och empiriska fynd talar för att marknadsstrategi och kommunikation Ă€r omrĂ„den dĂ€r dessa aktörer ofta saknar kunskap. DĂ€rför har vi i denna uppsats valt att fokusera pĂ„ hur aktörer inom denna bransch kan samordna och marknadsfora sin verksamhet. Wannborga pĂ„ Öland AB utgör fallstudieobjektet i denna uppsats vilka kompletteras med ytterligare referensobjekt. Vi har utifrĂ„n ett systemsynsĂ€tt analyserat vĂ„rt fallstudieobjekts verksamhet utifrĂ„n syftet att vĂ„ra analyser ska hjĂ€lpa Wannborga med sin företagsutveckling samt andra aktörer i liknande situationer. I frĂ„ga om företagsutveckling har vi antagit ett entreprenöriellt perspektiv med fokus pĂ„ entreprenörens personliga utveckling. Den teoretiska referensram som utgör grunden i uppsatsen Ă€r till stor baserad pĂ„ postmoderna perspektiv, vilket innebĂ€r att vida generaliseringar fĂ„r stĂ„ tillbaka for subjektiva och mer individualistiska tolkningar. Det största problemet som Wannborga har i likhet med andra aktörer inom lantgĂ„rdsturism Ă€r att aktörerna har svĂ„rt att se helheten i sitt koncept. Alla delar i verksamheten och hur dessa samverkar bör analyseras innan en effektiv kommunikationsstrategi kan implementeras. Vi anser att aktören bör analysera sitt koncept för att hitta kundnyttan och vĂ€rdet i det de erbjuder. UtifrĂ„n detta kan sedan ett tydligt budskap konstrueras och riktas till olika segment. Efter varje Ă€mnesomrĂ„de ges specifika rekommendationer för hur Wannborga bör utveckla sin verksamhet baserat pĂ„ de resonemang vi fört. Vi avslutar uppsatsen med en modell för kommunikationsstrategi dĂ€r vi illustrerar vilka komponenter som interagerar med varandra och vilka steg man bör följa frĂ„n att utveckla sin verksamhet till att skapa en kommunikationsstrategi. Denna modell ska ge den översikt som Ă€r förenlig med systemsynsĂ€ttet dĂ€r det holistiska perspektivet Ă€r centralt. Modellen gör vĂ„ra rekommendationer mindre specifika för Wannborga och andra aktörer kan pĂ„ sĂ„ vis lĂ€ttare applicera vĂ„ra slutsatser i sin verksamhetsutveckling.Because of a decrease in revenue streams farms have been forced to diversify their businesses to include other business areas than traditional agriculture. The most common area of diversification is farm based tourism where the farm family opens up their home to tourists. Tourism differs greatly from the business of agriculture which makes the transition between these areas problematic. Our theoretic and empirical findings all show that actors within this industry lack knowledge of marketing and communication. Therefore we have chosen to focus on how actors within this industry can coordinate and market their businesses. Wannborga pĂ„ Öland AB is our main case study object and is further complemented with other similar case study objects. Based on a "system approach" we have analysed Wannborga and their business with the purpose of helping them and other actors with their business development. An entrepreneurial perspective with focus on the entrepreneur's own personal development has characterized our analyses of their business. The theoretical framework is largely based on post modern perspectives where broad generalizations has been put aside to subjective and individualistic interpretations of the market and the nature of Wannborga as a business. The main problem Wannborga and other actors within this industry are facing is largely based on the lack of focus on the overall picture of their concept. All the components within their business and how these components interact should be analysed before an effective communication strategy can be implemented. An actor should analyse their overall concept to identify customer benefits and the value provided. Based on this analysis a clear message can be constructed and communicated to different segments. Following each topic discussed we provide specific recommendations for how Wannborga should develop their business. We conclude this thesis with a model for a communication strategy that illustrates how the different components interact with each other, and the different steps to be taken when constructing a communication strategy. This model gives an overview which is consisient with the holistic perspective of a system approach. This model makes our analyses less specific for Wannborga and therefore more generally applicable for other actors within this industry
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