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Innovation and financial performance of companies: Evidence from companies in Scandinavia
Get PDFMasteroppgave (MSc) in Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation - Handelshøyskolen BI, 2024This thesis investigates the impact of research and development (R&D) expenditure and patents on the financial performance of firms in Scandinavia. Using a dataset of 11,700 observations spread across 900 firms and employing regression analysis, quantile regression, and subgroup regressions, we find that R&D expenditure shows varied significance, with a more substantial impact on firms with lower profitability, while patent count exhibits moderate significance when considering a lag effect, indicating the benefits of patents may manifest over time.
Subgroup analyses reveal that R&D expenditure has the most pronounced impact in the Wholesale and Retail Trade and Scientific and Technical Activities sectors, while the Manufacturing sector shows a consistent positive association with R&D expenditure. Patent count has a moderate significant effect in Scientific and Technical Activities, highlighting the industry’s use of patents as a protection mechanism for their innovation, allowing the firms to capitalise on their innovations.
The unique context of the Nordic Model, characterised by strong welfare systems and high levels of social support, provides a backdrop that influences these findings. While the model’s emphasis on collective bargaining and high employment rates may limit immediate financial benefits from innovation, it supports a balanced approach to resource allocation, fostering longer term profitability. These findings provide practical implications for developing business strategies and policies to encourage continuous R&D investment and efficient use of patents
The Art of Investing: Fractional art ownership as a financial instrument
Get PDFMasteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Finance - Handelshøyskolen BI, 2024This study examines returns on fractional art compared to traditional art and other assets, and the impact of holding periods on returns. Utilizing repeat-sales data from Masterworks, we calculated holding period returns for each artwork. The metrics were standardized to identical holding periods and compared using quantitative measures and regressions.
Our findings indicate that fractional art investments outperform traditional art and other assets, exhibiting an inverse relationship with inflation. Although emotional motivation remains predominant in art investing, financial considerations are increasingly significant. Masterworks' returns have an inverse relationship with holding periods.
We conclude that fractional art returns demonstrate a superior risk-return profile compared to traditional art and other assets, and the holding period significantly impacts the fractional art returns
Hvordan kan Integreringen av KI tjenester kan effektivisere private banking hos DNB Midt/Nord økonomi administrasjon
No full textBacheloroppgave i Økonomi og administrasjon fra Handelshøyskolen BI, 20241.1. Bakgrunn for studien
KI tjenester kan ansees som svært revolusjonerende da de hjelper oss å effektivisere gjennomføringen av komplekse handlinger. Regjeringen ønsker per dags dato en satsing på utvikling av KI tjenester med økt grad av personvern og ivaretagelse av hvert individs frihet (regjeringen 2020). KI tjenester er også internasjonalt å anse som svært relevant i finans, it, og administrative sektorer.
Selskaper som satser hardt på KI har steget markant i verdi og har stått for mye av veksten hos verdens finansmarkeder våren 2024. Utviklere som Microsoft (OpenAI) og Alphabet anses som sentrale innen denne utviklingen, men også underleverandører som NVIDIA som produserer utstyr og materiale for disse prosessene opplever stor vekst. Vi ønsker derfor å undersøke i hvilken grad verktøy basert på KI kan hjelpe med å effektivisere arbeidsoppgavene innen Private Banking, men også de moralske og etiske farene som kommer ved dette.
‘’I en undersøkelse gjennomført av OECD indikeres det at sjansene for suksess øker markant ved gode onboarding prosesser for KI tjenester’’ (Finansforbundet 2023).
1.2. Formålet med oppgaven
I denne oppgaven ønsker vi undersøke verdien av KI tjenester for finansielle institusjoner. Hvilke oppgaver de kan gjennomføre, samt hvor de kan hjelpe med å spare tid, kutte kostnader, og om de kan gjennomføre enkelte oppgaver til en høyere forventning enn mennesker. Vi vil også se på hva andre aktører i markedet allerede bruker KI til og i hvilken grad dette har effektivisert deres arbeid
1.3. Omfanget og begrensninger
I denne studien har vi valgt å ta for oss Private-Banking avdelingen hos DNB region Midt-Nord som per dags dato består av tolv ansatte og rundt 1000 kunder. DNB er Norges største bank for Privat markedet og omsatte i 2019 for 54,9 milliarder kroner. DNB i sin helhet har rundt 2 millioner kunder, men vi tar i denne oppgaven for oss private banking midt/nord som har rundt 1000 kunder. Disse kundene er akkumulert over tid og består av individer med over ti millioner NOK investert hos DNB
What are the key factors influencing young Norwegian women to purchase digital media products? A study of young Norwegian women’s willingness to pay for digital media products.
Get PDFMasteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Business, Marketing - Handelshøyskolen BI, 2024This purpose of this study is to examine current consumer behaviors in the context of today’s dynamic market of digital media. The aim is to investigate young consumers’ willingness to pay for digital media products, with a focus on Norwegian women aged 20-30 as the target group.
The thesis is inspired by previous research on willingness to pay for media products among a young audience. I wanted to investigate this specific target group further, following recommendations from industry experts and suggestions for further research in previous studies. My initial assumptions involved a low willingness to pay among the target audience due to lower income, inadequate pricing, and the availability of social media as a substitute to traditional media products.
To address the research question, I have drawn on existing knowledge from existing literature and industry experts. The research framework was inspired by the literature review by O’Brien and colleagues from 2020. 17 assumptions related to the factors under investigation were developed, which will be supported or challenged in the study’s analysis.
Two expert interviews and eight in-depth interviews with the sample has been conducted. In the discussion, the findings is supported by the secondary literature presented in earlier chapters in the thesis.
Furthermore, I argue that pricing is not the only important factor to influence willingness to pay, as other factors also affect the motivation to pay for media products. The results show that factors such as trust in brand, customization, and available payment methods significantly impact the willingness to pay for young Norwegian women.
There is a lack of studies that have examined this issue with a Norwegian target group using qualitative methods. The thesis can provide valuable insights for media actors who wish to reach this target group today
NLP and LSTM based Prediction for Stock Market
Get PDFMasteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Business Analytics, Handelshøyskolen BI, 2024This study1 investigates the application of natural language processing (NLP)
using pre-trained large language models (LLM) to enhance the predictive
capabilities of deep neural networks for the US stock market. By demonstrating
that the sentiment factor derived from the large language model can e ectively
serve as a predictive factor, this paper develops a straightforward deep learning
architecture. This architecture utilises the sentiment factor alongside other
common nancial data to classify stock price movements. The paper concludes
with a simple quantitative trading strategy based on these classi cation results,
illustrating the model's practical applicability and potential for generating pro ts.
The pre-trained large language model employed in this study is DistilBERT
(Sanh et al., 2019), a streamlined version of the well-known BERT (Devlin et al.,
2018a) language model. This DistilBERT was further pre-trained and ne-tuned
on a nancial corpus. Additionally, a legacy state-of-the-art sentiment classi er
was also trained to serve as a baseline model. Testing on the dataset reveals that
the DistilBERT model, which underwent further pre-training and ne-tuning on
a nancial corpus (named FinDistilBERT thereinafter), outperforms the others
models.
The nal nancial backtesting, based on the simple quantitative trading strategy,
demonstrates that integration of the sentiment analysis with the nancial
predictive deep learning models can indeed yield signi cant returns and generate
pro ts
Miles Davis - leader of the cool
Get PDFExecutive Master of Management i Ledelse, makt og mening fra Handelshøyskolen BI, 2024Denne prosjektoppgaven i kurset Ledelse; makt og mening har følgende hoved-problemstilling: hva er lederskikkelsen Miles Davis' viktigste drivkraft? Oppgaven er konsentrert om Davis' liv og virke pÃ¥ 1950- og 1960-tallet. Miles Davis var en toneangivende, amerikansk jazzmusiker som gjentatte ganger redefinerte jazzen. Han ledet mange ulike jazzband, og var kjent som en sammensatt person. Han kunne være bÃ¥de reservert og gÃ¥tefull, men i andre sammenhenger tempera-mentsfull og aggressiv. I en periode ble han sett pÃ¥ som selve definisjonen pÃ¥ cool – bÃ¥de intellektuell, gatesmart og fasjonabel. Og med stor motstand mot den syste-matiske rasismen i USA.
Oppgaven har en hermeneutisk analyseinngang. Kildematerialet består i første rekke av to dokumentarfilmer om Davis', hans selvbiografi og eksterne biografier.
Dernest akademisk litteratur om Miles Davis med utgangspunkt i ledelsesfag, afro-amerikansk musikkhistorie og mer generell musikkvitenskap. Og dessuten noe populærlitteratur på Miles Davis. Metodisk er problemstillingen dekomponert i tre delproblemstillinger som tar utgangspunkt i hvert sitt teoriperspektiv og litteratur-korpus fra kurset. Disse tre perspektivene er i) vilje til makt iht. Nietzsche, ii) karis-matisk og transformativ ledelse og iii) sensemaking og storytelling.
Analysen finner at Miles Davis' drivkraft som lederskikkelse henger tett sammen med hans drivkraft som menneske. Han var drevet av et behov for å flytte grenser og utforske uoppdaget territorium innen jazz. Han var drevet av ønske om å bli likt, ha suksess, ta for seg og nyte livet, uten at hudfarge på noe vis skulle være relevant for det. Drivkraften lå i spenningen og sammensmeltningen mellom det nyskapende og det umiddelbart appellerende. Ledelse var nødvendig for å realisere prosjektet. Han kan derfor langt på vei beskrives som en indirekte leder. Alle teoriperspektivene bidro til å kaste lys over problemstillingen. Perspektivet som best belyste drivkraften i forholdet mellom lederskikkelsen og mennesket, synes å være sensemaking og storytelling. Perspektivet bidrar til interessant innsikt i Davis' egen iscenesettelse og ikke-verbale historiefortelling, og har forklarings-kraft ved mange av endringene han gjennomførte og til hvorfor han fremsto så sammensatt. Oppgaven er likevel langt fra uttømmende, den peker derfor også på andre mulige analyseinnganger til å bedre forstå Miles Davis sitt leders
Do Female CEOs Impact ESG Performance? - Evidence from Scandinavia
Get PDFMasteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Business - Handelshøyskolen BI, 2024/
Masteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Business, Finance - Handelshøyskolen BI, 2024This thesis examines the influence of female leadership on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance across publicly traded companies in Scandinavian countries, with a particular focus on the roles of female CEOs. Our research encompasses a comprehensive dataset from the Thomson Reuters (Refinitiv) ESG database, analyzing the period from 2018 to 2023. The findings reveal that companies led by female CEOs generally exhibit enhanced ESG performance, with notable variations across the Environmental, Social, and Governance pillars. Illustrating that the most significant influences occur within the Social and Governance aspects. Further analysis reveals that female CEOs have a more pronounced positive impact in clean industries and firms with lower investment intensity. There is also evidence that the dual role of female CEOs as a board member amplifies their positive impact on ESG scores. This research not only enriches the discourse on gender diversity within corporate leadership but also provides insights into how these dynamics manifest in the progressive business environments of Scandinavian countries
Structured shadowing as a pedagogy
Get PDFIn this article, we introduce and discuss the potential benefits of structured shadowing, a distinct pedagogy in which the action-proximity of traditional unstructured job shadowing is supplemented by carefully designed pre-, intra- and post-shadowing pedagogical support. We suggest that structured shadowing is a promising yet under-utilized and overlooked pedagogy to enrich management learning and education. Drawing on an interview-based evaluation study of several cohorts of final-year undergraduates in a UK business school, we find that structured shadowing helps students to establish meaningful connections between theory and managerial practices, better appreciate management’s complexities and dispel existing myths and preconceptions. It also allows them to reflect on the types of managers they imagine or aspire to be and helps to model management as a reflective activity. Based on our teaching experience and our results, we argue that structured shadowing offers valuable lessons for our field. It helps to address the challenges of substance, contextual understanding and reflection, which we identify as central to current management education debates. We also acknowledge that while structured shadowing is a powerful resource, it demands significant investment and potential trade-offs, and may reflect certain professional privilegespublishedVersio
BRICS vs. the US Dollar: Analyzing the Potential of a BRICS Reserve Currency and Leadership Challenges that may Arise
Get PDFMasteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Business, Economics/Masteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Business, Leadership and Change - Handelshøyskolen BI, 2024Although there have been substantial changes in the global monetary structure since the 1960s, the US dollar continues to hold its position as the primary world reserve currency. For over six decades, several currencies, including the Deutsche Mark, Japanese Yen, euro, and recently the Chinese Renminbi, have been considered potential challengers but faced limitations. This thesis explores the potential for BRICS to challenge the US dollar's dominance as the world’s primary reserve currency and what leadership challenges could emerge from such a shift, mainly focusing on the investment perspective. This thesis uniquely integrates Economics with Leadership and Change to provide a fresh perspective on the subject of interest.
To understand what drives reserve currencies, we examine five key elements: (1) Economicmsize/dominance, (2) Credibility of the reserve issuer, (3) Transactional demand of reserve holders, (4) Inertia, and (5) Geopolitical and fundamental factors. Using a panel regression with data from five countries over 22 years, we find significant inertia in reserve currencies, creating substantial barriers for new currencies. Economic size (GDP share, stock market capitalization, FDI share), credibility (currency appreciation against SDR), transactional demand (trade share), and geopolitical factors (military expenditure, R&D expenditure, globalization) significantly impact reserve share as well.
While BRICS nations have growth potential and are reducing dependency on the
US dollar, challenges such as inertia, internal economic inequalities, geopolitical
tensions, and the need for robust financial infrastructures are some of the major
elements for why we do not think a common BRICS currency would be nothing but
a “new euro.” Furthermore, we will discuss the potential leadership challenges that
could arise from such a shift, focusing primarily on the investment perspective. We
will explore different strategies, mainly “Little Bets,” and supplement it with “Real
Options” based on our findings, as we deemed it necessary. Although “Little Bets”
are primarily used for innovation processes, this approach has proven to be highly
flexible and can be universally applied and adjusted. This is particularly relevant
due to the uncertainty of the object being investigated. It felt logical to choose a
strategy that could benefit decision-makers in general
The elusive relationship between financial and sustainability performance: The study of the impact of crises and sensitive industries
Get PDFMasteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Sustainable Finance, Handelshøyskolen BI, 2024This thesis examines the relationship between sustainability and financial performance across 2256 firms in 18 European countries over 18 years. Our findings reveal that ESG combined scores positively predict return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE), controlling for firm size, leverage, and lagged ROA/ROE. We also find that profitability positively predicts ESG combined scores. One possible explanation for these findings is that stakeholders value sustainability. However, companies often face financial constraints, making profitable firms better positioned to invest in sustainability initiatives.
When analyzing the separate Environmental (E), Social (S), and Governance (G) scores on profitability measures, we find that the E and S scores positively predict profitability. In contrast, the G score shows a negative but insignificant relationship with profitability. For stock returns, ESG combined scores negatively predict stock returns, indicating that the market may overprice ESG benefits. Additionally, we find that the impact of ESG on stock returns becomes more significant when we control for profitability.
To gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between sustainability and financial performance, we studied the difference between sensitive and non-sensitive industries and during crises. We find that the E score negatively predicts ROA for sensitive industries. Notably, we find that the ESG combined, E and S scores are negative and significant predictors for ROE. These findings might indicate higher compliance costs for firms operating in these industries. During crises, the ESG combined score showed a positive and significant predictive relationship with ROE only during the COVID-19 crisis; otherwise, the results were insignificant. These findings highlight the context-dependent nature of the relationship between ESG scores and financial performance