This study explores how employees make sense of sustainability efforts within a for-profit organization producing single-use products, focusing on the Scandinavian company Ecolette. Drawing on CSR-related literature, including Basu and Palazzo’s (2008) CSR Process Framework, micro-CSR, Social Identity Theory (SIT), organizational identity, and cynicism, the study provides a nuanced understanding o

The purpose of our thesis is to examine means-ends decoupling from an employee-centric perspective, focusing on the interplay of organizational culture and identity, as well as leadership and sensemaking. Based on a qualitative case study of a merged organization, we explore how these dynamics unfold in practice. The main theoretical framework is means-ends decoupling as described by Bromley and P

This study aimed to uncover employees’ individual experiences of role transitions within the same organization. We identified the need to enrich existing research on organizational socialization by focusing on internal mobility, which has received less attention compared to external mobility. The following research question was applied: How are employees socialized when moving into new roles withi

This study explores how power influences the process of creative synthesis within organizational settings. While previous research has emphasized the value of diverse perspectives for creativity, less attention has been given to how power dynamics influences which ideas are heard, enacted, and legitimized. Drawing on Harvey’s (2014) model of creative synthesis and Fleming and Spicer’s (2014) four

The purpose of this study is to improve the understanding regarding how craftspeople experience managing their craft identity when faced with the issues pertaining economic survival for their company. Specifically we hope to understand how they experience and manage liminality. The study expands the literature on liminality (Beech, 2011; Ibarra & Obodaru, 2016) by extending it to the area of c

In a profession that requires both human connection and sales performance, recruitment consultants must navigate a daily paradox: how to appear authentic while playing a role. This thesis explores how consultants in recruitment experience and manage emotional labour while attempting to remain genuine. Drawing insights from dramaturgical theory and emotional labour literature, we investigate how th

Title: The Unpacking of Female Managerial Life in Contemporary Organizations Authors: Annemijn Janien Bakker and Jana Marcie Wäller Supervisor: Stefan Sveningsson, Professor of Business Administration; Lund University School of Economics and Management, Sweden Date: 26th of May 2025 Purpose: The purpose of this research is to critically examine how leadership is constructed, experienced, and navig

This qualitative study provides a critical lens on social enterprises. The concept of purpose-driven control, a form of normative control, is established, which comprises how organizational practices, grounded in a social and/or environmental purpose, are used to foster organizational identification and employee commitment, leading to behavioral alignment and extraordinary efforts as well as the p

The blur between employee’s personal and professional lives has increased for the past few years. Organizations have used the ‘we are like family’ discourse to subtly control employee’s identities that implicitly impact the way they behave at the workplace. Transformational leadership, which is always been known for its compelling traits, can be one of the mechanisms for organizations to subtly ch

RQ: What is the relationship between organizational structure and its sustainability efforts, and how do perceptions of sustainability efforts vary across different job functions within a company? Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to better understand the current state of sustainability efforts in large organizations. Especially to recognize how the structure of the company might pose issues

The study examines whether Nigerian communication practitioners engage with, adapt to, or diverge from dominant Western crisis communication assumptions when managing crises shaped by ethnic, political, and religious complexities. Using a phenomenological qualitative approach to explore their lived experiences, ten communication professionals from government, corporate, and consultancy sectors w

This thesis contributes to scaling literature by offering an employee-centred view of scaling processes and enriching Picken’s (2017a) model with insights from employee experiences. Further, it critically analyses the ‘growing pains’ metaphor and highlights how it shapes and can obscure perceptions of workplace change.

Title: Where Identity Meets Meaning - An interpretivist qualitative case study on identity construction in mission-driven non-profit organisations Authors: Leonie Erika Renate Brake and Emily Florentine Horn Supervisor: Stefan Sveningsson, Professor of Business Administration Lund University School of Economics and Management, Sweden Submission Date: 25th of May 2025 Purpose: This study aims to un

This study investigates how brand trust is constructed, challenged, and redefined on dating applications, with a focus on the communicative strategies and lived experiences of female users. Adopting a qualitative approach grounded in thematic analysis, it draws on semi-structured interviews with 15 women residing in Sweden to examine how users negotiate trust in emotionally charged, algorithmicall

In communication and management research, employee voice has been widely acknowledged as a central component for organizations long term development and survival. With the increasing digitalization and need for flexibility, digital workplace meetings have become a common form of communication, demonstrating a new arena where employee voice is expressed and shaped. Thus, the aim of this study is to

Student Brand Ambassadorship: The Influence of Identification with the University on Student Advocacy in Higher Education Institutions This study investigates how students’ identification with the university influences their willingness to engage in brand-supporting behaviors, conceptualized as student brand ambassadorship. This study argues for a differentiation between university as organizatio

Agility has emerged as a strategic ideal across many sectors, especially within financial institutions facing heightened pressure to respond swiftly to technological disruption, regulatory shifts, and market volatility. While commonly positioned as a solution to organizational inertia, agility is often promoted through leadership programs and strategic narratives that assume a shared understanding