Browsing by Subject "Sweden"

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    Motivational determinants of physical activity in disadvantaged populations with (pre)diabetes: a cross-cultural comparison
    (BioMed Central, 2022-01-24) De Man, Jeroen; Kasujja, Francis X; Delobelle, Peter; Annerstedt, Kristi S; Alvesson, Helle M; Absetz, Pilvikki; Wouters, Edwin; Daivadanam, Meena; Guwatudde, David; Puoane, Thandi; Remmen, Roy; Tabana, Hanani; Van Olmen, Josefien
    Background Understanding motivational determinants of physical activity (PA) is essential to guide the implementation of PA at individual and population level. Knowledge about the cross-cultural generalizability of these determinants is lacking and they have mostly been studied as separate factors. This study compares a motivational process model across samples from diverse populations with, or at risk of diabetes. Methods Measurement invariance of barrier identified regulation, barrier self-efficacy and social support was assessed in a rural Ugandan sample (n = 712) and disadvantaged samples with high proportions of immigrants in urban South Africa (n = 566) and Sweden (n = 147). These motivational determinants were then compared through multigroup structural equation modeling. Results The studied motivational constructs showed scalar invariance. Latent mean levels of perceived social support and barrier self-efficacy were lower in South Africa and Sweden. Structural models (for different PA outcomes) were not consistent across settings except for the association between perceived social support and identified regulation. Identified regulation was only associated with vigorous PA in Uganda and with moderate PA in South Africa. The association between social support and PA outcomes ranged from weak to not significant and the association between self-efficacy and PA was not significant. Self-reported PA was highest in Uganda and lowest in Sweden. Self-reported vigorous PA was significantly related to lower hemoglobin A1c levels, while moderate PA was not. Conclusions Findings suggest that: 1) it is feasible to compare a motivational process model across diverse settings; 2) there is lower perceived social support and self-efficacy in the urban, migrant samples; 3) identified regulation is a more promising determinant of PA than self-efficacy or social support in these populations; 4) associations between motivational determinants and PA depend on the perceived type and/or intensity of PA; 5) perceived relatedness functions as a basic psychological need across diverse settings; and 6) people’s perception of the PA they perform depends on their perceived level of intensity of PA which would have major implications for health promotion.
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    Open Access
    The impact of leverage on firm performance: evidence from start- ups in Swedan
    (2025) Da Silva, Ayrton; Samuelsson, Mikael
    This study investigates the impact of leverage on the performance of start‐ups within Sweden's dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem. Given that fewer than 20% of Swedish start‐ups survive beyond their first decade, the challenges of early-stage financing are particularly acute. Drawing on classical frameworks—namely the trade‐off theory, pecking order theory, and signalling theory—the research situates the role of debt in the context of firms that operate under high uncertainty and limited internal resources. Using a comprehensive population dataset from the Serrano database, which covers 66,069 firms over a 20‐year period (1998–2017), the study employs fixed-effects panel regression to assess the relationship between leverage and key performance metrics. The results reveal that an increase in leverage is associated with statistically significant declines in both sales growth and the industry-adjusted operating income ratio (adjOIR). Specifically, a one-unit increase in lagged leverage corresponds to reductions of approximately 0.280–0.232 percentage points in sales growth and 0.039–0.034 percentage points in adjOIR. Furthermore, the adverse effects are magnified for firms identified as highly leveraged. Effect size analysis indicates that a one standard deviation increase in leverage (approximately 24.06 percentage points) results in a decrease of nearly 6.93 percentage points in sales growth and 0.96 percentage points in operating income ratio. In Swedish Krona terms, this equates to revenue losses ranging between 125 and 166 million SEK across the population of firms. These findings underscore the necessity for start-ups to maintain moderate debt levels to preserve financial flexibility and long-term growth potential, offering critical insights for entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers.