The perception of value creation

In this thesis we investigate the concept of perception. We start at the beginning and see how perception is grounded in philosophy and how it can be related to economics. Following the philosophy of Professor Hayek, we state that mankind is the same in that they tend to classify events in the same manner. Thus become aware of the world in approximately the same manner. We discuss how information and perception thus relate to economic variables and contribute to the perceived potential value creation. We discuss the reasons why firms exist and conclude that their goal is always to create value. It is this value creation which is reflected upon by the market. It then becomes apparent that in our perception lies a judgment, and that how the firm’s value creation is perceived is some kind of judgment. Using qualitative research methodology and using newspapers as a source of information we construct factors of perception and created categories of perception. Using the framing and sensemaking perspectives we uphold the validity of our data and by using the categories that we constructed we find frames that we can relate to economic variables.