This research contributes to the growing body of research on cloud computing and addresses the paucity of research on cloud computing adoption, as well as information systems (IS) and information communication technologies (ICTs) adoption in sub-Saharan Africa. The research addresses the current state of cloud computing adoption in addition to the issues that can encourage or preclude its use by SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa. Further, the research establishes the extent to which cloud computing adoption stimulates small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in sub-Saharan Africa to contribute to development. A qualitative research methodology with an interpretive viewpoint is adopted for this research comprising of two major phases that involved a total of eighteen small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. A pilot exploratory study using grounded theory was conducted in the initial phase and the development and refinement of a conceptual framework for analysis and evaluation was carried out in the second phase. The framework is theoretically grounded in the integration of two distinct theoretical traditions, i.e. institutions theory and the capability approach. This is the first research study that employs such a combination to examine cloud computing adoption. This research examines the expectations of cloud users against their fears together with other related influences to draw conclusions regarding the future of cloud computing usage in sub-Saharan Africa. The research found that SMEs considered issues like security, privacy and trust as playing a role in enabling adoption of cloud computing. This is in contrast with SMEs in the global north where these specific issues are discouraging adoption. The research recommends to policy makers and stakeholders interested in developing the cloud infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa, that there is the need to be cautious in drafting policies (which are non-existent at present). This is in order not to draft policies and regulations with regard to cloud computing usage that will inhibit adoption. Finally, this research presents an incremental model that is used to analyse how cloud service provision was introduced in sub-Saharan Africa. The novel three-stage maturity model identified the incremental approach to the delivery of cloud services in sub-Saharan Africa which started from (i) no local provision, (ii) cloud brokers promoting foreign cloud service provision and (iii) locally-available cloud service provision over a period of three to four years. This research envisages that, with further development of the cloud infrastructure especially in terms of internet connectivity, and improved awareness, more SMEs will adopt cloud computing as part of their IS/ICT strategy.

The drive that initiated this doctoral thesis was the absence of a resource that investigated social trauma’s effect on business ethics; therefore this thesis investigates the relationship between social trauma and business ethics practices aiming to make the first contribution on an academically untouched topic. As in the case of individual psychology, social psychology also examines matters on a case-tocase basis for a clear understanding of the underlying phenomena and complex processes. Hence, considering the past and the current characteristics of Cypriot Turks of North Cyprus, they were chosen as the case study society. In order to explore social trauma’s impact on business ethics, different disciplines were uniquely synthesized through particular lenses; large group psychology, business-government-society relationship and individual ethical decision-making. The absence of previous work in this area suggested exploratory, qualitative research to be the optimum approach. Rich primary and secondary data were collected through interviews, observations, photographs and documents. The resulting data analysis and findings contribute to the current body of research on business ethics, social trauma and business-government-society relationship at the empirical and conceptual levels. The key contribution of this research is to substantiate the link between social trauma and business ethics, and the way social trauma causes unethical behaviour through its effect on the institutions and individual-social interaction. Furthermore, a model of social trauma and business ethics relationship was developed which also provides a framework for potential future research in other social contexts. Even after decades, social trauma can impact on the conduct of business and can interfere with the individual ethical decision-making process in multiple ways; the causes and consequences of this are discussed in depth. The way this impact occurs and its particulars may differ from one large group to another, and this should be noted before the framework is applied to any other society.

This Master thesis aims at testing the intertemporal substitution hypothesis (ISH) for small and medium enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We predicted a positive relationship between the hours worked and the transitory changes in wages, and tested the hypothesis using the data collected via surveys of small entrepreneurs in North-Western Bosnia and Herzegovina; collecting data on daily income and the hours worked. The estimated wage elasticities are positive and different from zero, according to which it appears that the hypothesis of negative wage elasticities has no empirical evidence in the case of Bosnian and Herzegovinian entrepreneurs. This result implies that the intertemporal labour substitution hypothesis found supportive evidence and that we can reject the daily targeting hypothesis. We also argue that entrepreneurs tend to pursue profits across working days because their main motive for running a business is the accumulation of capital and wealth, so that they follow the pattern of intertemporal labour substitution. The findings can be explained by an unfavourable business climate in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is a result of a long-lasting transition process the country is still undergoing. Keywords: labour supply, elasticity, intertemporal substitution, daily targeting, SMEs,...

Cette recherche, menée auprès de PME manufacturières françaises, étudie les relations entre stratégie, innovation et performance. Plus précisément, il s'agit de comprendre si des configurations spécifiques d'alignement entre la posture stratégique et le type d'innovation influencent la performance. Ce travail étudie à travers trois essais l'influence de la posture stratégique sur le profil d'innovation, l'influence de « l'effet industrie » et de « l'effet firme » en tant que contingences sur la posture stratégique, le profil d'innovation et l'alignement stratégie-innovation, et enfin, l'existence d'alignements stratégie-innovation privilégiés, en relation avec la performance. Le champ d'analyse de cette relation est étendu aux dimensions techniques, marketing et organisationnelles de l'innovation. Le modèle utilisé, fondé sur le cycle d'adaptation permanente développé par Miles et Snow, explore à la fois les conditions nécessaires pour générer un avantage concurrentiel et la dynamique de l'avantage concurrentiel dans les PME. Les résultats confirment l'existence d'alignements spécifiques entre les caractéristiques entrepreneuriales, engineering et administratives des postures stratégiques de Miles et Snow et les caractéristiques des profils d'innovation associés, et valident ainsi le rôle prédictif de la stratégie compétitive sur les comportements d'innovation des entreprises. En second lieu, les résultats soulignent l'influence distincte et complémentaire des contingences spécifiques liées au secteur d'activité et aux capacités stratégiques des entreprises sur la relation stratégie-innovation / This doctoral research, conducted on French manufacturing SMEs, investigates the relationship between competitive strategy, innovation, and performance. More specifically, the purpose of this work is to understand whether specific patterns of alignment between competitive strategy and innovation influence firm performance. We propose to explore, in three essays, firstly, the influence of strategic posture on innovation behavior, and the existence of strategy-innovation alignments. Secondly, we explore the influence of industry effects and firm's specific effects on strategic posture, innovation behavior, and on strategy-innovation fit. Thirdly, this research investigates the implication of fit between strategic posture and innovation behavior from a performance perspective. The research enhances the scope of analysis of this relationship to the technical but also marketing and organizational dimensions of innovation. Our model, stemming from the rationale of Miles and Snow's adaptive cycle (1978), contributes to further understanding the content - the conditions for achieving competitive advantage - and the process - the dynamics – dimensions of competitive advantage in small businesses. First, results confirm the existence of differentiated alignments between the Entrepreneurial, Engineering and Administrative characteristics of Miles and Snow's strategic postures and the characteristics of their respective innovation behavior, thus supporting the predictive validity of competitive strategy on firms' innovation behavior. Second, results highlight the influence of distinct but complementary industry and firm contingencies on the strategy-innovation relationship

Les PME sont en France la cible de nombreuses sollicitations depuis plus de trente ans. Les opérations de conseil se sont particulièrement intensifiées auprès de ces petites entreprises afin de les rendre plus performantes. Sous l‟impulsion des pouvoirs publics, des programmes d‟accompagnement spécifiques leur sont proposés au cours de ces dernières décennies. Notamment, le modèle de la gestion des compétences qui est présenté, à la fin des années quatre-Vingt-Dix, comme la voie à suivre pour faire face aux enjeux de la mondialisation et de la compétitivité. La diffusion de ces nouvelles normes organisationnelles s‟effectue par le biais d‟une nébuleuse d‟acteurs. Parmi ces formes de conseil, quel rôle jouent les organisations intermédiaires, à la fois prescriptrices et productrices de dispositifs institutionnalisés d‟incitation à la GRH ? Ces dispositifs sont-Ils actionnables ? Quels impacts ont ces approches dans les entreprises et plus particulièrement dans les plus petites d‟entre elles ? Ces opérations de conseil modifient-Elles les pratiques des dirigeants de PME ? Les prescriptions des consultants jouent-Elles un rôle identique, ou sont-Elles appropriées, incorporées de façon spécifique par les dirigeants, selon une diversité de trajectoires d‟appropriation liée à la pluralité des configurations de petites entreprises ? / For over thirty years, a great number of appeals have been made to SMEs. Consultancy operations have significantly intensified with regard to these companies, in order to increase their performance. Under the influence of public governance, specific recommendations and support programmes have been proposed to SMEs over the past few decades. Among these, the skills management model, which was presented at the end of the 1990s as the best path to take in order to respond to the challenges companies now face with regard to globalisation and competitiveness. The dissemination of these new organizational norms occurs through a nebula of actors. With regard to these recommendations, what is the role of intermediary organisations, which simultaneously produce and prescribe institutionalized incentive plans for Human Resources Management? Can these plans be seen as actionable? What are the impacts of these approaches on firms, and especially on the smallest firms? Do these consultancy operations modify the practices of the directors of SMEs? Do the prescriptions of consultants always play the same role, or are they incorporated and appropriated differently by company directors, in accordance with a diversity of modes of appropriation adapted to the plurality of organizational structures present in small companies?

Background: Corporate social responsibility has continuously developed ever since the concept first was introduced in the 1950’s up until today. In its beginning, managers who engaged in CSR did so to improve workforce efficiency. In this day and age, CSR has come to include social, environmental and economic topics and is now about creating value for the society at large. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find the underlying reasons for why SMEs engage in CSR activities. Method: To properly fulfill the purpose of this study, we have conducted a qualitative case study. The empirical data has been collected through ten in-depth semi-structured interviews with ten different organizations from four different industries. Conclusion: The results show that SMEs believe there are expectations from customers/clients to engage in CSR and by doing so they create a competitive advantage over their competitors. In addition to this, most SMEs that engage in CSR is in the strategic stage of CSR, in activities connected to the environment. Furthermore, there are several industry-related differences as to why SMEs engage in CSR. These differences include factors such as competitive advantage, customer expectations, and requirements to follow rules and regulations.

Cette thèse s’intéresse aux pratiques managériales des dirigeants de PME libanaises. Elle poursuit l’objectif global de mieux comprendre comment, dans un contexte de crise marqué par des changements accélérés et par des incertitudes diverses, ces dirigeants arrivent à survivre et à consolider la résilience de leurs entreprises. De là, vient l’importance de la mise en lumière de ces pratiques dans un contexte spécifique, un sujet qui, à notre connaissance, n’est pas jusqu’alors suffisamment traité par la littérature. Notre recherche tentera donc de comprendre comment les dirigeants libanais parviennent à déterminer et à mobiliser les ressources et les compétences dont dispose l’entreprise. Après une revue de littérature approfondie, un cadre de référence est construit au sein duquel s’articulent des éléments d’exploration issus de la littérature. Appuyée sur une recherche qualitative du type exploratoire et fondée sur la méthodologie phénoménologique interprétative, cette thèse s’inscrit dans la logique constructiviste. La démarche d’étude de cas que nous avons adoptée pour la collecte des données, vise au moyen des entretiens semi-Directifs, menés auprès de quinze dirigeants de PME, à présenter aux chercheurs un outil d’aide stratégique à la décision managériale dans des conditions particulières. Les recommandations proposées feront l’objet d’énoncés prescriptifs, et pourront être soumises à une vérification ultérieure. / This dissertation focuses on the managerial practices of the Lebanese SMEs leaders. It pursues the overall goal of understanding how, in a crisis marked by rapid change and various uncertainties, these leaders manage to survive and strengthen the resilience of their businesses. From here comes the importance of highlighting these practices in a specific context, a topic that is to the best of our knowledge, not sufficiently covered by the literature. Hence, our research will attempt to understand how Lebanese leaders manage to identify and mobilize the resources and competences available to the company. After a thorough literature review, a framework is built in which the exploratory elements are articulated from the literature. The current study is based on an exploratory qualitative research and founded on an interpretative phenomenological methodology, this thesis falls within the constructivist logic. The case study process that we have adopted for data collection, aims through semi-Structured interviews conducted with fifteen leaders of SMEs, to offer researchers a strategic support tool for managerial decision making, in special conditions. The proposed recommendations will be subject to further verification.

El presente trabajo de investigación tiene como premisa identificar aquellos factores críticos de éxito que permitieron a las pequeñas empresas migrar a medianas en Lima Metropolitana. La selección de la población a estudiar parte del análisis realizado a la base de datos de las diez mil empresas más importantes en Lima, el estudio permite identificar a los cinco sectores empresariales con mayor representación. El sector Consultoría representa la segunda mayor fuerza empresarial, nuestro objeto de estudio se enfoca únicamente en las medianas empresas que anteriormente se constituyeron como pequeñas, el levantamiento de información se llevó a cabo mediante entrevistas a profundidad con los expertos de las empresas consultoras. La consolidación de la información recabada se realiza aplicando la matriz de procesos críticos, herramienta mediante la cual se obtuvieron los cuatro factores críticos de éxito para el sector, los cuales son: La Calidad del Servicio, el Capital Humano, Desarrollo de Innovación y el Planeamiento Estratégico. En base al diagnóstico obtenido, se desarrolla un modelo empresarial enfocado en la gestión por procesos. El desarrollo implica la identificación de las buenas prácticas que soportan al proceso macro los cuales a su vez siguen un modelo de negocio estandarizado respaldado por procedimientos, formatos e indicadores de gestión. Finalmente, la investigación se encuentra respaldada por la validación de expertos a nivel internacional quienes valoraron el estudio como objetivo, simplificado y confiable. / The present research work has as premise to identify the factors of success that allowed small businesses to migrate to medians in Metropolitan Lima. The selection of the population to study part of the analysis made to the base of the ten million most important companies in Lima, the study allows to identify the five business sectors with greater representation. The sector of the company most of the force, our object of study focuses on the medium-sized companies that previously have been constituted as small, the lifting of the information has been carried out through interviews with the depth of the experts of the consulting companies. The consolidation of information has been carried out by applying the matrix of media processes, the tool through which the four success factors for the sector were obtained, which are: Quality of service, human capital, the development of innovation and strategic planning. Based on the diagnosis obtained, a business model has been developed. Development implies the identification of good practices that support the process. Finally, the research is supported by the validation of international experts who value the study as objective, simplified and reliable. / Tesis

Ce travail de recherche porte sur l’étude de la structuration et du développement de la PME en Turquie. L’objectif est de mettre en exergue une définition de la dynamique de la PME à travers les membres de TUSKON (confédération d’entrepreneurs et d’hommes d’affaires), en relation avec leurs motivations de réussite économique dans le cadre d’une recherche spirituelle approfondie par leurs engagements dans les projets socio-éducatifs du mouvement Hizmet (mouvement socioreligieux). TUSKON propose une vision spécifique du rapport islam /modernité par rapport à celle de MÜSİAD, une association d’hommes d’affaires islamique. Notre étude s’appuie sur des entretiens et une enquête sociologique réalisés auprès des membres de l’association BUGİAD à Bursa, nous permettant de retracer l’évolution sociohistorique de TUSKON et ainsi voir comment la dynamique de la PME se trouve influencée par la piété et l’engagement de son patron dans un mouvement socio-religieux. / This research focuses on the study of the structure and development of SMEs in TURKEY, through the influence of a socio-religious mouvement called Hizmet. The aim is to highlight a definition of the dynamics of SMEs accross member of TUSKON (Turkish confederation of businessmen and industrialists), in relation to their motivations for economic success in the context of a spiritual depth research by their commitments in Hizmet movement's socio-educational projects.TUSKON offers a specific vision of islam /modernity report compared to that of MÜSIAD, anassociation of islamic businessmen. Our study is based on interviews and a sociological survey conducted among members of the BUGIAD association (member of TUSKON) in BURSA, allowing us to trace the evolution of socio-historical of TUSKON and sees how the dynamics of SMEs is influenced by the piety and the commitment of his boss in a socio-religious movement.

Background: Crisis and crisis management is a research topic that since the 1980s has gotten increasing amounts of attention in research. A crisis refers to an event that may have severe effects on an organisation's survival, making it important to know how to prepare for them. Interest in research about crisis preparedness has been growing. However, literature tends to focus on crisis preparedness in an MNE (Multinational Enterprises) context, thus, leaving out SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises). Nonetheless, SMEs are a large and crucial part of the economy that may equally, if not more, be affected by crises. In SMEs, the leader has a significant impact on the strategic decisions in the business, making them a crucial part of the crisis preparedness process and an important aspect to study. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore what factors could influence the way a leader prioritises to work with crisis preparedness in SMEs. Further, this research aims to understand how those priorities affect the level of crisis preparedness in SMEs. Method:  This study was conducted as a qualitative exploratory research in the form of a cross-sectional multiple case study. The data was collected through twelve semi-structured in-depth interviews, where all the participants were active as leaders in SMEs. The data collected in the interviews was subsequently analysed through a thematic analysis approach. Conclusion: It was found that besides the previously found external factors of SMEs, crisis preparedness is also influenced by the leader’s attitude about crisis preparedness. This attitude, in turn, is primarily formed through the leader’s understanding of crises and their personality. It was further found that the type of industry could be a factor in crisis preparedness due to for example, differing amounts of rules and regulations. In conclusion, the thesis was able to connect much of what has been found in previous research while adding a focus on the leader and their attitude about crisis preparedness.