Traditionally, research investigating marketing's role and influence within the firm has focused on the marketing department and its ability to affect future firm strategies. Consequently, little is known about the antecedents of a Chief Marketing Officer's (CMO) role or influence. Yet the position of CMO is quite unique. Unlike other executive officers (e.g., CFOs), no reliable external validation or accreditation is generally recognized, required, or mandated. Similarly, firms are increasingly calling for their CMOs to justify their own existence, and many are even considering abandonment of the position entirely.The goal of this investigation is to understand how CMOs can generate influence within their respective firms given a lack of reliable external credentials. However, the current business press seems to suggest that there currently exists a great bias towards marketing in general and CMOs in particular. As a result, the current investigation uses a competing models approach to study CMO influence. Drawing upon the literature pertaining to competition, the author suggests that individuals, like firms, can generate their own competitive advantage by possessing unique bundles of resources (e.g., information). This is the common element in both models. As the uniqueness of the information provided by the CMO increases, other executive officers within the firm are more likely to confer expertise power to the CMO, which in turn leads to greater influence. The two models diverge as organizational legitimacy is introduced. In one model, the Socially Contingent model, the CMO can only garner expertise power to the extent that s/he possesses organizational legitimacy. In such a case, CMOs that lack organizational legitimacy will be unable to realize any gains in expertise power regardless of the uniqueness of their informational resources (i.e., organizational legitimacy moderates the relationship between the uniqueness of the information provided and expertise power). In the second model, the Merit-Based model, organizational legitimacy mediates the relationship between a CMO's expertise power and his/her influence. As a CMO's perceived expertise increases, other executive officers are more likely to support the CMO's initiatives, which in turn lead to greater influence during strategy design and implementation.

According to the Globalizations Council the most important task Sweden has is to assess the opportunities and challenges presented by the global economy to a small, open country like Sweden. There has been dual competition, some has been able to sell the resource services of human and physical knowledge capital, and others offering to sell unskilled labor at wages way below Swedish standards. This thesis will examine the changes in market position in the manufacturing sector, and how comparative advantage and the role of technology have impacted the changes. The empirical analysis is based on the relative international competitiveness index to examine how market position in different sectors has changed during the time-period 1985-2003. In the regression measures for human and physical capital has been included as well as R&D expenditure for both Sweden and the OECD countries. The results show that the changes in market position for most products are relatively small. What can be concluded is that it is not the sector as a whole that experience improving market positions instead it is certain products such as pharmaceutical, sulphate and electronic components among others. Sweden ranks very high in terms of resources dedicated to production of new technology and there are proofs on both side of the "Swedish Paradox"; which states that high technology exports are low given the high R&D investment. The result also indicates that Sweden has a labor-intensive disadvantage, i.e. indications that the market position for industries with high total capital-intensity has increased.

Our interest in this thesis is based on the discussion we had in previous courses about the development of emerging countries. Since two of the writers of this thesis are from Poland we tried to found a common interest, hence the relationship between the Polish subcontractors and Swedish customer is analyzed. Poland is also known as a low cost country and that make it favorable when it comes about hiring subcontractors. The subcontractors in Poland are also known for the skills and expertise to produce quality. Something that is important for many foreign companies. IKEA has more than 40 subcontractors in Poland; the reason is just the factors mentioned above, to be able to produce good quality to low cost. (www.ikea.com) Earlier research indicate that Poland is developing rapidly compare to other emergent countries in Eastern Europe. There have been and will be changes in the environment that most likely will affect the competitive advantage that the subcontractors are the leader in. In other words these changes might lead to that Poland loses its customers which choose other markets that still are able produce at lower costs. The main problem for the thesis is to investigate how can polish subcontractors cope with environmental changes to sustain competitive advantage? In order to answer this, we used a qualitative approach where the characteristics of a case study are conducted. We collected and analyzed data in an abductive way. The interviews with the three Polish subcontractors were made in a semi structure form via telephone. To be able to solve the above problem an environmental analysis of Poland was done, in order to found those factors that are mentioned as worries and are likely to change in the future. The changes are presented from subcontractors’ perspective and recommendation how to cope with them is given.

No description available.

Magistro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjama UAB „Metalo prekyba“ konkurencinė aplinka Šiaulių mieste. Darbe išanalizuota konkurencijos samprata bei apibendrinti įmonių konkurencingumą lemiantys veiksniai, apžvelgtos bendros tendencijos, būdingos visai metalo ir jo gaminių gamybos pramonei Lietuvoje, įvertintos šios pramonės šakos perspektyvos bei galimybės. Praktinėje dalyje identifikuoti UAB „Metalo prekyba“ konkurentai Šiaulių mieste, atliktas jų profiliavimas bei išanalizuoti privalumai ir trūkumai. Remiantis vartotojų apklausa, nustatyti veiksniai, turintys didžiausią įtaką jų apsisprendimui, kurioje juoduoju metalu prekiaujančioje įmonėje Šiaulių mieste įsigyti reikiamos produkcijos. Pagal šiuos veiksnius bei atliktą konkurentų analizę nustatytos išskirtinės UAB „Metalo prekyba“ kompetencijos, įvertintos priežastys, dėl ko dalis vartotojų renkasi konkurentų įmones, bei pateiktos rekomendacijos UAB „Metalo prekyba“ konkurencinės pozicijos stiprinimui. / In the master’s final paper it was analysed competitive setting of JSC “Metalo prekyba” in Siauliai City. In the paper it was analysed concept of rivalry, summarized factors, predetermining competitive ability, reviewed general trends characteristic to the all metal and metalwork industry in Lithuania, assessed perspectives and opportunities of this industry. In the practical part it was identified rivals of JSC “Metalo prekyba” in Siauliai City, made their profile, analysed their advantages and disadvantages. Basing upon customer’s questioning, it was found out the factors most strongly influencing their determination about the company to select for purchase of ferrous metals in Siauliai City. Using these factors and analysis of the rivals, it was found out exceptional competences of JSC “Metalo prekyba” and the reasons, why the customers select other companies; then it was offered the recommendations for JSC “Metalo prekyba” to strengthen its competitive position.

Tyrimo objektas – Lietuvos pieno sektoriaus atskleistasis santykinis pranašumas prekyboje su ES šalimis. Tyrimo tikslas – RCA indekso pagalba ištirti Lietuvos pieno produktų eksporto pozicijas kitų atžvilgiu prekyboje su kitomis Europos Sąjungos šalimis. / Research object –Revealed comparative advantage of Lithuanian dairy sectors in trade with Euro-pean Union countries. Research aim – RCA index help investigate the export of milk products in other positions in re-spect of trade with other European Union countries.

Applying the concept of comparative advantage in the allocation of production has been required but ignored in Canadian supply-managed agriculture. There seems to be a lack of consensus among economists on how comparative advantage is to be observed and applied in this context. It is also not clear whether the recent changes in the environmental pressures from agriculture across Canada might have contributed to changes in the patterns of comparative advantage in primary dairy production. Linking the concept of individual comparative advantage with the concept of the market as an information discovery process through comprehensive microeconomic general equilibrium modeling, deductive reasoning, and statistical analysis of recent industry data has shown (1) that changes in individual comparative advantage in supply-managed industries are expressed through quota exchange and revealed through quota prices, and (2) that environmental externalities may change the patterns of comparative advantage. The current provincial quota prices, as the appropriate indicators of comparative advantage, suggest that more quota should be allocated to British Columbia and Alberta. / Canadian Dairy Commission, Toronto Milk Producers, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Darbo pavadinimas – Konkurencinio pranašumo stiprinimas Palangos viešbučiuose. Raktiniai žodžiai: konkurencinis pranašumas, viešbučio paslaugos, informacinės technologijos, inovacijos, santykių su klientais valdymo sistema. Darbo objektas – Palangos viešbučių konkurencinis pranašumas. Darbo tikslas – nustatyti konkurencinio pranašumo stiprinimo galimybes Palangos viešbučiuose. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Išanalizuoti konkurencinį pranašumą lemiančius veiksnius teoriniu aspektu. 2. Ištirti pagrindinius veiksnius, stiprinančius Palangos viešbučių konkurencinį pranašumą, apklausiant viešbučių klientus bei darbuotojus. 3. Parengti Palangos viešbučiams pritaikytą konkurencinio pranašumo stiprinimo modelį. Darbe yra trys pagrindinės dalys. Pirmoje dalyje pateikiama konkurencinio pranašumo samprata, aprašyti konkurencinį pranašumą įtakojantys veiksniai, strategijos bei konkurencinio pranašumo modelio formavimo teoriniai aspektai. Antroje dalyje apžvelgiama tyrimo metodika ir organizavimas. Siekiant nustatyti viešbučių veiklos tobulinimo kryptis, atlikta anketinė apklausa viešbučių darbuotojams ir klientams, pateiktos tiriamų Palangos viešbučių SSGG ir PEST analizės. Trečioje dalyje aptariami gauti anketinės apklausos tyrimo rezultatai. Remiantis atliktais tyrimais Tailando viešbučiuose, pasiūlytas konkurencinio pranašumo stiprinimo modelis Palangos viešbučių veiklai gerinti. Rekomenduojama įdiegti santykių su klientais valdymo sistemą bei naujų paslaugų vystymo strategiją. Išvadose... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Title - Strengthening the competitive advantage for hotels in Palanga (Strengthening the Competitive Advantage of Hotels in Palanga). Key words: competitive advantage, hotel services, information technology, innovation, customer relationship management system. Object - hotels in Palanga, a competitive advantage. The aim - to establish a competitive advantage in building opportunities for hotels in Palanga. Objectives: 1st To analyze the determinants of competitive advantage in theoretical terms. 2nd To investigate the underlying factors that enhance the competitive advantage of hotels in Palanga, interviewing hotel staff and customers. 3rd Palanga hotels prepare customized competitive advantage in building a model.

The central aim of this dissertation is to make an unambiguous international trade policy recommendation for developing countries grounded on rigorous economic theory. As is generally known, trade models featuring increasing returns to scale and imperfect competition have challenged the mainstream case for free trade which is built upon unrealistic assumptions like constant return to scale and perfect competition. In this context, the core contribution of this dissertation is the restatement of the original free-trade case made by the classical political economists Adam Smith and David Ricardo. This restatement is based on the accurate interpretation of Ricardo's famous numerical example in chapter 7 of the Principles. The classical case for free trade formulated by Smith and Ricardo neither relies on unrealistic assumptions nor the laissez-faire doctrine. On the contrary, it stipulates that free trade should always be accompanied by public policies that expand the provision of public education, job training, health care and infrastructure. Moreover, a widespread policy change towards free trade should always be implemented gradually, in order to take care of those groups who might be affected in the short run by the increased level of international competition and technological progress. The main conclusion of the dissertation is that free trade - as conceived by classical political economy - is the most suitable international trade policy for developed as well developing countries for achieving sustainable economic growth and development. (author's abstract)

To remain competitive in a global market, many organizations are transforming their operations from traditional management approaches to the lean philosophy. The success of the Toyota Production System in the automotive industry serves as a benchmark that organizations continually seek to emulate in search of similar results. Despite the abundance of lean resources, many organizations struggle to attain successful lean transformation. To facilitate investigation of the failure mechanisms and critical success factors of lean transformation, this dissertation addresses the following research questions: (1) Why do transformations from traditional organizational philosophies to lean fail? (2) What are the critical factors for lean transformation success? (3) What is the role of an organization’s human resource performance management system during the lean transformation journey? This dissertation utilizes a multi-method, multi-essay format to examine the research questions. First, managers from organizations in various stages of lean transformation are interviewed to establish a foundational research framework. Subsequently, a theoretical model is empirically tested based on data gathered from a survey of industry professionals with expertise in lean transformation. Data analysis techniques employed for this dissertation include: Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression, case descriptions, and case comparisons. Very few studies of lean transformation investigate behavioral influences and antecedents. This dissertation contributes to practitioners and researchers by offering a refined understanding of the role that human resource performance management can play in the overall lean transformation process. In an effort to characterize organizational outcomes resulting from lean transformation, this research introduces a new construct, Lean Transformation Success, to the literature.