This report considers emerging market multinational enterprise (MNE) maturity paths, with particular reference to firms with a South African origin and the choice of location for the corporate headquarters. A generalised model describing the internationalisation of globalised Emerging Market multinational enterprises is developed, describing three possible trajectories. That is, headquarter relocation, acquisition by another MNE or remaining independent in the country of origin. It is argued that Emerging Markets have offered less location advantage than Developed Markets to multinational enterprise headquarters. Using factor data for 46 nations, significant evidence is found to support this argument. Further, two arguments are built on this conjecture: that Emerging Market multinational enterprises have relocated headquarters to Developed Markets, not to other Emerging Markets, and that firm behaviour was predicted by concentration of private shareholding, levels of state ownership and levels of foreign business interest. Using a firm level sample of 61 South African companies, some evidence was found to support these arguments in this specific context. The implications of the results are considered for policy makers as well as managers, and recommendations for further research are made. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This paper argues that greater levels of risk, generally thought to be detrimental to business performance in emerging markets, are actually a benefit and an important source of competitive advantage for emerging multinational enterprises (EMNEs) competing in the global arena. EMNEs that have survived despite these challenging business environments are more comfortable with and skilled at managing risk than their developed market peers as evidenced in two ways. First, EMNEs are able to stabilise their business performance to statistically match the risk spread of those in developed markets despite their more volatile environments, and second, EMNEs perform progressively better than developed market firms at increased levels of risk. Interestingly, EMNEs react identically to risk drivers that developed market firms responded to twenty years ago, but developed market firms no longer respond the same way. Today, these risk drivers vary significantly between EMNEs and multinational enterprises (MNEs). For example, in every EMNE-MNE comparison, expectation, firm age, firm independence and available slack had contrasting influences. These differences may be attributed to the earlier stage of development for EMNEs rather than an emerging market influence. Most firms, regardless of origin, strive for low risk levels while the best returns are to be made at medium risk levels. This evidence both supports and contradicts Bowman’s Paradox of a negative risk-performance relationship. The strongest risk drivers are internationalisation, recoverable slack and past performance. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The growth in the global tourism market place presents many countries with great opportunities to capitalize on their natural competitive advantages. However, achieving the economic potential of global tourism remains elusive for many countries, despite their natural advantages. In this context, Portugal is a case in point. The Portuguese tourism industry is facing some serious challenges that are limiting its potential. This study offers Portuguese tourism industry leaders practical insights into the characteristics of the Portuguese tourism industry in the context of the challenges and opportunities of the global tourism market place. Understanding the dynamics and characteristics of this critical industry in a global context is a crucial first step toward formulating a tourism strategy that capitalizes on the growth of the global tourism market and the natural advantage that Portugal enjoys in this important market.

African football academies are a seriously neglected field of research but are a highly important step in the evolution of football (Scherrens, 2007). The study is motivated by the lack of research on football academy structures in particular South Africa. The primary focus of the research is on football development in South Africa, whilst it also reviews substantial literature concerning the phenomenon of elite sport development in order to explain the dynamics surrounding the football academy structure. The study identifies the relevant key components within the current football models and proposes a ‘winning’ model for South Africa. The study unpacks two theoretical frameworks, in understanding the impact of competitive advantage within a football academy. Through gaining insight into the strategic models employed within the various researched academy systems, this study outlines the important resources, competencies and capabilities within a football academy. The analysis revealed certain trends and provided the basis for the answering of the research questions. Hence the broad scope which is critical to understanding the football development phenomenon.The research aims to empower administrators and management of football clubs in South Africa with the strategic knowledge to provide a sustainable and competitive academy through player development, which can aid our national teams. The dynamic processes involved in football development enabled a winning model for a football academy in South Africa which could provide a competitive, sustainable advantage for a football academy. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Significant growth rates are in many times associated with countries embracing the ongoing globalization and openness to the international market of exchanging goods and services as well as ideas and technologies. Many researchers believe that participating in an international economy is a primary source of growth. The question is how strong the relationship between openness and growth is and has interested many researchers. This paper aims to investigate the effects of trade openness on economic growth in the long run and begins from Adam smith`s discussion on absolute advantage and specialization to discussions on trade organizations and policies. This study explores the relationship between trade openness and economic growth using a sample of 3 developed countries over the period (1970 – 2006) in a panel data analysis. The fixed effects model analysis indicates that trade openness has a positive and significant effect on economic growth.

Em 2009, a Federação Internacional de Judô (FIJ) instituiu um sistema de ranqueamento (SR) para classificar os atletas em suas categorias de disputa e para os Jogos Olímpicos de Londres 2012. Porém, o SR não considera o fenômeno conhecido como home advantage, relacionado à vantagem de vencer quando se compete em casa. Esse fenômeno ainda não foi estudado no judô e se comprovado traz implicações para o SR. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi verificar se há ocorrência de home advantage nas competições que integram o SR no judô, para a conquista de medalha e número de lutas vencidas. Para tal, foram analisadas todas as competições internacionais de judô do SR realizadas em 2009. Para verificar se os atletas que competiram em casa tiveram mais chance de conquistar medalha foi utilizada a análise de regressão logística e para verificar se houve associação do número de lutas vencidas e competir em casa foi utilizado o modelo linear generalizado de Poisson. Os modelos contaram com uma variável de ajuste referente à qualidade relativa dos atletas em duas possibilidades: posição no SR da FIJ e neutro (construído com lutas disputadas em território neutro). A amostra foi dividida em: Grupo I - todas as participações; Grupo II - somente os atletas que haviam competido dentro e fora de casa. Dado que alguns atletas não puderam lutar em território neutro e, portanto, não tiveram codificação para esse SR, foram criados duas subamostras do Grupo I e do Grupo II, excluindo os atletas sem codificação nesta variável. Todas as análises foram realizadas considerando os gêneros conjunta e separadamente. A variável qualidade relativa foi significante em todas as análises e também modificou os modelos (p<0,001). Ao considerarmos a subamostra do Grupo II, a razão de chance para conquista de medalhas foi superior para os atletas que competiram em casa para o grupo masculino (2,33; p<0,001) e feminino (1,58; p = 0,019). A associação entre número de lutas vencidas e competir em casa foi significante para os atletas do masculino (p<0,001), mas não significante para o feminino (p = 0,088). A ausência da vantagem no feminino para número de lutas vencidas pode ter sido limitada e confundida com o número reduzido de atletas participantes em muitas das competições. As atletas que conquistaram medalha em competições mais vazias, não precisaram vencer mais lutas, dado que um número reduzido de vitórias garantia a medalha. É possível que a torcida seja a principal responsável pelos achados, tanto por influenciar o julgamento dos árbitros a favorecer os atletas da casa como pela motivação para os atletas. Outra possibilidade é que aspectos associados à dominância territorial tenham influenciado as disputas masculinas, porém não as femininas. Assim, foi comprovada a existência do home advantage nas competições que integram o SR de judô para conquista de medalha no masculino e feminino, e para número de lutas vencidas apenas para o masculino. Desta forma, é provável que os atletas de países que sediam competições do SR tenham vantagem para a obtenção da classificação olímpica / In 2009 the International Judo Federation (IJF) established a ranking system (RS) to classify athletes in the competition categories and in the distribution of vacancies for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Nevertheless, the RS does not consider the phenomenon known as home advantage, i.e. the advantage of winning when competing in your home country. This phenomenon has not been studied in judo and its implications for the RS have not been proven. The objective of this study was to determine whether there was occurrence of home advantage in competitions that use the RS in judo, in winning a medal, and in the number of matches won. Therefore, we analyzed all international judo competitions using the RS in 2009. Logistic regression analysis was used to verify if the athletes who competed in their home countries were more likely to win a medal, and we used the Poisson generalized linear model to check whether there were associations between the number of matches won and competing at home. The models have an adjustment variable in the relative quality of athletes in two possibilities: position in the IJF RS and matches played on neutral territory. The sample was divided into two groups: Group I all participants and Group II only athletes who had competed inside and outside their home country. Given that some athletes could not fight on neutral territory and therefore did not have this RS coding, a sub-sample of Group I and a sub-sample of Group II were created, excluding athletes without the coding from this variable. All tests were performed considering the groups together and separately. The relative quality variable was significant in all tests and also modified the models (p <0.001). For the sub-sample of Group II the odds ratio for winning medals was higher for the athletes who competed at home for the male group (2.33, p <0.001) and the female group (1.58, p = 0.019). The association between the number of matches won and competing at home was significant for the male athletes (p <0.001), but not for the females (p = 0.088). The absence of the female advantage in the number of matches won may have been limited and confused by the small number of athletes participating in many of the competitions. The athletes who won medals in competitions with fewer competitors did not need to win more matches since a small number of wins guaranteed the medal. It is possible that the crowd was mainly responsible for the findings, both in influencing the judgement of the referees to favour the home athletes and in motivating the athletes. Another possibility is that aspects related to territorial dominance influenced the male competitors but not the female competitors. Thus, the existence of home advantage was observed in the competitions that used the judo RS in the achievement of medals for males and females, and in the number of matches won, only for males. Thus, it is likely that athletes from countries that host competitions using the RS have an advantage for obtaining the Olympic classification

Em 2009, a Federação Internacional de Judô (FIJ) instituiu um sistema de ranqueamento (SR) para classificar os atletas em suas categorias de disputa e para os Jogos Olímpicos de Londres 2012. Porém, o SR não considera o fenômeno conhecido como home advantage, relacionado à vantagem de vencer quando se compete em casa. Esse fenômeno ainda não foi estudado no judô e se comprovado traz implicações para o SR. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi verificar se há ocorrência de home advantage nas competições que integram o SR no judô, para a conquista de medalha e número de lutas vencidas. Para tal, foram analisadas todas as competições internacionais de judô do SR realizadas em 2009. Para verificar se os atletas que competiram em casa tiveram mais chance de conquistar medalha foi utilizada a análise de regressão logística e para verificar se houve associação do número de lutas vencidas e competir em casa foi utilizado o modelo linear generalizado de Poisson. Os modelos contaram com uma variável de ajuste referente à qualidade relativa dos atletas em duas possibilidades: posição no SR da FIJ e neutro (construído com lutas disputadas em território neutro). A amostra foi dividida em: Grupo I - todas as participações; Grupo II - somente os atletas que haviam competido dentro e fora de casa. Dado que alguns atletas não puderam lutar em território neutro e, portanto, não tiveram codificação para esse SR, foram criados duas subamostras do Grupo I e do Grupo II, excluindo os atletas sem codificação nesta variável. Todas as análises foram realizadas considerando os gêneros conjunta e separadamente. A variável qualidade relativa foi significante em todas as análises e também modificou os modelos (p<0,001). Ao considerarmos a subamostra do Grupo II, a razão de chance para conquista de medalhas foi superior para os atletas que competiram em casa para o grupo masculino (2,33; p<0,001) e feminino (1,58; p = 0,019). A associação entre número de lutas vencidas e competir em casa foi significante para os atletas do masculino (p<0,001), mas não significante para o feminino (p = 0,088). A ausência da vantagem no feminino para número de lutas vencidas pode ter sido limitada e confundida com o número reduzido de atletas participantes em muitas das competições. As atletas que conquistaram medalha em competições mais vazias, não precisaram vencer mais lutas, dado que um número reduzido de vitórias garantia a medalha. É possível que a torcida seja a principal responsável pelos achados, tanto por influenciar o julgamento dos árbitros a favorecer os atletas da casa como pela motivação para os atletas. Outra possibilidade é que aspectos associados à dominância territorial tenham influenciado as disputas masculinas, porém não as femininas. Assim, foi comprovada a existência do home advantage nas competições que integram o SR de judô para conquista de medalha no masculino e feminino, e para número de lutas vencidas apenas para o masculino. Desta forma, é provável que os atletas de países que sediam competições do SR tenham vantagem para a obtenção da classificação olímpica / In 2009 the International Judo Federation (IJF) established a ranking system (RS) to classify athletes in the competition categories and in the distribution of vacancies for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Nevertheless, the RS does not consider the phenomenon known as home advantage, i.e. the advantage of winning when competing in your home country. This phenomenon has not been studied in judo and its implications for the RS have not been proven. The objective of this study was to determine whether there was occurrence of home advantage in competitions that use the RS in judo, in winning a medal, and in the number of matches won. Therefore, we analyzed all international judo competitions using the RS in 2009. Logistic regression analysis was used to verify if the athletes who competed in their home countries were more likely to win a medal, and we used the Poisson generalized linear model to check whether there were associations between the number of matches won and competing at home. The models have an adjustment variable in the relative quality of athletes in two possibilities: position in the IJF RS and matches played on neutral territory. The sample was divided into two groups: Group I all participants and Group II only athletes who had competed inside and outside their home country. Given that some athletes could not fight on neutral territory and therefore did not have this RS coding, a sub-sample of Group I and a sub-sample of Group II were created, excluding athletes without the coding from this variable. All tests were performed considering the groups together and separately. The relative quality variable was significant in all tests and also modified the models (p <0.001). For the sub-sample of Group II the odds ratio for winning medals was higher for the athletes who competed at home for the male group (2.33, p <0.001) and the female group (1.58, p = 0.019). The association between the number of matches won and competing at home was significant for the male athletes (p <0.001), but not for the females (p = 0.088). The absence of the female advantage in the number of matches won may have been limited and confused by the small number of athletes participating in many of the competitions. The athletes who won medals in competitions with fewer competitors did not need to win more matches since a small number of wins guaranteed the medal. It is possible that the crowd was mainly responsible for the findings, both in influencing the judgement of the referees to favour the home athletes and in motivating the athletes. Another possibility is that aspects related to territorial dominance influenced the male competitors but not the female competitors. Thus, the existence of home advantage was observed in the competitions that used the judo RS in the achievement of medals for males and females, and in the number of matches won, only for males. Thus, it is likely that athletes from countries that host competitions using the RS have an advantage for obtaining the Olympic classification

Medical manufacturing leaders struggle to maintain their competitive position due to inefficient business strategies. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that in vitro diagnostics (IVD) medical manufacturing's leaders have used to gain and maintain a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. Porter's competitive advantage theory was used to understand how IVD medical business leaders maintain their competitive edge. Data were gathered through interviews with a purposive sample of 3 IVD medical device leaders from companies in California, Connecticut, and New York who had run IVD medical businesses for at least 10 years and who attended a 2014 medical exhibition in Dusseldorf, Germany. To reduce the risk of bias in measurement, triangulation methods included a literature review and intensive analyses of the interview responses, participant observation notes, company websites, and organizational records. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis to find essences of the participants' perceptions. The themes were derived from coding and the number of references coded during the data analysis. Eight themes emerged representing strategies for improving competitive advantage: customer support; marketing, e-marketing, and branding; competitive collaboration; quality; cost structure; regulation; innovation; and information technology. The 8 general themes have been divided into 3 categories: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus strategies base on Porter's competitive advantage theory. Results can help U.S. IVD organizational leaders develop strategies to thrive and secure market advantages, which could provide the resources for creating new products and increasing employment opportunities.

<p>The Hungarian agricultural sector has undergone substantial changes between 1992 and 2003, which was a period of transformation from command economy to an EU-conform market economy. The question is whether the Hungarian agricultural sector was able to keep its competitiveness despite the extensive transformation. The aim of this paper is to measure the competitiveness of Hungarian agri-food product groups in relation to the ones of the EU-15 during the transformation period. Results indicate that the competitiveness, measured by revealed comparative advantage (RCA), of the studied agri-food product groups has not changed considerably. The strong position of the Hungarian agricultural sector could be maintained because its competitiveness is based on factor endowments, which are not affected by changes of economic policy. The observed moderate fluctuations of competitiveness can be derived to trade concession changes.</p>

The Hungarian agricultural sector has undergone substantial changes between 1992 and 2003, which was a period of transformation from command economy to an EU-conform market economy. The question is whether the Hungarian agricultural sector was able to keep its competitiveness despite the extensive transformation. The aim of this paper is to measure the competitiveness of Hungarian agri-food product groups in relation to the ones of the EU-15 during the transformation period. Results indicate that the competitiveness, measured by revealed comparative advantage (RCA), of the studied agri-food product groups has not changed considerably. The strong position of the Hungarian agricultural sector could be maintained because its competitiveness is based on factor endowments, which are not affected by changes of economic policy. The observed moderate fluctuations of competitiveness can be derived to trade concession changes.