Thesis (MScAgric)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As agriculture remains the economic engine of rural Africa, reducing poverty in Africa will depend largely on stimulating agricultural growth. To realize this growth, the efficient allocation of a country’s scarce natural resources becomes a prerequisite. Rwanda is endowed with extensive wetlands with a high potential for rice production due to its hilly topography, abundant rainfall, and warm temperatures. However, many of these wetlands remain uncultivated despite the prevailing rice deficit in the domestic and regional markets. Over the past decade, Rwanda has increasingly become dependent on regional and global markets for rice, as domestic supply is unable to keep pace with the growing domestic demand. This production deficit has limited the potential gains that farmers and the nation could realize in the form of income and foreign exchange earnings. The main objective of this study is to determine Rwanda’s comparative advantage in rice and to identify constraints limiting efficiency. To achieve this objective, this study utilizes the Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) to measure the comparative advantage in rice production and the level of inefficiencies within the rice subsector in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. The key findings of the analysis demonstrate that this province has a comparative advantage in rice. However, within the sample, 68 % of rice farmers’ cooperatives, cultivating rice on 25% of the total area under study, have no comparative advantage. In terms of net welfare gains, due to market distortions, domestic rice prices are artificially high, which creates a deadweight loss in the rice market. In particular, the protectionist policies (i.e. rice import tariffs and farm inputs subsidization) induce the private farm profit to outweigh the social farm profit. This abnormal profit allows rice production to become financially profitable even where there is a comparative disadvantage. On the demand side, although the domestic price of imported rice in Rwanda is slightly higher than the local rice price, the majority of consumers prefer imported rice to local rice, due to its long grain shape, aroma, and good quality. The low domestic demand for bold and short grain rice, which is cultivated by 70 % of Rwandan rice farmers, limits domestic rice producers’ market share. Given the study’s findings, the policy recommendations are threefold. The first involves technology dissemination and adoption. In order to improve the domestic rice production capacity and competitiveness, without compromising efficiency, it is imperative for rice farmers to adopt labour saving technologies. This technology adoption would allow for an increase in the area on which rice can be grown efficiently, due to a reduced social production cost. The second recommendation is that government should encourage research on the identification of aromatic and long grain rice varieties that can adapt to Rwanda’s agroecology, thereby meeting consumers’ demand preferences. Finally, though rice import tariffs protect domestic farmers against foreign competition, these policies decrease consumers’ welfare due to a reduction in the range of rice consumed in the domestic market. This study recommends the government to facilitate exportation of local rice in regional markets, and reduce rice import barriers. This intervention would benefit both farmers and consumers, while stabilizing the trade balance. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Aangesien landbou steeds die ekonomiese enjin van landelik Afrika is, sal die vermindering van armoede grootliks afhang van die stimulering van groei binne landbou. Die doeltreffende toedeling van ‘n land se skaars hulpbronne is ‘n voorvereiste om hierdie groei te verwesenlik. Rwanda het ekstensiewe vleilande met ‘n hoë potensiaal vir rysproduksie as gevolg van die heuwelagtige topografie, oorvloedige reënval en warm temperature. Baie van die grond is egter steeds onbewerk desnieteenstaande die heersende rystekort in die plaaslike en streeksmarkte. Oor die afgelope dekade het Rwanda toemend afhanklik geraak van streeks- en globale markte vir rys aangesien plaaslike aanbod nie kan byhou met die toemane in plaaslike vraag nie. Die produksietekort het die potensiële voordele wat boere en die volk kan realiseer in die vorm van inkomste en buitelandse valuta, beperk. Die hoofdoelwit van die studie is om Rwanda se vergelykende voordeel in rys te bepaal en om die beperkings ten opsigte van doeltreffendheid te identifiseer. Om hierdie doelwit te bereik, het die studie die Beleidsanalise Matriks gebruik om die vergelykende voordeel in rysproduksie en die vlak van ondoeltreffendheid in die ryssubsektor van die Oostelike Provinsie van Rwanda, te meet. Die kern bevindinge van die analise dui daarop dat die Oostelike Provinsie van Rwanda ‘n mededingende voordeel in rys het. In die steekproef is daar egter 68% van die rysprodusente koöperasies wat geen mededingende voordeel het nie. In terme van netto welvaartsvoordele, as gevolg van verwringing in die mark, is die plaaslike prys van rys onnatuurlik hoog, wat ‘n dooieverlies skep in die rysmark. Spesifiek, die beskermende beleide (d.i. rys invoertariewe en plaas insetsubsidies) het tot gevolg dat private boerdery wins groter gewig dra as die sosiale boerdery wins. Die abnormale wins laat toe dat rysproduksie finansiëel winsgewend word selfs al is daar ‘n vergelykende nadeel. Aan die vraagkant, al is die plaaslike prys van ingevoerde rys in Rwanda ‘n klein bietjie hoër as die plaaslike rysprys, verkies die meeste verbruikers die ingevoerde rys eerder as die plaaslike rys, as gevolg van die lang korrel vorm, aroma en goeie kwaliteit. Die lae plaaslike verbruik vir vet kort korrel rys, wat verbou word deur 70% van die Rwandese rysboere, beperk die plaaslike rys produsente se markaandeel. Gegewe die studie se bevindings, is die beleidsaanbevelings drieledig. Die eerste behels tegnologie oordrag en aanvaarding. Om plaaslike rysproduksie kapasiteit en mededingendheid te verbeter sonder om doeltreffendheid af te skeep, is dit noodsaaklik vir rysboere om arbeidsbesparende tegnologie te aanvaar. Die tegnologie aanvaarding sal die area wat doeltreffend onder rys verbou word, vergroot as gevolg van verminderde sosiale produksiekoste. Die tweede aanbeveling is dat regering navorsing oor die identifisering van aromaties en lang korrel rys varieteite moet aanmoedig om aan te pas by Rwanda se agro-ekologie; om sodoende verbruikers tegemoet te kom met hulle vraagvoorkeure. Laastens, al beskerm invoertariewe van rys die plaaslike boere teen internasionale mededinging, verlaag hierdie beleide die verbruikerswelvaart as gevolg van ‘n verlaging in die verskeidenheid rys wat in die plaaslike mark verbruik word. Die studie beveel aan dat die regering die uitvoer van plaaslike rys in streeksmarkte fasiliteer en die invoerbeperkings op rys verminder. Die ingryping sal beide boere en verbruikers bevoordeel, terwyl die handelsbalans gestabiliseer word.

<p>Background: Firms are today competing for educated and qualified people within the IT-industry, due to the high business activity. Firms require new employees to have both a formal education and relevant work expe-riences. Newspaper articles state that IT-companies have difficulties finding qualified employees and that they also see this shortage of competencies as the most prominent hinder to economic growth. To handle this shortage are an increased amount of companies starting structured training activities for their new employees, which by general terms is called trainee programs. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to do an explorative study of compa-nies in the Swedish IT-industry, to see if and why a trainee program could be a source of competitive advantage. Method: A qualitative approach has been applied when collecting data. Four small case studies were made by interviewing top managers and col-lecting company related information. The companies had diverse sizes and different experiences from trainee programs. The data was analyzed with the Resource-based view as a guiding theory applying the VRIN framework. Conclusion: By doing the studies three value adding aspects was found. They were staffing/recruitment, marketing and, organizational learning and development. Within the resource-based views boundaries were: recruitment and staffing found to be a source of at best tem-porary competitive advantage, the same conclusion applies for trai-nee program as a marketing tool. Organizational learning and de-velopment could be seen as a source of competitive advantage due to the complex impact a trainee program has to an organization. To summarize the above mentioned; trainee program could be a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Three obstacles for implementing trainee programs were found; feeling of being to small, short-term thinking and the lack of time.</p>

Medicare eligibles have the option of choosing from a menu of privately administered managed care plans, known as Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, in lieu of conventional fee-for-service Medicare coverage ("original Medicare"). These plans often provide extra benefits to enrollees, but may impose large switching costs as a result of restrictive provider networks, differences in coverage across plans, and learning and search costs. I propose a structural dynamic discrete choice model of how consumers who are persistently heterogeneous make the choice among MA plans and original Medicare based on the characteristics of the available MA plans. The model explicitly incorporates a switching cost and changes over time in choice sets and plan characteristics. I estimate the parameters of the model, including the switching cost, using the methods developed by Gowrisankaran and Rysman (2011). The estimates indicate that the switching cost is statistically and economically significant. Through a series of counterfactual analyses, I find that the share of consumers choosing MA plans in place of original Medicare would more than triple in the absence of switching costs, and nearly double if plan exit and quality changes were eliminated. I also find that when switching costs are accounted for the Medicare Advantage program only minimally increases consumer welfare.

This paper measures the party incumbency advantage for the Democratic Party in state legislatures nationwide. To do so, this paper employs regression discontinuity design (RDD), following the structure laid out in Lee (2008). The results show a stronger incumbency advantage in state legislatures than the 8% figure found for U.S. House of Representative elections by Lee (2008), with a finding of a 14% advantage for lower houses nationwide and a 12% advantage for upper houses nationwide. Furthermore, this paper finds a strengthened incumbency advantage in states that hold their elections in off-years (34% in lower houses and 21% in upper houses). The paper concludes by suggesting that the boosted incumbency advantage for off-year states is a consequence of depressed voter turnout, testing this hypothesis using the Virginian lower house as a case study. Analysis suggests that the incumbency advantage drops substantially to 8% during years with a gubernatorial race and high voter turnout, and jumps substantially to 25% during years without a gubernatorial race and low voter turnout. However, large errors prevent these results from being statistically significant.

This article has as objective, to show and analyzing how the customer satisfaction in function of the Kano Model is used to take a competitive advantage within the car industry. Some results show that the impact of the customer satisfaction surveys account for 8 to 10% of the turnover of the major European car companies. In fact, in the 5 past years, the profitability of the leaders in customer satisfaction have surpassed the laggards. Leaders had a cumulative total return of + 22.5%, the SP 500 experienced a decline of -1.3% during the same period, latecomers lost - 46.3%. Therefore, these figures demonstrate how it’s important to set up a good strategic customer listening in order to take advantage on competition.

This article has as objective, to show and analyzing how the customer satisfaction in function of the Kano Model is used to take a competitive advantage within the car industry. Some results show that the impact of the customer satisfaction surveys account for 8 to 10% of the turnover of the major European car companies. In fact, in the 5 past years, the profitability of the leaders in customer satisfaction have surpassed the laggards. Leaders had a cumulative total return of + 22.5%, the SP 500 experienced a decline of -1.3% during the same period, latecomers lost - 46.3%. Therefore, these figures demonstrate how it’s important to set up a good strategic customer listening in order to take advantage on competition.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2014. / International competitiveness is the ability of a firm to sustain its international performance relative to competitors over time and in the future. This research examined the firm level factors that contribute to competitiveness of international new ventures (INVs). Specifically, the study investigated whether entrepreneurial and branding resources and capabilities greatly contribute to competitiveness of INVs. The study followed a positivist and quantitative methodological approach to establish the causalities and social order of competitiveness of INVs in Uganda. The purpose of the study was actualized through adopting a cross-sectional survey design. The study focused on INVs which are firms that internationalized their operations within the first ten (10) years of their establishment. These firms were drawn from the three major business sectors in Uganda including agribusiness, manufacturing and service firms involved in international activities ranging from exports, input sourcing (imports), foreign subsidiaries, franchises to international subcontracting. The survey instrument was delivered to 405 firms and information required was provided by three different groups of respondents in each firm. Owners-managers and employees assessed their firm’s entrepreneurial and branding resources and capabilities and international competitiveness in the last five (5) years and for the next three (3) years whereas customers evaluated brand advantage of firms and their products or services. The data collection process achieved a 77 percent response rate to the study. The study was non-experimental and adopted structural equation modelling and Average Moments of Structures (AMOS) to establish the causal relationships between the study variables. The study results reveal that brand orientation greatly contributes to international competitiveness whereas the interaction between entrepreneurial and branding resources and capabilities significantly enhances brand advantage of INVs. In addition, the study indicates that in the short run, brand advantage constrains the contribution of entrepreneurial and branding capabilities to competitiveness of INVs. The findings of this research provide knowledge on building and sustaining international competitiveness with specific implications for improving marketing and/or branding capabilities and utilization of entrepreneurial resources. The findings further support the dynamic capabilities theory in explaining competitiveness of INVs in Uganda. Keywords: Competitiveness, Entrepreneurial Capital, Entrepreneurial orientation, Brand orientation, Brand Advantage, International New Ventures, Uganda

O setor agrícola brasileiro gera saldos positivos à balança comercial do Brasil, e a fruticultura segue no mesmo ritmo. Dentre as frutas produzidas no Brasil, a uva é uma das que mais impactam na balança comercial, tendo em vista que é amplamente exportada e importada. Este cenário só se tornou possível com a abertura de mercado na década de 90, e, assim, o Brasil pôde se tornar mais competitivo no mercado nacional e internacional. A competitividade é importante para a economia, seja de um país, de um setor ou de uma empresa. No presente trabalho, então, foi realizada uma análise setorial da competitividade da viticultura, fundamentada na produtividade, nos aspectos tecnológicos e no ambiente institucional. Para a análise regional brasileira foi utilizada a técnica de triangulação na metodologia deste trabalho: pesquisa qualitativa (entrevista com produtores das principais regiões produtoras de uva de mesa do Brasil); análise estatística por meio de Modelos Lineares Generalizados de dados secundários (preço nas regiões produtoras de uva de mesa) obtidos no banco de dados do Cepea; e análise documental (com base nas legislações, regras e outros documentos disponíveis). A partir disso foi constatado que o Vale do São Francisco (BA/PE) é a região brasileira mais competitiva, visto que investe mais em tecnologia, tem gestão empresarial (enquanto as outras são marcadas pela agricultura familiar) e consegue se sobressair nas questões de comercialização. Além disso, no Brasil, o ambiente institucional, de um modo geral, não gera grandes vantagens competitivas para nenhum produtor de uva - a exceção são as fortes cooperativas do Nordeste. Para a análise da competitividade internacional, além da análise documental com vistas ao comércio internacional, foram feitas estatísticas descritivas com dados de preço, produção, produtividade, exportação, importação e consumo aparente de uva de mesa do Brasil, Chile e Itália. Os dados foram obtidos nos bancos de dados do IBGE, MDIC, Odepa, Eurostat e USDA. No geral, Chile e Itália têm ambiente institucional mais forte que o Brasil para o comércio internacional de uva de mesa. Mesmo assim, a competitividade internacional brasileira cresceu nos últimos anos frente a Chile e Itália. Assim, pode-se concluir que mesmo com ambiente institucional desfavorável, tanto no mercado interno quanto no externo, o Brasil conseguiu avançar na competitividade entre os anos analisados neste trabalho. Isso se deve, sobretudo, aos investimentos ocorridos na principal região brasileira - o Vale do São Francisco. / The Brazilian agribusiness generates profits to the trade balance of Brazil, and the fruit sector follows the same rhythm. The table grape is one of the fruits that impact the trade balance, because it is widely exported and imported. This scenario was only possible to the market opening in the 90s, and thus Brazil was able to become more competitive in domestic and international markets. Competitiveness is important to the economy, whether of a country, of a sector or a company. Thus, a sectorial analysis of the viticulture competitiveness was conducted, based on productivity, technological and institutional environment. In this research, it was used triangulation technique in the methodology to conduct the Brazilian regional analysis: qualitative research (interview with producers of the main producing regions of table grape of Brazil); statistical analysis using Generalized Linear Models of secondary data (price of table grape) obtained in Cepea database; and documental analysis (based on the laws, rules and other documents available). Based on this, it was found that the São Francisco Valley (BA/PE) is the most competitive region in Brazil. This region invests more in technology, has business management (while the others regions are tagged by family farmers) and stands out in the marketing. In addition, in Brazil, the institutional environment, in general, does not generate competitive advantages for grape growers - the exception is the strong cooperatives located in Northeast. The international competitiveness was conducted by descriptive analysis of statistics - price, production, productivity, export, import and apparent consumption of table grape in Brazil, Chile and Italy. Also, a documental analysis of international trade was conducted. Data were obtained from the IBGE, MDIC, Odepa, Eurostat and USDA databases. Overall, Chile and Italy have a stronger institutional environment to international trade of table grapes than Brazil. Anyway, the Brazilian international competitiveness has increased in recent years compared to Chile and Italy. Thus, it can be concluded that even with unfavorable institutional environment, both domestically and external, Brazil was able to advance in competitiveness during the years analyzed in this work. This is mainly attributed to the investments occurred in the main Brazilian table grape region - São Francisco Valley.

Lack of visibility of the assets in a product supply chain compromises attempts to optimise supply chain management. Increasing the visibility of these assets presents a relatively unexplored frontier in operations and supply where organisations can create competitive advantage through the opportunities asset visibility offer. This research aims at investigating the key capabilities of asset visibility specifically those associated with returnable transport assets that travel across supply chains carrying material and products e.g. cages, boxes, trays, trolleys and pallet bins. In addition, how these capabilities may influence supply chain visibility and firm performance in a way that might lead to sustainable competitive advantage is examined. To achieve these objectives, the research develops a two-stage model that is theoretically grounded in the extended resource-based view. Philosophically, the research adopts a critical realist approach using abductive logic. Methodologically, a sequential exploratory strategy for data collection is implemented. A qualitative, indepth site-based case study supported by field expert interviews was conducted as a pilot study. The pilot study findings refined the initial conceptual model derived from literature and informed the next stage of the research. The quantitative phase focused on refining the factors constituting asset visibility capabilities and then testing the relationship between these capabilities and supply chain visibility, performance and sustainable competitive advantage. Key findings are that asset visibility capabilities are shaped through three key capabilities: (1) an asset management capability formed by both core technological aspects related to tracking and tracing technology, and non-technological ones focusing on logistic-related capability; (2) a complementary technological capability comprising of IT infrastructure for supply chain integration; and (3) a complementary nontechnological capability represented through three sub-capabilities: (a) supply chain process integration; (b) focal firm-3PL relational orientation; and (c) internal firm integration. The research findings prove a positive relationship between asset visibility capabilities and supply chain visibility. In addition, a positive relationship between these capabilities and sustainable competitive advantage through the mediated effect of supply chain visibility and firm performance, is confirmed.

This research examines the relationship between places and firms and how this contributes to competitive advantage. This is a vitally important topic at present, as businesses are adjusting to the dislocations of Brexit, trade wars, nationalism and other reactions to globalisation. Firms need a place strategy more than ever. How should resources be located in relation to markets, suppliers, skilled workers, laws, incentives, infrastructure, quality of life and the myriad other factors affecting business? Global connectivity presents so many options but also so many threats. Despite its importance, this is a subject that is relatively poorly served by existing literature and theory. A review of strategic management work relating to competitive advantage, including reflections on Chandler, Ansoff, Porter, Barney, Mintzberg, and many other authors, reveals an emphasis on management and organisation but a virtual blindness to the role of place. A review of economic geography literature related to competitive advantage, including consideration of work from Marshall to Maskell, Storper, Sassen, Glaeser, Florida and many others, shows an emphasis on place but a relative neglect, with only a few significant exceptions, for the view from the firm and the role of individuality in organisation and management. The two disciplines show a striking complementarity in their omissions. This interdisciplinary study draws on the wide range of existing material to build a new and comprehensive model of the place-firm relationship (the PFR) that brings convergence to the thinking around competitive advantage. This model is then tested and adjusted through empirical research leading to recommendations for firm strategy, government policy, academic theory and future research. The empirical study is based on the most important business sector in the UK in terms of size, growth and impact, namely financial services, and is set in the top two centres of activity in the UK for this sector outside London, namely Edinburgh and Glasgow. At the heart of the work is a series of 29 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with senior executives in these cities investigating how firms see the contribution of place to their competitive advantage, a necessarily qualitative methodology to unravel the complexity and contradictions inherent in the existing theory. The interviews have been transcribed and coded and analysis of the feedback has been used to both refine the new model and to derive insights about how it works in practice. The results of the application of the model show that the PFR is highly complex but also that it can be rigorously assessed and the key factors contributing to competitive advantage can be identified and prioritised. These factors can be grouped under the main themes of the ease of doing business, talent, quality of life, local networks and legacy. It is clear that every business enjoys a unique PFR but that the individual organisational profiles can be aggregated in line with the main themes to show agglomeration and cluster effects around places, industry sectors, types of business and other groupings. In the case of the financial services businesses tested here, the availability of talent stands out as the most important contribution to competitive advantage firms receive from places, but this is closely linked to other factors in a web of connections. Also evident is the pragmatic co-existence of competition and collaboration in firm strategies and practice and the emergence of different but overlapping cluster types, particularly one underpinned by legacy in Edinburgh and the other underpinned by government intervention in Glasgow. This research gives business managers a tool and methodology with which to assess and compare how place contributes to their competitive advantage. It thus gives an added vital dimension to most strategic decisions and particularly to considerations about relocation, expansion, off-shoring, and geographical dispersal and diversification. The agility necessary for businesses to respond to the current turbulent political and economic environment must extend to managing place and place-firm relationships in the more systematic way proposed in this work in order to maintain and extend competitive advantage. This model can also help development agencies and national and local government to interpret the competitive advantages of places as seen by firms and to make comparisons with other places. It can give an informed basis for discussion with businesses and point to where improvements can be made in line with the place objectives and overall development plans. The new model gives a common framework for different parties to reconcile their objectives to mutual benefit. Last but not least, the research presents academics with possibilities for more interdisciplinary work to address gaps in theory about one of the most pressing issues of the day. The model opens the door to new research opportunities to test its applicability in different combinations of places, businesses and industry sectors, for different types of agglomeration and cluster formation. This is an opportunity for the academic research community to furnish the objective, sound and informed view necessary to support potentially controversial decision making in these uncertain times.