The subject of this thesis is to determine a business strategy, that will allow the company Farmet a.s. to increase its sales and to strengthen the position on the markets. The theoretical part describes methods and procedures that are further being referred to in the main part. The main part consists of the internal and the external environment analysis, as well as the SWOT analysis. Based on the actual accounting data and with regards to the current company position, there are several proposed strategies of possible business development. These strategic options are evaluated in terms of their individual profitability and risk. The final part of this thesis determines the optimum strategy and describes its implementation in more detail.

The diploma thesis is focused on the proposal of strategic development of the small family winery Stavek located in South Moravia. The theoretical part defines the fundamentals necessary for better understanding the issues of the development and growth of the company. The current situation of the company is evaluated in the analytical part by using selected analytical methods. This evaluation will serve as a basis for deciding on the next strategic directions. The most suitable development strategy is specified in the design part of this thesis and includes schedule of changes for the near future.

Master´s thesis is focused on a presentation of entrepreneurial intention of corporate information strategy. The corporate information strategy is based on the analysis of current situation of the company and its environment which uses modern trends in IT business. It is about a complex solution which should help to the growth of turnover, strengthen of mark of company and stabilize the market position.

The master’s thesis aim is a proposal of an improvement of the company marketing strategy. The analyzed company is involved in a providing of complex services which correlate with realm of internet presentations, web design, online shops and internet marketing. The theoretical part of the thesis is focused on explaining the problems of marketing, strategy and company business environment, online business and the way to improve company marketing strategy. The analytical part is engaged in analysis from a viewpoint of contemporary strategy, marketing, company operation, market research, business environment and currently offered services. The final part of the thesis includes proposals to improve the company marketing strategy and it mentions effects on current particular factors.

The subject of this thesis is creation of a business plan leading to the development of the business activities. The first part of the thesis covers the theoretical introduction into the matters, basic terms and definition of the used methods. Based on the theoretical findings and on the evaluation of the current state of the company the author of the thesis creates a concept of changes that should increase the competitiveness and improve the economical condition of the business. The conclusion is an estimation of the future development of the company.

Corporate entrepreneurship is dedicated to the continuous exploration of opportunities and leveraging innovation activities to achieve a competitive advantage, improved performance, and prosperity of companies. The problem is that the complex reality of multinational corporations is creating distinct obstacles for subsidiary managers who are attempting to develop and promote entrepreneurial activities. The purpose of this qualitative analytic autoethnographic study was to explore barriers and enablers for corporate entrepreneurship ‎practice by focusing on the individual and organizational processes, culture, and lessons learned from entrepreneurial activities that took place at the selected organization during the last decade. The interviews with 9 participants, who were involved in the activities covered by the study, served to reflect the researcher’s narrative and strengthen the reliability and trustworthiness of the results. The study results are based on the contextual data analysis and involved identified barriers in organizational, cultural, and business environments along with the specific manager’s actions and organizational processes for overcoming them. Findings showed that despite the obstacles in the subsidiary’s internal and external environments, one could achieve acknowledging the value of the subsidiary’s innovation activities and establish foundations for the practice of corporate entrepreneurship. The adaption of the study findings is expected to catalyze social change and strengthen the positive impact of entrepreneurial activities on employees’ motivation and job satisfaction, innovativeness, sustainability, and growth of companies and national economies.

Poor people benefit from microfinance and positively improve their poverty and socio-economic conditions. Microfinance support serves as development tool to redress the exclusion of the poor from the development process and outcomes in the mainstream intervention frameworks. As developing countries and poverty context are diverse and contextual, comprehensive knowledge about and empirical evidence on the impact of microfinance is scant. Specifically, the impact of microfinance services on the development of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) owned by women is scant. The findings of available studies and policy practice reports on microfinance in Ethiopia are not holistic in terms of a theoretical lens and methodological pluralism. Available studies do not consider the impact of microfinance and non-financial services on women-owned MSEs at household, individual and enterprise levels thereby reducing the poverty context and holistic empowerment at these levels. This study used multiple theoretical and conceptual frameworks: Hulme’s (2000, p. 79 - 81) microfinance impact assessment tool, debates on survivalist and growth-orientation perspectives of MSEs (Harvie, 2003, p. 27; Snodgrass & Biggs, 1996, p. 43; Hallberg, 2001, p. 19; Nichter & Goldmark, 2005, p. 67), women empowerment continuum model of interpretation (Filmon, 2009, p. 87) and policy practice at the epicenter of governance and policy decision-making (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital). The assessment considered three elements of microfinance impact assessment, generating primary evidence from 120 micro and small business owners (women entrepreneurs) whose firms stayed two years and above in the market and as clients of selected microfinance institutions. The clients considered were those who accessed at least two loan cycles and above. The respondents were randomly selected from three randomly selected microfinance institutions and a survey questionnaire was administered. The data sets were analysed using multiple tests (non-parametric statistical tests such as Pearson Correlation, Paired-Sample, Chi-Square, Wilcoxon Rank and McNemar tests) as well as parametric tests were conducted using logit econometric model. These tests were conducted to determine statistical difference of microfinance services after program intervention and the contribution of total loans taken on expenditure and businesses investment. The results indicated both developmental or survivalist firms. The result also indicated the empowerment of the women (MSEs owners). A significant number of women entrepreneurs owning MSEs improved their living house, cash savings, household income, child education, household health, household food and diet, business investment, and decision making status in their households. In terms of policy support, the study identified that there were specific affirmative interventions (as stipulated in the policy documents) to support women entrepreneurs owning MSEs in terms of targeted financial service, provision of working and selling premises, designing and implementing training and skill development programs, market networking and tax support on their products and sales. The study recommends that different institutions that work on women empowerment and women associations have to design women focused affirmative policy and strategy interventions to scale-up the positive results (growth-orientation of the MSEs) and address the bottlenecks that limit women entrepreneurs who own MSEs from accessing services that can transform the survivalist MSEs to profitable and empowering businesses for women. The recommendations are proposed to link women empowerment with working policy support. / Development Studies / D. Ph. (Development Studies)

The energy sector faces massive challenges regarding climate change. Simultaneously, the energy sector is amid a servitization process oftransitioning and creating new value-offerings to meet customer demand. As customers and institutions demand that business be conducted sustainably, organizations face a do-or-die situation regarding becoming sustainable. With the servitization trend, services constitute a large portion of the value-offerings within the energy sector. Therefore, providing sustainable services is a vital part in increasing the sustainability of the organization. This study explores and identifies factors affecting the sustainability performance of services in municipal organizations within the Swedish energy sector, and whether certain factors have a greater impact than others on the sustainability performance of a service. The study used a mixed method approach to identify sustainability factors as well as rank their importance. For the quantitative data collection, semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore different factors specific to energy services. A descriptive survey was used to investigate the impact of the newfound factors and ultimately rank them accordingly. Through the interviews, 13 overarching factors were found and divided into three sustainability dimensions: economic, environmental, and social sustainability. To assess the importance of each factor, descriptive statistics were used, providing the mean and standard deviation of the different factors. Moreover, the sustainability dimensions were assessed with the use of a one-way anova test to examine if a certain dimension is more important than another regarding sustainability performance. This concluded in no statistical significance between the sustainability dimensions. Of the identified factors, transportation, emissions, and resource-usage was perceived as most important for a service’s sustainability performance. With this knowledge, managers and business developers can create an understanding for what factors affect the sustainability performance of services. The study shows that the need for a holistic approach is needed as the organization, customers, and other stakeholders surrounding the service are vital actors affecting the sustainability of a service. / Energisektorn står inför stora utmaningar som en konsekvens av klimatförändringarna. Vid sidan av detta är energisektorn i mitten av en tjänstefieringsprocess, en process som innefattar en övergång till, och skapande av, nya värdeerbjudanden för att möta kundernas efterfrågan. I takt med att kunder och institutioner ökar sin kravställning mot hållbart företagande så ökar även pressen på företag att bli mer hållbara. I och med tjänstefieringstrenden inom energisektorn ökar andelen tjänster i företags värdeerbjudanden. Som en konsekvens av detta blir det avgörande för företag att kunna erbjuda hållbara tjänster för att både bli mer hållbara och konkurrenskraftiga. Denna studie undersöker hur hållbarhet ska bedömas för tjänster hos kommunala bolag inom den svenska energisektorn. För att genomföra detta undersöker studien vilka faktorer som är relevanta för att bedöma hållbarheten hos dessa tjänster. Utöver detta undersöker studien om vissa faktorer har en större påverkan på en tjänsts hållbarhet. För att undersöka att detta använder studien en mixmetod. Den kvalitativt undersökande delen består av semistrukturerade intervjuer för att undersöka faktorer som påverkar hållbarheten hos tjänster inom energisektorn. En deskriptiv enkät användes för att sedan undersökapåverkan av de identifierade faktorerna. Genom intervjuerna hittades 13 övergripande faktorer som delades in i tre dimensioner: ekonomisk, miljömässig, och social hållbarhet. Analysen av enkäterna skedde med hjälp av deskriptiv statistik, och genom detta erhölls medelvärde och standardavvikelse som användes för att jämföra de funna faktorerna. Vidare undersökning av de olika dimensionernas uppfattade inverkan på hållbarhetsprestanda genomfördes med hjälp av en envägsvariansanalys. Resultatet från denna analys visade på att ingen statistisk signifikans existerade gällande de olika dimensionernas uppfattade inverkan. Av de faktorer som identifierades ansågs transporter,utsläpp, och resursanvändning vara viktigast. Med denna insikt kan ledare och affärsutvecklare skapa en övergripande bild gällande vilka faktorer som påverkar hållbarheten hos en tjänst. Studien visar på att det behövs ett större perspektiv än att enbart studeraden specifika tjänsten, då organisationen, kunder, och andra intressenter påverkartjänstens hållbarhet.

Thesis ( MPAM.) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / This study focuses on the role of the minibus taxi industry in promoting the development of small businesses at Mankweng taxi ranks. This area of study has not been thoroughly researched; therefore, existing literature on the role of the taxi industry in promoting the development of small (especially informal) businesses is limited. This lack thereof does not help in casting a clear sense of how the taxi industry benefits small businesses around their operation centres. Therefore, this study specifically investigated the role of the minibus taxi industry in promoting the development of small businesses at Mankweng Taxi Ranks. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed, with the use of structured questionnaire and focus group interviews as techniques to collect data from Mankweng Taxi Ranks. The study had a target population of 300. Stratified random sampling was chosen for small businesses while random sampling was employed for taxi operators, and purposive sampling was applied for employees at Mankweng main taxi offices. This study had a sample size of 300, sampled differently with 180 participants forming part of stratified random sampling and 110 participants forming part of random sampling. Two different questionnaires were prepared for both small businesses and taxi operators. Questionnaires were randomly distributed to small businesses (30 hawkers, 15 filling stations, 69 street produce sellers, 15 car washers, 15 restaurants, and 36 caterers) and 110 taxi operators at different taxi ranks such as Mankweng, Boyne, Ga-Mothapo, Solomondale and Dikgale. Additionally, the focus group interviews were purposively conducted with 10 employees working at Boyne, as it is the main office of the Mankweng Taxi Association, and they hold more administrative information relating to the taxi business. The findings of the study show that, the taxi industry play a significant role in promoting the development of small businesses. The study further reveals that, poor business plans, inadequate working conditions, taxi violence, reckless driving, and a lack of funding affected the investigated businesses, as well as lack of exposure to new products, confronted the Mankweng Taxi Association. There seems to be a huge gap, both in research and government policy, that, seeks to promote the development of small businesses depending on the environment, and infrastructure, in which these businesses operate. Additionally, this study reveals the nature of the taxi industry and its crucial role in benefiting small businesses. All stakeholders in the taxi industry need to create an environment that, encourages the spirit of harmony, active cooperation and development dedicated to the betterment of the taxi industry.

El presente trabajo consiste en una investigación documental sobre los Centros de Desarrollo Empresarial y su impacto de internacionalización en las MIPYME en el Perú bajo el marco de la Alianza del Pacifico, lo cual se realizó un análisis acerca de los modelos de CDE aplicados en diferentes países de Latinoamérica. De esta manera, la investigación documental incluye un marco teórico en el que se observa y definirán conceptos como el contexto de la Alianza del Pacifico, las herramientas de los Centros de Desarrollo Empresarial y el concepto de las estrategias de internacionalización. La metodología que se empleó para llevar a cabo la investigación fue la revisión y análisis bibliográfico de modelos de centros de desarrollo empresarial enfocado en la implementación e impacto en diferentes países de Latinoamérica. Así mismo, se realizó el análisis en dos entrevistas a expertos del tema en cuanto el potencial de las MIPYME y su desarrollo con la herramienta de los CDE. Los resultados del análisis dieron la importancia de desarrollar un modelo de CDE en el Perú con el objetivo de que las MYPES puedan ser sostenibles e internacionales. Además, dicho trabajo resalta el rol importante que tiene AP en cuanto el desarrollo de CDE y su integración entre los países de la alianza. / The present work consists of a documentary research about the Business Development Centers and their impact of internationalization in the small companies in Peru under the framework of the Pacific Alliance, which made an analysis about the models of SBDC applied in different Countries of Latin America. In this way, documentary research includes a theoretical framework in which concepts such as the context of the Pacific Alliance, the tools of the Business Development Centers and the concept of internationalization strategies are observed and defined. The methodology used to carry out the research was the review and bibliographic analysis of models of business development centers focused on the implementation and impact in different countries of Latin America. Likewise, the analysis was carried out in two interviews with experts on the subject regarding the potential of small companies and their development with the advice of SBDC. The results of the analysis gave the importance of developing a model of SBDC in Peru with the objective that small companies could be sustainable and international. In addition, this paper highlights AP's important role in the development of SBDC and their integration among alliance countries. / Tesis