L’objectif de cette recherche est d’analyser l’influence des pratiques managériales des dirigeants sur la performance à l’export des PME marocaines et de vérifier le rôle médiateur de la compétitivité, en se basant sur la théorie des ressources (RBV). L’approche quantitative est principalement utilisée dans cette recherche. Les analyses de régressions linéaires multiples utilisées sur un échantillon de 100 PME marocaines pour confirmer ou infirmer treize hypothèses de recherche, révèlent que seules certaines pratiques managériales sont stratégiques et conditionnent la performance à l’export, en développant des avantages compétitifs durables. L’étude a des implications utiles pour la recherche académique, les dirigeants et les politiques publiques, fournissant des lignes directrices et des repères utiles pour une performance supérieure à l’export. L’étude peut également être proposée dans l’enseignement supérieur afin d’informer le corps enseignant et les étudiants sur le contexte des PME. Cette recherche fait partie de l’une des rares études ayant mis en évidence le rôle médiateur de la compétitivité dans le contexte des pays en développement, en particulier dans les régions du Maghreb, où on note de rares références bibliographiques dans ce domaine.Des mesures aussi bien objectives que subjectives ont été utilisées pour mesurer la performance à l’export. Un certain nombre de limites doivent par ailleurs être prises en considération dans l’évaluation des résultats et leurs implications. Les contributions ne peuvent être généralisées que si les idées supplémentaires proposées résistent à l’épreuve du temps et de l’expérience. Une limite fondamentale est que les données analysées sont transversales plutôt que longitudinales. Le cadre développé dans cette recherche peut servir de point de départ à des recherches ultérieures. Celles-ci pourraient être enrichies en explorant les divers paramètres que nous n’avons pas envisagés tels quel la culture et le cycle de vie des produits et des entreprises. Il va de soi que ces facteurs pourraient revêtir une grande importance. / The purpose of this research is to analyze the impact of the managerial practices of managers on the export performance of Moroccan SMEs and to examine the mediating role of the competitiveness, based on the resource-based view (RBV) of a firmThe quantitative approach is particularly used in this study. The survey was conducted of 100 Moroccan SMEs. The multiple linear regressions employed to confirm or reject the hypotheses revealed that only certain managerial practices are strategic and can affect export performance by developing sustainable competitive advantage. The study has useful managerial implications for academics, practitioners and public policy makers, providing guidelines and interesting recommendations for a better export performance. The study can also be used in teaching. This is one of the few studies which highlighted the mediating role of the competitiveness in the context of a developing country, particularly in Maghreb regions, where the studies on this subject are rare.Both objective and subjective measures were used to measure export performance. However, the results presented in this work should be interpreted with caution, since the results have a number of limitations that should be taken into account when evaluating and generalizing their conclusions. Indeed, it is recommended that longitudinal and replication studies be undertaken, in order to ascertain the effect of the managerial practices on the export performance at different time and spatial frames. Future research should also include other important factors not analyzed in this study.

以往對於競爭力之探討多著重於探討國家、產業或個別廠商之間的競爭現象，近年來隨著經濟全球化、自由貿易的興起、地方經濟逐漸成為地方政府及許多學者關心的焦點，而在台灣方面，地方自治亦是憲法明定的方向，因此各地方政府為了爭取更多的資金投入、人口及廠商進駐，也將競相改善工作及居住環境，以增進其吸引力，因此未來台灣地區都市之間的競爭現象將愈趨明顯，基於此，本文針對都市競爭力深入探討，並以台灣地區作為實證對象，實際計算都市競爭力。另外，製造業為都市基礎產業，因此本文亦針對製造業生產力及都市競爭力與製造業生產力之間關係深入探討，以作為地方政府規劃都市及產業發展之參考。 本研究可分為四部分，第一部份為都市競爭力與製造業生產力文獻回顧，第二部份為台灣地區都市競爭力與製造業生產力現況分析，實際計算台灣地區都市競爭力、製造業生產力、都市化、地方化及專業化現況及排名，並計算此五項變數之間的簡單相關係數，第三部份為都市競爭力與製造業生產力理論模型建構及實證分析，此部份係以文獻回顧所歸納出之都市競爭力及製造業生產力影響因素，建立都市競爭力與製造業生產力之聯立方程式，並以兩階段最小平方法進行迴歸分析，第四部分為結論建議與後續研究。經由本研究之實證結果，得到之結論為： 一、都市競爭力為都市本身吸引居住人口、廠商及經濟活動之區域特質，受到製造業生產力、公共建設、區位及都市寧適性影響。 二、製造業受都市不經濟影響，專業化因素成為製造業生產力之正面外部經濟因素。 三、製造業生產力為都市競爭力的正面影響因素，都市競爭力亦為製造業生產力之影響因素，但民國85年兩者關係出現轉變，即都市競爭力對製造業生產有負面影響。 / The past study of competitiveness has been focus on the competitiveness of nations, industry or firms. In recent years, because of the economic globalization and the booming trend of free trading, the local economy has been the concern of many governments and scholars. In Taiwan, local autonomy is the future direction recorded in constitution. Local governments will improve the living and working environment to attract persons and capital. The competitiveness between cities will be clearer. In this study, I will study urban competitiveness and compute the urban competitiveness in Taiwan. In addition, manufacturing is the base industry of urban, so this study will also discuss the relationship of urban competitiveness and manufacturing. According to the result of this study, I have several solutions: 1. Urban competitiveness is the ability to attract persons, firms and economic activity and will be affected by productivity of manufacturing, infrastructure, location and urban amenity. 2. Manufacturing is affected by urbanization diseconomies and specialization will improve the productivity of manufacturing. 3. Productivity of manufacturing will improve urban competitiveness and urban competitiveness will improve productivity of manufacturing. But the relationship between urban competitiveness and productivity of manufacturing has changed at 1996.

<p>Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a global trend in different countries with diverse policy, culture, and CSR perspective and development level. Thus, we want to analysis CSR in different business environments and find out the gap they have. That is the original idea of our research.</p><p>This research mainly locates in Sweden and China, by comparing the temporal CSR development in a Swedish and a Chinese company—Sandvik and State Grid Corporation of China, the former as the advanced pioneer, and the latter as the dynamic learner, to gain an insight of the adaptability and feasibility of CSR in different business environments and countries.</p><p>The thesis is based on case study and interview, and literature review. The method content analysis is applied when processing the data into figures. Besides, the 3C-SR model and Responsible Competitiveness Index (RCI) are adopted as the analysis model.</p><p>The findings show that CSR is adaptable and feasible in whatever countries and business environments. Also, its core value and regulate guidelines are not changed, but the focal point in each stage of implementation will vary. In fact, CSR is not the ultimate goal, it’s a formula for transforming Responsible Competitiveness to a soft competence, lending the company to achieve sustainability. After the study, some recommendations and further study questions are given.</p>

<p>The aim of this thesis is, from a business perspective, to examine how the pharmacy chain Medstop is working with their positioning in order to achieve competitiveness in the re-regulated pharmacy market. This is studied through a theoretical framework that demonstrates five forces that affects the competitiveness in an industry, the five-force model by Michael Porter.</p><p>The thesis is a qualitative case study where data collection was done through interviews, literature, articles, websites and internal information from Medstop. The data was then complied into the theoretical perspective the authors have chosen for this paper, the five-force model by Michael Porter. This model was chosen because it gives a broad description of the competition a company faces by describing five different forces that affect the competition within a branch. The fact was collected on the basis of the marketing strategy positioning, and the essay is written from a business perspective.</p><p>Our cunclusions are that the pharmacy chain Medstop are in their initial positioning and has chosen to position itself on the basis of their core values; credibility, safety and security. The company believes that their customers will base their choice of pharmacy based on the geographical location and the customer experience. Customer experience is based on service and customer relations. Medstop also wants to be perceived as available to the customers and want to target customers who value a small pharmacy with good advice.</p>

<p>This thesis deals with the causes and effects of spatial clustering of similar and related economic activity. The relationship between spatial clustering and industrial competitive-ness is analysed in a series of empirical studies, revolving around four research questions: How useful is an institutional approach in analyses of spatial clustering? Can the link between spatial clustering and industrial performance be empirically validated and measured by quantitative methods? In what sense does spatial clustering promote localised processes of learning and innovation? What role can industrial and regional policies play in promoting the type of localised processes emphasised in spatial clustering research?</p><p>It proves to be a rather complicated matter to measure the impact of spatial clustering on firm performance. In the case of export-oriented manufacturing firms in Sweden, the co-location of firms in a particular industry appears to have only a modest impact on export performance. However, when a more qualitative approach is applied, there is some evidence that spatial clustering can have a positive impact. A study of the Swedish music industry indicates that there is indeed a link between the concentration of music-related businesses in the Stockholm region and localised processes of learning and innovation. Such localised processes appear, in turn, to be linked to the ability to create and sustain industrial competitiveness. Finally, the thesis examines how the cluster concept has been put into practice in Swedish industrial and regional policies.</p>

This thesis deals with the causes and effects of spatial clustering of similar and related economic activity. The relationship between spatial clustering and industrial competitive-ness is analysed in a series of empirical studies, revolving around four research questions: How useful is an institutional approach in analyses of spatial clustering? Can the link between spatial clustering and industrial performance be empirically validated and measured by quantitative methods? In what sense does spatial clustering promote localised processes of learning and innovation? What role can industrial and regional policies play in promoting the type of localised processes emphasised in spatial clustering research? It proves to be a rather complicated matter to measure the impact of spatial clustering on firm performance. In the case of export-oriented manufacturing firms in Sweden, the co-location of firms in a particular industry appears to have only a modest impact on export performance. However, when a more qualitative approach is applied, there is some evidence that spatial clustering can have a positive impact. A study of the Swedish music industry indicates that there is indeed a link between the concentration of music-related businesses in the Stockholm region and localised processes of learning and innovation. Such localised processes appear, in turn, to be linked to the ability to create and sustain industrial competitiveness. Finally, the thesis examines how the cluster concept has been put into practice in Swedish industrial and regional policies.

The aim of this thesis is, from a business perspective, to examine how the pharmacy chain Medstop is working with their positioning in order to achieve competitiveness in the re-regulated pharmacy market. This is studied through a theoretical framework that demonstrates five forces that affects the competitiveness in an industry, the five-force model by Michael Porter. The thesis is a qualitative case study where data collection was done through interviews, literature, articles, websites and internal information from Medstop. The data was then complied into the theoretical perspective the authors have chosen for this paper, the five-force model by Michael Porter. This model was chosen because it gives a broad description of the competition a company faces by describing five different forces that affect the competition within a branch. The fact was collected on the basis of the marketing strategy positioning, and the essay is written from a business perspective. Our cunclusions are that the pharmacy chain Medstop are in their initial positioning and has chosen to position itself on the basis of their core values; credibility, safety and security. The company believes that their customers will base their choice of pharmacy based on the geographical location and the customer experience. Customer experience is based on service and customer relations. Medstop also wants to be perceived as available to the customers and want to target customers who value a small pharmacy with good advice.

Superata la fase pionieristica, il dibattito sulla Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ha posto al centro la relazione tra CSR e competitività delle imprese. Il problema ha interessato innanzitutto le grandi imprese, ma, da qualche tempo, maggiore attenzione viene riservata alle PMI e al possibile ruolo della CSR nella creazione di vantaggio competitivo. Oggetto dell'attuale dibattito accademico, economico e politico sono, da un lato, i possibili sentieri di miglioramento dell'impegno socio-ambientale delle PMI e, dall'altro, le possibili alternative strategiche di valorizzazione della CSR in chiave competitiva. In questo contesto di grande attenzione attorno al tema CSR e PMI , si inseriscono i due progetti di ricerca presentati in questo scritto: uno, di natura quantitativa, ha per oggetto 828 PMI appartenenti ai 16 Distretti Industriali Lombardi ed ha l'obiettivo di comprendere se, e secondo quali modalità, l'appartenenza ad un distretto possa influire sulla propensione un'impresa ad adottare comportamenti socialmente responsabili; l'altro, di natura qualitativa, si propone di indagare, attraverso l'analisi di 12 casi, il possibile ruolo della CSR nella creazione di un vantaggio di differenziazione. / After the pioneer phase, the debate on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been focused on the relationship between CSR and firms' competitiveness. At the beginning, the problem mainly concerned large companies, but, later, greater attention has been paid to SMEs and to the possible role of CSR in the creation of competitive advantage. Under current academic, economic and political debate are, from one side, the possible paths to improve the socio-environmental commitment of SMEs and, from the other, the strategic choices for the competitive development of CSR practices. In this context of strong attention to the topic CSR and SMEs , the two research project presented in this work are positioned: the first one is a survey on 828 SMEs, belonging to the 16 Industrial District of Lombardy, and is claimed to understand if and how the belonging to the district can influence the firms' orientation to CSR; the second is a qualitative study on 12 SMEs and it is aimed to investigate the potential role of CSR in the creation of differentiation advantage.

This dissertation contains three essays on environmental economics and on credit market imperfections. The literature on carbon tax incidence generally finds that carbon taxes have a regressive impact on the distribution of income. The main reason for that finding stems from the fact that poor households spend a larger share of their total expenditure on energy products than the rich households do. This literature, however, has ignored the impact of carbon taxes on income stemming from changes in relative factor prices. Yet, changes in household welfare depend not only on variations in commodity prices, but also on changes in income. Chapter 1 provides a comprehensive analysis of the distributional impact of carbon taxes on inequality by considering both demand-side and supply-side channels. We use a multi-sector, multi-household general equilibrium model to analyze the distributional impact of carbon taxes on inequality. Using equivalent income as the household welfare metric, we apply the Shapley value and concentration index approaches to decomposing household inequality. Our simulation results suggest that carbon taxes exert a larger negative impact on the income of the rich than that of the poor, and are thereby progressive. On the other hand, when assessed from the use side alone (i.e., commodity prices alone), our results confirm previous findings, whereas carbon taxes are regressive. However, due to the stronger incidence of carbon taxes on inequality from the income side, our results suggest that the carbon tax tends to reduce inequality. These findings further suggest that the traditional approach of assessing the impact of carbon taxes on inequality through changes in commodity prices alone may be misleading. Chapter 2 investigates the economic impacts of creating an emissions bubble between Canada and the US in a context of subglobal participation in efforts to reduce pollution with market based-instruments. One of the advantages of an emissions bubble is that it can be beneficial to countries that differ in their production and consumption patterns. To address the competitiveness issue that arises from the free-rider problem in the area of climate-change mitigation, we consider the imposition of a border tax adjustment (BTA) - a commonly suggested solution in the literature. We develop a detailed multisector and multi-regional general equilibrium model to analyze the welfare, aggregate, sectoral and trade impacts of the formation of an emissions bubble between Canada and the US with and without BTA. Our simulation results suggest that, in the absence of BTA, the creation of the bubble would make both countries better off through a positive terms-of-trade effect, and more importantly, through a significant reduction in Canada’s marginal abatement cost. The benefits of these positive effects would spill over to the non-participating countries, leading them to increase their trade shares in non-emissions-intensive goods. Moreover, the simulation results also indicate that a unilateral implementation of a BTA by any one of the two countries is welfare deteriorating in the imposing country and welfare improving in the other. In contrast, a joint implementation of a BTA by the two countries would make Canada better off and the US worse off. Chapter 3 shows that learning by lending is a potential channel of understanding the business cycle fluctuation under an imperfect credit market. An endogenous link among the learning parameter, lending rates, and the size of investment makes it possible to generate an internal propagation even due to a temporary shock. The main finding of this chapter is the explanation of how ex post non-financial factors such as information losses by individual agents in a credit market may account for a persistence in real indicators such as capital stock and output.

This dissertation contains three essays on environmental economics and on credit market imperfections. The literature on carbon tax incidence generally finds that carbon taxes have a regressive impact on the distribution of income. The main reason for that finding stems from the fact that poor households spend a larger share of their total expenditure on energy products than the rich households do. This literature, however, has ignored the impact of carbon taxes on income stemming from changes in relative factor prices. Yet, changes in household welfare depend not only on variations in commodity prices, but also on changes in income. Chapter 1 provides a comprehensive analysis of the distributional impact of carbon taxes on inequality by considering both demand-side and supply-side channels. We use a multi-sector, multi-household general equilibrium model to analyze the distributional impact of carbon taxes on inequality. Using equivalent income as the household welfare metric, we apply the Shapley value and concentration index approaches to decomposing household inequality. Our simulation results suggest that carbon taxes exert a larger negative impact on the income of the rich than that of the poor, and are thereby progressive. On the other hand, when assessed from the use side alone (i.e., commodity prices alone), our results confirm previous findings, whereas carbon taxes are regressive. However, due to the stronger incidence of carbon taxes on inequality from the income side, our results suggest that the carbon tax tends to reduce inequality. These findings further suggest that the traditional approach of assessing the impact of carbon taxes on inequality through changes in commodity prices alone may be misleading. Chapter 2 investigates the economic impacts of creating an emissions bubble between Canada and the US in a context of subglobal participation in efforts to reduce pollution with market based-instruments. One of the advantages of an emissions bubble is that it can be beneficial to countries that differ in their production and consumption patterns. To address the competitiveness issue that arises from the free-rider problem in the area of climate-change mitigation, we consider the imposition of a border tax adjustment (BTA) - a commonly suggested solution in the literature. We develop a detailed multisector and multi-regional general equilibrium model to analyze the welfare, aggregate, sectoral and trade impacts of the formation of an emissions bubble between Canada and the US with and without BTA. Our simulation results suggest that, in the absence of BTA, the creation of the bubble would make both countries better off through a positive terms-of-trade effect, and more importantly, through a significant reduction in Canada’s marginal abatement cost. The benefits of these positive effects would spill over to the non-participating countries, leading them to increase their trade shares in non-emissions-intensive goods. Moreover, the simulation results also indicate that a unilateral implementation of a BTA by any one of the two countries is welfare deteriorating in the imposing country and welfare improving in the other. In contrast, a joint implementation of a BTA by the two countries would make Canada better off and the US worse off. Chapter 3 shows that learning by lending is a potential channel of understanding the business cycle fluctuation under an imperfect credit market. An endogenous link among the learning parameter, lending rates, and the size of investment makes it possible to generate an internal propagation even due to a temporary shock. The main finding of this chapter is the explanation of how ex post non-financial factors such as information losses by individual agents in a credit market may account for a persistence in real indicators such as capital stock and output.