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. 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. 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. 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.

Regioner blir allt vanligare arbetsområden, något som EU uppmuntrar genom att avskaffa gränshinder och finansiera regionala projekt via strukturfonderna. Det har dock gjorts få studier kring gränsöverskridande samarbeten gällande turism. Denna studie vill belysa vilka faktorer som påverkar framgången hos ett sådant samarbete genom att studera Sundsvall, Östersund och Trondheim, vilka tillsammans bildar den så kallade SÖT-regionen. Syftet är att ta reda på om det finns förutsättningar för ett turistiskt samarbete mellan Sundsvall, Östersund och Trondheim. För att ta reda på detta studeras hinder respektive möjligheter för ett gränsöverskridande turistiskt samarbete. Studien undersöker även huruvida ett samarbete skulle vara motiverat, och i så fall vilket typ, samt om det finns förutsättningarna för SÖT-regionen att skapa en funktionell region för turismen. För att besvara frågeställningarna har personliga intervjuer genomförts med yrkesverksamma inom turismnäringen i regionen. Informanterna arbetar alla med att utveckla turismnäringen på antingen kommunal eller regional nivå. De teoretiska utgångspunkter denna studie utgår från berör region- och destinationsbegreppet, turism som fenomen och tillväxtskapare, regionernas nya roll, transporter och kommunikationer, konkurrenskraft och platsmarknadsföring, relationen mellan turism och internationella gränser, samt turistiska samarbeten över nationsgränser. En egen modell har konstruerats för att sammanställa de hinder gällande gränsöverskridande turistiska samarbeten som framkommer i den teoretiska referensramen. Modellen anpassas sedan till förhållandena i SÖT-regionen. I den avslutande diskussionen framkommer därmed att hindren för ett turistiskt samarbete mellan Sundsvall, Östersund och Trondheim är fler än möjligheterna. Hindren bygger dock till stor del på svårigheter gällande ett samarbete mellan de lokala turismföretagen i regionen, samt på svårigheter gällande gemensam marknadsföring. Däremot finns inga större hinder för ett samarbete mellan de offentliga aktörerna i kommunerna. Slutsatsen som dras är att ett offentligt samarbete, genom erfarenhetsutbyten och försäljning av gemensamt paketerade turismprodukter, är motiverat. Vidare är möjligheterna att skapa en funktionell region för turismen begränsade. / Regions are becoming more important as areas of power, something that the EU encourages by eliminating border barriers and by financing regional projects through the Structural Funds. However, there have been few studies of cross-border cooperation regarding tourism. This study wants to shed light on the factors that influence the success of such cooperation by studying Sundsvall, Östersund and Trondheim, which together form the so-called SÖT-region. The purpose of the study is to find out whether Sundsvall, Östersund and Trondheim have the prerequisites to form a touristic cooperation. The obstacles and opportunities for cross-border cooperation in the SÖT-region are studied, as well as whether a partnership could be justified, and if so, what kind. Finally, the prerequisites for the SÖT-region to create a functional region for tourism are investigated. To answer the questions personal interviews have been conducted with professionals working in the tourism industry within the region. The informants are all involved in developing the tourism industry on either a municipal or a regional level. The theoretical framework of this study concerns the regional and destination concept, tourism as a phenomenon and growth creator, the regions’ new role, transport and communications, competitiveness and site promotion, the relationship between tourism and international borders, and tourism partnerships across international boundaries. To summarize the obstacles regarding cross-border cooperation in tourism that occurs in the theoretical framework, a model has been created. The model is then adapted to fit the conditions in the SÖT-region. The conclusion then shows that the barriers for a touristic cooperation between Sundsvall, Östersund and Trondheim are more than the possibilities. The obstacles, however, are based largely on the difficulties regarding cooperation between local tourism businesses in the region, as well as difficulties regarding joint marketing. However, there are no major obstacles to cooperation between public actors. The conclusion is that public cooperation regarding exchanging experiences and sales of common packaged tourism products is justified. Furthermore, it appears that the ability to create a functional region for tourism is limited.

The following will explore the operation of evolved mechanisms connected with cycling fertility. I first address strategic shifts in women’s behavior near ovulation and hypothesize that certain behavioral shifts at high fertility reflect an increase in women’s intrasexual competition tactics when conception is most probable. A simulated, online shopping program was designed to track women’s spending patterns (at varying budgets) on clothing, undergarments, shoes, jewelry, and other fashion accessories – items that likely enhance a woman’s ability to attract a high quality mate and effectively compete with same-sex rivals. Additionally, a laboratory task was created to assess women’s likelihood of incurring a risk to appear more attractive and have access to more resources than same-sex peers. Studies 1-3 will explore the effect of fertility on women’s consumer behavior and the influence of same-sex peers on fertility-induced motivation to appear more attractive. Study 4 will further examine fertility-induced shifts in women’s intrasexual competitiveness by measuring context-specific risks women take to gain a positional advantage over same-sex peers. The current studies present new data that provide novel insights into human adaptations to cycling fertility and highlight important decision-making processes that guide women’s social competition within a variety of domains. / text

This research investigates the role of clustering, learning and innovation in retaining competitiveness in an existing tourism area in a peripheral region of Europe. To do this it draws on the tourism resort area known as the Costa del Sol in southern Spain. Structurally, it focuses on hotel and catering businesses, which are considered to be at the heart of the tourism industry. Tourism is shown not only to be fundamental to the development ofthis coastal agglomeration, but also critical to the development of the province of Malaga (of which the Costa del Sol is a part) and the wider region of Andalucia. Hence the need to examine the evolution oftourism, the sources of competitive advantage and how such advantage can be retained in a globalised marketplace. The key proposition is that retaining competitive advantage can best be achieved through learning and innovation and that agglomerations provide a milieu in which learning and innovation are stimulated. Agglomeration theory and the role of learning and innovation are tested through an examination of the spatial and temporal evolution of hotel and catering businesses and through questionnaire surveys covering these businesses. In particular, the surveys are directed at addressing the issues of learning and innovation and assessing the extent to which the Costa del Sol operates as a 'learning region'. Questionnaire work met with severe problems of non-response despite being undertaken in conjunction with local business organisations. Nevertheless, sufficient responses were obtained to provide some tentative answers to the questions being posed and to provide the foundation for further research. The principal conclusions were that the Costa del Sol has acted as a growth pole and seedbed for business development, and that learning and innovation are promoted as much by competition as by co-operation. Finally, some public policy implications are drawn from these conclusions.

By the later decades of the twentieth century, retail internationalization was no longer the activity of a few multi-national retailers; revising the traditional view of retailing as a national business and the need to understand the process of internationalization. Academic research enriched the understanding of this activity, moving away from the early use of surveys to delve into the specific processes of the retailers in order to properly analyze foreign expansion activity. Initial research focused on the perspective of the firm, contributing to knowledge of the why, where, and how of the internationalization process. As this research expanded its scope, it became necessary for researchers to explore when internationalization occurs and to document what was the impact of internationalization on the host country. This call for research was made by Dawson (2003), who proposed a framework for the study of foreign impact on the domestic retailers of a host country. This study utilizes the Dawson model to measure, analyze, and explain the when and what of the retail internationalization process. In recognition of the complexity of the retail internationalization process, it was determined that the study would focus on one type of impact: changes in sectoral competitiveness. It was also determined that this study should be undertaken in a market and retail sector where substantial foreign entry had occurred and could potentially be measured, analyzed and explained. Therefore, the study is undertaken in the Canadian apparel sector between 1989 and 2007. The study was conducted as a mixed method research in two stages: an empirical study of market data and an interview study of industry experts. Since retail functions at the local level, the shopping centre was used as a microcosm of the market and provided empirical evidence to measure impacts in a temporal sense and by intensity. The interviews with industry experts were used to collaborate and explain the mall data, providing important first-hand context to explain the retail internationalization process. This study contributes to the validation of the Dawson model as a tool to measure and explain the impacts of foreign entry on a host country’s sectoral competitiveness, and through its methodology will provide the necessary modifications to the model for continued study of the retail internationalization process.

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Tyrimo objektas - Lietuvos kaimiškosios savivaldybės. Tyrimo dalykas – kaimiškų savivaldybių socialinis - ekonominis vystymasis. Darbo tikslas – suformuoti periferinių regionų struktūrinių pokyčių valdymo principus. Uždaviniai: 1. Išanalizuoti vietovių vystymosi specifiką ir periferiškumo problemas teoriniu aspektu. 2. Parengti periferiškumo vertinimo metodiką pritaikant ją praktiškai. 3. Ištirti Lietuvos struktūrinius pokyčius ir jų valdymo specifiką. 4. Parengti periferinių savivaldybių struktūrinių pokyčių valdymo modelį. Tyrimo metodai: lyginamosios analizės, loginės analizės ir sintezės, duomenų sisteminimo ir statistinių duomenų analizės, palyginamosios analizės, grafinio vaizdavimo ir modeliavimo metodai, taip pat kiekybinių rodiklių analizei taikomas koreliacijos metodas. Lietuvos savivaldybių pasiskirstymas pagal periferiškumo lygį pateiktas naudojant GIS kompiuterinę programą. / Research object - rural municipalities of Lithuania. Research subject - social – economical development of rural municipalities. Research aim - to compose the possibilities for peripheral areas structural changes management. Objectives: 1. To analyze specific of areas development and periphery in the theoretical aspects. 2. To compose methodic of peripherality evaluation and adapt it in practice. 3. To analyze specific of Lithuanian structural changes and their management. 4. To compose a structural changes management model of peripheral municipalities. Research methods: comparative, logical analysis and synthesis, analysis of both: data systematizing and statistical data, graphical depiction and modeling, correlation.

Baigiamajame magistro darbe nagrinėjami Lietuvos tekstilės pramonės tarptautinio konkurencingumo didinimo aspektai. Aprašoma tekstilės pramonės tarptautinio konkurencingumo reikšmė šiuolaikiniam Lietuvos ūkio sektoriui. Mokslinių šaltinių analizės metu buvo nustatyta, kad pramonės tarptautinis konkurencingumas priklauso nuo tokių veiksnių kaip santykiniai ar absoliutūs šalies pranašumai (klimatinės sąlygos, geografinė padėtis, apsirūpinimas ištekliais ir pan.), naujų technologijų taikymo gamybos procese, investicijų, valstybės politikos įgyvendinant pramonės tarptautinio konkurencingumo didinimą. Siekiant įvertinti Lietuvos tekstilės pramonės tarptautinį konkurencingumą buvo atlikti empiriniai tyrimai, kurie leido nustatyti veiksnius, labiausiai veikiančius šalies tekstilės pramonę ir jos konkurencingumą. Taip pat darbe analizuojama įvairių šalių patirtis tekstilės pramonės tarptautinio konkurencingumo didinimo srityje. Išnagrinėjus teorinius ir praktinius aspektus, darbe yra pateikiamos rekomendacijos Lietuvos tekstilės pramonės tarptautiniam konkurencingumui didinti. Darbo pabaigoje yra suformuluotos išvados ir pasiūlymai. Darbą sudaro 7 dalys: įvadas, tekstilės pramonės tarptautinio konkurencingumo didinimas – Lietuvos ūkio sektoriaus plėtros prioritetas; teoriniai modeliai, taikytini tekstilės pramonės konkurencingumui didinti; Lietuvos tekstilės pramonės tarptautinio konkurencingumui įvertinti skirti empiriniai tyrimai; rekomendacijos Lietuvos tekstilės pramonės... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / At the master thesis Lithuanian textile industry international competitiveness improving aspects are being researched. The meaning of textile industry international competitiveness to modern Lithuania economics is being described. During scientific sources analysis it was found that the industry's international competitiveness depends on factors such as relative or absolute advantages of the state (climate, geographical position, resources and self-sufficiency, etc..), new technologies in the production process, investments, government policy in the international competitiveness of industry . In order to assess the Lithuanian textile industry international competitiveness empirical surveys were disposed, which allowed the identification of the factors most affecting the country's textile industry and its competitiveness. It was also examined the practice of the various countries in textile industry international competitiveness improvement. The examination of the theoretical and practical aspects of the work is presented recommendations Lithuanian textile industry to increase international competitiveness. At the end of the thesis conclusions and suggestions were performed. Structure: introduction; textile industry international competitiveness improvement is modern Lithuanian economics priority; theoretical models, whitch can be used to improve textile industry international competitiveness; empirical researches used to evaluate the international competitiveness of... [to full text]

Darbo objektas – daugiafunkcinis žemės ūkis. Darbo dalykas – daugiafunkcinis žemės ūkis mažiau palankiose ūkininkauti vietovėse. Darbo tikslas – išnagrinėti daugiafunkcinio žemės ūkio svarbą, stiprinant mažiau palankiose ūkininkauti vietovių konkurencingumą. Iškeltam tikslui pasiekti keliami šie uždaviniai: 1. išanalizuoti žemės ūkio privačių ir viešųjų gėrybių savybes ir jų kūrimo ypatybes; 2. išanalizuoti konkurencingumo sąvokos traktuotes ir apibrėžti vietovės konkurencingumą bei jo tipus;. 3. įvertinti daugiafunkcinio žemės ūkio galimybes, didinant ekonominį, aplinkosauginį, socialinį MPŪV konkurencingumą; 4. išnagrinėti 2007 – 2013 metų Bendrosios žemės ūkio politikos priemones, skatinančias daugiafunkcinio žemės ūkio plėtotę MPŪV. Tyrimo metodai: mokslinės literatūros šaltinių loginė analizė ir sintezė, indukcija ir dedukcija, grafinis vaizdavimas, žemės ūkio ir kaimo plėtros dokumentų analizė ir apibendrinimo metodas. Remiantis daugiafunkcinio žemės ūkio pozityviąja ir normatyviąja koncepcija, išanalizuotas daugiafunkcinio žemės ūkio pasireiškimas mažiau palankiose ūkininkauti vietovėse, kuriant privačias ir viešąsias gėrybes bendrosios gamybos procese. Išnagrinėti konkurencingumo pasireiškimo lygmenys ir identifikuotos konkurencingumo rūšys, prisidedančios prie mažiau palankių ūkininkauti vietovių palaikymo. Įvertintas 2007-2013 m. politikos priemonių ir finansinių instrumentų kompleksas, skatinantis daugiafunkcinio žemės ūkio plėtojimą mažiau palankiose ūkininkauti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The object of research – multifunctional agriculture. The subject of research – multifunctional agriculture in less favourited areas. The purpose of work – to analyse the importance of multifunctional agriculture increasing competitiveness in less favourited areas. Seeking the purpose, the tasks are: 1. to analyse features of private and public goods (and features of their creation) of agriculture. 2. to analyse descriptions of competitiveness and define types of competitiveness in rural area. 3. to evaluate possibilities of multifunctional agriculture creating economical, environmental and social competitiveness in less favourited areas. 4. to analyse measures of Common Agriculture Policy in 2007–2013 witch motivate development of multifunctional agriculture in less favourited areas. Methods of research – the analysis and synthesis of scientific literature, induction, deduction, graphical depiction, the analysis of agricultural and rural development documents and summarizing method. With a reference of positive and normative concept of multicultural agriculture, multifunctional agriculture in less favourited areas which producing private and public goods in common process of production, the levels of competitiveness have been analysed. The kinds of competitiveness which support less favourited areas also have been identified. Complex of measures and financial instruments of Common Agriculture Policy in 2007–2013 which motivates multifunctional agriculture in less favoured... [to full text]

Evaluation of the performance of science parks is an important topic in the context of Lithuania. The research object is the evaluation of Science and Technology Parks System in the contexts of the national innovation system and global competitiveness. In this work the general characteristics of the holistic innovation system model and new factors of competitiveness are identified, evaluation criteria are formed and a model to evaluate the competitiveness of Science and Technology Parks is created, which allows the use of these evaluation criteria in practice. This is the first time when Science and Technology Parks System in Lithuania has been examined as an inseparable element of the national innovation system, acting in complex political, economical and socio-cultural contexts. The evaluation criteria formulated allow wider observation of parks' current social functions to relate them to other state politics implemented, thus avoiding the duplication of funding and measures. / Mokslo ir technologijų parkų efektyvumo vertinimas – Lietuvoje nuolat akcentuojama problema, tačiau mokslo ir technologijų parkų efektyvumas yra tik viena iš prielaidų globaliam mokslo ir technologijų parkų konkurencingumui, valstybės ekonomikos ir visuomenės transformacijai. Mokslinio tyrimo objektas - mokslo ir technologijų parkų sistemos vertinimas nacionalinės inovacijų sistemos ir globalaus konkurencingumo kontekstuose. Šiame darbe nustatomos holistinio inovacijų sistemos modelio pagrindinės charakteristikos, būdingi konkurencingumo veiksniai, suformuojami mokslo ir technologijų parkų sistemos konkurencingumo vertinimo kriterijai, sukuriamas konkurencingumo vertinimo modelis, leidžiantis šiuos vertinimo kriterijus pritaikyti praktikoje. Pirmą kartą mokslo ir technologijų parkų sistema nagrinėjama kaip neatsiejama nacionalinės inovacijų sistemos dalis ir jos posistemė, veikianti sudėtinguose politiniuose, ekonominiuose ir socialiniuose-kultūriniuose kontekstuose. Suformuoti mokslo ir technologijų parkų konkurencingumo vertinimo kriterijai leidžia plačiau pažvelgti į jų jau dabar atliekamas visuomenines funkcijas, jas susieti su valstybės įgyvendinamomis kitomis politikomis, taip išvengiant besidubliuojančio finansavimo ir priemonių.