Due to the increase in investments in physical structure and incentives by educational institutions, agencies of innovation promotion and financing, technology-based companies show annual growth. However, organizations need to be prepared for positive or negative scenarios, reinforcing how the strategy becomes evolutionary, as well as each business that interacts with its environment. For the entrepreneurs, understanding the value of the organizational life cycle means identifying changes likely to interfere with the company growth and development. Taking into account these scenarios, this dissertation research aimed to propose a model for measuring the level of competitiveness in technology-based companies based on intangible assets related to each phase of the organizational life cycle, through a bibliographical and applied research on the characteristics of the sector. The entire model used 57 performance indicators, considering theories about Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and some elements of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The proposed research instrument was applied in 31 companies, and seven of them are situated in the creation stage, 5 in the launch phase, 9 in the stabilization phase, 3 in the expansion phase, 1 in the ripening phase, and 6 in the evolution phase. This modeling considered each organizational life cycle, returning in its evaluation stage an index representative of the competitive performance of each evaluated company, then allowing the comparison and discussion of the results obtained. In addition, simulations were exemplified in the case of that companies had adopted strategic actions. Thus, it is concluded to be possible to measure and evaluate the competitiveness level in technology-based companies considering the intangible assets which interfere in the organizational life cycle. / Devido ao aumento de investimentos em estrutura física e aos incentivos por parte das instituições de ensino, órgãos de fomento e financiamento à inovação, às empresas de base tecnológica apresentam crescimento anualmente. Entretanto, as organizações necessitam estar preparadas para cenários positivos ou negativos, reforçando o quanto a estratégia faz-se evolutiva, assim como cada negócio que interage com o seu ambiente. Para os empreendedores, entender o valor do ciclo de vida organizacional significa identificar as mudanças que acontecem com o crescimento e desenvolvimento da empresa. Além disso, em um ambiente competitivo, os ativos intangíveis têm sido a fonte de vantagens sustentáveis para o aumento de valor nas organizações. Frente a estes cenários, a pesquisa desenvolvida nesta dissertação de mestrado teve por objetivo propor uma modelagem de mensuração do nível de competitividade em empresas de base tecnológica a partir dos ativos intangíveis que interferem no ciclo de vida organizacional, fundamentada em uma pesquisa bibliográfica e aplicada sobre as características do setor. No total foram levantadas 57 indicadores de desempenho, utilizando-se para tanto os pressupostos referente aos Key Performance Indicators (KPI) e alguns elementos de Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). O instrumento de pesquisa proposto foi aplicado em 31 empresas, sendo que sete encontram-se na fase da criação, 5 na fase de lançamento, 9 na fase de estabilização, 3 na fase expansão, 1 na fase de amadurecimento e 6 na fase de evolução. A modelagem foi baseada em cada ciclo de vida, retornando em sua etapa de avaliação um índice que representa o desempenho competitivo em cada empresa avaliada, permitindo-se assim a comparação e discussão dos resultados obtidos. Posteriormente, foram exemplificadas simulações, caso as empresas adotassem ações estratégicas. Ao término, conclui-se que é possível medir e avaliar o nível de competitividade em empresas de base tecnológica a partir dos ativos intangíveis que interferem no ciclo de vida organizacional.

A crescente entrada de empresas asiáticas e a diminuição das barreiras de entrada vêm aumentando de maneira significativa a concorrência na indústria calçadista global, o que está colocando o setor calçadista nacional em situação difícil e, portanto, todas as mudanças que ocorrem na indústria passam a ter importância estratégica caso afetem a competitividade das empresas, obrigando estas avaliarem seu posicionamento estratégico no mercado. Até o fim de 2004, o setor de exportação de calçados foi privilegiado por uma soma de fatores favoráveis, principalmente a taxa de câmbio. Em 2005, com a valorização do real frente ao dólar, o mercado se retraiu e as vendas externas sofreram uma queda de 23 milhões de pares em comparação com o ano anterior. Nos primeiros meses de 2006, o cenário desfavorável manteve-se e as empresas exportadoras continuaram registrando perdas. Os produtores chineses que atuam no setor estão elevando sua participação pelo mundo de forma avassaladora. Neste cenário que envolve a indústria calçadista nacional, surgem questões fundamentais para que o setor mantenha um desempenho positivo e com possibilidade de elevar sua participação no comércio mundial de calçados. Estas questões passam fundamentalmente por dois aspectos: o primeiro é a perda de competitividade da indústria nacional frente aos competidores asiáticos, o segundo são as alternativas que o setor possui para se manter competitivo no mercado externo e sustentar um desempenho crescente. Algumas hipóteses para estas questões passam pela alta vulnerabilidade do setor frente à variação cambial, influência da concorrência chinesa, legislação tributária e trabalhista extremamente onerosa e ultrapassada. Assim, identificar as possíveis alternativas estratégicas para sustentar a competitividade das empresas exportadoras de calçados, torna-se o objetivo principal desta dissertação. Outros aspectos substanciais serão desenvolvidos no decorrer do estudo, tais como: a descrição do panorama das exportações brasileiras de calçados a partir de 1990; análise do posicionamento estratégico das empresas; avaliação do impacto da variação cambial ao setor calçadista; identificação de opções estratégicas para as empresas exportadoras. Os custo inerentes de se produzir no Brasil atualmente não permitem mais que as empresas concorram com estratégia de baixo custo. Por isto, para que a indústria calçadista nacional seja mantida, é essencial, contudo, que as empresas brasileiras mirem nichos de mercados inexplorados que fiquem fora da concorrência voltada para o baixo custo, sendo necessário que se faça um forte investimento em tecnologia, design e recursos humanos, além de apelo de marketing para o desenvolvimento da marca própria. / The increasing entrance of Asian companies and the reduction of the entrance barriers comes increasing in significant way the competition in the global foowear industry, what it is placing the national footwear’s sector in difficult situation, therefore, all the changes that occur in the industry start to have strategical importance in case of affect the competitiveness of the companies, forcing evaluate its strategic positioning in the market. Until the 2004 end, the sector of exportation of footwear was privileged for an addition of favorable factors, mainly the exchange rate. In 2005, with the valuation of the real front to the dollar, the external market if retracted and business had suffered a fall from 23 million pairs in comparison with the previous year. In the first months of 2006, the favorable scene was remained and the exporting companies had continued registering losses. The Chinese producers that act in the sector are raising its participation for the world of overwhelming form. In this scene that involves the national footwear industry, basic questions so that the sector keeps a positive performance and with possibility appear to raise its participation in the world-wide commerce of footwear. These questions pass basically for two aspects: the first one is the loss of competitiveness of the national industry front to the Asian competitors, as they are the alternatives that the sector possesss to remain itself competitive in the external market and to support a performance increasing. Some hypotheses for these questions pass for the high vulnerability of the sector front to the exchage variation, influence of the Chinese competition, legislation tax and member of labor party extremely onerous and exceeded. Thus, to identify the possible strategical alternatives to support the competitiveness of the exporting companies of footwear, becomes the main objective of this dissertation. Other substantial aspects will be developed during of the study, such as: the description of the view of the Brazilian exportations of footwear from 1990; analysis of the strategical positioning of the companies; evaluation of the impact of the exchange variation to the footwear’s sector; identification of strategical options for the exporting companies. The cost inherent of if producing in Brazil currently do not allow more than the companies concur with strategy of low cost. For this, so that the national industry is kept, it is essential, however, that the Brazilian companies look niches of unexplored markets that are outside of the competition directed toward the low cost, being necessary that if makes a strong investment in technology, design and human resources, beyond appeal marketing the development of the proper mark.

In this dissertation, I analyzed outer and inner company environment. Based on this analysis I came to the conclusion that this company is managed on a good level. Company management is continuously trying to set up new operational principles which are appearing to be the optimal for the company. Further analysis has been made on company{\crq}s strong and weak aspects, together with opportunities and risks the company is facing. Based on the results of this analysis I took steps to focus on weak aspects and on the base of these I recommended further steps that could lead to improvement of management system and increased company competitiveness. These steps include demands on staff training and education, competitiveness, high costs on modernization and set up of quality system in the company.

La compétition et la compétitivité ne doivent pas être exclusivement étudiées sous l’angle de l’entreprise. A l’instar de la matière économique, le droit du travail a su s’en emparer afin d’instaurer un cadre régulateur et protecteur pour les salariés. Son intervention n’est toutefois pas uniforme et s’adapte aux compétitions rencontrées. La première s’organise en amont de la conclusion du contrat de travail et oppose des demandeurs d’emploi. Elle est marquée par un déséquilibre et une inégalité manifestes que le droit du travail cherche à atténuer. Dans la seconde compétition, se rencontrent des entreprises souhaitant préserver et dynamiser leur compétitivité. Toutefois, les droits des salariés ne doivent pas être sacrifiés sur l’autel de la performance. Une intervention du droit du travail est là encore exigée. Ainsi, dans chacune de ces compétitions, des garde-fous sont érigés permettant d’offrir aux salariés, actuels ou en devenir, des garanties appropriées. / Competition and competitiveness should not be exclusively reviewed through the prism of companies. In the manner of economic matter, labour law was able to seize these notions, in order to establish a protective regulatory framework of the employees’ interests. Nonetheless, its intervention is not unvarying, and manages to adapt itself to the encountered competitions. Firstly, it can be found before the conclusion of the contract of employment, and brings into opposition job seekers against one another. It is marked by a disequilibrium and a patent inequality which labour law seeks to level. In the second type of competition, companies wishing to preserve and uplift their competitiveness meet. However, employees’ rights ought not to be sacrificed on the altar of performance. There again, an intervention of labour law is required. Thus, in each of those competitions, legal safeguards are erected, permitting the access for current or soon-to-be employed workers, to suitable guarantees.

Cette thèse se situe dans le cadre théorique de l'économie industrielle appliquée à l'analyse de l'innovation technologique. Elle a pour objet principal d'évaluer les effets de la politique des pôles de compétitivité sur les incitations à innover des firmes. Il s'agit en particulier de comprendre les mécanismes informationnels par lesquels ce nouveau dispositif impacte les niveaux d'investissement en recherche et développement des firmes et leurs activités. Le premier chapitre présente le cadre général de la thèse. Il explicite les éléments de théorie économique qui sous-tendent l'émergence des clusters de recherche et de développement. Le deuxième chapitre, première contribution théorique de la thèse, analyse les effets des pôles sur les niveaux d'efforts R&D de firmes qui sont en coopération au stade de la R&D mais qui sont en compétition à la Cournot sur le marché de produit. Le troisième chapitre et deuxième contribution théorique, s'intéresse aux effets des pôles dans le cadre de relations verticales de type fournisseur-clients de technologies. Le quatrième chapitre a pour but de trouver des illustrations ou des correspondances de nos résultats théoriques à travers les informations recueillies sur le terrain auprès des acteurs des pôles de compétitivité, en l'occurrence le pôle Minalogic situé à Grenoble en Isère. / The theoretical framework of this thesis is the industrial economics applied to the analysis of technological innovation. Its main purpose is to assess the effects of competitiveness clusters policy on the incentives of firms to innovate. In particular, it aims to understand the informational mechanisms by which this new industrial policy impacts the levels of R&D investment of firms and their activities. The first chapter presents the general framework of the thesis and explains the elements of economic theory underlying the emergence of R&D based-clusters. The second chapter, our first theoretical contribution, analyzes the effects of clusters on R&D investments of firms which cooperate at the R&D stage and compete a la Cournot on product market in a two-stage game. The third chapter, our second theoretical contribution, focuses on the effects of the cluster in vertical relationship between a supplier of technology and integrators. The fourth chapter is intended to and illustrations for the theoretical results through informations gathered from actors of competitiveness clusters, specially in the case of Minalogic at Grenoble (Isere France).

Usually, the explanations about the little electoral competitiveness of peruvian political parties have emphasized the unlikelihood that this situation could be reversed. However, when each case is analyzed carefully, we can see that groups like APRA and the Fujimorista Movement have developed some features beyond their leaders which, in certain situations, have provide them a little more electoral competitiveness than others parties, such as the Popular Christian Party (PPC). From this point, the following article argues that this difference in the competitiveness of the peruvian parties is basically for the type of strategies that they have been implemented. While some of them have seen in the permanent positioning a way to be more competitive in the medium term, others have believed that the competitiveness is achieved more quickly when political parties reduce their intervention in political debates. In that sense, this article tested an actor-center explanation to understand the little competitiveness of peruvian parties and also will risk a less pessimistic view of their future. / Las explicaciones sobre la poca competitividad electoral de los partidos políticos peruanos han enfatizando de manera predominante la improbabilidad de que ello se revierta. Sin embargo, cuando cada partido es visto con detalle se puede notar que algunos como el APRA y el Movimiento Fujimorista han desarrollado características más allá de sus líderes, los cuales en determinadas coyunturas, les han brindado una mayor competitividad electoral frente a los demás, como el Partido Popular Cristiano (PPC), por ejemplo. A partir de esta observación, el siguiente artículo argumentará que esta ligera –aunque no menos importante– diferencia en las capacidades competitivas se debe principalmente a las estrategias que han aplicado. Mientras unos han visto en el posicionamiento claro y permanente una forma de ganar competitividad en el mediano plazo, otros han creído que ello reside en la poca presencia en el debate político. Es así que, junto a una explicación voluntarista para entender la poca competitividad electoral de los partidos peruanos, se arriesgará una mirada menos pesimista sobre su futuro.

Peruvian voters abroad have participated for 36 years in domestic elections. This community has a political and economic agenda which is not represented in the Peruvian legislature. The Peruvian political elites neglect that the current institutional design disregards this group. Peruvian voters abroad have a particular set of offers and demands related to the migrant reality. This article analyzes the political engineering of the representation of voters abroad in the Peruvian electoral design and compares it to other political scenarios. Since other countries with similar voting populations such as Croatia and Ecuador have special constituencies of national residents living abroad, it is paradoxical that Peru has not yet one. The study shows the inconsistencies of the arguments that have hindered the creation of the special district of Peruvians voters abroad and discusses proposals for an applied reform. / Los peruanos en el exterior vienen participando 36 años en los procesos electorales del Perú. Esta comunidad tiene un potencial político y económico que no se representa en el Legislativo peruano. El actual diseño político institucional obvia que este grupo tiene un conjunto de ofertas y demandas particulares de la realidad migrante que las élites políticas desatienden. En el presente artículo, se analiza el tratamiento político que se le ha dado a la representación de los peruanos en el exterior en el diseño legislativo electoral peruano y se evalúa en perspectiva comparada. Dado que otros países en el mundo con poblaciones electorales parecidas, como Croacia y Ecuador, tienen circunscripciones especiales de residentes en el exterior es paradójico que el Perú no cuente con una. El estudio muestra las incoherencias que han imposibilitado la creación de la circunscripción especial de peruanos en el exterior y explora propuestas de reforma aplicada.

The aim of this thesis is to assess the competitive situation of the selected company on the basis of selected analyses and suggest possible changes for improvement. In the practical part of this thesis are analysed the competitors and competitive position of the company Leifheit s.r.o. headquartered in Blatná. For the analysis of the competitive environment of the company is used Porter's five forces analysis. These analyses are used as a basis for evaluation of the competitive situation of the selected company. In the end of this diploma thesis are described the proposals to improve the situation.

The goal of this thesis is to assess the link between labour productivity and firm competitiveness. An indispensable condition is to identify appropriate indicators measuring competitiveness. The link is examined in small and medium-sized companies active in manufacturing industry, specifically in section CZ-NACE 10. Manufacture of food products. First, an analysis of labour productivity and selected competitiveness indicators is made. Selected competitiveness indicators are Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Sales (ROS), Current Liquidity and index IN05. The relationship between labour productivity and competitiveness measured by selected indicators is examined by correlation and regression analysis. The significant positive link was found between labour productivity and competitiveness measured by ROA and ROS. Small and Medium-sized companies active in food industry can improve their ROA and ROS, and through this also competitiveness, by increasing their labour productivity. These indicators have also proved to be an appropriate tool for measuring the competitiveness of the company, especially in the food industry in the Czech Republic. The link between labour productivity and competitiveness measured by current liquidity and index IN05 was not explained in more detail.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo demonstrar a importância da utilização de instrumentos adequados para mensurar o retorno obtido através do relacionamento com os clientes. Inúmeras são as tentativas de buscar alguma forma de diferenciação com relação aos concorrentes, visando obter o reconhecimento e a preferência desses clientes, seja através de produtos diferenciados, em tamanhos, embalagens, estrutura, seja no nível de serviços ofertados desde a venda, passando por entrega, pós venda, entre outros. Além de demonstrar que a utilização de metodologias tradicionais de custeio pode gerar informações inadequadas, e como consequência, decisões distorcidas, será sugerida uma abordagem diferenciada, através da aplicação do conceito de gestão estratégica de custos, mais especificamente, da metodologia Time Driven Activity Based Costing (TDABC). O trabalho sugere a construção de um instrumento que viabilize a identificação de informações mais precisas sobre a real rentabilidade dos clientes, mediante os diferentes produtos e níveis de serviços ofertados. / This final paper has the objective of demonstrating the importance of the correct usage of some tools to measure the response obtained through the relationship built with customers. The attempts to reach, somehow, the differentiation towards the competitors are countless, always trying to obtain the acknowledgment and preference of these customers. This can be through differentiated products, in terms of size, packaging, structure or in terms of the service level offered from sale, going through delivery, after sales, among others. Besides demonstrating that the usage of traditional methodologies can generate inadequate information, and as a consequence, distorted decisions, a differentiated approach will be suggested, through the application of the concept of strategic cost management, more specifically, Time Driven Activity Based Costing (TDABC). This paper suggests the development of a tool that makes the identification of more precise information possible about the real profitability of clients, concerning the different products and levels of services offered.