O trabalho visa analisar a competitividade das indústrias do segmento odontológico, levando em conta o contexto macroeconômico dos países e regiões onde estão localizadas, fazendo um estudo comparativo entre as indústrias deste segmento nos polos de Ribeirão Preto (SP) e da cidade italiana de Bolonha (Emília Romagna, Itália), visto que se tratam de dois arranjos produtivos locais do setor odontológico, referências na fabricação de equipamentos em âmbito nacional e internacional. Foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica referente à competitividade e dos campos do conhecimento abrangidos por este conceito, foram definidas as políticas macroeconômicas e então foi feito um estudo das características macroeconômicas das regiões e do segmento de equipamentos odontológicos nelas localizadas. Finalizando a pesquisa, foram apresentados os casos de duas empresas localizadas nas regiões em estudo, inter-relacionando a influência do desempenho econômico do país de origem na competitividade dessas empresas e apresentando as estratégias das mesmas para manutenção da sua competitividade. / The work aims to analyze the competitiveness of the dental segment industries, taking into account the macroeconomic conditions in the countries and regions where they are located, making a comparative study of the industries in this segment at the poles of Ribeirão Preto (SP) and the Italian city of Bologna (Emilia Romagna, Italy), given that these are two local clusters of the dental industry, references in manufacturing equipment at the national and international levels. A literature search related to competitiveness and fields of knowledge covered by this concept was carried out, macroeconomic policies were defined and then a study of the macroeconomic characteristics of the regions and the segment of dental equipment located in them was done. Finalizing the research, cases were presented in two companies located in the regions under study, interrelating the influence of the economic performance of the country in the competitiveness of these companies and presenting the same strategies to remain competitive.

For a while, video games have been the target of scrutiny with regards to their perceived potential to adversely affect younger individuals. In particular, it is often argued that these video games, particularly those of violent nature, may increase hostility to an extent that it manifests itself in violent behavior. This thesis aims to denote what effects these video games have on young adults, particularly in relation to the respondents’ indicated extent of adverse childhood experiences, trait anger, and competitiveness, all three of which were assumed to have a positive relationship with hostility. A survey was distributed to students attending Western Kentucky University in an attempt to measure what effects these three aforementioned variables have on young adults, in addition to what affects video game playing and violence in video games may have on hostility and aggression. From the data acquired, it was clear that while adverse childhood experiences had no statistical significance in this study and higher competitiveness indicated a very slight decline in hostility, trait anger did in fact appear to raise hostility in the respondents. Additionally, increases in exposure to both video game play and violence in video games were shown to lead to a decrease in hostility. From this, it would appear that trait anger was the only variable to truly increase hostility in young adults, and the often-discussed variables of video game play and violence in video games both appear to decrease hostility in respondents as exposure to either factor increases, thus going against the common assumptions.

El trabajo de investigación está basado en un análisis cualitativo sobre las actividades de la cadena de valor de las empresas exportadoras de neumáticos para la comercialización en el mercado internacional, así como también un análisis de las propuestas de mejora para maximizar estas actividades. Para comenzar el trabajo de investigación se propuso un objetivo general y siete objetivos específicos. El objetivo general propone analizar e identificar propuestas de mejora para aquellas actividades que estén ocasionando cambios negativos dentro de la cadena de valor del sector autopartes para la comercialización en el mercado internacional. Según el Informe Especializado: Autopartes en el Mundo 2017 del Sistema Integrado de Información de Comercio Exterior (Siicex) muestra que la comercialización de neumáticos, durante los últimos años, la demanda de este producto ha obtenido un crecimiento lento, pasando de exportar $55 millones en el año 2015 a $59 millones al cierre del 2017. El método empleado para esta investigación es de tipo cualitativo, dado que estábamos en una exploración que requería de diferentes puntos de vista. Se decidió por utilizar la herramienta de entrevista a profundidad orientada a expertos en el tema. Se obtuvo como conclusión que si existen actividades que ocasionan cambios negativos en la cadena de valor. Asimismo, una propuesta de mejora continua en la cadena de valor tiene un impacto de forma positiva en las empresas exportadoras de las partidas seleccionadas, puesto que genera mayor productividad, reduce los costos, involucra a todas las áreas y genera mayor competitividad en el comercio exterior. / The research work is based on a qualitative analysis of the activities of the value chain of tire exporting companies for commercialization in the international market, as well as an analysis of improvement proposals to maximize these activities. To begin the research work, a general objective and seven specific objectives were proposed. The general objective proposes to analyze and identify proposals for improvement for those activities that are causing negative changes within the value chain of the auto parts sector for commercialization in the international market. According to the Specialized Report: Autoparts in the World 2017 of the Integrated Foreign Trade Information System (Siicex) shows that the marketing of tires, in recent years, the demand for this product has obtained a slow growth, going from exporting $ 55 million in 2015 to $ 59 million at the end of 2017. The method used for this research is qualitative, given that we were in an exploration that required different points of view. He decided to use the in-depth interview tool aimed at experts in the field. It was concluded that there are activities that cause negative changes in the value chain. Likewise, a proposal for continuous improvement in the value chain has a positive impact on the exporting companies of the selected items, since it generates greater productivity, reduces costs, involves all areas and generates greater competitiveness in foreign trade. / Tesis

Nesta dissertação, busca-se examinar atividades de marketing estratégico na competitividade de empresas brasileiras que atuam no Mercosul. Em primeiro lugar, é realizada uma discussão envolvendo as últimas tendências mundiais no cenário sócio-político-econômico que motivaram a exploração do tema. Em seguida, constrói-se o referencial teórico para a realização do trabalho, em que se exploram conceitos-chaves relativos à administração e planejamento estratégico, ao marketing estratégico, tático-operacional e global e também à competitividade, procurando-se enfatizar suas interfaces e complementaridades. Nesse ponto, são apresentados os resultados de uma pesquisa exploratória com base em um estudo de casos, envolvendo a atuação de duas empresas industriais brasileiras de diferentes setores nos países do Mercosul, em que se procura investigar o processo de gerenciamento relativo ao corpo teórico constituído. São feitas então as considerações finais e explicitadas as limitações e contribuições do estudo, bem como sugestões para estudos futuros. / This dissertation examines activities of strategic marketing in the competitiveness of brazilian companies that deal with Mercosur. First, there is a discussion involving the major world trends related to the socio-political and economic scenarrio that motivated the adoption of this subject. The theoretical framework on which this study is based is then presented, and some key concepts related to strategic management and planning are explored, along with strategic, operational and global marketing and competitiveness, with a stress on their interfaces and complementarities. Results are presented of an exploratory research based on the Case study method, involving the performance of two industrial brazilian companies operating at Mercosur, belonging to different sectors of the economy. The analysis of these results tries to investigate how the managerial process goes along with the theoretical framework. The final considerations are then presented and the limitations and contributions of the study are stated, as well as some suggestions for future studies.

[pt] Identificar as variáveis que influenciam de forma positiva ou negativa o custo de capital de uma empresa, ou numa forma mais abrangente, o custo de capital associado a um país, tem sido fonte de inúmeras pesquisas, já publicadas no meio acadêmico nos últimos anos. O surgimento do Modelo de Precificação de Ativos, ou CAPM - Capital Asset Pricing Model, no início dos anos 60, pode ser encarado como um marco histórico, uma vez que após a sua publicação, diversas teorias e trabalhos surgiram com o objetivo de criticá-lo e na tentativa de testar a sua aplicabilidade em diferentes tipos de mercados - desenvolvidos ou emergentes. Alguns estudos acadêmicos, como os realizaram por Gitman e Forrester (1977), Gitman e Mercurio (1982), Moore e Reichert (1983), Trahan e Gitman (1995), Bruner (1998), Block (2000) e Graham e Harvey (2001 e 2002), discutem as práticas de decisão de investimentos e estimativa do custo de capital em corporações americanas. As variáveis que afetam a rentabilidade de uma determinada indústria passaram a ser mais estudadas após a divulgação do Modelo das Cinco Forças Competitivas (Porter, 1980). Com base na grande complexidade que existe sobre o tema é que surge essa pesquisa, tendo como principal problema a ser investigado, a seguinte pergunta: quais as variáveis que influenciam o custo total de capital disponível para uma empresa, em determinado país, fazendo com que ele seja tão diferente de um país para outro? Após analisar os dados verificamos que nos países emergentes o custo de capital apresentou relação com as variáveis: Emprego, Educação, Infraestrutura Básica, Comercio Internacional e Investimento Internacional. Já para os países desenvolvidos, as variáveis que mostraram maior relação foram: Infraestrutura Básica, Preços, Finanças Públicas e Práticas Gerenciais. / [en] Identifying the variables that positively or negatively impacts a company´s Cost of Capital or, in a general way, a country´s Cost of Capital has been the objective of much research published in the academic environment in the last few years. The appearance of the Capital Asset Pricing Model - CAPM in the early ´60s could be seen as a milestone inasmuch as, after its publications, various studies, such as those performed by Gitman e Forrester (1977), Gitman e Mercurio (1982), Moore e Reichert (1983), Trahan e Gitman (1995), Bruner (1998), Block (2000) e Graham e Harvey (2001 e 2002), challenge the investment decision-making practices and cost of capital estimates in US corporations. The variables that affect the profitability of a determined industry were more closely studied after the publication of the Five Competitive Forces Model (Porter, 1980). Based on the huge complexities that involves those issues, and which arose during this research, one of the principle questions to be answered became: what are the variables that influence the total Cost of Capital available for a company, in any given country, in light of the fact that it may be very different from country to country? Upon analyzing the data, we see that, in emerging countries, the cost of capital is related to Employment, Education, Basic Infrastructure, International Investment and International Trade, while in developed countries, it is related to Basic Infrastructure, Prices, Public Finance and Managerial Practices.

<p>The Hungarian agricultural sector has undergone substantial changes between 1992 and 2003, which was a period of transformation from command economy to an EU-conform market economy. The question is whether the Hungarian agricultural sector was able to keep its competitiveness despite the extensive transformation. The aim of this paper is to measure the competitiveness of Hungarian agri-food product groups in relation to the ones of the EU-15 during the transformation period. Results indicate that the competitiveness, measured by revealed comparative advantage (RCA), of the studied agri-food product groups has not changed considerably. The strong position of the Hungarian agricultural sector could be maintained because its competitiveness is based on factor endowments, which are not affected by changes of economic policy. The observed moderate fluctuations of competitiveness can be derived to trade concession changes.</p>

Denna uppsats analyserar om det finns ett samband mellan den snabbt växande tyska exporten och produktutveckling. Genom en segmentering av den tyska tillverkningsindustriexporten i relation till olika produktgruppers internationella konkurrenskraft ges en möjlighet att undersöka skillnader mellan produktsegment med olika internationell konkurrenskraft. Analysen visar att i tidsperioden 2000 till 2002 definierades 76 av 240 produktgrupper ha haft en ökande internationell konkurrenskraft genom en relativ prishöjning. Detta är fler produktgrupper än i någon annan undersökt tidsperiod. De 76 produktgrupperna motsvarar 29,5 procent av det totala tyska exportvärdet, marginellt högre än i någon annan tidsperiod. Produkter med ökande internationell konkurrenskraft genom en relativ prishöjning är också av ett högre värde per kilo export än andra konkurrenssegment. Analysen visare vidare att den internationella efterfrågan på dessa produktgrupper är signifikant högre än för produktgrupper med minskad internationell konkurrenskraft. Dock kunde inga generella skillnader mellan olika konkurrenssegment i relation till avståndskänslighet, kulturell och språklig affinitet samt EU-medlemskap på importandelen av tyska varor påvisas. / In this thesis the relationship between product development of the German manufacturing industry and the rapid German export growth is analyzed. By a segmentation of the German export according to international competitiveness, differences in characteristics of the different segments are analyzed. Positive for Germany is that in the time-period 2000 to 2002, 76 out of 240 analyzed product groups were defined as experienced increased export competi-tiveness through relative price increase; more than in any other analyzed time-period. These 76 product groups constituted 29.5 percent of Germany’s total export value, marginal higher than in any other time-period. The analysis also shows that German product groups with increasing international competitiveness through relative price increase are of higher value than products in other competitive segments. The international demand for product groups with increasing international competitiveness through relative price increase is also higher than for other competitive segments. However, no general significant differences could be shown between different competitive segments in respect to distance sensitiveness, importance of cultural and linguistic affinity and EU-membership on the import share of German products.

The Sugar Industry in Fiji is facing a lot of problems. Since the Government of Fiji has not fulfilled their commitments to the European Union (EU), the EU has backed away from supporting the industry. The milling efficiency has been constantly declining since the mid 1980’s and farm productivities have not kept pace with the changing international market for sugar. To be able to obtain the economies of scale, the sugar production in Fiji has to increase with 75 % from the current level of production. A lot of towns in Fiji would be nothing without the Sugar Industry, and thousands of people are dependent on the industry for their sustenance. Due to this fact, it is certain that the loss of confidence in the industry, or any likely collapse, would imply disaster for Fiji as a whole. It will lead to serious implications on the economic, social and political stability of Fiji. The overall aim of this thesis is to study the effects of the EU measures especially on the Sugar Industry in Fiji, to be able to understand to which extent the industry depends on the support from the EU. The aim is also to analyse and discuss different competition strategies on how Fiji can compete and be a part of the global market of sugar. This research was made from a qualitative approach in order to gain a deeper understanding about the problem. Abduction made it possible to work parallel with different parts of the thesis. A combination of primary and secondary data gathering has been used, with the secondary data as a basis for building the empirical part of the thesis. The primary data was collected through in-depth interviews with people at different positions within the Sugar Industry in Fiji. Fiji is dependent on the Sugar Industry and since there is no other obvious donor for Fiji today, and it is crucial that the industry gets support, the conclusion is that Fiji also is dependent on the support from the EU. Even though Fiji has the possibility to increase their competitiveness on the regional as well as on the international market, there is no need for Fiji to strive after the world market at the moment.

The Hungarian agricultural sector has undergone substantial changes between 1992 and 2003, which was a period of transformation from command economy to an EU-conform market economy. The question is whether the Hungarian agricultural sector was able to keep its competitiveness despite the extensive transformation. The aim of this paper is to measure the competitiveness of Hungarian agri-food product groups in relation to the ones of the EU-15 during the transformation period. Results indicate that the competitiveness, measured by revealed comparative advantage (RCA), of the studied agri-food product groups has not changed considerably. The strong position of the Hungarian agricultural sector could be maintained because its competitiveness is based on factor endowments, which are not affected by changes of economic policy. The observed moderate fluctuations of competitiveness can be derived to trade concession changes.

The major aim of this thesis is to analyze the impact of structural change of exports and technology level on the international competitiveness. In order to analyze international competitiveness, export market shares are used. The empirical analysis suggested in this thesis includes two steps. In the first step, constant market share analysis is conducted to understand the causes of changes in export market shares from one period to another and in the second step a difference generalized method of moments model is proposed for 44 manufacturing sectors, which are classified with respect to their technology intensities, over 2003- 2008 period. The results are highly sensitive to the technology intensity of sectors.