by Chan Kong Wah. / Bibliography: leaves 112-115 / Thesis (M.Ph.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1983

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Harvard University, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 687-714).

Master of Arts / Department of Economics / Peri da Silva / Economists use various models to explain why it is that firms are capable of pricing above marginal cost. In this paper, we will examine two of them: the Cournot and Bertrand duopoly models. Economists generally accept both models as good explanations of the phenomenon, but the two models contradict each other in various important ways. The puzzle is that two inconsistent explanations are both regarded as good explanations for the same phenomenon. This becomes especially worrisome when the two models are offering divergent policy recommendations. This report presents that puzzle by laying out how the two models contradict each other in a myriad of ways and then offers five possible solutions to that puzzle from various economists, philosophers of science, and philosophers of economics.

This research examines management of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the two transitional countries of the former Soviet Union - Kazakhstan and Russia. The study focuses on how key PPP actors in Russia and Kazakhstan perceive and adapt to contract regulation, risk allocation and dispute resolution challenges in PPP management. The qualitative study draws on data from 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews with the respondents from four partnership projects, national and regional PPP centres, law firms and the government. Through a qualitative analysis of the interview data, four principal themes have emerged including partner opportunistic behaviour in a PPP; partner interaction; risk management in a PPP; and constraints and impediments to effective PPP governance. Utilising the PPP governance concept as the guiding theoretical framework, the research highlighted partners' opportunistic behaviour. A private partner exhibited its opportunism in a tariff setting and cost increases, whilst the public sector partners demonstrated their opportunistic behaviour by shifting public acceptance risk to a private party, exerting pressure in order to achieve results faster than contracted and framing a private partner's management flexibility. The findings revealed that partners from both sectors tend to downplay the significance of governance structures that would permit them to effectively interact and resolve all kinds of issues including those of risk management. Investigation of tools for dispute resolution between partners showed that this area of collaboration is virtually non-existent. Partners largely disregard formal mechanisms for dispute resolution and excessively rely on informal relations. The research identified a large number of commonalities in PPP management and no major discrepancy between Kazakhstan and Russia with regards to partnership management and PPP critical success factors. In the latter, managing public-private relationship during the entire project term is the principal factor. The study developed a model for more deeply understanding PPP governance in the two countries, which is the thesis' original contribution to knowledge. The model's core is the emergent PPP policy paradigm that the governments in both countries use. The study delineated the paradigm's principal elements and dynamics that contribute to PPP management changes in Kazakhstan and Russia. The research also contributes to knowledge by enhancing opportunism's definition and its application in the PPP setting.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this research project is to describe the journey to a process enterprise. This research project is a combination of work been done by Dr. Michael Hammer about the process enterprise and the author. The bulk of the theory of the research project is the following courses that were presented by Dr. Hammer in Boston, USA: • The Transition to the Process Enterprise: Strategies and Techniques. • Managing the Process Enterprise: Principles and Practices. • Process Design and Implementation: Reengineering and Change Management. A model of the research project is designed by the author who includes a theoretical summary of the two books written by Dr. Hammer about the process enterprise: • The Agenda. • Beyond Reengineering. A further model is designed which form part of the research project model, and is a roadmap to implement the process enterprise concepts. This model is based on the process lifecycle and covered all the material of the three courses presented by Dr. Hammer. The process lifecycle is the journey to a process enterprise which will result in improved sustainable enterprise or business performances if implemented. The sub parts of the process lifecycle model are the following: • Building commitment for the process enterprise. • Mobilisation to perform processes. • Process metries, prioritisation and targets. • Plan the process work. • Work the process plan. • Persuade, sell and align. • Change management. The different chapters of the process lifecycle are tools and techniques that must be implemented in a chronological order to become a process enterprise. The implementation of these tools and techniques will transform a traditional functional enterprise to a process enterprise. The last part of the research project described the practical experience by Rosh Pinah Zinc Corporation on their journey to a process enterprise. Rosh Pinah Zinc Corporation is a zinc mine owned by the South African diversified mining house, Kumba Resources. Rosh Pinah Zinc Corporation delivered spectacular results since the implementation of the process enterprise concept. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die navorsings projek is om die transformasie na 'n proses gedrewe organisasie te beskryf. Die navorsings projek is 'n kombinasie van werk wat gedoen is deur Dr. Michael Hammer en die outeur. Die grootste gedeelte van die teorie is afkomstig vanaf die volgende kursusse wat deur Dr. Hammer aangebied is in Boston, USA: • The Transition to the Process Enterprise: Strategies and Techniques. • Managing the Process Enterprise: Principles and Practices. • Process Design and Implementation: Reengineering and Change Management. 'n Model is ontwerp vir die navorsings projek wat 'n teoretiese opsomming insluit van die twee boeke wat geskryf is deur Dr. Hammer oor die proses gedrewe organisasie. Die twee boeke is die volgende: • The Agenda. • Beyond Reengineering. 'n Verdere model is ontwikkel deur die outeur wat deel vorm van die navorsings projek model wat 'n padkaart is om die proses gedrewe organisasie konsepte te implementeer. Die model is gebaseer op die proses iterasies en bevat al die materiaal van die kursusse wat deur Dr. Hammer aangebied is. Die proses iterasies is die transformasie na 'n proses gedrewe organisasie wat sal lei tot verbeterde volhoubare besigheids prestasie, indien die konsepte geimplementeer word. Die sub gedeeltes van die proses iterasie model is die volgende: • Verkry toewyding vir die proses gedrewe organisasie. • Mobiliseer om die prosesse te implementeer. • Proses metings, prioritisering en doelwitte. • Beplan die proses werk. • Werk die proses plan. • Oorreed, verkoop en belyn. • Veranderings bestuur. Die verskillende hoofstukke van die proses iterasie is gereedskap en tegnieke wat in 'n kronologiese volgorde geimplementeer moet word om te transformeer na 'n proses gedrewe organisasie. Die suksesvolle implementering van die gereedskap en tegnieke sal 'n tradisionele funsionele organisasie transformeer na proses gedrewe organisasie. Die laaste gedeelte van die navorsings projek beskryf die praktiese ervaring van Rosh Pinah Zinc Corporation met hul implementering van die proses gedrewe organisasie konsepte. Rosh Pinah Zinc Corporation is 'n sinkmyn wat deur die gediversifiseerde mynhuis, Kumba Resources, besit word. Rosh Pinah Zinc Corporation het uitstekende resultate gelewer sedert die implementering van die proses gedrewe organisasie konsepte.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research report aims to contribute to the contemporary research discourse within the Strategy-as-Practice (S-as-P) field by studying day-to-day strategising practices that take place within a modern organisation. From an S-as-P point of view, strategy is described as a situated, socially accomplished activity, while strategising comprises those actions, interactions and negotiations of multiple actors and the situated practices that they draw upon in accomplishing that activity (Jarzabkowski, Balogun & Seidl, 2007: 8). Here, strategy is redefined as an action organisations perform rather than a concept organisations ‘have’. This introduces a shift in the strategy process, from a prescriptive approach to a practice approach. In this report, the researcher was able to determine how strategising took place in a Business Unit (BU) at a third-tier level within a multinational engineering organisation. This involved an analysis of how the processes of strategy sense-making and sense-giving took place amongst strategic actors. Furthermore, how this was mediated by strategising methods, strategic tools and artefacts was observed. The research recognised that strategy is socially situated and therefore a social practice. To deal with this dimension, activity theory, discussed by Jarzabkowski (2005), was used as an operational measure to identify micro-social system configurations required to implement strategy. Based on an in-depth single case study of the BU, the researcher’s findings discovered unique roles that multiple actors assume in the strategy implementation process, and how they interacted in the pursuit of goal-oriented strategic initiatives. In that process, different strategising techniques were identified, namely Procedural, Interactive, Pre-active or Integrative. It was also shown how managers used these multiple strategising methods at their disposal to facilitate and mediate strategic initiatives. In an attempt to contextualise these micro-strategising practices, the case study also demonstrated how strategy was translated from broad organisational concepts to BU operational manifestations using internal formal procedures that involved a Strategy Map and Balanced Scorecard. This revealed the cascading effect of top-down strategy translation and the gap-closing effect of down-and-up feedback loops in the system. This also exposed how strategy was ‘operationalised’ by decomposing and breaking it down into sub-strategies for implementation, which then created a hierarchy of strategies that were specific to each level of the organisation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsingsverslag beoog om by te dra tot die kontemporêre navorsingsgesprek binne die Strategie-as-Praktyk (S-as-P) veld deur dag-tot-dag strategie praktyke wat binne ‘n modern organisasie plaasvind te bestudeer. Vanuit ‘n S-as-P oogpunt, word strategie beskryf as ‘n geposisioneerde, sosiaal-uitgevoerde aktiwiteit, terwyl strategie-beplanning bestaan uit die aksies, interaksies en onderhandelings van onderskeie betrokkenes en die geposisioneerde praktyke waaruit geput word in die uitvoering van daardie aktiwiteit. Strategie word hier herdefinieer as ‘n aksie wat organisasies uitvoer eerder as ‘n konsep wat hulle het. Dit bring ‘n verskuiwing in die strategie proses mee, van ‘n voorskriftelike benadering na ‘n praktiese benadering. Die navorser het in hierdie verslag daarin geslaag om te bepaal hoe strategiese beplanning in ‘n derde vlak Besigheidseenheid (BE) binne ‘n multinasionale ingenieursorganisasie plaasvind. Hiervoor is ‘n analise gedoen van hoe die prosesse van strategiese sin-maak en sin-gee onder strategiese betrokkenes plaasvind. Daarbenewens is waargeneem hoe mediasie deur strategie-beplanningsmetodes, strategiese gereedskap en voorwerpe plaasgevind het. Om met hierdie dimensie om te gaan, is aktiwiteitsteorie, soos bespreek deur Jarzabkowski (2005), gebruik as ‘n operasionele maatstaf om mikro-sosiale sisteem konfigurasies wat vereis word vir implementasie van die strategie te identifiseer. Die navorser se bevindings, gebaseer op ‘n enkele diepgaande gevallestudie van die BE, het unieke rolle geïdentifiseer wat verskeie rolspelers tydens die strategie implementeringsproses aanneem en ook die interaksie wat plaasgevind het in die nastreef van doelgeöriënteerde strategiese inisiatiewe. In die proses is verskillende strategie-tegnieke geïdentifiseer, naamlik Prosedure, Interaktief, Pre-aktief of Integrerend. Daar is ook getoon hoe bestuurders hierdie verskillende beskikbare strategie-metodes aangewend het om strategiese inisiatiewe te fasiliteer en bemiddel. In ‘n poging om hierdie mikro-strategiese praktyke te kontekstualiseer, het die gevallestudie ook aangedui hoe strategie vanaf breë organisatoriese konsepte deur die gebruik van interne formele prosedures, wat ‘n Strategie Kaart en Gebalanseerde Telkaart ingesluit het, omgesit is na operasionele aanwysings vir die BE. Hierdeur is die waterval effek van top- afwaartse omsetting en die gaping-vullende effek van af-en-op terugvoerlusse in die sisteem blootgelê. Dit het ook aangetoon hoe strategie ‘ge-operasionaliseer’ is deur dit te ontkoppel en af te breek tot sub-strategieë vir implementasie, waardeur ‘n hiërargie van strategieë, spesifiek vir elke vlak van die organisasie, geskep is.

published_or_final_version / Asian Studies / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The United States acute care hospital (ACH) market provides a unique environment in which to examine questions about market structure and performance. The ACHs operate in a mature market of health services that is highly regulated and has one dominant primary consumer of services. The uncharacteristic industry structure offers the opportunity to analyze pervasive agency relationships and capital structure issues in a new setting. In addition, the policies of the U.S. Government have created an environment in which tacit collusion is likely to flourish, which leads to market buyer power (monopsony, or buyers acting as one monopoly buyer). A key question is the extent to which monopsony and agency affect capital structure decisions. Agency is defined by Ross (1973, p.134) as a relationship formed between a principle and their agents, “when one, designated as the agent, acts for, on behalf of, or as representative for the other, designated the principal, in a particular domain of decision problems.” This thesis extends the agency framework provided by Jensen and Meckling (1976), along with the econometric understanding of monopsony in healthcare via tacit collusion, as suggested by Pauly (1998) and Sevilla (2005), and the research constraints of monopsony under an all-or-nothing contract, as outlined by Taylor (2003). Using data on ACHs from the period of 1995 to 2007 for approximately 5,000 ACHs, which was derived from the Medicare Cost Report and medical payments for a sub-population of 1,500, this research examines the determinants of capital structure in a distorted market. Building upon this initial analysis, the research seeks to examine the effects of market distortions upon free cash flow, and ultimately, capital structure. Two theories of distortion are presented that would affect free cash flow: The first is that of the agency cost of free cash flow and signaling, and the second is a theory of monopsony via tacit collusion between buyers. A model of the agency relationship between ACHs and the U.S. Government is proposed, promoting agency cost (signaling and the agency cost of free cash flows) as a causal relation with free cash flows and capital structure (Jensen & Meckling 1976; Jensen 1986). Empirical models of agency are constructed, examining the dependence on government business and the relation to the leverage (signaling) and free cash flows (agency cost of free cash flows) for ACHs. In addition, a complementary theory of capital structure determinant via market power (monopsony) is formulated, suggesting that monopsony conditions within the ACH market affect free cash flows and capital structure. The analysis provides a framework for understanding the environments in which ACHs operate and the strength of bargaining within the market. The research concludes with a review of the determinants of capital structure in light of the inefficiencies and distortions of the industry and the relationships observed.

The recorded music industry experienced declining revenue from 1998 to 2014, but it saw a return to growth in 2015. This thesis uses a sample of 17 countries to explore the determinants behind this revenue expansion, and to assess whether this sales growth can be sustained. I examine the impact of eight factors on the overall, physical, digital, and streaming music revenue and revenue per capita, as well as the digital and streaming revenue share. The eight independent variables include the GNI per capita, the total population, the percentage of the young people, the percentage of the young females, the gross enrollment rate in secondary education, the percentage of Internet users, the percentage of mobile cellular subscriptions, and the percentage of fixed broadband subscriptions. Based on my study, the fixed broadband subscription rate has an impact that is both statistically significant and economically important on the streaming revenue share, which makes it the most important indicator for the industry’s potential sustainable development. The percentage of the young population also shows statistical significance and economic importance for explaining the overall and physical revenue per capita, but it has no effect on the digital and streaming revenue share. Also, although the Internet penetration rate and the mobile cellular subscription rate are statistically insignificant for the digital or streaming revenue share, point estimates suggest that these factors have important economic impacts.

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