Research on the organization of systems industries generally takes the boundaries of platforms to be exogenously-determined artifacts, given by the nature of technology. This paper studies whether platform boundaries are responsive to economic incentives by studying variation in platform boundaries in competing systems in mobile computing. Using detailed descriptive evidence and systematically collected databases of integration patterns, I find that platform boundaries in this industry could be understood as established in response to three primary goals: 1) to consolidate control around assets that conferred the power to regulate production in the system as a whole; 2) to integrate economic activities that risked coordination problems; 3) to open platform boundaries in response to interactions with market competition.

Este estudo procurou entender porque as usinas e destilarias fazem uso de estratégias distintas na coordenação vertical da colheita da cana-de-açúcar, pois verifica-se no setor a presença conjunta de empresas que utilizam a terceirização total da frota, outras que utilizam a terceirização de forma parcial (integração vertical parcial) e ainda, firmas que empregam estruturas totalmente verticalizadas na condução dessa atividade. Assim, foram analisados os mecanismos e critérios de escolha utilizados pelas empresas ao estabelecerem os arranjos institucionais que coordenam as atividades de corte, carregamento e transporte da cana-de-açúcar, buscando um alinhamento entre os arranjos adotados e os aspectos teóricos que justificassem essa opção. Durante a análise, também foram descritas as principais dificuldades enfrentadas pelos agentes envolvidos no processo de terceirização da colheita (usinas/destilarias e prestadores de serviço), pretendendo contribuir para a discussão sobre o tema entre os profissionais da área. O ferramental teórico utilizado para o embasamento do estudo foi composto a partir da conjugação de elementos da Teoria Neoclássica, da Economia dos Custos de Transação e da Teoria das Competências Dinâmicas. O estudo se apoiou em dados secundários, obtidos de diversas fontes, e em dados primários, coletados a partir de entrevistas em profundidade com os agentes envolvidos no processo analisado. Participaram da amostra 33 usinas/destilarias (30 localizadas no Estado de São Paulo e 3 no Estado do Paraná) e 6 empresas prestadoras de serviço. A presença de diferentes arranjos entre as usinas/destilarias foi explicada pela percepção distinta dos custos de transação e de produção envolvidos nessa escolha, e pela própria heterogeneidade de recursos e competências entre as empresas. Apenas no caso do corte manual observou-se uma tendência de convergência dos arranjos em direção a estruturas verticalizadas, que pode ser explicada, principalmente, pela maior pressão dos órgãos e agentes privados e públicos nos últimos anos para o cumprimento das normas trabalhistas e de segurança e saúde do trabalhador rural, visando, entre outras coisas, a eliminação da terceirização do corte manual. Com relação às dificuldades enfrentadas pelas usinas/destilarias que fazem uso da terceirização e pelos prestadores de serviços, verificou-se que os principais pontos de divergência entre os agentes referem-se ao tempo de duração dos contratos, aos mecanismos de monitoramento e controle utilizados e a forma de pagamento dos serviços prestados. / This study has aimed at understanding why sugar/alcohol mills and distilleries make use of distinct strategies in the vertical coordination of the sugarcane harvesting system. The sector presents three different types of institutional arrangements to perform harvesting activities: (i) companies using completely outsourced services; (ii) mills that use partly outsourced services (partial vertical integration); and (iii) firms that employ totally verticalized structures. Therefore, we have analyzed the mechanisms and criteria of choice used by the mills for establishing institutional arrangements to coordinate the harvesting, truck loading, and transportation of sugarcane. In this enquiry, we have searched for alignments between the arrangements adopted and the theoretical aspects that could justify such choices. During the analysis, we have also described the main difficulties faced by the agents involved in the outsourcing process (mills/distilleries and service providers), intending to contribute to professionals in the area. The theoretical fundamentals of the study concerned elements of Neoclassical Theory, of Transaction Cost Economics, and of Dynamic Capabilities Theory. The research is based on secondary data obtained from several sources and on primary data collected in thorough interviews with the agents involved. The sample consists of 33 mills/distilleries (30 located in São Paulo State and three in Paraná State) and of six service-providing firms. The different institutional arrangements among mills/distilleries result from distinct perceptions of the transaction and production costs involved in such choice as well as from the heterogeneity of resources and competences among companies. Strictly in the case of manual harvesting, we have observed a trend towards verticalized structures. This is mainly due to the fact that both governmental and private agents have pressured such firms to respect labor norms as well as the workers? security and health regulations in the latest years, viewing at the extinction of outsourced manual harvesting, among other reasons. As to the problems faced by mills/distilleries that use outsourced service and service providers, we have found out that the main disagreements among agents regard the duration of contracts, the monitoring mechanisms and the form of payment for services rendered.

Orientador: Eugenio Jose Zoqui / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecanica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-05T03:58:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pavan_FernandoRamos_D.pdf: 19869541 bytes, checksum: 498edd8258ae17590272ade5a668f457 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: O presente trabalho apresenta um método (modelo) para a integração entre o Gerenciamento de Processos e do Gerenciamento por Projetos uma vez que, apesar de interdependentes, são tratados de maneira isolada pelas organizações. A ferramenta gerencial utilizada para esta integração é o Balanced Scorecard (BSC). Para tanto, o trabalho faz uma apresentação dos conceitos e métodos de Gerenciamento de Processos existentes, detalhando-os e mostrando sua aplicabilidade prática, assim como conceitua e apresenta o Gerenciamento por Projetos e suas ferramentas. Traz também uma revisão crítica a respeito do Balanced Scorecard como ferramenta gerencial. Após a revisão é apresentado um modelo para esta integração, que é constituído de um fluxograma geral de trabalho aonde é necessário mapear os processos existentes, levantar quais os objetivos da organização e por final alinhá-Ios através do BSC. São levantadas desta maneira diversas oportunidades de melhoria que se constituem em possíveis projetos. Através de um sistema de pontuação são levantados os melhores projetos e passa-se a fase de execução e acompanhamento através das ferramentas de Gerenciamento por Projetos. Toda esta sistemática de trabalho é facilitada pela utilização de planilhas eletrônicas, colocadas à disposição das organizações, para que todo o trabalho seja padronizado. Por fmal o método de integração é aplicado em uma empresa do ramo metalúrgico e os resultados da implantação do sistema são discutidos / Abstract: This work presents a method (model) to integrate Process Management and Management by Project since, although interdependent techniques, organizations usually conduct them as isolated efforts. The management tool chosen for such an integration is the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). To achieve its proposed results, this work presents the existing Process Management concepts and methods, exploring their details and showing their practical applicability, as well as it presents and discusses the concept of Project Management and its related tools. A review is also shown for the Balanced Scorecard as a management too1.A model for the aforementioned integration is presented afier the bibliography research, which comprises of a general work flowchart that indicates the need to map existing processes, define the organization objectives and, finally, align them using the BSC. Several improvement opportunities arise which may drive to possible projects. The best projects are select through a scoring system and the following step is to execute and monitor them with Management by Project tools. The whole work system is facilitated by electronic worksheets, made available to organizations, to standardize the tasks. As a fmal item in the present work, the integration method is applied to a metallurgical organization and the implementation results are discussed. / Doutorado / Materiais e Processos de Fabricação / Doutor em Engenharia Mecânica

The present research identified transaction costs in the mining sector in South Africa and provided means for mitigation. A review, discussion and evaluation of theories related to transaction costs such as vertical integration, outsourcing, price, long and short terms contracts was undertaken under literature review. A qualitative study, with two research questions, on eight companies of which four precious metals and minerals, two metallic minerals and two non-metallic minerals, was performed and provided among other results: • Cost of doing business in South Africa is high. • Site specificity and physical-asset specificity are the most influential specialised investments in the mining sector. • Long term contracts are the most appropriate to mitigate transaction costs. • Costly bargaining is the most important implication for all specialised investments. • Exchange rates, Mining Charter, BEE, legislation, taxes, royalties, fuel and electricity increases are cited as reasons for high transaction costs. • The small sample is a big concern as it does not allow generalising the results to over all mining companies. The South Africa’s government, as a regulator and a major stakeholder should revisit the mining charter and therefore the B-BBEE act as this clearly appeared to be a barrier to the development of mining companies. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

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Current marketing channel literature overwhelmingly suggests that entering exchange relationships leads to positive outcomes for the exchange parties. Yet, not all exchanges employ relational exchange. Thus, research appears to lack an understanding of the boundary conditions of successful relational exchange. This dissertation contributes to filling this gap by clarifying what is understood as relational exchange and differentiating it from vertical integration. Here, a two-dimensional perspective on exchange structure is offered that integrates our view of relational exchange and extends the conceptualization of vertical integration beyond sole ownership. To derive boundary conditions of relational exchange the literature on interorganizational relationships is integrated into six determinants and two key outcomes of relational exchange. These boundary conditions thus represent the facilitating circumstances that make relational exchange viable and the outcomes of relational exchange that exchange partners seek to achieve. / Ph. D.

Vertical integration has received much attention in the last 25 years and there are well-known theories that explain this behavior. However, the one common thread that runs through virtually all of this research is the assumption of private property rights. Very little attention has been paid to how firms behave when the property rights structure under which they operate changes. The commercial fishing industry is a prime example of an industry where property rights have shifted. Due to problems of over-fishing and over-capitalization, economists have championed the conversion of fisheries from common property or open access resources, to private property through the use of quota programs. Research shows that quota management is effective in reducing capitalization in fisheries, yet there are questions about other effects the programs might have. Among these is a concern over increased vertical integration. Some argue that this is leading to a loss of the independent fisherman that is a part of U.S. history, much like family farms. There is also concern that increased vertical integration is in turn leading to decreased competition in these markets; by owning the quota that is required to fish, processors are increasing their power over the market for unprocessed fish. In response to these and other concerns, the United States Congress imposed a moratorium on the implementation of individual transferable quota-style (ITQ) programs in 1996. Speculation aside, however, there is no empirical evidence to confirm or refute that the use of quota management actually leads to increased vertical coordination. Three fisheries are used as case studies to analyze what affects the decision to vertically coordinate in commercial fisheries. The traditional reasons for vertical integration are to lower transaction costs or to foreclose a market. But now a new factor, shifting property rights, is also considered. Results indicate that the individual characteristics of the fishery are more important than the management or property rights regime itself. This gives some direction to designing management programs that meet our desire to reduce over-capitalization and over-fishing, yet avoid increasing vertical coordination, all the while minimizing the loss of resource rent in the fishery. / Ph. D.

Problem - Decision makers shape the structure of the sales function, but it is unclear how they go about it and why. The rationale for making certain decisions need to be analyzed in order to understand why different decision makers apply different sales strategies. Topic - The Swedish prefabricated wooden house industry consists of many actors with no clear market leader. The sales force seems to mainly consists of external sales agents (manufacturers' representatives, also called reps), though some manufacturers also employ direct sales agents at the manufacturing company. Prefabricated wooden houses corresponded to 86% of all building permits requested during 2015. Purpose - This thesis aims to explore decision-makers' rationale behind the organization of manufacturers' sales forces in the Swedish prefabricated wooden house industry. Method - Semi-structures interviews with decision makers at manufacturing companies in the Swedish prefabricated wooden house industry have been conducted in order to fulfill the purpose of this study. The empirical findings are then analyzed based on theory that has been collected through partly inductive, partly deductive approaches. Main results - Decision makers use different arguments to justify their strategies. Many different rationale applied translates into no clear pattern besides the one that there seems to be no clear pattern. Arguments for a rationale decision are given without analytical proof for an assumption. Some interviewees are in essence for an integrated sales force, though might also work with reps.

Tyrimo objektas: 1) Žemaitijos ūkininkų ūkiai, užsiimantys pieno gamyba verslo pagrindais ir vertikaliosios integracijos strategijos kooperuoto įgyvendinimo pasekoje sustiprinę savo konkurencines jėgas pieno pardavimų/supirkimų grandyje; 2) Žemės ūkio kooperatinė bendrovė „Pieno gėlė“, kaip vertikaliosios integracijos strategijos kooperuoto įgyvendinimo sėkmingas pavyzdys. Darbo tikslas: Parengti pienininkystės ūkių vertikaliosios integracijos strategijos sėkmingo kooperuoto įgyvendinimo veiksnių loginę schemą. Uždaviniai: 1. Išnagrinėti vertikaliosios integracijos strategijos taikymo agrariniame sektoriuje teorinius aspektus; 2. Sukurti vertikaliosios integracijos strategijos kooperuoto įgyvendinimo tyrimo metodiką; 3. Atlikti pienininkystės ūkių vertikaliosios integracijos strategijos kooperuoto įgyvendinimo analizę; 4. Identifikuoti vertikaliosios integracijos strategijos kooperuoto įgyvendinimo sėkmės veiksnius. Tyrimo metodai: mokslinės literatūros analizė ir sintezė, atvejo analizė, anketinė apklausa. Tyrimo rezultatai: Išnagrinėtos vertikalios integracijos ir vertikaliosios integracijos strategijos teorinės sąmpratos. Nustatyti vertikaliosios integracijos strategijos taikymo ir įgyvendinimo agrariniame sektoriuje ypatumai. Atskleistos vertikaliosios integracijos ir kooperacijos plėtros sąsajos agrariniame sektoriuje. Taikant sudarytą metodiką, atlikta Žemaitijos ūkininkų ūkių vertikaliosios integracijos strategijos kooperuoto įgyvendinimo, dalyvaujant ŽŪKB „Pieno... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Object: 1)Samogitian family farms involved in milk production business, who have strengthened their competitiveness in milk selling/buying chain as a result of cooperative implementing of vertical integration strategy; 2) Agricultural cooperative company "Pieno gėlė" as a successful example of cooperative implementation of vertical integration strategy. Aim: to develop a logical scheme of successful cooperated implementation of vertical integration strategy for dairy farms. Objectives: 1st. To analyze the theoretical aspects of the vertical integration strategy application in agrarian sector. 2nd. To create a research methodology for cooperate implementation of vertical integration strategy. 3rd. To perform analysis of cooperate implementation of vertical integration strategy in dairy farms. 4th. To identify success factors of cooperate implementation of vertical integration strategy. Research methods: analysis and synthesis of scientific literature and case studies, a survey. Research results: Theoretical concepts of vertical integration and vertical integration strategy are analyzed. The pecularities of vertical integration strategy implementation and application in the agrarian sector are established. The connection of vertical integration and cooperation development in the agrarian sector is revealed. Using the developed methodology, analysis of cooperated implementation of vertical integration strategy of Samogitian family farms by participating in ACC "Pieno gėlė"... [to full text]