The main objective of this study was to study the characteristics of the New International Business (NIS) or Born-Global in a sample of 81 SMEs belonging to the Spanish textile sector. This is descriptive analysis regarding the location, the subsector of activity, size, economic performance and internationalization strategy implemented by the NEI (2005-2009).The results identified three groups of NIS: export, import and export-import. The group of companies that makeup the largest importers and are associated with smaller companies. The exporters appear to be related more to low techsub-sectors while more internationally committed are those with a higher dimension. Regarding the location not detected any evidence of territorial pattern. Finally, among firms internationalized in the time period analyzed, it is also noteworthy that the economic performance of these is higher among importers. This study provides information on why the same country and same industry some companies decide shortly be created to assume certain levels of risk, engaging in operations engaged in foreign markets while others do not. It also participates in the debate on the competitiveness of manufacturing companies. / El principal objetivo de este estudio ha sido estudiar las características de las nuevas empresas internacionales (NEI) o born-global en una muestra de 81 pymes pertenecientes al sector textil-confección español. Para ello, se ha realizado un análisis descriptivo respecto a la localización, el subsector de actividad, el tamaño, la performance económica y la estrategia de internacionalización implementada por las NEI (2005-2009). Los resultados obtenidos identifican tres grupos de NEI: exportadoras, importadoras y exportadoras-importadoras. El grupo de empresas que conforman las importadoras es el más numeroso y está asociado a empresas de menor dimensión. Las exportadoras parecen vincularse más a subsectores low-tech mientras que las más comprometidas internacionalmente son las que tienen una mayor dimensión. Respecto a la localización, no se han detectado evidencias de algún patrón territorial. Por último, entre las empresas internacionalizadas en el periodo de tiempoanalizado, también es destacable que la performance económica de las mismas es mayor entre las importadoras. Este trabajo arroja alguna luz sobre la cuestión de por qué en un mismo país y en un mismo sector algunas empresas deciden al poco tiempo de ser creadas asumir determinados niveles de riesgo, implicándose en operaciones comprometidas con los mercados extranjeros mientras que otras no. Asimismo, también, participa del debate relativo a la competitividad de las empresas manufactureras.

The IFRS for SMEs is of the size of its scope, a key player in the international accounting harmonization process. After a brief reference to the IASB’s role in this process, this paper makes a description of the steps followed for the issuance of IFRS for SMEs and their relevant characteristics, to continue with a comparative analysis of the main differences with full IFRS. Finally, the document contains some reflections related to the practical difficulties facing the process of implementing international standards and possible solutions, according to the author, be considered. / La NIIF para las PYMES es, por la dimensión de su ámbito de aplicación, una pieza clave en el proceso de armonización contable internacional. Tras una breve referencia al papel del IASB en dicho proceso, este trabajo realiza una descripción de los pasos seguidos para la emisión de la NIIF para las PYMES y de sus aspectos más relevantes. A partir de ello, se continúa con un análisis comparativo de sus principales diferencias con las NIIF Completas. Finalmente, el documento contiene una serie de reflexiones respecto a las dificultades prácticas que enfrenta el proceso de aplicación de la normativa internacional y sobre las posibles soluciones que, a juicio del autor, pudieran considerarse.

Submitted by Caroline Falcao (caroline.rfalcao@ufpe.br) on 2017-06-01T17:47:43Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Marcella Brito TESE.pdf: 2407523 bytes, checksum: c51f4313c0513dc415677aae710b3576 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T17:47:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Marcella Brito TESE.pdf: 2407523 bytes, checksum: c51f4313c0513dc415677aae710b3576 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-10-03 / As práticas de CRM- Customer Relationship Management têm sido cada vez mais recomendadas como forma de gerir e de manter os negócios, e têm se mostrado uma tendência também nas pequenas e médias empresas. Este trabalho tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de um modelo de fidelização para clientes em pequenas e médias empresas no setor de serviços utilizando-se esse tipo de gerência. Após analisar vários modelos de CRM presentes na literatura específica, propõe-se um modelo específico que pode ser aplicado em pequenas e médias empresas do setor de serviços. Este estudo caracteriza-se como sendo uma pesquisa exploratória de abordagem qualitativa, utilizando a investigação bibliográfica como procedimento para alcance do objetivo geral. Por meio da análise comparativa entre os modelos estudados, estruturou-se um método de fidelização que integra os elementos de estratégia e de implementação de CRM em pequenas e médias empresas. Neste trabalho também foi realizado um estudo de caso para verificar a aplicabilidade e a eficiência do novo modelo proposto. Os resultados obtidos com a sua aplicação em uma média empresa de Call Center, a qual presta serviços em Aconselhamento de Saúde, foram positivos, visto que o modelo proposto atingiu o objetivo a que se propõe, que é disponibilizar mecanismos para que as pequenas e médias empresas de serviços conheçam seus clientes e interajam melhor com eles. / CRM practices have increasingly been recommended as a way to manage and maintain the business, and have shown a tendency also in small and medium enterprises. This paper aims at developing a model for customer loyalty in the service sector in small and medium size enterprises. The research analyzes several models of CRM in the literature and proposes a specific model applied to small and medium enterprises in the services sector. It is characterized as an exploratory qualitative approach, using literature as procedure to reach the overall goal. Through comparative analysis of the models studied, was structured a method of loyalty that integrates the elements of strategy and implementation of CRM in SMEs. A case study was done to verify the applicability and efficiency of the proposed model, the results obtained with its implementation in a medium enterprise Call Center for Counseling Health were satisfactory, since the proposed model achieved the goals that they propose, which is to provide mechanisms for small and medium sized service companies know their customers better and interact with them.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2017-02-22T21:15:07Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Joao Honorato Junior.pdf: 2114071 bytes, checksum: 63c7cb36858a6230242ada0e4b78cdd1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-22T21:15:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Joao Honorato Junior.pdf: 2114071 bytes, checksum: 63c7cb36858a6230242ada0e4b78cdd1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-05-11 / The manufacturing sector has been facing in the last decades deep structural changes. Up to mid-eighties the mass production was the standard used by the Western industrial companies. However, with the knowledge by westerns of the Lean Manufacturing system, the manufacturing firms began changing their production system to the new paradigm, obtaining as a result significant gains in quality, productivity, flexibility, producing with lower costs and delivery times. For the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) it has not been different because, like the big companies, they have been progressively adopting the Lean principles, however with no assurance of obtaining financial gains resulting from that action. Hence, the main purpose of this work was to identify if the lean manufacturing practices adopted by the Brazilian industrial SMEs contribute to the improvement of their financial performance. To accomplish that, a thorough literature review was performed aiming at identifying how this subject has been considered in the recent Industrial Engineering and Operations Management writings. This enabled the proposition of four hypotheses that were validated through multiple case studies, comprising three small and three medium sized Brazilian industrial companies. The results obtained showed that it was not possible to find a relationship between the level of Lean practices adoption and the size (billing) of said firms. Furthermore, amongst the variables that measure the financial performance, only the net profit and return on sales (ROS) showed a positive correlation with the degree of adoption of the Lean initiatives, indicating that, for the selected companies, the higher the implementation level of the Lean Manufacturing, the higher their profit or profitability. / O setor de manufatura tem enfrentado nas últimas décadas profundas mudanças estruturais. Até meados dos anos 80 a produção em massa era o padrão genericamente utilizado pelas indústrias no Ocidente. Porém, com a divulgação dos princípios da Manufatura Enxuta então utilizados no Japão, as empresas manufatureiras deste lado do mundo começaram a mudar seus sistemas de produção para o novo paradigma obtendo como resultado ganhos significativos em qualidade, produtividade, flexibilidade, produzindo com menores custos e prazos de entrega. Para as pequenas e médias empresas (PMEs) não tem sido diferente, já que, a exemplo das grandes empresas, vêm progressivamente adotando os princípios Lean, porém sem uma certeza de obter ganhos econômicos decorrentes dessa adoção. Assim, o objetivo desta dissertação foi identificar se as práticas operacionais de fabricação utilizadas na Manufatura Enxuta pelas PMEs industriais brasileiras contribuem para melhoria do seu desempenho econômico-financeiro. Para isso, foi realizada uma ampla pesquisa bibliográfica que mapeou como esse tema está considerado na literatura recente da Engenharia de Produção e Gestão de Operações. Isso permitiu a formulação de quatro hipóteses que foram avaliadas por meio de um estudo de casos múltiplos, considerando três empresas industriais de pequeno e três de médio portes. Os resultados obtidos permitiram verificar que, nos estudos realizados, não foi possível encontrar uma relação entre o nível de adoção das práticas da Manufatura Enxuta com o faturamento (porte) das seis empresas pesquisadas. Dentre as variáveis que medem o desempenho econômico-financeiro selecionadas, somente o lucro líquido e o ROS (Returno on Sales – Retorno sobre Vendas) revelaram uma correlação positiva com o nível de adoção das práticas Lean, indicado assim que, para as empresas selecionadas para a pesquisa, quanto maior o grau de adoção daquelas práticas maior o nível de lucro ou de lucratividade obtido.

Sob as condições presentes de competitividade global, rápido avanço tecnológico e escassez de recursos, a inovação tornou-se uma das abordagens estratégicas mais importantes que uma organização pode explorar. Nesse contexto, a capacidade de inovação da empresa enquanto capacidade de engajar-se na introdução de novos processos, produtos ou ideias na empresa, é reconhecida como uma das principais fontes de crescimento sustentável, efetividade e até mesmo sobrevivência para as organizações. No entanto, apenas algumas empresas compreenderam na prática o que é necessário para inovar com sucesso e a maioria enxerga a inovação como um grande desafio. A realidade não é diferente no caso das empresas brasileiras e em particular das Pequenas e Médias Empresas (PMEs). Estudos indicam que o grupo das PMEs particularmente demonstra em geral um déficit ainda maior na capacidade de inovação. Em resposta ao desafio de inovar, uma ampla literatura emergiu sobre vários aspectos da inovação. Porém, ainda considere-se que há poucos resultados conclusivos ou modelos compreensíveis na pesquisa sobre inovação haja vista a complexidade do tema que trata de um fenômeno multifacetado impulsionado por inúmeros fatores. Além disso, identifica-se um hiato entre o que é conhecido pela literatura geral sobre inovação e a literatura sobre inovação nas PMEs. Tendo em vista a relevância da capacidade de inovação e o lento avanço do seu entendimento no contexto das empresas de pequeno e médio porte cujas dificuldades para inovar ainda podem ser observadas, o presente estudo se propôs identificar os determinantes da capacidade de inovação das PMEs a fim de construir um modelo de alta capacidade de inovação para esse grupo de empresas. O objetivo estabelecido foi abordado por meio de método quantitativo o qual envolveu a aplicação da análise de regressão logística binária para analisar, sob a perspectiva das PMEs, os 15 determinantes da capacidade de inovação identificados na revisão da literatura. Para adotar a técnica de análise de regressão logística, foi realizada a transformação da variável dependente categórica em binária, sendo grupo 0 denominado capacidade de inovação sem destaque e grupo 1 definido como capacidade de inovação alta. Em seguida procedeu-se com a divisão da amostra total em duas subamostras sendo uma para análise contendo 60% das empresas e a outra para validação (holdout) com os 40% dos casos restantes. A adequação geral do modelo foi avaliada por meio das medidas pseudo R2 (McFadden), chi-quadrado (Hosmer e Lemeshow) e da taxa de sucesso (matriz de classificação). Feita essa avaliação e confirmada a adequação do fit geral do modelo, foram analisados os coeficientes das variáveis incluídas no modelo final quanto ao nível de significância, direção e magnitude. Por fim, prosseguiu-se com a validação do modelo logístico final por meio da análise da taxa de sucesso da amostra de validação. Por meio da técnica de análise de regressão logística, verificou-se que 4 variáveis apresentaram correlação positiva e significativa com a capacidade de inovação das PMEs e que, portanto diferenciam as empresas com capacidade de inovação alta das empresas com capacidade de inovação sem destaque. Com base nessa descoberta, foi criado o modelo final de alta capacidade de inovação para as PMEs composto pelos 4 determinantes: base de conhecimento externo (externo), capacidade de gestão de projetos (interno), base de conhecimento interno (interno) e estratégia (interno). / Under the current circumstances of global competition, fast technological improvement and scarcity of resources, innovation became one of the most important approaches that an organization can explore. In this context, the company\'s innovation capability, meaning its capacity to introduce new processes, products or ideas in the company, is recognized as one of the main sources of sustainable growth, effectiveness and survival for organizations. However, just a few companies understood in a practical manner what is required to successfully innovate and most of them see innovation as a big challenge. This reality is not different in the case of Brazilian companies and Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) in particular. Studies show that the group of SMEs particularly demonstrates in general a deficit even bigger in terms of innovation capacity. In response to the challenge to innovate, a broad literature arose about many aspects of innovation. Although it is considered that only a few results are conclusive or presented comprehensive models in the research about innovation due to the complexity of the theme that deals with a multidimensional phenomenon boosted by several factors. Besides that, there is a gap between what is known by the literature in general about innovation and the literature about innovation at SMEs. The relevance of the innovation capacity and the slow progress of its knowledge base in the context of small and medium size companies which the difficulties to innovate can still be observed, the present study proposed to identify the determinants innovation capacity for SMEs in order to build a high innovation capacity framework for this group of enterprises. The approach for the established goal was through a quantitative method which involved the application of a binary logistic regression to analyze, under the SME perspective, the 15 determinants of innovation capacity identified in the literature review. A transformation of the categorical dependent variable into binary, being group 0 named innovation capacity without highlight and group 1 called high innovation capacity, was done to allow adopting the logistic regression analysis technique. Following this, a procedure was conducted to divide the sample in two subgroups, being one for the analysis containing 60% of the companies and the other for validation (holdout) with the remaining 40% of the cases. The general model fit was assessed by the measures pseudo R2 (McFadden), chi-squared (Hosmer e Lemeshow) and the hit ratio (classification matrix). After this evaluation that confirmed the general model fit, the coefficients of the variables included in the final model were analyzed in terms of its significance level, direction and magnitude. By the end, the final logistic model was validated through the hit ratio of the holdout sample. With the logistic regression analysis, it was able to verify that 4 variables presented positive and significant correlation with the SMEs innovation capacity and, therefore distinguished the high innovation capacity companies from those with innovation capacity without highlight. Based on this discovery, a final high innovation capacity model was built for the SMEs composed by the 4 determinants: external knowledge base (external), project management capacity (internal), internal knowledge base (internal) and strategy (internal).

Dans les pays en développement, les liens sont étroits et multiformes entre ledéveloppement urbain et les économies rurales. Dans les régions de montagnes, notamment enAfrique de l’Est, les espaces sont fortement interdépendants à travers les relations commerciales,les déplacements de personnes, les flux de productions, selon des échelles géographiques ettemporelles variables. Des logiques de continuum, de gradient, voire de rupture, sont à l’oeuvre.Dans ce contexte, le rôle joué par les Petites et Moyennes Entreprises (PME) reste encorelargement à démontrer, notamment leur place dans la structuration des flux de produits et depersonnes (exemple des petits entrepreneurs commerçants, des transporteurs faisant la navetteentre zones de production, de commercialisation et de consommation, etc.). La place des petitesvilles dans ce processus d’intégration territoriale est importante, car elles jouent souvent le rôlede premier relais et d’interface préférentiel entre les économies urbaines et rurales.L’approche par les PME permet d’appréhender le rôle de l’initiative individuelle et collective(voire communautaire) dans la dynamique de développement territoriale, mais égalementd’analyser les actions mises en place (ou non) pour favoriser l’entrepreneuriat, par les autoritéspubliques et les organisations non gouvernementales (accès au microcrédit, etc.).Le terrain choisi est la province du Central Kenya, région du Mont Kenya et des Aberdares, avecles petites villes de Sagana et Karatina comme zone d’étude privilégiée. C’est une zone de fortesdensités de peuplement, à l’économie rurale voire agricole bien structurée mais en reconversion(économie post-Café) et qui dispose d’un réseau urbain hiérarchisé (petites villes d’étude, villemoyenne de Nyeri, proximité relative de la métropole de Nairobi).Les principaux résultats témoignent du rôle dissymétrique joué par les petits entrepreneurs, et àtravers eux par les petites villes, dans les relations villes-Campagnes. Si leur rôle est crucial dansles flux entrants (approvisionnement des consommateurs urbains et ruraux desservis), il estrelativement faible dans les flux sortants, ce qui témoigne des logiques de concurrence exercéspar des opérateurs extérieurs (relations directes entre grossistes urbains et producteurs ruraux)mais aussi par des intermédiaires locaux (coopératives, grossistes, etc.). / Abstract: Small and Micro-Enterprises (SMEs) are known to form significant nodes inrural-Urban linkages. Consequently, these SMEs serve as strong nodes which link thesurrounding rural areas to Local, National and Regional Markets through forward andbackward linkages. By strengthening and opening up opportunities for SMEs ‘virtuous’circles of rural-Urban economic linkages are created.The study of the rural-Urban linkages activities is still in development. This thesistherefore seeks to add to the literature by generating and documenting information onthe role of SMEs in small towns in rural-Urban linkages. Kenya is an agricultural-Ledeconomy, hence the need to focus on small mountainous towns. The towns aresurrounded by rich agricultural areas and are highly populated, making them busy hubsof mobility and exchange. Therefore, Mt. Kenya region is the chosen area of study withSMEs in Sagana and Karatina towns chosen as centres representing small towns.Based on the study results, SMEs were found to play an relatively small role in forwardlinkages. Only 12% of goods and services coming to the small towns from the ruralareas were forwarded by the SMEs, and only 25% of these goods found their way toother markets. The study established that some factors such as to the marketing chaincreated by the Famers Sacco’s, the use of Information and CommunicationTechnologies and contracting farming could be contributing to the poor show of SMEs inforward linkages.The rural functions in urban SMEs were found to be real and instrumental inentrepreneurship development. They were not only vital in business survival in lowseasons but were also found have positive correlations with large capital base, highmonthly turnover, increased access to loan facilities, and large size of the enterprise.Previous studies have shown that the rural-Urban trade to be more than urban-Ruraltrade. However, the current study shows the latter is almost three times more. Theresults could be said to differ in case where the point of focus is the small trader in thesmall town as opposed to a general urban-Rural trade approach. Also the nature of thefarmers markets could determine the flow pattern between urban and rural supplies.Karatina and Sagana markets behaved more of international markets, where most of thetraded goods and supplies were not from the local catchments. This meant ruralpopulace depended on the towns not only for manufactured goods and professionalservices but also for agricultural produce.

Introduction: Open Source ERP is considered as a viable alternative of proprietary ERP paradigm. Open Source ERP is getting more and more acceptance among Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) recently. Majority of Proprietary ERP vendors are changing their strategy nowadays and extend their focus on SMEs, even though SMEs are not that interested in Proprietary ERP systems. The factors that may motivate SMEs to select an Open Source ERP over proprietary ERP are not identified empirically in previous researches. Few researches raised the issue of cost and thus proposed that Open Source ERP is appropriate for SMEs. The other factors than cost involved in the selection process are yet to investigate empirically. Purpose: The overall purpose of this thesis work is to contribute in knowledge domain of Open Source ERP. Open Source ERP is an emergent area but it has the potential to attract many organizations to implement this kind of ERP Systems. The issue under investigation throughout this research will be the selection process of Open Source ERP in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). The focus will be to identify mutually most important factors, from the perspective of SMEs and Suppliers that may motivate the Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) to select OS ERP. Method: Data obtained from the respondents is quantified in the research. Information gathered from the SMEs who have implemented Open Source ERP and from the Suppliers through web based survey. Two separate questionnaires comprised of various questions related to different factors in selecting of Open Source ERP solutions were made and sent to both SMEs and Suppliers of Open Source ERP. Opinion from an Open Source ERP expert is obtained regarding different factors motivate SMEs to select Open Source ERP. The results obtained from respondents through empirical findings were analyzed thereafter. Conclusions: SMEs were investigated regarding the importance of various rationales when they were selecting Open Source ERP solutions. The degree of importance of various factors in selection process might be diverse from organization to organization. It might be dependent on the size, geographical location of the organization or many other issues. Despite all this, there might be some common factors that may be always considered as foremost factors which influence SMEs to select an Open Source ERP over proprietary ERP.

Research on SME public policies has greatly evolved during the past years. This is the case particularly in developed countries, where many institutions have been put in place to support these firms owing notably to their social and economic importance. Yet, the scientific community acknowledges that we still have substantial knowledge gaps with regards to the question of how and when governments should intervene to assist SMEs, and which specific categories of SMEs should receive assistance in some shape or form. The objective of this thesis is to bring an element of response to the above-mentioned question concerning public financing measures in particular. More precisely, its objective is to show how the type of measures used by governments and the internal characteristics of beneficiary firms contribute to make government intervention more or less effective in the short term (over a one-year interval) notably in terms of job creation. The interest of this thesis thus lies in the fact that it highlights new parameters which can be used in the framework of strategies aiming at improving the results of government intervention in the SME sector. The measures we examine include research and development subsidies, capital interventions, and loans. The characteristics of firms we consider include the level of cash-flow, the level of equity, and the level of financial debt. To achieve our objective, we focus on the context of the Brussels-capital Region in Belgium and consider 2004-2010 as the period of study. The thesis is principally inspired by Storey’s propositions (one of the pioneers of research on entrepreneurship and public policies), who posits that setting effective SME policies requires an understanding of factors influencing the birth, the growth, and the death of the latter. It uses the comparative and longitudinal approaches in a quasi-experimental research design with the relative difference-in-differences estimation and panel-data regression including dummy variables as techniques of analysis. The thesis is presented in five chapters. The first is devoted to the general introduction, in which we delineate the framework of the study. The second reviews the literature on the foundations and evaluation methods of SME policies. It gives the state of the art of current research on the topic addressed and defines the background of the thesis. The third chapter describes the methodology used to answer the research question. The fourth chapter is devoted to the results, which are presented through two empirical studies. The first empirical study analyzes the influence of the type of measures. It reveals that subsidies are on average more effective than the two other forms of financing followed respectively by loans, and capital interventions. The second empirical study analyzes the simultaneous influence of the type of measures and the characteristics of beneficiary firms. It shows that public measures are in general more effective in categories of firms having a relatively-high level of cash-flow, a relatively-high level of equity, or a relatively-low level of debt than in the other categories of firms. This result means that a high level of cash-flow as a high level of equity and a low level of debt have a positive effect on the expected outcomes of government intervention in the SME sector. Finally, chapter 5 presents the general conclusion. In this chapter, we summarize the main points developed; present the limitations of the thesis and the perspectives for future research. / La recherche sur les politiques publiques visant à soutenir les PME s’est fortement développée au cours de ces dernières années. C’est le cas en particulier dans les pays développés, où de nombreuses institutions ont été mises en place pour soutenir ces entreprises en raison notamment de leur importance socio-économique. Pourtant, la communauté scientifique s’accorde sur le fait que nous ayons toujours des gaps de connaissance substantiels concernant la question du comment et quand les pouvoirs publics devraient intervenir pour assister les PME (ou les entrepreneurs), et quelles catégories spécifiques de PME devraient recevoir de l’aide sous une forme quelconque. Cette thèse essaye d’apporter un élément de réponse à la question susmentionnée en prenant le cas particulier des mesures publiques de financement. Son objectif est de montrer comment le type de mesure utilisé par les pouvoirs publics et les caractéristiques internes des entreprises bénéficiaires contribuent à rendre l’intervention publique plus ou moins efficaces dans le court terme (sur un intervalle d’un an) notamment en termes de création d’emplois. Ainsi, l’intérêt de cette thèse réside dans le fait qu’elle met en évidence de nouveaux paramètres ou facteurs qui peuvent être utilisés dans le cadre des stratégies visant à optimiser les résultats de l’intervention publique dans le secteur des PME. Les mesures que nous examinons incluent les subsides à la recherche développement, les interventions en capital, et les prêts. Les caractéristiques des entreprises que nous considérons comprennent le niveau de cash-flow, le niveau des capitaux propres, et le niveau de la dette financière à plus d’un an. Pour atteindre notre objectif, nous nous focalisons sur le contexte de la Région de Bruxelles-capitale en Belgique et considérons la période 2004-2010 comme période d’étude. La thèse s’inspire principalement des travaux de Storey (un des pionniers de la recherche sur l’entrepreneuriat et les politiques publiques), qui soutient que la mise en place de politiques efficaces dans le secteur des PME nécessite une compréhension et une prise en compte des facteurs concourant à la naissance, la croissance, et la faillite de ces entreprises. Elle utilise les approches comparative et longitudinale, dans un design de recherche quasi-expérimental avec l’estimation par différence-en-différences relative et la régression avec des données de panel incluant les variables dummy comme techniques d’analyse. La thèse est présentée en cinq chapitres. Le premier chapitre porte sur l’introduction générale, qui délimite le cadre général de la thèse. Le second passe en revue la littérature et ressort les fondements et méthodes d’évaluation des politiques visant à soutenir les PME. Il fait un état de l’art de la recherche actuelle sur le sujet abordé et définit le cadre théorique de la thèse. Le troisième chapitre présente la méthodologie utilisée pour répondre à la question de recherche. Le quatrième chapitre est consacré aux résultats, qui sont présentés à travers deux études empiriques. La première étude empirique analyse l’influence du type. Elle révèle que les subsides sont en moyenne plus efficaces que les deux autres formes de financement, suivis par les prêts, et le capital respectivement. La deuxième étude empirique analyse l’influence simultanée du type de mesure et des caractéristiques des entreprises bénéficiaires. Elle montre que les mesures publiques sont en général plus efficaces chez les catégories entreprises présentant un niveau de cash-flow relativement élevé, un montant de capitaux propres relativement élevé, et un niveau d’endettement relativement faible. Ces résultats indiquent ainsi qu’un niveau de cash-flow élevé de même qu’un niveau de capitaux propres élevé et un niveau d’endettement faible contribuent à rendre les mesures publiques plus efficaces. Pour finir, le chapitre 5 présente la conclusion générale. Dans ce chapitre, nous résumons les principaux point développés, et présentons les limites de la thèse ainsi que les perspectives pour la recherche future. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Since 1989 Austria's investment activities in Central and Eastern Europe has intensified. Investments are concentrated in adjacent countries. Geographical proximity and close historical and cultural ties have enabled even small and medium-sized Austrian enterprises to achieve a 'first mover advantage'. Investments have been performed to a large extent in industries that are typically not connected with outsourcing activities (trade, finance and insurance, construction). Market-driven factors and strategic considerations are the ultimate objective of these investments. Only a few sectors, in particular a so-called 'core' industrial sector (metal products, mechanical products, electrical and electronic equipment), indicate that low labour costs are of importance. Trade and sales data of the affiliates support the dominance of the local market. Whilst on average 66% of the affiliates output was sold locally this share was only 39% for the "core" industrial sector. This sector indicates particular patterns of relocation. Nevertheless, until now this part of Austria's FDI has only been of minor importance. (author's abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

In this dissertation, I investigate how different aspects of the procurement process and evaluation affect bidding behavior. In essay 1, we attempt to map public procurements in Sweden by gathering a representative sample of procurements. We find that framework agreements and multiple-contract procurements represent a very large share of total government spending. The total value procured by government authorities, municipalities and counties accounts to 215 BSEK yearly, which we believe is an underestimate due to data issues. Essay 2 suggests a simple method for of estimating bidding costs in public procurement, and are empirically estimated to be approximately 2 percent of the procurement value using a comprehensive dataset and approximately 0.5 percent for a more homogeneous road re-pavement dataset. Our method provides reasonable estimates with, compared to other methods, relatively low data requirements. Essay 3 investigates the effect of quality evaluation on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Contrary to common belief, SMEs’ participation does not increase when evaluating quality, and their probability to win procurements decreases compared with that of large firms. In essay 4, the bidders’ decision to apply for a procurement review “appeal” is investigated. Contrary to procurers’ beliefs, evaluating quality is found not to have any statistically significant effect on the probability of appeals. Instead, I empirically confirm theoretical prediction of the 1st runner-up’s decision to claim the evaluation to be redone, as well as free-riding in appealing. In essay 5, we test whether spatial econometrics can be used to test for collusion in procurement data. We apply this method on a known cartel and test during and after the period the cartel was active. Our estimates support the proposition that spatial econometrics can be used to test for collusive behavior.