This dissertation investigates the role which the acquisition of external resources plays in firm strategy. External Resource Acquisition (ERA) is a core strategic action for firm survival, especially when firms are faced with high munificence and uncertainty in regards to their resource environment. Primarily driven by the theoretical premises of the Resource Based View (RBV) of the firm (Barney, 1991; Wernerfelt, 1984), scholars have conceptualized ERA as predominantly a resource-driven action. Under this view, firms engage in ERA to alleviate their resource constraints (Combs & Ketchen, 1999), access complementary resources (e.g., Rothaermel, 2001b), and further enhance their knowledge base (e.g., Ahuja & Katila, 2001). These contributions significantly advance understanding on various dimensions of ERA, but they treat the competitive environment of the firm as an exogenous factor. While there is a good theoretical rationale of the exclusion of the competitive environment in terms of the explanatory power of the RBV and its theoretical limits (Peteraf & Barney, 2003), the treatment of ERA as solely a resource-driven action, I argue, significantly fails to provide a holistic assessment on the strategic implications of ERA. I address this gap by a) developing a conceptual framework of ERA that takes into account both the firm’s idiosyncratic attributes and its competitive environment, and b) providing an extensive empirical analysis on the patterns of ERA activity among competing firms. Departing from this resource-driven view of ERA, I argue that ERA can be also seen as a competitor-driven action. I propose that firms engage in ERA to also respond to their competitive environment and more specifically to their competitors’ ERA-related actions. To build the competitive side of my argument, I draw upon the competitive dynamics literature and theories of interorganizational imitation. Taking these two views together, I argue that ERA can be seen as a strategic action that leads to a broader set of strategic choices. Drawing from an extensive sample of 4,729 ERA actions among the top 50 biopharmaceutical firms between 1987 and 2006, my empirical analysis provides overall support for both the resource- and competitor- driven views of ERA. This dissertation makes at least three contributions to the field of strategy. First, it illustrates that firm strategy, at least in the context of ERA, can be better explained when both firm- and competitor- specific explanations of firm action are taken into account. This particularly important for scholars who view firms from a RBV point of view, and tend to exclude the competitive environment of the firm from their conceptual development and analysis. Second, to better understand complex strategic actions, such as ERA, scholars must adopt a broader theoretical perspective of strategic choice. The empirical support of ERA as both resource- and competitor- driven, illustrates that firm strategy cannot be sufficiently explained by one theoretical view. Third, my empirical analysis provides support for the temporal dimension of strategy, when firms are faced with changing technological paradigms. In the case of the biotechnology paradigm, for example, the extent which firm- and competitor- specific factors explain patterns of ERA changes over time.

A review of modern business literature demonstrates that despite a proliferation of best practice models for managing change, none leads to consistent and sustainable success. In this work, action research within three separate projects leads to a model that facilitates change at a project level. Three main arguments for success are made: individuals and their relationships are more critical to success than technology and structure; an ability to look at problems from a systems point of view provides the key to identify excellent solutions; and making room for individuals to use their uniqueness leads to sustainable change. The final model developed is an innovative, content free support framework for change that guides the change team in creating options and making choices throughout the change process. Its role is to support the application of existing tools and techniques. The framework can lead to consistent and sustainable success because its use ensures congruence with the needs of the individuals and the business.

The research develops a framework for the evaluation of automotive supply chain performance in China. In addition, the research presents indications from a study of Chinese automotive companies with regards to their evaluation and attempts to propose some alternatives for future improvement.

This thesis is concerned with the assessment of human factors relevant to the selection of AMT (Advanced Manufacturing Technologies). Human factors such as employee morale, labour flexibility and workers skills should be evaluated during the pre-installation planning, since they greatly influence the implementation outcome. For newly industrialised countries, in particular, incorporating human factors into the selection seems paramount. These economies are in the critical early stages of AMT adoption. Selection practices are often incompatible with the complexity of these technologies. Moreover, low rates of secondary education, scarcity of technicians, and problems with workforce flexibility reinforce the importance of assessing human factors before the actual technology installation. Although some methods have been proposed to evaluate intangible aspects such as the human factors, the lack of a structured approach to identify and quantify these items still constitutes a major obstacle. Furthermore, this approach should be easy to use and establish a common measure for the comparison of options. It should involve key stakeholders and seek consensus on the decision. Aiming to address this gap, the research was undertaken in three phases: theory building, refinement and testing. A preliminary framework was devised from the review of literature, interviews with experts, and a pilot case study. A process was developed to operationalise the framework. The approach was applied using action research in nine case studies in Brazil: a pilot case study in the theory building phase, four cases for refinement, and four firms constituted the final testing. Three main categories of human factors were proposed: labour flexibility, individual capabilities, and employee relations. Grouping these items was crucial to create a definition for these factors and facilitate their identification.Taguchi's Loss Function was used as evaluation method for the human factors and available AMT. The strategies developed for identification and evaluation represented an important theoretical contribution. The in-company applications corresponded to the main practical contribution of the research. Very positive feedback was obtained on the appropriateness of the approach to address identification and quantification issues.

The drug discovery and development subsector lies at the heart of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. However, previous studies have not distinguished this subsector from the industry as a whole. Little detailed analysis has looked at the fIrms that discover and develop new therapies. From a perspective of the Sectoral Systems of Innovation, this thesis aims to address this important gap in knowledge by looking at the structure, clustering, knowledge production and networking in the drug discovery and development subsector, and to stress the relevant policy implications. This study intends to objectively examine the best available indicators for the knowledge produced by this subsector and industry dynamics, therefore a broad design of methodology was chosen. Data was collected from government databases, scientific databases, commercial databases, industry associations and companies' websites, concerning the subsector's structure, clustering and concentration, research and development (R&D) investments, product pipelines, scientific publications and citations, patent publications, and alliance agreements. This study indicates that the drug discovery and development subsector was geographically clustered. The finding further reveals this subsector's hierarchical structure and divergence in strategy development. This thesis also suggests that the focuses of knowledge production in this subsector were changed when partners changed. Moreover, in arguing that this subsector featured massive knowledge production and expanding collaboration with other actors of the innovation systems, the analysis questioned the notion that domestic industry would benefit much from the successful knowledge production of this subsector, because much of the knowledge produced by this sector was going abroad through commercial licensing, and through mergers and acquisitions (M&As). The data of this study also indicated that the strategies of companies are co-evolved with its position within the networking and industry structure.

This thesis examines the operationalisation of stakeholder engagement process in sustainable waste management setting. The study aims to establish role of stakeholder power in the prioritisation process and add to empirical understanding of the way engagement affect accountability, which evaluates both the `process', and the `outcome' of engagement. This research is based on a three mini cases of local government authorities, which involve in-depth interviews, observations and document analysis. A broader insights of the engagement process from several stakeholder groups, namely the residents, NGOs, councillors and private waste contractors, are considered and compared with managerial views, and several aspects of stakeholder engagement practices are analysed, including the mechanisms used as well as the challenges faced by the LGAs in engaging. In addition, the intentions behind engagement undertakings are analysed and evaluation of the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement practices are made. Drawing on stakeholder theory, the role of power is explored as a stakeholder attribute in determining salience and in the engagement process. Insights from the interviewees are analysed in relation to the extent of participation and perceived level of power held which are then used to map the extent of their involvement on the ladder of engagement. The findings indicate that power does play an important role in the engagement process. Managers also give greater consideration to those demonstrating certain extent of power i.e. the private waste contractor and councillors. It has also been proved that managers' perceptions of the levels of power held by stakeholders play a significant role in establishing their priorities and deciding between competing interests. The use of stakeholder engagement as a mechanism for accountability has led to the recognition of a deficiency underlying the many processes of engagement. The study also has identified an additional feature of accountability, namely the interactive nature of engagement, which is unrecognised in other established measures of accountability.

The aim of this study is to explore the phenomenon of the legitimacy crisis. This is a variant of organizational crises which, although increasingly common and managerially relevant, is still under-explored. A legitimacy crisis signals a problematic relationship between the focal organization and its socio-institutional environment which calls for repairing of meaning. Having considered this, the study has developed a theoretical framework that integrates the sensemaking and institutional perspectives to investigate this phenomenon. To operationalize this theoretical framework, I have conducted a single longitudinal case study featuring Nike in the 1990s' sweatshop controversy, using a narrative approach and documenting the narrative unfolding of the crisis as the unit of analysis. An extensive collection of publicly accessible archival data constituted the bulk of the data base. By means of this framework, the research provides rounded understanding of the causes of legitimacy crises, their unfolding patterns, and organizations' responses to them. Moreover, this theoretical integration also contributes to narrowing the gap between the sensemaking and institutional theories. The findings highlight that rational myths serve as sensegiving mechanisms for social actors, and that their effects penetrate the interplay between frameworks and meanings in sensemaking processes, as well as operating throughout the process of organizational restructuring in the context of a legitimacy crisis. Moreover, this study identifies that improving the efficiency of sensemaking, and thereby improving meaning management, is the key to resolving a legitimacy crisis. This should be achieved through the modification and elaboration of interpretation frameworks. In particular, this study highlights the effects of organizational structuring in facilitating both internal and external communication during a legitimacy crisis, thereby contributing to the improved management of the unfolding crisis and to resolution of the crisis.

It is now widely recognized that supply chains, not individual organisations, are responsible for the success or failure of businesses. This has necessitated close coordination among supply chain partners. In the past few decades, in an attempt to improve the overall efficiency of the supply chain, many companies have engaged in collaboration with other supply chain members. Consequently, several supply chain management initiatives such as Vendor Managed Inventory, Efficient Consumer Response, Continuous Replenishment and Accurate Response have been proposed in the literature to improve the flow of materials as well as information among supply chain partners. In this line, Collaborative Planning Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) is a relatively new initiative that combines the intelligence of multiple trading partners in planning and fulfilment of customer demand by linking sales and marketing best practices. The role of CPFR has been widely studied in the US retail industry, but it has not been researched much in the UK and also in Asian countries. Hence, this research focuses on the adoption of CPFR in the UK and India. Levels of collaboration and information sharing differ to a great extent across the supply chains based on the needs of individual businesses. Accordingly, the importance of CPFR varies in different supply chains. The study reported in this research explores the operations of CPFR and highlights the corresponding benefits in different firms using case studies of Indian (4 cases) and British (2 cases) companies operating in Make-To-Stock (MTS) and Make-To-Order (MTO) environments. In this research, information exchange among collaborating partners is analysed with a focus on its role in demand forecasting and timely replenishment. In order to identify potential benefits of CPFR, this research has adopted a four stage approach. In the first stage, interviews with top and middle managers in the case companies helped to develop a clear understanding of the collaborative arrangements in each company. In stage two, a conceptual model called the Reference Demand Model (RDM) was developed. RDM is a specific model representing the dependency of demand projection on information from different supply chain members involved in supply chain processes. When fully developed, the RDM will serve as a decision tool for the companies involved in collaboration to decide on the level of collaboration and the type of information exchange in order to improve supply chain planning and forecasting. Further, to explore how demand information collected through RDM can help improve forecasts accuracy, a quantitative approach is employed in the next two stages. Therefore, stages 3 and 4 were studied only for the cases with detailed sales data. In stage 3, structural equation models were developed to establish the underlying relationships among demand factors that were identified using RDM. In stage 4, regression forecast models of sales were developed using the demand factors identified through RDM. The forecast models showed an improved accuracy and thus this research suggested the case company (Soft Drink Co.) to use the demand information (identified from RDM) in the demand forecasts. The results strongly support CPFR in a MTS environment with promotional sales, and exchanging the detailed sales information from downstream to upstream supply chain members may improve the accuracy of demand forecasts. Information exchange is also required to ensure timely replenishment for MTS products. However, in a MTO environment, there is less need for collaboration with downstream supply chain partners for the purpose of short term demand forecasting.

Supply chains today continue to have shorter life-cycle products as a result of high rates of innovation. The increasing number of electronic retailing and catalogue sales fulfil the requirement of home shopping. More liberal return policies have been introduced to protect customers' buying rights and at the same time generate more sales. A growing number of environmental regulations are created which involve a wide range of products. All of these circumstances contribute to the reverse flow of products which require manufacturing organisations to strategically manage and deal with the return flows. Reverse supply chains or reverse logistics have attracted the attention of many academics and practitioners and one of the important field studies in this area is of Supply Chain Management. To contribute to the field, this research is purposely carried out to study the performance measurement in reverse supply chains. Reverse logistics networks may be classified into several categories depending on the source of the reverse flow. This research will focus on customer and distribution return flows. The research is significant because there is a gap in the literature and it could help to give companies guidance in managing their reverse supply chains better. Case studies on five companies which include manufacturers and retailers in the UK provide empirical evidence for their practice of performance measurement in reverse supply chains. The research investigates the selection of strategic objectives for reverse supply chains and the impact of product returns' characteristics and the choice of product returns disposition channels. Learning from the performance measurement in a reverse supply chain, the research proposes a three-level performance measurement framework model for reverse and closed-loop supply chains. This framework model provides the decision makers with a formal and systematic approach to select strategic objectives and towards the use of meaningful performance attributes and performance metrics. Subsequently, it offers a practical approach to the decision maker to perform and manage the reverse supply chain more effectively.

Most ideas of industrial Quality Management (QM) originated in the USA and Japan, and have since spread globally. New QM models and concepts have been developed, disseminated and adopted (or indeed adapted) in many countries. Considering the evolution QM thinking over the last few decades, many QM models and concepts involve both 'hard' and 'soft' aspects. The former may involve use of procedures and a range of tools and techniques; whereas soft aspects are concerned with human factors such as culture. Much current literature in the QM field tends to emphasize the hard aspects. The author, however, argues that it is important to understand and investigate the soft aspects (particularly the organizational culture and management practices, the relationships between QM and culture) in an organization, which are key success factors for successful QM implementation. On the other hand, many researchers have studied QM dissemination and adoption phenomena from the perspectives of both management fashion and diffusion theory. Following Abrahamson (1996), this research proposed that QM initiatives can be considered as management fashions, disseminated from 'fashion-setter' (i.e. the supply side) to 'fashion-consumer' (i.e. the demand side), and the impact and results being influenced by various adoption factors. While trends in academic and professional publication rates related to QM initiatives can help to identify fashionable approaches on the supply side, there was lack of empirical evidence to explain the behaviour of 'fashion-consumers' on the demand side, in an international context (e.g. why do managers adopt certain QM tools? What are their criteria for decision-making on QM adoption?). This research aimed to explore the behaviour of 'fashion-consumers', so as to fully understand the QM dissemination and adoption process, in a Chinese context. Because of its economic importance, large manufacturing industry and distinct culture, China plays an important role in the global supply chain, and has attracted academic interests from various fields. Therefore, the author focused on the . management of quality in Chinese manufacturing industry; to provide insights into the relationships between QM, organizational culture and national culture; and explain the phenomenon of dissemination and adoption of QM from the perspective of Chinese fashion-consumers, based on multiple case-studies of Shanghai manufacturing industry. The research was based primarily on interviews with managers at six case-study companies, supplemented by interviews with quality experts and professionals. The Competing Values Framework (CVF) was used to characterize organizational culture, in the context of this primarily qualitative study. The key outcomes of this research relate to: 1) the development and current status of QM implementation in companies with different ownership types; 2) the organizational culture issues in companies with different ownership types; 3) the relationships between QM and culture; and 4) a dissemination and adoption framework for QM that contains nine observed dissemination and adoption factors, and is compatible with current theory relating to management fashions and also diffusion of innovations. The research has made a contribution to knowledge in all these four areas, while extending general understanding of QM dissemination in the context of current theory. It has provided framework and a richer knowledge of dissemination, adoption and 'soft' aspects of QM in the Chinese context, and of relationships between QM and culture from organizational and national culture perspectives. The differences observed among enterprises with different ownership types are of particular note. The application of CVF to complement qualitative research is also considered a methodological advance.