Dans un contexte de développement des stratégies marketing multi-canal lié principalement à l’évolution constante de l’outil Internet et des nouvelles technologies de diffusion (Dupuis, Prunet, 2001 ; Dabholkar, 1996), il convient de mieux comprendre les effets de ces stratégies sur la performance commerciale de l’entreprise via le processus de fidélisation client. Ainsi, ce projet de recherche propose d’investiguer, à travers diverses études quantitatives l’effet les relances multi-canal sur la fidélité envers les enseignes à travers une opération "chèque fidélité". l'étude permettra de construire un modèle de référence dont la duplicité sera vérifiée afin d'être exploité sur plusieurs secteurs d'activité commerciale. / In a context of development of the multi-channel marketing strategies bound mainly to the constant evolution of the Internet tools and the new technologies of distribution (Dupuis, Prunet, on 2001; Dabholkar, on 1996), it is advisable to understand the effects of these strategies on the companies' commercial performance through the process of customer loyalty development. So, this research project suggests investigating, through diverse quantitative studies, the effect the multi-channel relaunchings on loyalty programs to signs through an operation "check". The study will allow to build a benchmark model which the duplicity will be verified to be exploited on several business sectors.

Management of water resources is afflicted with uncertainties. Nowadays it is facing more and new uncertainties since pace and dimension of changes (e.g. climatic, demographic) are accelerating and are likely to increase even more in the future. Hence it is crucial to find pragmatic ways to deal with these uncertainties in water management. This thesis argues for an analytical yet pragmatic approach to enable decision-makers to deal with uncertainties in a more explicit and systematic way and allow for better informed decisions. The approach is based on the concept of framing and mental models, referring to different ways in which people make sense of the world and of uncertainties. It is analysed how uncertainties are framed and dealt with in water management practice and strategies are elaborated how dealing with uncertainties can be improved in water management practice. The research for this thesis has been closely linked to the EU research project NeWater (New Approaches to Adaptive Water Management under Uncertainty, www.newater.uos.de) (2005-2009). It draws on practical experiences of water managers at local and regional level in river basin management in three case studies, i.e. the German Wupper, the Dutch Kromme Rijn, both sub basins of the river Rhine, and the Doñana region located in the Guadalquivir Estuary in Spain. For the assessment of framing of uncertainty two different methods were developed and applied in the three river basins. Both aim at identifying parameters of importance in the process of framing uncertainty in order to understand how uncertainties get framed. The empirical research confirmed that indeed water managers are faced with a range of uncertainties and that so far no systematic approaches are applied for dealing with those in management practice. The results in the case studies suggest that there are no universal findings as to how actors frame uncertainties but rather that framings are dependent on the respective uncertainty situation, on roles (e.g. project leader, public administration, scientist etc.), and most often on personal traits. The case study findings moreover suggest that there are no universally valid parameters of influence in the framing of uncertainties. Neither could a clear superiority of one approach over the other be discerned. Nonetheless, the parameters of framing of uncertainty proved to be a supportive tool for preparing and structuring decision-making in the case studies and developing improvement options for dealing with uncertainty. Beyond the results of the development of approaches for the assessment of framing of uncertainty in water management practice, processes of communication and learning turned out to be of major importance. Making framings of uncertainties explicit by help of parameters of framing proved to be useful in the case studies for revealing different points of views on the uncertainties and with regard to the strategies to deal with them. This is a first step in enabling dialogue among opposed framers and an important precondition for reframing and learning which is crucial for the long-term performance in management of natural resources.

In this work, we investigate job-shop problems where limited capacity buffers to store jobs in non-processing periods are present. In such a problem setting, after finishing processing on a machine, a job either directly has to be processed on the following machine or it has to be stored in a prespecified buffer. If the buffer is completely occupied the job may wait on its current machine but blocks this machine for other jobs. Besides a general buffer model,also specific configurations are considered.The key issue to develop fast heuristics for the job-shop problem with buffers is to find a compact representation of solutions. In contrast to the classical job-shop problem,where a solution may be given by the sequences of the jobs on the machines, now also the buffers have to be incorporated in the solution representation. In this work, we propose two solution representations for the job-shop problem with buffers. Furthermore, we investigate whether the given solution representations can be simplified for specific buffer configurations. For the general buffer configuration it is shown that an incorporation of the buffers in the solution representation is necessary, whereas for specific buffer configurations possible simplifications are presented. Based on the given solution representations we develop local search heuristics in the second part of this work. Therefore, the well-known block approach for the classical job-shop problem is generalized to the job-shop problem with specific buffer configurations.

Immersive technologies, including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), are envisioned to become ubiquitous in future work environments. The implementation of both technologies is associated with versatile benefits, such as decreased costs, reduced physical risks, increased employee self-satisfaction, and lower resource consumption. Despite these potential benefits, the organizational diffusion of immersive technologies faces myriad challenges. For instance, usability problems along with privacy concerns have introduced technology acceptance issues. Addressing these challenges, this cumulative dissertation explores the design, application, and implications of AR and VR systems in the workplace by employing a mixed-methods approach. The contribution of this research is threefold. First, this dissertation provides descriptive insights into user preferences for immersive technologies to inform user-centered design considerations. Second, this dissertation presents design principles to guide the development of four information technology artifacts. Two of these artifacts enable VR-based collaboration in the fields of design thinking and process modeling, while the remaining two artifacts leverage AR to facilitate the crowdsourcing of human intelligence tasks and to support students in distance learning settings. Third, this dissertation develops an e³-value model for the AR and VR business ecosystem to illustrate how technology providers can transform such artifacts into economic value. Taken together, these insights improve understanding the sociotechnical interplay between humans, tasks, and immersive technologies, as well as its economic implications.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Ecology and Biodiversity / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

published_or_final_version / Japanese Studies / Master / Master of Philosophy

Cette thèse s'intéresse à montrer l'intérêt aussi bien conceptuel qu'empirique de l'approche optionnelle de l'évaluation et du timing des projets de fusions-acquisitions. Pour ce faire, nous avons, tout d'abord, mobilisé une large littérature sur les fusions-acquisitions et les options réelles qui y sont liées. Constatant le manque de contributions empiriques au niveau de cette littérature, nous avons procédé à la réalisation de deux études empiriques. La première est une étude qualitative exploratoire réalisée auprès d'experts en fusions-acquisitions. Les résultats de cette étude nous ont permis d'étudier d'une manière approfondie les particularités de l'évaluation et du timing des fusions-acquisitions et de faire émerger de nouvelles catégories d'options réelles présentes dans les différentes phases du processus d'évaluation et dans les moments de choix de timing.Ces options ont été par la suite classées en options stratégiques de croissance et en option de flexibilité. Une fois les options identifiées, nous sommes passés à notre deuxième étude empirique qui est une étude de cas réel. Celle-ci vise, à partir d'un projet de fusion-acquisition réel, à expliciter les problématiques d'évaluation et de choix de timing lorsque l'acquéreur utilise les techniques traditionnelles d'évaluation telles que la Valeur Actuelle Nette. Les limites de ces méthodes nous amènent à proposer des solutions pour une meilleure approche de l'évaluation et du timing des fusions-acquisitions en contexte d'incertitude: la méthode par les options réelles. Pour ce faire, nous proposons d'évaluer l'opportunité d'acquisition et d'étudier le choix de timing opportun à sa conclusion à partir de la méthodologie de l'option simple. Trois méthodes d'évaluation sont alors adoptées: le modèle d'évaluation en temps continu (Black et Scholes), le modèle développé en temps discret ( arbres binomiaux) et la technique des simulations de Monte Carlo. La deuxième solution proposée est celle de l'approche de l'évaluation et du timing des fusions-acquisitions par la méthodologie de l'option composée multi-séquentielle. A ce titre, nous mobilisons le modèle binomial adapté par Mun (2010) et proposons une modélisation sur mesure sous Visual Basic des séquences d'options sur options liées au processus d'évaluation et au choix du timing / The aim of this thesis is to study the conceptual and the empirical role when valuation and timing of mergers and acquisitions are approached by real options theory. To reach this aim, we started by analyzing a huge litterature on real option approach of mergers and acquisitions. We noticed a big lack on empirical contributions of real options in the mergers and acquisitions field, specially in pre-closing phases, where the acquirer value his project and choose the optimal timing to conclude it. To more investigate on that, we led deux studies. The first one is an exploratory study, in which we interviewed professionals on mergers and acquisitions on partucularities of valuation and timing on mergers and acquisitions. Then we asked them to identify real options on valuation and timing. Identified options were divided on strategic growth options and flexibility options. After the identification, we led our second study which is a real case study of a merger and acquisition project. The aim of this study is to prove limits of traditionnal valuation methods like the Net Present Value. As solutions to these limits, we proposed to use the real option approach. First, we used the simple option methodology and then the multi-phased compound options methodology to ameliorate valuation results and the timing choice of concluding mergers and acquisitions

Long term family fortune preservation is a matter of human behavior; it is a dynamic process of activity or group governance that has to be reenergized successfully in each successive generation to overcome the threat of falling into entropy. Each successive generation has to reaffirm its participation in such government system.Family enterprises are the fundamental actors of the economic activity, and also constitute a stability factor of the productive system, because the majority of them is small or medium-sized (SMEs), and that is why it is interesting to investigate their financial behavior.There is little knowledge concerning financing decisions of enterprises on emerging markets. There is a particular need of empirical work that identifies the financial patterns of developing countries enterprises. It is possible that these enterprises are creating a new financial structure that results convenient for their particular environment. / Long term family fortune preservation is a matter of human behavior; it is a dynamic process of activity or group governance that has to be reenergized successfully in each successive generation to overcome the threat of falling into entropy. Each successive generation has to reaffirm its participation in such government system.Family enterprises are the fundamental actors of the economic activity, and also constitute a stability factor of the productive system, because the majority of them is small or medium-sized (SMEs), and that is why it is interesting to investigate their financial behavior.There is little knowledge concerning financing decisions of enterprises on emerging markets. There is a particular need of empirical work that identifies the financial patterns of developing countries enterprises. It is possible that these enterprises are creating a new financial structure that results convenient for their particular environment.

Le choix du mode de développement est aujourd’hui au coeur de la réflexion stratégique des groupes hôteliers. Plusieurs options s’offrent aux décideurs : la pleine propriété des actifs immobiliers, la franchise, les mandats de gestion, ou les contrats de « sale and leaseback ». La question centrale de la thèse proposée est de savoir si la cession des actifs immobiliers (asset light) couplée à un mode de développement ayant une moindre intensité capitalistique est créatrice de valeur pour les actionnaires, en comparaison de la stratégie asset heavy qui regroupe la propriété et la gestion des unités hôtelières. La revue de littérature envisagée reposera sur un triple ancrage théorique : les théories de la firme (théorie des coûts de transaction, théorie des droits de propriété, théorie de l’agence et le modèle des compétences et des ressources), la théorie financière et la théorie immobilière. Une analyse des différents modes de gestion sera effectuée à la lumière de ces théories. Le mode de collecte de données reposera sur une logique expérimentale qui permettra de réaliser des simulations de l’impact de variables environnementales et sectorielles sur la performance et la création de valeur. Le travail sera réalisé sur le marché américain et le segment upper upscale. Les exercices de simulations seront complétés par des études statistiques qui permettront d’identifier les environnements favorisant l’une ou l’autre des méthodes et potentiellement d’arbitrer entre les modes light et heavy en fonction du couple risque/rentabilité. Ce premier travail sur la performance sera complété par la mesure de la création de valeur des différents modes de développement choisis. / The choice for hotel development modes is at the core of the current preoccupations of international hotel groups. They have few options to choose from: full ownership, franchise contracts, management contracts, or sale and leaseback contracts. The problematic raised in this dissertation is twofold: first, it wants to determine if asset light strategies, the less capital intensive development mode, create value for shareholders; second, it tries to compare and arbitrage between asset light and asset heavy strategies. The literature review is anchored on three theoretical pillars: the theory of the firm (transaction costs theory, property rights theory, agency theory, and model of resources and competencies), the financial theory, and the real estate theory. An analysis of the different development modes is conducted in the light of those theoretical inputs. The empirical analysis uses an experimental approach through a number of simulations that estimate the impact of both the macroeconomic and the sectoral environments on hotels’ performance and value creation processes. This analysis is performed using data from the US market and the upper upscale hotel segment. Simulations are supplemented with a statistical analysis aimed at, first, identifying the environments most likely to favor one or the other mode; and, second, at providing the grounds for a sound arbitrage between asset light and asset heavy strategies in conjunction with a risk/reward analysis. Measures of performance resulting from that study are completed with a thorough analysis of the value creation potential stemming from the two different hotel development modes.