2020 has been a year thoroughly marked by the global COVID-19 pandemic, and the ways in which different governments have sought to manage the crisis have sparked controversy. This paper aims to challenge and ultimately falsify the theory of “authoritarian advantage” in crisis management using a single-case study design of most-likely logic. This is done by performing a case study of the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in China based on the argument that contrary to suggestions made by previous research, the measures undertaken by the Chinese regime in the initial phase of the crisis do not exhibit the advantages expected of an authoritarian political system. The study goes on to reconstruct the chain of events during the initial response and analyzes whether the response unfolds as expected by set theoretical criteria of benefiting from China’s institutional preconditions. The analysis finds that the theory of “authoritarian advantage” loses credibility in this case, and further allows for the conclusion that any “advantages” of the regime are largely offset by critical “disadvantages”. This leads to a discussion opening up for the possibility that there is no single political system that is best suited for crisis management, as different systems enjoy different strengths as well as weaknesses. Understanding the circumstances of this is also recommended as a field of future research.

The object of this work is the analysis and proposals for changes to the marketing tools to enhance the competitiveness of the hotel. The thesis compares the theoretical knowledge with reality in the hotel, specifies opportunities for changes and methods, how to achieve these opportunities. Based on the analysis of the competitors, SWOT analysis and the questionnaire the proposals for change will be identified.

Firm growth relies on launching new products and services. An interesting question is, what are those unique project management processes that firms need to know in order to implement growth strategies in the form of new products and services. This paper will aim to shed light on what are those specific project management processes that drive the realization of firm growth. There research propositions highlighted on chapter three have been investigated through a case analysis of two large banks. The case findings indicate the organization’s ability to prioritize projects, implement those projects using a simulation model and nurture a strong project culture are central towards achieving growth. The findings of this paper build on earlier project, portfolio and programme management disciplines and adds further understanding on competitive advantage. Further research is proposed on innovation project management. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Corporate reputation has evolved into a strategic and intangible corporate asset and accordingly directors, as custodians of corporate reputation, are tasked with building and managing corporate reputation as a source of competitive advantage. The purpose of this research is to ascertain the extent of the operationalisation of corporate reputation and the perspectives of directors as to the manner in which they perceive, value, build and manage corporate reputation. A critical review of the corporate reputation literature evidenced much ambiguity as to the definition of corporate reputation, whilst the value and competitive advantage of corporate reputation, has been empirically established. The literature within this realm fails to adequately address the operalisation of this construct and accordingly, this study attempts to address the apparent void in the academic literature by offering empirical evidence as to the manner in which directors build and manage a company’s reputation by proposing a framework to guide directors in their endeavours. In order to gauge director’s perspectives, 12 semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with the directors of a multi-national company based in South Africa. The company operates in a highly regulated and competitive industry and the research findings demonstrate that corporate reputation is indeed acknowledged as a key, intangible asset. Whilst the directors did not possess clear insight into building and managing corporate reputation, several key themes emerged and the findings are consolidated into a proposed framework and a portfolio of the dimensions of corporate reputation are established. This study lays the foundation for further studies within the realm of operationalising corporate reputation, particularly as a source of competitive advantage. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Organisations that seek a competitive advantage cannot afford to compromise their brand reputation or expose it to disrepute. When employees leek information, it is not only the breach of confidentiality that is a problem, but it also causes a major brand reputation problem for the organisation. Any possible breach of confidentiality should be minimised by implementing adequate security within the organisation and among its employees. An important issue to address is the development of suitable access control models that are able to restrict access not only to unauthorised data sets, but also to unauthorised combinations of data sets. Within organisations such as banks, clients may exist that are in conflict with one another. This conflict results from the fact that clients are functioning in the same business domain and that their information should be shielded from one another because they are in competition for various reasons. When information on any of these conflicting clients is extracted from their data sets via a data-mining process and used to their detriment or to the benefit of the guilty party, this is considered a breach of confidentiality. In data-mining environments, access control usually strips the data of any identity so as to concentrate on tendencies and ensure that data cannot be traced back to a respondent. There is an active research field in data mining that focuses specifically on ‘preserving’ the privacy of the data during the data-mining process. However, this approach does not account for those situations when data mining needs to be performed to give answers to specific clients. In such cases, when the clients’ identity cannot be stripped, it is essential to minimise the chances of a possible breach of confidentiality. For this reason, this thesis investigated an environment where conflicting clients’ information can easily be gathered and used or sold, as to justify the inclusion of conflict management in the proposed access control model. This thesis presents the Conflict-based Access Control (CBAC) model. The model makes it possible to manage conflict on different levels of severity among the clients of an organisation – not only as specified by the clients, but also as calculated by the organisation. Both types of conflict have their own cut-off points when the conflict is considered to be of no value any longer. Finally, a proof-of-concept prototype illustrates that the incorporation of conflict management is a viable solution to the problem of access control as it minimises the chances of a breach of confidentiality / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Computer Science / unrestricted

Two major objectives of organisations are to achieve firm performance and to maintain a competitive advantage; strategies to achieve these objectives differ widely. Research at the entrepreneurship and marketing interface investigates the application of both dimensions on firm activities, processes and behaviour to achieve different performance parameters. In the field of entrepreneurial marketing research two key approaches are discussed: a market-driven and a market-driving approach. Market-driven approaches, though applied by many organisations, are less successful in allowing organisations to outperform others and create long-term competitive advantage. Market-driving, on the other hand, is considered to contribute to enduring competitive advantage. Current research indicates that the construct of market driving and the factors that influence it are not well understood. The purpose of this study is therefore to measure market driving and determine firm-internal factors that influence an organisation’s market-driving ability in the South African healthcare industry. In this research, constructs drawn from the literature study were used to formulate the conceptual framework and statistical model. The empirical part of the study used a fully structured telephonic questionnaire and the respondents were managers in organisations in the South African healthcare industry. Data analysis employed structural equation modelling. The results indicate that market driving can reliably be measured by three activities: market sensing; influencing customer preferences; and alliance formation. Entrepreneurial behaviour, strategic orientation and entrepreneurial capital have a more positive impact on market-driving ability than corporate entrepreneurial management. The study demonstrated that market-driving ability significantly benefits firm performance and relative competitive strength. The study provides a solid basis for future research in the field. Moreover, the results of the study can be applied by organisations in a three-step process. First, organisations can assess their current level of market driving. Second, they can assess influencing factors, and finally identify areas for improvement. Through continuous reassessment organisations can work on their market-driving ability to achieve their organisational objectives. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Business Management / unrestricted

This research aimsto highlight the attributes that contributeto a sustained competitive advantage of small-mediumenterprises (SMEs) in a sustainable context. With this knowledge, the studycan show academia and other organizations how to approach sustainability concerns and perform more effectively.The phenomenon of sustainable practices as a driver of sustainable competitive advantage among small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) in Germany was explored in this thesis. This research employs resource-based theory to explore the relationship between sustainable practices and competitive advantage in SMEs. According to resource-based theory, internal corporate resources and competencies provide a competitive advantage. In other words, the goal of this study is to look at the ESG (Environmental, Governance, and Social) elements of sustainability using resource-based theory. Finding out what a company is doing to ensure a resource's long-term sustainability raises manyquestions. Thus, toaddress such questions, qualitative analysis was used to obtain data for the interviews in this study. The multiple case study procedure utilized an abductive methodological approach, moving between empirical evidence and acquired theory.According to thefindings of this study, the firms under investigation have made efforts to improve ecologicalsustainability by incorporatingsustainability into their operations.The findings reveal that businesses believe they are accountable for making strategic decisions that benefit the environment and society. However, due to the early stages of the product life cycle or financial constraints, the company is still lagging in implementingthe ESG dimension. / <p>Online Presentation via Zoom</p>

Trots att Sveriges rankas som ett av världens mest jämställda länder lever fortfarande föreställningar om vilka egenskaper som är typiskt kvinnliga respektive manliga kvar. Tidigare studier har visat att emotion i kombination med kön påverkar hur snabbt en känsla uppfattas. Ilska upptäcktes till exempel snabbare hos män än kvinnor och glädje snabbare hos kvinnor än män. Syftet med föreliggande studie var således att söka svar på om könskategorisering gör skillnad för emotionsigenkänning. Genom en onlineenkät fick respondenterna (n=89) kategorisera emotionerna glad eller arg på manliga och kvinnliga ansikten. Medelvärdet på responstiderna beräknades och genom en 2 x 2 beroende ANOVA, med kön och emotion som beroende variabler, erhölls en signifikant huvudeffekt av både emotion och kön. Dock kunde ingen interaktionseffekt visas. Detta talar för att de stereotyper som tidigare forskning redogjort för eventuellt inte föreligger i en samtida svensk kontext. Vidare verkar det som kvinnor inte är behäftad med en lika snäv stereotyp som män. Detta eftersom kvinnors emotioner överlag identifieras signifikant snabbare än män.

This paper is discussing the latest development of Artificial Intelligence and puts into perspective two major players in the field of AI development - states and private companies. The premise is, that private companies are leading the development of AI technologies and together with their growing impact on states and international relations as such, they are becoming more important and more powerful. We, therefore, research, whether the AI may be to any extend used by these private actors against states. Starting with its dual-use capabilities, we are showing the current threats enabled by AI technology. We then illustrate specific cases, when Artificial Intelligence was involved in elections in Brazil and the United States and elaborate the argument, that AI may be misused and eventually possess an advantage over the adversary, in these cases private companies. Debating what AI is, what is the current position of major private actors is towards the state, and revealing the potentials of AI, we build up the argument that AI-enabled technologies may indeed be an advantage.

Asserts that competitive pressures make careful applications of marketing management tools imperative for the survival of time-dependent non-profit organizations. Illustrates a pragmatic tool which a volunteer-dependent organization can use to determine its strengths and weaknesses vis-à-vis the competition. This tool is used to assess the competitive weaknesses and strengths of Big Brothers/Big Sisters vis-à-vis Special Olympics. Concludes by offering constructive advice as to how Big Brothers/Big Sisters can turn a “latent competitive advantage” into a “solid competitive advantage”.