Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2007. / Title from file title page. Arun Rai, committee chair; Detmar Straub, Wesley Johnston, Mark Keil, committee members. Electronic text (163 p. : ill. (some col.)) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Oct. 15, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 128-131).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Texas at Dallas, 2007. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-118)

This study examined how market segmentation strategy can assist nonprofit organizations to identify potential corporate partners, establish collaborative alliances, and secure new sources of capital. Recent economic concerns and increases in competition have seriously affected the nonprofit's business environment. Therefore, a proactive approach is essential, so nonprofits can successfully secure desperately needed capital and continue to provide for those less fortunate. The study seeks a better understanding of the construct of alliance formation. Existing literature on alliances mostly focused on the nature of alliances; much less has been written about characteristics of alliance partners. Based on limited empirical evidence, this study integrated partner and partnership characteristics to develop a comprehensive theory of alliances. The research was conducted with the assistance and cooperation of several nonprofit organizations located in the tri-county area of South Florida. Participating nonprofit organizations were surveyed using several scales adapted from extant literature. Multiple regression technique, specifically stepwise regression was utilized to examine the hypothesized relationships between the dependent and independent (4) variables. Results indicated that organizational memory, governance, and firmographics were correlated to alliance formation and significant. However, the correlation between organizational culture and alliance formation was weak and not significant, despite extant literature review to the contrary. Further research is recommended to explicate causes for this lack of strength between organizational culture and alliance formation.

No description available.

Organizational Kinship is introduced and developed as a multilevel construct defined by a bundle of exchange conditions and social mechanisms within multi-organizational collaborative networks, and predictive of resilience in those same groupings. The dissertation follows extant multi-level construct development practices to propose the measurement of organizational kinship as composed of this cluster of first-order constructs that span inter-organizational and trans-organizational levels of analysis. This dissertation argues that the resilience or fragility exhibited within an interfirm alliance is an outcome of the collaborative exchange that occurs among member firms, specifically as a function of the exchange conditions perceived by alliance members and the social mechanisms present within the collaborative network. To support this claim, this dissertation considers the resilience of certain collaborative structures, such as family business groups and social cooperatives, which possess collaborative resilience and structural longevity far greater than what is seen in the general alliance literature. This dissertation terms such collaborations, socioeconomic collectives which are defined as interfirm alliances that engage in persistent collaboration in pursuit of both social and economic goals for the sustainability of the alliance structure and collective benefit of its organizational members. A battery of empirical tests were conducted to determine both the structure and effects of organizational kinship in these groupings. Findings suggest that indeed when a multi-level perspective is taken organizational kinship is composed of multiple predictors across levels of analysis, particularly trust, legitimacy, and shared knowledge at the inter-organizational level and network cohesion at the trans-organizational level. Finally, results from a series of multi-level structural equation models were supportive of the hypotheses that when organizational kinship is modeled at as a multi-level construct its predictive capabilities far exceed those of its component indicators at any individual level of analysis. These results, their limitations, and the implications of this dissertation’s findings on the literature of interfirm collaboration and collaborative resilience are discussed.

La concurrence internationale, notamment dans l'industrie des produits forestiers, est en constante augmentation et elle oblige les entreprises à produire des produits novateurs, à satisfaire la demande de plus en plus personnalisée des clients et à chercher l'accès à de nouveaux marchés. Néanmoins, les entreprises n'ont pas nécessairement la capacité d'atteindre ces réalisations individuellement. Par conséquent, établir une collaboration avec d'autres organisations pourrait les aider à résoudre des problèmes, qui peuvent ne pas être résolus individuellement. Dans cette recherche, la pertinence de la collaboration dans l'industrie des produits forestiers et des modèles d'affaires possibles pour l'établissement d'une cour de triage forestier sont étudiés, dans le but d'aider les investisseurs potentiels, les analystes commerciaux et les gestionnaires à avoir une analyse approfondie et rapide des aspects commerciaux clés de ces activités. La première partie de cette recherche examine les principaux moteurs, avantages, facilitateurs et défis des collaborations dans l'industrie des produits forestiers, afin d'aider les entreprises à identifier les mécanismes de collaboration les mieux adaptés à leur initiative de collaboration particulière. Un cadre conceptuel est élaboré pour identifier les diverses composantes affectant les mécanismes de collaboration pour créer une collaboration réussie dans l'industrie des produits forestiers. La deuxième partie de cette recherche examine les aspects commerciaux critiques de l'établissement d'une cour de triage forestier pour faciliter l'accès à la ressource tout en supportant une collaboration entre les parties prenantes. Pour atteindre cet objectif, le modèle d'affaires proposé par Osterwalder et Pigneur (2010) est appliqué pour développer des modèles spécifiques au cas d'une cour de triage. Deux canevas de modèles d'affaires différents sont donc proposés et peuvent être applicables aux entreprises pour analyser l'aspect commercial de la mise en œuvre d'une cour de triage forestier. Une analyse de planification stratégique (FFOM) est développée pour répertorier les forces, les faiblesses, les opportunités et les menaces associées à ces modèles. / International competition, particularly in the forest products industry, is constantly increasing and it forces companies to produce innovative products, satisfy more customized demand, and develop new markets. Nevertheless, firms do not necessarily have the ability to reach these achievements individually. Therefore, establishing a collaboration with other organizations could help them in solving problems, which may not be solved individually. In this research, the relevance of collaboration in the forest products industry as well as possible business models to establish a log sort yard are investigated with the aim of giving potential investors, business analysts, and managers a detailed overview of the key business aspects of these business units. The first part of this research investigates the main drivers, benefits, facilitators, and challenges of collaborations in the forest products industry, in order to help firms identify the best-fit collaborative mechanisms for their particular collaborative initiative. A conceptual framework is elaborated to identify the various components affecting the collaboration mechanisms needed to create successful collaboration in the forest products industry. The second part of this research investigates the critical business aspects of establishing a log sort yard related to its specific goal and support collaboration. To reach this goal, the Business Model Canvas proposed by Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010) is applied to develop possible business models for log sort yards. Two different business models are proposed which may be useful to firms to analyze the business aspect of implementing a log sort yard. A strategic planning analysis (SWOT analysis) is developed to list the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with these models.

No description available.

Alliances between participants in the beef industry have developed rapidly during the past 10 years. Industry surveys reveal alliances are expected to grow larger in number and become a more dominant part of the beef sector over the next 10 years. This research centers on providing design specific information to managers and decision makers involved with creating alliance organizations, thereby improving the likelihood of future alliance success. A conceptual framework was created to better understand the process of alliance formation. Each participant in the alliance first prioritizes economic motivations for joining, creates unique governance structure designs reflecting motivations, and then assesses results to decide on future participation. Simulations were performed using empirical data from a private beef alliance to analyze various margin sharing and premium allocation designs. Cattle owners were found to prefer equal margin sharing, while packers would prefer to accept a transfer of cattle owner margins rather than share packing margins with owners. Premiums were found to be substantial for cattle grading higher than a Choice YG3 quality level. Premiums averaged $12/head, $8/head, and $4/head when 75%, 50%, and 25% of cattle qualified for premium lines, respectively. Premium rights were found to be good substitutes for equal margin sharing agreements, allowing packers to accept equal margin sharing agreements while maintaining an equivalent level of return from premium rights. Marginal rates of substitution between changes in premium rights and changes in equal margin sharing levels are identified, allowing for more informed negotiations between cattle owners and packers. / Master of Science

La concurrence internationale, notamment dans l'industrie des produits forestiers, est en constante augmentation et elle oblige les entreprises à produire des produits novateurs, à satisfaire la demande de plus en plus personnalisée des clients et à chercher l'accès à de nouveaux marchés. Néanmoins, les entreprises n'ont pas nécessairement la capacité d'atteindre ces réalisations individuellement. Par conséquent, établir une collaboration avec d'autres organisations pourrait les aider à résoudre des problèmes, qui peuvent ne pas être résolus individuellement. Dans cette recherche, la pertinence de la collaboration dans l'industrie des produits forestiers et des modèles d'affaires possibles pour l'établissement d'une cour de triage forestier sont étudiés, dans le but d'aider les investisseurs potentiels, les analystes commerciaux et les gestionnaires à avoir une analyse approfondie et rapide des aspects commerciaux clés de ces activités. La première partie de cette recherche examine les principaux moteurs, avantages, facilitateurs et défis des collaborations dans l'industrie des produits forestiers, afin d'aider les entreprises à identifier les mécanismes de collaboration les mieux adaptés à leur initiative de collaboration particulière. Un cadre conceptuel est élaboré pour identifier les diverses composantes affectant les mécanismes de collaboration pour créer une collaboration réussie dans l'industrie des produits forestiers. La deuxième partie de cette recherche examine les aspects commerciaux critiques de l'établissement d'une cour de triage forestier pour faciliter l'accès à la ressource tout en supportant une collaboration entre les parties prenantes. Pour atteindre cet objectif, le modèle d'affaires proposé par Osterwalder et Pigneur (2010) est appliqué pour développer des modèles spécifiques au cas d'une cour de triage. Deux canevas de modèles d'affaires différents sont donc proposés et peuvent être applicables aux entreprises pour analyser l'aspect commercial de la mise en œuvre d'une cour de triage forestier. Une analyse de planification stratégique (FFOM) est développée pour répertorier les forces, les faiblesses, les opportunités et les menaces associées à ces modèles. / International competition, particularly in the forest products industry, is constantly increasing and it forces companies to produce innovative products, satisfy more customized demand, and develop new markets. Nevertheless, firms do not necessarily have the ability to reach these achievements individually. Therefore, establishing a collaboration with other organizations could help them in solving problems, which may not be solved individually. In this research, the relevance of collaboration in the forest products industry as well as possible business models to establish a log sort yard are investigated with the aim of giving potential investors, business analysts, and managers a detailed overview of the key business aspects of these business units. The first part of this research investigates the main drivers, benefits, facilitators, and challenges of collaborations in the forest products industry, in order to help firms identify the best-fit collaborative mechanisms for their particular collaborative initiative. A conceptual framework is elaborated to identify the various components affecting the collaboration mechanisms needed to create successful collaboration in the forest products industry. The second part of this research investigates the critical business aspects of establishing a log sort yard related to its specific goal and support collaboration. To reach this goal, the Business Model Canvas proposed by Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010) is applied to develop possible business models for log sort yards. Two different business models are proposed which may be useful to firms to analyze the business aspect of implementing a log sort yard. A strategic planning analysis (SWOT analysis) is developed to list the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with these models.

[pt] A competição cada vez mais acirrada entre empresas fornecedoras do segmento de autopeças impõe desafios àquelas que pretendem se manter e crescer neste mercado. Uma das alternativas que se coloca como opção de geração de diferencial competitivo é o estabelecimento de alianças estratégicas entre empresas inseridas neste mercado. A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo contribuir aos estudos sobre a gestão das empresas inseridas em alianças, focando na questão de suas implicações estratégicas sobre seu desempenho. Tem como foco a empresa Forjas Brasileiras, uma empresa nacional que em 1999 decidiu estabelecer duas alianças estratégicas com empresas estrangeiras. A partir da utilização da metodologia de estudo de caso de Yin (1994) com triangulação de métodos, os dados da pesquisa foram coletados por meio de investigação documental/telematizada e por levantamentos de percepções com auxílio de questionário predominantemente estruturado e de entrevistas, sendo posteriormente tratados com métodos quantitativos e qualitativos. A interpretação e análise dos dados basearam-se no referencial teórico, fundamentado em revisão de literatura pertinente à área de estudo, com auxílio do modelo genéricointergativo de Macedo-Soares em suas versões tradicional e relacional. Os resultados da pesquisa evidenciaram a importância de conduzir análises estratégicas pela ótica relacional, no caso de empresas que tenham estabelecido alianças, porquanto essa ótica pode trazer novos insights para a tomada de decisão estratégica empresarial que não se conseguiria por meio de análises tradicionais. / [en] The tighter competition among the companies inside the autoparts industry brings challenges to the ones that intend to remain and grow in this market. One alternative that appears as an option to generate a competitive advantage is the stablishment of strategic alliances among companies inside this market. The current research has the goal to contribute to the studies in startegic management of firms inserted in alliances, focusing in the question of its strategic implications over its performance. Has as focus the company Forjas Brasileiras, a brazilian company that in 1999 decided to stablish two strategic alliances with foreign companies. With the use of case study methodology of Yin (1994) and the triangulatioin of methods strategy, data was collected by way of documental/telematicinvestigations as well as survey and in-depth interviews. Data interpretaion ans analysis was carried out in the light of the theoretical references that were stablished on the basis of the results of the literature review, with the support of Macedo-Soares´ systemic and integrative model in its traditional and relational models. The results of the research showed the importance to use relational model in the case of companies that have stablished alliances, so these view might bring new insights to the strategic decision in the firm, wich could not be achieved by means of traditional analysis.