Attempts to identify information as an asset has led to an increased awareness of the role of information in enhancing organisational performance. Central to this role is the identification of attributes of information assets which include quality, utility, productivity, effectiveness and financial and economic aspects. Measurement of attributes of information as an asset may provide an identifiable link between information management and improved business performance. Identifying attributes of information assets that are recognised and valued by senior managers in today's information-intensive UK organisations is a key step in developing evidence for a link between information management and organisational performance. The research study engaged with a range of stakeholders in the information as an asset domain, including: senior British information managers, senior executives and managers and internationally-active information professionals and academics. Open-ended guided interviews were conducted with stakeholders. Four case studies in information-intensive UK organisations formed the major data collection strategy. Findings highlighted the importance of customer information assets. The most important attribute identified was quality. Information assets and their attributes were linked to competitive advantage with customer involvement and management attention being the key issues identified. A grounded theory of information assets that takes competitive advantage as its core category, is proposed.

社群網站是目前蓬勃發展的網路應用服務，其多樣化功能與高互動性不僅影響使用者生活習慣也促進其購買行為。越來越多企業投入大量成本經營社群網站，希望從中得到好處，但仍有部分企業質疑經營社群無法替企業帶來實質效益。本研究目的在探討經營社群是否可以帶給企業效益。藉由大量文獻探討，提出了六個關於社群效益的假設。透過四階段研究來驗證假設，第一階段蒐集了全球16個跨國企業資料加以分析，得到了一個概略性的了解; 第二階段蒐集了58個跨國企業的資料進行社群能力與產品銷售之關聯性分析;第三階段研究將焦點放回台灣企業，蒐集了電信、航空、銀行以及便利商店四個產業中11個企業資料進行社群能力與產品銷售的關聯性分析;第四階研究段針對第三階段的11個企業進行社群經營與企業效益的分析。 本研究發現，經營社群與提升顧客滿意度以及提高品牌知名度上關聯性較低；而在航空，銀行以及便利商店產業中，經營社群可以提高整體收益。此外，企業提供具有1)較低價位、2)較低耐受度的產品或服務以及3)消費者參與度較低的購買決策較容易受到社群經營影響。更進一步發現，企業以提升顧客成長以及強化顧客忠誠度為目標去經營社群會獲得較高的成功率，也較容易得到實質效益。 / Most of the major enterprises have invested in social networks to provide services, promote products, or communicate with customers. However, to date no clear understanding on the effects of the social networks on business performance has emerged. This study examined the relationship between the capability of the enterprise to manage social networks and the resultant benefits of their investing in the social network. A fan page on Facebook is the selected target of study. By analyzing the efforts required to manage a fan page, we measure the fan page management capability by its reach, referrals, activities, and interactions. By analyzing literature and practical cases, we hypothesize six types of business benefit impacts can be experienced by enterprises investing in a fan page. The study applied four-stages of data collection and testing. The first stage is to build a general understanding of the relationship between the number of fans and business revenue. Based on findings of the first stage, the study tested the fan page benefit hypotheses on selected global firms and sought patterns of benefits generated from the fan page. In the third and fourth stage, the study tested the fan page effect on product sold of selected firms in Taiwan and further examined other hypotheses by industries. This study builds deep understanding from various aspects about fan page effects on enterprises, and proposes that firms provide products and services with characteristics of low-product price, short-product durability and low-customer involvement are more influenced by the management of their fan pages. Retail industries such as: banking and airline with high capability of managing Facebook fan page are more likely to increase customer growth and intensify customer loyalty.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Business competitiveness is increasingly linked to a sustainability-oriented management. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of sustainability-oriented management in the Brazilian mining industry. Sustainability-oriented management was analyzed under two perspectives. First, we tried to identify the conditions that favor the integration of sustainability in the business strategy from the model of Lacy et al. (2010). Next, we analyzed the sustainability-oriented management practices based on the ten principles of sustainable growth in the mining industry defined by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM, 2008). Business performance was evaluated based on performance indicators proposed by the Global Reporting Initiative GRI (2006, 2010b). The study was performed in two different methodological steps. The first phase of the study was characterized as qualitative and was conducted based on exploratory interviews with three companies in the mining industry in the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais. The results of this phase indicated that, in the analyzed companies, the integration of sustainability with the strategy is still a recent concern and is targeted primarily to meeting legal requirements. We can noticed a greater targeting of the companies analyzed in respect to the adoption of social management practices. The environmental management practices seek to basically meet the legal and market requirements. We further observed that there is no standardization or consolidation regarding the use of indicators for performance evaluation and dissemination of social and environmental actions of companies in the mining industry. The second stage of the study was characterized as quantitative and included carrying out a survey to examine the relationship between the adoption of management practices for sustainability and business performance. Overall, we found that there are positive associations between factors related to management practices for sustainability and business performance. Comparing the larger and smaller companies, it was not possible to find differences in the number of associations, however differences were found in the types of associated factors. / A competitividade empresarial está cada vez mais relacionada a uma gestão orientada para a sustentabilidade. Este estudo teve como objetivo analisar a influência da gestão para a sustentabilidade no desempenho em empresas do setor mineral brasileiro. A gestão para a sustentabilidade foi analisada sob duas perspectivas. Primeiramente, buscou-se identificar as condições que favorecem a integração da sustentabilidade à estratégia organizacional a partir do modelo de Lacy et al. (2010). A seguir, foram analisadas as práticas de gestão para a sustentabilidade, com base nos dez princípios para o desenvolvimento sustentável na indústria mineral definidos pelo International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM, 2008). O desempenho empresarial foi avaliado a partir dos indicadores de desempenho propostos pelo Global Reporting Initiative - GRI (2006, 2010b). O estudo foi realizado em duas fases metodologicamente distintas. A primeira fase do estudo caracterizou-se como qualitativa e foi conduzida a partir da realização de entrevistas exploratórias com três empresas do setor mineral dos estados do Rio Grande do Sul e Minas Gerais. Os resultados dessa fase permitiram concluir que, nas empresas analisadas, a integração da sustentabilidade com a estratégia ainda se trata de uma preocupação recente e orientada primordialmente para o atendimento das exigências legais. Percebeu-se um maior direcionamento das empresas analisadas no que se refere à adoção de práticas de gestão social. As práticas de gestão ambiental adotadas buscam basicamente atender aos requisitos legais e às exigências mercadológicas. Constatou-se ainda que não há padronização e consolidação com relação ao uso de indicadores para avaliação do desempenho e divulgação das ações socioambientais nas empresas do setor mineral. A segunda etapa do estudo caracterizou-se como quantitativa e compreendeu a realização de uma pesquisa survey a fim de analisar a relação entre a adoção de práticas de gestão para a sustentabilidade e o desempenho empresarial. De modo geral, verificou-se que existem associações positivas entre alguns dos fatores relacionados às práticas de gestão para a sustentabilidade e o desempenho empresarial. Na comparação entre as empresas de maior e menor porte, não foi possível verificar diferenças no número de associações, contudo foram encontradas diferenças nos tipos de fatores associados.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The importance of sustainable development is increasing in the context of organizations. Understanding corporate sustainability, combining economic prosperity, social responsibility and environmental aspects, represents a challenge for the companies. In this sense, we highlight the importance of assessing business performance in an integrated manner to these prospects, through aspects that go beyond the economic indicators, but that consider the environmental and social performance. The Brazilian mining sector industries are inserted in this context. Despite its importance in the economic context, where it's known as the base for the development of several supply chains, and its importance on source of energy, the mining is an essentially extractive activity, through the intense relationship with the environment, and it's considered one of the largest water users in this country. It's known that water is a strategic resource for mining. The technical and economic viability of a mining industry is conditioned upon the adequate knowledge of the hydrological context that it's located and the subsequent water/mining interaction, which highlights the need for an adequate management of water usage in this sector. In this sense, this research aims at identifying the relationship between the water use management and the business performance in the Brazilian mining industries. The research is divided into two stages, developed in parallel. The quantitative stage, with a descriptive approach and a broad perspective, was operationalized by a survey method, with industries of the Brazilian Mining Institute (IBRAM). The qualitative stage, exploratory in nature, was made with a particular perspective, through a multiple case study. The water use management was identified using the model proposed by Ceres (2010) and the business performance was evaluated based on the indicators of the Global Reporting Initiative - GRI (2006, 2010). The results indicate a positive and significant relationship between the management of water use and the business performance. It could be seen, in both approaches, the importance of water use management in the mining industry context and the outlook in terms of results, through achieving superior performance in terms of economic, environmental and social. It were identified some differences in the water use management and in the business performance according to size of companies, in that the smaller companies had lower averages compared to the others. The results presented allow the discussion of issues related to water use, in a management perspective, and its impact on business performance. This findings aren't restricted to the mineral sector, but may bring contributions to other sectors of the economy, where the water use management is critical for a sustainable industry in economic, social and environmental aspects. / Cresce, cada vez mais, a importância do desenvolvimento sustentável no contexto das organizações. Entender a sustentabilidade empresarial, aliando a prosperidade econômica, a responsabilidade social e a preocupação em termos ambientais, tem se tornado um desafio para as empresas. Nesse sentido, destaca-se a importância de avaliar o desempenho empresarial de maneira integrada a essas perspectivas, por meio de aspectos que vão além dos indicadores econômicos, mas que consideram a performance ambiental e social. Neste contexto, estão inseridas as indústrias do setor mineral brasileiro. Apesar de sua importância no contexto econômico, conhecida como a base para o desenvolvimento de diversas cadeias produtivas e importante fonte de energia, a mineração trata-se de uma atividade essencialmente extrativa, possui intensa relação com o meio ambiente e é considerada uma das maiores usuárias de água do país. Sabe-se que a água é um recurso estratégico para a mineração. A viabilidade técnica e econômica de uma lavra está condicionada ao adequado conhecimento do contexto hidrológico no qual se localiza e ao subsequente desenho das atuações hidrológico-minerais, o que evidencia a necessidade da adequada gestão do uso da água neste setor. Nesse sentido, a presente pesquisa tem o objetivo de identificar a relação entre a gestão do uso da água e o desempenho empresarial em indústrias do setor mineral brasileiro. A pesquisa está dividida em duas etapas, desenvolvidas paralelamente. A etapa quantitativa, de natureza descritiva, conta com uma perspectiva abrangente, operacionalizada por meio de uma pesquisa survey com as indústrias pertencentes ao Instituto Brasileiro de Mineração - IBRAM. A etapa qualitativa, de natureza exploratória, foi efetuada com uma perspectiva mais particular, por meio de um estudo de casos múltiplos. A gestão do uso da água foi identificada por meio do modelo proposto por Ceres (2010) e o desempenho empresarial foi avaliado com base nos indicadores do Global Reporting Initiative GRI (2006, 2010). Os resultados obtidos apontam para uma relação positiva e significante entre a gestão do uso da água e o desempenho empresarial. Pôde-se perceber, em ambas as abordagens, a importância da gestão do uso da água no contexto da indústria mineral e as perspectivas em termos de resultado, por meio da obtenção de um desempenho superior, do ponto de vista econômico, ambiental e social. Foram identificadas, ainda, diferenças em relação à gestão do uso da água e ao desempenho empresarial de acordo com o porte, na medida em que as empresas de menor porte obtiveram médias inferiores comparadas às demais. Os resultados e reflexões apresentados possibilitam a discussão dos aspectos relacionados ao uso da água, do ponto de vista da gestão das empresas e a sua influência no desempenho empresarial. Tais achados não se restringem ao setor mineral, mas podem trazer contribuições para outros setores da economia, nos quais a gestão do uso da água é fundamental em busca de uma atividade industrial mais sustentável em termos econômicos, sociais e ambientais.

O objetivo desta tese foi verificar se o perfil do empreendedor e seu respectivo comportamento durante o processo empreendedor (processo de criação da empresa) influenciavam o desempenho da empresa criada. Para viabilizar o alcance do seu objetivo, inicialmente verificou-se o tipo de perfil e o respectivo tipo de comportamento predominantes na amostra analisada. O método principal utilizado na pesquisa é descritivo, sendo esta preponderantemente quantitativa. O perfil empreendedor foi medido com o instrumento proposto por McClelland (1987) e o comportamento do empreendedor foi medido por um instrumento criado e proposto pelo autor, visando entender o comportamento explicitado durante a criação da empresa, entre dois extremos, o causal e o effectual. Para identificar o conjunto de características mais presentes no perfil e o comportamento predominante em cada atividade do processo empreendedor foram utilizadas estatísticas descritivas. Na sequência, a análise de clusters foi realizada para identificar a existência de diferentes tipos de comportamento empreendedor. No entanto, para atingir o principal objetivo a técnica utilizada foi a modelagem de equações estruturais, mais especificamente o método de partial least square (PLS-SEM). Os dados foram coletados por meio de um questionário auto-administrado enviado por meio eletrônico para mais de 100.000 pessoas cadastradas em um dos principais sítios brasileiros de auxílio a empreendedores, dos quais 467 retornaram e 457 foram aproveitados após análise de outliers uni e multi variados. Os resultados revelaram que o perfil empreendedor tinha maior ocorrência de características do grupo de planejamento, seguido pelo grupo de realização e depois pelo poder. Também revelaram que o comportamento geral dos empreendedores é mais causal do que effectual, sendo que dezesseis atividades são realizadas com ênfase causal e apenas dez com ênfase effectual. Esse achado diverge da teoria recente do comportamento empreendedor que propõe a prevalência do comportamento effectual. Ainda em relação ao comportamento do empreendedor verificou-se a existência de três tipos distintos de comportamento, um comportamento mais causal (age de forma precavida, com planejamento prévio de suas ações), um comportamento intermediário (alterna a forma de agir entre planejamento prévio e ação não precedida de planejamento) e um comportamento mais effectual (age sem planejamento e posteriormente enfrenta as possíveis consequências). Um achado do estudo em relação aos tipos de comportamento foi constatar que os empreendedores modificam o seu padrão de comportamento ao longo do processo, sendo que os empreendedores que iniciam o processo de maneira mais causal tendem a ser menos causais conforme o seu avanço e os empreendedores que iniciam effectuais, tendem a ser menos effectuais ao longo do processo. Finalmente, respondendo ao objetivo principal da tese, relacionando o perfil, comportamento e desempenho, é possível afirmar que tanto o perfil quanto o comportamento influenciaram o desempenho da empresa criada. O comportamento demonstrou capacidade de exercer maior influência do que o perfil, especialmente o comportamento com ênfase causal. Foi verificado também que o modelo apresentado é mais adequado aos empreendedores do setor de comércio tradicional do que ao setor de serviços. / The purpose of the thesis is to verify whether the profile of the entrepreneur and his behavior during the entrepreneurial process (the creation of a company) influence the performance of the company created. In order to enable the scope of such purpose, there were initially verified the type of profile and the correspondent type of behavior predominant in the sample analyzed. The main method used on the research is descriptive, being the research predominantly quantitative. The entrepreneurial profile was measured by the instrument proposed by McClelland (1987) and the behavior of the entrepreneur was measured by an instrument created and proposed by the author of this thesis, aiming to understand the behavior shown during the creation of the company, between two extremes, the causal and the effectual. In order to identify the group of characteristics predominant in the profile and the predominant behavior in each activity of the entrepreneurial process, there were used descriptive statistics. Following that, the analysis of clusters was made to identify the existence of different types of entrepreneurial behavior. However, in order to achieve the main purpose, the technique used was the structural equation modeling, more specifically the partial least square (PLS-SEM) method. The data were collected through a self-administrated questionnaire sent electronically to more than 100.000 people registered on one of the Brazilian main websites of support to entrepreneurs, 467 of which have returned and 457 were used after analysis of uni and multivariate outliers. The results revealed that the entrepreneurial profile presented more of the planning group characteristics, followed by the achievement group and, after that, by the power one. They also revealed that the general behavior of the entrepreneurs is more causal than effectual: sixteen activities are carried out with causal emphasis and only ten with effectual emphasis. These finding differs from the recent theory of the entrepreneurial behavior that proposes the prevalence of the effectual behavior. Still regarding the behavior of the entrepreneur, it was verified the existence of three different types of behavior, one that is more causal (acts on a cautious way, with previous planning of actions), one intermediate behavior (varies the behavior between acting with previous planning and without previous planning) and one more effectual behavior (acts without planning and, afterward, faces possible consequences). One finding of the study, regarding the types of behavior, was to note that entrepreneurs change their pattern of behavior along the process: entrepreneurs that begin the process on a more causal way tend to be less causal as they advance and the entrepreneurs that begin effectual tend to be less effectual along the process. Finally, answering to the main purpose of the thesis, relating profile, behavior and performance, it is possible to affirm that both profile and behavior influence the performance of the company created. It was demonstrated that behavior may exercise greater influence than the profile, especially the behavior with causal emphasis. It was also verified that the model presented suits better to entrepreneurs of the traditional commerce sector than to those from services\' sector.

The social responsability is a hot topic and, in recent years has been consolidated with the belief that companies should assume a larger role to the society that not only the maximization of profit and wealth creation. From these assumptions, the study assesses the impact of adopting sustainable business strategies on the performance of Brazilian industrial firms. The study's findings should support the development of a model of excellence for world-class management aligned with international requirements to ensure the entry and maintenance of Brazilian industrial firms on the world stage. For this, questionnaires were applied to 93 companies linked to ANPEI, all of them large. Getting a 48% response rate could be doing a good relationship and analysis of cases to which it was intended to verify. / A responsabilidade social das empresas é um tema atual e, nos últimos anos, vem sendo consolidada à crença que as empresas devem assumir um papel mais amplo perante a sociedade que não somente o de maximização de lucro e criação de riqueza. A partir desses pressupostos, o estudo busca analisar o impacto da adoção de estratégias de negócios sustentáveis no desempenho de empresas industriais brasileiras. As conclusões do estudo deverão corroborar com o desenvolvimento de um modelo de excelência de gestão classe mundial alinhado às exigências internacionais que garantam o ingresso e a manutenção de empresas industriais brasileiras no cenário mundial. Para isto, foram aplicados questionários à 93 empresas associadas a ANPEI, todas elas de grande porte. Obtendo um índice 48% de respostas conseguiu-se fazer uma boa relação e análise das hipóteses ao qual se era proposto verificar.

Aim – The aim of the study is to investigate the way trust and relationships can be affected by Cross-Cultural Training, which will ultimately enhance intercultural business performance. Methodology – Qualitative data is gathered by conducting semi-structured interviews which provide deep responses on Cross-Cultural Training among Japanese companies operating in Sweden. Based on secondary data, theoretical discussions are grounded serves as a foundation for the study. Findings – The study resulted in two categories of companies in which one applies Cross-Cultural Training in order to build and maintain trust and relationships when developing intercultural business practices among Japanese companies and Swedish subsidiaries. Whereas the other type of companies have a different type of International Organizational Structure in which Cross-Cultural Training is redundant and relationships and trust are preserved since they do not interact directly with the Japanese- Headquarters or employees. Limitations – The research is solely based on an extensive qualitative study. Thus, a quantitative study should be conducted in order to support these findings to provide more rigidity and reliability. A complementary study from a Japanese perspective would clarify the reasons behind the decisions made in Sweden. Implications – Academicians can extend this study in order to understand the deeper reason on why some companies decide to work with an organisational structure which differs from the traditional working behaviours and dimensions of national culture. Furthermore, the study provides implications for business managers to anticipate different cultures when conducting international business. It furthermore forms a basis for academicians to conduct future research on Cross-Cultural -business and –training. These implications are generalizable across a manifold of industries since the study is based on a multiple case study.

The thesis is focused on the evaluation of the financial performance of the company GEFOS, Inc. The aim is to evaluate the financial performance and impact of the original recommendations, which the company has applied, from the previous bachelor thesis. Based on the findings, a successive financial development will be assessed together with further possible measures for economic growth of the company. The first part contains theoretical knowledge of the apparatus of a financial analysis and selected methods and analysis of macro environment. In the second part, which is based on the stated goal, the gained expertise is used in practice. The work also contains, based on the results of the analysis, a sectoral comparison that helps to illustrate the overall financial situation of the selected company.

The thesis deals with a detailed analysis of a small construction company, and is focused on change in management and operational processes. The aim of this work is through scientific literature to find methods to change processes in the company. The first chapter is a theoretical and methodological, that analyzing the theoretical knowledge of literature. Define terms such as enterprise processes in the enterprise, methods of analyzing performance and the ways they changes- reengineering. The second chapter presents a specific company, its goals and activities. The third chapter will focus on a detailed analysis of business performance through financial analysis to detect threats and opportunities from the environment and the company from competitors by analyzing the PEST and Porter's model of competitive forces. SWOT analysis provides the results of all analysis. These are the base for any solution of the construction company in the fourth chapter, focusing on the changes in the management and production processes of the company, due to which would increase their performance and obtain better market position.

This thesis addresses a new management approach - "Corporate Performance Management" (CPM). It sets forth the concept of this new approach as a business performance monitoring and strategic support tool, its assumptions, framework, components, relationship to business intelligence, and related methodologies. Particular focus is placed on "key performance indicators" (KPI), their characteristics, segmentation, methods for their selection, and implementation procedures. The theoretical part of this work is devoted to creating a methodology by which CPM can be effectively implemented on projects in the financial sector with an emphasis on the critical success factors of such a project as a whole. The primary elements of this methodology are the selection of the best possible metrics, the project's overall success and the development of efficient reporting. The practical part of this work initially introduces "Project KPI 2008", which ran in Komerční banka (Czech Commercial Bank), then pits it against the theoretical methodologies defined in the theoretical section. The entire project is then assessed based on the results of the comparison, and finally, conclusions and recommendations are made for the future of this project. The main asset of this thesis is its creation of the afore-mentioned management methodologies and the ideal, course to be taken in implementing a KPI-focused project. This work is valuable not only for investigating key performance indicators themselves, but also as an informative tool for managers who would like to acquaint themselves with or learn more about the CPM concepts in general.