Cette thèse étudie la façon dont l’atteinte ou non des objectifs et la gouvernance influencent la direction du changement organisationnel – en termes d’exploration et d’exploitation - et analyse l’impact de ces effets sur la performance de l’entreprise au fil du temps. Dans un premier temps, je procède à une analyse détaillée de la littérature sur le Corporate Venture Capital afin de positionner mon propre travail de recherche dans le champs considéré et confirmer l’originalité de mes contributions. Ensuite, dans la première étude, j’examine comment la non-atteinte des objectifs fixés influe sur la direction du changement organisationnel mis en oeuvre dans l'entreprise, et étudie la façon dont ces changements sont influencés par la place qu’occupent les actionnaires stables ou passagers dans le capital de l’entreprise. Dans la seconde étude, je vérifie empiriquement la validité des propositions formulées en examinant les investissements de corporate venture capital (CVC) réalisés par un échantillon d’entreprises ayant une forte activité CVC. Enfin, l'équilibre entre exploration et exploitation au fil du temps, ainsi que les caractéristiques des oscillations entre ces deux types d’activités sont examinés dans la troisième étude constituant cette thèse. Les analyses empiriques portent sur les investissements de CVC effectués par 286 entreprises des États-Unis sur la période 1993-2013. Cette thèse contribue à la théorie comportementale de l’entreprise (Behavioral Theory of the Firm) en examinant la façon dont la structure du capital et l’actionnariat influe sur la prise de décisions en matière d’innovation et de changement. En étudiant la façon dont l'inertie organisationnelle et les phases de changement affectent les activités d'exploitation et d'exploration, cette thèse contribue aussi à la recherche sur l’ambidextrie organisationnelle. Pour finir, ce travail participe à la recherche sur le corporate venture capital au travers de l’étude des antécédents et des conséquences des activités d'exploration et d’exploitation dans le cadre de l’investissement CVC. / This dissertation addresses unexplored issues on the antecedents, management, and outcomes of corporate venture capital (CVC). More specifically, I examine how negative performance feedback and corporate governance influence the direction of organizational change ˗ in terms of exploration and exploitation ˗ and how balancing such change over time influences firm performance in the CVC context. I first review the extant literature on CVC and lay out the unique contributions of my research. Then, in the first essay, I theorize on how poor firm performance influences the resource allocation decisions on exploration and exploitation and how such decisions are affected by the concentration of dedicated and transient shareholders and by the board of directors' monitoring and advising intensities. In the second essay, I empirically examine how the resource allocation decisions on exploration and exploitation are influenced by dedicated and transient shareholders in the context of CVC investing. In the third essay, I examine how balancing exploration and exploitation over time and the characteristics of oscillation impact firm performance. The empirical analysis in the latter two essays is based on CVC investments made by 286 U.S. companies during 1993-2013. This dissertation contributes to the Behavioral Theory of the Firm and Corporate Governance research by introducing how shareholders and boards influence managerial decision-making in search and change, Ambidexterity research by studying how continuous change and organizational inertia impact temporal spillover between exploration and exploitation, and CVC research by examining the antecedents and consequences of explorative and exploitative initiatives in CVC investing.

Den föreliggande undersökningen har gjorts i syfte att undersöka förskollärares förhållningssätt och erfarenheter av arbete med metoden lågaffektivt bemötande gentemot barn med utagerande beteenden i förskolan. Med ett vidare syfte att undersöka vilka strategier och metoder förskollärare använder för att förebygga utagerande beteenden. Undersökningen har med stöd av beteendeteori tillämpats för att få en förståelse för vikten av förstärkning bland annat positiv förstärkning i barnets ageranden. Individperspektivet har även tillämpats för att skapa en förståelse för vikten av att se individen i en hel barngrupp och därmed ge ett individanpassat stöd för barnets utveckling. Ett utagerande beteende kan uppstå när barnet inte har verktyg till att reglera sina känslor. Förskollärare behöver vara lyhörda för att identifiera barnets behov. Undersökningen grundar sig på en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta förskollärare på fem olika förskolor i två län. Det insamlade materialet har analyserats där teman och underteman synliggjorts.   Resultatet i undersökningen visar att förskollärare anser att lågaffektivt bemötande är ett förhållningssätt som används till vardags och inte en metod som används i vissa situationer. Lågaffektivt bemötande är ett förhållningssätt som innebär att lugnt bekräfta och bemöta barns känslor, för att hjälpa barnet att få förståelsen för varför känslorna uppkommit. Vidare visar resultatet strategier och metoder som förskollärarna använder för att ge barnet en överblick över sin vardag i förskolan. Exempelvis genom bildstöd, tecken som stöd och böcker. Bildstöd används bland annat för att ge stöttning, förstärkning och tydlighet i förståelsen för vad som ska hända och vad som förväntas av dem. Miljön är en viktig faktor i barnens vardag, den behöver vara strukturerad för att ge barnen möjligheten till en avvägd dag.

The underage marriage of girls (UMG) practice by some parents continues to occur in Bo Town, Sierra Leone, and it is a problem. Regardless of the negative consequences, parents continue to marry off their young girls who become wives of rebels and participate in the civil war. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of adult women between 18 and 24 who experienced child marriage, parents who married off their young girls, and community leaders to understand why the UMG persisted in Bo Town. The theoretical frameworks used in this study were the social cognitive theory and self-efficacy behavioral theory. Data were collected through semi structured interviews. Participants in this study consisted of 5 community leaders, 5 adult women between 18 and 24 who experienced UMG before 18 years old, and 5 parents who married off their underage girls in the Bo Town district. Interview transcripts were analyzed, coded, and 16 themes emerged. Some of the themes included poverty, lack of awareness, education, enforcement, monitoring, leadership, child marriage, domestic violence, accountability, responsibility, dowry payment, and female genital mutilation. The findings may influence social change by using practices such as educating, monitoring, enforcing the banning of the UMG policy relentlessly. Furthermore, implementation of mentorship programs, counseling, leadership, and awareness training to young girls and parents could reduce the UMG practice in Bo Town. Consequently, if young girls are educated and allowed access to resources, they could become empowered and productive members of society as a whole, and the UMG problem may diminish in the Bo community.

Hypertension is a chronic non-communicable disease and a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, renal malfunction, disability, and premature death. One of the public health recommendations for the management of hypertension is the reduction of sodium/salt intake. There is need to develop and implement new evidence-based theoretical interventions to initiate and sustain behavior change in health education and promotion. Therefore, the quantitative cross-sectional method and design was used to investigate the adequacy of multi-theory model (MTM) constructs for the initiation and the sustenance of low sodium/salt intake behavior in hypertensive Nigerian adults. In addition, the impact of the MTM (initiation) constructs on actual salt/sodium intake was evaluated to validate self-reported behavior. A convenience sample of 149 consenting Nigerian adults with hypertension and of ages 20 to 60 years, self -administered the valid and reliable 39-item MTM instrument. The findings of confirmatory factor analysis showed construct validity of subscales for the initiation and sustenance model. All items loading for the two models were significant, p < 0.001. Multivariate regression analysis revealed 40.6% of the variance in initiating the consumption of low salt diets explained by advantages outweighing disadvantages, behavioral confidence, and changes in physical environment. About 41.8 % of the variance to sustain the intake of low salt diet was explained by emotional transformation, practice for change, and changes in social environment. The results justified the predictive role of MTM and adequacy of its utility to build evidence-based health education programs and interventions to address the health need of people with hypertension and contribute to social change in the country.

The study theorizes that a nation-state can manifest a condition similar to that of personality commonly associated with humans. Through the identification of consistent behaviors, a personality like condition is recognizable, and the underlining motivations dictate national policy independent of any current social/political influence. The research examines Russia during two historical periods examining the conflict events and social/political transitions of the period, to identify common behavioral characteristics, which indicate the existence of any independent personality like trait. The study focuses on two historical periods: the Monarch Period of Peter I (The Great), and the Post-Soviet Union period of Vladimir Putin, periods selected as historical eras in which Russia experienced major political or social transition. Using a comparative qualitative historical analysis with a behaviorist focus, the research examines these periods by profiling each era’s elements of society and the events of domestic and international conflict that Russia experienced, while evaluating the actions taken in response to each. The research discovers that Russia exhibits personality like traits, similar to those associated with humans and are likewise developed from experience, and once imbedded into Russian psychology, regardless of the current social/political elements or situational conditions, remain prime motivators to Russian behavior. The personality like characteristic identified was similar to inferiority, which leads to behavior characteristics comparable to narcissism, as the definition of narcissism relates to the need for admiration and or acceptance. The study identified the origins of the inferiority like complex and the narcissistic like behavior pattern exhibited by Russia in both periods.

No description available.