An increased competitive climate has enhanced the importance for companies to differentiate from other companies. Today, the customer support within service organizations are often disregarded as a source of value due to the focus on costs. Further, it has become more important to leverage the contact with the customer at all encounters. New technological advancements within Business Intelligence have also enabled companies to increase their competitiveness through improved decision support. The objective of this thesis is through a case study investigate how an insurance company could leverage its customer support as a source of creating shareholder value as well as how to apply trends within Business Intelligence for increased decision support. This was done through developing a conceptual model based on academic theory in order to provide a tool for analysis and development of a customer support. The research questions intends to investigate how an customer support can contribute to, and balance a focus on service quality, costs and sales in order to enhance shareholder value. A business driven approach was further used in order to understand how a customer support could leverage the emerging trends of Business Intelligence. This since the thesis also aims to provide some first insights into how to leverage the trends of mobile- and Self-Service- Business Intelligence within the customer support within insurance companies. The research emphasizes the need to have a holistic view of what drives value and costs with regard to the retention, growth and acquisition of customers when viewing the customer support as a source of value. The thesis concludes that both the trends of mobile- and Self-Service- Business Intelligence could enable an insurance company to gain new insights through utilizing existing internal as well as external data in order to conduct a more continuous and flexible analysis of important matters.

This dissertation examines cross-category effects in consumer purchases from the big data and analytics perspectives. It uses data from Nielsen Consumer Panel and Scanner databases for its investigations. With big data analytics it becomes possible to examine the cross effects of many product categories on each other. The number of categories whose cross effects are studied is called category scale or just scale in this dissertation. The larger the category scale the higher the number of categories whose cross effects are studied. This dissertation extends research on models of cross effects by (1) examining the performance of MVP model across category scale; (2) customizing artificial neural network (ANN) techniques for large-scale cross effect analysis; (3) examining the performance of ANN across scale; and (4) developing a conceptual model of spending habits as a source of cross effect heterogeneity. The results provide researchers and managers new knowledge about using the two techniques in large category scale settings The computational capabilities required by MVP models grow exponentially with scale and thus are more significantly limited by computational capabilities than are ANN models. In our experiments, for scales 4, 8, 16 and 32, using Nielsen data, MVP models could not be estimated using baskets with 16 and more categories. We attempted to and could calibrate ANN models, on the other hand, for both scales 16 and 32. Surprisingly, the predictive results of ANN models exhibit an inverted U relationship with scale. As an ancillary result we provide a method for determining the existence and extent of non-linear own and cross category effects on likelihood of purchase of a category using ANN models. Besides our empirical studies, we draw on the mental budgeting model and impulsive spending literature, to provide a conceptualization of consumer spending habits as a source of heterogeneity in cross effect context. Finally, after a discussion of conclusions and limitations, the dissertation concludes with a discussion of open questions for future research.

根據<CFO Magazine>調查，75%的高階主管在面臨擬定策略時，通常無法獲得即時且完整的資訊，以致於在競爭激烈的產業環境中，失去了主動出擊的機會，也錯失了替公司創造財富的機會。 企業要提升競爭力，除了與企業本身運作的良窳相關外，也與整體的資訊支援能力有高度的關係。企業相關資訊系統的資訊如何作適度的整合，以利相關使用者，因此導入整合管理、決策與資訊科技的商業智慧系統，對內可以提升管理績效，對外以形成競爭優勢，實際化資訊為行動，並將其績效評估以指標式呈現，藉助有效的績效管理來提升服務，降低管理成本，以求競爭力的提升。Kaplan and Norton在平衡計分卡一書上說「如果您不能對他進行衡量，您便無法管理它」。 在傳統資訊應用的環境裡，只要使用者一有資訊的需求，就會要求資訊人員設計程式來列印所需的報表，或查詢所需的資訊，但也因為要更深入瞭解報表的內容，所以需要用更多的報表來作補充說明，如此就陷入了所謂的「傳統報表的惡性循環」裡，而使用者卻感覺永遠少一張報表。 「Get the right information，to the right people，at the right time」是商業智慧系統應用的最佳境界，然而其資料的來源，除了外部資訊外，絕大部份是從企業的歷史資料或由現有的應用系統提供，商業智慧是整合企業所有應用系統的資料，以提供給所有的使用者使用，也就是這些應用系統所產生的資料是商業智慧的基礎，有了這些資料，商業智慧才能發揮功效，兩者是相輔相成，企業如能充分發揮商業智慧和應用系統的各自特點，結合應用，必能提高企業的競爭力。 因此本論文提供一個銷售分析的實際案例，以Top Down的思考模式來定義各階層使用者的需求，而實際開發的步驟是以Bottom Up的方式來建置，以整體規劃，分階段執行的建置方式來確保商業智慧系統專案的成功。

全民健保自開辦以來，財務一直存在入不敷出之隱憂，醫療院所頻頻呼籲健保的給付不足，將造成經營困難。除此之外，醫師人口逐年增長、診所成本入不敷出、人口老化迅速及新醫療設備之引進及各政策之影響下，本研究想瞭解在競爭及不確定的環境中，診所應如何以創新經營。本研究導入資料採礦之觀點，將商業智慧用於眼科診所之案例，利用忠誠度分析、流失度分析、獲利貢獻度分析、就診時段分析，想瞭解診所客戶之特性並且針對其習性及特點，並加上SWOT分析，清楚瞭解診所內部之優缺點及外部的機會與威脅，作好準備以謀取事業的永續發展。忠誠度分析之結果發現，其特點為家庭來診人數最多，性別比例較其他集群平均，案類分佈則以一般案類為主，年齡層為22歲以下及35歲以上居多；而在獲利貢獻度中，高利潤收入之地區分佈為竹北市、新竹市明湖路、福德街等；在流失度分析當中，研究發現客戶群在22歲以下，案類為一般案類，且兩人看診家庭的流失比例最高；最後就診時段分析當中，發現所有病例之地區時段、看診日分析看診人數除星期四外，皆以早上時段為最多。資料採礦是很好的輔助工具，將商業智慧應用於診所之經營上，可依照不同的分析集群搭配不同的行銷策略，增加競爭力，規畫創新之營運模式，以追求更好的發展。 / Since its start, expenditure exceeding income has always been a hidden concern in the finance of the National Health Insurance (NHI). Medical clinics have repeatedly said insufficient payment from the NHI will result in difficulty in their management. Moreover, other factors are affecting the clinics, namely, the growing number of doctors statewide, the income shortage of running a clinic, the rapidly aging population, the introduction of new medical equipment, and the various new policies. This paper intends to explore some innovative management plans for the clinics in a competitive and uncertain environment. Business intelligence is applied in the case study of an eye clinic. The analysis of client the degree of loyalty, run off, profit contribution, and visiting time help understand client habits and characteristics. A SWOT analysis further helps the clinic clearly understand its own strength and weakness, and the opportunities and threats from outside. Thus it can better prepare itself for a long term business. The analysis of client the degree of loyalty shows the following: most of the clients are family members; there is an even male/female ratio while in other categories it is not so; most medical cases are general cases; most of the clients aged under 22 or above 35. The analysis of the degree of profit contribution reveals that the districts related to higher profit are Zhubei City, and Minghu Road and Fude Road of Hsinchu City. In the analysis of The degree of run offs, it is found that most of them are under 22, most medical cases are general cases, and most of the clients are two people from a same family. Lastly, in terms of visiting time, analysis shows that most of the clients, regardless of their residential areas, visit in the morning except on Thursday. Business intelligence is an helpful tool. According to the analysis a clinic can match different client groups with different marketing policies, enhance it competitive edge, plan for an innovative management model, and pursue a better development.

The dissertation examines a case of industrial espionage by one of the parties involved in a forthcoming international negotiation. We want to know what consequences a burglary has for the actual negotiation. The dissertation consist of five hypothesis, of which the three first were empirically tested. The discussion of thesis four and five is supported basically by research literature, but have also found indirect support in the empirical study. A game theoretical model of four information sets is used.Thesis 1: Pay-offs do not change significantly from one information set to the other. confirmedThesis 2: Behavior do not change significantly from one information set to the other. confirmedThesis 3: The perception of fairness do not change significantly from one information set to the other. confirmedThesis 4: International negotiations is socially so complex that it only makes sense to study the phenomena from an interdisciplinary angle. confirmedThesis 5: A descriptive evolutionary approach can be an alternative to neoclassical economic theory in understanding the study of international negotiations. confirmedThe study also confirms that economic theory is correct in excluding the ethical dimension from their models, as these factors have little influence on the end price. Fairness plays only a minor role in international negotiations.

Organizations use Business Intelligence (BI) systems to monitor how well they are meeting their goals and objectives. Yet, very often BI systems do not include clear models of the organization’s goals or of how to measure whether they are satisfied or not. Several researchers now attempt to integrate goal models into BI systems, but there are still major challenges related to how to get access to the BI data to populate the part of the goal model (often indicators) used to assess goal satisfaction. This thesis explores a new approach to integrate BI systems with goal models. In particular, it explores the integration of IBM Cognos Business Intelligence, a leading BI tool, with an Eclipse-based goal modeling tool named jUCMNav. jUCMNav is an open source graphical editor for the User Requirements Notation (URN), which includes the Use Case Map notation for scenarios and processes and the Goal-oriented Requirement Language for business objectives. URN was recently extended with the concept of Key Performance Indicator (KPI) to enable performance assessment and monitoring of business processes. In jUCMNav, KPIs are currently calculated or modified manually. The new integration proposed in this thesis maps these KPIs to report elements that are generated automatically by Cognos based on the model defined in jUCMNav at runtime, with minimum effort. We are using IBM Cognos Mashup Service, which includes web services that enable the retrieval of report elements at the most granular level. This transformation provides managers and analysts with useful goal-oriented and process-oriented monitoring views fed by just-in-time BI information. This new solution also automates retrieving data from Cognos servers, which helps reducing the high costs usually caused by the amount of manual work required otherwise. The novel approach presented in this thesis avoids manual report generation and minimizes any contract with respect to the location of manually created reports, hence leading to better usability and performance. The approach and its tool support are illustrated with an ongoing example, validated with a case study, and verified through testing.

This research builds on the literature about power and performance, offering new theory that extends the literature by accounting for the transformational effects of information technology. The role of information technology in the relationship between organizational power and performance is unclear in the literature. Management literature offers theories describing the relationship between power and performance. IS literature investigates the relationship between information technology (IT) and power and between information systems technology and performance, but is silent on the impact of IT on the relationship between power and performance. The nature of this relationship – direct, moderating, or indirect – is unknown. Due to the ubiquity of information technology in organizations and society, it is necessary to theorize on the relationship between IT, power and performance. This study evaluates the implementation of Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) solutions in two case study organizations. The use of the IT portion of the EPM is the event of interest. In one case, the EPM implementation is considered a success. In the other, the EPM implementation is considered unsuccessful. Findings from each organization are compared and used to determine the overall research findings. The findings demonstrate the transformational potential of IT on the relationship between power and performance and provide insights that may lead to a deeper understanding of each. The findings of this case study point the way toward development of more detailed constructs and propositions that are testable, measurable, and refutable.

Ce mémoire propose une analyse de l’expansion internationale de la China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) et des impacts de cette expansion sur la sécurité énergétique de la Chine. Dans le cadre de cette recherche, l’approvisionnement énergétique d’un pays est jugé sécuritaire lorsqu’une quantité suffisante de ressources nécessaires pour combler sa demande en énergie sont présentes, disponibles et accessibles et que son approvisionnement en services énergétiques demeure fiable et abordable. La recherche comporte quatre volets. Le premier volet porte sur les étapes de la restructuration de l’industrie pétrolière chinoise depuis 1949. Celle-ci est analysée au travers des changements dans les modes de gestion des compagnies pétrolières nationales et dans leurs relations avec le gouvernement chinois. Le deuxième volet traite de la diversification et des nouvelles spécialisations de CNPC. Ces aspects sont étudiés dans le cadre d’une analyse du pourcentage de ses actifs dans chaque segment industriel (aval, intermédiaire et amont) obtenus grâce à ses rapports annuels. Le troisième volet aborde la répartition géographique des activités de la compagnie que l’on étudie à l’aide d’une analyse approfondie de près de 150 investissements, acquisitions et contrats réalisés à l’étranger entre 1992 et 2014. Le quatrième volet aborde les impacts des investissements à l’étranger de la compagnie sur la sécurité énergétique de la Chine. Ces impacts sont mesurés par l’entremise d’une analyse des flux pétroliers internationaux vers la Chine que l’on compare à la production de CNPC par pays. Ce mémoire permet de déterminer que l’expansion internationale de CNPC sert d’abord et avant tout les intérêts économiques de la compagnie. Ce sont surtout ses investissements dans la construction d’infrastructures de transport (oléoducs, gazoducs ainsi que les usines et terminaux de liquéfaction de gaz naturel liquéfié) qui apportent des bénéfices directs à la sécurité énergétique de la Chine. La contribution des investissements dans les autres secteurs est beaucoup moins systématique et dépend largement de la période au cours de laquelle ils ont été effectués. / This thesis proposes an analysis of the international expansion of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and of the impacts of this expansion on China’s energy security. In this research, a country’s energy supply is considered secure when sufficient resources needed to meet its energy demands are present, available and accessible while the supply of energy services remains affordable and reliable. The analysis is done in four sections. The first section focuses on the various stages of the restructuring of the Chinese oil industry since 1949. This subject is studied through an analysis of both the changes in the management methods of the Chinese national oil companies and the evolution of their relationship with the Chinese government. The second section deals with the diversification and the evolution of CNPC’s specializations. These are studied through an analysis of the percentage of the company’s assets in each sector of the oil industry (downstream, midstream, and upstream), which are obtained through its annual reports. The third section looks at the geographical distribution of the company’s overseas operations. This is done through an in-depth analysis of nearly 150 investments, acquisitions, and contracts made abroad by CNPC between 1992 and 2014. Finally, the fourth section focuses on the impacts of the overseas investments of the company on China’s energy security. These impacts are examined by measuring CNPC’s overseas production and comparing the total per country to the oil and gas flows going from these countries to China. This thesis allows us to determine that by engaging in international activities, CNPC aims above all to satisfy its economic interests. It is mostly the investments it made for the construction of transportation infrastructure (oil and gas pipelines or liquefied natural gas terminals) that directly benefits to China’s energy security. The company’s investments in other sectors do sometimes bring some benefits to the country’s energy security, but their contribution is much less systematic and depends largely on the period during which they were made.

This diploma thesis deals with the measurement and analysis of the project portfolio as an integral part measuring company's productivity. The goal is to project a model for measuring and analyzing the project portfolios for a specific medium-sized Czech IT company, operating in development and software sales. The work is based on a theoretical basis for the concept of Balanced Scorecard and for operating company's productivity, focused primarily on the portfolio, project management and monitoring. The practical part identifies the strategic objectives of the company, concerning the project portfolio, and arranges them into perspectives on the basis of the Balanced Scorecard concept. It also analyzes the way of monitoring the implementation of strategic objectives and determines in which phases the monitoring objectives are pursued. Further step is the definition of indicators and their attributes. Metrics are compiled of these attributes and a structure is projected for a presentation of metrics. Metrics are logically arranged so that the users are provided with information-based decisions and are arranged to find the causes of results the metrics show. The thesis has three main outputs. Firstly, it is a list of goals arranged to the Balanced Scorecard structure and identification of mutual structures among the objectives in the strategic map. Secondly, it is a model of parameters and metrics for managing project portfolios that can be applied to companies with similar characteristics, such as the company for which the model is implemented. The final outcome of this work is the implementation of the projected solutions in the Microsoft Business Intelligence.

BI, business intelligence, which means to collect and analyse data to inform business decisions, is a concept that has grown to be a significant part of business development. In most cases, a storage platform is necessary to provide data from the companies’ different data sources to the BI-tools. There are different ways of doing this. Some of them are by the help of a data lake, a data warehouse or a combination of both. By taking this into consideration the purpose of this study is to create an architectural design of a storage platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). To be able to formulate a result which holds as high validity and reliability as possible, this study conducts both a literature and a case study. The case study has taken place at an IT service company which classifies as a SME and the working methodology has been an agile approach with scrum as reference. This method was chosen to be able to efficiently follow the customer demands.  The architecture provided consists of a combination of a data hub, which acts as a data lake, and a data warehouse. The data hub differs from a data lake by harmonizing and indexing data, which makes it easier to handle. Regarding the intension of the data warehouse, it is to yield relevant and processed data to BI-tools. The architecture design of the platform that has been developed in this study cannot be said to be applicable by all companies. Instead, it can be a basis for companies that are thinking about creating a data platform. / BI, Business intelligence, vilket betyder att samla och analysera data som beslutsstöd, har växt till att vara en betydande del inom företagsutveckling. För att möjliggöra för BI krävs ofta att en datalagringsplattform tillhandahåller data från verksamhetens datakällor. Det finns olika sätt att göra detta, men några av dem är med hjälp av en datasjö, ett datalager eller en kombination av båda. Mot bakgrund av detta, har den här studien syftat till att framställa en övergripande arkitektur som lämpar sig till små  och medelstora företag (SMF). För att frambringa ett resultat med så  hög validitet och reliabilitet som mö jligt baseras studien på  både en litteraturstudie och en fallstudie. Fallstudien har genomförts på  ett IT-konsultföretag som klassas som SMF och arbetsmetodiken har varit agil och baserats pa  scrum. Denna metod valdes för att på  ett effektivt sä tt säkerställa att kundens krav uppfylldes. Den arkitektur som föreslagits är en kombination mellan en datahubb, vilket verkar som en datasjö , och ett datalager. Datahubben skiljer sig från datasjön eftersom den harmoniserar och indexerar data, vilket gör den enklare att hantera. Rörande datalagret, ämnar det tillgodose bearbetad och relevant data för BI-verktyg. Den övergripande arkitektur som presenteras anses inte vara applicerbar för alla verksamheter, men kan användas som en grund för verksamheter som tänker implementera en lagringsplattform.