A globalização dos mercados tem trazido oportunidades e ameaças para as empresas, independentes de seu porte. Assim sendo, a competição empresarial no âmbito global ampliou-se de maneira expressiva nos últimos anos. Antes, competir significava lutar contra adversários que deveriam ser derrotados ou eliminados. Hoje pode-se trabalhar de maneira mais cooperativa as ações estratégicas organizacionais. Nesse sentido, os estudos sobre relacionamentos interorganizacionais tem surgido no sentido de sustentar a referida concepção mais cooperativa do processo estratégico das organizações. Assim, esse estudo alinha sobre a análise das redes horizontais de empresas, especificamente as redes pertencentes ao Programa Redes de Cooperação do Governo do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Sobre as redes horizontais de empresas, os estudos têm sido alinhados principalmente no que se refere aos fatores promotores do processo de cooperação, bem como estruturação da gestão e da governança e sobre o término das redes de empresas. Contudo, pouco tem sido estudo sobre o processo de dissolução das redes de empresas. Nessa linha de raciocínio, a presente tese tem como objetivo geral propor um framework para a análise da dissolução das redes horizontais de empresas. Para tanto trabalhou-se com 4 lentes teóricas na base teórica: o arcabouço da sociologia, da sociologia econômica, da economia e da gestão/estratégia. Os procedimentos metodológicos indicam um tipo de pesquisa exploratório/descritivo, sendo que os referidos procedimentos utilizados foram pautados em 2 etapas, na qual foi realizada uma análise multinível, com 32 entrevistas em profundidade com um roteiro semiestruturado numa etapa exploratória/qualitativa que teve como respondentes (experts teóricos, experts práticos, ex-governadores, ex-consultores e ex-presidentes das redes de empresas que se dissolvera). A técnica de análise de dados foi a análise de conteúdo para a etapa qualitativa. Ainda, a aplicação de questionários (com escalas de mensuração nominais, ordinais e intervalares) em uma survey descritiva/quantitativa na qual contou com 43 respondentes que eram ex-membros das redes horizontais de empresas. A técnica de análise dos dados na quantitativa foi a estatística, na qual utilizou-se a estatística descritiva e a estatística não-paramétrica. Os principais resultados indicam que as redes de empresas se dissolvem principalmente em decorrência da falta de acompanhamento do Programa Redes de Cooperação a partir da figura do consultor e alinhado ao fato das trocas de governo no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul fazer com que o Programa tenha pausas que são cruciais para a continuidade dos referidos relacionamentos interorganizacionais. / The globalization of markets has brought opportunities and threats for companies, independent of their size. Thus, competition in the global business has expanded so significantly in recent years. Before, meant to compete against opponents that fight should be defeated or eliminated. Today one can work more cooperative organizational strategic actions. In this sense, studies on interorganizational relationships has emerged in order to support that conception of the strategic cooperative organizations. Thus, this study aligns on the analysis of horizontal networks of companies, specifically those belonging to networks Networks Cooperation Program of the State Government of Rio Grande do Sul About horizontal networks of companies, studies have mainly been aligned with respect the factors that promote the cooperation process, and structuring of management and governance and on the completion of company networks. However, there has been little study on the process of dissolution of company networks. In this line of reasoning, this thesis aims to propose a general framework for analyzing the dissolution of horizontal networks of companies. For this we worked with four theoretical lenses on a theoretical basis: the framework of sociology, economic sociology, economics and management / strategy. The methodological procedures used indicate a multilevel analysis of 32 interviews with a semistructured script in an exploratory stage / qualitative respondents had the (theoretical experts, practical experts, former governors, former consultants and former presidents of company networks that dissolved). The technique of data analysis was content analysis for qualitative stage. Still, the questionnaires (at scales of measurement nominal, ordinal and interval) in a survey descriptive / quantitative in which had 43 respondents who were former members of horizontal networks of companies. The technique of data analysis was the quantitative statistics, in which we used descriptive statistics and non-parametric statistics. The main results indicate that networks of firms dissolve mainly due to the lack of monitoring of the program Cooperation Networks from the figure of the consultant and aligned to the fact that the trading of government in the State of Rio Grande do Sul to make the program has breaks are crucial to the continuity of such interorganizational relationships.

O objetivo desse estudo é descrever a dinâmica competitiva que sustenta o fenômeno de concentração de empresas dos aglomerados regionais de micro e pequenas empresas de base tecnológica. Para responder essa questão, foi realizada uma pesquisa empírica de natureza qualitativa, adotando-se como estratégia o estudo de caso único do tipo descritivo, em um aglomerado brasileiro de micro e pequenas empresas de base tecnológica, que é formalmente caracterizado como um Arranjo Produtivo Local Eletroeletrônico e conhecido informalmente como Vale da Eletrônica. O aglomerado selecionado está localizado no município de Santa Rita do Sapucaí, Sul de Minas Gerais. O estudo é justificado por quatro fatores que se complementam mutuamente. São eles: (i) a importância das MPEs para as economias de países emergentes como o Brasil; (ii) a importância das aglomerações de MPEs para as políticas públicas desses países; (iii) a importância de se estudar empiricamente esses aglomerados; (iv) as lacunas existentes devido à complexidade e especificidade dos diferentes aglomerados. O estudo iniciou-se com uma revisão bibliográfica sobre aglomeração de empresas, competitividade e vantagem competitiva e competitividade de aglomerados de empresas, após então foi definido o modelo conceitual que orientou a etapa da pesquisa empírica. Os resultados obtidos na pesquisa empírica incluíram: (i) identificação e análise das características e especificidades do aglomerado escolhido como alvo do estudo; (ii) identificação do estágio evolucionário do APL; (iii) descrição da cadeia de valor do APL; (iv) identificação e análise dos principais fatores de competitividade do APL; e (v) proposição de um quadro (framework) para representar a dinâmica competitiva do APL. O estudo traz uma contribuição relevante para o avanço da compreensão e discussão dos fundamentos teóricos que potencializam e/ou sustentam a competitividade de aglomerados de negócios. Ao fornecer informações significativas sobre os aspectos competitivos de aglomerados de micro e pequenas empresas de base tecnológica, abre caminho para novas pesquisas em outros aglomerados e regiões inovadoras, ou mesmo para futuros aprofundamentos ou abordagens no mesmo aglomerado já estudado. / The aim of this study is to describe the competitive dynamics that underlies the phenomenon of concentration of regional cluster of micro and small technology-based companies. In order to answer this question, it was conducted a qualitative empirical research, adopting a descriptive case study in a Brazilian cluster of micro and small technology-based companies, which is formally characterized as an Electronics Local Productive Arrangement and informally known as Electronic Valley. The selected cluster is located in the municipality of Santa Rita do Sapucaí, South of Minas Gerais. The study is justified by four factors that complement each other. They are: (i) the importance of MSEs to the economies of emerging countries such as Brazil; (ii) the importance of clusters of MSEs for public policy of these countries; (iii) the importance of empirically study these clusters; and (iv) the existing gaps due to the complexity and specificity of the different clusters. The study began with a literature review about agglomeration of firms, competitiveness and competitive advantage and competitiveness of clusters. Further, it was defined the conceptual model that guided the stage of empirical research. The results obtained in the empirical research included: (i) identification and analysis of the characteristics and specificities of the cluster chosen as the study target; (ii) identification of the evolutionary stage of the cluster; (iii) description of the value chain of the cluster; (iv) identification and analysis of key factors of competitiveness of the cluster; and, finally, (v) propose a framework to represent the competitive dynamics of the cluster. The study provides an important contribution to the advancement of understanding and discussion of the theoretical foundations that enhance and / or sustain the competitiveness of business clusters. In order to provide significant information about the competitive aspects of clusters of micro and small technology-based companies, it opens the way for further research in other clusters and innovative regions or even for future insights or approaches in the same cluster.

Conventional theories and empirical studies on global production networks (GPNs) and global value chains (GVCs) have dealt with the dynamic organization of production on global, regional, national, and local scales but have given limited attention to market dynamics. In recent years, particularly in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, a paradigmatic shift was observed in GPNs and GVCs that directed interests in market dynamics of developing country suppliers in the changing market dynamics in the Global North and the South. However, this phenomenon has not received adequate attention in the existing literature. This thesis aims to examine the firm-level market strategies of labor-intensive supplier firms in developing countries and the effects on the organization of production networks. Since the opening and reform in the late 1970s, the development of labor-intensive industries in China and the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in particular, the well-known "world factory", have been significantly driven by export to advanced Western markets, such as the United States and European Union. However, in recent years, manufacturing suppliers in the PRD have changed their market orientations, leading to the considerable industrial transformation. Taking the furniture and garment industries in the PRD as a case, this thesis attempts to systematically explore the market strategies of manufacturing suppliers in different sectors and regions/sub-regions and the subsequent effects on the transformation of manufacturing industries and reorganization of production networks through three empirical case studies. First, the study examines the market strategies of export-oriented furniture supplier firms in the eastern PRD (Dongguan and Shenzhen City) and its effects on industrial transformation and reorganization of production networks. Second, to compare the market strategies of different kinds of suppliers in different sub-regions, the study explores the domestic market-oriented furniture suppliers in the western PRD (Shunde District, Foshan City). Third, for the understanding of the interaction between spatial cross-border production relocation and market strategies, this study investigates the market strategies of relocated garment supplier firms when they relocated manufacturing operations from China to Southeast Asia and explores the subsequent reorganization of production networks Based on the field investigation and particularly in-depth interviews with furniture and garment manufacturing firms in the PRD, this study identifies three types of market strategies of suppliers in the PRD and different effects on the organization of production networks. First, in the export-oriented furniture industry in the eastern PRD, most of furniture suppliers engaged in market reorientation from exporting to Western markets (e.g., the US and EU) to selling in the domestic markets of China through in-term firm partnerships with domestic chain retailers. Strategic recoupling with domestic markets of China stimulated the emergence of domestic market-oriented production networks in which supplier firms gained functional upgrading and experienced downgrading simultaneously. Second, in the domestic market-oriented furniture industry in the western PRD, domestic market-oriented suppliers who previous served for low-end segment of domestic markets of China have turned to engage in the market diversification to target different market niches. The diversified market strategies including low-end, middle-end, and high-end market strategies made furniture production networks evolve from merely relying on the domestic markets of China to co-dependence on emerging markets of China and other developing economies. In the reorganized production networks, furniture suppliers gained functional upgrading as they integrated into higher-end segments of domestic markets. Third, different from furniture suppliers, garment supplier firms engaged in the cross-border production relocation from China to the lower-cost Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, which is driven by different market strategies. Garment firms relocated from China to Southeast Asia for maintaining their strategic coupling with global brand names from advanced Western markets. Whilst, textile firms conducted production relocation to meet the requirements and strategic needs of buyers from home markets of China and host markets in Southeast Asia. There has witnessed the emergence of Western market-oriented triangular production networks coordinated by the relocated foreign-invested and Chinese garment firms, in which relocated garment firms have gained limited upgrading prospects. This thesis argues that market strategies adopted by local suppliers to change their power relations with other actors, such as global brand names and domestic retailers, have emerged as one of the most remarkable driving forces behind the transformation of manufacturing industries in China and particularly the PRD in the changing global economy. Emerging market-driven production networks have been emerged in manufacturing industries in China, with the rise of emerging markets in developing countries. In particular, China played an important role in reshaping the spatial and structural organization of global production networks and value chains. This research contributes to the literature by exploring the changing market dynamics with focus on the firm-level strategies. It also adds the literature by exploring the implications of emerging markets in the Global South for the reorganization of global production networks and value chains. In contrast to the previous industrial development pattern in developing countries that resulted from integration into Western market-led production networks, market strategies of local suppliers in the PRD has demonstrated a bias toward emerging market-driven industrial development.

Cette recherche doctorale s’intéresse aux réseaux d’entreprises dans le contexte spécifique de villes moyennes périphériques. En s’appuyant sur les résultats d’une enquête de terrain auprès de dirigeants d’entreprises innovantes et performantes de Bretagne Sud, la recherche a pu mettre en évidence les ressources territoriales issues des réseaux sociaux. Le fait d’être implanté dans un territoire non métropolitain ne semble pas être un obstacle à l’insertion dans les réseaux de dirigeants, y compris lorsque leurs entreprises sont mondialisées. Pluridisciplinaire, cette recherche a nécessité de mobiliser les théories de la métropolisation afin d’appréhender le contexte de villes moyennes périphériques et leurs opportunités de développement. En outre, les mécanismes qui sous-tendent le fonctionnement réticulaire des entreprises ont été interprétés à la lumière de la sociologie des réseaux et des théories de la science de gestion liées au comportement des chefs d’entreprise.La nature partenariale des travaux, réalisés en collaboration avec les trois agences de développement économique de Bretagne Sud, a conduit à formuler une série de préconisations à destination des décideurs et opérateurs locaux. A ce titre, la mise en place d’une politique publique de réseau constitue une voie à explorer dans le cadre d’un renouvellement des approches du développement territorial. / This doctoral dissertation focuses on business networks in the specific context of peripheral medium sized cities. Based on a field survey of entrepreneurs from Southern Brittany, this research highlights resources provided by business networks. Being located in a non-metropolitan territory does not seem to be a barrier to participation in networks, even for globalized and innovative firms. This multidisciplinary work also mobilises metropolization theories to address the particular geographical context of peripheral, medium-sized cities and assess their territorial development opportunities. Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying the network functioning of the firms have been interpreted using network sociology and management science literature on business leaders’ behaviour. The partnership framework with three local development agencies has led to make practical proposals targeting local political decision-makers and stakeholders. Thus, implementing a network-based public policy could be an interesting path in order to come up with a new local development approach.

Abstract The objective of this dissertation is to identify how to make business ecosystem formation more efficient and how to evaluate ecosystem success capabilities. Business ecosystem formation consists of transition of a front-end phase ecosystem into an operational ecosystem. How the formation takes place and how it can be governed is approached through five formation elements: dynamics, strategy, governance, behaviour and evolution. The elements are defined based on literature review as the dissertation body of knowledge. Through inductive case studies and defined body of knowledge this dissertation presents as a synthesis a multidimensional model to support healthy business ecosystem formation. The model describes how ecosystem formation should be driven by key end customer requirements and how those contribute to ecosystem planning. Based on the key end customers it is possible to define initial joint value proposals and core service providers. This dissertation introduces roles of anchoring and moderator actors to business ecosystem discussion as actors leading the ecosystem formation and maintaining the ecosystem structure through strong relationships. The dissertation proposes conceptual models to assess ecosystem health and stakeholder’ salience. Ecosystem health can be assessed with sustainability, resilience, innovativeness and renewal capabilities. Importance of actors and their impact probability can be identified with salience assessment. Both assessment models enable ecosystem planners to monitor the formation progress and to focus governance activities. This dissertation is qualitative and inductive based on literature review and conducting empirical case studies in multiple business ecosystem type of environments in Finland and Taiwan. The dissertation consists of five academic publications and synthetization of them into this compilation book. The principal results of this dissertation include more detailed insights to support business ecosystem definition and scoping. Ecosystem formation expands the earlier contributions on business ecosystem evolution. Roles of anchoring and moderator actors complement the ecosystem roles enhancing planning. The assessment models provide for both practitioners and academics framework for evaluating ecosystem status. / Tiivistelmä Tämän väitöskirjan tavoitteena on tunnistaa kuinka liiketoimintaekosysteemin muodostumista voidaan tehostaa ja kuinka ekosysteemin kestävyyttä voidaan arvioida. Liiketoimintaekosysteemin muodostuminen käsittelee alkuvaiheen ekosysteemin muutosta toiminnalliseksi ekosysteemiksi. Ekosysteemin muodostumista ja muodostumisen hallinnointia käsitellään viidessä elementissä: dynamiikan, strategian, käyttäytymisen sekä evoluution kautta. Kirjallisuusperustaiset elementit muodostavat väitöskirjan tutkimusperustan. Induktiivisten tapaustutkimusten sekä tutkimusperustan pohjalta väitöskirja syntetisoi mallin joka tukee kestävän liiketoimintaekosysteemin muodostumista. Malli kuvaa kuinka muodostumisen tulee perustua valikoitujen loppuasiakkaiden vaatimuksiin ja kuinka nämä vaatimukset vaikuttavat ekosysteemin suunnitteluun. Loppuasiakkaiden perusteella määritetään ekosysteemin alustavat yhteiset arvoehdotukset sekä avainpalveluntarjoajat. Väitöskirja lisää ankkuri- ja moderaattoritoimijoiden roolit liiketoimintaekosysteemiä käsittelevään keskusteluun toimijoina, jotka edistävät ekosysteemin muodostumista ja ylläpitävät ekosysteemiä vahvojen suhteiden kautta. Väitöskirja esittää konseptuaaliset mallit ekosysteemin kestävyyden ja sidosryhmien merkittävyyden arviointiin. Ekosysteemin kestävyyttä arvioidaan jatkuvuuden, joustavuuden, innovatiivisuuden sekä uudistumiskyvyn kautta. Toimijoiden vaikutusvaltaa ja vaikutustodennäköisyyttä arvioidaan merkittävyysarvioinnilla. Ekosysteemin suunnittelutahot voivat hyödyntää malleja muodostumisen seurantaan sekä hallinnollisten toimien keskittämiseen. Väitöskirjatutkimus on kvalitatiivien ja induktiivinen perustuen kirjallisuuskatsaukseen sekä soveltuviin tapaustutkimuksiin Suomessa ja Taiwanissa. Väitöskirja koostuu viidestä tutkimusartikkelista ja niiden synteesinä laaditusta kirjasta. Väitöskirjan päätulokset sisältävät yksityiskohtaisia löydöksiä tukemaan ekosysteemin määrittämistä ja rajaamista. Ekosysteemin muodostuminen laajentaa aiempia tutkimustuloksia ekosysteemin evoluutiosta. Ankkuri- ja moderaattoritoimijoiden roolit täydentävät ekosysteemi roolivalikoimaa ja tukevat suunnittelua. Arviointimallit tarjoavat lähtökohdat sekä akateemiseen, että käytännölliseen liiketoimintaekosysteemin tilan arviontiin.

Many studies have focused on the effects of MNC subsidiaries' external relational embeddedness. Little attention has been given to its antecedents and especially to the potential effect that the business network context might have. We try to fill this gap and attempt to explain variation among subsidiaries' degree of relational embeddedness. Our results show a strong and robust effect of the business network context -- i.e. the network context in which the direct business relationships between the subsidiary and its partners are embedded -- on the degree of relational embeddedness. However, contrary to previous literature, we find an inverted u-shaped relationship. We discuss our findings with regard to the issue of over-embeddedness and the literature on the strength of weak versus strong ties.

Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) play an important role as employers and in the economic growth of South Africa and in Africa as a whole. SMEs comprise over 90 percent of African business operations and contribute to over percent of African employment and GDP. SMEs sector has shown positive signs in South Africa, Mauritius and North Africa. SMEs constitute 95 percent of formal manufacturing activity in Nigeria. Senegal and Kenya have provided an environment which is conducive for SMEs (African Development Bank 2005). In August 2006, flood damage to small businesses and residential premises in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Area was estimated at R120million (SABC News 2006). The holding of an insurance cover by SMEs is crucial and beneficial to the economy and to the survival and success of the Small and Medium Enterprise sector. If a business has an insurance policy and a relationship with its insurer it becomes easier for the company to over come such a catastrophe. However, literature has shown that insurance companies are not willing to insure SMEs and it is the aim of this research to establish whether a relationship between the two constructs exists. An article entitled New Deal In The Offering for SMMEs, the author stated that the insurance industry prefer to deal only with established businesses (Mthimkhulu 2008). The aim of this research is to establish the importance of business relationship between Insurance companies and SMEs. The research will show how beneficial such a relationship is to both industries. The data for the research was collected through a survey type structured questionnaire that was developed and validated. The questionnaire was administered to the owners or managers of SMEs in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Area. The primary objective of this research was to establish whether SMEs in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Area have insurance policies for their businesses, and the results have shown that most of the SMEs in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Area do not have insurance policies for their businesses.

Supply chain management (SCM) is an area that offers organizations significant opportunities for both cost reductions and revenue enhancement. In their article, "Supply Chain Management: Implementation Issues and Research Opportunities," Lambert, Cooper and Pagh defined SCM as the "integration of key business processes from end user through original suppliers that provides products, services, and information that add value for customers and other stakeholders." Adopting and implementing appropriate technology has emerged as a source of competitive advantage for supply chain member firms through the integration of business processes with suppliers and customers. It is important to understand the factors influencing an organization's decision to acquire such technology. In the context of this study, connective technologies are defined as wireless communication devices and their accompanying infrastructure and software which may enhance coordination among supply chain partners. Building on previous literature in the areas of supply chain management, marketing strategy, and organizational innovation, a model was developed to test the relationships between organizational, interorganizational, and technology-related factors and the adoption of advanced connective technology, using radio frequency identification (RFID) as the test case, in the supply chain. A Web-based survey of supply chain professionals was conducted resulting in 224 usable responses. The overall model was statistically significant with four of the predictors significantly influencing the adoption of RFID in the supply chain. Size, centralization, new product advantage and time to achieve targeted ROI were significantly related to adoption of connective technology (RFID). Interorganizational related factors were not significant predictors of connective technology adoption. The study contributes to theory by testing scales from marketing and management in a supply chain context in order to better understand behavioral dimensions of supply chain management and logistics. The conceptualization and measurement of market orientation at the interfirm level advances the market orientation literature. Finally, the study contributes to the technology adoption literature by considering organizational-related, interorganizational-related, and technology-related factors that influence adoption of connective technology in the supply chain.

It is well accepted in business practice that there are advantages for individuals and organisations in utilising their relationship networks for the purposes of personal and business advancement. Furthermore, the need for firms to develop the ability to innovate products, processes and positions to remain competitive is welldocumented. The purpose of this research was to make an academic contribution to the body of knowledge of the relationship between networking and innovation in firms operating in emerging economies.The research drew on the previous understanding of theories of business networks and innovation, and in some respects drew from relevant empirical studies from emerging economies. The literature review identified key concepts and business network descriptors to be used in the data analysis.Secondary data (using survey methodology) from the European Union INGINEUS project [No 225368] was used for this analysis. Using 720 responses, the data was analysed to investigate possible associations between each set of business network descriptors and innovation. This analysis was then expanded to build a regression model, revealing empirical evidence of significant relationships between some of the sub-variables for Country, Company structure, Collaboration type and Linkage type with Level of innovation. From this, key recommendations could be inferred for policymakers, business managers and entrepreneurs. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This doctoral thesis focuses on creation of strategic partnerships between small and medium enterprises. The purpose of the thesis is to study the attitude of enterprises toward strategic cooperation and to characterize the cooperation of enterprises within strategic partnerships. The research started with collection, evaluation and analyze of secondary data on strategic cooperation. It has been found, that in spite of high number of publications, there is a lack of joint methodology and unified use of the basic notions. Strategic cooperation is becoming a more and more up to date topic in the Czech Republic these days. One of the partial objectives of this thesis is to enrich the knowledge in this field by creation a complex theory. Other part of the research focuses on small and medium enterprises in the South Moravian region. This is connected with the second partial objective which is the analyze of the environment the companies are embedded in. In the framework if this, strong and relatively new, but fast developing branches of economy are distinguished. The creation of strategic partnerships within these branches can be a key issue in the short future. In order to get a more detailed view on attitudes of enterprises toward strategic partnerships and to find out the special features of these relations a primary research has been conducted. Both, qualitative and quantitative methods were applied with an aim to get a more complex overview on the topic. After the analyze of research data, the hypotheses were tested and conclusions and recommendations were formulated. The final part of the thesis emphasises its contribution to the theory, practice, as well as education.