The problem of the Italian economy of last years is the low economic growth and international competitiveness crisis of it's productive system. In already so belated europian train is the Italian economy among the lasts wagons. The main aim of this diploma thesis is to analyze Italian innovation policy and it's impact upon export. First chapter describes the term "innovation" and introduces the innovation policy in general. The second chapter analyzes contemporary economic characteristic of Italy in order to understand further issues, especially the development of essential macroeconomics indicators, the structure of Italian economy, the typology of firms and the anticrisis measures with the prediction of the further economic development. Third charter chapter analyzes contemporary main features of the Italian innovation policy: expenditures on reconstruction and development much like on education, describes human and risk capital, patents, scientific publications and technological balance of payments. It focuses also on the impact of the financial crisis upon the innovation activity, on the role of the government in the innovation policy, on it's evaluation with other europian countries and on the upcoming innovation strategies. The last fourth chapter concentrates on the analyze of influence of the innovation policy on the Italian's export. It focuses on the main govermental institutions concerned with export much like on the contemporary development of the Italian's commodity and territorial structure of export. The diploma thesis points out that Italy, as one of the moderate innovators, is not doing enough to become an innovation oriented economy. However Italian innovation policy is the most important instrument to reach this long term goal. Nevertheless Italy has maintained many reforms in its institutional basis or education system, there are still many shortcomings e.g. there is a strong need of evaluation of some old programs and further strengthening of innovation activity of small and medium sized enterprises, the same way as the increase of the government expenditures on all sectors of the innovation policy. The diploma thesis shows clearly that the innovation policy is one of the most important topics not only for Italy, but also for the rest of the world.

The thesis focuses on theoretical and empirical analysis of concepts of competitiveness that are further applied to the case of the European Union and its system of economic governance. Aim of the thesis is to explain the relationship between competitiveness` concept and economic governance of the EU. The matter is whether the European Union, which has belonged to the most successful examples of regional integration, has strong and flexible tool for itself and for its member states to cope with changing conditions of the globalized world economy, demographic and environmental challenges and whether economic governance of the EU takes principles of competitiveness development into consideration and so application of these principles would make the EU economic governance more effective.

The main contribution of this work is to evaluate the competitive position of the Czech Republic within the Visegrad countries and its weaknesses and threats related to the international competitiveness, or competitiveness in the Central European region.

The role of human capital in the overall economic development towards knowledge economy and innovations is fundamental. Without human resources, which make up the essence of human capital, we would have no innovative products or services, no new strategies and processes. The development and continuous increase of human capital is one of the prerequisites of an economic growth. The aim of this research was to test the effects of human capital investments on the economic results of enterprises. The research was based on an extensive questionnaire survey, which was further completed with expert interviews. The interviewees were HR professionals from selected companies. The main hypothesis was formed as an assumption about a positive dependence between human capital investments and economic successfulness of companies represented with value added per employee. The hypothesis was verified at a high significance level. Further this work tries to find answers to several key questions related to the main hypothesis: What are the key competences of a competitive human capital in the Czech companies? How can companies efficiently invest into the human capital in order to increase the company's competitiveness? What is the role of companies as the initiators of human capital development? How did the economic crisis change the companies' attitude towards human capital investments? The work further proposes how to diminish the main inefficiencies of companies' investments in human capital. Great attention is also paid to the comparison of various sources that measure and compare the volume of human capital in the Czech Republic.

Faculty of Engineering and Built Enviroment School of Mining Engineering 0405669f Willis.Saungwame@bhpbilliton.com / The Republic of Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Victoria Falls, Zambezi River, Kariba Dam and Limpopo River. It is surrounded by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west, Zambia to the north and Mozambique to the east. The country is well endowed with mineral wealth and has been a reputable contributor to the region’s gold, coal, nickel and chromium production in the late 90’s, but this has negatively changed for the worse. Since 2000, Zimbabwe has been on economic recession resulting in growing global interest in the country’s economic and social environment. The lucrative mining sector has also been adversely affected by the harsh economic climate hence thwarting flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country which is needed to boost Greenfield and Brownfield competitiveness in the sector. Apart from its lucrative mining sector the country has done very little in harnessing the anticipated FDI that should ensue. Concerns about governance, the rule of law and human rights, and the continued lack of clarity about property rights have severely damaged confidence, discouraged investment, and promoted capital flight and emigration, thus contributing to the economic decline. Its competitiveness in attracting FDI has since declined because of the international perception of the country’s high political risk. The country has failed to live up to expectations with regards to mineral resource development in the region. The research established that, governance issues are at the helm of the current low performance of the economy. It therefore prescribes a complete change in government’s attitude and calls for it to develop a long overdue mineral policy document to map a strategic way forward for the country’s mineral resource development. Interestingly the country has been hailed to have one of the most liberal mineral administration laws through the Mines and Minerals Act of 1996. Its fiscal incentives to the mining sector compare favourably with the rest of the region e.g. a corporate tax of 15% for exporting mining companies and currently most gold operations are royalty exempt among others. There is a growing divergence from iv policies to actions on the ground. The rule of law is under threat and corruption has taken its toll. It is therefore important for this research to analyse the historical performance of the country in the mining sector to formulate policies and recommendations that will improve the country’s competitiveness in the sector. The policy and fiscal incentives should continuously be revisited to be in tandem with global developments. The endowment theory, strongly believed by the country’s mining ministry as illustrated by Tilton in 1992 is not conclusive in attracting FDI especially in this dynamic global economy. More and more developing countries are revising their investment policies to try and improve competitiveness of their investment environments. Zimbabwe should emulate countries like Chile currently leading the pack in attracting FDI in the mining sector. There is now fierce competition in attracting investment into a country because now, the investor has more countries to choose from. Zimbabwe should seriously focus on getting rid of all the negative aspects that have seriously affected its economic performance and quickly develop policies that auger well with regional integration and various other NEPAD, SADC and AU policies that underpin African development. The mining sector is a driver for economic development if properly supported as shown within the research.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2014. / International competitiveness is the ability of a firm to sustain its international performance relative to competitors over time and in the future. This research examined the firm level factors that contribute to competitiveness of international new ventures (INVs). Specifically, the study investigated whether entrepreneurial and branding resources and capabilities greatly contribute to competitiveness of INVs. The study followed a positivist and quantitative methodological approach to establish the causalities and social order of competitiveness of INVs in Uganda. The purpose of the study was actualized through adopting a cross-sectional survey design. The study focused on INVs which are firms that internationalized their operations within the first ten (10) years of their establishment. These firms were drawn from the three major business sectors in Uganda including agribusiness, manufacturing and service firms involved in international activities ranging from exports, input sourcing (imports), foreign subsidiaries, franchises to international subcontracting. The survey instrument was delivered to 405 firms and information required was provided by three different groups of respondents in each firm. Owners-managers and employees assessed their firm’s entrepreneurial and branding resources and capabilities and international competitiveness in the last five (5) years and for the next three (3) years whereas customers evaluated brand advantage of firms and their products or services. The data collection process achieved a 77 percent response rate to the study. The study was non-experimental and adopted structural equation modelling and Average Moments of Structures (AMOS) to establish the causal relationships between the study variables. The study results reveal that brand orientation greatly contributes to international competitiveness whereas the interaction between entrepreneurial and branding resources and capabilities significantly enhances brand advantage of INVs. In addition, the study indicates that in the short run, brand advantage constrains the contribution of entrepreneurial and branding capabilities to competitiveness of INVs. The findings of this research provide knowledge on building and sustaining international competitiveness with specific implications for improving marketing and/or branding capabilities and utilization of entrepreneurial resources. The findings further support the dynamic capabilities theory in explaining competitiveness of INVs in Uganda. Keywords: Competitiveness, Entrepreneurial Capital, Entrepreneurial orientation, Brand orientation, Brand Advantage, International New Ventures, Uganda

Thesis M.Com. (Development Theory and Policy) -- University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, 2014 / This dissertation analyzes the competitiveness and performance of the Zimbabwean poultry industry in the context of trade liberalization, given that both poultry output and the main inputs (animal feed and breeding stock) are tradable. Poultry is an important product as the main source of protein for consumers. It also has strong links to agriculture through the production of animal feed. Despite the rise in chicken demand over the years as a cheap source of protein, the poultry industry in Zimbabwe still faces a number of challenges which the government claims include stiff competition from cheap imports, rising input costs of maize and soya meal and illegal imports being sold at sub-economic prices. This study evaluates these factors and the impact of changing trade protection. The methodology used in this study is both qualitative and quantitative. An analysis is done on trade tariffs particularly focusing on their effect to the poultry industry. Disaggregated trade and tariff data was used to analyze the evolution of tariff regime in the industry and to calculate the effective rate of protection of the poultry sector. A value chain approach was used to understand the linkages and interests that exist in this industry. The poultry industry has been affected by imports starting 2007 and has not been exporting since then as the industry struggled to compete on the domestic market. The study showed that the effective rate of protection calculation is complicated by the different trade regimes which currently exist. If the main international competition is from South Africa then the existence of the bi-lateral agreement between Zimbabwe and South Africa means that the poultry sector has not been protected. The study has shown that the breeding subsector is characterized by a duopoly since there are only two breeding firms in Zimbabwe and the comparison carried out revealed that Zimbabwean prices of day old chicks are above those of comparable countries in the region such as South Africa. The study shows that prices for GMO maize used in South Africa are substantially cheaper than Zimbabwean prices, thereby making Zimbabwean producers uncompetitive. The study recommends policies that attract investment in the breeding sub-sector of the value chain to increase competition, a review of GMO maize policy and reducing tariffs of imported raw materials used in the poultry industry.

Denna studie är en kandidatuppsats om kvalitetssäkring där syftet har varit att undersöka hur tillverkningsföretag arbetar med kvalitetsarbete inom produktion för att öka mervärde åt kund och stärka företags konkurrenskraft. För att besvara syftet har följande frågeställningar utformats: ➢Hur sker prioritering av kvalitetsproblem i tillverkningsföretag? ➢Hur arbetar tillverkande företag med produktkvalitet och hur påverkar det företagets konkurrenskraft. Grunden till studien är en forskningsansats utifrån fallstudiemetoden där existerande vetenskapliga teorier har jämförts med ett verklighetsbaserat kvalitetsproblem. Den teoretiska referensramen har använts för att skapa förståelse och insikt för problemet i en bred kontext. Fallstudien har utförts på ett medelstort formsprutningsföretag i Mellansverige där kvalitetsbrister har resulterat i defekter på detaljer. Studiens ansats var aktionsforskning med både kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder i form av observation, intervjuer, dokumentation och experiment. Resultaten visar att flera kriteriersom exempelvis rätt prioritering, standardisering och kunskap om processenhar betydelse för kvalitetsarbete samt att kriteriernas relationer är väsentliga för att säkerställa produktkvalitet. Från experimentet framkomdet att direktiv från den vetenskapliga referensramen till parameterinställningar var tvärt emot vad experimentets utfall visade. Det är dock viktigt att uppmärksamma att förändringar av parameterinställningar kan leda till förbättring av en defekt men kan ge uppkomst till en annan. Därmed är det väsentligt att vid komplexa processer ha fungerande kommunikationsamt bred kunskap och insikt iprocessen. Genom att fokusera på kvalitetsarbete kan företag öka kapacitet och kundnöjdhetvilket skapar grunden till konkurrenskraft.

Nas últimas décadas, o cenário empresarial mundial tem presenciado profundas modificações que afetam diretamente as empresas e definem novas formas de atuação no mercado. Por um lado, pode-se identificar a posição de destaque ocupada pelos consumidores, ávidos por produtos e serviços de alta qualidade e que de fato atendam às suas necessidades. Por outro, destaca-se o fenômeno da globalização dos mercados e seu reflexo na concorrência entre as empresas, que agora passa a ser mundial. Além disto, esta troca de paradigmas traz em seu bojo mudanças nos fatores definidores de competitividade para as empresas. Esta situação desfavorece, sobretudo, as micro e pequenas empresas (MPE\'s), que muitas vezes não contam com capacidade competitiva necessária para se adaptarem a esta nova era. Para sobreviver às condições impostas pela economia vigente, observa-se o surgimento de novas formas de organização industrial, com destaque às que estimulam a cooperação entre empresas de um mesmo setor ou de setores complementares, dentre os quais destacam-se os chamados aglomerados ou clusters. Pelas suas características, a presença em um cluster possibilita às MPE\'s incrementos em seus processos produtivos, tanto em termos de volume de produção quanto em termos de aumento de possibilidades tecnológicas, através do compartilhamento de meios produtivos e de investimentos na busca por melhores tecnologias, sejam elas de produto, de processo ou de gestão. De acordo com este cenário, o objetivo desta tese consiste em desenvolver uma análise da competitividade das MPE\'s do cluster alimentício do município de Marília/SP, possibilitando identificar ações a serem tomadas para aumento da competitividade deste conjunto de empresas. Para a realização desta análise foi elaborado um modelo geral adotado na pesquisa, considerando as particularidades do cluster em questão: a predominância de MPE\'s e as características da indústria alimentícia. / In the last decades, the managerial scenery in the world has been witnessing deep modifications that affect the companies directly and define its new forms of performance in the market. On one side, it can be verified the prominent position occupied by the consumers, avid for products and services of high quality and that in fact assist to their needs. On other side, it can be stand out the phenomenon of the globalization of the markets, enlarging the horizons of the companies for besides the national limits, increasing, with that, the competition among them. Besides this, this change of paradigms in its core some changes in the factors that define the competitiveness for a company. This situation disfavors, above all the small firms, that don\'t have necessary competitive capacity for adapt itself to this new era. Thus, to survive to the conditions imposed by the effective economy, these firms create new ways of industrial organization that stimulate cooperation among companies that belongs to the same sector or to the complementary sectors, which can be stand out as agglomerates or clusters. For its characteristics, the presence in a cluster facilitates to the MPE\'s increments in its productive processes, so much in terms of production volume as in terms of increase of technological possibilities, through the share alike of productive means and of investments in the search for better technologies, be them of product, of process or of administration. In agreement with this scenery, the objective of this consists of developing an analysis of the competitiveness of MPE\'s agroindustrial cluster in the municipal district of Marília/SP, facilitating to identify actions to be taken for the competitiveness increasing of this group of companies. For the accomplishment of this analysis a general model adopted in the research was elaborated, considering the particularities of the cluster in subject: the predominance of ) MPE\'s and the characteristics of the nutritious industry.

O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar recomendações e um roteiro de aplicação da tecnologia da informação na melhoria competitiva da pequena empresa. As pequenas empresas estudadas foram os fabricantes de móveis do pólo de Mirassol (SP), considerando-se a classificação da ABIMÓVEL baseada no número de funcionários: 16 a 150. Para alcançar o objetivo proposto, o trabalho de campo foi dividido em duas fases. Na primeira fase, foi realizado um levantamento amplo, de caráter exploratório/descritivo, junto às pequenas empresas, visando obter uma visão geral do uso da tecnologia da informação. Foram identificadas 38 pequenas empresas, sendo que 32 participaram da pesquisa. Na segunda fase, foram estudadas oito pequenas empresas, para realização de um diagnóstico do uso da tecnologia da informação na melhoria competitiva. O estudo foi realizado por meio de observação direta, complementada por entrevistas e análise de documentos. Como resultado desse trabalho, pode-se citar o ganho de conhecimento sobre as dificuldades das pequenas empresas em usar a tecnologia da informação em prol da competitividade; as recomendações para minimizar essas dificuldades e um roteiro de implantação da tecnologia da informação, de modo a melhorar sua gestão e seus controles, obtendo melhoria na sua posição competitiva. Espera-se que este trabalho contribua para a pequena empresa; e, para tanto, os resultados serão apresentados em congressos científicos e revistas, em seminários no Sindicato da Indústria do Mobiliário e Afins de Mirassol e no Centro Tecnológico da Madeira e do Mobiliário de Votuporanga e por divulgação de relatórios do SEBRAE, SENAI, CIESP e SIMPI. / The objective of this work is to present recommendations and a schedule of application of the technology of information in the competitive improvement of the small company. The small studied companies were the furniture manufacturers from the region of Mirassol (SP), considering the classification of the ABIMÓVEL based on the number of its employees: 16 to 150. To reach the proposed objective, the field work was divided in two phases. In the first phase, an ample survey of exploratory and descriptive nature was carried out together the small companies, aiming at getting a general view of the use of the information technology. Thirty-eight small companies were identified and 32 participated in the research. In the second phase, eight small companies were studied to make a diagnosis of the use of the information technology in the competitive improvement. The study was carried out by means of direct observation complemented by interviews and document analysis. As a result of this work, the knowledge profit on the difficulties of the small companies in using the information technology can be cited in favor of the competitiveness; the recommendations to minimize those difficulties and a schedule of establishment of the information technology to improve its management and its controls, by getting improvement in its competitive position. This work is hoped to contribute to the small company and so the results will be presented at scientific congresses and magazines, in seminaries at the Trade Union and similar industries of furniture from Mirassol and at the Technological Center of the Wood and Furniture of Votuporanga and for divulging the reports of SEBRAE, SENAI, CIESP and SIMPI.