Tese (Magister Scientiae)--Universidade Federal de Viçosa. / Vita: leaves iii-iv. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Bibliography: leaves 160-165.

Many professional traders, hedgers, and institutional investors utilise spread trading to engage in the futures market. Most of the literature dedicated to futures spreads was published between the late 1970s and early 1990s, and has partly lost its relevance. This is because of the emergence of new financial instruments, changed relationships and regulations within the financial industry and, furthermore, the advent of round-the-clock electronic trading which has increased the number of players and liquidity of futures markets many times over (Hull, 2006). Hence, there is a need to explore futures spreads from a contemporary perspective. The six publications which form the basis of this PhD examine futures spreads from different perspectives. They address questions surrounding spreads systematisation, classification and analysis. The thesis develops a new framework for futures spreads analysis which has practical application as an investment tool. This thesis makes a contribution to theory and practice in the area of futures spreads. The research results could find wide application in the futures industry and of interest to the research community.

Group decision-making and equity predictions are topics that are interesting for academic research as well as for business purposes. Numerous studies have been conducted to assess the quality of forecasts by financial analysts, but in general these studies still show little evidence that it is possible to generate accurate predictions that in the long run create, after transaction costs, profits higher than the market average. This thesis investigates an alternative approach to traditional financial analysis. This approach is based on Internet group decision-making and follows the suggestion that a group decision is better than the decision of an individual. The research project follows a mixed-methods approach in the form of a sequential study with a field experiment. Different groups—consisting of lay people, but also financial professionals—were formed purposefully in different group designs to generate equity forecasts. The field experiment was conducted following an e- Delphi approach with online questionnaires, but also in-depth interviews with all participants. Data from financial analysts was used to compare the predictions from the groups with actual results of share prices. The data from the experiment suggests that there are different variables, in terms of the individual characteristics of the participants, which indicated significant impact on the quality of equity predictions. The predictions of some participants (e.g. “PID-S-plus” rated participants) are apparently of significantly higher accuracy. The findings from the study indicate that intuition plays a significant role in the decision-making process not only for lay people, but also for financial analysts and other financial professionals. However, there are observable differences in the intuitive decision-making of lay people and experts. While it was possible to observe that intuition is interpreted as “random guess” by poor predictors, it was found that good predictors base their intuition on several factors—even including fundamental and macroeconomic considerations. The findings of the experiments led to an explanatory model that is introduced as the ‘Deliberated Intuition’ Model. The model of deliberated intuition which is proposed here views prediction as a process of practice which will be different for each individual. The model proposes that a predictor will decide, consciously or semi-consciously, when they feel ready to rely on gut-feeling, or to undertake more analysis. Generally, it appears to contribute to a good prediction to think about the problem in different ways and with various techniques. The experiment indicated that (online-) groups are not per se better than individuals. The Deliberated Intuition Model might help to prepare better group settings and improve prediction quality. Apparently a combination of rational and intuitive techniques leads to the best prediction quality.

The various aspects of a social science ramify closely with one another, and so it will be necessary to inspect certain economic theories rather extensively in search of their meaningful connection with the word "capital." However, the major purpose here will be an examination of the use and potential logical use of the terms "capital" and "capital formation."

Tourism in Libya is considered to be the best long-term alternative as a source of national income to the oil industry upon which the country's economy has long been heavily dependent. Hotels are a key element of the tourism industry. This study focuses on obstacles to foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Libyan hotel sector, because FDI is a necessary element to support the development of Libya as an internationally competitive tourism destination. Specifically, the objectives of this study are developed on page five. This study was carried out in four main stages. The first stage involved an extensive literature review to generate a background and develop a theoretical framework for the research. This study adopted a case study approach (Yin, 2003), incorporating semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire, with a sample population consisting initially of foreign hotel managers, and government officials as a second stage. The third stage involved conducting a further questionnaire and a series of semi-structured interviews with hotel managers, Corinthia hotel staff and government officials to identify key FDI issues within the Libyan hotel sector. The fourth stage provides recommendations intended to help solve the existing foreign investor problems facing the hotel sector and Libya's tourism implementation strategy. The study concludes that there are some major FDI issues facing the Libyan hotel sector, including: economic, administrative, and legal and institutional barriers in areas such as recruitment and selection; skills gaps; inadequate practical training; minimum opportunities given to foreign companies; restriction on the role of the public and private sector in the development of the Libyan Tourism Master Plan (LTMP); shortage of qualified academic staff; outdated curricula; inadequacy of the LTMP; lack of funding of Libyan tourism education; and the lack of co-operation between the hotel sector, tourism education and the government's LTMP. The main contributions of this study include: an understanding of the obstacles that confront FDI in the Libyan hotel sector; the application of factor analyses to build consensus on the essential elements of FDI obstacles within the Libyan hotel sector and the development of a best practice LTMP model. Note: It is important to note that the field work for this thesis, as well as the data analysis and conclusion, was carried out prior to the popular uprising in Libya which began on February 17th 2011.

The study analyses the key motives and determinants of FDI in various sectors of the Libyan economy. It compares the results for the different sectors to determine how the policy of the Libyan government could be improved in order to increase the benefits for the government and the country. A new framework was developed for this research. A qualitative methodology using multiple case studies was employed. The case study companies comprised eight companies from four sectors. The four sectors were compared and contrasted using Porter's five forces model. The analysis of the eight companies had two stages: "within" and "cross-cases" analyses. Data were gathered through in depth, semi-structured interviews with foreign and local company managers, and government policy makers. The study also uses data collected from secondary sources such as company websites, documents and government reports. The empirical findings reveal the existence of a core of motives and determinants of FDI in Libya that are common for all parties across all sectors. This finding is surprising in relation to the similarity across sectors. This might be explained by the uniform government policy over a relatively stagnant forty-year period. These factors are: market size and growth, high return on investment and investment incentives, political stability, infrastructure and low transportation costs, business and industrial linkages, progress of privatisation, institutions, culture and attractive geographic location. The sector-specific and actor-specific determinants are however less important than the common ones. In terms of obstacles to FDI, bureaucratic red tape, infrastructure in terms of Internet, telephone, and the banking system inhibit FDI inflows in all contexts. The findings of this study showed also the critical role of the Libyan government in facilitating the process of FDI. This is probably the first study to incorporate both host government and foreign investors' views about motives and determinants of FDI.

This thesis analyses the resolution made by the Shariah Advisory Council of the Malaysian Securities Commission (SAC) which resolves that the crude palm oil futures contract is permissible. This resolution is controversial as it collides with the resolutions of other mainstream or internationally represented organisations of Shari'ah scholars. These mainstream resolutions rule that the commodity futures contract transgresses Sharf'ah principles. However, the SAC contends that it is permissible on the principle of public interest (ma#a~ah) and on the notion that trading regulations have overcome Sharf'ah prohibitions; namely, that of gharar (uncertainty) and maysir (gambling). The focus of this thesis is thus to analyse the adequacy of the SAC resolution in terms of its coherence with the real trading of the crude palm oil futures contract as well as the adequacy of the crude palm oil futures legal framework in overcoming Sharf' ah prohibitions. This is an area which has not been given adequate attention in the current literature. Apart from the liteniture on the legality of the commodity futures contract, this thesis examines the legal framework of the Malaysian commodity futures market as well as the American and European markets. To compliment this research, non-structured interviews and discussions have been undertaken. In the final analysis, the data gathered from the interviews and discussions, as well as the relevant literature, evidences that the SAC resolution is not coherent with real trading and that the elements of gharar and maysir have not been eliminated by the trading regulations. Additionally, the analysis finds that, contrary to the argument of its proponents, the commodity futures market has failed to represent its purpose as a risk management tool as well as a price discovery tool. In summation, an inadequate resolution would inevitably undermine the SAC's, position as Malaysia's sole Islamic capital market's Sharf'ah advisor, and Malaysia's reputation as the international Islamic capital market hub.

The regimes of today that regulate and protect Intellectual Property Rights are based on Western cultural and philosophical values. This realization leads to the supposition that culture may influence the notion of patents. This raised the question of whether patent valuation would underlie a cultural bias. If patents are important in international business it is evident that a cultural impact on patent valuation would have significant implications and necessitate dedicated investigation. A literature review confirmed a knowledge gap in this area. This work, therefore, aims to investigate cultural impact on patent valuation. A distinction is made between a valuation from an ethical point of view and an economic valuation. Following a mixed methods approach, this research applies semi-structured interviews to create survey items for a questionnaire that then provides data that can be analyzed statistically and qualitatively. For quality assurance, a pre-questionnaire is used as an intermediate step. The results of the quantitative and qualitative analyses are subject to a between-method triangulation, which is interpreted in the following discussion in the light of relevant theory. The findings of this investigation confirm that there is indeed a cultural impact on the notion of patents. Two cultural dimensions, “Uncertainty Avoidance” and “Institutional Collectivism” correlate significantly with ethical patent valuation. Furthermore, it is not the complete cultural dimension, “Future Orientation”, but a specific aspect of it that correlates with economic patent valuation. A relationship between standpoints towards the ethical valuation of patents and economic patent valuation could not be proven. The research questions of what cultural dimensions have an impact on patent valuation and how and why they impact are answered. In addition, this work provides a model that represents cultural impact on patent valuation.

The aim of this dissertation, undertaken between 2012 and 2017, is to contribute towards the improvement of international joint venture (“IJV”) management in real estate development projects by analysing performance and factors, critical for the success of real estate IJVs. The assumption is that a real estate capital investor acts as the international partner of the IJV-construct, while local developers, operators and/or real estate professionals represent the local partner. The thesis focuses on the perspective of the real estate capital investor as a key actor in an IJV. The thesis adopts a systems approach in identifying and discussing the critical success factors of IJVs in the literature review, followed by the development of an integrated, theory-based framework that offers a theoretical conceptualisation of the research problem and key research questions. The methodology and research design were compiled using quantitative (questionnaire survey) and qualitative (focus group and semi-structured interviews) approaches. Data were collected from international capital providers investing as IJV-partners in real estate development using a mixed method approach, the thesis proposes and elaborates on a performance model for IJVs in real estate development, with an aim to ensure empirically valid performance measurement. The focus was to identify and justify determinants and their relationships. The empirical investigation in the thesis supports the notion that the investment process and the selection of the partner are particularly important for a project’s success in real estate development IJVs. In addition, aspects related to the structural and organisational dimension are relevant to the overall IJV performance. Moreover, the model has shown significant relationships between the (1) structural, organisational and investment dimensions on the one hand, and the (2) external, organisational and investment dimensions, on the other hand, for the overall success in the formation-stage. With respect to the post-formation stage, relationships between (1) partner and organisational dimension, (2) partner and investment dimension and (3) investment and organisational dimensions have been proven relevant to improve IJV performance in the context of real estate development IJVs.

This thesis investigates the impact of an EU-directive (directive 2011/61/EU) regarding the administration of alternative investments by fund managers (AIFMs) on the business models of AIFMs which became effective on June 22, 2013. This new fund regulation is expected to affect the business models of traditional AIFMs that were not previously subject to regulation but now have to comply with these rules. The potential effect of the Alternative Investment Fund Manager Directive (AIFMD) has been subject to contentious debate in the past. However, the outcomes of the AIFMD have not previously been considered post implementation and so will be investigated for the first time by this research thesis. This thesis explores the changes already driven by the AIFMD to understand its impact on traditional business models. These changes are currently initiated by fund managers in order to ensure a sustainable business. This thesis also investigates how the marketplace in which fund managers operate will change as a result of the AIFMD and how this change will impact traditional business models. Since the AIFMD only recently became effective, no quantitative data is available. Therefore, this research is based on exploratory research starting with an online survey sent to 200 fund managers managing different types of small, medium and large Alternative Investment Funds. The online survey asks general questions about the fund manager’s business, such as size, jurisdictions, investment types, etc. It also reveals the extent to which business models have been adapted to the requirements, in particular the operating conditions of the AIFMD and which requirements still need to be employed by the respective fund manager. Based on the results of the online survey, a small number of fund managers were chosen for personal interviews representing different types and size of managed funds as well as a variety of country locations. The samples were chosen in that way to allow generalization of the research findings for a broad range of different fund managers with different business models. The personal interviews enable confirmation of the findings achieved by the online survey as well as providing a deeper understanding of how fund managers perceive the impact of the AIFMD on their business model. The form of the interviews is flexible with open and spontaneous questions appropriate to the specific interview situation. This enables a more complex and sophisticated view of the change of traditional business models. Since the AIFMD was only recently realized and currently several AIFMD documents, such as specific guidance, is still outstanding, additional research is needed. Additional research could consider more quantitative data that is not yet available.