Along with an increased environmental awareness, companies are encouraged to go through big, internal transformations and look outside of their core businesses. For them to remain competitive, they need to show an urge for external innovation and collaboration with startups. Front end innovation (FEI) plays a crucial role in the success of ideas, yet the process for it is scattered and unorganised. The purpose of this thesis is to provide structure to external FEI and ensure success to further stages such as commercialization. The thesis was conducted at a large, sustainable materials company, by performing a literature study and qualitative interviews. The results were divided in two parts: (1). Identification of tools and success factors within FEI and (2). Construction of a relevant business model at this phase based on previous findings. The discussion of the results has been derived by performing deep analysis of the data and benchmarking it to previous findings. The thesis resulted in concrete suggestions and improvements of FEI management processes. A business model framework applicable for FEI processes is suggested based on recommendations and findings. Concluding, I argue that the result can be considered as a bridge between large scale companies and external startups, as well as between FEI and commercialization, however, it needs to be validated on other environments than the subject company. / Företag utför stora, interna omvandlingar och tittar utanför sina kärnverksamheter på grund av en ökad miljömedvetenhet. För att de ska förbli konkurrenskraftiga måste de utöka sina processer för extern innovation och samarbete med startups. Front end innovation (FEI) spelar en avgörande roll för framgångsrik innovation, men denna process är utspridd och osystematisk. Syftet med projektet är att införa struktur av externa innovationsprocesser och säkerställa framgång för framtida steg såsom kommersialisering.  Projektet genomfördes vid ett stort företag som fokuserar på hållbara material, genom att utföra en litteraturstrudie och kvalitativa intervjuer. Resultatet delas upp i två delar: (1).  Identifiering av verktyg och framgångsfaktorer inom FEI och (2). Konstruktion av en relevant affärsmodell i denna fas baserad på tidigare litteratur. Diskussionen av resultatet består av en djup analys av samlade data och jämförelse av detta med tidigare resultat.  Projektet resulterade i konkreta förslag och förbättringar av innovations processer. En affärsmodells ram föreslås som är tillämpad för FEI baserad på rekommendationer och litteratur. Avslutningsvis hävdar jag att resultatet kan betraktas som en bro mellan storskaliga företag och externa startups, liksom mellan FEI och kommersialisering men den måste valideras genom testing i andra miljöer och företag.

<p>Universities have come under increasing pressure to move further along the innovation continuum and supplement their traditional role in the conduct of basic research with more applied research activities. This trend reflects a shift in government expectations that public investments in basic research should produce a tangible economic return. However, it is not believed that conditions for success are presently in place to enable universities to maximize the returns to Canadian taxpayers. The focus of this thesis is to answer one question: How can we create a commercialization ecosystem around universities that lack such a system?</p> <p>The thesis consists of three studies that address that question from different perspectives. The first study sought an understanding of the role that technology transfer offices can play in growing a new commercialization ecosystem, with appropriate university support and in collaboration with intermediary organizations. In the second study, a value chain centered model was identified to better describe the process of commercializing university research. The model identifies two main stages of the commercialization process. The first upstream stage focuses on de-risking the opportunity, based on the characteristics inherent in an academic spin-off. The second downstream stage focuses on successful entry to the market. In the third study, we examined the role new Masters programs specializing in venture creation can play in commercializing university intellectual property. We addressed the contribution these programs can offer to support both the upstream and downstream stages within our commercialization model.</p> <p>Together, the three studies examined the current practices of commercialization in universities, identified an analytical framework for the commercialization process in universities, and finally tested the role of students in this framework. This framework leads to a deeper understanding of the commercialization process, specific to the university environment, and provides insights into how to develop a more entrepreneurial university.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This dissertation presents the development of a new framework for international commercialization of innovative structural products in residential construction. Development of his framework required the examination of six subjects related to international commercialization. 1) commercialization models previously developed, locally and internationally, 2) barriers to the process, 3) stakeholders, actions, and decisions critical to the process, 4) characteristics of innovations that are suitable for international use, 5) characteristics of foreign markets that are ideal to adopt such innovations, and 6) strategies to overcome barriers The framework development was based on one structural product, SIPs. This product has been successfully developed and implemented in the United States and is being considered for commercial use in Saudi Arabia. Structural product clusters are particularly appropriate because of their innovative nature and their major influence on the structure of residential buildings. The study relies on sequential explanatory mixed-method research design, consisting of two distinct phases (Creswell 2003), to gain insight into processes surrounding commercialization. The rationale for this approach is that quantitative data and its results provide a general picture of the barriers to international commercialization in the available sample, which can mapped onto an initial framework. The qualitative data and its analysis help to refine and expand statistical results by exploring participants' actual decision processes that can be also mapped to a second framework. Both data sets can be merged, mapped onto one final framework. Variables related to the six subjects, mentioned above, were distilled from literature into open-ended questionnaires for two groups of key stakeholders in the supply chain of innovative structural products: 1) SIPs stakeholders in the US and 2) stakeholders of innovative structural products in Saudi Arabia. The primary purpose of the open-ended questionnaires was to ensure usage of correct terminology used in this study and to encourage full, meaningful answers—capturing all possible factors affecting the process of international commercialization. The author collected responses using web-based surveys. The results yielded the development of a reliable instrument to be implemented in further steps of this research. Next, the researcher collected variables related to the questions from previous open-ended questionnaires into closed-ended questionnaires to collect the data (on perceived barriers to international commercialization), using web-based surveys, and performed a preliminary analysis of the data using frequency analysis. This process yielded market-based strategies for developing an initial framework for international commercialization in residential construction. Subsequently, a focused examination of barriers to international commercialization was needed. The researcher collected such data through an applied understanding of the specific development processes for SIPs to be introduced to a new, international market, namely Saudi Arabia. Based on the model's structure, the researcher conducted six case studies of real stakeholder processes along the supply chain, SIPs development domestically and internationally, and tracked data for real risks of the commercialization process. Findings suggested perceived versus actual risks and barriers to the commercialization process for an integral product to the residential construction process. This was an important distinction because of proposed development methods and the application of market diffusion. Based on the barriers identified, the researcher developed market-based strategies to be incorporated into a second framework. This framework along with the initial framework and the literature-based framework have been triangulated to develop one final framework. The final framework was then introduced to a few experts in the industry to increase its validity. / Ph. D.

While not being the first thing to come to mind when reminiscing or imagining the 1970s and 1980s; these decades would see great changes within feminism as well as pop-culture, which in turn would come to influence societal structures at large and lay the ground for processes still visible today. Another unexpected factoid is just how intertwined the changing phenomena where and how by looking closer at popular culture, as seen in magazines, we can make the shifts within second wave feminism more tangible. This way we learn how the image of female artist went from representing a lifestyle of freedom and changing up the status quo to being commercialized and highly sexualized in a marketable way. This is done by analysing the visual and verbal depictions found in some of the most read magazines, to understand what kind of discourse there was surrounding these new phenomena.  Furthermore, by looking at publications from multiple countries, here U.S.A., Sweden and Germany,  over the course of two decades one can assess that the changes in pop-culture as well as feminism where not an isolated one-and-and done deal, but a larger and continuous occurrence.

Revisorsyrket utvecklas ständigt. Från att tidigare ha ansetts vara en räknande ensamvarg sittandes på sitt kontor är nu revisorn en fullfjädrad konsult med kommunikation som sin vardagliga huvudsyssla. Allteftersom revisorns arbetsuppgifter byts ut från att till största del bestå av revision till att bestå mer och mer av konsulttjänster, kan revisorns ställning som en oberoende granskare av företags räkenskaper ifrågasättas.Syftet med uppsatsen är att först utforska vilka konsulttjänster, eller Non-Audit Services (NAS), som erbjuds av en revisionsbyrå. Sedan tar studien reda på vad olika intressentgrupper tycker om att revisionsbyråer bistår sina revisionskunder med NAS. Avslutningsvis undersöks intressentgruppernas uppfattning om biståendet av NAS påverkan på oberoendet. Studien byggs upp av agentteorin och intressentteorin, där revisorn ses som en oberoende granskare som ska säkerställa att företagsledningen agerar optimalt för företagets ägare och intressenter.För att få reda på vilka tjänster som NAS innefattar görs först en pilotstudie med intervjuer av fyra revisorer med varierande erfarenhet. Sedan görs en enkätundersökning där frågorna tas fram utifrån informationen från pilotstudien. De intressenter som enkäten skickas ut till är Bankanställda, Investerare/Aktieägare, Revisor/Revisorsassistent/Redovisningskonsult, Skatteverket, Studenter och Andra företag.Resultatet av studien visar att samtliga intressentgrupper ställer sig positiva till att revisionsbyråer bistår sina revisionskunder med NAS, där gruppen Revisor var mest positiva och Studenter och Investerare/Aktieägare minst positiva. Vidare anser samtliga intressentgrupper att biståendet av NAS endast påverkar oberoendet i liten utsträckning, där Revisor anser att det påverkar minst och Investerare/Aktieägare anser att det påverkar mest. Slutsatserna är att intressenterna ser NAS som något positivt och att dess påverkan på oberoendet är lägre än dess positiva sida för företagare.

In master thesis called Negativity in Television News we dealt with the structure of television news from good news vs. bad news angle of view and in context both public service and commercial based media. We focused on two main TV news programmes Události (Czech television) and Televizní noviny (TV Nova). Bad news category was analysed in depth then. The text starts with a chapter about relationship between media contents and reality so we were describing social constructivism theory in media context. Then we dealt with mechanisms and influences, which affect form of media outputs; we focused on concept of news values and processes of tabloidization and commercialization. Next chapter was dedicated to definition of negativity in news. In this context we described presence of bad news in coverage during the history; we dealt with media violence and its effects on audience; we defined media negativity and set up the typology of bad news. The analysis showed us percentage of bad news in two main news programmes of Czech television and TV Nova. We found out, which negative topics were predominating and they were analysed in depth then. In this part of analysis we were researching through what particular factors of negativity the negative impression of news is being increased.

Com a redução das barreiras tarifárias ao comércio internacional, as normas técnicas, regulamentos técnicos e procedimentos de avaliação da conformidade vêm se tornando importantes mecanismos protecionistas e de restrição ao comércio. Esse trabalho tem por objetivo estudar essas questões, tendo como foco principal a exportação para a União Européia dos equipamentos eletromédicos produzidos por pequenas e médias empresas brasileiras. Realiza-se uma revisão bibliográfica buscando-se identificar e comparar as normas técnicas, os regulamentos técnicos e os mecanismos de avaliação da conformidade para os dispositivos eletromédicos, praticados pela União Européia e os vigentes no Brasil. É desenvolvida uma pesquisa junto a PMEs Pequenas e Médias Empresas fabricantes de dispositivos eletromédicos e exportadores para a União Européia, buscando-se identificar as dificuldades encontradas, as formas de superação dessas e os apoios recebidos. É elaborado um método, baseado nas experiências estudadas e adquiridas a partir da pesquisa junto às PMEs, para a identificação e superação das dificuldades técnicas para a exportação dos equipamentos eletromédicos para a União Européia. Conclui-se que não existem propriamente barreiras técnicas e que as dificuldades enfrentadas pelas empresas podem ser superadas com a participação nos fóruns de normalização, apoio técnico dos institutos tecnológicos, apoio financeiro das agências governamentais de fomento e investimentos em pesquisa, desenvolvimento e inovação. / With the reduction of the tariff barriers to international trade, the technical standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment proceedings are becoming important protectionist and trade restriction mechanisms. This work aims to study these questions, focusing mainly the case of medical devices produced by the small and medium Brazilians companies and exported to European Union. A bibliography revision is done to identify and to compare the technical standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment proceedings for the medical devices, in European Union and Brazil. A survey is developed with the small and medium producers and exporters of medical devices, searching the difficulties, ways of overcoming them, and the support obtained. A method is proposed to identify and overcome the technical difficulties to export medical devices to European Union, based on the experiences studied and obtained from the small and medium producers. The conclusion is that there are no technical barriers and the difficulties faced by the producers can be overcome through the participation in standardization forum, the technical support of the technological institutes, the financial support of the governmental promotion agencies, and investment in research, development and innovation.

No novo ambiente do setor elétrico brasileiro, a partir das mudanças no modelo em 1993, os agentes setoriais ingressaram em um mercado altamente competitivo e, particularmente no caso dos consumidores, surgiu a possibilidade de escolha do fornecedor de energia elétrica, de acordo com regras e restrições que foram sendo alteradas com o passar dos anos. O consumidor enquadrado neste perfil, foi denominado consumidor livre, o qual, de acordo com as regras e restrições ditadas pela Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (ANEEL), passa a ter a opção por fornecimento através de outras empresas, que não a concessionária que detém a área de concessão onde o consumidor em questão está fisicamente localizado. Os demais consumidores, não qualificados como livres, permanecem cativos, ou seja, não tem a possibilidade de optar por fornecimento a partir de empresas externas à área de concessão inicial onde esteja localizado. Os estudos aqui apresentados são um importante ponto de partida para a pesquisa sobre os consumidores livres de energia elétrica e seu comportamento no mercado. Nesse sentido, o conteúdo foi estabelecido de modo a propiciar aos leitores subsídios para um melhor entendimento sobre o histórico do setor energético brasileiro, bem como sobre o ambiente de livre contratação. Tratou-se com particular ênfase os consumidores livres (CL), visando assim permitir ao potencial CL bases para um possível estudo de migração para o ambiente de contratação livre (ACL). / In the new environment of the Brazilian electric power sector, since the changes in the institutional model beginning in 1993, electrical sector agents entered into a highly competitive market, particularly in the case of the consumers which have had the possibility to choose their supplier of electricity in accordance with rules and restrictions that have been modified over the years. The consumer that fits this profile, was named free consumer whom in accordance with the rules and restrictions dictated by the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL), will have the option of electrical energy delivery through other companies, instead of the company that holds granting of the area where the consumer in question is physically located. The other costumers, that couldn\'t be qualified as free, remain captive, unable to choose for their supply from outside the area where the original grant is located. The studies presented here are an important starting point for research on free energy consumers and their behavior in order to provide subsidies to the readers to get a better understanding of the history of the Brazilian energy sector and the free market, with emphasis on free consumers (CL), to thereby enable the CL potential bases for a possible study of migration to the free market.

Submitted by Fabricia Fialho Reginato (fabriciar) on 2015-08-25T00:20:17Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ElisaThomas.pdf: 2569705 bytes, checksum: ecf5d45598c2ad9923b46e4cc9811fe4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-08-25T00:20:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ElisaThomas.pdf: 2569705 bytes, checksum: ecf5d45598c2ad9923b46e4cc9811fe4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / It has long been stated in the literature the effects of collaboration to innovation, especially regarding research and development (R&D) activities. However, these are dynamic empirical fields. Therefore theoretical approaches face constant challenges to understand and explain the new evidences. Due to the limited scope and scale of organizations to search and identify partners with complementary knowledge and resources, and to select those with potential to effectively cooperate for R&D, there is an increasing emergence of agents who provide these services in the market. Called intermediaries or brokers, they influence the interaction among organizations with the common goal of innovation. Still, the literature has reported that the intermediary may play an important set of functions for R&D projects not limited to the search of partners. This thesis is therefore mainly concerned with the influence of innovation intermediaries in the context of collaborative R&D projects, suggesting a conceptual framework on the role of intermediaries. The framework emphasises that R&D collaboration goes beyond dyadic relationships usually highlighted in the literature. The roles of intermediaries provide an important additional dimension in collaborative R&D projects. The empirical part of the thesis explored three case studies: Force for Elastomers, from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil; the Orange Service Call and Reward project undertaken by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) for Orange; and the StarStream project from the University of Southampton, both in the United Kingdom. The results confirmed the influence of innovation intermediaries in most of the critical elements of a R&D project. The study advances the understanding of the influence of intermediaries for the beginning of a new project between partners. The analyses also show that intermediaries influence especially through the search for possible partners and the management of the relationship. However, the activities of research and knowledge production as well as activities of development and prototyping were not directly influenced by intermediaries. The stage after R&D, when the partners had reached positive results from activities, received a major influence from intermediaries who helped the firms to protect the inventions and to value and commercialize the new technology. Research outcomes still reveal that there is still a lack of measurements about intermediaries’ effectiveness and therefore firms involved in partnerships cannot fully evaluate their role.

Submitted by Maria Beatriz Vieira (mbeatriz.vieira@gmail.com) on 2017-04-25T14:45:42Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) dissertacao_jose_prieto.pdf: 522882 bytes, checksum: 7a8f67e68295dea48c8bd3a2696eab56 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2017-04-25T17:19:09Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) dissertacao_jose_prieto.pdf: 522882 bytes, checksum: 7a8f67e68295dea48c8bd3a2696eab56 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2017-04-25T17:20:08Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) dissertacao_jose_prieto.pdf: 522882 bytes, checksum: 7a8f67e68295dea48c8bd3a2696eab56 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-25T17:20:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) dissertacao_jose_prieto.pdf: 522882 bytes, checksum: 7a8f67e68295dea48c8bd3a2696eab56 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-26 / Sem bolsa / La soja Glycine max (L) Merr, es un cultivo de mucha importancia a nivel mundial y para el país, encontrándose el Paraguay como sexto lugar en volumen producida en el mundo y es el rubro productivo más importante del Paraguay por la extensión de los cultivos, volumen de producción y el valor de las exportaciones. Además, se registra un aumento en la producción, rendimientos y desarrollo de la industria, llegando actualmente a procesar el 37 % de lo producido, para el consumo interno del país. El trabajo tiene por objetivo evaluar el sistema de gestión de calidad de semillas implementado en la empresa y la calidad producida en la región. Los tipos de análisis de semillas utilizados son, análisis de pureza, tetrazolio, con sus diferentes tipos de daños, análisis de germinación por arena a 25 ºC. Este estudio de caso buscó caracterizar los padrones de calidad producidos en el Departamento de Caaguazú, por medio de análisis de datos de cuatro años de planificación para la producción, procesamiento de las semillas y comercialización. Los datos obtenidos son informaciones bastante útiles para la empresa para realizar mejoras en su sistema de gestión, entre las cuales se determinó el rendimiento de 2000 kg/ha, procesamiento de 25% de descarte y una calidad de germinación de 94%. / The soybeans, Glycine max (L) Merr, are a crop of great importance globally and nationally, with Paraguay as the world’s sixth largest producer, and with soy as her most important productive sector by extent of cultivation, volume of production and value of exports. Furthermore, one notes an increase in the production, yields, and development of the industry, with 37% of the output currently processed for domestic consumption. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the system of quality management of seeds implemented in the industry and the quality produced in the region. The types of seed analysis used are: purity testing; tetrazolium testing, for viability and vigor; and warm standard germination. This case study sought to characterize the quality standards produced in Caaguazú Department, through analysis of data from four years of production planning, seed processing and marketing. The data obtained is quite useful for the business to make improvements in its management system, including the production of 2000 kg / ha, processing of 25% of waste, and a 94% germination quality.