Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Innovation is now recognized as an essential factor for the competitiveness of organizations, part of the strategy and linked directly to organizational performance. In this context, the study aims to identify aspects that contribute to the management of innovation, defining a scenario of retailer, outlining an overview of the current capacity of innovation, identifying the relevance of dimensions related to innovation, strategic actions, challenges and benefits achieved. As for the procedures, the research literature is characterized as descriptive and as to the nature, quality and quantity analyzed statistically, and a diagnosis that defines behaviors and trends in relation to the management of innovation in retail stores nationwide. The research will be conducted in one of the largest networks of Brazilian electronics, the sixteen States relating to the four regions of operation. The diagnosis was constructed from the diagnostic tool of the Center for Innovation and Competitiveness Program - Graduate in Production Engineering UFSM adapted for the retail industry based on national and international authors, in order to check the management of innovation in Brazilian retail. The diagnosis had adopted eight dimensions: Strategy, Culture, Relationships, Financial Structure, Process, People and Leadership. After application of the diagnosis can be verified innovation management and innovative potential of the retail network, to identify the main challenges and benefits contributing to perceptions of the factors that actually influence one in the management of innovation in retail stores nationwide. / A inovação passou a ser reconhecida como fator essencial para a competitividade das organizações, inserida na estratégia e ligada diretamente ao desempenho organizacional. Nesse contexto, o estudo objetiva identificar aspectos que contribuam para a gestão da inovação, definindo um cenário da rede varejista, esboçando um panorama atual da capacidade de inovação, identificando a relevância das dimensões relacionadas à inovação, ações estratégicas, desafios e benefícios conquistados. Quanto aos procedimentos, a pesquisa se caracteriza como bibliográfica-descritiva e, quanto à natureza, qualitativa e quantitativa analisada estatisticamente, sendo um diagnóstico que define comportamentos e tendências em relação à gestão da inovação no varejo nacional. A pesquisa será realizada em uma das maiores redes de eletroeletrônicos do Brasil, nos dezesseis estados referentes às quatro regiões de atuação. O diagnóstico foi construído a partir da ferramenta de diagnóstico do Núcleo de Inovação e Competitividade Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia da Produção da UFSM adaptada para o setor varejista com base em autores nacionais e internacionais, a fim de verificar a gestão da inovação no varejo brasileiro. O diagnóstico adotado apresentou oito dimensões: estratégia, cultura, relacionamento, financeiro, estrutura, processo, pessoa e liderança. Após a aplicação do diagnóstico, pode-se verificar a gestão da inovação e o potencial inovador da rede varejista; identificar os principais desafios e benefícios colaborando para a percepção dos fatores que realmente influenciam na gestão da inovação no varejo nacional.

The main target of this Master's Thesis is to create a business plan of the Mountain Guest House in the Jizerské Mountains and an assessment of the profitability of this project. The theoretical framework summarises the definition of terms such as entrepreneurial activity, business, entrepreneur, attention is also given to the requirements and structure of an entrepreneurial plan and a promoter's budget. Further described methods enable an analysis of the competitive business environment. The practical Framework describes the planned project, in-depth market analysis of accommodation services in the Jizerské Mountains, analysis of the competition and target customers. The Master's Thesis also includes a marketing plan alongside with a financial plan, allowing an evaluation of the feasibility of the business plan.

This thesis examines the role of competition and innovation for firm performance, particularly during financial crises, through empirical analysis. The thesis first reviews the literature related to competition, innovation and financial crises. It next provides context of the economic legacies the transition economies in Central Europe have shared and how these legacies meant a lack of an environment for competitive firms (to operate most efficiently) and innovation (defined as new product development). Similarities and differences between the economies of the Czech Republic and Slovakia (which have a shared history over seventy years as Czechoslovakia) during the transition period and leading up to the 2009 financial crisis are reviewed, with attention to factors affecting the competitive and innovative environment in each country. Using cross-sectional regression analysis and comparing results for Czech and Slovak firms, this thesis confirms the positive influence of innovation and competition. Two variables for competition types are used in the regression - one for foreign pressure and one for domestic pressure. Both sets of firms indicate a positive influence of foreign competitive pressure to develop new products on firm performance (which is represented by firm sales in this analysis),...