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This paper addresses the existing situation of Supply Chain Management (SCM) in readymade garment manufacturing factories in Bangladesh. Supply chain management is a key issue for garment manufacturers, retailers, and consumers. The literature on current supply chain management in garment factories in Bangladesh is very poor. Therefore, in this study, the author has made an attempt to analyze a more effective supply chain scenario for the Bangladeshi garment industry that will lead to better competitive advantage over their rivals by analyzing the current supply chain and examining the relationships among the actors in supply chain management.

Firms today are confronting a dynamic business environment such as change of customer preferences, demographics, business and organisational models and the emergence of new technologies. Changes in the business environment can lead to knowledge-based firms transforming their business structure and risking losing their competitive advantage by ignoring their value in human capital. Human capital originates from intellectual capital which consists of both social and organisational capital as well. The combination and utilisation of these capitals is the basis for organisations to achieve higher levels of productivity and competitiveness. However, when facing a transformation, organisations tend to struggle to maintain competitive advantage. Thus, in a knowledge-based industry, human capital along with the other capitals, are essential to manage during a transformation to not risk losing competitive advantage. To address this topic, we chose to investigate a Swedish company in the machine manufacturing industry undergoing a transformation, referred to as Company X. Company X consists of highly educated and competent personnel, who previously have operated as a project-based organisation. They are currently transforming their organisation towards standardising their production and their employees’ competences. This transformation is directly affecting their work methods, competence demand and overall human capital. We found that Company X has a recruitment strategy which acts as a proactive measure which allows them to procure necessary human capital to maintain their competitive advantage and prepare for change. It was also concluded that Company X struggles with communication which affects their social capital, and thus their human capital. The lack of communication affects the vision and goal of the transformation which becomes unclear for the employees, causing confusion. We concluded that Company X lacks a decent strategy of utilising best practices, which is common for project-based organisation, but becomes more problematic as they become product-based and are more dependent on previous experiences.

This study investigates how firms in the mobile gambling industry can develop long-term competitive advantages through utilizing firm specific resources and capabilities. The aim of this research is to connect classical theoretical knowledge with the challenges the modern industry of mobile gambling is facing. Earlier research within the subject are limited, however previously findings indicates that fast response time, logic site mapping and security are important factors when consumer are choosing supplier for mobile gambling. Data is collected through a consumer survey and interviews with three industry experts, moreover; a theoretical framework from previously conducted research are underpinning the study. The results show that firms should focus internal resources and capabilities to develop a superior technology. A superior technology can generate numerous of competitive advantages, as well as working as a leverage effect in other areas. Moreover, superior technology will also likely be sustainable over time by being governed by isolating mechanisms. Lower price is discussed as a competitive advantage in the mobile industry, however findings indicates several of long run negative effects enabled through a lower price. Future research needs to investigate how customization and dynamic offerings can optimize a firm’s profit. Future research should also investigate what kind of negative effects mobile gambling could have on the social welfare in terms of total effects.

In highly competitive markets, product-centric businesses often seek to differentiate from competitors by including services into their core offering. In literature, this is described as servitization, and has been widely researched. Nonetheless, there is still ambiguity in when different services should be provided, and what forms the basis for these. Consequently, the authors of this thesis identified a need for clarification on when- and how servitization can be applied. Hence, this explorative study investigated how servitization could be applied by a rental company operating in the construction industry, in order to gain competitive advantage and address customer needs. This thesis used a qualitative approach, and collected primary data from two different perspectives, namely customers- and salespeople, by the use of semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the collected data. Empirical findings reveal customer needs in the market, and market circumstances that constitute a paradox for servitizing rental companies in the construction industry. The conclusions drawn from this paradox contributes to understanding that market circumstances affect when- and how servitization should be applied. Additionally, the conclusions contribute to alternative ways to use services- and achieve competitive advantages for rental companies in the construction industry.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted many Swedish businesses to reconsider their survival techniques and the support they offer to societies in which they operate. The purpose of this study is to examine the COVID -19 responses practiced by four Swedish Companies (Essity, Volvo Group, ICA Gruppen, and Autoliv) to see what entrepreneurs can learn in the event of another pandemic. Furthermore, the study explores the different ways in which CSV and competitive advantage may be attained using the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative study based on secondary data analyzing information from company homepages, and annual and sustainability reports for the years 2020 and 2021 are the only ones used to provide systematic and comprehensive insights. The theoretical framework includes Archie Carroll’s pyramid which includes the legal, ethical, economic, and philanthropic responsibilities of the organization towards society, the stakeholder theory as well as the concept of creating Value Creation. The results show that Essity, Volvo Group, ICA Gruppen, and Autoliv responded differently to COVID-19 through philanthropic activities, commitment to ethical goals, upholding legal requirements, and maintaining business operations. And the ways in which they can contribute to value creation through these responses include enhanced employee relations, customer relations, innovation, collaborations, and government regulatory compliance. The study revealed that solving societal challenges is integral to guaranteeing that the organization can obtain an economic benefit for a long-term sustainability. When dealing with society in times of uncertainty, entrepreneurial innovations can be a source of future competitive advantage.

Throughout history, a number of financial centers have risen and fallen. While the significance of some centers have deteriorated, a small number of centers have emerged as today's leading financial centers by meeting a specific set of necessary conditions needed to successfully address the growing financial needs of the regions they are located. Furthermore, an even smaller number of financial centers have been able to sustain and expand their initial dominance in the financial industry by continuously satisfying a more focused set of conditions and factors. This thesis focuses on adapting Michael Porter's Diamond Model in determining, clustering, and expanding key factors that have historically given cities such as London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo their current status at the pinnacle of the financial centers of the world. This thesis begins by taking Porter's model that addresses national competitive advantage nations from a macroeconomic point of view, and adapting it to the development of financial centers at a microeconomic level. It utilizes Michael Porter's established grouping corners for identifying a vast array of macroeconomic and microeconomic factors that have historically played critical roles in increasing productivity and efficiency within a center's financial industry. Additionally, this thesis categorizes these factors into parameters that form a theoretical model designed to showcase the path to global financial dominance for an aspiring financial center. With the adaptation of Porter's model outlined in this thesis, financial centers are given a figurative blueprint of what constitutes a successful financial center. The theoretical model analyzes the necessary conditions and environments that a center needs to recreate within itself, or are endowed with, in order to be a globally competitive financial center.

This dissertation is interested in explaining how and why the culture of family and society impacts the competitive advantage of organizations and nations. Central to such an explanation is the development of a theory of the family firm because that theory is a potential link between the four distinct systems, the family, organization, nation, and society. This dissertation consists of four essays, three theoretical and one empirical. The first essay is theoretical; it argues that the formation of family and nonamily firms depends on the family culture of the firm’s founders. The essay distinguishes between two family cultures: one supports the formation of family firms and another supports the formation of nonamily firms. Accordingly, the essay provides a framework to understand family culture by using family concepts, such as marriage and love. The second essay is theoretical; it uses the developed framework in the first essay to understand the behavior and performance of family and nonamily firms. Specifically, the second essay attempts to answer the questions of why and when a business’s owner maintains the ownership with the family and/or hires family managers rather than nonamily managers, or vise versa. The third essay is theoretical; it argues that the formation of family and nonamily firms depends also on societal culture. Societies who endorse traditional and postmodern cultures support the formation of family firms because non-economic objectives have a higher priority than economic objectives. However, societies who endorse modern cultures support the formation of nonamily firms because economic objectives have first priority rather than non-economic objectives. The fourth essay is empirical; it tests some of the generated research questions in the third essay. The fourth essay argues that nations are exposed to cultural competition where nations of similar cultures compete against each other. This essay finds that the family mode of governance is the most appropriate mode for nations competing in traditional societies, the nonamily mode of governance is the most appropriate mode for nations competing in modern societies, and the state mode of governance is the most appropriate mode for nations competing in postmodern societies.

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