This dissertation is one of the earliest to systematically apply and empirically test the resource-based view (RBV) in the context of nascent social ventures in a large scale study. Social ventures are entrepreneurial ventures organized as nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid organizations whose primary purpose is to address unmet social needs and create social value. Nascent social ventures face resource gaps and engage in partnerships or alliances as one means to access external resources. These partnerships with different sectors facilitate social venture innovative and earned income strategies, and assist in the development of adequate heterogeneous resource conditions that impact competitive advantage. Competitive advantage in the context of nascent social ventures is achieved through the creation of value and the achievement of venture development activities and launching. The relationships between partnerships, heterogeneous resource conditions, strategies, and competitive advantage are analyzed in the context of nascent social ventures that participated in business plan competitions. A content analysis of 179 social venture business plans and an exploratory follow-up survey of 72 of these ventures are used to analyze these relationships using regression, ANOVA, correlations, t-tests, and non-parametric statistics. The findings suggest a significant positive relationship between competitive advantage and partnership diversity, heterogeneous resource conditions, social innovation, and earned income. Social capital is the type of resource most significantly related to competitive advantage. Founder previous start-up experience, client location, and business plan completeness are also found to be significant in the relationship between partnership diversity and competitive advantage. Finally the findings suggest that hybrid social ventures create a greater competitive advantage than nonprofit or for-profit social ventures. Consequently, this dissertation not only provides academics further insight into the factors that impact nascent social value creation, venture development, and ability to launch, but also offers practitioners guidance on how best to organize certain processes to create a competitive advantage. As a result more insight is gained into the nascent social venture creation process and how these ventures can have a greater impact on society.

With the advent of the internet age, the way in which global society interacts with technology has changed dramatically. The instantaneous availability of information and connectivity, signal the rise of a knowledge economy. This is a system in which the most valuable resource, to nations and private enterprise, is knowledge. This thesis argues that value is created through knowledge flows, which result in innovation and technological advancement. This technological advancement is the primary determinant of a nation’s global competitive advantage in a globalized knowledge economy. This thesis then posits that these innovations are fostered by institutional, social, cultural, economic, and governmental factors within a nation. These factors make up a nations’ National Innovation System (NIS). Using case studies of the US, China, India, and the EU, this paper then attempts to deconstruct, compare, and contrast the innovation strategies of each country and what implications they might have for the future. Lastly, an analysis of potential trends attempts to forecast the global innovative landscape in the near future.

In this diploma thesis, I focus on Czech and European market of information technology. My principal aim is to analyze a measure of Czech competitive advantage in this sector. Both global statistic and segment characteristic are subjects of this analysis. My diploma thesis has following structure; after opening definition of literary sources, I deal with brief analyses of Czech IT market. Next two chapters are about European IT market structure and its characteristics. Last section is focused on competitive advantage of Czech Republic.

The thesis deals with problems of the IS/ICT innovation strategic management in the surroundings of the Czech Republic and participates in solutions to the three-year research project GA201/08/663 -- Information systems innovation to support competitiveness of enterprises. This project has been realized at the Faculty of Information Science and Statistics at the University of Economics, Prague in support of the Czech Science Foundation since 1st January 2008. Thesis sequence to the project consists in filling of particular priorities defined for 1st year of research. Of course this fact represents determining aspect of thesis main goals definition. Firstly, carry out a research on actual level of information systems in Czech enterprises forcefully into the IS/ICT innovation. Secondly, set up working paper for presentation of continuous outcomes after the introductory phase by appearances at scientific conferences, by articles in scientific papers and by findings'publication at a website of the Czech Society for System Integration. Structure of the thesis, which consists of a theoretical and a practical part, specifies methods of goals'filling. The theoretical part represents introduction to problems -- it covers identification of key elements influencing IS/ICT innovation in surrounding of the modern knowledge economy, IS/ICT innovation classification and detailed statement of IS/ICT innovation management process, which is based on methods of strategic management process in general. The practical part gives attention to questionnaire research -- structure of the questionnaire, research methodology and answer evaluation. Contribution of the thesis, together with filling of particular goals of the research project GA201/08/663 -- Information systems innovation to support competitiveness of enterprises, consists in multidimensional view of the specific problems. IS/ICT innovation is seen not only from an enterprise informatics point of view, but also from an entire enterprise angle when economic aspect is also taken into account. This approach accents support task of informatics -- the IS/ICT contribute to the filling of enterprise's goals.

This thesis focuses on the issue of innovation of information system in selected company. The theoretical part is concerned with general term innovation, how does innovation effect competitive strength of a company, classification of corporate information systems and what usage each part of the system in company has. The practical part is to analyze the current situation of company system and propose changes to increase effective usage of the company data.

The goal of this thesis is to define the competitive advantages of a strategic business unit (SBU) that is within the organization structure of the University of Economics, Prague (VŠE). The Central and East European Studies Program (CESP) operates as an SBU within VŠE. This is a one-semester paid program that is part of the of foreign language programs at the university. The program's advantages were defined on the basis of a survey of CESP's competition on the market for free movers in the Czech Republic, a SWOT analysis, and the evaluation of a survey of CESP's students. In the future, CESP should be promoted with a focus on these advantages and the program should be further developed accordingly so as to attract new students to VŠE.

The thesis deals with the scientific problem of the link between the strategic management and the compensation system using the principle of internal equity. The work is based on two pillars, namely the qualitative research and own proposed solution. The first part of the thesis describes the qualitative research and the possibilities and the synergistic effects of linking business strategy and compensation system. The qualitative research is performed as a multi-case study and investigates the phenomenon in the practice of three companies from various markets (the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bosnia and Hercegovina) and industries (finance, IT/Telco and FMCG). The research tries to find answers to the four research questions: How does business strategy influence compensation process? How can compensation support the realization of a business strategy? How can business strategy be linked with a compensation system within the principle of internal equity? How can compensation reinforce the strategic function of the human resources management? The research is based on the study of theoretical sources as well as on practical fieldwork. The qualitative research itself uses qualitative research methods for data collection, such as observations, questionnaires, and document analysis. The population questioned was top managers, line managers and representatives of HR department. In total, 142 interviews were performed by a single person. The collected data were analyzed and the triangulation was applied. The findings were summarized and generalized into a final report that brings answers to the research questions above. The research brings valuable findings used in the second, design part of the thesis. The own proposed solution consists of two main models. The first one is a simplified scheme of the compensation system and the second one is a model of strategic segmentation of jobs. The first model could be used successfully in the business practice as well as in education. The second model of the strategic job segmentation brings answer to the question of synergistic linking of business strategy and the compensation system within the principle of internal equity. The model brings valuable findings and a foundation for further theoretical research and its further development. The model also brings practical solution to the design of related policies and processes in the strategic management of human resources. By the design of both proposed models the main objectives of the thesis were achieved.

Doctoral thesis, which deals with customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in relation to a competitive advantage. Methodology used for purposes of doctoral thesis. The process of consumer satisfaction and consumer loyalty research. References to foreign literature. A formulation of objectives and hypotheses. Specifics of customer satisfaction in the field of services with a high proportion of personal folders.

When companies learned that logistics can be used to achieve strategic goals, it ceased to be perceived only as a source of necessary costs that need to be controlled. In this dissertation the potential benefits of selected sources of long term competitive advantage are questioned. The research in the dissertation focuses on international transport of goods, its employment and organization, and on how logistics capabilities can be employed to increase customer satisfaction and thus the competitive advantage of the entire supply chain. The potential sources of long term competitive advantage are cooperation and information sharing among firms in the international supply chain. The author hypothesised that cooperation and information sharing are positively related to logistics capabilities. Logistics capabilities are hypothesised to be positively related to customer satisfaction. To capture the impact of external environment, the lead time uncertainty and the demand uncertainty have been included in the model. The impact of modern information technologies on supply chain management has not been disregarded and information technologies serve as moderating variable in the model. The proposed model is based on the Transaction costs theory and the Resource-Based View. The qualitative research method of case studies had been selected and used to support the model. The research involves three cases. Interviews with professionals, company sources and secondary data mainly academy journals, supply chain management literature and web pages of selected companies and international institutions provided the foundation for the research. The contribution of this dissertation is in including the impact of the external forces in the model, in focusing on the relationships that a firm has with its supply chain partners, and in an in-depth analysis of relationships among triad of subjects -- buyer, seller and logistics service provider. Also, a new definition of logistics capabilities has been proposed. Examples of real situations of organization of international transportation of goods are presented. Cooperation and information sharing can serve as sources of long term competitive advantage, but their implementation is in many cases limited due to varied reasons. The size of the firm is in some cases one of them, other limitations are named in the text. Suggestions for practitioners are included.

Orientador: Bastiaan Philip Reydon / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Economia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-26T13:32:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Figueira_GlauceAlmeida_M.pdf: 3034270 bytes, checksum: 07fa6c526a96a236fb2246cbbd0e7baa (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: O principal objetivo da dissertação é evidenciar as iniciativas privada e pública que o reconhecimento dos temas ligados à sustentabilidade como oportunidades de negócios é fundamental e vantajoso para suas estratégias de gestão. O trabalho tem como hipótese a defesa de que os desafios ligados à sustentabilidade não devem ser mais considerados somente como uma externalidade do sistema produtivo, que vem onerar o negócio, mas como fonte de vantagens competitivas e um novo caminho para inovar, auxiliando no posicionamento estratégico das empresas e fazendo com que essas tenham sucesso em seus mercados. Na dissertação é realizado um estudo de caso junto ao Grupo Siemens AG, que pode ser considerado um exemplo de corporação que está buscando aliar o desenvolvimento de seus negócios às questões ligadas à sustentabilidade. A revisão teórica a respeito da relação entre estratégia empresarial e sustentabilidade indica que a inovação tem função essencial na promoção do desenvolvimento sustentável e que este deve ser entendido de acordo com suas três dimensões principais: a ambiental, a econômica e a social. Além disso, as práticas sustentáveis devem fazer parte, tanto das estratégias corporativas, como das estratégias competitivas das unidades de negócios dos grandes grupos empresariais, e reforçar o posicionamento estratégico já adotado por essas empresas. O estudo de caso verificou que as dimensões ambiental e econômica fazem parte das estratégias corporativas e competitivas do Grupo Siemens, mas este precisa desenvolver ainda a dimensão social para poder realmente se consolidar como uma empresa sustentável. Concluímos afirmando que em toda a sociedade é necessário desenvolver a ideia da necessidade de construção de um novo paradigma sustentável, onde o sistema econômico, a sociedade e o meio-ambiente possam se desenvolver harmoniosamente / Abstract: The main objective of this work is to evidence the private and public initiative that the recognition of sustainability-related subjects as business opportunities is crucial and advantageous to their management strategies. The work is the defense of hypothesis that the challenges related to sustainability should not be considered only as an externality of the production system, which charges the business, but as a source of competitive advantage and a new way to innovate, assisting in strategic positioning businesses and promoting these success in their markets. In the dissertation a case study is conducted at the Siemens AG Group, which can be considered an example of a corporation that is seeking to combine its business development to the sustainability issues. A literature review on the relationship between corporate strategy and sustainability indicates that innovation has key role in promoting sustainable development and that it should be understood according to its three main dimensions: environmental, economic and social. Furthermore, sustainable practices should be part of both corporate strategies and business units competitive strategies, also reinforcing the strategic positioning already adopted by these companies. The case study found that the environmental and economic dimensions are part of the Siemens Group corporate and competitive strategies, but the company still needs to develop the social dimension in order to really consolidate itself as a sustainable company. We conclude by saying that in all society is necessary to develop the idea of the necessity to build a new sustainable paradigm, where the economic system, society and the environment should develop harmoniously / Mestrado / Desenvolvimento Economico, Espaço e Meio Ambiente / Mestra em Desenvolvimento Econômico