The aim of this master’s thesis is to evaluate the contemporary position of company Liberecká IS and, with the help of strategic analyses and on the base of its results, to propose marketing activities and their development which would support competitive advantage of the company in the market. Within the frame of these marketing activities a marketing research of the largest client of this company was done, which confirmed and in some cases disproved the notion the company had about the quality of services provided and about satisfaction of their clients. In that way the research foreshadowed the next activities that will help to increase client satisfaction and to improve competitive advantage of the company.

This Master´s Thesis introduces options of using Comptitive Intelligence to predict future actions of Competitor. The first part describes the current situation of the company and theoretical assumptions. In the second part are shown possible methods of application of competitive intelligence in the company.

Background Globalization has forced textile firms to move their manufacturing to low-cost countries to reduce their prices. However, interest in local manufacturing has increased in recent years because of the trend in sustainability and changes in society’s ways of thinking, both of which can bring textile industry manufacturing back to high-cost countries. Purpose The purpose of this study is to formulate concepts and theories that can differentiate local manufacturers in high-cost countries from their competitors and identify the key competitive advantages that can lead to successful local production in high-cost countries. Methodology Two case studies were conducted of local textile manufacturers in Sweden in this study. Both companies’ value chain activities were examined to determine their competitive advantages. Empirical data were collected using semi-constructed interviews with key managers in both companies and were analysed using the thematic analysis method. Findings The textile industry in high-cost countries can create difference by considering competitive advantages, which are flexible and agile operations, development and innovation, sustainability, combining products and services, and uniqueness and differentiation. However, the competitive disadvantages of textile manufacturing in high-cost countries, which include scarcity of employees and high costs, should be considered as well.

Esta es una propuesta de negocio que toma forma de Marketplace, la cual permite enlazar servicios de asesoría legales, financieros, contables y de marketing. El servicio de consultoría y asesoría será brindado vía plataforma web, con aplicación para Smartphone. El objetivo principal es ser un nuevo canal para poder conectar asesores empresariales con empresarios Mypes, La actual crisis económica producto de las largas cuarentanas por las crisis sanitaria Covid-19 han generado que se limite la producción y comercialización de bienes y servicios, resultando en una contracción económica en los meses de abril y mayo del 40.5%1 y 30.5% respectivamente, generando un profundo golpe a la economía peruana, según el Banco Central de Reserva del Perú se estima que una caída anual del Producto Bruto Interno (PBI) de entre el 12% y 17%2. Esta situación representa una oportunidad ante la necesidad que tienen actualmente los empresarios de tomar decisiones rápidas y adecuadas, para asegurar la continuidad de los negocios. Ante lo mencionado identificamos una necesidad de asesoría financiera, contable, legal y de marketing. Debido a las largas cuarentenas las empresas del Perú y el mundo han tenido que implantar de manera forzada el trabajo remoto o teletrabajo, para que sus colaboradores puedan seguir desempeñando sus funciones desde sus domicilios. Esto ha generado la aceleración de la transformación digital en el país, y el uso de trabajo a distancia para el desarrollo de funciones empresariales. La migración a la transformación digital representa una oportunidad de poder ofrecer soluciones a las micro y pequeñas empresas por vio online. Visualizando esta oportunidad y la necesidad de asesoría empresarial evaluamos la posibilidad de ofrecer un servicio de asesoría legal, financiera, contable y de marketing por vía online con atención en tiempo real. Por ello, proponemos el servicio de Marketplace, donde buscaremos satisfacer esta necesidad mediante consultas y asesorías pre-pagadas online. En el Perú existen más de 1,9 millones de Mypes formales. Este segmento empresarial representa el 99,5% de empresas formales en la economía peruana. Las Mypes generan el 60% de la PEA, la mayor fuente de empleo en el país. Empresas del sector Mype no cuentan con capacidad económica para acceder de forma continua a servicios profesionales especializados. Estas empresas necesitan respuestas rápidas y concretas para poder seguir subsistiendo. Somos conscientes de que no podremos contratar asesores para que se desarrollen en nuestra empresa, y más aún en plena crisis económica, por ello, nuestra función como Marketplace es conectar y vincular a demandantes y ofertantes del servicio de asesoría legal, financiera, contable, y marketing mediante el un aplicativo móvil que permite propiciar el encuentro entre ambas partes de una manera ágil, permanente y directa. En medio de la actual crisis es muy interesante el articulo presentado por el Ernst & Young publicado en el diario Gestión3 donde destacan que las consultas para abrir bodegas han pasado a ser más de cuatro mil durante el tiempo de la pandemia. Estas son el tipo de consultas a las que esperamos llegar y captar. Se aprecia que el segmento Mype tiene mucha actividad y todos los emprendimientos empiezan como micro empresas, por ello lo atractivo del segmento. Por medio de la aplicación de herramientas tecnológicas orientadas a la innovación, buscaremos ofrecer al segmento acceso a asesoría y consultoría profesional de una manera más eficiente. Logrando así, tener soluciones profesionales a tiempo, para una mejor toma de decisiones empresariales. / This is a business proposal that takes the form of a Marketplace, which allows inking legal, financial, accounting and marketing services. The consulting and advisory service will be provided via a web platform, with a Smartphone application. The main objective is to be a new channel to connect advisers with Mypes entrepreneurs. The current economic crisis, product of the long quarantines due to the Covid-19 health crisis, has caused and stop in the production and commercialization of goods and services, resulting in an economic contraction in April and May of 40.5% and 30.5% respectively, generating a deep blow to the Peruvian economy, according to the Central Reserve Bank of Peru it is estimated that an annual drop in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of between 12% and 17%. This situation represents an opportunity given the current need for entrepreneurs to make quick and appropriate decisions to ensure business continuity. Dude to this we identified a requirement for financial, accounting, legal and marketing advisory services. Due to the long quarantines, all companies in Peru and in the world have had to implement remote work, so their employees can continue carry out their functions from their homes. This accelerate the digital transformation in the country, and the use of remote work for the companies functions. Digital transformation represent an opportunity to offer solution to micro and small companies by seeing online. Visualizing this opportunity and the need of business advice, we evaluate the possibility of offering legal, financial, accounting and marketing consulting services online with real time attention. For this reason, we propose a Marketplace service, where we will seek to satisfy this need through pre-paid online consulting. In Peru there are more than 1.9 million formal Micro and Small companies. This business segment represents 99.5% of formal companies in the Peruvian economy. This kind of companies generate the 60% of the Economically Active Population, the largest source of employment in the country. Companies in the Mype sector do not have the economic capacity to continuously access to specialized professional services. These companies need fast and concrete answers to be able to continue working. We are aware that we will not be able to hire consultants to develop in our company, and even more so in the middle of the economic crisis, therefore, our function as a Marketplace is to connect and link buyers and suppliers of the legal, financial, accounting, and marketing through a mobile application that allows the meeting between both parties in an agile, permanent and direct way. In the midst of the current crisis, the article presented by the newspaper Gestión is very interesting, highlighting that the consultations to open wineries have grown to more than four thousand during the time of the pandemic. These are the queries we hope to reach and capture. It can be seen that the Mype segment is very active and all ventures start out as micro companies, which is why the segment is attractive. Through the application of technological tools aimed at innovation, we will seek to offer the segment access to professional advice and consulting in a more efficient way. Thus, having professional solutions on time, for better business decision making. / Trabajo de investigación

Moving towards a more circular economic model is necessary in order to secure the sufficiency of vital raw materials and to achieve a balance between both economic and environmental prosperity. However, the discussion regarding circular economy from a business perspective is still rather limited, and the practical applications of circular economy are mostly related to waste management and industrial applications. Needless to say, circular economy is much more than just large-scale recycling. Circular economy, as a system which aims to ensure a more circular flow of resources, materials and energy, can embody a variety of expressions from closing resource loops to redesigning products, services and the nature of ownership towards favoring renting, sharing, reusing and other alternative ways of maximize the resource efficiency and extend product life. Hence, the principles of circularity can be applied across all industries, instead of just those operating in the industrial sector. Standing on the way of the development of a global circular economy is the perceived mismatched objectives of profit seeking businesses and sustainability advocators. Businesses want high sales levels and profit margins, whereas at the core of environmental sustainability is often to promote conscious consumption and cut down on activities resulting in pollution and waste. And because circular economy is often strongly associated with sustainability matters, businesses tend to stray away from it as it is considered to work against a company’s purpose of making profit. Yet here is the catch – instead of seeing circular economy just as a sustainability tool, it can also be considered as a viable business opportunity which when effectively exploited, can be a source of competitive advantage and a source of economic value

Creating a competitive advantage is often contextualized as the finding the Holy Grail of strategy. This study examines how Nordic sports businesses incorporate sustainability and how it can be used as a strategy to create a competitive advantage. The climate change debate, and increased consumer environmental consciousness has compelled companies to endeavor for a sustainable development. The sport industry has in general lacking behind in the green transition. However, they are now progressively trying to reconstruct their businesses model to a more sustainable approach. Consequently, more companies are today trying to market their brands to be perceived as sustainable. Although, the challenge is to how position a brand as sustainable without being accused for greenwashing. The thesis structure is based on three segments. Corporate sustainability, sustainability marketing and corporate transformation. The study was based on a qualitative research method, based from six case study interviews with companies from Sweden and Finland. The main research findings was that sustainability has become an increasingly important issue for Nordic sports businesses. The driving force behind the sustainable development is three different stakeholder. Customers, policy makers and employees at the own organization. The Agenda 2030 can be seen as a powerful and tangible set of framework, used to better implement sustainability. Another finding is that sustainability is mostly communicated on product level rather than on corporate level because of the fear of greenwashing accusation. Finally, creating a competitive advantage through corporate sustainability is the main objectives. In order to accomplish that desired outcome, the strategy have to been based on sound businesses practices which depends on how the company is using, and absorbing both internal and external resources and capabilities.

Big data analytics (BDA) has become an increasingly popular topic over the years amongst academics and practitioners alike. Big data, which is an important part of BDA, was originally defined with three Vs, being volume, velocity and variety. In later years more Vs have surfaced to better accommodate the current need. The analytics of BDA consists of different methods of analysing gathered data. Analysing data can provide insights to organisations which in turn can give organisations competitive advantage and enhance their businesses. Looking into the necessary resources needed to build big data analytic capabilities (BDAC), this thesis sought out to find how Swedish organisations enable and use BDA in their businesses. This thesis also investigated whether BDA could lead to performance enhancement and competitive advantage to organisations. A theoretical framework based on previous studies was adapted and used in order to help answer the thesis purpose. A qualitative study was deemed the most suitable for this study using semi-structured interviews. Previous studies in this field pointed to the fact that organisations may not be aware of how or why to use or enable BDA. According to current literature, different resources are needed to work in conjunction with each other in order to create BDAC and enable BDA to be utilized. Several different studies discuss challenges such as the culture of the organisation, human skills, and the need for top management to support BDA initiatives to succeed. The findings from the interviews in this study indicated that in a Swedish context the different resources, such as data, technical skills, and data driven culture, amongst others, are being used to enable BDA. Furthermore, the result showed that business process improvements are a first staple in organisations use of benefiting from BDA. This is because of the ease and security in calculating profits and effect from such an investment. Depending on how far an organisation have come in their transformation process they may also innovate and/or create products or services from insights made possible from BDA. / Big data analytics (BDA) har blivit ett populärt ämne under de senaste åren hos akademiker och utövare. Big data, som är en viktig del av BDA, var först definierad med tre Vs, volym, hastighet och varietet. På senare år har flertalet V framkommit för att bättre uttrycka det nuvarande behovet. Analysdelen i BDA består av olika metoder av analysering av data. Dataanalysering som görs kan ge insikter till organisationer, som i sin tur kan ge organisationer konkurrensfördelar och förbättra deras företag. Genom att definiera de resurser som krävs för att bygga big data analytic capabilities (BDAC), så försökte denna avhandling att visa hur svenska organisationer möjliggör och använder BDA i sina företag. Avhandlingen försökte också härleda om BDA kan leda till prestandaförbättringar och konkurrensfördelar för organisationer. Ett teoretiskt ramverk, baserat på tidigare studier, anpassades och användes för att hjälpa till att svara på avhandlingens syfte. En kvalitativ studie utsågs vara den mest passande ansatsen, tillsammans med semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Tidigare studier inom området visade på att organisationer kanske inte helt är medvetna om hur eller varför BDA möjliggörs eller kan användas. Enligt den nuvarande litteraturen så behöver olika resurser arbeta tillsammans med varandra för att skapa BDAC och möjliggöra att BDA kan utnyttjas till fullo. Flera olika studier diskuterade utmaningar såsom kulturen inom organisationen, kompetens hos anställda och att ledningen behöver stödja BDA initiativ för att lyckas. Fynden från studiens intervjuer indikerade, i ett svenskt sammanhang, att olika resurser såsom data, tekniska färdigheter och datadriven kultur bland annat, används för att möjliggöra BDA. Fortsättningsvis påvisade resultatet att affärsprocessförbättring är en första stapel i användandet av fördelarna från BDA. Anledningen till det är för att det är lättare och säkrare med beräkning av förtjänst och effekt från en sådan investering. Beroende på hur långt en organisation har kommit i deras transformationsprocess kan de också innovera och/eller skapa produkter eller tjänster som möjliggjorts av insikter från BDA.

The previous chapters described in detail the literature, theory and research on Co-alignment, RBV and SHRM that was the basis for the development of a construct for the conceptualization of HPWP in the casual theme restaurant sector of the US hospitality industry for management. Firms able to implement such HPWP systems possessing universality, i.e. complementary internal fit, have been shown to increase the intangible value of their human capital (employees) and create greater economic value (Delery, 1998). This study used the co-alignment principle in conjunction with concepts in SHRM and RBV to develop a theory for a HPWP system for casual theme restaurants in the US, which is named a High Performance People System (HPPS). The co-alignment model for hospitality organizations which is the foundation of the theoretical model for this research (Olsen, West, and Tse;1998) describes the relationship between four key constructs, i.e. the environment, strategy choice, firm structure, and firm performance. Briefly, the four constructs in the model must be in alignment with each other in order for the firm to produce the greatest value for its stakeholders. Co-alignment theory purports that, "if the firm is able to identify the opportunities that exist in the forces driving change, invest in competitive methods that take advantage of these opportunities, and allocate resources to those that create the greatest value, the financial results desired by owners and investors have a much better chance of being achieved" (Olsen et al. 1998, p.2). SHRM researchers have been advocates of the theory that supports the causal relationship between HRM practices, sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) and firm performance. Several strategic human resource management researchers such as, Cappelli & Singh (1992),Wright & McMahan (1992), Pfeffer (1994), Lado & Wison (1995), Huselid (1995), Jackson & Schuler (1995),Becker & Gerhart (1996), Delany & Huselid (1996), Boxall (1998), Pfeffer (1998), Schuler & Jackson (2000), Ulrich & Beatty (2001), Lepak & Snell (2002), Hartog (2004) and others have directly or indirectly made attempts to theorize the effects of single or multiple human resource management variables on firm performance. These efforts have led to the incremental development of the strategic human resource management literature that stresses the relationships between the HRM practices, SCA and firm performance. There is an emergent body of evidence demonstrating that "the methods used by an organization to manage its human resources can have a substantial impact on many organizationally relevant outcomes" (Delery, 1998, p. 1). Convoluting the research on HPWP is incongruity among researchers on the micro HRM practices which are included in the SHRM system; there is little concurrence among scholars with respect to specifically which human resource practices should be incorporated (Becker & Gerhart, 1996; Rogers & Wright, 1998; Chadwick & Cappelli, 1999). RBV is one of the ten schools of thought in the field of management theory (Mintzberg, 2000) and is predicated on the concept that in order to create a sustainable competitive advantage and produce value for the firm, individual policies or practices produce the greatest results when they operate in a complex system that is not easily imitated (Barney, 1995). Resources are the "physical things a firm buys, leases or produces for its own use or the people hired on terms that make them effectively part of the firm" (Penrose, 1959: 67). Wernerfelt (1984) defines a firm's resources as "tangible or intangible assets which are tied semi-permanently to the firm" (p. 172). Barney (1991) further suggested that resources which can be used to create a SCA must have value, rareness, inimitability and substitutability The research focused on the discovery of the components of a HPWP system construct in the US casual theme restaurant segment for operating managers and the performance metrics used to judge their effectiveness. An exploratory study, in part using the Delphi method, serves as the overall research approach. A cross section of restaurant industry experts including company executives, consultants, academics and investors/owners contributed to the study. The outcome is a list of HRM work practices that are common to the casual theme restaurant industry and performance metrics. Based on prior empirical work the study started with 14 HRM work practice dimensions (See Table 3.1) and 3 performance measurements of productivity, turnover and financial performance (Huselid, 1995; Huselid & Becker, 1995; Delery & Doty, 1996; Becker & Huselid, 1996; Huselid & Becker, 1997; Hartog, 2004). These dimensions and performance metrics were presented to the panel of expert's making up the pilot study group as a starting point in the development of the HPWP system construct for the casual themed restaurant industry. After compiling the results of the pilot study and pretesting the survey instrument, the first Delphi survey (see Appendix 3) and a subsequent reminder were sent out electronically to the preselected Delphi participants for the study. A consensus on the research questions was not reached from the first-round survey according to the protocol Therefore, the second round was administered which provide opportunity for participants to change their position to help the group reach a consensus. Since consensus was reached according to the protocol (see tables 4.9, 4.12 & 4.13), the Delphi was concluded at this point. In summary, figure 1.1 put forth a conceptual model to clarify the relationships between the above mentioned schools of thought and firm performance. Figure 1.2 presented a working theoretical model which expounds on the relationships between the key concepts in the conceptual model and firm performance. Finally, figure 5.1 displays the results and the relationships of the study which methodically confirms the components of a HPPS for unit level managers, and identifies appropriate evaluation criteria for determining the performance of HPPS in the US casual restaurant market. / Ph. D.

Stakeholder theory has transcended academia and is infiltrating boardrooms all over the world. However, the literature is divided and lacks a coherent narrative of stakeholder value creation. The purpose of this exploratory study is to investigate the merits of stakeholder management by examining the arguments used by stakeholder researchers. Using argument analysis an overview of the field is created which describes the preconditions, mechanisms and moderators of value creation facilitated by stakeholder management.

Abstract: Business-to-business (B2B) marketing involves several components including the marketing management decision-making process and the buying behaviors of the B2B clientele and the end users. Disregarding customer knowledge management (CKM) and inaccurate analysis of data cost companies billions of dollars per year. The objective of this exploratory single-case study was to develop an in-depth analysis of the problem that some marketing managers have limited knowledge of how to use CKM strategies to improve B2B customer engagement. The dynamic capabilities and technological opportunism theories comprised the study's conceptual framework. Data collection consisted of participant observations, member checking, and semistructured interviews with 4 Dallas-based, managers at various levels of responsibility within a single B2B company. The data analysis entailed using an adaptation of Giorgi's systematic text condensation and inductive coding techniques of reoccurring themes. The themes that emerged indicated a need to improve marketing strategies. These themes included developing a division wide marketing plan, devising a CKM tool, and initiating organization wide CKM protocols and training. Beneficiaries of this research are marketing managers, marketing practitioners, organizational strategy and policy makers, and students of business administration. Implications for social change include specifying the strategies that business leaders need to improve sustainability.