Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Tidigare forskning har påvisat att ett företags produktionsförmåga påverkar förmågan att utveckla nya produkter. Faktum är att de företag som är duktiga på att producera ofta även är duktiga på att utveckla nya produkter, då flertalet produktionsaktiviteter såsom prototypframställan är viktiga i utvecklingsprocessen. Detta, i kombination med att mer än 70 % av en produkts kostnad bestäms under utvecklingsfasen, innebär att det är av yttersta vikt att samspelet mellan utveckling och produktion hanteras effektivt. En begräsning med tidigare forskning är antingen att den tenderar att endast titta på interaktion under utvecklingsfasen eller på hur företag kan förbättra produktionsförmågan. Därför är avhandlingens syfte att vidga analysen av interaktion mellan utveckling och produktion genom att studera interaktion under såväl utvecklings- som produktionsfasen. Detta görs genom att studera hur interaktionen påverkas av viktiga kontextuella faktorer såsom organisatoriskt och geografiskt avstånd samt uppgiftens karakteristika. För att uppnå syftet studerades flertalet företag genom intervjuer, vilket utmynnade i fyra papper samt en kappa som sammanfattar och drar slutsatser utifrån dessa papper. De två första papperen fokuserar på interaktion under produktionsfasen, medan de två sista papperen behandlar interaktion under produktutvecklingsfasen. Syftet med Papper 1 är att klargöra möjligheter och begränsningar med olika ansatser för produktionsförbättringar. Totalt studerades sju företag: två som saknade ett systematiskt förbättringsarbete och fem som jobbade systematiskt. Resultaten visar på tydliga skillnader mellan olika ansatser. De företag som lyckats bäst är de som har ett systematiskt arbetssätt, men även bland dessa företag finns det vissa skillnader. Företag där framförallt produktionstekniker är ansvariga för förbättringsarbetet har förvisso lyckats att implementera förändringar, men avsaknaden av förankring hos operatörerna har inneburit visst motstånd. Framförallt kan detta vara en nackdel i föränderliga miljöer där operatörerna kan ge stora bidrag med sin spetskompetens. Generellt sett tycktes det vara svårt att involvera operatörerna. Bredare ansatser där såväl produktionstekniker som operatörer bedrev förändringsarbetet var således svårare att införa men de som hade lyckats fick god utväxling. En faktor som tycks vara viktig för att införa en sådan bred ansats var att ledningen stödjer arbetet. Papper 2 fokuserar på tre av de sju fallföretagen från Papper 1 för att se hur produktionsförbättringarna kan användas för att förändra och förbättra produkten. Mer specifikt syftar detta papper till att undersöka hur interaktion under produktionsfasen påverkas av samverkan mellan förbättringsansats och geografiskt avstånd mellan utveckling och produktion. Resultaten visar att systematiska förbättringsansatser ger fler möjligheter till produktförbättringar än vad osystematiska ansatser gör. Tillvaratagandet av dessa möjligheter påverkas negativt av ett längre geografiskt avstånd mellan avdelningarna, då det ofta är nödvändigt för konstruktörer och produktionspersonal att diskutera ansikte mot ansikte för att utröna vilka möjligheter som finns och hur de kan förverkligas. Det kan således konstateras att kombinationen systematisk ansats och närhet skapar de mest gynnsamma förutsättningarna för att produktionsförbättringar skall leda till produktförbättringar. Istället för att studera interaktion under produktionsfasen vänder Papper 3 på myntet och studerar interaktion under utvecklingsfasen. Syftet med papperet är att undersöka hur interaktion under utvecklingsfasen påverkas av det geografiska och organisatoriska avståndet mellan utveckling och produktion. Totalt studerades två företag, ett företag utan egen produktion och ett med. Resultaten visar på att utvecklingsavdelningen behöver besitta relativt avancerad produktionskompetens för att kunna utveckla nya produkter effektivt. Utvecklarna behöver med andra ord jobba målmedvetet för att bibehålla och utveckla denna kompetens, vilket underlättas om de två avdelningarna är placerade i närheten av varandra. En nackdel med närhet tycks dock vara att interaktion domineras av informationsutbyte ansikte-mot-ansikte trots att mer kostnadseffektiva media såsom e-post ibland kan nyttjas. Syftet med Papper 4 är att bredda den föregående studien genom att studera en större mångfald av företag och produktutveckling (dvs. produktutveckling baserat på föränderlig såväl som mer mogen teknologi). Mer specifikt är syftet att se hur interaktion mellan utveckling och produktion påverkas av samverkan mellan geografiskt/organisatoriskt avstånd och uppgiftens karakteristika. Totalt studerades sju företag där fyra av dem baserar sina produkter på mogen teknologi (tre med egen produktion och två utan) och två företag utvecklar högteknologiska produkter (ett med egen produktion och ett utan). Resultaten visar att olika kombinationer av avstånd och uppgift skapar olika utmaningar som måste hanteras med hjälp av olika interaktionslösningar: (1) i en turbulent miljö utan egen produktion är utmaningen att säkerställa att utvecklarna har tillgång till relevant produktionskompetens. (2) i en stabil(are) miljö utan egen produktion kan utvecklarna enklare förstå produktionsprocessen. Utmaningen ligger snarare i att få feedback från leverantörerna så att produkten kan tillverkas till lägre kostnad. (3) i en turbulent miljö med egen produktion har utvecklarna hög kompetens. Utmaningen är att utnyttja spetskompetensen inom produktionsenheten. (4) i en stabil(are) miljö med egen produktion är utmaningen att formalisera interaktionen till en högre grad. Det tycktes som att dessa företag nyttjar ansikte-mot-ansikte interaktion fastän billigare media såsom e-post kunde nyttjats. De fyra papperen studerar således såväl utvecklings- som produktionsfasen. Genom att vidga analysen av interaktion och studera båda faserna visas på vikten av att styra och hantera interaktion under båda faserna. Det konstateras att effektiv styrning av interaktion under utvecklingsfasen leder till effektivare produktion medan den under produktionsfasen ger möjligheter till produktförbättringar. Således bör vi inte se projektavslut som slutet för interaktion mellan utveckling och produktion. Det är troligtvis inte ens början på slutet utan möjligen slutet på början. / Previous research has highlighted the fact that at least 70% of a product’s cost is committed during the design stage of new product development projects. Thus, how firms manage interaction between design and manufacturing really matters. Although many studies have demonstrated that manufacturing capabilities affect product development performance, there is little research investigating how firms can improve manufacturing and use these improvements to modify and improve product designs. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to extend the analysis of design-manufacturing interaction by studying interaction during both the new product development and manufacturing phases, taking into account important contextual variables such as geographical and organizational distance, and task characteristics. To fulfil this purpose, two questions are posed that relate to the manufacturing phase, and two that relate to the new product development phase: 1. What are the implications of different continuous improvement approaches for manufacturing performance? 2. How do these approaches affect design-manufacturing interaction during the manufacturing phase, when various levels of geographical distance are taken into account? 3. How is design-manufacturing interaction during new product development influenced by different sourcing strategies? 4. How is design-manufacturing interaction during new product development influenced by different sourcing strategies, when the task characteristics of the product are also taken into account? By studying multiple cases and conducting semi-structured interviews, this thesis makes two distinct contributions. First, the findings illustrate that successful interaction during the manufacturing phase is influenced both by the selected approach to manufacturing development, and the geographical distance between design and production departments. While the approach affects the number of improvements, the distance affects the nature of the interaction. In essence, a combination of systematic approach and proximity between design and manufacturing seems to be the most effective combination. Second, the findings illustrate that different combinations of sourcing strategy and task characteristics result in different challenges, which require different kinds of interaction. When reviewing how firms manage these challenges the findings both support and challenge the contingency theory. On the one hand, the paper supports the theory in terms of promoting organic procedures in unstable environments and mechanistic procedures in stable environments. On the other hand, it challenges contingency theory advocates for downplaying firms’ ability to shape their future. In fact, this research has shown that companies generally have many different feasible options. The implication is that it may be more important for managers to be aware of how to manage the pros and cons of these options than to choose a particular organizational structure. By taking an extended view on analysis of interaction, the thesis demonstrates that interaction matters during both the new product development and manufacturing phases. Thus, while effective management of interaction during the new product development phase could lead to improved manufacturability, interaction during the manufacturing phase could lead to improved product designs. / Report code: LiU-Tek-Lic 2006:72.

Digitaliseringen har reformerat många aspekter av vårt samhälle och den pågående digitala utvecklingen är oundviklig. Organisationer tvingas därmed till två val; att genomgå förändring eller försvinna från marknaden. Genom en kvalitativ forskningsmetod ville vi skapa en ökad förståelse för digitaliseringens inverkan på en organisation med betoning på medarbetarskap och ledarskap. För att uppnå detta har vi genomfört en fallstudie tillsammans med Nordea Bank AB Sverige. Vi genomförde 12 stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer och observerade 3 stycken olika arbetsplatser för att på så sätt skapa en förståelse för digitaliseringens inverkan. Vid studiens start trodde vi att det var aktuellt att inkludera olika kön- och åldersperspektiv då vi ansåg att den digitala förändringen kunde leda till olika typer av upplevda erfarenheter. Dock visade det sig att det inte skiljde sig åt mellan könen men att det istället fanns en åtskillnad kring ålder och erfarenhet. Studiens resultat visade att Nordea Bank AB har valt att genomgå en digital förändring och att de hanterar detta på olika sätt utifrån medarbetarskap och ledarskap. Vi kan även fastslå att organisationen har kommit långt i sin digitala förändringsprocess då medarbetare dagligen kommer i kontakt med digitaliserade arbetsverktyg. Dock är vi medvetna om att banken kommer att möta ytterligare utmaningar och möjligheter vilket innebär att de måste ha ett förändringsbenäget beteende även i framtiden. / Digitalization has transformed many aspects of our society. Currently, digital development is inevitable. Organizations are forced to choose between transforming or disappearing from the market. Through a qualitative research method we wanted to create awareness of digitalization’s impact on employeeship and leadership. To achieve this, we conducted a case study with Nordea Bank AB Sweden. We also conducted 12 in-depth interviews and 3 different observations in order to gain a deeper understanding of digitalization’s impact on the work environment. In the beginning of this study we believed that we would find differences between gender and age. The results have shown that we could only find differences between ages and experiences among our respondents. Our study also showed that Nordea Bank AB has chosen to accept this digital transformation. We also concluded that the organization handled this change in different ways in relation to employeeship and leadership. Furthermore, the study showed that the organization has implemented their digital transformation well because their employees use their developed digital tools daily. However, we are aware that the bank needs to continuously adapt to the change because they will face new challenges and possibilities in the future.

Background – The energy sector is experiencing instability and energy companies must embrace more flexible structures and strategic initiatives to remain relevant. Purpose – To gain understanding about the challenges with implementing strategic congruence and integrated control in umbrella organizations and how their interplay can contribute to achieving a common business logic. Methodology – In the scope of a single case study, we conducted 20 interviews on corporate, business and functional level at Tekniska verken in Linköping AB. The ‘tentative model’ of Nilsson and Rapp (2005) was re-assessed to examine a common business logic. Findings – Our empirical findings indicated that the businesses of umbrella organizations can be diverse while simultaneously being congruent. When addressing strategic congruence, it is challenging because transparent communication and collaboration between business areas as well as optimizing organizational structures and designing clear responsibility areas is difficult to achieve. Regarding integrated control, it is not easy to realize because the corporate plan needs wide acceptance and breaking down complex content to the business areas is challenging. Not to mention that a common frame of reference regarding terminology and alike control standards requires high commitment.

Alors que la pression, dans le contexte actuel de concurrence mondialisée, s'accumule sur les managers logistiques afin d'opérationnaliser les stratégies développées par leur hiérarchie, les pratiques logistiques sont de plus en plus diverses et sophistiquées; le choix de telle ou telle pratique pour telle ou telle stratégie devient de moins en moins évident. Si tel que le stipule la théorie de la contingence, les pratiques ne sont pas équivalentes quel que soit le contexte stratégique, quel modèle de performance opérationnelle peut-on proposer? C'est ainsi que nous suggérons dans cette étude la construction d'un modèle taxonomique comprenant stratégies commerciales et concurrentielles des entreprises, pratiques supply chain et performance opérationnelle à partir d'une étude empirique menée au Maroc auprès de 119 entreprises manufacturières. Les résultats de notre investigation confirment l'émergence de cinq profils supply chain d'entreprises issus de la revue de littérature : « Stratégies multiples », « Innovation », « low cost », « Qualité » et « Résiduel ». L'approche configurationnelle nous montre ici que l'alignement de la stratégie commerciale, la stratégie concurrentielle, et la pratique supply chain aboutit à une meilleure performance opérationnelle, par contraste avec les entreprises non alignées du groupe « résiduel ». / Pressure, in today's context of globalized competition, is accumulating on the shoulders of logistics managers so they execute the strategies developed by their hierarchy. However, logistics practices are more and more diverse and sophisticated, and the choice of the right practice for the right strategy is less and less obvious. If, as stated by Contingency Theory, practices are not equivalent in any given strategic context, which operational performance model can be suggested? Hence, we develop a taxonomic model comprising generic strategies, competitive priorities, supply chain practices and operational performance based on the empirical study of 119 manufacturing Moroccan companies. Our investigation confirms the emergence of five supply chain profiles which resulted from our literature review: “Multiple strategies”, “Innovation”, “Low Cost”, “Quality” and “Residual” profiles. The configuration approach indicates here that the alignment of generics strategies with the competitive priorities and the supply chain practices lead to better operational performance, in contrast with the unaligned companies of the residual group.

abstract: The e-Retail industry has grown rapidly over the last few years and is projected to continue its upward trend as consumers shift from traditional channels to online channels. In March 2010, Forrester Research forecasted that online retail sales will grow by 10% a year for the next 5 years and e-Retail sales will amount to $249 billion by 2014. With intense competition for market share and profits, information systems and technology (IST) sourcing decisions are becoming increasingly important to e-Retail firms to support continued growth and market responsiveness. There are several aspects for e-Retailers to consider when formulating its IST sourcing strategy. Whether to choose make versus buy for technology assets and services has been addressed in both strategy and IS literature (Handfield et al. 1999, Leiblein et al. 2002, Wade and Hulland, 2004). Then there is the follow-up question of selecting a best-of-breed strategy or tighter partnership with a select group of vendors (Clemons et al. 1993, Kauffman and Tsai 2009). Few studies have looked at IST sourcing or proposed models and frameworks for evaluating IST sourcing decisions (Saarinen and Vepsalainen, 1994). Furthermore, these existing studies mainly address the antecedents of the decisions but not so much on their performance effects (Kauffman and Tsai 2009; Smith et al., 1998). The goal of this study is to extend the knowledge of IST sourcing for e-Retailers, a topic which has received limited attention (Kishore et al., 2004), by addressing a core problem: How should an e-Retailer develop and implement its IST sourcing strategy to accommodate the increase in consumer demand and IT complexity but still achieve high performance? The study introduces two theoretical models to examine organizational factors that influence an e-Retailer's IST sourcing strategies of make versus buy and partnership versus best-of-breed. The proposed models are tested using a panel data set of 307 e-Retail firms over the period of 2006 to 2010. The study opens up the black box of internal firm operations by introducing a granular view of IST sourcing decisions at both the value chain and e-Commerce architecture levels and examining the performance impacts of these strategic choices. This in-depth look at IST sourcing has yet to be explored in the literature. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Information Management 2012

Submitted by MARCELO WILSON FURLAN MATOS ALVES null (marcelowilfma@hotmail.com) on 2016-04-22T16:48:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 D_Desktop_3 folhas Alterações.pdf: 1745753 bytes, checksum: b26ea734a75327ecb57ea66a3a694d3a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Juliano Benedito Ferreira (julianoferreira@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-04-26T12:47:06Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 alves_mwfm_me_bauru.pdf: 1745753 bytes, checksum: b26ea734a75327ecb57ea66a3a694d3a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T12:47:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 alves_mwfm_me_bauru.pdf: 1745753 bytes, checksum: b26ea734a75327ecb57ea66a3a694d3a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O objetivo desta pesquisa é entender sob a perspectiva da teoria da contingência, como os fatores contingenciais climáticos e o gerenciamento interno organizacional realizado por um conjunto de empresas podem explicar a percepção de benefícios ao adotar práticas operacionais de baixo carbono. Para atingir este objetivo, o método de pesquisa escolhido foi entrevista, o qual foi conduzido com profissionais de seis empresas dividas em quatro setores industriais diferentes, utilizando para a análise dos dados o software NVivo a fim de entender as percepções dessas empresas estudadas. Os resultados encontrados foram: a) a percepção e o monitoramento de riscos climáticos disparam um gerenciamento interno organizacional mais estruturado pelas empresas; b) as empresas tendem a manter o modelo de gestão ambiental estabelecido para inserir fatores de mudanças climáticas em seus procedimentos; c) uma incipiente estrutura de gerenciamento interno organizacional presente nas empresas afeta suas percepções de benefícios ao adotarem práticas de baixo carbono, mesmo que diversifiquem suas ações; d) o gerenciamento de carbono sob os aspectos contingenciais pode explicar a inação das empresas neste contexto de mudança climática. Com isso, as contribuições deste trabalho consistem em fornecer à literatura evidências empíricas de como se estabelece a relação entre a percepção e o monitoramento de riscos com o gerenciamento de fatores climáticos organizacionais a partir do uso da teoria da contingência. Além disso, a pesquisa também contribui com discussões sobre a efetividade das ações em resposta aos eventos climáticos encarados pelas organizações. / The aim of this research is to understand, by the contingency theory perspective, how contingency climate factors and organizational internal factors management can explain the perception of benefits from adoption of low carbon operations practices by a set of enterprises. The research method chosen was interviews with specialists, which were made with professional of six enterprises in four different industries. The NVivo software was used to analyze data from interviews in order to understand the perceptions of those enterprises studied. The results found were: a) the perception and the monitoring of climate risks trigger organizational climate factors management better structured by enterprises; b) enterprises tend to keep the environmental management established to implant climate factors management in their procedures; c) incipient structure of climate factors management stand by in enterprises affect their perceptions of benefits when they have adopted low carbon operations practices, even they have diversified their actions; d) management carbon under contingencies aspects can explain the inaction of the enterprises in the climate change context. Therefore, this research contributes to literature through empirical evidences about how is the relationship between perception and monitoring of climate risks and organizational climate factors management by the perspective of contingency theory. Furthermore, the research contributes to discussion about the effectiveness of the actions in responding climate events faced by organizations.

Bakgrund och problem: Vi lever idag i ett samhälle som till stor grad karaktäriseras av förändring och osäkerhet där snabba förändringar i den externa omgivningen tenderar att göra budgeteringen mindre användbar. Till följd av detta har budgeteringen som styrmedel varit hårt kritiserad. Trots den kritik som budgeteringen utsatts för har budgeten alltjämt än idag en viktig roll i företagets styrning. Vi finner en kunskapslucka i forskning som berör budgetering i en dagens mer dynamiska omgivning och som även inkluderar styrelsens roll i budgeteringen. Syfte: Det övergripande syftet med denna studie är att beskriva och förstå budgeteringens användning och syfte i företag som är verksamma i dagens dynamiska omgivning och som på grund av olika faktorer har svårigheter att förutse framtiden. Vidare är syftet att beskriva styrelsens roll i budgetarbetet för en mer omfattande förståelse, då hänsyn tas till hela styrkedjan. Metod: I denna studie tillämpas en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi varigenom en flerfallsstudie utförts. Studiens empiri grundas främst i semistrukturerade intervjuer med respondenter som har insikt i företagens budgetering. Slutsats: Budgetering används idag främst för att gå igenom verksamheten noggrant men används även genom att verka motiverande då delaktighet och engagemang främjas. Det ligger en större användning i den process varigenom budgeteringen sker än i budgeten som dokument. Med anledning av den dynamiska omgivning som företag verkar i och svårigheter som däri ligger att förutse framtiden finns ändå användning av budgetering om man arbetar på rätt sätt och har rätt inställning till budgeten. Styrelsen har en aktiv och betydande roll i företags budgetering, under förutsättningen att styrelsen aktivt verkar som en styrelse. I budgetarbetet har styrelsen en bestämmande roll som främst urskiljs vid budgetförutsättningar samt vid fastställande och uppföljning av budgeten. Ett extra fokus på strategirollen kan urskiljas varigenom denna roll också utmärks i budgeteringen genom kopplingen mellan budget och strategi. / Background: Today, we live in a society that is largely characterized by change and uncertainty where rapid changes in the external environment tend to make budgeting less useful. As a result, budgeting has been heavily criticized. However, despite the criticisms of budgeting, the budget still has an important role in the management of the company. We find a knowledge gap in research that concerns budgeting in today's more dynamic environment and also includes the board's role in budgeting. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe and understand the use and purpose of budgeting in companies that are active in today's dynamic environment and due to various factors have difficulties predicting the future. Furthermore, the purpose is to describe the role of the board in the budget work for a more comprehensive understanding, taking into account the entire control chain. Method: A qualitative research strategy is applied in this study, whereby a multiple case study is conducted. The empirical study is based primarily on semi-structured interviews with respondents who have insight into the companies’ budgeting. Conclusions: Today's budgeting is used primarily to review the business thoroughly but it is also used by acting motivating as participation and dedication are promoted. There is a greater use in the process whereby budgeting takes place than in the budget as a document. However, due to the dynamic environment that companies engage in and difficulties in anticipating the future, budgeting is still available if you work properly and have the right attitude to it. The board has an active and significant role in budgeting, provided that the board actively acts as a board. In the budget work, the board has a determining role that is primarily distinguished by budget conditions, as well as in determining and reviewing the budget. An extra focus on the strategy role can be identified, whereby this role is also distinguished in budgeting by linking budget and strategy.

Submitted by Rosangela Silva (rosangela.silva3@unioeste.br) on 2018-02-20T19:11:51Z No. of bitstreams: 2 SIMONE_ZUCONELLI_BONEMBERGER.pdf: 2249773 bytes, checksum: dbdaffd8fcff07fc74545fbe76e6d857 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-02-20T19:11:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 SIMONE_ZUCONELLI_BONEMBERGER.pdf: 2249773 bytes, checksum: dbdaffd8fcff07fc74545fbe76e6d857 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-30 / The accounting organizations represent an important branch of activity in the national context, for the significance of information that generate to the society and to the client companies. Previous studies have shown that accounting entrepreneurs who are knowledgeable about management artifacts do not apply them to the management of their own businesses. This study aimed to understand how and why this occurs, and established the following research questions: how are types of isomorphism (Institutional Theory) driving the use of cost management practices and measurement of results in accounting organizations? How do contingency factors (Contingency Theory) limit the use of cost management practices and measurement of results in accounting organizations? And how do the practices of cost management and measurement of results used in accounting organizations make it possible to apply and analyze the Cost to Serve? The research is classified as exploratory and used the procedure of multiple case study with a qualitative approach. For data collection, data triangulation was used, with in-depth interviews, documentary analysis and direct observation, in the search for evidence for reliability of the results. A semi-structured interview script was developed and applied to the main managers of six accounting organizations selected for the study. It was verified that the main cost management practices adopted are total cost control and, in the time software applied to each task, the results measurement practices are cash flow and Profit and Loss Statement for the year. There is evidence that mimetic isomorphism is the impetus for the use of such practices. And according to the managers' perception, the five contingency factors (environment, technology, structure, strategy, size or size) limit in some way the use of cost management practices and result measurement. It was identified that the organizations studied have some of the necessary data for the analysis of the Cost to Serve, and analyzing the usual practices of cost management and measurement of results the study proposes as intervention the use of the Cost to Serve method to identify the cost service and profitability per customer, which is believed to enable the adoption of better strategies in the level of service and provision of services to each client and increase profitability. The application and validation of the method in accounting organizations is a recommendation for future studies. / As organizações contábeis representam um ramo de atividade importante no contexto nacional, pela significância de informações que geram à sociedade e às empresas clientes. Estudos anteriores evidenciaram que os empresários contábeis mesmo sendo conhecedores de artefatos gerenciais não os aplicam na administração de seus próprios negócios. Este estudo objetivou entender como e porque isso ocorre, e estabeleceu as seguintes questões de pesquisa: como os tipos de isomorfismo (Teoria Institucional) impulsionam a utilização de práticas de gestão de custos e mensuração de resultados nas organizações contábeis? Como os fatores contingenciais (Teoria Contingencial) limitam a utilização de práticas de gestão de custos e mensuração de resultados nas organizações contábeis? E como as práticas de gestão de custos e mensuração de resultados, utilizadas nas organizações contábeis, possibilitam a aplicação e análise do Custo para Servir? A pesquisa classifica-se como exploratória e utilizou o procedimento de estudo de casos múltiplos com abordagem qualitativa. Para coleta de dados foi utilizada a triangulação de dados, com entrevistas em profundidade, análise documental e observação direta, na busca de evidências para confiabilidade dos resultados. Foi elaborado um roteiro de entrevista semiestruturado e aplicado aos gestores principais de seis organizações contábeis selecionadas para o estudo. Constatou-se que as pricipais práticas de gestão de custos adotadas são o controle de custos totais e, registro em software do tempo aplicado em cada tarefa, as práticas de mensuração de resultados são o fluxo de caixa e Demonstração de Resultado do Exercício. Há evidências de que o isomorfismo mimético é o impulsionador para a utilização de tais práticas. E conforme percepção dos gestores, os cinco fatores contingenciais (ambiente, tecnologia, estrutura, estratégia, tamanho ou porte) limitam de alguma forma a utilização de práticas de gestão de custos e mensuração de resultado. Identificou-se que as organizações estudadas possuem alguns dos dados necessários para a análise do Custo para Servir, e analisando as práticas usuais de gestão de custos e mensuração de resultados o estudo propõe como intervenção a utilização do método Custo para Servir, para identificação do custo de atendimento e rentabilidade por cliente, o que acredita-se que possibilitará a adoção de melhores estratégias no nível de atendimento e prestação de serviços a cada cliente e aumento da rentabilidade. A aplicação e validação do método nas organizações contábeis é uma recomendação para estudos futuros.

Building a thriving information economy is a goal for many developing countries. This research helps identify the factors (inhibitors and motivators) that can be used to leverage the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in a developing country to build a sustainable information economy that benefits other sectors of the economy. This is done by studying the current literature on this topic and then synthesizing the theoretical models to create a unified decision framework to help developing countries set their path to building a sustainable information economy. Drawing on past literature and extant theory, a novel ICT4D decision framework is built that provides a three-dimensional view based on 1) the ICT value chain, 2) key factors (e.g. infrastructure, policies, markets), and 3) stakeholders (e.g. industry, government, academia). This decision framework is then used to study the case of Palestine, where secondary and primary data are used to compare the critical success factors for Palestine with the general framework. This synthesized framework and critical success factors superset is expected to advance the field’s understanding of how both controllable and non-controllable country characteristics contribute to or inhibit the growth and development of an ICT sector in developing countries. In addition, the framework and identified success factors help in setting a future path for development. Results from both secondary data sources demonstrate the usability of the framework to analyze the current setting of the ICT sector, in addition, to help investigate a range of possible opportunities for action to reach a higher level of ICT success. Then, via a targeted set of interviews with academic, industrial, and governmental sources who are experts in the Palestinian ICT arena, an exploratory study was performed that focused on key critical success factors for future development of the ICT economy. Controllable factors that have the potential for sustainable action were identified. In the case of Palestine, it appears that despite having many challenges that are out of control, there seem to be many opportunities for change specifically in government and educational policies that can help the ICT sector in specific, and the Palestinian economy in general reach its real potential. Given the current political situation in Palestine, it was found that there is a great potential in creating new software products for export. The challenges in this particular area in the case of Palestine lies in the lack of adequate business skills to research the global market and to market products and services that can be offered by the Palestinian ICT sector. The findings should also help stakeholders see if the challenges to developing an ICT sector in Palestine are the same as those for any developing country, and where they are truly unique. The outcomes of this research have the potential to frame and inform economic development decisions that could define the future of the Palestinian state.