The present study has originated from the realisation that numerous software development projects either do not live up to expectations or fail outright. The scope, environment and implementation of traditional software projects have changed due to various reasons such as globalisation, advances in computing technologies and, last but not least, the development and deployment of software projects in distributed, collaborative and virtual environments. As a result, traditional project management methods cannot and do not address the added complexities found in this ever-changing environment. In this study the processes and procedures associated with software project management (SPM) were explored. SPM can be defined as the process of planning, organising, staffing, monitoring, controlling and leading a software project. The current study is principally aimed at making a contribution to enhancing and supporting SPM. A thorough investigation into software agent computing resulted in the realisation that software agent technology can be regarded as a new paradigm that may be used to support the SPM processes. A software agent is an autonomous system that forms part of an environment, can sense the environment and act on it over a period of time, in pursuit of its own agenda. The software agent can also perceive, reason and act by selecting and executing an appropriate action. The unique requirements of SPM and the ways in which agent technology may address these were subsequently identified. It was concluded that agent technology is specifically suited to geographically distributed systems, large network systems and mobile devices. Agents provide a natural metaphor for support in a team environment where cooperation and the coordination of actions toward a common goal, as well as the monitoring and controlling of actions are strongly supported. Although it became evident that agent technology is indeed being applied to areas and sections of the SPM environment, it is not being applied to the whole spectrum, i.e. to all core and facilitating functions of SPM. If software agents were to be used across the whole spectrum of SPM processes, this could provide a significant advantage to software project managers who are currently using other contemporary methods. The "SPMSA" model (Software Project Management supported by Software Agents) was therefore proposed. This model aims to enhance SPM by taking into account the unique nature and changing environment of software projects. The SPMSA model is unique as it supports the entire spectrum of SPM functionality, thus supporting and enhancing each key function with a team of software agents. Both the project manager and individual team members will be supported during software project management processes to simplify their tasks, eliminate the complexities, automate actions and enhance coordination and communication. Virtual teamwork, knowledge management, automated workflow management and process and task coordination will also be supported. A prototype of a section of the risk management key function of the SPMSA model was implemented as `proof of concept'. This prototype may be expanded to include the entire SPMSA model and cover all areas of SPM. Finally, the SPMSA model was verified by comparing the SPM phases of the model to the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. These phases of the SPMSA model were furthermore compared to the basic phases of software development as prescribed by the ISO 10006:2003 standard for projects. In both cases the SPMSA model compared favourably. Hence it can be concluded that the SPMSA model makes a fresh contribution to the enhancement of SPM by utilising software agent technology. / School of Computing / Ph. D. (Computer Science)

The objective of the present thesis is to evaluate economic activities of a medium-sized agricultural farm in a real environment. The theoretical part of the thesis is engaged with the problems of the current scale of use of the landscape by farmers who continue to lay emphasis primarily on the economic function. Subsequently, in pursuance of our research, an alternative method of farming, i.e. organic farming, is described, along with the contemporary situation of this sphere in the Czech Republic. The last chapter of the theoretical part examines the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU and the tools thereof. In the framework of our research, the area of interest in which the farm observed works is described, and processes of the farm´s economic activities and economic evaluation are delineated. Next, environmentally-friendly landscape measures are proposed which take into consideration both the ecologic and social functions. This method of farming is evaluated in terms of economy and this evaluation includes an outline of the problems of the system of subsidies

Floods affect millions of people each year, with increasing frequency in the past decades. Floods, as any other natural phenomena, do not take place in a vacuum. Their impacts are modulated by the socioeconomic environments they affect, which are far from homogeneous and oftentimes characterized by deep disparities and inequalities. Ensuring sustainable development in a world where climate change is forecasted to increase the frequency and severity of flooding requires a nuanced understanding of these interactions between natural and socioeconomic systems. This dissertation sheds light on the impacts of flooding on economic outcomes of interest in two contrasting settings. First, Chapters 1 and 2 focus on the effects of flooding as a natural disaster in a developed country, the United States. Using evidence from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, these chapters explore how different neighborhoods, with different characteristics, responded to flooding. They conclude that heterogeneous responses led to an increased polarization along property value, racial, and income lines among neighborhoods. Then, Chapter 3 investigates the effects of seasonal flooding in the Malian Sahel. Unlike the previous setting, flooding brings about positive outcomes in this context, as livelihoods in this arid region are heavily dependent on surface water for agriculture. This chapter shows that lower seasonal flooding increases infant mortality. Thus, it provides evidence on the sort of long-term consequences that could affect low-income households after suffering short-lived resources shocks. Overall, this dissertation contributes to our understanding of the heterogeneous impacts of flooding. Increased awareness of these impacts would be key to formulate successful post-flood responses and policies to ensure future sustainable development.

The concept of the Circular Economy (CE) is proposed as a viable solution to the over-exploitation of natural resources with an economic and environmental backing. Although more commonly used in the context of non-renewable industrial materials and processes, there is a growing need to include these concepts into renewable materials that have technical functions. This thesis will discuss the concepts of CE in the context of the wooden furniture sector and how the inclusion of Value Retention Processes (VRPs) and other CE practices result in quantifiable environmental and economic benefits. Companies that are involved in these VRPs are consulted through a questionnaire. This is to better understand the process and limits of their implementations. The issue of furniture waste is highlighted to demonstrate the need for circularity in this industry and how it fits within the context of CE. A case study is conducted utilizing three comparable furniture products to populate the data needed to utilize an established CE model showcasing their quantifiable benefits (IRP, 2018). This research will lead to a basis for continued research, improvements to current CE models, and suggestions for best practices that can be implemented by industry stakeholders and consumers. The results of the company questionnaire showcase that a viable VRP market exists for the wooden furniture industry, with “Reuse” being the most utilized by consumers. The outputs of the CE model revealed that the inclusion of VRPs results in significant decreases in environmental impacts when compared with new product manufacturing.

Tesis por compendio / [EN] Within the field of development management, an emerging critique to the aid system has gained prominence. It focuses on how the dominant language and logics in the aid sector have depoliticised the issues of development, thus reducing them to purely technical and managerial problems. These problems are supposed to be managed by experts, who are considered to have the capacity of total control over development processes. This trend, which has been called managerialism, avoids issues of political economy, power or conflict, and assumes the logics, values, discourses and procedures of the private sector (focusing then on issues as "efficiency", "products" or "impact" of development projects). In this process, development organizations become mere service-providers, they have been co-opted by the global neoliberal agenda, and their actions serve to reinforce unequal power relationships. From this analysis, it is possible to obtain insights for rethinking development and aid, reframing them as complex, political and intrinsically conflictive processes. Moreover, some critics to managerialism also suggest that a (re)politicised perspective on development and aid should also be transformative, and that development organizations should recognise and value alternative systems of knowledge and personal and societal projects; should contribute to examining alternative development models, beyond productivist capitalism and market-driven liberal democracy; and should place bottom-up processes of change at the centre. The research also departs from the idea that, within the aid system, a small and scarcely visible group of people and development organizations are trying to promote alternative discourses and practices of development and aid that, instead of reinforcing the advancement of the neoliberal global agenda, are challenging it. From this standpoint, the aims of the thesis are, on the one hand, to explore how a political and transformative practice of development and aid could be characterised; and on the other hand, to explore how this political and transformative practice is taking place, and how it could be promoted in different spaces. The research explores three spaces in which these practices may be taking place and could be promoted, approaching case studies in different environments: 1) in formal education, addressing the learning process in a Master's degree in development management; 2) in the practice of development itself, addressing how learning takes place in informal processes through the relationships between Spanish development organizations and their partners in Latin America; 3) in the adoption of a new management approach in development organizations, specifically exploring the processes and implications of the adoptions of a rights-based approach in Spanish organizations. The methodology used is essentially qualitative, based on secondary data and primary data obtained through personal interviews and group discussions. Given the exploratory nature of the study, its aim is to propose concepts and hypotheses, identify the dimensions of the subject and processes under study, and propose possible connections between them. Results suggest that the characteristics and the processes that lead to a political and transformative practice of development and aid are not completely separate issues. The thesis also reveals that this political and transformative perspective is intrinsically problematic, full of contradictions, tensions and paradoxes. Far from being resoluble, the work suggests that these tensions should be accepted and dealt with, as they are part of the intrinsic nature of development and social change. / [ES] Dentro del ámbito de los estudios de gestión del desarrollo, se ha articulado una crítica al sistema de cooperación de creciente importancia que pone en el centro la cuestión del gerencialismo. Analiza cómo los nuevos lenguajes y lógicas en el sector estarían despolitizando las cuestiones del desarrollo, que quedarían reducidas a simples problemas técnicos y de gestión, manejables por expertos a los que se les atribuye una total capacidad de control de los procesos. El gerencialismo evita cuestiones de economía política, de poder y conflicto para asumir la lógica, los valores, discursos y procedimientos del sector privado (hablando así de cuestiones como eficacia, productos o impacto de los proyectos de desarrollo). En este proceso, las organizaciones de desarrollo, convertidas en prestadoras de servicios, habrían quedado cooptadas por la agenda neoliberal global, y sus acciones estarían reforzando relaciones desiguales de poder. Sobre la base de estos análisis, se puede obtener elementos para repensar la cooperación y el desarrollo y resituarlos como procesos complejos, políticos e intrínsecamente conflictivos. Además, estas críticas invitan también a partir de la idea de que una perspectiva (re)politizada debe ser también transformadora, de que las organizaciones de desarrollo deben reconocer y valorar conocimientos y proyectos de vida y sociedad alternativos a los dominantes; contribuir a profundizar en modelos alternativos de desarrollo más allá del productivismo capitalista y la democracia liberal de mercado, y situar los procesos de cambio desde abajo en el centro. Se entiende también que dentro del sistema de cooperación, si bien de manera minoritaria y poco visible, personas y organizaciones de desarrollo estarían promoviendo discursos y prácticas de la cooperación y el desarrollo distintos, alineados con las ideas señaladas y que, en lugar de ser funcionales al avance del modelo neoliberal globalizado, lo estarían retando. Por tanto, los objetivos de esta tesis son, por un lado, explorar una posible caracterización de una práctica política y transformadora de la cooperación y el desarrollo; por otro, explorar cómo se produce y puede promoverse esta práctica política y transformadora en diferentes espacios. El trabajo explora tres espacios en los que estas prácticas puedan estar dándose y puedan promoverse. Se aproxima así a casos de estudio vinculados a, en primer lugar, la enseñanza formal, abordando el proceso de aprendizaje en un máster en gestión del desarrollo. En segundo lugar, la propia práctica de la cooperación, analizando cómo se producen aprendizajes de manera informal y emergente en las relaciones establecidas entre organizaciones de desarrollo del Estado español y sus aliados en América Latina. Por último, la incorporación de nuevos enfoques de gestión en las organizaciones, teniendo en cuenta los procesos e implicaciones a la hora de incorporar el enfoque basado en derechos en organizaciones del Estado español. La metodología empleada en todos los casos es esencialmente cualitativa, fundamentada en el análisis de información secundaria e información primaria obtenida de entrevistas y grupos de discusión. Al ser la orientación del trabajo exploratoria, trata de proponer conceptos, apuntar hipótesis, identificar distintas dimensiones del objeto de estudio y distintos factores de los procesos estudiados, así como apuntar posibles conexiones entre ellos. Los resultados sugieren que las características y las formas de avanzar hacia una práctica de la cooperación política transformadora no son cuestiones tan distintas. La tesis revela también que la perspectiva política y transformadora que se sugiere es intrínsecamente problemática, llena de contradicciones, tensiones y paradojas. Lejos de ser resolubles, el trabajo invita a pensar que estas tensiones deberían más bien ser asumidas y manejadas como tales, ya que estarían en la propia / [CA] Dins l'àmbit dels estudis de la gestió del desenvolupament, s'ha articulat una crítica al sistema de cooperación al desenvolupament que a anat prenent importància i que posa al centre la qüestió del gerencialisme. Analitza com els nous llenguatges i lògiques del sector estarien despolititzant les qüestions del desenvolupament, que quedarien reduïdes a simples problemas tècnics i de gestió, manejables per experts que tindrien una total capacitat de control dels procesos. El gerencialisme evita qüestions d'economia política, de poder i de conflicte, per assumir la lògica, valors, discursos i procediments del sector privat (parlant així de qüestions com eficàcia, productes o impactes dels projectes de desenvolupament). En este procés, les organitzacions de desenvolupament, convertides en prestadores de servicis, haurien quedat cooptades per l'agenda neoliberal global, i les seues accions estarien reforçant relacions desiguals de poder. Sobre la base d'estes anàlisi, es poden obtindre elements per repensar la cooperació i el desenvolupament i resituar-los com a processos complexos, polítics i intrínsecament conflictius. A més, estes crítiques inviten a partir de la idea de que una perspectiva (re)polititzada deu ser també transformadora, de que les organitzacions de desenvolupament deuen reconéixer i valorar els coneiximents i projectes de vida i societat alternatius als dominants; contribuir a aprofundir en models alternatius de desenvolupament, més enllà del productivisme capitalista i la democràcia liberal de mercat, i situar els processos de canvi des de baix al centre. Es pot entendre també que dins el sistema de cooperació, encara que d'una manera minoritària i poc visible, persones i organitzacions de desenvolupament estarien construïnt discursos i pràctiques de la cooperació i el desenvolupament distints que, en lloc d'ésser funcionals a l'avanç del model neoliberal, l'estarien reptant. Per tant, els objectius d'esta tesi son, per una banda, explorar una possible caracterització d'una pràctica política i transformadora de la cooperació i el desenvolupament; per l'altra, explorar com es produeix i es pot promoure esta pràctica política i transformadora en diversos espais. El treball explora tres espais als quals estes pràctiqeus podrien estar donant-se i podrien ser promogudes. S'aproxima així a casos d'estudi vinculats a, en primer lloc, l'ensenyament formal, abordant el procés d'aprenentatge en un màster en gestió del desenvolupament. En segon lloc, la propia pràctica de la cooperació, analitzant com es produeixen aprenentatges de manera informal i emergent en relacions que vinculen organitzations de l'Estat espanyol amb aliats de l'Amèrica Llatina. Per últim, la incorporació de nous enfocaments de gestió en les organitzacions, tenint en compte els procesos i implicacions d'incorporar un enfocament basat en drets en organitzacions de l'Estat espanyol. La metodologia que s'ha utilitzat en tots els casos d'estudi és essencialment qualitativa, fonamentada en l'analisi d'informació secundària i d'informació primària obtinguda d'entrevistes i grups de discusió. Com que el treball té una orientació exploratòria, es tracta de proposar conceptes, apuntar hipòtesi, identificar dimensions de l'objecte d'estudi i distints factors dels procesos estudiats, així com possibles connexions entre ells. Els resultats suggereixen que les característiques i les formes d'avançar cap a una pràctica política y transformadora de la cooperació no són qüestions tan distintes. La tesi revela també que la perspectiva política i transformadora que es suggereix és intrínsecament problemàtica, plena de contradiccions, tensions i paradoxes. Lluny d'ésser resolubles, el treball invita a pensar que estes tensions deurien ésser assumides i manejades com a tals, ja que estarien en la pròpia essència del desenvolupament i el canvi social. / Belda Miquel, S. (2015). Del gerencialismo a la política: explorando las características, los espacios y los procesos de construcción de una práctica transformadora del desarrollo y la cooperación [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/57807 / TESIS / Premios Extraordinarios de tesis doctorales / Compendio

Yes / The failure of `blueprint¿ development interventions to deliver substantive improvements in poverty reduction has been well recognised over the last twenty years. Process approaches seek to overcome the rigidity and top-down operation of much aid-funded intervention. Sustainable livelihoods approaches (SLA) are one of the latest additions to this family of approaches. As a theoretical framework and as a set of principles for guiding intervention, sustainable livelihoods thinking has implications for development management. Drawing on research exploring the application of sustainable livelihoods principles in ten development interventions, this paper considers how these principles have evolved from continuing debates surrounding process and people-centred (bottom-up) approaches to development management. This research suggests that whilst these principles can improve the impact made by interventions, the effective application of sustainable livelihoods and other process approaches are fundamentally restricted by unbalanced power relationships between development partners.

Thesis (MPA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This assignment seeks to critically analyse the impact of international funding on the present state of development in developing countries. The aim of the analysis is to provide recommendations to improve the methods and motives behind giving funding in order to increase the impact of such funding. International funding provided to developing countries is often based on rigid guidelines, requirements, restrictions and conditions. It is these conditions that need revising to be more appropriate for conditions in developing countries. Only through viewing case studies and learning from them is it possible for international funding to facilitate more innovative and effective development to those in need. The research findings are derived from analysis of the literature review of international funding and through viewing the Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA) and the South African Police Service (SAPS), the two organisations of this case study. The SAPS is one of many organisations receiving international assistance and have benefited from assistance from DANIDA since 1994. Funding for the project in the study was granted after the project proposal was formulated to fit the requirements of the DANIDA Guideline for Project Preparation, a set of guidelines prescribed to any organisation wanting to receive funding from DANIDA. All funding organisations have similar guidelines although it is evident that some are more rigid and prescriptive than others. From this study a list of recommendations were developed pertaining to the sets of guidelines used by international development organisations. It appeared rational that the list of recommendations should be divided into suggestions on the required structures of development organisations and on the required aspects to be included in the project proposal and implementation. The recommendations to the structures were to determine the level of involvement of the funding organisation in the project; to determine the literacy level necessary to comply with the funding requirements; to decide on the level of involvement of external consultants; to ensure frequent reviews; and finally to ensure conflict resolution. The aspects to be included in the project proposal and implementation were based on ensuring equal opportunity in terms of diversity and gender awareness; to commit to the sustainability of the project; for all parties to be involved in the compilation of project objectives and to ensure that the project represents the overall development goals of the beneficial country. Although a number of these recommendations are applied by some organisations it is necessary for the successful outcome of a project that all are considered. Each recommendation represents a building block of development and these are all interdependent. The general conclusion of this study is therefore that some level of conditionality is necessary. No one can expect economic aid to be given without conditions but the conditions must be fair, benefiting the recipient country and ensuring that development of those living in poverty is indeed the outcome of all funding. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie werkstuk het ten doelom die impak van internasionale befondsing op die huidige stand van ontwikkeling in ontwikkelende lande krities te analiseer. Die analise het die formulering van aanbevelings ter verbetering van die metodes en motiewe agter die toestaan van befondsing ten doel ten einde die impak van sulke fondse te verhoog. Internasionale befondsing vir ontwikkelende lande is dikwels gebaseer op rigiede riglyne, vereistes, beperkings en voorwaardes. Dit is hierdie voorwaardes wat hersien moet word ten einde meer toepaslik vir toestande in ontwikkelende lande te wees. Slegs deur die ontleding van gevallestudies en lesse daaruit geleer is dit moontlik vir internasionale befondsers om meer innoverende en effektiewe ontwikkeling aan behoeftiges te fasiliteer. Die navorsingsbevindings is afgelei uit die analise van die literatuurstudie insake internasionale befondsing, asook die analise van die twee organisasies in die gevallestudie, naamlik die "Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA)" en die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisie Diens (SAPD). Die SAPD is een van vele organisasies wat internasionale bystand ontvang en word reeds sedert 1994 deur DANIDA ondersteun. Befondsing vir die projek waarop die gevallestudie gebaseer is, was toegestaan nadat die projekvoorstel geformuleer is volgens die vereistes van die "DANIDA Guideline for Project Preparation". Laasgenoemde is 'n stel riglyne wat voorgeskryf word aan alle organisasies wat vir befondsing wil kwalifiseer. Alle befondsingsorganisasies het soortgelyke riglyne, alhoewel dit duidelik is dat sommiges veel meer rigied en voorskrywend is as ander. Uit die studie is 'n stel aanbevelings ontwikkel rakende die riglyne soos gebruik deur internasionale ontwikkelingsorganisasies. Dit blyk rasioneel om die lys van aanbevelings te verdeel volgens voorstelle rondom die vereiste struktuur van ontwikkelingsorganisasies, asook voorstelle aangaande die vereiste aspekte wat ingesluit moet word in die projekvoorstel en implementering. Aanbevelings insake die struktuur het ten doelom vas te stel watter vlak van betrokkenheid van die befondser benodig word; om die nodige geletterdheidsvlak vir die nakoming van die befondsingsvereistes te bepaal; om die vlak van betrokkenheid van eksterne konsultante te bepaal; om gereelde hersiening te verseker; en om konflik oplossing te verseker. Aspekte om in te sluit in die projekvoorstel en implementering is gebaseer op die versekering van gelyke geleenthede in terme van diversiteit en geslagsbewustheid; om volhoubaarheid van die projek na te streef; vir alle partye om betrokke te wees in die samestelling van die projekdoelwitte en om te verseker dat die projek die oorkoepelende ontwikkelingsdoelwitte van die begunstige land verteenwoordig. Alhoewel party van hierdie aanbevelings reeds toegepas word deur sekere organisasies, is dit noodsaaklik om alle aanbevelings in ag te neem ten einde 'n suksesvolle uitkoms van die projek te verseker. Elke aanbeveling verteenwoordig 'n boublok van ontwikkeling en almal is interafhanklik tot mekaar. Die algemene bevinding van hierdie studie is dat 'n bepaalde vlak van voorwaardelikheid noodsaaklik is. Daar kan nie verwag word dat ekonomiese hulp verskaf word sonder voorwaardes nie, maar laasgenoemde moet regverdig wees, voordelig vir die begunstigde land wees, en verseker dat ontwikkeling van diegene wat in armoede leef wel die uitkoms van alle befondsing is.

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Master of Technology: Quality in the Faculty of Engineering At the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012 / New Product Development (NPD) is a complicated process that determines success or failure of any company engaging in product development processes. Over the past years, due to the current highly competitive market environment, poor management skills, lack of innovation and customer concern, many companies are struggling to develop new products while simultaneously maintaining high quality of each of these new products. Various studies described that quality management is critical to prolong the life cycle of new products. Thus, this study focused on the key success factors of NPD and integrated quality management strategies into NPD process. This study was conducted at a local plastic packaging and load securing company in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. A combination of both qualitative and quantitative research approaches was conducted. Both management (n1=5) the staff members (n2=24) who are involved in the NPD process were selected as samples. A semi-structured questionnaire and several interviews (in-depth and focused group) were utilised for data collection. A statistical programme (SPSS V20) was employed to generate descriptive statistical results and test the reliability of all the variables. The study results identified that the key quality determinants of the NPD process were are NPD reviews, verifications and validations. In addition, for the NPD process to be successful, the company should focus on the development of the NPD strategy, availability of skills and resources including NPD competence, product quality, empowered multidisciplinary teams and effective risk management. Based on the research findings, this study recommends that the company should have more focuses on the areas of customer dissatisfaction, product quality, and prototype planning in their NPD processes.

This research studies the competencies of International Development (ID) project managers from their perspectives, taking into consideration the contextual factors and the challenges that they face when managing ID projects. The study adopts a constructionist ontological viewpoint and an interpretivist epistemological philosophical assumption. The nature of the research is exploratory with an inductive approach, using qualitative research method. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with experienced project managers in International Development projects. Template analysis strategy was used to analyse the data. The findings show that contextual factors have a significant influence on the challenges that ID project managers face when managing projects. Contextual factors are operating environment, large network of stakeholders and intangible goals of ID projects. Five challenges were identified as the results of the context, namely stakeholder management challenge, beneficiary needs analysis challenge, the challenge of balancing strategic and operational views, capacity building and training challenge and sustainable funding challenge. To overcome these challenges, seven ID project manager competencies were identified management skills, personal qualities, interpersonal skills, stakeholder engagement skills, capacity building skills, and change management skills. These competencies are found to be interrelated and complementary. While the role and responsibilities of ID project managers were also uncovered during the research, the findings on contextual factors, challenges and competencies help to better understand the ID project manager role and responsibilities. This study makes the contributions from both theoretical and practical point of view. With regards to theoretical contribution, our findings expanded on ID project manager competencies as well as relating them to the context and challenges in ID projects. The role and responsibilities of ID project manager is another theoretical contribution in this study. From a practical point of view, this thesis’s findings would be useful for various organizations who deliver ID projects, particularly human resources management. In addition, it can act as knowledge sharing with ID project managers and help in designing and enhancing educational programmes in ID project management. Overall, this could result in better delivery and overcoming the challenges of International Development projects.

Um dos grandes desafios das empresas para maximizarem sua capacidade de inovação, necessidade preemente nos dias atuais, é o desenvolvimento de mecanismos que proporcionem a obtenção da complementaridade de competências entre duas ou mais empresas (MOFFAT; GERWIN; MEISTER, 1997). Entre estes mecanismos encontram-se as alianças estratégicas para o desenvolvimento de novos produtos, fenômeno relativamente recente e que já pode ser considerado como tendência nas decisões de pesquisa e desenvolvimento (P&D). O foco do presente trabalho é a análise destas alianças estratégicas, através do estudo da teoria já existente, fazendo surgir reflexões importantes e gerando novas contribuições. O escopo do estudo é, sem dúvida, a questão organizacional, em uma visão macro, permitindo uma análise sistêmica do fenômeno. Muitos trabalhos trazem separadamente temas acerca das alianças estratégicas para o desenvolvimento de novos produtos. Surge com isso, como conseqüência, a oportunidade de estruturação desses elementos, aparentemente dispersos, em uma síntese teórica ou estrutura conceitual, o que possibilita uma compreensão mais profunda do tema. Além disso, é feita uma organização e estudo das variáveis existentes no fenômeno para contribuir com as decisões acerca da forma organizacional mais adequada às alianças / One of the great challenges of the companies to maximize its capability of innovation, an urgent necessity in current days, is the development of mechanisms that allow the complementing of competences between two or more companies (MOFFAT; GERWIN; MEISTER, 1997). One of these mechanisms is the strategic alliances for new product development, a relatively recent phenomenon and one that already can be considered as a trend in research and development (R&D) decisions. The focus of the present work is the analysis of these strategic alliances, through the study of the existing theory, causing important reflections to emerge and generating new contributions. The scope of the study is, with no doubt, the organizational problem, in a macro viewpoint, which makes possible a systemic analysis of the phenomenon. Many papers separately bring subjects concerning the strategic alliances for new product development. That brings the opportunity to structure these elements, apparently dispersed, in a theoretical synthesis or conceptual structure, which makes possible a deeper understanding of the subject. Moreover, the existing variables in the phenomenon are studied and organized, so that this contributes to arrive at the decisions concerning the most suitable organizational format for the alliances.