Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att ta reda på vilka faktorer och risker som påverkar köpbeslutet för en konsument gällande en ny innovativ produkt. Uppsatsen kan på så sätt bidra med kunskap och förståelse för företag som vill utveckla den här typen av produkter. Studiens inriktning och syfte togs fram i samarbete med textilföretaget FOV Fabrics. Med utgångspunkt ur syftet och problemet genomfördes en enkätundersökning som kompletterades med semi-strukturerade intervjuer med fyra av enkätrespondenterna. Resultatet av enkätundersökningen analyserades och jämfördes med resultatet av intervjuerna. Enkät- och intervjurespondenterna delades in i två grupper, adoptörer och icke-adoptörer, baserat på om de valt att adoptera produkten i fråga eller ej. Grupperna analyserades och jämfördes för att få en förståelse för varför konsumenter adopterar nya produkter och varför vissa inte gör det. Studien visade att adoptering av nya produkter inte kan göras konkret för produkter överlag, då processen skiljer sig bland produktkategorier. Den här studien visar endast hur köpbeslutsprocessen för specifikt en skjorta i funktionsmaterial kan gå till, vilket även kan gälla för andra plagg med samma material men inte för andra produktkategorier. Studien visade på att adoptörer, bestående av innovators och early adopters, är främst mottagliga för nya innovationer. De består av tekniska, funktionsorienterade individer. Förutom funktionerna skjortan erbjuder (vattenavvisande, smutsavvisande, strykfri, antibakteriell) värderar de passform, komfort och design i ett plagg. Det är innovatörerna som bör adoptera produkten för att produkten ska kunna accepteras av majoriteten av konsumenterna. För att en adoption ska kunna ske av mer skeptiska konsumenter är det viktigt med tillförlitlighet och ett varumärke konsumenten kan lita på, om inte informationen och kunskapen om produkten är tillräcklig. / The purpose of this paper is to find the different factors and risks that affect the buying decision for a consumer when being faced with an innovative product. The study can contribute with knowledge and an understanding for companies that are looking to develop this type of products. The focus and purpose was developed in cooperation with the textile company FOV Fabrics. With the purpose and the problematics as a basis, a survey was completed alongside semi-structured interviews with four of the respondents from the survey. The result from the survey was analyzed and compared with the results from the interviews. All of the respondents were divided into two groups, adopters and non-adopters, based on if they wanted to adopt the product in question or not. The two groups were analyzed and compared to reach an understanding to why consumers choose to adopt new products and why some of them do not. The study showed that adoption of new products is not something that can be defined for all products, as the process differentiates between product categories. This study only shows what the buying decision process looks like for a shirt made of functional material, which can be translated to another garment with the same material, but not through other product categories. The study also showed that the adopters are consisting of innovators and early adopters, which are most receptive to new innovations. They are technical, function- oriented individuals. Besides the functions in the shirt (water repellant, stain resistant, non-iron, anti-bacterial) they value fit, comfort and design in garments. The innovators should adopt the product so it can be accepted by the majority of the consumers later on. To achieve an adoption by the skeptical consumers, reliability is an important factor and a brand that the consumer can trust, if the knowledge and information about the product is not sufficient enough. Please note that the paper is written in Swedish.

Die vorliegende Ausgabe untersucht theoretische und empirische Ergebnisse zu Hemmnissen in Entscheidungsprozessen in Organisationen. Zu Beginn steht die Aufarbeitung der Theorie zum Hemmnisbegriff anhand folgender Forschungsfragen: Wie wird der Hemmnisbegriff definiert? Welche Wörter werden synonym verwendet? Wie entstehen Hemmnisse? Was gibt es für Methoden zur Messung und Bewertung von Hemmnissen? Ausgehend von diesen theoretischen Betrachtungen erfolgt eine Zusammenschau von 104 empirischen Studien zu Hemmnissen in Entscheidungsprozessen unter der Fragestellung: Was gibt es für empirische Studien zu diesem Thema? Wie unterschieden sich diese bzw. wie lassen sie sich charakterisieren und systematisieren? Dabei werden der Hintergrund der Studien (Land, Branche, Ent-scheidungsprozess, Befragte), ihre Methodik, die Methodik der Hemmnisanalyse, der Hemmnisbegriff und die Entstehungsfaktoren betrachtet. Zur Systematisierung der Studien werden Gruppierungsansätze nach einzelnen Merkmalen (Veröffentlichungsjahrzehnt, Kontinent, Entwicklungsniveau des untersuchten Landes, Branche, Entscheidungsprozess, Studienmethodik) und eine Clusteranalyse über 49 Variablen durchgeführt. Die Gruppierungsansätze werden mittels ihrer Aussagekraft zum Entscheidungsprozess, zur Hemmnismethodik und zu den Entstehungsfaktoren von Hemmnissen beurteilt. Die Aufschlüsselung nach Entscheidungsprozessen erscheint als empfehlenswert. Die Ergebnisse der Clusteranalyse lassen darauf schließen, dass sich die Studien relativ ähnlich sind. Zusammenfassend gibt es keine allgemeingültige First-Best-Lösung zur Systematisierung der Studien. Die Gruppierungsansätze bewegen sich im Spannungsdreieck, möglichst von der Größe her vergleichbare aber vom Inhalt her unterscheidbare Studiengruppen zu bilden und dabei alle Studien in die Gruppierung einzubeziehen. Der zu wählende Gruppierungsansatz ist davon abhängig, welche Forschungsfragen im Vordergrund der jeweiligen Untersuchung stehen.

In view of the latest corporate collapses globally, the purpose of this thesis is an attempt to investigate and to theorise how managers make decisions when faced with an ethical dilemma.Philosophers over the years have proposed different moral theories. For example, Kantian’s Categorical Imperative (O’Neil 2001, Peters, 1971) suggests that there are laws that should apply universally. However, its principles are too abstract to guide action, in that it does not provide a detailed set of instructions for following them. Others such as Baier, (2001) suggest that people behave to satisfy their own self-interest. The literature review shows that there is no consensus to define what constitutes ethical behaviour. Kohlberg (1981) divides childhood moral development into six stages. He theorises that greater moral development will be related to the highest social responsibility of an individual. Lagon (2000), Seabright and Moberg (1998), Logsdon and Yuthas (1997) extrapolate Kohlberg’s model to incorporate into organisational and individual moral development.Based on the literature review, research questions were developed. The research methodology is qualitative, based on the realism paradigm using a case research design (Yin 1994). Face to face interviews were conducted with fourteen participants using critical incidents and the findings were triangulated using a semi-structured focus group.The research data analysis is based on grounded theory proposed by Glaser and Strauss (1967). The findings confirm that there is no single theory or approach to business ethics. The findings indicate that a person’s ethical behaviour changes when his/her self-interest is affected. Whilst participants believed that business and ethics can be reconciled, most agreed that they can only be reconciled if the individual’s interest or business profit is not affected. Based on the findings, a new model is proposed in an attempt to theorise an individual’s business ethical behaviour and his/her ethical decision making process.This research also identifies important areas that require further research. These are:• Conflicts between personal values and business values• Should ethics be taught? And if so how?• Should an ethical programme be developed and incorporated in a company’s strategic plan?

In view of the latest corporate collapses globally, the purpose of this thesis is an attempt to investigate and to theorise how managers make decisions when faced with an ethical dilemma.Philosophers over the years have proposed different moral theories. For example, Kantian’s Categorical Imperative (O’Neil 2001, Peters, 1971) suggests that there are laws that should apply universally. However, its principles are too abstract to guide action, in that it does not provide a detailed set of instructions for following them. Others such as Baier, (2001) suggest that people behave to satisfy their own self-interest. The literature review shows that there is no consensus to define what constitutes ethical behaviour. Kohlberg (1981) divides childhood moral development into six stages. He theorises that greater moral development will be related to the highest social responsibility of an individual. Lagon (2000), Seabright and Moberg (1998), Logsdon and Yuthas (1997) extrapolate Kohlberg’s model to incorporate into organisational and individual moral development.Based on the literature review, research questions were developed. The research methodology is qualitative, based on the realism paradigm using a case research design (Yin 1994). Face to face interviews were conducted with fourteen participants using critical incidents and the findings were triangulated using a semi-structured focus group.The research data analysis is based on grounded theory proposed by Glaser and Strauss (1967). The findings confirm that there is no single theory or approach to business ethics. The findings indicate that a person’s ethical behaviour changes when his/her self-interest is affected. Whilst participants believed that business and ethics can be reconciled, most agreed that they can only be reconciled if the individual’s interest or business profit is not affected. Based on the findings, a new model is proposed in an attempt to theorise an individual’s business ethical behaviour and his/her ethical decision making process.This research also identifies important areas that require further research. These are:• Conflicts between personal values and business values• Should ethics be taught? And if so how?• Should an ethical programme be developed and incorporated in a company’s strategic plan?

Η παρούσα διατριβή έχει στόχο τη διερεύνηση της επίδρασης της νέας ιατρικής τεχνολογίας στην αποτελεσματικότητα παραγωγής των Μονάδων Εντατικής Θεραπείας (ΜΕΘ) στην Ελλάδα, καθώς και τον εντοπισμό των στοιχείων που επηρεάζουν τη διαδικασία λήψης αποφάσεων στο πλαίσιο του Εθνικού Συστήματος Υγείας (ΕΣΥ) για την υιοθέτηση ιατρικής τεχνολογίας. Για την εκτίμηση της αποτελεσματικότητας κάθε μονάδας, εφαρμόζεται η τεχνική bootstrapped DEA των Simar και Wilson (2007), ενώ για την διερεύνηση των στοιχείων που οδηγούν στην απόφαση υιοθέτησης γίνεται χρήση υποδειγμάτων probit. Κατόπιν, με τη χρήση υποδειγμάτων επιβίωσης εντοπίζονται οι παράγοντες που κατηγοριοποιούν τις Νοσοκομειακές μονάδες αναφορικά με το χρόνο υιοθέτησης. Ο αξονικός τομογράφος στα δημόσια νοσοκομεία χρησιμοποιείται σαν μελέτη περίπτωσης. Η μελέτη κατέδειξε ελλείμματα τόσο στην τεχνική αποτελεσματικότητα όσο και στην αποτελεσματικότητα κλίμακας στις περισσότερες μονάδες που εξετάστηκαν, κυρίως λόγω έλλειψης νοσηλευτικού προσωπικού. Τα αποτελέσματα δείχνουν ότι αν και η τεχνική αποτελεσματικότητα επωφελείται από την ενσωμάτωση των νέων ιατρικών τεχνολογιών, η αποτελεσματικότητα κλίμακας παραμένει ανεπηρέαστη. Αναφορικά με το την πιθανότητα και το χρόνο υιοθέτησης, διαπιστώθηκε ότι το μέγεθος του νοσοκομείου και η πληρότητα επιδρούν θετικά. Τέλος, τα συμπεράσματα επεξηγούν το βαθμό στον οποίο η υιοθέτηση νέας τεχνολογίας επηρεάζει τόσο την αποτελεσματικότητα των Νοσοκομειακών μονάδων γενικότερα, όσο και τη διαδικασία λήψης σχετικών αποφάσεων. Η παρούσα Διατριβή συμβάλλει στην γενικότερη ανάπτυξη της αποτελεσματικότητας του Συστήματος Υγείας και στην προώθηση του διαλόγου μεταξύ των εμπλεκόμενων στα θέματα διοίκησης και διαχείρισης του Συστήματος Υγείας. / This thesis aims to investigate the effect of new medical technology on the production efficiency of Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in Greece and unravel the elements which influence the decision making process concerning the adoption of new medical technologies in the context of the Greek Health System. In order to evaluate the efficiency of each Unit, the bootstrapped DEA of Simar and Wilson (2007) is applied, while a probit model is used for exploring the elements that lead to the adoption decision. Then, the factors that categorize hospitals regarding the timing of adoption are identified through the use of survival models. Computerized tomography in the Greek public sector is used as a case study. The study demonstrated deficits in both technical and scale efficiency in most Units, mainly due to lack of nursing staff. The results show that while technical efficiency has benefited from new medical technology integration, the scale efficiency remains unaffected. With respect to the likelihood and the time of adoption, it was found that the hospital’s size and plenitude have positive impact. Finally, the findings explain the extent to which health technology adoption affects both the hospital’s efficiency and the decision-making process. The present thesis contributes to the overall increase of the Health System efficiency as well as in promoting the dialogue between health administrators.

This thesis examines the political trajectory of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) during the period from the 1982 eviction of the Palestinian factions from their headquarters in Beirut, to the 2006-07 division between Hamas and Fatah in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). During this period, the PFLP experienced a process of decline that resulted in its marginalisation within the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the wider Palestinian national movement. This study addresses the issue of the PFLP’s decline by focusing on its own political agency to determine the role of policy and decision making, ideology and political narrative in the marginalisation process. This work therefore, on the one hand, aims at putting the PFLP’s decline into historical perspective, identifying it as a process rather than simply the effect of outstanding events as it is often argued. On the other, its goal is to ascribe to ‘subjective factors’, namely aspects directly linked to the PFLP’s agency, the adequate weight in determining its decline. This appears particularly significant as the weakening of the Palestinian left has been frequently explained as a by-product of global and local external or ‘objective’ developments such as the downfall of the Soviet Union or the emergence of political Islam. By providing a comprehensive and processual analysis of the PFLP’s decline, this study not only aims at complementing the literature on the Palestinian national movement, which still lacks a focused approach on the main Palestinian leftist force. It also aims at shedding light on a major cause, and its historical origins, of the current Palestinian political impasse, namely the absence of an alternative between Hamas and the PNA’s governing entities, both crippled by a legitimacy crisis and unable to progress Palestinian interests. By virtue of its close survey of the PFLP’s conduct, a further goal of this thesis is to address the historical role of the PLO and its de-facto heir, the PNA. What is evidenced is the double, and contradictory, role of the essential but also constraining framework that the PLO and later the PNA represented for the PFLP’s policies. The focus on the PFLP’s political agency allows the identification of a pattern in its policy which affected negatively its standing within the Palestinian national movement. Throughout the period addressed, policy fluctuation marked the PFLP’s action, undermining the effectiveness of its political line and jeopardising its political weight. The present study highlights how such a policy fluctuation pattern originated from major dilemmas and contradictions that the PFLP had to consider while producing its policies. The main dilemma, informing all other sources of tensions affecting the PFLP, has been defined as an ‘opposition-integration’ dilemma. In other words, the PFLP, while opposing the PLO leadership’s policies, first and foremost its quest for a diplomatic settlement with Israel under US patronage, needed to maintain its integration within the PLO regime, which represented an essential economic and political framework. This produced inconsistent, ‘fluctuant’ policies that prevented the PFLP from maintaining its political weight and stopping its marginalisation process. This opposition-integration dilemma was combined with other sources of tensions marking the PFLP such as: relations with other PLO opposition factions, relations with Arab partners, its contacts with Palestinian Islamists, the confrontation with the PNA after the 1993 Oslo accords or the internal divide between the exiled leadership and the cadres located in the OPT. The PFLP’s official publications, mainly retrieved from its mouthpiece, Al-Hadaf magazine, embodied the main source upon which this study relies. Beside this corpus of documents, other primary sources, such as documents issued by relevant actors, have been scrutinised, while all information has been read against the background of the wider academic literature currently available on the Palestinian national movement. This research also drew information from interviews with former and current PFLP members as well as with experts of the Palestinian national movement.

Considerando-se a importância das relações sociais e da influência interpessoal no comportamento dos indivíduos de baixa renda, este estudo apresenta como objetivo identificar e analisar os grupos de referência valorizados pelas consumidoras de baixa renda em seu processo de decisão de compra. Para a coleta de dados, utilizou-se uma abordagem multimétodo fundamentada, primeiro, em entrevistas em profundidade com 12 mulheres e, depois, na técnica de Análise Conjunta com uma amostra de 53 entrevistadas pertencentes a esse segmento. Devido à crise econômica vivida atualmente, mostrou-se necessário delimitar o contexto da pesquisa a um bem que permanecesse atrativo nessas circunstâncias: o batom. Trata-se de uma categoria de produto de alto envolvimento, capaz de representar o segmento de cosméticos como um todo, associando-se à autoestima, à sensação de bem-estar e ao reconhecimento social. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que as consumidoras de baixa renda valorizam a presença de diferentes grupos de referência em seu processo de decisão. Especificamente, identificaram-se dois grupos de respondentes com preferências distintas quanto aos grupos de referência. Diante disso, ressalta-se que as principais contribuições desta pesquisa foram a observação de perfis diferentes dentro do segmento de baixa renda, o desenvolvimento do conhecimento sobre o processo de decisão de compra dessas mulheres e a identificação de apelos de grupos de referência que as empresas podem usar para atrair consumidoras de baixa renda. / Considering the importance of social relations and interpersonal influence on the behavior of low-income individuals, this study aims to identify and analyze the reference groups valued by low-income female consumers in their decision-making process. A multimethod approach was employed. First, the data were collected through in-depth interviews with 12 low-income women. Subsequently, a conjoint analysis technique was applied with a sample of 53 female interviewees belonging to this segment. Due to the current economic crisis, it was necessary to delimit the research context to a product that remained attractive in these circumstances: lipstick. It is a high involvement product category, capable of representing the segment of cosmetics as a whole, being related to self-esteem, a sense of well-being and recognition. Results showed that low-income female consumers value the presence of different reference groups in their decision-making process. Specifically, it was possible to identify two groups of respondents with distinct preferences regarding the reference groups. Therefore, the main contributions of this research were the observation of different profiles within the low-income segment, the development of knowledge about the decision-making process of these women, and the identification of reference group appeals that companies can use to attract low-income female consumers.

With the recent boom in big data and the continuous need for innovation, Artificial Intelligence is carving out a bigger place in our society. Through its computer-based capabilities, it brings new possibilities to tackle many issues within organizations. It also raises new challenges about its use and limits. This thesis aims to provide a better understanding of the role of humans and Artificial Intelligence in the organizational decision making process. The research focuses on knowledge-intensive firms. The main research question that guides our study is the following one:   How can Artificial Intelligence re-design and develop the process of organizational decision making within knowledge-intensive firms?   We formulated three more detailed questions to guide us: (1) What are the roles of humans and Artificial Intelligence in the decision making process? (2) How can organizational design support the decision making process through the use of Artificial Intelligence? (3) How can Artificial Intelligence help to overcome the challenges experienced by decision makers within knowledge-intensive firms and what are the new challenges that arise from the use of Artificial Intelligence in the decision making process?   We adopted an interpretivist paradigm together with a qualitative study, as presented in section 3. We investigated our research topic within two big IT firms and two real estate startups that are using AI. We conducted six semi-structured interviews to enable us to gain better knowledge and in-depth understanding about the roles of humans and Artificial Intelligence in the decision making process within knowledge-intensive firms. Our review led us to the theoretical framework explained in section 2, on which we based our interviews.   The results and findings that emerged from the interviews follow the same structure than the theoretical review and provide insightful information in order to answer the research question. To analyze and discuss our empirical findings that are summarized in the chapter 5 and in a chart in the appendix 4, we used the general analytical procedure for qualitative studies. The structure of chapter 5 follows the same order than the three sub questions.   The thesis highlights how a deep understanding of Artificial Intelligence and its integration in the process of organizational decision making of knowledge-intensive firms enable humans to be augmented and to make smarter decisions. It appears that Artificial Intelligence is used as a decision making support rather than an autonomous decision maker, and that organizations adopt smoother and more collaborative designs in order to make the best of it within their decision making process. Artificial Intelligence is an efficient tool to deal with complex situations, whereas human capabilities seem to be more relevant in situations of uncertainty and ambiguity. Artificial Intelligence also raises new issues for organizations regarding its responsibility and acceptation by society as there is a grey area surrounding machines in front of ethics and laws.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Carolina Kern.pdf: 6779685 bytes, checksum: 144cc5dc364ecdc5e259325de6c72322 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-11-17 / Mergers and acquisitions activities, also known in the market as M&A, have been an important strategy adopted by CEOs to ensure domestic and international competitiveness, motivated by many reasons: need for growth, market share increase, entry barriers increase/growth, knowledge acquisition (human capital, tecnology and process), synergies, among others. Even though there are studies about M&A seeking for a better understanding of the problems related to strategy and decision making process alignment, critical success factors, due diligence best practices, valuations and integrations needs during the implementation of a merger or acquisition, only a few have focused on the cognitive biases of a M&A decision making process. In this way, the main purpose of this research is to present a consolidation of the main hidden traps in M&A decision making process. In a complementary manner, this study also sought the following secondary goals: understand the process of mergers and acquisitions, identify the main steps and decision points in the M&A process, analyse the traps regarding a decision making process. Therefore, it was conducted a qualitative research contemplating interviews with 15 profissionals that have had relevant participation on M&A projects of brazilian companies from different industries that have been merged, have acquired or have been acquired by another company, between 2009 and 2015. The informations obtained in the interviews were consolidated and analysed by the discourse analysis methodology. As a result, this research showed that M&A decisions are extremely complex and involve great uncertainty, which implies a bigger risk of decision traps occurrence. Among these hidden traps that have greater influence in M&A decisions, according to this study, contextualization was the one that presented the most dominance, followed by evidence of confirmation and anchoring. / A atividade de fusões e aquisições, também conhecida no mercado como M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions), tem sido uma relevante estratégia adotada pelos CEOs para garantir a competitividade em mercados doméstico e internacional, sendo justificada por diversos fatores, dentre eles: necessidade de crescimento, aumento do market share, criação e/ou aumento de barreiras de entrada, aquisição de conhecimento (capital humano, tecnologia e processos) e busca por sinergias. Ainda que existam estudos sobre M&A visando uma melhor compreensão dos problemas relacionados ao alinhamento entre a estratégia e a tomada de decisão, dos fatores críticos de sucesso, melhores práticas para condução de due diligence (processo de investigação e auditoria), valorações econômicas e integrações na implementação da fusão ou aquisição, poucos se debruçaram em analisar as armadilhas do processo decisório de M&A, no que diz respeito aos vieses psicológicos existentes ao longo da tomada de decisão. Desta forma, o objetivo central da presente pesquisa é apresentar a consolidação da análise das principais armadilhas que interferem no processo decisório de fusões e aquisições. De maneira complementar, também se almejou alcançar os seguintes objetivos intermediários: compreender o processo de fusões e aquisições; identificar as principais etapas e pontos de decisão no processo decisório de fusões e aquisições; analisar as armadilhas inerentes a uma tomada de decisão. Assim, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa que, além de revisão de literatura, contou com a realização de entrevistas com 15 profissionais que tiveram atuação relevante em projetos de M&A de empresas brasileiras que adquiriram, foram adquiridas ou realizaram fusões entre 2009 e 2015, em diversos segmentos da indústria. As informações obtidas foram compiladas e analisadas através da metodologia de Análise de Discurso. Como resultado, esta pesquisa mostrou que decisões de M&A são extremamente complexas e apresentam alto grau de incerteza, o que implica em um maior risco da ocorrência de armadilhas psicológicas. Dentre as armadilhas que exercem maior influência nas decisões de fusões e aquisições, de acordo com este estudo, a contextualização foi a que apresentou maior dominância, seguida pela evidência de confirmação e ancoragem.