The aim for this study is to identify the critical factors for an implementation of Lean for a micro company in the start-up phase, as well as to identify which Lean practices that are most applicable for a distribution strategy in a micro company. The aim was divided into two research questions: • RQ1: Which factors of a Lean implementation is critical for a producing micro company in the start-up phase? • RQ2: How applicable are lean tools and practices for a micro company’s distribution strategy? The research approach used to answer the aim and research questions were a literature review and a case study. A solid literature review was performed to understand the subject in a broader context as well as to compensate for the empirical findings. The case study was conducted at a micro company in the construction industry in Sweden, which currently has no distribution strategy. Since there is limited information related to micro companies, the study has been expanded to also include SMEs. Several factors were identified as critical for an implementation for a micro company. The factors were categorized as critical, favorable, hindering and driving. The identified most relevant critical factors for micro companies was the leadership and management as well as financial capabilities. This was found to be in line with the theoretical framework. Furthermore, an identification was that the Lean tools and practices that were the most applicable for a micro company were those that focus on the internal processes and the involvement of the workforce, such as 5S, PDCA and visual management. These tools were the most applicable because of the financial aspects as well as the lack of influence that a micro company has over its supply chain. It is recommended to perform a similar case study in a micro company with a higher level of maturity and has started their distribution of goods to further analyze tangible empirical data. Lean concerning micro companies need further research if it should become attractive and achievable for micro companies.

The aim of this work is to simulate and to try to predict a distribution strategy by opening the northern highway in the Czech Republic based on the current traffic flows and existing trends. The speedway R35 will be after the completion of all platforms the northern backbone route connecting Bohemia and Moravia. With an overall length of 260 km it will be the longest Czech speedway. Another attraction of this highway is the connection of four regional cities and six strokes crossing the motorway network. The prediction of traffic volume will have a task to reveal the simulation model of overt and covert traffic flows, including the approximate volumes of traffic. The author assumes that the completion of the R35 between Mohelnice and eastern Bohemia will have a strategic importance not only for relieving highway D1, but also due to the conversion of the distribution strategy in the whole country, including new opportunities for the construction of distribution centers strategically located.

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In this dissertation, I explore some facets of the strategic interaction between brand equity and distribution channels. Specifically, I examine how brand equity influences the firm’s channel governance and channel management strategies. In this regard, I address the following two general research questions: (a) does a firm’s brand equity influence the way it governs its distribution channel? How? (b) Does a firm’s brand equity influence the way it manages its distribution channel? How? Using a wide assortment of archival data sources (e.g., Bond's Franchise Guide, Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500, Factiva, LexisNexis, University of Chicago’s Center for Research in Security Prices, Compustat, Statista, firms’ annual reports, Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal databases, and companies’ official websites), two large multi-year data sets, a variety of econometric techniques (e.g., Event Study, Multiple Regression, Probit, Multi-level Mixed-Effects Linear Models, Multinomial Logistic Regression, Generalized Linear Models, Multinomial Probit, Maximum Likelihood, Bayesian Panel Vector Autoregression), and drawing on several theories from marketing, economics, business law, and strategic management, I uncover some interesting strategic interactions taking place at the brand-channel interface. This dissertation comprises five chapters: three empirical studies (chapters 2, 3, and 4), an introduction, and a conclusion chapter. In the introduction chapter, I provide a snapshot of the current state of knowledge in the brand-channel interface research domain and illustrate how I situate this dissertation within that body of research. Besides, I provide a more nuanced view about the specific research questions each study addresses and a glimpse into the findings and implications of each study, as an entry to the dissertation. In chapter 2, using a large panel data set of North American, franchise-level annual observations for the period from 2001 to 2009, I assess the causal link between brand equity and channel governance structure, and discuss the managerial implications of this relationship in the areas of channel governance and capital allocation decision-making. In chapters 3 and 4, I stay within the same overarching theme of this dissertation and delve into a business phenomenon taking place at the brand-channel interface – gray markets. Despite the interdisciplinary research interest in gray markets, it remains one of the least empirically researched topics in business management due to the well-known data accessibility issues. To circumvent those data barriers that impede empirical research on gray markets, I adopt a novel approach for data collection and analysis. To that end, I study the gray market combating behavior of more than 3,000 public companies, company-by-company, for a period of twenty years. Then, using a collection of archival data sources I assemble a unique data set to use in my analyses. In chapter 3, I undertake the first empirical inquiry into the effect of gray market combating on firm performance and the contingencies that govern this effect. In chapter 4, I conduct a comprehensive review of the gray market combating mechanisms present in the literature, review available theoretic arguments about them, posit theoretical relationships, and conduct the first assessment of the financial efficacy of those different combating mechanisms. Then, I identify a number of firm-level factors that may drive the firm’s choice of gray market combating mechanism. The findings of these two studies address some long-standing, focal research questions in the gray market literature, provide managers with many valuable, actionable insights and recommendations, and put before policymakers some novel, revealing scientific evidence that may help them in dealing with the gray market controversy (e.g., whether the net impact of gray markets on firm performance and social welfare is benign or harmful, the necessity and/or merit of an active legislative role). The conclusion chapter closes this dissertation by reflecting on the new knowledge created by this research and highlighting its significance to theory, practice, and policymaking. / Thesis / Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) / The relationship between brand equity and distribution channel strategy is recognized in practice and is of particular interest to senior managers. However, research in marketing on the topic is scant and our understanding of this relationship remains limited. This dissertation endeavors to advance our knowledge in that area by investigating how a firm’s brand equity affects its channel management and channel governance behavior. Using a variety of research methods and statistical techniques, along with two large multi-year, multi-sector data samples, I document some interesting strategic interactions taking place at the brand-channel interface. Notably, I detect a causal influence for brand equity on the way a firm governs its distribution network. Additionally, I observe that brand equity is not only a major driver of certain strategic channel management initiatives (e.g., gray market combating), but also a key determinant of the financial efficacy of those initiatives. The findings of this research pose significant implications for theory, practice, and policymaking and address some questions that puzzled practitioners and scholars for more than three decades.

Цель работы заключается в совершенствовании методического инструментария формирования стратегии распределения продукции промышленного предприятия и его распределительной сети. В работе исследованы теоретические основы формирования распределительной стратегии предприятия, уточнена классификация стратегий распределения и обоснована взаимосвязь логистических стратегий предприятия с его корпоративными и конкурентными стратегиями. Изучен опыт зарубежных и отечественных промышленных предприятий по формированию стратегий распределения и распределительных сетей. Разработан методический подход к выбору стратегии распределения продукции промышленного предприятия, основанный на ранжировании целевых ориентиров компании и учете ее конкурентной и логистической стратегий, позволяющий повысить эффективность распределительной деятельности предприятия. Разработан алгоритм формирования распределительной сети предприятия включающий различные наборы операций и технологии их реализации в зависимости от выбранной стратегии распределения, что позволяет сформировать наиболее эффективную распределительную сеть для условий деятельности конкретного предприятия. / The aim of the work is to improve the methodological tools for forming a distribution strategy for the products of an industrial enterprise and its distribution network. In work theoretical bases of formation of distributive strategy of the enterprise are investigated, the classification of distribution strategies is clarified and the interrelation of logistical strategies of the enterprise with its corporate and competitive strategies is grounded. The experience of foreign and domestic industrial enterprises in the formation of distribution strategies and distribution networks has been studied. A methodical approach to the selection of a strategy for the distribution of products of an industrial enterprise was developed, based on the ranking of the company's target targets and taking into account its competitive and logistical strategies, which makes it possible to improve the efficiency of the enterprise's distribution activities. An algorithm is developed for the formation of the enterprise's distribution network, which includes various sets of operations and technologies for their implementation, depending on the chosen distribution strategy, which allows to form the most efficient distribution network for the operating conditions of a particular enterprise.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:53:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TOSO_Milton_2014.pdf: 4696426 bytes, checksum: eb35afc135023b0b234ffd6a28263264 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-20 / The main purpose of this dissertation is to propose a methodology framework using multicriteria decision-making method, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), to define the configuration of logistics operations at the distribution centers in the Brazilian retail market. This framework is based on an approach in which the choice of operational alternatives used in the internal activities of a distribution center (receiving, storage, picking and shipping) depend on the distribution strategy as well as the attributes and requirements of the business environment of the company. In order to develop this work, a bibliographic research has been performed in the following fields: logistics and distribution strategy, functions, activities and management of distribution centers and decision-making. It has been carried out interviews in the research field with the high management representatives from large logistics providers with the aim of determining which business requirements might be considered in the approach. The interviews have been also important to determine the preferences and weights to the attributes used for decision-making. The proposed framework has been also used in a case study in order to validate the attributes and has served too as a basis to compare the preferences of the managers of the logistic providers and of the manager of the studied company, regarding the configuration of the logistic operations. This framework has been validated, the preferences among decision makers have been similar, except at the weight between the attributes of operational and investment costs. In general, this framework has validated the results and has proved to be a useful tool to support decision-making process in a real situation and also has generated scenarios and sensitivity analysis to the decision maker. / O objetivo geral desta dissertação é propor uma estrutura metodológica utilizando um método de tomada de decisão multicritério, o Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a fim de configurar a operação logística em centros de distribuição que atende o mercado varejista brasileiro. Esta estrutura está baseada em uma abordagem na qual a escolha das alternativas operacionais utilizadas nas atividades internas de um centro de distribuição (recebimento, armazenagem, separação e expedição) depende da estratégia de distribuição, bem como dos atributos e requerimentos de negócio do ambiente da empresa. Para o desenvolvimento deste trabalho foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica relacionada à estratégia de distribuição, funções, atividades e gerenciamento de centros de distribuição, e, à abordagem de tomada de decisão. Na pesquisa de campo foram realizadas entrevistas com representantes da alta gerência de grandes operadores logísticos com a finalidade de determinar quais os requerimentos de negócio que deveriam ser considerados na configuração. As entrevistas também foram importantes para determinar as preferências e os pesos dos atributos utilizados para a tomada de decisão. A proposta de configuração foi ainda utilizada em um estudo de caso como meio de validação dos atributos e serviu, também, de base de comparação entre as preferências dos gestores de operadores logísticos e do gestor da empresa estudada, no tocante à configuração das operações logísticas. A aplicação da proposta de configuração foi validada e as preferências entre todos os decisores foram parecidas, exceto no peso entre os atributos de custo operacional e investimento. No geral, a proposta de configuração validou os resultados e se mostrou útil como uma ferramenta de suporte na tomada de decisão em uma situação real, além de permitir a geração de cenários e análises de sensibilidade para o tomador de decisão.

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