Learning organizations in combination with quality management practices and continuous improvement are well known and have throughout the decades seen many successful implementations. Implying that there are assorted collections of tools, strategies and implementation techniques which are accessible for organizations today. However, what has been seen as a strong and contemporary inclination across many manufacturing industries is to develop and deploy company-specific production system (XPS) in order to obtain a competitive advantage in today’s global and changing business domain. The purpose of this explorative and qualitative study aims therefore to inspect and explore the occurrence of how a tailored company-specific production system (XPS) attempts to assist as an improvement program to contribute to the continuous improvement work and organizational learning in a multinational organization. The study includes a case study conducted at Volvo Group Truck located in Skövde and their tailored XPS called VPS (Volvo Production System). A review of previous literature was conducted and therefore included in order to provide an understanding of the topic as well as the empirical findings for further grasping of how a tailored specific XPS has benefited the company towards an enhanced improvement work thus becoming a learning organization. Interviews and documentation as well as observations from a previous internship at the plant in Skövde were conducted and utilized in order to obtain the employee's perspective on the contribution towards the continuous improvement work and organizational learning. Further on, in order to get a wide-ranging perspective on this matter, interviews were also held with persons with different positions within the plant. Findings from the analysis indicated that the difference with implementing a tailored company specific production strategy in comparison to other systems is that it aids the organization towards developing an organizational culture, which will further assist in enhancing the continues improvement work and organisational learning. Empirical findings also suggested that supporting functions together with XPS makes the transition towards the changes happening in an organization much easier. It also appears that the infrastructure of support with the tools and structures that VPS brings, is an important aspect in how the VPS assists in fostering continuous improvement work. Furthermore these tools, methods and structures are developed and designed to support and encourage every employee to think outside the box in a more creative and innovative way which foster employees learning process. The conclusion is that supportive functions together with a tailored XPS contributes to a joined organisational culture where improving and learning is a natural activity therefore fostering continuous improvement work and becoming a learning organization.

The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model is used increasingly in the public sector in the Middle East. This thesis addresses a shortage of empirical research in this field and extends the, so called, dynamic capabilities perspective by investigating how the EFQM model can contribute to developing organisational capabilities. A research model was developed based on the theory of structuration and the dynamic capabilities perspective. A multiple case study design was used in three public sector organisations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The unit of analysis was the activity configuration involved in the deployment of the EFQM model. This research investigates how activity configurations changed over time, their effect on the organisational social structure and their outcomes in developing new capabilities. In-depth data were collected using interviews and archival sources. The thesis suggests that motives for using the EFQM model represent an important factor in defining the type of activities in its deployment and for its success. It was found that external and internal motives can both have positive impact. The findings showed that organisations experienced with the EFQM model tend to follow similar paths of deployment and achieve comparable results. An indicative model is proposed describing the three stages the organisation can go through in the deployment of the EFQM model. Firstly, the organisation develops the capability to understand the benefits of the model and to plan for its successful deployment. Secondly, the organisation focuses on developing operational capabilities, using the EFQM model. Thirdly, the organisation improves existing capabilities and develops new ones in a recurring cycle, referred to as the cycle of dynamic capabilities. This research contributes to the perspective of dynamic capabilities by investigating the sources of capabilities and how they are shaped through the deployment of the EFQM excellence model. The theoretical background and the research methodology used in this research extend the research application of the structuration theory by linking it with the dynamic capabilities perspective. Suggestions for further research include investigation of the learning cycle of dynamic capabilities through the lens of organisational learning. The research methodology can also be extended to consider strategy formation. An investigation of the EFQM model, which is the basis for assessment in the government award scheme, carries inevitable sources of limitations and bias. A significant proportion of the data collected and analysed was confidential in nature and presented challenges in relation to dissemination of the results.

This paper extends the dynamic capabilities (DCs) perspective into the study of new service development (NSD). Drawing from both the DCs view and the NSD perspective, this paper explores theoretically and examines empirically the associations between four core dynamic capability components: adaptive capabilities, absorptive capabilities, arranging capabilities and administration capabilities (4As capabilities) exercised in the process of NSD. DCs have been argued to reside at different levels of organization. Thus far enormous research has focused on organizational level of DCs. Many studies has recognized the importance of DC at micro/individual level (e.g. Teece, 2007; Rothaermel and Hess, 2007), yet research relating to DC at the individual level of organizations is still lacking. Hence, this study focuses on developing and empirically validating an appropriate measurement scale for micro-level DCs. The majority of NSD research has concentrated on the financial service sector; however, the hotel industry, one of the global largest industries, has not been well investigated (Ottenbacher, 2007). The study addresses its research objectives through an empirical investigation adopting both qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey in the hotel sector. This entailed a large quantitative pilot study (433 respondents) and a full-scale survey of hotel sector employees (1,079 respondents) in Thailand. The results, analysed through multiple regression analysis, show positive impact of 4As capabilities applied in different NSD activities on the NSD outcomes. The research findings provide guidance to managers as to how NSD performance is influenced by DCs exercised during the NSD process. The theoretical and managerial implications of this research are articulated.

Com base na relação entre a literatura de capacidades dinâmicas e os estudos de inovação, argumenta-se nesse trabalho que a capacidade de inovação é sustentada pelo desenvolvimento constante das diferentes capacidades da empresa: de desenvolvimento tecnológico; de operação; de gestão e de transação. Sendo assim, essa pesquisa teve como objetivo investigar de que forma uma decisão estratégica de mudança voltada para a inovação influencia a reconfiguração destas capacidades das empresas. Para tanto, foi realizado um estudo de casos em empresas dos setores moveleiro e têxtil, considerados como de baixa intensidade tecnológica. Os dois casos foram analisados separadamente e depois comparados, buscando semelhanças que ampliassem a compreensão do fenômeno da reconfiguração nas capacidades a partir de uma decisão estratégica que buscava a inovação. Os resultados sugerem que a integração entre as diferentes capacidades e a reconfiguração estratégica das capacidades substantivas explicam as inovações produzidas pelas empresas. As principais conclusões são: que há uma relação entre as capacidades de desenvolvimento e de transação; que na reconfiguração decorrente de decisões estratégicas orientadas para a inovação a capacidade predominante na empresa é a menos alterada; e que as capacidades substantivas da empresa exercem influências positivas entre si na reconfiguração dos seus recursos internos. A contribuição deste estudo está em relacionar as capacidades substantivas com as decisões estratégicas que são características das capacidades dinâmicas, operacionalizando este conceito pela junção com um modelo que explica a capacidade de inovação. A limitação da pesquisa reside na concentração em apenas um tipo de inovação. Estudos futuros que incluam a análise de decisões estratégicas que resultem em inovações tecnológicas, gerenciais e de produção podem ampliar a compreensão do fenômeno. Estudos setoriais qualitativos usando as conclusões como proposições teóricas podem possibilitar generalizar os resultados. / This research relates the literature of dynamic capabilities with the studies on innovation capability, and assumes that innovation capability is supported by the constant development of the different capabilities of the company and, therefore, seeks to identify the influence of a strategic decision focused on innovation in the process of changing enterprises´ different capabilities: technology development; operation; managerial and transactional. A multiple case study in firms of the furniture and textile industry, considered low- technologic intensity firms was conducted to reach the research goals. The two cases were analyzed separately and then compared, looking for similarities that would broaden the understanding of the phenomenon. The results suggest that the integration between the different capabilities and strategic reconfiguration of substantive capabilities explain the innovations produced by firms. The main conclusions are that there is a relationship between technology development and transaction capability, due to the reconfiguration of innovation oriented to prevailing capacity in strategic business decisions is the least influenced, and that the substantive company's capabilities exert positive influences between itself in the reconfiguration of its internal resources. The contribution of this study is to relate the substantive capabilities with the strategic decisions that are characteristics of dynamic capabilities, operationalizing this concept in combination with a model that explains innovation capability. The limitation of the research is the concentration on only one type of innovation. Future studies including the analysis of strategic decisions that result in technological, managerial and production innovations can broaden the understanding of the phenomenon. Sector studies using qualitative conclusions as theoretical propositions can enable to generalize the results.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2016-06-16T19:59:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Adalberto Ramos Cassia.pdf: 1425509 bytes, checksum: 75a7012c255d8829b4750874e8d7b9c4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-16T19:59:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Adalberto Ramos Cassia.pdf: 1425509 bytes, checksum: 75a7012c255d8829b4750874e8d7b9c4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-04 / This study involves the analysis of the impact of dynamic capabilities on the innovative capability, considering the influence of technological turbulence on this impact and the effect of proactive market orientation on this influence. The literature that addresses this topic has focused on studies of direct relationships and simple moderation analysis, leaving gap of studies addressing the effects of double moderation, enabling new approaches on the relationship between the variables that affect the innovative ability of companies. The research, quantitative, considered a sample of 244 completed cases and used statistical techniques of multivariate analysis, including factor analysis and linear regression in 5 statistical models as support for the hypothesis tests. The results show the positive impact of dynamic capabilities on the innovative capability, the positive influence of technological turbulence on this impact and the negative effect of proactive market orientation on this influence. The main study of the contribution relates to the identification of a combined effect of technological turbulence and proactive market orientation on the impact of dynamic capabilities in innovative capability. This positive impact is amplified by the influence of technological turbulence and mitigated the negative effect of proactive market orientation on this influence. The technological turbulence influences the expansion of dynamic capabilities out, what contributes to the rise of innovativa capability. However, proactive market orientation acts on this influence, softening the force with which the technological turbulence drives the impact of dynamic capabilities on the innovative capability. This study may contribute to improving the management of innovation in companies operating in the manufacturing industry by providing subsidies to improve responsiveness in the face of technological changes occurring in the business environment. / O objetivo deste estudo envolve a análise do impacto das capacidades dinâmicas sobre a capacidade inovativa, considerando a influência da turbulência tecnológica sobre este impacto e o efeito da orientação proativa para o mercado sobre esta influência. A literatura que aborda este tema tem se concentrado nos estudos de relações diretas e na análise de moderação simples, restando lacuna de estudos que abordem os efeitos de moderação dupla, que permitam novas abordagens sobre as relações entre as variáveis que afetam a capacidade inovativa das empresas. A pesquisa realizada, de natureza quantitativa, considerou uma amostra com 244 casos completos e utilizou técnicas estatísticas de análise multivariada, incluindo análise fatorial e regressão linear, em 5 modelos estatísticos, como suporte para os testes das hipóteses. Os resultados encontrados evidenciam o impacto positivo das capacidades dinâmicas sobre a capacidade inovativa, a influência positiva da turbulência tecnológica sobre este impacto e o efeito negativo da orientação proativa para o mercado sobre esta influência. A principal contribuição do estudo refere-se à identificação de um efeito combinado entre a turbulência tecnológica e a orientação proativa para o mercado sobre o impacto das capacidades dinâmicas na capacidade inovativa. Este impacto positivo é amplificado pela influência da turbulência tecnológica e atenuado pelo efeito negativo da orientação proativa para o mercado sobre esta influência. A turbulência tecnológica influencia a expansão das capacidades dinâmicas, oque contribui para a elevação da capacidade inovativa. No entanto, a orientação proativa para o mercado atua sobre esta influência, amenizando a força com que a turbulência tecnológica impulsiona o impacto das capacidades dinâmicas sobre a capacidade inovativa. Este estudo pode contribuir para a melhoria da gestão da inovação nas empresas que atuam na indústria de transformação, fornecendo subsídios para o aprimoramento da capacidade de resposta em face das mudanças tecnológicas que ocorrem no ambiente de negócios.

O objetivo desta dissertação é analisar como se dá a construção das capacitações dinâmicas nas empresas fornecedoras de serviços de engenharia, tendo como premissa o papel indutor da Petrobras. A decisão de personificar a Petrobras nesta pesquisa deu-se a partir da participação da autora em um projeto realizado junto ao Ipea que, contratado pela Petrobras, analisou os impactos tecnológicos das ações da Petrobras nas empresas de serviços de engenharia. Os resultados do projeto mostraram que tais empresas tem papel de destaque quando comparadas às demais empresas do setor. Dados como o aumento do volume de empregos, da massa salarial ou da capacitação tecnológica e organizacional das empresas analisadas, comprovaram o alto impacto dos contratos da Petrobras nas relações de parceria e, principalmente, no desenvolvimento das competências das empresas do setor de serviços de engenharia no Brasil. A presente pesquisa foi desenvolvida a partir do estudo de múltiplos casos, realizados em duas etapas: a primeira etapa objetivou verificar as características das empresas de serviços de engenharia e sua evolução em decorrência dos contratos com a Petrobras; a segunda etapa objetivou verificar como as empresas de serviços de engenharia criam suas capacitações dinâmicas a partir das relações contratuais e pré-contratuais com a Petrobras. A literatura a respeito das capacitações dinâmicas, de modo geral, está atrelada ao conceito de rotina, que constitui a forma mais importante de estocagem do conhecimento específico da organização. Através da absorção e do acúmulo do conhecimento as rotinas existentes são modificadas, aperfeiçoadas, caracterizando assim uma forma dinâmica da reprodução do conhecimento, capaz de se moldar de acordo com o estado de complexidade do ambiente. Como resultado, apresentam-se dados que demonstram a evolução técnica e o crescimento estrutural nas empresas de serviços de engenharia que criaram suas capacitações através da estocagem do conhecimento sob a forma de rotina. / The objective of this dissertation is to analyze how the construction of dynamic capabilities are in companies that provide engineering services, taking as its premise the inductive role of Petrobras. The decision to personify Petrobras in this study, took place from the author\'s participation in a project carried out by the Ipea that contracted by Petrobras, analyzed the impacts of technological Petrobras shares in companies of engineering services. The project results showed that these companies have an important role when compared to other companies. Data such as the increasing of volume of jobs, payroll or technological capability and organizational enterprises analyzed, confirmed the high impact of contracts with Petrobras, especially, in developing the skills of engineering services companies in Brazil. This research was developed from the study of multiple cases, conducted in two stages: the first step aimed to determine the characteristics of engineering services companies and their evolution as a result its contracts with Petrobras, the second step aimed to determine how engineering services companies created their dynamic capabilities from contractual and pre-contract relation with Petrobras. The literature about dynamic capabilities, in general, is tied to the concept of routine, which is the most important form of storage of specific knowledge of the organization. Through the absorption and accumulation of knowledge, the existing routines are modified, improved, characterizing a dynamic form of reproduction of knowledge, able to mold itself according with the state of complexity of the environment. As a result, we present data demonstrating the technical development and growth in structural engineering services companies that have created their capabilities by storing the knowledge in the form of routine.

Au cours de notre travail doctoral nous avons étudié les stratégies d’internationalisation des franchiseurs afin de comprendre les déterminants du choix de la modalité de franchise internationale. Ces développements internationaux font émerger de nouvelles problématiques auxquelles les travaux académiques existants ne donnent pas d’analyses satisfaisantes. Pour les approfondir nous revenons sur ces questions à travers une approche dynamique des réseaux de franchise internationaux. Nous focalisons notre travail sur les problématiques de développement de l’avantage concurrentiel par les localisations étrangères des franchiseurs en proposant un cadre d’analyse basé sur l’approche des capacités des entreprises. Une méthodologie qualitative nous a permis de dimensionner le métier de franchiseur et d’interroger la mise en œuvre de métier au niveau international. Suite à une analyse thématique du discours de franchiseurs, nous avons identifié trois capacités centrales sources d’avantage concurrentiel. Par la suite, nous avons analysé des développements internationaux et mis en évidence le transfert de ces capacités à la modalité de franchise internationale. Notre cadre d’analyse nous a alors permis de souligner l’importance de l’analyse des capacités sources de l’avantage concurrentiel dans le processus du choix de la modalité d’entrée pour comprendre le développement des réseaux dans le nouveau marché. D’un point de vue dynamique, nous avons identifiés deux niveaux de dynamisme distincts et nous montrons qu’il importe de comprendre les déterminants du développement du deuxième niveau pour affiner notre compréhension de la réussite internationale des entreprises. / During our thesis we studied franchisors’ internationalization strategies in order to determine the optimum choice of organizational mode. These international developments cause new problems which existing literature does not provide satisfactory answers. In order to propose a new analysis, we choose to use a dynamic approach to international franchise systems. We focus our work on issues of competitive advantage development by foreign franchisors locations and we provide a framework based on the organizational capabilities perspective. A qualitative methodology enables us to define the competitive advantage of franchisor and questioned the implementation of this advantage into international operations. We seize the competitive advantage of franchisor with athematic analysis of franchisors practice. We identified three core capabilities. Subsequently, we analyzed international developments and highlighted the transfer of the core capabilities to the sub-franchisor. Then, our analytical framework allowed us to underline the importance of taking account of the competitive advantage in the process of choosing the organizational mode in order to understand the competitive advantage exploitation in the new market. From a dynamic perspective, we identified two levels of dynamism and we show the importance of understanding the determinants of the development of the second level to refine the knowledge of the achievement of international operation.

In the last three decades, strategic management scholars have explored the organization’s need to reconfigure its capabilities to leverage opportunities in a changing environment. The first objective of this study was to identify the underlying elements of the managerial processes of dynamic capabilities, and to offer a reconceptualization of the dynamic capabilities construct. The second objective of this investigation was to determine how the reconceptualized dynamic capabilities construct could influence the alignment of ordinary capabilities. Findings from this investigation indicate that organizational processes and managerial processes are unique components of dynamic capabilities. In addition, these organizational processes were found to be significantly and positively correlated with the alignment of ordinary capabilities. Furthermore, managerial processes were found to moderate the relationship between organizational processes and one type of ordinary capability alignment (i.e. innovation-operations capability alignment). Taken together, the findings of this study support the notion that dynamic capabilities are context specific, and that understanding how they influence the organization’s ability to change is complex. The developments and findings in this study offer a reconceptualized and empirically tested framework for the capability alignment process, thereby providing a more comprehensive picture of the underlying processes.

In light of the negative social and environmental impacts of the textile industry, a paradigm shift towards a more circular economy is inevitable. Automated textile sorting embodies a crucial but missing link to connect forward and reverse supply chains for circular economy, however scalability challenges exist. Therefore, the study explores how dynamic capabilities can overcome scalability challenges specific to automated textile sorting pilots in Northwestern Europe to create commercially viable solutions. A single case study using an abductive approach guided by the dynamic capabilities view explores automated textile sorting pilots’ approaches to dynamic capability microfoundations. Primary data include semi-structured interviews, which is complemented by secondary data documents, and both were analysed qualitatively via thematic analysis. The data reveal that known scalability challenges remain and new scalability challenges related to market disruptions exist, such as COVID-19. Scalability challenges are overcome through novel approaches to the microfoundations undergirding dynamic capabilities. These are found to take place in a continuous, overlapping process, and collaboration is found across all dynamic capabilities. As collaboration plays a prominent role, it should be integrated in approaches to dynamic capabilities. This study also adds to the literature on circular economy in the textile industry by confirming that known scalability challenges for automated textile sorting pilots remain, and new scalability challenges are developing in terms of market disruptions. Actors in the automated textile sorting supply chain may use these findings to support efforts to scale up automated textile sorting. For textile industry brands and recyclers, the findings can assess their readiness to participate in the automated textile sorting supply chain and support the achievement of their 2030 goals to use greater volumes of sorted textile waste fractions as feedstocks for their production processes and to be a collaborative member of the used textiles supply chain.

The integration of innovation and sustainability has become important aspects for firms to consider in order to remain competitive. To address these issues and/or opportunities, firms need to have or acquire the knowledge and skills in order to have the capabilities necessary to implement and develop sustainable innovations. In a fluctuating market, the dynamic capabilities of a firm becomes important to address possible threats and opportunities prominent for sustainability-oriented innovations (SOI). In current literature, there is a lack of understanding on how the dynamic capabilities of a firm affect their ability to develop and implement SOI. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis was to explore how firms’ dynamic capabilities affect their ability to develop and implement SOI. To gather more in-depth insights about this phenomenon, this thesis conducted a single-case study on a firm operating in the greenhouse farming industry. The thesis concludes that the dynamic capabilities facilitate their abilities to develop and implement SOIs. Furthermore, eight microfoundations enabling dynamic capabilities were unveiled as key enablers of dynamic capabilities for firms ability to develop and implement SOIs. This thesis contributes to existing literature by acknowledging that the dynamic capabilities of a firm facilitate the development and implementation of SOI.