Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-09-15T13:05:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Juliano Leite Forster_.pdf: 1427220 bytes, checksum: 91005b163b192d7f3008a7b74956572a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-15T13:05:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Juliano Leite Forster_.pdf: 1427220 bytes, checksum: 91005b163b192d7f3008a7b74956572a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-07-29 / Nenhuma / O presente trabalho procura compreender de que forma o processo de orquestração influencia os ecossistemas de inovação para a geração de valor. O estudo inicia com um contexto do cenário atual sobre o mercado e o ambiente competitivo. Posteriormente é feito o levantamento bibliográfico procurando entender o que são os ecossistemas de inovação e também o conceito de orquestração,desde sua evolução a partir das capacidades dinâmicas. O estudo procurou compreender a forma como é feita a gestão de recursos compartilhados a partir da visão acadêmica, procurando informações que pudessem apresentar implicâncias práticas para o dia-a-dia degestores. O trabalho avança com o estudo de caso sobre o Paralelo Vivo – Hub de Inovações Sustentáveis contrapondo os documentos coletados e os dados levantados nas entrevistas com as tarefas da orquestração de ecossistemas apontadas pela academia. Por fim o estudo apresenta suas conclusões sobre o tema e evidenciando a influência da mobilidade do conhecimento, apropriação da inovação e estabilidade da rede no processo de orquestração de ecossistemas de inovação enquanto ferramentas práticas para gestores de redes com o intuito de gerar e capturar valor. O estudo possuí limitações que demonstram oportunidades para pesquisas futuras. É o caso da diversificação do objeto de estudo com o intuito de identificar padrões entre processos de orquestração e também o acompanhamento por períodos maiores dos ecossistemas pesquisados como forma de avaliar o desempenho de algumas tarefas ao longo do tempo de vida dos ecossistemas de inovação. / The present study aims to comprehend how the orchestration process influences the value creation in innovation ecosystems. The paper starts with an overview of the market and the competitive environment. Next it is made an overview of the literature trying to understand what isan innovation ecosystem and also the concept of orchestration, since the dynamic capabilities evolution. The study sought to understand how is managed the shared resources from an academic perspective, looking for information that could lead to practical influences on the daily management for orchestrators. The work goes with the case study of Paralelo Vivo – Hub de InovaçõesSustentáveis contrasting the data collected and interview with the network orchestration tasks. Finally, the report presents its findings on the subject and highlights the role of knowledge mobility, innovation appropriation and network stability in the process of orchestration of innovation ecosystem as a tool to create and capture value. The paper has limitations that present opportunities for future researches. The diversification of the study object in order to identify patterns between orchestration process and also to fallowing for longer periods the researched ecosystem in order to valuate the performance of some tasks along the life time of innovation ecosystem.

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies managers in the online auction industry used to manage customer complaints to improve customer satisfaction. The targeted population consisted of 4 managers of online auction companies in the southwestern region of the United States. The conceptual framework for the study was Argyris and Sch�n's double-loop learning theory. Data were collected via semistructured interviews with business managers, observation of company operations and behaviors, review of documentation, and member-checking activities. Data analysis consisted of text interpretation of data and notes using coding techniques. Data analysis resulted in 5 themes: business orientation, customer purview, complaints handling, coping strategies, and learning abilities. The implications of this study for positive social change include facilitating the growth of online markets and increasing lower-cost purchasing opportunities for consumers with limited access to conventional marketplaces.

The aim of this dissertation is to improve knowledge of how organizations adapt to their dynamic environments, by developing a detailed understanding of the configuration and evolution of organizational replicators. Among open questions in the literature on organizational adaptation, I have explored the following: How can the structure of organizational replicators and the nature of their components be realistically described? How do different organizational replicators interact with each other at different levels within and across organizational boundaries? How do replicators evolve? Why do firms need dynamic capabilities? I’ve addressed these questions by means of an embedded, longitudinal field study of Alessi, an Italian firm founded in 1921, active in the development and production of hundreds of design household products. Data analysis has been carried out in two steps. First, a longitudinal analysis of available primary and archival data has provided an in-depth understanding of the composite nature of organizational replicators, their mutual relationships, their evolution, their outcome stability. Second, a more structured investigation relying on Optimal Matching Analysis allowed to reliably develop an understanding of replicators complexity and of the mechanisms behind their evolution. There are four key findings. First, replicators are not simply behavioral entities—routines in the “narrow sense”. Reliable performance of a capability requires additional elements of physical, intellectual and social capital, which are essential components of replicators (or “Replication Base—RB”, as I suggest to label these more articulated organizational traits). Second, interactions among components of Replication Bases at different levels within and outside the organization suggest a more articulated perspective on how organizational knowledge develops. Components of Replication Bases are often located at different positions within the organization. Over time, knowledge of a particular organizational process takes different forms across the organizational hierarchy. What is local search at one level of analysis, gradually becomes sophisticated foresight at different, typically higher, levels. Third, over time Replication Bases evolve by means of a complex interplay between random mutations and intentional interventions, supported by articulated learning processes. Finally, development of higher-level replicators is not the ultimate answer to the challenge of adaptation. Rather, it allows managers to focus their intentional interventions to the higher-level problems posed by the dynamism of competitive environments. Part of this liberated managerial attention and resources are focused on the crucial, non-routine task of understanding how the organization’s idiosyncratic attributes affect its prospects in the specific competitive context. Taken together, these findings outline the microfoundations of a framework for interpreting organizational adaptation.

The world today is confronted by the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1920’s. Due to the financial system being globalised and interdependent, the contagion effects of the financial crisis trickled down to Europe and ultimately triggered the recession of 2007-2009, which had far-reaching repercussions on cross-border economic activities. The severe international downturn had a significant effect on the Swedish economy and Swedish SMEs. Moreover, the recession has heightened economic uncertainty and combined with the existing challenges facing SMEs, created one of the most difficult business climates in decades, hence, a prevailing need for creating resilience. The purpose of this study is to examine how Swedish Internationalised SMEs remain resilient during times of recession. This will be studied through investigating what resources and capabilities were crucial for building resilience and how the SMEs changed their strategy during the recession to remain resilient. The study is conducted through a qualitative case study and an abductive approach in order to get a profound insight into the firm’s behaviour. The theoretical framework is founded on the area of strategy and resilience, by accounting for strategy formulation, the RBV, resilience and strategic change. Moreover, the empirical chapter presents the results of the data gathered from the six case companies and is structured according to the companies and the three research problems. In the analysis, the patterns emerging from the theoretical framework and the empirical data is analysed based on the three research problems through trying to understand the underlying reasons for the emerging patterns. The study conclude that Swedish internationalized SMEs remained resilient during the recession of 2007- 2009, through reconfiguring its critical resources and capabilities, and changing their strategy to adapt to the changes in the external environment caused by the recession.

There is a growing need to better understand environmental decision making in the context of climate change and limited renewable resources. This dissertation deepens our understanding of such decision making by focusing on strategic green decisions, which can be defined as the individual and collaborative green decisions within or between organizations that help organizations improve their operating position, adapt to changes in their external institutional environments, and simultaneously generate environmental benefits. The particular focus is on decisions related to energy in the North American context. The research draws on and contributes to organizational theory with the aim of better understanding those factors that motivate and/or facilitate green decisions by organizations, especially social economy organizations—an area of only limited research to date. Two complementary empirical studies address the overarching research goal. The first study focuses on understanding the nature and extent of the association between organizational attributes and those factors that motivate and/or facilitate a green energy decision. Insights are based on a bi-national survey of 212 organizations that voluntarily began to purchase green electricity between 1999 and 2008. Findings indicate that important influences are similar across organizational types. Survey results highlight the importance of organizational culture and internal champions—both individually and in combination—in making the initial decision to purchase green electricity, despite its relatively higher price. These two factors, as well as strategic benefits, emerge as the dominant explanations for why organizations expand their green energy purchases. The relative importance and particular roles of these factors vary across organizational and decision types. The second empirical study extends our understanding of how organizations adapt to external changes while maintaining the capacity to innovate in order to address their core objectives. The focus is on the residential energy services market, and is based on 12 interviews with the executive directors of non-profit environmental service organizations (ESOs) that are part of a national network called Green Communities Canada. These organizations survived a funding shock by creating new services and diversifying funding sources with actions that collectively can be referred to as ‘green collaborative entrepreneurship’; collaborative because it was facilitated by strategic partnerships with businesses and local governments, as well as the cross-national social capital network connecting the ESOs. The important motivating factors of green collaborative entrepreneurship were the green values and objectives that drive these organizations. The facilitating factors of green collaborative entrepreneurship included human capital, social capital and strategic partnerships, which acted as dynamic capabilities because of their flexibility to help increase the level of entrepreneurship when necessary for organizational survival, and yet, scale-up and deliver core programs during stable funding periods. The dissertation provides important insights into broad questions related to green decisions, especially for organizations that are affected by political policy cycles. The findings highlight that organizations are able to be more environmentally sustainable while also improving their own strategic performance by making green decisions that either provide the capacity to adapt to exogenous change for survival, or to create endogenous change for competitive advantage. The research contributes to our understanding of societal transitions to sustainable development by highlighting two green decisions that are occurring in the social economy. The dissertation contributes to organizational theory and in particular the traditional corporate literature by including multiple organizational types. Sustainability researchers should focus on green decisions that both enhance organizational stability and ecological sustainability if they wish to better understand creative green solutions from organizations.

Bakgrund: Dagens företagsklimat blir allt mer snabbrörliga vilket har lett fram till nya marknadsförhållanden i många branscher. Företag uppmanas att anpassa sig och finna nya sätt att konkurrera genom att anpassa sina resurser, vilket beskrivs som dynamiska färdigheter. Nyckelord är timing, hastighet och flexibilitet, vilket inte alltid är så lätt att eftersträva då det finns många krafter inom en organisation som begränsar dess flexibilitet. Syfte: Med följande bakgrund och problematik är syftet med studien att analysera hur organisationer kan gå till väga för att utveckla dynamiska färdigheter och samtidigt minimera den inneboende trögheten i en organisation. Metod och avgränsning: För att besvara följande resonemang har en fallstudie gjorts på ett svenskt företag inom hästavelsnäringen. Val av företag blev Flyinge AB där fem olika intervjuer genomfördes. Ytterligare ett företag, Hästak AB, kontaktades för att få en mer nyanseras bild av avelsbranschen i sin helhet. Resultat: En förändringsprocess är otroligt komplex då det finns många olika faktorer som påverkar dess utfall. Dynamiska färdigheter kan ses som en förändringsprocess och förändringen kan antingen vara stegvis eller kontinuerlig. Den Ideala förändringen att eftersträva är den kontinuerliga, eftersom den ses som naturlig och motverkas inte på samma sätt av de anställda som en stegvis förändring. På så vis är det enklare att vara flexibel och snabbfotad som är centrala egenskaper i dynamiska företag. Det inre motstånd som finns till förändring kan bland annat ses i organisationsstruktur och kultur. Ledaren har en viktig roll att fylla för att motverka denna tröghet. För att göra detta ska ledaren analysera vad som är problemen idag, kommunicera förändringen, samla acceptans för den samt se till att den genomförs. Balanserade styrkort kan i denna process fungera som ett kommunikationshjälpmedel. / Background: In recent years many business environments have been characterized by a fast and advanced technical development, change in demands and increased competition. The market conditions are constantly changing and because of that organizations have to find new ways to compete. This can be realized through adjustments and restructurings of the firm’s resources portfolio and it is also called dynamic capabilities. Key Words in this process are timing, speed and flexibility. Nevertheless, these elements can be hard to attain since many organizations have an internal inertia that will restrict their agility. Aim: The purpose of the study is to analyze how an organization can develop dynamic capabilities and in the same time reduce its internal inertia. Method: To answer the above reasoning a case study has been realized at a Swedish company within the sector of horse-breeding. The stud farm Flyinge AB was chosen and five different interviews were conducted. An additional interview was conducted at Hästak AB with the purpose to get a better understanding of the horse-breeding industry. Result: Change can be seen as a complex process with many different factors that affect the outcome. A dynamic capability is a process of change and it can be either episodic or continuous. The ideal form of change is continuous since it has a low level of internal inertia. The resistance to change can be seen in organizational structure and culture. To eliminate these obstacles the leader has an important role. The leader should identify the problem, come up with a strategy, communicate the new strategy/change, find acceptance for it and finally implement it. In the change process balanced scorecard can be used as an instrument for communications.

TV- och mediabranschen drivs på av teknikutveckling och är under förändring där allt fler konsumenter väljer att konsumera video via internet vilket ställer krav på aktörerna i TV-branschen. Traditionella TV-operatörer försöker förändra sina affärsmodeller, branschgränser blir mer otydliga där bolag som tidigare ansvarat för it-infrastrukturen försöker ta större del av värdekedjan, nystartade företag ser sin chans att konkurrera samt globala aktörer som Google och Apple blir allt större hot. För konsultbolag finns det i TV-branschen därför möjligheter att fylla ett marknadsbehov av branschspecifik rådgivning och resurser för att hjälpa TV- aktörerna med att anpassa sig till digitaliseringen. Konsultbolag som försöker etablera sig inom TV- och mediamarknaden behöver ta ställning till frågeställningar som hur brett erbjudande de ska ha, vilka kompetenser och roller de ska erbjuda och hur de uppnår en stark marknadsposition. Eftersom den framtida utvecklingen av den övergripande marknadskonfigurationen är oklar så skapar det också behov för sådana konsultbolag att förstå hur de skapar förutsättningar för långsiktig konkurrenskraft. Denna undersökning syftar därför till att undersöka positioneringsstrategier för långsiktig konkurrenskraft i konsultbolag inriktade mot branschen av media- och TV- lösningar. Studien har genomförts på företaget Eyevinn med hjälp av en kvalitativ fallstudie. Undersökningens metodik följer det Wahlbinska U:et och har haft ett explorativt angreppssätt för att skapa en bred förståelse för deras positioneringssituation. Den insamlade empiriska datan för studien baseras främst på intervjuer som är genomförda med anställda på fallföretaget Eyevinn och deras kunder. Analysen har utförts med ett holistiskt tillvägagångssätt och är uppdelad i två huvudsakliga områden. Det ena området har sin grund i affärsmodellssynsättet kompletterat med dynamiska förmågor. Det andra området har en bas i generell litteratur inriktat på positioneringsstrategi kompletterat med litteratur för positioneringsstrategi som är specifikt inriktat för konsultbolag. De underliggande analyserna har således blivit Utvärdering av långsiktig konkurrenskraft med grund i företagets förmågor och resurser, Matchning mellan fallföretaget och dess önskade position, Position relativt konkurrenter, Värdeerbjudandets konkurrenskraft, Position i värdekedjan och Utnyttjande av företagets marknadsroll. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att det är relevant för konsultbolag inom branschen av media- och TV-lösningar att förstå vilka mekanismer som finns tillgängliga i deras befintliga och eftersträvda marknadsroll för att förstärka deras konkurrenskraft. Vidare så visas att en differentieringsstrategi som specialist ställer höga krav på värdeerbjudandets substantiering men också att en sådan differentiering i sig själv kan användas för att förstärka substantieringen samt resonansen av värdeerbjudandet. Det visas även betydelsefullt att det internt, bland konsultbolagets personal, säkerställs att det finns en gemensam och enhetlig syn för konsultföretagets positioneringsstrategi och marknadsinriktning. ii Resultatet av affärsmodellsanalysen visar med hjälp av logiken i fallföretagets aktivitetssystem att det finns ett cyklist och självförstärkande samband (virtuos cycle) i aktiviteterna som leder till konsultföretagets förmåga att skapa legitimitet på marknaden för sin expertkunskap. Denna aktivitetscykel identifieras som kritisk för fallföretagets möjlighet att ta ut premiumarvoden och att förflytta sig närmre sin önskade marknadsposition som kunskapsledande. För att skapa förutsättningar för långsiktig konkurrenskraft i ett konsultbolag med en specialistdifferentiering så visar undersökningen att strukturer för hantering av kunskap blir betydelsefulla. Kunskapsstrukturerna bör stödja införskaffande, bevarande samt utvärderande för dess möjlighet att kommersialiseras med anledning att stärka en marknadsposition som kunskapsledande. Rekommendationerna som framtagits är riktade till fallföretaget Eyevinn för att hjälpa de att förstärka sin befintliga marknadsposition och förflytta dem närmre sin önskade position med långsiktig konkurrenskraft. Dessa är att på sikt ersätta deras interna befintliga kommunikationsverktyg och etablera en struktur för kunskapshantering, kunskapsbevarande och kunskapsdelning. I deras marknadsroll ska de för att stärka och skydda sin position hos sina kunder utnyttja mekanismer som förstärker kundernas switching costs. För att hantera interna skillnader i uppfattningen om Eyevinns positioneringsstrategi så föreslås fem grundläggande frågeställningar som de gemensamt bör gå genom. Uppsättning av rutiner för snabb kommersialisering av ny kunskap rekommenderas för att förflytta företaget närmre en position som kunskapsledande. Förbättrad redundans av företagets tillgängliga kompetenser föreslås göras genom ett tillvägagångssätt som innebär att kunduppdrag även stödjs “back office”. Eyevinns säljkommunikation rekommenderas anpassas för att främja deras möjlighet att samla på sig mer erfarenheter och därmed förstärka deras substantiering. Eyevinn rekommenderas att förstärka förtroendet från kunderna genom att fokusera på de aktiviteterna som är inkluderade i den virtuos cycle som skapar legitimitet i att besitta expertkunskap. / The TV and media market is affected by the modern development in technology which is transforming the industry and making it easier for consumers to consume video through the web which in turn puts new requirements and demands on the companies active in that market. Traditional TV-operators are trying to change their business models, market boundaries are becoming more unclear, firms that were previously responsible for the IT-infrastructure are now trying to expand their grasp on the value chain, new start-ups see their chance to compete and global actors such as Google and Apple are becoming an increasing threat. Consulting firms that are active in this market therefore have the opportunity to fulfill customers’ needs of market specific consulting and resources to help companies adapt to the digitalization. Consulting firms trying to establish themselves in the TV and media market needs to ask themselves questions such as what spread their offering should have, what competencies and roles they should offer, and how they should act to attain a strong market position. Since the future development of the marketplace is unclear, there is also a need for such consulting firms to understand how they create foundations for sustainable competitive advantages. This study therefore has the objective to examine positioning strategies that achieves sustainable competitive advantages for consulting firms in the TV and media market. The study has been conducted as a qualitative case study at the consulting firm Eyevinn. The research methods used for the study were based on the principles of Lekvall & Wahlbin and had an exploratory approach to create a genuine understanding of the problem. The collected data was primarily based on interviews conducted with employees at the company Eyevinn and their customers. The analysis has been performed with a holistic approach and is separated into two main areas. The first area has its basis in the business model approach complemented with dynamic capabilities. The second area has a basis in general management literature focused on positioning strategies complemented with literature for positioning strategies that is specifically targeted to consulting firms. The underlying analyses are Evaluation of sustainable competitive advantages with a basis in the company’s capabilities and resources, The fit between the case company and its wanted position, Position in relation to competitors, The value propositions competitive advantages, Position in the value chain and exploiting the company’s market role. The results of the study shows that it is relevant for consulting firms within the TV and media market to understand the mechanisms available in their current and desired market role to strengthen their competitive advantages. It’s also shown that a differentiating strategy as a specialist puts high demands on the value proposition’s substantiation however such a differentiation strategy in itself can also be used to strengthen the substantiation together with the resonance of the value proposition. It’s also of importance that the firm internally, amongst the company’s personnel, makes sure that there is a common and unified view of the consulting firms’ positioning strategy and market direction. iv The result of the business model analysis shows through the logic of the case company’s activity system that there is a cyclic and reinforcing connection (virtuous cycle) in the activities that lead to the consulting firms ability to create legitimacy on the market for their expertise and knowledge. This activity cycle is identified as critical for the case company’s ability to receive a premium price and to move closer to their wanted position as a knowledge leader. To create conditions for sustainable competitive advantages in a consulting firm with a specialist differentiation the study shows that structures for handling of knowledge are important. The knowledge structures should support acquiring, preserving and evaluating its possibility to be commercialized with the reason to strengthen the market position as a knowledge leader. The recommendations that have been formulated are aimed to help the case company Eyevinn with strengthening their current market position and to move them closer to their wanted position with sustainable competitive advantages. In a long term perspective Eyevinn should replace their current internal communication tool and establish a structure for knowledge gathering, knowledge preservation and knowledge sharing. Eyevinn should exploit switching costs-mechanisms available in their current market role to protect and strengthen the position they have. To handle the internal discrepancies in the understanding of Eyevinns positioning strategy we suggest that they should go through five basic questions together to address the situation. Eyevinn should establish processes to support quick commercialization of new knowledge in order to move Eyevinn closer to its wanted position of knowledge leaders in their market. An improvement of the redundancy of the firm’s available competencies is recommended by a process which includes back office support to its customer assignments. Eyevinn’s sales communication is recommended to be adapted to support their ability to gather more experiences which strengthens their substantiation. Eyevinn is recommended to strengthen the trust perceived by their customers by focusing on the activities included in the virtuos cycle that creates legitimacy for their expert knowledge.

The corporate political activity field has focused on the study of political capabilities that allow firms to influence governments and regulators. Building on previous studies, this thesis examines a set of capabilities that allow host firms to adapt to rather than influence political environments. Specifically, this set of adaptive political capabilities can be used by firms to confront host country political contexts in emerging economies that share two characteristics: authoritarian regimes and weak institutions. The findings of this thesis show that host firms can develop and use adaptive political capabilities rather than political capabilities to start and sustain their operations in this type of political contexts. This entails attuning firm processes, structures, and practices to local norms and political behaviors, rather than attempting to shape the host country political environment in its own likeness. Our results suggest host firms can develop adaptive political capabilities to enhance their strategic repertoire when starting or sustaining operations in emerging economies with such characteristics. Our contribution is that by using mixed methods, we provide and test several exploratory propositions that support the conceptualization of a framework to guide the development of adaptive political capabilities by host firms and we make explicit a taxonomy of corporate adaptive political strategies that can enable firms to envision how they can adapt to host political contexts.

Bakgrund: Produktutvecklingsprocessen har på senare tid kommit att ses som en strategisk aktivitet som är avgörande för företagets överlevnad eftersom produktens utförande och kostnader till stor del fastställs innan tillverkning påbörjas. ”Target Costing” har sitt ursprung från Toyota i Japan och är en metod för strategisk kostnadsstyrning som har vuxit fram för att tidigt styra kostnader. Metoden används för att integrera kostnadsstyrning i produktutvecklingsprocessen i samstämmighet med kundkrav och företagets egna vinstkrav. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att beskriva och analysera hur ”Target Costing” används i produktutvecklingsprocessen på Volvo Construction Equipment i Braås för att ge kunskap till nya potentiella användare. Studien syftar även till att analysera ”Target Costing”-processen på Volvo CE för att identifiera utvecklingsmöjligheter. Ett bisyfte är att ge förbättringsförslag. Metodval: Data samlades in genom ostrukturerade och semi-strukturerade intervjuer, direkt observation samt dokumentation där intervjuer var den huvudsakliga informationskällan. Slutsatser: ”Target Costing” används som ett kostnadsreduceringsprogram på Volvo CE inom deras produktutvecklingsprocess i syfte att bibehålla sin konkurrenskraft och möta prispress från konkurrenter. ”Target Costing” används inte i enlighet med karaktärsdragen eftersom deras kostnadsreduceringsmål representerar kostnadsgapet och är deras utgångspunkt. / Background: The product development process has recently come to be seen as a strategic activity that is critical to its survival since the product's performance and costs are largely fixed before production begins. Target Costing originates from Toyota in Japan and is a method of strategic cost management that has emerged for the early control costs. The method is used to integrate cost management in the product development process in concert with customer requirements and the company's own profit requirements. Purpose: The study aims to describe and analyze how target costing is used in the product development process at Volvo Construction Equipment in Braås to give knowledge to new potential users. The study also aims to analyze Target Costing process at Volvo CE to identify development opportunities. A secondary purpose is to provide suggestions for improvement. Methodology: Data were collected through unstructured and semi-structured interviews, direct observation, and documentation where interviews were the main source of information. Conclusion: Target Costing is used as a cost-reduction program at Volvo CE in their product development process in order to remain competitive and meet price pressure from competitors. Target Costing is not used in accordance with the characteristics because their objectives of cost-reduction represent the cost gap and is their starting point.

There is a growing need to better understand environmental decision making in the context of climate change and limited renewable resources. This dissertation deepens our understanding of such decision making by focusing on strategic green decisions, which can be defined as the individual and collaborative green decisions within or between organizations that help organizations improve their operating position, adapt to changes in their external institutional environments, and simultaneously generate environmental benefits. The particular focus is on decisions related to energy in the North American context. The research draws on and contributes to organizational theory with the aim of better understanding those factors that motivate and/or facilitate green decisions by organizations, especially social economy organizations—an area of only limited research to date. Two complementary empirical studies address the overarching research goal. The first study focuses on understanding the nature and extent of the association between organizational attributes and those factors that motivate and/or facilitate a green energy decision. Insights are based on a bi-national survey of 212 organizations that voluntarily began to purchase green electricity between 1999 and 2008. Findings indicate that important influences are similar across organizational types. Survey results highlight the importance of organizational culture and internal champions—both individually and in combination—in making the initial decision to purchase green electricity, despite its relatively higher price. These two factors, as well as strategic benefits, emerge as the dominant explanations for why organizations expand their green energy purchases. The relative importance and particular roles of these factors vary across organizational and decision types. The second empirical study extends our understanding of how organizations adapt to external changes while maintaining the capacity to innovate in order to address their core objectives. The focus is on the residential energy services market, and is based on 12 interviews with the executive directors of non-profit environmental service organizations (ESOs) that are part of a national network called Green Communities Canada. These organizations survived a funding shock by creating new services and diversifying funding sources with actions that collectively can be referred to as ‘green collaborative entrepreneurship’; collaborative because it was facilitated by strategic partnerships with businesses and local governments, as well as the cross-national social capital network connecting the ESOs. The important motivating factors of green collaborative entrepreneurship were the green values and objectives that drive these organizations. The facilitating factors of green collaborative entrepreneurship included human capital, social capital and strategic partnerships, which acted as dynamic capabilities because of their flexibility to help increase the level of entrepreneurship when necessary for organizational survival, and yet, scale-up and deliver core programs during stable funding periods. The dissertation provides important insights into broad questions related to green decisions, especially for organizations that are affected by political policy cycles. The findings highlight that organizations are able to be more environmentally sustainable while also improving their own strategic performance by making green decisions that either provide the capacity to adapt to exogenous change for survival, or to create endogenous change for competitive advantage. The research contributes to our understanding of societal transitions to sustainable development by highlighting two green decisions that are occurring in the social economy. The dissertation contributes to organizational theory and in particular the traditional corporate literature by including multiple organizational types. Sustainability researchers should focus on green decisions that both enhance organizational stability and ecological sustainability if they wish to better understand creative green solutions from organizations.