Med en allt mer mode och trend inriktad marknad där kortare ledtider efterfrågas för att kunna tillgodose sina konsumenter med mode inriktade och trend riktiga plagg i rätt tid och på rätt plats så har dagens klädmarknad utvecklats till en allt mer dynamisk affärsmiljö med ett snabbare affärsklimat. Denna marknad kan idag refereras som ”fast fashion” marknaden. Samtidigt som brand loyalty och återkommande konsumenter blir allt viktigare och viktigare i dagens affärsklimat så blir det i den allt mer dynamiska fast fashion marknaden allt svårare att upprätthålla lojaliteten bland konsumenterna. Mot denna bakgrund undersökte denna studie hur konsumenterna inom fast fashion marknaden agerar utifrån brand loyalty konceptet. För att genomföra denn ställdes följande forskningsfråga för att besvaras: Hur framstår konsumenters brand loyalty genom deras agerande och köpbeteende inom fast fashion marknaden?Studien använde sig av Aaker och hans modell rörande brand loyalty som teoretisk utgångspunkt för genomförandet av analysen av studiens empiriska material. Studiens metod utfördes med fem stycken semi strukturerande intervjuer med utvalda personer där alla respondenter var aktiva konsumenter inom fast fashion marknaden. Studiens slutsats fann att ett flertal konsumenter inom fast fashion marknaden var mindre lojala på grund utav att konsumenterna var benägna till att byta till ett annat varumärke om priset hade en bättre relevans till plaggets design och kvalité. / With an increasingly fashion and trend-oriented market, where short lead times are demanded to be able meet consumer’s expectations and demands of fashion oriented and trendy garments at the right time and in the right place. Today's clothing market has evolved increasingly towards a more dynamic business environment with a fast changing business climate. This market can today be referred to as the "fast fashion" market. While brand loyalty and recurring consumers are becoming more and more important in today's business environment, the dynamic fast fashion market have difficulties retaining the loyalty among their consumers. Based on this background, this study examines how consumers in the fast fashion market act based on the concept of brand loyalty. To carry out the study, the following research question have been answered:" What emerges consumers' behavior regarding brand loyalty within the fast fashion market?"The study used Aaker and his model on brand loyalty as a theoretical basis for the implementation of the analysis to the study's empirical material. The study's methodology is claiming five semi structuring interviews with selected persons where all respondents were active consumers in the fast fashion market. The conclusion of the study are that the majority of consumers in the fast fashion market were less loyal because consumers tend to switch brands if the price where relevant to the garments design and quality.

Dynamic Capabilities is a contemporary popular notion, incorporating the ability to adjust a company’s resources adequately to exploit opportunities, prevent threats and consequently retain competitive advantage. Teece et al. (1997) coined Dynamic Capabilities and triggered a wave of research on the topic. However the notion is still in its infancy through academic disputes, different viewpoints and multiple definitions. Consequently tool, measure and procedures of Dynamic Capabilities are absent. Likewise the research on a project management level is scanty and just recently caught attention amongst scholars. To further tap into this research area, this study aims to analyse how project managers in Bayer AG can, and do, reinforce Dynamic Capabilities within their strategic projects. Nevertheless this is a difficult undertaking and other theories linked to the idea of Dynamic Capabilities were utilized to substitute and support this study.   The research is based on the definition of Zollo and Winter (2002) who divides Dynamic Capabilities into three main levels. Learning (level 2) is at the core of the notion and comprises of Knowledge Management activities. Dynamic Capability (level 1) denotes the possibility and flexibility to translate knowledge into practice through the adjustment and re-location of available resources. The final outcome is the adjustment of the operations (level 0) and the modification of on-going processes. However numerous scholars, including this study, exclude level 0 as Dynamic Capabilities and merely see it as the final outcome. To substitute the gaps in theory, support available concepts and extend the view on the levels, other theories such as Knowledge Management and Risk Management are enclosed.   Analysis of theory as well as the practical investigation of project managers from Bayer AG, revealed that knowledge exchange is the predominant driver of Dynamic Capabilities. While theory stipulates that IT software should be adequate enough to provide fast and easy access to information, project managers highlight that their main focus is on a culture encouraging personal, honest and open communication. Contradicting the idea of Dynamic Capabilities, a majority of project managers highlight that projects are locked after planning, neglecting change during execution. However, budgets are spaciously calculated providing flexibility to attain further resources when required. Additionally, Bayer provides a large pool of available resources, a culture encouraging communication and freedom of choice to their project managers. Merely detailed feasibility studies, monitoring processes and control mechanism are enforced to ensure successful project completion. The ultimate source of project success is implied to be practical experience. The theory of Dynamic Capabilities has aroused curiosity encouraging for further, deeper research on the topic.

Vale, a Brazilian-based, multinational mining company is used as a case study to investigate the impact of institutions on company strategy in dynamic markets. The research focuses on Vale’s exploration and development of the coal deposits of Mozambique, a country in which the institutional environment was decimated by war between 1964 and 1992.The objective of the research is to investigate how using the theory of institutions, as articulated in international business and corporate strategy literature, could be useful in understanding how firms make strategic choices and seek to gain competitive advantage in dynamic markets. In addition, the research provides a case study based in an African market, which will add to the material available for teaching general management principles in dynamic markets.The research demonstrates the importance of the link between Brazil’s foreign policy between 2000 and 2010, and Vale’s expansion strategies in Africa at that time. It highlights the institutional deficiencies in Mozambique at the time of Vale’s entrance, such as the limited rail infrastructure and weakly developed mineral rights legislation; and shows how Vale has been able to turn these deficiencies into competitive advantage, and has developed a dominant position in an internationally significant coalfield.In this way, the research supports the “institutional-view” of strategy, as articulated by Peng, Wang and Jiang (2008) and positions the role of institutions as being at least as important as industry and company resource factors in determining company strategy in dynamic markets.The challenge presented to readers of the case is to describe the institutional landscape in Mozambique and assess Vale’s response to it, using Khanna, Palepu and Sinha’s (2005) framework; to assess the merit of Peng et al.’s (2008) “strategy-tripod” when considering dynamic market strategy; and to consider the economic, political and social context facing Vale in trying to maintain and grow their competitive position. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Este trabalho teve por objetivo avançar no entendimento acerca do constructo \"ecossistema\" quando aplicado na área da teoria organizacional, especificamente dentro do campo da gestão da inovação. A investigação desse termo foi considerada importante por despertar o interesse tanto da comunidade científica quanto dos empreendedores. Após uma revisão de literatura com as principais publicações sobre esse tema, percebeu-se que essa abordagem utilizava conceitos de outras teorias, principalmente da teoria de sistemas, cadeia de valor e teoria de rede. A partir dessa constatação, o estudo chegou a seguinte questão de pesquisa: \"Como a abordagem de Ecossistema explica - de maneira original em relação à cadeia de valor e a teoria de rede - a atividade empreendedora de base tecnológica em sua fase nascente?\". Dessa discussão, intuiu-se que a lógica de ecossistema propiciava maiores benefícios em momentos de instabilidade de um empreendimento, onde o caminho a ser perseguido era incerto. Essa característica, se confirmada seria de particular proveito para os empreendimentos inseridos nos chamados mercados dinâmicos, que são ambientes constantemente envoltos em incertezas. A fim de testar essa hipótese, foram formuladas quatro proposições: (P1) A lógica de ecossistema tem boa aderência em empreendimentos nascentes, pois ela consegue adaptar-se às mudanças que não foram previstas no escopo inicial do planejamento; (P2) A cadeia de valor, pelo fato de não considerar atores complementadores perde capacidade de avaliar um empreendimento em fase inicial; (P3) A cadeia de valor, por se tratar de uma ferramenta de análise de melhoria contínua, tem dificuldades para lidar com mudanças disruptivas, que altere seu estado estável; (P4) O mapeamento de uma rede pode ser difícil e custoso, dificultando sua execução prática. A investigação dessas proposições foi conduzida por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas realizadas com quatro empresas nascentes de base tecnológica. Em relação à proposição (P1), concluímos que além da adaptação esperada da abordagem ecossistema perante as mudanças ocorridas na trajetória planejada do empreendimento, o ecossistema consegue ainda sugerir que metas concretas a serem perseguidas pelo empreendimento a fim de conseguir sobreviver e evoluir para os próximos estágios. A proposição (P2) também foi confirmada na pesquisa de campo, sugerindo que os atores complementadores são sim de relevância significante para que o cliente reconheça valor à oferta da firma focal. Além disso, esta pesquisa sugere ainda que de todos os complementos da sua oferta, devem ser monitorados com especial cuidado aqueles que estão na fronteira da inovação tecnológica. A proposição (P3) não pode ser verificada neste trabalho e a proposição (P4) precisa de maior verificação para uma conclusão segura. A pesquisa conclui com um posicionamento otimista em relação à abordagem \"ecossistema\", acreditando ser uma abordagem promissora para o gerenciamento de empreendimentos inseridos em ambientes de alta velocidade. Por se tratar de um estudo exploratório, sugere que as investigações não se encerrem neste trabalho, apresentando por fim alguns caminhos que podem ser aprofundados. / This dissertation is an attempt to push forward the knowledge boundary concerning the construct \"ecosystem\" placed in the organizational theory, precisely within the innovation management field. The investigation was considered important because it arouses the interest both of the scientific community than the managers and entrepreneurs. After the literature review, which included the most important publications about the theme, it came to our sight that this approach use concepts of different theories, mainly the system theory, the value chain and the network theory. Along with this finding, this study arrive to the following research question: \"How does the Ecosystem approach explains - in an original basis facing the value chain and the network theory - the entrepreneurship activity in technological startups?\". From this debate, an insight sparkles, saying that the ecosystem logic offers more benefits during the instability phases of a business, when the way to follow is uncertain. This feature, assuming to be right, would be particular useful for organizations placed in dynamic markets, which are environments surrounded by uncertainties. In order to test this hypothesis, four propositions were formulated: (P1) The ecosystem logic has good adherence in startups, because it can adapt to the changes that were not expected in the first planning scope; (P2) because the value chain do not consider the complementors, it loses capability to evaluate a business startup; (P3) the value chain is a tool for continuous improvement , and therefore, have difficulties to deal with disruptive changes that modifies an organization stable state; (P4) mapping a network is complex and costly, hampering its practical execution. The investigation of these propositions was conducted through semi structured interviews performed with four startups. Concerning to the proposition (P1), we concluded that beyond the adaptation expected in the first place, the ecosystem can also suggest objective goals to be chased so that the ecosystem can survive and evolve to the next stage. The proposition (P2) was also confirmed in the field research, suggesting that the complementors have significant relevance on the client\'s value perception regarding the focal firms\' offer. Besides, this research also proposes that not every complementors should be tracked from the focal firm, but only the ones that are at the technological innovation boundary edge. The proposition (P3) couldn\'t be verified in this study while the proposition (P4) needs more investigation to a reliable conclusion. The research concludes with a positive perspective about the ecosystem, believing it is a promising approach for organizations residing in high velocity markets. Since this is an exploratory study we strongly suggest that the investigations do not end in this dissertation, where is presented some possible paths so that this work can be continued.

Este trabalho teve por objetivo avançar no entendimento acerca do constructo \"ecossistema\" quando aplicado na área da teoria organizacional, especificamente dentro do campo da gestão da inovação. A investigação desse termo foi considerada importante por despertar o interesse tanto da comunidade científica quanto dos empreendedores. Após uma revisão de literatura com as principais publicações sobre esse tema, percebeu-se que essa abordagem utilizava conceitos de outras teorias, principalmente da teoria de sistemas, cadeia de valor e teoria de rede. A partir dessa constatação, o estudo chegou a seguinte questão de pesquisa: \"Como a abordagem de Ecossistema explica - de maneira original em relação à cadeia de valor e a teoria de rede - a atividade empreendedora de base tecnológica em sua fase nascente?\". Dessa discussão, intuiu-se que a lógica de ecossistema propiciava maiores benefícios em momentos de instabilidade de um empreendimento, onde o caminho a ser perseguido era incerto. Essa característica, se confirmada seria de particular proveito para os empreendimentos inseridos nos chamados mercados dinâmicos, que são ambientes constantemente envoltos em incertezas. A fim de testar essa hipótese, foram formuladas quatro proposições: (P1) A lógica de ecossistema tem boa aderência em empreendimentos nascentes, pois ela consegue adaptar-se às mudanças que não foram previstas no escopo inicial do planejamento; (P2) A cadeia de valor, pelo fato de não considerar atores complementadores perde capacidade de avaliar um empreendimento em fase inicial; (P3) A cadeia de valor, por se tratar de uma ferramenta de análise de melhoria contínua, tem dificuldades para lidar com mudanças disruptivas, que altere seu estado estável; (P4) O mapeamento de uma rede pode ser difícil e custoso, dificultando sua execução prática. A investigação dessas proposições foi conduzida por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas realizadas com quatro empresas nascentes de base tecnológica. Em relação à proposição (P1), concluímos que além da adaptação esperada da abordagem ecossistema perante as mudanças ocorridas na trajetória planejada do empreendimento, o ecossistema consegue ainda sugerir que metas concretas a serem perseguidas pelo empreendimento a fim de conseguir sobreviver e evoluir para os próximos estágios. A proposição (P2) também foi confirmada na pesquisa de campo, sugerindo que os atores complementadores são sim de relevância significante para que o cliente reconheça valor à oferta da firma focal. Além disso, esta pesquisa sugere ainda que de todos os complementos da sua oferta, devem ser monitorados com especial cuidado aqueles que estão na fronteira da inovação tecnológica. A proposição (P3) não pode ser verificada neste trabalho e a proposição (P4) precisa de maior verificação para uma conclusão segura. A pesquisa conclui com um posicionamento otimista em relação à abordagem \"ecossistema\", acreditando ser uma abordagem promissora para o gerenciamento de empreendimentos inseridos em ambientes de alta velocidade. Por se tratar de um estudo exploratório, sugere que as investigações não se encerrem neste trabalho, apresentando por fim alguns caminhos que podem ser aprofundados. / This dissertation is an attempt to push forward the knowledge boundary concerning the construct \"ecosystem\" placed in the organizational theory, precisely within the innovation management field. The investigation was considered important because it arouses the interest both of the scientific community than the managers and entrepreneurs. After the literature review, which included the most important publications about the theme, it came to our sight that this approach use concepts of different theories, mainly the system theory, the value chain and the network theory. Along with this finding, this study arrive to the following research question: \"How does the Ecosystem approach explains - in an original basis facing the value chain and the network theory - the entrepreneurship activity in technological startups?\". From this debate, an insight sparkles, saying that the ecosystem logic offers more benefits during the instability phases of a business, when the way to follow is uncertain. This feature, assuming to be right, would be particular useful for organizations placed in dynamic markets, which are environments surrounded by uncertainties. In order to test this hypothesis, four propositions were formulated: (P1) The ecosystem logic has good adherence in startups, because it can adapt to the changes that were not expected in the first planning scope; (P2) because the value chain do not consider the complementors, it loses capability to evaluate a business startup; (P3) the value chain is a tool for continuous improvement , and therefore, have difficulties to deal with disruptive changes that modifies an organization stable state; (P4) mapping a network is complex and costly, hampering its practical execution. The investigation of these propositions was conducted through semi structured interviews performed with four startups. Concerning to the proposition (P1), we concluded that beyond the adaptation expected in the first place, the ecosystem can also suggest objective goals to be chased so that the ecosystem can survive and evolve to the next stage. The proposition (P2) was also confirmed in the field research, suggesting that the complementors have significant relevance on the client\'s value perception regarding the focal firms\' offer. Besides, this research also proposes that not every complementors should be tracked from the focal firm, but only the ones that are at the technological innovation boundary edge. The proposition (P3) couldn\'t be verified in this study while the proposition (P4) needs more investigation to a reliable conclusion. The research concludes with a positive perspective about the ecosystem, believing it is a promising approach for organizations residing in high velocity markets. Since this is an exploratory study we strongly suggest that the investigations do not end in this dissertation, where is presented some possible paths so that this work can be continued.