1969, Peter Drucker defined the phrase ¡§knowledge Economy¡¨ as the use of knowledge to produce economic benefits. The concept that knowledge and education can be treated as business products to be exported for high value return or productive asset becomes reality in the past decades due to the driving forces such as globalization, innovations in information and network technology. November 2004, Halo2, a video game designed exclusively for Microsoft¡¦s Xbox, sold 2.4 million copies and earned up to $125 million US in its first 24 hours on store shelves, thus out-grossing the film Spider-Man 2 as highest grossing release in entertainment history. May 2002, Taiwan Government announced that they will nurture Taiwanese Digital Content industry into a profound force of economy. Among the major members in digital content industry, digital game industry is the one with the most potential. Game Development Talent in Taiwan is well known in pan-Asia region, with the ability to produce high quality games and leading role in Chinese entertainment business. The future for Taiwan game development talent is, without a doubt, bright. Knowledge workers have always been a popular subject of academic research. However, scholars in the past have treated the concept of knowledge worker as a single entity, rather than sets of different sub-group. The paper attempts to focus on the group of who participated in game development with a quantitative approach. The aim is to gain in-depth understanding about the lifestyle of game developers. Socialists¡¦ view of the world consisted of sets of ¡§fields¡¨ with rules to guide behavioral pattern of the people living in it. The behavioral pattern, as well as the tastes and opinions about most things in daily life, is referred as lifestyle. Game developers pay heavy attention on their professions, care less about dining as well as other aspects in daily life. The long working-hour is a major feature in game developers¡¦ lifestyle, and they enjoy such a way of life.

Abstract Interactive Media and Game development are experiencing an incredible growth the recent year. Digital devices are in constant evolution, and the developers/artist are glad to unleash their full potential by creating innovative content that take advantage of those capacities. Although creation and innovation is not what is limiting this field, the business side to this industry is the biggest challenge to this kind of content. Making a good product needs a team effort, and these employees will obviously need good money for their expertise, which, means the product needs to be funded to make it happen. In this context I find myself in the perfect position for this kind of adventure as I both love games and I like to play the role of the entrepreneur/problem solver. As a Fulbright scholar I feel my self-obligated to help my country back with all the knowledge and the opportunities I got offered by coming here and learning from U.S professionals in the industry This brings us to the core of this thesis, by doing a Co-op job in Petricore, shadowing its CEO and surrounding myself by a huge community of professionals from the industry, researching the best way to start my own startup €œABY€� in the same industry in Tunisia. I will also using auto ethnography and interviews to collect relevant data in an ultimate goal of building a lightweight business plan to guide me in starting this adventure in my home country.

The purpose of this thesis is to present and analyze the innovations in the home video game industry and their impact on the competitive strategies of the companies in the indus-try. The existing literature about business cycles and business dynamics is scarce from busi-ness administrative perspective. This thesis contributes to fill the gap in the academic literature. The choice of the home video game industry has been done, due to its fast growing economic nature and the rapid changes that can be noticed, especially for the last decade. A qualitative research method with secondary qualitative and quantitative data and primary qualitative data through interviews has been used for this thesis. The home video game industry is highly driven by technological product innovations. Incremental innovations do not affect in a significant way the dynamics within the industry. Radical innovations create a competitive advantage through differentiation and they increase market share for the company which followed this strategy. Disruptive innovations open new markets, change the business environment for every firm and generate a shift in consumer preferences. Hence, the company which implements a disruptive innovation gains extensive market share. Innovations are possible due to the strategic orientation a company aims to pursue. If a company pursues a high market orientation and a low inno-vation orientation it manufactures an upgraded product to keep customers satisfied. When the firm pursues a high market and innovation orientation, the final product includes cha-racteristics that the customers desire. While at the same time the product created offers services and features hard to be matched by the competition. Finally, if a firm pursues a high innovation orientation and a low market orientation strategy, it creates an easier and more convenient alternative on the existing products while being cheaper. At the same time this strategic orientation disregards the established customers' desires.The purpose of this thesis is to present and analyze the innovations in the home video game industry and their impact on the competitive strategies of the companies in the indus-try. The existing literature about business cycles and business dynamics is scarce from busi-ness administrative perspective. This thesis contributes to fill the gap in the academic litera-ture. The choice of the home video game industry has been done, due to its fast growing economic nature and the rapid changes that can be noticed, especially for the last decade. A qualitative research method with secondary qualitative and quantitative data and primary qualitative data through interviews has been used for this thesis.The home video game industry is highly driven by technological product innovations. Incremental innovations do not affect in a significant way the dynamics within the industry. Radical innovations create a competitive advantage through differentiation and they increase market share for the company which followed this strategy. Disruptive innovations open new markets, change the business environment for every firm and generate a shift in consumer preferences. Hence, the company which implements a disruptive innovation gains extensive market share. Innovations are possible due to the strategic orientation a company aims to pursue. If a company pursues a high market orientation and a low inno-vation orientation it manufactures an upgraded product to keep customers satisfied. When the firm pursues a high market and innovation orientation, the final product includes cha-racteristics that the customers desire. While at the same time the product created offers services and features hard to be matched by the competition. Finally, if a firm pursues a high innovation orientation and a low market orientation strategy, it creates an easier and more convenient alternative on the existing products while being cheaper. At the same time this strategic orientation disregards the established customers' desires.

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to present and analyze the innovations in the home video game industry and their impact on the competitive strategies of the companies in the indus-try. The existing literature about business cycles and business dynamics is scarce from busi-ness administrative perspective. This thesis contributes to fill the gap in the academic literature. The choice of the home video game industry has been done, due to its fast growing economic nature and the rapid changes that can be noticed, especially for the last decade. A qualitative research method with secondary qualitative and quantitative data and primary qualitative data through interviews has been used for this thesis. The home video game industry is highly driven by technological product innovations. Incremental innovations do not affect in a significant way the dynamics within the industry. Radical innovations create a competitive advantage through differentiation and they increase market share for the company which followed this strategy. Disruptive innovations open new markets, change the business environment for every firm and generate a shift in consumer preferences. Hence, the company which implements a disruptive innovation gains extensive market share. Innovations are possible due to the strategic orientation a company aims to pursue. If a company pursues a high market orientation and a low inno-vation orientation it manufactures an upgraded product to keep customers satisfied. When the firm pursues a high market and innovation orientation, the final product includes cha-racteristics that the customers desire. While at the same time the product created offers services and features hard to be matched by the competition. Finally, if a firm pursues a high innovation orientation and a low market orientation strategy, it creates an easier and more convenient alternative on the existing products while being cheaper. At the same time this strategic orientation disregards the established customers' desires.The purpose of this thesis is to present and analyze the innovations in the home video game industry and their impact on the competitive strategies of the companies in the indus-try. The existing literature about business cycles and business dynamics is scarce from busi-ness administrative perspective. This thesis contributes to fill the gap in the academic litera-ture. The choice of the home video game industry has been done, due to its fast growing economic nature and the rapid changes that can be noticed, especially for the last decade. A qualitative research method with secondary qualitative and quantitative data and primary qualitative data through interviews has been used for this thesis.The home video game industry is highly driven by technological product innovations. Incremental innovations do not affect in a significant way the dynamics within the industry. Radical innovations create a competitive advantage through differentiation and they increase market share for the company which followed this strategy. Disruptive innovations open new markets, change the business environment for every firm and generate a shift in consumer preferences. Hence, the company which implements a disruptive innovation gains extensive market share. Innovations are possible due to the strategic orientation a company aims to pursue. If a company pursues a high market orientation and a low inno-vation orientation it manufactures an upgraded product to keep customers satisfied. When the firm pursues a high market and innovation orientation, the final product includes cha-racteristics that the customers desire. While at the same time the product created offers services and features hard to be matched by the competition. Finally, if a firm pursues a high innovation orientation and a low market orientation strategy, it creates an easier and more convenient alternative on the existing products while being cheaper. At the same time this strategic orientation disregards the established customers' desires.</p>

This thesis analyses how intellectual property (IP) laws are used in the home console game industry and in particular how these laws are used to capture the returns on investment, which may indirectly provide a stimulus to innovation. The relationshipis evaluated in three selected markets: The United States (US), the European Union (EU) and People's Republic of China (PRC). The first two of these are selected as representative of developed markets whilst the latter as an instance of an emerging market. This thesis analyses and illustrates ways in which three major types of intellectual property rights - patents, copyright and trademarks - operate in this sector of industry. This thesis evaluates this relationship via a unique approach, adopting both a legal and economic analysis. The thesis starts with a detailed market analysis of this industry to identify key factors that affect individual firms' abilities to capture returns on investment. This is followed by section II (comprising Chapters II to IV) which goes on to examine the effects of each type of IPR on these factors in the developed markets of the US and Europe. The analysis in section III shifts the focus from these developed markets to the emerging market in the PRC. It identifies the unique attributes and problems of the Chinese market and demonstrates how contemporary local IP laws can be used to tackle these problems. It is the view of this thesis that IP laws theoretically can be used to maximise a firm's return on investment while not distorting competition; hence, the thesis suggests that IPRs may indirectly create incentives to innovate.

Gemsbok, ibex, sitatunga, nyala. Their names may be unfamiliar, but these rare species, originally from Africa and Asia, now roam Texas ranches in numbers close to 1 million. In an irony as big and as rich as Texas, however, their proliferation has depended on their popularity with hunters. Enthusiasts will pay anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000 to hunt these so-called “texotics.” While this flourishing micro-economy and sub-culture has gone unrecognized by most of the world, “A Kind of Wild” is a 22 minute documentary that puts forth a portrait of the industry as illustrated through a cross-section of individuals with different roles in the system: an amateur breeder, a researcher, a ranch hand and a hunter. The film explores the paradoxical relationship between these people and the animals they care for, between economics and conservation. It is intended to spread awareness about this obscured phenomenon and to encourage audiences to reflect upon their own values concerning humans increasingly complicated impact on the natural world around us. This report chronicles the process of making the film and expounds on its challenges and lessons. / text

Being relatively young, the Swedish video game industry has experienced explosive growth in recent years, surpassing several traditional industries. Exemplified by the purchase of King for approximately three times the price of Volvo, and the fact that one in ten people on the planet has played a Swedish video game. This development notwithstanding, the industry remains academically unexplored, suffering high rates of failure among new businesses, and for many companies, access to capital is problematic. In many ways a unique industry; Reversing traditional business models. involving the community, their customers, during pre-, mid- and post-production combined with companies being born global. Therefore, traditional tools for financial analysis, such as profitability ratios, are proving insufficient and the industry is perceived as a risky investment. The study analyzes the underlying variables of such ratios, from the perspectives of uncertainty and risk as well as accounting, considering the unique characteristics of the Swedish video game industry; Providing guidelines for better utilization of the ratios. The authors establish a solid foundation for future studies on the topic and provide investors with useful tools to increase their knowledge of the industry. The findings indicate that due to the abstract nature of the industry, stemming from assets and value creation, financial ratios should be used in tandem with a uncertainty and risk assessment of certain key areas of the industry.

This licentiate thesis describes the development of the Swedish computer and video game industry. The main focus is on the Swedish game development industry. Little research on the industry has been done and the purpose is to define the companies involved and to create an initial overview of the development of the industry. This overview will later be used as a platform for the doctorial thesis. Games are a growing culture form and today a lot of people are playing different types of computer and video games. Internationally the industry has expanded and some of the successful games have generated spectacular revenues. In Sweden the industry has received attention from different actors like universities, government bodies and media. There are today educations that are focused on game development and there are programs which allocates grants towards game companies. The rapid development in the computers technology has had a great impact on the game industry, which is dependent on hardware development to create games. The first computer games were made for some of the very first computers in the 1940´s and 1950´s. In the 1970´s a market for games was created when arcade machines and somewhat later home consoles were introduced. The industry has grown and includes today some of the largest companies in the world. The Swedish industry follows the international pattern but developed a bit later and the first Swedish game companies were founded in the late 1980´s. The industry has expanded, especially between 1998 and 2002. In 2005 the number of people employed in the industry had increased to over 600. During the period under study the industry seems to have had a constant problem with making a profit. Especially in 2002 and 2003 the industry has had economic problems and some of the lager companies were bankrupt.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Zoology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2012

<p>This licentiate thesis describes the development of the Swedish computer and video game industry. The main focus is on the Swedish game development industry. Little research on the industry has been done and the purpose is to define the companies involved and to create an initial overview of the development of the industry. This overview will later be used as a platform for the doctorial thesis.</p><p>Games are a growing culture form and today a lot of people are playing different types of computer and video games. Internationally the industry has expanded and some of the successful games have generated spectacular revenues. In Sweden the industry has received attention from different actors like universities, government bodies and media. There are today educations that are focused on game development and there are programs which allocates grants towards game companies. The rapid development in the computers technology has had a great impact on the game industry, which is dependent on hardware development to create games.</p><p>The first computer games were made for some of the very first computers in the 1940´s and 1950´s. In the 1970´s a market for games was created when arcade machines and somewhat later home consoles were introduced. The industry has grown and includes today some of the largest companies in the world.</p><p>The Swedish industry follows the international pattern but developed a bit later and the first Swedish game companies were founded in the late 1980´s. The industry has expanded, especially between 1998 and 2002. In 2005 the number of people employed in the industry had increased to over 600. During the period under study the industry seems to have had a constant problem with making a profit. Especially in 2002 and 2003 the industry has had economic problems and some of the lager companies were bankrupt.</p>