This project is based on an ethnography of Trifecta Tech (pseudonym) a major high-tech firm on the West coast of the U.S. Although a growing group of organizational theorists started investigating high-tech firms’ organizational model and management mechanisms, they are still limited by their neglect of two latest trends in the high-tech industry: the rejuvenation of the workforce through disproportionally recruiting young college-educated men and the masculinization of the organizational culture. Drawing on 46 in-depth interviews and 11 months of participant observation, this study argues that these two latest dynamics result in some significant organizational processes that have not been examined before, including the gamification of the workplace; the promotion of “playful” organizational culture that attempts to blur boundaries between work and off-work activities; and the reinforcement of masculinized racial hierarchy to facilitate managers’ division of labor.

Of late, technology entrepreneurship has been receiving growing importance as a means of contribution to national economic growth, both from Empirical Researchers and Policy Makers. According to NASSCOM, India has emerged as the third largest base for high-tech start-ups in the world. Although there is a surge in start-up creation rates in India, very little is known about the vital factors that are required for these star-ups to survive, sustain and grow into large enterprises. This study reviews the entrepreneurial, firm-specific and external environment specific aspects that influence the key lifecycle stages of high-tech star -ups and identifies the key factors that influence each of the milestones. There are very few studies in this domain that have examined the unique features and influential factors of different lifecycle stages of start-ups in the context of emerging economies like India. This limited exploration on the structure, process and strategies adapted by high-tech start-ups has resulted in insufficient understanding about the high-tech start-up lifecycle. This study therefore, attempts to fill these gaps. Accordingly, the objectives of this study are to determine the factors that influence the creation, survival and growth of the high-tech start-ups operating out of India. Further, an examination of what factors influence and impact the entire lifecycle of high-tech start-ups is also carried out – to obtain an integrated perspective on the lifecycle of high-tech start-ups. Primary data gathered from 275 high-tech start-ups, operating at different stages of the lifecycle formed the basis of the present study. To obtain additional insights on the factors influencing the milestones of the high-tech start-up lifecycle, the available data are analyzed against three segments – based on the target market segment that these start-ups focused on (B2B or B2C), based on the region of operations of the start-ups and based on whether the founding team had transnational work or start-up exposure or not. Our findings indicate that age and technical education of the entrepreneurs (from entrepreneur-specific perspective), the R&D and financial capitalization capabilities of the start-ups (from firm-specific perspective) and the external ecosystem parameters such as a robust SDP growth rate, presence and occurrence of VC funded deals in the region of start-ups operations have an influence on the high-tech start-up lifecycle in India. The findings of the study formed the basis to derive implications for entrepreneurs, other ecosystem stakeholders and policy makers.

Background As digitalization and the Internet of Things (IoT) evolves in a rapid pace, the need for engineers, IT specialists and software developers introduce an increasing shortage of skilled workers. Managing the existing workforce is a challenge, increasing the interest in the antecedents and implications of their mobility activities. Employee turnover has been broadly viewed as a disadvantage for firms losing valuable human capital, increasing the implementation of retention strategies. On the other hand, an increasing amount of studies argue that mobility within a region is a source of knowledge spillovers and can enhance innovation and productivity, as well as regional economic growth by facilitating access to new external ideas and capabilities. There is a gap in the research on employees’ perception of opportunities and preferences that leads them to engage in mobility within the regional high-tech sector instead of other types of mobility. Objectives The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding of what factors influence the mobility of employees within the regional high-tech industry. Therefore, the perceived opportunities and preferences for different types of mobility are investigated. The aim is that the findings will facilitate the management of employee mobility and maximize the local organizations’ joint human capital. Method A quantitative survey study is conducted, collecting data from two high-tech organizations operating within the same geographical region. The collected data includes individual, organizational and external factors, as well as the intentions for turnover and considerations for different types of mobility. SPSS is used to statistically test what factors are associated with high-tech employees’ opportunities and preferences for mobility within the regional industry. Results High-tech personnel perceive most opportunities for alternative employment within the high-tech industry in another region, while finding another job within the region is perceived more difficult. If employees considered leaving their current organization, most would prefer to take a job within the regional high-tech industry. Satisfaction with pay, training opportunities and supervisors in the current job have a reducing effect on the intention to leave the organization, while perception of having alternative employment opportunities have an increasing effect on both turnover intention and for considering mobility within the same industry. No significant model for predicting the preference for mobility within the same region was found in this study. Conclusions The majority of high-tech personnel already prefer mobility within the regional industry if they were leaving their current job, but there is a mismatch with the perceived opportunities for this type of mobility. Actions towards matching the opportunities with the preferences are expected to result in benefits for the region by increasing the local overall knowledge base, provide the organizations with more opportunities to attract highly skilled workers locally, and increase employees’ job satisfaction and performance through better job-matches.

Understanding dimensions that influence reinforcement is important for applied behavior analysts. Preference, and reinforcer effectiveness, may change depending upon several dimensions of reinforcement. Two influential dimensions that may influence preference and reinforcer efficacy are response-reinforcer arrangements and stimulus type. Many leisure items used as reinforcers may be classified depending upon technology level (e.g., highly technological items versus non-technological items). In recent years use of highly technological items has increased among individuals with disabilities. When using high- and low-tech reinforcers, reinforcer deliveries may be arranged to occur in a distributed manner (i.e., every response results in a reinforcer delivery), or an accumulated manner (i.e., reinforcers are accumulated and exchanged following completion of all the work). The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction and effects of reinforcer arrangements (i.e., distributed reinforcement and accumulated reinforcement) and technology level of items (i.e., high-tech and low-tech) on preference and reinforcer efficacy with three children with autism. Results demonstrated higher response rates and preference toward accumulated reinforcer arrangements compared to distributed reinforcer arrangements regardless of technology level. Overall, participants’ responding and preference were sensitive to different reinforcer arrangements but were less sensitive to differences in the technology level of the reinforcers used.

Two dimensions of reinforcement that influence behavior are reinforcer magnitude and stimulus type. One type of stimulus involving high technology (i.e., hightech stimuli) has not been examined to determine reinforcement properties. This project examined the interactions of reinforcer magnitude and high-tech stimuli and the effects of those interactions on preference and reinforcer efficacy. Participants included three adult individuals with disabilities. Two multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessments were conducted to determine a highly preferred high-tech stimulus and a highly preferred no-tech stimulus for each participant. A paired stimulus preference assessment was conducted to identify preferred reinforcer magnitudes using both highly preferred stimuli (high- and no-tech). A progressive ratio (PR) reinforcer assessment was then conducted to assess the effects of stimulus type and reinforcer magnitude on reinforcer efficacy. Results demonstrated a preference for high-tech stimuli at longer durations of access for two participants. Results also demonstrated participants responded more for high-tech stimuli as reinforcer magnitudes were increased, and responded less for no-tech stimuli as reinforcer magnitudes were increased (measured as total number of responses during the PR assessments). These results provide further evidence of the effects of reinforcer magnitude and stimulus type (high-tech stimuli) on preference and reinforcer efficacy and have implications for clinicians and caregivers using high- and no-tech items as reinforcers.

Technology plays a huge role in our daily lives. While technology provides a multitude of positivity for society, many are blinded to the dangers it can present, especially for children. Technology is proving to impact pediatric development and impair family dynamics. The research presented in this doctoral manual will shed light on this problem, discuss previous attempts at providing a solution, and present the author’s solution – ON THE DOCK ™. ON THE DOCK ™ is a classic-style board game, based on current research, curated to aid child development through play. Every detail of this game, both big and small, was meticulously selected to provide as much therapeutic value as possible. Not only does the game provide benefit for children, but this author also created an educational component for parents. The parental education component is meant to bring awareness to parents about child play behaviors, how to create the best play environment for children, and marketing strategies often used to promote toys and games. This information will be presented in the form of a brochure included in each game box as well as through a seminar. ON THE DOCK ™, and its associated parental education, is an important invention that can prove beneficial for parents and occupational therapy practitioners alike; not only was it developed by an occupational therapist, but the author is also a parent which guarantees both perspectives are represented. The foundation of both components is grounded by three theories: Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory, and Bruner’s Scaffolding Model. Disseminating the game and seminar will be of crucial importance for success; social media will be a big component of the dissemination process. The success of the program, both game and seminar, will be evaluated primarily through sales count. The seminar will also be evaluated through questionnaires completed by seminar participants. The game and seminar will be largely self-funded; the possibility of receiving grants and investors is considered as well. The research and intervention as described in this doctoral project will bring much needed attention to an ever-expanding situation of technology overload. / 2023-09-17T00:00:00Z

The aim of my master's thesis is to assess the influence of research support of European Union on location and competitiveness of European high-tech industry. After defining high-tech industry according to OECD and ČSÚ (Czech statistical office) follows a part dealing with different forms of support of EU for high-tech industry, while the focus is also on volume and efficiency of invested money. I try to analyze the location with regard to European support and Porter's diamond theory. Since high-tech industry is usually concentrated in clusters, which are rather abundant in Europe as well, the focus is only on a few selected regions. Last part compares European competitiveness with that of other OECD members and developing countries based on data from OECD and Eurostat.

Compte tenu du taux d’échec élevé qu’enregistrent bon nombre d’opérations de fusions & acquisitions (F&A), le transfert des connaissances semble être un facteur déterminant dans le processus d’intégration entre les entreprises qui fusionnent. La littérature empirique sur le transfert de connaissances dans les F&A tend à se répartir en deux catégories distinctes : d’une part, les études "macro" (au niveau inter-organisationnel) et d’autre part, les études "micro" (au niveau de l’individu). Or, il est possible de noter qu’au cours des dernières années, une troisième catégorie récente a fait son apparition, qui axe son analyse sur les dimensions "soft" (au niveau collectif). Ce clivage limite la portée et la capacité explicative des études empiriques sur les facteurs de succès et d’échec du transfert de connaissances. Pour combler ce manque d’études, nous proposons une grille d’analyse multi-niveaux tenant compte des "macro" facteurs, "micro" facteurs et "soft" facteurs simultanément. Ce cadre théorique permet d’envisager le transfert de connaissances dans le processus d’intégration post-F&A comme un phénomène complexe et "multi-facette" qui regroupe un certain nombre de tâches successives ou simultanées. S’appuyant sur un positionnement épistémologique aménagé, la méthodologie retenue dans notre thèse combine une analyse de cinq études de cas réalisées dans les secteurs français de la haute technologie (analyse intra-cas) et une démarche comparative (analyse inter-cas). Les résultats de cette recherche apportent une contribution majeure par rapport au management des processus d’intégration, en permettant de mettre à jour les facteurs favorisant la réussite du transfert de connaissances. / Considering the high failure rate recorded by a good number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), knowledge transfer seems to be a determining factor in the integration process among merging enterprises. The empirical literature on the transfer of knowledge in M&A tends to divide up into two distinct categories: on the one hand, "macro" studies (at inter-organizational level) and on the other hand, "micro" studies (at individual’s level). Yet, a looming third category has been scored recently, which focuses its analysis on "soft" dimensions (at collective level). This scission restricts the scope and explanatory capacities of empirical studies upon the success and failure factors of knowledge transfer. To make up for this gap, we suggest a multi-level analytical grid taking "macro" factors, "micro" factors and "soft" factors simultaneously into account. This theoretical framework allows the transfer of knowledge in the post-M&A integration process to be considered as a complex and multifaceted phenomenon gathering a number of successive and simultaneous tasks. Hinging on an adapted epistemic positioning, the methodology retained for our thesis combines an analysis of five case studies carried out in the French sectors of high technology (intra-case analysis) with a comparative approach (intra-case analysis). The findings of this research bring about a major contribution to the management of integration processes, while enabling the factors favoring knowledge transfer to be updated

This thesis aims to better understand the process of the funding of young innovative ventures, and how a deeper understanding of this process can help public policy to better stimulate entrepreneurial firms—especially in high-technology industries. I interpret entrepreneurial finance broadly to mean financing issues facing young innovative ventures. It includes three essays which deal with a set of economic, institutional, and public policy issues to examine entrepreneurial finance.

Entrepreneurship is considered as a critical factor for the development of transition economies and currently attracts a growing body of research. Following a qualitative case-study research strategy, this paper is occupied with the emergence of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, as a location of high-tech entrepreneurship in the country. While the legacy of the socialist past is part of Sofia reality, the entrepreneurs in the capital appear to make considerable efforts to overcome these barriers. Applying a social capital perspective I articulate the link between entrepreneurship growth and entrepreneurs’ social context. Internationalization from early stage of start-up development is perceived as the main growth path, which requires the entrepreneurs to accumulate new social relations. Adopting a process oriented analysis, I observe the shift in the social capital content and how start-ups can benefit from their pre-existing and emerging social relations. I contend that the acquisition of social capital by studied entrepreneurs has a specific added value for the studied companies as in this process they are required to adopt new norms and practices that are distinctive from those generally observed domestically. This process, however, poses certain concerns for start-ups’ survival prospects due to its high costs.