Cette thèse est constituée de quatre essais en économie industrielle. Les deux premiers essais relèvent de l'économie de l'innovation et de la propriété intellectuelle. Ils exploitent l'idée qu'un brevet est un titre incertain et cherchent à en tirer des conséquences, d'une part, sur le choix entre brevet et secret industriel comme régime de protection de l'innovation et, d'autre part, sur les accords de licence entre l'innovateur et les entreprises souhaitant utiliser la nouvelle technologie. Le troisième essai analyse un programme de clémence utilisé par les autorités de la concurrence américaines et visant à inciter des entreprises condamnées pour leur participation à un cartel sur un marché donné à dénoncer d'éventuels comportements collusifs sur d'autres marchés. Le quatrième essai, enfin, s'intéresse à l'effet de la contrainte imposée aux entreprises dans le cadre d'un schéma de régulation par comparaison sur leurs incitations à réduire leurs coûts de production.

<p>Program: MIMA student – International business and Entrepreneurship</p><p>Course name: Master Thesis (EFO705)Title: Imitation as Organization’s StrategyAuthors: Voravej AssavapisitkulSataporn Bukkavesa</p><p>Supervisor: Sven-Åke NyströmProblem: Does imitation really benefit organization?</p><p>Purpose: The authors are writing this topic because the authors feel that this topic is not widely been investigated, moreover, it is a very interesting topic for the authors. According to the course literatures that the authors have read, the authors perceived that most of them focused on innovation and seems like they ignored or mentioned little on the topic of imitation and how can imitation benefits organization. Therefore, the authors are personally interested in the topic. The authors hope that the readers would gain more knowledge on the topic and would be able to apply with their business or study.</p><p>Method: Interpretivist; Documentary; Interview</p><p>Summary: In this Master Thesis, the authors have discussed several dimensions of imitation with examples. First, the authors discussed about imitation during the early stage of industrialization with the examples in Korea. This topic discussed of the opportunity provided through imitation process for the new firms to be able to catch up and compete with experienced firms. The next topic is on unique capability. Firms can apply imitation as their own capability that can prevent others’ imitation, moreover, they can become successful in the new market. Then the authors found that there are ways to imitate other firms’ knowledge legally in the form of strategic alliances. In the topic of creation of strategic alliances, the authors suggested four patterns of engagement that firms can select according to their objectives. Under the topic of firms experience, there are some empirical data supported that the degree of imitation has negative relationship with firms’ experience curve. Moreover, the authors discussed about the how competitors’ actions affect the firms to select different strategy of organization management in the topic of the choice of alliances and mergers and acquisitions by competitor’s move. Then the authors discussed about how successful were the imitations by reverse-engineering implemented by Korea’s electronics industry. Furthermore, the authors also provide examples of imitations in other industries. The next topic is limitation and prevention on imitation. Then the authors provided the reasons why do firms imitate. Moreover, the authors discussed about the factors that affect the speed of imitation process and show how the speed of imitation related to benefits and losses of the firms. Next, the authors suggested some successful strategies for product imitation. Then the authors discussed about the drawbacks of imitation with some examples. Finally, the authors provided the results and analysis of the interviews as primary data collection to show the success of firms that implemented imitations, people’s attitudes toward imitation, and the degree that originality and product origin can limit imitation.</p>

During the period between 1640 and 1700, over forty works were produced by authors identifying themselves as “T. S.” In the field of early modern literary studies, one T. S. has been particularly important to scholars because of this author’s imitative version of John Bunyan’s popular allegory titled The Second Part of the Pilgrim’s Progress (1682). This work by T. S., who has become known as Thomas Sherman, achieves minor success and prompts Bunyan to write his own authentic sequel. My research has uncovered an attribution history that identifies four additional texts—Divine Breathings (circa 1671); Youth’s Tragedy (1671); Youth’s Comedy (1680); Divine Breathings, the Second Part (1680)—and credits all of them to a Thomas Sherman. Of the five works attributed to this author, the most impressive printing history belongs to the earliest offering, Divine Breathings, or a Pious Soul Thirsting after Christ in a Hundred Pathetical Meditations, which appears in over 60 printings from 1671 to 1883 in England, Scotland, and North America. My research scrutinizes this attribution history and raises questions about identifying this T. S. as Thomas Sherman. Based on internal and external evidence, I argue that T. S. is not the author of Divine Breathings but establishes his authorial identity as an imitative writer who actively participates in the genre of Protestant meditational literature by providing sequels (i.e., Divine Breathings …the Second Part and Second Part of the Pilgrim’s Progress).

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This thesis analyzes the product cycles of five different product groups within the Swedish machinery export during the time period 1964-2003. The result is that even though Sweden is a preferable region to launch new products and adopt new technologies, according to the product cycle models, the production is approaching a decreasing regional specialisation.

Present times are sometimes referred to as "the golden era of regulation", as more and more areas of social life are regulated. But regulation is not only increasing; it is also changing. New regulators are emerging, and they are issuing new kinds of rules. These new kinds of regulation are frequently not legally binding, and are therefore labelled soft regulation as opposed to hard law. It is not compulsory to follow soft rules but many actors - including sovereign states - still do, and the thesis asks the question why this is so. Why do even states, which are powerful regulators themselves, abide by soft regulation, and wherein lies the regulative power of soft rules? Through an in-depth study of the European Union's pre-accession instrument Twinning an answer to the question of the power of soft regulation has been arrived at. Treating Twinning as a critical case of soft regulation, and using theories of imitation to grasp the meaning and evolution of Twinning projects, makes it possible to define three regulative elements involved in soft regulation. These are the combinative, co-productive and constitutive elements of soft regulation, from which the thesis suggests that it derives its power. First of all, soft regulation combines different kinds of rules, the regulation of identity and the regulation of activity, and a variety of sources of legitimacy. Second, it depends on regulators and regulatees interacting to co-produce regulation. And third, as its main result, it constitutes the rule-followers as formal, rational, and modern organisations. Accordingly, soft regulation has rather impressive regulative capabilities, builds on complex, dynamic, and social interactions, and embodies as well as promotes some of Western society's most strongly institutionalised ideas. The thesis argues that it is through these characteristics that actors, including states, are compelled to follow soft rules.

Program: MIMA student – International business and Entrepreneurship Course name: Master Thesis (EFO705)Title: Imitation as Organization’s StrategyAuthors: Voravej AssavapisitkulSataporn Bukkavesa Supervisor: Sven-Åke NyströmProblem: Does imitation really benefit organization? Purpose: The authors are writing this topic because the authors feel that this topic is not widely been investigated, moreover, it is a very interesting topic for the authors. According to the course literatures that the authors have read, the authors perceived that most of them focused on innovation and seems like they ignored or mentioned little on the topic of imitation and how can imitation benefits organization. Therefore, the authors are personally interested in the topic. The authors hope that the readers would gain more knowledge on the topic and would be able to apply with their business or study. Method: Interpretivist; Documentary; Interview Summary: In this Master Thesis, the authors have discussed several dimensions of imitation with examples. First, the authors discussed about imitation during the early stage of industrialization with the examples in Korea. This topic discussed of the opportunity provided through imitation process for the new firms to be able to catch up and compete with experienced firms. The next topic is on unique capability. Firms can apply imitation as their own capability that can prevent others’ imitation, moreover, they can become successful in the new market. Then the authors found that there are ways to imitate other firms’ knowledge legally in the form of strategic alliances. In the topic of creation of strategic alliances, the authors suggested four patterns of engagement that firms can select according to their objectives. Under the topic of firms experience, there are some empirical data supported that the degree of imitation has negative relationship with firms’ experience curve. Moreover, the authors discussed about the how competitors’ actions affect the firms to select different strategy of organization management in the topic of the choice of alliances and mergers and acquisitions by competitor’s move. Then the authors discussed about how successful were the imitations by reverse-engineering implemented by Korea’s electronics industry. Furthermore, the authors also provide examples of imitations in other industries. The next topic is limitation and prevention on imitation. Then the authors provided the reasons why do firms imitate. Moreover, the authors discussed about the factors that affect the speed of imitation process and show how the speed of imitation related to benefits and losses of the firms. Next, the authors suggested some successful strategies for product imitation. Then the authors discussed about the drawbacks of imitation with some examples. Finally, the authors provided the results and analysis of the interviews as primary data collection to show the success of firms that implemented imitations, people’s attitudes toward imitation, and the degree that originality and product origin can limit imitation.

The aim of this essay is to analyze two different educational paradigms, which I refer to broadly as the behavioristic way of learning through imitation versus intercultural education, as these are depicted in the novel Purple Hibiscus by the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The analysis focuses on how the narrator Kambili´s learning, identity and personal development are differently affected by these two contrastive approaches to education. After the analysis, examples of how the novel can be taught in intercultural, communicative EFL classrooms will be given. In the analysis theories of mimicry and imitation, and identity will be used as well as understandings of the terms intercultural education and behaviorism. The analysis shows that Kambili´s father Eugene represents behaviorism in the novel, whereas Kambili´s aunt Ifeoma symbolizes intercultural education. At home, Kambili learns to imitate her father´s behavior and values. In Ifeoma´s house on the other hand she encounters a kind of intercultural education, where critical thinking and questioning are encouraged. The thematization of contrastive educational and developmental paradigms in the novel is relevant to the comprehensive goals of Swedish upper secondary schools, which promote intercultural learning, as well as critical thinking and reflection on learning processes. Reading literature in the EFL classroom at this level may promote these broad educational objectives as well as the achievement of more specific, language- and culture-based learning outcomes. For many Swedish EFL students, Purple Hibiscus may represent difference, and therefore it is a suitable novel to include in intercultural education, as the students are encouraged tounderstand and reflect on different perspectives. By discussing the novel in groups, the education becomes intercultural because everyone becomes active participants and everyone´s voices are heard.

Abstract The school market was established in Sweden in the conjunction of several reforms, which, among other objectives, aimed at increasing diversity in the market. This allowed profitseeking firms to compete against each other in a former monopoly. According to certain theories, the mechanisms of competition are bound to make organizations more homogenous. Other researchers have claimed that differentiating mechanisms such as various strategies allow companies to become more diverse. This paradox presents an interesting research area which we have pursued. Our thesis addresses this contradiction by answering the research question: How do mechanisms of competition influence organizational diversity among charter school groups? This explanatory qualitative case study analyzes ongoing organizational trends among three Swedish charter school groups through a within – and cross case analysis. Our main findings indicate that 1) the mechanisms of competition reduces the diversity among organizations of charter school groups and thus the organizations are becoming more homogenous. However, 2) external imitation does not contribute to the homogenizing effects on organizations since brand strategy, lack of resources and transparency as well as employee resistance limits competitive imitation.

Syftet med studien är att ur ett Vygotskijperspektiv skildra förskollärares syn på barns samspel och samlärande samt vilken syn de har på sin egen roll i detta sammanhang. Studien utgår från följande frågeställningar: Vilka uppfattningar har förskollärare om samspel och samlärande hos förskolebarn? Hur ser förskollärare på den pedagogiska miljöns betydelse för att främja samlärande och samspel? Hur beskriver de sin egen roll i barns samarbete och samlärande? I studien intervjuas fem verksamma förskollärare på tre olika förskolor. Det visar sig att nästan alla känner till Vygotskij och delar av hans teorier och en förskollärare har även honom som förebild. Resultatet visar att de på många sätt arbetar efter hans teorier men att ibland saknas en medvetenheten om det. En större medvetenhet skulle kunna medföra att förskollärare främjar samlärande och samspel, både genom sitt förhållningssätt och genom sin attityd till samarbete samt hur den pedagogiska miljön organiseras. Det visar sig att barns förmåga till samspel och samarbete skiljer sig åt och att den kan komma till uttryck i såväl barn- som vuxeninitierade aktiviteter Förskollärarens roll innebär både att inspirera och utmana men också att vägleda och stötta för att främja samarbete och samlärande hos barn. Studien visar också att barn samspelar och hjälper varandra mer när vuxna inte finns i närheten samtidigt som informanterna anser att närvarande lärare är en viktig faktor i förskolan. Den pedagogiska miljön är viktig för barns samlärande och utveckling men resultatet visar att mängd, variation och tillgänglighet avseende material kan väcka debatt i förskolan.