This study addresses public sector intermediaries and their role in facilitating innovation in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea. The primary aim is to understand and address the informational and relational barriers that SMEs face during the innovation process and how these are resolved through interaction. Although the government has been implementing SME support policies for several decades, the Korean National Innovation System (KNIS) has been characterised with six words: ‘strong large firms, weak small firms’. Korean Government policies for R&D have not been effective in enhancing the economic performance and innovative capabilities of SMEs and the ‘low level of competitiveness’ of SMEs obstructs knowledge interaction between firms. Policies directed at SMEs mainly focus on direct support and do not reflect the interactive nature of the innovation process. This mismatch between policy and desired outcomes has led this study to go beyond examining the informational and relational constraints. It analyses the factors influencing successful (or less successful) innovation and asks whether public intermediaries have provided an effective mechanism in resolving innovation barriers (i.e. system failures). Yet, there has been a lack of research into public intermediaries and SMEs within the National Innovation Systems (NIS) framework. The NIS approach is a loosely configured framework and the intermediary literature is fragmented and has rarely been integrated with the NIS literature. Research has tended to focus on specific functions of private intermediaries and far less on the public intermediaries, which have been playing a crucial role in facilitating innovation in Korean industry for several decades. The central focus of this study is on the knowledge interaction process between public intermediaries and SMEs occurring at multiple levels of interaction in the Korean NIS. This study therefore attempts to integrate the NIS concept and the intermediary approach to provide a robust way to explore the knowledge interaction process at meso- and micro-levels. Four functions of the intermediary are constructed to explore how they might influence SME innovation: knowledge facilitation, learning facilitation, knowledge enabling and managing interfaces. Through in-depth analysis of five case studies encompassing firms in mechatronics and IT, this study explicates the knowledge interaction process and influential factors of successful innovation. The analysis addresses a series of issues that the generic NIS concept cannot fully explain: (1) knowledge interaction at meso- and microlevels; (2) multiplicity of relationships and their evolving nature; (3) the role of public intermediaries in a specific cultural context; and (4) the heterogeneity of SMEs with their pre-existing resources and routines. Sociological perspectives especially provide insights for investigating not only the dynamic nature of interactions but also micro-level factors that determine successful interactions and innovation that are largely neglected in both NIS and intermediary studies; e.g. productive combination of competing rationalities, social learning, and the importance of reflexive individuals. Focusing on a modulated NIS concept for public sector intermediaries and SMEs in a Korean context, the study opens the ‘black box’ of knowledge interaction and learning that resolves the barriers, shapes the successful innovation environment and hence strengthens the innovation system. The findings have implications for policy, including the need to establish new policy measures aimed not simply at achieving a set goal but rather at facilitating the interaction process with a long-term view. The study recommends that public intermediaries need to focus on monitoring activities that integrate and support the knowledge interaction process by facilitating ‘associativeness’ among actors. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of the local contexts and SMEs in the innovation process need to be taken into account in designing the programmes, moving away from one-size-fits-all type services.

Background: Intermediaries are an inherent part of global trade that take over various tasks within supply chains. These supply chain facilitators play vital roles within the trade of goods and services and over time, they have evolved into different types. These types have been categorized with regards to various factors, but within this study, the factors involvement and power are examined. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop a categorization of intermediaries within the companies’ supply chains. In addition, a categorization technique is aligned. This is important as most models established in the literature do not show steps of assessments. A black box is created, which hides processes and steps for outsiders. In addition, literature does show categorizations of intermediaries, however, no categorizations with involvement and power exist. Since some literature states that some intermediaries are very powerful within supply chain relationships, the purpose is to examine these relationships with regard to involvement and power. Method: This study is a multiple case study of a qualitative character. Semi-structured interviews are conducted in order to collect data. The data is processed via a qualitative content analysis. First, the collected data is quoted, in a second step it is coded, categorized and then explained and finally interpreted. In order to establish a categorization model, a technique to assess the categorization is developed by the authors themselves. Conclusion: The results show that intermediaries are involved within supply chains on a medium to high level. Intermediaries contain power on a low to medium level within supply chains. The technique that is established in order to receive results with regards to involvement and power, contains of 11 steps that range from choosing factors to the results and also includes the specific steps that usually are hidden in the black box.

abstract: Public organizations have been interested in tapping into the creativity and passion of the public through the use of open innovation, which emphasizes bottom-up ideation and collaboration. A challenge for organizational adoption of open innovation is that the quick-start, bottom-up, iterative nature of open innovation does not integrate easily into the hierarchical, stability-oriented structure of most organizations. In order to realize the potential of open innovation, organizations must be willing to change the way they operate. This dissertation is a case study of how Arizona State University (ASU), has adapted its organizational structure and created unique programming to incorporate open innovation. ASU has made innovation, inclusion, access, and real world impact organizational priorities in its mission to be the New American University. The primarily focus of the case study is the experiential knowledge of administrative leaders and administrative intermediaries who have managed open innovation programming at the university over the past five years. Using theoretical pattern matching, administrator insights on open innovation adoption are illustrated in terms of design stages, teamwork, and ASU's culture of innovation. It is found that administrators view iterative experimentation with goals of impact as organizational priorities. Institutional support for iterative, experimental programming, along with the assumption that not every effort will be successful, empowers administrators to push to be bolder in their implementation of open innovation. Theoretical pattern matching also enabled a detailed study of administrator alignment regarding one particular open innovation program, the hybrid participatory platform 10,000 Solutions. Creating a successful and meaningful hybrid platform is much more complex than administrators anticipated at the outset. This chapter provides administrator insights in the design, management, and evaluation of participatory platforms. Next, demographic assessment of student participation in open innovation programming is presented. Demographics are found to be reflective of the university population and provide indicators for how to improve existing programming. This dissertation expands understanding of the task facing administrators in an organization seeking to integrate open innovation into their work. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Public Administration 2016

En el espacio multiétnico y pluricultural del Paraguay colonial, cobraron un papel relevante ciertos individuos que actuaron como intermediarios entre las distintas tradiciones culturales y los intereses de los diferentes actores en juego. En el contexto de las reducciones, donde se generaron disputas por las presiones suscitadas a causa de las obligaciones y demandas coloniales, diversos actores apelaron a estrategias de acción en defensa de los indígenas, así como en beneficio propio. Entre estos se encontraban los líderes guaraníes, quienes por la posición que ocuparon, desempeñaron el papel no solo de puentes culturales sino también el de agentes políticos y económicos. Estos sujetos, por sus prácticas cotidianas, contribuyeron a conectar elementos de universos diferentes, desdibujando así la rigidez de los límites que el Estado colonial intentaba aplicar en algunos casos entre grupos de diverso origen socioétnico. / At the multiethnic and multicultural colonial Paraguay’s space, some people played a central role as intermediaries between different cultural traditions. Within this context, in the reducciones de indios emerged a new kind of actors who displayed a diversity of strategies in order to preserve indigenous welfare as self-profit. These were the guaraní leaders, a kind of cultural bridges as well as political and economic agents because of the daily practices they play in thecolonial society.

Wildlife tourism is promoted as a livelihood alternative activity to extractiveuse, such as the case of whale shark interaction in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Whale sharksseasonally aggregate (from May to September) northeast Yucatan peninsula, where theyannually attract about 20000 visitors.This study analyzes the socio-economic drivers, influencing the sustainability of thisrecreational activity, through semi-structured (n=44) and in-depth (n=4) interviews tolocal stakeholders, tourists surveys (n=262), and a cost-benefit analysis.Results indicate that intermediaries put pressure on the optimization of the operation, aswell as it decreases the economic return to local operators (licensees). Local operatorsare not aware of the real costs of operations, and additionally tourists are poorlyinformed of (1) the species, (2) the code of conduct (regulations) and (3) how to supportlocal community’s development. In conclusion, those factors along with the lack ofsurveillance threaten whale shark tourism sustainability. Inclusion of all stakeholders inmanagement and planning of wildlife tourism is necessary in order to obtain desirablepractices, as well as investment in environmental education.

La responsabilité des intermédiaires d'Internet fait débat dans un univers numérique de plus en plus complexe. Les intermédiaires offrent des services en ligne. Ils créent ou facilitent des transactions entre des parties tierces (hébergement, e-commerce, fournisseurs d'accès…). A la fin des années 1990, un consensus s'est établi sur l'instauration d'une responsabilité limitée pour ces acteurs, dans le but de favoriser leur développement ainsi que celui d'Internet par des externalités croisées. Cependant, l'apparition régulière de nouveaux usages a induit des externalités négatives affectant certains agents économiques. La multiplication récente de décisions de jurisprudence parfois contradictoires, en particulier dans le domaine de la propriété intellectuelle, vient désormais remettre en cause cette exemption. Elle fait naître un risque juridique pour les intermédiaires d'Internet. Ces-derniers doivent alors prendre en compte ce nouveau contexte dans leurs modèles d'affaires. Notre recherche étudie les comportements spécifiques que la responsabilité des intermédiaires d'Internet engendre à travers l'exemple de la propriété intellectuelle. En premier lieu nous décrivons l'évolution historique de cette responsabilité. Nous développons ensuite un modèle théorique simple qui explore l'influence du risque légal dans un contexte de concurrence entre un intermédiaire et un ayant droit du copyright. Enfin nous étendons ce modèle de concurrence aux différents comportements de protection que peuvent choisir les intermédiaires. / Internet intermediaries' liability is a rising issue in a more and more complex digital environment. Intermediaries provide online services. They create or facilitate transactions between third parties (hosting, online shops, ISPs...). At the end of the 1990s, a limited liability has been established for these actors with the aim of developing intermediaries and Internet through cross externalities. However, the arrivals of new uses and functions have created negative externalities for some economic agents. The new increase of case law sometimes contradictory, in particular for intellectual property rights, questions this exemption. It creates legal risk for Internet intermediaries. Thus, they have to take into account this new situation in their business models. This thesis studies specific behaviors that Internet intermediaries' liability creates with the example of intellectual property rights. First we describe the historic evolution of this liability. Then we develop a simple theoretical model in order to explore the influence of legal risk when there is competition between an intermediary and a copyright holder. Finally, the model is extended to take into account avoidance activities of Internet intermediaries.

La première partie de cette thèse est consacrée à l’étude de l’émergence récente de nouveaux acteurs sur le marché des brevets, à savoir les entreprises non productrices, qui acquièrent des brevets sans intention de produire un bien final. D’une part, les chasseurs de brevets cherchent à acquérir des brevets en vue de les monétiser par la menace d'action en contrefaçon de brevet. D’autre part, les agrégateurs défensifs acquièrent des brevets afin de protéger leurs entreprises clientes contre des litiges initiés par les chasseurs de brevets. Nous analysons le comportement stratégique de ces nouveaux intermédiaires dans le processus d'acquisition de brevets et mettons en évidence l'aptitude supérieure des chasseurs de brevets quant au rachat de brevets par rapport aux producteurs. Ensuite, nous examinons l'efficacité du mécanisme de protection proposé par les agrégateurs défensifs contre la menace des chasseurs de brevets envers les producteurs. Enfin, la dernière partie étudie l’impact des spillovers unidirectionnels dans le contexte des modèles de R&D dans lesquels des firmes à priori identiques investissent dans une innovation réductrice de coût puis sont en concurrence à la Cournot sur le marché des produits. Nous analysons comment les spillovers unidirectionnels et deterministes induisent de l'hétérogénéité entre les firmes dans la concurrence sur le marché des produits, et examinons l'effet de l'incertitude quant à l'appropriation des investissements en R&D sur les incitations des firmes à investir en R&D. / The first part of this thesis studies the recent emergence of new actors in the market for patents, namely, non-practicing entities, who acquire patents with no aim to use them to produce a final good. On the one hand, patent assertion entities seek to acquire patents so as to monetize them through the threat of litigation for patent infringement. On the other hand, defensive aggregators acquire patents to provide safety from litigation brought by patent trolls to their affiliated firms. We analyze the strategic behavior of non-practicing entities in the patent acquisition process and highlight patent assertion entities' greater ability to preempt patents as compared to producing firms. Then, we examine the effectiveness of defensive aggregators to protect firms against litigation brought by patent assertion entities. Finally, the last part instead studies the effects of one-way spillovers in the context of non-tournament models of R&D in which ex-ante identical firms engage in cost-reducing innovation and then compete à la Cournot in the product market. We analyze how a deterministic unidirectional spillover process induces heterogeneity across firms in the product market competition, and examine the impact of uncertainty about the appropriability of R&D investments on incentives to undertake R&D.

of the thesis In this thesis I deal with a comprehensive view of the legal regulation of the activity of insurance intermediaries, including a look into the history, analysis of the current national and European legislation and the expected development of national regulations. Work has been divided into four chapters. The first chapter is dedicated to the insurance industry as a specific economic sector. Here I define the concept of insurance, dealing with the history of the industry and briefly mention the existing legal regulations of insurance in the Czech Republic. At the end of the first chapter I analyze the various distribution networks in the insurance industry with reference to the inclusion of insurance intermediaries as the most important distribution channel. The second chapter is devoted to detailing the significance of insurance intermediaries and the nature of their activities. Similar to the first chapter, here is also a part briefly focused on a historical development of insurance intermediaries activities. A substantial part of this chapter is devoted to current legislation, of which the most important institutions are analyzed in separate sections. Gradually deal with the Insurance Intermediaries Act as a whole, individual categories of insurance intermediaries, the conditions of...

Telephony plays a fundamental role in our society. It enables remote parties to interact and express themselves over great distances. The telephone as a means of communicating has become part of every day life. Organisations and industry are now looking at Voice over IP (VoIP) technologies. They want to take advantage of new and previously unavailable voice services. Various interested parties are seeking to leverage the emerging VoIP technology for more flexible and efficient communication between staff, clients and partners. <o>VoIP is a recent innovation enabled by Next Generation Network (NGN). It provides and enables means of communication over a digital network, specifically the Internet. VoIP is gaining wide spread adoption and will ultimately replace traditional telephony. The result of this trend is a ubiquitous, global and digital communication infrastructure. VoIP, however, still faces many challenges. It is not yet as reliable and dependable as the current Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The employed communication protocols are immature with many security flaws and weaknesses. Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), a popular VoIP protocol does not sufficiently protect a users privacy. A user’s information is neither encrypted nor secured when calling a remote party. There is a lack of control over the information included in the SIP messages. Our specific concern is that private and sensitive information is exchanged over the public internet. This dissertation concerns itself with the communication path chosen by SIP when establishing a session with a remote party. In SIP, VoIP calls are established over unknown and untrusted intermediaries to reach the desired party. We analyse the SIP headers to determine the information leakage at each chosen intermediary. Our concerns for possible breach of privacy when using SIP were confirmed by the findings. A user’s privacy can be compromised through the extraction of explicit private details reflected in SIP headers. It is further possible to profile the user and determine communication habits from implicit time, location and device information. Our research proposes enhancements to SIP. Each intermediary must digitally sign over the SIP headers ensuring the communication path was not be altered. These signatures are added sequentially creating a chain of certified intermediaries. Our enhancements to SIP do not seek to encrypt the headers, but to use these intermediary signatures to reduce the risk of information leakage. We created a model of our proposed enhancements for attaching signatures at each intermediary. The model also provides a means of identifying unknown or malicious intermediaries prior to establishing a SIP session. Finally, the model was specified in Z notation. The Z specification language was well suited to accurately and precisely represent our model. This formal notation was adopted to specify the types, states and model behaviour. The specification was validated using the Z type-checker ZTC. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Computer Science / unrestricted

The thesis focuses particularly on the issues of the activites of insurance intermediaries. It identifies problems with the activities of insurance intermediaries and also presents and evaluates options for solving these problems in the context of legislation and market in the Czech Republic.