Scania, one of the heavy engines manufacturers, produces Scania Diagnos Programmer 3 (SDP3) to facilitate repair process in their workshops. SDP3 is localizable software which challenges to separate User Interface strings (UI strings) during development process and later combine with the localized strings for local user access. The objective of this report is to provide knowledgeable solution for Graphical User Interface (GUI) development, especially with respect to synchronization of UI strings in SDP3.The migration of SDP3 from .NET 3.0v framework to .NET 3.5v framework satisfies modern standards and needs. With regards to migration of SDP3’s localization process, I have attempted to summarize major .NET 3.5v framework methods that can be used for localization of GUI text in SDP3. Experiments show that tools used to facilitate the localization process also lack important features. Although pre-build process and post-build process provide promising solutions for localization, using them along with some proprietary localization tool should result in more features, better and faster production cycle. However, proprietary localization tool have to be used with anyone of the localization methods.

This paper analyses the impact of banking mergers on systemic risk, with in particular if internationalization prior to acquisition increases systemic risk. By using the marginal expected shortfall methodology for an international sample of mergers, a significant increase in systemic risk is found as a result of mergers in the financial sector. Moreover, if a bank is operating internationally prior to acquisition, this increases systemic risk. Additionally, there is evidence of a too-big-to-fail motive for relatively smaller banks to use mergers to become systemically important. The results confirm that consolidation in the financial sector increases fragility of the financial system.

This dissertation consists of three independent essays which contribute to the literatures on International Trade and Political Economy. The first essay addresses questions related to the political economy of antidumping (AD). With the remarkable falling in tariff barriers that has characterized the post-World War II period, AD has become the most used non-tariff barrier (NTB).1 Studying the use of AD is thus of great importance, also because the restrictive effects of AD measures on trade can be sizable (see for instance Ruhl, 2014). Moreover, there is an increasing concern that AD has turned to be an industrial policy tool rather than a mean that governments can use to restore the “level-playing field” (Vandenbussche and Zanardi, 2008). This worry is in line with the findings presented in the first chapter of this dissertation, Bureaucrats or Politicians? Political Parties and Antidumping in the US, which shows that the adoption of ADmeasures in the US is heavily shaped by political parties’ interests. I focus on the voting behavior of the International Trade Commission (ITC), a US quasijudicial agency composed by six non-elected commissioners who are supposed to conduct (an important part of the) AD investigations in a fair and objective manner. Using a newly collected dataset containing all ITC commissioners’ votes on AD over the period 1980-2010, I show that political parties can affect the ITC voting behavior in two ways: by selecting ITC commissioners who have a similar stance on trade policy as their own (selection effect) and by influencing them while they are in office (pressure effect). While other studies have emphasised that Congress can put pressure on the ITC, the novelty of this work is to show that this pressure is party-specific. First, I show that Democratic-appointed commissioners are systematically more protectionist than Republican-appointed ones. This effect is sizable (the probability of voting in favor of AD is at least 8 percentage points higher for Democratic-appointed commissioners) and suggests that political parties can play an important role by influencing the choice of ITC commissioners who have a similar preferences on trade. This result is insensitive to several changes in the econometric specifications and to the use of different methodologies. Moreover, commissioners’ votes on AD depend on the trade policy interests of key senators (i.e. Trade subcommittee members) in the party they are associated to.2 In particular, whether (Democratic) Republican-appointed commissioners vote in favor of AD depends crucially on whether the petitioning industry is key (in terms of employment) in the states represented by leading (Democratic) Republican senators at the time. This result is robust to several checks also holds when controlling for any unobserved time-invariant characteristic of ITC commissioners (e.g. the state of origin) that could influence their votes on AD and be correlated with the pressure variables, i.e. when commissioner fixed effects are included in the specifications. In addition, the pressure effect can actually overcome the selection effect, making a Republican-appointed commissioner more protectionist than the average Democratic-appointed one. The second essay, Internationalization and Innovation of Firms: Evidence and Policy, analyzes the link between internationalization and innovation at the firm level.3 The evidence presented Chapter 2 shows that the degrees of involvement in internationalization and innovation activities are inextricably linked. However, the European policy context seems at odds with this evidence: trade-promotion and innovation-enhancing policies are largely unrelated and often carried out through various agencies (see EIM, 2010).4 Thus, understanding the interaction between internationalization and innovation can be crucial for policy makers, especially in a world which is increasingly characterized by global value chains.5 The interplay between internationalization and innovation is investigated in a unique, representative and cross-country comparable sample of manufacturing firms with at least ten employees (EFIGE), across seven European countries (Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, UK) for the year 2008. We find that firms in the sample at hand are quite active in both innovation and internationalization: 87% of firms devote resources to R&D projects, IT solutions, or patent/design/ trademark registrations, while 77% of our firms are active in international trade, cross-border outsourcing relations, or FDI. For modes of internationalization, there is a clear ranking of associated firm performance: FDI makers show the highest productivity, followed by outsourcers and traders. Innovation differences across modes are less clear cut. Moreover, defining internationalization (innovation) intensity as the number of internationalization (innovation) modes in which firms are involved, we show that firms with high innovation intensity tend also to show high internationalization intensity. Instrumenting innovation intensity by the share of firms that have benefitted from R&D financial incentives in a given (NACE 2 digits) industry-country pair and by the share of investment in R&D over the value added in the same industry-country pair, for the years 2002-2006, we are not able to find conclusive evidence of a causal effect of innovation on internationalization. Finally, a positive association between innovation and internationalization intensities appears at both firm level and country-industry (milieu) level, and at country level when average intensity is calculated disregarding the relative numbers of firms in the different industries. If country average intensities are computed weighting by firm numbers in the various industries, the correlation between innovation and internationalization intensities across countries appears weaker, suggesting that innovation matters more than internationalization for driving differences across countries. Based on the evidence we collected, we suggest a higher coordination/integration of internationalization and innovation policies at both the national and EU levels, and propose a bigger coordinating role for EU institutions, in order to reduce the current paradox of generally uncorrelated policies aimed at mostly correlated outcomes. The third essay, Cooperation Among Criminal Organizations: Evidence from Organized Crime in Italy, uncovers new facts about the behavior criminal organizations on the Italian territory. Since Becker (1968) the economic analysis of crime has especially focused on the behavior of individual offenders. Much less attention has been devoted to the activities of criminal organizations, especially from an empirical point of view. Nevertheless, organized crime is a prominent and alarming presence in the world economy: it destroys physical and human capital and deteriorates the business environment, ultimately lowering the growth potential of an economy (Acconcia et al. 2014; Pinotti, 2015). The third chapter of this dissertation contributes to the literature on economics of organized crime by shedding light on the interaction between domestic and foreign organizations in Italy, showing that the probability of cooperation among them depends both on the type of crime committed and on the presence of traditional (incumbent) organizations in some regions of the country. More specifically, cooperation between domestic and foreign criminal organizations is studied using a novel dataset containing information on their activities in the Italian territory during 2007-2010. Italian territory during 2007-2010. We first show that cooperation among Italians and foreigners is skewed towards specific crimes (e.g. counterfeiting activities). We then show that the presence of traditional (incumbent) organizations in some regions reduces the probability of cooperating. Interestingly, in these areas the same probability is higher when cooperation takes place for criminal activities in which foreign organizations can play an important role in providing inputs. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The previous research, in the internationalization area, indicates that there are both opportunities and challenges when companies operate abroad. By using a SLEPT analysis model, which studies the effect from the countries’ social/cultural, legal, economic, political and technological environments and their effects, it makes the opportunities and challenges more depletive. This makes it easier for companies, which are operating in a foreign country, to handle the situation and therefore, saves both time and money for the companies. The purpose of this study is to present a more conspicuous representation of the opportunities and challenges that companies in an industrial market have to face, during their operation in an emerging market. To gather the necessary information a multiple case study was implemented with three Swedish companies, who all are within the business to business (B2B) area. This study was conducted by interviewing the case companies, which are all established in India. These companies are Bufab AB and two from the Volvo Group (Volvo 3P and Volvo Powertrain). This study demonstrates that the main opportunities are the Indian population, highly educated people, the complaisant government and the fact that it is a low cost market. The challenges that these case companies had to deal with are lack of experience, the law and tariff system is difficult to understand, the laws change frequently, the economic development is rapid and the infrastructure is poor.

This article develops the theme of internationalization of micro, small and medium enterprises in New South Wales and aims to relate institutional factors and the chara cteristics of entrepreneurial behavior that affect this process. In addition, we sought to describe the profile, to characterize the international operations, verify the institutional factors and identify the characteristics of resilient people of entrepre neurial companies surveyed. To this end, we reviewed issues related to the internationalization of business, international entrepreneurship, modes of entry, approach and institutional isomorphism in order to guide empirical research. Descriptive research w as conducted with application of a procedure for collecting survey data on which were analyzed using only descriptive statistical technique, due to limitations of the study. The results showed that the surveyed companies are distributed among micro, small and medium - sized and fit into the international market, mainly by way of export. It was identified that over half of the respondents answers to 05 countries and practiced international activities for 15 years. The main reasons were cited for internationali zation intent to internationalize itself since the beginning of its operations, developing skills to work abroad and the existence of client request coming from abroad. Another important aspect of our study refers to institutional factors, which highlight the statements that managers tended to a substantial similarity between the competitors who attended the international market, demonstrating the mimetic isomorphism. Furthermore, we observed that internationalization has generated positive impacts, conside ring the added value in terms of performance and control activities. Much of respondents' political mobilization begins among interest groups, intended to build coalitions with other actors in order to obtain resources and approvals. The data related to in ternational entrepreneurship demonstrated that entrepreneurial behavior is a recurring element to characterize the internationalization and, through the concept of resilience in the process of analyzing this study, the results highlighted the element of po sitivity. The study had some limitations, resulting in the number of companies surveyed, making it impossible to develop multivariate statistical analysis, which ignore the minimum number of individuals. However, it is remarkable that the institutional fac tors influencing international and entrepreneurial companies in their internationalization process because it stimulates innovation and contributes to the mimicry, positivity and adaptability to changes / Este artigo desenvolve o tema da internacionalização de micro, pequenas e médias empresas do Rio Grande do Sul e se propõe a relacionar fatores institucionais e as características do comportamento do empreendedor que influenciam este processo. Além disso, buscou-se descrever o perfil, caracterizar a atuação internacional, verificar os fatores institucionais e identificar as características empreendedoras das pessoas resilientes das empresas pesquisadas. Para tanto, foram revisados temas relativos à internacionalização de empresa, empreendedorismo internacional, modos de entrada, abordagem institucional e isomorfismo de modo a orientar a pesquisa empírica. Foi realizada pesquisa descritiva com aplicação de survey como procedimento para coleta de dados, sobre os quais foram analisados por meio apenas da técnica de estatística descritiva, devido às limitações do estudo. Os resultados mostraram que as empresas pesquisadas são distribuídas entre micro, pequenas e médio porte e inserem-se no mercado internacional, principalmente pelo modo da exportação. Identificou-se que mais da metade dos respondentes atende até 05 países e pratica atividades internacionais há até 15 anos. Como principais razões para internacionalização foram citadas a intenção em internacionalizarem-se desde o início de suas operações, o desenvolvimento de competências para atuar no exterior e a existência de solicitação vinda de cliente no exterior. Outro importante aspecto levantado no estudo refere-se aos fatores institucionais, os quais se destacam as afirmações de que os gestores tenderam a uma substancial semelhança entre os concorrentes que buscaram o mercado internacional, demonstrando o isomorfismo mimético. Além disso, observou-se que a internacionalização gerou impactos positivos, considerando o acréscimo de valor em termos de desempenho e controle de atividades. Grande parte dos respondentes inicia mobilizações políticas entre grupos de interesse, com pretensão de construir coalizões com outros atores, a fim de obter recursos e aprovações. Os dados relacionados ao empreendedorismo internacional demonstraram que o comportamento empreendedor é um elemento recorrente para caracterizar a internacionalização e, através do conceito da resiliência no processo de análise deste estudo, destacou-se nos resultados o elemento da positividade. O trabalho apresentou algumas limitações, decorrentes do número de empresas pesquisadas, impossibilitando que se desenvolvessem análises estatísticas multivariadas, que prescindem de um número mínimo de indivíduos. No entanto, é notável que os fatores institucionais e o empreendedorismo internacional influenciam as empresas no seu processo de internacionalização, pois estimulam e contribuem com a inovação, o mimetismo, a positividade e a adaptabilidade às mudanças.

The purpose of this research was to understand the role carried out by persons-in-charge of campus internationalization efforts at community colleges. The comprehension of this leadership role encompassed identifying and understanding profile and qualities of the person-in-charge of campus internationalization efforts as well as the duties and responsibilities of these individuals. The extent to which the person-in-charge of campus internationalization efforts received institutional support, and the tribulations or challenges they faced as they worked on the internationalization initiatives of their respective institutions were also explored, alongside their personal view of internationalization with respect to globalization. This study added to the existing body of knowledge since little research has been conducted regarding the organizational and leadership focus towards campus internationalization efforts especially at the community colleges level. This survey research was conducted with members from two national organizations who were considered leaders involved in campus internationalization efforts at their respective community colleges nationwide. The voluntary and anonymous survey instrument was administered online. Data analysis for quantitative data was descriptive, while responses to open-ended questions were summarized. One can conclude from the research findings that the profile and designation of the persons-in-charge of campus internationalization efforts are still developing, given the varying titles the respondents had and different supervisors to whom they reported. Furthermore, the results indicate that the major roles and responsibilities carried out by these leaders were beyond only overseeing international students and encouraging their own students to engage in study abroad and/or exchange programs. The duties included bringing together senior administrators, faculty, and students via strategic planning, institutional relations, and collaborations through internal/external advisory boards, and faculty policies affecting curriculum internationalization amongst others. The results indicated that the professional and personal traits best suited for this leadership position would be the individual who is aware of what internationalization in community college entails, has management experience, is articulate and is highly motivated. Hence, comprehending the role of existing persons-in-charge of campus internationalization efforts in community colleges helps to understand the unique profile, roles, and responsibilities as well as professional and personal qualities embodied by these leaders. It also enables senior leadership of the institutions to understand the kind of support required and challenges faced by such individuals to ensure comprehensive internationalization efforts take off and are successful at their respective community colleges.

This comparative case study examines the timely issue of internationalization of the Swedish higher education system in the context of lagom, a Swedish word which means “not too much, not too little, just the right amount.” This study presents a comprehensive overview of internationalization policies at the international and national levels, and examines their application at the institutional level within a higher education institution in Sweden to determine gaps between policy and practice. The data was gathered through qualitative interviews with students and international university administrators, which provided their perspectives of the current internationalization efforts, as well as a summary of the current internationalization policies at the institution. The interviews pointed to the organizational culture of the university as a factor affecting internationalization, taking Swedish lagom culture into consideration. This discovery is followed by the application of Sporn’s Organizational Culture Typology (1996) to the institution to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the university, and how to harness the strategic management style to better facilitate internationalization and thus increase the number of students pursuing studies abroad. The results suggest that a more centralized organizational university culture is a more effective way to facilitate internationalization. Additionally, the Swedish lagom culture presents a uniquely challenging paradigm for fostering the innovative internationalization agenda in HEIs.

Syfte och forskningsfråga Syftet är att undersöka vilka motiv mindre svenska e-handelsföretag inom herrkonfektion har vid internationalisering, hur de går tillväga och vilka handelshinder personer i ledningen anser försvårar internationaliseringen. 1. Hur internationaliserar sig mindre svenska e-handelsföretag inom herrkonfektion? 2. Varför internationaliserar sig mindre svenska e-handelsföretag inom herrkonfektion? 3. Vilka hinder upplever mindre svenska e-handelsföretags ledning vid internationalisering? Metod Uppsatsen är en kvalitativ branschstudie på e-handelsföretag inom herrkonfektion. Ansatsen är deduktiv med induktiva inslag. Empirin utgörs av sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med företag och två med experter inom området. Slutsatser Studien visar hur och varför e-handelsföretag inom herrkonfektion internationaliserar sig. Unga e-handelsföretag internationaliserar sig ofta stegvis från land till land, trots att teorier säger annorlunda. Slutligen visar studien på en ny typ av internationalisering där företag från början säljer globalt för att sedan minska till de attraktiva marknaderna. Nyckelord E-handel, Internationalisering, Konfektionsbranschen, Barriärer / Purpose and research question The aim of this study is to determine what objectives smaller swedish e-commerce companies within the male clothing industry have to internationalization. How does the companies act and what obstacles does the board experience obstruct internationalization?           Methodology This thesis is a qualitative study about the line of business within male clothing. The approach of the method is deductive with inductive elements. The experience-based knowledge is based on six semistructured interviews with companies and two with experts in the field. Conclustions The study shows how and why internationalization takes place for e-commerce companies within male clothing. Young companies still goes from country to contry despite that theorys often tell a different story. At last the studie shows a new type of internationalization where companies are global from the start and then decreases to the attractive markets. Keywords E-commerce, Internationalization, Male clothing industry, Barriers

Nowadays, the improvement of factors, such as transportation, communication, and technological advancement, is allowing SMEs to move towards international markets faster than before. Combining those factors with knowledge gained inside firms, software SMEs are able to follow the trend of internationalizing their activities. Depending only on one side of knowledge to expand abroad, will probably inhibit SMEs to survive in the foreign atmosphere. Moreover, the insufficiency of market 5  knowledge and the lack of international experience prevent SMEs to meet the basic requirements to establish relationships outside the home country. The dependence only on the domination of internal knowledge and the uniqueness of the product, may provoke software firms for an excessive ambition to internationalize - which can lead to tangling the way to establish a network abroad.

Technical advances have made it possible for small enterprises to go international already at inception since the internet has made the internationalization process cost-effective. With the existence of the offline and online arena, the companies have to consider how they allocate their resources between these fields; not allocating resources to offline methods can save money, but could reduce adaptation to the new market which can lead to reduced firm performance. However, overspending on offline methods can be costly and could jeopardize the financial stability of the company. Although this is noted by previous research, little is still known about how companies balance the resources between online and offline presence. Especially when it comes to e-commerce companies and how the benefits of online and offline presence are balanced by this type of firms in their expansion into foreign markets. This is also what is meant to be explored in this paper. The data has been collected through semi-structured interviews with seven Swedish e-commerce companies that have internationalized their operations in an active way. The results show that online and offline benefits can be divided into four categories, namely local knowledge, local connection, promotion and services. These categories could in turn bring benefits to the company that are either substitutable, non-substitutable or complementary. The findings indicate that firms could balance their resources in online and offline presence in order to gain benefits that cannot be found in the counterparts of each presence. This could be of interest for entrepreneurs and managers that plan to engage in internationalization within e-commerce.