Microfinance relates to the provision, by specialized microfinance institutions (MFIs), of small-scale financial services - such as credit, savings, and insurance - to the poorer sections of the population. These sections have traditionally been excluded by the financial system. Microfinance is viewed as a system put into place in order to overcome market failures that are created by banks and that are omnipresent in the developing world. In development policy, microfinance has received considerable attention during the last twenty years, and the industry has grown substantially. Interestingly, the sector has been more successful in reaching out to people in some countries than in others. The sector has also developed in an unequal way within countries. The reasons why this happened are not directly apparent. This doctoral dissertation addresses the uneven development of the microfinance sector and aims at identifying factors that explain it. The dissertation consists of three main parts. The first part, which consists of two papers, combines different datasets on the outreach of MFIs to assess in which countries MFIs have developed most. The papers indicate that the microfinance sector is more present in the richer countries of the developing world. It also reaches more clients in countries that receive more international aid. Population density also plays a stimulating role, which partially explains why the sector is still underdeveloped in rural areas. The second part of the dissertation, which exists of one paper, explores in more depth the relationship between traditional financial sector development and microfinance institutions. The paper, co-authored with Bert D’Espallier, shows that MFIs reach more clients and are more profitable in countries where access to the traditional financial system is low. This is in line with the market-failure hypothesis. Along the same line, we find that MFIs serve poorer people in countries with well-developed financial systems. This observation is an important element to take into account in the debate on mission drift of the sector, where it is feared that MFIs drift away from serving the poor. The paper shows that MFIs in countries with well-developed banking sectors have less space to move up market and consequently to drift from the sector’s general mission. The third and final part of the dissertation is a quantitative study on the spread and expansion process of MFIs in one Latin American country, Peru. The roles that district characteristics play in the decision to open an MFI branch are scrutinized. The paper finds that MFIs mainly increase financial access in districts with higher levels of development. Districts where banks are already present also have a higher probability that MFIs will open a branch there. This demonstrates that the two kinds of institutions co-exist in several districts, but most probably serve another clientele. Overall, although strategies differ between different types of Peruvian MFIs, the paper finds that they do not seem to be driven by a pure developmental logic that would push them towards the poorest or totally unbanked regions of the country. On the whole, the main conclusions of the dissertation can be summarized as follows. First, the dissertation demonstrates that the outreach of the microfinance sector is influenced by a number of macro factors. Consequently, country-specific and macro-economic factors should be taken into account when evaluating MFI performance. Second, the dissertation shows that MFIs substitute the traditional banking sector. MFIs thus fulfill an important part of their mission, i.e. they have helped to increase financial access in the developing world. However, the study also suggests that MFIs still fail to serve a significant number of poor people. This leads to a third important observation, namely that MFIs may in fact not strive to serve the poor as such. Rather, it seems that they are currently focusing on the un-served market in general. The observation indicates that there is a need for a more thorough investigation on the issue of whom the unbanked in the developing countries are and whom MFIs actually strive to serve. Finally, since the outreach and performance of MFIs is dependent on the presence of a stimulating macro-environment, it remains a challenge to serve the financially excluded in the more remote areas of the developing countries and the people in the poorest ones.

Bakalauro baigiamajame darbe tiriamos ir vertinamos kremavimo paslaugų sukūrimo prielaidos Šiaurės Lietuvoje, naudojantis PEST analize ir M. Porter penkių jėgų modeliu. Darbe nagrinėjami teoriniai paslaugų kūrimo ir įvedimo į rinką ypatumai, laidojimo ir kremavimo paslaugų istorija bei ypatumai Lietuvoje ir pasaulyje. Teisinė - politinė aplinka sudaro sąlygas kremavimo paslaugų sukūrimui, nes yra priimti teisės aktai, reglamentuojantys kremavimo paslaugomis užsiimančių įmoniu veiklą. Šiuolaikinė kremavimo techninė įranga nekenksminga aplinkai. Jos pasiūla didelė, įrangą galima importuoti iš Europos Sąjungos šalių. Dėl ekonominių veiksnių kremavimo paslaugos kaina turi būti nustatyta atsižvelgiant į vartotojų perkamąją galią. Socialinė – kultūrinė aplinka religiniu aspektu kremavimo veiklai vykdyti yra palanki, nes Lietuvoje vyraujančios religijos – katalikybės – bažnytiniai kanonai neprieštarauja palaikų kremavimui. Vertinant sociokultūrinę aplinką ekologiniu aspektu, kremuotų palaikų laidojimas yra ekologiškesnis ir mažiau kenksmingas aplinkai nei tradicinis laidojimas. Šiuo metu Lietuvoje yra du krematoriumų projektų rengėjai, kurių iniciatyva krematoriumai gali būti pastatyti Šiaulių rajone ir Kėdainiuose. Atlikus Šiaurės Lietuvos gyventojų apklausą, paaiškėjo, jog didžioji dalis gyventojų kremavimui ir krematoriumo statyboms pritaria; beveik pusė visų respondentų po mirties norėtų būti kremuoti. Apibendrinant galima teigti, jog krematoriumui statyti Šiaurės... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In the bachelor‘s undergraduate thesis are investigated and evaluated the presumptions of cremation services development in the Northern Lithuania using PEST analysis and M.Porter‘s five forces model. Theoretical work deals with service development and features of market introduction, burial and cremation services, history and peculiarities of the world and Lithuania. The political - legal environment enables the development of cremation services, as there is a law governing the cremation business. Modern hardware is not harmful to the environment. Also there is a high supply of the cremation equipment. It can be imported from the countries of European Union. Due to the economic environment, the cost of cremation services must be settled according to the consumers‘ purchasing power. Sociocultural environment, in religion aspect, is favorable for cremation activities, because cremation is not prohibited by the Catholic Church canons. Assessing the sociocultural environment in ecological aspect, burial of cremated remains is environmentally friendly and less harmful to the environment than traditional burial. Lithuania currently has two potential promoters of the crematorium, who are planning to establish crematoriums in Šiauliai region and Kėdainiai town. Survey in North Lithunia (regions of Šiauliai, Telšiai and Panevėžys) showed that the majority of the respondents agree with a cremation service development and building crematorium. Almost half of all respondents after death... [to full text]

With the rise of digital technologies that have disrupted standard business models and created a new level of competition in the market, the need for digital business strategising that shapes the future of organisations and achieves digital transformation is high on the agenda of most firms. The added complexity of uncertainty in the regulatory environment regarding financial products and services, regulation of digital platforms and ongoing financial regulatory changes based on macro-economic turbulence, makes for a complex external environment within which businesses need to effectively compete and achieve performance targets. A qualitative, interpretive case study of a South African based global organisation is undertaken to explore and understand how organisations navigate the macro-environmental landscape while forging a digitally transformed future. The research uses thematic analysis to extract themes in the data collected from both IT and business leaders as they navigate the path of transitioning from traditional to digital business models in the context of regulatory uncertainty. The study provides insight into what is required for firms to achieve digital transformation, and demonstrates the influence that regulatory uncertainty has on the digital business strategising process of a firm. A conceptual model is developed that reflects the key drivers of digital transformation to achieve digital maturity and competitive advantage, and also represents the external influencing factors of regulatory uncertainty. The findings reveal a shift to a more tactical, combined top-down, bottom-up strategising practice with reliance on dynamic capabilities, strong leadership and innovation to overcome challenges of regulatory uncertainty.

Diplomová práce se zabývá sestavením marketingové strategie na zahraničním trhu pro podnik EC Engineering, který nabízí služby v oblasti simulačních softwarů. Práce analyzuje současnou marketingovou strategii podniku a navrhuje její zefektivnění.

This master’s thesis deals with creating marketing strategy of Real Spektrum s.r.o. company which offers service in real estate area mainly dealing with salles and rents of properities. This thesis analyzes the current marketing strategy of the company and provides changes leading to raise it´s efficiency.

The concept of a hub airport has evolved widening its scope as a national civil aviation policy-making tool, due to the ability to deliver wider socio-economic benefits to a country. However, not all airports can be converted into hubs. This research proposes a methodological approach to structural analysis of the airport industry, that could be applied to determine the competitive position of an airport in a given aviation network and devise airport strategies and national policy measures to improve the current position of the airport. This study presents a twelve-group taxonomy of airports, which analyses the changing geography of the airport industry in the East (Asia and The Middle East). Multivariate data have been used in a two-step Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering exercise which represents three airport strategies: namely, degree-of-airport-activity (size and intensity of operations), network strategies (international and domestic hub), and the market segmentation strategies (service and destination orientation). Principal Component Analysis has been utilised as a data reduction tool. The study confirms the general hypothesis that a sound macro environment and liberalised approach to economic regulation in the air transport industry are important for successful hub operations. In addition, it sheds light on the fact that while the factors of geographical advantage, economic development, urbanisation, tourism and business attractiveness, physical and intellectual infrastructure, and political and administrative frameworks, are all basic prerequisites (qualifiers) for successful hubbing in the region, those factors would not necessarily guarantee a hub status unless the governments are also committed to develop the sector and take timely decisions (differentiators) to allow airports to benefit from the first mover advantage. Application of the proposed taxonomy was tested on a case study of the major international airport of Sri Lanka, to provide policy inputs to develop the airport that is currently identified as being overshadowed by the mega hubs in the region.

During the past few decades, the sport industry has experienced immense pressure to commercialise its operations and conform to traditional business practices (Chadwick 2009:191). With this evolution from a pure leisure activity to a multimillion dollar industry, it has become evident that the unique characteristics and deeply rooted historical culture of sport pose significant challenges for the sport manager during the process of commercialisation and the application of strategic management. The aim of this study was to analyse the current business environment of Cycling South Africa (CyclingSA) in such a way that the factors in the micro-environment, market environment and macro-environment that impact on the organisation‟s strategic decisions could be identified. The results should allow sport organisations to engage more effectively in strategic management by focusing on factors that influence the sport organisation‟s business environment in particular. A survey of CyclingSA members‟ perceptions of the organisation‟s current effectiveness in the business environment revealed a strong focus on financial and marketing elements. The study also found that factors such as loyalty programmes, talent identification and sport science support, safety in the physical environment, antidoping regulations, transformation and black economic empowerment and environmental friendly practices play a key role in CyclingSA‟s business environment. It is evident from the study that sport organisations, with specific reference to CyclingSA, should engage in strategic management by adapting traditional business principles to suit each organisation‟s unique needs. / Business Management / M. Comm.(Business Management)

The Photovoltaic Industry is at a crossroads for change. Improving the sustainability of this complex system requires a thorough understanding of the entire life cycle of the solar module production. The product life cycle is thereby divided into the value added steps of raw material extraction, outsourced production, in-house production, operation, and recycling. Furthermore, the following report distinguishes between social, ecological, and economic sustainability. The report offers a compacted matrix with all parts of sustainability and each life cycle stage in order toshow companies of the photovoltaic industry the sensible areas. This should be a first step for improving the sustainability in the whole life cycle of a solar module.

This diploma thesis is tasked to evaluate the company Kordárna Inc. with the view of its sale within the frame of reorganization as a nonliquidating solution to its insolvency. The evaluation of the company Kordárna Inc. is performed to the date of January 1st, 2009. By then the company, due to many unfavorable conditions, falls into existential problems that have to be immediately solved. The reorganization plan is allowed and processed within the framework of higher creditors' satisfaction. An integral part of this plan is also the desirable evaluation of the company Kordárna Inc. with the view of its sale to a new investor. Within these issues, both the detailed external and internal analysis of the company and the financial analysis of the 5 preceding fiscal periods are processed (years 2004-2008). Consequently, based on many assumptions, the financial plan for the 4 following fiscal periods (2009-2012) is conducted, and the evaluation of the company Kordárna using 4 evaluation methods -- FCFF, FCFE, EVA and Liquidation value methods -- is processed.

There is a growing interest for ethical consumption, in general as well as inthe clothing industry. The consumption of ethical clothes is a complexphenomenon though, where aspects such as quality, style, function, price,time assets, accessibility and ethical attitudes affect the decision making.Researches that have been executed show the diversities in developmentbetween different countries. There are fairly strong indications that theethical clothing market is more advanced in the United Kingdom than inSweden and therefore these two countries are objects of this research.The aim with this thesis is to describe and explain what have affected thedevelopment of the ethical clothing market in the United Kingdom comparedto Sweden. For that reason a qualitative approach has mainly been used,where deep interviews with people within the ethical clothing industry havecontributed to most of the empirical part. As a complement secondary datasuch as statistics of the two countries have been used in order to investigateour area.One useful tool, among others, to investigate the macro environment is theSLEPT model. With this model the surroundings are being evaluated withinthe areas of social/cultural, legal, economical, political and technologicalfactors. They influence differently on the possibility for new companies andbusinesses to operate and the factors can all together contribute to a betterunderstanding of the market environment. Population, income levels,Internet usage, political government and legislation regarding theenvironment and business are data that have been studied in this thesis.Sweden and the United Kingdom are rather similar when it comes toeconomical, political, legal and technological aspect, why the social/culturaldifferences are more distinct. The index of national culture, created byHofstede (2005) helps to explain some of the dissimilarities. The diversity inshort-term thinking, masculinity and individualism in the two countries maycontribute to an explanation of what have affected the development of theethical clothing market. / <p>Program: Textilekonomutbildningen</p><p>Uppsatsnivå: C</p>