Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-87). / The purpose of this thesis is to provide a new and practical framework for corporate social responsibility analysis. The increasing importance that this subject is acquiring in our current society can be observed from many perspectives. First, changes have been introduced in corporate governance in the last few years. Second, the number of courses related with social issues in the most important business schools and finally, the increase amount of scientific papers related to this topic. At the same time, being able to have a quick snapshot of the possible issues that any company can face in this subject can be extremely useful. The different stakeholders and the complex relationships and trade-offs are analyzed in this thesis. / by Benjamin Estevez. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-50). / To examine today's state of developing nation real estate markets is to gain insight into the evolutionary process of a new market in today's world. Real estate represents a considerable percentage of the wealth of individual nations. As a tradable asset capable of providing leveraged financing, or as the property behind mortgage backed securities, real estate can be worth far more than its face value. For the citizens of developing nations, open real estate markets bring increasing social and financial stability. Nonetheless, to the detriment of the developing world, the power of tradable real estate in developing nations remains largely untapped. Real estate markets are not widely open or functional. For the investor, the volatile and growing economies of developing nations represent opportunities for returns and portfolio diversification. Real estate markets in these regions are in the process of transforming in a way that will render them as easily accessible as domestic real estate or securities traded on foreign exchanges. The evolution of this market takes place on several independent but essential fronts including the public, private, and multi-national organizations as well as individual and institutional investors. Based on current literature research, a series of interviews, and a survey of organizations in the field, this paper documents the major issues involved with the evolution of this market, establishes a framework for evaluating progress, and places participating organizations within that framework. This analysis makes it possible to make an assessment of the current and future state of real estate markets on a global basis as well as in individual countries. / by Kevin Knai Chester. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-66). / A major element of mobile multimedia, telematics is the convergence of telecommunication and information technology which provides various services to and from the vehicle or mobile communication devices. Telematics is also a new technology which accelerates the rate of technological evolution in the automotive electronics industry. Similar to the United States and Europe, Japan is one of the nations which have advanced automotive technologies. Japanese telematics, however, doesn't have a long history. On the other hand, Japan has unique business circumstances such as highly developed mobile communication technology and contents business. The purpose of this study is to unlock the industrial structure and dynamics of the telematics industry in Japan. In addition, providing indications for building business strategies for telematics players such as automakers, auto suppliers and other industries is another objective. According to the "clockspeed" analysis, telematics clockspeed is much faster than that of automobiles. This situation creates a boundary called clockspeed collision between these two industries. Clockspeed collision will increase market pressure on automakers to provide updated electronic features and to reduce exposure of obsolescence. Clockspeed collision will also significantly affect the business strategies that each player involved in the telematics industry must consider. Value chain analysis illustrates that the telematics industry has a horizontally disintegrated structure. Also the fact that automakers have advantages in the industry is presented. In such situation, the "business double helix" explains that automakers' advantages will be unstable in the future. Namely, the supplier sector in the industry will have significant / (cont.) power. My research shows that telematics industry has already started to move toward a much more vertically integrated structure. These analyses lead to conclusions that each player in the telematics industry must recognize a principle of temporary advantage and that the automotive industry is moving from automobile production to maximizing customer's LTV (Life Time Value). / by Norihito Shimizu. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-89). / This thesis examines the relationship between the semiconductor industry and venture capital ("VC") industry in China and Taiwan. Taiwan has established an impressive semiconductor industry by encouraging high technology investment for the past two decades; on the other hand, Mainland China is currently emerging as a new and strong entrant with a huge domestic market and resourceful human capital as its support. In the past few years, most of the Taiwanese and Chinese companies were funded by the VC industry that fueled their expansion. Lots of successful investments were made and enormous profits were realized. Nevertheless, the industry environment remains very capital intensive and technology can be easily disrupted by new generations of wafer fabs, making intelligent investments in the semiconductor industry is unpredictable. From the perspective of the VC firms, this thesis first provides a general description of the semiconductor industry, its historical development, the current state of Taiwanese IC Design Industry and a Porter's analysis of the industry outlook. By interviewing the venture capitalists in the Asia-Pacific region, the thesis analyzes what decision factors VC firms must consider in investing in the semiconductor industry in China Lastly, the thesis analyzes which characteristics of the Semiconductor Industry/IC Design sector affect how VC firms invest, how the investment process differs when investing in a semiconductor case and how different members of the VC team affect the investment process. By comparing between a generalist VC and a specialist VC, this thesis seeks to determine which firm has a long-term competitive advantage. / by George Kuo-Liang Hsieh. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-88). / This thesis explores the potential application of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology as an AIDC (Automatic Identification and Data Capture) mechanism in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. MIT's Auto-ID Center is coordinating a consortium of CPG industry players, channel partners. RFID technology vendors, and consulting firms to encourage the widespread adoption of this technology through collaboration and shared development. Unilever Home and Personal Care, North American Division, is a sponsor and active participant in Auto-ID field tests. In an industry characterized by intense rivalry and formidable buyer power, Unilever HPC recognizes that cost savings enablers are key to survival. Additionally, the information transparency available through the RFID hardware and software infrastructure could mitigate the bullwhip effect, reducing inventory and improving on-shelf availability rates throughout the entire supply chain. Since this technology is still in the ferment stage of its AIDC lifecycle, Unilever and other industry players are unclear about the value creation and capture potential of RFID. This thesis attempts to highlight potential implementation benefits and challenges to enable more informed decisions. Additionally, it discusses how Unilever can leverage the dramatic improvement in information flow to drive paradigmatic change in its supply chain, providing a clear competitive advantage in the CPG industry. / by Jennifer Pararas-Carayannis. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-124). / Mobile wireless telephone systems require enormous investments in land-based radio, transmission, and switching systems in order to provide the coverage and capacity to efficiently operate a regional or nationwide cellular phone network. This wireless equipment is manufactured by an oligopoly of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM). These "wireless OEMs," in turn, depend upon a growing number of "upstream" component and subsystem suppliers and "downstream" wireless operators. Together these firms compose the "Wireless Equipment Value Chain." As in many industries where technology is changing rapidly, wireless telephony has seen waves of change in industry structure. This thesis surveys the forces currently driving change in the industry, outlines scenarios that describe potential directions for reorganization of the industry structure, and lists a set of warning signs that may provide clues to future trends within the industry. In addition, the thesis provides a model for the structure of the industry, which is used to construct the scenarios. Finally, it compares the strategies of two large OEMs using the models and scenarios. / by David B. Munsinger. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 78-79). / There are data that suggest that the earth's surface temperature has. increased over the past century. Many scientists believe that this rise is due to the emissions of greenhouse gases by anthropogenic sources, while others believe it is due primarily to natural phenomena, such as solar cycles. Regardless of the actual cause, we should be motivated to drastically reduce · emissions of these gases, improve fuel efficiency, and reduce other type of air pollution. This will also reduce the country's reliance on potentially unstable foreign sources of these fuels. There are many technologies currently being developed which promise to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels in automotive applications, including direct injection internal combustion engines, hybrid engines, battery-powered cars, fuel cells, 42-volt electrical systems, and lightweight bodies. When considered on total lifecycle and infrastructure bases, there can be significant downsides associated with any of these technological improvements, but each also offers a potential contribution to lowering fuel consumption. This thesis proposes that there are steps that can be taken to enhance the mainstream acceptance and benefits of these technologies, including early electrification of loads onboard vehicles, incremental reductions in consumption, and use of fleets to implement technologies requiring new infrastructure buildouts. However, automotive emissions are a small part of the overall emission problem, and we should also be concentrating efforts in other areas as well. / by Allen McDonald Marcum. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-141). / The Internet is changing the way we do business. Today's conventional wisdom says that in order to survive in the new economy era, companies must transform from and align their old business practices, processes and culture to suit the new business requirements. This thesis examines the dynamics of channel shift from traditional supply chain to on-line e-commerce, in particular the enablers and barriers, as well as the value transformation due to the channel shift. The scope of this thesis is limited to B2B E-commerce. This paper took global perspectives to analyze value transformation, enablers and barriers, technology, privacy and security due to channel shift from traditional channel to e-commerce. / by Muhammad Farid [and] Bayu Hanantasena. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-116). / This thesis presents a case study of introduction of the coronary stent into the percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) industry. The industry evolution is analyzed within the industrial life cycle framework developed by Utterback, Tushman and others. The coronary stent was first introduced in 1994, and has passed through all of the industry cycle stages: from a technology disruption stage to an incremental improvement. The interactions of the organization with the exterior environment and the technical development expertise, in combination, prove to be determining elements in an the stent manufacturer's likelihood for success. Relationships with the clinical personnel and practitioner are needed for design validation ( data for regulatory filings), design feedback, clinical acceptance of their products and to promote awareness of their products. Relations with clinical institutions and purchasing groups form distribution channels. This case study of the coronary stent industry provides an additional data point to compare actual industry practice against theory. / by Susan M. Ostrowski. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-91). / In the last years many solutions have been presented as the silver bullet to enhance the IT - Information Technology - of the financial institutions. This thesis is an investigation of the possible applications of web services to generate value in the financial industry, trying to segregate the business reality from the hype surrounding them. The work analyzes the potential benefits and the challenges involved in the adoption and diffusion of web services in the financial industry, utilizing academic research and examples of current use of web services, to try to derive the basis to their adoption in the next years. / by Paulo Guilherme Vita. / S.M.M.O.T.