Organizational innovation has been of central interest in recent years because of its importance for organizational survival and competitive advantage. Researchers in the field have divided the innovation process into stages in an attempt to understand the innovation process and the factors that affect it. However, empirical studies that examine the relationship between the stages are scarce. In addition, although business strategy is emphasized as an important factor in the innovation process, little is known about its role in the innovation process and its effect on the stages. This research provides empirical support for the relationship between the stages of the innovation process and the moderating effect of organizational strategy on the relationship between the stages within the two stage model of innovation. In this study, a direct, positive relationship is proposed between the innovation generation (first stage) and innovation outcome (second stage) stages of the innovation process. Dimensions of innovation outcome that are examined include innovation type (product innovation and process innovation), innovation radicalness and innovation frequency. Low cost, differentiation and market orientation strategies are proposed to be moderators on the relationship between the stages. To test the proposed relationships, a survey was mailed to executives who are involved in the innovation process in organizations where innovation is expected to be common and they were asked to complete the questionnaire. Hierarchical regression was the primary data analysis method and General Linear Model was applied as the pot-hoc data analysis method. Results of the primary data analyses provided support for the direct, positive relationship between the innovation generation and innovation outcome stages of the innovation process. Specifically, there was a direct, positive relationship between innovation generation and product innovation, process innovation, innovation frequency and innovation radicalness. Result of the primary data analysis provided support for the moderating effect of strategy (market orientation and differentiation) on the relationship between innovation generation and only innovation frequency dimension of innovation outcome. Post-hoc analysis suggested a significant moderating effect of strategy (market orientation and differentiation) on the relationship between innovation generation and innovation radicalness dimension of innovation outcome. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.

Supply chain management (SCM) is an area that offers organizations significant opportunities for both cost reductions and revenue enhancement. In their article, "Supply Chain Management: Implementation Issues and Research Opportunities," Lambert, Cooper and Pagh defined SCM as the "integration of key business processes from end user through original suppliers that provides products, services, and information that add value for customers and other stakeholders." Adopting and implementing appropriate technology has emerged as a source of competitive advantage for supply chain member firms through the integration of business processes with suppliers and customers. It is important to understand the factors influencing an organization's decision to acquire such technology. In the context of this study, connective technologies are defined as wireless communication devices and their accompanying infrastructure and software which may enhance coordination among supply chain partners. Building on previous literature in the areas of supply chain management, marketing strategy, and organizational innovation, a model was developed to test the relationships between organizational, interorganizational, and technology-related factors and the adoption of advanced connective technology, using radio frequency identification (RFID) as the test case, in the supply chain. A Web-based survey of supply chain professionals was conducted resulting in 224 usable responses. The overall model was statistically significant with four of the predictors significantly influencing the adoption of RFID in the supply chain. Size, centralization, new product advantage and time to achieve targeted ROI were significantly related to adoption of connective technology (RFID). Interorganizational related factors were not significant predictors of connective technology adoption. The study contributes to theory by testing scales from marketing and management in a supply chain context in order to better understand behavioral dimensions of supply chain management and logistics. The conceptualization and measurement of market orientation at the interfirm level advances the market orientation literature. Finally, the study contributes to the technology adoption literature by considering organizational-related, interorganizational-related, and technology-related factors that influence adoption of connective technology in the supply chain.

As microempresas são consideradas uma importante parte de um sistema econômico. Sua importância está centrada em sua diversificação de atuação, relacionada ao comércio, serviço e à indústria, formando um sistema de amortecimento das variações econômicas de uma nação. Sua importância em números de empresas em funcionamento e no número de funcionários é fundamental para a economia. A capacidade absortiva pode ser entendida como a capacidade de uma empresa em extrair conhecimento a partir do ambiente externo; reconhecer o valor da informação externa, assimilá-la e aplicá-la para fins comerciais, para aumentar/desenvolver a inovação. (COHEN; LEVINTHAL, 1990). Já a orientação para o mercado é descrita por Narver e Slater (1990) como um construto formado por três componentes comportamentais: orientação para o cliente, orientação para os concorrentes e coordenação interfuncional, bem como foco no longo prazo e na lucratividade, denominadas como critérios de decisão. Este trabalho buscou analisar a relação destes dois construtos com o desempenho das microempresas localizadas no Corede Serra do Rio Grande do Sul. A pesquisa foi realizada com uma amostra de 295 microempresas. Os resultados indicam que há uma correlação significativa entre a capacidade absortiva, a orientação para o mercado e o desempenho das empresas estudadas. As correlações apresentadas foram significativas em nível da significância (p<0,01), mesmo sendo baixas a moderadas, com valores em torno do 0,4, representou que há uma relação percebida entre capacidade absortiva, orientação para o mercado e desempenho nas microempresas. / Microenterprises are regarded as an important part of an economic system. Their importance is centered on their action diversification, which is related to trade, services and industry, thus forming a buffering system for the economic variations of a nation. Their importance in terms of both number of operating companies and number of employees is fundamental to the economy. The absorptive capacity can be understood as a company’s ability to extract knowledge from the external environment, recognize the value of external information, assimilate it and apply it to commercial purposes in order to increase/develop innovation (COHEN; LEVINTHAL, 1990). Market orientation, in turn, was described by Narver and Slater (1990) as a construct comprising three behavioral components: customer orientation, competitor orientation and interfunctional coordination, with a focus on long-term and profitability, which have been denominated as decision criteria. This paper aimed at analyzing the relationship of these two constructs with the performance of microenterprises located in Corede Serra in Rio Grande do Sul. The sample consisted of 295 microenterprises. The results evidenced a significant correlation between absorptive capacity, market orientation and performance of the companies under study. The correlations presented were significant at the significance level (p<0.01). Despite being low to moderate, with values around 0.4, they evidenced a perceived relationship between absorptive capacity, market orientation and performance in micro-enterprises.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2016-06-16T19:59:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Adalberto Ramos Cassia.pdf: 1425509 bytes, checksum: 75a7012c255d8829b4750874e8d7b9c4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-16T19:59:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Adalberto Ramos Cassia.pdf: 1425509 bytes, checksum: 75a7012c255d8829b4750874e8d7b9c4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-04 / This study involves the analysis of the impact of dynamic capabilities on the innovative capability, considering the influence of technological turbulence on this impact and the effect of proactive market orientation on this influence. The literature that addresses this topic has focused on studies of direct relationships and simple moderation analysis, leaving gap of studies addressing the effects of double moderation, enabling new approaches on the relationship between the variables that affect the innovative ability of companies. The research, quantitative, considered a sample of 244 completed cases and used statistical techniques of multivariate analysis, including factor analysis and linear regression in 5 statistical models as support for the hypothesis tests. The results show the positive impact of dynamic capabilities on the innovative capability, the positive influence of technological turbulence on this impact and the negative effect of proactive market orientation on this influence. The main study of the contribution relates to the identification of a combined effect of technological turbulence and proactive market orientation on the impact of dynamic capabilities in innovative capability. This positive impact is amplified by the influence of technological turbulence and mitigated the negative effect of proactive market orientation on this influence. The technological turbulence influences the expansion of dynamic capabilities out, what contributes to the rise of innovativa capability. However, proactive market orientation acts on this influence, softening the force with which the technological turbulence drives the impact of dynamic capabilities on the innovative capability. This study may contribute to improving the management of innovation in companies operating in the manufacturing industry by providing subsidies to improve responsiveness in the face of technological changes occurring in the business environment. / O objetivo deste estudo envolve a análise do impacto das capacidades dinâmicas sobre a capacidade inovativa, considerando a influência da turbulência tecnológica sobre este impacto e o efeito da orientação proativa para o mercado sobre esta influência. A literatura que aborda este tema tem se concentrado nos estudos de relações diretas e na análise de moderação simples, restando lacuna de estudos que abordem os efeitos de moderação dupla, que permitam novas abordagens sobre as relações entre as variáveis que afetam a capacidade inovativa das empresas. A pesquisa realizada, de natureza quantitativa, considerou uma amostra com 244 casos completos e utilizou técnicas estatísticas de análise multivariada, incluindo análise fatorial e regressão linear, em 5 modelos estatísticos, como suporte para os testes das hipóteses. Os resultados encontrados evidenciam o impacto positivo das capacidades dinâmicas sobre a capacidade inovativa, a influência positiva da turbulência tecnológica sobre este impacto e o efeito negativo da orientação proativa para o mercado sobre esta influência. A principal contribuição do estudo refere-se à identificação de um efeito combinado entre a turbulência tecnológica e a orientação proativa para o mercado sobre o impacto das capacidades dinâmicas na capacidade inovativa. Este impacto positivo é amplificado pela influência da turbulência tecnológica e atenuado pelo efeito negativo da orientação proativa para o mercado sobre esta influência. A turbulência tecnológica influencia a expansão das capacidades dinâmicas, oque contribui para a elevação da capacidade inovativa. No entanto, a orientação proativa para o mercado atua sobre esta influência, amenizando a força com que a turbulência tecnológica impulsiona o impacto das capacidades dinâmicas sobre a capacidade inovativa. Este estudo pode contribuir para a melhoria da gestão da inovação nas empresas que atuam na indústria de transformação, fornecendo subsídios para o aprimoramento da capacidade de resposta em face das mudanças tecnológicas que ocorrem no ambiente de negócios.

The master thesis deals with the problem of companies market orientation research and resolves the relation between the measure of market orientation and companies culture. Obtained information and companies position in specified field is evaluated in accordance with established objectives.

Research Question: What is the strategic orientation that community banks in Sweden adopt? What are the Gen Z preferences concerning these strategic orientations? Purpose: By using two different methodological approaches, the objective of this study is to answer two questions concerning the organization’s strategic orientation. Essentially, the authors have conducted a qualitative study to explore the strategic orientation which community banks in Sweden adopt. Additionally, a quantitative survey has been carried out to surface the generation Z's preferences on the question of strategic orientation. Method: The research methodology steering this thesis will be conducted using the research onion model. This implies that the methodology will be divided into layers including, the research approaches, the research strategy, the research choice, the time horizon of the study, as well as the techniques and procedures concerning the data collection and data analysis. Eventually, the authors discuss the quality criteria by referring to the interview’s credibility, confirmability, transferability, dependability, and the survey’s reliability and validity and applicability. Conclusion: The findings derived from an interview with the three managers have shown that community banks in Sweden adopt brand orientation, whereas the empirical findings have revealed that generation Z has hybrid orientation, meaning that generation preferences are located in the middle ground between the brand orientation and market orientation.

ElectriCITY, a citizenship-driven economic association aims at making Hammarby Sjöstad the most climate-friendly district in Sweden. Their next step is to integrate urban agriculture into the neighborhood. Urban agriculture is, by definition, growing or producing food in a city. It allows, among other things, to increase access to locally grown food for the population nearby and to educate city dwellers on many aspects of agriculture. This project’s goal is to offer a large overview of urban agriculture and its different governance characteristics. In addition to the literature review and to have a better understanding of the relevant stakes of this field, the project was based on six different case studies that introduce various types of urban agriculture governance: SweGreen (Stockholm), Odlande Stadsbasarer (Stockholm), Nature Urbaine (Paris), the WandelGarten (Freiburg), the Tillsammansodling group of Viva (Gothenburg) and Greenhouse (Malmö). The study was built on desk studies, interviews, and two participant observations. It had a focus on the different governance characteristics of the urban agriculture approaches (internal, external, and contextual) based on a distinction between market-oriented projects and non-market-oriented ones. The findings showed similarities between the case studies on different points such as their approaches to sustainability or the need to have external partners and political support. They showed as well the importance to take into account the external and contextual factors for projects to be well-integrated into the urban system.

This case study has researched the internal market orientation (IMO) in relation to a merger and acquisition (M&amp;A) situation. Research within these two areas has been done to a great extent on their own. However, the combination of the two has not been made previously. By combining the areas, it was made possible to evaluate employee satisfaction, and how it was actively attended to, in an organization experiencing an M&amp;A situation. Variables for evaluating the IMO were selected from an existing model, which then was combined with M&amp;A research to create a conceptual framework. This framework was used for analysis and as the basis for the questions for the interviews.  The empirical data showed signs that even though the organization was not actively working according to an IMO mindset, there were signs of IMO in their operations. However, the M&amp;A situation heavily influenced day-to-day tasks and infringed on managers’ ability to prioritize the employees. The research is concluded by the clear signs that actively working with an IMO can have a substantial effect on employee satisfaction and could decrease some of the negative effects that the M&amp;A situation brings.

While there is an abundance of research that shows a direct and positive relationship betweenentrepreneurial orientation (EO) and organizational performance the relationship is far from simpleand clear. Research suggest that the relationship is complex and is contingent on internal andexternal variables that affect this relationship. This study examines the effect of EO and itsdimensions on organizational performance in SMEs in Jordan. Further, the study examines themediating effect of internal and external contingency factors such as: market orientation, strategicflexibility and environment hostility on the EO-performance relationship. Using questionnairesurvey the study collected 137 usable questionnaires and utilized PLS to analyze the data. Thestudy found that EO significantly affects performance directly and positively. The study also founda mediating effect of environmental hostility on the relationship between EO and organizationalperformance. No evidence was found to support that MO and strategic flexibility have a mediatingeffect on the EO-performance relationship. With regards to the effect and mediation effect of EOdimensions; the study found that both innovativeness and proactiveness have a significant positivedirect effect on performance. While risk taking has a significant negative direct effect onperformance. With regards to the mediation effect of market orientation, strategic flexibility andenvironmental hostility on the relationships between EO dimensions (innovativeness,proactiveness and risk taking) the study found that only EH has a mediation effect while marketorientation and strategic flexibility have no mediation effect.Specifically, the study also found that EH mediates the relationship between innovativeness andperformance. The mediation is a full mediation since there are both direct and indirect effects ofinnovativeness on performance. The study found a partial mediation effect of EH on theproactiveness-performance relationship since the direct effect becomes insignificant when themediator is added. The study also found a partial mediation effect of EH on the risk takingperformance relationship since the direct effect becomes insignificant when the mediator is added.

The licentiate thesis consists of three papers with the particular topic in public housing. They discuss how the public housing companies manage the transition to higher economic demands meeting increased customer and market requirements. These studies focus specifically on how the public housing company deal with market challenges associated with the decision to demolish, maintain and/or new construction. Market-oriented perspective can be a tool for the public housing companies to achieve better customer value and enhance economic development. Although the market orientation concept has contributed to valuable improvements in research, the thesis assumes that it is necessary to distinguish between that the public housing companies operate market-oriented to meet customer requirements and their focus on innovation. Paper I develops market/innovation types and then investigates how public housing companies adapt to these types. It was found that economic conditions in the municipality have a major impact on the housing companies, causing them to act innovatively and create superior customer value by innovations. The study confirms that the implementation of market and innovation orientation contributes to competitive advantages in growing markets, while weak economic conditions impair implementation in declining markets. Paper II addresses how public housing companies in declining markets act based on the concept of market intelligence. This study suggested and tested whether there is a positive link between collecting customer information, disseminating it in the organization, and responding to customer needs, and whether this link has an impact on strategic performance. The result shows that weak links exist in the process; the efficiency of intelligence distribution in public housing companies is affected mainly by their responsiveness to customer needs. Paper III also addresses the public housing companies’ market strategies in declining markets. This study, based on a market-strategic perspective, compares how public housing companies act in relation to customer wants compared to the private housing market. The result shows that public housing companies are more engaged in carrying out new construction, renovation, and reconstruction, as well as taking more social responsibility compared to the private sector. In particular, their concern for the customers’ social needs is evident. / <p>QC 20160215</p>