Esta tese investiga a relação entre recursos do país e desempenho internacional de Pequenas e Médias Empresas (PMEs) brasileiras. Com a abertura dos mercados globais, PMEs de países emergentes enfrentam novos entrantes no mercado doméstico, se tornam multinacionais com expansão internacional tardia e características distintivas, e passam a lidar com recursos que devem ser adequados para estratégias voltadas ao mercado interno e externo, sendo a exportação o nível menos complexo e mais adotado de internacionalização dessas empresas. Compreender a internacionalização a partir das características da firma e da localização em um país de origem emergente mostra-se um desafio gerencial e teórico. A Visão Baseada em Recursos (VBR) é apropriada para esse tópico de pesquisa, pois permite abordar os recursos da firma e do país na geração de vantagem competitiva sob a lógica da internacionalização. Recursos do país são externos à firma e disponíveis a qualquer empresa localizada em um país (FAHY, 2002) e ainda não foram investigados quanto ao seu uso e relação com o desempenho na internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes. Para suprir esta lacuna teórica, esta pesquisa se dividiu em duas fases: a etapa qualitativa e exploratória identificou recursos para internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes. Adotaram-se técnicas de revisão sistemática de literatura, seguida de entrevistas com especialistas, instituições e PMEs no contexto brasileiro. Identificaram-se 11 recursos do país por meio de análise de conteúdo com apoio do software Nvivo. O grau de utilização e a relação dos recursos do país com o desempenho internacional das empresas foram verificados empiricamente na etapa quantitativa e descritiva da pesquisa, em uma Survey com 222 PMEs brasileiras. O desempenho internacional foi medido de modo subjetivo, por um construto de satisfação com atividades internacionais nos últimos três anos, e de modo objetivo, baseado na intensidade exportadora da empresa. A análise dos dados foi feita com técnicas estatísticas paramétricas e apoio do software SPSS. Os principais resultados apontam que os recursos do país mais utilizados são os de acesso à informação, infraestrutura logística e cadeias produtivas bem desenvolvidas, os quais explicam 9,4% do desempenho internacional subjetivo das PMEs brasileiras. Por outro lado, não há relação entre recursos do país e intensidade exportadora das empresas. Houve diferenças no uso de recursos do país quanto às características da empresa exportadora, como idade, escopo geográfico, intensidade tecnológica e tipo de gestão, o que não ocorreu quanto à experiência internacional. Embora os recursos do país sejam utilizados pelas PMEs brasileiras, destaca-se que não são determinantes para sua vantagem competitiva no mercado externo. As PMEs brasileiras estão otimistas em relação ao crescimento nas exportações. Os recursos do país associados à satisfação com atividades internacionais devem embasar políticas e projetos setoriais para internacionalização dessas empresas. Os resultados desta pesquisa cobriram lacunas teóricas sobre o tema de internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes sob a Visão Baseada em Recursos e abriram novos caminhos de investigação. Pesquisas futuras podem comparar estes resultados com o contexto de empresas de diferentes portes e países emergentes. Possivelmente, os recursos do país menos estratégicos para PMEs brasileiras sejam estratégicos em outros contextos, o que deve ser verificado empiricamente. Por fim, sugere-se verificar quais recursos da firma estão associados ao uso de recursos do país e demais fatores determinantes no desempenho internacional de PMEs de países emergentes. / This thesis investigates the relationship between country resources and the international performance of Brazilian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). With the opening of global markets, emerging market SMEs face new entrants in the domestic market, become multinationals with late international expansion and distinctive characteristics, and begin to deal with resources that should be adequate for strategies aimed at the domestic and foreign market. Export is the less complex and more used mode of entry of SMEs in foreign markets. Understanding the internationalization through the characteristics of the firm and its location in an emerging country of origin is a managerial and theoretical challenge. The Resource Based View (VBR) is appropriate for this research topic because it allows an approach to the country and the firm resources to create competitive advantage in internationalization. Country resources are external to the firm and available to any company located in a country (FAHY, 2002). There are no researches about the use and relation of country resources to internationalization performance of SMEs in emerging countries. To fill this theoretical gap, this research was divided into two phases: the qualitative and exploratory stage identified resources for internationalization of SMEs from emerging countries. Techniques of systematic literature review were adopted, followed by interviews with specialists, institutions and SMEs in the Brazilian context. Eleven country resources were identified through content analysis supported by Nvivo software. The use and the relation of country resources to the international performance of the SMEs were verified empirically in the quantitative and descriptive stage of the research, in a Survey with 222 Brazilian SMEs International performance was measured subjectively by a construct of satisfaction with international activities in the last three years, and in an objective way, based on the export intensity of the company. Data analysis was performed using parametric statistical techniques with SPSS software support. The main results indicate that the most used country resources are information access, logistics infrastructure and well-developed production chains, which are responsible for 9.4% of the subjective international performance of Brazilian SMEs. On the other hand, there is no relation between resources of the country and export intensity SMEs. There were differences in the use of country resources regarding the characteristics of the exporting SMEs, such as age, geographic scope, technological intensity and type of management. There were no differences regarding international experience of firms. Although country resources are used by Brazilian SMEs, it is highlighted that they do not generate competitive advantage in the foreign market. Brazilian SMEs are optimistic about the growth in exports. Country resources associated to the satisfaction with international activities should support policies and sectoral projects for the internationalization of these firms. The results of this research covered theoretical gaps on the theme of internationalization of SMEs from emerging countries under the Resource Based View and opened new avenues of research. Future research can compare these results with other firms with different sizes and from other emerging countries. Possibly, the less strategic country resources for Brazilian SMEs are strategic in other contexts, which should be verified empirically. Finally, it is suggested to verify which firm resources are associated to the use of country resources, as well as other determining factors to the international performance of SMEs in emerging countries.

Scholars widely acknowledge that democratic political leaders seek public support for their policy endeavors, particularly when conducting costly policies as in the case of military interventions. A deeper understanding of the factors that affect public support for military interventions is crucial to explaining more definitively the determinants of foreign policy decisions regarding military interventions. However, most studies in this area of research examine the public as an undifferentiated mass that reacts uniformly to changes in the course of an intervention. In addition, scholars often overlook the varying dynamics of public support across different phases of a military intervention. Given these shortcomings in the literature, the objective of this dissertation is to examine the formation of public support as a function of political information levels and intervention stages. This dissertation is important in both methodological and theoretical terms. Methodologically, the major contribution of my dissertation is the adoption of a multimethod approach that is almost non-existent in this line of research. By bringing together a formal framework, experimentation, and statistical analyses of public opinion survey data, I develop a more refined theory and attain more robust empirical results. Theoretically, the study challenges the dominant mode of research on military interventions in which public opinion is treated as a homogenous mass. Specifically, I explore how major factors related to public support for military interventions (such as casualty rates) play different roles and weigh differently in their impact on the opinions of politically informed versus less informed individuals across stages of an intervention. The results of the experiments and survey data analyses demonstrate that politically informed individuals express less support for a military intervention at the starting (rally) phase of that intervention compared to the less informed. That said, as the intervention proceeds and casualties are incurred, support of politically uninformed individuals decreases at higher rates than does support of politically informed ones. In other words, politically informed individuals demonstrate more stable levels of support across intervention stages. In addition, both experimental and survey data analyses show that policy-specific information is generally a more influential factor on public support for military interventions compared to general political information.

Esta tese investiga a relação entre recursos do país e desempenho internacional de Pequenas e Médias Empresas (PMEs) brasileiras. Com a abertura dos mercados globais, PMEs de países emergentes enfrentam novos entrantes no mercado doméstico, se tornam multinacionais com expansão internacional tardia e características distintivas, e passam a lidar com recursos que devem ser adequados para estratégias voltadas ao mercado interno e externo, sendo a exportação o nível menos complexo e mais adotado de internacionalização dessas empresas. Compreender a internacionalização a partir das características da firma e da localização em um país de origem emergente mostra-se um desafio gerencial e teórico. A Visão Baseada em Recursos (VBR) é apropriada para esse tópico de pesquisa, pois permite abordar os recursos da firma e do país na geração de vantagem competitiva sob a lógica da internacionalização. Recursos do país são externos à firma e disponíveis a qualquer empresa localizada em um país (FAHY, 2002) e ainda não foram investigados quanto ao seu uso e relação com o desempenho na internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes. Para suprir esta lacuna teórica, esta pesquisa se dividiu em duas fases: a etapa qualitativa e exploratória identificou recursos para internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes. Adotaram-se técnicas de revisão sistemática de literatura, seguida de entrevistas com especialistas, instituições e PMEs no contexto brasileiro. Identificaram-se 11 recursos do país por meio de análise de conteúdo com apoio do software Nvivo. O grau de utilização e a relação dos recursos do país com o desempenho internacional das empresas foram verificados empiricamente na etapa quantitativa e descritiva da pesquisa, em uma Survey com 222 PMEs brasileiras. O desempenho internacional foi medido de modo subjetivo, por um construto de satisfação com atividades internacionais nos últimos três anos, e de modo objetivo, baseado na intensidade exportadora da empresa. A análise dos dados foi feita com técnicas estatísticas paramétricas e apoio do software SPSS. Os principais resultados apontam que os recursos do país mais utilizados são os de acesso à informação, infraestrutura logística e cadeias produtivas bem desenvolvidas, os quais explicam 9,4% do desempenho internacional subjetivo das PMEs brasileiras. Por outro lado, não há relação entre recursos do país e intensidade exportadora das empresas. Houve diferenças no uso de recursos do país quanto às características da empresa exportadora, como idade, escopo geográfico, intensidade tecnológica e tipo de gestão, o que não ocorreu quanto à experiência internacional. Embora os recursos do país sejam utilizados pelas PMEs brasileiras, destaca-se que não são determinantes para sua vantagem competitiva no mercado externo. As PMEs brasileiras estão otimistas em relação ao crescimento nas exportações. Os recursos do país associados à satisfação com atividades internacionais devem embasar políticas e projetos setoriais para internacionalização dessas empresas. Os resultados desta pesquisa cobriram lacunas teóricas sobre o tema de internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes sob a Visão Baseada em Recursos e abriram novos caminhos de investigação. Pesquisas futuras podem comparar estes resultados com o contexto de empresas de diferentes portes e países emergentes. Possivelmente, os recursos do país menos estratégicos para PMEs brasileiras sejam estratégicos em outros contextos, o que deve ser verificado empiricamente. Por fim, sugere-se verificar quais recursos da firma estão associados ao uso de recursos do país e demais fatores determinantes no desempenho internacional de PMEs de países emergentes. / This thesis investigates the relationship between country resources and the international performance of Brazilian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). With the opening of global markets, emerging market SMEs face new entrants in the domestic market, become multinationals with late international expansion and distinctive characteristics, and begin to deal with resources that should be adequate for strategies aimed at the domestic and foreign market. Export is the less complex and more used mode of entry of SMEs in foreign markets. Understanding the internationalization through the characteristics of the firm and its location in an emerging country of origin is a managerial and theoretical challenge. The Resource Based View (VBR) is appropriate for this research topic because it allows an approach to the country and the firm resources to create competitive advantage in internationalization. Country resources are external to the firm and available to any company located in a country (FAHY, 2002). There are no researches about the use and relation of country resources to internationalization performance of SMEs in emerging countries. To fill this theoretical gap, this research was divided into two phases: the qualitative and exploratory stage identified resources for internationalization of SMEs from emerging countries. Techniques of systematic literature review were adopted, followed by interviews with specialists, institutions and SMEs in the Brazilian context. Eleven country resources were identified through content analysis supported by Nvivo software. The use and the relation of country resources to the international performance of the SMEs were verified empirically in the quantitative and descriptive stage of the research, in a Survey with 222 Brazilian SMEs International performance was measured subjectively by a construct of satisfaction with international activities in the last three years, and in an objective way, based on the export intensity of the company. Data analysis was performed using parametric statistical techniques with SPSS software support. The main results indicate that the most used country resources are information access, logistics infrastructure and well-developed production chains, which are responsible for 9.4% of the subjective international performance of Brazilian SMEs. On the other hand, there is no relation between resources of the country and export intensity SMEs. There were differences in the use of country resources regarding the characteristics of the exporting SMEs, such as age, geographic scope, technological intensity and type of management. There were no differences regarding international experience of firms. Although country resources are used by Brazilian SMEs, it is highlighted that they do not generate competitive advantage in the foreign market. Brazilian SMEs are optimistic about the growth in exports. Country resources associated to the satisfaction with international activities should support policies and sectoral projects for the internationalization of these firms. The results of this research covered theoretical gaps on the theme of internationalization of SMEs from emerging countries under the Resource Based View and opened new avenues of research. Future research can compare these results with other firms with different sizes and from other emerging countries. Possibly, the less strategic country resources for Brazilian SMEs are strategic in other contexts, which should be verified empirically. Finally, it is suggested to verify which firm resources are associated to the use of country resources, as well as other determining factors to the international performance of SMEs in emerging countries.

Esta tese investiga a relação entre recursos do país e desempenho internacional de Pequenas e Médias Empresas (PMEs) brasileiras. Com a abertura dos mercados globais, PMEs de países emergentes enfrentam novos entrantes no mercado doméstico, se tornam multinacionais com expansão internacional tardia e características distintivas, e passam a lidar com recursos que devem ser adequados para estratégias voltadas ao mercado interno e externo, sendo a exportação o nível menos complexo e mais adotado de internacionalização dessas empresas. Compreender a internacionalização a partir das características da firma e da localização em um país de origem emergente mostra-se um desafio gerencial e teórico. A Visão Baseada em Recursos (VBR) é apropriada para esse tópico de pesquisa, pois permite abordar os recursos da firma e do país na geração de vantagem competitiva sob a lógica da internacionalização. Recursos do país são externos à firma e disponíveis a qualquer empresa localizada em um país (FAHY, 2002) e ainda não foram investigados quanto ao seu uso e relação com o desempenho na internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes. Para suprir esta lacuna teórica, esta pesquisa se dividiu em duas fases: a etapa qualitativa e exploratória identificou recursos para internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes. Adotaram-se técnicas de revisão sistemática de literatura, seguida de entrevistas com especialistas, instituições e PMEs no contexto brasileiro. Identificaram-se 11 recursos do país por meio de análise de conteúdo com apoio do software Nvivo. O grau de utilização e a relação dos recursos do país com o desempenho internacional das empresas foram verificados empiricamente na etapa quantitativa e descritiva da pesquisa, em uma Survey com 222 PMEs brasileiras. O desempenho internacional foi medido de modo subjetivo, por um construto de satisfação com atividades internacionais nos últimos três anos, e de modo objetivo, baseado na intensidade exportadora da empresa. A análise dos dados foi feita com técnicas estatísticas paramétricas e apoio do software SPSS. Os principais resultados apontam que os recursos do país mais utilizados são os de acesso à informação, infraestrutura logística e cadeias produtivas bem desenvolvidas, os quais explicam 9,4% do desempenho internacional subjetivo das PMEs brasileiras. Por outro lado, não há relação entre recursos do país e intensidade exportadora das empresas. Houve diferenças no uso de recursos do país quanto às características da empresa exportadora, como idade, escopo geográfico, intensidade tecnológica e tipo de gestão, o que não ocorreu quanto à experiência internacional. Embora os recursos do país sejam utilizados pelas PMEs brasileiras, destaca-se que não são determinantes para sua vantagem competitiva no mercado externo. As PMEs brasileiras estão otimistas em relação ao crescimento nas exportações. Os recursos do país associados à satisfação com atividades internacionais devem embasar políticas e projetos setoriais para internacionalização dessas empresas. Os resultados desta pesquisa cobriram lacunas teóricas sobre o tema de internacionalização de PMEs de países emergentes sob a Visão Baseada em Recursos e abriram novos caminhos de investigação. Pesquisas futuras podem comparar estes resultados com o contexto de empresas de diferentes portes e países emergentes. Possivelmente, os recursos do país menos estratégicos para PMEs brasileiras sejam estratégicos em outros contextos, o que deve ser verificado empiricamente. Por fim, sugere-se verificar quais recursos da firma estão associados ao uso de recursos do país e demais fatores determinantes no desempenho internacional de PMEs de países emergentes. / This thesis investigates the relationship between country resources and the international performance of Brazilian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). With the opening of global markets, emerging market SMEs face new entrants in the domestic market, become multinationals with late international expansion and distinctive characteristics, and begin to deal with resources that should be adequate for strategies aimed at the domestic and foreign market. Export is the less complex and more used mode of entry of SMEs in foreign markets. Understanding the internationalization through the characteristics of the firm and its location in an emerging country of origin is a managerial and theoretical challenge. The Resource Based View (VBR) is appropriate for this research topic because it allows an approach to the country and the firm resources to create competitive advantage in internationalization. Country resources are external to the firm and available to any company located in a country (FAHY, 2002). There are no researches about the use and relation of country resources to internationalization performance of SMEs in emerging countries. To fill this theoretical gap, this research was divided into two phases: the qualitative and exploratory stage identified resources for internationalization of SMEs from emerging countries. Techniques of systematic literature review were adopted, followed by interviews with specialists, institutions and SMEs in the Brazilian context. Eleven country resources were identified through content analysis supported by Nvivo software. The use and the relation of country resources to the international performance of the SMEs were verified empirically in the quantitative and descriptive stage of the research, in a Survey with 222 Brazilian SMEs International performance was measured subjectively by a construct of satisfaction with international activities in the last three years, and in an objective way, based on the export intensity of the company. Data analysis was performed using parametric statistical techniques with SPSS software support. The main results indicate that the most used country resources are information access, logistics infrastructure and well-developed production chains, which are responsible for 9.4% of the subjective international performance of Brazilian SMEs. On the other hand, there is no relation between resources of the country and export intensity SMEs. There were differences in the use of country resources regarding the characteristics of the exporting SMEs, such as age, geographic scope, technological intensity and type of management. There were no differences regarding international experience of firms. Although country resources are used by Brazilian SMEs, it is highlighted that they do not generate competitive advantage in the foreign market. Brazilian SMEs are optimistic about the growth in exports. Country resources associated to the satisfaction with international activities should support policies and sectoral projects for the internationalization of these firms. The results of this research covered theoretical gaps on the theme of internationalization of SMEs from emerging countries under the Resource Based View and opened new avenues of research. Future research can compare these results with other firms with different sizes and from other emerging countries. Possibly, the less strategic country resources for Brazilian SMEs are strategic in other contexts, which should be verified empirically. Finally, it is suggested to verify which firm resources are associated to the use of country resources, as well as other determining factors to the international performance of SMEs in emerging countries.

No description available.

Diese kumulative Dissertation leistet einen Erklärungsbeitrag zu der Frage der theoretischen Beziehung zwischen der Informationstechnologie-(IT-)Governance und der Adoption von IT-basierten Innovationen auf Organisationsebene. IT-Governance kann in diesem Zusammenhang als der Ort der Verantwortungshoheit für IT-Entscheidungen verstanden werden. Adoption bezieht sich auf die Aneignung einer technologischen Innovation durch eine Organisation. Zwei übergeordnete Forschungsfragen leiten diese Dissertation: (1) Wie beeinflusst die Form der IT-Governance die Aneignung neuer Technologien, und umgekehrt (2) wie beeinflussen neue Technologien die Form der IT-Governance? Hinsichtlich Forschungsfrage (1) wurden vier Studien zu Innovationen im Mobile Government durchgeführt, d.h. zu der Nutzung von mobilen Technologien im öffentlichen Sektor mit dem Ziel Verwaltungsdienstleistungen und interne Prozesse zu verbessern. In Bezug auf Forschungsfrage (2) wurde in weiteren vier Studien die Aneignung von Unternehmenssoftware as a Service (SaaS), d.h. die Nutzung von Geschäftsanwendungen als webbasierte Dienste, untersucht. Zusammenfassend gibt diese Dissertation Aufschluss darüber, wie IT-Governance und entsprechende Mechanismen die Innovativität in bestimmten organisationalen Kontexten begünstigen können (in öffentlichen Verwaltungen z.B. durch die Verknüpfung von organisationalen und technologischen Verantwortlichkeiten) und umgekehrt wie die Form der IT-Governance selbst durch das Aufkommen von technologischen Neuerungen (z.B. durch externe Bereitstellungsmodelle wie SaaS) umgestaltet wird bzw. werden muss. Methodisch demonstriert diese Arbeit den Reichtum, der durch den wechselnden Einsatz von qualitativen und quantitativen Ansätzen erzielt werden kann. Abschließend werden eine Reihe von Implikationen für IT-Entscheider in öffentlichen und privatwirtschaftlichen Kontexten aufgezeigt. / This cumulative dissertation contributes to the question of the theoretical relationship between information technology (IT) governance and the adoption of IT-based innovations. IT governance has been described specifically as the locus of responsibility for IT functions within organizations. Innovation adoption in this context refers to the decision of an organization to make use of a technological innovation. Two principal research questions (RQ) guide this dissertation: (1) how does the mode of IT governance influence adoption of new technologies, and conversely (2) how does the adoption of new technologies affect organizational IT governance? In order to address RQ1, I conducted four studies in a public sector context regarding innovations in Mobile Government referring to the use of mobile technology to improve government services and internal processes. Regarding RQ2, I investigated the adoption of enterprise Software as a Service (SaaS) in four further studies. In this context, it is hypothesized that for some applications SaaS-based provision leads to a ‘governance shift’ of IT responsibilities from IT towards business units. In summary, this dissertation sheds light on the question of how IT governance and its mechanisms can foster innovativeness in certain contexts (e.g., through aligning organizational and technological responsibilities in public sector organizations), and conversely how the mode of IT governance itself can be shaped by the emergence of new technological innovations (e.g., external delivery models such as SaaS). Methodologically, this work demonstrates the richness provided by alternating between qualitative and quantitative empirical approaches. Finally, a number of relevant practical implications for IT decision makers in governmental and entrepreneurial contexts are outlined.

Aquesta tesi forma part d'un projecte destinat a predir el rendiment acadèmic dels estudiants de doctorat portat a terme per l'INSOC (International Network on Social Capital and Performance). El grup de recerca INSOC està format per les universitats de Girona (Espanya), Ljubljana (Eslovènia), Giessen (Alemanya) i Ghent (Bèlgica). El primer objectiu d'aquesta tesi és desenvolupar anàlisis quantitatius comparatius sobre el rendiment acadèmic dels estudiants de doctorat entre Espanya, Eslovènia i Alemanya a partir dels resultats individuals del rendiment acadèmic obtinguts de cada una de les universitats. La naturalesa internacional del grup de recerca implica la recerca comparativa. Vam utilitzar variables personal, actitudinals i de xarxa per predir el rendiment. El segon objectiu d'aquesta tesi és entendre de manera qualitativa perquè les variables de xarxa no ajuden quantitativament a predir el rendiment a la universitat de Girona (Espanya). En el capítol 1, definim conceptes relacionats amb el rendiment i donam un llistat de cada una de les variables independents (variables de xarxa, personals i actitudinals), resumint la lliteratura. Finalment, explicam com s'organitzen els estudis de doctorat a cada un dels diferents països. A partir d'aquestes definicions teòriques, en els pròxims capítols, primer presentarem els qüestionaris utilitzats a Espanya, Eslovènia i Alemanya per mesurar aquests diferents tipus de variables. Després, compararem les variables que són relevants per predir el rendiment dels estudiants de doctorat a cada país. Després d'això, fixarem diferents models de regressió per predir el rendiment entre països. En tots aquests models les variables de xarxa fallen a predir el rendiment a la Universitat de Girona. Finalment, utilitzem estudis qualitatius per entendre aquests resultats inesperats. En el capítol 2, expliquem com hem dissenyat i conduït els qüestionaris en els diferents països amb l'objectiu d'explicar el rendiment dels estudiants de doctorat obtinguts a Espanya, Eslovènia i Alemanya. En el capítol 3, cream indicadors comparables però apareixen problemes de comparabilitat en preguntes particulars a Espanya, Eslovènia i Alemanya. En aquest capítol expliquem com utilitzem les variables dels tres països per crear indicadors comparables. Aquest pas és molt important perquè el principal objectiu del grup de recerca INSOC és comparar el rendiment dels estudiants de doctorat entre els diferents països. En el capítol 4 comparem models de regressió obtinguts de predir el rendiment dels estudiants de doctorat a les universitats de Girona (Espanya) i Eslovènia. Les variables són característiques dels grups de recerca dels estudiants de doctorat enteses com una xarxa social egocèntrica, característiques personals i actitudinals dels estudiants de doctorat i algunes carecterístiques dels directors. Vam trobar que les variables de xarxa egocèntriques no predien el rendiment a la Universitat de Girona. En el capítol 5, comparem dades eslovenes, espanyoles i alemnayes, seguint la metodologia del capítol 4. Concluïm que el cas alemany és molt diferent. El poder predictiu de les variables de xarxa no millora. En el capítol 6 el grup de recerca dels estudiants de doctorat és entès com una xarxa duocèntrica (Coromina et al., 2008), amb l'objectiu d'obtendre informació de la relació mútua entre els estudiants i els seus directors i els contactes d'ambdós amb els altres de la xarxa. La inclusió de la xarxa duocèntrica no millora el poder predictiu del model de regressió utilitzant les variales egocèntriques de xarxa. El capítol 7 pretèn entendre perquè les variables de xarxa no predeixen el rendiment a la Universitat de Girona. Utilitzem el mètode mixte, esperant que l'estudi qualitatiu pugui cobrir les raons de perquè la qualitat de la xarxa falla en la qualitat del treball dels estudiants. Per recollir dades per l'estudi qualitatiu utilitzem entrevistes en profunditat. / This thesis belongs to a wider project designed to predict PhD students' academic performance carried out by the INSOC (International Network on Social Capital and Performance). The INSOC research group is composed by the universities of Girona (Spain), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Giessen (Germany) and Ghent (Belgium). The first aim of this thesis is to develop quantitative comparative analyses about the PhD students' academic performance across Spain, Slovenia and Germany from the individual academic performance results obtained in each university member. The international nature of the research group implies that we strongly emphasize comparative research. We use together background variables, attitudinal variables and social network variables for predicting performance. The second aim of this thesis is to qualitatively understand why network variables fail to quantitatively predict performance in the University of Girona (Spain). Thus, this thesis fit into the multimethod tradition. In Chapter 1, we define concepts related with performance and we give a list of each of the independent variables (social network, background and attitudinal variables) with a literature summary. Finally, we explain how PhD studies are organaized in the different countries. Drawing from these theoretical explanations, in the next chapters we first present the questionnaires used in Spain, Slovenia and Germany to measure these different types of variables. Then, we compare the variables which are relevant in order to predict PhD student performance in each country. After that, we fit alternative regression models to predict performance across countries. In all these models network variables fail to predict performance in the University of Girona. Finally, we use a qualitative study to understand this unexpected result. In Chapter 2, we explain how we designed and conducted a survey in the different countries with the aim of explaining the PhD students' performance obtained in Spain, Slovenia and Germany. In Chapter 3, we create comparable indicators wherever some comparability problems arose with particular questions in Spain, Slovenia and Germany. In this chapter we explain how we used all three countries' variables in order to create comparable indicators. This step is very important because the main goal of the INSOC research group is to compare the PhD student's performance between the different countries. In Chapter 4 we compare regression models obtained to predict PhD students' academic performance in the universities of Girona (Spain) and Slovenia. Explanatory variables are characteristics of PhD student's research group understood as an egocentered social network, background and attitudinal characteristics of the PhD students and some characteristics of the supervisors. We find that egocentered network variables do not predict performance in the University of Girona. In Chapter 5 we compare the Slovenian, Spanish and German data, following the methodology used in Chapter 4. We conclude that the German case is very different. Predictive power of network variables does not improve. In Chapter 6 the PhD student's research group is understood as a duocentered social network (Coromina et al., 2008), in order to obtain information regarding the mutual relationship between PhD students and their supervisor and the ties of both to their alters in the network. The inclusion of duocentered network variables does not improve the predictive power of the regression model using egocentered network variables. Chapter 7 attempts to understand why networks fail to predict performance in the University of Girona. Using the mixed method approach, we expect that a qualitative study can uncover the reasons why the quality of the networks fails to translate into the quality of the students' work. For data collection in the qualitative research we used in-depth interviews.