The thesis is focused on product development in companies in the telecommunications industry. These companies provide products to end customers. The introductory section lists and describes the basic concepts accompanying the issue. Also described herein is a method for achieving the objectives of the thesis, that is based on personal interviews with specialists in selected telecommunications companies. The first objective is to identify variables affecting success launching a new product to market services. The thesis defines the internal and external factors in the organization. Part of the analysis is to assess the current state of internal RFC, that was unexpectedly during the development of a long implementation period (TTM). The content of this thesis is identification of key factors and their impacts on implementation also unveiling constraints of the development process. These constraints are in the view of issues that prevent better performance of the relevant processes. The third and the main objective of this thesis is based on previous analyses, proposal of improvements that could contribute in the future to better product development. The proposed improvements are consulted with a specialist Demand Management to determine the feasibility and potential benefit in practice. The greatest contribution of the thesis lies in the proposed improvements and their assessment for future implementation.

Com base na relevância dos estudos da inovação como elemento que contribui para o desenvolvimento econômico e na teoria da Visão Baseada em Recursos, que apresenta os recursos estratégicos da firma como uma fonte para obter vantagens competitivas, este trabalho tem como objetivo principal investigar as inovações em produtos pela perspectiva da Visão Baseada em Recursos, especificamente nas microcervejarias do Rio Grande do Sul. O método selecionado foi a pesquisa qualitativa exploratória e descritiva com estratégia de estudo de caso e método de coleta de dados por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas, aplicada aos gestores das microcervejarias que tiveram o reconhecimento dos seus produtos em premiações nacionais ou internacionais. A análise de dados se deu pela interpretação das transcrições das entrevistas. A categorização foi estabelecida previamente para atender a três objetivos específicos propostos: identificar as inovações em produtos nas microcervejarias do Rio Grande do Sul; identificar os recursos explorados pelas microcervejarias que geram a inovação; e, identificar os recursos que têm potencial para gerar vantagem competitiva sustentável. Como resultado, foi possível identificar as inovações em produtos na embalagem, quantidade de envaze e no que tange a cor, a textura, o aroma e o sabor, dentro dos estilos das cervejas produzidas. Foram identificados como recursos físicos para a inovação em produto a localização geográfica, o acesso à matéria-prima, a estrutura fabril e o laboratório cervejeiro. Os recursos humanos aparecem no processo de desenvolvimento dos novos produtos na forma de troca de experiências entre funcionários e sócios, cursos técnicos e a troca de experiência com mestres cervejeiros e demais colaboradores de empresas parceiras, incluindo outras microcervejarias. Como recursos organizacionais identificados estão a relação entre grupos da firma com o ambiente externo. Quanto aos recursos financeiros destaca-se o planejamento ligado à aquisição de recurso físico, em especial para a compra de matéria-prima, como facilitador da inovação. Os recursos que passaram pelo modelo VRIO e que geram a inovação em produto com características imperfeitamente imitáveis apontados pelos entrevistados são os recursos organizacionais e humanos. A ação de interação entre as microcervejarias é baseada em conhecimentos tácitos e ocorre de forma informal. A característica dos recursos organizacionais identificados usa a estratégia para a criação de novos produtos que podem gerar vantagem competitiva sustentável, apoiada nas redes de inovação e na reputação do produto frente aos canais de distribuição. / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, CAPES. / Based on the relevance of studies of innovation as an element that contributes to economic development and the theory of Resource Based View, which presents the strategic resources of the firm as a source for competitive advantage, this paper aims to investigate the innovations in products from the perspective of Resource Based View, specifically in Rio Grande do Sul microbreweries. The selected method was the exploratory and descriptive qualitative research with case study strategy and data collection method through semistructured interviews, applied to microbreweries managers that had recognition of their products in national and international awards. Data analysis was done through the interpretation of interview transcripts. The categorization was previously established to answer the three specific objectives proposed: identify the product innovations in Rio Grande do Sul microbreweries; identify the resources explored by microbreweries that generate innovation; and identify the resources that have the potential to generate sustainable competitive advantage. As a result, it was possible to identify the product innovations in packaging, bottling and quantity when it comes to color, texture, scent and flavor within the styles of the beers produced. It was identified as physical resources in product innovation, geographic location, access to raw materials, the industrial structure and the brewing lab. Human resources appear in the development process of new products in the form of experience exchange between employees and partners, technical courses and the experience exchange with brew masters and other partner employees companies, including other microbreweries. As organizational resources identified are relationship between company groups with the external environment. As for financial resources stands out planning on the acquisition of physical resource, especially for the purchase of raw material, as a facilitator of innovation. The resources that have gone through VRIO model and that generate innovation in product with imperfectly imitable features mentioned by respondents are the organizational and human resources. The action of interaction between the microbreweries is based on tacit knowledge and occurs informally. The characteristic of the identified organizational resources uses the strategy to create new products that can generate sustainable competitive advantage, based on an open innovation and reputation of the product ahead to distribution channels.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Organisations today form part of a global market economy characterised by constant change and a high level of competition. This is especially true for organisations functioning in competitive markets or industries, such as the service industry. New Product Development (NPD) has been recognised as an avenue for organisations to remain relevant and competitive in this constantly changing landscape. A successful new product can potentially do more good for an organisation than anything else that can happen to it. Despite this critical role, the strategic and operational aspects of the product development process are poorly understood, particularly in the service industry. The South African financial services industry is an example of a service industry characterised by a high level of competition, rapid technological advancements, stringent regulations and changing client needs. This is particularly true for the investment sector of the industry, which endeavours to remain relevant and progressive within both a domestic and an international context. As a result, organisations functioning in the investment sector increasingly need to engage in developing and introducing new products to ensure their survival. Against this background, such organisations should realise the importance and potential benefits of an increased understanding of how to improve the success of their NPD efforts. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate factors influencing the success of New Product Development in the investment sector of the South African financial services industry. Twelve success factors were defined for the purpose of the study. They are: a successful launch, effective NPD management, product superiority, a favourable market environment, good use of communication, effective IT systems, a NPD-friendly corporate culture and the use of a formal NPD process, legislation, distribution of the product, the marketing budget, and the timing of the release of the product. Additionally, nine measures of success were examined, namely: commercial, technical, financial and sales measures, as well as the NPD process followed the level of client satisfaction, and the size, performance and longevity of the product. This study made use of a structured questionnaire, which was developed, based on the literature reviewed and on the feedback from the pilot study. The questionnaire made use of a seven-point Likert scale, and was electronically administered via email to the chosen sample group. The results from this study indicated that 10 of the 12 identified success factors have a significant influence on one or more of the measures of success. The remaining two success factors, namely, the distribution of the product and the marketing budget, were found to have no significant influence on any of the measures of NPD success. It was also revealed that three of the success factors had a significant influence on the overall measure of NPD success (all 9 measures grouped into one), namely, the characteristics of a "superior product"; the implementation of an effective IT system; and the timing of the product release. Furthermore, the implementation of effective IT systems revealed an unexpected negative relationship with three measures of success as well the overall measure of NPD success (all 9 measures grouped into one). A number of implications were suggested and recommendations made, based on the findings. Specific recommendations were made to NPD practitioners, regarding methods which could be implemented to enhance and better manage the influence of the identified success factors in order to increase their product development success. An important recommendation was made regarding the IT system project requirements and associated costs. It was recommended that the IT system requirements be carefully scoped in the infancy stage of the project by consulting with an IT specialist because of its influence on both the overall costs and project success. Specific recommendations were further made regarding a number of the other identified success factors. Finally, based on the findings, several recommendations were made regarding further research. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die huidige klimaat van die wêreld-ekonomie staar organisasies gedurige verandering en groot kompetisie in die gesig. Dit is veral waar vir organisasies wat moet funksioneer en oorleef in kompeterende markte of industrieë, soos die dienste industrie. Dit word algemeen aanvaar dat die konsep van Nuwe Produk Ontwikkeling (NPO) 'n noodsaaklike opsie geword het vir besighede en organisasies om relevant en kompeterend te bly in hierdie konstante veranderende landskap. 'n Suksesvolle nuwe produk kan vir 'n besigheid groter waarde toevoeg as enigiets anders wat daarmee sou gebeur. Ten spyte van hierdie belangrike en beslissende rol wat dit speel, is daar min begrip vir die rol van strategiese en operasionele aspekte van die Produk Ontwikkelingsproses veral in die dienste industrie. Die Suid-Afrikaanse finansiële dienste industrie is 'n voorbeeld van 'n dienste industrie wat gekenmerk word deur sterk kompetisie, snelle tegnologiese ontwikkeling, streng regulering en veranderende kliëntebehoeftes. Dit geld veral vir die beleggingsektor in die industrie, wat daarna streef om relevant en progressief te bly in beide 'n plaaslike, sowel as internasionale konteks. Gevolglik, ten einde hul voortbestaan te verseker, is dit toenemend noodsaaklik dat organisasies in die beleggingsektor gedurig nuwe produkte ontwikkel en toepas. Teen hierdie agtergrond is dit noodsaaklik dat sulke besighede die belangrikheid, sowel as die potensiële voordele daarvan besef dat 'n bewussyn gekweek word ten opsigte van maniere om die NPO se sukses te verseker. Die doel van hierdie studie was dus om die faktore te ondersoek wat die sukses beïnvloed van NPO binne die beleggingsektor van die Suid Afrikaanse finansiële dienste industrie. Twaalf sukses faktore was vir die doel van hierdie studie geïdentifiseer. Hulle is: 'n suksesvolle bekendstelling, doeltreffende NPO bestuur, 'n superieure produk, gunstige markomstandighede, goeie gebruik van kommunikasie, doeltreffende IT-stelsels, 'n korporatiewe kultuur wat NPO vriendelik is, gebruik van formele NPO prosesse, wetgewing, verspreiding van die produk, die bemarkingsbegroting, en die tydsberekening ten opsigte van die produk se bekendstelling. Verder is nog nege maatstawwe van sukses gemeet, naamlik: kommersieël, tegnies, finansieel- en verkoopsmaatstawwe, sowel as die NPO-proses wat gevolg is, die vlak van tevredenheid van die kliënt, en die omvang, prestasie en lewensverwagting van die produk. Hierdie studie het gebruik gemaak van 'n gestruktureerde vraelys wat ontwikkel is op die basis van die literatuur wat hersien is, asook terugvoering vanaf die loodsstudie. Die vraelys het gebruik gemaak van 'n sewe-punt Likert skaal en was elektronies geadministreer deur middle van e-pos aan die uitgesoekte steekproef groep. Die resultate van hierdie studie het aangedui dat 10 uit die 12 suksesfaktore wat geïdentifiseer is, 'n beduidende invloed gehad het op een of meer van die maatstawwe van sukses. Die laaste twee, naamlik, die verspreiding van die produk en die bemarkingsbegroting, het nie 'n noemenswaardige invloed gehad op enige van maatstawwe van NPO sukses nie. Dit het ook duidelik geword dat drie van die suksesfaktore wel 'n beduidende invloed gehad het op die algehele NPO maatstawwe van sukses (al nege saam groepeer as een), naamlik, die eienskappe van 'n "superieure produk"; die aangewend van 'n effektiewe IT-stelsel; en die tydsberekening ten opsigte van die produk se bekendstelling. Verder, die aanwending van 'n effektiewe IT stelsel het 'n onverwagse negatiewe verhouding gevorm met drie maatstawwe van sukses asook met die algehele NPO maatstawwe van sukses (al nege saam groepeer as een). Verskeie gevolge is genoem en aanbevelings is gemaak op grond van die bevindings. Spesifieke aanbevelings is aan die NPO praktisyns gelewer ten opsigte van stelsels wat toegepas kan word om genoemde suksesfaktore doeltreffend te bestuur en te verbeter en gevolglik die sukses van die produk ontwikkeling te verhoog. 'n Belangrike aanbeveling was met betrekking tot die IT-stelsel se projek behoeftes en gepaardgaande kostes. Daar is voorgestel dat die omvang van die IT-stelsels in die beginstadium met groot omsigtigheid bepaal word en 'n kundige op die gebied van IT behoeftes moet geraadpleeg word, aangesien dit 'n groot impak kan hê op oorhoofse kostes, sowel as die sukses van die projek. Meer spesifieke aanbevelings is ook gedoen ten opsigte van sekere van die ander faktore wat geïdentifiseer is. Op grond van hierdie bevindings kan ten slotte verklaar word dat daar etlike aanbevelings ter ondersteuning van verdere navorsing was.

This dissertation is about games with a continuum of players and horizontal differentiation. The first chapter explains how price dispersion can be a feature of a competitive market with homogenous information and production costs. The second chapter extends the study to group consumption. The third chapter is about multiple equilibria in urban transportation. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The most perplexing question of business organizations today is how to get and sustain competitive advantage. The dependable answer to this question, as Peter Drucker stated, is defining a business in terms of customer values and designing innovation activities to create those values. Hence, market orientation and innovation are the two complementary pillars of success. This research, therefore, develops a conceptual model to examine how 1) internal factors influence the development of market orientation and innovation; and 2) market orientation and innovation impact on the competitiveness of manufacturing businesses in Ethiopia, a least developed country in sub-Sahara Africa. Market and innovation orientations have been broadly recognized as performance antecedents in the strategic management literature. The performance impact of these orientations is extensively examined in the developed countries’ business environments. Studies also indicate that market and innovation orientations affect performance in situations where the competitive intensity is high. However, literature lacks adequate empirical evidence to determine whether market and innovation orientations have positive impact on performance in the least developed countries’ economies; it is also deficient with the required literature to confirm whether the impact of these orientations on performance is minimal in the least economically developed environment where competitive intensity is low. The other shortcoming in the strategic orientation literature is the heterogeneity in defining and measuring market orientation constructs. Market orientation is defined from behavioral, cultural, capability, and integrationist perspectives. Despite the contention on what the integrationist perspective suggests, very limited number of studies applies such comprehensive conceptualization. The study, therefore, is designed to fill these voids in the literature by designing a comprehensive model and testing it in the least developed context. From practical point of view, following the current encouraging economic growth of Ethiopia, changes have been observed on the competitiveness of the business environment. In response to the growing competitiveness of the business environment, organizations should adopt relevant orientations and practices; i.e., practices recognized as appropriate to the western environment. Hence, testing the validity of the sound managerial orientations and practices, based on scientifically accepted procedure in the least developed context, is mandatory before making use of them. The research is conceptually rooted in the argument of resource based view and its extension- the dynamic capability. Based on this, the study a) models strategic orientations and managerial practices as capabilities that affect competitive advantage of firms; b) reviews literature on market orientation, innovation, marketing capabilities, organizational culture, and managerial practices to theoretically validate the proposed relationships in the conceptual model; and c) develops eight main hypotheses for empirical verifications. The investigation pursues positivist paradigm. It applies quantitative research design where the study tests the proposed relationships quantitatively by analyzing 204 usable responses (n=204) of the selected manufacturing companies. The findings show that 1) market orientation and innovation have positive and significant effect on competitiveness of the manufacturing companies in Ethiopia; 2) the level of market orientation and its impact on competitiveness is influenced by sound employee training program, market based reward system, effective marketing program, and organizational culture that emphasize change, entrepreneurship, and achievement orientation; 3) the level of innovation and its impact on competitiveness is influenced by effective marketing program and organizational culture that emphasize change (i.e., adhocracy culture) and control over the change process (i.e., the hierarchy culture); 4) the effect of market orientation and innovation on competitiveness is stronger for the younger and larger organizations when compared to the older and smaller ones, respectively. Based on these findings, the study suggests that managers, beyond ensuring the smooth running of day-to-day operations, should focus on marketplace changes by adopting and developing relevant orientations (i.e., market and innovation orientations) via improving the culture, structure, and other relevant capabilities. / Business Management / D.B.L.

Context. Software Product Management (SPM) is an activity done by software product managers to develop products from the very first idea till the product is release to the market and providing service to customers. SPM helps software product managers to successfully maintain their product throughout product lifecycle till it is disposed of from the market. In this thesis we have studied about SPM both from the state of knowledge and state of practice to understand the different activities being followed by software product managers and concepts in those activities. Objectives. The study identifies the practices followed in SPM, both from the literature and industrial practitioners. The study also unravels the order in which they implement SPM activities. We have focused on what activities need to be focused by junior software product manager when implementing SPM and based on the inputs from software practitioners a preliminary framework was designed. Methods. Literature review was conducted to identify what are the different practices in SPM. To cover the literature related to SPM different international databases like Compendex, Inspec, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Wiley Inter Science, Scopus, Science Direct, and Business Source Premier are selected. Articles from databases are selected between the years 1995-2011. Text books related to SPM, conference proceedings and grey literature are also used. Interviews and Survey are conducted with practitioners to identify how SPM is being implemented in organizations. We have also focused on what activities need to be implemented in SPM by junior software product managers after they take up their job. Results. Totally 133 different practices are identified related to SPM and are grouped in to their respective activities. Based on the findings a preliminary framework was designed for junior software product managers where they need to implement 22 concepts and these concepts are grouped into their respective activities which are Requirements Management, Release Planning, Product Planning, Product Roadmapping and Marketing. Conclusions. We conclude that the SPM frameworks identified through literature relate to each other and use similar activities. We also conclude that the frameworks identified from literature cover almost all of the activities implemented by software product managers during SPM when empirical research was conducted. The frameworks identified from literature don’t give a clear picture about what activities need to be focused by junior software product managers when implementing SPM. To overcome this, a preliminary framework was designed for junior software product managers based on the empirical evidence identified from interviews and survey. Moreover we conclude that a curriculum needs to be designed for SPM which clearly teaches junior software product managers regarding the activities and concepts involved in SPM and focusing more on the activities which need to be implemented by junior software product managers.

Today's global economy requires many organizations to co-ordinate work across a variety of intra and inter-organizational boundaries (Armstrong & Cole, 1995; Lipnack & Stamps, 1997). Global competition, re-engineered product life cycles, mass customization, and the increased need to respond quickly to customer needs are just some of the more pronounced trends currently driving organizational change (Grenier & Metes, 1995; Miles & Snow, 1986; Miles & Snow, 1992). An organizations growth and profitability is largely due to the strategies of globalization. Firms developing products with global applications must build competencies to connect and leverage knowledge on a worldwide basis (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1998). In several industries product development is a crucial ingredient and therefore factors such as cost of development, cycle time and increased productivity are key drivers for market share and profitability. Product development is an expensive process particularly in the engineering and technology intensive segments. Technological advances have enabled many companies to assemble teams of employees from across the country or around the world into global teams to solve complex organizational problems (Lipnack and Stamps, 1997). Such teams are sometimes temporary, culturally diverse, geographically dispersed, and electronically communicating collections of individuals (Kristof, Brown, Sims, and Smith, 1995). These teams allow organizations to increase efficiency and effectiveness by tapping the knowledge, skills, and expertise of employees around the globe, increasing opportunities for information or knowledge exchange through expanded social networks (Wellman 1996). A large amount of investment is spent in human resources and hence ways to optimize the spending by leveraging global resources, directly helps the bottom line (Govindarajan & Gupta 2001). Models that could be used to understand better team development and effectiveness have been limited to those based on the traditional colocated group perspective. Theory development and empirical research are needed to help managers better understand and respond to the challenges that global teams face (Furst, Blackburn & Rosen, 1999). A literature review conducted found though team effectiveness has been fairly well researched the extension of the topic and as applied to global teams remains a gap. This study attempts to understand team effectiveness and its relevance when applied to a global team in a product development environment. The study involves developing a suitable model and understanding the causal relationships between the identified factors and explains the model based on the findings. Review of Literature The study reviewed a vast amount of literature relating to teams and small workgroups and summarized findings under; Team Definition, Team Types and Nature, Team Composition, Task Design, Team Development, Team Processes, Organizational Context and Global Teams. The literary review suggests that though research is steadily increasing, empirical studies on performance and effectiveness are limited. There has been very few studies on effectiveness as applied to global teams. Literature review on the subject of global teams, suggests that these teams, face even greater challenges because of their geographical separation, diverse cultures, and language. The study identified factors as applicable to global team effectiveness based on previous studies and calibrates them with findings in general team and workgroup study. The study considers Task design, Team composition, and Organizational context factors and attempts to empirically determine causal relationships with Team Processes and Team Effectiveness. Objectives and Methodology The objectives of the study are as follows: 1 To develop and validate a conceptual model that explains global team effectiveness in a product development environment. 2 To establish relationship between team design, team composition, knowledge management context and senior management context towards global team effectiveness in a product development environment. 3 To illustrate the application of the validated model and relationships for developing interventions to enhance effectiveness in a product development environment through a qualitative case study. The methodology adopted was to study contemporary team effectiveness models from literature and get an understanding of the key variables and factors that influence effectiveness. Next, based on prior studies on global teams, a model was developed using an established effectiveness model and extended it to global teams. The main study comprised of analyzing responses from 376 participants from 64 projects working together as global teams. The conceptual model developed consists of two key factors measuring effectiveness namely; Product Development Effectiveness and Team Process Effectiveness. The enabling factors, that are called as ‘global factors’ in the study that influence effectiveness in the model are; Team Design and Composition, Senior Management Context and Knowledge Management Context. Measures defining each factor were developed, refined and checked for reliability and validity. The factor analysis conducted suggested that Product development effectiveness variables include; Schedule compliance, Functional completeness, Product Quality, Cost compliance and Innovative Problem solving. Team Process effectiveness includes; Internal motivation in the team, Looking forward to team challenges, Willingness to share Knowledge, Conflict resolution, Openness to Learning and Quality team interaction. Similarly, factor analysis suggests Task design and team composition be combined as Team Design and Composition. The variables included are; Clear Goals, Well defined output or deliverable, Use of Judgment, Adequate skill sets (Technical, Functional, Program Management and Diversity) and Right size. Knowledge Management Context variables following factor analysis are; Knowledge management practice, Perceived importance of knowledge management, adequate infrastructure and Existent reward system. Senior Management context variables are; Global Senior management support, Management review support and Easy information flow. In order to achieve the objectives of the study a detailed Structural Equation Modeling using Partial Least Squares method was conducted. The measurement model and structural model was assessed, path coefficients studied, moderating effects studied and model evaluated for goodness of fit. In addition, an in depth case study is conducted and the model is applied in a practical scenario. Results and Discussion The study suggests the importance of global teams in a product development environment. This is particularly so as distance, time, culture and technology interface make it all the more important for global teams to have means of measuring effectiveness. It is also necessary to have an understanding of the enabling factors aiding effectiveness. The study suggests a model for measuring effectiveness in global teams involved in product development as; Meeting milestones and timely delivery of the output, Meeting product functional and technical requirements, Quality of output delivered, Cost and budget targets and Innovative problem solving are typical measurements of effectiveness. The model encourages using Team Process Effectiveness as a measure and suggests it has a moderating influence it has on Product Development Effectiveness. The Team Process Effectiveness measures are; Internal motivation amongst members within the team, Identifying if the team looks forward to challenges, Willingness to share knowledge with each other, Resolving conflicts within the team in a positive manner, Openness to learning and Quality team interaction. The model developed indicates that all paths defined and relationships are positive and the model is structurally valid. As hypothesized, factors, Team Design and Composition, Knowledge Management Context and Senior Management Context has significant relationship with Team Process Effectiveness. Further, Team Process Effectiveness has positive causal relationship with Product Development Effectiveness. Knowledge Management Context and Senior Management Context have a significant and positive relationship with Team Process Effectiveness. The study confirms the moderating influence Team Process Effectiveness has on Team Design and Composition, Senior Management context, Knowledge Management Context with Product Development Effectiveness. The in depth case study on a department of 75 members of product development global teams provided the insight into the empirical analysis, strengthened it and helped understand several other aspects of global teams. Conclusion The study provided an in-depth understanding of global team effectiveness by reviewing literature and identifying variables that influence global teams in a product development environment. A model was developed, empirically validated and tested. The model includes effectiveness factors and enabling factors and relationship between factors have been explained. A case study spanning a period of five years on a global team involved in product development was conducted and the model applied in practice. This study suggests that the model can be used by organizations and practicing managers for understanding, developing and leading global teams involved in product development.

The topic of the thesis is launching a new brand of decorative cosmetics on the Czech market. The goal is to summarize and critically evaluate the whole process and the marketing mix of the brand. The focus will be mainly on the activities realized as a part of the communication mix. The evaluating methods will be market research (sell out and competitors' activities analysis) that provides us with the information about sales, market shares and competitors. The other method will be consumer research (questionnaire, focus groups, observing) that informs us about opinions, attitudes and preferences of the consumers. Based on these findings there is a list of recommendations concerning marketing mix, which should help the brand to achieve stability and continuous development.

Aim of this master thesis is to determine whether the introduction of new functionality into mobile application based on existing competitive trends, can grant selected application a new position on the market. To evaluate the hypothesis we used data collection and feedback from users. Thesis shows introduces various aspects associated with product management in practice. The theoretical part defines the product management and mobile applications as products, product innovation and describes the methodology used within management of the product. The goal of the practical part is the selection process of the new functionality, which is corporate program, description of all aspects of the preparation of the functionality and consequently its development. Based on the data and the feedback from users we evaluate its contribution to the company Liftago and its new positioning on the market.

Most newspapers today are struggling to survive in an increasingly fragmented and digital media environment. How have their owners or corporate parents shaped or adapted their business practices to in order to thrive? This question guides the overall approach to this study. The focus is on one newspaper, the Dallas Morning News. In particular, how has the News used corporate messages to respond to the changing media landscape? This study employs forms of rhetorical and discourse analysis to determine the effectiveness of the News' corporate messages during a 10-year period in order to answer this question. This study finds that the News used inconsistent and ineffective corporate communications throughout this tumultuous period.