Models of R&D account for technical, technological and administrative factors of R&D implementation but underestimate the influence of behavioural and political factors such as power and conflict. They assume that R&D organisation is “well-insulated” from partisan, emotions, political reactions and contextual factors and that decision makers are rational and decisions are taken to best fit the content of R&D programme. The present study explores the effects of rational and irrational factors in the R&D implementation process on the performance of publicly funded research projects in universities. It uses realist and qualitative exploratory semi-structured interviews with 22 active researchers in Sultan Qaboos University provides “depth and detail” of the complexities of R&D implementation effects on its performance. The study discovers 18 measures of success of academic research and 30 effects of R&D implementation of the performance of publicly funded research.The study concludes that the iterative, non-linear and processual nature of R&D implementation is a continuous dynamic system. R&D success builds up the capacity for future success whilst failures decrease the chances of future successes. The integrated effects of implementation (IEI) influence R&D performance through technical and administrative capability of the R&D organisation as well as through behaviours of organisation members. These include leaders’ behaviours, conflict and political skills within individuals. Both success dynamism and IEI suggest contextualism implementation of R&D.

Since the 1980s, New Public Management (NPM) has deeply influenced the public sector across the world, and thus measuring or managing performance has become a principal element of government reform. In terms of borrowing models and techniques from the private sector, performance measurement has been significantly extended into government, but differences between the two sectors have led to difficulties and criticism of this practice with a wide inconsistent variety of different theoretical explanations about it. In this context, this thesis investigates the effectiveness of performance measurement and theoretical explanations of conditions for its success in the public sector. It focuses through a comparative methodology on Comprehensive Performance Assessment and Joint Performance Assessment that have recently been introduced between the levels of government in England and Korea for the improvement of local government performance and accountability. Extensive analysis of literature and case studies have allowed the thesis to find firstly, that the introduction of such unique assessment systems, by which the centre assesses localities, was deeply affected by the environmental commonalities of both countries such as centralisation in inter-governmental relations and enthusiasm for NPM. Second, the empirical evaluation of both tools shows that they have in practice been valid for accurate assessment, and directly functional for improvement and indirectly for accountability to the public. Their high validity and functionality proved to be mainly attributable to two characteristics. One was institutionally that both frameworks were based on a balanced approach to performance and the disclosure of assessment results to the public for facilitating competition between localities. The other was that both had impacted on internal management of local government which led to change in organisational culture with more focus on performance. However, it identified a necessity for local authorities to participate in the development process of those tools to ensure legitimacy of central management of local performance since they enjoy their own electorally based political support. The research has also found the importance of assessors’ expertise for accurate assessment and a possibility that performance measurement can contribute to the resolution of political tension and cooperation between central and local government when it focuses more on outcomes than input and process. A deeper theoretical and practical understanding of these successful experiences and important policy elements in contemporary public management contributes significantly to knowledge in the three settings of evaluation of policy instruments, comparison between countries and central-local relations. Finally, the study assists each country and others to draw lessons from each other.

<p>U disertaciji je kreiran novi model<br />konkurentnosti malih i srednjih preduzeća u<br />tranzicionim uslovima u funkciji optimizacije<br />performansi, održanja i sticanja konkurentnosti.<br />Istraživanje omogućuje identifikovanje ključnih<br />indikatora konkurentnosti malih i srednjih<br />preduzeća u tranzicionim uslovima, ali i njihovu<br />evaluaciju, na taj način pružajući malim i<br />srednjim preduzećima neophodan alat koji<br />omogućuje efikasno praćenje i procenu<br />konkurentnosti, merenje efikasnosti poslovanja,<br />upoređivanje sa konkurentima, kao i<br />formulisanje adekvatne konkurentske strategije.<br />U disertaciji se na odgovarajući način može<br />sagledati signifikantnost eksternih faktora<br />okruženja, kao i konkurentskih strategija i<br />njihova korelacija sa identifikovanim ključnim<br />indikatorima konkurentnosti malih i srednjih<br />preduzeća u tranzicionim uslovima, čime se<br />uspostavlja veza između konkurentnosti malih i<br />srednjih preduzeća u tranzicionim uslovima i<br />primene odgovarajućih strategija u poslovanju.</p> / <p><span style="font-size:10px;">A new competitiveness model of small and<br />medium sized enteprises in transitional context<br />has been created in this dissertation, as a<br />function of performance optimization,<br />maintenance and acquisition of competitiveness.<br />This research enables identification of key<br />competitiveness indicators of small and medium<br />sized enterprises in transition economies, as well<br />as their evaluation, thus providing small and<br />medium sized enteprises with a necessary tool<br />for efficient monitoring and assessment of<br />competitiveness, business efficiency<br />measurement, benchmarking, as well as<br />formulation of adequate competitive strategies.<br />The significance of external environmental<br />factors, as well as of competitive strategies, and<br />their correlation with the identified key<br />competitiveness indicators of small and medium<br />sized enteprises in the transitional context can<br />be adequately observed, thus establishing the<br />relationship between competitiveness of small<br />and medium sized enterprises in transition<br />economies and implementation of adequate<br />business strategies.</span></p>

This thesis presents the findings from two case study examinations of strategic performance measurement systems within two turbulent environmental contexts: the U.S. security software industry and the U.S. health care industry. Despite a three-­‐decade emphasis on performance measurement research, little empirical work has been carried out inside turbulent settings—contexts characterized by rapid change, high levels of instability and complex configurations among environmental variables. This research targets that gap. Through exploratory case studies from seven security software firms paired with a single in-­‐ depth case investigation within a transforming health care system, this study addresses the question: “how do firms in turbulent environments measure strategic performance?” The research found that in turbulent environments, an effective strategic performance measurement system contains six interrelated elements: management aims, performance objectives, uncertainty areas, decision data, management attention and performance measures. Top managers focus on their aims and performance objectives to meet requirements via a closed-­‐loop approach while monitoring uncertainty areas and gathering decision data in an open-­‐loop way. This union of feedback and feedforward control enables dynamic interaction among the various elements of the system all of which are informed by performance measure data. Effective use is moderated by management’s focus of attention. The research has implications for information processing and management control literature; it extends existing theory to incorporate the use of semi-­‐structures within the framework of the strategic performance measurement system as a means of overcoming the challenges of uncertainty. Further, the research contradicts both extant literature and practice convention that claims strategic performance measurement frameworks need to be balanced to be effective. Practitioners are provided with a strategic performance measurement framework for use in turbulent environments. The framework would benefit from further examination in a variety of different, equally turbulent, contexts.

Cette thèse s'intéresse aux incubateurs, des structures offrant une aide au démarrage aux créateurs d'entreprise. Cette aide repose sur de multiples services qui rendent complexe l'activité d'accompagnement entrepreneurial. Cette complexité est exacerbée par une importante diversité des incubateurs. Il en résulte des difficultés à définir une mesure pertinente de leur performance. La question de l'adaptation ou non de cette mesure se pose avec insistance. Pour y répondre, la théorie des configurations est mobilisée. Elle permet l'identification de cinq configurations idéales d'incubateur. Il est proposé d'utiliser le balanced scorecard pour adapter la mesure de la performance à chacune de ces cinq configurations idéales. Cette proposition est vérifiée par le biais d'une démarche de recherche-intervention reposant sur deux étapes. La première correspond à une étude quantitative qui analyse la pertinence du balanced scorecard dans ce contexte spécifique à partir d'un questionnaire en ligne auprès de 109 responsables d'incubateur. Les données collectées font l'objet d'une analyse descriptive. Il en ressort un modèle général de balanced scorecard. La seconde étape consiste en une expérimentation de ce modèle général au sein de cinq incubateurs. Chacun d'eux se rapproche d'une configuration idéale différente. Cette expérimentation confirme la pertinence du balanced scorecard dans le contexte étudié. L'outil permet une mesure plus pertinente, car plus équilibrée. Il fournit une information sélectionnée et synthétisée. L'expérimentation confirme aussi qu'un même modèle général de balanced scorecard ne peut être utilisé à l'identique dans différentes configurations d'incubateur. Une adaptation est systématiquement nécessaire. Cette thèse montre que chaque configuration d'incubateur entraine des indicateurs spécifiques qui s'ajoutent à des indicateurs génériques pour permettre une mesure pertinente de la performance. / This dissertation focuses on incubators, which are structures designed to support entrepreneurs by offering an array of resources and services that additionally complicate the business support activity. The complexity is amplified by a high variety of incubators, resulting in the difficulty of defining an appropriate performance measurement. The issue of adaptation or not of this measurement is thereupon constantly questioned. In response, the configurational approach is taken into account and allows to identify five ideal incubator configurations. It is suggested to use the balanced scorecard to accommodate the performance measurement to every single of these five ideal configurations. This suggestion is verified through a procedure of research-intervention based on two stages. The first stage involves a quantitative study analyzing the relevance of the balanced scorecard in this specific context, arising out of an online survey answered by 109 incubator managers. The collected data is subject of a descriptive analysis, in order to obtain a general framework of the balanced scorecard. The second stage consists in an experiment of this generic framework within five incubators. Each of them approaches a different ideal configuration. This experiment confirms the importance of the balanced scorecard in our research context. This tool furnishes a more reliable and stable measurement as a result of a selected and synthesized information. However, this experiment proves that an exemplary model of the balanced scorecard cannot be used in the different incubator configurations : an adaptation is consistently needed. This dissertation demonstrates that each incubator configuration implies specific as well as generic indicators, in order to supply a proper performance measurement.

Prestationsmätning utgör en betydande del när organisationer ska översätta sin strategi till praktiken. Tidigare forskning har identifierat svårigheter med utformning och uppföljning avprestationsmått vilka kan medföra bristfällig förankring mellan organisationens strategi och detsom mäts. Denna studie behandlar prestationsmätning i hybridorganisationer där existerandeforskning belyser att utmaningen med prestationsmätning i en sådan organisation är attbalansera de två logikerna, affärsmässighet och samhällsnytta. Studien syftar till att undersökavilka svårigheter som kan uppstå med prestationsmätning i en hybridorganisation och ämnartill att skapa en större förståelse för hur användningen av prestationsmätning går till och upplevsi en sådan organisation. Studien präglas av en deduktiv ansats och är av kvalitativ metod.Empirisk data har insamlats genom intervjuer med respondenter vilka är verksamma i ettkommunalägt företag. Studiens resultat tyder på att balansgången av de två logikerna inte ärkännbar i arbetet med prestationsmätning. Vidare indikerar resultatet att utformningen avprestationsmått upplevs svårare i jämförelse med uppföljningen av prestationsmått. Författarnaföreslår framtida forskning som behandlar prestationsmätning i en annan typ avhybridorganisation. Detta för att undersöka huruvida resultatet går i linje med denna studiensutfall. / Performance measurement is a significant part when organizations are translating their strategyinto practice. Previous research has identified difficulties with the design and monitoringprocess of performance measurements, which can lead to inadequate anchoring between theorganization's strategy and what is being measured. The study presented in this report focus onperformance measurement in hybrid organizations where existing research has presented thatthe challenge of performance measurement in hybrid organizations is to balance the two logics,financial profit and social benefits. The study aims to investigate the difficulties that may arisewith performance measurement in a hybrid organization and intends to create a greaterunderstanding of how performance measurement is utilized and how it is perceived in a hybridorganization. The study is characterized by a deductive approach and a qualitativemethodology. The empirical data has been collected through interviews with respondents whoare operating in a municipal-owned company. The results indicate that the balancing of the twologic is not noticeable in the work with performance measurement. Furthermore, the resultsindicate that the design is perceived to be more difficult in comparison with the monitoringprocess of performance measures. The authors suggest future research that investigateperformance measurement in another types of hybrid organizations, to determine whether theresult is in line with the outcome of this study.

A importância de um bom sistema de medição de desempenho (SMD) para o sucesso de uma empresa é uma questão bastante estudada e discutida, tanto no meio científico quanto no próprio meio empresarial. No entanto, grande parte das empresas não possui um sistema de medição de desempenho que possa lhes trazer uma vantagem competitiva, sendo ele muitas vezes pontual e desligado da estratégia. Por isso, este trabalho é mais uma tentativa de aproximar a teoria e a prática dentro das empresas no que se refere à medição de desempenho organizacional. O objetivo da pesquisa é desenvolver um sistema informatizado para a gestão do desempenho e apresentar um método para sua implantação. Para a definição das características deste método e dos requisitos do sistema, empreendeu-se uma revisão bibliográfica e um estudo de caso em uma empresa de grande porte que já possui um SMD formalizado. O método foi aplicado em duas empresas de Sertãozinho para identificar seus objetivos estratégicos e indicadores de desempenho, o que resultou em uma primeira versão de um SMD formal para elas. Uma aplicação piloto do software foi feita em uma destas empresas para verificar seu funcionamento na prática. Após estes estudos, pôde-se concluir que o método e o sistema são úteis para implantar e acompanhar indicadores de desempenho nas empresas pesquisadas. No entanto, a implantação encontrou alguns obstáculos como a falta de tempo das empresas para se dedicarem à medição de desempenho e a resistência de alguns funcionários em usar o software. / The importance of a well-developed performance measurement system (PMS) for the success of a company is a subject which is widely studied and discussed either in the academic and business enviroments. However, many companies still do not have a performance measurement system able to bring them competitive advantage, because they are all too often ad-hoc solutions not concerned about the strategy. Hence, this work is yet another attempt to bring theory closer to practice inside the companies in the regard of business performance measurement. This research\'s objective is to develop an information system for performance measurement and present a method for its deployment. In order to define the characteristics of both the method and the information system, a literature review and a case study in a company which had a formal PMS were done. The method was then applied to two companies from Sertãozinho aiming to identify their strategic objectives and performance indicators, which resulted in a first version of their formal PMS. A pilot deployment of the software was made in one of these companies to verify how it would work in practice. After these studies, it was possible to conclude that the method and the information system were useful for deploying and keeping track of performance indicators in the researched companies. However, some dificulties were found during the deployment, such as the lack of time available for performance management and the resistance of some employees to the use of the software.

Este trabalho é um estudo exploratório sobre a Avaliação de Desempenho Organizacional em Prefeituras. A avaliação de desempenho organizacional, que pode ser realizada através de modelos teóricos já existentes, é um instrumento auxilia os gestores na condução de negócios de qualquer natureza. No entanto, até a realização do presente estudo, não havia nenhuma produção teórica a respeito da realização da avaliação de desempenho em administrações municipais. Este estudo pretende identificar e descrever como é feita a avaliação de desempenho em prefeituras. A metologia utilizada foi um levantamento através de questionário respondido por 67 prefeituras de municípios do estado de São Paulo.Os gestores dos municípios responderam a três tipos de questões: sobre quais indicadores a prefeitura utiliza, sobre qual a importância (numa escala de 1 a 5) atribuída a estes indicadores na avaliação de desempenho da organização e sobre como esta avaliação é realizada. Os resultados mostram que, em muitos aspectos, as prefeituras ainda têm uma visão tradicional da avaliação de desempenho, dando demasiada ênfase em algumas dimensões da administração, como a financeira e não realizando acompanhamento sistemático em outras. Por outro lado, notase também que alguns outros aspectos, mesmo que não praticados, são considerados importantes. Com base nas informações pesquisadas, o trabalho também propõe um modelo preliminar de avaliação de desempenho que poderá ser aprimorado e testado em prefeituras. / The present research is based on an exploratory study about the Measurement of the City Council´s Organizational Performance in the state of São Paulo. The Organizational Performance Measurement relies on preexisting theories and its result provides several contributions to the business of any kind. Until the present moment, it has not been postulated any Measurement of the Organizational Development of the City Council (also called Municipality). The subject of this research is to identify and describe in what ways the Measurement of the City Council takes place. For that, a questionnaire was collected among 67 municipal authorities in the State of São Paulo. The City Councils responded to three types of questions in the Evaluation form: the first regards to which indicators are adopted by each City Council; the second regards to the level of importance given to these indicators (using a scale of 1 to 5 points) and the last is about the way the Measurement proceeds. The results show that the City Councils in the state of São Paulo still retain a traditional way of evaluating its performance, deeply emphasizing some of the administrative aspects like the financial one and leaving aside some others. Despite not being stated by the City Councils, these aspects are considered to be of great importance. According to all the information collected, the dissertation proposes a previous Evaluation form to be improved and tested by the City Councils in the future.

Este estudo consiste em pesquisa realizada com a Agência Brasileira de Promoção de Exportações e Investimentos, agências estrangeiras de promoção de exportações, empresas brasileiras exportadoras e entidade setorial que conduz um programa de promoção de exportações, escolheu-se como foco do estudo o setor de revestimentos cerâmicos. O estudo foca a avaliação de desempenho. Descreveu-se e considerou-se métodos de avaliação utilizados por diversas agências de promoção de exportações. Por meio de questionário, 33 empresas participantes de um programa de promoção de exportações forneceram informações sobre avaliação e satisfação em relação ao programa que participam. Utilizando-se entrevistas dois representantes de agências de promoção de exportações e um representante de entidade setorial forneceram impressões sobre a avaliação de desempenho desses programas. Observou-se que a complexidade do processo de avaliação de desempenho de um programa de promoção de exportações está relacionada às múltiplas origens dos fatores que influenciam esse programa. O desempenho de um programa de promoção de exportações está relacionado tanto a fatores internos ao programa quanto a fatores externos, alheios, não controlados e não previsíveis. Ademais, a análise dos dados revelou que a avaliação de desempenho dos programas de promoção de exportações é complexa e deveria ser conduzida dividindo-se o programa em ações e realizando a avaliação de cada uma das ações individualmente, para então avaliar-se o todo. Verificou-se também as principais oportunidades e ameaças a um programa de promoção de exportações, como forma de propor melhorias. / This study consists of a research with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, foreign export promotion agencies, Brazilian exporting companies and a sectorial organization that implements an export promotion program, the ceramic tile sector was chosen for this study. The study focuses on performance evaluation. Evaluation methods used by different export promotion agencies were described and considered. Thirty three companies that participate in an export promotion program responded a questionnaire providing information about the evaluation and satisfaction towards the program in which they participate. Two representatives of export promotion agencies and one representative of a sectorial organization were interviewed and gave their impressions of the performance evaluation of these programs. It was observed that the complexity of a performance evaluation process of an export promotion program is related to the multiple origins of the factors that influence this program. The performance of an export promotion program is related to factors both internal to the program and external, uncontrollable and unpredictable. Furthermore, the data analysis showed that performance evaluation of export promotion programs is complex and should be conducted from parts to the whole, meaning that each activity or service of the programa should be evaluated separately. In addition, as a way to propose improvements, the main opportunities and threats to an export promotion program were also verified.

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar a produção de edifícios comerciais de escritórios através da localização e aspectos construtivos tais como a dimensão das unidades dos escritórios e os índices de desempenho de mercado: estoque e taxa de vacância. As amostras selecionadas e analisadas e os resultados obtidos ao longo cinco anos de pesquisa em campo (1999-2003) foram consolidados em um banco de dados formado pela autora desde 1994. Enquanto as pesquisas internacionais consultadas possibilitaram conhecer um extenso campo para aplicação deste conhecimento, um volume razoável de pesquisas nacionais está sendo produzido com enfoque para indicadores específicos de desempenho quanto à resistência de materiais, conforto térmico, acústico e desempenho energético. Somente, uma pequena parte, porém, estão voltados para a orientação do mercado imobiliário. Em tais estudos, os dados coletados quase sempre se referem a um momento limitado do mercado, provêm de fontes indiretas e, algumas vezes não conseguem mensurar possíveis tendências com base histórica. Como os dados coletados abrangem uma quantidade expressiva de edifícios de escritório, deve-se ter em vista que a contribuição desta proposta está, principalmente, na descrição do mercado de escritórios e no tratamento estatístico dos dados, cujos resultados poderão auxiliar o desenvolvimento de novos empreendimentos ou mesmo contribuir na requalificação destes. Os resultados desta pesquisa podem subsidiar de forma direta os agentes envolvidos na cadeia produtiva como o setor financeiro, quanto ao investimento em empreendimentos desta natureza, minimizando riscos e auxiliar profissionais e técnicos no desenvolvimento de novas propostas tecnológicas e outros pesquisadores através dos subsídios indiretos produzidos. / This research aims to analyze the office market through attributes localization, constructive aspects such as the size of offices in office buildings and data of market performance such as stock and vacancy rate. The sample selected and analyzed and results acquired from latest five years (1999-2003) were consolidated in a self management database since 1994. While the international researches possibility spread this knowledge to application, the amount of national researches is produced to close measurement of performance as resistance of materials, temperature comfort, acoustic and energetic performance in office buildings. About few are more specifics and refer to Real Estate. The collection of data considered is a limited moment of market from indirect sources and sometimes to appraise or predict the future with historic base is impossible. As the data collected range the amount of office buildings, the main contribution form this research is the office market description and statistician treatment of data, which results could be to aid the development of new buildings or new design. The results of this research could be to give direct support to agents involved, like as financial sector to minimize the risks from this investment. To others, academics and practitioners, involved in Real Estate area and researchers to new technologies, these will receive indirect benefits from this research.