The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of Chinese acquisitions on Italian target firm performance, and explore which characteristics of the acquirer can determine a change of it. First, a Paired-Samples T-test has been applied to appreciate the difference between pre-and post-acquisition performance on 27 sample companies. Secondly, through an OLS regression, the impact of the Chinese acquirers’ characteristics on the performance of Italian target companies has been estimated for the year 2018. In addition, two interviews with managers from one sample company were carried out to complement the quantitative findings with qualitative insight. The results show that the performance of Italian target companies did not change significantly after the acquisition-at least not in the time span of 3 years used for the analysis- in terms of: profitability, solvency and growth. However, job creation slightly increased following the takeover. Furthermore, our findings indicate that, among the Influential factors examined, Chinese acquirers’ prior M&Aexperience in developed countries and the level of relatedness have a significant and positive impact on the performance of Italian target sampled companies. Whereas, being acquired by a Chinese SOE or POE seems to not affect the performance. Lastly, another influential factor raised by our respondents resulted to be the integration strategy implemented by the Chinese acquirer.Indeed, choosing the appropriate integration strategy for the two entities can be crucial for the acquisition success, and ultimately, for the future performance of the target.

Cette thèse analyse les parcours individuels de Validation des Acquis de l’Expérience (VAE), dirigés vers une certification de niveau V. Visant à lutter contre les inégalités d’accès à la certification, nous supposons que la création d’un tel droit individuel, confortant la responsabilité de l’individu quant à la valorisation de son expérience, ne fait pas de ce droit une réalité pour tous.L’objectif est d’observer les phénomènes de différenciation du déploiement de la VAE. Nous avons enrichi les hypothèses ressourcistes et utilitaristes empruntées aux théories du marché du travail (Théories du Capital Humain et du Signal), en soulevant la question de la mise en œuvre réelle de ce droit, et en interrogeant autrement la notion d’expérience. En conséquences, dans la perspective de l’Approche par les Capabilités, nous construisons un modèle d’analyse original qui permet d'examiner dans quelles mesures les parcours individuels en VAE dépendent, non pas seulement d’une évaluation de l’expérience exprimée en nombre d’années, comme on l’entend au sein des Théories du Capital Humain et du Signal, mais également de facteurs personnels, environnementaux et sociaux, objectifs et subjectifs. Ces facteurs de conversion environnementaux, sociaux et individuels déterminent la mise en œuvre des ressources et des droits, dont dispose le candidat au sein du dispositif. Cet ensemble forme une structure de contraintes et d’opportunités et dessine le parcours des candidats. L’expérience est multidimensionnelle et diffuse à travers l’ensemble de ces éléments ; on parle d’ensemble expérientiel. Les estimations de la probabilité de validation (versus abandon ou aucune validation) à l’issue du parcours VAE, réalisées à partir de l’enquête DARES-DREES, tendent à confirmer notre modèle et met en exergue des inégalités qui étaient jusque là invisibles, sur-estimées ou sous-estimées, dans le cadre d’une analyse en terme de Capital Humain et de Signal. / This thesis analyses the individual pathways within the process of accreditation of prior experience (VAE), fighting inequalities of qualification access. This new right makes people responsible to put work experience to advantage, through getting qualification on the basis of work and individual experience, without education. But, to open up a new legal way doesn’t make this right a reality. The aim is to observe phenomena of differentiations relative to the display of the VAE. We have enrich ressourcist and utilitarist hypothesis, which have been derived from labour market theories (Human Capital and Signalling Theories). We ask the question of the real display of the individual right of VAE and the notion of experience. Consequently, from the Capability perspective, we built an original framework to understand in what extent individual pathways depend on personal, environmental and social factors, not only experience which is expressed in number of years, as a rule in the Human Capital and Signalling Theories. These environmental, social and individual conversion factors establish the display of individual resources and rights within the VAE process. This set forms an individual structure of constraints and opportunities and determines the individual pathways. The Experience is multidimensional and diffused through these elements.This model, based on a national survey, highlights existence of different types of individual logics of choices, which means different real possibilities of actions, more or less constricted, and underlines overestimated, underestimated and invisible inequalities.

Mathematics achievement has been of great concern to researchers involved in mathematics education. This concern has resulted in research seeking to determine for example, the factors that positively or negatively contribute to student performance in mathematics. Many of the reported studies in the literature have investigated the factors within the context of mathematics teaching and learning in general. Very few studies have investigated the factors contributing to student achievement in mathematics when learning takes place in a computer aided environment. With the pervasiveness of computers in education in general, studies in this direction become imperative. The present study fills this gap in the literature by examining the extent to which selected variables (mathematics attitude, mathematics aptitude, computer attitude, computer prior experience, computer ownership, proficiency in language of instruction, and learning style) contribute to students' achievements in pre-calculus algebra classes that are supplemented with a computer lab program. The participants in the study were 120 students sampled from the population of students enrolled in the second pre-calculus algebra course at the preparatory year program of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals during the 2003/2004 academic session. The instruments used to measure the study constructs were the mathematics attitude scale (Aiken, 1979), the computer attitudes scale (Loyd & Gressard, 1984a), and the learning styles questionnaire (Honey & Mumford, 1992). New instruments to measure computer prior experience and computer ownership were developed for the present study. Hypotheses formulated for the study were tested using multiple regression and other statistical techniques. The results show that mathematics aptitudes and English language proficiency are the most significant contributors to students' mathematics achievement. No other variables show statistically significant effects on students' achievement. Together, the selected variables explain more than 41 percent of the total variance of students' achievement. Theoretical and policy-making implications of the results are outlined and discussed. / Mathematical Sciences / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)

本研究旨在探討研發取得策略，情境因子，研發人力資本，與公司績效之間的關聯性。藉由理論模型的推導與實務訪談研發中心主管來發展假說，進而以混合資料模型(pooled data models)與橫斷面資料模型來進行實證分析。主要結果為：當公司的研發多樣化程度較高，專利權數目較少，公司較可能採取內外部研發並進策略(R&D hybrid strategy)，而非完全內部研發策略(make strategy)。最重要地，過度/低度的外部研發取得(under-/over-external R&D sourcing)對於公司績效有負/正向影響。相較於會計績效，此效果對市場績效的影響尤其顯著。同時，研發取得策略對於公司績效的影響，取決於公司的研發人力資本。相較於採取完全內部研發策略的公司，為了吸收外來的異質技術，採取內外部研發並進策略的公司較可能聘任不同研發種類的研發人員；而如此的研發取得策略與研發人力資本契合將進而改善會計與市場績效。本研究的發現與交易成本理論與supermodular理論一致。如同預期，相較於橫斷面資料模型，本研究的實證分析在混合資料模型較為顯著。 / The association between performance and R&D sourcing strategy in relation to contextual variables and R&D human capital is determined by the analytical model coupled with field interviews with directors or managers in R&D centers. Capitalizing on a unique database of the 2001-2003 Taiwan Industry R&D Investment Survey containing more detailed information available on the R&D activities to verify this association, the researcher tests the empirical results by cross-sectional and pooled data models. The findings are that an innovating firm will prefer to implement the R&D hybrid strategy when the higher degrees of R&D diversity and fewer counts of patents are exhibited. Perhaps most importantly, this study shows compelling evidence that over-/under-external R&D sourcing affects negatively/positively a firm’s performance. This effect is more significant in the market-based performance (Tobin’s q and average two-year Tobin’s q) than accounting-based performance (ROS and ROA). Moreover, the associations between R&D sourcing strategy and a firm’s performance are contingent on the use of R&D human capital. Innovative firms with the R&D hybrid/make strategy are more/less prone to employee diverse types of R&D experts to absorb the coming external knowledge, and such alignment between R&D sourcing strategy and R&D human capital thus improves both accounting- and market-based performance. The results are consistent with both transaction cost paradigms that discriminating alignment of transactions with strategy leads to more efficient outcomes, and the supermodularity model that a firm’s performance is a function of coherent alignment between strategy and structural elements of an organization. As predicted, these effects are noticeable and more pronounced in the pooled data model than in the cross-sectional design.

Mathematics achievement has been of great concern to researchers involved in mathematics education. This concern has resulted in research seeking to determine for example, the factors that positively or negatively contribute to student performance in mathematics. Many of the reported studies in the literature have investigated the factors within the context of mathematics teaching and learning in general. Very few studies have investigated the factors contributing to student achievement in mathematics when learning takes place in a computer aided environment. With the pervasiveness of computers in education in general, studies in this direction become imperative. The present study fills this gap in the literature by examining the extent to which selected variables (mathematics attitude, mathematics aptitude, computer attitude, computer prior experience, computer ownership, proficiency in language of instruction, and learning style) contribute to students' achievements in pre-calculus algebra classes that are supplemented with a computer lab program. The participants in the study were 120 students sampled from the population of students enrolled in the second pre-calculus algebra course at the preparatory year program of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals during the 2003/2004 academic session. The instruments used to measure the study constructs were the mathematics attitude scale (Aiken, 1979), the computer attitudes scale (Loyd & Gressard, 1984a), and the learning styles questionnaire (Honey & Mumford, 1992). New instruments to measure computer prior experience and computer ownership were developed for the present study. Hypotheses formulated for the study were tested using multiple regression and other statistical techniques. The results show that mathematics aptitudes and English language proficiency are the most significant contributors to students' mathematics achievement. No other variables show statistically significant effects on students' achievement. Together, the selected variables explain more than 41 percent of the total variance of students' achievement. Theoretical and policy-making implications of the results are outlined and discussed. / Mathematical Sciences / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)