This study investigates how firms in the mobile gambling industry can develop long-term competitive advantages through utilizing firm specific resources and capabilities. The aim of this research is to connect classical theoretical knowledge with the challenges the modern industry of mobile gambling is facing. Earlier research within the subject are limited, however previously findings indicates that fast response time, logic site mapping and security are important factors when consumer are choosing supplier for mobile gambling. Data is collected through a consumer survey and interviews with three industry experts, moreover; a theoretical framework from previously conducted research are underpinning the study. The results show that firms should focus internal resources and capabilities to develop a superior technology. A superior technology can generate numerous of competitive advantages, as well as working as a leverage effect in other areas. Moreover, superior technology will also likely be sustainable over time by being governed by isolating mechanisms. Lower price is discussed as a competitive advantage in the mobile industry, however findings indicates several of long run negative effects enabled through a lower price. Future research needs to investigate how customization and dynamic offerings can optimize a firm’s profit. Future research should also investigate what kind of negative effects mobile gambling could have on the social welfare in terms of total effects.

The operations efficiency, service quality and resources productivity, are the core aspects of the call centres competitive advantage in massive market competition. Thus, subjective evaluation is the leniency, perception and bias in performance evaluation which impact the efficiency of the operations and leads to frustrated customers. The study aims to determine the subjective performance evaluation in call centres to get a more objective measurement. It can be achieved by identifying factors affecting resources performance evaluation through the development of a conceptual model to reduce or eliminate the effect of subjective factors contained in the performance evaluation. The research approach is based on quantitative methodology through cross-sectional self-reports for 224 participants’ work in eight outsource call centres located in Egypt. The research aims to determine the subjective evaluation factors biases the true performance. It is followed by a machine learning practical application using neural networks for auto-detection the subjective context in the recorded calls to be considered through the evaluation process. The key findings of the study are nine subjective factors out of fifteen that have a direct influence on subjective performance evaluation. The actual performance is the performance evaluation after eliminating the subjective performance. Two different methods have concluded the actual performance. The first method excludes the subjective factors from the resulting evaluation to determine the actual performance. The second method is a prediction model defining subjectivity percent as a call centre baseline for future performance evaluation. Furthermore, the study highlights the potential subjective variables and the degree of influence for each variable. The theoretical contribution is determining the subjective factor and proposing the model to measure and predict the subjectivity in the call centre. The study recommended a restatement for the resource-based theory considering the subjective evaluation effect on performance evaluation. The practical application contribution is based on automating the detection and prediction of subjectivity using a machine learning approach through cascaded Convolutional Neural Networks, which achieved 75% accuracy in classifying the subjectivity for two study constructs: agents and customer behaviour.

Tillväxten hos små och medelstora företag är viktig då den är en förutsättning för överlevnad, dynamik och jobbskapande. 2019 uppstod fyra av fem nya jobb bland små och medelstora företag. Särskilt viktiga för Sveriges ekonomi är små och medelstora industriföretag, då de står för en femtedel av Sveriges ekonomi samt cirka tre fjärdedelar av detsamlade exportvärdet. Denna studie avser att beskriva och analysera om det finns ett statistiskt signifikant positivt samband mellan användningen av kortfristiga skulder och tillväxt bland 150 tillverkande små och medelstora företag (SMF) i Sverige under femårsperioden 2015–2019.  Genom tillämpning av en linjär regressionsanalys har resultatet i denna studie påvisat ett statistiskt signifikant negativt samband mellan kortfristig finansiering och tillväxt. Resultatet har analyserats och diskuterats med hjälp av Resource-based view (RBV) och tidigare forskning inom det studerade ämnet.

This thesis investigates strategic alliances in the aviation industry, focusing on resource sharing, using Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) within Star Alliance and SkyTeam as case studies. It examines the operational and competitive benefits of these collaborations through qualitative research, including interviews with executives and experts. The study highlights alliance dynamics like antitrust immunity, code sharing, and the resource-based view. Findings show alliances improve operational efficiency, competitive positioning, and customer service. It also considers the impact of new technologies and global events on alliances, which pool tangible (technology, infrastructure) and intangible assets (brand reputation, identity), fostering deeper integration. This research enhances understanding of strategic drivers in airline alliances and the complexities of resource sharing in the global aviation sector.

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Esports, or competitive video gaming competitions, have grown in popularity to have millions of global fans, spectators, and participants. Sport organizations, including leagues and teams, are increasingly affiliating, or dovetailing, with esports organizations. Although the meteoric rise of esports presents sport organizations with growth opportunities to connect with these markets, esports remain shrouded in uncertainty, stigma, and stereotypes that impede the convergence of industries. The growing affiliation between these two industries allows researchers to gain insight into the strategic actions of sport organizations despite the institutional constraints that influence their behavior. This dissertation includes three essays that address—with respect to esports—the (1) strategic resources and core competencies of sport organizations; (2) sensemaking of actors within sport organizations; and (3) institutional creation strategies within heavily regulated fields. Essay one consists of an explanatory, qualitative study of professional sport teams diversifying into the esports industry. As sport organizations mature, they will need to seek growth opportunities beyond their core industry and compete with formally tangentially related firms. The nascent esports industry has been embraced by sport organizations (e.g., leagues, teams), many of whom use existing resources and best practices from traditional sport to manage their esports property. This trend provides a salient context to identify how sport organizations are using their resources in a new marketspace and what they can provide to non-sport organizations. Guided by strategic management perspectives of the resource-based view (RBV), knowledge-based view (KBV), and resource orchestration (RO), the purpose of essay one is to examine how sport organizations leverage their core competencies to create a sustainable competitive advantage. The findings support the hypothesis that the existing resources of sport organizations such as physical venues and existing departments (e.g., legal, marketing, sales departments) are used to support sport organizations operations in the esports industry. Moreover, the findings identify that the tacit knowledge embedded in the human capital of sport organizations is a salient resource that helps them generate a competitive advantage against non-sport organizations. While tacit knowledge is a driver of competitive advantage, it is the supporting structures and departments that allows sport organizations to use this knowledge efficiently and effectively. Thus, by operating at the intersection of sport, entertainment, and media, sport organizations are increasingly competing with formally tangentially related firms, and can use their embedded resources and structure when competing with these firms. Essay two focuses on the integration of esports by a first-mover sport organization. Essay two employs an exploratory case study of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball League (NBA) and their integration of an esports team. The 76ers were the first North American professional sports organization to purchase and integrate an esports team. Novel technologies and practices, such as esports, are surrounded by uncertainty and are generally met with resistance (Huber, 1990) with their integration contingent upon internal and external constituent support. Actors, individuals within the 76ers, had to position and garner support for esports, which are representative of the novel practices and technologies influencing the way sport organizations are managed. In essay two an institutional creation work perspective is linked with sensemaking and related constructs to examine how actors within the 76ers helped create and give meaning—sensemaking—to esports. The findings of essay two support how actors within the 76ers were able to foster a progressive culture to create a shared understanding of esports and use this understanding to influence the sensemaking of others—sensegiving. In particular, the 76ers linked the managerial components of operating a sports team to operating an esports team. Yet the 76ers were deliberate in their approach, limiting cross-promotions between the fanbases of the 76ers and their esports team. By connecting institutional creation work with sensemaking, essay two contributes to how actors can proactively take actions to garner constituent support. Moreover, the findings of essay two support that sensemaking is a critical antecedent of sensegiving, as a shared understanding within an organization is a necessary prerequisite to influence the sensemaking of others (i.e., sensegiving). Essay two provides actors within the field of sport integrating novel practices and activities (e.g., augmented and virtual reality, in-game sports betting, wearable fitness devices, mediated sports consumption) strategies to proactively garner support for their integration. Essay two focuses on the integration of esports by professional sport organizations. Essay three utilizes an exploratory qualitative approach to identify the institutional creation strategies associated with integrating collegiate esports programs within the heavily regulated field of U.S. collegiate athletics. The findings of essay three support how actors need to go beyond creating a shared understanding to integrate novel activities. Actors must also influence the cognitive schema of other actors to facilitate the integration of novel practices and activities. Specifically, they can build on the concept of sportification (Heere, 2018) to both communicate and present esports in a manner consistent with traditional sports, using the concept of sport as a legitimizing agent. Collectively, the three essays support how sport organizations can seize growth opportunities with respect to their institutional environment. Sport organizations must recognize their institutional confines, but also can be strategic in their actions by focusing on their financial performance and sustainability in lieu of their constraints. This research contributes to a deeper understanding regarding how the institutional and strategic concerns of sport organizations influence their efficient and effective management. The research lays a foundation for a stream of future research on the strategic growth and long-term viability of sport organizations both within and beyond the esports industry. / Tourism and Sport

This study has theoretical, substantive, and methodological objectives following Brinberg and McGrath (1985). First, the resource-based view of the firm provides a context to support relationships determined from theory in Sociology, Finance and Entrepreneurshp. Using these interdisciplinary theories, the expected contributions of National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) member venture capital firm networks' human-based factors to the performance of initial public offerings are examined. Second, the substantive domain-venture capital-lacks articulation and quantification regarding the impact of venture capital firms on the start-up firms they support, which in this study is identified as IPO performance. Third, methodologically, the operationalization of organizational-related capital is proposed. The independent variables (human-based factors) include reputational capital, cumulative experience, social capital, and organizational-related capital. Organizational-related capital is a construct representing a firm's strategy that incorporates preferences specific to the venture capital industry, namely financing stage preference, industry relatedness, and geographic proximity. Venture capital firm networks are assessed at the syndicate and constellation levels (within and between industries) and bounded by membership in the National Venture Capital Association. Abnormal IPO stock price performance (the dependent variable) is assessed as the new issue's stock price benchmarked to the NASDAQ index and compounded over 21-day periods for up to 126 consecutive days after offering. Control variables were gleaned from economic-based theories found in the finance literature. Positive relationships were hypothesized between the independent variables and the dependent variable. Data constraints limited the number of observations examined, and the selection of IPOs investigated displayed little variance. Thus, explaining additional abnormal performance variance in IPOs backed by NVCA-member venture capital firms above and beyond that controlled for by economic-based theory was not fruitful. Although this study's findings were not statistically significant, many insights were generated that may positively influence future research in this area. The quest to better understand venture capital firms' contributions to entrepreneurial firms and the impact they have on publicly traded stocks remains meaningful. / Ph. D.