Abstract Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Board Logistics Division¡¦s response strategies to Taiwan¡¦s entry into the World Trade Organization -from an integrated view of resource-base, resource-dependence, and network theories. The three theories including resource-base, resource-dependence, and network stress how companies obtain competitive advantage from inside to outside of the company. The synergy coming from integrating all three theories should further strengthen a corporation¡¦s competitiveness. After Taiwan¡¦s entry into the World Trade Organization, the tobacco and wine industry in Taiwan have faced fierce competition from new competitors. This poses both as a threat and as an opportunity for Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Board¡¦s Logistics Division. Through the analysis of the aforementioned three theories, this paper hopes to gain insight into how much competitive edge the Board has in terms of its advantages and disadvantages, its interdependence and relationship within the tobacco and wine industry as well as with other industries. Thus this paper hopes to combine and integrate the Division¡¦s external and internal resources and then make response strategies and policy suggestions accordingly. The results of this research include: 1. Products, price, distribution and sales channels, assets, and the competence of Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Board Logistics Division were all greatly affected by Taiwan¡¦s entry into the WTO. 2. Both assets and competences are considered as the company¡¦s internal resources. Advantages should be further made use of where disadvantages should be taken care of. 3. The Board¡¦s Logistics Division is currently most closely related to the tobacco and brewage factories under the same company. However, this relationship will be looser in the future due to the competition and the struggle to survive both entities face. On the other hand, the Logistics Division¡¦s relationship with transport companies, retailers, hypermarkets, convenience stores will be closer through investment, franchise, or partnerships. Its relationship with private sector manufacturers, domestic and oversea agents, cross-industry suppliers, distributors will also become much closer. 4. The Board¡¦s dependence on factories under the same company will decrease from highly dependent to a much lower degree ; its dependence on private sector manufacturers and domestic and oversea agents (who imports products from overseas after entry into the WTO) will grow from nil to highly dependent (dependence on importers already importing products before entry into WTO will decrease from an already meager degree to much less); dependence on cross-industry suppliers and distributors will become higher from a previously low degree; dependence on transport companies, retailers, hypermarkets and convenience stores will also become much higher from an already close relationship. 5. The Logistics Division should, after Taiwan¡¦s entry into the WTO, start from developing its internal advantages and disadvantages and search for ways to establish external links, as well as reducing its dependence on external sources. The three essential elements including resource-base, resource-dependence, and networks should be integrated through complement of resources, natural production, and increased interdependence. This and together with other strategies including diversification, strategic alliances, cooperating within the industry and across industries both domestically and internationally, should all be taken into account in the drawing up of response strategies in order to create competitive advantage for the Division. In view of these findings, this paper proceeds to make the following recommendations: 1. Increase retailer margins and encourage a more diversified range of promotional tactics. 2. Develop high-value products and improve package design. 3. Leverage existing advantages in distribution and sales channels and engage in the agency, distribution, and diversification into non-tobacco and nonalcoholic products. 4. Cut down distribution and sales channels and strengthen direct sales channels. 5. Intensify logistics and distributional functions. 6. Strengthen employees¡¦ professional knowledge and competence and improve information systems. 7. Accelerate the expansion of overseas markets, especially mainland China. 8. Speed up the company¡¦s privatization process. Based on an integrated view of resource-base, resource-dependence, and network theories, this paper presents a brief overview of how Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Board¡¦s Logistics Division¡¦s relationships with other companies in the same industry as well as cross-industry alliances had been affected post Taiwan¡¦s WTO entry. In view of these changes that have taken place, this paper also proceeds to make a few suggestions with regard to how the Logistics Division could respond to the challenges it now faces. Key Words¡G WTO¡AResource-base¡AResource-dependence¡ANetwork Theory¡AIntegrate

Kulturorganisationer är en typ av organisationer som skiljer sig från andra. Istället för att drivas av ett vinstintresse styrs de av konstnärliga värderingar. En viktig förutsättning för att deras verksamhet ska fungera är statliga subventioneringar, vilket medför att de blir starkt knutna till statens nycker. År 2008 infördes satsningen Skapande skola, vilken innebär att skolhuvudmän kan söka bidrag för att genomföra kulturprojekt för grundskoleelever i sam-arbete med professionella kulturaktörer. Denna satsning är en betydande potentiell resurs i kulturaktörernas omgivning och vi intresserar oss för hur de påverkas av att nya resurser till-gängliggörs. Studien består av kvalitativa intervjuer med personer från sex olika kulturorganisationer från skilda delar av Sverige. Dessa kombineras med sekundärdata i form av en sammanställning av återrapporteringar av Skapande skola-projekt från år 2011, vilket är det senast tillgängliga materialet. Empirin analyserades utifrån teorier om resource dependence och institutionell isomorfism. Studien visar att samtliga organisationer har kompletterat sin verksamhet i linje med kraven från Skapande skola. De olika värderingarna inom skolvärlden och kulturvärlden ger även upphov till en kulturkrock som påverkar tillämpningen av resursen.

abstract: This dissertation examines the use of social media technologies by US local governments for internal and external collaboration. Collaboration is defined as the process of working together, pooling resources, sharing information and jointly making decisions to address common issues. The need for greater collaboration is evident from numerous examples in which public agencies have failed to effectively collaborate and address complex challenges. Meanwhile, the rise of social computing promises the development of ‘cultures of participation’ that enhance collaborative learning and knowledge production as part of everyday work. But beyond these gaps and expectations, there has been little systematic empirical research investigating the use of these powerful and flexible technologies for collaboration purposes. In line with prior research, my dissertation draws on sociotechnical and resource dependence theoretical approaches to examine how the interaction between technological and social context of an organization determine the adoption and use of a technology for a task. However, in a break with prior work that often aggregates social media technologies as one class of technology, this dissertation theorizes different classes of social media based on their functionality and purpose. As a result, it develops more explicit means by which organization, technical, and environmental context matter for effective collaboration. Based on the aforementioned theoretical approaches, the dissertation develops a theoretical model and several hypotheses, which it tests using a unique 2012 national survey of local governments in the US conducted by the Center for Science, Technology and Environmental Policy Studies at ASU. Overall, the findings of this dissertation highlight that the adoption and use of social media technologies for collaboration purposes can be understood as an outcome of stakeholder participation, innovativeness, and social media type. Insights from this dissertation contribute both to our theoretical understanding about social media technology adoption and use in government and provide useful information for agencies. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Public Administration 2016

What constitutes effective corporate governance? Which director characteristics render boards effective at positively influencing firm-level performance outcomes? This dissertation examines these questions by taking a multilevel, multidisciplinary approach to corporate governance. I explore the individual-, team-, and firm- level factors that enable directors to serve effectively as strategic resources during international expansion. I argue that directors’ international experience improves their ability to serve as effective strategic consultants and resource providers to firms during the complex internationalization process. However, unlike prior research, which tends to assume that directors with the potential to provide important resources uniformly do so, I acknowledge contextual factors (i.e. board cohesiveness, strategic relevance of directors’ experience) that affect their propensity to actually influence outcomes. I explore these issues in three essays: one review essay and two empirical essays. In the first empirical essay, I integrate resource dependence theory with insights from social-psychological research to explore the influence of board capital on firms’ cross-border M&A performance. Using a sample of cross-border M&As completed by S&P 500 firms from 2004-2009, I find evidence that directors’ depth of international experience is associated with superior pre-deal outcomes. This suggests that boards’ deep, market-specific knowledge is valuable during the target selection phase. I further find that directors’ breadth of international experience is associated with superior post-deal performance, suggesting that these directors’ global mindset helps firms in the post-M&A integration phase. I also find that these relationships are positively moderated by board cohesiveness, measured by boards’ internal social ties. In the second empirical essay, I explore the boundary conditions of international board capital by examining how the characteristics of firms’ internationalization strategy moderate the relationship between board capital and firm performance. Using a panel of 377 S&P 500 firms observed from 2004-2011, I find that boards’ depth of international experience and social capital are more important during early stages of internationalization, when firms tend to lack market knowledge and legitimacy in the host markets. On the other hand, I find that breadth of international experience has a stronger relationship with performance when firms’ have higher scope of internationalization, when information-processing demands are higher.

This study sought to examine power, resources and environmental negotiation through an examination of the operations and governance of two Community Sport Organizations (CSOs) located in a mid-sized city in the Midwest region of the United States. This was undertaken by answering three research questions: (1) How does power shape the allocation of resources within CSOs? (2) How do CSOs secure access to resources from their organizational environments? and (3) How do CSOs attempt to manipulate their organizational environment? The dissertation took a case study approach, combining documentary review with in-depth semi-structured interviews to develop a greater understanding of the CSOs under study and of the dynamics of power that animate the organizations’ activities, decisions, and outlook. By using two theories of power, Lukes’ Three Dimensional (3D) approach and Resource Dependence Theory (RDT), the dissertation examined both an institutional and episodic view of power, providing a richer view of power within the organizations under study. In RQ1, the study finds that CSOs are willing to allocate resources to the social construction of their sport; that they are sensitive to threshold effects in resource allocation, meaning they provide resources up to the point that a need is met, and not beyond; and that gender played a role in internal resource allocation. In RQ2, the results indicated that the CSOs under study were able to secure resources from their environments through not valuing their institutional existence, and through working with their multi-level governance structures. RQ3 finds that CSOs used anticipatory compliance with environmental actors and borrowing capacity of means to change their organizational environments. The overall conclusion of the study notes that low organizational capacity in CSOs has considerable benefits to go with the drawbacks previously noted in the CSO and not-for-profit literatures. The study outlines that CSOs are able to use their low capacity status to help ensure their organizational environment remains passive, allowing them to maintain a focus on their members and mission while securing sufficient resources to survive. Further discussion of volunteer leadership being a type of participation in sport and of the challenges of studying CSOs, as well as participant recruitment, are also included.

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The focus of this study is the accounting of private non-profit organizations. Accounting is understood as a situated practice under specific conditions prevailing in different types of private non-profits. First, a pilot study of the financial reports of 39 Swedish non-profit organizations was undertaken. It identified similarities and differences between their reporting and the norms used in commercial accounting. Three case studies of private non-profits of different kinds and sizes were then undertaken. The purpose was both to describe how non-profits report their activities and their financial position to external interest groups and attempt to explain what lies behind their accounting practices. A combination of an institutional perspective and a resource dependence perspective has been used. The study contributes to our knowledge of practices in non-profit organization accounting and suggests some explanations of their accounting practices. The following research question was explored: When does institutional isoformism and when does resource dependence determine the accounting practices in these private non-profits? The main findings are the following: the purpose of the annual reports of these private non-profits is to show how they have used their resources. Their income statements are more like reports of financial flows. It has been difficult to measure the efficiency of their activities and for that reason they report more about doing the “right” things. A verbal story is needed to give a fair account of their performance. In trying to explain the accounting practices of these organizations four things were highlighted: ·          They imitated conventional accounting norms when the issues had no direct influence on future resources. ·          They diverged from conventional accounting norms and showed their distinctive character in that they created ways of presenting information according to what was needed by their interested parties, when the issues could influence future flow of resources. This is true even after the accounting regulations were established in 2001. However, when they were forced to follow conventional accounting norms, coercive isomorphic pressure meant that they had less freedom. ·          When the organizations used other channels than their annual reports to communicate with their supporters, the accounting practices did not influence future resources. Then they applied conventional accounting norms for business organizations. ·          When the organizations used their annual reports in planning for future obligations and in internal follow up, the accounting practices were also influenced by internal considerations. As they diverged from commercial accounting their differences form commercial organizations were highlighted and their need to communicate in a somewhat different way was seen. Key words: Private non-profit organizations, accounting, accounting theory, accounting norms, accounting practices, institutional theory, isomorfism, resources, resource dependence theory.

Genom historien har den svenska idrottsrörelsen kännetecknats som en folkrörelse. På senare tid har fotbollsföreningar i Sverige övergått från att vara en del av den organiserade demokratiska folkrörelsen vars främsta syfte är att främja folkhälsan till att idag bedrivas som företag med syftet att tjäna pengar. För att kunna bedriva elitidrottsverksamhet har organisationerna blivit allt mer professionella och kommersiella i sättet att införskaffa och säkerställa ekonomiska resurser. Den här studien ämnar undersöka om organisationsformen hos svenska fotbollsklubbar ger upphov till olika resursberoenden och hur de säkerställer resurser. Den teoretiska referensramen utgörs av resursberoendeteorin för att bland annat fältidentifiera värdefulla resurser och institutionell teori för att skapa en bredare bild för hur det svenska fotbollsfältet utvecklats. Studien är en kvalitativ fallstudie genomförd med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultatet visar att organisationerna liknar varandra både vad gäller resursberoende men även i säkerställande av resurser där legitimitet var av stor betydelse. Studiens slutsats konstaterar att organisationsformerna inte har någon påverkan på vare sig resursberoende eller säkerställande av resurser. Resultatet pekar istället på att det är fältet som påverkar organisationerna. / Throughout history, the Swedish sports movement has been characterized as a popular movement. Recently, Swedish football organizations have transitioned from being part of the organized democratic popular movement whose main purpose is to promote public health to today being run as a company with the aim of making money. In order to operate an elite sport organization, organizations have become increasingly professional and commercial in the way of acquiring and securing financial resources. The theoretical framework for this study consists of Resource Dependence Theory to identify, among other things, valuable resources and Institutional Theory to create a broader picture of how the Swedish football field has developed. The study is a qualitative case study conducted with the help of semi-structured interviews. The result shows that the organizations are similar to each other in terms of resource dependency as well in securing resources where legitimacy was of great importance. The study's conclusion states that the organizational forms have no effect on either resource dependency or the securing of resources. The result, instead, indicates that it is the field that affects the organizations.

The main objective of my thesis paper is to determine which organizations from a wide range of NGOs, including their donor relationships, are susceptible to funding manipulation and why. Through review of a focused selection of literature and case studies, I seek to identify a pattern of characteristics or variables among the weaker organizations which increases vulnerability to such practices. I will review the organizations' size, market competition, funding strategies, and supply-led contracts. I intend to conclude with the various ways in which NGO's can protect against funding manipulation.

This dissertation is about the in/stability over time of a contract-based inter-organizational relationship (IOR) which existed mostly under conditions of government monopsony (MG). The MG consisted of the institutional arrangements between the NHS and Higher Education sectors in England for the provision of education for the NHS non-medical professional workforce. The IOR was between the NHS education buyer (the ‘GM’) and Middlesex University (MU). An agent-centred historical institutionalism was used as the overall approach in the inquiry. The main components of the approach were resource dependence theory, concepts of historical dependence, and events in the IOR and its institutional and organizational environments. A multi-dimensional concept of IOR in/stability from the standpoints of the GM and MU which was grounded in the practices of the IOR was constructed. The inquiry traced the origins and subsequent development of the MG and the in/stability of the IOR over an 18 year period, 1995 - 2013. The main findings of the inquiry were: (1) The IOR originated in, and continued to exist mostly under conditions of MG (2) The IOR became less stable over time from the standpoint of MU; reductions in IOR stability occurred in dimensions of risk relating to the future performance of the IOR (3) Instability and threatened instability in the IOR were brought about mostly by the exercise of power by the GM and by the power dependence responses of MU. The thesis developed in the dissertation is that instability and threatened instability in the IOR were due mostly to a power imbalance in the IOR, in favour of the GM, between the GM and MU. The source of that power imbalance was a combination of: • The resource dependency of MU on the IOR • The conditions of MG and bilateral monopoly under which the IOR existed. The dissertation is concluded with a critique of MG as a technique for public sector management. Recommendations are made for new NHS-HE inter-sector and IOR arrangements to be established which take account of power imbalances and relations of mutual dependence between stakeholders. Recommendations for further research are also made.