As China has become one of the largest economic entities in the world, many studies focus on corporate governance in China. In 2001, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) transplanted the outside director mechanism from the United States and the United Kingdom. CSRC hoped that outside directors could play a control role to monitor the behaviours of controlling shareholders, protecting the interests of minority shareholders. However, since it was established, the Chinese outside director mechanism has played an unsatisfactory control role because they are not truly independent of the controlling shareholders. In contrast, many Chinese outside directors use their Guanxi connections (a particular kind of social connections in China) to play a resource acquisition role very well. Based on the theories of the firm, the resource dependence theory, studies of Guanxi and the path dependence theory, this thesis finds that when Chinese outside directors use their Guanxi connections to play their resource acquisition role, their independence and fiduciary duties required by CSRC is compromised.

Relationship building is a fundamental component to develop successful businesses, although corrupt purchasing executives pay bribes in excess of $1.5 trillion dollars annually. The participants for this case study consisted of 10 national sales managers who have successfully implemented strategies to train suppliers in relationship building in a hotel in Greensville, South Carolina. The resource dependence theory grounded the study. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies a hotel owner in Greenville, South Carolina used to train managers on relationship building. Collection of data included 8 semi-structured telephone interviews and 2 video interviews that were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim, archived data, and field notes. Using a modified van Kaam method and methodological triangulation, 3 prominent themes were identified that included the appropriateness of relationship building activities to collect data critical to negotiations, the need to clarify unclear expectations, and developing an increased awareness of the gray areas for possible boundary violations between the vendor and the customer. The data from the results indicated the need for increased training to reduce the number of instances of unethical behavior perceived in relationship building activities. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase the awareness of ethical issues in multicultural business settings on the part of national sales managers, which could decrease the rate of unethical behavior in the hospitality industry.

Thousands of newly established nonprofit organizations (NPOs) with long-lasting and needed missions disappear annually, which negatively impacts the nonprofit sector in general and the potential recipients of the discontinued NPOs' services. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the possible influence that the presence of a strategic resource development plan and the establishment of a stand-alone business entity have on the persistence of newly established NPOs that have long-lasting and needed missions in the United States within the context of the theoretical framework resource dependence theory. Research questions focused on the role of commercial activities, particularly the stand-alone business entity model, and the importance of strategic resource development on NPOs' sustainability within the first 5 years of existence. The study population consisted of NPOs that had disappeared within 5 years of existence and those that had remained active for more than 5 years. Data from a researcher-developed survey instrument were collected from 33 representatives of active organizations and 29 representatives of nonactive organizations. Chi-square tests of independence revealed that the strategic resource development plan and the commercial activities/stand-alone business entities were significantly associated with the sustainability of the NPOs. Findings may be used to promote the creation of a strategic resource development plan and/or a stand-alone business entity at the initial stages of NPOs' establishment to sustain their role and contributions in their communities.

<p>Background: In resent years, the number of alliances has increased rapidly. Through collaborating with other firms, companies hope to gain certain benefits that they cannot reach on their own. However, the division of power in strategic alliances can be asymmetric, endangering the achievement of goals and objectives in the alliance for the less influential party. </p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to identify success factors for companies with less influence and power than their collaboration partner/s in a strategic alliance. </p><p>Delimitation: This study concerns strategic alliances characterised by one party making an equity investment in the other party. The study is, furthermore, conducted from the perspective of the less influential party with relatively less power in the alliance. </p><p>Realisation: A case study was conducted based on six interviews and a questionnaire among employees at the mobile operator Swisscom Mobile. The company is involved in a strategic alliance with Vodafone and is part of the world leading Vodafone Group. </p><p>Results: The main findings of this thesis show that power asymmetry in an alliance originates from factors both on a dyadic level and on a network level and that these levels affect each other. Companies with a weaker power position must strive for counteracting the existing power asymmetry in order to secure their goals and objectives in the alliance. This study shows that this can be achieved through, for instance, partly having different goals than the partner/s, increasing the dependence of the partner/s on the own resources, absorbing information and know-how and learning from the partner/s, building trust in the relationship through personal contacts and safeguarding goals and objectives through a written contract and “economic hostage”.</p>

<p>Background: The growth of the venture capital industry has given birth to new relations between investors and entrepreneurial firms. Venture capital firms are by definition investors serving as an active partner which implies a deeper relation between investors and entrepreneurs than has been the case previously. This new situation leads to a number of questions. Do venture capitalists really act as active partners with a long term interest in the venture? Do they add any value besides capital? How important is their influence in the portfolio company's decision making process? </p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this study is to give a deeper understanding of the relation between venture capital firms and IT companies in the start-up phase. </p><p>Limitations: This study is limited to Swedish IT companies. We have further chosen to study the phenomenon from the portfolio company's point of view. A final limitation that has been made is to focus on companies financed by formal venture capital. </p><p>Realisation: Using theories treating interorganisational relations and adjacent theories treating power we have chosen to study the relation between venture capital firms and their portfolio companies. The empirical data was gathered through interviews with five entrepreneurial companies in the IT business. The studyhas been carried out with an approach similar to a qualitative case study. </p><p>Result: We have found that the venture capital firm is seen as a very devoted partner with a long term interest in the company and that their contribution of resources is important. Regarding its influence in the portfolio company's decision making process we have concluded that this is due to an informal power position resulting from their possession of critical resources. In particular we have found that the possession of capital gives rise to a very influential position in the portfolio company.</p>

Background: The growth of the venture capital industry has given birth to new relations between investors and entrepreneurial firms. Venture capital firms are by definition investors serving as an active partner which implies a deeper relation between investors and entrepreneurs than has been the case previously. This new situation leads to a number of questions. Do venture capitalists really act as active partners with a long term interest in the venture? Do they add any value besides capital? How important is their influence in the portfolio company's decision making process? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to give a deeper understanding of the relation between venture capital firms and IT companies in the start-up phase. Limitations: This study is limited to Swedish IT companies. We have further chosen to study the phenomenon from the portfolio company's point of view. A final limitation that has been made is to focus on companies financed by formal venture capital. Realisation: Using theories treating interorganisational relations and adjacent theories treating power we have chosen to study the relation between venture capital firms and their portfolio companies. The empirical data was gathered through interviews with five entrepreneurial companies in the IT business. The studyhas been carried out with an approach similar to a qualitative case study. Result: We have found that the venture capital firm is seen as a very devoted partner with a long term interest in the company and that their contribution of resources is important. Regarding its influence in the portfolio company's decision making process we have concluded that this is due to an informal power position resulting from their possession of critical resources. In particular we have found that the possession of capital gives rise to a very influential position in the portfolio company.

Background: In resent years, the number of alliances has increased rapidly. Through collaborating with other firms, companies hope to gain certain benefits that they cannot reach on their own. However, the division of power in strategic alliances can be asymmetric, endangering the achievement of goals and objectives in the alliance for the less influential party. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to identify success factors for companies with less influence and power than their collaboration partner/s in a strategic alliance. Delimitation: This study concerns strategic alliances characterised by one party making an equity investment in the other party. The study is, furthermore, conducted from the perspective of the less influential party with relatively less power in the alliance. Realisation: A case study was conducted based on six interviews and a questionnaire among employees at the mobile operator Swisscom Mobile. The company is involved in a strategic alliance with Vodafone and is part of the world leading Vodafone Group. Results: The main findings of this thesis show that power asymmetry in an alliance originates from factors both on a dyadic level and on a network level and that these levels affect each other. Companies with a weaker power position must strive for counteracting the existing power asymmetry in order to secure their goals and objectives in the alliance. This study shows that this can be achieved through, for instance, partly having different goals than the partner/s, increasing the dependence of the partner/s on the own resources, absorbing information and know-how and learning from the partner/s, building trust in the relationship through personal contacts and safeguarding goals and objectives through a written contract and “economic hostage”.

Understanding the composition and distribution of the revenue of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) is key to understanding NPOs themselves. This research uses revenue data for 87,127 charitable NPOs to draw three main conclusions. First, revenue structures of NPOs vary widely by subsector and organizational size, with many NPOs demonstrating revenue structures that might be considered uncharacteristic of the nonprofit sector. Second, despite the concerns of many nonprofit scholars, heavy dependence on either government funding or charitable contributions is atypical of NPOs. And third, nonprofit revenue is highly concentrated in relatively few NPOs. The description of revenue expands to examine the relationship between two important sources of revenue, charitable contributions and government subsidies. Nonprofit scholars have long theorized that government funding diminishes charitable giving. This research finds that the effect of subsidy on charity varies substantially among the nonprofit subsectors, but, contrary to widely accepted theory, these effects are more often positive than negative: More than half of government funding of the nonprofit subsectors appears to spur an increase in charitable giving, whereas only 6 percent of government funding is associated with decreased giving. This research suggests that effects of subsidy on charity are less likely due to the decisions of donors than to the decisions of NPOs themselves. These findings assuage some concerns about the future of the nonprofit sector but substantiate others. As government increasingly relies on NPOs to deliver government-funded services, it appears unlikely that NPOs will suffer decreases in charitable giving, and government funding may even enable NPOs to increase revenue from charitable giving. But marginal changes in charitable giving will not mitigate what many see as a distressing move away from reliance on charity toward generating fees for services and generally becoming more business-like. Whether these findings represent a nonprofit sector betraying its charitable roots, diluting its power to effect social change by "corporatizing," emphasizing service delivery at the expense of advocacy, or becoming more efficient, financially stable, and responsive to market demands remains a matter of debate, but debate better informed by the understanding of nonprofit revenue provided by this research.

Using a qualitative multiple case study methodology, this study explores the relationship between government funding and INGO autonomy in three INGOs through resource dependence and tool choice frameworks. Adapting Verhoest, Peters et al.'s (2004) conceptualization of organizational autonomy as the extent of an organization's decision making capacity in matters concerning agency operations and human resource and financial management; this research regards the authors second definition of financial, structural, legal, and interventional constraints not as types of autonomy per se, but as the mechanisms through which INGOs' actual use of their decision making competencies is constrained. The findings in this research suggest that relative to other funding sources, government funding disproportionately impacts INGOs' operational and managerial autonomy. This is largely accomplished through various ex ante and ex post constraints such as, rules and regulations on inputs allocation and use, performance controls and evaluation requirements attached to government funding. This research also finds that the tool of choice used by government to finance INGO activities also steer, direct and influence INGO grantees' decisions thus positioning INGOs to incorporate government policy interests, preferences and priorities. However, INGOs can exercise their autonomy through various strategies ranging from program design, contract negotiation, and participation in advisory groups.

¡@¡@Corporate foundations initiated by large family enterprises are usually explained from the social responsibility viewpoint. In that, the family initiated the corporate foundations to achieve the social responsibility in the society. However, what is the possible control role of corporate foundations in family businesses is seldom investigated. By utilizing the over-eight-year data in Taiwan¡¦s family business groups, this study tries to investigate the antecedent of corporate foundations in large family business groups from the resource dependence theory and institutional theory viewpoint. The results indicate that the family ownership and family management will influence the control of corporate foundations in large family business groups in Taiwan. Specifically, the more likely that the family members involve in key decision-making roles in the group, and the more likely that the family members will utilize pyramidal ownership structure to control the multiple affiliates in the group, the more likely that the family members will serve as the key decision-making roles in the corporate foundations in the family business groups. The findings provide a power explanation in initiating corporate foundations in family business context. Moreover, the findings indicate that the corporate foundation play a key role in the share-controlled relationships in the large family business groups. The results provide referable values in discussing the non-profit organizations roles in family business group¡¦s control issues.