This is a study of how industries develop in regions that are industrially weak, exemplified by Norrbotten, the northernmost province of Sweden. Developing industries are represented by three companies manufacturing prefabricated wooden houses, situated in the municipalities Övertorneå, Kalix (Morjärv) and Älvsbyn in the interior of Norrbotten.For the period ending in 1918, the economy of Norrbotten is analysed in terms of staple theory. Thereafter, an analysis in dependency theoretic terms is judged to be more relevant. The communities in which the house factories are located are described similarly.Övertorneåand Mor j ärv are in the periphery of a peripheral region. There has never been any locally generated economic life of any importance. The house factory in the community first mentioned was established there in 1970 by AMS (The Swedish Labour Market Board). The other one was started by a local entrepreneur in the 1930's. It has changed hands several times, being incorporated into ever larger conglomerates. The third company studied was started by a local carpenter who still controls it. The factory is located in Älvsbyn, near Piteå, which has to be considered the center of the periphery.The integration of these three companies with other local firms, and their economic importance was studied in terms of their buying behavior. The method of investigation was a study of the internal records of the firms.All three of the companies showed that a decrease in the local and regional shares of their total purchases took place between the sample years studied. A comparison of the companies showed the Älvsby factory, the one locally initiated and controlled, to have by far more solid local and regional foundations than the other two. This could partly be explained by firm-related theories but the most important factor seemed to be the industrial tradition in the communities. Industrial tradition is a factor mostly determined by the position of a community in a dependency hierarchy, in part however, it is controllable by local decision-makers and individual entrepreneurs.Even for the company with the best local foundations, there was a drop in local and regional shares of purchases. The reason for this is the size of the company in relation to other local industries. The company has reached the limits of the capacity of the local community to support it. Such limits exist everywhere but their exact level depends on the status of the community and region they are in, the line of industry, the nature of ownership, etc.A series of implications for regional politics can be derived from the present study. Economic measures designed to improve weak industrial areas should be undertaken with utmost care in order not to damage existing local economy. Much greater efforts should be made to study the conditions of existing economic life and its potential for change, i.e. to study the historical development. / digitalisering@umu

This thesis examines product innovation processes in small established enterprises. The research questions are: (1) what motivates small established enterprises to innovate, (2) how do small established enterprises perform product innovation, and (3) how do small established enterprises manage resource scarcity in their product innovation processes? To answer the research questions, a multiple case study approach was chosen with three small established enterprises as cases and different product innovation processes as embedded units of study. The data collection method used was observation during a period of five months, complemented by interviews and secondary data. Product innovation in small established enterprises seems to be motivated by solving existing customers’ problems and the need for a sustained steady cash flow. A steady cash flow is also found to be a prerequisite during the product innovation processes. Product innovation seems to occur when there is a risk of decreased cash flow and/or when existing customers can be satisfied with new products that increase their loyalty so as to secure future sales, cash flow, and the enterprise’s survival in the long run. Promising innovation ideas alone do not result in product innovation. An innovation idea must also have supportive existing customers for product innovation to occur. Product innovation processes in the studied small established enterprises are found highly context dependent, intertwined in operational processes and made possible by a small organic organization and closeness to existing customers. The product innovation processes are further found to follow a flexible and informal overall scheme optimized for decreasing market and technology uncertainty and risk, dealing with resource scarcity, and facilitating fast and easy commercialization to avoid or moderate dips in cash flow. The design processes within the innovation processes can be linearly structured or cyclical and experimental, depending on the experienced novelty. To manage resource scarcity during the product innovation processes, the studied small enterprises used many different bootstrapping methods in combination. These methods can be divided into three categories according to their overall functions: for using existing resources more efficiently, for increasing resources and to secure a fast payback on resources invested in NPD. The studied small enterprises were due to their resource scarcity further found to favor an innovation strategy, only involving new products done with known technology and targeting existing markets. This way to innovate, which creates new products in a resource-efficient way that are accepted by the enterprises’ existing markets, seems to prevent unsuccessful product innovation, while at the same time excluding technologically radical innovation and innovation targeting new markets. / <p>QC 20140102</p>

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2016-06-20T14:12:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tatiane Silva Tavares Maia.pdf: 1572808 bytes, checksum: a04de6626f535c47898b33512044b444 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-20T14:12:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tatiane Silva Tavares Maia.pdf: 1572808 bytes, checksum: a04de6626f535c47898b33512044b444 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-06-17 / This work has the objective to analyze the strategic decision process performed by co-directors of PEs, searching this understanding with the attention focused mainly for learning processes and cognitive conflict, in view of the selected cases. The survey sample consists of four technology-based companies, which were chosen according to criteria defined in the study. The methodological approach is descriptive, based on qualitative research methods and multi case study (Eisenhard, 1989). Data collection was done mainly through interviews, whose analysis included two stages, in-case analysis and inter-case as Miles and Huberman’s (1994) recommendations. The survey results showed many ideas about how co-directors perform the process of strategic decision on PEs. They allowed realizing this process, the manifestation of learning in double circuit and cognitive conflicts in the interaction and behavior of co-directors when they accomplish their decision processes. Such constructs directed elements such as intuition and improvisation, inevitably present in strategic decision processes of PEs, which became better worked. The cognitive conflict eased improvisation of the processes as its function was undertaken further analysis and reflections on the decisions. In addition, it was noted that the strategic decisions were not supported only on intuition. Before the cognitive conflicts they were demystified, getting the depth of analysis required via debates in the direction teams. Unquestionable, the strategic decision processes were determined by cognitive conflict that led to the questioning of possibilities, providing opportunities to co-directors a learning process in a double circuit. We can conclude by the survey that the description of how occurred the strategic decision processes in the studied PEs is quite different from ready models in the literature. The most important difference is that they were quite simple, guided more in dialogue than in numerical analysis or projections of future scenarios. The central conclusion is that the behavior of co-directors in strategic decision processes of the four PEs surveyed combines more with the double circuit learning than with rational analysis procedures. / Este trabalho tem por objetivo geral compreender como a aprendizagem e o conflito cognitivo contribuem para o processo de decisão estratégica em PEs, tendo em vista os casos selecionados. A amostra da pesquisa é composta por quatro empresas de base tecnológica, as quais foram escolhidas segundo critérios definidos no estudo. A abordagem metodológica é descritiva, baseada em métodos qualitativos de pesquisa e no estudo multicaso (Eisenhard, 1989). A coleta dos dados foi feita, principalmente, por meio de entrevistas em profundidade, cujas análises incluíram duas etapas, análise intracaso e intercaso, conforme as recomendações de Miles & Huberman (1994). Os resultados da pesquisa demonstraram muitas ideias a respeito de como a aprendizagem e o conflito cognitivo contribuem para o processo de decisão estratégica em PEs. Permitiram perceber neste processo, a manifestação da aprendizagem em circuito duplo e dos conflitos cognitivos na interação e no comportamento dos codirigentes quando realizaram seus processos decisórios. Tais constructos direcionaram elementos como a intuição e a improvisação, fatalmente presentes nos processos de decisão estratégica das PEs, os quais se tornaram melhor trabalhados. O conflito cognitivo amenizou a improvisação dos processos na medida em que face a ele foram empreendidas mais análises e reflexões sobre as decisões. Além disso, notou-se que as decisões estratégicas não foram apoiadas apenas na intuição. Diante dos conflitos cognitivos elas foram desmistificadas, recebendo a profundidade de análise necessária via debates nas equipes de direção. Indiscutivelmente, os processos de decisão estratégica foram determinados pelos conflitos cognitivos que levaram ao questionamento das possibilidades, oportunizando aos codirigentes um processo de aprendizagem em circuito duplo. Conclui-se, com a pesquisa, que a descrição sobre como ocorreram os processos de decisão estratégica nas PEs estudadas é bem diferente de modelos prontos encontrados na literatura. A diferença mais importante é que eles foram bastante simples, mais pautados em diálogos do que em análises de projeções numéricas ou de cenários futuros. A conclusão central é que o comportamento dos codirigentes nos processos de decisão estratégica das quatro PEs pesquisadas combina mais com a aprendizagem em circuito duplo do que com procedimentos de análise racional.

This diploma thesis deals with the use of Competitive Intelligence methods in the case of a particular company. The aim of the thesis is to improve the current process of obtaining information about competition and its use in strategic decision making of the company management using CI methods. The first part of the thesis analyzes the current situation of XYZ Company and defines the problem for the subsequent solution. The next part deals with general theoretical assumptions and introduction of different methods and approaches to solution. Then follows the application part of the work in which it applies the selected Competitive Intelligence method to the needs of the company. In conclusion, the final proposal for the solution of the problem is evaluated and there are presented the benefits that this implementation brought to the company.

Marketing is in a constant change where several industries are going from a traditional marketing towards a more digital marketing aspect. Precisely for the construction industry, previous studies show that small enterprises have not kept up with developments and believe that small enterprises in the construction industry often have a lack of knowledge in the field of marketing communication. The study is based on a qualitative research method with a deductive applied approach.The study is based on empirical data collected from six small enterprises in the construction industry in Dalarna. With the support of theory and previous research, the study has been able to resume how small enterprises in the construction industry work with marketing communication to create sales. The research study results in, that small enterprises in the construction industry using both traditional and digital marketing communications. Results of various traditional marketing communications used by small enterprises are business cards, flyers, logos on vehicles and sponsorship to create customer recognition and trust. Small enterprises also use digital marketing communications in the form of websites and social media to make it easier for customers to find them and create interaction with their customers. Through this marketing communications, small enterprises can create sales to their companies. / Marknadsföringsarbetet befinner sig i en ständig förändring där flera branscher går från ett traditionellt marknadsföringsarbete till ett mer digitalt marknadsföringsarbete. Just för byggbranschen visar tidigare studier på att småföretag inom byggbranschen inte har hängt med i utvecklingen och menar på att småföretag inom byggbranschen ofta har bristande kunskap inom marknadskommunikationens område. Problemet som uppstår är dels att småföretagen får nöja sig med generella teorier och modeller, dels att småföretagen ofta ha rbegränsade resurser. Samtidigt visar studier på att konsumenter inom byggbranschen upplever det svårt att hitta hantverkare vilket leder studien in på hur småföretag inom byggbranschen använder marknadskommunikation för att skapa försäljning på konsumentmarknaden. Studien har utgångspunkt i en kvalitativ forskningsmetod med en deduktiv tillämpad ansats. Studien baseras på empiri insamlad från sex småföretag inom byggbranschen i Dalarna som tillsammans utgör den empiriska data som uppfyller studiens syfte. Med stöd av teori och tidigare forskning har studien kommit fram till hur småföretag inom byggbranschen arbetar med marknadskommunikation för att skapa försäljning. Forskningsstudien resulterar i att småföretag inom byggbranschen använder sig av både traditionell-/ och digital marknadskommunikation. Resultatet av olika traditionella marknadskommunikationer som småföretagen använder är visitkort, reklamblad, logotyper på arbetsfordon och sponsring för att skapa igenkänning och förtroende hos kunder. Småföretagen använder även digitala marknadskommunikationer i form av webbsidor och sociala medier för att göra det lättare för kunder att hitta dem samt skapa interaktion med sina kunder. Generella slutsatser är att småföretag inom byggbranschen ofta strukturerar sin marknadskommunikation efter resurser eller eget intresse och att huvudsyftet med marknadskommunikationen grundar sig i att skapa igenkänning och förtroende för varumärket. Genom dessa marknadskommunikationer har småföretag inom byggbranschen möjlighet att skapa försäljning.

Bakgrund: En av de vanligaste aspekterna vid investeringar är att åstadkomma hög avkastning samtidigt som risken hålls på en låg nivå. Risker kopplade till bolag beror på flera olika faktorer varaven anses vara bolagsstorleken. För att vidare nå önskad avkastning har flertalet investeringsstrategier presenterats som sägs ska kunna överavkasta marknaden och vilket kontrasterar den effektiva marknadshypotesen. Genom investeringar i bolag med låga börsvärden, samt i kombination medinvesteringsstrategier, är det av intresse att undersöka huruvida överträffande av marknaden kan ske. Syfte: Denna uppsats har som syfte att analysera om det, på Spotlight Stock Market och First North, under åren 2007–2019, har gått att påvisa existensen av en SBE och huruvida det går att generera en riskjusterad överavkastning i småbolag med hjälp av investeringsstrategier. Metod: För att genomföra denna uppsats användes en kvantitativ design i kombination med endeduktiv ansats. Åtta olika portföljer sammanställdes baserat på storleken hos bolagen samt en investeringsstrategi baserad på låga P/BV-multiplar. Urvalen skedde utifrån Spotlight Stock Market, Large Cap och First North. Resultaten som genererades analyserades utifrån avkastning och riskjusterad avkastning samt statistiska tester i from av t-tester genomfördes. Slutsats: Utifrån resultaten kunde en småbolagseffekt inte påvisas. Portföljerna enbart baserade påbolagsstorlek för Spotlight Stock Market och First North presterade avkastningar som alla var lägre änOMXSPI, dock kunde detta inte säkerställas statistiskt. När investeringsstrategin utifrån låga P/BVmultiplar användes kunde portföljen utifrån Spotlight Stock Market påvisa en högre avkastning än OMXSPI, dock kunde denna inte heller statistiskt säkerställas. Gällande den riskjusterade avkastningen kunde enbart en av portföljerna baserade på Spotlight Stock Market och First Northpåvisa en riskjusterad överavkastning. Portföljerna baserade på Large Cap påvisade både högre avkastning än småbolagsportföljerna samt riskjusterad överavkastning. / Background: One of the most common aspects when investing is to achieve high returns while maintaining the risk at low levels. Risks associated with firms vary due to different factors of which oneis the size. In order to reach satisfactory returns many investment strategies have been presented with the goal of outperforming the market and thus contrasts the efficient market hypothesis. Through investments in firms with low market value of equity, and in combination with other investment strategies, it is of interest to investigate whether outperforming the market is possible. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze whether a Small firm effect on the Spotlight Stock Market and First North during the years 2007-2019 could be proven and if it is possible in combination with investment strategies to generate risk-adjusted returns. Methodology: In order to complete the study a quantitative design in combination with a deductive design was used. Eight different portfolios were compiled based on the size of the companies as well as an investment strategy based on low P/BV-multiples. The samples were chosen from Spotlight StockMarket, Large Cap and First North. The results that were generated were analyzed based on return, risk-adjusted return and statistical test in the form of t-tests. Conclusion: The results from this study show that a Small Firm effect could not be established. The portfolios solely based on company size for Spotlight Stock Market and First North all performed a lower return than OMXSPI, though this could not be statistically confirmed. When an investment strategy based on low P/BV-multiples was used the portfolio based on Spotlight Stock Market showed a return higher than OMXSPI, though this could not be statistically confirmed either. Regarding the risk-adjusted excess return only one of the portfolios based on Spotlight Stock Market and First North could prove a risk-adjusted excess return. The portfolios based on Large Cap both proved a higher return than the small firm portfolios as well as risk-adjusted excess return.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY<p><p>This thesis aims at analysing some aspects of Venture Capital (VC) and high-tech entrepreneurship. The focus is both at the macroeconomic level, comparing venture capital from an international point of view and Technology-Based Small Firms (TBSF) at company and founder’s level in Belgium. The approach is mainly empirical.<p>This work is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on venture capital. First of all, we test the impact of VC on productivity. We then identify the determinants of VC and we test their impact on the relative level of VC for a panel of countries.<p>The second part concerns the technology-based small firms in Belgium. The objective is twofold. It first aims at creating a database on Belgian TBSF to better understand the importance of entrepreneurship. In order to do this, a national survey was developed and the statistical results were analysed. Secondly, it provides an analysis of the role of universities in the employment performance of TBSF.<p>A broad summary of each chapter is presented below.<p><p>PART 1: VENTURE CAPITAL<p><p>The Economic Impact of Venture Capital<p><p>The objective of this chapter is to perform an evaluation of the macroeconomic impact of venture capital. The main assumption is that VC can be considered as being similar in several respects to business R&D performed by large firms. We test whether VC contributes to economic growth through two main channels. The first one is innovation, characterized by the introduction of new products, processes or services on the market. The second one is the development of an absorptive capacity. These hypotheses are tested quantitatively with a production function model for a panel data set of 16 OECD countries from 1990 to 2001. The results show that the accumulation of VC is a significant factor contributing directly to Multi-Factor Productivity (MFP) growth. The social rate of return to VC is significantly higher than the social rate of return to business or public R&D. VC has also an indirect impact on MFP in the sense that it improves the output elasticity of R&D. An increased VC intensity makes it easier to absorb the knowledge generated by universities and firms, and therefore improves aggregate economic performance.<p><p>Technological Opportunity, Entrepreneurial Environment and Venture Capital Development<p><p>The objective of this chapter is to identify the main determinants of venture capital. We develop a theoretical model where three main types of factors affect the demand and supply of VC: macroeconomic conditions, technological opportunity, and the entrepreneurial environment. The model is evaluated with a panel dataset of 16 OECD countries over the period 1990-2000. The estimates show that VC intensity is pro-cyclical - it reacts positively and significantly to GDP growth. Interest rates affect the VC intensity mainly because the entrepreneurs create a demand for this type of funding. Indicators of technological opportunity such as the stock of knowledge and the number of triadic patents affect positively and significantly the relative level of VC. Labour market rigidities reduce the impact of the GDP growth rate and of the stock of knowledge, whereas a minimum level of entrepreneurship is required in order to have a positive effect of the available stock of knowledge on VC intensity.<p><p>PART 2: TECHNOLOGY-BASED SMALL FIRMS<p><p>Survey in Belgium<p><p>The first purpose of this chapter is to present the existing literature on the performance of companies. In order to get a quantitative insight into the entrepreneurial growth process, an original survey of TBSF in Belgium was launched in 2002. The second purpose is to describe the methodology of our national TBSF survey. This survey has two main merits. The first one lies in the quality of the information. Indeed, most of national and international surveys have been developed at firm-level. There exist only a few surveys at founder-level. In the TBSF database, information both at firm and at entrepreneur-level will be found.<p>The second merit is about the subject covered. TBSF survey tackles the financing of firms (availability of public funds, role of venture capitalists, availability of business angels,…), the framework conditions (e.g. the quality and availability of infrastructures and communication channels, the level of academic and public research, the patenting process,…) and, finally, the socio-cultural factors associated with the entrepreneurs and their environment (e.g. level of education, their parents’education, gender,…).<p><p>Statistical Evidence<p><p>The main characteristics of companies in our sample are that employment and profits net of taxation do not follow the same trend. Indeed, employment may decrease while results after taxes may stay constant. Only a few companies enjoy a growth in both employment and results after taxes between 1998 and 2003.<p>On the financing front, our findings suggest that internal finance in the form of personal funds, as well as the funds of family and friends are the primary source of capital to start-up a high-tech company in Belgium. Entrepreneurs rely on their own personal savings in 84 percent of the cases. Commercial bank loans are the secondary source of finance. This part of external financing (debt-finance) exceeds the combined angel funds and venture capital funds (equity-finance).<p>On the entrepreneur front, the preliminary results show that 80 percent of entrepreneurs in this study have a university degree while 42 percent hold postgraduate degrees (i.e. master’s, and doctorate). In term of research activities, 88 percent of the entrepreneurs holding a Ph.D. or a post-doctorate collaborate with Belgian higher education institutes. Moreover, more than 90 percent of these entrepreneurs are working in a university spin-off.<p><p>The Contribution of Universities to Employment Growth<p><p>The objective of this chapter is to test whether universities play a role amongst the determinants of employment growth in Belgian TBSF. The empirical model is based on our original survey of 87 Belgian TBSF. The results suggest that both academic spin-offs and TBSF created on the basis of an idea originating from business R&D activities are associated with an above than average growth in employees. As most ‘high-tech’ entrepreneurs are at least graduated from universities, there is no significant impact of the level of education. Nevertheless, these results must be taken with caution, as they are highly sensitive to the presence of outliers. Young high-tech firms are by definition highly volatile, and might be therefore difficult to understand.<p><p>CONCLUSION<p><p>In this last chapter, recommendations for policy-makers are drawn from the results of the thesis. The possible interventions of governments are classified according to whether they influence the demand or the supply of entrepreneurship and/or VC. We present some possible actions such as direct intervention in the VC funds, interventions of public sector through labour market rigidities, pension system, patent and research policy, level of entrepreneurial activities, bankruptcy legislation, entrepreneurial education, development of university spin-offs, and creation of a national database of TBSF.<p> / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished