Bakgrund: Interorganisatoriska relationer har blivit allt viktigare de senaste åren, företag köper exempelvis in IT-tjänster för att kunna förbättra sin kärnverksamhet. Det är dock vanligt att interorganisatoriska relationer misslyckas, en lösning till problem med dessa relationer är att använda ekonomisk styrning. En typ av relation som är speciellt utsatt för problematiken är relationen mellan små och medelstora företag, vilket är en grupp det saknas forskning och empiriska undersökningar om, trots dess stora inverkan på den svenska ekonomin. Ännu mer problematiskt blir det när dessa företag köper eller säljer tjänster, då hantering av tjänster kräver en större administrativ kunskap som mindre företag generellt inte besitter. Därmed är det av intresse att studera hur relationen mellan små och medelstora företag som hanterar tjänster ska styras på bästa sätt. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att skapa en modell över hur styrningen av interorganisatoriska relationer utformas och används av små och medelstora företag. Genomförande: Studien är en kvalitativ fallstudie med ett abduktivt angreppsätt. Empirisk data har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer på fem olika små och medelstora företag som köper och säljer tjänster, med syfte att framhäva perspektivet från båda partner i relationen.  Resultat: Studiens resultat visar att det krävs en kombination av formella och informella styrmedel för att ha en fungerande interorganisatorisk relation. Avvägningen av olika styrverktyg beror på olika bakomliggande faktorer som präglar relationen mellan små och medelstora företag men resultatet tydliggör även att tillit och kommunikation har en stor inverkan på behovet av olika slags styrning. Samtidigt har kontraktet en väsentlig del av de studerade interorganisatoriska relationerna. Det är i kontraktet som bland annat finansiella och ickefinansiella målsättningar kan specificeras och kontraktet används som ett underlag för utförandet av tjänsten, uppföljning och avstämning, vilket inte alltid utförs i praktiken. Tilliten som finns mellan parterna i en relation påverkar hur kontraktet sedan används. Studien visar att formella styrmedel och tillit i vissa delar av relationen kan användas som substitut till varandra. / Background: The importance of interorganizational relationships has increased in recent years. Companies outsource peripheral components of their operations, such as IT, in order to focus on the main purpose of the company. It is common, however, for these relationships to fail and one solution to the problems arising from interorganizational relationships is the use of management control systems. Relationships between small and medium sized enterprises, in particular, present significant issues. Although they have a great impact on the Swedish economy, there are few scientific studies on them. These companies have an even harder time coping with interorganizational relationships when they are dealing with services, as they require more administrative knowledge than they don’t possess. It is therefore of elevated interest to study the relationship between small and medium sized enterprises that handles services and what type of management control system is best suited for the relationship.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to create a model of the management control systems of interorganizational relationships between small and medium sized enterprises.  Design: The study is a qualitative case study with an abductive approach. Empirical data has been collected through semi-structured interviews at five different small and medium sized enterprises that sell and buy services in order to elucidate both parties’ perspectives.  Conclusion: The results from the study demonstrate that it is necessary to have a combination of formal and informal management control systems in order to maintain a functioning interorganizational relationship. The balance between different control systems depends on underlying factors arising from the relationship between small and medium sized enterprises. The study also shows that trust and communication has a great impact on the need for different types of control, however, the contract has simultaneously proven to be an essential part of the interorganizational relationships that have been studied. The contract can specify the financial and non-financial aims of the parties and can also be used as a model for how the service should be provided. The contract can also be used for future reviews of the working relationship, although this is not always the case, as the level of trust between the two parties will influence how the contract is actually used. The study shows that formal control systems and trust can be used as substitutes to one another throughout the relationship.

Abstract This study explores the phenomenon of brand co-creation from a communicative perspective. The study investigates how Finnish SMEs operating in international B2B markets use English as a business lingua franca (BELF) for brand communication. The purpose of the study is to contribute to brand co-creation theory by illustrating how using BELF affects spoken brand co-creation discourse and increase our understanding of brand co-creation communication by applying a discursive approach. The theoretical framework of the study is based on branding literature, BELF research, discourse theory and social constructionism. The study introduces an analytical framework for exploring BELF in spoken brand co-creation communication through the discourse dimensions of verbal language use, the communication of brand meanings and face-to-face social interaction among stakeholders. The empirical data was collected by implementing a business communication simulation designed for the study. It was used to analyse how internal stakeholders use verbal BELF to communicate brand meanings in face-to-face social interaction. A discursive approach was also applied in the analysis. In the study, three spoken brand co-creation discourses were identified: informative, credible and emotional discourse. This study shows that brand co-creation is a phenomenon intertwined with language. When the language of business communication is BELF, it can both enable and impede brand co-creation communication. Efficient and informative communication is often regarded as essential in business communication but from brand communication perspective informative communication may not be sufficient to create an interesting and a memorable brand. The study also shows that spoken brand co-creation communication with BELF requires versatile language and communication competence; especially emotional brand discourse may require more versatile BELF competence than previously has been acknowledged. From a managerial viewpoint, it is important to understand that internal stakeholders are continuously communicating about the brand to external stakeholders with spoken language. Thus, the brand is visible in the daily operations through language, although not necessarily as intended by the management. / Tiivistelmä Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkitaan brändin yhteisluomista yritysviestinnän näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään, miten suomalaiset yritystenvälisillä markkinoilla (B2B) toimivat pk-yritykset käyttävät liike-englantia lingua francana (BELF) suullisessa yhteisluomisviestinnässään. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on lisätä ymmärrystä kielen ja viestinnän roolista brändin yhteisluomisessa ja kuvata, miten BELF vaikuttaa puhuttuun brändin yhteisluomisviestintään diskursiivisesta näkökulmasta. Tutkimus nojaa brändikirjallisuuden lisäksi BELF-tutkimukseen, diskurssiteoriaan ja sosiaaliseen konstruktionismiin. Tutkimus esittää brändin suullisen yhteisluomisviestinnän kolmiulotteisena ilmiönä, jota voidaan tarkastella sanallisen kielenkäytön, brändimerkitysten viestimisen ja kasvokkain tapahtuvan, sidosryhmien välisen vuorovaikutuksen avulla. Työn empiirinen aineisto kerättiin tutkimusta varten kehitetyn liikeviestintäsimulaation avulla, ja sen avulla analysoitiin, miten yrityksen sisäiset sidosryhmät käyttävät BELFiä viestimään brändimerkityksiä yrityksistään ja niiden tuotteista sosiaalisessa vuorovaikutuksessa. Tutkimuksessa hahmoteltiin kolme suullista brändin yhteisluomisdiskurssia: informatiivinen diskurssi, uskottavuusdiskurssi ja tunneperäinen diskurssi. Tutkimus osoittaa, että brändin yhteisluomisviestintä on kieleen kietoutunut ilmiö. Kun liikeviestinnän kielenä on BELF, vieraskielinen viestintä voi sekä mahdollistaa että vaikeuttaa brändin yhteisluomisviestintää. Tehokas ja faktaperäinen viestintä on usein tärkeää liikeviestinnässä, mutta brändäyksen näkökulmasta informatiivisesti painottunut viestintä voi olla riittämätöntä, jotta se herättäisi mielenkiintoa brändiä kohtaan tai loisi muistettavan brändin. Tutkimus osoittaa myös, että osallistuminen brändin yhteisluomisviestintään käyttämällä BELFiä edellyttää monipuolista kieli- ja viestintätaitoa. Erityisesti tunteita herättävä brändäysviestintä voi vaatia laajempaa kieli- ja viestintäosaamista kuin aiemmin on ajateltu. Liikkeenjohdon kannalta on tärkeää ymmärtää, että yrityksen henkilöstö viestii brändistä jatkuvasti jokapäiväisessä vuorovaikutuksessa eri sidosryhmien kanssa. Näin ollen brändi välittyy sidosryhmille kielen kautta, mutta ei kuitenkaan välttämättä sellaisena kuin yrityksen johto on tarkoittanut.

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:08:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 67386.pdf: 650835 bytes, checksum: 0059a5a54d54d0041cd955f3042634a0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-12-18T00:00:00Z / Neste trabalho, o mercado brasileiro de crédito para pequenas e médias empresas (PMEs) é analisado sob a perspectiva do marketing adaptativo, em que se assume que atividades mercadológicas como segmentação, gestão de relacionamento com clientes, apreçamento e desenvolvimento de produtos, são determinadas pela utilidade obtida por agentes de mercado ao atenderem a demanda. Identifica-se que a existência de assimetria de informações e de custos de transação limita e direciona as atividades de marketing no mercado estudado. A partir de uma amostra com 65.535 propostas de crédito, recebidas e avaliadas por um grande banco brasileiro entre janeiro de 2004 e setembro de 2006, estima-se a utilidade do banco em operações de crédito. Adicionalmente, 17.149 transações de empréstimos concedidos pelo banco ao segmento de pequenas empresas entre abril de 2006 e março de 2007, são investigadas. Finalmente, um conjunto de dados com 1,636 registros obtidos pela junção das bases de dados de propostas e de transações mencionados, é analisado em termos das relações entre taxas de juros e os totais de cobertura oferecidas por meio de garantias de crédito. Os resultados revelam a existência de um ambiente de marketing adaptativo, em que os pequenos tomadores de crédito produtivo são racionados, e aceitam pagar taxas de juros mais elevadas do que outros segmentos. Produtos de créditos baseados em garantias líquidas e com altas taxas de juros são desenvolvidos para suprir de maneira oportuna este segmento racionado de pequenas empresas. Ademais, a utilidade do banco em operações de crédito é afetada pela informação privada que captura ao longo de relacionamentos mantidos com seus cientes. Os resultados implicam que o sistema de marketing financeiro brasileiro não desempenha papel formativo no desenvolvimento econômico, que seria de fomento ao crédito produtivo por meio de empréstimos a baixo custo para pequenas e médias empresas. Um sistema formativo de marketing é improvável em um ambiente com informação imperfeita, como o mercado de crédito brasileiro. O estudo traz informações úteis àqueles interessados no desenvolvimento de mercados de crédito produtivo, tais como profissionais de instituições financeiras; agentes responsáveis por políticas públicas e monetárias de fomento ao crédito; e empreendedores de pequeno e médio porte que necessitem de financiamento externo para seus negócios. / In this work, the Brazilian credit market for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is analyzed from an adaptive marketing perspective, in which marketing activities such as segmentation, customer relationship management, pricing and product development are determined by the utility that market players get when they satisfy the demand. The existence of information asymmetry and transaction costs is identified to limit and drive marketing initiatives in the studied credit market. From a sample of 65,535 credit proposals analyzed by a large Brazilian bank from January 2004 to September 2006, the bank’s utility in a credit transaction is studied. Additionally, 17,149 credit transactions provided by the bank to the small business segment from April 2006 to March 2007 are investigated. Finally, a data set with 1,636 registers, obtained from the merge of the mentioned samples of proposals and transactions, is investigated in terms of the relations between interest rates and the collateral committed in credit proposals. The results reveal the existence of an adaptive marketing environment, in which small business borrowers are credit rationed and accept to pay higher interest rates than other segments. Credit products based on liquid collateral and high interest rates are designed to opportunistically supply this rationed small business segment. Also, the bank’s utility from a credit transaction is affected by the private information it captures along its relationships with customers. Findings imply that the Brazilian financial marketing system does not perform a formative function in economic development, which would be to foster the demand for productive credit by means of low-priced loans to small and medium-sized enterprises. However, a formative marketing system is not likely to occur in an environment characterized by imperfect information, like the Brazilian credit market. This study provides relevant information to those who are interested in the development of productive credit markets, like professionals of financial institutions; public and monetary policy makers; and small and medium-sized business entrepreneurs whose businesses face the need for external funding.

This thesis is focused on the development of a business plan, which describes all of the essential internal and external factors related to the establishment of a new company. The business plan includes a questionnaire used in conducting a preliminary marketing survey, focused on potential customers and their requirements, in terms of the services sought after in the given field of business. This thesis should serve as an instruction manual for the establishment and management of the small company of Miroslav Malý, who is planning to start a business in website creation, web-design, and related services.

The subject of my thesis "Possible utilisation of EU funds for reconstruction and development of a business real property" is to analyse the most relevant options of the support for a selected realty with regard to its future use. The theoretical part is focused on the description and analysis of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Czech Republic. There are outlined different types of support for SMEs at the same time. In the practical part is presented a selected real property intended for a reconstruction. An analysis of grant opportunities suitable for that business real property is made furthermore. At the end is drawn up a concept of a project of reconstruction and development for that realty. This concept of a project is based on a selected real property and the appropriate grant program.

Tha aim of my thesis {\clqq}Programmes of support for small and medium-sized enterprises and their application in a chosen company{\crqq} was to analyse subsidy opportunities for small and medium sized enterprises. The theoretical part of the thesis is focused on explanation of all concepts of these enterprises and the practical part summarises possibilities of subsidy acquisition. The main sources of subsidies in the chosen enterprise were Operation Programme Enterprise and Innovation and Programme for Countryside Development. In the next section of the practical part I analysed a project of Josef Pavelec {--} Dřevovýroba company {--} and its situation with and without a subsidy.

This thesis describes the currently highly debated topic especially in the field of small and medium sized enterprises - technology transfer. This, together with research and development which is an integral part, can greatly contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of the country, improve the problem of unemployment, GDP and inflows of foreign investors and so on. The aim was to analyze and describe the current situation of technology transfer in the Czech Republic. This work clearly shows that in this area, our country is far behind the developed countries. The result of this work is to propose possible solutions to the most streamlined recovery process of technology transfer resulted into obtaining maximum economic benefit for the Czech Republic.

Este trabalho originou-se de pesquisas anteriores na área de gestão da melhoria, inovação e mudança empresarial. O desafio do projeto de doutorado seria o de desenvolver estratégias de implementação de ferramentas de melhoria para pequenas e médias empresas. Dessa forma, percebeu-se que o fenômeno de aglomeração regional entre empresas, clusters e redes de cooperação seria uma forma de potencializar o uso de tais métodos em pequenas e médias empresas e, com isso, possibilitar às pequenas e médias empresas acesso mais rápido à melhoria, inovação e competitividade. O objetivo do trabalho foi então definido como uma proposta de um modelo para gerenciar o desempenho em clusters e redes de cooperação de pequenas e médias empresas. Foi feita uma revisão do estado da arte sobre os temas gestão de desempenho organizacional e clusters e redes de cooperação. Estudos em nível mundial e europeu de gestão de clusters foram analisados e estudos de casos de clusters e redes de cooperação foram realizados no Brasil e na Alemanha. A Alemanha destaca-se atualmente no cenário europeu em função de seu programa de incentivo à inovação e competitividade para pequenas e médias empresas promovendo seus clusters e redes de cooperação, principalmente em campos de inovação e alta tecnologia. As análises da revisão de literatura, dos estudos de clusters e dos estudos de casos permitiram o desenvolvimento de um modelo de análise para gestão de desempenho em clusters e redes de cooperação que apresenta como principais elementos: a identificação de stakeholders-chave, a orientação estratégica e a definição de objetivos estratégicos, a implementação de ações e projetos conjuntos, a avaliação e medição de desempenho do cluster, e o estabelecimento de uma infra-estrutura de suporte ao processo de desenvolvimento da rede de cooperação e do cluster. Conclui-se, portanto que, embora seja difícil desenvolver um modelo totalmente adaptado às necessidades de diferentes clusters, esta proposta representa um modelo de análise que pode ser usado pelas iniciativas brasileiras de promoção de clusters e redes como o SEBRAE e a FIESP, por exemplo, no processo de promoção aos arranjos produtivos locais. Clusters de base tecnológica no Brasil também poderiam usar esse modelo de análise como auxílio para o desenvolvimento regional. / This work originated from previous works of research in the area of improvement, innovation and change management. The challenge of this doctorate project was the development of implementation strategies of improvement and innovation methods for small and medium-sized enterprises. The regional agglomeration phenomena between enterprises, i.e. clusters and regional cooperation networks are an expanding alternative to the use of such methods in small and medium-sized enterprises, giving them easier access to improvements, innovations and competitiveness. The objective of this work was defined, therefore, as a proposal of an analysis model to manage the performance in clusters and cooperation networks of small and medium-sized enterprises. Studies in worldwide and european level of cluster performance models were analyzed and case studies of clusters and cooperation networks were carried out in Brazil and Germany. Germany stands out in the european context because of its politics that stimulate innovation and competitiveness for small and medium-sized enterprises promoting its clusters and cooperation networks, mainly in fields of innovation and high technology. The analysis of the literature review, studies on cluster and case studies allowed the development of a model for performance management in clusters and cooperation networks. Such a model presents as main elements: key-stakeholders identification, definition of strategic view and key-objectives, implementation of joint actions and projects, evaluation and measurement of performance, and the establishment of a support infra-structure to the development process of a cluster or a cooperation network. As one of the main conclusions, it can be said that, although it is difficult to develop a model totally adapted to the needs of different clusters, this proposal represents an analysis model that can be used by the brazilian initiatives for promoting clusters and cooperation networks as carried out, for instance, by SEBRAE and FIESP in the cases of local productive systems. Technological based-clusters in Brazil could also use this analysis model as a framework for their regional development process.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:32:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Diego dos Santos Pereira.pdf: 13715091 bytes, checksum: c581c352c61d60dafad4a6bee2ef3048 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-01-30 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / This research aimed to verify how the performance measurement system (PMS) and the quality management system (QMS) work in small and medium-sized Brazilian enterprises in the light of the typology proposed by Garengo (2009). The study was conducted by means of two questionnaires, two semi-structured interviews and the analysis of the performance measures used by five small/medium-sized enterprises based in the State of São Paulo. Using a qualitative approach, this exploratory research were interviewed PMS s and QMS s managers, and the data from the first interview were analyzed using the technique of content analysis and has been subsequently triangulated with other data collected. It was found that four out of five companies have a junction in PMS and QMS, with respect to performance measures, despite of the degree of the quality management maturity is not related to the stage of the PMS evolution. It was also found that in three out of five companies quality management area is responsible for coordinating the process of PMS use, without effective participation from the controlling and/or accounting areas in this process. The typology of Garengo (2009), used to check the stage of the PMS evolution, was validated and can be used in practice by professionals in organizations to diagnose and improve the PMS in their enterprises. From the findings of this research, companies with QMS certified by ISO, particularly with higher degree of quality management maturity, can be encouraged to implement or improve the PMS in their organizations. The results of this study should be considered in the light of its limitations, especially the impossibility of its generalization to the overall universe of SMEs, to the extent that there was used the qualitative approach, without the aim of extrapolating the results for other enterprises. In this sense, quantitative research should be carried out in order to verify these results in a more representative set of SMEs. Finally, it is suggested that research could be carried out to study in more depth the PMS evolution in SMEs, with longitudinal case studies, for example. / Esta pesquisa teve como propósito verificar como funcionam o sistema de mensuração de desempenho (SMD) e o sistema de gestão da qualidade (SGQ) em pequenas e médias empresas brasileiras à luz da tipologia proposta por Garengo (2009). O estudo foi conduzido mediante a aplicação de dois questionários fechados, duas entrevistas semiestruturadas e da análise dos indicadores de desempenho utilizados por cinco pequenas/médias empresas com sede no Estado de São Paulo. Com abordagem qualitativa, nesta pesquisa exploratória foram entrevistados os gestores do SMD e do SGQ, sendo que os dados da primeira entrevista foram analisados com a técnica de análise de conteúdo, tendo sido, na sequência, triangulados com os demais dados coletados. Verificou-se que quatro das cinco empresas pesquisadas possuem uma junção do SMD com o SGQ, no que tange aos indicadores de desempenho, a despeito de o grau de maturidade da gestão da qualidade não estar relacionado com o estágio de evolução do SMD. Verificou-se ainda que em três das cinco empresas a área da gestão da qualidade é a responsável por coordenar o processo de uso do SMD, sem que haja uma participação efetiva da área de controladoria e/ou contabilidade nesse processo. A tipologia de Garengo (2009), usada para verificar o estágio de evolução do SMD, foi validada, podendo ser utilizada na prática pelos profissionais nas organizações para diagnosticar e melhorar o SMD nas suas empresas. A partir dos achados desta pesquisa, os profissionais de empresas com SGQ certificados pela ISO, principalmente aquelas maior grau de maturidade na gestão da qualidade, podem ser encorajados a implementar ou melhorar o SMD nas suas organizações. Os resultados deste estudo devem ser considerados à luz de suas limitações, sobretudo a impossibilidade de sua generalização para o universo geral das PME, na medida em que houve o emprego de abordagem qualitativa, sem o objetivo de extrapolação dos resultados para outras empresas. Nesse sentido, pesquisas quantitativas podem vir a ser realizadas com o objetivo de verificar esses resultados em um conjunto mais representativo de PME. Por fim, sugere-se que pesquisas venham a ser desenvolvidas para estudar em maior profundidade como ocorre a evolução dos SMD em PME, a partir de estudos de caso longitudinais, por exemplo.

Bakgrund: Det är problematiskt att implementera hållbara styrmedel i små- och medelstora företag (SMF) enligt tidigare forskning. Miljöledningssystem är ett populärt hållbart styrmedel där många svenska SMF har certifierat sig mot miljöledningsstandarden ISO 14001. I och med uppdateringen ISO 14001:2015 tillkom nya krav där organisationer har tre år på sig att uppdatera standarden. Det är därmed relevant att studera svenska SMF som nyligen uppdaterat sin miljöcertifiering samt att få ta del av deras upplevelser. Syfte: Denna studie ämnar bidra med kunskaper om hur små- och medelstora företag upplever de drivkrafter, barriärer och praktiska implikationer som uppstår vid implementeringen av ISO 14001. Metod: En kvalitativ flerfallstudie på två fallföretag med fokus på företagens subjektiva upplevelser kring ämnet har bedrivits. Dokumentgranskning samt intervjuer har legat till grund för en hermeneutisk narrativ tolkning där empirin har presenterats i form av berättelser. Slutsats: Kundkrav är enligt studien den dominerande drivkraften att implementera ISO 14001 för SMF. Implementering och upprätthållande av ISO 14001 visar sig vara utmanande på grund av internet motstånd och att standarden inte är optimal för företagens struktur, där ISO 14001:2015 inte har upplevts underlättande för denna problematik. Många positiva effekter kan konstateras som implikationer, men det går att diskutera om dessa väger tyngre än de försvårande faktorerna. I takt med att kundkraven på ISO 14001 ökar har dessa SMF inte mycket att säga till om vilket grundar vår slutsats att SMF kan uppleva ISO 14001 som ett nödvändigt ont. / Background:Implementing sustainability management tools for SMEs has been problematic according to earlier studies. Environmental Managemt System (EMS) is a popular tool where many Swedish SMEs is certified to the EMS-standard ISO 14001. The update of the standard ISO 14001:2015 included several new criteria for organizations to fulfill where they have a transition period of three years to update their certification. It is therefore relevant to study Swedish SMEs who recently updated their certification to let their own experiences come through. Purpose: This study aims to contribute with knowledge to how SMEs experience drivers, barriers and practical implications connected to the implementation of ISO 14001. Method: A qualitative multiple case study on two SMEs has been conducted with focus on the cases’ subjective perceptions. Document studies and interviews will provide a hermeneutic narrative interpretation where each case is presented as a narrative. Conclusion: Customer demands are according to the study the most significant driver for these SMEs to implements ISO 14001. The implementation and maintenance of ISO 14001 appears to be a challenge caused by internal resistance and the fact that the standard is not optimal for the structure of SMEs. We have not found indications that ISO 14001:2015 helps SMEs to tackle this problem. However, many positive implications have been found, although it is disputable if the positive aspects are larger than the barriers. As the customer demands are increasing, SMEs appear to have little to say which leads to the conclusion that ISO 14001 can be perceived y SMEs as a necessary pain.