Purpose – The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how networking is influenced by the choice of internationalization strategy of software firms with a born global mindset. To achieve this purpose, the following research questions were answered: How applicable is previous research on traditional internationalization strategies to born global software firms? How does networking vary between the different choices of internationalization strategy for born global software firms? Method – The research philosophy of this thesis was interpretivistic, supported by an abductive qualitative multi-method approach of exploratory character. Additionally, the data collection methods were literature studies, interviews and documentation conducted from six case companies. The collected data form the base of the developed networking and internationalization model which serves to support the general understanding of how born global software firms can internationalize and use networks to benefit their operations. Findings – By forming clusters and looking into how networking varies between the different choices of internationalization strategy, several types of internationalization strategies of born global software firms were identified, these being referred to as Nascent Global, Cautiously Global, Regionally Global and Instantly Global. Additionally, the results show that it is the choice of internationalization strategy that influences the choice of the networking activity. Nascent Global firms are firms who has not yet launched their service or decided upon internationalization strategy, they mostly network in order to strategize and plan; Cautiously Global firms operates nationally or have recently internationalized into another country, for them the networking focus lies on the process of learning to minimize the risk of mistakes or failure; Regionally Global firms are internationalizing incrementally with a regional focus and networking to access sources of knowledge; Instantly Global firms are those who are global right from inception where the focus is targeted at growth opportunities. Moreover, the findings show that Instantly Global firms are the ones that truly contradict traditional theory on internationalization strategies. Research limitations – The first limitation of this study is that we have solely focused on networking from the firm’s perspective and have not gone into the actual external network of each firm. Additionally, it would be appropriate to include a larger amount of case companies, in order to increase the level of generalizability. Nevertheless, due to limitations concerning the scale of work and time-constraints, six case companies were included. Further research – If practitioners would conduct a similar investigation of born global software firms, it would be interesting to conduct a quantitative study, analyzing potential linkages between the use of networks and internationalization. Also, since this study was cross-sectional, opportunities exist of conducting a longitudinal study, looking into how born global software firms change over time.

Introduction: The development of complex products requires specialized departments to handle the demands and to be competitive in the market. To handle the knowledge integration between the specialized departments, the boundaries need to be identified. Compared to previous research, this case study takes focus on the phases of one specific product development process in a software development organization. Therefore: The purpose of this paper is to explore why boundaries exist in a software service development organization during a product development process and why they appear. To fulfill the purpose of the study, the first research question focuses on where and when the boundaries appear in the organization’s product development process. Moreover, if these boundaries appear vertically or horizontally in the organization’s hierarchy structure. The second research question then needs to elaborate on why these appear. Therefore, the research questions for the study are: RQ1: Where are the vertical and horizontal boundaries appearing in a software development organization during product development? RQ2: Why did the identified boundaries appear in the organization? Method: To answer the research questions, a single case study with an inductive approach. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect primary qualitative data from individuals involved in the product development process. A 10-step structured literature review was used to collect secondary data. The interviews were analyzed by a thematic analysis and later combined with the secondary data through theoretical analysis. The theoretical analysis was the basis to fulfill the research questions and the purpose. Findings: The conclusion of the study shows that each of the phases in the product development process had boundaries that affect knowledge integration. Boundaries could be syntactic, semantic, or pragmatic, thus creating different kinds of consequences for the organization. Furthermore, the boundaries were either domain- specific, task-oriented, spatial, or temporal and could be vertical in the different levels of hierarchy, horizontal between departments and teams, or both. The reason behind the appearance of these boundaries was traced to multiple different possible explanations, like lack of artifacts, lack of trust, extensive use of tacit knowledge, and lack of integration. Implications: The study has a theoretical implication by giving a practical approach to how to identify boundaries during a product development process in a software service organization. Furthermore, by identifying these boundaries and why they appear, the study has a practical implication for the case organization by contributing with understanding for their product development and future work with boundary crossing in their processes. Limitations: The study is limited by being a single case study, thus having somewhat low generalizability for other organizations. Hence, it is recommended that future research repeats a similar study in other contexts.

<p>Osnovni istraživački problem ove disertacije predstavlja razvoj modela<br />za upravljanje lancima snabdevanja u cilju podizanje kvaliteta usluge.<br />Stoga je razvijen adaptivni model za upravljanje lancima snabdevanja<br />koji se sastoji od modela za: upravljanje lancima snabdevanja,<br />upravljanje korisničkim zahtevima i ocenu kvaliteta pružene usluge. U<br />svrhu primene adaptivni model je predstavljen algoritmom sa precizno<br />definisanim koracima koje korisnik treba da sprovede da bi podigao<br />nivo kvaliteta usluge i održao stabilnost lanca snabdevanja. Verifikacija<br />modela je urađena na primeru 17 lanaca snabdevanja na teritoriji<br />Republike Srbije, &scaron;to je rezultiralo odgovorima na koji način se može<br />podići kvalitet usluge.<br />Doprinos istraživanja ogleda u mogućnosti direktne primene<br />razvijenog modela i pružanja novih informacija za naučnu i stručnu<br />javnost koje mogu predstavljati kvalitetnu podlogu daljem razvoju<br />modela za upravljanje lancima snabdevanja.</p> / <p>The basic research problem of this dissertation is the development of<br />supply chain management model in order to improve the quality of<br />service. Therefore, an adaptive supply chain management model has<br />been developed that consists of a model for: supply chain management,<br />management of user requirements and assessment of the quality of<br />service provided. For the purpose of application the adaptive model, it<br />is presented an algorithm with precisely defined steps that the user<br />needs to implement in order to raise the level of service quality and<br />maintain the stability of supply. The model verification was done on<br />the example of 17 supply chains in the territory of the Republic of<br />Serbia, which resulted in answers on how to improve the quality of the<br />service. The contribution of the research is reflected in the possibility<br />of direct application of the developed model and providing new<br />information for the scientific and professional public, which can<br />represent a quality basis for the further development of the supply<br />chain management model.</p>

軟體服務產業，由於內在條件與外部環境等因素長期以來經營不易，在此經濟前景不明，綠色環保意識抬頭及自由軟體呼聲日益高漲的時代，軟體服務業者是否能以元件化軟體服務，開拓出有別於以往的全新經營模式，是個值得深入研究之方向。 政府機關由於組織性質雷同，服務範圍廣大，應用系統繁多，各系統間常有資料共建共享之需求（如各系統須使用人事資訊系統），也有性質非常相近之服務系統(例如網站資訊服務系統、線上申辦服務系統、行政資訊服務系統或員工入口網)，但對於這些性質雷同之服務系統，是否能經由元件化軟體服務之導入與運用，在保證軟體可靠性、穩定性和系統效能的前提下，如何提高軟體開發效率、縮短開發週期、降低開發成本、提高軟體的可維護性、快速高效地適應需求變化、降低運轉維護成本等，是應用軟體服務廠商競爭力的主要表現，也是導入元件化軟體服務最大的目的。 本研究利用個案分析法，搜集個案內之相關資料進行分析與探討，分別從政府機關組織之特性與提供之服務需求面向，資訊軟體產業面臨之問題等面向進行研究，並運用策略形態分析法的思考程序，進而歸納出元件化軟體服務之解決方案，並就元件化軟體服務的優缺點進行剖析，分析出其整體之成本效益。 期望藉由本研究之結論拋磚引玉，激發起政府機關相關決策長官及資訊軟體服務業者的思維，如何從國家整體產業進步觀點去思考與規劃，快速穩健地導入真正符合民眾期望之資訊服務系統，又能樽節成本，避免不必要之資源重複投入，如此方能促進國家與資訊軟體服務產業之雙贏局面。 關鍵字：元件化軟體、SOA、Web service、軟體服務、經營模式 / The IT software services industry is facing difficult long-term operating conditions due to internal factors and an external environment beset by economic uncertainty and instability, greater awareness of environmental concerns, and a sharp rise in the growth of independently-developed software. Whether or not the software services industry can use service oriented architecture (SOA) software componentization to create an entirely new business model, is a valuable topic that merits in-depth research. Government institutions, like other organizations, are offering an increasing amount of services and use multiple software applications. These applications usually require shared database and common interface capabilities (e.g. various entities require access to a centralized personnel information system) and similar service structures such as web services, e-application services, online administrative information service systems, and employee portal access. Software componentization is a potential solution for applications requiring well-defined interfaces. With system reliability and stability as prerequisites, the main goals of application service providers and componentization software services developers are the same: to increase software efficiency, shorten development cycles & reduce costs, improve software maintainability, be highly responsive to changes, and flexible and lower maintenance turnaround costs. This research applies case study methodology to collect and group relevant information for analysis and discussion. Topics to be discussed include: software-specific needs of government institutions, issues faced by software developers, the application of strategic posture analysis to compose a set of componentization software services solutions, examination of its advantages and disadvantages, and an overall breakdown of its cost effectiveness. Research conclusions are expected to stimulate further research in future studies and encourage decision-makers in government and the software services industry to consider how the industry can progress to a point where it is stable enough to fulfill the expectations of the public, control costs, and avoid unnecessary resource overlaps, thus promoting a win-win situation for government and the IT software services industry. Keywords: componentized software, SOA, web services, software services, business model

Cette recherche analyse le rapport existant entre la prédisposition au changement dans les services et les résultats concernant la mise en œuvre d'innovations dans des entreprises de développement de logiciels au Brésil. L'objectif principal consiste à expliquer la relation entre la prédisposition au changement dans les services et le développement des innovations dans le cadre des services de logiciels au Brésil. Pour atteindre son but, cette recherche a été développée en trois étapes, la première ayant consisté à relever les dimensions explicatives de la prédisposition au changement dans les services, ce qui a permis de cartographier sept dimensions explicatives à partir desquelles, lors de la deuxième étape de la recherche, une échelle de mesure a été proposée, appliquée et validée. Cette seconde phase, a également permis l'application d'une échelle de mesure de l'innovation dans les services à partir d'une sous sélection de points de la PINTEC 2008 (IBGE, 2010). Lors de la troisième étape de cette étude, le modèle d'analyse proposé a été testé à partir des données collectées lors de la réalisation de régressions linéaires. L'hypothèse de recherche considérait que la prédisposition au changement dans les services exerçait une prédiction linéaire sur l'innovation dans les services de logiciels au Brésil, ce qui la confirmait en tant qu'inputs d'innovation dans les services. / This study investigated the acceptance of changes in the characteristics of a service by the provider, and its effects on the generation of innovations in software services. This problem was operationalized in the form of the construct Willingness to Change in Services - WCS, for which it was developed an enquiry of its explanatory dimensions, with the completion of semi-structured interviews with experts in software services in ten brazilian cities. Seven dimensions were associated to the construct and gave rise to a measurement scale for WCS, which was submitted along with a scale to measure innovation in services in 351 Brazilian companies that develop software services. The scale of WCS underwent semantic validation by experts and factorial, latter performed with the application of an Analysis of Exploratory Structural Equations Modeling of the data obtained with the application of the scales in the sample companies. A Linear Regression test was performed in order to explore the relation between WCS and SI. The results show no significant relation within the Linear Regression tests performed between the constructs. It was understood that the analysis examined the linear relation between the constructs, which was not confirmed, but it did not test the existence of nonlinear or indirect relations. Therefore, it is understood that there might be intermediate phenomena or processes between change and innovation in services yet to be mapped.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The contribution of this thesis focuses on addressing the challenges of improving and integrating the UniFrame Discovery Service (URDS) and Multi-level Matching (MLM) concepts. The objective was to find enhancements for both URDS and MLM and address the need of a comprehensive discovery service which goes beyond simple attribute based matching. It presents a detailed discussion on developing an enhanced version of URDS with MLM (proURDS). After implementing proURDS, the thesis includes details of experiments with different deployments of URDS components and different configurations of MLM. The experiments and analysis were carried out using proURDS produced MLM contracts. The proURDS referred to a public dataset called QWS dataset. This dataset includes actual information of software components (i.e., web services), which were harvested from the Internet. The proURDS implements the different matching operations as independent operators at each level of matching (i.e., General, Syntactic, Semantic, Synchronization, and QoS). Finally, a case study was carried out with the deployed proURDS. The case study addresses real world component discovery requirements from the earth science domain. It uses the contracts collected from public portals which provide geographical and weather related data.