This study attempts to shed light on the efficacy of crowdsourcing as a means of translating web content in Canada. Within, we seek to explore and understand if a model can be created that can estimate the effectiveness of crowdsourced translation as a means of bridging the Canadian Linguistic Digital Divide. To test our hypotheses and models, we use structural equation modeling techniques coupled with confidence intervals for comparing experimental crowdsourced translation to both professional and machine translation baselines. Furthermore, we explore a variety of factors which influence the quality of the experimental translations, how those translations performed in the context of their source text, and the ways in which the views of the quality of the experimental translations were measured before and after participants were made aware of how the experimental translations were created.

The goal of the presented thesis is to screen market and to assess the Procurement application solutions provided in cloud with focus on SMB companies. Understanding of Procurement process is base for identification of key functions and requirements on Procurement applications. Market research results in initial high level picture about the Procurement applications available with attention to cloud. Procurement applications assessment determines conclusions on market evolution and trends. The first part of the thesis introduces theoretical background of Procurement process and cloud computing. This part is completed by the list of key functions and requirements, of expected benefits, and of the steps that are important during assessment and selection of Procurement application in business. The second part investigates the Procurement application market and vendors. The screening is oriented on application features, client set, delivery models, and on other characteristics. Eight Procurement application solutions were selected for detailed assessment: Bellwether ePMX, Compleat Spend Control, Coupa, eBid eXchange, Ion Wave Technologies, PurchaseControl, Trade Interchange (ARCUS), and Xtenza. Assessment of the applications results in comparative data that are presented in predefined structure. The primary focus is on application features and Procurement functions supported. Other important evaluation categories are delivery models, security, underlying infrastructure, approval workflows, and commercials. Communication with application vendors contributed to the assessment. This part is finalized with evolution and trend conclusions focusing on cloud proliferation dynamics, and on forecast of new application functions and features that will result in new business benefits.

[pt] As mudanças ocorridas na economia mundial nos últimos anos, advindas da globalização, quedas das barreiras comerciais, desregulamentações de mercados, expansão do comércio eletrônico, entre outras, têm tornado os mercados cada vez mais competitivos. Uma estratégia que as empresas têm adotado para enfrentar este novo cenário é a terceirização de atividades da cadeia de valores, fazendo internamente somente as atividades que as diferenciam, as chamadas competências centrais. Outra estratégia adotada pelas empresas têm sido a de fazerem as suas compras através da Internet, usando todo o potencial do comércio eletrônico. Todas estas mudanças tornaram as áreas e processos de compra mais importantes e complexos. Este trabalho de pesquisa visa propor um processo estruturado de compra estratégica, que, com o auxílio das ferramentas de compra eletrônica, ajude as empresas a enfrentar este novo cenário competitivo. Este processo será estruturado em oito fases interligadas com os mercados eletrônicos e as ferramentas de compra eletrônica. Adicionalmente, apresentaremos um estudo de caso da aplicação conjunta do processo de compra estratégica e das ferramentas de compra eletrônica, numa empresa brasileira. / [en] The changes in world economy over the last years resulting from globalization, lifting of trade barriers, market deregulation, e-commerce expansion, among others, have made markets increasingly competitive. To face this new scenario, companies have adopted the strategy of outsourcing value chain activities and only the activities that differentiate them - called core competencies - are carried out internally. Companies have also adopted the strategy of purchasing through the Internet, making use of the enormous potential provided by the e-commerce. All of these changes increased the importance and complexity of purchasing areas and processes. The objective of this research is to propose a structured process for strategic sourcing, which combined with the e-procurement tools, will help companies face this new competitive scenario. This process is structured in eight phases interconnected with the e-marketplace and e-procurement tools. In addition, a case study will be presented, involving the joint use of strategic sourcing process and e-procurement tools in a Brazilian company.

Am Ende der Dresden Summer School 2012 haben die Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer eigene Ideen und Impulse zur Zukunft der Vernetzung von Kultur- und Wissenschaftseinrichtungen vorgestellt. Claudia Becker, wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Vilém Flusser Archiv der Universität der Künste Berlin, ist an neuen Wegen der Wissens- und Kulturvermittlung mit digitalen Technologien interessiert. Wissen, Wissenssammlungen und Wissensordnungen haben sich im Laufe der Jahre verändert, ebenso wie die Wissensproduktion, die Schaffung neuen Wissens, die Wissenschaft selbst. Der Baum des Wissens, „arbor porphyriana“ oder auch „arbor scientiae“ war seit der Antike eine gültige Metapher und das Klassifikationsschema für die Struktur des Wissen, die epistemologische Ordnung. So lehnte auch Denis Diderot die Ordnung seiner berühmten Enzyklopädie an die Baumstruktur des Wissens von Francis Bacon an. Wohl wissend, dass Wissen Macht ist, widmeten Diderot und seine Enzyklopädisten einen großen Teil ihrer Lebenszeit, um das Wissen aus allen Bereichen der Welt zu sammeln und aller Welt zugänglich zu machen. Diderot nutzte somit damals schon die Intelligenz des Schwarmes, seine Enzyklopädie ist ein Produkt des „Crowd Sourcing“, eines kollektiven Verbundes mehrerer Autoren, die gemeinsam an einem Werk schreiben, um Wissen im Namen der Aufklärung den Herrschenden zu entreißen und möglichst vielen zugänglich zu machen. Die Parallelen zu einem der heutigen größten und bedeutendsten Wissensprojekte – der Internet-Enzyklopädie Wikipedia – sind unverkennbar. [...]

Fifty percent of small businesses fail before attaining their 5-year anniversary. The lack of sufficient working capital is one of the major reasons for small business failure. Pecking order theory was employed as the conceptual framework for this multiple case study to explore the working capital sourcing strategies of 6 purposely selected successful small business owners in the Southeast region of the United States used to sustain their businesses beyond 5 years. Data sources included semistructured interviews and company documents. Data analysis included thematic coding of the material using statistical software. The modified Van Kaam method was used to analyze the interview data. Secondary company documents such as financial reports were analyzed to triangulate findings from the interviews. Based on composite analysis, 6 themes emerged: (a) each of the participating small business owners encountered barriers in sourcing working capital for their businesses, (b) small business leaders used their personal internal sources of funds to start and initially operate their businesses, (c) customers provided a revenue stream to support the working capital needs of small businesses, (d) small business leaders used various bootstrapping measures to support their working capital needs, (e) using strategic and operational planning aids such as completing a business plan assisted business leaders in their working capital sourcing decision-making, and (f) personal credit provided a foundation for obtaining external business credit. The implications for social change include the sustainability of small businesses beyond 5 years, which could lead to the maintaining jobs and assisting small businesses to succeed in stabilizing and potentially increasing incomes for benefiting families and communities.

Many multinational corporations find themselves frequently in the dichotomous question of whether to make or buy a given component; but when those companies are operating with a global purchasing strategy, oriented to high levels of centralization and dealing simultaneously with the implications of purchasing and producing the same item, the approach to take the decision becomes difficult to find, even with the current literature and practitioners knowledge This master thesis addresses in a comprehensive proposal the way to undertake this kind of make-or-buy decisions. Through the literature review done, regarding global purchasing strategy, purchasing models, supplier selection methods and make-or-buy frameworks; it was found a convenient model to merge those concepts with the empirical experiences of a single case study in the Italcementi Group, one of the largest Cement producers in the world. The model proposed considers both strategic and economic elements and is designed as an iterative algorithm that evaluates several alternatives in order to arrive to the best make-or-buy approach. The methodologies selected and combined to solve the problem are mostly quantitative, but keeping the importance of qualitative elements within the analysis. The outcome of the thesis is a contribution to academicians and practitioners aiming to turn the existing knowledge about make-or-buy decisions into practical solutions for business management.

The increasing globalization has changed the dynamics of different functions within organizations. One function is procurement which has transformed from an operational to a strategic function. This transformation now requires standardization so that the entire sourcing of products is synchronized especially concerning the Request for Quotation (RFQ) process. A theoretical gap was also identified where the researchers observed that an in-depth RFQ process has not been explicitly discussed in the literature. The aim of this study was thus to explore the practices that global multi-categorical companies use to source their products, especially concerning the request for quotations. To investigate this aim, three research questions were used that helped identify the practices that purchasers use to source products with RFQs. To answer the research questions, the researchers conducted a case study at IKEA. A qualitative approach was chosen to better study the phenomenon in-depth. Methods used for data collection involved a combination of semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires. In total, seven interviews were held with the focal firm with an additional 16 answering the questionnaire. An additional six interviews were also held with purchasers external to the focal firm to complement in filling the gap in existing research. The data was analyzed through thematic analysis and benchmarking. The main findings from the research were the identification of the RFQ process used by the focal company and consultant within the field of purchasing. The RFQ process for the focal company consisted of 7 themes (Triggers to launch RFQ; Defining Scope; Finalize Scope; Making Tactics, Structure and Approach; Execute and evaluate offer; Aligning solution and confirming the purchase agreement; and follow up and feedback).  The process explained by consultants consisted of 8 themes (Preparation; Supplier identification and reduction; Making tactics and communication; Evaluate the quotations and internal alignment; Negotiations; Risk assessment and communication of results; and Feedback). These themes were highly similar to each other while at the same time providing an opportunity to identify areas that can be improved. Overall, besides contributing to filling the existing gap in the request for quotation process, this study concludes with a framework that global retail companies could adopt to procure more efficiently.

Covid-19 has impacted the international business environment on a large scale. Nonetheless, the pandemic has brought shutdowns and lockdowns, which has caused disruption and a decline in supplies. Implementing risk management in supplier selection strategy has been argued to be critical in managing disruption during Covid-19. Henceforth, the research purpose is to explore In order to provide a profound foundation for the topic, the thesis will be utilised with a qualitative approach. The data collection is derived from semi- structured interviews, which enables comprehensive data and is further used based on the literature review. The analysis of the thesis presents the vital changes necessary in the supplier selection strategy derived from the disruption caused by Covid-19. Conclusively, the thesis finalises how a risk- oriented supplier selection strategy has emerged for the company to meet future challenges. Thus, the authors interpreted it to align with the statement, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade".

The automotive industry with its highly competitive environment together with high research and development costs is struggling to increase shareholder return. Cross-functional teams are employed to source suppliers which are helping to reduce production and development costs in close cooperation with the other departments. When working in a competitive environment and with external actors, intellectual property becomes increasingly important and organizational effort is directed to increase the generation and usage of such. Patent portfolio analysis is a well-known tool used to extract information from surrounding actors’ patents, which traditionally mainly was used for product development, but has potential to increase gross profit through cross-functional sourcing teams as well.  The purpose of this study is to investigate how to implement and use patent portfolio analysis as a cross-functional tool in the automotive industry. In order to fulfill the purpose, a qualitative case study has been conducted including both qualitative interviews, as well as action research in the form of workshops at the case company. The results were analyzed using a tailored framework denominated the system integration model which is a combination of the technology acceptance model and the managing strategy framework. The systems integration model was developed and validated by the researchers during the research process. The research result shows that patent portfolio analysis has a high perceived usefulness but a low actual system use within the studied company, especially in the sourcing department. The main barrier to use patent portfolio analysis cross-functionally was that the intellectual property strategy was not yet fully communicated and linked to the different departments’ objectives. There were also barriers found in the communication between- and the understanding of- each other’s departments, which could be reduced by increased education and promoting clear contact points and guidelines. The final conclusion of this research was that patent portfolio analysis likely could be used cross functionally to map the competitive landscape and increase gross profit by protection innovations through product development and sourcing. / Fordonssektorn kännetecknas av höga utvecklingskostnader och en konkurrenskraftig marknad där aktörerna strävar mot vinst till aktieägare. För att ge en hög avkastning till aktieägarna så arbetar man i tvärfunktionella team för att minska produktion och utvecklingskostnader samt för att anlita de bästa leverantörerna. Att arbeta i en konkurrenskraftig miljö med externa aktörer gör att immateriella rättigheter blir allt viktigare och företag satsar därför stora resurser för att detta ska hanteras på rätt sätt. Patentportföljanalys är ett välkänt verktyg för att extrahera information från omgivande aktörers patent, vilket traditionellt främst har använts i produktutveckling, men även har potential att öka bruttoresultat genom ett effektivare samarbete över avdelningar i tvärfunktionella inköpsteam. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur man implementerar och använder patentportföljanalys som ett tvärfunktionellt verktyg inom fordonssektorn. För att uppfylla syftet har en kvalitativ fallstudie genomförts genom kvalitativa intervjuer och workshops vid det undersökta företaget. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av ett skräddarsytt ramverk som forskarna för denna undersökning benämnt som ”the system integration model”. Det här ramverket sammansvetsar den välkända modellen ”technology acceptance model” som syftar till att undersöka acceptans av ny teknik och den välkända modellen ”Managing four processes” som handlar om hur man skapar ett strategiskt management verktyg. ”The system integration model” utvecklades och validerades av forskarna i flera steg under studien. Resultatet visar att patentportföljanalys har en hög uppfattad nytta trots att det är låg systemanvändning i det undersökta företaget i dagsläget, särskilt i inköpsavdelningen. Den största barriären för användandet av patentportföljanalysen verkar vara att företagsstrategin för immateriella rättigheter ännu inte har kommunicerats och kopplats till de olika avdelningarna fullt ut. Det noterades även barriärer i kommunikationen mellan- och förståelsen för- de olika avdelningarna, vilken kan minskas genom utbildning och tydliga kontaktpunkter och riktlinjer. Den här undersökningen indikerar ytterligare på att patentportföljanalys är användbart i tvärfunktionella team då det ger möjligheten att kartlägga konkurrenslandskapet, säkra produkt- och eftermarknadsexklusivitet och förbättra leverantörsavtal, vilket i sin tur kan öka bruttovinsten.

Genom en rad globala kriser har de senaste åren tydliggjort hur en ökad global osäkerhet,inramad genom VUCA-teorin (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity), harpåverkat företags riskhanteringsstrategier för lagerhantering och lokaliseringsbeslut. Studienundersöker Just in Time, Just in Case, reshoring- och regionaliseringsstrategier som svar påglobala kriser likt COVID-19, Suezkanalsblockaden samt Ryssland-Ukraina-konflikten.Händelserna har tydliggjort de globala leveranskedjornas sårbarhet, vilket medfört enomvärdering av supply chain management med ett ökat fokus på robusthet mot externaförändringar. Riskminimerande strategier likt omlokalisering av leverantörer och ökadlagerhållning kan dock medföra ökade kostnader. Studien ämnar därmed att undersöka omkriserna i närtid har haft en påverkan på företags strategier gällande risktagande samt vilkatrender som kan urskiljas mellan geografiska beslut och lagerhållningsstrategier. Studien harundersökt forskningsområdet genom kvalitativ forskning där datainsamling genomförtsgenom bland annat intervjuer med personer med insyn och ansvar inom sex globala företagsleveranskedjor. Resultatet visar på ett förhållande mellan stora säkerhetslager, Just in case,samt möjlighet att förlägga leverantörer med lång geografisk distans, offshoring. Motsatvishar även ett förhållande funnits mellan riskhanteringsstrategin med närliggande leverantörer,reshoring/regionalisering och möjlighet att tillämpa små lagernivåer, Just in time. Studien hardärmed bidragit med insikter om hur företags riskhanteringsstrategier förändrats till följd avomvärldsosäkerhet, samt hur de geografiska och lagerhållningsmässiga strategiernaprioriteras av globala företag.