The so-called digital economy has been growing exponentially in the emerging economies and it is expected to continue growing around the globe. For this reason, many governments are funding support programmes (e.g. Start-up America in the USA, the UK’s Tech City, and Brazil Startup) to both encourage and facilitate the creation of Digital Start-ups (DSs), defined here as recentlycreated enterprises that produce solely digital products or services. Whilst in some regions there is some evidence that these efforts are starting to pay off, the majority of DSs that have grown to become global digital enterprises remain concentrated in the United States and Europe. In the case of Latin America, the digital economy already accounts for between 2-3.2% of GDP. Nonetheless, most e-commerce transactions occur through platforms based in the United States, with a scarcity of examples of Latin American DSs (LADSs) that have grown to become large digital firms. Despite this, the literature has paid little attention to the relationship that exists between the institutional environment and LADS’s agency. The few extant studies that do exist have focused on either institutional or infrastructure constraints and public policies, or business models and resource analysis. To address this knowledge gap, this research studied LADSs in the four largest Latin American countries (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia), representing three-quarters of the region’s GDP, in order to answer the following questions: How do environmental pressures influence the development of LADSs? How do LADSs respond to these pressures and seize potential business opportunities? The research followed a critical realist philosophical foundation and was operationalised through a qualitative exploratory field study of forty organisations, including DSs, accelerators, investors, government agencies, and not-for-profits. Geel’s (2014) Triple Embeddedness Framework (TEF) was chosen as the theoretical framework to guide this research and integrates constructs from the Lean Start-up method (LSM), which was widely adopted by the LADSs to develop their business models. This study provides empirical support for the constructs outlined in the TEF, identifies crucial shortcomings in LSM, and uncovers new constructs that are necessary to accommodate the DSs’ digital properties, which result in tensions between their embeddedness in the institutional environment, their hybrid embeddedness in a product-sector industry and a digital industry, and their embeddedness in a multi-level organisational field that creates a core-periphery relationship between Latin America and the United States. Therefore, a new framework, entitled DIME, is proposed to assist e-entrepreneurs when developing digital business models to achieve the right firm-environment-fit in Latin America. The findings of this study will also contribute to future research, and to guide policy makers interested in fostering the development of the digital economy in emerging economies.

兩岸關係的研究者，除了將歷史的糾結、族群的認同、經濟的利益以及不對稱力量等等的因素，作為分析兩岸關係的重要變項之外，兩岸互動當中的「代理人結構」，也是兩岸關係當中學者所重視的一個重要變項。 「代理人結構」的產生原因，主要是由於大陸與台灣雙方政府均強調避免官方接觸，而採用透過民間單位對談互動的模式，而這種互動的模式除了以「委託」、「複委託」結構呈現出來， 兩岸文教交流事務當中我政府與非營利組織間的所有互動關係，也類似這樣的模式。而在這種政府與非政府組織間的互動結構當中，非營利組織在與政府互動時的行為態樣，相關理論歸納出幾種不同的模式，有與政府充分配合的「合作模式」、有利用政府資源遂行自己目的的「吸納模式」、有認同政府目標而分工併行的「互補模式」，也有與政府相互對抗的「衝突模式」（Najam,2000）。至於其效果，不同的理論對其效果有著不同的詮釋，例如：有研究談判的學者，認為如果非營利組織配合政府的官僚控制模式，則這種兩階段談判的結構，可以為政府爭取到談判的空間（Raiffa, 1996:15-16）；而主張社群主義的學者則認為這種結構可以透過互動，使非營利組織與政府產生合作的集體意識（Haeberle, 1987:180），進而與大陸方面相抗衡；但根據公共選擇理論的經濟人假設，理性的「代理人」透過「吸納」政府資源以達成自己目標的模式，是一種必然的現象，政府同理亦可提供資源來誘導非營利組織的行為（Dunleavy, P., and B. O'Leary,1987: 114-115）；當然，也有學者不斷強調非營利組織與政府之間的衝突對立關係（Kramer et al., 1993:123），而在對立狀況下，若非營利組織採取「疏離」的模式，反而可以減少彼此之間的衝突。由此可見，對於政府與非營利組織之間的互動樣態及其優劣，不同的學者有不同的看法，呈現「人言言殊、莫衷一是」的情況。 自民國86年起，筆者任職於主管兩岸事務的行政院大陸委員會，89年亦曾在辦理兩岸文教交流活動的非營利組織工作，在工作的過程當中，發現相較於其他政策領域，兩岸文教交流互動當中的政府與非營利組織的互動關係並非只有某一種固定的行為模式，而是呈現出更多元的關係，而上述不同理論所描繪的互動模式，均能在兩岸文教交流領域過程當中獲得實證的案例來佐證，並且各種互動模式似乎是非營利組織根據時空的變化而有意做出來的選擇行為。 正因為這些多元的選擇行為模式，筆者一直深受下面問題所困擾：「從實然面的角度來說，非營利組織與政府在互動的時候，在什麼情況下會選擇什麼模式?其原因為何?」，此一問題，便是吾人之所以欲進行本研究之初步動機。進一步來說，若能了解非營利組織如何選擇不同模式以及其原因，政府才能據此思考應該採取的因應之道，兩岸文教交流事務才有辦法順利推動。 而為能了解兩岸文教交流當中，非營利組織與政府在互動時模式選擇的問題，必須解決兩方面的問題，首先，由於此一領域當中的行為模式相當多元，因此筆者必須建立一個能夠具有窮盡性及互斥性的分類模式才足夠「描述」現實的各種狀態。其次，每個實際政策領域中影響政府與非營利組織的變數並不盡相同，因此，本研究必須找出影響實際互動的變數以及其原因，才能夠將變數與選擇模式的行為將結合。為達前項目標，本研究將整理中外文獻以彙整出一個具有描述功能的分類模式，為達後項目標，本研究亦將以實際觀察作為方法，歸納出影響選擇行為的變項。 / Due to the fact that Chinese and Taiwanese governments both put emphasis on avoiding official contacts while entrusting private organizations with cross-strait dialogues and interactions, a so-called “proxy structure” has been established. Meanwhile, the interactions between Taiwan’s government and non-profit organizations in dealing with cross-strait cultural and educational affairs also resemble this structure. However, the results of the “proxy structure,” when interpreted based on different theories, are roughly categorized into four modes, including “cooperation,” “co-optation,” “complementarity” and “confrontation.” Now that there are multiple modes to choose from, I have been perplexed all along by the following question: “From a pragmatic viewpoint, when non-profit organizations interact with Taiwan’s government, which mode will be chosen under what circumstances and why?” The core concept of this research lies in this very question. To be more accurate, only when the question how non-profit organizations choose from different modes and why is answered, can Taiwan’s government think, act and react accordingly and cross-strait cultural and educational affairs be handled smoothly. In order to find the answer to this question, first of all, a categorizing model with both exhaustivity and mutual exclusivity and capable of “describing” all kinds of scenarios in the real world was established. Following that, observations were conducted to pinpoint the variables that affect real-life interactions and their causes. Thirdly, information was obtained through in-depth interviews to evaluate the accuracy and applicability of the above-mentioned categorizing model. In-depth interviews has proven that the categorizing model established in the research has a predicting ability with a considerable degree of accuracy and can act as a reference for future researchers conducting quantitative studies.

The transport sector is facing a noticeable challenge to decrease its environmental and climate impacts, as well as to increase the possibility to achieve the objectives that are managing the societal development. Additionally, the early stages of transport planning are characterised by the participation of many stakeholders and that several areas of interest are affected, which entails that no distinct solution exist. This is an example of a wicked problem. One strategy there has been found efficient to handle wicked problems is the collaborative planning approach. In Sweden, the Strategic Choice of Measures approach (SCM) is used in the early stages of the transport planning process to enable the integration of several perspectives and discussion of alternative measures. Previous studies show that there is a need for increased consideration of environmental aspects and use of the collaborative methodology in SCMs. Furthermore, there should be an increased coordination between the actors and inclusion of a broader problem description in the early stages of transport planning to be able to achieve the Swedish climate objective.  This degree project aimed to explore the early stages of national transport planning in Sweden in relation to the potential of achieving the objectives managing the transport system, with a focus on the environmental aspects and objectives. A qualitative methodology was used, based on a literature review, case study, semi-structured interviews with representatives from four governmental authorities, as well as a content analysis based on concepts from theories on collaborative planning and management by objectives.  The study found that the interviewees, in general, had a common understanding of the early stages of national transport planning in Sweden. The differing point of view that existed were dependent on the governmental authority’s role and possibility to participate in these planning steps. The biggest differences were found to be the opinion of what role the SCM should have in the transport planning and how environmental aspects should be considered. Further, the result and analysis showed that the early stages mean great opportunities for the contribution of achieving the environmental objectives, since the process of setting objectives is based on comprehensive objectives and a broad problem description, as well as the possibility to consider environmental aspects throughout the early stages. The result and analysis of the study also showed that potential of the early stages to consider environmental aspects and contribute to the achievement of environmental objectives would benefit from some improvements. The suggested improvements are to include support for increased transparency, develop new tools for assessment of measures and break down comprehensive objectives to the relevant planning level. Lastly, the study showed that the process pf setting achievement-inducing objectives and the collaborative planning approach may benefit from being used together. This conclusion would most likely be possible to apply to other societal development sectors when setting objectives. / Transportsektorn står inför en märkbar utmaning för att minska sin miljö- och klimatpåverkan, samt möjligheten att bidra till att uppnå de mål som styr samhällsutvecklingen. Dessutom karaktäriseras speciellt de tidiga skedena av transportplanering av att flera olika aktörer medverkar och att flera intressen påverkas, vilket medför att ingen entydig lösning finns. Detta är ett exempel på ett komplext problem (eng. wicked problem). För att hantera dessa problem har den kollaborativa planeringsteorin identifierats som en effektiv strategi. I Sverige används åtgärdsvalsstudien (ÅVS) i de tidiga skedena av transportplaneringsprocessen för att möjliggöra integrering av flera perspektiv och diskussion av alternativa åtgärder. Tidigare studier visar att det inom åtgärdsvalsstudier krävs en ökad hänsyn till miljöaspekter samt att den kollaborativa metodiken inte används fullt ut. Vidare bör det inom de tidiga skedena av transportplaneringen ske en ökad samordning av aktörer och inkluderas en bredare problembild för att nå Sveriges klimatmål.  Detta examensarbete syftade till att undersöka de tidiga skedena av nationell transportplanering i Sverige kopplat till dess potential att uppnå målen som styr transportsystemet, med fokus på miljöaspekter och miljömål. Studien följde en kvalitativ metodik som inkluderade en litteraturstudie, fallstudie, semistrukturerade intervjuer med representanter från fyra statliga myndigheter, samt en innehållsanalys baserad på begrepp från teori inom kollaborativ planering och målstyrning.  Studiens resultat visade att det generellt finns en samstämmig syn mellan intervjupersonerna för hur de tidiga skedena av Sveriges nationella transportplanering ser ut. Skillnaderna i synsätt som fanns grundade sig i myndighetens roll och möjlighet att delta i dessa planeringssteg. De största skillnaderna visade sig vara synen på vad åtgärdsvalsstudien ska ha för roll i transportplaneringen och på vilket sätt miljöaspekter bör tas hänsyn till i tidiga skeden. Vidare visade resultatet och analysen att de tidiga skedena har stora möjligheter att bidra till att miljömålen uppnås, detta genom att processen att sätta mål utgår från övergripande mål och en bred problembild, samt att miljöaspekter kan tas hänsyn till i alla steg inom de tidiga skedena. Studiens resultat och analys visade också att de tidiga skedenas potential att ta hänsyn till miljöaspekter och bidra till att miljömål uppnås skulle gynnas av vissa förbättringar, så som stöd för ökad transparens, att utveckla nya verktyg för bedömning av åtgärder och att bryta ned övergripande mål till den relevanta planeringsnivån. Avslutningsvis visade studien att processen att sätta rationella mål och den kollaborativa planeringsapproachen kan gynnas av att användas tillsammans. Denna slutsats skulle troligtvis även kunna appliceras inom andra samhällssektorer.

The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the occurrence of Step 1 measures ofthe “four step principle” and the role of Strategic Choice of Measures (SCM) as it pertains tothe development of a sustainable transport system. The “four step principle” has been a partof Swedish transport planning for the last two decades with the purpose of modernising it. Byimplementing SCM the “four step principle” was supposed to take a central role in planning.SCM was supposed to offer an earlier and more open process to make strategic, nationaltransport planning more efficient and enable new perspectives in the process. However, newperspectives are few and far between and it is questionable how sustainable the measuressuggested in SCM processes actually are. The step-wise examination of the “four stepprinciple” seldom leads to suggestions where Step 1 measures are a considerable part, andit is even unclear what Step 1 actually is. Going beyond the SCM process it is questionable ifthe Measure data bank (Åtgärdsbanken), where all SCM-recommended measures aresupposed to be registered, works as a data and knowledge management database.This thesis steps in at that point.The goal of this report is to explain what Step 1 actuallyrepresents, how this is expressed in the SCM methodology and what the output of the SCMprocess is. By text analysis of documents from 150 SCM processes with possible Step 1measures an examination is made of what Step 1 represents and how Swedish TransportAdministration and other participants in SCM processes reach the measures suggested.What kind of so called primary Step 1 measures that are generated in the SCM process isalso within the scope of this report. In addition a more detailed investigation of patterns isperformed for SCM processes that generate primary Step 1 measures, pertaining to thedelimitation and actor setup in SCM:s. This is done in order to answer questions surroundingthe process of generating measures in SCM is concerned, and also to attempt to answer thecriticism that has been brought forth concerning the SCM process.The main conclusion of this report is that there are clear flaws in the SCM process. Theseshortcomings and flaws include difficulties in classifying measures, that particularly Step 1measures are packaged without individual effect evaluation, and that the process at largelacks the “rethink” perspective which the SCM process aims at. Looking at the primary Step1 measures generated, they are characterised as having a time scope connected to otherplanning processes, a limited, local geographical expanse, and as being multi-modal. Theresearch shows a contrast in that certain primary Step 1 measures occur at particulargeographical delimitations. Two common conditions for the generation of primary Step 1measures are the exclusion of Step 4 in the generation of measures, and packeting of Step1 measures for ease of handling. When investigating the SCM process the criticism that isbrought forth towards it shows signs of being legitimate. At the same time it is clear the theMeasure data bank does not function correctly as a data and knowledge management bankand improvements are needed for it to serve its intended purpose.Keywords: “four step principle”, Strategic Choice of Measures, sustainable transport,transport planning, Measure data bank, actor, Step 1, Primary Step 1 measure, instrument.

The purpose of this dissertation is to understand the managerial "action" of public administrators in the management of their organizations within the Brazilian context. The research seeks to understand the relationships between managers and formal management mechanisms by exploring the complementary nature of the effective managerial action in the face of structural deficiencies and flaws, considering the possibility of overcoming the structuralism-subjectivism dichotomy present in the construction of the Theory of Organizations. Initially, the study provides a review of the literature on organizational design. It highlights the "goodness of fit" proposition on strategic choice issues concerning the main organizational variables design and organizational goal attainment. It also calls special attention to the emerging interest of designing theorists on interpretivist approaches to the matter, such that of Karl Weick. A review of the the administrative reforms in Brazil is made from the perspective of the main stream organizational design conceptual framework. It highlights the complex dynamics of a constant search for differentiation and flexibilization subject to patterns of advances and reversals, due to the centrality, strength and pervasiveness of the bureaucratic model. It is concluded that in no single given moment, a public manager and his team, may count on a formal organizational design which attends the"congruency" criteria, devised by organizational design conceptual frameworks, to explain organizational results in different environmental sets. Although this conclusion may explain failure at the public sector, it can not provide understanding on the many instances of significative success attained by government operations in spite of inadequate formal administrative structures. This point calls for a better understanding from the interpretivist approach, on how public administrators, strongly associated with good organizational results, engage into transformative action, in order to superate administrative structures flaws and dysfunctional cultural patterns of conduct, structurally present and constantly reproduced, in vigorous developing countries, such as Brazil. The dissertation transcribes the testimony of four outstanding public administrators, doing a deep incursion in the managerial real world of public administration, as subjectively defined by them and transformed by their engagement into action.Through the thematic version of the Oral History methodology, full segments of the complete interviews are categorized into the thirty two managerial strategies captured which are presented on a recategorized manner under eight main strategies: (1) Interchanging Frames of Reference; (2) Exploring the Formal Limits; (3) Playing the Bureaucracy Game; (4) Inducing the Inclusion of Others (5)Promoting Internal Cohesion; (6) Creating Shields against Transgressions; (7) Overcoming Internal Restrictions; (8) Letting the Structures Blossom. Each one of these eight blocks of strategies presented, deserves further reflexive interpretation by the author, on the light of the interpretivist approach to organizational design. A final effort is made, now on theory building, for improving understanding on the matter. In order to find a significant meaning underlining all the strategies extracted from the "practical consciousness" of the interviewers as revealed in their report, the author resort to a metaphor. This metaphor helps to: (1) better describe and understand a not adequately treated phenomenon, namely, good results under inadequate structural social and organizational conditions; (2) reveal the logic and the meaning underlining all the strategies adopted to generate results under these unfaithful conditions; (3) name, accordingly to the nature of the managerial transformative social action involved, an open ended class of managerial interventions of a pragmatic sort driven by an ethics of results much common to good managers, that is, the concept of "managerial equalization"; and (4) give back to public administrators, represented by the interviewees, to be incorporated in their "discursive consciousness", something the most effective and experienced public managers already have as tacit knowledge built in their "practical consciousness", and so, help the education and development of new talents. / Ph. D.