<p>Information and communication technology already has a long history of influence in basically all areas of an enterprise. In recent years though, a major discussion emerged whether information and communication technologies (ICT) offer an additional strategic value for a business.</p><p>The different positions maintain reasonable arguments on both sides. One position is that ICT basically has become a commodity, obtainable by everyone. There would be no strategical nor competitive gain, so extra efforts in ICT would be in vain. Another position is that, although, nowadays ICT is easy to acquire, the organisational skills necessary to manage the change and to profit from a good system are a scarce resource and difficult to reproduce.</p><p>As much as this discussion has been the subject of many academic articles, as little has the research on the views of practitioners emerged. What is their opinion on the strategic relevance of information and communication technology? Do they consider it as merely a necessary commodity, only used to stay competitive, or do they think that there is a competitive advantage to gain in a sophisticated and possibly leading-edge system? Also, a third view is conceivable, in which practitioners regard ICT as just a tool, which serves best by reconsidering the intensity of its use in every new venture.</p><p>In order to get answers to these questions, semi-structured telephone interviews with leading ICT officers were conducted. The outcome gives a broad overview on what practitioners consider as strategically important in ICT systems and what the current view of the academic guild on this question looks like. An analysis on where, how and why the academic- and the business-views overlap or differ from each other, together with an interpretation of the interview results, concludes the work.</p>

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors associated with outsourcing of information systems (IS), and if there is a difference in IS sourcing based on the strategic value of the outsourced functions. The theoretical framework is based upon a synthesis of strategic management theory (SMT) and transaction cost economics (TCE) as they apply to vertical integration in the health care sector; therefore, IS sourcing behavior was conceptualized as a case of vertical integration. The conceptual model proposed that sourcing behavior would be determined by asset specificity, uncertainty, the interaction of asset specificity and uncertainty, bargaining power, corporate strategy needs, and the strategic value of the IS functions outsourced.A cross sectional design was used, consisting of data from the American Hospital Association (AHA), the Area Resource File (ARF), the HIMSS Analytics database, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) hospital cost reports for 2003. The final sample consisted of 1,365 health care delivery systems and 3,452 hospitals. Analysis was conducted using a two-stage negative binomial regression model (using instrumental variables) to correct for suspected endogeneity. Tests of joint restrictions using the group of variables derived from TCE and SMT, respectively, were done with the dependent variable divided between strategic and non-strategic IS functions (the division was done based on a model of Core IS Capabilities developed as a model for a high-performance IS function).The results supported the relationship between bargaining power and IS outsourcing. Results for asset specificity and corporate strategy needs were significant in the opposite direction than hypothesized. No other findings were significant. These results suggest that hospital system managers are likely not considering significant factors when making sourcing decisions, including the relative strategic value of the functions they are outsourcing. This study contributes to the limited body of knowledge surrounding IS sourcing behavior in the health care sector. Future research should examine the effect of cost on IS sourcing decisions, and consider the use of alternative theoretical frameworks, particularly Institutional Theory.

Information and communication technology already has a long history of influence in basically all areas of an enterprise. In recent years though, a major discussion emerged whether information and communication technologies (ICT) offer an additional strategic value for a business. The different positions maintain reasonable arguments on both sides. One position is that ICT basically has become a commodity, obtainable by everyone. There would be no strategical nor competitive gain, so extra efforts in ICT would be in vain. Another position is that, although, nowadays ICT is easy to acquire, the organisational skills necessary to manage the change and to profit from a good system are a scarce resource and difficult to reproduce. As much as this discussion has been the subject of many academic articles, as little has the research on the views of practitioners emerged. What is their opinion on the strategic relevance of information and communication technology? Do they consider it as merely a necessary commodity, only used to stay competitive, or do they think that there is a competitive advantage to gain in a sophisticated and possibly leading-edge system? Also, a third view is conceivable, in which practitioners regard ICT as just a tool, which serves best by reconsidering the intensity of its use in every new venture. In order to get answers to these questions, semi-structured telephone interviews with leading ICT officers were conducted. The outcome gives a broad overview on what practitioners consider as strategically important in ICT systems and what the current view of the academic guild on this question looks like. An analysis on where, how and why the academic- and the business-views overlap or differ from each other, together with an interpretation of the interview results, concludes the work.

Background and Purpose: In the past years, Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) investments have substantially gained relevance. Corporations engage in this practice to reap strategic benefits that are usually only associated with entrepreneurial ventures and thereby drive innovation. While the success of CVC investments is undisputed, scholars have failed to provide a full description of the process that leads to the creation of strategic value for corporations. Therefore, we want to investigate the strategic value creation process in CVC and build a comprehensive framework thereof. The research question is thus: What is the process through which corporations create strategic value in CVC investments? Methodology: In line with pragmatism, we chose the methods best suited to answer the research question: Primary data will be obtained in face to face interviews with key individuals involved in the strategic value creation process in Husqvarna Group Ventures. Following methods from Morse (1994) and Alvesson &amp; Kärreman (2011), we then analyse the data in a dialogue with our frame of reference. After the identification of a breakdown, an unexpected result that cannot be explained by current academia, we continue to build the framework applying two interpretive repertoires. To do so, we combine our findings with the fragmented existing literature to depict the strategic value creation process. Findings: We find that scholars have overlooked the complexity of the knowledge transfer, which is an integral part of strategic value creation. The CVC unit cannot directly access knowledge in their portfolio firms; instead, an active and involved effort needs to be made by the corporate to create learning opportunities, which can then be transformed into strategic value. The key to accessing knowledge can be found in what we call the knowledge sharing mechanism: An intricate interplay of relationships between the CVC unit and the portfolio firm. We find that corporates significantly commit to activities to build an environment that facilitates voluntary, reciprocal knowledge sharing. Conclusion: Business units must establish and maintain interpersonal relationships with their portfolio firms to meet corporate objectives of innovation and strategic value creation through CVC. The relationship acts a channel for the knowledge transfer, and by extension, as an enabler of strategic value creation. We fill a gap in the existing literature and provide an all-encompassing framework depicting the strategic value creation process of CVC investments with a focus on the relationships between the CVC unit and the portfolio firm. Researchers have neglected this aspect until now.

Yes / Disaster management aims to mitigate the potential damage from the disasters, ensure immediate and suitable assistance to the victims, and attain effective and rapid recovery. These objectives require a planned and effective rescue operation post such disasters. Different types of information about the impact of the disaster are, hence, required for planning an effective and immediate relief operation. The IoT technology available today is quite mature and has the potential to be very useful in disaster situations. This paper analyzes the requirements for planning rescue operation for such natural disasters and proposes an IoT based solution to cater the identified requirements. The proposed solution is further validated using the task-technology fit (TTF) approach for analyzing the significance of the adoption of IoT technology for disaster management. Results from the exploratory study established the core dimensions of the task requirements and the TTF constructs. Results from the confirmatory factor analysis using PLS path modelling, further, suggest that both task requirements and IoT technology have significant impact on the IoT TTF in the disaster management scenario. This paper makes significant contributions in the development of appropriate constructs for modeling TTF for IoT Technology in the context of disaster management.

In today's competitive market, innovation stands as a cornerstone of organisational success, with Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) emerging as a pivotal tool for injecting innovative ideas and technologies into established corporations. However, maintaining strategic focus within CVCs presents notable challenges. This thesis delves into the complicated dynamics of how CVCs can effectively navigate their strategic objectives while delivering value to both their parent companies and startups. Collaborating with Company Z, this research employs a robust qualitative approach to ensure the validity and reliability of its findings. Through qualitative methods, this study develops a comprehensive framework aimed at offering a structured yet flexible approach, empowering CVCs to optimise their operations, foster innovation, and sustain long-term success. The research design encompasses interviews segmented into "pre-study" and "main" phases. The pre-study phase involves unstructured interviews with Company Z to establish foundational insights and identify key challenges and themes. Subsequently, semi-structured main interviews delve deeper into these themes, allowing for flexibility while maintaining consistency. From the literature review and pre-study interviews, four components emerged as critical for strategic success: Organisational structure, Governance, Investment process, and Performance metrics. Building on these insights, this study develops a framework with actionable insights and practical solutions to assist CVCs in navigating the complexities of strategic alignment and value creation across these five themes. By examining organisational structure, governance, investment practices, performance metrics and sustainability this study offers insights into optimising communication, fostering sustainability, and building high-performing teams. Inspired by the concept of 'simple rules,' this framework provides a comprehensive guide for navigating the intricacies of CVC operations, ensuring alignment with parent company objectives while driving innovation and strategic growth.

Purpose – The purpose of this thesis was to increase the understanding of how formal and informal intellectual property may affect value generation of strategic and financial values within the nanotechnology start-up sector. Method – This study had an inductive approach through a qualitative multi-case study. The data collection was carried out through 23 interviews, including four exploratory interviews and 19 semi-structured interviews. The collected data was continuously analyzed in order to identify concepts, themes and aggregated dimensions. The collected data was analyzed through two categories, namely type of intellectual property and prioritized type of value desired. Findings – Through protecting innovations nanotechnology start-ups seek both strategic and financial values. The findings show nanotechnology start-ups seek strategic values in the form of trustworthiness through qualified recognition, ability to increase in market share, and having a competitive presence on the market. The findings further show nanotechnology start-ups seek financial values in the form of effective resource allocation, direct income from market transactions, and ability to attain investors. Furthermore, the findings suggest that for nanotechnology start-ups to effectively generate strategic and financial values it can be beneficial to combine formal and informal IP where a combination of trade secrets and patents can be valuable. Theoretical contributions – The analysis resulted in a grounded theory articulation in the form of a conceptual framework describing the relationships between the type of IP and how it may affect value generation for nanotechnology start-ups. This study adds to previous research that aspects fulfilling market demands can be effectively protected by patents, and aspects difficult to reverse engineer can be effectively protected by trade secrets in order to generate strategic and financial value. This study also adds to theory by identifying enablers describing how nanotechnology start-ups can generate strategic and financial values, and which type of IP is associated with each enabler. Practical implications – This study provide managers within the nanotechnology start-up sector with a framework suggesting how to generate different values from protecting innovations. The study further concludes that there are six important aspects to consider in creating effective IP strategies within the nanotechnology start-up sector. These aspects include; mapping the technological environment and the commercial market, determining which actual strategic and financial values are important for the start-up, protecting different aspects of an innovation with different types of IP, having trade secrets on aspects of an innovation that are hard to reverse engineer, to formally protect aspects of an innovation that fulfills market demand, and making a plan for how the rights attained can generate value.

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Despite the impact of Information Technology (IT) in today's service economy, its nature and role are elusive or ambiguous to say the least. This ambiguity has made it so difficult to measure the value of IT. To clarify the ambiguity, this study, with a focus on the strategic dimension of IT application in the web of organizational activities, proposes a conceptual model that relates IT application to Knowledge Management and then to Strategy. In this effort, incorporating the Co-alignment model as a theoretical binding agent, the role of IT is defined as a facilitator of organizational knowledge management that is regarded as the core of strategic management. The conceptual model proposed is further developed into a structural model for empirical testing. The goodness of fit of the model is assessed through the technique of the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) along with first-order and second-order confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) using the survey responses of unit managers of multi-unit restaurant companies of the U.S. and Korea. Since the mail survey was conducted in two different nations, relevant multi cultural issues are also addressed to justify the use of combined samples for the study. The results of the statistical analyses indicate that IT application can be incorporated successfully into the domain of strategic management of restaurant companies as the facilitator of Knowledge Management activities. The hypotheses of the links between IT application and financial performance remained unsolved due to invalid data. However, this study made a certain degree of contribution in identifying the dynamics of IT application in the process of strategic management incorporating the principle of the Co-alignment model. / Ph. D.

金門，一個不起眼的海中蕞爾小島，在歷史漫卷的偶然機遇裡，被捲入了台海兩岸對峙、自由與共產陣營的冷戰衝突中，一躍成為世界知名的「戰地」。隨著世界冷戰的結束、國內民主運動的蓬勃發展，1992年11月7日金門解除戒嚴，褪下戰地的角色。尤其是1990年9月12日兩岸紅十字會簽定的《金門協議》，2001年實施的「小三通」，不但開啟了金門的新機運，亦成為兩岸由對抗、對峙走向和解的重要試點。 因此，本論文將針對兩岸關係演變中金門戰略價值之變遷作為研究的核心目的，內容分為三個部分論述： 一、認知與瞭解金門從兩岸武力對抗及停火對峙階段、終止動員戡亂時期後1995與1996年台海危機事件，以及2008年馬英九總統就任後，各個不同時期金門在軍事上所扮演的角色與價值。 二、探討「小三通」施行後在兩岸關係演變的中介角色、「小三通」與金門經濟價值之連結與擴張，尤其是兩岸簽訂「經濟合作架構協議」(ECFA)之後，金門主要經濟價值的展望。 三、藉由早期的「戰地政務實驗」階段與金門政治建設的關係、兩岸簽訂《金門協議》所突顯的政治戰略價值，以及金門在兩岸政治發展過程的見證，探究金門之政治價值。 爰此，經由以上的分析與論證，說明了長期以來金門在國際、兩岸的變局中所扮演的不同角色，而金門角色的蜕變，也相對見證了時代的變遷，與一部千曲百折的中國現代史。 / Quemoy is an inconspicuous island. In the long history stream, it was involved into Cold War between Taiwan and Mainland China, and also became a world famous battlefield. After Cold War was over and Taiwan Democracy Movement was vigorous development. On 7th November, 1992, Quemoy removed martial law, left the role of war. Especially, the Red Cross between Taiwan and Mainland China signed “Quemoy Agreement” on 12th September, 1990; in 2001, the government executed the “mini-three links” not only changed destiny of Quemoy, but also from hostility to reconciliation. Hence, the research of Quemoy strategy value is divided into three parts as below: First, Knowing and realizing Quemoy militarily against between cross-strait and Cold War, after Period of mobilization for the suppression of Communist rebellion, cross-strait crisis 1995 and 1996, and after President Ma sworn in, each different period has different values and roles in Quemoy military history. Secondly, Research the role between cross-strait relations developing after the “Mini-Three Links” was executed. The Quemoy economic value linkage and expending from that kind of links, especially after the ECFA, the forecast of Quemoy economic value. Thirdly, According to “civil-military government” period and some relevant political constructions, “Quemoy Agreement” strategy and political value, and the evidence of cross-strait political development, the essay focuses on the political value of Quemoy. Above all, after the analyzing and certificating, shows the Quemoy different roles between international and cross-strait relations. By following the development of Quemoy value, it also presents the theatrically modern China history.