O objetivo principal deste trabalho foi avaliar a presença e entender como são desenvolvidos os Fatores Críticos de Sucesso (FCSs) para a produtividade e competitividade dos estaleiros da construção naval do Vale do Itajaí - SC. Buscou-se também, como objetivos específicos, identificar quais FCSs podem colaborar para a produtividade e competitividade dos estaleiros, quais de seus FCSs devem ser aperfeiçoados e identificar o grau de importância dos FCSs dessa indústria segundo a visão dos gestores dos estaleiros. Pretendeu-se analisar também se os estaleiros possuem em seu processo de fabricação elementos da produção enxuta. O presente estudo consiste em uma pesquisa qualitativa e de caráter exploratório, sendo o método de pesquisa utilizado o estudo de caso. Para a coleta de dados, representantes dos estaleiros da construção naval do Vale do Itajaí foram entrevistados. A observação direita foi realizada a partir da Rapid Plant Assessment (RPA), desenvolvida por Goodson (2002). Conclui-se em relação aos FCSs que podem colaborar para a produtividade e competitividade dos estaleiros que é essencial que se tenha políticas governamentais que fomentem o crescimento dessa indústria e que ela possua fornecedores situados no Vale do Itajaí. Parcerias entre estaleiros universidades e escolas técnicas para a geração de mão de obra também são necessárias. Por sua vez, em relação aos FCSs que devem ser aperfeiçoados destaca-se que há poucas parcerias para o desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias tanto entre os estaleiros e sua cadeia de suprimento, quanto em relação aos estaleiros e as universidades e os centros de pesquisas. Deve ser aperfeiçoada também a gestão da informação. Nenhum estaleiro registra de maneira formal o conhecimento e experiências de seus funcionários. Em relação aos fatores importantes para o desenvolvimento dos estaleiros da indústria da construção naval do Vale do Itajaí, receberam de seus representantes notas máximas o estabelecimento de contratos com fornecedores por longos períodos e o recebimento dos recursos do Fundo da Marinha Mercante. Quanto à analise realizada para verificar se os estaleiros possuem em seu processo de fabricação elementos da produção enxuta que apoiem a sua produtividade e competitividade, verificou baixa adequação. / The main objective of this work was to evaluate the presence and understanding how are developed the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) to productivity and competitiveness of shipbuilding in the Vale do Itajaí - SC. As specific objectives, it sought to identify which CSFs can collaborate for a shipyard\'s productivity and competitiveness, which of its CSFs should be improved and to recognize the degree of importance of the CSFs of this industry according to a shipyard managers\' view. Also it was analyzed if the shipyards have in their manufacturing process elements of the lean thinking production . The present study consists of a qualitative and exploratory research, being the research method used in the case study. For data collection, representatives of shipbuilding in the Vale do Itajaí were interviewed. The direct observation was made from the Rapid Plant Assessment (RPA), developed by Goodson (2002). It can be concluded with respect to the CSFs that can collaborate for a productivity and competitiveness of the shipyards that it is essential to have government policies that foster the growth of the industry and that it has suppliers located in the Vale do Itajaí. Partnerships between universities and technical colleges for a generation of manpower are also needed. In relation to the FSCs that need to be improved, it should be noted that there are few partnerships for the development of new technologies between shipyards and their supply chain, as well as for shipyards and universities and research centers. Information management must also be improved. No shipbuilding recorder in formal or known form and experiences of its employees. Regarding important factors to the development of shipyards in the shipbuilding industry of the Vale Itajaí, they received their maximum declarations or the establishment of representatives with suppliers for long periods and the receipt of the resources of the Merchant Marine Fund. In relation to analyze if the shipyards has in its fabrication process elements of lean manufacturing, it was verified low adequacy.

abstract: The Vietnam Construction Industry (VCI) has been facing risks that cause delays, budget overrun, and low customer satisfaction that required continuously research efforts to manage them. This research assesses the current conditions of the VCI in terms of performance, common risks, and success factors; and explores the potential of using the Best Value Approach (BVA), an innovative procurement and project management technology, to improve overall VCI performance. VCI risk factors were presented in an analysis of the data collected from a survey that include the 23 common risk factors that cause non-performance in construction projects in developing countries. The factors were consolidated from an extensive literature reviews, and inputs were solicited from 103 construction practitioners in Vietnam. The study reveals the top five risk factors as the bureaucratic administrative system, financial difficulties of owner, slow payment of completed works, poor contractor performance, financial difficulties of contractor. Factor analysis explored the correlations among the risks and yielded four outcomes – Lack of Site and Legal Information, Lack of Capable Managers, Poor Deliverables Quality, and Owner’s Financial Incapability. VCI success factors were revealed from a survey that is adopted from 23 Critical Success Factors (CSFs) related to common construction risks, found through extensive literature reviews, and inputs were solicited from 101 VCI participants. The experts ranked those CSFs with respect to impact to project success. The study reveals the top impactful CSFs such as all project parties clearly understand their responsibilities, more serious consideration during contractor selection stage, test contractors’ experience and competency through successful projects in the past. Factor analysis was conducted to explore the principal success factor groupings and yielded four outcomes – Improving Management Capability, Adequate Pre-Planning, Stakeholders’ Management, and Performance-based Procurement. An analysis from six industry experts determined how current VCI conditions, namely risk and success factors, are related to BVA. Sixteen BVA success principles were identified and ranked based on their perceived impact to project performance by an industry survey with 98 VCI practitioners. The results show high agreement rate with all sixteen BVA principles. The majority of participants agreed that BVA would improve project performance and were interested in learning more about BVA. The results encourage further BVA testing and education in the VCI. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Construction Management 2019

In the United States, although foreign-born individuals are more than twice as likely to start new ventures, immigrant-owned businesses often fail within the first 5 years. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that U.S.-based Togolese small business owners who were engaged in entrepreneurial activities in Togo. The Schumpeterian entrepreneurship theory underpinned the study and served as a theoretical reference. Interview data were collected from 20 successful Togolese small business owners who resided in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, who were engaged in entrepreneurial activities in Togo, and who had been in business for more than 5 years. Data analysis involved using coding techniques and word clustering, with the invocation of qualitative data analytical software. The use of methodological triangulation enabled deeper analysis and added to the rigor of the study. The 4 key themes emerging from the coding and thematic analysis of interviews included (a) entrepreneurial motivation and attributes, (b) overcoming financial hardship, (c) leveraging information technologies, and (d) addressing challenges in the dual business environment. The findings of the study may advance contribution to positive social change as immigrant business owners may use the knowledge to improve business success, which could lead to the creation of jobs and improvement in the standard of living of U.S.-based Togolese entrepreneurs. The discoveries from the research may also contribute to positive social change for local communities in Togo, as the diaspora flow of investments and remittances from the United States may increase.

In an increasingly transparent and rapidly changing market customer demands needs to be satisfied in a more customized approach, while the rate of change in the business sector continues to increase. The relationship between technology and competition has been strengthened where technology represents great opportunities to achieve and maintain competitive advantages. Correct investment calculations can be crucial for enterprises, where unsuccessful investments within internal elements can lead to critical consequences. Despite the large investment required to implement an ERP system and the long implementation time, few enterprises remain within the budget and time frame. SME are exposed to greater financial risks where access to knowledge and resources are limited. The study aims to investigate the hidden costs that may exist when implementing an ERP system, which has been achieved using a qualitative method. Through interviews with enterprises and system suppliers, primary data has been collected and analyzed based upon the theoretical framework. The study results in the factors of precision, education and external integration as important aspects to consider when implementing ERP system.

Learning management systems (LMSs) are the technical foundation for online learning programs that offer benefits to learners in a variety of settings. As with many enterprise software systems, LMSs are expensive and carry considerable risk. Exploring critical success factors (CSFs) and using them as a foundation for decisions concerning complex software implementations helps increase the likelihood of success. This study addresses the gap in knowledge concerning CSFs for LMS implementations. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover CSFs by exploring the lived experiences of 8 association executives who identified themselves through email communications as having managed a successful LMS implementation. Organizations providing online continuing education programs were identified using a publicly available list, and program managers were identified from the organization's website. Interviews using semi-structured questions yielded a set of tightly correlated CSFs from 6 of the 8 participants. General systems theory and sociotechnical systems theory underpinned the study. Moustakas' data analysis methods were used to code the interviews and develop themes, which resulted in a set of actionable CSFs. Stakeholder support, a well-planned implementation, an experienced vendor, and software that provides a predictable user interface were among emergent CSFs for LMS implementations. This research may have a positive social impact because reducing the risk of LMS implementations will enable organizational leaders to extend learning opportunities to more individuals. Those opportunities, in turn, will lead to prosperity for membership associations and the industries they serve.

Critical success factors that contribute to project success in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have received insufficient attention in research. Guided by the goal-setting conceptual framework, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the human resource management (HRM) strategies used by owners of SMEs to achieve project success. Five owners of SMEs in St. Lucia participated in the research by contributing their experiences in using HRM strategies to achieve project success. Data were collected from SME owners using semistructured interviews, and from observations and analysis of company records. Data were manually analyzed using Yin's 5 phases. Five themes emerged from the thematic analysis of the data obtained from the interviews, observations, and company records: (a) financial rewards, (b) team meetings and briefings, (c) training and staff enhancement, (d) retention and loyalty, and (e) work-life balance. The HRM strategies used by the participants to achieve project success have implications for social change because project success can lead to the sustainability of SMEs, thereby creating employment and improving the quality of life for citizens who benefit from the successful infrastructural and social projects that owners of SMEs undertake.

Although considerable concern exists regarding immigrant businesses, few studies address immigrant small business owners' strategies for success and sustainability. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the strategies that immigrant small business owners in metro Atlanta, Georgia can use to sustain their business beyond 5 years. Cultural theory formed the conceptual framework for this study. A purposeful sample of 20 immigrant small business owners in metro Atlanta provided the data garnered from semistructured interviews for this research study. Using open coding, and modified van Kaam analysis of the interview data, 5 themes emerged for immigrant small businesses that were successful and survived beyond 5 years: strong work ethic and family dynamics, flexibility and independence, limited societal barriers, business experience, persistence and great customer service. Two themes emerged among immigrant small business owners whose businesses failed, which were, inadequate financial posture, and poor business and managerial knowledge. The findings of this study may contribute to social change as the strategies presented could guide new immigrants in establishing successful and sustainable immigrant small businesses. Results from this study could help educate small business owners about some of the causes of business failures.

The rapid growth of the internet and e-commerce provide new opportunities for China’s retailers, and a new battle for China’s retail industry has begun. The purpose of this research is to explore the barriers and factors for achieving successful e-tailing in China’s retail industry. Some past studies have investigated the success of e-commerce in the western context. This study aims to partially fill the gap created by the lack of research into e-commerce in the Asian context, by investigating successful e-tailing in China’s retail industry, and is based on a case study of the Shanghai Brilliance Group. Therefore, the research question is ‘How can successful e-tailing in China’s retail industry be achieved?’ Accordingly, three research issues are addressed:Research issue 1: How is e-tailing being used in the Shanghai Brilliance Group?Research issue 2: What are the barriers to the implementation of e-tailing in theShanghai Brilliance Group?Research issue 3: What are the factors for achieving successful e-tailing in theShanghai Brilliance Group?To investigate the research question and the three research issues, the following approaches were applied. Firstly, three parent disciplines were reviewed, namely, ecommerce, retail in China, and e-tailing success factors, in order to generate the research gap and a theoretical model. A theoretical model was developed, which included six factors and their variables. These six factors are: senior management factors, organisational factors, e-commerce strategies, external factors, consumer factors, and ecommerce system measurements. Secondly, the primary data for this research were collected from interviews (16 in-depth interviews and 3 focus group interviews) and a survey questionnaire (200 valid questionnaires).The findings for the first research issue showed that e-commerce is poorly implemented in the Shanghai Brilliance Group and its subsidiaries, but that e-commerce in the supermarket subsidiaries is more advanced than in the department stores. Only one department store is offering online shopping to their customers, while both supermarket subsidiaries offer online shopping. The rest of the department stores only use websites for advertising and promotion, or for limited customer service, such as award point checking. Moreover, only the Oriental Shopping Centre and Lian Hua Supermarket have specific teams or an out-sourced company controlling their e-commerce project. This shows that e-commerce is not being taken seriously in the Shanghai Brilliance Group to date.In relation to the second research issue, a total of nineteen barriers were identified from the interview data. Those barriers can be divided into two categories, namely, external barriers and internal barriers. Most of those barriers are consistent with those mentioned in the literature. However, some new barriers emerged from the data analysis process, including the mission of the organisation, and high profit objectives.The findings in relation to research issue 3 identified other important factors of e-tailing, besides those barriers answered in research issue 2. Most of the success factors reviewed in the literature were confirmed by the collected data and in addition, some new variables were explored. Overall, six groups of factors and 64 variables were addressed in this research as success factors for e-tailing. This included 57 out of the 59 variables which were previously mentioned in the literature and seven emergent variables.This research has made a contribution to both the theory and practice of e-tailing.Through qualitative analysis, this research not only identifies the important factors of e-tailing, but also generates a comprehensive model to guide the implementation of e-tailing by China’s retailers, especially the Shanghai Brilliance Group. Furthermore, this is the first study to investigate successful e-tailing in China’s retail industry. Accordingly, the proposed framework of this study provides a foundation for future research.

Dr. Christenson determined that the current project critical success factors identified in the literature are necessary but not sufficient to explain all project success. He explored the construct of 'project vision' as a critical success factor impacting project success. The findings of the multiple case studies strongly suggest that a project's 'vision' is a critical success factor to successful project outcomes. As such, the projects examined represented a continuum of change projects from changes to business practices to holistic cultural change (where the desired end state was not fully known). The project vision was found to be instrumental in signalling change to all stakeholders. Similarly, the project vision was found to be critical in knowledge management projects where the purpose is to share new, best or next best practices. The research also shows that the maintenance of a project vision has significant impacts on the successful completion of the project, especially on its timeliness for completion due to enhanced decision making. A project vision needs to be a shared vision of all stakeholders and the project champion, sponsor, and manager all have a role in communicating and maintaining the project vision throughout the lifecycle of the project. A multiple case study method was conducted within a public service organization. The study's findings provide a significant contribution to the practice of project management.

<p> </p><p>One of the major advancements in the IT industry during the 1990s was the development of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Beyond the high costs and significant amount of effort needed to implement such a system, the possible benefits for the organization in achieving more efficient operations and improving its competitive stance in the competitive business environment have been undoubted.</p><p>The high failure rates of ERP systems implementations (Soh et al., 2000; Willis and Willis-Brown; 2002) have paved the way for a chase from both academicians and practitioners to understand and pinpoint the critical success factors that positively impact this type of projects’ success.</p><p>Research has been done for ERP implementations in numerous environments but there is a serious gap in the literature regarding implementations in the Cypriot context. Furthermore, after the island’s accession to the European Union (EU) in 2004, the need for the governmental sector to harmonize its systems and processes according to EU directives and to provide efficient services through transparent processes to citizens of Cyprus urged public organizations to proceed with the adoption of ERP systems to serve these purposes from both technological and business aspects.</p><p>This thesis aims to investigate the critical success factors that foster the successful rollout of ERP implementation projects in Cypriot public sector organizations. From the literature review a research proposition is devised through the development of a theoretical framework consisting of 10 critical success factors. These factors are examined in the specific project environment and their applicability and impact in successful implementations is determined.</p><p>A qualitative approach has been followed, through a multiple-case study in three Cypriot public sector organizations, by conducting a set of 9 semi-structured interviews and analyzing the results to determine the theoretical framework’s fit in the particular context and furthermore to determine the criteria which are used to determine ERP implementation success in the specific projects.</p><p>The results of the study indicate that project success is evaluated solely based on three criteria; time, cost and quality. In addition, 9 out of the 10 factors of the theoretical framework appear to be critical for implementation success.</p><p> </p>