Nesta pesquisa é estudada a atuação de um importante agente no funcionamento na cadeia produtiva do setor da construção civil, quais sejam as Empresas executoras de serviços de obras (EES), geralmente denominadas subempreiteiras (SE) ou empresas especializadas na execução de obras (EEE). Apesar de existirem várias pesquisas relacionadas com o estudo das suas características, existe pouca informação sobre como as EES estão organizadas. Nesse sentido, um marco analítico foi desenvolvido, analisando às EES segundo as capacidades possuídas para entregar seus resultados nas condições de competição encontradas. Para tanto, as causas que, por um lado, provocam o encerramento das atividades ou, por outro, a sua liderança no mercado foram estudadas sob a ótica de várias linhas do marketing relacionadas com a chamada lógica de serviço e com as correntes de vantagem competitiva sustentável (VCS). Tal marco empregou a noção de valor entregue no serviço prestado pelas EES a partir das suas fontes de VCS. Tais fontes foram discutidas em função dos ativos que as EES possuem. Tais ativos são compostos dos recursos tangíveis (como produtos, ferramentas, materiais, etc.) e intangíveis (como sistemas de gestão gerenciais e operacionais), que lhes permitem desenvolver uma estratégia de criação de valor de forma sustentável, também chamados de ativos estratégicos. Para seu desenvolvimento foi utilizado o método teoria fundamentada nos dados, entrevistando-se 6 representantes dos contratantes das EES, um consultor especialista em gestão empresarial, e 24 EES de 11 diferentes especialidades técnicas. As entrevistas ocorreram conjuntamente com a revisão bibliográfica e a análise dos resultados. A utilização do marco permitiu distinguir as EEE, um subconjunto das EES, em função das suas competências e acesso a recursos para produzir os seus serviços. Finalmente, espera-se que a abordagem desenvolvida nesta pesquisa seja utilizada para melhor entender as capacidades que as EES possuem para competir, servindo de base para futuras pesquisas sobre como melhorar as capacidades e condições de competição destas empresas. / This research studied the performance of an important agent in the construction industry, which are the trade executors (EES), usually called subcontractors (SE) and specialty contractors (EEE). Although there are several studies related to the study of their characteristics, little information exists about how EES are organized. In this sense, an analytical framework was developed to analyze the possessed ESS capabilities to deliver their results within the competition bounds. For this, the root causes of the closure activities and market leadership have been studied from the perspective of several lines of marketing related to call service logic and to sustainable competitive advantage (VCS). This framework used the concept of service value delivered by EES from their sources of VCS. These sources are discussed in terms of assets that have EES. Such assets consist of tangible assets (such as products, tools, materials, etc.) and intangible (such as management systems and operational systems) that allow them to develop a strategy to create sustainable value, also called strategic assets. The research method was \'grounded theory\', interviewing 6 representatives of their contractors, an expert consultant on business management, and 24 ESS of 11 different technical specialties. The interviews took place in conjunction with the literature review and analysis of results. The use of this method allowed us to distinguish the EEE, a subset of EES, depending on their possession of skills and access to resources to produce their service. Finally, it is expected that the approach developed in this research is used to better understand the capabilities that EES have within their competition, providing the basis for future research on how to improve the capacity and the competition of these firms.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:26:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Giancarlos Ricciardi.pdf: 995603 bytes, checksum: 7d2b63ee97db43e1a9e5d4fb76541d66 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-12-14 / This study reviewed the existence of a sustainable competitive advantage, by the Resource-Based View (RBV) perspective, based on knowledge management, precisely knowledge conversion methods defined under Nonaka and Takeuchi s SECI model (2004). Theoretical basis points SECI model as a vector for sustainable competitive advantage by RBV perspective, once companies obtain new knowledge applied on decision making process through the use thereof (CHOO, 2003). Therefore, through field research, this paper purpose aimed to identify the convergence between theoretical statements and managers vision concerning sustainable competitive advantages arising from the SECI model knowledge conversion. Based on statistical analysis of data gathered in 200 questionnaires, it has been concluded that the manager s vision is divergent from the conceptual indicators that qualify SECI model as vector for the sustainable competitive advantage under RBV perspective. Consequently, it has been identified that SECI model can, if so, be qualified as a source of competitive advantage, although not sustainable, thus characterizing a clear contradiction regarding the theories on such matter. The study represents an important finding that must be targeted for a deeper analysis in order to clarify such contradiction, and for better understanding its origins and implications. / O presente estudo analisou a existência de vantagem competitiva sustentável na perspectiva da Resource-Based View (RBV), tomando como base a gestão do conhecimento, mais precisamente os métodos de conversão do conhecimento definidos pelo modelo SECI de Nonaka e Takeuchi (2004). O embasamento teórico apresentado aponta o modelo SECI como vetor para a obtenção de vantagem competitiva sustentável na perspectiva da RBV já que, por meio deste, as empresas obtêm novos conhecimentos que serão aplicados no processo de tomada de decisão (CHOO, 2003). Desta forma, por meio de estudo de campo, este trabalho objetivou identificar a convergência da visão de gestores sobre a vantagem competitiva sustentável originada a partir do modelo SECI e do postulado teórico sobre o tema. Pela análise estatística de dados coletados por 200 questionários, concluiu-se que a visão do gestor é divergente dos indicadores conceituais que qualificam o modelo SECI como vetor de vantagem competitiva sustentável na perspectiva da RBV. Em decorrência da análise realizada, identificou-se que o modelo SECI pode, se tanto, ser qualificado como fonte de vantagem competitiva, porém não sustentável, caracterizando clara contradição em relação às teorias sobre o tema. O estudo representa importante conclusão que deve ser alvo de análises mais aprofundadas que objetivem o esclarecimento da contradição estabelecida e para que se obtenha melhor compreensão a respeito de suas origens e implicações.

The key to an organization's long-term success is a sustainable competitive advantage. In a global market characterized by fierce competition, organizations differentiate themselves no longer through their competitive position or technological or human resources but through knowledge. Such a decisive economic resource needs to be managed, giving rise to the theory of Knowledge Management (KM). Because knowledge is created and shared through social interactions, knowledge transfer is the most critical part of KM. Especially in tourist destinations, the diversity of stakeholders, each with unique skills and knowledge, represents great opportunities for innovation and the sustainable development of destinations but also great challenges. Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) are responsible to maintain the attractiveness of a destination by encouraging competing and complementary organizations to collaborate to exchange knowledge. Ultimately, the tourist experience and image of a destination are created interdependently by the tourism stakeholders. By conducting a case study in the destination of Kalmar, this paper aimed to explain to what extent a DMO manages inter-organizational knowledge transfer within a tourist destination. An explanatory sequence was used to gather primary data in three steps. First, a survey was conducted with local tourism stakeholders. Then, the local DMO and the university were interviewed. The data collected from 32 local tourism stakeholders suggest that tourism stakeholders, primarily SMEs, are lacking the resources to engage in knowledge transfer and overlook the value of external sources of knowledge. The findings of the interviews point to that there is a need to support tourism stakeholders with digitalization, to encourage tourism stakeholders to join a destination network and to close the knowledge gap through research produced by universities. This study contributes to gaining a broader understanding of the opportunities and challenges of inter-organizational knowledge transfer within the destination of Kalmar.

Our world is rapidly being redefined by digitalization and disruptive innovations such as changing customer preferences, demographical shifts, and by putting tremendous environmental pressure including scarce resources and a contribution to climate change. Change under these circumstances often brings traditional business models to lose their competitive edge and in the end fail. Previous research of the specific term successful models is vague with ambiguous definitions of the conceptualization of a sustainable business model. More alarming is the limited research addressing the sustainable innovation process thus explaining the existing organizational management problems, where today, firms are operating blindfolded without any academic- or empirical guidance. Fashion as a part of the world’s economy is undoubtedly considered as one of the areas that urgently requires the adoption of more sustainable business models, bringing all actors within the fashion retail industry into a challenging position. The thesis aims to contribute with theoretical knowledge and empirical evidence to bridge this gap by addressing following purpose: explore and improve the understanding of how traditional clothing retailers within the fashion retail industry innovate their current sustainable business models. The thesis is anchored in an exploratory case study at a traditional fashion retail company focusing on children apparel, namely Polarn O. Pyret. Finding shows that the case company simultaneously performs sustainability practices within their existing model, suggesting that a comparative approach can be appropriate when innovating already commercialized sustainable business models. Furthermore, empirical findings explicitly show five factors that differentiate the conventional concept with the sustainability concept of a business model. Thenceforth, the innovation process is explored from this context involving both advantages and challenges. Hence, the process occurs simultaneously, it is recommended to perform a variety of sustainability practices, to spread out the level of complexity and thereby optimize the utilization of resources. The thesis highlights an existing Pilot Prototype when implementing sustainability practices into the current model. Thereby, risks and uncertainty factors can be mitigated to ensure the implementation of sustainable competitive advantage. The thesis makes up for three contributions. First, a contribution with practical knowledge on how traditional clothing retailers is innovating their sustainable business model. Second, the study contributes with an increased understanding of the innovation process of launching successfully developed- or refined models. Third, the thesis makes an analytical contribution by the conceptual framework of references, forming a consolidation of the ambiguous conceptualization settled in a specific context. / Vår värld omdefinieras drastiskt av digitalisering och innovationer som skapar nya kundpreferenser, demografiska förändringar samt att genom en enorm miljöpress inklusive knappa resurser, bidra till klimatförändringarna. Förändringar under dessa omständigheter får ofta traditionella affärsmodeller att tappa sin konkurrenskraft och i slutändan misslyckas. Tidigare forskning av den specifika termen framgångsrika modeller är vag med tvetydiga definitioner av konceptualiseringen av en hållbar affärsmodell. Mer alarmerande är den begränsade forskningen som studerar den hållbara innovationsprocessen och därmed förklarar de befintliga problem för organisationsledningar, där företag idag arbetar utan någon akademisk- eller empirisk vägledning. Mode som en del av världens ekonomi betraktas utan tvekan som ett av de områden som brådskande kräver mer hållbara affärsmodeller, vilket sätter alla aktörer inom modebranschen i en utmanande position. Examensarbetet syftar till att bidra med teoretisk kunskap och empiriskt bevis för att överbrygga detta gap, genom att ta itu med följande syfte: utforska och förbättra förståelsen för hur traditionella klädförsäljare inom modebranschen utvecklar sina nuvarande hållbara affärsmodeller. Examensarbetet är förankrad i en undersökande fallstudie hos ett traditionellt klädesbolag, nämligen Polarn O. Pyret. Resultat visar att fallföretaget samtidigt utför hållbarhetspraxis inom sin befintliga modell, vilket indikerar att en jämförande strategi kan vara lämplig när man utvecklar redan kommersialiserade hållbara affärsmodeller. Vidare visar empiriska fynd fem faktorer som skiljer det konventionella konceptet med det hållbara för en affärsmodell. Från den här kontexten utforskas innovationsprocessen som involverar både fördelar och utmaningar. Då utvecklingen sker simultant rekommenderas det att utföra olika typer av hållbarhetspraxis för att sprida ut komplexitetsnivån och därmed få jämnfördelade resurser och samtidigt få konkurrenskraft. Examensarbetet belyser en befintlig akademisk pilotprototyp vid implementering av hållbarhetspraxis i den nuvarande modellen, därmed kan risker och osäkerhetsfaktorer mildras/överkommas för att säkerställa hållbara konkurrensfördelar. Examensarbetet bidrar till forskningen på tre sätt. Först och främst bidrar resultatet med kunskap om hur traditionella klädesbolag utvecklar sina befintliga hållbara affärsmodeller. För det andra bidrar studien till en ökad förståelse av innovationsprocessen för att lansera framgångsrika nya- eller förfinade modeller. Slutligen ger examensarbetet ett analytiskt bidrag genom den konceptuella referensramen för att skapa en konsolidering av den tvetydiga konceptualiseringen satt i ett specifikt sammanhang.

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Questo lavoro di ricerca poggia sulla solida convinzione che sia necessario un salto di qualità sia negli investimenti in capitale intellettuale che nelle pratiche di gestione manageriale, al fine di attivare un processo di crescita di lungo corso che duri nel tempo. Dal momento che l'economia della conoscenza riveste una sempre maggiore importanza, questo studio ha verificato gli effetti che le pratiche HR e le capacità di rinnovamento possono esercitare sul capitale intellettuale al fine di creare un vantaggio competitivo sostenibile. Il modello adottato ha considerato il capitale intellettuale come la somma di tre componenti: capitale umano, capitale relazionale e capitale strutturale. In un ambiente dinamico, come l'attuale, il capitale intellettuale può essere il fattore chiave per ottenere un vantaggio competitivo sostenibile, dal momento che è raro, di valore e difficile da imitare o sostituire. Per questa ragione, il presente studio ha esaminato gli elementi decisivi per la gestione del capitale intellettuale in un ambiente competitivo turbolento valutando l'impatto delle componenti del capitale intellettuale sulla soddisfazione dei dipendenti e la qualità del servizio. I dati analizzati nell'ambito di questa ricerca sono stati raccolti attraverso questionari a cui hanno risposto varie realtà operanti nel settore finanziario in Italia e alcuni dei loro partner, operanti nel settore ICT, specializzati in attività ad alta intensità di capitale umano come lo sviluppo di applicazioni informatiche. Sono state individuati alcuni importanti risultati. In primo luogo, le capacità di rinnovamento mediano la relazione tra le pratiche HR e le componenti del capitale intellettuale. In secondo luogo, il capitale umano ha un impatto positivo diretto sulla qualità del servizio. In terzo luogo, il capitale strutturale influenza positivamente la soddisfazione dei collaboratori. Quindi, la soddisfazione dei collaboratori e la qualità del servizio sono alimentati e sostenuti da differenti fattori chiave: il capitale strutturale e il capitale umano rispettivamente. Da una prospettiva pratica e manageriale questi risultati sono molto interessanti al fine di deliberare l'allocazione delle risorse aziendali per ottenere delle configurazioni di capitale intellettuale efficaci. Le ricerche future potrebbero indagare i contribuiti dei differenti portatori d'interesse sugli antecedenti e conseguenti del capitale intellettuale valutando la capacità di produrre valore e, come conseguenza, la soddisfazione dei portatori d'interesse adottando un approccio di tipo managing-for-stakeholders. I fornitori e i clienti rivestono un ruolo centrale nelle dinamiche aziendali e per questo meritano particolare attenzione negli studi che saranno svolti nel prossimo futuro. / This work is rooted in the conviction that our economies need both better investments in intellectual capital and better management practices in order to achieve higher long-term growth. Starting acknowledging the increasing importance of the knowledge economy phenomenon, this study assessed the effects that HR practices and renewal capability can exert on firm’s intellectual capital in order to create a sustainable competitive advantage. The adopted model has considered intellectual capital as the sum of three components: human capital, relational capital and structural capital. In a dynamic environment, such as today’s competitive arena, intellectual capital can be the key factor to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage, because it is rare, valuable and difficult to imitate or substitute. For this reason, the present study has examined the key drivers to manage intellectual capital in a turbulent environment evaluating the impact of firm’s intellectual capital components on employees’ satisfaction and service quality. This research has gathered data through surveys of various Italian business units operating in the financial sector and some of their ICT partners specialised in human capital-intensive activities such as software development. A set of findings has been generated. First, renewal capability mediates the relationships between HR practices and all intellectual capital components. Second, human capital has a direct positive relationship with service quality. Third, structural capital has a direct positive relationship with employees’ satisfaction. Hence, employees’ satisfaction and service quality are nurtured and fostered by different crucial drivers: structural capital and human capital respectively. From a managerial and practical perspective these findings are very interesting in order to deliberating the allocation of firms’ resources to obtain effective intellectual capital configurations. Future researches may investigate the contributions of different stakeholders to the antecedents of intellectual capital as well as the contributions to its consequences in order to produce value and, in turn, stakeholders’ satisfaction adopting a managing-for-stakeholders approach. Suppliers and customers play a central role and for this reason they deserve particular attention in future studies.

In studying organisational change in Air Seychelles, the context, content and process of change together with the interconnections of the airline and the tourism industry in Seychelles through time is explored. The literature review shows that the substantive issues of interest to this study, contextualism as a theory of methods in management research, requires a case based research in particular with regards to the following gaps in the literature: the integration of inner and outer perspectives on sustaining competitive advantage, and conceptual insights on how strategy links firms and their environment. The study adopted a contextual and processual framework to build a theoretical perspective of competitive advantage. The study contributes to the field of strategic management and tourism development in Seychelles in the following ways: firstly, the development of a contextual and processual framework to explain the transformation of firms over time; secondly, the development of an understanding of the historical context of the tourism industry and its interactions with other sectors of the Seychelles economy; thirdly, developing an understanding of how Air Seychelles developed its resources and capabilities to sustain competitive advantage; fourthly, linking change processes and action to performance and in a sense developing an understanding on strategy implementation of strategic management practice in Air Seychelles. The study sheds some light on strategy formation and implementation at the firm level, and the dynamics between the firm and the industry. The findings suggest that firms respond opportunistically to external discontinuities in a dynamic environment - the entrepreneurial leadership of a firm prepares and support managers to operate under conditions of great uncertainty and ambiguity and allows them to behave opportunistically. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / DBL / Thesis (D. B. L.)

In studying organisational change in Air Seychelles, the context, content and process of change together with the interconnections of the airline and the tourism industry in Seychelles through time is explored. The literature review shows that the substantive issues of interest to this study, contextualism as a theory of methods in management research, requires a case based research in particular with regards to the following gaps in the literature: the integration of inner and outer perspectives on sustaining competitive advantage, and conceptual insights on how strategy links firms and their environment. The study adopted a contextual and processual framework to build a theoretical perspective of competitive advantage. The study contributes to the field of strategic management and tourism development in Seychelles in the following ways: firstly, the development of a contextual and processual framework to explain the transformation of firms over time; secondly, the development of an understanding of the historical context of the tourism industry and its interactions with other sectors of the Seychelles economy; thirdly, developing an understanding of how Air Seychelles developed its resources and capabilities to sustain competitive advantage; fourthly, linking change processes and action to performance and in a sense developing an understanding on strategy implementation of strategic management practice in Air Seychelles. The study sheds some light on strategy formation and implementation at the firm level, and the dynamics between the firm and the industry. The findings suggest that firms respond opportunistically to external discontinuities in a dynamic environment - the entrepreneurial leadership of a firm prepares and support managers to operate under conditions of great uncertainty and ambiguity and allows them to behave opportunistically. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / DBL / Thesis (D. B. L.)

The aim of this study is to conduct a thorough theoretical study on the relevant aspects involved in knowledge management and organisational learning, and to assess the maturity level of knowledge management within the South African steel industry. Various aspects of knowledge, knowledge management and organisational learning with specific relation to sustainable competitive advantage are discussed in the literature study. During the literature research several factors which either promote or hinder the effective management of knowledge were identified and a list of lessons learned by other successful knowledge focused companies, are discussed. The critical success factors for a successful knowledge management program are also discussed. Knowledge can create a sustainable competitive advantage within an organisation, if successfully applied to make value adding decisions and to enable learning, and if it is applied to make decisions which are superior to that of its rivals across the supply chain. An integrated approach needs to be followed when KM is pursued and the knowledge must be applied to make value added decisions and facilitate learning across all processes in the value chain. The focus must be to retain an organisation’s tacit knowledge as this is a key success factor to ensure a sustainable competitive advantage. The study includes research on whether knowledge management is effectively used as a sustainable competitive advantage in the South African steel industry. The maturity level of the application of knowledge and learning principles implemented within the South African steel industry is assessed and compared to the maturity level of ArcelorMittal, Monlevade, located in Brazil. A survey was designed and distributed to determine the knowledge management and organisational learning maturity levels at two steel facilities of ArcelorMittal in South Africa and one facility in Brazil. The key problem areas as identified through the empirical research are discussed and it is concluded that South African facilities do not effectively use knowledge management as a sustainable competitive advantage. The maturity level of knowledge management in ArcelorMittal, South Africa is low compared to the maturity at Monlevade and rival companies such as Tata and Posco steel. A significant effort needs to be made in order to allow the effective creation, acquisition, sharing and leveraging of knowledge within the South African steel facilities. The key factors which constrain effective knowledge management is related to ineffective Human Resource policies, organisation structure, lack of knowledge exchange forums, collaboration and communication, coaching, and a lack of incentives to share tacit knowledge. It is also evident that knowledge is not seen as a sustainable competitive advantage by many respondents and that they perceive they do not have the time or capacity to transfer knowledge. Ten practical design principles were constructed and a knowledge management framework was developed to guide South African steel companies during the design and execution of a knowledge management programme which will ensure that knowledge management will result into a sustainable competitive advantage. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The aim of this study is to conduct a thorough theoretical study on the relevant aspects involved in knowledge management and organisational learning, and to assess the maturity level of knowledge management within the South African steel industry. Various aspects of knowledge, knowledge management and organisational learning with specific relation to sustainable competitive advantage are discussed in the literature study. During the literature research several factors which either promote or hinder the effective management of knowledge were identified and a list of lessons learned by other successful knowledge focused companies, are discussed. The critical success factors for a successful knowledge management program are also discussed. Knowledge can create a sustainable competitive advantage within an organisation, if successfully applied to make value adding decisions and to enable learning, and if it is applied to make decisions which are superior to that of its rivals across the supply chain. An integrated approach needs to be followed when KM is pursued and the knowledge must be applied to make value added decisions and facilitate learning across all processes in the value chain. The focus must be to retain an organisation’s tacit knowledge as this is a key success factor to ensure a sustainable competitive advantage. The study includes research on whether knowledge management is effectively used as a sustainable competitive advantage in the South African steel industry. The maturity level of the application of knowledge and learning principles implemented within the South African steel industry is assessed and compared to the maturity level of ArcelorMittal, Monlevade, located in Brazil. A survey was designed and distributed to determine the knowledge management and organisational learning maturity levels at two steel facilities of ArcelorMittal in South Africa and one facility in Brazil. The key problem areas as identified through the empirical research are discussed and it is concluded that South African facilities do not effectively use knowledge management as a sustainable competitive advantage. The maturity level of knowledge management in ArcelorMittal, South Africa is low compared to the maturity at Monlevade and rival companies such as Tata and Posco steel. A significant effort needs to be made in order to allow the effective creation, acquisition, sharing and leveraging of knowledge within the South African steel facilities. The key factors which constrain effective knowledge management is related to ineffective Human Resource policies, organisation structure, lack of knowledge exchange forums, collaboration and communication, coaching, and a lack of incentives to share tacit knowledge. It is also evident that knowledge is not seen as a sustainable competitive advantage by many respondents and that they perceive they do not have the time or capacity to transfer knowledge. Ten practical design principles were constructed and a knowledge management framework was developed to guide South African steel companies during the design and execution of a knowledge management programme which will ensure that knowledge management will result into a sustainable competitive advantage. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.