This research project endeavors to frame a methodology that can be used to categorize firm value strategies (production logics) and choices of factor inputs (tangible and intangible assets), which are used to fuel production cycles for goods and services outputs. A secondary goal of the research is to attempt to determine what asset group combinations (resources) are combined by various classes of firms to produce sustainable outcomes for the A/E/C firms in the survey. The National Bureau of Economic Research recently issued a system of national accounts (acknowledging both tangible and intangible assets) that reflects the macro-economy but at the same juncture, lamented the fact that a firm-level micro-economic schema did not exist to mirror the national system. This study makes an effort to redress that void by investigating how such a system of accounts - measured on the input side of the ledger -- could begin to fill in a gap in information and understanding as pointed out by participants in the National Academy of Sciences symposium of 2009 entitled "Intangible Assets: Measuring and Enhancing Their Contribution to Corporate Value and Growth." In brief, the research represents an effort to make a contribution to a growing body of knowledge about intangible assets by solidifying a framework within which both tangible and intangible assets may be more appropriately conceptualized and more adequately measured for purposes of current and future investigations. The research also provides a methodology for beginning to understand how some design and construction industry firms rely on specific asset categories for operating success, corporate stock value and business continuity. It is conceivable that managers would use a variation of the methodology to better balance ongoing investments in their firm's portfolio of tangible and intangible resources. The mixed methods used in this research support the following conclusions: 1) In terms of rank order of asset deployment categories by firms, intangible assets appear to have a modest edge over tangible assets for deployment by value shop firms (architecctural and engineering design firms), but these emphases are not consistent among value chain-oriented (construction) firms. 2) Although pronounced differences were expected, there was little evidence of differences in rank order of asset category accumulation and deployment by firms (according to the Delphi panel) regardless of whether the firm was focused on continuity and longevity or (alternatively) short-term profit maximization. 3) Because of their ambidexterity in production logic, the expert panel had difficulty placing EPC (Engineer - Procure - Construct), design-build and integrated services firms in a single Stabell - Fjeldstad value logic category, and a new composite category was posited based on Delphi panel feedback.

Bakgrund: Identifiering av immateriella tillgångar har visat sig vara ett problemfyllt område både för företagen och andra utövare. Tidigare studier har visat på att en stor del av köpeskillingen fördelats till goodwill vilket delvis kan vara ett resultat av immateriella tillgångar inte identifieras i tillräcklig utsträckning. Det har även påpekats att det finns ett stort svängrum inom regelverket som tillåter mycket individuella bedömningar.   Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka om det finns skillnader mellan branscher på den svenska marknaden avseende noterade företags identifiering av immateriella tillgångar vid det första redovisningstillfället efter rörelse-förvärv och i så fall vad orsakerna kan vara. Vi vill även undersöka om det går att urskilja en branschpraxis för identifiering av tillgångar och fördelning av köpeskillingen. Genomförande: Både en kvalitativ och en kvantitativ undersökning har genomförts. Branschjämförelser har gjorts för genomförda rörelseförvärv på Stockholmsbörsen under perioden 2005 till 2011. Den kvalitativa undersökningen, har baserats på intervjuer med fyra värderingsexperter.   Resultat: Av undersökningen framgår att det finns skillnader för hur företagen fördelat köpeskillingen till de tre tillgångslagen immateriella tillgångar, goodwill och netto materiella tillgångar men att det är svårt att göra en koppling till branschpraxis. Från intervjuer har vi dock konstaterat att det sannolikt förekommer att företag följer varandra vilket kan förklara skillnader mellan branscher. Fördelningarna påverkas också i stor utsträckning av förvärvets väsentlighet i förhållande till företaget som helhet. / Background: Identification of intangible assets has proven to be a problematic area for both the companies and accountingproffessionals. Previous studies have shown that a large part of the purchase price was allocated to goodwill, which may partly be a result of intangible assets not being recognized sufficiently. It has also been pointed out that there is a wide range in the regulatory framework that allows a lot of individual assessments.   Aim: The aim is to examine whether there are differences between industries in the Swedish market for listed companies' identification of intangible assets at initial recognition for business combinations and, if so, what the reasons may be. We also want to investigate whether it is possible to discern an industry practice for the identification of assets and the allocation of the purchase price.   Completion: Both qualitative and quantitative research has been conducted. The quantitative part consists of industry comparisons of acquisitions on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm listings Small, Mid, Large Cap during the period 2005 to 2011. The qualitative part is based on interviews with four valuation experts.   Results: The study shows that there are differences in how the companies divided the purchase price between the three asset classes intangible assets, goodwill and net tangible assets, but that it is difficult to make a connection to industry practice. From the interviews, we have found that it is likely that companies follow each other, which may explain the differences between industries. The distributions are also influenced largely by the acquisition materiality in relation to the company as a whole.

過去，感知物件的互動方式大多發展於大型互動桌上，其技術主要是採用影像辨識來進行互動偵測，隨著平板的普及，我們希望能將大型互動桌的實體互動體驗帶到平板世界，然而現今平板使用之電容式觸控技術有別於大型互動桌之影像偵測技術，無法直接應用影像式的物件辨識方法，因此設計出一套結合平板電腦與感知物件的開發工具，目的是要讓互動設計的開發者能夠快速開發感知物件的互動模式。 而電容式實體互動物件設計較為複雜，對於互動設計的開發者而言，要去製作、開發這些互動物件不論是在電路或是實體物件都是有一定的難度，並不是所有的開發者都擁有相關的背景或是資源。而為了讓原型製作更加的簡單在軟體上我們設計了一套SDK，在硬體上結合了樂高積木和導電的膠帶，不僅製作快速、成本低，在組裝上也能擁有一致的規格以減少誤差的發生。藉由其底座組合方式的差異也就代表著不同的感知物件。因此開發者只需套用我們所設計的SDK就可以將原有的作品加上實體互動物件的互動模式。 / The Tangible User Interface (TUI) has been widely adopted on interactive tabletops by using optical sensing techniques and fiducial markers. With the huge growth of smartphone and tablet market, we hope to expand the tangible interaction experience to the off-the-shelf touch devices. However, most touch devices use capacitive sensing techniques that can only detect human fingers. We create a tangible hardware toolkit base on capacitive touch devices so developers can use it to build tangible interactions in a fast way. We put conductive adhesive tape on LEGO blocks to form an identifiable footprint. The footprint could be attached onto a tangible object. And the pattern of the footprint could be easily arranged to represent different identities. We also provide a flash SDK that can be quickly integrated into a developer’s project and then enable tangible interactions. We expect our hardware toolkit and software SDK can benefit more developers to create tangible UI applications on the capacitive touch devices.

Cette dissertation décrit le design, implémentation et évaluation de nouvelles applications en Réalité Augmentée Spatiale (RAS). Ces applications sont concentrées sur l'amélioration du dessin physique tel que les dessins au crayons ou peintures en projetant des outils numériques.Tout d'abord, nous décrivons notre système de RAS et ses possibilités. Il prend en comptes les paramètres internes et externes d'un couple caméra/projecteur pour permettre une projection précise sur des feuilles de papier. De plus, il permet la détection du toucher des feuilles et de la position de la main au dessus de celles-ci grâce à une caméra de profondeur. Par conséquent, il permet la création d'écrans tactiles interactifs sur des feuilles de papier posées sur une table.Ensuite, nous nous penchons sur la création d'art visuel, plus précisément sur les premières étapes de la création quand l'artiste créer la structure. Nous offrons la possibilité de créer et d'éditer des lignes de construction numériques (LCN) projetées sur le papier. Ces outils sont des outils de Réalité Augmentée (RA), c'est-à-dire qu'ils s'ajoutent aux outils existants: toute l'interface utilisateur est sur la table, et l'utilisateur n'utilise jamais ni une souris, ni un clavier ni un écran. En plus des simples LCN (lignes et courbes), nous proposons une spécialisation pour les dessins spécifiques tels que les dessins en perspective, les dessins de personnages ainsi que les dessins à partir d'un modèle 3D. Nous proposons de nouvelles méthodes pour afficher et interagir avec des objets 3D sur papier. Nous proposons également de créer des dessins mixtes:art visuel interactif qui tire parti à la fois des possibilités physiques et numériques.Pour finir, nous décrivons des nouveaux usages pour notre système de RAS de nombreux contextes différents à travers des démonstrations publiques. L'acceptabilité de ce genre de système a été très bonne, et "magique" par la plupart des utilisateurs. Ils ont juste vu et interagis avec des feuilles de papier sans remarquer le système de projection et suivi.

Un jeu pédagogique constitue une déclinaison relative à l'apprentissage du concept de jeu sérieux (serious game). Ce type d'outil permet la ludification (gamification) de l'activité afin d'utiliser des éléments de jeu dans un contexte non ludique et conduit à catalyser l'attention, faire accroître l'engagement et augmenter la motivation des joueurs-apprenants dans les situations d'apprentissage. Les jeux pédagogiques reposent sur la mise en situation et l'immersion des apprenants, utilisant les ressorts ludiques dans des simulations axées vers la résolution de problèmes. Parmi des recherches antérieures, certains retours d'expériences font écho d'une trop grande artificialité de l'activité notamment par manque de contextualisation de l'apprentissage dans l'environnement d'utilisation des connaissances apprises. Nous avons proposé la mise en place un environnement mixte (physique et numérique) et l'utilisation de techniques collaboratives pour raffiner l'approche pédagogique. Ces orientations nous ont menés à la mise en place de ce que nous appelons des "Jeux Pédagogiques Collaboratifs Situés " (JPCS). Les deux questions de recherche qui nous ont été posées dans le cadre du projet SEGAREM et qui sont devenues les nôtres sont : 1/ comment accompagner les jeux sérieux par l'approche Réalité Augmentée (RA) et l'approche Interface Tangible (IT)? 2/ comment rendre la conception et la mise en œuvre des JPCS (Jeux Pédagogiques Collaboratifs Situés) plus explicite et plus systématique ? Les réponses que nous présentons dans cette thèse sont les suivantes : 1/ la conception et la mise en œuvre des pupitres interactifs supportant des objets réels augmentés, associés à un protocole de communication existant, proposant un support générique des techniques d'interaction détectée et de prise en compte du contexte physique d'utilisation ; 2/ une approche de production de JPCS se situant après l'étape de scénarisation ludo-pédagogique qui constitue notre cahier des charges. Nous avons basé notre approche sur des modèles pour permettre un support d'expression qui précise les caractéristiques des JPCS. Ces modèles sont soutenus par des éditeurs contextuels et produisent comme résultat des fichiers de descriptions en XML. La projection des descriptions obtenues sur une architecture générique d'exécution du JPCS permet une spécialisation pour obtenir une version exécutable. Dans les six modèles, certains sont adaptés des travaux antérieurs de l'équipe, d'autres issues de la littérature et les derniers sont directement proposés ici. Ces six modèles décrivent l'activité (un modèle d'orchestration de l'activité et un modèle de tâches), la structure de différents environnements, l'état initial de l'environnement et les conditions nécessaires d'un état final et les interactions possibles entre les joueurs et l'environnement. Nos travaux tant sur les pupitres que sur les modèles et le support d'exécution ont été concrétisés dans la mise en place de Lea(r)nIt. Ce JPCS avait pour but de consolider des acquis méthodologiques en Lean Manufacturing par l'utilisation et l'optimisation d'une chaîne de production simulée sur pupitres (supportant interactions tactiles, interactions tangibles et pouvant être assemblés) et sur téléphones mobiles (permettant la mobilité des joueurs-apprenants).

Visualizations in the most general sense of external, physical representations of information are older than the invention of writing. Generally, external representations promote external cognition and visual thinking, and humans developed a rich set of skills for crafting and exploring them. Computers immensely increased the amount of data we can collect and process as well as diversified the ways we can represent it visually. Computer-supported visualization systems, studied in the field of information visualization (infovis), have become powerful and complex, and sophisticated interaction techniques are now necessary to control them. With the widening of technological possibilities beyond classic desktop settings, new opportunities have emerged. Not only display surfaces of arbitrary shapes and sizes can be used to show richer visualizations, but also new input technologies can be used to manipulate them. For example, tangible user interfaces are an emerging input technology that capitalizes on humans' abilities to manipulate physical objects. However, these technologies have been barely studied in the field of information visualization. A first problem is a poorly defined terminology. In this dissertation, I define and explore the conceptual space of embodiment for information visualization. For visualizations, embodiment refers to the level of congruence between the visual elements of the visualization and their physical shape. This concept subsumes previously introduced concepts such as tangibility and physicality. For example, tangible computing aims to represent virtual objects through a physical form but the form is not necessarily congruent with the virtual object. A second problem is the scarcity of convincing applications of tangible user interfaces for infovis purposes. In information visualization, standard computer displays and input devices are still widespread and considered as most effective. Both of these provide however opportunities for embodiment: input devices can be specialized and adapted so that their physical shape reflects their functionality within the system; computer displays can be substituted by transformable shape changing displays or, eventually, by programmable matter which can take any physical shape imaginable. Research on such shape-changing interfaces has so far been technology-driven while the utility of such interfaces for information visualization remained unexploited. In this thesis, I suggest embodiment as a design principle for infovis purposes, I demonstrate and validate the efficiency and usability of both embodied visualization controls and embodied visualization displays through three controlled user experiments. I then present a conceptual interaction model and visual notation system that facilitates the description, comparison and criticism of various types of visualization systems and illustrate it through case studies of currently existing point solutions. Finally, to aid the creation of physical visualizations, I present a software tool that supports users in building their own visualizations. The tool is suitable for users new to both visualization and digital fabrication, and can help to increase users' awareness of and interest in data in their everyday live. In summary, this thesis contributes to the understanding of the value of emerging physical representations for information visualization.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T16:34:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ion de Freitas.pdf: 802705 bytes, checksum: 4e00d50acf069e67f95c70b5e2f49f04 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-12-10 / The goal of this study was to describe the dimension levels of social support (emotional and practical) and of emotional balance, to analyze its correlations and to investigate its relations with socio-demographic variables of a group of people who participate of a program of emotional and informational support in a charity institution of São Paulo. The researched sample, chosen randomly, consisted of 95 males and females with average age of 47, 99 years (SD=12,11). The gathering data instrument was an auto fill questionnaire composed by two measures which checked the variables of the study (perception, social support, positive and negative affects), besides the socio-demographic data. Descriptive statistic analyzes were used, differences between averages were tested, and correlation rates between variables were calculated as well. The results have shown that there are no significant differences in the perception of social support (emotional and practical) and the socio-demographic variables, sex, work, study, volunteering, time at the institution, level of education and marital status. The youngest, less than 30 years old, revealed more perception of social support (emotional and practical). They also revealed that there is no significant difference of the emotional balance towards the socio-demographic variable, except for the volunteer work which echoed expressive and positively over the emotional balance. The analyses of the relations between social support (emotional and practical) and age revealed the existence of a significant correlation, low and negative, that is, with an increase in age there s a tendency to lightly describe the perception of social support. The description of the levels of social support revealed that the perceptions of emotional and practical support (tangible and appraisal support) are significantly different, though the difference between the averages is small, prevailing the perception of higher emotional support. The description of the emotional balance scores showed that around three quarters of the interviewed have registered positive emotional balance and around one fourth have registered negative emotional balance. Significant correlation between emotional balance and age were not identified. The analyses of the relations between emotional support, practical support and emotional balance reveled significant and positive correlations, that is, with an increase in perception of the social support (emotional and practical) there is a tendency to increase the emotional balance. The results of this study might contribute to the comprehension of the psychological state of the investigated individuals, as well as, raise, to the managers of institutions, reflections on the improvement of assistential program services.(AU) / O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever os níveis de dimensões de suporte social (emocional e prático) e de balanço emocional, analisar as suas correlações e investigar as suas relações com variáveis sócio demográficas de um grupo de pessoas que participam de programa de apoio emocional e informacional em uma instituição beneficente de São Paulo. A amostra pesquisada, escolhida aleatoriamente, consistiu de 95 pessoas do sexo masculino e feminino com idade média de 47,99 anos (DP=12,11). O instrumento de coleta de dados foi um questionário de auto preenchimento composto por duas medidas que aferiram as variáveis de estudo (percepção de suporte social, afetos positivos e negativos), além dos dados sócio demográficos. Foram utilizadas análises estatísticas descritivas, testadas diferenças entre médias, bem como calculados os índices de correlação entre as variáveis. Os resultados mostraram que não há diferenças significativas na percepção de suporte social (emocional e prático) e as variáveis sócio demográficas sexo, trabalho, estudo, voluntariado, permanência na instituição, escolaridade e estado civil. Os mais jovens, com menos de 30 anos, revelaram maior percepção do suporte social (emocional e prático). Revelaram também que não há diferença significativa do balanço emocional em relação às variáveis sócio demográficas, com exceção do trabalho voluntário que repercutiu expressiva e positivamente no balanço emocional. A análise das relações entre suporte social (emocional e prático) e idade revelou existir uma correlação significativa, baixa e negativa, isto é, com o aumento da idade há uma tendência a decrescer levemente a percepção de suporte social. A descrição dos níveis de suporte social revelou que as percepções de suporte emocional e prático são significativamente diferentes, embora a diferença entre as médias seja pequena, prevalece a percepção de maior suporte emocional. A descrição dos escores de balanço emocional revelou que cerca de três quartos dos entrevistados registrou balanço emocional positivo e cerca de um quarto registrou balanço emocional negativo. Não foi constatada correlação significativa entre balanço emocional e idade. As análises das relações entre suporte emocional, suporte prático e balanço emocional revelaram correlações significativas e positivas, isto é, com um acréscimo na percepção de suporte social (emocional e prático) há a tendência de acréscimo no balanço emocional. Portanto, os resultados deste estudo poderão contribuir para a compreensão do quadro psicológico dos indivíduos pesquisados, bem como, suscitar aos gestores de instituições reflexões para o aprimoramento dos serviços de programas assistenciais.(AU)

This master thesis compares the main differences between CAS and IFRS in the field of long-lived assets. The aim of the thesis is to analyze differences between CAS and IFRS in the field of long-lived assets and apply these differences to the example of the concrete entity. The thesis is divided into two major parts, the first part is a theoretical part and the second part is a practical part . The theoretical part focuses on long-lived tangible and intangible assets according to CAS and IFRS. At the end of the theoretical part there is a comparison and the main differencies between both accounting systems. The practical part describes specific accounting examples, comparing the impacts of individual accounting operations of long-lived assets of CAS and IFRS. These operations concern chosen items of long-lived assets, income statement and balance sheet. It describes the impacts of these accounting operations on the income statement and the balance sheet.

The main objective of this study was to explain top management perceptions of industry and firm effects on firm performance through the mediation of competitive advantage in financial service firms operating in a regulated industry in a developing Ethiopian economy. The resource-based and industry-based views, constituting the two main schools of thought explaining performance variations among firms, were used as theoretical foundation of this study. Porter’s five-forces framework was used during this process. The researcher employed a post-positivist paradigm using a cross-sectional survey design. A total of 27 financial service firms (15 banks and 12 insurance firms) that had functioned for three and more years were selected for the study. The unit of analysis was ‘firms’, while respondents were top level managers with a total target population of less than 300. A census survey rather than a sample survey was undertaken. A total of 287 survey questionnaires were distributed (banks 180 and insurance industry 107), of which 215 were collected from 26 firms (15 banks and 11 insurance firms). Of the questionnaires 206 were properly completed leading to a valid response rate of 71%. These were used for the data analysis. A variance-based PLS-SEM approach, which is relevant to evaluate the predictive effects of the industry and firm factors on firm performance, was used to explain the hypothesized model using SmartPLS 2.00 software as well as the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program. The assessment of the hypothesized model indicated that the R2 result on firm performance variance due to the combined industry effects and firm effects was 39%, indicating a moderately significant predictive accuracy of the model. The relative direct effect size (f2) of the industry on firm performance was 3%, while firm had a direct effect size of 2%, which was small. The combined indirect relative predictive accuracy of industry and firm effect sizes on firm performance through competitive advantage was high at 27%. This was driven by the relative substantial predictive power of firm effect on competitive advantage (f2 = 65%). Furthermore, the predictive capability (Q2) assessment result of the model indicated that both industry and firm effects had a 23% relevant predictive power on firm performance. The direct relative measure of the predictive relevance (q2) value of industry effect (q2 = 0.02) on firm performance was relatively higher than that of the firm effect (q2 = 0.01). Competitive advantage had a relative predictive power of 0.12, which was driven by the direct relative predictive capability of firm effect (q2 = 0.25) on competitive advantage. The overall assessment results of the structural model revealed that the model had satisfactory statistical power to predict the hypothetical research model. The hypothesis that industry effects had an influence on the performance of financial service firms was not supported. The result indicated that industry effects had a positive and non-significant relationship with firm performance, which points to competitiveness in the financial services industry. These results were achieved against the tenets of Porter’s five-forces framework. The hypothesis that firm effects had a positive predictive effect on firm performance was also not supported, indicating that resources and capabilities do not directly lead to improved firm performance. The direct effect of competitive advantage on firm performance was supported. The mediating effect of competitive advantage between industry effects and firm performance was not significant, while the mediation of competitive advantage between firm effects and firm performance was highly significant. The findings of this study revealed that firm effects were relevant through the mediation of competitive advantage in explaining performance variances among financial service firms, operating in a strictly regulated industry. The relative predictive power of firm effect on competitive advantage was high. Firm resources, particularly intangible resources and dynamic capabilities, are the key predictors of firm performance indirectly through the mediation of competitive advantage. Such an advantage may not last long given the excessive supervision and regulations that exist and the fact that firms are being dictated to by the government to comply with its strategic direction as opposed to pursuing their own firm specific strategies. Such practice could encourage competing financial firms to converge and pursue similar types of strategies and encourage imitations to gain short term competitive advantage and superior performance. This finding contradicts the fundamental premise of the resource-based view and firm heterogeneity even though it tentatively supports the argument made by Foss and Knudsen (2003) who argue that heterogeneity is not a necessary condition to gain competitive advantage and superior firm performance. Financial service firms should not only develop and manage their resources and capabilities, but they should also monitor the changes in the industry. This finding highlights the fact that firms can create competitive advantage and enjoy superior performance in a closed and regulated industry. The findings of this research make a significant contribution to the existing debate on the resource-based and industry-based views in explaining the causes of firms’ performance variations specifically in a regulated environment. / Business Management / D.B.L.

The main objective of this study was to explain top management perceptions of industry and firm effects on firm performance through the mediation of competitive advantage in financial service firms operating in a regulated industry in a developing Ethiopian economy. The resource-based and industry-based views, constituting the two main schools of thought explaining performance variations among firms, were used as theoretical foundation of this study. Porter’s five-forces framework was used during this process. The researcher employed a post-positivist paradigm using a cross-sectional survey design. A total of 27 financial service firms (15 banks and 12 insurance firms) that had functioned for three and more years were selected for the study. The unit of analysis was ‘firms’, while respondents were top level managers with a total target population of less than 300. A census survey rather than a sample survey was undertaken. A total of 287 survey questionnaires were distributed (banks 180 and insurance industry 107), of which 215 were collected from 26 firms (15 banks and 11 insurance firms). Of the questionnaires 206 were properly completed leading to a valid response rate of 71%. These were used for the data analysis. A variance-based PLS-SEM approach, which is relevant to evaluate the predictive effects of the industry and firm factors on firm performance, was used to explain the hypothesized model using SmartPLS 2.00 software as well as the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program. The assessment of the hypothesized model indicated that the R2 result on firm performance variance due to the combined industry effects and firm effects was 39%, indicating a moderately significant predictive accuracy of the model. The relative direct effect size (f2) of the industry on firm performance was 3%, while firm had a direct effect size of 2%, which was small. The combined indirect relative predictive accuracy of industry and firm effect sizes on firm performance through competitive advantage was high at 27%. This was driven by the relative substantial predictive power of firm effect on competitive advantage (f2 = 65%). Furthermore, the predictive capability (Q2) assessment result of the model indicated that both industry and firm effects had a 23% relevant predictive power on firm performance. The direct relative measure of the predictive relevance (q2) value of industry effect (q2 = 0.02) on firm performance was relatively higher than that of the firm effect (q2 = 0.01). Competitive advantage had a relative predictive power of 0.12, which was driven by the direct relative predictive capability of firm effect (q2 = 0.25) on competitive advantage. The overall assessment results of the structural model revealed that the model had satisfactory statistical power to predict the hypothetical research model. The hypothesis that industry effects had an influence on the performance of financial service firms was not supported. The result indicated that industry effects had a positive and non-significant relationship with firm performance, which points to competitiveness in the financial services industry. These results were achieved against the tenets of Porter’s five-forces framework. The hypothesis that firm effects had a positive predictive effect on firm performance was also not supported, indicating that resources and capabilities do not directly lead to improved firm performance. The direct effect of competitive advantage on firm performance was supported. The mediating effect of competitive advantage between industry effects and firm performance was not significant, while the mediation of competitive advantage between firm effects and firm performance was highly significant. The findings of this study revealed that firm effects were relevant through the mediation of competitive advantage in explaining performance variances among financial service firms, operating in a strictly regulated industry. The relative predictive power of firm effect on competitive advantage was high. Firm resources, particularly intangible resources and dynamic capabilities, are the key predictors of firm performance indirectly through the mediation of competitive advantage. Such an advantage may not last long given the excessive supervision and regulations that exist and the fact that firms are being dictated to by the government to comply with its strategic direction as opposed to pursuing their own firm specific strategies. Such practice could encourage competing financial firms to converge and pursue similar types of strategies and encourage imitations to gain short term competitive advantage and superior performance. This finding contradicts the fundamental premise of the resource-based view and firm heterogeneity even though it tentatively supports the argument made by Foss and Knudsen (2003) who argue that heterogeneity is not a necessary condition to gain competitive advantage and superior firm performance. Financial service firms should not only develop and manage their resources and capabilities, but they should also monitor the changes in the industry. This finding highlights the fact that firms can create competitive advantage and enjoy superior performance in a closed and regulated industry. The findings of this research make a significant contribution to the existing debate on the resource-based and industry-based views in explaining the causes of firms’ performance variations specifically in a regulated environment. / Business Management / D.B.L.