In the world's progressively globalized economy, national culture is becoming an increasingly relevant factor. For companies to be able to compete on both a domestic and an international scale, a holistic understanding of cultural values is necessary. This study compared the top 25 technological entrepreneurial firms in China and in the United States, respectively, to determine if there existed a difference in founder age, founder educational level, and management composition. Technological entrepreneurs in the United States are younger (p = .039) and less educated (p = .012) than technological entrepreneurs in China when they first establish their entrepreneurial firms. Additionally, there are more individual founders per American technological firm than there are for their Chinese counterparts. (p = .011) These findings on age, education level, and management composition are indicative of the underlying cultural values and business philosophies of each country. The results of the study can provide a better sense of the business and management principles that would be successful within the cultural context of the two nations.

This publication-based dissertation analyzes the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) and technological entrepreneurship on firm level over six chapters. The essence of this dissertation consists of four independent research papers developed for publication in academic journals whose peer review process is double-blinded. The first chapter offers a general introduction to the subject matter and provides a summary of the four research papers in this dissertation. The second chapter is a systematic literature review that focuses on the importance of AI in strategic management. The third chapter is a research paper that examines the significance of technology-driven entrepreneurship activities and provides crucial lessons from small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the manufacturing industry. The fourth chapter is a research paper that empirically examines how top management can encourage and facilitate AI-enabled business model innovation. The fifth chapter comprises a teaching case study and provides and understanding of how to implement an AI-based analytical tool in a firm. The sixth chapter outlines the main findings and contributions of this dissertation.

Desde el inicio del negocio hasta su etapa de madurez, el empresario trata de atraer y a su vez establecer una serie de acciones que permitan que el cliente no se aleje del negocio. Por este motivo la empresa tiene como acciones a ejecutar la gestión del cliente y el análisis del cliente para optimizar el resultado de estas acciones. En el mercado de empresas PYME el uso de herramientas tecnológicas es limitado, por este motivo la presente tesis tiene como objetivo el desarrollo de un plan de negocio rentable y escalable para una empresa consultora en implementación de una plataforma de Customer Intelligence y desarrollo de estrategias. En toda empresa tanto los procesos de Marketing y Comerciales permiten el incremento del margen y crecimiento de la marca dentro del mercado, esto debido a que sus funciones están en el entendimiento del cliente y del mercado. Estas funciones usualmente se encuentran semiautomatizadas, por lo que con la propuesta presentada se busca solucionar este gap, estableciendo una propuesta de valor centrada en el desarrollo de un plan de negocio de una empresa consultora sistemas automatizados de Customer Intelligence. La presenta tesis demuestra la viabilidad del negocio en el mercado. Asimismo, se ha evaluado si el negocio propuesto es viable tanto a nivel estratégico como operativo. Cabe destacar que la tesis evidencia en la evaluación financiera una rentabilidad aceptable representada con un TIR de 22% en el peor escenario, así como un VAN de S/.66,929 en un periodo de 5 años. / From the beginning of the business until its maturity stage, the entrepreneur tries to attract and at the same time establish a series of actions that allow the customer to stay with the business. For this reason the company has as actions to execute the customer management and customer analysis to optimize the result of these actions. In the SME market the use of technological tools is limited, for this reason this thesis aims to develop a profitable and scalable business plan for a consulting firm in the implementation of a Customer Intelligence platform and strategy development. In every company both Marketing and Commercial processes allow the increase of the margin and growth of the brand within the market, this because their functions are in the understanding of the customer and the market. These functions are usually semi-automated, so the proposal presented seeks to solve this gap, establishing a value proposition focused on the development of a business plan for a consulting company with automated Customer Intelligence systems. This thesis demonstrates the viability of the business in the market. Likewise, it has been evaluated whether the proposed business is viable at both strategic and operational levels. It should be noted that the thesis shows in the financial evaluation an acceptable profitability represented with an IRR of 22% in the worst scenario, as well as an NPV of S/.66,929 in a period of 5 years. / Trabajo de investigación