Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Given the constant need for change, innovation generated by technology-based companies are able to make changes and efficient business models in increasingly insecure markets. At the same time, the context in which the technology industry of the country has gained more attention over the last decade by demonstrating how much domestic companies aim to develop this sector into a source of growth for Brazil. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the role of internationalization influential on the international performance of technology-based companies (EBTs). For this purpose, an analysis was conducted, with a quantitative research which has been achieved by a survey execution, applied by the use of a questionnaire. Data collection was made by a 53 Brazilian EBTs located in innovation environments. Data were analyzed with univariate, bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques. The conceptual model of the research is based on two premises. For the internationalization influential analysis the Ribeiro et al. (2014) template has been used and for the international performance assessment the Gerschewski, Rose e Lindsay (2015) has been applied. With the results obtained, it was found that the internationalization influential linked directly to the company, concerning its internal and entrepreneur environment, are more relevant for the internationalization of EBTs than factors belonging to the external environment and which are not of total control of the companies. Therefore it was found that for the companies included in the sample, invest in international business is yet another result of their skills and management abilities than the benefits that the environment in which they operate can provide. On the other hand, regarding the role of those influencers on the international performance, it was found that while the external and internal factors generate a positive influence on the international performance, the factors related to the entrepreneur provide do not have an influence on such variable. By these means, it can be inferred that the determinants of such performance can be established by the following factors: (a) participate or have participated in some innovation habitats; (b) forming partnerships and strategic alliances for innovation; (c) making use of national government for internationalization; (d) develop innovation capabilities; (e) be geared to the international market; and (f) have international marketing skills. / Diante da constante necessidade de mudanças, a inovação gerada pelas Empresas de Base Tecnológica é capaz de formular mudanças e modelos de negócios eficientes em mercados cada vez mais inseguros. Concomitante a isso, o contexto que envolve a indústria tecnológica do país tem ganhado maior atenção nessa última década, ao demonstrar o quanto as empresas nacionais tem objetivado tornar esse setor como uma fonte de crescimento para o Brasil. Diante disso, o presento estudo objetivou Analisar o papel dos influenciadores de internacionalização no desempenho internacional de Empresas de Base Tecnológica (EBTs). Para tanto, foi realizada uma pesquisa descritiva, com abordagem quantitativa que foi concretizada por meio da realização de uma survey, aplicada mediante a utilização de um questionário. A coleta de dados se deu juntamente a 53 EBTs brasileiras localizadas em ambientes de inovação. Tais dados foram analisados por meio de técnicas estatísticas univariadas, bivariadas e multivariadas. O modelo conceitual da pesquisa baseia-se em dois construtos. Para a análise dos influenciadores de internacionalização, utilizou-se o modelo de Ribeiro et al. (2014) e para a avaliação do desempenho internacional, foi utilizado o modelo de Gerschewski, Rose e Lindsay (2015). Com os resultados obtidos, contatou-se que os influenciadores de internacionalização relacionados diretamente a empresa, que tangem ao seu ambiente interno e empreendedor, são mais relevantes para a internacionalização de EBTs do que os fatores pertencentes ao ambiente externo e que não são de total controle das empresas. Assim, verifica-se que, para as empresas que compuseram a amostra do estudo, investir em negócios internacionais é mais um resultado de suas habilidades e capacidades de gestão do que dos benefícios que o ambiente em que se inserem pode proporcionar. Por usa vez, no que tange ao papel desses influenciadores no desempenho internacional, verificou-se que enquanto os fatores externos e internos geram influência positiva no desempenho internacional, os fatores relacionados ao empreendedor apresentar não possuir influência em tal variável. Com isso, pode-se inferir que que os determinantes de tal desempenho, podem ser definidos pelos seguintes fatores: (a) participar ou já ter participado de algum habitats de inovação; (b) formar parcerias e alianças estratégicas para inovação; (c) valer-se de políticas governamentais nacionais para a internacionalização; (d) desenvolver capacidades de inovação; (e) orientar-se para o mercado internacional; e (f) possuir habilidades de marketing internacional.

The subject of this thesis is entrepreneurship policy and the focus is on public support programmes directed to early stages technology-based ventures. It advocates that a broad view should be taken with regard to the type of policies for entrepreneurship that aim at supporting the facilitation of the supported ventures’ ability to link to their surrounding innovation system, in which they can secure their access to crucial external resources. Taking the departure in the perspective that early stages technology-based ventures are vulnerable, this thesis shows that publicly financed entrepreneurship supporting programmes can be motivated because small and newly started ventures have got limited resources, and because the risks, with which they are associated, generally make them unattractive in the eyes of private actors. Among the practical implications of this thesis, the following findings are emphasised: Public support, directed to the very earliest stages of venture development benefits from broadness, for the latter stages, specialisation and a higher degree of selectiveness could be an advantage. Moreover, it is important that the support provided take into account the whole process of business development, i.e. both the issues concerned with product/service and the issues connected to the market. A long-term commitment, cooperation between different actors and information about what support is available, are other aspects that are important for policymakers to consider in their design of public policies to support entrepreneurship. Finally, the importance of evaluative awareness must be emphasised from the very start. / Den här avhandlingen är en sammanläggning av 7 studier kring vilka en kappa med titeln ”Entreprenörskapspolicy: offentligt stöd för teknikbaserade företag” har skrivits. De inkluderade studierna beskrivs kortfattat i slutet av den här sammanfattningen. Syftet med avhandlingen är att analysera skälen till varför statliga interventioner kan vara berättigade, vidare att analysera målsättningar, design och resultat av offentliga program för stöd av nya teknikbaserade företag/projekt och slutligen att identifiera såväl praktiska som forskningsintressanta implikationer för utformningen av framtida stödaktiviteter. Avhandlingen baseras till största delen på olika typer av kvantitativa analyser av Stiftelsen Innovationscentrum (SIC) (studie 2-6). Förutom detta ingår en konceptuell studie där ett ramverk för att utvärdera inkubatorer, främst ur ett ”best practice” perspektiv, har tagits fram (studie 1). Slutligen har jag inkluderat en pågående uppföljningsstudie av Vinnovas program Vinn Nu (studie 7). Avhandlingen förespråkar en bred syn på begreppet entreprenörskapspolicy, där syftet med stödet är att underlätta för företag/projekt att koppla upp sig mot relevanta innovationssystem där de kan säkra sin tillgång på externa resurser. Med utgångspunkt i ett sårbarhetsperspektiv visar avhandlingen att offentligt finansierade program som stödjer entreprenörskap kan motiveras genom att de små och nystartade företagens resurser är begränsade och eftersom riskerna ofta gör att intresset från privata aktörer att gå in i dessa företag är lågt. Avhandlingens praktiska implikationer är bland annat att det stöd som riktas till de allra tidigaste utvecklingsfaserna i syfte att kvalificera idéer bör vara brett. Däremot kan ett mer selektivt urval vara fördelaktigt i något senare utvecklingsskeden och för mer specialiserade stöd. Vidare visar de inkluderade studierna på behovet av att se till hela företagets utvecklingsprocess. Det innebär bland annat att det är nödvändigt att kombinera hårt och mjukt stöd och att lika vikt läggs vid produkt- och marknadsutveckling. Offentligt stöd bör också vara långsiktigt, och samarbete mellan olika stödprogram är viktigt, inte minst med avseende på information om vilka stöd som finns och hur, var, när och av vem dessa kan sökas. Slutligen understryks vikten av att stödprogram redan från början bör ta hänsyn till utvärderingsaspekter.

Immigrant and ethnic entrepreneurship is a subject that has received increased attention in recent years. Many immigrants or people with ethnic backgrounds different from the majority population run their own businesses, in Sweden as well as in most countries and contexts in the world. However, ambitious research shows that there are great differences in business activity, behaviour and performance between different ethnic groups. Besides, it is easy to argue that differences also occur at the individual level. Thus, a person is not predetermined just because he/she belongs to a definable ethnic group. Another important question is the fact that the industrial setting and the context of the individual firm also affect the activity of the firm and the entrepreneur. E.g. in high tech environments, innovative competences may be of greater importance compared to business activity in the restaurant or retail sectors, where one could imitate already successful concepts. In this dissertation immigrant as well as ethnic enterprises (where ethnic entrepreneurs are those who have clear ethnic involvement in terms of accessing and utilising different forms of ethnic resources) in different industries are studied. The work hypothesis, or rather assumption, is that the industry of the individual business plays an important role for the access to and utilisation of different forms of resources (organisational, financial, cultural, social, human, ethnic). Further, the industry of a business is also assumed to have an effect on the access to and utilisation of ethnic resources and the own ethnicity as a resource. The purpose of this study is to through a number of case studies explore the influence of ethnic background for immigrant businesses in different industries. The focus is on how ethnic involvement, thus ethnic resources, and identity as immigrant and/or ethnic business influence firms in their resource bases and resource acquisition efforts. That is, if the objective ethnic background is important for the firms in their resource acquisition efforts. Since I want to study individual firms in an open and complex way I use a qualitative methodology with a multi-method approach, including ethnographic elements, direct observations, participant observations and interviews. This way, the possibility exists to grasp individual personal and firm characteristics that pay attention to the complexity and variation of immigrant and ethnic entrepreneurship, an issue that tends to be forgotten in broad descriptions of the subject. The Kista district hereby provides an interesting example with its high technology context, mixed with a considerable amount of immigrants living in the area. The exploratory study of seven businesses shows that there are important differences between firms in different industries. However, apart from type of firm and kind of venture opportunity exploited, the action mode of the individual(s) involved and the degree of confirmation and legitimacy the businesses have experienced influence and affect the importance of ethnic background for these firms. / <p>QC 20161026</p>

Introduction: Since the start of the digital age back in the 70s, digital technology has become a main tool for us humans to work, communicate, and enjoy ourselves on a day-to-day basis. The major push that set this new chapter of human life was due to the first military-manufactured computers of the time. The usage and development since then have grown exponentially all across our lives, affecting everything from hospital visits in Hong Kong to a late-night shopping experience in Stockholm. This leads us to today, where businesses are taking technological advances every day to keep their customers happy and satisfied, but also setting the bar higher and higher between their competitors. Some store owners have even figured out that physical human presence is not even needed in physical stores. The benefit is that the upkeep costs drop and almost no employees are needed; this is beneficial for small store locations in sparsely populated areas. In Sweden, it has become a huge problem that small towns and villages slowly die due to high upkeep costs for store owners. With these unmanned stores, the trend could change to the possessive. However, it is also pressured by the very technology-demanding Generation Z. Setting pressure on this retail sector to keep up and find the right way to proceed with their businesses in a way that fits Generation Z’s demand long term.  Purpose: This specific study will try to explain how different enhancers and inhibitors affect consumer acceptance according to Generation Z for this store concept in Sweden. The researchers of this thesis believe that this study is needed because of the vast growth of unmanned stores and the lack of research it has, especially in Scandinavia. Methodology: In order to answer the research question, nine different hypotheses were created with different inhibitors and enhancers derived from previous research. Furthermore, a combination of online and face-to-face questionnaires was conducted, whereby 133 valid respondents were collected. The data was then analyzed with the help of a multiple regression analysis. Conclusion:  From this research, it can be concluded that for the investigated enhancers: high levels of technology readiness, usefulness, and enjoyment were all factors affecting Gen Z´s acceptance of unmanned convenience stores. Furthermore, that lack of human interaction affects Gen Z´s resistance towards unmanned convenience stores. These results can be used for future research and for companies targeting Gen Z to shop at unmanned convenience stores.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show significant deficits in communication, emotion recognition, perspective taking, and social skills. One intervention gaining increased attention is the use of computer assisted instruction (CAI) to teach social, emotional and perspective-taking skills to individuals with ASD with the purpose of improving theory of mind skills. This study evaluated the effectiveness of CAI for improving theory of mind skills in four children with high functioning autism ages 5 to 12 years. A single-subject multiple baseline research design across participants was utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of CAI. The software contained 22 instructional scenarios that asked participants to identify emotions of characters based on situational cues displayed in line drawn pictures and audio feedback for correct and incorrect responses. Mind-reading skills were assessed using ten randomly selected scenarios for various emotions and no audio feedback. Visual analysis of the data revealed that all four participants increased mind-reading skills during the CAI condition. Additionally, this study evaluated levels of task engagement during experimental conditions. Three of the four participants showed an increase in task engagement during CAI compared to paper-based social stories used during baseline. Generalization of skills was assessed through the use of social scenarios acted out by family members of participants. All four participants were able to correctly identify emotions displayed in generalization scenarios. Results demonstrated that CAI was an effective and socially viable method for improving ToM skills in children with autism and they could generalize their skills to untrained settings.

L’entrée en vigueur de la Loi concernant le cadre juridique des technologies de l’information (ci-après la Loi), est la concrétisation de la prise en compte par le droit, de la preuve technologique. La notion de document technologique est à la fois centrale dans la Loi et dans le Code civil du Québec. Il s’est parfaitement intégré aux divers moyens de preuve du Code civil. Nous allons nous intéresser à cette notion qu’est le document technologique, mais davantage à ses éléments structurants, les métadonnées. Nous allons nous pencher sur la notion, ses origines et ses domaines de prédilection, faisant d’elles, un objet a priori essentiellement technologique, avant de les envisager dans un contexte de preuve. Nous allons voir quel potentiel probatoire les métadonnées représentent, à l’appui d’un document technologique. Enfin, nous nous interrogerons sur leur rôle probatoire autour des notions de copie-transfert et des obligations posées par la Loi, afin que ces deux modes de reproduction des document, puissent légalement tenir lieu du document original, soit la certification et la documentation. / The entry into force of the Act to establish a legal framework for information technology (hereafter «the Law») symbolises the embodiment of technological evidence into law. The notion of technological document is central to this Law. It is perfectly integrated to the different means of evidence in the Civil code. We will of course look at the notion of technological document, but even more so at its structuring element, metadata. We will study the notion, the origin and core areas of metadata. Metadata, an essentially technological element, will be studied within the context of evidence law. We will see what probationary potential metadata can offer in support of a technological document. Finally, we will examine the role of metadata within the copy-transfer concept and obligations imposed by the Law to legally be used as original document, certification and documentation.

Em países como o Brasil, assumido como de desenvolvimento tardio, as empresas de base tecnológica assumem um papel importante no desenvolvimento tecnológico. Nesse sentido, o venture capital torna-se um ator importante como fonte de captação de recursos e auxílio ao sistema de inovação do país. No Brasil, a atuação de venture capital vem crescendo nos últimos anos, mas ainda é incipiente comparativamente a países como EUA e Inglaterra. Esse fato se agrava ao se analisar a atuação do venture capital junto ao setor de biotecnologia no Brasil. As empresas de biotecnologia no Brasil são recentes e o ciclo de desenvolvimento dessas empresas é muito longo. A partir deste contexto, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo a elaboração de uma análise dos principais critérios utilizados pelos fundos de venture capital na tomada de decisão em investir em empresas de biotecnologia e a proposição de um modelo de tomada de decisão para investimento em empresas nesse setor. Para que tais fatores fossem identificados e o modelo elaborado, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa qualitativa e quantitativa. A pesquisa qualitativa consistiu na realização de entrevistas com cinco fundos por meio das quais foi possível analisar o processo de tomada de decisão por parte destes agentes. A pesquisa quantitativa envolveu a aplicação de questionários em empresas start-ups de biotecnologia com o intuito de serem levantadas algumas variáveis importantes relacionadas a suas características que podem exercer impacto no processo de avaliação do fundo. A proposição desse modelo poderá auxiliar as empresas a desenvolverem ações que possam aumentar a propensão delas em receber investimentos. / In countries like Brazil, known as of late development, technology-based companies play an important role in technological development. In this sense, venture capital becomes a major player as a source of funding and support to the country\'s innovation system. In Brazil, the performance of venture capital has increased in recent years but it is still incipient compared to countries like USA and England. Such fact is aggravated when analyzing the performance of venture capital by the biotech industry in Brazil. Biotech companies in Brazil are recent and the development cycle of these companies is very long. From this context, the present study aimed to prepare an analysis of the main criteria used by venture capital funds in the decision to invest in biotechnology companies and the proposition of a model of decision making for investment in companies in this sector. In order to identify these factors and to develop the model, a qualitative and quantitative research was conducted. The qualitative research consisted of interviews with five funds through which it was possible to analyze the process of decision making by these agents. The quantitative research involved the use of questionnaires in business biotechnology start ups in order to raise some important variables related to the characteristics that may impact on the assessment of the background process. The proposition of this model can help companies to develop actions to increase the propensity for them to receive investments.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T16:32:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MESTRADO_Juliana_Santi_Botton.pdf: 5642965 bytes, checksum: c3f49846987fe5a712c5e18e6f743a6f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-12-04 / The proposition of this study is based on the Innovation Generation Process (IGP) like basis to technology-based companies (TBC) by the knowledge management practices (KMP). It was understood that, innovation is a knowledge product, consequently, it was proposed to elaborate a theoretical and empirical construction in search of the innovation generation based on the knowledge management (KM), understanding like better way the use of the KMP. Furthermore, the choose of the study s universe, the TBCs, was based in the perspective that they have like synonymous of their work, the innovation. Therefore, this search was structured by the question: How the KMP and their application on technology-based companies, can be organized to allow the development of an Innovation Generation Process? This kind, it was obtained the general objective of this study: Developing a construct of the Innovation Generation Process, based on the Knowledge Management Practices and their application in Technology-based Companies and a) elaborating, by bibliographic study, possible levels and stages in the IGP; b) Listing, by bibliographic study, the KMP that were validates yet, that could be allocated on the IGP; c) identifying on the TBCs, the KMP most used, those whose importance is greater, and, whose would be is the level of each one in the IGP, excluding the rejects and validating other. Developed the theory part of the Construct of IGP, it was applied the questionnaire contain 40 practices and three questions, about Importance, about the frequency and, about the classify of the practices relation to the nine situational variables of IGP. To obtain a return of 47 questionnaires. It was used the test Alpha of Cronbach to confirm the reliability of data to the search. It was applied, the descriptive statistic, compromising like more important practices: Brainstorming or generation of ideas, development and apply of new process and, the corporative University; like more frequents practices: corporative e-mails, enterprise blog and, the social network. In addition, the test of Correlation of Pearson indicated relation of 64, 3% between importance and frequency, and Simple Linear Regression (respecting the regression assumptions) indicated that 42, 3% of the variations at importance are explicated by the variations at frequency. Finally, in relation on the incorporation of the practices to the IGP, they were observed the mean and standard deviation of each practice. Some propositions of analysis were done: a) the Variations coefficient; b) the visual analysis; c) the amplitude and; d) the Factorials Analysis. The first of them was refuted because it didn t supply the proposed objectives; the visual analysis indicated it s applied like auxiliary; the Amplitude Analysis indicated like the best technic to the result obtain, enabling a division with five classifies among the practices: The Primary Practices; The Central Practices; The Superior Practices; The Dispersed Primary Practices and; The Dispersed Superior Practices. The Factorial Analysis corroborated with the Amplitude, dividing the practices on Primary, central and superior practices. In summary, the practices were allocated in chart, showing which practice assist each phase of IGP. The results allow the recommendation the construct another sectors. / A proposta deste estudo está baseada no Processo de Geração de Inovação (PGI) como alicerce para Empresas de Base Tecnológica (EBT s) a partir das Práticas de Gestão do Conhecimento (PGC). Compreendeu-se que, a inovação é fruto do conhecimento, consequentemente, propôs-se elaborar uma construção teórico-empírica em busca da geração da inovação baseada na Gestão do Conhecimento (GC), entendendo como melhor caminho o uso das PGC. Além disso, a escolha do universo de estudo, as EBT s, foi baseada na perspectiva de que elas têm como sinônimo de seu trabalho, a inovação. Assim, esta pesquisa foi baseada no objetivo geral do estudo de Desenvolver um constructo do Processo de Geração de Inovação - PGI, baseado nas Práticas de Gestão do Conhecimento sob a perspectiva de empresas de base tecnológica do segmento de desenvolvimento de software ou web. a) Elaborar, a partir de estudo bibliográfico, possíveis níveis e estágios dentro do processo de geração de inovação; b) Listar, a partir de estudo bibliográfico, as Práticas de Gestão do Conhecimento já validadas, que possam ser aplicadas a um processo de Geração da Inovação; c) Identificar nas empresas de base tecnológica, as PGC mais utilizadas, as de maior importância, e em qual, ou quais Estágios do Processo de Geração de Inovação se encontra cada prática. Desenvolvida a parte teórica do Constructo do PGI, foi aplicado questionário contendo 40 Práticas e três perguntas, sobre a importância, sobre a frequência e sobre a classificação das práticas em relação a nove Variáveis Situacionais referentes ao PGI. Obtendo um retorno de 47 questionários, pode-se efetuar o teste Alfa de Cronbach, que confirmou a confiabilidade dos dados para a pesquisa. Aplicou-se a Estatística Descritiva, compreendendo como práticas mais importantes o Braintorming ou geração de ideias, o Desenvolvimento e aplicação de novo processo e, a Universidade corporativa; como práticas mais frequentes, os resultados indicaram os E-mails corporativos, o Blog empresarial e, as redes informais (rádio corredor). Em adição, o teste de Correlação de Pearson indicou relação de 64,3% entre as variáveis Importância e Frequência, e a Regressão Linear Simples (respeitando os pressupostos de regressão) indicaram que 42,3% das variações na Importância são explicadas pelas variações na Frequência. Finalmente, em relação à incorporação das práticas ao PGI, foram observadas a média e o Desvio Padrão de cada prática. Algumas proposições da análise foram feitas: a) Do Coeficiente de Variação; b) Da Análise Visual; c) da Amplitude e d) da Análise Fatorial. A Primeira delas foi refutada por não suprir aos objetivos propostos; a Análise Visual sugeriu aplicabilidade como técnica auxiliar; a Análise da Amplitude indicou a melhor técnica para a obtenção dos resultados, possibilitando a divisão de cinco Classificações entre as práticas: As Práticas Primárias; As Práticas Centrais; As Práticas Superiores; As Práticas Dispersas Primárias e; As Práticas Dispersas Superiores. A Análise Fatorial corroborou com a Amplitude, dividindo as práticas entre Práticas Primárias, Centrais e Superiores. Em síntese, as práticas foram alocadas em Painel, indicando qual prática auxilia em cada Estágio do PGI. Os resultados permitem a recomendação do Constructo em outros setores.

[pt] O objetivo da dissertação é propor e validar empiricamente um modelo conceitual de avaliação da adoção das diretrizes da Norma Internacional ISO 26000 por empresas de base tecnológica geradas em uma incubadora universitária no Brasil, na perspectiva de definir novos critérios para processos de seleção de candidatas e de avaliação das empresas incubadas. No contexto organizacional no qual a pesquisa se insere, considera-se que essas empresas têm na sua configuração o potencial de contribuir para a promoção do desenvolvimento sustentável, por meio de uma atuação social e ambientalmente sustentável e da geração de novos produtos e serviços sustentáveis. A metodologia adotada compreende pesquisa bibliográfica e documental sobre os temas centrais da dissertação e proposição de um modelo analítico que integre esses temas na perspectiva de aplicação em incubadoras universitárias no Brasil. Na sequencia, validação empírica do modelo por meio de um estudo de casos múltiplos, focalizando seis PMEs de base tecnológica, que foram incubadas no Instituto Gênesis, da PUC-Rio. Destacam-se como resultados: (i) um modelo conceitual inovador para processos de seleção de candidatas e de avaliação das empresas incubadas à luz das diretrizes da norma internacional ISO 26000; e (ii) um conjunto de novos critérios de seleção e indicadores de desempenho voltados para PMEs de base tecnológica socialmente responsáveis. / [en] The objective of this dissertation is two-fold: (i) to propose an evaluation model to assess incubated technology-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs) concerning the adoption of ISO 26000 guidelines; (ii) to validate the proposed model through a multiple case study on selected incubated technology-based SMEs. In the context of university incubators, it was assumed that these enterprises have the potential to contribute to the promotion of sustainable development, through socially and environmentally sustainable operations, and by generating new sustainable products and services. The research methodology encompasses bibliographical and documental review on research’s central themes, with an attempt to design a conceptual model that integrates the referred themes, within the perspective of future application in university incubators in Brazil. Additionally, a multiple case study was carried out, focusing on six selected SMEs. The main results can be summarized as follows: (i) an innovative evaluation model to assess incubated technology-based small and medium enterprises regarding the adoption of ISO 26000 guidelines; and (ii) a set of new indicators for selecting candidates and assessing performance of incubated enterprises aligned to ISO 26000 guidelines.

<p>This thesis is about publicly funded support of technology-based ventures. These ventures are regarded as solutions to create growth and societal development. They are commonly originated from universities, institutes or other firms and their products or techniques are commonly new or at least different from the ordinary. They are therefore considered as being of higher risk than generic new firms, but if successful they may also give higher returns. Hence, a range of efforts has been undertaken to support them. However, concerning the issue of public support, gaps of research have been exposed.</p><p>This thesis aims to give some answers on the question of what characterizes the public support given to technology-based ventures in Sweden. It elucidates two types of public support, the “configuration-type” and the “process-type” The first is studied by using statistical databases built upon the conditional loans and the innovation subsidies that were offered by Sweden Innovation Centre during the years 1994-2003. The second type concerns incubator support, and investigates how best practise incubators can be evaluated. Among the results, it can be mentioned that different support actors use different selection criteria depending on their goals, however the credibility of the applying venture is crucial for approval. Furthermore, a framework for best practice evaluation is developed.</p> / Report code: LiU-Tek-Lic 2005:72. Pages 49-68 and 87-105 has been removed since the author do not have the copyright for articles one and three when published in a scientific journal.