The last financial and economic crises have revealed the fragility for developed countries, especially European countries, to resist to a major upheaval. This event has affected for a long time their capacity to spur their economy and their attractiveness. Indeed, trapped in a low GDP and with a high public debt, the last summer has recalled that the situation stay unstable in Europe and U.S. Nevertheless, following this event, some countries have succeeded to emerge stronger. These emerging countries, especially BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China), achieve to recover quickly a high GDP rate in spite of the global crisis and are confirming their capacity to reach their economic objectives. This thesis report focuses on a Real Estate investment recommendation in one of the most attractive emerging countries in the world, Brazil. The country, the last American country entered in recession and the first one exited from it, is becoming more and more attractive. Now, the country is among the ten largest economies in the world and remains very attractive to foreign investors due to its growth potential, large and competitive market and political stability, transforming the country from "a country of the future to a country of the present". Their ability to master the inflation to a stable value, to reduce the net debt and to pay off international Monetary Fund loans reassured investors. The new Domestic demands accompanied by an increasing business development and touristic demand are transforming the country, especially in the Real Estate sector, ranking it as one of the best place to invest in the world. Thanks to specific strategic investments in Real Estate, investors can make interesting returns and diversify their port-folio which is essential to decrease their exposition to specific risks. My thesis focus on a specific Real Estate sector: the Brazilian Hotel Market, and describe some strategic investments for foreign investors in Brazil.

No / International Joint Ventures (IJVs) have become one of the most important ways for companies to expand their activities and exploit business opportunities abroad. In China, for example, which has become the world's largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment, IJVs with local companies are the most important way of doing business. However, many companies have learnt that the performance of their joint ventures in China does not meet their expectations. This study focuses on functional diversity - differences in business practices between foreign and local companies - and its influence on IJV performance. We investigate the influence of this functional diversity on the performance of IJVs and discuss how companies can moderate this influence through adaptation, trust, commitment and communication. Hypotheses are formulated and empirically tested using data gathered through a questionnaire survey of managers of German-Chinese IJVs. The results show that although functional diversity has a negative impact on IJV performance, managers can influence the magnitude of this impact. We use insights from interviews with managers of German-Chinese IJVs in China to supplement our discussion and provide some indication of best practice.

No / The belief in market-driven ideology and the assumption that new business ventures create jobs and foster innovation has embedded entrepreneurship into political discourse. Academics have analyzed government policies on entrepreneurship, but they have tended to share the same underlying beliefs in the function of entrepreneurs within the economic machine. This article explores selected dimensions of the impact of those beliefs by using critical discourse analysis to show how government websites around the world portray entrepreneurs and their role in society. Discourses of government power and self-legitimization are revealed that manifest themselves in a colonizing discourse of entrepreneurial subjugation. The article concludes by challenging government rhetoric on entrepreneurship and questioning the motives underpinning the agenda of government involvement in supporting entrepreneurs.

Yes / The “50/50”, or the shared management international joint venture (shared IJV) remains a popular and yet challenging control structure to govern IJVs. The purpose of this study is to understand the post-formation management of shared IJVs, specifically the relationship between shared structure, relational conditions and management of post-formation challenges. Our evidence is based on 26 in-depth interviews across four cases of shared IJVs between British multinationals and Asian companies. Our findings indicate that the highly integrative nature of shared IJVs, including high operational interdependence and shared decision-making, encourages partners to work closely together, communicate frequently and intensely and exchange personnel. Although share management can lead to inter-partner conflicts, the equal investment and mutual responsibility partly provides partners with motivation and opportunities to learn about each other, to better implement the control structure, to build trust, and to commit to the venture and partner. These relational conditions facilitated the successful management of post-formation challenges such as diversity related conflicts and macro volatility.

Yes / Purpose The purpose of this article was to examine the joint effects of regulatory focus, entrepreneurial persistence, and institutional support on new venture performance. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a random survey approach to sample 204 new ventures from Ghana. The moderated mediation method was used to analyze the survey data. Findings The findings from this paper show that entrepreneurs’ promotion focus positively relates to persistence whiles prevent focus negatively influences persistence. Besides, persistence mediates the link between regulatory focus (promotion and prevention focus) and new venture performance. These relationships are positively moderated by perceived institutional support. Research limitations/implications Using data from only the manufacturing sector in Ghana limits the generalisability of this paper. Also, persistence was not observed or measured directly in this paper but was only used as a self-reporting variable that captures an individual’s tendency to persist. Originality/value The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, this paper contributes to regulatory focus literature by enhancing our knowledge of how self-regulation could help explain entrepreneurial decision-making. Second, this paper broadens self-regulation literature by adding institutional context as a moderating variable. Third, this paper helps clarify the potential role of persistence in entrepreneurship.

Yes / The attraction of blue-chip listings in emerging stock markets is a major policy initiative common across much of the developing world. In many cases however, local blue-chip firms are the result of foreign Multinational Enterprise (MNE) firms engaging with local indigenous partners to form an international joint venture (IJV). These are unique with bilateral governance structures underscoring co-ownership between partners of residual cash flows and assets of the IJV. Using a unique and comprehensive sample of 202 IPO firms from across the emerging African region evidence of both a pronounced internal as well as external role for IJV boards was found. Social and political legitimacy concerns dominate the external role of boards in particular. Increasing proportions of boards drawn from commercial and governmental social elites are associated with IJV IPO firms in high institutional quality while lower proportions of these elites are associated with civil code law jurisdictions rather than common law. Governmental elites are associated with country-level improvements in corruption control and political stability while commercial elites are only marginally associated with improvements in political stability, regulatory quality, rule of law and democratic voice and accountability measures.

[pt] O estudo tem como objetivo entender como as Joint Ventures Contratuais (JVCs) formadas pela empresa Petrobras no ramo da Exploração e Produção afetaram a performance e a aprendizagem da mesma. Esta pesquisa qualitativa e descritiva tem sua base nas lentes teóricas da coopetição e da performance e aprendizagem em Joint Ventures para, a partir de estudos de caso múltiplos com quatro JVCs, buscar relações entre a realização destas e a aprendizagem e performance da organização estudada. O estudo teve o levantamento de dados em 3 etapas: primeiramente uma entrevista exploratória, depois entrevistas com empregados da área corporativa e por fim as entrevistas com empregados que trabalham ou trabalharam nas JVCs do BM-S-11 (campo de Tupi), Joint Venture X, Libra (campo de Mero) e BM-C-33. O estudo concluiu que a influência da performance das JVs na performance da Petrobras, embora ligada a fatores geológicos como presença de grandes reservas de hidrocarbonetos de baixo custo de extração, é diretamente influenciada pela forma com que a JV é gerenciada, pela capacidade dos parceiros de contribuírem com o projeto, além de uma parceria formada com objetivos estratégicos semelhantes e confiança entre os parceiros. Já a aprendizagem é ainda mais associada a características dos parceiros, como capacidade tecnológica e base de conhecimento semelhante, e é regida pelo estímulo da liderança das empresas parceiras com a troca de conhecimento, além da governança que regulam as trocas – sejam ela regida por meio do Joint Operating Agreement ou por outros acordos particulares entre as partes. / [en] The study aims to understand how the Contractual Joint Ventures (CJVs) formed by the company Petrobras in Oil And Gas Exploration and Production affected its performance and learning. This qualitative and descriptive research is based on the theoretical lens of coopetition and performance and learning in Joint Ventures to, from multiple case studies with four CJVs, seek relationships between those CJVs and the learning and performance of the organization studied. The study had the data collection in three stages: first an exploratory interview, then interviews with employees of the corporate area and finally the interviews with employees who work or worked in the CJVs of BM-S-11 (Tupi field), Joint Venture X, Libra (Mero field) and BM-C-33. The study concluded that the influence of the performance of the CJVs on Petrobras performance, although linked to geological factors such as the presence of large hydrocarbon reserves with low extraction costs, is directly influenced by the way in which the JV is managed, by the capacity of the partners to contribute to the project, in addition to a partnership formed with similar strategic objectives and with trust between partners. Learning, on the other hand, is even more associated with partner characteristics, such as technological capacity and a similar knowledge base, and is governed by incentive of the leadership of partner companies to exchange knowledge, in addition to the governance that regulates the exchanges - whether governed by of the Joint Operating Agreement or by other private agreements between the parties.

Le contrôle conjoint correspond à la situation dans laquelle plusieurs personnes détiennent le contrôle d’une société. Des définitions distinctes de la notion de contrôle conjoint existent en droit financier, en droit des sociétés, en droit de la concurrence et en droit comptable et ont, a priori, un champ d’application limité à chacune de ces branches du droit. Chaque définition est étudiée en vue d’en dégager les critères, en prenant appui sur les réglementations, la pratique des autorités et la jurisprudence. Sur le fondement de ces différentes définitions fonctionnelles du contrôle conjoint, une définition commune peut être dégagée : « le contrôle conjoint est un accord par lequel les membres d’une société conviennent de déterminer ensemble et de manière égalitaire la stratégie sociale ». Les éléments principaux de la définition commune sont précisés. Le contrôle conjoint pose par ailleurs des problématiques relatives à son régime juridique. D’une part, le champ d’application du contrôle conjoint est rarement défini parce que les textes font généralement référence au contrôle uniquement. Il est proposé de déterminer le champ d’application en fonction de la finalité du texte. D’autre part, les textes, qui renvoient à la notion de contrôle, prévoient des conséquences juridiques en précisant rarement les modalités de mise en oeuvre de ces conséquences à plusieurs contrôlaires (solidarité passive, indivisibilité ou pluralité des obligations). La règle de principe est l’application de la solidarité passive aux obligations découlant du contrôle conjoint. / Joint control is the situation according to which several persons hold control of a company. Various definitions of the notion of joint control exist in financial law, corporate law, competition law and accounting law and have, a priori, a scope limited to each of these fields of law. Each definition is separately studied in order to identify its criteria, by relying on regulations, the practice of authorities and the case law. On the basis of these different functional definitions of joint control, a common definition can be found: "joint control is an agreement according to which members of a company agree to determine jointly and equally the social strategy ". The main elements of this common definition are clarified. Joint control also raises issues relating to its legal regime. On the one hand, the scope of joint control is rarely defined because the texts generally refer only to control. It is proposed to determine the scope according to the purpose of the text. On the other hand, texts that refer to the notion of make provision of legal consequences without specifying how to implement these consequences to several controllers (joint liability, indivisibility or plurality of obligations). The rule of principle is the application of joint liability to the obligations arising from joint control.

Atualmente, a utilização de alianças estratégicas por empresas tem aumentado muito, devido a grande concorrência nos mercados nacionais e internacionais. Entre os tipos de alianças estratégicas comumente utilizadas estão os Consórcios, as Joint Ventures e as Organizações Virtuais (por meio da criação de Empresas Virtuais). Vários são os fatores que levam as empresas a utilizarem essas formas de aliança, entre elas a redução de custos, o aumento de participação de mercado, a aquisição de capacitação tecnológica. Para que tais uniões se concretizem com sucesso, metodologias de avaliação vêm sendo estudadas e adaptadas a essas diferentes formas de aliança com o intuito de minimizar os riscos de união envolvidos em tais processos. Entre esses estudos, pode-se destacar as ferramentas de análise econômica/financeira, que de certa maneira, já vêm sendo empregadas nos Consórcios e Joint Ventures. No que se refere às Organizações Virtuais e Empresas Virtuais existe uma lacuna no que diz respeito a esse assunto. Nesse sentido, esse trabalho tem como objetivo identificar e analisar as principais contribuições e limitações geradas pela inclusão de procedimentos de análise econômica/financeira nos processos de formação de Organizações Virtuais; manutenção de Organizações Virtuais; formação de Empresas Virtuais e manutenção de Empresas Virtuais. / Nowadays, there is an increase of the use of strategic alliances by enterprises, due to hard competition in the national and international markets. The kinds of strategic alliances more usual are Consortiums, Joint Ventures and Virtual Organizations with the creation of Virtual Enterprises, by the last entity. The enterprises use the strategic alliances by several factors: reducing costs, increase of market share, acquisition of technological capacity and others. For what occur a successful partnership, evaluation methodologies are being studied and adopted for these alliances with the purpose of minimize the risks of the partnership of such processes. Between these studies, the economical/financial analysis tools, in a manner, it are being used in Consortiums and Joint Ventures. In relationship of Virtual Organizations and Virtual Enterprises exist a gap in the literature in this aspect. By the way, this work intends to identify and to analyze the main contributions and limitations caused by the inclusion of procedures of economical/financial analysis in the processes of development of Virtual Organizations; maintenance of Virtual Organizations; development of Virtual Enterprises and maintenance of Virtual Enterprises.

by Peter Kan-keung Chan. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1982 / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-76).