This cumulative dissertation includes three papers and one teaching case study. Together, they focus on topics highlighting the distinctiveness of family firms and new ventures. While the first paper analyzes the academic debate over the familiness concept in family firm research, the second paper focuses on explaining the unique relational dynamics between family and non-family managers in top management teams. The third paper aims to derive design designs for family firm specific corporate accelerators. The teaching case study shows how a growing new venture may strike a balance between coping with increasing organizational complexity and maintaining its distinct entrepreneurial spirit.

During the past decades, CEO and board compensation has increased substantially. Top management compensation and firm performance has been an extensively researched subject, and a large amount of previous studies have examined the relation of top management pay and firm performance. However, the findings and discussions have been contradictory and inconsistent. The purpose of this thesis is to examine if there is a relationship between the top management variable compensation and firm performance. We aim to explore this subject in further depth by focusing on the Swedish context and by studying if contextual issues, in terms of different industries, have an impact on this relation. In order to examine this relation multiple regression analysis were performed. The empirical evidence displays that on a general level, incentive systems of the top management have no significant effect on firm performance. We also conclude that the relation of variable pay and performance is contingent on industry. We therefore argue that the context in which the firm operates has an impact on the investigated relation in this thesis. Furthermore, the Swedish context and the Swedish governance model can be considered as one of the main explanations of the attained result.

<p>Menadžment predstavlja jednu od najaktuelnijih oblasti na&scaron;eg doba, mada je, pored svoje važnosti, jo&scaron; uvek nedovoljno istražen, u teorijskom i praktičnom smislu. Na osnovu dosada&scaron;njih istraživanja može se zaključiti da kvalitetan menadžment predstavlja temelj profitabilnog funkcionisanja svakog savremenog poslovnog sistema. Istraživanje, u doktorskoj disertaciji, je imalo za cilj da utvrdi ključne aktivnosti top menadžmenta u preduzećima u Bosni i Hercegovini.&nbsp; Potreba za ovim istraživanjem proizlazi iz neophodnosti utvrđivanja ključnih aktivnosti top menadžmenta, koje su važne za uspe&scaron;no funkcionisanje preduzeća. Na taj način će se obezbediti da top menadžment svoje aktivnosti i napore uvek fokusira u pravom smeru, kao i to da u svakom trenutku bude moguća provera efikasnosti rada top menadžmenta u nekom preduzeću. Ovakvo istraživanje ima dodatni značaj s obzirom na tranzicione uslove u Bosni i Hercegovini.</p> / <p>Management represents the most current area nowdays, although, aside from its immense importance, it has not been researched sufficiently, neither in theory nor in practice. Based upon all the previous research, it is possible to draw the conclusion that high-quality management is the foundation of every contemporaneous profit-oriented business system. The goal of this doctoral dissertation is to determine the essential activities of the top-management within the companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This determination will enable the top management to focus their efforts to head in the right direction, in order to be able to evaluate the efficiency of their work. Regarding the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina is going through the transition period, this type of research gains additional importance.</p>

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo conhecer a produção acadêmica sobre tomada de decisão estratégica pelo alto escalão e entender quais as fundamentações teóricas basilares do tema. Metodologicamente, utilizou-se para este fim de pesquisa bibliométrica e bibliográfica de artigos publicados em periódicos internacionais, complementadas pela leitura analítica dos artigos encontrados na pesquisa. Pesquisou-se as principais palavras-chaves relacionadas ao tema na base de dados Web of Science - ISI Web Of Knowledge, utilizando-se de todos os periódicos e anos disponíveis. Procedeu-se então à leitura dos artigos, retirando aqueles que não refletissem o tema pesquisado, obtendo um total final de 277 artigos. Realizou-se uma análise bibliométrica sobre o conteúdo estudado nos artigos de tomada de decisão, identificando os trabalhos mais referenciados, as publicações mais relevantes, e os periódicos da amostra. Efetuou-se também, uma análise de co-citação, mostrando as relações conceituais entre os trabalhos que fundamentam o tema e identificando tendências dos estudos sobre o tema. Com a leitura analítica e a estruturação do conteúdo dos 277 artigos, expôs-se os objetivos, a base teórica utilizada, os objetos de estudo, a natureza e os resultados dos artigos. Foi, assim, possível identificar os principais clusters teóricos sobre o assunto. O primeiro cluster, aborda as características do Top Management Team (TMT) e como estas influenciam a tomada de decisão; o segundo, apresenta como fatores ambientais comprometem a tomada de decisão, juntamente com a exposição de modelos e processos de tomada de decisão; o terceiro, apresenta estudos sobre conflito e consenso na tomada de decisão. A discussão permitiu ilustrar o atual estado do tema e suas lacunas, apresentar sugestões para pesquisa futuras e propor a criação de um curso executivo sobre tomada de decisão. / This thesis aims to evaluate the academic production on strategic decision making in the upper echelons and understand what are the theoretical foundations of the subject. Methodologically, it was used for this purpose a bibliometric and bibliographic research of articles published in international journals, complemented by analytical reading of the articles found in the search. The main keywords related to the topic were searched in the database Web of Science - ISI Web Of Knowledge, using all available journals and years. We then read out the articles by removing those who did not reflect the theme researched, obtaining a final total of 277 items. A bibliometric analysis was conducted on the content studied in the articles of decision making, identifying the most referenced work, the most relevant publications, and journals of the sample. A co-citation analysis was also conducted, showing the conceptual relations between the work underlying the theme and identifying trends of the studies on the theme. With the analytical reading and the structuring of the content of the 277 articles, the objectives were exposed along with, the theoretical basis used, the objects of study, the nature and results of the articles. It was thus possible to identify the main theoretical clusters on the subject. The first cluster, discusses the characteristics of the Top Management Team (TMT) and how they influence decision making, the second shows how environmental factors compromise the decision making, along with the explanatory models and decision-making processes, the third presents studies conflict and consensus in decision making. The discussion permited the illustration of the current state of the subject and its gaps, making suggestions for future research and proposing the creation of an executive course on decision making.

This dissertation focuses on strategy formation of firms as it unfolds over time and in context. The research questions are defined to take into account the complexity of this phenomenon, in that the themes emanating address the involved structures, processes and managerial agency as the roles and influences of managers.A "semi-deductive" methodology is introduced in order to make use of the richness of theories that pertain to the research questions. The logic behind this conduct is to first construct an interdisciplinary interpretation system based on a thematic bridging of theoretical texts. In a second stage of creating knowledge, the themes are not only retained but also extended by virtue of empirical texts. A case study covers both the organizational and sectorial level of analysis during a period of six years; thus including all the competing firms within an industry, as well as the broader context in which these companies operated. The individual level is represented by the top management groups of all firms. On both theoretical and empirical grounds, a socio-cognitive perspective emerges in which an emphasis is placed on the reciprocity between individuals as acting subjects and their social contexts. The interaction is seen as the linkage that binds actors, structures and processes. Strategy formation of the firm is uncovered as a process of structuration encapsulating distinguishable structures, interaction processes and actors. The managerial role of coupling interactions is featured. The influence of managers is discussed in terms of a freedom of interpretation and a freedom of physical action. This study carries empirical as well as theoretical implications for several research fields such as industrial evolution, the management of strategic change and the theory of the firm in general. Here, the socio-cognitive framework generated may serve as a basis for uniting individual and social aspects. The "semi-deductive" methodology may also find a broad field of application. / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 1993</p>

I denna avhandling presenteras resultaten från en empirisk undersökning med syfte att granska effekterna av decentralisering. Hur påverkas organisationen – "bakom fasaden av ord"? Vilka positiva och negativa effekter kan urskiljas? Boken innehåller också en genomgång av tidigare teorier om decentralisering. I undersökningsresultaten kan ett flertal faktorer urskiljas, med möjliga effekter för arbetsliv och konkurrenskraft. Decentralisering påverkar inte bara de formella strukturerna utan också den grundläggande organisationslogiken. Den lokala affärsverksamheten prioriteras vad gäller utveckling, resursuppbyggnad och handlingsutrymme, ofta på bekostnad av mellanchefs- och stabsnivåer. Breddade ansvarsområden prioriteras och specialiseringen i arbetet minskar. En ny syn på kunskapsutveckling kan skönjas, mer marknadsbaserad och verksamhetsnära. Flexibilitet prioriteras framför stordrift – eller handlar det om att vinna "småskalefördelar"? Decentraliseringen ger också upphov till förändrade kunskapsmönster och yrkesroller genom hela organisationen. Arbetet förändras, inte bara för personalen utan kanske framför allt för chefer och specialister. Decentralisering ställer också nya krav på ledarskapet. Hur leder man en organisation som egentligen klarar sig själv? / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 1992</p>

For almost a century, as industrial development and population growth, unrestrained use of fossil fuels, and large-scale deforestation by burning, which produce excessive greenhouse gases, causing global warming and climate change. The author of "The world is flat", Thomas Friedman calls this "the Energy-Climate Era". To confront the crisis of global warming, energy shortages and population explosion, the human need to start a new wave of green energy revolution. In the trend of globalization and regional economic integration, the cross-strait relation has come to a turning point. Taiwan is standing at a critical position, must properly cope with the new era. This case study is to explore the business strategies of a Taiwanese engineering service company in response to the Energy-Climate Era. First, focusing on the case company's top management team and its role in corporate group, to analyze the existing strategic position and business model developed since its establishment. Then, to study the case company¡¦s external environment (including globalization and regional economic integration, Energy-Climate Era, China's twelfth Five-Year-Plan and Taiwan's economic policy) and engineering services industrial environment (including market segmentation and market volume, Key Successful Factors, and Five Forces Analysis). Finally, in-depth analysis of case company's internal resources, capabilities and core competences, to summarize the case company¡¦s internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats, SWOT matrix analysis and strategies formulation. The study results are summarized as follows: First, the case company, with the support of corporate group and their own efforts, is now an integrated engineering company with four core businesses - environmental engineering, biotech engineering, electrical & mechanical integration, and operation & maintenance; and with more competitive advantage in the steel industry and water treatment engineering. Second, the case company¡¦s strategic positioning adjustments in response to the "Energy-Climate Era" are: (1) to consolidate existing core businesses; (2) to establish core competences in order to develop related markets of petrochemical and other industries or areas; (3) to establish core competences and business model innovation in order to seize the white space of multiple water resources development, green energy and energy saving engineering. Third, the case company¡¦s total of seventeen strategic programs can be summarized into four categories: (1) to secure the business of both inside and outside of the corporate group; (2) to integrate resources in order to enhance competitiveness; (3) to strengthen research and development of water technologies; (4) to develop air pollution and energy saving technologies. Each project department, according to their engineering professions, should work out and implement detailed action plans, which are adaptable to external situations, to integrate advantages of the three capabilities - "professional", "project management" and "financial management". Fourth, taking wastewater reclamation and energy saving projects as examples, to explore and elaborate innovative business model for case company¡¦s reference; and to provide four recommendations for organizational restructuring and three proposals for facilitating the implementation of business strategies.

abstract: In spite of the existence of successful humble CEOs, the current strategic leadership literature has little understanding regarding what humility is and how humble CEOs influence organizational effectiveness by creating a context to motivate managers. After applying the self-concept framework to integrate the humility literature, I proposed four mechanisms through which CEO humility were related to middle manager ambidextrous behaviors and job performance: CEO empowering leadership, empowering organizational climate, top management team integration and heterogeneity. After developing and validating a humility scale in China, I collected survey data from a sample of 63 organizations with 63 CEOs, 327 top management team members and 645 middle managers to test the research model. Except for top management team heterogeneity, the other three CEO-middle manager mediating mechanisms received moderate support. Specifically, I found that humble CEOs were empowering leaders; their empowering leadership behaviors were positively associated with top management team integration and empowering organizational climate, which in turn correlated positively with middle manager ambidexterity and job performance. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Business Administration 2011

Submitted by Rubens Bonon Filho (rubensbonon@globo.com) on 2016-03-30T15:24:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Rubens Bonon Filho.pdf: 338169 bytes, checksum: 1785df26ce138c196ec6243a8ebe94f9 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Pamela Beltran Tonsa (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br) on 2016-03-30T16:08:52Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Rubens Bonon Filho.pdf: 338169 bytes, checksum: 1785df26ce138c196ec6243a8ebe94f9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-30T16:21:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Rubens Bonon Filho.pdf: 338169 bytes, checksum: 1785df26ce138c196ec6243a8ebe94f9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-03 / The early adoption of internationalization used by companies to achieve the international markets is a growing phenomenon that has been challenging the Multinational Enterprise Theory. Many studies have been developed with high technology companies in Brazil taking into consideration the Born Global phenomenon including entrepreneur and firmlevel effects like the presence of technological advantages, innovation and networks among others. The aim of this study is to investigate the role and influence of the venture capital investor (VC Investor) in this process using the Resource-Based View theory. Using case studies, the intention is to contribute to better understanding of the VC Investor influence in the internalization process of Brazilian high echnology companies, to investigate the contributionsr regarding the origin of these investors and finally the role of the Top Management Team in this process. This study found strong evidence dentifying the VC Investor as a rare and valuable resource for the development of the companies, aligned with the Resource-Based View theory, and as a contributor in the Internationalization process in one of the cases. The VC Investor was recognized as a source of financial and human resources, bringing legitimacy in new markets, and also as a source of knowledge and expertise in the consolidation and expansion processes faced by the companies / O processo de internacionalização acelerada pelo qual algumas empresas buscam o mercado internacional é um fenômeno crescente que vem desafiando as teorias sobre a empresa multinacional. No Brasil diversos estudos foram realizados, principalmente com empresas de base tecnológica, sobre o chamado fenômeno Born Global que considera fatores do empreendedor e da própria empresa tais como a presença de vantagens tecnológicas, inovação e o uso de parcerias, entre outros. O objetivo geral desse estudo é avaliar o papel e a influência do investidor de risco no processo de internacionalização acelerada de empresas de base tecnológica no Brasil usando como lente teórica a Visão Baseada em Recursos. Através de um estudo comparativo de casos espera-se contribuir para um melhor entendimento da influência desse stakeholder no processo de internacionalização, investigando as possíveis diferenças de contribuições decorrentes da sua origem e analisando o papel do Top Management Team nesse processo. Foram encontradas fortes evidências identificando o investidor de risco como um recurso valioso e raro para o desenvolvimento das empresas estudadas, em linha com a Teoria da Visão Baseada em Recursos, bem como contribuidor do processo de internacionalização ocorrido em uma das empresas. O investidor de risco foi identificado como fonte agregadora de recursos financeiros e humanos, capaz de trazer legitimidade às empresas investidas em novos mercados, além de conhecimento e experiência necessários para consolidação e expansão dos negócios.

LES APPORTS DE LA CLINIQUE DU TRAVAIL À L’ANALYSE DE LA « PRÉSENTATION DE SOI » CHEZ LE DIRIGEANT D’ENTREPRISE Cette recherche se propose d’explorer ce qui, dans la rencontre entre la subjectivité du dirigeant d’entreprise et son travail, permet de mieux comprendre ses conduites souvent jugées irrationnelles. A l’issue d’une lecture critique des travaux de psychologie et de psychosociologie des organisations portant sur le dirigeant et des travaux de gestion portant sur son activité, la psychodynamique du travail s’impose comme la référence théorique de cette recherche et ce, bien qu’elle n’ait jamais investigué le terrain des directions d’entreprise. Nourrie de connaissances de gestion et de concepts issus de la psychodynamique du travail, cette recherche propose une approche clinique du travail du dirigeant, soit une clinique du décalage entre son travail prescrit et son travail réel. Source de connaissance du travail prescrit du dirigeant, les textes de management mettent en avant la « présentation de soi » comme l’une des composantes de ce travail. Dès lors, le cadre de cette recherche se centre sur l’analyse de cette « présentation de soi » dont les entretiens menés avec quinze dirigeants et dirigeantes révèleront la triple dimension : agir expressif et moyen de faire face aux exigences de la prescription de maîtrise, forme d’accès à la reconnaissance et enfin, stratégie de défense contre la souffrance au travail révélant la rationalité subjective de leurs conduites. Enjeux théoriques et méthodologiques pour la psychodynamique du travail, apport aux sciences de gestion et éthique managériale sont alors discutés, ouvrant la voie d’une réflexion pour définir une méthodologie d’intervention auprès de cette population. / THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CLINICAL APPROACH TO WORK AS APPLIED TO THE ANALYSIS OF THE CEO’S “SELF-PRESENTATION” The purpose of this research is to explore what it is that, in the cross between CEO subjectivity and his work, allows to better understand behaviors that are often considered irrational. Following a critical review of the literature of organizational behavior and psycho-sociology that deals with the CEO, as well as of the management literature relating to his activity, the field of work-psychodynamics establishes itself as the theoretical reference for this research, despite never actually having penetrated the field of top management. With its grounding in an understanding of management as well as in concepts drawn from the field of work-psychodynamics, this research proposes a clinical approach to the work of the CEO, in other words a clinical study of the gap between prescribed work and actual work. As a source of knowledge of the prescribed tasks of the CEO, management literature tends to point to “self-presentation” as one aspect of that work. Consequently, the scope of this research focuses on the analysis of this “self-presentation”, whose triple dimension is revealed in interviews conducted with fifteen male and female CEOs: firstly, a means of expressive action and a way of coping with the constraints of prescribed mastery, secondly, a means of achieving recognition and finally, a strategy of defense against suffering at work, thus revealing the subjective rationality of their behaviors. We then discuss the theoretical and methodological implications on work-psychodynamics, the contribution to management science, as well as implications on managerial ethics, thereby opening the way to defining a methodology of intervention for this specific population.