Cloud computing is perceived as the technological innovation that will transform future investments in information technology. As cloud services become more ubiquitous, public and private enterprises still grapple with concerns about cloud computing. One such concern is about service level agreements (SLAs) and their appropriateness. While the benefits of using cloud services are well defined, the debate about the challenges that may inhibit the seamless adoption of these services still continues. SLAs are seen as an instrument to help foster adoption. However, cloud computing SLAs are alleged to be ineffective, meaningless, and costly to administer. This could impact widespread acceptance of cloud computing. This research was based on the transaction cost economics theory with focus on uncertainty, asset specificity and transaction cost. SLA uncertainty and SLA asset specificity were introduced by this research and used to determine the technical and non-technical attributes for cloud computing SLAs. A conceptual model, built on the concept of transaction cost economics, was used to highlight the theoretical framework for this research. This study applied a mixed methods sequential exploratory research design to determine SLA attributes that influence the adoption of cloud computing. The research was conducted using two phases. First, interviews with 10 cloud computing experts were done to identify and confirm key SLA attributes. These attributes were then used as the main thematic areas for this study. In the second phase, the output from phase one was used as the input to the development of an instrument which was administered to 97 businesses to determine their perspectives on the cloud computing SLA attributes identified in the first phase. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to test for statistical significance of the hypotheses and to validate the theoretical basis of this study. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were done on the data to establish a set of attributes considered SLA imperatives for cloud computing adoption.

This research investigates political risk in the context of service offshoring and the corresponding impact on risk management decisions. The first stage of the study uses the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT), to explore key post-contract political risks experiences within offshore outsourcing activities. Twelve key political risks affecting offshore outsourcing decisions are identified, and the moderating effect of offshoring activity types (BPO, ITO or KPO) on political risk exposure and impact perceptions is highlighted. The research also explores the conditioning effect of industry specific exposure to political risk and enhances the explanatory ability of the Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) constructs, offering a re-operationalization of the political risk component of external uncertainty. The second stage of the research introduces a series of hypotheses between offshoring flows and political risk profiles, and applies multiple regression to analyse political risk affecting offshore activities in low cost countries across contract-based offshoring engagements and FDI. The findings highlight that political risk is a genuine business concern for offshore contract-based outsourcing modalities, and identify concerns with Intellectual Property protection, Quality of Bureaucracy and Corruption as key considerations affecting location decisions in low-cost countries. The research further suggests a positive relationship between strong country level institutional and regulatory systems and high knowledge content in offshoring engagements. From a practical perspective, the research highlights the need for managerial tools to determine diversified firm and industry specific political risk impact on global service outsourcing engagements. The key practical contribution is the development of differentiated political risk typologies that can capture the nuances of external risks in offshoring, allowing for more accurate risk assessment of offshoring decisions.

都市更新條例於民國87年11月發佈實施至今已九年，但成果有限，其主要問題在於人與資訊不足。都市更新條例規定土地及合法建築物所有權人（下稱地主）得委託都市更新事業機構擔任實施者實施都市更新事業，惟都市更新體系並無完整規範「地主－實施者」委託實施之配套機制，產生委託實施雙方因資訊不完全、不對稱及不確定環境因素，致無法全盤掌握未來整合推動可能發生的狀況下，基於各自利害關係考量，產生投機主義，形成「隱藏與逆選擇」的對立角色，衍生高昂的交易成本，影響都市更新事業整合推展，故亟需就「委託實施」課題加以建構機制規範之必要。 本研究旨就都市更新事業重建「推動方式與實務層面」為主題，以都市更新事業委託發起至實施完成之過程為軸線，經由（1）以交易成本及代理理論為基礎的印證，（2）對都市更新法制程序與規範的認知、（3）對政府、地主及實施者等三個參與主體特性的瞭解、（4）對民間推動實務與現行法制規範存在相互影響造成推動障礙的探討、（5）對實施推動的交易成本內容分析等等相關文獻面、法制面、實務面、個案案例，以及對參與推動都市更新事業人士進行問卷調查訪問之綜合研究可知：地主與政府本身皆存在相關影響都市更新事業推動的問題，以及地主對實施者可能存在疑慮的委託實施代理問題。 本研究針對影響委託實施都市更新事業推動的問題，嘗試建構可為地主提供服務並兼顧實施者利益的「整合代理機制」，包含（1）實施者實施需具備之資格條件規範、（2）地主委託實施內容與實施者作業規範等二項機制，並建議政府從「政策」、「法制」、「資訊」、「推動」、「執行」等五個構面提供配套措施，協助排除推動障礙。 本研究冀期建構「整合代理機制」，強化都市更新體系委託實施機制內涵，提供地主與實施者雙方作為委託實施的推動模式，並透過市場機制促進多元實施者參與機會，公開揭露都市更新資訊，消彌雙方認知差距，降低或消除都市更新事業交易成本及解決代理問題，加速建立都市更新推動共識及委託實施契約簽訂，落實履行與監督控管，以促進民間參與都市更新事業推動。 / It has been nine years since the Urban Renewal Act took effect in November 1998. Except for limited accomplishment, the major problems it encountered are inadequate manpower and insufficient information. The Act requires the owner (landowner for short) of the land and legal buildings entrusting property to an urban renewal business or agency as an enforcer or entrusted agent to carry out the renewal project. Yet, the urban renewal system lacks a complete package of standards or mechanism for the practice of “landowner—enforcer” entrustment relationship; due to incomplete, asymmetric and uncertain supply of information, both sides are unable to have an overall control of any possible incident in future integrated actions. Because of different concern, this entrustment relationship creates opportunism in which produces confronting positions of “concealment and adverse-selection”; as a result of the negative atmosphere in the relationship, the operation needs more transaction cost which has great effect on the integrated development of urban renewal project. Therefore, it is essential to establish a mechanism regulating the issue of “entrusted enforcement”. Based on the subject of “promotion mode and practice level” in urban renewal and reconstruction, this study intends to examine the process of urban renewal from the beginning of entrustment relationship to its completion, including (1) demonstration on the basis of transaction cost and representation theory; (2) comprehending the procedures and standards in urban renewal legal system; (3) understanding the characteristics of three participants, namely government, landowner and the enforcer; (4) investigating the obstacles caused by the conflict between promotional practices in non-government agency and the existing regulations; (5) analyzing the transaction cost of promotion in terms of literature review, legal system, practice, individual case and a questionnaire survey on the person who participate in urban renewal project. Research results show: problems of promoting urban renewal exist on both sides of landowner and government; the landowners also may have doubts for the enforcer regarding the representation issue of entrusted enforcement. This study focuses on the problems encountered when promoting the entrusted enforcement of urban renewal business and intends to construct an “integrated representation mechanism” which provides service to landowner and, on the other hand, also consider the benefit of enforcer, including (1) the qualification, terms and standards of the enforcer; (2) the entrusted task content from landowners, and the operational standards of the enforcer. We also propose necessary measures in five aspects as follows: “policy”, “legal system”, “information”, “promotion”, “implementation” for government so as to eliminate obstacles of promotion. We hope to construct an “integrated representation mechanism” and strengthen the mechanism content of the entrusted enforcement in urban renewal system; this design aims to provide landowner and enforcer a promotional model in entrusted enforcement, increase diverse participation through market mechanism, publicly disclose urban renewal information, eliminate cognitive discrepancy on both sides, reduce or remove transaction cost for urban renewal business and resolve the issues of representation, increase common sense on urban renewal promotion and accelerate the processing of entrusted enforcement contract, implement practically and monitor with supervision for promoting the participation of non-government agencies in urban renewal business.

本論文研究軸心，首先探討鐵路事業公司化政策執行過程，並在相關文獻中，歸納公司化政策面臨資產閒置與組織僵化等問題，導致債務與虧損問題日趨嚴重。其中，資產閒置問題，除了受到相關法令限制而無法提升效益之外，對於政府投資鐵路立體化建設而衍生組織龐大與交易成本問題，目前尚未從預算執行面進行檢討與分析。此外，對於行政部門之間及鐵路局內部，因組織僵化而產生公共事務代理問題，依舊阻礙公司化政策執行腳步。故本研究藉由以上問題之歸納，進一步從資產面建構兼顧運輸本業及債務處理之政策架構。 / 國營事業改革的方法之一，即採用公司化方式完成民營化的階段性目標。在法學上觀點，公司化後國家仍擔負各種不同的監督與管理義務，尤其在行政任務完全私化的過程之中，國家仍具各項主管法令之執行角色。因此「國家保留」之各項責任，不管是在公司化的任何過程之中，國家均具有憲法位階所賦予之「影響義務」。然而國家如何決定公營事業公司化的基本政策？而公司化之後的國家管制行為，如何在法律規範與擔保義務之間，建立適度的決策方法？依循代理理論與自償評估方法，可發現「臺鐵公司化基本方案」窒礙難行的主要關鍵為政策不確定性與道德危險問題之應如何妥善解決；而經重新檢討補貼負擔之基本對策後，對鐵路事業民營化之條件提升及相關權利義務之界定確有助益。 / 其次，對於為人詬病的資產閒置與無力更新等問題，政府積極投入鐵路設備更新計畫，以鐵路地下化建設為例，單一建設計畫就預算規劃角度分析，因涉預算制度差異與政治協商等問題，在預算執行中不僅惡化資金缺口並已危及鐵路事業財務體質。本文依據交易成本理論之基礎，分析臺北都會區鐵路地下化建設因涉及公務與事業預算所造成的實施成本擴大問題；並就資金缺口之弭平，提出補貼策略的修正建議。惟資金缺口背後隱含資訊不對稱而產生錯誤決策的政治層面問題，致使實施成本逐年擴增。此觀察引發本文從交易成本政治學觀點進行分析的研究旨趣，並就預算規劃衍生的代理關係，分從資訊不對稱、代理問題、交易成本、認知差距、權益配置與誘因設計等方向進行課題之論述與回應，以探索經濟層面所無法釐清的關鍵決策因素。由此，本文論證了預算制度的差異預留了政治行動者的利益競逐與衝突空間，從而惡化了預算執行與配置的失能無效，也顯現了預算治理制度的重建與策略再造建議的提出，將有效減低鐵路地下化交易成本與政策失靈之風險。 / 最後，我國鐵路事業改革方法，係採用公司化方式完成民營化政策的階段性目標。在公司化之前，鐵路局除了負擔公共運輸責任及龐大現金債務，並管理為數眾多的各項資產，但卻受限鐵路法及國有公用土地不得處分收益等因素，遲遲未能有效開發利用。因此，本文首先探討公司化政策執行過程，在不同政策架構之下，將足以影響鐵路公司資產的持有狀況，續利用資產目標函數進而歸納資產全數移交政府接管將可有助於清理歷史債務並挹注補貼負擔等資金缺口問題。換言之，過去部分文獻雖然論證以「車路合一」模式推動公司化政策仍有累積盈餘之潛力，但本文利用自償率分析資產結構與法令規範之間關係，則推論認為「車路分離」模式更能客觀建構資產、債務、補貼負擔之財政架構，甚至創造較為豐厚的資產報酬，以避免鐵路事業公司化政策轉變成為政府永無止境的財政負擔。 / The axis of this thesis is about the corporatization policy of the railway business corporation. By collection of related literature, this thesis induces that the corporatization policy is facing the idle asset and ossified organization problems and aggravates the debt and loss situation. Among those, the idle asset problem, caused by restriction of related law to enhance efficiency and invest building construction, the mammoth organization and transaction cost problems have not yet been examined and analyzed from the viewpoint of budget implementation. In addition, the public affair agency problem engendered by the ossified organization inside the railways administration and related administrative administrations still hinders the process of the implementation of the corporatization policy. Hence, by summing up the questions above, this research constructs the policy structure considering both the transportation business and resolution of debt problem from the asset perspective. / Corporatization is one of the ways toward privatization in restructuring state owned enterprises. From legal perspective, government should still supervise and monitor the privatized enterprises. Especially, government should carry out regulation regime to protect stakeholders’ benefits during the corporatizating process. In other words, it requires a total state commitment endowed by the Constitution with influence duties. How to manage restructuring processes strategically in ways that will further economic democracy, efficiency and social progress? What are the obstacles which hinder the establishment of a state commitment in corporatization? Drawing perspectives from agency theory and refining self-liquidating evaluation, the author underscores the uncertainties and moral hazards in Taiwan Railway Administration’s corporatization and suggests how government can implement successful strategies to meet goals required by the privatization laws and build up a well-organized subsidy system to reinforce her influential role and regulatory capacity. / The second, the government positively invests the railway equipment to renew the problem of asset idle which denounced regarding the manner. Inspired by the perspectives from transaction cost economics and politics, this paper demystifies the hierarchy and authority relationships between supervising and operating agencies in the budgetary process. We unbound the blanket category of transaction costs into empirically verifiable elements including incomplete and asymmetric information, agency problems, transaction costs, stakeholder redistribution, ideology, incentives, etc. We identify political hazards as crucial determinants of the choice of political governance in budget execution and the transactional attributes that give rise to such hazards. The agencies in our analysis incur costs of providing a comprehensive budget design and tax revenue allocation, and are faced with a trade?off between providing incentives and reducing ex post costly enforcement. Extending transaction cost politics into the budgetary domains suggests that transaction costs in current political market did not lead project’s political stakeholders to move toward more efficient outcomes and result in significant enforcement costs. Framing the issue as a budgetary administration and project delivery problem, this paper highlights the challenges in using separation of power panels when the goals of the panels are uncodifiable. This paper concludes offering ideas for institutional engineering and a special subsidy is proposed. However, reformulating self-liquidating analysis and carefully justifying the authority and obligation relationships between agencies should play important roles in reducing transaction costs, ensuring enforceability of agreements, and achieving more efficient budgeting outcomes. / The final, corporatization is one of the ways toward privatization in restructuring state owned enterprises. In form of Corporatization, even though railway administration authority shoulders public transportation responsibility and huge debt, multitudinous real estate had not been effectively developed because of the limitation from railway act and on the liquidation of public facilities and state-owned land. This article first discourses that different formats of corporation policy affect assets’ efficient utilization, and uses market structure theory to set up asset objective function and learn that hand over all assets to government could clean up historical debts and enhances social welfare and assets’ utilization. In other words, although some literatures maintained that “infrastructure model” have potential of earnings accumulation, based on the use of Self-liquidation ratio to identify the relationship between asset structure and government regulation, the induction of “road model” could restructure asset/debt and subsidy. It even creates a richer property return to avoid railway operation being government‘s unlimited financial burden.

政府機關委外執行民意調查已成為民主國家治理的趨勢之一；但民意調查的高度專業性和特殊性質，導致過程中有許多「看不見的黑手」介入的機會，故如何監督、控制民調的品質以確保信效度遂成為一項重要課題。全國各級政府機關中，以台北市在委外執行民調業務上的規定最為公開、完備，不僅訂有專法，更獨步全國成立「民意調查諮詢委員會」，協助各局處在委外執行民調過程中把關調查品質、解決問題。在這種「一個委託人（委託局處）、兩個代理人（執行廠商和民調諮詢委員）」的架構之下，本研究從交易成本理論出發，探討台北市的委託局處在這套委外與審查機制下必須付出的交易成本類型、背後的影響因素、與調查品質之間的關係。 本研究深度訪談5位民調諮詢委員、5個委託局處、研考會和4家執行民調的廠商共17人次，輔以次級資料分析，發現各局處在委外執行民調過程中的作法、程序和重視程度皆不一，付出的交易成本類型眾多，其中的「事前審查成本」、「搜尋廠商成本」、「事後審查成本」、「控制成本」在邏輯關係上較能對應後續之民調品質，其多寡深受「委託局處的重視程度」、「廠商的執行能力」影響。此外，為提昇調查品質，委託局處若付出較多事前成本（包括：事前審查成本和搜尋廠商成本）後能先行把關委託局處的需求與調查規格，且規模比起事後成本（包括控制成本、事後審查成本）來說較為減少許多，對調查品質將有正面影響；若未付出事前審查成本，則需於決標後耗費更多時間、精力與資源才有辦法確保調查品質。 然而，研究結果卻顯示民調諮詢委員會不見得能達到提昇調查品質的目的，仍有執行能力不佳、圖謀不軌的廠商無法達到審查委員的要求而遭到解約。因此，本研究歸納「民調諮詢委員會」兩項主要的缺失，包括未能事前把關調查規格與執行預算之間的合理性，無法克服「逆向選擇」執行廠商的問題；加上定位不明，難以保證可以完全發揮把關之功能與職責，委託局處未必完全依照委員的意見來要求廠商修正，以致淪為無人負責的窘境。 最後，本研究提出主要的政策建議，包括研考會的角色應更加積極、強化，確立民調諮詢委員會的定位，嚴肅思考業界委員協助審查的必要性，民調諮詢委員協助審查調查案的預算編列和招標文件；委託局處需掌握整個流程和民調諮詢委員的功能，顧及調查規格和預算的合理性並不以預算為唯一考量，與民調諮詢委員、執行廠商和研考會保持密切關係。

Bakgrund: Bakgrund: Under de senaste 20 åren har svensk offentlig sektor präglats av konkurrensprövning genom privatisering av tidigare offentlig sektor. Det skapar en ny marknad där privata och offentliga aktörer skall samverka under statlig samordning och övervakning. Stockholm stads gymnasie- och hemtjänstmarknad är två exempel på kvasimarknader där staten står som finansiär av välfärdstjänsten samtidigt som den utförs av både privata och offentliga aktörer. Tidigare forskning belyser den problematik som uppstår då staten övergår från att vara en primär producent till en övervakande roll. Då statens roll förändras krävs tydligare regler och strukturer för att kunna samordna och styra kvasimarknader. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att beskriva och förstå hur kvasimarknader styrs, med avseende på upplevda verksamhetskrav och uppföljning. Genomförande: Studien är en kvalitativ fallstudie med ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv. Empirin har inhämtats genom semistrukturerade intervjuer om hur beslutsfattare och marknadsaktörer upplever Stockholm stads gymnasie- och hemtjänstmarknad. Slutsatser: Studien konstaterar att hemtjänstmarknaden, som styrs via tydliga avtal, ger större möjlighet för insyn i verksamheterna och tydligare styrverktyg för Stockholms stad. På gymnasiemarknaden är det svårare för Stockholm att påverka verksamheten hos friskolor då de endast svarar mot Skolinspektionen. Det som ligger till grund för kvasimarknadens funktionalitet och effektivitet beror på det förtroende och tillit som finns mellan beslutsfattare, utförare och kund. Nyckelord: New Public Management, Offentlig styrning, Kvasimarknad, Interorganisato­riska relationer, Ekonomistyrning, Transaktionskostnadsteori. / Background: Over the past 20 years, the Swedish public sector has been characterized by competition through the increasing privatization of public welfare. It creates a new market situation where private and public sector are to co-operate under governmental coordination and monitoring. Stockholm city upper secondary school and home care market are two examples of quasimarkets where the state stands as a financier of the welfare service while it is carried out by both private and public actors. Previous research illustrates the problems that arise when the state changes from being a primary producer to a supervisory role. As the state's role changes it requires clear rules and structures in order to coordinate and control the quasimarkets. Objective: The study aims to describe and understand how quasimarkets are governed, in regard to percieved business requirements and monitoring. Design: The study is a qualitative case study with a hermeneutic perspective. The empirical data has been collected through semi-structured interviews on how policy makers and market actors are experiencing the upper secondary school and home care market. Conclusion: The study notes that the home care market, which is governed by clear agreements and contracts, provides greater transparency between policy makers and market actors. Thus creating better conditions for the usage of management control for the city of Stockholm. In the upper secondary market it is difficult for the city of Stockholm to affect the operations of private schools since they are governed by the Swedish School Inspectorate. The basis for the functionality and efficiency of quasimarkets relies on the confidence and trust that exists between policy makers, market actors and customers. Keywords: New Public Management, Public Governance, Quasimarket, Interorganizational Relations, Management Control, Transaction Cost Economics.

Internationalisation theories and other aspects of this phenomenon have been investigated by researchers to a large extent with respect to MNCs, MNEs and SMEs. However not very much attention has been devoted to the study of the internationalisation of family firms and factors influencing this process. Specifically, in the current era of the third wave of internationalisation, where firms from emerging country markets are internationalising, there has not been sufficient research to investigate, how, when, and why family firms from an emerging country market such as South Africa internationalise. Family firms in South Africa contribute significantly to the economic developments of their nation. They form 80% of businesses within the country and 60% of the firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Therefore, research into the internationalisation of these family firms will not only be beneficial to the South African family businesses investigated, but it will also add valuable knowledge and insight to the internationalisation phenomenon with respect to the nation’s family firms. This study sets out to fill this gap by examining and explaining the internationalisation of South African family firms, and identifying the possible lessons that could be learnt from the internationalised South African family firms by their not yet internationalised counterparts. This research was conducted through a qualitative case study of six South African family firms, out of which three have internationalised and three are yet to internationalise. Face-to-face interviews conducted with the owners and managers, as well as secondary sources of data formed the base of the empirical data analysed. The interview questions were grouped under the concepts of family impact, decision-making, business networks and culture. These concepts were examined and their impact on internationalisation explained. The researchers conclude that chance played the most important role in the internationalisation of the firms. The chance to internationalise however, was made available to these firms through their business networks.

Cette thèse examine les déterminants qui expliquent les types de contrats choisis par les exportateurs et les importateurs pour gérer les risques du commerce international. Elle analyse le cas des exportations chiliennes comme l'un des leaders de l'hémisphère sud sur le commerce des fruits. En appliquant la Théorie de Coûts de Transaction et l'Analyse Institutionnelle, ce travail étudie l'influence de l'incertitude environnementale et comportementale ainsi que la spécificité des actifs sur le degré de complétude, la formalisation et l'exécution des contrats. Cette recherche applique une méthodologie multistrand intégrant des méthodes qualitatives et quantitatives. L'analyse utilise les informations provenant de 39 entretiens directs avec des exportateurs et des importateurs et de 65 enquêtes auprès d' exportateurs conduites à l'aide d'un questionnaire. Elle s'appuie également sur une base de données exhaustive issue des douanes chiliennes et documentant les 170370 transactions avec leurs contrats respectifs réalisées par le Chili dans ses exportations vers l'ensemble du monde sur la période 2009-2010. Elle s'appuie enfin sur 44 cas d'arbitrage international dans le commerce de fruits et légumes. Les résultats montrent que les niveaux d'incertitude environnementale liés aux « risques - pays importateurs » conduisent à des contrats plus complets tandis que des niveaux d'incertitude liés à la périssabilité des fruits conduisent à des contrats moins complets. De son côté, la pénurie d'offre sur le marché met l'entreprise exportatrice dans une position favorable pour négocier des contrats plus complets. Ces transactions internationales sont supportées par des moyens oraux et écrits; dans le négoce international des fruits, les contrats signés sont plus importants que pressenti, et leur rôle est davantage destiné à satisfaire les exigences institutionnelles qu'à compenser les risques. Pour faire respecter les contrats, les entreprises adoptent des mécanismes formels comme les inspections, les assurances et l'arbitrage, ainsi que des mécanismes informels tels que la confiance et la réputation. Cette étude a ses limites car elle porte principalement sur le point de vue de l'exportateur, la base de données des douanes ne fournissant pas l'identité de l'importateur et l'analyse transversale ne permettant pas d'observer l'évolution des pratiques contractuelles dans la durée. Jusqu'à présent, peu de recherches empiriques ont été faites sur les contrats intégrés dans différents contextes institutionnels; cette thèse contribue donc à la connaissance des choix contractuels dans 117 pays importateurs et plus généralement à la compréhension du commerce international des produits périssables. Elle est sur le plan académique, une contribution à la littérature économique et gestionnaire des contrats (complétude, formalisation, exécution) et des changements de forme de gouvernance dans les filières internationales. / This doctoral dissertation examines the determinants explaining the type of contracts chosen by exporters and importers to manage the hazards of international trade. It analyzes the case of Chilean off-season exports as one of the southern-hemisphere leaders in the fruit trade. Applying Transaction Cost Economics and Institutional Analysis as a framework, this work will analyze the influence of environmental and behavioral uncertainty and time-specificity on the degree of completeness, formalization and enforcement of contracts. A multi-strand research design integrating qualitative-quantitative methods is applied to analyze information gathered through: 39 face-to-face interviews with exporters and importers; questionnaire surveys from 65 exporters; an exhaustive Chilean customs database containing 170,370 shipments and contracts from Chile to worldwide buyers; and 44 international arbitration cases for the fruit and vegetable trade. The results show that high levels of uncertainty in the alternative importing countries increase the use of more complete contracts. When levels of fruit perishability are high, this often leads to less complete contracts. Shortage of market supply allows the exporting company a favorable position to negotiate a more complete contract. International transactions are supported by oral and written means; the use of signed contracts is more important than perceived in the fruit industry, but its role is more oriented to respond to institutional requirements rather than as a mechanism to offset hazards, such as exporting to risky countries or dealing with distrustful importers. To enforce contracts firms adopt formal and informal mechanisms. These include inspections, insurance, arbitration, in addition to trust and reputation. Limitations of this study include: the customs database does not include the identity of the importer, the cross-sectional analysis performed does not allow observing the evolution of contracting practices, the study is placed predominately from the exporter's perspective. There is also little empirical research on contracts analyzing transactions embedded in different institutional settings. This thesis contributes to the knowledge of contractual choices in 117 importing countries. It contributes to the understanding of international trade of perishable products. It also contributes to the economics and management literature on international contract completeness, formalization, enforceability, and to literature focusing on the changes of governance in the international supply chains.

Este trabalho iniciou-se com a descrição da goma-resina, do breu e da terebintina. A primeira, extraída de plantios de Pinus elliotti e Pinus caribaea através da resinagem, é a matéria prima base da cadeia dos produtos resinosos. O breu e a terebintina, obtidos através do processamento da goma-resina, são seus primeiros derivados e são, por sua vez, matéria-prima de diversas indústrias químicas, como a de tintas, vernizes, colas, borrachas, desinfetantes, perfumaria, e outras. Passaram-se também em revisão os vários aspectos técnicos das operações de resinagem e, ainda, o processamento de resina. Igualmente se analisou a estrutura dos custos de produção, foram mensurados os custos específicos da operação de resinagem e, de forma menos aprofundada, os da operação de processamento de resina. Procedeu-se também à análise da cadeia produtiva, descrevendo o surgimento e a evolução do setor dos produtos resinosos brasileiro, a sua distribuição e concentração, sob a ótica da Economia dos Custos de Transação (ECT). A metodologia adotada neste trabalho baseou-se na análise gráfica e tabular de dados secundários e da pesquisa de campo realizada por intermédio de questionários, elaborados e lançados em articulação com a ARESB (Associação dos Resinadores do Brasil), e, ainda, de entrevistas com diversos empresários e representantes do setor. A produção brasileira satisfaz o consumo do país e ainda origina excedentes que são exportados e proporciona saldos comerciais positivos. O mercado internacional é dominado pela China que, com vastos recursos florestais e muita mão-de-obra disponível, responde por cerca de 65% da produção mundial e dita os preços dos produtos resinosos. A estrutura dos custos de produção da operação de resinagem, considerada um aspecto importante para a visualização dos problemas internos do setor, indica, sobretudo, uma importante participação do fator mão-de-obra, mas não se constataram níveis críticos relacionados aos seus custos como sucede atualmente em outros países produtores de resina. O setor, englobando empresas de resinagem e de processamento de resina, surgiu de esforços de grandes empresas das indústrias químicas e florestais, ainda hoje tem como agentes empresas provenientes de etapas a montante e a jusante na cadeia, e empresas estrangeiras que viram no Brasil a oportunidade de continuar ligadas a atividade. A produção está sobretudo localizada no Estado de São Paulo e o mercado, ao contrário do que se pressupunha, não se encontra concentrado em algumas empresas. Observando os parâmetros de ECT utilizados na análise da cadeia produtiva, a forma híbrida das estruturas de governança parece ser a predominante no setor. À semelhança de uma cadeia agro-industrial normal, o setor apresenta estrutura de governança voltada para o mercado nos estágios iniciais da cadeia, tendendo ao longo da cadeia, no sentido jusante, para situações hierarquizadas. Verifica-se uma tendência de verticalização das empresas de processamento de resina e derivados para montante como forma de garantir suas matérias primas. / This paper is initiated with the description of gum resin, gum rosin and turpentine. Gum resin, mainly extracted from Pinus elliottii and Pinus caribaea plantations, is the basic raw material in the production chain. Gum rosin and turpentine are the first two products obtained after processing the pine gum, and are themselves used as raw material in the chemical industry to produce paints, varnishes, glues, rubber, perfumes, disinfectants, and others. The gum resin extraction and the technical aspects of its processing are revised. Tapping, industrialization and the whole production cost structure are also analyzed. The origin and evolution of the industry is analyzed, as well as its distribution and concentration, and the production chain is described from a Transaction Cost Economy (TCE) point of view. The methodology adopted in this study is based on graphical and tabular analysis of secondary data, interviews with industry owners and managers, and information collected from questionnaires jointly designed with the Brazilian Gum Resin Producers Association (ARESB). Brazilian production covers domestic demand, and the surplus generated is exported. The international market is controlled by China, which with large forest and labor resources accounts for approximately 65% of the world production and establishes prices. Labor is the main item in the extraction costs structure, but is not as problematic as in other producing countries. The gum rosin and turpentine production segment, initially developed in Brazil by large forest and chemical companies, is still led today by groups positioned upstream and downstream in the production chain, and by foreign enterprises that have seen in Brazil the opportunity to maintain their link with the activity. Production is mainly located in the State of São Paulo, and the market, contrarily to what was expected, does not concentrates in a few companies. According to the TCE parameters used in the production chain analysis, a hybrid governing structure comes up as the predominant structure in this segment. Similarly to a common agribusiness, the chain’s initial stages are market orientated, but towards the end of the chain the segment shows a more hierarchical structure. A trend to verticalization upstream is also noted on gum rosin and turpentine producers, in order to guarantee adequate stocks of raw material.

En ökad tillväxt inom tjänstesektorn och företagens strävan efter att bli mer konkurrenskraftiga har bidragit till högre användning av ett betydelsefullt verktyg i affärsvärlden: outsourcing. Outsourcing gör det möjligt för företag att köpa in tjänster som saknas internt. Genom att ingå i ett samarbete tillsammans med externa leverantörer kan företaget, genom att köpa externa aktiviteter, stärka delar av sin verksamhet som tidigare varit bristfälliga. Dagens samhälle präglas av företag som ständigt strävar efter att höja sin effektivisering och minska sina kostnader. Det har i sin tur medfört att outsourcingen fått en stor inverkan på tjänster, till exempel marknadsföring. Trenden har lett till att många företag därför outsourcar sin marknadsföringsfunktion, som i sin tur kan ge många fördelar. Det ger företaget tid till att fokusera på sin kärnkompetens och få experthjälp i utsatta situationer. Outsourcing kan också medföra risker exempelvis kan en extern leverantör få för stor kontroll över verksamheten, vilket kan leda till att företaget förlora sin unika kärnkompetens. Det kan även uppkomma andra dolda kostnader under projektet som företag inte är medvetna om.Studien har genomförts för att skapa en förståelse kring varför företag outsourcar sin marknadsföringsfunktion. Varför en verksamhet väljer att outsourca sin marknadsföringsfunktion, hur verksamheten påverkas samt vilka för- och nackdelar det finns med den här typen av outsourcing, är därför frågeställningar som lyfts upp i denna uppsats. Vår teoretiska referensram ligger till grund för den empiriska undersökning där fokus legat på teorierna om The Resource Based View och Transaktionskostnadsteorin. Genom att se till The Resource Based View granskar vi vilka aktiviteter som möjliggörs för det köpande företaget genom outsourcing. Fokus ligger i att se till vikten av att inneha resurser och att kunna utnyttja dessa på rätt sätt. Det leder i sin tur till företags vilja att bibehålla sin unika kärnkompetens och möjligheterna som kan uppnås genom att arbeta i ett nätverk med externa leverantörer. Transaktionskostnadsteorin används för att titta närmare på faktorer som motverkar outsourcing. Det berör alla dolda kostnader som kan uppkomma med outsourcing, och att det finns en viss osäkerhet att förlita sig till externa leverantörer.Den här studien har gjorts med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer, där deltagarna bestått av sex informanter från sex olika företag, som arbetar med marknadsföring på olika sätt. I studien har vi kommit fram till att företag outsourcar sin marknadsföringsfunktion för att tidsbespara och för att kunna lägga internt fokus på kärnkompetensen inom verksamheten. Tillsammans med den tidsmässiga aspekten outsourcar företag för att uppnå en högre kompetens. Det handlar inte främst om att företag inte är kapabla till att utföra en viss aktivitet internt, utan på grund av att företagen strävar efter ett utförande på en professionell nivå. Outsourcingen kan även ses som ett verktyg för att kunna producera en enhetlig marknadsföringskampanj med nya infallsvinklar. Att outsourca sin marknadsföringsfunktion har haft påverkan på företagen. Den empiriska undersökningen skildrar en mängd effekter, till exempel ökad intern kompetens, möjligheten att nå nya potentiella marknader, resultat som inte följt förväntningarna och interna konflikter. / Program: Civilekonomprogrammet