With the emergence of biotechnology, the time for drug discovery becomes shorter. In order to obtain the technology they are short of, the pharmaceutical companies choose to forge an alliance with biotech companies. The benefit that the biotech companies get from the alliances is the R&D funds. Therefore the strategic alliaces are formed in the industry very frequently. This thesis uses value activities and equity structures to divide strategic alliance into several types.Through case studies, the thesis sees if there is any difference in the alliances forged by the biotechpharmaceutical firms during different periods and if the financial structure of those firms changes. Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Chiron are two biotech companies being discussed. The pharmaceutical companies chosen are Merck and Eli Lilly. Through the case studies of those above-mentioned firms, the conclusions are as following: 1. The methods for biotech and pharmaceutical firms to cooperate can be divided into two types. One is the pharmaceutical firms offer the greater part of the funds needed during the agreement period; the other is the biotech firms pay the pharmaceutical firms the upfront fees and the milestone fees. 2. Companies gain the most profits from the manufacturing and marketing part of the value chain. Many biotech firms move downstream into this area after gaining adequate sizes. 3. In order to improve the profit abilities, the biotech companies using alliances to get the experience of manufacturing and marketing. 4. The R&D / operating revenues ratio of biotech companies is higher than the one of pharmaceutical companies. So the biotech firms have lower profit margins and ROA. However, the investors anticipate that biotech companies have better profit ability in the future. 5. The revenue growth rate of biotech companies is higher. 6. The pharmaceutical companies are better-organized and have strategies to manage alliances. 7. The pharmaceutical firms decide which stage to forge alliances according to the status of companies¡¦ pipeline. 8. The biotech and pharmaceutical firms have to focus their resources on specific areas to maintain the ability to gain profits 9. It seems that the biotech companies gains more potential benefits from alliances.

For a company to strengthen competitive advantage, they had to put in whatever method they can from time to time, for example, from product innovation, strategic innovation to seek for differentiation. There is also no exceptional for Taiwanese manufacturer. Due to the fact that most Taiwanese manufacturers are small and medium scales company, in addition they are OEM supplier, therefore at initial stage, it is very difficult to pursue differentiation from marketing and product research and development innovation. Under limited resources situation, how to aims at their own strength to select the strategy for differentiation is an issue for Taiwanese manufacturer to consider very thoroughly. This article took small electrical appliances industry as an example and from the business model application standpoint, we discovered that most Taiwanese manufacturers has taken Tapered vertical integration as the main business model to sustain its competitive advantage. Especially when they started on mainland investment, due to the land obtains easily and the cheaper labor force...etc, this vertical integration model application can further be implemented. Taking Value Chain theory and the Smile Curve as a basis for this study, and obtains the most effective vertical integration model is focus on "The Production Vertical Integration". This business model has led a few manufacturers obtain cost advantage in different level. As a case study we take Tsann Kuen Enterprise Co., Ltd as an example, to learn how this company has taken this vertical integration as an approach and developed to become the first Taiwanese manufacturer listed in China stock market. In addition, to learn how it became the top three of the largest small electrical appliances supplier. Finally, from the case study, we will propose a future development approach and suggestion for the Taiwanese small electrical appliances industry. Key Word: Vertical Integration, Smile Curve, Value Chain

Abstract Due to the reduction of market, intense price-competition, and all continual rises of direct costs, the domestic chemical industry is encountering a tough transformation period in recent years. Hence, the competitive strategies of pursuing low cost and high efficiency are both the crucial tasks for traditional chemical manufactures to be deal with. Facing the challenge from China Mainland and India s¡¦ advantages of the lower labor cost and abundant natural resources, domestic chemical industry must improve their intrinsic technology to cross phase highly added-value products of sophisticated chemical manufactures. Continued from the preceding key issues, only by figuring out a unique route, ¡§blue oceans¡¨, from the bloody Red Seas, the survivor could avoid losing the battle and being eliminated permanently by their competitors or violent environment. The strategy adopted by most domestic enterprises is keeping cost down, including the sources of lands, factory facilities, labor, water, electricity, raw materials, and the strategy is integrated with the viewpoints of scale economic. Under the strategy, the enterprises still can¡¦t achieve their definite triumph in competitive circumstances, and nevertheless, it enhances the inherent advantages barely. Taking the steps toward the sophisticated tactics is necessary in order to consolidate the advantage of the original products. Furthermore, the adopted distinctive strategies of market, brand and channel is one of the major issues to success. This research referred to the essential literatures related to my main theme, and I adopted the case study to be the research mode, a foundation prepared for the CEO as the advanced recommendations. Through the process of analysis the chemical industry , target market analysis, SWOT analysis and value chain analysis, we achieve the distinction between two different operation modes. Further the research is expected to provide the domestic chemical enterprises for references while phase off the new pattern. Key words: Competitive advantage, Value chain, Business strategy, Cross-Phase

Abstract Taiwan Synthetic Resin industry filed, undergoing fifty hard years, this is a mature industry and most of companies have been built up a certain scale of production. Since 1997 the China government combined economic reform with open policy to create a rapid economy growth. With the appeal of market superiority rising and low production cost, truly attracts many inverters enter the target market. Under such strong market competitive, some of Taiwan Synthetic Resin companies have successfully transferred into a high-tech industrial territory, some of companies were standing on their original basis to improve its competition ability. Hence, there is obviously difference of the final business performance in between them. This thesis is based on the case study for Q company, engaged in manufacturing Synthetic Resin related products. The research methodologies take various theoretical analyses such as the ¡§Value Chain¡¨ model of Michael Porter and ¡§Strategic Alliance¡¨ to investigate the business strategy of those listed companies and OTC of Taiwan Synthetic Resin industry. Hope this research should provide useful information about the related strategic usage and future development of the Synthetic Resin industry. The key points of finding in this study may be summarized as under: 1) The technical resource of Taiwan Synthetic Resin industry is mainly demanded on technical alliance and the R&D capability is still under developing. 2) The rapid economic growth and development of the Mainland China caused more difficult environment for Taiwan company future development in the business transformation strategy. 3) The enterprise resource is key success factor in achieving competitive advantages in operation, technology and marketing in the industry field. Key words: Synthetic Resin¡BValue Chain¡BStrategic Alliance¡BBusiness transformation

Use Gary Gereffi's Global Commodity Chains to explain and analyse Global apparel industry and Taiwan apparel industry,besides to describe the transitionary role of Taiwan in Global apparel Commodity Chains.

ABSTRACT According to the annual report of Gambro, there were about 1,153,080 ESRD ( End Stage Renal Disease ) in the world-wide market; meanwhile, there were 294,050 ESRD in US market, 244,450 in European market, 206,000 in Japanese market. From Brooke Hollis¡¦ research report ( 1998 ), it indicated about 34% of Dialysis Center belonging to Dialysis Provider in the US market, and it forecasted the percentage should be increased up to 71% until 2001. Actually, there is about 66% of Dialysis Center hold by Dialysis Provider in the US market in 2001. In the Taiwan market, there were 31,106 ESRD ( 1999 ), depending on the statistic from Taiwan Society of Nephrology. The total expense of the dialysis therapy was about 13.37 billion in 1998. It increased about 14% per year, therefore, it expanded to 15.22 billion in 1999, then up to 17.57 billion in 2000. Since the fast growth of the Dialysis market in Taiwan and its potential, some of famous global industries, such as Fresenius, Gambro, and Baxter has get involved in Taiwan market and has directly entered the competition in the management of channel. Originally, Dialysis Agent was prototypical style for the Multiple-national industry in the Dialysis Market to develop cross-aboard. But, the competition type has became to be Dialysis Provider. Enfield Medical Inc. is one of successful companies during the development. During the thesis, the writer is interested in the strategy changing and developing, and make the research to analyze and to conclude the changing and the developing strategy of dialysis Industry.

The enterprise battlefield is estate, enterprise is among estate competitiveness manage the success or failure key. Though M. Porter brings forward competition strategy think: Enterprise will be confronted with ¡¥stuck in the middle¡¦ awkward situation if being able to not to choose from cost leadership, differentiation and focus strategy alternative. Afterwards, Porter indicates that in one book "Country Competitive Advantage ": Have a lot of enterprise indeed cost to be led with differentiation use together, and have the fine achievement effect; In other words, if cost leadership and differentiation manage to be used simultaneously, both multiply effect general stronger. In supply chain, the production logistics system must give consideration to cost, quality, deliver achievement effects such as scheduled time and safety; Except taking that cost leadership as target, field delivering customer regard such as scheduled time and safety in quality, is shown differentiation, is also that the tactics planning and management taking supply chain as the lifting competitive advantage competing for unit times middle, entire supply chain planning and management system manages a target. How will the production logistics system of modern enterprise change to adapt to the new tactics plan under give consideration to cost leadership and differentiation strategies? Study is from case study according to Task-Technology Fit Theory originally, produce what logistics management acts as role in development process of knowing the case company supplying chain in estate, manpower includes topic for discussion and method of work encountered by whose especially with information technology complementing each other; Interview studying process is middle, being to permeate a depth mainly, that discusses the collocation relevance document with the viewpoint, arrange out reference pattern of may be for estate's supplying chain construction the system producing a logistics management of having competition. Childbirth studying main observation is limited originally logistics management reality affair, the pad `produces the planning and management' pattern , hopes a modest spur to induce someone to come forward with his valuable contributions with construction, develop so-called ¡¥production logistics¡¦ theory.

Enterprise resources include organization departments and information systems Enterprise resource management examines resources owned by an enterprise and develops competitive advantages for an enterprise. This research comes out with architecture-oriented enterprise resource management model, abbreviated as AOERMM, to describe all enterprise value chains occurring from the organization departments and information systems within an enterprise. In a value chain, there are ¡§primary activities¡¨ and ¡§supportive activities.¡¨ AOERMM is an integrated model which is able to present all business views. Most importantly, an enterprise¡¦s profit depends on its performing these activities efficiently. AOERMM must meet customer requirement and firm-strategy to build up all business activities. AOERMM uses six golden rules such as architecture hierarchy diagram, structure element diagram, structure element service diagram, structure element connection diagram, structure behavior coalescence diagram, and interaction flow diagram to build up the enterprise resource management architecture. With AOERMM, we can easily and quickly conquer any challenge forthcoming from the market. Therefore, process-oriented is out of date. Architecture-oriented is on the rise for tomorrow¡¦s enterprise resource management.

<p>In the spring of 2009 we spent five weeks in Mozambique performing a field study. Four of the weeks were spent in Nampula province in the northern part of the country, where most of the Mozambican cashew is produced. In the 1970s Mozambique was world leading in cashew kernel export, however, today the industry is a shadow of its former self. Since the end of the 1990s, the government along with other stakeholders, are trying to recuperate the industry. There are a great deal of obstacles to overcome to be able to compete with other large exporting countries such as India, Vietnam and Brazil. The main issue is the conditions of the trees; the majority of the trees are over forty years old and therefore have a low cashew yield. In addition, poor maintenance of the trees further decreases the production. Other problems are the infrastructure, in particular roads in poor condition, difficulties in locating markets and the income gap between the producer and end retailer.</p><p>During our research we have thought of a few recommendations which we feel would be worth looking into. We feel cheaper seedling should be available for the producers and nurseries should be put more locally for easier access. We also recommend spraying of the trees to be done more frequently. Furthermore a prerequisite for an expansion of the cashew industry is an investment in the infrastructure, to be able to transport the cashew from producer to processor and exporter. This would also improve life quality of the people in general. In addition, an investment in the poorest is necessary for the development of the country, a tool for achieving this could be better access to micro credits and village banks. To increase the income generated from Mozambican cashew kernels we recommend focusing the export on Fair Trade and possibly the organic market since they provide higher prices. A possibility to locating new markets would be an office, possibly in Europe, in order to be closer to the costumers. Another income generating market could be the market for by-products such as Cashew Nut Shell Liquid, cashew oil and juice and jam from the fruit.</p>

<p>Smallholder farmers have been at the center of the development discourse not only because they represent a significant portion of the world's extreme poor but because of their potential role in food security, climate change and gender equality. Smallholders account for 70% of global food production but most of them in the developing world operate in the informal markets. Market formalization is accelerating even in the least developed countries, however, and formal market channels are gradually displacing informal ones. Global value chain based formal markets may also offer opportunities for smallholders to tap into fast growing international markets for high value agricultural products.</p><p> One of the key challenges policymakers, the development community and agribusinesses face, however, is smallholders' limited formal organization ("producer organizations") that aggregate their production and demand for goods and services in order to enable more effective market participation ("aggregation"). Only 5-10% of farmers globally are estimated to participate in formal producer organizations. This is despite the fact that such organizations have been supported by both policymakers and the development field as a way of tackling poverty and addressing market failures. </p><p>The shift towards food production being organized based on global value chains and production networks and the fast dissemination of supermarkets and other modern food retail outlets around the world is creating increased need for smallholders to partake in some form of aggregation mechanism in order to become contributors to the global food system.</p><p>Agribusinesses that buy agricultural products have therefore also been encouraging producer organizations as a way to improve their ability to source from smallholders. Nonetheless, of the producer organizations that do exist in emerging economies, only a negligible portion have been able to achieve stable access to the growing global market of high value agricultural products.</p><p>The objective of this dissertation is to contribute to the understanding of this paradox and to identify factors that may improve the likelihood and effectiveness of aggregation. The structure of this work is as follows: first the research problem and the gap in the literature (Chapter 1) will be defined, followed by the review of existing scholarship on smallholder agricultural producers, the globalization of agribusiness and global value chains as well as the literature on the aggregation of smallholder production, producer organizations and their access to global and modern value chains (Chapter 2). </p><p>Next a conceptual framework will be proposed based on which a model for smallholder global-value-chain-relevant aggregation (Chapter 3) will be developed that takes into account the producer organization types, the services offered by the producer organizations, producer organizations' access to financing and the requirements of global value chains. </p><p>The model will be tested first using the population of Hungarian producer organizations, and then a sample of Central American and Peruvian producer organizations (Chapter 4), utilizing the following hypotheses:</p><p>1. "Collective identity narratives", manifesting themselves in Collective Identity Activities, play an important role in facilitating the growth and competitiveness of POs.</p><p>2. Services, including access to financing for farmers, provided by POs play an important role in facilitating scaling.</p><p>3. Cooperatives are at a disadvantage compared to other producer organization (PO) forms in achieving the conditions of global value chain access.</p><p>The empirical analysis has five main findings. First, because trust is so important in enabling farmer participation in collectives, shared narratives that establish collective identity may play a role in ensuring not only farmer loyalty but also may help improve producer organizations' performance, particularly as organizations grow. Second, organizations that offer more services to farmers are more likely to scale and hence achieve global value chain access. However, this study found that considerable variation among services, some having much more significant relationship to the ability to scale than others. Third, cooperatives, the producer organization form most often supported by policymakers and the development field, on average were found less effective than other forms of producer organizations in their ability to connect farmers to global value chains. Having said that, it is important to highlight that the study also identified several cooperatives and some common patterns among them that outperformed both their cooperative and non-cooperative peers. Fourth, while this study adds to the evidence that smaller farmers within the smallholder group are at a disadvantage when it comes to PO participation and may, therefore, require differentiated support when it comes to interventions, it also identified several POs that work with some of the smallest farmers and still outperform their peers. Fifth, the study found that POs' access to financing is important for modern market access, in addition to meeting quantity and quality requirements.</p><p>The policy implications of these findings are considerable and recommendations for interventions conclude the paper (Chapter 6) after the discussion of this study's limitations (Chapter 5). The key policy findings include that cooperatives are not the panacea for development and policymakers should also consider other forms of producer organizations for support. Importantly, policymakers should rather consider linking their support to certain aggregator characteristics and activities, including services offered since some services appear to have stronger relationships than others with POs' ability to succeed. Among these services access to finance for farmers as well as research and development and innovation play crucial role and therefore deserve heightened attention from policymakers while access to finance at the PO level has also been found to be important. In addition, PO activities that help build collective identity are associated with POs' productivity and ability to scale.</p><p>In terms of the arguable trade-off between sustainability and smallholder inclusion, a finding of the present work is that smallholders have the potential to achieve significantly higher productivity than their larger counterparts and their POs can successfully access modern markets as long as they are provided with the necessary support related to sustainable intensification of their production and access to capital for making the necessary investments.</p> / Dissertation