This thesis explores the strength of the two major theories of punishment, consequentialism and retributivism. It also explores the two most critiqued systems of punishment in the world: The U.S and Norway. By presenting the idea that retributivism is the only plausible theory that can morally justify the U.S. penal practises, I argue against the theory by incorporating various objections delivered by Antony Duff, Michael Zimmerman, and Jeffrie Murphy. I then explore the question of what could possibly ground the Norwegian justice system, for the answer to this is crucial, if we hope to demand prison reform and tailor our systems to resemble the Norwegian ideal. To answer this question, I present a theory that incorporates the ‘capabilities approach’ as developed by Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen, arguing that the Norwegian prison system is grounded in a hybrid theory of consequentialism that aims to enhance our human rights.

摘要 核心能力往往是企業在競爭激烈的商場中賴以生存之憑藉，然而環境變動程度劇烈使得各企業固有之核心能力面臨挑戰，學界紛以提出核心能力僵化、核心能力無效論來解釋此一現象。近來台商赴大陸投資之熱潮，從媒體工作者不斷提出不同標題如「該西進，亦或是上進」可見一斑。然而台商在台灣賴以競爭之核心能力，移轉至大陸後仍能保持其競爭優勢嗎？或是僅需因地制宜而稍加改變後，仍能發揮其效果？ 動態能力說由核心能力說演化而來，而因應環境之改變而迅速調整自身之核心能力乃動態能力說最為強調且關切者。而探討能力移轉模式的學說甚多，但多是考慮因應政治法律、社會文化、經濟，以及教育等因素而選擇不同的模式移轉。而對於經營知識因應環境的修正，本研究將調整方式分為「本質」的調整與「程序」的調整來作為區分其調整經營知識之依據。 本研究依據文獻整理之結論，以核心能力觀點與環境、時間變數提出動態能力之新定義。本研究認為，在母國企業的核心能力，因為母國企業至地主國設廠或合資，使得核心能力至地主國需要調整與修正，而造成核心能力的組成與發展都可能有所不同。此種因應環境而不斷改變組織之核心能力的過程，即為「動態能力」的概念。此種定義與過往學者所強調之不同在於時間變數之加入，能夠清楚看出過去之核心能力與修正後之核心能力其動態變化的過程，以補過往學者僅探討單一時點核心能力之不足。本研究以前往大陸投資之台商為個案探討對象，共計五個個案。個案進行之程序從該公司前往大陸投資之目的為起始，進而找出其在台灣之核心能力。而後，由能力移轉至大陸時，所需因應當地環境等因素之不同而修改的能力有若干、程度為何著手。最末者，將各公司因應當地環境所需新創之能力作一描述與探討。 本研究所探討之個案公司所前往大陸之目的幾乎都以成本為首要考量，其次以市場因素而前往投資者亦不在少數。分析各個案研究公司後，有以下命題：所欲移轉核心能力之技術知識複雜度、內隱程度愈高，能力移轉模式愈傾向直接投資。母公司對於投資之地主國公司所有權擁有程度愈高，能力移轉程度愈高。台商所前往地主國環境愈複雜、條件因素愈弱，以及地主國公司目標差異與母公司愈大者，該企業能力移轉修正與新創能力之程度愈高。地主國之生產條件因素愈差、支援與相關產業表現愈差、地主國對產品需求本質與母國差異愈大、地主國企業策略、結構，以及競爭狀態與母國差異愈大，能力移轉修正程度愈大。企業愈傾向內銷市場導向，需要在地主國創造新能力的傾向愈強。此外，本研究亦發現，企業因其處於產業價值鏈上位置之不同，將因而影響其前往地主國投資之動機。 本研究所提出之動態能力觀點，不僅適用於學術上之研究，亦能給予產業界些許建議。第一，由母國移往地主國之移轉模式是否與該企業核心能力之技術特質相對應。第二，對於地主國企業之所有權擁有程度是否與移轉模式之選擇相對應。第三，欲前往之區域其鑽石體系是否能提供該企業未來策略擬定之支持。第四，內銷導向之企業，對於法令之知曉程度需較外銷導向之企業靈通。第五，瞭解自身處於產業價值鏈之位置，並且對於企業本身所能提供之價值單元做一界定，使得赴大陸投資之動機與核心能力相互呼應與搭配。此外，本研究亦對後續研究之學者提出部分建議。第一，往後可針對企業單一核心能力（如生產能力）作動態能力之分析，可收專精且深入之效。第二，未來研究學者可接續探討能力移轉後，對地主國產業或企業之擴散效應。第三，研究可始自核心能力在母國之形成與背後之原因，如此可與移轉後能力需修正之原因相互對應，或許所研究出之成果，更值得產業界作為赴大陸投資前之參考。 / Abstract Core capabilities are the basic elements by which an enterprise could survive in the competitive business field. However, the violent variation of the environment makes the innate core capabilities of the enterprise face the challenge. Therefore, the academic community proposes “rigidity core capabilities” and “invalidity of core capabilities” to explain why the enterprises’ inability to face the variation of environment would occur. Nowadays, it has been a fever that more and more Taiwan’s entrepreneurs invest in Mainland China. The trend is also definitely revealed by the headline of the magazine such as “should we move westward to Mainland China or go forward by ourselves rooting in Taiwan?” Could core capabilities, which the enterprises implement in Taiwan, still sustain competitive advantages when transferring in Mainland China while transferred into local branches in Mainland China? Or is it possible that core capabilities may be transferred slightly to suit the measure to local conditions and could become more effective in the new region. The theorem of dynamic capabilities, evolving from core capabilities, highly emphasizes and deeply concerns that the ability of adjusting capabilities to fit in the variation of the environment. There are lots of debates over the capabilities transferring models, which is based on differences of the political, social, cultural, and educational factors. In an attempt to clarifying the modification path of business knowledge, this research adopts two business knowledge adjusting methods: nature modification and process modification. Basing on scholars’ concerning research documents, this research generates the new definition of dynamic capabilities: core capabilities, environment variations, and time variables. In this research, originally-existed core capabilities, with corporations investing in or joint ventures in the host countries, will be modified to adjusting into current circumstances. This process, which modified core capabilities of the organization to adopt different environments, is so-called “dynamic capabilities”. This definition could find out the process of the dynamic variation, which is from core capabilities in the past to modified ones. This research discusses those who invest in Mainland China and there are 5 cases totally. The analytic process of these cases is in a logical way. Starting from finding out the objective of investing in Mainland China and then look for theirs’ core capabilities in Taiwan. When transferring capabilities to Mainland China, Taiwan enterprises’ modified capabilities for fitting into the different environments would be found out. The last part, capabilities created for local conditions would be described and discussed. The objective of the 5 cases in this research all concerns about the cost and market issues. After analyzing these companies, we could obtain the proposition: if the complexity of technical knowledge of transferring core capabilities is higher, the tendency of transferring model would be direct investment; if the ownership of the investing company is higher, the level of transferring capabilities would be higher; if the environment of host country is more complex, the level of capabilities modified and created would be higher; if the performance of supporting and related industry is worse, the level of capabilities modified would be higher. Besides, the different places on the industry value chain would affect the objective of investing in host country. The dynamic capabilities perspective proposed by this research not only suits for academic community, but also could give some suggestion for industrial circles. First of all, is the transferring model highly related to the technical characteristic of core capabilities? Secondly, is the level of ownership of host enterprise highly related to transferring model? Thirdly, does the supporting and related industry of that area support enterprise’s future strategy? Fourthly, enterprises selling in the host country should learn more about the legal issues than exporting enterprises. Fifthly, to understand which place enterprises themselves are in the industry value chain and which value unit they could offer to fit in the objective of investing in Mainland China. Besides, this research also proposes some suggestion for future scholars. Firstly, they could analyze dynamic capabilities for the single core capability, such as production capabilities which are usually competitive advantages of Taiwan enterprises. Secondly, diffusing effect for host industry after capabilities transferring could be discussed. Thirdly, future researches could start from finding out the forming reason of core capabilities and then compare to the objective of investing in Mainland China. Therefore, the result would be more practical for Taiwan enterprises’ reference before investing in Mainland China.

企業如何建立持續創新的能力，以創業以及動態能耐的角度去分析 / World enterprises are facing the challenge of continuous innovation to compete and to sustain their market positions, and they are under great pressure to respond quickly and efficiently to changes in their external environments. Innovation can be characterized as a synthesis of process, product, and knowledge that leads to increased business growth and higher performance. An organization may accelerate innovation with better capabilities of managing critical resources. Business leadership and the capability to manage organizational resources for fluent communication and learning during the innovation development cycle have been highlighted as key components of sustained competitiveness. Based on the literature on process and information technology management, business innovation, and dynamic capabilities, this study provides a model that addresses the links between leadership—with insights and foresights for technology exploration and exploitation—and organizational capabilities of resource integration, learning, and transformation to accelerate innovation. A comparative analysis of the evolution of two PC manufacturers and two textile firms in Taiwan revealed a cyclical process between the leadership decisions and dynamic capabilities for sustained competitiveness in these two industries. The study results suggest that to build strong capabilities for continuous innovation in a changing business environment firms need to have leadership with both the attitude and behavior of entrepreneurship, combining the foresight to capture opportunities with ICT and the insight to guide and manage internal resources to achieve dynamic innovation.

A mandate is “a business, or element of a business, in which the subsidiary participates and for which it has responsibilities beyond its national market” (Birkinshaw, 1996, p. 467). In the past MNCs set up subsidiaries as miniature replicas of the parent firm but with a changing global market the role of the subsidiary has developed into holding specific mandates. Much has been written about how subsidiaries gain mandates, but in this paper we focus on what causes a subsidiary to lose its mandate. By using AstraZeneca’s R&D unit in Södertälje as a case we examine the loss of mandates and to what extent technological capabilities are connected to the loss of mandates. The paper shows that explaining the loss of mandates is complex and requires consideration of several perspectives. We here provide a starting point for other researchers to continue upon.

The purpose of this research is to study how organizations maintain their competitive advantage in today’s turbulent and highly competitive business environment, by striving to become a learning organization. The impact of factors such as leadership (both transformational and transactional leadership) and trust on an organization’s learning capability is empirically examined. This research adds to the existing body of literature in two ways. First, it argues that a transactional leadership style can influence learning, despite research spanning the last decade that has focused on transformational leadership theory as the dominant model of effective leadership. Therefore, the importance of both leadership styles, each having valuable differential effects is emphasized in this study. Second, the previously untested role of trust as mediating the relationship between leadership and organizational learning capability is examined. It is argued that without supervisor trust, the opportunities for a learning organization to reach its full potential and to subsequently develop learning capabilities is reduced. Findings from this study support the influence of both leadership styles on learning. Trust in one’s supervisor was also found to fully mediate the relationship between leadership and learning.

Worldwide, externally supported craft development initiatives aim to enhance the capability of local craft producers to succeed in globalized markets. However, the contribution that these organizations make towards the abilities of local actors remains unclear. Following a hermeneutic reflection on literature, empirical field experience derived from the African and South Pacific contexts and a multiple case study analysis of craft development organizations, the research investigates the pre-conceptions that lie behind approaches adopted in craft development initiatives. Two emerging elements of particular importance have been identified. Firstly, the Western ideological notion of craft, influenced particularly by the Arts and Crafts movement, and secondly the ethos of social design, built on the legacy of the appropriate technology movement. It is argued that both of these have a constraining impact on the development of indigenous design skills that underpin successful participation in global markets. Noting that craft covers a wide range of practices, the research at hand furthermore identifies a category of craft that has become the epitome of Non-Western craft. These decorative and exotic artifacts are labor-intensive to produce, making them only marginally profitable for the makers. Yet there is an apparent emphasis on the promotion of this category within international craft development initiatives. The research concludes that the current practice of craft development initiatives cannot fully contribute to the development of the response capability of the local craft producers. Enhancing the impact of these initiatives would require serious reconsideration of product strategies and a re-think of the premises under which initiatives are undertaken. A new approach is suggested, one that examines design within a framework of social, economic and ecological sustainability, taking into consideration such socio-cultural issues as the peoples’ right to economic freedoms and the use of capabilities, building on the work of the economist and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen.

This thesis focuses upon the surprising connection between two separate bodies of work: the capability approach and Daniel Hausman’s 2015 book Valuing Health: Well-Being, Freedom, and Suffering. Proponents of the capability approach, such as Martha Nussbaum, have argued that the state has an important role to play in promoting well-being. Hausman seems to hold a position quite dissimilar from this, as he argues that standard practices in health economics are seriously flawed because the liberal state should not be promoting well-being. However, I argue that there exists an unexpectedly great degree of similarity between the two positions and suggest that it seems as though Hausman is, in fact, calling for the promotion of well-being. In illuminating conceptual similarities between the two views, I also point to areas where Hausman’s proposals might be strengthened or enhanced by work from CA theorists. This paper provides the foundation for further research to be undertaken exploring how these views might enhance one another.

Purpose: The purpose of our research was to study the role and impact that ‘information and communication technologies’ and the MEC centers might have on the Uruguayan society. We want to examine how MEC and ICT usage could affect daily lives of marginalized people in Uruguay. We want to explore how it might benefit individuals living in small communities by evaluating indicators of positive impact of how ICT usage could strengthen capitals and increase freedom. Furthermore, our aim is to understand how digital literacy and the access to ICT’s can be related to democracy, and try to understand if greater individual empowerment also could enhance democracy. Method: For a period of eight weeks, from March 3rd to 28th of April 2014, we were in Montevideo and vicinity to gather material that we later have analyzed qualitatively. The material is based on observations in the field, interviews with various stakeholders, manuals and national policy documents concerning MEC, as well answers we received from an online survey. Main conclusions:We have found that the MEC centers and ICT, combined with education, could be an important tool to facilitate the inclusion of marginalized groups in the Uruguayan society. Our findings indicate that the MEC centers in Uruguay could contribute to the decentralization of the country and have a positive impact on gender- and generation equality. The result suggests that the centers could have a positive impact on democracy in Uruguay by teaching participants how to use e-governmental services as well as encouraging them to participate in online governmental websites. Furthermore, we found that MEC lets the local communities be in charge of their own development, which indicate that the sustainability of the project is increased as well as the positive development outcome. Through the MEC centers we found that both the freedom and the social capital of the participants were positively affected.

Due to the rapid growth of new technologies, the Business Intelligence (BI) market is growing as well that forces the corporations to adopt their offerings to the needs of the customer. Adoption of Business Intelligence system has become one of the most important technological and organizational innovations in modern organization that promote knowledge diffusion, and cornerstone of business decision making processes. Since the way of BI integrated and implemented is quite different among organizations, it is important to approach BI literature by adaption of BI application and its implementation, BI architects, and enabling factors in BI projects. Furthermore, we are also going to discuss how technological capabilities such as user access, data quality and the integration of BI with other systems in the firm, as well as organizational capabilities such as flexibility and risk management support, are essential for BI success, regardless of the decision environment. Last but not least, this paper will also discuss how the idea of BI has been built on the school of thought. We expect that results could create the value and input for enterprises that plan to implement a BI application in their organization.

This study explores the relationship of entrepreneurial orientation and dynamic capabilities as organizations grow beyond country borders and into international markets. Through an extensive literature review of internationalization, entrepreneurial orientation and dynamic capabilities, a theoretical framework is developed that allow us to answer our research question. The study takes an abductive, comparative case study approach and is conducted on three Swedish SMEs in regard to their internationalization activites related to South Korea. The study proposes that there is an area in research that still contain a high degree of ambiguity which makes an understanding of the relationship between these two constructs difficult to define. The study’s findings report that the two constructs have complementary narratives of the same phenomenon which concedes a variety of possible relationships. The study then argues in support and rebuttal of five propositions of relationships.