Diffusion studies are commonly associated with the dissemination of innovations across legally and economically independent organizational units. Suggesting a new perspective on the existing diffusion literature, this thesis argues that diffusion of innovations is a relevant issue to study also on a (formally) micro–level of investigation. Based on this reasoning, this thesis examines how and why a contemporary management accounting tool diffuses within a group of organizations belonging to a common corporate group. The concept in focus is the Balanced Scorecard. A high number of adopters worldwide combined with a shortage of empirically grounded scientific studies dealing with the practical Scorecard application make it a relevant tool to study. Against this background, this thesis also aims to enhance our knowledge on what it means to adopt and to maintain a Balanced Scorecard in practice. To address these aims, this study presents the results of an in-depth case study of a large-sized multinational firm. The empirical data describes a five-year BSC adoption and implementation process in five business divisions; all of them active in the communications business. Diffusion of innovations studies, supplemented by management accounting implementation studies form a first part of the theoretical framework developed. In an effort to create an even richer understanding of the data, a network perspective is additionally applied in a second analytical step. The findings of this thesis indicate that applying theory of diffusion on a micro–level requires using a process-approach of study. Under this pre-condition, the study portrays the intra-firm Balanced Scorecard diffusion as a complex process—unpredictable in its nature and highly dependent on groups of individuals and their interests. The Balanced Scorecard is identified as a management fashion. Confirming experiences made with established management accounting tools, organizational resistance prolongs its implementation process. Parts of this resistance are identified as being related to the Scorecard concept itself, while others appear to be non-specific to the tool examined.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, Aug., 2009. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Social media is a cost-effective marketing tool, and in a 2014 survey, 75% of small business owners reported that they used social media to market. However, many of these businesses merely set up social media profiles and do not use social media to its full potential. Microenterprise owners face barriers such as lack of time, financial resources, and marketing knowledge, preventing them from adopting social media as a marketing tool. This multiple case study explored what strategies microenterprise owners in the artisan economy need to market using social media. Data were collected from 5 custom bicycle framebuilders in a Southwestern U.S. state through semistructured interviews with open-ended questions. Company documents and social media reviews were also used for data collection and triangulation. The diffusion of innovations theory was the conceptual framework of this study to aid understanding of framebuilders' social media adoption process and social media usage. Thematic analysis identified 7 themes that emerged from the data: technological competence, the establishment of social media presence, effective utilization of social media platforms, effective communication skills, the establishment of brand identity, time management, and acquisition of external support. The study findings are expected to help artisan microenterprise owners harness social media and, in turn, improve business practices, increase sales, and promote their crafts, which may lead to positive social outcomes. The results of the study will assist artisan microenterprise owners source materials locally from other small businesses, a process that prevents money from leaving the local economy and helps to build strong communities.

Det ökande behovet av nationella IT-stöd inom hälso- och sjukvård har lett till att en nationell IT-strategi för vård och omsorg har utarbetats och att flera projekt inom ramen för denna strategi har startats. Ett av dessa projekt är utvecklingen och det nationella införandet av det nya ordinationsverktyget Pascal vilket innefattar samtliga landsting och kommuner. Förutsättningarna för projektet och dess storlek medför att ledningen måste finna tillämpbara strategier för att hantera dess komplexa förhållanden. Det har konstaterats att ett stort antal projektmisslyckanden kan bero på att komplexa projekt leds genom icke tillämpbara strategier. Ledning av komplexa projekt försvåras av det faktum att linjära strategier inte är tillämpbara, strategierna bör istället situationsanpassas och väljas efter de olika problemen som måste bemötas under projektets gång. Denna fallstudie ämnar identifiera vilka komplexiteter projektet uppvisar samt hur de kan hanteras utifrån projektets förutsättningar. Fallstudien gjordes genom en kvalitativ metodansats där elva intervjuer utfördes med personer från projektledningen, en kommunikatör samt ansvariga för landsting och kommuner. Slutsatserna var bland annat att stöd, transparens, god dialog, kunskapsutbyte och anpassningsbarhet var centrala faktorer för projektets framgång. / The increasing need for national IT support in health care has led to the development of a national IT strategy for health care services and the initiation of several IT projects in health care. One of these projects is the development and national introduction of the new prescription tool Pascal which includes all counties and municipalities. The projects initial conditions and its size entail that the management must find suitable strategies to cope with its complexity. It has been found that a large number of project failures can be caused by the fact that complex projects sometimes are led by unsuitable strategies. Managing complex projects can be complicated due to the fact that linear approaches are not suitable. The strategy selection should be situation dependent and determined by the problems at hand. This case study intends to identify how a complex project for the introduction of an innovation in the Swedish health care can be managed to deal with its complexity. The case study was executed by a qualitative method in which 11 interviews were conducted with members of the project management, a communicator, and people responsible for the implementation in municipalities and counties. The conclusions were that support, transparency, good dialogue, the exchange of knowledge and adaptability were the key elements to project success.

Construction workers are an important resource in a country where housing is a desperate need and an unaffordable proposition for millions and where housing built by the organized sector serves only a marginal population. Much therefore depends on the workers' know how and skills to produce affordable and quality housing. In a country like India, where traditional home building technology is being fast replaced by building technology from the west, it is essential to know how and to what extent is this change imbibed by these producers of housing---the construction workers. How do people become construction workers? How and where do they learn and train? What are their sources of new technology? What are their systems and conditions of operation? These questions become significant if this resource has to be trained and deployed not only for improving quality of construction but also to actively involve them in the alleviation of the state of technology, diffusion of much needed technology innovations and development of a powerful and effective grass root level resource to upgrade the housing conditions of the country's poor. This dissertation pursues these issues with the aid of a study of skilled construction workers in the Pune region of India. It ends with a conceptual model to help overcome some drawbacks of the present system and points to other related issues that need immediate consideration in the interest of overall development of the home building industry.

Den här studien handlar om konsumenters adoption av fingeravtrycksläsare i mobiltelefoner. Att implementera fingeravtryck som en verifieringsmetod har blivit allt vanligare i mobiltelefoner. Under 2013 lanserades iPhone 5S med fingeravtrycksläsare. Därefter har två företag lanserat teknologin i sina premiumtelefon, Samsung Galaxy S5 och HTC One Max. Det har även blivit möjligt att utföra betalningar genom PayPal med hjälp av teknologin och snart kommer det även att gå att betala på Alibaba.com, vilket är en kinesisk variant av eBay. Utöver det nämnt ovan går det att låsa upp, skydda bilder och meddelanden med sitt fingeravtryck. I och med denna pågående spridning av tekniken anser vi det nödvändigt att studera vad som påverkar konsumenten vid adoption av denna teknik i nämnda kontext. Detta är nödvändigt att undersöka för att bidra med relevant information till företag som är involverade i denna steknik i olika sammanhang, därmed har vi antagit ett företagsperspektiv i vår studie. Studien genomfördes med en kvantitativundersökning, där 207 st. respondenter fick svara på en enkät med attitydbaserade påståenden relaterade till fingeravtrycksläsare. Frågorna i enkäten är baserade på teorier som tidigare har använts i andra studier som behandlar adoption av teknik, t ex mobilhandel, 3G och internetbank etc. De teorier vi har använt oss utav i vår studie är technology acceptance model, diffusion of innovations, the motivational model och self-service technologies. Resultaten från vår undersökning visade att den relativa fördelen, observation, testmöjlighet, användbarhet, bristande förtroende och upplevd risk hade en betydande påverkan på attityden till fingeravtrycksläsare. Den beroende faktorn attityd till fingeravtrycksläsare består av påståendena från motivationsmodellen samt våra attitydpåståenden som är inkluderade i undersökningen. Resultaten ger oss och relevanta företag en bild av vad som behöver arbetas på för att fler konsumenter skall adoptera fingeravtrycksläsare i sin mobiltelefon. Det vill säga att företag bör lägga marknadsföring på användarbarheten och visa upp den relativa fördelen för att övertyga individer att börja använda teknologin. Genom att det blir vanligare att observera fingeravtrycksläsare i vardagen kommer det att påverka adoptionen positivt. Det fanns en faktor som visade en negativ påverkan på adoptionen, denna faktor var individens bristande förtroende och upplevda risk till fingeravtrycksläsare. Med hjälp av den här informationen kan företag se till att införa lönsamma åtgärder, åtgärder som till exempel att marknadsföra samt utveckla teknologin för att därefter visa att det finns en god säkerhet i fingeravtrycksläsare. Detta kan uppnås genom att se till att budskapet finner konsumenterna genom t ex marknadsföring. Genom att implementera åtgärder som eventuellt kan öka graden av konsumenters adoption av fingeravtrycksläsare gynnas både tillverkaren av sensorn och mobiltelefontillverkaren genom en möjlig ökad försäljning. Vi har även inkluderat ett bonusmaterial i vårt arbete bestående av resultat som vi fick efter att ha samkört teorierna ovan som oberoende faktorer och motivationsmodellen som beroende faktor. Motivationsmodellen förklarar situationsengagemang och beståendeengagemang för en produkt. Det visade sig att för att få konsumenten att ha ett bestående engagemang krävs det att den relativa fördelen framhävs och att konsumenterna försäkras om att användning av fingeravtrycksläsare är säkert, detta höjer i sin tur förtroendet för tekniken. / This study is about the consumer adoption of fingerprint readers in cell phones. The implementation of fingerprint verification methods in mobile phones has been increasing. In 2013 iPhone 5S was launched with a fingerprint reader. Since then the two companies have launched the technology in its premium phones, the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One Max. It has also become possible to make payments through PayPal using the technology, and soon it will also be possible to make payments on Alibaba.com, which is a Chinese version of eBay. In addition to the mentioned fields of usage above, it is possible to unlock your cell phone, protect images and messages with your fingerprint. With this current diffusion of this technology, we believe it is necessary to study the factors that influence consumer adoption of this technology in this context. This is necessary to examine in order to provide relevant information to companies involved in this technology in different contexts, thus we have adopted a corporate perspective in our study. The study was a quantitative survey, where a number of 207 respondents were asked to answer a questionnaire with attitude -based claims related to the fingerprint reader. The survey questions are based on theories that have been used in other studies which consider adoption of technologies such as m-commerce, 3G and Internet banking etc. The theories that were used in our study are the technology acceptance model, diffusion of innovation, the motivational model and self-service technologies. The results of our study showed that the relative advantage, observation, testing capability, usability, lack of trust and perceived risk had all a significant impact on the attitude towards fingerprint readers. The dependent factor attitude towards fingerprint readers consists of the assertions of the motivation model and our attitude claims that are included in the survey. The results provide both us and relevant enterprises a picture of what needs to be worked on in order to get more consumers to adopt fingerprint readers on their cell phone. Therefore companies should put marketing on the usability and show the relative advantage to convince people to start using the technology. By becoming more common to observe the fingerprint reader in everyday life, it will affect adoption positively. There was one factor that showed a negative effect on the adoption, this factor was the individual's lack of trust and perceived risk towards the fingerprint reader. By using this information, companies can look at introducing profitable actions, actions such as to promote and develop the technology and then to show that there is a high level of security in the usage of fingerprint readers. This can be achieved by ensuring that the message finds consumers, this can be done by for example marketing. By implementing actions that could potentially increase the rate of consumer adoption of fingerprint readers, it benefits both the manufacturer of the sensor and the mobile phone manufacturer by a possible increase in sales. We have also included a bonus in our work consisting of results we got after we had reconciled the theories above as independent factors and the motivational model as a dependent factor. The motivational model explains the situation of commitment and enduring commitment to a product. It turned out that to get the consumer to have an enduring commitment it requires that the relative advantage is emphasized and that consumers are assured that the use of fingerprint readers is safe. This in turn enhances confidence in the technology.

The prices of technological equipment have seen significant declines in recent decades. In Chapter 2 of this thesis, we examine the evidence and causes of these price declines. Among several factors, we focus on the learning curve effect where the cost of producing technological equipment declines as the cumulative number of produced units increases. In Chapter 3 we review the literature on technology adoption and the timing decisions of such adoptions. We aim to contribute to the literature by examining the timing of technology adoption under price declines. Furthermore, we consider the effect of human capital on such adoption decisions. We begin in Chapter 4 by developing a model of the timing of technology adoption under an exogenous price decline. Section 1 considers a single price drop in followed by multiple price drops in section 2. From the analytical results developed in these sections, we examine the effect of human capital on the adoption decision. Chapter 5 considers the price of the technological equipment to be endogenous to the model. We run computational experiments to demonstrate the declining price as a function of time. We examine the effect of the distribution of human capital on the price decline and adoption decision of the individuals of the population. We conclude with insights on the relationship between human capital inequality and technology adoption decisions.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, 2009. / Title from screen (viewed on August 28, 2009). School of Nursing, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Pamela Ironside, Anna McDaniel. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-197).

144 p. / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2012-12-17T20:02:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 777777.pdf: 1404043 bytes, checksum: 455c1842a991a43ffa2c67ea28e28e0f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-12-17T20:02:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 777777.pdf: 1404043 bytes, checksum: 455c1842a991a43ffa2c67ea28e28e0f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Este trabalho se propõe a analisar como uma pequena empresa inovadora gerencia o processo de difusão das suas inovações, especialmente no que tange à difusão das novas idéias para o mercado, bem como entender quais variáveis interferem neste processo. Para tanto, foi realizado um estudo de caso com uma organização baiana vencedora nacional do Prêmio FINEP de Inovação 2010, a Softwell Solutions. Foram adotados como referenciais teóricos da pesquisa o conceito de inovação apresentada pela Teoria do Desenvolvimento Econômico, de Schumpeter, e a Teoria da Difusão de Inovações proposta por Everett Rogers, autor considerado principal autoridade nesta temática. Para Rogers, a difusão de uma inovação consiste no processo de adoção, incorporação e utilização do novo método ou artefato por agentes de determinado sistema produtivo ou social. Este processo é composto por quatro elementos-chaves: a inovação em si, os canais de comunicação empregados para troca de informações entre os agentes envolvidos no processo, o tempo necessário para absorção da inovação e o sistema social onde ocorre a difusão. Outros dois conceitos, baseados em diversos autores, foram vinculados à teoria proposta por Rogers: o uso das novas tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TICs) como importantes canais de comunicação para a troca de informações e interação entre agentes sociais; e a importância de as organizações construírem redes produtivas, alianças estratégicas e parcerias com fornecedores, órgãos públicos de fomento, concorrentes, universidades, centros de pesquisa, dentre outros agentes, tanto para gerar quanto para difundir inovações. A partir desta fundamentação teórica, a pesquisa a ser apresentada neste trabalho dissertativo se propôs então a responder à seguinte questão: Como uma pequena empresa reconhecidamente inovadora gerencia o processo de difusão da sua inovação tecnológica no mercado? Considera-se como principal justifica para realização da pesquisa o entendimento, fundamentado em diversos autores da literatura consultada, de que o conhecimento do processo de difusão da inovação favorece a sua gestão, ainda que este envolva também fatores que estão fora da esfera de controle da empresa. Conclui-se que a empresa estudada gerencia de forma sistemática e planejada o processo de inovação, e isto se reflete no planejamento do processo de difusão da inovação no mercado. Embora esta etapa não seja gerenciada com base em critérios tão claramente definidos como na etapa de criação e desenvolvimento de novas idéias, observa-se o planejamento das ações de comunicação, a adequada identificação dos membros mais propensos à adoção da inovação e dos agentes influenciadores da decisão de adoção da inovação, bem como a compreensão dos canais de comunicação mais adequados ao perfil dos públicos de interesse da empresa e dos mecanismos eficazes para legitimar o produto socialmente, fornecer informações sobre ele ao mercado e reduzir inseguranças. / Salvador

O processo acelerado de modernização científica e tecnológica tem gerado novas formas de conhecimento, o que tem levado instituições a rever o modo de formação dos profissionais. Dentre as várias características necessárias para este novo profissional, destacam-se a capacidade de buscar e utilizar novas informações, saber comunicar-se (nacional e internacionalmente), usar os recursos tecnológicos para a melhoria de vida, desenvolver a crítica e desempenhar a profissão de forma contextualizada e em equipe. Podemos afirmar então que o cuidado de enfermagem precisa ter uma abrangência maior. E assim, ao considerar a formação do enfermeiro, é que buscamos conhecer a situação atual do ensino, no que se refere à prevenção e tratamento de úlceras por pressão, nos cursos de graduação em enfermagem de oito Instituições Públicas de Ensino Superior do estado de São Paulo. Foi realizada uma pesquisa descritiva do tipo inquérito, da qual participaram 36 docentes, a maior parte do sexo feminino (97,2%), casados (75%), com idade entre 41 a 45 anos, com um tempo de formado variando de 16 a 25 anos, com aperfeiçoamento, 22,2% , especialização, 86,1% , mestrado 83,3% e doutorado 52,7%. Tinham experiência anterior à docência 94,4%, sendo a área mais freqüente a assistencial (47,2%). Foram citadas 2 disciplinas obrigatórias e 3 eletivas sobre o tema. Dentre os docentes, 28% ministram conteúdo teórico em sala de aula, 75,6% em estágio curricular e33,3% teórico-prático em laboratório. O modo de preparação para o ensino ocorreu por meio de publicações científicas 88,9%, pela prática profissional anterior a docência 80,6 % e em cursos de extensão 61,1%. As publicações incluíram 13 títulos de livros, 8 revistas nacionais e 8 revistas internacionais. O método mais utilizado em sala de aula foi aula expositiva (44,4%), em laboratório de ensino foi a demonstração pelo professor (58,3%), e no ensino clínico foi um aluno faz o procedimento e os demais observam (83,3%).Com relação aos recursos computacionais, 87,5% das instituições possuem laboratórios de informática e 100% possuem servidor. A relação aluno/computador nos cursos variou de 5,3 a 26,6. O tema mais abordado sobre prevenção foi: Fatores de risco (91,7%), e sobre tratamento Métodos de limpeza, desbridamento, coberturas, alívio da pressão e controle da dor (91,7%). Quanto ao preparo do docente para o ensino do tema, 58,3% se sentem preparados e 41,7%, não. Os comentários e sugestões dos docentes evidenciaram a necessidade de um enfoque maior na prevenção de UP e maior divulgação de inovações entre docentes. / The accelerated process of scientific and technological modernization has created new forms of knowledge. As a result, institutions have reconsidered the way they educate professionals. Among the different characteristics this \"new\" professional needs, special attention must be given to the ability to search for and use new information, to communicate (in the national and international spheres), to use technological resources for a better life, to develop criticism and perform the profession in a contextualized form through teamwork. Thus, it can be affirmed that nursing care needs to expand its range. That is why, in view of nursing education, we aim to get to know the current situation of teaching on the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers in undergraduate nursing courses at eight Public Higher Education Institutions in the state of São Paulo. A descriptive inquiry was carried out. The participants were 36 lecturers, most of whom were women (97.2%), married (75%), between 41 and 45 years old; graduation times ranged from 16 to 25 years; 22.2% had taken refresher courses, 86.1% specialization courses, 83.3% Masters and 52.7% doctoral programs. 94.4% possessed earlier experience before teaching, most of whom (47.2%) in the field of care delivery. 2 compulsory and 3 optional subjects about the theme were mentioned. 28% of the lecturers presented theoretical contents in the classroom and 75.6% in curricular training, while 33,3 % offered theoretical-practical contents in laboratories. Teaching preparation was realized by means of scientific publications (88.9%), by professional practice previous to teaching (80.6%) and by extension courses (61.1%). The publications included 13 book titles, 8 national and 8 international journals. Seminars were the most used method (44.4%) in the classroom, demonstrations by the lecturer (58.3%) at the teaching lab, and a student demonstrating the procedure while the others are observing (83.3%) in clinical teaching. With respect to computer resources, 87.5% of the institutions have computer labs and 100% have a server. The student /computer index ranged from 5,3 to 26,6.The most frequently discussed theme related to prevention was: \'Risk factors\' (91.7%) and, in terms of treatment, \'Cleaning, debridement, dressing, pressure relief and pain control methods\' (91.7%). As to the lecturer\'s preparation for teaching about the theme, 58.3% feel prepared, whereas 41.7% do not. The lecturers\' comments and suggestions revealed the need for a greater focus on pressure ulcer prevention and for greater dissemination of novelties among lecturers.