A closer look at innovation for and from emerging markets respectively developing economies reveals that a variety of different terms and concepts related to this type of innovation exist. The goal of my conceptual paper is to present a comprehensive overview of related terms and concepts and to suggest theoretical based classification criteria in order to differentiate them. After a first investigation in relation to innovation for and from emerging markets the keywords ‘reverse’, ‘frugal’, ‘jugaad’, and ‘bottom of the pyramid / bottom of pyramid / bop’ were identified and used for searching the database of Google Scholar. For further investigation only texts were considered with at least eight various terms. 19 different texts were identified which classified for a further analysis. As results 33 identified terms in relation to innovation for and from emerging markets, various spellings and synonyms and references with at least two mentions in the identified texts are presented. As theoretical based classification criteria ‘market orientation’, ‘determinants’ (of innovation for and from emerging market)’, ‘nature’ (of innovation for and from emerging markets), sophistication’, ‘sustainability’, ‘novelty’ and ‘innovator type’ were identified.

Neo-Marxism and neoliberal institutionalism are applied to investigate which factors determine the cooperation of emerging powers and what consequences it may have globally within the case of Russia-China relations in BRICS. To this end, congruence analysis is applied. Based on available data, comparison of predictions with observations reveals that the majority of evidences accord with neo-Marxism. Russia and China affirm their position against the predominance of one center in the international arena and emphasize common commitment to a more equitable multipolar world order that is permanently reflected in the statements of Russian and Chinese leadership. The trade war between the US and China since 2018 is one of the evidence of the growing disintegration of the existing world order. Building a new order is based on the creation of regional coalitions of the countries that share common views on specific issues. Within the framework of BRICS, Russia and China have already taken measures towards own financial institutions as an alternative source of funding. The leaderships of both countries believe that emerging economies should have a greater voice and representation in international financial institutions. Their primary interest is the reform of the International Monetary Fund so that it...

This paper analyzes the impact of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) on sovereign bond returns of 25 emerging markets from 1993 to 2016. Under a BIT, foreign investors can use an international arbitration scheme to enforce compensation claims against the domestic government in case of direct or indirect expropriation. We focus on the so far unexplored effects of legal risk associated with BITs on sovereign creditworthiness. We find small unconditional effects of BITs on sovereign bond returns. Taking the heterogeneity of BITs and political regimes into account, we find robust and strong negative effects. In countries with high political risk of expropriation (measured by low executive constraints), we find that the implementation of investor-friendly BITs is associated with a significantly negative impact on sovereign bond returns, accounting for roughly 15% of bond returns’ standard deviation.

The purpose of this master thesis is to test an individual influence of separate factors on a mobile software development company’s position in a rating of Top Grossing applications in Asian countries, explain how these factors could be interpreted from a modified 4P framework perspective and understand how a mobile developer can adjust its strategy based on the identified factors. The research is based on a ranking data of 90 finance management applications for iPhone on the App Store of China, South Korea and Japan. The hypotheses about an existence of causal relationships between the identified factors and software’s position in the rating of Top Grossing finance mobile applications were tested. The research is based on a multiple regression analysis, conducted separately on the Chinese, South Korean and Japanese markets.   In the findings of the research the authors state that a position of financial mobile software in the Apple App Store rating of Top Grossing applications is determined by a unique set of factors, which vary across the studied Asian markets, while a number of factors converge. The models designed for the markets of China, South Korea and Japan allow to identify which factors can potentially elevate the position of an application in the rating of the most profit generating financial programs (Top Grossing rating) and based on that gain an understanding of the way a mobile software company’s marketing strategy could be adjusted to better meet customers’ needs on the studied markets.   The originality of this master thesis is in the development of a new approach to the analysis of a mobile software development company’s performance regarding its position in Top Grossing ranking. Since the market of mobile applications emerged only in 2008 the factors influencing the performance of mobile developing companies have not been theoretically discussed before.

There has been an increase in research on the internationalization of sharing economy firms. However most of this research has largely focused on mature markets. Very little attention has been given to the internationalization of sharing economy firms in emerging markets particularly those from Africa. The African continent is different from mature markets and the internationalization challenges of sharing economy firms are therefore dissimilar.  This study seeks to fill the existing knowledge gap by exploring the internationalization challenges faced by sharing economy firms from an emerging African market perspective. We also seek to understand the internationalization process of African sharing economy firms. Finally we seek to provide solutions on how African sharing economy firms can manage the challenges they face. This research was conducted using qualitative case studies of eight companies. Two have internationalized within and beyond Africa. Four have internationalized within Africa while two are yet to internationalize. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with founders and operations managers of the different sharing economy firms.  The empirical findings show that African sharecoms can internationalize in a unique internationalization sequence, which starts with gradual internationalization to a “foreign gateway market” followed by rapid internationalization to other foreign markets. The study identified funding as the greatest challenge faced by African sharing economy firms while low adoption rates and mindset were the dominant psychic distance obstacles. The study also revealed that in Africa, technology is solely not enough by itself and extra effort needs to be undertaken to ensure successful internationalization of sharing economy firms. The research concluded that regulatory challenges are industry-specific rather than targeting sharing economy firms. Further, networks were an important combining factor facilitating the internationalization process and overcoming some challenges.

Der ständig steigende Bedarf an Lebensmitteln und Getränken insbesondere in Schwellenländern wie China, Indien und Brasilien fordert von der Verpackungsindustrie eine Leistungssteigerung in gleichem Maße. Um den Durchsatz einer einzelnen Verpackungs- und Füllmaschine unter Beibehaltung von Verpackungsqualität und -form zu steigern, gibt es grundsätzlich zwei Möglichkeiten. Die eine Verbreiterung der Maschine nach sich ziehende Erhöhung der Anzahl der gleichzeitig bearbeiteten Verpackungen, sowie die weitestgehend bauraumneutrale Verringerung der Taktzeit. Letzteres wurde von der SIG Combibloc Systems GmbH, einem der weltweit führenden Systemanbieter von Packstoff und entsprechenden Füllmaschinen für Getränke und Lebensmittel, für eines ihrer Verpackungssysteme in Angriff genommen. Ziel war die Erhöhung des Durchsatzes um 50 % von 24.000 auf 36.000 Verpackungen pro Stunde. [... aus der Einleitung]

The brand equity concept is one of the most significant concepts for branding and marketing and its model and measurement have interested many academics and practitioners. Most of the research on brand equity has focused on physical goods, with a dearth of studies on the service sector in general and particularly in the banking sector. The dearth of research in this area appears paradox as branding could be argued to play a distinctive role particularly in the service sector. This is because strong brands increase consumers' trust of the imperceptible purchase and reduce their perceived monetary, social, or safety risk in buying services, which are difficult to evaluate prior to purchase and for which it sometimes takes a long time after purchase to confirm the brand promise. Consequently, many scholars have called for an investigation of brand equity in the service sector. In addition, most of the research on brand equity has focused on developed countries which would suggest a regional focus on developing countries. To sum up, despite the importance of brand equity in the service sector, there is lack of empirical evidence in the service sector in general and specifically in the banking sector, particularly for developing economies. Furthermore, there is lack of studies that examined and compared service brand equity across bank type (local public, local private and foreign banks) to provide a benchmark especially for foreign banks. Contributing to scholarly attempts to fill the gaps in the brand equity literature. this thesis examines consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) in the Egyptian banking sector in general and based on each bank type: public, private and foreign. In addition, the study aims to find out the similarities and differences on brand equity based on bank type. The regional context of the study is Egypt As the largest Arab country and the entry point for the Middle East and Africa Egypt appeared to be of high practical relevance and be a suitable regional research context. Unlike previous researches, a mixed method approach was employed to achieve the research aims. Qualitative data was used to triangulate the quantitative data and gaining a richer understanding of the quantitative findings. Four hundred and sixty-eight self-administered questionnaires were collected by offline and online modes, and 14 semi-structured face-to-face interviews provided details about how consumers perceived consumer-based brand equity in Egyptian banking. Data was analysed using SPSS19. Different types of statistical applications were used, such as descriptive analysis, factor analysis and multiple regressions. Content analysis using NVivo10 software was used to analyse the interview data. The main findings reveal that CBBE is applicable in the Egyptian banking sector. The results show that brand awareness, reliable staff, brand association and brand loyalty are the most effective variables on overall value of brand equity in the Egyptian banking sector, while within public banks, reliable staff, brand association and brand loyalty have the most influence on the overall value of brand equity. However, private and foreign banks share the same variables which affect the overall value of brand equity; these variables are brand awareness, brand loyalty and brand personality. The findings reveal that there is a significant difference between public banks and private and foreign banks; however, there is no significant difference between private and foreign banks. The qualitative findings support and add meaning to the quantitative results. The current research contributes to knowledge in the field of service brand equity research and extend our understanding in developing economics and adding to the debate on the area of brand equity. Furthermore, it contributes methodologically by using mixed methods and mixed modes (offline and online). In addition, the study overcomes the limitations of previous studies in three ways. Firstly, different types of brand association were incorporated and real consumers were approached rather than relying on students’ samples. Secondly, perceived quality was measured using the SERVPERF scale, providing a more comprehensive quality measure than many studies. Thirdly, the data were collected from Egypt, which as a developing country establishes an underresearched regional context. Therefore, as is the case in many developing countries, there were many challenges involved in the data collection process. Based on the results, the study provides a number of pratical contributions: It offers a manageable scale ‘‘tool kit'' for managers in the banking sector, regardless of type of bank, to create, maintain and improve their brand equity. It also provides guidelines that public, private and foreign banks could use to compare their performance with competitors. The study emphasizes the importance of building and developing brand awearness for private and foreign banks. As the service encounter is the “moment of truth” and is one of the most important determinants of brand equity, public banks should place more emphasis on their internal branding as well as on external consumers. Top management should invest in cultivating their brand values to their employees, particularly front-line employees, as they will deliver them to consumers through the service encounter. Another interesting finding with practical relevance was that although the majority of banks in Egypt has online banking services, most of the study respondents did not use them, therefore they might be well advised to collaborate with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to organise a campaign to cultivate trust in the country’s online banking infrastructure and promote the advantages of using it. Online banking could be one of the solutions to overcrowding and long queues in public banks and improve the quality of the service provided which will lead to consumers’ satisfaction and increase the level of brand equity. Most consumers of public banks perceived their banks as the only secure banks guaranteed by the Egyptian government. Similarly to promoting the use of online banking, there is a need to develop a better public awareness of the role of the CBE in supervising all banks in Egypt regardless of their type. This will ensure fair and equal opportunities for all banks, which will foster real competition and hence is argued to affect the quality of the service provided. Despite the research achieved its planned objectives, as any social research, it has certain constraints and limitations. These limitations could offer opportunities for future research to address. Firstly, due the lack of detailed information about the study population, this research used a convenience sample of induvadul commercial bank consumers in the Greater Cairo. Future research could employ probability sampling if possible. Moreover, future studies could cover more cities in Egypt, not only the Greater Cairo area (even though the focus on this area has been discussed and justified in the thesis). Secondly, although the importance of CBBE has been analysed mainly from a consumer perspective it might be useful to examine service brand equity from the points of view of employees (managers and front-line) in banks in order to gain a better and comprehensive understanding from both perspectives. Thirdly, while this study examined and compared CBBE in diffrent bank types (public, private and foreign) in Egypt. It is suggested that a comparison could be made based on the top bank in each types, as this could give more specific recommendations for these banks. Fourthly, due to limitations of time and funds, future reseach could examine and compare CBBE in different services sectors and in different countries. Fifthly, this study focused on commercial banks in Egypt in general without distinguish between Islamic and conventional banks. Therefore, future research could carefully distinguish between Islamic and conventional banks and compare CBBE across them to gain a better understanding of the differences and similarities. Sixthly, it could be worth comparing the CBBE of foreign banks when they operate overseas (e.g., Barclays Bank and HSBC).

This thesis consists of three essays that explore the dynamics of interconnected markets and examine the relationships between markets, investor behavior, and fundamental characteristics of the firm and the economy. In the first essay, we investigate the role of trade credit links in generating cross-border return predictability between international firms. Using data from 43 countries from 1993 to 2009, we find that firms with high trade credit in producer countries have stock returns that are strongly predictable based on the returns of their associated customer countries. This behavior is especially prevalent among firms with high levels of foreign sales. To better understand this effect we develop an asset pricing model in which firms in different countries are connected by trade credit links. The model offers further predictions about this phenomenon, including stronger predictability during periods of high credit constraints and low uninformed trading volume. We find supportive empirical evidence for these predictions. The second essay investigates the dynamics of commodity futures volatility. I derive the variance decomposition for the futures basis to show how unexpected excess returns result from new information about expected future interest rates, convenience yields, and risk premia. Using data on major commodity futures markets and global bilateral commodity trade, I analyze the extent to which commodity volatility is related to fundamental uncertainty arising from increased emerging market demand and macroeconomic uncertainty, and control for the potential impact of financial frictions introduced by changing market structure and index trading. I find that a higher concentration in the emerging market importers of a commodity is associated with higher futures volatility. Commodity futures volatility is significantly predictable using variables capturing macroeconomic uncertainty. The third essay investigates the differential explanatory power of consumer (importing countries) and producer (exporting countries) risk in explaining the volatility of commodity spot premia and term premia using trade-weighted indices of GDP volatility. Using data for major commodity futures markets, bilateral commodity trade, exchange rates, and GDP for countries trading these commodities, I test hypotheses on the heterogeneous impact of consumer and producer shocks, potentially driven by differences in hedging preferences and investment planning horizons. Producer risk is significant for both short-dated and long-dated maturities, while consumer risk has greater explanatory power for the volatility of the term spread.

Quelques chercheurs ont récemment étudié le rôle de levier d’innovation, voire même d’innovation inversé des projets social business ou BOP pour les multinationales des pays développés.Cette étude longitudinale analyse en profondeur le cas d’une multinationale de l’agroalimentaire, et explore le rôle des projets social business et BOP (SBOP) dans le renouveau stratégique de cette entreprise : l’aidant à être simultanément plus durable (face aux défis environnementaux et sociaux actuels) et compétitive. Elle analyse le processus de ce renouveau stratégique mené à partir des projets SBOP et les facteurs clés de succès de ce renouveau ; parmi eux : une double approche (« top down » et « bottom up »), articulée sur trois niveaux: individuel, collectif and organisationnel. Elle met aussi en valeur l’impact de l’orientation sociétale des projets, comme accélérateur et amplificateur de ce renouveau. / For a few years researchers have been focusing on the BOP as a lever for innovation and even reverse innovation for MNEs from developed countries. This in depth longitudinal study of an agrofood company explores the role of BOP and social business (SBOP) initiatives as a lever for strategic renewal of a whole company: helping it become simultaneously more sustainable (as regards our global environmental and social challenges) and more competitive. It analyses the process of this renewal and the key factors of its success; among them: a double (top down and bottom up) approach: articulated on three levels: individual, collective and organizational. It also analyses the role of a socially oriented focus as a booster of this strategic renewal.

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’analyser l’effet de la globalisation sur la dynamique de l’inflation et sur la politique monétaire dans un monde de globalisation. Cette thèse porte 3 chapitres :Dans le premier chapitre, nous nous intéressons à l’impact de la globalisation financière sur le comportement du ciblage d’inflation dans les pays émergents, avec une attention particulière portée au taux de change : la Banque centrale répond-elle aux mouvements du taux de change ? Nous nous sommes basés sur des données trimestrielles de six pays émergents qui pratiquent la politique de ciblage d’inflation, depuis la date de l’adoption de cette dernière, jusqu’au dernier trimestre 2009 (2009 Q4). L’étude se base sur un modèle de petite économie ouverte néo-Keynésien à la Gali et Monacelli (2005). Nous utilisons un estimateur GMM à équations multiples pour analyser la relation. Les résultats nous montrent que la réponse de la Banque Centrale au taux de change est statistiquement significatif dans le cas du Brésil, du Chili, du Mexique et de la Thaïlande. En revanche, elle ne l’est pas pour la Corée ni pour la République Tchèque. Théoriquement, le résultat ne devrait pas être significatif même avec un ciblage d’inflation flexible où la banque centrale répond aux écarts d’inflation et de production.Nous pensons que les caractéristiques particulières des pays émergents, telles que la peur du flottement “fear of floating”, le manque de développement du système financier ainsi qu’un manque de crédibilité de la banque centrale, expliquent cette préoccupation des banque centrales pour les variations de change. Dans le deuxième chapitre, nous étudions d’une façon empirique l’importance relative des canaux de transmission de la politique monétaire pour le Brésil, le Chili et la Corée. Cette partie se base sur des données mensuelles depuis l’adoption du ciblage d’inflation jusqu’à décembre 2009 (2009 M12). Nous utilisons un modèle SVAR, en incorporant les principaux canaux de transmission monétaire simultanément au lieu de les considérer séparément. Les résultats empiriques indiquent que le canal de taux de change ainsi que canal du prix des actifs ont une importance relativement plus élevée que le canal du taux d’intérêt traditionnel ou le canal du crédit pour la production industrielle. Les résultats sont très différents dans le cas de l’inflation, à l’exception de la Corée. Le classement élevé canal du taux de change et du canal du prix des actifs correspondent aux résultats de Gudmundsson (2007) : le canal du taux de change pourrait avoir pris une importance grandissante avec la développement de la globalisation financière.Dans le troisième chapitre, nous étudions empiriquement le rôle de l’ouverture - réelle et financière - sur la dynamique de l’inflation au Brésil, Chile en Corée du Sud. L’étude se base sur des données mensuelles, depuis l’adoption du ciblage d’inflation jusqu’à décembre 2009. Dans ce dernier chapitre, nous utilisons méthode de moments généralisée (GMM). Le ratio Importation sur PIB est considéré comme étant l’indicateur de l’ouverture réelle. En ce qui concerne l’ouverture financière, nous considérons alternativement l’indice de Chinn et Ito (KAOPEN) mesurant le degré de libéralisation des opérations sur le compte financier, et l’indicateur proposé per Lane et Milesi-Ferreti (2009).Nous concluons dans ce chapitre qu’il existe en général une relation positive entre l’ouverture réelle et l’inflation. En ce qui concerne l’ouverture financière, les résultats sont moins tranchés et dépendent largement de l’indicateur utilisé pour mesurer l’ouverture financière. / The aim of this thesis is to analyze the impact of globalization on the dynamics of inflation and monetary policy in a globalized world. It consists of three essays.In the first essay we investigate the impact of financial globalization on the behaviour of inflation targeting emerging market economies with respect to exchange rate – Do central banks respond to exchange rate movements or not? We use quarterly data for six emerging market inflation targeting economies from the date of their inflation targeting adoption to 2009 Q4. The chapter uses small open economy new Keynesian model à la Gali and Monacelli (2005), and employs multi-equation GMM technique to investigate the relationship. We find that the response of central bank to the exchange rate in case of Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Thailand is statistically significant while insignificant for Korea and Czech Republic. Theoretically, it should not be so as even under flexible inflation targeting central bank responds to inflation deviation and output gap; we think that the peculiar characteristics of emerging markets, like fear of floating, weak financial system and low level of central bank credibility make exchange rate important for these economies. In the second essay we investigate empirically the relative importance of monetary transmission channels for Brazil, Chile and Korea. This chapter uses monthly data from the inception of inflation targeting regime to 2009 M12. We use a SVAR model incorporating the main monetary transmission channels combined together instead of individual channels in isolation. The empirical results indicate that the exchange rate channel and the share price channel have higher relative importance than the traditional interest rate and credit channel for industrial production. The results are not much different in case of inflation, except for Korea. The high ranking of exchange rate and share price channel is in line with the results by Gudmundsson (2007), which finds that exchange rate channel might have overburdened in the wake of financial globalization.In the third chapter we investigate empirically the role of openness – real and financial – on the inflation dynamics of Brazil, Chile and Korea. The chapter uses monthly data from the inception of inflation targeting regime to the end month of 2009. In this chapter we employ the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) technique. We use imports to GDP ratio as an indicator for real openness whereas Chinn and Ito index (KAOPEN) and total assets plus total liabilities to GDP ratio form the data set of Lane and Milesi-Ferretti are two proxies for financial openness. The chapter concludes that there exists, generally, a positive relationship between real openness and inflation. However, in case of financial globalization the results are inconclusive as they are sensitive to measurement method of financial globalization.