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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1975. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1983. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-252).

Thesis--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 446-453).

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

M.Comm. (Business Management) / Research and Development (R&D) facilities have been used to develop new or better products and services for a long time. Organisations utilise knowledge gained from their R&D facilities to gain access to new markets and to improve the organisation’s competitiveness in the market. R&D facilities are referred to as learning organisations that employ people who specialise in specific technologies. These employees are referred to as ‘knowledge employees’. Sasol R&D was formed in 1955 to assist the organisation to develop and improve the Fischer-Tropch (F-T) technology that was adopted by the organisation to produce synthetic fuels from coal. At the time the technology had not been sufficiently proven on a commercial scale and this necessitated that research be conducted to ensure that the processes related to (F-T) technology are efficiently operated. The use of the knowledge generated by Sasol R&D has resulted in Sasol being recognised as the world leader in F-T technology and has led to joint ventures with other organisations around the world. The management of acquired knowledge has been critical in the development of Sasol and the successes that the organisation has enjoyed. It is therefore important that the employees of Sasol and those of Sasol R&D are well equipped to utilise the knowledge that was generated by previous employees to continuously improve and develop technologies. The objective of this study was to establish the perception that knowledge employees have of Knowledge Management (KM) and what Sasol R&D can improve on in this regard, i.e. business performance and individual employees’ career development. Respondents generally agree with the importance of KM in Sasol R&D and also indicated that a successful KM strategy can help improve individuals’ careers. The respondents also indicated that they were familiar with the concept of KM and the advantages for the organisation in the successful implementation of such a KM strategy. The main recommendations from the study are: 1. Employees should be involved in current the future KM strategies that the management of Sasol R&D wants to implement. 2. The adopted KM strategy’s objectives and benefits should be made clear and understandable to all employees. In addition, all relevant documentation should be made available to the employees.

This study investigates the influence of regional factors on firm survival, with a particular focus on the startup and growing phases of firms. By employing Cox-proportional hazard models, the analysis centers on Mississippi establishments and considers regional attributes such as industry specialization, diversity and workforce education levels. The findings reveal that industry specialization does not significantly impact firm survival, while industry diversity has a negative effect, indicating a lack of discernible agglomeration benefits within Mississippi's business environment. Interestingly, regions characterized by educated and skilled workers exhibit a positive association with firm survival, particularly in the growing stage rather than during the startup phase. The findings emphasize the need to tailor strategies based on the firm's specific maturity stage in order to enhance their chances of survival.

No / We document rich variation across observed firms’ characteristics, and the accompanying macroeconomic volatility, often related to political turmoil for Ukrainian manufacturing firms. We use a unique annual firm-level data for the period from 2001 to 2009 compiled from the Derzhkomstat. To understand the evolution of distributions we utilize functional principal component analysis while accounting for the effects associated with firms’ region, industry, trade status, and firm turnover. The overall improvements in firm productivity in Ukraine’s manufacturing in 2001–2009 vary substantially by industry, trade status and with firm turnover, while regional effects are less important.

Yes / We develop a theoretical framework exploring firm corruption accounting for interactions with an auditor who provides auditing and other services. A multiplicity of equilibria can exist including stable corruption and auditor controlled corruption. Whilst fining the auditor cannot eliminate all corruption, fining the firm can, but marginal increases in this fine can also have perverse effects. Investing in corruption detection may be effective in deterring auditor corruption but ineffective in deterring firm corruption. Policy effectiveness is highly dependent upon several factors which may be hard to observe in practice making general rules about policy interventions to address corruption very difficult.