Work deals with global trends in high-tech industry which are mainly consolidation, concentrations and regionalization. It provides the definition of the high-tech industry, then focuses on specific sector - semiconductor industry. It describes the characteristics of the manufacturing process and workforce. A special part is devoted to government policies regards to the semiconductors research and development. The last part is devoted to a case study of the American company - Texas Instruments Inc. which has been playing the important role in the world semiconductor industry.

No description available.

Abstract This is the first part of our three part comparative study of Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) in China and India. For this we employ the integrative framework developed by Mian (1997) and its adaptation to analyzing the performance of TBI, which uses three sets of variables for analysis: management and operational policies, services, and performance outcomes of TBI. The determinants we introduce into Mians‟s model highlight the financial, networking and organizational aspects of the incubation system. We present an overview comparison of TBIs in China and India which provides an overall understanding of TBI environment in these two emerging economies. We mainly focus on: objectives, structure and governance of incubators, selection of tenants/incubatees, funding for incubators and tenants, services provided by incubators, performance and outcomes. By analyzing the contexts for their emergence in both countries, we identify similarities and differences between the two systems and explore the reasons for performance differences. This paper prepares the ground for the next stages of the research which involves national surveys of TBIs and tenants to explore the strength and weaknesses of the TBIs in these two countries and compare the success or failures of incubatees/ tenants of incubators in China and India which will help to identify policy learning for both countries in particular and also for other developing countries in general. The contribution of our paper is twofold: first, the adaptation of the integrative framework developed by Mian (1997) and the second, the comparative study of two major emerging economies which fills an important gap in the TBI literature.

This thesis has been carried out within the framework of the Master of ScienceProgramme in Sociotechnical Systems Engineering and performed for the SwedishTrade Council in London. The author investigates how the Swedish Trade Councilcan facilitate and bridge the contacts between venture capitalists in the UK andhigh-tech start-ups in Sweden. High-tech ventures in the start-up phases often face a challenge in accumulatingsufficient financial resources and skills to successfully move from concept stage tobusiness, particularly within the life sciences’. High costs associated to time consumingand demanding product development cycles may require external investors whichprovide venture capital and expertise. However, many face difficulties in attractingventure capital partly due to the so-called equity gap, which relates to financiersunwillingness for taking on risk and investing in the early-stages. The study shows that venture capital largely rely on local networks and are limited intheir investments’ geographical distribution. The interviewed market players alsoemphasise the importance of local networks in the investment processes. Given thesecharacteristics, it may be difficult for a Swedish company seeking venture capitalabroad without help from intermediaries. Although there is a role to fill forintermediaries in assisting in the investment discovery process, it is likely to provedifficult over time as tasks become increasingly cumbersome.

The diploma thesis focuses on decision making in business practice. The thesis deals with design of the tool which should make the solution of decision tasks easier by usage of fuzzy logic, decission trees and linear programming.

Cílem diplomové práce je analýza marketingových nástrojů použitých firmou XAX a následně vyhodnotit a navrhnout zvýšení jejich efektivity. Popis strategie společnosti a faktory ovlivňující budou identifikovány. Práce obsahuje návrhy a doporučení na zvýšení efektivity marketingových nástrojů dané firmy v oblasti High-tech odvětví.

Cílem diplomové práce je analýza marketingových nástrojů použitých firmou XAX a následně vyhodnotit a navrhnout zvýšení jejich efektivity. Popis strategie společnosti a faktory ovlivňující budou identifikovány. Práce obsahuje návrhy a doporučení na zvýšení efektivity marketingových nástrojů dané firmy v oblasti High-tech odvětví.

aFor many years innovation has been an integral part of improvements to products and services. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been known as innovation generators, and their importance is paramount for the growth of economy. And yet despite their great importance, there is still a lack of understanding about how SMEs and High-tech SMEs (HTSMEs) with complex products conduct their management of innovation of New Product Development (NPD). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide a foundation for addressing the suggested gaps in the literature and to show that further research is needed in innovation management of NPD and how it is connected to HTSMEs. Renewable energy wind turbine sources and the potential growth they represent for SMEs was a factor in choosing this sector as the subject of this research. HTSMEs with creative ideas and innovations of complex products need to adequately manage product development. This recognises the organisation's practices and processes during NPD and the need for innovation management (IM) as a part of an organisation's capabilities in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). The aim of this thesis is to explore and validate a major qualitative abductive methodology from the findings of 21 High-tech Small Medium Enterprises management in relation to complex wind turbine invention-innovation (creative destruction) practices and processes during the NPD. Analysis, synthesis, and conclusions from the findings of this study are interpreted and discussed in the context of the definition, concepts, characteristics, theoretical, and conceptual framework. Finally, implications for managerial practice offer a deeper understanding of how HTSME manage innovation practices and processes occur during NPD building a superior product and recommendations for further research that can be valuable to academics, practitioners, and other researchers who are seeking ideas for research topics are presented and discussed.

The gross domestic product (GDP), as a basic measure of a country's domestic economic output is a product of the size of the labour force and its efficiency. Its result is a combination of two immediate factors: utilization of labour and productivity of labour. Productivity is the most relevant in the long run and the key to sustainable economic growth, while innovation is the central factor of productivity growth. Assessing the innovative performance of a country, as well as explaining it, goes a long way in understanding the dynamics of its productivity, hence its prospects for long term economic growth. The aim of this dissertation thesis is to confirm the importance of innovations' influence on the GDP growth in the chosen developed countries. Another aim of this thesis is to point at innovation as a source of competitive advantages for companies that allows further market share gains and thus revenue and margin increase as well as other strategic advantages. The main aim of this thesis is to provide a complete picture of a successful innovation launch in the market and its management during its life cycle, while considering various influences impacting the success of innovation strategies. The focus will be mainly on high-tech product innovations.

Questo lavoro ha lo scopo di valutare i distretti tecnologici italiani. A tal fine sono stati sinteticamente presentati nel primo capitolo alcuni concetti chiave della letteratura economica rilevanti ai fini di questo lavoro. Nel secondo capitolo è stata condotta un'analisi di tipo descrittivo relativamente a tutti i distretti tecnologici approvati dal MIUR alla data del novembre 2007. Nel terzo capitolo si passa ad un'analisi di tipo quantitativo che sulla base di dati provenienti da varie fonti misura: il livello di specializzazione delle varie regioni italiane relativamente all'area tecnologica prescelta per l'implementazione del distretto tecnologico; il livello di performance delle varie regioni relativamente ad una serie di indicatori di attività scientifico-tecnologiche; il livello dell'ambiente economico in termini di tasso di imprenditorialità e di disponibilità di finanziamenti di tipo venture capital. Nel quarto capitolo si procede alla creazione di quattro indicatori sintetici: uno di specializzazione tecnologica; uno di performance scientifico-tecnologica; uno economico-ambientale; l'ultimo riassuntivo dei precedenti. Nel capitolo quarto i dati degli indicatori ottenuti dall'analisi quantitativa vengono combinati con le informazioni riportate nel capitolo secondo utilizzando un'analisi di tipo dicotomico. La visione d'insieme che ne deriva diventa la base per alcune considerazioni di policy sull'implementazione di questo strumento di politica innovativa. / This work analyses a specific policy instrument namely the establishment of technological districts (TD) in Italy. After a selective literature review of the main theoretical concepts used in the research (chapter 1), the work provides a general overview of the Italian TDs approved by MIUR at November 2007 (chapter 2). In the third chapter the work provides a statistical analysis of the regional innovation contexts using a wide set of indicators measuring: levels of regional specialization in the sectors chosen for TDs implementation; science and technology performances; features of the economic environment (entrepreneurship and venture capital funds). In the fourth chapter it is presented a system of four synthetic indices providing information on: 1) regional specializations; 2) scientific-technological performances; 3) economic environment. The fourth synthetic index, being the combination of the previous three, reflects simultaneously all the three dimensions. The analysis of statistical data is complemented, in chapter 4, by an evaluation of the institutional features of the TDs based on the information gathered in chapter 2. This has allowed to bring together the outcomes of chapter 2 and of chapter 3 in order to formulate some policy conclusions.