Software applications are of great importance in organisations, and performance of an organisation depends on how hosting of software applications are organised. This thesis deals with the question: Why and how organisations decide on specific sourcing options for software applications hosting. The thesis describes and explains sourcing decision-making processes made in the Swedish Post (MeLo) and Jönköpings Kommun (the municipality). MeLo’s sourcing decision resulted in outsourcing of hosting, and the municipality’s sourcing decision resulted in internal sourcing of hosting. Both organisations were distinguished by a decentralised structure to a great extent and showed a huge diversity in software applications used. The sourcing decisions resulted in a change to a more centralised hosting of software applications. The thesis is a retrospective case study based on semi-structured interviews and documents analysis. Concepts from the resource-based view and factors described in sourcing literature are used to analyse these sourcing decisions. From nine theoretical initial propositions 28 propositions are developed about why and how sourcing decisions are made. From these propositions, relations are described and some conclusions are presented about why and how sourcing decisions are made. The main conclusion is that maturity level regarding software applications usage seems to influences the start, the process as such, and the outcome of a sourcing decision-making process. This is explained as the more mature the organisation is regarding usage of software applications the more proactive decision-makers are in the sourcing decision. It is also identified that involved factors can be either influencing or justifying, and it is found that control of software applications usage influences the start of a sourcing decision to a high extent. The findings suggest that a sourcing decision-making process can be described as an irrational decision process that aims at increasing commitment on an already made decision. The study suggests that the less mature and more decentralised the organisation is the more reactive and the stronger influence the need to increase control over software applications have in a sourcing decision-making process. / Information och kommunikations teknik (IKT) och hur organisationer väljer att organisera driften av mjukvaruapplikationer spelar en allt större roll för organisationers framgång. Forskningsfrågan i avhandlingen är: Varför samt hur organisationer beslutar när de väljer ett specifikt lokaliseringsalternativ för driften av mjukvaruapplikationer. Avhandlingen beskriver och förklarar lokaliseringsbeslut i Posten AB och Jönköpings Kommun från ett resursbaserat perspektiv. Båda organisationerna uppvisade en spretig och decentraliserad struktur av mjukvaruapplikationer. Postens lokaliseringbeslut resulterade i utlokalisering. Kommunens lokaliseringsbeslut resulterade i en intern omlokalisering. Besluten resulterade i båda fallen i en mer centraliserad drift av mjukvaruapplikationer. Avhandlingen är en retrospektiv fallstudie baserad på analys av semistrukturerade intervjuer och dokument. Begrepp från resursbaserad teori och litteratur om lokalisering används för att beskriva och förklara lokaliseringsbesluten. Från nio teoretiska initiala propositioner utvecklas 28 propositioner vilka tydligare redogör för varför samt hur lokaliseringbeslut genomförs. Utifrån dessa propositioner diskuteras kring relationer mellan varför och hur faktorer är involverade i lokaliseringsbeslut. Den främst dragna slutsatsen är att organisationers mognad vad gäller användningen av mjukvaruapplikationer kan beskrivas som influerande för såväl starten, beslutsprocessen som sådan, samt det slutliga resultatet av beslutsprocessen vid ett lokaliseringsbeslut rörande drift av mjukvaruapplikationer. Detta kan förklaras som att ju mer mogen organisationen är vad gäller användning av mjukvaruapplikationer desto mer proaktiv är beslutsfattare i beslutsprocessen. Involverade faktorer kan också förklaras som antingen påverkande eller försvarande. Kontroll av användning kan beskrivas ha den största påverkan på starten av beslutsprocessen. Analysen föreslår att beslutsprocessen kan ses som en irrationell beslutsprocess som genomförs med inriktning på att förankra ett redan fattat beslut, och att ju mer omogen och decentraliserad desto större inverkan har önskemålet om en ökad kontroll över mjukvaruapplikationer i ett lokaliseringsbeslut.

This study attempts to shed light on the efficacy of crowdsourcing as a means of translating web content in Canada. Within, we seek to explore and understand if a model can be created that can estimate the effectiveness of crowdsourced translation as a means of bridging the Canadian Linguistic Digital Divide. To test our hypotheses and models, we use structural equation modeling techniques coupled with confidence intervals for comparing experimental crowdsourced translation to both professional and machine translation baselines. Furthermore, we explore a variety of factors which influence the quality of the experimental translations, how those translations performed in the context of their source text, and the ways in which the views of the quality of the experimental translations were measured before and after participants were made aware of how the experimental translations were created.

Tidigare forskning har påvisat att ett företags produktionsförmåga påverkar förmågan att utveckla nya produkter. Faktum är att de företag som är duktiga på att producera ofta även är duktiga på att utveckla nya produkter, då flertalet produktionsaktiviteter såsom prototypframställan är viktiga i utvecklingsprocessen. Detta, i kombination med att mer än 70 % av en produkts kostnad bestäms under utvecklingsfasen, innebär att det är av yttersta vikt att samspelet mellan utveckling och produktion hanteras effektivt. En begräsning med tidigare forskning är antingen att den tenderar att endast titta på interaktion under utvecklingsfasen eller på hur företag kan förbättra produktionsförmågan. Därför är avhandlingens syfte att vidga analysen av interaktion mellan utveckling och produktion genom att studera interaktion under såväl utvecklings- som produktionsfasen. Detta görs genom att studera hur interaktionen påverkas av viktiga kontextuella faktorer såsom organisatoriskt och geografiskt avstånd samt uppgiftens karakteristika. För att uppnå syftet studerades flertalet företag genom intervjuer, vilket utmynnade i fyra papper samt en kappa som sammanfattar och drar slutsatser utifrån dessa papper. De två första papperen fokuserar på interaktion under produktionsfasen, medan de två sista papperen behandlar interaktion under produktutvecklingsfasen. Syftet med Papper 1 är att klargöra möjligheter och begränsningar med olika ansatser för produktionsförbättringar. Totalt studerades sju företag: två som saknade ett systematiskt förbättringsarbete och fem som jobbade systematiskt. Resultaten visar på tydliga skillnader mellan olika ansatser. De företag som lyckats bäst är de som har ett systematiskt arbetssätt, men även bland dessa företag finns det vissa skillnader. Företag där framförallt produktionstekniker är ansvariga för förbättringsarbetet har förvisso lyckats att implementera förändringar, men avsaknaden av förankring hos operatörerna har inneburit visst motstånd. Framförallt kan detta vara en nackdel i föränderliga miljöer där operatörerna kan ge stora bidrag med sin spetskompetens. Generellt sett tycktes det vara svårt att involvera operatörerna. Bredare ansatser där såväl produktionstekniker som operatörer bedrev förändringsarbetet var således svårare att införa men de som hade lyckats fick god utväxling. En faktor som tycks vara viktig för att införa en sådan bred ansats var att ledningen stödjer arbetet. Papper 2 fokuserar på tre av de sju fallföretagen från Papper 1 för att se hur produktionsförbättringarna kan användas för att förändra och förbättra produkten. Mer specifikt syftar detta papper till att undersöka hur interaktion under produktionsfasen påverkas av samverkan mellan förbättringsansats och geografiskt avstånd mellan utveckling och produktion. Resultaten visar att systematiska förbättringsansatser ger fler möjligheter till produktförbättringar än vad osystematiska ansatser gör. Tillvaratagandet av dessa möjligheter påverkas negativt av ett längre geografiskt avstånd mellan avdelningarna, då det ofta är nödvändigt för konstruktörer och produktionspersonal att diskutera ansikte mot ansikte för att utröna vilka möjligheter som finns och hur de kan förverkligas. Det kan således konstateras att kombinationen systematisk ansats och närhet skapar de mest gynnsamma förutsättningarna för att produktionsförbättringar skall leda till produktförbättringar. Istället för att studera interaktion under produktionsfasen vänder Papper 3 på myntet och studerar interaktion under utvecklingsfasen. Syftet med papperet är att undersöka hur interaktion under utvecklingsfasen påverkas av det geografiska och organisatoriska avståndet mellan utveckling och produktion. Totalt studerades två företag, ett företag utan egen produktion och ett med. Resultaten visar på att utvecklingsavdelningen behöver besitta relativt avancerad produktionskompetens för att kunna utveckla nya produkter effektivt. Utvecklarna behöver med andra ord jobba målmedvetet för att bibehålla och utveckla denna kompetens, vilket underlättas om de två avdelningarna är placerade i närheten av varandra. En nackdel med närhet tycks dock vara att interaktion domineras av informationsutbyte ansikte-mot-ansikte trots att mer kostnadseffektiva media såsom e-post ibland kan nyttjas. Syftet med Papper 4 är att bredda den föregående studien genom att studera en större mångfald av företag och produktutveckling (dvs. produktutveckling baserat på föränderlig såväl som mer mogen teknologi). Mer specifikt är syftet att se hur interaktion mellan utveckling och produktion påverkas av samverkan mellan geografiskt/organisatoriskt avstånd och uppgiftens karakteristika. Totalt studerades sju företag där fyra av dem baserar sina produkter på mogen teknologi (tre med egen produktion och två utan) och två företag utvecklar högteknologiska produkter (ett med egen produktion och ett utan). Resultaten visar att olika kombinationer av avstånd och uppgift skapar olika utmaningar som måste hanteras med hjälp av olika interaktionslösningar: (1) i en turbulent miljö utan egen produktion är utmaningen att säkerställa att utvecklarna har tillgång till relevant produktionskompetens. (2) i en stabil(are) miljö utan egen produktion kan utvecklarna enklare förstå produktionsprocessen. Utmaningen ligger snarare i att få feedback från leverantörerna så att produkten kan tillverkas till lägre kostnad. (3) i en turbulent miljö med egen produktion har utvecklarna hög kompetens. Utmaningen är att utnyttja spetskompetensen inom produktionsenheten. (4) i en stabil(are) miljö med egen produktion är utmaningen att formalisera interaktionen till en högre grad. Det tycktes som att dessa företag nyttjar ansikte-mot-ansikte interaktion fastän billigare media såsom e-post kunde nyttjats. De fyra papperen studerar således såväl utvecklings- som produktionsfasen. Genom att vidga analysen av interaktion och studera båda faserna visas på vikten av att styra och hantera interaktion under båda faserna. Det konstateras att effektiv styrning av interaktion under utvecklingsfasen leder till effektivare produktion medan den under produktionsfasen ger möjligheter till produktförbättringar. Således bör vi inte se projektavslut som slutet för interaktion mellan utveckling och produktion. Det är troligtvis inte ens början på slutet utan möjligen slutet på början. / Previous research has highlighted the fact that at least 70% of a product’s cost is committed during the design stage of new product development projects. Thus, how firms manage interaction between design and manufacturing really matters. Although many studies have demonstrated that manufacturing capabilities affect product development performance, there is little research investigating how firms can improve manufacturing and use these improvements to modify and improve product designs. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to extend the analysis of design-manufacturing interaction by studying interaction during both the new product development and manufacturing phases, taking into account important contextual variables such as geographical and organizational distance, and task characteristics. To fulfil this purpose, two questions are posed that relate to the manufacturing phase, and two that relate to the new product development phase: 1. What are the implications of different continuous improvement approaches for manufacturing performance? 2. How do these approaches affect design-manufacturing interaction during the manufacturing phase, when various levels of geographical distance are taken into account? 3. How is design-manufacturing interaction during new product development influenced by different sourcing strategies? 4. How is design-manufacturing interaction during new product development influenced by different sourcing strategies, when the task characteristics of the product are also taken into account? By studying multiple cases and conducting semi-structured interviews, this thesis makes two distinct contributions. First, the findings illustrate that successful interaction during the manufacturing phase is influenced both by the selected approach to manufacturing development, and the geographical distance between design and production departments. While the approach affects the number of improvements, the distance affects the nature of the interaction. In essence, a combination of systematic approach and proximity between design and manufacturing seems to be the most effective combination. Second, the findings illustrate that different combinations of sourcing strategy and task characteristics result in different challenges, which require different kinds of interaction. When reviewing how firms manage these challenges the findings both support and challenge the contingency theory. On the one hand, the paper supports the theory in terms of promoting organic procedures in unstable environments and mechanistic procedures in stable environments. On the other hand, it challenges contingency theory advocates for downplaying firms’ ability to shape their future. In fact, this research has shown that companies generally have many different feasible options. The implication is that it may be more important for managers to be aware of how to manage the pros and cons of these options than to choose a particular organizational structure. By taking an extended view on analysis of interaction, the thesis demonstrates that interaction matters during both the new product development and manufacturing phases. Thus, while effective management of interaction during the new product development phase could lead to improved manufacturability, interaction during the manufacturing phase could lead to improved product designs. / Report code: LiU-Tek-Lic 2006:72.

abstract: The e-Retail industry has grown rapidly over the last few years and is projected to continue its upward trend as consumers shift from traditional channels to online channels. In March 2010, Forrester Research forecasted that online retail sales will grow by 10% a year for the next 5 years and e-Retail sales will amount to $249 billion by 2014. With intense competition for market share and profits, information systems and technology (IST) sourcing decisions are becoming increasingly important to e-Retail firms to support continued growth and market responsiveness. There are several aspects for e-Retailers to consider when formulating its IST sourcing strategy. Whether to choose make versus buy for technology assets and services has been addressed in both strategy and IS literature (Handfield et al. 1999, Leiblein et al. 2002, Wade and Hulland, 2004). Then there is the follow-up question of selecting a best-of-breed strategy or tighter partnership with a select group of vendors (Clemons et al. 1993, Kauffman and Tsai 2009). Few studies have looked at IST sourcing or proposed models and frameworks for evaluating IST sourcing decisions (Saarinen and Vepsalainen, 1994). Furthermore, these existing studies mainly address the antecedents of the decisions but not so much on their performance effects (Kauffman and Tsai 2009; Smith et al., 1998). The goal of this study is to extend the knowledge of IST sourcing for e-Retailers, a topic which has received limited attention (Kishore et al., 2004), by addressing a core problem: How should an e-Retailer develop and implement its IST sourcing strategy to accommodate the increase in consumer demand and IT complexity but still achieve high performance? The study introduces two theoretical models to examine organizational factors that influence an e-Retailer's IST sourcing strategies of make versus buy and partnership versus best-of-breed. The proposed models are tested using a panel data set of 307 e-Retail firms over the period of 2006 to 2010. The study opens up the black box of internal firm operations by introducing a granular view of IST sourcing decisions at both the value chain and e-Commerce architecture levels and examining the performance impacts of these strategic choices. This in-depth look at IST sourcing has yet to be explored in the literature. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Information Management 2012

This article reviews the evidence of the exchange of obsidian and cinnabar, highly coveted resources that traveled in prehistoric Peru from the south-central highlands to the Paracas culture area. The evidence for exchange of these materials is compared with evidence of cultural exchange between the coast and the south-central highlands, focusing on ceramic materials uncovered from excavations at the archaeological site Atalla, located in the region of Huancavelica, Peru. The article argues that the south-central highlands were integral to the obsidian and cinnabar exchange networks of the south coast. In particular, the site of Atalla, a regional ceremonial center connected to the Early Horizon interaction networks, was connected economically to the south coast and participated in the regional interaction sphere of the south-central highlands, but also maintained very strong cultural connections with the center of Chavín de Huántar. It is also suggested that the nature of the interactions between the Paracas society and those of the south-central highlands varied depending on the region; the interaction between Paracas and Atalla seems to have concentrated mainly on economic and non-cultural exchange, whereas sites such as Campanayuq Rumi from the Ayacucho region demonstrate evidence of Paracas cultural influence. Some possible mechanisms which might explain the observed variability in exchange patterns are explored. / Este artículo examina la evidencia sobre el intercambio de obsidiana y cinabrio, recursos altamente codiciados que viajaron en la prehistoria del Perú, desde la sierra centro-sur a la zona de la sociedad Paracas. La evidencia del intercambiode estos materiales se compara con evidencia de intercambio cultural entre la costa sur y la sierra centro-sur, material cerámico descubierto de excavaciones en el sitio arqueológico Atalla, ubicado en la región de Huancavelica, Perú. El artículo sostiene que la sierra centro-sur era parte integral de las redes de intercambio de obsidiana y cinabrio de la costa sur. En particular, el sitio de Atalla, un centro ceremonial regional conectado a las redes de interacción del Horizonte Temprano, estaba conectado económicamente con la costa sur y participaba en la esfera de interacción regional de la sierra centro-sur, pero mantuvo conexiones culturales muy fuertes con el centro de Chavín de Huántar También se sugiere que la naturaleza de las interacciones entre la sociedad de Paracas y las de la sierra centro-sur varió según la región; la interacción entre Paracas y Atalla parece concentrarse principalmente en el intercambio económico y no cultural, mientras que sitios como Campanayuq Rumi, de la región de Ayacucho, demuestran evidencia de la influencia cultural de Paracas.Se exploran algunos posibles mecanismos que podrían explicar la variabilidad observada en los patrones de intercambio.

Submitted by Fábio Silva de Andrade (fabioandrade1982@gmail.com) on 2016-12-13T14:04:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertação pós banca Fabio Andrade.pdf: 1135682 bytes, checksum: c8d843b6a43dc9fd5d460ce3a90cfa50 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by ÁUREA CORRÊA DA FONSECA CORRÊA DA FONSECA (aurea.fonseca@fgv.br) on 2016-12-13T14:34:01Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertação pós banca Fabio Andrade.pdf: 1135682 bytes, checksum: c8d843b6a43dc9fd5d460ce3a90cfa50 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-26T12:54:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertação pós banca Fabio Andrade.pdf: 1135682 bytes, checksum: c8d843b6a43dc9fd5d460ce3a90cfa50 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-11-29 / A atual pressão fiscal e as restrições orçamentárias têm aumentado a necessidade de cortar gastos e garantir que os contratos das esferas governamentais ofereçam o melhor valor para a sociedade. A gestão estratégica de suprimentos busca uma abordagem global para as contratações, obtendo uma melhor qualidade do gasto público. Por meio da metodologia, são verificados, não apenas os preços finais pagos pelos serviços ou aquisições, mas também se analisa o custo total em todas as etapas do ciclo de vida do produto ou serviço adquirido. Busca-se uma nova relação com o mercado fornecedor, com estratégias de longo prazo. Este trabalho concentra-se na iniciativa do governo do Estado do Rio de Janeiro na aplicação da metodologia de gestão estratégica de suprimentos. A análise mostra os desafios enfrentados na condução do projeto, identificando os fatores racionais, organizacionais e políticos presentes no processo decisório, além de sugerir alternativas para o melhor aproveitamento da metodologia, que já possuiu ampla utilização em organizações privadas, em organizações públicas. / The current fiscal pressure and budgetary constraints have increased the need to cut spending and ensuring that all levels of government contracts offer the best value to society. Strategic sourcing seeks a global approach to procurement, getting a better quality of public spending. Through the methodology are checked not only the final prices paid for services or purchases but also are analyzed the total costs at all stages of the product or service life cycle. It is sought a new relationship with the supplier market, with long-term strategies. This work focuses on the initiative of Rio de Janeiro government in the application of strategic sourcing methodology. The analysis shows the challenges faced in conducting the project, by identifying rational, organizational and political factors in decision making, and suggests alternatives through the lessons learned, for better utilization of the methodology, that has already an extensive use in private organizations, in public organizations.

Orientador: Jose Roberto Montes Heloani / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T16:17:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SaGarcia_Odairde_M.pdf: 17536319 bytes, checksum: 73cf3f6b3e402c43911cc19f2963ed2c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Mestrado / Politicas de Educação e Sistemas Educativos / Mestre em Educação

This study focuses on one of the emerging issues in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), “conflict minerals”. The discussion of the “conflict minerals” issue is that the trade of “conflict minerals”, originating from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), helps to finance conflicts characterized by extreme violence including killing and rape, therefore, the downstream companies which indirectly buy these minerals should take actions (Global Witness, 2010).This study first seeks to provide an overview of the Swedish companies’ progress on the conflict minerals issue through desktop research, and later tries to find out the driving forces, the measures and the existing challenges related to the conflict minerals issue through case studies. In the case studies, interviews were carried out with Sony Ericsson and Atlas Copco. The results of the study show that most companies studied in the six industries have not addressed the conflict minerals issue while companies in the electronic industry has made the most progress on conflict minerals in Sweden. In the case studies, the results present that external pressure is one of the major driving forces for both companies, and Sony Ericsson have taken several measures which seem to be aligned with supply chain risk management approach and OECD DD Guidance. In addition, both companies have tried to integrate conflict mineral management into existing supply chain management. The challenges are different depending on the progress of the companies.The study contributes to providing a better understanding of the current situation surrounding the conflict minerals issue in Sweden and to elaborating examples of the measures and the existing challenges.

Over the years, information technology has created opportunities to improve and extend businesses and to start conducting business in new ways. With the evolution of IT, all businesses and industries are becoming increasingly digitized. This process, or coevolution, of IT and business coming together is called digital transformation. One of the recent trends in this digital transformation is the use of application programmable interfaces (APIs). APIs are standardized digital communication interfaces, used for communication and exchange of information between systems, services and devices (such as computers, smartphones and connected machines). API communication is one of the foundational building blocks in recent disruptive technology trends such as mobile and cloud computing. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the business impact that is created in digital transformation related to the use of APIs. To investigate this novel area, an exploratory study is performed where a frame of reference with an exploratory framework is created based on established academic literature. The exploratory framework consists of three main parts which cover the research questions, including Business Drivers, Business Model Change & Innovation and Challenges & Limitations related to API-enabled digital transformation. The framework is used to gather empirical data consisting of two types, interviews (primary data) and contemporary reports (secondary data). Interviews are performed with API-utilizing companies, consulting firms and IT solution providers and contemporary reports are published by consulting and technology research and advisory firms. Two main business drivers are identified in the study. The first is Understanding & Satisfying Customer Needs which is derived from companies experiencing stronger and changing demands for automated, personalized value-adding services. This requires higher degree of integration across channels and organizations. The second driver is Business Agility, which derives from higher requirements on adapting to changing environments while maintaining operational efficiency. Cost Reduction is also mentioned as a third and secondary driver, as a positive side-effect in combination with the other drivers. The identified impact on business models is that business model innovation is mostly happening in the front-end of business model towards customers. Several examples also exist of purely API-enabled businesses that sell services or manage information exchanges over APIs. The challenges and limitations identified are mostly classic challenges of using IT in businesses and not specific to use of APIs, where the general consensus is that IT and business need to become more integrated, and that strategy and governance for API-initiatives need to be established.

This research investigates political risk in the context of service offshoring and the corresponding impact on risk management decisions. The first stage of the study uses the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT), to explore key post-contract political risks experiences within offshore outsourcing activities. Twelve key political risks affecting offshore outsourcing decisions are identified, and the moderating effect of offshoring activity types (BPO, ITO or KPO) on political risk exposure and impact perceptions is highlighted. The research also explores the conditioning effect of industry specific exposure to political risk and enhances the explanatory ability of the Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) constructs, offering a re-operationalization of the political risk component of external uncertainty. The second stage of the research introduces a series of hypotheses between offshoring flows and political risk profiles, and applies multiple regression to analyse political risk affecting offshore activities in low cost countries across contract-based offshoring engagements and FDI. The findings highlight that political risk is a genuine business concern for offshore contract-based outsourcing modalities, and identify concerns with Intellectual Property protection, Quality of Bureaucracy and Corruption as key considerations affecting location decisions in low-cost countries. The research further suggests a positive relationship between strong country level institutional and regulatory systems and high knowledge content in offshoring engagements. From a practical perspective, the research highlights the need for managerial tools to determine diversified firm and industry specific political risk impact on global service outsourcing engagements. The key practical contribution is the development of differentiated political risk typologies that can capture the nuances of external risks in offshoring, allowing for more accurate risk assessment of offshoring decisions.