In recent years, the trend toward globalization has given rise to rigorous competition for market shares. Businesses have faced the stern demand to swiftly respond to changes in market conditions. They must keep up with environmental situations inside and outside industry, fully integrate various resources of the enterprise, and ponder how to effectively use business resources. Therefore, ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems that integrate the internal value chains of enterprise have received special attention. It is an undisputed fact that an ERP system can integrate internal resources of an enterprise to create for it an overall advantage, improve the flow and elevate the response effectiveness of the enterprise, upgrade information system, and respond to customers¡¦ satisfaction of supply chain management. However, the universal ERP system that is adopted by most enterprises is either costly or difficult to maintain. Moreover, the universal ERP system usually fails to consider special needs of different industries. Therefore, how to ensure a rapid, saving, and effective success through the implementation of ERP systems constitutes the largest challenge faced by enterprises that use such systems. In view of this, this study investigated, from the perspective of ERP supply chain effectiveness of the ¡§differentiation focus strategy¡¨ and the ¡§bowling pin model strategy,¡¨ the impact of the adoption of industry-specific ERP systems on ERP software manufacturers and enterprises that have introduced such a system. Besides, the study used case study approach to conduct a field survey of ERP software manufacturers that have implemented industry-specific ERP system strategy and of four textile and PCB manufacturers that have introduced industry-specific ERP systems with a view to understanding operating models in which industry-specific ERP systems have been successfully introduced and implemented. Through the analysis of this study, it was found that: (1)ERP information manufacturers that adopt industry-specific ERP strategy locating conform to Michael E. Porter¡¦s competitive strategy and differentiation focus strategy, and at the same time verify the bowling pin model theory of Geoffrey A. Moor that technology adopts life cycle. Information manufacturers can enjoy vertical profit-base market advantages of industry-specific ERP and thus avoid competition within industry. As they focus on their specialized field, they not only can strengthen ERP¡¦s professional system functions but also can elevate their effectiveness in follow-up service and maintenance, leading to the reduction of operating costs. From cases of ERP software manufacturers, it was also found that, in areas that special industries cluster, the value of industry-specific ERP in such markets is enlarged. (2)From the perspective of developing industry-specific ERP, after a preliminary development method is used to direct a user to put up concrete industrial characteristic demands and flow, more friendly and suitable operating systems are specified. After being examined and used by a second user, systems are re-examined, revised, and strengthened. After being introduced by a third user and verified and implemented, such systems can become mature, standard industry-specific ERP package systems. (3)From the perspective of enterprise users, adopting the proof of concept method is more practical, accurate, and promising in selecting and evaluating suitable, correct ERP systems. This method can help estimate the outcome after introduction and make it easier to evaluate benefits, for example, keeping project flow schedule and costs under control, implementation and simulation of new enterprise flow schedule. (4)Each industry has professional knowledge and characteristics specific to it. For example, in the case of PCB industry, use rate of base plate material and design and management of engineering data are core professional knowledge of lumber industry. In the case of textile industry, analysis of fabrics, management of characteristics of semi-finished fabrics, integration and automation of process are critical functions essential to competitiveness of this industry. A universal ERP system cannot take care of unique characteristics of various industries. Therefore, only an industry-specific ERP that is specialized in and designed to meet characteristics of a concerned industry can perfectly satisfy the core professional operation of the industry. (5)Because industry-specific ERP systems set the best model of business flow and are concise and suitable, they produce more rapid effectiveness, less impact on organization adjustment, and require smaller investments after being introduced into a business. In view of the preceding findings, the study concluded that the adoption of industry-specific ERP can solidly, effectively, and accurately achieve purposes of ERP systems and can ensure the achievement of potential benefits. At the same time, information manufacturers can obtain vertical profit-base market, enlarging the effect of overall supply value chains.

Abstract The aim of this study is to deepen current understanding concerning cyclicality in the Finnish sawmill industry. Traditionally, economic actors in the sawmill industry have faced dramatic price and demand fluctuations. Managers often regard cyclicality as natural and unavoidable in the industry. Accordingly, research related to business cycles in the Finnish sawmill industry has consisted of short-term studies that have mainly focused on predicting the turning points of cycles. In contrast to these short-term investigations, this study proffers research on cyclicality that is both empirical and historical. It aims to emphasise the actor perspective that seems to be absent in existing research on business cycles and cyclicality. In line with the adopted perspective, business cycles are not merely objective economic phenomena external to their observers. As regards the research, the above view necessitates a more complete understanding of business cycles and historical knowledge of the industry and the actors in its supply chain. The idea that heavy economic fluctuation is detrimental to all is emphasised in this thesis, though it has been argued that in the short term, some actors at the lower end of a distribution chain may take advantage of cyclicality by game playing. However, in the long run there are very few actors, if any, who profit from business cycles. The empirical data was primarily collected during a number of discussions with sawmill experts and in essence, the problem of cyclicality is observed through the eyes of Finnish sawmill managers. However, interviews with intermediaries as well as many public statistics and archive documents were also used to describe and explain the economic fluctuations over three decades in the industry. Industry-, supply chain- and dyadic business relationship-levels are used in the empirical and theoretical parts of the thesis. Business cycle theories by economists form the context for the study of cyclicality. Systems thinking presents the total picture of cyclicality as a problem in a specific industry, whereas the Bullwhip/Forrester effect describes cyclicality in a supply chain, and explanations for cyclicality in the Finnish sawmill industry are studied in terms of supply chain management. In particular, the presented sub-cases of dyadic business relationships shed light on the power of long-term business relationships as a smoothing-out strategy. The findings of this study reveal that there is another option for managers other than considering the cycles as being "natural", and that there is an opportunity to affect the traditional mode of behaviour in coping with business cycles. It is argued that the structures, behavioural patterns and management components of supply chain management play major roles when the sources of cyclicality and opportunities to moderate business cycles are investigated.

This thesis consists of four essays, covering four different topics. The first essay investigates the relationship between inter-firm labor mobility and regional productivity growth. Previous studies have shown that density is positively correlated with growth. I claim that it is not density in itself, but rather the attributes associated with it that drives economic growth. One such attribute is the increased possibility for labor mobility and knowledge diffusion that follows when firms and individuals locate in close proximity to each other. This hypothesis is tested using density as an instrument for labor mobility. The result shows that labor mobility increases regional growth rates. The second essay examines the relationship between agglomeration economies and relative wage costs in influencing location of multinational corporations. An inflow of firms to certain regions and industries is likely to increase demand for labor. If mobility of labor is low increased costs can be expected to deter additional inflows of firms, albeit agglomeration economies may compensate for higher wages. The empirical analysis finds that FDI has become increasingly sensitive to differences in wage costs across industrialized countries, but also that agglomeration economies related to knowledge externalities positively influences higher costs. The third essay looks at the impact of FDI on home country investments. Previous research has been inconclusive as regards the effects on domestic investments. In this article, we show that this inconclusiveness can be explained at a disaggregated level as a function of the way industries are organized. We argue that a complementary relationship can be expected to prevail in vertically integrated industries, whereas a substitutionary relationship can be expected in horizontally organized production. The empirical analysis confirms a significant difference between the two categories of industry as regards the impact of outward FDI on domestic investment. The fourth, and final, essay of this thesis analyses how increased R&D expenditures and market size influence the distribution of comparative advantage. Previous studies report ambiguous results and also refer to periods when markets were much more segmented and production factors less mobile. The empirical analysis comprises 19 OECD-countries and spans the period 1981 to 1999. It is shown how an increase in R&D-expenditures by one percentage point implies a three-percentage point increase in high-technology exports, whereas market size fails to attain significance. In addition, institutional factors influence the dynamics of comparative advantage.

Esta pesquisa busca investigar quais os direcionadores-chave da estrutura de capital corporativa na América Latina durante o período de 1996 a 2006. Para tanto, são levantados 28 potenciais determinantes do endividamento organizacional a partir da literatura, sendo os mesmos segmentados em fatores específicos da empresa, do setor e do país. A análise dos dados consiste na estimação de um modelo estático e um dinâmico, os quais controlam qualquer efeito constante no tempo que afete o nível de dívida das empresas. A partir dos resultados, verifica-se que 10 variáveis apresentaram efeito significativo sobre o grau de alavancagem corporativa, sendo as mesmas relativamente bem distribuídas entre os grupos de fatores explicativos. Comparando os sinais dos coeficientes encontrados com os preconizados pela literatura, é constatado que a teoria do tradeoff estático, dos custos de agência e da assimetria de informação e pecking order se complementam ao explicar as estimativas obtidas. Uma comparação entre os determinantes do endividamento corporativo da América Latina e dos Estados Unidos apresenta indícios de que as imperfeições de mercado superiores que as empresas latino-americanas enfrentam são mais relevantes para a tomada de decisão de estrutura de capital. Por fim, verifica-se que os fatores específicos das empresas são os direcionadores-chave do endividamento das organizações latino-americanas. / This study aims to investigate which are the key drivers of corporate capital structure in Latin America during the period from 1996 to 2006. To do so, I select 28 potential determinants of firms' debt ratio based on the literature, which are divided into firm, industry and country-specific factors. The data analysis consists in the estimation of a static and a dynamic model, where both control any effect constant through time that affect the level of firm debt. The results show that 10 variables have a significant effect on the degree of corporate leverage. These variables are relatively well distributed among the groups of explanatory factors. Comparing the signs of the coefficients found with those predicted by the literature, one can observe evidence that the static tradeoff, the agency costs and the asymmetric information and pecking order theories complement each other to explain the estimates obtained. A comparison between the determinants of corporate leverage in Latin America and United States shows vestiges that the superior market imperfections Latin American companies face are more relevant to the capital structure decision making. Lastly, I find that firm-specific factors are the key drivers of the Latin American firms' leverage.

Esta pesquisa busca investigar quais os direcionadores-chave da estrutura de capital corporativa na América Latina durante o período de 1996 a 2006. Para tanto, são levantados 28 potenciais determinantes do endividamento organizacional a partir da literatura, sendo os mesmos segmentados em fatores específicos da empresa, do setor e do país. A análise dos dados consiste na estimação de um modelo estático e um dinâmico, os quais controlam qualquer efeito constante no tempo que afete o nível de dívida das empresas. A partir dos resultados, verifica-se que 10 variáveis apresentaram efeito significativo sobre o grau de alavancagem corporativa, sendo as mesmas relativamente bem distribuídas entre os grupos de fatores explicativos. Comparando os sinais dos coeficientes encontrados com os preconizados pela literatura, é constatado que a teoria do tradeoff estático, dos custos de agência e da assimetria de informação e pecking order se complementam ao explicar as estimativas obtidas. Uma comparação entre os determinantes do endividamento corporativo da América Latina e dos Estados Unidos apresenta indícios de que as imperfeições de mercado superiores que as empresas latino-americanas enfrentam são mais relevantes para a tomada de decisão de estrutura de capital. Por fim, verifica-se que os fatores específicos das empresas são os direcionadores-chave do endividamento das organizações latino-americanas. / This study aims to investigate which are the key drivers of corporate capital structure in Latin America during the period from 1996 to 2006. To do so, I select 28 potential determinants of firms' debt ratio based on the literature, which are divided into firm, industry and country-specific factors. The data analysis consists in the estimation of a static and a dynamic model, where both control any effect constant through time that affect the level of firm debt. The results show that 10 variables have a significant effect on the degree of corporate leverage. These variables are relatively well distributed among the groups of explanatory factors. Comparing the signs of the coefficients found with those predicted by the literature, one can observe evidence that the static tradeoff, the agency costs and the asymmetric information and pecking order theories complement each other to explain the estimates obtained. A comparison between the determinants of corporate leverage in Latin America and United States shows vestiges that the superior market imperfections Latin American companies face are more relevant to the capital structure decision making. Lastly, I find that firm-specific factors are the key drivers of the Latin American firms' leverage.

Esta pesquisa busca investigar quais os direcionadores-chave da estrutura de capital corporativa na América Latina durante o período de 1996 a 2006. Para tanto, são levantados 28 potenciais determinantes do endividamento organizacional a partir da literatura, sendo os mesmos segmentados em fatores específicos da empresa, do setor e do país. A análise dos dados consiste na estimação de um modelo estático e um dinâmico, os quais controlam qualquer efeito constante no tempo que afete o nível de dívida das empresas. A partir dos resultados, verifica-se que 10 variáveis apresentaram efeito significativo sobre o grau de alavancagem corporativa, sendo as mesmas relativamente bem distribuídas entre os grupos de fatores explicativos. Comparando os sinais dos coeficientes encontrados com os preconizados pela literatura, é constatado que a teoria do tradeoff estático, dos custos de agência e da assimetria de informação e pecking order se complementam ao explicar as estimativas obtidas. Uma comparação entre os determinantes do endividamento corporativo da América Latina e dos Estados Unidos apresenta indícios de que as imperfeições de mercado superiores que as empresas latino-americanas enfrentam são mais relevantes para a tomada de decisão de estrutura de capital. Por fim, verifica-se que os fatores específicos das empresas são os direcionadores-chave do endividamento das organizações latino-americanas. / This study aims to investigate which are the key drivers of corporate capital structure in Latin America during the period from 1996 to 2006. To do so, I select 28 potential determinants of firms' debt ratio based on the literature, which are divided into firm, industry and country-specific factors. The data analysis consists in the estimation of a static and a dynamic model, where both control any effect constant through time that affect the level of firm debt. The results show that 10 variables have a significant effect on the degree of corporate leverage. These variables are relatively well distributed among the groups of explanatory factors. Comparing the signs of the coefficients found with those predicted by the literature, one can observe evidence that the static tradeoff, the agency costs and the asymmetric information and pecking order theories complement each other to explain the estimates obtained. A comparison between the determinants of corporate leverage in Latin America and United States shows vestiges that the superior market imperfections Latin American companies face are more relevant to the capital structure decision making. Lastly, I find that firm-specific factors are the key drivers of the Latin American firms' leverage.

This paper attempts to investigate the degree to which organized crime affects FDI in 15 Latin America and Caribbean countries during 2006-2014 period. We employed four crime proxies: homicide rate, organized crime index, business cost of terrorism index and business cost of crime index and analyzed their impact on overall, sectoral and industrial FDI inflows. We find evidence of a deterrent effect of organized crime on FDI inflows; in particular on FDI in secondary and tertiary sectors. On the contrary FDI inflows in more extractive industries - primary sector - are less affected by the presence of organized crime

För att bedriva sin verksamhet har företag vanligtvis ett affärssystem till hjälp som integrerar företagets IT och stödjer organisationens centrala processer. Vidareutvecklingen av affärssystem kan se olika ut men handlar till stor del om att utveckla systemet i en riktning som följer användarnas krav och önskemål.  Vi har i denna kvalitativa studie undersökt hur en affärssystemsleverantör arbetar med kravhantering för vidareutveckling av affärssystem där vi ämnar att ta reda på vilka utmaningar som kravhantering kan medföra affärssystemsleverantörer. För att kunna svara på detta har vi tagit del av tidigare litteratur samt genomfört fyra kvalitativa intervjuer med olika roller inom kravhanteringsarbetet hos affärssystemsleverantören Infor. Kravhantering kan beskrivas på olika sätt men syftar till att identifiera krav för att hantera dessa tills en lösning är färdig att implementeras i affärssystemet. Vår slutsats visar att kravhantering utgörs av både affärssystemsleverantörers interna krav på affärssystemet samt externa krav som formuleras av olika intressenter. Vidare visar studien kravhantering tillsammans med det studerade företagets strategi är en drivande faktor för vidareutveckling av affärssystem. Vår slutsats visar även att både kommunikationen med kunder samt att affärssystemsleverantörers interna kommunikation tillsammans med prioritering av krav är utmanande. Det studerade företagets branschanpassade affärssystem medför även att det är en utmaning att förhålla sig till den funktionalitet som ska fungera för alla kunder oavsett bransch och samtidigt erbjuda kunder inom specifika branscher en produkt som täcker just deras centrala processer. / To run their business, companies usually have a helpful Enterprise Resource Planning system that integrates the company's IT and supports the organization's central processes. The further development of ERP systems can look different, but is largely about developing the system in a direction that follows the users requirements and wishes. In this qualitative study, we have investigated how an ERP system supplier works with requirements engineering for the further development of  ERP systems, where we intend to find out what challenges that requirements engineering can entail for ERP system suppliers. To be able to answer this, we have read previous literature and conducted four qualitative interviews with different roles in the requirement engineering process at the ERP system supplier Infor. Requirements engineering can be described in different ways but aims to identify requirements for handling these until a solution is ready to be implemented in the ERP system. Our conclusion shows that requirements engineering consists of both the ERP system suppliers internal requirements for the ERP system as well as external requirements formulated by various stakeholders. Furthermore, the study shows requirements engineering together with the studied company's strategy is a driving factor for further development of ERP systems. Our conclusion also shows that both communication with customers and that ERP system suppliers internal communication together with the prioritization of requirements is challenging. The studied company's industry-specific ERP system also means that it is a challenge to relate to the functionality that should work for all customers regardless of industry and at the same time offer customers in specific industries a product that covers their core processes.

Rörelsekapitalhantering (WCM) är en viktig del i små och medelstora företags (SMF) i syfte att generera nytt kapital samt effektivisera verksamheten. Företagen i Sverige består till större delen av SMF vilket gör det viktigt att undersöka hur företagen hanterar sitt kapital. Syftet för studien var att studera WCM i form av CCC och WCR med företagsspecifika, branschspecifikaoch makrospecifika faktorer. Detta testades i en OLS-modell med studiens beroende variabler CCC och WCR mot de oberoende variablerna lönsamhet, tillväxtmöjligheter, storlek, kassaflöde och branschtillhörighet. Studien undersökte även hur en finanskris påverkar rörelsekapitalet i form av ett t2-test. Denna studie innefattade 4240 företag under perioden 2008 till 2015 där 2008 till 2009 beskrivs som krisperiod. Resultatet för studien visar ett positivt signifikant samband mellan CCC och kassaflöde samt ett negativt signifikant samband medlönsamhet, storlek och branschtillhörighet. Vidare påvisar studien ett positivt signifikant samband mellan WCR och lönsamhet samt storlek medans tillväxtmöjligheter, kassaflöde och branschtillhörighet har negativt signifikant samband med WCR. Företagen har en längre CCC samt en högre WCR under krisperioder. / Working capital management (WCM) is an important part of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in order to generate new capital and streamline operations. The companies that consist in Sweden is to the majority SMEs, which makes it important to investigate how companies handle their capital. The purpose of the study was to analyse WCM thru CCC and WCR with company-specific, industry-specific and macro-specific factors. This was tested in an OLS model with this studies dependent variables CCC and WCR against the independent variables profitability, growth opportunities, size, cash flow and industry affiliation. The study also examined how a financial crisis affects working capital with a t2 test. This study included 4240 companies in the period 2008 to 2015, where 2008 to 2009 is described as a crisis period. The result for the study shows a positive significant correlation between CCC and cash flow, as well as a negatively significant correlation with profitability, size and industry affiliation. Furthermore, the study shows a positive significant correlation between WCR and profitability, and the size of the growth potential, cash flow and industry affiliationare negatively significant in relation to the WCR. The companies have a longer CCC and a higher WCR during crisis periods.