Although energy transition is considered one of the main challenges of our time, little attention has traditionally been paid to the actors participating in this transition, such as the producers of renewable electricity. Previous energy policy literature and policy- makers have assumed that these producers are incumbent actors of the current energy system, that is to say, large utilities producing both renewable and fossil-fueled electricity. In reality, new types of producers are entering the renewable electricity production market, without much (if any) previous experience in that industry. This Licentiate thesis studies the new entrants of renewable electricity production in order to identify their motives, their responses to policies, and their ways of implementing their projects. This is conducted through the analysis of 37 cases of new entrants in Sweden. A theoretical background, a complete description of the methods, and an overall presentation of the findings are presented in the first part of the thesis, and in the second part of the thesis, four scientific papers studying the new entrants of renewable electricity production from complementary theoretical approaches are presented. Results show that the new entrant group is heterogeneous in several ways. They have different motives, they are affected by different drivers and pressures, and they are faced with different challenges during their entry processes. Despite that, their share of investments represents the majority of those currently being made in renewable electricity production in Sweden. Based on these results, policy implications are drawn and, in particular, the need for policy-makers and energy policy literature to acknowledge the particularities of the new entrants is highlighted.

The increased determination to tackle the climate change has resulted in an increased importance of environmental friendly innovations. However, these types of products have a tendency to diffuse slowly into markets. Yet, the actual way through which firms succeed in bringing sustainable innovations to the market is relatively unexplored. The electrochromic window is an eco-innovation that despite its relatively superior technology and potential to reduce the energy consumption of the building sector has had relatively slow market diffusion. The aim of this thesis is hence to analyze the difficulties related to adoption and diffusion of eco-innovations. The purpose is to identify prerequisites that can improve the electrochromic window’s prospects of successful diffusion, and show how increased understanding of the factors/attributes that affects adoption and diffusion of eco-innovation can be used to improve the share of environmental friendly products on the market.  The findings are based on data from multiple research methods, such as a literature review, an analysis of the market for window/façade applications, basic building simulations, a simplified life cycle assessment, and cost-effectiveness calculations. This data is used to evaluate the electrochromic window’s performance relative eight factors/attributes that is argued to affect adoption and diffusion of eco-innovation. The main conclusions are that the electrochromic window performs well relative most of the identified factors and should hence have good prospects of being adopted within the building sector. Also, even though the electrochromic window has a high energy-saving potential due to its effect on buildings’ cooling need, the findings indicate that the window’s main benefit is its ability to ensure an unobstructed view. As a result, the window can provide both significant economic benefits as well as health benefits and thus also be beneficial for the society. However, since the benefits of the window are not communicated well to customers, there is currently a hesitance to adopt the window. Consequently, it is suggested that further research should be devoted to the understanding of needs and wants of the potential adopters and to prove the benefits of the window relative these needs and wants. Extra devotion should be given to the benefits of the unobstructed view since this could be the niche that separates the electrochromic window from currently established solar shading solutions on the market. / Den ökande beslutsamheten att möta klimatförändringarna har bidragit till att miljövänliga innovationer har blivit allt viktigare. Dock har den här typen av innovationer en tendens att spridas långsamt på marknaden. Trots detta är vetskapen kring hur företag egentligen lyckas med att introducera hållbara innovationer på marknaden relativt outforskat. Det elektrokroma fönstret är en miljövänlig innovation som trots sin relativt överlägsna teknologi och potential att minska byggnadssektorns energiförbrukning har haft en relativt långsam spridning. Syftet med detta arbete är därför att analysera de svårigheter som är relaterade till anammande och spridning av miljövänliga innovationer. Avsikten är att identifiera förutsättningar som kan förbättra det elektrokroma fönstrets förutsättningar att anammas inom byggnadssektorn, samt att visa hur en ökad förståelse kring de faktorer/attribut som påverkar anammande och spridning av eco-innovationer kan användas till att öka andelen miljövänliga innovationer som tas upp och sprids på marknaden. Resultaten är baserade på data från flera olika forskningsmetoder så som en litteratursökning, en analys av marknaden för fönster/fasadapplikationer, grundläggande byggnadssimuleringar, en enklare livscykelanalys, samt kostnadseffektivitetsberäkningar. Dessa data används sedan för att utvärdera det elektrokroma fönstrets prestanda relativt åtta faktorer/attribut som hävdas ha påverkan på anammandet och spridningen av miljövänliga innovationer. De främsta slutsatserna av arbetet är att det elektrokroma fönstret presterar väl relativt de flesta av de identifierade faktorerna och bör därför ha goda framtidsutsikter för att bli anammad inom byggnadssektorn. Resultaten visar även att trots att fönstret har en hög energibesparingspotential tack vare dess påverkan på behovet av komfortkyla, så är det dess förmåga att tillhandahålla en fri utsikt som är dess största fördel. Denna fördel medför att fönstren kan bidra till både ekonomiska fördelar så väl som hälsofördelar vilket gör dem fördelaktiga för hela samhället. Dock, eftersom dessa fördelar inte väl förmedlade så finns det i nuläget en tveksamhet till att anamma fönstret. Följaktligen föreslås det att fortsatta studier bör ägnas åt att öka förståelsen kring kundernas önskningar och behov samt att bevisa fönstrens fördelar relativt dessa. Särskilt fokus bör ägnas åt värdet i att tillhandahålla fri utsikt då detta kan vara den nisch som särskiljer de elektrokroma fönstren from de redan etablerade produkterna på marknaden.

Pregnancy is a sensitive period in women’s lives; pregnant women encounter various physical changes and emotional challenges during pregnancy. The vision for Sweden’s eHealth initiative is to be the best in the world in using eHealth to make it easier for people to achieve a healthy wellbeing and equal welfare by 2025. However, there is a lack of empirical studies in the area, especially studies associated with both eHealth and pregnancy in a Swedish context. Therefore, the thesis intended to seek the factors that affect a pregnant woman to adopt an eHealth innovation by applying qualitative interviews. Eleven women were selected including both women who are currently pregnant and women who have experienced pregnancy in recent years. Semi-structed interviews were chosen to gain more in-depth insights of the challenges during pregnancy. The data analysis followed the framework of Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Rogers’ innovation diffusion theory was discussed in relation to the study as well. The results based on the date from the study showed that the real drive for pregnant women to adopt an eHealth innovation is the dissatisfaction with the current solution, namely prenatal care in the Swedish public health care system. Other moderating factors that affect their intention for adoption are relevant knowledge, expertise support and trialability. The results revealed that women with foreign background were more likely to be dissatisfied with prenatal care in Sweden, and that professionals’ involvement in using the innovation and the possibility of experimenting with it will increase the intention of innovation adoption. Age, experience, and personality were not supported in having an impact on innovation adoption in this study. The limitations of the study are transferability and confirmability, where credibility, dependability and authenticity are high in this study.

En Guadeloupe, depuis 2008, les autorités locales ont fortement encouragé l’organisation des filières de traitement des déchets. En ce qui concerne les déchets organiques, une voie privilégiée de valorisation est le recyclage en compost. Dans cette thèse nous étudions les conditions d’émergence d’une filière de recyclage des déchets organiques du territoire à travers l'analyse des conditions d'adoption de la pratique d’utilisation de composts par les agriculteurs. Nous nous appuyons sur une approche originale combinant une analyse ex post des pratiques actuelles et des perceptions des agriculteurs et une analyse ex ante par Choice Experiment de leviers visant à favoriser l’adoption des composts. Nous testons donc des leviers d’ordre biotechniques concernant les propriétés des composts et les modalités de leur utilisation, et des leviers d’ordre économiques à travers des Mesures Agro-environnementales et Climatiques (MAEC), afin de proposer aux décideurs politiques des leviers d’actions pertinents. Nous constatons que le taux d’adoption est faible (18%) et dépend fortement de la filière agricole, des caractéristiques socio-économiques des agriculteurs et du manque d'organisation de la filière de recyclage des déchets (p.ex. information, transport, épandage, subventions). Nous montrons que les agriculteurs sont sensibles, sur le plan biotechnique, à une amélioration de la valeur fertilisante des composts ainsi qu’à un accompagnement logistique pour son transport et son épandage et, sur le plan économique, à la mise en place d’un dispositif d’accompagnement administratif et à une incitation collective sous la forme d’un bonus monétaire conditionnel versé individuellement aux agriculteurs. Dans l'ensemble, les résultats de ce travail montrent que les agriculteurs ne sont pas réfractaires à une utilisation conséquente et régulière du compost, à condition que les verrous organisationnels que nous avons identifiés soient levés, et que la valeur agronomique des composts répond aux attentes des filières agricoles. Des plans de développement peuvent maintenant être définis et mis en œuvre à l’échelle du territoire pour développer l’utilisation massive de composts issus du recyclage des déchets organiques du territoire. / Due to the limited availability of landfill sites, local authorities have strongly encouraged since 2008 the structuration of waste treatment channels. As concerns the organic wastes, a special attention has been paid for recycling them through composting. In this study, we focused on the conditions of development of a sector for recycling organic wastes in Guadeloupe through the assessment of the conditions affecting compost adoption by farmers. In order to identify and evaluate the determinants of farmers 'choices, we applied an original approach combining an ex-post analysis of current practices and farmers' perceptions, and an ex-ante analysis using the Choice Experiment method of levers for facilitating the adoption of compost. We test biotechnical levers concerning compost properties and the facilitation of practices with technical support, and economic levers mainly focused on the implementation of new AgroEnvironmental Schemes (AES) to promote economically the composts. We observed that the adoption rate is relatively low (18% of farmers) and highly dependent on the agricultural sector (i.e. banana, sugarcane, vegetables and food crops), the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers and the lack of organization of the waste recycling chain (e.g., information, transport, spreading, subsidies). We demonstrated that farmers are very sensitive to the improvement of compost quality by increasing its fertilizer value, as well as to the logistical, economic and administrative support for its transport and spreading. They are also willing to participate in a collective incentive in the form of a conditional monetary bonus paid individually to farmers. The results of this study indicated that farmers are not reluctant to a regular use of compost provided that organizational barriers identified are removed, and that the agronomic value of the composts meets the expectations of farmers. Regional plans can now be defined and implemented to develop the massive use of compost from the recycling of organic waste in Guadeloupe.

The rapid development of plastic production the last couple of decades has led to extensive use of plastic products and vast problems with littering, waste management and exploitation of natural resources. Due to the cheap and easy production of plastics, the world’s population has extended the limit of acceptable usage. The world’s oceans are filled with plastic debris and waste is landfilled, which have had large impacts on the ecosystem, animal and human life (World Environment Day Outlook, 2018). One of the industries that have been revolutionised by the development of plastic advancement is the packaging industry, where products can be protected and quality can be kept, helping globalisation and developing the modern economy (UNEP, 2018). However, due to the lack of waste management systems and recycling facilities for plastics, the world’s population is demanding change. The United Nations have developed the Sustainability Goals and issued The New Plastics Economy, where governments, citizens and regulatory institutions are to work towards a circular economy (The New Plastics Economy, 2019). The demands are addressed towards whole value chains, from production to end-use, and include waste minimising, material optimisation, increase of recyclability, and the development of sustainable alternatives. The fish industry has historically been limited to a few packaging options and expanded polystyrene (EPS) has been the least inferior one when packaging fresh fish for transportation and keeping the quality of the fish. EPS has great material properties for this purpose, however, with the sustainability transition and increasing demands from consumers, the material is regarded as unsustainable with limited availability and profitability to recycle (Hansen et al., 2012). This master thesis aims to investigate if there are sustainable packaging solutions for fresh fish and how these could be adopted by the fish industry. This was done by conducting a qualitative case study on an alternative packaging solution made from corrugated cardboard. Stakeholders from the whole fish value chain were interviewed in order to understand the value perception of existing and alternative packaging solutions for fresh fish. The findings have been analysed using innovation adoption theory together with a sustainability framework. This in order to understand the adoption behaviour of innovative sustainable packaging solutions, and the sustainability impact of these with regards to environmental, social and economic aspects. The study has identified two packaging solutions, develop recycling systems for EPS and fish boxes made from corrugated cardboard, that the fish industry should consider adopting. The two identified packaging solutions have different diffusion possibilities, where the corrugated cardboard fish box is considered as the most sustainable solution. / Den snabba utvecklingen av plastproduktion de senaste decennierna har lett till en omfattande användning av plastprodukter, vilket har medfört problem som nedskräpning, ökad avfallshantering och överdriven användning av naturresurser. På grund av billig och enkel tillverkning av plast har världens befolkning överskridit gränsen för acceptabel användning. Världens hav är fyllda med spillror av plast och avfall deponeras, vilket har haft stora effekter på ekosystemet och djur- och människoliv (World Environment Day Outlook, 2018). En av branscherna som har revolutionerats av utvecklingen av plast är förpackningsindustrin, där plasten bidrar till att produkter kan skyddas och kvalitet kan bevaras, vilket har hjälpt globaliseringen och utvecklat den moderna ekonomin (UNEP, 2018). På grund av bristen på avfallshanteringssystem och återvinningsanläggningar för plast kräver dock världens befolkning förändring. FN har utvecklat hållbarhetsmål och utfärdat The New Plastics Economy, där regeringar, människor och tillsynsinstitutioner ska arbeta för en cirkulär ekonomi (The New Plastics Economy, 2019). Kraven riktas mot hela värdekedjor, från produktion till slutanvändning, och inkluderar avfallsminimering, materialoptimering, ökad återvinningsbarhet och utveckling av hållbara alternativ. Fiskindustrin har historiskt sett varit begränsad till att använda materialet expanderad polystyren (EPS) vid förpackning av färsk fisk för transport och för att behålla fiskens kvalitet. Detta material har bra materialegenskaper för dessa ändamål, men med hållbarhetsövergången och ökade krav från konsumenter anses materialet vara ohållbart med begränsad tillgänglighet och lönsamhet att återvinna (Hansen et al., 2012). Denna masteruppsats syftar till att undersöka om det finns hållbara förpackningslösningar för färsk fisk och hur dessa bör anammas av fiskindustrin. Detta gjordes genom att genomföra en kvalitativ fallstudie av en alternativ förpackningslösning gjord av wellpapp. Intressenter från fiskens hela värdekedja intervjuades för att förstå värdesynen på befintliga och alternativa förpackningslösningar för färsk fisk. Resultaten har analyserats med hjälp av innovations teori, tillsammans med ett hållbarhetsramverk. Detta för att förstå adoptionsbeteendet för innovativa hållbara förpackningslösningar och hållbarhetspåverkan av dessa när det gäller miljö, samt sociala och ekonomiska aspekter. Studien har identifierat två förpackningslösningar; ett utvecklat återvinningssystem för EPS och fisklådor tillverkade av wellpapp, som fiskindustrin bör överväga att anamma. De två identifierade lösningarna har olika diffusionsmöjligheter, där wellpappfisklåda betraktas som den mest hållbara lösningen.

The accelerating pace of growth of aquaculture in sub-Saharan Africa has received much positive appraisal because of the potential of the industry to contribute to economic development and food security by providing jobs and animal protein. Adoption of best management practices (BMPs) holds the potential to ameliorate the related environmental impacts of aquaculture, such as in the amounts of nutrients and sediment that will enter natural water bodies from earthen pond effluents. The goals of this study were to characterize adoption of aquaculture BMPs on small-scale, pond-based farms in Ghana, and to assess selected economic, social, and environmental outcomes of BMP adoption. Two BMPs: 1) water reuse, and 2) commercial floating feeds, were investigated for adoption by pond-based fish farmers in Ghana. I conducted my study in Ghana using on-farm experiments involving intensive monitoring of water quality and growth of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) over two production cycles. Additionally, I administered a baseline survey to 393 (and a follow-up survey to 160) fish farmers. I determined the best model for modelling farmed Nile tilapia growth with multi-model inference based on Akaike information criterion (AIC), the profitability of adopting BMPs with stochastic enterprise budgets and, social welfare impact with the Economic-Surplus model. I used a Markov model to predict the equilibrium rate of adoption of the two BMPs and determined the impact of BMP adoption on the reduction of pollutant loading with the Minimum-Data method of the Tradeoffs Analysis (TOA-MD). My results showed that the logistic model is a better alternative to the von Bertalanffy model for modelling the growth of Oreochromis niloticus under pond aquaculture conditions. There were no significant differences in fish weight between the water re-use BMP and the use of new water. Adoption of the commercial floating feed BMP resulted in a 100% increase in fish final weight and yield, and in higher profitability, compared to the sinking feed type. Probability of making a profit was highest (72%) in the scenario with commercial feed and self-financing. Net present values (NPV) of about US$ 11 million and US$ 375 million could be obtained from the adoption of commercial floating feed and Genetically-Improved Farm Tilapia (GIFT) strain, respectively, in Ghana. Hence, any innovation that has a significant impact on fish yield also will have a significant impact on mean NPV and social welfare. However, I identified a number of potential negative ecological and genetic impacts exist from introducing the GIFT strain into Africa from Asia. Although considered low-intensity production systems, nutrients and solids in study ponds were found to be higher than levels expected in intensive culture ponds by wide margins. Pond water quality was significantly higher with commercial floating feed. The water-reuse BMP also prevented pollutants from leaving ponds altogether for the number of cycles for which pond water was reused, especially if associated BMPs such as rainfall capture and avoidance of water exchange are observed. Significant reductions in the loading of all water quality variables (nitrogen, phosphorus, solids, and BOD5) could be achieved with the adoption of the recommended feed type in Ghana. Adoption of the water reuse BMP has the potential to cause pollution reductions of 200% - 3,200% above that from the floating feed BMP. The strongest influence on the combined adoption of these BMPs were from : farmer's awareness of the feed BMP, perceived necessity and relative profitability of the water reuse BMP, and farmer's years of experience. A combination of central media (workshops), demonstrations, and lateral diffusion was found to be the most effective channel for disseminating these BMPs. Maximum adoption rate of the feed BMPs was estimated to be 38% - 58%. Also, US$ 6,000/year and US$12,000/year need to be paid per 0.6 ha pond surface area to push adoption of the feed BMP to 50% and 70%, respectively. Hence, to ensure the successful adoption of aquaculture BMPs, I recommend that regular well-planned workshops be organized to create awareness and a conducive atmosphere to target farmers at multiple stages of the innovation decision process. Incentives and effective dissemination will encourage the adoption of these and other environmental BMPs. Feed costs need to be lowered in order to encourage the adoption of commercial floating feed in Ghana. Future analyses could quantify the differences in production costs between using the two water types, to reveal the possible higher relative profitability of pond water reuse over draining ponds after each production cycle. Also, African governments are advised to commission rigorous baseline and ecological risk analyses before adoption of the GIFT strain. Improvements in management practices and infrastructure could increase the yield and profitability of the local strains even if genetically-improved strains are not introduced. / Ph. D.

創新是社會進步與改變的契機，機構是維繫社會安定的基石。然而，創新在導入社會時，常常會碰上機構的阻力，使創新難以擴散、甚至無疾而終。過去的創新管理文獻，對於此議題的探討不多，我們對創新者如何回應機構阻力的瞭解仍非常有限。本研究由機構對行動者的影響力下手，強調當創新遇上機構時，施展策略性回應的重要性；並主張在「順從與反抗」的策略性回應之外，「調適」是另一種策略性回應的選項，「柔韌設計」更是其中的代表。當創新者面對強大機構阻力時，本研究指出，需要以柔韌設計有技巧地回應機構的鎮壓。 本研究以長期的田野調查與質性研究方法，分析一項數位學習系統（即階梯數位學院）的設計特質與回應策略。有三大發現： 第一，本研究剖析了在創新與機構之間的調適過程，創新者的「調適學習過程」。本研究從機構脈絡之「教科書、入學方式、老師與教學」三大方向切入，從教改政策（法規）、社會規範（規範）與文化認知（認知）等機構的三大構面，分別剖析其內涵，以及對利害關係人（學生，創新的使用者）所造成在學習上的痛點與阻力。再分析創新者在創新推出後，從市場的反應學習到深入使用者的機構脈絡，如何轉化為設計。因此，本研究整理出階梯數位學院的三大頻道（動畫教學台、智慧評量台、線上家教台），其創新者的調適學習過程，描述出創新者在其中試誤、摸索、偵測到機構脈絡進而轉化為設計的過程。 第二，本研究探索具體的創新人造文物（即階梯數位學院），其功能與服務的設計特質為何，以及在創新者的調適過程中對創新人造文物的改變，又是基於甚麼樣的「設計原則」。本研究分析創新的設計，除了針對創新人造文物的特質之外，也分析解讀使用者的學習實務與效果，並從中歸納出三大頻道的設計原則。 第三，在「調適型」的策略性回應裡，除了過去文獻所討論之「迂迴遊走」（workaround）的調適型回應，創新者還可以如何更積極的回應機構呢？本研究從學習實務裡，探討創新設計對學生所產生的行為轉變與效果，瞭解助力如何產生，從而發現了一種新的策略性回應方式。依據這種策略性回應的型式與內涵，本研究將之命名為「槓桿式」（leveraging）之策略性回應，本研究並整理出三種借力使力的柔韌設計。這種策略性回應的巧思，在於將機構對創新者所造成的阻力，轉化為一種設計上的助力。這樣的設計策略，可以協助創新融入機構脈絡，贏得使用者採納。 本研究提出創新採納研究的新觀點，就是以策略回應與柔韌設計來重新檢視創新設計與創新採納之關係。在這樣的回應中，我們看到創新者如何調適學習，巧妙地處理機構的影響力，進而轉為創新物件的設計助力。這就是槓桿效應的秘訣，正如阿基米德曾誇言：「給我一個支撐點，我可以撐起整個地球。」這種柔韌的回應策略是以「四兩撥千斤」的方式，將機構的阻力轉化為設計的助力。這種槓桿策略點出柔韌（以柔克剛）的精神。柔韌設計具有哲學上的意義，從本研究所發現三種借力使力的柔韌設計裡，更看到了一種轉化的效果。用槓桿為隱喻，可以讓讀者聯想到如何以小搏大、以柔克剛、以靜制動的效果。因此本研究稱之為槓桿效應的策略回應。 本研究在學理上的貢獻主要有三：首先，本研究所發現創新者的調適學習過程，可以補充創新調適的文獻。第二，本研究初步剖析出柔韌設計的原則，可以提供柔韌設計未來研究的參考。第三，本研究以個案資料呈現柔韌設計，做為一種策略性回應的形式與內涵，也豐富了策略性回應的文獻。 / Whether an innovation would be accepted or resisted by the user has been a topic widely examined in previous research. The literature, however, has focused mainly on the characteristics of the innovation to predict whether users will be willing to adopt the technology. This study argues that innovation adoption process takes place within an institutional context which refers to regulatory rules, social norms and behavioral options that guide the thinking, attitudes and behaviors of individuals. The study further expounded that institutions exercise three forces on individuals -- regulatory, normative and cognitive. It is therefore important to examine the role that institutions play in facilitating or hampering innovations. Prior research has begun to examine the interactions between innovations and institutions. Several strategic responses to institutional forces were proposed that innovators can adopt. The resopnses can essentially be classified into three strategies. First, one can comply with the institution. Secondly, one can resist the institution while aggressively diffusing the innovation. The third option is, one can adapt the innovation to meet the requirements of institution while keep the novelty and value of the innovation. Therefore, many researches aim to exmine how innovations adapt to the institutional forces. Robust design represented a gentle way to adpapt to the institution forces strategically. After reviewing the related literature, the study argues that there are two important issues which were neglected. One is they neglect to describe and discuss the adaptative learining of the innovators which is the base of strategic response. The other is they did not identify what the design principles are during the innovation adaptation process. Another approach towards robust design was proposed – one inspired by the principles of Taiji. A key principle of Taiji stresses the importance of using a gentle approach to counter a strong force. Instead of countering a strong force with an equally strong opposing force, one should leverage the energy created by the opponent’s strong force to counter-attack. Hence, the study propose that when institutions pose strong barriers to innovations, one approach is to identify how barriers can be turned into enablers to guide the design of the innovation. The key to this approach is to focus on the users of the innovation, to understand the pain points that institutional barriers bring to users, so that an innovation can be designed to effectively address these pain points. Prior literature does not adequately focus on understanding how users’ experiences should be factored into the design of an innovation. This study thus discusses and presents robust design through a case study of an electronic learning system – Ladder Digital College. In the analysis, I first illustrated the adaptative learning process of innovators by analyzing the institutional context in which the innovation is adopted, to identify the constraints or challenges individuals faced as a result of strong institutional forces. Second, we discuss the design features of the innovation, examine how they help users to overcome the challenges and counter the key barriers posed by institutional forces and identify the design principles of the innovation adaptation. The findings advance the concept of robust design by noting the importance of innovator’s adaptative learning and design principle of innovation. Theoretical contributions and practical suggestions are also elaborated.

Organizations play key roles in modern societies. The importance of organizations for a society requires an understanding of organizations. In order to fully understand public organizations, it is necessary to recognize how organizational settings affect subjects of organizations and organizing. Although public and private organizations interrelate with each other, the two types are not identical. In this dissertation, I attempt to describe public organizations in their own setting by discussing three important topics in public organization theory: (1) innovation adoption in the public sector; (2) representative bureaucracy; and (3) decline and death of public organizations. In Chapter II, I scrutinize early adoption of innovations at the organizational level and explore which public organizations become early adopters in the diffusion process. The adoption of an innovation is directly related to the motivation to innovate. That is, organizations performing poorly will have a motivation to seek new solutions. I estimate the strength of the motivation by observing prior performance. The main finding of the second chapter is that performance-based motivation has a twofold impact on early innovation adoption: negative for organizations with low performance, but positive for those with very high performance. This study estimates top 3.8% as the turning point defining which organizations attain outstanding performance and show the positive relationship between performance and innovation adoption. In Chapter III, develop a theoretical framework for predicting and explaining active representation in bureaucracy and test two hypotheses from the framework to test its validity. First, active representation requires the loss of organizational rewards. Second, a minority group mobilizes external support to minimize the cost of active representation. These findings support that active representation is a political activity in which bargaining between formal and informal roles occurs. In addition, I add evidence to the literature demonstrating that the two prerequisites – policy discretion and a critical mass – must be satisfied for active representation to occur. In Chapter IV, I argue that organizational change is a result of a relationship between an organization and the environment. And, I suggest and advance the theory of organizational ecology for examining environment effect on organizational decline and death. The theory has been extensively studies in the business sector, so I advance the theory to be applicable to the public sector. First, I add political variables, such as change in the executive branch and the legislature, unified government, and hypothesize that (1) an organization established by a party other than the one in the executive branch in any given year will be more likely to be terminated or decline; that (2) an organization established by a party other than the one in the legislature in any given year will be more likely to be terminated or decline; and that (3) if an unfriendly party controls both the executive branch and the legislature, organizations established by other parties are more likely to be terminated or decline. Second, the effect of the economic environment on the life cycle of public organizations is not as straightforward and simple as their effect on business firms.

A computação em nuvem é considerada um paradigma computacional da atualidade. Sua adoção vem crescendo nos últimos anos, contudo ainda é incipiente nas organizações brasileiras. Por ser uma tecnologia inovadora, a computação em nuvem vem recebendo maior atenção da academia nos últimos anos, contudo a abordagem do assunto na literatura de Sistemas de Informação ainda é considerada baixa, apesar de crescente. A presente dissertação tem o objetivo de analisar os fatores de adoção da tecnologia, estabelecendo uma relação entre elementos de teorias de base e fatores de adoção. Foram identificados na literatura elementos teóricos e fatores relacionados à computação em nuvem, sendo realizadas associações entre tais fatores e elementos. Os elementos teóricos identificados na revisão da literatura são oriundos da teoria dos custos de transação, teoria da dependência de recursos e teoria de difusão da inovação. A pesquisa realizada é de caráter exploratório, por meio de estudos de casos múltiplos, realizados em três empresas que já adotaram computação em nuvem. O estudo utilizou como fontes de evidências entrevistas semiestruturadas, documentos e consulta a sites corporativos das organizações pesquisadas. Para análise das entrevistas foi utilizada a técnica de análise de conteúdo, com o auxílio do software MAXQDA10. Os resultados do estudo apresentaram como fatores de adoção de computação em nuvem: confiabilidade, escalabilidade, economia, privacidade e segurança. A pesquisa também contribui para o preenchimento da lacuna na literatura de Sistemas de Informação, oferecendo subsídios para estudos quantitativos que confirmem os fatores levantados. / Cloud computing is considered a new computational paradigm for many researchers and practitioners. The adoption of this technology has been arisen in the last few years by the organizations, nevertheless it is still emerging in Brazil. As considered an innovative technology, cloud computing adoption has been gathering more attention in the academy. However, this subject in the Information Systems literature still has little attention, although increasing. This dissertation intends to analyze the adoption factors of cloud computing and establish associations between technology adoption factors and theory elements. Initially were identified in the literature of economic and organizational theories some elements related to the Diffusion of Innovations Theory, Transaction Cost Economics and Resource Dependency Theory. Then, the technology adoption factors were related directly to the cloud computing features. Consequently the theory elements were associated with the technology adoption factors. This research was exploratory, through multiple case studies in three companies that already adopted cloud computing. The data collection was made by interviews and documents analysis. To analyze the seven interviews this research used the content analysis method, using the software MAXQDA10. Thereafter, was conducted an association between the theory elements and the technology adoption factors. As main results, were confirmed as adoption factors in cloud computing: reliability, scalability, security, privacy and economy. This study also contributes for fill in a lack in the literature, as well as offer information for future quantitative researches about the technology adoption factors.

A computação em nuvem é considerada um paradigma computacional da atualidade. Sua adoção vem crescendo nos últimos anos, contudo ainda é incipiente nas organizações brasileiras. Por ser uma tecnologia inovadora, a computação em nuvem vem recebendo maior atenção da academia nos últimos anos, contudo a abordagem do assunto na literatura de Sistemas de Informação ainda é considerada baixa, apesar de crescente. A presente dissertação tem o objetivo de analisar os fatores de adoção da tecnologia, estabelecendo uma relação entre elementos de teorias de base e fatores de adoção. Foram identificados na literatura elementos teóricos e fatores relacionados à computação em nuvem, sendo realizadas associações entre tais fatores e elementos. Os elementos teóricos identificados na revisão da literatura são oriundos da teoria dos custos de transação, teoria da dependência de recursos e teoria de difusão da inovação. A pesquisa realizada é de caráter exploratório, por meio de estudos de casos múltiplos, realizados em três empresas que já adotaram computação em nuvem. O estudo utilizou como fontes de evidências entrevistas semiestruturadas, documentos e consulta a sites corporativos das organizações pesquisadas. Para análise das entrevistas foi utilizada a técnica de análise de conteúdo, com o auxílio do software MAXQDA10. Os resultados do estudo apresentaram como fatores de adoção de computação em nuvem: confiabilidade, escalabilidade, economia, privacidade e segurança. A pesquisa também contribui para o preenchimento da lacuna na literatura de Sistemas de Informação, oferecendo subsídios para estudos quantitativos que confirmem os fatores levantados. / Cloud computing is considered a new computational paradigm for many researchers and practitioners. The adoption of this technology has been arisen in the last few years by the organizations, nevertheless it is still emerging in Brazil. As considered an innovative technology, cloud computing adoption has been gathering more attention in the academy. However, this subject in the Information Systems literature still has little attention, although increasing. This dissertation intends to analyze the adoption factors of cloud computing and establish associations between technology adoption factors and theory elements. Initially were identified in the literature of economic and organizational theories some elements related to the Diffusion of Innovations Theory, Transaction Cost Economics and Resource Dependency Theory. Then, the technology adoption factors were related directly to the cloud computing features. Consequently the theory elements were associated with the technology adoption factors. This research was exploratory, through multiple case studies in three companies that already adopted cloud computing. The data collection was made by interviews and documents analysis. To analyze the seven interviews this research used the content analysis method, using the software MAXQDA10. Thereafter, was conducted an association between the theory elements and the technology adoption factors. As main results, were confirmed as adoption factors in cloud computing: reliability, scalability, security, privacy and economy. This study also contributes for fill in a lack in the literature, as well as offer information for future quantitative researches about the technology adoption factors.