Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-08T14:53:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2074714 bytes, checksum: dac00ea8cc424b009c726064bc12dba1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This work aims to investigate how interorganizational relationships between constituent companies of the Great Joao Pessoa s shoes APL may contribute to the development of relational rents and competitive advantage. Thus, first, a literature review using the Resource Based View and as the main theoretical bases, especially Relational View and Extended Resource Based View was held. Thus, through the concepts of the literature investigated, it was possible to develop an analytical model consists of three major steps: characterization of the inter-relationships of the APL companies, identification of interorganizational resources and identifying potential sources of relational rents and competitive advantage. This research is characterized by a multi-case study by analyzing three companies of the Great Joao Pessoa s shoes APL. Moreover, it has predominantly qualitative and descriptive. Especially semi-structured interviews with managers of different companies investigated were used to collect data. For organization and analysis of qualitative data, the Atlas/ti software was used. It was found as the main common characteristics interorganizational relationship of the three companies: trust; sharing of tangible and/or intangible resources; joint learning; different degrees of collaboration; cooperation; interdependence between formally established partnerships; informal partnerships, in the figure of its managers and employees; and interaction with public and/or private institutions. Main interorganizational resource raw materials, parts, equipment, space, knowledge and information about aspects or not the production process that are shared between the companies were identified; use of the road network, proximity to ports, low cost of labor-intensive interaction with the region and private institutions of autonomous services; besides the tax incentives granted by the state government especially. As sources of relational rents knowledge sharing routines, complementary resource endowments and the existence of governance mechanisms were identified. Accordingly, therefore, there is the presence of potential for the generation of relational rents, indicating that relationships between companies in the Great João Pessoa s shoes APL may bring, varying according to the level of partnership, competitive advantages for companies forming part of them. / Este trabalho tem como principal objetivo analisar de que forma os relacionamentos interorganizacionais entre empresas constituintes do APL de calçados da Grande João Pessoa podem contribuir para o desenvolvimento de rendas relacionais e vantagens competitivas. Dessa forma, foi realizada uma revisão da literatura utilizando a Visão Baseada em Recursos e, especialmente, a Visão Relacional e a Visão Baseada em Recursos Estendida, como bases teóricas principais. Sendo assim, por meio de conceitos da literatura investigada, foi possível desenvolver um modelo de análise formado por três etapas principais: caracterização dos relacionamentos interorganizacionais de empresas do APL, identificação de recursos interorganizacionais e identificação de fontes geradoras de rendas relacionais e vantagens competitivas. Esta pesquisa se caracteriza por um estudo de multicasos por meio da análise de três empresas do APL de calçados da Grande João Pessoa. Além disso, possui caráter predominantemente qualitativo e descritivo. Para a coleta de dados, foram utilizadas especialmente entrevistas semiestruturadas com gestores das diferentes empresas investigadas. Para organização e análise dos dados qualitativos, foi utilizado o software Atlas/ti. Verificou-se como principais características comuns ao relacionamento interorganizacional das três empresas: confiança; compartilhamento de recursos tangíveis e/ou intangíveis; aprendizagem conjunta; diferentes graus de colaboração; cooperação; interdependência entre parcerias formalmente estabelecidas; parcerias informais, na figura de seus gestores e funcionários; e, interação com instituições públicas e/ou privadas. Como principais recursos interorganizacionais foram identificados: matérias-primas, peças, equipamentos, espaço físico, conhecimentos e informações sobre aspectos diretamente ligados ou não ao processo produtivo que são compartilhados entre as empresas; utilização da malha rodoviária, proximidade com portos, baixo custo da mão-de-obra da região e interação com instituições privadas de serviços autônomos; e incentivos fiscais concedidos especialmente pelo governo estadual. Como fontes geradoras de rendas relacionais foram identificadas rotinas de compartilhamento de conhecimento, dotações complementares de recursos e existência de mecanismos de governança. Dessa forma, verifica-se, portanto, potencial para a geração de rendas relacionais, indicando que os relacionamentos entre as empresas do APL de calçados da Grande João Pessoa podem trazer, variando conforme o nível de parceria, vantagens competitivas para as empresas que dele fazem parte.

Introduktion Digitaliseringen har lett till att flera nya aktörer trätt in på finansmarknaden och kundbehov har ändrats. Bankerna har därför behövt genomgå förändringar för att klara sig på marknaden. Detta har de gjort genom att bland annat ha ingått samarbeten med fintechbolag. Aktörerna skiljer sig markant från varandra vilket gör att de har mycket att lära från varandra. Denna studie handlar om det ömsesidiga lärandet i ett samarbete mellan fintechbolag och banker i Sverige. I studier framgår att 7 av 10 banker ser fintechbolag som det största hotet i branschen medan 8 av 10 banker ser fintechbolag som samarbetspartners vilket visar på att en relation som bildas mellan dessa aktörer kallas för coopetition. Cooperation och competition. Syfte Denna studie ämnar bidra med förståelse för det interorganisatoriska lärandet i en coopetitionrelation mellan banker och fintechbolag genom att kartlägga hur aktörers absorberande inlärningskapacitet leder till lärande. Frågeställningarna i studien är: Vilka yttre villkor påverkar den absorberade inlärningskapaciteten hos fintechbolag respektive banker? Hur påverkar nivån på coopetition samt graden av beroende mellan banker och fintechbolag sambandet mellan absorberande inlärningskapacitet och det interorganisatoriska lärandet? Hur ser det interorganisatoriska lärandet ut mellan banker och fintechbolag vid coopetition? Vad lär sig de olika aktörerna från dessa typer av samarbeten? Metod Denna studie är en komparativ flerfallstudie genomförd med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod. Vidare har studien ett fenomenologiskt perspektiv med en abduktiv ansats. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in via åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer med tre respondenter från storbanker och fem respondenter från fintechbolag i Sverige. Slutsats I studien har det framkommit att fintechbolagens yttre villkor är att de är unga och små bolag med begränsade tidigare erfarenheter och att bankernas yttre villkor är att de är stora och gamla företag med tidigare erfarenheter av samarbeten med fintechbolag. I studien framkommer det även att både banker och fintechbolag ser relationen som de har med respektive part som samarbetsdominerad. Från empirin har vi kunnat urskilja att det finns ett visst asymmetriskt beroende mellan banker och fintechbolag i deras samarbeten då bankerna har mer att säga till om. Ytterligare en slutsats är att lärandet mellan banker och fintechbolag går till så att de delar och skapar kunskap tillsammans genom kontinuerliga möten och workshops med målet att gemensamt uppnå innovation. Informell informationsdelning är även det något som sker konstant mellan företagen som leder till lärande åt båda håll. I nuvarande samarbeten lär sig fintechbolag hur det faktiskt är att verka som stora bolag genom lärdomar kring rutiner, avtalsprocesser och hantering av kundrelationer. I studien framkommer att bankerna lär sig från fintechbolagen hur de som organisation ska arbeta för att bli mer agila och digitala i sin verksamhet. / Introduction Due to digitization several new players have entered the financial market and customer needs have changed. Banks have therefore had to undergo a change in order to succeed in the market. They have done this by, among other things, entering into partnerships with fintech companies. These players differ markedly from each other which means that they have much to learn from one another. This study aims to help understand interorganizational learning in collaborations between fintech companies and banks in Sweden. Studies show that 7 out of 10 banks see fintech companies as the biggest threat in the industry, while 8 out of 10 banks see fintech companies as partners, indicating that a relationship between these players is called coopetition. Cooperation and competition. Purpose This study aims to help understand interorganizational learning in a coopetition relationship between banks and fintech companies by mapping out how actors' absorptive learning capacity leads to interorganizational learning. Research questions: What peripheral conditions affect the absorptive learning capacity of fintech companies and banks? How does the level of coopetition and the degree of dependence between banks and fintech companies affect the relationship between absorbing learning capacity and interorganizational learning? What does interorganizational learning look like between banks and fintech companies in coopetition? What do the different actors learn from these types of collaborations? Method This study is a comparative multi-case study conducted using a qualitative method. Further the study has a phenomenological perspective with an abductive approach. The empirical material was collected through eight semi-structured interviews with three respondents from major banks and five respondents from fintech companies in Sweden. Conclusion The study found that the peripheral conditions of the fintech companies are that they are young and small companies with limited past experience and the banks' peripheral conditions are that they are large and old companies with previous experience of working with fintech companies. The study also reveals that both banks and fintech companies consider the relationship they have with each other as cooperation-dominant. There is a certain asymmetric dependence between banks and fintech companies in their collaborations as the banks have more impact. Another conclusion is that banks and fintech companies share and create knowledge together through continuous meetings and workshops with the aim of jointly achieving innovation. Informal information sharing is also something that constantly occurs between the companies that leads to learning in both directions. In current collaborations, fintech companies are learning what it is like to operate as a large company through learnings about routines, contract processes and customer relationship management. The study shows that the banks learn how they as an organization should work to become more agile and digital in their operations.

As globalisation is now a reality for most large organizations, and the competition for most businesses moving faster and becoming tougher, there is a need for engineering projects to deliver results faster in a more complex environment than ever, but also for companies to collaborate to utilize a wider array of competencies and to reach new markets with their products. This case study analyses which difficulties arise in interorganizational requirements engineering, and what organizations can do to alleviate the effects of those difficulties, as well as suggest which actions are most effective to focus on. The conclusion of this study is that the difficulties can be divided into three categories, namely interpersonal, structural and processual. Each category concerns a different set of people and require different actions for increased effectiveness. For the interpersonal category, prioritized efforts should be to establish a shared vocabulary and use techniques to build shared contextual understanding. For structural difficulties, evaluating management and control structures and the implementation of the project’s strategy should be prioritized. In the processual category, codifying existing processes to enable improvements, defining information artefacts and aligning information flows should be of high priority. / Globaliseringens effekter är idag en verklighet för de flesta stora organisationer, och konkurrensen för företag blir hårdare och förändrar sig allt snabbare. Därför blir det allt viktigare för utvecklingsprojekt att anpassa sig till en allt mer komplex miljö och leverera resultat snabbare än tidigare, men också att samarbeta mer med andra företag för att såväl utnyttja bredare kompetens som att nå nya marknader. Den här studien undersöker utmaningarna i interorganisatoriskt kravställningsarbete, vad företag kan göra för att möta de utmaningarna, såväl som att föreslå vilka handlingar som ger mest effekt för ett bättre kravställningsarbete. Slutsatsen av studien är att utmaningarna kan delas in i tre kategorier, nämligen personorienterade, strukturella och processorienterade. Varje kategori rör en viss mängd deltagare i projektet och kräver olika handlingar för ökad effektivitet. För att minska utmaningar i den personorienterade kategorin bör ett projekt prioritera att använda tekniker för att skapa ett gemensamt språkbruk och att använda tekniker för att bygga upp gemensam kontextuell förståelse. För strukturella utmaningar bör det prioriteras att utvärdera styrnings- och kontrollstrukturer, samt hur projektets strategi har implementerats och förankrats bland deltagarna. I den processorienterade kategorin bör det prioriteras att kodifiera existerande processer för att möjliggöra förbättringsarbete, definiera informationsartefakter och att försäkra sig om att informationsflöden är i linje med varandra mellan företagen, så att rätt information möts vid rätt tillfällen.

This research employed a model of interorganizational relations (Van de Ven, 1976) based on social action theory to examine the interagency relationships between Title III/Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) and Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) agencies across the country. The specific purpose of this study was to investigate five AAA/SSBG agency relationships using case study methodology to determine the adequacy of Van de Ven’s model in portraying the relationships. I also examined possible changes in the framework that might enhance its ability to characterize the relationships. In general, qualitative data analysis supported the model’s ability to depict the interagency relationships. The following factors were influential in the formation and continued functioning of at least three of the five interagency relationships: (a) resource needs, dependence, and exchange; (b) a commitment to serving older adults; (c) a commitment to the interagency relationship; (d) interagency communication, awareness, and information exchange; (e) interagency consensus (i.e., agreement between agency representatives on the goals and expectations of each agency in the relationship); (f) domain similarity (e.g., overlap in client populations and geographic service areas); (g) informal means of interaction and communication; and (h) perceived effectiveness of the interagency effort by agency representatives. Based upon the results of this investigation, I have proposed a revised framework that incorporates the major components of the original model but also simplifies and conceptually clarifies important relationship factors. It places more emphasis on the individuals involved in interagency relationships and is tailored to fit the special circumstances of social service agencies. An important implication of these findings for further research is the need for examining other social service agencies with the original and revised framework to further enhance their usefulness in characterizing interagency interaction. Implications for practice include the use of this information about AAA/SSBG agency relationships to improve interagency collaboration, service delivery and planning, and public policy decisions. / Ph. D.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1979 S44 / Master of Arts

This study had two main objectives. First, to identify and operationalize the key variables required to assess the strategic alignment of Inter-Organizational Information Systems (IOISs) in the context of dyadic relationships between manufacturers and suppliers. Second, to use a subset of these variables to test two alignment perspectives: fit as moderation and fit as gestalt. More precisely, four key dimensions tied to the study of IOISs alignment in the context of interorganizational relationship (relationship structure, antecedents, outcomes and IOISs usage) and the twenty-five variables that characterize them were identified. Results, from the gestalt and moderation alignment perspective's test show that when aligned together, joint actions (relationship structure), idiosyncratic investments (antecedents), diversity (IOISs usage) and internal integration (IOISs usage) become adequate predictors of the manufacturers' operational performance (outcomes). Thus, demonstrating the primordial role of IOISs alignment in manufacturer-supplier relationship and supporting the contingency theory and its underlying concept of fit.

In this study, the adaptive behaviour towards sustainability initiatives is investigated in interorganizational exchange relations. To do so, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in a supplier role that experienced a situation where a buyer asked them to adapt to a certain sustainability initiative are asked about their power relation with their buyer. During this process, suppliers perceived dependence and buyers perceived power are compared, and the outcome of these measures on the adaptive behaviour towards sustainability is modelled. In order to explain the power relation in the dyad in more detail, the framework of the bases of power as initially introduced by French Jr. and Raven (1959) is integrated in the analysis. Sustainability in the current globalised business environment needs to be tackled on a systems level rather than by focusing on a site. The purpose of this research is to shed some light on the permeation of sustainability initiatives through the upward supply chain. The current academic literature about the drivers of Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) point towards the buyers as a powerful driver. Therefore, this driver is scrutinized in detail with the aims to: a) deliver practical advice on how to improve sustainability permeation from a buyer s perspective; and b) contribute to academic knowledge by dismantling and analysing the mechanism behind buyer power driven sustainability permeation. An online questionnaire was deployed to collect data from SMEs in a supplier role. The participants were contacted and reminded via email. The questionnaire is based on established instruments to measure suppliers dependence (Bode et al., 2011) and the bases of power (Raven et al., 1998). The quantitative analysis of the responses to the questionnaires is built around a mediation model with suppliers dependence as Independent Variable (IV), the binary outcome of sustainability adaptation as Dependent Variable (DV) and two mediators representing the magnitude of hard and soft power bases in the dyadic exchange relation. The established framework of the bases of power is a suitable instrument to explain the relationship between a supplier s adaptive behaviour towards sustainability and its dependence on its buyer. Measurements solely of how a supplier perceives its dependence on the buyer do not explain the adaptive behaviour of a supplier towards a buyer-requested sustainability initiative. Introducing the bases of power framework and distinguishing between soft and hard bases of power explains why suppliers experiencing hard power bases are more likely to reject a buyer-requested sustainability initiative, whereas suppliers experiencing soft power bases show a significantly higher acceptance of buyer-requested sustainability initiatives. Without dismantling the black box power, the observation that the two effects neutralize each other if not distinguished cannot be made. The original contribution to knowledge is the mechanism behind power in dyadic exchange relations and how this mechanism conduces to the permeation of sustainability through the supply chain. Knowing about the different pathways hard and soft, and their opposite effect on sustainability adaptation, advances knowledge in the SSCM literature and provides guidance for practitioners.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / Many multi-business unit organisations are not adequately prepared to deal with and capitalise on the opportunities that exist because they have a multi-faceted company structure. Increasingly, organisations are combining their efforts to exploit business opportunities and collaboration is becoming a key strategic tool. Collaboration provides ways to tap into competencies and organisational knowledge that might otherwise be trapped in business units. It is essential that these pockets, or silos, of excellence be harnessed to promote value-creating activities. The focus of this case study is on GEA Group Companies operating within the ambit of Sub-Saharan Africa. These companies exhibit a classical multi-business unit organisation with many opportunities for intra- as well as intercompany collaboration. Informal channels for collaboration may exist, but if GEA is able to collaborate more effectively internally, growth and value creation opportunists will be easier to exploit. This study has investigated the state of the current business models of the various GEA Group companies as well as the current collaboration efforts that are in place. The study has also explored the key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the various business models as well the key factors influencing collaboration efforts within GEA. Based on the results of interviews and surveys that evaluated the business models and intercompany collaboration efforts, recommendations for improvements are made and an intercompany collaboration model proposed for GEA companies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

published_or_final_version / Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy