This thesis develops a 'human economy' approach to understanding economic life that elucidates the social nature of economic reason. It explores deep structural changes in financial capitalism through the emergence of the sustainability paradigm in institutional investment, which involves the integration of environmental and social factors and long-term thinking into mainstream financial corporate valuations. The research is based on an extended-case study through participant-observation with one sustainable investment agency. The company is led by a power figure in sustainable finance and his trusted network of elite actors, who aim to be at the vanguard of the changes in institutional investing as they construct the category of the sustainable investor. The thesis explores the ambiguities inherent to such an undertaking and intends to open up new ground for economic anthropology and the anthropology of finance. The ethnography shows how the investment agency developed from a start-up firm with people operating from their homes to an established organisation in London. The majority of research was conducted with a team of sustainable investment analysts whose role it is to produce ratings on companies and influence the decision-making of financial analysts and portfolio managers. The ethnography depicts the everyday practices of this team, how the material arrangements of the investment agency were constructed, and actors' attempts to develop relationships with financial experts within investment processes. The findings are used to critique institutional investing and comment on normative and policy changes in the industry that centre on the figure of 'the fiduciary'. The thesis also points to new areas for research such as the links between corporate executives and sustainable investors. A historical account of investment management is also presented as a way of deconstructing many of the logics and ideas that were encountered during fieldwork and to better understand where and how sustainable investment fits into mainstream investing. The thesis also offers theoretical and methodological guidance for future ethnographies of finance by positioning the present study with existing sociological and anthropological studies and approaches. The discussion covers the political economy of sustainable investing with an emphasis on the links between market and society and the rise of the large corporation; outlines a framework for studying monetary transactions; and reflects on the nature of agency in financial markets and organisational actors there. A review of ethnographies of finance shows that studies of change within financial market practices should address issues of market functionality and political economy.

In the last few years have farmers' markets in the Czech Republic still greater success. By farmers' markets we are trying to promote local and regional food to get into a deeper level of awareness, and to become more popular. The range is very varied but referring to the range of many legislative regulation, laws, norms and announcements. Farmers' markets are subject to the same legislation as any other food sales. In the dissertation were performed structured interviews with vendors at farmers markets and held a questionnaire survey among customers of farmers' markets and wider community from all over the Czech Republic. In the questionnaire surveys got involved 187 respondents and thanks to this survey were evaluated by the fixed hypothesis. Three out of four.

This thesis explores the mechanics of governance within several layers of participating firms in the global value chain of the automotive industry, and how new forms of governance shape the development of the Brazilian and Chinese automotive industry. In particular, it examines how the local supply firms from Brazil and China can integrate and upgrade in the globalized automotive industry. By using the global value chain (GVC) framework, the changing inter-firm dynamics between buyer and supplier are analyzed, and their impact on the indigenous supply firms from Brazil and China examined. The results highlight the role of product architecture in defining the value chain governance approach. Through the evolution of product architecture, the lead-firms can globalize their approaches to procurement and supply chain management. Moreover, the globally harmonized products allow the lead-firm to effectively restructure the global supply base to establish a globally harmonized components supply industry by internationalizing the most capable supply firms. Oligopolies along the entire GVC are consciously created by the lead firm. The dynamics of competition between supply firms are changing, as the market for integral components with high asset-specificity are merging into one global market with oligopolistic and oligopsonistic features. While some supply firms from the emerging markets have been able to utilize their business ties with western assembly firms to upgrade within the GVC, most are under pressure to be squeezed out of the GVC through increased global competition. The thesis contributes to the field of development studies by analyzing the prospects for emerging market firms to participate and upgrade in the GVC of western lead-firms. Furthermore, it contributes to the economic theory of governance by presenting evidence of forms of influence outside the realm of supplier-buyer contracts. The thesis further extends the global value chain framework by introduction a fine-tuned approach to ‘power’ as a determinant of governance.

The implementation of different business models has enabled financial markets to not only create value for their benefits, but it has also helped them contribute to economic growth, as well as fulfil their roles in the society. However, the impacts of technological advancements, cross-border flows and regulations continually introduce new dynamics into the business environments of financial markets and as a result, financial markets are faced with future uncertainties. These have increased the dire need for markets to continue to devise methods that can be adapted to survive and thrive in the economy. Hence, financial markets are focusing on profitability than growth, or ideally profitable growth. As a means to achieve this, financial markets need to continually innovate and re-examine their business models to sustain growth. However financial markets still have to adapt general business model frameworks to design new business models because of the lack of a business model framework that has been designed specifically to meet the needs of financial markets. In the midst of these uncertainties, “business as usual” is not an option for a sustainable future; financial markets need sustainable business models that can be used to future proof their business strategies and create long-term value. This research identifies the need for sustainable business models in financial markets and identifies the lack of a framework for sustainable business models. Hence it aims at developing a business model framework that can be used to develop sustainable business models; with an objective of achieving long-term profitability while only having a minimal long lasting impact on the physical and social environments and to be sufficient enough to compare the business models of financial markets. This research contributes to the knowledge of business models, sustainability, and competition in financial markets.

Behavioural finance studies have documented that investors are subject to psychological factors (cognitive and emotional) and demographic factors (internal), and external factors that make their financial decisions less than fully rational. However, most of these studies have concentrated on developed countries and few on emerging countries. This study is aimed at investigating the internal and external factors that influence individual investors’ financial decision making in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman. It contributes to the behavioural finance literature by filling the gaps existing in the GCC countries in particular and emerging countries in general. The study adopts a holistic approach in using perspective theories in the analysis of data collected using questionnaires from 620 individual investors in Saudi Arabia and 590 individual investors in Oman. The data collected is analysed using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in order to understand the behavioural constructs developed. The study has revealed that religiosity factors have a significant influence on individual investors in both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman. However, the impact was negative in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia but positive in Oman. Positive psychological capital and psychological (cognitive and emotions emotional) factors are found to have a positive influence on investors’ decision making. Among these internal factors, religiosity factors have the highest impact while positive psychological factors have the least effect. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, investors’ decision making is positively significantly affected by economic factors and ethical and social factors, while political factors, governance and environmental factors and cultural factors do not significantly influence investors. In the Sultanate of Oman, however, political factors and cultural factors have a positive influence, while corporate governance and environmental factors influence investors negatively. Economic factors do not influence investors’ decision making in the Sultanate of Oman, contrary to the observed effect in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study indicates that there is a difference between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman’s individual investors in relation to the study variables, except for the cultural and psychological (cognitive and emotional) variables. These results have important implications on investors’ participation and future development of financial markets in the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

abstract: The recent changes in the software markets gave users an unprecedented number of alternatives for any given task. In such a competitive environment, it is imperative to understand what drives user behavior. To that end, the research presented in this dissertation, tries to uncover the impact of business strategies often used in the software markets. The dissertation is organized into three distinct studies into user choice and post choice use of software. First using social judgment theory as foundation, zero price strategies effects on user choice is investigated, with respect to product features, consumer characteristics, and context effects. Second, role of social features in moderating network effects on user choice is studied. And finally, the role of social features on the effectiveness of add-on content strategy on continued user engagement is investigated. The findings of this dissertation highlight the alignments between popular business strategies and broad software context. The dissertation contributes to the litera- ture by uncovering hitherto overlooked complementarities between business strategy and product features: (1) zero price strategy enhances utilitarian features but not non-utilitarian features in software choice, (2) social features only enhance network externalities but not social influence in user choice, (3) social features enhance the effect of add-on content strategy in extending software engagement. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2016

In a global world with an ever-changing environment, expansions of partnerships have been suggested in order to stay competitive. A fundamental goal of partnerships has shown to be value creation. Previous research has focused on value creation in partnerships mainly in developed markets. This study helps to address the gap of value creation in partnerships in emerging markets, by showing how value is created in markets characterized by a complex environment. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to explore how organizations can create value through their partnerships in emerging markets. To begin with, a literature review was conducted. Following by a case study on partnerships in emerging markets in order to explore value creation in these partnerships. Data was collected using seven semi-structured interviews at four different organizations. The researchers have in this study identified different aspects important to create value in partnerships at different stages in emerging markets. A model with three stages have been developed including: starting the partnership, throughout the duration of partnership, and shared value. Identifying and declaring these stages is in itself a contribution to academia, as well as practitioners, since these stages have not been noted in earlier literature.

abstract: This thesis presents an overview of the calculation and application of locational marginal prices in electric power systems particularly pertaining to the distribution system. The terminology proposed is a distribution locational marginal price or DLMP. The calculation of locational process in distribution engineering is conjectured and discussed. The use of quadratic programming for this calculation is proposed and illustrated. A small four bus test bed exemplifies the concept and then the concept is expanded to the IEEE 34 bus distribution system. Alternatives for the calculation are presented, and approximations are reviewed. Active power losses in the system are modeled and incorporated by two different methods. These calculation methods are also applied to the 34 bus system. The results from each method are compared to results found using the PowerWorld simulator. The application of energy management using the DLMP to control load is analyzed as well. This analysis entails the use of the DLMP to cause certain controllable loads to decrease when the DLMP is high, and vice-versa. Tests are done to illustrate the impact of energy management using DLMPs for residential, commercial, and industrial controllable loads. Results showing the dynamics of the loads are shown. The use and characteristics of Matlab function FMINCON are presented in an appendix. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Electrical Engineering 2013

O objetivo deste trabalho é investigar as relações entre a atividade de negócios, representada pelas variáveis de contratos em aberto e volume negociado, o conteúdo informacional dos diferentes grupos de participantes, categorizados pela bolsa brasileira, e a volatilidade diária e intradiária dos preços futuros para boi gordo, café arábica e milho, contratos agropecuários de maior liquidez na BMF&BOVESPA. O ferramental metodológico foi baseado nos trabalhos de Bessembiender e Seguin (1992), Daigler e Wiley (1999) e Wang (2002), amparados, majoritariamente, pela teoria de microestrutura de mercado e noise trading. Os resultados encontrados sugerem que existe relação entre contratos em aberto, volume negociado e volatilidade dos preços futuros. No caso de contratos em aberto, foi encontrada uma relação negativa (positiva) entre a série esperada (não esperada) e volatilidade, sendo que o impacto da série não esperada é superior, em magnitude, ao da série esperada. Para o volume negociado, em geral, há evidência de um efeito positivo do volume negociado (tanto esperado como não esperado) sobre a volatilidade, sendo que a série esperada apresentou maior impacto do que a série não esperada. Quanto ao conteúdo informacional dos participantes, no modelo com volatilidade diária, encontrou-se evidência de que choques de demanda de pessoa jurídica não financeira contribuiu para o aumento da variação dos preços futuros de boi gordo. No contrato de café arábica, o modelo sugere que choques de demanda de pessoa física influencia a volatilidade de forma positiva, enquanto que no contrato de milho, choques de demanda de todas as categorias de agentes, com exceção da pessoa jurídica não financeira, aparentemente atuam de forma a incrementar a volatilidade dos preços futuros. Desta forma, a separação da posição líquida não esperada e a avaliação do impacto positivo dos choques de demanda sobre a volatilidade sugerem que tais investidores são não informados. No âmbito da análise da volatilidade intradiária, os resultados obtidos são, majoritariamente, similares aos encontrados no modelo que analisa a volatilidade diária. Ademais, a regressão quantílica possibilitou o mapeamento completo dos impactos das variáveis analisadas, mostrando que há diferenças significativas em relação à influência das séries nos diferentes quantis da distribuição condicional da volatilidade, tanto diária quanto intradiária. / The objective of this study is to investigate the relationships between business activity, represented by the variables of open interest and trading volume, the information content of different groups of participants, categorized by the Brazilian exchange, and daily and intraday volatility of futures prices for live cattle, arabica coffee and corn, which are the Brazilian agricultural contracts that have greater liquidity. The methodological tool was based on the works of Bessembiender and Seguin (1992), Daigler and Wiley (1999) and Wang (2002), supported mostly by the market microstructure theory and noise trading. The results suggest that there is a relationship between open interest, trading volume and volatility of future prices. Particularly for open interest, is was found a negative relationship (positive) between the expected series (unexpected) and volatility, and the impact of unexpected series was superior in magnitude comparing to the expected series. For the traded volume, in general, there was evidence of a positive effect of trading volume (both expected and unexpected) on the volatility, and the expected series showed greater impact than the series unexpected. As for the informational content of the participants, considering the model that explains the daily volatility, is was found evidence that demand shocks non-financial corporation contributed to the increase in variation of live cattle futures prices. For the arabica coffee contract, the model suggests that demand shocks of individual influences positively the volatility. For the corn contract, demand shocks of all categories of participants, with the exception of non-financial corporation, apparently act in order to increase the volatility of future prices. Thus, the separation of the unexpected net position and the evaluation of the positive impact of demand shocks on volatility suggest that such investors are not informed. In examining the intraday volatility, the results obtained are mostly similar to those found in the model which analyzes the daily volatility. The quantile regression permitted the complete mapping of the impacts of the variables analyzed, showing that there are significant differences regarding the influence of the variables in the different quantiles of the conditional distribution of volatility, intraday as much daily.

Esta dissertação analisa os benefícios da diversificação internacional, advindos de uma maior abertura a investimentos no exterior, sob a perspectiva dos investidores institucionais brasileiros. Primeiramente, será desenvolvida uma revisão da literatura existente, abordando os benefícios da diversificação internacional, bem como algumas experiências de países que realizaram a internacionalização das carteiras locais e os resultados macroeconômicos advindos destas. Foram examinadas empiricamente as mudanças de posição das fronteiras eficientes para diferentes graus de abertura a investimentos em ações estrangeiras. Como principal análise empírica foram compostas carteiras internacionais eficientes, otimizadas pelo critério de média-variância, considerando o risco cambial. Os resultados indicaram uma redução do risco da carteira doméstica pela alocação em ações estrangeiras. Concluiu-se que o grau em que os benefícios do investimento externo em termos de retorno e diversificação poderiam ser utilizados foi limitado pela regulamentação, em detrimento do desempenho da carteira dos investidores institucionais. Finalmente, uma gradual mas decisiva diminuição das restrições a investimentos no exterior é recomendada. / This work analyzes the international diversification benefits of an increase in the limits for foreign investing from the perspective of Brazilian institutional investors. We examine empirically the efficient frontiers position after portfolio restrictions on overseas investments were progressively eased. As the main empirical analysis, efficient international portfolios were constructed, optimized by the mean-variance model, considering exchange risk. First, we present a literature review of international diversification and discuss the experience of some countries in the process of internationalizing domestic portfolios and its macroeconomic implications. The results indicate a risk reduction of the domestic portfolio by adding international stocks. We conclude that, in Brazil, the degree to which the benefits of foreign investment in terms of returns and diversification may be utilized for portfolio objectives were limited by regulation, to the detriment of performance of institutional investor?s portfolio. Finally, a gradual but decisive loosening of restrictions on foreign investments is recommended.