In the current global market, knowledge is viewed as a source of competitive advantage. In particular, it has become a crucial factor for Multinational Corporations (MNCs). MNCs are searching for appropriate ways to manage and use their knowledge effectively and efficiently. Their challenge is how to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and maximise the value from all available knowledge assets. In response to this, MNCs use Knowledge Management Systems (KMSs) for sharing, utilising and integrating knowledge as well as supporting Decision-making Processes. Therefore, the primary concern of this research is to examine knowledge sharing by using KMSs to support decision-making processes in MNCs. The study extends the existing literature on KMSs, knowledge sharing, and decision-making processes by proposing and empirically testing a new conceptual model in MNCs. For this purpose, a mixed-methods approach has been designed, combining semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire to collect data from MNCs participants from Europe and the Middle-East. In the first phase of this study, 42 semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants from 32 different MNCs in 12 countries to explore the main factors affecting knowledge sharing by using KMSs to support decision-making processes. A conceptual framework comprising four core dimensions was developed using thematic analysis. In the first dimension, Knowledge Management Systems, three themes were identified: technology acceptance, communication tools, and KMSs usage. In the second dimension, Knowledge Sharing Practices, the three themes were: content, willingness to share, and external factors. In Culture, the themes were: national culture, organisational culture, and information technology culture. In the fourth dimension, Decision-making Processes, extent of analysis and speed of decision-making were identified. This study went a step further than merely identifying the factors that affect KS. A conceptual model and twelve hypotheses were developed based on the findings of the thematic analysis, literature review, and the research objectives. The new model comprises seven constructs: organisational culture, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of using KMSs, KMSs usage, knowledge sharing, decision-making processes and organisational effectiveness. A survey was conducted to collect data on participants’ perceptions to test the model. Responses from 221 KMSs users were analysed. Structural equation modelling was conducted to test the hypothesised relationships. The results revealed that all hypotheses are statistically significant. KMSs usage and organisational culture have a positive and significant impact on knowledge sharing, with organisational culture having the largest impact. KMSs usage, knowledge sharing and organisational culture have a significant effect on decision-making processes; knowledge sharing has the biggest impact, followed by KMSs usage, and a marginally positive impact of organisational culture. Moreover, perceived ease of use has a strong and positive significant impact on the perceived usefulness of KMSs. Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and organisational culture have a positive and significant effect on KMSs usage, with organisational culture having the largest impact. Finally, organisational culture, decision-making processes and perceived usefulness have a positive and significant impact on organisational effectiveness, but decision-making processes have the biggest impact. This study has practical implications for different stakeholders in MNCs, including managers, decision makers, KMSs designers, IT specialists, and consultants, in linking KMSs usage and knowledge sharing with decision-making processes and organisational effectiveness, and by focusing on organisational culture in knowledge management.

This thesis deals with the process and management of the joint venture project from a theoretical point of view and subsequently analyzes particular international joint venture of two automobile companies - Spanish SEAT S.A. and Czech Skoda Auto Inc. - into the Volkswagen Group. The main goal of this thesis is to answer the question why the SEAT S.A. after the integration into the Volkswagen Group did not become as successful as Skoda Auto achieved to be.

The subject of this thesis is an analysis of specifics in project management within multinational system integration projects together with elaboration of conceptual solution model of these specifics and factors. Main objective of this thesis is to elaborate solution which will fulfil all the requirements of specific environment of project management within multinational system integration projects and to develop conceptual project management framework which could be implemented into current project management model of author's company which will contribute to higher success rate of this kind of projects. To achieve the goals of this thesis it was needed to define an environment of the projects, on which is the thesis focused, together with most important terms. Then it was needed to make a research of commercial and non-commercial literature and final theses with aim to prove that the topic of this thesis has not been yet described and solved. In second part of this final thesis, the research of most commonly used project management standards and specifics of multinational system integration projects is made, together with identification of main problems and critical success factors of these projects. In the last part of the thesis is developed the previously mentioned conceptual solution model of these specifics and aspects. This also defines the whole structure of the final thesis. Main planned benefit of this text is an analysis of environment of this kind of projects which has not been yet thoroughly described and also improvement of multinational system integration projects realisation success rate in author's company.

The aim of this work is practical recommendations for effective integration of multinational companies to the Russian market, coming out of the theoretical basis studies. To meet the goals of this work the methods of data clustering, classification and identification of priority processes and events, method of comparable analysis and implementation of abroad expansion experience of the companies were used. As the main method of the country specifics analysis was chosen PESTLE-analysis. Conclusions and recommendations can be used to select the appropriate entrance form of the multinational company to the foreign market or expanding its international activities and gaining a foothold on the Russian market.

No cenário de crescente envolvimento do setor privado em questões sociais públicas, em que a distinção entre o público e o privado torna-se cada vez mais tênue e empresas são conclamadas para a solução de demandas sociais, disseminam-se práticas de Responsabilidade Social Corporativa (RSC), e organizações multinacionais passam, gradativamente, a desenvolver iniciativas sociais além de suas fronteiras, enfrentando desafios inusitados. O Investimento Social Privado (ISP), que é definido na literatura brasileira como o repasse de recursos voluntários a projetos sociais e que representa a dimensão da RSC focada na comunidade e nas ações sociais voltadas ao interesse público (GIFE, 2013), vem se tornando objeto constante de pesquisas no Brasil. Dentre os desafios relacionados ao ISP, aponta-se a lacuna de estudos que analisem a internacionalização do Investimento Social Privado, fato este particularmente significativo visto que multinacionais brasileiras vêm expandindo suas práticas sociais para além das fronteiras do país (NOGUEIRA; SCHOMMER, 2009). Neste contexto, a presente pesquisa qualitativa e exploratória, realizada através de estudos de casos múltiplos em quatro representativas multinacionais brasileiras que investem socialmente em países estrangeiros nos quais mantêm atividades, se propõe a investigar como ocorre a internacionalização do Investimento Social de multinacionais brasileiras, analisando seus principais desafios e limitações. Os resultados apontam como principal desafio à internacionalização do ISP brasileiro o seu processo de governança, caracterizado pela baixa participação de seus stakeholders ao longo do processo, especialmente das comunidades locais, fato potencializado pela falta de articulação de atores locais em determinados países. Assim, o estudo propõe uma reflexão sobre o Investimento Social realizado na atualidade por multinacionais brasileiras no exterior, visto, de um lado, as preocupações do setor empresarial em relação ao respeito aos povos locais e, de outro, o baixo envolvimento das empresas com as demais partes interessadas. / In increasing private sector involvement in social public issues, where the distinction between public and private becomes tenuous and companies are invited for the solution of social demands, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices are spreading, and multinational companies are gradually developing social initiatives beyond its borders, facing numerous issues. The Private Social Investment (PSI), which is defined in Brazilian literature as the voluntary transfer of resources to social projects and that is the dimension of CSR focused on the community and on the public interest (GIFE, 2012), becomes a constant subject of study in Brazil in recent years. Among the challenges related to PSI, it is pointed the gap in the investigation of the internationalization of Brazilian Private Social Investment, as the phenomenon of expansion of Brazilian multinationals, often accompanied by the promotion of social practices by these global companies in the countries in which they operate (NOGUEIRA; SCHOMMER, 2009). In this context, this qualitative and exploratory study conducted through case studies in four representative Brazilian multinationals that invest socially in foreign countries in which they hold activities , proposes to investigate how the internationalization of Social Investment of Brazilian multinationals occurs, analyzing its main challenges and limitations. The results indicate that the main challenge to the internationalization of Brazilian PSI is related to its governance process, characterized by low participation of its stakeholders, particularly local communities, throughout the process, a situation aggravated by the lack of coordination of local actors in certain countries. Thus, the study proposes a reflection on the current phenomenon of social investment led by Brazilian multinationals abroad, since on the one hand, the concerns of the business sector in relation to respect for local people, and on the other, the low involvement of companies with other stakeholders.

Este estudo foi conduzido com o objetivo de compreender como as strategic issues influenciam o desempenho dos projetos globais de inovação tecnológica em empresas multinacionais brasileiras. Mais especificamente, buscou-se identificar quais issues estiveram presentes nos projetos analisados, quais dimensões de desempenho foram afetadas e com que intensidade, e como as empresas executoras desses projetos lidaram com as referidas issues. O modelo desenvolvido sugere que o desempenho dos projetos globais de inovação tecnológica das empresas multinacionais estudadas é afetado pelas issues que emergem dos próprios projetos, das atividades de inovação, da matriz, das subsidiárias, do setor de atuação e do ambiente externo. Esse modelo foi elaborado a partir da revisão da literatura sobre empresas multinacionais, gerenciamento de projetos e gerenciamento de issues. A pesquisa de campo desta tese foi conduzida em duas etapas, sendo a primeira qualitativa e a segunda quantitativa. A primeira caracterizou-se pela abordagem exploratória e foi efetuada por meio de um estudo de caso com duas organizações. A segunda, de caráter descritivo, envolveu a análise quantitativa de 36 projetos globais de inovação tecnológica desenvolvidos por empresas multinacionais brasileiras. Os resultados indicaram elevado grau de presença das issues que emergiram das atividades de P&D, do setor de atuação e do ambiente externo, moderado grau de presença das issues que emergiram do projeto e reduzido grau de presença das issues que emergiram da matriz e das subsidiárias. Observou-se que as dimensões de desempenho afetadas nos projetos estudados foram: resultados da empresa, capacidades da organização, orientação mercadológica e sinergia entre as unidades organizacionais. A dimensão resultados da empresa foi influenciada pelas issues que emergiram do projeto, das atividades de inovação, da matriz, das subsidiárias, do setor de atuação e do ambiente externo. No caso da dimensão capacidades da organização, houve influência das issues que emergiram do projeto, das subsidiárias, do setor de atuação e do ambiente externo. Para a dimensão orientação mercadológica, notou-se a ação das issues que emergiram das atividades de inovação, da matriz e do setor de atuação. Relativamente à dimensão sinergia entre as unidades organizacionais, houve impacto das issues que emergiram do projeto e das subsidiárias. Com relação à forma de abordagem das strategic issues, constatou-se a necessidade de um processo formal, porém flexível, no qual o gerente do projeto possui autoridade para tomar as decisões necessárias à solução das issues identificadas. / This study has been conducted with the purpose of understanding how strategic issues influenced the performance of global technological innovation projects in Brazilian multinational companies. More specifically, I tried to identify those issues that have been present in the selected projects, which performance dimensions have been affected and to what extent, and how executing organizations have dealt with the related issues. The proposed model suggests that the performance of global technological innovation projects in multinational companies is affected by project issues, R&D issues, headquarters issues, subsidiary issues, industry issues and external issues. This model has been created as a result of the theory review encompassing multinational companies, project management and issues management. The field research has been conducted in two steps, being the first qualitative and the second quantitative. The first phase has been characterizaed by the exploratory approach and carried out through the application of the case study method to two organizations. The second phase employed the descriptive approach and involved the quantitative analysis of 36 global technological innovation projects executed by Brazilian multinational companies. Results suggest high degree of presence for R&D issues, industry issues, and external issues; moderate degree of presence for project issues; and low degree of presence for headquarters issues and subsidiary issues. Findings also showed that strategic issues affected the following project performance dimensions: business results, organizations capabilities, marketing focus and synergy among organizational units. The business results dimenstion has been influenced by project issues, R&D issues, headquarters issues, subsidiary issues, industry issues and external issues. The organizations capabilities dimension has been affected by project issues, subsidiary issues, industry issues and external issues. The marketing focus dimension has been impacted by R&D issues, headquarters issues, and industry issues. The synergy among organizational units dimension has been influenced by Project issues and subsidiary issues. Regarding how companies have dealt with strategic issues, I have found the need for a formal but flexible process where the project leader is given authority to resolve the identified issues.

In recent years nearly every aspect of how we function as a society has transformed from analogue to digital. This has spurred extraordinary change and acted as a catalyst for technology innovation, as well as big data generation. Big data is characterized by its constantly growing volume, wide variety, high velocity, and powerful veracity. With the emergence of COVID-19, the global pandemic has demonstrated the profound impact, and often dangerous consequences, when communicating health information derived from data. Healthcare companies have access to enormous data assets, yet communicating information from their data sources is complex as they also operate in one of the most highly regulated business environments where data privacy and legal requirements vary significantly from one country to another. The purpose of this study is to understand how global healthcare companies communicate information derived from data to their internal and external audiences. The research proposes a model for how marketing communications, public relations, and internal communications practitioners can address the challenges of utilizing data in communications in order to advance organizational priorities and achieve business goals. The conceptual framework is based on a closed-loop communication flow and includes an encoding process specialized for incorporating big data into communications. The results of the findings reveal tactical communication strategies, as well as organizational and managerial practices that can position practitioners best for communicating big data. The study concludes by proposing recommendations for future research, particularly from interdisciplinary scholars, to address the research gaps.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the media are constantly drawing attention to human rights violations caused by multinational corporations abroad (MNC). Due to the lack of an adequate framework to hold corporations accountable for their corporate misconduct across borders, there is a liability gap. Extensive research has been undertaken by political philosophers as well as lawyers attempting to fill the gap, leaving the question why it still exists. Currently, there is a debate in the Swiss parliament about the implementation of a constitutional law which could fill this gap. By conducting an argumentation analysis on the parliamentary debate about the Swiss Business Initiative (SBI), this thesis seeks to analyze how politicians are framing the debate, as well as what normative concerns of the academy have been discussed or left out. Finally, the paper concludes with seven findings that could be focused on more in praxis.

This dissertation explores (i) the determinants of executive selection in the international labor market, (ii) how these determinants shift relative to economic and institutional conditions, and (iii) how they differ for various functional roles. Using regression-based analysis and competitive assignment matching models, I examined executive appointment patterns in the subsidiaries of global banks located in Central & Eastern Europe between 2005 and 2012. The setting and timeframe not only yielded a heterogeneous sample of executive appointments under a variety of environmental conditions but also provided the opportunity to study the impact of financial shocks in the environment and/or the subsidiary network on executive succession during and in the aftermath of the Financial Crisis of 2008. The results indicate that there exists a substantial difference in appointment strategies by functional role, which remains intact regardless of the level of environmental uncertainty present in the subsidiary market. In examining the entire subsidiary executive team, the results of the two-sided competitive assignment matching model show that firm-specific human capital is the dominant determinant of an executive appointment during an economic upswing, but during an economic downturn firm-specific human capital is nearly four times weaker in driving an executive—subsidiary match than general human capital. Upon limiting the sample to just subsidiary CEOs, I find that while broad economic shocks and subsidiary-specific performance shocks both incite CEO turnover, they prompt different preferences for successors' human capital attributes. Specifically, country-wide economic crisis promotes a preference for local human capital, while performance shocks limited to the subsidiary are associated with a preference for expatriate human capital and for successors with broad international experience.

Abstract (annotation): Subject of this thesis is to analyze the marketing strategy of corporations working in the internet environment. Next issue is to make a confrontation between Czech and foreign companies and predict the future trends and development in this marketing area. Last but not the least task is to design a business plan which may find the niche on the Czech market and could be successful at global market too.