Economia e Gestão Internacional / Master in International Economics and Management / A performance empresarial tem sido apontada por vários autores como um importante tópico de pesquisa no ramo dos Negócios Internacionais (International Business), principalmente no que diz respeito às empresas multinacionais. As empresas, em geral, coordenam as suas actividades por objectivos e competem para alcançar vantagem competitiva através do desempenho. Esta dissertação investiga se as empresas multinacionais estrangeiras (FO) e as domésticas (DO) diferem em desempenho comparativo. Especificamente, este estudo pretende determinar se há diferenças de performance significativas entre as multinacionais estrangeiras e as suas congéneres domésticas, e se essas diferenças variam consoante as medidas de performance. O enquadramento que subjaz a este estudo baseia-se em teorias de organização industrial (IO) e de negócio internacional (IB), e, na sua aplicação empírica, analisa uma amostra recente (dados para o ano de 2006) que inclui as maiores empresas portuguesas retiradas da base de dados SABI (Sistema de Análise de Balanços Ibéricos/Coface MOPE). Este estudo foi realizado utilizando modelos econométricos estimados por método de mínimos quadrados (OLS) com desvios padrão robustos e por regressão de quantis. Os resultados são inequívocos: as empresas FO têm um impacto positivo e significativo na performance empresarial em ambos os tipos de medidas de desempenho usadas (lucro e produtividade). Os resultados deste estudo sugerem que há uma diferença significativa ao nível do desempenho entre as empresas FO e DO na indústria transformadora em Portugal. Este estudo contribui também para o debate sobre medidas de política pública relevantes, nomeadamente aquelas relacionadas com a promoção de investimento directo estrangeiro (IDE), com externalidades, e com os efeitos do IDE em empresas domésticas. / Firm Performance has been pointed by different authors as an important research matter in International Business, notably in multinational corporations (MNCs). Organisations in general coordinate their activities by objectives and compete to seek competitive advantage via performance. This dissertation investigates if foreign owned (FO) and domestic owned (DO) firms differ in comparative performance. Specifically, this study seeks to determine if there are significant performance gaps between foreign MNCs and their domestic counterparts, and if those differences/gaps vary with different performance measures. This study draws on an underlying theoretical framework based on industrial organisation (IO) and on international business (IB) theories, which is tested by examining a large scale recent sample (for the year 2006) including the Portuguese top largest firms extracted from the SABI database (Sistema de Análise de Balanços Ibéricos/Coface MOPE). This study was done using econometric models estimated by ordinary least squares (OLS) with robust standard errors and by quantile regressions. The results are unequivocal: FO firms have a positive and significant impact in firm performance in both types of performance measures used (profitability and productivity). The findings of this study suggest that there is a significant performance difference between FO and DO firms in the manufacturing industry in Portugal. This study also contributes to the debate about relevant policy measures, notably related to inward investment promotion, performance externalities and effects of inward investments in local economies.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) leaders created a Veterans First Contracting Program (VFCP) under Public Law 109-461 to provide procurement opportunities for veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs). However, DVA leaders established a preference hierarchy that increased opportunities for SDVOSBs and decreased opportunities for VOSBs. Research was lacking regarding the effects of the preference policy on VOSBs as a distinct small business category. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and understand the experiences of 20 VOSB owners actively enrolled in the VFCP from Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia. Through the lens of distributive justice theory, this study examined the perceptions of VOSB owners about seeking access to VFCP procurement opportunities. These perceptions were examined within a framework of fairness. Qualitative data was collected through semistructured interviews resulting in coding and thematic analysis according to Moustakas modified van Kaam method. Findings uncovered 3 major themes: (a) VOSBs perceived a benefit to VFCP enrollment, (b) preference afforded SDVOSBs affects VOSBs motivation and VFCP competition structure (c) VOSBs perceived an unfair opportunity distribution between SDVOSBs and VOSBs. The study informs government leaders of the need to improve VOSB standing as a small business group. Implications for positive social change may be realized with a policy adjustment designed to strengthen VOSB access to federal procurement opportunities because increased competition has the potential to promote DVA cost savings.

公營事業民營化儼然已成為九○年代的世界風潮，在我國自民國七十八年起正式宣示民營化政策迄今亦達五年有餘，然推行進度與成效及對經營績效是否具有正面效果的疑慮仍深植於許多人的心中。本文試圖從文獻回顧及國內實際個案對此一問題進行研究，但由於國內已有的個案數目太少且不具代表性及推行民營化的時間過短，很難採用完整的個案分析，故僅以其中兩個案作為代表，並輔以國外符合本研究目的之個案對所提出的命題做進一步的說明，以幫助了解該命題之實際意義。 　　經由國內外文獻探討後，本研究首先得出公營體制績效不彰的主因，藉以了解是否有必要以放棄公營體制的手段提昇經營績效，結果發現市場結構、資本市場不具競爭性及公營事業本身受到管制以致無法企業化經營等三項因素才是績效不佳的主要原因，因此乃以這三個因素作為本研究的自變數，並將公營事業民營化的定義擴大法律的解釋方式（依我國法律的規定，民營化的方式僅限於所有權移轉一項），觀察公營事業民營化在這三個自變數上的變化對經營績效有何影響，同時經由代理理論、財產權方面等文獻上發現，管理者是否有追求利潤的誘因乃是這些自變數影響經營績效的中介變數，因此乃形成本研究的研究架構。 　　在命題發展及理論建構上，乃根據本研究所提出的研究架構做自變數與經營績效關係之推導，分別為市場結構與經營績效、所有權與經營權結構與經營績效及企業化管理程度與經營績效，同時亦提出本之間的關係。本研究最主要的貢獻在於對「公有民營」的民營化方式對經營績效的影響做進一步的肯定，這種方式特別適合於該公營事業與政府關係處於對抗階段，且財務資金來源仍需依賴政府，對於我國的情形尤為合適。最後建議政府在民營化目標公司的選擇上，應考慮建構競爭環境的可行性及與政府之關係週期，且推行方式應更加多樣化，這對於推行成效及經營績效的改善皆有相當的助益。對後續研究者則建議能以本研究所推導的命題為藍本，進行個案或實證分析，使本研究能得到更進一步的確認。

Die vorliegende Arbeit enthält eine statistische Analyse der Gesamtheit öffentlicher Unternehmen in Deutschland und ihrer wirtschaftlichen Lage. Für diese Untersuchung stand eine Datenbank für etwa 9000 öffentliche Unternehmen mit knapp 500 Merkmalen zur Verfügung, die im Wesentlichen den Posten der Jahresabschlüsse und verschiedenen Identifikationsmerkmalen (wie u. a. Unternehmenssitz, Wirtschaftszweig und Rechtsform) entsprechen. Die Analyse umfasst den Zeitraum von 1998 bis 2006. Die extrem umfangreiche Datengrundlage – Jahresabschlussstatistiken öffentlicher Unternehmen – ist für einen Statistiker eine große Versuchung. In der Arbeit wurden Methoden der beschreibenden Statistik und der Jahresabschlussanalyse mit Bilanzkennzahlen angewandt. Vor allem in den letzten zwanzig Jahren wurde die Entwicklung der Gesamtheit öffentlicher Unternehmen durch Wandelprozesse geprägt und von Diskussionen über ihre Leistungsfähigkeit begleitet. Die Dynamik der Gesamtheit öffentlicher Unternehmen zeigt sich v. a. an der Vielfalt ihrer Aufgabenbereiche und Organisationsformen. Daher wurde in dieser Arbeit versucht, zunächst eine Bestandsaufnahme des öffentlichen Unternehmensbereichs durchzuführen. Ein weiteres Ziel war die Beschreibung der Wirtschaftslage öffentlicher Unternehmen im letzten Jahrzehnt, wobei ihre Leistungsfähigkeit in den Vordergrund gestellt wird. Die Leistungsfähigkeit öffentlicher Unternehmen nur über die betriebswirtschaftliche Effizienz zu messen, ist gewiss einseitig und nicht ausreichend. Diese ließ sich aber im Vergleich zur volkswirtschaftlichen oder sozialen Effizienz leichter operationalisieren: Die betriebswirtschaftlichen Effizienzkriterien können gut aus den Jahresabschlüssen abgeleitet werden. Dadurch wird auch ein Vergleich mit privaten Unternehmen in gewissen Grenzen möglich. Die Beschreibung der Wirtschaftslage öffentlicher Unternehmen wurde als Analyse ihrer einzelnen Teillagen (Vermögens-, Finanz- und Ertragslage) strukturiert. Insgesamt unterstreicht die Analyse der Teillagen die enge Verflechtung zwischen öffentlichen Unternehmen und öffentlichen Haushalten. Die vorliegende Untersuchung soll die Forschung auf dem Gebiet der datengetriebenen Statistik, die im Universitätsbereich in letzten Jahren im Vergleich zur modellgetriebenen Statistik oft vernachlässigt wurde, ausweiten. / This monograph deals with state-owned companies in Germany. The study focuses on a statistical analysis of all state-owned companies in Germany and their economic situation. Approximately 9,000 state-owned companies, with nearly 500 characteristical items surveyed for every company, comprise the database for this statistical analysis. The elements examined are firstly the entries of the annual balance sheets. In addition, there are the identifying characteristics, such as the type of industry, the legal form, or the operating location, in the databank. The analysis covers the period from 1998 to 2007. It’s very tantalizing for a statistician to work with the statistics of the annual balance sheets of the state-owned companies in Germany because of the large volumes of data. Both the methods of the descriptive statistics and the financial statement analysis with the balance sheet ratios were applied in this study. Especially over the last twenty years, the changes in the economic sector have led to discussions about the potential performance of the companies. The population dynamics of the state-owned enterprises are seen in the variety of the types of their activities and services and new legal forms. Therefore, the first goal of this analysis was to take an inventory of the German state-owned companies. The second goal of this work was to describe the economic situation of the state-owned companies in the last decade, with the emphasis on their performance. To measure the performance of the state-owned companies using only the economic efficiency as criterion is insufficient. However, the economic efficiency is easy to operationalise compared to, for example, social efficiency, because the ratios of the economic efficiency can be easily derived from the annual balance sheets of the companies. Besides that, using the ratios of the economic efficiency makes the comparison between the state-owned companies and the private ones easier. The description of the economic situation of the state-owned companies is based on the analysis of their assets, as well as their financial and earning positions. Altogether, the analysis of different positions emphasized the interdependence between the state-owned companies and their owners (regional authorities). From the methodological point of view, this study tried to extend research in the field of the data-driven statistics, which has been a neglected topic at universities in the last years when compared to model-driven statistics.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Albany, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-204) and index.

China is a country built on traditions and one of its most respected traditions is a preference for the family unit. The closeness of the family unit is carried over into the economic life of the country. Family members not only live together, but also work together in the fields or in enterprises. The advantage of this is that families have a guaranteed labour force that is not only loyal and can also be trusted. The disadvantage however is that positioning within the business is not always based on merit and competence, or trustworthiness which can ultimately impede growth. This research was an examination of Chinese family-owned businesses that focused on their management practices. The purpose of the study was to explore the management characteristics of Chinese family-owned businesses by means of interview data collected from five Chinese businesses in the Cape Metropolitan area. The emphasis of the project concentrated on the establishment, expansion and growth, ownership and leadership, management structure, the impact of cultural factors and the strategy for the future as well as challenges in terms of competitors and environments.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Albany, 2003. / Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-204) and index.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Albany, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-204) and index.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Management and Information Systems. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis is concerned with the decision-making process on the tenant-owned apartment marked in Sweden. It is argued that decision-making on the market is complex and the consumer protection is in need to be strengthened. The main issues on the market is argued to be the information asymmetry and agency problems. These phenomena influence the bounded rationality in the decision-making process. The purpose is to gain an understanding of the information asymmetry and agency problems on the tenant-owned apartment market in order to explain how it influence the decision-making process. The empirical context where this research is performed is the tenant-owned apartment market in Sweden. More specifically, the relationship between buyers and brokers are examined. The descriptive and exploratory purpose of this mixed methods research calls for abductive reasoning. The choice of performing this research through mixed methods lead to the application of triangulation which influenced the choice of data collection techniques, namely interviews and a questionnaire. The broker perspective was examined with four interviews of real-estate brokers from the Kristianstad area. The perspective of the buyers was examined through three interviews with buyers from the Kristianstad area. Additionally, the questionnaire gathered the opinions from 83 respondents. If buyers desire to make decisions that is made under as little bounded rationality as possibly, efforts needs to be made regarding the procedures on the market. Bounded rationality occurs when buyers perceive limitations during the examination of properties which influence the decision-making process. Lastly, this field of research was previously rather uncovered. However, this thesis contributes with an understanding of various aspects that influence the decision-making process in the field of the tenant-owned apartment market. We believe that a further understanding of the tenant-owned apartment market would facilitate attempts to strengthen the consumer protection.