Thesis (M.A.)--University of Canterbury, 2006. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-98). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universiẗat Marburg, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-233).

Techn. Universiẗat, Diss., 2005--Hamburg.

This thesis contributes to the ongoing debate on the future of smart ticketing in the United Kingdom, and in particular the role of ITSO in that future. Through evaluation of commentary from prominent elite personnel connected with the transport industry and from local and national government departments, this thesis identifies the environment in which smart ticketing is intended to operate, the means by which that is achieved and the significance of the outcomes. Key themes which emerged from the research were Partnership Working and Governance, the Customer Proposition and the ITSO Question, which focused on the operationalisation of smart ticketing in the bus industry. In terms of the evaluation of the outcomes of ITSO, conclusions are reached as to the success ITSO has achieved in terms of the national concessionary schemes as well as the limited success it has achieved in relation to commercial interoperable ticketing in a deregulated environment which has been revealed to work against the concept of interoperability.

abstract: Universities have been increasingly engaged in international collaborations with peer institutions overseas. In recent years, Confucius Institutes have emerged as a new model of collaboration between American universities and Chinese universities. In an attempt to identify factors contributing to successful international university collaborations, this study used the case study method and focused on one Confucius Institute between MMU, an American University, and ZZU, a Chinese university, and intended to identify factors leading to the success of the MMU-ZZU Confucius Institute collaboration. The study investigated the MMU-ZZU Confucius Institute collaboration within the framework of the MMU-ZZU institutional partnership. Based on data collected from the institutional documents, interviews, site visits and news reports, this study examined the experiences and perceptions of the university's stakeholders involved in creating and sustaining this particular Confucius Institute, including stakeholders at the program level, at the college level, and at the institutional level both at MMU and ZZU. Using the glonacal agency heuristics framework, the MMU-ZZU Confucius Institute collaboration was a result of joint forces of stakeholders at the program level, at the college level, and at the institutional level from ZZU and MMU. Stakeholders, no matter what level they are and which institution they are affiliated with, had to navigate through the significant differences between them to develop synergy to be successful. Synergy, including vertical synergy developed among stakeholders within each institution and horizontal synergy developed among stakeholders between institutions, turned out to be critical to the success of the MMU-ZZU CI. The study concluded that synergy in leadership, organizational contexts, stakeholders' resources, and the synergy in the MMU-ZZU Confucius Institute collaboration and the MMU-ZZU institutional partnership, led to the success of the MMU-ZZU Confucius Institute collaboration. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2012

[pt] O estudo busca investigar como empresas familiares brasileiras podem se internacionalizar através de alianças estratégicas com multinacionais. Foi feita uma revisão da literatura sobre alianças estratégicas com foco em sua aplicação prática à realidade das empresas familiares. A metodologia adotada foi o estudo de casos. Foram analisados dois casos de empresas familiares brasileiras, sendo uma de pequeno e outra de grande porte, cujas experiências principais foram com alianças em marketing. As alianças foram bem-sucedidas em auxiliar o processo de internacionalização das empresas estudadas. Verificou-se que características das alianças tiveram papel relevante na internacionalização das empresas. / [en] The study aimed at investigating how Brazilian family firms can internationalize by means of strategic alliances with multinational corporations. A literature review on strategic alliances was carried out focusing on the practical application to family firms. The study used the case method of investigation. Two cases of Brazilian family firms were analysed. One company was small-sized and the other large-sized, and their most relevant experiences were with marketing alliances. The alliances were successful in supporting the internationalization process of the firms studied. Certain characteristics of the alliances had a relevant role in the companies internationalization.

One of the main sources of risks that influence potential project success is the project selection decision, especially for international contractor organisations looking for an opportunity to invest in public private partnership projects in foreign countries. Project selection decision, which involves the bid/no bid decision, is a critical investment decision needs to be made based on concrete project evaluation and risks identifications; where negative-risk is in place if there is an absence of a rational basis at the time of making such a decision. Thus, negative consequences of such a decision might occur. The bid/no bid decision necessitates an effective project evaluation and risk identification from various aspects with consideration of several internal and external factors in order to achieve project success. Bidding for PPP projects overseas without efficiently applying risk management tools and techniques to evaluate both the project and the organisation’s current situation and capability might result either in large losses or consumption of time and resources that could have been avoided. The prime aim of this research is to develop a strategic investment decision model from the perspective of risk management, in order to facilitate the decisions of international contractors who intend to invest in public private partnership projects in the Saudi Arabian construction industry. This aim requires establishing a link between the risk management process and the organisation's strategy and its current situation, and identifying risks involved in the bid/no bid decision, PPP projects, and international investment in order to provide an effective computer-based model that is capable of organising the bid/no bid decision in a rational, logical, flexible, and user-friendly manner. The pragmatic triangulation philosophy approach is adopted as the best research methodology that allows two types of research strategy to be combined in order to accomplish the research aim and objectives. Thus, the methods used are qualitative interviews and a quantitative questionnaire-based survey. The findings of this research identified critical success factors of international contractors’ bidding decisions for PPP projects in the Saudi Arabian construction industry. In particular, seventy-seven factors affecting the bid/no bid decision were used as a foundation for development of a Strategic Risk Management Decision Model (SRMDM), available at www.srmdm.com.

This article analyzes the need to adopt a strictly contractual vision of the concession contract, that limits the discretionary actions of the State, in order to allow legal framework permit the development of infraestructure for public use. / En el presente artículo se analiza la necesidad de adoptar una visión estrictamentecontractual del contrato de concesión, que limite las actuaciones discrecionales del Estado, a fin de que el marco legal aplicable permita el desarrollo de la infraestructura de uso público.