Denna studie ger en insikt i Stockholms stads IT-kluster. Genom kvantitativ metod undersöktes hur området uppfyllde de tre krafterna inom agglomerationsekonomier, samt åsikter kring krafternas betydelser. Studien ämnade att särskilja IT-kluster från andra typer av kluster genom dessa krafter. Urvalet bestod av 98 respondenter som tillhörde IT-bolag inom Stockholms stad. “Knowledge Spillovers” och “Labour Market Pooling” uppfylldes väl. “Customer-Supplier Interactions” uppfylldes i mindre utsträckning, då det endast var tillgång till leverantörer som Stockholms stad uppfyllde. Resultaten visade på skillnader kring betydelsen av geografisk närhet till kunder mellan respondenter från mjukvaruproducerande och konsulterande företag, där den förstnämnda gruppen värdesatte detta lägre än den sistnämnda. Detta resultat var i enlighet med tidigare forskning. Ytterligare resultat som var i enlighet med tidigare kunskapsbidrag var betydelsen av “Labour Market Pooling”. / This study provides insight into the IT cluster of Stockholm city. It quantitatively examined how the area fulfilled the three forces within agglomeration economies, as well as opinions regarding the significance of these forces. The study attempted to differentiate IT-clusters from other types of clusters via these forces of agglomeration. The results were gathered from 98 respondents, who were employees of IT companies in Stockholm city. “Knowledge Spillovers” and “Labour Market Pooling” were well fulfilled. “Customer-Supplier Interactions” was less fulfilled, as only the need for access to suppliers was supported by Stockholm city. The results found significant differences regarding the importance of geographical proximity to customers between respondents from software and consulting firms. The former group valued this aspect lower than the latter. This finding was in accordance with previous research. Another result that was consistent with prior research was the importance of “Labour Market Pooling”.

The perennial controversy in business combinations accounting and its dialectic with stakeholders’ interests under the complexity of the Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activity is the centrepiece of analysis in this thesis. It is argued here that the accounting regulation should be as neutral as possible for the economic activity, although it is recognised that accounting changes may result in economic effects. In the case of the changes for business combinations accounting in the USA, lobbying was so fierce that in order to achieve the abolition of accounting choice in M&A accounting, it forced the standard-setter to compromise and to change substantially some of its earlier proposals. Such fierce lobbying cast doubts about whether it was effectively possible to mitigate such economic effects, resulting in a possible impact of the accounting changes on the M&A activity. The occurrence of M&A in waves is yet to be fully theorised. Nevertheless, existing literature established relationships between M&A activity and some key economic and financial factors, and has provided several interesting theories and other meaningful contributions for this thesis. It was therefore possible to examine whether the changes in the accounting rules produced any significant impact on the M&A activity. The findings obtained from the testing of the research hypotheses suggest that the new M&A accounting rules did not result in significant impacts on overall M&A activity. Nevertheless, from the study of managers’ perceptions, and from the examination of annual reports of S&P 500 companies, a considerable impact on the financial reporting was found.

在企業國際化的過程中，組織與管理方式的設計上，應以全球之觀點出發，以追求企業之永續經營。企業總部所發展出來之組織文化、管理流程、資訊應用等，是企業是否能成為一成功國際化企業之必要條件。 本研究採用個案訪問及資料收集之方式，探討本土企業在國際化歷程中，就財務資金調度管理之相關議題來歸納分析出本土企業現行做法之問題，並以國外成功的跨國企業為例來找出可行之參考方案。 因此，本研究透過介紹6個本土企業其資金管理之現況，歸納本土企業在國際化過程中會遭遇之問題。然後看一家正邁向國際化之本土企業，根據其國際化之歷程來看其資金管理上之演進及即將面臨的跨國管理所可能遇到之衝突。 接著以成熟的全球管理企業為例，看其國際化演進過程來瞭解在各階段所遇到之議題，以及現行所演繹出來的資金管理方法。我們並介紹其在外匯及銀行(現金池)之實際操作及與資訊整合之運用，以提供本土企業之一項財務資金管理之選擇參考。 最後我們將整理根據R集團之經驗所歸納出在國際化歷程中會面臨之課題，並依據文獻及實例來提出可行之參考建議。 / For a local company transform into a globalization enterprise, it should be focus on organization structures and managerial concept to pursue business continuity from a global perspective. The organization credo shall develop its organizational culture, management process, and application of information, which are the vital elements for being globalization. This research uses case study and information collection to study how local companies transform as global enterprise. We bring up the issue from Treasury Management point of view to analyze the problem that local companies may encounter during the evolution of globalization. In the meantime, with reference one successful transactional companies, we will find out some workable solutions. Hence, we sum up the problems what a local company could encounter as to become a transactional company, we will firstly analysis the current status for six local companies. Base on the problem we select, we will make the same comparison to one well-known company in Taiwan to observe the revolution of its management in terms of Treasury issue and the conflicts it would meet possibly. Next we will use an example of a mature global company to understand how they perform its Treasury Management as a global enterprise and how they deal with the relevant issues as we identified in our study. We also introduce its operations in the areas of foreign exchange, cash pooling as well as the integration of information to offer a workable solutions to our local company. Finally, we will generalize the challenges that a global enterprise would encounter as our example - R group and try our best to offer relevant suggestions according to literatures and real cases.

La dispersion spatiale de l'habitat et des activités de ces dernières décennies a fortement contribué à un allongement des distances et des temps de trajets domicile-travail. Cela a pour conséquence un accroissement de l'utilisation des voitures particulières, notamment au sein et aux abords des grandes agglomérations. Afin de réduire les impacts dus à l'augmentation du trafic routier, des services de covoiturage, où des usagers ayant la même destination se regroupent en équipage pour se déplacer, ont été mis en place partout dans le monde. Nous présentons ici nos travaux sur le problème de covoiturage régulier. Dans cette thèse, le problème de covoiturage régulier a été modélisé et plusieurs métaheuristiques de résolution ont été implémentées, testées et comparées. La thèse est organisée de la façon suivante: tout d'abord, nous commençons par présenter la définition et la description du problème ainsi que le modèle mathématique associé. Ensuite, plusieurs métaheuristiques pour résoudre le problème sont présentées. Ces approches sont au nombre de quatre: un algorithme de recherche locale à voisinage variable, un algorithme à base de colonies de fourmis, un algorithme génétique guidée et un système multi-agents génétiques auto-adaptatif. Des expériences ont été menées pour démontrer l'efficacité de nos approches. Nous continuons ensuite avec la présentation et la résolution d'une extension du problème de covoiturage occasionel comportant plusieurs destinations. Pour terminer, une plate-forme de test et d'analyse pour évaluer nos approches et une plate-forme de covoiturage sont présentées dans l'annexe. / Nowadays, the increased human mobility combined with high use of private cars increases the load on environment and raises issues about quality of life. The extensive use of private cars lends to high levels of air pollution, parking problem, traffic congestion and low transfer velocity. In order to ease these shortcomings, the car pooling program, where sets of car owners having the same travel destination share their vehicles, has emerged all around the world. We present here our research on the long-term car pooling problem. In this thesis, the long-term car pooling problem is modeled and metaheuristics for solving the problem are investigated. The thesis is organized as follows. First, the definition and description of the problem as well as its mathematical model are introduced. Then, several metaheuristics to effectively and efficiently solve the problem are presented. These approaches include a Variable Neighborhood Search Algorithm, a Clustering Ant Colony Algorithm, a Guided Genetic Algorithm and a Multi-agent Self-adaptive Genetic Algorithm. Experiments have been conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of these approaches on solving the long-term car pooling problem. Afterwards, we extend our research to a multi-destination daily car pooling problem, which is introduced in detail manner along with its resolution method. At last, an algorithm test and analysis platform for evaluating the algorithms and a car pooling platform are presented in the appendix.

In this study, the design of a three-level distribution system is considered in which a single supplier ships a number of items to the retailers via a set of distribution centers (DC) and stochastic demand is observed at the retailers. The problem is to specify the number and location of the DCs, and the assignment of the retailers to the DCs in such a way that total facility, transportation, safety stock, and joint ordering and average inventory costs are minimized, and customer service requirements are satisfied. Single source constraints are imposed on the assignment of the retailers to the DCs. The integrated location/inventory model incorporates the inventory management decisions into the strategic location/allocation decisions by considering the benefits of risk pooling and the savings that result in the joint replenishment of a group of items. We develop two heuristic methods to solve the non-linear integer-programming model in an integrated way: (1) Improvement type heuristic, (2) Constructive type heuristic. The heuristic algorithms are tested on a number of problem instances with 81 demand points (retailers) and 4 different types of items. Both of the heuristics are able to generate solutions in very reasonable times. The results are compared to the results of the p-median problem and found that the total cost and the number of DCs can be lowered using our integrated model instead of the p-median problem. Finally, sensitivity analysis is performed with respect to the changes in inventory, transportation, and ordering cost parameters, and variability of the demand.

La présente thèse porte sur le rôle du prestataire de services logistiques en matière d'émergence de solutions de mutualisation logistique concertée. Nous avons cherché à identifier les rôles des prestataires et à lier ces rôles avec la vision stratégique du prestataire, ses ressources et compétences, et les logiques des acteurs de la supply chain. Au cours de cette recherche, nous avons été amenés à spécifier la mutualisation logistique concertée, en identifiant trois grands types : la mutualisation concertée de type gestion partagée des approvisionnements mutualisés, la mutualisation concertée de type gestion mutualisée des approvisionnements et la mutualisation concertée « par synergie ». Suite à la confrontation de notre modèle théorique au terrain, nous avons construit trois modèles. Ces trois modèles mettent en perspective trois scenarii, avec pour chacun des rôles pour les prestataires de services logistiques de plus en plus spécifiques à acquérir ou assumer. Nous avons alors confronté les quatre grands rôles identifiés par la littérature à la réalité du terrain. Nous en avons déduit que les prestataires de services logistiques ne remplissent pas totalement ces quatre rôles et au contraire, sont peu actifs pour devancer les besoins de leurs clients. Nos trois scenarii nous conduisent non seulement à identifier trois types de prestataire mais aussi à identifier les ressources et compétences spécifiques à chacun des scenarii. Notre conclusion est que les prestataires peuvent jouer un rôle majeur dans l'émergence des solutions de mutualisation logistique concertée mais qui n'en saisissent que rarement l'opportunité. / The current thesis concerns the role of the logistic service provider in the emergence of concerted logistic pooling solutions. We identified roles of services providers and linked them with their strategic intent, their resources and competencies, and the behavior of supply chain actors (suppliers, distributors, IT services companies, consultants). This thesis is structured around three literature reviews, each of them is developed in a chapter (resources and competences and strategic management; logistic pooling, logistic service and logistic service providers), a fourth chapter on our methodology (interpretativist and hypothetico-deductive) with cases study and a qualitative methodology. In the last chapter, we present the result of our empirical study, based on eight cases from the distribution sector.We had to specify the definition of logistic pooling and found three major types: concerted logistic pooling based on "gestion partagée des approvisionnements mutualisée", a second one based on "gestion mutualisée des approvisionnements", and a last one based on "synergy". Then we built three models each of them fitted three scenarios. These scenarios helped us discover for each of them the role of the logistic service providers and the specific resources and competencies they own in each case. We develop then a matrix with the different scenarios and the kind of resources and competencies to acquire to change of scenario and become more proactive in logistic pooling. Our conclusion is that logistic service providers can have a major role to play in the development of concerted logistic pooling solutions, but they rarely take the opportunity to do so.

In recent decades, Sweden's and most of Europe's defense budgets have fallen. It has created a greater need between countries for the cost-effective maintenance of defense capabilities. The Swedish Finnish Naval Task Group (SFNTG) is a part of this trend. It will be operational in 2023 and aims to jointly use the marine forces of the countries in a cost-effective way. In this case study, the cooperation in SFNTG between Swedish and Finnish combat boats is investigated. Based on the increased need for defense cooperation, different concepts for describing and applying collaborations in the short and long term have been created. In this work the term Joint Force Generation was used to analyze the different systems of the Swedish and Finnish combat boats. The term Pooling & Sharing was used to analyze cooperation in the longer term. The purpose is to explore how the political and strategic plans will work on the tactical level of cooperation. Empiricism has been gathered through interviews by officers from both countries. Literature study of reports on the meaning of cooperation have been made. The work was limited to research & development, maintenance, management and material purchases. The interviews showed that the different communicationsystems in the combat boats required extra human resources and a common communicationsystem was desirable. Conclusions are that there are shortcomings of a functioning relationship for the combat boats to meet the requirements of the year 2023. The use of each other's bases as another goal must coordinate logistics, training and warehousing to create better impact. In the longer perspective a greater political understanding must be for the importance of the joint material purchases. The major gain is in cost savings through various forms of collective research development.

La population mondiale a dépassé les 7,3 milliards de personnes en 2011 et elle vit à plus de 50 % dans les villes. Ceci n’est pas sans générer de nombreux problèmes. Les espaces urbains, notamment en Europe, sont congestionnés par la faute d’une circulation croissante de personnes, de biens et de déchets, dont les impacts environnementaux sont significatifs. Les questions liées à la logistique urbaine donnent naturellement lieu à de plus en plus de recherches académiques. La thématique de la mutualisation de la logistique urbaine (MLU) connaît en particulier un grand succès depuis 2010, comme reflet d’expérimentations en cours, entre autres en Allemagne et en France. Sur la base d’une analyse approfondie de six revues professionnelles utilisées comme corpus de données secondaires, la recherche s’interroge sur l’évolution différenciée de la MLU en France et en Allemagne. Elle a pour objectif une meilleure compréhension d’un objet de recherche complexe qui reste finalement peu étudié. L’investigation, fondée sur une méthodologie post hoc et longitudinale, fait émerger un grand nombre d’éléments et met en lumière l’évolution comparée de la MLU dans les deux pays retenus. Les résultats sont synthétisés dans une grille de lecture compréhensive identifiant des cycles de MLU et relevant la diversité actuelle des solutions techniques et organisationnelles. Ces solutions débouchent sur de nouvelles réflexions concernant entre autres l’action des Pouvoirs publics, et sur des retours d’expérience quant aux enjeux des différents types d’espaces logistiques urbains à implémenter. / In 2011, the world population exceeded 7.3 billion people, with more than 50% living in cities. This has not happened without generating many problems. Urban spaces, particularly in Europe, are already highly congested due to a growing of population, goods, and waste, all of which have a significant impact on the environment. Issues related to urban logistics naturally lead to more academic research, particularly in urban logistics mutualization (ULM), which has significantly increased since 2010 as a reflection of current experimentation, especially in Germany and France. Based on an in-depth analysis of six professional journals used as corpus of secondary data, the research question is to find out the differentiated development of the ULM in France and Germany. The objective of this doctoral thesis is to better understand the complex research subject, ULM, which is currently insufficiently studied. The investigation, based on a post hoc and longitudinal methodology, brings out a large number of items as well as highlights the comparative development of the ULM in these two selected countries. The results are summarized in a comprehensible reading grid identifying ULM cycles within the current diversity of technical and organizational solutions. These solutions lead to new ideas concerning the actions of public authorities, in turn providing feedback about the challenges of implementing urban logistics spaces.

The doctrine of intellectual property is based on the assumption that the exclusivity to commercialize a novel product granted to an inventor creates incentives to conduct research. In some areas, however, intellectual property can constitute a barrier to development of social welfare. In the area of access to medicines in developing countries, the intellectual property-related problem can take two forms. When needed products are not being developed and thus do not exist, lack of availability occurs. Lack of accessibility, on the other hand, arises when necessary medicines do exist, but their prices are prohibitive for people from resource-poor countries. Based on a detailed analysis of the patent and trade environment in the pharmaceutical sector, the thesis examines the potential of patent pooling as a joint intellectual property management strategy to increase access to medicines within the existing international intellectual property system. Particularly, it analyzes the effects of an existing pharmaceutical pool, the Medicines Patent Pool, on accessibility of antiretroviral medicines in low and middle income countries.

A growing body of international research on urban transport shows that women from all over the world are experiencing safety issues within today’s transport systems. Furthermore, these reports shed light on and discuss how gender bias within the transport sector contributes to this problem. To design future mobility services that everyone will use and enjoy, it is thus important to understand women’s travel needs and to involve a diverse group of users in the development process. With a vision of shaping mobility for a sustainable future NationalElectric Vehicles Sweden (NEVS) is developing a mobility solution consisting of connected, autonomous, and electrified vehicles designed and optimized for shared mobility within city environments. To address this issue in NEVS service this thesis applied an exploitative research approach to examining factors that affect women’s willingness to share rides with others(potential strangers) in a context where there is no driver physically present. The methodology, inspired by the ’Design Thinking’ framework consisted of two main phases:(I) Problem definition and (II) Concept development. To understand women’s safety issues within today’s transport system and frame the design challenge an extensive literature study covering the topics of women’s safety in public transport, technology acceptance, trust, and human-centered design was conducted. To further define user needs and encourage the end-users to take an active role in co-designing solutions for themselves two focus group workshops were held. The initial research and the results from the workshops further formed the basis for the subsequent Concept Development phase. A need for control over the shared travel situation revealed by the participants’ great demand for information led this phase to examine passengers' needs in relation to an In-Vehicle Information System (IVIS). Two prototypes were developed and further tested together with users to evaluate the proposed solutions. The results showed that the anthropomorphic system features used to create a more human-like interaction had a positive impact on the participants’ overall user experience and their perceived safety during a ’shared ride’ scenario. Having a female voice communicating system information made the participants feel less nervous, more comfortable, and more secure compared to when the same information was communicated solely by a visual interface. Other factors that had a major impact on the user experience in general and the perceived security were perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and freedom of choice. The results showed how not understanding how to interact with the vehicle’s physical features had a negative impact on perceived safety while freedom of choice such as being able to book a specific seat in the vehicle is indicated to have a positive impact on people’s willingness to share their journey with a stranger.