The automotive industry with its highly competitive environment together with high research and development costs is struggling to increase shareholder return. Cross-functional teams are employed to source suppliers which are helping to reduce production and development costs in close cooperation with the other departments. When working in a competitive environment and with external actors, intellectual property becomes increasingly important and organizational effort is directed to increase the generation and usage of such. Patent portfolio analysis is a well-known tool used to extract information from surrounding actors’ patents, which traditionally mainly was used for product development, but has potential to increase gross profit through cross-functional sourcing teams as well.  The purpose of this study is to investigate how to implement and use patent portfolio analysis as a cross-functional tool in the automotive industry. In order to fulfill the purpose, a qualitative case study has been conducted including both qualitative interviews, as well as action research in the form of workshops at the case company. The results were analyzed using a tailored framework denominated the system integration model which is a combination of the technology acceptance model and the managing strategy framework. The systems integration model was developed and validated by the researchers during the research process. The research result shows that patent portfolio analysis has a high perceived usefulness but a low actual system use within the studied company, especially in the sourcing department. The main barrier to use patent portfolio analysis cross-functionally was that the intellectual property strategy was not yet fully communicated and linked to the different departments’ objectives. There were also barriers found in the communication between- and the understanding of- each other’s departments, which could be reduced by increased education and promoting clear contact points and guidelines. The final conclusion of this research was that patent portfolio analysis likely could be used cross functionally to map the competitive landscape and increase gross profit by protection innovations through product development and sourcing. / Fordonssektorn kännetecknas av höga utvecklingskostnader och en konkurrenskraftig marknad där aktörerna strävar mot vinst till aktieägare. För att ge en hög avkastning till aktieägarna så arbetar man i tvärfunktionella team för att minska produktion och utvecklingskostnader samt för att anlita de bästa leverantörerna. Att arbeta i en konkurrenskraftig miljö med externa aktörer gör att immateriella rättigheter blir allt viktigare och företag satsar därför stora resurser för att detta ska hanteras på rätt sätt. Patentportföljanalys är ett välkänt verktyg för att extrahera information från omgivande aktörers patent, vilket traditionellt främst har använts i produktutveckling, men även har potential att öka bruttoresultat genom ett effektivare samarbete över avdelningar i tvärfunktionella inköpsteam. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur man implementerar och använder patentportföljanalys som ett tvärfunktionellt verktyg inom fordonssektorn. För att uppfylla syftet har en kvalitativ fallstudie genomförts genom kvalitativa intervjuer och workshops vid det undersökta företaget. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av ett skräddarsytt ramverk som forskarna för denna undersökning benämnt som ”the system integration model”. Det här ramverket sammansvetsar den välkända modellen ”technology acceptance model” som syftar till att undersöka acceptans av ny teknik och den välkända modellen ”Managing four processes” som handlar om hur man skapar ett strategiskt management verktyg. ”The system integration model” utvecklades och validerades av forskarna i flera steg under studien. Resultatet visar att patentportföljanalys har en hög uppfattad nytta trots att det är låg systemanvändning i det undersökta företaget i dagsläget, särskilt i inköpsavdelningen. Den största barriären för användandet av patentportföljanalysen verkar vara att företagsstrategin för immateriella rättigheter ännu inte har kommunicerats och kopplats till de olika avdelningarna fullt ut. Det noterades även barriärer i kommunikationen mellan- och förståelsen för- de olika avdelningarna, vilken kan minskas genom utbildning och tydliga kontaktpunkter och riktlinjer. Den här undersökningen indikerar ytterligare på att patentportföljanalys är användbart i tvärfunktionella team då det ger möjligheten att kartlägga konkurrenslandskapet, säkra produkt- och eftermarknadsexklusivitet och förbättra leverantörsavtal, vilket i sin tur kan öka bruttovinsten.

Syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka hur överavkastning på aktiebörsen kan uppnås, genom att applicera investeringsstrategier som utgår ifrån portföljanalys. Studien inriktar sig på fastighetsbolag där svenska, europeiska och amerikanska bolag ingår. Metoden utgår ifrån att vikta innehaven i portföljerna genom användningen av finansiella nyckeltal. De beaktade nyckeltalen utgörs av P/E, EV/S, ROIC och soliditet. Portföljerna viktas periodvis utefter ett antal hypoteser som tagits fram. Hypoteserna berör vilka värden på respektive nyckeltal som anses vara mest fördelaktiga ur ett investeringsperspektiv. Studien syftar till att ta fram vilka nyckeltal som är kritiska för en överavkastning i fastighetsaktier. Utfallet av undersökningen visade på en överavkastning i åtta av elva portföljer, vilket togs fram genom användandet av jämförelseindex. Studien ledde fram till slutsatsen att en av fyra hypoteser inte kunde förkastas, medan övriga förkastades med bakgrund av det kvantitativa resultatet. Genom tillämpning av den kvantitativa metod som genomförs i vår studie påvisas att EV/S är det enda nyckeltalet, av urvalet, som en investeringsstrategi kan baseras på för att uppnå en överavkastning gentemot ett relevant index. / This study revolves around reaching high returns on the stock exchange by applying investment strategies based on portfolio analysis. The research focuses on real estate companies within the Swedish, European and American stock exchange. By using financial ratios, P/E, EV/S, ROIC and Equity Ratio, the portfolios and its returns are optimized by a method of weighing. The shares within the portfolios are weighed periodically depending on a variety of hypotheses regarding the financial ratios and its values. The hypotheses have been developed to maximize the returns from an investment perspective. The study is trying to reach a consensus of which financial ratios are crucial within real estate companies to reach a high return. By using different indexes, the result showed that eight out of eleven portfolios reached an excess return. A conclusion was reached; one of four financial ratios are of great importance when trying to reach an excess return by investing in real estate companies. By applying the study’s quantitative method, it is shown that EV/S is the only financial ratio out of the selected that can be used in this investment strategy to achieve excess return, when compared to relevant indexes.

Outsourcing of IT is likely to be a perspective model of IT service delivery. However, only a small number of companies have adopted it and according to surveys, their satisfaction is relatively low. On the contrary, customer relation management (CRM) is a marketing approach that still keeps its popularity. Is not therefore CRM a solution also for outsourcing of IT? How should it be applied in the field? This master's thesis is intended for providers of outsourcing of IT and it aims to find answers to the questions above. The first step towards the goal is to identify main characteristic features of outsourcing of IT, which consequently provide a guideline for a systematic approach to the solution. The thesis does not presume reader's familiarity with CRM, hence the second chapter offers a brief yet holistic view of the issue. A synthesis of the information from the first two parts leads to a conclusion that it is not possible to decide about suitability of CRM in outsourcing of IT on a general basis, but always in the particular situation. Therefore the work suggests a set of criteria for the choice. The consecutive chapters deal with the application of CRM. Firstly, an entire system of tools for evaluation of customers is proposed. It enables providers to determine the suitable level of individual approach to each customer with consideration of both business and technical factors. Consequently, a provider can start building a relationship with his customer taking advantage of number of recommendations and tools given by this paper. It includes measures not only for convincing customers but also for increasing their retention. The thesis discusses broad variety of aspects of marketing in outsourcing of IT. Its scope ranges from customer uncertainty mitigation and purchasing process of a corporate customer, over tips on how to manage customer satisfaction, to appropriate adjustments of a service level agreement (SLA). The paper also briefly analyses the specifics of CRM in outsourcing of IT in the public sector.

This dissertation mainly studies correlation and then portfolio analysis of financial contagion and capital flight, focusing on currency co-movements around the political uncertainty due to the Brexit referendum on 26 June 2016. The correlation, mean, and covariance computations in the analysis are both time-unconditional and time-conditional, and the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) methods are applied. The correlation analysis in this dissertation (Chapter 1) extends the previous literature on contagion testing based on a single global factor model, bivariate correlation analysis, and heteroskedasticity bias correction. Chapter 1 proposes an alternatively extended framework, assuming that intensification of financial correlations in a state of distress could coincide with rising global-factor-loading variability, provides simple tests to verify the assumptions of the literature and of the extended framework, and considers capital flight other than merely financial contagion. The outcomes show that, compared to the literature, the extended framework can be deemed more verified to the Brexit case. Empirically, with the UK being the shock-originating economy and the sterling value plummeting on the US dollar, there exist contagions to some other major currencies as well as a flight to quality, particularly to the yen, probably suggesting diversification benefits. When the correlation coefficients are time-conditional, or depend more on more recent data, the evidence shows fewer contagions and flights since the political uncertainty in question disappeared gradually over time. After relevant interest rates were partialled out, some previous statistical contagion and flight occurrences became less significant or even insignificant, possibly due to the significant impacts of the interest rates on the corresponding currency correlations. The portfolio analysis in this dissertation (Chapter 2) examines financial contagion and capital flight implied by portfolio reallocations through mean-variance portfolio analysis, and builds on the correlation analysis in Chapter 1. In the correlation analysis, correlations are bivariate, whereas in the portfolio analysis they are multivariate and the risk-return tradeoff is also vitally involved. Portfolio risk minimization and reward-to-risk maximization are the two analytical cases of portfolio optimality taken into consideration. Robust portfolio optimizations, using shrinkage estimations and newly proposed risk-based weight constraints, are also applied. The evidence demonstrates that the portfolio analysis outcomes regarding currency contagions and flights, implying diversification benefits, vary and are noticeably dissimilar from the correlation analysis outcomes of Chapter 1. Subsequently, it could be inferred that the diversification benefits deduced from the portfolio and correlation analyses differ owing to the dominance, during market uncertainty, of the behaviors of the means and (co)variances of all the shock-originating and shock-receiving returns, over the behaviors of just bivariate correlations between the shock-originating and shock-receiving returns. Moreover, corrections of the heteroskedasticity bias inherent in the shock-originating returns, overall, do not have an effect on currency portfolio rebalancing. Additionally, hedging demands could be implied from detected structural portfolio reallocations, probably as a result of variance-covariance shocks rising from Brexit. / This dissertation mainly studies correlation and then portfolio analysis of financial contagion and capital flight, focusing on currency co-movements around the political uncertainty due to the Brexit referendum on 26 June 2016. The correlation, mean, and covariance computations in the analysis are both time-unconditional and time-conditional, and the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) methods are applied. The correlation analysis in this dissertation (Chapter 1) extends the previous literature on contagion testing based on a single global factor model, bivariate correlation analysis, and heteroskedasticity bias correction. Chapter 1 proposes an alternatively extended framework, assuming that intensification of financial correlations in a state of distress could coincide with rising global-factor-loading variability, provides simple tests to verify the assumptions of the literature and of the extended framework, and considers capital flight other than merely financial contagion. The outcomes show that, compared to the literature, the extended framework can be deemed more verified to the Brexit case. Empirically, with the UK being the shock-originating economy and the sterling value plummeting on the US dollar, there exist contagions to some other major currencies as well as a flight to quality, particularly to the yen, probably suggesting diversification benefits. When the correlation coefficients are time-conditional, or depend more on more recent data, the evidence shows fewer contagions and flights since the political uncertainty in question disappeared gradually over time. After relevant interest rates were partialled out, some previous statistical contagion and flight occurrences became less significant or even insignificant, possibly due to the significant impacts of the interest rates on the corresponding currency correlations. The portfolio analysis in this dissertation (Chapter 2) examines financial contagion and capital flight implied by portfolio reallocations through mean-variance portfolio analysis, and builds on the correlation analysis in Chapter 1. In the correlation analysis, correlations are bivariate, whereas in the portfolio analysis they are multivariate and the risk-return tradeoff is also vitally involved. Portfolio risk minimization and reward-to-risk maximization are the two analytical cases of portfolio optimality taken into consideration. Robust portfolio optimizations, using shrinkage estimations and newly proposed risk-based weight constraints, are also applied. The evidence demonstrates that the portfolio analysis outcomes regarding currency contagions and flights, implying diversification benefits, vary and are noticeably dissimilar from the correlation analysis outcomes of Chapter 1. Subsequently, it could be inferred that the diversification benefits deduced from the portfolio and correlation analyses differ owing to the dominance, during market uncertainty, of the behaviors of the means and (co)variances of all the shock-originating and shock-receiving returns, over the behaviors of just bivariate correlations between the shock-originating and shock-receiving returns. Moreover, corrections of the heteroskedasticity bias inherent in the shock-originating returns, overall, do not have an effect on currency portfolio rebalancing. Additionally, hedging demands could be implied from detected structural portfolio reallocations, probably as a result of variance-covariance shocks rising from Brexit.

La tesi comprende tre saggi sul ruolo della volatilità implicita per le banche. La tesi è organizzata in tre capitoli. Capitolo I - studia il ruolo di skew e spread della volatilità implicita nel determinare i rendimenti delle azioni bancarie. Capitolo II - analizza gli effetti degli skew della volatilità implicita e della realized volatility sulla leva finanziaria delle banche. Capitolo III - si focalizza sul rapporto tra il coefficiente di liquidità delle banche e le misure per il rischio estratte dalla volatilità (skew, spread, realized volatility). / The thesis comprehends three essays on option implied volatility risk measures for banks. The thesis is organized in three chapters. Chapter I - studies the informational content for banks' stock returns in option's implied volatilities skews and spread. Chapter II - analyzes the effect of volatility risk measures (volatility skew and realized volatility) on banks' leverage. Chapter III - studies the relationship between banks' liquidity ratio and volatility risk measures.

Die Dissertation befasst sich mit den Folgen negativer kritischer Ereignisse und gibt Hinweise, was Manager vor und nach dem Ereignis tun könnten, um potentiell negative Effekte zu minimieren. Während sich die ersten zwei Aufsätze mit der Wirkung kritischer Ereignisse aus Sicht der Konsumenten befassen, widmen sich die Aufsätze 3 und 4 der Shareholder-Perspektive. Aufsatz 1 untersucht die Wahrnehmungsveränderungen in Folge verschiedener Ereignisse mit Hilfe des Konzepts der Markenpersönlichkeit. Die Ergebnisse des Online-Experimentes implizieren, dass die negative Wirkung von der Markenstärke, der Geschäftsbeziehung vor bzw. während des Vorfalls und der Art des Ereignisses abhängt. Aufsatz 2 analysiert, ob die Effekte auch mit Hilfe des Konzepts des kundenbasierten Markenwerts bestätigt und erweitert werden können. Zu diesem Zweck werden die Reaktionen nach Bekanntwerden derselben kritischen Ereignisse für die Markenwertdimension „Perceived quality“, „Perceived value“, „Brand personality“, „Organizational associations“, und „Loyalty“ quantifiziert. In Übereinstimmung mit den in Aufsatz 1 gewonnenen Erkenntnissen deuten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass sowohl ein hoher Markenwert und das anhaltende persönliche Produkterlebnis während eines kritischen Ereignisses den negativen Effekt mindert, als auch eine zwischen tatsächlichen und potentiellen Kunden differenzierende Kommunikationsstrategie im Nachgang sinnvoll sein könnte. Die Aufsätze 3 und 4 untersuchen auf Basis einer „Event study“ den Zusammenhang zwischen der Veröffentlichung von „Corporate Reputation-Rankings“ des Manager Magazins und dem Shareholder Value. Die gefundenen Ankündigungseffekte weisen darauf hin, dass, über die gezeigte Verbindung zwischen Reputation und Shareholder Value, die in Folge kritischer negativer Ereignisse resultierende Reputationsänderung durch Investoren berücksichtigt wird. / The doctoral dissertation analyzes effects of negative critical incidents and points out, what manager could do before and after an incident in order to minimize possible negative impacts. While the first two essays take a closer look at effects of critical incidents from the consumer’s point of view, the essays 3 and 4 deal with the shareholder perspective. Essay 1 examines perceptional changes in consequence of various incidents using the concept of brand personality. The results of the online experiment imply that the negative impact depends on brand strength, type of event and business relation before respectively during the incident. Essay 2 analyzes whether or not effects can be confirmed and extended using the concept of customer based brand equity. For this purpose, reactions of respondents are measured after getting exposed to the same critical incidents as in the previous essay. The reactions are quantified for brand equity dimensions such as perceived quality, perceived value, brand personality, organizational associations and loyalty. The results are in line with findings of Essay 1. They indicate, on the one hand, that high brand equity and persistent product experience during crisis reduce negative effects and, on the other hand, that a communication strategy which differs between actual and potential customers could be favorable after the incident. Using event study methodology, the Essays 3 and 4 examine the linkage between publications of corporate reputation rankings of the Manager Magazin and shareholder value. The existence of negative announcement effects indicates that investors consider a reputational loss in consequence of negative critical incidents via the observed linkage between reputation and share prices.

The objective of my thesis was to map and assess, whether the strategic concept for the development of the business and civilian South Bohemian airport České Budějovice would be viable. I have applied the external analysis of the business environment and an internal analysis of the business subject. Another objective is to specify the strategic plans of development of South Bohemian airport České Budějovice, including phasing their implementation and the orientation financial cost.

The main theme of the thesis was the processing of the company?s internal and external analysis and compiling a new development strategy based on the strategic analysis. The new strategy focuses mainly on rescuing the company from liquidation and production expansion whilst keeping the continuity of business.With the help of external analysis the development of external environs was ascertained.The inner environment analysis enabled to specify internal sources of a company and their use. A new development strategy plan contains the scenario of the future development of the external environment, a new vision and the company?s mission. New strategic aims were determined.The new development strategy aims at gaining new markets and customers, incorporating new delicatessen into the production portfolio for the customers who prefer healthy lifestyle. Tradition, thorough preparation of delicatessen and a personal approach towards customers are competitive advantage which can hardly be replaced by retail chains.The company finds itself in a difficult financial situation and it is inevitable to incorporate changes which will save it from liquidation.