Since the Canadian nuclear reactor ¡§NRU¡¨ was shut down on 14th May, 2009, the global Moly shortage has occurred for a year. The crisis was not only an impact for the patients of the hospitals in Taiwan, but also decreased the sales and margin profit of the nuclear medicine distributors. The S company, a leading and monopolistical distributor in Taiwan, was no longer reliable for its customers because of the nuclear medicine shortage. Actually it looks like the advantage of the S company is lost and the reputation is damaged. This research is trying to figure out how a nuclear medicine distributor like the S company can pursue some effective supply chain strategies to turn around and keep the growth of profit. AHP is the study method for this research. But at first we¡¦ll plan some strategies and tactics for the nuclear medicine distributors (especial the S company), according to Potters¡¦ competition theory and the resource based view of the firm. And then develop the two levels structure for the AHP study in this research. The factors of upper level are 4 strategies, like ¡§Research & Development Strategy¡¨ etc. The factors of lower level are 18 tactics or plans just like ¡§Try to acquire new technology from the advanced radiopharmaceutical institutes¡¨ etc. The AHP will be performed by surveys of experts¡¦ opinions, including both qualitative and quantitative surveys. Five different groups of experts were sampling and chosen for the surveys. By the AHP, the two most weights of the tactics are determined. They are ¡§Integrate individual (country) procurement into multinational procurement for reducing cost¡¨ and ¡§Actively globalized procurement, and monopolistically securing the sources¡¨. Besides, we can discover more valuable opinions from the qualitative analysis of the expert¡¦s surveys. So the results of this research, the effective and advanced strategies and tactics, are the first securing more reliable sources of the nuclear medicine and the second improving globalized procurement. And then try to enhance marketing and strengthen customer relationship. These will be expected to be helpful on both distributors¡¦ profit and customers¡¦ satisfaction.

Immigrants participate in entrepreneurial activity more frequently than other groups, largely resulting from restricted access to traditional occupational advancement. Recent studies have reported that immigrant entrepreneurs focus on their abundance of human and social capital to obtain the financial resources necessary to fund their ventures. Lack of financial resources has been identified as a major barrier for immigrant entrepreneurs; however, as this study indicates, both native and immigrant entrepreneurs face similar financial hurdles in locating initial startup funding. Where major differences arise between native and immigrant entrepreneurs is that native entrepreneurs more frequently transition to business forms of debt, a key component to long-term success. Resulting from their lack of embeddedness in their host context, immigrant entrepreneurs are far more likely to rely on social network based resources to fund growth, which removes their businesses from the opportunities business forms that debt provides. Using the Kauffman public data, I investigated the relationship between financing strategies engaged by "immigrant" versus "native" entrepreneurs.

The alignment of business and information technology (IT) strategy is an important and enduring theoretical challenge for the information systems discipline and has remained a top issue in practice for the past twenty years. The extant literature makes two implicit assumptions. One is that IT strategy is aligned with a single business strategy, either at the corporate level or within a single strategic business unit (SBU). The other is that strategies are developed at a single point in time. Therefore, multi-business organisations present a particular alignment challenge, because business strategies are developed at both the corporate level and SBU levels, and these strategies are developed over time. This dissertation contributes a dynamic, capabilities-based theory of business and IT strategy alignment. Rather than extending existing models, this study draws on theory from the resource-based view of the firm and path dependence to address business and IT alignment within and between corporate and SBU levels across the strategy cycle. A new dynamic alignment model conceptualises IT alignment as the fit between business and IT strategies within the corporate and SBU levels and the coherence between these two levels. Value is created by complementary relationships among business and IT capabilities. IT alignment (or misalignment) is embedded over the strategy cycle, with the degrees of freedom declining quickly over time. The new model is validated using pattern matching with a single critical case of strategy development in a multi-business organisation across a complete strategy cycle. The strong match between the empirically observed and theoretically predicted patterns, and the complex nature of these patterns, provides strong support for the model. The model reconceptualises the way IT alignment drives organisational performance and how IT alignment changes over time. This has implications for existing IT alignment models, providing alternative theoretical explanations of how IT alignment creates value and how IT alignment changes over time. The new model also has implications for practice across the IT investment value chain and its governance.

A inter-relação entre estratégias, recursos e performance das firmas é o foco central de investigação deste trabalho. Através da abordagem denominada como Visão da Firma Baseada em Recursos, estudou-se o caso do Cluster Vitivinícola da Região da Serra Gaúcha, visando à análise de sua competitividade. Como contribuição teórica à área de estratégia, foi proposto e detalhado um esquema de classificação de recursos em clusters, introduzindo-se os conceitos de Recursos Sistêmicos, Recursos de Acesso Restrito e Recursos Singulares. A investigação baseou-se em dados coletados através de entrevistas estruturadas realizadas com executivos e especialistas de 54 empresas produtoras de vinhos finos. O objetivo principal foi o estudo da influência exercida pelos recursos estratégicos sobre a performance das firmas. Complementarmente, foi investigado qual o papel das estratégias das firmas sobre o acesso a estes recursos. Os resultados evidenciaram uma influência positiva dos recursos e das estratégias sobre a performance, auxiliando na compreensão das assimetrias competitivas entre as firmas do cluster. / The interrelationships of strategy, resources and performance of the firms is the main subject of this work. Through the lens of the Resource Based View of the Firm, we studied the case of the South Brazilian Wine Cluster, analyzing its competitiveness. As a theoretical contribution to the strategy field, we proposed and detailed a classification scheme of resources in clusters, introducing the concepts of Systemic Resources, Singular Resources and Constrained Access Resources. The study was based on data collected trought in-depth and structured interviews with experts and executives of 54 fine wine produccing firms. The results were analysed by qualitative and quantitative techniques. The main goal was the identification of the influence of resources on the firms’ performance. In addition, we studied the role of firm’s operational strategies on access to these resources. The results evidenced a positive effect of resources and strategies on performance, improving the understanding of competitive assimetries between firms in the cluster.

A inter-relação entre estratégias, recursos e performance das firmas é o foco central de investigação deste trabalho. Através da abordagem denominada como Visão da Firma Baseada em Recursos, estudou-se o caso do Cluster Vitivinícola da Região da Serra Gaúcha, visando à análise de sua competitividade. Como contribuição teórica à área de estratégia, foi proposto e detalhado um esquema de classificação de recursos em clusters, introduzindo-se os conceitos de Recursos Sistêmicos, Recursos de Acesso Restrito e Recursos Singulares. A investigação baseou-se em dados coletados através de entrevistas estruturadas realizadas com executivos e especialistas de 54 empresas produtoras de vinhos finos. O objetivo principal foi o estudo da influência exercida pelos recursos estratégicos sobre a performance das firmas. Complementarmente, foi investigado qual o papel das estratégias das firmas sobre o acesso a estes recursos. Os resultados evidenciaram uma influência positiva dos recursos e das estratégias sobre a performance, auxiliando na compreensão das assimetrias competitivas entre as firmas do cluster. / The interrelationships of strategy, resources and performance of the firms is the main subject of this work. Through the lens of the Resource Based View of the Firm, we studied the case of the South Brazilian Wine Cluster, analyzing its competitiveness. As a theoretical contribution to the strategy field, we proposed and detailed a classification scheme of resources in clusters, introducing the concepts of Systemic Resources, Singular Resources and Constrained Access Resources. The study was based on data collected trought in-depth and structured interviews with experts and executives of 54 fine wine produccing firms. The results were analysed by qualitative and quantitative techniques. The main goal was the identification of the influence of resources on the firms’ performance. In addition, we studied the role of firm’s operational strategies on access to these resources. The results evidenced a positive effect of resources and strategies on performance, improving the understanding of competitive assimetries between firms in the cluster.

A inter-relação entre estratégias, recursos e performance das firmas é o foco central de investigação deste trabalho. Através da abordagem denominada como Visão da Firma Baseada em Recursos, estudou-se o caso do Cluster Vitivinícola da Região da Serra Gaúcha, visando à análise de sua competitividade. Como contribuição teórica à área de estratégia, foi proposto e detalhado um esquema de classificação de recursos em clusters, introduzindo-se os conceitos de Recursos Sistêmicos, Recursos de Acesso Restrito e Recursos Singulares. A investigação baseou-se em dados coletados através de entrevistas estruturadas realizadas com executivos e especialistas de 54 empresas produtoras de vinhos finos. O objetivo principal foi o estudo da influência exercida pelos recursos estratégicos sobre a performance das firmas. Complementarmente, foi investigado qual o papel das estratégias das firmas sobre o acesso a estes recursos. Os resultados evidenciaram uma influência positiva dos recursos e das estratégias sobre a performance, auxiliando na compreensão das assimetrias competitivas entre as firmas do cluster. / The interrelationships of strategy, resources and performance of the firms is the main subject of this work. Through the lens of the Resource Based View of the Firm, we studied the case of the South Brazilian Wine Cluster, analyzing its competitiveness. As a theoretical contribution to the strategy field, we proposed and detailed a classification scheme of resources in clusters, introducing the concepts of Systemic Resources, Singular Resources and Constrained Access Resources. The study was based on data collected trought in-depth and structured interviews with experts and executives of 54 fine wine produccing firms. The results were analysed by qualitative and quantitative techniques. The main goal was the identification of the influence of resources on the firms’ performance. In addition, we studied the role of firm’s operational strategies on access to these resources. The results evidenced a positive effect of resources and strategies on performance, improving the understanding of competitive assimetries between firms in the cluster.

This study examines the effects of servant leadership and service technology on frontline bank employees’ turnover intentions, mediated by job satisfaction and organizational commitment. A conceptual framework is developed based on the tenets of the resource-based view of the firm and the self-determination theory to test the hypothesized relationships. Frontline employees of a bank serve as the study setting. The results indicate that servant leadership and service technology affect employees’ turnover intentions through job satisfaction and organizational commitment where servant leadership plays a stronger role. We discuss the implications of our findings and offer future research avenues.

This study has theoretical, substantive, and methodological objectives following Brinberg and McGrath (1985). First, the resource-based view of the firm provides a context to support relationships determined from theory in Sociology, Finance and Entrepreneurshp. Using these interdisciplinary theories, the expected contributions of National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) member venture capital firm networks' human-based factors to the performance of initial public offerings are examined. Second, the substantive domain-venture capital-lacks articulation and quantification regarding the impact of venture capital firms on the start-up firms they support, which in this study is identified as IPO performance. Third, methodologically, the operationalization of organizational-related capital is proposed. The independent variables (human-based factors) include reputational capital, cumulative experience, social capital, and organizational-related capital. Organizational-related capital is a construct representing a firm's strategy that incorporates preferences specific to the venture capital industry, namely financing stage preference, industry relatedness, and geographic proximity. Venture capital firm networks are assessed at the syndicate and constellation levels (within and between industries) and bounded by membership in the National Venture Capital Association. Abnormal IPO stock price performance (the dependent variable) is assessed as the new issue's stock price benchmarked to the NASDAQ index and compounded over 21-day periods for up to 126 consecutive days after offering. Control variables were gleaned from economic-based theories found in the finance literature. Positive relationships were hypothesized between the independent variables and the dependent variable. Data constraints limited the number of observations examined, and the selection of IPOs investigated displayed little variance. Thus, explaining additional abnormal performance variance in IPOs backed by NVCA-member venture capital firms above and beyond that controlled for by economic-based theory was not fruitful. Although this study's findings were not statistically significant, many insights were generated that may positively influence future research in this area. The quest to better understand venture capital firms' contributions to entrepreneurial firms and the impact they have on publicly traded stocks remains meaningful. / Ph. D.

This study aims to investigate the relative contribution of tangible and intangible resources, and capabilities on firm performance based on the measures of market share, sales turnover and profitability and explore the complex interaction and foundation of different resource sets and capabilities in the process of performance creation within the context of resource-based theory. In order to address these objectives, a mixed-methods research approach incorporating both qualitative and quantitative components was utilised. Hence, a sequential explanatory design is employed, commencing with qualitative methods including in-depth interviews along with the literature review to define and organise resources and capabilities in a coherent system that will form the basis of survey instrument, leading to quantitative methods which empirically test a series of hypotheses regarding the contribution of resources and capabilities on firm performance. Whilst qualitative data analysis indicated organisational culture, reputational assets, human capital, business processes and networking capabilities as the most important determinants of firm performance, the survey that was conducted on a total of 243 questionnaires obtained from 951 firms revealed that intangible resources and capabilities contributed more greatly to firm performance compared to tangible resources. However, in contrast to the proposition of resource-based theory that views capabilities as the most important skills that underpin the development and deployment of both tangible and intangible resources, capabilities offered rather limited additional explanatory power to the prediction of firm performance only with respect to profitability against the combined effects of tangible and intangible resources. All findings were explained especially within the context of Turkish business environment that shows typical emerging market characteristics. Moreover, some noteworthy results were elaborated based on the developed and emerging market differences. Overall, the study raises some questions with respect to resource contributions on firm performance and offers a fruitful avenue for further research.

The resource-based view of the firm (RBV) is one the most important areas of research content to emerge in the field of strategic management in the last 15 years. The RBV is prescriptive. That is, the RBV prescribes that competitive advantage stems from those resources that are valuable, rare, inimitable, and nonsubstitutable (VRIN). With rare exception, resources that meet the VRIN criteria are widely purported to be intangible in nature. From a research perspective, the RBV stream tends to be dominated by conceptual discussions and advancements. However, empirical tests of the core premises, or the main prescription, of the theory are argued to be very limited in quantity. To add to the body of empirical research that seeks to verify the main prescription of the RBV, this research undertakes a new and different level of analysis, one that has not been previously tested. Given that firms compete with both tangible and intangible resources, the present study is interested in determining if, as the RBV implicitly prescribes, resources that are intangible in nature are more important determinants of firm success than tangible resources. Although the research question is basic and fundamental, it has rarely been appropriately or adequately tested within the RBV stream, as is demonstrated by this thesis. To carry out the research, this study offers a conceptual model of the firm’s resource pool that includes tangible assets (financial and physical assets), intangible assets (intellectual property assets, organizational assets, reputational assets), and capabilities. A series of hypotheses are posited to explore the proposition that intangible resources contribute more greatly to firm success, on the dimensions of sales turnover, market share, and profitability, than tangible resources. / A field survey, administered to 2000 manufacturing and services businesses operating in Australia, is used to gather the data. Of the 2000 surveys sent, the hypotheses are empirically tested using multiple hierarchical regression analysis on a final sample of 291 firms. Control variables include firm age and Porter’s five forces of industry structure. Based on the results, verification of the RBV’s main prescription can not be supported unequivocally. Intellectual property assets, for example, do not have a statistically significant association with firm success, after accounting for the effects of tangible resources and the control variables. Organizational assets, however, not only explain additionally significant variation in firm success, after accounting for the effects of tangible resources and the control variables, but make among the greatest, unique contribution to firm success based on the size of the beta coefficients. Reputational assets offer additional explanatory power to predicting firm success after accounting for the effects of tangible assets and the control variables, but only with respect to one measure of firm success does its beta coefficient make a larger, unique contribution than financial assets. Lastly, contrary to theory, capabilities are not the single most important determinant of firm success, after accounting for the effects of intangible assets, and tangible and intangible assets, in two separate hierarchical regression equations. This finding is surprising and explanations are provided. Overall, the study raises some questions with respect to just which resources are the most important determinants of a firm’s market and financial success and offers a fruitful avenue for further research.