Southern California has great economic importance to the USA, with major revenue generation counties like Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Barbara. Downtown Los Angeles is a major business hub for many industries, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with densely populated metropolitan areas in urban settings. From technology to media, a wide range of diversified SMEs operate within the Southern California region. Little evidence is provided in the academic literature on Southern California’s SMEs and their relation to Knowledge Management (KM) and KM strategies. This research aims to explore and examine, in depth, Southern California’s SMEs and to provide the SMEs’ decision makers with an effective strategy to implement Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) into their organisations. The overall aim of this thesis is to complement and enhance the existing KM literature by examining the relationship between Human Capital (HC) and Organisational Structural Capital (OSC) from a Knowledge Management perspective. The conceptual framework developed in this thesis draws on the strategic management perspective of KM and KMS from the existing literatures. Focusing on and analysing the two main elements, i.e. HC and OSC, to critically examine how the relationship between both elements could affect SME performance. In addition, by drawing on the resource-based view of the SME and the KMS perspective, the thesis explores the influence of KMS on both the HC and OSC elements in the SMEs of Southern California. To validate the framework, empirical research was performed, followed by the distribution of a questionnaire to 1,000 respondents within the SME sector in Southern California, and particularly to areas with high business revenue, such as Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Barbara, of which 367 completed responses were considered valid to use in this research. This study has applied structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the proposed research framework using IBM SPSS V.22 and AMOS V21. The findings reveal that the majority of the SMEs are aware of their knowledge usage as the main competitive advantage. However, SMEs are not always aware of the best methods to capitalise their existing KMS and how to utilise it to the optimal level, especially with regard to business objectives and obligatory requirements repeatedly taking precedence. These results indicate that the implementation of an enhanced KMS strategy, i.e. the developed framework, will enhance SME performance by aiding the decision makers further in the exploration of employee awareness (HC), company goals, and being competitive through making the relevant decisions, which is a contribution of this study. The originality of this study is that it endeavours to obtain new insights on the subjects of KMS, HC, OSC and SME performance, using tactical suggestions for Southern California’s SMEs in managing knowledge, controlling knowledge gaps, and reflecting among these factors. This thesis makes a step forward and contributes to the body of knowledge, e.g. it explores and examines relevant elements and factors of both HC and OSC that enhance the decision-making process in SMEs through the conceptual and the developed frameworks (see Figures 3.6 and 4.21). In addition, this thesis makes a further contribution to the application of current theories (e.g. the Knowledge-Based theory of the Firm and Organisational Learning theory) by providing a framework to address the relationship between Human Capital (HC) and Organisational Structural Capital (OSC) from a Knowledge Management perspective, in the context of Southern California’s SMEs with a focus on service based firms. While the results cannot be generalised, they can aid others to relate their views to those reported in this thesis.

abstract: The accurate and fast determination of carbon dioxide (CO2) levels is critical for many health and environmental applications. For example, the analysis of CO2 levels in exhaled breath allows for the evaluation of systemic metabolism, perfusion, and ventilation, and provides the doctors and patients with a non-invasive and simple method to predict the presence and severity of asthma, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Similarly, the monitoring of CO2 levels in the atmosphere allows for assessment of indoor air quality (IAQ) as the indoor CO2 levels have been proved to be associated with increased prevalence of certain mucous membrane and respiratory sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms. A pocket-sized CO2 analyzer has been developed for real-time analysis of breath CO2 and environmental CO2. This CO2 analyzer is designed to comprise two key components including a fluidic system for efficient gas sample delivery and a colorimetric detection unit integrated into the fluidic system. The CO2 levels in the gas samples are determined by a disposable colorimetric sensor chip. The sensor chip is a novel composite based sensor that has been optimized to provide fast and reversible response to CO2 over a wide concentration range, covering the needs of both environmental and health applications. The sensor is immune to the presence of various interfering gases in ambient or expired air. The performance of the sensor in real-time breath-by-breath analysis has also been validated by a commercial CO2 detector. Furthermore, a 3D model was created to simulate fluid dynamics of breath and chemical reactions for CO2 assessment to achieve overall understanding of the breath CO2 detection process and further optimization of the device. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Chemical Engineering 2014

As empresas de pequeno e médio portes (PME´s) têm procurado estabelecer várias formas de cooperação atualmente, objetivando se manterem competitivas num mercado cada vez mais globalizado. As redes de empresas representam um tipo de cooperação bastante funcional para PME´s. As redes assumem várias formas, dentre elas: os consórcios de exportação, os arranjos produtivos locais ou clusters industriais, as cooperativas, os aglomerados, as organizações virtuais. O consórcio de exportação, que é a união de empresas de pequeno e médio porte do mesmo segmento produtivo e/ou complementares para juntas exportarem seus produtos, pode ser apontado como uma importante estratégia para a inserção daquelas empresas no mercado internacional. A sinergia obtida proporciona as seguintes vantagens para as empresas participantes: redução de custos gerais de exportação (em especial a promoção), minimização do risco de exportar individualmente, aumento de competitividade das empresas, efeito motivador sobre os participantes, maior segurança na penetração e diversificação de mercados, alavancagem das vendas externas, possibilidade de exportar com marca própria, maior poder político em negociações com entidades de apoio ao comércio exterior, entre outras. Para o desenvolvimento desta pesquisa, realizou-se o levantamento bibliográfico sobre Redes de Cooperação de Empresas, Estratégia de Entrada em Mercados Internacionais e Consórcios de Exportação. O objetivo geral desse trabalho é descrever o processo de inserção das pequenas e médias empresas no mercado internacional via consórcios de exportação, discutindo o papel dessa forma de organização em redes. Como objetivos específicos, têm-se: - Identificar as motivações das PME´s para a formação de consórcios (redes de cooperação de empresas); - Identificar características de estrutura e funcionamento de consórcios de exportação no Brasil; - Verificar o desempenho exportador de consórcios de exportação no Brasil. Utilizou-se o método de estudo de caso (YIN, 2001) para se analisar: o consórcio Brazilian Health Products (BHP), do setor Médico-Odontológico-Hospitalar, estabelecido em Ribeirão Preto ? S.P., o consórcio Components & Machinery by Brasil, do setor de Componentes para Calçados, estabelecido e em atividade em Franca ? SP e o Projeto Setorial Integrado (PSI), originado a partir de um consórcio, Wines from Brazil, do setor Vinícola, estabelecido em Bento Gonçalves - RS. Entrevistas em profundidade semi-estruturadas e análise documental foram conduzidas como parte do processo de elaboração dos estudos de caso. Entrevistas complementares foram conduzidas na APEX-Brasil, com o intuito de obter informações complementares sobre consórcios de exportação no Brasil. Como alguns dos resultados obtidos, têm-se: os consórcios constituem uma importante estratégia na inserção de pequenas e médias empresas no mercado internacional; o aporte financeiro concedido pela APEX-Brasil é fundamental para o funcionamento do consórcio; os consórcios estudados obtiveram um bom desempenho exportador durante suas atividades; o governo brasileiro (APEX-Brasil) tem direcionado sua estratégia de exportação dos consórcios para os Projetos Setoriais Integrados. / Nowadays, small industries have chosen to establish different ways to cooperate, intending to keep themselves competitive face to a globalized market. The inter-organizational networks represent a strategy of cooperation very efficient for industries. The networks can adopt different types: the export consortia, the industrial clusters, the cooperatives, the agglomerates, the virtual organizations. The export consortium, which is the union of small industries of the same industry and/ or complementary intending to export together their products, can be pointed out as an important strategy to insert those industries in the international market. The synergy obtained offers the following advantages for the participant industries: export costs reduction, minimization of the risk to export individually, increasing of industries competitiveness, motivating effect among participants, safety to penetrate and diversify markets, to boost international sales, possibility to export with its own brand, political power to deal with entities related to international business, among others. To develop this research, a bibliographic review was performed about Inter-organizational Networks, Modes of Foreign Entry and Export Consortia. The general goal of this research is to describe the insertion processes of small and medium industries (SMI) in the international market through export consortia, discussing the role of this kind of networks. The specific goals are: - To identify the SMI´s motivations to the consortia formation (inter-organizational networks); - To identify characteristics of structure and operationalization of export consortia in Brazil; - To verify the exporter performance of export consortia in Brasil.The case study method was used (YIN, 2001) to analyse: the consortium Brazilian Health Products (BHP) ? Medical-Odontological industry, established in Ribeirão Preto ? S.P., the consortium Components & Machinery by Brasil ? Components for Leather Shoes industry, established and operating in Franca ? S.P. and the Integrated Sectorial Project (ISP) which originated from a consortium, Wines from Brazil ? Wine industry, established in Bento Gonçalves - RS. Semi-structured interviews and documental analysis were conducted as part of the process to elaborate the study cases. Complementary interviews were conductcted at APEX-Brasil, aiming to get further information about export consortia in Brasil. As some results, we can mention: - the export consortia are an important strategy to insert small and medium industries in the international market; - the financial add offered by APEX-Brasil is fundamental to the consortia development; - the consortia studied have a very good export performance; - the Brazilian Government (APEX-Brasil) has been redirecting its export promotion strategy from export consortia to the ISP.

Abstract The purpose of the present study is to build a theoretically based and empirically grounded framework that enables a better understanding of corporate rebranding processes among small companies. Corporate rebranding is addressed from a visual viewpoint concentrating on changes to corporate name and logo. The theoretical background is based on corporate branding, corporate rebranding and organisational change literature. The research setting is small software companies that operate in B2B markets. The empirical part is conducted as a multiple case study of three cases by gathering data both before and after corporate name changes. The main data gathering method was narrative interviews supported by several specifying interviews and secondary data. The results are first presented as narratives followed by process descriptions and finally combined into an empirically grounded processual framework for corporate rebranding. First, context-related characteristics influencing and reasons for corporate rebranding are revealed. Second, sub-processes of corporate rebranding are presented during three different time periods; 1) before establishing the company, 2) after establishing the company during the time when the original corporate name is in use and 3) after establishing the company when the new corporate name is in use. Third, outputs of corporate rebranding are described in the forms of the new name and logo. For small business managers the study offers four interesting findings. First, developing a new corporate name in company is cheap but may take several years. Using marketing communications agencies may result in a faster process, but in that case, the cost implications should be accepted. Second, the company should inform its stakeholders of the forthcoming name change for two reasons: 1) stakeholders may provide ideas for a new name; and 2) proactively spreading information on a forthcoming name change may avoid misunderstandings, for example, rumours of bankruptcy, when the name change is executed. Third, encouraging stakeholders to invent a new name and evaluate the potential new name may help to ensure that the new name will not cause any unwanted associations. Fourth, in launching the new name electronic devices may be far more cost-effective than expensive marketing communications campaigns to communicate the change. / Tiivistelmä Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on luoda teorioihin perustuva ja empiirisesti perusteltu viitekehys, joka auttaa ymmärtämään yrityksen uudelleenbrändäykseen liittyviä prosesseja pienissä yritysmarkkinoilla toimivissa (B2B) ohjelmistoyrityksissä. Yritysbrändäys nähdään visuaalisesta näkökulmasta, ja sillä tarkoitetaan yrityksen nimen ja logon vaihtamista. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen tausta on rakennettu yritysbrändäystä, yrityksen uudelleenbrändäystä ja organisaation muutosta käsittelevien kirjallisuuksien perusteella. Empiirinen osa on toteutettu kolmen tapauksen tapaustutkimuksena. Ensisijainen aineistonkeruumenetelmä ovat narratiiviset haastattelut, joilla tuotetaan haastateltavien omia tarinoita tutkitusta ilmiöstä. Näitä tuetaan useilla tarkentavilla haastatteluilla ja kirjallisella aineistolla. Tulokset esitetään ensin narratiiveina, sen jälkeen prosessikuvioina ja lopuksi empiirisesti perusteltuna viitekehyksenä yrityksen uudelleenbrändäysprosesseista. Viitekehys koostuu kolmesta osasta: 1) yrityksen uudelleenbräyksen syyt ja siihen vaikuttavat kontekstin erityispiirteet, 2) yrityksen uudelleenbrändäyksen alaprosessit i) ennen yrityksen perustamista sekä sen perustamisen jälkeen ii) aikana jolloin yrityksen alkuperäinen nimi on käytössä ja iii) aikana jolloin yrityksen uusi nimi on käytössä, sekä 3) yrityksen uudelleenbrändäyksen lopputulema, eli uusi yritysnimi ja logo. Tutkimus tarjoaa pienyrittäjille neljä tärkeää näkökulmaa. Ensinnäkin, uuden yritysnimen kehittäminen itse on edullista, mutta sopivan nimen löytäminen voi tällöin kestää vuosia. Markkinointiviestintätoimisto voi tuottaa nimen nopeammin, mutta silloin on hyväksyttävä siitä aiheutuvat kustannukset. Toiseksi, yritysten kannattaa informoida tärkeitä sidosryhmiään mahdollisesta tulevasta nimen muutoksesta jo ennakkoon kahdesta syystä: 1) sidosryhmät voivat auttaa nimen keksimisessä, ja 2) näin voidaan välttää väärinkäsityksiä (mm. konkurssiepäilyt) varsinaiseen nimenvaihtamiseen liittyen. Kolmanneksi, kun sidosryhmät osallistuvat nimen kehittämiseen ja nimiehdotusten arviointiin, voidaan kartoittaa ja välttää ei-toivottuja assosiaatioita nimeen liittyen. Neljänneksi, suurten markkinointiviestintäkampanjoiden sijasta uuden nimen lanseeraamisessa kannattaa pohtia elektronisten viestintävälineiden käyttämistä.

Dans les pays en développement, les liens sont étroits et multiformes entre ledéveloppement urbain et les économies rurales. Dans les régions de montagnes, notamment enAfrique de l’Est, les espaces sont fortement interdépendants à travers les relations commerciales,les déplacements de personnes, les flux de productions, selon des échelles géographiques ettemporelles variables. Des logiques de continuum, de gradient, voire de rupture, sont à l’oeuvre.Dans ce contexte, le rôle joué par les Petites et Moyennes Entreprises (PME) reste encorelargement à démontrer, notamment leur place dans la structuration des flux de produits et depersonnes (exemple des petits entrepreneurs commerçants, des transporteurs faisant la navetteentre zones de production, de commercialisation et de consommation, etc.). La place des petitesvilles dans ce processus d’intégration territoriale est importante, car elles jouent souvent le rôlede premier relais et d’interface préférentiel entre les économies urbaines et rurales.L’approche par les PME permet d’appréhender le rôle de l’initiative individuelle et collective(voire communautaire) dans la dynamique de développement territoriale, mais égalementd’analyser les actions mises en place (ou non) pour favoriser l’entrepreneuriat, par les autoritéspubliques et les organisations non gouvernementales (accès au microcrédit, etc.).Le terrain choisi est la province du Central Kenya, région du Mont Kenya et des Aberdares, avecles petites villes de Sagana et Karatina comme zone d’étude privilégiée. C’est une zone de fortesdensités de peuplement, à l’économie rurale voire agricole bien structurée mais en reconversion(économie post-Café) et qui dispose d’un réseau urbain hiérarchisé (petites villes d’étude, villemoyenne de Nyeri, proximité relative de la métropole de Nairobi).Les principaux résultats témoignent du rôle dissymétrique joué par les petits entrepreneurs, et àtravers eux par les petites villes, dans les relations villes-Campagnes. Si leur rôle est crucial dansles flux entrants (approvisionnement des consommateurs urbains et ruraux desservis), il estrelativement faible dans les flux sortants, ce qui témoigne des logiques de concurrence exercéspar des opérateurs extérieurs (relations directes entre grossistes urbains et producteurs ruraux)mais aussi par des intermédiaires locaux (coopératives, grossistes, etc.). / Abstract: Small and Micro-Enterprises (SMEs) are known to form significant nodes inrural-Urban linkages. Consequently, these SMEs serve as strong nodes which link thesurrounding rural areas to Local, National and Regional Markets through forward andbackward linkages. By strengthening and opening up opportunities for SMEs ‘virtuous’circles of rural-Urban economic linkages are created.The study of the rural-Urban linkages activities is still in development. This thesistherefore seeks to add to the literature by generating and documenting information onthe role of SMEs in small towns in rural-Urban linkages. Kenya is an agricultural-Ledeconomy, hence the need to focus on small mountainous towns. The towns aresurrounded by rich agricultural areas and are highly populated, making them busy hubsof mobility and exchange. Therefore, Mt. Kenya region is the chosen area of study withSMEs in Sagana and Karatina towns chosen as centres representing small towns.Based on the study results, SMEs were found to play an relatively small role in forwardlinkages. Only 12% of goods and services coming to the small towns from the ruralareas were forwarded by the SMEs, and only 25% of these goods found their way toother markets. The study established that some factors such as to the marketing chaincreated by the Famers Sacco’s, the use of Information and CommunicationTechnologies and contracting farming could be contributing to the poor show of SMEs inforward linkages.The rural functions in urban SMEs were found to be real and instrumental inentrepreneurship development. They were not only vital in business survival in lowseasons but were also found have positive correlations with large capital base, highmonthly turnover, increased access to loan facilities, and large size of the enterprise.Previous studies have shown that the rural-Urban trade to be more than urban-Ruraltrade. However, the current study shows the latter is almost three times more. Theresults could be said to differ in case where the point of focus is the small trader in thesmall town as opposed to a general urban-Rural trade approach. Also the nature of thefarmers markets could determine the flow pattern between urban and rural supplies.Karatina and Sagana markets behaved more of international markets, where most of thetraded goods and supplies were not from the local catchments. This meant ruralpopulace depended on the towns not only for manufactured goods and professionalservices but also for agricultural produce.

Cette recherche doctorale s’intéresse aux réseaux d’entreprises dans le contexte spécifique de villes moyennes périphériques. En s’appuyant sur les résultats d’une enquête de terrain auprès de dirigeants d’entreprises innovantes et performantes de Bretagne Sud, la recherche a pu mettre en évidence les ressources territoriales issues des réseaux sociaux. Le fait d’être implanté dans un territoire non métropolitain ne semble pas être un obstacle à l’insertion dans les réseaux de dirigeants, y compris lorsque leurs entreprises sont mondialisées. Pluridisciplinaire, cette recherche a nécessité de mobiliser les théories de la métropolisation afin d’appréhender le contexte de villes moyennes périphériques et leurs opportunités de développement. En outre, les mécanismes qui sous-tendent le fonctionnement réticulaire des entreprises ont été interprétés à la lumière de la sociologie des réseaux et des théories de la science de gestion liées au comportement des chefs d’entreprise.La nature partenariale des travaux, réalisés en collaboration avec les trois agences de développement économique de Bretagne Sud, a conduit à formuler une série de préconisations à destination des décideurs et opérateurs locaux. A ce titre, la mise en place d’une politique publique de réseau constitue une voie à explorer dans le cadre d’un renouvellement des approches du développement territorial. / This doctoral dissertation focuses on business networks in the specific context of peripheral medium sized cities. Based on a field survey of entrepreneurs from Southern Brittany, this research highlights resources provided by business networks. Being located in a non-metropolitan territory does not seem to be a barrier to participation in networks, even for globalized and innovative firms. This multidisciplinary work also mobilises metropolization theories to address the particular geographical context of peripheral, medium-sized cities and assess their territorial development opportunities. Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying the network functioning of the firms have been interpreted using network sociology and management science literature on business leaders’ behaviour. The partnership framework with three local development agencies has led to make practical proposals targeting local political decision-makers and stakeholders. Thus, implementing a network-based public policy could be an interesting path in order to come up with a new local development approach.

Introduction: Crime victimization is a problem affecting both individuals and societies. Previous research has looked at the associations between victimization and other factors, and many countries employ self-reported victimization surveys to establish what the victimization patterns look like at different societal levels. Aims: By examining victimization proportions and patterns, this study aimed to further the understanding of what the crime victimization problem looks like in a medium-sized Swedish city. Method: 149 men and 146 women, for a total of 295 inhabitants of Sundsvall, answered self-reported victimization surveys based on the Swedish Crime Survey. The gathered data was subsequently quantified and analyzed. Results: In total, 11.9 % of the sample reported some type of victimization. Overall, men were more likely to be victimized than women, and crimes against persons were more common than crimes against property. Occupation and socio-economic status were significantly associated with victimization. More than half of the victimizations were not reported to the police, and victimization was significantly associated with a lower trust in the criminal justice system and the police. Conclusion: Medium-sized cities like Sundsvall seem to have considerably lower proportions of victimization than the counties, regions and nation as a whole. The rates of reporting and patterns of victimization found, however, are in accord with findings on other societal levels and could to some extent be explained through the principles of the routine activities/lifestyle theory. / <p>2017-06-01</p>

This study aims to explore what capabilities that are involved in the formation and early performance of firms that internationalize in an early stage of their development. More specifically, the antecedents of identification and exploitation of business opportunities are explored and linked to specific capabilities. For this purpose, an exploratory-inductive case study is employed to allow for new capabilities to be identified. The analyzed data largely confirms the insights already reached in academic research, in particular the centrality of networking capability in the process of entrepreneurship. As for international business opportunities, the study highlights the importance of creating opportunities to meet with prospective international customers and suggests the importance of absorbing knowledge about these markets so as to reduce cultural distance. The main virtue of this study though, is that it provides a practice-oriented perspective on the process of international entrepreneurship. / Denna studies syfte är att utforska vilka förmågor som bidrar till grundandet av och prestationsförmågan hos företag som söker sig till internationella marknader i ett tidigt skede av sin utveckling. Mer specifikt utforskas vilka händelser som ligger till grund för att affärsmöjligheter identifieras och exploateras; dessa händelser kopplas sedan till specifika förmågor. En induktiv och explorativ studie begagnas i detta syfte för att möjliggöra att ej tidigare upptäckta förmågor kan upptäckas. Analysen av datan bekräftar de insikter som tidigare har nåtts inom forskningsområdet, framförallt betydelsen av ”networking capability” i entreprenörskap. När det gäller internationella affärsmöjligheter betonas vidare vikten av att skapa möjligheter till att träffa presumtiva kunder och det föreslås att det är av vikt att tillägna sig kunskap om dessa marknader i syfte att överbrygga kulturellt betingade kunskapsluckor. Studiens främsta förtjänst är att den ger ett perspektiv på det internationella entreprenörskapet som ligger praktiken nära.

A growing consensus on suitability of Strategic Entrepreneurship (SE) for firms to face challenges in a competitive environment is anchored on the argument that SE is an intersection of entrepreneurship and strategic management associated with opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking behaviours. However, this concept is flawed by failure of firms to simultaneously combine opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking behaviours to attain and sustain performance, a situation that raised contentions on the relevance of constructs chosen to build SE. Recently, other scholars suggested that SE is more than interface between strategic management and entrepreneurship and treat this fusion as a debatable idea. This argument presents a conceptual gap which triggered this study. This study examined three constructs namely: Market Orientation (MO), Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and Networking Capability (NWC), which are collectively referred to as dimensions of Strategic Entrepreneurial Response (SER) as appropriate constructs to enhance simultaneous opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking behaviours. With the understanding that these constructs were collectively used for the first time to study SER, this study examined if their individual dimensions could successful measure SER, and if they are related to SME performance. Also, examined how much variance in SME performance is explained by scores of the dimensions of SER and whether the interaction of the dimensions of SER explains a significant amount of variance in performance to enhance simultaneous opportunity-seeking and advantage-seeking behaviours. In the course of the study, a cross-sectional research design was used to collect data from SME’s in Tanzania of which 291 SME owners/managers were randomly selected and interviewed in three types of industries namely: manufacturing, service and retail. A factor analysis after oblique rotation revealed 9 factors and explained 68.16% of total variance. The identified factors were customer orientation, competitor orientation (market orientation), pro-activeness, risk taking, competitive aggressiveness (entrepreneurial orientation), relational skills, internal communication, coordination and partner’s knowledge (networking capability). Subjecting the nine factors into the second order factor analysis converged into a single component suggesting successful measuring SER. The findings confirmed a relationship between dimensions of SER and SME performance suggesting that emphasis on market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation and networking capability enhance SME performance. However, the interaction of the three dimensions only market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation explained significant amount of variance in SME performance, with large amount of variance accounted for by the market orientation. The findings suggest that emphasis on market orientation is a firm’s strategic choice to generate strategic information which forms a seedbed of opportunities from which entrepreneurial oriented firms identify and proactively seize to build competitive advantage. Contrary to previous studies, which emphasized that opportunity seeking is a domain of entrepreneurial orientation, this study argues that previous studies underplayed the role of market orientation on opportunity seeking. This study views entrepreneurial orientation as more driven by opportunity exploitation which is more of advantage seeking than opportunity seeking. This study suggest that sustained market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation cultures build opportunity seeking and advantage seeking behaviors crucial to create and sustain SME performance. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Business Management / unrestricted

The generation of attractive innovations is one of the most important and complex tasks companies undertake, the process of open innovation is being used to support this endeavour. SMEs often face difficulties applying and commercialising external sources’ technologies for their own purposes due to liability of smallness and related lack of capability of co-ordination. In particular, small and medium-sized system integrators of electronic consumer products (SIs) are (1) highly dependent on close collaboration with external organisations, (2) have to cope with turbulent technology markets, and have to manage (3) the continuous shortening of innovation cycles. These factors necessitate small and mediumsized SIs of electronic consumer products to increase their dynamic capability to innovate, which subsequently forms the basis for the SIs’ sustainable competitiveness. The effective embedding of the Purchasing Organisation (PO) into the innovation outside-in process can potentially become a major driver in improving the overall innovation process and company performance. However, given academic research does not provide sufficient insight concerning relevant Enabling Factors (EFs) and related drivers. Therefore, academics allude to a demand for further research in the field of early purchasing involvement in the innovation process. In addition, purchasing practitioners point to the low maturity of Purchasing Organisations with regard to securing innovations. To explore relevant Enabling Factors for purchasing integration into the innovation process, the qualitative study design was based on an embedded case study inquiry with multiple units of analysis. Data collection and analysis was realised through a sequential qualitative  quantitative mixedmethod approach. For this reason, interviews were conducted with 7 purchasing experts from the medium-sized German television set manufacturer Loewe. To obtain insights as to the generalisability of the findings, a purposive selected sample of 11 purchasing experts from other SIs with high dependency on innovation suppliers were interviewed via webbased questionnaires. The study identified: EF1: External Interconnectedness EF2: Preferred Customer status Process EF3: Management Commitment to the PO EF4: External Interconnectedness EF5: Early Integration into Product Planning EF6: Degree of Professionalisation of the PO EF7: Innovation Management System and EF8: Open-minded Relations based on Trust as a relevant Enabling Factor. Furthermore, the study suggests direct relations between the EFs and 32 drivers that are formative to the related Enabling Factors. Based on the study findings, 14 strategic measures were defined via focus group interviews. In this way, the study contributes to given academic knowledge in the field of early purchasing involvement into new product development processes (NPD). With regard to such new product development processes, this study suggests integrating the PO, as a third element, into the R&D and marketing interface.