The aim of this paper is to investigate dominant beliefs and approaches to the "cultural entrepreneur" both within a public context, and also among business owners within the cultural field. What happens when ideas and attitudes in the public sector towards culture driven businesses meets the perspective of individual cultural entrepreneurs? This study is based on analysis of political documents about the cultural and creative industries (CCI) from the European union, national level and regional level. Interviews with six business owners in the field of culture and one representative of the Swedish region with the fictive name “Alma” has been conducted. The research is also based on participant observation in public seminars and conferences about the creative industries in Sweden. The paper mainly uses Queer phenomenological theory (Sara Ahmed) to analyze the informants life worlds and how they are oriented in the same. The study is also based on poststructuralist discourse analysis and the logics approach, developed by Jason Glynos and David Howarth when analyzing political documents. This research shows there is a complex and contradictory approach towards the CCI and the cultural entrepreneur based on idealized images about the artist and the businessman, idealized images thats been existing in the discourses over a long time and which created deep structures. The cultural entrepreneurs are being described as the hope and future of the economy and welfare in Europe and its regions and at the same time as something very costly which no one really have faith in. This dual approach is a contributing factor to change being prevented.

While the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is widely used, it is not seen as the most appropriate to describe responsible business activities in Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs). The concept of Responsible Business Practices (RBP) is better suited to SMMEs, although the theory is still based in the broader literature of CSR. Choices and decisions made by the owners/managers of SMMEs regarding the expenditures for RBP may reflect various influences. These influences may be conscious and purposely orientated toward a personal set of beliefs, but may also be indirectly, subconsciously influenced. This research will explore the influences behind expenditure decisions. Structured questionnaires will be used to reveal conscious influences that play a role in decision-making in SMMEs. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the aspects that consciously influence the decision-makers at SMMEs in Tshwane, South Africa, to expend resources on RBP. The study also aims to determine the awareness of, perceptions about and attitudes towards RBP among SMME decision-makers, as well as to determine the RBP activities SMMEs are involved in. Relationships between the extent of RBP engagement and the level of RBP awareness, the activities involved in, and the respondents’ highest level of education will be discussed. Key differences between the respondents’ age, highest level of education and gender with regards to the influencing aspects are also covered. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on individual-level studies in the RBP field and makes a contribution to the South African SMME literature that focuses on the doing of responsible business. It also addresses the gap in RBP knowledge by investigating the influences on RBP decisions in SMMEs, as the small business decision-making processes might prioritise influencing aspects differently than that in larger organisations. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

This research was geared towards the investigation of management strategies (factors) that affect the performance ofMSMEs in Kenya. Many developed countries record a time in history when entrepreneurial activities led to revival of economical growth after decline. This implies MSMEs is a very vital sector especially for a developing country like Kenya. MSMEs stagnate and their performance is uncertain according to writers such as Namusonge, Management inadequacies have been suggested in several studies. The objectives of this research was to, 1. To identifY the critical management factors affecting the performance of MSMEs in Kenya; ii. To establish the process through which managerial factors affect the performance of a MSMEs in Kenya ; m. To determine the integrative effect of various management factors in the MSMES in Kenya; IV. To establish the effect of demographics and management factors on performance, v. To establish effects of external environment on internal management factors A conceptual model was formulated from the literature review showing relationships of the management strategies and the environment they operate in. These relationships became the basis for the hypotheses which were later tested. In chapter 4, a mini research (pilot study) was conducted in May 2007,whose main aim was to test the reliability and validity of the research instruments. The 36 questionnaires returned were analysed through descriptive method. Results obtained indicated the instruments were reliable and the results valid. A few corrections suggested were made. The major correction was addition of question 35 to collect financial information. The data collection was done between mid August and mid October 2007.In chapter 5, the researcher analysesd the results of the survey after receiving 180 questionnaires. Time was a constraint. In chapter 6, the hypotheses and conceptual model were analysed and the results obtained suggested that, most strategies did not affect the profitability separately but severally. The integrated effect of the management strategies and the associated factors had a higher impact on performance of the MSMES than any individual strategies. In chapter 7, the conclusions, summaries and Recommendations are given. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management and Policy)

Business management / M. Com. (Business management)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:30:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CamilaKrohlingColnago.pdf: 1625237 bytes, checksum: 55f3dcaebdabc5740e480ac6c76a4a8d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-07 / The limited financial means and limited administrative structure are in part the shortcomings for the small start-up business in quickly achieving results. To overcome these shortcomings, small businesses must develop a communication strategy to reach the greatest number of customers and one of the vehicles to achieve the goal of strategically positioning the business is the use of the internet in cost effective manner. The objective of this thesis is to address the importance of developing an efficient and effective communication structure specifically as it applies to small emerging businesses with limited resources using the social networks and digital media and an in depth analysis of the elements to be employed to achieve the business objectives of individual business owner operators, micro enterprises and small businesses. As a preface, included are bibliographic studies in support of the research for the understanding of the infrastructures of small business and communication structures. These studies laid the foundation to the proposed model The Practical Guide for use Social Networks and Digital Media for Strategic Positioning for Small Businesses and the research was concluded with a qualitative analysis of: a) the use of the proposed model by three different small businesses over a period of three months; and b) the evaluation of the proposed model. The results of this research suggest that despite positive contributions of the Practical Guide for the use Social Networks and Digital Media for Strategic Positioning for Small Businesses in improving the strategic positioning for the small business, in general communications alone will not fall short because of the internal limitations small business structures. / A comunicação via mídias e redes sociais digitais é uma atividade estratégica de suporte para a consecução dos objetivos dos pequenos negócios que, em face de uma realidade de restrição de recursos financeiros, estrutura administrativa reduzida e necessidade de obter resultados no curtíssimo prazo, encontram nas ferramentas da internet alternativas viáveis para o posicionamento e a diferenciação de seus negócios. Os objetivos desta tese envolvem tanto a compreensão da importância da comunicação organizacional para os pequenos negócios quanto à identificação das particularidades dos pequenos negócios, o desenvolvimento de um instrumento para orientar a atuação estratégica dos pequenos negócios nas mídias e redes sociais digitais e a análise da colaboração deste instrumento para as atividades empresariais dos empreendedores individuais, das microempresas e das pequenas empresas. Realizaram-se, primeiramente, estudos bibliográfico e documental com vistas à fundamentação teórica da pesquisa e à compreensão dos pequenos negócios e dos aspectos contemporâneos acerca da comunicação institucional. Sucedeu-se o trabalho de desenvolvimento do Modelo de Aplicação Prática para Posicionamento em Mídias e Redes Sociais Digitais e, posteriormente, uma pesquisa qualitativa, compreendida por duas etapas: a) aplicação do modelo proposto a três empresas; e b) avaliação do modelo. Os resultados da pesquisa mostram que, a despeito de o Modelo de Aplicação Prática para Posicionamento em Mídias e Redes Sociais Digitais contribuir estrategicamente para o posicionamento dos pequenos negócios, de maneira geral, a comunicação nesse tipo de empreendimento não surte melhor efeito porque esbarra nas limitações próprias desse tipo de empresa.

An integral part of business should be systematic and continuous process of creation, coordination and control of marketing activities. Marketing is important for easy penetration of the market, so that a prosperous and firm to ensure the continued existence market. The aim of the thesis is to analyze the marketing activities of selected service firms, mutual comparison of these activities on the basis of analyzes carried out to design the next process of improving these activities. For analysis, three firms were examined in which their marketing activities. Based on the analysis of the marketing mix, Porter's model, analysis of the communication mix and SWOT analysis to identify appropriate strategic approaches and suggestions for how marketing activities of units. Suggestions for improvement were recommended with respect to the financial possibilities owners analyzed service companies.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The innovation has been pointed out by several studies (TORRES et al., 2017, COLBY, DOBNI, 2015, CARVALHO et al., 2015, SILVA, DACORSO, 2013, BESSANT and TIDD 2009) as a competitive energy source for business in a dynamic and globalized market. Regardless of the size and the segment, all businesses can innovate, because in countries like Brazil, small companies represent more than 90% of the country's total enterprises, being an important source of employability (SEBRAE, DIEESE, 2015). When searching specifically about frugal innovation, the objective was to describe how small businesses in the Itabaiana / SE region develop frugal innovation in their activities of producing goods and services in the light of Jugaad principles. The Jugaad innovation is in line with the Brazilian way, with the ability to adapt and improvise in the face of adversity in an ingenious way (RADJOU; PRABHU; AHUJA, 2012). This type of innovation follows six principles - seeking opportunities in adversity, doing more with less, being flexible, simplifying, giving the excluded a chance, and following the heart - consistent with the way innovation occurs in many small business in Brazil. The study is qualitative, using multiple case study strategy. For the collection of the evidences, documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews and direct observation were carried out in eight companies, two of them in the service sector, three in the industrial sector and three in the commercial sector. And the data were analyzed through individual case analysis and cross-case analysis. As the main results of the research were identified that six of the companies surveyed started the business when the owners sought opportunities in the personal adversities they faced, and only two companies emerged from the dream of their owners to undertake, as well as all entrepreneurs had prior knowledge on the field of activity, and all reported transforming the adversities that arise in their organizations in business opportunities, being the financial adversity pointed out as the main adversity faced by them; all respondents follow the principles of doing more with less in their organizations; in all the cases studied, the principle of flexibility was identified in actions such as: the change of the initial business model, and the interest in implementing innovative actions that are motivated by clients and / or competition; all the companies surveyed offer some kind of simple product, however good enough to solve the problems, needs or desires of the customers, while still maintaining the quality; all seek or have the majority of their clients poorly served or excluded by the market; and make decisions based on the following factors: intuition, empathy and / or passion. From the data analysis it was verified that the Jugaad principles are present in actions practiced by all the companies participating in the study. On some principles companies share the same type of action. Finally, the study presents a chart with examples of Jugaad actions found during the research to serve as inspiration for other SMEs. / A inovação vem sendo apontada, por diversos autores (TORRES et al., 2017; COLBY; DOBNI, 2015; CARVALHO et al., 2015; SILVA; DACORSO, 2013; BESSANT; TIDD 2009), como fonte de energia competitiva para os negócios num mercado dinâmico e globalizado. Independentemente do porte e do segmento, todos os negócios podem inovar, pois em países como o Brasil, as pequenas empresas representam mais de 90% do total de empreendimentos do país, sendo importante fonte de empregabilidade (SEBRAE, DIEESE, 2014). Ao pesquisar especificamente sobre a inovação frugal, objetivou-se descrever como os pequenos negócios da região de Itabaiana/SE desenvolvem inovação frugal em suas atividades de produção de bens e serviços à luz dos princípios da Jugaad. A inovação Jugaad ou inovação do improviso (melhor tradução para o português, de acordo com os autores do livro A inovação do Improviso) condiz com o “jeitinho” brasileiro, com a capacidade de se adaptar e improvisar diante das adversidades de maneira engenhosa (RADJOU; PRABHU; AHUJA, 2012). Este tipo de inovação segue seis princípios - buscar oportunidades na adversidade, fazer mais com menos, ser flexível, simplificar, dar chance aos excluídos, e seguir o coração - condizentes com o modo de atuação de tantas empresas brasileiras no que diz respeito ao processo de inovação. O estudo é de natureza qualitativa, sob a estratégia de estudo de casos múltiplos. Para coleta das evidências foram realizadas analise documental, entrevistas semiestruturadas e observação direta em oito empresas, sendo duas do setor de serviços, três do setor industrial e três do comércio. E os dados foram analisados por meio de análise individual dos casos e cross-case analysis. Como principais resultados da pesquisa identificaram-se que seis das empresas pesquisadas iniciaram os negócios quando os proprietários buscaram oportunidades nas adversidades pessoais que enfrentavam, e apenas duas empresas surgiram a partir do sonho de seus proprietários de empreender, bem como todos os empresários possuíam conhecimento prévio sobre o ramo de atuação, e todos relataram transformar as adversidades que surgem em suas organizações em oportunidades de negócios, sendo a adversidade financeira apontada como principal adversidade enfrentada por eles; todos os entrevistados seguem o princípios de fazer mais como menos em suas organizações; em todos os casos estudados o princípio da flexibilidade foi identificado em ações como: a mudança do modelo de negócio inicial, e o interesse pela implementação de ações inovadoras que são motivadas pelos clientes e/ou pela concorrência; todas as empresas pesquisadas oferecem algum tipo de produto simples, porém bom o suficiente para resolver os problemas, necessidades ou desejos dos clientes, mantendo ainda assim a qualidade; todas buscam ou tem a maioria dos seus clientes mal atendidos, mal servidos ou excluídos pelo mercado; e tomam decisões baseados nos fatores: intuição, empatia e/ou paixão. A partir da análise dos dados verificou-se que os princípios Jugaad estão presentes em ações praticadas por todas as empresas participantes do estudo. Em alguns princípios as empresas compartilham do mesmo tipo de ação. Por fim, o estudo apresenta um quadro com os exemplos das ações Jugaad encontradas durante a pesquisa para que sirva de inspiração para outras MPEs. / São Cristóvão, SE

Mobilindustrin är under ständig förändring vilket har lett till en fragmenterad marknad somsmåföretag har haft svårt att etablera sig i. Småföretag har haft problem med att utvecklakvalitativa applikationer till olika mobila plattformar. Anledningen är att det varitresurskrävande att utveckla native applikationer till flera plattformar och underhålla flerakodbaser. Till följd av detta har mindre företag oftast valt att utveckla webbapplikationer för attleverera tjänster som når ut till många konsumenter. Hybrida ramverk har på senare år etableratsig som en potentiell lösning för att utveckla mobila applikationer med högre prestanda ochfunktionalitet än webbapplikationer och samtidigt möjliggjort för utvecklare att dela kod mellanolika plattformar. I denna studie intervjuades anställda på tre mindre företag för att identifierakrav som småföretag anser vara viktiga vid val av ramverk för applikationsutveckling. Utifrånkraven jämfördes tre hybrida ramverk för att ta reda på vilket som passar småföretag. Resultatenvisade att småföretag är olika med varierande behov och att det inte finns ett specifikt ramverksom passar alla. Däremot konstaterades det att alla tre hybrida ramverk som jämfördes i studienvar tillräckligt sofistikerade att implementeras som potentiella lösningar. Med det sagt ärhybrida ramverken inte kompromisslösa. Applikationer som utvecklas med hybrida ramverkuppnår ännu inte samma prestanda som native applikationer och är inte plattformsoberoende isamma grad som webbapplikationer. / The mobile industry is constantly changing, which has led to a fragmented market that smallbusinesses have difficulties to successfully establish in. Small businesses have had problemswith developing qualitative applications for different mobile devices. The main reason is theresource intensive process to develop native applications for multiple platforms andmaintaining the different codebases. Thus, smaller companies have usually chosen to developweb applications to deliver services to a more widespread target audience. Hybrid frameworkshave established themselves as a potential solution for developing mobile applications withhigher performance and functionality than web applications, while allowing developers to sharecode between platforms. In this study, employees of three smaller companies were interviewedto identify shared requirements held by small businesses to select a framework for applicationdevelopment. Based on the requirements, three hybrid frameworks were compared with thepurpose to identify which one was most suitable for small businesses. The results showed thatsmall businesses are different with varying needs and that there is no specific framework thatsuits all companies. On the other hand, it was found that all three hybrid frameworks comparedin the study were sufficiently developed to be implemented as potential solutions. With thatsaid, hybrid frameworks are not without flaws. Applications developed with hybrid frameworksdoes not yet achieve the same level of performance as native applications and is not platformindependent to the same extent as web applications.

This thesis presents/offers a comprehensive view of the issue of mobile Internet aimed at very small businesses and traders. In my thesis I focus on the practical applicability of mobile Internet by means of mobile technologies in the forenamed undertakings. First part of the thesis deals with the methodology of the area of very small businesses and traders and analyses present possibilities of application of mobile technologies and their suitability and usability for very small businesses and traders. Second part of the thesis identifies types of undertaking that can take advantage of mobile Internet and shows that this technology entails time and funds saving. Third part demonstrates concrete applications of mobile Internet in the activities of undertakings and presents the possibilities of gaining a support from the European Union structural funds for the implementation of mobile Internet.

This diploma thesis focuses on the process improvements and selection of appropriate ERP system in terms of small companies. In the theoretical part it explains the concept of process and methods of its analysis, management and business process improvements. There are also characterized the basic types of ERP systems and their potential acquisition process. The practical part is divided into two functional units, where the first one is the analysis of processes and proposals for their improvement in a specific company. The second part deals with the analysis and selection methods of specific ERP system for the specific company.