This thesis examines innovation and design processes in small established companies. There is a great interest in this area yet paradoxically the area is under-researched, since most innovation research is done on large companies. The research questions are: How do small established companies carry out their innovation and design processes? and How does the context and novelty of the process and product affect the same processes? The thesis is built on three research papers that used the research method of multiple case studies of different small established companies. The innovation and design processes found were highly context dependent and were facilitated by committed resources, a creative climate, vision, low family involvement, delegated power and authority, and linkages to external actors such as customers and users. Both experimental cyclical and linear structured design processes were found. The choice of structure is explained by the relative product and process novelty experienced by those developing the product innovation. Linear design processes worked within a low relative novelty situation and cyclical design processes worked no matter the relative novelty. The innovation and design processes found were informal, with a low usage of formal systematic design methods, except in the case of design processes for software. The use of formal systematic methods in small companies seems not always to be efficient, because many of the problems the methods are designed to solve are not present. Customers and users were found to play a large and important role in the innovation and design processes found and gave continuous feedback during the design processes. Innovation processes were found to be intertwined, yielding synergy effects, but it was common that resources were taken from the innovation processes for acute problems that threatened the cash flow. In sum, small established companies have the natural prerequisites to take advantage of lead-user inventions and cyclical design processes. Scarce resources were found to be the main factor hindering innovation, but the examined companies practiced several approaches to increase their resources or use existing scarce resources more efficiently in their innovation and design processes. Examples of these approaches include adopting lead-user inventions and reducing formality in the innovation and design processes.

Machine Learning (ML) has become a hot topic in recent years because of its potential benefits for many companies. Especially some big companies such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft have shown several successful cases on integrating AI capability in their own businesses. Although the interest in machine learning is rapidly increasing in almost all the business sectors, there is still a lack of knowledge of how to apply ML in small companies. Different from the big companies, smaller companies usually do not have massive resources such as the capital investment, infrastructures and expertise in machine learning. The lack of resources does not only make it difficult to adopt machine learning in small companies, but also makes the existing solutions from big companies difficult to be applied in the more general business environments. This thesis aims to help small companies to adopt machine learning by integrating the machine learning activities in their existing agile software development processes. Thus the companies can reuse most of their existing resources and let the developers apply machine learning by following the proposed model. Throughout the work, a literature review, a survey and an interview were conducted to find the challenges for small companies regarding adopting machine learning. The identified major challenges include affording to hire the right talents working with machine learning, the sufficient amount of data at their disposals, the general knowledge regarding the Machine Learning Process (MLP) and what can/cannot be done with machine learning. These challenges were identified as requirements for the proposed model to make machine learning more accessible to small companies.The proposed model called Machine Learning for All (ML4A), is divided into two major sections for the investigated challenges. The first section is a Machine Learning Usage Model to give a guideline to the non-experts for a better view of what can be accomplished with machine learning techniques. This should be used before starting a project related to machine learning. To implement the project, a process model called Agile Machine Learning (AML) is proposed in the second section. AML is a proposition of how machine learning can be integrated into an agile software engineering process, which also fits the requirements for small companies. A case study was conducted at a small Swedish company called SportAdmin to validate ML4A. The results showed the effectiveness of the proposed model by letting non-experts in machine learning to apply machine learning techniques in a small company.

В данной работе проводится обоснование теоретических положений и разработка практических рекомендаций, способствующих планированию и организации результативного позиционирования, включающих алгоритм применения инструментов позиционирования для малых предприятий в онлайн-среде. / The master's thesis provides a rationale for theoretical positions and the development of practical recommendations, which contribute to the planning and organization of effective positioning, and include the algorithm for applying positioning tools for small companies online.

The majority of the companies are working with CSR. Only  50% of the companies are marketing their CSR-activities. They rarely plan it strategically. Still the majority of the companies find CSR profitable. / Majoriteten av de små företagen arbetar med CSR. Bara hälften av företagen marknadsför arbetet. Att planera CSR-arbetet strategiskt är ovanligt men majoriteten av småföretagen anser CSR-arbetet som ekonomiskt lönsamt.

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo geral avaliar os estilos de gestão encontrados em pequenas empresas, identificando quais de seus componentes possuem efeito na postura inovativa destas empresas. A argumentação é que as pequenas empresas, motivadas pela necessidade de sobrevivência num ambiente competitivo e dinâmico, necessitam ser inovadoras. São também objetivos desta pesquisa: a revisão da literatura sobre as pequenas empresas, a compreensão das particularidades de gestão delas, bem como a conceituação de inovação. Para alcançar o objetivo proposto foi realizada pesquisa bibliográfica e um estudo multicasos, de caráter exploratório, em três empresas da cidade de São Carlos, localizada no estado de São Paulo. A coleta de dados se deu por meio de entrevistas estruturadas, em que se aplicou um questionário pré-estabelecido e também foi utilizado um roteiro previamente definido. Além disso, os dados foram complementados com pesquisas em documentos das respectivas empresas, em revistas, livros, jornais e também no SEBRAE e na Prefeitura Municipal de São Carlos. A interpretação dos dados foi de caráter qualitativo. Ao final, a pesquisa demonstrou que os gestores têm dificuldades para a elaboração de estratégias para a inovação, principalmente por não se distanciarem dos problemas operacionais do dia-a-dia. As alterações nos produtos e processos, quando ocorrem, estão sempre direcionadas para a adequação de custos. O desenvolvimento de novos processos é confiado à habilidade dos funcionários, sem um processo sistemático para que isso ocorra. Há um receio na quebra dos padrões de mercado, agravado pela grande preocupação com o nível de qualidade exigido pelos clientes / This research has as general aim to evaluate the management styles found in small companies, identifying which one of its components get an effect in the innovative posture of these companies. The argumentation is that the small companies, motivated by the necessity of survival in a competitive and dynamic environment, need to be innovative. This study also has as objectives: the reviewing of literature about small companies, the comprehension of the particularities of management in small companies and the conceptualization of innovation. To reach the objective it was carried out a bibliographic study of multicases, of exploratory in three companies from São Carlos town, located in the state of São Paulo. The data were collected through structured interviews. It was applied a pre-prepared questionnaire and it was used a schedule previously defined. Besides this, the data were collected through research in documents of the respective companies, as well as in magazines, books, newspapers and also at SEBRAE and the Municipal Hall of São Carlos. The interpretation of the data was of qualitative nature. At the final, the research demonstrated that the managers have difficulties to the elaboration of strategies for innovation, especially because they can’t get the distance of the daily operational problems. The changes in the products and processes, when they occur, are always directed to the adjustment of costs. The development of new processes is relied to the skills of the workers, without a systematic process to occur. There is a break of market standards, worsen by the great concern with the level of quality wanted by the clients

Este trabalho teve por objetivo apresentar propostas de melhoria no gerenciamento da informação interna visando à administração estratégica das pequenas empresas. Apresenta uma revisão bibliográfica sobre o processo de gestão da informação, as informações necessárias ao processo estratégico e as especificidades das pequenas empresas, o que permite definir as variáveis de pesquisa. No trabalho de campo foram estudadas quatro empresas hoteleiras de porte micro e pequeno, instaladas na cidade de Brotas/SP e uma média empresa sediada na cidade de Águas de São Pedro. A pesquisa de campo permitiu identificar as informações que são utilizadas para analisar os aspectos internos do hotel, como também a maneira que essas empresas coletam, processam e distribuem dados e informações aos tomadores de decisão. Verificou-se que os hotéis pesquisados apresentam mais facilidades do que dificuldades para o aprimoramento do processo de gestão estratégica da informação. Os dirigentes dos hotéis de pequeno porte não têm plena consciência dos benefícios que o gerenciamento da informação pode trazer. Alguns dados e informações relevantes para o hotel estão dispersos dentro da empresa e circulam de forma desestruturada, dificultando a recuperação pelos dirigentes na hora da tomada de decisão. Para melhoria do gerenciamento estratégico da informação foram apresentadas cinco propostas adequadas às especificidades da pequena empresa: conscientização dos dirigentes da relevância do processo de gerenciamento da informação; identificação das informações estratégicas a partir da compreensão do funcionamento do hotel; aperfeiçoamento dos instrumentos de coleta de dados; tratamento dos dados dispersos e ampliação da memória organizacional; exibição das informações em relatórios, formulários ou gráficos visualizados na tela do computador ou impressos em papel. / This dissertation presents proposals for the management improvement of inner information aiming at the strategic management of small enterprises. It presents a bibliographical revision of the process of information management, the information necessary to the strategic process and the specific characteristics of small companies that permit defining the variable of the research. In the fieldwork four small hotel enterprises settled in Brotas city and a medium enterprise settled in Águas de São Pedro city were studied. Both cities are located in São Paulo region. This fieldwork allowed identifying the process of strategic decision-making, the information utilized in this activity as well as the way these companies collect, process and distribute the data and information to the people who make decisions. In a final evaluation it was possible to observe that the organizations analysed presented more facilities than difficulties to the improvement of the information management process. Managers of small hotel are not completely conscious of the benefits that information management can bring. Significant hotel data and information are scattered and flowing without control in the organizations, which hampers their recovery in the decision-making process. Aiming at the improvement of strategic information management five proposals were presented: making managers conscious of the importance of information management process; identification of strategic information by the comprehension of the hotel operation; improvement of data collecting tools; collection and analyses of scattered data and extension of organizational memory; exhibition of reports, graphs or formularies of information either printed or on computer screen.

O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar os processos de recrutamento e seleção na pequena empresa e avaliar o fator capacitação profissional como elemento para a formação do quadro de funcionários. Entende-se por recrutamento e seleção o conjunto de procedimentos que visa atrair e escolher candidatos para ocupar cargos dentro da organização. Estes processos são de grande importância para o desenvolvimento da empresa, pois através deles é que se definem as potencialidades dos recursos humanos. Com o uso da metodologia multicasos exploratória e descritiva foram estudadas quatro empresas do ramo metal - mecânico da cidade de São Carlos - SP, avaliando os fatores que interferem nos processos estudados. Os resultados da pesquisa mostraram que a pequena empresa, embora com dificuldades, recruta e seleciona seus funcionários considerando a capacitação profissional. Esta pesquisa contribuiu para a análise dos métodos de recrutamento e seleção disponibilizando os resultados obtidos aos empresários e à comunidade científica com o propósito de repensar a formação dos recursos humanos das pequenas empresas. / The main objective of this work is to analyze the recruitment and selection processes in the small company and to evaluate the factor professional training as element for the staff formation. The recruitment and selection processes are procedures that seek to attract and to choose candidates to occupy positions inside of the organization. These processes are of great importance for the development of the company. Through them are defined the potentialities of the human resources. With the use of the exploratory and descriptive methodology were studied four companies of the metal-mechanical branch of the city of São Carlos - SP, evaluating the processes factors. The results of the research showed that the small company, although with difficulties, recruits and selects your employees considering the professional training. The contribution of this research is the analysis of the recruitment and selection methods showing the results obtained the managers and the scientific community with the purpose of rethinking the formation of the human resources in small companies.

O objetivo deste estudo é investigar a relação entre a formalização integral e o desempenho econômico-financeiro em micro e pequenas empresas brasileiras (MPEs).A formalização integral foi considerada sob as dimensões: societária, gerencial e fiscal.A formalização societária contempla ações entre os proprietários que poderão levar ao bom andamento da sociedade empresarial e à remuneração adequada do capital investido na empresa. A base conceitual é a profissionalização da sociedade (MOREIRA JÚNIOR, 2006; DRUCKER, 1995; BERNHOEFT e CASTANHEIRA, 1995, entre outros) e a observação de normas civis brasileiras que tratam das relações entre pessoas físicas e jurídicas. Os conceitos planejamento e controle financeiro (FREZATTI, 2003; WELSCH, 1983) e competências gerenciais (LE BOTERF, 2003; DUTRA, 2004; FLEURY e FLEURY, 2001) foram abordados para dar sustentação à formalização gerencial. A formalização fiscal, entendida pela estruturação da empresa, física e financeiramente, para o cumprimento das regras estabelecidas pelos governos e passíveis de fiscalização e autuação (MONTAÑO, 1999; ZANGARI JÚNIOR, 2007). Os conceitos relativos ao desempenho econômico-financeiro foram analisados no sentido de evidenciar a relação deste com a competitividade, ganho de eficiência e eficácia, criação de valor para o negócio, geração de caixa para os investidores e continuidade do negócio (COPELAND, et al., 2002; RAPPAPOR, 2001; EHRHARDT e BRIGHAM, 2012; ELKINGTON, 1999). A amostra deste estudo é não-probabilística e formada por 100 empresas que manifestaram o interesse em participar. Foram utilizados dados primários, coletados por levantamento de campo (survey), utilizando entrevista focalizada e a técnica do balanço perguntado(MARTELANC, 1998). Submeteram-se os dados a técnicas descritivas multivariadas, inclusive modelagem de equações estruturais. As hipóteses foram construídas na suposição de que o desempenho econômico-financeiro se dá pela formalização societária, gerencial e fiscal e que a expectativa de sobrevivência aumenta com melhor desempenho econômico-financeiro. Os resultados comprovaram que a formalização societária, a gerencial e a fiscal têm relação estatística positiva, significante e indireta com o desempenho econômico-financeiro e este explica a expectativa de sobrevivência das empresas estudadas. O achado é relevante visto que traz um novo meio para tratar dos problemas da informalidade e sobrevivência das micro e pequenas empresas brasileiras, porém requer avanços e novos estudos. / This study aims to investigate the relationship between full formalization and economic and financial performance of Brazilian micro and small companies (MSCs). The full formalization was considered under tree the dimensions: corporate, managerial and fiscal. The corporate formalization encompasses actions among the owners that may lead to the good progress of the corporate society and the adequate remuneration of the capital invested in the company. The conceptual basis is the professionalization of society (MOREIRA JÚNIOR, 2006; DRUCKER, 1995; BERNHOEFT and CASTANHEIRA, 1995, among others) and the observation of Brazilian civil norms that deal with relations between individuals and legal entities. The concepts of planning and financial control (Frezatti, 2003; Welsch, 1983) and managerial competencies (LE BOTERF, 2003; DUTRA, 2004; FLEURY and FLEURY, 2001) were approached to support management formalization. The fiscal formalization, understood by the structuring of the company, physically and financially, for the fulfillment of the rules set up by the governments and are subject to inspection and assessment (MONTAÑO, 1999; ZANGARI JÚNIOR, 2007). The concepts related to economic and financial performance were analyzed in order to show the relationship between this and competitiveness, achieve efficiency and effectiveness, create value for the business, generate capital for investors and business continuity (Edwards et al., 2002). Sample of this study is non-probabilistic and consists of 100 companies that showed interest in participating. The primary data employed was collected by field survey, using a focused interview and the requested balance technique (MARTELANC, 1998). Data were submitted to multivariate descriptive techniques, including modeling of structural equations. The hypotheses were constructed under the assumption that economic and financial performance is obtained through corporate, managerial and fiscal formalization, and also that the expectation of business survival increases with a better economic-financial performance. The results showed that corporate, managerial and fiscal formalization have a positive, significant and indirect statistical relationship with economic and financial performance and this explains the expected business survival of the companies studied. The finding is relevant since it brings a new way of dealing with the problems of informality and business survival of micro and small Brazilian companies, but it requires advances and new studies.

O propósito desta dissertação é de analisar dois objetos de estudos: pequenas empresas e métodos de custeio, com o objetivo de identificar os fatores, pessoais e impessoais, que condicionam a adoção de um método de custeio específico. No decorrer da história da contabilidade de custos vários métodos de custeio foram desenvolvidos com o objetivo de gerar as informações que as empresas necessitavam para melhorar o planejamento e o controle dos custos. Desta forma, hoje, existem vários métodos de custeio que geram informações diversas. Para alcançar o objetivo proposto foi realizado um levantamento preliminar no universo de pequenas empresas industriais da cidade de São Carlos, estado de São Paulo. Este levantamento identificou 35 empresas. A partir deste total, identificou-se quais as empresas que utilizavam procedimentos para cálculo de custos. Em seguida, com uso da metodologia multicasos exploratória e descritiva, foram estudadas quatro pequenas empresas do ramo metal-mecânico, buscando maiores informações sobre o problema estudado. A pesquisa identificou que o nível de impessoalidade envolvido nas decisões quanto à adoção de um sistema varia de empresa para empresa dependendo de sua filosofia administrativa. / The purpose of this research is to analyze two subjects: small companies and costing methods, in order to identify how these companies adopt costing methods. Along the accounting history, several costing methods were developed with the objective of generating the information that the companies needed to improve the planning and control of the costs. Thus, there are many costing methods that companies could adopt in order to calculate their costs. The factors that interfere in the adoption of a certain costing method could be personal or impersonal, and identifying these factors was the objective of the research. In order to reach the proposed objective, a preliminary survey was conducted in a universe of small industrial companies of São Carlos, State of São Paulo, Brazil. This survey identified 33 companies. Among these companies, it was selected the ones that applied procedures of cost calculation. Next, using exploratory and descriptive multicases methodology, 4 small metal-mechanic companies were studied, in order to obtain further information about the problem studied. The research identified that the impersonality level involved in the adoption of a system varies from company to company depending on their administrative philosophy.

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo geral apresentar propostas para a melhoria da gestão estratégica da informação nas pequenas empresas, considerando suas especificidades de gestão. A revisão bibliográfica sobre o processo de gestão da informação e as especificidades das pequenas empresas permitiu definir as variáveis de pesquisa. No trabalho de campo foram estudadas quatro empresas do setor industrial metal-mecânico, instaladas na cidade de São José do Rio Preto. O trabalho de campo permitiu identificar as informações utilizadas para analisar os aspectos externos e internos das empresas; e a maneira que essas empresas coletam, processam e distribuem dados e informações aos tomadores de decisão. Com o intuito de que melhores decisões sejam tomadas e que as pequenas empresas apliquem seus recursos escassos naquilo que realmente ajudará no seu crescimento e desenvolvimento, foram apresentadas as seguintes propostas: além de conscientizar os dirigentes sobre a relevância e os benefícios da gestão estratégica da informação, ensinar-lhes também sua sistematização; analisar a influência e relação das variáveis internas e externas no desempenho da empresa e eleger os aspectos mais relevantes sobre cada variável externa e interna; os funcionários dos diversos departamentos seriam treinados para realizarem a monitoração e a coleta de dados sobre todas as variáveis; discutir, analisar e interpretar em conjunto os dados obtidos na coleta a fim de transformá-los em informações válidas para a tomada de decisão; registrar não só as informações resultantes, mas também os principais pontos de reflexão gerados nas reuniões; utilizar mais a forma escrita para a disseminação das informações estratégicas, e divulgar por toda a empresa a existência das atas, relatórios, etc.; fazer um feedback do processo de gestão da informação; e por fim, criar um escritório da informação. Apesar da limitação da impossibilidade em generalizar as conclusões, espera-se que este estudo ajude em pesquisas futuras e na construção de teorias administrativas específicas para as pequenas empresas. / This dissertation aims to present proposals for the improvement of the strategic management of information in small companies considering their management specificity. The bibliographical revision on the process of information management and the specificity of small companies allowed defining the research variables. In the field work four companies of the industrial metal-mechanicals section, installed in São José do Rio Preto were studied. The field research allowed identifying the information used to analyze the external and internal aspects of the companies; and the way those companies collect, process and distribute data and information to decision-makers. To make companies improve their and apply their scarce resources to what will really help their growth and development, the following proposals are presented: besides to make leaders aware of the relevance and the benefits of strategic information management and relevance and the benefits of the strategic administration of the information, also to teach them their systematization; to contemplate the influence and relationship of the internal and external variables on the performance of the company and to choose the most important aspects about each internal and external variable; to train the employees of the several departments to accomplish the data collection of all the variables; to discuss, to analyze and to interpret the data obtained in the collection and to turn them in valid information for to make decision; to register not only the resulting information, but also the principal reflection points generated on the meetings; to use more the writing form for the spread the strategic information and to publish for the whole company the existence of the minutes, reports, etc.; to do a feedback of information management constantly; and finally, to create an office of the information. Despite the difficulty in generalizing conclusions, the present study is expected to help future researches and the construction of specific administrative theories for small companies.