by Chan, Man-Kuen Christine. / Thesis submitted in: July 1997. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-101). / Abstract also in Chinese. / ABSTRACT (ENGLISH) --- p.i / ABSTRACT (CHINESE) --- p.ii / ACKNOWLEDGMENT --- p.iii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.vii / Chapter CHAPTER I --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter CHAPTER II --- Literature Review --- p.6 / Strategic Aspect --- p.6 / Cultural Aspect --- p.11 / Social Aspect --- p.12 / The Critique of Previous Research --- p.13 / Chapter CHAPTER III --- Hypotheses --- p.18 / Interdependence --- p.18 / Cultural Congruence --- p.25 / Social Connectedness --- p.32 / Chapter CHAPTER IV --- Methodology --- p.38 / Sample --- p.38 / Measurement --- p.43 / Statistical Methods --- p.54 / Chapter CHAPTER V --- Results --- p.56 / Hypotheses Testing --- p.56 / Chapter CHAPTER VI --- Discussion and Conclusion --- p.74 / Implications --- p.79 / Limitations and Future Research --- p.82 / Conclusion --- p.84 / APPENDIX A --- p.87 / Summary of the Literature on Global Strategic Alliance Survival --- p.87 / REFERENCES --- p.90

"December 2001" Includes bibliographical references : (p. 31-32) Simons (1990) notion of interactive controls has been used in the literature to examine the role of management control systems in facilitating strategic change. The implications of strategic change for routine diagnostic feedback mechanisms have received less attention. Drawing on interview and archival data from a single case study of an Australian pump manufacturer, we examine the way diagnostic controls are used in the immediate period following strategic change. The changes in diagnostic controls are shown not only to align the organization in a self-regulating way to a new strategic direction, but also to promote learning, co-operation and culture change which are integral to, rather than an outcome of the strategic change process.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

<p>The purpose of this study is to investigate and describe the internationalization process of SMEs which choose strategic alliances as entry mode. Understanding the internationalization of small firms is important to enhance knowledge of how they develop their business activities in international markets. Moreover, a strategic alliance perspective gives a critical insight of firms’ strategy to challenge in global competition. </p><p>The qualitative approach is chosen to carry out the research question and achieve the purpose of this study. A case study is therefore used to generate advanced knowledge and understanding. Anoto group AB, a small Swedish company is picked as a sample due to the criteria fitting. I collected both secondary and primary data through various sources. </p><p> </p><p>The findings reveal that internal factors and external factors strongly influence the small company’s strategy. The advantage and core values of using strategic alliances motivate the small firm to go abroad. Due to the limited resources and knowledge, the small firm could not go globally alone. Using a strategic alliance can enable the firm to gain resources, gain market power and leverage competencies. Therefore, the small company can accomplish the goal in short time and be successful in international markets through managing alliances.</p>

<p>The thesis is an investigateion of Ikea´s strategies on differents markets. The reasearch shows how the company had to adjust to different markets and conditions, in order to achieve competitive advantage.</p>

The thesis is an investigateion of Ikea´s strategies on differents markets. The reasearch shows how the company had to adjust to different markets and conditions, in order to achieve competitive advantage.

There is a Chinese saying in The Doctrine of the Golden Mean: ¡§planning leads to success; lack of planning leads to destruction¡¨. Individuals, families, businesses, and nations all have to plan, execute, control, and analyze ¡§strategies¡¨ and ¡§budgets¡¨ to realize future dreams. Budget is a form of financial planning that can realize and quantify the future operation plans and performances of businesses. It is also a form of financial accounting helping management control costs, realize goals, and create future. Implementation of budget management can help improve business performances and enhance business competitiveness. Through planning, implementing, control, and review of budgets, a business can prepare itself in advance for the uncertainties and find solutions. Businesses can properly use their limited resources to accomplish their goals.

The purpose of this study is to investigate and describe the internationalization process of SMEs which choose strategic alliances as entry mode. Understanding the internationalization of small firms is important to enhance knowledge of how they develop their business activities in international markets. Moreover, a strategic alliance perspective gives a critical insight of firms’ strategy to challenge in global competition. The qualitative approach is chosen to carry out the research question and achieve the purpose of this study. A case study is therefore used to generate advanced knowledge and understanding. Anoto group AB, a small Swedish company is picked as a sample due to the criteria fitting. I collected both secondary and primary data through various sources. The findings reveal that internal factors and external factors strongly influence the small company’s strategy. The advantage and core values of using strategic alliances motivate the small firm to go abroad. Due to the limited resources and knowledge, the small firm could not go globally alone. Using a strategic alliance can enable the firm to gain resources, gain market power and leverage competencies. Therefore, the small company can accomplish the goal in short time and be successful in international markets through managing alliances.

This study is about to find out whether and how strategic management is employed in the Chinese manufacturing SMEs, as well as to explore the main characteristics of the strategic management process in these SMEs. It aims to work as a reference for the senior managers in these firms to better improve and utilize the strategic management tools for their future growth.

Today, mass customization has emerged as a manufacturing paradigm for a number of enterprises to efficiently and effectively satisfy customers requirements for product variety. The competitive nature of todays market makes it necessary for designers to have a methodology for designing customized products in such a dynamic environment. The Product Platform Constructal Theory Method (PPCTM), developed by Dr. Gabriel Hernandez, provides designers a methodical approach for synthesizing multiple modes of managing variety in the development of product platforms for customized products. The use of the PPCTM results in a hierarchical organization of the modes of managing customization, as well as the specification of their range of application across the product platform. The focus in this thesis is to augment the PPCTM in order to develop an effective product platform design method that alleviates three of its major limitations: inability to deal with uncertain distributions of demand, changing design parameters and changing extents of marketplaces. The infusion of concepts of robustness helps to address the first two limitations making the product platforms unaffected by large variations in demand and design parameters. The compromise Decision Support Problem is proposed to address the third limitation of changing extents of marketplaces by making tradeoffs between objectives of the initial market extent and future probable extensions. The result of this work is an augmented PPCTM that facilitates the synthesis of multiple modes for managing product variety in the presence of a dynamic environment. The augmented method is used to design a line of customizable pressure vessels and hand exercisers.