Entrepreneurship is considered as a critical factor for the development of transition economies and currently attracts a growing body of research. Following a qualitative case-study research strategy, this paper is occupied with the emergence of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, as a location of high-tech entrepreneurship in the country. While the legacy of the socialist past is part of Sofia reality, the entrepreneurs in the capital appear to make considerable efforts to overcome these barriers. Applying a social capital perspective I articulate the link between entrepreneurship growth and entrepreneurs’ social context. Internationalization from early stage of start-up development is perceived as the main growth path, which requires the entrepreneurs to accumulate new social relations. Adopting a process oriented analysis, I observe the shift in the social capital content and how start-ups can benefit from their pre-existing and emerging social relations. I contend that the acquisition of social capital by studied entrepreneurs has a specific added value for the studied companies as in this process they are required to adopt new norms and practices that are distinctive from those generally observed domestically. This process, however, poses certain concerns for start-ups’ survival prospects due to its high costs.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a psychopathology commonly characterized by general inattentiveness and/or a lack of impulse control resulting in hyperactive tendencies. ADHD is estimated to cost the United States roughly $266 billion every year. ADHD is currently treated via medications, cognitive behavioral therapy, or more recently, neurofeedback. Neurofeedback – and biofeedback in general – is the process of providing a patient with information about autonomic bodily functions so that they may control said autonomic function. In the case of ADHD, neurofeedback focuses on reinforcing the behaviors and sensations associated with attentiveness. Currently however, neurofeedback systems are large and require a patient to travel to a clinic. Furthermore, the current offering of portable neuro/biofeedback devices do not have the technological capabilities to provide effective neurofeedback therapy. Current wearable tech devices – such as the Apple Watch and Samsung Gear – possess the technological capabilities to measure important bodily functions, and provide appropriate biofeedback therapy while remaining discrete and most importantly, portable.

Firm internationalisation has been a broadly examined subject, which has generated various established theories. Previous business activities are described as structured, incremental and predictable, which has enabled the development of frameworks that describe how the business internationalisation is conducted. Today’s technological advances, globalisation and changes in demographics are contemporary environmental forces of change, and the Swedish tech industry is growing in a steady phase. The tech start-ups internationalise rapidly and from an early age but in various ways, and therefore, reflecting diverse internationalisation theories to different extents. The wave of tech start-up is increasing and are seemingly operating in an unconventional manner and contradicts well-known theories, leaving scholars in the search for profound understanding about this phenomenon. Consequently, lack of previous research based on tech start-ups internationalisation processes has provided motivation for this study, with the intention to provide knowledge to companies and contribute with new theory angles to the existing literature. The purpose with this study was to fill the research gap on tech start-up internationalisation by investigating and analyse how the Stockholm-based tech start-ups internationalise, what barriers and drivers they have encountered while pursuing the expansion as well as, how these have affected the internationalisation. The literature review emphasises on internationalisation theories as well as, barriers and drivers of the internationalisation process and is summarised with a conceptual framework. The study was conducted through a qualitative case study including four companies of, which all four had established international operations and therefore, generated insightful information about the subject. Moreover, interviews with founders and CEOs of the companies were conducted through semi-structured approach, which including questions related to their internationalisation process and the barriers and drivers. The empirical data was thereafter organised and paralleled with previous theories as well as, with the authors' considerations. Finally, the conclusion highlight answers to the research questions and provide theoretical and practical implications, as well as suggestions for further research.

The emergence of digitalization and globalization has given birth to firms who cater to a global customer base and source resources from around the world at the click of a button. Nevertheless, as companies continue to innovate how they communicate, govern and internationalize, much of the research is built on a world before the emergence of the digitalized and globalized society we live in today. Finding a lucrative market is a crucial source of competitive advantage but if modern opportunities and challenges are disregarded, it could lead to grave economic downfalls. This paper investigates what factors modern technology firms take into account when evaluating potential location choice. This question further investigates how the nature of technology companies influence location choice. A qualitative study was conducted, five semi-structured interviews with five companies were conducted with each interview lasting on average 47 minutes.Three general findings were deducted from these interviews. Firstly, internal factors to the firm are still very much relevant to tech companies. Determinants such as top managements' experiential learning and networks, industry characteristics and the nature of the customer relationship. The second finding was that country-specific determinants were of less importance. There was no evidence showing that determinants such as natural resources were a factor. It was also shown that psychic and geographic distances were of less importance while human capital are of higher importance. Lastly factors which have lowered the barriers to enter a foreign location were found. These include the emergence of the gig economy and better communication technologies allowing for companies to govern distant offices from a centralized headquarter. These findings have been compiled by the authors into a new model of location choice factors for technology companies

In today’s global society, organizations are facing the challenge of ever-increasing customer demands as a consequence of benefits posed by digital technology. Not only has it led to a market of fierce competition and the inevitable pursuit for competitive advantages, but it also has required actors to explore and exploit the agile development of digitization. Organizational initiatives to harvest the benefits of digital technology and address the challenges have been referred to as “Digital Transformation”. The concept is running rampant through all industries and sectors, and no firm is any longer immune to its impacts. In the context of small and medium-sized enterprises, they are commonly referred to as being in a predicament of inadequate resources and limited capabilities to digitally transform. This study aims to shed light on how leaders of small enterprises, with their current conditions of digital transformation, can address key challenges through the use of digital transformation strategies. More specifically, a multiple case study was conducted based on the small tech reselling market of Portugal. Both leaders and employees were interviewed and asked about their current challenges, what efforts are made to digitally transform the companies, and how the leadership contribute to that end. From this, the paper suggests ways of managing these challenges and at the same time incubate digital transformation through assessment and measurement models.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo principal caracterizar o processo de criação de conhecimentos no desenvolvimento de produtos de alto conteúdo tecnológico em projetos de diferentes graus de inovação. A despeito da ascensão de abordagens organizacionais baseadas no conhecimento e do reconhecimento da crescente importância da inovação, a literatura carece de trabalhos empíricos que investiguem o processo de criação de novos conhecimentos nas empresas. Como contribuição teórica, o presente trabalho reúne algumas das principais abordagens ligadas a este processo num modelo que organiza os conceitos estudados em quatro dimensões fundamentais. Para a parte prática da pesquisa, apresenta-se um estudo de casos efetuado em empresa que desenvolve sistemas de alta tecnologia para o setor de automação industrial. Nesta investigação, são analisados três projetos desenvolvidos pela divisão de P&D da empresa, dotados de diferentes graus de inovação (incremental, plataforma e radical). Uma análise comparativa dos processos de criação de conhecimentos observados em cada um destes projetos é efetuada. O resultado principal reside na identificação de características do processo criativo influenciadas pelo grau de inovação. / The main objective of this research is to provide a characterization of the knowledge creation process involved in high-tech product development projects with different innovations degrees. Despite of the ascension of knowledge-based organizational approaches and the recognition of the increasing importance of innovation, there is lack of empirical researches which investigate the knowledge creation process in the literature. As theoretical contribution, this work joins some of the most important approaches of this process in a framework that organizes concepts in four main dimensions. In the empirical section, a study of cases done in a company that develops high-tech systems for the industrial automation market is presented. In this investigation, three projects occurred in the R&D division of the company are analyzed, each one with a different innovation degree (incremental, platform and radical). A comparative analysis of the knowledge creation processes observed in each of these projects is made. The main result is the identification of creative process characteristics that are influenced by the innovation degree.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo principal identificar, catalogar, descrever, analisar e avaliar as principais características e tendências da pesquisa acadêmica brasileira divulgada em Dissertações e Teses que abordam a experimentação para o Ensino de Química no período de 2000 a 2012. Para construção do objeto de estudo desta pesquisa, foram realizadas buscas junto aos arquivos de documentos das seguintes fontes: Catálogo de Teses do Centro de Documentação em Ensino de Ciências (CEDOC/Unicamp); Banco de Teses da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES); Cadernos de Indicadores (CAPES); Catálogos das Bibliotecas das Instituições de Ensino Superior; Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e Dissertações - BDTD. Os trabalhos catalogados foram analisados em função dos seguintes critérios de classificação: ano de defesa, região brasileira, instituição, programa de pós-graduação, nível escolar abrangido, foco temático e conteúdo abordado. Os resultados sugerem um crescimento gradual da produção entre o período determinado. Geograficamente esta produção se concentra no eixo Sul-Sudeste (70%), dado este que se contrasta com os 13% produzido pelo eixo Norte-Nordeste, o Centro-Oeste brasileiro concentra 17% da produção nacional. Quanto ao grau de titulação acadêmica objetivada, a produção se concentra na modalidade de Mestrado Acadêmico, com 69%, seguido do Mestrado Profissional com 22% e Doutorado com 9%. Mais da metade dos trabalhos tem como foco de nível escolar o Ensino Médio, com 60%, seguido do Ensino Superior com aproximadamente 22% do total nacional. A distribuição das teses e dissertações segundo a sua dependência administrativa concentra-se na Instituição de Ensino Superior Federal (57%), seguido da Estadual (26%) e Privadas (17%). O foco temático concentra-se no conteúdo-método e recursos didáticos de forma equivalente. Os temas de estudo abordados tem como foco a Química Geral, seguido da Físico-Química e Química Inorgânica. As pesquisas catalogadas neste trabalho indicam os programas de pós-graduação em Educação, em Ensino de Ciências e em Química como os principais programas que desenvolvem pesquisa nesta área. / This study has the main goal identify, catalog, describe, analyze and assess the main features and trends of academic Brazilian research published as dissertations and thesis approaching experimentation on Teach of Chemistry between 2000 and 2012. To build the object of study of this research, were researched documents from archives sources from: Catalogue of Thesis from Center of Documentation Teach in Science (CEDOC/Unicamp); Bank of thesis from Coordination of People from Higher Education (CAPES); Indicators Books (CAPES); Catalougue of Libraries from Higher Education; Brazilian Library Digital of Thesis and Dissertations - BDTD. The works cataloged were analyzed according to the following evaluation criteria: defense year, Brazilian area, institution, postgraduate program, scholar level, thematic focus, and content approached. Our results suggest that there is a gradual increase of production between the period determined. Geographically this production is concentred in the South-Southeast (70%) axis, it contrasts with 13% produced in the North-Northeast axis, moreover mid-west Brazilian concentrated 17% of national production. About the level of academic degree objectified, the production concentrated in the Master Academic 69%, following by Master Professional 22% and Doctoral degree (Ph.D.) 9%. More than half works have the focus on high school level 60%, following higher education with approximately 22% from the national total. The distribution from thesis and dissertations as your dependence administrative were concentrated at Federal Institution Higher Studies (57%), following State Institutions (26%) and Private (17%). The thematic focus concentrated as content-method and resources didactic equivalently. The subjects from studies have focused on general Chemistry, following the Physics-Chemistry and Chemistry Inorganic. The research cataloged in this work indicates that the postgraduate programs in Education, in Teach Sciences and Chemistry as the main programs that develop research in this area

Este trabalho se propõe a contribuir para a discussão da gestão da inovação em empresas low-tech. Como ponto de partida, a partir da perspectiva da Cadeia de Valor da Inovação, é feita uma análise da gestão da inovação em grandes empresas pouco intensivas em tecnologia. Essa abordagem possibilita uma visão ampla da gestão da inovação, não restrita ao processo de desenvolvimento de produto ou atividades intensivas de P&D. Em cada empresa analisada, foram investigadas as formas de organização, de tomada de decisão e os principais instrumentos de gestão (conforme os elos da cadeia de inovação, geração, conversão e difusão da ideia), no intuito de verificar como essas empresas gerenciam e organizam suas cadeias de valor da inovação e a possível convergência com o modo típico low-tech de inovar, preconizado pela literatura. A literatura vigente propõe a existência desse modo típico low-tech, no entanto, pode-se dizer que ele está mais associado às limitações dessas empresas (recursos, estrutura, estratégia etc.), geralmente empresas de pequeno e médio porte, do que propriamente a uma forma distinta de inovar. Para tal análise, cinco casos de empresas low-tech são confrontados com o caso de uma empresa tipicamente high-tech e a literatura disponível. Para as organizações pesquisadas, grandes empresas, os resultados não apontam para a existência de um modo típico de inovar de empresas low- tech vis-à-vis a um modo típico de empresas high-tech. Embora estas empresas tenham estratégias, objetivos, recursos e demandas diferenciadas, elas organizam e administram suas cadeias de inovação de forma muito semelhante. Por fim, com base na discussão dos aspectos importantes apontados na literatura e a análise dos resultados encontrados, é proposto um conjunto de princípios gerais para balizar a organização e a gestão da cadeia de valor da inovação, a serem levados em conta por empresas low-tech que tenham ou pretendam ter a inovação contínua em produto como parte integrante de sua estratégia competitiva. / This work aims contributes to the discussion of innovation management in low-tech companies. As a starting point, from the perspective of the Innovation Value Chain, an analysis of innovation management in large low-tech companies is made. This approach allows a broad view of innovation management, not restricted to the process of product development or intensive activities in R&D. In each company analyzed were investigated forms of organization, decision making and the main tools of management (as the links in innovation chain, \"generation, conversion and diffusion of the idea\") in order to verify how these companies manage and organize their innovation value chains, and the possible convergence with the typical low-tech way to innovate, advocated in the literature. For this analysis, five cases of low-tech companies are confronted by a typical high-tech company and by the available literature. Although the current literature proposes the existence of a typical low-tech way to innovate, generally associated to the companies constraints (resources, structure, strategy etc.) and the features related to small and medium companies, we can state that this typical low-tech way can not be broaden to the all companies in this sector. For the organizations surveyed, large companies, the results point to the absence of a typical low-tech way to innovate vis-à-vis a typical mode of high-tech companies. Although these companies do have strategies, goals, resources and differentiated demands, they organize and manage their innovative value chains very similarly. Finally, based on the discussion of the important aspects mentioned in the literature and on the result analysis, it is proposed a set of general principles to appraise the organization and the innovation value chain management, to be taken into account by low-tech companies that have or intend to have continuous innovation in products as part of their competitive strategy.

Submitted by Natalie Mendes (nataliermendes@gmail.com) on 2015-07-23T00:48:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTA?A? MOYS?S LOPES BRND?O NETO.pdf: 3243374 bytes, checksum: d398f66db0a41e666b8191b987ed6ca5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-23T00:48:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTA?A? MOYS?S LOPES BRND?O NETO.pdf: 3243374 bytes, checksum: d398f66db0a41e666b8191b987ed6ca5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-18 / This is a study of exploratory and qualitative approach, which aims to realize the extent to which computer use may influence the teaching in schools of Amelia Rodrigues - BA, through the images projected by this. To achieve this goal, a survey was conducted with the intention of understanding the influence of modern tools in the teaching / learning process, and aspects that contribute to improve it, awakening in students and teachers interest in learning about the cultural change for this to be perceived by students as something pleasurable and not just an obligation. It is believed that the use of the omputer is a possible alternative for improving the education of contemporary society , breaking barriers between the culture of the twentieth century teaching and learning that brings a new methodology that appropriates the technological advances , and aims to become the new culture of teaching . The search for theoretical information was held in the national literature in online publications in the SciELO database and Google Scholar, books and journals in the area of education were also analyzed. The content covered by this work , we try to explain the possible improvement of learning with the use of computers and educational software , showing that the use of new technologies makes the most dynamic and fun for those who learn and easier lesson for those who submit teaches. The results showed that it is possible to improve the conditions of teaching with computer use, and that students are willing to be involved with new knowledge when presented in a pleasant way. We also observed the lack of human , financial and material for deployment of IT equipment provided by government programs , and lack of political will to change this picture features. The change in these factors and breaking of paradigms is possible with effective action, involving government, education professionals, educational institutions and the participation of society, breaking the barriers that prevent the proper use of public property for the sake of a better future for good common. The results showed that the lack of interest by government projects into practice has a strong link with the political will of government agencies, which is a serious problem in developing countries, lacking in social actions, and policies and legal guarantees promote cultural and quality of life for its citizen?s changes. / Trata-se de um estudo de car?ter explorat?rio e abordagem qualitativa, que tem como prop?sito perceber em que medida o uso do computador poder? influenciar o ensino nas escolas municipais de Am?lia Rodrigues - BA, atrav?s das imagens projetadas por este. Para atingir esse objetivo, foi realizada uma pesquisa, com a inten??o de compreender a influ?ncia das ferramentas modernas no processo de ensino/aprendizagem, e os aspectos que contribuem para melhor?-lo, despertando em alunos e professores o interesse pela mudan?a cultural sobre o aprender, para que este seja percebido pelo aluno como algo prazeroso e n?o apenas uma obriga??o imposta. Acredita-se que, o emprego do computador ? uma poss?vel alternativa de melhoria para a educa??o da sociedade contempor?nea, rompendo-se barreiras entre a cultura do ensino do s?culo XX e o ensino que traz uma nova metodologia que se apropria dos avan?os tecnol?gicos, e que pretende tornar-se a nova cultura do ensino. A busca por informa??es te?ricas foi realizada na literatura nacional e em publica??es online, na base de dados da Scielo e Google Acad?mico, tamb?m foram analisados livros e revistas da ?rea de educa??o. Nos conte?dos abordados por esse trabalho, tenta-se explicar a poss?vel melhoria do aprendizado com o uso do computador e de softwares educacionais, mostrando que a utiliza??o de novas tecnologias deixa a aula mais din?mica e divertida para quem aprende e mais f?cil de apresentar para quem ensina. Os resultados mostraram que ? poss?vel melhorar as condi??es de ensino com o uso do computador, e que os alunos est?o dispostos a se deixar envolver por novos conhecimentos quando apresentados de forma prazerosa. Constatou-se tamb?m a falta de recursos humanos, financeiros e materiais para implanta??o dos equipamentos de inform?tica disponibilizados pelos programas de governo. A mudan?a desses fatores e quebra dos paradigmas ? poss?vel com a??es efetivas, que envolvam governo, profissionais de educa??o, institui??es de ensino e a participa??o da sociedade, quebrando as barreiras que entravam a correta utiliza??o do bem p?blico em prol de um futuro melhor para o bem comum. Os resultados mostraram que a falta de interesse de p?r em pr?tica os projetos governamentais tem uma forte liga??o com a vontade pol?tica dos entes governamentais, sendo este, um grave problema de pa?ses em desenvolvimento, carentes de a??es sociais, e de garantias pol?ticas e legais que promovam mudan?as culturais e de qualidade de vida para seus cidad?os.

Geographic clusters of firms have been extensively studied in different bodies of literature, but little attention has been paid to the process of cluster formation and its determinants. While focusing on the effects of clusters on innovations and on the productivity of firms, the literature has neglected the agency of entrepreneurs in cluster emergence. This thesis aims to contribute to the literature on clusters by studying the role of personal networks and firm networks in three aspects of the emergence of clusters: 1) the early stages of formation; 2) the creation of business relations between firms; and 3) the creation of knowledge among clustered firms. The analysis was conducted using the biotechnology sector in four geographic regions of Chile as a case study. Data on firms was collected using in-depth interviews and a survey. The analysis of the data was carried out using content analysis, multilevel estimations and econometric analysis. The results reveal three main findings. First, the personal and business relations of entrepreneurs can determine the location decisions of firms. Second, personal relations are positively associated with the emergence of formal business relations between firms. Third, the number of personal and business connections a firm has positively affects its production of knowledge, measured as patent applications and scientific journals. These findings suggest that social networks within a cluster shape its emergence and development. The results also show that the different types of networks coexisting in a cluster - personal networks, business networks and research networks, among others - affect one another and determine the development of clusters. The implications of this research may be helpful for policy-makers, professional associations and cluster managers. Activities to foster personal interaction between members of a cluster and other key actors - universities, incubators, venture capital firms, government agencies, etc. - may generate collaborations between firms that would not otherwise emerge.