Syfte – Examensarbetets syfte är att skapa förståelse kring ett outsourcingbeslut genom att utveckla en beslutsmodell för outsourcing. För att uppnå syftet ska följande frågeställningar besvaras: Vilka faktorer bör påverka ett outsourcingbeslut? Vilka kostnader bör analyseras för att ett outsourcingbeslut ska bli väl avvägt? Vilka komponenter bör ingå i en beslutsmodell för outsourcing? Metod – Examensarbetet bygger på en analytisk konceptuell studie med ett deduktiv och induktiv förhållningssätt, där påverkansfaktorer togs fram genom litteraturstudier. Jämförelser och analyser av redan befintliga teorier gjordes för att identifiera påverkansfaktorer, utifrån dessa faktorer skapades en beslutsmodell för outsourcing. Resultat – Resultatet från studien visar att det finns ett flertal olika faktorer som påverkar ett outsourcingbeslut och kan sammanfattningsvis placeras som påverkansfaktorer, strategiska- och konkurrensfaktorer samt kostnadsfaktorer. Den utvecklade beslutsmodellen för outsourcing består av sju steg där varje steg innefattar olika analyser och beslut, de sju stegen baseras på de faktorer som bör påverkas vid outsourcing. Förslag till fortsatta studier – För att utveckla beslutsmodellen skulle fler teorier och faktorer som möjligen kan beröras i samband med outsourcing adderas. En ytterligare studie skulle kunna vara att utveckla ett verktyg där organisationen kan gradera hur organisationen förhåller sig till de faktorer som påverkas vid ett outsourcingbeslut och därmed utöka beslutsunderlaget. Praktiska konsekvenser – För att underlätta för beslutsfattaren och få en helhetsbild över faktorer och kostnader som påverkas vid outsourcing kan beslutsmodellen användas. Originalitet – Det finns enligt författarnas vetskap ingen fullständig beslutsmodell som belyser alla faktorer som kan påverkas vid ett outsourcingbeslut. / Purpose – The purpose of the thesis is to create understanding of the outsourcing decision making by developing a decision model for outsourcing. To achieve this, the following questions are answered: What factors should influence the outsourcing decision? What costs should be analyzed so that an outsourcing decision should be balanced? What components should be included in a decision model for outsourcing? Method – The thesis is based on an analytical conceptual study with a deductive and inductive approach, where the influencing factors was generated through literature reviews. Comparison and analysis of existing theories were made to identify the influencing factors, based on the generated influencing factors a decision model for outsourcing was created. Findings – Results from the study shows that there are several factors that influence the outsourcing decision and can in summary be positioned as strategic and competitive factors and cost factors. The developed decision model for outsourcing consists of seven steps, where each step includes various analyzes and decisions, the seven steps are based on the factors that should be affected by outsourcing. Research limitations/implications – The results in this thesis are based only on theory. The model can still be generalized by being adaptable for different Organization. Practical implications – Decision model can be used to aid and support in an outsourcing decision. To facilitate the decision-maker and get an overview of the factors and costs that are affected by the outsourcing decision model can be used. With the decision model, the organization can analyze factors and costs to obtain a comprehensive decision-making. Originality – Since many organizations are making outsourcing decision wrongly without taking into account all the factors affected by the outsourcing decision. There is, in the authors' knowledge no complete decision model that highlights all the factors that may be affected by an outsourcing decision.

Die Studie baut in Ihrer Zielsetzung auf den Erkenntnissen aus der im Jahre 1999 am Institut für Soziologie durchgeführten Studie mit dem Titel "Die soziale Einbettung von Konsumentenentscheidungen" auf. In dieser Studie wurden in Form einer Pilotstudie erste Erkenntnisse über die systematische Nutzung sozialer Netzwerke für den Kauf von Vertrauensgütern durch Privatpersonen gewonnen. In Anlehnung an das vorhergehende Forschungsprojekt standen die folgenden Fragen im Vordergrund: • Werden soziale Netzwerke im Suchprozeß und bei der Kaufentscheidung von Vertrauensgütern genutzt, und wenn ja, welche Bedingungen beeinflussen das Ausmaß der Nutzung von sozialen Netzwerken? • Welche Effekte hat die Nutzung von sozialen Netzwerken im Hinblick auf Suchdauer und Kaufzufriedenheit? In Abwandlung zur vorhergehenden Studie wurden die Bereiche "Wahl einer Versicherung" und "Wahl eines Zahnarztes" durch die Bereiche "Wahl einer Krankenversicherung" und "Wahl eines Hausarztes" ersetzt bzw. spezifiziert. Aufbauend auf den Erfahrungen aus dem vorhergehenden Projekt sollten hierbei noch zusätzliche Parameter der Netzwerkbeschaffenheit mit erhoben werden, um einen tieferen Einblick in den Zusammenhang zwischen Netzwerkstruktur und -nutzung bei Konsumentscheidungen zu gewinnen.

Organic waste management presents challenges and opportunities alike for community-based economic development. Waste-to-compost transformation can be socially and economically successful by employing ecological design principles, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and values-based supply chains (VCs). An analysis of commercial buyers' preferences for compost will inform approaches to forming effective partnerships of public, private and nonprofit stakeholders to develop a market for local waste resource products. The thesis summarizes the results of a consumer preferences survey of current and prospective bulk compost purchasers and discusses strategies for implementing new organic waste management policies that will strengthen a local market for compost, build social capital and share economic value. A conjoint analysis of bulk compost preferences in Vermont was conducted to identify the market's preference for quality-based attributes of bulk compost. The data was taken from a survey administered by mail to Vermont business professionals in various fields that use--or could potentially use--compost products in providing goods or services. In addition to price (81 percent of the relative importance buyers place on an attribute), local provenance (8 percent) and suitability for organic production (7.6 percent) were demonstrated as statistically significant determinants of the value buyers placed on compost. Willingness to pay for local provenance and suitability for organic production were measured at 15% and 14% above the baseline product price, respectively. Current and prospective compost producers can effectively market their products and retain a competitive edge in the marketplace by collaborating with other businesses. A viable market for Vermont compost could be achieved through cultivation of niche specialties, stable institutional buyers, more stringent regulation of food waste and nutrient management behavior, and a collaborative effort to construct a product narrative that emphasizes compost's role in a larger social-ecological system of nutrient management and sustainable agriculture.

The term public procurement refers to a contract between public entity and private companies. The public procurement contracts are regulated by the Public Procurement Act, which specifies the rules under which the public procurement should be performed and sets conditions of award procedures of public contracts. The quality of execution of the award procedure influences the efficiency and the transparency of the contract. The award procedure can be executed by internal employees of the contractor or outsourced. The main aim of this thesis is to analyze whether the contractors behave rationally when they outsource the award procedure; this thesis evaluates the differences between an in-house administration and an outsourced administration in prices, efficiency in terms of number of bidders in the contract and probability of formal errors in the award procedure. The results of the analysis shows that small contractors behave rationally; when they administrate the award procedure in-house they tend to make more formal errors thus they outsource the procedure. On the other hand, the large contractors do not behave rationally, because they outsource the administration of award procedure even if all three indicators show that they administrate the procedure in-house more successfully. The behavior of...

Ziel dieses Projektes war es, in Form einer Pilotstudie erste Erkenntnisse über die systematische Nutzung sozialer Netzwerke für den Kauf von Vertrauensgütern durch Privatpersonen zu gewinnen. Hierbei stehen insbesondere zwei Fragen im Vordergrund: (1) Werden soziale Netzwerke im Suchprozeß und bei der Kaufentscheidung von Vertrauensgütern genutzt, und wenn ja, welche Bedingungen beeinflussen das Ausmaß der Nutzung von sozialen Netzwerken? (2) Welche Effekte hat die Nutzung von sozialen Netzwerken im Hinblick auf Suchdauer und Kaufzufriedenheit?

Private Konsumenten stehen häufig vor dem Problem, Vertrauensgüter wie Gebrauchtwagen, Wohnungen oder Pauschalreisen erwerben zu wollen. Als Vertrauensgüter werden Produkte und Dienstleistungen bezeichnet, über deren relevante Eigenschaften der Käufer erst nach dem Kauf durch den Gebrauch Informationen erhält. Im Mittelpunkt dieses Projekts steht die These, dass sich das Vertrauensproblem zwischen Käufer und Verkäufer außer durch den Rückgriff auf formelle Regelungen, wie sie z.B. durch die Gesetzgebung zur Verfügung stehen, auch durch die Nutzung sozialer Netzwerke lösen läßt. Die Einbettung der wirtschaftlichen Transaktion in einen sozialen Kontext ermöglicht dem Käufer, auf Erfahrungen Dritter mit diesem Produkt und/oder diesem Verkäufer zurückzugreifen. Zudem muß der Verkäufer im Falle falscher Versprechungen damit rechnen, einen schlechten Ruf zu erhalten. Die Wirksamkeit dieser Mechanismen ist unter anderem abhängig von den Eigenschaften des sozialen Netzwerkes wie Größe, Dichte oder Heterogenität. Handlungs- und netzwerktheoretische Konzepte erlauben die Ausarbeitung entsprechender Hypothesen, die im Rahmen einer regional begrenzten Pilotstudie getestet wurden. Die ersten Analysen mit den vorliegenden Daten bestätigen vor allem die Bedeutung von persönlichen Netzwerken bei der Wohnungssuche, der Auswahl einer Versicherung sowie der Suche nach einem Zahnarzt oder einem Reisebüro für Pauschalreisen. So geben beispielsweise 73,1% der Befragten an, dass Freunde, Bekannte oder die eigene Familie hilfreich oder sogar sehr hilfreich bei der Suche nach einer Wohnung waren. 45,2% gaben an, vor ihrem letzten Versicherungsabschluß als erstes Rat innerhalb ihres sozialen Netzwerkes gesucht zu haben, während sich nur 24,7% als erstes direkt an die Versicherungsgesellschaft wandten. Das Vorhandensein von Netzwerken, die aufgrund theoretischer Erwägungen für die Suche nach einem Vertrauensgut günstige Eigenschaften aufweisen, erleichtert oder verkürzt die Suche jedoch nicht generell. Für die Frage nach den Effekten der Nutzung von persönlichen Netzwerken für die Suche und Auswahl von Vertrauensgüter sind detailliertere Auswertungen sowie eine umfangreichere Datenbasis notwendig.

As drásticas reestruturações organizacionais originadas das transformações econômicas, sociais e políticas atuais, promoveram uma grande desintegração vertical das empresas industriais e o estabelecimento de uma rede de fornecedores com competências específicas para dar suporte às suas estratégias competitivas; a seleção e a contratação dos fornecedores adquiriu então um papel estratégico de compras na sua contribuição para a competitividade da empresa. A Teoria dos Custos de Transação serviu de base para o desenvolvimento de um quadro analítico, que foi complementado pelas abordagens teóricas da estratégia de compras e do processo de tomada de decisão na seleção dos fornecedores. Este quadro analítico foi utilizado e avaliado na investigação empírica fundamentada em múltiplos estudos de casos realizados em indústrias do setor industrial farmacêutico. Através de um questionário detalhado foram coletadas informações sobre os fatores utilizados pelas empresas na avaliação de seus potenciais fornecedores, o processo da tomada de decisão na seleção do fornecedor e no que este processo poderia contribuir estrategicamente para os diferenciais competitivos da empresa. A análise dos resultados obtidos permite concluir no âmbito das empresas pesquisadas, que os Custos de Transação podem ser utilizados na seleção de fornecedores de insumos farmacêuticos, pois os seus componentes permitem estabelecer uma diferenciação entre os fornecedores com relação aos custos envolvidos na sua contratação; contribuem para desenvolver diferenciais competitivos da empresa e aperfeiçoam o processo de tomada de decisão com relação aos fatores tradicionais: preço, prazo e quantidade. / The drastic organizational restructuration resulted from the economical, social and political actual transformation, have raised a large vertical desintegration on the industrial companies and the development of a vendors network with specific competencies to support their competitive strategies; the suppliers selection and contracting role became strategical on the purchasing function and the contribution to company competitiveness. The Transaction Costs Theory have given the support to the framework development, supplemented by the theoretical approaches on purchasing strategies and making decision process to suppliers selection. This framework was applied and checked on the empirical research, based on multiple cases study, that have accomplished on the pharmaceutical area industries. A detailed questionnaire was used to collect the information about: the factors used by the companies to evaluate their potential vendors, the making decision process to select the vendor and the strategical contribution this process can give to the company competitive differentials. The attained results analysis allowed us to conclude, on the researched companies extent, that the Transaction Costs can be used on the suppliers selection of the pharmaceutical companies because their components can; to produce a suppliers ranking based on the costs involved on the contracting process; to contribute for the competitive differentials development on the company and to improve the vendors selecting process related to the usual facts like: price, delivery and quantity.

Essa dissertação foi desenvolvida com o objetivo de responder ao seguinte problema de pesquisa: há indícios de que notas explicativas das demonstrações financeiras que sejam menos compreensíveis, na visão de profissionais de investimento, conduzem a custos de transação maiores no estabelecimento de contratos? Por custos de transação, entendem-se aqueles referentes à coleta de informações, os custos de negociação e os de estabelecimento de contratos (COASE, 1991). Uma informação de difícil compreensibilidade, portanto, seria um catalisador de novos custos de transação, trazendo ineficiências no estabelecimento de contratos futuros. Para atingir os objetivos desejados, foram distribuídos questionários aos profissionais de investimento no 22º Congresso APIMEC que foi realizado nos dias 30 a 31 de agosto de 2012. Do total de participantes, 54 pessoas responderam o mesmo. De modo geral, verificou-se que sob a situação de tempo escasso e um grande custo de decodificação das notas explicativas, o que aumenta os custos de transação, pode-se conjecturar que algumas análises estejam sendo feitas de modo ineficiente, o que poderia conduzir a ineficiências no estabelecimento de contratos futuros. Verificou-se também que há indícios de que há excesso de informações e não falta das mesmas, o que conduziria a problemas de informação imperfeita e não de informação incompleta (LOPES, 2008). / This dissertation was developed in order to answer the following research problem: Is there evidence that the explanatory notes in the financial statements that are less understandable, by the investment professionals point of view, lead to higher transaction costs in establishing contracts? For transaction costs, we understood those that are related to information collection, the costs of negotiating and establishing contracts (COASE, 1991). A difficult understandability of information would therefore be a catalyst of new transaction costs, bringing inefficiencies in establishing future contracts. To achieve the desired goals, questionnaires were distributed to investment professionals in 22º Congresso Apimec that was held on 30 to 31 August 2012. Of all participants, 54 people responded it. In general, it was found that under the situation of limited time and a large cost to decode the notes, which increases transaction costs, it can be conjectured that some analyzes are being done inefficiently, which might lead inefficiencies in the establishment of futures contracts. It was also found that there is evidence that there is too much information and not lack of them, which would lead to problems of imperfect information and not incomplete information (LOPES, 2008).

A terceirização, ou o processo de transferência de suas atividades, por parte das organizações, para terceiros, é uma prática utilizada há muito tempo e que vem se tornando mais comum. O mesmo também ocorre especificamente em relação às atividades da área de Tecnologia da Informação, desde o início da utilização dos computadores nas organizações até os dias atuais. Diversos são os motivos que levam as organizações a terceirizar, parcial ou totalmente, suas diferentes atividades e serviços na área de Tecnologia da Informação, sendo muitos deles associados à redução de custos, melhoria de qualidade e foco nas atividades essenciais da organização. Algumas teorias econômicas embasam as decisões de terceirização por parte das organizações, particularmente a economia dos custos de transação, custos de produção e teoria de agência. Esta tese tem como objetivo realizar um estudo exploratório sobre as formas de contratação e gerenciamento da terceirização de Tecnologia da Informação, bem como de fatores que influenciam a adoção dessas formas. A tese propõe um modelo, elaborado com base na literatura existente sobre o assunto, segundo o qual, determinados fatores econômicos e objetivos estratégicos das organizações influenciam na escolha de um modelo de gestão da terceirização. Além disso, o modelo propõe uma taxonomia para as formas de gestão da terceirização de Tecnologia da Informação, divididas em dois grupos: os modos de contratação e os modos de gerenciamento, e também analisa os relacionamentos específicos entre eles. A pesquisa utilizou uma amostra composta por 228 empresas, em sua maior parte indústrias, usuárias de serviços de Tecnologia da Informação, que participaram de um survey, através de um website na internet. Sobre os dados provenientes da amostra foram aplicadas várias técnicas estatísticas, como análise de correlação, análise de clusters e análise de variância, para validar as hipóteses do modelo. Os resultados obtidos confirmam o modelo de pesquisa parcialmente, comprovando os relacionamentos entre as formas de contratação e gerenciamento, porém, não permitindo conclusões definitivas sobre a influência de fatores econômicos e objetivos estratégicos na definição e escolha dos modelos de gestão. Dos relacionamentos entre as formas de contratação e gerenciamento é possível identificar um conjunto de três arranjos distintos, para a gestão da terceirização de TI pelas organizações. Além disso, são apresentados resultados e conclusões adicionais a respeito dos responsáveis pelo processo de terceirização, pelo orçamento de terceirização, quantidade e diversidade de serviços terceirizados e, ainda, sobre a satisfação com os resultados obtidos com a terceirização de serviços de TI. Dos relacionamentos entre as formas de contratação e gerenciamento é possível identificar um conjunto de três arranjos distintos, para a gestão da terceirização de TI pelas organizações. / Outsourcing, or the process of transferring activities to third parties has being underused for a long time and it is becoming a common practice. This is also true in the Information Technology area, ever since computers have been introduced in organizations. There are many reasons associated to the partial or total outsourcing of activities and services in Information Technology, many of them regarding cutting costs, quality improvement and focus on the organization core activities. Some economic theories support the outsourcing decisions such as transaction costs economics, production costs and the agency theory. The objective of this Thesis is to present an exploratory study regarding contracting and management models in Information Technology outsourcing, as well as, the factors that have being taken into consideration in the decision for such models. This Thesis proposes a model, based on the existing literature on the subject, in which companies specific economic factors and strategic objectives influence the choice for an outsourcing management model. Furthermore, the model proposes a taxonomy for the outsourcing management in Information Technology, divided into two groups: contracting and management models. It also analyses the specific relationship between them. The survey has collected information from 228 companies, most of them industries which use Information Technology services and that have answered a questionnaire in a Internet website. Some statistical methods have been applied on the collected sample data; such as, correlation analysis, cluster analysis and variance analysis in order to support the model hypothesis. The results partially confirm the research model, validating the relationship between contracting and management models. However, it was not possible to draw final conclusions on the influence of economic factors and strategic objectives in defining and choosing management models. From de relationships between contracting and management models it is possible to identify a set of three distinct groups for the management of Information Technology outsourcing in the organizations. Moreover, additional results and conclusions are presented regarding the responsibility for the outsourcing process, budgets, amount and diversity of outsourcing services, and, satisfaction with the outsourcing services results in Information Technology.

Por causa da presença de informações assimétricas e de problemas como seleção adversa e moral hazard, o meio rural é pouco atrativo para o sistema financeiro vigente. Os mecanismos de seleção e monitoramento de clientes exibem custos altos, e, podem interferir no desempenho econômico de instituições financeiras. As instituições devem ser eficientes, e, trabalhar com baixas taxas de juros, de inadimplência, e de custos de transação, para serem auto-sustentáveis. As cooperativas de crédito rural, que não visam lucros, exercem taxas de juros e tarifas inferiores às cobradas pelo mercado. Foi objetivo dessa pesquisa analisar a sustentabilidade financeira das cooperativas de crédito rural. Por meio da revisão bibliográfica de teorias econômicas, de trabalhos científicos sobre custos de transação e capital social, verificou-se que alguns custos de transação são menores para as cooperativas, se comparadas com outras instituições financeiras, já que são formadas por produtores rurais de certa região, amenizando os riscos de suas transações. Além disso, certas peculiaridades das cooperativas são minimizadoras de dispêndios operacionais. Foi proposto um modelo, adaptado da análise de desempenho econômico de instituições financeiras, para análises verticais e horizontais de contas dos Balanços Patrimoniais e de Demonstrações de Perdas e Sobras das cooperativas de crédito rural. No estudo de caso da Credicitrus, a sua aplicação foi eficaz e permitiu o diagnóstico detalhado da situação financeira da cooperativa, em estudo, identificando indicadores importantes para sua auto-suficiência. Concluiu-se que as cooperativas de crédito rural devem apresentar taxas de inadimplência baixas, evolução positiva nas captações de recursos junto aos associados e, sobras, para futuros investimentos. Notou-se que o indicador de rentabilidade sobre o patrimônio líquido deve ser adaptado para as cooperativas de crédito rural, pois essas organizações não visam o lucro. Por fim, a partir do indicador break ? even self sufficiency, que deve se situar acima de um, é possível verificar se a cooperativa é capaz de arcar com os seus dispêndios, a partir de seus ingressos, caracterizando-a como uma organização auto-sustentável, o que foi verificado no estudo de caso. Foi um estudo específico, porém, o método adaptado e utilizado é perfeitamente aplicável para as demais cooperativas de crédito rural. Assim, pode ser utilizado por outras organizações, pelas Centrais e pelo Sistema Cooperativo como um método padrão para analisar a sustentabilidade financeira das cooperativas. Como sugestão ainda, seriam interessantes estudos de sustentabilidade das cooperativas de crédito rural em um cenário macroeconômico com diminuição de taxas de juros, o que, geraria maior competição dessas organizações com as demais instituições financeiras no país. / Due to the presence of asymmetric information and problems such as adverse selection and moral hazard, the rural area is rather unattractive to the current financial system. The selection mechanisms and customers\' monitoring present high costs and they can interfere in the economic performance of financial institutions. With low transaction and operational costs, the institutions should be efficient and work with low interest rates and default, being selfsufficient. The cooperatives of rural credit which don\'t seek profits collect interest rates and inferior tariffs compared to those collected by the market. It was the objective of this research to analyze the financial sufficiency of the rural credit cooperatives. Through the bibliographical revision of economic theories, scientific papers on transaction costs and social capital, it was verified that some transaction costs are smaller for the cooperatives, if compared to other financial institutions, since they are formed by rural producers of a certain region, minimizing their risks of transactions. Besides, certain peculiarities of the cooperatives are minimizers of operational expenditures. A model was proposed, used in the economical performance analysis of financial institutions, for a case study of vertical and horizontal analyses of accounts of the Estate Balances and Demonstrations of Losses and Surpluses, which was adapted to the cooperatives of rural credit. Its applicability was effective since it allowed the detailed diagnosis of the Credicitrus case study, identifying important indicators for its self-sufficiency. It was concluded that the cooperatives of rural credit should present rates of low default, positive evolution in the receptions of resources from the associates and surpluses for futures investments. It was noticed that the profitability indicator on the net worth should be adapted to the cooperatives of rural credit, for they are not-for-profit organizations. Finally, based from the break-even self-sufficiency indicator that should be rated above one, it is possible to verify whether cooperative is capable of handling their expenditures with their own earnings, characterizing it as a self-sufficient organization, which was verified in the case study. However, It was a specific study, the adapted and used method is perfectly applicable for the other cooperatives of rural credit. Thus, it could be used by other organizations, by the Headquarters and by the Cooperative System as a standard method to analyze the financial sufficiency of the cooperatives. Still as a suggestion, studies of sufficiency of the cooperatives of rural credit in macroeconomic scenery with decrease of interest rates would be interesting, which would generate larger competition of those organizations with the other financial institutions in the country.