Die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit ist von einigen Wirtschaftswissenschaftlern lediglich als ein Schlagwort betrachtet worden, weil es keinen Konsens darüber gibt, wie dieses Allerweltswort zu definieren ist. Jedoch wird es häufig von Politikern und Geschäftsleuten benutzt, um die Position von Ländern, Sektoren, Firmen und/oder Produkten im internationalen Handel zu beschreiben. Aus diesem Grund befürwortet eine weitere Gruppe von Wirtschaftswissenschaftlern eine Verwendung des Begriffs mit der Absicht, dadurch die Defizite der klassischen Außenhandelstheorie und der Theorie des Komparativen Vorteils aufzufangen. Diese Dissertation unterstützt diese zweite Gruppe, indem die Theorie der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit auf eine bestimmte Fallstudie angewendet wird: die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit des Bananenexports ausgewählter Hersteller- bzw. Exportländer in die Europäische Union.Die vorliegende Studie ist des weiteren ein Beitrag zur Debatte über die Auswirkungen der Handelspolitik auf den Agrarsektor, insbesondere in Entwicklungsländern. Sie besteht aus zwei Teilen und vier Kapiteln. Im ersten Teil (die ersten beiden Kapitel) wird der theoretische Rahmen für die Theorie der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und die Handelspolitik dargestellt. Im zweiten Teil (das dritte und vierte Kapitel) wird eine empirische Studie über den Bananenhandel durchgeführt, wobei mit dem cluster-value chain Modell die Bedingungen der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit analysiert werden. Das weiteren werden anhand eines partial equilibrium Modells die Auswirkungen der Handelspolitik auf die Marktanteile von Hersteller- bzw. Exportländern analysiert. Die theoretische und empirische Analyse der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit stützten folgende Hypothese: Die Handelspolitik ist lediglich einer von zahlreichen Faktoren, die bei der Analyse der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von Bananenexporten in Betracht gezogen werden müssen.

Thesis (M.Sc. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Agriculture plays a significant role also serves as a critical economic sector in Limpopo province in terms of its contribution to the economy, and the number of employment opportunities it produces within local communities. The majority of people involved in agricultural practices are emerging farmers and smallholder/small scale farmers. These farmers try to earn a living from the production of livestock, broilers, fruits & vegetables, and cereals. Cowpea is a drought-tolerant legume that also serves as a staple food for the majority of Africans alongside maize and other typical staple foods consumed by most Africans. The crop is regarded as a key protein source for urban and rural poor, and plays an important role as a cash crop. Despite several nutritional benefits, economic importance and welfare enhancing potential of cowpea, farmers still do not have sufficient information on knowledge about the value that can be added to their cowpea production also the potential and competitiveness of this traditional leafy vegetable. The aim of the study was to map the value chain and determine the marketing efficiency of smallholder cowpea farmers in Capricorn and Waterberg districts of Limpopo province. The specific objectives were to: identify and describe socioeconomic characteristics of smallholder cowpea farmers in Capricorn and Waterberg districts of Limpopo province, identify and define the participants along the cowpea value chain and identify marketing constraints among smallholder cowpea farmers. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 80 smallholder cowpea farmers in Ga-Molepo of Capricorn district and Bela-Bela of Waterberg district using purposive sampling technique. Value chain mapping, descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression model were used in addressing the objectives. In identifying and defining the participants along the cowpea value chain, a value chain map was constructed to show the different stages cowpea goes through before reaching the final consumer. Two null hypotheses were formulated. The first hypothesis that stated smallholder cowpea farmers were inefficient in marketing cowpea was rejected. Marketing efficiency measure used to determine each farmer’s marketing efficiency revealed that 66% of smallholder cowpea farmers were efficient. The determinants of marketing efficiency were examined using binary logistic regression model. The second hypothesis stated that socioeconomic characteristics of smallholder cowpea farmers have no effect on the marketing efficiency. The v hypothesis was also rejected based on binary logistic results that revealed that age, household size, years in schooling, years in farming cowpea, income generated from selling cowpea, quantities of cowpea sold and occupation of the farmers were found to be significant in determining marketing efficiency of smallholder cowpea farmers. Pests, lack of access to formal markets and lack of information on how to process cowpea were major constraints farmers were faced with. It was recommended that value chain analysts, policy makers and extension workers together with other stakeholders assist in ensuring that food value chain relationships are established so that market opportunities can be created for smallholder cowpea farmers. In addition, farmer schools need to be introduced in rural areas were agricultural practices are dominant. At these schools, farmers can be taught about basic knowledge relating to agricultural production. Training should also be given to farmers on adopting technology as it can potentially assist in making production more efficient. / Water Research Commission (WRC)

Den textila industrin är en av världens största industrier, en resurskrävande industri med komplicerade och förorenande processer. Processer som innefattar flera olika steg, från råmaterial till färdig produkt. Detta gäller för alla textila produkter vare sig det handlar om klädesplagg inom fast fashion, eller teknisk textila produkter. Varje steg i processen har en inverkan på miljön och kan även ske på olika geografiska platser runt om i världen. Fast fashion-industrin karaktäriseras av korta produktlivslängder, hög instabilitet och låga priser, vilket direkt kopplas till negativ miljöpåverkan. Enligt konsumenter är kvaliteten på klädesplagg idag bristfällig och det är en stor anledning till varför många använder sina plagg endast ett fåtal gånger. Denna studie undersöker om och hur man kan identifiera livslängden på fyra olika grövre trikåkvaliteter, samt undersöka om förbättringsförslag kan ges för att öka livslängden på dessa. Undersökningen har innefattat kvantitativa metoder genom en enkätstudie där 100 personer deltagit, samt standardiserade testmetoder. I enkätundersökningen fick respondenterna redogöra kvalitetsbrister och användarbeteende. Detta har fungerat som riktlinjer till en metodplan för att simulera användning. Enkätens resultat visade att störst kvalitetsbrister och anledning till att plagg slutar användas främst berodde på grund av noppbildning, slitage genom nötning och dimensionsförändringar. Därmed har metodval för standardiserade tester valts inom dessa parametrar. Detta med 15 tvättcykler mellan testningarna för att simulera två års användning. Mätningar har även jämförts mot kvaliteternas kravspecifikation. Testernas resultat visade att samtliga kvaliteter har en bra beständighet mot nötning, i förhållande till dess kravspecifikation. Samma gällde för resultaten inom dimensionsstabilitet, dock med mycket varierande dimensionsförändringar på olika områden. Vid test av benägenhet till att bilda noppor, klarade endast hälften av kvaliteterna kravspecifikationens villkor. Dessa resultat gäller både innan och efter 15 tvättcykler. Förbättringsförslag för en förhöjd kvalitetsstandard, därmed förlängd livslängd, var svårt bestämma utifrån den information till kvaliteterna som fanns att tillgå. Resultat visade att fibertyp, fibertjocklek, spinnmetod, garnkonstruktion, bindning, masklängd samt delning på stickmaskin är alla parametrar som avgör slutproduktens kvalitet. Olika tekniker för samtliga parametrar medför olika egenskaper som bestämmer slutkvaliteten. I brist på information om värden för nämnda parametrar var förbättringsförslag ej möjliga att bestämma. / The textile industry is one of the world's largest industries, a resource-intensive industry with complicated and polluting processes. Processes that include several different steps, from raw material to final product. Which applies for all textile products, whether it is clothing in fast fashion or other textile products. Each step in the process has an impact on the environment and many of them take place indifferent geographical locations around the world. The fast-fashion industry is characterized by short product lifetimes, high instability, and lower prices, which directly links to negative environmental impacts. According to consumers, the quality of today's clothing has a major deficiency and is a major reason why many people only use their garments a few times before discarding them. This study examines how to identify the lifespan of four different coarser knitted sweaters, but also investigate if it is possible to provide improvement suggestions on how to increase the longevity. The project includes quantitative methods through a survey which has been done by 100 people, and standardized tests. Within the survey the respondents were asked to report quality deficiencies and care behavior. Which has served as guidelines for choice of methods to simulate use of clothing. The results of the survey showed that greatest quality deficiencies and reasons why garments stop being used were mainly due to pilling formation, wear due to abrasion and dimensional changes. Thus, choices of methods for standardized tests were chosen to test within these parameters. This with 15 wash cycles between tests to simulate two years of use. Results have also been compared to the garment requirement specifications. The test results showed that all garment samples had good resistance to abrasion, in relation to the requirement specifications. The same applies to the results within the dimensional stability, however, dimensional changes vary a lot in different areas. The results apply both before and after 15 wash cycles. Suggestions for improvement for an increased quality standard, for increased longevity, were difficult to determine based on the limited information provided regarding the garments. Results showed that fiber type, fiber thickness, spinning method, yarn construction, knit structure, loop size and gauge of the knitting machine are all parameters that influence the quality of the final product. Different techniques for all parameters result in different properties that determine the final quality and the longevity for the product. The lack of specific information needed for the parameters mentioned, suggestions for improvement were not possible to determine.

The electric grid is undergoing significant changes to meet challenges of improved load control and increased generation from renewables, as well as provision of new services. The main goal of this work is to study the impact of grid’s smartening on the electricity value chain. For this, we built a model to assess investments to come on the grid during the period 2010-2030, both on traditional equipments such as lines and substations and on smartening elements. According to the French example, yearly investments would double on average in the twenty years to come compared to 2010. In the three countries considered in this study, namely France, Italy and Sweden, most investments (between 61% and 76%) occur on the distribution area. Moreover, investments on traditional equipment stand for the lion’s share (68% to 80%) of the total, even if they are partly made possible by the smaller investments on smartening elements, which enable the network to be better controlled. The share of investments on smartening elements is 2.6 to 3.1 times higher on the distribution side than on the transmission side: this denotes the fact that the needed increase in control on the grid is larger on distribution than on transmission. Differences may exist between countries regarding forecasted investments and are mainly due to the number of customers, grid’s size and the chosen generation mix. The study ends with a discussion on the repartition of the value brought by forecasted investments between traditional stakeholders and players that may appear on markets driven by new business models.

As the fast development of mobile communication technology, mobile value added service (VAS) kept booming, the maturation of the mobile payment solutions also promoted the industry to become more consummate and profitable. As the cost of duplicating e-products is low while the return on investment is considerable high in this industry, many mobile VAS company are searching for bigger and challenging market such as China. The general aim of this thesis project is to provide practical solutions for these companies to successfully enter into the Chinese market. To fulfill this goal, the thesis studied behavior patterns of Chinese mobile VAS users by questionnaires, results indicated that variables and factors assessed in this study can significantly affect customers’ consume behaviours. Furthermore feasible business models and corresponding cooperative strategies were proposed and discussed in perspectives of value network, profitability and product control, which are tightly correlated to the commercialization of product. Moreover, this thesis introduced different marketing strategies to support the implementation of business models and introduced open and closed innovation conceptions for strategic development of mobile VAS companies’ growth in future.

Indian IT companies have garnered a good market share in the global IT servicesmarket. Research has been emerging on the competitiveness of the Indian IT industryand the opportunities which led to the success of the Indian IT industry. However,considering the current challenges posed to the Indian IT industry, Indian IT companieshave to move up in the value chain and achieve technology led catch-up with theincumbents to maintain the market share in a highly competitive market. The first part of this study investigates the windows of opportunities created by technoeconomic paradigm shifts and discontinuities that will help the Indian IT companies tomove up in the value chain. To capitalize on the opportunities, Indian IT companieshave to improve their innovation efforts. In the second part of this study, certaindeterminants which improve the ideation capability of the organization are investigatedin the Indian IT companies and its effects are discussed. The report also discussesvarious strategies that can be employed by the Indian IT companies to capitalize on theopportunities and to achieve technology led catch-up.

Globalization and increased growth in international value chains has brought great benefits to developing countries but have at the same time contributed to negative consequences related to human rights violations. Against this background and as a result of increased awareness, companies have been encouraged to take responsibility for their value chain and a framework for due diligence was adopted in 2011 with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The UNGP introduced the first global standard of due diligence and created a non-binding framework for companies to take responsibility and to respect human rights. However, the voluntary aspect of the due diligence process has not had the desired effect as the voluntary approach has had a limited impact on preventing business-related human rights violations. This has been a factor in increasing legislative initiatives around the world, with the aim of establishing clear and binding rules to ensure responsible and sustainable business conduct. The purpose of the study is to examine the EU's legislative initiative on mandatory human rights due diligence through an ideational analysis. The further purpose is to investigate how and what the introduction of a new legislation can imply for the prevention of human rights violations in the value chain and how the accountability can be expressed. The thesis finds that the legislative initiative can be considered to have an overall positive impact to prevent and demand accountability for human rights violations in global value chains.

Global goals to reduce the greenhouse gases and CO2 emission has challenged many industries to innovate new technologies or shift to different products. Electrification of transportation has been considered a major improvement in this respect, which affects the entire transportation value chain including the manufacturing of heavy-duty vehicles. The importance and degree of changes that shifting toward electrification imposes on the truck manufactures value chain is subject to the study with a focus on the production stage of the value chain. The research also creates some insights to understand the sources of competitive advantage in the production of BEV.    Based on the authors’ knowledge and investigations, the contribution of this study in the research field is that the concept of the value chain together with Delphi method is implemented for the first time in the BEV industry to identify the impact of technology transformation on the production activities and competitive advantage. Furthermore, it contributes to highlight the unclarities in the BEV value chain activities that need more researches in order to create a more clear technology transformation path for the heavy-duty vehicle industry. The research findings imply that electrification has a big impact on the production value chain activities. The number of employees will be reduced that in turn creates a source of cost advantage for the company by reducing the cost per vehicle production. The assembly time is also shorter that makes it easier to respond to the market dynamic faster and reduces the cost of products storage. However, the risk for production stops is considered higher in BEV compare to ICE vehicles. Another finding is that the outsourcing of the components has a negative effect on the competitive advantage of the company and production efficiency. There is no difference between the impact of production activities on the company value chain in both BEV and ICE manufacturing. There is also a consensus on the more opportunities in BEV manufacturing to increase the production efficiency and lowering the cost.

Assessing food losses and waste in the tomato and carrot value chain in Sweden is essential for achieving sustainable development.  This study uses a mixed method to analyze the extent of food loss and waste along the tomato and carrot value chain and related causing factors. It identifies reduction opportunities for enhancing the food system's sustainability. The study collected primary data from household consumers and retailers using a Google questionnaire. In addition, it also gathered secondary data from academic journals and public and private organizations' reports covering agricultural production, retailers, and consumption stages. In agricultural tomato production, food loss ranges from 1% to 20-25% of the total production. Meanwhile, carrot food loss ranges from 25-28% to a maximum of 58%. It has been observed that a percentage of approximately 1-2% of the total retail sales of tomatoes and carrots result in wastage weekly. This phenomenon is observed across carrot and tomato consumers at the household level. From the primary data analysis remark, food wastage in the supply chain for tomatoes and carrots varies across stages. The top causes are expiration dates and contamination factors, followed by inadequate packaging, with both responsible for 40% of wastage at the retail stage. Many factors contribute to food waste at the consumption level, including spoilage, leftovers, poor quality, and over-purchasing. These factors were confirmed to account for 42.1%, 33.3%, 28.6%, and 27.8% of food waste, respectively. Metadata analysis identified various causes of food waste, including natural factors, product-specific issues, supply chain challenges, operational processes, infrastructure and equipment, and behavioural factors. To effectively reduce food waste, it is crucial to implement strategies that address the root causes of the problem. These include avoiding excessive purchases, changing consumption habits, educating consumers, and understanding labelling terms: management strategies, technology, and quality-related dimensions. To sustain the vegetable value chain, it is vital to prevent food waste through policies, establish effective management strategies, and invest in innovative technology.

The Swedish game industry has seen tremendous growth and a global impact in the market. Despite the successes there is a lack of research on the matter. By exploring the global value chains of game companies in Skövde (a game industry hub in Sweden) the thesis intends to generate understanding of and map out value chain paths along with identifying critical factors for future growth and maintenance of the leading position in the market. A comprehensive overview of the industry cluster case of Skövde has been achieved through the use of semi-structured interviews with six local game companies. As a result of the study confirmation and extension of the thesis grand theory, the GVC literature, was achieved. A number of critical factors for practical utilization were identified, specifically the relationship with the publisher, the developer’s passion for the project & creative freedom together with contacts in the industry.  A number of scientific contributions have been made through our research. By exploring the GVC in a previously under-researched context we have made a contribution by confirming previous theory as well as laying a base for future research and an extension of the literature in the institutional context-section of the GVC literature. The critical factors findings have the potential of a direct impact on the practical management of the business side of the industry. Finally, as a result of the discovery of close connections with the Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA), Resource Dependency Theory (RDT) and Relational Exchange Theory (RET) theories we have laid the groundwork for future research in these areas as well. / Den svenska spelindustrin har sett en stor tillväxt och har en påverkan på den globala marknaden. Trots framgångarna råder en brist på forskning inom området. Genom att utforska den globala värdekedjan hos spelföretag i Skövde (ett nav för spelindustrin i Sverige) ämnar studien att generera en förståelse av och att kartlägga den globala värdekedjan samt identifiera kritiska faktorer för framtida tillväxt och upprätthållandet av den ledande positionen i marknaden. En omfattande översikt av industri-klustret i Skövde har uppnåtts genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex lokala spelföretag. Som resultat av studien har uppsatsens bas-teori, GVC-litteraturen, bekräftats och utvidgats. Ett antal kritiska faktorer för praktisk användning identifierades, specifikt relationen med publiceraren, utvecklarnas passion för projektet & kreativ frihet tillsammans med kontakter inom industrin. Ett antal teoretiska bidrag har frambringats genom vår forskning. Genom att undersöka GVC i en tidigare underforskad kontext har vi bidragit genom att bekräfta tidigare teori samt lagt grunden för framtida forskning och utvidgning av det institutionella kontextavsnittet inom GVC-litteraturen. Upptäckten av de kritiska faktorerna har potential för en direkt inverkan på den praktiska förvaltningen av industrins affärssida. Slutligen, som ett resultat av studien upptäckte vi nära anknytningar med teorier som Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA), Resource Dependency Theory (RDT) and Relational Exchange Theory (RET) vilket innebär att vi lagt en grund för framtida forskning även inom dessa områden.