H παρούσα διατριβή προσφέρει, για πρώτη φορά, μια ολοκληρωμένη ανάλυση της επίδοσης των τραπεζών σε επίπεδο υποκαταστημάτων (branch level). Αξιολογήθηκε η επίδοση ενός ομοιογενούς δικτύου υποκαταστημάτων μεγάλης Ελληνικής Τράπεζας για την περίοδο Ιανουάριος 2006 - Ιούνιος 2009, στη βάση δύο λειτουργικών κριτηρίων, λαμβάνοντας υπόψη και την επίδραση της πρόσφατης κρίσης: στην αξία που παράγουν τα υποκαταστήματα για το μέτοχο της τράπεζας (shareholder value), όπως αυτή μετράται με το Υπολειμματικό Εισόδημα (residual income -RI), και στο βαθμό αποτελεσματικότητας κέρδους και παραγωγής (profit and production efficiency). Αναφορικά με τη διαχείριση της αξίας, βρέθηκε ότι οι λειτουργικοί παράγοντες αξίας (operational value drivers) που σχετίζονται με τη διαφοροποίηση του εισοδήματος, τη διαχείριση του ελεγχόμενου κόστους, την ικανότητα διαχείρισης του πιστωτικού κινδύνου, το spread των δανείων, και την ικανότητα του υποκαταστήματος να δημιουργεί έσοδα από καταθέσεις χαμηλού κόστους, συνδέονται στατιστικά σημαντικά με το RI. Η κρίση επηρεάζει στατιστικά σημαντικά μόνο τη διαχείριση του πιστωτικού κινδύνου, καταστρέφοντας περαιτέρω αξία για το μέτοχο και υποδεικνύοντας χαμηλότερη ικανότητα διαχείρισης του πιστωτικού κινδύνου. Επιπρόσθετα, αυτό το εμπειρικό εύρημα αποκαλύπτει και την αδυναμία του τρέχοντος λογιστικού πλαισίου σύμφωνα με το ΔΛΠ 39, να αναγνωρίζει και να καταγράφει νωρίτερα (την περίοδο της πιστωτικής ανάπτυξης) ζημιές απομείωσης της αξίας των δανείων. Όσον αφορά στη μέτρηση της αποτελεσματικότητας, βρέθηκε ότι η κρίση μειώνει στατιστικά σημαντικά μόνο τη μέση αποτελεσματικότητα κέρδους του δικτύου, απόρροια της χορήγησης κακών δανείων την περίοδο της πιστωτικής επέκτασης. / This thesis offers, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of the performance of banks at the branch level. We evaluated the performance of a homogenous retail branch network of a large private Greek bank for the period January 2006-June 2009, based on two operational criteria, taking into account the impact of the recent crisis: the shareholder value that branches generate as measured by the Residual Income (RI) and the profit and production efficiency in branch operations. Regarding the value management, we found that diversified income, cost management, credit risk capabilities, income on core deposits and loan spread are all statistically significant associated with the RI. In addition, the value driver of credit risk capabilities is incrementally negatively associated with residual income at the branch level during the recent crisis, indicating lower ability to manage credit risk. Moreover, this finding reveals the inability of the current accounting framework under IAS 39 to recognize and record earlier (in the expansion period) impaired loans. Regarding the efficiency measurement, we found that during the crisis only the average profit-oriented efficiency of the branch network reduced significantly. We located the roots of the efficiency loss in the expansion period, in which over-optimism leads to the granting of bad quality loans.

No contexto atual dos mercados globalizados, as empresas enfrentam uma competicao cada vez mais complexa na obtencao de capital. Para atrai-lo, elas precisam oferecer um retorno que remunere o risco assumido pelos investidores, ou seja, gerar valor. A Gestao Baseada no Valor defende a maximizacao de riqueza dos acionistas como a meta principal da organizacao. No Brasil, essa abordagem tem sido adotada de forma mais intensa na ultima decada, tornando evidente a necessidade de monitorar o valor da firma nessa economia. Nesse contexto, o objetivo deste estudo foi identificar os principais direcionadores de valor das empresas de capital aberto nao financeiras brasileiras, representadas pelas companhias com acoes negociadas na Bolsa de Valores de Sao Paulo (BM&FBOVESPA), no periodo de 2000 a 2009. Para isso, foram avaliados quais indicadores financeiros estavam mais relacionados a geracao de valor, representada pelo Valor Economico Agregado (VEA), de forma a serem considerados direcionadores desse em cada setor economico. As tecnicas estatísticas utilizadas para esse proposito foram: correlacao, teste t para diferenca de medias entre as empresas com VEA positivo e negativo, regressao multipla, regressao em painel e regressão logistica. Um dos principais resultados encontrados foi que pelo menos dois tercos dos indicadores financeiros utilizados para analise de empresas nao explicam a geracao de valor. Considerando o universo pesquisado, os indicadores financeiros significativamente relacionados a geracao de valor foram: retorno sobre o patrimonio liquido (ROE), retorno sobre o ativo (ROA), spread do acionista, margem bruta, margem liquida e giro do ativo, todos com coeficiente positivo, ou seja, com relacao direta com o VEA. Alem disso, na analise dos setores economicos, por suas caracteristicas especificas, foram encontradas divergencias entre os indicadores financeiros considerados direcionadores de valor. Em relacao ao desempenho das empresas no periodo de analise, observou-se que a maioria delas destruiu valor, ja que apenas 30% obtiveram valor economico agregado anual positivo. Porem, nao ha uniformidade entre os setores, pois as porcentagens medias variaram de 6,7% (setor textil) a 66,7% (setor de petroleo e gas). Outra contribuicao deste trabalho foi a avaliacao das diferencas na geracao de valor das empresas brasileiras antes e apos a crise do subprime. Como resultado tem-se que, embora o ano de 2009 tenha sido o segundo pior nesse quesito, nao foi encontrada diferenca significativa, no conjunto, entre os periodos antes e depois da crise, apesar das divergencias identificadas entre os setores. Esta pesquisa inova pela sua amplitude, ao utilizar um significativo numero de indicadores financeiros (33), que refletem o resultado de estrategias da empresa ligadas a estrutura de capital, rentabilidade, liquidez, operacao e investimento e, tambem, uma ampla base de dados (345 empresas, totalizando 2.205 relatorios anuais), abrangendo dez anos de analise em quinze setores economicos. Assim, espera-se que os resultados contribuam para subsidiar a tomada de decisao nas organizacoes, utilizando a abordagem da Gestao Baseada no Valor, bem como para auxiliar na selecao e monitoramento das empresas pelos investidores. / In the current context of globalized markets, the enterprises face a competition more and more complex in the capital obtainment. To attract it, they need to offer a return that rewards the risk taken by the investors, in other words, create value. The Value Based Management (VBM) defends the shareholders wealth maximization as the main goal of the firm. In Brazil, this approach has been adopted more intensively in the last decade, becoming evident the need of monitoring the business value in this economy. In this context, the objective of this study was to identify the main value drivers of non-financial publicly traded Brazilian companies, represented by the ones with shares traded in the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (BM&FBOVESPA), in the period from 2000 to 2009. For this purpose, it was evaluated which financial indicators were more associated to the value creation, represented by the Economic Value Added (EVAR), in a way that they could be considered value drivers in each economic sector. The statistical techniques used to obtain the results were: correlation, test t for mean differences between the firms with EVAR positive and negative, multiple regression, panel regression and logit model. One of the main results obtained was that at least two thirds of the financial indicators used for company analysis don\'t explain the value creation. Considering the universe studied, the financial indicators significantly related to the value creation were: return on equity (ROE), return on assets (ROA), shareholder spread, gross margin, net margin and asset turnover, all of them with positive coefficient, what means that they have direct relation with EVAR. Furthermore, in the analysis of the economic sectors, because of their specific features, it was found differences between the financial indicators considered value drivers. In relation to the companies\' performance in the period analyzed, it was observed that most of them destroyed value, since only 30% obtained positive annual economic value added. However, there is no uniformity between the sectors, because the average percentages varied from 6.7% (textile sector) to 66.7% (oil and gas sector). Another contribution of this assignment was the analysis of the differences in the Brazilian companies\' value creation before and after the subprime crisis. As a result, despite the fact that the year of 2009 had been the second worst in this criterion, it was found no significant difference, considering the whole sample, between the periods before and after the crisis. However, divergences were identified between the sectors. This research innovates for its extent, using a significant number of financial indicators (33), which reflect the result of the firm strategies connected to capital structure, profitability, liquidity, operation and investment, besides a wide database (345 companies, totalizing 2,205 annual reports), covering ten years of analysis in fifteen economic sectors. Therefore, it is expected that the results contribute to subsidize the decision making in the organizations, using the approach of Value Based Management, as well as to help the selection and monitoring of the firms by the investors.

Este trabalho procura ampliar os conhecimentos a respeito da influência do enfoque na geração do valor aos acionistas sobre as práticas de gestão de pessoas, com ênfase no ambiente da produção. Inicialmente, o trabalho resgata as origens e os fundamentos da concepção financeira e da concepção da geração de valor ao acionista das empresas, em que o principal foco é a valorização do preço das ações. Em seguida, é analisada a interface que estas concepções possuem com as práticas de gestão de pessoas, explorando o caráter bidirecional desta interface, uma vez que a função recursos humanos não só é influenciada pelas diretrizes das empresas, mas também é tida como uma das principais formas para ajudar a difundi-las, tendo em vista seu papel de agente de mudança de comportamento nas empresas. Neste sentido, são aprofundados três principais elementos que compõem, segundo a literatura, esta interface: a remuneração variável, gestão de desempenho e autonomia no trabalho. Por fim, é apresentado um estudo de casos múltiplos que busca verificar como a concepção financeira das empresas vem influenciando, de fato, estas práticas relacionadas à gestão de pessoas no nível da produção de organizações que atuam no Brasil, assim como o quanto estas práticas têm contribuído para a difusão da mentalidade de geração de valor ao acionista. O resultado deste estudo indica que, no plano conceitual, a influência da orientação à geração de valor ao acionista sobre as práticas de gestão de pessoas é nítida, mas que, na prática, ainda é pouco efetivada, apesar de mudanças já estarem ocorrendo nesta direção. / The objective of this paper is to increase knowledge about the influence of the shareholder value on people management practices, with emphasis on the production environment. Initially, the paper takes a step backwards to the origins and fundaments regarding the finance conception and the shareholder value conception of the firm, where the main focus resides in increasing share prices. The paper then goes on to analyze the interface that these concepts possess with people management practices, exploring the two-way nature of said interface, in view that the human resources function is not only influenced by company guidelines, but is also deemed one of the main forms for helping disseminate it, due to its role as a change agent of behaviors in companies. As such, it delves into the three main elements that, according to literature, comprise this interface: variable compensation, performance management and work autonomy. Lastly, the paper presents a multiple case study that aims to verify how the finance concept of companies has, in fact, been influencing these practices relating to people management at the production level of companies that operate in Brazil, as well as how much these practices have contributed to disseminate the shareholder value mentality. The result of this study shows that, at the conceptual level, the influence of shareholder value on people management practices is quite clear, but that in practice it is still used very little, despite changes that are already occurring in this sense.

This study analyzes the leadership practice of two experienced female leaders from the health care sector to understand their decision-making processes as it relates to their personal theorizing. Ineffective and unethical leadership in American business is a reality in today’s society. Organizations are in need of leaders who approach leadership from a paradigm which supports effective leadership practice. It is my assertion regarding this study that effective leadership may be connected to a leader’s values which impact their leadership practice and decision-making. This study relies on a conceptual and theoretical framework based in Cornett’s (1990) Naturalistic Decision Making Model. It is imperative to the development of healthy learning organizations that the relationships influencing a leader’s naturalistic decision-making be explored. At the time of this writing, no naturalistic collective case study research in the health care industry has been completed to relate a leader’s naturalistic decision-making or personal practical theories (PPTs) as defined by Cornett (1990). Furthermore, research has not been explored in a field outside of education regarding the formation of a leader’s PPTs and the relationship between a leader’s experiences and leadership practice. Study findings demonstrated that Cornett’s (1990) naturalistic decision-making model (NDM) is a useful heuristic for a health care leader’s reflective leadership practice. Health care leaders’ perceptions of leadership are systematically achieved through the process of reflective thought which the NDM assists in emerging. The NDM is an efficacious tool for personal and professional development. The constructs of this model were effective in allowing the health care leaders studied to reflect on their leadership practice and decision making. This research found that the collective theme amongst the participants was a value-based leadership paradigm. The data collected in this research project suggests that the PPTs of health care leaders are developed through their life experiences. They are described in the context of their core values and leadership personal and formal theorizing. They are understood through their life experiences, interactions with other leaders, and interactions with those around them. Discovering the relationships involved with a leader’s naturalistic decision-making is of great importance to the educational and health care communities. It has the potential to impact human resources policies and training leading to stronger and more effective organizations. Understanding this phenomenon may lead to more reflective and thoughtful decision-making among health care leaders. It has the potential to impact organizational policies, structure, training, commitment, and profits. This may lead to healthier and intrinsically motivated employees and more effective learning organizations.

Abstract Software and ICT companies fail due less to technological factors than socioorganizational factors, among which the most common is unrealistic goals and objectives. The socioorganizational factors are present in companies and organizations of all sizes. Organizations need to know whether their goals and strategies are working and whether the strategies are effectively providing a reasonable return on investment for the effort that is being applied, i.e. to understand how valuable they are for the organization. In addition, organizations need to recognize what the risks are in achieving those goals and evaluate their probability. And, when goals are set properly then they have directive and energizing functions, they tend to utilize available resources better and serve as activators of cognitive processes and knowledge sharing cycles. In this dissertation the GQM+Strategies approach was used. The approach was designed to help organizations to align goal-driven measurement schemes, i.e. GQM, with organizational goal hierarchy. The extensions developed in this dissertation (i.e., the solution proposed here) evolve the GQM+Strategies approach by providing an organization with capabilities to: (1) apply the work of value-based software engineering to directly address the return on investment (ROI) of their goals and strategies via evaluation of the costs and benefits of the goals and strategies chosen, (2) calculate a set of earned value metrics that allows organizations to effectively monitor the implementation of the organizational goals and strategies, (3) identify the risks associated with not achieving various sub-goals in a grid by analyzing goal risk exposures and acceptable risk levels, and (4) assess the threats of risky goals on other goals in the grid via evaluation of goal dependencies using the formal goal-strategies-goals models. The GQM+Strategies approach was piloted in four different organizations involving more than 60 participants. The feedback from the participants was used to identify the research questions posed in this dissertation. The research approach (solution development process) adopted the design science framework and utilized analytical and empirical paradigms in different phases of the solution development. The analytical paradigms were used for solution development and evaluation, while empirical paradigms where used for evaluating certain aspects of the solution. / Tiivistelmä Ohjelmisto- ja tietotekniikkayritysten epäonnistumiset johtuvat useimmin sosio-organisationaalisista tekijöistä kuin teknologisista tekijöistä. Näistä sosio-organisationaalisista tekijöistä yleisin on epärealististen tavoitteiden asettaminen. Sosio-organisatoriset tekijät ovat läsnä kaiken kokoisissa yrityksissä ja organisaatioissa. Organisaatioiden tulee tietää ovatko heidän tavoitteensa ja strategiansa toimivia ja tarjoavatko heidän strategiansa kohtuullisen tuoton suhteessa käytettyihin investointeihin. Toisin sanoen, organisaatioiden tulee ymmärtää kuinka arvokkaita heidän strategiansa ovat. Tämän lisäksi organisaatioiden täytyy kyetä tunnistamaan riskit asetettujen tavoitteiden saavuttamisessa sekä arvioimaan näiden riskien todennäköisyys. Kun tavoitteet on asetettu asianmukaisesti niillä on ohjaava ja energisoiva vaikutus. Ne sekä ohjaavat hyödyntämään tehokkaammin käytettävissä olevia rerursseja että toimivat kognitiivisten prosessien ja tiedonjakosyklien aktivaattoreina. Tässä väitöskirjassa käytettiin GQM+Strategies lähestymistapaa. Tämä lähestymistapa on suunniteltu auttamaan organisaatiota linjaamaan tavoitelähtöisiä mittausmenetelmiä, kuten GQM, organisaation tavoitehierarkian suhteen. Tässä väitöskirjassa esitetty laajennus kehittää GQM+Strategies lähestymistapaa tarjoamalla organisaatioille kyvykkyyksiä: (1) soveltaa arvoperustaisen ohjelmistotuotannon menetelmiä tavoitteiden ja strategioiden investoinnin tuottojen tarkasteluihin arvioimalla valittujen tavoitteiden ja strategioiden kustannuksia ja hyötyjä, (2) laskea joukko saavutetun arvon mittareita jotka mahdollistavat organisaatioille toteutettujen organisationaalisten tavoitteiden ja strategioiden tehokkaan seurannan, (3) identifioida riskejä jotka liittyvät eri alitavoitteiden saavuttamattomuuteen analysoimalla tavoiteriskeihin altistumista ja hyväksyttäviä riskitasoja ja (4) arvioida riskejä sisältävien tavoitteiden uhkia suhteessa muihin tavoitteisiin arvioimalla tavoitteiden riippuvuuksia käyttäen formaaleja tavoite-strategiat-tavoite -malleja. GQM+Strategies lähestymistapaa pilotoitiin neljässä organisaatiossa yhteensä yli 60 osallistujan kanssa. Tutkimuksen osallistujilta saatua palautetta käytettiin väitöskirjan tutkimuskysymysten identifiointiin. Tutkimuksen lähestymistavassa (ratkaisun kehittämisprosessi) sovellettiin design science -kehikkoa ja ratkaisun kehittämisen eri vaiheissa hyödynnettiin analyyttisiä ja empiirisiä paradigmoja. Analyyttisiä paradigmoja käytettiin ratkaisun kehittämisessä ja arvioinnissa ja empiirisiä paradigmoja ratkaisujen määrättyjen aspektien arvioinnissa.

共享經濟為近幾年廣為討論的議題之一，本研究欲以Uber、Airbnb等媒合共享服務類型的網路平台，探討使用者採用共享平台的相關因素為研究方向，從價值觀點出發，考量使用者認知犧牲及認知效益，以交易成本作為採用共享平台服務所認知的犧牲，又將認知的效益分為經濟效益與非經濟效益兩種影響層面，來綜合評估使用者對於整體共享產品服務的認知價值，透過認知價值進而探討影響使用者採用共享平台的參與意圖。其中，交易成本又會受到不確定性和資產特殊性所影響。 本研究將共享平台提供的產品及服務假設五種情境，共收集476份有效問卷樣本回收分析，研究結果發現，使用者採用共享平台時認知的交易成本越低或使用者認知利益越大時，獲得的認知價值越高。其中又以認知效益對於價值感受的影響程度又比使用者認知所做出的犧牲更強。 / Sharing economy is an emerging trend with rapid growth. Many firms such as Uber and Airbnb have taken advantage of the sharing platform to provide innovative services. However, many more have failed after a substantial amount of investment. Not much research has conducted with regard to why consumers chose to use some sharing services but not others. In this research, the value-based perspective and the transaction cost theory are adopted to build a research model for explaining users’ intention to accept a sharing platform. In our model, transaction costs of using the sharing platform is considered as a sacrifice, while economic and non-economic benefits are the benefit side of the model. Uncertainty and asset specificity are considered two main factors that affect the transaction cost. A questionnaire survey was conducted to evaluate the research model. A total of 476 responses were received. SmartPLS3.0 was used to analyzed the data. The results indicate that perceived value is negatively affected by the transaction cost and positively affected by benefits gained from the platform. Perceived value has a significant effect on users’ intention to adopt a service provided on a sharing platform.

I den föreliggande studien undersöker vi tre litterära verk med mångkulturellt tema och dess potential till arbete med värdegrundsfrågor i grundskolans årskurs 4–6. Syftet är att analysera hur karaktärer med annan etnicitet än den vita västerländska normen framställs. I studien analyseras tre populära litterära verk som vi har stött på under utbildningen, under vår praktik i verksamheten och som visat sig vara frekvent utlånade på Kalmar Stadsbibliotek. Till stöd använder vi teorier om kritisk litteracitet och främst Hilary Janks modell för att undersöka kategorier som makt, mångfald och design. Av de litterära verken visar det sig att etnisk mångfald uttrycks och kategoriseras på olika sätt, att individens möjligheter i samhället påverkas av namn och utseende med annan etnicitet samt att huvudkaraktärernas hemmiljö beskrivs på ett stereotypt sätt. Därefter undersöks resultatets didaktiska potential utifrån värdegrundsfrågor och hur dessa kan integreras med den valda litteraturen. Resultatet visar hur valda delar i verken kan vara fruktbara i arbete med den typ av värdegrundsfrågor som skrivs fram i styrdokumenten.

Le sentiment d’agentivité est défini comme le sentiment de contrôler nos actions, et à travers elles, les évènements du monde extérieur. Cet ensemble phénoménologique dépend de notre capacité d’apprendre les contingences entre nos actions et leurs résultats, et un algorithme classique pour modéliser cela vient du domaine de l’apprentissage par renforcement. Dans cette thèse, nous avons utilisé l’approche de modélisation cognitive pour étudier l’interaction entre agentivité et apprentissage par renforcement. Tout d’abord, les participants réalisant une tâche d’apprentissage par renforcement tendent à avoir plus d’agentivité. Cet effet est logique, étant donné que l’apprentissage par renforcement consiste à associer une action volontaire et sa conséquence. Mais nous avons aussi découvert que l’agentivité influence l’apprentissage de deux manières. Le mode par défaut pour apprendre des contingences action-conséquence est que nos actions ont toujours un pouvoir causal. De plus, simplement choisir une action change l’apprentissage de sa conséquence. En conclusion, l’agentivité et l’apprentissage par renforcement, deux piliers de la psychologie humaine, sont fortement liés. Contrairement à des ordinateurs, les humains veulent être en contrôle, et faire les bons choix, ce qui biaise notre aquisition d’information. / Sense of agency or subjective control can be defined by the feeling that we control our actions, and through them effects in the outside world. This cluster of experiences depend on the ability to learn action-outcome contingencies and a more classical algorithm to model this originates in the field of human reinforcementlearning. In this PhD thesis, we used the cognitive modeling approach to investigate further the interaction between perceived control and reinforcement learning. First, we saw that participants undergoing a reinforcement-learning task experienced higher agency; this influence of reinforcement learning on agency comes as no surprise, because reinforcement learning relies on linking a voluntary action and its outcome. But our results also suggest that agency influences reinforcement learning in two ways. We found that people learn actionoutcome contingencies based on a default assumption: their actions make a difference to the world. Finally, we also found that the mere fact of choosing freely shapes the learning processes following that decision. Our general conclusion is that agency and reinforcement learning, two fundamental fields of human psychology, are deeply intertwined. Contrary to machines, humans do care about being in control, or about making the right choice, and this results in integrating information in a one-sided way.

This paper addresses the design and comparison of indicators of traditional financial analysis and modern value indicators with a focus on business performance, and their subsequent application to a particular construction company. In the theoretical part there is characterized the construction company and its economic processes, next there are the concept of financial analysis defined and the proposed assessment indicators described, also procedure for calculating economic value added as a representative of modern value indicators is mentioned. In the practical part there are the proposed indicators being used to analyze the company INSTAV Hlinsko, a.s. and the results are evaluated at the end.

Unternehmen, die den organisierten Kapitalmarkt in Anspruch nehmen, steuern sich zunehmend und mehrheitlich nach den Methoden einer am Wert des Unternehmens ausgerichteten Unternehmensführung. Bei börsennotierten Unternehmen wurden bereits seit Mitte der 1990er Jahre empirische Untersuchungen zum Stand der Anwendung wertorientierter Unternehmensführungsmethoden durchgeführt. Für deutsche, mittelständische Unternehmen existieren diesbezüglich noch keine Untersuchungen. 2.000 mittels einer geschichteten Zufalls-stichprobe ausgewählte Unternehmen wurden mit Hilfe einer strukturierten schriftlichen Befragung danach untersucht, wie weit eine wertorientierte Denkhaltung und die verschiedenen Facetten der wertorientierten Unternehmensführung in mittelständischen Unternehmen verbreitet sind und was wesentliche Einflussfaktoren, die den Einsatz wertorientierter Methoden fördern bzw. hemmen darstellen. Auf der Basis von 307 auswertbaren Fragebögen (Rücklauf-quote 15,4 %) können wertvolle Ergebnisse zur Einstellung des Managements bzw. der Ei-gentümer zur wertorientierten Steuerung, zu eingesetzten Methoden und zur Verzahnung mit anderen Managementsystemen gewonnen werden. / Companies using the organized capital market are increasingly and dominantly controlled by management methods that focus on a company’s value. Already since the mid-1990s empirical studies have been conducted about the dispersion of value-based management methods in listed companies. But, there have been no such studies of German SMEs. In our study, 2,000 German small- and medium-sized companies randomly selected through a stratified sample are investigated by using a standardized written questionnaire to receive information about the dispersion of value-orientated attitudes, application of value-based management methods, and factors of influence supporting or hindering the diffusion of value-based management in German SMEs. Based on 307 usable questionnaires (response rate 15.4 %) valuable insights have been gained into the attitudes of managers and owners about value based management, applied methods, and interconnections with other management systems.