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Course of studies
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This study examines growth adventure of Turkey and South Korea that both tried to narrow the economical gap between them and developed countries. Although Turkey was in a better situation than South Korea in the beginning of their convergence experience, and they had similar growth and development levels at the end of 1950s, South Korea outperformed Turkey in almost every economic indicator and realized an economic miracle in a very short time. As South Korea is one of developed countries now and Turkey is still in the league of developing countries trying to be a developed one, South Korea model, is worth to be analyzed in detail. In this paper, the similarities and differences in South Korea’s and Turkey’s economic history, the comparison of their long term growth performance and the reasons why Turkey could not accomplish what South Korea did in the similar period of time, were put together in order to find answers to question of applicability of South Korean economic miracle to other economies, along with the question whether it was indeed a miracle. While comparing two countries, existing literature and similar studies were scanned. With the help of both qualitative and quantitative historical data, common issues of comparison, namely policies, international trade, education and innovation, were selected and these issues were analyzed deeper. In the last part of the study, a simple econometric model was built by using OLS regression, in order to see if the presented ideas could be supported with econometric approach. Although model did not provide enough information about reasons of growth in South Korean economy, the findings confirmed the problems of Turkish economy and success of South Korean economy. This study is a contribution to a broader understanding of comparison of two economies, which is an issue that attracts attention of several related people, especially in Turkey.
This thesis is based upon an interest in the field of neuromarketing and a desire to depict which is the most advisable strategy to implement in a situation, where there is a potential introduction of a methodology coming from that field in a new / foreign market. Special emphasis is put on the market entry strategy (modes of entry and marketing strategy).
At the beginning of the thesis, there is a brief inspection of the neuromarketing field according to the nowadays situation that lead to the creation of a methodology, which is called neuromerchandising®. This methodology is the competitive advantage of a German consultant company called neuromerchandisinggroup GmbH&Co.KG. With this patented methodology, this consultant company provides strategic solutions to numerous companies mainly in the field of retail.
The main purpose of the thesis is to define which are the decisions to be made while introducing this methodology to a foreign country and in particular to Greece, in order to improve the Greek retail situation.
This thesis provides an analysis of the tools necessary to speculate whether Greece is the appropriate country to introduce this methodology. After this analysis, the thesis provides solutions of the potential market entry strategy putting emphasis on the marketing strategy of introducing this methodology.
Internal documentation of this company, market reports and analyses are used to provide a professional framework of the dynamic capabilities in the venture of introducing this methodology to Greece.
The study seeks for empirical evidence supporting the presence of weak form ans semi-strong form efficiency on the Vietnamese stock market. The sample includes the daily closing value of VN-index from 9th April 2009 to 3rd of December 2014. The results from both parametric and non-parametric tests provide the evidence, which implies the weak form efficiency in the Vietnamese stock market during the recent period from 4th June 2012 to 3rd December 2014. This period is used for testing the semi-strong form efficiency on the Vietnamese stock market. The results from event study do not support the semi-strong form efficiency in the Vietnamese stock market. The empirical evidence shows a delayed reaction of nine pharmaceutical companies' stock prices toward the earnings, dividend, insider trading and regulatory announcements. The findings in this paper are crucial for investors, analysts, academicians, regulators and the development of the Vietnamese stock market.
Sustainability is a megatrend and has been a topic of great interest for decades. Even though, industrialization came forth with genius and profitable businesses it almost never took into consideration the value of natural capital and sustainability. According to a 2017 report by the UN, there are more than 51 trillion microplastic particles in the sea, more than 500 times the number of stars in the Milky Way. With the depletion of natural resources, increasing consumer education and the need for a better future the world has been prompted to take solid steps to control the menace that could be climate change and unsustainability. This paper makes an effort to understand the effect that sustainable marketing practices have on the profitability of an organization. The case studies of the three famous athleisure brands provides an insight into how sustainability can help companies drive towards a profitable and a circular future.
This study aims to deliver a strategic and systematic analysis about the consumer loans banking business with the integration of industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 itself comprise of a lot of things in regards of advance technology being used in order to create more value to the company. The purpose of this study also determine which components of industry 4.0 are suitable and applicable in the consumer loans banking business. This thesis uses secondary data as a primary resource to provide research objective. The secondary data collected through the use of published journal literature as well as the academic literatures. The research starts by providing the general information and literature about the consumer loans banking business and the industry 4.0 as well. Following by the reason why the consumer loans banking business need the technological advancement of industry 4.0. Next, this thesis also gathers the quantitative data related to financial measurement to provide more understanding the consumer loans banking business. The analysis is carry out by using the three level of environmental analysist segmentation in which commonly use for the industry analysis. The first factor is the PEST analysis, it resembling the external factor of the industry, second is the Porter’s five forces to explaining the operating forces within the industry, the third is the value chain analysis. The findings of this thesis pose important implication for bank consumer loans business stakeholders with the purpose to integrate or related to industry 4.0 technological advancement, providing enough information about the keys factor and analysis behind the industry.
The aim of this study consists oftwo main objectives: First,to investigatethe penetration and preferences of fintech solutions from the payments sector within the studied population, as well as the elaboration of a forecast for the upcoming years.Second, to examinethe main elements that influence the intention of young customers when deciding to adopt fintech-basedpayment solutions. Existing research has tested several factorsfrom which the variables of trust, transaction efficiency and ease of use are included onthis paper. Additionally,the value-added propositionfrom this studyis represented by the incorporation of sustainability-related purposes into thisanalysiswith the intention of reflecting the increasing presence of efforts to integrate this component within thefinancial industryin recent years.A research model is proposed and tested by including elements based on theTechnology Adoption Model (TAM). By exploring the results of primary data through asurvey with 463 responses from university studentsandexamining secondary sourcesof information, the findings of this study demonstratethat all four tested variables have a positive impact on the intention of using fintech-based payment solutions.Sustainability-related purposes do not play a major role in the decision of using these apps, however, even with a minimal influence, theeffect on intention is positiveand statistically significant. The findings of this study pose important implications for stakeholders within the fintech spectrum whose purposes are related to increasing the intention of young consumers towards using these productsandto provide enoughevidence of the importance of designing incentives that fuel sustainability stewardshipwithin the financial sector.
The current master thesis makes an effort to investigate relationships between perceived service quality, membership satisfaction, and membership loyalty at “Gesellschaft für technische Kommunikation – tekom Deutschland e.V.”, applying adjusted SERVQUAL model. To attain the formulated objectives in scope of the current research, the “Satisfaction – Profit Chain” model is applied, consisting of “Attribute Performance”, represented by SERVQUAL service quality dimensions supposed to serve as antecedent of the second component of the chain “Membership Satisfaction”, and “Membership Loyalty” in order to investigate relations between these three. The findings of the study are supposed to serve as a basis for altering the existing CRM Strategy in order to eliminate current issues within the association, develop strategic marketing capabilities, and create value for members’ attraction and retention.
The present thesis performs an actuarial work that intends to understand the premiums, expenses, and claims, including the reserves considered the most important technical variables in an insurance company. The company is located in Colombia and the work will be performed in 2 branches: Compliance and Liability.
The objective of the thesis has been set as to define and measure a claim ratio after remarking a lack of an indicator that describes the 3 most important technical variables altogether in the company. It has also defined to assess the current methodology that calculates the reserves for the claims occurred but currently unknown by the insurance company under the premise that there is a very low level of observed claims in the history of the company in both branches.
All the methodologies defined, assessed, and performed in this thesis have been compared to other methodologies implemented in journals, research papers and articles to align the conclusions and take the best practices from actuarial works previously done. They all also considered to keep homogeneous results that was considered as a very important achievement even by other sources.
A new methodology has been defined to calculate expenses related to administration, the ones used in the reserves and the ones related to claims. The new expenses level was used in 2021 and an impact of a tremendous increase in premiums was observed the same year as a reaction of the decrease in policy prices.
The conclusions derived from the work was to continue with the current methodology to calculate the incurred but not reported claims reserve according to the instability seen in the Chain-Ladder methodology until more homogeneous result could be seen that yield to a higher level of credibility.
Finally, among many possible claim ratios defined, a paid claim ratio has been considered. It includes the whole variables inside the premiums of the company and the most important variables inside the claims that were the claims paid and the proportional and non-proportional reinsurance effect.
The present research sought to deepen the debates about how the collector of recyclable material, a subject that has built his political resistance in the Brazilian scenario from the process of re-signification of garbage and his profession. Its empowerment observed from the end of the 20th century was concomitant with the growth of environmental discussions and the strengthening of the solidarity economy as an alternative for economic emancipation in Brazil. In this context, the individual who used to live on the margins of society established himself as a fundamental factor in the recycling chain and became an environmental agent. The question that guided the investigation was "how has the pandemic influenced waste pickers' solidarity organizations, given their challenges and opportunities?". In this context, two specific objectives were determined to be answered in the course of the research. The first sought to understand the relationship between the solidarity economy and the formation of waste picker collectives; the second aimed to identify the challenges and opportunities that could arise from these solidarity organizations' experiences. A vast theoretical analysis was conducted to understand the
foundations of the Solidarity Economy, an alternative to the informal economy and a form of economic empowerment especially considered for vulnerable populations, as a
way to include them economically. Using the case study of Belo Horizonte, a city with a history of alternative economic expressions and strengthened waste pickers' movements, we approached various actors of the recycling chain through qualitative research, using
the in-depth interviews approach.
Among other findings, the research noted that one of the greatest challenges of the post-pandemic Solidarity Economy is related to the expansion of the capitalist market to areas traditionally aggregated by the Solidarity Economy, because they were previously considered to be on the “margins of society”. However, these threats also
give room for opportunities, from responses that reinforce the legitimacy of cooperatives and associations, through their contractual adequacy with the City Hall for
the payment of the environmental service rendered, disconnected from the number of solid waste collected. We have learned that in the daily struggles and achievements of
the waste pickers, challenges and opportunities go hand in hand.
In today's fast-paced business environment, customers expect more than just high-quality products or services. They also demand excellent customer support that is both efficient and personalized. With the growth of businesses and the increasing complexity of products and services, providing efficient customer support has become a critical component of any successful business strategy to fulfill customers and user’s expectations. The present study investigates the need for a technical support helpdesk solution within the business unit Industrial Hydraulics of Bosch Rexroth, a global leader in drive and control technology. The primary objective of this thesis is to assess the current state of the support processes, identify areas of weakness, and leverage these insights to optimize and enhance them. The focus will be on finding a way to enhance transparency of customer data.
Based on the theory to process optimization, a current state analysis was conducted, and expert interviews were carried out to identify weaknesses and potential solutions for improving customer support. The research question "How can the Industrial Hydraulics Services of Bosch Rexroth deliver more effective and efficient customer support?" is addressed through the findings that a central platform is necessary to handle customer inquiries more efficiently, given the diverse communication channels and varying modes of operation within the business unit. The use of the existing SAP CRM ticketing system Robin is suggested as an efficient solution path, which should be optimized for future use based on the identified optimization approaches. The results underscore the importance of a unified approach to working, which is vital for the success of the business unit, resulting in increased efficiency, quality, collaboration, scalability, and customer orientation.
Aim: The research aims at contributing to the growing number of studies on banking performance by investigating empirically the effect of changes in the macroeconomic conditions on bank profitability in Europe for the period 1980-2009. For this purpose, data for banking systems of eight European countries on an aggregate national level are included in the analysis: Germany, France, Austria, Norway, Netherland, United Kingdom (UK), Spain and Italy. In addition to this, two measures are used to represent the bank profitability: net interest income (NII) and return on assets (ROA).
Methods: Panel regression models at three levels are deployed in order to estimate empirically the effect of the macroeconomic indicators on bank performance in Europa: individual estimations on a country level, cross-country estimations on a group level for Northern and Southern Europe and finally overall cross-country estimation on a European level.
Results: The estimation results suggest that macroeconomic conditions are able to explain most of the variation of the banks’ net interest income in European countries, as well as part of the variation of banks’ ROA. Additionally, they clearly indicate that GDP growth rate is the most significant factor influencing bank performance in Europe on all three levels of the model. The effect of the inflation rate is also considered for strongly significant and positive while the effect of the other macroeconomic variables included in this research is different and cannot be generalized probably as a result of the heterogeneity among European countries. Surprisingly, the results did not indicate any significant difference between Norther and Southern Europe, regarding the effect of the macroeconomic conditions on bank performance.
2016 marks the 56th anniversary of the oil cartel: OPEC. It managed to increase prices in 1972. In doing so, it behaved in a manner consistent with a cartel, bringing about a wave of studies on it. This study provides an overview of Organization of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s cartel behavior form 1980 to 2014/5, from five different perspectives. These perspectives, although have been studies individually, but never holistically.
This study grounds the research questions into the structure-conduct-performance paradigm for each of the five perspectives of cartel behavior. Each perspective is also backed by a theory of its own. The first perspective is that of the neo-classical theory of the firm, in that OPEC is deemed to be created for the purpose of creating profits for its members. The second perspective looks at whether or not OPEC is internally and externally stable by looking at economic and non-economic influences on the organization. The third perspective makes use of the theory of market contestability, in oder to determine which member in the cartel has had and still holds most influence within the cartel. The fourth perspective looks at entry and exit trends from OPEC, to determine what impact it has on the incumbent profits and that of the defectors. The fifth perspective uses the concept of black swan from the strategic management literature to discuss whether or not OPEC will dissolve in the next fifty years and whether this will bring about a golden or a black swan.
The methodology prevalent throughout the study is a case study analysis of the OPEC cartel behavior, however, two of the chapters also run a regression analysis (chapters 3 and 4), using variables identified from the structure-conduct-performance paradigm. The second and the third provide a descriptive overview via line graphs, while the last uses the methodology of observation.
It has been found that OPEC has earned abnormal profits which steadily increased, Saudi Arabia has been instrumental in managing quotas, and importance of each country is determined by the output it produced from one year to the next. In addition, economic influences are more important than the non-economic influences for OPEC's viability as a cartel, exit from OPEC is not advisable for the defector nor the incumbent firms and the cartel is not internally stable as barriers to entry are low and members can easily defect and can rejoin the cartel. Lastly, OPEC’s influence in the oil market is waning fast, which might lead to a black swan event.
Corporate debt volumes in emerging market economies have been increasing greatly post 2007-2008 financial crisis. Debt levels have increased across the globe however, the pace is faster in emerging markets than in advance markets. Major countries in emerging economies such as Brazil, Russian Federation, India and China (BRIC) have a large and concentrated share in growing corporate debts. Although, both company specific factors and macro level factors have impacted the corporate borrowings leading to depressed corporate earnings, financial strains and capital outflows in emerging markets the impact of company specific factors is highly pertinent and demands research. The rise in debt levels has affected the return on earnings (ROEs) of the corporate companies which in turn is adversely impacting emerging economy and its financial stability. This paper has empirically tested for the explaining effects of rising corporate debts and changing return on assets (ROAs) on ROEs of emerging market corporate by establishing a multiple regression model. A sample of 100 corporate companies from BRIC countries has been taken to test the model. The test results confirm the importance of corporate debts in predicting ROEs and possible financial strains. Finally, the regression model has been used to estimate ROEs of these corporate companies for the next 5 years with specific recommendation and policy implication to avoid financial crisis.
The field of entrepreneurship and its framework, the entrepreneurial opportunity process, are still young and maturing research areas that receive increasing attention from numerous authors in their academic reviews. While some researchers focus on the generic entrepreneurial opportunity process in order to gain additional insights into the phenomenon, others examine one of the entrepreneurial directions, such as social entrepreneurship or commercial entrepreneurship more closely. So far, a dichotomous approach towards the two types of entrepreneurship has been postulated by contemporary researchers that distinguishes them as two varying approaches.
This master thesis comprises both entrepreneurial directions and investigates their course throughout the entrepreneurial opportunity process, including the nature of the opportunities, their discovery and the decision to exploit an opportunity. The aim is to get a broader picture of the phenomenon of social and commercial entrepreneurship, its differences and similarities throughout the process and thus, examine the dominant dichotomous approach.
Primary and secondary data is gathered from case studies and interviews with entrepreneurs and derived from the information obtained, as well as from existing literature. Seven propositions are postulated that indicate possible differences and similarities regarding the two entrepreneurial approaches. Based on the findings from the testing of the propositions, this research paper concludes that the concepts of social and commercial entrepreneurship hold certain differences, Nevertheless, similarities are prevailing so that a dichotomous approach cannot be supported. The entrepreneurial directions can be displayed on a continuum rather than on extreme ends.
Finally, in order to provide possible future research objectives, an outlook section, containing a critical view on the tie between the entrepreneur and the opportunity is enclosed. It is suggested that the entrepreneur-opportunity nexus is much stronger in the social entrepreneurial context than in the commercial entrepreneurial context.
In the past decade the world saw an unprecedented economic boom followed by a similar bust. Most economies are still recovering and some experiencing sluggish growth. Various reasons have surfaced as to the cause of this economic boom. However, this paper explores the build-up of excessive debt as a result of financial development in spurring up the economy. This paper identified that the financial deepening coupled with other macro-economic factors have expanded credit in the economy. All sectors accumulated high levels of debt. As part of this study, an analysis of household debt was carried out, using a dataset of 30 European countries in order to ascertain determinants of debt. The results showed that household debt has a statistically significant positive correlation with Gross Domestic Production per capita and Life Expectancy at Birth. Additionally, Gross Savings and Gross Domestic Savings also had a positive correlation. This paper concludes by submitting that financial development should be reset to what it was best at doing in the first place, that is intermediation of finance so that efficiency of investment can be improved. Hence economic development.
Zombie companies are widely discussed ever since the ‘lost decade’ in Japan. The prolonged recession was experienced for almost two decades and in great deal attributed to the zombie companies. The Eurozone is currently in recession and is experiencing a growing incidence of zombie companies. If this trend is not stopped but encouraged by the negative interest rates, there is a possibility for a prolonged recession or even secular stagnation. This study aims to examine the reasons for the emergence and existence of zombie companies in the past. It discusses the implications zombie companies had on the aggregate macroeconomic indicators. In discusses how zombie companies should be treated and whether they must inevitably be foreclosed. To determine the severity of the problem, it examines the incidence of zombie companies in selected industries in the Euro periphery countries based on their interest coverage ratio (ICR). The results show that there is no significant incidence in the selected markets. It concludes whether currently, the zombie companies are a real threat to the economy of the Eurozone. Furthermore, it suggests ways how the problem of zombie companies should be prevented and treated.
The insurance industry in Germany has been dominated by a commission-based sales model for over seventy years. Intermediaries sell insurance contracts to end customers and are paid a commission depending on the value and type of insurance. This commission-based approach incentivizes salespeople to keep adding new policies to customers in order to make a living, and customers do not get the insurance solutions and advice that suit them the best. A financial services provider has now developed a novel business model that aims to disrupt the insurance industry in Germany. It replaces commission-based insurance with commission-free tariffs and instead includes a flat fee for managing the client's insurance policies. However, the business idea can only be realized profitably if the administrative expense per client is significantly reduced. Due to strict regulations in the insurance industry, many activities within the process are mandatory.
The goal of this work is to automate the business process behind the idea through the use of digital technologies and to reduce the workload in order to make the business model profitable. We used design thinking as a mental framework to carry out the digital transformation of the business model in a structured way. As part of this qualitative research, we conducted expert interviews and a document structure analysis to define hurdles for the realization and to develop detailed process maps. We carried out a process workshop, during which we analyzed the process and identified requirements for a digital prototype, which was developed using the low-code framework bubble.io.
Through workload time measurements, the impact of digital transformation on the performance of the process was confirmed. Finally, different digital options were compared with each other. The findings of this work support the thesis that design thinking has a positive influence on the success of digital transformation and in particular in the development of solutions tailored to people. This success is underlined by a reduction in workload times by 71,2% for bottleneck activities. The comparison of the various digital options implies that the development of customized digital applications is preferable for unique and complex problems.
Prostate segmentation is an essential part of brachytherapy treatment planning, in order to perform the procedure with required accuracy. Nowadays, segmentation of the prostate is still carried out manually during the planning steps, therefore it is a process that can be tedious, time-consuming and prone to inter-observer error. Much effort has been made in development of an computer-based algorithm that can perform prostate segmentation automatically, but only with appearance of deep learning methods, more promising algorithms emerged. So far, convolutional neural networks demonstrated excellent results in fully automatic prostate segmentation. Development of such an algorithm and training an efficient deep learning model is a challenging task, and requires a lot of optimizations. The objective of this study is development and evaluation of an algorithm for image processing based on deep learning methods that can perform fully automatic segmentation of the prostate gland in transrectal ultrasound images. Additionally, we made an overview of the development process, along with challenges and their solutions and demonstrated an algorithm implemented using Python and Tensorflow library, consisted of preprocessing, augmentation, training and validation, postprocessing and validation steps, which is able to successfully carry out fully automatic prostate segmentation with expert level of accuracy. Finally, we presented our implementation of fully convolutional neural network model and results that are encouraging to continue with model improvements and potential clinical application.
Today the author bought six jackets. A friend asked her if she needed six jackets, and if she had this money to pay to all of them. She said that she had only 35 euros and among those six jackets, she will (because they haven’t arrived yet) choose only one. The others five will be returned, because she has this option for free. Then, a friend of her asked: “But what are you doing?!” She answered: “Shopping. I am shopping and writing my thesis.” With pleasure, the author brings to this abstract a concept of brick-and-algo. Pure algorithm – pretty new – any barrier, (brick, the store itself). Experience that brings to the costumer the same feeling as shopping!
Concrete walls also refers to the corporate world, which “bricks” have become glass or simply partitions between one table and another in business in general. The bricks really have fallen apart and companies are going toward a horizontal way, where everybody talks to everybody; again without any brick or any barrier. The hierarchy exists, but in a different level as before. The physical point card became virtual badge, enabling the famous “home office”. Employees began to be evaluated and separated between generations, such as generation X and generation Y or Z (starting in corporations). Consumers have more rights about products and the economy and changing behaviors frantically.
With competitiveness, organizations rely on investing in strategies, assuming new responsibilities, performance necessary for the personal fulfillment of goals and objectives. Promoting the growth and development of its employees, through a model based on mission and values. The quests for survival of organizations have changed the organizational paradigms, in the sense that if before it was necessary to motivate the employees and that today need also to get their commitment. This makes companies to wake up to importance of positive environments, where employees can find favorable conditions to work more effectively.
With globalization and rapid growth of corporations via innovations, talent retention becomes a very important factor for the survival and growth of organizations. At present, the people of organizations must have the ability to manage competently, in order to satisfy and retain their employees, which represent values invaluable to the company. One of those values is the power to renew, create, innovating and to intrapreneur.
Stimulate the entrepreneurial capacity, then by inducing behaviors favorable to systematic innovation, by creating a dynamic of continuous improvement and speed up the process of modernization is a current world. In this sense, the author of the thesis, decided to already introduce innovation, even in the abstract, through another author, or more than an author, a poet and brilliant mind, Fernando Pessoa, when he said:
"There is a time when humans should abandon the used clothes, which already have the shape of their bodies, and forget their paths, which always leads to the same places. It is the time of looking forward: and, if humans don't dare to do it, they will have been, forever, on the sidelines of themselves. " (Fernando Pessoa)
In this context, this thesis proposes to treat about entrepreneurship in general, proposes to talk about intrapreneurship, about corporations, the individuals; and finally, the author tries to makes suggestions for the current decade.
As COVID-19 forces school to shutdown, distance learning or homeschooling is increasingly becoming the preferred and safest mode of delivering education. The new trend however, raises underlying questions on the implication it will have on the educational gap and attainment between advantaged and disadvantaged students in Germany, stemming from the diverse economic, cultural and social situation among the student population. This study presents results of a comparative analysis between advantaged and disadvantaged students in Germany using the PISA data 2018. The study investigated, how large the educational gap in Germany between advantaged and disadvantaged students is and what influences this gap. More specifically, what effect COVID-19 induced school interruption has in increasing the educational at- tainment between the student population. The findings show that there is an educa- tional gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students in Germany and socio- economic and cultural factors influence student performance which aligns with the findings in the literature review. Furthermore, school closures of 51 days result to a loss of 3.26, 3.37 and, 4.12 PISA point for advantaged students in maths, science and reading respectively and a loss of 8.4, 8.1 and 5.01 PISA points in maths, sci- ence and reading for disadvantaged students. The results show an increase in the educational outcome and inequality between advantaged and disadvantaged students in Germany. The findings, necessitate the need for policy makers to neutralize the learning losses resulting from the COVID-19 induced remote learning.
Benefits of setting up a Machine tool production plant in Slovakia as an alternative to India
(2015)
The thesis emphasizes on the scale of production and waste of plastics, market share of single use plastics and attempts to find alternatives to one of the most problematic single use plastic marine litter items – single use plastic tableware and cutlery. The thesis is further narrowed to one of the Biodegradable tableware and cutlery BIOTREM from Poland that produces single use or disposable tableware and cutlery with the raw materials wheat bran and bioplastics PLA.
A study involved in the internationalization of BIOTREM is carried out based on the guidelines and principles of Global Marketing by Hollensen (2014). The study includes the important steps in internationalization process such as decision whether to internationalize, factors affecting internationalization, internationalization models suitable for BIOTREM.
Germany is considered as a hypothetical target market for the expansion of BIOTREM and the challenges for internationalization to Germany is analyzed with the help of Porter’s Five Force framework and SWOT Analysis. Further, various types of entry modes and factors that would influence the strategy for BIOTREM’s entry into German Market are studied and the suitable options are recommended.
A few recommendations w.r.t elements of marketing mix – product, place and promotions are suggested and also included are the general recommendations regarding company’s website contents. A recommendation is made on new form of crowd funding option – Security Token Offerings (STO’s) for BIOTREM expansion plan.
Finally, it is concluded with enlisting the answers found for the research questions and the message on taking responsibility for single use plastic pollution problem.
International higher education has growing precedence in a global society where the world’s most pressing challenges are increasingly interlinked across borders. Thus, strategic initiatives are necessary to further open the industry in order to achieve its purpose of integrating an international,intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, function, and delivery of education programs. The purpose of this project is therefore to apply the tools and frameworks of Blue Ocean Strategy to the international higher education industry to determine how and in what directions the industry can improve its value proposition to customers and further expand the market. The macro environmental factors surrounding the international higher education industry indicate that it has high potential for continued growth. Political evidences of this include the governments of importing countries instigating programs to send students abroad. Exporting countries with political environment in support of a unified national strategy are at an advantage to capitalize on these opportunities. Economic trends indicate that the global education market is expanding, and that there is increasing demand combined with financial capability for importers as their economies continue to develop and emphasize further investment in socio economic growth through education. Furthermore, the economics of education in the United States indicate a growing imperative to increase foreign enrollment as education costs spiral and financial support from the government declines. Technological innovations are also helping to open up cross-border educational opportunities. The social platforms of Web 2.0 are allowing greater collaboration with open source information, effectively flattening the playing field and opening international higher education to the masses. Despite these opportunities, a micro environmental analysis indicates the industry is currently trapped in a quagmire of hypercompetition. Industry rivalry is high and concentrated, and the United States is overall losing market share to other exporting countries. Individual institutions face high threats from new entrants as the majority of incumbents are not reaching their export potential and have few barriers to entering the market more fully. However, as start-up enterprises face high barriers, to market entry, innovation will likely come from the incumbents within the industry. As competition intensifies in the face of a growing education bubble, the United States higher education industry is poised for disruption. A new educational model that starts at the bottom of the pyramid and moves upmarket can decidedly disrupt the status quo in order to create an improved, efficient global educational system; one that will help the industry break out of the state of hypercompetition and elevate it to fulfill the values and needs of society. Blue Ocean Strategy provides the solution to this problem as it analyses an industry not by looking at its current state in comparison with its competitors, but rather what the industry can become by looking beyond the competition to unknown market space. Successful implementation of Blue Ocean Strategy can bring the high financial impact needed to save the higher education industry from collapse. Frameworks guiding value innovation can simultaneously pursue low costs while increasing value for a large volume of customers. The strategy canvas and four actions framework of Blue Ocean Strategy provide effective analytical tools that help to clarify the process of strategy development, and empower visionary educational leaders to focus one what factors need to be eliminated, reduced, raised, and created in order to achieve a leap in value for buyers within and beyond the boundaries of the higher education export market.
In the quickly developing industry landscape of the organic food market, keeping pace with consumer demands and market growth can be a challenge. Organizations with long histories in the organic market, such as dairy supply cooperatives are facing difficulty to maintain their competitive advantage. These cooperative organizations are unique compared to traditional firms in their committed responsibility to multi-stakeholder value creation and protection as defining measures of successful operations.
The paper investigates what factors and principles could be implemented by a cooperative to establish a consumer retail brand in the organic food market. It also examines the effects of this strategic marketing decision on the relationship between, and outcomes for, several of their stakeholder groups. To balance between narrowing the variables and context, while still providing relevant findings on a national scale, a French organic dairy coop serves as a qualitative case study. In addition, a pool of expert semi-structured interviews was conducted, obtaining real time information applicable to the current case study situation.
The findings supported the development of a consumer retail brand to enhance competitive position in the French organic food market. Beyond organizational competitiveness, these results conclude that a retail brand presence for the cooperative could return synergistic additional value to the cooperative stakeholders, including the business, members and their social and biological environments. Finally, the outcome suggests a reciprocal, reinforcing relationship between a corporate brand strategy and the mission of the organic dairy cooperative case study subject. These findings are partially transferable to other organic cooperatives and add a cooperative organizational perspective to the brand strategy and development academic work.
BUSINESS PROCESS AUTOMATION: ENHANCING EFFICIENCY AND COMPETITIVENESS IN MODERN ORGANIZATIONS
(2024)
The first section of the thesis provides a historical overview of automation, spanning from the first industrial revolution to the current era of highly advanced AI-driven technologies. It emphasizes how important Business Process Automation (BPA) is in today's hectic corporate climate when productivity and competitiveness are key factors. The main focus is on Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which is especially useful in situations with legacy systems since it effectively automates repetitive processes. This study explores the differences between terms and concepts related to automation, including business process automation (BPA), robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and business process management (BPM). Companies looking to optimize their processes face a changing landscape due to the involvement of various technologies. Using real-world case studies and industry best practices, the thesis provides a thorough examination of the effects of BPA, emphasizing the primary drivers, challenges, and benefits of BPA adoption. A mixed-methods approach integrating quantitative and qualitative research was used as the methodology. Surveys, case studies, and documentation from different organizations are included in the study, based on those who have implemented RPA at their work. This method enables a thorough analysis of BPA's effects on efficacy, productivity, and affordability. Case studies from prominent firms like Capgemini Consulting, PwC, and Deloitte are reviewed to gain insights regarding their BPA journey. Significant gains in customer satisfaction, cost savings, error avoidance, and operational efficiency are shown by this research. They also draw attention to difficulties like opposition from employees, problems with integration, and the requirement for upskilling. The thesis indicates that although big firms have similar motives for adopting BPA, the process of adopting BPA varies depending on the specific circumstances of each firm. Stakeholder engagement and change management are critical components of successful BPA programs, according to key results. The study highlights a balanced, strategic, and context-sensitive approach, offering a useful insight for companies in establishing their BPA strategy. It provides a comprehensive examination of the role that business process automation plays in modern companies, highlighting the ways in which it can radically alter corporate strategy and operations in the digital age. It gives a thorough examination of the challenges involved in putting BPA into practice and offers tactical advice to businesses hoping to use these tools to boost productivity and competitiveness.
Cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly popular as an investment object due to the underlying promising blockchain technology, a growing number of use cases and especially because of their recent enormous price increases. As a young and emerging asset class, cryptocurrencies also face investors with several challenges and uncertainties.
This thesis investigates the impact of adding cryptocurrencies to diversified portfolios and whether cryptocurrencies can be a reasonable portfolio addition for investors. For this purpose, based on Harry Markowitz's Portfolio Selection Theory, a statistical analysis of portfolios with and without cryptocurrencies and different degrees of diversification was conducted for a 5-year-period. The portfolios were analysed in terms of return, risk and correlations and the efficient portfolio allocations as well as efficient frontiers were determined for different return and risk scenarios, both with and without the use of short sales.
The results of the statistical analysis showed that cryptocurrencies have significantly higher returns but also higher levels of volatility and risk than traditional asset classes. Although cryptocurrencies show less strong positive correlations with other traditional assets, they nevertheless correlate positively with the representatives of the traditional asset classes examined, which is why cryptocurrencies are only suitable to a limited extent as a means of risk diversification. Cryptocurrencies can be an attractive portfolio diversification but only for investors who are willing to accept higher risks for higher returns as the addition of cryptocurrencies significantly increases both the return potential and the risk of portfolios. Therefore, the higher an investor's expected portfolio returns and risk appetite, the higher should be the portion of cryptocurrencies in his portfolio.
Clinical Research is expanding into an international and more regulated environment, specifically its quality management. Pharmaceuticals and Research Organizations are investing significant amounts of money as well as the regulatory agencies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are improving and developing regulations and meetings to standardize globally these practices. Therefore this Thesis integrates and extends the FDA and EMA recommendation of implementing “Risk based quality management” in Clinical Research protocol execution with a multisource point of view and the proposal of adding a Risk Management Report as an output, which will work also as an input for future protocols implementation. Diverse articles and regulations related with Quality Management and Clinical Research Processes were reviewed to work as a base for the analysis of this thesis. Risk Based Quality Management is the actual trend and newly implemented process to improve quality in clinical research. The goal of this Thesis is to combine the different actual factors, methods and regulations in order to expand Risk Based Quality Management and reach a better degree in quality and standardization. The question therefore is whether this redesigned Risk Based Quality Management process can really be incorporated with the actual practices, and if it is possible to adopt it in Clinical Research.
This thesis embarks on a comprehensive exploration of the Bosch Car Service (BCS) and Bosch Automotive Workshop Services (BAWS) concepts within the global automotive service industry, underpinned by the esteemed Bosch brand. Through a meticulous comparative analysis, enriched by insights from expert interviews, this study unveils the operational frameworks, strategic orientations, and value propositions that distinguish BCS and BAWS, highlighting the unique challenges and opportunities each model presents. The research identifies key market segments addressed by BCS and BAWS, emphasizing BCS's focus on connectivity and efficiency versus BAWS's standardized franchise operations. It further delves into the complexities of managing a centralized system like BAWS, the challenge of leveraging Bosch's extensive portfolio, and the role of digital tools in enhancing operational efficiency and customer engagement. This thesis proposes a strategic blueprint for innovation, brand management, and customer-centric services, aiming to guide BCS and BAWS towards sustained growth and competitiveness in the evolving automotive service sector. Through integrating theoretical analysis with practical insights, the study makes a significant contribution to the academic and practical understanding of automotive service franchise models, shaping future strategies for Bosch's continued success and leadership in the industry.
As prerequisite to final graduation of my master in international business management MBA at Business School, Hochschule Furtwangen University, I conducted this Thesis but also as a practical business case that match with the nature of my master’s focus of international business and could be used in real life.
I put myself as a member of project’s managing team for a pharmaceutical company, this team as a part of strategic decision-making process is responsible about assessing different potential international markets and segments as a part of the company plan to expand their operations, tape and penetrate new markets.
Narrowing down the options to two geographic markets (Germany & Saudi Arabia) and two pharmaceutical segments (Diabetes& OTC), starting this assessment with macro analysis (PESTEL) of Germany and Saudi Arabia followed by micro analysis (Porter’s five forces) of the pharmaceutical industry in the two markets of concern, having more in depth review of the two potential segments in each individual market then head to head attractiveness comparative analysis of the two potential segments in the two potential countries showing the pros and cons for each of the potential available opportunities and finally reach a conclusion to solve this business scenario.
In order to satisfy both scientific research basis and business need I utilized Data from both peer reviewed articles, reports from highly trusted international institutions and organizations for their data accuracy and few theoretical books.
Limitation of this paper: taking in consideration that some relevant data i.e., regarding specific market profitability are not accessible due to either company’s confidential policies or data consolidation for example the financial statements of Bayer, the pharmaceutical company shows consolidated data combining Europe and middle east allowing no possibility(for outsider) to directly compare profitability of each specific country, here in our research Germany and Saudi Arabia, also I tried my best to use the most recent accessible data , but some of the most updated relevant data is out of my reach either due to confidentiality or it is paid data that requires funding resources not available in my case as I am doing this Thesis independently not in partnership with a company, these limitations might to some degree affect the precision of the final conclusion.
This master´s thesis focuses on the development of a competitor analysis process as a proposal for the business unit “Power and Energy Solutions”. As a new business approach for the Marquardt Group in the fast-growing and trending electromobility market, it is essential to develop a process to optimize the identification and assessment of competitors in order to obtain relevant information needed to build competitive advantages and plan business strategy.
This study highlights the essential information to be collected on competitors as well as the importance and benefits of conducting an analysis. A proper competitive analysis consists of considering and understanding certain external aspects surrounding the competitor. The structure of the industry, the company's current position, the customers and suppliers are key factors that have to be considered in order to conduct a successful competitive analysis. In addition, this thesis shows the steps and the main elements to contemplate in order to successfully perform a process within the company.
A qualitative research methodology has been applied for this thesis, in which literature review has been conducted and expert opinions and experiences have been included. The information has been collected through primary and secondary sources, with the aim of understanding the current situation of the business unit and obtaining relevant literature on the topic from reliable and accurate sources. Moreover, action research has been carried out in order to link theory and practice to provide a solution.
This master's thesis offers a proposal for the competitor analysis process, outlining seven stages to be followed. They have been established as a result of the evaluation and integration of the literature review and the current situation of the business. In addition, a conceptual framework has been designed as a concentration and visual representation of the best practices and methods to provide structure and support each stage of the process.
The implementation and constant utilization of the process will allow the development of a standardized system that ensures effective analysis in the business context. Moreover, it will provide a comprehensive analysis of competitors and their surroundings, as well as improvements and transparency in collaboration and practices within the company. Consequently, it will ensure a positive impact on the business unit for decision making and building competitive advantages.
In the last 30 years academics were exploring the field of ethical consumption and identified an attitude - behavior gap in the decision making process. Since then diverse studies have been implemented to understand ethical consumers' attitudes, motives and behavior. Parallel to the academic research being developed, there had been an increasing interest from the consumer side in behaving and consuming more ethically. Particularly, consumers have inclined their ethical purchases towards fair trade products. The present exploratory research implemented a quantitative metaphoric method called Zaltman Elicitation Metaphoric Technique (ZMET) to further contribute in the literature of ethical and fair trade consumption. The ZMET in-depth interviews were carried out with 10 German fair trade food consumers during the months of February and March in 2015. The results revealed a connection between participants' feelings, emotions, personal values and fair trade food consumption; likewise the research identified an association of fair trade to sustainability.
This master thesis explores the divergent consumer preferences within e-commerce sales funnels in China and Germany, two of the world's leading e-commerce markets. This comparative study explores the complexities of website design preferences, the influence of cultural elements on consumer decision-making, and the drivers of consumer loyalty and repeat purchases, with China's rapid adoption of digital technology and innovative marketing strategies set against Germany's mature market and consumer trust.
A mixed-methods approach is used in the research, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis. Insights into consumer behaviors and preferences influenced by cultural, economic, and technical aspects are provided by a thorough analysis of scholarly literature, case studies, and consumer surveys from both nations. The report highlights the distinctive features of each market by examining important elements such as digital innovation, sustainability, social integration, data protection, and mobile commerce in e-commerce practices.
Remarkably, the thesis seeks to provide practical insights to German e-commerce practitioners. German businesses can learn more about properly aligning their marketing and operational goals with consumer expectations by studying the successful techniques employed in China. This research contributes to academic understanding while also having implications for marketers and e-commerce platforms looking to improve user engagement, conversion rates, and the overall online shopping experience in the dynamic global e-commerce world.
Family businesses are major contributors of a strong and diverse society. Not only help to keep power in the hands of small units (families), they also foster innovation and personal freedom and this is necessary to maintain a healthy society, which is also necessary not only in Mexico but throughout Latin America and other regions where emerging countries tend to be a majority. The presence of strong private businesses in a society can reinforce the social values of their communities. Wealth and stability that they create can foster personal growth around them, especially if the owners are responsible for philanthropic activities and civic leadership. Thousands of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries are reaching a difficult phase. Most of the owners who founded the company on the 60s or 70s and made it to the next century are ready to retire without having a plan of succession to the one who will be taking over. Some of these enterprises are also struggling to find a strategic path among lots of heavy changes on the corporate world while others fight unexpected competition from abroad, normally from developed countries. it is also difficult for companies to face this sensation of isolation on a daily fight for survival and for standing out. At last, many of them end up selling their companies because of pressure or failure, being victims of a powerful tendency of family businesses to stop growing and develop their potential. 1.1 Objectives Provide an overview of the SMEs in Mexico and their current situation. Uncover the possible factors that cause their failure. Suggest a different solution through implementation of corporate governance, the way bigger companies do. Investigate and explore fears and advantages of implementing corporate governance. Analyze how corporate governance can be integrated to a SME in Mexico. 1.2 Limitations of the analysis This analysis considers that the reader has a short background on business, as the basic concepts will not be detailed. The study will focus on solving a specific problem that the author considers to be crucial for any SME in a developing country to solve, but from the perspective of corporate governance. The classification of the group of companies that have been analyzed may vary from country to country. 1.3 Methodology This project comprises a study of the presented bibliography on the situation of the corporate governance in Mexico and how can it be applied to small and medium size businesses in order to face the current challenges. The study focuses on the role of the board of directors in the company and how it can lead to a case of success by giving up some control by the business owners and pass it to the experienced advisors that will be part of the board. A document called “Código de Mejores Prácticas Corporativas” (Corporate Governance Codex) will serve as a big support for the research, since this is the official document companies must take a look at before even start thinking on implementing corporate governance practices. The research includes results form an annual survey presented by “PriceWaterhouseCoopers” in 2014 that was carried out all over the world including Mexico. This survey was done between May 30th and July 21st in 2014 to 122 companies from Manufacture, retail, finance, mining, construction, wholesale, and agriculture, and it is considered by many firms as the most important survey to consider when analyzing the current situation of family businesses in Mexico.
Crowdlending is a growing business model that originated from the new crowdfunding phenomenon. It consists of funding companies’ loans through joining money from many investors in exchange for regular payments. One important key value in this model is the speed of the credit approval and the investment choice. The upcoming crowdlending platforms facilitate their growth through the automation of those processes. This study explores the creation of a credit-scoring model for an entrepreneurial platform, in order to fulfill the necessity of quickly determining the risk and the characteristics of loan applications for SME companies. This study will also analyze the pricing loan strategy based on the risk of the operations. Finally, the thesis suggests a of the loans and concludes with a series of improvement measures for the model.
Purpose: This study investigates the role that entrepreneurial talents play, and the influence of such
talents in firms’ success and raising funds through crowd-funding platforms as well. It discusses and analyses which talents are needed by entrepreneurs in order to place them in the best position to attract funds from these platforms. Further, the study attempts to create a bridge between entrepreneurial talent and crowdfunding, hence acting as one of the contributors towards the entrepreneur’s business success. Design/Approach/Methodology: This topic is a novel idea and it aims at examining whether or not entrepreneurial talents, as influencing factors should be taken into account when raising funds from crowdfunding platforms. This paper includes two main parts: theoretical and practical. In the final part, this paper provides lessons learnt. Originality/Value: This thesis will add value to research in the field of crowdfunding and its operation especially when entrepreneur funding is considered. Additionally, the hypothesis that forms the basis of this thesis, advocates for a new mode of sourcing for funds from crowdfunding platforms. This new approach is premised on the idea that the entrepreneurial talent can be a significant influencing factor for successfully raising funds from crowdfunding platforms. The analysis of the case studies will reveal an appropriate pattern of the talents needed and associating factors that will help entrepreneurs become successful in obtaining funds for their business
ventures, when they elect to use crowdfunding as their financing method. Practical implications: There are four practical implications to this paper. The first, is that entrepreneurs who intend to seize the huge opportunities offered by the crowdfunding platforms should place emphasis on convincing the participants in the platforms of their talents rather than placing too much focus on perfect business plan. Secondly, the platform participants should deviate from the traditional approach of WHAT to invest in, to a new approach of WHOM/WHO to invest in. Thirdly, from the perspective of the relatively new crowdfunding industry, this paper proposes for the creation of talent-based crowdfunding platforms as opposed to the project-based ones that are currently operating. Finally, the paper encourages the academic researcher to pursue ideas and new applications in the crowdfunding industry.
The thesis provides analysis if the traditional automotive distribution model, defining the position of automotive dealers in the distribution channel. Their business model is analyzed from the perspective of value-adding activities performed at each stage of the distribution process and from the perspective of the profit centers existing generally in the business model at present. The research further turns to the automotive distribution in Belarus. The analysis of the Belarusian automotive market cannot be thoroughly accomplished without analysis of the Russian market, since the two countries belong to the common free economic area. The current condition of the Belarusian automotive dealers is considered in context of the macroeconomic downturn and obscure prospects, which is certainly one of the major challenges the industry is facing. The decreasing purchasing power of the population, high interest rates and exacerbating competition negatively influence the performance measures of the automotive dealers and their growth potential. Apart from the currently unfavorable macroeconomic situation, which is generally considered as temporary, the analysis takes into consideration basic transformation trends observed in social and technological spheres. The developments in the technological sphere also bear conflicting implications for the Belarusian automotive dealers and should be therefore thoroughly analized. In order to understand the potential of the Belarusian automotive dealers to introduce the necessary changes to the existing business model the balance of power analysis will be carried out according to Porter’s Five Forces methodology. The analysis is important from the point of view of the extent of the changes, which dealers are able to accomplish with a reasonable level of risks. The SWOT analysis will be further carried out to highlight the existing advantages and disadvantages of the Belarusian automotive dealers combined with external factors, which might influence positively or negatively their position. This chapter deals with the actual implications of the trends highlighted previously for the automotive dealers and provides the basis of the analysis of a sample strategy, currently implemented by the leading Belarusian automotive dealer, which is elaborated on in the last chapter.
The present master thesis assesses the customer attitudes towards e-food in Germany. As more shoppers are ordering their groceries online, stationary food retailers are increasingly interested in the development and acceptance of e-food.
In the secondary literature review, the determining factors of the customer attitude towards ordering groceries online were identified through the Tricomponent Attitude Model, shopper characteristics and the Technology Acceptance Model. Additionally, potential changes in the customer attitude in the next five years were assessed. The theoretical findings were tested for their relevance and underlying motivations using qualitative in-depth expert and shopper interviews. Ultimately the results were analyzed, compared, and interpreted regarding their theoretical and managerial implications. As a result, a recommendation of action was derived for the Traders’ Cooperative Göppingen.
The findings suggest that the customer attitude depends on the perceived value of e-food based on its benefits and risks, the relationship quality built on emotions, satisfaction, and trust, and the switching intentions depending on the customer loyalty. The shopper’s motivation, situation, and technological abilities are stronger predictors than socio-demographic characteristics. Even though German shoppers are curious to try e-food occasionally, they are still skeptical and need to be convinced of the utility. The results indicate a slowly improving attitude in the next five years resulting in more hybrid cross-channel shoppers. As a result of the Covid pandemic, e-food became a convenient alternative for certain products and situations. As some shoppers and market shares are expected to drift online, stationary grocery stores like Edeka Staufers must focus on their advantages in terms of social interaction and multi-sensory shopping experience.
The object of the present master thesis is to understand the environment of the sales channel of Global Projects, its opportunities and challenges for Hansgrohe SE in order to clearly formulate a practicable, medium-term strategy for the period of 2020-2023 for the referred sales channel. A mixed method approach was used in this thesis, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Raw data such as the channel’s net sales during 2016-2019 were observed from the internal sales system in order to understand the relevance in the past of the different business segments within the sales channel of Global Projects. Also, different external sources such as databases and reports from different consulting firms and international institutions were analyzed in order to determine the sales potential of the different business segments for the period of 2020-2023. A PEST analysis was conducted in order to identify the changes and effects of the external macroenvironment on the company’s strategic position. And finally, a competitor analysis was also conducted in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the company’s main competitors and the areas where the company should aim to improve. All previous research and analysis was complemented with expert interviews that were conducted with experts from ten different subsidiaries of the company who are in charge or involved in the sales channel of Global Projects in their respective regions, who helped defining the sales potential of the existing business segments and relevance of new segments that should be considered in order to develop the channel’s strategy. The result of the study suggested that the residential segment will represent the biggest sales potential for the channel followed by the hospitality segment. While there are other segments such as marine, retirement homes and bathroom pods & modular buildings which are expected to gain relevance in the future in some specific regions. As result of all research and analysis conducted throughout this thesis, the strategy and plan for the sales channel of Global Projects for the period of 2020-2023 was designed in line with the company’s strategic position.
In this master thesis a marketing strategy of a launch and expansion on the global medical devices market of a new product (AED NG) by a German middle-size enterprise Metrax GmbH is developed. In order to exploit growth opportunities three levels are investigated – internal situation of the manufacturer, competitive landscape and global AEDs market. Analyses of the company and its competitors reveal current market situation and position of the company on it. Various methods of used strategic analyses (PEST, Porter’s Five Forves, SWOT, interviews conduction with competitors, distributors, and employees of Metrax etc.) enable to create a strategy canvas of AEDs market in accordance to “Blue Ocean Strategy” framework and to formulate main propositions of the strategy concerning product. Research of special features of regional markets enables to define the most lucrative and perspective markets to expand for Metrax. After defining and proving growth opportunities assessment of risks and requirements necessary for implementation is made. Finally, an outline of strategic propositions and main milestones for their implementation are summarized into the concluding part.
Development of a strategic control concept to monitor and steer strategy executive in the STO Group
(2016)
All the companies need to plan and budget for future. For planning they need sale forecasting so that accordingly they can manage their supply chain efficiently. Companies do have historical data which can be used for forecasting sale. However, the accuracy of the predictive model depends on the quality of data which is being fed to the model. Poor data quality may result in poor forecasting. Hence, there is need to work on data quality management and to formulate some generic approach for ensuring data quality. Besides, it is also required to detect abnormal sale from the past data, get the reason for those abnormal sale records and remove them from the data. Subsequently, cleaned data can be used to work on predictive modelling which will forecast sales with the most likelihood of near to accurate results. These historical data can be analyzed as a time series data by using as simple time series analysis as ARIMA or by using complicated neural network. Evaluation of these predictive models will help in making a decision of selecting a best fitted model for future forecasting. The thesis aims to work on data quality management of raw data and then analyze time series data to determine predictive model for forecasting. Besides, thesis also aims to understand how data is collected and how organization performs sales processes. This would not only facilitate in finding and bridging the gaps in the business processes but also in preparing the organization for the state-of-the-art technologies to enhance their business for future.
Entering a foreign market usually deals with different cultures and different values. Therefore, any company, which wants to expand abroad, has to understand the culture and their future customers. Markets are people says an old marketing paradigm. People shape the market according to their demand on the certain market. Culture is the main factor influencing the consumer behavior. Therefore, in this study we will consider closer the cultural differences between US, UK and Germany in order to understand the differences in behavior of consumers of grocery retail market. Comparison of the cultures will be done based on the Hofstedes’ dimensions of national culture.
Further, we will analyze the predisposition of these national cultures towards consumer ethnocentrism (CE) based on previous studies’ findings. These comparisons will give us an understanding of three cultures and which of those cultures influences its consumers purchase motives in favor domestic products. Additionally we will compare consumers’ attitude in three countries based on the current trend of sustainable and ecologically friendly products.
Finally, in two case studies, we will look closer at successful operation of German retailers in UK and US. Successful operation of American retailer Walmart in UK and failure of Walmart in UK. We will look at interrelation of the cultures with the foreign market entries of studied retailers. In the end, better understanding of these cultures will help to recognize why Walmart failed in Germany and succeeded in UK. The main assumption, that Germans avoid shopping in foreign stores will be either supported or denied based on the findings. However, this is a qualitative research based on secondary data, therefore limitations and suggestions for future researches will be described at the end.
Organizational Development is a relatively newer concept in the corporate world. This concept continues to being explored by researches due its growing importance and fascination results. Many organizations strive to establish a competitive edge by the evolution and differentiation in not only the OD interventions but also in handling their effects. Due to its intriguing nature, it has been the focal point of this study/research.
Scope of this research is to explore the perceptions of employees, which are created over a course of time about certain dimensions related to Organizational development interventions in the telecommunication sector of Pakistan. Firstly Literature Review has been conducted to find out existing theory that has been explored and created over decades by past research about the OD interventions and also how the perceptions of employees/individuals are mapped with reference to Organizational Development and how it impacts their acceptance of these interventions. Secondly short interviews from the management (Directors/Heads of Organizational Development) of the key players of the telecommunication sector have been conducted to unfold the hidden issues, objectives, initiatives taken and hurdles faced by these players and hence has provided with certain issues on which substantial and extensive research has yet not been done. With the help of these interviews common objectives and common hurdles during OD implementation have also been identified among key telecommunication player of Pakistan. To limit the scope of the thesis, Acceptance of OD has been taken as the dependent variable while Perceptions of Organizational Development (Level of Uncertainty, Feelings about OD interventions, Opportunities for Growth & Development and Opportunities to Participate) were identified to be the independent variables with the help of literature review.
This study attempts to explore how the different dimensions of perceptions of Organizational Development exist amongst the employees of the telecommunication sector of Pakistan and how the negative/positive perceptions impact the acceptance level of these OD interventions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from 20 employees (Five from each organization) from the four major players of the telecommunication sector of Pakistan namely Warid, Telenor, Mobilink, and Ufone.
Over the past few decades, there has been an increasing amount of academic literature recognizing the significance of innovation systems. Entrepreneurship is an important component of an innovation system, contributing to the enhancement of regional as well as national innovation. The transfer of knowledge and technology between science and the economy has become particularly important to reinforce overall innovation performance. Today, universities and other institutions of higher education play a crucial role in the system of innovation and have evolved as active and highly relevant participants in the innovation system. Therefore, various supportive measures have been developed to increase the level of innovation at universities and to drive entrepreneurial activities. However, due to the ever-growing entrepreneurial support environment and the great variety of support programs,the distinction between support measures has become unclear. Consequently, the main objective of the present research work is to contribute to the overall understanding of supportive measures at German universities and other institutions of higher education.
Eight experts were interviewed to ensure the compilation of meaningful data. The research findings highlight the importance of a solid network of external experts as well as collaboration with other entrepreneurial institutions. Moreover, the research results indicated that an organizational structure with decentralized decision-making processes and a greater scope of actions enhances operational efficiency. While considering the indistinctness of different support programs and specific terms, although some significant differences were evaluated, overall, the results present a clear tendency toward a more cautious use of specialist terms, therefore substantiating the missing preciseness.
Low profitability is one of the major problems of the airline industry and one approach to solve it is that selling ancillary services to passengers which is called a-la-carte pricing. While this strategy has had some success in terms of additional revenue generation, especially for the low-cost airlines, full-service airlines struggle to implement this approach since their brand image is equivalent to better comfort and complimentary services served to their customers. Therefore, a new and possibly more effective strategy about the ancillary services comes into play which is called the a-la-carte options strategy. This strategy suggests rather than removing the complimentary ancillary services, the airlines can offer a certain number of reward miles to their frequent flyer program members to not choose to use that free ancillary service. By doing that the customer would receive free reward miles and the airlines would save from a substantial cost factor from ancillary services since the reward miles are low-cost for them. In this research, the potential cost reduction of a-la-carte options, optimal mile offer, and the possible customer reaction for launching the strategy are examined. First, potential cost reduction is calculated with real scenarios and flights. Second, customer responses are assessed with a survey conducted. The results show that a-la-carte options strategy can be highly effective on cost-cutting and customers tend to accept and use this strategy. Therefore, a-la-carte options strategy is potentially a good and effective instrument to fight the sector’s long-standing profitability problem by decreasing ancillary service and other customer service operation costs.
This thesis begins a theoretical investigation into leadership and organizational power by briefly examining the relevant academic literature. It then examines Robert House’s Path-Goal Theory, Bertram French, and John Raven’s Bases of Power frameworks. This study investigates the correlation between directive, supportive, participative, and achievement-oriented leadership behaviors and reward, coercive, legitimate, expert, and referent power within organizational set-tings by combining theoretical knowledge with empirical data gathered through questionnaires conducted with leaders and employees in the hotel sector. It also investigates how they impact the achievement of hotel goals.
Contributing to existing knowledge on leadership and power dynamics in the hotel industry, this research rigorously analyzes the compatibility and effectiveness of leadership behaviors with various power sources. The empirical backbone of this study comprises questionnaires conduct-ed across sixteen Southeast Asian hotels, yielding insights grounded in real-world organization-al settings. Based on 167 responses, this comprehensive investigation offers valuable implica-tions for practitioners and scholars, elucidating the intricate relationship between leadership be-havior and power sources. It underscores the strategic importance of aligning behavior with power sources to enhance leadership effectiveness and foster organizational success.
The platform business model replaces the traditional linear value chain model, demonstrating how value can be created differently. The emergence of new platforms in various industries during the last decade has made it difficult to imagine a business without naming at least a handful of active platforms. The platform business model has been proven to revolutionize industries, and this study investigates the possibility of launching a platform business model in unprecedented arenas which still use conventional pipeline business models.
The study explores the process of generating ideas for a new opportunity in the platform business model. After generating 11 ideas, screening and evaluating methods were studied.
This project builds an understanding on the evolution of financial intermediaries and its actors based on financial intermediation theory. By discussing the perspectives of borrowers and lenders within the crowdfunding industry, this study advises a way to create a competitive advantage for emerging Crowdlending platforms by leveraging on institutional investors.
This study recommends an inductive analysis of the crowdfunding industry, based on studies of other authors, observations of the industry and academic papers regarding investment behaviours. This leads to a Porter’s Five Forces analysis, which depicts the linkages among the actors of the business. The previous analysis suggests that institutional investors create positive linkages within the business; therefore, the project continues to explore the requirements of these agents when employing crowdfunding platforms as an effective investment vehicle.
As an investigation tool, a questionnaire is designed and delivered to institutional investors in the Latin American region. Results show that institutional investors lean towards short term credit operations structured under a monthly cash flow arrangement. While investors do care about the established communication channels and management of cash flows towards borrowers; support activities are susceptible of outsourcing and may constitute a value-added opportunity for financial intermediaries.
The context of this project is a study of the business expansion and development of the Becual Chile crowdlending platform as a young company in the market. The study is led by the Hochschule Furtwangen University and complemented by other two theses: ‘Credit Risk Model for a SME Crowdlending Platform’ (Aravena) and ‘Growth Strategies for SME Crowdlending Platform’ (Beltran).
The German banking landscape is currently undergoing a paradigm shift of an unprecedented magnitude. As the financial world is changing, the future of German banks is highly uncertain. A multitude of present-day driving factors will shape the banking world of tomorrow. Therefore, this thesis aims to investigate and analyze the future of the German banking sector until 2030. The concept of scenario planning serves as underlying method for this research. Based on current factors influencing the German banking sector, the present thesis systematically develops coherent future scenarios. The generation of these scenarios is performed with the help of the scenario software INKA 4. This enables to assess a comprehensive picture of the future environment and the interactions between external influencing factors. Based on the most consistent future scenario, implications for the strategies of German banks are derived. As a result, German incumbents can question their strategic orientation and position themselves optimally for the future.
The study explores the use of gamification approaches in complex diagnostic systems. Based on theories of gamification, a concept for the feedback function within the diagnostic software ESI[tronic] of the Robert Bosch GmbH is developed with user interviews and the analysis of feedback data. Through this, feedback loops should be generated to enable further development taking the user perspective into account. The results show that the target group of the diagnostic software can be intrinsically motivated and the aspect of mutual assistance as well as recognition and appreciation is particularly important. Therefore, the use of gamification concepts in complex diagnostic systems contributes to increasing user satisfaction and ultimately to influencing feedback behavior.
The purpose of this study was to work out structured ways to lead GVTs. The Model of Team Leadership, which has been worked on in chapter 5, has shown that a mental model that can be used by people leading a team is helpful also when applied for GVTs. This model for virtual leadership offers the possibility to locate possible issues and address upcoming problems that might hinder the project to succeed early enough, but with prior monitoring, surveying and examination. This model, which is based on the assumption that leaderships is being shared in teams and also multiple team members can execute leadership actions, can be applied in GVTs as a basic mental model by all team members. This helps creating a common understanding of team leadership and the areas where issues, misunderstandings and conflicts can stem from.
Secondly, this work showed that there is not one single form of GVT existing – as it is often the case in research work – and requires consequently different focus of leadership actions. The GVT Matrix is a first step, which tries to differentiate leadership challenges along the defined GVT types. This point can be addressed in future research to find respective data that are increasing the scientific relevance on the differences of leadership in GVTs that can then be applied in the model used in chapter 6.
This point is also the limitation of this research. As many data is available for general leadership of GVT, data on leadership issues relating special types of GVTs is relatively rare. The assumptions and validated findings that have been used to fill the GVT Matrix are not as fully scientifically reliable as it could have been. Future research can address this issue if new data is available which are examining the differences of GVTs.
As this paper study how a brand can differentiate itself to stand out among the competitions for better growth opportunities, focus is given to two emerging trends in the market, the halal skincare and also functional skincare brand. Halal skincare stands for the skincare product that is permissible for Muslim consumption from the religious perspective. This trend is growing tremendously as Muslim is the second biggest religion in the world with high fertility rate. In skincare, the concept of halal would exclude the use of alcohol and pig-derives material in the product. This market amount to $46 billion in 2013 and is growing at 8% annually. This undercapitalised halal skincare market with few competition provides good opportunities for a brand to grow and develop. The functional skincare on the other hand, is a trend emerged over time where products provide additional benefits on top of basic function. This skincare trend is basically driven by modern technology that leads to many innovations of these multi-featured products. Example of the additional benefits that will be the focus in this study are the anti-aging and the sun care protection. Both trends gained enough attention by demonstrating a strong growth in the respective segments. This study will provide a snapshot of the current growing trends in the market and provide the key steps to position and differentiate a brand in order to stand out against the competitors with reference to the halal and functional skincare. The key objective here is to understand the determination of the brand positioning through the analysis of competitors, the target consumer and formulation of own brand differentiations. As every brand will be given a variety of judgements by the consumers, it is essential that a brand is position properly in the mind of the consumer in order to be successful in the market.
In the 21 century, global companies are spreading all over the world for the sake of chasing profits. Driving by the desire of new market & profitability, they struggle in the business world by competition, merge, innovation and utilize all the resources that available. Among them, hidden champions are winners in this period. However, it also needs to be asked for the hidden champions, will they been succeed in a totally different market? The answers came with new market in China, which will verify their belief. Coming into China, into different markets, is an inevitable step for most hidden champions, for development and defend themselves as champions.
This thesis mainly gives the hidden champions that working on Chinese market or going to this market a brief intro about the local situations, competition existed, entry & marketing strategy, and hidden champion real cases. In the following chapters, you could found: The definitions & characteristics of hidden champions, learning that what build the family business into the most successful business in niche industries;
The Chinese business historical moments, what makes the Chinese business culture today, and today’s business situations in China.
The entry strategies for foreign companies getting into China, discussing the different forms from licensing business to the wholly-owned subsidiary and their pros & cons.
The marketing strategies typically for hidden champion companies in China, applying the classic marketing management theories & localization situations in China.
Real hidden champion company case in hidden champion cluster in China, the current situation and value chain analysis.
New trend marketing risks & chances in China for 21 century, digitalization & cyber – physical system development.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have become a driver motor of economies. Moreover, in developed countries, the manufacturing SMEs play an important role in the value creation and employment generation.O'regan et al. (2006) presents that constant innovation is a key component to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Raymond et al. (2010) claims that particular manufacturing SMEs should continuously improve their manufacturing processes in order to ensure long term sustainability. However, given the lack of resources and experience, SMEs find it difficult converting research and development into effective innovation (O’regan et al., 2006). Researchers have explained why certain firms innovate more than others by identifying a number of critical success factors or drivers of innovation such as strategy, social capital (Balachandra and Friar, 1997) or R&D (Becheikh et al., 2006a, Raymond et al.2010). The literature on the topic is diverse, there are different approaches and there is not a consensus on how those success factors can be measured. Therefore, the present thesis develops a meta-analysis study of the empirical research on the drives of innovation in manufacturing SMEs of developed countries. The result is a consolidated framework of the success factors and its measurements proposed by 49 authors, those were organized in the different phases of a holistic innovation process. The process considered was presented by Tidd and Bessant (2005). In consequence, the contribution of the present thesis is to serve as a starting point for future studies on drivers of innovation and its measurements, also, to serve as reference for future researchers that will develop a meta-analysis study.
Concerns about China’s currency intervention strategy against the U.S. dollar and other major currencies have been raised by many members of congress for more than a decade. They view it as one of several distorting economic policies China is employing to gain an unfair advantage over their competitors. Assuming the RMB is a freely traded currency, they argue that China’s currency strategy is designed to lower the cost of exports and raise the cost of imports greatly.
Problem and Objective: How is China competing with the USA to become the economic world leader? This paper examines the interconnection among three major economic components in the Chinese economy through financial development, international trade, and economic growth.
Method: The research method involved the exploration of articles authored by economic scholars who have concluded that productivity increases significantly contribute to China’s rapid economic expansion. Numerous articles were retrieved from the website to explain how China is slowly becoming the world economic giant overtaking the United States.
Findings: Scholars expect to have significant economic growth in China, surpassing the individual European countries in terms of ranks and G.D.P. size. The entry of China into the W.T.O. depends on the successful completion of the multilateral phase of accession negotiations. Its membership will significantly impact the international trading systems for numerous reasons. First, the admission serves as a template for various transition economies looking to join the W.T.O due to the increasing demand that the Chinese have accepted within the bilateral phase, the W.T.O. admission negotiations deter the entry of various new members. Secondly, China has taken critical steps towards meeting some of its W.T.O. obligations and the steps that can complete the process that may disappoint some individuals within the organization. Due to the large volume of international trade, there is a risk that trade conflicts can overburden the capacity of the W.T.O. to settle disputes. Third, China has a critical role in shaping various multilateral trade negotiations agendas. The developing nation is also one of the top trading countries, and China is a forceful advocate within the next round for the interest of various developing nations.
Conclusion: US congress has long been concerned about China’s currency policies and economic growth. The RMB’s value versus the dollar has risen by 34 percent nominal and 42 percent actual since 2003. Another concern is China’s use of industrial policies to subsidize priority domestic firms while restricting foreign market access. China’s financial system could be severely undermined if the proportion of non-performing loans increases dramatically due to policies that promote significant gross fixed investment and are primarily backed by low-cost credit policies.
In the opinion of many observers, RMB value is undervalued because of Chinese government restrictions on its value.
This thesis aims to find out what are the career related self-perceptions of female researchers and scientist working or studying in the biomedical field in Finland and Germany. The literature research, statistics and empirical evidence collected by in-depth interviews are used to enlighten the cultural differences, environmental influencers and importance of self-esteem in career development. These in-depth interviews are arranged as individual narratives, which are then further analyzed in the data part. The main findings in the paper point out, that the support from the system provides better chances for women in Finland to combine family and the career, but many of the challenges are still rising form the lack of self-confidence and the tendency to avoid self-promotion. The both sides of working in the industry versus academy are as well looked into. Suggestions for new policies include better information for academics about employment possibilities in industrial the sector, positive role models who especially encourage women to combine work and family, and feedback and coaching in order to motivate women.
As businesses advance toward globalization, their supply chains have expanded. Globalization has brought together varied marketplaces, but it also has consequences. The most significant of these impacts is environmental damage. As organizations and customers are becoming growingly aware of the extent of the damage, organizations are transitioning towards greener practices. However, the long, complex supply chains make visibility and transparency in the chain, particularly beyond the first tier of suppliers difficult. Managing companies at a global scale become complex due to differences in interests and difficulty in managing information, material, and financial flow that require rigorous validation and management from external participants. This is where Blockchain Technology has immense potential. Blockchain is a new, ground-breaking technology with applications primarily in the financial sector. This thesis is exploratory by necessity, as it is an early work on blockchain's influence on green supply chain management. The study employs the funnel technique, which begins with a broad and general perspective before moving on to more particular aspects of the subject. A framework is designed based on a thorough assessment of the literature and real-world applications of blockchain technology. The findings show that incorporating blockchain into supply chain management can potentially increase understanding of the supply chain's hidden layers and aid in the transformation of the existing supply chain to a green supply chain.
Life insurance penetration rate in Malaysia has been stagnant in the past few years although a few InsurTech companies set up in Malaysia recently. Prior researches on InsurTech fail to clarify the gap of the target customers’ and the insurance experts’ opinions on how to enhance the customer experience in online life insurance with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI). To address this, a model is recommended based on the literature review on similar articles and survey results conducted on both target customers and insurance experts. The recommended model has four main components: official website by InsurTech companies collaborated with traditional life insurers, customer support, customer service and customer engagement.
The sector of supply chain risk management has been expanding for several years now, with the goal to not only prepare organizations to recover after supply-chain disruptions but also mitigate risks to reduce losses.
One of the most remarkable techniques in the field is the Artificial Intelligence technology, which owing to its effectiveness and efficiency, allows humans to develop new solutions to predict or prevent a great variety of supply-chain disruptions.
This paper aims to forecast the future state of the Artificial Intelligence technology in Europe by 2035 with the use of the INKA 4 scenario manager software. A total of four areas of influence –– i.e., technological, financial, legal, and social –– were identified.
From those, 11 descriptors were created based on relevant scientific literature and were inserted in the INKA software to develop the scenarios. This process resulted in three clearly differentiated scenarios that exhibit high probabilities and positive outlook for the Artificial Intelligence technology to be widely integrated in supply chain risk management systems in Europe by 2035.
A contract as one of the essential means which regulates national and international commercial transactions, intended to determine the rights and responsibilities of the parties and protect their assets. Parties to international business transactions may freely choose the law governing their contract. As a result, parties are free to choose a contract law which best fits their needs, irrespective of its connection to the particular transaction. The market of contracts offers a choice among the laws of national jurisdictions and uniformed commercial contract law drawn up by intergovernmental organizations. Even application of a reputable national law or uniformed contract law does not guarantee eligible certainty. In particular, uncertainty is not admissible in transactions of industrial products and technologies, where protection of intellectual properties is one of the crucial aspects. In the aforementioned conditions, it might be a problem for businesses to make an appropriate choice of an applicable law of a contract, which is less complex, involves adequate efforts of contract enforcement and costs of dispute resolution. The task of this research is an analysis of different legal environment and making suggestions to a business in a subsequent strategy, depended on scopes of business transactions, national or international, and power levels of the involved parties. The research to be carried out in the following four parts, problem setting, theoretical study, empirical study and implementation. Solutions of the problems related to making and enforcement of a contract and dispute resolutions, basically may be divided into preventive and reactive actions. The preventive actions include choice of an applicable contract law, involving various mechanism to ensure that each party will stick to the contract terms, like self-enforcement, reputation, third party audits. As the reactive actions there may be considered, formal litigation through the judiciary system, which might be costly and slow, and alternative dispute resolution, such as an arbitration, mediation and conciliation hearings.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) among internet companies increased rapidly during the last decade which was caused by the growing competition and changing consumer preferences. Many startup companies enter the market offering hit products and getting millions of users in a short period of time. Due to such quick success established internet players like Google, Twitter and Facebook tend to acquire these startups instead of developing their own R&D. Internet acquisitions are very risky and imply high premiums, therefore, their impact on the innovation performance is quite unclear in the short- and long-term perspective. There is a variety of factors that can affect the innovation performance of both acquiring and acquired companies after the M&A transaction. This thesis is aimed to analyse the impact of M&A on the innovation performance of internet companies taking into account recent acquisitions among social networking players. A case study about Facebook's acquisition of Instagram occurred in 2012 presents the main application for the thesis. Qualitative data for the research is taken from the articles that contain opinions of the industry experts which are then critically assessed using the main scientific concepts about M&A and innovation performance.
The business environment has changed within the past few decades. Growing global competition and the trend of shortening product life-cycle have reshaped the market, coercing companies into reconsidering their business strategies and product development. Higher quality, better time-to-delivery, and cost optimization are crucial factors for firms to compete in this tumultuous market. Therefore, companies are adopting a New Product Development (NPD), which is agile and customer-centric. The path toward change, however, is not identical for every enterprise since companies have their own unique organizational architecture and culture, demanding a thorough consideration of various facets of change, which is the focus of this study. EKU Power Drives, the company case study for this research, is actively involved in innovating electrification solutions and embedded software control for mobile power generation in the oil and gas industry upstream segment. The firm is considering transforming to an agile-based framework to fulfill its vision, which is becoming the most preferred partner for the key players in the target markets. This study aims to investigate the optimal Agile methodology and framework for the case study according to its business context, identify the challenges and how to address them, and outline an implementation procedure.
Rising globalization and digitization resulted in crises for the fashion industry. High competition and the interconnectedness of the consumers rule the market and put it under pressure. Owing to the growing power consumers possess, the requirements towards the fashion players are increasing. Customer experience is frequently discussed these days by academics as well as practitioners and emphasized as a competitive advantage. Yet, it is difficult to measure and to track its consequences.
Since customer experience is elusive and no industry specific measurement scale is defined, at first this work aims to identify relevant touch points of customer experience in the fashion industry by dint of a focused interview. The further objective of this paper is to enhance the comprehension of the touch points’ effects or rather the relationship of customer experience with brand loyalty. This is approached by a questionnaire based on the preceding qualitative analysis and the resulting model. This model defines the customer experience touch points as the independent variables while brand loyalty is examined as the dependent variable. The conducted linear regression analysis reveals a moderate effect of customer experience on brand loyalty and the touch points concerning the products as most relevant in this relationship. Additionally, the digitization aspect is addressed by the examination of the relationship in the offline and online channels separately. With respect to this, the present study recognizes that the extent of the customer experience’s impact on brand loyalty and the significant touch points vary across channels to a certain degree.
Improving conditions for economic growth in Colombia, Investment opportunity in Infrastructure
(2015)
The purpose of this thesis is to get a clear understanding of the situation of transport infrastructure of Colombia. Examine the reasons and the current situation of the country´s background that explains the delay in infrastructure development and the poor quality of the transport networks, being able to find objective arguments to suggest certain type of investment for the coming years that will help to improve the conditions for economic growth. The research goes deep in to the evolution of the country and the role of transport infrastructure in Colombia, highlighting the most important facts and types, to get an overall understanding of the actual situation. The objective is to identify which is the line of investment that will best fit the country´s development in the time where globalization and free trade agreements take active part of Colombia´s growth in the last years, however threatening the industries pushing them to a more efficient and productive environment. On the basis of the results of this research, it can be concluded that Colombia needs heavy investments in the future years to try closing the breach left behind decades of inefficient policies and strategies. The involvement of the private sector in transport infrastructure projects is necessary to fund the type of investments that the country needs. Furthermore, there has to be continuity in the actual concession programs for the road network plus a big investment to bring back the railroad network into an efficient long lengths transport for both passengers and products.
In this paper, I analyze the position of Indonesia current account during thirty five years from 1980 to 2015. The main findings may be summarized as follows:
(a)The movement of Indonesia CA position which interrelated mainly by the transaction of goods and services, and Ind IIP which interrelated to the getting indebtedness of the country.
(b)Indonesia as an open economy, for running CA position is determined by driving forces in macroeconomic scale, such as saving and investment, financial balance, real exchange rate, and trade balance. Indonesia recently is now more open to the free capital without strong foundation of financial system and human resources, so Indonesia suffers from the competitiveness problem.
In this paper, author was unable to find some data and interpretation. From policy recommendation, author strongly suggests government for some long-term policies.
Industry 5.0 is a new age of production that combines human-machine cooperation with cutting-edge technologies. Despite all of Industry 5.0's advantages, there are new cybersecurity threats that need to be considered in order to maintain the stability and security of networked systems. In the first section of the thesis, Industry 5.0 is introduced, along with its benefits and features. Cyber threats posed by automation, robotics, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and networked systems are also noted.
The thesis delves deeply into the vulnerabilities and possible attack paths that hackers can use in Industry 5.0 settings. It looks at vulnerabilities in IoT devices, human mistakes, unprotected communication protocols, and supply chain vulnerabilities, giving a thorough grasp of the hazards involved. Case examples from the real world illustrate how cyberattacks affect Industry 5.0 systems, highlighting the necessity of strong defenses.
In order to develop recommendations for Industry 5.0 security, the thesis examines a number of cybersecurity best practices and standards, including the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and ISO 27001. It highlights how crucial it is to carry out thorough risk assessments and apply efficient risk management strategies in Industry 5.0 settings. The thesis recommends staff awareness and training, incident response strategies, and technology controls as ways to lessen cyber dangers.
The thesis also looks at innovative ways to improve Industry 5.0 cybersecurity, including secure communication protocols, blockchain for supply chain security, artificial intelligence (AI) for attack detection and response, and safe IoT device design. It also takes into account the legal and regulatory sides of cybersecurity, evaluating how well they work to handle privacy and ethical issues as well as lessen cyber threats.
To improve Industry 5.0 cybersecurity, the thesis also looks at cutting-edge technologies including blockchain for supply chain security, AI for threat detection and response, secure communication protocols, and safe IoT device design. It evaluates the efficacy of legal and regulatory measures in mitigating cyber dangers and resolving privacy and ethical issues while taking cybersecurity into account.
The thesis highlights the need of industry cooperation and information exchange in addressing Industry 5.0 cyber threats. It assesses initiatives, partnerships, and networks that support the sharing of best practices, information, and threat intelligence. In the conclusion, the thesis explores Industry 5.0's future orientations and offers academics, policymakers, and business experts’ advice on how to proactively mitigate new risks and guarantee the security of Industry 5.0 ecosystems.
Overall, the thesis contributes to a better knowledge of Industry 5.0 cyber dangers and provides practical solutions through the use of multidisciplinary research, real-world case studies, and examples. Its purpose is to encourage the secure and successful use of Industry 5.0 technology.
As a decisive factor for ongoing corporate success, companies are increasingly concerned with the possibilities of increasing their innovative ability. In connection with factors that can be influenced by internal company decisions, this work deals with the question of which factors are particularly effective in this context. The underlying hypothesis deals with the statement that the innovation performance can be fundamentally influenced by internal company decisions.
From the qualitative survey and study of three medium-sized companies from the districts of Schwarzwald-Baar and Rottweil, company-internal factors for increasing the ability to innovate and their relevance and practical application are examined. These companies are MinebeaMitsumi Technology Center Europe GmbH, Wiha Werkzeuge GmbH, and Hugo Kern und Liebers GmbH & Co. KG. In this context, several employees from the development and innovation teams of the companies were interviewed personally and other employees of one company were interviewed using an online survey. The questionnaire was further expanded on the basis of the information and results obtained. The results of this survey were critically reflected on by the project manager of the company surveyed first.
The seven internal factors identified from the literature are the Generation and Implementation of Ideas, Creativity and Time Pressure, the Use of External Information, Creation of Knowledge, Behavioral Patterns, Organizational Structures and the Composition of Teams. These factors were identified with different relevance and application in the practice of the examined companies. It cannot be conclusively clarified from the study whether the ability to innovate can be positively influenced, in particular by the factors identified. In this context, further investigations are necessary. Based on the literature review and experiences of the companies, this thesis presents a recommendation for measures relating to the positive influence of factors to increase the ability to innovate.
With the ever increasing global competitive business environment, capturing new lucrative markets has taken the forefront for Multinational Entities (MNE’s). In the recent past, emerging countries have gained prominence as a focal growth destination for many MNEs. Despite the business opportunities that they offer, they still remain complex markets in which to do business. Consequently, for the MNEs that have made entry into these markets, adequate growth strategies designed to include sets of activities that deliver a unique mix of value to the organization are imperative.1 This therefore calls for such organisations to adapt their existing growth strategies in emerging markets to various demands. This is in order to maximise performance through well-orchestrated growth agendas that work in concert with the overall corporate strategy. Nevertheless, for overall success, businesses are becoming more aware that operational and control failures can be extremely costly.2 This is because growth comes with increased risks hence a need for new solutions to mitigate and manage the risks. Consequently, the discipline of compliance which is designed to mitigate risks through adherence of; legal requirements, internal and external policies is no longer a second-thought function that requires action down the road. Corporate leaders now recognize that it is important for business expansion and the protection of shareholder value.3 In these markets, compliance related issues have proved to be difficult hurdles for many organisations and they are widely viewed high risk compliance markets. 4 Despite this, many MNEs that venture into such markets fail to integrate their growth strategies and compliance programmes/strategies.
This paper explores the hypothesis that for organisations to optimise performance, their compliance programmes/strategies should work in concert with their broader strategic goals, e.g. growth. This thesis aims to show how the two can be integrated by using Rolls-Royce Power Systems’ AG (RRPS) growth strategy in China and its compliance programme as a case study. The hypothesis is that, if successfully integrated, RRPS can maximise its growth performance in China. Secondly the study seeks to provide a flexible check list or template that RRPS can adapt in its future Integrated Sales Road Maps (ISRMs) in other targeted countries or regions.
Digital Transformation is gradually changing the ways of operating the business. With the advancements and innovations in technology and changing customer preferences, it is essential to adapt to these changes. Digital transformation has the capability to impact nearly every line of business but one of the most significant impact is on Customer Experience. Embracing new technology and processes provides opportunity to create better experience for customers by focussing on automation, self-service, value, quality, customer expectations etc. Advanced systems or solutions that fulfil these requirements can be incorporated in the technology and process landscape of an organization who is supporting customers. This thesis aims at conceptually integrating the Customer Service and Retail Store Support processes at HUGO BOSS into the new Enterprise Service Management (ESM) tool which will in turn drive the digital transformation at HUGO BOSS. Moreover, the purpose of the study is to provide a recommendation if the new ESM tool can replace the existing Retail & Customer Care ticketing tool, thus enabling the Retail & Customer Care team and their respective processes to be fully onboarded and implemented in future into the new tool. This thesis is a qualitative research. At first, qualitative data about the existing ticketing tools used to provide customer service and retail store support is gathered through secondary data collection methods. Secondly, in-depth semi structured interviews with nine respondents from Retail & Customer Care team and IT Support teams were conducted to collect their feedback and analyse the benefits and drawbacks of these tools. Next, the thesis introduces the new ESM tool followed by its evaluation using Fit-Gap Analysis method. Further, the thesis includes the concept of ideal customer service and retail store support processes to be supported by the new tool using process flowcharts. In conclusion, the results of the thesis are presented based on which a future recommendation is provided.
The main objective of this thesis is to investigate and analyze the professional journey of thirteen foreign doctors and the opinion of a German doctor, to explore how their integration process has been into the German labor market, taking into account their personal experiences; especially what they thought was helpful and the obstacles that they encountered during their journey, and to make recommendations for hospitals to help them address the integration of foreign doctors, something that should be done as soon as possible, due to the rising amount of foreign physicians coming to Germany to cover the many open positions that can no longer be filled by the local population.
The thesis is divided in four large sections; the first serves as a basis to understand the problem of the shortage of physicians in Germany; the second one is a literature review taking into account the migration of health professionals, cultural standards, intercultural competence and communication, the different acculturation strategies that immigrants use, inpatriation and integration, and last the management of diversity in healthcare; the third one has to do with the methodology that was used; and the last two parts encompass the findings and recommendations.
In conclusion, it can be said that recruiting foreign physicians is a very good way of approaching the actual shortage of physicians that exists in Germany. However, it is imperative that health care organizations, are aware that the integration process of foreign doctors and the adaptation of the whole organization to this new working environment is of extreme importance to provide the quality care that is expected at any health care institution, and it is imperative that hospitals recognize the need to include diversity management and a Willkommenskultur as vital pillars for the organization.
Patient engagement is the most important element in the process of research/development of medicinal products and healthcare management in today’s times. In a country like India which has a huge population and limited state of regulatory affairs it becomes important to walk the extra mile to protect the patient lives and truly serve them. Time and again it is seen that there is no or limited focus on patient centric processes and we still tend to focus on sponsors as the key stakeholder.
The author in this thesis aims to focus on the clinical trial landscape of India and determine if there is a need to improve the clinical trial processes. If yes, then what type of change is the audience looking for.
The author tries to introduce the human element in the process and remind us all that it is the ‘patients’ who are the centre for the drug development process and serving them and alleviating their pain in the true purpose of the process.
The author along with the helping us find a definition of patient centricity in India, also proposes a model that can be used by the Indian pharmaceutical companies to focus on patient centricity at different stages of the drug development cycle within their organisations.d
This study investigates the interrelationship between Knowledge Management (KM) and employee satisfaction and proposes strategic implementation steps for the further development and acceptance improvement of a new Operational Framework (Blueprint) at Robert Bosch GmbH, Power Electronics. Two primary research questions are addressed: (1) whether KM offers insights into and explanations for employee satisfaction issues, and (2) what strategic implementation steps can be derived for the development and acceptance of the Blueprint. The research commenced with an analysis of existing employee satisfaction surveys, supplemented by in-depth interviews, to understand the current state of employee satisfaction in the business unit undergoing transformation. The literature review was then conducted to ascertain the connection between KM and employee satisfaction. Subsequently, the study engaged in multiple interviews with top management in the Power Electronics business unit to identify implementation measures and best practices across various industries. A comprehensive set of practices was established and subsequently evaluated in a workshop involving line employees from the business unit, integrating theoretical findings with practical experiences. The final recommendations were grouped into three categories: Meeting Structure, Culture and Leadership, and Knowledge Management Guidance. The findings underscore the significance of KM in promoting employee satisfaction and suggest that the proposed strategic steps can foster the further development and acceptance of the Blueprint at Robert Bosch GmbH, Power Electronics.
Organizations invest money, time and energy on fostering gender diversity at the workplace. Other than being fair, diversity has been proved to improve company performance, as it promotes innovation, creative thinking and decision-making capabilities, as an example. However, having said that, there are still some sectors or areas which lack of a fair representation between men and women. In order to build a more balanced workforce, it is necessary for the organization to find ways to be appealing to all groups. One way can be to focus on the recruitment process.
The recruitment process contains some major and minor biases, which can influence the hiring decision. In most recent years, it has been revealed that the words used in job postings can in fact encourage or discourage different groups of people, in this case, men and women. That is due to the fact that language is gendered, because men and women communicate who they are, what they want, what they need differently. Language is strictly related to how one person is perceived in the society and the role they have, with the risk of falling into a stereotype.
The objective of the paper is to study and explain the effect of wording in job postings. To do so, around 200 participants have replied to a questionnaire which presents ten sets of job descriptions containing and comparing gendered words. The questionnaire allows to compare the answers from men and women and assess to what extend wording influence the application decision. It appears that women are more reactive to biased language than men and they prefer female-themed terms; despite being more indifferent, men also lean towards feminine language in some cases.
Due to the great cultural distance between Germany and Thailand, German leaders who work in Thailand may encounter several intercultural concerns. In order to effectively lead Thai employees, these leaders may need to behave differently from what they used to do in their home country in some aspects. Thus, this study examines the changing perception of leadership due to the effect of Thai culture form German managers who are working in German organizations in Thailand.
GLOBE project and its culturally endorsed leadership theory were the key literature explored in this study. To attain the outcomes, both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed. Twenty-three questionnaires were collected from German expatriate managers in German organizations in Thailand. While two in-depth interview were acquired from Thai employees who worked closely with German superiors.
The results confirm German managers greatly value inspirational and trustworthy attributes as well as avoid being tyrannical, tender and provocateur in order to work in German-Thai boundary. The leadership styles such as Charismatic/Value-Based or Transformational and Team-Oriented leadership also suit German leaders to work in Thai culture.
Highlighted as a promising field that targets cost related problems and high research costs, the concept of Lean Management is applied in the biotechnology sector. Specifically, the thesis aims to develop and test a Lean Management implementation model suitable for biotechnological research laboratories. Using multiple mixed methods, a deductive case study approach is taken to investigate requirements for an improvement model. The use of observations and interviews deliver findings which enable the comprehension of the implementation environment. The review of academic literature provided the basis to conceptualize, develop and test a new model, called Biotechnological Laboratory Implementation Model or BLIM. Overall, the results of the implementation can be described as successful since the BLIM meets all requirements fully or with minor restrictions. Effects of the Lean Management implementation are positive and promise to deal with the mentioned cost related problems and high research costs. The findings of this thesis challenge preexisting views on the argument that the success of Lean Management models is subject to the individual characteristics of the organization. As the newly developed BLIM is separated into structured and agile implementation phases, this joint characteristic represents a contribution to research in the field of Lean Management implementations as such and proposes further areas to be researched on.
The aim of this thesis is to identify and investigate the meaning of customers’ expectations in the IT-industry explained by the example of introducing a new product and to develop a strategy how expectations can be managed in the IT-industry.
The first part of the thesis deals with the reasons and the general framework for the research and defines objectives and scope of the thesis.
In the second part, results of the literature and theories about expectations are presented. These show what previous research has found out and give an overview about different types of expectations and corresponding effects. The flowing part constitutes the case study as research instrument and how it can be used to generate results. With the help of a case study of a specific example of the IT-industry the meaning of expectations regarding new products will be highlighted. Additionally, it gives_a basis to develop a strategy to manage expectations in the IT-industry.
Afterwards the results of the literature review and the case study are combined into a usable strategy to manage expectations of new products in the IT-industry. The thesis illustrates the necessary steps of the strategy and gives an assessment of the results.
In conclusion, the thesis argues that expectation management is an essential step of influencing innovation to optimize business and gives instruction to identify, manage and influence customer’s expectations. Besides, this thesis addresses industries which are faced with the challenge of expectation management and offers an initial research about expectation management in the IT-industry. Furthermore, this thesis intends to provide a basic research to show the importance of expectation management and inspire following research.
Market entry strategy for German mittelstand medical device
companies into the Indian market.
(2015)
German medical devices companies are at the forefront of technology when it comes to innovation and R&D. Most of the European medical device manufacturing companies are located in Germany and the number of patents filed by these companies shows the amount of innovation in the industry. A majority of these medical devices are exported within the European Union countries. Economic slowdown combined with market saturation and increased competition makes Europe a very competitive market for these companies. Indian on the other hand is one of the fasted growing economies in the world. The Indian medical device sector is relatively an untapped markets for innovative medical devices. There are tremendous market opportunities due to the fact that local manufacturing base for medical devices are underdeveloped
and often neglected. Most of the local Indian manufactures are engaged in producing basic medical devices and mostly into medical disposables and supplies. Around 70% of the medical devise sold in India are imported products. There is a huge demand and supply gap that is not being filled by the local manufacturers. India offers the perfect new market opportunity for German medical companies looking to venture into emerging new markets. There is abundant supplied of skilled manpower, with wages lower than that of the neighbouring China. India also has a rapidly growing middle class with increasing purchasing power. However, the regulations in the Indian medical device industry are not very clear and transparent. The Indian bureaucratic system is rampant with corruption and red tapes that needs to be tackled and navigated skilfully. A Germany company looking to enter the Indian market needs to understand that nothing in India can be implemented by a text book style entry strategy. In this thesis, we will analyse few of the most suitable entry strategies for German medical device companies with the advantages and disadvantages of each entry mode. We will also analyse the process of doing business in India, which requires an understanding of various aspect of the Indian culture and business relationship building in India. Further, we will analyse the current market scenario with a brief analyse of the local manufacturers currently in the market along with some information on foreign players in the market. Will also interview 5 experts from the medical field and look into few real case studies.
Latin America has become a potential market in the lately years. Brazil has a potential market, being the fifth largest country in terms of population; moreover, the Brazilian economy has grown over the past years with the increasing middle class consumers. Mexico, on the other hand, with its strategic position and as a bridge for the whole American continent and having the most free trade agreements in the world is definitively an attractive investment destination. The main objective of this research is to study what type of entry modes should German companies in the high- tech industry and automotive industry use in Latin American market. As part of the research there has been a study of the internationalization theories, the entry modes and the factors that might affect the entry mode. Besides, the author has approached which characteristics do the Latin American market has and which opportunities may German Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises benefit from. Furthermore, this research incorporates some case analysis from German companies who already entered into this region, as a result there would be a analysis in order to see which patterns those companies have followed.
Population growth, urbanization and climate change are regarded as the megatrends of today's society. This goes hand in hand with a high consumption of resources and pollution. Indeed, these megatrends are mutually reinforcing. A significant part of this is due to mobility in daily life. Technological change such as digitalization, creates innovative concepts to improve mobility and to deal with these changing circumstances. A comprehensive concept in this respect is mobility as a service. This thesis focuses on the identification of the mobility ecosystem and thus on the various stakeholders. First of all, it deals with the definition of mobility as a service in order to identify the ecosystem in particular in the second step. Mobility is classified and analyzed by working on the basis of secondary literature and a quantitative as well as qualitative methodology in expert interviews. This allows conclusions about the relationships, prerequisites and obstacles within the ecosystem and stakeholders.
The results of the thesis suggest that collaboration within the ecosystem is a prerequisite for the implementation of mobility as a service. Furthermore, that mobility as a service should ensure adaptability, since local infrastructures differ between Germany, USA and China, but also within these countries. This adaption process is iterative. The obstacles are interoperability and the willingness to cooperate. Moreover, the results imply that mobility as a service will assert itself more quickly in urban areas due to factors such as the pressure to act and the availability of mobility services as well as the number of customers.
Although the market share of a specific airline is very often a rough estimation, it is still of great importance for the airline top management. In order to make the right strategic decision, management should be aware of its current position and its competitors. This information is important to decide on the airline’s fleet assignment, revenue management and planning and scheduling. A variety of different models exists for market size and market share forecasting. Since no single model provides accuracy, airlines usually combine and compare the results of different approaches. Generally speaking, market share can be estimated using different starting parameters, such as flight frequency, fare, quality of service, number of airplane’s seats, time of departure, etc. The market share depends also on its competitors’ strategy and current economic situation. As it is almost impossible to take into consideration all these parameters in one model, different techniques very often provide different results, and it is the task of the airline network planners to calibrate and validate the model. In this Master Thesis I consider market share as a parameter whose value is between 0 and 1 and which is calculated as a ratio of passengers travelled by a specific airline to a total number of passengers travelled between a given pairs of cities. This Master Thesis presents two objectives. First, it gives an introduction to the history of the airline industry. It analyzes the main factors affecting the demand, gives and overview of the airline network management and presents the most popular models for market size and share forecasting. Second, it estimates the airlines’ market shares for a given set of city pairs for 2013 and 2014 and finds the formula which can be used for future network planning. The estimation is conducted using the Multinomial Logit (MNL) model.
This research thesis examines affiliate review’s role in the relationship between direct-to-consumers (D2C) brands and consumers. Three D2C brands were selected as case companies for the multiple-case study. Seventy-five affiliate reviews were analysed, out of which fifteen were analysed in-depth. Additionally, a share of voice analysis was performed to establish the market share of each case company. The research has shown that affiliate reviews play a dual role as recommenders and sellers, which D2C brands use to achieve competitive advantage. However, the dual role is created at the expense of review quality, which is low.
Even though the idea of nearshoring is not new, it has attracted a lot of attention lately. This strategy entails moving corporate activities, such as IT services or manufacturing, to nearby countries in order to take advantage of a variety of competitive benefits. Nearshoring is a phenomenon that is intimately related to trade wars, regional trade agreements, and changing global economic dynamics. The objective of this research is to investigate the development of nearshoring, the forces that drive it, and the effects it has on various industries, economies, and geopolitical ties. The study is specifically focused on the automotive and semiconductor sectors. The study takes a broad approach, including case studies, economic strategies, and historical patterns. It examines the growth of nearshoring in different areas, such as the USA and Europe, and analyses its effects on global trade and economic stability. In accordance to the study, nearshoring has a number of advantages, including lower costs, less risk, and easier access to trained labour. But it also brings with it difficulties like disparities in culture and regulations as well as worries about data security. Nearshoring trends have had a substantial impact on the automotive and semiconductor sectors, leading to notable changes in supply chain strategy and production processes. In response to the requirement for operational flexibility and the pressures in the global economy, nearshoring has become a popular option for these two industries. The approach emphasizes the necessity for flexible and resilient company strategies in a constantly shifting economic environment and helps to reshape the dynamics of global commerce.
Entrepreneurship research faces a crossroads and a new approach is needed to better understand entrepreneurial behavior. Incorporating neuroscience to comprehend the entrepreneurial mindset seems promising. Nevertheless, the potential of neuroscience for entrepreneurship research is only slowly being realized. Based on an extensive literature review, this thesis examines the emerging role of neuroscience with respect to entrepreneurship. Referring to the model of the entrepreneurial process, this thesis investigates how entrepreneurs discover, exploit, and finally capture opportunities. In this context, explanations regarding trait, expertise, adaptation, and mindset of the entrepreneur are relevant for further examination. Moreover, decision-making in uncertain situations is analyzed. In this context, the dynamic interplay between the reflective and reflexive system is considered. Ultimately, this thesis provides recommendations for organizational innovation to enhance entrepreneurial
activity.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study and understand the theoretical model of New Product Design and Development Process and New Product Development Process followed by Automobile Manufacturing Companies in order to understand the similarities and differences between the theoretical model and practical process of New Product Development.
Key Concepts
The main concepts reviewed in the paper are theoretical “Stage – Gate model” of New Product Design and Development, New Product Development Process followed in automobile industry, role of various departments in the New Product Development Process.
Methodology
The methodology used to review the concepts exposed in this paper was theoretical research.
Conclusion
Generic product development process as described by Ulriche & Eppinger sets up overall framework of the product development process but it does not describe the micro-level activities of the new product development process. Whereas the practical process of new product development works out on very micro-level details of the task and activities in new product development process.
Generic product development process is a simple framework and hence it is common for any organisation, but actual process of new product design and development is worked out to the very detail level according to functions in an organisation and hence it changes from product to product and organisation to organisation.
Platforms are increasingly playing a more critical role in companies’ activities. The intense competition in the market and the global economic situation have promoted the transformation of traditional business models, making enterprises adopt digital transformation solutions (Ot, 2022).
Nowadays, there is an increasing amount of data generated on the internet and mobile apps, which have allowed the exponential growth of platforms, allowing value cocreation and enabling an ecosystem composition that has transformed the linear value chain into a platform business model (Şimşek, Öner, Kunday, & Olcayc, 2022).
The healthcare industry has experienced significant changes in recent years, driven by technological advances, increasing focus on cost-effectiveness and quality of healthcare services.
The use of technology and digital platforms to offer care and enhance patient experience is one of the main areas on which healthcare organizations focus. There is a high potential for telemedicine and remote patient monitoring to revolutionize healthcare services (Sjöström, Lars, & Eva, 2017).
The creation of integrated care models, which combine various health providers to give patients a better treatment and service, is another important topic of interest for healthcare organizations. Integrated care models can enhance patient outcomes, save healthcare costs, and boost patient satisfaction. Integrated healthcare models can also help in reducing healthcare system division and enhancing the coordination of care services for patients (Kodner & Spreeuwenberg, 2002).
Other digital initiatives such as data analytics and artificial intelligence are also emerging as a promising approach to improve healthcare services' quality and support decision-making in healthcare. These technologies can provide more accurate and timely information to healthcare providers and enable more effective and efficient care delivery. Medical service transformation is a cross-departmental and cross-level collaboration that demands the participation of the government, firms, consumers, and other participants (Hughes, Shaw, & Greenhalgh, 2020). The Healthcare system has shifted its service from supply management to value cocreation, rebuilding the social framework through technological change. This new business model approach gives openings to different members to cocreate and add value to current products and services (Leone, Schiavone, Appio, & Chiao, 2021).
Despite the benefits of introducing digitalization and a multi-level business model to the healthcare system, its application has needed to be faster because of multiple factors, such as information integration and the application of connectivity technologies and the telematic infrastructure. Additionally, the healthcare system represents a complex structure regulated by the government and dynamized by the interaction of individuals and service providers. Therefore, some other challenges represent the governmental laws and regulations, patient information privacy concerns, and stakeholders’ willingness to adopt the business model. (Viswanadham, 2021).
Therefore, this study aims to research the Status Quo of the Health Care Industry and to explore the opportunities and challenges of platform business models in the healthcare industry.
The results of this study can provide insights into the critical success factors that can help to drive the adoption and implementation of multilevel business models. It also can inform the decision-making strategies and healthcare initiatives adopted by different countries due to digitalization.
Climate change is currently one of the biggest challenges both in terms of danger to natural habitats, wildlife, and humanity. To tackle climate change, we need to reduce our carbon emissions in a fast and decisive way. This thesis studies one of the potential solutions to do so: green hydrogen. More specifically, its potential development by 2030 in Spain using INKA 4.0 scenario planning software.
Green hydrogen shows to have a wide range of applications, from transport to heating and industry with great potential to decarbonize many sectors. It does come, however with a number of important hurdles mainly related to cost, scalability and technical difficulties that will need to be addressed for it to be successful. With this, 10 descriptors were created generating three scenarios to be studied. The most consistent of them, a successful development of green hydrogen in Spain by 2030 is characterized by having all of its descriptors in a favoring state while the other two have some or all in a hindering state, making its development not successful within the established timeframe. Concluding that due to the great challenge the development of green hydrogen is, its success needs to have all factors supporting it.
Pricing is one of the foundations of any company’s market strategy and the only factor of the marketing mix that deals with revenue generation. The other three viz. product, promotion and place deal with expenditure. Pricing strategies provide varied degrees of flexibility based on organizational capabilities and customer segments. Pricing decisions are fundamental to a firm’s growth and are complex in implementation. Based on the author’s research, value-based pricing provides the best fit for all the important pricing factors like cost structure, profit margin, competition, supply and demand, etc. Despite this, cost-based and competition-based pricing strategies are still being widely used. The IT service industry in India has long focused on the competitive advantages of cheap and abundant manpower but the lack of focus on product development together with the emergence of other low waged countries and the growing nature of technology adaptation in the country have presented significant motivation to these IT firms to invest in research and development aimed at enhancing their product portfolio, which can be best taken advantage of by moving their pricing decisions towards a customer-value centric approach. Basing their prices on the different customer segments and focusing on value generation is the best way forward in the face of increased competition from both domestic and international organizations.
Advantest Company ("the company") is the world’s leading manufacturer of automatic test and measurement equipment used in the design and manufacturing of semiconductors. Because of the complexity of technologies and the supply chain of the semiconductor business segment, the company depends on both internal and external suppliers to manage some aspects of the supply chain of its main product, the System on Chip (“SoC”) test system. As a result, it is of ongoing interest to the company to have tools to continually strive for increased quality, reliability, capacity, and speed. Above all, these tools must enhance the relationships with the suppliers, and ensure the profitability and the company's position in the future.
The goal of this thesis is to understand the supply chain procedure at Advantest Company’s current state from the data-driven perspective by using the process mining technique. This technique is an emerging discipline, providing a comprehensive set of tools to provide fact-based insights and support process improvement. This new discipline is built on process model-driven approaches and data mining.
In this thesis, we discuss opportunities for process mining with an approach to analyse the process and how it can help the company enhance the procedure. This approach, which consists of data extraction from both third-party and internal software solutions, provides better visibility and faster disruptive event notification of the supply chain at the company.