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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.