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The purpose of this study is to diffuse knowledge about the limited roles women still play in Nigeria, as opposed to the roles they could be playing if they were to be empowered,
especially in terms of local and national security. The research questions examined the different ways in which women in Nigeria are suffering the omnipresence of patriarchal beliefs and the norms they entail, which interviews with a sample of nine Nigerian women have testified for. It further analyzed the possible interdependence between patriarchy and insecurity levels, and how empowering women could help building peace in the region. Three experts on the topic were interviewed, and testified for this correlation between women and security, while also pointing out the need for governmental support in terms of financing and policing this inclusion of women. The paper finally proposes a set of recommendations to the different stakeholders of Nigeria, from the civil society and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to the Government itself, on how to reach empowerment and peacebuilding in a sustainable way. Structured mainly on the social and cultural determinants of women’s roles in Nigeria, the study revealed that such determinants need political and legislative will if they are to improve. There is an urgent need for the Nigerian Government to take responsibility for the insecurity the country is facing and acknowledge how this insecurity is curbing any improvement towards both women empowerment and peacebuilding at the national and regional levels. Some of the recommendations include the promotion of dialogue among stakeholders, the implementation of sport programs to diffuse values of tolerance and empowerment, and the alteration of discourse around women and girls to change the conceptualization of power and therefore the roles they play in the society.
In the contemporary business landscape characterized by global economic uncertainty and rapid technological advancements, companies face increasing complexity in meeting their innovation targets. To address this challenge, established firms are engaging in collaborative partnerships with external entities, particularly startups, to leverage their knowledge and capabilities to gain a competitive advantage. Despite the growing popularity of corporate-startup collaboration (CSC), there remains a noticeable gap in the literature regarding the analysis of the dynamics and key success factors that are relevant to enhancing the collaborative process between these asymmetric entities. This study aims to fill this research space by investigating the dynamics, motives, objectives, and challenges of CSC, with a specific focus on identifying the success factors crucial for achieving favorable outcomes. Drawing upon insights from eight expert managers using a mixed-method approach, the study highlights the significance of addressing internal barriers and prioritizing key success factors to ensure successful outcomes in CSC. The research methodology involves a literature review, a pre-stage questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews to gather comprehensive data. The researchers have synthesized the findings to enhance an existing Co-Canvas model in a way that it is specifically tailored for CSC, thereby offering managers a practical framework to effectively navigate the complexities of CSC. The findings of this research hold implications for scholars, corporate leaders, and entrepreneurs, enabling them to evaluate past collaboration initiatives, identify potential sources of errors, and devise strategies to enhance their collaboration performance. By shedding light on the dynamics and success factors of CSC, this study contributes to the existing body of knowledge and offers valuable insights for strategically enhancing collaboration performance. However, the study refrains from making broad generalizations of the model due to the small sample size of experts.
In the Job Satisfaction- Performance literature largely, job satisfaction is portrayed and
discussed positively as a performance driver for organizations that embark on the journey
of progress. This research asks whether job satisfaction inevitably leads to negative
implementation outcomes and how. This research focuses on factors other than job
satisfaction that can be used to drive better performance of employees and how
satisfaction could also lead to negative outcomes. In an attempt to answer this question,
the research undertakes three key tasks. First, it contextualizes how job satisfaction has
minor affects on performance. Second, it outlines the factors that can increase
performance. Third, it discusses crisply the adverse affects on job satisfaction through
empirical evidence to provide focus and 'evidential grounding' for the research.
Essentially, the research contends that for institutions that are unable to manage and lead
productivity from employees, this research serves a powerful purpose ensuring the multi-dimensional approach to view employee performance and modelled to take account of
the people on whom it may impact as well as the overall value it may deliver.
This thesis examines causes and effects of El Salvador’s transition to official dollarization conducted in 2001. The document analyzes preliminary and final impacts in the real, financial, fiscal, and external sectors of the country, and it also provides an economic and social perspective on how these effects have caused little effect on Salvadoran society. Several authors remark official dollarization might have positive effects on countries with macroeconomic disorders such as high inflation rates and drastic exchange rate variations. After more than 20 years of adoption of the U.S. dollar, official dollarization does not appear to have affected positively life of Salvadoran citizens but rather has prevented governments from using monetary policy to apply irresponsible economic policies and has also helped to prevent high inflation rates. To take advantage of the benefits official dollarization can offer, it is highly recommendable for El Salvador to implement transformative social and economic investments and policies that boost human development and economic competitiveness.
The covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted economies all over the world, posing as a difficulty for companies all across the globe. The Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India were one of the most affected. These Enterprises make a substantial contribution to India's economic output.
Despite their significance, these enterprises had faced immense challenges during the pandemic, such as disrupted supply chains, financial needs, loss of customer interest, and administrative problems as well.
This paper, has the intention of studying the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic on the MSMEs of India and is focusing on the Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexities, and Ambiguity (VUCA) challenged encountered by them, the strategies that these businesses put into place to keep the organizations afloat, is also studied.
This paper includes a study spanning various fields, exploring the adaptive mechanisms, and strategies incorporated by MSMEs to manage and navigate through the turbulent business environment, sustaining operations and managing risks.
Furthermore, the thesis throws some light on the role of digital transformation in MSME resilience during the crisis, noting its effectiveness and potential barriers. The study aims to give insights and suggestions to better prepare MSMEs versatility against future disruptions, while also looking at government aid or help during the pandemic.
At last, this thesis adds to the understanding of challenges faced by MSMEs during the Covid-19 pandemic, while trying to offer valuable insights for the future.
In der vorliegenden Masterarbeit wurden verschiedene Ansteuerungsstrategien für den Betrieb von dreiphasigen Active-Neutral-Point-Clamped- (ANPC) Mittelspannungs-Netzumrichtern mit Siliziumkarbid (SiC) Halbleiterschaltelementen untersucht. Durch die Vielzahl an aktiven Schaltelementen können bei der ANPC-Topologie zur Modellierung des gewünschten Ausgangssignals zahlreiche unterschiedliche Ansteuerungsstrategien eingesetzt werden. Je nach gewählter Ansteuerungsstrategie können so unter anderem die Faktoren Schalt- und Durchlassverluste, Wirkungsgrad, Verlustverteilung, Schalter- und Ausgangsschaltfrequenz, der Oberschwingungsanteil des Ausgangssignals, sowie die maximale Spannungsbelastung der Halbleiter beeinflusst werden.
Neben der elektrotechnischen Beschreibung der aktuell eingesetzten Umrichter-Technologien wurden in dieser Arbeit primär aus aktuellen Veröffentlichungen und Dissertationen verschiedene Möglichkeiten für die Ansteuerung von ANPC-Umrichter zusammengetragen und insgesamt sieben Sinus-Pulsweiten-Modulationsstrategien (S-PWM) im Detail untersucht. Hierbei wurde für jede vorgestellte Modulationsstrategie das Grundfunktionsprinzip aufgezeigt und analysiert, sowie die sich daraus ergebenden Vor- und Nachteile herausgearbeitet.
Anschließend wurden alle vorgestellten S-PWM-Strategien in der Schaltungssimulationssoftware PLECS implementiert und diese in verschiedenen Betriebszuständen simuliert. Die Simulation ergab, dass sich bei der ANPC-ALD-Strategie eine bestmögliche Verlustverteilung zwischen den Halbleiterelementen einstellt, bei der ANPC-OOZS-Strategie die geringsten Durchlassverluste entstehen und bei den Strategien ANPC-DF, -12, -R2:1 und -SSLD im Bereich der Nulldurchgänge des Ausgangssignals an den inneren Halbleitern kurzzeitige kritische Überspannungen auftreten. Bei den Strategien ANPC-11-Sync, -ALD und -OOZS treten dagegen keine Überspannungen an den Halbleitern auf.
Ausgehend von diesen Simulationsergebnissen wurden die Strategien ANPC-DF, -ALD und -OOZS für den potentiellen Einsatz in Mittelspannungsumrichtern ausgewählt, auf einem FPGA-Board implementiert und damit eine geeignete Niederspannungstestplattform in Betrieb genommen. Durch praktische Messungen auf dieser Testplattform konnten die Simulationsergebnisse in einem ersten Schritt verifiziert werden. Sowohl das erstellte Simulationsmodell als auch die in Betrieb genommene Testplattform können somit zukünftig für weitere Untersuchungen im Bereich der ANPC-Umrichter-Ansteuerungsstrategien eingesetzt werden.
This study explores the complex dynamics influencing the establishment of secondary
vocational exchange programs, with an emphasis on identifying the barriers and
facilitators in this process. Adopting a qualitative research approach, the study seeks to
capture the rich, nuanced experiences of stakeholders and provide context-specific
insights. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with professionals, administrators,
and officials associated with German and United States Vocational Education. Employing
a two-tiered participant selection strategy, a range of perspectives were captured. The
data were analyzed using an inductive approach to thematic analysis, aiming to identify
underlying patterns and themes. Preliminary findings indicate that funding, policy and
governance challenges, educational structures, administrative elements, corporate
attitudes, and socio-cultural influences play significant roles in the establishment of these
exchange programs. The research also underscores the importance of participant
preparedness, program structure, stakeholder interest and engagement, diversity and
inclusion, and innovative program approaches as vital facilitators. These insights can
influence the development of policies and practices for future secondary vocational
exchange programs, thus contributing meaningfully to the larger conversation
surrounding vocational exchange programs and international educational partnerships.
Traditional networking severely limits the dynamic requirements of newly emerging
use cases like the Internet of Things. For this reason, this thesis is fundamentally
concerned with the proposal of a software-defined networking approach for industrial
IoT networks. We revisit the core concepts, examine related work and subsequently
present an SDN-focused edge architecture for the KOSMoS research project. In this regard, we aim to improve network flexibility, scalability, maintainability and security.
Finally, the developed concept is implemented as an emulated proof of concept in order to assess its feasibility. For our prototype, we present an intent-driven approach that automatically compiles and deploys network configuration policies based on business goals submitted as description templates.
Abstract
In today's business world, it is evident how, thanks to digital transformation, new business models have emerged, especially in the retail industry. Changes in customer preferences have been one of the main reasons why the vast majority of companies within the retail industry have accelerated their digital transformation processes. Evidence has also been found that this change in consumer thinking is related to one of the side effects left by the Covid-19 pandemic, where digital channels gained more strength due to the limitations of physical contact between product providers and their customers. Therefore, changes in consumer thinking and the use of new digital platforms have brought new challenges for companies transforming their businesses from offline to online. The biggest challenges for those companies are not only related to implementing new business models such as online sales or so-called E-commerce platforms but also attributed to the creation of unique and invaluable experiences for the customer, allowing the companies to retain their consumers and create loyalty.
Creating an outstanding customer experience is not an easy task on these platforms since the reach of digital channels is almost infinite, which makes the new entrepreneurs in this industry rethink over and over again the best strategy to approach their customers so that they feel delighted in their customer journey. The present work seeks to provide a solution to the challenge evidenced in the E-commerce platforms, where the main objective is to recognize, through the customer journey, all the critical touchpoints and elements to add value to the shopping experience and to raise levels of customer satisfaction. With the help of tools that measure the levels of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction, such as the Kano model, and through a recommendation system, the current paper provides com- panies that trade their products online with a detail of what services should be improved in the shopping experience to be highly attractive. In addition, a guide is provided where its application in each company will show in a quantitative way what the customer satis- faction levels are like. This work, through exhaustive research in academia, concludes that the factors that most stimulate customer satisfaction are those related to e-services quality and highlights the importance of “Personalized information”, “Online sales agent”, and “Website reviews and rating” services to add value to customers in one of the most competitive markets, such as E-commerce.
This thesis has the purpose to investigate the oil price as the global economic factor but also to examine its implications on the worldwide economy. Thereby the determinants of the oil price are investigated by tackling the oil price itself from three different perspectives – the supply and demand framework, the prevailing world oil market structure as well as from the perspective of already statistically proven oil price determinants. In addition, the arising macroeconomic implications of oil price fluctuations on oil-importing and oil-exporting countries are examined. The investigation based on a thought experiment demonstrates the supply and demand framework to be unable to fully explain all past price changes. The examination on the prevailing market structure identifies the world oil market to be best described as a supply, pure, closed, partial and collusive form of an oligopoly. Analyzing the competitive behavior of the world oil market on three levels identifies non-OPEC producers’ competition to behave in a Cournot manner whereas among OPEC producers Saudi Arabia is identified to be a Stackelberg-follower with certain conditions while at the same time permanently bearing the ambition to become the Stackelberg-leader. The identification on the best describing oligopoly model for the overall industry is inconclusive. Investigating OPEC’s cartel hypothesis does not fully exclude its collusive behavior but denies the OPEC to be described as a prime example of a cartel. The examination of already existing econometric analyses identified a total of 13 determinants to play a key role in the oil price definition process. Investigating the arising macroeconomic implications of oil price fluctuations show oil price changes to be of great importance for the overall economic performance and is best described as a form of a positive of negative vicious circle in which the interconnected second or even third round effects intensify the implications on the macroeconomic activity.
The pivotal role of the service industry in the economy is increasing over the last decades, as shown by the significant contribution to the GDP made by travel and tourism. Among the varied range of travel companies, this paper focuses on travel agencies. The objective of the thesis is to find out the key drivers, which lead to the success of European travel agencies and to point out the factors that make them unable to compete and develop sustainably. This paper uses the PESTEL model, Porter’s Five Forces model analysis, flywheel concept and spontaneously conducted interviews with travel and tourism industry experts. A case study approach is adopted. There is also the analysis of the financial statements, business model and strategies of the top 15 world-leading travel agencies to find out the market structures and competitors’ behaviors. From the collected data and examination, three primary factors that lead to the sustainable development of travel agencies and four main factors that decreed the failure were identified. Besides, the research also finds out the answer for the three research questions: technology is the disruptive forces in the travel agency industry, there will be no monopoly in this industry at least in the next medium-term, and the adaptation of a new business model is possible. Finally, the study proposed a sustainable development model for a European travel agency as well as directions for future relevant research.
After-sales services play a crucial role in companies’ profit. Their importance is expected to increase given the intensifying leveling of product competition and a shift toward a buyer’s market. Ticketing systems are increasingly integrated into these services because of their ability to bundle multiple support channels, enhance the support’s knowledge base, and cut costs.
This thesis aims to create a comparative overview of ticketing systems, which evaluates eight selected market alternatives and one tentative in-house solution according to their compliance with the requirements of the focus company. This comparison is made by exploring the literature concerning build-or-buy, software evaluation and selection, and analyzing several guided interviews.
The results seek to aid the company in deciding on a ticketing system that meets its requirements, as well as to act as a blueprint for other SMEs. The findings include two recommended alternatives in conjunction with further strategic and decision-making considerations. The study ends with an outlook for academia and businesses.
This research examines the impact of social media on consumer behavior, focusing on how consumer behavior and habits change after the use of social media by German and Chinese young consumers. A comparison of the differences between the two groups is also conducted. The study was conducted based on theoretical background and terminology, followed by six hypotheses. Then this research determined the scope, target population, and sample size before using focus groups and online questionnaires as survey methods. While analyzing the questionnaire data, the research tested the hypotheses and demonstrated the effects between the variables. The results indicated partial agreement with existing studies. Browsing time positively correlates with the purchase journey. The duration of online discounts negatively correlates with transaction speed. Young consumers' demand increases with the amount of time they spend browsing product advertisements. However, some findings ran counter to previous investigations. The impact of SMM on young consumers has no adverse effect on the time spent browsing products. Moreover, only in some cases, young consumers' purchase intentions are positively correlated with demand.
Keywords: Young consumers, Social media marketing, Consumer behavior, Purchase journey, Purchase intention, Online time-limited discounts, Demand
Frugality has become a prerequisite for success in a low-resource environment, a reality exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. When it comes to consumer needs, the priorities affordability and functionality are increasingly coming into focus. This study examines how frugal products are performing in developed markets, whether they meet consumer needs, and ultimately if there is a demand for these products.
The aim of this paper is to assess the status of Frugal Innovation (FI) in developed markets, using Germany as an example, and thus consumer behavior, in order to better evaluate the current status and related potentials based on this. The link between FI and environmental and social sustainability can be traced back to and limited to the minimal use of resources. Against the backdrop of the current economic and political situation, these factors represent one of the most significant competitive advantages of today.
This multi-method experiment helps to understand the consumer behavior towards frugal products as well as the opinions and attitude towards it. As a result, it can be said that there is interest in innovation in general as well as FI. The respective buying decisions were balanced, what means that frugal products do not necessarily outperform non-frugal ones, but they are in strong competition. It can be concluded that there will be an increasing demand for frugal products in developed markets such as Germany, especially for certain product categories.
Through an extensive review of the literature, a research gap was identified concerning the knowledge around diversity and its impact on personality types and their influence on group performance. Previous literature revealed that diversity is a popular determinant for group composition, since it encompasses many different meanings and interpretations. Researchers would rather focus on easily measurable elements such as age or gender, but few studies have been conducted on deep-level diversity, such as personality traits or values. The aim of this study is to answer the research questions proposed concerning the effectiveness of homogeneous versus heterogeneous groups as well as the impact communication has on their performance. Through an analysis of previous studies and literature the research questions and hypotheses were formulated, and a methodology designed to answer them. The methodology used in this research was a variation of the Marshmallow Challenge. The groups were faced with two challenges. The first one was to build a 50cm-tall structure as quickly as possible, with a limited amount of material, including raw spaghetti, tape, rope and a marshmallow to test the stability of the structure. The second challenge was presented about one week later and involved the same materials, but the participants had to reach 70cm. Four teams of three were chosen. The personality tests had four possible outcomes: red, green, yellow, or blue. Each colour had specific characteristics and adjectives associated with it. The data collected revealed that the heterogeneous groups performed better overall. A slightly significant correlation was found between how well the teams performed and the words spoken per minute for the first experiment, but not for the second. The biggest limitation that hindered this study was the time pressure and limited sample size.
Nowadays, big sport events such as Olympic Games are not only an exciting carnival for sports enthusiasts, but also a good opportunity for the host country/city to accelerate its economic development. After more than 40 years of development, Computable General Equilibrium has been proved to be a very powerful tool to analyze the impact of big sports events on host country/city. In this paper, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be used as the target case to study the impact on the economy. A Supply model and a demand model will be established according to CGE theory to describe the case. This paper is not focused on the detail but the whole picture of Beijing’s economy by analyzing the industrial structure changes under the influences of hosting the Olympic. Beijing’s industrial structure development will also be analyzed in this paper.
This thesis aims to provide a comprehensive and systematic analysis about the growing popularity of Korean pop music (K-pop) worldwide in recent years. On one hand, the international expansion of K-pop can be understood as a result of the strategic planning and business execution that are created and carried out by the entertainment agencies. On the other hand, external circumstances such as the rise of social media also create a wide array of opportunities for K-pop to broaden its global appeal. The research explores the ways how the interplay between external circumstances and organizational strategies has jointly contributed to the global circulation of K-pop. The research starts with providing a general descriptive overview of K-pop. Following that, quantitative methods are applied to measure and assess the international recognition and global spread of K-pop. Next, a systematic approach is used to identify and analyze factors and forces that have important influences and implications on K-pop’s globalization. The analysis is carried out based on three levels of business environment which are macro, operating, and internal level. PEST analysis is applied to identify critical macro-environmental factors including political, economic, socio-cultural, and technological. On the industrial level, major forces that shape the music industry in which K-pop’s business operates are evaluated based on the framework of Porter’s Five Forces. External environmental analysis is followed by the review of the global strategies of major Korean entertainment companies in achieving their organizational objective of turning K-pop into a successful global business. We identify all the key value-creating activities ranging from talent acquisition to customer relationship management in the value chain of K-pop’s industry, and analyze how each of these activities have contributed to K-pop’s success in the global market. In conclusion, the recent success of K-pop on the global stage can be understood as the rewards for the capability of its internal strategy to anticipate and capitalize new opportunities in external environment.
The aim of this research is to investigate the unique factors that affect the
adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices in Greek
companies, with a specific focus on how they align with the overall business
strategy and performance. To achieve this objective, a "bottom-up" approach
is utilized, which involves conducting case studies to assess the status of
GSCM implementation in Greece. Additionally, the research seeks to identify
the key barriers that must be overcome for successful integration of GSCM in
Greek businesses.
A primary purpose of the study is to advance the field of Green Supply Chain
Management (GSCM) research by providing new and valuable insights on
the implementation of GSCM in a context that has received relatively minor
or even no attention in previous studies. The findings of this study have
practical implications for businesses operating in Greece and beyond, as
they offer recommendations, solutions and strategies for companies seeking
to implement GSCM practices. Eventually, this research aims to contribute to
the overall development and understanding of GSCM, as well as to promote
sustainable business practices in the region.
Keywords: Green supply chain management, Greece, business strategy,
implementation, barriers, case studies, bottom-up approach
This thesis investigates the effect choice options in e-commerce applications have on consumers’ decision making. Previous research showed that a large number of options
can affect consumers negatively. However, the conditions for such choice overload are unclear. After reviewing the existing research, the amount of information (entropy)
contained in a choice set and individual differences were determined as possible influencing factors in an online environment. In a choice experiment, choice sets with
varying information loads and an assessment of the Big Five personality traits were used to test the impact of the two identified factors on choice avoidance behavior. Results from chi-square-tests and a logistic regression model suggest choice overload but without entropy having an effect. A logistic regression model revealed that extraverted consumers are easier overloaded. A low Neuroticism score was found to be related to less occurrence of a too-much-choice-effect. Consumers with a high Openness score on the other hand choose one of the presented options more often and were therefore less often
overwhelmed by the assortment. An interaction effect between personality and the amount of entropy was not found. These findings extend the research on choice overload and offer valuable input for marketers targeting consumers online.
The Syrian Refugee Crisis in Germany has been lately a constant research topic in many fields; politics, economics, cultural, social and safety aspects etc. popping up in all the news worldwide. Everybody is concerned about it and tackling it from a different point of view. Some believe that it a mutual benefit to both the country (Germany) and the refugees. As Germany benefits a lot form the cheap labor of migrant workers in the different industries. Specially the fast growing industries like the rural ones. Others fear that they will weaken the German culture and economy. And that they are burdens on the national people and will cause many problems.
In this paper two aspects of the challenges facing the Syrian refugees in Germany are discussed: the first is their integration and acculturation with the German society and the second is the challenges facing the refugees in entering the German labor market and case studies of Syrian entrepreneurs who developed their own family businesses in Germany are presented. The interviews were held with Syrian refugees in the state of Baden-Württemberg in 2015/2016 in Arabic language. The groups that were interviewed were in Villingen-Schwenningen and Stuttgart. An analysis of the cases presented along with the findings of the surveys and interviews are presented and finally some recommendations are suggested.
As a leading medical technology company, KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG continuously wants to bring innovations and applications into the market and expand its existing product portfolio. As strategic initiatives, the company has set priorities and goals to ensure its sustained success. One of those strategic initiatives is to start developing new products in the field of robotic surgery and compete in this segment. To achieve these ambitions, the company decided to spin off its robotic solutions department and establish a new business called KARL STORZ VentureONE Pte. Ltd. With a smaller and more agile structure, the new venture seeks to implement new ways of working and promote innovation.
This new-born company is playing in a fast-growing market that one single competitor has traditionally dominated. However, robotic surgery still has much potential, and existing suppliers have not yet reached different market segments. One segment that has called the attention of the spin-off is the ambulatory surgery centers in the US.
These surgical institutions are growing and gaining relevance in the American surgery landscape. Hence, the company is particularly interested in developing a robotic solution for this segment. Before introducing a product, the company must understand the target customer intended to address. Management at the new venture is also convinced that new business models can be successfully implemented in this segment. Thus, this academic work aims to evaluate the ambulatory surgery center market in the US and propose a suitable business model for this target customer.
For this purpose, this thesis was divided into two main parts. The first aimed to conduct market research on the ambulatory surgery centers in the US by collecting secondary data from articles, reports, and governmental publications. The second part focused on proposing a business model for the ambulatory surgery center segment. To do so, primary data was obtained by interviewing experts in this market.
The research found that the ambulatory surgery centers segment is a growing market where robotic surgery has not yet been fully implemented due to its high cost and reduced reimbursement rates for outpatient procedures. Another barrier to robotic surgery in surgery centers is the high upfront investment needed to buy the technology. Based on these insights, different business models, such as leasing, renting, pay-per-use, and subscription, were assessed. A subscription model was selected and further developed by presenting the most advantages. Using the “Business Model Navigator” methodology, this work defined and documented the target customer, the value proposition, the value chain, and the profit mechanism.
The financial markets are currently facing uncertain circumstances, which is increasing their tail risk. A recent study was conducted to measure the tail connectedness between North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The study looked at 18 stock market indices using a neural network quantile regression approach from January 4, 2012, to May 5, 2022. The study found that the North American, European, and Latin American stock markets had the highest exposure to tail risk, while Asia and Oceania showed no significant risk compared to the rest of the world indices and were independent. The study also identified the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic as intense events that yielded high tail risk. The Systematic Fragility Index ranked the pre-COVID period stock market and the Nasdaq during the COVID sample as the most susceptible markets. On the other hand, the Systematic Hazard Index identified the S&P as the chief risk contributor in the system.
Subject of the thesis at hand is the analysis of symmetric block ciphers with a block length of 32 bit. It is meant to give a comprising overview over the topic of 32 bit block ciphers. The topic is divided in the examination of three questions. It contains a list of state of the art block ciphers with a block length of 32 bit. The block ciphers are being described, focussing on the encryption function. An SPN-based cipher with 32 bit block length is being proposed by rescaling the AES cipher.
The 32 bit block length results in certain security issues. These so called risk factors are analysed and mitigating measures are proposed. The result of the thesis is, that 32 bit block ciphers can be implemented in a secure manner. The use of 32 bit ciphers should be limited to specific use-cases and with a profound risk analysis, to determine the protection class of the data to be encrypted.
There is an increase in concern for the environmental impact such as GHGs emission and hazardous chemicals discharge along with the wastewater, from the product production process. Likewise the concern in the social impact also rises, in which it include the use of forced and child labor, unfair wages and inhumane treatment of worker in the production process of various industry.
Moreover, with the change in business strategies to fast fashion, in which new product collections are launch four times a year. In response, company have change the structure of their supply chain to shorten lead-time, higher inventory turnover, high order fulfilment and lower price for their customer. However, while focusing on these factors, environmental and ethical are being overlooked.
With the pressure from the public, laws mandate by the government, as well as the foreseen market opportunity make many of the large company to start thinking about a way to eliminate environmental and ethical impact from their supply chain. Various techniques and instruments are developed in order to help the company to analyze and abolish these problems.
Two companies are used as an empirical studies, which are H&M and Inditex. Though the analysis the challenges they faced and instruments and technique they used in response to the challenges, one can clearly observe the different approach in handling the challenges of these two companies. Nevertheless, positive improvement in eliminating environmental and social impact from their supply chain can clearly be seen from their effort.
Unfortunately, even in these years of high innovations in society, many countries still have gaps in basic needs such as energy supply. Many people live off-the-grid (OTG) referring to not being connected to the main or national electrical grid since they live scattered or in remote location or simple because it is unaffordable. On the other hand, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the use of fossil energy increased in the 8 firsts years of the 2000 decade, and half of the energy use in the last decade was accounted to coal. This type of energy source is proven to be harmful for the environment contributing to global warming. New methods of energy storage have been created mainly in developed countries. For example, the photovoltaic (PV) lamps as the main product of a German company that fulfill needs in sustainable and renewable energy resources. However, developing countries may also need to look for practical solutions and the private sector can help. The financing of renewable alternatives is imperative to increase progress and, in these sense, private sector can help. For instance, increasing systems using solar energy for rural communities and promotion of affordable and efficient PV products such as portable eco-friendly solar lamps that replace the kerosene lamps, fan plus lamps, water filters and icemakers among others are helpful in OTG communities and need to be supply. Entrepreneurs that focus in fulfill this gap in society creates value and make a change in the countries. The importance of increase electronic appliances (energy-efficient) and “smart” applications (home area networks and energy storage devices) is undeniable for progress in developing countries and better energy use all over the world Solar energy provides products that not only help people but also maintains a balance between nature and habitants.
Mobile diagnostics – or mobile health in general – is highly appealing, not only for clinicians, but also for patients. It implies empowerment, in particular of those who are really in need, such as inhabitants of less developed regions within the world who have limited access to healthcare. It also implies simplification: Easy data management – a continuous flow of information. Therefore, development of miniaturized and highly integrated diagnostic systems allowing near patient “instant” diagnostics gain a lot of momentum since more than a decade. However, system integration requires time and a significant amount of investment. In addition, there is strong competition on resources from other emergent technologies, such as next generation sequencing which made the collection of e.g. human genome data less expensive and much faster. A more severe challenge is that mobile diagnostics require a change in healthcare management, e.g. towards integrated practice units. This, in turn, requires implementation of adequate reimbursement, standards of interoperability, training of staff, quality control. In 2010, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) launched the grant initiative Mobile Diagnostic Systems (MD, 2011─2015) as part of its high-tech strategy. MD aimed at generating knowledge on how microsystem technologies fit into German healthcare environments. On the basis of interviews with multidisciplinary MD actors, this thesis evaluated retrospectively how the publicly funded innovation network managed to overcome pre-defined external barriers of diffusion, including technology, regulatory affairs and market access. Retrospectives reveal internal barriers involving knowledge and technology transfer, negatively influencing generation of innovation. In particular, financing still represents a high hurdle for biotech innovators in Germany: Larger firms look predominately for market-ready or in-market technologies rather than prototypes and venture capitalists are rare or extremely risk-averse. Another important finding was, that actors involved were highly focused on individual work packages. This risks of not seeing the whole environment embedding MD. Consequently, potential opportunities may be missed, e.g. synergies with relatively close (DIALOC) or more distant initiatives (Global Health Delivery Project-based discussion rounds). This could be partly due to the fact that publicly funded networking activities provide less freedom-to-operate because of pre-defined milestones. In addition, further development of actors with respect to role playing (e.g. boundary spanning or innovation selling) is often not included in such “innovation packages”, but can help to maneuver change. Internal barriers need to be addressed first before targeting the major remaining external hurdle: Reimbursement. Although the latter was covered within MD, standardization of technology evaluation is still an unmet need which strongly influences the willingness-to-implement novel mobile diagnostics. Thus, the value added is to be demonstrated to justify adequate reimbursement. Achieving this goal can be successful, when innovation networking finds its path towards a common vision, e.g. towards value-based integrated healthcare. Pathfinding and visioning can be facilitated by process promoter with excellent network management capabilities. In addition, such a promoter could help to further develop engagement, openness and commitment of collaborators. Therefore, transfer of MD activities to established “top” networks or clusters is recommended for securing valuable knowledge generated. In this environment, an important next step – globalization of MD for ensuring future return on investment – could be triggered as well.
Since MD innovation was found to involve both product and service innovation, maneuvering change is particularly challenging for small and medium sized enterprises. These could benefit from engagement in innovation networking. Findings of this case study can help all direct and indirect actors in the field of MD innovation or in other high complex environments to reconsider pathfinding as well as role playing in networking.
Non-R&D-intensive firms and industries play and continue to play an important role in the German manufacturing industry, as their 41% share of value added in 2007 indicates. Nonetheless, non-R&D-intensive SMEs especially need to ready themselves for a future shaped by a continuously increasing internationalization of competition, rising knowledge intensity and complexity and an impairing job market situation due to demographic changes. Non-R&D-intensive SMEs are therefore more than ever required to boost the effective and efficient exploitation of firm-specific resources and competences in order to generate, secure or enhance competitive advantages. As studies however show, existing strategic competence management concepts are currently implemented rather by large firms. In addition to small firm size, low R&D intensity effects staff setup, innovation behavior, generation and use of knowledge and competitive market behavior which further negatively influence a firm's possibilities and propensity to implement these strategic competence management concepts. In a first step into this field of study, this master thesis aims to identify and analyze specific characteristics facilitating or discouraging an implementation of strategic competence development processes in non-R&D-intensive SMEs in the form of requirements, drivers and barriers. A literature review addressing the particularities of non-R&D-intensive SMEs and the attributes of current strategic competence management concepts discouraging an implementation of strategic competence development builds the foundation for nine guided interviews of explorative nature involving four non-R&D-intensive SMEs conducted to acquire qualitative empirical data to complement the theoretical findings. A total of 22 specific characteristics, i.e. eleven requirements as well as six drivers and five barriers, facilitating or discouraging an implementation of strategic competence development in non-R&D-intensive SMEs were identified after forging the bridge between theoretical and empirical findings.
This thesis aims to provides a comprehensive and systematic approach towards the strategic analysis of Electric Vehicles Industry in India. The research explores the ways how the external business environment or macro and operational environment affecting and shaping the EV Industry in India at present. The research starts with providing a general description of Electric Vehicles followed by the quantitative method of analysis to analyses the external or macro environment of EV Industry in India by using PESTEL analysis and operational business environment level analysis of EV Industry in India by using Porter Five Force Analysis. The author identifies how present market situation of EV Industry looks like in India and what strategies that need to be implemented by EV manufacturer for its future expansion in the India. In conclusion the author anticipates the tremendous effort by Government of India working together with several public and private stakeholder to push the electric mobility solution throughout the country by creating several policies, fiscal & non fiscal based incentives, and awareness towards electric mobility. The findings show that EV will help India to climate mitigation strategies to lower down GHG emission from increasing road transportation in India, energy security, a local pollution free environment and an advanced shared mobility transportation for growing urban population in India. The commercial potential of the EV industry in the near future seems enormous in India as the entire value chain associated with it in developing stage and looking forward to conquering the demand of a billion plus size growing population of young India.
Before the eruption of the latest financial crisis in 2008, Social Responsible Investments were considered as not relevant within the financial market's spectrum, in fact, late 90`s academic literature argues that Social Responsible Investments worsen portfolio performance, seemingly a well established paradigm for almost thirty years. However, why the perception of financial markets about Social Responsible Investments is changing?
Given the controversy surrounding Social Responsible Investments, the current document has tested the performance of a selection of Social Responsible portfolios for the period (2007-2014). Results showed that performance is not diminished and Social Responsible portfolios do not perform significantly different from the benchmark market. Additionally, theory and results are replicated into an interactive business game that aims to discover Social Investment profiles for users and highlight the importance of Social Responsible Investment in financial markets making the current document a combination of financial theory with the design of practical game fully playable.
Common problems that urbanized areas have to face are an increase in accidents, air and noise pollution, traffic jams, lower road security and reduced available space. The increased amount of carbon emissions (CO2) is creating severe consequences that can be observed in climate change. Smart Mobility can help to put under control and lower the CO2 emissions derived from the transport sector. Thus, the paper investigates the benefits and challenges of Smart Mobility. Then, through a confrontation of two benchmark areas which are successfully adopting Smart Mobility techniques, and the utilization of SWOT and data analysis, it shows that Smart Mobility can effectively lower CO2 emissions from transport. Ultimately, the NEXT-Future Transportation project is proposed as an innovative solution that addresses most of the mobility challenges and incorporates the needs for future transportation.
This research aims to study transactional cost and organizational change management in a pharmaceutical company that had gone through the SSC implementation process through different regions, including Latin America. Eli Lilly SSC in Latin America is located in Mexico and was aimed to centralize standard routines and administrative transactions related to finance and accounting back office services for the entire region. In implementing changes of this magnitude, it is necessary to be prepared to encounter the transaction costs related to this strategic decision and for the internal resistance applied in organizational change process. In this sense, this research aims to study what are the main challenges and transaction costs involving a process of re-structuring the organization to the SSC business model, especially in Latin America. Taking as a base the change resistance elements mentioned by Burns and Scapens (2000) and transaction costs theory basis by Williamson (1981). The SSC, a relatively recent business model and a trend between multinational organizations, was implemented in Lilly across 4 different regions to support over 70 countries in all continents. Latin America the last region to be implemented had a proposed migration schedule within less than one year. The findings show that the main resistance to the existing process is related to lack of competence/information and attachment to control and existing routines. In addition, the transaction costs are closely related to the dimensions of asset specificity and uncertainty. We must consider that the lack of a formal change management strategy, within the LATAM region, was a risky move and had impacted the implementation process and stabilization period results. The chronogram had also to be changed due to unexpected details in the region. Latin America was more complex than expected due to the differences in regulations and culture between countries, also expressed a non-verbal resistance that was probably expressed through the lack of commitment of some personnel. The results of this research raise inputs to the next researchers and bring elements to be considered by organizations when implementing the SSC business model. It is useful to direct actions and strategies to control de change impact and possible transaction costs. Additionally, through the research we filled the purpose to build an overview on shared services model and discuss the main points that should be considered when taking into consideration to re-structure the business with this model, characterized as a centralization of services that are provided from one single point to multiple business units in order to avoid activities duplication, optimizing resources through the integration of technology, people and standardized processes (Deliotte, 2007).
Financial technology, popularly known as Fintech, has disrupted and revolutionized the financial service sector. Today, institutions such as banks are adapting digital transformation with the help of technological devices. There is no doubt that Fintech has transformed the way we bank. Nevertheless, there has been a growing need of understanding the future of financial institution with a holistic approach. Regulatory and governmental support towards maximizing opportunity, minimizing risk, and integrating financial inclusion is needed to accelerate the economy and attain sustainable development.
The following thesis aims to study financial inclusion and how to achieve it in the Fintech industry. It comprises of four areas of influence; market, social, technology and regulatory while emphasizing on the economic development, social progress, uplifting digital finance and robust regulatory system in the globalized financial market. The research aims to close the gap among the regulatory, economic, technological and social aspects of Fintech and then develop a pathway to attain financial inclusion. In addition, the objective of the research is to provide a comprehensive strategic plan towards a prespecified future in finance. This was achieved with the help of normative scenario planning. The result was calculated using scenario planning software INKA 4. The result consisted of four distinct scenarios supporting the pathway to implement financial inclusion in Fintech sector by the year 2030.
This research is aimed at analyzing social media patterns of consumers in Russia and in Germany, and social media strategy of automakers. The purpose of the paper is to observe social media presence of three major car manufacturing companies and see what the social media preferences of consumers are during purchasing journey. Furthermore, the results include comparison between Russia and Germany as well as social media best practices of automakers. For this, data was collected from a random sample of people in Russia and in Germany through online questionnaire. After that an analysis of secondary data on social media presence of automakers was done. A total of 650 people participated in the online questionnaire. The data was analyzed for each country and compared with each other. The results revealed that there are a lot of similarities in social media usage. However, existing differences are very drastic and needed to be considered by companies when it comes to establishing a social media strategy in a specific country. Furthermore, selected car manufacturing companies have a relatively strong social media presence but are different among each other with some gaps that can be improved.
Cost Optimization is a persistent discipline to adjust expenses and reduce costs while maximizing business value, and it has proven to be one of the most influential strategies to generate profits and stay competitive in the market. In this study, technical and strategic solutions that can lead to manufacturing cost optimization were considered. For this purpose, a test environment was created according to the DFMA methodology using the DFMA Concurrent Costing V4.1 software developed by Boothroyd Dewhurst Inc. and the production expenses of a JED029M3 aluminum bushing product from WABCO Group were analyzed.
Results revealed that these charges can be assigned to five main cost drivers Material, Machine Setup, Process, Scrap and Tools, of which Tooling was the most influential driver at lower volumes, while Material and Process remained two of the considerably substantial drivers across all ranges of volumes produced. Furthermore, among the optimization alternatives, the right choice for machine and raw material shape demonstrated to have a relative effects of less than 5% in reduction of manufacturing cost for 1,000 pieces, while outsourcing to China and transitioning toward economies of scale lowered could impact the total costs by -40% and -70%, respectively.
As waste generation increases, so are initiatives to recover products and recycling. A particular waste that has continuously grown is plastics. Since its introduction, it has provided practical implications to different industries; however, it has also negatively affected the environment by its disposal. The recycling of plastic has offered opportunities to conserve non-renewable fossil fuels, reduce energy consumption, and avoid waste. Many countries seek for a sustainable system to recover plastics such as PET bottles. Mexico’s high soft-drinks consumption had consequently increased the disposal of PET bottles. Mexico has developed a recycling industry of PET bottles by following a Shared Responsibility between government, industry and society. However, a lack of awareness and knowledge among the society about the importance to collect the bottles and to recycle them makes it imperative for the introduction of a system that could create a society that recycles more. Providing a description of the opportunities and challenges for a collection system in Mexico simplifies future chances of comprehending the direction and actions needed for increasing recycling activities in the country.
This thesis analyzes the effects that product label certification of Fairtrade products and the retail format where they are bought by consumers (Supermarkets vs. Discounters) have on the Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) of common grocery store goods. The thesis builds on data obtained from an online-conducted survey where participants had to respond if a determined price point was deemed as cheap or expensive to them and based on the average reaction times of their answers we determined the individual WTP. Two-way ANOVA analysis were performed with this data and some interesting findings were discovered: while a difference can be observed in consumers WTP for goods depending on the retail environment where they are acquired, there is no evidence of multiplicative effect of product labeling and retail format.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Open Educational Resources (OER) in der Hochschullehre - Anwendungsfall Informationssicherheit
(2016)
Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Chancen von Open Educational Resources (OER) im Bereich Informationssicherheit festzustellen und zu fördern. Dabei liegt der Hauptfokus auf Bildungsmaterialien für die Hochschullehre. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, wird eine analytische Bestandsaufnahme der aktuellen Quellenlage von Materialien der Informationssicherheit durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse werden in einer Datenbank festgehalten und theoretisch ausgewertet. Dies zeigt, dass aktuell nur wenige OER im Bereich Informationssicherheit verfügbar sind. Es stehen jedoch vielseitige Ausgangsmaterialien zur Verfügung. Um diese verarbeiten zu können, wird ein Handbuch für OER-Ersteller erarbeitet. Dieses bietet didaktische und lizenzrechtliche Hinweise für die OER-Erstellung. Als Beispiel zur Umsetzung dient das erstellte OER "Risikomanagement in der Informationssicherheit - Risikoidentifikation". Abschließend evaluiert diese Arbeit in theoretischer Form eine Möglichkeit, studentische Arbeiten unter einer freien Lizenz zu veröffentlichen.
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.
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.
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.