Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Personal Capabilities'

This thesis represents the study of teachers' perceptions and experiences of the teaching of Personal Capabilities (PCs) through the Science curriculum. It documents the process by which teachers were successfully enabled to incorporate the teaching of PCs through the Science curriculum. An action research methodology provided the basis for the development of the study which benefited from flexible, collaborative partnerships between teachers and the researcher. Facilitation and support prompted action and continuous reflection on research interventions, their outcomes and influence on pedagogy, student development and learning. Emphasis on regular teacher-researcher interactions during curriculum innovation had significant implications on teachers' professional development, and was critical in affecting pedagogic change. Collaborative partnerships emerged as a powerful tool for understanding the teaching and learning of PCs. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, classroom observations, reflective logbook entries and discussions formed the main sources of data, represented in case studies which provide contextualised representations of teacher activity. Using ten operationally-defined PCs, it is shown that students' development can be enhanced through the Science curriculum. A process model including: knowing, self-assessing, action planning, acting and reviewing, illustrates the teachers' and students' actions during PC development. Strategies for facilitating students' PC improvement are illustrative of the teachers' modified pedagogic approaches to subject teaching, which encourage self-awareness and prompt behavioural change. Findings from this study suggest further research and provide recommendations for policy makers, teachers and educational researchers, highlighting the constraining nature of current National Curriculum (NC) assessment strategies.

Most recent attempts at solving the Non-Identity Problem have focused on providing a deontological solution to the problem, often by giving special attention to rights. In this paper, I argue for a solution that focuses on highlighting the morally permissible second-personal reasons and claims that nonidentity victims may have. I use a natural marriage between a Kantian conceptualization of what it means to be free and equal—being one’s own master—and Nussbaum’s Capabilities Approach to identify the rights that all individuals, current and future are assigned. I claim that these rights, or capabilities, are what all are entitled to master for themselves in the Kantian sense. I conclude with a solution that produces intuitively correct results and dissolves the nonidentity problem altogether.

This dissertation examined certain distal and proximal relational factors and emotional capabilities of individuals in therapeutic programs in Greece. The three studies aimed to extend existing work by examining links between distal (child abuse reports) and proximal (adult attachment, social support) relation factors with psychological health outcomes of substance users in addiction treatment programs. The results from the three studies supported the view that: a) distal (childhood maltreatment) and proximal (attachment organization) relational factors are important predictors of substance users’ well-being; b) proximal factors (anxious attachment) mediate effects of abusive experiences; c) emotional capabilities and specifically regulatory processes have a prominent role as mediators of relational factors on substance users’ well-being.

This dissertation examined certain distal and proximal relational factors and emotional capabilities of individuals in therapeutic programs in Greece. The three studies aimed to extend existing work by examining links between distal (child abuse reports) and proximal (adult attachment, social support) relation factors with psychological health outcomes of substance users in addiction treatment programs. The results from the three studies supported the view that: a) distal (childhood maltreatment) and proximal (attachment organization) relational factors are important predictors of substance users’ well-being; b) proximal factors (anxious attachment) mediate effects of abusive experiences; c) emotional capabilities and specifically regulatory processes have a prominent role as mediators of relational factors on substance users’ well-being.

The aim of this study was twofold; firstly it sought to describe the human security situation of Roma IDPs and IDPs living in collective centers, secondly it tried to create an understanding for how the human security situation can affect IDPs capabilities to develop. The findings of the study were mainly based on a field study conducted in Belgrade, Serbia for two months. The results of the study were that IDPs in collective centers have a poor human security situation regarding basic income, employment, adequate housing and experienced personal security. Roma IDPs suffer from the same insecurities, but in addition also has poor human security in basic education and personal safety. Their stagnant human security situation proved to be the result of the inability to help IDPs by the actors involved in the relief work. Obstacles such as the Serbian government’s policy of return, a society in transition, the status of IDPs, lack of necessary documents together with lack of agency of IDPs and mistrust between different levels of the society, have hindered a positive improvement of IDPs human security situation. Their poor human security situation and their lack of instrumental freedoms in the Serbian society have lead to limited prospects for these two groups of IDPs to develop in the Serbian society.

Thesis (B.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1991.
Includes bibliographical references (leaf 80).
by Eugene Samuel Chen.
Thesis (B.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1991.

Handheld devices have a limited amount of screen real estate. If a handheld device could take advantage of larger screens, it would create a more powerful user interface and environment. As time progresses, Moore's law predicts that the computational power of handheld devices will increase dramatically in the future, promoting the interaction with a larger screen. Users can then use their peripheral vision to recognize spatial relationships between objects and solve problems more easily with this integrated system. In the spillable environment, the handheld device uses a DiamondTouch Table, a large, touch-sensitive horizontal table, to enhance the viewing environment. When the user moves the handheld device on the DiamondTouch, the orientation of the application changes accordingly. A user can let another person see the application by rotating the handheld device in that person's direction. A user could conveniently use this system in a public area. In a business meeting, a user can easily show documents and presentations to other users around the DiamondTouch table. In an academic setting, a tutor could easily explain a concept to a student. A user could effortlessly do all of this while having all of his/her information on the handheld device. A wide range of applications could be used in these types of settings.

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O mercado de crédito brasileiro vem atraindo, nos últimos anos, diversos novos entrantes, amplificando a concorrência e impulsionando a busca por fatores que proporcionem mais competitividade. A empresa que almeja ter sucesso nesse mercado deve possuir as competências necessárias para identificar tendências, superar os concorrentes e aproveitar as oportunidades decorrentes das transformações do setor. Dentro da área de marketing, a fragmentação da mídia e as possibilidades de micro segmentação, representam ao mesmo tempo uma ameaça e uma oportunidade para ganho de competitividade por parte das empresas. Neste estudo, focamos especificamente no processo de segmentação de clientes, como forma de aumentar a eficiência da empresa na aquisição e conversão de clientes de crédito pessoal. No desenrolar deste estudo, um ciclo completo de clusterização foi aplicado a partir de uma base de proponentes a crédito pessoal, classificando os grupos obtidos de acordo com as taxas de aprovação e conversão em contrato. Os segmentos resultantes foram analisados em relação às taxas de aprovação e conversão efetiva em contratos; esta análise irá para indicar quais deverão ser os segmentos alvo da empresa para expandir e melhorar a qualidade de sua base de clientes. A partir destes resultados, a empresa pode direcionar seus esforços de marketing e aperfeiçoar as campanhas e promoções de forma a obter melhor desempenho em seu processo de identificar, encontrar e adquirir clientes – além de priorizar o atendimento e suporte aos clientes classificados como bons.
In the last years, the credit market in Brazil received several new players, becoming an increasingly competitive sector. The company that aims to reach success in this market, should have the capabilities to overpass competitions and take advantage of the opportunities in the sector. Inside the marketing area, the media fragmentation and micro segmentations possibilities are, at the same time, a threat and an opportunity to gain market. In this research, we focused specifically in the client segmentation capability, as a way to gain efficiency in acquiring and converting personal loan clients. In the purposed model, we did a cluster analysis of a personal loans applicants data base, classifying clients according to their approval and conversions rates. The selected segments, which will have above the average conversions rates, will be the target for the company expand clients and gain quality for the data base. Focusing in these segments, the company will be able to find and acquire new clients – using media segmentation - and use for client prioritization in the sales funnel and customer care.

The link between information technology (IT) and competitive advantage has been the preoccupation of many IT researchers. IT plays a key role as a necessary, but not sufficient, source of value. Prior research has in most cases investigated the direct link between IT and competitive advantage. Other researchers have examined the effect of IT on mediating factors (such as firm strategy) or applied higher order IT support for core competences in their research constructs. Only a few have recognised the potential of IT in enabling dynamic capabilities. This thesis argues that the dynamic capability perspective of strategic management provides a better insight into how IT, beyond its traditional role, needs to be converted into a higher order resource to deliver competitive advantage. The objectives of the study are therefore: (1) to apply the concept of the dynamic capability perspective to the IT-competitive advantage research in order to explicate the strategic role of IT in attaining competitive advantage; and (2) to examine the antecedent capabilities and competences that may lead towards developing adaptive IT capability. This study proposes and empirically tests a dynamic capability-based model of IT and competitive advantage. The proposed model posits adaptive IT capability as a mediating higher order resource that relies on IT capabilities (infrastructure, personnel and management) and IT support for core competences (operational and market) to influence a firm's competitive position (competitive edge in market and financial performance). The model also hypothesises that IT support for core competences can lead to competitive advantages. To test the model, data were collected from a cross- sectional sample of 203 medium- and large-sized Australian organisations. Descriptive and analytical (structural equation modelling) tools were employed to test both the measurement and structural models. The findings reveal that the developed model explained 28% of the variance in competitive advantage, 72% for adaptive IT capability, 51% for IT support for operational and market competence, demonstrating the strategic role of adaptive IT capabilities as sources of competitive advantage. This indicates that those firms that deploy IT for creating operational and market competences require a further capacity to rebuild and reconfigure their resources to improve market and financial performance. Thus, it appears that the impact of IT support for core competences on competitive advantage is not direct, but indirect through adaptive IT capability. Several IT capabilities and competences were identified as antecedents for building adaptive IT capabilities. This PhD study's main contribution lies in bridging a research gap by developing and empirically testing a model of adaptive IT capability that measures how IT can enable firms' dynamic capabilities. The model includes both the antecedent factors that build the higher order resource of adaptive IT capability (upstream factors) as well as the effect on competitive advantage (downstream factors). Practitioners can benefit from the results of this study in terms of the ramifications for investment decisions as well as to benchmark where they stand with their IT in terms of potential for value creation and business support.

Innovation is what makes a business sustainable. For an organization to progress in their realization of innovations, a vital aspect is the process from where innovations transfer from ideas to valuable realities. Recent studies have addressed the capabilities required in order for an organization to innovate. This paper aims to investigate what key elements that are missing through the different phases of the innovation process, in terms of different capabilities and personas within an organization. Not many studies have previously done this connection to each phase of the process. We would like to address this fact and as such contribute to the scientific research by directing all missing elements to the phase in which they are of importance. This is done by quantitative measures through data supplied by the company Innovation360, combined with qualitative interviews of organizations within the manufacturing industry. The main findings suggest that organizations struggle with customer insights in the ideation phase, and a structured selection phase before conducting almost functional prototypes. Mostly, this is a result of too close relationships and collaborations with current customers and a short term focus on innovation to reassure return on investment.
Innovation är det som gör en verksamhet hållbar. För att en organisation ska kunna utvecklas i arbetet med innovation är det av hög vikt att ha en fungerande process på plats som stödjer transformationen av en idé till värdefulla realiteter. Tidigare forskning har kommit fram till ett antal viktiga förmågor som är nödvändiga för att en organisation ska lyckas med innovation. Den här studien syftar till att undersöka vilka nyckelfaktorer som saknas i de olika stegen av innovationsprocessen, både vad gäller olika förmågor och personas representerade i en organisation. Det finns inte många studier som har gjort kopplingen till varje steg i innovationsprocessen tidigare. Därför vill vi adressera det och därmed bidra till forskningen genom att härleda de saknade faktorerna till den fas där de är viktiga. Studien är utförd med kvantitativa mätningen genom data tillhandahållen av företaget Innovation360, kombinerat med kvalitativa intervjuer av företag inom tillverkningsindustrin. Vårt huvudresultat indikerat att organisationer kämpar med att erhålla kundinsikter i den första idégenereringsfasen, samt att det generellt råder en avsaknad av en strukturerad urvalsprocess innan man utvecklar nästan helt fungerande prototyper. Detta går mestadels att knyta an till för nära relationer och samarbeten med befintliga kunder och ett kortsiktigt fokus på innovation för att säkra upp för avkastningen.

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’identifier les compétences interculturelles qui déterminent la disposition des gestionnaires au changement organisationnel. Pour ce faire, nous avons analysé l’influence des compétences interculturelles, impliquant des aptitudes cognitives, des habiletés émotives et des compétences comportementales/sociales chez les gestionnaires, sur la disposition au changement. Afin de tester notre modèle de recherche, incluant douze hypothèses principales nous avons eu recours à une enquête avec un questionnaire électronique auto-administré. Notre échantillon total compte cinq cent cinquante- sept personnes en provenance de soixante-huit pays différents. Les personnes interrogées, des salariés d’entreprises, occupent des postes à différents niveaux hiérarchiques : au niveau stratégique, mais aussi au niveau opérationnel, c’est-à- dire, des gestionnaires qui sont responsables de la planification à long terme, du contrôle du progrès, ou de la supervision quotidienne des opérations. La compréhension du concept de la compétence interculturelle était un aspect essentiel dans cette thèse de doctorat. La partie théorique a donc été écrite discrétionnairement par le chercheur au sujet des références choisies sur lesquelles le cadre conceptuel a été établi. Une partie empirique a été soutenue avec une analyse méthodologique quantitative afin de prouver qu’il y a une corrélation positive significative entre la compétence interculturelle et la disposition des gestionnaires au changement organisationnel
The object of this thesis is to discover the intercultural competencies that determine manager’s readiness for organizational change. Through the analysis of twelve main hypotheses; regarded as intercultural competence; involving cognitive capabilities, emotional abilities and behavioural/social skills in managers; and their influence on readiness for change, the procedure to validate the general hypothesis includes an electronic self-administered questionnaire and a total of five hundred and fifty seven respondents from sixty-eight different nationalities. The respondents are managers of corporations who hold strategic, tactical or operational management positions; that is, managers who are responsible for long-term planning, progress monitoring, or day-to-day operational supervision.The understanding of the concept of intercultural competence is a central aspect in this dissertation and therefore the theoretical part has been written discretionarily by the researcher concerning the selected references upon which the conceptual framework was built. An empirical part is supported with a quantitative methodological analysis in order to prove that there is a significant positive correlation between intercultural competence and managers’ readiness for organizational change

La Valeur statistique de la vie humaine (VSVH) est un outil d’analyse économique, qui est définie comme la valeur qu’une personne est prête à payer (CAP) pour réduire le risque de mortalité ou de morbidité. L’intérêt d’un tel outil est d’estimer monétairement le bénéfice social d’un projet d’investissement destiné à réduire le risque, mais aussi d’établir un arbitrage entre plusieurs alternatives. Répondre à l’aléa moral dans un contexte de rareté des ressources est parfaitement adéquat avec la VSVH. Avec l’estimation des personnes de leurs capacités de paiement en fonction de leurs perceptions du risque et de leur niveau de revenu, les personnes sont positionnées comme les seules juges de la valeur de leurs vies. Parce que, les personnes déterminent librement les CAPs en fonction de leurs préférences personnelles et que ces préférences sont intégrées dans la détermination d’un choix social, la VSVH ne contredit pas le cadre normatif d’établissement d’une décision. Néanmoins, le welfarisme comme une source des méthodes d’estimation de la VSVH est en relation directe avec l’utilitarisme. Au final, la valeur estimée par la VSVH est de nature subjective. Dans le domaine de la santé, la VSVH doit dépasser le cadre subjectif d’une estimation pour répondre à l’éthique normative qui décrit la pratique médicale, notamment la prise en considération de l’autonomie personnelle, la notion personnelle de la bonne vie et la notion universelle de la personne. L’objectif de notre travail est de rechercher les arguments d’établissement d’une valeur de référence de la VSVH qui endosse un cadre normatif. Cela nécessite une analyse approfondie au sein de la théorie économique du bien-être
The value of statistical life (VSL) is an economic analytical tool, which is defined as the value that a person is ready to pay (WTP) in order to reduce the risk mortality or morbidity. The advantage of such a tool is to monetarily estimate the social benefit of an investment project which is made to reduce the risk, but also to establish an arbitrage between several alternatives. Respond to the moral hazard in a context pertaining to the scarcity of resources, which is perfectly in keeping with VSL. With people’s estimation on their willingness to pay, depending on how they perceive risks and their income level, people are positioned as the sole judges as for the value of their lives. Because people freely determine the WTP depending on their personal preferences and these preferences are included in order to determine a social choice. The value of statistical life doesn’t contradict the normative framework of establishing a decision. Nonetheless, welfarism which is a source of estimating methods of VSL is directly related to utilitarianism. Eventually, the estimated value by VSL is subjective nature. In the health sector, the VSL needs to surpass the subjective framework of an estimation in order to answer the normative ethic which describes the medical practice, especially by taking personal self-sufficiency into account but also the personal notion of a good life and the universal notion of the person. Researching establishing arguments of reference value pertaining to VSL which takes on a normative framework and this is objective when it comes to our work. This theoretically requires an in-depth analysis within the economic theory of well-being

Le concept de travail décent a été présenté par le Directeur général du Bureau international du travail, en 1999, comme l’objectif prioritaire de l’Organisation internationale du travail permettant à chaque femme et chaque homme d’exercer une activité dans des conditions de liberté, d’équité, de sécurité et de dignité. Il regroupe quatre piliers interdépendants que sont l’emploi, la protection sociale, le dialogue social et la promotion des droits au travail. De manière inédite, l’OIT impose un cadre d’action pour tous les États membres. Evoluant en fonction des conditions socio-économiques de chaque État membre, le concept de travail décent est susceptible d’être défini localement tout en ayant un contour universel. La traduction du concept est facilitée par le biais des programmes par pays de travail décent (PPTD), relevant de la coopération technique du BIT, et des indicateurs mesurant le travail décent. Le concept apparaît alors comme un objectif de portée universelle et non comme une norme juridique. Si la coopération technique de l’OIT facilite la réalisation du travail décent, son action normative est également essentielle. L’action normative doit aussi s’orienter vers le concept de travail décent, comme le montrent la Convention du travail maritime adoptée par la Conférence internationale du travail en 2006 et la Convention n°189 concernant le travail décent des travailleurs domestiques adoptée en 2011. Toutefois, perçu comme un slogan politique pour redonner une visibilité à l’OIT, fragilisée par le contexte de la mondialisation, le concept de travail décent a été critiqué pour son caractère minimaliste et ignoré au sein de l’UE. La confrontation entre le concept de travail décent et le droit de l’Union révèle alors un paradoxe entre l’accroissement des conditions de vie et de travail indécentes au profit d’un renforcement du droit du marché du travail ainsi que du droit du marché intérieur et l’engagement de tous les États membres de l’UE d’être liés à la Déclaration de l’OIT de 1998. Pourtant, la situation économique et sociale actuelle au sein de l’Union européenne interroge sur la nécessité et la possibilité d’intégrer le concept de travail décent, qui révèle une approche particulière du travail, en droit de l’Union européenne. En effet, la réflexion sur un régime de travail réellement humain centrée sur les valeurs de justice sociale et de dignité humaine trouve tout son sens dans le contexte actuel de la gouvernance économique au sein de l’Union européenne et des mesures d’austérité envisageant le travail sous l’angle du marché et des échanges. La justice sociale dans le sens que lui a donné la Déclaration de Philadelphie de 1944 puis le concept de travail décent, c’est-à-dire celui de l’action, est aujourd’hui indispensable pour la protection des personnes et de l’environnement. La situation actuelle au sein de l’UE constitue donc un enjeu pour l’OIT dans sa capacité à imposer la traduction du concept de travail décent en droit social européen et pour l’UE elle-même. Le concept de travail décent propose des solutions pour l’action normative, il implique des exigences pour le législateur et le juge de l’UE. A l’instar de l’OIT, l’UE doit orienter son action normative vers le concept de travail décent pour renforcer la place des droits sociaux fondamentaux face aux libertés économiques. Cette nouvelle orientation nécessite alors pour l’UE de prendre appui sur les instruments de l’OIT, en particulier sur ses conventions et déclarations ainsi que sur la coopération technique prenant en compte ses spécificités
The concept of decent work has been presented by the Director-General of the International Labour Office, in 1999, as an International Labour Organisation’s priority objective enabling every woman and man to exercise an activity in conditions of freedom, equity, security and dignity. This concept brings together four independent pillars that are employment, social protection, social dialogue, respecting, promoting and realizing the fundamental principles and rights at work. In a new way, the ILO imposes a framework of action for all Member States. Depending on the socio-economic conditions in each Member State, the concept of decent work is likely to be defined locally while having a universal outline. The translation of the concept is facilitated through Decent Work Country Programs (DWCPs) under ILO technical cooperation, and indicators measuring decent work. The concept of decent work therefore appears as an objectif of universal scope and not as a legal norm. If ILO’s technical cooperation facilitates the achievement of decent work, its normative action is also essential. Normative action must also be directed towards the concept of decent work, as reflected in the Maritime Labour Convention adopted, in 2006, by the International Labour Conference and in the Convention n° 189 concerning decent work for domestic workers adopted in 2011. The concept of decent work, seen as a political slogan to give visibility to the ILO, weakened by the contexte of globalization, was criticized for its minimalist nature and ignored within the European Union. The confrontation between the concept of decent work and the law of the European Union reveals a paradox between the increase in indecent living and working conditions in favor of a strengthening of labor market law and market law and the commitment of all EU member states to be linked to the ILO Declaration of 1998. Yet, the current economic and social situation in the European Union raises the question of the need and possibility of integrating the concept of decent work, which reveals a particular approach to work, in European Union law. Reflection on humane conditions of labour centered on the values of social justice and human dignity makes sense in the current context of economic governance in the European Union and the austerity measures considering the work from the perspective of the market and trade. Social justice in the sense given to it by the Declaration of Philadelphia of 1944 and then the concept of decent work, that is to say the principle of action, is today indispensable for the protection of people and the environment. The current situation in the EU is therefore an issue for the ILO in its own ability to impose the translation of the concept of decent work into European social law and for the EU itself. The concept of decent work proposes solutions for normative action and thus it implies requirements for the legislator and the judge of the EU. Like the ILO, the EU must direct its normative action towards the concept of decent work to strengthen the place of fundamental social rights in the face of economic freedoms. This new approach requires the EU to build on ILO’ instruments, in particular on its conventions and declarations and on technical cooperation taking into account its specificities

碩士
嶺東科技大學
國際企業研究所
101
Nowadays, the environment is rapidly changing and full of competition, it is important to an organization to find out its dynamic capabilities to sustain its competitive advantage. Therefore, what are the determinants to the front-end of organizational dynamic capabilities is not only a gap on literature but also an issue that practitioners should know. The object of this paper, applying knowledge management and leadership behavior as the moderate variables is to investigate the relationship among corporate culture, personal dynamic capabilities, and organizational dynamic capabilities. Using the corporate employees as the research objects, this research collected research data by questionnaire. The questionnaires are collected by snow-ball sampling. The quantitative analysis is carried out by descriptive statistics analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis. Our results showed that (1) corporate culture had a significant impact on dynamic capabilities, (2) personal dynamic capabilities had a significant impact on dynamic capabilities, (3) knowledge management has a significant moderate impact on the relationship between corporate culture and organizational dynamic capabilities, (4) leadership behavior had no moderate impact on the relationship between corporate culture and organizational dynamic capabilities, (5) knowledge management had no moderate effect for the relationship between personal dynamic capabilities and organizational dynamic capabilities, (6) leadership behavior had a significant moderate impact on the relationship between personal dynamic capabilities and organizational dynamic capabilities.

Purpose - Innovation management as a profession is gaining importance. Personal certification within the field has become a newly developing trend, however, this aspect has not been studied much. Therefore, our master thesis explores the individual level motivations and de-motivation to enter the professional certification within innovation management. In addition, the work aimed at identifying the perceived effects of having an innovation management professional certification on individuals and organizations. Finally, our master thesis discusses whether professionalization and IMP certification can contribute to innovation capabilities and innovation performance.   Design/methodology - The study uses a comparative research design that includes semi-structured interviews of eighteen innovation management professionals (12 certified and 6 non-certified). The responses of the innovation professionals were thematically analyzed and categorized into nine final themes answering the research questions. Findings/result -Several motivations were identified, out of which the frequent were personal interest, knowledge enhancement, quality mark and innovation management terminology, the motivators to take up certification. While indifference, in-house certification and aversion for standardization are found to be strong de-motivators to not take up the certifications. After identifying the motivations, the perceived effects from taking up certification on an individual level are confirmation of knowledge, network expansion and pioneers in certification, and assignment of new tasks, effective communication was spotted as the perceived effects to the organization. It is however too early to arrive at a consensus whether professionalization and innovation management certification contributes to innovation capabilities and innovation performance. Conclusion - The certification process as a whole is considered as an attempt in terms of professionalizing the field of innovation management that showed some potential benefits as well as contradictions. It might take a few years more for innovation management to fully blossom into a developed profession through certifications. Limitations - If the professionalization of innovation management was more mature, providing an established theoretical framework and concept testing would have been beneficial to include in our study.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) or simply, electronic waste (e-waste), is a rather recent addition to the waste landscape. Nevertheless, growing incomes and rapid technological advancement has turned e-waste into a menace. Considered to be the fastest growing waste stream, e-waste is now a major threat to the environment and human health. Unlike other wastes, e-waste possesses high value owing to the presence of precious metals. Further, since e-waste also consists of toxic elements, its handling carries higher health and environmental risk. This risk is amplified in growing economies such as India where e-waste is mostly processed by the informal sector using hazardous practices. In addition, India is socio-economically and culturally much different from developed countries. For these reasons, an “Indian” approach to tackling e-waste is more effective than merely importing best practices from advanced countries. Research literature on e-waste is mostly concentrated on estimation of quantities, environmental and health hazards, and policy mechanisms for effective management. There is dearth of research studies exploring various aspects of consumer behavior in relation to e-waste generation and its management. Such studies are very few or non-existent in the Indian context. We tried to address this gap in three phases. The first phase was aimed at developing a conceptual framework towards understanding environmental behavior of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) consumers in relation to e-waste generation. It involved conceptualizing Environmental Behaviour (EB) as a function of Attitudinal Factors, Contextual Forces, Personal Capabilities, and Demographic variables. The next phase was aimed at empirically validating this framework in the Indian context. All the variables were operationalized and an online survey was conducted to collect data from ICT consumers. 347 responses were selected for further data analysis. Eight distinct EBs and four Attitudinal Factors emerged from Exploratory Factor Analysis. Context Indices (CIs) were computed and Demographic variables were recoded. The eight EBs were prioritized w.r.t to their impact and classified into three groups: transformationist, reformist, and status-quoist behaviors.. Thereafter, multiple regression analysis was used to identify key variables influencing each of the eight EBs. It was found that transformationist behavior(s) was(were) primarily influenced by Attitudinal Factors; status-quoist behaviors by Contextual Forces; reformist behaviors by both. In the last phase, we segmented the ICT consumers into three groups based on eight EBs using k-means cluster analysis. The groups were named as Conscious Consumers, Clueless Consumers, and Passive Consumers. We profiled these groups based on attitudinal variables using ANOVA with post-hoc tests and demographic variables using Chi-square test for association. It was found that these groups differed significantly on Attitudinal Factors and Personal Capabilities. Even though demographical variables did not differ significantly across the groups, some useful trends could be noticed. Finally, based on these results important implications for policy making and future research were drawn.

With China's population aging, rapid urbanization and social transformation, people's demand for multi-level and diversified medical services is growing rapidly. Insufficient allocation of CHSC medical resource and medical service lower capability still exist. Patients lack confidence in the medical service of CHSC. The service quality of community health service directly affects the accessibility, timeliness and effectiveness of residents' health management. It is necessary to strengthening the core capability building and improve the service efficiency of CHSC. Core capability by referring to relevant literatures and combined with expert correspondence of Delphi method. We constructed the index evaluation system of CHSC core capability with 5 first level indicators, 14 secondary indicators and 60 tertiary measurable items. This study selected 64 CHSCs in the main urban area of Shenyang city as the research object. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. A total of 1895 valid questionnaires were collected. The structural equation model was established by AMOS software. Several conclusions are achieved as follows: 1) the results of empirical research verify the rationality of the research model constructed in this study; 2) dynamic capability is the key influencing factor of the core capability of community health service center, and other affecting factors include management capability, service capability, organizational culture and organizational resources; 3) exploratory innovation in dynamic capability, strategic orientation in organizational culture, external electronic system integration in management capability and the training expenses spent to improve the quality and capability of employees are closely related to the core capability of community health service centers. The research results of this study are to construct the core capability index system of CHSC, to provide a basis for the standardized evaluation of CHSC service capability by health administrative governments.
Com o envelhecimento da população da China, a urbanização rápida e a transformação social, a procura das pessoas por serviços médicos diversificados cresceu rapidamente. A alocação de recursos médicos aos Centros de Saúde Comunitários (CSC) é insuficiente, o problema da fraca qualidade de serviço médico persiste e os pacientes não confiam no nível médico dos centros de saúde da comunidade. A qualidade do serviço comunitário de saúde afeta diretamente a acessibilidade, a oportunidade e a eficácia da gestão da saúde dos residentes. Torna-se necessário reforçar a construção do núcleo de competência do CHSC e melhorar a eficiência dos serviços dos CSC. Este estudo analisa a literatura relevante no país e no estrangeiro, e a aplicação do método de Delphi identificou cinco indicadores primários, 14 dimensões secundárias e 60 itens mensuráveis para a construção do sistema de avaliação do índice de competência central dos CHSC. Este estudo selecionou 64 CHSC em Shenyang como objeto de pesquisa, e recolheu um total de 1895 questionários válidos, e aplicou o modelo de equações estruturais utilizando o software AMOS. Do estudo realizado retiramos algumas conclusões: 1) os resultados da pesquisa empírica confirmam a racionalidade do modelo que utilizamos; 2) a habilidade dinâmica é o fator que mais influencia as capacidades fulcrais dos centros comunitários de saúde, os outros fatores são a capacidade de gestão, a capacidade de serviço, a cultura organizacional e os recursos organizacionais; 3) a inovação exploratória na habilidade dinâmica, a orientação estratégica na cultura organizacional; um sistema electrónico na capacidade de gestão e as despesas em formação para melhorar a qualidade dos empregados estão fortemente relacionadas com as capacidades fulcrais dos centros de saúde comunitários. O resultado desta pesquisa consubstanciou-se na construção de um sistema de índice de competência central dos centros de saúde da comunidade, e forneceu uma base que permite aos departamentos administrativos de saúde padronizar a avaliação da competência do serviço CSC.

The study on "Evaluation of personnel management capabilities of the Federal Police of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa” had the following research questions: How is the Federal Police in Ethiopia Structured? What are the international standards for personnel management capabilities? What is the current personnel management capability in the Federal Police? How should shortcomings in personnel management capabilities of the Federal Police be addressed? In the study, an empirical research design and qualitative research approach were adopted. The data collection methods were: literature, documents and interviews. The data was analyzed by four-step Data Analysis Spiral TechniquesThe primary Findings are: International standards for personnel management capabilities should be set and certified by authorized bodies. The personnel management capability of the Federal Police of Ethiopia was characterized by incompetence. The Main Recommendations are: Further research should be conducted on the personnel management capability of the Federal police of Ethiopia. An authorized body should set standards and certify personnel managers' capabilities of the Federal Police of Ethiopia.
Police Practice
M. Tech. (Human Resource Management of Policing)

The study on "Evaluation of personnel management capabilities of the Federal Police of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa” had the following research questions: How is the Federal Police in Ethiopia Structured? What are the international standards for personnel management capabilities? What is the current personnel management capability in the Federal Police? How should shortcomings in personnel management capabilities of the Federal Police be addressed? In the study, an empirical research design and qualitative research approach were adopted. The data collection methods were: literature, documents and interviews. The data was analyzed by four-step Data Analysis Spiral TechniquesThe primary Findings are: International standards for personnel management capabilities should be set and certified by authorized bodies. The personnel management capability of the Federal Police of Ethiopia was characterized by incompetence. The Main Recommendations are: Further research should be conducted on the personnel management capability of the Federal police of Ethiopia. An authorized body should set standards and certify personnel managers' capabilities of the Federal Police of Ethiopia.
Police Practice
M. Tech. (Human Resource Management of Policing)

Dynamic Capabilities enable companies to change and reconfigure their strategies in order to adapt to the ever-changing business environment. As business markets become more turbulent with rapid technological development, it is crucial that firms develop Dynamic Capabilities in order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage, especially Small Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) which are more vulnerable to competition and market changes. Given the importance of Dynamic Capabilities in today’s economy, the purpose of this dissertation is to understand the role of Strategic Flexibility as a Dynamic Capability in the development of organizational capabilities. This study aims to explore the indirect effect between Strategic Flexibility and Firm Performance through three organizational capabilities: Organizational learning, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Orientation in SMEs. In order to test our conceptual model, we collected data from 180 SMEs and conducted a quantitative study through surveys. Our contributions to the field are twofold. First, we developed a unique and distinctive model to assess the indirect relationship between Strategic Flexibility and Firm Performance. And second, we realized the value of Organizational Learning as a mediating variable as it strengthens the relationship between Strategic Flexibility and Firm Performance.
As Capacidades Dinâmicas permitem que as empresas mudem e reconfigurem as suas estratégias para se adaptarem ao ambiente de negócios em constante mudança. À medida que os mercados de negócios se tornam mais turbulentos com o rápido desenvolvimento tecnológico, é crucial que as empresas desenvolvam Capacidades Dinâmicas para manter uma vantagem competitiva sustentável, especialmente pequenas e médias empresas (PMEs), que são mais vulneráveis à concorrência e às mudanças do mercado. Dada a importância das Capacidades Dinâmicas na economia atual, o objetivo desta dissertação é compreender o papel da Flexibilidade Estratégica - Capacidade Dinâmica - no desenvolvimento de capacidades organizacionais. Deste modo, este estudo visa explorar os efeitos indiretos da Flexibilidade Estratégica na Performance de PMEs por meio da Aprendizagem Organizacional, do Empreendedorismo, e da Orientação à Inovação. Para testar o nosso modelo conceptual, reunimos dados de 180 PMEs e realizamos um estudo quantitativo, através de aplicação de questionários. As contribuições deste trabalho para a área de estudo são duplas. Em primeiro lugar, desenvolvemos um modelo único e distinto para avaliar a relação indireta entre Flexibilidade Estratégica e a Performance da empresa. Em segundo lugar, percebemos a importância da Aprendizagem Organizacional como variável mediadora uma vez que fortalece a relação entre Flexibilidade Estratégica e a Performance.

Firms’ value chain activities are everyday intersected by legal issues that managers are obliged to face and to manage since law imposes many duties to firms, such as environmental regulation, taxes, employment and labor laws, etc.. In spite of this, for many years managers have underestimated the role of legal capabilities within the firm. The reason why is maybe due to the general perception of law as a constraint for managers striving to create and appropriate value (North, 1990) and of legal counselors as professionals always acting in the interest of public and governments (Ring, Bigley, D'aunno, & Khanna, 2005; Wallace & Kay, 2008) or in their own (Sundaram & Inkpen, 2004) rather than in the one of the firms (Ladinsky & Grossman, 1966; Reed, 1969). This perception, that was quite widely diffused among Top Management Teams, was overcome in the early 2000s, when many scholars, especially in the legal fields, hypothesized the chance for lawyers to positively contribute in the achievement and sustainment of a competitive advantage for firms (Bird, 2008, 2010, 2011; Siedel, 2000). At the same time, managers started to consider legal tools as a part of market strategy (Edelman & Suchman, 1997). Drawing upon this empirical evidence, a new research stream emerged, the so called“proactive approach of law” (Siedel & Haapio, 2010, 2016).Accordingly, legal strategies are imagined as pursuing to exploit opportunities that new international regulatory frameworks and their uncertainty (Malhotra & Morris, 2009) offer to firms. In more details, companies may benefit from the non unanimous application of statutes and law made by Courts (Jones, 2000) in the exclusive interest of clients. As a consequence, firms started including legal capabilities as a source of competitive advantage and thinking how to extract value from legal functions (Bird, 2008). It is not surprising to find out that managers are strongly advised to hire attorneys within their firms and to empower them to manage and solve many in-house issues such as contracting activities (with clients, suppliers and competitors), governance forms (delegating them in the choice whether a limited liability company or a corporation is the most suitable solution for the business), taxes, real estates, licenses and management of Intellectual Property Rights strategies. Furthermore, lawyers are also required to work effectively outside of the legal system (Rosen, 2000), to develop relationships with legal decision-makers (Tsang, 1998), to build networks and alliances (Tracey & Phillips, 2011). This dissertation focuses on the active and positive contributions that legal counselors can provide to the management of the firm in the achievement and sustainment of a competitive advantage delineating the existence of legal capabilities concerning the exploitation of legal tools and the mixture of strategies, deeply focusing on the Intellectual Property (aftermath, IP) Management activities. Notwithstanding the huge amount of prior work on sources of competitive advantage (Barney, 1991; Teece, Pisano, & Shuen, 1997), legal capabilities havealmost been underestimated. The resource based view of the firm (Barney, 1991; Peteraf, 1993) stresses the relevance that each resource which is rare, valuable, inimitable and difficultly substitutable can be useful for firms in achieving a competitive advantage. The same characteristics should be as well owned by capabilities, meant as special types of resources embedded within the firm purposed to improve the productivity of other resources possessed by firm (Makadok, 2001). This dissertation intends to explore how legal capabilities may maximize the value of other resources, and specifically the value of IP tools within firms. This choice is consistent with the relevance IP toolsachieved in the last decade, more specifically the surge of patent applications and grants and, in turn, the growing number of patent lawsuits (Hanel, 2006). Therefore, IP management is a newly emerged stream of literature which calls for more scholarly attention in order to provide an integrative framework of IP tools (such as patents, trademarks, secrets and copyrights) within overall business model design and corporate strategies (Al-Aali & Teece, 2013). In order to profit from innovations, firms have to pursue proper strategies (Dai, 1996) aimed at protecting IP tools and appropriability chances for firms. The goal of this dissertation is provide some empirical evidence on how and why legal capabilities strategies can be crucial in shaping proper strategies which may contribute to lower a firm’s net costs and/ or to increase its revenues beyond what would otherwise be expected (Barney & Arikan, 2001). With the exception of Bagley (2006, 2008, 2010, 2016), the “legal astuteness capability” is a neglected issue in the capabilities literature and this knowledge gap calls for more scholarly attention, In spite of the demonstration of how much valuable this capability is for the firm, it has not been explained in which ways this capability can contribute in the achievement of a competitive advantage (Hsu & Ziedonis, 2013). To achieve this goal, this dissertation is structured in 3 Chapters. The first one is entitled “Don’t Forget of Lawyers: Legal Counsel as a Source of Competitive advantage” and aims to highlight the role of lawyers as a source of competitive advantage taking a resource-based view perspective (Barney, 1996). Therefore, in order to map the effective contributions of lawyers aimed in generating higher revenues (through the exploitation of advantageous contractual terms) or in reducing net costs and the so-called legal hazards, a co-word analysis has been run. The purpose of this chapter is to detect the main activities of the firm’s value chain where lawyers actually provide a concrete and positive contribution. The results show that these activities are stronger concerning IP Management, Personnel relationships and interpersonal and inter-organizational relations. The following chapters are aimed to provide demonstrations of effective potential applications of the wise application of law pursued to create revenues and to reduce costs. Both of them are deeply focused on Intellectual Property (IP) Management. Chapter II, entitled “Patent Designing Strategy: some empirical evidence on EP Patents” concerns how the “optimal patent” should be designed in order to reduce the risk of being involved in a patent infringement litigation and to increase its value. To define “patent value” we use Harhoff, Scherer and Vopel (2003) concept which includes all benefits that a patent holder might perceive from application. Previous studies, in fact, have depicted some possible strategies (Somaya, 2012) that may be pursued after the application phase: this paper, instead, provides some useful insights for practitioners in order to realize the patent that represents the best compromise between the trade-off given by the necessity of achieving the highest value and, on the contrary, the willingness of occurring in the lowest possible number of infringement litigations. The main assumption that stands behind this paper is that patent infringement litigation costs are very costly and for most of the firms they are prohibitive: consequently, a lawsuit represents an event that must be avoided. To do so, firms can resolve the potential conflicts through the so called ADR (alternative dispute resolution) tools or as it is addressed in this paper, taking some precautions in order to reduce at most the risk of being involved in a litigation. This study has been undertaken by considering the endogenous characteristics of patents. Law expertise in Intellectual Property Rights may contribute in the so-called IP value chain (Reitzig & Puranam, 2009) and, consequently, in the value creation activities. In this case, legal expertise contributes in reducing the risk of being involved in a costly infringement litigation and, consequently, in avoiding economic losses for the firm. Chapter III, entitled “Forum Shopping as an IP Management Capability: Some empirical evidence from European Firms” provides an example of offensive strategy to be pursued in patent infringement litigations. This under-explored theme is developed by taking a managerial perspective. First of all it is necessary to clarify what forum shopping is: in particular, for the aim of this paper, it represents an unfair but perfectly legal exploitation of jurisdiction and venue rules to affect the outcome of a lawsuit. In deed, even if patents are almost ruled by international treaties (such as for example Patent Cooperation Treaty– PCT – and European Patent Convention – EPC), all the procedural aspects concerning infringement are still regulated by national legislations, such that differences in the potential lawsuit’s outcome are possible. Within the general category of IP management capabilities, forum shopping represents a specific aspect concerning the firms’ ability to use legal astuteness to enhance the enforceability of property rights and, eventually, to improve the appropriability of innovative activities, by conferring to firms major possibilities in profiting from innovations. In this paper, forum shopping has been presented as an iconic representation of legal astuteness and as a dynamic capability since the continuously changing environment in which firms seem to be leveraged against competitors. Overall, the three papers intends to highlight the crucial role of legal capabilities in IP management and how firms may leverage some gaps and uncertainties in the global IP legal framework. The thesis provides both theoretical and practical contributions. Future research on these issues has the potential to pave new avenues for achieving anenhanced understanding of how relevant legal capabilities are and how firms may create and nurture them over time, by leveraging synergies among internal and external sources of competitive advantage.

In the last two decades, football has increasingly become a multimillionaire business, where clubs have started to be managed as companies, and consequently having the necessity to satisfy a great variety of stakeholders, not only on a financial level, but also considering their sporting performance. The increasing competitiveness, which led to an increase of clubs’ expenditures, along with a greater control regarding their finances, created the need to find different solutions in order to achieve a sustained competitive advantage. Although we recognize the importance of financial resources as a mean to achieve good sporting performances, this work focuses on its application on clubs’ dynamic capabilities, by maximizing the investment done, allowing to achieve good sporting performances, without putting at risk the clubs’ financial health. For this study, we considered the top 15 of highest earning clubs in the season 2016-17 and we analyzed their performance in that season and in the previous nine. Since season 2012-13, considering some indicators, we tried to establish some connections between good performance and the capabilities we considered essential in order to assure the clubs sustainability, such as an effective recruitment, the exploitation of youth academies and the capacity to generate higher revenues. Even though the explanatory power between sporting performance and some variables is not relevant, we were able to establish a pattern of common strategies that may be considered as crucial practices in order to achieve sustained competitive advantage.
Nas últimas duas décadas, o futebol tem vindo a tornar-se cada vez mais um negócio multimilionário, no âmbito do qual os clubes passaram a ser geridos como empresas, havendo, por consequência, a necessidade de satisfazer uma grande diversidade de stakeholders, não só a nível financeiro, mas também ao nível da performance desportiva. O aumento da competitividade, levando a um aumento de gastos por parte dos clubes, acrescido de um maior controlo relativo às suas finanças, determinou para aqueles a procura de diferentes soluções de forma a garantir uma vantagem competitiva sustentável. Apesar de reconhecermos a importância dos recursos financeiros na obtenção de boas performances desportivas, o foco deste trabalho baseia-se na aplicação dos mesmos nas capacidades dinâmicas dos clubes por forma a permitir maximizar o investimento, alcançando boas performances desportivas, sem colocar o futuro financeiro do clube em risco. Assim, considerando o top 15 de clubes com mais receitas geradas na época 2016-17, analisámos as suas performances desportivas nessa temporada e nas nove épocas anteriores. Através de alguns indicadores tentámos estabelecer, a partir de 2012-13, alguma relação entre as capacidades que consideramos essenciais para a obtenção de uma vantagem competitiva sustentável e a performance desportiva. Essas capacidades passam por um recrutamento efectivo, a formação de jogadores através das academias e a capacidade de gerar mais receitas. Apesar do poder explicativo de algumas variáveis não ser demasiado relevante, foi possível estabelecer um padrão entre estratégias comuns que podem ser consideradas como práticas fundamentais para a obtenção de uma vantagem comparativa sustentável.

China's medical industry is in the stage of transformation. As new reform policies are released frequently and increasing number of private hospitals entry the medical industry, the external environment is constantly changing. Why is Henan Shengde Hospital capable to survive and prosper through market changes but others fail? This study adopts Dynamic Capability Approach and investigates the role of dynamic capabilities in achieving superior medical staff satisfaction. The main purpose of this study is to examine the importance of dynamic capabilities for Henan Shengde Hospital to cope with the external environment as well as their mediating role in the relationship between organizational resources, capabilities and medical staff satisfaction. Both exploratory and conclusive research are conducted in this study. Seven managers were interviewed and a total of 315 questionnaires were distributed and collected in Henan Shengde Hospital. The findings indicate that organizational culture and managerial capability have positive impact on employee satisfaction. Responding capability and reconfiguring capability affect employee satisfaction positively, while sensing capability does not. We also find that reconfiguring capability play a mediating role in three pairs of relationship, namely, organizational culture and medical staff satisfaction, leadership and medical staff satisfaction as well as managerial capability and medical staff satisfaction. When the organization faces a volatile and unpredictable external environment, reconfiguring capability is an important source of medical staff satisfaction.
A indústria da saúde na China encontra-se numa fase de transformação. A liberação constante de novas políticas e a entrada de um número crescente de hospitais privados provocam turbulência na envolvente externa. Partimos da seguinte questão principal de investigação: porque é que o Hospital Henan Shengde é capaz de sobreviver às mudanças de mercado e outros falham? Este estudo adopta a abordagem das capacidades dinâmicas para investigar o papel destas na obtenção da satisfação do pessoal médico. O principal objetivo desta tese consiste em examinar a importância das capacidades dinâmicas para o Hospital Henan Shengde lidar com a envolvente externa assim como o seu papel mediador na relação entre os recursos organizacionais, capacidades e a satisfação do pessoal médico. Este estudo conduziu uma pesquisa exploratória e conclusiva. Sete gestores foram entrevistados e um total de 315 questionários foram distribuídos e recolhidos no Hospital Henan Shengde. Os resultados mostram que a cultura organizacional e capacidade de gestão têm um impacto positivo na satisfação dos empregados. A capacidade de resposta e a capacidade de reconfiguraçãção afetam positivamente a satisfaçãção dos empregados, enquanto a capacidade de detecçãção não afeta. Concluímos também que a capacidade de reconfiguração desempenha um papel mediador em três pares de relacionamento, nomeadamente, cultura organizacional e satisfação do pessoal médico, liderança e satisfação do pessoal médico assim como capacidade de gestão e satisfação do pessoal médico. Quando a organização enfrenta uma envolvente externa volátil e imprevisível, a capacidade de reconfiguração é uma fonte importante da satisfação do pessoal médico.

China’s vocational education and training (VET) industry is undergoing rapid growth and transformation. Small private VET institutions face the dual dilemma of a shortage of educational resources and low market reputation. Thus, it is important to understand how these institutions may develop and sustain competitive advantages. This dissertation has analyzed the strategic development of ZK, a small private VET institution in China, using the dynamic capabilities framework. The company’s strategic success in the last years was due to its dynamic capabilities of sensing opportunities and threats, seizing opportunities, and managing threats and reconfiguring resources. The study has shown that ZK’s dynamic capability of sensing opportunities and threats has two micro-foundations, namely entrepreneurship and social capital at individual and organizational levels. Seizing capability were grounded on microfoundations such as the firm’s value chain positioning, integrating resources including complements, organizational flexibility, and commitment to implementation. The microfoundations of ZK’s dynamic capability of managing threats and reconfiguring resources were organizational learning and knowledge management. To support the future strategic development of ZK, four strategic initiatives were devised using the SWOT framework. The study contributes to management practice by increasing the understanding of the capabilities and microfoundations that can support the development of small private VET institutions in China. It also sheds light on the relationship between these capabilities and the obtention of competitive advantages in the Chinese market. Its conclusions are of interest to other VET institutions, government departments and other stakeholders, as well as foreign institutions interested in the Chinese VET industry.
A indústria chinesa da educação e formação vocacional (inglês: Vocational Education and Traning ou VET) está em plena expansão e transformação. O estudo das estratégias das pequenas instituições de VET tem grande importância, no sentido de compreender como as mesmas podem se manter competitivas. Esta dissertação tem o objetivo de analisar o desenvolvimento estratégico da ZK, uma pequena instituição chinesa de VET, através da teoria de capacidades dinámicas. O éxito estratégico da ZK deveu-se ao seu dinamismo em antever oportunidades e riscos e reestruturar os seus recursos. Este dinamismo resultou de um forte espírito empresarial e de um elevado capital social, tanto ao nível individual como institucional. O aproveitamento das oportunidades deveu-se a cinco micro-fundamentos: o posicionamento da empresa na cadeia de valor, a integração de recursos, a inclusão de complementos, a flexibilidade organizacional e a dedicação na implementação. Por sua vez, a capacidade de minimizar riscos e reconfigurar recursos resultou de aprendizagem organizacional e de uma boa gestão da informação. Com base nas referidas capacidades dinâmicas, e através da matriz SWOT, foram desenvolvidas quatro linhas estratégicas para o desenvolvimento futuro da ZK. A dissertação contribui para uma melhor compreensão das capacidades dinámicas e dos micro-fundamentos que podem suportar o desenvolvimento das pequenas empresas de VET na China. Além disso, revela a íntima relação entre as referidas capacidades e as vantagens competitivas no mercado chinês. As conclusões são úteis para outras instituições de VET, departamentos governamentais relacionados, partes interessadas em VET na China e instituições estrangeiras interessadas nesse mercado.

With the deepening of market economy, China's real estate appraisal industry is growing from strength to strength. It is characterized by having a small scale, low profits, and weak competition, even though growth differences are becoming increasingly noticeable among companies. Currently, there is a significant shortage of empirical research about what is happening in this transition phase concerning this industry. Therefore, it is important to conduct studies that would help companies to develop business practices that allow them to succeed in the market economy. In this context, this thesis investigates the key factors that facilitate the performance of the organization from the resource-based view, aiming at explaining the interplay between organizational resources, dynamic capabilities, and strategic performance. Based on the existing Chinese and foreign literatures, a conceptual model is developed, and four hypotheses are proposed, for analyzing the influence of organizational resources (entrepreneur traits, TMT characteristics, and network relationships) and dynamic capabilities on the strategic performance of enterprises. This research is conducted with middle-level and senior managers of the real estate appraisal industry, in Guangdong province, China. A structured questionnaire is designed and 274 valid responses are gathered. Data analysis employs the variance-based structural equation model (known as partial least squares-based SEM, PLS-SEM). Results confirms that network relationships and dynamic capabilities have a direct positive effect on strategic performance; entrepreneurial traits, TMT characteristics, and network relationships have a positive impact on strategic performance through the mediating role of dynamic capabilities, which contributes to academia by expanding research into strategic performance in China.
Com o desenvolvimento da economia de mercado, a indústria de avaliação imobiliária chinesa está a crescer e a ficar cada vez mais forte. Caracteriza-se pela pequena escala, baixos lucros e fraca competitividade, muito embora os diferenciais de crescimento estejam a tornar-se mais visíveis entre as empresas. Atualmente existe uma grande escassez de estudos empíricos sobre o que está a acontecer nesta indústria nesta fase de transição. Portanto, é importante realizar estudos que ajudem as empresas a desenvolver práticas de negócios que lhes permitam ser bem sucedidas na economia de mercado. Neste contexto, esta tese investiga os fatores chaves que facilitam o desempenho da organização a partir da perspetiva baseada nos recursos, com o intuito de explicar a interação entre recursos organizacionais, capacidades dinâmicas e desempenho estratégico. Com base na literatura, um modelo conceptual é desenvolvido e quatro hipóteses são propostas para analisar a influência dos recursos organizacionais (traços de empreendedorismo, características dos gestores de topo e relações em rede) e as capacidades dinâmicas no desempenho estratégico das empresas. Esta pesquisa é realizada com gestores intermédios e de topo da indústria de avaliação imobiliária, na província de Guangdong, China. Um questionário estruturado é criado e 274 respostas válidas são recolhidas. A análise dos dados emprega o modelo de equações estruturais baseado na variância (conhecido como os SEM baseado nos mínimos quadrados parciais, PLS-SEM - partial least squares - structural equation model). Os resultados confirmam que as relações em rede e as capacidades dinâmicas têm um efeito positivo direto sobre o desempenho estratégico; os traços de empreendedorismo, as características dos gestores de topo e as relações em rede têm um impacto positivo no desempenho estratégico através da mediação das capacidades dinâmicas. Este trabalho contribui para o estado da arte através do alargamento da investigação em desempenho estratégico na China.

The overall automation industry is dominated by a few major multinationals and this industry has experienced a revolution in the 1980’s when computers were introduced as human machine interfaces and pneumatic instruments were replaced by digital instruments. Although this revolution changed the way automation technology was perceived, over the last few decades the industry has not experienced significant technological success in term of breakthrough innovation that would advance its solutions offerings to the market. On the contrary, the underlying technology has to an extent commoditized like IT and the playing field has been largely stagnant. Commoditization of technology being a reality, the only differentiating facets for the industry are the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) skills, capabilities and abilities to maintain strategic advantage. This research utilizes the theoretical frameworks of Resource Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities (DC) to evaluate the strategic competitiveness and sustainability of industrial automation OEM’s in Africa. The subject matter of this case study is Schneider Electric, this OEM operates across the continuous and discreet automation spectrums with a presence across Africa. The case study identifies the Dynamic Capabilities of an industrial automation OEM by using Schneider Electric as a reference to understand how industrial automation OEM’s can develop and sustain strategic competitiveness within the industry in Africa. This study also identifies the predicament of an industrial automation OEM to invest in resources and undertake actions that are required to maintain competitiveness on the African continent.
A indústria global de automatização é dominada por grandes multinacionais tendo sofrido uma revolução nos anos 80 quando se introduziram os computadores como um Interface Homem Máquina (IHM) e os instrumentos pneumáticos foram substituídos por instrumentos digitais. Embora esta revolução tenha mudado a forma como percebemos a tecnologia de automatização, nas últimas décadas, esta não obteve muito em termos de sucesso tecnológico e inovação de forma a incentivar o seu processo de evolução. Muito pelo contrário, tem sido amplamente comoditizada, ex. Tecnologia Informática, em que os seus campos de actuação estão, em grande parte, estagnados. A comoditização da tecnologia, sendo uma realidade, faz com que os únicos factores diferenciadores e que permitem manter uma vantagem estratégica para a indústria sejam os Fabricantes de Equipamentos Originais (FEO), as competências e as capacidades. Este trabalho de pesquisa utiliza o enquadramento teórico da Visão Baseada em Recursos (VBR), as Capacidades Dinâmicas (CD) e princípios de Organização de Aprendizagem (AO) para avaliar a competitividade estratégica e a sustentabilidade dos FEO’s de automatização industrial em África. O objecto deste estudo é a Schneider Electric. Este FEO, opera através de espectros de automatização contínuos e discretos com presença em todo o continente Africano. Este estudo identifica as CD de um FEO de automatização industrial usando a Schneider Electric como referencia para compreender como os FEO’s de automatização industrial podem desenvolver e manter a competitividade estratégica nesta indústria em África. Este estudo também identifica a dificuldade para um FEO em investir em recursos e levar a cabo as acções necessárias para manter a competitividade no continente Africano.

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao ISPA - Instituto Universitário
A utilização de provas de avaliação psicológica num processo de selecção, especialmente as que avaliam capacidades cognitivas, é unanimemente considerada, na literatura de investigação, como fundamental, dada a sua elevada validade preditiva no que concerne ao desempenho. A constatação de que, em 2008, num processo de selecção de estagiários para funções técnicas, esse instrumento não foi utilizado, aliada ao facto dos indivíduos seleccionados permanecerem na Empresa, durante um ano e serem sujeitos a um processo de avaliação de desempenho, criou as condições para os mesmos serem objecto do estudo, a que se propõe esta tese: demonstrar qual a capacidade preditiva da aplicação de provas de avaliação psicológica a esta população. Foi, assim, efectuado esse exercício, suportado nos princípios teóricos existentes sobre esta matéria, quer no que se refere ao método de abordagem da questão, quer aos preditores usados. A componente empírica deste trabalho resultou de dados reais recolhidos para uma população de 130 indivíduos. Toda a informação recolhida foi sujeita a tratamento estatístico e não foi encontrada qualquer correlação entre os resultados dos testes e a avaliação de desempenho, o que conduziu à necessidade de analisar os pressupostos com que trabalhámos e encontrar explicações para este resultado, aparentemente contraditório. A fragilidade real existente na variável critério e as condições em que foram recolhidos os dados das variáveis preditoras, explicam o resultado obtido e reforçam a necessidade de melhorias no processo, não estando de qualquer forma posta em causa, a importância de manter testes de avaliação psicológica nos processos de selecção.
ABSTRACT: The use of psychological testing, during the process of recruitment and selection, namely those used to evaluate cognitive functions is considered, throughout the literature as essential, given its predictive validity concerning performance. Having found that in 2008, this type of testing had been neglected during the process of selecting new interns for technical jobs, and that, these interns were still employees at this company and were being subject to a performance evaluation, they were found to be ideal candidates for the present study: to demonstrate the predictive capabilities of psychological testing on this population. This was the purpose behind this study, and its approach was based on the theoretical principles found on the subject, principles that also modeled the choice of predictors. The empirical part of this study is based in real data, gathered from a population of 130 subjects. All the available data was subject to statistical treatment, and no correlation was found between testing results and performance evaluation results, which lead to the need to return to the theoretical assumptions behind this study, in an attempt to better understand and explain our results, at first glance, contrary to what was found in the literature. The fact that the variable “criteria” is inherently a fragile one, accompanied by the nonoptimal information gathering conditions concerning predictors, seem to explain the present results, whilst also calling attention to the need to improve this process, without, however, at any point, questioning the role psychological testing should play, during recruitment and selection processes.

An enterprise group is a complex group of independent enterprises that are linked by a number of formal or informal relationships. Regarding enterprise group as a kind of business ecosystem, this dissertation explores the relationship between enterprise’s business ecological strategic capabilities and enterprise group’s ecosystem health based on Sichuan Port and Channel Development Enterprise Group, adopting business ecological perspective, enterprise capability theory and social network analysis theory. From ecological perspective, enterprises within a business ecosystem will be playing different roles. Therefore each of them will be having different basic strategic capabilities corresponding to its specific role, which will not only be influencing the enterprise’s own performance, but also stimulate the system’s ecosystem health. This dissertation used role-capabilities matching model to measure enterprise’s business ecological strategic capabilities, and construct a regression model of the enterprise’s role-capabilities matching rate and performance. We demonstrated and clarified enterprises business ecological strategic capabilities’ influence to the enterprise group’s ecosystem health. We proposed relevant theoretical hypotheses of the relationship between enterprise’s rolecapabilities matching rate and enterprise group’s ecosystem health, the every dimension of business ecological strategic capabilities of niche player and enterprise group’s ecosystem health, and verify our hypotheses using data from questionnaires responded by the top management in Sichuan Port and Channel Development Enterprise Group’ s enterprises. Main conclusions drawn were that 1) the higher the enterprise’s role-capabilities matching rate was, the better the enterprise group’s ecosystem health would be; 2) The niche player’s business ecological strategic capabilities of every dimensions have a positive impact on the enterprise group’s ecosystem health, yet different dimensions of business ecological strategic capabilities have different mechanisms in impacting such performance. Our findings have practical significance in enterprise group governance.
Um grupo empresarial é um grupo complexo de empresas independentes ligadas por várias relações formais e informais. Considerando o grupo empresarial como um tipo de ecossistema empresarial, com base no Grupo Empresarial do Desenvolvimento do Canal e do Porto de Sichuan, esta dissertação explora a relação entre capacidades estratégicas ecológicas de negócios da empresa e a saúde do ecossistema do grupo empresarial, adotando a perspetiva ecológica de negócios, teoria de capacidade empresarial e teoria de análise de redes sociais. Do ponto de vista ecológico, as empresas num ecossistema de negócios desempenharão papéis diferentes. Por isso, cada um deles terá diferentes capacidades estratégias básicas, correspondentes ao seu papel específico, que não apenas influenciarão o desempenho da própria empresa, mas também estimularão a saúde do ecossistema. Esta dissertação usa o modelo de função-capacidade para medir as capacidades estratégicas ecológicas de negócios da empresa e constrói um modelo de regressão sobre a taxa de correspondência de função-capacidade da empresa e o seu desempenho. Demonstrámos e esclarecemos a influência das capacidades estratégicas ecológicas de negócio da empresa na saúde do ecossistema do grupo empresarial. Baseado na revisão extensiva de literatura na área de perspetiva ecológica de negócios, de teoria de capacidade empresarial e de teoria de análise de redes sociais, propomos hipóteses relevantes à relação entre a taxa de correspondência de função-capacidade da empresa e a saúde do ecossistema do grupo empresarial, entre cada dimensão das capacidades estratégias ecológicas do jogador de nicho e a saúde do ecossistema do grupo empresarial. Pesquisamos na relação entre empresas no ecossistema do grupo empresarial, as capacidades estratégicas ecológicas de empresa, a saúde do ecossistema do grupo empresarial, com base nos questionários feitos pela administração sénior das empresas do Grupo Empresarial do Desenvolvimento do Canal e do Porto de Sichuan e verificamos as nossas hipóteses através dos dados obtidos a partir dos questionários. As conclusões são: 1) mais alta a taxa de correspondência de função-capacidade da empresa, melhor saúde do ecossistema do grupo empresarial; 2) as capacidades estratégicas ecológicas de negócios de cada um dos participantes de cada dimensão têm um impacto positivo na saúde do ecossistema do grupo empresarial, mas diferentes dimensões das capacidades estratégicas ecológicas de negócios têm mecanismos diferentes para influenciar esse desempenho. Os nossos resultados não apenas contribuem para a construção do ecossistema de negócios dentro do grupo empresarial, mas também têm significado teórico para estudos quantitativos sobre micro-questões relacionadas ao ecossistema de negócios.

Esta tese analisa a evolução das capacidades das parcerias no cluster dos Recursos Minerais tendo em conta as trajetórias de dinâmicas de mercado, das tecnologias e da competitividade. À luz das capacidades dinâmicas, foram analisadas as principais determinantes para estabelecer parcerias, as capacidades das alianças no cluster e ainda a sua relação com o desempenho. O estudo, validado pela Teoria dos Custos de Transação, das Redes e das Capacidades Dinâmicas, foi realizado com instrumentos quantitativos, sendo a primeira parte apoiada por um questionário com escalas das capacidades das alianças. Neste estudo, a amostra é de conveniência. A segunda parte, suportada por dados, de 2011 a 2016, cedidos pelo Instituto Nacional de Estatística com indicadores financeiros das empresas. Concluiu-se que as principais determinantes para estabelecer parcerias são a honestidade/sinceridade e a confiança. Os resultados sugerem que as empresas do cluster tendem a desenvolver mais parcerias, e que a capacidade de “integração e aprendizagem” influencia a performance. A pertença ao cluster revela um impacto positivo e estatisticamente significativo na performance, e a tendência de um papel moderador na relação entre a capacidade de integração das alianças e a performance. O desempenho das empresas do cluster é superior e uma das determinantes da exportação nestas empresas é a remuneração dos trabalhadores. As capacidades das organizações tendem a ser especializadas e específicas (em termos de contexto) devido ao facto de serem moldadas pelas cadeias de valor. A análise do cluster evidencia o nível de cumplicidade entre membros. Estes criam redes, e o tempo determina o grau de granulidade para aceitação de regras comuns de forma a manter uma cultura de eficácia, preservação dos valores e foco, permitindo responder aos desafios do mercado mundial. E, assim, ganhar o futuro.
This investigation analyzes the evolution of the partnerships’ potential in the Mineral Resources Cluster, based in the market dynamics, technologies and competitiveness. The key factors in developing partnerships, their alliance capabilities in the cluster and their relationship with the performance were examined, under the dynamic capabilities’ principles. This research was validated by the Theory of Transaction Costs, Network and Dynamic Capabilities, and carried out based on quantitative instruments, divided in two parts. The first is supported by the application of a survey, using alliance capabilities’ scales. In this study the sample is by convenience. The second is supported by data from 2011 to 2016, provided by Instituto Nacional de Estatística with financial indicators of companies. The results confirm that the key factors in developing partnerships are honesty/ sincerity and trust. It is perceived that cluster companies tend to develop more partnerships, and integration and learning capabilities influence their performance. The study shows a positive and statistically significant impact in the performance for cluster companies, and a moderating role between integration capabilities and performance. The performance of the companies of the cluster is superior and one of the determinants of the export in these companies is the wage of the workers. The companies’ competences tend to be specialized and specific (in terms of context), as they are shaped by value chains. By analyzing the evolution of the cluster, it is observed a high level of involvement among its elements. They build networks, and only time controls the degree of granularity for accepting joint guidelines to maintain a culture of effectiveness, efficiency, preservation of values and focus, in order to better respond to a global market, and thus, gain the future.

With great progress of China's economy and the improvement of life quality in recent years, a growing number of Chinese people begin to pay more attention to the oral health and dental aesthetic appearance. Under such circumstances, the demand for professional dental health institutions in China is also rising, so the dental hospitals and clinics in China are mushrooming. However, as the management system and supervision of dental medical institutions are yet to be improved, the whole dental medical market is facing fierce competition and is trapped in a difficult situation. Therefore, in order to survive in such a fierce market and maintain a sound development, a set of scientific and effective strategiesand methods are needed to help dental medical institutions attract sufficient number of customers and grab more market share, and constantly enhance their brand influence.This thesis takes Guangzhou Deron Dental as a case and uses the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities theory to summarize its successful experience of transformation to find out how it maintains its rapid development momentum in more than 20 years of growth, how its market share has been constantly enhanced in face of increasingly stronger competitors and how its profitability and business scope continue to expand, hoping to provide relevant suggestions and countermeasures for the growth of other private dental medical institutions.All the research results in this study aim not only to understand the successful experience of Deron Dental at different growth stages, but also to find out the growth law of the dental medical institutions at different stages in an effort to help the counterparts to solve similar problems and further provide consumers with better and safer dental care services.
Com o desenvolvimento económico da China e a consequente melhoria da qualidade de vida um número, cada vez maior de Chineses começou a prestar mais atenção à saúde oral e à sua estética dental. Esta situação fez com que a procura de serviços profissionais dentários aumentasse e as clinicas dentárias se multiplicassem. A deficiente supervisão das clinicas dentárias faz com que o mercado de cuidados dentários sofra uma forte concorrência e se encontre numa situação difícil. Para sobreviverem neste mercado altamente competitivo e manterem um crescimento sustentável as clinicas dentárias necessitam de melhorar a sua capacidade de gestão. Esta tese toma por base a clinica Guangzhou Deron Dental e utiliza a escola baseada nos recursos e a as capacidades dinâmicaspara estudar a sua evolução ao longo dos últimos 20 anos. Sendo um estudo de caso não pretendemos generalizar as conclusões para todas as clínicas que operam no mercado Chinês mas pensamos que este estudo pode ajudar algumas das clinicas a melhorar a sua gestão.

Delivering a positive tourism experience is an expanding concern of destinations due to the growth of the tourism industry. Moreover, the emergence of creative tourism has led to a continued necessity for local destination management office to pursue innovative and versatile strategies. Thereby, organizations that are directly involved and have a vital leadership role in their destinations, can focus on destination’s continuing development, assuring competitiveness and sustainability. To encounter the objectives of this dissertation and validate the proposed conceptual model, a mixed-method approach was used, resorting to a Focus Group of six local destination management offices in creative tourism and an internet-mediated questionnaire to one hundred and sixteen (116) local destination management offices in Portugal. In this lastmentioned study, a multivariate statistical analysis was carried out based on structural equational modelling. Thus, this dissertation assessed the effect that local destination management office’s marketing communication capabilities and defining key success factors in tourism destinations have on creative tourism context destination and their activities, as well as on providing a unique involvement for tourists by creating or enhancing organization’s learning commitment capability and the local destination management office’s management skills. Findings of the studies demonstrated that local destination management office ought to prioritize organization’s culture by coordinating learning and effective knowledge training to strengthen marketing communication capabilities while focusing on potentiating their resources, to achieve destination’s development through implementing a local creative tourism destination. Thereby, leading towards generating value to a greater creative tourism local destination where tourists play an active role.
Um dos objetivos dos destinos turísticos é serem capazes de entregar uma experiência positiva aos turistas. Além disso, devido ao turismo criativo, os gestores de destino turístico têm procurado alcançar estratégias inovadoras. Desta forma, as organizações que têm um papel de liderança nos seus destinos, focam-se no desenvolvimento destes, assegurando a competitividade e sustentabilidade. Para alcançar os objetivos delineados nesta dissertação e validar o modelo conceptual, recorreu-se a uma abordagem de método misto, ao aplicar um Focus Group a seis representantes de organizações de gestão do destino, no contexto do turismo criativo, assim como um questionário online a cento e dezasseis (116) representantes de organizações de gestão do destino em Portugal. Neste último, realizou-se uma análise estatística multivariada baseada num modelo de equações estruturais. Assim, esta dissertação aferiu o efeito que as capacidades de comunicação de marketing e a definição de fatores chave de sucesso dos destinos têm. em destinos turísticos criativos, assim como, em oferecerem um envolvimento único aos turistas ao aperfeiçoarem a capacidade de aprendizagem da organização e a capacidade de gestão destes representantes. Os resultados destes estudos demonstraram que os representantes de organizações de gestão do destino devem priorizar a cultura organizacional ao coordenar aprendizagem e formação eficazes para reforçar as capacidades de comunicação de marketing e, também, ao focarem-se na potencialização dos recursos, de forma a atingir o desenvolvimento de um destino de turismo criativo. Consequentemente, dirigindo a que um destino seja mais inovador, ao criar valor e onde o turista desempenha um papel ativo.

Esta pesquisa destaca o efeito mediador de um planeamento de marketing aprimorado, entre a reputação de uma marca e as suas capacidades de marketing. Perante um mercado em constante mudança é necessário que as empresas detenham uma grande capacidade de adaptação, desenvolvendo ações de marketing que captem a atenção de potenciais consumidores e consigam ir de encontro às suas necessidades. A gestão da reputação torna-se um recurso fundamental que, por intermédio de um planeamento de marketing estruturado, capta um propósito de interação das capacidades de marketing das empresas, conseguindo que estas desenvolvam ações conscientes em linha com as preferências do mercado. Deste modo, a presente dissertação visa compreender o papel do planeamento nas capacidades de marketing das organizações "business-to-business" (B2B), explorando para tal os efeitos diretos das diversas variáveis apresentadas e o efeito mediador do planeamento entre a reputação das marcas e as suas capacidades de marketing. O modelo conceptual apresentado foi testado por meio de um estudo quantitativo, através da aplicação de um questionário que reuniu informação de 180 pequenas e médias empresas (PMEs) portuguesas. Uma análise baseada no método da regressão parcial dos mínimos quadrados (PLS) sugeriu que os resultados dos efeitos diretos entre as variáveis complementam a pesquisa existente. A análise também apresentou o seu contributo para a área em estudo e para o desenvolvimento de pesquisas relacionadas com o efeito mediador do planeamento nas capacidades de marketing, com a elaboração de um modelo conceptual e com a apresentação de relações de mediação comprovadas com o estudo.
This research highlights the mediating effect of improved marketing planning, between a brand reputation and its marketing capabilities. In an evolving market, companies need to have a large capacity to adapt, developing marketing actions that capture the potential consumers attention and can meet their needs. Reputation management becomes a fundamental resource that, through structured marketing planning, captures a purpose of interaction of the marketing capacities of companies, achieving that they develop conscious actions in line with the preferences of the market. Thus, this dissertation aims to understand the role of planning in the marketing capacities of business-to-business (B2B) organizations, exploring for this the direct effects of the various variables presented and the mediating effect of planning between the brand’s reputation and their marketing capabilities. The conceptual model presented was tested through a quantitative study, through the application of a questionnaire that gathered information from 180 small and medium-sized portuguese enterprises (SMEs). An analysis based on the partial least squares regression (PLS) method suggested that the results of direct effects among the variables complements the existing research. The analysis also contributed to the research field and to the development of research related studies to the mediating effect of planning on marketing capabilities, with the elaboration of a conceptual model and with the presentation of mediation relationships proven with the study.

Este trabalho visa investigar e responder à questão da necessidade de criação de valor sustentável por uma empresa que opere em Portugal, no setor elétrico, no seu contexto atual de revolução regulatória e tecnológica, que se consubstancia num novo paradigma de negócio. Pode-se caracterizar o setor e suas tendências com base naquilo que se designa como a revolução dos “5Ds”: Descarbonização; Descentralização; Digitalização e Inovação; Diversificação; Divulgação. Tendo por base a integração das Teorias dos Recursos, Stakeholders e Capacidades Dinâmicas, recolheu-se e analisou-se um conjunto de informação, com destaque para um conjunto de entrevistas realizadas e, concluiu-se que a fonte de criação de valor no contexto exposto, reside na arte de combinar recursos, stakeholders, capacidades e competências, de forma sistemática e diferenciadora, inovadora e empreendedora, ou seja aquilo que se designam por capacidades dinâmicas. Estas capacidades geram um valor ativo intangível e expressam-se em dois vetores: auscultação total do que se passa fora e dentro da empresa (“Sensorização”) e; capacidade de reconfiguração interna para captar uma oportunidade no mercado e envolvente (“Dimensionamento e Transformação”), num contexto de rápida mudança tecnológica. Permitindo a diferenciação da empresa e a construção de vantagens competitivas, fonte de valor sustentável. A saber, para o setor em estudo, as principais capacidades a desenvolver por uma empresa são: Visão e Capacidade de Gestão; Gestão de Stakeholders/Sustentabilidade; Inovação e Digitalização; Gestão do Talento; Comunicação Total e; Diversificação. A base de investigação e reflexão foi o setor em geral e a EDP em particular, como incumbente e principal empresa.
This work aims to investigate and answer the question of the need to create sustainable value by a company that operates in Portugal, in the electric sector, in its current and future context of regulatory and technological revolution, which is the basis of a new business paradigm. The sector and its trends can be characterized based on what is called the "5Ds" revolution: Decarbonisation; Decentralization; Digitization and Innovation; Diversification; Disclosure. Based on the integration of the Theories of Resources, Stakeholders and Dynamic Capabilities, a set of information was collected and analysed, highlighting a set of interviews conducted and, it was concluded that the source of value creation in the exposed context, lies in the art of combining resources, stakeholders, capabilities and competencies, in a systematic and differentiating, innovative and entrepreneurial way, that is, what is called dynamic capacities. These capabilities generate an intangible active value and are expressed in two vectors: total auscultation of everything outside and inside the company ("Sensing"); internal reconfiguration capability to capture a market opportunity and engaging ("Seizing and Transformation"), in a context of rapid technological change. Allowing the differentiation of the company and the construction of competitive advantages, source of sustainable value. Namely, for the sector under study, the main capabilities to be developed by a company are: Vision and Capability of Management; Stakeholders/Sustainability Management; Innovation and Digitization; Talent Management; Total Communication and; Diversification. The basis of research and reflection was the sector in general and EDP in particular, as incumbent and main company.

As empresas familiares desempenham um papel vital no desenvolvimento da economia nacional e global, promovendo a criação de novos empregos, o crescimento de novos negócios e o aumento das atividades empresariais, sendo o processo de planeamento da sucessão, em empresas familiares, considerado como uma das fases mais importantes no ciclo de vida das mesmas (Zahrani et al. 2014). A presente dissertação envolve a participação de um grupo empresarial familiar português com o propósito de se compreender se o mesmo está consciente da necessidade do desenvolvimento de um plano de sucessão, assim como fornecer informação relevante para a elaboração eficaz do mesmo. Por outro lado, pretende-se ajudar o grupo em estudo a adotar uma gestão mais profissionalizada. Estas problemáticas irão ser exploradas, nesta dissertação, sob a perspetiva da resource-based view (RBV) e capacidades dinâmicas. As conclusões da dissertação permitirão contribuir para uma melhor clarificação sobre a gestão profissionalizada, e, ainda, o modo como o grupo empresarial em estudo poderá desenvolver o seu plano de sucessão de forma a procurar garantir a sua sobrevivência no longo prazo. Este estudo ambiciona igualmente trazer benefícios a outras empresas familiares que estejam a passar pelas mesmas dificuldades de forma a facilitar a sua permanência no mercado.
Family enterprises play a vital role in the development of the national and global economy, promoting the creation of new jobs, the growth of new businesses and the increase of business activities, being the succession planning process in family enterprises considered one of the most important stages of the family life cycle. This dissertation involves the participation of a portuguese family business group, in order to understand if it is aware of the need to develop a succession plan, as well as to provide relevant information for the effective elaboration of the same. On the other hand, it is intended to help the group under study to adopt a more professional management. These issues will be explored, in this dissertation, from the perspective of resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities. The conclusions of the dissertation will contribute to a better clarification about the professional management, as well as the way in which the business group under study can develop its succession plan to ensure its survival in the long term. This study also aims to bring benefits to other family businesses that are experiencing the same difficulties to facilitate their stay in the market.

Prior research shown that export performance has always been a central topic in international business. There are three main theoretical approaches used in export performance studies: the structure-conduct-performance approach, the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities approach and the relational or behavior perspective. Based on these theories we created an approach to identify which are the most important factors that influence export performance, dividing export performance into noneconomic and economic performance and how they connect with the relationship capabilities and internal and external factors. This study, based on a sample of 93 Portuguese wine producers, develops and tests, using structural equation modelling (SEM), specifically the partial least squares method (PLS), a conceptual model of the influence of internal factors, external factors and partner relationship capabilities in export performance. Results indicate that internal factors and partner relationships have an impact in the firm’s noneconomic performance which influences economic performance. It is also shown by the results that external factors doesn´t affect the noneconomic performance neither the economic performance. Moreover, the results show the moderation effect of the noneconomic variable. Internal factors and relationship capabilities have an impact in economic performance throw the mediation effect of noneconomic performance. Overall, firms’ internal factors and relationships capabilities are crucial to achieve a better export performance for Portuguese wine companies.
Estudos anteriores mostram que o desempenho de exportação é um tópico central no tema de Negócios Internacionais. Existem três teorias fundamentais abordadas nos artigos sobre desempenho de exportação: a teoria do structure-conduct-performance, o resource-based view e dynamic capabilities e a perspectiva comportamental e relacional com parceiros. Com base nestas três teorias desenvolvemos um modelo conceptual, onde identificamos quais são os fatores fundamentais que mais têm influência no desempenho das exportações. Para isso, dividimos o desempenho de exportação em desempenho não-económico e desempenho económico e interligámos estas variáveis com os fatores internos e externos da empresa e as suas capacidades de relacionamento com parceiros. Para a realização deste estudo, usámos uma amostra de 93 empresas de vinho portuguesas, onde a testamos usando equações de modelação estrutural, mais especificamente o método PLS. Os resultados demonstraram que os fatores internos e a capacidade de relacionamento com parceiros, contrariamente aos fatores externos, apresentaram uma influência significativa no desempenho não-económico, que por sua vez influência o desempenho económico. Os resultados mostram também o efeito mediador do desempenho não económico. Os fatores internos e a capacidade de relacionamento têm influência indireta no desempenho económico através do efeito mediador do desempenho não económico de exportação. Podemos então afirmar que os fatores internos e a capacidade de relacionamento têm influência no desempenho geral de exportações nas empresas de vinho portuguesas.