Social-business tensions and their management in social enterprise: evidence from Finland.

This thesis aims to provide insight into the social-business tensions the social enterprises face in their operation and how they manage them. The social-business tensions are examined from four theoretical perspectives using triangulation approach. The theoretical lenses chosen are organizational identity, stakeholder theory, paradox theory and institutional theory. The theories aim to clarify, how the tensions are formed, how they appear and how they are managed in social enterprises. One viewpoint of this thesis is to examine the competence of these theories in explaining the social-business tensions in practise. The qualitative data was collected by interviewing persons from the management of two social enterprises. The empirical evidence of this thesis suggests that the appearing of social-business tensions varies between the social enterprises and they can be seen both as an advantage and as a challenge. Most of the social-business tensions arise from the enterprise’s multiple incoherent objectives, their stakeholders’ various demands and the differing understanding of the company’s central operation among the members of the organization. According to this thesis, the theories of organizational identity, stakeholder, paradox and institution are all able to provide unique insight into the identification and management of the social-business tensions. However, the paradox theory turned out to be the most abstract of the theories and thus being the farthest from the practise.

Política industrial e compromissos críveis: uma proposta de análise e de ação governamental

This paper analyses the question of the counterparts that governments should claim from firms and/or economic sectors supported by vertical industrial policy. This is a discussion that still have to advance because everything indicate that the set of current counterparts (goals of costs, productivity, exportation, etc.) still may be increased and improved, what will facilitate the assessment of industrial policy execution by society and the verification of its efficacy in order to yielding more possibilities of economic growth for a country or region. To reinforce the commitment credibility of the agents supported by industrial policy, this paper proposes to maintain the counterparts meant before and that such agents will be stimulated to commit specific assets in their activities that are supported by govern. It is shown that, without use more public resources than the used currently, this new counterpart may reinforce substantially the incentives that the firms supported by vertical industrial policy have it to execute the traditional counterparts assumed by them, and with it guarantee the best possible use of public resources.

Towards a better energy efficiency through a systems approach in an industrial forklift

The purpose of this study is to improve the potential energy recovery to electric energy in an electrohydraulic forklift system. The initial achieved result for energy saving ratio after structural optimization is 40 %. Component optimization is applied to the tested drive which consists of a DTC controlled electric servo motor directly running a reversible hydraulic pump. According to the study the energy efficiency and the energy recovery from the electro-hydraulic forklift system can be increased by 11 % units. New ideas and directions of further research were obtained during the study.

Acquisition Failure: The case of a multinational enterprise from an emerging market failing in Indonesia.

The escalation in the number of mergers and acquisition transactions involving emerging market firms is a relatively recent phenomenon; as a consequence academic research in such topic is rather limited. The purpose of this research study was to discuss the possible reasons that led the acquisition failure of an emerging multinational firm and an Indonesian player. Extensive theoretical research was performed and it had been achieved, based on this, the finding of a framework that facilitated to understand the way in which the concepts of cultural distances and relate liabilities of foreignness in the process of acquisitions of foreign companies in emerging markets. The theoretical background collects literature related to acquisitions, models of cultural studies between nations and liabilities of foreignness. It has been generated a variety of frameworks that aid to understand the way that the institutional distance and cultural factors together with the concept of liabilities of foreignness can affect the process of market entry of an emerging multinational company to the extent that the best way to stop losing money is to abandon the project. The empirical research consisted of selective semi-structured interviews and an extensive research in available public data on the chosen study case of this research. There were several factors that were identified as the cause of the failure in the market entry of a Mexican multinational firm in Indonesia. The weakness shown by the local government authorities was used by the local community leaders who rioted because of discomfort. These groups were the ones who made the government submit to the extent that the agreements reached at the beginning of the deal were either canceled or modified in a way that favored always the local community. The contributions of this study fall into the knowledge field of emerging multinational firms and market entry process.

The industrial equilibrium exchange rate in Brazil: an estimation

This paper presents a methodology for calculating the industrial equilibrium exchange rate, which is defined as the one enabling exporters of state-of-the-art manufactured goods to be competitive abroad. The first section highlights the causes and problems of overvalued exchange rates, particularly the Dutch disease issue, which is neutralized when the exchange rate strikes the industrial equilibrium level. This level is defined by the ratio between the unit labor cost in the country under consideration and in competing countries. Finally, the evolution of this exchange rate in the Brazilian economy is estimated.

Política industrial e desenvolvimento econômico: a reatualização de um debate histórico

Industrial policy and economic development: a review of the contemporary debate. This paper discusses the importance of the industrial policy for the Brazilian economic development. It presents the theoretical foundations and the main international experiences about this theme. Besides it examines the main industrial policies adopted in Brazil, especially in recent years. Based on this discussion, it is possible to note that despite the criticisms against this policy, they were widely used by many developed countries in the past and also played an important role, contributing to increase the industrial growth in Brazil. However, the recent Brazilian industrial policies were not so efficient, especially when compared with those adopted during most of the 20th century.

A política industrial chinesa como determinante de sua estratégia going global

China has experienced not only high rates of economic growth as well as an unprecedented competitive international insertion since the turn of the century. This process was not guided solely by market forces or influenced by Government intervention in the economy. Although much has been argued that China's "going global" strategy is rooted in state action, and especially its policy of exchange rate depreciation and trade policy incentives for exports and investments abroad, we argue that the major determinant of this strategy, which established the basic conditions for industrial competitiveness, was its industrial policy. The focus of this article is on the changes in China's industrial structure, emphasizing that Chinese industrial policy is a central determinant of its international insertion strategy.

Políticas productivas y competitividad industrial: El caso de Argentina y Brasil

This article aims, on the one hand, to analyze the increase of productive asymmetries between Argentina and Brazil that have been evidencing during the last two decades, and are currently reveled in the structural trade deficit of industrial products that affects Argentina in the bilateral relationship. On the other hand, it intends to contribute to understanding the roots of these asymmetries based on the differences in the public policies implemented by both countries during the period extending from the implementation of the Mercosur, in the early 1990s, until 2008. The focus is set on the technological pattern of industrial production and trade structures, considering a non neutral impact over the long term development.

Effects of overvaluation and exchange rate volatility over industrial investment: empirical evidence and economic policy proposals for Brazil

The present article aims to analyze the recent behavior of real exchange rate in Brazil and its effects over investment per worker in Brazilian manufacturing and extractive industry. Preliminary estimates presented in the article shows an over-valuation of 48% of real exchange rate in Brazil. The reaction between the level (and volatility) of real exchange rate and investment (per worker) in Brazil is analyzed by means of a panel data econometric model for 30 sectors of Brazilian manufacturing and extractive industry. The empirical results show that the level and volatility of real exchange rate has a strong effect over investment per worker in Brazilian industry. Finally, we conclude the article presenting a proposal for a new macroeconomic regime that aims to produce an acceleration of economic growth of Brazilian economy and, by that, a catching-up process with developed countries.

The developmental state in Brazil: comparative and historical perspectives

The record of successful developmental states in East Asia and the partial successes of developmental states in Latin America suggest several common preconditions for effective state intervention including a Weberian bureaucracy, monitoring of implementation, reciprocity (subsidies in exchange for performance), and collaborative relations between government and business. Although Brazil failed to develop the high technology manufacturing industry and exports that have fueled sustained growth in East Asia, its developmental state had a number of important, and often neglected, successes, especially in steel, automobiles, mining, ethanol, and aircraft manufacturing. Where Brazil's developmental state was less successful was in promoting sectors like information technology and nuclear energy, as well as overall social and regional equality. In addition, some isolated initiatives by state governments were also effective in promoting particular local segments of industry and agriculture. Comparisons with East Asia, highlight the central role of state enterprises in Brazil that in effect internalized monitoring and reciprocity and bypassed collaboration between business and government (that was overall rarer in Brazil).

O enigma da política industrial no Brasil

RESUMOAo longo dos últimos 10 anos, o governo brasileiro lançou vários planos para promover a inovação da indústria e reforçar sua competitividade a nível nacional. No entanto, os resultados têm se mostrado pobres devido às distorções criadas por alguns instrumentos herdados da época da substituição de importações, tais como altas tarifas sobre bens intermediários e de máquinas, regras de conteúdo local e proteção antidumping. Este artigo destaca o papel desempenhado por esses instrumentos usando dois exemplos: investigações antidumping e uma regra de conteúdo local peculiar que só existe no Brasil, o chamado Processo Produtivo Básico (PPB).

Desindustrialização e o investimento em infraestrutura como instrumento conciliador de uma política industrial base no Brasil

RESUMOO fraco desempenho da indústria brasileira no período pós-crise de 2008 retomou o debate em torno da necessidade de um esboço de política industrial. Por conseguinte, e dadas as suas características, o investimento em infraestrutura se apresenta como uma alternativa conciliadora e eficiente na tarefa de devolver a competitividade a este setor. Este trabalho tem como objetivo aprofundar o debate sobre a questão da desindustrialização da economia brasileira e contribuir para a discussão sobre a funcionalidade do investimento em infraestrutura como instrumento de política industrial, enfatizando seu caráter conciliador no que chamamos aqui de uma política industrial base.

Benefits and challenges of Enterprise Resource Planning for Pakistani SMEs

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is used to combine all the functions happening inside the organization with the help of one software. All the data is centralized which makes it easy to manage information for all participants. The literature on ERP is studied thoroughly the whole process of adoption till the implementation and final evaluations. But studies that focus on small and medium sized enterprises are limited in number when compared to the large scale enterprises. In case of Pakistan, research is very limited. In this thesis, the author tries to analyze the current status of SMEs usage of ERP system. The benefits obtained and challenges faced by SMEs of Pakistan are studied. Framework presented by Shang and Seddon (2000) is used to understand the benefits obtained by the SMEs in Pakistan. This is a comprehensive framework that classifies the benefits obtained by the ERP adoption, into five categories: operational benefits, managerial benefits, Strategic benefits, IT benefits, and Organizational benefits. The results show that SMEs of Pakistan are also getting many benefits after adoption of ERP. Most of the firms had implemented SAP software. Operational benefits were mentioned by all the firms. The most important benefits were report generation, quick access to critical information, better product and cost planning. Respondents also mentioned that they had reduced corruption as a result of ERP implementation. It is also an important benefit considering high corruption rate in Pakistan. Along with benefits, challenges faced by Pakistani SMEs included infrastructure problems like electricity, difficulties with integration of one module with other module, costs of adoption and lack of skilled ERP consultants. Further studies in this regard can be conducted on cloud based ERP which is fast growing all around the world.

Possibilities and challenges in utilization of information provided by Industrial Internet applications

Global digitalization has affected also industrial sector. A trend called Industrial Internet has been present for some years and established relatively steady position in businesses. Industrial Internet is also referred with the terminology Industry 4.0 and in consumer businesses IoT (Internet of Things). Eventually, trend consists of many traditionally proven technologies and concepts, such as condition monitoring, remote services, predictive maintenance and Internet customer portals. All these technologies and information related to them are estimated to change the rules of business in industrial sector. This may result even a new industrial revolution. This research has its focus on Industrial Internet products, services and applications. The study analyses four case companies and their digital service offerings. According to this analysis the comparison of these services is done to find out if there is still space for companies to gain competitive advantage through differentiation with these state of the art solutions. One of the case companies, Case Company Ltd., is working as a primary case company and a subscriber of this particular research. The research and results are analyzed primarily from this company’s perspective and need. In empirical part, the research clarifies how Case Company Ltd. has allocated its development resources through last five years. These allocations in certain categories are then compared to other case companies’ current customer offering and conclusions are made how the approach of different companies differ from each other. Existing theoretical knowledge of Industrial Internet is about to find its shape. In this research we take a look how the case company analysis and findings correlate with the existing knowledge and literature of the topic.