| 21. |
- Öberg, Christina, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
-
Acquisitions and network identity change
- 2011
-
Ingår i: European Journal of Marketing. - Yorkshire, United Kingdom : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 0309-0566 .- 1758-7123. ; 45:9/10, s. 1470-1500
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to discuss whether or not an acquisition changes the network identity of an acquired firm and, if so, how. This study aims to bring new insights to the corporate marketing field, as it examines corporate identity in the context of how a company is perceived because of its relationships with other firms. The focus of this research is acquired innovative firms.Design/methodology/approach: This paper adopts a multiple case study approach. Data on four acquisitions of innovative firms were collected using 41 interviews, which were supplemented with secondary data.Findings: Based on the case studies, it can be concluded that the network identity of the acquired firms does change following an acquisition. The acquired firms inherited the acquirers' identity, regardless of whether or not the companies were integrated. Previous, present and potential business partners regarded the innovative firms as being more solvent, but distanced themselves. In addition, some of them regarded the innovative firms as competitors.Practical implications: Changes in the way a firm is perceived by its business partners, following an acquisition, will influence the future business operations of the firm. Expected changes to business relationships should ideally be considered part of due diligence. Acquirers need to consider how they can minimise the risks associated with business partners' changed perceptions of acquired firms.Originality/value: This paper contributes to the research on identity, through discussion of the consequences of an acquisition for the identity and relationships of a firm. It also contributes to the existing corporate marketing literature, through consideration of perceptions at a network level. Furthermore, this paper contributes to merger and acquisition literature, by highlighting the influence of ownership on relationships with external parties.
|
|
| 22. |
-
Identity and Pluralism : Ethnicity, Religion and Values
- 2010
-
Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This publication contains presentations from the workshop “Identity and Pluralism” held at Linköping University in Sweden in June 2008.¨The first article by Reevany Bustami, Ellisha Nasruddin and Sarmila Md Sum offers a critique of the ‘diversity and inclusion’ discussions in the present CSR discourse. In doing so, it seeks to expand the parameters of diversity to include the broader community as well as the supply chain networks within which companies exist. It also examines the issues of diversity and pluralism within the context of multi religious and multi ethnic Malaysian society as well as the continuing debates of affirmative action originated from Malaysia’s New Economic Policy (NEP).In their essay on pluralism in Malaysian higher education Ellisha Nasruddin, Reevany Bustami and Ng Sen Fa discuss: 1) key future trends/alternatives within higher education and their cross-impacts; 2) how these trends/alternatives may create undesirable or desirable impact on ethnic pluralism; and 3) roadmap(s) for transformation within higher education vis-a-vis ethnic pluralism.What is the role of Christian churches in Malaysia? Göran Wiking discusses the isolationist characteristics inherent in some Malaysian churches and denominations. Secondly, a brief analysis of the phenomenon is attempted: is this a genuine or just a perceived impediment to national integration? Are there in fact indicators to the contrary, whereby a certain degree of ethnic isolation can serve to strengthen identity and foster more wholesome members of the society at large?Göran Collste discusses one aspect of Malaysian political pluralism; the policy of affirmative action. Affirmative action is favouring Malays and to be Muslim is one of the requirements for being beneficiary of affirmative action. He points at some problems for the policy of affirmative action in a time with increased religious tensions and an increased emphasis on religious affiliation as identity marker.What are the conditions for a real dialogue between members of different ethnic and religious groups? Peter Gan argues that openness to transformation by the other is not strictly speaking an ethic of reducing the other to the self. Rather, it is an orientation that is predicated upon a symmetric self-other relation. In exploring this form of openness, the author attempts to unravel the intricacies embedded within the dialogic process which permeates interethnic, particularly interreligious relations.The concept “secular state” is nowadays often used in both everyday discourse and scholarly debate. Often it comes with normative connotations; that the democratic state should be secular. However, the exact meaning of the concept is not clear. In his essay Marcus Agnafors examines different meanings of the concept “secular state”. He also discusses some arguments commonly presented in support of the idea that the state should, in some sense, be secular.Finally, Anne-Christine Hornborg’s essay deals with the struggle for identity by an Indian tribe in Canada. She discusses the impact of the so called residential school on contemporary Mi’kmaq life worlds and identities, drawing on interviews from fieldworks conducted in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
|
|
| 23. |
- Sundin, Elisabeth, 1946-, et al.
(författare)
-
The Masculinization of the Elderly Care Sector : Local-Level Studies of Public Sector Outsourcing
- 2010
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship. - : Emerald. - 1756-6266 .- 1756-6274. ; 2:1, s. 49-67
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- – The paper aims to explore the consequences of new public management (NPM) inspired reforms in general and outsourcing of traditional public sector responsibilities in Sweden to private organizations in particular. At centre stage are the roles of entrepreneurs, women‐owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and socially constructed paradigms of gender in this process. The paper's aim is to explore, through a local‐level case study, the currently ongoing process of gendering and regendering in a female‐dominated sector. This is done by a qualitative real‐time study of the introduction of a customer‐choice system in elder care in a Swedish municipality.Design/methodology/approach– The formal decision in Spring 2008 to introduce a “customer‐choice model” into home‐based elderly care in the municipality is the formal starting point of the research. The authors are given full access to all relevant information and informants including all questions and suggestions from the potential suppliers who were applying to be “authorized and certified suppliers”. Interviews are the main method but also written material like applications and newspaper articles and “letters to the editor” are studied.Findings– The outcome of the changes are, from the decision‐makers point of view, disappointing. The consequences so far of the customer‐choice system, that have been examined here, can be labelled increased masculinism or even a masculinization of the elderly care sector. Whether the polarization is a presage of the process to come is too early to tell. If so, the masculinization observed in this paper extends along three dimensions: governing logic, leadership and ownership. These gender consequences are not those expected or intended by the leading local actors.Research limitations/implications– The study is made in an ongoing process. The politicians are making changes aiming at making better working conditions for SMEs and former employees especially women. It is therefore important to follow up what is going to happen in the future. Comparisons with other municipalities and other regimes, nationally and internationally, would also be valuable.Practical implications– In this case, the practical implications are, almost, the same as the research implications.Originality/value– The real‐time research design is used focusing on what is happening in practise at the lower organizational levels of an organizational “experiment” of this kind make this paper unusual and valuable both for researchers and practioners.
|
|
| 24. |
- Abouzeedan, Adli, 1955-
(författare)
-
SME Performance and Its Relationship to Innovation
- 2011
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Current SME performance models suffer from a number of disadvantages. The models use intensively a business ratio approach, they look at SMEs as a homogenous group, they consider firms to be closed systems, they do not directly incorporate the impact of an enterprise’s innovation activities, and finally they are complex and rely on sophisticated statistical refining methods making them unpractical to use by SME managers. There are four major challenges when one tries to build SME performance models that lack these deficiencies. The first challenge is that the desired performance evaluation model must optimally incorporate both quantitative and qualitative input. The second challenge is that the model must incorporate non-financial input parameters, such as firm size and age (among others), in the performance evaluation models. The third is that the model must consider the variety of SMEs as concerns their business sectors, nationalities, sizes, and ages. The final challenge is that the model must be able to utilize existing limited information available from the SMEs bookkeeping practices in an optimal way.The thesis addresses three questions related to constructing a better SMEperformance model, namely (1) What are the advantages and disadvantages of the existing models used in evaluating SME performance? (2) What characterizes a comprehensive model for measuring SME performance with acknowledgement of the firm’s innovation activities? (3) How can a firm’s innovation activities be enhanced in relation to the firm’s external environment?To construct a model that copes with these challenges, I used a literature-based selection of parameters as well as a theory-based selection. I used both a conceptual approach and an empirical approach to discuss and propose a model, the Survival Index Value (or SIV) model, as an alternative to the existing performance models for SMEs.The major contributions of this thesis to the field of SME performance can be summarized in three outcomes: the SIV model as a new model of SME performance evaluation, the ASPEM as a new tool for strategic utilization of SME performance models, and a new approach to account for innovation in relation to the external environment of the firm using the IBAM tool.The work adds to the theory of the firm, as it presents a new way of evaluating firm performance. It also contributes to bridging the theory of the firm to organizational theory, by elevating the significance of networking and its impact on SME efficiency.
|
|
| 25. |
- Svensson, Peter, 1974-
(författare)
-
The Dynamics of Innovation and Knowledge-Based Regional Development
- 2010
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Geographical regions as diverse as Silicon Valley, California and Linköping, Sweden have been the sources of new technology and endogenously created innovations. Scholars and policymakers recognise that specific regions or clusters of businesses have the capability to engage in more innovative activities and new business formation and to experience higher employment growth than others. This dissertation uses qualitative methods to study various aspects of regional development and innovation. It is based on five papers by the author and colleagues with levels of analysis ranging from regional to firms’ first sales in order to capture the dynamics of both the top and bottom levels of regional development. It then uses these papers’ empirical material to address the research questions of (a) how a new scientific knowledge base becomes established and exploited in a spatial context, and (b) how people create and diffuse innovations in a social and spatial context. This dissertation’s main findings are that (a) regional leadership involving the building of alliances with triple-helix actors is crucial for initiating a knowledge-based regional development process, (b) a consensus space is a catalytic mechanism for ensuring the speed and effectiveness of regional development, (c) lowering the barriers for the actors involved boosts participation and the rate of innovation, and (d) users’ perspectives are essential for social, institutional and commercial innovation. This dissertation’s main implications are that knowledge-based regional development’s initial stages require leadership that (a) builds alliances and establish an arena for the triple-helix actors, (b) analyses the regional barriers to the commercialisation of knowledge, and (c) utilises both endogenous and exogenous resources.
|
|
| 26. |
|
|
| 27. |
- Axelsson, Karin, 1968-, et al.
(författare)
-
Kundval – dilemman i gränssnittet mellan privata och offentliga organisationer
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Samtal pågår… från forskare till politiker och tjänstemän i kommuner. - Linköping : Linköpings universitet. - 9789173934176 ; , s. 9-19
-
Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Är det bättre med stora än med små kommuner? Kommer folkrörelsepartierna att bli mer kampanj- och väljarorienterade i framtiden? Hur formas en boendepolitik för det goda åldrandet? Lokala transportstrategier – hur och för vem? Hur påverkas kommunledningars samverkan om gymnasieskolan av att det finns friskolor? Är kulturekonomi framtidens lokala tillväxtmotor?Dessa och andra frågor behandlas i denna bok. Den är ett led i Centrum för kommunstrategiska studiers, CKS, arbete med att bygga en dialog – utveckla goda samtal – mellan Linköpings universitet och medlemskommunerna i CKS. Den innehåller fjorton olika artiklar, inlägg, som forskare författat för att förmedla sina resultat, men också för att stärka en dialog med politiker och tjänstemän i kommunerna. Inläggen spänner över många olika ämnen och frågeställningar. De är i vissa fall konkreta och koncisa i andra fall beskrivande och reflekterande. Alla är de av kommunstrategisk karaktär.I en kommun fattas en mängd olika politiska beslut kring de mest skiftande ämnen. Det kräver kunskap, reflektion och gedigna beslutsunderlag. Då kan forskares analyser och kunskapsproduktion vara till nytta. För att en fördjupad och samhällsrelevant forskning ska komma till stånd behövs emellertid reaktioner från politiker och tjänstemän. Det finns alltså ett ömsesidigt beroende. Det kan hanteras genom samtal i vilka forskare, politiker och tjänstemän kan utbyta erfarenheter, tankar och kunskaper. Inläggen i denna bok visar att samtal pågår
|
|
| 28. |
|
|
| 29. |
- Sandberg, Erik, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
-
Characteristics of a Logistics-Based Business Model
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Journal of Marketing Channels. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1046-669X .- 1540-7039. ; 18, s. 1-23
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In companies where excellence in logistics is decisive for the outperformance of competitors and logistics has an outspoken role for the strategy of the firm, there is present what we refer to here as a “logistics-based business model.” Based on a multiple case study of three Nordic retail companies, the purpose of this article is to explore the characteristics of such a logistics-based business model. As such, this research helps to provide structure to logistics-based business models and identifies a way forward for companies for whom logistics and distribution are a major concern for the overall strategy of the firm.
|
|
| 30. |
|
|
