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Increasing concerns regarding the world´s natural resources and sustainability continue to be a major issue for global development. As a result several political initiatives and strategies for green or resource-efficient growth both on national and international levels have been proposed. A core element of these initiatives is the promotion of an increase of resource or material productivity. This dissertation examines material productivity developments in the OECD and BRICS countries between 1980 and 2008. By applying the concept of convergence stemming from economic growth theory to material productivity the analysis provides insights into both aspects: material productivity developments in general as well potentials for accelerated improvements in material productivity which consequently may allow a reduction of material use globally. The results of the convergence analysis underline the importance of policy-making with regard to technology and innovation policy enabling the production of resource-efficient products and services as well as technology transfer and diffusion.
Um wirtschaftlichen Wohlstand dauerhaft zu sichern, wurde bereits vor einigen Jahren die "Bildungsrepublik Deutschland" ausgerufen. Doch eine Erhöhung der öffentlichen Ausgaben für Bildung ist ohne passendes Konzept keine Lösung. Ein zentraler Faktor darf nicht in Vergessenheit geraten: Die Qualität eines Bildungswesens steht und fällt mit der Qualität der Lehrer. Cathrin Sikor analysiert die bestehende Struktur von Angebot und Nachfrage im Lehrerarbeitsmarkt und beschreibt, welche Auswirkungen dies auf Lehrerqualität hat. Während sich die Rahmenbedingungen für Berufswahl und Karriere in anderen Bereichen deutlich verändert haben, gleicht das Lehramt im Wesentlichen seiner im Zuge der Industrialisierung entstandenen Form. Ist es an der Zeit für einen neuen Lehrerberuf?
The digital age makes it possible to be globally networked at any time. Digital communication is therefore an important aspect of today’s world. Hence, the further development and expansion of this is becoming increasingly important. Even within a wireless system, copper channels are important as part of the overall network. Given the need to keep pushing at the current limitations, careful design of the cables in connection with an adapted coding of the bits is essential to transmit more and more data.
One of the most popular and widespread cabling technologies is symmetrical copper cabling [1, pp. 8-15]. It is also known as Twisted Pair and it is of immense importance for the cabling of communication networks.
At the time of writing this thesis, data rates of up to 10 GBit/s over a transmission distance of 100 m and 40 GBit/s over a transmission distance of 30 m are standardized for symmetrical copper cabling [2]. Other lengths are not standardized. Short lengths in particular are of great interest for copper cables, because copper cables are usually used for short distances, such as between computers and the campus network or within data centres.
This work has focused on the transmission of higher order Pulse Amplitude Modulation and the associated transmission performance. The central research question is:“how well can we optimize the transmission technique in order to be able to maximise the data bandwidth over Ethernet cable and, given that remote powering is also a significant application of these cables, how much will the resulting heating affect this transmission and what can be done to mitigate that?”
To answer this question, the cable parameters are first examined. A series of spectral measurements, such as Insertion Loss, Return Loss, Near End Crosstalk and Far End Crosstalk, provide information about the electromagnetic interference and the influence of the ohmic resistance on the signal. Based on these findings, the first theoretical statements and calculations can be made. In the next step, data transmissions over different transmission lengths are realized. The examination of the eye diagrams of the different transmission approaches ultimately provides information about the signal quality of the transmissions. An overview of the maximum transmission rate depending on the transmission distance shows the potential for different applications.
Furthermore, the simultaneous transmission of energy and data is a significant advantage of copper. However, the resulting heat development has an influence on the data transmission. Therefore, the influence of the ambient temperature of cables is investigated in the last part and changes in the signal quality are clarified.
In today’s marketplace, the consumption of luxury goods is at a peak due to increasing global wealth and low interest rates, resulting in a vast supply of goods and services to which customer experiences are more relevant than ever before. One of the most recent developments in this field shows that consumers no longer simply purchase a product or service based on the fact sheet; they are also interested in the experience around the product. Successful brands must develop and maintain individual images to sustain their competitive advantage and build brand equity that is beneficial for customers and firms. Ideally, these will lead to satisfaction and loyalty between a brand, its products, and its customers. Existing research about brand experience and brand equity has mainly focused on functional aspects, which seem to differ for high-value luxury goods. Most studies have focused on industries like retail and fashion brands, sampling university students or visitors to shopping malls, and some have even mixed different types of industries together. This underpins the need for research within a single luxury industry with actual luxury customers who have a solid background with brand experiences.
The purpose of this study was to explore the brand experience spectrum within the automotive industry in Germany, particularly in the affordable luxury sport car sector. Identifying the factors and components that constitute, influence, or leverage/drive a brand experience from their perspective was a clear aim of the study. To achieve this, the study collected data from indepth interviews with German (n=60) respondents who had experience with affordable and luxury sport cars. The conceptual framework was based on two empirically tested models guiding this exploratory consumer research. The first model to build on was the consumerbased brand equity model, empirically tested by Çifci et al. (2016) and Nam et al. (2011). The second conceptual framework was Lemon and Verhoef’s (2016) customer journey model consisting of relevant touchpoints along the following three stages: pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase.
The findings of the research demonstrate that, although the six brand equity concepts – brand awareness, physical quality, staff behaviour, self-congruence, brand identification, and lifestyle – are broadly applicable in understanding customer experience in the affordable luxury car industry, the content of these dimensions differs from that suggested by the previous authors. The research established that cognitive and affective (or symbolic) components build the foundation of customer brand experience and supports Çifci et al.’s (2016) and Nam et al.’s (2011) study results. The study also identified brand trust as an important and highly relevant concept for customer brand experience in the luxury automotive car industry. Brand trust influences customer satisfaction and loyalty, therefore improving and complementing the existing model. Furthermore, the study confirmed Lemon and Verhoef’s (2016) process model of the customer journey and experience; however, it suggested two different customer journeys depending on the customers’ previous experience (first-time and experienced buyers). The differences between the two groups and the relevance of the journey touchpoints within the three purchase stages vary significantly in terms and are distinct. Identified key touchpoints for both groups are the contact to a dealer as well as information gathering online. Differences have been found in the length of purchase stages and across the customer journey. The study highlights the importance of trust, identification, and product quality for customer brand experience. Moreover, the findings of this study complement the brand equity model of Çifci et al. (2016) by adding the new concept of trust, which is highly relevant. The current knowledge is complemented by a new understanding and mapping of the customer journey for luxury sports cars in Germany. This study can assist practitioners and managers by providing a compass indicating which touchpoints are relevant to which customer group. Social value can be achieved by encouraging interactions between brand and consumer (e.g. central product launch events) and through brand-oriented interactions among consumers (e.g. dealer events, clubs, or communities). Customers are motivated to express their distinctiveness through product experience and brand identification (belonging/distinction) and to develop a loyal link to brands.
Die Globalisierung hat die Emergenz neuer Formen gesellschaftlicher Steuerung vorangetrieben. Es entstehen sowohl neue Formen von globalen Regeln als auch neue Akteurskonstellationen zur Setzung und Durchsetzung dieser Regeln. Politische, wirtschaftliche und gesellschaftliche Akteure – internationale Organisationen, transnationale Unternehmen und Nichtregierungsorganisationen – gewinnen an Einfluss.
In diesem Kontext werden zunehmend Multistakeholder-Dialoge initiiert, in denen sich relevante Akteure aus Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft organisieren, um Lösungsansätze für globale Probleme u.a. durch die Erarbeitung von Richtlinien und Standards zu entwickeln. Diese Formen gesellschaftlicher Regulierung zeichnen sich dadurch aus, dass neue Organisationsstrukturen und Verfahrensregeln implementiert, neue Rollen gelernt und neue Akteure integriert werden müssen.
In diesem Buch werden die Governancestrukturen von Multistakeholder-Dialogen zur Führung, Steuerung und Kontrolle solcher Kooperationsprojekte analysiert. Ein aktuelles Beispiel für ein transnationales und transkulturelles Kooperationsprojekt dieser Art ist der von der ‚International Organization for Standardization‘ (ISO) initiierte Prozess zur Erarbeitung einer Norm zur gesellschaftlichen Verantwortung von Organisationen (‚Social Responsibility‘). Die im November 2010 veröffentlichte ISO 26000-Norm richtet sich an alle Arten von Organisationen im öffentlichen und gemeinnützigen Sektor und in der Privatwirtschaft – weltweit und unabhängig von ihrer Größe. Dieser Multistakeholder-Dialog wird theoretisch rekonstruiert und empirisch analysiert. Die theoretische Perspektive ist bestimmt durch eine kulturalistisch informierte Governanceökonomik und -ethik, die auf der Basis eines verallgemeinerten Stakeholderbegriffs operiert. Die empirische Analyse konzentriert sich auf die Mikrogovernance zur Steuerung deliberativer Multistakeholder-Dialoge.
Die interdisziplinär angelegte Studie, ihr argumentativer Gang und ihre Ergebnisse sind sowohl für die strategische Führung von Unternehmen als auch für die Gestaltung politischer Prozesse von großem Interesse. Sie leistet einen Beitrag zur aktuellen gesellschaftlichen Diskussion um die Verantwortlichkeit und Nachhaltigkeit von Unternehmen in der globalisierten Gesellschaft.
Advancements in Internet of Things (IoT), cloud and mobile computing have fostered the digital enrichment—or “digitization”—of physical products, which are gaining increasing relevance in practice. According to recent studies, global IoT spending will exceed USD 1 Trillion by 2021 and there will be over 25 billion IoT connections (KPMG, 2018). Porter and Heppelmann (2014) state that IT is “revolutionizing products [as …] IT is becoming an integral part of the product itself.” Senior business executives like GE’s former CEO Jeff Immelt (2015) are even proposing that “every industrial company in the coming age is also going to become a software and analytics company.” This reflects the increasing relevance of IT components’ (i.e., software, data analytics, cloud computing) integration into previously purely physical products. We call IT-enriched physical products, “digitized” products to differentiate them from purely intangible “digital” products, such as digital music, e-books, and software. Examples of digitized products include the Philips Hue smartphone-controllable lightbulb, Audi Connect internet-connected cars, or Rolls-Royce’s sensor-enabled pay per use jet engines.
Digitized products provide their producers with a wide range of opportunities to offer new functionality and product capabilities (e.g., autonomy) that traditional, physical products do not exhibit (Porter and Heppelmann, 2014). In addition, the digitization of products allows producers to continuously repurpose their offerings, by extending and/or changing the product functionality and, thus, enabling new value creation opportunities. Based on their re-programmability and connectivity, digitized products “remain essentially incomplete […] throughout their lifetime as users continue to add and delete […] and change […] functional capabilities” (Yoo, 2013). For instance, the Philips Hue connected lightbulb enables remote control of basic functions (e.g., switching on and off the light) as well as setting more advanced light scenes for day-to-day tasks (e.g., relax, read) via Amazon’s Alexa artificial intelligence assistant (Signify, 2019), offerings that were not intended use cases when Signify (previously known as Philips Lighting) created Hue in 2012. Thus, digitized products present limitless potentials for new functionality and unforeseen use cases, which provides them with a huge innovation capacity.
Despite the limitless potentials offered by digitized products, there has been a slow uptake of digitized products by businesses so far (Jernigan et al., 2016; Mocker et al., 2019). According to a 2016 MIT Sloan Management Review report (Jernigan et al., 2016) only 24% of the investigated firms were actively using IoT technologies – a key technology for digitized products. In a more recent research study Mocker et al. (2019) found that the median revenue share from digital offerings (i.e., solutions based on IT enriched products) in large companies only accounted for 5% of the total revenue of the investigated companies.
The slow uptake of digitized products might be explained by the challenges that firms face regarding the changing nature of digitized products. Pervasive digital technologies (such as IoT) change the nature of products by adding new functionality that was previously not part of the value proposition of the products/services (e.g., a pair of shoes embedded with sensors and connectivity allows joggers to have access to data regarding their run distance, speed, etc.) (Yoo et al., 2012). The addition of new functionality and use cases of digitized products makes it harder for producers to design and develop relevant products (Hui 2014). As described in the paper ‘Do Your Customers Actually Want a “Smart” Version of Your Product?’, “just because [firms] can make something with IoT technology doesn’t mean people will want it.” (Smith, 2017).
The shift in digitized products’ nature poses new challenges for producers along the entire product development process (Porter and Heppelmann, 2015; Yoo et al., 2012) and create a paradox in product digitization, described by Yoo et al. (2012) as the paradox of pace: while technology accelerates the rate of innovation, companies need to spend more time to digitize their products, extending time to market. The production of these digitized products also becomes more challenging, e.g., as companies need to deal with different clock-speeds of software and hardware development (Porter and Heppelman, 2015). The above-mentioned challenges suggest that producers need to better understand how they can generate value from their digitized products’ generative potentials.
The body of literature on digitized products has been growing in recent years. For instance, Herterich et al. (2016) investigate how digitized product affordances (i.e., potentials) enable industrial service innovation; Nicolescu et al. (2018) explore the emerging meanings of value associated with IoT; and Benbunan-Fich (2019) studies the impact of basic wearable sensors on the quality of the user experience. However, it remains unclear what it takes for firms to generate value with their digitized product potentials. This dissertation investigates this research gap.
In dieser Arbeit wird ein Ansatz zur Unterstützung von Werkern, Meistern und Instandhaltern vorgestellt, der es ermöglicht, aus der auftretenden Situation heraus (ad hoc), auf aktuelle notwendige Informationen und die Zusammenhänge in einer variantenreichen Serienfertigung zuzugreifen. Schwerpunkt bildet das unternehmensneutrale Gesamtkonzept des fertigungsnahen Kontextinformationssystems, das aus dem Produktionsumgebungsmodell und der Systemarchitektur besteht. Das Produktionsumgebungsmodell beschreibt und vernetzt enthaltene Informationen und Zusammenhänge einer variantenreichen Serienfertigung. Hauptordnungskriterien sind hier die Zugehörigkeit zu einer bestimmten Gruppe (Typ), die Identität eines Gegenstands, dessen Ort und Betriebszustand über die Zeit. Die Systemarchitektur ist modular aufgebaut. Die Module werden in Erfassungsmodule, Kontextverwaltungsmodule, Funktionsmodule zur automatischen und manuellen Informationsfilterung sowie Präsentationsmodule untergliedert und kommunizieren über eine einheitliche Schnittstelle.
Anhand von drei empirischen Studien zeigt Christina Kühnl, wie Unternehmen ihren Innovationsprozess optimieren bzw. wie sie die Adoption einer Innovation in ihrer Organisation sicherstellen können. Dabei vergleicht sie die Erfolgsfaktoren von Produkt- und Dienstleistungsinnovationen unter Berücksichtigung nichtlinearer Effekte, identifiziert unternehmensinterne Erfolgsfaktoren und verdeutlicht, welchen Einfluss das soziale Umfeld auf die individuelle Adoptionsentscheidung ausübt.
Die konzeptionelle Integration von Ethik in die Personalwirtschaftslehre stellt eine bislang ungelöste Herausforderung dar. Daher verwundert es nicht, dass die Diskussion ethischer Fragestellungen in der Personalwirtschaftslehre weitgehend unsystematisch und theoretisch unterbestimmt erfolgt. Auf dieser Erkenntnis aufbauend entwickelt der Autor in seinem Buch das Forschungsprogramm der Personalethik. Dieses Forschungsprogramm geht gerade nicht von einer Integration von Ethik in die Personalwirtschaftslehre aus, sondern nähert sich den ethischen Problemen der Personalwirtschaftslehre aus einer unternehmensethischen Perspektive. Dadurch können bisherige Erkenntnisse zur Ethik in der Personalwirtschaftslehre innerhalb eines systematischen Bezugsrahmens (re-)interpretiert werden. Zudem bietet die Personalethik einen integrierten und theoretisch fundierten Bezugsrahmen für künftige Forschungen.