Browsing Ph.D. theses by Title
-
Stern, Alexander Brian (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
-
Fosse, Henrik Barslund (Copenhagen Business School, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The thesis consists of an introduction followed by three numbered chapters (independent papers). It covers topics in international trade, and in di¤erent ways the thesis investigates aspects of heterogeneity. The rst chapter is coauthored with Pascalis Raimondos-Møller. The version of this chapter is published in the CESifo Working Paper Series and serves as the nal background paper for the compressed journal article published in Review of Development Economics, May 2012. The second chapter is coauthored with Madhura Maitra, senior PhD student at Columbia University at the time. The third chapter is a solo paper. In the rst chapter we introduce a traditional macro model of trade and change the com- petitive environment by introducing state-owned enterprises. We also include heterogenous households to analyze e¤ects on the income distribution. The chapter focuses on Vietnam s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007. Upon entry, Vietnam was granted an accession period lasting till 2014. During this period tari¤s would have to fall according to the accession agreement. This rst chapter evaluates this 2007-2014 trade liberalization by building an applied general equilibrium model and calibrating it to the Vietnamese data. The model pays careful attention to the fact that Vietnam has many state-owned enterprises that do not behave in a pro t maximizing way. The model simulations show that the WTO imposed tari¤ reforms will reduce the overall welfare level of the Vietnamese households. Moreover, the biggest loss of income will take place among the poor rural households in Vietnam. We propose other tari¤ reforms that both raise overall welfare and reduce income inequality. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8541 Files in this item: 1
Henrik_Barslund_Fosse.pdf (1.149Mb) -
Overgaard Olesen, Jan (, 2001)[More information][Less information]
-
Shi, Qingxin (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Usability evaluation methods are widely used to assess and improve the user interface design. This dissertation investigates the thinking aloud usability testing from a cultural perspective. In a test situation, representative users are required to verbalize their thoughts as they perform their tasks while using the system, and an evaluator observes the user’s task performance and comes up with usability problems. The primary goal of a usability test is to find a list of usability problems. In this research, the impacts of evaluators’ and users’ cultural backgrounds on both the result and the process of the thinking aloud usability testing were investigated. Regarding the results of the usability testing, the identified usability problem was the main focus, whereas for the process of testing, the communication between users and evaluators was the main focus. In this dissertation, culture was regarded as cognitive styles and communication orientations. For the theories of thinking aloud, both Ericsson and Simon’s classic model, and Boren and Ramey’s revised model for usability testing were taken into account. Based on the culture theories and thinking aloud models, hypotheses were developed to investigate the evaluators’ identified usability problems in different cultural settings, and themes were put forward to investigate the evaluators’ and users’ communications. In order to investigate the hypotheses and themes, an experimental study was conducted. The experimental design consisted of four independent groups with evaluators and users from similar or different cultures (Danish and Chinese). Empirical data were collected by using background questionnaires, usability problem forms, usability problem lists, video recordings of the testing and interviews. The usability testing software “Morae” was used to record the whole testing, including the faces of the evaluators and users, the screen and keyboard activities. Evaluators’ and users’ communications were analyzed by the behavioural coding and analysis software “Observer XT 8.0” with a well defined coding system. The results of the systematic study of the thinking aloud usability testing in the context of the intra- and inter-cultural usability engineering show that the evaluators’ cultural backgrounds do have some influences on the usability testing; however, the influences are different for the tests with Western and East Asian users. The main findings of this research have implications for both usability research and practice. The methodological approach also gives inspiration for usability evaluation studies URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8167 Files in this item: 2
Ny_version_Qingxin_Shi.pdf (4.021Mb)Qingxin_Shi.pdf (5.203Mb) -
[More information][Less information]
-
Essays on sorting and globalizationScheuer, Christian (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: "Leaping into the future of labor economics: the research potential of linking employer and employee data" is the title of a paper by Daniel S Hammermesh published in Labour Economics in 1999. I quote it here, since it captures much of my motivation for the work included in this thesis. Considering applied micro econometrics and labor economics my main elds of interest, the development of linked employer-employee data that took place in Denmark around the time of the new millennium, marked new and exciting possibilities. For some years Danish researchers have had access to very detailed information on all people living in Denmark, but at the beginning of this century also data on all companies linked to these persons was being made available for research. Combined with modern computer technology this meant access to a linked database following all employers and all employees in Denmark over time. I had no doubt that this should be the centerpiece of my Ph.D. The result has been two lines of research, one studying the e¤ect of globalization on labor demand in Denmark, and one studying sorting, that is, how and why employers meet employees in the labor market. In the summary I treat each line of research independently although I would like to emphasize, that studying a labor market where fi rms and workers reacts to one another is the corner stone in both. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7928 Files in this item: 1
Christian_Scheuer.pdf (1.312Mb) -
An empirical investigation of business model innovation in supplier relation-ship managementNøkkentved, Chris (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In broad terms we want to identify the initiatives that drive business model transformation and study their effect on performance. We also presume that such initiatives are primarily influencing the context-specific skills and priorities of the organization. Transformation initiatives leading to organizational and technological change are presumably constrained by resident capabilities (Hartmann et al.,2002, Håkansson & Waluszewski, 2002), the focus and state of the current operations (Subramanian & Shaw, 2002), hence they indirectly influence performance26. There are potentially additional environmental contingencies affecting those same domain-specific factors, of which we will investigate industry membership, region, and company size (Ford et al. 1997). Finally, we will explore whether different actors or leaders incharge of such technology-oriented and organizational transformations have differences of opinion on the priorities of the firm (Håkansson & Waluszewski, 2002). URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7767 Files in this item: 1
Chris_Nøkkentved.pdf (35.92Mb) -
Nielsen, Steen (Frederiksberg, 2000)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This dissertation adresses various issues regarding the functioning of financial markets. It consists of introduction and five independent chapters of which the first four are empirical and the last one is theoretical. The introduction provides a brief background on some of the data used in subsequent chapters and a discussion of the main results of the dissertation URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7935 Files in this item: 1
Steen_Nielsen.pdf (17.09Mb) -
Evidence from Danish Micro DataSchultz, Esben Anton (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This thesis consists of four empirical essays within the broad field of modern labor economics. All four essays are self-contained and can be read independently of the others. Chapter 1 investigates the distinct effects on information technology and communication technology on firm’s skill demand. Chapter 2 studies whether the observed wage gab between majors in human arts and other fields are caused by their education per se or by selection. Chapter 3 examines taxable income responses to variation in marginal tax rates. Chapter 4 analyzes the effect of income taxation on the international migration of top earners. Each chapter provides an independent and separate analytical contribution to their specific field. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8442 Files in this item: 1
Esben_Anton_Schultz.pdf (4.890Mb) -
Stenbo Nielsen, Mads (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The thesis consists of three essays that cover different aspects of correlation modelling in corporate default risk. Each essay is self-contained and can be read independently. Essay I: Correlation in corporate defaults: Contagion or conditional independence? Essay II: Systematic and idiosyncratic default risk in synthetic credit markets. Essay III: Credit spreads across the business cycle. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8370 Files in this item: 1
Mads_Stenbo_Nielsen.pdf (5.032Mb) -
Bajlum, Claus (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This Ph.D. thesis consists of three self-contained chapters, which can be read independently. The chapters are interrelated through their use of structural credit risk models and a credit derivative known as the Credit Default Swap (CDS). Chapter 1 estimates the impact of accounting transparency on the term structure of CDS spreads for a large cross-section of firms. Chapter 2 analyzes the use of CDS spreads in a convergence-type trading strategy known as capital structure arbitrage. Finally Chapter 3 estimates the time-series behaviour of the credit risk premium in the market for Credit Default Swaps. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6520 Files in this item: 1
claus_bajlum.pdf (1.513Mb) -
Amore, Mario Daniele (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The effect of corporate governance and managers on the value of companies has received great attention in the recent public debate. In the academic research, this increased attention has been associated with an effort to develop finer conceptual frameworks and analytical techniques to assess how governance and financial characteristics influence corporate policies and profitability. While theoretical models represent a successful approach under specific hypotheses, the econometric analysis of corporate governance and managerial characteristics has proven to be extremely challenging. Because governance and managerial characteristics are equilibrium outcomes largely determined by the firm itself, it is methodologically difficult to separate out their determinants from their consequences to infer causal effects. Since its infancy the empirical corporate governance and corporate finance research has faced this problem, which is often responsible for mixed empirical results. In my dissertation, I adopt a common methodological framework developed in the “program evaluation” literature to shed new light on the effects of governance and managerial characteristics on a variety of corporate policies and, ultimately, firm performance. In particular, I estimate a class of difference-in-differences models deriving the empirical identifications from policy changes that generate “quasi-natural experiments”. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8451 Files in this item: 1
Mario_Daniele_Amore.pdf (1.242Mb) -
Zhou, Haoyong (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The dissertation examines corporate performance and capital structure of family firms, contributing to the limited empirical research on family firms. Family firms are prevalent in national economies all over the world. It is the prevalence that makes family firms receive increasing attentions from academia. The dissertation consists of an introduction and three chapters. Each chapter is an independent paper. The first chapter is a joint work with Professor Morten Bennedsen and Dr. Markus Ampenberger. The version of in the dissertation will be published as Chapter 6 in the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Entrepreneurial Finance by Oxford University Press. The second paper and third paper are single-authored papers. In the first chapter, we discuss the capital structure of family firms, with a focus on the debtequity mix. Two parts comprise the chapter. In the first part, we provide a literature review on existing theoretical and empirical research in the capital structure of family firms. The literature review shows that the most important theories to explain capital structure in family firms seem to be risk aversion, agency theory, and control considerations. We argue that risk aversion and control considerations have opposing impacts on the optimal choice of debt leverage of family firms. On one hand, controlling families of family firms are typically non-diversified investors with most of their wealth and human capital tied to the company and consequently family firms use less debt. On the other hand, controlling families want to maintain the control over their companies. This control consideration restricts the willingness to raise new equity outside the family and therefore often lead to a stronger dependence on banks and other debt instruments. The literature review also shows that evidence on capital structure choices of family firms is inconclusive. Large-scale evidence on private family firms is almost missing. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8607 Files in this item: 1
Haoyong_Zhou.pdf (2.035Mb) -
Forssbæck, Jens (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The thesis studies how financial markets discipline commercial and central banks’ behavior in various ways. In the first part, two papers test different aspects of market discipline of commercial banks’ risk taking, using a dataset of several hundred banks worldwide. In the first paper, it is shown that the risk-shifting opportunity of shareholders introduced by deposit insurance depends on ownership structure and the extent of market discipline by uninsured creditors. I find that the effect of shareholder control on risk is convex, and that creditor discipline tempers this effect but has little individual influence on risk. The second paper tests the monitoring dimension of market discipline and formulates a two-step procedure which makes it possible to sidestep the common methodological problem that banks’ ‘true’ risk is unobserved. Results suggest that if the quality of institutions is sufficiently high, some market-based indicators may be more accurate measures of banks’ true risk than a set of commonly used accounting-based benchmark indicators – a possibility effectively precluded by much of previous research. In the second part of the thesis, three papers study constraints on central bank behavior introduced by financial markets, using data from a set of small, open European economies during the 1980s and 1990s. The first of these papers tests how capital account liberalization and exchange-rate regime constrain monetary policy autonomy. Contrary to traditional theory, the paper finds no autonomy effect of exchange rate flexibility, whereas capital controls provided some (albeit limited) independence from innovations in foreign money market interest rates. The remaining two papers address how deregulation, innovation, and growth in domestic money markets interplay with central banks’ choices of monetary policy operating procedures. The analysis of the European countries suggests that while deregulation and the emergence of short-term financial markets constrained central bank discretion and compelled increased reliance on open market operations, the paths of money market development in different countries were also partially determined by the respective central banks’ decisions. In the final paper, the same framework of analysis is applied to China, which has announced its intention to rely increasingly on market operations in monetary policy. The results suggest that the disciplining effect of domestic financial markets on central bank behavior in China is so far very small, largely due to remaining de facto financial repression. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7785 Files in this item: 1
Jens_Forssbæck.pdf (3.819Mb) -
Vinten, Frederik Christian (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: We study the impact of stock market valuations on delistings from European stock exchanges 1996-2004. Previous research has found that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) occur more often when market valuations are high. This is paradoxical since it implies that companies are more likely to engage in M&A when it is most expensive. In accordance with prior research we find that delistings by mergers and acquisitions are more likely when industry market-to-book values (q) are high. In contrast, we find no effect of industry q on going private transactions. The data also suggest that M&A are more likely to take place in bull years while going private transactions are relatively more likely in bear years. Our study is the first comprehensive study of delistings in Europe and the first study to demonstrate that going private transactions appear to be driven by different causal mechanisms than M&A. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7682 Files in this item: 1
frederik_vinten.pdf (1.449Mb) -
Tang Andersen, Allan Sall (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The topic of this thesis is the modeling of risks in interest-rate and inflation markets. Interest-rate risk is an important issue to investors. For instance, according to BIS (2010) the notional value of over-the-counter interest-rate derivatives markets is 465,260 billion US-dollar. This corresponds to 77 percent of the notional of the entire OTC derivatives market. Thus interest-rate derivatives is at the back-bone of the financial markets. According to ISDA (2009) 83 percent of Fortune 500 companies report using interest-rate derivatives in their risk management. Furthermore, many mortgage-based loans and pension contracts contain either explicit or implicit interest-rate options. Thus a better understanding of the interest-rate derivative markets, and the risk associated with the traded products is of great value, both to financial and non-financial companies as well as individuals.... URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8339 Files in this item: 1
AllanSallTangAnderen_PhDThesis.pdf (2.088Mb) -
The prohibition against misleading names in an internal market contextRørdam, Mette Ohm (Frederiksberg, 2013)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This thesis investigates how food naming is regulated in the European Union with the aim to structure and explain the different rules regulating food naming and the interactions between the different rules, thereby clarifying de lege lata. Further, the thesis sets out to determine to what degree the Member States within the EU are free to regulate the naming of imported as well as domestically produced food, by way of legislation and/or by enforcement of the prohibition against misleading names. The interaction between the prohibition against misleading names and the obligation to mutually recognise names which have been legally used in other Member States are central in this thesis. The first part of the thesis introduces the thesis subject and provides an explanation to the approaches taken. The empirical data used for identifying practical real-life cases concerning potentially misleading names is presented. The second part of the thesis elaborates on the various EU rules in secondary law, their scope and objectives, including an examination of the rationales behind the rules based on application of economic theory. The borderlines between the rules are clarified. Part three of the thesis contains legal dogmatic analyses and discussions of the different EU rules regulating food naming. The analyses of the rules are based on practical real-life cases in which food naming has shown to be a challenging task. The difficulties addressed relate to: precision of names (the task of finding a name precise enough to provide adequate information to consumers without narrowing the product’s competitive field); product identity (difficulties in naming products that refer to specific ingredients and in which traditional ingredients have been replaced); the use of geographical names (which potentially mislead consumers) and language difficulties. In the last chapter of part three an analysis is provided of the concept of fairness and general prohibition against misleading consumers in order to clarify the criteria for applying these in real-life cases. Despite the existence of rather detailed rules on naming and labelling of food, which provides clarity in relation to food naming, the application of these rules is dependent on consumers’ expectation and potentially deception which must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, whereby the predictability of the rules is weakened. Part four of the thesis focuses on the borderlines between primary and secondary EU law and on answering the second part of the research question. Primary EU law defines the fundamental borderlines for EU law on food names and limits how food legislation can and must be applied. First part of this analysis focuses on the naming of imported food products, while the second part focuses on the naming of domestically produced food. The relevant sources of law are analysed and discussions are provided. It is concluded that the principle of mutual recognition takes precedence over the prohibition against misleading names, which prevents Member States from regulating the naming of imported food, by way of legislation and by enforcement of the prohibition against misleading names. Secondary EU law also limits how Member States can regulate the naming of domestically produced food. Part five provides the conclusion to the research question. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8670 Files in this item: 1
Mette_Ohm_Rørdam.pdf (1.743Mb) -
Studied in the context of medical device activities at the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk A/S in the period 1980-2008Stjernholm Madsen, Arne (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Increased globalization in business competition makes the ability to innovate and to redefine strategy crucial to a company. An interesting question however is if a management team can control innovation and strategic renewal of the company at all; or do such changes emerge, driven by external events or by bottom-up processes in the organization? The present research project addresses some of these issues through the overall research question “How does innovation strategy evolve?” The research question is examined in a specific empirical context. Since 2001, I have worked as an internal innovation consultant at Novo Nordisk A/S; a pharmaceutical firm founded in 1923 operating in a well established industry (insulin for diabetes treatment), characterized by intensive investments in Research and Development. I took advantage of this unique access to the internal life of an organization and consequently set up my research project as a longitudinal in-depth case study of the medical device innovation activities at Novo Nordisk A/S covering the period 1980-2008. The study specifically analyzes the relationship between the classic core product of the firm (insulin) and complementary products (medical devices, such as insulin ‘pens’), which hold the potential to either enhance the value of the core product, or to become a distinct business of its own. Burgelman’s evolutionary theory of strategy making, especially his ‘internal ecology model’ (Burgelman 1991, 2002), has been chosen as the basic theoretical framework for the project. Some expansions of this framework, however, were needed. First, the present study puts greater emphasis on analyzing the external environment and its influence on internal strategy processes. Second, the analysis includes the role of management cognition, especially the notion of the corporate dominant logic (Prahalad & Bettis, 1986; Bettis & Prahalad, 1995), understood as an enduring top management worldview or mindset based on reinforcement of experiences from the past. With regard to results, the present study identifies a more entrepreneurial role of the top management driven induced strategy process than traditionally described in evolutionary theory. In this case study, strategic variation and trial-and-error learning is not restricted to the autonomous initiatives in the ‘internal ecology’; on the contrary, top management cognition creates strategic visions or hypotheses, which are enacted as experiments in the market, for example in the form of new product categories. External feedback determines the destiny of these strategic experiments. Thereby innovation strategy (in case, for medical devices) serves as a strategic laboratory at corporate level, so to speak. The device-based strategic experiments face the challenge of escaping the gravity of the dominant logic, which repeatedly pulls the strategy back towards the well-known success formula, centered on the drug itself (i.e. the insulin). Thus, the induced strategy process mediates core assets (pharmaceutical drugs) and complementary assets (medical devices), by swinging the pendulum between cycles of innovation strategy which define the devices as core or complementary respectively. Hence, the balance between what is defined as core and what is defined as complementary in the corporate innovation strategy seems to be dynamic and negotiable. As a consequence of the cycles of strategic experimentation, the corporate induced strategy process acts as a force of strategic entrepreneurship, seen over extended time. The implications for research point towards a new paradigm of strategic research in the ‘middle ground’ between rational choice theory and evolutionary theory, as proposed by Gavetti & Levinthal (2004). The present research project suggests that a firm’s ability for strategic adaptation depends both on strategic context determination of autonomous initiatives in the ‘internal ecology’ and on ability to enact induced strategic experiments with alternating innovation strategies in the market. This theory of ‘inbound’ and ‘outbound’ strategic search establishes a dynamic understanding of the corporate induced strategy process. In this understanding, innovation strategies act as hypotheses, which create strategic dissonance between vision and reality and thereby drive strategic learning. The implications for management practice are first recognition of how fortunate it has been for Novo Nordisk to sustain the core business strategy, protected by the dominant logic. This fact relates to a background where the core market proved to hold immense growth potential, and the industry was relatively stable compared to for instance the IT industry. On the other hand, Novo Nordisk’s success is partly due to cycles of strategic experiments with complementary assets for innovation, in case medical devices. Top management initiated these explorative experiments and the learning was utilized for expansion of the position within the core business. Hence, one can conclude that a company should explore and utilize the value of complementary assets, since these are perfect tools for strategic experimentation without risking the core business. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8453 Files in this item: 1
Arne_Stjernholm_Madsen.pdf (5.387Mb) -
Danø, Bo (Frederiksberg, 2003)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Afhandlingen består af en introduktion og fire selvstændige kapitler. kapitlerne omhandler dels forskellige aspekter af valutakurseksponering og dels prisfastsættelse af valutakursrisiko, og alle de empiriske data er gennemført på danske data. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7926 Files in this item: 1
Bo_Danø.pdf (10.38Mb) -
A Methodical Inquiry Into Practice and TheoryKahle, Lynn (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The subject of this thesis is the experiential discourse in marketing: how experience is researched by scholars as well as understood and delivered by practitioners. While experience-based approaches have been accepted and implemented by consultants, scholars have yet to comprehensively embrace experience as an academically robust concept (Holbrook, 2007; Palmer, 2010). An experiential perspective seeks to delve deeper into cognitive and emotional levels concerning consumption (Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982). In order to gain insight into the intricacies of experience, a large data set consisting of conference speeches and interviews was qualitatively analyzed, applying content analysis (Kassarjian, 1977). The findings reveal that there are many lessons to be learned about how practitioners design and deliver experiential offers. Compared to the cases often cited as part of the experience economy, which are typically manifested in retail environments, consumer products and staged events, the findings reveal a more nuanced discourse and a broader range of experience offerings representing many industries, including: hospitality, software, documentary film making, science, gaming, banking, and environmental design. The data shed light on several aspects worthy of further research. How an experience adds value, supports values, and is meaningful to the user is crucial. Understanding a user’s goals is important in order to be able to design appropriate interaction touch points yet allow fluid engagement. In addition to shaping experience environments, whether physical or virtual, the findings reveal that practitioners exhibit an astute sensitivity to context and process. Moreover they are concerned with affording “flow,” meaning optimal experiences (Csikszentmihalyi, 2003): not only for users but also for themselves. The focus on purposeful activity and change suggests that experience is part of an innovation discourse, potentially creating better offers and relationships. This resonates with academic and business communities alike. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8408 Files in this item: 1
Lynn_Kahle.pdf (3.485Mb)