Adoption state of artificial intelligence: a saas perspective

The following thesis will focus on the general topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The main purpose of this work is to investigate how generally AI is being implemented and developed in modern times. Artificial Intelligence is critical in the SaaS industry. The study aims to get an overview of the state of adoption of Artificial Intelligence with particular attention to how it is in the SaaS industry and what it may indicate for the future. The author compares secondary data analysis with interviews of SaaS experts to better understand of how the SaaS industry differentiates from the general market

Robo-Advisors - A Future Way To Invest?

Research Question: Are robo-advisors the future of investing? As the capabilities of technology continue to advance, alternatives to conventional practices are created in an attempt to boost convenience and efficiency. This paper will focus on one such alternative, robo-advisors, an automated investment advisor platform. The technology is evaluated to answer the research question above and to assess whether it holds promise in the world of finance as well as the potential to ultimately outpace traditional forms of investment advice. To accomplish this goal, in-depth research is provided covering a broad range of topics concerning robo-advisors including the platform’s history, analysis of the industries it falls under, underlying mechanics, firms, its regulatory framework, and comparisons to traditional financial advisors. Next, knowledge from this preliminary research was used to report additional insights gained from interviews conducted with one representative of a robo-advisor platform and another representing a traditional financial advising firm. The paper then provides a cost-benefit analysis quantifying the tangible historical gains and losses clients have experienced from using both robo-advisors and financial advisors. Finally, personal investments were made with one robo-advisor platform to test the effectiveness of the technology over the course of 1.5 months in order to share user experiences, feedback, suggestions, recommendations and to reconfirm earlier insights reported in the paper. To assist in writing the report, websites, peer-reviewed journals and scholarly articles, data sources such as Statista and Morningstar, tools like Portfolio Visualizer and Excel, phone calls, emails, web portals, and an app were utilized. In the end, it was found that robo-advisors have a strong, positive outlook in terms of future growth. However, hybrid robo-advisors and models of investing were determined to be the norm looking ahead since they effectively integrate the advantages of both robo-advisors and traditional financial advisors as well as address the downsides with each approach. Furthermore, it was concluded that there was no clear answer whether robo-advisors in their current state are better than conventional practices since it all depended on a client’s financial situation and needs. Still, potential college entrants and those looking to generate retirement savings were deemed best fits for the technology. Regardless, it was discovered that robo-advisors would continue to improve in the future by expanding their investment offerings, strategies, plans, making significant strides in artificial intelligence, and continuing to remain cost-efficient

Flexible Investment Decisions in the Telecommunications Industry: Case Applications using Real Options

The telecommunications sector is one of the most innovative, high-growth, capitalintensive yet volatile sector of the economy. This research addresses critical concerns of how, when, and why an enterprise or a service provider should undertake new investments. The study investigates the power of flexibility in investment decision making process, by applying the real options methodology. Five case applications are studied: a) investment decisions in next generation wireless networks; b) investing in integrated wireless networks; c) migration to wireless broadband internet services; d) valuing deployment of Wi-Fi networks in enterprise markets; and e) valuing Hosted VOIP services for enterprise markets. The case studies are analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively

Optimising television programming and scheduling

Recent changes in the broadcasting industry and emerging digital media technologies have “disturbed” the traditional economic models supporting the media industry over the last decade, with viewers migrating from traditional media outlets to digital ones causing a severe drop in revenues. Consequently, the competition for viewers’ ratings has intensified dramatically over recent years, with new economic models being introduced and others still under development. In this context, the research presented in this thesis describes in detail an innovative computer model for optimising television programming and scheduling to maximise revenues under given constraints. The research methodology combines academic work along with practitioners’ experiences to build an integer programming model that helps expert programme schedulers to place television programmes in time slots where they achieve optimum ratings within the limitations of the resources available. In building the model, an extensive literature review and media industry experts’ interviews and focus groups discussions were conducted. The value of the model was demonstrated by applying it to a real case as well as hypothetical scenarios for a television station and showing that the model increased potential viewership, on average, between 38% and 63%. The software package used to solve the model should enable the media industry to solve large scale optimisation models using thousands of variables and constraints. This should help media planners and decision makers to plan for months, if not years, ahead

The relationship between profit and prosocial behavior : a focus on nudging

The thesis firstly collects behavioral economics literature to support the nudging literature review. Based on the first itineration of the thesis and the challenge proposed by Deborah Small and Cynthia Cryder the purpose of the thesis is to review and relate literature on the topics of consumers’ inferences relating to firms that behave in a prosocial manner. Due to the lack of a concrete nudging review which builds its roots on behavioral economics, we needed a strong foundation to begin developing the topic of nudging as a response to profit-seeking firms who look to behave prosocially and earn a positive response from consumers. In addition, there is absence of research linking literature on consumer inference and reaction with for-profit firms seeking to behave prosocially. Through analyzing all major authors and fathers of both nudging, behavioral economics, and consumer response towards for-profit firms that positively impact society, the thesis compiles relevant information on the perspective of consumers. While focusing on the reactance individuals might and indeed have of firms, nudging is explored as a solution that not only helps consumer’s decision-making but also promotes positive social impact and brings results for firms. The research leads to believe that nudging is indeed a tool that fits all these requirements, as it helps individuals, firms, and societies. The following text looks to showcase how nudging, while being heavily developed as a nearly selfless tool, may also be utilized for the same good while combining prosocial behavior and profit seeking goals

Developing a macro-dynamic framework of start-up growth drivers supported by digital marketing

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The AuthorsThe contemporary market positions digital marketing as a powerful mediator between efficient digital interaction, data interpretation opportunities, and business growth, while extending its impact potential to tackle different growth challenges. As start-ups usually have limited resources and struggle with customer engagement, retention, and other growth challenges, the low investment and dynamic elements of digital marketing tools can be used to support constructive digital interactions impacting start-up growth. Consequently, these links have outlined an extended digital marketing impact in the areas which build on marketing and sales and influence growth components such as product & market testing, customer engagement, and partnership development. Through a systematic literature review, we present a holistic overview encompassing start-up growth areas that use digital marketing. We also discuss how digital marketing efforts complement the start-up maturity. Furthermore, we analyze the differences in B2B and B2C digital marketing usage and discuss how emerging technologies impact digital marketing. The link between the extended digital marketing impact, start-up challenges, and growth areas result in the identification of start-up growth drivers supported by digital marketing. We propose a Macro-Dynamic framework identifying the start-up growth drivers from product, market, team, and finance areas and digital marketing tactics connected to the identified growth drivers.publishersversionpublishe

Trading Off between Flexibility and Product Platform Constraints for Effective Technology Introduction

Developing product platforms is an established method of reducing internal variety costs while delivering variety to customers. \ua0A critical aspect of a platform, that is expected to be used and extended for many years, is the ability to introduce new technologies and solutions effectively. Since these technological integration endeavours may challenge platform constraints, it is necessary to be able to assess the trade-off between their expected value and cost of realisation. New technologies can be integrated more easily into products derived from product platforms if they are flexible. However, introducing flexibility early can be wasteful, both in terms of resources used for the development of the platforms and the suboptimal design of products derived from the platform. In this study, a review of the existing literature is conducted and several case studies in the automotive sector are performed. Both technical and organizational factors are found to limit platform flexibility. This research supports the idea that the flexibility to integrate technology into existing platforms is a valuable property. Consequently, it is important to foster the ability to more objectively assess the value of proposed technology changes in organisations relying on product and production platforms.Finally, this thesis proposes a model-based methodology to trade off the flexibility of a product platform with the lifetime value it can deliver to its stakeholders. The methodology utilizes technology roadmaps, architectural modelling, value-driven design, and model-based simulations to establish the bandwidth of a product platform. As such, the constraints that the platform introduces for future derived products are balanced against valuable flexibility, which is defined as the flexibility of the platform to allow for more alternative designs, including using new technologies, of higher value in future products. The findings of this thesis have implications for the research of product platforms and their development, as well as for practitioners making decisions about product platforms with consideration to the uncertainty around the ways they will be used and upgraded in the future

Proceedings of the 18th Irish Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science

These proceedings contain the papers that were accepted for publication at AICS-2007, the 18th Annual Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science, which was held in the Technological University Dublin; Dublin, Ireland; on the 29th to the 31st August 2007. AICS is the annual conference of the Artificial Intelligence Association of Ireland (AIAI)

EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION AND ITS IMPACT ON COMPANY VALUE

Elektroniskā versija nesatur pielikumusGalvenais promocijas darba pētījuma priekšmets ir darbinieku apmierinātība un tās ietekme uz uzņēmuma vērtību. Darba apstākļu un nosacījumu un to ietekmes uz darbinieku apmierinātību un uzņēmuma vērtību pētīšana ir galvenā tēma. Promocijas darbā salīdzinājums balstās uz dažādiem līdervadības stiliem, darbavietas vidi un apstākļiem. Pētījums “Great Place to Work (Lieliska vieta, kur strādāt)® 2007 un 2009” un vislabākie uzņēmumi, kas uzvarēja konkursā, tiks izmantoti par pamatu tālākām pētnieciskām darbībām. Promocijas darbā tiks salīdzināti uzvarējušo uzņēmumu finanšu rezultāti un darbinieku apmierinātība tajos. Galvenais pētījuma jautājums uzsver saistību starp darbinieku apmierinātību (ieskaitot līdervadības stilu) un uzņēmuma vērtību. Galvenais promocijas darba uzdevums būs pierādīt, ka pastāv saistība starp darbinieku apmierinātību un uzņēmuma vērtību. Šis pētījums balstās uz teorētisko literatūras pētījumu par darbavietas vidi, līdervadības stilu, vadības metodēm, darbinieku apmierinātību un uzņēmuma vērtību. Pamatojoties uz fundamentālajiem pētījumiem, kas ietver arī ASV datu sekundāro analīzi, kurā Great Place to Work® (GPTW) rezultāti tika salīdzināti ar finanšu rezultātiem. Primāro datu analīzē, ko veica Vācijā, šajā pētījumā novērtēta saistība starp darbinieku apmierinātību un uzņēmuma vērtību un atspoguļoti empīriskā pētījuma rezultāti. Pamatojoties uz darbinieku aptauju un kultūras auditu, uzņēmumi, kas piedalās konkursā, tika ranžēti no 1 līdz 100. Promocijas darba pētījumā autors salīdzinās finanšu rezultātus 30 nejauši izvēlētiem uzņēmumiem, kuri piedalījās Great Place to Work® konkursā 2007. un 2009. gadā, ar 30 nejauši izvēlētiem uzņēmumiem, kas nepiedalījās konkursā. Pie tam, gadījuma izpētē tika analizēta saistība starp pašu kapitāla vērtību un Great Place to Work® rezultātiem 11 nejauši izvēlētiem uzņēmumiem no Great Place to Work® institūta saraksta. Lai konsolidētu un nostiprinātu pētījuma rezultātus, tika izmantotas papildus statistiskās pētījumu metodes. Galvenie šī pētījuma rezultāti ir, ka pastāv pierādījumi par saistību starp darbinieku apmierinātību un uzņēmuma vērtību. Atslēgvārdi: Darbinieku apmierinātība, uzņēmuma vērtība, sekundārā un primārā empīriskā analīze-The main subject of this dissertation is employee satisfaction and its impact on company value. The investigation of working circumstances and conditions and their influence on employee satisfaction and company value is the main theme. In the dissertation, a comparison is based on different leadership styles, workplace environment and circumstances. The study “Great Place to Work® 2007 and 2009” and the best companies who won the contest will be the basis of further research activities. For the dissertation, a comparison between the financial results and the employee satisfaction of the winning companies will take place. The preeminent research question focuses on the relationship between employee satisfaction (including leadership style) and company value. The main task of the dissertation will be to prove that there is a relation between employee satisfaction and company value. This dissertation is based on a deep theoretical research through literature regarding workplace environment, leadership style, management methods, employee satisfaction and company value. Based on this fundamental research which also includes a secondary data analysis from the USA, in which the results of Great place to Work® (GPTW) were compared with financial results. In a primary data analysis conducted in Germany this dissertation evaluates the relation between employee satisfaction and company value and shows the empirical findings. Based on an employee survey and a culture audit, attending companies where ranked from 1 to 100. In this research the author will compare the financial results from 30 randomly selected companies which attended the Great Place to Work® Contest 2007 and 2009 with 30 randomly selected companies which didn`t attend the contest. Additionally, in a research case study, the relation between equity value and Great Place to Work® Scores of 11 companies randomly selected from the Great Place to Work® Institute were analyzed. To consolidate and strengthen the results of the research some additional statistical research methods were used. The main results of this research are that there is evidence about the relation between employee satisfaction and company value. Key words: Employee satisfaction, company value, secondary and primary empirical analysi