This thesis explores sustainable and economically viable decarbonization pathways for the European ammonia industry. Through literature reviews, expert interviews, and detailed analyses, it addresses the industry's need to transition while maintaining competitiveness. Findings suggest that options like Autothermal Reforming (ATR) with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) are financially feasible, while biobased alternatives and electrolyzers face cost challenges but hold future potential. The study emphasizes the impact of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on global decarbonization efforts, reshaping trade dynamics. Policymakers must consider potential industry relocation and ensure food security amidst changing landscapes. Overall, this research provides a roadmap for sustainable decarbonization and underscores the importance of collaborative efforts for the European ammonia industry's future.

The current trend of technology being increasingly integrated into the healthcare industry is heavily influencing the supply chains of companies involved. Thus, companies need to find ways to remain competitive, one of which is introducing process optimization in (parts of) their supply chains. In large organizations whose portfolios involve a variety of products and processes, the problem of choosing a focus area for implementing process optimization arises. Due to its complexity and various influencing factors and decision-makers, this issue can be regarded as a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. This thesis presents a novel framework for finding a solution by means of combining two MCDM methods, Linear Best-Worst Method (BWM) for determining the weights of the relevant criteria, and ELECTRE III for ranking the chosen alternatives. The framework was applied to a real case within a manufacturing unit of Philips in The Netherlands, where a focus area is chosen among 8 alternative process steps in the assembly of an Image-Guided Therapy Medical System. Six decision-makers within Philips were chosen and interviewed in order to collect the necessary data, and they chose a set of 7 relevant criteria based on which the alternative process steps would be ranked. The results obtained from the analysis ranked the Cabling 2 step of the assembly process as the first one, so it was recommended that process optimization is implemented in this step. This framework contributes to existing research by addressing the research gap in choosing a focus area for process optimization, as well as by presenting a new MCDM method. Furthermore, it offers an easy-to-use, stepwise procedure for solving this issue for companies in the industry.

Policy making and the decision-making process has developed over the past decades to include more (scientific) evidence to support policy construction, such as the Cost-benefit Analysis or Environmental Impact Analysis. However, depending on the perspective of the policymaker as well as the evaluator, successful policies outcomes may be different for varying stakeholders. This can then potentially lead to conflict during the decision-making process for future policies, on which metrics were deemed successful. Through case studies, in which the advocacy coalition framework will be applied, the role of CBAs and EIAs is explored on the decision-making process for public policy. How the procedural policy tools affected advocacy coalitions’ beliefs and strategies for/against policies is analysed. The ex-ante evaluations without legislative support for incorporation for policymaking seemed to have little effect on policy- or core belief-changes of stakeholders, even when confronted with negative outcomes. With enough opportunities created by coalitions to discredit outcomes not in line with their beliefs. Furthermore, the multi-level decision-making seems to be dominated by the national level government, who hold and maintain formal authority while preventing opportunities for intervention without legislative support. Instead, procedural policy tools that have more legislative support, have more influence on the policy implementation and decision-making process. Procedural policy tools seem to be more informative and symbolic, with outcomes more used for debates without nuances rather than to explore and improve new policy options. Hence, limiting the formal role of the policy tools to explore policy alternatives. The late timing of tools’ use in the decision-making process and exclusion of regional stakeholders in the appraisals exacerbated negative experiences for regional stakeholders. Leading to increased distrust between advocacy coalitions, preventing compromises from being found while creating more conflict among stakeholders. Furthermore, procedural policy tools were very resource dependent, limiting regional actors’ ability to perform analyses due to limited resources. Making them highly dependent national governments, fuelling the distrust and conflict based on the earlier mentioned exclusion and lacking transparency. Creating information (and resource) inequalities which can be exploited during the decision-making process. Suggestions for improvement and conflict reduction are the introduction of formal third-party supervisory committees for procedural policy tools and mandatory (regional) stakeholder-inclusion and methodology’ transparency measures.

As the market leader in the garment care industry, Philips Domestic Appliances aims to drive the global conversions of the iron industry from dry iron to steam iron. However, Indonesia is the only nation that does not engage dominantly in conventional trade but still has dry iron dominating the market. With the largest economy in Southeast Asia and the world's fourth most populous nation, and a total of €41 million market value for the iron market in 2021 (GFK, 2022), Indonesia is regarded as an important market for Philips Domestic Appliances. New low-end steam irons are being prepared by Philips Domestic Appliances to help with the conversion, but the Indonesian market is reluctant and there is not much understanding of Indonesian consumer behaviour. To convert Indonesian consumers from dry iron to steam iron, Philips Domestic Appliances must first understand the consumer behaviour and then develop a strategy to develop the market. Therefore, the aim of this study is to give insights about the consumer goods market in Indonesia and to create a strategy to develop the market.

 

This research objective is captured by the study's main research question:

What are the key factors for defining a company’s strategy when developing the Indonesian consumer goods market?

In order to answer the research question, a number of sub-research questions have been formulated and addressed. This study employs exploratory research methods to investigate how consumer goods companies in Indonesia can develop the market. By conducting semi-structured interviews with seven experts from the Indonesian market and analysing market research, a qualitative research approach is performed. Consumption values are used to identify consumers' reasons for buying a certain good, and the 4A framework is utilised to assess the current marketing strategy of Philips Domestic Appliances and to develop a strategy for developing the market, as the 4A framework is best suited for emerging markets like Indonesia.

 

The answer to the main research question is that a company can define a strategy to develop the market after first understanding the market. The researcher contributed by establishing a step-by-step process for developing the market by identifying the key factors, which are the main actors and factors influencing the consumer goods in Indonesia, key partners, consumption values of Indonesian consumers, main barriers and opportunities in Indonesia, and then evaluating the current marketing strategy using the 4A framework. The A's that need to be improved, combined with market insights, served as the foundation for creating a strategy.

 

The study reveals that consumers are the main actors in the Indonesian consumer goods market, with price and market trends being the most significant factors. The company's key partners are retailers, and the three most essential consumption values are functional, emotional, and conditional. High wattage is a significant barrier for consumers, and having a good partnership with a creative agency would be beneficial for communicating the product value to consumers. Indonesians generally prefer low-priced products, but they are willing to pay a higher price for products that they think offer great value for money. Lastly, there is considerable growth potential in the market as long as the company contributes not only with innovation on products but also by educating the market to raise awareness of them.

 

Philips Domestic Appliances has the potential to launch a new steam iron product, but with several requirements based on the 4A framework and market insights. To increase Acceptance, they should educate the market about the benefits of the product and suggested creating a low-wattage steam iron with a spray and a clear watertank. For Philips Domestic Appliances, a 400-650W steam iron is advised to improve affordability. To ensure Availability, they must maintain their current, effective distribution strategy. Finally, to raise awareness, Philips Domestic Appliances could benefit from word-of-mouth marketing, identifying group opinion leaders, and having demo products in offline stores.

 

Following this study, Philips Domestic Appliances now has a strategy and recommendations on how to launch their new steam iron and develop the market. Moreover, this research is beneficial to the consumer goods industry in Indonesia, as it provides insight into the Indonesian consumer goods market and provides a step-by-step guide for developing the market.

This thesis delved into methods regarding optimizing subsidy policy for accelerating renewable energy in Indonesia. The method used objective programming to maximize subsidy efficiency from both a private and governmental perspectives.

The Iron and Steel (I&S) industry is the largest contributor to man-made greenhouse gas emissions. The products of the I&S industry are a constant necessity, e.g. for civil infrastructure. In addition, their processes are interwoven with coal and natural gas properties, which classifies this industry as a ’hard-to-abate’ sector. Furthermore, fundamental technology changes in process and energy utilisation practices are required to fully decarbonise the I&S industry before 2050. Steel processes are divided into two major production routes, the blast furnace and the direct reducing plant. Focusing on the carbon avoidance route, the hydrogen-based direct reduction process is the most promising to decarbonise the I&S industry in Europe due to its ability to use natural gas as an intermediate energy source. Several techno-economic assessments have explored the energy, emissions, and economic potential of such conceptual systems, concluding that carbon emissions are highly sensitive to the CO2 intensity of consumed electricity. However, none have used the electricity mix to estimate the electricity price and associated CO2 missions on an hourly basis to investigate the performance of such systems. Therefore, a case study is proposed of Tata Steel Netherland (TSN), which has recently announced its intention to switch towards hydrogen-based steel through the DRI-REF route. The modelling and simulation research method is used to assess this case-specific process’s technical, environmental, and economic performance in 2030. A conceptual model is developed employing the findings of the literature review. Hourly data from the national electricity mix are acquired from the EMF v7.0 model from the company Blueterra, and TSN provides specific process characteristics. From this approach, several simulations could be made for different hydrogen volumes to evaluate the performance of the DRI-REF system in the Dutch context. The simulations showed a significant shift in energy sources for increasing hydrogen volumes, which leads to a reduction of 70.1% in direct CO2 emissions under the 2030 energy market conditions. However, if the indirect electrical emissions are considered, this reduction potential is only 2.2% CO2 reduction. Although this demonstrates that in 2030 the CO2 intensity of the electricity mix is approximately the breakeven point between NG and H2 production, this development also shows a major shift from CO2 emissions towards the electricity producers. Additionally, the electricity price breakeven point is a factor 3 lower than is currently estimated by using the IPKA0 electricity generation capacity scenario of Tennet. As a result, the levelised cost of production increases by 34.9% for the maximum Htextsubscript2 volume compared to NG-based production, with electricity and capital investments as the largest increasers. Furthermore, the hourly electricity price and associated CO2 emissions data enabled to determine the variability over time. A significant increase in the interquartile spread in emissions and cost calculations is observed for increasing hydrogen volumes. This implies that in the future when electricity is predominantly produced by volatile renewable energy sources such as wind or solar energy, the production uncertainty will increase significantly if this industry shifts towards hydrogen. However, this also increases the potential of flexibility technologies. Industries with flexible production processes can thrive in the Dutch environment as they could provide load-balancing services.

E-commerce is rising in demand and sales are forecasted to reach 7.4 trillion dollars by 2025. Many products are shipped to consumers from warehouses directly rather than being displayed in a physical retail store. Smooth and effective warehousing operations are more crucial with the increased dependency on warehouses nowadays. More than 130 key performance indicators (KPIs) exist for warehouses. Often a summarized and meaningful metric is desired to give an accurate evaluation of the overall warehouse performance (OWP). The most common method of measuring OWP used in the literature is done using data envelopment analysis (DEA). However, it is difficult to find empirical evidence that DEA has significantly improved performance evaluation and benchmarking in actual non-production conditions. A new method for measuring OWP is explored using a widely accepted overall metric in the manufacturing industry, namely overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). The use of OEE as a performance measure for warehouses or in logistics generally has not been researched extensively yet. The research problem lies in evaluating the overall performance of warehouses using a modified OEE framework. Therefore, a challenge to identify the components of a modified OEE for warehousing was present. Additionally, a modified OEE formula for the automated warehouse was made based on the major losses that occur in such warehouse. The nature of the items processed at a warehouse and the warehouse utilization stage impacts the KPIs to be considered by a modified OEE model. A framework for a modified OEE for warehouses was developed using these inputs. It was agreed that one of the main uses of an OWP measure lies in reporting performance to different stakeholders, mainly the warehouse contractor. Additionally, using OEE can give insight to areas of improvement which gives a science-based ground for continuous improvement. The research was done using a single case study in the inbound part of an automated warehouse for online clothing retail with an industry leader. Expanding this research into other warehouse areas is suggested, and a final OWP using a modified OEE model may be achieved after numerous iterations and case studies. Further quantitative analysis of the performance of OEE as an OWP can validate the results more. It is argued that a universal indicator of some sort using OEE can be achieved in the future, this can then be used for benchmarking alike warehouses.

Public-private partnerships (PPP) is defined as a form of structured collaboration framework in the procurement strategy where risks, costs, benefits and resources are shared between public and private sector through the life-cycle of the project (Koppenjan, 2005). Previous research revealed the use of PPP is still being in question, whether the benefits outweigh the costs of PPP. It is also found the utilisation of Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) in transport PPP project appraisal remains a niche. Therefore, this study aims to research what PPP brings societally, as well as to contribute to the existing literature of transport infrastructure by exploring the social potential of PPP project compared to traditional public procurement through the use of societal CBA.

A theoretical conceptualisation is performed by means of modelling the social potential of a PPP project. The result from the conceptual model development is then investigated in an empirical setting (case study). Based on the analysis, an inventory of the potential costs and benefits of a PPP project is presented into two models: PPP project with actual tolls and shadow tolls. The similarities between the two models include the potential social impacts resulting from cost-saving investment, quality-enhancing effect, better risks management, and higher up-front transaction costs in a PPP project. Conversely, implications of PPP with both tolls also have different societal impacts due to distinct payment arrangement between them. Actual tolls provide users with incentives to decide whether or not using the road, since they have to pay the tolls independently. It is thus understandable if there will be a reduction in traffic volume on the road (mobility loss). Road users who decide to avoid such costs will experience a loss of consumer surplus. However, those who keep using the road will experience travel time gains due to less congestion. It is also important to note that mobility loss in PPP project with actual tolls will result in more societal gains, such as environmental gains in which less CO2 emissions would be generated on the road (less pollution). In contrast, the demand for the road use will not be influenced in PPP project with shadow tolls, thus neither environmental nor travel time gains can be obtained. Nevertheless, the private party would receive higher revenue. It has to be acknowledged this study is conducted on a positive case, where all potential impacts in the theoretical conceptualisation were confirmed in the empirical analysis of the Indonesian context.

To conclude, the key takeaway of the research is that in doing the CBA, outcomes of a PPP project compared to traditional public procurement is dependent on the way the tolls are implemented. The research shows the importance of distinguishing between PPP with actual tolls and shadow tolls. Reflecting on the theoretical conceptualisation and empirical analysis, there have been huge implications for the CBA outcomes since there are different potential societal costs and benefits to be expected in the two models. The significant implications have been outlined for the public party, the private party and the road user.

This study aimed to analyze the decision-making process and criteria of angel group members. These factors form the basis of the final decision of a member when they decide whether or not to invest in a start-up. To investigate this topic, the factors that affect member decision-making are investigated when these members receive a pre-validated set of investment options from an investor club. To collect data, eight interviews with members of one investor club in the digital health sector have been conducted. These members are of diverse member type and nationality to analyze differences between members. During these interviews, different factors that influence the investors, like regulatory approval or a strategic fit, have been indicated by members. Throughout these findings, differences of focus between different types of members were observed. In some cases, the service provided by the investor club does not line up with the strategy of members, posing a question for their future collaboration. This dissimilarity in strategy shows as well in the factors of importance for members. Where business angel members have many commonalities with traditional business angels and usually fit well with the opportunities provided by the club, especially corporate members focus on other factors. Because of these differences in focus between members, providing a satisfying service to all their members is complicated for the investor club. Creating a more synonymous member portfolio will lower the variance in member demands, allowing them to provide a better service. Although the results show many similarities between the decision-making of business angel members and individual business angels, this will need to be researched further to definitively come to this conclusion.

Digital challenger banks in the UK retail banking industry have caused unprecedented Personal Current Account (PCA) market share changes at the cost of traditional banks. This loss in competitive position prompted traditional bank managers to reconsider the way they operate, resulting in the commoditization of digital services till date. Now, the industry is faced with another potentially disruptive strategic innovation: sustainable business models. Adopting such a business model is, however, a complex decision for bank managers, as they need to ensure that the resources and capabilities of their bank align in an optimal manner to achieve competitive advantage. On the one hand, there is evidence in favor of sustainable business models as they have been associated with lower bank risk, better (financial) performance, and higher stakeholder value. In addition, consumers and policymakers increasingly expect UK retail banks to adopt a sustainable business model. On the other hand, there are also many uncertainties regarding the disruptive potential of sustainable business models - in part because there is no insight on how consumers might respond. Bank managers are thus faced with a dilemma on whether to change their business model at the cost of existing revenue for potential future profit.

In this study, we aimed to address these latter risks by providing insights into the mechanisms that underlie changes in the PCA market shares of UK retail banks and investigating what the future composition of the UK retail banking industry might entail when banks adopt sustainable business models. The UK retail banking industry is, however, a complex, open, uncertain, and dynamic multi-actor system in which the competitive position of banks depends on the strategic decisions of themselves and their competitors. As a consequence, there are many plausible future states of the system that can only be explored by the quantitative simulation of banks’ interactions. Previous literature advising bank managers on the adoption of sustainable business models fail to do so.

Due to the lack of detailed data on the consumer response to sustainable business models, however, we could not employ existing market share models that generally rely on the statistical analysis of this detailed (time-series) data. As such, we developed a novel simulation model that used the language of game theory in the context of agent-based modeling (ABM) to understand the complexity of customer market share dynamics. Specifically, the model simulated the consumer choice of bank behavior in response to the strategical decision-making of 20 banks on a variety of topics (e.g., sustainability, digital capabilities) during a seven-year time period. Consequent to being the first model of its kind that allows the study of the disruptive potential of a strategic innovation, we note that the model is unique in its ability to (i) simulate the endogenous decision-making by the banks under study in response to the evolving state of the system, (ii) simultaneously include (potentially) competitive effects (i.e., customer switching volumes) and (potentially) market-expansive effects (i.e., PCA market growth), and (iii) systematically address system uncertainties.

Using exploratory modeling of 12,000 alternative future scenarios, we show that PCA market shares are quite robust (i.e., between 0.5-2% decrease) to different factors such as the customer switching volume, PCA market growth, consumer choice of bank behavior, and different types of sustainable banking implementation strategies (e.g. being a leader or follower). As to the mechanisms that do underlie the marginal changes in the market shares of UK retail banks, we identify a role for improved digital capabilities of mid-tier banks resulting in an improved competitive position of these banks. In addition, smaller specialized banks in the UK may capture some market share, but this growth is limited as serving more customer segments is associated with less overall satisfaction and a consequent potential decrease in market share. This trade-off means that the organic growth of smaller banks in the UK retail banking industry is limited. We furthermore show that low PCA market growth, low consumer preference towards banks’ sustainable operations, and moderate to high consumer preference towards banks’ service quality and digital services significantly contribute to limiting the market share decrease of big 4 banks to max. 0.7%. Finally, we also show that PCA market pressure is not sufficient for all UK retail banks to adopt a sustainable business model. As such, we conclude that sustainable business models are not directly associated with PCA market share dynamics and that they have a minimal disruptive potential.

While numerical inaccuracy limits confidence in the simulation model outputs, the findings of this study can be used to draw general policy directions for UK regulators and bank managers.
To regulators:
• Focus on increasing competition through unique new entrants, as increased switching volumes currently have little effect on dynamics in customer market shares due to too little competitive differentiation between retail banks;
• Introduce additional incentives for retail banks to adopt sustainable business models, as PCA market pressure alone is insufficient to introduce a sustainability transition in the UK retail banking industry within the next seven years;
• Facilitate consistent data collection on a number of bank KPIs and make this data publicly available to aid future research onto the competitive positions of banks by both regulators and the private sector.
To bank managers:
• Do not focus on building customer market share, as one will likely capture customers that open a secondary (or even tertiary) account which is often operated with a very low margin (if not at a loss);
• Redefine how the customer value proposition is designed, as sustainable business models might have non-tangible side effects such as more loyal and less price-sensitive customers;
• Set up specialized PCA products to focus on an underserved small customer segment to avoid competing with the bulk of PCA providers;
• Use monetary incentives to compensate for a lacking performance on sustainability, digital capabilities, or service quality, as these incentives effectively dampen the dynamics in customer market shares;
• To mid-tier managers, investigate the potential to capture market share, as this study indicates that a potential upswing in mid-tier market share is possible.

Finally, we urge bank managers to consider the ecological consequences of sustainable business models when designing their policies. Precisely because there is no direct link between sustainable business models and customer market share, one can adopt such a business model without fearing the competitive position. The plausibility of irreversible climate change does mean that investment in measures for dealing with these circumstances, and not just greenwashing, should be taken sooner rather than later. Future work should focus on facilitating such multi-objective decision-making for bank managers by extending the model KPIs (e.g., consumer deposits, sustainability metrics) and by improving the model structure to increase numerical accuracy.

In this research, the creation, use and spread of knowledge acquired in Building with Nature pilot projects is researched, with the goal of providing recommendations to improve this use and spread in future Building with Nature pilot projects. To achieve this, a case study with the Sand Engine as the subject is performed. In addition to this, a literature review and interviews were undertaken, and two System Dynamics models were created which were applied to the Sand Engine case. As a results, seven recommendations for future pilots were found: First, ensuring the internal success of the pilot is crucial. 2. Including knowledge creation and spread as design factors in the pilot project design, 3. Designing the pilot project to be multi-functional, 4. Ensuring the pilot project fits the long-term policy plans and strategy of important stakeholders, 5. Involving champions of knowledge, who are able to turn over the project at the right time, 6. Implementing knowledge programs within the pilot project and 7. Ensuring the free sharing of knowledge between stakeholders and interested parties. Recommendations for further research and policy include performing complementary case studies on other Building with Nature pilot projects, expanding the number and variety of interviewees, and implementing a new format of data collection, management and storage in Building with Nature pilot projects.

Over the past decade, renewable power generation through wind power has increased significantly. Especially the installation of offshore wind energy is expected to skyrocket to a total of 2000 GW by 2050. The majority of rights to develop and operate offshore wind farms are allocated through tendering procedures.
In tender procedures, interested parties issue a bid, which includes a subsidy price called strike price at which the party would be willing to accept to develop and operate the wind farm. Lower strike prices increase the chance of winning the tender. In principle, this should lead to the cost-effective deployment of wind energy. However, current wind farm tender designs have been found to cause multiple undesirable results. Understanding the behaviour of the bidding parties that leads to these flaws will help policy makers improve the design of offshore
wind farm tenders to counteract this.
Current modelling methods have failed to incorporate the influence of bounded rationality in the bidding procedure together with a realistic representation of the economic valuation of the tenders, which all bidding organisations conduct. This knowledge gap is addressed in this thesis. This thesis has performed a careful sensitivity analysis on a valuation model provided by the industry to find its influential parameters, developed a coupled model by designing an agent based model and connecting it to an economic valuation model, and conducted exploratory experimentation with the coupled model.
The work presented in this thesis is a proof of concept for using coupled modelling for socio-economic processes with a strategic component. The work contributed to the usage of model coupling in cross-disciplinary studies and encourages the research community to use coupled modelling for socio-economic processes in other domains as well.

Blockchain is famously known for its applications in the cryptocurrency space, with staggering market caps and volatile movements, widespread attention cannot be missed in society but also not in financial markets, especially the payments industry. Large-scale diffusion in the payments industry has not yet happened. This research project deals with the question “Which strategies are available to remain competitive in the blockchain-based future?”. A qualitative scenario-based roadmapping method is utilized as a foundation in this research project. The qualitative activities of this research method translate into workshop and interview activities to collect data. A workshop is used for scenario development and interviews for the roadmapping. Finally, a multi-scenario roadmap is developed, containing strategic pathways that can be used to leverage the competitive blockchain environment, resulting in available strategies to remain competitive in a blockchain-based future.

Since the introduction of Blockchain technologies in Bitcoin (Nakamoto & Bitcoin, 2008), there has been over a decade of innovation and growth. The cryptocurrency markets have formed their own ecosystem and followings. On Wednesday 12 th May, 2021, cryptocurrencies reached their highest total market capitalisation yet, at $ 2.5 trillion (coinmarketcap.com, 2021). This rapid growth in valuation has attracted many new entrepreneurs and investors into the industry. However, the cryptocurrency world comes with its own set of challenges. This research is the first to create a multivariate model of the effects of external variables on cryptocurrency prices. For the first time, the results enable to compare the magnitude and direction of effects from price volatility, macro-economic trends, Github statistics, Google trends score, Twitter sentiment, community size and Internet activity levels. The model proposed in this thesis can help managers, developers and investors alike in understanding external risks to cryptocurrency projects.

Online technology has transformed how people pay and utilise various services; payment methods that are mobile, fast, efficient, and secure have become basic needs. However the current usage of digital identity implementation in payment services faces several data vulnerability. Therefore, a revolution in digital identity is needed, such as utilizing the blockchain-based digital identity. However, literature in blockchain-based digital identity specifically used for the government’s payment ecosystem is still limited. Most blockchain research in the financial field focuses on the transactional part and mostly researching the technology on how it can enable the self-sovereign identity. None have discussed how blockchain-based digital identity can impact the payment system and examine its socio-technical changes within the ecosystem. Therefore, this study aims to fill the gap before governments can implement the technology by identifying the suitable type of blockchain architecture for the payment ecosystem, its impact on the current payment ecosystem and stakeholders, and finally, how the system will be governed. The case study of this research based on the perspective of Indonesia because of its growth in digital payment ecosystem. This research contributes in identifying high-level requirements to develop a blockchain-based digital identity based on the needs of the relevant actors and the scope of the payment ecosystem. Furthermore, this study reflects that implementing a blockchain-based identity in an established ecosystem is a complex task, not merely an IT project but also a change in the whole ecosystem. This study is expected to assist policymakers, regulators and the public regarding the potential advantages and challenges of using a blockchain-based digital identity.

Most research is done in the field of External Corporate Accelerators (ECA), where external ideas from students, start-ups e.g., enter the accelerator program of a corporate. Limited research is done in the field of Internal Corporate Accelerator (ICA) where ideas from their own employees can enter the accelerator program. Additionally, accelerators are mostly implemented in highly competitive environments. However, accelerator programs are used more and more in less competitive environments like government-owned liability companies because external pressure requires them to change their ways of working more rapidly. This research addresses this gap by studying an accelerator program of the government-owned liability company TenneT TSO that operates in the energy utility sector. TenneT wants to innovate its core business and ways of working with the TenneT POWERLab, which is an ICA where employees can enter the acceleration program. The main goal of the program is to create an ecosystem that enables cultural and creative change within the organization. Hence, the tool ICA in this context is not used to get a competitive advantage by innovation as for most applications that are described in the literature. The research objective is to develop pre-seed selection criteria for Internal Corporate Accelerators (ICAs) of government-owned liability companies. A conceptual framework with pre-seed selection criteria is made from the accelerator literature and startup literature. Additionally, the research introduced three new pre-seed selection criteria that should be included in the research in the context of ICAs of government-owned liability companies, like the POWERLab. These are “Strategic Fit”, “Investment Cost”, and “Validation efforts”. This resulted in a list of 20 pre-seed selection criteria. Accordingly, the pre-seed selection criteria are studied on their relevance and compared to the literature. Findings are that 9 out of the 20 pre-seed selection criteria are not deemed relevant for TenneT TSO. Examples of not relevant criteria are “Sustainable Advantage”, “Timing of Entry” and “Lead Time”. This can be explained by the non-competitive nature of government-owned liability companies who follow market needs instead of being a frontrunner of innovation. Highly relevant criteria are “Incoming Team’s Willingness to Listen & Adapt”, “Idea Solves a Real Problem” and “Investment Cost”. These pre-seed selection criteria indicate the importance of the team and the quality of the idea to solve real problems in the organization, leading to the innovation of the core business. Implications of this research are that ECAs in competitive environments have similarities with ICAs in government-owned liability companies. Both ECAs and ICAs have an accelerator with stage-gates and focus on mentorship. Minor differences are in the duration and intensity of the programs. The pre-seed selection criteria can be used as a starting point for other government-owned liability companies in the energy sector that want to proceed with an ICA that boosts employee development and organizational efficiency to cope with new challenges like renewables. However, future research should determine if ICAs are a good tool for government-owned liability companies to innovate their core business.

SMEs are in the midst of a digital economy driven by the rapid growth of technologies, pushing them to change or be excluded from the system. Compounded by the COVID-19 outbreak, SMEs are required to catch up with the transition quickly. Governments and policymakers have previously conceived numerous policies to support SMEs' digital transformation in most countries. Nevertheless, in Indonesia, these efforts are dominated by digital literacy development programs while paying little attention to the holistic entrepreneurial capacity. Whereas only as a part of a comprehensive approach digital literacy can be developed. As SMEs are part of a system, the holistic entrepreneurial capacity should encompass internal and external capacity, from SMEs' capacity as an entity, the availability of enabling environment, and the synergy. This research attempted to solve the research question: "How to raise the SMEs' capacity in Indonesia to perform digital transformation?". The proposition was studied by carrying a multiple embedded case study of Indonesian SMEs to determine the existing capacity, barriers and ultimately answer the research question. The case study includes 18 SMEs with different business scales assorted into three categories according to the entrepreneurial capacity and digital literacy level. Data collection in this case study combined semi-structured interviews and observations. Additionally, three inclusive case descriptions are presented to illustrate the profile of targeted companies in the Government's digital transformation agenda. Furthermore, cases were cross-analyzed to reveal their capacities based on the value and institutional context of each company, and also the relation to its digital transformation phase. Meanwhile, data about the current landscape and the interaction with SMEs are collected from a literature review and interviews with four experts from Kemenkop, Bank Indonesia, and eCommerce. The empirical results reveal that Indonesia's current landscape is shifting within traditional and more modern practices. Numerous policies, regulations, development programs, and financial supports exist to boost SMEs' digital transformation. However, there are manifold barriers at this level. There is a solid patrimonial system and bureaucracy in a decentralized Government system, compounded by a sectoral ego that creates disintegration and hampers coordination. In addition, the lack of arrangement and regulations enforcement due to the Government's limited capacity generates suboptimal outputs. Next, lack of capacity is the central barrier to digital transformation at the SME level. However, the empirical evidence showed that this issue is beyond the lack of knowledge and skills in technology utilization. Hence, capacity building should not only concentrate on improving digital literacy but also the overall SMEs’ capacity. Another noteworthy finding is that some SMEs with high capacity prefer to stay out of the systems and refuse to take digital transformation due to weak regulations enforcement from authorities and lack of incentives. On the other hand, SMEs utilizing digital technology both in transition business model and digital business model obtain several benefits from their participation. First, they enjoy the broader market and network up to national also international markets. Such a network will also lead to cost savings and access to funding. Next, they can have better engagement with customers that contribute to their innovation capacity. Then, combining the broader market, network, and customer interaction enables SMEs to create demand-based innovation, leading to the better product value. Participating in the digital platform and the motivation for business escalation also affect the SMEs' compliance level. As they try to develop the business and increase the product value, they will register their business and strive to obtain relevant certifications. Ultimately, with intensive assistance and consecutive improvements, the company's overall performance would be enhanced, and in turn, this will promote business sustainability. This study confirms that SMEs' digital transformation requires comprehensive knowledge and skills, a supporting mindset, and enabling environment. Therefore, we propose a comprehensive SMEs development program for the Indonesian Government, namely SCALE-UP: SMEs Capacity Development and Upgrading Program. This program is a top-down approach for the Government and relevant authorities that focus on providing appropriate capacity building for SMEs according to their needs reflected on capacity assessment output. So, the capacity development between SMEs might vary. The traditional enterprises with a lack of capacity in most aspects will get different development plans than the SMEs with higher entrepreneurial capacity but lack digital literacy, as they need a more entrepreneurial mindset and attitude. This capacity development should be followed by intensive assistance and collaboration with civil society. Eventually, regular evaluation and more vigorous enforcement are essential to monitor progress and anticipate obstacles. Nevertheless, this development program requires more transparency, cooperation, and compliance within Government institutions. To deal with the sectoral ego, a dedicated working group for SMEs development consisting of the Government and relevant authorities is required. In addition, the Ministry of SMEs and Cooperative, as the SMEs authority, can build a showcase of progressive SMEs that is accessible for investors, financial institutions, NGOs, and relevant stakeholders. This showcase can be an incentive to encourage SMEs to take digital transformation and participate in the formal economy voluntarily.

Data is becoming more important because of the increased possibilities of analysis and the increase in possibilities of data sharing. Multi-party Computation or MPC is a privacy-preserving technology that enables anonymous data sharing between companies. This thesis identified quantifiable aspects of economic impact such as legal costs and improved targeted marketing. They are put together in a framework that is validated by doing expert interviews and applying it to the case of telecom companies.

Over the last few years, regulations, changes in governance, and societal pressure have led to a push to rethink a firms’ approach to sustainability. This push created a need to place sustainability and numerous relevant technologies and approaches at the centre of the firms’ decision-making process. Within the financial industry, the combination of novel data technologies such as Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the inclusion of sustainability, or so-called “ESG”, Environment, Social, and governance data spearpoint this new ‘sustainable’ frontier.
Literature shows that the implementation of the combination of ESG data, Big Data and AI, within a financial institution and as a corporate resource is a rather novel subject, with no directly related literature available. Thus, this thesis aims to address the topic of implementing ESG data, Big Data and AI within a financial institution. The main research question answered within this thesis is set out to explore this combination of sustainability data, also known as ESG data, Big Data and AI. This study aims to provide a starting point to fill this knowledge gap by creating novel theoretical propositions to be tested in future research. The following research question has been devised to address this research problem.

What observations can be extracted from assessing the introduction of a Big Data and AI toolset applying ESG data within a procedure?

The main research question is answered through the use of theoretical propositions. These novel theoretical propositions illustrate key observations made during the case study. For each proposition, future research directions are given. These propositions, thus, the answer to the main research question are:
- The perception within a firm of using Big Data and AI within a process could affect the learning rate and the learning approach taken by the user. This affects the acceptance of the technology. Thus, the perception could affect the adoption rate of Big Data and AI within a firm.
- If Big Data and AI are used within a process, people tend to be convinced by Big Data and AI used within the process, thus Big Data and AI can be used to convince people of the validity of the results of the process.
- If conferred management information is substantiated by an information process using Big Data and AI, then people do not have the tendency to acknowledge the inherent biases in such processes.
- If Big Data and AI are used within a process, data quality and source are perceived as of less importance.
- There could be causation between one's knowledge of Big Data and AI, and the perception of bias when assessing a process that uses Big Data and AI.
- ESG data is context-dependent, illustrating that a structured or unstructured approach to ESG data depends on the application of ESG data.