Johdon ympäristölaskentatoimen kehitys ja nykytila

Johdon ympäristölaskentatoimi on ajankohtainen aihe muuttuvassa maailmassa, jossa ympäristöarvot ja yhteiskuntavastuu nousevat yrityksille yhä merkittävämpään asemaan. Tämän työn lähtökohtana on suorittaa kartoittava katsaus johdon ympäristölaskentatoimeen ja etenkin sen nykytilaan. Kokoavan kirjallisuuskatsauksen suorittaminen on aiheellista myös alan nopean muutostahdin vuoksi. Tarkoituksena on ollut selvittää johdon ympäristölaskentatoimen taustaa, kehitystä ja nykytilaa alan kirjallisuuden ja julkaisujen pohjalta. Työssä tuodaan myös esille johdon ympäristölaskentatoimen perusteita, erilaisia laskentamenetelmiä sekä monipuolisia käytännön esimerkkejä johdon ympäristölaskentatoimen implementoinnista, kehityksestä ja käytöstä eri markkinoilla. Suoritetun kartoittavan katsauksen pohjalta voidaan todeta, että johdon ympäristölaskentatoimi on dynaaminen ja kehittyvä laskentatoimen ala jonka rooli tulevaisuudessa korostuu yhä enemmän. Nykyhetkellä monet yritykset näkevät ympäristölaskennan edelleen vain ulkoiseen raportointiin soveltuvana työkaluna. Tulevaisuudessa ympäristölaskentatoimen merkitys johdon päätöksenteon tukena sekä jopa strategisena kilpailutekijänä tulee kasvamaan kiristyvän ympäristölainsäädännön sekä yritysten yhteiskuntavastuun korostumisen myötä.

Leadership in the mobile smartphone market

The mobile telecommunications industry has been going through an enormous revolution, especially after mid-1990 when smartphones were introduced to the market. As a consequence, the smartphone market’s dynamism is requesting companies to operate differently in the way they do business. After a long period occupying the leader position in the smartphones manufacturers’ rank, Nokia was outperformed by Apple and Samsung during 2011 and since then has been on the third place. Nevertheless, Nokia is battling for regaining the leadership in such a competitive and high-velocity growing market and that is what this research is about. This research covers the competitive and strategic forces that shape dynamic industries whereas the main purpose is to elucidate the main factors that contribute to a company’s above-average performance and ultimately determine its leadership in the mobile smartphone market. Therefore, this exploratory qualitative research was conducted as a desk research, which utilized various secondary sources of data in the knowledge area of strategic management such as theories about competitive advantages and dynamic capabilities of firms, innovation, and strategy. This research is enriched with a case study about Nokia: how the company has been organizing its corporate structure to support the strategies and hence how it has been competing in the smartphone market is analyzed, taking into account many contemporary data sources, including market analysts’ and business experts’ opinions. As a result of the classic literature exploration and the case study assay, a framework for deeper analysis of the competitiveness of firms in dynamic markets was developed. The conclusion that emerged from this research is that the success of a firm results from the interplay of various factors. To regain the leader position in the mobile smartphone market is a challenging task that requires Nokia to reinvent its core strategy for taking charge of the smartphones’ industry transformation through for example the adoption of the open innovation concept. It is imperative that Nokia designs and implement a breakthrough strategy as well as embraces the uncertainty of the smartphone market competition as an opportunity for discontinuous innovation development with the ultimate goal of recovering the leadership.

Subjectivity in the valuation : Case study on the Finnish biotechnology industry

The thesis combines valuation and behavioral economics literature, which is not common among the Finnish management accounting research. Furthermore, the valuation is studied in biotechnology context and those type of studies are rather rare as well. The thesis studies the valuation in the Finnish biotechnology industry. The concepts of behavioral finance are employed in the empirical part of the study to explore decision-makers’ behavior in valuation processes. The main interest of this study is to explore how subjectivity of a decision-maker affects the valuation in the biotechnology industry. The valuation is studied from two perspectives. First, what is the best valuation model for biotechnology companies suggested by the valuation literature? Second, how the valuation in biotechnology industry is done in practice and how the decision-makers subjectivity affects the valuation? The literature review aims at seeking the best valuation model. The real options were found to be the most suitable valuation model for biotechnology companies, especially in the early stages of product development. The real option’s ability to take the value of the inherent options into account results in theoretically most correct valuations. The only disadvantage is the model’s complexity when compared to other models, such as discounted cash flow models. The empirical part of the study consists of a case study, which examines the valuation practices of the Finnish biotechnology companies. When it comes to the valuation models used in practice, it was found that the companies were using rather simple valuation models, which was due to two reasons. First, the interviewees did not believe in the valuation models and second, they were familiar neither with the most sophisticated models nor with all the theoretical aspects of the models they were using. The material for the study was collected with theme interviews. Four CEO’s of highly successful Finnish biotechnology companies. Strong signs of the decision-makers’ subjectivity in valuation were observed. Most obvious were the signs of framing. Furthermore, herding, excessive optimism, and overconfidence were present. All the behavioral concepts observed most likely have a severe effect on the valuation. As a result, the valuation can easily become overly optimistic, which leads to overvalued investments and to continuation of already unprofitable projects. Framing had the strongest evidence. If the product being valued is framed successfully, the risk of overvaluation is high, thus a strong belief can justify almost any value.

On Innovative Search: the use of internal and external sources of innovation among Finnish innovators

This dissertation explores the use of internal and external sources of knowledge in modern innovation processes. It builds on a framework that combines theories such as a behavioural theory of the firm, the evolutionary theory of economic change, and modern approaches to strategic management. It follows the recent increase in innovation research focusing on the firm-level examination of innovative activities instead of traditional industry-level determinants. The innovation process is seen as a problem- and slack- driven search process, which can take several directions in terms of organizational boundaries in the pursuit of new knowledge and other resources. It thus draws on recent models of technological change, according to which firms nowadays should build their innovative activities on both internal and external sources of innovation rather than relying solely on internal resources. Four different research questions are addressed, all of which are empirically investigated via a rich dataset covering Finnish innovators collected by Statistics Finland. Firstly, the study examines how the nature of problems shapes the direction of any search for new knowledge. In general it demonstrates that the nature of the problem does affect the direction of the search, although under resource constraints firms tend to use external rather than internal sources of knowledge. At the same time, it shows that those firms that are constrained in terms of finance seem to search both internally and externally. Secondly, the dissertation investigates the relationships between different kinds of internal and external sources of knowledge in an attempt to find out where firms should direct their search in order to exploit the potential of a distributed innovation process. The concept of complementarities is applied in this context. The third research question concerns how the use of external knowledge sources – openness to external knowledge – influences the financial performance of firms. Given the many advantages of openness presented in the current literature, the focus is on how it shapes profitability. The results reveal a curvilinear relationship between profitability and openness (taking an inverted U-shape), the implication being that it pays to be open up to a certain point, but being too open to external sources may be detrimental to financial performance. Finally, the dissertation addresses some challenges in CISbased innovation research that have received relatively little attention in prior studies. The general aim is to underline the fact that comprehensive understanding of the complex process of technological change requires the constant development of methodological approaches (in terms of data and measures, for example). All the empirical analyses included in the dissertation are based on the Finnish CIS (Finnish Innovation Survey 1998-2000).

Budjetointimallin kehittäminen kuntien omistamassa kiinteistö- ja palveluyhtiössä

Diplomityö tehtiin kunnallisessa omistuksessa olevaan kiinteistö- ja palveluyhtiöön. Työn tavoitteena oli suunnitella ja luoda uusi budjetointimalli, jota kohdeyritys pystyy hyödyntämään talousjohtamisessa. Mallin keskeisiä ominaisuuksia on tulevan tilikauden toiminnan rahamääräinen ennustaminen, jonka avulla yritys pystyy hinnoittelemaan kiinteistöjen ylläpitovastikkeet ja palvelukokonaisuudet. Työn teoriaosuudessa esitellään budjetoinnin keskeiset tehtävät sekä budjetointi-järjestelmän sisältö; budjetin rakenne, budjetointiprosessin vaiheet, erilaiset menetelmät ja sovellukset sekä sen kehittämiseen liittyvät edellytykset. Työssä on esitetty perinteiseen budjetointiin kohdistunutta kritiikkiä, joiden huomioiminen on tärkeää toimivan budjetointimallin luomisessa. Empiirisessä osiossa kuvataan mallin kehittämisen vaiheita, budjetointiprosessia sekä siihen luotuja ominaisuuksia. Mallin ominaisuuksiin kuuluvat budjetointilomakkeet, niiden väliset yhteydet sekä kuluvan tilikauden ennustaminen, joka perustuu toteumaan sekä budjetoituihin tietoihin. Budjetin seuranta on järjestetty yrityksen taloudenhallintajärjestelmässä. Luodun budjetointimallin avulla yritys pystyy paremmin suunnittelemaan ja ennustamaan tulevan tilikauden toimintansa. Mallin kehittäminen jo prosessina paransi kohdeyrityksen talousjohtamista. Kustannukset saatiin paremmin esille, jolloin tärkeimpiin eriin ja ongelmiin voidaan puuttua. Mallista saatavan ennusteen avulla yritys pystyy tekemään tarvittavia toimenpiteitä tilikauden aikana. Tulevaisuudessa budjetointimallia tulisi kehittää tukemaan paremmin strategista johtamista sekä huomioimaan paremmin suorituskyvyn seuraamisen näkökulma.

Roadmapping yrityksen strategisessa johtamisessa

Työssä tarkastellaan teknologia- ja teollisuusyritysten strategiaprosesseissa käytettyä roadmapping-menetelmää ja kartoitetaan roadmapping-menetelmän tutkimusta johtamiskirjallisuudessa ja tieteellisissä julkaisuissa. Roadmapping on strategisen johtamisen välineenä vahva visuaalisen ja aikasidonnaisen luonteensa ansiosta. Menetelmää käytetään kaikilla teollisuuden aloilla, mutta eniten informaatio- ja kommunikaatiotekniikan aloilla. Työssä käsitellään eri tilanteisiin soveltuvia roadmapping-prosesseja ja pohditaan strategisen johtamisen vaatimuksia työkaluille. Roadmapping-työkalun käyttö asiantuntijoiden yhteistyön orkestroinnissa on yleistä ja muihin johtamisjärjestelmiin integroituja kaupallisia roadmapping-sovelluksia on tarjolla yhä useampia. Roadmapping-menetelmän hyödyt saadaan esille kiinnittämällä huomiota prosessiin. Roadmapping-menetelmän tarkoituksenmukainen käyttötapa ja motivoituneet käyttäjät ovat tehokkaasti toimivan organisaation sydän.

E-tailer business model creation: an information technology perspective

This research analyzes e-tailer business model formulation and the role of information technology in enabling value creation from the point of view of an e-tailer. The thesis explains the value creation dynamics and the components of an e-tailer business model and further illustrates how information technology enables value creation throughout the different components of e-tailer business models. The theoretical part of the thesis describes the sources of value creation in virtual markets through evaluating the explanatory value of traditional strategic management theories. The theoretical part advances to present an integrated model of the value creation mechanisms in the virtual markets and further describes the components of an e-tailer business model. The role of information technology in e-tailer business models are represented by illustrating how it is able to add value throughout the activities and processes of the e-tailer business model. The empirical descriptive qualitative single-case research focuses on demonstrating how a global retailer of consumer goods operates the different components in its business model. The findings indicate that information technology plays a considerable role in all the components of an e-tailer business model and should not be treated solely as a supporting business function, but rather as one of the most valuable assets in enabling successful e-tailing operations.

The Role of a firm’s mindset in international success - case study of Finnish marine industry firms

This thesis investigates the influence of a firm’s mindset on international success in the context of the Finnish marine industry. The study draws theoretical wisdom from organisational behaviour and strategic management literatures. The research aim set for this study was to identify and categorise existing strategic types based on mindsets found in the marine industry SMEs, and to link the influence of mindsets with success by examining the role of mindsets in a firm’s performance. Mindsets of firms were conceptualised as aggregate collections of perceptions that influence how the surrounding environment is discerned by the members of the firm. Mindsets are idiosyncratic to firms and therefore important firm-specific resources which influence decision-making and can be observed through the strategic behaviour of firms. Qualitative case study method was applied which was further supported by quantitative data on the financial performance of the ten case firms. Taxonomy based on the dimension of mindsets and prediction was developed to demonstrate four ideal types of firms identified within the marine industry. It was found that all of the case firms emphasised adaptation in their strategy while planning was emphasised to a varying degree. Moreover, two different methods of adapting were found; proactive and reactive. Firms which plan in the long-term and adapt proactively constantly investigate whether their plans are synchronous with the realities of the market; by having an open mindset, a firm’s perception of the reality of the market is enabling the firm to develop value creating strategies which are superiorly informed.This finding was supported by the financial data and led to the proposition that having an open mindset and placing a high level of emphasis on prediction may have a positive influence on international success. Also, it was proposed that concentrating only on exploiting business opportunities in the present time and not exploring any addition opportunities can have a negative influence on the firm’s performance, even if the mindset of the firm is open.

Harmonization of Environmental Costs and Investments Reporting

The objective of this Master’s Thesis is to examine the current state of environmental costs and investments reporting at Stora Enso in the Business Area of Printing and Reading. Differences and the factors causing the differences in environmental costs and investments reporting are examined in order to further harmonize the reporting between the mills. Research method is a case study, which comprises 11 paper mills. Environmental costs are studied from year 2012 and environmental investments from year 2011 or from 2012 depending on the mill. The results show that there are two types of differences such as actual and harmonisable affecting to environmental costs reporting. Actual differences result from factors such as location and technical features of the mill. Harmonisable differences represent differences, which distort the actual differences. Factors that cause harmonisable differences are identification and traceability of environmental costs as well as interpretation of the instructions. Estimation of the environmental share of indirect environmental investments causes differences between the mills in environmental investments reporting, as it has to be done case-by-case judgments. A further research could consider a detailed examination of the data registering process in order to further improve traceability of environmental costs. Furthermore, identification and reporting of potential savings could be studied from environmental point of view as resource efficiency is an increasing interest.

The Influence of Network Competence on Internationalization of SMEs

This study focuses on the relationship between organizational network competence and the internationalization process of small- and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Over recent decades, the global business environment has become increasingly conducive to internationalization of small firms. A central facilitating factor in the process has been the emergence of networked business relationships between internationalizing firms. Research on SME internationalization has found that certain types of structures and dynamics of business networks allow SMEs access to the resources they need to enter foreign markets. This consequently means that their internationalization often becomes to depend on the networks they are embedded in. However, research so far has mostly ignored the possibility that the organizational ability to develop and manage business network relationships, network competence, may be a major underlying factor in determining how well SMEs can leverage their network relationships to enter foreign markets and consequently may determine in large part how successful their internationalization process turns out to be. This study aims to respond to those gaps, by empirically examining how the development of network competence in internationalizing SMEs influences the internationalization outcomes that they can expect, and how such network competence is conceptualized and developed. Using a mixed methods approach, survey data collected from 298 Finnish SMEs across five industry sectors is first used to examine how levels of network competence are related to internationalization propensity of SMEs and their subsequent international performance, growth and profitability as internationally operating firms. In order to illustrate in more detail the ways in which network competence is conceptualized and how it develops during the internationalization process of an SME, qualitative data from internationally operating Finnish SMEs are used. Longitudinal interview data of an internationalizing Finnish SME is accompanied by data gathered through a series of semistructured interviews of Finnish and Russian managers involved in mutual business relationship dyads. Structurally, this thesis examines the research issue as an article-based dissertation, consisting of five journal and conference publications. Three of these publications are based on the quantitative data, and the remaining two apply the qualitative interview data. The results find several aspects where network competence has a positive influence on the success of internationalizing SMEs, how it develops and what it entails conceptually in this context. Quantitatively, the level of network competence is found to have a positive relationship to various internationalization outcomes, including the propensity of SMEs to enter foreign markets and on their subsequent international performance, their growth and their profitability. Additionally, the positive relationship is divided between the relationship-specific and cross-relational dimension of network competence, in that the influence of the former is relevant for the propensity to internationalize, while the latter is for the growth and profitability of the already internationalized SMEs. Qualitatively, the results suggest, firstly, that the development process of network competence does not necessarily precede the start of the internationalization process, but may occur through a gradual learning process alongside it. And secondly, the results also imply that the conceptualization of network competence by Finnish managers of internationally operating Finnish SMEs is structurally distinct from that of their culturally distinct partner managers in Russia. This study contributes to the literature on SME internationalization in several ways. Firstly, it introduces operationalized organizational competencies to the literature on internationalization of SMEs, which has so far mainly examined the influence of business networking on the internationalization process without having such an organizational viewpoint. Furthermore, this study provides a multi-level analysis of the determinants of successful SME internationalization, by examining various strategic and performance outcomes across the process. These results also contribute to the literature on organizational strategy of internationalizing SMEs, by clarifying how different dimensions of business networking may be optimal in different phases of the internationalization process. Conceptually, the results of this study contribute to the literature on competence development and SME internationalization, by illustrating how the development process of network competence may occur during internationalization process. Thus, they also contribute to the discussion on how SMEs are able to influence the dynamics and structures of their business networks over time. Finally, this study contributes to the literature on the role of culture in the internationalization process, by implying that the cultural background of the manager of the SME may determine whether business networking and network competence is seen as an organizational-level or an individual level capability. The study also includes some additional contributions to the literature on dynamic capabilities in strategic management, and on that of strategic business networks. These include further clarifying the exact nature and tangibility of dynamic capabilities, and being one of the first studies to introduce constructs from both dynamic capabilities and business network literature to the field of international entrepreneurship. And finally, the study also has some contribution on the two streams of literature, in illustrating how both dyadic and network-level capabilities may be relevant, depending on the current strategic goals and market position of the firm. Keywords: network competence, internationalizatio

The accumulation of financial and social capital as a means to achieve a sustained competitive advantage for consumer co-operatives

By so far, scholars have discussed how the characteristics of consumer co-operatives (cooperative principles, values and the dual role of members as the users and owners) can potentially give them a competitive advantage over investor-owned firms (IOFs). In addition, concern for the community (as partly derived from locality and regionality) has been seen as a potential source of success for consumer co-operatives. On the other hand, the geographicbound purpose of consumer co-operation causes that consumer co-operative can be regarded as a challenging company form to manage. This is because, according to the purpose of consumer co-operation, co-operatives are obligated to 1) provide the owners with services and goods that are needed and do so at more affordable prices than their competitors do and/or 2) to operate in areas in which competitors do not want to operate (for example, because of the low profitability in certain area of business or region). Thus, consumer co-operatives have to operate very efficiently in order to execute this geographic-bound corporate purpose (e.g. they cannot withdraw from the competition during the declining stages of business). However, this efficiency cannot be achieved by any means; as the acceptance from the important regional stakeholders is the basic operational precondition and lifeline in the long run. Thereby, the central question for the survival and success of consumer co-operatives is; how should the consumer co-operatives execute its corporate purpose so it can be the best alternative to its members in the long run? This question has remained unanswered and lack empirical evidence in the previous studies on the strategic management of consumer cooperation. In more detail, scholars have not yet empirically investigated the question: How can consumer co-operatives use financial and social capital to achieve a sustained competitive advantage? It is this research gap that this doctoral dissertation aims to fulfil. This doctoral dissertation aims to answer the above questions by combining and utilizing interview data from S Group co-operatives and the central organizations in S Group´s network (overall, 33 interviews were gathered), archival material and 56 published media articles/reports. The study is based on a qualitative case study approach that is aimed at theory development, not theory verification (as the theory is considered as nascent in this field of study). Firstly, the findings of this study indicate that consumer co-operatives accumulate financial capital; 1) by making profit (to invest and grow) and 2) by utilizing a network-based organizational structure (local supply chain economies). As a result of financial capital accumulation, consumer co-operatives are able to achieve efficiency gains but also remain local. In addition, a strong financial capital base increases consumer co-operatives´ independence, competitiveness and their ability to participate in regional development (which is in accordance with their geographically bound corporate purpose). Secondly, consumer cooperatives accumulate social capital through informal networking (with important regional stakeholders), corporate social responsibility (CSR) behaviour and CSR reporting, pursuing common good, and interacting and identity sharing. As a result of social capital accumulation, consumer co-operatives are able to obtain the resources for managing; 1) institutional dependencies and 2) customer relations. By accumulating both social and financial capital through the above presented actions, consumer co-operatives are able to achieve sustained competitive advantage. Finally, this thesis provides useful ideas and new knowledge for cooperative managers concerning why and how consumer co-operatives should accumulate financial and social capital (to achieve sustained competitive advantage), while aligning with their corporate purpose.

Hinnoittelu ja asiakaskannattavuus johdon laskentatoimessa ja markkinoinnissa

Tässä kandidaatintyössä on tutkittu hinnoittelua ja asiakaskannattavuutta johdon laskentatoimen ja markkinoinnin kirjallisuuksissa. Työn tarkoituksena oli tarkastella näiden alojen välisiä eroja hinnoittelussa ja asiakaskannattavuudessa, sekä osoittaa kuinka niitä käytetään, ja miten kyseiset aiheet linkittyvät toisiinsa. Työ on toteutettu kirjallisuustutkimuksena hyödyntäen painettua kirjallisuutta ja elektronista tiedonhakua. Hinnoittelu eroaa suuresti markkinoinnin ja johdon laskentatoimen kirjallisuuksissa. Johdon laskentatoimi käsittelee nykyhetkeä analysoivia asiakaskannattavuuden mittausmalleja, kun taas markkinointi käsittelee tulevaisuutta analysoivia menetelmiä. Sekä johdon laskentatoimi että markkinointi on kiinnostunut kasvavissa määrin asiakaskannattavuuden analysoimisesta. Hinnoittelu ja asiakaskannattavuus vaikuttavat suoraan toisiinsa. ABC-laskennan avulla voidaan toteuttaa analyyseja tuotekustannuksista ja asiakkaista samanaikaisesti. Tulevaisuudessa näiden aihealueiden ja alojen synergiaa parantamalla yritykset pystyisivät kehittämään kannattavuuttaan suuresti.

Budgeting decision-making in Finnish municipalities

This master’s thesis examines budgeting decision-making in Finnish municipalities; an issue that has not received a lot of attention in the academic literature. Furthermore, this thesis investigates whether the current budgeting decision-making practices could be improved by using a new kind of budget decision-making tool that is based on presenting multiple investment or divestment alternatives simultaneously to the decision makers as a frontier, rather than one by one. In the empirical part of the thesis, the results from three case interviews are introduced in order to answer the research questions of the study. The empirical evidence of this thesis suggests that there is a need for the presented budgeting decision-making tool in Finnish municipalities. The current routine is seen as good even though the interviewees would warmly welcome the alternative method that would function as a linkage be-tween strategy and the budget. The results also indicate that even though municipalities are left with a lot of room in their budgeting decision-making routine, the routine closely, though not always purposely, follows given guidelines and legislation. The major problem in the current practices seems to be the lack of understanding, as the decision-makers find it hard fully to understand the multiplicative effects of the budget-related decisions.

Liiketoiminnan strateginen suunnittelu: Konesali-liiketoiminta

Tässä diplomityössä selvitettiin tukkuliikkeen liiketoimintamahdollisuuksia konesali-liiketoiminnassa. Päätutkimuskysymys oli: Millainen liiketoimintamalli soveltuu kestävään arvontuotantoon tukkuliikkeelle konesali-liiketoiminnassa? Työn teoriaosassa paneudutaan strategiseen suunnitteluun, liiketoimintamalleihin ja liiketoimintamallien suunnitteluun. Teoriaosan pohjalta johdettiin vaatimukset ja luotiin viitekehys liiketoimintamallien suunnittelulle. Ongelmanratkaisu aloitettiin toimintaympäristön analyysillä, jonka pohjalta tunnistettiin liiketoimintamahdollisuuksia. Kerättyä dataa analysoitiin erilaisilla analysointimenetelmillä liikemahdollisuuksien tunnistamiseksi. Tämän jälkeen tunnistettuja liiketoimintamahdollisuuksia arvioitiin ja kaikkein potentiaalisimmat ideat kehitettiin liiketoimintamalleiksi. Työn varsinaiset tulokset jakautuvat kolmeen osaan: Toimintaympäristön analyysiin, kehitettyihin konsepteihin ja suunnitelmaan konseptien käyttöönotosta. Toimintaympäristön analyysi sisältää makro- ja mikroympäristön analysoinnin, joita voidaan hyödyntää, jos jokin liiketoimintamalleista päätetään ottaa käyttöön. Toimintaympäristön analyysin perusteella voidaan tehdä johtopäätös, etteivät tukkuliikkeen resurssit sovellu perinteiseen konesaliliiketoiminnan arvontuotantoon. Tutkimuksen tärkein tulos on kuitenkin kehitetyt liiketoimintamallit, jotka pystyvät hyödyntämään olemassa olevia resursseja ja silti olemaan kilpailukykyisiä konesali-liiketoiminnassa.

Professionalization of controllers in Finland

Professions are a special category of occupations that possesses exclusive rights over its domain of expertise. Professions apply expert knowledge in their work by using professional discretion and judgment to solve their clients’ problems. With control over their expert knowledge base, professions are able to control the supply of practitioners in their field and regulate the practice in their market. Professionalization is the process during which occupations attempt to gain the status of a profession. The benefits of becoming a profession are extensive – professional autonomy, social and financial rewards, prestige, status, and an exclusive community are only a few of the privileges that established professions possess. Many aspiring occupations have tried and failed to gain the status of a profession and one of these groups is the occupation of controllers in Finland. The objective of this study to uncover, why controllers have not professionalized, which properties of the occupation correspond with the elements generally regarded to pertain to professions, and which aspects of the occupational group may hinder the professionalization project. The professionalization project of controllers is analyzed using a multi-actor model of professionalization, in which practitioners, clients, the state, training institutions, and employing organizations are considered to affect the project. The properties of the occupation of controllers are compared to features generally associated with professions. The research methodology for this thesis is qualitative, and the study is conducted as an exploratory research. The data is primarily gathered using semi-structured interviews, which were conducted between March and May 2013 lasting from 40 minutes to an hour. In total, four controllers were interviewed, who worked for different companies operating in different industries, and whose experience of working as a controller varied between a few years to nearly 15 years. The data in this study indicates that although controllers possess qualities that distinguish professions from other occupational groups, the professionalization of controllers may not be plausible. Controllers enjoy considerable autonomy in organizations, and they possess a strong orientation towards serving their clients. The more profound problem with the occupation is its non-exclusive, indistinct knowledge base that does not rely solely on a single knowledge base. Controllers’ expertise is relatively organization-specific and built on several different fields of knowledge and not just management accounting, which could be considered as their primary knowledge base. In addition, controllers have not organized themselves, which is a quintessential, but by no means a sufficient prerequisite for professionalization.