TransPromo communication as a part of company’s marketing communications when the e-bill is a medium

The goal of this thesis was to research what TransPromo is, why companies want to implement TransPromo communication, and what the elements of effective Transpromo communication are. Furthermore, the goal was to develop a TransPromo communication strategy and a normative model for TeliaSonera Finland, which depicts the elements of effective TransPromo communication when the electronic bill is a medium. Abductive reasoning was utilized in this thesis, which means that empirical and theoretical worlds are alternating in researcher’s reasoning process. This thesis didn’t rely on any specific theory nor did it utilize any previous theoretical model. However, certain theoretical connections existed so this thesis cannot be considered purely inductive. The empirical part of this thesis was conducted by examining secondary industry data and by conducting specialist interviews at TeliaSonera Finland and Strålfors. Grounded Theory approach was utilized in the analysis of the interview data and content analysis was used in the analysis of secondary industry data. This thesis increases knowledge in the area of TransPromo communication, and provides one definition of TransPromo communication. As a result of this thesis, a TransPromo communication strategy and a normative model for TeliaSonera Finland was built. The model depicts the elements of the effective TransPromo communication when the e-bill is a medium. The TranPromo communication objective is to utilize transaction documents, such as bills, in order to deliver targeted and personalized marketing messages to current customers. The aim is to strengthen the customer relationship, and to enforce up-sell and cross-sell opportunities and cost savings.

The relationship between a virtual leader’s communication practices and a virtual team’s performance

A lot of research has been carried out into virtual teams and virtual leadership, yet there is hardly any research available on the communication behaviour of virtual leaders within a real business context. This research assessed the communication practices of virtual leaders and analysed the relationship between these practices and the performance of virtual teams. The objective of this research was to examine the distinctions of virtual teams, to study the leader’s role in a virtual team and its performance, and to examine the leader’s communication practices within virtual teams. The research involves a case study in which interviews have been carried out within an international technology company headquartered in Finland. Qualitative research methods were applied in the research. Based on the results of the study it can be said that there is a strong relationship between a virtual leader’s communication practices and a virtual team member’s job satisfaction. Through their communication practices, activities and message contents, leaders can affect the job satisfaction of virtual team members. In virtual leadership the focus is not in virtual but in leadership. It does not matter if the context is virtual or face-to-face; similar communication practices are good in both cases. As the global economic crisis strongly affected the sales results of the between a leader’s communication practices and a virtual team’s objective performance cannot be made.

Carbon footprint as part of a company’s external environmental communication

The aim of this thesis was to find out how the carbon footprint calculations can be utilized in the company’s external environmental communication, what is the demand for carbon footprint from the market, and how the other actors in the forest industry have approached the issue. The aim was to recognize the best practises to communicate carbon footprints and to find possibilities to extend the UPM-Kymmene Wood Oy’s mill specific carbon footprints. This research included a literature review, an inquiry to the UPM-Kymmene Wood Oy’s sales offices, and Internet survey concerning the external environmental communication in the forest industry and three small case studies based on mill specific parameters. The inquiry to the sales offices showed that the carbon footprint is not yet a common demand from the customers in the wood product sector. In addition, the Internet survey showed that generally in the forest industry, not much has been done concerning carbon footprint communication so far. The biggest challenge in carbon footprint communication is the variation in the knowledge level of the receivers. In addition btob and btoc communication situations demand a different approach to the issue. Carbon profile brochures developed in the company can be seen as suitable for btob communication situations. Case studies have shown that the contribution of final product transport to the overall carbon footprint was significant. It was recommended to include post mill transport in the carbon footprint information supplied to the btob customers. When discussing environmental communication on a general level it can be stated that a good external environmental communication is based on facts, is open and proactive and takes into account the needs of the receiver. However, the openness and the quality of external environmental communication are essentially strategic decisions. The significance of internal communication as well as the knowhow in the communication and marketing networks play a major role in achieving success in external environmental communication. Carbon footprints are only one part of good balanced external environmental communication. One specific environmental feature like carbon footprint should not be over emphasized to the detriment of other important environmental aspects.

SOCIAL MEDIA IN INTERNATIONAL BRAND COMMUNICATION OF SMES - A multiple case study of small Finnish design-intensive companies

Social media is a rather new phenomenon which has revolutionised the world of online communication. However, academic research on how companies can benefit from social media is lacking. The research objective of this thesis was to examine the use of social media in international brand communication of small Finnish design-intensive companies. Therefore, this research contributes also to the research gap in SME branding. The focus was on communication targeted at consumers. The research was carried out as a mixed methods research employing the questionnaire and multiple case study methods. The questionnaire was used to gather preliminary information on Finnish design-intensive companies and to provide an eligible list of companies for deeper examination. Then, four case companies were studied in more depth. The empirical evidence of the case companies was mainly gathered through theme interviews. The results of the questionnaire shed light on the internationalisation of small Finnish designintensive companies. On average, the companies had internationalised rather quickly after they had been founded. However, the share of exports was rather low in most of the companies. The results revealed also that social media was already used widely in the exporting companies and the use can be expected to grow in future. The findings of the multiple case study suggest that branding activities in small Finnish designintensive companies are constrained by limited resources and skills. In addition, the branding activities are strongly guided by the vision and values of the entrepreneur(s) rather than extensive marketing research. The brand structure was simple in all case companies and they aimed at having a standardised brand image across markets. However, all case companies had faced a need for some adaptation of their international brand communication. Internationally important brand communication channels were international fairs, the internet, word-of-mouth and social media. Social media offered a cost-effective brand communication channel for the case companies. It was used for various purposes, such as creating brand awareness and affecting how the brand is perceived. The entrepreneurs found the use of social media to be rather easy and the case companies had not faced any major challenges. However, the companies had recognised that communication in social media requires consistency and planning. The planning was rather informal and stayed on a general level. Overall, the utilisation of social media in the case companies was limited by a lack of resources. It seemed to affect especially the follow-up of brand communication in social media which stayed rather superficial.

ESTABLISH & DEPLOY DOWNSTREAM MARKETING CAPABILITIES: a case study research following the framework implementation journey

According to many academic researches, the development of marketing capabilities can enhance organizational performance. Similarly, downstream marketing capabilities have an important role in accomplishment the organizational goals. Particularly the downstream marketing capabilities identified in this research are the Marketing Communication, Selling, Marketing implementation, and Market information management. These four capabilities are summarized under the following abilities. First, the ability to manage customers’ opinion regarding the offered value from the organization. Second, the ability of the organization to obtain orders from new and established customers. Third, the ability of aligning and translate the marketing strategy into an operating action plan along with the deployment of the organizational resources. Forth, the continuous process of gathering and managing information about the markets. Moreover, the literature review of this research shed light on the elements that compose the downstream marketing capabilities. Specifically, this research examined the downstream processes and the required information required to control these processes based on the American Productivity and Quality Center’s Process Classification Framework. Furthermore, the literature review examined some of the technological tools that are used in marketing processes, and also some managerial implication regarding the management of the downstream marketing employees. Along with the investigation of downstream marketing capabilities, the literature review investigated the utilization and the benefits of Component Business Model and Process Classification Framework, as they are defined by the organizations that developed them. Besides this initial study, the research presents how the examined organization is using the two frameworks together by cross-referring them. Finally, the research presents the optimal deployment of the collected downstream capabilities elements in the current organizational structure. The optimal deployment has been grounded on the information collected from the literature review but also from internal documentation, provided from the examined organization. By comparing the optimal deployment and the current condition on the organization, the research exhibits some points for improvement, but also some of the projects that are currently in progress inside the organization and eventually will provide solutions to these downsides.

Collaborative information behaviour : a case study of two research groups

The aim of the licentiate thesis is to examine researchers' information practices in research groups. The researchers were involved with study communication and media related issues within Social Sciences and Humanities Faculties. The theoretical framework of the study comprises the new holistic models of information seeking (for example: Meho and Tibbo, 2003; Seldén, 1999) and the collective aspects of information behaviour (Prekop, 2002 ; Talja, 2002; Talja and Hansen, 2006). The research questions are: 1. How do scholars seek information in research groups? 2 What kind of collaborative information behaviour occurs in the research groups? The research data was gathered by interviews and observations. Three meetings of a research group at the University of Tampere were observed during the autumn of 2004. The group members and the group leader of the research group were interviewed in the spring of 2005. The research group members and the group leader of a research group at the University of Jyväskylä were interviewed in the autumn of 2005. Altogether, two research group leaders and eight researchers were interviewed. The significance of the research group for information seeking is more important in closeknit research groups than in rather loose research groups. The significance of the research group for information seeking can be at least threefold. First, research group members can inform the group about relevant information resources and potential library or other information services. Second, the research group can to some extent compensate for the information seeking systems of libraries by distributing material and information resources. Third, information seeking can be carried out in collaboration in research groups. The significance of the research group was found to be most important in informing about new information services and marketing library systems. Recommendations from colleagues were often needed to mobilize researchers into using new library services. The significance of colleagues in informing about library services is in line with earlier studies. The present study showed that sometimes information from colleagues was regarded as more important than information distributed directly by the local library. A culture of information sharing, including mutual trust, seemed mainly to be reflected in collaboration and collaborative information seeking in the research groups studied. The timing of the onset of individual research seemed to be related to the information sharing culture and social networks in research groups. The simultaneous onset of the research work by group members seemed to promote the growth of unbiased collaboration, also in information seeking.

From network pictures to network insight in solution business – the role of internal communication

Operating in business-to-business markets requires an in-depth understanding on business networks. Actions and reactions made to compete in markets are fundamentally based on managers‘ subjective perceptions of the network. However, an amalgamation of these individual perceptions, termed a network picture, to a common company level shared understanding on that network, known as network insight, is found to be a substantial challenge for companies. A company‘s capability to enhance common network insight is even argued to lead competitive advantage. Especially companies with value creating logics that require wide comprehension of and collaborating in networks, such as solution business, are necessitated to develop advanced network insight. According to the extant literature, dispersed pieces of atomized network pictures can be unified to a common network insight through a process of amalgamation that comprises barriers/drivers of multilateral exchange, manifold rationality, and recursive time. However, the extant body of literature appears to lack an understanding on the role of internal communication in the development of network insight. Nonetheless, the extant understanding on the amalgamation process indicates that internal communication plays a substantial role in the development of company level network insight. The purpose of the present thesis is to enhance understanding on internal communication in the amalgamation of network pictures to develop network insight in the solution business setting, which was chosen to represent business-to-business value creating logic that emphasizes the capability to understand and utilize networks. Thus, in solution business the role of succeeding in the amalgamation process is expected to emphasize. The study combines qualitative and quantitative research by means of various analytical methods including multiple case analysis, simulation, and social network analysis. Approaching the nascent research topic with differing perspectives and means provides a broader insight on the phenomenon. The study provides empirical evidence from Finnish business-to-business companies which operate globally. The empirical data comprise interviews (n=28) with managers of three case companies. In addition the data includes a questionnaire (n=23) collected mainly for the purpose of social network analysis. In addition, the thesis includes a simulation study more specifically achieved by means of agent based modeling. The findings of the thesis shed light on the role of internal communication in the amalgamation process, contributing to the emergent discussion of network insights and thus to the industrial marketing research. In addition, the thesis increases understanding on internal communication in the change process to solution business, a supplier‘s internal communication in its matrix organization structure during a project sales process, key barriers and drivers that influence internal communication in project sales networks, perceived power within industrial project sales, and the revisioning of network pictures. According to the findings, internal communication is found to play a substantial role in the amalgamation process. First, it is suggested that internal communication is a base of multilateral exchange. Second, it is suggested that internal communication intensifies and maintains manifold rationality. Third, internal communication is needed to explicate the usually differing time perspectives of others and thus it is suggested that internal communication has role as the explicator of recursive time. Furthermore, the role of an efficient amalgamation process is found to be emphasized in solutions business as it requires a more advanced network insight for cross-functional collaboration. Finally, the thesis offers several managerial implications for industrial suppliers to enhance the amalgamation process when operating in solution business.

Brand Communication Strategy of E-commerce SMEs in Chinese Cosmetics Market

This study concentrates on how to develop a brand communication strategy for ecommerce SMEs in Chinese cosmetic market with new media channels. This study is a qualitative research. Data collection consists of primary data and secondary data. Primary data is from the case company’s websites, observation of benchmarked companies and observation of the case company. Secondary data will be collected from relevant websites and reliable databases. In order to explore the research questions, comparative benchmarking was conducted to develop brand communication strategy for case company April. The results of the study illustrate that e-commerce SMEs have to consider brand positioning strategy, brand awareness strategy, brand attitude strategy, brand media strategy and the brand benefits as well to develop brand communication strategy.

Communication Solutions for LVDC Island Networks

Production and generation of electrical power is evolving to more environmental friendly technologies and schemes. Pushed by the increasing cost of fossil fuels, the operational costs of producing electrical power with fossil fuels and the effect in the environment, like pollution and global warming, renewable energy sources gain con-stant impulse into the global energy economy. In consequence, the introduction of distributed energy sources has brought a new complexity to the electrical networks. In the new concept of smart grids and decen-tralized power generation; control, protection and measurement are also distributed and requiring, among other things, a new scheme of communication to operate with each other in balance and improve performance. In this research, an analysis of different communication technologies (power line communication, Ethernet over unshielded twisted pair (UTP), optic fiber, Wi-Fi, Wi-MAX, and Long Term Evolution) and their respective characteristics will be carried out. With the objective of pointing out strengths and weaknesses from different points of view (technical, economical, deployment, etc.) to establish a richer context on which a decision for communication approach can be done depending on the specific application scenario of a new smart grid deployment. As a result, a description of possible optimal deployment solutions for communication will be shown considering different options for technologies, and a mention of different important considerations to be taken into account will be made for some of the possible network implementation scenarios.

Power-line-communication-based data transmission concept for an LVDC electricity distribution network – Analysis and implementation

Communications play a key role in modern smart grids. New functionalities that make the grids ‘smart’ require the communication network to function properly. Data transmission between intelligent electric devices (IEDs) in the rectifier and the customer-end inverters (CEIs) used for power conversion is also required in the smart grid concept of the low-voltage direct current (LVDC) distribution network. Smart grid applications, such as smart metering, demand side management (DSM), and grid protection applied with communications are all installed in the LVDC system. Thus, besides remote connection to the databases of the grid operators, a local communication network in the LVDC network is needed. One solution applied to implement the communication medium in power distribution grids is power line communication (PLC). There are power cables in the distribution grids, and hence, they may be applied as a communication channel for the distribution-level data. This doctoral thesis proposes an IP-based high-frequency (HF) band PLC data transmission concept for the LVDC network. A general method to implement the Ethernet-based PLC concept between the public distribution rectifier and the customerend inverters in the LVDC grid is introduced. Low-voltage cables are studied as the communication channel in the frequency band of 100 kHz–30 MHz. The communication channel characteristics and the noise in the channel are described. All individual components in the channel are presented in detail, and a channel model, comprising models for each channel component is developed and verified by measurements. The channel noise is also studied by measurements. Theoretical signalto- noise ratio (SNR) and channel capacity analyses and practical data transmission tests are carried out to evaluate the applicability of the PLC concept against the requirements set by the smart grid applications in the LVDC system. The main results concerning the applicability of the PLC concept and its limitations are presented, and suggestion for future research proposed.

Association between Information and Communication Technology Usage and the Quality of Sleep among School-Aged Children during a School Week

ilm OKM 2013

Backpacker 2.0 - Contemporary backpackers and their use of social media as an information and communication platform

Long-term independent budget travel to countries far away has become increasingly common over the last few decades, and backpacking has now entered the tourism mainstream. Nowadays, backpackers are a very important segment of the global travel market. Backpacking is a type of tourism that involves a lot of information search activities. The Internet has become a major source of information as well as a platform for tourism business transactions. It allows travelers to gain information very effortlessly and to learn about tourist destinations and products directly from other travelers in the form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Social media has penetrated and changed the backpacker market, as now modern travelers can stay connected to people at home, read online recommendations, and organize and book their trips very independently. In order to create a wider understanding on modern-day backpackers and their information search and share behavior in the Web 2.0 era, this thesis examined contemporary backpackers and their use of social media as an information and communication platform. In order to achieve this goal, three sub-objectives were identified: 1. to describe contemporary backpacker tourism 2. to examine contemporary backpackers’ travel information search and share behavior 3. to explore the impacts of new information and communications technologies and Web 2.0 on backpacker tourism The empirical data was gathered with an online survey, thus the method of analysis was mainly quantitative, and a qualitative method was used for a brief analysis of open questions. The research included both descriptive and analytical approaches, as the goal was to describe modern-day backpackers, and to examine possible interdependencies between information search and share behavior and background variables. The interdependencies were tested for statistical significance with the help of five research hypotheses. The results suggested that backpackers no longer fall under the original backpacker definitions described some decades ago. Now, they are mainly short-term travelers, whose trips resemble more those of mainstream tourists. They use communication technologies very actively, and particularly social media. Traditional information sources, mainly guide books and recommendations from friends, are of great importance to them but also eWOM sources are widely used in travel decision making. The use of each source varies according to the stage of the trip. All in all, Web 2.0 and new ICTs have transformed the backpacker tourism industry in many ways. Although the experience has become less authentic in some travelers’ eyes, the backpacker culture is still recognizable.

The Purdue University Research Repository (PURR): An institutional data management service with a virtual research environment, data publication, and archiving

Poster at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

A rose is a rose is a rose? Defining significant properties of social science research data

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

The effect of celebrity CEO’s crisis communication to crisis outcome

The purpose of this this study is to examine the effects that a celebrity CEO’s crisis communication has on the crisis outcome and further on the quick decision response, resource mobilization and information flow during a crisis. The research was conducted using a multiple embedded case method, with four cases that represent different kinds of crisis that have all involved a celebrity CEO. The cases have been collected from various secondary data sources. The results of the study indicate that in crisis situations the celebrity CEO is expected to take responsibility of the crisis communication. The CEO needs to understand how and what to communicate in these situations and they need to make quick decisions even with limited information available. Crisis outcome is highly dependent on the golden hour crisis communication and there the performance of the celebrity CEO is crucial.