Relationship marketing in Latin American context: Implications for small Finnish software companies in Latin American B2B partnerships

After a productivity decrease of established national export industries in Finland such as mobile and paper industries, innovative, smaller companies with the intentions to internationalize right from the start have been proliferating. For software companies early internationalization is an especially good opportunity, as Internet usage becomes increasingly homogeneous across borders and software products often do not need a physical distribution channel. Globalization also makes Finnish companies turn to unfamiliar export markets like Latin America, a very untraditional market for Finns. Relationships consisting of Finnish and Latin American business partners have therefore not been widely studied, especially from a new-age software company’s perspective. To study these partnerships, relationship marketing theory was taken into the core of the study, as its practice focuses mainly on establishing and maintaining relationships with stakeholders at a profit, so that the objectives of all parties are met, which is done by a mutual exchange and fulfillment of promises. The most important dimensions of relationship marketing were identified as trust, commitment and attraction, which were then focused on, as the study aims to understand the implications Latin American business culture has for the understanding, and hence, effective application of relationship marketing in the Latin American market. The question to be answered consecutively was how should the dimensions of trust, commitment and attraction be understood in business relationships in Latin America? The study was conducted by first joining insights given by Latin American business culture literature with overall theories on the three dimensions. Through pattern matching, these insights were compared to empirical evidence collected from business professionals of the Latin American market and from the experiences of Finnish software businesses that had recently expanded into the market. What was found was that previous literature on Latin American business culture had already named many implications for the relationship marketing dimensions that were relevant also for small Finnish software firms on the market. However, key findings also presented important new drivers for the three constructs. Local presence in the area where the Latin American partner is located was found to drive or enhance trust, commitment and attraction. High-frequency follow up procedures were in turn found to drive commitment and attraction. Both local presence and follow up were defined according to the respective evidence in the study. Also, in the context of Finnish software firms in relationships with Latin American partners, the national origins or the foreignness of the Finnish party was seen to enhance trust and attraction in the relationship

Uuden liiketoimintaympäristön määrittäminen teollisessa yrityksessä kan-sainvälisen markkinointitutkimuksen avulla, Case: Finnsementti Oy

Tämän tutkimuksentavoitteena on selvittää, millä tavoin teollinen yritys voi kansainvälisen markkinointitutkimuksen avulla määrittää ja analysoida uutta liiketoimintaympäristöä. Teolliset markkinat, teollinen markkinointi-tutkimus sekä yrityksien kohtaamatmikro- ja makroympäristöt ovat erityi-sen tarkastelun kohteena. Tutkimuksen keskeisin aineisto on saatu haastattelujen ja sekundaaristen lähteiden kautta. Tutkimuksen olennaisimpiin tuloksiin liittyy malli, jolla teollinen yritys voi määrittää kohtaamansa toimintaympäristön eri tekijöitä. Mallissa mikro- ja makroympäristön eri tekijät ovat keskeisessä roolissa. Tutkimuksen empiirisen osan tuloksista merkittävin on Pietarin ja Venäjän sementtimarkkinoiden ominaispiirteiden löytäminen ja analysointi. Pietarin ja Venäjän taloudellinen kasvu jatkuu lähivuosinakin voimakkaana, ja markkina-alue on suomalaisille yrityksille tulevaisuudessa tärkeässä asemassa, kuten myös esimerkkiyrityksenä olleelle sementtitehtaalle. Myös suurin osa tutkimuksessa selvinneistä alueen toimintaympäristön tekijöistä puoltaa teollisen yrityksen vientitoiminnan aloittamista alueelle.

Factors Affecting Innovation Adoption in Organizations: The Case of Corporate Website Adoption

Diplomityössä tutkittiin innovaatioiden omaksumista organisaatioissa, ja tarkoituksena oli selvittää tekijät, jotka vaikuttivat omaksumisajankohtaan sekä luokitella yritykset omaksujaryhmiin. Työn empiirinen osuus tarkasteli yritysten internet-kotisivujen omaksumista. Tutkimuksen empiirinen aineisto kerättiin postikyselyn avulla, ja vastausprosentti kyselyssä oli melko hyvä (60%). Aikaisempien tutkimusten pohjalta muodostettiin eri tekijöille mittarit, jotka analyysien perusteella olivat erittäin luotettavia. Regressioanalyysia sovellettiin, kun pyrittiin selvittämään omaksumisajankohtaan vaikuttavia tekijöitä, ja klusterianalyysiä käytettiin apuna omaksujaluokkien muodostamisessa. Omaksujaluokkien väliset erot selvitettiin varianssianalyyseillä. Tutkimuksessa löydettiin kolme omaksumisajankohtaan vaikuttavaa tekijää: (1) innovaation koettu suhteellinen hyöty, (2) yritysjohdon sitoutuminen omaksumisprosessiin, sekä (3) yrityksen strategisten partnereiden määrä. Yritykset luokiteltiin neljään omaksujaluokkaan (innovaattorit, aikaiset omaksujat, aikainen enemmistö ja myöhäinen enemmistö) innovatiivisuuden perusteella. Innovatiivisuutta mitattiin kolmella indikaattorilla, jotka olivat: (1) ajankohta, jolloin yritys tuli tietoiseksi internet-sivuista, (2) ajankohta, jolloin tehtiin omaksumispäätös sekä (3) aika, joka kului internet-sivujen käyttöönottoon. Omaksujaluokkien välillä tunnistettiin lukuisia eroja eri ominaisuuksien suhteen.

Uuden tiedon hankinta ja hyödyntäminen organisaation innovaatioprosesseissa

Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli tutkia, miten uuden ja erityisesti tulevaisuuteen suuntautuvan tiedon hankintaa ja hyödyntämistä organisaatioiden innovaatioprosesseissa voidaan tarkastella ja jäsentää sekä kehittää avoimen innovaatioteorioiden pohjalta. Tulevaisuustiedon järjestelmällinen hyödyntäminen on yhä tärkeämmässä asemassa 2010-luvun organisaatioiden innovatiivisuuden ja kilpailukyvyn kannalta. Tämä on abstraktin luonteensa vuoksi erittäin haasteellista mutta teoriassa mahdollista, jos uuden tiedon liittämisestä organisaation käyttöön on tehty tärkeä ja selkeä osa koko organisaation strategiaa. Uuden tiedon tehokkaaseen käsittelemiseen ja siirtämiseen organisaatiossa tarvitaan suunnitelmallista ennakointitoimintaa, sosiaalisia sovittelumekanismeja ja rakentavaa yhteistyötä myös ulkopuolisten toimijoiden kanssa. Valitun teoriakehyksen pohjalta laadittiin yksinkertaistettu kyselytutkimus, johon oli liitetty absorptiiviseen kapasiteettiin, visionääriseen kyvykkyyteen, ennakointitoimintaan ja uuden tiedon käsittelyyn liittyviä käsitteitä. Kyselyn tarkoituksena oli myös tarjota organisaatiolle mahdollisuus tarkastella nykyistä tilaansa uuden tiedon monivaiheisen hyödyntämisen kannalta. Kyselytutkimus lähetettiin suomalaisille teollisuusyrityksille ja saatuja vastauksia käytettiin empiirisenä aineistona. Empiiristä aineistoa tarkasteltiin kvantitatiivisin menetelmän ja tuloksista saatiin hyödyllistä tietoa yritysten toiminnasta käytännöntasolta.

Analysis and guidelines for implementation of EN 1090-2 Standard to assist execution class assignment of steel structures

Finnish design and consulting companies are delivering robust and cost-efficient steel structures solutions to a large number of manufacturing companies worldwide. Recently introduced EN 1090-2 standard obliges these companies to specify the execution class of steel structures for their customers. This however, requires clarifying, understanding and interpreting the sophisticated procedure of execution class assignment. The objective of this research is to provide a clear explanation and guidance through the process of execution class assignment for a given steel structure and to support the implementation of EN 1090-2 standard in Rejlers Oy, one of Finnish design and consulting companies. This objective is accomplished by creating a guideline for designers that elaborates on the four-step process of the execution class assignment for a steel structure or its part. Steps one to three define the consequence class (projected consequences of structure failure), the service category (hazards associated with the service use exploitation of steel structure) and the production category (manufacturing process peculiarities), based on the ductility class (capacity of structure to withstand deformations) and the behaviour factor (corresponds to structure seismic behaviour). The final step is the execution class assignment taking into account results of previous steps. Main research method is indepth literature review of European standards family for steel structures. Other research approach is a series of interviews of Rejlers Oy representatives and its clients, results of which have been used to evaluate the level of EN 1090-2 awareness. Rejlers Oy will use the developed novel coherent standard implementation guideline to improve its services and to obtain greater customer satisfaction.

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.

Integrating corporate social responsibility into business in Finnish consumer goods companies

The motives for this study originated from the notion that surprisingly little academic literature is found on actually managing and putting corporate social responsibility (CSR) into practice, in comparison with the definitions and frameworks of the concept itself. Regardless of the author, CSR has been considered consisting of three dimensions: economic, social and environmental. The question behind the three dimensions has always been whether socially and environmentally responsible behavior can lead to increased economic performance and improve the competitiveness of a company. Most of the current CSR development has related to the quantification of environmental and social performance in order to review these along with the established financial key ratios, which are based on the law and the reporting obligation of the companies. However, the previous research has mainly focused on US companies whereas studies with a European viewpoint, let alone Nordic, have been mostly lacking. Furthermore, it has been discovered recently that the integration of corporate responsibility into business is identified as the greatest challenge in CSR management in Finnish large companies. Therefore the integration of CSR into business in Finnish consumer goods companies provided an interesting, topical and somewhat obscure purpose for this study. This was further divided into three research questions concerning the reasons for CSR engagement, the role of the stakeholders and the practice of corporate responsibility. This study did not aim to build a new theory; instead an explorative viewpoint was regarded more appropriate. Accordingly, qualitative research approach and case study design were adopted in the study. Semi-structured theme interviews were used as a primary data collection method and complemented with secondary data such as websites, responsibility reports and another recent CSR study. There were four Finnish managers as interviewees of whom three presented companies and one non-profit organization. The results were somewhat convergent but differences arose as a result of the companies being at different stages as regards corporate responsibility. However, this provided only more insight into the implementation of CSR. The voluntary CSR initiatives, responsibility reporting, stakeholders and CSR management were identified as the most important viewpoints on the practical side of CSR, besides a key requirement for the integration of CSR into business to be credible was found to be a favorable management attitude. Based on the findings of this study it was admitted that giving concrete advice on CSR management is really a challenge and there is no one generally accepted and right manner to integrate corporate responsibility successfully into business.

Utilizing analytic modelling process in industrial retail context

Nykypäivän monimutkaisessa ja epävakaassa liiketoimintaympäristössä yritykset, jotka kykenevät muuttamaan tuottamansa operatiivisen datan tietovarastoiksi, voivat saavuttaa merkittävää kilpailuetua. Ennustavan analytiikan hyödyntäminen tulevien trendien ennakointiin mahdollistaa yritysten tunnistavan avaintekijöitä, joiden avulla he pystyvät erottumaan kilpailijoistaan. Ennustavan analytiikan hyödyntäminen osana päätöksentekoprosessia mahdollistaa ketterämmän, reaaliaikaisen päätöksenteon. Tämän diplomityön tarkoituksena on koota teoreettinen viitekehys analytiikan mallintamisesta liike-elämän loppukäyttäjän näkökulmasta ja hyödyntää tätä mallinnusprosessia diplomityön tapaustutkimuksen yritykseen. Teoreettista mallia hyödynnettiin asiakkuuksien mallintamisessa sekä tunnistamalla ennakoivia tekijöitä myynnin ennustamiseen. Työ suoritettiin suomalaiseen teollisten suodattimien tukkukauppaan, jolla on liiketoimintaa Suomessa, Venäjällä ja Balteissa. Tämä tutkimus on määrällinen tapaustutkimus, jossa tärkeimpänä tiedonkeruumenetelmänä käytettiin tapausyrityksen transaktiodataa. Data työhön saatiin yrityksen toiminnanohjausjärjestelmästä.

Risk management in transportation companies: Russian and Finnish practices

Development of risk management practices became significant part of transportation companies’ strategy. Evolution from insurance management into enterprise risk management (ERM) led to development of risk management tools and methods. The purpose of this thesis is to design technique for evaluation of risk management practices of national transportation companies. The empirical research is made on the example of Russian and Finnish transportation companies. The required data was conducted with a help of survey. The result of the thesis is designed technique for risk management practices evaluation that allows to compare practices of different countries and organizations with different characteristics. The Master thesis has novelty in theoretical and practical contribution. It was designed new technique based on realization of the method of APIS. Moreover, it has practical implication as managers can utilize this method for comparison of practices between different countries, different organization and even different units within particular organization.

The Pricing of Customized Industrial Products

The main objective of this study was to examine the pricing of customized industrial products in international markets, and to understand what pricing decision making consists of. Another purpose of the study was to identify the main factors that affect the pricing decisions of industrial companies, as well as the different pricing strategies industrial companies may choose when pricing customized products. The research was conducted as a qualitative single case study, and a Finnish industrial company specializing in indoor environment solutions, Halton Marine Oy, was used as the case company in the study. The primary data was collected through semi-structured theme interviews with the key management personnel of the company, and the results were discussed and analyzed in the light of the existing literature. The results of this study indicate that the pricing of customized industrial products consists of several dimensions, and is influenced by a large variety of factors that are both internal and external to the firm. In addition, it was found that the choice of a pricing strategy is largely dependent on the chosen segment, the product category, and the stage in the product life cycle. The results also suggest that customizing companies should consider using the value-based pricing orientation, since customization is closely linked to customer value.

Competitive Analysis of the Northwest Russian Transport Logistics Cluster – Finnish Perspective

Tutkimus tarkastelee Luoteis-Venäjän liikennelogistiikkaklusteria. Tarkoitus on selvittää klusterin nykyinen rakenne ja kilpailukyky sekä klusterin tarjoamat liiketoimintamahdollisuudet suomalaisille logistiikkayrityksille. Työssä käsitellään neljää perusliikennemuotoa: rautatie-, maantie-, meri- ja sisävesi-, sekä ilmaliikennettä. Tutkimuksen aineisto on kerätty tutkimusta varten laadituista kyselyistä, haastatteluista sekä aiemmin julkaistusta materiaalista. Venäjä on suunnitellut kehittävänsä voimakkaasti liikenneinfrastruktuuria, mm. julkaisemalla protektionistisen liikennestrategiasuunnitelman. Ongelmana ovat olleet toteutukset, jotka ovat jääneet yleensä puutteellisiksi. Tällä hetkellä todellista kilpailukykyä löytyy ainoastaan rautatieliikenteestä, muut kolme liikennemuotoa omaavat potentiaalisen kilpailukyvyn. Venäjällä on mahdollisuus hyötyä laajasta pinta-alastaan Aasian ja Euroopan liikenteen yhdistäjänä. Yksi konkreettisimmista esimerkeistä on Trans Siperian rautatie, joka kaipaisi vielä lisäkehitystä. Suomi on toiminut Venäjän liikenteessä arvotavaran kauttakulkumaana, vuonna 2003 noin 30–40 % Venäjän tuonnin arvosta kulki Suomen kautta. Venäjälle tullaan tuomaan arvotavaraa vielä useita vuosia, mutta reittien osalta kilpailu on tiukentunut. Suomalaisten yritysten liiketoimintamahdollisuuksiin esitetään kaksi mallia: kauttakulkuliikenteen lisäarvologistiset (VAL) operaatiot Suomessa tai etabloituminen Venäjän logistisiin ketjuihin. Suomalaisten olisi syytä parantaa yhteistyötään yritysten ja yliopistojen ym. koulutuslaitosten välillä. Myös yhteistyökumppaneiden hakeminen esimerkiksi Ruotsista voisi tuoda merkittäviä etuja. Suomalaista osaamista voitaisiin hyödyntää parhaiten etabloitumalla Venäjän markkinoille, esimerkiksi keskittymällä Venäjän logististen ketjujen johtamiseen. Myös VAL palveluiden johtamiseen Venäjällä olisi erittäin hyvä tilaisuus, koska Venäjän oma tietotaito logistiikassa ei ole vielä kehittynyt kansainväliselle tasolle, mutta kustannustaso on alhaisempi kuin Suomessa.

On Market Entry Strategies to France, Italy and Spain – The Finnish Information and Communication Technologies Sector

Tutkielman tavoitteena oli tarkastella markkinoillemenostrategian valitsemista Ranskan, Italian ja Espanjan Informaatio- ja kommunikaatioteknologioiden markkinoille (pääpainon ollessa Ranskassa). Tutkielman empiiristä osaa varten tehtiin sarja haastatteluja. Niistä saatuja tuloksia verrattiin kirjallisuudesta saatuihin tietoihin. Kirjallisuuden ja haastattelujen avulla pyrittiin tuomaan esille uutta tietoa joka voisi auttaa suomalaisyrityksiä heidän suunnitellessa markkinoillemenoa. Suomalaisten ICT-alan yritysten suurimmat ongelmat kohdemarkkinoille markkinoillemenoprosessissa johtuvat kulttuurieroista ja byrokratiasta. Markkinoillemenomuodon valinnassa haluttiinkin haastatteluissa painottaa paikallisten työntekijöiden ja kumppaneiden käyttöä. Lisäksi kaivattiin suomalaisyritysten välistä parempaa yhteistyötä.

Improving demand forecasting practices in the industrial context

Demand forecasting is one of the fundamental managerial tasks. Most companies do not know their future demands, so they have to make plans based on demand forecasts. The literature offers many methods and approaches for producing forecasts. When selecting the forecasting approach, companies need to estimate the benefits provided by particular methods, as well as the resources that applying the methods call for. Former literature points out that even though many forecasting methods are available, selecting a suitable approach and implementing and managing it is a complex cross-functional matter. However, research that focuses on the managerial side of forecasting is relatively rare. This thesis explores the managerial problems that are involved when demand forecasting methods are applied in a context where a company produces products for other manufacturing companies. Industrial companies have some characteristics that differ from consumer companies, e.g. typically a lower number of customers and closer relationships with customers than in consumer companies. The research questions of this thesis are: 1. What kind of challenges are there in organizing an adequate forecasting process in the industrial context? 2. What kind of tools of analysis can be utilized to support the improvement of the forecasting process? The main methodological approach in this study is design science, where the main objective is to develop tentative solutions to real-life problems. The research data has been collected from two organizations. Managerial problems in organizing demand forecasting can be found in four interlinked areas: 1. defining the operational environment for forecasting, 2. defining the forecasting methods, 3. defining the organizational responsibilities, and 4. defining the forecasting performance measurement process. In all these areas, examples of managerial problems are described, and approaches for mitigating these problems are outlined.

Country Risk and Market Reactions to Earnings Announcements: Evidence from Finnish Stock Markets

The objective of this thesis is to examine the market reaction around earnings announcements in Finnish stock markets. The aim is to find out whether the extreme market conditions during the financial crisis are reflected in stock prices as a stronger reaction. In addition to this, the purpose is to investigate how extensively Finnish listed companies report the country segmentation of revenues in their interim reports and whether the country risk is having a significant impact on perceived market reaction. The sample covers all companies listed in Helsinki stock exchange at 1.1.2010 and these companies’ interim reports from the first quarter of 2008 to last quarter of 2009. Final sample consists of 81 companies and 630 firm-quarter observations. The data sample has been divided in two parts, of which country risk sample contains 17 companies and 127 observations and comparison sample covers 66 companies and 503 observations. Research methodologies applied in this thesis are event study and cross-sectional regression analysis. Empirical results indicate that the market reaction occurs mainly during the announcement day and is slightly stronger in case of positive earnings surprises than the reactions observed in previous studies. In case of negative earnings surprises no significant differences can be observed. In case of country risk sample and negative earnings surprise market reaction is negative already in advance of the disclosure contrary to comparison sample. In case of positive surprise no differences can be observed. Country risk variable developed during this study seems to explain only minor part of the market reaction.

Hazard Risk Management in Large Nordic Companies' Operations in Russia

The objective of this research was to describe how Nordic companies manage hazard risks in their operations in Russia and how the local business environment is considered to affect the hazard risks. Research methods used in this research were literature review and expert interviews. Twelve Nordic industrial companies operating in different fields of industry were interviewed. Large Nordic companies typically guide risk management centralized from the parent company on behalf of the whole company group and the risk management standards and policies are integrated in all subsidiaries. Parent companies typically control hazard risk management in Russia by regular risk management reporting, auditing the Russian sites and by training local managers and employees to risk management work. Many companies have experienced several losses in the first years of operating in Russia before the risk management policies have been implemented in Russian subsidiaries. The companies have learned to take local characteristics better into account by experience and most companies are quite satisfied with their current risk management standards in Russia. The interviews indicate that companies experience especially the poor quality of infrastructure, some features in Russian organizational culture and high level of criminality to increase hazard risks in Russia. However, understanding these features and risks in the business environment makes the management of these risks possible. Risks related to infrastructure can be managed in advance by decreasing dependencies of infrastructure and considering the infrastructure quality already when planning the business operations. Also good local network is often considered critical in order to overcome the complications related to infrastructure. Russian personnel has typically different attitude towards risk management than Nordic personnel and neglecting safety and maintenance and concealing losses is more typical in Russia. By training and guiding the local personnel risk management and safety work and desired ways of actions these risks can be decreased. Criminality risks are often managed to certain extent by investing in security, increasing supervising and paying attention to reliability of the employees and other interest groups of the company.