Integrated reporting – a new form of a firm’s interaction with stakeholders

This study examines a new kind of public reporting, called integrated reporting as a form of a firm’s interaction with stakeholders. The study concerned issues such as how the studied organization defined its stakeholders and how this definition evolved during the transition period from 2009 to 2013, how has the integrated reporting of the organization evolved as an instrument of interaction with stakeholders over the transition period, and how the organization reported its value creation according to the international integrated reporting framework in the final, full-featured report. In examining the theory, the study used a qualitative analysis method that allowed deriving conceptual tools necessary to carry out the study. This study is based on the material of the five integrated reports written in Russian from a subsidiary of a Russian public company. The subsidiary carried out the transition to an integrated reporting for the five years from 2009 to 2013. A comparative qualitative method was used in reviewing the empirical material. During the research, an active cooperation of the organization with key stakeholders was revealed, which occurred during the whole period of development of integrated reporting. As a result, integrated reports were produced in cooperation with various key stakeholders, allowing balancing the financial and non-financial information in the reports. The study found that during the transition period, integrated reports gradually changed in the direction of greater clarity and ease of access to perception, consistency of presentation and materiality. The integrated reporting of the organization began reflect the basic requirements of the international integrated reporting framework regarding the content elements and guiding principles. Thus, the organization’s reports began including features of financial and non-financial reporting and connecting the three aspects of the organization's activities: economic, environmental and social. This study reveals the importance of identifying key stakeholders and their influence on the creation of organizational value. The new form of reporting suits better the requirements of modern organizations to interact with their stakeholder groups. The integrated reporting, which reflects the principles of the international integrated reporting framework, is an active resource for companies to communicate with stakeholders and a platform of transmission the necessary information on the creation of value in the long term.

How Cloud Services may Enable SMEs to Overcome International Growth Challenges: Finnish SMEs in the IT Industry

Digitalization and technology megatrends such as Cloud services have provided SMEs with a suitable atmosphere and conditions to internationalize and seek for further business growth. There is a limited amount of research on Cloud services from the business perspective and the limitations and challenges SMEs encounter when pursuing international business growth. Thus, the main research question of this study was how Cloud services may enable Finnish SMEs to overcome international growth challenges. The research question was further divided into three sub-questions dealing with matters related to features and characteristics of Cloud services, limitations and challenges Finnish SMEs experience when pursuing international growth of business, and benefits and advantages of utilizing Cloud services to mitigate and suppress international growth challenges. First, the theoretical framework of this study was constructed based on the existing literature on Cloud services, SMEs, and international growth challenges. After this, qualitative research approach and methodology were applied for this study. The data was collected through six semi-structured expert interviews in person with representatives of IBM, Exidio, Big Data Solutions, and Comptel. After analyzing the collected data by applying thematic analysis method, the results were compared with the existing theory and the original framework was modified and complemented accordingly. Resource scarcity, customer base expansion and retention, and lack of courage to try new things and take risks turned out to be major international growth challenges of Finnish SMEs. Due to a number of benefits and advantages of utilizing Cloud services including service automation, consumption-based pricing model, lack of capital expenditures (capex) and huge upfront investments, lightened organization structure, cost savings, speed, accessibility, scalability, agility, geographical expansion potential, global reaching and covering, credibility, partners, enhanced CRM, freedom, and flexibility, it can be concluded that Cloud services can help directly and indirectly Finnish SMEs to mitigate and overcome international growth challenges and enable further business growth.

The Role Of Social Networks In New Venture Internationalization: Case Of Russian And Finnish Firms

The purpose of current master thesis research is to investigate the role of social networks in internationalization of Russian and Finnish firms. Literature review of existing empirical researches on the topic is conducted in order to identify the gap, which is fulfilled by empirical research of 4 Russian and 1 Finnish firm that have established international operations no later than 8 years since their foundation. In-depth semi-structured interviews have shown that business network has been an influencing factor in firms’ internationalization and that even if social network is not the driver of internationalization, it becomes important when a company has established international presence and is working on its enlargement. The study has both theoretical and practical contribution by contributing to research of Russian and Finnish firms’ internationalization and by showing examples of successful foreign market entry of companies from different industries. General practical implication of current thesis is that it shows the efficient ways of entrepreneurs’ social network usage in business development in international scope.