Mobile learning and video experience in delivering digital content

In recent years, the worldwide distribution of smartphone devices has been growing rapidly. Mobile technologies are evolving fast, a situation which provides new possibilities for mobile learning applications. Along with new delivery methods, this development enables new concepts for learning. This study focuses on the effectiveness and experience of a mobile learning video promoting the key features of a specific device. Through relevant learning theories, mobile technologies and empirical findings, the thesis presents the key elements for a mobile learning video that are essential for effective learning. This study also explores how previous experience with mobile services and knowledge of a mobile handset relate to final learning results. Moreover, this study discusses the optimal delivery mechanisms for a mobile video. The target group for the study consists of twenty employees of a Sanoma Company. The main findings show that the individual experience of learning and the actual learning results may differ and that the design for certain video elements, such as sound and the presentation of technical features, can have an impact on the experience and effectiveness of a mobile learning video. Moreover, a video delivery method based on cloud technologies and HTML5 is suggested to be used in parallel with standalone applications.

Customer loyalty in DIY retailing in Russia: Innovative approaches for improving customer retention through technology

Customer satisfaction has been widely studied concept due to its importance on business performance. Customer satisfaction should ideally lead to customer loyalty and have a positive effect on business profitability and growth. This study investigates customer satisfaction and loyalty in the Do-It-Yourself retailing in Russian  market.  “K-rauta”  retail  chain  was  chosen  as  a  focus company for this study. Goal of the study was to investigate what creates customer satisfaction in this given market and what is the role of quality, trust and satisfaction for creating customer loyalty. The role of internet in consumer purchasing process was also investigated. Furthermore, consumer preferences towards new marketing solutions such as smart phone applications were briefly examined.

Stretching a service concept brand

Brands have become one of the most valuable assets for organizations, which is why organizations want to benefit from them in whole scale. However, service concept brands are still little researched. The purpose of this research is to study how brand stretching and co-branding strategies can help a service concept brand to attain wider target market. More specifically, this research aims to contribute the methods and their risks and benefits to different customer levels of a group fitness brand. This study is a qualitative single case analysis embedded with multiple units of analysis. The data used in this study was gathered by nine theme interviews. The interviewees are from one of the customer levels of the service concept provided by the case organization. The interviews are made in different geographical areas in Finland. The results of the study will clarify and illustrate the differences and similarities between the theoretical framework and practise. Several differences between traditional brand stretching and co-branding strategies and those that are possible to employ by a service concept brand were found. The answers of the interviewees were slightly different depending on their role in the organization and their experience from the branch. However, they proved that not all brand stretching or co-branding strategies are applicable in the group fitness brand. Nevertheless, also several similarities that benefit the group fitness brand were found.

Ambidextrous leadership in customer contact centre organization

In a modern dynamic environment organizations are facing new requirements for success and competitive advantage. This also sets new requirements for leaders. The term of ambidexterity is used in relation with organizations that are able to manage short-term efficiency and long-term innovation simultaneously. Ambidextrous leaders have the same capability at an individual level. They are able to balance between efficiency and flexibility. This study examined the confrontation of these two competing concepts in the leadership perspective. The aim of the study was to understand this recently arisen concept and its antecedents and examine what is currently known about ambidextrous leadership. This was a case study with data collected through theme interviews in a result orientated customer centre organization that has a cultural change at hand when it comes to leadership and empowerment. Organization wants to be efficient and flexible at the same time (a.k.a. ambidextrous) and that requires new type of leadership. In this study the aim was to describe the capabilities and criteria for ambidextrous leader and examine the leadership roles related to ambidextrous leadership in different hierarchical levels. The case organization had also created systematic means to support this cultural change and the effects of the process related to leadership were studied. This study showed that the area is yet widely unexplored and contradictory views are presented. This study contributes to the deprivation of study of ambidexterity in leadership and individuals. The study presents a description of ambidextrous leadership and describes the capabilities of ambidextrous leader. Ambidextrous leaders are able to make cognitive decisions between their leadership style according to situation that requires either leadership related to efficiency such as transactional leadership or leadership related to flexibility such as transformational leadership. Their leadership style supports both short-term and long-term goals. This study also shows that the role of top management is vital and operational leaders rely on their example.

Value creation through business model in international entrepreneurship

Business model in the context of international entrepreneurship is a rather new topic in academic literature. The objective of this thesis is to examine value creation through business models in internationally entrepreneurial firms. The study examines value creation through the two partner interfaces and the customer interface of a company. Central for the study is the consideration of also the partners’ incentives. Business model construct is studied by defining the concept, examining its elements and the relationship with strategy – concluding with value creation through the concept. The international entrepreneurship chapter focuses on internationally entrepreneurial firms, inspecting the drivers behind international entrepreneurship and studying value network concept. Value creation functions as a driving theme in the theory discussion. The empirical research of the study focuses on eight Finnish internationally entrepreneurial software companies. The study is conducted as a qualitative cross-case analysis building on the single case company business model analyses. The findings suggest that the business models of software companies incorporate vast similarities. However, the degree of international experience has influence on the companies’ value creation and the way they organize their activities both in upstream and downstream of the value chain.

Customer satisfaction data utilization: identifying value drivers and information use practices

The objective of this master’s thesis was twofold: first to examine the concept of customer value and its drivers and second to identify information use practices. The first part of the study represents explorative research that was carried out by examining a case company’s customer satisfaction data that was used to identify sales and technical customer service related value drivers on a detailed attribute level. This was followed by an examination of whether these attributes had been commented on in a positive or a negative light and what were the reasons why the case company had received higher or lower ratings than its competitor. As a result a classification of different sales and technical customer service related attributes was created. The results indicated that the case company has performed well, but that the results varied on the company’s business segment level. The case company’s staff, service and the benefits from a long-lasting relationship came up in a positive light whereas attitude, flexibility and reaction time came up in a negative light. The reasons for a higher or lower score in comparison to competitor varied. The results indicated that a customer’s satisfaction with the company’s performance did not always mean that the company was outperforming the competition. The second part of the study focused on customer satisfaction information use from the viewpoints of information access, dissemination and reaction. The study was conducted by running an internal survey among the case company’s staff. The results showed that information use practices varied across the company and some units or teams had taken a more proactive approach to the information use than others.

Designing the transformation from a boiler supplier into a solution seller

Competition for customers in business-to-business markets is rough, and in order to survive a seller has to be able to deliver more value to its customers than its competitors. This thesis is done for the sales department of an energy technology company operating in business-to-business markets. The company is a relatively small in its field, and it aims to expand internationally and differ itself from its competitors by providing better service for its customers and selling solutions. This study aims to design the transformation from a product seller into a solution seller by defining what is a solution and how solutions are sold, and creating an action plan for sales. Data for the study is collected in ten theme interviews, and analyzed with thematic and content analysis. The action plan is constructed based both on the data and theory. According to the findings of the study, solution is defined as a specially designed unique combination of elements – such as products, services, knowledge, experience and thinking – that work with and complement each other, and bring value to a particular customer. Solution sales requires capabilities to anticipate; build relationships with customers; identify needs and define requirements; cocreate solutions by customizing and integrating elements; and provide postdeployment support. Vision for the change is to sell solution through sensing customers’ needs and responding to them, and the steps of the action plan are to (1) cascade customer-focus, (2) involve other departments in solution sales, (3) develop customer relationship management, and (4) involve the whole organization in solution business.

Optimizing Customer Energy Invoice Calculation with Parallel Computation

Diplomityön tarkoituksena on optimoida asiakkaiden sähkölaskun laskeminen hajautetun laskennan avulla. Älykkäiden etäluettavien energiamittareiden tullessa jokaiseen kotitalouteen, energiayhtiöt velvoitetaan laskemaan asiakkaiden sähkölaskut tuntiperusteiseen mittaustietoon perustuen. Kasvava tiedonmäärä lisää myös tarvittavien laskutehtävien määrää. Työssä arvioidaan vaihtoehtoja hajautetun laskennan toteuttamiseksi ja luodaan tarkempi katsaus pilvilaskennan mahdollisuuksiin. Lisäksi ajettiin simulaatioita, joiden avulla arvioitiin rinnakkaislaskennan ja peräkkäislaskennan eroja. Sähkölaskujen oikeinlaskemisen tueksi kehitettiin mittauspuu-algoritmi.

Developing customer need based services in personal security service industry

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how services can be developed and how the voice of the customer can be incorporated to the strategic planning of services. Furthermore, the objective is to investigate the methods of customer need analysis and service bundling. The data is collected from secondary and primary sources by reviewing the existing academic literature and by conducting in-depth interviews and surveys. The main findings of this research indicate that the service development in personal security service industry should be conducted through a formalized process and the process should begin with setting the strategic objectives. Moreover, the voice of the customer should be incorporated into all stages of the development process, especially into the front-end of the process. Furthermore, the information on customer needs should be gathered in a manner tailored for the purposes of service development.

Viitearkkitehtuuri Windows-sovelluksen käyttöliittymän modernisoimiseksi web-sovellukseksi

IT-järjestelmillä on tärkeä rooli organisaation liiketoiminnassa. Koska organisaation liiketoimintavaatimukset ja strategia muuttuvat ympäröivän maailman mukaan, täytyy järjestelmän arkkitehtuurin sopeutua vallitsevaan tilanteeseen sekä mahdollisiin muutoksiin lyhyellä ja pitkällä aikavälillä. Modernin web-sovelluksen arkkitehtuuri sopeutuu organisaation liiketoiminnan haasteisiin. Erityisesti hallinnolliseksi ongelmaksi organisaatiossa muodostuvat Windows-sovellukset, koska niiden ylläpito sitoo henkilöresursseja ja niiden käyttökonteksti on rajallinen. Tästä syystä organisaatiot ovat käyneet etsimään ratkaisuja kuinka korvata Windows-sovellukset web-sovelluksilla. Kustannustehokas ratkaisu on modernisoida Windows-sovelluksen käyttöliittymä web-sovellukseksi. Tämän diplomityön tavoitteena oli laatia Logica Suomi Oy yritykselle viitearkkitehtuuri Win-dows-sovelluksen käyttöliittymän modernisoimiseksi web-sovellukseksi. Työ suoritettiin Proof of Concept projektissa, jossa modernisointiin Logican pääkäyttäjäsovellus. Työn tarkoituksena oli tunnistaa laajalti käytetyt arkkitehtuurimallit ja menetelmät jotka mahdollistavat modernisoinnin toteutuksen. Lisäksi tarkoitus oli tunnistaa menetelmät ja ohjelmistot jotka mahdollistavat kustannustehokkaan ja laadukkaan web-sovelluksen kehittämisen ja toteuttamisen. Työn osatavoitteena oli laatia modernisoitavan pääkäyttäjäsovelluksen kokonaisarkkitehtuuri. Työn tuloksena saatiin viitearkkitehtuuri jota voidaan käyttää ja hyödyntää ohjelmistokehitysprojekteissa, asiakkaan dokumentaatiossa, myynnissä ja markkinoinnissa. Viitearkkitehtuurissa on esitelty modernit web-teknologiat joilla on mahdollista toteuttaa web-sovellus jonka käyttökokemus vastaa Windows-sovellusta. Lisäksi tuloksena saatiin pääkäyttäjäsovelluksen kokonaisarkkitehtuuri, jonka tärkeimpiä tuloksia ovat modernisoinnin tavoitetila ja sovellusarkkitehtuuri. Tärkeimpiä jatkotoimenpiteitä ovat viitearkkitehtuuriin pohjautuvan modernisointiviitekehyksen laadinta sekä modernisointiprojektin arviointiin käytettävien mittareiden määrittely, suunnittelu ja toteutus. Relevanttien mittareiden avulla voidaan todeta, vastaako modernisoitu sovellus organisaation liiketoimintavaatimuksia ja strategiaa.

The Impact of Service Quality and Relationship Quality on Customer Loyalty in Business-to-Business Context

The main objective of this Master’s Thesis was to examine the interrelations of service quality and relationship quality (customer satisfaction, trust and commitment), and find out are they antecedents for customer loyalty in business-to-business context. Literature review revealed some research gaps concerning these focal concepts, which should be studied more closely. The theoretical basis for this research was collected for evaluating a strategic increase of customer’s perceptions of service quality and relationship quality as well as customer loyalty in business-to-business environment, and it was tested empirically in a sample of 164 corporate customers, who responded to the Internet-based survey. The measures, used in the survey, were first assessed by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and then the hypothesized relationships were further verified using structural equation modeling (SEM) in LISREL 8.80. There was found support for a half of the hypothesized construct relations. The results of the research confirm the direct influence of trust and commitment on customer loyalty. Also, service quality turned out to have an indirect impact on customer loyalty through trust. No support, however, was offered for the proposed impact of customer satisfaction on loyalty in this case. The research provides managerially relevant and actionable results that may help service providers execute more specific customer relationship quality strategies that lead to higher customer loyalty.

Promoting Customer Loyalty Through a Telecommunication Specific CRM Framework

The objective of this thesis is to find new methods to promote customer loyalty in the telecommunication industry. The study was made on the appointment of Tecnotree Corporation, which operates in a telecommunication software business. This thesis comprises of a theoretical section, which includes the presentation of relevant theoretical background and of an empirical section, which is mostly based on interviews and professional opinions. One of the most important aspects of customer relationship management (CRM) is building customer loyalty. Telecommunication markets are becoming saturated in an increasing number of markets. Customer acquisition is no longer a way to grow; companies need to hold on to their existing customers. Companies are always looking for new ways to avoid churning customers. These new methods are searched from recent studies and they are discussed with marketing professionals from operators. Current CRM lacks the ability to extract data efficiently from databases. Social media’s utilization is also in its early stages. It contains a lot of possibilities, but also things that can be risky for companies. In order to obtain full advantage of the new methods companies are required to invest considerable amounts of time and money to develop new systems, but not all companies are ready for the change.

Trust in inter-organisational dyadic relationships

Understanding the trust in organisations and the business relationships have been an emerging trend in past years. Researchers and executives and subject matter experts in companies have recognised the importance of managing the trust in inter-organisational relationships. Further, the interest both in academia and in business has raised an interest to under-stand dyadic relationships. The objective of this thesis was to examine trust in inter-organisational and inter-personal dyadic relationships. Trust and the dyadic relationships were analysed in information technolo-gy services and outsourcing industry. Dyads were established between the supplier company operating in the industry and its customers. The empiric part of the study was carried out by an email survey that was sent to 331 respondents resulting with effective response rate of 48.7 per cent. Statistical analyses were applied to analyse the data sample. In general, results indicated reputation, trustworthiness, capability and collaboration in dyadic trust relationships. Experience grown in duration of the relationship affected the trust positively. No drastic differences in trust were recognised when comparing supplier and customer responses.