130 resultados para Real Electricity Markets Data
Resumo:
If electricity users adjusted their consumption patterns according to time-variable electricity prices or other signals about the state of the power system, generation and network assets could be used more efficiently, and matching intermittent renewable power generation with electricity demand would be facilitated. This kind of adjustment of electricity consumption, or demand response, may be based on consumers’ decisions to shift or reduce electricity use in response to time-variable electricity prices or on the remote control of consumers’ electric appliances. However, while demand response is suggested as a solution to many issues in power systems, actual experiences from demand response programs with residential customers are mainly limited to short pilots with a small number of voluntary participants, and information about what kinds of changes consumers are willing and able to make and what motivates these changes is scarce. This doctoral dissertation contributes to the knowledge about what kinds of factors impact on residential consumers’ willingness and ability to take part in demand response. Saving opportunities calculated with actual price data from the Finnish retail electricity market are compared with the occurred supplier switching to generate a first estimate about how large savings could trigger action also in the case of demand response. Residential consumers’ motives to participate in demand response are also studied by a web-based survey with 2103 responses. Further, experiences of households with electricity consumption monitoring systems are discussed to increase knowledge about consumers’ interest in getting more information on their electricity use and adjusting their behavior based on it. Impacts of information on willingness to participate in demand response programs are also approached by a survey for experts of their willingness to engage in demand response activities. Residential customers seem ready to allow remote control of electric appliances that does not require changes in their everyday routines. Based on residents’ own activity, the electricity consuming activities that are considered shiftable are very limited. In both cases, the savings in electricity costs required to allow remote control or to engage in demand response activities are relatively high. Nonmonetary incentives appeal to fewer households.
Integration of marketing research data in new product development. Case study: Food industry company
Resumo:
The aim of this master’s thesis is to provide a real life example of how marketing research data is used by different functions in the NPD process. In order to achieve this goal, a case study in a company was implemented where gathering, analysis, distribution and synthesis of marketing research data in NPD were studied. The main research question was formulated as follows: How is marketing research data integrated and used by different company functions in the NPD process? The theory part of the master’s thesis was focused on the discussion of the marketing function role in NPD, use of marketing research particularly in the food industry, as well as issues related to the marketing/R&D interface during the NPD process. The empirical part of the master’s thesis was based on qualitative explanatory case study research. Individual in-depth interviews with company representatives, company documents and online research were used for data collection and analyzed through triangulation method. The empirical findings advocate that the most important marketing data sources at the concept generation stage of NPD are: global trends monitoring, retailing audit and consumers insights. These data sets are crucial for establishing the potential of the product on the market and defining the desired features for the new product to be developed. The findings also suggest the example of successful crossfunctional communication during the NPD process with formal and informal communication patterns. General managerial recommendations are given on the integration in NPD of a strategy, process, continuous improvement, and motivated cross-functional product development teams.
Resumo:
Currently, the power generation is one of the most significant life aspects for the whole man-kind. Barely one can imagine our life without electricity and thermal energy. Thus, different technologies for producing those types of energy need to be used. Each of those technologies will always have their own advantages and disadvantages. Nevertheless, every technology must satisfy such requirements as efficiency, ecology safety and reliability. In the matter of the power generation with nuclear energy utilization these requirements needs to be highly main-tained, especially since accidents on nuclear power plants may cause very long term deadly consequences. In order to prevent possible disasters related to the accident on a nuclear power plant strong and powerful algorithms were invented in last decades. Such algorithms are able to manage calculations of different physical processes and phenomena of real facilities. How-ever, the results acquired by the computing must be verified with experimental data.
Resumo:
Despite the unstable situation at the moment in Russia, the Russian market and St. Petersburg have been a very attractive from the point of view of Finnish companies. The objective of this research was to define how a Finnish accounting firm should perform its market entry to Russian markets as a part of its internationalization process. In addition, the special characteristics that support the internationalization to Russia were examined together with the implications from the behavior of potential customers at the market. The actual market entry mode was developed based on the theories of Uppsala model, transaction cost economics and the network approach. Additional emphasis was given for the service point of view. The primary data in this research was collected through semi-structured interviews with professionals from the Russian market. The results of this research show that there exists potential especially at the accounting markets in Russia. However, the current unstable situation and sanctions in Russia have led to situation where the price-sensitivity among customers is high, and costs savings are searched from multiple processes in organizations. Therefore, the accounting company should perform its market entry in small incremental steps to decrease the risks involved, and to gain specific market knowledge before committing more resources into Russian markets. A simplified process was developed to evaluate the suitable market entry mode. As a result, the level of commitment and market knowledge affect the final entry model of the firm, as well as defined goals for the particular market.
Resumo:
The investments have always been considered as an essential backbone and so-called ‘locomotive’ for the competitive economies. However, in various countries, the state has been put under tight budget constraints for the investments in capital intensive projects. In response to this situation, the cooperation between public and private sector has grown based on public-private mechanism. The promotion of favorable arrangement for collaboration between public and private sectors for the provision of policies, services, and infrastructure in Russia can help to address the problems of dry ports development that neither municipalities nor the private sector can solve alone. Especially, the stimulation of public-private collaboration is significant under the exposure to externalities that affect the magnitude of the risks during all phases of project realization. In these circumstances, the risk in the projects also is becoming increasingly a part of joint research and risk management practice, which is viewed as a key approach, aiming to take active actions on existing global and specific factors of uncertainties. Meanwhile, a relatively little progress has been made on the inclusion of the resilience aspects into the planning process of a dry ports construction that would instruct the capacity planner, on how to mitigate the occurrence of disruptions that may lead to million dollars of losses due to the deviation of the future cash flows from the expected financial flows on the project. The current experience shows that the existing methodological base is developed fragmentary within separate steps of supply chain risk management (SCRM) processes: risk identification, risk evaluation, risk mitigation, risk monitoring and control phases. The lack of the systematic approach hinders the solution of the problem of risk management processes of dry port implementation. Therefore, management of various risks during the investments phases of dry port projects still presents a considerable challenge from the practical and theoretical points of view. In this regard, the given research became a logical continuation of fundamental research, existing in the financial models and theories (e.g., capital asset pricing model and real option theory), as well as provided a complementation for the portfolio theory. The goal of the current study is in the design of methods and models for the facilitation of dry port implementation through the mechanism of public-private partnership on the national market that implies the necessity to mitigate, first and foremost, the shortage of the investments and consequences of risks. The problem of the research was formulated on the ground of the identified contradictions. They rose as a continuation of the trade-off between the opportunities that the investors can gain from the development of terminal business in Russia (i.e. dry port implementation) and risks. As a rule, the higher the investment risk, the greater should be their expected return. However, investors have a different tolerance for the risks. That is why it would be advisable to find an optimum investment. In the given study, the optimum relates to the search for the efficient portfolio, which can provide satisfaction to the investor, depending on its degree of risk aversion. There are many theories and methods in finance, concerning investment choices. Nevertheless, the appropriateness and effectiveness of particular methods should be considered with the allowance of the specifics of the investment projects. For example, the investments in dry ports imply not only the lump sum of financial inflows, but also the long-term payback periods. As a result, capital intensity and longevity of their construction determine the necessity from investors to ensure the return on investment (profitability), along with the rapid return on investment (liquidity), without precluding the fact that the stochastic nature of the project environment is hardly described by the formula-based approach. The current theoretical base for the economic appraisals of the dry port projects more often perceives net present value (NPV) as a technique superior to other decision-making criteria. For example, the portfolio theory, which considers different risk preference of an investor and structures of utility, defines net present value as a better criterion of project appraisal than discounted payback period (DPP). Meanwhile, in business practice, the DPP is more popular. Knowing that the NPV is based on the assumptions of certainty of project life, it cannot be an accurate appraisal approach alone to determine whether or not the project should be accepted for the approval in the environment that is not without of uncertainties. In order to reflect the period or the project’s useful life that is exposed to risks due to changes in political, operational, and financial factors, the second capital budgeting criterion – discounted payback period is profoundly important, particularly for the Russian environment. Those statements represent contradictions that exist in the theory and practice of the applied science. Therefore, it would be desirable to relax the assumptions of portfolio theory and regard DPP as not fewer relevant appraisal approach for the assessment of the investment and risk measure. At the same time, the rationality of the use of both project performance criteria depends on the methods and models, with the help of which these appraisal approaches are calculated in feasibility studies. The deterministic methods cannot ensure the required precision of the results, while the stochastic models guarantee the sufficient level of the accuracy and reliability of the obtained results, providing that the risks are properly identified, evaluated, and mitigated. Otherwise, the project performance indicators may not be confirmed during the phase of project realization. For instance, the economic and political instability can result in the undoing of hard-earned gains, leading to the need for the attraction of the additional finances for the project. The sources of the alternative investments, as well as supportive mitigation strategies, can be studied during the initial phases of project development. During this period, the effectiveness of the investments undertakings can also be improved by the inclusion of the various investors, e.g. Russian Railways’ enterprises and other private companies in the dry port projects. However, the evaluation of the effectiveness of the participation of different investors in the project lack the methods and models that would permit doing the particular feasibility study, foreseeing the quantitative characteristics of risks and their mitigation strategies, which can meet the tolerance of the investors to the risks. For this reason, the research proposes a combination of Monte Carlo method, discounted cash flow technique, the theory of real options, and portfolio theory via a system dynamics simulation approach. The use of this methodology allows for comprehensive risk management process of dry port development to cover all aspects of risk identification, risk evaluation, risk mitigation, risk monitoring, and control phases. A designed system dynamics model can be recommended for the decision-makers on the dry port projects that are financed via a public-private partnership. It permits investors to make a decision appraisal based on random variables of net present value and discounted payback period, depending on different risks factors, e.g. revenue risks, land acquisition risks, traffic volume risks, construction hazards, and political risks. In this case, the statistical mean is used for the explication of the expected value of the DPP and NPV; the standard deviation is proposed as a characteristic of risks, while the elasticity coefficient is applied for rating of risks. Additionally, the risk of failure of project investments and guaranteed recoupment of capital investment can be considered with the help of the model. On the whole, the application of these modern methods of simulation creates preconditions for the controlling of the process of dry port development, i.e. making managerial changes and identifying the most stable parameters that contribute to the optimal alternative scenarios of the project realization in the uncertain environment. System dynamics model allows analyzing the interactions in the most complex mechanism of risk management process of the dry ports development and making proposals for the improvement of the effectiveness of the investments via an estimation of different risk management strategies. For the comparison and ranking of these alternatives in their order of preference to the investor, the proposed indicators of the efficiency of the investments, concerning the NPV, DPP, and coefficient of variation, can be used. Thus, rational investors, who averse to taking increased risks unless they are compensated by the commensurate increase in the expected utility of a risky prospect of dry port development, can be guided by the deduced marginal utility of investments. It is computed on the ground of the results from the system dynamics model. In conclusion, the outlined theoretical and practical implications for the management of risks, which are the key characteristics of public-private partnerships, can help analysts and planning managers in budget decision-making, substantially alleviating the effect from various risks and avoiding unnecessary cost overruns in dry port projects.
Resumo:
Emerging markets have experienced rapid economic growth, and manufacturing firms have had to face the effects of globalisation. Some of the major emerging economies have been able to create a supportive business environment that fosters innovation, and China is a good example of a country that has been able to increase value-added investments. Conversely, when we look at Russia, another big emerging market, we witness a situation in which domestic firms struggle more with global competitiveness. Innovation has proven to be one of the most essential ingredients for firms aiming to grow and become more competitive. In emerging markets, the business environment sets many constraints for innovation. However, open strategic choices in new product development enable companies in emerging markets to expand their resource base and capability building. Networking and close inter-firm cooperation are essential in this regard. In this dissertation, I argue that technology transfer is one of the key tools for these companies to become internationally networked and to improve their competitiveness. It forces companies to reach outside the company and national borders, which in many cases, is a major challenge for firms in emerging markets. This dissertation focuses on how companies can catch up with competitiveness in emerging markets. The empirical studies included in the dissertation are based on analyses of survey data mainly of firms and their strategies in the Russian manufacturing industry. The dissertation contributes to the current strategic management literature by further investigating technology management strategies in manufacturing firms in emerging markets and the benefits of more open approaches to new product development and innovation.
Resumo:
Tämän kandidaatintutkielman tarkoituksena oli selvittää minkälaisia liiketoiminnallisia mahdollisuuksia ja haasteita Big Dataan ja sen ominaispiirteisiin liittyy, ja miten Big Data määritellään nykyaikaisesti ja ajankohtaisesti. Tutkimusongelmaa lähestyttiin narratiivisen kirjallisuuskatsauksen keinoin. Toisin sanoen tutkielma on hajanaisen tiedon avulla koostettu yhtenäinen katsaus nykytilanteeseen. Lähdeaineisto koostuu pääosin tieteellisistä artikkeleista, mutta käytössä oli myös oppikirjamateriaalia, konferenssijulkaisuja ja uutisartikkeleja. Tutkimuksessa käytetyt akateemisen kirjallisuuden lähteet sisälsivät keskenään paljon samankaltaisia näkemyksiä tutkimusaihetta kohtaan. Niiden perusteella muodostettiin kaksi taulukkoa havaituista mahdollisuuksista ja haasteista, ja taulukoiden rivit nimettiin niitä kuvaavien ominaispiirteiden mukaan. Tutkimuksessa liiketoiminnalliset mahdollisuudet ja haasteet jaettiin viiteen pääkategoriaan ja neljään alakategoriaan. Tutkimus toteutettiin liiketoiminnan näkökulmasta, joten siinä sivuutettiin monenlaisia Big Datan teknisiä aspekteja. Tutkielman luonne on poikkitieteellinen, ja sen avulla pyritään havainnoimaan tämän hetken yhtä uusinta tietojenkäsittelykäsittelytieteiden termiä liiketoiminnallisessa kontekstissa. Tutkielmassa Big Dataan liittyvillä ominaispiirteillä todettiin olevan mahdollisuuksia, jotka voitiin jaotella korrelaatioiden havaitsemisen perusteella markkinoiden tarkemman segmentoinnin mahdollisuuksiin ja päätöksenteon tukena toimimiseen. Reaaliaikaisen seurannan mahdollisuudet perustuvat Big Datan nopeuteen ja kokoon, eli sen jatkuvaan kasvuun. Ominaispiirteisiin liittyvät haasteet voidaan jakaa viiteen kategoriaan, joista osa liittyy toimintaympäristöön ja osa organisaation sisäiseen toimintaan.
Resumo:
Bottom of the pyramid (BoP) markets are an underserved market of approximately four billion people living on under $5 a day in four regional areas: Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. According to estimations, the BoP market forms a $5 trillion global consumer market. Despite the potential of BoP markets, companies have traditionally focused on serving the markets of developed countries and ignored the large customer group at the bottom of the pyramid. The BoP approach as first developed by Prahalad and Hart in 2002 has focused on multinational corporations (MNCs), which were thought of as the ones who should take responsibility in serving the customers at the bottom of the pyramid. This study challenges this proposition and gives evidence that also smaller international new ventures – entrepreneurial firms that are international from their birth, can be successful in BoP markets. BoP markets are characterized by a number of deficiencies in the institutional environment such as strong reliance on informal sector, lack of infrastructure and lack of skilled labor. The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of international entrepreneurship in BoP markets by analyzing how international new ventures overcome institutional constraints in BoP markets and how institutional uncertainty can be exploited by solving institutional problems. The main objective is divided into four sub objectives. • To describe the opportunities and challenges BoP markets present • To analyze the internationalization of INVs to BoP markets • To examine what kinds of strategies international entrepreneurs use to overcome institutional constraints • To explore the opportunities institutional uncertainty offers for INVs Qualitative approach was used to conduct this study and multiple-case study was chosen as a research strategy in order to allow cross-case analysis. The empirical data was collected through four interviews with the companies Fuzu, Mifuko, Palmroth Consulting and Sibesonke. The results indicated that understanding of the wider institutional environment improves the survival prospects of INVs in BoP markets and that it is indeed possible to exploit institutional uncertainty by solving institutional problems. The main findings were that first-hand experience of the markets and grassroots levels of information are the best assets in internationalization to BoP markets. This study highlights that international entrepreneurs with limited resources can improve the lives of people at the BoP with their business operations and act as small-scale institutional entrepreneurs contributing to the development of the institutional environment of BoP markets.
Resumo:
The traditional business models and the traditionally successful development methods that have been distinctive to the industrial era, do not satisfy the needs of modern IT companies. Due to the rapid nature of IT markets, the uncertainty of new innovations‟ success and the overwhelming competition with established companies, startups need to make quick decisions and eliminate wasted resources more effectively than ever before. There is a need for an empirical basis on which to build business models, as well as evaluate the presumptions regarding value and profit. Less than ten years ago, the Lean software development principles and practices became widely well-known in the academic circles. Those practices help startup entrepreneurs to validate their learning, test their assumptions and be more and more dynamical and flexible. What is special about today‟s software startups is that they are increasingly individual. There are quantitative research studies available regarding the details of Lean startups. Broad research with hundreds of companies presented in a few charts is informative, but a detailed study of fewer examples gives an insight to the way software entrepreneurs see Lean startup philosophy and how they describe it in their own words. This thesis focuses on Lean software startups‟ early phases, namely Customer Discovery (discovering a valuable solution to a real problem) and Customer Validation (being in a good market with a product which satisfies that market). The thesis first offers a sufficiently compact insight into the Lean software startup concept to a reader who is not previously familiar with the term. The Lean startup philosophy is then put into a real-life test, based on interviews with four Finnish Lean software startup entrepreneurs. The interviews reveal 1) whether the Lean startup philosophy is actually valuable for them, 2) how can the theory be practically implemented in real life and 3) does theoretical Lean startup knowledge compensate a lack of entrepreneurship experience. A reader gets familiar with the key elements and tools of Lean startups, as well as their mutual connections. The thesis explains why Lean startups waste less time and money than many other startups. The thesis, especially its research sections, aims at providing data and analysis simultaneously.
Resumo:
The traditional business models and the traditionally successful development methods that have been distinctive to the industrial era, do not satisfy the needs of modern IT companies. Due to the rapid nature of IT markets, the uncertainty of new innovations‟ success and the overwhelming competition with established companies, startups need to make quick decisions and eliminate wasted resources more effectively than ever before. There is a need for an empirical basis on which to build business models, as well as evaluate the presumptions regarding value and profit. Less than ten years ago, the Lean software development principles and practices became widely well-known in the academic circles. Those practices help startup entrepreneurs to validate their learning, test their assumptions and be more and more dynamical and flexible. What is special about today‟s software startups is that they are increasingly individual. There are quantitative research studies available regarding the details of Lean startups. Broad research with hundreds of companies presented in a few charts is informative, but a detailed study of fewer examples gives an insight to the way software entrepreneurs see Lean startup philosophy and how they describe it in their own words. This thesis focuses on Lean software startups‟ early phases, namely Customer Discovery (discovering a valuable solution to a real problem) and Customer Validation (being in a good market with a product which satisfies that market). The thesis first offers a sufficiently compact insight into the Lean software startup concept to a reader who is not previously familiar with the term. The Lean startup philosophy is then put into a real-life test, based on interviews with four Finnish Lean software startup entrepreneurs. The interviews reveal 1) whether the Lean startup philosophy is actually valuable for them, 2) how can the theory be practically implemented in real life and 3) does theoretical Lean startup knowledge compensate a lack of entrepreneurship experience. A reader gets familiar with the key elements and tools of Lean startups, as well as their mutual connections. The thesis explains why Lean startups waste less time and money than many other startups. The thesis, especially its research sections, aims at providing data and analysis simultaneously.