Offshore Sourcing in Software Development: Case Studies of Finnish-Russian Cooperation

The study examines international cooperation in product development in software development organisations. The software industry is known for its global nature and knowledge-intensity, which makes it an interesting setting to examine international cooperation in. Software development processes are increasingly distributed worldwide, but for small or even medium-sized enterprises, typical for the software industry, such distribution of operations is often possible only in association with crossing the company’s boundaries. The strategic decision-making of companies is likely to be affected by the characteristics of the industry, and this includes decisions about cooperation or sourcing. The objective of this thesis is to provide a holistic view on factors affecting decisions about offshore sourcing in software development. Offshore sourcing refers to a cooperative mode of offshoring, where a firm does not establish its own presence in a foreign country, but utilises a local supplier. The study examines product development activities that are distributed across organisational and geographical boundaries. The objective can be divided into two subtopics: general reasons for international cooperation in product development and particular reasons for cooperation between Finnish and Russian companies. The focus is on the strategic rationale at the company level, in particular in small and medium-sized enterprises. The theoretical discourse of the study builds upon the literature on international cooperation and networking, with particular focus on cooperation with foreign suppliers and within product development activities. The resource-based view is also discussed, as heterogeneity and interdependency of the resources possessed by different firms are seen as factors motivating international cooperation. Strategically, sourcing can be used to access resources possessed by an industrial network, to enhance the product development of a firm, or to optimise its cost structure. In order to investigate the issues raised by the theoretical review, two empirical studies on international cooperation in software product development have been conducted. The emphasis of the empirical part of the study is on cooperation between Finnish and Russian companies. The data has been gathered through four case studies on Finnish software development organisations and four case studies on Russian offshore suppliers. Based on the material from the case studies, a framework clarifying and grouping the factors that influence offshore sourcing decisions has been built. The findings indicate that decisions regarding offshore sourcing in software development are far more complex than generally assumed. The framework provides a holistic view on factors affecting decisions about offshore sourcing in software development, capturing the multidimensionality of motives for entering offshore cooperation. Four groups of factors emerged from the data: A) strategy-related aspects, B) aspects related to resources and capabilities, C) organisation-related aspects, and D) aspects related to the entrepreneur or management. By developing a holistic framework of decision factors, the research offers in-depth theoreticalunderstanding of offshore sourcing rationale in product development. From the managerial point of view, the proposed framework sums up the issues that a firm should pay attention to when contemplating product development cooperation with foreign suppliers. Understanding different components of sourcing decisions can lead to improved preconditions for strategising and engaging in offshore cooperation. A thorough decisionmaking process should consider all the possible benefits and risks of product development cooperation carefully.

Sähkönjakeluverkon primäärikomponenttien elinkaarianalyysi

Tässä työssä on tarkasteltu sähkönjakeluverkon primäärikomponenttien elinkaaria niiden energiankulutuksen näkökulmasta. Työssä kerrotaan elinkaarianalyysin käyttämisestä tutkimusmenetelmänä erityisesti sähkönjakeluverkkojen tarkastelussa. Tarkasteltaviksi komponenteiksi on valittu 110 kV/20 kV sähköasemalta päämuuntajat ja keskijännitepuolen kojeistot, keskijännitejohtolähdön maakaapeli ja ilmajohtorakenteet sekä jake-lumuuntajat, pienjännitemaakaapelit ja -avojohdot. Työssä esitetään yksinkertainen menetelmä komponenttien elinkaarien aikana kuluvan energiamäärän ja siitä aiheutuvien CO2-päästöjen arviointiin. Lisäksi esitetään tuloksia tehdyistä esimerkkitarkasteluista ja analyysin lähtötietojen määrittämisestä. Työn tarkoitus on auttaa verkkoyhtiöitä arvioimaan komponentti-investointien kannattavuutta energiatehokkuuden näkökulmasta. Energiahäviöt ovat usein verkkoyhtiön suurin asiakas ja päästökaupan myötä myös CO2-päästöillä on hintansa. Energiatehokkaiden ratkaisujen käyttäminen on tullut entistä tärkeämmäksi komponentteja uusittaessa.

Strategiset allianssit: motiivit ja muodostaminen

Strategiset allianssit ovat yhteistyömuotoja, joiden taustalla on pyrkimys pitkäntähtäimen strategisten tavoitteiden saavuttamiseen. Strategisissa alliansseissa voivat toimia niin suuret ja pienet yritykset kuin julkisen sektorin organisaatiotkin. Tässä työssä strategisista alliansseista esitetään kokonaisvaltainen ja selkeä kuva. Tämän myötä niitä käsitellään omana käsitteenään ominaispiirteineen. Lisäksi strategisten allianssien toteutusvaihtoehtoja tarkastellaan taloudelliseen ja ajalliseen ulottuvuuteen rinnastaen. Motivoituneet osapuolet ovat edellytyksenä strategisen allianssin syntymiselle ja menestymiselle. Keskeisimpiä motiiveja strategiseen allianssiin ryhtymisestä tarkastellaan arvonluonnin näkökulmasta. Motiivit ovat pohjana strategisen allianssin muodostusvaiheen käynnistymiselle. Muodostusprosessia tarkastellaan kolmivaiheisen prosessin näkökulmasta, mikä kattaa päätöksenteon, kumppanin etsinnän ja valinnan sekä neuvotteluvaiheen. Työ sisältää kaksi case-esimerkkiä, joiden tarkoituksena on luoda yhteys teorian ja käytännön välille. Ensimmäisessä esimerkissä tarkastellaan pääomasidonnaista Renault – Nissan -allianssia, joka ristiinomistukseen ja yhteisyrityksiin (joint venture) perustuen toimii monipuolisena esimerkkinä. Toisessa, Sonyn ja Philipsin allianssissa, tarkastellaan ei-pääomasidonnaisen strategisen allianssin erityispiirteitä.

Myynti ja takaisinvuokraussopimukset rahoituslähteenä ja sopimusten käsittely konsernin IFRS-tilinpäätöksessä

Myynti ja takaisinvuokraussopimukset ovat yleistyneet viime vuosina. Myynti ja takaisinvuokraussopimuksessa yritys myy omistamansa hyödykkeen, yleensä kiinteistön, rahoitusyhtiölle ja liisaa sen saman tien takaisin. Menettelyssä yritys säilyttää hyödykkeen käyttöoikeuden, mutta saa samalla vapautettua hyödykkeeseen sitoutuneen varallisuuden. Myynti ja takaisinvuokraussopimukset luokitellaan tavallisten leasingsopimusten tavoin IFRS-lainsäädännössä rahoitusleasingsopimuksiin ja muihin vuokrasopimuksiin. Lisäksi myynti ja takaisinvuokraussopimuksia koskien on annettu joitakin erityissäännöksiä. Työssä tarkastellaan Case-yrityksen X Oyj:n omistaman hyödykkeen uudelleenrahoitusta myynti ja takaisinvuokraussopimuksella. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään miten hyödykkeen uudelleenrahoitus vaikuttaisi konsernin IFRS-muotoiseen tilinpäätökseen. Työssä tutkitaan uudelleenrahoituksen rahoituksellisia motiiveja ja pyritään määrittämään leasingsopimuksen kilpailukykyä verrattuna velkarahoitukseen. Rahoitusteoriassa leasingsopimuksen arvo määritetään yleensä käytäen NAL-kaavaa eli niin kutsuttua Net Advantage of Leasing-kaavaa. Sitä sovelletaan myös tässä työssä. Leasingrahoitusta vertailtaessa velkaan on huomioitava myös, että rahoitusmuodoilla on hyvin erilaiset vaikutukset yrityksen verotukseen, kassavirtoihin ja nettotulokseen.

Research of wood fuel market in Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus

The goal of the present work was to describe the wood fuel market of Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus, to estimate wood fuel potential and to research opportunities of wood fuel trading. Nowadays the wood waste, wood residues and by-products are becoming more and more potential raw materials for energy production. Against the background of unstable prices of traditional energy sources and environmental degradation, European States are planning to get 12% of energy from alternative sources already in 2010. Wastes of wood-working and agricultural productions are such sources. At present time the most popular wood biofuels are wood pellets, briquettes, wood chips and logs. Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus have a rather big potential of wood fuel resources. But wood fuels markets of these countries are on the entry level and quite disorganized. There is almost no domestic usage of wood biofuel. All produced pellets, briquettes as well as wood chips and logs go to the export, but the volumes are not high at present time. Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus have a very suitable geographical location. The most promising directions of wood fuel trading are developed wood fuel markets of Northern countries, Austria, Germany as well as actively developing markets of Poland and Hungary. At the long distance truck and sea transportation are the most appropriate. At a short distance cheap transportation by rail is more suitable. Thereby export is a potential opportunity for development of wood fuel production and in the future for usage in the researched countries.

Analyzing Carbon Trade Permits in Optimization Framework

The threats caused by global warming motivate different stake holders to deal with and control them. This Master's thesis focuses on analyzing carbon trade permits in optimization framework. The studied model determines optimal emission and uncertainty levels which minimize the total cost. Research questions are formulated and answered by using different optimization tools. The model is developed and calibrated by using available consistent data in the area of carbon emission technology and control. Data and some basic modeling assumptions were extracted from reports and existing literatures. The data collected from the countries in the Kyoto treaty are used to estimate the cost functions. Theory and methods of constrained optimization are briefly presented. A two-level optimization problem (individual and between the parties) is analyzed by using several optimization methods. The combined cost optimization between the parties leads into multivariate model and calls for advanced techniques. Lagrangian, Sequential Quadratic Programming and Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm are referred to. The role of inherent measurement uncertainty in the monitoring of emissions is discussed. We briefly investigate an approach where emission uncertainty would be described in stochastic framework. MATLAB software has been used to provide visualizations including the relationship between decision variables and objective function values. Interpretations in the context of carbon trading were briefly presented. Suggestions for future work are given in stochastic modeling, emission trading and coupled analysis of energy prices and carbon permits.

Development of power flows around Baltic countries with new grid links

In the Thesis main focus is done on power flow development paths around the Baltic States as well as on market-based requirements for creation of the common Baltic electricity market. Current market regulations between the countries are presented; barriers for creating competitive common Baltic power market and for electricity trading with third countries are clarified; solutions are offered and corresponding road map is developed. Future power development paths around the Baltic States are analysed. For this purpose the 330 kV transmission grid of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is modelled in a power flow tool. Power flow calculations are carried out for winter and summer peak and off-peak load periods in 2020 with different combinations of interconnections. While carrying out power balance experiments several power flow patterns in the Baltic States are revealed. Conclusions are made about security of supply, grid congestion and transmission capacity availability for different scenarios.

Web-based corporate social responsibility reporting

Due to concerns regarding globalisation and sustainable development, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is topical in the business context and in the field of accounting. The main objective of this study was to review previous academic literature in the field of CSR reporting and develop an insight into CSR reporting in the Web-based environment. The main purpose was to find out what Web-based CSR reporting is like and how companies are utilising the Internet to communicate on responsibility issues. I did not, however, collect empirical research data but limited my study into theoretical and descriptive examination. In order to create an insight into Web-based reporting, I examined the development, motives and current practices of CSR reporting. I concluded that the Internet is a unique, interactive communication channel that is used differently compared with annual reports. The amount of companies engaging in Web-based CSR reporting is increasing and the reporting practices in terms of e.g. content and accessibility of information vary. I also concluded that many companies have not yet discovered the true potential of the Web as an interactive communication medium.

Market of biomass fuels in Finland : IEA Bioenergy Task 40 and EUBIONET III - Country report of Finland 2009

This study considered the current situation of solid and liquid biomass fuels in Finland. The fact that industry consumes more than half of the total primary energy, widely applied combined heat and power production and a high share of solid biomass fuels in the total energy consumption are specific to the Finnish energy system. Wood is the most important source of bioenergy in Finland, representing 20% of the total energy consumption in 2007. Almost 80% of the woodbased energy is recovered from industrial by-products and residues. As a member of the European Union, Finland has committed itself to the Union’s climate and energy targets, such as reducing its overall emissions of green house gases to at least 20% below 1990 levels by 2020, and increasing the share of renewable energy in the gross final consumption. The renewable energy target approved for Finland is 38%. The present National Climate and Energy Strategy was introduced in November 2008. The strategy covers climate and energy policy measures up to 2020, and in brief thereafter, up to 2050. In recent years, the actual emissions have exceeded the Kyoto commitment and the trend of emissions is on the increase. In 2007, the share of renewable energy in the gross final energy consumption was approximately 25% (360 PJ). Without new energy policy measures, the final consumption of renewable energy would increase to 380 PJ, which would be approximately only 31% of the final energy consumption. In addition, green house gas emissions would exceed the 1990 levels by 20%. Meeting the targets will need the adoption of more active energy policy measures in coming years. The international trade of biomass fuels has a substantial importance for the utilisation of bioenergy in Finland. In 2007, the total international trading of solid and liquid biomass fuels was approximately 77 PJ, of which import was 62 PJ. Most of the import is indirect and takes place within the forest industry’s raw wood imports. In 2007, as much as 21% of wood energy was based on foreign-origin wood. Wood pellets and tall oil form the majority of export streams of biomass fuels. The indirect import of wood fuels peaked in 2006 to 61 PJ. The foreseeable decline in raw wood import to Finland will decrease the indirect import of wood fuels. In 2004– 2007, the direct trade of solid and liquid biomass fuels has been on a moderate growth path. In 2007, the import of palm oil and export of bio-diesel emerged, as a large, 170 000 t/yr biodiesel plant came into operation in Porvoo.

Prognosis of after spot volumes at the Scandinavian electricity market

The Thesis is dedicated to development of an operative tool to support decision making in after spot trading on the Nordic electricity market. The basics of the Nordic electricity market, trading mechanisms on the spot and after spot markets are presented in the Thesis. Mathematical equations that describe electricity balance condition in the power system are offered. The main driving factors that impact deviation of actual electricity balance from the scheduled one (object) in the power system have been explored and mathematically defined. The behavioral model of the object and principal trends in change of state of the object under an impact of the driving factors are determined with the help of regression analysis made in Microsoft Office Excel. The behavioral model gives an indication for the total regulation volume (Elbas trades volume, volume of regulation market, balance power) for a certain hour that serves as the base input in estimating prices on the after spot markets. Proposals for development of methodologies of forecasting the after spot electricity prices are offered.

Kansainvälistyvässä ohjelmistoliiketoiminnassa valittavan kumppanin ominaisuudet ja kartoittaminen

Tämän pro gradu tutkielman tavoitteena oli selvittää ominaisuudet, joita ohjelmistoalan yrityksen kansainvälistymisessä tukevalla kumppanilla tulee olla. Tarkoituksena oli selvittää mainitut ominaisuudet yleisesti ja luoda työkalu, jonka avulla potentiaalisia kumppaneita on mahdollista arvioida. Tämän lisäksi ominaisuuksia tarkennettiin tutkielman empiirisessä osassa, jossa kansainvälisen kumppanin ominaisuuksia selvitettiin tapauskohtaisesti tutkielman kohdeyrityksen, CAD Oy:n tilanteessa. Tutkielma jakautuu teoreettiseen ja empiiriseen osaan. Ensimmäinen pohjautuu aikaisempaan tutkimukseen ja kirjallisuuteen kansainvälistymisestä, kohdemaiden valinnasta ja kumppanuuksista. Jälkimmäinen on laadullista tapaustutkimusta. Empiriassa selvitettiin CAD Oy:n kansainväliseltä kumppanilta vaadittavat ominaisuudet ja kartoitettiin naita ominaisuuksia omaavia potentiaalisia yhteistyökumppaneita tutkimuksen kohdemaista. Empiirinen tutkimus perustui kohdeyrityksen johdolle ja henkilöstölle tehtyihin haastatteluihin sekä verkkomateriaaliin. Empiiriseen tutkimukseen liitettiin kohdeyrityksen toiveesta myös kohdemaiden analyysia. Johtopaatoksena todettiin, ettei ole olemassa tiettyjä kriteereitä tai ominaisuuksia, joiden vaatimukset täyttämällä olisi mahdollista löytää sopiva kumppani jokaiseen tilanteeseen. Ominaisuudet on aina määriteltävä tapaus ja yrityskohtaisesti. Niihin vaikuttavat myös laajentumisen kohdemaan ominaispiirteet. Usein kumppanin toivotaan olevan luotettava, ja sen tulisi voida tarjota komplementaarista osaamista liittyen joko myyntiin ja markkinointiin tai teknologiseen osaamiseen. Sen on lisäksi tunnettava paikalliset toimintatavat ja kyettävä huolehtimaan asiakkaista ja heidän vaatimastaan tuesta. Erikoisvaatimuksia asettavat tuotteiden ominaisuudet ja lokalisointivaatimukset.

Environmental policy instruments concerning industrial end-use energy efficiency

Energy efficiency and saving energy are the main question marks when thinking of reducing carbon dioxide emissions or cutting costs. The objective of thesis is to evaluate policy instruments concerning end-use energy efficiency of heavy industry in European Union. These policy instruments may be divided in various ways, but in this thesis the division is to administrative, financial, informative and voluntary instruments. Administrative instruments introduced in this thesis are Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control, Directive on Energy End-use Efficiency and Energy Services, and Climate and Energy Package. Financial means include energy and emission taxation, EU Emission Trading Scheme and diverse support systems. Informative instruments consist of horizontal BAT Reference Document for Energy Efficiency, as well as substantial EU documents including Green Paper on Energy Efficiency, Action Plan for Energy Efficiency and An Energy Policy for Europe. And finally, voluntary instruments include environmental managements systems like ISO 14001 and EMAS, energy auditing and benchmarking. The efficiency of different policy instruments vary quite a lot. Informative instruments lack the commitment from industry and are thus almost ineffective, contrary to EU Emission Trading Scheme, which is said to be the solution to climate problems. The efficiency of administrative means can be placed between those mentioned and voluntary instruments are still quite fresh to be examined fruitfully. However, each instrument has their potential and challenges. Cases from corporate world strengthen the results from theoretical part. Cases were written mainly on the basis of interviews. The interviewees praised the energy efficiency contract of Finnish industry, but the EU ETS takes the leading role of policy instruments. However, for industry the reductions do not come easily.

Quality standards in e-business software development

Large enterprises have for many years employed eBusiness solutions in order to improve their efficiency. Smaller companies, however, have not been able to leverage these technologies due to the high level of know-how and resources required in implementing them. To solve this, novel software services are being developed to facilitate eBusiness adoption for the small enterprise with the aim of making B2Bi feasible not only between large organisations but also between trading partners of all sizes. The objective of this study was to find what standards and techniques on eBusiness and software testing and quality assurance fit best for building these new kinds of software considering the requirements their unique eBusiness approach poses. The research was conducted as a literature study with focus on standards on software testing and quality assurance together with standards on eBusiness. The study showed that the current software testing and quality assurance standards do not possess such characteristics as would make select standards evidently better fitted for building this type of software, which were established to be best developed as web services in order for them to meet their requirements. A selection of eBusiness standards and technologies was proposed to support this approach. The main finding in the study was, however, that these kinds of web services that have high interoperability requirements will have to be able to carry out automated interoperability and conformance testing as part of their operation; this objective dictates how the software are built and how testing during software development is to be done. The study showed that research on automated interoperability and conformance testing for web services is still limited and more research is needed to make the building of highly-interoperable web services more feasible.

Saako historiasta selvää? Monikulttuuriset yläkoululaiset historian lähteillä historian taidot motiivien, seurauksien, historian tulkintojen ja lähteiden luotettavuuden arvioinneissa

The research assesses the skills of upper comprehensive school pupils in history. The focus is on locating personal motives, assessing wider reasons hidden in historical sources and evaluating source reliability. The research also questions how a wide use of multiple sources affects pupils’ holistic understanding of historical phenomena. The participants were a multicultural group of pupils. The origins of their cultures can be traced to the Balkan, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. The number of native Finnish speakers and pupils speaking Finnish as their second language was almost equal. The multicultural composition provides opportunities to assess how culturally responsive learning history from sources is. The intercultural approach to learning in a multicultural setting emphasizes equality as a precondition for learning. In order to set assignments at least to some extent match with all participants only those answers were taken into account which were produced by pupils who had studied history for a similar period of time in the Finnish comprehensive school system. Due to the small number of participants (41), the study avoids wide generalizations. Nevertheless, possible cultural blueprints in pupils’ way of thinking are noted. The first test examined the skills of pupils to find motives for emigration. The results showed that for 7th graders finding reasons is not a problematic task. However, the number of reasons noticed and justifications varied. In addition, the way the pupils explained their choices was a distinguishing factor. Some pupils interpreted source material making use of previous knowledge on the issue, while other pupils based their analysis solely on the text handed and did not try to add their own knowledge. Answers were divided into three categories: historical, explanatory and stating. Historical answers combined smoothly previously learned historical knowledge to one’s own source analysis; explanatory answers often ignored a wider frame, although they were effective when explaining e.g. historical concepts. The stating answers only noticed motives from the sources and made no attempts to explain them historically. Was the first test culturally responsive? All pupils representing different cultures tackled the first source exam successfully, but there were some signs of how historical concepts are understood in a slightly different way if the pupil’s personal history has no linkage to the concepts under scrutiny. The second test focused on the history of Native Americans. The test first required pupils to recognize whether short source extracts (5) were written by Indians or Caucasians. Based on what they had already learned from North American history, the pupils did not find it hard to distinguish between the sources. The analysis of multiphase causes and consequences of the disputes between Native Americans and white Americans caused dispersion among pupils. Using two historical sources and combining historical knowledge from both of them simultaneously was cumbersome for many. The explanations of consequences can be divided into two groups: the ones emphasizing short term consequences and those placing emphasis on long term consequences. The short term approach was mainly followed by boys in every group. The girls mainly paid attention to long term consequences. The result suggests that historical knowledge in sources is at least to some extent read through role and gender lenses. The third test required pupils to explain in their own words how the three sources given differed in their account of living conditions in Nazi Germany, which turned out to be demanding for many pupils. The pupils’ stronghold was rather the assessment of source reliability and accounts why the sources approached the same events differently. All participants wrote critical and justified comments on reliability and aspects that might have affected the content of the sources. The pupils felt that the main reasons that affected source reliability were the authors’ ethnic background, nationality and profession. The assessment showed that pupils were well aware that position in a historical situation has an impact on historical accounts, but in certain cases the victim’s account was seen as a historical truth. The account of events by a historian was chosen most often as the most reliable source, but it was often justified leniently with an indication to professionalism rather than with clear ideas of how historians conduct accounts based on sources. In brief, the last source test demonstrates that pupils have a strong idea that the ethnicity or nationalism determines how people explained events of the past. It is also an implication that pupils understand how historical knowledge is interpretative. The results also imply that history can be analyzed from a neutral perspective. One’s own membership in an ethnical or religious group does not automatically mean that a person’s cultural identity excludes historical explanations if something in them contradicts with his or her identity. The second method of extracting knowledge of pupils’ historical thinking was an essay analysis. The analysis shows that an analytical account of complicated political issues, which often include a great number of complicated political concepts, leads more likely to an inconsistent structure in the written work of pupils. The material also demonstrates that pupils have a strong tendency to take a critical stance when assessing history. Historical empathy in particular is shown if history somehow has a linkage to young people, children or minorities. Some topics can also awake strong feelings, especially among pupils with emigrant background, if there is a linkage between one’s own personal history and that of the school; and occasionally a student’s historical experience or thoughts replaced school history. Using sources during history lessons at school seems to have many advantages. It enhances the reasoning skills of pupils and their skills to assess the nature of historical knowledge. Thus one of the main aims and a great benefit of source work is to encourage pupils to express their own ideas and opinions. To conclude, when assessing the skills of adolescents in history - their work with sources, comments on history, historical knowledge and finally their historical thinking - one should be cautious and avoid cut off score evaluations. One purpose of pursuing history with sources is to encourage pupils to think independently, which is a useful tool for further identity construction. The idea that pupils have the right to conduct their own interpretations of history can be partially understood as part of a wider learning process, justification to study history comes from extrinsic reasons. The intrinsic reason is history itself; in order to understand history one should have a basic understanding of history as a specific domain of knowledge. Using sources does not mean that knowing history is of secondary importance. Only a balance between knowing the contextual history, understanding basic key concepts and working with sources is a solid base to improve pupils’ historical understanding.

Sensory and Non-sensory Factors Behind the Liking and Choice of Healthy Food Products

A healthy and balanced diet can reduce health problems, such as overweight and metabolic syndrome. In general, people have a considerably good knowledge of what constitutes a healthy diet and how they could achieve it with their food choices. Besides, people argue that health is among their top five food choice motives. Nevertheless, the prevalence of overweight is increasing and other food choice motives, such as taste, seem to conflict with the health. Liking for food does not necessarily determine acceptance alone, thus several non-sensory factors, such as brand, country of origin and nutrition claim, can also influence. Moreover, consumers are individuals in how they prioritize sensory and nonsensory factors of foods, but e.g. increasing age, female gender and health concern have been connected to a more health-oriented dietary behaviour. To sum up, identifying different factors that can increase the liking and consumption of healthy food is essential in order to develop more attractive healthful food products. Adding vitamins, minerals, fibre or other ingredients to a food product can be used to enrich the nutritional quality of the products. However, this may be difficult in practice as regards the sensory quality and pleasantness of the foods. Generally, consumers are not willing to compromise on taste in food. On the other hand, consumers are very heterogeneous in their likings, and their personal values and attitudes may interact with preferences for specific sensory characteristics. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of intrinsic product characteristics on sensory properties and hedonic responses; to determine the impact of few non-sensory factors; and to examine the interaction between sensory and non-sensory factors with consumers’ demographics, values and attitudes in liking of healthy model foods. The results showed that product composition influenced sensory quality and had an effect on hedonic responses. Adding flaxseed to bakery products showed a significant improvement in the nutritional quality without negative effects on sensory properties. On the other hand, the fortification of wellness beverages with vitamins and minerals may impart off-flavours. In general, sweetness of yoghurts, freshness of wellness beverages and low intensity of rye bread flavour appealed to consumers. Information about the domestic origin of yoghurts and claiming a specific function for wellness beverages enhanced liking. However, consumers who were more concerned about their health and considered natural content as an important food choice motive, rated sourer and less sweet yoghurts and wellness beverages as more pleasant. In addition, interest in health increased the consumption of rye breads and other whole grain breads among adolescents. The results showed that the optimal product quality in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic factors differs between individual consumers, and personal values and food choice motives can be connected to preferences for specific sensory characteristics of foods. This indicates that each food product needs to be considered in relation to its specific market niche, and to which segment of consumer will respond most positively to its characteristics.