Objectives and motivations of small-scale forest owners : theoretical modelling and qualitative assessment

Abstract

Qualitative Characteristics and Quantitative Measures of Solution's Reliability in Discrete Optimization: Traditional Analytical Approaches, Innovative Computational Methods and Applicability

The purpose of this thesis is twofold. The first and major part is devoted to sensitivity analysis of various discrete optimization problems while the second part addresses methods applied for calculating measures of solution stability and solving multicriteria discrete optimization problems. Despite numerous approaches to stability analysis of discrete optimization problems two major directions can be single out: quantitative and qualitative. Qualitative sensitivity analysis is conducted for multicriteria discrete optimization problems with minisum, minimax and minimin partial criteria. The main results obtained here are necessary and sufficient conditions for different stability types of optimal solutions (or a set of optimal solutions) of the considered problems. Within the framework of quantitative direction various measures of solution stability are investigated. A formula for a quantitative characteristic called stability radius is obtained for the generalized equilibrium situation invariant to changes of game parameters in the case of the H¨older metric. Quality of the problem solution can also be described in terms of robustness analysis. In this work the concepts of accuracy and robustness tolerances are presented for a strategic game with a finite number of players where initial coefficients (costs) of linear payoff functions are subject to perturbations. Investigation of stability radius also aims to devise methods for its calculation. A new metaheuristic approach is derived for calculation of stability radius of an optimal solution to the shortest path problem. The main advantage of the developed method is that it can be potentially applicable for calculating stability radii of NP-hard problems. The last chapter of the thesis focuses on deriving innovative methods based on interactive optimization approach for solving multicriteria combinatorial optimization problems. The key idea of the proposed approach is to utilize a parameterized achievement scalarizing function for solution calculation and to direct interactive procedure by changing weighting coefficients of this function. In order to illustrate the introduced ideas a decision making process is simulated for three objective median location problem. The concepts, models, and ideas collected and analyzed in this thesis create a good and relevant grounds for developing more complicated and integrated models of postoptimal analysis and solving the most computationally challenging problems related to it.

Intrapreneurial activity's appearance in corporation - A qualitative case study

Työn tavoitteena on ollut ollut selvittää sisäisen yrittäjyyden toimintaa ja muotoja suuren korporaation kontekstissa. Tutkimuskysymys on: miten sisäinen yrittäjyys ilmenee Kesko:ssa? Tutkimusmenetelmä on kvalitatiivinen ja aineisto kerättiin puolitstrukturoiduilla haastatteluilla. Haastateltavat koostuivat Kesko korporaation työntekijöistä. Tutkimustulokset paljastavat, että sisäinen yrittäjyys ilmenee Kesko:ssa monella eri tavalla. Työntekijät ovat korkeasti sitoutuneita ja motivoituneita. Johto tarjoaa haastavia työtehtäviä työntekijöille, ja tiimityöskentely on korkealla tasolla. Työntekijät myös verkoistuivat aktiivisesti. Joissakin tapauksissa sisäinen yrittäjyys ilmenee Kesko:ssa siten, että työntekijä on valmis ottamaan oman sivuprojektin parantaakseen koko organisaation suorituskykyä. Tämän tapainen toiminta on mahdollista vain korkean oma-aloitteisuuden kautta.

Value co-creation in gaming the industry: A qualitative research on virtual discussion forums

This study discusses the procedures of value co-creation that persist in gaming industry. The purpose of this study was to identify the procedures that persist in current video gaming industry which answers the main research problem how value is co-created in video gaming industry followed by three sub questions: (i) What is value co-creation in gaming industry? (ii) Who participates in value co-creation in gaming industry? (iii) What are the procedures that are involved in value co-creation in gaming industry? The theoretical background of the study consists of literature relating to the theory of marketing i.e., notion of value, conventional understanding of value creation, value chain, co-creation approach, co-production approach. The research adopted qualitative research approach. As a platform of relationship researcher used web 2.0 tool interface. Data were collected from the social networks and netnography method was applied for analyzing them. Findings show that customer and company both co-create optimum level of value while they interact with each other and within the customers as well. However mostly the C2C interaction, discussions and dialogues threads that emerged around the main discussion facilitated to co-create value. In this manner, companies require exploiting and further motivating, developing and supporting the interactions between customers participating in value creation. Hierarchy of value co-creation processes is the result derived from the identified challenges of value co-creation approach and discussion forums data analysis. Overall three general sets and seven topics were found that explored the phenomenon of customer to customer (C2C) and business to customer (B2C) interaction/debating for value co-creation through user generated contents. These topics describe how gamer contributes and interacts in co-creating value along with companies. A methodical quest in current research literature acknowledged numerous evolving flows of value in this study. These are general management perspective, new product development and innovation, virtual customer environment, service science and service dominant logic. Overall the topics deliver various realistic and conceptual implications for using and handling gamers in social networks for augmenting customers’ value co-creation process.

Learning from projects: a qualitative metasummary

The objective of this thesis was to form an understanding about the common gaps in learning from projects, as well as possible approaches to bridging them. In the research focus were the questions on how project teams create knowledge, which fac- tors affect the capture and re-use of this knowledge and how organizations can best capture and utilize this project-based knowledge. The method used was qualitative metasummary, a literature-based research method that has previously been mainly applied in the domains of nursing and health care research. The focus was laid on firms conducting knowledge-intensive business in some form of matrix organization. The research produced a theoretical model of knowledge creation in projects as well as a typology of factors affecting transfer of project-based knowledge. These include experience, culture and leadership, planning and controlling, relationships, project review and documentation. From these factors, suggestions could be derived as to how organizations should conduct projects in order not to lose what has been learned.

An examination of factors influencing ERP key-user satisfaction: A qualitative case study

Several companies are trying to improve their operation efficiency by implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that makes it possible to control the resources of the company in real time. However, the success of the implementation project is not a foregone conclusion; a significant part of these projects end in a failure, one way or another. Therefore it is important to investigate ERP system implementation more closely in order to increase understanding about factors influencing ERP system success and to improve the probability of a successful ERP implementation project. Consequently, this study was initiated because a manufacturing case company wanted to review the success of their ERP implementation project. To be exact, the case company hoped to gain both information about the success of the project and insight for future implementation improvement. This study investigated ERP success specifically by examining factors that influence ERP key-user satisfaction. User satisfaction is one of the most commonly applied indicators of information system success. The research data was mainly collected by conducting theme interviews. The subjects of the interviews were six key-users of the newly implemented ERP system. The interviewees were closely involved in the implementation project. Furthermore, they act as representative users that utilize the new system in everyday business processes. The collected data was analyzed by thematizing. Both data collection and analysis were guided by a theoretical frame of reference. This frame was based on previous research on the subject. The results of the study aligned with the theoretical framework to large extent. The four principal factors influencing key-user satisfaction were change management, contractor service, key-user’s system knowledge and characteristics of the ERP product itself. One of the most significant contributions of the research is that it confirmed the existence of a connection between change management and ERP key-user satisfaction. Furthermore, it discovered two new sub-factors influencing contractor service related key-user satisfaction. In addition, the research findings indicated that in order to improve the current level of key-user satisfaction, the case company should pay special attention to system functionality improvement and enhancement of the key-users’ knowledge. During similar implementation projects in the future, it would be important to assure the success of change management and contractor service related processes.