Antecedents and Performance Outcomes of Entrepreneurial Orientation: a Comparative Cross-Country Study

Development of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) within a company is considered to be significant for firm performance in a contemporary market society with constantly changing environment. Considered as entrepreneurial, the firm is able to innovate, make risky investments and be proactive. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate factors which influence EO, the impact of EO on firm performance, and a mediating role of EO in developed and emerging market contexts. The empirical research is conducted quantitatively in a form of a survey in Russia and Finland. The results of the thesis have shown that the relationship between antecedents, EO and firm performance outcomes is different in developed and emerging contexts and can be explained by cultural differences and institutional development. The empirical research has both theoretical and practical novelty. It contributes to the existing literature on EO by the usage of comparative cross-country approach and a broader three-way interaction model between the variables. A general practical implication of the research is that managers may benefit from developing entrepreneurial strategic posture in particular contexts.

Pienyrittäjän velkajärjestely

Laki yksityishenkilön velkajärjestelystä (VJL, 57/1993) muuttui 1.1.2015. Yksityiset elinkeinon- ja ammatinharjoittajat saivat aiemmin velkajärjestelyn yksityistalouden veloille, mutta uutta on se, että myös elinkeinotoiminnan velkoja voidaan järjestellä samassa yhteydessä. Yksityishenkilön velkajärjestelyä ei voi hakea pelkästään yrityksen velkoihin. Jotta elinkeinon- ja ammatinharjoittaja voisi saada velkajärjestelyn, yritystoiminnan pitää olla pienimuotoista ja perustua yrittäjän omaan työpanokseen. Laki ei koske yhtiömuotoisia yrityksiä, joten ne rajataan tämän tutkimuksen ulkopuolelle. Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitetään, miten velkajärjestelylaki kohtelee pienyrittäjää. Velkajärjestelylakiin tuli 30 muutosta, mutta keskityn tutkimuksessani pienyrittäjän kannalta merkityksellisiin seikkoihin. Toisena tutkimustehtävänä on selvittää pienyrittäjän epäonnistumisen syitä ja seurauksia. Työn tutkimuksellinen lähestymistapa on kvalitatiivinen eli laadullinen ja aineistonkeräystapana käytettiin puolistrukturoituja haastatteluja. Tutkimusaineistoa kerättiin haastattelemalla epäonnistumisen kokeneita yrittäjiä tammi-maaliskuussa 2015. Teoriaosuudessa perehdytään alan kirjallisuuteen, tuomioistuimen oikeustapaukseen ja hallituksen esityksiin. Johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, että velkajärjestelylain muutos mahdollistaa ammatin- ja elinkeinonharjoittajien pääsyn velkajärjestelyyn ja velkajärjestelyssä voidaan tietyin edellytyksin järjestellä elinkeinotoiminnasta syntyneet velat. Menettely on kevyempi ja edullisempi kuin yrityssaneeraus. Lakimuutos on historiallinen insolvenssioikeuden alalla ja se asettaa elinkeinon- ja ammatinharjoittajat tasavertaiseen asemaan muiden velallisten kanssa ottaen huomioon elinkeinotoiminnan velkojen järjestelylle asettamat erityispiirteet. Velkajärjestelyn edellytykset ovat pienyrittäjälle hyvin tiukat, eli olettavasti moni velallinen ei hakeudu velkajärjestelyyn. Käytäntö osoittaa, onko säännöstö niin tiukka, etteivät yksityiset elinkeinon- ja ammatinharjoittajat hae velkajärjestelyä, vaan lopettavat mieluummin liiketoimintansa.

The transforming network of a foreign company operating in Mongolia. Case: A Finnish firm in Mongolia

In the globalising business environment ever fewer market areas remain unknown. Mongolia is yet only considered as an isolated strip between two power states. The purpose of this study is to put Mongolia on the map of academic business research. This is done by describing the transforming network of a foreign company operating in Mongolia. The objective of the study is approached through a case study, which presents the transformation of a Finnish company operating in Mongolia. This study aims at providing understanding on how the foreign case company observes the transformations of its network. The transformation within the case company is reflected to the transformations that occur in the Mongolian business environment. This study was conducted through a qualitative, intrinsic case study approach. The empirical data was gathered by using the method of network pictures. The network pictures were completed with the assistance of themed interviews. In order to be able to analyse the transformation within a network, three different time periods were observed: the past period around 2000, the present around 2014, and the estimated future around 2020. The data was collected from four executives positioned either in Finland, Russia or Mongolia. The respondents have a long experience within the case company, they hold managerial position, and therefore were able to offer valuable data for this study. The analytical framework used to analyse the collected data was built on the industrial network model, the ARA (actors-resources-activities)-model. The study shows that the changing business environment of Mongolia was utilised by the case company. In order to better meet the transforming customer wishes, the case company transformed from being a retailer to being a manufacturer. The case company was able to become a pioneer in the market. Thus, the case company has undergone similar kind of rapid transformation as the economy of Mongolia in entirety. This study shows that the general nature of the ARA-model makes it usable for new research contexts. The initial ARA-model offers a way to identify the dimensions of a network and a mean to understand these dimensions. The ARA-model can be applied to different contexts and to all time dimensions, past, present and future. The managerial recommendations offered in this study are directed towards the managers that plan to start operations in Mongolia. While this study is the first of its kind, it offers a good starting point for the future research on the change of Mongolian business networks. Valuable information could, for example, be obtained from a comparative study between the case company of this study and a multinational mining company operating in Mongolia.

Cross Listing of a Finnish Company on an Exchange in the United States of America

Finnish companies cross listing in the United States is an exceptional phenomenon. This study examines the cross listing decision, cross listing choice and cross listing process with associated challenges and critical factors. The aim is to create an in-depth understanding of the cross listing process and the required financial information. Based on that, the aim is to establish the process phases with the challenges and the critical factors that ought to be considered be- fore establishing the process plus re-evaluated and further considered at points in time during the process. The empirical part of this study is conducted as a qualitative study. The research data was collected through the adoption of two approaches, which are the interview approach and the textual data approach. The interviews were conducted with Finnish practitioners in the field of accounting and finance. The textual data was from publicly available publications of this phenomenon by the two BIG5 accounting companies worldwide. The results of this study demonstrate the benefits of cross listing in the U.S. are the better growth opportunities, the reduction of cost of capital and the production of higher quality financial information. In the decision making process companies should assess whether the benefits exceed the increased costs, the pressure for performance, the uncertainty of market recognition and the requirements of management. The exchange listing is seen as the most favourable cross listing choice for Finnish companies. The establishment of the processes for producing reliable, transparent and timely financial information was seen as both highly critical and very challenging. The critical success factors relating to the cross listing phases are the assessment and planning as well as the right mix of experiences and expertise. The timing plays important role in the process. The results mainly corroborate the literature concerning cross listing decision and choice. This study contributes to the literature on the cross listing process offering a useful model for the phases of the cross listing process.

Marketing performance measurement in the marketing-finance interface

Marketing and finance are both facing challenges in the constantly changing business environment. Finance is challenged to change its role from cost control to value-adding business partner while marketing needs to be able to demonstrate its accountability so how it contributes to firm performance. Finance is the key partner for marketing to prove its impact by helping marketing to measure its actions. By doing so, finance can also emphasize its business partner role. There is not a lot of research conducted of the relationship between marketing and finance departments. The aim of this study is to investigate how the professional differences of marketing and finance and their forms of cooperation affect marketing performance measurement. Literature of marketing and finance disciplines, their cooperation, performance implications of their interface as well as the roles of marketing performance measurement, performance measurement system and measures were reviewed. This research was conducted as a qualitative case study among senior management of marketing and finance in the sporting goods company. The data collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation and secondary data was described and classified and connections were made. The results of the study show that the nature of marketing and finance disciplines has many effects on their cooperation and performance measurement. Due to the ambiguous nature of marketing, measuring its performance is still seen as a challenge but digitalization is helping the measurement. It was indicated that marketing and finance professionals need to have different skillsets in order to perform their roles effectively and thus cooperation is needed. Marketing performance needs to be measured with both financial and nonfinancial measures. Both marketing and finance interviewees highlighted the importance of marketing measures over financial measures. Measuring marketing performance comprehensively is seen as a challenge since marketing and finance cooperation is still shaped by the cost control and budget management roles, rather than performance measurement. We recognized three constraints affecting this cooperation and performance measurement: people, time and software. If marketing and finance would develop deeper cooperation, they could create comprehensive performance measurement system that improves organizational performance.

Fiscal policy and private investment: latin america in a comparative perspective

The main objective of the paper is to assess the impact of fiscal variables on private investment comparing some Latin-American economies to other advanced ones. For such purposes, the authors carry out an econometric analysis for the period 1990-2008. They make use of two dynamic panel models in which they group countries with similar characteristics and development levels. In one of them, they include Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay; whereas in the second one the countries accounted for are the U.S., Canada, Spain, Korea, Ireland and Japan. They specify in both models an investment function using as arguments a wide range of variables, including those related with fiscal policy. From their results the authors infer that governments can, with higher spending, boost up the economy even when they finance spending with higher taxes. In Latin America, where income concentration is enormous, a proposal to boost up the economy through higher government expenditure financed with a progressive income tax, is even more justified.

Parental and Successor Liability in EU Competition Law Infringements

Under EU competition law, parent companies may be held jointly and severally liable for the competition law infringements committed by their subsidiaries. The possibility of holding parent companies liable demonstrates a significant exception from the idea of separate legal entities. However, it is not the only deviation developed under EU competition law. In cases, where the legal entity responsible for the anti-competitive conduct has changed its form, liability can be attributed to the new operator, in particular, to its successor. The principles of legal certainty and legitimate expectations are issues that surround the doctrines of parental and successor liability. The aim of this thesis is to present a comprehensive comparative analysis of the parental and successor liability doctrines and to clarify the conditions under which it is possible to attribute liability for the infringements of EU competition law. The main purpose is therefore to demonstrate the problems related to the allocation of liability and to discuss whether these liability principles, established to assure the effective enforcement of the EU competition rules, are good solutions. The research methods used in this thesis are the legal dogmatic approach and the comparative law approach. The former enables the possibility of using the case law and legislation as a framework in which the difficulties concerning the application of parental and successor liability can be discussed while the latter ensures the comparison of the characteristics and judgments. The doctrines of parental and successor liability are both well established, but the application practice has caused several difficulties. These problems derive from, inter alia, the broadness and disjointed developed of the doctrines. There has been much recent case law dealing with these issues and having the potential to open up a considerable risk and to allocate strict liability for parent and successor companies.

Improvement of Energy Efficiency in a Gold Mining Industry: Case Study of a Russian Gold Mining Company

The issue of energy efficiency is attracting more and more attention of academia, business and policy makers worldwide due to increasing environmental concerns, depletion of non-renewable energy resources and unstable energy prices. The significant importance of energy efficiency within gold mining industry is justified by considerable energy intensity of this industry as well as by the high share of energy costs in the total operational costs. In the context of increasing industrial energy consumption energy efficiency improvement may provide significant energy savings and reduction of CO2 emission that is highly important in order to contribute to the global goal of sustainability. The purpose of this research is to identify the ways of energy efficiency improvement relevant for a gold mining company. The study implements single holistic case study research strategy focused on a Russian gold mining company. The research involves comprehensive analysis of company’s energy performance including analysis of energy efficiency and energy management practices. This study provides following theoretical and managerial contributions. Firstly, it proposes a methodology for comparative analysis of energy performance of Russian and foreign gold mining companies. Secondly, this study provides comprehensive analysis of main energy efficiency challenges relevant for a Russian gold mining company. Finally, in order to overcome identified challenges this research conceives a guidance for a gold mining company for implementation of energy management system based on the ISO standard.

A. S. Whiting Manufacturing Company Limited, minute book, 1872-1909.

The Cedar Dale Scythe Works was the second manufacturing company that A.S. Whiting had established in Oshawa, the first being the Oshawa Manufacturing Co. in 1852. The Oshawa Manufacturing Co. was eventually taken over by the Joseph Hall Works in 1857. In 1862, the Cedar Dale Works was built after being in a rented space in the Hall Works for two years, building scythes and hoes. With the building of the firm, the village of Cedar Dale was established. In 1867, the firm became Whiting and Cowan when John Cowan bought into the company. After the death of Whiting in 1867, his son-in-law, R.S. Hamlin headed the company. By 1872, it became the A.S. Whiting Manufacturing Co. when Cowan withdrew from the business. Before Whiting’s death, the company had been profitable but due to new machinery being developed, hand tools were becoming obsolete and the business only lasted for a few more years (source: Oshawa Community Museum and Archives Web site).

The Death of Brock at Queenston Heights, 1812: Imperial Tobacco Company silk card

General Isaac Brock was a British Army officer and administrator who was promoted to Major General. He was responsible for defending Upper Canada against the United States. He died at the Battle of Queenston Heights during the War of 1812. Bartholome Houde and George E. Tuckett (Tuckett was mayor of Hamilton Ontario in 1896) manufactured and sold tobacco before Confederation. In 1841, the company was called B. Houde and Grothe. When Houde retired in 1822 his son in law, Francis Xavier Dussault took over the company. In 1903, the company was called B. Houde and Company Ltee. and it was run by Dussault’s two sons J.A. Dussault and J.E. Dussault. The B. Houde Company had become part of American Tobacco Ltd. which merged with Empire Tobacco Co. Ltd. to form the Imperial Tobacco Company in 1908 in the St. Henri district of Montreal. In 2008, the company celebrated their centennial. Cigarette silks were either enclosed in packets of cigarettes or were redeemable by mail. People would sew these silks together to create quilts or table covers. Some cigarette packages even included instructions for making these items.

Barnes Wines, Limited By-Law no. 82

A by-law "to fix the remuneration and expense allowances of directors". It reads "Be it enacted as a By-law of Barnes Wines Limited: 1. That each Director of the Company be paid the sum of Seventy-five ($75,00) Dollars annually in respect of general services rendered by the Director in his capacity as Director, such remuneration to accrue from the date of his election or appointment as a Director. 2. That each Director shall be paid and allowed travelling and other expenses properly incurred in connection with the affairs of the Company. 3. That this provision shall be and remain in force and effect in the fiscal years of the Company, 1971 to 1973 both inclusive. Enacted this 8th day of February, 1971."

Barnes Wines, Limited By-Law Index

A list of company by-laws starting July 1873 through April 1973.

Barnes Wines, Limited By-Law no. 75

By-Law no. 75 begins "A by-law to govern the affairs of the company and repealing the by-laws of the company passed heretofore relating to the administration of the affairs of the company".

Barnes Wines, LImited By-Law no. 81

The by-law reads: "A by-law to amend by-law no. 79 of the company by restricting the distribution of monies set aside for profit sharing to officers and employees regularly employed at the company's plant. Be it therefore enacted as a by-law of Barnes Wines, Limited as follows: That Schedule 'A' to By-Law no. 79 of the Company enacted on the 2nd day of February, 1953, be and the same is hereby amended by adding after the word "Company" in the last line of paragraph I thereof, the following: 'regularly employed at the Company's plant,' Enacted this 9th day of February, 1966. Witness the Corporate Seal of the Company. Unanimously confirmed by all the Shareholders of the Company at a Special General Meeting of the Shareholders of the Company held on the 21st day of February, 1966."

Barnes Wines, Limited By-Law No. 88

By-Law no. 88 reads: "Being a By-Law relating to the qualifications of Directors of the Company. Be it and it is hereby enacted as a By-Law of the Company as follows: By-Law No. 88 Section 4 of By-Law No. 75, as amended by By-Law No. 84, is hereby repealed." It was enacted January 7th, 1974 and confirmed in the shareholders meeting on April 18th, 1974.