Deregulation’s Impact on the Railway Freight Transport Sector’s Future in the Baltic Sea Region

The European transport market has confronted several changes during the last decade. Due to European Union legislative mandates, the railway freight market was deregulated in 2007. The market followed the trend started by other transport modes as well as other previously regulated industries such as banking, telecommunications and energy. Globally, the first country to deregulate the railway freight market was the United States, with the introduction of the Staggers Rail Act in 1980. Some European countries decided to follow suit already before regulation was mandated; among the forerunners were the United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany. The previous research has concentrated only on these countries, which has provided an interesting research gap for this thesis. The Baltic Sea Region consists of countries with different kinds of liberalization paths, including Sweden and Germany, which have been on the frontline, whereas Lithuania and Finland have only one active railway undertaking, the incumbent. The transport market of the European Union is facing further challenges in the near future, due to the Sulphur Directive, oil dependency and the changing structure of European rail networks. In order to improve the accessibility of this peripheral area, further action is required. This research focuses on topics such as the progression of deregulation, barriers to entry, country-specific features, cooperation and internationalization. Based on the research results, it can be stated that the Baltic Sea Region’s railway freight market is expected to change in the future. Further private railway undertakings are anticipated, and these would change the market structure. The realization of European Union’s plans to increase the improved rail network to cover the Baltic States is strongly hoped for, and railway freight market counterparts inside and among countries are starting to enhance their level of cooperation. The Baltic Sea Region countries have several special national characteristics which influence the market and should be taken into account when companies evaluate possible market entry actions. According to thesis interviews, the Swedish market has a strong level of cooperation in the form of an old-boy network, and is supported by a positive attitude of the incumbent towards the private railway undertakings. This has facilitated the entry process of newcomers, and currently the market has numerous operating railway undertakings. A contrary example was found from Poland, where the incumbent sent old rolling stock to the scrap yard rather than sell it to private railway undertakings. The importance of personal relations is highlighted in Russia, followed by the railway market’s strong political bond with politics. Nonetheless, some barriers to entry are shared by the Baltic Sea Region, the main ones being acquisition of rolling stock, bureaucracy and needed investments. The railway freight market is internationalizing, which is perceived via several alliances as well as the increased number of mergers and acquisitions. After deregulation, markets seem to increase the number of railway undertakings at a rather fast pace, but with the passage of time, the larger operators tend to acquire smaller ones. Therefore, it is expected that in a decade’s time, the number of railway undertakings will start to decrease in the deregulation pioneer countries, while the ones coming from behind might still experience an increase. The Russian market is expected to be totally liberalized, and further alliances between the Russian Railways and European railway undertakings are expected to occur. The Baltic Sea Region’s railway freight market is anticipated to improve, and, based on the interviewees’ comments, attract more cargoes from road to rail.

Perinteisen kustannuslaskennan ja toimintolaskennan soveltuvuus ICT-palveluja tuottavassa yrityksessä

Diplomityö tehtiin julkisomisteiseen osakeyhtiöön, joka tuottaa julkiseen terveydenhuoltoon ja kuntien toimintaan liittyviä tieto- ja viestintäteknologian sekä lääketieteellisen tekniikan (ICMT) palveluja. Työn tavoitteena oli rakentaa yritykseen perinteisen kustannuslaskennan ja toimintolaskennan mallit, joita vertaamalla pyrittiin löytämään soveliain kustannuslaskentaratkaisu ICT-alalle. Tätä tavoitetta tuettiin haastattelututkimuksella suomalaisiin ICT-toimialan yrityksiin, heidän käytössään olevista kustannuslaskennan ja hinnoittelun menetelmistä. Teoriaosuudessa esitetään kustannustenlaskenta ja hinnoittelumenetelmiä ja käydään läpi niiden periaatteet sekä soveltuminen ICT-sektorille. Empiirisessä osuudessa kuvataan perinteisen kustannuslaskentamallin rakentaminen sekä toimintolaskentaprojektin eteneminen kohdeyrityksessä. ICT-toimialalle suoritettavan haastattelututkimuksen avulla kartoitetaan suomalaisten kärki ICT-yritysten kustannustenlaskentamenetelmiä ja toimitapoja, sekä käytössä olevia hinnoitteluperiaatteita. Perinteinen kustannuslaskennan menetelmä osoittautui tutkimuksessa soveltuvimmaksi kohdeyrityksen käyttöön. Haastattelututkimuksen tulokset tukivat tätä perinteisen kustannuslaskennan käyttöä. Pääosalla haastatteluun osallistuneista yrityksistä oli käytössään kustannusperustainen laskentajärjestelmä. Yleisin laskentamenetelmä suomalaisissa ICT-alan yhtiöissä oli katetuottolaskenta. Hinnoittelu perustui niin ikään ensisijaisesti tuotekustannusten laskentaan.

Modelling flexible asset management in industrial maintenance companies and networks

The tightening competition and increasing dynamism have created an emerging need for flexible asset management. This means that the changes of market demand should be responded to with adjustments in the amount of assets tied to the balance sheets of companies. On the other hand, industrial maintenance has recently experienced drastic changes, which have led to an increase in the number of maintenance networks (consisting of customer companies that buy maintenance services, as well as various supplier companies) and inter-organizational partnerships. However, the research on maintenance networks has not followed the changes in the industry. Instead, there is a growing need for new ways of collaboration between partnering companies to enhance the competitiveness of the whole maintenance network. In addition, it is more and more common for companies to pursue lean operations in their businesses. This thesis shows how flexible asset management can increase the profitability of maintenance companies and networks under dynamic operating conditions, and how the additional value can then be shared between the network partners. Firstly, I have conducted a systematic literature review to identify what kind of requirements for asset management models are set by the increasing dynamism. Then I have responded to these requirements by constructing an analytical model for flexible asset management, linking asset management to the profitability and financial state of a company. The thesis uses the model to show how flexible asset management can increase profitability in maintenance companies and networks, and how the created value can be shared in the networks to reach a win-win situation. The research indicates that the existing models for asset management are heterogeneous by nature due to the various definitions of ‘asset management’. I conclude that there is a need for practical asset management models which address assets comprehensively with an inter-organizational, strategic view. The comprehensive perspective, taking all kinds of asset types into account, is needed to integrate the research on asset management with the strategic management of companies and networks. I will show that maintenance companies can improve their profitability by increasing the flexibility of their assets. In maintenance networks, reorganizing the ownership of the assets among the different network partners can create additional value. Finally, I will introduce flexible asset management contracts for maintenance networks. These contracts address the value sharing related to reorganizing the ownership of assets according to the principles of win-win situations.

Internationalization of SMEs in the Finnish Food Industry

Food industry in Finland has a long tradition and the new trends and the future of Finnish food industry is going towards functional and healthy food for the consumers in and outside Finland. Small companies operating in this industry face many difficulties in trying to compete and expand to new markets, that is why these companies are the key of innovation and they have done many breakthroughs in the food industry as well. It is therefore important to understand the internationalization process these companies follow and entry strategies they use, and moreover how they use their limited resources in order to be successful in international markets. This thesis via a case study approach deals with the issue of internationalization of SMEs and Finnish food industry. This study supports earlier theories of internationalization, primarily the Uppsala model and acknowledges internationalization as an incremental process. Meaning that psychic distance is indeed the major barrier of internationalization, and acquisition of international knowledge requires significant amount of time which influences the level of resource-commitment in foreign markets. It follows that due to the risks involved in foreign markets, the least resource-intensive modes of market entry such as direct and indirect exports are generally preferred at the start of internationalization process. As of what explains the non-conventional rapid internationalization process, we conclude that in an internationalized industry and country with established trade flows like Finland, the context in which firms operate may be less significant than the varying level of entrepreneurial skills and confidence present therein.

Price spike forecasting in a competitive day-ahead energy market

Electricity price forecasting has become an important area of research in the aftermath of the worldwide deregulation of the power industry that launched competitive electricity markets now embracing all market participants including generation and retail companies, transmission network providers, and market managers. Based on the needs of the market, a variety of approaches forecasting day-ahead electricity prices have been proposed over the last decades. However, most of the existing approaches are reasonably effective for normal range prices but disregard price spike events, which are caused by a number of complex factors and occur during periods of market stress. In the early research, price spikes were truncated before application of the forecasting model to reduce the influence of such observations on the estimation of the model parameters; otherwise, a very large forecast error would be generated on price spike occasions. Electricity price spikes, however, are significant for energy market participants to stay competitive in a market. Accurate price spike forecasting is important for generation companies to strategically bid into the market and to optimally manage their assets; for retailer companies, since they cannot pass the spikes onto final customers, and finally, for market managers to provide better management and planning for the energy market. This doctoral thesis aims at deriving a methodology able to accurately predict not only the day-ahead electricity prices within the normal range but also the price spikes. The Finnish day-ahead energy market of Nord Pool Spot is selected as the case market, and its structure is studied in detail. It is almost universally agreed in the forecasting literature that no single method is best in every situation. Since the real-world problems are often complex in nature, no single model is able to capture different patterns equally well. Therefore, a hybrid methodology that enhances the modeling capabilities appears to be a possibly productive strategy for practical use when electricity prices are predicted. The price forecasting methodology is proposed through a hybrid model applied to the price forecasting in the Finnish day-ahead energy market. The iterative search procedure employed within the methodology is developed to tune the model parameters and select the optimal input set of the explanatory variables. The numerical studies show that the proposed methodology has more accurate behavior than all other examined methods most recently applied to case studies of energy markets in different countries. The obtained results can be considered as providing extensive and useful information for participants of the day-ahead energy market, who have limited and uncertain information for price prediction to set up an optimal short-term operation portfolio. Although the focus of this work is primarily on the Finnish price area of Nord Pool Spot, given the result of this work, it is very likely that the same methodology will give good results when forecasting the prices on energy markets of other countries.

Analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance and financial performance of selected mining companies

The global concern about sustainability has been growing and the mining industry is questioned about its environmental and social performance. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an important issue for the extractive industries. The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between CSR performance and financial performance of selected mining companies. The study was conducted by identifying and comparing a selection of available CSR performance indicators with financial performance indicators. Based on the result of the study, the relationship between CSR performance and financial performance is unclear for the selected group of companies. The result is mixed and no industry specific realistic way to measure CSR performance uniformly is available. The result as a whole is contradictory and varies at company level as well as based on the selected indicators. The result of this study confirms that the relationship between CSR performance and financial performance is complicated and difficult to determine. As an outcome, evaluation of benefits of CSR in the mining sector could better be analyzed based on different attributes.

Suomalaisten osakeyhtiöiden sähköinen tunnistaminen EU:n toimintaympäristössä

Tutkielmassa selvitetään Euroopan Parlamentin sähköisestä tunnistamisesta ja sähköisiin transaktioihin liittyvistä luottamuspalveluista antaman asetusehdotuksen merkitystä sähköisessä tunnistamisessa ja sähköisissä transaktioissa osakeyhtiöiden näkökulmasta yritysten välisessä liiketoiminnassa huomioiden Suomen tämänhetkinen kansallinen lainsäädäntö ja sen kautta omaksutut toimintatavat. Tutkielmassa käytetty pääasiallinen tutkimusmenetelmä on lainoppi. Tutkimusmenetelmänä käytetään myös oikeustaloustieteestä regulaatioteorian normatiivista lähestymistapaa. Tutkielmaa varten on myös haastateltu viranomaisten ja yritysten edustajia. Asetusehdotuksen tavoitteena on edistää rajat ylittävää sähköistä toimintaa. Tätä pyritään lisäämään muun muassa sillä, että jäsenvaltioiden tulee hyväksyä toisessa jäsenvaltiossa käytössä olevia EU:lle ilmoitettuja tunnistusmenetelmiä. Nykyiset direktiivipohjaiseen sääntelyyn perustuvat kansalliset tulkinnat eivät ole johtaneet tavoiteltuun lopputulokseen, joten asetusmuotoinen sääntely on perusteltu. Toimijoina luonnolliset henkilöt ja oikeushenkilöt, kuten osakeyhtiöt, asettavat erilaisia vaatimuksia sähköiselle tunnistamiselle ja sopimusprosessille. Nykymuodossaan asetusehdotus ei sisällöllisesti välttämättä ole taloudellisesti kannattava vaihtoehto yksittäisen EU-valtion kannalta eikä se näin ollen kannusta ilmoittamaan EU:lle tunnistusmenetelmiä eikä yritysten väliseen sähköiseen liiketoimintaan. Tämä johtaa siihen, ettei asetusehdotuksen tavoite välttämättä toteudu.

Performance Determinants of Renewable Energy Companies

The purpose of this thesis is to identify the Performance Determinants (PD) of Renewable Energy (RE) companies. It analyzes the background of the RE industry while reflecting simultaneous developments in the fossil based industries. I divided the determinants into two groups: market level and firm level and established hypotheses based on the existing literature. Data from public companies was gathered to construct a Panel Data structure. This is then tested by using a Linear Regression with Fixed Effects model. The model specification was efficient at reflecting the analyzed phenomena. My results showed that both market level and firm level determinants are significant in the RE Industry but the firm level determinants had higher explanatory power (R2). The determinants' relationships were found to follow those from the manufacturing industry more than the utilities' industry. Out of the market level determinants Consumer Price Index (CPI), Interest Rates and Oil prices were significant. Out of the firm level determinants Debt to Assets, Net Investments, Cash flows from operations, Sales and Earnings Before Interests and Taxes (EBIT) were significant. I concluded that this information is valuable for key industry players as they can achieve their objectives faster by elaborating better strategies using these results.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Shipping Views of Baltic Sea Shipping Companies on the Benefits of Responsibility

The safety of shipping operations in the Baltic Sea is an extensively studied issue due to the density of traffic and the ecological sensitivity of the area. The focus has, however, mainly been on ship technology or on traffic control measures and the operative safety aspect of shipping is in a minor position in maritime safety studies and is lacking in terms of solutions. Self-regulatory and voluntary measures could be effective ways to improve the operational safety of shipping. Corporate social responsibility, or CSR, is one example of a voluntary measure that the shipping companies can take. CSR can enhance maritime safety and improve the shipping companies’ competitiveness. The aim of this study is to increase the knowledge of CSR in the maritime sector and study its applicability and benefits to the shipping companies. The research comprises of a theory part and a questionnaire study, which examine the significance of corporate social responsibility in shipping companies’ maritime safety and competitiveness. The aim of the questionnaire study is to find out how corporate social responsibility is implemented in the shipping companies. According to the literature review, responsible actions can produce financial and time costs, but due to these actions cost savings in the form of learning and increased efficiency can be achieved. Responsible actions can also produce concrete improvements and a reputation of responsibility that can lead to both cost savings and increase in the company’s income. CSR is recognised as having real business benefits in terms of attracting customers and high-quality employees. In shipping, CSR usually focuses on environmental issues. Environmental social responsibility in shipping is mainly motivated by the need to comply with existing and forthcoming regulation. Shipping companies engage in CSR to gain competitive advantage and to increase maritime safety. The social aspects of CSR take into account the well-being and skills of the employees, corporation and other stakeholders of the company. The questionnaire study revealed that the most common CSR measures in shipping companies are environmental measures, and that environmental concerns are considered to be the most important reason to engage in CSR. From the preliminary question about the concept of CSR it can also be seen that safety issues are commonly considered to be a part of CSR and safety gains are the second most important reason to engage in CSR. From the questionnaire, it can also be extrapolated that gaining a better reputation is one of the most important reasons to engage in CSR in the first place. For example, the main economic benefit was seen to be the increase of customer numbers as a result of a better reputation. Based on the study, it would seem that companies are starting to realise that they might gain competitive advantage and be favoured as shippers if they engage in sustainable, responsible operations and present themselves as “green”.

Tiedonhallinta verkostoituneessa logistiikkaketjussa – Case: VR-Yhtymä

Tiedon tehokas jakaminen ja tiedon hallinta näyttelee tärkeätä roolia yritysten kannattavuuden ja tehokkuuden kehittämisessä. Laadukkaan tiedon tehokas jakaminen ja omaksuminen korostuvat verkostoituneessa logistiikkaketjussa ja kolmannen osapuolen logistiikkaa harjoittavissa yrityksissä. Tehokkaalla tiedon jakamisella, tietämyksen hallinnalla sekä tietojohtamisen keinoilla voidaan luoda tehokkaita ja kilpailukykyisiä businessprosesseja. Työn tuloksena saavutettiin kuvaus tietojohtamisen eri näkökulmista sekä tietojohtamisesta tiedon hallinnan työkaluna. Työn teoreettisessa osuudessa käsitellään tietoa ja sen eri tasoja sekä perspektiivejä tietojohtamisessa käytettyinä syötteinä, sen prosesseina sekä lopputuloksena, joita tietojohtamisen käsitteen alla olevilla työkaluilla ja käytännöillä toteutetaan. Aiempi tutkimus osoittaa, että tietojohtaminen on yksi johtamisen malli, jonka avulla voidaan saavuttaa tehokkaan yritystoiminnan edellytykset sekä asetetut strategiset tavoit- teet. Kirjallisuuden perusteella pyrittiin kartoittamaan verkostoituneen logistiikkaketjun tiedonhallinnan esteet ja sitä rajoittavat tekijät. Työn empiirinen osuus toteutettiin kvalitatiivisena kysely- sekä haastattelututkimuksena, jonka avulla kerättiin työssä käytetty tutkimusaineisto. Työn empiirisessä osuudessa kartoitettiin kohdeorganisaation tiedonhallintaprosesseja sen kuljetustuotannon toiminnoissa, sekä niiden toteuttamista vaikeuttavia ja hidastavia tekijöitä. Empiirisen aineiston perusteella yritykselle ehdotettiin organisaation muokkaamista enemmän tiedon jakamista tu- kevaan suuntaan, joka voidaan teoriatiedon perusteella toteuttaa esimerkiksi luomalla fyysisiä ja henkisiä tiloja tietoprosessien toteuttamiselle.

Social networks and networking facilitating internationalization: Experiences of two Finnish fashion companies

Background: Fashion is a dynamic and creative industry where larger retailers are enjoying international success. Small businesses however are struggling in the face of international expansion, as they lack the necessary resources and managerial know-how. The Finnish fashion industry has neither been able to develop the industry environment to support small and micro firms nor has Finland relevant finance or public domains, such as, seen in other Nordic countries. Networking has been recognized to facilitate organizational growth and international expansion in industries such as manufacturing and high technology. It has enabled smaller companies to gain resources, knowledge and experiences otherwise unattainable. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore how networking has been utilized in the Finnish fashion industry. Particularly social relationships and networks are examined, as they emphasize the importance of individuals. Exploration on the past actions should also provide insight how networks and networking could be utilized and developed in the future. Main findings: It was discovered that the Finnish fashion industry (social) network is rather dense. This was mainly due to the small size of the Finnish market. In the early years of the establishment of the company, close contacts seemed to be utilized. As a company expands and extends its business, the relationships tended to move towards more utilitarian in nature. However, in some cases, the long term relationships had also affectionate features, such as trust and commitment. International networking was found to have positive impact on business opportunities. Participation to events, such as trade shows, was perceived as one of the best ways to meet new international contacts and to develop ones network. Active networking in the Finnish market, however, created both domestic and international opportunities. Furthermore, cooperation and open communication were discovered to facilitate innovation and projects. The public sector seemed to lack the interest in supporting the fashion industry according to the interviewees. The major issues for the fashion industry still concerned, among others, funding, administrative guidance and public support for developing the industry as a whole.

Managing innovation in oil and gas companies: A proposed framework for the management of innovation at Ecopetrol S.A.

Actually, the term innovation seems to be one of the most used in any kind of business practices. However, in order to get value from it, companies need to define a systematic and structured way to manage innovation. This process can be difficult and very risky since it is associated with the development of firm´s capabilities which involves human and technical challenges according to the context of a firm. Additionally, it seems not to exist a magic formula to manage innovation and what may work in a company may not work in another, even though in the same type of industry. In this sense, the purpose of this research is to identify how the oil and gas companies can manage innovation and what are the main elements, their interrelations and structure, required for managing innovation effectively in this critical sector for the world economy. The study follows a holistic single case study in a National Oil Company (NOC) of a developing country to explore how innovation performs in the industry, what are the main elements regarding innovation management and their interactions according to the nature of the industry. Contributory literature and qualitative data from the case study company (with the use of non-standardized interviews) is collected and analyzed. The research confirms the relevance and importance of the definition and implementation of an innovation framework in order to ensure the generation of value and organize as well as guide the efforts in innovation done by a firm. In this way based on the theoretical background, research´s findings, and in the company´s innovation environment and conditions, a framework for managing innovation at the case study company is suggested. This study is one of the few, if not only one, that has reviewed the way as oil and gas companies manage innovation and its practical implementation in a company from a developing country. Both researchers and practitioners will get a photograph of understanding innovation management in the oil and gas industry and its growing necessity in the business world. Some issues have been highlighted, so that future study can be focused in those directions. In fact, even though research on innovation management has significantly grown, there are still many issues that need to be addressed to get insight about managing innovation in various contexts and industries. Studies are mostly performed in the context of large firms and in developed countries, so then research in the context of developing countries is still almost an untouched area, especially in the oil and gas industry. Finally, from the research it seems crucial to explore the effect of some innovation-related variables such as: open innovation in third world economies and in state-own companies; the impact of mergers and acquisitions in innovation performance in oil and gas companies; value measurement in the first stages of the innovation process; and, development of innovation capabilities in companies from developing nations.

Työolosuhteiden vaikutus yrityksen menestykseen katsastusalalla

Tuottavuuden parantamistoimenpiteillä ja työtyytyväisyydellä on useita suotuisia vaikutuksia eri aloilla toimivien yritysten toimintaan. Katsastusalalla tuottavuutta ja työtyytyväisyyttä on mahdollista parantaa samanaikaisesti asemien suunnittelun ja laitevalintojen avulla. Nopeammat ja varmatoimisemmat laitteet yhdessä sujuvan toiminnan mahdollistavien tilaratkaisujen kanssa antavat mahdollisuuden tehokkaampaan katsastamiseen. Tuottavuuden parantuminen yhdessä kasvaneesta suoritemäärästä palkitsevan palkkausjärjestelmän avulla voi luoda edellytykset paremmalle henkilöstön työtyytyväisyydelle. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää tekijöitä, jotka vaikuttavat katsastusaseman tuottavuuteen ja henkilöstön työtyytyväisyyteen sekä vaihtuvuuteen. Näiden perusteella laadittiin toimintamalli, jonka avulla asemien laitehankintoja ja tilasuunnittelua voidaan johtaa siten, että henkilöstön vaihtuvuutta kasvattavat tekijät voidaan minimoida ja aseman toiminta on mahdollisimman tehokasta. Tutkimuksen teoria-aineiston perusteella pyrittiin hahmottamaan tekijöitä, jotka yleisesti vaikuttavat työtyytyväisyyteen ja suorituskyvyn johtamiseen. Näitä tekijöitä sovellettiin toimintamallissa. On huomionarvoista, että autoalalta ja erityisesti katsastusalalta on erittäin vähän toimialakohtaista materiaalia, joiden pohjalta voisi tehdä etukäteisolettamuksia. Teoria-aineisto perustuu siten lähes yksinomaan muilta toimialoilta saatuihin tutkimustuloksiin. Tutkimuksen empiirinen aineisto kerättiin analysoimalla erään suomalaisen katsastusyrityksen 16 eri katsastusasemaa ja 48 työntekijää. Asemat on rakennettu eri tarkoitusta varten suunniteltuihin tiloihin ja useat niistä ovat päätyneet yritykselle yritysostojen kautta. Täten mukana oli runsaasti toisistaan erottuvia tiloja, ratkaisuja ja henkilökohtaisia mielipiteitä, joiden pohjalta selvitettiin toimivimmat ratkaisut.

Etelä-Savon bioenergia-alan yritysten kansainvälistymismahdollisuudet Saksan markkinoilla

Pienten ja keskisuurten yritysten kansainvälistyminen etenee tyypillisesti hyvin maltillisesti, askel-askeleelta. Kotimarkkinoiden rajalliset kasvumahdollisuudet ja kansainvälisten markkinoiden houkuttelevuus ovat tärkeimpiä syitä vientitoiminnan aloittamiselle. Nykyisessä globaalissa liiketoimintaympäristössä kilpailu on kovaa ja vaatii yrityksiltä paljon osaamista ja resursseja. Pk-yritysten rajallisia resursseja voidaan kehittää ja lisätä yritysten välisen verkostoitumisen ja ulkopuolisten toimijoiden avulla. Tämä diplomityö on toteutettu osana Cleantech Finland Bioenergy –kehitysprojektia, joka pyrkii edistämään Savon alueen bioenergia-alan yritysten kansainvälistymis-mahdollisuuksia. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on kasvattaa tietoutta erilaisista kansainvälistymisstrategioista ja vientitoiminnan vaatimista toimenpiteistä. Empiirisen tutkimuksen tärkein tavoite on tukea tutkimuksessa mukana olevien pk-yritysten kansainvälisen liiketoiminnan aloittamista. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että kehittyvä bioenergia-ala ja Saksan markkinat tarjoavat pk-yrityksille kasvumahdollisuuksia. Tuloksissa painotetaan pk-yritysten oman osaamisen kehittämistä ja kykyä pitkäjänteiseen työhön. Ymmärtämällä asiakkaiden ostopäätösprosessia, voidaan omaa myynti- ja markkinointiosaamista sekä rajallisia resursseja keskittää oikeisiin asioihin.

Mitigating uncertainty in logistics outsourcing with ERP systems

Outsourcing is a common strategy for companies looking for cost savings and improvements in performance. This has been especially prevalent in logistics, where warehousing and transporting are typical targets for outsourcing. However, while the benefits from logistics outsourcing are clear on paper, there are several cases companies fail to reach these benefits. The most commonly cited reasons for this are poor information flow between the company and the third party logistics partner, and a lack of integration between the two partners. Uncertainty stems from lack of information, and it can cripple the whole outsourcing operation. This is where enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems step in, as they can have a significant role in improving the flow of information, and integration, which consequently mitigates uncertainty. The purpose of the study is to examine if ERP systems have an effect on a company's decision to outsource logistics operations. Along the rapid advancements in technology during the past decades, ERP systems have also evolved. Therefore, empirical research on the subject needs constant revision as it can quickly become outdated due to ERP systems having more advanced capabilities every year. The research was conducted using a qualitative single-case study of a Finnish manufacturing firm that had outsourced warehousing and transportation operations in the Swedish market. The empirical data was gathered with use of semi-structured interviews with three employees from the case company that were closely related to the outsourcing operation. The theoretical framework that was used to analyze the empirical data was based on Transaction Cost Economics theory. The results of the study were align with the theoretical framework, in that the ERP system of the case company was seen as an enabler for their logistics outsourcing operation. However, the full theoretical benefits from ERP systems concerning extended enterprise functionality and flexibility were not attained due to the case company having an older version of their ERP system. This emphasizes the importance of having up-to-date technology if you want to overcome the shortcomings of ERP systems in outsourcing situations.