Cooperative strategy in emerging markets - analysis of interfirm r&d cooperation and performance in Russian manufacturing companies

Emerging markets have come to play a significant role in the world, not only due to their strong economic growth but because they have been able to foster an increasing number of innovative high technology oriented firms. However, as the markets continue to change and develop, there remain many companies in emerging markets that struggle with their competitiveness and innovativeness. To improve competitive capabilities, many scholars have come to favor interfirm cooperation, which is perceived to help companies access new knowledge and complementary resources and, by so doing, enables them to catch up quickly with Western competitors. Regardless of numerous attempts by strategic management scholars, the research field remains very fragmented and lacks understanding on how and when interfirm cooperation contributes to firm performance and competiveness in emerging markets. Furthermore, the reasons why interfirm R&D sometimes succeeds but fails at other times frequently remain unidentified. This thesis combines the extant literature on competitive and cooperative strategy, dynamic capabilities, and R&D cooperation while studying interfirm R&D relationships in and between Russian manufacturing companies. Employing primary survey data, the thesis presents numerous novel findings regarding the effect of R&D cooperation and different types of R&D partner on firms’ exploration and exploitation performance. Utilizing a competitive strategy framework enables these effects to be explained in more detail, and especially why interfirm cooperation, regardless of its potential, has had a modest effect on the general competitiveness of emerging market firms. This thesis contributes especially to the strategic management literature and presents a more holistic perspective on the usefulness of cooperative strategy in emerging markets. It provides a framework through which it is possible to assess the potential impacts of different R&D cooperation partners and to clarify the causal relationships between cooperation, performance, and long term competitiveness.

Strategisten reaalioptioiden tunnistamiskyky suomalaisissa pk-yrityksissä. Merkitys, haasteet, käytäntö.

Tämän Pro Gradu –tutkielman aiheena on strategisten reaalioptioiden tunnistamiskyky suomalaisissa pk-yrityksissä. Tunnistamiskykyä tutkitaan kolmen alakysymyksen kautta ja näiden myötä voidaan muodostaa näkemys tunnistamiskyvyn merkityksestä, haasteista ja käytännöstä. Tutkimusstrategiana on kvalitatiivinen tutkimus ja tutkimusmetodina puolistrukturoimaton haastattelu. Tutkimus suoritetaan ilman selkeitä ennakkohypoteeseja. Laajan viitekehyksen tutkimukselle antaa reaalioptioajattelun teoria. Tutkimuksessa johdetaan strategisten reaalioptioiden tunnistamiskyvyn määritelmä taustateoriaan pohjautuen. Empiiristen tutkimustulosten mukaan strategisten reaalioptioiden tunnistamiskyvyn käytäntö ja haasteet nivoutuvat kolmen laajan teeman sisään. Näitä teemoja ovat yritysjohdon jatkuva valppaus mielentilana, tunnistamiskyky asiakas-, verkosto- ja kumppanuussuhteissa sekä henkilöstön kompetenssien rakentaminen. Tutkimuksen myötä vahvistuu näkemys, jonka mukaan reaalioptioajattelun omaksuminen voi kehittää merkittävästi yritysjohdon strategista ajattelukykyä sekä koko yrityksessä vallitsevaa toimeenpanokykyä. Strategisten reaalioptioiden tunnistamiskyky on puolestaan reaalioptioajattelun yksi tärkeä osa-alue, koska sillä mitä päädymme tunnistamaan, on tyypillisesti kauaskantoiset seuraukset.

Dynamic Analysis Model of Spherical Roller Bearings with Defects

Rolling element bearings are essential components of rotating machinery. The spherical roller bearing (SRB) is one variant seeing increasing use, because it is self-aligning and can support high loads. It is becoming increasingly important to understand how the SRB responds dynamically under a variety of conditions. This doctoral dissertation introduces a computationally efficient, three-degree-of-freedom, SRB model that was developed to predict the transient dynamic behaviors of a rotor-SRB system. In the model, bearing forces and deflections were calculated as a function of contact deformation and bearing geometry parameters according to nonlinear Hertzian contact theory. The results reveal how some of the more important parameters; such as diametral clearance, the number of rollers, and osculation number; influence ultimate bearing performance. Distributed defects, such as the waviness of the inner and outer ring, and localized defects, such as inner and outer ring defects, are taken into consideration in the proposed model. Simulation results were verified with results obtained by applying the formula for the spherical roller bearing radial deflection and the commercial bearing analysis software. Following model verification, a numerical simulation was carried out successfully for a full rotor-bearing system to demonstrate the application of this newly developed SRB model in a typical real world analysis. Accuracy of the model was verified by comparing measured to predicted behaviors for equivalent systems.

Cardiorespiratory adaptations induced by aerobic training in middle-aged men: the importance of a decrease in sympathetic stimulation for the contribution of dynamic exercise tachycardia

We investigated the effects of aerobic training on the efferent autonomic control of heart rate (HR) during dynamic exercise in middle-aged men, eight of whom underwent exercise training (T) while the other seven continued their sedentary (S) life style. The training was conducted over 10 months (three 1-h sessions/week on a field track at 70-85% of the peak HR). The contribution of sympathetic and parasympathetic exercise tachycardia was determined in terms of differences in the time constant effects on the HR response obtained using a discontinuous protocol (4-min tests at 25, 50, 100 and 125 watts on a cycle ergometer), and a continuous protocol (25 watts/min until exhaustion) allowed the quantification of the parameters (anaerobic threshold, VO2 AT; peak O2 uptake, VO2 peak; power peak) that reflect oxygen transport. The results obtained for the S and the T groups were: 1) a smaller resting HR in T (66 beats/min) when compared to S (84 beats/min); 2) during exercise, a small increase in the fast tachycardia (D0-10 s) related to vagal withdrawal (P<0.05, only at 25 watts) was observed in T at all powers; at middle and higher powers a significant decrease (P<0.05 at 50, 100 and 125 watts) in the slow tachycardia (D1-4 min) related to a sympathetic-dependent mechanism was observed in T; 3) the VO2 AT (S = 1.06 and T = 1.33 l/min) and VO2 peak (S = 1.97 and T = 2.47 l/min) were higher in T (P<0.05). These results demonstrate that aerobic training can induce significant physiological adaptations in middle-aged men, mainly expressed as a decrease in the sympathetic effects on heart rate associated with an increase in oxygen transport during dynamic exercise.

Endogenous vasopressin and the central control of heart rate during dynamic exercise

The present article contains a brief review on the role of vasopressinergic projections to the nucleus tractus solitarii in the genesis of reflex bradycardia and in the modulation of heart rate control during exercise. The effects of vasopressin on exercise tachycardia are discussed on the basis of both the endogenous peptide content changes and the heart rate response changes observed during running in sedentary and trained rats. Dynamic exercise caused a specific vasopressin content increase in dorsal and ventral brainstem areas. In accordance, rats pretreated with the peptide or the V1 blocker into the nucleus tractus solitarii showed a significant potentiation or a marked blunting of the exercise tachycardia, respectively, without any change in the pressure response to exercise. It is proposed that the long-descending vasopressinergic pathway to the nucleus tractus solitarii serves as one link between the two main neural controllers of circulation, i.e., the central command and feedback control mechanisms driven by the peripheral receptors. Therefore, vasopressinergic input could contribute to the adjustment of heart rate response (and cardiac output) to the circulatory demand during exercise.

Ambulatory blood pressure and Doppler echocardiographic indexes of borderline hypertensive men presenting an exaggerated blood pressure response during dynamic exercise

Borderline hypertension (BH) has been associated with an exaggerated blood pressure (BP) response during laboratory stressors. However, the incidence of target organ damage in this condition and its relation to BP hyperreactivity is an unsettled issue. Thus, we assessed the Doppler echocardiographic profile of a group of BH men (N = 36) according to office BP measurements with exaggerated BP in the cycloergometric test. A group of normotensive men (NT, N = 36) with a normal BP response during the cycloergometric test was used as control. To assess vascular function and reactivity, all subjects were submitted to the cold pressor test. Before Doppler echocardiography, the BP profile of all subjects was evaluated by 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring. All subjects from the NT group presented normal monitored levels of BP. In contrast, 19 subjects from the original BH group presented normal monitored BP levels and 17 presented elevated monitored BP levels. In the NT group all Doppler echocardiographic indexes were normal. All subjects from the original BH group presented normal left ventricular mass and geometrical pattern. However, in the subjects with elevated monitored BP levels, fractional shortening was greater, isovolumetric relaxation time longer, and early to late flow velocity ratio was reduced in relation to subjects from the original BH group with normal monitored BP levels (P<0.05). These subjects also presented an exaggerated BP response during the cold pressor test. These results support the notion of an integrated pattern of cardiac and vascular adaptation during the development of hypertension.

Spectral analysis of the electromyograph of the erector spinae muscle before and after a dynamic manual load-lifting test

The aim of the present study was to assess the spectral behavior of the erector spinae muscle during isometric contractions performed before and after a dynamic manual load-lifting test carried out by the trunk in order to determine the capacity of muscle to perform this task. Nine healthy female students participated in the experiment. Their average age, height, and body mass (± SD) were 20 ± 1 years, 1.6 ± 0.03 m, and 53 ± 4 kg, respectively. The development of muscle fatigue was assessed by spectral analysis (median frequency) and root mean square with time. The test consisted of repeated bending movements from the trunk, starting from a 45º angle of flexion, with the application of approximately 15, 25 and 50% of maximum individual load, to the stand up position. The protocol used proved to be more reliable with loads exceeding 50% of the maximum for the identification of muscle fatigue by electromyography as a function of time. Most of the volunteers showed an increase in root mean square versus time on both the right (N = 7) and the left (N = 6) side, indicating a tendency to become fatigued. With respect to the changes in median frequency of the electromyographic signal, the loads used in this study had no significant effect on either the right or the left side of the erector spinae muscle at this frequency, suggesting that a higher amount and percentage of loads would produce more substantial results in the study of isotonic contractions.

Identification of anaerobic threshold using heart rate response during dynamic exercise

The objective of the present study was to characterize the heart rate (HR) patterns of healthy males using the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model over a power range assumed to correspond to the anaerobic threshold (AT) during discontinuous dynamic exercise tests (DDET). Nine young (22.3 ± 1.57 years) and 9 middle-aged (MA) volunteers (43.2 ± 3.53 years) performed three DDET on a cycle ergometer. Protocol I: DDET in steps with progressive power increases of 10 W; protocol II: DDET using the same power values as protocol 1, but applied randomly; protocol III: continuous dynamic exercise protocol with ventilatory and metabolic measurements (10 W/min ramp power), for the measurement of ventilatory AT. HR was recorded and stored beat-to-beat during DDET, and analyzed using the ARIMA (protocols I and II). The DDET experiments showed that the median physical exercise workloads at which AT occurred were similar for protocols I and II, i.e., AT occurred between 75 W (116 bpm) and 85 W (116 bpm) for the young group and between 60 W (96 bpm) and 75 W (107 bpm) for group MA in protocols I and II, respectively; in two MA volunteers the ventilatory AT occurred at 90 W (108 bpm) and 95 W (111 bpm). This corresponded to the same power values of the positive trend in HR responses. The change in HR response using ARIMA models at submaximal dynamic exercise powers proved to be a promising approach for detecting AT in normal volunteers.

Dynamic carbon dioxide liquidization model

In literature CO 2 liquidization is well studied with steady state modeling. Steady state modeling gives an overview of the process but it doesn’t give information about process behavior during transients. In this master’s thesis three dynamic models of CO2 liquidization were made and tested. Models were straight multi-stage compression model and two compression liquid pumping models, one with and one without cold energy recovery. Models were made with Apros software, models were also used to verify that Apros is capable to model phase changes and over critical state of CO 2. Models were verified against compressor manufacturer’s data and simulation results presented in literature. From the models made in this thesis, straight compression model was found to be the most energy efficient and fastest to react to transients. Also Apros was found to be capable tool for dynamic liquidization modeling.

Dynamic linkages of real estate and stock markets in Finland

Traditionally real estate has been seen as a good diversification tool for a stock portfolio due to the lower return and volatility characteristics of real estate investments. However, the diversification benefits of a multi-asset portfolio depend on how the different asset classes co-move in the short- and long-run. As the asset classes are affected by the same macroeconomic factors, interrelationships limiting the diversification benefits could exist. This master’s thesis aims to identify such dynamic linkages in the Finnish real estate and stock markets. The results are beneficial for portfolio optimization tasks as well as for policy-making. The real estate industry can be divided into direct and securitized markets. In this thesis the direct market is depicted by the Finnish housing market index. The securitized market is proxied by the Finnish all-sectors securitized real estate index and by a European residential Real Estate Investment Trust index. The stock market is depicted by OMX Helsinki Cap index. Several macroeconomic variables are incorporated as well. The methodology of this thesis is based on the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) models. The long-run dynamic linkages are studied with Johansen’s cointegration tests and the short-run interrelationships are examined with Granger-causality tests. In addition, impulse response functions and forecast error variance decomposition analyses are used for robustness checks. The results show that long-run co-movement, or cointegration, did not exist between the housing and stock markets during the sample period. This indicates diversification benefits in the long-run. However, cointegration between the stock and securitized real estate markets was identified. This indicates limited diversification benefits and shows that the listed real estate market in Finland is not matured enough to be considered a separate market from the general stock market. Moreover, while securitized real estate was shown to cointegrate with the housing market in the long-run, the two markets are still too different in their characteristics to be used as substitutes in a multi-asset portfolio. This implies that the capital intensiveness of housing investments cannot be circumvented by investing in securitized real estate.

Contemporary marketing in the high-tech industry: Perceptions of Finnish IT marketing professionals

Over the last 30 years, new technologies and globalization have radically changed the way in which marketing is conducted. However, whereas their effects on business in general have been widely discussed, the focus of the effects on marketing remains without clear recognition. Global research has been made to shed light onto the issue, but it has widely concentrated on the views of executives as well as the consumer markets. In addition, a research gap is existent in applying the concept of marketing change in a specific business-to-business (B2B) industry. Therefore, the main research question this study seeks to answer is: “How is contemporary marketing conducted in the high-technology industry?” In this research, the researcher considers the specific industry of high-technology. However, as the industry is comprised of differing markets, the focus will be given to one of the industry’s prime sectors – the information technology (IT) markets, where companies offer other firms products or services manufactured with advanced technology. The growing IT-market is considered of critical importance in the economies of technologically ready countries such as Finland, where this research is also conducted. Through multiple case studies the researcher aims to describe how the changes in technology, customer engagement and future trends have shaped the way in which successful high-tech marketing is conducted in today’s marketplace. Then, results derived from the empirical research are presented to the reader with links to existing literature. As a conclusion, a generalized framework is constructed to depict and ideal marketer-customer relationship, with emphasis on dynamic, two-way communication and its supporting elements of customer analytics, change adaptation, strategic customer communication and organizational support. From a managerial point of view, the research may provide beneficial information as contemporary marketing can yield profitable outcomes if managed correctly. As a new way to grasp competitive advantage, strategic marketing is much more data-driven and customer-focused than ever before. The study can also prove to be relevant for the academic communities, while its results may act as inspiring for new focus on the education trends of future marketers. This study was limited to the internal activities done at the high-tech industry, leaving out the considerations for co-marketing, marketing via business partners or marketing at other B2B-industries.

Optimization of a dynamic district heating power plant

The purpose of this Thesis is to find the most optimal heat recovery solution for Wärtsilä’s dynamic district heating power plant considering Germany energy markets as in Germany government pays subsidies for CHP plants in order to increase its share of domestic power production to 25 % by 2020. Different heat recovery connections have been simulated dozens to be able to determine the most efficient heat recovery connections. The purpose is also to study feasibility of different heat recovery connections in the dynamic district heating power plant in the Germany markets thus taking into consideration the day ahead electricity prices, district heating network temperatures and CHP subsidies accordingly. The auxiliary cooling, dynamical operation and cost efficiency of the power plant is also investigated.

Russian and Eastern European Dynamic Conditional Correlations in light of the Russian crisis of 2014-2015

This thesis studies the impact of the latest Russian crisis on global markets, and especially Central and Eastern Europe. The results are compared to other shocks and crises over the last twenty years to see how significant they have been. The cointegration process of Central and Eastern European financial markets is also reviewed and updated. Using three separate conditional correlation GARCH models, the latest crisis is not found to have initiated similar surges in conditional correlations to previous crises over the last two decades. Market cointegration for Central and Eastern Europe is found to have stalled somewhat after initial correlation increases post EU accession.