Innovation process development and business process integration - a multiple case study

The main objective of this study was to find out the bases for innovation model formulation in an existing organization based on cases. Innovation processes can be analyzed based on their needs and based on their emphasis on the business model development or R&D. The research was conducted in energy sector within one company by utilizing its projects as cases for the study. It is typical for the field of business that development is slow, although the case company has put emphasis on its innovation efforts. Analysis was done by identifying the cases’ needs and comparing them. The results were that because of the variances in the needs of the cases, the applicability of innovation process models varies. It was discovered that by dividing the process into two phases, a uniform model could be composed. This model would fulfill the needs of the cases and potential future projects as well.

Software business expansion through distribution channel : Case M-Files - Denmark

The purpose of this study was to find out how a software company can successfully expand business to the Danish software market through distribution channel. The study was commissioned by a Finnish software company and it was conducted using a qualitative research method by analyzing external and internal business environment, and interviewing Danish ICT organizations and M-Files personnel. Interviews were semi-structured interviews, which were designed to collect comprehensive information on the existing ICT and software market in Denmark. The research used three external and internal analyzing frameworks; PEST analysis (market level), Porter´s Five Force analysis (industry level competition) and SWOT analysis (company level). Distribution channels theory was a base to understand why and what kind of distribution channels the case company uses, and what kind of channels target markets companies’ uses. Channel strategy and design were integrated to the industry level analysis. The empirical findings revealed that Denmark has very business friendly ICT environment. Several organizations have ranked Denmark´s information and communication technology as the best in the world. Denmark’s ICT and software market are relatively small, compared to many other countries in Europe. Danish software market is centralized. Largest software clusters are in the largest cities; Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense and Aalborg. From these clusters, software companies can most likely find suitable resellers. The following growing trends are clearly seen in the software market: mobile and wireless applications, outsourcing, security solutions, cloud computing, social business solutions and e-business solutions. When expanding software business to the Danish market, it is important to take into account these trends. In Denmark distribution channels varies depending on the product or service. For many, a natural distribution channel is a local partner or internet. In the public sector solutions are purchased through a public procurement process. In the private sector the buying process is more straight forwarded. Danish companies are buying software from reliable suppliers. This means that they usually buy software direct from big software vendors or local partners. Some customers prefer to use professional consulting companies. These consulting companies can strongly influence on the selection of the supplier and products, and in this light, consulting companies can be important partners for software companies. Even though the competition is fierce in ECM and DMS solutions, Danish market offers opportunities for foreign companies. Penetration to the Danish market through reseller channel requires advanced solutions and objective selection criteria for channel partners. Based on the findings, Danish companies are interested in advanced and efficient software solutions. Interest towards M-Files solutions was clearly seen and the company has excellent opportunity to expand business to the Danish market through reseller channel. Since the research explored the Danish ICT and software market, the results of the study may offer valuable information also to the other software companies which are expanding their business to the Danish market.

The interconnections between customer loyalty, employee engagement and business performance

The interconnections of customer loyalty, employee engagement and business performance have been separately examined in several previous studies but actually a coherent study combining all of these components together has been lacking. This thesis aims to study all of these components and their interrelations at the same time in order to understand the organization as a one whole. The thesis includes an encompassing review of the previous studies related to customer loyalty and employee engagement. The theory presents both the theoretical approaches and the empirical findings from the earlier literature and builds therefore a strong fundament for the empirical part of this thesis. The empirical data in this thesis was provided by three case companies of a Nordic group operating in a business-to-business professional services branch and it used the Net Promoter Score method for measuring both customer loyalty and employee engagement. The thesis left interesting research questions open and provides therefore an intriguing study field for the future researches.

NEW BUSINESS MODELS – Sustainability as a main focus

A business model is a structure frame of an organization that can bring significant benefits and competitive advantage when structured properly. The aim of this paper was to observe and describe development of business models’ and identify factors and elements of a business model that are in a key role from the perspective of an organizational sustainability. One is striving to bring out in this thesis how should truly sustainable business model look like and what are main characteristics of it. Additionally, some recommendations that could be helpful in order to build sustainable and balanced business model in a company are presented in this work. The meaning was to make theoretical and in some extent practical acquaintance with such new business models as open business model and sustainable business model. Long-term sustainability achievement in a company was in a centric role and used as a main criteria when constructing sustainable business model structure. The main research question in this study aims to answer: What a firm should consider in order to develop profitable and sustainable business model? This study is qualitative in nature and it was conducted using content analyze as a main method of this research. The perspective of the target data in this study is an outlook of its producers of how sustainability is reached in an organization throw business model and which practices are important and has to be taken into account. The material was gathered mainly from secondary sources and the theoretical framework was outright built based on secondary data. The secondary data that have been mostly dissertations, academic writings, cases, academic journals and academic books have been analyzed from the point of view of sustainability perspective. As a result it became evident that a structure of a business model and its implementation along with a strategy is often what leads companies to success. However, for the most part, overall business environment decides and delimits how the most optimal business model should be constructed in order to be effective and sustainable. The evaluation of key factors and elements in business model leading organization to sustainability should be examined throw triple bottom line perspective, where key dimensions are environmental, social and economic. It was concluded that dimensions should be evaluated as equal in order to attain total long lasting sustainability, contradicting traditional perspective in business where profit production is seen as only main goal of a business.

Evaluation of Major E-commerce Companies Business Model

Technological advances have enabled a large spread of online retailers. E-commerce business is challenging the nature of traditional foundation of trade, therefore trade is on transition. The Internet allows consumers to compare and examine online store offerings, regardless of place and time. Digitalization has created new opportunities for creating customer value. The growing trend towards online shopping world has taken place in a very short period of time. Businesses, either use e-commerce as an additional operation, or completely rely, on the Internet business opportunities. The aim of this Master`s thesis is to define and evaluate key business model factors of two major e-commerce companies, Alibaba.com and Amazon.com. These key business model factors have a positive effect on successful e-commerce business. In addition, Alibaba.com and Amazon.com are compared with the help of these identified factors. Moreover, e-commerce business factors provide opportunities to create greater customer value regardless of the industry. Customer value is the core of business and a competitive advantage. Customer value is defined as a ratio between sacrifices and benefits. E-commerce companies should effectively evaluate customer value, so they could customize their offerings to meet better desired customer needs. Even though e-commerce business is a relatively new phenomenon, it has been widely studied

The role of network competence and international business competence in multinational corporations: Subsidiary perspective

On-going process of globalization makes companies all over the world to go beyond the national markets and internationalize. Organizational form of multinational corporation (MNC) has capabilities for establishing the affiliate companies in several countries. Thus, the relocation of resources occurs and particularly, the cross-border transfer of knowledge which possesses the competitive advantage. However, differences in countries` business environments and cultures may constrain this capability. The research aim of this thesis is to investigate the role of subsidiary’s network competence (ability to build and manage the relationships with other local business units) and international business competence in relation to the benefits that MNC receives from a subsidiary. Additionally, subsidiary’s business adaptation, partnerships and knowledge transfer mechanism with parent company and external partners are investigated. This research, conducted in the Finnish-Russian context, consists of theoretical and empirical parts. The qualitative approach in the form of multiple case studies is employed. The empirical data incorporated primary and secondary data in the form of interviews collected in 2013 and 2015 years. Interviews were collected from four Finnish case companies in Saint-Petersburg and Kaluga region and five Russian partner companies. Results are drawn from two cases from Saint-Petersburg. The abductive research approach for the results analysis is adopted. The results indicate that both competencies lead to the subsidiary’s local embeddedness in the form of mutual business activities with local business partners and product adaptation for the local market needs. In addition to the monetary benefits in form of payments or turnover share, local embeddedness brings the knowledge of the local environment which is utilized by an MNC in the long-term planning. Another found tacit benefit is the access to the national market. This is strategically useful benefit not only for parent MNC but also for the subsidiary’s partners, i.e. international suppliers.

Gearing Towards Omnichannel Grocery Retail Through Business Model Innovation

Technological innovations and the advent of digitalization have led retail business into one of its biggest transformations of all time. Consumer behaviour has changed rapidly and the customers are ever more powerful, demanding, tech-savvy and moving on various plat-forms. These attributes will continue to drive the development and robustly restructure the architecture of value creation in the retail business. The largest retail category, grocery yet awaits for a real disruption, but the signals for major change are already on the horizon. The first wave of online grocery retail was introduced in the mid 1990’s and it throve until millennium. Many overreactions, heavy investments and the burst IT-bubble almost stag-nated the whole industry for a long period of time. The second wave started with a venge-ance around 2010. Some research was carried out during the first wave from a single-viewpoint of online grocery retail, but without a comprehensive approach to online-offline business model integration. Now the accelerating growth of e-business has initiated an increased interest to examine the transformation from traditional business models towards e-business models and their integration on the companies’ traditional business models. This research strove to examine how can we recognize and analyze how digitalization and online channels are affecting the business models of grocery retail, by using business mod-el canvas as an analysis tool. Furthermore business model innovation and omnichannel retail were presented and suggested as potential solutions for these changes. 21 experts in online grocery industry were being interviewed. The thoughts of the informants were being qualitatively analysed by using an analysis tool called the business model canvas. The aim of this research was to portray a holistic view on the Omnichannel grocery retail business model, and the value chain, in which the case company Arina along with its partners are operating. The key conclusions exhibited that online grocery retail business model is not an alterna-tive model nor a substitute for the traditional grocery retail business model, though all of the business model elements are to some extent affected by it, but rather a complementary business model that should be integrated into the prevailing, conventional grocery retail business model. A set of business model elements, such as value proposition and distribu-tion channels were recognized as the most important ones and sources of innovation within these components were being illustrated. Segments for online grocery retail were empiri-cally established as polarized niche markets in contrast of the segmented mass-market of the conventional grocery retail. Business model innovation was proven to be a considera-ble method and a conceptual framework, by which to come across with new value proposi-tions that create competitive advantage for the company in the contemporary, changing business environment. Arina as a retailer can be considered as a industry model innovator, since it has initiated an entire industry in its market area, where other players have later on embarked on, and in which the contributors of the value chain, such as Posti depend on it to a great extent. Consumer behaviour clearly affects and appears everywhere in the digi-talized grocery trade and it drives customers to multiple platforms where retailers need to be present. Omnichannel retail business model was suggested to be the solution, in which the new technologies are being utilized, contemporary consumer behaviour is embedded in decision-making and all of the segments and their value propositions are being served seamlessly across the channels.

Representations of cultural encounters in the global business press – The importance of cross-cultural competence

This qualitative study has started from the interest to examine how the reality of crosscultural encounters is presented in the global business press. The research paper emphasizes different ways to classify culture and cross-cultural competency, both from the point of view of individuals and organizations. The analysis consists of public discourses, where cross-cultural realities are created through different persons, stories and contexts For data collection, a comprehensive database search was performed and 10 articles from the widely known worldwide business magazine The Financial Times were chosen as the data for the study paper. For the functions of addressing the research study questions, Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) and also Discourse Analysis (DA) are utilized, added with the continuous comparison method of grounded theory in the formation of the data.The academic references consist of literary works and articles presenting relevant concepts, creating a cross-cultural framework, and it is designed to assist the reader in the navigation through the topics of culture and cross-cultural competency. The repertoires were formed from the data and following, the first repertoire is contrast difference between home and target culture that the individual was able to discern. As a consequence of the first repertoire, the companies then offer cultural training to their employees to prepare them to situations of increasing levels of cultural variation. The third repertoire is increased awareness of other cultures, which is conveyed as a result of cultural training and contextual work experience. The fourth repertoire is globalization as an international business environment, where the people in the articles perform their job functions. It is stated in the conclusions that the representations emphasize Western values and personal traits in leadership.

Exploring business models for medical games: Key components and challenges

The costs of health care are going up in many countries. In order to provide affordable and effective health care solutions, new technologies and approaches are constantly being developed. In this research, video games are presented as a possible solution to the problem. Video games are fun, and nowadays most people like to spend time on them. In addition, recent studies have pointed out that video games can have notable health benefits. Health games have already been developed, used in practice, and researched. However, the bulk of health game studies have been concerned with the design or the effectiveness of the games; no actual business studies have been conducted on the subject, even though health games often lack commercial success despite their health benefits. This thesis seeks to fill this gap. The specific aim of this thesis is to develop a conceptual business model framework and empirically use it in explorative medical game business model research. In the first stage of this research, a literature review was conducted and the existing literature analyzed and synthesized into a conceptual business model framework consisting of six dimensions. The motivation behind the synthesis is the ongoing ambiguity around the business model concept. In the second stage, 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted with different professionals within the value network for medical games. The business model framework was present in all stages of the empirical research: First, in the data collection stage, the framework acted as a guiding instrument, focusing the interview process. Then, the interviews were coded and analyzed using the framework as a structure. The results were then reported following the structure of the framework. In the results, the interviewees highlighted several important considerations and issues for medical games concerning the six dimensions of the business model framework. Based on the key findings of this research, several key components of business models for medical games were identified and illustrated in a single figure. Furthermore, five notable challenges for business models for medical games were presented, and possible solutions for the challenges were postulated. Theoretically, these findings provide pioneering information on the untouched subject of business models for medical games. Moreover, the conceptual business model framework and its use in the novel context of medical games provide a contribution to the business model literature. Regarding practice, this thesis further accentuates that medical games can offer notable benefits to several stakeholder groups and offers advice to companies seeking to commercialize these games.

Achieving competitive e-commerce in Finnish B2C retail business

E-commerce is one of the most fast growing business areas today and an extremely important channel in retail. In order for companies to succeed in this business environment, it is highly important to understand consumers and how they perceive and select webstores. The objective of the study is to investigate how to achieve competitive e-commerce by investigating consumers and the factors based on which they select a webstore. In addition, the study also seeks to explore whether sex or consumers’ buying experience have an effect on consumer’s webstore selection. Managerial implications are viewed from case company’s perspective. In order to answer the research questions a quantitative marketing survey was conducted. The data was collected by online questionnaire using the case company’s customers as respondents. A total of 1613 responses were obtained from Finnish consumers. Responses were analyzed using ANOVA, factor analysis and t-test. The results show that the most important factors in consumer’s webstore selection are usability, reliability and vendor related information. The biggest difference between heavy and light shoppers is trust formation. Light shoppers value physical stores and familiar vendors, whereas heavy shoppers judge vendor based on the information and usability. Women perceive higher risk than men. The winning strategy requires a hybrid of cost leadership and differentiation.

Accounting treatment for intangible assets acquired in a business combination under IFRS

The role of intangible assets and the amount of business combinations have increased significantly during the last decades which has caused the need to reform and harmonise the accounting treatment for acquired intangible assets. The aim of this study is to find out how the new accounting standard for business combinations, IFRS 3, has affected the accounting treatment for identifiable intangible assets and goodwill in the examined media companies between 2005 and 2014. The most significant reforms introduced by IFRS 3 have been goodwill impairment test and the fair value accounting for acquired intangibles. This study is conducted by using a descriptive analysis and the empirical data consists of financial statement information of listed Finnish and international media companies. The main objectives of IFRS 3 have been to reduce the amount of acquisition cost allocated to goodwill and allow companies to recognise new intangible assets separately from goodwill. The results of this study show that the amount of the acquisition cost allocated to goodwill has decreased during the examined period and due to the fair value accounting, business acquisitions have made new intangible assets visible that otherwise would have not met the recognition criteria under IAS 38. The application of IFRS has revealed a big amount of invisible assets in the balance sheets but at the same time this has reduced the comparability between companies.

Value creation in project business relationships: Supplier and customer's perspectives

The purpose of this study is to analyze supplier’s value creation ability in project business in order to enhance customer’s business. In addition, the aim is to identify the role of business relationships in value creation and analyze the applicability of key account management in project business. The study considers value from the customer’s point of view. The concepts of value and value creation are widely discussed in marketing literature. Theory emphasizes the importance of value creation and business relationships in business markets. The empirical part of the study is conducted as a case study research. The empirical evidence is collected by interviewing one supplier organization and their three customer organizations. These companies operate in Finnish and global industrial markets. Data is collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed by using qualitative content analysis. The study identifies several customer value drivers influencing on the value creation, which can be divided into product, service and relationship elements. One of the recognized value drivers is customer-supplier relationship. The findings show that a closer relationship enhances value creation possibilities and the key account management program allows effective managing of business relationships. As managerial implications, suppliers should seek to create continuous and conversational relationships with the key account customers.

Business models for Finnish biobanks

This study concentrates on developing a suitable business model for Finnish biobanks, with particular emphasis on value creation to stakeholders. The sub-objective of this thesis are to map the commercial possibilities of biobanks and potential barriers for business development. The study approaches the subject from the biobanks’ as well as the stakeholders’ point of view, integrating their hopes and needs considering current and future co-operation into the findings. In 2013 the Biobank Act came into effect, after which six biobanks have been established and several other pending biobank projects are in process. There is relatively little research in regard to the commercial opportunities of this newcomer of the biomedical industry, and particularly in the Finnish markets. Therefore, the aim of this study is to partially fill the research gap of the commercial potential of biobanks and particularly outline the problematic elements in developing business. The theoretical framework consists of a few select theories, which depict business modeling and value creation of organizations. The theories are combined to form a synthesis, which best adapts to biobanks, and acts as a backbone for interviews. The empirical part of the study was conducted mainly by seven face-to-face interviews, and complemented by two phone interviews and an e-mail questionnaire with four responses. The findings consist mainly of the participants’ reflections on the potential products and services enabled by consumer genomics, as well as perceptions on different obstacles for biobanks’ business development. The nature of the study is tentative, as biobanks are relatively new organizations in Finland, and their operation models and activities are still molding. The aim is to bring to surface the hopes and concerns of biobanks’ representatives, as well as the representatives of stakeholders, in order to transparently discuss the current situation and suggestions for further development. The study concludes that in principle, the interviewees’ agree on the need for development in order not to waste the potential of biobanks; regardless, the participants emphasize different aspects and subsequently lean on differing methods.

Business Ecosystem Change in Financial Services – Case Study

The thesis explores how the business ecosystem of financial services has changed and what its drivers of change are. Existing literature in the field of financial industry is concerned with financial innovations and their features, determinants and factors, but also with how to organize innovation activities such as open innovation principles. Thus, there is a clear need for understanding changes in financial service ecosystem. First, the comprehensive theory framework is conducted in order to serve the reader’s necessary understanding of basic theoretical concepts that are related to ecosystem changes. Second, the research is carried out by using qualitative research methods; the data is collected by interviewing 11 experts from the field of financial services in Finland. According to the results of this thesis, the most significant changes in the financial service ecosystem are the new market players. They have increased competition, created new courses of action, set new requirements for financial services, and first and foremost, they have shifted customers into the heart of the whole ecosystem. These new market players have a willingness to cooperate with external partners, which means a shift towards the world of open innovation. In addition, the economic environment has changed which has resulted in tighter regulation for incumbents making them even unyielding. Technology change, together with digitalization, has lead new financial innovations and new digital service channels, which have challenged the traditional business models in the financial industry. They have improved transparency, openness and efficiency, but also lead to the fragmentation of financial services. Thus, customers search for financial services from different sources and different service providers, and finally combine them into a coherent whole, which meets their own needs. The change of customers’ behavior and social environment has enabled and boosted these changes in the financial ecosystem. All in all, the change of the financial ecosystem is not a result of one or a few change forces, but instead it is a combination of many different factors.

The role of business model in computer game development organizations

The computer game industry has grown steadily for years, and in revenues it can be compared to the music and film industries. The game industry has been moving to digital distribution. Computer gaming and the concept of business model are discussed among industrial practitioners and the scientific community. The significance of the business model concept has increased in the scientific literature recently, although there is still a lot of discussion going on on the concept. In the thesis, the role of the business model in the computer game industry is studied. Computer game developers, designers, project managers and organization leaders in 11 computer game companies were interviewed. The data was analyzed to identify the important elements of computer game business model, how the business model concept is perceived and how the growth of the organization affects the business model. It was identified that the importance of human capital is crucial to the business. As games are partly a product of creative thinking also innovation and the creative process are highly valued. The same applies to technical skills when performing various activities. Marketing and customer relationships are also considered as key elements in the computer game business model. Financing and partners are important especially for startups, when the organization is dependent on external funding and third party assets. The results of this study provide organizations with improved understanding on how the organization is built and what business model elements are weighted.