Tapping the innovation potential of corporate engagement with stakeholders

Summary This dissertation explores how stakeholder dialogue influences corporate processes, and speculates about the potential of this phenomenon - particularly with actors, like non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other representatives of civil society, which have received growing attention against a backdrop of increasing globalisation and which have often been cast in an adversarial light by firms - as a source of teaming and a spark for innovation in the firm. The study is set within the context of the introduction of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in Europe. Its significance lies in the fact that scientific developments and new technologies are being generated at an unprecedented rate in an era where civil society is becoming more informed, more reflexive, and more active in facilitating or blocking such new developments, which could have the potential to trigger widespread changes in economies, attitudes, and lifestyles, and address global problems like poverty, hunger, climate change, and environmental degradation. In the 1990s, companies using biotechnology to develop and offer novel products began to experience increasing pressure from civil society to disclose information about the risks associated with the use of biotechnology and GMOs, in particular. Although no harmful effects for humans or the environment have been factually demonstrated even to date (2008), this technology remains highly-contested and its introduction in Europe catalysed major companies to invest significant financial and human resources in stakeholder dialogue. A relatively new phenomenon at the time, with little theoretical backing, dialogue was seen to reflect a move towards greater engagement with stakeholders, commonly defined as those "individuals or groups with which. business interacts who have a 'stake', or vested interest in the firm" (Carroll, 1993:22) with whom firms are seen to be inextricably embedded (Andriof & Waddock, 2002). Regarding the organisation of this dissertation, Chapter 1 (Introduction) describes the context of the study, elaborates its significance for academics and business practitioners as an empirical work embedded in a sector at the heart of the debate on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Chapter 2 (Literature Review) traces the roots and evolution of CSR, drawing on Stakeholder Theory, Institutional Theory, Resource Dependence Theory, and Organisational Learning to establish what has already been developed in the literature regarding the stakeholder concept, motivations for engagement with stakeholders, the corporate response to external constituencies, and outcomes for the firm in terms of organisational learning and change. I used this review of the literature to guide my inquiry and to develop the key constructs through which I viewed the empirical data that was gathered. In this respect, concepts related to how the firm views itself (as a victim, follower, leader), how stakeholders are viewed (as a source of pressure and/or threat; as an asset: current and future), corporate responses (in the form of buffering, bridging, boundary redefinition), and types of organisational teaming (single-loop, double-loop, triple-loop) and change (first order, second order, third order) were particularly important in building the key constructs of the conceptual model that emerged from the analysis of the data. Chapter 3 (Methodology) describes the methodology that was used to conduct the study, affirms the appropriateness of the case study method in addressing the research question, and describes the procedures for collecting and analysing the data. Data collection took place in two phases -extending from August 1999 to October 2000, and from May to December 2001, which functioned as `snapshots' in time of the three companies under study. The data was systematically analysed and coded using ATLAS/ti, a qualitative data analysis tool, which enabled me to sort, organise, and reduce the data into a manageable form. Chapter 4 (Data Analysis) contains the three cases that were developed (anonymised as Pioneer, Helvetica, and Viking). Each case is presented in its entirety (constituting a `within case' analysis), followed by a 'cross-case' analysis, backed up by extensive verbatim evidence. Chapter 5 presents the research findings, outlines the study's limitations, describes managerial implications, and offers suggestions for where more research could elaborate the conceptual model developed through this study, as well as suggestions for additional research in areas where managerial implications were outlined. References and Appendices are included at the end. This dissertation results in the construction and description of a conceptual model, grounded in the empirical data and tied to existing literature, which portrays a set of elements and relationships deemed important for understanding the impact of stakeholder engagement for firms in terms of organisational learning and change. This model suggests that corporate perceptions about the nature of stakeholder influence the perceived value of stakeholder contributions. When stakeholders are primarily viewed as a source of pressure or threat, firms tend to adopt a reactive/defensive posture in an effort to manage stakeholders and protect the firm from sources of outside pressure -behaviour consistent with Resource Dependence Theory, which suggests that firms try to get control over extemal threats by focussing on the relevant stakeholders on whom they depend for critical resources, and try to reverse the control potentially exerted by extemal constituencies by trying to influence and manipulate these valuable stakeholders. In situations where stakeholders are viewed as a current strategic asset, firms tend to adopt a proactive/offensive posture in an effort to tap stakeholder contributions and connect the organisation to its environment - behaviour consistent with Institutional Theory, which suggests that firms try to ensure the continuing license to operate by internalising external expectations. In instances where stakeholders are viewed as a source of future value, firms tend to adopt an interactive/innovative posture in an effort to reduce or widen the embedded system and bring stakeholders into systems of innovation and feedback -behaviour consistent with the literature on Organisational Learning, which suggests that firms can learn how to optimize their performance as they develop systems and structures that are more adaptable and responsive to change The conceptual model moreover suggests that the perceived value of stakeholder contribution drives corporate aims for engagement, which can be usefully categorised as dialogue intentions spanning a continuum running from low-level to high-level to very-high level. This study suggests that activities aimed at disarming critical stakeholders (`manipulation') providing guidance and correcting misinformation (`education'), being transparent about corporate activities and policies (`information'), alleviating stakeholder concerns (`placation'), and accessing stakeholder opinion ('consultation') represent low-level dialogue intentions and are experienced by stakeholders as asymmetrical, persuasive, compliance-gaining activities that are not in line with `true' dialogue. This study also finds evidence that activities aimed at redistributing power ('partnership'), involving stakeholders in internal corporate processes (`participation'), and demonstrating corporate responsibility (`stewardship') reflect high-level dialogue intentions. This study additionally finds evidence that building and sustaining high-quality, trusted relationships which can meaningfully influence organisational policies incline a firm towards the type of interactive, proactive processes that underpin the development of sustainable corporate strategies. Dialogue intentions are related to type of corporate response: low-level intentions can lead to buffering strategies; high-level intentions can underpin bridging strategies; very high-level intentions can incline a firm towards boundary redefinition. The nature of corporate response (which encapsulates a firm's posture towards stakeholders, demonstrated by the level of dialogue intention and the firm's strategy for dealing with stakeholders) favours the type of learning and change experienced by the organisation. This study indicates that buffering strategies, where the firm attempts to protect itself against external influences and cant' out its existing strategy, typically lead to single-loop learning, whereby the firm teams how to perform better within its existing paradigm and at most, improves the performance of the established system - an outcome associated with first-order change. Bridging responses, where the firm adapts organisational activities to meet external expectations, typically leads a firm to acquire new behavioural capacities characteristic of double-loop learning, whereby insights and understanding are uncovered that are fundamentally different from existing knowledge and where stakeholders are brought into problem-solving conversations that enable them to influence corporate decision-making to address shortcomings in the system - an outcome associated with second-order change. Boundary redefinition suggests that the firm engages in triple-loop learning, where the firm changes relations with stakeholders in profound ways, considers problems from a whole-system perspective, examining the deep structures that sustain the system, producing innovation to address chronic problems and develop new opportunities - an outcome associated with third-order change. This study supports earlier theoretical and empirical studies {e.g. Weick's (1979, 1985) work on self-enactment; Maitlis & Lawrence's (2007) and Maitlis' (2005) work and Weick et al's (2005) work on sensegiving and sensemaking in organisations; Brickson's (2005, 2007) and Scott & Lane's (2000) work on organisational identity orientation}, which indicate that corporate self-perception is a key underlying factor driving the dynamics of organisational teaming and change. Such theorizing has important implications for managerial practice; namely, that a company which perceives itself as a 'victim' may be highly inclined to view stakeholders as a source of negative influence, and would therefore be potentially unable to benefit from the positive influence of engagement. Such a selfperception can blind the firm from seeing stakeholders in a more positive, contributing light, which suggests that such firms may not be inclined to embrace external sources of innovation and teaming, as they are focussed on protecting the firm against disturbing environmental influences (through buffering), and remain more likely to perform better within an existing paradigm (single-loop teaming). By contrast, a company that perceives itself as a 'leader' may be highly inclined to view stakeholders as a source of positive influence. On the downside, such a firm might have difficulty distinguishing when stakeholder contributions are less pertinent as it is deliberately more open to elements in operating environment (including stakeholders) as potential sources of learning and change, as the firm is oriented towards creating space for fundamental change (through boundary redefinition), opening issues to entirely new ways of thinking and addressing issues from whole-system perspective. A significant implication of this study is that potentially only those companies who see themselves as a leader are ultimately able to tap the innovation potential of stakeholder dialogue.

Market entry order and competitive advantage of the firm

A firm that wishes to launch a new product to the market is faced with a difficult task of deciding what the best moment for the launch is. Timing may also be critical when a firm plans to adopt new processes or intends to head for new markets. The critical question the firm needs to tackle is whether it will try to reach the so-called first-mover advantage by acting earlier than its rivals. The first-mover position may reward the entrant with various opportunities to gain competitive advantage over later movers. However, there are also great risks involved in the early market entry, and sometimes the very first entrant fails even before the followers enter the market. The follower, on the other hand, may be able to free-ride on the earlier entrants' investments and gain from the languished uncertainties that characterize the new markets. According to the current understanding the occurrence of entry order advantages depends not only on the mechanism and attributes in the firm's environment that provide the initial opportunities but also on the firm's ability to capitalize on these advantage opportunities. This study contributes to this discussion by analyzing the linkages between the asset base of the firm, characteristics of the operating environment and the firm's entry timing orientation. To shed light on the relationship between the entry timing strategy and competitive advantage, this study utilizes the concept of entry timing orientation. The rationale for choosing this type of approach arises from the inability of previously employed research tools to reach the underlying factors that result in entry timing advantage. The work consists of an introductory theoretical discussion on entry timing advantages and of four research publication. The empirical findings support the understanding that entry timing advantage is related to the characteristics of the firm's operating environment but may also be related to firm-specific factors. This in turn suggests that some of the traditional ways of detecting and measuring first-mover advantage - which to some extent ignore these dimensions - may be outdated.

Are R&D collaborative agreements persistent at the firm level? Empirical evidence for the Spanish case

We provide evidence on the dynamics in firms’ R&D cooperation behaviour. Our main objective is to analyse if R&D collaborative agreements are persistent at the firm level, and in such a case, to study what are the main drivers of this phenomenon. R&D cooperation activities at the firm level can be persistent due to true state dependence, this implying that cooperating in a given period enhances the probability of doing it in the subsequent period and it can also be a consequence of firms’ individual heterogeneity, so that certain firms have certain characteristics that make them more likely to carry out technological alliances.

Are R&D collaborative agreements persistent at the firm level? Empirical evidence for the Spanish case

We provide evidence on the dynamics in firms’ R&D cooperation behaviour. Our main objective is to analyse if R&D collaborative agreements are persistent at the firm level, and in such a case, to study what are the main drivers of this phenomenon. R&D cooperation activities at the firm level can be persistent due to true state dependence, this implying that cooperating in a given period enhances the probability of doing it in the subsequent period and it can also be a consequence of firms’ individual heterogeneity, so that certain firms have certain characteristics that make them more likely to carry out technological alliances.

MANAGING STRATEGIC CHANGE:New Business Models Applying Wireless Technology as a Source of Competitive Edge

The diffusion of mobile telephony began in 1971 in Finland, when the first car phones, called ARP1 were taken to use. Technologies changed from ARP to NMT and later to GSM. The main application of the technology, however, was voice transfer. The birth of the Internet created an open public data network and easy access to other types of computer-based services over networks. Telephones had been used as modems, but the development of the cellular technologies enabled automatic access from mobile phones to Internet. Also other wireless technologies, for instance Wireless LANs, were also introduced. Telephony had developed from analog to digital in fixed networks and allowed easy integration of fixed and mobile networks. This development opened a completely new functionality to computers and mobile phones. It also initiated the merger of the information technology (IT) and telecommunication (TC) industries. Despite the arising opportunity for firms' new competition the applications based on the new functionality were rare. Furthermore, technology development combined with innovation can be disruptive to industries. This research focuses on the new technology's impact on competition in the ICT industry through understanding the strategic needs and alternative futures of the industry's customers. The change speed inthe ICT industry is high and therefore it was valuable to integrate the DynamicCapability view of the firm in this research. Dynamic capabilities are an application of the Resource-Based View (RBV) of the firm. As is stated in the literature, strategic positioning complements RBV. This theoretical framework leads theresearch to focus on three areas: customer strategic innovation and business model development, external future analysis, and process development combining these two. The theoretical contribution of the research is in the development of methodology integrating theories of the RBV, dynamic capabilities and strategic positioning. The research approach has been constructive due to the actual managerial problems initiating the study. The requirement for iterative and innovative progress in the research supported the chosen research approach. The study applies known methods in product development, for instance, innovation process in theGroup Decision Support Systems (GDSS) laboratory and Quality Function Deployment (QFD), and combines them with known strategy analysis tools like industry analysis and scenario method. As the main result, the thesis presents the strategic innovation process, where new business concepts are used to describe the alternative resource configurations and scenarios as alternative competitive environments, which can be a new way for firms to achieve competitive advantage in high-velocity markets. In addition to the strategic innovation process as a result, thestudy has also resulted in approximately 250 new innovations for the participating firms, reduced technology uncertainty and helped strategic infrastructural decisions in the firms, and produced a knowledge-bank including data from 43 ICT and 19 paper industry firms between the years 1999 - 2004. The methods presentedin this research are also applicable to other industries.

The effects of potentiallydisruptive technology on business model - a case study of new technologies in ICT industry

This study examines how firms interpret new, potentially disruptive technologies in their own strategic context. The work presents a cross-case analysis of four potentially disruptive technologies or technical operating models: Bluetooth, WLAN, Grid computing and Mobile Peer-to-peer paradigm. The technologies were investigated from the perspective of three mobile operators, a device manufacturer and a software company in the ICT industry. The theoretical background for the study consists of the resource-based view of the firm with dynamic perspective, the theories on the nature of technology and innovations, and the concept of business model. The literature review builds up a propositional framework for estimating the amount of radical change in the companies' business model with two middle variables, the disruptiveness potential of a new technology, and the strategic importance of a new technology to a firm. The data was gathered in group discussion sessions in each company. The results of each case analysis were brought together to evaluate, how firms interpret the potential disruptiveness in terms of changes in product characteristics and added value, technology and market uncertainty, changes in product-market positions, possible competence disruption and changes in value network positions. The results indicate that the perceived disruptiveness in terms ofproduct characteristics does not necessarily translate into strategic importance. In addition, firms did not see the new technologies as a threat in terms of potential competence disruption.

Coping with Technology: A Study on Economic Methodology and Strategic Management of Technology

There is a broad consensus among economists that technologicalchange has been a major contributor to the productivity growth and, hence, to the growth of the material welfare in western industrialized countries at least over the last century. Paradoxically, this issue has not been the focal point of theoretical economics. At the same time, we have witnessed the rise of the importance of technological issues at the strategic management level of business firms. Interestingly, the research has not accurately responded to this challenge either. The tension between the overwhelming empirical evidence of the importance of technology and its relative omission in the research offers a challenging target for a methodological endeavor. This study deals with the question of how different theories cope with technology and explain technological change. The focusis at the firm level and the analysis concentrates on metatheoretical issues, except for the last two chapters, which examine the problems of strategic management of technology. Here the aim is to build a new evolutionary-based theoreticalframework to analyze innovation processes at the firm level. The study consistsof ten chapters. Chapter 1 poses the research problem and contrasts the two basic approaches, neoclassical and evolutionary, to be analyzed. Chapter 2 introduces the methodological framework which is based on the methodology of isolation. Methodological and ontoogical commitments of the rival approaches are revealed and basic questions concerning their ways of theorizing are elaborated. Chapters 3-6 deal with the so-called substantive isolative criteria. The aim is to examine how different approaches cope with such critical issues as inherent uncertainty and complexity of innovative activities (cognitive isolations, chapter 3), theboundedness of rationality of innovating agents (behavioral isolations, chapter4), the multidimensional nature of technology (chapter 5), and governance costsrelated to technology (chapter 6). Chapters 7 and 8 put all these things together and look at the explanatory structures used by the neoclassical and evolutionary approaches in the light of substantive isolations. The last two cpahters of the study utilize the methodological framework and tools to appraise different economics-based candidates in the context of strategic management of technology. The aim is to analyze how different approaches answer the fundamental question: How can firms gain competitive advantages through innovations and how can the rents appropriated from successful innovations be sustained? The last chapter introduces a new evolutionary-based technology management framework. Also the largely omitted issues of entrepreneurship are examined.

CISNE-P: a global scheduling oriented to NOW environments

In this work, we present an integral scheduling system for non-dedicated clusters, termed CISNE-P, which ensures the performance required by the local applications, while simultaneously allocating cluster resources to parallel jobs. Our approach solves the problem efficiently by using a social contract technique. This kind of technique is based on reserving computational resources, preserving a predetermined response time to local users. CISNE-P is a middleware which includes both a previously developed space-sharing job scheduler and a dynamic coscheduling system, a time sharing scheduling component. The experimentation performed in a Linux cluster shows that these two scheduler components are complementary and a good coordination improves global performance significantly. We also compare two different CISNE-P implementations: one developed inside the kernel, and the other entirely implemented in the user space.

Object-Oriented Modelling of Multilayer Networks

Tämä diplomityökuuluu tietoliikenneverkkojen suunnittelun tutkimukseen ja pohjimmiltaan kohdistuu verkon mallintamiseen. Tietoliikenneverkkojen suunnittelu on monimutkainen ja vaativa ongelma, joka sisältää mutkikkaita ja aikaa vieviä tehtäviä. Tämä diplomityö esittelee ”monikerroksisen verkkomallin”, jonka tarkoitus on auttaa verkon suunnittelijoita selviytymään ongelmien monimutkaisuudesta ja vähentää verkkojen suunnitteluun kuluvaa aikaa. Monikerroksinen verkkomalli perustuu yleisille objekteille, jotka ovat yhteisiä kaikille tietoliikenneverkoille. Tämä tekee mallista soveltuvan mielivaltaisille verkoille, välittämättä verkkokohtaisista ominaisuuksista tai verkon toteutuksessa käytetyistä teknologioista. Malli määrittelee tarkan terminologian ja käyttää kolmea käsitettä: verkon jakaminen tasoihin (plane separation), kerrosten muodostaminen (layering) ja osittaminen (partitioning). Nämä käsitteet kuvataan yksityiskohtaisesti tässä työssä. Monikerroksisen verkkomallin sisäinen rakenne ja toiminnallisuus ovat määritelty käyttäen Unified Modelling Language (UML) -notaatiota. Tämä työ esittelee mallin use case- , paketti- ja luokkakaaviot. Diplomityö esittelee myös tulokset, jotka on saatu vertailemalla monikerroksista verkkomallia muihin verkkomalleihin. Tulokset osoittavat, että monikerroksisella verkkomallilla on etuja muihin malleihin verrattuna.

Risk assessment tool for radical technologies – Case Technology A and Technology B

Työssä testataan radikaalien teknologioiden liiketoimintariskien evaluointityökalua. Työn teoreettinen tausta koostuu teknologia- ja innovaatioteorioista hyödyntäen myös resurssipohjaista yritysteoriaa täydennettynä evolutionäärisellä teorialla. Teoreettisessa osuudessa rakennetaan viitekehys, jolla liiketoimintariskejä voidaan arvioida ja muodostaa riskiprofiili. Liiketoimintariskien muuttujina ovat markkina-, teknologia- ja organisaatioriskit. Primäärisenä tietolähteenä käytettiin teema- ja strukturoituja haastatteluita. Ensimmäinen haastattelu käsitti evaluointityökalun käytettävyyttä ja riskienhallintaa yleensä. Loput haastattelut liittyivät teknologian A ja teknologian B liiketoimintariskien arvioimiseen. Tulokset osoittavat molemmat teknologiat sisältävän radikaaleille teknologioille ominaisia epävarmuustekijöitä. Riskiprofiilin hyödyllisyys liittyy liiketoimintariskien samanaikaiseen havaitsemiseen auttaen näin päätöksenteossa. Tärkeää evaluoinnissa on kiinnittää huomiota näkökulmaan, josta riskejä tarkastellaan riskiprofiilin validiteetin parantamiseksi.

Market Orientation in Rapidly Internationalizing Small Companies — Evidence from the Software Industry

For more than a decade, researchers have been aware of the increased pace of small-firm internationalization and the greater effect of these rapidly growing small businesses on the wealth, international trade, and job-creation opportunities of countries. Due to the small size of the home market, Finnish companies have been generally considered highly interested in internationalization. One particular domain in which rapid internationalization has been considered feasible is the global software business, with its knowledge-intensive nature and high growth potential. However, over time the failure rate of small entrepreneurial firms has remained especially high in high-technology markets. One of the reasons for this seems to lie in the fact that these companies are often formed by people with a strong technological background but limited competences in other areas. Further, research on the marketing capabilities of rapidly internationalizing high-tech firms has been scarce thus far. In addition, while there is much research on the first years of operations of rapidly internationalizing companies, it is not well known what becomes of them later on. Therefore, there is a need for more investigation into the managerial mindset, competences and decision-making in these small companies, especially from the perspective of how they acquire and exploit market knowledge, and enhance their networking capabilities in order to promote international expansion. The present study focuses on market orientation in small software firms that internationalize their operations rapidly in global software markets. It builds on qualitative data to illustrate how these companies develop their market-oriented product-market strategies during the process of increasing international commitment. It also shows how they manage their network relationships in order to be able to offer better customer service and to thrive in the fierce global competition. The study was conducted in the empirical context of Finnish small software companies, and the main data consists of interviews with top managers in these businesses. The interviews were designed to cover a minimum period of five years of the company's international operations, thus offering a retrospective in-depth perspective on market orientation, internationalization and partnerships in the given context. One particular focus is on less successfully internationalized software companies, and the challenges they face when approaching international markets. This study makes a significant contribution to the literature on market orientation for several reasons. First, building on data from the software industry, it clarifies the existing theory in the context of rapid internationalization and network relationships. Secondly, it provides a good body of evidence on market orientation in both successfully and less successfully internationalized companies, and identifies the key related differences between the two company groups. Thirdly, it highlights the importance of inter-firm networks in the rapid internationalization of small software firms, providing companies with important market knowledge and, in some cases, management challenges. Fourthly, this investigation clarifies market orientation in the context of different software-product strategies, thus, combining the perspectives of market orientation in both manufacturing and services. In sum, the results of the study are significant for both small software firms and public-policy makers since they shed light on the market-oriented managerial mindset and the market-information gathering and sharing processes that are needed in successful rapid internationalization.

Partnering in the Dynamic Environment: The Role of Trust in Asymmetric Technology Partnership Formation

The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of the role and nature of trust in asymmetric technology partnership formation. In the knowledge-based "learning race" knowledge is considered as a primary source for competitive advantage. In the emerging ICT sector the high pace of technological change, the convergence of technologies and industries as well as the increasing complexity and uncertainty have forced even the largest players to seek cooperation for complementary knowledge and capabilities. Small technology firms need the complementary resources and legitimacy of the large firms to grow and compete in the global market place. Most of the earlier research indicates, however, that partnerships with asymmetric size, managerial resources and cultures have failed. A basic assumption supported by earlier research was that trust is a critical factor in asymmetric technology partnership formation. Asymmetric technology partnership formation is a dynamic and multi-dimensional process, and consequently a holistic research approach was selected. Research issue was approached from different levels: the individual decision-maker, the firm and the relationship between the parties. Also the impact of the dynamic environment and technology content was analyzed. A multitheoretical approach and a qualitative research method with in-depth interviews in five large ICT companies and eight small ICT companies enabled a holistic and rich view of the research issue. Study contributes on the scarce understanding on the nature and evolution of trust in asymmetric technology partnership formation. It sheds also light on the specific nature of asymmetric technology partnerships. The partnerships were found to be tentative and the diverse strategic intent of small and large technology firms appeared as a major challenge. The role of the boundary spanner was highlighted as a possibility to match the incompatible organizational cultures. A shared vision was found to be a pre-condition for individual-based fast trust leading to intuitive decision-making and experimentation. The relationships were tentative and they were continuously re-evaluated through the key actors' sense making of the technology content, asymmetry and the dynamic environment. A multi-dimensional conceptualization for trust was created and propositions on the role and nature of trust for further research are given. The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of the role and nature of trust in asymmetric technology partnership formation. In the knowledge-based "learning race" knowledge is considered as a primary source for competitive advantage. In the emerging ICT sector the high pace of technological change, the convergence of technologies and industries as well as the increasing complexity and uncertainty have forced even the largest players to seek cooperation for complementary knowledge and capabilities. Small technology firms need the complementary resources and legitimacy of the large firms to grow and compete in the global market place. Most of the earlier research indicates, however, that partnerships with asymmetric size, managerial resources and cultures have failed. A basic assumption supported by earlier research was that trust is a critical factor in asymmetric technology partnership formation. Asymmetric technology partnership formation is a dynamic and multi-dimensional process, and consequently a holistic research approach was selected. Research issue was approached from different levels: the individual decision-maker, the firm and the relationship between the parties. Also the impact of the dynamic environment and technology content was analyzed. A multitheoretical approach and a qualitative research method with in-depth interviews in five large ICT companies and eight small ICT companies enabled a holistic and rich view of the research issue. Study contributes on the scarce understanding on the nature and evolution of trust in asymmetric technology partnership formation. It sheds also light on the specific nature of asymmetric technology partnerships. The partnerships were found to be tentative and the diverse strategic intent of small and large technology firms appeared as a major challenge. The role of the boundary spanner was highlighted as a possibility to match the incompatible organizational cultures. A shared vision was found to be a pre-condition for individual-based fast trust leading to intuitive decision-making and experimentation. The relationships were tentative and they were continuously re-evaluated through the key actors' sense making of the technology content, asymmetry and the dynamic environment. A multi-dimensional conceptualization for trust was created and propositions on the role and nature of trust for further research are given.

Benefits and Limitations of Service Oriented Architecture

In this thesis I examine Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) considering both its positive and negative qualities for business organizations and IT. In SOA, services are loosely coupled and invoked through standard interfaces to enable business process independence from the underlying technology. As an architecture, SOA brings the key benefit of service reuse that may mean anything from simple application reuse to taking advantage of entire business processes across enterprises. SOA also promises interoperability especially by the Web services standards that enable platform independency. Cost efficiency is mainly a result of the savings in IT maintenance and reduced development costs. The most severe limitations of SOA are performance implications and security issues, but the applicability of SOA is also limited. Additional disadvantages of a service oriented approach include problems in data management and complexity questions, and the lack of agreement about SOA and its twofold nature as a business as well as technology approach leads to problematic interpretation of the available information. In this thesis I find the benefits and limitations of SOA for the purpose described above and propose that companies need to consider the decision to implement SOA carefully to determine whether the benefits will outdo the costs in the individual case.

Customer driven business model – connecting customer value to firm resources in ICT value networks

The objective of this thesis is to provide a business model framework that connects customer value to firm resources and explains the change logic of the business model. Strategic supply management and especially dynamic value network management as its scope, the dissertation is based on basic economic theories, transaction cost economics and the resource-based view. The main research question is how the changing customer values should be taken into account when planning business in a networked environment. The main question is divided into questions that form the basic research problems for the separate case studies presented in the five Publications. This research adopts the case study strategy, and the constructive research approach within it. The material consists of data from several Delphi panels and expert workshops, software pilot documents, company financial statements and information on investor relations on the companies’ web sites. The cases used in this study are a mobile multi-player game value network, smart phone and “Skype mobile” services, the business models of AOL, eBay, Google, Amazon and a telecom operator, a virtual city portal business system and a multi-play offering. The main contribution of this dissertation is bridging the gap between firm resources and customer value. This has been done by theorizing the business model concept and connecting it to both the resource-based view and customer value. This thesis contributes to the resource-based view, which deals with customer value and firm resources needed to deliver the value but has a gap in explaining how the customer value changes should be connected to the changes in key resources. This dissertation also provides tools and processes for analyzing the customer value preferences of ICT services, constructing and analyzing business models and business concept innovation and conducting resource analysis.