From emerging opportunities to successful business networks – evidence from bioenergy

Increasing renewable energy utilization is a challenge that is tried to be solved in different ways. One of the most promising options for renewable energy is different biomasses, and the bioenergy field offers numerous emerging business opportunities. The actors in the field have rarely all the needed know-how and resources for exploiting these opportunities, and thus it is reasonable to seize them in cooperation. Networking is not an easy task to carry out, however, and in addition to its advantages for the firms engaged, it sets numerous challenges as well. The development of a network is a result of several steps firms need to take. In order to gain optimal advantage of their networks, firms need to weigh out with whom, why and how they should cooperate. In addition, everything does not depend on the firms themselves, as several factors in the external environment set their own enablers and barriers for cooperation. The formation of a network around a business opportunity is thus a multiphase process. The objective of this thesis is to depict this process via a step-by-step analysis and thus increase understanding on the whole development path from an entrepreneurial opportunity to a successful business network. The empirical evidence has been gathered by discussing the opportunities of animal manure refinement to biogas and forest biomass utilization for heating in Finland. The thesis comprises two parts. The first part provides an overview of the study, and the second part includes five research publications. The results reveal that it is essential to identify and analyze all the steps in the development process of a network, and several frameworks are used in the thesis to analyze these steps. The frameworks combine the views of theory and practical experiences of empirical study, and thus give new multifaceted views for the discussion on SME networking. The results indicate that the ground for cooperation should be investigated adequately by taking account of the preconditions in all the three contexts in which the actors operate: the social context, the region and the institutional environment. In case the project advances to exploitation, the assets and objectives of the actors should be paired off, which sets a need for relationships and sub-networks differing in breadth and depth. Different relationships and networks require different kinds of maintenance and management. Moreover, the actors should have the capability to change the formality or strategy of the relationships if needed. The drivers for these changes come along with the changing environment, which causes changes in the objectives of the actors and this way in the whole network. Bioenergy as the empirical field of the study represents well an industrial field with many emerging opportunities, a motley group of actors, and sensitivity for fast changes.

Value Creation in Crowd-Business: Developing a Framework for Successful Implementation of Crowdsourcing Initiatives

By recent years the phenomenon called crowdsourcing has been acknowledged as an innovative form of value creation that must be taken seriously. Crowdsourcing can be defined as an act of outsourcing tasks originally performed inside an organization, or assigned externally in form of a business relationship, to an undefinably large, heterogeneous mass of potential actors. This thesis constructs a framework for successful implementation of crowdsourcing initiatives. Firms that rely entirely on their own research and ideas cannot compete with the innovative capacity that crowd-powered firms have. Nowadays, crowdsourcing has become one of the key capabilities of businesses due to its innovative capabilities, in addition to the existing internal resources of the firm. By utilizing crowdsourcing the business gains access to an enormous pool of competence and knowledge. However, various risks remain such as uncertainty of crowd structure and loss of internal know-how. Crowdsourcing Success Framework introduces a step by step model for implementing crowdsourcing into the everyday operations of the business. It starts from the decision to utilize crowdsourcing and continues further into planning, organizing and execution. Finally, this thesis presents the success factors of crowdsourcing initiative.

Future of Newspaper Business Models in Finland

The purpose of this Master’s thesis was to study the business model development in Finnish newspaper industry during the next then years through scenario planning. The objective was to see how will the business models develop amidst the many changes in the industry, what factors are affecting the change, what are the implications of these changes for the players in the industry and how should the Finnish newspaper companies evolve in order to succeed in the future. In this thesis the business model change is studied based on all the elements of business models, as it was discovered that the industry is too often focusing on changes in only few of those elements and a more broader view can provide valuable information for the companies. The results revealed that the industry is affected by many changes during the next ten years. Scenario planning provides a good tool for analyzing this change and for developing valuable options for businesses. After conducting series of interviews and discovering forces affecting the change, four different scenarios were developed centered on the role that newspaper will take and the level at which they are providing the content in the future. These scenarios indicated that there are varieties of options in the way the business models may develop and that companies should start making decisions proactively in order to succeed. As the business model elements are interdepended, changes made in the other elements will affect the whole model, making these decisions about the role and level of content important for the companies. In the future, it is likely that the Finnish newspaper industry will include many different kinds of business models, some of which can be drastically different from the current ones and some of which can still be similar, but take better into account the new kind of media environment.

Promoting Cleantech in Emerging Markets: Business Model for Waste Pre-treatment Equipment in China

Waste incineration is becoming increasingly widespread method of waste disposal in China. Incineration plants mostly use grate and circular fluidized bed (CFB) technology. Waste combustion in cement production is also beginning to gradually increase. However, Chinese waste composition is causing problems for the energy utilization. Mechanical waste pre-treatment optimizes the combustion process and facilitates the energy recovery. The objective of this study is to identify how Western waste pre-treatment manufacturer could operate in Chinese markets. Chinese waste management industry is reviewed via PESTEL analysis. The current state and future predictions of grate and CFB incineration as well as cement manufacturing are monitored. Grate combustion, which requires lesser waste pre-treatment, is becoming more common at the expense of CFB incineration in China. The most promising future for waste treatment is in cement production industry. Waste treatment equipment manufacturer should try to create pilot projects with biggest cement producers with a view of growing co-operation in the future.

Sähkönmyyntiyhtiön riskienhallinnan kehittäminen

Sähkönmyyntiyhtiön liiketoimintaan liittyy muiden yritysten toiminnan tavoin erilaisia riskejä. Riskit jaetaan operationaalisiin ja markkinariskeihin. Operationaalisia riskejä ovat esimerkiksi erilaiset henkilöstöön, tietojärjestelmiin tai operatiiviseen toimintaan liittyvät riskit. Sähkönmyyntiyhtiön liiketoimintaan kohdistuu myös erilaisia markkinariskejä, joihin tyypillisesti liittyy sekä voiton että tappion mahdollisuus. Sähkönmyyntiyhtiön liiketoimintaan liittyviä markkinariskejä ovat esimerkiksi volyymiriski, profiiliriski, hintariski ja johdannaisriski. Työssä käydään läpi myös muita markkinariskejä sekä pohditaan riskien suojautumiskeinoja. Markkinariskejä voidaan hallita useiden eri keinojen avulla. Tavallisimpia näistä ovat esimerkiksi johdannaisten ja peak- sekä profiilituotteiden hankkiminen, joiden avulla hallitaan markkinahintojen muutosten vaikutuksia liiketoiminnan tulokseen. Lisäksi yritys voi käyttää riskienhallintakeinoina monipuolista jälkilaskentaa sekä raportointia liiketoiminnan keskeisiltä osilta. Erityisesti riskienhallintakeinona käytetään erilaisia riskimittareita, joista Profit at Risk-riskimittarin katsottiin soveltuvan parhaiten sähkönmyyntiyhtiön riskienhallinnan tueksi. Riskienhallinnan kehityksen näkökulmasta yrityksen on syytä miettiä sopimusten hinnoitteluaan sekä suojausstrategiaansa.

Evaluation of Location Intelligence exploitation in capital-intensive business

As technology has developed it has increased the number of data produced and collected from business environment. Over 80% of that data includes some sort of reference to geographical location. Individuals have used that information by utilizing Google Maps or different GPS devices, however such information has remained unexploited in business. This thesis will study the use and utilization of geographically referenced data in capital-intensive business by first providing theoretical insight into how data and data-driven management enables and enhances the business and how especially geographically referenced data adds value to the company and then examining empirical case evidence how geographical information can truly be exploited in capital-intensive business and what are the value adding elements of geographical information to the business. The study contains semi-structured interviews that are used to scan attitudes and beliefs of an organization towards the geographic information and to discover fields of applications for the use of geographic information system within the case company. Additionally geographical data is tested in order to illustrate how the data could be used in practice. Finally the outcome of the thesis provides understanding from which elements the added value of geographical information in business is consisted of and how such data can be utilized in the case company and in capital-intensive business.

Value of Information Logistics Integration in Digital Business Ecosystem

Digital business ecosystems (DBE) are becoming an increasingly popular concept for modelling and building distributed systems in heterogeneous, decentralized and open environments. Information- and communication technology (ICT) enabled business solutions have created an opportunity for automated business relations and transactions. The deployment of ICT in business-to-business (B2B) integration seeks to improve competitiveness by establishing real-time information and offering better information visibility to business ecosystem actors. The products, components and raw material flows in supply chains are traditionally studied in logistics research. In this study, we expand the research to cover the processes parallel to the service and information flows as information logistics integration. In this thesis, we show how better integration and automation of information flows enhance the speed of processes and, thus, provide cost savings and other benefits for organizations. Investments in DBE are intended to add value through business automation and are key decisions in building up information logistics integration. Business solutions that build on automation are important sources of value in networks that promote and support business relations and transactions. Value is created through improved productivity and effectiveness when new, more efficient collaboration methods are discovered and integrated into DBE. Organizations, business networks and collaborations, even with competitors, form DBE in which information logistics integration has a significant role as a value driver. However, traditional economic and computing theories do not focus on digital business ecosystems as a separate form of organization, and they do not provide conceptual frameworks that can be used to explore digital business ecosystems as value drivers—combined internal management and external coordination mechanisms for information logistics integration are not the current practice of a company’s strategic process. In this thesis, we have developed and tested a framework to explore the digital business ecosystems developed and a coordination model for digital business ecosystem integration; moreover, we have analysed the value of information logistics integration. The research is based on a case study and on mixed methods, in which we use the Delphi method and Internetbased tools for idea generation and development. We conducted many interviews with key experts, which we recoded, transcribed and coded to find success factors. Qualitative analyses were based on a Monte Carlo simulation, which sought cost savings, and Real Option Valuation, which sought an optimal investment program for the ecosystem level. This study provides valuable knowledge regarding information logistics integration by utilizing a suitable business process information model for collaboration. An information model is based on the business process scenarios and on detailed transactions for the mapping and automation of product, service and information flows. The research results illustrate the current cap of understanding information logistics integration in a digital business ecosystem. Based on success factors, we were able to illustrate how specific coordination mechanisms related to network management and orchestration could be designed. We also pointed out the potential of information logistics integration in value creation. With the help of global standardization experts, we utilized the design of the core information model for B2B integration. We built this quantitative analysis by using the Monte Carlo-based simulation model and the Real Option Value model. This research covers relevant new research disciplines, such as information logistics integration and digital business ecosystems, in which the current literature needs to be improved. This research was executed by high-level experts and managers responsible for global business network B2B integration. However, the research was dominated by one industry domain, and therefore a more comprehensive exploration should be undertaken to cover a larger population of business sectors. Based on this research, the new quantitative survey could provide new possibilities to examine information logistics integration in digital business ecosystems. The value activities indicate that further studies should continue, especially with regard to the collaboration issues on integration, focusing on a user-centric approach. We should better understand how real-time information supports customer value creation by imbedding the information into the lifetime value of products and services. The aim of this research was to build competitive advantage through B2B integration to support a real-time economy. For practitioners, this research created several tools and concepts to improve value activities, information logistics integration design and management and orchestration models. Based on the results, the companies were able to better understand the formulation of the digital business ecosystem and the importance of joint efforts in collaboration. However, the challenge of incorporating this new knowledge into strategic processes in a multi-stakeholder environment remains. This challenge has been noted, and new projects have been established in pursuit of a real-time economy.

Siirtohinnoittelun kehittäminen etäluettavilta mittareilta saatavan datan avulla sähkönjakeluyhtiö Mäntsälän Sähkö Oy:lle

Sähkönsiirtomaksuilla katetaan luonnollisena alueellisena monopolina toimivan paikallisen sähkönjakeluyhtiön toiminta. Koska sähköverkkoyhtiöt toimivat monopoliasemassa, niiden toimintaa valvoo Energiavirasto. Energiavirasto valvoo pääasiassa verkkoyhtiöiden liikevaihtoa ja toiminnan tehokkuutta. Verkkoyhtiöiden toimintaa säätää Suomessa sähkömarkkinalaki. Verkkoyhtiöiden kustannusrakenne on hyvin sidottu verkoston kustannuksiin. Koska sähköverkoston kustannukset ovat pitkän käyttöiän ja suurien alkuinvestointien vuoksi vuosittain kiinteät ja merkittävän suuret, olisi verkkoyhtiön kannalta tärkeää, että vuosittaiset tulot eivät suuresti vaihtelisi. Nykyisellä hinnoittelumallilla kuitenkin verkkoyhtiöiden tulot jäävät hyvin riippuvaisiksi talven kylmyydestä. Nykyisin Suomessa yleisesti käytettävässä siirtohinnoittelun hinnoittelumallissa ei huomioida myöskään sitä, että verkkoyhtiön kustannukset ovat enemmän riippuvaisia verkossa siirretyistä tehoista kuin energioista. Siirtohinnoittelun kannalta on tapahtunut ja on tapahtumassa merkittäviä muutoksia. Etäluettavien sähkönkulutusmittarien käyttöönoton myötä asiakkaiden kulutuksesta saadaan huomattavasti entistä enemmän tietoa, mikä auttaa kustannusvastaavien hintojen määrittämisessä. Samaan aikaan asiakkaiden sähkön käyttö voi muuttua huomattavasti varsinkin sähköautojen ja lämpöpumppujen yleistymisen myötä. Tämän työn tarkoituksena on luoda Mäntsälän Sähkö Oy:lle sähkönsiirtohinnoittelun kustannuksia vastaavien hintojen määrittämiseksi laskentasovellus sekä selvittää tulevaisuuden siirtohinnoittelun toteuttamismahdollisuuksia. Lyhyen aikavälin suunnittelussa keskitytään kustannusvastaavien hintojen määrittämiseen keskihintaperiaatteen avulla ja pidemmän aikavälin suunnittelussa asiakkaiden huipputehoihin perustuvan hinnoittelun toteuttamisen vaikutuksiin sekä verkkoyhtiön että asiakkaan näkökulmasta.

Boho Business - ihmiskunnan voitto koneesta : pohdintoja Cristina Anderssonin ja Jari Kaivo-ojan kirjasta

Kirjallisuusarvostelu

Development of category planning process in construction business

The aim of this thesis was to develop the category planning process in the case company operating in construction industry. As the interest in the field of research has just recently started to emerge towards the benefits of category management and planning, the theoretical background was derived from literature of subjects with a relation to category planning i.e. procurement strategy, purchasing portfolio model, information flow management and cost analysis. The background for the development of category planning process was derived from retail industry, to where the category planning is more researched. The empirical study was executed with mixed method approach: quantitative data of the categories was analyzed and qualitative data was gathered through semi-structured interview and discussions within the case company. As a result, the category planning process was critically analyzed and development proposals addressed for improving the process description. Additionally a tool was developed based on the empirical study to support the category planning process of the case company.