Browsing by Author "Lahti, Riikka"

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Country-of-Origin as a Competitive Advantage and How to Maximize It by Branding
(2017) Lahti, Riikka
School of Business | Bachelor's thesis
Country-of-origin, shortened COO, is examined in this bachelor's thesis from the view of if it is a source of a competitive advantage and if so, how can this advantage be maximized by branding. This paper is a literature review and thus it covers the most impactful and apt research made about the issue from the time period that is necessary, which in this case means from the late 70's until the mid 2010's. The issue is assessed by first introducing it and the motivations behind it. In this part of the paper the research question is formed and justified with the current state of the globalized world and the research made about the phenomenon. Then, in the main second chapter of the paper country-of-origin, or actually more precisely country-of-origin effects (COE), are inspected precisely. COEs are the most closely observed matter in this paper because the effects of COO are the thing that actually matters in the real life markets and thus it is most beneficial for business decision makers to inspect them. The examination is started by defining the issue and the most important aspects around it. Then if competitive advantage can be gained through COO is assessed and after that the determinants of country-of-origin effects are presented. After exhibiting country-of-origin, branding is taken into examination in the third main chapter of the paper. First, the linkages between branding and COO are presented in order to clearly see how these two are attached. Then, just like COO, to grasp the concept of branding it is first defined and the important aspects of its history and the research made about it are presented. Then the review moves on to how branding can be used to gain a sustainable competitive advantage from COEs. A major part of this are the managerial implications presented in a chapter dedicated to them. Managerial implications are included in the branding section of the paper because these implications show how the advantage can be gained in practice. Finally, in the fourth main chapter of the paper the issue is concluded and discussed. It is concluded that yes, if used correctly in the right context COO can definitely be a major source of competitive advantage that can be maximized by branding. However, it is underlined that the issue is highly situative by its nature. Also, multiple limitations of the studies reviewed are presented and future research avenues are scoped out based on the limitations.
Millennials and collaborative consumption on online consumer-to-consumer platforms, Motivations, practices and effects on buying behavior, Case Tori.fi
(2019) Lahti, Riikka
School of Business | Master's thesis
Collaborative consumption, a subcategory of the sharing economy, has increased in popularity amongst consumers and scholars during the recent years. The terminology is disputed, but in simple terms it depicts consumption that occurs amongst consumers with little to no help from companies. The essence of it is that consumers need to collaborate with each other in order to consume. Redistribution markets, where collaborative consumption often occurs, have momentum due to their expected ecological and economic benefits. Simultaneously, the generation of millennials, including people born between the 1980’s and the beginning of the 21st century, have grown up and gained tremendous buying power. The generation has a noticeable stake in defining the future of consumption in an era with unparalleled pressure to alter it to suit our environmental resources. This master’s thesis studies why and how millennials participate in collaborative consumption on online consumer-to-consumer platforms. Concurrently, the effects this has on millennials’ buying behaviour are studied. The project is conducted in cooperation with the largest consumer-to-consumer platform in Finland, Tori.fi. A survey based on an extensive literature review was sent to over a hundred thousand of its active customers. This resulted in 4565 responses and a sample that demographically corresponds well to the Finnish population. The results indicate that most of the millennials are motivated to participate in collaborative consumption strongly by sustainability and simultaneously somewhat by frugality. There are also other meaningful motivators, but millennials differ more on them. As expected, millennials are technically competent and use the internet to be social, which have a positive influence on their participation in collaborative consumption. Whilst taking part in collaborative consumption, the respondents mostly buy and sell. Thus, even though the access-based ways of consumption have received plenty of attention in the academia, collaborative consumption still seems to be centred on ownership. When it comes to the impact of collaborative consumption on millennials’ buying behaviour, effects both inside and outside of it were observed. For instance, it can evoke impulse buying and reduce cognitive dissonance regarding sustainability. The findings signify the potential of collaborative consumption and the importance of providing suitable platforms for it. Due to both the novelty and the magnitude of the phenomenon as well as the research on it, there are significant possibilities for future research. For instance, a similar study could be conducted with a sample collected from people who are not active in collaborative consumption. It would be valuable to know why they do not participate in it and what would motivate them to do so. Also, studying the phenomenon in other countries would be significant.
Study of Ni, Pt, and Ru Catalysts on Wood-based Activated Carbon Supports and their Activity in Furfural Conversion to 2-Methylfuran
(2018) Mäkelä, Eveliina; Lahti, Riikka; Jaatinen, Salla; Romar, Henrik; Hu, Tao; Puurunen, Riikka L.; Lassi, Ulla; Karinen, Reetta
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
Bio-based chemicals can be produced from furfural through hydrotreatment. In this study, 2-methylfuran (MF), a potential biofuel component, was produced with Pt, Ru, and Ni catalysts supported on wood-based activated carbons. The catalytic hydrotreatment experiments were conducted in a batch reactor at 210-240°C with 2-propanol as solvent and 40bar H2 pressure. Two types of activated carbon supports were prepared by carbonization and activation of lignocellulosic biomass (forest-residue-based birch and spruce from Finland). Both types of activated carbons were suitable as catalyst supports, giving up to 100% furfural conversions. The most important factors affecting the MF yield were the metal dispersion and particle size as well as reaction temperature. The highest observed MF yields were achieved with the noble metal catalysts with the highest dispersions at 240°C after 120min reaction time: 3wt% Pt on spruce (MF yield of 50%) and 3wt% Ru on birch (MF yield of 49%). Nickel catalysts were less active most likely owing to lower dispersions and incomplete metal reduction. Interesting results were obtained also with varying the metal loadings: the lower Pt loading (1.5wt%) achieved almost the same MF yield as the 3wt% catalysts, which can enable the production of MF with high yields and reduced catalyst costs. Based on this study, biomass-based renewable activated carbons can be used as catalyst supports in furfural hydrotreatment with high conversions.