Browsing by Department "Department of Management Studies"
Now showing 1 - 20 of 845
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
- 3D printing as an enabler for service business design in the digitizing healthcare
School of Business | Master's thesis(2015) Kinnunen, JuhoAs a fast and ductile process, 3D printing (also known as additive manufacturing) is increasingly becoming more utilized method in manufacturing and service production. Despite the on-going 3D printing hype, recent breakthroughs set also high future expectations. Continuously digitizing healthcare industry offers an interesting and fertile ground to explore this opportunity further, and provide strategic value for Finnish healthcare service providers. How this emerging technology affects in healthcare service providers' business models has yet remained unexplored, and offers a great research gap for further study. The objective of this study is to understand how 3D printing impacts currently on service business models - specifically in healthcare sector. The objective is also to find out how Finnish healthcare service providers can exploit 3D printing as a part of their strategic business modeling now and in the future. A theoretical framework applies existing theories in 3D printing, business models and strategy. This framework enables empirical research, exploring the impacts of 3D printing in business models. The qualitative research uses both primary and secondary data, including semi-structured interviews, observations during company visits, as well as literature sources news articles, industry reviews and company websites. The results indicate that currently 3D printing impacts on business model components in general level as well as specifically in healthcare industry. To manage 3D printing successfully in the business model, high importance is given especially to additive manufacturing knowledge as well as to multidisciplinary collaboration. Based on findings, a seven-step model is suggested for Finnish healthcare service providers to explore and implement 3D printing as part of their capabilities. The model highlights the need for close collaboration between involved stakeholders in order to implement 3D printing as part of strategic business design efficiently and successfully. Finally, in the analysis, three main areas for additive manufacturing breakthroughs are emphasized and discussed. Namely software, materials, as well as health-tech and devices that not only improve but also transform service providers' processes seem to have currently great potential for future healthcare service business models. - Aalto observatory for digital valuation systems
A4 Artikkeli konferenssijulkaisussa(2018) Huttunen, Jenni; Joutsenvirta, Maria; Nikander, PekkaMoney is a recognised factor in creating sustainable, affluent societies. Yet, the neoclassical orthodoxy that prevails in our economic thinking remains as a contested area, its supporters claiming their results to be objectively true while many heterodox economists claim the whole system to stand on clay feet. Of late, the increased activity around complementary currencies suggest that the fiat money zeitgeist might be giving away to more variety in our monetary system. Rather than emphasizing what money does, as the mainstream economists do, other fields of science allow us to approach money as an integral part of the hierarchies and networks of exchange through which it circulates. This paper suggests that a broad understanding of money and more variety in monetary system have great potentials to further a more equalitarian and sustainable economy. They can drive the extension of society to more inclusive levels and transform people's economic roles and identities in the process. New technologies, including blockchain and smart ledger technology are able to support decentralized money creation through the use of shared and "open" peer-To-peer rewarding and IOU systems. Alongside of specialists and decision makers' capabilities, our project most pressingly calls for engaging citizens into the process early on. Multidisciplinary competencies are needed to take relevant action to investigate, envision and foster novel ways for value creation. For this, we are forming the Aalto Observatory on Digital Valuation Systems to gain deeper understandings of sustainable value creation structures enabled by new technology. - Academic Voluntourism
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä(2023-12) van der Giessen, Mark - Academic writing and dialogue: Reflections on the work of Janne Tienari
School of Business | C2 Toimitettu kirja, kokoomateos, konferenssijulkaisu tai lehden erikoisnumero(2016) Meriläinen, Susan (editor); Vaara, Eero (editor) - The Accelerating Disconnection of Work from Time and Place: New Questions for HR
A3 Kirjan tai muun kokoomateoksen osa(2024-03-19) Gartner, Johannes; Mäkelä, Kristiina; Sumelius, Jennie; Vuorenmaa, HerttaThe nature of work has already, for some time, been undergoing major changes as a result of technological progress. Mobile, virtual and cloud technologies, and the infrastructures that support them, are increasingly enabling work to be done from anywhere and at any time. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated this process, driving a large share of white-collar knowledge work to remote and hybrid modes. In this chapter, we explore how the increasing disconnection of work from time and place influences HRM, highlighting important new questions and concerns that HR needs to consider in the key areas of performance management, recruitment and talent management, training and development and diversity management. We also suggest elements requiring increased HR focus going forward, including building employee engagement and an inspiring organizational culture in a virtual and hybrid environment; focusing on the sustainability of working life and employee wellbeing; and facilitating a resilient employee mindse - Acquisition process: The banker's perspective
School of Business | Master's thesis(2013) Daoud, BenTutkimuksen tavoitteet Tässä tutkimuksessa käsittelen yritysostoja suomalaisten pankkiirien näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on lisätä ymmärrystä niistä asioista, jotka ovat tärkeitä pankille määrittäessä yritysoston rahoittamisen järkevyyttä pankin näkökulmasta. Tutkimuskysymys selvittää niitä kriteereitä, joita pankki pitää tärkeänä yritysostojen menestystä arvioidessaan. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää ja syventää tietämystä pankin prosesseista rahoittaessaan yritysostoja sekä keskittyä yritysostojen arviointiin pankin näkökulmasta. Tutkimusmenetelmät Pankin ydinosaamista ovat erilaiset lainat ja tässä tutkimuksessa on haastateltu pankin asiantuntijoita, jotka ovat erikoistuneet yritysostojen rahoittamiseen. Yritysostot ovat hyvin laaja kokonaisuus ja tästä syystä tutkimuskysymystä on lähestytty kahden erillisen teeman kautta. Ensimmäinen teema on pankin prosessi ja toinen teema on yritysoston sopimukset. Tässä tutkimuksessa on syvennytty pankin prosessiin ja otettu yritysostojen sopimukset tätä teemaa kattavaksi teemaksi johtuen siitä, ettei haastateltavat olleet yritysostojen lakiasioiden asiantuntijoita. Tiedonhankinnan tapana on tässä laadullisessa tutkimuksessa käytetty teemahaastattelua. Keskeiset tutkimustulokset Pankki pitää tärkeänä selkeyttä, aikaisuutta, kattavien laskelmien tuottamista, logiikkaa yritysoston taustalla, kiireettömyyttä, avainhenkilöstön sitouttamista, avainasiakkaiden ja avaintuottajien sopimuksellista kiinnittämistä, riidattomuutta, ylimääräistä riskittömyyttä, hyvää dokumentointia, hyviä takuita, ja veroetujen hyödyntämistä, sekä tulevien mahdollisten ongelmien kartoittamista ja sopimuksilla suojautumista niiltä. - Actor-Network Theory and Routine Dynamics
A3 Kirjan tai muun kokoomateoksen osa(2021) Sele, KathrinActor-network theory has always been an inspiring theoretical and methodological source for Routine Dynamics research. Seeing routines as networks of actants and as a consequence rather than a cause of collective action enabled scholars to move away from a priori assumptions about the world and shift their attention to situated performances, multiplicity, and connections-in action. In this chapter, I provide a brief historical account of actor-network theory highlighting some of its central authors and their work before unravelling how Routine Dynamics scholars have appropriated it—ironically, often as an undercover actor that remains invisible at first sight—and conclude by reflecting on how actor-network theory can continue to be of use for and shape Routine Dynamics research. - Adaptation of Compensation Practice in China: The Role of Sub-National Institutions
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä(2019-06-01) Lu, Wei; Saka-Helmhout, Ayse; Piekkari, RebeccaUnlike previous research that has largely focused on the influence of national institutions on human resource management practices in China, our study taps into the role of sub-national institutions. We demonstrate, via a qualitative configurational analysis, that foreign subsidiaries of multinational corporations still adapt HQ compensation practice to the local context despite low regulatory pressure and low mobility of skills at the sub-national level. This adaptation is facilitated by a decentralized structure in the multinational corporation. Our study also shows that high regulatory pressure and high portability of skills at the sub-national level alone are sufficient to induce local adaptation of compensation practice. Our explanation points to the significant role played by sub-national institutions in large and rapidly changing emerging economies and contributes to research on local adaptation of HRM practice in China. It offers an insight into forms of institutional agency by political and economic actors at local levels of governance as they attempt to influence the skills and human resources available for MNCs through regulatory means. - Adaptation of corporate brand development models in the SME context
School of Business | Master's thesis(2015) Lebedev, DmitryCorporate brand development within the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is a phenomenon that has been largely understudied in the academic literature on both entrepreneur-ship and marketing. Modern theoretical brand development models are mainly based on the ex-amples of large corporations and are not entirely suitable for the application by the smaller compa-nies. The current thesis uncovers the apparent theoretical gap that has emerged and answers the question of how exactly can the existing brand development models be adapted in the SME con-text. In order to form a theoretical basis of the thesis, four such models were thoroughly analyzed and compared to one another. Further, the context of SMEs was preliminary examined to highlight the particularities of brand building approaches of SMEs and their larger counterparts. Examination showed considerable differences between brand building tactics, based on the size of the company and its available resources. This allowed projecting the characteristics of an SME on to the main components of the theoretical models, thus forming a proposition for a revised framework. Then, a data collection in a form of an extensive review of multiple case studies has been carried out in order to empirically investigate the issues of corporate brand building in SMEs. 26 academic arti-cles were reviewed uncovering the results of the studies of 1782 SMEs from 11 countries. Results of the analysis allowed forming an updated version of corporate brand development framework for SMEs that was especially created to suit the needs of an SME. Research findings have indicated significant differences between SMEs and large organizations, especially in the ways their brands are developed. Numerous benefits of early brand orientation in SMEs have been indicated. The central role of the entrepreneur in the process of the SME corpo-rate brand building as well as the importance of internal communication has been emphasized. Most importantly, the contemporary theoretical brand development models have been adapted in the SME context by means of a new corporate brand development framework for SMEs. - Affective Organizational Space: An Ethnographic Study of a Nordic Startup Incubator
School of Business | Doctoral dissertation (article-based)(2020) Kuismin, AriThis dissertation examines the relationship between space and organizing practices. It argues that developing a better understanding of this relationship requires studying the affective quality of space, namely the potential of space to generate affective responses in the people who encounter it and to increase or decrease people's bodily capacity to act. Building on an ethnographic study of a Nordic startup incubator, the dissertation focuses on how the affective quality of a collaborative workspace emerges and influences participants' capacity to engage with the day-to-day practices of the incubator. The findings are reported in four papers. The first paper lays the groundwork for the empirical chapters by examining the existing literature on organizational space. It shows how authors have recently theorized space as a processual and constitutive part of organizations and organizing. The paper identifies five different process orientations and four key constructs that underpin knowledge creation regarding organizational space. The second paper develops a concept of affecto-rhythmic order to capture how rhythms and affects interrelate in the flow of spatial organizational practices. The paper demonstrates how incubator participants learn and embody a contextual affecto-rhythmic order of "upbeat" and how this enhances their capacity to engage with the incubator practices. The third paper explores how the affective quality of a collaborative workspace emerges and develops over a period of three years. It highlights how the affective space creates possibilities to problematize dominant (masculine, controlled, rational) modes of being but also fosters tendencies towards their reproduction. The study highlights how the affective quality of organizational space may produce unintended consequences at any given moment. The fourth paper studies the types of ethnographic approaches employed in organizational space research. It identifies three types of approaches, shows how they privilege different forms of space, and highlights their tendency towards representational epistemology. Against this background, it illustrates how affective ethnography can help organizational space researchers move towards more-than-representational analysis of space and affect. The dissertation makes three main contributions to organizational research. It (1) theorizes and empirically shows how the affective quality of organizational space emerges and contributes to power and politics in organizing, (2) demonstrates how different forms of process theorizing can advance the understanding of organizational space, and (3) illustrates and further develops affective ethnography as a research approach to organizational studies. - Ageing and entrepreneurial preferences
School of Business | A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä(2014) Kautonen, Teemu; Down, Simon; Minniti, MariaPrevious research on age and entrepreneurship assumed homogeneity and downplayed age-related differences in the motives and aims underlying enterprising behaviour. We argue that the heterogeneity of entrepreneurship influences how the level of entrepreneurial activity varies with age. Using a sample of 2566 respondents from 27 European countries we show that entrepreneurial activity increases almost linearly with age for individuals who prefer to only employ themselves (self-employers), whereas it increases up to a critical threshold age (late 40s) and decreases thereafter for those who aspire to hire workers (owner-managers). Age has a considerably smaller effect on entrepreneurial behaviour for those who do not prefer self-employment but are pushed into it by lack of alternative employment opportunities (reluctant entrepreneurs). Our results question the conventional wisdom that entrepreneurial activity declines with age and suggest that effective responses to demographic changes require policy makers to pay close attention to the heterogeneity of entrepreneurial preferences. - Agency compensation models in search engine advertising - a multiple case study
School of Business | Master's thesis(2015) Heinonen, KaroliinaObjectives: The objective of this study was to investigate what agency compensation models are available for search engine advertising (SEA) in the Finnish market and explain the rationale and selection process for why certain models are being used. This is deemed highly important and current as SEA is now globally estimated to be the most popular form of digital marketing available for firms of all sizes, and these functions are suggested to be often outsourced to advertising agencies due to their high complexity. This study uses and tests agency theory as a theoretical lens to examine how the interests of an advertising client and its agency can be aligned to motivate the agency to work in the client's best interest. Agency theory was deemed a particularly useful framework to examine SEA compensation models as it has been often used for the similar objective of examining what compensation schemes are most suitable for various contexts and helping predict how various models affect managerial behaviour. Methodology: The empirical research was conducted as a multiple case study. The primary, qualitative data for the study was gathered through themed interviews with key model selection influencing respondents from 8 search engine marketing, digital and media agencies operating in the Finnish market. The study is primarily deductive whereby a theoretical model is developed by combining both agency theory and related theoretical extensions. The model is then retrospectively tested in the empirical setting to evaluate its ability to predict and explain compensation model selection decisions for the SEA context. Key Findings: The findings of this study revealed 7 different compensation models being used in the Finnish market with one of them, namely the New Commission, being completely new to extant literature. The findings revealed that no compensation models was considered ideal and that the model selection decision is driven by agencies and clients making tradeoffs between what desirable features they consider most important. The importance of each desirable feature is affected by a large number of moderating and boundary contextual factors that affect desirable feature valuation both in the beginning of the relationship as well as when the relationship progresses. Agency theory was found to be a sound predictor of the nature of compensation models in the beginning of the relationship but its predictive and explanatory capabilities reduced as the relationship progressed. This is due to the theories inability to explain the changes in feature evaluation over time or encompass the meaning of trust in the agency-client relationship. - Agendasta ämpäriin- esimiesten näkemyksiä palaverien roolista johdon työkaluna
School of Business | Master's thesis(2014) Mäkelä, TuuliTämän tutkielman tavoitteena on selvittää esimiesten näkemyksiä palaverien roolista organisaatioiden arjessa sekä johtamisen välineenä. Tutkielma keskittyy erityisesti esimiesten rooliin sisäisten palaverien vetäjänä ja miten he edistävät omalla toiminnallaan palaverien tehokkuutta. Lisäksi tutkimus pyrkii selvittämään minkälainen rooli fasilitoinnilla on esimiesten palaverikäytännöissä. Näitä tuloksia pyritään heijastamaan organisaatiokulttuurin näkökulmasta kilpailevien arvojen mallia hyödyntäen. Tutkimusaineisto on kerätty haastattelemalla kahdeksaa johtotehtävissä toimivaa henkilöä, jotka työskentelevät Suomen parhaat työpaikat 2014-listaukseen kuuluvissa organisaatioissa. Tutkimus on toteutettu semistrukturoituna teemahaastattteluna AI- lähestymistapaa hyödyntäen. Tutkimuksen teoriaosuudessa esitellään palavereihin liittyvää aiempaa tutkimusta siitä, miten palaverit kytkeytyvät organisaatioiden sisäiseen viestintään, johtamiseen sekä organisaatiokulttuuriin. Lisäksi palavereja tarkastellaan Return on Investment-näkökulmasta, ja kuvataan mitkä tekijät ja miten ne vaikuttavat palaverien kokonaiskustannuksiin. Tutkimuksen keskeisin löydös liittyy siihen, että palaverien rooli organisaatioissa riippuu pitkälti siitä, mielletäänkö palaveriin osallistuminen varsinaiseksi työksi vai tukeeko se palaverin ulkopuolista työtä. Palavereihin ei kiinnitä organisaatioissa erityisesti huomiota esimerkiksi ohjeiden, seurannan tai koulutuksen näkökulmasta, vaan ne muodostuvat pitkälti vetäjiensä näköisiksi. Palaverien tehokkuus lepää siten pitkälti palaverin pitäjän kompetenssin varassa. Tutkimustulosten perusteella esimiehet painottavat perinteiseen palaverijohtamiseen liittyviä tekijöitä, kuten agendan, valmistautumisen, ajankäytön ja fokuksen säilyttämisen merkitystä. Fasilitoinnin rooli palaverityöskentelyssä on melko vähäinen. Palaverien kehittämistarpeet vaihtelivat organisaatiokulttuurin olemuksesta riippuen, mutta yleisesti haastateltavien kehittämistarpeissa painottui palaverityöskentelyn kokonaisvaltaisempi johtaminen sekä luovuuden edistäminen palavereissa. - AIDS galas and meat free mondays - a case study on the promotional CSR communication of luxury fashion brands
School of Business | Master's thesis(2014) Hindrén, NooraThe objective of this study was to find out how luxury fashion brands communicate CSR to the consumers. Because covering all the communication channels was not feasible, the research was narrowed down to CSR advertising in print media and CSR communication in Facebook. These two media were selected because they both target the big audience,and there was only little previous research on CSR communication in those contexts, and even less from the perspective of luxury fashion brands. The type of communication studied can be referred to as promotional CSR communication, which differs from informative CSR communication in terms of communication goals and means of persuasion: promotional CSR communication aims at improved CSR image and increased sales, and it takes advantage of all three means of persuasion, ethos, pathos and logos. Based on the literature review credibility was recognized as the most important aspect in the promotional CSR communication of modern luxury fashion brands. Thus, the empirical analysis focuses on the elements influencing the credibility of communication. Those elements were divided into two groups: 'context-dependent factors', and 'general guidelines and means of influencing'. From the context dependent factors themes communicated were the main object of analysis the key questions being how the themes fit the brand image and the actual CSR performance of the brand. Third party endorsement and factualness were identified as concrete means for enhancing the credibility of communication. The study was conducted as a case study and the research method was qualitative content analysis. Two quite different brands were selected as case companies in order to see whether the CSR strategy and motivations are reflected in the communication. Both of the case companies communicated themes with somewhat vague connection to the brands, however, also examples of good cause-brand fit were found. The case companies did not use factual claims, and concreteness in broader terms was also rare. One of the brands took advantage of third party endorsement, where as the other one did not. The brand with CSR engagement stemming from the founder's values and integrative CSR strategy had more variation in its communication and the messages supported an image that CSR was an integral part of the brand identity. The brand without such background communicated mostly about charity involvement. Both of the case companies appeared to be holding back their promotional CSR communication one way or another, which might be explained by the prioritization of a luxurious image over CSR messages. - Äijä äijien joukossa? Narratiivinen tutkimus naisasiantuntijoiden myönteisten identiteettien rakentumisesta miesvaltaisessa työympäristössä
School of Business | Master's thesis(2015) Hyytiä, PauliinaTämän tutkielman tavoitteena on lisätä ymmärrystä naisasiantuntijoiden myönteisten identiteettien rakentumisesta miesvaltaisella alalla sekä näiden identiteettien lähteistä. Keskityn erityisesti siihen, miten naiset puhuvat itsestään ja miten he asemoivat itsensä kertomuksissa. Tutkimukseni nojaa sosiaalisen konstruktivismin tieteenfilosofiaan, jossa tiedon ajatellaan rakentuvan ihmisten välisissä suhteissa ja vuorovaikutuksessa. Tästä näkökulmasta tarkastelen myös käyttämääni teoreettista viitekehystä: identiteettien rakentumista kertomuksissa tapahtuvan asemoinnin kautta. Tutkimustani varten olen haastatellut kahdeksaa naisasiantuntijaa, jotka työskentelevät miesvaltaisen yrityksen liiketoiminnassa. Lähestyin naisasiantuntijoiden identiteetin rakentumisen prosessia narratiivisen analyysin keinoin. Sovelsin sekä aineistoni keräämisessä että sen analysoinnissa narratiivisen tutkimuksen suuntaviivoja identiteetin rakentumista kuvaavien identiteettipositioiden löytämiseen. Aloitin analyysini etsimällä aineistosta kertomuksia, joissa haastattelemani naisasiantuntijat asemoivat itseään kerronnan käytäntöjen avulla. Kokosin niitä yhteen esiintyneiden teemojen kautta, mutta säilytin samalla jokaisen yksittäisen haastatellun kertomukset myös kokonaisuuksina. Lopuksi erittelin vielä positioiden syntymiseen vaikuttaneet identiteettien lähteet. Tunnistin haastatteluista kolme identiteettiasemaa, jotka löytyivät kaikkien haastattelemieni naisten kertomuksista. Näitä identiteettipositioita olivat pätevä ammattilaisuus, äijyys sekä erityinen asema naisena. Tutkimuksessani nousi esille, että naisasiantuntijat asemoivat itsensä tietoisesti ja ensisijaisesti päteviksi ammattilaisiksi. Miesvaltainen työympäristö asetti kuitenkin monenlaisia haasteita, vaikka toisaalta se vaikutti sopivan paremmin useille haastattelemilleni asiantuntijoille. Analyysissä esille nousseet erilaiset identiteettiasemat kuvasivat naisten identiteetin tasapainottelua miesvaltaisen työympäristön luomien ja heidän omien käsitystensä välillä. Positiiviset identiteetit miesvaltaisella alalla rakentuivatkin vahvasti sukupuolittuneiden käsitysten varaan - siis suhteessa ympäröivään maailmaan ja alalla vallitseviin käsityksiin. - Akkujen merkitys kasvaa: milloin, miten ja millä edellytyksillä? – suomalaisten toimijoiden näkemyksiä vuoden 2018 alussa
School of Business | D4 Julkaistu kehittämis- tai tutkimusraportti tai -selvitys(2018) Lovio, Raimo; Tuomi, TapioTämä julkaisu liittyy Suomen Akatemian strategisen tutkimuksen neuvoston rahoittamaan Smart Energy Transition (SET) -hankkeeseen (314325) (www.smartenergytransition.fi). SET-hanke tutkii, miten Suomi voi hyötyä hajautetun ja vaihtelevan uusiutuvan energian ympärille nousevista murroksellisista teknologioista. Kyse on ratkaisuista, joissa energiaa voidaan varastoida tai sen tarvetta ohjata vaihtelevan tuotannon mukaan. Näihin ratkaisuihin liittyvät olennaisesti uudet digitaaliset ratkaisut, kuten esineiden internet. Samalla murrokseen liittyy myös kehitys, jossa rakennusten ja liikenteen energian tarve pienenee, energiaomavaraisuus kasvaa, ja rakennukset ja liikennevälineet muodostavat yhä kiinteämmän osan energiajärjestelmää. - Alcohol advertising restrictions in Finland: How changes in the operating environment affect business strategy
School of Business | Master's thesis(2015) Länsiö, LottaResearch Objectives: The purpose of this study is to understand the effects of change in the operating environment on the strategy of firms acting in that environment. To study this phenomenon, this research addresses the effects of the new alcohol advertising restrictions (instated in 2015) on the business strategy of alcoholic beverage producers in Finland. To understand how a regulatory change in the environment impacts Finnish alcoholic beverage producers' strategies, the study aims to find out what the firms' strategy processes are, what the relationship between the operating environment and the firm is and how they impact each other, and how change is dealt with in the current dynamic environment. Methodology: The empirical data for this study was compiled from six semi-structured interviews with top management team members from some of the largest Finnish alcoholic beverage producing firms. The respondents were selected as they have thorough knowledge and insight on the inner-workings of their respective firms' strategy processes and relationships with the operating environment, and are the central decision makers in the industry and thus play a direct role in the future of the business. The interviews were interpreted through thematic analysis using a systematic coding process. Findings: The findings of the study indicate that change in the operating environment has an impact on firm strategy. It is suggested that the greatest impact of environmental change is on the execution of firm strategy, rather than the strategic visioning and position of the firm in the market. Changes in the environment require firms to either adapt their internal resources or obtain new, relevant ones in order to meet the demands of the changed environment, which in turn requires close monitoring of the environment. The findings also suggest that feedback effects exist between firm behavior and the environment. Frequent environmental change results in firms developing resources that help them impact the environment in the longer-term. - Algorithmic food - How “software is eating the world"
A4 Artikkeli konferenssijulkaisussa(2020) Paavola, Lauri; Sele, KathrinIn this paper, we explore how algorithms have empowered customers and promoted their preferences, while turning the sourcing of food from the purchase of a valuable good into a simple transaction. Focusing on the generative character of algorithms in the organizing of food, we study the changing nature of food retailing in the UK over the last 20 years. Theoretically we focus on the role that algorithms and thus technology have played in the transformation of the organizing of food and shed new light on how the latter has undergone tremendous changes. Our study enhances the current understanding of the impact big data has and will have on many organizational aspects and demonstrates that we need to have a better and more critical understanding of its consequences. - Aligning IT strategy with business strategy: A case study of global IT consultancy firms
School of Business | Master's thesis(2015) Mazumder, MaitreyeeTraditionally IT played a supportive and administrative role within organizations, however the increasing complexity in business environment and rapid development of IT has empowered IT to play a strategic role that leverages and sustains organisational strategy. Furthermore, alignment or fit between IT strategy and business strategy is very significant and both researchers and practitioners advocate such alignment. The main objective of this thesis is to acquire in-depth insight on how three major IT consultancy firm Accenture, Tata Consultancy Services, and Cognizant Technology Solutions headquartered in three different continents leverage IT strategy to reinforce business strategy for clients. In addition, the study also aims to deduce how the case companies comprehension and approach to strategic themes related to IT strategy diverge and converge from each other. The literature review acquaints the readers with the origin of the term strategy and how the meaning of the term itself has evolved and undergone several changes over time. Furthermore the review also sheds light on how scholars and academics elucidate, describe and portray "strategy". Besides the literature review also expands on various strategic themes that are significant for business like strategic change and its protagonists, connection between strategy and organizational structure, significance of strategic alliances and partnerships ,strategic decision making under uncertainty and significance of performance measurement and goal setting for strategy work. Additionally the review also examines how scholars elucidate and describe information technology and various dimensions, levels and significance of business -IT alignment. The research methodology chosen for this thesis is qualitative multiple case study of case companies. The research utilizes secondary data accumulated from case company's official website. The empirical research section mainly comprises of three parts : description of case companies elucidation of IT strategy to potential clients, thematic content analysis of various strategic IT services offered by case companies to sustain and reinforce business strategies, and cross case analysis of three case companies. The research has revealed that the case companies are quite similar in their perception and description of IT strategy. A closer look at the data yielded by the study indicates that the case companies describe IT strategy as tool, formula or package of services that helps companies in pursuing and attaining superior competitiveness. Furthermore, the research also provides important insights on key themes within strategic IT services offered by case companies to sustain and reinforce business strategies. In essence, the key themes are strategic change, organizational structure re-design, strategic partnership, decision making under uncertainty, performance measurement and goal setting. Besides, the data yielded by this study appears to suggest that the case companies offer strikingly similar services related to IT strategy . Services albeit are titled and marketed differently, but if one scrutinizes the offerings in details, one will easily come to conclusion that the core services are quite similar. In addition, it is worth noting that the case companies comprehension and approach to key themes within strategic IT services is strikingly similar to academic research on similar strategic themes. - Aligning sourcing activities with corporate strategy
School of Business | Master's thesis(2014) Buczek, KristopherIn this paper I set out to discover how global firms ensure that sourcing activities are aligned with corporate strategy. In order to understand this, I broke the problem down into three specific questions, which were: 1) How does strategy flow through the sourcing departments of large firms? 2) What hurdles do sourcing departments face when trying to implement corporate strategy? 3) What tools are available in improving the alignment between corporate strategies and sourcing activities? Specifically, I wanted to answer these questions by using the example of a real life case company, and was fortunate enough have in-depth access to a large European manufacturing and engineering firm (referred to as Company X) which has implemented global sourcing operations. I answered the first question by developing a model of how strategy flows through the sourcing operations of large firms. In order to do so, I studied both the relevant literature (discussed in detail in Section 2) and the real-life operations of Company X. My model, referred to as the strategy flow model throughout the paper, was by no means perfect or inclusive of every single factor involved in that very complex process, but it certainly helped to set the framework needed to answer the latter questions. Interviews with employees of Company X provided answers to the second question. The major hurdles faced by sourcing departments when trying to implement corporate strategy were identified as (1) the difficulty in balancing the need of global leveraging with the need for local responsiveness, (2) challenges faced by data quality and availability, and (3) communicating corporate strategy and initiatives throughout the organization. Interviews with employees of Company X also helped to answer the third question. The tools used by the firm to align sourcing activities with corporate strategy were directly related to the hurdles identified in the second question. Regarding the global vs. local conundrum, Company X has successfully implemented a matrix-structured category management approach. Regarding the issues related to data quality and availability, Company X has taken actions such as installing well-defined processes and creating specific job roles which focus on sourcing process management. Regarding the issue of communicating corporate strategy throughout organizations, Company X had found great success through the use of a visual tool which depicts the major elements of their strategy (such as vision, targets, industry trends and major initiatives). The vast majority of this research was completely focused on a single firm's sourcing department. This means that while it allowed for great depth in explaining the situation of one firm, there are limitations in being able to generalize the findings to other functions, firms or industries. For that to be done, future quantitative analyses could be completed which would ask similar (but more generalizable) questions across a much wider data set.