764 research outputs found

    Way of the Ferret: Finding and Using Resources on the Internet

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    This source-book is designed to aid educators in exploring the Internet.https://scholarworks.wm.edu/educationbook/1000/thumbnail.jp

    The role of digitalization in the internationalization process of a traditional SME

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    The emergence of digital technologies and the on-going digital transformation accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic has presented also traditional SMEs opportunities to exploit the advantages of digitalization in their internationalization process. Although, digitalization and its connection to entrepreneurship have been studied by various researchers, there are few studies examining the phenomenon from the perspective of an SME and even less focusing on the traditional SMEs. The objective of the study is thus, to fill the research gap and extend the research to examine the role of digitalization in the internationalization process of a traditional SME. The term traditional SME is used in this study to describe a small and medium -sized enterprise trading consumer goods and services that exist in the physical dimension. The research was conducted in a form of a qualitative case study consisting of three Finland-based companies. The study was further supported by a literature review focusing on theoretical research around digitalization, internationalization, and the relationship between those two topics. The study’s aim is to answer the research question “How can digitalization advance the internationalization process of a traditional SME?”. The study’s findings show that digitalization has an enabling role in the internationalization process of a traditional SME. According to the results, digitalization can advance the internationalization process in terms of decreased risks related to foreign market selection, increased reach of wide audiences in a cost-efficient manner, and possibilities to swiftly implement data-based marketing decisions to support revenue creation. Additionally, remote operations enabled by digitalization create new international business opportunities and allow traditional SMEs to generate direct international sales. Lastly, digitalization enables resource-efficient internal and external value creation. The findings further emphasize the significance of the companies’ entrepreneurial orientation towards digitalization, appropriate capabilities, and sufficient resources in order to benefit from the opportunities presented by digitalization.Digitaalisten teknologioiden kehitys ja meneillään oleva Covid-19-pandemian kiihdyttämä digitaalinen transformaatio ovat luoneet mahdollisuuksia myös perinteisille pienille ja keskisuurille yrityksille (pk-yrityksille). Yksi näistä mahdollisuuksista on digitalisaation hyödyntäminen pk-yritysten kansainvälistymisessä. Digitalisaatiosta ja sen yhteydestä yrittäjyyteen on tehty lukuisia tutkimuksia, mutta ilmiötä ei ole juurikaan käsitelty pk-yrityksen saatikka perinteisen pk-yrityksen näkökulmasta. Tutkielman tarkoituksena on laajentaa aikaisempaa digitalisaation tutkimusta ja selvittää digitalisaation roolia perinteisten pk-yritysten kansainvälistymisprosessissa. Tässä tutkielmassa termillä “perinteinen pk-yritys” tarkoitetaan pieniä ja keskisuuria yrityksiä, jotka toimittavat fyysisessä muodossa olevia tuotteita ja palveluita. Tutkielma suoritettiin laadullisena tapaustutkimuksena, joka koostui kolmesta suomalaisesta yrityksestä. Tämän lisäksi tutkielma hyödyntää digitalisaatiota, kansainvälistymistä ja näiden kahden aiheen suhdetta käsittelevää teoreettista tutkimusaineistoa. Tutkielman tavoitteena on vastata kysymykseen “Miten digitalisaatio voi hyödyttää perinteisen pk-yrityksen kansainvälistymisprosessia?” Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että digitalisaatiolla on avustava rooli tutkimuskohteiden kansainvälistymisessä. Tulosten mukaan digitalisaatio voi hyödyttää kansainvälistymisprosessia usealla tavalla: vähentäen ulkomaan markkinavalintaan liittyviä riskejä, kasvattamalla kustannustehokkaasti suurten yleisöjen saavutettavuutta, ja mahdollistamalla nopeiden dataan perustuvien markkinointipäätösten implementoinnin tuloksen kasvattamiseksi. Lisäksi digitalisaation mahdollistamat etätoiminnot luovat uusia kansainvälisen liiketoiminnan tilaisuuksia sekä antavat perinteisille pk-yrityksille kyvykkyyden kansainvälisten suorien tulovirtojen muodostamiseen. Kaiken tämän lisäksi digitalisaatio toimii alustana resurssitehokkaalle sisäiselle ja ulkoiselle arvon luomiselle. Tulokset korostavat lisäksi organisaatioiden digitalisaatioon suuntautuvan yrittäjämäisyyden, soveltuvien kyvykkyyksien ja riittävien resurssien merkitystä digitalisaation tuomien mahdollisuuksien hyödyntämisessä

    Start-up company analysis and theories for internationalization: Case HVO Finland Oy

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    Purpose - The rise of e-commerce and software startup companies have significantly changed the Internet and business playground. HVO Finland Oy is a young startup company, operating in software industry providing a health care site for manual therapy businesses. The purpose of this paper is to investigate internationalization as a concept analyzing different theories and to investigate a case company HVO internally and externally. The theoretical framework studies several common theories in an early startup perspective, representing stage theories, international entrepreneurship and external environment using Porter's 5forces theory. The main purpose is the fact that we are emphasizing the importance of analysing the company itself. All internationalization is based on transferring a working concept to another country and the basis of this is in the working concept. As the company operates in the Finnish market the comparison is done with the US market and the Finnish market honouring the company's interests Design/methodology/approach - Data is done qualitatively through open and semi structured interview, which was conducted to HVO Finland Oy Chairman of the Board. A 3rd party consultant work was distributed and utilized by the researchers in the internal study of the company. A proposed research models were investigated through secondary research using theories that ignore and notice the role of the entrepreneur especially in the early stage start-up company. Findings - The empirical research shows that the common stage models do not support the study of an early startup company. The main academic value comes from the more precise view of this second part in internationalization Model for Software companies. The end result is that the company is, despite of its micro size and young age, well equipped for internationalization phase. As the company's idea can be described as "born global" it is clear that the true potential lies abroad. Research limitations/implications - There are some limitations that the research paper uses. The questionnaire data is provided from one key executive from the company. The research findings have significant implications for the practicing managers, and thus it is not generable with any further context. Originality / Value - The research has a contribution with literature of internationalization and early stage startup case HVO. The study is a research paper with introducing different internationalization theories and providing a case study with the HVO Finland Oy company investigation. Keywords - Entrepreneurship, Internationalization, startup, Software Company, HVO Finland Oy, Micro Enterprise, Born Global. Paper type: Case Stud

    Market opportunity development process: Multiple case study on Finnish SMEs internationalizing to emerging markets

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    The main objective of the thesis was to examine how international market opportunities develop in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The opportunity development of SMEs in international context has not been the focus of many in-depth qualitative studies. The theoretical part of the research focused on international entrepreneurship, opportunity formation, foreign market knowledge and network view. The preliminary theoretical framework is built on the concepts of market orientation, international exposure, network-embedded foreign market knowledge, entrepreneurial alertness and market knowledge competence. The theoretical framework also included the core process of opportunity development, which is defined by perception, discovery and creation of opportunities. The framework was empirically tested with a multiple case study. The empirical part was based on face-to-face interviews with Finnish SMEs developing market opportunities to emerging markets. The empirical analysis supports the theoretical findings to a large extent. It can be concluded that entrepreneurs’ and the SMEs’ previous international experience had an impact on the opportunity development by increasing the alertness and foreign knowledge competence of the firms. In addition, empirical results support the theoretical finding that internationalizing SMEs develop their foreign market knowledge principally in networks. Furthermore, foreign information received from institutional, business and social networks worked often as an initiative for the SMEs to launch their opportunity development. Proactiveness and curiosity towards all information in networks are central for SMEs’ market orientation. Market orientation developed towards market knowledge competence by processing the market information within their organizations. For this, inter-functional knowledge sharing and constant innovation were essential. The core process of opportunity development was dynamic and iterative. It included phases of both creation and discovery, although often shifting towards creation as the firm’s market presence stabilized.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

    Geographic Mobility in the European Union: Optimising its Economic and Social Benefits

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    One of the founding principles of the European Union is the freedom of movement of workers (Article 39 of the Treaty establishing the European Community). The free movement of workers is essential for the creation of an area without internal frontiers, and for the strength-ening of economic and social cohesion and active citizenship.Taking an economic perspective, geographic mobility can have major positive effects by bringing about economic growth in countries with labour deficits and prosperity in countries with labour surplus. Hence, the diffusion of skills through occupational and geographic mo-bility is a central factor to enhance the productive capacity of firms and put regions or na-tional economies on a higher growth path. Taking a social perspective, geographical mobility has the potential of fostering social-cultural integration in the European Union, and strength-ening European identity and inter-cultural networks

    Computer Science Principles with Python

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    This textbook is intended to be used for a first course in computer science, such as the College Board’s Advanced Placement course known as AP Computer Science Principles (CSP). This book includes all the topics on the CSP exam, plus some additional topics. It takes a breadth-first approach, with an emphasis on the principles which form the foundation for hardware and software. No prior experience with programming should be required to use this book. This version of the book uses the Python programming language.https://rdw.rowan.edu/oer/1024/thumbnail.jp

    From Science in the Arctic to Arctic Science: A Transnational Study of Arctic Travel Narratives, 1818-1883

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    This thesis examines the making and communicating of knowledge about the Arctic from a transnational perspective between 1818 and the First International Polar Year in 1882-83. By examining both well-known and hitherto neglected narratives from Danish, British, and British-Canadian Arctic explorations, I show that changes in ideas about what it meant to be an authoritative observer of Arctic phenomena were linked to tensions in imperial ambitions, national identity, and international collaboration. By framing polar surveying in the broadest sense as the ordering and quantifying of nature through travel, I analyse how abstract notions of the Arctic became tangible in the nineteenth century. I am concerned with the practices of writing the Arctic experience, especially the relationship between science, and the strategies for constructing a trustworthy narrative voice. That is, I investigate the ways in which the identities of the explorers and the organizing bodies shaped the expeditions, and by extension the representation of the ventures, the explorers, and the science they produced. In doing so, I argue that the Arctic played a key role in shaping Western science, and understandings of national and imperial identities, and that travel narratives were a significant resource for communicating this knowledge. This thesis is divided into four chapters that each considers three case studies, roughly organized according to chronology. Drawing on major themes within British and Danish imperial history, Canadian studies, studies in travel writing, history of science, transnational and global history, and environmental studies, I show how perceptions of the Arctic as a field-site for the production of scientific knowledge varied according to time and place throughout the nineteenth century, and how this influenced science in the Arctic. In particular, I show the shift from early scientific practices during Arctic explorations, to a more unified Arctic science as part of the International Polar Year. What emerges is a new and interdisciplinary look at how science was produced in the Arctic, how this information was perceived by both a specialist and general reading audiences, and how this process differed depending on national and cultural contexts at different points in the nineteenth century
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