Yritysten kansainvälinen ja paikallinen toiminta

Tiivistelmä. Tänä päivänä yritysten on kilpailtava globaaleilla markkinoilla. Tämä luo haasteet menestymiseen. Siksi yritykset tarvitsevat globaaleja kumppaneita ja toimitusketjuja pärjätäkseen markkinoilla kiihtyvässä kilpailutilantessa. Kaikki yritykset eivät toimi globaalisti, mutta suurimmalla osalla yrityksiä on olemassa joitain toimintoja ulkomailla. Lokaalitoimija voi pärjätä hyvin omilla markkinoilla ja luoda kilpailuetua siten, että se erikoistuu johonkin tuotteeseen, palveluun tai ratkaisuun. Tuotteella on tällöin korkea jalostusarvo. Asiakkaalle on luotava lisärvoa kaikilla toimitusketjun tasoilla. Vaikkakin työvoimakustannukset ovat suhteessa Suomessa korkeita on täällä pärjättävä meidän olosuhteissa ja luotava kilpailuetua omalla osaamissektorilla. Omat kumppanit on valittava hyvin. On vaikeaa lähteä muuttamaan toimitusketjun osallisia koska se tuottaa kustannuksia ja on aikaa vievää. Työssä selvitettiin kirjallisuuskatsauksen ja empiirisen tutkimuksen avulla globaaleja ja lokaaleja toimitusketjuja ja niiden tuomia haasteita yrityksille. Samalla selvitettiin miksi yritykset toimivat niin kuin toimivat kansainvälisesti ja paikallisesti. Tutkimuskysymyksiin saatiin vastaus niin kirjallisuuskatsauksesta, että empiirisestä tutkimuksesta. Syynä yritysten globaaliintoimintaan voivat olla kustannussäästöt, markkinoiden sijainti ja markkinoille pääseminen. Myös edullisemmat tuotantokustannukset ja erikoistunut tekniikka luovat ne syyt miksi yritykset toimivat globaalisti sekä lokalisti. Asiasanat: toimitusketju, toimitusketjun hallinta, globalisaatio, logistiikkaGlobal and local operations of companies. Abstract. Today, companies need to compete in the global marketplace. This creates challenges to success. Therefore, a company needs global partners and supply chains to cope with the accelerating competition in the market. The aim is to develop and establish long-term relationships while striving to create cost savings and make strategic choices related to supply chain management. Not all companies operate globally, but most companies have some operations abroad. A local player can do well in its own market and create a competitive advantage by specializing in a product, service, or solution. The product then has a high added value. Additional value must be created for the customer at all levels of the supply chain. Although labor costs are relatively high in Finland, we must cope with our conditions and create a competitive advantage in our own competence sector. The partners must be chosen well. It is difficult to start changing the actors in the supply chain because it generates costs and is time consuming. With the help of a literature review and empirical research, the study examined global and local supply chains and the challenges they bring to companies. At the same time, it was investigated why companies operate as they do internationally and locally. The research questions were answered from both the literature review and the empirical research. The reasons for companies’ global operations can be cost savings, market location and market access. Cheaper production costs and specialized technology also create the reasons why companies operate globally as well as locally

Organizing external stakeholder engagement in inter-organizational projects:opening the black box

Abstract External stakeholder engagement is crucial for delivering value to diverse stakeholders in inter-organizational projects, however, it is not straightforward to organize this in a way that adds value. The intra-organizational focus of previous research offers limited insights into the relevant roles, responsibilities, arrangements and activities in inter-organizational contexts. Moreover, comprehensive empirical studies of the phenomenon are rare. This study explicates how internal stakeholders organize external stakeholder engagement in inter-organizational projects. Our multiple-case study of two infrastructure projects in Northern Europe identified three organizing solutions based on governance, values and dynamism. While governance-based solutions provide an overall structure for organizing external stakeholder engagement, value-based solutions ensure genuine cooperation and dynamism-based solutions facilitate timely organizing. The study develops propositions that constitute a model of how external stakeholder engagement can be organized in inter-organizational projects. The findings have implications for project stakeholder management and mainstream stakeholder research

Stakeholder management in complex product systems:practices and rationales for engagement and disengagement

Abstract Collaboration with stakeholders has become a cornerstone of contemporary business; however, absolute collaboration is not trouble-free. The present study explores how and why firms engage and disengage external stakeholders in their value-creating activities in complex product systems over time. From the existing research on stakeholder management, we know that actor roles, strategies, reasons and challenges of engaging external stakeholders in innovation and business activities vary across contexts. However, additional research is needed to construct a more comprehensive understanding of the practices as well as their rationales by which firms engage or disengage external stakeholders in complex product systems. Our empirical study of a European district development megaproject improves the current understanding of stakeholder management in complex product systems contexts. We derive nine practices and four rationales that timely describe the engagement and disengagement of external stakeholders. The study develops a processual model of stakeholder management in complex product systems with implications for both stakeholder management literature and managerial practice

Global and local operations of Finnish metal industry companies during COVID-19 and trade disruptions:a case study

Abstract Purpose: Globally operating companies have been disrupted by many simultaneous crises in recent years, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit, and trade wars. This study identifies the key factors in companies’ decisions to expand their global supply chains or to operate more locally in today’s world. Study design/methodology/approach: This article contains a literature review and empirical study. Representatives from three Finnish B2B manufacturing companies in the metal industry were interviewed about their international and local operations. Findings: The key reasons for global operations included a large supplier base, component availability, lower costs, and specialised products. Typical problems included quality issues, long lead times, and communication challenges. Specific risks and mitigations around COVID-19, Brexit, and trade wars are also presented. Originality/value: The study provides updated information on global and local operations. Unique reasons for global operations included manufacturing Engineer-to-Order (ETO) products close to the customer and changes in products

Game-based learning and students’ motivation in project management education

Abstract Research on game-based learning (GBL) methods shows that they may increase students’ motivation and learning in the context of higher education. However, there is still unclarity regarding whether and how GBL methods can be utilized in project management education. Our quasi-experimental study analyzes project management students’ experiences of a GBL method applied in six European higher education institutes during late 2021 and early 2022. Data about students’ experiences were collected using a post-game survey in which students were asked to evaluate how the applied GBL method affected their motivation and learning. The data were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Our findings include students’ positive and negative perceptions related to the applied GBL method, which influenced students’ motivation to study and learn project management phenomena. Our findings indicate that game-based learning solutions can be used to motivate students and to prepare learners to deal with uncertainty, as in real-life projects

The role of governmental stakeholder engagement in the sustainability of industrial engineering projects

Abstract Purpose: The aim of this research was to understand how governmental stakeholder engagement facilitates the sustainability of industrial engineering (IE) projects. A model for governmental stakeholder engagement activities is presented. Design/methodology/approach: The authors relied on a single-case study of a mining project in Northern Europe, where a novel collaboration and engagement approach with governmental stakeholders was piloted in the project's front-end phase. The analysis focused on the collaborative practices through which the IE project investor engaged governmental stakeholders during the project's front-end phase and how the engagement contributed to solving challenges in the early planning and permitting process and achieving project plans that balanced economic, social and environmental aspects. Findings: The findings show how four collaborative engagement practices reduced uncertainty and equivocality related to the legal sustainability requirements, enabled the development of sustainable design solutions and overall accelerated the permitting process without compromising the quality of final project plans. Practical implications: The findings can be used to plan governmental stakeholder engagement and understand related challenges that need to be overcome. The study highlights the need to develop established practices and guidelines for governmental stakeholder engagement. Originality/value: This study complements prior research on stakeholder engagement and project sustainability by developing an understanding of how governmental stakeholder engagement can be a key mechanism enabling the sustainability of IE project's end product. This research contributes to stakeholder theory by elaborating on a new stakeholder role, intermediary stakeholder

The client’s essential stakeholder collaboration activities at the front-end phase of a hospital construction project

Abstract Purpose: The research problem in this study is how a client (as a project owner) should organise early stakeholder involvement and integration in the front-end phase of a project. This study aims to create normative managerial statements as propositions from the client’s perspective and to combine them into a set of activities enabling efficient organisation in the front-end phase of a hospital construction project. Design/methodology/approach: Action design research (ADR) was carried out in a large hospital construction project where the first author acted as an “involved researcher” and the other authors acted as “outside researchers”. Findings: The authors created seven normative managerial propositions that were verified by the case project stakeholders and developed a managerial framework describing the client’s essential stakeholder involvement and integration activities in the front-end phase of a hospital construction project based on these propositions. The authors have also depicted the subphases of the front-end phase: value definition phase in the client permanent organisation, value proposition phase in the client Programme Management Office (PMO) and finally development phase in the alliance organisation ending on the final investment decision. Practical implications: The collaborative contract delivery model enables the early involvement and integration of stakeholders. It has been somewhat surprising to note the extent to which collaborative contracts change the client role in the project front-end. The results offer practical activities for how clients can manage front-end activities in collaborative contracts. Originality/value: The case project offered a platform to analyse how the collaborative contract delivery model changes the emphasis of activities in the front-end of a project. One of the key benefits of collaborative contracts is that development, design and delivery occur partially in parallel, thereby enabling contributions from production to be included in the design and development. The benefit of having a real-life case under study provides the possibility to triangulate and analyse rich data, however limited by the qualitative case method

A complexity perspective on project stakeholder management

Abstract Managing stakeholders is an essential part of complex project organizing. Stakeholder management is a key activity for creating value to project stakeholders and ensuring successful project delivery. However, previous research suggests that stakeholder management is challenging due to project complexity. While stakeholder management and project complexity are vastly researched themes in the field of project management, the intersection of stakeholder management and project complexity has received less attention, especially regarding how project complexity influences stakeholder management. The purpose of this chapter is to apply a complexity of projects perspective and use its three dimensions, structural, socio-political, and emergent complexity, as a framework to discuss how project complexity influences stakeholder management. The chapter provides insights into the main challenges but also shares opportunities in taking a complexity perspective on managing project stakeholders. We conclude with future research ideas, including suggestions for potential research questions and theoretical perspectives to be mobilized forward