Investigating the Business Strategy of Small and Medium Size Company in Finland By Sustainable Competitive Advantages Methodology

This research focuses on small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in Oulu sought region of Finland (OEI) which intend to inter to global market. This paper concentrates on operative competitive advantage and applies a method to measure risk and opportunities towards one specific business strategy regarding firms’ internal resource allocation. Moreover, this research tries to evaluate the effect of knowledge and technology (K/T) factor towards supporting company strategy. The research is based on investigation of 7 case studies from Oulu region of Finland (OEI) via interview. The interview is carried out with phone or during face to face meeting. Moreover Sense and Respond (S&R) questionnaire form are filled by the respondents and are returned via Email. The results from this paper show that sustainable competitive advantages method is applicable well in small and medium size company in Finland. Also the results show that SME’s company in Finland mainly act as analyzer and focus on time and cost at the same time. Finally, the research shows technology and knowledge factor effect on SCA results but not to a fixed direction. As the limitation of this paper, calculation of CFI factors for one case company which is investigated by one interview is not possible. Besides, as number of respondents of each case company is small, so it is not possible to eliminate the effect of standard deviation in calculation of CFIs factor.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Kuinka soveltaa teknologiaan, tietoon ja tuotantoon liittyvän päätöksenteon malleja strategisesti kestävään resurssien allokointiin?

Technology is a primary source of competitive advantage that can help a firm to outperform its competitors if the firm’s technology strategy is aligned with its overall business strategy. Because firms’ resources are limited and technology is usually a resource-intensive investment, finding suitable technology in which to invest is of paramount concern to strategists. This doctoral thesis focuses on tackling this prioritization problem. This dissertation is the combination of four publications that examine the topic above. The outcome of this dissertation is the proposal of a technique that facilitates the technology and knowledge decision-making process in operations management, with consideration given to the notion of competitive advantage. The proposed technique considers both external factors (e.g., product life cycle) and internal factors (e.g., firms’ resources) that affect technology decisions. The research considers three types of technology in firms based on different phases of the product life cycle: basic, core and spearhead. This research applies the sand cone approach to technology development and investment. This dissertation extends existing knowledge of the resource-based view, competitive advantage and the sand cone model, all of which serve as the foundation of the studies featured in the dissertation. The findings of this dissertation help managers in the following areas: (1) to find the right choice of technology in which to invest, (2) to outsource the technology and knowledge requirement, (3) to detect the potential development areas regarding their firms’ competitive priorities and (4) to evaluate the potential of advanced technology in bringing competitive advantage and in changing the rules of competition.Teknologia tuo kilpailuetua, joka voi auttaa yritystä menestymään kilpailijoitaan paremmin, jos yrityksen teknologiastrategia on yhdenmukainen sen yleisen liiketoimintastrategian kanssa. Koska yritysten resurssit ovat rajalliset ja teknologia on yleensä resursseja vaativa investointi, on sopivan teknologian löytäminen ensisijaista strategisessa päätöksenteossa. Väitöskirja keskittyykin tämän priorisointiongelman ratkaisemiseen. Väitöstutkimus on yhdistelmä neljästä edellä aihetta tarkastelevasta julkaisusta. Väitöskirjan tuloksena on ehdotus tekniikasta, joka helpottaa teknologiaan ja osaamiseen liittyvää päätöksentekoprosessia toiminnan johtamisessa ottaen huomioon myös kilpailuedun. Ehdotetussa tekniikassa otetaan huomioon sekä ulkoiset tekijät (kuten tuotteen elinkaari) että sisäiset tekijät (esimerkiksi yritysten resurssit), jotka vaikuttavat teknologiapäätöksiin. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan kolmea erityyppistä teknologiaa yrityksissä. Ne perustuvat tuotteen elinkaaren eri vaiheisiin: perusteknologia, ydinteknologia ja keihäänkärkiteknologia. Tämä tutkimus soveltaa hiekkakakun nimellä tunnettua pyramidimallia teknologian kehittämiseen ja investointeihin. Väitöskirja laajentaa aiempaa tietämystä resurssipohjaisesta tarkastelusta, kilpailuedusta ja hiekkakakkumallista, jotka luovat perustan kaikille väitöskirjan tutkimuksille. Väitöskirjan tulokset auttavat johtajia seuraavilla alueilla: (1) investoitavan teknologian löytäminen (2) teknologian ja vaadittavan osaamisen ostopäätös (3) yritysten kilpailuetuihin liittyvien mahdollisten kehitysalueiden löytäminen (4) sen arvioiminen, millaisia mahdollisuuksia edistyneellä teknologialla on tuottaa kilpailuetua ja muuttaa kilpailun sääntöjä.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

What is the potential of additive manufacturing in supply chains? : a narrative literature review approach

The study of additive manufacturing (AM) has grown rapidly during the last decade as it is perceived that the technology has the potential to revolutionize the way in which products are produced and delivered to the customer. Additionally, AM is able to create new business opportunities, as well as introduce new rules of competition to the business world. Despite experiencing immense growth in the study of AM, the knowledge of interdependencies across forms of technology deployment and different sectors involved in supply chains is widely dispersed. The initial consequence of this situation is to proliferate fragmented studies duplicating identical efforts, while neglecting certain aspects. Therefore, this article attempts to synthesize the existing research on AM regarding its impact on business and supply chain management with the goal of shedding light on the current situation and open up avenues for further research. This paper applies a narrative approach to conducting a literature review and summarizes the fndings in relation to three main categories of the supply chain: supply side, frm side and demand side. Additionally, it offers recent examples of AM deployment in industry and the real world to highlight the trend and potential in the area of AM. Given this trend and potential of AM in business, decision makers (based on their positions in the entire supply chain) are able to make better choices when deploying this technology as a disruptive technology. Being on time and making the right choice of new technology deployments not only prevent firms from losing their competitive advantage (and from bankruptcy in ultimate situations), but also support them to enhance their advantage over their competitors. In particular, they can receive high-level benefts as early or first adopters. This article is a step towards reaching this goal.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

How to apply sustainable competitive advantage for regional developments (Case: Ostrobothnia region of Finland)

Nowadays companies concern more about how to survive and extend their own business in future in their current marketplace. However, developing and prospering a region of the country is becoming more crucial question. Successful cooperation and partnership between different sectors of economy (for instance, between companies, public and academic sectors) leads to the flourishing and prosperity of the region and consequently of a country. European Commission established smart specialization platform, which is a strategic approach to economic development of a region. By defining and developing of vision, competitive advantages and strategic preferences, region will determine knowledge-based potential. The purpose of this paper is to assign and define the collaboration/relations existed, how strong these relations are and what the expectations are between 3 sectors of economy: public, academic and business. Area of carrying out this research is Ostrobothnia region, however, connections in other regions of Finland and internationally is also presented. There have been chosen 3industrial peaks from Ostrobothnia region: Energy, Fur and Boat industrial peaks. Analysis is conducted by implementing two core methods: Sense & Respond (S&R) and Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA). The goal of this research is also to use S&R method so as to allocate efficiently resources, and to define competitive priorities in cooperation. The main results show that the most tight collaboration and partnership is observed between companies and companies in all around Finland and internationally. While concerning other relationships, companies expect to have tighter cooperation especially in Ostrobothnia and other regions of Finland.© 2014 The author(s). The article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-NoDerivs license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Using Sustainable Competitive Advantages to Measure Technological Opportunities

The goal of this paper is to help small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) to find operative competitive advantage. This paper introduces a new method which applies critical factor analysis, risk and opportunities analysis to measure and propose resource allocation for companies in couple of next years. this research shows Knowledge/Technology (K/T) Calculation effect on (Balanced) Critical Factor Index (CFIs) depending on the proportions allocated among the different technological levels (Basic,Core or Spearhead) for each attribute separately. Moreover it helps firms to take balance in resource allocation for each attribute in changing environments on the basis of different level of technology. This paper presents the ’first in the world’ case study on operative sustainable competitive advantage and corresponding risk levels by taking into account technology and knowledge effects for 7 SME companies.© 2013 The author(s). The article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-NoDerivs license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Combined economic and social impact assessment of affordable housing investments

A method combining economic evaluation and social impact assessment creates information that can be applied when making decisions about a new tenement building or renovation of existing buildings. The aim of the economic evaluation is to ensure that economic aspects are adequately considered and investment is realizable from a monetary point of view. Social impact assessment reveals intangible pros and cons related to an investment or investments to be considered. This paper presents a framework that combines economic and social aspects and supports decision making related to affordable housing.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Technology development process and managing uncertainties with sustainable competetive advantage approach

The main purpose of this research work is to assist the decision-making process which is related to technology and knowledge factor within an organization. The data has been gathered and analysed from a particular multinational company that operates in the ceramic manufacturing industry within Malaysia. Four respondents were sought to answer the sense-and-respond questionnaire, including the part on technology sharing. The priority among technology types, including basic, core, and spearhead was decided by the maximum coefficient of the variance. The work has two main contributions: 1. It proposes and validates a tool for decisions and strategies related to technology focus in firms, and 2. expands the notion of technology types from focusing only on product development to one that focuses on both product and process development. The results of the study show that the proposed model which was previously applied in high tech start-ups and local medium-size enterprises is applicable in large industries involved in mass production.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

A Framework for Assessing the Social and Economic Impact of Sustainable Investments

Investments towards sustainable development are vital for the future and they must be carefully planned to deliver immediate and long-term benefits. Hence, the ability to communicate the forms of impact of sustainable investments to local societies, people, investors and other stakeholders can provide a competitive advantage. However, the assessments are often under pressure to demonstrate short-term effects rather than emphasise the long-term impact. In addition, indirect and intangible forms of impacts should not be measured solely in economic terms. This paper proposes an assessment framework to support the integrated economic and social impact assessment of sustainable investments aimed at improving physical and socio-economic wellbeing. The framework is demonstrated in two case studies: new construction and renovation investments in affordable housing and social impact investment in sustainable development. The investments in the case studies are evaluated, selected and prioritized not only in terms of money but also with regard to sustainability, social acceptability and their overall impact on society, as a whole. The results indicate that a systematic integrated assessment of monetary and non-monetary factors can be successfully combined with the sustainable development decisions.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

PELAKSANAAN PENYIDIKAN TINDAK PIDANA CUKAI ROKOK OLEH SATUAN RESERSE KRIMINAL POLRES SOLOK

Tindak pidana merupakan gejala sosial yang akan dihadapi masyarakat bahkan negara. Salah satunya adalah tindak pidana cukai yaitu penyelewengan cukai. Mengenai tindak pidana Cukai ini telah diatur dalam Undang-Undang Nomor 39 Tahun 2007 tentang Cukai. Pada Pasal 1 Undang-Undang Nomor 39 tahun 2007 pengertian cukai adalah “pungutan Negara yang dikenakan terhadap barang-barang tertentu yang mempunyai sifat atau karakteristik yang ditetapkan dalam undang-undang ini”.Dalam hal ini cukai merupakan suatu pendapatan negara yang cukup besar dalam pembangunan nasional yang mana dalam pelanggarannya sangat merugikan negara. Untuk itu perlu adanya penanggulangan terhadap tindak pidana cukai yang dilakukan oleh penegak hukum yaitu dari pihak kepolisian sehingga terciptanya pembangunan nasional yang lancar. Permasalahan yang dibahas dalam Skripsi ini adalah (a) pelaksanaan penyidikan tindak pidana cukairokok, (b) kendala – kendala yang dihadapi oleh penyidik dalam pelaksanaan penyidikan tindak pidana cukai rokok dan (c) upaya yang dilakukan oleh penyidik dalam mengatasi kendala – kendala dalam pelaksanaan penyidikan tindak pidana cukai rokok oleh Satreskrim Polres Solok. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian yang bersifat deskriptif, yaitu suatu penelitian yang menggambarkan atau menjelaskan dan memaparkan hasil dari penelitian secara deskriptif. Metode pendekatan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode pendekatan secara yudiris sosiologis. Sumber data adalah data primer dan data sekunder yang diperoleh dilapangan.Upaya – upaya yang dilakukan penyidik dalam mengatasi kendala – kendala yang dihadapi dalam penyidikan tindak pidana cukai rokok oleh Satreskrim Polres Solok, (a) pelatihan khusus bagi penyidik dalam menghadapi kasus tindak pidana cukai rokok. (b) memberikan penghargaan dan memberikan perlindungan hukum terhadap saksi yang terlibat dalam penyidikan tindak pidana cukai rokok. Kata kunci: Penyelewengan Cukai Roko

Towards developing a decision making tool for technology and knowledge priorities

The main focus of this paper is to propose a method for prioritizing knowledge and technology factor of firms towards sustainable competitive advantage. The data has been gathered and analyzed from two high tech start-ups in which technology and knowledge play major role in company’s success. The analytical hierarchy model (AHP) is used to determine competitive priorities of the firms. Then knowledge and technology part of sense and respond questionnaire is used to calculate the variability coefficient i.e. the uncertainty caused by technology and knowledge factor. The proposed model is tested in terms of two start-ups. Based on the initial calculation of uncertainties, some improvement plan is proposed and the method is applied again to see if the uncertainty of knowledge and technology decreases. In both cases, the proposed model helped to have a clear and precise improvement plan and led in reduction of uncertainty.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed