Search results for "512"

Vulnerability matrix of the food system : operationalizing vulnerability and addressing food security

2016

Food security is the major desired outcome of any food system, but its realization may be prevented by vulnerabilities in a food system. By shifting the focus of their vulnerability analysis from the discrete components of the food system to the food system as a whole, the authors of this article were able to develop a qualitative food system vulnerability matrix. The objective of the research was to make the concept of food system vulnerability operational by identifying vulnerability drivers, vulnerable systems and vulnerable subclasses in light of food security. The vulnerability matrix was set up with five classes of vulnerable systems (‘Vulnerability of what?’) on the horizontal axis a…

Employee Age and Company Performance: An Integrated Model of Aging and Human Resource Management Practices

2016

This study investigated the relationships among company average age, company work ability, and company performance by examining (a) the effects of employee average use of selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) personal strategies and high-involvement work practices (HIWPs) on employee work ability; (b) the buffering effects of both employee average use of SOC and HIWPs on the negative relationship between company-level average age of employees and employee work ability; and (c) the link between company average age and company performance as mediated by company work ability. Analysis was conducted on data from 70 Finnish companies in the retail and metal industries and their 889 em…

Value Creation and Power Asymmetries in Digital Ecosystems : A Study of a Cloud Gaming Provider

2020

Digital platforms connecting users and service providers have a central role in determining the value creation structure of ecosystems. Platform developers try to achieve a dominant position for the platform with a strong ecosystem around it. The size and attractiveness of the services can attract new users, and growing user volume can bring new co-operative service providers to the service partner network. An interesting question is how the presence of power and potential power asymmetry affect the value creation capability and the structure of a network around a platform? This chapter describes an example of value creation and the influence of power asymmetry in a digital ecosystem built …

Management dilemmas in innovative supplier networks

2016

This paper focuses on the challenges in managing innovation within supply networks. We present an empirical study on innovation collaboration between a focal company and its supply network of small and medium sized enterprises. By analysing the case from the viewpoints of the focal company, the suppliers and investors we point out three controversial issues in innovation management within the supply network: intellectual property rights, partnering versus competition, and commitment versus independency. Furthermore, we analyse the suppliers' positions with a purchasing portfolio model and present implications for innovation management practices in supply chains. peerReviewed

Magnus Henrekson and Mikael Stenkula, eds., Swedish taxation: developments since 1862 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. Pp. 334. ISBN 978113747814…

2017

A cultural comparison study of smartphone adoption in Uzbekistan, South Korea and Turkey

2017

Smartphone popularity is increasing due to the technological advances that mean manufacturers can make more sophisticated devices, and telecommunication companies can provide better connections. Gartner reported that 403 million smartphones were sold in the fourth quarter of 2015, a 9.7% increase over the same period in 2014. It is a common perception that users tend to utilise advanced technology to increase productivity. However, there are studies indicating quite opposite or alternatively slow rates of adoption. To avoid this, companies invest in studying consumer behaviour. The purpose of the study is to examine the effects of drivers and cultural differences on smartphone acceptance in…

How value and trust influence loyalty in wireless telecommunications industry

2012

Despite making significant investments in enhancing the customer service experience, long-term customer loyalty remains an elusive dream for many service providers. Particularly in the telecommunications industry, switching providers even from within continuous contract relationships is easy and companies struggle to retain their customers. Trust and value are considered cornerstones of long-term relationships, so it is perhaps surprising that previous research on how relationship age and usage level actually affect value, trust and loyalty is inconclusive. The current research is set in the telecommunications services field and draws on a large-scale survey undertaken in Finland. The findi…

Design and Analysis of Electric Powertrains for Offshore Drilling Applications

2016

Doktorgradsavhandling ved Institutt for ingeniørvitenskap, Universitetet i Agder, 2016 The global energy market is challenged with an ever increasing need for resources to meet the growing demands for electric power, transportation fuels, etc. Although we witness the expansion of the renewable energy industry, it is still the fossil fuels, with oil and gas dominating the scene of global energy supply sector, that provide majority of worldwide power generation.However, many of the easily accessible hydrocarbon reserves are depleted which requires from the producers of drilling equipment to focus on cost-effective operations and technology to compete in a challenging market. Particularly high…

Customer perceived value, satisfaction, and loyalty: the role of willingness to share information

2016

This study proposes and tests an integrative model to examine the relationships among customers’ willingness to share information, satisfaction, perceived value, and loyalty in a retailing context. This study extends research on customers’ willingness to share information from trust and privacy concerns toward key outcome measures such as perceived value, customer satisfaction, and loyalty, and is thus among the first to model customers’ willingness to share information with companies in robust theoretical retailing frameworks. The proposed relationships were tested using data from two retailing contexts – groceries (N = 429) and do-it-yourself (DIY) (N = 895). Findings from the two samples…

Transition to distributed energy generation in Finland: Prospects and barriers

2015

Abstract Small-scale distributed energy generation is expected to play an important role in helping Finland increase its energy self-sufficiency. However, the overall strategy to date for promoting distributed energy remains unclear. It is not yet well understood which factors promote the growth of the distributed energy sector and what barriers need to be removed. In this article we present the results of a questionnaire directed at a panel of 26 experts from the distributed energy value chain and 15 semi-structured interviews with industry and non-industry representatives. We investigated, from a sociotechnical transition perspective, the possibilities and challenges of the transition to …