Browsing by department "Taloustieteen laitos"

Sosiaalisen median hyödyntäminen brandiviestinnässä nähdään kasvavana suuntauksena. Sosiaalisen median käytön yleistyminen on johtanut muutoksiin yritysten liiketoimintaympäristössä. Brandiviestinnän suunnittelun pääpainopiste on siirtynyt perinteisistä markkinointimenetelmistä Internetiin ja sosiaaliseen mediaan. Markkinointiviestiväylän tai -väylien valinnasta on samalla tullut yksi merkittävimmistä yritysten brandiviestintästrategiaa koskevista päätöksistä. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää, miten kuluttajat suhtautuvat brandiviestintään ruokablogeissa. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan ruokablogien toiminnallisuuden ja käyttökulttuurin sopivuutta brandiviestinnän välineeksi. Brandiviestinnän toimivuuden mittarina käytetään kuluttajien suhtautumista brandiviesteihin. Tutkimuksen lähestymistavaksi valittiin kvalitatiivinen tutkimusmenetelmä. Tutkimusaineiston keräämisessä käytettiin aineistotriangulaatiota. Aineisto kerättiin havainnoimalla ja teemahaastatteluilla. Havainnoinnilla kerätty aineisto koostuu ruokablogien keskustelualustojen kommenteista. Havainnoinnin lisäksi haastateltiin 11 ruokablogin seuraajaa. Aineistosta selvisi, että kuluttajien motiivit seurata ruokablogeja ovat yksilöllisiä. Nämä motiivit vaikuttavat siihen, miten kuluttajat suhtautuvat brandiviestintään ruokablogeissa. Ruokablogien selailu ei ole kuluttajille pelkästään ajanvietettä, vaan niistä etsitään myös tietoa, mielipiteitä, kokemuksia ja tukea ostopäätöksille. Kuluttajat osallistuvat brandiviestintään ruokablogeissa. Blogien brandiviestin arvo perustuu pitkälti kuluttajien omaan toimintaan. Haastateltavat kokivat brandiviestinnän vaikuttavan heidän mielikuviin ja käsityksiin brandista, mikäli heillä ei ollut aiempaa omakohtaista kokemusta brandista. Brandiviestin ja sen lähettäjän tunnistaminen koettiin vaikeaksi. Brandiviestinnän nähtiin olevan olennainen osa ruokablogien sisältöä ja toimintaa. Parhaassa tapauksessa ruokablogit ovat tehokas brandiviestintäväylä. Kuluttajista on tullut yhä pysyvämpi osa yritysten brandiviestintää. Brandiviestintä ja brandimaininnat blogeissa ovat kuluttajien silmissä usein sama asia. Kaikki brandimaininnat nähdään brandin ilmentymänä, mikä tarkoittaa sitä, että ne voivat vaikuttaa kuluttajien mielikuviin brandista. Blogien kautta tapahtuvan brandiviestinnän haasteena on tuottaa mielenkiintoisia brandiviestejä, jotka jäisivät kuluttajien mieliin.

Tutkielman tekemisessä oli kolme tavoitetta: 1) selventää cleantechin määritelmää ja tilastointia, 2) hahmottaa Suomen cleantech-toimialan rakennetta ja nykytilaa ja 3) määritellä kasvun esteitä ja parannuskeinoja. Tutkielma tehtiin osana Suomen ilmastopaneelin cleantech-hanketta, jossa selvitetään Suomen cleantech-alan kokonaistaloudellisia vaikutuksia. Osana tutkielmaa haastateltiin kymmentä cleantech-alan asiantuntijaa eri organisaatioista. Cleantechin määritelmä on sen syntyajoista asti ollut hyvin epäselvä. Hieman erilaisia määritelmiä on valtavasti eikä asiasta ole syntynyt tarkkaa konsensusta. Tiettyjä yhtäläisyyksiä on kuitenkin havaittavissa. Cleantech on vaihtoehtojaan tehokkaampaa ja siten säästää luonnonvaroja ja aiheuttaa vähemmän päästöjä. Cleantech ei itsessään ole oma sektori vaan se levittäytyy perinteisten sektorien läpi. Cleantech-termi tunnistetaan maailmalla hyvin, mutta sen epäselvyys vähentää termin käyttöä. Suomen cleantech-ala on jatkanut vahvaa kasvuaan taantumasta huolimatta. Metalliteollisuus on pysynyt selvästi tärkeimpänä alana ja varsinkin viennissä sen osuus on erittäin merkittävä. Teollisuustoimialat ovat kuitenkin kärsineet heikosta kilpailukyvystä ja globaalin kysynnän heikkenemisestä. Teollisuuden notkahdusta ovat kuitenkin paikanneet palvelut ja rakentaminen. Suomen cleantech-alan yrityskenttä poikkeaa selvästi muista yrityksistä. Cleantech-yritykset ovat keskimäärin isompia ja selvästi suurempi osa yrityksistä toimii teollisuudessa. Huolestuttavaa on, että kasvun kannalta tärkeällä pk-sektorilla on ollut ongelmia kannattavuudessa. Uusimmat barometrit tosin luovat kuvan käänteestä parempaan. Cleantechin kasvua ylläpitää taustalla vaikuttavat megatrendit kuten ilmastonmuutos, väestönkasvu ja ympäristötietoisuuden nousu. Tärkeimpänä ajurina on kuitenkin yhä regulaatio, joka luo markkinat ja kysyntää cleantech-tuotteille. Tulevaisuudessa tärkeitä aloja ovat esimerkiksi veden- ja ilmanlaadun ongelmiin keskittyvät teknologiat, datan käsittely ja hallinta sekä energiatehokkuus. Heikot kotimarkkinat ovat merkittävä este cleantech-toiminnalle. Tärkeitä kotimaan referenssejä hankaloittaa kotimarkkinoiden pienuus ja tämänhetkinen heikko taloustilanne. Rahoitus on esteenä lähinnä pienillä yrityksillä ja varsinkin viennin edistämiseen tarvitaan lisäresursseja. Julkisilla hankinnoilla on merkittävää potentiaalia cleantech-toimijoille, mutta tähän asti kokemuksia on vähän. Hankinnoissa on keskitytty hinnan tarkasteluun muiden osatekijöiden kustannuksella.

The incomplete global coverage of current emissions trading schemes has raised concerns about free-riding and carbon leakage. EU ETS, the first and currently the biggest carbon market, is at the fore of such fears. Carbon-based import tariffs have thereby been proposed to compensate domestic industries for the cost disadvantage against their rivals in non-regulating countries. This thesis uses an applied general equilibrium (AGE) model to assess the impacts of a hypothetical EU carbon tariff on the Finnish economy. The carbon content of imported goods is first estimated with an environmentally extended input-output analysis, and the tariff is levied according to the anticipated price of EU emission allowances. To examine the sensitivity of the results, five additional scenarios are then constructed by altering the key simulation parameters. The tariff is imposed on the most energy-intensive and trade-exposed industries in 2016 and simulated until 2030. The results suggest that carbon tariffs are detrimental to the Finnish economy. The negative outcome is determined by high material intensity and a growing dependence on imported materials throughout the industry sector. As a result, the tariff-induced increase in import prices adds up to a notable growth in total production costs. Moreover, the negative impact is most pronounced within the export-oriented heavy manufacturing sector that the tariff was designed to shelter in the first place. The few sectors that gain from the tariff were not directly subject to it, but utilize the secondary impacts as the economy adapts to the shock. The findings imply that due to the deeper integration of global value chains, the appeal of protective tariffs, even if environmentally motivated, can be harmfully over-simplistic.

This paper focuses on meat consumption patterns in Finland. Empirical analysis for this paper was based on the micro data of three Household Budget Surveys: 1998, 2006 and 2012. A censored linear approximation of the almost ideal demand system (LA-AIDS) model was employed in the study. The major outcomes of the study were the demand expenditure and price elasticities that were obtained from the parameter estimates of five different meat products. Since the data lacked price information, unit values were used as a price substitutes, which gave some insights into quality-quantity upgrading. According to the results, pork expenditure was elastic and thus was luxury good during the study period, whereas ruminant meat and poultry were luxuries only in 2000s. In addition, the price of a good, household size, and income had a large influence on meat consumption. Additionally, other factors (such as age) affected the portion of the budget that was allocated to meat products. In order to obtain more information relating to the food sector, further research concerning disaggregate demand would be needed.

This study focuses on understanding the relationship between organic wine production and economic performance. The aim of this study is to clarify, what are the economic impacts that result from the conversion of wine production from conventional to organic. This is an interesting topic to be explored in more detail because despite the increasing demand of organic wine and share of vineyard area used for organic winemaking, the economic consequences of the conversion are still somewhat unclear. Understanding the economic impacts of the conversion process is very important for wine producers from an economic perspective and contributes to an up-to-date picture of the organic wine industry´s economic performance also for the scientific field. The theoretical framework of the study was built in order to investigate the relationship between environmental responsibility and economic performance. The environmental impacts of organic wine production have so far not been scientifically proved but the organic production is widely viewed as an environmentally sustainable way of producing wine. The theoretical review showed that environmentally responsible production may cause both direct cost impacts and also indirect cost and revenue impacts on the economy. Moreover, the net impact creates the final economic performance and influences the success of a company. The study is based on an empirical approach focusing on understanding an economic phenomenon in its real-life context. The data is collected from representatives of organic wine estates from different parts of the world, who have experience of the conversion from conventional to organic wine production. The empirical study was implemented during fall 2012 in two parts. The first dataset was collected through a survey sent via e-mail and the second dataset was through interviews that were organized in one of the studied estates. Both parts of the data collection were based on a qualitative semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of five sections, which all together covered four themes: vineyard, cellar, wine and business aspects. To accomplish the objectives of the study, first the focus was to understand the impacts of the conversion of production from conventional to organic on a wine estate in general. After this the impacts were categorized according to economic performance. The changes were classified into positive and negative cost and revenue impacts by using the existing theoretical knowledge about how environmental responsibility may affect a company´s economic performance. The findings indicated that most of the cost impacts, positive as well as negative, occurred in the early parts of the production chain, in vineyard and cellar procedures. The strongest cost increase was observed in the vineyard production processes, and slightly decreasing level of cost occurred in cellar production process. Varying revenue impacts were naturally indicated more frequently in later procedures, in wine and business themes. In overall, cost effects were considered both negative and positive, but the revenue impacts were mainly positive. Moreover, the cost impacts where more obvious, especially in the vineyard processes, than the changes that had impacts on revenue. Still any significant conclusions about net economic performance cannot be drawn because the findings do not offer any exact information on the magnitude of these impacts and the sample size is rather small. In general, the findings of this study seem to be consistent with other studies. This study was, however, able to offer more detailed information on the economic impacts of the conversion process than previous studies. In general, the representatives considered the organic wine business to have much positive potential, yet benefiting from the potential in economic term was little. The organic market is currently developing and growing faster than the conventional wine market, which creates a possibility to find new customers and increase the marketing channels. Still clear differentiation strategy that would potentially allow premium pricing and bring new customer segments was in use by only minority of the estates. Previous studies indicated that certification has an important role in organic wine marketing as well as in ensuring sustainable competition in the markets. Furthermore, organic wine production is a more risky business than the conventional one, and therefore developing insurance arrangements might be a useful mechanism for balancing the risks and an important factor in encouraging new estates to acquire certificates.

This study aims to find out if differentiation of the features of the 4P of the product milk can create value to customers in a particular customer segment. Creating value is in the core in every company´s actions. Customers buy products and services that create value to them and are willing to pay from the value they get. The more the product creates value, the more the customers are willing to pay. This study focused on the customer segment of young women with academic background who live in the capital region. Milk is a bulk product consumed widely in Finland. The product also has significant role in the nutritional history of the country and has a big role in Finnish nutritional recommendations. However the consumption of milk has decreased over the years. The theoretical background of this study is based on the following theories: marketing strategy and the 4P, customer value and differentiation. These theories formed the theoretical framework which gave the focus to the empirical experiment. The approach of the study was qualitative because qualitative research aims to understand the phenomenon it studies and the approach is more suitable for analysing verbal data. Qualitative research wants to get a deeper understanding and it gives room for individual´s thoughts and experience. The study was executed and a group interview using theme interview methods. For the study chosen features of the 4P of the product milk were differentiated and group interview focused on them. The differentiated features were the following. For product organic milk and milk with added protein, for price milk with a lower price, for place online shopping and for promotion advertising milk on social media. The findings of this study were that in some cases differentiation of the features if the 4P of the product milk can create value for customers but in most cases it does not. The focus group felt that the most valuable differentiated feature of the 4P was organically produced milk and other factors that supported the well-being of the production animals and the environment. If a company selling or producing milk tries to create value to its customers through differentiation of the features of the 4P, it needs to consider carefully which features to focus on.

I denna avhandling analyseras svenskarnas förhållande till sitt hem och skandinavisk designs be-tydelse för dem genom att analysera de möbler som informanterna nämner som sina favoriter, och hur de överhuvudtaget pratar om inredningen. För att göra detta har 13 unga vuxna intervju-ats i Göteborgs region i Sverige. Därtill har tidigare intervjumaterial från Finland och Tyskland använts som sekundärdata. Analysen, som består av tematiseringen, lyfter fram två olika sidor av det svenska hemmet. Å ena sidan är det viktigt att ha ett hem där man kan vila i. I ett sådant hem består inredningen av möbler som personen känner väl och som har någon historia eller koppling till personen. I den här skyddshamnstankegången är funktionalitet ett centralt värde i inredningen. Å andra sidan verkar svenskarna vara mycket entusiastiska inredare. Den här andra tankegången - det representativa hemmet - betonar design och att hemmet ser bra ut också ur gästens synvin-kel. Förutom status är det möjligt att sådan inredningsstil fungerar väl i Sverige eftersom den är ett lätt och trevligt diskussionsämne. Den skandinaviska designen passar Sverige utmärkt ef-tersom den kombinerar stiligheten och funktionaliteten.

Tutkimuksen kohteena on digitaalisten työkalujen sekä sosiaalisen median hyödyntäminen yritysmarkkinoinnissa. Tutkimuksessa käytetään hyödyksi tapausyrityksen ydinosaamista eli verkkokouluttamista. Tavoitteena on vastata seuraaviin kysymyksiin: Vaikuttaako maantieteellinen sijainti verkkokoulutuksesta koettuun hyötyyn ja toimiiko jokin tutkimuksessa esitetyistä arvoväittämistä paremmin kuin toinen. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään, miten digitaalisia työkaluja on mahdollista yritysmarkkinoinnissa hyödyntää sekä miten digitaalista markkinointia mitataan. Tutkimuksessa haetaan vastausta kysymykseen, miksi yritysmarkkinoinnissa on lähdetty kuluttajamarkkinointia hitaammin digitaaliseen ja varsinkin sosiaaliseen mediaan mukaan. Tutkimuksessa katsastetaan myös yritysasiakkaiden ostoprosessiin sekä pyritään tarjoamaan digitaalisia ratkaisuja yritysostopäätösten helpottamiseksi. Lähtökohdat digitaaliselle markkinoinnille esitetään viitekehyksessä. Viitekehys yhdistää digitaaliseen yritysmarkkinoinnin strategiaan myös sosiaalisen median ja esittää sosiaalisen median integroimisen kuuluvan osaksi yritysten muuta markkinointia. Tutkimus osoittaa, minkälainen digitaalisen markkinoinnin strategia on sopiva yritysmarkkinoilla toimiville yrityksille. Tutkimus on toteutettu kvantitatiivisena tutkimuksena käyttäen vertailevaa tutkimusmetodia eri arvoväittämien kesken. Tutkimuksessa ei kuitenkaan vertailla eri työkalujen suhdetta toisiinsa. Verkkokoulutuksesta koetut arvoväittämät toimivat eri tavoin riippuen siitä, millä digitaalisen markkinoinnin työkalulla niitä tarkastellaan. Näin ollen tutkimuksessa ei kerrota jonkin arvoväittämän toimineen paremmin kuin muut, vaan todetaan niiden kaikkien herättäneen kohderyhmässä kiinnostusta.

Fishing vessels run on fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases, which are harmful to the environment and costly to society. Since fuel use in fisheries is often subsidized through tax concessions, private fuel consumption will be higher than what is socially optimal. Furthermore,fuel tax concessions will lead to greater fishing effort, with overfishing as a possible consequence. This thesis deals with these negative externalities associated with fisheries. The aim of the study is to elicit the economic and environmental effects fromremoving fuel tax concessions, and to view these effects in relation to the results of current and optimal fisheries management.To this end, four different fuel costscenarios are introducedas basis for the analysis.The current situation of the fishery is compared to an optimized fishery with fuel tax concessions maintained andremoved, i.e. with fuel costs implemented. The target of the studyis thecommercial Baltic salmon fishery, which is a small-scale coastal fishery carried out with trapnets. The analysis employs a bioeconomic model, which accounts for the economic and biological features of this specific fishery. Results from the analysis conveyed that the fishery is currently unprofitable, and therefore not capable of coping withadditional costsimposed on it. However, results from the optimization suggest that economic performance can be improvedby managing the fishery in an optimal way, i.e. by adjustingthe fishing effort to an efficient level. Furthermore, amovement to optimal management is suggested to be an efficient way of gaining both economic and environmental benefits. An optimally managed fishery is thus better equipped to pay for the external costs fromtheCO2 emissions arising from its fishing operations.

Economic integration refers to the theoretical background which is based on the functioning of regional trade agree-ments (RTAs). Trade in context of economic integration embodies special characteristics in comparison to classical free trade. The special characteristics are contested whether they are welfare enhancing or diverting. RTAs are trade agree-ments between two or more countries and their number has been increasing during the last decades. Such agreements play an important role in international agro-food trade as already over 50% of agricultural products are traded within or between RTAs. The increase in number of RTAs and wider inclusion of agricultural trade in these agreements have revealed new agricultural trade policy measures which distort trade in agro-food products. These are so called non-tariff measures of which this study focuses on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures. The legitimate intention of such measures is to protect plant, animal and human health and prevent the spreading of harmful pathogens through international trade. This study attempted to create a theoretical framework for analysis of trade effects caused by SPS measures. The ef-fects were found to depend first of all on the burden of compliance and the nature of a SPS measure. Burden of com-pliance was divided into three dimensions of specific, uniform or universal measures according to whom the costs are due. For the nature of the SPS measures three categories were identified: cost-increasing, quantity-restricting and combining SPS measures. The developed theoretical framework was applied to analyze the case of poultry meat trade between the EU and the US in a case where the SPS measure becomes ineffective. The SPS measure of pathogen reduction treatments (PRTs) applied by the EU was identified as a combining measure. After having analyzed the trade effects in partial equilibrium framework, the changes in economic welfare for the EU poultry meat market were quanti-fied. The quantification of the economic welfare measures was made by using partial equilibrium comparative static analysis combined with Marshallian economic surplus framework. Economic surplus measures were calculated by comparing the initial welfare levels with the corresponding levels after the policy change. The analysis concentrated on short-term effects and the base year used was 2013. The calculations proceeded by defining supply and demand equations to calculate equilibrium price and quantity in the present policy regime which enabled calculations of consumer and pro-ducer surpluses. Then, the new trade policy regime was introduced by manipulating producer price. Equations defined in the first stage were used to calculate new quantities for production and consumption in the EU. Then, consumer and producer surpluses were calculated in the new trade policy regime. Finally the obtained results were compared with each other. The results of the welfare analysis show that the SPS measure concerning the use of PRTs in poultry meat has impact on producer and consumer welfare in the EU. Consumer welfare increased after the SPS measure became ineffective. The explanation is the decrease in price which lead to increase in consumption. However, producer welfare decreased as a consequence of lower price. The production of poultry meat decreased which meant that the gap between the EU production and consumption increased. This indicated that the import demand for poultry meat increased for the EU. If the imports were not restricted from the US, consumers would be able to obtain the higher welfare level than before the change in policy regime.