Browsing by discipline "Skogsekonomi och marknadsföring"

Kuluttajien ostokäyttäytyminen sekä kulutuspäätökseen vaikuttavat tekijät ovat muuttuneet viimeisien vuosikymmenien aikana. Mainostajan tuotteista antamien väittämien merkitys kuluttajien ostopäätöksissä on vähentynyt. Suusta suuhun- viestinnän merkitys sekä vaikuttajamarkkinointi ovat nousseet merkittäviksi tekijöiksi kuluttajien ostopäätöksissä ja yhä kasvavissa määrin kuluttajat haluavat suosituksen tuotteesta kolmannelta osapuolelta, jolla ei ole tekemistä myyjäosapuolen kanssa. Kuluttajat arvostavat erityisesti vaikuttajia, jotka ovat samaistuttavia, luotettavia sekä asiantuntevia. Vaikuttajailmiö on levinnyt myös sijoitusmaailmaan, muun muassa tv-ohjelmien myötävaikuttamana. Lisäksi viime vuosina on ollut havaittavissa nouseva trendi, jossa vaikuttajat ja julkisuuden henkilöt ovat lähteneet mukaan yritystoimintaa. Tässä työssä perehdyttiin vaikuttajaomistajuuteen ja siihen liittyviin asenteisiin. Työn tarkoituksena oli selvittää laadullisen tutkimuksen menetelmin nuorten aikuisten piensijoittajien suhtautumista vaikuttajaomistajuuteen. Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin, miten nuoret aikuiset piensijoittajat ajattelevat vaikuttajaomistajuudesta ja vaikuttajaomisteisista yrityksistä sekä mitä ajatuksia ja ennakkoluuloja niihin liitetään. Tutkimuksessa pyrittiin myös selvittämään, voisiko vaikuttajaomistajuus olla nuorten aikuisten piensijoittajan sijoituspäätöksentekoprosessiin vaikuttava tekijä. Vastauksia käsiteltiin Ohanian (1990) lähdeuskottavuusmallin mukaisesti. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin puolistrukturoituina teemahaastatteluina yksilöittäin ja haastatteluita toteutettiin kahdeksan kappaletta. Haastattelut litteroitiin ja analysoitiin sisällönanalyysillä. Tutkimuksessa selvisi, että haastateltavat suhtautuvat avoimesti vaikuttajaomistajuuteen, mutta sen luotettavuus koetaan ongelmallisena. Haastateltavat kokevat vaikuttajaomistajuuden ensisijaisesti markkinoinnin keinona. Siirtymä vaikuttajamarkkinoinnista vaikuttajaomistajuuteen nähdään luonnollisena kehityksenä, jota ohjaa muun muassa paremmat ansaitsemismahdollisuudet. Vaikuttajaomistajuus nähdään pidempikestoisena, syvällisempänä ja sitoutuneempana. Luotettavaan, asiantuntevaan, sitoutuneeseen ja osakkeenomistajan sekä yrityksen tarpeita palvelevaan vaikuttajaomistajaan suhtaudutaan positiivisesti, mutta haastateltavat antavat sille vaihtelevasti painoarvoa omassa sijoituspäätöksessään. Huolimatta vaihtelevista vastauksista liittyen vaikuttajaomistajuuden vaikutuksesta sijoituspäätökseen, tarkasteltaessa vastauksia Ohanian lähdeuskottavuusmallin (1990) mukaisesti luotettavuus, asiantuntemus ja puoleensavetävyys ovat tekijöitä, joita vastaajat arvostivat vaikuttajaomistajassa, joten niiden havaittiin vaikuttavan positiivisesti nuoren aikuisen piensijoittajan sijoituspäätökseen. Tutkimustuloksien mukaan vaikuttajaomistajuudella on positiivinen vaikutus nuoren aikuisen piensijoittajan sijoituspäätökseen. Jatkotutkimusehdotuksena määrällinen tutkimus soveltuisi täydentämään tietoa vaikuttajaomistajuuden vaikutuksesta piensijoittajan sijoituspäätökseen ja arvioimaan vaikutusta.

Aims. The aim of this study is to discover the factors influencing which employees’ experience of organizational commitment during changes in contact center work environment. Meyer and Allen’s three component model of organizational commitment is used as the theoretical frame. It interprets organizational commitment through three components: affective, normative, and continuous commitment. The research focuses on areas impacting affective commitment. Methods. The study was conducted as thematic interviews during the fall of 2019. Seven per-manent employees of the target organization attended the interviews. The material was spelled out, after which it was coded according to the themes. The method of the analysis is thematic design, in which the formation of themes proceeds to a more detailed examination. Results and Conclusions. The most prominent finding in the study was the employees’ experiences of the role and the support of the supervisor for commitment. Reflecting the theoretical frame, the results of this study comply with Meyer & Allen’s three-component theory. Based on the study, the affective commitment of the employees of the target organization can be seen as low, and the level of commitment can be explained by normative or continuance aspects of commitment.

The Forest Academy for Decision-makers is a well-known concept. It is necessary to evaluate the concept occasionally as it was created already in 1995. The goal of the Forest Academy is to increase dialogue between forest sector and rest of society by providing a forum to arouse interest towards forest issues and the possibilities that the field can provide for society, create new networks and provide stimulations for forest professionals from other sectors. Interaction, high-class presentations and attractions and the unique course spirit are in the core of the concept. I have evaluated the impact and effectiveness of the Forest Academy forums in this quality study. I have studied weather the concept has been able to affect in decision making or has something been achieved in the forest sector or wider in the society by utilizing networks or substance from the courses. I have interviewed course participants in 2016. Additionally, I have analyzed the course themes and how those have been changed during the past 20 years. I have used the previous evaluation study of the Forest Academy forums for planning this study and it is also valuable to compare results between these studies. The Forest Academy has improved the understanding of the Finnish forest sector among decision-makers. The acceptability of the forest sector and forest utilization and the national consensus in forest issues have strengthened by the Forest Academy. It has offered a memorable four-day-course experience for over thousand decision-makers. The concept has worked effectively as it has created new networks, added knowledge of the forest sector, and introduced how pervasive the forest and natural resource sector is. The results support the future demand for this kind of forum. At the same time, it is important to reach appropriate, effective, and committed participants for the upcoming courses. However, the concept needs developing as society and operational environment has become more hectic and global, forest sector is nowadays part of the bioeconomy and the whole natural resources and bioeconomy field faces strong expectations how to tackle the climate change and maintain biodiversity. The Forest Academy would need to answer more and more complex and wider topics. It demands development of the concept structure, encourage for interdisciplinary collaboration with various interest groups, even more interactive working during the courses, and bolder visions of the future role of forests. However, the basic knowledge of the forest related issues cannot be neglect. Forest Academy would need to consider, how to coordinate continuous and more determined developing, which takes into account the different operational environment than 20 years ago. The Forest Academy should still regard that the two-way communication really works in practice.

Architects are one of the most significant construction project stakeholders. They are involved in the decision-making process, including the selection of construction materials. This means that architects can promote the application of new innovative engineered wood products (EWP) in the construction of buildings. Although EWPs are becoming more popular as a construction material, there is still extra capacity for their usage in the multi-storey construction as well. In 2017, Russian public authorities approved an important initiative to allow the construction of higher than three-storeyed wood buildings. Thus, it is interesting, whether Russian architects are ready for applying EWPs in their architectural design projects. In this study, a web-based questionnaire was used for assessing the perceptions and the level of awareness of EWPs among randomly chosen architects working mainly in Saint-Petersburg and Moscow (n=25). The data was analysed by employing the two-tailed Mann-Whitney U Test and SWOT and descriptive analysis. The results indicate that most of the respondents know EWPs rather well and apply them in their work. Most of the respondents stated that the use of EWPs in Russia has increased in the last five years. The attitude towards applying EWPs in construction is also positive. From the architects’ perspective, the most important characteristics of the materials are environmental friendliness and absence of harmful effects on health. Nevertheless, a lack of the educational programs about wood-based composite materials gives birth to the prejudice about the properties of such products and slows the progress of the development of the timber construction sector. Although this study shows a positive attitude towards EWPs, it is not enough for describing the whole situation in the Russian wood construction market, and it is reasonable to conduct further studies of attitudes not only among architects but also among other stakeholders of construction projects.

The construction industry together with the use of buildings generates a significant amount of the European Union’s greenhouse gas emissions and uses vast amounts of energy, materials and water. Increasing wooden multistory construction (WMC) could be a way to enhance the sustainability of the construction sector, since studies have shown that the lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions and energy-use are smaller in wood-framed buildings than in corresponding buildings built with concrete. Several national and multinational authorities have set targets for increasing the share of wood in construction to decrease the environmental impact of the construction sector, but the share of WMC has increased rather slowly despite the political support. According to previous research, the reasons for the slow growth of the industry include for example path dependencies of the construction sector (i.e. that past events affect future decisions and events), attitudes and lack of knowledge. This thesis aims at increasing the knowledge of the profitability of WMC by finding out the perceptions of WMC experts on the current cost level in WMC, discovering factors that affect the profitability and market share of WMC and finding ways to enhance the profitability of WMC. This study is qualitative and was conducted using semi-structured theme interviews. Six professionals of the WMC industry were selected using purposive sampling and interviewed in 2017. The main criterion in the selection process was that the interviewees are in a decision-making, senior level position in their company and have prior experience about WMC. The results of this study indicate that WMC is currently more expensive than building with concrete. According to the results, the main causes for the higher costs are lack of knowledge, low number of actors, costs caused by planning and difficulties in tendering. However, WMC industry professionals believe that the profitability of WMC will increase in the future and that the market share of WMC will grow. Based on the results, the best ways to increase the profitability of WMC are learning from repeated projects, product development, utilizing industrial construction, cooperation with other companies and open dialogue with public administration. Furthermore, the professionals emphasized that wood should become a genuinely competitive construction material and that wooden construction’s competitive advantage should not be dependent on support from politicians, municipalities or city planning.

Reducing global carbon dioxide emissions is one of the main targets in the fight against climate change. Forests are important carbon pools and the arid regions of the world hold a great carbon sequestration potential. Dryland afforestation could play a considerable part in climate change mitigation. The aim of this study is to understand plantation forestry and the costs of afforestation work in arid and semi-arid regions. The main objective of the study is to estimate the establishment costs of 5.000-hectare irrigated forest plantation in Morocco, planned by the Finnish energy company St1. The plantation establishment costs are consisted of labor factors, such as preparing and mapping the cultivated area, fencing, seedling production, tillage, planting and aftercare, and other maintenance operation. The irrigation cost consist of developing the irrigation system, operation and maintenance costs and the price of desalinated seawater used in the plantation. The research timeframe was set to be from 0 to 5 years, assuming that this period covers the major cost factors of the plantation establishment. According to the results, the total establishment cost of the St1’s 5.000-hectare forest plantation, planned in Morocco, is estimated to be approximately EUR39 million and the cost per hectare around EUR7800. The total cost of cultivation is estimated to be about EUR18 million and the total cost of irrigation in the first four years are around EUR21 million.

This thesis investigates the factors and variables of social innovations around different Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFPs) in Spain. The general objective is to determine, if social innovations have improved the Spanish NWFP sector. It is not profitable to manage Spanish forestry as timber oriented. Due to this, many forest areas are left unmanaged, leading them to become shrublands, which is socially- ecologically and economically harmful. There seems to be a need for tools with the objective of making the forestry sector both socially and economically more appealing. Social innovations have the potential to facilitate the construction of forest management which considers the benefits of both complementary products and services, as well as the trade-offs between conflicting interests. The research methodology is qualitative, and it is a combination of inductive- and deductive approaches. Literature reviews were done on social innovations and Mediterranean NWFP sector. Six definitions were carefully selected and used as a base for determining if included case studies could be considered as social innovations. The eight case studies are collaborations within the Spanish NWFP sector, and the qualitative data was collected either through semi- structured interviews or tailor-made questionnaires,. The obtained data was analysed using the MAXQDA coding tool until the point of saturation. A social innovation in the field of NWFP in Spain was found to be social in both its means and ends, and to have long durability and internal acceptance within the society. All case studies were defined as social innovations. Initial contexts of the case studies were shown to affect the objectives, activities and outcomes of the case studies. The results showed, that net outcomes for all case studies were strongly positive. The case studies reported positive social- environmental and economic outcomes, and 66% of all reported positive results were economic. Based on the results, social innovations in the field of NWFP in Spain have positive economic effects, even if economic improvement is not the primary driver for the formation of the collaboration.

Supplier relationship management is a multiyear strategic supply chain management practice and a planning tool, which aims to value creation by managing the sourcing operations in a systematic way. Typically, a company can create value from an SRM by utilizing its systematic processes for collaboration or supplier development schemes with key / strategic suppliers. However, an SRM does not exclude the usage of competitive sourcing methods for value claiming from commodity supplier relationships, for example. An SRM program can also create value by organizing the supply chain processes in a more functioning way leading to an improved operational excellence and elimination of unnecessary processes. Therefore, most of the typical SRM benefits can be considered non-financial, which will result in monetary value in time. By comparing existing statistics which kind of benefits companies have gain or seek by implementing the SRM program it seems that the cost reduction, risk management and operational improvements are the top three benefits. This research aimed for the researching and creation of an SRM model for Ahlstrom (currently Ahlstrom-Munksjö) as a recommendation how to go forward with the implementation of the SRM program. The suggested SRM model contains seven sections or themes of an SRM (Value proposition and measurement, Supplier segmentation, SRM Governance structure, Supplier performance management, Supplier development, SRM IT Systems and Supplier collaboration). The sections / themes worked as a basis for research questions in this research. The research questions were studied via theoretical and semi-structured interview analysis. In addition, some of the hypotheses were also investigated empirically as case studies resulting in empirical findings regarding the functional method for supplier segmentation, “Case: KPI Reporting tool” and risk management value analysis. “Case: KPI Reporting tool” can be seen as a good example of how technology (SAP) can create value for SRM / supply chain management processes. Based on the findings of this research, this thesis concludes that a company can create value from its supply base by identifying its strategic and core suppliers, developing appropriate actions per segment or supplier and organizing the SRM program systematically by the SRM section. An SRM is a continuous development program, which means that processes by the SRM section should be revised, reflected and analyzed as the SRM program matures.

In the last few decades urbanisation has increased in Finland. Due to need for additional housing, it is necessary to compact current residential areas or develop existing green spaces into residential areas. Compact residential areas reduce water-permeable land cover and therefore increase stormwater runoff. Wetlands are increasingly being used for urban stormwater treatment as they are natural stormwater filtration systems. To assess utility of wetlands and streams it is important to identify their ecosystem services and ensuing benefits. Economic valuation methods can be applied to the valuation of small-water bodies and wetlands using either actual market information or a hypothetical market context created in a survey questionnaire. The aim of the research is to estimate the value of current and future ecosystem services provided by streams and wetlands in the drainage basin of Viikki residential area in Helsinki. The stated preferences survey was implemented to elicit resident’s benefits from wetland ecosystem services. The payment vehicle in a choice experiment was a yearly stormwater fee. This research focused on the wetlands and streams located in Viikki and the northern region of Vanhankaupunginlahti bay. Survey invitation was sent in 2016 to 1000 randomly selected residents in Viikki and nearby areas. The sample targeted the residents aged 19-79, and the shares of postal code areas were Viikki 21,6%, Myllypuro 24,4 % and Kontula-Vesala 54 % as the largest. The survey was responded partially or completely by 244 respondents. The willingness to pay for wetland ecosystem services was the highest for stormwater treatment, followed by recreational services and biodiversity. The information on wetlands did not affect the choices. Distance to wetlands and streams had negative effect on choice situations. A wealth of information and opinions were obtained from respondents about wetland ecosystem services and wetlands. Urban Oases-project have succeeded in providing wetland information to residents and in involving residents in environmental management. The feedback from the survey was essentially positive. Based on analysis, new urban wetlands projects would increase residential welfare.

Master’s thesis on constructing a taper curve, volume equation and merchantable volume equations for Sitka spruce in Ireland. The data was collected in Ireland. The taper curve is based on Laasasenaho’s polynomial function. The thesis also includes various economical calculations and models as well as their comparisons and effects on timber value.