Saara Hyvönen

Measurements of aerosol particle dry deposition velocity using the relaxed eddy accumulation technique

The continuous measurements of aerosol particle deposition velocity have been performed from January 2004 to January 2005 using a REA technique with dynamic deadband.We measured aerosol particle deposition velocity in the size range of 10–150 nanometer with 5–10 nanometer steps using differential mobility analyser for sizing.We were able to measure two size classes simultaneously. One size class was changed at one month intervals, another we kept constant at 30 nm to investigate the effect of seasonal and meteorological variation on deposition velocity. We found that the 80–100 nanometer size particles had the lowest deposition velocity, about 0.4 cm s−-1. Deposition velocity increased with decreasing or increasing particle diameter from 80–100 nanometer size. We also found that deposition velocity increases as a function of friction velocity.

Organizational Innovation Capability: A Driver for Competitive Superiority in Marketing Channels

This paper investigates the interplay between innovation and competitive superiority in the context of channel management by adopting a capabilities view. The relevance for channel marketing and management scholars is that we developed an environment-strategy-value contingency model to address the focal phenomenon. Our empirical results clearly support the key argument that managerial and technological innovations play an essential role in understanding of how competitive superiority is achieved in constantly evolving marketing channels. As such, our contingency factors involved have a significant intermediate role in each of the research contexts examined, indicating that the innovation capability has a channel specific profile.

Entrepreneurial innovations, market-driven intangibles and learning orientation: critical indicators for performance advantages in SMEs

Historically, small firms and start-up ventures have been skilled in developing innovations in order to exploit profitable market opportunities but less effective at sustaining the competitive advantages that are based on distinguished firm-specific resources needed to exploit those opportunities over time. In the literature, however, several questions of whether the argument is valid or not, remain open, and the results are mixed. Drawing on the Resource-Based Theory (RBT) of the firm and entrepreneurship literature, this study aims to explore the effects of entrepreneurial innovations, market-driven intangibles and organisational learning on performance advantages in the context of Small- to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). A conceptual framework is developed, and the authors use data from 159 firms to test the hypothesised relationships. Our empirical results show that technological innovation capability and strong relationships with customers and supply chain partners are the key determinants of positional and economic performance advantages. The firms commitment to learning strengthens its position in the marketplace. Managerial innovation, in turn, is contingent on learning orientation, customer-based and supply chain assets. The implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.

Competitive advantage, bargaining power, and organizational performance: The case of finnish food manufacturing firms

The strategic behavior of manufacturing firms in the context of the Finnish food industry is examined. Based on business-level strategy theories, the objective is to examine the interrelationships between particular types of competitive advantages, a food manufacturers bargaining power in input and output markets, and organizational performance. Strategic advantages of the food industry are defined through the development of a taxonomy based on survey data from 65 firms.

Effects of Market-Related Assets on Innovativeness and Operational Performance in SMEs

Resource-based theory (RBT) has not been systematically applied to strategizing the market-related assets of the firm. By examining the role of these intangible assets in the context of small business management, the authors attempt, in this article, to put forward an environment–resources–performance contingency model, synthesizing the various findings in the literature on ‘marketing assets of SMEs’. The conceptual framework is deployed to assess innovativeness and operational superiority through market-related assets within 64 small and medium-sized firms operating in the Finnish meat-processing industry. The empirical results indicate strong positive associations between the key constructs involved, and further indicate that these relationships have a contingency-specific profile. The implications of these findings for practice and research are discussed.