Reducing nutrient loads from dairy farms: a bioeconomic model with endogenous feeding and land use

Growth trends of animal farming pose a threat to water quality around the world. To find cost‐efficient means to reduce nutrient loads from agriculture, detailed information on the abatement measures need to be incorporated in bioeconomic models. This study presents a theoretical framework that covers both animal and crop operations on farms. It describes the farmer decision making problem and incorporates nonlinear functions to capture the economic and biological aspects of the problem. The model is applied to Finnish dairy farms. The abatement cost functions are derived for nitrogen and phosphorus. Results indicate that abatement measures on fields should precede dietary changes.     

Technology product evolution and the diffusion of new product features

The evolution of technology products can be analysed on multiple levels. Product categories go through continuous evolution determined by the cumulative changes in the features of new product models. This is manifested in the diffusion of new product features and in the increasingly vague boundaries between different product generations. This article develops an approach for planning and forecasting technology product evolution and the diffusion of new product features. This is achieved by isolating the phenomena underlying the evolution process, and formulating the process at the product category, product feature, and product model levels. The approach is derived from these formulations combining the primarily demand-driven product category diffusion and product unit replacement behaviour, and the more supply-driven product feature dissemination. The approach enables meaningful sensitivity analysis including the analysis of discontinuities. The developed approach is applied to characterise the evolution of an example product category of mobile handsets and to forecast the diffusion of mobile handset features using extensive longitudinal and cross-sectional data collected from Finland. In consequence, the process of technology product evolution and the phenomenon of product feature dissemination are suggested as extensions to research on product category diffusion and replacement.     

Platform design framework: conceptualisation and application

Technological platforms enable actors to connect their resources across markets, creating value through complementarities and network effects. The design choices related to different aspects of a platform are crucial for ensuring value creation. Building on earlier literature, we have developed a framework for platform design, involving four elements: 1) platform architecture, 2) value creation logic, 3) governance, and 4) platform competition. Using a design science approach, we provide an empirical illustration of design choices in the Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform DORA. The study presents an overarching framework for platform design, with an empirical use case illustrating its applicability.     

Impacts of handset bundling on mobile data usage: The case of Finland

Promotion of the adoption of new services has emerged as a possible driver for the regulation of handset bundling and subsidies. Handset bundling, however, has complex implications not only on mobile data service adoption, the focus of this research, but also more broadly on the mobile market dynamics. Due to the complexity, regulators have difficulties in anticipating the possible resulting impacts. Using a case study, expert interviews, and usage measurements as research method, an empirical framework was constructed to make the service usage impacts more explicit. The framework enables the identification of the regulator's steering options and their qualitative impacts. Results are based on observations before and after the change of law on handset bundling in the Finnish market. According to the findings, handset bundling regulation is a possible but risky tool for steering the market.     

Diffusion of mobile handset features: Analysis of turning points and stages

Mobile handsets have evolved into advanced devices with a rich variety of hardware and software features enabling the use of variety of applications, networks, and services. Consequently, mobile handset features constitute an important part of the global communications infrastructure. Modelling the diffusion of mobile handsets as a product category is becoming less relevant as the market is approaching saturation especially in the developed countries. Simultaneously, the diffusion of mobile handset features is increasingly important and of interest to many stakeholders. This article analyzes and compares the diffusion patterns of mobile handset features, using a longitudinal annual dataset of the penetrations of 15 different features in Finland between 2005 and 2010. Two major turning points – the takeoff and the inflection point – as well as the durations of the diffusion stages between these points are determined. The results show large variations between different features, highlighting the significance of the introduction stage in the diffusion process. The results are useful for regulators and companies in understanding the pace of change taking place in the communications infrastructure.