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School of Business | Department of Management Studies | MSc program in Management and International Business | 2015
Thesis number: 14027
The role of non-traditional sales channels in Finnish companies' sales channel portfolio
Author: Ahovuo, Ilona
Title: The role of non-traditional sales channels in Finnish companies' sales channel portfolio
Year: 2015  Language: eng
Department: Department of Management Studies
Academic subject: MSc program in Management and International Business
Index terms: kansainväliset yhtiöt; international companies; myynti; sales; e-business; e-business; myymälät; shops; vähittäiskauppa; retail trade; strategia; strategy
Pages: 108
Key terms: sales channel; B2C retailing; SME; sales channel portfolio; channel strategy; online store; flagship store; pop-up store; concept store; shop-in-shop
Abstract:
The launch of the Internet has changed the environment of the markets where businesses operate today. Sales and purchasing are less tied to place and time, and thus, mobility characterizes the markets where the companies and consumers operate. In response to the change new sales channel models have developed in order to better serve the new needs. These so called non-traditional sales channels offer alternative solutions for companies' market entry and expansion, but until the current moment these channels' adoption among Finnish companies has remained on relatively modest level. Hence, the aim of this thesis is to study the opportunities and solutions that the non-traditional sales channels could provide for small and medium sized companies' foreign market expansion, which often is a heavy process for these companies to conduct with scarce resource. The data is collected through interviews from two respondent groups of Finpro consultants and Finnish B2C retailing companies. The companies represent various business fields and different maturity levels. The findings suggest that the company's maturity level and existing channel network have an influence on the further channel selection processes. Thus, under certain circumstances companies with lower maturity level could be more flexible in adopting new sales channel models to their channel portfolios.
Master's theses are stored at Learning Centre in Otaniemi.