Icelandic Companies Research Articles

Samband tryggðar og ánægju viðskiptavina með þjónustu á fyrirtækjamarkaði

Rannsóknir hafa sýnt fram á jákvætt samband tryggðar viðskiptavina og árangurs fyrirtækja á mörgum sviðum. Það ætti því að vera markmið stjórnenda að auka tryggð viðskiptavina eða fjölda þeirra sem eru tryggir fyrirtækinu. Vitað er að forsenda þess að viðskiptavinur geti verið tryggur er að hann sé ánægður með fyrirtækið og þjónustu þess og eftir atvikum vörur. Sambandið á milli ánægju viðskiptavina og tryggðar hefur töluvert verið rannsakað á einstaklingsmarkaði en mun færri rannsóknir hafa verið gerðar á viðfangsefninu á fyrirtækjamarkaði. Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að kanna hversu sterk tengsl eru á milli ánægju viðskiptavina með þjónustu og tryggðar á markaði fyrir prentþjónustu. Rannsóknareiningin var rótgróið íslenskt fyrirtæki sem hefur fjölbreyttan viðskiptavinahóp. Rafrænn spurningalisti var sendur á viðskiptavini fyrirtækisins þar sem ánægja þeirra með þjónustuna og tryggð var mæld. Niðurstöðurnar sýndu að tengsl ánægju og tryggðar voru jákvæð, en veik. Jákvæð veik tengsl reyndust vera á milli ánægju og ætlaðra endurkaupa, mjög veik neikvæð tengls milli ánægju og neikvæðs umtals og miðlungs sterk jákvæð tengsl á milli ánægju og meðmæla með fyrirtækinu. Niðurstöðurnar benda til þess að ekki sé munur á verðteygni eftir því hvort viðskiptavinir eru ánægðir eða óánægðir með þjónustuna. Rannsóknin gefur tilefni til að ætla að ef stjórnendur á prentmarkaði hyggjast ná fram tryggð og þeim ávinningi sem hún getur skilað fyrirtækjum, þá þurfi að tryggja mikla ánægju viðskiptavina með þjónustugæðin.

Rear-view mirror navigation: pre-crisis management accounting and control practices in Iceland

In the beginning of the 21st century the Icelandic economy experienced a historical expansion with the largest Icelandic companies multiplying in size many times over measured in turnover. Research shows that such immense growth is synonymous with great environmental uncertainty and turbulence. Theoretically, Icelandic companies should have developed more advanced management control systems in response to these conditions. However, as research conducted by the authors of this article shows, this was not the case. Icelandic companies had management control systems that were better suited to stability and unchanging environmental conditions, placing emphasis on financial budgets and simple costing methodologies, few internal controls and limited performance measurement systems. The adoption of more appropriate systems seems to have lagged behind the actual need for them. The reasons for this could include the relative size of Icelandic companies, lack of management knowledge of different management accounting and control systems and the dominant Icelandic business culture.

EPM technology and the psychosocial work environment

This paper examines the self-measured psychosocial work environment among employees working in six Icelandic companies, having similar jobs. Some are surveilled by electronic performance monitoring (EPM) technology and some are not. We find that employees working under EPM technology reported a worse psychosocial work environment than their colleagues.

Internationalization from a Small Domestic Base: An Empirical Analysis of Foreign Direct Investments of Icelandic Firms

Iceland is like a black hole in the study of FDI from the Nordic countries; there is a gap in the literature about FDI from Iceland. This paper is the first empirical study that addresses the outward foreign direct investment of Icelandic firms. The purpose is to demonstrate how Icelandic companies have invested abroad through foreign direct investments. The overall objective of this paper is to describe the key characteristics of Icelandic multinational corporations (MNCs) and to gain a deeper understanding of the internationalization processes of firms with a small domestic base. Many Icelandic companies have been investing heavily abroad over the last six years. Some have acquired companies that are relatively larger than themselves, at least in terms of the number of employees. The main motive for this increase in foreign direct investments is access to a new market. The Icelandic market is simply not large enough for companies to be categorized as medium or large companies in the global environment. What also supports this is that, as mentioned above, the outflow of FDI from Iceland was very low in the last century.

Private Sector Investments from Small States in Emerging Markets: Can International Financial Institutions Help Handle the Risks?

The private sector plays an important role in the economic reconstruction of emerging market economies, and international financial institutions (IFIs) increasingly work in partnership with the private sector to increase economic growth and reduce poverty in those economies. IFIs, for example, offer: (i) equity financing and/or loans for private sector projects, (ii) investment guarantees against political risks (or non-commercial risks), (iii) technical assistance, and (iv) advisory services, etc. This article will briefly discuss the services that IFIs offer the private sector in emerging markets and cases in which these services could be useful for Icelandic companies. The institutions discussed are (i) the World Bank Group, (ii) the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), (iii) the Asian Development Bank (AsDB), (iv) the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and (v) the African Development Bank (AfDB). A few Icelandic firms already have plans for relatively large projects in emerging market economies, especially in the energy sector, some of them in countries that could be classified as being risky. The ongoing economic crisis in Iceland will make project financing in emerging markets more problematic than before and therefore investments in partnership with international financial institutions could be an option that Icelandic firms will increasingly need to consider if they intend to invest abroad. However, increased private sector and IFI partnerships will not happen without government action. Iceland is a member of only two of the above-mentioned IFIs: the World Bank Group and the EBRD. The decision for Iceland to become member of the AsDB, IDB and AfDB rests solely with the government. Further government inaction in this area could become an impediment for foreign direct investment from Iceland to emerging markets and increase risks when the Icelandic private sector invests in those economies. Unnecessary risks might not only hurt Icelandic companies but also put Iceland’s economy in jeopardy. This is especially the case with large energy investments with long repayment periods. In addition to the specific case of Iceland, the discussion in this article could also be relevant to other small states which do not have the same leverage as do large states in the event of a dispute with the host governments, making partnership with IFIs more feasible in emerging markets.

DTC Genetic Services: A Look Across the Pond

In their contribution, Matloff and Caplan (2008) discuss various concerns related to the direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of BRCA genetic testing. In this commentary, we address major differences between the European and American context with regard to the sale and advertising of DTC genetic tests and introduce the relevant European legislation. Concerning the provision of DTC services, it is striking that apparently North American companies are dominating the provision of these services. A recent extensive Internetbased search identified a sample of 24 companies that are currently offering genetic diagnostic, risk assessment, or enhancement tests (Geransar and Einsiedel 2008). Although the research results may be biased due to use of English keywords in the search strategy, their search found that 21 of the 24 identified companies have their headquarters in the United States or Canada and only two companies are operating from Europe. Furthermore, in the annex of the recently published report More Genes Direct from the Human Genetics Commission (HGC 2007), 19 American, three British, three continental European, and one Icelandic company are reported to offer DTC genetic tests. Could this relatively low number of companies selling DTC genetic services in Europe be a sign that Europeans are presently less tolerant to, or less interested in this type of service? The answer

Progress Report on the Iceland Deep Drilling Project

No abstract available. doi:10.2204/iodp.sd.4.04.2007

Price fixing in the Icelandic oil and gas industry: where were the boards?

This paper argues how boards of directors of three Icelandic oil companies were kept in the dark while the companies were collaborating in illegal competitive behaviour. The paper offers a unique view into a situation where information or lack thereof has played a key part in corporate governance, exploring the relationship between management and the board of directors and how information filtering can go wrong to the extent that vital information does not reach the board. The paper is based on a case study of the illegal collaboration of the oil companies. It furthermore surveys the literature on information flow and information asymmetry for explanations of what happened in the case of the Icelandic oil companies.

South Korean Scientist Denies Cloning Work Was Faked: Icelandic Company Says Researchers Misappropriated Its Intellectual Property: Former FDA Head Admits Conflict of Interest in Wife's Stock Holdings: Further Developments in Conflict of Interest Investigations of NIH Scientists

Biotechnology Law ReportVol. 25, No. 6 Scientific MisconductSouth Korean Scientist Denies Cloning Work Was Faked: Icelandic Company Says Researchers Misappropriated Its Intellectual Property: Former FDA Head Admits Conflict of Interest in Wife's Stock Holdings: Further Developments in Conflict of Interest Investigations of NIH ScientistsPublished Online:5 Jan 2007https://doi.org/10.1089/blr.2006.25.689AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail "South Korean Scientist Denies Cloning Work Was Faked: Icelandic Company Says Researchers Misappropriated Its Intellectual Property: Former FDA Head Admits Conflict of Interest in Wife's Stock Holdings: Further Developments in Conflict of Interest Investigations of NIH Scientists." , 25(6), pp. 689–690FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 25Issue 6Dec 2006 InformationCopyright 2006, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.To cite this article:South Korean Scientist Denies Cloning Work Was Faked: Icelandic Company Says Researchers Misappropriated Its Intellectual Property: Former FDA Head Admits Conflict of Interest in Wife's Stock Holdings: Further Developments in Conflict of Interest Investigations of NIH Scientists.Biotechnology Law Report.Dec 2006.689-690.http://doi.org/10.1089/blr.2006.25.689Published in Volume: 25 Issue 6: January 5, 2007PDF download

Stjórnunaraðferðir og skipulag íslenskra fyrirtækja

Í þessari grein er kynnt rannsókn á skipulagi og stjórnunaraðferðum í íslenskum fyrirtækjum. Markmið hennar er í fyrsta lagi að skoða hvaða skipulagsform (skipurit) eru við lýði í íslenskum fyrirtækjum. Í öðru lagi er markmiðið að kanna hvaða stjórnunaraðferðir eru algengastar í íslenskum fyrirtækjum og í þriðja lagi er markmiðið að athuga hvort þau hafi boðið út verkefni og tekið upp formlegt samstarf við önnur fyrirtæki. Niðurstöður benda til þess að staðsetning fyrirtækja á landinu og sú starfsgrein sem fyrirtæki starfa í hafi óveruleg áhrif á stjórnunaraðferðir eða skipulag þeirra. Stærð fyrirtækja og menntun stjórnenda hafði hins vegar mjög mikil áhrif á marga þætti stjórnunar og skipulags, svo sem þegar stuðst var við samþykkt skipulag, liðsvinnu, samstarf fyrirtækja og útboð verkefna. Engin sjáanleg tengsl voru á milli stjórnunaraðferða og rekstrarárangurs. Helsta skýring þess er að mikill meirihluti fyrirtækja skilaði hagnaði árið 2003. Þörf er á frekari rannsóknum á stjórnunaraðferðum og skipulagi til að efla íslenskt atvinnulíf og tryggja varanlegan árangur fyrirtækja.

Er eitthvert vit í ráðgjöf greiningardeildanna?

Í þessari grein er sjónum beint að því hvort fjárfestar geti náð góðum árangri með því að fylgja fjárfestingarráðgjöf innlendra greiningardeilda á fyrirtækjum sem skráð eru í Kauphöll Íslands. Niðurstaðan er sú að verðbréfasafn með yfirvogunarráðgjöf gefur að meðaltali tæplega 2% hærri ávöxtun á mánuði en verðbréfasafn með undirvogunarráðgjöf. Mismunurinn er jafnframt jákvæður þegar leiðrétt hefur verið fyrir áhættu og viðskiptakostnaði. Árangurinn af því að fylgja verðmatsráðgjöf er einnig jákvæður að meðaltali en ekki jafnmarktækur tölfræðilega. Í báðum tilfellum er árangur háður því að fjárfestar bregðist við nýrri ráðgjöf á útgáfudegi.

The Role Model of the Board: a preliminary study of the roles of Icelandic boards

The aim of this paper is to distinguish between different roles of boards of directors in companies and to fit the theoretical debate into a framework for better understanding. A simple framework, constructed from the literature, is used to distinguish between the archetypes of roles from a two-dimensional perspective. The paper includes a preliminary qualitative study of Icelandic companies with the aim of testing the framework and exploring the roles of boards in Iceland. The study shows that boards have various roles or patterns of roles and that the roles can change with change of circumstances.