Governemental Organizations
6. Conclusion and suggestions for future research
As a conclusion, the conduct of this master’s thesis research has provided a holistic view of the global video game market and helped identify more particularly what is the current state of competitive intelligence in the current Finnish video game industry and how it is practised in factuality, therefore this work has ended up opening on the
58
discovery and identification of several interesting new areas of research in this field, including, for example, the sample size of the survey, since it would be interesting to conduct this kind of work on a larger sample which could produce better results and have a larger global reach. On the other hand, due to the nature of the activity of C.I it is sometimes thought of as an informal activity and thus the exercise of competitive intelligence in an informal way generally in small companies and start-ups that do not have sufficient human and financial resources to set up their own permanent internal structure and therefore this aspect should be studied closely in the near future.
Moreover, I suggest that the segmentation of the work could be made on different layers of market actors and hence it would be useful to conduct research work separately on a segment of companies (large companies, SMEs, and start-ups) in order to make more relevant comparisons and analyse being more in relation with each other. Also, in terms of performance observing the achievements and
usefulness of the function (competitive intelligence) must be studied based on KPIs (keys performance indicator) that must be put in place and checked for their
relevance and effectiveness on recuring timely basis. Finally concerning the social media contribution as a tool, to get in touch with other users it could be said thatthe use of professional social networks could further improve the access to professionals and contacts to its userbase so they can remain relevant in the future and help
students with the development of research based on collaboration with a larger and more open panel of professionals especially in exceptional circumstances such as the current worldwide pandemic health crisis situation.
As previously discussed, the Finnish video gaming industry has been very dynamic in recent years and has generated significant employment and investment. to maintain this exponential growth and compete with the increasingly aggressive Asian and European actors, it is therefore recommended that the sector should strive to innovate regularly in terms of design and usage and keep adapting to the needs of customers around the world as the video gaming industry holds a very lucrative future for compagnies invested in it. Thus, to stay on course, anticipate and avoid surprises and upcoming threats, the sector must equip itself with the means to monitor the competition, the users, the legal and other forms of environments. This knowledge of the global environment will ultimately enable companies to undertake taking strategic decisions that needs to be made in key segments such as products, prices, and distribution activities to serve better the customers that have more become more aware and demands the most advanced products and services.
Overall, to conclude and give a final suggestion, it can be said that if the
generalization of the implementation of the Competitive Intelligence function, may pose initial difficulties because of the cost and the size of the company (start-ups and SMEs), it is however, possible to acquire the required tools at acceptable costs and to mutualize the expenses by providing professionals with competitive intelligence departments which will in term ensure the services on behalf of the members in the form of an annual contributions and therefore contribute to the potential drive of video gaming organizations at maximizing their profits as well as delivering unique offers and refreshing sources of income for this ever-expanding industry .
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65 Appendix 1. ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Company name (optional):
2. Please indicate the size of your company:
3. Startup SMESs Large
4. Please indicate your core business: (more replies possible) Mobile
Personal Computer Console
Other:
5. Please indicate your Revenue:
Less 300.000 Euros
Between 300.000 Euros – 1.000.000 Euros Between 1.000.000 Euros – 5.000.000 Euros More 5.000.000 Euros
6. Do you export your products?
Yes No
7. If yes, please indicate the share of exports in (%) of your revenue:
…
8. Does your company have a competitive intelligence structure?
Yes No
9. If no, are you planning to launch a CI program within the next year?
Yes No
10. Under which function is Competitive Intelligence placed?
CEO
66
11. How many layers between Head of CI and CEO?
No one 1 2 More
12. If no, are you planning to launch a CI program within the next year?
Yes No
13. Does your company have a formal CI program in place?
Yes No
14. Please indicate reasons for practicing CI: (more replies possible) Industry awareness
Helps the strategic decision Development of new products Development of new technologies Identification of new customer - market Helps tactical activities
15. Does your company have benefited from Competitive Intelligence?
Strongly agree Strongly disagree
Neither agrees nor disagrees
16. Does the investment in CI have paid-off?
Strongly agree Strongly disagree
Neither agrees nor disagrees
17. The decision-making with CI program is efficient?
Strongly agree Strongly disagree
Neither agrees nor disagrees
18. How many people have CI as their primary job?
None 1 to 3 4 to 10
67 More than 10
19. Time spent on regular CI deliverables:
Regular Ad-hoc
20. How is CI work distributed?
Centralized Decentralized Outsourced
21. What is the average budget allocated to CI function (excluding HR costs?) Less 50.000 Euros
60.000 To 100.000 Euros 100.000 To 500.000 Euros More 500.000 Euros
22. How will investments in CI develop over the next two years?
Increase significantly Decrease significantly Remain the same
23. Does the current education system allow the sufficient and qualified human resources for your sector?
Yes No
24. Does your activity receive support from public authorities in terms of funding and international promotion?
Yes No
25. If not, what are your recommendations to strengthen your activity and support your internationalization?
Thank you for your time and consideration all the collected data will be
processed according to the university of eastern Finland rules and regulations.
68 Appendix 2. LIST OF COMPANIES IN FINLAND
3rd Eye Studios
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70
71