Hassan Sherwani ROLE OF SALES AND MARKETING IN ... - Oulu

57
All these four stages are followed in the following sections. Case selection process
through research would merge two stages of design and conduction of case study and
would highlight the methodology. Stage 3 would analyze the influence of changing
trends to case company and how company has developed its collaboration and
integration of sales and marketing due to this business transformation. For the sake of
clarity, the analysis would be discussed in chapter 5. Finally stage 4 would conclude the
case studies with some of key findings, recommendation and implications in the light of
theory and conducted interview. Chapter 6 has been dedicated for this purpose.
4.1 Design of case study
A research design is considered to be a logical plan from initial set of questions to set of
answers to those questions which would conclude the analysis. It actually guides in the
process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting observations (Yin, 1994). For the
design of case study, Oulun Energia has been selected as case company. It is worth
mentioning that Oulun Sähkömyynti Oy (electricity trade unit of Oulun Energia) is taken
as case company during a brief yet learning trainee period in collaboration with
University of Oulu and author. This opportunity gave sufficient access to potential data
i.e interviewing executives, reviewing company structure and observing the field work.
As to introduce company briefly, Oulun Energia procures sells and distributes
electricity, district heat, steam and services to its customer in accordance with general
business rules and principles. The Oulun Energia Group incorporates an integrated
group of energy companies with a focus on serving the Oulu region and other parts of
northern Finland. Owned by the City of Oulu, the Group’s operations cover the entire
value chain of energy sector: production of raw materials; production, sales and
distribution of electricity and heat; and various services in the sector, such as network
management, contracting and maintenance. The Group includes the following
companies;
Oulun Energia municipal enterprise (parent company)
Oulun Sähkönmyynti Oy (electricity trade)
Oulun Energia Siirto ja Jakelu Oy (electricity distribution)
Oulun Energia Urakointi Oy (contracting)