In addition there is significant potential in Finland. The most potential for reducing CO₂ emissions appears to be in eco-driving, public transport and car sharing.

ICT and mobile applications help to reduce CO₂ emissions of road transport

In the Green Mobility Business Project three students of the Aalto University School of Economics examined for Nokia how ICT and mobile applications could help in reducing CO₂ emissions of road transport.

According to the results, potential for ICT solutions to help in reducing carbon emissions is underlined by the fact that the implementation of mobile ICT solutions is faster than renewing the entire car fleet. Renewal of the fleet takes on average 10.7 years in Finland. Mobile applications can, for example, influence travel decisions, such as the choice of travel modality, before driving.

- The project gave a good start to exploring the area of ICT’s potential in reducing emissions of road transport although the limitations of available data generate uncertainty in this kind of assessment covering global impact and extending to 2020, says Nokia Sustainability Innovations Manager Harri Paloheimo.

Data from 11 countries analysed

The students compared alternative passenger vehicle transport modalities and analysed data from 11 countries including Finland and the USA. They also calculated the potential of improvement, which was estimated from assumed rates of behaviour changes that could be caused by the uptake of ICT and mobile applications.

The alternative passenger vehicle transport modalities that were analysed included ridesharing, public transport, carpooling and eco-driving, to change people’s traffic behaviour and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

The project, carried out in the Customised Business Project format co-ordinated by Tommi Vihervaara from Aalto University School of Economics, was supervised by researcher Merja Penttinen from VTT and Aalto University School of Science. The project owner from Nokia was Sustainability Innovations Manager Harri Paloheimo. The participating students were Yu Chen, Tiina Landau and Patrick Lees from the School of Economics.

A paper is to be submitted by Penttinen and Paloheimo about the project to the World Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems. The participating students are included in the paper as co-authors.

Read more about Aalto University Customized Business Projects

In his dissertation, Pekka Piironen, M.Soc.Sc., suggests that in its present form, capitalism should be characterised as a system of economic uncertainty. It is a political, economic and social system that is guided by political interests and that we all help to maintain.

According to the study Piironen has made for the Aalto School of Economics, economic and financial crises are managed with collective collateral. The losses arising during economic crises can only be covered afterwards, in an unlimited manner and by all players of society, in other words, with collective collateral. This is in contrast to the way in which insurance companies operate; they can provide limited coverage allowing policyholders to prepare for risks in advance.  

A rupture keeps the economy going

Piironen’s conclusion is that an economic rupture, such as an economic or financial crisis, and collective collateral form an axis that ensures economic continuity. An economic rupture is mainly a result of unpredictability, but also of testing, innovation and creation of something new. Paradoxically, a rupture keeps the economy going.

Ultimately, the ruptures resulting from this uncertainty can only be covered with collective collateral. In economic structures, this means that we can only improve our living conditions and standard of living by ensuring value generation. This means that in order to secure the future of our economic system, we must all face the consequences of financial crises and provide the necessary collective collateral.

Piironen bases his economic analysis on philosophy, economics and social sciences. These discussions have provided the necessary material for creating new concepts. The purpose of the creation of the new concepts has been to better understand the essence of the present economic system.

Public examination of the doctoral dissertation

Economics of uncertainty (Epävarmuuden talous), the doctoral dissertation of Pekka Piironen (M.Soc.Sc., University of Joensuu)  in the subject area Organisations and Management will be examined at Aalto University School of Economics (Chydenia, Stora Enso Hall, 3^rd floor, Runeberginkatu 22–24, Helsinki) on Friday 18 May 2012, at 12.00 noon. Professor Risto Heiskala (University of Tampere) will act as opponent and Professor Risto Tainio as custos.

Media representatives may request free copies from the School of Economics Communications Unit, viestinta-econ(at)aalto.fi or tel. +358 50 566 5673. The dissertation can be ordered by email from: toolo(at)ayy.fi.

Further information: Pekka Piironen (pekka.piironen(at)aalto.fi), tel. +358 40 586 5496

One of the new Academy Research Fellows is Dr. Päivi Karhunen, head of the Center for Markets in Transition (CEMAT) Russia research team. CEMAT is education and research center of the Aalto University School of Economics. 

Karhunen's research theme for the post is Institutions and International Business Strategy in Emerging Economies.

The aim of research posts as Academy Research Fellow is to provide an opportunity for the most talented researchers to develop their skills of academic leadership and to establish themselves as independent researchers. The post is filled for five years and the new Research Fellows will start the post in September.

More information about CEMAT

More information: Päivi Karhunen, paivi.karhunen(at)aalto.fi

The results show that the political connections of S Group are widespread during the entire examination period. However, the findings do not support the conclusion that the political connections of the group would have systemically affected the municipalities’ zoning decisions concerning ABC service station stores. The analysis shows that ABC service station stores are located in better operating areas than their competitors, but S Group’s political connections are not found to be associated with this dominance.

Download the thesis. (pdf, 710 KB)

More information:
Professor Matti Keloharju, matti.keloharju@aalto.fi, +358 40 353 8043
Communications, viestinta-econ@aalto.fi, +358 50 349 1263

Knowledge transfer and creation play a key role especially in the most important functions related to internationalisation, which are production, product development and international marketing.

Tenho Kohonen’s study combines learning culture with a company’s internal knowledge transfer and social capital with its external knowledge transfer. According to the results, a good learning culture improves internal knowledge transfer and ample social capital enhances external knowledge transfer.

The target group of the study comprised small and medium-sized companies that produce components for foreign end product manufacturers. The study provides new information on knowledge transfer and creation as well as the internationalisation of SMEs. The knowledge creation theory developed in large enterprises, for example, contains too many phases to be applied to SMEs. Instead, a simpler model is usually better applied to them: for example, a manager comes up with a new outlook which is then “sold” to others and implemented in practice.

Learning culture and social capital improve knowledge transfer

According to Kohonen’s study, the most essential aspect of internal knowledge transfer is that the competence of production teams is developed to make production more efficient and improve product quality. Knowledge transfer between teams in the various stages of production is equally important, as it increases productivity throughout the production chain. A learning culture in which everyone is willing to do their best promotes internal knowledge transfer.

External knowledge transfer makes use of knowledge which is possessed by customers and various organisations and may relate to various functions. When a company makes new policies, the competence of external board members, for example, can be taken into use. Social capital is based on interpersonal relationships and bears great significance when transferring external knowledge to a company.

A central finding in the study was the effect that internationalisation-related corporate policies had on knowledge transfer and creation. A “relationship deepener” only focuses on a few foreign customers in a nearby country. In this case, the people involved consist of various experts that may create versatile new information among themselves. A “market expander”, on the other hand, constantly seeks new target countries either exclusively in Europe or also in other continents. The knowledge transfer and creation of a market expander is based on contacts with several new and increasingly demanding customers.

Public examination of the doctoral dissertation

Lic.Sc. (Econ.) Tenho Kohonen’s doctoral dissertation Knowledge transfer and creation in the internationalisation of small and medium sized subcontractors in metal industry. The study was based on social capital and learning culture in the subject area of international business will be examined at Aalto University School of Economics (Chydenia, Stora Enso Hall, 3^rd floor, Runeberginkatu 22–24, Helsinki) at noon on Friday, 11 May 2012.

Professor Olavi Uusitalo (Tampere University of Technology) will act as opponent and Professor Rebecca Piekkari as custos. Professor Mika Gabrielsson acted as instructor.

Media representatives may request free copies of the dissertation from the Communications Unit of the Aalto University School of Economics at viestinta-econ@aalto.fi or tel. +358 50 566 5673. The dissertation can be ordered by email from: toolo@ayy.fi

Further information: Tenho Kohonen (tenhokohonen@gmail.com), tel. +358 50 367 9553

The list of accepted students can be found here: http://studies.aalto.fi/en/admissions/admissionresults/

Please note that the list contains the names of only those applicants who have given the permission to publish their admission decision on the web pages.

The applicants can also check their own admission result in the online application system https://apply.aalto.fi.

A Letter of Acceptance will be sent to the admitted students by mail.

More information:
Aalto University Admission Services
admissions@aalto.fi

The dissertation comprises four different essays that examine hedge fund activities from different perspectives.

The first essay addresses hedge fund activities in international financing markets. Based on the results, funds generally engage in traditional interest rate differential trading, which involves borrowing funds in low-interest currencies and investing in high-interest currencies. The funds have grown so large that their trades on the currency markets affect currency rates and interest rates. Such was the case in autumn 2008, when capital drain from hedge funds strengthened the Japanese yen and weakened many high-interest currencies.

Capital flows have a significant impact on fund yields

The second essay demonstrates that hedge funds provide liquidity on the stock market. The results show that funds buy stocks that other investors want to sell and sell stocks that others want to purchase. Thus, hedge funds improve market liquidity and reduce fluctuations in share prices.

The third essay shows that capital flows have a significant impact on hedge fund yields. When investors invest capital in funds, the existing investments grow, which in turn increases the value of the investments in the fund. It took nearly two years for this effect to dissipate. Thus, part of short-term hedge fund yields are caused by capital flows.

Hedge funds misreport returns for their own benefit

The fourth essay examines hedge fund return reporting and the accuracy of such reporting. According to the results, some hedge funds misreport return figures at times in order to advance their own cause. Misreporting can artificially increase the size of a fund and allow for invoicing of higher commissions, revise return history to make it more attractive for new investors, and sell overpriced fund shares to new investors or buy out investors at prices below the actual value.

Misreporting of returns is most likely to occur when it is most beneficial to the fund. Artificial manipulation of returns reduces the estimates of fund risk and increase estimates of returns adjusted for risk. This may be the very reason why investors favour funds that misreport in comparison to those that report honestly.

Public examination of the doctoral dissertation

M. Sc. (Econ.) Petri Jylhä’s doctoral dissertation Esseitä hedge-rahastojen taloustieteestä (Essays on the Economics of Hedge Funds) in the subject area of financing will be examined at Aalto University School of Economics (Chydenia, Stora Enso Hall, 3^rd floor, Runeberginkatu 22-24) at noon on 4 May 2012.

Professor Joshua Pollet (Michigan State University) will act as the opponent and Professor Matti Suominen as the custos.

Media representatives may request free copies from the School of Economics Communications Unit, viestinta-econ(at)aalto.fi or tel. +358 50 566 5673. The dissertation can be ordered by email from: toolo(at)ayy.fi.

Further information: Petri Jylhä (petri.jylha(at)aalto.fi), tel. +358 40 353 8034.

In line with Clausewitz's original view, also Aalto's investigation examines strategic capability from the viewpoint of personality theory. Underlying the research is the wish expressed in 2005 by Admiral Juhani Kaskeala, the former Finland's Chief of Defence, that problems related to the Defence Force should be brought to the open to allow them to be fixed.

Based on Aalto's research, strategic capabilities of Finnish officers are not that good when compared, for example, with those of people with a typical academic background. The most important reason for the problem is, it seems, the National Defence University's entrance exam system which favours non-academic applicants. As a result, especially after the 2001 officer training system reform, the selection has favoured persons whose capacity for academic study and strategic leadership is just mediocre.

Wrong kinds of individuals become selected for national defence training

According to Aalto, the significance of the problem is highlighted for two reasons. First, precisely at the time when the cadets' academic level has decreased the official status of the National Defence University as an academic university has significantly increased. Therefore, the National Defence University may be regarded as a science university which is short of academic students.

Second, especially in accordance with the research conducted by the US military forces, modern warfare requires good academic and strategic capabilities not only from officers operating on the actual strategic level but also from others. Thus also practical reasons support the view that wrong kinds of individuals seem to become selected at the National Defence University for training to satisfy the needs of modern warfare.

As the decline of Finnish officers' strategic capabilities is taking place just at the stage when those capabilities should be increasing, the matter is causing many kinds of problems, even major ones, for the Defence Force. For this reason, the Defence Force at the moment is in a crisis that is more serious that it itself realizes. For example, the saving targets recently set for the Defence Force fade almost into insignificance in light of the impending collapse of national defence capability in the near future due the down-skilling of the officer corps.

Public examination of the thesis

The public examination of the doctoral dissertation, Tragedy of a strategist. Finnish officers as clausewitzian strategists, by Mika Aalto, MSc (Econ.), in the subject area of management and international business will take place at the Aalto School of Economics (Assembly Hall, Main Building, Runeberginkatu 14-16) on Thursday, 26^th April 2012.

Professor at the Lappeenranta University of Technology and Dosent at the National Defence University Pauli Juuti, DSc (Econ.) and Mika Kerttunen, Dr. Pol.Sc., (Baltic Defence College, Tartu) will act as opponents and Risto Tainio, DSc (Econ.), as the custos.

Representatives of the media can inquire after free copies from the Communications unit of the School of Economics, viesinta-econ(at)aalto.fi or tel. +358 (0)50 566 5673. The dissertation can be ordered by email from toolo(at)ayy.fi.

Additional information Mika Aalto, mika.aalto3(at)luukku.com, tel. +358 (0)40 563 1845

The foremost challenge in marketing research today is to understand how companies should allocate limited resources as well as the type of returns that can be expected from marketing investments. A better understanding of the determinants of marketing performance is a prerequisite for the development of marketing expertise both overall and on the level of individual organizations.

In his dissertation, Antti Vassinen presents a novel method to marketing that can be used to determine what actions and conditions combine to produce what results. Using the method, researchers and executives are able to tap into the causal mechanisms that bring about marketing performance in specific business and operating environments.

The CEMO approach helps find solutions to critical problems faced by organizations and marketing management: What actions and approaches work and in what combinations? What are the causal mechanisms in our specific operating context?

New knowledge through discarding old assumptions

Vassinen’s method, the Configurational Explanation of Marketing Outcomes (CEMO), enables the modeling of complex and interrelated phenomena requiring profound qualitative and contextual understanding through systematic configurational analysis. As this information is often very difficult or impossible to obtain and verify using conventional statistical methods, Vassinen’s approach is a valuable addition to analysis, planning, and control in marketing.

The method is based on assumptions that are in opposition to those of various commonly used statistical methods: several different paths lead the same end result, a minor difference along the way can shift the outcome completely, factors behind a good result are different to those behind a poor one.

“The method has been applied to consumer dairy products by Valio Ltd and the effectiveness of Blue1 Ltd air ticket promotions. The results have had immediate managerial implications. CEMO has been developed and tested with some twenty different company partners from a broad range of industries," explains Vassinen.

The study is part of the StratMark project by the Aalto University School of Economics and the Hanken School of Economics.

Public examination of the doctoral dissertation

The public examination of the doctoral dissertation, Configurational explanation of marketing outcomes: a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach, by Antti Vassinen (M.SC. (Tech.), Aalto University) in the subject area of marketing will take place at the Aalto University School of Economics on Friday 27 April 2012 at 12 noon (Assembly Hall, Main Building, Runeberginkatu 14-16).

Honorary Professor Ian Wilkinson, PhD (University of Sydney), will act as the opponent and Professor Henrikki Tikkanen as the custos.

Media representatives may request free copies from the School of Economics Communications Unit, viestinta-econ(at)aalto.fi or tel. +358 (0)50 566 5673. The dissertation can be ordered by email from: toolo(at)ayy.fi.

Further information: Antti Vassinen (antti.vassinen@aalto.fi), tel. +358 (0)50 383 8519

Aalto University Open University organizes courses which requirements are the same as the course requirements of the degree courses at Aalto University. Open University courses are open for everyone regardless of their background.

Courses are organized one to four times per week mainly at evenings. Courses are worth a one to ten credits and the registration payment is 10€ per one credit.

Please go to the Open University webpages and find information about summer courses 2012.

The elements increase the importance of management accounting from the standpoint of strategic decision-making and control. In practice, this is seen, e.g., as widening of the evaluation of investment projects or individual performance to include also factors that are hard to measure and strategically important.

These issues are explained in the dissertation research of Katja Kolehmainen, MSc (Econ.). In her doctoral thesis, Kolehmainen extensively examined strategic management accounting practices. The focus of her study included practices connected with strategic investment decisions as well as practices related to the measurement of individuals' strategic performance. The empirical material of the thesis consisted of a case study conducted in two leading global companies and of more extensive case material collected from US, British and Japanese companies.

Practice can differ from theory

Kolehmainen's dissertation research shows that the practices of management accounting can considerably differ from descriptions presented in study books on accounting. Heads of businesses can, for example, make significant compromises in regard of economic objectives they have set for investment projects or even manipulate accounts to get strategically important investment decisions approved.

A more strategic role may require a change in the practices. To implement strategic performance measurement dynamically may require practices that significantly differ from typical performance measurement practices. Among these differences might be, for example, elevation of individual-level strategic performance measurement into a central system in the implementation of the strategy and emphasis on qualitative measurements describing desired activities in the evaluation of individual performance.

Public examination of the thesis

The public examination of MSc (Econ.) Katja Kolehmainen's doctoral thesis in the field of accounting titled On the Interface between Strategy and Management Accounting: Four Essays will begin at 12.15 pm on Friday 20th of April 2012 at the Aalto University School of Economics (Chydenia, Stora Enso hall, 3rd floor, Runeberginkatu 22-24).

Professor Josep Bisbe (ESADE - Universitat Ramon Llull) will act as the opponent and Professor Teemu Malmi as the custos.

Representatives of the media can inquire after free copies from the Communications unit of the School of Economics, viestinta-econ(at)aalto.fi or tel. +358 (0)50 566 5673. The dissertation can be ordered by email from toolo(at)ayy.fi

Additional information: Katja Kolehmainen (katja.kolehmainen(at)aalto.fi), tel. +358 (0)9 470 38488.

Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees in business and accounting. 

Only less than 5% business schools worldwide have earned this distinguished hallmark of excellence in management education. To maintain accreditation a business program must undergo a rigorous internal review every five years, at which the program must demonstrate its continued commitment to the 21 quality standards relating to faculty qualification, strategic management of resources, interactions of faculty and students, as well as a commitment to continuous improvement and achievement of learning goals in degree programs.   

 “It takes a great deal of self-evaluation and determination to earn and maintain AACSB Accreditation,” says Jerry Trapnell, vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. “Schools not only must meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculty, and staff must make a commitment to ongoing improvement to ensure continued delivery of high-quality education to students.”  

“Accreditations, such as AACSB, are important for the business school not only because our school is recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. At least equally important is that the accreditation processes help us further improve the quality of our work. The school received praise for a large number of its strengths and innovations in research, teaching, and societal impact. We also obtained useful ideas for how to further improve the business school in the years ahead”, says Ingmar Björkman, dean of Aalto University School of Economics.

Aalto University School of Economics` achievement will be recognized in the end of April at the 2012 AACSB International Conference and Annual meeting in San Diego, USA.  

For more about AACSB Accreditations, please visit: www.aacsb.edu/accreditation 

About AACSB International
AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), founded in 1916, is an association of almost 1,200 educational institutions, businesses and other organizations in 78 countries. AACSB’s mission is to advance quality management education worldwide through accreditation, thought leadership, and value-added services. AACSB Accreditation is the benchmark of quality worldwide and most widely sought after by business schools—less than 5% worldwide have earned the achievement. As the premier accreditation body for institutions offering bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees in business and accounting, the association also conducts a wide array of conferences and seminar programs at locations throughout the world. AACSB's global headquarters is located in Tampa, Florida, USA and its Asia Pacific Headquarters is located in Singapore. For more information, please visit: www.aacsb.edu.

Aalto University students will enjoy networking with Ruukki employees in a fun and loose atmosphere. They will run through Helsinki streets from the School of Economics in Töölö to the Ruukki headquarters in Herttoniemi.

During the evening, participants will be privileged to listen to a variety of career stories and discuss the expectations which young graduates have about the international labor market.

- Traditional company presentations with coffee and buns are over. Instead of sitting and listening we have the chance to enjoy running and networking in a relaxed atmosphere with healthy food and sauna afterwards, says Daniil Pokidko, International Business program coordinator.

Well-being is important to business success

- We got excited about this theme, since Ruukki has long supported staff exercise and health. Fitness courses, sports centers, various sports and physical fitness campaigns, at least to me are a sign that the well-being is important to business success, says the Ruukki HR expert Irina Nordstrom.

For both office workers and students it is important to rejuvenate the muscles and mind through exercise and fresh air. It remains to be seen what further benefits will emerge from interaction between companies and students.

More information: ib-econ(at)aalto.fi and on AlumniNET

This was shown in the recent study conducted at CEMAT, which was based on interviews with 19 representatives of Russian-managed firms operating in Finland.

“Finland is a paradise for small business”

The geographical proximity of Finland to Russia, especially St. Petersburg, provides good opportunities for business based on Russian demand. This includes, for example, tourism, construction, real estate and logistics services offered to Russian customers.

“Finland is a paradise for small business,” summed up a Russian interviewee, who had sold his business in Moscow and moved to Finland to work as a tourism entrepreneur. In addition to business motives, also personal reasons attract Russian entrepreneurs to Finland. These include factors such as clean nature and safety as elements enhancing the quality of life.

No quick profits due to small market size and high costs of doing business

According to the Russian companies’ experiences, Finland is not the market for those looking for quick profits. The flipside of the stable and transparent business environment is high taxation, in addition to which the small size of the Finnish market and high costs of doing business erode profitability. “Nobody comes to Finland because of profits - it is the same as going picking watermelons in taiga”, summed up another entrepreneur.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned disadvantages of the business environment make Finland a good “test laboratory” for those Russian companies, which target the global markets and want to streamline their business processes in a stable and highly competed market with clear rules. In addition, internationally-oriented Russian companies are interested in the Finnish high-tech know-how and the access to the EU market via Finland.

No major problems in relations to local stakeholders

The Russian companies’ experiences of operating in Finland are in general positive. The transparency of the public sector is highly appreciated, but at the same time the authorities are perceived as rather distant. Moreover, the interviewees had not encountered any major problems when co-operating with Finnish companies, and most of the companies included in the study have both Finnish and Russian customers and business partners.  

The challenges in the Russian-Finnish business cooperation are mainly caused by differences in time orientation and other aspects of business culture. Only few Russian companies, which provide consumer services, had faced open prejudices. Nevertheless, Russian companies perceived the threshold to participate in Finnish business associations as relatively high. 

Do Russian companies employ Finnish staff?

The Russian companies participating in the study employ mostly Russian-speaking staff in their Finnish operations. This is mainly because fluency in Russian is considered essential in the communication with Russian customers and with the Russian headquarters. However, the companies’ experiences from Finnish employees have been positive, and the need to recruit Finnish employees is expected to increase as the number of Finnish customers is growing.

The study ”Russian Companies in Finland”, conducted at CEMAT, examined the stakeholder relations of Russian companies operating in Finland and their integration to the Finnish business environment. The study was funded by the Paulo Foundation. A research report in English will be published in the spring of 2012. 

More information: Riitta Kosonen (riitta.kosonen(at)aalto.fi) ja Päivi Karhunen (paivi.karhunen(at)aalto.fi)

The Center for Markets in Transition (CEMAT) of the Aalto University School of Economics is a research and education center founded in 1998. CEMAT’s mission is to provide academic and applied research results useful to Finnish enterprises operating in rapidly emerging markets (Russia, Baltic states, Asia and Latin America) as well as to promote the competitiveness of Helsinki metropolitan region as part of the Baltic Sea Region. CEMAT also educates future experts on Russia and Asia by channeling research results to Master’s level education.

Based on company interviews, the study investigated the Finnish firms’ views on Southeast Asia as a market, their experiences on trade barriers and the free trade area, as well as their perceptions on the actual integration of markets in Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia – a potential market and a relatively easy business environment

According to the interviews, Finnish companies typically consider Southeast Asia an important market in their operations. Growth prospects were foreseen especially in Vietnam and Malaysia. For Finnish companies, ASEAN countries are relatively easy business environments, especially compared with China or India. Companies place value on the generally decent infrastructure and the good command of English in the business circles of Malaysia and Singapore, in particular.

ASEAN integration is perceived as slow and difficult to predict

However, the perceptions about the ASEAN integration were fairly blurred. A major reason for this seems to be the slowness of the integration process, the several exceptions included in the AFTA agreement, and the general ambivalence in its enforcement.

For companies, the current status of the ASEAN free trade area indicates that an integrated market area is gradually in the making. However, the possibility of member countries to apply exclusions to the scheme makes the progress of AFTA somewhat difficult to foresee and thus non-transparent for companies. This means that for a company located in the region, intra-ASEAN trading may be hampered by the sector-specific restrictive trade policies announced by an individual state.

AFTA has virtually no impact on companies’ investment decisions

Also, it was found that while many of the companies have units in several ASEAN countries, their location decisions are not based on the prospects for regional economic integration. Instead, investments are based on the companies’ global strategies where China has a central role.

Interviewees explained this by the fact that it is hard to build strategies on a free trade area that is only in the making. According to one Finnish manager, “…we cannot make decisions based on these expectations of a FTA which are unsure. So, the possible advantages, if there are any, are realized only afterwards”.

ASEAN – a question of diplomacy rather than an integrated market?

All in all, it was found that the level of formal regional economic integration is relatively low in East Asia. Part of the problem is the lack of legal binding of the ASEAN agreements. This implies that in the present form ASEAN is, still, more a question of diplomacy between the member states than of an integrated market for companies operating in the region.

Read a more detailed article on CEMAT's pages 

More information: Research Manager Erja Kettunen-Matilainen, erja.kettunen-matilainen(at)aalto.fi

The Center for Markets in Transition (CEMAT) of the Aalto University School of Economics is a research and education center founded in 1998. CEMAT’s mission is to provide academic and applied research results useful to Finnish enterprises operating in rapidly emerging markets (Russia, Baltic states, Asia and Latin America) as well as to promote the competitiveness of Helsinki metropolitan region as part of the Baltic Sea Region. CEMAT also educates future experts on Russia and Asia by channeling research results to Master’s level education.

This theme is explored in the research carried out by Marjukka Lehtinen (MA) for her doctoral dissertation. The results show that speakers use the Finnish particles –han/hän to suggest how listeners should interpret what they are saying. These particles can show that what is being discussed is self-evident and common knowledge.

According to the results of the research, speakers use -han/hän at meetings to steer the discussion and activities in the direction they want, to sound authoritative, to highlight intellectual and hierarchical relationships, and to link the subject of discussion to other aspects of the organisation and to matters of strategy.

Apparently, there is continuous negotiation during meetings regarding what participants are assumed to know: is the information common knowledge or self-evident, or common knowledge from the moment the enlightened participant makes it so? Participants also show who has the right at any one time to judge or evaluate the subject of discussion and how the issue relates to the work of the organisation.

Making the strategy comprehensible

Participants at meetings use their positions of authority to give opinions and communicate on their units’ activities and the allocation of resources as well, as what is going on in the workplace. Parties in the know ensure that the others present have sufficient information in order to consider and discuss the subject in hand or that their own views gain importance. In this way everyone builds a common understanding of the subject.

Lehtinen’s dissertation brings a new perspective to the study of strategic practices at the micro level. The research indicates that people at meetings use their opinions and communications to refer to strategic issues. Operative employees do not do their work in isolation from the rest of the organisation: instead, the aims and objectives of the organisation are reflected in their work. The study shows that human agency and making the strategy important are everywhere present in the organisation, and at operative level too.

Doctoral dissertation

Lehtinen’s doctoral dissertation Episteemisen auktoriteetin ja yhteisen ymmärryksen konstruointi kokouskeskustelussa. Fokuksessa -hAn-lausumat (Constructing Epistemic Authority and Shared Understanding in Meeting Talk. A Focus on Utterances Containing Finnish Clitic Particle –hAn) in the subject area of Business Communication will be examined at the Aalto University School of Economics on Friday 30 March 2012 at 12:15 (Chydenia Building, Stora Enso Hall, 2^nd floor, Runeberginkatu 22–24).

Docent and Senior Lecturer Pikka-Maaria Laine (University of Eastern Finland, University of Lapland) and Professor Esa Lehtinen (University of Vaasa) will act as opponents. The custos will be Professor Johanna Moisander.

Media representatives may request free copies of the dissertation from the Communications Unit of the Aalto University School of Economics; email viestinta-econ@)aalto.fi  or tel. +358 (0)50 566 5673. The dissertation may be ordered by email to: toolo@)ayy.fi

Further information: Marjukka Lehtinen (marjukka.lehtinen@)aalto.fi ), tel. +358 (0)40 869 7753

‘Open innovation’ is a term that Professor Henry Chesbrough coined in his work Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology (HBS Press, 2003). Activities related to open innovation comprise a wide range of means and practices, including crowdsourcing, user-centred innovation, technology development networks and patent sale.

Henry Chesbrough is a guru in the field of open innovation and a researcher at the Haas School of Business unit of UC Berkeley. Chesbrough has studied the means of companies to combine both company-internal and external product development into business, and at the same time, speed up the time to market, share risks and accelerate growth. He has studied the invention commercialisation activities and management of various laboratories and several international top companies.

Chesbrough has also written the books Open Business Models: How to Thrive in the New Innovation Landscape (HBS Press, 2006), Open Innovation: Researching a New Paradigm (Oxford, 2006), and Open Services Innovation: Rethinking Your Business to Grow and Compete in a New Era (Wiley, 2011).

Gap between Finnish technology and marketing

In February, Henry Chesbrough participated in an unofficial round table session on open innovation activities, organised at the Aalto University School of Economics. Professor Kristian Möller from the School of Economics was the convener and moderator of the event. At the event, both current and future research activities and other operations in the field of open innovation were discussed.

The participants noted that there is often a gap between research- and technology-driven innovation activities and the commercialisation and marketing of innovations – a gap that is difficult to cross.  This is a problem for Finnish companies, in particular, due to the small size of the domestic market. The Finnish tradition of strongly emphasising technological development is also a cause of the gap between technology and marketing.

It was further stated that better knowledge and understanding of using and managing the various forms of open innovation must be quickly obtained. Successful innovation activities often necessitate an ecosystem that promotes learning and openness. The formation and development of the ecosystems, and the steering of these processes also require added knowledge.

Participants at the event included ten innovation activists, policy-makers and researchers from the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes), the Finnish Metals and Engineering Competence Cluster (FIMECC-SHOK) and the School of Economics. They found the session useful, and similar events are also likely to be organised later.

Further information: Professor Kristian Möller, tel. +358 50 383 6190

The nomination was given at the anniversary party of the association on 25 February 2012.

The prize was awarded on the basis of students’ proposals. In their proposals students appraised Puranen as warm-hearted teacher who takes students accountand whose methods are practical but also demanding.

According to students:
[Puranen is] One of the best teachers of the school: tasks are variable, lessons are diverse and he puts himself out for teaching.

- This selection is a great honour and gives me joy. In my opinion I was selcetd because I am persevering in my work teaching and developing teaching of Spanish language and organizational communication in Spanish. I'm glad that I can work with motivated students and open doors to big iberoamerican world, says Pasi Puranen.

Pasi Puranen has teached at the Aalto University School of Economics since 2002, first at Mikkeli campus and since 2005 at the Department of Communication. Puranen is a graduate of the University of Helsinki (1999).

 The Finnish Cultural Foundation awarded its 2012 grants and prizes, totalling 21.3 million euros, at its annual gala on 27 February. In addition to Pohjola, photographer Sanna Kannisto and translator Oili Suominen also received an award of 30,000 euros each for outstanding cultural achievements.

Economist Matti Pohjola

Matti Pohjola, Professor of Economics at the Aalto University School of Economics, (b. 1950) received a degree in economics from the University of Tampere and wrote his doctoral thesis at the University of Cambridge in 1981. Before his appointment as professor at the Helsinki School of Economics in 1992, he worked at the Labour Institute for Economic Research and the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy and as Research Director and Deputy Director of the WIDER research institute.

In his work as an economist, Matti Pohjola has focused on matters concerning economic growth. In his dissertation, he discussed economic growth from the viewpoint of the mathematical chaos theory but then switched to studying social prerequisites for growth. Using game theories, he examined such issues as the success and long-term sustainability of the Nordic social model, negative effects of growth, and sulphur emissions causing acid rain.

Following the recession of the early 1990s, Matti Pohjola became interested in general factors behind productivity growth, focusing on the economic impacts of advances in the information technology. This also led him to study the role of electricity in long-term economic growth in Finland. During the past few years, Matti Pohjola has also begun to examine the relationship between economic growth and well-being. Recently he served as a member of a working group appointed by Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, the task of which was to draw up indicators for measuring human well-being and the state of the environment. The idea was to develop indicators that could be used in addition to the gross domestic product.

Further information: Matti Pohjola, tel. +358 50 321 0260

According to Stoneham internal communications is today’s real challenge. Compared to external communications, employee communications – as they call internal comms at Nokia – is more complex and thus also more fascinating, he said.

Mr Stoneham spoke about the significance of internal communications at the IBC seminar at Aalto University on 16 February 2012. The seminar was organized by the Department of Communication of the School of Economics and the Corporate Relations Unit.

New research serves organizations and employees

Dr Mary Welch from the University of Central Lancashire addressed the issue from the academic perspective. She is an internationally acknowledged researcher of internal communications, who has in her work modeled the relationship between internal communications and employee engagement.

Dr.Welch pointed out that the employment engagement is changeable, and it can be influenced, for example by different ways of communicating. Employee engagement includes three aspects: emotional, physical and cognitive.

- New research in the field serves both organizations’ interests and employee needs. However, it’s good to remember that employees as  individuals differ as to their  preferences for particular kinds of communication, Welch said.

Improving the communication of line management

Stoneham emphasized  that  a positive mindset increases employee engagement.

- Heart, head and hands must be aligned with your work. Head means what, heart means why and hands how the job is done. Emotional commitment to work can be even four times stronger than rational commitment.

Stoneham said that the impact of  line management and team leaders on  internal communications is often forgotten in companies.

- Nokia organizes communication seminars for the line management, where the significance of communication is focused  on. The seminars help them to really understand the key messages of the company and to avoid repeating them like parrots, said Stoneham.

The IBC Evening Seminar is an annual event to promote dialogue between  corporate communications practitioners, Aalto University researchers and students of communication.