The Finnish it industries in transition. Defining and Measuring the Finnish Software Product and IT Services Industries by Applying Theoretical Frameworks

The starting point of this study is that the prevailing way to consider the Finnish IT industries and industry information often results in a limited and even skewed picture of the sector. The purpose of the study is to contribute and increase knowledge and understanding of the status, structure and evolution of the Finnish IT industries as well as the Finnish IT vendor field and competition. The focus is on software product and IT services industries which form a crucial part of all ICT industries. This study examines the Finnish IT sector from production (supply) as well as market (demand) perspective. The study is based on empirical information from multiple sources. Three research questions were formulated for the study. The first concerns the status of the Finnish IT industries considered by applying theoretical frameworks. The second research question targets at the basis for the future evolution of the Finnish IT industries and, finally, the third at the ability of the available definitions and indicators to describe the Finnish IT industries and IT markets. Major structural changes like technological changes and related innovations, globalization and new business models are drivers of the evolution of the IT industries. The findings of this study emphasize the significant role of IT services in the Finnish IT sector and in connection to that the ability to combine IT service skills, competences and practices with high level software skills also in the future. According to the study the Finnish IT enterprises and their customers have become increasingly dependent on global ecosystems and platforms, applications and IT services provided by global vendors. As a result, more IT decisions are made outside Finland. In addition, IT companies are facing new competition from other than IT industries bringing into market new substitutes. To respond to the new competition, IT firms seek growth by expanding beyond their traditional markets.. The changing global division of labor accentuates the need for accurate information of the IT sector but, at the same time, also makes it increasingly challenging to acquire the information needed. One of the main contributions of this study is to provide frameworks for describing the Finnish IT sector and its evolution. These frameworks help combine empirical information from various sources and make it easier to concretize the structures, volumes, relationships and interaction of both, the production and market side of the Finnish IT industry. Some frameworks provide tools to analyze the vendor field, competition and the basis for the future evolution of the IT industries. The observations of the study support the argument that static industry definitions and related classifications do not serve the information needs in dynamic industries, such as the IT industries. One of the main messages of this study is to emphasize the importance of understanding the definitions and starting points of different information sources. Simultaneously, in the structure and evolution of Finnish IT industries the number of employees has become a more valid and reliable measure than the revenue based indicators.

Nordic alcohol policy in Europe: the adaptation of Finland’s, Sweden’s and Norway’s alcohol policies to a new policy framework, 1994-2013

The purpose of this thesis is to study how and to which extent Finland, Sweden and Norway have adapted their alcohol policies to the framework imposed to them by the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA) since the mid-1990s. This is done by studying the underlying mechanisms that have influenced the formation of alcohol policy in the Nordic countries in that period. As a part of this analysis main differences in alcohol policies and alcohol consumption between the three countries are assessed and the phenomenon of cross-border trade with alcohol is discussed. The study examines also the development of Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish alcohol policies between 1994 and 2012 and compares the Nordic alcohol policies with other alcohol policies in Europe as the situation was in 2012. The time frame of the study spans from the mid-1990s to the end of 2013 and is divided into three phases. Studying the role of the Europeanisation process on the formation of alcohol policies has a key role in the analysis. Besides alcohol policies, the analyses comprise the development of alcohol consumption and cross-border trade with alcohol. In addition, a quantitative scale constructed to measure the strictness of alcohol policies is utilised in the analyses. The results from the scale are used to substantiate the qualitative analysis and to test whether the stereotypical view of a strict Nordic alcohol policy is still true. The results from the study clearly corroborate earlier findings on the significance of Europeanisation and the Single Market for the development of alcohol policies in the Nordic countries. Free movement of goods and unhindered competition have challenged the principle of disinterest and enabled private profit seeking in alcohol trade. The Single Market has also contributed to the increase in availability of alcohol and made it more difficult for the Nordic EU member states to maintain restrictive alcohol policies. All in all, alcohol policies in the Nordic countries are more liberal in 2013 than they were in 1994. Norway, being outside the EU has, however, managed to maintain a stricter alcohol policy than Finland and Sweden. Norway has also been spared from several EU directives that have affected Finland and Sweden, the most remarkable being the abolishment of the travellers’ import quotas for alcohol within the EU. Due to its position as a non-EU country Norway has been able to maintain high alcohol taxes without being subjected to a ”race to the bottom” regarding alcohol taxes the same way as Finland and Sweden. Finland distinguishes as the country that has liberalised its alcohol policy most during the study period. The changes in alcohol policies were not only induced by Europeanisation and the Single Market, but also by autonomous decision-making and political processes in the individual countries. Furthermore, the study shows that alcohol policy measures are implemented more widely in Europe than before and that there is a slow process of convergence going on regarding alcohol policy in Europe. Despite this, alcohol policies in the Nordic countries are still by far the strictest in all of Europe. From a Europeanisation perspective, the Nordic countries were clearly on the receiving end during the first two study phases (1994–2007), having more to adjust to rules from the EU and the Single Market than having success in uploading and shaping alcohol policy on the European and international field. During the third and final study phase (2008–2013), however, the Nordic countries have increasingly succeeded in contributing to shape the alcohol policy arena in the EU and also more widely through the WHOs global alcohol strategy. The restrictive Nordic policy tradition on which the current alcohol policies in Finland, Sweden and Norway were built on has still quite a solid evidence base. Although the basis of the restrictive alcohol policy has crumbled somewhat during the past twenty years and the policies have become less effective, nothing prevents it from being the base for alcohol policy in the Nordic countries even in the long term. In the future, all that is needed for an effective and successful alcohol policy is a solid evidence base, enough political will and support from the general public.

Herra Eino I. Hyvärinen 2/11 1967

Kirje 2.11.1967