Local Embeddedness and Knowledge Acquisition and How They Affect Finnish Business Operations in Russia

This pilot project aims examine the factors of the Finnish subsidiaries local embeddedness, their knowledge creation capabilities and the transfer mechanisms of new practices in the context of the Russian market. The research is designed as a multiple case study conducted with a qualitative approach. The empirical data consists of the interviews of the four Finnish case companies operating in the Kaluga region and three local partner companies. The deductive and inductive approaches were employed to conduct the analysis of the data. The propositions for the future study were developed in the conclusive chapters of the research, where we propose that the factor of the economy growth and industrialization matters in terms of subsidiaries’ role dedication, their knowledge creation capabilities, and direction of the knowledge flow within the local environment.

Suosituksia rannikon herkkien alueiden puhdistukseen öljystä : Liite rantojen öljyntorjuntaoppaisiin

Öljyvuodot ovat vakava riski vilkkaasti liikennöidyn Itämeren herkälle luonnolle. On tärkeää suunnitella öljyntorjunta- ja puhdistustoimet huolellisesti, jotta vuodon tapahduttua pystytään torjumaan öljy mahdollisimman tehokkaasti aiheuttamatta turhaa lisävahinkoa meren ja rannikon luonnolle. Suomessa on kaksi öljyntorjuntaopasta, joissa käydään tarkasti läpi eri rantamateriaaleille ja öljytyypeille soveltuvia puhdistusmenetelmiä. Tämä julkaisu toimii näiden oppaiden yhteydessä lisätietona ja valottaa erityisen herkillä luontokohteilla huomioitavia seikkoja. Julkaisussa tarkastellaan rannikon öljylle herkkiä, uhanalaisia luontotyyppejä ja annetaan tarkentavia suosituksia puhdistusmenetelmien valintaan biologisesta näkökulmasta. Lisäksi käydään yleisellä tasolla läpi herkkien lajien elinympäristön puhdistuksessa huomioitavia seikkoja. Julkaisu perustuu OILRISK – Applications of ecological knowledge in managing oil spill risk -hankkeessa kerättyyn tietoon. Hankkeessa arvioidaan mahdollisen öljyonnettomuuden riskiä Suomenlahden ja Saaristomeren luontoarvoille ja selvitetään mahdollisuuksia vähentää ympäristölle aiheutuvaa haittaa avomeri- ja rantatorjunnalla. Tiedot tässä julkaisussa käsiteltävistä luontotyypeistä ja lajeista sekä niiden esiintymisestä Etelä-Suomen rannikko- ja merialueilla on kerätty hankkeen tuottamaan tietokantaan. Kerättyjen tietojen perusteella kehitetään karttatyökalu öljyntorjunnan suunnittelun ja operatiivisen päätöksenteon tueksi, ja tiedot liitetään myös ympäristöhallinnon Boris2-järjestelmään. OILRISK-hanketta rahoittavat Euroopan unionin Central Baltic Interreg IV A-rahoitusohjelma, Varsinais-Suomen ELY-keskus, Porvoon kaupunki, Itä-Uudenmaan pelastuslaitos, Kotkan kaupunki, Päijät-Hämeen liitto, Tarton yliopisto sekä Saaristomeren suojelurahasto.

Finnish cleantech SMEs in China: Challenges and solutions

The rapid economic growth in China has resulted in environmental challenges ranging from air pollution to water-related issues. Thus supporting clean technology, or cleantech, that encompasses industries that focus on alternative energy, pollution and recycling, power supplies and conservation has become one of the focal points in the Chinese economic policy for the next decade. Simultaneously, the Finnish government has initiated programs to support the internationalisation of domestic cleantech companies in an attempt to spiral the industry into one of the pillars of Finnish economic growth. This study concentrates on the conjunction of these two themes and studies the challenges faced by Finnish cleantech SMEs in the Chinese market. Consequently, the study answers the following sub questions: 1. What human and financial resource-based challenges do Finnish cleantech SMEs face in the Chinese market and what are their solutions? 2. What knowledge-based challenges do Finnish cleantech SMEs face in the Chinese market and how can these difficulties be resolved? 3. What network-based challenges do Finnish cleantech SMEs face in the Chinese market, how do they relate to the resource- and knowledge-based challenges, and how can these difficulties be resolved? This qualitative study is conducted by analysing four semi structured interviews collected from four Finnish SMEs that operate in China. The findings of the study indicate that in human resources the most important challenges are related to the hiring and retaining of employees. In contrast to extant academic literature results distinguish salary and social status as the main solutions to this challenge. Regarding financial resources it is discovered that cleantech companies enjoy a benign business environment in China and benefit from the Chinese government’s support for cleantech industry. Challenges related to knowledge resources can be grouped into categories with the most interesting knowledge flows being the stream of local market knowledge into to the foreign parent company and the outward flow of manufacturing and business practice information into the target venture. The challenge related to the first flow is gathering relevant information and the main solutions are clustering at the foreign location and hiring knowledge prior to internationalisation. Regarding the second flow the main challenge is related to intellectual property rights and the most interesting solution is the purposeful transformation of explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge. Finally, it is discovered that networks, called guanxi in China, greatly affect the business processes. Within the guanxi system there is the concept of face which was found to affect employee propensity to stay as well as, as a novel academic result, employees’ knowledge sharing intention.

International Partnering strategy for e-learning provider in emerging economies: Evidence from East Africa learning institutions

International partnership has received growing interest in the literature during the past decades due to globalization, increased technological approaches and rapid changes in competitive environments. The study specifically determines the support provided by international partners on promotion of e-learning in East Africa, assess the motives of partner selection criteria, the determinants of selecting partners, partner models and partner competence of e-learning provider. The study also evaluates obstacles of e-learning partnering strategy in East Africa learning institutions. The research adopts a descriptive survey design. Target population involved East Africa learning institutions with a list of potential institutions generated from the Ministry of Higher Education database. Through a targeted reduction of the initial database, consisting of all learning institutions, both public and private, the study created a target sample base of 200 learning institutions. Structured questionnaires scheduled were used to collect primary data. Study findings showed the approach way East African communities in selecting their e-learning partners depend on international reputation of partners, partner with ability to negotiate with foreign governments, partner with international and local experiences, nationality of foreign partner and partners with local market knowledge.

Macroalgae across environmental gradients : tools for managing rocky coastal areas of the northern Baltic Sea

Macroalgae are the main primary producers of the temperate rocky shores providing a three-dimensional habitat, food and nursery grounds for many other species. During the past decades, the state of the coastal waters has deteriorated due to increasing human pressures, resulting in dramatic changes in coastal ecosystems, including macroalgal communities. To reverse the deterioration of the European seas, the EU has adopted the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), aiming at improved status of the coastal waters and the marine environment. Further, the Habitats Directive (HD) calls for the protection of important habitats and species (many of which are marine) and the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive for sustainability in the use of resources and human activities at sea and by the coasts. To efficiently protect important marine habitats and communities, we need knowledge on their spatial distribution. Ecological knowledge is also needed to assess the status of the marine areas by involving biological indicators, as required by the WFD and the MSFD; knowledge on how biota changes with human-induced pressures is essential, but to reliably assess change, we need also to know how biotic communities vary over natural environmental gradients. This is especially important in sea areas such as the Baltic Sea, where the natural environmental gradients create substantial differences in biota between areas. In this thesis, I studied the variation occurring in macroalgal communities across the environmental gradients of the northern Baltic Sea, including eutrophication induced changes. The aim was to produce knowledge to support the reliable use of macroalgae as indicators of ecological status of the marine areas and to test practical metrics that could potentially be used in status assessments. Further, the aim was to develop a methodology for mapping the HD Annex I habitat reefs, using the best available data on geology and bathymetry. The results showed that the large-scale variation in the macroalgal community composition of the northern Baltic Sea is largely driven by salinity and exposure. Exposure is important also on smaller spatial scales, affecting species occurrence, community structure and depth penetration of algae. Consequently, the natural variability complicates the use of macroalgae as indicators of human-induced changes. Of the studied indicators, the number of perennial algal species, the perennial cover, the fraction of annual algae, and the lower limit of occurrence of red and brown perennial algae showed potential as usable indicators of ecological status. However, the cumulated cover of algae, commonly used as an indicator in the fully marine environments, showed low responses to eutrophication in the area. Although the mere occurrence of perennial algae did not show clear indicator potential, a distinct discrepancy in the occurrence of bladderwrack, Fucus vesiculosus, was found between two areas with differing eutrophication history, the Bothnian Sea and the Archipelago Sea. The absence of Fucus from many potential sites in the outer Archipelago Sea is likely due to its inability to recover from its disappearance from the area 30-40 years ago, highlighting the importance of past events in macroalgal occurrence. The methodology presented for mapping the potential distribution and the ecological value of reefs showed, that relatively high accuracy in mapping can be achieved by combining existing available data, and the maps produced serve as valuable background information for more detailed surveys. Taken together, the results of the theses contribute significantly to the knowledge on macroalgal communities of the northern Baltic Sea that can be directly applied in various management contexts.

The role of network competence and international business competence in multinational corporations: Subsidiary perspective

On-going process of globalization makes companies all over the world to go beyond the national markets and internationalize. Organizational form of multinational corporation (MNC) has capabilities for establishing the affiliate companies in several countries. Thus, the relocation of resources occurs and particularly, the cross-border transfer of knowledge which possesses the competitive advantage. However, differences in countries` business environments and cultures may constrain this capability. The research aim of this thesis is to investigate the role of subsidiary’s network competence (ability to build and manage the relationships with other local business units) and international business competence in relation to the benefits that MNC receives from a subsidiary. Additionally, subsidiary’s business adaptation, partnerships and knowledge transfer mechanism with parent company and external partners are investigated. This research, conducted in the Finnish-Russian context, consists of theoretical and empirical parts. The qualitative approach in the form of multiple case studies is employed. The empirical data incorporated primary and secondary data in the form of interviews collected in 2013 and 2015 years. Interviews were collected from four Finnish case companies in Saint-Petersburg and Kaluga region and five Russian partner companies. Results are drawn from two cases from Saint-Petersburg. The abductive research approach for the results analysis is adopted. The results indicate that both competencies lead to the subsidiary’s local embeddedness in the form of mutual business activities with local business partners and product adaptation for the local market needs. In addition to the monetary benefits in form of payments or turnover share, local embeddedness brings the knowledge of the local environment which is utilized by an MNC in the long-term planning. Another found tacit benefit is the access to the national market. This is strategically useful benefit not only for parent MNC but also for the subsidiary’s partners, i.e. international suppliers.

Local and Regional Scale Determinants of Biodiversity Patterns in Boreal Agricultural Landscapes

This thesis examines the local and regional scale determinants of biodiversity patterns using existing species and environmental data. The research focuses on agricultural environments that have experienced rapid declines of biodiversity during past decades. Existing digital databases provide vast opportunities for habitat mapping, predictive mapping of species occurrences and richness and understanding the speciesenvironment relationships. The applicability of these databases depends on the required accuracy and quality of the data needed to answer the landscape ecological and biogeographical questions in hand. Patterns of biodiversity arise from confounded effects of different factors, such as climate, land cover and geographical location. Complementary statistical approaches that can show the relative effects of different factors are needed in biodiversity analyses in addition to classical multivariate models. Better understanding of the key factors underlying the variation in diversity requires the analyses of multiple taxonomic groups from different perspectives, such as richness, occurrence, threat status and population trends. The geographical coincidence of species richness of different taxonomic groups can be rather limited. This implies that multiple geographical regions should be taken into account in order to preserve various groups of species. Boreal agricultural biodiversity and in particular, distribution and richness of threatened species is strongly associated with various grasslands. Further, heterogeneous agricultural landscapes characterized by moderate field size, forest patches and non-crop agricultural habitats enhance the biodiversity of rural environments. From the landscape ecological perspective, the major threats to Finnish agricultural biodiversity are the decline of connected grassland habitat networks, and general homogenization of landscape structure resulting from both intensification and marginalization of agriculture. The maintenance of key habitats, such as meadows and pastures is an essential task in conservation of agricultural biodiversity. Furthermore, a larger landscape context should be incorporated in conservation planning and decision making processes in order to respond to the needs of different species and to maintain heterogeneous rural landscapes and viable agricultural diversity in the future.

Assessment of Coastal Bird Populations and Habitats on the Finnish Coast of the Baltic Sea: Implications for Monitoring and Management

Coastal birds are an integral part of coastal ecosystems, which nowadays are subject to severe environmental pressures. Effective measures for the management and conservation of seabirds and their habitats call for insight into their population processes and the factors affecting their distribution and abundance. Central to national and international management and conservation measures is the availability of accurate data and information on bird populations, as well as on environmental trends and on measures taken to solve environmental problems. In this thesis I address different aspects of the occurrence, abundance, population trends and breeding success of waterbirds breeding on the Finnish coast of the Baltic Sea, and discuss the implications of the results for seabird monitoring, management and conservation. In addition, I assess the position and prospects of coastal bird monitoring data, in the processing and dissemination of biodiversity data and information in accordance with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and other national and international commitments. I show that important factors for seabird habitat selection are island area and elevation, water depth, shore openness, and the composition of island cover habitats. Habitat preferences are species-specific, with certain similarities within species groups. The occurrence of the colonial Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) is partly affected by different habitat characteristics than its abundance. Using long-term bird monitoring data, I show that eutrophication and winter severity have reduced the populations of several Finnish seabird species. A major demographic factor through which environmental changes influence bird populations is breeding success. Breeding success can function as a more rapid indicator of sublethal environmental impacts than population trends, particularly for long-lived and slowbreeding species, and should therefore be included in coastal bird monitoring schemes. Among my target species, local breeding success can be shown to affect the populations of the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), the Eider (Somateria mollissima) and the Goosander (Mergus merganser) after a time lag corresponding to their species-specific recruitment age. For some of the target species, the number of individuals in late summer can be used as an easier and more cost-effective indicator of breeding success than brood counts. My results highlight that the interpretation and application of habitat and population studies require solid background knowledge of the ecology of the target species. In addition, the special characteristics of coastal birds, their habitats, and coastal bird monitoring data have to be considered in the assessment of their distribution and population trends. According to the results, the relationships between the occurrence, abundance and population trends of coastal birds and environmental factors can be quantitatively assessed using multivariate modelling and model selection. Spatial data sets widely available in Finland can be utilised in the calculation of several variables that are relevant to the habitat selection of Finnish coastal species. Concerning some habitat characteristics field work is still required, due to a lack of remotely sensed data or the low resolution of readily available data in relation to the fine scale of the habitat patches in the archipelago. While long-term data sets exist for water quality and weather, the lack of data concerning for instance the food resources of birds hampers more detailed studies of environmental effects on bird populations. Intensive studies of coastal bird species in different archipelago areas should be encouraged. The provision and free delivery of high-quality coastal data concerning bird populations and their habitats would greatly increase the capability of ecological modelling, as well as the management and conservation of coastal environments and communities. International initiatives that promote open spatial data infrastructures and sharing are therefore highly regarded. To function effectively, international information networks, such as the biodiversity Clearing House Mechanism (CHM) under the CBD, need to be rooted at regional and local levels. Attention should also be paid to the processing of data for higher levels of the information hierarchy, so that data are synthesized and developed into high-quality knowledge applicable to management and conservation.

The governmental organization's role in railway freight market's liberalization -building knowledge through Swedish and Polish operators' experiences

Globalization has increased transport aggregates’ demand. Whilst transport volumes increase, ecological values’im portance has sharpened: carbon footprint has become a measure known world widely. European Union together with other communities emphasizes friendliness to the environment: same trend has extended to transports. As a potential substitute for road transport is noted railway transport, which decreases the congestions and lowers the emission levels. Railway freight market was liberalized in the European Union 2007, which enabled new operators to enter the markets. This research had two main objectives. Firstly, it examined the main market entry strategies utilized and the barriers to entry confronted by the operators who entered the markets after the liberalization. Secondly, the aim was to find ways the governmental organization could enhance its service towards potential railway freight operators. Research is a qualitative case study, utilizing descriptive analytical research method with a normative shade. Empirical data was gathered by interviewing Swedish and Polish railway freight operators by using a semi-structured theme-interview. This research provided novel information by using first-hand data; topic has been researched previously by utilizing second-hand data and literature analyses. Based on this research, rolling stock acquisition, needed investments and bureaucracy generate the main barriers to entry. The research results show that the mostly utilized market entry strategies are start-up and vertical integration. The governmental organization could enhance the market entry process by organizing courses, paying extra attention on flexibility, internal know-how and educating the staff.

Role of culture in knowledge transfer and sharing - case ERP implementation

The main objective of this study was to examine how culture influences knowledge transfer and sharing within multicultural ERP project implementation in China. The main interest was to explain how national culture and knowledge are linked by understanding how culture influences knowledge transfer and sharing in a project organization. The other objective of this work was to discuss what Chinese cultural characteristic inhibit and en-hance knowledge sharing in ERP project. The perspective of this study was qualitative and the empirical material was collected from theme interviews among Stora Enso employees. Conclusion of this thesis is that Finns have a very direct style of communication and sharing knowledge whereas Chinese respect face shaving and indirect communication. Another conclusion is that knowledge sharing does not “just happen”, it is needed that project members understand national culture to get all project members commitment to project. In China most important is understand local business processes and understand role of trust and guanxi.

Cultural aspects of globalizing university-industry knowledge interaction in China

Previous studies of the local involvement of multinational corporation (MNC) subsidiaries focus on host-country firms and local business partners such as suppliers and customers. The role of host-country universities in the same context of innovation networks is neglected. Furthermore, there are many organizational culture- and knowledge-related differences between universities and companies, and this is likely to pose additional challenges for successful collaboration. Early university-industry (U-I) studies have primarily been limited within a national boundary, being concerned with a single level of culture (i.e., at an organizational level) and one-way knowledge transfer from university to industry. Research on more dynamic knowledge interaction in multinational settings is lacking. This is particularly true in the business context of China. In today’s globalizing and rapidly changing organizations, addressing cultural differences and clashes is an everyday reality, and inter-cultural U-I collaboration is becoming a key asset for gaining global competitiveness. This study deals with Finnish MNC subsidiaries’ research collaboration with Chinese universities. It aims to explore the essence of such U-I collaboration and knowledge interaction, uncovering the deep functioning mechanisms of culture underlying effective collaborative knowledge creation and innovation. The study reviews critically different bodies of literature including knowledge management theories and studies, U-I collaboration and knowledge interaction, and cross-cultural research in terms of organizational knowledge generation and utilization. It adopts a case study strategy with qualitative research methods, and data is collected through in-depth interviews and participant observation. The study presents the following major findings: 1. In the light of a comprehensive analysis of U-I collaboration, an effective matching strategy is proposed, in the assumption that good alignment of knowledge interaction strategies and approaches with their corresponding knowledge type, capability development and research task may greatly enhance the effectiveness of cross-cultural U-I collaboration and knowledge interaction. 2. It is proposed that in the Chinese MNC context more dynamic types of knowledge interaction like knowledge co-creation should be of key concern particularly when dealing simultaneously with multi-disciplinary applied research of human factors and technologies. U-I knowledge interaction, otherwise, pays attention only to the study of one-way technology and knowledge transfer. 3. It is posited that the influence of culture on collaborative knowledge interaction can be studied in a valuable way when knowledge-related variables are simultaneously taken into account. A systematic analysis of the role of knowledge in cross-cultural knowledge interaction could best be approached from multi-aspects of knowledge including not only nature, characteristics and types of knowledge but also the process of knowledge (e.g., intensifications of knowledge interaction). 4. The study demonstrates the significant role of aspects of the host-country culture (e.g., Chinese guanxi) in U-I collaboration and knowledge interaction. This is evident, for instance, in issues related to interpersonal relationships and trust, true interest and the relatedness of the research, mutual commitment and learning, communication intensity and interaction, and awareness of cultural and knowledge-related differences between collaboration partners. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are suggested and discussed.

Metsäsääntely Suomessa ja Venäjällä. Näkökulmia kestävään metsätalouteen

Sustainability is the aim of forest management and forest regulation in many countries. Accordingly, forest management has been steered towards more environmentally friendly methods and new regulatory instruments have been introduced. At the same time, wood trade and forest industry have become a global business. Even if the importance of national forest legislation has not decreased, it has been widely acknowledged that national regulation of forest management is no longer sufficient. The movement of goods does not acknowledge boundaries, even though most negative environmental and social consequences stay in the country of origin of wood and other raw materials. As a partial solution to this dilemma, different kinds of regulations have been developed. Various forest certification schemes and wood trade regulation in the EU (995/2010) are examples of efforts to prevent illegal logging and unsustainable forestry. The Finland-based forest industry is to a varying extent dependent on wood trade from Russia. Especially in the 1990‟s, ethical questions concerning import of wood from Russian old growth forests near the Finnish border were widely discussed. Consequently, forest industry enterprises have developed systems to trace the origin of wood and to buy certified wood from Russia. The aim of the research has been to evaluate Finnish and Russian forest regulations in order to investigate what kind of forest management these regulations enhance, and to what extent ecologically sustainable forest management has been integrated into different forms of regulation. I have examined Finnish and Russian forest regulation in four separate articles based on the topics of the Russian Forest Code, forest certification and other voluntary forest protection measures in Russia, Finnish forest certification and Finnish forest legislation. One objective has been to analyse the roles voluntary forest certification plays in promoting sustainable forest management in different countries. In my research, I have mainly concentrated on ecological sustainability and protection of biodiversity, although other aspects of sustainable forest management have been touched upon in different articles. In the following I shall conclude the findings of my research. When the current Russian Forest Code (2006) was being adopted, the main emphasis was not on ecological issues, but on reorganizing forest governance. The role of ecological requirements was even slightly diminished during the legislative reform. There are, nevertheless, still stipulations aiming at ecological sustainability, such as the division of forests into different forest management categories and various protection zones. In 2000, FSC forest certification arrived in Russia, at present covering already 28 million hectares of forests. The PEFC scheme is now in use as well, but to a much lesser extent. If properly implemented, Russian forest certification schemes clearly improve the level of ecological and social sustainability of forestry in Russia. Certification criteria, however, are partly in conflict with the Russian forest legislation and certified enterprises have been forced to pay fines or to negotiate with forest authorities. This clearly indicates that even if Russian forest legislation has otherwise been liberalized to a certain extent, some significant paternalism still exists. Voluntary, hands-on biodiversity protection measures are not valued, and they are not part of the official protection policies as in many other countries. However, there have been some regional solutions to this dilemma. In the Republic of Karelia forest authorities have approved a set of forest biodiversity protection rules created by a local NGO and a forest industry enterprise. By following these local rules, an enterprise can avoid fines for protection measures. The current Finnish Forest Act was adopted in 1996. It brought forest legislation into a new era as some ecological aspects were integrated into forest legislation. The various soft-law forest management recommendations further increased the level of biodiversity protection. My evaluation of the overall legitimacy of the Finnish forest legislation and forest management paradigm revealed, however, several problematic issues. As part of this study I analysed the history of the current forest management paradigm. This analysis revealed the path dependency which still hinders the protection of biodiversity and clearly decreases the general legitimacy of forest management. Due to several historical reasons only even-structured forest management based on clear cuts has for decades been officially approved in Finland. Due to increasing demands of forest owners the legislation is finally being revised. Yet, the official approval of uneven-structured forest management would not be enough to fully improve ecological, social and cultural legitimacy. The latest ecological theories and knowledge of endangered species should be taken into account in the on-going reform of forest legislation as well as the modernisation. Forest legislation is one of the very few spheres of Finnish environmental legislation where openness and participation are still considered a threat. The first Finnish forest certification scheme, PEFC, was established in 2000. It now covers more than 20 million hectares, about 95% of the forests in Finland. PEFC Finland does not require a higher level of biodiversity protection than the recommendations by Tapio (the Development Centre for Forestry), but certification has unified forest management practices and requires more protection measures than mere forest legislation. The study suggests that in Finland PEFC has not functioned as an instrument which would substantially improve the level of forest management. Rather it has supported the status quo of the forest sector. While the ecological and social responsibility of Finland-based forest corporations was one impetus for this research, I want to conclude that there are problems related to forest legislation and non-state regulation in both Finland and Russia. If an enterprise buying wood from Russia buys only certified wood, and carefully avoids wood coming from high conservation value forests that are either ecologically or socially valuable, it can be claimed to be as sustainably produced as in Finland. However, there must be continuous scrutiny of the circumstances. In Russia, the level of the compliance of certification criteria varies considerably, and there are vast unprotected invaluable forest areas. The utilisation of these areas should not be based on short-sighted decisions or lack of consensus among stakeholders.

Organisational learning and knowledge acquisition. A case study of internationalising manufacturers of wood-based prefabricated buildings

The study investigates organisational learning and knowledge acquisition of wood-based prefabricated building manufacturers. This certain group of case companies was chosen, because their management and their employees generally have a strong manufacturing and engineering background, while the housing sector is characterised by national norms, regulations, as well as local building styles. Considering this setting, it was investigated, how the case companies develop organisational learning capabilities, acquire and transfer knowledge for their internationalisation. The theoretical framework of this study constitutes the knowledge-based conceptualisation of internationalisation, which combines the traditional internationalisation process, as well as the international new venture perspective based on their commonalities in the knowledge-based view of the firm. Different theories of internationalisation, including the network-perspective, were outlined and a framework on organisational learning and knowledge acquisition was established. The empirical research followed a qualitative approach, deploying a multiple-case study with five case companies from Austria, Finland and Germany. In the study, the development of the wood-based prefabricated building industry and of the case companies are described, and the motives, facilitators and challenges for foreign expansion, as well as the companies’ internationalisation approaches are compared. Different methods of how companies facilitate the knowledge-exchange or learn about new markets are also outlined. Experience, market knowledge and personal contacts are considered essential for the internationalisation process. The major finding of the study is that it is not necessary to acquire the market knowledge internally in a slow process as proposed by the Uppsala model. In four cases companies engaged knowledge in symbiotic relations with local business partners. Thereby, the building manufacturers contribute their design and production capabilities, and in return, their local partners provide them with knowledge about the market and local regulations; while they manage the sales and construction operations. Thus, the study provides strong evidence for the propositions of network perspective. One case company developed the knowledge internally in a gradual process: it entered the market sequentially with several business lines, showing an increasing level of complexity. In both of the observed strategies, single-loop and double-loop learning processes occurred.

Vahinkoeläinsodasta psykologiseen omistajuuteen. Petokonfliktien historiallinen tausta ja nykypäivän hallinta

Suurpetojen kannanhoitoon, ja etenkin suden kannanhoitoon liittyvä monitahoinen konfl ikti esiintyy jännitteinä paikallisyhteisöjen ja keskushallinnon, maaseudun ja kaupunkien sekä maallikoiden ja tutkijoiden välillä. Suurpetopolitiikan legitimiteettikriisi näkyy kansallisen kannanhoidon tavoitteiden ja toimenpiteiden kiistämisenä passiivisin ja aktiivisin toimin. Tällä ajankohtaisella ongelmalla on mittavat historialliset juuret. Luonnon ja ihmisen välinen suhde on ollut jatkuvaa tasapainottelua konfl iktien ja niiden hallinnan kanssa, ja suurpedot ovat väistämättä olleet konfl iktin keskiössä lajityypillisten piirteidensä vuoksi. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on osoittaa ympäristöhistoriallisen tutkimusotteen kautta suomalaisen vahinkoeläinhistorian keskeiset toimet ja toimijat, sekä ymmärtää vahinkoeläinten kannanhoidon tavoite- ja toimenpideasettelun vaikutukset eläinpopulaatioihin historiallisessa ja ekologisessa kontekstissa. Tutkimuksen toinen tavoite on tuottaa synteesi nykypäivän suurpetojen kannanhoidon tavoite- ja toimenpiteiden tarkoituksenmukaisuudesta ja vaikuttavuudesta historiallisessa kontekstissa ja esittää uudenlainen lähestymismalli sosiaalisesti kestävämmälle suurpetopolitiikalle. Vahinkoeläinhistoriaa käsitellään deduktiivisella ja rekonstruktiivisella tutkimusotteella käyttäen aineistona lakitekstejä, maksettuja tapporahoja, sanomalehtikirjoituksia, sidosryhmien kirjoituksia sekä eläintieteellisiä julkaisuja. Etenkin laeissa ja asetuksissa eri eläimistä asetetut tapporahat ja toisaalta saalistilastojen perusteella maksetut palkkiot on nostettu tässä tutkimuksessa merkittävään rooliin asenteiden tulkinnan välineenä. Tarkastelu ulotetaan nisäkkäiden lisäksi myös lintuihin, jotka ovat edellä mainitun aineiston valossa olleet merkittävä vainottu eläinryhmä. Nykypäivän petokonfl iktin tarkastelussa keskiöön nostetaan suurpetoasenteet, niiden muodostuminen ja vaikutus suurpetopolitiikan tavoitteiden ja toimenpiteiden kiistämisessä. Suurpetopolitiikan legitimiteettikriisiä tarkastellaan paikallisten uhmakkuutena hallintoa kohtaan ja tulkinta keinoista puuttua sosiopoliittiseen rikokseen rakennetaan tätä ajatusta vasten. Suurpetojen salakaatajat toimivat yhteisönsä puolesta ja saavat tukensa toimilleen yhteisöltään. Sosiopoliittinen rikos ei siten ole ainoastaan salakaatajien vaan sen sijaan yhteisön yhteinen. Salakaatajat ja paikallisyhteisö pyrkivät häivyttämään yhteiskunnassa viranomaisten ja sidosryhmien taholta toimintaan liittämää stigmaa ja siten oikeuttamaan tekonsa vallitsevissa olosuhteissa. Arvoristiriitoihin perustuvat konfl iktit ovat haasteellisia hallita ja lähtökohtana on oltava ymmärrys siitä, että etenkin suteen liittyvät jännitteet ja ristiriidat ihmisten välisissä suhteissa ovat väistämättömiä. Tunnistamalla historiallisen aineiston merkittävyys nykypäivän ongelmakeskeisen kannanhoidon ratkaisun tietopohjana on mahdollista rakentaa sosiaalisesti kestävämpää suurpetojen kannanhoitoa. Tässä väitöskirjatyössä painotetaan suurpetoihin liittyen ajatusta, jonka mukaan paikallisilta suurpetoalueilla eläviltä ihmisiltä tai sidosryhmien edustajilta ei edellytetä arvomaailman muuttumista, vaan hyväksytään heidän käsityksensä suurpetojen roolista vahingontekijöinä. Sen sijaan vahvistetaan suurpetojen välineellistä roolia paikallisyhteisöjen resurssina ja oleellisten sidosryhmien roolia yhteisön toimijoina psykologisen omistajuuden rakentamisen kautta. Suurpetojen kestävä kannanhoito vaatii siten riistahallinnon toimintakulttuurin muutosta ja uudenlaista suhdetta yhteiskunnan eri toimijoihin.

Geographical Studies of Underwater Light Dynamics in the Coastal Archipelago of SW Finland, Baltic Sea

The underwater light field is an important environmental variable as it, among other things, enables aquatic primary production. Although the portion of solar radiation that is referred to as visible light penetrates water, it is restricted to a limited surface water layer because of efficient absorption and scattering processes. Based on the varying content of optical constituents in the water, the efficiency of light attenuation changes in many dimensions and over various spatial and temporal scales. This thesis discusses the underwater light dynamics of a transitional coastal archipelago in south-western Finland, in the Baltic Sea. While the area has long been known to have a highly variable underwater light field, quantified knowledge on the phenomenon has been scarce, patchy, or non-existent. This thesis focuses on the variability in the underwater light field through euphotic depths (1% irradiance remaining), which were derived from in situ measurements of vertical profiles of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Spot samples were conducted in the archipelago of south-western Finland, mainly during the ice-free growing seasons of 2010 and 2011. In addition to quantifying both the seasonal and geographical patterns of euphotic depth development, the need and usability of underwater light information are also discussed. Light availability was found to fluctuate in multiple dimensions and scales. The euphotic depth was shown to have combined spatio-temporal dynamics rather than separate changes in spatial and temporal dimensions. Such complexity in the underwater light field creates challenges in data collection, as well as in its utilisation. Although local information is needed, in highly variable conditions spot sampled information may only poorly represent its surroundings. Moreover, either temporally or spatially limited sampling may cause biases in understanding underwater light dynamics. Consequently, the application of light availability data, for example in ecological modelling, should be made with great caution.