Finnish Business Research Articles

Lexical Metaphor as Judgment: Attitudinal positioning of editorial writers in business newspapers

Drawing on appraisal theory, this paper aims to analyze how the attitudinal positioning of writers of the editorials of business newspapers can be construed by means of lexical metaphors. The focus is on judgment, the evaluation of human actors, because it indicates the subjective presence of a writer. Based on a dataset o3f 32 editorials of two Finnish business newspapers, the results show that the lexical metaphors used during assessments are mostly dead metaphors, representing the source domains of competition and sports, humans and animals, and war, battle, and violence. The most common targets of judgment are institutional actors that are described by the meanings of capacity, tenacity, and propriety. Economic actors are mostly evaluated positively while political actors are mostly evaluated negatively. Cases where economic actors are evaluated negatively and where individual persons are mentioned are unusual but do arise. In general, judgments in editorials reflect the shared values and ideological beliefs of the papers and their readers. Lexical metaphors offer a subtle way of praising and criticizing institutions and individual people, which makes them an important way of communicating as expected in a discourse community.

Lexical Metaphor as Judgment: Attitudinal positioning of editorial writers in business newspapers

Drawing on appraisal theory, this paper aims to analyze how the attitudinal positioning of writers of the editorials of business newspapers can be construed by means of lexical metaphors. The focus is on judgment, the evaluation of human actors, because it indicates the subjective presence of a writer. Based on a dataset o3f 32 editorials of two Finnish business newspapers, the results show that the lexical metaphors used during assessments are mostly dead metaphors, representing the source domains of competition and sports, humans and animals, and war, battle, and violence. The most common targets of judgment are institutional actors that are described by the meanings of capacity, tenacity, and propriety. Economic actors are mostly evaluated positively while political actors are mostly evaluated negatively. Cases where economic actors are evaluated negatively and where individual persons are mentioned are unusual but do arise. In general, judgments in editorials reflect the shared values and ideological beliefs of the papers and their readers. Lexical metaphors offer a subtle way of praising and criticizing institutions and individual people, which makes them an important way of communicating as expected in a discourse community.

The Vicious Circle of Working Hours, Sleep, and Recovery in Expert Work.

This study aimed to investigate working hours, sleep quality and alertness, and recovery and detachment in expert work using a mobile app. The study sample comprised members of The Finnish Business School Graduates and employees of an information technology (IT) company. The final study sample included 154 employees with at least four days of mobile app data. For statistical analyses of the survey and mobile app data (cross-sectional setting), we used logistic regression, and for the day-to-day data, we used multi-level logistic regression to calculate the odds ratios (OR), and a general equation estimates model for regression coefficients with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The results showed that moderate to fair sleep quality or alertness at awakening were associated with longer working hours the following day (OR 1.07–1.14, 95% CI 1.01–1.22). Recovery and detachment during the preceding day were associated with longer working hours. These associations were the same in the opposite direction. To conclude, the day-to-day ratings of sleep quality and alertness at awakening, and recovery and detachment from work during leisure time were associated with increased working hours the following day. In addition, longer working hours the preceding day were associated with worse ratings of sleep quality, alertness, recovery, and detachment.

No manager is an island: culture in sensemaking of business networking

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the role of culture in managerial sensemaking and conceptualization of business networking.Design/methodology/approachThe authors apply qualitative methodology through the sensemaking approach on three Finnish and three Russian managers in mutual buyer–supplier business relationship dyads.FindingsThe results imply that the cultural background of the manager determines his perception of the level at which business networking occurs. Finnish managers conceptualize business networking as an organizational strategy, whereas their Russian counterparts conceptualize the phenomenon squarely at the individual level.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors suggest that the underlying cause of the differences in the conceptualization of networking may be that Finnish business networking relies more on concepts derived from Western European business culture, whereas Russian networking relies more on the traditional culture. Consequently, they suggest that the concept of business networking in extant research may suffer from ethnocentricity. Limitations of the study include the limited extent of generalizations from its qualitative nature.Practical implicationsThe results imply that business network relationships should be managed differently in different cultures, and that depending on the cultural background of the business partner, managing both the organizational and the individual levels of business networking is needed.Originality/valueThe study contributes to limited literature on culture and the role of individuals in managerial conceptualization of business networking. This is one of the rare studies to illustrate differences through individual sensemaking on both sides of the relationship dyad and account for both Western European and Russian market environments.

Coverage bias in business news: evidence and methodological implications

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate whether the assumption of bias-free journalism is violated. If there is systematic news coverage bias inherent in business journalism, certain kinds of companies will have a systematically higher or lower visibility in business news. Such differential corporate visibility may undermine the validity of research that is based solely on business news as a data source.Design/methodology/approachA set of hypotheses is developed and statistically tested, concerning the corporate characteristics associated with business media coverage. Coverage of the 100 largest Finnish companies is examined within the three foremost Finnish business publications. Methodologically, uncorrelated principal components in regression analyses are used.FindingsThe main finding is that that financially low-performing companies and growing companies receive less coverage than well-performing or shrinking companies, indicating a possible bias in journalistic sourcing, attention or selection. Consequently, such companies may be relatively under-represented in data sets derived solely from business news sources.Research limitations/implicationsSignificantly greater in-depth understanding of the phenomenon could be obtained through studying the biases at play in day-to-day journalistic practices within editorial offices and news desks, which is beyond the present study. The study cautions against single sourcing strategies reliant on business news alone, and it strongly recommends that future studies complement business news data with other, non-news sources.Practical implicationsOrganizational metrics such as financial performance appear to influence corporate visibility in business news, which may therefore skew individuals’ and investors’ attitudes to corporations. The existence of coverage bias is methodologically consequential because management research often sources data from business news, especially in event-based studies.Originality/valueThis study provides evidence that media visibility is influenced by company performance and change in company size, which could contribute to bias in business news coverage. This should be taken into account in future studies that use business news data.

IBM's Tiny Peripheral: Finland and the Tensions of Transnationality

IBM Finland, a small national subsidiary, was at once a Finnish business and an interface to much larger networks of technological innovation and knowledge sharing. We contextualize its development within a nested set of institutions and identities: IBM's Nordic operations, its European business, and its World Trade Corporation. Its development was profoundly shaped by Finland's unique geopolitical position during the Cold War. IBM's internal structures anticipated and paralleled those of the European Union, with mechanisms for international cooperation, for the creation of transnational identities, and for the resolution and regulation of disputes between national subsidiaries.

Psychological Capital and Psychological Career Mobility among Finnish Business School Graduates

Abstract This article studies the relationship between psychological capital and psychological career mobility through a sample of 624 Finnish business-school graduates. The findings indicate that psychological capital and its dimensions are positively related to internal and external psychological career mobility. A typology of four careerist types is defined from psychological capital and internal and external psychological career mobility dimensions through cluster analysis. The Finnish respondents could be divided into four distinct groups: Ambitious Careerist, Change-Oriented Careerist, Insecure Anti-Careerist, and Stable Career-Developer. The Ambitious Careerist demonstrated far higher levels of psychological capital than any other careerist type. At the end of the article, new insights related to psychological elements of career research are discussed.

Business in the battle of ideas, 1945–1991: conclusions from the Finnish case

ABSTRACT This article examines the political activity – specifically lobbying and PR efforts – of major Finnish business associations during the Cold War era (c. 1945–1991). The main motivation for business political activity was the threat of socialism and state intervention in their various forms. Based on a qualitative reading of archived documents, this article illustrates a shift from the fear of an outright revolution in the 1940s, through leftist radicalism and economic regulation in the 1970s, to the rise of environmentalism in the 1980s. Influencing efforts were targeted at both politicians and the general public but, towards the end of period studied, shaping public opinion became increasingly important. This article contributes to our knowledge on business-politics links and business political activity as historical phenomena. It points out compelling similarities in the political activity of business in various Western countries and suggests that they should be examined more thoroughly in future research.

Towards more consistent and effective food control: learning from the views of food business operators

We surveyed the opinions of Finnish food business operators (FBOs) about the uniformity of local official food control and its importance for dairy, fishery and meat plants. A total of 136 FBOs responded to the questionnaire. Most FBOs considered official food control to be important for food safety and were generally satisfied with its quality. However, they often did not perceive official food control as being uniform, and 23% even considered it arbitrary. Small-sized FBOs were particularly critical of the relevance of control actions. The better the FBOs assessed their cooperation with the inspector, the higher they assessed the quality, uniformity and benefits of official food control. The cooperative approach in control practices should be emphasized to support the positive views of FBOs about official food control, thus promoting food safety. Cross-audits among local food control units are recommended to improve the FBOs’ experience of uniformity of food control.

Rinnakkaistallentamisen edistäminen organisaatiotasolla – kokemuksia ja päätelmiä Hankenin NopSA-hankkeesta

This case study reports about a project (NopSA) aimed at increasing theopen access (OA) of research publications from the facultyat a Finnish business school, Hanken School of Economics. The projectincluded outreach and advocacy to faculty, as well as changing practicesand the university’s OA policies.
 The primary focus of the project was on increasing self-archiving ofarticles in the school’s institutional repository (both retroactively and on a continuous basis in the future). A secondary focus was onunderstanding researcher views concerning various OA options, andultimately informing and establishing sustainable OA policies at theorganisational level.

Emerging diversity in management accounting research

PurposeSeveral scholars have recently highlighted the narrowness of accounting research regarding it as a threat to scholarly developments in the field. The aim of this study was to chart progress in management accounting research using a sample of doctoral dissertations published in Finland. In particular, the study examines the range and diversity of research strategic choices in Finnish dissertations over time, including the topics and methodological and theoretical approaches chosen. The authors also briefly compare findings over time and with other progress studies.Design/methodology/approachA longitudinal historical investigation was selected. All of the 80 management accounting doctoral dissertations published in Finnish business schools and departments during 1945-2015 were analysed.FindingsThe findings reveal that an expansion of doctoral education has led to an increasing diversity of research strategic choices in Finland. Different issues have been of interest at different times; so, it has been possible to cover a wide range of cost, management accounting and other topics and to use different methodological and theoretical approaches over time. Consequently, management accounting has become a rich and multifaceted field of scientific research.Research limitations/implicationsWhile this analysis is limited to doctoral research in Finland, the results should be relevant in advancing the understanding of the development of management accounting research.Practical implicationsOverall, the findings support the view that there have been, and continue to be, many ways to conduct innovative research in the field of management accounting.Social implicationsDissertation research in this field has been extensive and vital enough to educate new generations of academics, guarantee continuity of the subject as an academic discipline and make management accounting a significant academic field of research.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to current research on management accounting change by an analysis of a sample of doctoral dissertations.

The Finnish road weather business ecosystem - structure, potentials and implications for demand-driven innovation policy

This study analyses the Finnish road weather and maintenance business ecosystem and its development potential. The ecosystem proposes value by combining complementary expertise through which the participating companies can achieve competitive advantages. In order to facilitate value co-creation, public authorities must support and stimulate these ecosystems. The bottlenecks and obstacles identified by the companies and public authorities in value creation clearly indicate that there is significant potential to be realised in the future. In sum, the main challenges are related to rigid procurement models, lack of collaboration, and finding the right people and organisations to work together. In the end, a list of recommendations on how to tackle the constraints for new innovations is presented, e.g., innovative procurement methods, long-term committed collaboration, mutually set objectives supporting shared benefits and risks, and agile piloting on a larger scale. Basically, the same recommendations can be considered for more general innovation strategies.

From February Revolution to Civil War: Finnish Historians and the Year 1917

The major focus of Finnish historiography on the 1917 Revolution remains Finland’s secession from Russia in December 1917. However, now it is known that the secessionist ideas did not emerge immediately after the February Revolution but only after the Bolshevik takeover in October. Until then the goal of the Finnish political elites was to reformulate Finland’s autonomous position within the new post-tsarist Russia. Finnish business elites strove for access to Russian markets. The end of the Finnish coalition cabinet in July is seen as one of the turning points during 1917: the widening of the political gulf between non-socialist forces and the Social Democrats. During the fall of 1917, one of the major questions was why the Finnish Social Democrats ended the General Strike soon after they had declared it, and thus in effect terminated the revolution in Finland. The final question addressed by this article relates to Lenin’s motives in recognizing Finland’s independence.

Think tank scene in Finland: Nothing spectacular?

This article discusses the think tank scene in Finland and the modest role think tanks seem to play in public debate. In 2005, the first Finnish think tanks associated with political parties were established, and since then, several new ones have popped up. Until now, they have not received substantial media attention. One notable exception is the traditional Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA) that was founded in the 1970s and has secured a position as a credible public discussant. However, in light of the great popularity of think tanks in the other Nordic countries, even the public attention granted to EVA seems modest. The article presents empirical results of a media analysis and discusses possible reasons for the lesser visibility.

The elasticity of taxable income and income-shifting: what is “real” and what is not?

Previous literature shows that income taxation significantly affects the behavior of high-income earners and business owners. However, it is still unclear how much of the response is due to changes in real economic activity, and how much is caused by tax avoidance. In this paper, we distinguish between real responses and income-shifting between tax bases. We show that separating income-shifting responses can largely affect the welfare analysis of income taxation. In our empirical example of Finnish business owners, we find that income-shifting accounts for a majority of the overall elasticity of taxable income, which significantly decreases the marginal excess burden.

The Elasticity of Taxable Income and Income-Shifting: What is 'Real' and What is Not?

Previous literature shows that income taxation significantly affects the behavior of high-income earners and business owners. However, it is still unclear how much of the response is due to changes in effort and other real economic activity, and how much is caused by tax avoidance and tax evasion. This distinction is important because it affects the welfare implications and policy recommendations. In this paper we distinguish between real responses and tax-motivated income-shifting between tax bases. We show how the explicit inclusion of income-shifting affects the welfare analysis of income taxation. In our empirical example we find that income-shifting accounts for over two thirds of the overall elasticity of taxable dividend income among Finnish business owners. The large income-shifting response significantly decreases the marginal excess burden compared to the standard model in which the overall elasticity defines the welfare loss. However, in addition to income-shifting, we find that dividend taxation significantly affects the real behavior of owners.

Who Am I and What Should I Do? Identities and Moral Orders in Canadian and Finnish Business Research

What kind of research should be done in business schools? This has been debated since business school faculty started to conduct research, but a lengthy debate has centered on the 'rigor versus rel...

A novel federated strong mobile signature service—The Finnish case

This paper describes the legal framework, architecture with standards and signature services of the new public Finnish federated strong mobile signature scheme. Mobile signatures are used, for example, for user identification and authentication, the message authentication, non-repudiation of transactions and verifying the information integrity. The service is based on mobile PKI and on the federation of security assertions using ETSI MSS standards. The service provider needs an agreement only with one operator. Then all services in the Circle of Trust may request authentication and digital signing from user even if a service provider has made an agreement with other competing operator than the home operator of the user. The signature service platform is extremely secure using strong two-factor and two-channel model. All personal security credentials are stored and the crypto-operations run in the mobile operator׳s tamper-proof secure element, UICC. The Finnish mobile signature service fulfils the strong identification in the Finnish ‘Identification’ Act. The service platform offers potentially to millions of Finnish citizens and the participating Finnish businesses convenient to use and trusted signature services on various service channels for applications hosted on the premises or in the cloud. Signature services can be used also abroad where SMS services are provided and where user׳s operator has a roaming agreement.

Excellent prospects for beautiful minds: marketing international education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how Finnish higher education institutions communicate market differentiation on the admissions webpages of their international business and technology programmes when attempting to appeal to prospective students and distinguish themselves from other institutions. Design/methodology/approach – The sample included admissions webpages of 68 bachelor’s and master’s programmes representing both Finnish universities and universities of applied sciences. The analysis method was a qualitative content analysis. Findings – The international programmes heavily accentuated their labour market relevance in their advertising and generated strong claims regarding the future career prospects of the graduates. In addition, the programmes emphasised their pedagogical methods and international atmosphere. References to non-academic life were not observed. Research limitations/implications – The analysis was only based on text and included two study fields. Practical implications – The results of this study can be used by marketers to critically examine their own marketing differentiation efforts and promises made to students. Social implications – Finnish business and technology programmes send an unequivocal marketing message that education has an instrumental value and students are considered consumers of education. Originality/value – This study is the first comprehensive study of the marketing communication practices of international higher education programmes in Finland. Moreover, this study contributes to the study of global international market mechanisms and research on marketing communication practised by higher education institutions.

The Trans-Siberian Railway as a Corridor of Trade between Finland and Japan in the Midst of World Crises

The Trans-Siberian railway long played the role of a second alternative transportation route between Finland and Japan. Not until the early 1970s did the Trans-Siberian railway begin to be used on a larger scale for the purposes of Finnish-Japanese trade. This took place in the aftermath of containerization in trade traffic. Goods were, however, transported between the two countries via Siberia long before this, during the World Wars. Using mostly Finnish business and state archive records and publications, the article examines the significance of the Siberian traffic in Finnish-Japanese trade as well as collaboration by private and state interests and the place of a transit state in enabling this traffic.