Annual Report 2011

We mean business.

Oulu Business School ANNUAL REPORT 2 0 1 1

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Martti Ahtisaari Institute Top Forums and seminars bring together representatives from various sectors in the society in a unique way EU Commissioner Olli Rehn: European Economy 2020, 1.2.2011 President Martti Ahtisaari: Ahtisaari Day, 16.11.2011 Does the World Need Business School Graduates?

Finanssi’s 20th Anniversary Seminar, 14.10.2011

A Message from the Dean..........................................................5

CONTENTS

Oulu Business School, Important Milestones.........................6 Oulu Business School at a Glance 2011................................10 Education......................................................................................13 Research ......................................................................................24 Alumni ...........................................................................................30 Department of Accounting........................................................34 Department of Economics........................................................38 Department of Finance..............................................................42 Department of International Business...................................46 Department of Management....................................................50 Department of Marketing.........................................................54 Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics.............................................................................58 Research Projects: Martti Ahtisaari Institute .......................66 Research Projects: Oulu Business School..............................69

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A MESSAGE from the Dean

2011 was a successful year for Oulu Business School.

We are now considerably closer to our vision of being an internationally recognised business school with rigorous research and top quality education programmes. One step along the path to achieving our ambitious goals was a positive decision on eligibility from the AACSB, a leading global accreditation body in the business school field.

We received more than 1800 applications for the Finnish bachelor’s and master’s programmes. This number is twice as high as five years ago, indicating that our positive development has been noted among prospective students. Similarly, our International Master’s Programmes attracted more than 500 applications.

We want to have a positive effect on society. In addition to research and other projects run jointly with the business community, the Martti Ahtisaari Institutes’ two Top Forum seminars together attracted 1000 local participants, providing evidence that we can serve society in many ways.

Our research generated several top quality publications in 2011. Moreover, our research groups were able to raise more competitive research funding than ever before. This shows that our research is rigorous and effective.

In spite of all the positive development, we face challenges in the future. Our financial strategy relies heavily on government budget funding. That budget funding covers about 65% of our costs. Even though

we have been able to expand external fund raising, the government source will remain crucial in the future. The Finnish government will revise, or one could say will reform, the basis for budget funding in 2013. In Oulu Business School, we feel that the reform was more than welcome. The new budget funding will mainly be distributed based on hard numbers measuring the outcomes and quality of education and research activities. Moreover, internationalisation is going to have a big impact on the funding.

Oulu Business School is ready for this change. Among our strategies, internationalisation has been at the top of the list, while we have put effort into improving our education processes. In research, we have a clear vision of further increasing quality, while maintaining the quantity of output. This can be achieved through focused research and with a proper recruitment policy.

I direct my special thanks for our success to our faculty, staff and students. Moreover, we are able to excel only with the strong cooperation and support of a myriad of companies and organisations. Specifically, we would like to thank the City of Oulu and the Oulu Chamber of Commerce for their support and cooperation. In addition, belonging to a world-class multidisciplinary university is a privilege and opportunity that we should never underestimate.

Professor Petri Sahlström

OULU Business School We mean business.

Important milestones 1958 – University of Oulu founded.

1959 – Professorship in Economics established.

Students graduate with Bachelor of Science in Philosophy degree.

1980 – First Bachelor of Social Science degree from Economics.

1984 – Associate Professorship in Business Economics in the field of development and management of business created.

1991 – Professorship in Corporate Economics and Business in the field of accounting established.

1992– Associate Professorship in Marketing established, followed by a full professorship in 1994.

2000 – Faculty of Economics and Business Administration established in the University of Oulu.

2001 – Degree programme in Logistics established.

2002 – Degree programme in Management and Organisation launched.

2007 – International Business becomes the latest degree programme in Oulu Business School.

2008 – In spring 2008, President Martti Ahtisaari opens an international research and education institute, the Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics.

2008 – MBA Programme launched 2012 – Management and International Business merge.

Currently Oulu Business School (OBS) provides education and research in all the main areas of business including accounting, economics, finance, international business, management and marketing.

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Currently Oulu Business School (OBS) provides education and research in all the main areas of business including accounting, economics, finance, international business, management and marketing.

Oulu Business School

Dean Council Support Staff Marketing

Management

Int. Business

Accounting

Finance

Economics

Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics Research Groups and Educational Programmes: FMA, MF, IB, MBA, eMBA, EBN, MASG, OGL

Oulu Business School KEY FACTS 2011 FINANCIAL DATA (in Euros) Budget funding External funding Academy of Finland Tekes Graduate schools Other domestic Other public Structural funds Executive Education Other income Total funding Staff expenses Other expenses Depreciation Total costs Internal items Surplus/(deficit) FACULTY STAFF Over past 5-year period Professors Teaching and research Other Total EDUCATION Activities over past 5-year period Applications /accepted Finnish Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes Finnish Master’s programmes (+2) International Master’s programmes Degrees Bachelor of Science Master of Science Doctor of Science Credits of minor subjects Credits produced inside the OBS Credits produced for other faculties Total credits produced

2010 4 542 911

70,5 %

222 081 331 165 102 778

3,4 % 5,1 % 1,6 %

286 859 629 881 330 166 6 445 841 4 785 570 1 084 947 8 230 5 878 747 439 470 127 624

4,5 % 9,8 % 5,1 % 74,2 % 16,8 % 0,1 %

2011 4 638 420

65,2 %

Change (%) 2%

157 738 343 493 251 814 208 451 29 800 490 669 768 288 225 366 7 114 039 5 492 045 1 301 962 5 348 6 799 355 419 289 (104605)

2,2 % 4,8 % 3,5 % 2,9 % 0,4 % 6,9 % 10,8 % 3,2 % 77,2 % 18,3 % 0,1 %

15% 20% -35%

55% -24% 103% 71% 22% -32%

2007 18 61 18 97

2008 16 58 22 96

2009 17 58 20 95

2010 16 56 18 90

2011 16 58 26 100

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

942/135 352/53 146/7

1057/198 287/48 440/17

1298/205 321/72 736/31

1634/207 348/61 567/30

1856/216 290/56 515/36

48 133 5

77 185 6

129 138 4

137 161 9

122 170 4

2011 39945 5520 45465

87,9 % 12,1 %

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RESEARCH* Activities over past 5-year period Scientific articles (refereed) Other scientific publications (refereed)** Activities in scientific publications*** Other publications Scientific presentations Activities related to scientific conferences OTHER* International visits (own staff) International visits (foreign staff) Education in university pedagogy Impact on society****

2009 36 50 46 83 59 17

2010 27 38 55 81 45 23

2011 37 44 62 52 64 33

20 9 4 38

17 15 12 51

18 7 5 68

*Figures are based on the Oulun yliopisto tutkii database **Includes refereed scientific conference papers and compliances ***Includes referee tasks, member of the editorial board, editor ****Responsibilities outside the university including e.g. consulting, education and position of trust.

Distribution of funding Distribution of funding 2010 2010

Budget funding 70,5 % Graduate schools 5,1 % Structural funds 4,5 % Other income 5,1 %

Tekes 3,4 % Other Domestic 1,6 % Executive Education 9,8 %

Distribution funding 2011 Distribution of of funding 2011

Budget funding 65,3 % Tekes 3,4 % Other Domestic 1,6 % Executive Education 10,8 %

Academy of Finland 2,2 % Graduate schools 3,5 % Structural funds 6,9 % Other income 3,2 %

Staff Distribution 70

61

60

58

58

Professors

58

56

Teaching and research

50

Other

40 30 20

18

18

22 16

26 17

20

16

18

16

10 0

Distribution of Master of Science degrees at the University of Oulu, 2011

2007

2008

2009

2010

Faculty of Humanities 15,8 % Faculty of Education 15,8 % Oulu Business School 12,9 % Faculty of Science 21,5 % Faculty of Technology 17,7 % Faculty of Medicine 16,3 %

2011

OULU Business School at a Glance 2011

Oulu Business School has sole responsibility for university-level business education in northern Finland. In recent years, we have also strengthened our position as an international business school and become the largest supplier of courses and degree programmes taught in English at the University of Oulu. Over the past few years the number of applicants has grown substantially and at the same time, our student intake has increased. There are currently approximately 1400 students and about 100 staff members at Oulu Business School.

The mission of Oulu Business School is to create relevant new knowledge and business competence through rigorous research, and transfer these into action through projects run in cooperation not only with scientific community, but also with businesses and the society in large, and by educating new experts in economics, business management and leadership.

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Oulu Business School provides a rich portfolio of BSc, MSc (including full-time MBA and executive MBA) and doctoral study programs to suit students at different stages of their lives.

The main financial resources in 2011 were 7, 114, 039 EUR, of which about 65% is budgetary state funding. The most significant portion of external funding, approximately 11%, was received as income from executive education.The main sources of research project funding are the Academy of Finland, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES), EU structural funds like the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). In 2011 we had 23 ongoing research projects of which seven were funded by TEKES and four by the Academy of Finland. Funding from structural funds increased by about 71%.

International business accreditation serves as a means to develop our education, research and other activities in international cooperation. Our aim is to become accredited in the future and in 2011, Oulu Business School received eligibility to seek the AACSB accreditation.

AACSB accreditation ensures that the business school is providing a top-quality education. The AACSB Accreditation Standards are used as the basis to evaluate a business school’s mission, operations, faculty qualifications and contributions, programs, and other critical areas.

The Dean of Oulu Business School is Professor Petri Sahlström. Professor Mikko Puhakka is the Vice Dean for research, and Professor Vesa Puhakka the Vice Dean for education.The following are chairs of their respective departments Professor Janne Järvinen, Department of Accounting Professor Rauli Svento, Department of Economics Professor Hannu Kahra, Department of Finance Professor Petri Ahokangas, Department of International Business Professor Vesa Puhakka, Department of Management Professor Jari Salo, Department of Marketing D. Econ., D.Tech. Veikko Seppänen, Director of the Martti Ahtisaari Institute

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Our education and degree programmes are attractive and interesting.

EDUCATION

Oulu Business School is responsible for the development of the knowledge and competence of its students, and for equipping them to meet the criteria required of future leaders at home and abroad. OBS acknowledges the importance of the interconnectivity of business education and the real world by following its specific values of Expertise, Enthusiasm, and Engagement.

Learning experience, where theoretical knowledge can be applied in actual business environments, is emphasised in the curriculum. OBS caters for the needs of its students by providing personal tutors to guide the preparation of personal study plans.

OBS has been able to produce master’s degrees much more efficiently than the other main business schools in Finland. The efficiency of doctoral education in OBS is also amongst the highest in the country.

The number of applications to the Finnish bachelor’s and master’s programmes of Oulu Business School increased by 14% in 2011. The three international master’s programmes in OBS have also been very popular for several years, generating over 500 new applications in 2011.

Applications to Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes 2000

1856 1634

1600

Degree Distribution 200

185

133

1298 1200

129

138

137

122

120

1057

942

170

161

160

77

80

800

48 400

40

0

0

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Applications

Students in 2011 369 new students admitted: 272 into bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes 36 international master’s degree students 16 doctoral students 10 full-time MBA students 35 executive MBA students

5 2007

Bachelor of Science

6 2008

9

4 2009

2010

Master of Science

4 2011

Doctor of Science

We emphasise managerial relevance in teaching 2011 was marked by many faculty members starting or finishing their pedagogical studies. In addition, separate teams consisting of teachers, students and alumni members have been established to better respond to job-related demands from outside the university.

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Changing Thought: Experience from Pedagogic Studies in the School of Vocational Teacher Education

Associate Professor, Sinikka Moilanen, from the accounting department is one of our researchers who has been able to develop her teaching skills and the quality of her teaching by undertaking pedagogical studies. Sinikka describes her experience below: I realised my limitations as a teacher shortly after starting my teaching career at the faculty. I decided to request help from the School of Vocational Teacher Education, which has proved to be an excellent choice. Once I started the pedagogical studies, some inexplicable thing clicked in the very first days and quite completely changed my attitude towards learning and teaching. The tools and methods I have learned ever since have only supported this change of mind and helped me to action the changes.

The pedagogical studies course has offered versatile viewpoints gathered from different schools and academies, but the school has also made available sufficient courses for university teachers. In addition to providing new tools

and ways of thinking, it has made it possible to work specifically on my own courses not only in the teaching practice, but also in the regular course assignments. Trying something new and seeing it work in practice has built my self-confidence as a teacher. It has simply made teaching more pleasant, albeit also causing more work in terms of preparation, organising, reading and giving feedback.

Teaching, which is no longer purely about delivering a monologue going through the issues assigned for the course, probably requires more from the teacher.

However, the extra work becomes worth it both in the classroom in the better contact with students and in the form of direct and indirect feedback when students describe me in terms like “one of the best teachers I’ve ever had” or express the hope that “you continue to enlighten student lives in future, too, with the same passion and dedication”.

Business executive Pertti Huuskonen to join Oulu Business School faculty

Pertti Huuskonen, the long-term CEO of Technopolis Plc., joined the faculty of Oulu Business School at the beginning of November. Huuskonen will participate in teaching in a variety of modules as well as providing a corporate perspective on the strategic development of Oulu Business School’s activities.

“Pertti Huuskonen’s extensive international management experience and solid business expertise are an excellent addition to our teaching and faculty”, states Dean Petri Sahlström. “His contribution to the teaching and strategic development of Oulu Business School are very much in line with our objective to strengthen the business relevance of education and to increase university/business cooperation in all of the activities of the business school”, continues Sahlström.

“I am very enthusiastic about this opportunity to enhance cooperation between Oulu Business School and business life for the benefit of the society.There is a strong will in Oulu Business School to produce even more scientific results with practical relevance and links to business life. In this framework, enterprises

and the community have a great opportunity to benefit from the student potential of the business school.

“This new undertaking is also a signal of my gratitude to the University of Oulu for all the positive things I have gained from my previous studies here.” states Pertti Huuskonen.

Pertti Huuskonen, DI, MKT, eMBA, was the President and CEO of parent company Technopolis Plc. 1985–2008 and has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Technopolis Plc. since 2008. Huuskonen has also chaired the Board of Directors in LapTi-Invest Ltd and Lunacon Ltd. Previously he has also been a member of the Board of Directors of Oy Yleisradio Ab (Finland’s national public service broadcasting company), Finland’s Central Chamber of Commerce and the International Association of Science Parks among others. He started his first company VaKoTe Ltd at the age of 23 as a forth-year engineering student at the University of Oulu.

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Oulu Business School Students Win Finnish Final in Global Investment Research Challenge

Oulu Business School’s students participated in the CFA Institute Global Investment Research Challenge in 2011-12 and won the Finnish national round. The winning team was able to represent Finland in the EMEA finals (Europe, MiddleEast, Africa) in London and to meet the CEO of UPMKymmene.

The CFA Investment Research Challenge is a global, annual firm valuation competition for university students from around the world, which aims at improving the students’ expertise in investing. This

year the teams’ assignment was to evaluate the future stock price of UPM-Kymmene. The judging panel complemented the Oulu Business School team for their performance skills, concise answers and good analytical skills.

Team happy with the experience: Our journey began last spring, when the students of Oulu Business School were encouraged to apply for the competition and the team was formed. Before the official kick-off, the team started by getting acquainted with the competition format – and each other. Finally in October the competition officially started in a kick-off event in Helsinki, where the target company was announced. We had two months to make an analysis report of the value of the company’s business and future prospects. We met the company representatives and our industry mentor, and visited some of the company’s competitors and customer representatives as well. After thorough background research and face-to-face interviews with investment relations representatives, we worked intensively for the last few weeks to write the 10-page report we presented at the Finnish finals in February.

The competition has been an interesting, practical experience, and we recommend it to every student interested in financial analysis and firm valuation.

Congratulations to the team.

In picture: Mikko Vitikka, Tomas Slesar, Sini Valmari and Industry Mentor Teemu Vainio, Öhman Group.

Oulu Business School is active at home and abroad In 2011 we continued to develop our educational cooperation with other organisations and other business schools in Finland and abroad.

Visiting lecturers from foreign business schools are important resources for offering wider expertise in many disciplines in our education. Oulu Business School provides global perspectives in its education for students by inviting well-known industry experts and renowned professors from such business schools as the University of Melbourne, Stanford University, San Francisco State University and Cass Business School.

Apart from introducing visiting lecturers to master’s level students, the OBS research faculty benefits from research seminars where invited speakers from around the world present their most current research.

This ensures that OBS is acting in line with its values and encouraging the circulation of new research knowledge through educating individuals.

Name of visitor

Affiliation

Type of visit

Topic of presentation

Prof.Vance Martin

University of Melbourne

Research/Guest Lecturer

Econometrics

Prof. Jan-Erik Vahlne

University of Gothenburg

Research/Guest Lecturer

The Changing Competitive Landscape and the Liability of Outsidership

Prof. Wesley Johnston

Georgia State University

Guest Course Lecturer

Industrial Sales Management

Ph.D Student Thomas Ottersen

University of Southern Denmark

Research/Guest Lecturer

Brand Management

Prof. John Taylor

Stanford University

The Plenary Keynote

The Benefits of Rules-Based Monetary and Fiscal Policy

Prof. Gilad Livne

Cass Business School

Guest Lecturer

Advanced Firm Valuation

Prof. Claire Gauzente

Sciences Po Rennes

Research

Mobile and Internet Marketing

Adjunct Prof. Tuomas Takalo

Bank of Finland

Guest Lecturer

Economics and Management of Intellectual Property

Prof. Pekka Sutela

Bank of Finland

Guest Lecturer

History of Economic Thought

Ass.Prof. Heiman Bruce

San Francisco State University

Guest Lecturer

International Selling

Prof. Lasse Niemi

Aalto University

Guest Lecturer

Advanced Auditing

Prof. Timo Rothovious

Vaasa University

Guest Lecturer

Advanced Financial Analysis

Chief Director Tapio Raappana

KPMG

Guest Course Lecturer

Auditing

Marketing Manager Marko Heikkinen

Pipelife Finland Oy

Guest Lecturer

Managing Business Relationships

Director Markku Huotari

Nokia Oyj

Guest Lecturer

Organising Marketing

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Matchmaking Event: Business and ICT students meet companies Did you know that there are hundreds of capable students in the University of Oulu who are a great source of potential for local companies? Many of them are eager to cooperate with companies as they are looking for thesis topics, project work and internships.

The MatchMaking event, organised by the Martti Ahtisaari Institute on November 8th 2011, was aimed at creating a networking platform for business and ICT students and firms from northern Finland for their mutual benefit.

The event provided a great networking opportunity, where companies had a unique chance to get to know dozens of young talents from Oulu Business School and the Department of Information Processing Science. Companies were able to save valuable time and benefited from effortless face-to-face meetings with prospective employees!

TOO-messut Economics students of Oulu Business School, Finanssi ry (the Business School Student Association) and the Martti Ahtisaari Institute welcomed students, faculty members and businesses to the job and entrepreneurship fair Tervetuloa Osaajien Ouluun – (meaning Welcome to Oulu – the city of skilled people) on 12th October 2011.

The event offered students a great opportunity to identify potential future employers, learn about job hunting, and explore the various options open to them before and after graduation. Training sessions on writing an impressive Curriculum Vitae were held at the fair to improve the chances of job seekers of standing out from the crowd and promoting their expertise. Entrepreneurship was also emphasised as one option after graduating, and even while studying.

This new aspect of the fair was welcomed and students were very interested to know what kind of help is provided to start-ups and entrepreneurs alike by different governmental and private institutions.

Oulu Business School provides students with an international learning experience

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Student Exchanges

Numbers of exchanges to OBS in 2011 (Foreign students)

11

15

25

20 80

20

12

11

11

72

70 61

60 50

50

63

61

65

61

15

9

52

50

7

11 10

40 30

Numbers of exchanges from OBS in 2011 (Own students)

28

6 5

20

7

6

5 4

6 4

4

4

3

4 3

3

3

Other countries

Italy

United States

Austria

China

France

Spain

0 Germany

Spain

Other countries

Exchanges (foreign students)

Mexico

2011 2011

Portugal

Exchanges (own students)

2010 2010

Italy

2009 2009

China

2008 2008

Czech Republic

0 2007 2007

Germany

0

France

10

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In the spring of 2011, I flew to Italy to do my Erasmus exchange in Siena. Despite the fact that I didn’t know anything about my destination, let alone that I didn’t speak a word of Italian, Siena turned out to be a perfect choice. It is a charming small city in Tuscany with about 55 000 citizens. The city is steeped in history with its numerous churches and extraordinary centre, which has been declared a world heritage site

by UNESCO. The University of Siena dates back to the Middle Ages and is still one of the most important universities in Italy. The Faculty of Economics was founded in the 1960s and at the moment there are 3188 students. Studying in Siena didn’t differ a lot from studying in Oulu, but there were a few things that I found quite useful: oral exams and being encouraged to discuss issues at the end of lectures. Overall I got the impression that Italian students are active, hardworking and well aware of current issues. Human capital seems to be a great asset in this country.

During the six months I fell in love with Italian culture and the Italian way of life. I travelled a lot, learned a new language and made numerous international friends. One of the highlights was that I got to see the famous medieval horse race called “il Palio” which is an important event for Sienese people. The atmosphere was almost magical when the whole town and thousands of tourists had gathered to celebrate in the streets. The exchange was definitely one of the best experiences in my life.

Exchange trip to the University of Siena was one of the best experiences in my life, says Oulu Business School student, Nina Heikkilä

Koillismaa receives a healthy dose of excellent business management

Graduates of the Executive MBA programme (eMBA) were awarded their certificates and diplomas at an award ceremony in Oulu organised by the Oulu Business School on 20 June 2011.

Ten of the students came from Koillismaa, where businesses had some years earlier voiced a wish that the business management skills in the area could be developed further.To answer these concerns, the twoyear eMBA programme was initiated in the autumn of 2009. To ensure the success of the programme, course participants were required to hold a strategic position within their organisation and have previous management experience.

The programme included seminars on strategic management, safety management, customership, marketing, economy, product development, internationality and management skills. Each student participated in 15 seminars on average, ten of which were mandatory and the rest elective. The mandatory seminars were held in Kuusamo and the electives at the University of Oulu according to the personal study plans of the students.

In addition to attending seminars and completing seminar assignments, the students also wrote three essays on strategic management. The final projects were tailored to the needs of the students’ employers,

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and they were supervised by a doctorate-level expert.

Theory and practice met when the students applied what they had learned to their own work environment.

As a result of this programme, the Koillismaa area now has a new, pragmatic business forum that improves local cooperation and facilitates networking. The graduates are ready to improve the area’s business management practices and move them into a more innovative and cost-effective direction. In business, it is vital to be able to closely monitor the business environment and react correctly and quickly to different situations. The programme has helped the graduates find connections between the different aspects of business life.

The eMBA programme at the University of Oulu offers diverse supplementary training in the field of business management. New students are admitted annually.The programme, amounting to 90–93 credits, is designed in a way that allows students to complete it alongside work. The aim of the programme is to bolster the students’ employability and competitiveness in the job market and economic life.

All six departments produce papers sought after by high-quality international journals. In 2011, OBS faculty published in many scholarly journals including

RESEARCH Oulu Business School produces international level research in all main business subjects.

China-USA Business Review Ecological Economics Energy Economics European Journal of Forest Research European Journal of Innovation Management Industrial Marketing Management Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing Journal of Brand Management Journal of Intellectual Capital Journal of Macroeconomics Journal of Management Accounting Research Journal of Military Studies Journal of Modern Accounting and Auditing Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development Journal of Travel Research International Journal of Accounting Information Systems International Journal of Culture,Tourism and Hospitality Research International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing International Journal of Innovation Management International Journal of Intellectual Property Management International Journal of Managerial Finance International Journal Physical Distribution & Logistics Management International Journal of Research in Marketing International Journal of Services and Operations Management International Journal of Services Technology and Management International Journal Shipping and Transport Logistics International Journal of Technology Marketing International Review of Economics and Finance Problems and Perspectives in Management

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DIMAR – insights and tools for industrial digital marketing

An extensive 2-year academic research project DIMAR was launched in January 2011 to meet the future challenges in digital business. This joint project between the University of Oulu, University of Jyväskylä, Aalto University and the Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences is funded by TEKES (the Finnish Funding Agency of Technology and Innovation) and corporate partners including Finnish listed companies.

The project examines the effects of digitalisation in marketing and business in Finnish industrial companies with an aim of developing new concepts and tools to exploit interactive digital marketing more efficiently in sales, marketing and product development. The topics covered in the research were discovered through dialogue between the researchers and industry partners. This has enabled the focus on current themes that informs both management practice and the development of academic theory.

The industry view is represented by Finnish industrial firms including Elematic, Moventas, Rautaruukki, The Switch, UPM-Kymmene, Vapo and Wärtsilä. Other companies involved in the project include providers of marketing communication services: BrandSon, DiVia, Movya, Radikal, Sanoma and Tieto.

The project also collaborates with international research partners from foreign universities including the University of Newcastle Business School (UK), Edith Cowan University of Western Australia, Loughborough University (UK), Georgia State University (US), University of Maryland, School of Business (US), Stanford University (US), University of Southern Denmark and the innovation centre, FinNode in Santa Clara (US).

The project has resulted in numerous academic publications including bachelor’s and master’s dissertations, conference papers and journal articles.

The project website (www.dimar.fi) also hosts a blog on current topical issues written by the research partners on a weekly basis.

Directed by the head of the Marketing Department, Professor Pauliina Ulkuniemi, in Oulu Business School, the project employs university lecturer DSc., Saila Saraniemi, Project Researcher/PhD student, Minna Mäläskä and several master’s students in the Department of Marketing.

OBS faculty members worked as editors or members of the editorial board of several scholarly journals including Finnish Economic Papers Industrial Marketing Management Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing Journal of International Financial Markets Journal of Management and Strategy Journal of Service Management

International Journal of Accounting and Finance Qualitative Market Research – An International Journal Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing (Special Issue)

OBS faculty members delivered many conference presentations, including at the Business History Conference in USA GSF/FDPE Summer Research Workshop in Finance in Finland European Business Ethics Annual Conference in Belgium 27thIndustrial Marketing and Purchasing Conference in United Kingdom International Industrial Organization Conference in USA International Entrepreneurship Conference in Denmark 26thWorkshop on Strategic Human Resource Management in Iceland 38thAIB UKI Chapter Annual Conference in UK 11th Vaasa Conference on International Business in Finland

Money, Macro and Finance Research Group 43rd Annual International Conference in UK Macroeconomics, Growth & Development Workshop in UK Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Conference in UK ANZMAC Conference in Australia The 20thNordic Symposium in Tourism and Hospitality Research in Finland European Regional Science Association in Spain Annual Conference for Management Accounting Research in German 8th ENROAC Conference in Portugal 14th McGill International Entrepreneurship Conference in Denmark

OBS faculty members refereed submissions to many scholarly journals including Asia Pacific Management Review European Journal of Innovation Management European Journal of International Management European Research in Entrepreneurship Financial Accountability & Management Finnish Journal of Tourism Research Frontiers in Finance and Economics International Business Review International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development International Journal of Logistics Management International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management International Journal of Technology Management Industrial Marketing Management Journal of Business Finance and Accounting Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing Journal of Business Venturing

Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management Journal of International Entrepreneurship Journal of International Financial Markets Journal of Management and Strategy Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management Journal of Service Management Journal of Small Business Management Macroeconomic Dynamics Managerial Finance New England Journal of Entrepreneurship Papers in Regional Science Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management Research Policy Review of Regional Research Scandinavian Journal of Economics Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing (Special Issue) The European Journal of Finance Tourism Management

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Our researchers visited numerous well-known international business schools.

Jaakko Simonen, Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Economics visited the Faculty of Spatial Sciences at the University of Groningen in June 2011. Founded in 1614, the University of Groningen enjoys an international reputation as one of the oldest and leading research universities in Europe. Jaakko’s visit was a part of his Postdoctoral Research project “Regional Development of the High Technology Industry in Finland” funded by the Academy of Finland.

During the visit he worked with his co-author Professor Philip McCann. Professor McCann is one of the world’s most highly cited economic geographers and spatial economists of his generation and has been working as a special adviser to Johannes Hahn, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy. Jaakko’s cooperation with Professor McCann started in 2004, when he spent an academic year at the University of Reading (UK) preparing his doctoral thesis.

So far the outcome of joint research has been three articles in top international peer-reviewed journals: Papers in Regional Science and the Journal of Urban Economics plus two book chapters in major books.

Jaakko will visit Groningen again in June 2012.

Professor McCann, on his behalf, will be the invited speaker of the research seminar “Towards Sustainable Regional Development” of Martti Ahtisaari Institute in May, 2012.

Our researchers visited numerous well-known international business schools.

Ilkka Ojansivu, Doctoral Student at the Department of Marketing, worked as a visiting researcher at Griffith University, Cold Coast in Queensland for four months. The research visit at the AACSB-accredited Griffith University was endowed by the Foundation for Economic Education.

The atmosphere of the international research University took Ilkka by surprise:“Before my visit I was a worried how I would adapt to what I thought to be hierarchical University system.When I finally got there I was welcomed to a University with a cosy, unaffected atmosphere and spirit of collaboration”. This encouraged Ilkka to work efficiently at his research: “I wrote a couple of journal article scripts and drafted upcoming research projects so I’m pleased with what I managed to do in terms of academic work.”

Observing the teaching methods was part of the research visit.Teaching in Griffith University focused on topicality and interaction including many discussions and debates among students. Ilkka encourages other doctoral students to take the chance of international collaboration: “Even though the trip requires a lot of preparation and everyday life in a foreign country may feel a bit difficult, it’s all worth it.The saying of the local people captures the mentality well: no worries mate, it’s gonna be alright.”

Teea Palo, Doctoral Student at the Department of Marketing, worked as a visiting researcher at Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) from October 22nd, 2011 to December 15th, 2011.

LUMS is internationally respected business school accredited by AACSB, EQUIS, and The Association of MBAs. Its Department of Marketing has published

distinguished research on business relationships and networks. During her stay Teea worked in cooperation with Senior Lecturer, Dr. Katy Mason. In her research, Dr. Mason has been focusing on using business models to create new markets, something closely related to Teea’s doctoral research. Cooperation provided new approaches and tools for that research. Teea benefitted from planning and writing collaborative studies, meeting other researchers, familiarising herself with LUMS’ doctoral training and sharing experiences with other doctoral students. The research visit continued the cooperation between the Department of Marketing and LUMS. LUMS’ professors Luis Araujo and Keith Blois, and doctors Annemarie Ryan, Martin Spring and Kostas Selviaridis have visited in our Department in Oulu.

29

Name of visitor

Place of visit

Type of visit

Length of visit

Kauppinen Antti

Copenhagen Business School

Teaching/Research

365 days

Simonen Jaakko

University of Groningen

Research

24 days

Pekkarinen Saara

Linköping University

Research

8 days

Vähäkangas Antti

Copenhagen Business School

Research

28 days

Morko Petri

UC Berkley/Haas School of Business

Research

405 days

Mäläskä Minna

University of Southern Denmark

Research

63 days

Sipola Sakari

Stanford University

Research

28 days

Palo Teea

Lancaster University Management School

Research

55 days

Tähtinen Jaana

University of Uppsala

Research

5 days

Mainela Tuija

VU University of Amsterdam

Research

14 days

Puhakka Vesa

VU University of Amsterdam

Research

14 days

Ojansivu Ilkka

Griffith University

Research

121 days

Sandhu Masgood

United Arab Emirates University

Teaching/Research

132 days

ALUMNI Combining business professionals, students and faculty.

Members in the Alumni Network of Oulu Business School 490

500

450

450

400

400 350 300 250 200 150

129

100 50 0

2008

2009

2010

2011

The primary aim of our alumni activities is to substantially improve the cooperation with alumni and their employers, and their influence on teachers, students and researchers. For students, teachers and researchers, the University of Oulu alumni are a significant and important link to the continuously changing business environment.

Close cooperation with alumni also gives rise to possible master’s theses and expands recruitment opportunities for graduates.

Fast developing alumni network Oulu Business School has the most significant alumni network of all the faculties in the University of Oulu.The increase in the alumni network has been impressive since 2008. OBS has produced almost 1500 graduates since its foundation, of which about 490 are currently active members of the alumni network. Our aim is to further expand that alumni network.

31

Does the World Need Business School Graduates?

Finanssi’s 20th Anniversary Seminar, 14.10.2011

The Association of Students of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Oulu (Finanssi ry) celebrated its twentieth anniversary in October.The wide array of events and seminars over the week culminated in a discussion event on the role of business education: Does the world need Business School Graduates? The seminar featured four distinguished panelists: Kuisma Niemelä, CEO of SOK; Aija Bärlund, Executive Director of SEFE; Seppo Rytivaara, CEO of Kainuun Osuuspankki; and Helene Auramo, CEO of Zipipop. Niemelä and Rytivaara are alumni of Oulu Business School.

The panelists strongly agreed on the necessity of business education, as it provides a solid basis for future careers in business. However, it is not the only important factor as practical experience and the business relevance of

The mentorship programme brings together our students and corporate professionals

education are also crucial. The panelists highlighted the importance of entrepreneurship and the need to equip students with the skills to operate in constantly changing and challenging circumstances. More risk-taking is in fact needed and the panelists felt that a rather common fear of failure has to be addressed. Furthermore, Helene Auramo from Zipipop pointed out how she had benefited from her studies in creative industries.The panel left the audience with the advice that an open-minded attitude to choosing a career path can benefit future graduates.

The event was co-organised by Finanssi ry, Oulu Business School and the Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics, and moderated by the Martti Ahtisaari Institute’s Deputy Director Sauli Sohlo.

One of OBS’s most important initiatives is its mentorship programme founded in 1997. The programme brings together our students and alumni who work in managerial positions. With the help of a mentoring relationship, the students can take an active part in their own personal growth and career development and networking, while the mentors benefit from staying up-to-date on knowledge, developing their guidance and interaction skills and providing support for the development of future business professionals.

33

Pilot mentoring programme for International Master’s Programme students In 2011–2012, Oulu Business School and the Martti Ahtisaari Institute are piloting a mentoring programme designed specifically for the students of our International Master’s Degree Programmes in Financial and Management Accounting (FMA), Finance (MF) and International Business (IB).

The mentoring programme aims to support the students with their study and career related decisions and career planning. Students are assigned a mentor, with whom to discuss important topics, such as the mentor’s prior career choices, and the skills required to be successful in business today and working life in Finland generally. The majority of mentors are Oulu Business School alumni – experienced experts working in business and economics.

The programme started in December 2011 and will continue until May 2012. The activities include group meetings organised by the University as well as private sessions between student and mentor.

Mentor Jouni Linna, Private Banker, OP Private Oulu and student Saka Hakeem, International Master’s Programme in Finance

DEPARTMENT NEWS

accounting systems as well as the capability to analyse information from those systems.Typical positions filled by OBS graduates include chief of financial operations, controller, financial analysts, auditors and consultants.

DEPARTMENT of Accounting

Educating professionals in financial and management accounting.

A message from the Head of Department Our programmes provide a solid foundation for understanding the different areas of accounting.

Financial accounting covers the information and reporting systems of a firm that are used by various external interest groups. Education in financial accounting produces professionals in different areas of corporate accounting including analysis of financial statements, auditing and company valuation.

Janne Järvinen, Head of Department

Management accounting, in turn, develops information and reporting systems needed in the decision making processes inside a firm. Master’s theses in the department are often ready-made applications for the specific needs of companies. The companies are provided with the latest know how in the field of accounting and the students gain valuable work experience. Management accounting professionals have skills relevant for developing and managing

The Department of Accounting conducts international level research covering a wide range of topics in financial and management accounting.These include company valuations, security analysis, implications of financial reporting for capital markets, international accounting, corporate governance, management control, management accounting systems and performance measurement.

Corporate scandals like those at Enron or WorldCom clearly indicate the importance of accounting in the management of companies. Issues of corporate governance, including the characteristics of a board of directors, management control or executive compensation are the major topics on which departmental research activities presently concentrate.The outcomes of the research will benefit investors, companies and public authorities, as well as our students.

Major Achievements 2011

• 52 Master of Science degrees • Successful research cooperation in corporate governance

35

The Department of Accounting KEY FACTS 2011 STAFF Professors Senior Lecturers Assistant Professors Doctoral students Research assistants Total EDUCATION Activities over past 5-year period Applications/Accepted Bachelor and Master’s programme Finnish Master’s programme (+2) Degrees Bachelor of Science* Master of Science* Doctor of Science

Degrees 80

3 2 1 5 3 14

74

60

49

44 40

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

209/36 12/6

186/50 19/6

188/50 21/9

267/51 25/10

270/50 21/8

15 44 3

33 74 3

49 46 1

47 51 2

47 52 1

Credits of minor subjects Credits produced inside OBS Credits produced for other faculties Total credits produced

2011 8062 549 8611

93,6 % 6,4 % 18,9 %

RESEARCH ** Scientific articles (refereed) Other scientific publications (refereed)*** Activities in scientific publications**** Other publications Scientific presentations Activities related to scientific conferences

2011 4 1 10 12 10 2

20

0

OTHER** International visits (own staff) International visits (foreign staff) Education in university pedagogy Impact on society*****

*Figures include degrees from cooperation with Univeristy of Lapland **Figures are based on the Oulun yliopisto tutkii database ***Includes refereed scientific conference papers and compliances ****Includes referee tasks, member of the editorial board, editor *****Responsibilities outside the university including e.g. consulting, education and position of trust.

2011 1 7

47

51

47

52

33 16

2007

2008

2009

Bachelor of Science * Master of Science*

of total credits produced in OBS

46

2010

2011

Active year of research cooperation and internationalisation

The research strategy of the department defines corporate governance as our main research area. Corporate governance is being explored from many angles including management control, executive compensation, and performance effects of governance.

Accounting faculty members have been active in pursuing high-quality research, collaborating with researchers from top international business schools, such as Professor Eli Amir from London Business School and Professor Henrik Nilsson from Stockholm School of Economics. A current research project with Professors Amir and Nilsson examines how personal criminal convictions of senior executives affect the accounting decisions of the firm.

The results of the corporate governance research area have been published in high level international journals including; Journal of Accounting and Economics, Contemporary Accounting Research, Review of Accounting Studies (forthcoming) and Journal of Management Accounting Research. Professor Amir will begin a parttime professor in Department of Accounting in 2012.

37

Professor Janne Järvinen, University Lecturer Seppo Eriksson and Dean Petri SahlstrÜm.

University Lecturer Dr. Seppo Eriksson retired after an academic career spanning 40-years

Our long standing university lecturer, Seppo Eriksson, started his richly deserved retirement at the end of 2011. Since 1973 Seppo has held several positions including Associate Professor at the University of Oulu, first in the Faculty of Humanities and then, since its inception, in the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.

He has significantly developed teaching in accounting especially in terms of improving it to better correspond to the demands of working life. One of his practical

courses has been in corporate analysis, where our students have received valuable experience in using Navita financial planning software and applying it in different decision-making situations faced by managers.

He has also lectured on courses like Business Analysis and Success Factors of Small and Medium-Sized Companies and also supervised bachelor’s theses in accounting. On 16th December, faculty staff gathered together to celebrate with Seppo and to wish him a pleasant retirement with time to indulge in his favourite hobby, golf.

DEPARTMENT of Economics

Economics is essential for business!

A message from the Head of Department Economics has been taught at the University of Oulu since the end of the 1950s. Economics is an important part of almost every business school curriculum.

Rauli Svento, Head of Department

Most of the research topics covered by economics are relevant for business education. It is important to understand issues like how the degree of competition affects the behaviour of firms, how international risks affect domestic firms, and how economic activity might be organised most efficiently in different competitive environments.

Economics provides students with the diverse skills required for many types of jobs in the private and public sectors. Our graduates typically go on to work as experts or managers in companies, banks or other financial institutions such as the Bank of Finland. Since

economics is a tool-oriented science, the curriculum strongly emphasises quantitative methods and their application to relevant problems.As the recent financial crisis has indicated, the economic environment undergoes constant change. The department has responded to these new developments in its teaching and research.

The diversity of research topics in economics is reflected in the research interests of our faculty and doctoral students. Research in the department is organised into two separate, but cooperating, research groups, the Applied Micro Group and the Oulu Macro Group. In the Applied Group the main research emphasis has recently been on energy markets and natural resource usage.The Macro Group has concentrated on overlapping generations models, dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models, and on financial markets and exchange rates.

Major Achievements 2011:

•

•

The XXXIII Annual Meeting of the Finnish Economic Association in Oulu on February 3.-4.2.2011 The publication of the Festschrift for Professor Svento

39

The Department of Economics KEY FACTS 2011 STAFF Professors Assistant Professors Doctoral students Research Assistant Total EDUCATION Activities over past 5-year period Applicatons/Accepted Bachelor and Master’s programme Finnish Master’s programme (+2) Degrees Bachelor of Science Master of Science Doctor of Science

Degrees 25

3 2 4 1 10

20 15

2008

2009

2010

2011

10

129/36 25/7

99/28 15/3

152/35 16/7

177/35 21/10

218/36 23/7

5

3 13 1

5 16

22 18

18 15

12 12 1

2011 3930 601 4531

RESEARCH * Scientific articles (refereed) Other scientific publications (refereed)** Activities in scientific publications*** Other publications Scientific presentations Activities related to scientific conferences

2011 5 10 5 6 4

18 16

2007

Credits of minor subjects Credits produced inside OBS Credits produced for other faculties Total credits produced

22

86,7 % 13,3 % 10,0 %

0

15

13

12 12

5 3 2007

2008

2009

Bachelor of Science Master of Science of total credits produced in OBS

OTHER* International visits (own staff) International visits (foreign staff) Education in university pedagogy Impact on society****

*Figures are based on the Oulun yliopisto tutkii database **Includes refereed scientific conference papers and compliances ***Includes referee tasks, member of the editorial board, editor ****Responsibilities outside the university including e.g. consulting, education and position of trust.

2011 1 1 1 5

18

2010

2011

The XXXIII annual meeting of the Finnish economic association

A Festschrift for Professor Svento

business schools. As Rauli recalls, “at the beginning of my economic studies at the Faculty of Humanities and Department of Economics, there was only one Associate Professor and two Assistants. From this basis OBS has grown to its current size of about 100 staff and 1400 students”.

Rauli has been closely associated with many of the important Oulu Business School milestones: the establishment of the Department of Economics in the Faculty of Technology, expanding education in business studies, the establishment of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (now Oulu Business School)), and its involvement in many resourcing projects.

The Department of Economics had the privilege of organising the annual meeting of Finnish economists for the third time in Oulu. The conference was a big success with 111 national and international participants. The plenary keynote “The Benefits of Rules Based Monetary and Fiscal Policy” was given by Professor John Taylor from Stanford University, who is very well known for the current key monetary policy rule – the Taylor rule. Professor Taylor’s lecture is published in the Finnish Economic Papers 24 (2011, No 2).

Rauli cites one of the most important resource projects as the development programme of business education in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Culture at the beginning of the 2000s.

The main outcome of the development project was to raise business research and education at the University of Oulu to the status of top priority development target in Finland. During the project, for example, Professorships in Management and Networking Business were established.

On 9th September the staff of Oulu Business School celebrated Professor Rauli Svento’s sixtieth birthday.

At the celebration Dean Petri Sahlström presented a Festschrift in honour of Professor Svento. Rauli Svento has been central to the development of Oulu Business School; during his time the school has grown significantly, achieving a stable position among Finnish

Professor Rauli Svento served as Head of the Department of Economics 1996–2000, as Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration 2000–2006 and as First Vice-Rector of the University of Oulu 2006–2009.

41

Other scientific highlights of the year Publications in high-quality journals Energy Economics Ecological Economics Journal of Macroeconomics Active research collaboration with researchers from University of Turku University of Helsinki Aalto University Business School Grรถningen University (the Netherlands) Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA) Iowa State University Norwegian University of Life Sciences University of Hokkaido.

Painter / Visual Artist Petra Kaminen Mosher and Professor Rauli Svento.

Major Achievements 2011:

DEPARTMENT of Finance

Educating professionals in corporate finance and security markets.

The Department of Finance at Oulu Business School educates professionals to meet the expanding needs of the finance sector.

The Department of Finance offers education in two main areas of finance theory; the theory of corporate finance and the pricing theory of various securities in the markets. Corporate finance examines how firms acquire and allocate capital. The theory on security pricing helps us to understand how different securities are priced in the securities markets.

Professor Hannu Kahra, Head of Department

The teaching is based on the latest research evidence covering all the most important financial branches with an emphasis on asset allocation, delegated portfolio management and behavioural finance. We are constantly developing our study programmes to include real examples and illustrations in order to

• Good start for international research cooperation

prepare our students for the transition to professional working life. The strategy has been a success and our alumni are working as financial directors, consultants, associate directors of corporate banking and researchers, to name but a few roles. Through our global academic cooperation network we also provide our students with many international career opportunities.

The main research themes in the department focus on important topical areas in finance, including behavioural finance, security pricing, portfolio theory and management and hedge funds.The Department of Finance has contributed significantly to the important research area of behavioural finance by analysing the observed irrational behaviour of investors.

43

The Department of Finance KEY FACTS 2011

Degrees 20

STAFF Professors Assistant Professors Doctoral students Total

2 3 2 7

15

15

10

10

EDUCATION Activities over past 5-year period Applications/Accepted Finnish Bachelor’s and Master’s programme Finnish Master’s programme (+2) Degrees Bachelor of Science Master of Science Doctor of Science

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

32/11

134/20 38/11

124/20 44/12

161/21 43/10

223/30 34/9

5

6 1

3 8 1

1 10

0

Credits of minor subjects Credits produced inside OBS Credits produced for other faculties Total credits produced

2011 4578 264 4842

RESEARCH * Scientific articles (refereed) Other scientific publications (refereed)** Activities in scientific publications*** Other publications Scientific presentations Activities related to scientific conferences

2011

7 1

*Figures are based on the Oulun yliopisto tutkii database **Includes refereed scientific conference papers and compliances ***Includes referee tasks, member of the editorial board, editor

1 4 1

15

8

7

6 3 1

2007

2008

2009

Bachelor of Science 94,5 % 5,5 % 10,6 %

Master of Science of total credits produced in OBS

OTHER*** International visits (own staff) International visits (foreign staff) Education in university pedagogy Impact on society

2011

2010

2011

Professor Hannu Kahra and Professor Vance Martin.

Professor Vance Martin from the University of Melbourne visited Oulu Business School

Professor Vance Martin from the University of Melbourne visited the Department of Finance for two weeks in September. The visit was related to the research cooperation of the riskreturn relationship of hedge funds with Professor Hannu Kahra, Oulu Business School and Saikat Sarkar from the University of Jyv채skyl채. In addition to joint research work during his stay in Oulu Business School, Professor Martin delivered a special 3-day intensive course on Financial Econometrics, focusing on structural VAR models, models of volatility and discrete time series models in finance. Professor Martin specialises in Econometrics, Time Series Analysis, Monetary Economics and Macroeconomics.

45

Innovative Tools for Measuring Systemic Risk

Associate Professor Juha Joen­ väärä’s visit to Imperial College London in 2010 spawned interdisciplinary research cooperation with Associate Professor Robert Kosowski from Imperial College as well as with other researchers of the Oulu Business School and the Department of Mathematical Sciences in the University of Oulu.

The main objective of the research project is to develop a set of innovative tools to monitor and predict systemic risk in leveraged investment funds. To do so, the project aims to build a framework using fund-level characteristics and variables that capture changing business conditions. The fundamental challenge facing the project is to develop techniques to distinguish skill from excessive risk appetite when interpreting performance of leveraged investment

funds. The proposed techniques would make the research very useful for supervisors and investors.The first main contribution of the research project is to establish the most comprehensive database of hedge funds created to date.

The second main contribution of the research project is to develop a set of economically motivated predictors of systemic risk and an associated robust forecasting framework in which to assess the predictive ability of the systemic risk indicators. The project aims to provide insight to regulators as to which hedge funds are likely to be systematically important.

Doctoral student Pekka Tolonen from Oulu Business School will visit Imperial College in 2012.

DEPARTMENT of Inter national Business

Creating new knowledge of strategies of internationalisation in growthoriented companies and international ventures A message from the Head of Department Today, internationalisation and globalisation affect all firms and organisations regardless of size. International Business is the most recent major subject at the Oulu Business School. It focuses on the practices of international business among internationalising and growth-oriented companies within high technology, high context, or high touch (service) businesses.

Professor Petri Ahokangas, Head of Department

There are three core learning and research themes within International Business: approaches to international business, the practice of international business, and building up international businesses.

A close connection between theory and practice is maintained in all research, teaching, and projects within the field.

Major Achievements 2011:

• Increased number of M.Sc. Graduates • First D.Sc. from IB since the establishment of the department in 2008

International Business studies provide graduates with the skills and competences needed for practice and the development of efficient, evidence-based management and leadership in today’s internationally diverse, and multicultural business environments.

Those skills and competences are transferred through a variety of tuition methods: lectures, seminars, case studies and analyses, team work, simulation and gaming, as well as company visits. A Master of Science graduate in International Business typically works in an international company or a growth company which is planning for internationalisation. Our education provides excellent skills for operating in different management positions or in demanding expertiserelated tasks.

47

The Department of International Business KEY FACTS 2011 STAFF Professors Senior Lecturer Assistant Professors Researcher Doctoral students Research assistants Total EDUCATION Activities over past 5-year period Applications/Accepted Bachelor and Master’s programme Finnish Master’s programme (+2) Degrees Bachelor of Science Master of Science Doctor of Science

2 2 4 1 5 5 19 2008

2009

2010

2011

157/20

226/20 51/10

226/20 44/13

344/20 48/12

1 2

1 8 1

Credits of minor subjects Credits produced inside OBS Credits produced for other faculties Total credits produced

2011 3158 518 3676

RESEARCH * Scientific articles (refereed) Other scientific publications (refereed)** Activities in scientific publications*** Other publications Scientific presentations Activities related to scientific conferences

2011 8 22 18 6 8 14

85,9 % 14,1 % 8,1 % of total credits produced in OBS OTHER* International visits (own staff) International visits (foreign staff) Education in university pedagogy Impact on society****

*Figures are based on the Oulun yliopisto tutkii database **Includes refereed scientific conference papers and compliances ***Includes referee tasks, member of the editorial board, editor ****Responsibilities outside the university including e.g. consulting, education and position of trust.

2011 7 4 1 15

49

PROFESSOR JAN-ERIK VAHLNE from the University of Gothenburg visited Oulu Business School 29.11.-30.11. Professor Vahlne is one of the luminaries of International Business. With his colleague Jan Johanson, he created the Uppsala internationalisation model. The original article describing the basic mechanism of firm internationalisation was published in the Journal of International Business Studies in 1977 and it is the most cited article in the history of the Journal. Professors Vahlne and Johanson are still actively developing the model and its latest version was published in the Journal of International Business Studies in 2009.

During his visit to Oulu Business School, Professor Vahlne presented his latest research on the topic “The changing competitive landscape and the liability of outsidership”. The audience acquired an insightful overview as to what is going on the international business field both from the academic and business points of view and on the basis of data from Swedish

multinational firms in particular. Professor Vahlne also acted as the primary commentator in the research seminar in which our doctoral candidate, Elina Pernu, presented the research proposal of her doctoral dissertation. Elina’s interesting topic “Making sense of global customer relationships in internal MNC network” related nicely to Professor Vahlne’s presentation about Swedish MNCs. The second day of the visit focused on continuing and further developing the research cooperation that was initiated at the end of 2009 between Professor Vahlne, Tuija Mainela and Vesa Puhakka on the topic “The process and acts of creation in international entrepreneurship”.

DEPARTMENT of Management

Educating professionals who are capable of change and development.

A message from the Head of Department Management is one of the key subject areas in business schools worldwide.

Professor Vesa Puhakka, Head of Department

Major Achievements 2011:

•

•

352 applications into Bachelor’s and Master’s Programmes Increasing trend in Master of Science degrees

to bring students into real organisational situations to observe and experience managerial work practices.

Our mission-based “business-idea” is to produce and publish highly-valued academic research, to transfer science-based knowledge into education in order to educate knowledge activators and to develop local communities in practical collaboration with our partners.

We strive to be a valuable partner to our stakeholders.

Our main interest groups are the scientific community of management and entrepreneurship research, internationalising and growing companies, the students of our university, central research and development financiers, the cities and municipalities of the Oulu region, development and consultancy organisations and publishing houses and the media.

The values we commit ourselves to in research, teaching and development are relevance, innovation, processuality, ambition, living in contexts and the continual challenging of ideas. We want our teaching to ignite an enthusiasm for learning, to educate experts who are skilled at making things happen in international, ambiguous and turbulent situations, and

We have recently noticed that mature industries are moving out of Finland, resulting in the loss of many jobs. Therefore, Finland needs an understanding of high-growth ventures because we expect that in future, new jobs will be created by high-growth ventures. Our solution is to establish a world-class research and education unit for high-growth venturing.

51

The Department of Management KEY FACTS 2011 STAFF Professors Senior Lecturer Assistant Professors Doctoral students Researcher Project managers Research assistants Total EDUCATION Activities over past 5-year period Applications/Accepted Bachelor and Master’s programme Finnish Master’s programme (+2) Degrees Bachelor of Science Master of Science Doctor of Science

Degrees 25

2 1 2 3 1 3 3 15

22 20 15 10

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

275/18 151/8

233/30 115/5

301/30 97/7

355/30 117/10

352/30 90/9

3 9

4 7 2

7 15 2

16 17 1

14 22

Credits of minor subjects Credits produced inside OBS Credits produced for other faculties Total credits produced

2011 4852 1117 5969

RESEARCH * Scientific articles (refereed) Other scientific publications (refereed)** Activities in scientific publications*** Other publications Scientific presentations Activities related to scientific conferences

2011 3 11 1 10 9

15

81,3 % 18,7 % 13,1 %

*Figures are based on the Oulun yliopisto tutkii database **Includes refereed scientific conference papers and compliances ***Includes referee tasks, member of the editorial board, editor ****Responsibilities outside the university including e.g. consulting, education and position of trust.

0

7

3

4

2007

2008

2011 3 1 8

17 14

7

2009

Bachelor of Science Master of Science

of total credits produced in OBS

OTHER* International visits (own staff) International visits (foreign staff) Education in university pedagogy Impact on society****

5

9

16

2010

2011

53

Antti Kauppinen’s research visit to Copenhagen Business School

PhD Fellow, Antti Kauppinen (Department of Management) visited the Department of Management, Politics, and Philosophy at Copenhagen Business School from August 2010 to November 2011. He became a member of the management research group (MRG) led by Professor Daniel Hjorth.

The MRG is one of four groups at the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy (MPP) at Copenhagen Business School. MPP is an innovative multi-disciplinary research environment, and is closely connected with an internationally established doctoral school – The Doctoral School of Organisation and Management Studies.

Antti’s visit was a part of his doctoral dissertation project that focuses on organisational entrepreneurship from the perspectives of business opportunity creation and entrepreneurial becoming. Therefore, the topic of his dissertation matched well with the interest areas of MRG/MPP and paved the way for excellent potential research- and teaching-cooperation between the Department of Management at Oulu Business School and Management, Politics, and Philosophy at Copenhagen Business School. Currently, Antti is working with people at MPP (for example Daniel Hjorth, Pierre Guillet de Monthoux, Bent Sørensen, and Thomas Basbøll) and trying build common ground for the research on organisational entrepreneurship. That ambition means a gradual recognition of the European

School of Entrepreneurship that has its roots in the work of Professor Daniel Hjorth and Professor Chris Steyaert (University of St.Gallen, Switzerland). It seems that the research at the Department of Management is proceeding along similar lines, especially in Professor Vesa Puhakka’s research group that targets viewing entrepreneurship as an organisational phenomenon and as a set of tactical/strategic organisational creative actions that disrupt the reigning order and demand new (business) organisations be seen as parts of the society in that way.

Major Achievements 2011:

DEPARTMENT of Mar keting

“High-quality research, teaching and making an impact on the surrounding business community” A message from the Head of Department 2011 was successful for the department in terms of attracting funding, conducting high-quality research and further improving teaching in all areas that are appreciated while evaluating the impact and effectiveness of a business school.

Professor Jari Salo, Head of Department

First, the Department of Marketing at the Oulu Business School attracted considerable highlycompetitive national funding. Two research projects funded by Academy of Finland started from September 2011: Professor Jaana Tähtinen’s project on buyer-seller relationship ending and Doctor Hanna Komulainen’s research on value co-creation in technological B2B services. These can be considered notable achievements for the researchers personally, but also for the department, as funding provided by the Academy of Finland is highly sought after. In addition, the researchers at the department also successfully obtained funding from TEKES – the Finnish Funding

• Milestone of 500th Master’s Thesis achieved • 21 refereed scientific articles in journals

Agency for Technology and Innovation. Overall, this signals that the surrounding community regards the research conducted at the Department of Marketing as demonstrating relevance, rigour and practical impetus.

Second, top business schools are evaluated nationally and internationally by the sheer volume of FT45 publications. These publications carry the most weight in any business discipline and are adopted as a measure of high standards in the best accredited business schools, which Oulu Business School aspires to be in the near future.We are making progress in the right direction as scholars are increasingly submitting papers to FT45 journals. Just three full professors and other non-tenured staff and no budget allocated specifically for research does, however, mean that we can only produce a limited amount of research.

Third, in addition to high-quality research, high-quality teaching is a key area for any business school and the Department of Marketing has been progressing in this respect for several years. In 2011, one of the key areas of this development has been the strengthening of the inclusion of business practice and real-life examples through different kinds of real-life case exercises and visiting lecturers. The department also celebrated the

55

500th completed master’s thesis in 2011. Master’s theses provide a valuable means not only to develop the expertise of the students, but also to make an impact on the surrounding business community, as a large proportion of the master’s theses sponsored by the Department of Marketing are conducted in cooperation with firms.

I would wish to thank our staff for the year 2011 and wish all the best for the ongoing one. The future will be, as usual, full of changes and new development projects. Equally, numerous company representatives deserve our gratitude; the cooperation is extremely important for our research and education.

Degrees 67

70

64

60

49

50 40 30

49

52 46

55 47

35 27

20 10 0

2007

2008

2009

Bachelor of Science* Master of Science*

2010

2011

The Department of Marketing KEY FACTS 2011 STAFF Professors Senior Lecturers Assistant Professors Doctoral students Research assistants Total EDUCATION Activities over past 5-year period Applications/Accepted Bachelor and Master’s programme Finnish Master’s programme (+2) Degrees Bachelor of Science* Master of Science* Doctor of Science

5 2 5 9 7 28 2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

329/45 92/11

248/50 67/8

307/50 60/10

448/50 98/13

449/50 74/11

27 49

35 67 1

49 45

52 64 5

47 55 1

Credits of minor subjects Credits produced inside OBS Credits produced for other faculties Total credits produced

2011 7497 1376 8873

RESEARCH ** Scientific articles (refereed) Other scientific publications (refereed)*** Activities in scientific publications**** Other publications Scientific presentations Activities related to scientific conferences

2011 21 22 22 15 30 13

84,5 % 15,5 % 19,5 %

of total credits produced in OBS

OTHER** International visits (own staff) International visits (foreign staff) Education in university pedagogy Impact on society*****

*Figures include degrees from cooperation with Univeristy of Lapland **Figures are based on the Oulun yliopisto tutkii database ***Includes refereed scientific conference papers and compliances ****Includes referee tasks, member of the editorial board, editor *****Responsibilities outside the university including e.g. consulting, education and position of trust.

2011 7 1 2 33

27th Annual IMP Conference, Glasgow, Scotland, 31.8-3.9.2011 The international annual Industrial Marketing and Purchasing conference brought together researchers of business relationships and networks in Scotland. 2011 was exceptional for the Marketing Department as the conference participants included 11 staff members: Professors Jaana Tähtinen, Pauliina Ulkuniemi and Jari Salo, Postdoctoral Researcher, Hanna Komulainen, Associate Professor Satu Nätti and Assistant Professor Saila Saraniemi as well as doctoral students Tuula Lehtimäki, Minna Mäläskä,Teea Palo, Elina Pernu and Anita Virta.

During the three day conference, a total of 192 presentations were made and 16 of those involved researchers from the Marketing Department. The remarkable level of participation shows that our department truly values the research areas of business relationships and networks and that our research activity is at the forefront of international research.

MTETR The Research Development Team of the Department of Marketing (MTETR) continued its important work in 2011.This year the focal theme was the acceleration of publishing activities at the Department of Marketing.

This topic was also closely discussed at the Research Development Day in May 2011, where publication processes and the importance of coverage in top journals were emphasised.

Attendees re-examined the real and imagined obstacles to publication and the options available

to overcome them. The results of the Research Development Day were used as a base for MTETR’s next target of development: the acceleration of internal research seminar procedures. The members of MTETR for 2011 were Postdoctoral Researcher, Hanna Komulainen (chair), Doctoral student, Teea Palo (secretary), Assistant Professor, Jouni Juntunen, Doctoral student,Tuula Lehtimäki, Associate Professor, Saara Pekkarinen and Professor, Jaana Tähtinen.

Research Received Recognition and Grants The quality of research emanating from the Department of Marketing was recognized in the receipt of multiple grants during 2011.The Foundation for Economic Education supports higher business education and research by allocating grants. Eight of these grants were awarded to our researchers.

During 2011, doctoral students, Tuula Lehtimäki and Teea Palo, received funding from the Finnish Graduate School of Marketing (FINNMARK). Two FINNMARK positions were awarded at the end of the year to

doctoral students, Kerttu Kettunen and Ilkka Ojansivu, and their funding starts in 2012. Doctoral student,Teea Palo, also received international recognition during 2011, taking second place in the international APF Student Recognition Programme. The competition was organised by the Association of Professional Futurists community that annually recognises student work in the area of futurology. Palo’s award-winning work is entitled “Knowledge of the Future: Subjective Interpretations or True Beliefs?”

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A Few Examples of Research Visits and Visiting Lecturers in 2011: PhD Student, Thomas Ottersen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark. Mr Ottersen’s multiple visits during 2011 included research collaboration on the DIMAR project, a guest lecture as part of the Brand Management course and a presentation at the research seminar held on November 11th about his doctoral dissertation “Exploring Value Creation in Cobranded Projects in the B2B-environment”.

Professor Claire Gauzente, Sciences Po Rennes, Rennes, France. Professor Gauzente’s research visit was particularly intended to develop research cooperation in the areas of mobile and internet marketing that accord with her research interests.

The Department of Marketing is among the leading centres of mobile marketing research and thus offers fruitful prospective collaboration.

Visiting lectures from Corporations Name of visitor

Affiliation

Topic of presentation

Marketing Manager Marko Heikkinen Director Markku Huotari Head of Materials Management Kimmo Pietilä Milla Halttu Training Consultant and Director Satu Turunen Director Jan Mäkelä CEO Tapani Laru Sales Manager Henri Huovinen Sales Representative Mikko Kurttila

Pipelife Finland Oy

Managing Business Relationships

Nokia Oyj

Organising Marketing

Nokia Siemens Network

Purchasing and Supplier Relationships

Valopää Oy Pohto

Organising Marketing Organising Marketing

Wegera Oy

Organising Marketing

Pakkahuone Oy

Integrated Marketing Communication

Koodiviidakko Oy

Integrated Marketing Communication

Ruukki Metals

Integrated Marketing Communication

Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics

The Martti Ahtisaari Institute (MAI) is a research and education unit that was established as a part of Oulu Business School in 2008.

D.Sc.Veikko Seppänen, the Director of Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics

President Ahtisaari graduated as a teacher from the University of Oulu in its first year of operation in 1959. He is also an Honorary Doctor of the University.

President Ahtisaari was willing to support the Institute in its pursuit of added value in education and research and was very pleased with the increased interest in the field of global business and economics within the University of Oulu. The Institute’s focus coincides naturally with the central issues of Martti Ahtisaari’s career.

The Institute focuses on various development challenges inherent in developing a networking and global economy. The main activities of the Institute are the development of OBS international activities

to a high international standard, coordination of OBS international degree programmes and selected strategic research programmes, executive education (eMBA, MBA and education exports), as well as expert seminars and business forums. Doctoral education will begin in 2012 with the Martti Ahtisaari International Doctoral Programme, which concentrates on global business with a focus on management of growth and a sustainable global economy.

The Institute is one of the competence centres in the Oulu Innovation Alliance (OIA) The International Master’s Programme in Finance (MF) focuses on corporate investments and finance and also financial analysis.

The International Master’s Programme in Financial and Management Accounting (FMA) is divided into financial

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and management accounting, offering insights into the decision making behind financial and management accounting and the various systems of accounting.

The International Master’s Programme in International Business (IB) focuses on the processes, management and development of international business from a variety of perspectives.

The full-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme is a broad master’s level programme in business administration, which equips students by developing international business competence.

The Executive Master of Business Administration (eMBA), on the other hand, is designed for business professionals in key positions in their companies who wish to develop their competencies, particularly in the field of strategic management.

Major Achievements 2011:

•

•

Launch of the Oulu Growth Venturing Programme as part of OIA collaboration.

Establishment of the Martti Ahtisaari Doctoral Programme.

Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics KEY FACTS 2011 STAFF Director Deputy Director Programme Managers Programme Coordinators Project Coordinators Total EDUCATION Activities over past 5-year period Applications/Accepted FMA FE IB Degrees from International programmes FMA* FE* IB*

1 1 2 2 2 8 2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

146/7

114/4 148/5 178/8

172/9 220/12 344/10

104/9 149/7 314/14

106/9 120/13 289/14

3 -

5 -

5 -

5 2

7 2 5

20 8 2

27 7 10 5

Performance from MBA and eMBA Executive MBA programme diplomas Full Time MBA programme degrees Specialization programme certificates Master of Safety programme JOKO Seminar Series certificates *FMA = International Master’s Programme in Financial and Management Accounting *MF= International Master’s Programme in Finance *IB= International Master’s Programme in International Business

2

Applications to International Master’s Programmes 400

344 314

300

289

220 200

146 100

0

148

178 172

149

114

2007

106

104

2008

2009

FMA

2010

MF

120

2011

IB

Accepted to International Master’s Programmes 15

14

13

12

12 9

8

7 6

4

10

9

14

9

9 7

6

3 0

2007

FMA

2008

2009

MF

2010

2011

IB

Staff of Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics.

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Martti Ahtisaari Institute Managing Board 2011: Kauppaneuvos (Honorary Finnish title) Taisto Riski, Chair of the Board Kauppaneuvos (Honorary Finnish title) Ilkka Lantto, Deputy Chairman Director Marko Ahtisaari, Member of the Board Professor Eva Liljeblom, Member of the Board Dean Petri Sahlström, Member of the Board Professor Juha-Pekka Kallunki, Member of the Board Professor Vesa Puhakka, Member of the Board Professor Rauli Svento, Member of the Board Professor Maria Kopsakangas-Savolainen, Member of the Board Director Veikko Seppänen of the Martti Ahtisaari Institute Deputy Director Sauli Sohlo of the Martti Ahtisaari Insitute, Secretary of the Board

International Master’s Programmes The International Master’s Programmes have proved very attractive since their establishment. The admission criteria were tightened in 2010 in line with OBS’s student recruitment strategy, which resulted in applications of an exceptionally high standard.

International Business has been the most popular programme, with about 300 applications in each of the past two years.

In 2011, a total of 36 new students began studies on the programmes.

International MBA students from Lyon visiting Oulu

Introducing our new MBA teachers

The full time MBA programme hosted a group of international visitors in Oulu 28.2.—2.3.2011. Our guests, 31 full-time International MBA students from EM Lyon Business School studied the characteristics of Nordic management styles. The programme included lectures as well as corporate visits to Stora Enso Oulu Mills in Nuottasaari and Nokia Siemens Networks’ Rusko premises. In addition to the official programme, a fun arctic evening was organised for our guests in Nallikari Winter Village, where the group could meet students from Oulu Business School full-time MBA and Executive MBA programmes, the board of the student association, Finanssi ry and Oulu Business School staff. A group of Executive MBA students from Oulu Business School visited in Lyon in May 2011.

In May 2011, the Martti Ahtisaari Institute’s full-time MBA programme introduced two new teachers to our faculty of International MBA teachers. Professors Richard Ruble and Georges de Nemeskeri-Kiss, both from EM Lyon Business School, shared their expertise with Oulu Business School’s International MBA course on ‘Managerial Economics’. Professor Ruble specialises in Microeconomic issues, while Professor de Nemeskeri-Kiss covers Macroeconomics. We were pleased to welcome our new specialists into our programme and to continue our long-standing cooperation with EM Lyon.

The cultural backgrounds of the students are very diverse and the programmes include people from Iran, Pakistan, Russia, China, Vietnam, Nigeria, the United States, Germany and Finland.

2011 should be regarded as a successful year for our executive education programmes in many respects.

New specialisation fields and tailored programmes were initiated in the eMBA and MBA programmes.

Executive Education

In January 2011, the executive education portfolio in the Martti Ahtisaari Institute and Oulu Business School included the following programmes: • International Full-time MBA for technology-driven business

partner university, EM Lyon, France, visited Oulu for a “Business the Scandinavian Way” study module in early March. Further, we continued our annual eMBA cooperation with EM Lyon with a four-day module “Building and Leading Multicultural Teams”, as we have done since 2008. Additionally, the advanced executive education Programme continued in the United Arab Emirates with a new group of students starting their studies on the programme conducted by OBS.

• Executive MBA • Master of Safety™ • Specialisation courses in - Strategic Management - Human Resource Management - Marketing Management - Technology Management - Safety Management • JOKO Seminar Series Graduation celebrations in 2011 included the graduates from all the above mentioned programmes: 27 eMBA diplomas, 7 full-time MBA diplomas, 10 Specialisation programme certificates and the first five diplomas from the Master of Safety programme.

International operations played an ever more active role in executive education in 2011. A group of 30 International MBA students from our very close

Martti Ahtisaari Institute Scholarships In order to encourage and reward excellence and innovation among students and student associations in the Institute’s and Oulu Business School’s educational programmes, the Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics annually awards scholarships for outstanding research and study performance, other valuable contributions to business and the community at large and in support of an international learning experience for students.

In 2011, the Institute awarded nearly a dozen scholarships in recognition of students´ academic success, successful student-company cooperation initiatives as well as international internships.

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Guest lecturers in International Students, University of Oulu and Microsoft brought the Master’s Programmes Windows Phone Hackathon to campus Associate Professor, Bruce Heiman, from the San Francisco State University of Business visited Oulu Business School and the Department of International Business in March /April. During his week-long visit Heiman gave lectures to the International Business Master’s Programme students in the International Sales module. Heiman’s visit also allowed time for joint research and the analysis of research data from different countries. The findings will be discussed in two separate research papers.

Professor Gilad Livne from Cass Business School at City University, London visited Oulu Business School’s International Master’s Programme in Financial and Management Accounting (FMA) in May. The visit was focused on teaching: Professor Livne lectured on the course Advanced Firm Valuation. Gilad Livne has visited the Department of Accounting several times in the past and has presented at research seminars organised by Oulu Business School.

Business students, the University of Oulu and Microsoft co-organised a mobile application workshop, the Windows Phone Hackathon in November. Hackathon is 24-hour workshop, where teams made up of app developers and students from different fields create ideas for an app, develop it with the help of Windows Phone experts, and publish it on Windows Phone Marketplace. The best app developer team was

awarded brand new NOKIA LUMIA 800 phones.

Hackathon was organised by Microsoft, Finanssi ry (the Association of students of Oulu Business School) and the Martti Ahtisaari Institute.

EU Commissioner Olli Rehn: European Economy 2020, 1.2.2011

Martti Ahtisaari Institute Top Forums and seminars bring together representatives from various sectors in the society in a unique way

Olli Rehn, EU Commissioner for Financial and Monetary Affairs, spoke at the Top Forum European Economy 2020, organised by the Martti Ahtisaari Institute on February 1 2011 at the University of Oulu.

In his speech, Commissioner Rehn provided an outlook on future perspectives of the European economy for the next ten years, discussing the future of the euro zone, the European Commission´s first Annual Growth Survey and economic policy coordination, the European Stability Mechanism as well as the role of the Europe 2020 strategy. The audience raised a number of challenging questions regarding the basics and details of the economic regulation mechanism, the system of sanctions on EU member states and EU-China relations. The event attracted a crowd of over 400 business representatives from the Oulu region and northern Finland, public authorities and representatives of the University of Oulu.

President Martti Ahtisaari: Ahtisaari Day, 16.11.2011 The first national Ahtisaari Day was celebrated and organised in Oulu on Wednesday 16th November 2011. The Martti Ahtisaari Institute at the University of Oulu hosted a special discussion event with 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, President Martti Ahtisaari, where the President discussed current national and international issues, his work as a peace mediator and conflict resolution.

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In President Ahtisaari’s view, education is key in order to succeed in peace work and build social well-being.

Also a thorough understanding of global business and economy are essential in order to function effectively in peace mediation.

President Ahtisaari considers democracy and equality as efficient means in reducing poverty. In this respect, Ahtisaari highlighted the Nordic countries’ exemplary efforts to promote these values.

In his comments, the President also emphasised the importance of responsible and ethical behaviour in business leadership and management.

Individuals and young people can have great influence on the society. As part of the Ahtisaari Day celebrations, the President handed out Mediator Awards to four pupils in schools in Oulu.

In the future, Ahtisaari Day will be celebrated annually to raise awareness of peace mediation work by placing particular emphasis on the importance of education, information and communication.

Does the World Need Business School Graduates?

Finanssi’s 20th Anniversary Seminar, 14.10.2011 The Association of Students of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Oulu

(Finanssi ry) celebrated its twentieth anniversary in October. The wide array of events and seminars over the week culminated in a discussion event on the role of business education: Does the world need Business School Graduates?

The event was co-organised by Finanssi ry, Oulu Business School and the Martti Ahtisaari Institute of Global Business and Economics, and moderated by the Martti Ahtisaari Institute’s Deputy Director Sauli Sohlo. More information about the Anniversary Seminar is available on page 32.

Research Projects: MArtti ahtisaari institute

Programmes of the strategic research portfolio produces new knowledge of the corporate governance, growth companies, energy markets and cost and benefit of securing nature’s biodiversity.

Mergers and Acquisitions as a Strategy for Growth

The research programme Mergers and Acquisitions as a Strategy for Growth (MASG) studies the role that international business acquisitions and fusions play in the growth strategies of high technology firms. In this research project, we explore the role of cross-border M&A s in executing the strategies for growth firms operating in the high-technology field.

Professor Juha-Pekka Kallunki (OBS), Researcher Elina Pyykkö (OBS) and Professor Tomi Laamanen (Aalto University) have published a joint-paper on

the valuation of research and development expenditures of the firm in technology-driven mergers in the qualified Journal of Business Finance and Accounting.

Furthermore, Researcher Elina Pyykkö has recently published her research focusing on technology intensive mergers and acquisitions in the Journal of Multinational Financial Management.

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EBN – Energy, Biodiversity and Natural Resources

The research programme focuses on the functioning of the global energy markets from the economic point-of-view and the cost and benefit of securing nature´s biodiversity.

Professor Maria Kopsakangas-Savolainen gave a presentation in a top-rated International Industrial Organization Conference at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver on 14th – 16th May 2010. The presentation, that was based on a research paper by Prof. Kopsakangas and Prof. Rauli Svento, discussed and compared the welfare effects of different regulation schemes in the context of the electricity distribution industry.

Professor Kopsakangas was one of the chosen invited guest speakers in the conference. The presented research paper was awarded the Public Utility Research Prize for the Best Paper In Regulatory Economics.

In addition the results of this research programme have been published in high qualified International Journals including e.g. Energy Economics, Energy Policy and Forest Science.

OGL - Oulu Growth Lab - International Growth of New Technology-Based Firms

The research programme Oulu Growth Lab (OGL) focuses on the challenges faced in developing growth strategies as well as growth models for fast-growing small and middle-sized enterprises and in creating new business enterprises.

Researcher Antti Kauppinen (OBS) and Professor Vesa Puhakka (OBS) have published a joint paper of the core aspects of this recently launched research concentration in International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing.

Other research paper within the OGL project is a joint paper by Tornikoski and Puhakka covering several essential issues concerning the creation of a company, published in International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business.

Research Projects: Oulu business school

Regional Development of the High Technology Industry in Finland

Length of project: 01.01.2011 – 31.12.2013 Committed funding: EUR 261, 077 Description of project:

A postdoctoral research project funded by the Academy of Finland. This research project contributes empirically to the literature of regional economics concerning the linkages between technological development and economic growth.

First we shall focus on the question of what the role of high technology industry has been in national and regional economic growth in Finland during the past two decades. Secondly, we shall analyse how the industrial structure and R&D intensity have affected both regional development of the high technology sector and its ability to cope with economic trends.

The third main objective of this research is to analyse how regional labour mobility has affected both agglomeration of the high technology firms and the regional development of high technology industry.

Research consortium or cooperation partners:

Professor Philip McCann (Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen,The Netherlands), Professor Rauli Svento and Professor Artti Juutinen (OBS), Postdoctoral Researcher Jaakko Simonen (OBS).

Anticipated results of project:

Scientific articles in refereed international journals.

Contact person:

Postdoctoral Researcher Jaakko Simonen (jaakko. simonen@oulu.fi)

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Barents Logistics II

Length of project: 10.3.2011 – 9.3.2014 Committed funding: EUR 820, 212 Description of project:

The main objective of the Barents Logistics 2 project is to increase and develop logistics expertise on the business of the Barents area.This is emphasised by developing and deepening educational and research cooperation between the universities and educational institutions together with public and business organisations in the Barents region.

Besides educational cooperation, joint research will also be conducted in the project, focusing on the challenges and opportunities in cross-border business operations in the Barents region. The project increases the level of logistics competence/ know-how by the means of education and applied research (e.g. logistics trends, techniques, best practice and cross-border cooperation opportunities). In addition, the level of intercultural competence is enhanced by transferring foreign experience in different ways.

Research consortium or cooperation partners:

OBS (lead partner), Luleå University of Technology, Arctic Centre (Murmansk), Socium + (Murmansk), Association of Suppliers for Oil and Gas Industry “Murmanshelf” (Murmansk), The Ministry of Economic Development of the Murmansk region, Port of Kemi, Port of Oulu.

Anticipated results of project:

Collaborative educational offering and research, two doctoral dissertations

Contact person: Project Manager Ulla Lehtinen (ulla.lehtinen@oulu.fi) and Professor Jari Juga (jari. juga@oulu.fi)

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Cloud Software

Length of project: 1.1.2010 – 31.12.2013 Committed funding: EUR 280, 000 Description of project:

Cloud software is a research project funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES) and its partner firms. The project, coordinated by Tivit Oy, is focusing on the development of cloud service business models from the customer journey mapping perspective. The focus companies in the project include Finnish ICT companies. The target of the project is to research how the business models of ICT companies change as their products and services are brought into the cloud computing area.

Research consortium or cooperation partners:

Aalto University,VTT – Technical Research Centre of Finland, University of Jyväskylä, Tampere University of Technology, University of Helsinki, Oulu Business School (OBS) and many corporate partners including Nokia, EB Elektrobit Corporation, Tieto, Tivit, Ericsson.

Contact person:

Professor Petri Ahokangas (petri.ahokangas@oulu. fi) and Veikko Seppänen, Academic co-ordinator of the project (Veikko.seppanen@oulu.fi)

More information

can be found in http://www.cloudsoftwareprogram. org/cloud-program

KARA - High-Growth Venturing and Entrepreneurial Finance

Length of project: 1.12.2009 – 31.12.2012 Committed funding: EUR 365, 509 Description of project:

KARA is a three-year research project focused on understanding how two successful entrepreneurial ecosystems, Israel and Silicon Valley, are organised to foster the emergence of high-growth ventures.

The findings are compared to the Finnish ecosystem and its development and financing activities.

Research data is collected from each ecosystem by interviewing entrepreneurs, business angels, venture capitalists, public financiers, and other relevant actors. The theoretical base for the research consists of competence bloc, entrepreneurship, venture capital and activity theories. The project is funded by the Council of Oulu Region and city of Oulu.

Results of the project:

One refereed international book chapter, one international conference paper.

Contact person: Professor Vesa Puhakka (vesa. puhakka@oulu.fi), project manager Sakari Sipola (sakari.sipola@oulu.fi)

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EmoCha – An Emotional View on Challenging Buyer-Seller Relationships

Length of project: 01. 09.2011 – 31.08.2015 Committed funding: EUR 537, 000 Description of project:

The project, funded by the Academy of Finland, reveals the state of buyer-seller relationship-ending research and expands its interdisciplinary opportunities by applying Critical Realism.

Research consortium or cooperation partners: Prof. Virpi Havila (University of Uppsala, Sweden), Prof. Nicholas Paparoidamis and Prof. Ruben Chumpitaz (IESEG School of Management, France), Prof. Luis Araujo (Lancaster University, UK), Prof.

Jaana Tähtinen, Doctoral Students Anita Virta and Anniina Salo (Oulu Business School.)

Anticipated results of project:

Scientific articles in refereed international journals, conference papers and a doctoral dissertation.

Contact person:

Professor Jaana Tähtinen (jaana.tahtinen@oulu.fi)

Cleantech Solutions – Co-creating Environmental Solutions with Lead Customers

Length of project: 01.08.2011 – 31.07.2013 Committed funding: EUR 161, 334 Description of project:

The project is funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES), and strives to find new ways to increase industrial companies’ competitiveness by identifying and developing novel processes and tools to facilitate the cocreation, assessment and rapid commercialisation of cleantech solutions.

Research consortium or cooperation partners:

Prof. Anne Jalkala and Juha Väätänen (Lappeenranta University of Technology, Department of Industrial Management, Finland), Prof. Lassi Linnanen and Risto Soukka (Lappeenranta University of Technology, Energy), Prof. Jari Salo and Doctoral students Tuula Lehtimäki and Ilkka Ojansivu (Oulu Business School), Expert partners: Prof. Frank Piller (MIT Sloan School of Management), Prof. Bernard Cova (Bocconi University), Implementation partners:

Cleantech Finland, Finnish Cleantech Cluster and Pertec Consulting, Corporate partners: Outotec, Metso and Kemira.

Anticipated results of project:

Scientific articles in refereed international journals, conference papers doctoral dissertations and master’s theses.

Contact person:

Professor Jari Salo (jari.salo@oulu.fi)

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Oulu Business School • Annual Report 2011

Contents: Pasi Karjalainen, Content’s Editing: Marja Aro,Texts: Petri Sahlström, Rauli Svento, Pauliina Ulkuniemi, Jari Salo,Tuija Mainela, Jaakko Simonen, Antti Kauppila, Antti Kauppinen, Sinikka Moilanen, Ilkka Ojansivu, Teea Palo, Nina Heikkilä, Sini Valmari, Tomas Slesar, Anssi Kivimäki, Mikko Vitikka. • Language revision, Andrew Mulley • Jyrki Laitinen, Language Center, University of Oulu. • Editing and layout: Pakkahuone Oy • Photographs by: Ilmestys Oy/Kati Leinonen, Studio Ilpo Okkonen, Juha Sarkkinen, Oulu Business School and Oulu University • Printing house: Erweko Oy • Electronic version of the Oulu Business School’s Annual report can be found online at: www.oulubusinessschool.fi

University of Oulu Oulu Business School P. O . B O X 4 6 0 0 90014 University of Oulu FINLAND Te l : + 3 5 8 8 5 5 3 2 9 0 5 Fax: +358 8 553 2906 E-mail: oulubusinessschool@oulu.fi

We mean business.